The Mystery of a New World

Chapters

The TV
On the Run
The aftermath
By royal decree
A day to remember the past
Storm of the century
The Fall of Sweet Apple Acres
A Royal Misunderstanding
Going back to normal
Where I belong
This is the choice I've made
Getting to know the new me
Cutie Mark Crusaders Operation Sleepover
Canterlot, the city of sorrows
A friend in need
Specters of the past
Time to go Back Home
Arachnophobia
Some Wounds Never Heal
A Very Important Delivery
A Little Gender Confusion
The Autumn Festival
Oh Child of Mine
Shadow's Screwy Day
Facing Your Fears
Is This the Right Choice
The Bond of Brothers: part 1
The Bond of Brothers: part 2
The Bond of Brothers: Finale
Magic Poisoning
Ditzy's Heated Week
The Alcoholic Adventure
The Issue is Trust
Carrot's Dilemma
You're Never Alone
All's Fair in Love and War
The Mare of the Moon
A Date with Destiny
The Innocent Dreamer
The Meeting with the Moon
The Tearful Rebirth
Bubbly's Worst Fear
Fullmetal Drill Sergeant
Chaos Looms
The Sick Side of Chaos
Lending a Chaotic Hand
The Loss of Control
Helping the Broken
The spell
Meeting of the two worlds
The Start of a Beautiful Friendship
Oh Child of Mine **Alternate Ending**
The Young Dancers Fight for Life

The TV

Chapter 2

It had been 3 days since Twilight had tried to cast the spell. As instructed by Nurse Redheart, she had stayed in bed, and had to rely on Spike to get her anything she needed. She was only allowed out of bed if she needed to use the restroom, and then it was right back into bed. As much as she hated being forced to stay in bed, it had allowed her to send all of her findings and data to Celestia, and read up on the spell to see if she had messed anything up.

It was late in the afternoon as Twilight was, once again, reading through her notes. “I just don’t know what went wrong,” Twilight groaned as she sipped on a cup of tea Spike had brought her. “I had all the materials, everything was set up just right, and the diamond was flawless and cut perfectly. I’m at a loss as to…” She was cut off as Spike ran into the room with a scroll in one claw, and a large jingling pouch in the other.

“Twilight, a message just arrived from the Princess!” Spike cleared his throat and set the pouch on the floor before reading the message.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle

I must thank you for all of your hard work and diligence concerning the assignment I’ve given you. Luna and the head scientists at the Lunar Institute of Science have gone over your findings thoroughly and have come up with a hypothesis as to why the spell did not work. They believe that it was the nature of the spell itself that caused it to fail. While you had channeled enough magic into the diamond, with all of the strain already being put on the body, it would be far to difficult to take the energy in the diamond and will it into a portal.

After talking it over with Luna, we have come to a conclusion. That conclusion being that, with all the strain it puts on the body of the unicorn performing the spell, that all research into the spell be halted and all resources be put into other projects until further notice. Without your help we wouldn’t have known how costly this spell actually is. The Institute has decided that for all of your hard work, you deserve some payment. In addition to this letter, I will also send you a pouch of bits with your payment. For now, I want you to rest and take the next week off to just enjoy yourself. You’ve earned it

Sincerely yours

HRH Princess Celestia."

Twilight let out a dejected sigh. “So all that work was for nothing huh?” She looked at the pouch Spike had set on the floor when he started reading the letter. A small smile appeared on her face. “At least I was able to help them in some way. How many bits do you think are in there anyway?”

Spike shrugged his shoulders before answering. “I don’t know, but I think well be set for quite awhile.” He said as he shook the bag a bit. His face suddenly lit up as a realization hit him. “Hey, with all these bits, we can finally get that TV you promised me on my last birthday, and maybe even some video games!”

Twilight just stared blankly at Spike. “That will have to wait Spike. If you remember what Nurse Redheart said, I’m to stay in bed for one more day before I’m allowed to become active again.” She sighed. “But yes, I suppose I could get you that TV now. That will be the first thing on my list of things to do.” Spike could barely contain his happiness as he hoped down the stairs to finish the dinner.

********************

Twilight was finally free of that accursed bed, and made sure to keep her promise to Spike. Not that he was making it easy to forget said promise. From the moment she had woken up, Spike was practically dancing around the library singing about finally getting a TV. She did everything in her power to keep herself from literally zipping his mouth shut and tying him to a chair.

Unfortunately the closest store that sold TVs was in Canterlot. After chartering a carriage, they were on their way. They got to the store at around 11:30 A.M. Once inside, Spike immediately started searching through the store to find the TV of his dreams. After five minute’s of searching he finally found it. “I want that one Twilight!” Spike shouted as he pointed his claw at the TV. “It’s an 80 inch, Maneasonic HDTV with a built in DVD player and surround sound!” Twilight just stood there, mouth agape as she stared at the behemoth of a TV.

She cringed at the mere thought of how much this monster must cost. After taking a deep breath, she decided it was time to check. The blood drained from her face, and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she stared at the number on the price tag. Spike’s smile quickly turned into a mixture of confusion and fear as he noticed the look on Twilight’s face.

“10,500 BITS?!?!?!” Shrieked Twilight. “This…this Monstrosity costs TWICE as much as a house in Ponyville! What pony in their right mind would even THINK to buy something like this!”

As Twilight was busy freaking out that a TV could cost more than fully furnished home, Spike had started to notice she was starting to draw a crowd. “Umm Twilight, why don’t we go check out some of the smaller TVs over there.” Spike had to practically drag Twilight away from the TV before she decided to blow it up to 'save somepony the embarrassment of spending that many bits on something so trivial' as she put it.

Spike ended up picking a 45 inch flat screen that only cost 450 bits. It still made Twilight cringe a bit, but it was still better than that…thing. Not to mention it came with a complimentary DVD player which made the price less painful to think about it. “Well, they said it should be delivered to the library tomorrow morning. Let’s hope we don’t have to do this ever again. I don’t want to see the inside of this place for a time.” To help Twilight calm down a bit, Spike insisted they go and get a little something from Pony Joe’s Bakery. After a nice, calming lunch, they decided it was time to head back to Ponyville.

********************

By the time they got back to the library, Twilight was ready to relax with a good book. “Hmm, maybe I’ll start on one of those books Rarity’s letting me borrow. She always speaks so highly of this Rose Papillonne, I figured I should at least give her books a chance.”

Spike opened the door for Twilight, before following behind her. “Hey Twilight, isn’t it a bit dark in here for being the middle of the day?”

Twilight looked around the room. “You know what, your right. But why would it be this dark? The only time I remember it being this dark in the middle of the day was…” A sense of dread hit Twilight as the memory came to her. “Oh no.”

“SURPRIIIIIISE!!!!” Shouted an overly exited, bouncing Pinkie Pie as the lights in the room were turned on. “Hiya Twilight! I’m glad you could make it to your 'Finally Feeling Better' surprise party! Everypony’s here to party with you now that you’re no longer stuck in that stuffy wuffy bed!” Pinkie motioned to one side of the room where the rest of their friends were standing, or flying in Rainbow’s case. Rainbow and Fluttershy were smiling and waving at Twilight and Spike, while Applejack and Rarity were looking at each other and smiling.

‘They must have just reconciled after a fight or something. Though I’m sure I would have heard about them fighting when Fluttershy came over the other day.’ Twilight decided to drop the thought and sighed. She figured she might as well enjoy herself anyways. It’s not like she had much fun over the last week anyways.

********************

It was about 9 in the morning when the delivery pony’s knocked on the door. “Thank you very much sirs,” Twilight said to the delivery pony’s as they brought in the TV. “Spike, the TV’s here!”

“Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy, I can’t wait to hook this baby up!”

“You do that Spike. I think I’m going to go take a nice, long walk,” Twilight said as she started packing some snacks and a random book from the pile Rarity had loaned her into her saddle bags. “It’s a nice day out today and I plan to take advantage of it.” She lifted her bags on to her back and turned to look at Spike. “I left some bits on the counter so you could get yourself a pizza while you watch TV.”

Spike wasn’t listening. “Huh, you say something?”

Twilight just sighed. “I’m going be all out all day, there’s money in the kitchen for a pizza, I’ll be back later, have a nice day Spike,” she said as she walked out the door. She kept it short because she knew Spike desperately wanted to hook up his new TV. Twilight knew just where she wanted to go, so she started her walk by heading towards Sweet Apple Acres.

It was about a 10 minute walk from the library to Applejacks orchard. When she reached Sweet Apple Acres, she was happy she managed to catch Applejack walking out of the barn. “Why howdy Twi. What can Ah do fer ya?

“Hi Applejack. I was just out for a walk and came to buy some apples for later.”

“Sure thing. How many would ya like?”

“Umm, I’ll take four red galas. That should get me through the day with what I brought with me.”

Applejack smiled as she yelled in the direction of the barn. “Hey Apple Bloom, bring Twilight the four best red galas in th’ barrel!” A minute later Apple Bloom came running from the barn with the four apples balance on her back.

“Howdy Twilight, here are yer apples.” She smiled as Twilight lifted the apples and placed them into her bags. Apple Bloom then turned to look at her flank and frowned when she saw it was still blank. She turned to Twilight and the frown just grew on her face. “Sorry fer making such a ruckus at th’ library th’ other day Twilight.”

Twilight shivered slightly at the memory. It was during her fourth day of bed rest that the CMC had decided to have an unannounced play date with Spike. While she didn’t know exactly what had happened, from all the crashes, other sounds of destruction, and Spikes grumbling after they left, she could only imagine the hell they put her poor library through. “Oh don’t worry about it Apple Bloom. No permanent damage was done.” Apple Bloom was smiling once again

********************

Twilight continued her walk past the orchard. It took her 20 minutes to reach the edge of the Everfree forest. She knew by now as long as she doesn’t go INTO the forest she would be just fine. “I think I’ll keep my distance just to be sure.” she said to no one in particular as she continued along the edge of the forest. After about 2 hours and 6 miles later, she finally reached her destination. She knew what she was looking for. She knew of a spot where the river exited the forest. The scenery around this particular part of the forest was absolutely beautiful. It was quiet and tranquil, and you didn’t have to worry about being interrupted like you would in the park.

“It’s always so beautiful here. Maybe I should bring the girls sometime for a picnic.” Her stomach growled informing her that it was time for lunch. She pulled out two of the apples, a granola bar, and a bottle of apple juice and had her meal. After she finished eating, she pulled out the book. The title of the book she grabbed was Reform School Fillies, and was taken aback when she took a closer look at the cover.

Before she could read the blurb on the back of the book, she heard something in the distance that sounded like somepony yelling. She packed the book back into her bags and lifted them back onto her back. She didn’t want anything to come and take her things, especially since the book wasn’t hers.

Twilight walked closer to the forest and listened for more. She kept walking closer until she got to a steep muddy decline that led to the bank of the river. Taking careful steps, she walked along the edge of the decline, listening carefully for anymore sounds. When she was sure she was just hearing things, Twilight turned to go back to her special spot.

In the middle of her turn, something happened that Twilight didn’t expect. The muddy ground under her left hind leg gave away and she started to tumble down the decline. With nothing to grab onto, she was at the mercy of the hill. All she could do was scream. Her tumble came to an end when she reached the bottom of the decline. Unfortunately for Twilight, there were rocks scattered along the bank of the river. One of the bigger rocks just happened to be directly in her path. Her head connected with the rock and her vision started to dim. Just before she blacked out, she swore she had heard the voice again.

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((There's chapter two down, and yes, I did reference Butterscotch Sundae’s Rarity’s magic book. If you haven’t already go read her stuff.))

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

On the Run

Chapter 4

The sun was starting to rise over the hills in the distance, shining into the windows of the Sweet Apple Acers farm house. This was all the alarm Big McIntosh needed to get out of bed and start his morning routine. His first step was to wake up his sisters if they hadn’t woken up by them selves yet. He always started with Apple Bloom, knowing she would be harder to wake up, and keep up. Applejack was usually pretty good about waking up on her own, but after a day like they had yesterday, she would probably need a bit of help.

“Come on Apple Bloom, wake up,” McIntosh said in his low, calm voice. The only answer he received was a groan from the little filly as she covered her head with her blanket and rolled over. “You know we have to start early Apple Bloom, so wake up.”

“But Ah don’t wanna,” moaned the lump in the sheets. “Its summer vacation and Ah wanna sleep in.”

An evil grin appeared on McIntosh’s face, well, as evil as McIntosh can muster. “But Apple Bloom, didn’t ya know we had a special job for ya today? Just think, it may even get ya yer cutie mark.” In less than a second, a red and yellow blur flew past McIntosh and into the bathroom to start getting cleaned up. “Works every time.”

He was just about to enter Applejack’s bedroom to wake her up, when it swung open and hit him square in the face. “Aaaah, what a good day ta buck,” Applejack said as she stretched her limbs. She looked over to the red lump of pony on the floor rubbing his muzzle. “Eheheh, sorry Big McIntosh.” A sheepish grin appearing on her face.

Big Mac got up off the floor and just smiled at his sister. “Think nothing of it sis. Ah’m just surprised yer up with everything that happened yesterday.”

“Shoot, knowing Twi’s safe helped me sleep like a baby. Speakin of Twi, did you check on’er yet?”

“Nnope. Twas gonna do that after ah woke ya up.”

“Ah’ll go, you go get cleaned up and Ah’ll start on breakfast,” Applejack said as she noticed Apple Bloom running back to her room to get her bow.

Big Mac nodded and started towards the bathroom, as Applejack started walking to Granny Smith’s old room to check on Twilight. She peaked her head in to see Twilight still peacefully snoozing. ‘Ah’ll just let er sleep till she’s ready ta get up,’ thought Applejack as she closed the door and headed to the kitchen.

She got to the kitchen and started pulling out the ingredients for breakfast. “Horseapples, we’re all outta carrots. Ah’ll just hafta go get some from Carrot Top later. Well that changes things then.” Not having all the ingredients for breakfast, Applejack just decided to have the traditional Apple family breakfast. Apples, apple pies, apple fritters, and even apple brown betty.

Big Mac came down, signaling Applejack that he would handle breakfast as she went to go get cleaned up. Breakfast was finished and the three siblings sat down to eat before a long day of work. As usual it was a quick and quiet breakfast, as everyone just wanted to get started.

Plates were put in the sink and cleaned. Leftovers were put in the fridge for later, and Apple Bloom was busy bouncing around the kitchen wondering what her special job was going to be. “Please tell me what it’s going to be Applejack. If this is gonna get me mah cutie mark, ah wanna get started on it now.”

“Settle down now Apple Bloom. We’re almost done here, why don’t ya go get the apple buckets ready for today and when ya get back, we’ll tell ya what we want ya ta be doin' today,” Applejack said trying to get her sister to calm down.

“OK!” With that Apple Bloom was out the door and heading to the barn.

“Heh, think she’ll be disappointed when we tell’er she’s just goin to go get Spike from Fluttershy’s place?” Applejack chuckled, her eyes mirthful as she looked at Big Macintosh.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said through a smile. As they turned back around to finish the dishes, they heard the pounding of little hooves running back into the house. They both turned to see Apple Bloom rushing back into the house with a look of fear plastered on her face. Big Mac was the first to her side. “Apple Bloom, What’s wrong.”

“T-there’s a monster in the barn!” That was all Apple Bloom could say before she huddled up to her brother for protection. Before anything else could be said Applejack was out the door to confront this monster.

********************

She rushed into the barn where she saw the 'monster' sleeping on a pile of hay. She just watched AJ sleep for a few seconds before tip-hoofing over to her lasso. She readied the rope in her mouth and called out to the monster. “HEY, WAKE UP!”

“Huh, what?!” AJ jumped up looking for the source of the noise. He didn’t get the chance to do much else as he suddenly felt something wrap around him and pull him to the ground. “Hey, what’s going on?” From his position he could see the orange mare from the previous night glaring at him with a rope in her mouth.

“What are you, and what the hay are ya doin’ in mah barn?” Applejack asked in an angry yet even tone.

“What’s going on? Who are you, and what do you mean your barn.” Suddenly the events of last night came back to him. Being too tired to make it back to the river and into his cave he just decided to crash in the barn next to the farm house. “Oh, that’s right. Look, I’m sorry. I was just too tired to make it back to my cave and this was the only place to sleep. If you let me go, I’ll leave and get out of your hair right away.”

Applejack just stared him through for a little bit. She was good at catching somepony in a lie, and she couldn’t see a lie in what he was saying. Her face lightened up a bit as she slowly started walking towards him. “Ah still don’t know if Ah trust ya, but ya don’t seem ta be lying.” Applejack was about to start undoing the lasso when she noticed something. She could see strands of dark blue hair all over his clothes. She stepped back and once again started glaring a hole through AJ. “That’s Twilights hair.”

“Twilight’s hair?” He looked down at his clothes to see that he did indeed have hair from the purple unicorn all over his clothes. He looked back at Applejack and saw her death glare. “I can explain.”

“Ya don’t have ta. You were th’ one who did this ta Twilight!” Applejack snorted and scraped the ground with her hoof like she was getting ready to charge.

AJ immediately started backing up into the pile of hay, knowing that he was in trouble. That’s when he remembered his knife. He had hung it from his belt before they started heading to the orchard. Adjusting his arms in the lasso, he was able to grab and unsheathe the knife without Applejack noticing. He then slowly started to saw through the back of the lasso, hiding his movements in the hay.

As Applejack was about to start charging, she was interrupted by the sound of the farm house door opening and closing. She stopped to glare at AJ one more time before walking out of the barn to see Big Mac trotting to the barn. “How’s Apple Bloom?”

“She’s calmed down, but Ah told'er ta stay inside while Ah check. What’s th’ situation in th’ barn?”

AJ was relieved as he felt the lasso fall from his body. He stretched his arms after he sheathed his knife. He stopped moving when he saw that Applejack was standing right in front of the open barn door, talking to someone. ‘She hasn’t noticed me yet, now’s the time to make my break.’ He thought to himself.

Deciding to use his big body to his advantage, AJ got into position. He waited for Applejack to start talking again before he started charging full speed, tackling her to the ground. AJ got to his feet as fast as he could, took one quick, fearful glance at Big Mac, and bolted in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

Big Mac was quick to get to his sisters side and help her up. “What was that?!”

“That was the varmint that hurt Twilight,” groaned Applejack as she shook her head. She was staring daggers in the direction that AJ had run off. “Big McIntosh, stay here and make sure that thing doesn’t come back. Ah’m goin to go get Rainbow and Rarity ta help track this varmint down."

“Caramel should be here soon. Ah’ll send Apple Bloom ta go get Spike, and catch up with you while he watches over Twilight.”

“Sounds like a plan.” They nodded to each other and Applejack ran to go wake Rainbow.

********************

“RAINBOW DASH, GIT YOUR FLANK UP RIGHT NOW!! AH NEED YER HELP!!”

After a few seconds, the sleepy eyed blue pegasus poked her head out of the window of her bedroom. “Applejack? What the hay do you want? It’s too early to be yelling so loud.”

“Ah need your help trackin down the varmint that hurt Twilight!”

Hearing Twilight’s name jolted Rainbow Dash awake immediately and she glided down. “Twilight? What about Twilight? Is she OK?”

“Ah’ll tell ya th’ story later sugarcube. Just know she’s and sleepin' safe n sound over at the farm. For now, ah need yer help. Go get Pinkie and meet me at the farm. I’ll go get Rarity, and we’ll make the game plan there.” Rainbow gave a quick salute and was off to Sugarcube Corner.

********************

‘Come on Rarity, open the door,’ Applejack thought to herself as she continued to knock on the door to Carousel Boutique.

“Coooomiiiiing!” Rarity called out in a sing song voice. Though Applejack could hear her quietly cursing that she was being woken up so early. “Hello, what can I…Oh Applejack darling, how are you this morning?” Her mood immediately changed when she saw who was at the door.”

“No time for small talk Ah’m afraid, Ah need yer help”

“What ever is the matter darling?” Rarity was starting to become concerned.

“It concerns Twilight. Now before ya say anything, she’s fine. She’s sleeping over at the farm right now. What I need yer help with is catching the varmint that hurt her.”

“Oh darling of course I’ll help. Just let me get spruced up a bit and I’ll be right out,” Rarity said as she started walking back into her boutique.

“Rarity there’s no ti…” Applejack stopped when she noticed Rarity looking at her with a pouty face. Applejack sighed heavily, unable to resist that face. “Ah just can’t say no ta ya. Just hurry up OK?” Applejack said as she followed Rarity in to wait for her.

********************

It was a half an hour before Applejack and Rarity made it to Sweet Apple Acers. There they saw Rainbow Dash hovering in the air next to Big McIntosh with a bored look on her face. “Where the hay have you been? I’ve been waiting here forever.” Applejack shot her a look and just ignored her.

Applejack turned to Big Mac. “Is Caramel here already?”

“Eeyup. Apple Bloom’s already on 'er way to Miss Fluttershy’s ta give them th’ news,” Big Mac drawled

Applejack smiled and turned to Rainbow Dash. “Where’s Pinkie? Ah thought ah told ya ta get’er?”

“She wasn’t home. I don’t know where else she could be,” Rainbow said as she shrugged.

Applejack cursed under her breath. “We’ll just have ta make this work then. Rainbow, Ah need you to fly over head and scout the area. Big McIntosh and Rarity, yer with me. We’re lookin' for a big hairless ape thing with a green sweatshirt.”

Rarity looked horrified with the description. “Ugh, that sounds just awful! It has no sense of fashion.” Applejack and Rainbow dash just rolled their eyes.

“Alright y'all, lets get a move on! YEE HAW!” With that, the hunt was on.

********************

AJ was exhausted. He had been running for the past half an hour and he found no good place to hide yet. He reached the edge of the forest, but couldn’t find anything that looked remotely familiar. “Where…the hell…is my…cave?” he said between breaths.

He decided to take a short break to catch his breath. He sat under a tree in the shade as he thought of ways to get out of this mess. After about 10 minutes, he felt good enough to start running again. As he was getting up, a chill suddenly ran down his spine as he felt like someone was watching him. He started looking around only to see nothing. He turned around to only to find his vision filled with pink, pink, and more pink.

“Hi Mr. Ape Man. My name’s Pinkie Pie, what’s your name?” Pinkie Pie had a wide smile on her face as she bounced up and down.

“AHH, GET AWAY FROM ME!!!” Fearing the pink bouncing pony was with the one at the farm, he wanted to get away from her as fast as he could. He started running in a random direction.

AJ turned around and saw she wasn’t following him. He breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down. A giggle reached his ears and his eyes widened in fear. “This is fun Mr. Apey. Is this a new game I haven’t heard of before?” Pinkie Pie asked him.

He froze up and slowly turned around to see the pink pony, once again, bouncing right behind him. After screaming again, he started running in another direction. What he didn’t see was a certain blue pegasus flying overhead watching everything that was happening.

********************

Twilight woke up to the site of Caramel placing a glass of water and some apple pie on the night stand next to her bed. “Caramel, what are you doing here.”

A slight blush appeared on his face as he answered back. “Oh, I started working on the farm full time a few weeks ago. Though right now I was told to watch over you and make sure you’re comfortable while Applejack and Big Mac take care of some business.”

“Business? What kind of business are they doing?" Caramel just shrugged as the bedroom door flew open to reveal a crying baby dragon.

“TWILIGHT, YOUR OK!!” Spike flung himself onto the bed and started hugging Twilight around the neck. She gladly returned the hug and started stroking the back of Spikes head to calm him down. Shortly after, Fluttershy and Apple Bloom filed into the room

“Oh Twilight, we were so worried about you. No pony knew where you were.” Fluttershy said as she started looking over the bruise on Twilights head.

“I’m sorry for worrying everypony, but I’m fine. And I wasn’t alone. Oh, that reminds me. Spike, could you take a letter? Something happened that the Princess will want to know about. Caramel, after this could you help me get back to the Library?” Caramel blushed again and nodded his head. Spike just smiled that everything was going to go back to normal as he pulled a scroll and quill out of a pocket he apparently has.

********************

AJ’s game of cat and mouse with Pinkie went on for about 20 minutes. He was running on empty. “I…knew I…should…have gone…on that…diet.” He was getting desperate. This pony had managed to follow his every move, running here and there, and she looked like she could still go for hours.

He came to a road, and in the distance he could see what appeared to be a small town. He was angry. He was pretty sure it was the town that was next to the farm. He was about ready to give up. Then he heard something in the distance. It sounded like...trumpets? He looked up in the distance and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

He saw a chariot being pulled by 4 armor clad pegasi. Flanking the chariot were 4 more armor clad pegasi. Riding in the chariot were two regal yet imposing figures. They looked like winged unicorns, one tall and white, the other shorter and midnight blue. AJ noticed the taller white one motion to the pegasi and they started to descend, landing in front of him. He was legitimately scared now. He was pretty sure he was being chased by some angry farm pony who was probably close by now, and now he was just approached by a bunch of armor clad ponies, and two other regal figures.

As they dismounted the chariot, AJ started backing off slowly. Knowing his luck, they were after him too. He was about to turn and run, but was stopped as a blue blur came out of nowhere and torpedoed him in the gut, sending him to his knees. Clenching his gut in pain, he slowly looked up and was greeted by two hooves connecting with the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

“Applejack, what the hay? We still have to interrogate him. Why’d you go and kill him?” Rainbow Dash said as she stood over their prey.

“Don’t worry sugarcube, Ah just knocked him out. Once he wakes up, we’ll question him. Now where’d Pinkie go? Ah thought ya said you…” That’s when Applejack noticed the princesses standing there looking completely confused. “Princess, what are y'all doin here?” She asked as she quickly went down to one knee. The others following suit.

“I was on my way to meet Twilight Sparkle at the library to talk about something very important. I assume this creature has something to do with it. What’s going on here? Why were you chasing it?” Celestia asked, trying to figure things out.

Rarity stepped forward to answer the Princess’ question. “Well your majesty, as you may or may not know, two days ago Twilight had gone missing. We looked everywhere but just could not find her. Then last night, she just appeared on Applejack’s doorstep, a little injured, but very much alive. This morning little Apple Bloom found this thing sleeping in their barn and upon closer inspection, he had Twilight’s hair all over him. He must have been the one to hurt poor Twilight and was coming back to finish the job.”

“That’s not the story we heard,” Luna said as she stepped forward. “According to Twilight’s letter, this thing helped her.” The group of ponies in front of her all looked as confused as the two of them had minutes ago. “Apparently he found her unconscious, brought her into his cave, and watched over her until she woke up. Then he graciously took her to your orchard. From the sound of it, he went out of his way to help her.” Luna walked over to AJ’s unconscious body and started to prod it with her hoof. “Heheh, he’s squishy.”

Celestia just smiled as she watched her sister. “So it looks like there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.” She turned to her guards. “Put him into the chariot and take him to the library. Luna and I will walk the rest of the way with them.” She motioned to the group of four ponies standing by the body.

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((I probably should have mentioned this last chapter when Luna had her first lines, but I will not be having her speak in the archaic manner. In this story she learned to speak in a more modern way.))

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

The aftermath

Chapter 5

News spreads fast in the small town of Ponyville. So when a couple of ponies saw the royal chariot off in the distance, it didn’t take long for the whole town to know they were about to get another visit from the princesses. Everypony in town gathered at the entrance of Ponyville to welcome their benevolent rulers. When the princesses arrived, the town was greeted with warm smiles from them both. They were also greeted by a chariot being guarded diligently by the royal guards and four of their fellow Ponyville residents.

Hushed wispers were heard all throughout the crowd about a covered lump seen inside, causing the guards to shift positions to close the gaps. Two fillies in particular were especially curious about what they were trying to hide after seeing Rarity and Rainbow Dash along with the guards. “Hey, Scootaloo, what do you think it is?” whispered Sweetie Belle.

“I don’t know, but I wanna find out. Let’s go get Apple Bloom and follow them,” Scootaloo said as she started running off in the direction of the orchard followed closely by Sweetie Belle.

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“Why wont she answer?!” shouted Scootaloo as she pounded on the farm house door.

“I don’t know. If she’s not here, and not in the tree house, where else could she be?” Sweetie bell added.

The two fillies were at a loss. If Apple Bloom wasn’t at home, and she wasn’t with Applejack or Big McIntosh, where could she be? Their thoughts were interrupted when somepony called out to them. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, good morning.” The two of them turned around to find Caramel walking down the path to the farm house. “If you’re looking Apple Bloom, she should still be at the library. She went with me to…” He couldn’t finish his sentence as the two fillies dashed past him, sending him spinning.

“Thanks Caramel!” Sweetie Belle shouted as they ran to go get Apple Bloom.

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When the princesses reached the library, they ordered the guards to form a perimeter around it to prevent anypony from seeing their extra cargo. Celestia was the first to enter the library, levitating the sheet covered body in front of her. Applejack, Big Mac, Rarity and Rainbow Dash entered next, followed by Luna bringing up the rear. They were greeted by a limping Twilight and Fluttershy who was helping support her.

Twilight was about to welcome everyone, when she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash and Rarity pulling everypony together in a group hug. “Oh Twilight darling, it is so good to see that you’re alright.”

“Hey, why wasn’t I invited to this group hug?” shouted a loud voice as a pair of pink legs wrapped around everypony currently involved in the hug.

“Pinkie Pie, where the hay have you been?” asked Dash, still suffering from the recoil of the ever tightening hug

“And jus’ how did ya get past th’ royal guards? They weren’t supposed ta let anypony through.” drawled Applejack.

Pinkie Pie just smiled. “Silly Applejack, I’ve been here the entire time!” Applejack was about to start arguing when Rarity put her hoof on her withers and just shook her head. In the end they just chalked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie.

When they were all freed form the hug, Twilight noticed the covered figure levitating to the side of the princess. “If I may ask Princess, What’s with the sheet?” Celestia’s smile fell as she removed the sheet revealing AJ’s unconscious body to Twilight causing her to gasp. The reveal also scared Flutershy enough to send her flying behind the couch. Applejack could only look away in shame. By this point the entire left side of his head was bruised and his jaw was starting to swell.

Twilight led the princess up to her room and offered her up her bed for AJ to lie on. “Fluttershy, could I speak to you please?” Twilight asked as her and Celestia were coming down the stairs. Fluttershy poked her head out from behind the couch and slowly nodded her head. “I need you to go get your medical supplies from your cottage. Out of all of us hear you’re the most qualified to deal with his injuries.”

“B-but Twilight, I’ve never seen anything like him. I wouldn’t know the first thing about treating him,” Fluttershy said; she was shaking like a leaf. She looked into Twilights pleading eyes, then over to the princess who just smiled and nodded her head in encouragement. Seeing this made Fluttershy calm down a bit. “OK, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you Fluttershy, this means a lot to me. If you could, try to hurry back. We don’t know the extent of his injuries, and we don’t want to let them sit to long without treatment,” Twilight said with concern in her voice.

“I’ll go let the guards know to let you through when you leave and come back,” Luna said stepping out the door.

“OK. Try to keep ice on his face while I’m gone. It should help reduce the swelling.” With that, Fluttershy started walking out.

“Ah’ll come with ya Fluttershy,” Apple Bloom said causing Fluttershy to stop and turn around. “Since we’re not workin right now, Ah wanna go have fun with Scootaloo an’ Sweetie Belle.” She looked hopefully at Big Mac who just smiled and nodded.

Celestia just smiled at Apple Bloom. “I suppose you could go too. A little filly like you shouldn’t have to be cooped up in a library all day.” Celestia cocked an eye brow and glanced over to Twilight who just gave a sheepish grin. “Fluttershy, please inform my sister that Apple Bloom is also allowed through.” Smiling, Apple Bloom quickly trotted out the door with Fluttershy.

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“What do you mean we can’t go into the library? Our friend is in there and we want to see her!” Scootaloo yelled, getting angrier by the second. “Give me one good reason we cant go in?” The guard just stood there like a statue blocking the two fillies’ path.

“Can we please go in Mr. Guard?” Sweetie bell said as she looked at the guard with the 'kill it with cuteness' face Apple Bloom showed them how to do. They decided to call it 'The Cutie Mark Crusaders Special.' After a few seconds of the guard not flinching, Sweetie Belle stopped the face and started pouting.

Just then Luna stepped out of the library and walked up to the guard standing in front of the girls. “Excuse me Captain Aquilinus, I am here to inform you that the pegasus pony Fluttershy has mine and my sisters permission to pass through the parameter. We are in need of medical supplies and she has been chosen to retrieve them.” Captain Aquilinus saluted Luna and went back to standing in the way of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Luna noticed this. “I’m sorry you two, but we cannot allow anypony into the library right now.”

“Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo what’re y'all doin here?” asked a voice right behind Luna. The startled princess turned around to see Apple Bloom rushing past her to hug her friends.

Fluttershy just looked at Luna with an apologetic smile. “Oh, um Princess Celestia said Apple Bloom could leave with me…um if that’s ok.” Luna just blankly stared at Fluttershy and nodded her head.

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“OK, now that Fluttershy’s going to get her medical supplies, and Spikes taking care of the ice, could somepony tell me what happened to AJ? Why is he unconscious and what happened to his head?” Twilight asked trying to get answers.

Everypony in the room turned their heads to Applejack who just stood there with her head down. “Ah’m afraid Ah’m to blame fer everything sugar cube. Apple Bloom found him in th’ barn this mornin', and everything jus kept piling up from there. He tried to explain what was goin' on, but Ah wouldn’t listen after Ah found yer hair all over him. Ah was jus too darn stubborn ta listen to him. Ah jumped to conclusions an thought he was th one who hurt ya. When he ran, Ah gathered up the girls an Big McIntosh an we chased after him. We chased him for bout an hour before we finally caught up with him. After Rainbow stopped him Ah…” Applejack had to stop to sniff as she fought to hold back tears. “Ah bucked him in the head. A-after yesterday, A-a-ah guess Ah just wanted somepony t-ta blame fer everything an' he was an easy target.” Applejack was failing in her fight. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Rarity was quickly by her side to comfort her

“It’s OK darling. I am sure everypony here will forgive you,” Rarity said as she looked over to all of her friends with hope in her eyes. One by one, their friends all came over to hug Applejack. A small smile formed on Applejacks face, and her tears slowly stopped flowing.

“That was a very brave thing for you to do Applejack, but I think there is one more apology you need to give,” Celestia said as she motioned upstairs with her wing.

Applejack sniffled again and nodded. “Yea, Ah know. First thing Ah do when he wakes up,” Applejack said with a determined smile.

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“OK Apple Bloom here’s the deal. Sweetie Belle and I have a plan to get our cutie marks.” Scootaloo said as they sat at the table in Carousel Boutique having some cookies and milk.

“Yea, we're going to sneak into the library to see what ever it was the princesses brought there,” Sweetie Belle said

“Is that all? All ya had ta do was ask.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other then back to Apple Bloom, silently pleading her to go on. “It’s some big, hairless ape monster that Ah found sleepin in th’ barn this morning. It apparently helped Twilight git back to th’ farm last night, though Applejack n Big McIntosh ran’em off this morning.”

“That’s so cool!” Scootaloo shouted in the middle of chewing a cookie, spewing cookie all over the table. “Now we really have to get in there to see that thing!”

“Are you sure it’s not dangerous?” Sweetie Belle said after taking a drink of her milk.

“Ah don’t think so. If it was, Ah don’t think Twilight would have asked Fluttershy ta treat its injuries,” Apple Bloom got out before stuffing a cookie in her mouth.

“But what if it is? Maybe it was just acting to gain her trust,” Scootaloo said suspiciously. “What if it wants to eat Twilight and wanted her to show it Ponyville so it would know where to get more food?”

“W-w-what? B-but Rarity’s in there, I don’t want her to be eaten!” Sweetie Belle said in a panic. “We have to do something!”

“Calm down Sweetie Belle, we still don’t know if he really is dangerous,” Apple Bloom said after finishing her milk. “He hasn’t done anything yet.”

“That’s why we need to strike now!” Scootaloo emphasized her words by slamming her hoof onto the table. “If we can destroy it before it can eat anypony, we’ll be heroes! That’s bound to get us our cutie marks!”

“Please Apple Bloom, we have to hurry before it can hurt Rarity!” Sweetie Belle was still panicking.

Apple Bloom got up and started pacing. “Ah suppose yer right. We’ll have to sneak into the library and slay the monster.” A smile appeared on her face. “Maybe if Ah save them from th’ monster, Applejack and Big McIntosh will let me do what ever Ah want this summer. Let’s do this!”

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MONSTER SLAYING NINJAS ARE GO!!!!!” the three fillies shouted in unison.

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“OK, here’s the plan. From watching the patrols, we know there’s a very short period of time where they leave an opening. During that time, I will fly us one by one to the balcony from the roof of the neighboring house. If all goes as planed, we should make it over without being seen.”

“Are ya sure yer strong enough Scootaloo? Ah know yer gettin better at flyin n all, but will ya be able ta handle that much extra weight jus yet?" Apple Bloom said concerned for Scootaloo’s well being as she stretched her limbs getting ready to beat up the monster.

“Of course I can. Mom and dad have been going through endurance flying with me,” Scootaloo said as she hung a nunchaku around her neck. “And besides, you two aren’t that heavy.”

“OK, let’s do this.” Sweetie Belle said as she picked up her weapon of choice which happened to be a short, flimsy stick.

Waiting for the opening, Scootaloo got ready to carry Sweetie Belle over first by grabbing her around the neck and belly with her four limbs. When the opening appeared, Scootaloo dashed from the rooftop and made her way to the balcony. She made it with little problem and Sweetie ducked down so the guards wouldn’t see her.

Waiting for the next opening, she flew back to the rooftop to pick up Apple Bloom. “OK, your turn.” Scootaloo grabbed Apple Bloom and waited for the next opening. She flew as fast as she could, but there was one little thing she forgot about Apple Bloom. Working on the farm left Apple Bloom a lot more muscular than Sweetie Belle making her a lot heavier. “Jeeze Apple Bloom, you’re heavy.”

“Hey, It was yer idea ta fly us over, so stop complainin,” Apple Bloom said as she hung on for dear life. With the extra weight Scootaloo barely managed to make the distance in time, both of them landing with a resounding thud.

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Consciousness slowly returned to AJ, as much as he wished it hadn’t. All he could feel was a throbbing pain in his head and an intense pain in his jaw. The only thing he could hear was a sharp ringing in his ears. He tried to open his eyes, but had to close them immediately as the light flooding into them made the pain in his head even worse. “Wah happed?” was all he was able to get out before the pain in his jaw got the better of him.

Due to the ringing in his ears AJ could barley hear the door opening and closing as Spike came into the room. “Hey, you’re awake. Twilight’s going to be so happy to hear that.” Spike noticed the bag of ice had melted and fallen on the bed. “Here, let me get you some more ice.” He grabbed the bag and left the room again.

The ringing in his ears was slowly subsiding as other noises started flooding in. From what sounded like it was coming from a floor below, he heard mumbling voices conversing. AJ tried opening his eyes again. It didn’t do him much good as the only thing he could see was a brown blurred mess of nothing.

He slinked his way over to the side of the bed and tried getting up. As soon as he got to his feet the world around him started spinning and he became extremely nauseous. Falling to his knees, he couldn’t help emptying what little was in his stomach all over the floor. That’s when he heard a thud coming from outside the building.

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“How’s he doing Spike?” Twilight asked as she noticed Spike coming down the stairs

“Well he’s awake, but I don’t think he’s ready to talk to anypony yet,” Spike said as he walked into the kitchen to get more ice.

“We should give Fluttershy a chance to look him over before we do anything else,” Rarity said still nuzzling up to Applejack to comfort her. “The dear should be back soon.”

“Ah hope so. Ah don’t think Ah’ll feel any better until Ah apologize,” Applejack said as she returned Rarity's nuzzle.

“Do you guys think I should bring him some water?” Spike asked as he poked his head out from the kitchen.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Twilight said nodding to Spike. “From the sound of things, he’ll probably be very dehydrated.” Just as Spike returned to the kitchen, everypony heard a small thud coming from outside the library. “What was that?”

Big Mac got up. “Ah’ll go check,” he said as he started walking to the door.

He got about halfway across the room before they heard something that chilled the blood in their veins. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MONSTER SLAYING NINJA’S ATTACK!!!!!!” Everypony just looked at each other before racing upstairs as fast as they could run, or hobble in Twilights case as she brought up the rear. Celestia and Luna just sat there staring at each other with confused looks on their faces.

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When the group of ponies made it upstairs, they were greeted by the site they feared the most. AJ was huddled in a ball in the middle of the floor. Apple bloom was biting and kicking him in the arm and side. Scootaloo was flailing her nunchaku into his back over and over again. Sweetie Belle was just randomly swinging her stick into his outer thigh.

“Sweetie Belle, What in Celestia’s name are you doing?!” Rarity shrieked as she used her magic to grab Sweetie away from the shivering ball in the center of the room.

“Apple Bloom, stop that right now!” Big Mac Shouted as he picked up his baby sister by the scruff of her neck. Applejack was too dumbfounded from this whole situation to do anything other than just stare mouth agape.

“What the hell’s wrong with you kid?!” Rainbow dash asked as she smacked Scootaloo upside the head.

“But Rarity, if we don’t kill it, it will come and eat every pony in Ponyville!” Sweetie Belle squeaked out as she struggled in her sister’s hold.

“Yea, we're going to stop it before it can hurt anypony,” Scootaloo said reaching for her weapon again, earning herself another smack from Rainbow Dash.

“What are you girls talking about, he’s not going to hurt anypony,” Twilight said as she hobbled over to the shivering ball on the floor. “What made you think that in the first place?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both pointed at Scootaloo who just gulped. “Umm, I just thought…maybe…what if…I got nothing.” She just looked down as Rainbow Dash bit down on her ear and started dragging her down stairs. “Hey, what gives?”

“We're going to have a talk with your parents about this,” Rainbow said around Scoot’s ear. As Dash left the library with Scootaloo, Big Mac and Rarity pulled their respective sisters down stairs to punish them.

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Fluttershy was completely dumbfounded as she walked back into the library. She passed by Rainbow Dash dragging Scootaloo away as she got closer. When she entered the building, she saw Apple Bloom in one corner of the room getting spanked, and Rarity yelling at the top of her lungs at Sweetie Belle in the other. “Umm Rarity, what’s going on?”

“Huh, oh Fluttershy darling thank goodness you’re here. They are going to need you upstairs more than ever,” Rarity said as she turned away from the cowering filly. Deciding it wasn’t any of her business, Fluttershy just walked up the stairs.

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“Fluttershy, you have to help us!” Twilight said in a panic. “Ever since the girls attacked him he won’t let anypony near him!” Fluttershy looked over Twilight so see AJ hunched over in the corner of the room shaking like a leaf with tears flowing down his cheeks. He was holding a broken off chair leg to strike out at anypony who tried to get close. He kept opening and closing his mouth as if he were saying something.

“B-but Twilight, what am I supposed to do?” Fluttershy asked as she started hiding behind Twilight.

“Come on Fluttershy, you have to try!” Twilight was getting desperate now. “The Princess doesn’t want to try any spells right now because we don’t know how that will affect him in his current state of mind! You were able to calm a manticore. You were able to talk down a dragon. You have to try Fluttershy, please!”

Fluttershy knew she had to try something. She was afraid he would hurt her if she tried to get close, but she couldn’t stand to see anypony in so much pain. “OK, I’ll try.”

She slowly started walking over to AJ. Seeing Fluttershy coming, Applejack and Pinkie Pie backed off and just watched. When Fluttershy was only a few feet away, she was able to look him straight in the eyes. What she saw scared her. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused. She could also hear him talking in a very faint voice. “Go away, leaf me alone…” over and over. His jaw had swelled even more than it had before. He also had a bunch of new bruises and cuts which must have been given to him when he was attacked by the CMC. He needed help, and fast.

Fluttershy tried to take another step closer, but had to step back when AJ swung at her. This was good though as she now had his attention. “Shh it’s OK, no pony's going to hurt you anymore.” A gentle smile grew on her face as she continued to stare into his eyes. “Everything’s going to be OK.” AJ lowered his guard, and Fluttershy took a step forward, causing him to flinch. “Now why don’t you drop the chair leg and let me help you.” They just sat there at a stand still for a minute before the chair leg dropped from his hand. He fell to a sitting position and curled up in the fetal position crying. Fluttershy slowly made her way up to him and brought him into a comforting hug. “Shhhh, it’s OK. Let’s get you into bed.”

AJ tried to stand up and walk with Fluttershy to the bed, but he suddenly became dizzy and lost his balance. With the help of magic, they were able to lift him up into Twilight’s bed so Fluttershy could help him. He ended up falling asleep almost instantly. From all she noticed before, she could already guess he had at least a mild concussion. She was concerned about his jaw though. She had an idea as to what the problem was, but she was afraid to do much else until the swelling went down. Fluttershy sent Spike to go get some ice once again.

After an hour the swelling of his jaw went away enough for Fluttershy to confirm that his jaw was broken. With help from Princess Celestia, his jaw was able to be mended leaving only residual pain and bruising. After placing another bag of ice on his head, they left him to sleep.

It was getting late and everypony was going to be busy tomorrow making up for lost time. Fluttershy was promised to be over in the morning after she took care of all her animal friends to check on AJ.

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(I’m sorry this is so late guys, a friend came over and it put me behind XP. Quick note, starting tomorrow I’m probably going to start posting these on my Deviant art too. http://fanthrose.deviantart.com/)

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

By royal decree

Chapter 6

Fluttershy arrived at Twilight’s house at around 12 in the afternoon. She wanted to come earlier, but she had to take care of her animal friends first. She also had to take note of any supplies she needed to go shopping for after her visit to the library. As she began to lift her leg to knock on the door, her stomach started to growl informing her that she hadn’t eaten yet today. Blushing, she made one last mental note to get some lunch after this visit before knocking on the door. It was answered by a very tired looking purple unicorn.

“Oh, hello Flu-Fluttershy.” Twilight yawned, stuttering out the pegasi’s name.

“Oh, um hello Twilight. Didn’t you get enough sleep last night?” Fluttershy asked, concerned about Twilight.

“It’s ok, after everything that happened yesterday, we forgot to set up the extra bed for me last night and I had to sleep on the couch,” Twilight said as she pointed over to the couch. Spikes basket bed was lying at the foot of the couch. “It’s not the most comfortable place to sleep.” Twilight noticed something hanging out of Fluttershy’s saddle bags. “What’s that?”

Fluttershy turned her head to look at what Twilight was talking about. When she saw what Twilight was looking at she blushed slightly. “Oh, um well, when I feel scared and lonely, I always like to snuggle up with my big teddy bear Mr. Fuzzles. I just thought AJ might like something to snuggle up to, so I found my old stuffed bunny Mr. Bun Bun and fixed him up. Do you think he’ll like it?” Fluttershy stood there for a minute and shuffled her hooves as Twilight just stared blankly and shrugged.

Blushing a bit brighter, Fluttershy remembered Twilight’s leg. “How does your leg feel? Does it still hurt?”

Twilight just looked at her left hind leg and sighed. “Yea, but don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’m just worried about AJ”

Fluttershy just nodded. “How’s he doing?”

“Well he’s up, but…” Twilight looked towards the stairs, concern in her eyes. “He won’t let anypony get close to him. Whenever Spike and I try to get close with some food or juice, he just curls up and starts shaking again.” Twilight stepped aside and let Fluttershy inside.

“Oh my, the poor dear. I’d like to go up and try. I mean, if that’s alright with you.”

“Go right ahead. Spike’s watching him right now, just send him down if you think it will help. As for me, if I don’t get some coffee in me, I don’t think I’ll make it through the day,” Twilight said as she half hobbled, half shuffled into the kitchen.

Fluttershy made her way up the stairs where she saw Spike glancing between the TV and AJ’s bed. “Hello Spike, how are you today?”

Spike looked over to the staircase and smiled. “Oh hey Fluttershy. I’m good, but I don’t know about him.” Spike pointed over to AJ. “When he’s not curling into a ball, he’s just staring into space doing nothing. It’s starting to creep me out.”

“Well he’s been through a lot Spike. Would you please go down stairs for now? Maybe he’ll open up to me.” Spike just nodded and left the room.

Fluttershy climbed the stairs to the loft that held the bed. Once she reached the top, she saw AJ just sitting there staring straight ahead at the wall. If it wasn’t for his blinking and the movement of his chest whenever he took a breath, it would have looked like he was a corpse someone had propped up in a sitting position.

“Hello, how are you today?” Fluttershy asked, but got no response. Not even a slight twitch. She took a step forward. “Are you in any pain right now?” Worried about the state AJ was in, Fluttershy started walking to the bed, causing him to curl up in a ball and start shaking. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy stepped away from the bed again and waited.

It took a few minutes for AJ to calm down enough to come out of his ball, and start staring at the wall again. ‘Hmm, what can I do to help the poor dear,’ Fluttershy thought as she sat on her haunches. Then the idea came to her. She was able to talk him down yesterday, why not try it again.

She took a slow step towards the bed and judged his reaction. After she saw no reaction, she took another step, he tensed up. “Shhh, it’s going to be ok, no pony’s going to hurt you.” Hearing Fluttershy’s voice seemed to calm AJ down so she took another step forward. “Everything’s going to be alright. I won’t let anypony hurt you.”

This continued until Fluttershy was at the side of the bed. While AJ was still shaking a bit, he wasn’t trying to shield himself from her anymore. Fluttershy looked over to the end table and saw a bowl of potato, carrot, and broccoli soup sitting on it. “Are you hungry?” AJ just slowly nodded his head. Fluttershy smiled at the reaction and reached for the bowl. “Oh my, it’s cold. Hold on, I’ll go have Spike warm this up for you.”

After Fluttershy got him to eat the soup, she went to making sure his condition wasn’t getting worse. The bruising on his face had gone down. His jaw seemed to have mended just fine and the swelling had gone completely. His eyes were no longer glazed over, but they were still having trouble focusing.

The rest of the visit went well. She got him to eat some food and drink some apple juice. She was still worried about how he reacted to everypony, but she knew that it would take time to break the shell that had formed. Before she put AJ to bed, she walked over to her bags and pulled out the stuffed bunny. “I know you must feel so alone right now, and that’s why I want you to have Mr. Bun Bun. If you ever feel lonely or sad, just give him a hug and know that he will always be there for you.” Fluttershy placed the stuffed bunny on the bed next to AJ who didn’t react at all. She made AJ lie down before turning to place her bags on her back. As she started to fly down from the loft, she turned her head to look at AJ one last time. She smiled when she saw that AJ had fallen asleep, hugging Mr. Bun Bun to his chest.

Fluttershy walked back downstairs to see Spike cleaning up the library a little bit. “Hello Spike. Where’s Twilight?” Spike just pointed to the kitchen. Confused Fluttershy walked over to the kitchen and poked her head in. She couldn’t help but giggle a little at what she saw.

Twilight was sitting at the table snoring lightly. Her fore hooves were wrapped around a cup of coffee that was sitting in front of her. Her head was resting on a pile of pancakes on a plate in front of her as if it were a pillow. Smiling, Fluttershy just retrieved the blanket Twilight left on the couch and placed it on top of her, before exiting the library.

Over the next few days, Fluttershy made varying levels of success in getting AJ to come out of his shell. She was able to get near him without him shying away, and she even got him to look at her when she was talking to him. He even started letting Spike and Twilight get near him. She was still having trouble getting him to understand that nopony was going to hurt him when they touched him, but they were making progress.

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It had been six days since Fluttershy started taking care of AJ. She was running a little late because Angel Bunny was making a fuss about eating his food again. She knocked on the door and Spike answered the door. “Oh, hello Spike. I’m sorry I’m so late. Angel didn’t want to eat breakfast again today.”

“I swear that bunny is a demon in disguise,” Spike said as he crossed his arms.

“Oh, he’s not so bad once you get to know him. He’s actually a big sweetheart when he wants to be,” Fluttershy said with a big smile on her face. “So, how’s the patient?”

“He was still sleeping when I went to go check on him,” Spike said with a shrug. “I brought him a glass of water and an apple for when he wakes up.” Fluttershy thanked Spike and trotted upstairs. What she saw was the last thing she expected.

When Fluttershy looked up into the loft, AJ was out of bed. He was standing in front of the mirror on the other side of the room looking at him self. “What’s wrong, you should still be in bed.”

She got no reaction from him as she just stared at him for a minute. She was about to go over to him and help him to bed when he started talking. “Why are you doing this?”

Fluttershy was surprised at this. Not only was AJ out of bed, but he finally said something. After the shock of this new development past, Fluttershy was able to find her voice. “W-what do you mean?”

AJ just stood there for a minute as if he was in thought. “All of this. When everyone else just seemed to want to hurt me, you helped me. You never even once tried to hurt me. Throughout the week, all you’ve done is help me. Why are you doing this?”

Fluttershy didn’t know what to say. Nopony had ever asked her that. Everypony knew that it was just in Fluttershy’s nature to help others. “Well, you were hurt. I couldn’t stand to see you suffer like that.” AJ turned his head to look at Fluttershy. “Also you helped Twilight when she got hurt.”

AJ just sighed and turned back to the mirror. He turned and started walking back to bed when the two of them heard the door to the library open. “Spike, I’m home! I got those rubies you were asking for!” Twilight yelled as she walked into the library.

All AJ and Fluttershy could hear was a bunch of mumbling before they heard the clopping of hooves trotting up the stairs. “Fluttershy, Spike explained why you were late. Don’t worry abo…” Twilight was cut off when she noticed AJ standing and staring right at her. “AJ, shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“I’ll be fine, Twilight,” AJ said as he climbed into bed next to the stuffed bunny.

“Oh thank Celestia your better. I was starting to worry that you weren’t going to recover. You wouldn’t talk to us at all.” Twilight looked as if the world was lifted from her withers. “Oh, if only I didn’t bring you here, this never would have happened.”

AJ shook his head. “You had nothing to do with me getting hurt. It was that crazy orange one who kicked me in the head.” Just remembering what happened made his head hurt.

Hearing that made Twilight cringe a little. She knew why Applejack did what she did, and that she was sorry she did it. “I know you must be mad at Applejack, but trust me when I say she is sorry for what she did.”

“I hope you can forgive me if I don’t exactly trust her word right now.” AJ was clearly starting to get a bit angry. “She chased me for god knows how long because she wouldn’t listen. She assumed the worst, and I ended up paying the price for it.”

Both Twilight and Fluttershy were feeling very uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. They knew Applejack really was sorry, and wanted AJ to see that, but they didn’t want to force him to make a decision he didn’t want to. “I think it would be best if we let him rest right now Fluttershy.” Before Fluttershy could speak up, Twilight was already walking down the stairs.

Fluttershy took one last look at AJ. “Are you sure you won’t give her a chance?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. Right now I just don’t want to think about it.” AJ said lying his head down on the pillow.

********************

“Is that all Twilight?” Spike said as he finished writing down the letter Twilight had asked him to write.

“Yes, please send it Spike.” Twilight just looked at the floor and sighed. “I just hope he can find it in his heart to forgive Applejack. I’d hate to see one little misunderstanding ruin any chance of a friendship between them.” Spike just stared blankly at Twilight. “OK it was a big misunderstanding.”

“Umm, I should probably be going now,” came Fluttershy’s meek voice behind Twilight. “Mr. Chipmunk will need me to look at his cast again.”

“Oh, OK. Thanks again for all you’ve done Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she turned to look at her friend. They all said their goodbyes and Fluttershy left to go take care of her animal friends.

As soon as Fluttershy left the library, Twilight heard Spike gag and belch as green flame formed into a scroll. Before Spike could grab the letter, Twilight was already levitating it in front of her face reading it. As she read the letter, she started to turn a bit pale. “Hey Twilight, is everything alright?”

Twilight slowly lowered the letter to the floor before turning to Spike. “The Princess is going to be coming back tomorrow.”

“So, I don’t see the problem here Twilight,” Spike said as he stared at Twilight with a confused look on his face.

“The problem is that she wants Applejack and the CMC there with her so they can properly apologize to him,” Twilight said as she started to pace. “He made it quite clear that he did not want to even THINK about Applejack right now, let alone be in the same room with her, and now she’s going to have to be here tomorrow to apologize.”

“I’m sure everything will turn out fine Twilight. Maybe he’ll calm down by tomorrow and will be ready to talk to her,” Spike said trying to calm her down.

“She also wants me to talk to Mayor Mare about an announcement she wants to make to everypony. I wonder what that is all about.” Twilight just sighs and lowers her head. “I guess we should go inform Applejack and Apple Bloom that they are to be here at noon tomorrow. Oh Celestia I need a drink.”

********************

“So…he’s all better now?” Applejack said in a low tone.

“It seems so, and now Celestia wants you and the CMC to be there along side her to apologize properly."

Applejack continued to stare at the ground. It was clear to anypony that this whole mess was taking its toll on her. She always seemed stressed out, and was clearly exhausted. “D-do ya think he’ll accept mah apology?”

As much as Twilight wanted to say yes, she knew it was pointless to lie to Applejack. “I don’t know.”

“OK, Ah’ll go tell Rarity and Sunburst that Sweetie and Scootaloo need ta be at th’ library tomorrow.”

“Thanks Applejack. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have to go talk to the mayor.” After saying bye, Twilight left for the center of the town.

********************

By the time Applejack and the CMC arrived at the library, Celestia was already there, waiting outside of the building. Bowing down to one knee, Applejack spoke up in an exhausted tone. “Why hello there Princess.”

“Rise Applejack,” Celestia said as she smiled at the ponies before her. “Shall we get on with it?” Applejack nodded and followed Celestia into the library, the CMC in following close behind.

As soon as she entered the building, Applejack noticed AJ sitting in a chair near the back of the library talking to Twilight and Spike. He looked up at her and narrowed his eyes slightly before standing up and walking over to the group of ponies that just walked in. Applejack immediately regretted getting out of bed today. She wanted to just jump into her bed and bury herself in her sheets.

“It’s so good to see that you have recovered from your ordeals already,” Celestia said breaking the ice. “I’m sure you know why we are here, and I think it would be in your best interest to hear us out.” As Celestia stepped to the side, the three little fillies stepped forward before Applejack could even move a muscle.

“We’re really sorry we attacked you,” Apple Bloom started off.

“Yea, we were just afraid and acted without thinking,” added Sweetie Belle

“So we’re sorry Mr. Monster. Please don’t eat us,” Scootaloo said earning glares from the other two fillies. “What?”

AJ just smiled and shook his head. “I forgive you. I know what its like to be a kid and do stupid things.” His face suddenly got serious. “Just don’t let it happen again. Do you understand?” The three fillies quickly nodded their head. AJ smiled again, “Good.”

The fillies all let out sighs and ran out of the building to go play now that their part was over. Applejack was next, and she felt like she was about ready to faint. She slowly stepped forward and the smile on AJ’s face fell. “Umm, h-hi.” AJ just continued to stare at her, waiting to hear what she was going to say. “Ah j-just wanted ta say that…Ah’m sorry. Ah’m sorry fer all th’ trouble Ah’ve caused ya. Ah’m sorry for accusing ya. Ah’m sorry fer chasing ya. Ah’m sorry fer kickin ya in th’ head. Ah-ah’m sorry.” Applejack lowered her head and closed her eyes, waiting for whatever punishment was coming her way.

With her eyes closed she could only rely on her ears, and all Applejack could hear was AJ slowly pacing around the room. When he stopped, she started to worry again. The silence seemed to last hours before AJ finally spoke. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. Whether or not I should forgive you, or whether I should just say “fuck it” and kick you in the head as payback.” He was silent for a moment. "I'm not going to lie. It's taking every ounce of self control I have to keep from kicking your skull in right now." He started to walk around again as Twilight covered Spikes ears, worried that AJ might swear some more. “It took awhile, but I finally came to a decision.” Applejack heard the steps get closer and closer to her. She braced herself for impact. “I don’t know if I came to this on my own, or if it was because I don’t want to disappoint Twilight and Fluttershy, but I forgive you.”

Applejacks eyes shot open and her mouth dropped as she looked up. She saw AJ standing in front of her with his hand out in front of him like he wanted to shake hands. She looked over to Twilight and Spike who were just smiling. Then she looked over to Celestia who just nodded. Applejack slowly stuck out her hoof and shook his hand. “T-thank ya kindly for accepting mah apology.”

Celestia walked over to AJ and stuck out her hoof as well. “Thank you so much for forgiving everypony. While I would have understood your decision if you hadn’t, I’m glad it didn’t come to that.” AJ took her hoof and shook it as well. “Now, I believe there is more business to take care of at the town hall.” With a flash of her horn, everypony in the library was teleported to the town hall.

********************

When they arrived, Twilight trotted away to go inform the mayor that they were ready for the announcement. AJ and Applejack looked as if they were about to blow chunks all over the place, not being used to traveling like that. “Ah don’t think Ah wanna do that again,” Applejack said shaking her head.

“I gotta agree with you there,” AJ agreed. “What are we doing here anyway?”

“Oh you’ll see.” Celestia said with a mischievous smile on her face. Applejack and AJ just stared at each other in confusion.

“OK Princess, your up,” called Twilight as she trotted back through the curtain. Celestia thanked Twilight and walked through the curtain to address the crowd.

“Hey Twilight, mind telling me why we’re here?” AJ asked as he pointed to Applejack and himself.

“Well, Princess Luna and the scientists have yet to find a spell to send you back yet, and Princess Celestia doesn’t want to see you become some kind of cave dwelling hermit, so she’s going to have you live here in Ponyville,” Twilight said smiling.

“I’m sorry what?” AJ clearly did not like this idea. “We all saw what Applejack here did when she met me; god knows what will happen when the entire town knows about me. I don’t like the idea of getting kicked in the head again Twilight.”

“Trust me, the Princess knows what she’s doing,” Twilight said matter of factly. “She’s never steered me wrong before.”

“I don’t know, I think I’m just going to sneak out of here while I still have a chance,” AJ said as he started walking away.

“Without further ado, I would like to introduce you to my guest,” came Celestia’s voice from beyond the curtain.

“Oh, that’s your cue, get out there,” Twilight said jumping in front of AJ.

“Twilight, please move, I don’t want to have to deal with all of this right now,” AJ said trying to get around Twilight.

“Princess Celestia is waiting for you, you can’t just let her wait there forever,” Twilight said as she kept blocking AJ. “Hey, stop shoving, oh, don’t make me use this.” Twilight said as she pointed to her horn.

AJ just narrowed his eyes. “I’d like to see you try.” AJ immediately regretted those words. Twilight lowered her head and started lightly jabbing AJ, getting him to move in the direction she wanted him to. “What are you doing, ow watch it, hey, watch where you stick that thing!” Slowly but surely, Twilight was able to move AJ to the curtain. With one last push, she shoved AJ through the curtain. AJ stumbled and quickly stared in the direction of the curtain. “TWILIGHT YOU TRAITOR!”

After his little outburst, AJ noticed just how quiet everything was. Turning his head, he saw a sea of pastel heads all staring at him some in intrigue, most in fear. Hushed whispers could be heard throughout the crowd, along with somepony screaming “The horror! The horror!” in the back before fainting. “Umm, hello?”

After about a minute, Celestia finally spoke up again. “I would like to introduce you all to AJ. He will be here in Equestria for awhile and I would like you all to treat him like a friend. Now, would Applejack please come out here?”

A confused looking Applejack came walking from behind the curtain. “What can ah do fer you yer majesty?”

“Applejack, while AJ is here, he will need a more permanent residence. I would like to ask that you allow him to stay at your farm. I’m sure he would be willing to help around the farm.”

Applejack looked over to AJ who just shrugged, looking just as confused as her. “Of course Princess, room and board is th’ least ah can do after what happened.”

Celestia smiled. “Then it is settled. I Princess Celestia, herby decree that the human AJ, will live here in Ponyville on the Apple family farm, until further notice.”

****************************************

(This ends the introduction of the story. From here on out, it will be more of a slice of life story with each chapter being on its own for the most part. And for those of you wondering, I’m making the background ponies Sunburst and Sunny Delight Scootaloo’s parents. If her parents are reveled in the show, I will be sure to retcon this decision.)

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

A day to remember the past

Chapter 8

AJ and Twilight were standing at the entrance of the Everfree Forest. The forest is one of the biggest in all of Equestria. Everypony in Ponyville is warned about the dangers of the forest from a young age so they know to avoid it at all costs. All sorts of evil monsters inhabit the forest, ready to strike at their next meal. Staring into the depths of the forest, AJ had only one question. “So tell me, what is it exactly that makes this forest so EVIL?” To enhance the word evil, AJ said it in a spooky voice while wiggling his fingers in the direction of the forest.

“Well, in the forest the plants grow on their own, the animals take care of themselves, and the clouds move all by themselves!” Twilight was shaking slightly when she finished the sentence. AJ just stared at Twilight, clearly getting some amusement out of her fears over a simple forest. “There are also a lot of dangerous creatures in the forest that are just waiting to make a pony into their next meal.”

AJ looked in the direction of the forest, then back to Twilight. “So basically, you’re all afraid of this forest because nature is being nature and taking care of itself. Oooooohhhh spoooooookyyyyyyy!” AJ couldn’t help but laugh as Twilight glared at him. “Well, if you’re so afraid of the place, why are you going into it? Wouldn’t it make more sense to, I don’t know, stay away?”

“Well if you must know, a friend of ours named Zecora lives in the forest. I’m out of my favorite tea, and she always has a supply she’s willing to share with me.” Twilight shifted her bags to make them sit more comfortably on her back. “The path to her house is usually safe from any danger.”

“Usually?” AJ asks, cocking his eyebrow.

“Well, there was one time when I was attacked and turned to stone by a cockatrice,” Twilight said as she cringed a bit at the memory. “But thanks to Fluttershy’s intervention, I was turned back.”

AJ smiled as he thought about the kind, butter yellow pegasus. “Seems like she can do just about anything, huh?”

Twilight giggled at the question. “She’s just really good at helping animals and other ponies. Well, let’s get going. Zecora’s going to be expecting us, and I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

“Alright, let’s go.” AJ let Twilight take the lead as he followed her into the forest. “Maybe I’ll see for myself what makes the forest so bad.”

********************

The two of them made it to Zecora’s place with out anything interrupting their trip. Twilight knocked on the door as AJ took in the sights around the hollowed out tree. All the masks, the various bottles that hung from the branches, it made him wonder what kind of person or pony this Zecora was. When the door was opened, he was greeted by the site of a smiling zebra of all things. ‘Can’t say I was expecting that,’ AJ thought.

“Ah, it is good to see you again Twilight. I hope the forest did not put up to much of a fight,” Zecora said.

“Hello again, sorry I’m a bit late,” Twilight said with a sheepish grin. “Zecora, I’d like you to meet somepony.” Twilight stepped to the side to reveal AJ to Zecora. “This is AJ. He will be staying in Ponyville for a while and I thought you might want to meet him."

Zecora smiled and extended her hoof in friendship. “Allow me to take the high road, and welcome you into my humble abode.”

AJ smiled and shook her hoof. “Nice to meet you too. I gotta say, it’s nice to meet another pony who didn’t immediately think something bad when they first saw me. Hell, it’s been a week since Celestia made me a resident of Ponyville and some of the ponies still don’t fully trust me.”

Zecora nodded her head in understanding. “When I first came to Ponyville, all the ponies wished I would not dwell. But please do not take it too hard, for they do mean well.” She turns her head to Twilight. “This visit has filled me with much glee. Now come and let me get you some of your tea.”

Zecora stepped aside and let Twilight and AJ into her home. As Zecora was getting the tea leaves for Twilight, AJ couldn’t help but wonder something. “Hey Zecora, I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but if I may ask, why do you speak in rhymes?”

“When I came to this country, when I was young, I only knew my native tongue,” Zecora began as she put a mouthful of tea leaves in a pouch before giving it to Twilight. “It was hard to get around not knowing the language. I could not even call to get a carriage. As I traveled I listened to much song. In learning to speak, it helped me along. Hearing the bards as they rhyme; it was very joyous, completely sublime. As I grew, the rhyming stuck. I tried to change, with little luck. For now it is here to stay. Now, is there anything else I can do for you today?”

“No, unfortunately I have a lot of studying to do today,” Twilight said as she placed the pouch of tea leaves in her bags. As she does so, she notices a pink, glitter covered envelope. “Oh that’s right, Pinkie wanted me to invite you to a party she’s throwing tomorrow.”

Zecora took the invitation and read it. “Thank you Twilight. I will see, if time will be so kind to me.” AJ and Twilight said their goodbyes before walking out the door and leaving Zecora to do whatever it is she does.

********************

AJ was taking his time walking back to Ponyville. He wanted to take in the sites of the forest as they walked, much to the annoyance of Twilight. “Would you hurry up, I’d like to get back to Ponyville before something happens. I’d rather not test my luck in this place."

“Oh lighten up Twilight, it’s a nice day. I say we just relax and take in the scenery.” As soon as AJ finished his sentence it started to rain. He just looked up into the sky and laughed, commending it for its timing. As he looked down, he saw Twilight glaring daggers at him, and blowing the hair out of her eyes. “Well I don’t mind. I like the rain. Though I do wish I had some type of rain gear with me. It’s going to be a bitch to dry these clothes. Remind me to commission a water proof cloak or poncho or something like that from Rarity when we get back.”

********************

When they got out of the forest, the two of them were absolutely drenched. Twilight was able to just shake off most of the water on her body, but AJ didn’t have it so lucky. His clothes were soaked down to his underwear and he would have to deal with it until he got back to the farm house. “Looks like I’ll have to wait till later to ask Rarity. I gotta get these clothes dry first. I’ll see ya later Twilight.”

As AJ was about to start heading back to the farm, he stopped when he saw Fluttershy coming down the road. “Hey Fluttershy, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, umm hello, I was just…” Fluttershy stopped as she saw how drenched AJ was. “Oh my, what happened to you? You’re all wet.”

“We got caught in the rain because SOMEpony wanted to take his time,” Twilight said as she glared at AJ once again. He just gave her a sheepish smile.

“Yea, I was just on my way back to the farm so I could dry my clothes.” AJ rung out the bottom of his shirt for emphasis.

“Oh no, you can’t go all the way to the farm with those wet clothes on, you’ll catch a cold,” Fluttershy said, apparently forgetting the reason she was heading into the forest. “Come on. We can dry your clothes at my house. It’s much closer than the farm.”

“That’s alright, I don’t want to impose, and besides, I wouldn’t have anything else to wear,” AJ said, trying to save himself from the embarrassment of the whole situation.

Fluttershy just got behind AJ and started pushing him in the direction of her house. “Oh it’s no trouble at all. I would just feel awful if you got sick because I didn't do anything to help.”

********************

No amount of complaining was going to deter Fluttershy when it came to helping somepony. AJ now knew this, because he tried the entire trip to her house with zero success. She wouldn’t let AJ go around sopping wet without doing something about it. At times, Fluttershy was more stubborn than a mule.

“Now, I drew you a nice warm bath. You get out of those wet clothes and put them in the basket so I can dry them for you,” Fluttershy ordered.

“Umm Fluttershy, do you have…something I could use to cover up?” AJ said as he blushed a little. “I know ponies usually go around naked, but for humans it’s a bit different. It’s a bit…embarrassing to be seen naked.”

Fluttershy thought for a bit before smiling. “I know just the thing. I’ll bring it into the bathroom when I come to get your clothes. Now get into the bath and let me take care of everything.”

Fluttershy gave AJ a little push to get him into the bathroom before closing the door. AJ looked around the bathroom noting that it was a lot more decorated and welcoming than the bathroom in the farm house. He also took note of the inviting bubble bath that had been drawn for him. Sighing in defeat, AJ striped down and got into the bath pulling the curtain for a bit of privacy.

After about a minute, he heard a knock on the bathroom door before Fluttershy came in. “I have a nice warm quilt here that you can wrap yourself in when you get out. I’ll place it by the sink for you.”

AJ poked his head out of the curtain. “OK, thanks Fluttershy. By the way, this bath feels wonderful.” Fluttershy smiled as she grabbed the clothes basket.

********************

When AJ got out of the bath, he dried himself with the nice fluffy towel that was provided for him. After wrapping himself in the quilt, he walked out of the bathroom and was hit with a wonderful smell wafting through the air coming from the kitchen. As he entered the kitchen, he saw Fluttershy mixing something on the stove. “That smells amazing.”

Hearing this caused Fluttershy to eep and jump into the air, dropping the spoon. After she saw AJ standing there, she calmed down. “Oh, umm, I decided to make some homemade fudge. Would you like some?”

AJ licked his lips. “Sure, I love fudge.”

At that moment, a pink head with a dark pink, cotton candy like mane shot out of the quilt next to AJ’s head, making it look like he had two heads. “Did somepony say fudge? I love fudge!” This caused AJ to scream and start flailing around, getting tangled in the quilt as Pinkie enjoyed the ride. “Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! This is fun!”

********************

After extracting Pinkie from the quilt, AJ sat on the couch glaring a hole through the pink pony. “I thought I asked you to stop coming in out of nowhere after you caused me to bury Big Mac in apples.”

Pinkie looked up in thought as she remembered back two days prior. AJ was moving buckets of apples into the barn and stacking them into a precariously big pile. Big Mac was bringing a cart full of more buckets to be stacked. As AJ turned around, Pinkie popped her head out of a barrel of apples just to his right, startling him and causing him to jump into the pile of apple buckets. The buckets tumbled and ended up landing on top of Big Mac, hospitalizing him with a leg injury.

“Hahahahaha, that was funny, and I didn’t come out of nowhere. I came out of the quilt!” Pinkie said with an ear to ear grin on her face. As much as AJ wanted to call Pinkie out on her logic, he knew it was futile and a waste of time.

AJ sighed. “So, what are you here for? You couldn’t have just come for fudge,” AJ asked pinkie as he shifted in the quilt a bit.

“I haven’t given Fluttershy her invitation to the party yet so I was just coming over to deliver it!” Pinkie said as she started bouncing.

Hearing about the party made AJ remember the trip into the forest. “Ah yes, speaking of the party, Zecora said she would come if she had the time.”

With Pinkie bouncing even more erratically, Fluttershy came into the living room with a plate full of fresh fudge in her hooves. “I have some fudge here. That is, if you want some.” AJ managed to get one piece before Pinkie inhaled the rest of the plate.

Wanting to savor what little fudge he got, AJ took a small bite. “Wow…this is amazing.” The compliment caused Fluttershy to blush. As he ate the rest of his fudge, he heard a ding come from upstairs. “What was that?”

“Oh, your clothes must be done. I’ll go get them,” Fluttershy said before she flew upstairs.

********************

AJ was happy to finally have clothes again. He felt so exposed, even wrapped in the quilt. They felt so snuggly and warm. Walking out of the bathroom, he saw Fluttershy reading her invitation. “Hey, could I read that when your done? I never did look at it. Applejack just informed me that there was a party tomorrow.” Smiling Fluttershy handed AJ the invitation. He gave it a quick look over. It all seemed like a normal party. Games, snacks, music, dancing, all for someone named Gummy.

As he got to the bottom of the invitation, something caught his eye. He looked at the date. Wednesday July 18th. His eyes got wide. “What? Is tomorrow really the 18th already?” With everything that had happened, AJ had lost track of the date.

Fluttershy noticed tears starting to form in his eyes. “Um, is everything alright?”

“I-I gotta go. Thanks for everything Fluttershy. Pinkie, I don’t think I’ll be making it to the party tomorrow.” With that, AJ made a quick exit leaving behind a very confused Fluttershy and Pinkie.

********************

AJ quickly made his way through the streets of Ponyville. He knew Applejack would be tending the stand at this time so he made his way there. When he reached the market, he saw a line of customers lined up at Applejacks stand. He needed to ask her a question, but he knew the business was important to Applejack, so he could only wait.

After about ten minutes, the line finally dwindled down and AJ took his chance. “Hey Applejack, can I ask you something?”

Turning her head, Applejack saw AJ standing right behind her. “Sure sugarcube, what do ya need?”

“Do you think I could take tomorrow off?” The sadness in his voice was obvious to anypony who heard him.

“What’s wrong? Are ya still worried about Big McIntosh? Cause if ya are, don’t be. That big lug has had worse injuries than a broken leg.” Applejack started chuckling as she remembered all the injuries the two of them have racked up over the years.

“No, it’s not about Big Mac. Look, c-can I please just have the day off?”

Applejack was starting to get concerned. AJ was usually very blunt when it came to issues. It’s not like him to dance around something. “Sure ya can sugarcube. Ah hope ya feel better.”

“Thanks.” Giving her a weak smile, AJ walked in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

********************

The next day started much like every other morning at Sweet Apple Acres over the past week. The only difference was the absence of one human that had moved in. By the time Big Mac had come in to wake AJ up, he was already gone. On the night stand he had left a note saying he will be gone all day. The only pony who seemed to know anything at all was Applejack. So when breakfast came around, Big Mac knew he had to ask.

“So Applejack, do ya know why AJ was gone this mornin’?” Big Mac asked between bites.

Applejack sighed and looked down at her food. “Ah don’t know. All ah know is when he asked me if he could have th’ day off, he looked down right miserable. He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”

“Why don’t we go find him an’ ask?” Apple Bloom asked while chewing a fritter. “Maybe he’ll be more talkative today.”

“Nah, if he doesn’t want ta tell anypony, it must be something personal like. We really shouldn’t pry,” Big Mac said trying to persuade Apple Bloom from doing something she shouldn’t.

“Oh come on, y’all can’t tell me ya aren’t even a little curious about it?” Apple Bloom said trying to win this argument.

“Even if we are, buttin’ inta somepony else’s business just ain’t right. You will not ask him what’s wrong. Do ya understand me Apple Bloom?” Applejack said, putting an end to this conversation.

Apple Bloom knew she was defeated. She knew the punishment for going against her older siblings orders. “OK.”

“Good, now that we got that outa th’ way, why don’t ya go out an’ play today. With th’ extra help were ahead of schedule,” Applejack said as she started cleaning up the table.

Smiling that she had the day off too, Apple Bloom happily trotted out the door. As she got to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres, a thought came to her. “Wait, Applejack just said ah couldn’t ask him what the problem was. She never said anythin' about followin’im an’ listenin’ ta what he says!” With her plans for the day set, Apple Bloom set off to find AJ.

********************

Apple Bloom had no idea where to find him. She had asked many ponies if they had seen him, but everypony gave her the same answer. “Nope, sorry haven’t seen him.” Apple Bloom was getting desperate. She had looked everywhere in Ponyville to no avail. Dejected, Apple Bloom went to the park and sat down on a bench.

“Hello Apple Bloom. What’s wrong?” came a voice from above her.

Looking up, Apple Bloom saw a pair of amber, off center eyes staring at her. “Oh hi Ditzy Doo. Shouldn’t ya be deliverin’ th’ mail right now?”

Landing on the bench Ditzy smiled, stood up on her hind legs, and put her hoof to her chest in pride. “I got done extra fast today. It’s a new personal record! Now tell me, what’s wrong?”

“It’s just, Ah’ve been lookin’ for AJ all day. Ah can’t find him, an’ nopony’s seen him either. He left early this mornin’, and Ah wanted to know why,” Apple bloom said pounding her hoof against the bench a bit in frustration.

Ditzy Doo closed her eyes and thought for a minute. “Hmm, I haven’t seen him myself, but what if I help you look for him. Then when we find him, we can ask him what’s wrong.”

“No. Applejack said ah can’t ask him what’s wrong cause it’s probably personal an’ none of mah business, but she never said nothin’ about spyin’ on him,” Apple Bloom said with a smile.

“Well, Dinky’s going to be with Sparkler all day, so I have plenty of time to help you out. Let’s go!”

********************

With Ditzy’s eye in the sky, the two of them were able to find AJ walking back to Ponyville from a field just north from the town. He came walking into Ponyville with his head down, and the hood on his hoodie up. He slowly walked down the street heading to the market place as Ditzy and Apple Bloom followed behind him hiding in bushes, in alley ways, and even on roof tops.

They watched as AJ walked up to a cart owned by Pinkie’s family farm. At the moment, the stand was being run by Pinkie’s older sister Marble Pie. As they started talking, Apple Bloom got worried. What if they were talking about what he was doing? She needed to get closer. Motioning to Ditzy, they dashed into a bush located close enough the stand that they could hear what was going on.

“…good to meet you. Pinkie has told us a lot about you. Mostly that you seem to be afraid of her. Sorry about that. She can be a bit…enthusiastic at times,” Marble said with a sheepish smile on her face.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m starting to get used to it,” AJ said, the sadness in his voice was still obvious.

“That’s good, so what can I get you,” Marble said going into business mode.

After looking around a bit and not finding what he was looking for, he just decided to ask. “Do you have a marble slab? I need one for a…project I’m working on.”

“Hmm, a marble slab huh? Let me go look.” Marble walked over to the cart she kept in the alley way behind her stand and started looking. After a couple of minutes, she returned, smiling with a slab of polished marble in her mouth. “Will this work.”

“That will be just fine. How much do I owe ya?” AJ said as he pulled out a sack of bits he earned from working on the farm.

“Normally it would be 20 bits, but for all the trouble Pinkie has caused you, I’ll give you a discount. 10 bits please.”

Smiling, AJ pulled out 10 bits and placed them on the stand and grabbed the marble slab. “Thanks. Now I have one more question. Do you know of anyone in Ponyville who does inscriptions in stone?” After getting the directions he needed, AJ thanked her again and headed off on his way. Completely unaware of the two sets of eyes peering out of the bush.

“What do ya think he needs that stone fer Ditzy?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I don’t know, but it looks like he’s heading to Sandy’s store. Come on, let’s keep following him.” With that, Ditzy grabbed up Apple Bloom and flew after AJ.

********************

“Darn it, Ah can’t hear anything,” Apple Bloom said as she and Ditzy Doo looked through the window of Sandy’s store. They watched as he handed over the marble slab and started to leave. “Ditzy, Ah’m gonna go an’ ask Sandy if she can tell me what he’s usin’ that slab fer. You keep followin’ him and see if ya can get anymore clues.” With a salute, Ditzy flew after AJ as Apple Bloom went into the store.

Ditzy didn’t have to follow AJ far as he went to the flower trio’s stand. She watched as Daisy dragged Lily inside because she fainted. Rose just shook her head and took control of the store. “Hello, what can I get you?”

“Do you sell vases along with flowers?” AJ asked

“Yup, what kind do you need? We have big, we have small, we have short, and we have tall,” Rose said as she giggled a bit at her rhyme.

“How much would a single long stemmed lily in a tall, white vase be?”

Digging around the stand, Rose produced a long, slender, white vase and placed a single long stemmed lily in it. “That will be 8 bits.”

After taking the vase, Ditzy watched AJ sulk around Ponyville for awhile. ‘He must be wasting time till that slab is finished,’ she thought. He ended up in Ponyville Park and sat down on a bench in front of the fountain.

As Ditzy hid in the bushes, she failed to notice Pinkie Pie sitting right next to her. “Hi Ditzy, whatcha doing?”

After making sure her heart didn’t stop, Ditzy shoved her hoof into Pinkie’s mouth to silence her. “Shhhhhh. Pinkie, what are you doing?”

When she saw that Pinkie was mumbling something through her hoof, she pulled it out of her mouth. “I saw you following AJ and thought, ‘hey, she must be playing a game.’ So I started following you. Why are you following him anyway?”

Before answering, Ditzy made sure AJ was still sitting on the bench. “Apple Bloom and I are trying to find out what he’s doing today, and we can’t let him know were following him.”

“Oh, spying. I like spying. But I gotta get back to the party for Gummy. Since he won’t make it, could you give these to AJ?” Reaching back into her tail, Pinkie pulled out a pink box packed full of cupcakes and muffins. “Thanks bye!” Without waiting for an answer Pinkie was gone leaving Ditzy to hold a box full of fresh baked goodness.

After sitting there with the box for a few seconds, something hit Ditzy. “Oh crap, I forgot about the party!” Completely forgetting about her mission, she flew out of her hiding place and over to where he was. “Hi AJ, Pinkie wanted me to give you these.”

AJ really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment, but he liked Ditzy and didn’t want to just turn her away. “Hey Ditzy, what’s in the box?”

“Since your not going to make it to the party, Pinkie wanted you to have some cupcakes and muffins. I’m sorry I can’t stay longer, but I have to go or I’ll be late for it. You know how Pinkie gets when somepony can’t come to her parties.” With that Ditzy bolted away in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. That is, until she tumbled and crashed face first into a tree. AJ could hear her cursing her clumsiness before flying off .

A bit confused, AJ opened the box and sure enough, it was packed full of baked goods. This brightened his mood a bit as he hadn’t eaten all day. He pulled out one of the cupcakes and munched on it, savoring the sweetness of the frosting, and the moist cake as he got up to go retrieve the slab from Sandy’s store.

********************

Apple Bloom sighed in defeat. Sandy wouldn’t give out the information she had wanted saying AJ wanted it kept a secret. She also ran into Ditzy who said she was 'giving up' as Apple Bloom put it to go to the party. If that wasn’t bad enough, when she saw AJ walking into Sandy’s store again, Applejack crossed her path and dragged her along to said party. Things were just not going her way today. She knew if she tried to leave the party, Applejack would get suspicious of her. Defeated, Apple Bloom decided to just enjoy the party.

********************

The party was over now. Apple Bloom did enjoy the party despite all that had happened and ended up falling asleep. Applejack had her on her back as she walked back to the farm house. As she was walking through the streets, she saw AJ coming around the corner a little ways ahead of her. “Hey there sugarcube, how was yer day? Feelin’ better now.”

“Huh, oh hey. Yea, the day off was just the thing I needed,” he said giving Applejack a smile.

“Good ta hear sugarcube. What’s in the box?” Applejack asked pointing at the pink box in AJ’s hand.

Looking down at the box, AJ smiled again. “Party favors. Pinkie wanted me to have something since I wasn’t going to be at the party, so she gave me some cupcakes and muffins to eat.”

“That’s Pinkie fer ya. Now let’s go, it’s gettin’ late an’ we have an early day tomorrow,” Applejack said as she continued down the path.

“Yes mam,” AJ said as he gave Applejack a mock salute, laughing as he followed.

********************

In a field just north of Ponyville, there was a new addition to the landscape. Under a tree, on top of a hill, there lay an inscribed marble slab, dug into the ground a bit. Next to it sat a vase with a single lily.

Mark Hartley
3/2/1964 – 7/18/2003
Loving father and
all around friend

****************************************

(Its official, I hate writing for Zecora.)

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

Storm of the century

Chapter 9

It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville, and AJ was happy to spend his day off having fun. Or he would have been, if he wasn’t going to be busy all day. His first stop for the day was Carousel Boutique to commission a coat from Rarity to keep him dry in the rain. He was hoping to have the coat ordered a week ago, but he has been busy on the farm all week. “So, do you think you could do that Rarity?”

“It…will be a challenge. I’m used to making clothes for ponies. I never tried to make anything for other species,” Rarity said as she put on her glasses and grabbed her measuring tape. “Luckily it has been a slow month, so I’ll have more than enough time to get it perfect. Now tell me darling, what exactly what you were looking for.”

“Well, let’s see. The only thing I really care about is that it’s water proof. Though Applejack did warn me to say, oh what were her words, ‘none of that frilly, girly, frou frou junk’ or something like that.” AJ laughed at his horrendous attempt to mimic Applejacks voice.

After he finished laughing, AJ noticed how deflated Rarity looked. “I thought she liked all of my designs now, or at least tolerated them.” Rarity’s face turned from sadness into an angry pout as she spoke in a voice she thought was quiet enough no one would hear. “She is SO not getting any tonight.”

Pretending he didn’t hear what she just said AJ tried to think of something to cheer Rarity up. “While I kinda have to agree with the ‘no frills’ thing, I see no reason why you can’t decide on the color or any design that goes into it. It’s your creation and you have every right to add your own special touch to it.” AJ gave a sheepish grin, hoping that would be enough.

Rarity sat there for a minute pouting as she let what AJ said sink in. Suddenly her eyes shot open and looked like they had stars gleaming in them. “Oh darling, I know exactly what to do. I promise you won’t regret it. Now, step over here and let’s get those measurements.”

********************

After about an hour, AJ was finally released from Rarity’s grasp. Not only did Rarity get AJ’s measurements, she also had him stand there so she could use him as a living mannequin. Never having made any clothes for anything other than ponies, she needed AJ to stay long enough that she could get a rough draft made so she could go off of it.

AJ, to say the least, was elated to be able to go. Being a living mannequin was not fun in the least. On more than a few occasions he was poked, prodded, and out right stabbed by pins and needles when he moved. While Rarity was sorry, she knew it was nothing serious. “I don’t think I’ll want to do this again anytime soon.”

“Oh stop being a baby, you’ll be fine. Now, assuming I won’t have any distractions, I should be able to have it finished this after noon.” Rarity cringed as she heard a crashing come from upstairs. “Sweetie Belle, What are you doing up there?!”

“Umm, nothing! Defiantly not breaking your favorite vase!” came the filly’s voice from upstairs.

Rarity’s eye twitched when she heard what Sweetie Belle said. She quickly rushed upstairs to see the damage. Curious, AJ followed. When he got there, he saw Rarity standing over what AJ assumed to be the shattered remains of the vase with tears in her eyes. Rarity looked like her face was having a battle of whether to be overwhelmingly sad or murderously angry. “YOU BROKE GRANDMOTHER’S VINTAGE VASE! THIS WAS WHAT SHE GAVE ME TO REMEMBER HER BY!”

“Rarity I’m sorry. I was just coming to show you the dress I just made when I tripped over it and fell into the vase,” Sweetie Belle said as she pointed at the abomination of fabric sitting next to her. “Please don’t be angry Rarity.”

"Angry? Angry doesn’t even BEGIN to explain what I’m feeling right now!” Rarity was violently shaking with anger at this point.

“Hey, calm down Rarity. She didn’t mean to break anything.” All AJ got for attempting to calm down Rarity was a stare he thought was going to murder him where he stood. “U-umm, w-why don’t I go take it over to Mr. Fix-it’s shop? I-I’ve seen him fix stuff for Applejack before. By the time he was done with them, they looked good as new.” With a big, sheepish smile, AJ slowly backed away from the angry unicorn in fear of getting gored. “I’ll even take Sweetie Belle with me.”

Quicker than AJ has ever seen Rarity move, she bagged the remains of the vase, practically threw them and Sweetie Belle into his arms, and pushed him out the door shouting something to Sweetie that neither of them heard in all the confusion. Sweetie started sniffling and looked down for a minute before speaking up. “Do you think Rarity hates me now?”

“No. She’s just mad because of what happened to the vase. She’ll cool down when she realizes it was only an accident.” To try to cheer her up, he started rubbing her head. “Now let’s go get the vase to Mr. Fix-it. After that, I’ll get you something from Sugarcube Corner.”

“C-can I have a big ice cream sandwich?” Sweetie Belle asked as she wiped a tear from her eye. Seeing AJ nod was all she needed to cheer up as she hopped circles around him.

********************

Sweetie Belle was still hopping about when they exited Mr. Fix-it’s shop. AJ could only laugh when she tripped and fell on her face, only to quickly get up and start hopping again. When they reached Sugarcube Corner, they saw Ditzy Doo trotting out carrying a box in her mouth. A small pale purple filly with a light yellow mane that looked even younger than Sweetie Belle trotting next to her. “Hey Ditzy, how are you today?”

“Ugh. Hgh AhJg…” Reaching back and placing the box on her back, she tried again. “Oh, Hi AJ. I’m doing great! What are you doing here?”

AJ looked around for a second, as if he was looking for someone. “Well, Applejack wanted me to ask Pinkie if she could throw Apple Bloom a surprise party for her birthday next week.” He looked at Sweetie Belle who was now talking to the little filly who came out with Ditzy. “I also promised Sweetie something from Sugarcube Corner. Now, if I may ask, who’s this little cutie?”

Looking at the two fillies, Ditzy smiled with pride. “This is my daughter, Dinky Doo. She’s my little muffin.”

“Mommy, don’t call me that, it’s embarrassing,” Dinky said running up to her mother. She looked up to AJ with a smiled and waved. “Hello Mr. Monster man.”

“Dinky, he is not a monster man,” Ditzy scolded Dinky. “Now, apologize to AJ.”

Dinky looked at the ground and shuffled her hooves. “I’m sorry Mr. AJ”

AJ had to resist the urge to reach down and hug the cute little filly. “It’s ok, don’t worry about it.” Dinky smiled and returned to playing with Sweetie Belle. “So, where did the muffin nickname come from?” AJ asked turning back to Ditzy.

Ditzy blushed a bit at the question. “Well, when I was pregnant with Dinky, I had the most unbearable craving for muffins. Every day felt incomplete if I didn’t have at least one. Even after she was born, I still get intense cravings for muffins every now and then. Because of the cravings, I just started calling her muffin sometimes. Carrot Top likes to give me hell about it from time to time. It’s all in good fun though.”

The two of them laughed a bit and watched the fillies play for a little bit. “Wow, I’ve known you for two weeks, and I didn’t know you were a mother. You don’t even look any older than Fluttershy. You must take great care of yourself.” Ditzy stopped smiling and her eyes shot open. Losing her concentration for a second, her eyes started moving away from each other. Her mouth hung open in shock as a tear ran down her cheek. “Ditzy? Are you OK?”

Ditzy blinked her eyes to fix them. “Um, well, you see...” Not knowing what to say, she panicked and made a quick escape.

“YupneverbetterohlookatthetimegottogocomeonDinkyletsgo!” Ditzy dashed over to Dinky, dropping the box on her back. She scooped up Dinky and flew away as fast as she could.

AJ just stood there confused as Sweetie Belle came walking up to him. “What’s wrong with Ms. Ditzy?”

“I don’t know, but I think I should go apologize.” Picking up the box that Ditzy dropped, AJ sighed. “Looks like my list will have to be postponed for a little while.” He looked down at Sweetie Belle who was looking up at him with big eyes. “After I get you your ice cream sandwich of course.”

********************

“You sure this is where she lives Pinkie?” AJ asked the pink pony at his side.

“Yup. Ditzy’s lived with Carrot Top for years. Before then she lived with her parents in Canterlot until she moved here 7 years ago. *GASP* I never threw her a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! Well, it’s never too late. Let’s see, I’ll need streamers, balloons, piniat-hmffs…” Pinkie’s rambling was stopped when AJ covered her mouth with his hand.

“I think you should stick to Apple Bloom’s party for now Pinkie. Think you could watch Sweetie while I go talk to her?” AJ looked over at Sweetie Belle who was sitting next to Pinkie finishing her ice cream sandwich. She had ice cream and crumbs all around her mouth.

“Sure, she can help me plan the party. Oh it’s going to be sooo much fun!” Without waiting for a response from AJ, Pinkie grabbed Sweetie Belle, put her on her back, and hopped her way back to Sugarcube Corner with Sweetie Belle hanging on for dear life.

Knocking on the door, AJ tried to think of what he had done to make her run away so fast. Was it his compliment? Did his compliment somehow offend her? Should he take it back and say her body was horrible? No, that’s stupid. To busy with his thoughts, AJ didn’t notice the door opening. “Hello, can I help you?”

Hearing the voice knocked AJ out of his thoughts as he turned to see Carrot Top standing in the door way. “Oh, hi. Umm, Is Ditzy home right now?”

“She’s home, but I don’t think she’s in the mood to talk to anypony right now,” Carrot Top said as she turned her head to look up the staircase behind her. "She came home about 10 minutes ago crying.”

He felt even worse now. He had just caused probably his best friend in this place to run home crying, and he didn’t know why. “I’m afraid I’m to blame for that. I think I said something to her that I shouldn’t have.”

“Well, what did you say to her? There are not a lot of subjects that make her…sad.” Carrot Top’s eyes got wide as she realized something. “You were talking about Dinky’s birth weren’t you?”

“Kinda, all I said to her was I didn’t know she was a mother, and that she must take great care of her body cause she looks no older than Fluttershy.”

Carrot Top shook her head and sighed. “Why don’t you come in. I think you and Ditzy have some things to talk about.”

“If it’s alright with you, I think I’d rather let this drop,” AJ said shaking his head. “If it makes her that uncomfortable, I’m not going to force her to talk about it. Could you just give her these and tell her I’m sorry?” AJ handed the box over to Carrot Top who placed them on her back. “I hope we can still be friends after this.”

“Oh trust me. This isn’t the first time somepony’s brought up this subject around Ditzy. She just needs some time to calm down and she’ll be right as rain again. I’ll give her the message, and her muffins.” She didn’t even need to open the box to know what was inside. As AJ left, Carrot Top trotted inside and saw Ditzy at the top of the stairs wiping tears out of her eyes. “Ditzy, you know you can’t keep running from the problem like that. You should have told him.”

“I-I know. I-I tried to tell him the story but, but it’s just..” Ditzy took a moment to sniffle, looking positively miserable. “...so hard.” Ditzy collapsed to the ground and started bawling her eyes out. Carrot Top knew all she could do is be there for her friend. She placed the muffins on the table next to the door and went up the stairs to comfort her friend.

********************

It was late in the afternoon when AJ and Sweetie Belle returned to the Carousel Boutique. They just finished picking up the vase from Mr. Fix-it and like AJ said, it looked good as new. As soon as Rarity saw them enter the shop, Sweetie Belle was immediately swept up in a crushing hug. “Oh Sweetie Belle. I’m so sorry for yelling at you earlier. I should have known that it was just an accident.”

“Rarity, I can’t breath,” Sweetie Belle managed to squeak out.

AJ placed the vase on the table next to the door and watched Rarity smother Sweetie in the hug. When he was sure he saw Sweetie’s consciousness fading, AJ cleared his throat to grab Rarity’s attention. “I think Sweetie’s going to need air soon Rarity.”

Realizing her sister was slowly fading, Rarity lessened the pressure of the hug and Sweetie gasped for some much needed air. “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but that was the only thing I could think about all day. I had trouble concentrating on the order. I had to start over twice.” She let her sister go and turned to AJ. “But I did manage to complete it. It’s in the back.” She motioned for AJ to follow her into the back.

AJ was led to a table in the back of the room where a folded piece of clothing was lying on it. Rarity lifted the hooded coat and unfolded it, showing it to AJ. The coat was a dark regal shade of purple that practically glowed in the afternoon sun that shone through the window. It was long enough to reach down to AJ’s ankles. A zipper at the collar extended all the way down to just past the groin. A heavy hood hung from the back. An intricate, gold design, decorated the edges of the hood and the end of the sleeves. The middle of the back was designed with a small mural of a tree. The trunk was done in a deep crimson red, while the leaves were done in a vibrant emerald green. A couple vibrant red apples dotted the leaves. AJ could only guess it was to signify his job at the orchard.

Overall, it was a lot more than AJ was expecting. That’s not to say he didn’t appreciate the extra work Rarity put into it. “Wow, this is amazing.”

Glowing with pride, Rarity still wanted to see if she made it right. “Try it on darling. I want to make sure I made it right.” Watching AJ put on the coat, she watched for any signs that would tell her if she messed up. “So, how is it?”

AJ moved around in the coat. He went through all ranges of motion with his arms, moved his head around, bent over to pick things up, and walked around the room. It was a little heavy, but it was nice and toasty and he had no doubt it would keep him dry in the rain. “Everything seems to fit just fine. This is great, thanks a ton Rarity. How much do I owe you?”

“Oh no no no, I couldn’t charge you for this; especially after you took care of Sweetie Belle for me today. This is on me, I insist.” Rarity bowed slightly as she spoke.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for the…” before AJ could finish, Rarity silenced him with a shake of her head and a ‘no’. “That’s extremely generous of you.” Taking off the coat, Rarity folded it again and placed it in a box so AJ could easily carry it to the farm. Goodbyes were exchanged and AJ could finally relax on his day off.

********************

The next morning, AJ was woken up by a loud boom coming from outside. When he looked out the window, he saw dark storm clouds as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t raining yet, but lightning could be seen dancing through the clouds for miles. Looking at the clock, he saw it was already 9:00. He got dressed and walked downstairs to find a fuming Applejack sitting at the table. “Oh Ah’m gonna give Rainbow a peace of mah mind fer this weather. There weren’t supposed ta be any storms till next week!”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this whole ‘planned weather’ thing you guys do here in Equestria,” AJ said as he sat down at the table. His comment earned him a glare from Applejack who wasn’t in the mood for it. “What?”

Apple Bloom came running down the stairs with Big Mac following behind. “Applejack, Ah thought it was supposed ta be sunny today. Ah was gonna hang out with Scootaloo an’ Sweetie Belle today.”

“Look’s like it’ll have ta wait till tomorrow Apple bloom,” Big Mac said as he walked to the counter to start breakfast. “Do y’all think maybe they gave th’ wrong date fer th’ storm?”

“Ah don’t know but Ah plan on findin’ out after breakfast.” Applejack didn’t bother waiting for Big Mac to finish anything. She just grabbed some apples and chowed down.

“I’ll come with you. Since it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting any work done today, it’ll give me something to do,” AJ said grabbing an apple himself. He ran upstairs to grab his new coat since it would probably start raining any minute.

As AJ came down the stairs with the coat on, Applejack just stared at him. “You ain’t really wearin’ that thing are ya?”

“Yup. It’s nice and warm. And while it’s a bit fancier than something I’d usually wear, I like it,” AJ said as he reached down to zip the coat up. Applejack just facehoofed before stepping out the door. AJ followed her and they walked towards the rest of Ponyville.

********************

As AJ thought, it had started raining shortly after they left the farm house. By the time they got into Ponyville proper, it was absolutely pouring. The two of them took shelter under a gazebo in the park hoping the rain would let up soon. As they were hiding, Applejack noticed a distinct rainbow trail streaking across the sky. She was about to call out, when she saw an army of weather ponies following behind her. “What th’ hay is going on here? Ponyville don’t have that many weather ponies.” Applejack left the safety of the gazebo to go talk with Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, what th’ hay is goin’ on here?!”

Looking down, Rainbow made her way down to ground level to talk with Applejack an AJ. “What the hay are you two doing out here? You should be inside!”

“What’s going on Rainbow? What’s with all the storm clouds and what’s with the army of pegasi?” AJ asked motioning to the giant group of weather ponies.

Rainbow took one quick look at the sky. “The cloud making machines in Cloudsdale are on the fritz. They're spewing out storm clouds uncontrollably and all of the clouds are blowing towards Ponyville. They’re trying to fix them, but until then it’s our job to keep the damage here to a minimum. They sent us Brolly and his entire weather team from Cloudsdale to help.”

As if on being called by his name, Brolly flew down to talk to Rainbow. “Rainbow, we need you up here now. If we don’t hurry, things are going to get a lot worse.”

“OK, I’m coming. You two should get inside now. Let us take care of things.” Rainbow met up with Brolly and they both flew up to their teams.

Applejack looked into the sky as the teams split up to tackle the storm. “It would take too long ta get back ta the farm. Maybe we could shack up with Pinkie till th’ storms over. Sugarcube Corner’s probably th’ closest place an’ Pinkie would probably make a sleep over of it.” With that, the two of them ran towards the sweets shop.

********************

Applejack and AJ ran threw the door of Sugarcube Corner much to the surprise of Mrs. Cake who was cleaning the store front. “Oh my, what is going on dears?”

Even though he was out of breath, AJ was the first to answer. “We were…caught in the…storm and…this was the…closest place…to go.”

“Would it be too much trouble if we stayed here with Pinkie till th’ storm blows over?” Applejack finished for AJ, letting him catch his breath.

“Oh that would be wonderful. The poor dear’s been feeling so down all morning because of the weather. Having company should cheer her right up. She’s in her room, go on up.” Mrs. Cake waved her hoof towards the stairs inviting the two of them into their home.

When AJ and Applejack got to Pinkie’s room, they opened the door to find Pinkie slouched over at the window watching the storm. Gummy was clamped tightly to the tip of her hair. “Oh Gummy, why did today have to be such a poopy day? I still have a lot of party supplies to get.” As usual, the only response Pinkie got from Gummy was a squeak as he let go of her mane.

Applejack was about to make there presence known, when AJ had an idea. He motioned to Applejack to be silent as he crept over to Pinkie. He moved slowly making sure he didn’t make any noise. When Gummy looked in his direction, AJ put a finger up to his mouth silently telling him to stay silent. Gummy just blinked out of sync. When he got behind Pinkie, he got ready. “Huh, why is my knee all pinchy?”

“HI PINKIE!” The shout caused Pinkie to leap into the air and fall onto her back. When she looked up, she saw AJ and Applejack laughing which caused her to start laughing.

“Oh my gosh, what are you two doing here?” Pinkie asked still laughing.

“Th’ storm brought us here sugarcube. Mrs. Cake told us we could stay here till th’ storm’s over,” Applejack said helping Pinkie up. “She also said you'd been been feelin’ a bit down cause th’ weather. She was worried ‘bout ya.”

Pinkie let out an excited gasp and smiled broadly. “That means we can have a sleepover! Oh I’ll go get the food!” With that, Pinkie ran out of the room, leaving a pink, Pinkie shaped cloud in her place.

AJ tapped Applejack on the shoulder. “She knows that it’s only about 10:30 in the morning, and that the storm could lighten up by then, right?”

“Yup. That’s Pinkie for ya. Any chance to spend time with her friends, she’ll take it.” Applejack said as she plopped down on a beanbag chair.

Suddenly Pinkie appeared in the doorway smiling and bouncing up and down. “Hey guys, I made us some hot chocolate. Let’s go downstairs and drink it!” Then as quickly as she appeared, she was gone, leaving yet another pink cloud in her place.

“How did she make it so fast?” AJ asked as he looked to Applejack. He just got a look that said ‘I don’t know, and you’re better off not knowing.’ The two of them got up and headed back downstairs, and sure enough, sitting on one of the tables was three cups of hot chocolate. Sitting at the table, Pinkie brought a bag of mini marshmallows out for anyone who wanted them in their hot chocolate. Pinkie’s cup ended up having a mountain of the small puffs towering out of it.

********************

The three of them sat there talking for awhile. Laughing, drinking hot cocoa and eating freshly baked cupcakes that Mr. Cake had brought them. Looking out the window, Applejack noticed that some parts of the town were starting to flood pretty badly. The weather ponies had already made this section of the town safe in case of flooding, but they still had a lot of work to do. Brolly and his team could be seen trying to break up some of the clouds to make the storm less intense while Rainbow’s team were taking care of damage control. “Look’s like we may be in fer th’ long haul today.”

“Don’t worry Applejack; I have the perfect sleepover plan. First we’ll play games, then we’ll watch some movies, then we’ll eat some cupcakes, then we’ll…” Pinkie was interrupted when a certain bluish grey pegasus came stumbling through the door. She was shivering and had tears in her eyes.

“Has anypony…seen Dinky…I can’t…find her anywhere.” Ditzy was able to get the sentence out before she collapsed on the ground breathing heavily.

Applejack ran up to Ditzy to help her up and noticed she was bleeding from the side of her head. “Ditzy, what happened?! Yer bleedin’!”

“I was bringing Dinky over to Sparkler’s house this morning when we got caught in the rain. We were running for cover, when I heard a loud crack, and then nothing.” Ditzy stopped to rub her head a bit. “I don’t remember much after that, but when I woke up, Dinky was gone. Please, you have to help me find her!”

Pinkie came up to Ditzy with a first aid kit in her mouth. “You’re not going anywhere missy, you’re hurt. Besides, if we tell Dashie, I’m sure she’ll find her.”

Applejack started cleaning the wound on Ditzy’s head so she could wrap it. “I already told the weather team. They haven’t found her yet. Please, you have to help me!”

“Settle down sugarcube; now tell me, where have ya looked already?” Applejack asked as she reached for the bandages.

“After this, the only places I haven’t checked are the area’s that have started flooding already.” Ditzy got up as if she was about to head out into the rain once again. She was still shivering, but at least her wound was cleaned and dressed.

“Yer not going anywhere missy,” Applejack said with authority. “Yer in bad shape and Ah’ll be damned if ah let you go anywhere like this. Pinkie here will watch ya while we go out an’ search for Dinky.”

“If you’re going out there dear, use my coat,” Mrs. Cake said as she walked into the room carrying a coat on her back. “It may be a bit big on you, but it will keep you warm in this dreadful weather.”

“Thank ya kindly Mrs. Cake.” Applejack took the coat and slipped it on. She hung her hat on the coat rack and pulled the hood up.

AJ had already slipped into his new coat and was waiting outside for Applejack. “Don’t worry Ditzy; I won’t come back till we find her.” Ditzy smiled as Pinkie dropped a towel and a blanket next to her. When Applejack was ready, the two of them ran out to brave the storm.

********************

“So what’s th’ plan?” Applejack asked as the two of them were blasted by wind and rain.

“Well, Ditzy said she checked all the area’s that haven’t been flooded, so our best bet would be to start over there,” AJ said, pointing in the direction of the flooded area’s.

“Do ya realize jus’ how dangerous that’ll be? By now th’ water’s too deep for an earth pony to properly walk. If this continues, Ah’ll be swimmin’ within th’ hour.” Applejack didn’t like the idea of going through the flooded areas, and she was right. It was dangerous for a pony to traverse that area at this point. But a human, that was a different story.

“It may be too deep for you, but for me it’ll be no problem,” AJ said with smile. “Why don’t you give the non-flooded area’s another check. Dinky may be on the move and looking for her mom this area. If you can’t find her, tell the weather ponies to keep an eye out for me and go back to Sugarcube Corner. We don’t want you getting hurt too.”

Applejack stomped her hoof. “No, Ah won’t leave you alone out here. Ah’ll learn to breath under water before ah leave ya out here in this weather.”

“I can’t let you do that Applejack. I don’t want to have to tell Big Mac and Apple Bloom that I let you go into danger if you got hurt.” AJ was ready to be just as stubborn as Applejack if it meant keeping her out of trouble. “I’ll take care of the flooded area.”

Not wanting to argue anymore in this weather, Applejack agreed only if they tell the weather ponies about their mission first. After giving the message to the first pegasus they saw, Applejack ran off to the west, while AJ went east to battle the flood.

********************

As AJ passed the flood barrier, he was interrupted by an angry looking Rainbow Dash. “What the hell are you doing you moron? I thought I told you to get inside!”

“I see our message reached you,” AJ said as he shirked off the angry pegasus. “We have to find Dinky, Rainbow. We have no idea where she is, and she may not be visible from the sky.”

“You think I don’t know that? I have half of my team searching for her. About a forth of them had to be hospitalized from injuries already when we tried to search on the ground.” Rainbow was not happy about being told how to do her job. “If you’re so smart, why don’t you come up with a plan?”

“Just give me two of your team to help me with the ground level search. The rest of you keep searching from the sky.”

Rainbow just stared at AJ. “That’s a horrible plan.”

“Well you try thinking of a better one under pressure,” AJ said in defense.

Sighing, Rainbow called over two members of her Dinky search team to join up with AJ. “Dizzy Twister, Merry May, you two will take orders from him for now, don’t mess up.” With those words of 'encouragement' Rainbow flew back to the rest of her team to give them the low down.

“OK you two, were going to start by going down the main streets. Leave no stone unturned. If we don’t find her on the streets, we’ll search the ally ways. The only rule I can give is stay together. Make sure we can all see each other at all times.” With salute from the two of them, the search was on.

********************

Applejack wasn’t having any luck finding Dinky. She had been searching for a half an hour and she was still unable to find her. She was running out of places to search and was starting to lose hope that Dinky was somewhere safe. The only place she had left to search was the school house. When the building was in sight, a big smile grew on Applejacks face when she saw the lights on.

When she got to the school, she threw the door open and ran in to see a big group of ponies huddled up in the safety of the building. “Has anypony here seen Dinky Doo? She’s missin’ an’ her mother’s worried sick.”

“Little Dinky’s out in this storm?” came a worried voice from behind Applejack.

Turning around Applejack saw Cheerilee coming out of the office. “Yea. Me n AJ are out lookin’ fer her in the storm. Ditzy ran herself ragged an’ is restin’ at Surgarcube Corner right now.”

“That’s AJ and I, Applejack.” Seeing the unamused look on Applejacks face told her now was not the time that. “Sorry, force of habit. Nopony here has seen Dinky. Is there anything I can do?”

“Just stay here and keep safe.” With that, Applejack began her trek back to Sugarcube corner.

********************

AJ, Dizzy Twister and Merry May were working like a well oiled machine. They were making there way down each street, checking every house, every nook and cranny looking for Dinky Doo. Unfortunately they haven’t found hide nor hair of the little filly. Like Applejack, they too were running out of places to look. There were only a few more allies and one more road to check. The flooding on this street wasn’t as bad as in some areas, but for a small filly like Dinky, it was bad enough that they would need to hurry.

They were about half way down the street when Dizzy Twister heard a very faint voice calling out over the rain and wind. “I think I hear something! Dinky Doo, can you hear me!”

The three of them followed the voice to an upturned store cart that had been blown over in the wind. “Dinky, are you there?”

“Help me please! I want my mommy!”

“Can you move?” AJ asked as he tried to look underneath.

“N-no, I can’t move my leg!”

“OK, hold on! Were going to lift this thing up and get you out of there! You two, get the cart, I’ll reach under and grab her!” Dizzy and Merry each took a side and lifted the heavy cart. They weren’t able to lift it very far, but it was enough to get Dinky’s leg out and get her out from under the cart. “Everything’s going to be okay Dinky, you’re safe now. Dizzy, go to Sugarcube Corner and let Ditzy know we found Dinky. Merry, you go tell Rainbow. I’ll go get her to the hospital.” AJ unzipped his coat a bit and placed Dinky inside to keep her warm until he got her to the hospital.

********************

Applejack had finally gotten back to Sugarcube Corner. When she walked in the door, Mr. Cake took her coat and pointed her up to Pinkie’s room. He told her he would bring her some nice hot soup and some hot tea to warm her up. When she opened the door to Pinkie’s room, she was welcomed by a big sneeze and a sniffle from Ditzy Doo who was now wrapped in a big blanket in front of a heater. Pinkie was wearing a nurse’s outfit she got from Celestia knows where and was feeding her some nice hot soup.

When Ditzy saw Applejack at the door, she got up with a big smile on her face. “Did you find her? Tell me you...” She was forced to pause as she sneezed loudly. “..you found Dinky?”

Applejack shook her head grimly. “Ah’m sorry surgarcube. Ah looked everywhere ah could. Th’ only place she could be now is in th’ flooded area’s.” She saw the look of dread on Ditzy’s face as tears started to form in her eyes once again. “AJ’s still out there though, Ah’m sure he’ll find ‘er.”

“He has to find her,” Ditzy said between sobs. “I don’t want to lose her too.”

As Applejack sat next to Ditzy to comfort her, they heard a commotion come from downstairs. Mr. Cake was talking to somepony who sounded like they were in a hurry. Then they heard somepony running up the steps and down the hall to Pinkie’s room. Dizzy Twister burst into the room, still dripping water everywhere.

“Dizzy? What’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked the drenched pegasus.

“Ditzy, we found Dinky!”

Ditzy rushed over and grabbed Dizzy by the shoulders. “Where is she? Where’s my little Muffin?”

“AJ took her to the hospital. She’ll be fine now. That was the first place we made flood proof.”

Ditzy was about to make a b-line for the hospital when she felt something holding her tail, keeping her in place. “Whoa there partner, you ain’t goin’ nowhere. Yer in no condition ta be goin back out in this weather.”

“Applejack let me go! I have to go see Dinky!” Ditzy said trying to pry her tail from the powerful earth pony.

“Weeeeeee! Pony pile!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she leapt into the air and landed on Applejack, making her let go of Ditzy’s tail. Taking the chance, Ditzy raced out the door as fast as she could and made her way to the hospital.

“Pinkie, what th’ hay was that fer?” Applejack asked glaring at the pink pony on top of her.

“You two looked like you were having so much fun I wanted to join in.” Pinkie just laughed and smiled as Applejack facehoofed.

********************

Ditzy made record time to the hospital despite the storm. When she bolted through the door, she was 'greeted' by a surprised looking Nurse Redheart. “Ditzy, what are you doing out in this weather, and what happened to your head?”

“No time! Where’s Dinky?! Where’s my little Muffin!”

“I think I can answer that Ms. Doo.” Ditzy turned to the hallway to see Dr. Whooves looking at a clip board. “Dinky was brought in a little while ago by the hu-man. She has a broken leg and she has been coughing quite a bit. We just finished with the x-ray of her chest and we’ll soon find out if she has pneumonia.”

Ditzy barley heard what the Dr. Whooves said. She just wanted to see her daughter. “Can I please go see her doctor?”

“Of course, follow me.” Ditzy could barley walk in a straight line as she followed the doctor. She was so happy she would finally be able to see her daughter she was shaking with glee. “Ah, here we are, room E17.” Dr. Whooves opened the door to let Ditzy inside. “I’ll give you some time with your daughter. I’ll be back once we get the results.”

The first thing Ditzy saw when she entered the room was AJ sitting on the floor leaning against the wall who was now looking at her with a smile on his face. “AJ how’s Dinky?”

“Shhh, she’s sleeping,” AJ said in a hushed tone as he pointed to the bed. Ditzy looked to the bed and saw her daughter’s sleeping form in the bed. Her chest was slowly moving up and down.

Ditzy walked over to the bed and hugged her daughter. “It’s ok my little Muffin, mommy’s here.” AJ sat back and watched the heart warming scene that played out before him. For minutes, Ditzy sat there holding Dinky in her legs. The nightmare was finally over. “AJ, you were still wondering why I look so young weren’t you?”

Her question shocked AJ a little. From what happened the previous day, AJ knew this was a touchy subject for her. “Umm, yea, but if it makes you uncomfortable you don’t have to say anything.”

Ditzy sat there for a minute in silence. “You said that I don’t look any older than Fluttershy, right?” AJ nodded. “Well, that’s because I’m not. I’m only 22 years old.”

AJ’s jaw dropped. He had not expected this. “That means…that means that Dinky was born when you were…”

Ditzy nodded her head. “I was only 15 when Dinky was born. Before I lived here in Ponyville, I used to live in Canterlot.”

“Yea, that’s what Pinkie said.”

“She didn’t tell you why I moved though, did she.” AJ shook his head. “I’ll tell you the whole story. When I was 13, I was just your normal, everyday filly. Up till that point, I had never loved anypony romantically. One day, we got a new student. He was a unicorn named Morning Glory. He had a beautiful purple coat, a long silver mane and beautiful emerald eyes. His cutie mark was two morning glories tied together in the shape of a heart. It was love at first sight.” Ditzy had to stop to wipe some tears out of her eyes. “A week later, while she was visiting for the weekend, Carrot Top convinced me to go talk to him and ask him out. I had to ask Carrot Top what happened, but apparently he said yes and because I was so nervous I must have blacked out. I woke up on a park bench with Morning Glory and Carrot Top looking down at me.”

“So this Morning Glory guy, I assume he’s Dinky’s father?” AJ asked

Ditzy nodded sadly. “We were together for two years. It was on my 15th birthday when everything between us changed. After the party, he stayed behind to be with me. My parents had left for the night because they trusted that I wouldn’t burn down the house. When we were alone, he asked something of me that I didn’t expect. He asked if we could take our relationship to the next level. At first I wasn’t so sure, but he convinced me that nothing would change between us. He said he would always love me. So we did it. It was great, just me and him, joined as one. A few weeks later, I started getting sick. Every morning like clockwork I would have to throw up. You should have seen the look on my moms face when the doctor told us I was with foal. Despite getting the talk, my parents were behind me the entire time.” She had to stop again to wipe more tears away. “That’s when I went to tell Morning Glory the news. When I told him he was silent for awhile. I was sure he was just so happy he was going to be a father that he had to collect his thoughts.” Ditzy’s head dropped as more tears started pouring down her cheeks. “That’s when he said he never wanted to see me again.”

AJ’s jaw dropped again. “He did what?”

“He-he told me that he would deny that this happened to anypony who asked. He said that he wanted nothing to do with the foal. He kicked me out of his house and left me to cry in the street.” A loud sniffle interrupted the sad tale. “I loved him so much!” Ditzy was sobbing uncontrollably now.

Not knowing what to do, AJ just did the first thing that came to mind. He got up, walked over to Ditzy, and threw his arms around her in a big hug. He would just hold her there, letting her cry into his shoulder until she was ready to continue.

After a few minutes Ditzy calmed down enough to continue her story. “A few weeks later I had asked Carrot Top if I could move in with her and her parents here in Ponyville. I wanted to be as far away from that bastard as I could be. I also thought it would be easier for me to raise a child in a much quieter location like Ponyville. After our parents had talked it through, we all agreed and I moved. My parents sent me a letter every week asking how I was. With the letter they always sent money so life would be easier. About ten months later Dinky was born. It was the happiest moment of my life. I know it’s been seven years, but his betrayal still hurts so badly. Carrot has tried to help me, but whenever somepony brings up Dinky’s birth, I can’t help but think of Morning Glory.” At that moment, Ditzy covered her mouth with a hoof and yawned. “Oh, I’m sorry. I guess today took a lot out of me, huh.”

It was true. Though it was still relatively early in the day, Ditzy had gone through a lot. “Why don’t you get some sleep. I’ll go talk to Dr. Whooves for you.” Nodding, Ditzy climbed into bed next to Dinky and hugged her till she fell asleep. AJ walked out of the room and closed the door only to find Dr. Whooves sitting on a chair outside the room. “How long did we keep you waiting?”

“Oh, not too long.” Getting to the point, Dr. Whooves pulled out an envelope with the x-rays inside. “Ms. Doo will be happy to know Dinky will be fine. She doesn’t have pneumonia. Though we would like to keep her here for a few days while she recovers. As for you, you’re welcome to stay here until the storm is over. If you’re hungry, the cafeteria is down the hall and to the left.” With a slight bow, the doctor walked down the hall to check on his other patients.

****************************************

(For fans of Dr. Whooves, yes he will be in this story every now and then. No, he will not have anything to do with Dr. Who, so don’t expect any TARDIS or Dr. Who jokes. Also sorry it took longer for this chapter to come out. Blame Saints Row the Third.)

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

The Fall of Sweet Apple Acres

Chapter 10

It was a dreary morning in Ponyville. The sky was still covered in rain clouds from the giant storm the previous day. Though one look outside would tell anypony that the storm had definitely let up some. Instead of the heavy, pounding rain, it was now only a typical summer shower. The Cloudsdale factory workers were able to stop the seemingly endless production of storm clouds that were pouring into the skies above Ponyville and were working on fixing the problems at this moment.

Exhausted from battling the storm, the weather teams of both Ponyville and Cloudsdale were all resting in the Ponyville hospital. With both teams consisting of such a large amount of ponies, many of the pegasi were forced to sleep in the lobby or cafeteria. The rooms were reserved for the many pegasi that were injured during the storm. Broken legs, wings, concussions, and broken and bruised ribs were a normal site last night. A couple of ponies were even unlucky enough to be struck by lightning rendering them unconscious.

In room E17, everything was quiet. The three souls in the room were sleeping soundly. Everything was peaceful, until AJ was woken up by the sound of someone knocking on the door. This was a problem because AJ just could not fall asleep last night. For the longest time he stayed up watching the storm unable to fall asleep. So someone interrupting the little sleep he got was not going to be tolerated. Not bothering to get up, AJ answered the door the only way he cared to at the moment. “Go away, I wanna sleep.” When the perpetrator knocked on the door again, AJ started losing his temper. “Nooooo! I wanna sleep damnit!” Hearing the door one more time infuriated him. He sat up and started to shout in the direction of the knocks. “Big Mac! Go! To! Hell! I am going to sleep in today!”

“I’m afraid you have the wrong pony there Mr. AJ.” That was not Big Mac’s voice. As he rubbed his eyes he prodded around for his glasses. Not finding them where they usually are, he could only open his eyes and look for them. Through a combination of being half asleep and not having his glasses, AJ was able to make out a brown and white blob sitting in front of him. What he could only assume was the blobs head was looking at him. “And I don’t think you’ll be doing much farm work today anyway. It’s still raining out.”

Finally finding his glasses, AJ looked around the room as it all came back to him. “Oh, right, I’m still at the hospital,” he said blushing a bit. “Sorry doctor.”

“Oh don’t worry,” Dr. Whooves said waiving his hoof. “Trust me when I say it’s not the worst ‘good morning’ I’ve ever gotten. Not by a long shot. That prize goes to my Ex-fillyfriend Rose.”

“Rose? As in the flower pony Rose?”

“Oh no, you are thinking of Ms. Roseluck, who now that I think of it, it’s about time for her bimonthly checkup with Nurse Redheart.” Dr. Whooves said as he pulled a clip board. “No no, I wish my Ex was as lovely as her. My Ex’s full name was Rosie Marie. She had a charming green coat with a flowing blond mane. I met her when I still lived in Trottingham. She was working in her mother’s store.” He seemed to get lost in his memories for a minute before shaking his head and finishing his story. “To make a long story short, it ended with her kicking me in the groin before leaving to go back with her mother and her boyfriend. Ah, those were the good old days.” Dr. had a smile on his face.

AJ stared at the doctor with a drowsy look. “If those were the good days I’d hate to hear about the bad days.”

Laughing a bit, Dr. Whooves looked over to the main bed in the room where Ditzy was starting to wake up. “I hope you had a good sleep Ms. Doo.”

“Hngba-wha?” was Ditzy’s response. “Oh, good morning doctor. Are you here to check on Dinky?”

“Yes, I’d like to give her a quick check up to make sure she hasn’t gotten worse.” Dr. Whooves said looking over his clip board again. “As for you, Nurse Redheart would like to give you a check up. She’s worried about that wound on your head.”

“Oh, OK." She looked down at the still sleeping little filly next to her. "Dinky, wake up my little muffin,” Ditzy said as she shook Dinky slightly

Dinky yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Mommy?” Seeing her mom smiling at her, a bright, tearful smile grew on her face as she threw herself at Ditzy, hugging her and crying into her chest. “Mommy, I was so scared! After you got hit by that branch, I was so worried and I went to Sparkler to get help!” Ditzy rubbed her daughter’s back to calm her down. “But-but I got scared by the storm and hid under the cart. Then it blew over and I couldn’t move.”

“Shh, it’s OK my little muffin. Mommy’s here. Mommy’s fine.” She placed her daughter back on the bed, drawing a pained yelp out of the filly as she was placed on her broken leg. “Oh Dinky, I’m so sorry!” Ditzy quickly lifted her daughter off her bad leg and laid her down on her back on the bed.

“Yes, she will have to stay off her leg for a while, but she will be just fine, no need to worry.” Dr. Whooves walked over to the bed. “Now, Nurse Redheart should be at her desk in the lobby. As for you…” Dr. Whooves was stopped mid sentence when he noticed AJ had fallen asleep sitting up. “Ahem.”

“Huh, who, what?” AJ looked over to the doctor and then to Ditzy who was laughing. “What about me now?”

Dr. Whooves laughed a bit himself. “As I was saying, if you’re hungry, they should still be serving breakfast in the cafeteria.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, AJ stretched his arms and yawned. “That sounds really good. Maybe it’ll wake me up a bit. Want me to walk with you to the nurse Ditzy?”

“Sure, but first…” Ditzy said as she flew over to AJ. As soon as she got over to him, she threw her fore legs around AJ’s neck in a big hug. “Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me.”

Ditzy’s embrace jolted AJ from his sleepiness. Smiling, he just drew her into a hug of his own. “Anytime, Ditzy. Anytime.”

“I knew you two were getting close, but I didn’t know you were THAT close already,” came a raspy, feminine voice from the door.

AJ and Ditzy looked over to the door to see Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway smiling at the two of them. Both of them blushed as Dinky giggled from the bed. “No! It’s not like that! We were just…” the two of them yelled simultaneously.

They were cut off as Dash laughed. “Come on, I was just joking. I just came to see how you and Dinky were doing Ditzy.”

Still blushing a bit, Ditzy smiled. “We’ll be fine. Thanks for asking.”

“Ah Rainbow Dash, how are you this morning? Are those painkillers still helping?” asked Dr. Whooves from besides Dinky’s bed

“Painkillers?” It was then that AJ noticed the bandages around Dash’s mid-section and wing. “Dash, what happened to you?"

Dash’s smile immediately fell as she herself fell to her haunches. Before she could answer, Dr. Whooves decided to step in. “She was brought in at about 1:12 this morning by other members of her weather team. From what I understand, she was caught in a powerful squall that blew her into a tree, breaking her wing and a few ribs.”

“I was getting sloppy. It never would have happened if I wasn’t so tired.” Dash’s pride was clearly hurt. “Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria, winner of The best young flyer’s competition, future Wonderbolt, most awesome pony to ever live, beaten by a gust of wind.”

“Come on Dash, you were working hard all day yesterday, don’t be so hard on yourself,” Ditzy said putting her leg on Dash’s back to comfort her. “And if it’s any consolation, I still think you’re awesome.”

A small smile made its way onto Dash’s face as AJ decided to add to it. “In the short time I’ve known you; you haven’t let anything get you down. I’m sure once you can fly again, you’ll be soaring with the best of them.”

Dash’s smile grew a little more. “Yea, I guess this will give me time to think of more tricks and stuff to impress the Wonderbolts.”

“That’s the spirit. Now, if you’re hungry, you can join me in the cafeteria,” AJ said as he got up from his bed.

“That sounds good but what about Ditzy? Isn’t she coming with?” Dash curiously asked as they started walking down the hall?

“Dr. Whooves said Nurse Redheart wanted to make sure I was OK.” Ditzy rubbed her head under the bandages. “After everything that happened yesterday she’s worried about me, but I’ll see you in the cafeteria afterwards OK?” When they reached the cafeteria, Ditzy said bye and flew off to go meet with Redheart.

********************

“Ahh, the food here is WAY better than at the Cloudsdale hospital,” Dash said as she finished her meal. “I mean it’s still not that great, but at least it doesn’t taste like old, dried up pinecones.”

AJ put his spoon of applesauce back into the bowl and gawked at Dash. “You eat pinecones?”

Dash just slammed her head into the table with a groan. “Ugh, I always hated them as a foal. They taste sooo bad. But my parents always made me eat them. ‘Oh just eat them, they’re good for you. If you want to join the Wonderbolts, you’ll need to eat your pinecones.’ I always ended up just throwing them out the window.”

AJ laughed a little at Dash’s overreaction. “Sounds like me with most vegetables. Can’t stand them. Lucky for me there’s that pizza place near Sugarcube corner.”

“If you don’t like vegetables, what did you eat before you got here?” Dash asked.

AJ knew this question would come up some time. That didn’t make it any easier to answer when it did. He looked around and started to think of an answer. “Umm, well you know how you ponies are vegetarians?” He got a nod from Dash. “Well, we humans are…Omnivores.”

Rainbow Dash had a confused look on her face. “Omni-what nows?”

“It means that not only do we eat fruits and vegetables, but we also…” AJ’s voice cut off.

“What was that, I didn’t hear you?”

“Meat, we also eat meat.” He saw Dash’s eyes get wide. “That’s why I didn’t want to say anything. With how some of the ponies are in this place, they probably would have never warmed up to me if they knew I ate meat.” Dash just kept staring at AJ for a few seconds before she started laughing like he had just told her the funniest joke in the entire world. It was AJ’s turn to stare and gawk. “What, what’s so funny?”

“Is that all?! Is that your deep, dark secret?! Oww, it hurts to laugh!” Dash chuckled a few more times before she settled down a bit. “It’s not that weird. I used to have a friend who ate meat. Hell, once she ate a fish right in front of me.”

“There was a pony who ate a fish?”

“Well, she wasn’t exactly a pony.” AJ was looking at Dash as if asking her to continue. “She was griffin. She used to be my best friend before I moved to Ponyville, but things happened and that friendship ended. I really don’t want to talk about it.” To emphasize being done with that conversation Dash picked up her juice box and started to drink.

“I didn’t know there were griffins in Equestria,” AJ said as he finished off his applesauce.

“Yea, you find them here and there. Every now and then you’ll see one in Cloudsdale, but they mainly seem to stay in the bigger cities like Manehattan or Fillydelphia.”

“Whatcha guys talking about?” came a voice from behind Dash. Dash turned around and AJ looked up to see Ditzy hovering there smiling. “Did I miss breakfast yet?”

“Nah, there should be plenty of food left. With all the weather ponies, they made sure they made a lot more than normal.” Smiling, Ditzy made her way to get some food as Dash looked at the clock on the wall. “Oh crap, I was supposed to go talk with Brolly about 10 minutes ago! I’ll see you two later.” Dash got up and rushed out of the cafeteria, nearly tripping over a pegasus who was still sleeping.

Ditzy came flying back to the table with a plate full of muffins in her mouth and a giant ear to ear smile framing the plate. “They have chocolate chocolate-chip muffins here!” she said through the plate in her mouth. Setting the plate on the table, she proceeded to shove an entire muffin in her mouth and happily started to chew. After she finished the first muffin, Ditzy noticed Dash was no longer at the table. “Where’d Rainbow go?”

AJ shrugged. “She lost track of time and had to go talk with Brolly. Maybe she shouldn’t have had that third helping of pancakes.” AJ held back a laugh as he watched Ditzy shove another muffin in her mouth. “So, how’d the checkup go?”

“Ghfh uhgugh hufhhg ughhg hguu gghfhu.” AJ couldn’t help but laugh as Ditzy tried to talk with the big muffin in her mouth. After she swallowed with an audible gulp, she tried again. “It went good, kinda.” AJ looked at Ditzy in confusion as she continued. “While Applejack did her best to clean and wrap my head, Nurse Redheart wanted to make sure she did it right. It was clean enough, but she still ended up giving me 9 stitches. It hurt, a lot.”

“Well, she just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t get infected so you really can’t blame her,” AJ said taking a drink of his juice box.

“I know.” Ditzy put on a pouty face. “It still hurt though.

********************

When Ditzy and AJ got outside of Dinky’s room, they heard her giggling and laughing. When they walked inside, they saw Dinky watching cartoons on the TV hanging from the ceiling as a nurse was sitting at the table doing some paperwork. “What are you watching Muffin?”

Dinky turned to the door and smiled. “Hi mommy! I’m watching My Little Sea Pony. In this episode, Bubble Cup has to go find Prince Sea Foam. I think she likes him.” Dinky giggles at the lovers in the cartoon.

“Oh, this season seems to be turning out better than the first,” Ditzy says hugging her daughter. “Have you eaten yet Dinky?”

“Mhmm. Mrs. Tenderheart gave me some pancakes and some cherry jello. It was yummy.” Dinky happily rubbed her tummy as Nurse Tenderheart giggled from the table.

AJ watched the two of them from the door. It warmed his heart to see just how much Ditzy loved her daughter. He respected her even more after hearing her story and not letting the past get in the way of her love for her daughter. He decided to let the two of them have some time alone. “Hey Ditzy, I think I’m going to take a look outside, see how well Ponyville fared.”

“OK, be careful out there.” Ditzy said with concern in her voice.

“Don’t worry. The storm’s let up quite a bit since yesterday. I’ll be back in a bit.” AJ grabbed his coat off the coat rack and headed out the door.

********************

Ponyville was a mess. Trees were blown over, windows were broken, and roofs on many buildings were either damaged or missing entirely. Some buildings were unlucky enough to have trees fall into them, making them total losses. Everywhere you look debris littered the ground. It was saddening to see the town in such a pathetic looking state. If not for the select few ponies wandering the town looking at their losses, it would have looked like a ghost town.

The first place AJ decided to look was Sugarcube Corner to see how Applejack, Pinkie and the cakes were holding up. AJ was happy to see that Sugarcube Corner had fared pretty well. A couple windows were broken and boarded up, but otherwise it looked untouched. He tried to enter the building, but was stopped by a locked door. He heard the sound of hooves against wood and knocked on the door. The clops inside got closer and closer to the door as AJ heard the door being unlocked. The door was opened by a disheveled looking Mrs. Cake.

“Hello Mrs. Cake, are you alright? You look like you had a pretty rough night,” AJ asked.

Mrs. Cake blushed as she realized how she looked. “Oh, um hello dear. Yup, rough night, just couldn’t sleep, that’s all, yup.” She gave a sheepish smile.

“Are Pinkie and Applejack up yet?”

“I think I heard movement in there when I woke up. If you’d like, you’re welcome to come in.” Mrs. Cake stepped to the side to let AJ in. AJ thanked Mrs. Cake and entered the building, hanging his coat on the coat rack. As AJ went to Pinkie’s room, Mrs. Cake made a quick dash for the bathroom to make herself look more presentable.

********************

“Ah hope Dash and th’ other pegasi take care of this storm today,” Applejack said as she looked out the window.

“Yea, I have a bunch of party supplies I need to restock on,” Pinkie added. “This party cannon doesn’t load itself.” For kicks, Pinkie fired off the cannon, covering Applejack in streamers, confetti, and a party hat. “Hmm, there should have been balloons and a table cloth in there too. Yup, definitely need to restock.”

As Applejack was cleaning the party supplies off of herself, somepony knocked on the door. “Now who could that be?” Since Pinkie was still looking her cannon over, Applejack decided to open the door herself. Seeing AJ at the door brightened Applejacks mood a bit. “AJ, how are y’all this mornin’?”

“Tired, but otherwise good. Wish I could say the same for Ponyville though. Place is trashed.” AJ walked into the room and sat down. “Trees down everywhere, buildings damaged or destroyed in a couple cases, it’s a mess.”

“How’s Ditzy doin’? She wrestled her way outa here yesterday when she heard bout Dinky.”

“She’s fine, spending some time with Dinky right now.” AJ smiled in the direction of the window. “The two of them look really cute together.”

“Do you know when the storms going to end? I need to get the party store today,” Pinkie asked as she grabbed AJ by the shoulders shaking him.

AJ pushed Pinkie off of himself and rubbed his head as he started to get a headache from the shaking. “I don’t know. I was talking to Dash before and she really didn’t say anything.”

“Once Dashie wakes up, I bet she’ll have these clouds gone in like ten seconds flat.” Pinkie started jumping up with her fore-hooves spread out like wings. “She’ll be like woosh, woosh, woosh.”

AJ got a guilty look on his face. He knew he should have told them about Rainbow’s injury’s already. “Umm, I don’t think Dash is going to be doing much flying of any kind for awhile.”

“Well why not Sugarcube?” Applejack asked looking confused. “What, did somethin’ happen ta Rainbow?

AJ sighed as he got ready to tell them the news. “Well, Dash was brought into the hospital early this morning by other members of her team. Apparently she was blown into a tree and hurt her wing and ribs. She’ll be grounded for weeks.”

“Dashie’s hurt?!” came Pinkie’s voice from inside her closet. She had pulled out her saddle bags and already had them filled with the party supplies she had left. “I need to get to the hospital and throw her a get better soon party.”

“Ah don’t think th’ doctors would like that too much Sugarcube,” Applejack said as she stomped on Pinkie’s tail to keep her from leaving. “Rainbow’ll be fine. Ah’m sure this ain’t the first time she’s been hurt with how she acts.

AJ got up and brushed off his pants. “I think I’m gonna go check out the farm; see how well that held up.”

“Ah’ll go with ya,” Applejack said as she got up to grab her hat. “Th’ thought of somethin’ happenin’ ta th’ farm makes me sick to mah stomach.”

“Sounds good to me. What are you going to do Pink…ie?” As AJ looked around the room, he noticed a distinct lack of the color pink. “I guess she’s going to the hospital.”

********************

Applejack felt her stomach turn as the two of them got to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. From their vantage point, they could see many of the apple trees in the orchard have been either blown over or damaged in some other way. Applejack walked over to one of the trees that must have been struck by lightning and placed a hoof on it, shedding a tear as she did. “Ah’m sorry I couldn’t have done anything fer ya.”

When Applejack was done mourning over the fallen trees, the two of them continued down the muddy path to the farm house. As the building came into view, Applejack felt as if her world was shattering before her. Where the proud, red farm house once stood, was now a giant pile of burnt wood and splinters. The only part of the house that managed to survive some what was the very top section which sat lopsided on top of the pile and even that looked like it had been through a fire.

AJ was shocked at how much damage the farm had sustained. He looked over to Applejack who was on her haunches shaking like a leaf, her eyes glazed over with tears. He wanted to say something, he wanted to try to make this easier on her, but there was another problem that worked its way into AJ’s head. They have yet to find any trace of her family. He was about to speak up about it when Applejack got up and ran over to the pile of splintered wood and started digging through it. “APPLE BLOOM, BIG MCINTOSH, PLEASE ANSWER ME! PLEASE TELL ME YER OK!” AJ ran over to help Applejack dig through the mess, knowing that if the two of them were in the house, well he didn’t want to think about it.

The two of them dug through the wreckage for a couple of minutes before they heard something in the trees. As the sound got closer, it sounded more and more like a dog barking. Suddenly a brown and white border collie dashed out of the trees towards Applejack. “W-winona?” As Applejack jumped from the pile of wood, Winona leapt into her legs and began covering her face with kisses.

As Applejack was busy with Winona, she didn’t notice Big Mac and Apple Bloom coming out of the trees as well. “Applejack yer OK!”

Applejack looked up and happiness filled her heart as she saw Apple Bloom and Big Mac standing at the tree line. Applejack let Winona onto the ground and ran over to Apple Bloom grabbing her up in a big, tearful hug. “Apple Bloom, Big McIntosh, yer OK!” Smiling, Big Mac hobbled over to his sisters and drew the two of them into a great big hug.

********************

The four of them eventually made there way into the orchard to the CMC clubhouse. Due to the extra protection from the trees around it, the clubhouse was spared the same fate as the farm house and was still standing strong. On the floor by the farthest wall from the door were two beds made out of piled up pillows and blankets with a raggedy old doll lying between them.

Even though she was happy that her family was fine, Applejack was still shaken up about the whole ordeal. The entire trip to the clubhouse she made sure she stayed close to Big Mac and Apple Bloom, acting like if she got too far away the two of them would just disappear on her. Even when they were sitting there in the clubhouse, Applejack wouldn’t let her siblings leave her sight.

Seeing as how Applejack was just content being in the presence of her family, AJ’s curiosity got the best of him. “So what happened here anyway? What happened to the house?”

Big Mac sighed as he remembered what had happened…

********************

“Hah, I win again Big McIntosh!” Apple Bloom said as her game piece got to the end of the board.

“Eeyup. Don’t get too big a head now. Remember, Ah did manage ta beat you a few times.” Big Mac’s words did nothing to stop the filly’s happy dancing. The two of them were playing board games to help pass the time and to take Apple Bloom’s mind off the storm. Knowing of his sisters’ fear of thunder storms, keeping busy was Big Mac’s idea. Winona was happily snoozing on the couch next too Big Mac's Smarty pants doll, kicking her legs as she dreamed. As he watched his sister dance, he felt the all too familiar grumbling in his stomach. “Ah’m startin’ ta get hungry, how bout you?”

Apple Bloom nodded her head and started to pack up the game as Big Mac hobbled into the kitchen to grab some apples to munch on. As he opened the fridge, Big Mac was knocked off balance by a loud, earth shattering boom. The power in the house had gone out. Winona was now up and barking wildly, and Apple Bloom was screaming at the top of her lungs. Big Mac slowly got to his three good legs and hobbled into the living room to see Apple Bloom curled up in a ball under a blanket on the couch.

Big Mac made his way to the couch and nuzzled his sisters shivering form. “It’s OK Apple Bloom. Everything’s gonna be OK.” He gave her the doll and continued to comfort his sister for a couple of minutes until he caught a smell in the air. He looked up and noticed thick, black smoke was starting to pour down from upstairs. “Apple Bloom…” Apple Bloom looked up at her fearful brother. “We need to get out of the house, now.” He put Apple Bloom, still clinging onto Smarty pants, on his back and hobbled out of the house, Winona following close behind.

When Big Mac was far enough away for him to feel safe, he turned to look at the house. His face grew grim as his fears were confirmed. The second floor of the house was on fire. The big boom they heard must have been lightning striking the side of the house. Big Mac and Apple Bloom both just looked on in horror as their home burned before their eyes.

********************

“Th’ closest place was th’ clubhouse, thankfully it was still intact.” Big Mac put his hoof on Apple Bloom’s back as he finished the story.

AJ looked out in the window in the direction of the farm house, then back to the family before him. “Are you guys gonna be OK? You lost quite a bit in all this.”

“Apple’s are strong. We’ll be back on our hooves in no time,” Applejack said with confidence in her voice. “That old house has been with us fer generations, but we’ll make it through.”

Smiling, AJ grabbed his coat and headed to the door of the clubhouse. “Well, I’ll let you three have some time together. I should be getting back to the hospital with Ditzy. I’ll see you later.” Waving goodbye, he left and made his way back to the hospital.

*******************************************************

(It’s finally fucking done. It was going to be longer, but this seemed like a good spot to end it so I could just get the next fucking chapter out. Sorry it took so long people XP. And for anyone who asks why I never mentioned about Winona until now, it’s quite simple. I completely forgot about her, and before you hang me for it, the show forgot about her until season 2 after having her in only 1 episode.)

A Royal Misunderstanding

((I made a couple of changes to chapter 10. I realized I forgot to save Smarty Pants, so I rewrote her into the story.))

Chapter 11

The sun was shining down and a nice breeze was blowing as AJ sadly stared down at his father’s makeshift grave. As he looked at it, many memories ran through his head. He smiled as he thought of these, but there was one memory that always overtook the rest; one that always tainted his memories of his father with sadness. A tear ran down his cheek. “I’m sorry dad.”

“So this is where you've been goin’ off ta every so often.” Shocked to hear a voice behind him, AJ whipped around to see Applejack and Fluttershy standing there with smiles on their faces. “Thanks fer helpin’ me find’im Fluttershy.”

“Hello AJ,” Fluttershy said in her normal quiet tone. She noticed the wet line on his cheek. “Oh, did we interrupt something, I’m sorry.”

AJ was too busy mentally chastising himself for letting someone find him in this place that he barley heard Applejack speak. “Hmm? What’cha got over here?

Jolting out of his thoughts, he tried to stop Applejack from seeing the gravestone. “No wait!”

He was too late as Applejack was already reading. Her head lowered as she turned to look at AJ. “Oh Sugarcube, Ah’m so sorry.” She took her hat off, put it to her chest and gave a prayer.

By now Fluttershy was getting curious and decided to see for herself what was there. She let out a small gasp as she brought her hooves to her mouth. “I’m so sorry.” They sat in silence for a minute before Fluttershy spoke up again. “W-what happened? How did he…?”

AJ flinched when Fluttershy asked the question, almost as if the question had physically hurt him. More tears rolled down his cheeks. “U-u-umm…l-l-look at the time. I-i-i-i should get back to work.” Without answering the question, he rushed back to Ponyville, wiping tears from his eyes.

“W-was it something I said?” Fluttershy asked as she lowered her head. “Do you think he hates me now?”

Applejack put her leg around Fluttershy, “Ah think he just needs some time Sugarcube. Now come on, we should be gettin’ back ta work too.”

********************

Applejack and Fluttershy followed behind AJ a bit on the way back to Ponyville. None of them said anything, not wanting to make the situation any more awkward. As they walked down the street they looked around and watched the many rebuilding projects that were taking place at the moment. Every able bodied pony was busy helping rebuild after the storm. The first day was spent cleaning up the streets of debris and fallen trees and then moving on to replacing windows on the buildings that were still intact. Today they finished up the windows and started working on the buildings that had the least amount of damage. Second in command of the Cloudsdale weather team Cappuccino and his best pony Cool Star were left behind to take care of weather while the Ponyville weather ponies helped with construction.

The mayor had asked the ponies whose houses had survived if they could help house those who were now homeless until they could get to their houses. With not enough homes surviving, businesses started accepting ponies in. Places like Sugarcube Corner and Bon Bon’s Sugar Shack were filled with cots for ponies to sleep in. Even town hall and the library were packed full. This is why Mayor Mare had wanted the buildings with the least amount of damage taken care of ASAP; to open up more housing for the ponies of the quaint town.

By the time they reached the path to Fluttershy’s house AJ had calmed down again. They all said there goodbyes as Fluttershy flew the rest of the way to her house. Fluttershy happily agreed to take care of the pets of the families as the construction was taking place and she had to get back and check on them. AJ and Applejack waved goodbye as they continued down the road to Sweet Apple Acres.

********************

As the Two of them got back to the farm, they noticed Twilight talking to Big Mac and Apple Bloom. “Hey Twilight, what can Ah do fer ya?”

Twilight turned and smiled as she saw Applejack walking towards her. “Oh hello Applejack, I was just informing Big Mac that the princess is sending workers from Canterlot tomorrow to help rebuild. When I told her how much damage was done to your farm, she also told me that she would send a unicorn that specializes in plant magic.”

“So, yer sayin’ th’ trees can be saved?” When Applejack saw Twilight nod, she couldn’t control herself. She started bouncing around in a circle with a beaming smile on her face. She didn’t care how childish she looked, she was just happy the trees were going to be OK. She stopped bouncing rushed over to Twilight and grabbed her up in a big, bone crushing hug as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. “Oh thank you, thank you so much!”

”Apple…jack…can’t…breath.” Once Big Mac was able to pry Applejack off Twilight took a few seconds get her breath back. “Well, I should be getting back to the library. I left Spike in charge and I don’t think he was too happy about that with all the extra ponies around. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then bye.”

As Twilight was leaving Applejack started bouncing in place again. In one sudden movement, she threw her self at her brother and wrapped her legs around his neck. Not expecting this, Big Mac fell to his haunches, putting pressure on his injured leg causing him to grunt in pain. “Sorry Big McIntosh, but Ah’m just so happy that th’ farm’ll be OK.”

Big Mac just smiled and returned the hug. “Eeyup.”

********************

“Hey Applejack, could you help me with this one, it’s really heavy?” AJ asked as he strained to lift a particularly big piece of the fallen farm house.

“Be right there Sugarcube, just gotta finish up over here,” Applejack shouted through a piece of debris in her mouth. They were busy cleaning up the fallen house so a new one could be built in its place. They had already sent out a message to Braeburn to gather all the Apple family present in Appleloosa for help building a new house as, like the old house, they wanted it to be a family endeavor. The old house was built by past members of the Apple family and they wanted to keep the tradition, and with Big Mac still out of commission, they needed all the help they could get. “Shame Rainbow couldn’t help us on account of’er injuries.”

“Oh my god, I wish you could have been there to see it Applejack, it was hilarious,” AJ said as he stopped trying to lift the heavy piece of debris.

********************

“Sweet Apple Acres is destroyed?!” Shouted Rainbow Dash as AJ informed her of the damages. “Why didn’t anypony tell me this?! I gotta get over there to see how the-AHH!” As Dash leapt off her bed, the landing jostled her ribs, sending her to the floor in pain.

“Woah, settle down Dash, I think you should just take it easy and rest for awhile.” Not taking AJ’s advice, Rainbow got up on shaky legs and started running through the door of her room. “Or not.”

As she made her way down the hall, she was stopped by Nurse Redheart blocking the main entrance. “And where do you think your going Ms. Dash?” The scowl on her face told Dash she meant business.

“Can’t talk right now. Gotta see Applejack.” Rainbow kept trying to get around the nurse with no luck. “Come on, move!”

Dash tried to rush the door but was stopped once again by Redheart. “I can’t let you leave and get yourself injured even further Ms. Dash. Could I get some help over here?” At her call, Dr. Whooves and a unicorn nurse came to her aid. The unicorn levitated Rainbow up and held her in place to prevent her from leaving. Dr. Whooves opened her mouth, shoved 4 blue pills in her mouth and poured some water to help them down her throat. The unicorn continued to hold her in place as she struggled for a few minutes until Dash started to slow down. Her struggling got slower and slower until her legs and good wing hung limp in the air. Smiling, Nurse Redheart left to go get something to transfer Dash back to her room.

AJ walked up to Dash as the unicorn placed her back on the floor. Lying on her belly, her legs were sprawled out to the sides with her right hind leg twitching occasionally. Her wing, like her leg was twitching. Her face was one of pure ecstasy. Her mouth was open in a dopey smile as her tongue lolled out of the left side of her mouth. She stared at the wall through half closed eyes and started rolling around, laughing uncontrollably for absolutely no reason.

Seeing Rainbow Dash reduced to a drugged up pile of laughing pony was absolutely hilarious to AJ as he tried his hardest to hold in his laughter. “So doctor, what was that you gave her anyway?”

“Oh just a little something to help her…calm down.” He produced a bottle with more of the pills he jammed down Rainbows gullet. “Just two of these things will help even the biggest of ponies relax and ease their tension.”

AJ looked back at Rainbow who was being levitated onto a gurney. They had to strap her down so she wouldn’t roll off. He had to stifle another laugh as he turned to Dr. Whooves again. “If two of them would have worked just fine, why did you give her four of them? Couldn’t that, you know, hurt her?”

Dr. Whooves laughed and waved his hoof at AJ. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

********************

“She woke up yesterday morning moaning something about it feeling like a hydra was wailing on her head with a sledgehammer.”

The two of them laughing drew the attention of Apple Bloom. “What’r y’all laughing at?”

“We're just laughing at Rainbow’s misfortune,” AJ said regaining his composure.

“So, did ya finish yer job Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked as she sat on her haunches.

“Yup, it’s lookin’ mighty nice right now.” Apple Bloom put on a proud face. “Do ya wanna see it?”

“Sure, we could use a break anyway.” Applejack took off her hat and wiped her brow. “Ah, haven’t gone ta visit’em in awhile anyway.”

AJ followed Applejack and Apple Bloom to a small clearing in the trees. With the sun at its peak, the clearing was lit up magnificently. In the center of the clearing sat three grave stones. The one on the left read ‘Bright McIntosh’ the middle read ‘Pear Butter’ the right, ‘Granny Smith.’ “Ah wasn’t able ta plant th’ flowers on account of all th’ seeds bein’ in th’ barn.”

“It’s alright Apple Bloom, ya did good,” Applejack said as the two of them walked over to the graves and sat down. “Sorry ah haven’t been around in awhile. A lot of things have been happenin’ on th’ farm. We miss ya mom an’ dad.” She looked over to the third grave. “We miss ya too Granny smith. It’s just not th’ same without ya.”

********************

“Alright, on th’ count of three, we’ll lift. One…two…three.” At Applejacks mark, she and AJ lifted the heavy piece of debris from the pile. They moved it to the side so they could break it down to be disposed of later.

AJ noticed something when he looked back at the pile. He saw what looked like a bit of blue and pink cloth sticking out from between two pieces of wood. He walked over and shifted them around. There lying in the debris, was a badly damaged Mr. Bun bun. It was missing one of its ears and an eye. The bottom half was hanging on by a thread and was burned beyond repair. The arm that wasn’t missing was torn open with fuzz pouring out. AJ sighed as he gently lifted it out of the wreckage. “And this was a gift from Fluttershy too. Applejack, I’ll be right back.” AJ walked through the trees to the clubhouse. He placed the no longer stuffed bunny on the table near the door.

“What’s that ya got there?” AJ turned around to see Big Mac lying on the floor in the back of the clubhouse doing what looked like paperwork.

“What this?” AJ asked as he pointed to Mr. Bun bun. “It’s just something Fluttershy gave me after Applejack…well you know.” AJ started rubbing the left side of his head. AJ’s head still hurt whenever he thought back to the buck to the head. “She gave it to me so I would always know I’m not alone here.” He smiled at the memory.

“She’s a real sweetheart ain’t she? Why jus’ th’ other night she came over ta make sure Ah’m not puttin’ any strain on ma leg.” Due to his already crimson coat, AJ couldn’t see the blush that grew on Big Mac’s face.

“Well, I should be getting back to work. See ya later Mac.” With that AJ started leaving the clubhouse.

“Tell Applejack Ah’m almost finished reworkin’ th’ finances. Everythin’ looks ta’ be in order,” Big Mac shouted to AJ.

AJ stopped and looked back to Big Mac. “You reworked all the finances already?” He got a nod from Big Mac. “All from memory?” Another nod from the big red stallion. He gawked at Big Mac for a few seconds. “Damn you're good.” He heard Big Mac chuckle to himself as he headed back to Applejack.

********************

AJ woke up the next morning to the sounds of conversation. He sat up and stretched before rubbing his eyes. He heard the conversation stop as he prodded around for his glasses. He found them, put them on, and finally opened his eyes. The first thing to greet his vision was a pair of green eyes framed by a smile to match Pinkie’s signature smile. “Why howdy friend!”

“YAHH!!” Seeing the face right in front of him made AJ jump back and smack his head into the wall of the clubhouse. “Ow.”

“Well shoot, sorry ‘bout that. Ah didn’t mean ta scare ya.” The amber pony’s smile dropped to a frown.

AJ sat up again rubbing the back of his head. “Don’t worry about it. I really should be used to it by now.” He looked over to Applejack who was laughing. “So who’s this? Don’t think I’ve ever seen him around Ponyville before.”

Applejack threw her leg around the pony’s withers and smiled. “This here’s mah cousin Braeburn. As soon as he got mah letter about th’ farm, he gathered all th’ Apples in Appleloosa and came ta’ help.”

“Us Apples always stick together.” Braeburn stood up and took a prideful stance. “That’s how we built the good ol’ Town of AAAAAAPPLELOOSA!”

“Good mornin’ ta you too Braeburn,” grumbled Big Mac from his bed.

“Mornin’ Big McIntosh,” Braeburn said with a big smile, seemingly oblivious to how unhappy Big Mac was at being woken up so abruptly. “Sorry ta hear about yer leg. Knowin’ you, you’ll be right as rain in no time.”

Big Mac grumbled in acknowledgement as he stretched his three good limbs. “So, who was all able ta come help?” Braeburn labeled off about ten different names; all having something to do with apples in one way or another. When he finished Big Mac had a smile on his face. “Th’ house should be rebuilt in no time now.”

AJ got up and brushed the dust off his pants. “I think I’ll go to the hospital for awhile, I’ll be back at probably around noon.”

“Actually, you could probably help out somewhere else. With th’ family here ah don’t think we’ll need yer help fixin’ th’ farm,” Applejack said, clearly proud of her hard working family.

“You sure?” A nod of the head was all the conformation AJ needed. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do elsewhere then, later.”

“Oh, an’ keep an eye out fer Apple Bloom. She went ta go play with’er friends.” Applejack shouted out the window to AJ.

********************

“So, what’s new around the farm?” Rainbow asked with a hint of venom in her voice. She was still angry that the hospital wouldn’t let her leave.

“I know you wanna get outta here Dash, but you gotta take it easy. You don’t wanna get drugged again.” She immediately backed off at the threat of the evil blue pills of head crushing pain. “Besides, they got plenty of help now.”

“Help, what help?” Dash asked.

“Well, a pony named Braeburn came this morning and…”

“BRAEBURN’S HERE!?! LIKE, AT THE FARM HERE!?!” Rainbows good wing sprung up and her eyes grew big and looked like they were shimmering. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh.” She crumpled slightly as her ribs protested her excitement, but that didn’t stop her.

“I take it you know him then. Saves me time from explaining who it is. Anyway, he came this morning and brought a bunch of the Apple family with him.” AJ reclined in the chair he was sitting in a bit. “With so many ponies there, Applejack told me they didn’t need my help cleaning up anymore. So after I’m done here I plan on going to make sure Apple Bloom and her friends aren’t raising hell somewhere. So, any clue when they will…let you…out?” AJ looked around and saw that he was talking to himself. “Where the hell did you go?”

He peaked his head out of the room and could hear what sounded like Rainbow pleading to someone. “Pleeeeeeeease let me leave. I swear I won’t try to help with the construction.”

Dr. Whooves sighed as he looked at his clipboard. “I don’t know Ms. Dash; you’re not scheduled to leave for two days." he put a hoof to his chin and thought for a moment. "I suppose if we give you some…” As soon as Dash heard the doctor even considering her release, she bolted out the door with a giant smile on her face, leaving her signature rainbow trail in her wake. “Well that was awfully rude.”

“I think she started channeling Pinkie there for a minute,” AJ said as he came walking up to Dr. Whooves.

“I’ll just have to make sure these painkillers get to Ms. Fluttershy’s cottage then.” He wrote himself a reminder before turning to AJ. “Anything I can help you with?”

“I was just wondering if Ditzy was up yet.”

“Nope, but Dinky is. I think she’s watching cartoons right now. If you’d like, you’re welcome to go see them.”

********************

Twilight was spending some of her free time reading. With all that has been happening, she has been very stressed, and with all the other ponies temporarily living in the library, she was finding it hard to get a good night sleep. So she thought, what better way to relieve stress than a nice cup of tea and to catch up on her studies. She took a nice big sip of her tea and was interrupted by a knock on the door. Aggravated that her studies were being interrupted, she swore under her breath. “Coming!” She made sure she looked presentable and answered the door. What she saw shocked her. At her door stood Prince Blueblood flanked on both sides by two members of his personal guard. “Prince Blueblood? What are you doing here?”

“Ah, Lady Twilight it’s so good to see you again.” Blueblood bowed to Twilight. With how close Twilight was to Celestia, she was almost seen as part of the family depending on who you talked to. “As to why I’m here, Aunty Celestia has sent me to overlook the reconstruction. We have set up camp just outside Ponyville and are preparing to get started as we speak.”

“Hey Twilight, who’s at the door?” Spike came down the stares. When he saw Blueblood standing in the door, he went from zero to murderous in an instant. “What are you doing here?! You’re lucky I don’t set you on fire for what you did to my sweet Rarity!”

Blueblood shuddered when he heard Rarity’s name. “Nice to see you too Sir Spike.”

“Oh calm down Spike, he’s here to help. Don’t mind him, he’s just a bit cranky from lack of sleep,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to speak to the mayor. I would like to go over her plans for the construction,” Blueblood said as he turned to leave.

“Oh, of course, Spike could you keep tabs on the library for awhile?”

“Yea, sure.” Spike turned to Blueblood. “I’m watching you.”

********************

“Ah reckon he must be pretty tough if he’s up n walkin’ after a buck from you,” Braeburn said. He and Applejack were still sitting in the clubhouse catching up. They had sent letters to each other, but they haven’t actually seen each other since Applejack and her friends dropped off Bloomberg. Big Mac left a short time ago to supervise the work on the house. He knew he had plenty of time to catch up. He was also hoping Braeburn brought some of his special hard apple cider. Nopony made hard apple cider like Braeburn.

“Trust me, if Ah actually tried when ah bucked’im, he wouldn’t have gotten up.” Applejack gave a sad chuckle. “Ah still feel terrible ‘bout th’ whole thing.”

Braeburn put a reassuring leg on her shoulder and gave her a smile. “Don’t feel too bad cuz, it don’t look like he’s holdin’ any grudges against ya. An’ even if he did, Ah’m sure he’d see how sorry ya are an’ come around.”

“Thank’s.” She gave Braeburn a hug. “Come on, we should get ta work.”

The two of them left the clubhouse and headed through the trees. Suddenly they heard something coming straight for them. Braeburn was the first to speak up. “What’s that?”

“Ah don’t know, but it almost sounds like…” Applejack was interrupted when she saw a blue blur careen into Braeburn at full speed, sending him to the ground and bringing up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, she saw Rainbow Dash hugging and nuzzling against Braeburn on the ground once again ignoring the punishment her ribs were dishing out.

As Braeburn shook the cloud from his mind, he hugged Rainbow back. “Howdy ta you too Rainbow. Ah suppose it has been awhile since we’ve seen each other hasn’t it.”

Rainbow nodded into his chest. “Yea, two weeks is a long time.”

Applejack clearing her throat brought the two of them out of their own little world. “What in tarnation is goin’ on here Rainbow?”

Dash’s face turned crimson. She hadn’t even noticed Applejack standing there. “Well…umm.” She turned to Braeburn. “Didn’t you tell her?”

He shook his head. “Ah though you were gonna tell’er.”

“Tell me what?”

“He’s my coltfriend/She’s mah fillyfriend,” The two of them said at the same time.

Applejack stared at the two of them slack jawed. “Ya mean you,” she pointed at Dash, “And you?” she pointed at Braeburn. They both nodded. “How long has this been goin’ on?”

Dash was still blushing as she answered, “about a year. I got a letter from Little Strongheart one day saying that she wanted to see me again. So I took a week off and flew down to Appleloosa. It turns out since they worked out their differences with the buffalo; Little Strongheart has been making trips into town whenever she can. We hung out for awhile and Braeburn offered me a room at his house to stay while I was visiting and well…” she trailed off as she got lost in her memories. “As the days went by we kept spending more and more time together. He just made me feel so safe. I didn’t have to keep my guard up around him. On my last night there I started feeling so depressed. I…I didn’t want to leave, but I knew I had to get back to Ponyville."

********************

Dash was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about all the time she had spent with Braeburn over the week. She sighed, “I don’t wanna go back.” She heard a knock on the door. “Come in.”

Braeburn came into the room with a smile on his face. When he saw how depressed Rainbow was the smile fell. “What’s wrong Dashie?”

Dash turned away, trying to hide the tears that were starting to form. “Braeburn…I don’t know if I wanna leave tomorrow.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

Braeburn grew concerned. “What’s wrong, don’t ya wanna see yer friends? Ah’m sure they’ll be happy ta see ya come home.”

Dash sat up and looked at Braeburn. “That’s not it. I love my friends, but…” She sniffled and wiped more tears from her eyes. “I don’t wanna leave Appleloosa, Braeburn. I don’t wanna leave you.” Braeburn’s eyes grew wide when he heard this. “You’re the only stallion who ever treated me like this. The only one who ever treated me like a mare, and not some tomcolt to compete against. I’ve had so much fun here, and it’s made me feel so…happy. The thought of leaving all that…it hurts.”

Braeburn didn’t say a word. He just walked over to the bed and drew Dash in a hug. “Ta tell ya th’ truth, ah don’t want you ta leave either.”

Dash gasped and looked up at him. He lowered his head and kissed her on the lips. It surprised her at first, but after a few seconds, Dash felt herself melting in his embrace. She hugged and kissed back. After a minute they both released the kiss, and continued to lay there the bed before Dash asked the question that was burning in her mind. “Braeburn, c-can you stay with me tonight?”

“Anything fer you.” Dash happily stayed in his embrace until she fell asleep against his chest.

********************

“I love him Applejack. He makes me feel like a mare, makes me feel like I’m special. I don’t need to act tough or try to be somepony I’m not around him.” She shed a tear of happiness as she nuzzled into Braeburn again.

Applejack smiled at her best friend’s story. “Well, ifin y’all're happy, who am Ah ta say otherwise.” Her face turned from happy to one of ferocity. “But if EITHER of ya hurt th’ other, Ah’m commin’ ta get ya, do you hear me?” They both quickly nodded their heads.

As the two of them started getting up, the pain from Rainbow’s ribs finally got the better of her and she collapsed with a yelp of pain. Braeburn caught her with a worried look in his face. “Dashie, are ya alright?”

“I guess I over did it. Think you could help me to Fluttershy’s house?” Rainbow grunted out in pain.

“Of course. Could yawatch her while ah go get a free wagon Applejack?” Applejack gave him a nod. “Ah’ll be right back.” He ran to the construction site as fast as he could.

********************

“Fillies and genalcolts, our benevolent Princess Celestia has done a great thing for us today,” Mayor Mare began as she stood in front of the crowd. “This morning, a team has arrived from Canterlot to help with repairs to our fair town.” The crowd erupted with cheers and applause. “With them they also brought food and supplies to help support us in our time of need.” More cheers from the crowd. “Now, I would like to introduce the pony who will be supervising the reconstruction of Ponyville. Give a warm welcome to Prince Blueblood!” As Blueblood stepped on stage, the cheers of the crowd grew loud, especially from the fillies and mares of the group. Though, over the crowd, one certain alabaster white unicorn with a violet mane could be heard shouting in rage.

Blueblood stood in front of the crowd with a proud yet smug smile on his face. “Hello citizens of Ponyville, I am Prince Blueblood. As your fine mayor has just informed you, I have with me a team of highly skilled architects who will be able to restore this fine town to its former glory in no time at all.” Once again the crowd erupted with cheers. “Your mayor and I have worked out what we think is the best and fastest way to rebuild Ponyville. The team should be ready any time now and will begin post haste. I bid you farewell, my fellow ponies.”

********************

“I still can’t believe you two did that,” Ditzy said with a grumpy look on her face.

“Oh come on Ditzy, you know it was funny,” AJ said while chuckling to himself. While AJ was visiting Dinky, he had gotten an evil idea in his head. He asked for a marker that easily washes out of a ponies coat and started drawing on Ditzy’s face. Dinky, thinking it was funny, wanted to join in. By the time the two of them were done, not an inch of her face was left without some kind of drawing, marker mustache, or monocle. She woke up to the laughter of the two of them and started laughing with them not knowing why they were laughing.

After going to the little fillies room, she stormed out looking furious. She demanded to know who did it. AJ and Dinky looked at each other and started laughing uncontrollably to the point where AJ tipped over in his chair and Dinky was rolling around in the bed.

“I guess it was a little funny, and my muffin did have fun. Just don’t do it again, OK?” A small smile grew on her face.

“No problem.” AJ looked at the clock. “Oh crap, I should probably go looking for Apple Bloom. Applejack wanted me to make sure she wasn’t getting into any trouble.”

“OK. Are you going to come back later?” Ditzy asked.

“Yup, I’ll probably be back around normal time. See you later.” AJ waved and walked out of the room.

********************

The hardest part of AJ’s job was finding where the CMC would be. He expected someone to have seen them. After all, they were usually causing some kind of trouble or terrorizing someone with one of their stunts to get their cutie marks. But everyone he asked had the same answer. So with no help, he decided to just wander the streets searching for them.

As he looked around, he noticed he was getting a lot of strange looks from some of the ponies working around Ponyville. It was starting to make him feel a bit uncomfortable, but he decided to just brush it off as he continued his search.

As he started to get near the school, he noticed a constantly moving blob in the distance. As he got closer, he realized that it wasn’t a blob; it was three fillies tangled up in a ball of rope. And not just any three fillies, it was none other than the CMC. “So this is where you three have been. Having fun?”

“What, who’s there, all I can see is the ground?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah don’t know, ah cant see anythin’ around Sweetie Belle’s butt,” Apple Bloom said.

“It’s AJ!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “Maybe he can help us get untangled from this rope!”

AJ couldn’t help but laugh. “OK, before I do anything I gotta know, how the hell did you three get into this mess in the first place?”

“It wouldn’t have happened if Scootaloo wooda jus' let me have th’ rope,” Apple Bloom said.

“I hade the rope first, you could have carried the hammer,” Scootaloo added.

“But Ah wanted th’ rope!”

“Well now you got it!” The two of them started fighting as best they could while being tied up in the rope.

“OK, OK, I think I understand. Settle down and I’ll cut you free.” AJ pulled out his knife and started cutting through the rope.

********************

Blueblood was walking through the streets of Ponyville doing what he said he would be doing, supervising. “Hmm, all looks to be going quite well, wouldn’t you say Steel Hoof?” The captain of his personal guard grunted in acknowledgment. “Maybe if things keep going this well I might be able to turn in early today. With all this dust here I’ll have to spend twice the amount of time getting groomed tonight.”

As Blueblood turned the corner his guards stepped in front of him as if to protect him from something. “What, what’s wrong?”

“There appears to be a strange, possibly dangerous creature up ahead sir,” Steel Hoof warned. “Shall we apprehend?”

Blueblood looked up ahead and saw a strange ape like creature standing in front of a few fillies sprawled on the ground with what looked like a cut rope around them. The thing that caught his attention the most was the knife in the creature’s hand. “That…thing must be attacking those little fillies! Guards…” a thought came to bluebloods mind. ‘If I personally take care of this threat, I’ll be a hero in this little backwater town. Maybe they’ll even dedicate a statue in my honor.’ “Guards, allow me to take care of this threat.” His guards saluted and stood down. Blueblood stepped forward and ignited his horn.

********************

“It feels so nice to be able to move again,” Sweetie Belle said with glee in her voice.

“Yea, I was getting tired of counting the blades of grass,” Scootaloo added.

“Ah guess we don’t make good construction workers after all,” Apple Bloom said dejectedly.

“I’m sure you three will find your special talent soon enough, for now why don’t you just…” AJ was interrupted when he felt his knife yanked out of his hand. “What the hell?”

“Don’t you dare harm those little fillies you evil creature. I, Prince Blueblood, shall strike you down.” Blueblood was standing in an offensive position with the knife poised to strike. “Unfortunately for you, I’ve had my share of combat training.”

AJ gawked at Blueblood for a second. “Umm, what are you talking about, and give me back my knife, it was a gift from my dad.” He had to jump back as Blueblood flung the knife at his feet, embedding it in the ground to the hilt. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU PSYCHO?!”

Blueblood pulled the knife out of the ground and readied it again. “Have at you monster.” He swung the knife at AJ, causing him to run. “You think you can get away from me? That’s laughable.” Blueblood took aim, and launched the knife again. It flew through the air and stabbed AJ through his right shoulder.

AJ fell to the ground in pain. He looked at his shoulder and saw the end of the knife sticking out with blood dripping from it. He cried out in pain as he felt the knife forcefully yanked out, leaving an open wound. Clenching his shoulder, he turned to see Blueblood standing over him with a smile on his face, and the blood stained knife hovering over him. “I told you it was futile to run.”

“Hey, what’s your problem?!” Scootaloo shouted as the three CMC ran over to AJ. “He didn’t do anything to you!” The three of them stood between AJ and Blueblood. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo put on a tough front as Sweetie Belle was using all of her will power to keep herself from cowering. “Why don’t you go pick on somepony who deserves it?”

“Yea, he didn’t do anythin’ wrong!” Apple Bloom shouted, stomping her hoof for emphasis.

“Y-yea, what they said,” Sweetie Belle squeaked out as she started shivering.

“Girls, get out of here, you’ll get hurt.” AJ didn’t want to see the CMC get hurt by this new pony that had started attacking him for no reason.

“No, we won’t let him hurt you anymore,” Sweetie said, now starting to tear up as she saw the blood slowly pouring out of the wound.

“I’m sorry you had to see this, young ladies, but I can’t let this…monster harm any of the ponies here in Ponyville,” Blueblood said as he tried to get around the CMC. They matched his every move and kept getting in his way. He was starting to lose his patience with the three fillies. “OK, if this thing’s safety is this important to you, I won’t harm it any further. Guards…” Blueblood’s personal guards came forward at the command. “Take him to camp and lock him up. He will stay there until further notice.” One of his guards herded the CMC away from AJ; Steel Hoof got him up and got him ready for transport. At this point, Sweetie Belle couldn’t stand it anymore and ran back to Carousel Boutique.

********************

“Oh Fluttershy, I must thank you for agreeing to take care of my dear Opalescence,” Rarity said as she handed Fluttershy Opal’s cat carrier. “With all this construction I’m just not able to spend enough time taking care of the poor dear.”

“Oh, don’t worry Rarity; I’ll take care of little Opal for you. We’ll have so much fun, wont we Opal.” Opal purred as Fluttershy put her face up to the door of the carrier.

Suddenly Sweetie Belle burst through the door, bawling her eyes out. “Sweetie Belle, what’s wrong darling?” Rarity went to Sweetie Belle and started to comfort her.

“*Sniff* Rarity, AJ’s hurt,” Sweetie got out between sobs. “Some bad pony hurt him.”

Both Rarity and Fluttershy gasped. “Sweetie Belle, tell me.” Rarity lifted her sister’s head to look her in the eyes. “Where is he, is he OK?”

“S-some guards took him.”

“Guards?” Rarity’s eyes went wide. She had an idea who Sweetie was talking about, but she needed to make sure she was right. “Sweetie, what did this bad pony look like? Did he have a white coat with a blond mane? Looking full of himself?” Sweetie Belle nodded. Rarity’s eyes fell to slits as she spoke with the most venom in her voice that both Sweetie and Fluttershy had ever heard, “Blueblood.”

“U-um Rarity, are you OK?” Fluttershy asked as she saw Rarity’s eye twitch as she shook with fury. She started to back away from the infuriated unicorn.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity’s shout caused Fluttershy to hide behind a mannequin. “Go get your first aid kit. I’ll go deal with Blueblood.”

Fluttershy poked her head out from behind her hiding place. “B-but Rarity, do you really think this is a good idea? He is royalty after all.”

“Oh, if he wants to keep his horn, he’ll listen to me.” Rarity looked down at her sister who was still crying. “But first, I need to take care of my sister. Go ahead Fluttershy; I’ll be along when I can.”

********************

“P-please let me through sir. I-I just want to help AJ.” Fluttershy was attempting to be as brave and assertive as she could possibly be as she stood in front of Blueblood and his guards. Key word was attempting. She was shaking like a leaf as the guards glared at her. “*Squeak*”

“I must apologies Ms. Fluttershy, but I can not allow anypony see the prisoner. We have no idea how dangerous he may be.” He looked Fluttershy over and smiled. “I wouldn’t want him to hurt even a hair on such a beautiful mares head.” Fluttershy squeaked again when she heard Blueblood hit on her, and hid behind her mane. “When this is all over, would you like a tour of the castle courtesy of me? I could take you to see all of the most beautiful sights of Canterlot. It would be the most…”

“BLUUUEBLOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!” came a shout that to Blueblood sounded to be of the devil. “You stop hitting on Fluttershy THIS INSTANT! If you don’t I swear by Celestia’s good name, I will find the biggest, messiest, most frosting covered cake in all of Equestria and I WILL throw you into it myself.” Blueblood immediately shrank back at the threat of another cake bath courtesy of Rarity. Rarity walked beside Fluttershy and put her leg around her withers. “He didn’t hurt you, did he Fluttershy.” She shook her head behind her mane. Rarity smiled, “Will he let you in?” She shook her head again. Rarity turned to Blueblood and glared death at him.

It was Blueblood’s turn to cower now. “W-w-we don’t know i-if he’s dangerous, so I can’t allow anypony to see him.”

“If you don’t want your horn to be snapped off like a twig and shoved straight up your ass, you will allow Fluttershy to see him. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!?!” Rarity’s outburst made Blueblood hide behind one of his guards. Armies of opposing ponies or griffins, easy. Monsters from the Everfree forest, piece of cake. The wrath of a mare that must be possessed by the devil, scariest thing in the world. He didn’t want to feel the wrath of the evil, white, cake demon that was Rarity.

He gingerly nodded his head. “B-b-b-b-b-but only if a guard acc-c-c-c-companies her in.”

Rarity glared at him again. She let out a frustrated grunt, “Fine.” She looked at Fluttershy who was staring at Rarity, eyes wide and mouth agape. She had never seen Rarity get this mad. She also never expected a threat of physical harm to royalty from Rarity of all ponies. Rarity blushed a bit. “I’m sorry you had to see that Fluttershy, but look on the bright side, you won’t have any problems with the likes of Blueblood anymore.” As Rarity started walking towards the library, she could have sworn she heard Blueblood start to cry.

********************

“He’s in here.” The guard opened the flap of a tent to let Fluttershy in. The only thing in the tent was AJ who had his hands chained together and a chain around his neck holding him to some wooden beams that were stuck in the ground. The right side of his shirt was covered in blood, and there was a white, blood soaked cloth wrapped around his shoulder.

He lifted his head and looked at Fluttershy. He wanted to smile, but with the events that happened earlier in the day, he wasn’t in the mood. “Watch out Fluttershy. Don’t get too close. I may be dangerous.” He spoke in an angry, sarcastic tone. He cringed as he moved his shoulder.

Fluttershy slowly walked up to AJ, eyes never leaving the blood soaked cloth. “W-what happened? Sweetie Belle just told us you got hurt?”

AJ gave a quick angry look at the entrance of the tent. “A misunderstanding happened. Seems to be the story of my life as of late. Someone misunderstands me and then hurts me." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I’m starting to think I’m the most unlucky bastard in the world.” He cringed again.

Fluttershy walked up to AJ and undid the white cloth. “Umm, Mr. Guard?” The guard standing by the entrance flap turned to look at Fluttershy, causing her to squeak and hid behind her mane. “Umm, could you please, undo his restraints so I could properly clean the wound? Umm, that is, if it’s OK with you.” The guard looked hesitant at first, but nodded and undid the chains around his arms and neck, staying close in case AJ were to lash out at anypony now that he was free.

“Thank you. Could you please remove your shirt?” With difficulty, and a lot of pain, AJ was able to get his shirt off with one arm. Fluttershy started looking over the knife wound. It was clear they gave him only minor first aid as it looked at least mostly clean.

Fluttershy pulled her medical supplies out of her saddlebags and asked the guard if she could get a bucket of warm water and some clean towels. He asked the guards on the outside to retrieve them. Fluttershy was preparing her supplies when she started talking. “AJ, I’m sorry.”

“Hm, about what? You didn’t do anything.”

She lowered her head. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“Yesterday?” He thought back. Then he remembered back to when he was visiting his dad’s grave. “Oh, that. *sigh* It’s OK Fluttershy, that’s just a…touchy subject for me.”

“I’m sorry for bringing it up. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

“It’s OK Fluttershy, you don’t have to…” He looked into Fluttershy’s eyes. She was serious about this. He lowered his head in defeat and started to think. He opened his eyes and smiled. “I found Mr. Bun bun in the debris of the farm house today.” Fluttershy looked at AJ in surprise. She had expected everything in the house to have been destroyed. “Needless to say, hes in pretty bad shape. If you help me fix him up, I’ll call it even.”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. A guard entered the tent with a bucket in his mouth and some towels sitting on his back. Fluttershy thanked the guard and began working on AJ’s injury. “Now, this is going to hurt.”

“I’m sure it won’t hurt as much as getting stabbed.” AJ was, of course, proved completely wrong as Fluttershy started washing and disinfecting the wound. It hurt at least ten times worse.

********************

Twilight, once again, had her studies interrupted by a knock at the door. She smiled as she saw Rarity at the door. “Why hello Rarity. What can I do for you?”

Rarity was able to calm down by the time she got to the library. “Hello Twilight, Is Spike home?”

“Spike? Yea he’s home. Spiiike, Rarity’s here for you!” Twilight shouted at the stairs to the upper level of the library.

The pitter patter of claws could be heard rushing down the stairs as spike tore through the room. “Hi Rarity, What can I do for you?” Spike had a big smile on his face.

“Hello Spike, I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia. Would you be able to do that for me?”

“Of course, anything for you Rarity.” Spike pulled out a quill and an empty scroll.

“Why do you need to send a letter to the princess?” Twilight’s eyes grew and she started smiling. “Is it another friendship report? Oh, tell me what you learned.”

“Oh I wish this was a friendship report Twilight. No, this is about getting that cad Blueblood out of Ponyville and in the gutter where he belongs!” Rarity’s rage was starting to rise again.

Twilight was caught off guard by this. “Why, what happened?”

“What happened, WHAT HAPPENED, HE ATTACKED AJ, THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED!” Rarity was in full on rage mode again. “AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE SCARED MY LITTLE SISTER! POOR SWEETIE BELLE RAN HOME, TERRIFIED OF HIM BECAUSE OF HIS ACTIONS! I will NOT have such a brutish, snobbish, egomaniacal, ARROGANT, SELF LOVING, PIECE OF SHIT…” Rarity saw the reactions on both Twilight’s and Spikes faces and took a minute to calm herself. “As I was saying, I will not allow him to stay here and terrorize the fare ponies of Ponyville.”

“Well, I can see you’re very…passionate about this Rarity. We’ll send the letter right away, wont we Spike.” Still dumbfounded by Rarity’s outburst, Spike just stood there. The scroll and quill had fallen out of his hands. Twilight gave Rarity a sheepish smile. “Eheh, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

********************

Princess Celestia was sitting in her room, reading some books Luna had given her for her Birthday. “I have no idea where she finds these books, but I must know. These are great.” She had just finished the second of the five books she had received and was about to move onto the third when a puff of magical smoke blew in through the window. A scroll materialized in front of her and she smiled. The thought of reading another friendship report from Ponyville made her happy as always.

She unrolled the scroll and started reading. As she read through the letter, her smile slowly fell. When she got to the end she blinked a few times; then she re-read the letter, making sure she didn’t just misread the entire thing. Once she got to the end again, she got up and left her room, heading in the direction of Luna’s room.

She knocked on Luna’s door and entered the room. She giggled a bit as she saw Luna playing video games. It had become one of her favorite past times of late when she wasn’t busy helping her sister with the politics of Equestria. Celestia looked at the TV screen and saw Luna’s character shouting what looked like fire at a dragon. After she killed the dragon, the screen started glowing and a message saying “Dragon soul absorbed” popped up. “Haha, I have slayed another one! Take that you evil dragons!”

“Having fun Lulu? You may want to be careful who you yell that around.” Celestia giggled again.

“Ah, hello sister, can I help you with something?” Luna asked with a smile.

“I have a question. I just received a letter from Twilight, and well…Did you ever tell Blueblood about Ponyville’s newest member?” Celestia asked.

“Do you mean AJ?” Celestia nodded. Luna put her hoof to her chin as she thought. “Nnnno, I thought you did. Why?”

Celestia let out a sigh. “Shit.”

Luna put a hoof to her mouth as she stifled a giggle. “Why Tia, I never knew you used such language.”

“Some situations call for it Luna.” An evil grin crept on her face. “And besides, I hear you swear all the time when you’re playing your games.”

Luna blushed. “I-I don’t know what your talking about Tia. I’m a perfect angel.” She turned back to her game to find herself being mauled to death by a Frost Saber Cat. She forgot to pause her game. “What? I can slay a dragon but I get killed by a stupid cat? What the hell?!” She threw her hooves over her mouth and blushed. She looked at Celestia who was trying and failing to stifle her laughter.

********************

It had been a few hours since the letter had been sent and Rarity had decided to help with the restorations of Ponyville. Knowing that Celestia knew of Blueblood’s deeds made her feel much better. Sweetie Belle was with her friends again and was happy once again. As she was helping the flower trio lift their sign back up into place, she saw Fluttershy walking back to her cottage with a smile on her face. “Fluttershy, darling hello.”

“Oh, hello Rarity. You seem much happier than earlier.” Fluttershy turned away as she mentioned Rarity’s earlier outburst.

“Oh, I have so much to be happy about, but that’s beside the point, how is the poor dear doing.”

Fluttershy smiled once again. “Oh, he’ll be fine. He’ll be in a sling for awhile, but no permanent damage was done.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful news.” After setting up the sign with Rarity’s help, the Flower Trio left for Daisy’s house to get the seeds she kept at her house. Rarity looked herself over and noticed how sweaty she was. “Oh, I’m going to need a bath after this. I’ll see you later Fluttershy.” As Rarity headed back to her boutique, she heard the tell tale signs of the princess’s arrival. She got positively giddy when she saw the royal chariot land in the town square. She joined the crowd that was swarming around Celestia and bowed along with them. At the head of the crowd, Blueblood sat with his personal guard.

Celestia smiled at all the ponies before her before turning to Blueblood who, as usual, had the smuggest grin on his face. “Auntie Celestia, so good to see you. I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that the reconstruction of Ponyville is going swimmingly.”

“Hello Prince Blueblood. Unfortunately this is not such a simple visit.” She said as her smile fell. “If you’ll come with me, we have some business to take care of.” She saw Rarity in the crowd and nodded to her to join them.

Blueblood saw Rarity approaching them and started shaking again. “U-um Auntie, w-why do we n-need her?”

“Because she is the one who asked for my presence.” Rarity gave Blueblood an evil smile as she passed him.

********************

As they went to the camp, they stopped off at the library to pick up Twilight who, with Spike, was busy cooking a meal for all the ponies that were currently living in the library. Lemon Hearts and Lemon Tart took over for them as they left. They had Blueblood lead them to the tent where they were keeping AJ.

“In here?” Celestia asked Blueblood.

Blueblood nodded but started to protest, “But, I’m not sure if letting him go is such a good idea, he may be dangerous.” Another glare from Rarity quickly changed his mind. “Or we could let him go. Letting him go sounds like a great idea.”

They saw AJ in the back as they entered the tent. His hands were no longer chained together due to the sling, but they had the restraint around his neck back on. He was leaning against the wood beam, supporting himself as he slept. He woke up when Twilight started nudging his good arm with her hoof. “Hmmm-wha?” He looked around the tent, noting all the ponies, and one dragon, in there with him. “What, are we having a party or something?” Rarity and Twilight both started looking around the tent, but breathed a sigh of relief as Pinkie didn’t pop out of the woodwork at the mere mention of a party.

Celestia motioned to her guards to undo the restraints. AJ stood up and started stretching. He glared at Blueblood and walked up to him; motioning to the empty sheath at his side. “I’d like my knife back, please.” Blueblood quickly slipped out of the tent.

AJ looked at Celestia who had a frown on her face. “I must apologize for everything that happened here.”

AJ looked confused. “Why, you didn’t do anything.”

“And that’s exactly why I must apologize to you,” Celestia said. “Both Luna and I forgot to mention your presence to Blueblood.”

Blueblood entered the tent once more, carrying a plaque with the knife on it. It looked like he was going to keep it as a trophy for stopping the 'monster.' He floated the knife off the plaque and over to AJ who grabbed it out of the air. He smiled as he looked at the now clean knife before placing it back in its sheath. “If it’s alright with you all, I need to be getting back to the hospital. I was supposed to meet up with Ditzy, and I think I’m late.” He waved to everyone in the tent as he started walking out. “Oh and Princess, no hard feelings.”

****************************************

((This one was fun to write :D Especially Rarity going into a blind rage. My god, good thing I split this from the last chapter. It would have been a LONG fucking chapter. And before anyone asks, Fluttershy’s worked with monkey’s and chimps before. Similar enough to humans. And damn, with all the punishment I’m putting myself through in this story, if a psychologist was to read it, they would probably think I like to hurt myself :P

As for the Braenbow ship, it originated from this picture

Also, if you ever wanted a face to put to AJ, got a pic of myself on mah Tumblr

Also, this is the face I was trying to emulate when AJ woke up in the clubhouse. ))

My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

Going back to normal

(Finally pulled my head out of my ass and started calling Ponyville a town instead of a village. I went back and fixed it in all the old chapters.)

Chapter 12

Twilight and Rarity were waiting outside of Prince Blueblood’s tent as he and Celestia went inside and talked things over. After AJ left, Celestia wanted to talk to Blueblood about how he handled things around Ponyville. They were in there for about ten minutes before the two of them exited the tent.

Celestia looked over to Rarity and smiled. “You’ll be happy to know that Blueblood will no longer be overlooking the reconstruction.” Rarity gave a triumphant smirk in Blueblood’s direction. “Captain Aquilinus, from this moment on you will be overlooking the reconstruction. You are to send daily reports about everything that happens. I’m sure Spike would be happy to help you deliver them.”

“Of course your highness.” Aquilinus trotted off to begin his new duties.

Blueblood, who was looking at the ground until now, was now staring between the two ponies before him. “I apologize for everything that has happened here today. I acted without thinking.” He turned to Twilight and bowed his head. “As brief as it was, it was nice to see you again Lady Twilight.” He then turned to Rarity and gulped. “A-and I apologize f-for all the trouble I’ve caused you and your sister.”

Rarity was enjoying the sight of Blueblood being forced to swallow his pride. “Apology accepted.” She started glaring at him once again. “But if I ever see you again, you will be sorry.”

“P-p-please don’t sodomize me with my own horn! I promise I will never bother you again!” Blueblood turned and ran to his personal carriage; ordering the drivers to get him back to the castle as fast as possible.

Celestia and Twilight stared at each other with clueless looks on their faces. Celestia turned to Rarity. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what was that about his horn and...sodomy?”

Rarity blushed as she was reminded of her little…outburst earlier in the day. “Umm, nothing. It was nothing. He’s just crazy, that’s all.” She gave Celestia a sheepish smile.

Celestia shook her head and giggled as she turned to Twilight. “I should be getting back to Canterlot. I left Luna in charge while I was gone and I promised her she could have the day off.” Celestia gave Twilight a hug and left in her chariot.

As Twilight watched the chariot leave, Rarity had a thought. “Twilight, I have a question.”

“Hmm, what is it Rarity?”

“I was wondering, Blueblood was talking to you like he knew you personally right?” Twilight nodded. “Were you two…friends?”

“Oh no.” Twilight smiled and shook her head. “He was a classmate back in Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. We talked a few times, but I wouldn’t call him a friend.”

Rarity gave Twilight a smile. “Well, I really should be getting home. After all that work I really need a bath. I’ll see you later Twilight.”

********************

It took AJ a lot longer than he would have hoped to get to the hospital. He felt tired and sluggish and couldn’t wait to sit down and rest. His entire body ached, especially his shoulder. He was also feeling quite hungry as he didn’t get a chance to have any lunch. He was too preoccupied with getting to the hospital that he didn’t notice all the stares he was getting as he walked down the street.

He finally got to the hospital after about a half an hours walk and to him, it seemed like a beacon of hope. Nurse Redheart noticed him as he walked through the door. “Ah AJ, hello again. Go o…*gasp*!” As she got a better look at AJ she noticed all the dried blood that covered the right half of his shirt and the sling his arm was in. “What happened?!”

“Umm, let’s just say I had an…altercation. Everything’s been taken care of though, so no worries.” AJ gave a weak smile hoping that would be enough.

“Are you sure your OK, it looks like you lost a lot of blood?”

“I’m tired, hungry, and I ach all over, but I’m fine. I’m just going to go see Ditzy if that’s alright.” AJ gave a sigh of relief as Redheart nodded.

As AJ started down the hall to Dinky’s room, Redheart called out to him, “the cafeteria is still serving dinner if you’re interested.”

“That sounds pretty good right about now. Maybe Ditzy’s hungry too.” AJ waved to Redheart and continued down the hall.

He opened the door to see Ditzy and Dinky playing with some dolls. Ditzy had gone home earlier in the day to grab some of Dinky’s favorite toys so she would have something to do. Whatever they were playing, it seemed like Dinky was winning as she pounded down on Ditzy’s doll with her own and laughed manically. Hearing Dinky try to pull off an evil laugh was one of the most adorable things AJ had ever seen and he let out an ‘aww’ announcing his presence to the two ponies in the room.

The smile on Ditzy’s face quickly turned to a look of horror as she saw the shape AJ was in. She covered her mouth with her hooves and gasped. “Oh Celestia, w-what happened?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” AJ said trying to assure Ditzy every thing will be fine. Her face told him it had not helped. “*sigh* How about I tell you over dinner, I am so hungry right now.”

“OK, I want the whole story though,” Ditzy demanded as she got Dinky out of bed so the three of them could go to the cafeteria.

********************

It was dark when AJ and Ditzy got to the farm. Ditzy insisted she walk him back to make sure nothing happened. She asked Nurse Tenderheart to watch Dinky until she got back and she happily accepted. Around the house sat a few tents where the visiting Apples were staying while working on the house. At the moment all the visiting Apples were sitting around a campfire having a good time.

AJ pointed Ditzy in the direction of the CMC clubhouse and they started walking through the trees. It wasn’t long before they came to the small wooden tree house. They heard talking and laughing from the inside of the clubhouse as they walked up the ramp. Applejack and Big Mac turned to the door as AJ and Ditzy walked through the door. “There ya are. After Apple Bloom told us what happened, we got worried.” Applejack looked AJ over. “Not ta be rude, but you look like hell.”

AJ chuckled. “Yea, I’ve been getting that a lot today.”

Ditzy gave AJ a small shove to get him into the clubhouse. “Now you better get some rest, do you hear me.”

AJ looked at Ditzy and gave a warm smile smiled. “Yes mom.”

“I’m serious. I was worried about you.”

AJ kneeled down and gave Ditzy a hug. “I know. Thanks for walking me back.”

Ditzy returned the hug and smiled. “I should be getting back to Dinky. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She wave bye to everypony in the clubhouse and flew off; only to fly straight into a branch and fall to the ground. She got herself up and rubbed her head. “Stupid branch.” She made her way to a clearing and began flying again.

Applejack gave a chuckle. “Th’ two of ya are cute together, ya know that?” AJ gave a small chuckle as he sat down on his ‘bed.’ Her face got serious. “So, how did everything go with Blueblood? He still trottin’ around like he owns th’ place?”

AJ shrugged. “I dunno. From what Fluttershy told me Rarity had to put Blueblood in his place earlier today. Sounded like she went as far as threatening him to get her way. Can’t say that I blame her.”

Applejack got a dreamy smile on her face. “Yea, Rarity’s a gem ain’t she?”

AJ looked to Big Mac who had a playful smile on his face. “So, are we goin’ ta be hearin’ weddin’ bells in th’ near future Applejack?”

Applejack blushed and glared at her brother. “Shut it Big McIntosh!” She looked at AJ again. “Ya know, Rarity could probably help ya with yer shirt. If anypony could fix an’ clean it, it’s Rarity.” She glared at Big Mac again when she heard him trying to hold in his laughter. “What did ah just tell you?”

AJ laughed as he looked around. “Where’s Apple Bloom?”

“She’s with th’ rest of th’ family,” Big Mac said. “Last ah saw she was playin’ with Red Gala an’ Golden Delicious.”

“Cool. If it’s alright with you two I’m going to get some sleep. I feel like I haven’t slept in a week.”

“Go ahead, me an’ Big McIntosh were just about ta go spend time with th’ family before ya got here anyway,” Applejack said as she and Big Mac got up. “G’night Sugarcube.”

********************

The next morning AJ decided to take Applejack up on her suggestion and see if Rarity could do anything about his shirt. It would probably be a bad idea to walk around with a blood covered shirt any longer than necessary. He knocked on the door and heard Rarity’s voice, “Come in.” AJ entered the establishment and saw Rarity cleaning up a mess. “Ah AJ, so good to see you. You’ll be happy to know that brute Blueblood will no longer be bothering you anymore. Celestia sent him home and left somepony much more qualified in charge.”

“That’s good to hear. Hey, I was wondering if you’re not to busy, could you do something about my shirt? Applejack suggested you could do something about the blood and the hole.”

Rarity got in close and studied AJ’s shirt and started rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Hmm, it may take a bit of work, but I should be able to get the blood out. The hole will be no problem. Please take your shirt off and I will get to work right away. With a little help from Rarity, AJ got his shirt off. “If you’d like, I have some fresh cookies from Sugarcube Corner in the kitchen, help yourself.”

AJ perked up at the sound of the sugary confectionaries in the kitchen. Who was he to turn down such a generous offer from his host? And besides, free cookies. He thanked Rarity and headed into the kitchen. There on the table was a plate full of white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies and another plate of colorful cupcakes.

AJ was about to eat a cookie when he heard the front door of the boutique slam open. Three sets of hooves could be heard running in and three voices were cheering and giggling. AJ poked his head out as Rarity started yelling. “Sweetie Belle, I thought I asked you not to track mud in the house!”

“There’s not that much mud,” Sweetie Belle said as she turned around to look at the mess her and her friends had made. In that short amount of time, the CMC had somehow managed to cover the floor, the side table, and everything else in about a ten foot radius of the door in thick mud. “Oh.”

“*sigh* Go get yourselves cleaned up. I’ll take care of the mess.” Rarity shooed the girls upstairs as she began to clean up the mud. “And when you’re done you may have some cookies.” The combined shout of the three fillies cheering for cookies made Rarity cover her ears.

After about a half an hour, the girls started rushing down stairs again. “I bet I’m going to eat the most cookies!” yelled Scootaloo

“No ya ain’t, cause Ah’m goin’ ta eat th’ most!” Apple Bloom drawled.

“I wonder what kind they are.” Sweetie Belle added as the three of them ran into the kitchen. They all skidded to a stop, nearly piling on top of each other when they saw AJ sitting at the table with a cookie in his mouth. “Hi AJ!”

AJ swallowed the cookie and wiped his face. “Hey girls. What’cha up to today?”

“We were trying to get our mud wrestling cutie marks,” Scootaloo said. “It didn’t work.”

“I can see that.” The antics of the CMC never ceased to humor AJ. “Oh well, pull up a chair and join me. These cookies are great.” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom happily took their seats and started munching away. AJ noticed Sweetie Belle was still standing there. Her smile turned to a look of sadness as she looked at him. “What’s wrong Sweetie?”

“Are you OK? After that mean pony attacked you I…*sniff*.” Sweetie Belle started tearing up as she remembered the events of the previous day.

AJ got up and wiped the tear from Sweetie Belle’s cheek. “Don’t worry Sweetie. I’m fine, and everything was taken care of.” He smirked and looked into the store front. “Rarity made sure of that.”

“*sniff* Are you sure?”

AJ nodded. “Now come on. Those cookies aren’t going to eat themselves.” Sweetie Belle smiled and sat at the table. The three fillies made quick work of the cookies on the plate. Scootaloo’s and Apple Bloom’s eating contest made sure of that. AJ made sure to save a few for Rarity.

A few hours passed as the four of them talked about the many misadventures of the CMC. Rarity walked into the room holding a folded shirt in her magic. “There, it took quite a bit of effort, but I was able to get the blood out.” She levitated the shirt over to AJ who put it on over his arm. Rarity smiled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see if I can be of any help somewhere.”

“Have fun out there.” AJ waved to Rarity as she left. After she was gone, he pulled out his bit purse. “Hey Sweetie, I know your sister wouldn’t let me pay for this, but I’d feel bad if I didn’t. Give these to her for me would you?” AJ dropped 10 bits on the table and Sweetie Belle nodded as she scooped them up. “Right, I gotta get outta here. Ditzy's expecting me at the hospital. I’ll see you three later.”

********************

A couple days have passed since AJ got his shirt fixed at Rarity’s boutique. The reconstruction of the farm house was nearly complete. A couple of the Apples were on the roof putting on the finishing touches while the rest were busy moving in furnishings that were brought along. The first items they moved in were the appliances for the kitchen. Things like beds and living room furnishings came next. It was about mid day when the house was finally complete. It was a thing of beauty. Due to Applejacks wishes, the house resembled the old farm house. Though this time it was built a lot sturdier with better materials. The orchard itself was returned to its former glory. Thanks to the help of the unicorn specialist that was brought in from Canterlot, most of the trees that were uprooted or damaged were able to be replanted and restored. There were a few that were so badly damaged that they were beyond repair. Applejack made sure they would be given a proper funeral.

A tear of happiness rolled down Applejacks cheek as she looked over her now restored farm. “It’s beautiful, ain’t it Big McIntosh?”

“Eeyup.”

“That she is cuz,” Braeburn said as he came over to sit with the two of them. “It’ll take a few days ta hook up, but y’all should get yer water, gas, an’ electricity back soon.”

“Well, we always got that old well till then,” Big Mac said.

“We could also borrow some candles from Twilight an’ Fluttershy fer light.” Applejack noticed AJ coming out of the trees with the remains of Mr. Bun bun in his hand. She called out to him, “Hey AJ, where ya goin’ with that thing?”

“I was just going over to Fluttershy’s. She said she would fix him up for me,” AJ said as he held up the tattered stuffed animal.

Braeburn got up. “Ah think Ah’ll go with ya. Ah ain’t spent enough time with Dashie lately.”

“Any other takers?” AJ looked around jokingly to see if anyone else would want to go. “No, OK. We’ll be back whenever.”

********************

It didn’t take long for AJ and Braeburn to get to Fluttershy’s cottage. They found Fluttershy outside feeding the animals along side Rainbow Dash who was busy being assaulted by chickens at the moment.

“You stupid birds, get off!” Every time Rainbow managed to throw off one chicken, another immediately replaced it. This went on until Fluttershy shooed the chickens back into their chicken coop. “Stupid chickens, see if I ever try to feed THEM again.”

“Still not that good with animals Ah see,” Braeburn joked.

Rainbow’s ears perked up and she turned her head to see Braeburn and AJ standing there chuckling. Her good wing immediately sprung open and started slowly fluttering. A bright smile grew on her face. “Oh Braeburn hi! Heh, I guess not.” Rainbow ran over to Braeburn and the two of them embraced. A barely audible ‘aww’ could be heard from Fluttershy. “Do you mind if I leave Fluttershy?”

“Oh, not at all. You two go have fun.” Fluttershy smiled as Rainbow hopped in place and squealed in delight. The two of them walked side by side along the stream that flowed by Fluttershy’s cottage. “They’re so cute together.”

“Mmhm.” Fluttershy eeped and hid in a bush. She hadn’t realized AJ had come up next to her. “Heh, sorry.”

“Oh no, that’s OK.” Fluttershy pulled herself out of the bush and blew a leaf from her mane. “What can I do for you today?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to check on my wound.” AJ lifted Mr. Bun bun. “I also thought I’d bring Mr. Bun bun over in case you wanted to start working on him.”

Fluttershy took the no longer stuffed rabbit from AJ’s hands and stared at it in sadness. It saddened her to see her favorite fillyhood toy in such a state. She hugged the toy to her chest as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Don’t worry Mr. Bun bun. I’ll make you all better.”

“You gonna be OK Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded and wiped away the tears. “Yea. Let’s go check on your injury.”

Fluttershy led AJ inside, placing Mr. Bun bun gently on the table. She had AJ sit on the floor and take off his shirt as she got some warm water, clean towels and disinfectant. She unwrapped the bandages around his shoulder and, using a gentle touch, cleaned and disinfected the wound. She re-wrapped the wound in clean bandages and reapplied the sling.

As AJ was putting his shirt back on, Fluttershy’s stomach started to grumble at her. She blushed as AJ looked at her with an amused look. “Umm, I guess it’s time for lunch. Are you hungry?”

“A bit, yea.” Fluttershy smiled as the two of them went into the kitchen. “So, anything I can help with?”

“Oh no, you just relax and let me take care of it.” Fluttershy smiled and turned to begin on the meal.

What she didn’t see was the look of disappointment on AJ’s face. “Oh, OK.”

“Is everything alright?”

“It’s just…ever since I got injured I’ve just felt so useless. Every time I try to help around the farm, everyone just shoos me away and tells me to take it easy. They won’t even let me help with the simplest tasks. It’s aggravating.” AJ sighs and leans forward in his seat, looking at the floor. “I can still do things. I’m not useless. I just wish everyone would see that.” He closed his eyes and started to get lost in his depressed state.

He felt a soft hoof on his chin as his head was lifted. He opened his eyes to see Fluttershy’s smiling face in front of him. “Please don’t be sad. Don’t be upset with Applejack and Big Mac. They just don’t want to see you get hurt anymore. And besides, if you want to be mad at somepony, I’m the one you should be mad at, not Applejack. I’m the one who asked Applejack to make sure you take it easy. I didn’t mean to make you feel this way.”

AJ looked into Fluttershy’s eyes for a minute. He closed his eyes and mulled over what she said in his head before a smile appeared on his face. “That’s not fair, I can’t be mad at you. It’s like, physically impossible or something.” AJ started laughing for a moment. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure. Now, how does oatmeal and toast sound?” Fluttershy asked as she turned back to the pantry.

“Sounds good to me. It’ll be a nice change of pace from apples all the time.” Fluttershy giggled as she started preparing the homemade oatmeal.

********************

As AJ entered the hospital, he was greeted by Nurse Redheart as usual. The thing that struck him as odd was the site of Ditzy gleefully dancing down the hall towards the lobby bobbing her head from side to side with her eyes closed like she was playing a tune in head. “Hey Ditzy. What’s the occasion?”

Ditzy opened her eyes and the smile on her face grew even more. She dashed over and gave AJ a big hug. “Dinky’s finally being released! There just finishing a few quick tests and my muffin will be free to go home.”

“That’s great news and all Ditzy, but you’re kinda squeezing my shoulder. It really hurts.”

Ditzy released her hug and started to blush. “Oops, sorry. I’m just so happy she’ll be home with me and Carrot.”

Nurse Tenderheart came out of Dinky’s room with a bag in her mouth and Dinky on her back. She placed the bag in front of Ditzy and smiled. “Well, everything checks out Ms. Doo. Dinky’s finally free to go home.”

“Hi mommy.” Dinky waved to her mom from Tenderheart’s back.

Ditzy trotted up next to Tenderheart so Dinky could transfer to her back. Ditzy looked back and smiled as Dinky nuzzled into her neck. “Are you ready to go home my little muffin?”

“Mmhm.”

Ditzy looked over to AJ. “Would you like to come with us?”

AJ shrugged. “Sure. I don’t have any other plans for today.”

“Yay! We can have a movie night like me and Carrot always used to have!” Ditzy started happily dancing in place. She always had so much fun on movie nights. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Ahem.”

The sound of somepony clearing their throat brought Ditzy back to her out of her euphoric state. She turned to the counter to see Redheart looking at her with a knowing smile. “Oops. I almost forgot to pay.” She looked at AJ with a sheepish smile. “I’ll be right back.”

********************

“Ya threatened ta do what, with his what now?” Applejack asked Rarity in amazement.

“Please don’t make me say it again darling. I still can’t believe I said it out loud,” Rarity said rubbing her temples. Ever since the Blueblood incident, Rarity has been more stressed out than she has ever been, and with the spa closed until the town is rebuilt, she’s had no way to relieve that stress. That is, until she got a visit from a certain orange earth pony. As soon as she saw Applejack smiling at her front door, it felt like almost all her stress just melted away. At the moment the two of them were sitting in at Rarity’s kitchen table talking over some apple cider. “Worse yet he mentioned it in front of Princess Celestia.”

“Ah’m sure everythin’ will be fine.” Applejack placed a comforting hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “How ‘bout Ah tell ya th’ pony that Rainbow’s fallen fer. Would that cheer you up?”

Rarity’s ears perked up. “Ah yes, her and Braeburn do seem to be happy together don’t they.” Rarity smiled. “At least she finally found somepony who managed to tame her wild spirit.”

Applejack looked at Rarity with surprise. “How did ya know about Rainbow and Braeburn?”

Rarity waved her hoof at Applejack. “Oh please darling, I’ve known for a few months now.”

“How th’ hay was Ah th’ last pony ta find out about this?!”

“You mean she never told you?” Rarity asked. “She told us all over lunch one day. I believe you were busy delivering apples to Canterlot that day. I thought she would have told you when you got back.” Applejack grumbled something under her breath. “Cheer up Applejack. At least they’re happy.”

“They are happy,” Applejack said. “Braeburn’s been spendin’ all his free time with Rainbow.” A thought crossed her mind that caused her to frown. “Ya know, we haven’t had a night ta ourselves in awhile.”

“We haven’t, have we?” A seductive look flashed across Rarity’s face. “Well, how about tonight?”

Applejacks eyes lit up. “Aren’t ya’ busy tonight?”

“Oh heavens no. Ever since the storm I haven’t been getting any orders.”

Applejack got a seductive look of her own. “Ah reckon we could do somethin’…special tonight.”

Applejack and Rarity both started to lean forward and close their eyes. They got closer and closer until they were connected in a passion filled kiss. The two of them were in a state of utter bliss until, “awwww.” Rarity had completely forgotten about Sweetie Belle. Both of the mares blushed and looked over to the open doorway to see Sweetie Belle covering her mouth with her fore-hooves. “Umm, hello.”

“S-sweetie Belle, darling heheh, how much did you see?” Rarity asked in a panic.

“All of it!” Sweetie Belle squeaked happily.

Rarity’s blush intensified as she began to panic even more. She started looking around trying to think about what to do. She looked over to Applejack, mouthing the words ‘help me.' Applejack thought for a second before her getting an idea. “Hey Sweetie Belle, as you know th’ farm house is rebuilt. Why don’t you an’ Apple Bloom have a sleep over? Ah’m sure she’d love ta have ya over.”

Sweetie Belle’s face lit up. “Really?! Can I sleep over at Apple Bloom’s house Rarity?! Can I, can I?!”

“Yes of course. Now why don’t you go get your things ready and head on over to the farm.” A squeal of happiness filled the room as Sweetie Belle ran up to her room to get her things. Rarity sighed a breath of relief as she turned to Applejack. “Thank you Applejack.”

“Why are ya so scared of yer sister findin’ out about us?”

“It’s not Sweetie Belle I’m worried about,” Rarity said. “I’m worried that she may tell mom and dad. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s told them things about my life when she went back home.”

“Aww, don’t ya worry about them. Ah’m sure they’d be fine with it,” Applejack put her leg around Rarity’s withers as Sweetie Belle tore through the house and out the door carrying her saddle bags. The two of them sat there for a minute to make sure Sweetie was gone. “Now that she’s gone, how ‘bout we go upstairs an’ have some fun.”

“Oh Applejack you naughty little filly.” Rarity started looking around the room as if to make sure nopony was listening. “You go get ready, I’ll get the toys.”

Applejack smiled at Rarity. “Now who’s the naughty little filly?”

********************

Many hours have passed since movie night started at Carrot Top’s house. It was about 11:30 and they had just finished watching ‘The Princess Bride.’ Ditzy noticed Dinky let out a big yawn. “Are you getting tired Dinky?” Dinky nodded her head as she rubbed her eye. “OK, let’s get you to bed.” Ditzy picked Dinky up in her fore-hooves and carried her up the stairs.

AJ watched as Ditzy flew up the stairs. “I think she’s happy to be home.”

“Happy is an understatement.” Carrot Top looked over to AJ from her spot next to the couch. “In fact, she seems happier over all ever since she met you.”

“Really?” Carrot Top nodded. “Huh.”

“Are you two talking about me behind my back?” AJ and Carrot Top looked over and saw Ditzy lazily floating over to the couch. She had a smile on her face. “She fell asleep almost instantly.”

A yawn escaped from AJ’s mouth. “I think she had the right idea. I’m starting to get pretty tired too.”

Ditzy looked at AJ and giggled. “Oh come on you wuss. You can stay up longer than this. I’m not the least bit ti…” Ditzy was interrupted when she herself yawned. She blushed as AJ laughed back at her. “OK, so maybe I am a bit tired.”

Carrot Top was busy looking through their movie collection for the next movie to watch. “So, you two think we should watch another one. I’ve been itching to watch something with a bit more violence in it, and with Dinky asleep now’s the perfect time.”

“*yawn* I suppose I could try to make it through another one,” AJ said as he leaned into the arm of the couch. Ditzy took her place next to him and nodded.

“Great, I’m just going to get some more refreshments and we’ll start.” Carrot Top grabbed the now empty bowls of popcorn, placing them on her back before trotting into the kitchen. She opened the cupboard and pulled out a bag of popcorn kernels, pouring them into the bowls. She covered the first bowl in melted butter from the stove top and put it in the microwave. She did the same with the second bowl; humming to herself as she went on.

In total she spent about ten minutes in the kitchen before finally returning to the living room. “Alright. Are you two ready for some more movie nigh…” Carrot Top stopped dead in her tracks when she looked into the room. In the time it took for her to get more popcorn, AJ and Ditzy had fallen asleep on the couch. AJ was now lying down on the couch with Ditzy lying on top of him as if he were a pillow. AJ’s good arm was wrapped around Ditzy as if he was giving her a hug. Carrot top smiled at the sight. She took the bowls of popcorn back into the kitchen and started picking up the mess they had all made as quietly as she could. She went to the closet and grabbed a blanket, draping it over the two of them. She grabbed one of the bowls of popcorn for herself and started walking upstairs. ‘I guess I’ll just go read for a bit then’ she thought to herself as she turned the lights off.

**********************

Big Mac was finally able to get Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to go to bed after the two fillies decided to have an all out war with pillows. “Ah didn’t think they could be so crazy with only two of them. You owe me one Applejack,” Big Mac muttered under his breath.

“Ahh, ta be young an’ so full of energy again.” Big Mac laughed as he looked over at Braeburn who was sitting on a chair in the living room. “Don’t you sometimes wish we could be foals again Big McIntosh? Always playin’, goin’ on adventures, all that fun stuff?”

Big Mac sat on the couch and thought it over for a few minutes. “Nnnope.”

“Why not?” Braeburn asked with a playful look.

“If ah was a foal again, how would ah be able ta protect mah family. Ah’m th’ oldest one in th’ house now that Granny Smith is gone. It’s mah duty ta watch over th’ farm an' everypony in it.”

Braeburn nodded. Even when the two of them were little, the thing that meant the most to Big Mac was family. He would have given anything if it meant protecting them. “It’s good ta see yer values haven’t changed.”

Big Mac nodded. “Hey Braeburn, can Ah ask ya somethin’?” Braeburn nodded. “You didn’t happen ta bring yer special cider, did ya?”

Braeburn smiled knowingly. “You know Ah wouldn’t come here without bringin’ some with me. Ah’ll go get some.” Big Mac smiled; tonight would be a good night.

****************************************

(Bahh, I’m splitting another chapter guys. Looking at my notes for the chapter if I don’t it will probably end up being close to 12-15 thousand words and that’s too long XP.)

My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

Where I belong

Chapter 13

It was a chilly summer morning in Ponyville, and the light shone brightly through the windows of Carrot Top’s house. The light framed the sleeping couple on the couch. At some point during the night, Ditzy had shifted on top of AJ, throwing the blanket off of them. Now her head was next to his, nuzzling into him. Also because of the shift AJ’s arm, which was wrapped around the middle of Ditzy’s body the night prior, was now wrapped around her rump with his hand resting on her cutie mark. This was a sight that Carrot Top found both cute and absolutely hilarious at the same time.

Carrot Top had come down stairs with Dinky on her back to get started on breakfast, only to find the two of them in the very compromising position. She let Dinky get down and told her to go get washed up and get ready for breakfast. She walked over to the couch and gently prodded the two sleeping figures. “Time to wake up you two.”

“Five more minutes,” protested Ditzy. As she shifted again, she felt something on her rump. Opening her eyes, she saw just how close to AJ’s face she was. She blushed and eeped, causing AJ to wake up.

“Hmm?” As AJ’s eyes adjusted to being awake once again, the first thing he saw was Ditzy’s face right next to his. He blushed as he spoke, “umm, morning.” He started to move his arm causing Ditzy to eep again. The reaction the both of them had when they realized where AJ’s arm was made Carrot Top start laughing hysterically. Both of their faces turned crimson as they looked at his hand. They looked at each other with horrified looks and AJ quickly removed his hand. They both sat bolt upright, but with Ditzy on top of AJ, she ended up tumbling off the couch, getting tangled in the blanket upside down.

Still blushing, they both looked over to Carrot Top who was rolling on the floor at this point. “I-i-i-if I would have known t-t-this was going to happen, I-i-i would have woken you up and told you to get a room hahahahahahahaha!”

“Sh-shut up Carrot!” Ditzy yelled, not finding it anywhere near as funny as Carrot Top had.

“I wish I would have gotten this on camerahahahahahaha!” Carrot Top said, still unable to stop laughing.

“Shut up or I’ll show AJ the video of you and your brother at that party last year!” Ditzy threatened.

Carrot Top immediately stopped laughing as horror crept its way onto her face. “You wouldn’t?!”

“Try me.”

Carrot Top got up looking defeated. “Fine, you win.” She glared at Ditzy. “You play dirty, you know that?”

Ditzy smiled triumphantly as she untangled herself from the blanket. She watched as Carrot Top walked into the kitchen, grumbling to herself as she did. She looked to AJ who was still blushing a bit as he stretched. “So…did you have fun last night?” Realizing what she had just asked, combined with the position they had just woken up in, Ditzy blushed and quickly added to the question, “With the movie night, did you have fun during movie night?”

“Yea, definitely something we should do again sometime,” AJ said with a smile. AJ looked over to the kitchen to make sure Carrot Top wasn’t about to walk in on them. Lowering his voice he asked, “So what’s this about her and her brother at a party?”

Ditzy got an evil smile on her face as she too made sure Carrot Top wasn’t going to come in. She got close and lowered her voice. “Last year her family came over and we had a birthday party for her younger brother Golden Harvest. It was his 17th birthday. Her mother asked if I could record the entire thing with my video camera so I did. Well at some point, somepony ended up spilling some punch on the kitchen floor. Carrot Top’s mom went to get the mop to clean it up. At that point Golden Harvest came running into the kitchen. He didn’t see the punch and ended up slipping on it. He careened straight into Carrot Top. When they landed on the floor, Golden Harvest landed on top of Carrot Top, kissing her, on camera.”

“I don’t know, accidentally kissing your brother doesn’t sound like it would be the worst thing ever. I mean yea, kissing my brother is probably the last thing I’d ever want to do but I think I’d get over it after a bit.” AJ just shrugged.

“Well, it mortified Carrot. She stayed in her room the rest of the day after using up the rest of the toothpaste.” Ditzy’s ears perked up as she heard Carrot Top coming into the living room.

“What are you two talking about?” Carrot Top asked with a suspicious look on her face.

Ditzy attempted to put on her most innocent face. “Oh, I was just asking AJ if he had any plans today.”

Carrot Top gave Ditzy a blank stare. “Ditzy, you realize your eyes go crazy when you lie right?” Ditzy’s eyes have betrayed her once again. “You were telling him, weren’t you?”

“N-no, of course not.” Ditzy’s smiled sheepishly as she tried to correct her eyes.

“Ditzy, I swear if you told him I will…” Carrot Top stopped when she saw Dinky slowly making her way out of the bathroom. She looked at Ditzy and mouthed ‘We will have words.’

“Morning mommy!” Dinky said as she hobbled up and hugged her mom.

“Morning my little muffin.”

Carrot Top sighed. “How do waffles sound for breakfast?” Seeing everyone in the room agree to waffles, she walked back into the kitchen to start breakfast.

Breakfast mostly went off without a hitch. Whenever she was sure Dinky wasn’t looking, Carrot Top would glare at Ditzy and mouth ‘words’ at her. When they were done AJ happily rubbed his belly. “That was great Carrot Top. You really know how to cook.”

Carrot Top smiled. “Thank you. I had to learn when I was young. With mom working, dad’s inability to cook anything without starting something on fire, and with Harvey being too young to cook for himself, either I learned to cook or we would go hungry until mom got back at about 8 at night.”

A knock on the door got everyone’s attention. “I’ll get it.” Ditzy got up and flew to the door. She opened the door to see Caramel standing there. “Good morning Caramel. What can I do for you?”

“Hello Ditzy. I was wondering if you know where AJ was. I checked at the hospital and they said he went home with you.”

Hearing his name, AJ got up and peaked his head around the corner. “Oh, hey Caramel, what’s up?”

“There you are. Big Mac was wondering where you were since you didn’t come home last night.” Caramel started to smile. “I guess he got worried for no reason.”

“I guess I really should get back to the farm and check in. Probably wouldn’t hurt. Gotta get cleaned up anyway.” AJ walked over to Caramel. “I’ll see you later Ditzy.”

Ditzy smiled and waved. “Mmhm. Make sure you take it easy.”

“I will.”

********************

Applejack stirred in bed as the suns rays enveloped her. She slowly opened her eyes to see Rarity still in her embrace. She nuzzled into the back of Rarity’s neck, causing Rarity to release a quiet, happy whinny in her sleep. Making sure not to wake her, Applejack quietly got out of bed and made her way into the bathroom to get her self cleaned up. While she more than enjoyed there ‘activities’ last night, going out smelling of sweat and sex probably wasn’t the best idea.

She got in the big tub and turned on the hot water, adjusting it to her liking. She gave a happy sigh as the warm water ran down her body and through her mane and tail. Any and all stiffness she had from waking up was immediately washed away down the drain. “Who need’s coffee ta wake up when a nice, warm shower is all ya need.” She reached over to grab the shampoo in her mouth only to find it missing. “Now where did that bottle get off to? Ah coulda sworn it was right here.”

“Are you looking for this darling?” Applejack turned around to see Rarity’s head poking through the curtain with a soft smile on her face, holding the bottle of shampoo in her magic.

Applejack smiled. “Mornin’ sugarcube.”

Rarity stepped in along side Applejack and started squeezing the shampoo in her main and tail. “Oh Applejack, last night was simply amazing. I can’t remember the last time I woke up so…happy.”

“Not since th’ last time.” They both giggled a bit. “An’ ya know Ah can wash mahself right?”

“Oh I know, but you know how I love to play with your mane darling,” Rarity said as she ran her hoof through Applejacks long golden locks. “I still say you should get rid of those hair bands and let your hair flow free.”

“An’ Ah told ya it would get in th’ way when Ah work. Trust me, ah tried,” Applejack said as Rarity worked on cleaning her. “Plus Big McIntosh kept makin’ fun of me fer it.”

“Oh he did, did he? Well I think I might have to go down there and give him a piece of my mind,” Rarity said as she started washing the suds off of Applejack.

Applejack chuckled. “Don’t worry ‘bout it Rare’s, It’s all in good fun.” Before all of the suds could flow down the drain, Applejack caught some on her hoof and poked Rarity on the nose, leaving the suds behind. “If y’all had an older siblin’ ya would know that. Now, it’s mah turn ta wash yer hair.”

After the two of them finished their shower and got in a good coat brushing, the two of them went down to the kitchen where Rarity started making a breakfast of eggs, hay bacon, toast, and juice. Rarity was a decent cook, but for Applejack it was always too little food. She made a mental note to grab something else to munch on when she got home. “Thanks fer th’ food Rarity.” She looked at the clock. “Oh horse apples, is it ten already? Ah should be getting’ back ta th’ farm.”

“I understand darling. I really should be getting back to work as well. With Sweetie Belle out of the house, I can finally clean up her room.” A look of disgust crossed her features. “How she has so many dirty clothes when she rarely wears them is beyond me. I swear there’s a pile of socks and saddles taller than I am in her closet.”

Applejack laughed. It never ceased to amaze her just how messy those three fillies could get on a regular basis. “Lucky fer me Apple Bloom only has one dress that she never wears. In fact, ever since AJ started livin’ with us, our washer an’ dryer have gotten more use than it’s ever gotten before.” Looking at the clock again made Applejack cringe slightly. “Sorry, but Ah really gotta go.” She gave Rarity a quick kiss before rushing out the door.

*********************

“Wow, you guys really did a great job. It looks like it wasn’t even touched by the storm,” Rainbow said to Braeburn and Big Mac.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac drawled. “Th’ captain said he’d send someponies over ta fix th’ water, gas, an’ electricity tomorrow. Ah’m just happy we got our beds back. Ah don’t know how much longer Ah could have slept in th’ clubhouse.”

“Especially with yer leg,” Braeburn pointed out. “It can’t be good sleepin’ in that old clubhouse with yer leg like that.”

Big Mac waved off Braeburn’s concern. “Y’all know somethin’ like this’ll never keep me down fer long.” He looked over to the entrance of the farm when he saw two figures approaching. From the size of one of them, he immediately knew who it was and waved Caramel and AJ over. “There ya are. Where’d ya find’im Caramel?”

“He slept over at Ditzy Doo’s place for the night.”

Rainbow gave AJ a playful grin. “Slept over at Ditzy’s huh?” AJ blushed slightly. Rainbow turned to Caramel. “Speaking of being in love, when are you going to ask out Twilight, huh?”

Caramel’s eyes got wide as he felt his face heat up. “T-twilight? Umm…well…I…”

“Come on Caramel, everypony knows the two of you are head over hooves for each other. So why don’t you go over there and just ask her?”

“He’ll ask’er out when he’s ready Rainbow, so stop teasin’ him already,” came Applejack’s voice from behind the group. “Ain’t that right Caramel?” Still blushing, Caramel just nodded.

“Hey, do you guys know when were gonna be getting water back?” AJ asked.

“If yer talkin’ about gettin’ a shower, th’ buckets by th’ well ,” Big Mac said. “They should be gettin’ around ta fixin’ th’ water tomorrow.”

AJ sighed at having to use a bucket of cool well water to wash up again, but he knew it was the only way to get clean at the house at the moment. After waving goodbye, he made his way to the well. “Ah’ll help ya sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Y’all really shouldn’t be gettin’ well water by yerself.”

AJ was about to speak up about doing things by himself, but he remembered what Fluttershy told him. Smiling, he said, “Alright, thanks Applejack.”

********************

AJ knocked on the door to Fluttershy’s cottage. Rainbow Dash had told him that Fluttershy wanted to see him, so after he got cleaned up he decided to head over to see what she wanted. After getting no response, he knocked again. This time the bottom of the door was slowly pushed open by a small white bunny who didn’t look very happy. “Oh hey Angel, is Fluttershy around?”

Angel just nodded and pointed to the interior of the house before hopped back in, leaving AJ standing there. After about a half a minute, Angel once again appeared at the door throwing his arms out in front of him and pointing to the interior of the house again as if saying ‘what are you doing, I just told you to get in here!’

“What, you want me to come in?” Angel nodded. “Oh, OK.” Opening the top half of the door, AJ walked past Angel who just facepawed and hopped back inside. Once inside, AJ understood why he didn’t get an answer from anyone. Fluttershy was sleeping on the couch with a pink blanket draped over her as she hugged a teddy bear. One of her wings lazily dangled off the couch as she slept. AJ looked over to Angel and whispered, “I’ll just come back later.”

Angel would have none of this though. He jumped up on the couch and moved next to Fluttershy’s fore-leg. He lifted his leg and started repeatedly pounding down on her leg. The sudden jolts caused Fluttershy to spring up in terror and cling to a bird house hung above the couch. Now that Fluttershy was awake, Angel silently congratulated himself and hopped back into his little bunny hut for a congratulatory nap. “Oh Angel, I wish you wouldn’t do that,” Fluttershy said, lightly letting herself back onto the couch. After yawning, she looked over to see AJ standing by the door. “Oh, hel *yawn* hello.”

“I could come back later if you’d like to sleep longer,” AJ said seeing that Fluttershy was clearly still very tired.

“Oh no, that’s alright. I take it Rainbow Dash gave you my message?” Fluttershy asked as she stretched her limbs.

“Yup. She didn’t tell me why you wanted to see me though.”

Fluttershy gave a tired smile and walked into the kitchen. When Fluttershy returned, AJ’s jaw dropped. In her mouth was none other than Mr. Bun bun in pristine condition. “Wow, it looks great Fluttershy.”

Still smiling Fluttershy handed the stuffed bunny to AJ. “I stayed up all night working on him.” All you would have to do is look at the dark bags under her eyes to see she wasn’t lying.

“Fluttershy, you didn’t have to do that.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I wanted to. I couldn’t stand seeing him in such a horrible condition.” She worked her way back up onto the couch. “I would gladly have stayed up for days to make sure Mr. Bun bun was repaired.” She yawned again.

AJ smiled as he looked Mr. Bun bun over. He had gotten used to sleeping with the stuffed bunny. It just hadn’t felt right when he tried to go to sleep lately. “Thanks Fluttershy, this means a lot to me. Hey if you’re hungry, we were planning on having a…” When AJ looked back up, he saw that Fluttershy had fallen asleep again. She was curled up into a ball and was lightly snoring. Smiling, AJ placed Mr. Bun Bun in his sling to hold it. Walking over the couch, he picked up the teddy bear that had fallen on the floor when Angel woke her up and placed it up against her. Her sleeping form grabbed it and started nuzzling it. He grabbed the blanket and placed it over her. As silently as he could, he walked out the door and closed it, letting Fluttershy get some well deserved sleep.

********************

“I thank you for sending these letters for me,” Aquilinus said to Spike and Twilight.

“Oh it’s no problem at all, isn’t that right Spike?” Twilight asked as she looked over to Spike. He had just finished sending the captain’s report to Celestia.

“No problem at all.”

“Would you like to stay for some tea or coffee Captain? You look like you could use a bit of a break,” Twilight asked.

Aquilinus shook his head. “As good as that sounds, I really should get back to work.” He bowed his head. “I appreciate the offer though.”

Twilight and Spike watched the captain leave the library. “*sigh* I wish I could have his work ethic, what about you Spike?”

Spike looked unsure. “I don’t know Twilight. I don’t think I could go that long without taking a break like he does. I mean, you saw him when we were still in Canterlot. I swear he would go twelve hours at a time without taking a break.” As soon as Spike finished his sentence, he got that all too familiar feeling in his gut. His cheeks puffed out as he let out a belch of flames, a scroll coming out of the flames.

Spike grabbed the scroll off the floor and unrolled it.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle

Tomorrow my sister Luna and I will be making a quick stop in Ponyville at 12:00 P.M. We will be stopping at the library for some research involving the dimensional portal. We would appreciate it if AJ could be there too.

Sincerely yours

HRH Princess Celestia.”

“Didn’t they end that research?” Spike asked.

“They must have started researching it again after they found out the spell worked,” Twilight said. “We could ask them when they get here tomorrow. For now, let’s go tell AJ to be here tomorrow.”

********************

The feast at Sweet Apple Acres was coming to a close. Every Apple on the farm contributed to the vast amount of food that now filled the bellies of everypony with plenty of leftovers. While most of the ponies at the farm were helping to clean up the mess, two little fillies were getting their things together for another day of crusading. “Bye Applejack. Me an’ Sweetie are goin’ ta go get Scootaloo now.”

“Alright. Just don’t get inta too much trouble now,” Applejack said as she carried a back full of dirty dishes over to get washed.

“We won’t,” squeaked Sweetie Belle.

Applejack looked over to Sweetie Belle. “Oh, an’ Sweetie, y’all should probably check in with Rarity soon.”

“OK. Thanks for letting me sleep over Applejack!” Sweetie Belle said as the two fillies ran off.

Applejack watched as the two little fillies ran towards the exit of the farm, sending Twilight and Spike spinning as they passed. She facehoofed and walked over to help pick the two of them off the ground. “Sorry ‘bout that Twi. You’d think they’d know better than that by now.”

Twilight shook her head to get her eyes to stop spinning. “It’s no problem Applejack.” Taking Applejack’s hoof, Twilight got up. “So, what’s up?”

“Nothin’ much. Just cleanin’ up after lunch.” Applejacks face brightened up. “Hey, if’n y’all are hungry, we got plenty of leftovers.”

Spike smiled. “That sounds great! We haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

Twilight felt her stomach grumble slightly in hunger. “Yea, I think we’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Great. Come on, Ah’ll get ya some plates.” Twilight and Spike followed Applejack over to where Caramel and AJ were doing dishes. “Think we could get a couple of clean plates here?”

AJ looked over. “Huh? Oh, hey Twilight.”

“Twilight?” Caramel blushed as he too looked over. “Um, hello Twilight.”

Twilight felt her face heat up. “Hi Caramel.”

AJ looked between the two obviously love struck ponies. The two of them just kept staring at each other with dopey smiles on their faces. “Wow, Rainbow wasn’t kidding.”

“Um, th’ plates?” Applejack said, reminding AJ of why they were over there.

“Ah yes, the plates.” AJ grabbed two of the cleaned plates and handed them to Twilight. “Here you go.”

Twilight absent mindedly took the plates in her magic and continued to just stand there. “Twilight come on, I’m hungry!” That is until Spike interrupted her. He was eagerly waiting for Twilight to bring the plates over so they could eat.

Hearing Spike yell broke Twilight out of her dreamy state. “Huh, oh sorry Spike.” She took one last look at Caramel over her shoulder before trotting over to Spike.

Caramel continued to stare in the direction Twilight had trotted. “Hey, Caramel you there?” AJ waved his hand in his face. “Equestria to Caramel, anyone home?” When that didn’t work AJ grabbed onto his shoulder and gave him a little shake. “Come on, wake up lover boy.”

The shake managed to knock Caramel out of his reverie. The blush on his face grew. “Um, let’s get back to work.” He quickly turned around and started washing again. AJ shrugged to Applejack and went back to work.

When Twilight and Spike where done eating, Spike took the dishes over to get washed. He wanted to avoid having to wait another five minutes for Twilight. “Thanks for the food Applejack. It was great as always.”

“No problem at all sugarcube,” Applejack said with a smile. “Y’all should make a habbit of comin’ over ta eat with us. It’s always nice ta have company.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Spike may be a good cook, but I don’t think he would mind not having to cook as often.” Twilight looked over to Spike who was on his way back to the table along with AJ and Caramel.

AJ gave a relieved sigh. “Dishes are finally done.” He looked over to Twilight. “So, Spike mentioned you had a message for me?”

Twilight went blank for a moment before facehoofing. “Oh shoot, how could I forget. The Princess sent us a letter earlier asking if you could come to the library tomorrow at about twelve. Do you think you would be able to make it?”

AJ nodded. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“That’s good to hear. Well, Spike and I should be getting back. I’ll see you later Applejack.” With Spike now on her back, she started walking away from the farm, Caramel watching her the entire time.

Suddenly he felt something push him from behind. Turning around he saw that Rainbow Dash, who was busy spending time with Braeburn, had now come over and was pushing him towards Twilight. “Well?”

Caramel looked confused. “Well what?”

Rainbow groaned. “Go get her.” She pushed Caramel again.

“But…”

“No buts! I saw you two ogling each other before. You need to go ask her. Soo…” Rainbow wound up her hips and gave him one more good bump, “get.”

Seeing as Rainbow wasn’t going to let him say no, Caramel had to quickly build up his courage as he trotted up to Twilight. “U-um Twilight?” Twilight turned and started blushing when she saw Caramel. “W-w-will you g-g-g-g... umm w-w-would it be OK i-if I went to the library with you?”

“Oh Celestia this is painful,” Rainbow whispered to herself.

Twilight kicked her hoof at the ground as she tried to think of what to say. Spike rolled his eyes as he waited for Twilight to reply. Not being able to think of anything, she just smiled and nodded.

Rainbow smiled when she saw Caramel start walking down the road with Twilight. “I swear if he doesn’t ask her out now, I’ll do it for him.”

********************

The trip back to the library was silent between the two ponies. The only thing keeping it from being completely silent was Spike saying hello to the ponies that passed them. When they got to the library Spike quickly made his way upstairs to watch some TV while Twilight and Caramel silently sat on the couch. They sat there for a few minutes, glancing over at each other.

The entire time Caramel kept trying to build up the courage to ask her out. Every time he thought he had it, he would look over into those amethyst eyes and all thoughts would escape his mind. After a few more minutes, he bolstered himself and decided to get it over with.

“Twilight, will you…” “Would you like…” They both immediately turned away from each other blushing.

Finally Caramel just couldn’t take it anymore. He steeled himself and let it go. “Twilight will you go out with me?!” Twilight started at Caramel in shock. Seeing the look on her face discouraged him. “I-I understand if you don’t want to.” Caramel started moving to get off the couch. “I’ll just g…”

“Yes.” Caramel froze. He looked over to Twilight with a look of confusion. “Caramel, I’d love to go out with you.”

A smile slowly crept its way onto Caramel’s face. “Y-you mean it?” Twilight nodded bashfully. They both sat there getting lost in each others eyes before they started leaning forward. They slowly closed their eyes as they grew closer and closer.

“Hey Twilight, there’s a movie on later that I…” Spike stopped mid sentence when he saw Twilight and Caramel, inches away from each other, with their lips puckered. Both of them now looked at him, blushing a crimson red. “Oho, I see what’s going on here. I’ll just give you some alone time,” Spike said with a playful grin.

“SPIIIIIIKE!!!!!!”

********************

“Do you know why Celestia wanted me here?” AJ asked Twilight as he sat down on the couch.

“I’m not entirely sure. In her letter she said this visit pertained to the research with the dimensional portal. I assume they just want to ask some questions.” Twilight took one last look around the library to make sure it was up to standards for a visit from the princesses. “Spike, are the snacks done yet?”

“Almost,” Spike said carrying a plate of fresh sandwiches and a box of cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner in, setting them on a table. “Just waiting for the water to boil for the tea.” When Spike heard the telltale whistling of the tea pot, he rushed back into the kitchen.

As Twilight was inspecting the food to make sure it was perfect, she heard a knock on the door. Looking at the clock, she noticed it was still six minutes till twelve. “There early! Spike hurry up with that tea!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming calm down.” Spike entered the room with a tea pot in one hand, and a small tower of plates and tea cups in the other. Twilight promptly stole them away with her magic and placed them on the table. Annoyed, Spike made his way over to the door and opened it to see Celestia and Luna smiling back at him. Behind them was a very lanky unicorn mare in a lab coat. She had a dull red coat and an unruly two-tone purple and green mane and tail. Her mane was pulled back in a pony tail. On her back sat some over stuffed saddle bags. “Sorry for the wait, please come in.”

“Why thank you Spike.” Celestia walked in followed by Luna who bowed to Spike as she passed. The unicorn mare did the same. Celestia looked over to the couch. “It’s good to see that you could make it.”

“I’ve had a lot of free time lately, so it’s no big deal.” AJ got up and shook Celestia’s hoof.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I finally get to meet the hu-man!” the unicorn mare excitedly said as she clapped her hooves together. “This is a great day for science!”

“Ah yes, before we begin, I would like to introduce you all to Atom Split,” Luna said waiving her hoof over to the mare. “She is my top scientist over at the institute, and is in charge of researching the dimensional portal.” Atom Split in her excitement was already busy pulling her equipment from her saddle bags and setting them up. “She can be a bit…over enthusiastic at times.”

Celestia giggled a bit before turning back to AJ. “We would love it if you could answer some questions about yourself and your world. It would help out our research immensely.”

“Sure, if it means furthering your research I’d be more than happy to help.”

“Wonderful!” Atom Split said jumping in front of AJ carrying a camera in her magic. “Now I would like to start with pictures.”

AJ stood there for a minute and stared into her big green eyes in shock. He looked over to Luna and Celestia. Luna was smiling sheepishly and mouthed ‘told you.’ Celestia had her hoof up to her mouth and was trying to stifle more giggles. “Umm, sure?”

“Great! Now, would you please remove that sling? I would like you to be as symmetrical as possible for the pictures.” Atom set up the camera and waited for AJ to comply. Nodding, AJ removed the sling. He slowly straightened his arm, grabbing his shoulder and wincing in pain as he did. “Mmhm, that’s good, now hold still while I *snap* good. Now one from the side please.” She snapped the next photo. “Now from the back please.” She smiled as she snapped the photo. “These will do just fine. Now please strip out of your cloths.”

AJ’s eyes got wide as he felt his face heat up. “I’m sorry, what now?”

“Your clothes, please take them off. I would like to get some full body shots now.” Atom Split noticed the look on his face. “What, it’s not like you’ve got something I haven’t seen before.” Her eyes got wide. “Or do you. Eeeeeee learning about new things is so much fun!”

“What she means is, you only have to do this if you’re comfortable with it,” Luna interjected as she put her hoof over Atom’s mouth. “Isn’t that right Atom?” Atom let out a frustrated grunt as she began to pout. She desperately wanted to learn everything she could about this new creature.

AJ thought about it for a minute. He wanted to help with the research, but he didn’t expect this to come up. He eventually came to his decision. “Alright, I’ll do it.” A bright smile grew on Atom’s face as she started clapping her hooves together again. “But, if it’s not too much trouble, could the rest of you please wait outside?” Celestia nodded as she, Twilight, and Spike exited the building. After a minute, AJ took a deep breath and started to disrobe.

After a couple of minutes AJ was allowed to get redressed. Atom Split was smiling as she put her camera away. While she didn’t get all the pictures she wanted, due to Luna making sure she wasn’t too intrusive, she still got enough to make her happy. “Thank you so much! These pictures are great! I’ll have to make a note about those bandages, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Once AJ was clothed again, Luna went to let the others back in. On her way back, she grabbed a cup of tea. After taking a sip she took a list that had been given to her by Atom. “OK, now we would like to get some information about you.”

“What type of things would you like to know?”

Luna looked over to Atom who was now setting up a video camera that she had brought along. “Is everything set up Atom?”

“Just need to get into focus.” Atom adjusted the camera for a few seconds. “There we go. Ready whenever you are Princess.” Seeing Luna nod, she started recording.

Luna smiled. “Along with Atom’s notes, we will be recording everything. OK first, could you please tell us your full name?”

“My name is Anthony Jon Hartley, but everyone just calls me AJ for short.”

“Now, could you tell us how old you are?”

“22.”

Smiling, Luna grabbed some measuring tape from the floor that Atom had pulled out earlier. “Now I would like to get your height. Please stand up straight.”

********************

Gathering all the information they needed took a grand total of two hours. Spike had made more tea and sandwiches after the first batch were finished. By the time they were finished Atom had filled her entire note book with notes and drawings. Satisfied she started packing all of her equipment away. “I can’t wait to go catalogue all these new notes. It will be so much fun!”

“I’m glad I could help,” AJ said as he took a sip of tea. “I hope you got enough data.”

“Don’t worry; we got more than enough for now.” Luna said. “I think even Atom would agree with me on this.” Atom Split was now helping herself to some of the refreshments as she hummed a tune to herself. “Yup, she’s happy.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something Luna?” Celestia asked.

“Hmm, what are you talking about?”

Celestia smiled. “Well, there was one other reason we came here. Maybe a little news you needed to give AJ?”

Luna’s eyes got wide. “Ah yes, thank you for reminding me sister. We have some great news for you.” Once she was sure she had AJ’s attention she continued, “Well, after we got news from Twilight Sparkle that the portal actually worked, we started working on the spell once again. Since then we have made some changes to the spell and well, we did it.”

AJ felt a sense of dread starting to build up in his gut. “What?”

The smile on Luna’s face grew. “We mastered the dimensional portal spell. AJ, you can finally go back home.”

“Oh, that’s great news!” Twilight said excitedly. “You can finally see your family again!”

“Yea…great news.” AJ’s apprehension was obvious to everyone in the room.

Twilight was the first to speak up. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to go home.” AJ didn’t answer. He just sat there, looking down with a look of uncertainty.

Celestia placed a hoof on his shoulder causing him to look up. “Why don’t you give it some time and think it over. Once you know what you want to do, just send us a letter.” AJ just nodded. Celestia removed her hoof and turned to the door. “Well, we should be getting back to Canterlot soon. While Blueblood is decent when it comes to the politics of Equestria, sometimes his decisions fail to benefit everypony equally.” After saying their goodbyes, the princesses and scientist were on there way back to Canterlot.

Once the princesses left, AJ got up from the couch. Twilight watched him slowly make his way to the door. “AJ, are you going to be OK?”

“I-I don’t know. I’ll talk to you later Twilight. I have a lot to think about.”

********************

AJ continued his slow walk home. The entire time he was looking down, paying little attention to things around him. He was probably about half way between the library and the farm when suddenly, “Hello, is anypony home?”

AJ’s vision suddenly became filled with an upside down bluish grey face with off kilter amber eyes. “GAH!!” Not expecting this AJ jumped back, falling to the ground.

Ditzy quickly righted herself and went to help him up. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do that. I was trying to get your attention but you wouldn’t answer, so I thought I’d try that and…”

“Don’t worry about it Ditzy. I should have been paying attention.” AJ got up and brushed himself off.

“So, what’s got your head in the clouds?”

AJ stood there for a minute thinking. He wanted to tell her that everything was OK, that nothing was wrong. Looking up, his eyes met hers. He closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn’t lie, not to Ditzy. “I was just at the library talking with the princesses.”

“That’s great!” Ditzy said with a smile.

“I wish it was.” Ditzy’s face turned to one of confusion. “It started out just fine. I give them information about where I come from. I was helping them with their research. *sigh* After we were done, they told me they had some ‘good’ news to tell me.” Ditzy looked on in anticipation. “I-I can go home Ditzy.”

“Home? Like back to…” AJ nodded. Ditzy stopped flapping her wings and plopped onto the ground with a thud. She sat up and put on an obviously fake smile. “T-that’s great. I’m sure your family’s really missing you.”

AJ shook his head. “That’s the thing. I don’t know if I even want to go back.”

Ditzy’s face was a mixture of shock and relief. “What, why?”

“If I never would come here, I never would have made such good friends. Friends like you Ditzy. If I go, I’ll probably never get to see you again. But I just know my family really misses me back home, and I miss them. No matter what I do, I lose something.” A tear rolled down AJ’s cheek. “I-I don’t know what to do Ditzy.”

“W-well, I’ll support whatever decision you choose,” Ditzy said as wiped the tear away. “It’s your decision to make, a-and even though I may not like it, I’ll accept it.”

AJ smiled at Ditzy’s words. “Thanks. I should get going. I have a lot to think about.” He gave Ditzy a hug before the two of them parted ways.

********************

It was about six in the afternoon when AJ passed through the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. For the first time in days, the farm was quiet. The members of the Apple family had left earlier that day, much to Rainbow’s dismay. After his talk with Ditzy AJ had taken a long walk around Ponyville in hopes that it would clear his head and help him think. Much to his annoyance it did not. As soon as AJ opened the door Winona made sure the entire house was aware of it. Applejack poked her head out of the kitchen to see who had just come in. “Why howdy there AJ. Yer just in time fer dinner.”

AJ grabbed his stomach as he felt it knot up at the prospect of food. “I’m not very hungry right now.”

“What’s wrong sugarcube?”

AJ walked into the kitchen and sat down in the un-occupied chair. After getting a glass of apple juice, he told them everything. The reactions in the room were mixed. Applejack seemed to be happy that he could return to his family. Big Mac while happy seemed mostly indifferent to the whole thing. Apple Bloom on the other hand didn’t like it at all. She slammed her hooves on the table. “No, y’all can’t leave! Ya can’t leave all yer friends!”

Another hoof was slammed on the table. This time it was Applejacks. “Hush Apple Bloom! Ah don’t like th’ thought of losin’ a friend either, but it’s his decision ta make. An’ if he wants ta go home ta his family, well more power to him.” Apple Bloom sat back in her seat and started to pout.

AJ finished his juice and got up. “I think I’m gonna go up to my room for awhile.”

**********************

Big Mac yawned as he got to the bottom of the stairs. He had woken up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. As he was about to go back upstairs he heard what sounded like somepony mumbling come from outside. Looking to the door he noticed the porch light was on. He grumbled to himself as he walked to the door to see what was going on. When he opened the door, he saw AJ sitting to the side of the door looking up at the moon. “Whacha doin’ out here this late at night?”

AJ continued to look up into the sky. “Couldn’t sleep. I thought maybe the cool night air might help.”

“This whole thing’s really buggin’ ya, isn’t it?”

AJ silently nodded. “It’s pretty much the only thing on my mind right now.” He looked over to Big Mac. “Big Mac, what should I do?”

Big Mac could see the desperate look in his eyes. “Just do whatever makes ya happiest. That’s really th’ only thing ya could do fer yerself in this situation.” Big Mac turned and started walking back into the house. “Don’t stay out too late now.”

He started reaching for the light when AJ stopped him. “Please leave it on, I don’t like the dark.” Big Mac nodded and headed back upstairs, leaving AJ to his thoughts again.

********************

A week has passed since AJ got the news. Thanks to the help of the helpers from Canterlot, Ponyville was finally restored. The mayor had called a town meeting in the square. “Citizens of Ponyville, thanks to all your hard work, and the aid sent to us by our benevolent rulers, Ponyville has been restored to its former glory!” Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. “Once again, we have shown what ponies can do when we work to…”

The mayor was interrupted when she was knocked to the side by Pinkie Pie. “Enough of these boring old speeches. IT’S TIME TO PARTAY!!!!!!!!” To emphasize the start of a spontaneous town wide party, Pinkie pulled her party cannon out of seemingly nowhere and fired it into the air, covering the surrounding area in party supplies.

Twilight got up on stage and helped the mayor up. “Sorry about that Mayor. You know how Pinkie can get.”

“Oh it’s quite alright Twilight. Pinkie’s just being herself.” The mayor dusted herself off. “Besides, I think after all their hard work they deserve some fun, don’t you.” The mayor and Twilight watched as Pinkie traveled through the crowd, firing off her cannon as the other citizens started partying.

********************

A month has gone by since Ponyville was rebuilt. Life was back to normal for everyone in town. Everyone that is, except AJ. With his arm in the sling he was unable to work on the farm, and even if he was he wouldn’t have been in the right mindset to work properly. The stress he was putting himself through was taking its toll on him, and it showed. At one point it had gotten so bad he got sick and had to stay in bed for days. The only times he felt any kind of relief was when he would spend time with his friends, especially Ditzy. They were the only times his mind would allow him to think of other things.

Though over the last few days Applejack noticed that AJ seemed to be getting better. She noticed that he had started having an easier time sleeping. He was also eating more. Even his mood seemed to be improving.

Right now he was on his way to Fluttershy’s cottage to have his arm looked at. When he got there Fluttershy was down by the stream feeding some of the animals. “Hey Fluttershy.”

“Oh, hello AJ.” Fluttershy flew up and landed on the pathway. “What can I do for you today?”

He pointed to his shoulder. “Just here for a bit of a check up.”

“I have a bit more work to do out here, but you’re free to wait for me in my house, if that’s OK.”

“Oh, that’s fine.” AJ smiled and went to wait in the pegasi’s cottage.

He waited for about ten minutes before Fluttershy entered the building. “I’m sorry about the wait. I’ll get my supplies.” Fluttershy went into the bathroom to grab her medical supplies. By the time she got back AJ already had his shirt and sling off. By now he knew the drill. Fluttershy carefully removed the old bandages and examined the wound. She then gently grabbed his arm and slowly started to lift it. “Does this hurt at all?”

“Eh, only a little.”

Fluttershy smiled and released the arm. “Well, I think you’ll be happy to know that you’ll no longer need the sling.”

AJ’s face brightened. “That’s great.” AJ started to slowly stretch his arm out, wincing slightly during some of the rotation. Using the arm again after a month felt really weird.

“You should still probably take it easy for a week or two though. You want to make sure it finishes healing properly,” Fluttershy mentioned as she went to put her supplies away. AJ was putting his shirt on when a thought came to her mind. “Um, I was just wondering, do you know what you’re going to do yet?”

AJ stared at Fluttershy for a second before smiling. “I’ve known for the last few days. I was just waiting till I got that sling off.” AJ got up off the floor and walked over to Fluttershy. Without warning, he threw his arms around her in a hug. “Fluttershy, thank you, for all you’ve done for me.” He let go and headed out the door, leaving a very confused pegasus in his wake.

********************

AJ knocked on the door to the library. As he waited for an answer he checked to make sure that everything in the letter in his pocket was right. Happy he put the letter back and knocked again. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” Spike opened the door and looked up. “Oh, hey AJ. Are you looking for Twilight, cause she’s not home right now. Something about helping Rainbow with a trick or something like that.”

“Oh no, I’m not looking for her.” AJ internally cheered. He was hoping she wouldn’t be home. He wanted as few people as possible knowing about this. “Actually I was looking for you.

Spike looked surprised. “Oh? What do you need?”

“I was wondering if you could send something to Celestia for me.” He pulled the letter out of his pocket. “Think you could do that for me?”

Spike took the letter in his claw and gave it a questionable look. “What’s it say?”

AJ started to panic a little bit. He hadn’t thought of what to say if Spike turned out to be as nosey as Apple Bloom could be. He had to think quickly. “It’s…for Celestia’s eyes only.”

Spike just shrugged and sent the letter. AJ let out a quiet sigh of relief. “There, it’s sent. Can I help you with anything else?”

“No, that’s all.” AJ pulled out his bit purse and gave Spike a handful of bits. “Thanks a bunch Spike. Go treat yourself to something, on me.”

Spike took the bits with a glimmer in his eye. “Wow, thanks!” They waved to each other as AJ left.

********************

“Glad you could make it! It wouldn’t be the party if the MVP didn’t show up!” Pinkie said as she bounced in front of AJ. He looked around at all the decorations and chuckled when he saw the banner that had ‘Congratulations for no longer being crippled’ on it. “When Fluttershy told me that you were fine, I knew I had to throw you a party!” Pinkie stood on her hind legs and started poking his shoulder.

AJ lightly swatted her hoof away as he laughed. “It’s still sore Pinkie.” As Pinkie bounced away, AJ looked for the best place to mingle at the moment. At the snack table Rarity was busy talking with Fluttershy about something fashion related while Spike was waiting on Rarity claw and foot. Rainbow Dash was hovering over by the party games waiting for Pinkie. AJ was pretty sure she had never stopped flying since she got her cast off. Twilight, Caramel, and Applejack were having a ball on the dance floor.

AJ decided to start with the dance floor. He was never any good at dancing, but when he saw how Twilight was dancing, he didn’t have to worry about making a fool out of himself. “I didn’t know you liked to dance.” Twilight said.

“I generally don’t, but tonights all about having fun, and I plan making the most of it, WOOOO!” AJ said enthusiastically.

“Ah’m just happy y’all are feelin’ better. We were startin’ ta get real worried ‘boutcha.” Applejack said.

“Yea, especially after last week,” Caramel said.

AJ rubbed the back of his head. “Yea, I guess I let this whole thing get to me way more than it should, didn’t I.” The three of them shook their heads.

That’s when Pinkie jumped in. “Piñata time everypony!”

“URAH!” AJ shouted as he looked at the star piñata hanging from the ceiling. “I shall vanquish you star!” Pinkie cheered alongside AJ as he grabbed the stick and readied it, waiting for the blindfold.

“I guess he is feeling better,” Twilight said to Applejack.

“Mmhm.” Applejack shrugged before headed over to where the piñata was hanging.

After awhile AJ went over to a table to sit down and get a breather. A smile graced his face as he watched his friends partying and having a good time. It warmed his heart to see them all happy. After a few minutes Fluttershy noticed AJ was over in the corner by himself. She decided that this was her chance to ask him. She excused herself from the party and walked over. “Um AJ, can I ask you a question?”

AJ smiled. “Sure, go ahead Fluttershy.”

“Earlier today when you said you’ve known what you’re going to do, what did you mean? Are you going to stay here or…?” Fluttershy trailed off and hid her face behind her mane.

If Fluttershy had been paying attention, she would have noticed his smile turn from one of happiness to a depressed smile. “Let’s…let’s not think about that sort of thing right now. Tonight’s a time for fun, so I say we get back to the party and have a blast.” AJ put his hand on her shoulder before getting up to join everyone on the dance floor. Fluttershy wasn’t happy with that answer, but she decided not to bug him about it anymore tonight.

********************

The next morning AJ managed to wake up a couple of hours before everyone else in the house. As quietly as he could he got dressed and headed out of the house. The only problem he had was Winona had woken up too and he had to make sure she didn’t go and wake up the entire house by barking.

After he was out of the house he quickly made his way through town, eventually coming to the exit. As he walked through the gates he turned to take one last look at the town that had so graciously helped him in his time of need. Smiling he turned and continued down the road. Once he got a good distance away from Ponyville, he sat down on the side of the road and played the waiting game. After he sat down he pulled a few glow sticks out of his pockets and started lighting them up, placing them around himself in a circle. He did this for both light, and also to make himself easier to see.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, AJ saw what he was looking for. In the dark sky, he could make out a chariot moving across the sky in his direction. After it looked like it would pass right over him he saw the chariot circle around and start to descend, landing a few feet away. “Are you AJ?”

AJ nodded. “I hope the glow sticks were easy enough to see.”

“We’ve been trained for night flying.” The bat winged pegasus said proudly. “You made your self more than easy enough to find. Now if you’d please get in, it’s a long flight back.” AJ nodded as he picked up the glow sticks. He climbed into the chariot and they were off to Canterlot.

**************************************

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

This is the choice I've made

((I figured people would want the next chapter so I started it right away. Also a bit of a warning for this chapter, at one point it gets slightly steamy.))

Chapter 14

Big Mac was, as usual, the first to wake up in the Apple house. He did his usual morning job of waking up his sisters. He went to wake up AJ with a happy shout, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw nopony there. He took a quick look around the room to see if he left a note or any clues to where he went, but found nothing. “Hey Applejack, did AJ tell ya he was goin’ somewhere t’day?”

Applejack yawned as she exited her bedroom. “Nope, can’t say Ah remember him sayin’ anything? Why?”

“Cause he ain’t here.”

Confused, Applejack stuck her head in the room. “Now where did he go?” A thought came to her mind that she didn’t like, but she quickly brushed it aside.

“Now what’s goin’ on in here?” Applejack and Big Mac looked down to see that Apple Bloom had squeezed in between the two of them and was also looking into the room. “What’re we lookin’ at?” Apple Bloom stepped into the room to get a better room to get a better look. Big Mac and Applejack watched as their little sister looked around the room. She turned to them with a confused look on her face. “Where’s AJ?”

“We don’t know,” Applejack said as she shook her head. “Big McIntosh said he wasn’t in his room when he went ta wake’im.”

Apple Bloom sat on her haunches and started to think. Suddenly a fearful look flashed across her face. “Y’all don’t think he left, do ya?”

Applejack walked into the room and started to comfort her sister. “Don’t fret Apple Bloom. Ah’m sure he just went out somewhere. Ah doubt he would just up an’ leave without sayin’ goodbye to everypony.”

“B-but what if he did? What if…what if we never see him again?” Apple Bloom was starting to tear up now.

“How ‘bout this, after breakfast me an’ you go lookin fer’im?” Applejack asked. Apple Bloom nodded with a smile, wiping away some tears. “OK, now go get washed up. Big McIntosh, let’s get breakfast started.”

“Eeyup.”

********************

Celestia and Luna were there to meet AJ when he arrived at the castle. After a quick breakfast, the three of them walked to the throne room. There AJ told the two of them his decision.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do. Maybe you’d like to think this over some more,” Celestia asked. This was a big decision for AJ and she didn’t want him to feel rushed.

AJ shook his head. “No. I’ve had more than enough time to decide. It’s been the only thing on my mind since I was told. I weighed my options over and over again, and well…this is what I want.”

Luna smiled. “It’s good to know that you thought it over so thoroughly.” She got up from her throne. “We can start whenever you’re ready.”

“Actually, first I have a request, if it’s not too much trouble.”

Celestia looked confused. “And what would that be?”

AJ looked down with a sad look. “Well, I’d like to leave something behind to say goodbye. Like a video or something. They deserve to know why I chose this.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other and smiled. Luna turned to trot out of the room. “Wait right here, I’ll go get my video camera.”

********************

Apple Bloom rushed Applejack out the door the instant they were finished with breakfast; leaving a very unhappy Big Mac alone to clean up the mess. They started by looking in the obvious places. They started with Fluttershy’s cottage and Ditzy’s house. When those turned out to be dead ends, they started looking around the town proper for any traces of him. They searched for hours finding nothing that would help them.

Eventually Applejack got an idea in her head as to where he might be. Though she was apprehensive about taking Apple Bloom there after how AJ reacted when she and Fluttershy had found him there. “Hey Apple Bloom, why don’t we split up. You go look that way, an’ Ah’ll go this way?” Apple Bloom nodded and started galloping in the direction of Sugarcube corner. Once she was out of sight, Applejack quickly made her way to the town gates.

After a few minutes Applejack made her way to the grave site. She looked all around the site for any signs that he had been there. Much to her chagrin, she found nothing. Sighing, Applejack made her way back to Ponyville.

When she got back, she saw Apple Bloom running up to her. “Applejack, where did ya go? Ah thought we were lookin’ fer AJ.”

“Ah, was. Ah was just lookin’ different places is all. Still didn’t find’im.” Applejack looked up and saw Ditzy trotting out of the post office with a smile on her face. She must have just finished her mail route. “Ditzy!”

Apple Bloom looked confused. “Huh?”

“If anypony’d know where AJ would be, Ditzy would know.” Applejack ran by Apple Bloom. With hope in her eyes Apple Bloom followed close behind. “Ditzy wait!”

Ditzy turned around. “Oh, hey Applejack.”

“Ditzy, have you seen AJ at all t’day?” Ditzy shook her head. “Did he tell ya if he had any plans at all?”

“No, I don’t think so. Why do you ask?” Ditzy was starting to get worried. “Is AJ alright?”

Applejack was about to reassure her, but Apple Bloom spoke up first. “He’s gone Ditzy! He left Equestria!”

Ditzy’s eyes got wide. “W-what?” The news hit her like a brick to the head. She fell to her haunches with her mouth agape.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack angrily shouted at her younger sister.

Tears were starting to form in Ditzy’s eyes. “B-b-but he couldn’t have left. H-he didn’t even s-s-say goodbye.”

When she finished chastising her sister, Applejack walked up to Ditzy and brushed away a tear. “Don’t worry sugarcube. I’m sure he wouldn’t leave without sayin' goodbye. He cared about ya too much not ta.” She embraced Ditzy who had started lightly sobbing at this point.

“B-b-but, what if he did leave? I don’t *sniff* I don’t want to lose him Applejack.”

Applejack started rubbing Ditzy’s back. “Shhh, everythin’ll be OK sugarcube. Come on, maybe Twilight knows somethin’.” With a sad yet hopeful nod, Ditzy wiped away her tears and followed Applejack and Apple Bloom to the library.

********************

“I would have traded anything in the world to spend just a moment with you my love,” Shimmer Star said as she nuzzled up to her lover. “Nothing compares to the feeling I get when I am in your presence.”

“And I feel the same way about you my shining star.” Sun Burst embraced Shimmer Star in a hug and kissed her passionately. Their tongues dancing around each other as they did.

The two of them fell back onto the bed as Sun Burst broke the kiss, a strand of saliva connecting their lips. He started nipping at her neck making her moan in pleasure. He started slowly moving his head down her body, kissing her as he did. As he got to her belly he looked up to her face. A content smile blessed her face as she looked down at him. He continued down her body, brushing against her teats as he did. As soon as he got between her legs he…”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Celestia Dammit! It was just getting good!” shouted Twilight as she slammed her hooves on the floor. She closed the book and hid it under the couch as she got up from the pillow she was laying on. She walked over to the door and put on a smile as she opened it. “Hey Applejack, what’s up?”

“Can we come in?”

Twilight looked past Applejack to see Apple Bloom and a sad Ditzy behind her. “Sure.” She let the others into the library and called up to Spike. “Spike, could you get some tea started?”

“Sure thing Twilight,” came Spikes voice from upstairs. He came down the stairs and headed into the kitchen, waving to everypony as he did.

Twilight smiled as she turned back to the three new ponies. “So, what can I do for you?”

“Twilight, Ah’m not gonna dance around the issue, have you seen AJ t’day? We can’t find’im anywhere,” Applejack asked with a serious face.

Twilight thought for a moment. “Nnno can’t say that I have. Spike, have you seen AJ today?”

Spike poked his head out of the kitchen. “No, I haven’t seen him since he asked me to send that letter to the Princess yesterday.” The entire room looked at Spike in shock. “What?”

“Spike, why didn’t you tell me he sent a letter?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know, I guess it kinda slipped my mind.” Spike quickly slipped back into the kitchen to avoid any further staring.

Twilight facehoofed and turned back to the rest of the group as she heard Ditzy start to cry. “H-h-he’s gone! I-i-i’ll never see him again!” Applejack and Apple Bloom quickly started to comfort her once again.

“Don’t worry Ditzy. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Twilight used her magic to grab an empty scroll and an inked quill. She quickly wrote a letter and sealed it, rushing into the kitchen to give it to Spike. She walked back into the main room with a determined look. “I’m sure Celestia will help us.”

Moments later they all heard a belch from the other room. “Twilight, letter fo…” Spike was cut off as Twilight yanked the scroll from his hand with her magic.

She opened the letter and read through it with a smile. “She’s sending a carriage over right now so we can talk about it. It should be here in a couple of hours.”

Ditzy’s face became hopeful. “C-can I *sniff* come with, please?”

Twilight gave a warm smile. “Of course. I’m sure the Princess would understand.”

********************

The sun was going down by the time Twilight and Ditzy made it to the castle. Twilight thanked the pegasus pullers and led Ditzy into the castle. Celestia was waiting for them when they passed through the gates. “Twilight, it’s always nice to see you.” She walked up to Twilight and gave her a hug. Twilight happily returned it. Celestia looked up with a smile. “And who’s this.”

Ditzy quickly bowed down. “M-my name’s Ditzy Doo your highness.”

Celestia motioned for her to rise as Twilight spoke up. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you she was coming Princess, but her and AJ were really close and she wanted to come too and…”

“It’s OK Twilight, I understand. Please, come with me. We have a lot to talk about.” Celestia turned and lead the two of them further into the castle.

The walk through the castle was relatively silent. The only sounds coming from the castle’s cleaning staff talking to each other as they worked. Celestia smiled and nodded to them as she passed. Twilight looked over to Ditzy and she could tell just how anxious she was. She stopped and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry Ditzy. I know Celestia will help us.”

Ditzy smiled as they heard a set of hooves running down the hall. They both looked over as an earth pony in a nurse’s uniform ran up to Celestia and whispered something to her. Celestia smiled. “Good, if at all possible, bring him to the throne room please.” The nurse nodded and ran back the way she came. “This is wonderful. Now let us continue.” The three of them entered the throne room and Celestia sat in her throne. “Now, where would you like to start Twilight?”

Twilight cleared her throat. “Well, AJ left Ponyville with out saying goodbye. He didn’t even mention it to anypony. Applejack said they woke up and he was gone. We were wondering if he…”

“Please Princess, did AJ tell you anything?” Ditzy interrupted with her plea.

Celestia gave a knowing smile. “I understand your plea, but I’m not sure why he would have said his goodbyes.

Both Twilight and Ditzy looked at Celestia in disbelief. Twilight spoke up first. “Princess, what are you talking about? He was our friend. Why wouldn’t he have…”

The door to the throne room was opened, interrupting Twilight. Very slowly moving through the doorway was an indigo unicorn stallion with a disheveled brown mane and tale and a small hoop earring in his left ear. Past his droopy, almost closed eyelids Twilight could see his blue eyes. He was supported on both sides by nurses. As they slowly made their way up to the throne the stallion kept losing his balance and stumbling. The only thing keeping him from collapsing onto the floor were the nurses that were supporting him. As they got closer his strained breathing could be heard.

“Princess who’s this, and why isn’t he in bed?” Twilight asked. “He looks like he can barely stand, much less walk.”

Celestia just smiled and said nothing. Ditzy was busy trying to make heads or tails of this situation when she saw the stallion smile. “What, not even a hello, how are you? Twilight, I’m hurt.” He spoke with a very strained voice.

Both Twilight and Ditzy gasped. They knew that voice. Ditzy took a step forward. “A-AJ?” He smiled and nodded. She took a few more steps forward until she was standing in front of him and the nurses. She sat there for a minute just staring into AJ’s eyes before lifting her hoof and slapping him to the ground.

The nurses quickly shook themselves out of shock and helped him up into a sitting position as Twilight ran up to Ditzy. “Ditzy what are you doing, he’s…”

Twilight stopped talking when she saw Ditzy step forward and embrace AJ, crying once again. “I-I thought you were gone. I thought you had left me just like he did.”

AJ weakly returned the hug. “I’m sorry for worrying you Ditzy.”

Celestia silently got up and started to leave the room; stopping only let the nurses get back to work leaving only the three ponies in the room. After a few moments of silence, Twilight spoke up. “So why didn’t you tell anypony? Why did you keep this whole thing secret?”

“I wanted it to be a secret. My plan was to go back to Ponyville and surprise everyone.” He hugged Ditzy a little bit tighter. “I guess that was a bad idea, huh?”

“But what about your family?” Twilight asked. “Don’t you think they’re worried about you?” AJ’s smile turned to one of sadness as a tear rolled down his cheek.

********************

Mary unlocked the door to the house and walked in with her bag of groceries. She placed them on the kitchen table and slowly put them away. Ever since AJ had disappeared she felt like her whole world was crumbling. First her husband had died, now her youngest son was gone.

She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch about ready to cry. She looked up and noticed something. On the coffee table sat a DVD that she was sure wasn’t there when she had left. She picked up the jewel case and looked at it. Written on the DVD in familiar handwriting was ‘Please watch me.’ Noting the handwriting, she quickly put it in the player and started playing it.

“…an do this. I’ve never been good on camera.” AJ was pacing in front of the camera. It was obvious he was very nervous.

“A-AJ?” Mary said with tears in her eyes.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” came a woman’s voice from off camera. AJ looked off to the left. “Just tell them everything you told us and everything will be alright.”

AJ sat in the chair he was in front of and put his head in his hands. “That’s the thing. Once I’m in front of the camera my mind will go blank. Just watch, as soon as she hits record I’ll…”

“Actually I’m already recording,” came a voice from right behind the camera. “I’ve been recording for about a minute now.”

AJ looked just above the camera. “You serious?”

“Mmhm.”

AJ closed his eyes and took a deep breath and looked at the camera. “Hey mom. Long time no see huh.” AJ rubbed the back of his head. “I know you must be worried sick about me, and I’m sorry about that. I’m so sorry. I wish I could have told you this sooner, but unfortunately I was unable to.” AJ started looking at the floor. “I’m sorry, but I won’t be coming home. I know this must hurt, cause it hurts me too.” He looked back at the camera with tears in his eyes. “Mom, please don’t worry about me. As you can see I’m fine. I’m surrounded by friends, and…I’m happy here. P-please continue to live your life to the fullest mom. Don’t let *sniff* don’t let my disappearance ruin y-your life. I-I love you mom, Forever.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “OK. T-turn it off.”

The video ended. Mary had her head in her hands bawling. She was probably never going to see her son again.

****************************************

((Alright show of hands, who here got legitimately trolled?))

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

Getting to know the new me

Chapter 15

AJ, Ditzy, and Twilight were interrupted when Celestia’s personal butler, an older unicorn named Proper Manners, entered the room, wheelchair in tow. “I beg your pardon, but the Princess has given me the task of showing you three to the rooms you will be staying in during your time here in Canterlot.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you sir. I think all of us could use some rest.” Ditzy nodded as she helped AJ into the chair.

“Very good, now if you would please follow me.” Proper Manners lead them down the halls. Twilight used her magic to push the wheelchair as Ditzy walk alongside it. After a few minutes of walking Proper Manners stopped. “Here are your rooms. The room on the right is Mr. AJ’s room.” He pointed at two rooms on the opposite wall. “These two will be Miss Ditzy Doo’s and Lady Twilight Sparkle’s rooms. Before I leave, is there anything you need?”

“Some water would be nice,” AJ weakly said.

Proper Manners nodded. “And would you ladies like anything?” Ditzy and Twilight shook their heads. “I will be right back with your water then.”

The three of them walked into AJ’s room. As they were helping AJ into bed, they heard a knock on the door. “I’ll get it.” Twilight walked to the door and opened it to find Princess Luna standing there. “Princess Luna, what can we do for you?”

“Good evening Twilight Sparkle. Tia told me AJ had woken up, so I figured I would come and give him a check up.” Luna looked over to the bed where AJ was sliding under the covers. Twilight stepped to the side to let her into the room. “And how are you feeling right now?”

“Like I got hit by a bus,” AJ said in a completely serious tone.

Luna just giggled. “That’s to be expected. Now, hold still. I just need to see if there are any complications.” A blue aura surrounded Luna’s horn. She lowered her head and pointed her horn at AJ. A second later the blue aura surrounded AJ’s body. “Hmm, let’s see. You’re very dehydrated, we’ll have to...”

“Mr. Proper Manners is bringing some water right now,” Ditzy said interrupting Luna.

Luna stared at Ditzy. “He is?” Ditzy nodded. “Wonderful! Now let’s see,” Luna said as she concentrated on the spell once more. “You also appear to have muscle strain all throughout your body. Some rest is in order. Other than that you seem to be fine.” The blue aura died down. “It seems you’re magical ability is still too weak to use. It’s something we’ll have to keep track of.”

“Wait, you mean this horn’s going to be good for something other than just decoration?” AJ asked.

“Of course. Now that you’re a unicorn, your body should start naturally absorbing magical energy. Why would you think otherwise?” Luna asked curiously.

“I don’t know. I just figured I’d be without magic. Seeing as how I wasn’t born a unicorn I’d be…how do I put this…magically disabled? Magically retarded?”

“The term you’re looking for is an arcane mute,” Twilight said with a shiver. “It’s a rare disability in unicorns. Usually a foal is born with it, but…”

“It can also happen due to a very severe injury,” Luna added.

Twilight sighed. “It happened to my uncle. He was trying a very advanced spell and it backfired…badly. He never fully recovered.” A smile grew on her face. “He’s just happy to be alive though. In fact, he’s where I got my study habits from.” Twilight proudly smiled.

“So now we know who to blame when you spend days at a time cooped up in the library studying,” AJ said chuckling followed by a wince of pain.

“Excuse me?” Twilight said in a huff. “I’ll have you know that studying is very important.”

A knock sounded at the door. “You may come in,” Luna said.

Proper Manners entered the room carrying a tray of cups and a pitcher of water in his magic. He bowed down when he saw Luna. “Good evening your majesty. I am sorry to intrude, but I was just here to deliver some water that has been requested.”

“Ah very good.” Using her magic Luna grabbed the tray from Proper Manners.

“Is there anything else I can get you?”

Luna smiled and shook her head. “That will be all, thank you.” She placed the tray on the bed side table. “Here, drink up.” Luna lifted a filled glass over to AJ’s mouth. He drank as if it was the first bit of water he’d seen in years. He moaned in relief as the cool liquid soothed his throat. “Drink it slowly, there’s plenty where that came from.” She refilled the empty glass and placed it on the table. “Tia and I would like for you to stay for at least a week to rest and recuperate.” She turned to look out the window. “Well I should be going. It’s almost about time to raise the moon. If any of you are hungry you are more than welcome to join us for dinner.” With a smile and a nod Luna started walking out of the room. “Oh that’s right.” She turned back to the group. “Your new glasses should be finished tomorrow.”

“I don’t know about you two, but food sounds really good right now,” Twilight said as her stomach lightly grumbled.

Ditzy got up. “I guess I’m a little hungry. What about you AJ?”

“I think I'm going to get some sleep. I’m too tired to care about food right now.”

“Alright, I’ll be back to check on you later,” Ditzy said with a smile. She helped AJ with another glass of water before her and Twilight left for dinner.

********************

“Oh Celestia, I never knew food could taste so…amazing!” Ditzy said rubbing her now full tummy. “And that cake for dessert, it was probably the best cake I’ve ever had!”

“Yea the royal chefs are great. It’s probably one of the things I miss most about living in Canterlot. I think the thing I miss the most is not being as close to my parents.” A thought came to Twilight’s mind. “While I’m here, I should go visit them. I’m sure they’d love to see me again.”

“I try to keep in touch with my family as much as I can. They usually come down to Ponyville for a day or two.” The smile on Ditzy’s face dropped. “I try not to come to Canterlot unless I have to. Too many bad memories.”

Twilight turned to Ditzy with a curious look. “Bad memories?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” They soon came up to their rooms. “Hold on, I want to check on AJ.” Ditzy opened the door slightly and poked her head in. The room was nearly pitch black. The only light was the small amount entering through the door. She walked into the room a little further before she heard a light snoring. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out a figure lying in the bed. She smiled and quietly backed out of the room. She closed the door and turned to Twilight. “He’s sleeping like a baby.”

Twilight smiled and turned to her room. “I’m going to write a letter to Spike, tell him I’ll be here for a week.”

“Could I write something too? I need to ask Sparkler if she can watch Dinky for the week.” A thought came to Ditzy. “I should probably also get Carrot Top to ask me off of work. I have off tomorrow, but…”

Twilight giggled. “I don’t see why not. We’ll send it tomorrow morning then.”

********************

It was a quiet morning in the library. Spike had just woken up a little while ago and was in the middle of his morning routine. “Ahh, I never get to take long baths like this when Twilight’s around. Always complaining about me using all the hot water.” As he leaned back in the tub, he started reaching for something. Not finding it he opened his eyes. “Where are you?” He scoured the tub in an attempt to find what was lost. Not finding it in the tub, he peaked over the edge. A smile grew on his scaly face when he saw what he was looking for. “There you are Mr. Quackers. I thought I told you to stay with me.” He started to reach for the rubber duck when he felt that oh so familiar sensation build up in his gut. His cheeks puffed out right before he belched out a green flame. The letter fell to the floor. “Hmm, I wonder what…” He felt another one coming.

After the second letter fell to the ground Spike let the water out of the tub. “Looks like I still can’t take a bath without getting interrupted.” He wrapped a towel around himself and walked into the bedroom to read the letters. He opened the first one and immediately knew it was from Twilight. He’d recognize that writing style anywhere.

Dear Spike

We will be in Canterlot until next weekend. Make sure the library stays clean until I get back. Other than that you’re free to use your time as you please. And please tell everypony that I’m coming back with AJ.

Twilight Sparkle

Spike’s eyes began to shimmer. “A week off? I-I’ve never had an entire week off.” He started to dance a dance of victory until he remembered there was still the other letter.

Hi Spike, Ditzy here. I have two messages I was hopping you could pass on for me. Could you please tell Sparkler that I’ll be gone for the week? She’s watching Dinky for me while I’m gone and I don’t want them to worry. Also could you tell Carrot Top to ask off of work for me? I didn’t expect to be gone for so long so I never got the chance. Thanks in advance.

Ditzy Doo

He sighed. It looks like he he’ll have to put his off time to the wayside for a little bit. He hung his towel up in the bathroom and headed downstairs. He made a quick breakfast and started heading out the door.

“Who?”

“Huh, oh hey there Owlowiscious. I was just heading out to do a few things. I’ll be back in a bit,” Spike said.

“Who?”

“Who? Oh, I have to go talk to Carrot Top and Sparkler. Then I have to go give a message to all our friends.”

“Who?”

“You know, our friends. There’s Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.”

“Who?”

Spike was starting to get angry. “Oh come on, you know who I’m talking about. You go and see them every week when…” Spike then remembered who he was talking to and facepalmed. “When will I remember that’s all you can say?” He walked out the door and closed it, leaving the owl to preen his feathers.

******************

Spike found Carrot Top at her stand. She had just finished selling some carrots to Lyra and Bon Bon and noticed Spike walking up to her stand. “Good morning Spike, what can I get ya?”

“Oh we still got plenty of carrots at home,” Spike said with a smile. “I got a message here from Ditzy for you.” Spike handed the letter to Carrot Top.

Carrot Top read through the letter. “*sigh* Boxxy Brown is not going to be happy about this. Not with such short notice. Thanks Spike.” She placed the letter in her bag. “I was planning on seeing Sparkler later today. I’ll let her know how long Ditzy’s staying in Canterlot.”

“Alright, thanks Carrot Top.” Internally Spike was jumping for joy. With Carrot Top giving the message to Sparkler, that means one less trip he would have to make. “I got to go. I need to go talk to Applejack.”

Spike made his way across the town square where the Apples always set up their stand. There he saw Big Mac and Apple Bloom. Big Mac was behind the stand ready to sell apples to anypony who wanted them and Spike could see Apple Bloom’s backside sticking out from the side of the cart as she was digging around for something. Big Mac saw Spike coming and put on a smile. “Why howdy Spike.” Apple Bloom’s head could be heard smacking against the underside of the apple stand when she heard Spike’s name. She poked her head out and stared at Spike with a slight blush.

“Hey Big Mac, hey Apple Bloom. I got a letter from Twilight today. She said she was going to be bringing AJ back in about a week.” Spike pulled out Twilight’s letter and held it up.

“AJ’s comin’ back?!” Apple Bloom tackled Spike to the ground and took the letter. After reading the letter, she hopped off of Spike and ran up to her brother. “It’s true Big McIntosh! AJ’s comin’ back!”

Big Mac smiled and patted his sister’s head. “That’s great news. Now why don’t ya go finish settin’ up th’ apples so we can sell’em.”

Apple Bloom saluted Big Mac and ran back behind the cart. She poked her head out and waved to Spike. “Bye Spike!”

********************

Twilight and Ditzy were on their way back from the dining hall. They had just finished breakfast and were on their way to check on AJ. When they opened the door they both gasped when they saw AJ in a heap on the floor. AJ looked over to the door when he heard the gasps seeing the two pony shaped blobs in the door way. “How do you guys make this look so easy?”

As AJ got himself back up on unsteady legs, Ditzy quickly flew over to help him. “What are you doing? You should still be in bed!”

AJ sat down. “Well I wasn’t tired anymore, so I thought maybe I’d try to get used to these new limbs. As you can see I failed miserably.”

“You’ll get used to them in time, but for now you just need to rest,” Twilight said as she walked over. “For now why don’t you just get back in bed and let us get you anything you need.”

“But…” Ditzy gave AJ an angry stare. “*sigh* Fine you win, but at least let me try to get into bed by myself.”

Ditzy watched as AJ slowly turned around and basically crawled into bed. “You must be hungry. You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

“Yea, breakfast sounds pretty good right now,” AJ said rubbing his gut.

“OK, I’ll go get you something then. I hope the cooks won’t mind.” Ditzy started trotting to the door humming a tune. She stopped at the door and turned her head. “Anything in particular that you’d like?” AJ just shrugged. “OK.” Ditzy opened the door and trotted out.

“You never told us why you stayed.”

AJ looked over to Twilight who was now sitting next to the bed. “Huh?”

“I was just wondering why you didn’t go back to your family?” Twilight asked.

AJ looked down in thought. “Well, I guess I’m just happier here in Equestria.” Twilight looked at him in as if telling him to go on. “I have a job where I feel like I’m actually accomplishing something. Working at a fast food restaurant isn’t exactly something to be proud of. This world itself seems to be a much more peaceful place. One that isn’t wrought with wars, religious nut jobs, and political bullshit. And I have so many friends here. Friends who are willing to help me if I need it. Friends who make me laugh. Friends who like me for who I am and not what I’m not, but…”

“You’ll miss your family,” Twilight said knowingly.

AJ nodded. “My world may have all those problems, but my family always made all that bearable. That’s what made this choice so hard. I love my family with all my heart and choosing to leave them behind…” A tear rolled down his cheek. “It still hurts.” He wiped his eyes. “But I’m sure I’ll have my friends to help me through this. You, Applejack, Fluttershy, everyone. Especially…” A warm smile graced his face.

“You really like Ditzy, don’t you?” AJ nodded. “Would you say you even love her?” Twilight’s smile turned to a teasing grin.

AJ’s eyes went wide as he felt his face heat up. “Umm…uh…I…s-shut up!”

Ditzy came through the door with a cart and stood there confused for a minute. She saw Twilight giggling and AJ sitting in the bed with an intense blush on his face. “Umm, what did I miss?”

The two ponies looked over to the door. AJ turned away as it seemed his blush intensified even further. Twilight giggled a bit more before answering. “Nothing, we’re just talking.” Twilight looked at the cart of food. “Wow, they made all that already?”

“It turns out they always make extra incase the princesses have guests.” Ditzy poked her head out the door to make sure nopony else was there. “Miss Sweet Cream also said sometimes Princess Celestia will ask for something extra so she makes sure she’ll have enough to sate the Princess’ mighty hunger.” Ditzy giggled as she wheeled the cart over to the bed. “Ok now, we have a nice spinach and alfalfa salad topped with an amazing vinaigrette dressing, a bowl fresh organic fruit, a stack of nice fluffy oat pancakes with syrup, and to top it all off, a healthy hay smoothie.”

AJ stared at the food before him. “That all sounds…wonderful, but I’m not so sure some of this fits my...pallet.”

Ditzy looked at AJ confused. “What’s wrong with it?”

As AJ tried to think of what to say, Twilight jumped in. “Why don’t you just try it? Who knows, maybe you’ll even like it.”

“Yea.” Ditzy grabbed the fork in her mouth and took up some of the salad. “Ophen uph.”

AJ started blushing again as Ditzy got closer. He glanced over at Twilight who had her hoof up to her mouth to stifle a giggle. AJ looked back to Ditzy and gulped. He opened his mouth and took the food in his mouth. He slowly chewed, letting the taste spread through his mouth. A slight smile formed as he swallowed. “That…was better than I expected.”

Ditzy smiled and grabbed more of the salad. In the middle of AJ’s meal a knock came at the door. Celestia came in carrying a small case. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but I just came to deliver these.” She floated the case over to AJ.

Fumbling with the case, AJ finally managed to open it to find a pair of glasses. “Hey, look at that. I’ll finally be able to see again.” He fumbled with the glasses, trying his hardest to get them on. Twilight took pity on him and used her magic to help him. He blinked a few times to get used to the glasses again. “Thanks.”

“I’ll let you get back to your meal then.” Celestia nodded her head and turned to the door.

“Umm I have a quick question first,” AJ said. Celestia turned back around. “I was wondering why I turned into a unicorn. I mean I’m not complaining, being able to use magic sounds pretty awesome, but I expected to be an earth pony.”

“You very well could have been. The spell Luna used to change you chose at random. There was an equal chance you could have become an earth pony or even a pegasus.” Celestia shook her head. “Luna was always better at understanding those type of spells than I was. If you’d like to know more you’ll have to ask her I’m afraid. Well I should be getting back. It’s about time to start my duties.” Celestia walked out of the room, closing the door as she did.

********************

It was early in the afternoon when AJ tried to walk again. He had to beg Ditzy to let him try, and even then she would only let him try if she could be there to support him the entire time. “If you feel like your losing your balance, just tell me and I’ll help you.” Ditzy was floating right above AJ as he stood on unsteady legs.

Twilight was in front of him giving him directions. “Just take it slowly. This isn’t something you want to rush. OK, now slowly put one hoof in front of the other, good. See, it’s not that hard.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve been a quadruped your entire life.” AJ started to lift his hind leg to move it forward, only to adjust his body to much and started to fall on his face. “Oh crap!” He stopped inches away from the floor as he felt legs wrapped around his body. He looked up to see Ditzy smiling back at him. “Thanks Ditzy. Let’s try that again.” Ditzy helped him back up to a standing position. She got back into position as AJ once again started to take a step forward.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Oh god!” AJ once again fell forward, though this time with Twilight and Ditzy distracted by the door he fell flat on his face. Ditzy helped AJ up as Twilight went to go answer the door.

“Oh, hello Princess Luna.”

“Hello Twilight Sparkle. The royal court is taking a bit of a recess right now and I thought I’d come to check on AJ’s condition.” Luna walked into the room and walked up to AJ. “Are you trying to walk? How’s it coming along?”

“It’s coming along just fine,” AJ sarcastically said as he rubbed his nose.

Not catching the sarcasm Luna smiled. “Wonderful. Now hold still. This will only take a minute.” Luna’s horn started to glow as she once again checked on AJ’s physical health. “You’re doing a little bit better than yesterday, but more rest is required.” Her magic died down. Your magic is still weak, but by tomorrow you may be able to start using it.”

“Really?”

Luna nodded. “And with the proper training using your magic will be as easy as breathing. Twilight Sparkle, we would like you to be the one to teach him how to properly use magic.”

“Me?” Twilight’s jaw dropped. “You want me to teach him?”

“Yes, it was my sister’s idea. She said she it would also be a great learning experience for you as well.”

“Celestia thinks I’d make a good teacher.” Twilight’s face was beaming as she started jumping up and down in a circle shouting ‘Yes!’ over and over again. After she regained her composure, she blushed and agreed. “I’d love to.”

The door suddenly swung open to reveal Luna’s helper Rain Dancer. “I’m sorry to interrupt Princess, but your sister sent me. The royal court has already started once again and she would like you to be there.”

“What?! Oh crap!” Without even saying good bye, Luna dashed out the door. Rain Dancer bowed to the ponies in the room and closed the door as she left.

********************

It was the next day and AJ was excited to start his magic training. Though not as excited as Twilight was to begin teaching. After having some breakfast Twilight immediately gathered her things and took AJ to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She was trotting with a spring in her step through the halls of the school, levitating books and materials she’d need. AJ and Ditzy were walking slowly behind her. Through hours of practice, AJ had learned how to walk on his newly acquired limbs. He was still unsteady and stumbled often, but he could at least move around on his own if he needed. Ditzy still made sure to stay close incase he needed help. “So Twilight, where are we going anyway?”

Twilight stopped and turned her head. “The Princess is allowing us to use the private study room. It’s the same room the Princess taught me in during my time in school.” She continued her happy trot. “There we’ll have everything we need and more to help you learn to use your magic. We’ll practice every day.”

“If the room has everything we need, what’s that you got with you?” AJ asked looking at the books and notebooks Twilight was carrying.

“Just a few of my own personal notes and some magic books for beginners.”

They finally reached a door that looked much more regal than the rest. Twilight used the key around her neck to unlock the door and enter. Once inside AJ and Ditzy gawked at the vast amount of items and trinkets that adorned the room. “What are all these things?” AJ asked.

Twilight smiled as she grabbed a bag from the side of the room. “These are all tools for practicing magic. For today we’ll be using these.” She placed the bag next to a few metallic orbs on the floor. “These orbs will help to test just how strong your magic is. This…” She pulled an odd rainbow colored gem from the bag. “Will help us test your magical endurance.”

“That sounds easy enough,” AJ said as he sat down by the equipment. “So where do we start?”

“We’ll start with endurance. Now, what you need to do is concentrate your magic into this gem. Once it starts to glow, hold it. If you need help, just remember that I have my notes and these books to help you.”

AJ took one of the books and cracked it open. After reading a bit, he closed it and turned his attention to the gem. “Hokay, I got this.” He closed his eyes and started concentrating. After about a minute his horn started to glow with a dim, icy blue aura that slowly got brighter. The aura soon surrounded the gem and it started to lightly glow.

“OK good, now hold it.” Twilight said.

Not a second later the aura died down and AJ slumped over breathing hard. “This…isn’t as easy…as it looks.”

“Well it’s like Luna said, your magic’s still weak. As time goes on it will get easier.” Twilight got up. “Why don’t you take a minute to catch your breath while I go get us something to drink.” Twilight exited the room and headed in the direction of the cafeteria. During the trip she noticed something on the wall that caught her eye. “What, could it be? Could he really be…” Twilight shook her head. “No, what am I talking about, that’s crazy. It’s impossible for him to even be alive. That’s just silly.” Twilight continued on her way to the cafeteria.

On the wall was a black poster with the silhouette of a light azure unicorn wearing a dark blue hat and cape with stars, moons, and bells on it surrounded by a magical smoke. The words ‘Coming to mystify you once again’ sat at the bottom.

****************************************

((Voting is closed. Pinkie has 21 votes and Big Mac has 31. So it looks like the Fluttermac wins. I forgot to check deviant art and i got one vote for Pinkie there. Big Mac still wins though.))

My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

Cutie Mark Crusaders Operation Sleepover

Chapter 16

It was about one in the afternoon when Twilight ended the lessons. AJ had made little to no progress with his magic training today, but Twilight assured him that was to be expected. Before heading back to the castle the three of them stopped for some lunch at Pony Joe’s. They got back to the castle at around 2 and Twilight’s first action was to deposit all but a few of her teaching supplies in her room. She went over into AJ’s room where she saw AJ was already sprawled out on the bed. He turned his head to Ditzy. “Do you think anyone would mind if I passed out for the rest of the day?”

“Don’t get to comfortable just yet,” Twilight said causing the two of them to look over. “You still have some homework to complete before tomorrow.”

“Homework?” AJ looked confused. Twilight didn’t mention any homework back when they were still at the school. “What homework?”

Twilight placed four different books in front of AJ. “These are more beginners’ magic books. You are to read them before tomorrow’s class.”

AJ and Ditzy gawked at the books before looking to Twilight. “How am I supposed to read four books before tomorrow?”

Twilight chuckled. “Oh come now, it’s only a bit of light reading.”

“You call this light?” Ditzy asked looking through the books. “One book, maybe two if they were smaller, but four?”

Twilight sighed. “At least try to read as many as you can. But I’d suggest you start with this one first.” Twilight picked up the second book in the pile and showed it to AJ. The title of the book was ‘Crystal Ball’s Introduction to Levitation.’ “Since you were unable to lift the orbs today I figured we could concentrate on learning levitation tomorrow.”

AJ lowered his head in defeat. “Alright, you win. I’ll try to read them all.”

“Don’t worry AJ, I’ll help you study.” Ditzy said climbing onto the bed, lying down next to him.

AJ once again felt his face start to heat up. He looked to Ditzy with a smile. “Thanks.” Ditzy blushed as a smile adorned her face as well. The two of them quickly looked away. “Umm, let’s get to reading shall we?”

Twilight smiled as she watched the scene unfold before her. It was obvious even to her that there was something more to their relationship than just good friends. Even if they didn’t want to admit it. “You two have fun. I think I’m going to go visit my parent’s for a bit.”

“Alright, we’ll get to studying then. Have fun,” AJ said opening the book.

********************

“I’m terribly sorry Spike,” Rarity said to the baby dragon. “But with all your hard work yesterday there just isn’t anything else I need help with right now.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you’re running low on gems right now. You can never have enough gems, right?” Spike asked with a hopeful smile.

“Actually gems are the one of the things I don’t need more of at the moment.” Rarity took one last look into her boutique. “I just can’t think of anything, but...” Using her magic Rarity grabbed a particularly big ruby and levitated it over to Spike. “I hope this will do as payment for yesterday.”

Spike took the ruby and hugged it to his chest. “It’s wonderful.”

Suddenly Sweetie Belle rushed downstairs with her saddle bags. “Are you ready Spike?”

“Ready for what?” Spike questioned the beaming filly.

“For the sleep over at the library tonight, don’t you remember Spike?” Rarity said.

“Sleepover, I don’t remember a sleepover.” Spike scratched his head.

“But I asked you yesterday and you said yes,” Sweetie Belle said still smiling. “While you were helping Rarity with her dresses.”

Spike thought back to the previous day…

********************

Spike couldn’t have been happier. Not only did he have the week off, but at this moment he was helping Rarity with her dresses. At this moment she was using him as a pin cushion. “Spike, I need more pins please.” Spike crawled over on all fours and allowed Rarity to grab all the pins she needed.

“Is there anything else you need my sweet?” Spike asked with hearts in his eyes. “I am at your beck and call.”

Rarity put her hoof to her chin and examined the dress. “It needs something. Spike could you go get my box of sapphires please?”

Obediently Spike got up and rushed over to the closet that housed the box and grabbed it. “Here you go Rarity.”

It was at this time that the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the building. Apple Bloom leaned over to the other crusaders and started whispering. “Ah don’t know if ah can do it. Ah’m too nervous.”

“Oh come on Apple Bloom, what’s the worst that could happen?” Scootaloo said.

“Yea, so just go over there and ask him.” Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom a small push.

Apple Bloom took a few steps forward and immediately turned around to scurry back. “Ah just can’t.”

“Ugh, fine I’ll ask him,” Sweetie Belle said walking past the yellow filly. She walked up behind Spike. “Hey Spike, do you think we could have a sleep over at the library with you tomorrow?”

“Now Sweetie Belle, while I’m sure Spike would love the company with Twilight gone, he probably wouldn’t appreciate a mess in the…”

“Yea, sure,” a love struck Spike blindly said, not even registering what the question even was.

“Are you sure Spike? You know how rambunctious the three of them can be.” Rarity looked at Spike with concern in her eyes.

“It’s fine."

“Well if you’re sure.” Rarity looked to Sweetie Belle. “If it’s alright with Spike its fine with me. Just make sure you girls OK it with your families first,” Rarity said to the three fillies. Beaming the CMC bolted out the door.

********************

Spike facepalmed as he remembered all the details. “I really need to start paying attention.” He looked up to Sweetie Belle. “I guess I did agree to this. Let’s go get the others.”

“Alright!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. With Sweetie leading they first went to go get Scootaloo.

As she watched them go, Rarity got a bad feeling in her gut. “Oh, I hope there’s a library for Twilight to come back to after tonight.” She trotted back into her shop to write an apology letter to Twilight…just in case.

********************

Twilight knocked on the door to her parent’s home and waited. After a minute she knocked again. “Oh come on. The one time I’m in Canterlot and there not home.”

“Twilight, is that you?” came a masculine voice behind her. Twilight turned around to see her parent’s right behind her, levitating some bags of groceries.

“Mom, Dad.” Twilight ran up and gave both her parents a big hug.

“Twilight honey, it’s so good to see you again,” Twilight’s mother said. “Oh but I wish you would have told us you were coming, we would have had time to prepare something special.”

“Oh Velvet relax, we should just be happy she came to visit us finally.” Night Light looked over to Twilight. “Letters are good and all, but they’re no replacement for the real deal. You really should come home a bit more often young lady.”

Twilight blushed slightly in embarrassment. She knew she should visit her parents more often. She would have to free up some of her study time. “Well I’m here now. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Twilight followed her parent into the house and helped them put the groceries away. Night Light stayed in the kitchen to make some coffee while Velvet and Twilight went into the living room to talk. Velvet got an evil grin on her face as she looked at Twilight. “So Twilight, did you meet any handsome stallions lately? Should we be expecting grandchildren soon?”

If Twilight’s face got any hotter it would have caught on fire. “MOTHER!!!!”

********************

Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo arrived at the farm and knocked on the door. Applejack answered the door. “Howdy. Y’all must be here fer Apple Bloom.” Applejack turned into the house. “Hey Apple bloom, yer friends are here fer ya!”

“Ah’m commin’!” Apple Bloom shouted down. Shortly after the clip clop of hooves could be heard running down the steps. Apple bloom stopped at the door and waved to her friends. “Hi girls!” She looked over to Spike and suddenly started to blush lightly. “Hi Spike.” She started to shift her weight from side to side nervously.

“Hi Apple Bloom, are you ready?” Spike asked. Apple Bloom only nodded. “Alright let’s go.” While Spike seemed cheery on the outside, on the inside he was still beating himself up for getting himself into this mess, ‘Let’s just get this over with so I can get the place cleaned up afterword.’ Apple Bloom joined the group and they headed towards the library.

The CMC let Spike lead so the three of them could talk about the real reason they wanted this sleep over. Apple Bloom leaned in close to both of her friends and started whispering. “Did you girls think of anything yet?”

“I borrowed some of Rarity’s really expensive perfume. Maybe if you smell like Rarity it will help,” Sweetie Bell Whispered motioning to her saddle bags.

“Don’t worry about it. I got more than enough ideas,” Scootaloo whispered confidently. “If Spike doesn’t fall in love you after tonight, he’s a lost cause.”

“Don’t say that about him!” Apple Bloom loudly whispered.

“Calm down Apple Bloom. I’m sure something will work.” Sweetie Belle put her leg around Apple bloom’s withers to calm her down.

“Hey, are you three coming?” Spike called back. They were almost at the library and Spike could already see the mess that would come out of this in his head and let out an involuntary shiver. He opened the door and let the three fillies in before closing it. “Alright you three, what should we do first?”

“I brought a couple movies from home we could watch,” Scootaloo said as she dug through her bags. “We could watch The Gryphon King first.” Scootaloo looked at the rest of the group with a hopeful smile. It was her favorite movie after all.

“I don’t know, we watch that every time we sleep over at your house Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said. “What else did you bring?”

Scootaloo sulked as she put the movie back. “Well I got this other one from my dad’s special movie cabinet.” She pulled out another movie. “I don’t know what it’s about, but I’ve never seen a movie like it before.”

“Let me see it,” Spike said grabbing the movie away from Scootaloo. He examined the DVD case. Aside from the title, the case was completely blank. “Plot Pounders 10? What kind of title is that for a movie?”

“I have no idea.” Scootaloo looked at the case herself. “I just didn’t want to be caught, so I grabbed the first one I saw and ran. Maybe it’s a really violent action movie?”

“It must be pretty violent if yer dad didn’t want ya ta see it,” Apple Bloom said.

Spike examined the case some more as if trying to get information about the movie just by staring at it. “What do you girls think?” They all just shrugged. “Alright, I’ll go make some popcorn and then we can pop it in.” The girls ran upstairs to get comfortable as Spike went into the kitchen to make the popcorn.

Spike came upstairs after about five minutes with the movie in one claw and a big bowl of popcorn in the other. He gave the popcorn to Apple Bloom and went to put the movie in. Grabbing the remote, he went to sit on the couch. “OK, let’s do this.” He hit play. After a few seconds a blank menu screen showed up with the title adorned across the top and Play highlighted in pink on the bottom. Spike hit play again and the screen went black. Some music began to play and after a minute some mare could be heard moaning. The screen slowly faded to a picture. Spike, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle blushed intensely as their jaws nearly hit the floor at what they saw. Scootaloo’s eyes just got wide as a smile grew on her face. A white mare with a blond mane and black stockings was giving a big grey stallion a blowjob while another light blue stallion ate her out from behind. At this moment, all four of them knew exactly what this movie was.

“This is a porno!” Spike shouted.

“Cooooooool!” Scootaloo said as she stared at the screen intently.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom covered their eyes as Spike fumbled with the remote to shut the movie off. He finally managed to stop the video and eject the disk. He quickly put the movie back in the case and threw it in a random direction so he wouldn’t have to look at it again. It ended up sliding under the desk Twilight uses when she studies. “Aww, you guys are no fun,” Scootaloo said folding her forelegs and pouting.

After regaining her composure, Sweetie Belle got up and grabbed the other movie out of Scootaloo’s bags. “I vote for The Gryphon King.” Spike and Apple Bloom both nodded their heads in unison.

********************

Though Scootaloo was disappointed they didn’t watch the porno, watching her favorite movie brightened her mood right up again. By the end she was practically beaming. “Wasn’t that a great movie?”

The other three nodded. Spike took the movie out and put it away, handing it to Scootaloo. “Alright, what do you three want to do next?”

“I have some board games in my bags,” Sweetie Belle said. Scootaloo had stuffed them in her bags when they went to pick her up. “We could play them for awhile.”

“Alright. Why don’t you three set one up. I gotta go use the bathroom.”

The three fillies watched and waited till Spike was in the bathroom before talking. “Scootaloo, how are these going ta get Spike ta like me?”

“Patience Apple Bloom. If we get straight to the ‘activities’ he may realize something’s up.” They heard the toilet flush and the sink start to run. Scootaloo motioned for Sweetie Bloom to grab a game. “After dinner I’ll start putting the plan into action.”

********************

“Twilight honey, will you be staying for dinner?” Velvet called out from the kitchen.

“I think so. I’ve missed your cooking,” Twilight said with a smile. “Spike’s a good cook and all, but it’s just not the same.”

“Still making him do all the cooking huh?” Night Light said. “Afraid you’ll catch that library of yours on fire if you try? If I recall you never were able to cook anything without something going up in flames.”

“I can cook!” Twilight said indignantly. “Kinda…somewhat…barely…no I can’t.” She hung her head in defeat.

Her dad nuzzled Twilight’s cheek. “Don’t worry Twilight, you’re mother was never the greatest cook when she was your age either. It took years before she stopped burning everything, and look at her now. I’m sure you’ll learn eventually.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. In fact, why don’t you go and help your mother right now. Some mother daughter bonding time will do the both of you some good.” Night Light shooed Twilight into the kitchen.

********************

“I love pizza,” Sweetie Belle said as she finished her last slice.

“Ah’m so stuffed, Ah couldn’t eat another bite,” Apple Bloom added. Scootaloo just belched.

“I’ll take care of the boxes.” Spike grabbed the two pizza boxes and went into the kitchen.

“OK, while he’s doing that, let’s get ready,” Scooaloo said with a glimmer in her eye. “Sweetie Belle, you said you have some perfume with you?” Sweetie Belle nodded and ran to her bags. She brought it over and started liberally spraying Apple Bloom with it.

Apple Bloom started hacking as she inhaled some of it. “Are *cough* y’all sure Spike will like this stuff?”

“Rarity uses this stuff every day, and you know how Spike feels about her,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Alright, now for the games.” Scootaloo went over to her bags and pulled out an empty sarsaparilla bottle.

A few seconds later Spike came back up the stairs. “Alright you three, what should we do next?”

“Spin the bottle!” Scootaloo triumphantly yelled. Sweetie Belle giggled slightly as she internally congratulated Scootaloo on the idea. Apple Bloom just gawked at Scootaloo and blushed. She now knew what her ‘ideas’ were.

“Spin the bottle, really?” Spike looked at the three fillies with disbelief. ‘Is this really what these three do during their sleepovers?’ Spike thought to himself. He slowly made his way over and sat down.

Scootaloo spun first. After her Sweetie Belle would spin, then Spike, then Apple Bloom. The bottle landed on Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo gave Sweetie a quick peck on the cheek causing her to giggle. Sweetie Belle spun the bottle and it landed on Apple Bloom. She did the same, but Apple Bloom didn’t giggle. She kept all her attention on Spike, hoping the spin of the bottle would work in her favor.

As soon as Spike spun the bottle, Apple Bloom felt like time had just gone into slow-mo. This spin seemed to go on forever, and then it started to slow down. Apple Bloom’s heart started beat faster and faster. Her breathing got more and more shallow. When the bottle had nearly stopped, it started pointing at Apple Bloom. An unintentional smile grew on her face as she started to blush; Spike was going to kiss her. Then the bottle passed her and stopped on Scootaloo. All her hopes and dreams were more broken than Rarity’s sewing machine after they had tried to get their dress making cutie marks. Spike shrugged, got up and gave Scootaloo a quick peck on the cheek. As Spike walked back over to his spot, Scootaloo looked over to Apple Bloom and mouthed ‘sorry.’

“OK, my turn.” She still had a chance, maybe she would get Spike. With a smile she enthusiastically spun the bottle. It stopped on herself. “That’s it, we’re done with this game.” She kicked the bottle away and slumped on the floor pouting.

“OK, so maybe that didn’t work out so well. But this next one’s sure to work,” Scootaloo said with a smirk.

Spike started to eye the pegasus suspiciously. She said that louder than she had anticipated. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing!” Scootaloo yelled, once again louder than she wanted to. “OK next game, truth or dare.”

The four of them were, once again, sitting in the center of the room. “OK, I’ll go first,” Sweetie Belle said. “Apple Bloom, truth or dare?” Apple Bloom picked truth. “OK, do you have a crush on somepony?” She already knew the answer, but like all friends she liked to tease.

Apple Bloom looked at Spike out of the corner of her eye and sheepishly nodded. She silently thanked Celestia that she didn’t ask who. “OK, Scootaloo, truth or dare?”

“Truth!” Scootaloo was confident that Apple Bloom wouldn’t ask anything that would embarrass her.

“Do y'all still like ta dress up in that pink dress yer mom got ya? Ya know, that really cute frilly one. Th' one with th' cute little leggin's an' all?”

Scootaloo has never been more wrong in her life. She looked at Apple Bloom with wide eyes and a deep blush. Apple Bloom was smiling evilly as if saying ‘this is for kissing my man.’ She looked at Spike who was already trying to hold back a laugh. “I-I don’t know what your talking about.”

“Come on Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said snickering. “You have to tell the truth.”

Scootaloo was looking at everyone else in the room in panic. At this point they were all holding back their laughter. “UUUUUUUUGH Fine.” Her voice got low and she felt her face heat up. “I wear it every chance I get.”

Spike was rolling. “Wow Scootaloo, you didn’t seem the type.”

“Shut up Spike! Truth or dare!”

“Heh, dare me sucker.” Scootaloo got an evil grin.

********************

“This…sucks,” grumbled Spike as he walked out of the bathroom. As soon as he did both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were on the floor, laughing harder than they had ever laughed before. Apple Bloom was blushing with a smile on her face. Scootaloo had dared Spike to wear her pink frilly dress. He even had all the accessories that went with it. He was wearing a necklace with a fake pink heart shaped gem, two bands around each of his wrists, a big pointy princess like hat with a pink lacy ribbon hanging from it, and he was even wearing the leggings. Sweetie Belle was able to grab the camera she 'borrowed' from Rarity and took two picture of this before losing her composure to her laughter again. Spike only noticed the second one.

As soon as she was able to stop laughing, Scootaloo spoke up. “I am so glad I got you to wear that instead of Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo an angry look. “Y’all were goin’ ta make me wear that thing?”

“Any thing to make him notice you,” Scootaloo said. She quickly covered her mouth after she realized what she had said.

“Alright, what’s going on? This is the second time you’ve talked about other plans.” Spike was giving Scootaloo an intimidating look. One that was completely destroyed by the outfit he was wearing.

“Nothing!” the two fillies said simultaneously. Shaking his head Spike stomped into the bathroom to remove the offending outfit.

Once he was out he threw the outfit back at Scootaloo who gave him a dirty look for not treating her favorite dress with more respect. "Alright Sweetie Belle, truth or dare?" Sweetie picked dare. “I dare you to delete that photo you took of me. Yea, I saw you take that picture if me.”

“But I took…” Scootaloo put her hoof in Sweetie’s mouth and shook her head. Scootaloo wanted proof of that moment forever. “OK, I’ll delete it.” She took the camera in her magic once again and deleted the second photo. “There, it’s all gone.”

Spike looked happy. “Good.”

“OK Spike, truth or dare,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Me again? Ugh OK, dare I guess. It can’t be any worse than the dress.” Spike was sure of that.

“I dare you to kiss Apple Bloom. On the lips.” Sweetie Belle smiled triumphantly. ‘Check and mate,’ she thought to herself.

Apple Bloom once again felt her face heat up. Her heart started beating wildly. She looked over to Sweetie Belle and gave her a mental hug. “Really, kiss Apple Bloom? What is with you girls and kissing? Whatever.”

Spike got up and walked over to Apple Bloom. She got up and met Spike half way. Spike pushed his head forward and puckered his lips. Seeing this Apple Bloom closed her eyes and inched her head forward. They were only about two inches away when it happened. It all happened so fast. One second they were about to kiss, the next Apple Bloom was running around the room like a bat out of hell, screaming, with her head engulfed in flames.

All that perfume had made Spike sneeze in her face.

********************

They were able to quickly put Apple Bloom’s head out. Aside from a nasty looking burn on her cheek, she only suffered a slightly burned coat and mane. She had taken a long bath to get rid of any burned hair and to remove the remaining perfume. Her bow was a loss, but Sweetie would make sure to get a replacement from Rarity. Apple Bloom never stopped crying the entire time. Spike was treating her burn with some burn ointment from the medicine cabinet and apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry Apple Bloom, can you ever forgive me?”

Apple Bloom still had tears in her eyes. She wiped more away from her eyes and nodded. After Spike was finished, he placed a bandage over her cheek and the two of them reentered the living room where Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were patiently waiting. “Are you OK Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“*sniff* Ah’m fine. L-let’s just get back to havin’ fun. Maybe that will help get our mind offa this.” Apple Bloom said.

“Are you sure?” Scootaloo asked. “Maybe we should just call it a night. I don’t wan’t to cause any more accidents.”

“No! We’re here ta have fun, an’ that’s what we’re goin’ ta do!” Apple Bloom said in a commanding tone. She definitely had some of her sister’s stubbornness.

“Well, if you’re sure…” Scootaloo sat down. “My next idea was seven minutes in heaven, but only if you’re still up for this Apple Bloom.” Apple Bloom nodded. With a little bit of her vigor back Scootaloo started to push Apple Bloom into the closet while Sweetie Belle had Spike. Normally Spike would have given some resistance, but at the moment he wasn't in the fighting mood. “The clock starts ticking once we close this door, OK?” Apple Bloom and Spike both nodded. The door closed.

The two of them sat there for about a minute. Apple Bloom was staring at Spike with a blush on her face, while Spike just looked down. “Spike, is somethin’ wrong?”

“I’m sorry Apple Bloom. It was all my fault,” Spike morosely said.

“No it wasn’t. If Ah hadn’t…” Spike cut Apple Bloom off.

“Yes it was!” When Spike lifted his head Apple Bloom saw the tears streaming down his cheeks. “I’ve been trying so hard to stop sneezing fire. I was tired of disappointing Twilight when I sneezed on a book. I thought I finally managed to stop doing it, but look what happened! I hurt you Apple Bloom! How can you still call me a friend when I hurt you?”

Apple Bloom was heart broken. Spike was beating himself up all because of her. If she hadn’t have thought of the sleepover this never would have happened. “Spike, please listen ta me. None of this is yer fault. If anythin’, it’s mah fault.” Spike wiped some tears from his eyes and looked at her with confusion. “This whole sleepover was mah idea. It was just an attempt ta get ya ta like me. Sweetie Belle an’ Scootaloo were jus’ tryin’ ta help.”

“B-but I do like you Apple Bloom. You’re my friend, right?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Of course, but…” Apple Bloom started to blush again.

Spike noticed the blush. He started to run through all the events of the day through his head again. He thought back to all the moments he noticed Apple Bloom acting odd throughout the day when he talked to her. Suddenly his eyes got wide. “Wait, Apple Bloom, do you…like me, like me?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Even after I-I burned you?”

“It wasn’t yer fault Spike.” Apple Bloom scooted closer to Spike and drew him into a hug. “I’m sorry fer everythin’ that happened Spike.”

Spike returned the hug. “Thanks Apple Bloom.”

They didn’t even notice the door crack open when Apple Bloom planted a kiss on Spikes cheek. “Aww.”

“Sweetie Belle, shush!” Scootaloo whispered.

********************

“It was so good to see you again honey,” Velvet said as she gave Twilight a hug.

“Yea, just remember to come home more often,” joked Night Light.

“Don’t worry you two, I plan on visiting more. Next time I’ll even bring Spike. I’m sure he’d love to see you two again.”

“That sounds great. Just give us a bit of warning next time.” Her dad said. “Next time you may not be so lucky.”

“Don’t worry I will.” Twilight hugged her dad.

“Oh, I completely forgot. Twilight honey, are you going to be busy tomorrow?” Velvet asked.

“I don’t know it depends on what happens. Why?”

“Well, me and your father were planning on going to the magic show tomorrow at the Grand Canterlot Theater. We heard great things about it the last time the show was in Canterlot. So once tickets became available we bought a few for us and Moondancer’s parents. But unfortunately they had to cancel due to a death in the family so we have two extra tickets. Perhaps you’d like to go?”

“I think I saw a poster for that show earlier today,” Twilight said as she thought back to earlier in the day. “It sounds like fun. If I have the time I’d love to go. When does it start?”

“Seven o’clock sharp, but be here a few hours early. We’d like to get good seats.” Night Light said.

“Alright. I should be able to make it. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Twilight started the walk back to the castle.

It took her about a half an hour to get back. It had been a good day and she was ready to lay down with a good book for awhile. But first she decided to check to see how AJ was doing with his studying. She knocked on the door and opened it slightly, poking her head in. “How are you doing…”

“Shhhh, he’s sleeping,” Ditzy said interrupting her with her hoof up to her mouth.

Twilight smiled. AJ’s Body was leaning on Ditzy as he slept with his head resting on her shoulder. Ditzy herself was reading a book she must have packed. “I’ll get out of your hair then,” she whispered, closing the door quietly.

****************************************

((Before anyone says anything, Scootaloo really didn’t know what that movie was. Also, yes I do like the SpikeBloom ship. In fact, I think it’s the most adorable ship in the fandom.

Also I know this would have been more relevant a few chapters ago when Blueblood stabbed him with it, but this is the knife AJ always caries around with him

And this one's just to show how big the blade itself is. Two Yu-Gi-Oh cards stacked on top each other tall

))

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

Mare in the porno, Turning Tricks, (c) TyrantCelestia

Canterlot, the city of sorrows

((I imagine Morning Glory’s voice being that of Crispin Freeman when he does the voices of Balmung from the .hack series or Regal Bryant from Tales of Symphonia))

Chapter 17

The warm rays of the morning sun shone through the windows of AJ’s room. As time went on the rays slowly reached the bed. From his position on the bed, the sun ended up almost directly in AJ’s face. Due to the sun, AJ slowly woke up in a sleepy daze. Eyelids still feeling heavy, he didn’t even attempt to open them. He slowly became aware that he was leaning against something very warm and soft. ‘I never realized just how comfortable these pillows are,’ AJ thought to himself. The warmth and softness was so welcoming that he decided to stop fighting the urge. He decided to just go back to bed. He nuzzled into the pillow and quickly fell asleep once again.

Ditzy slowly woke up when she felt somepony nuzzling up against her. She gave a big yawn and stretched her neck before opening her eyes. She looked over to the window and saw how clear the sky was. It was nice, but she had over heard somepony talking about how there was going to be a storm later today. She turned her head to see what woke her up and saw that AJ was still leaning up against her. In fact he was now curled up against her like she was a pillow. Stifling a giggle, she extended her hoof and poked him in the shoulder, “It’s time to wake up now.”

AJ groaned before slowly opening his eyes. After he blinked the drowsiness from his eyes he looked up to see a sight better than any sunrise he could imagine, Ditzy smiling down at him. He smiled back, “Good morning.” It’s then that he realizes that what he’s leaning against is most certainly not a pillow. Blushing, AJ quickly repositions himself so he’s no longer leaning against her. “Umm, sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Ditzy said as she giggled. “Dinky always used to do that. She stopped after she got to that ‘I’m a big filly’ stage. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it.” Ditzy started to lightly blush and her voice sunk low. “Besides, as long as it’s you…” Ditzy’s voice trailed off.

“Hmm? I didn’t catch that last part.”

“N-nothing, nothing, I said absolutely nothing!” The blush on Ditzy’s face intensified. She was saved when they heard a knock on the door. Ditzy quickly stood up. “I’ll get it!” She had said that much louder than she had intended to. She jumped off the bed and quickly trotted to the door. She opened the door to see Twilight standing there with her saddle bags already packed for the magic practice later. “Twilight, hello!” Once again she spoke too loud.

Twilight noticed this and also noticed the slight blush that graced Ditzy’s face, and then glanced over to AJ still on the bed. She giggled a bit. “Good morning Ditzy. How did you sleep?”

“Just fine, thank you.” Ditzy was now starting to calm down a bit.

“That’s good. I was just wondering if you two wanted to go get some breakfast before we go study magic.”

“That sounds great right about now,” AJ said as he stretched his limbs. He hoped off the bed, and fell straight on his face. He rubbed his muzzle as he got up. “I was hopping I would have gotten used to these things by now,” he said as he glared at his new limbs.”

Ditzy and Twilight were both giggling. “It’s going to take time. You really shouldn’t rush something like this. Remember, Princess Luna told you to take it easy,” Twilight said.

“Yea, I know.” AJ joined the two of them and they left for breakfast.

********************

After breakfast the three of them left for Celestia’s school for AJ’s lessons. AJ watched as Twilight grabbed a few of the items around the room she thought they would need. She brought the items over and sat down. “So, I assume you finished ‘Crystal Ball’s introduction to Levitation’, right?” AJ nodded. “Good. We’ll start with the orbs then,” Twilight said as she pointed to the eight orbs on the floor.

AJ eyed the orbs. “I don’t know Twilight; I didn’t really get any time to practice last night. You really think I’ll be able do it this time?”

“Mmhm. That’s the book that helped me learn how to levitate things. Just follow what the book told you to do and you’ll be fine,” Twilight said confidently. “Now, try to lift the half pound weight.”

AJ stared at the smallest weight as if willing it to move on its own. He then felt a hoof on his shoulder. He looked over to see Ditzy giving him an encouraging smile. “Come on, you can do it. I know you can.”

Feeling his confidence building, he returned the smile and nodded. He turned back to the orbs and started to concentrate. The aura formed around his horn. Picturing the orb in his head, he imagined himself reaching out to it and grabbing it with his mind. He imagined how it would feel in his grip and just how much force it would take to lift it. It didn’t take long before an icy blue aura surrounded the smallest orb and it started to lift out of the groove it was sitting in. AJ’s smile grew as he watched the orb float up, and up, and up. He spent a minute getting used to the feeling of using his magic to lift something. “This feels…amazing.” Feeling confident, he tried to swing the orb around causing his magic to falter slightly. It may not have been much, but it did cause him to drop the orb back on the floor. He watched it slowly roll across the room. “Oops.”

Twilight grabbed the orb up in her magic and placed it back in the groove. “Oops nothing, you did great. It seems like you just needed a bit of help to start out.”

Ditzy threw her forelegs around AJ. “You did it! I knew you could do it!”

Getting caught up in the moment, AJ returned Ditzy’s hug. “I did it Ditzy, I did it!”

They were interrupted when Twilight cleared her throat. They both looked over to Twilight who had a smirk on her face. “Would you two like some privacy? Because I could always leave the room if you’d like.” AJ and Ditzy both blinked a few times before looking back at each other. Blushing slightly they both released the hug and turned to Twilight. “Alright, you were able to lift the half pound weight easily, let’s move to the one pounder.” Twilight motioned to the second smallest orb. AJ’s horn flared to life once again. Going through the same process he did with the smaller orb, he was able to lift the one pound weight with little to no problems. “Good, now we’ll move on to the five pound weight.”

Concentrating on the orb, AJ tried to lift it. He tried as hard as he could, but he could barley lift it out of the groove before dropping it back down. He tried again, only to have the same thing happen. AJ glared at the orb before looking down the line of orbs. “If I’m having trouble with five pounds, I can only imagine how much fun I’m going to have trying to lift the fifty pound weight.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t expect you to be able to lift that yet anyway,” Twilight said. “Your magic’s still weak and it’s going to take time before it gets stronger. For now we’re going to try a basic light spell. Alongside levitation it’s one of the easiest spells to perform. All you need to do is build up a little bit of energy at the tip of your horn and will it to be light.”

“Sounds easy enough I guess. Alright, let’s try this.” Doing as he was told, AJ started to build up energy at the tip of his horn. An orb formed that slowly grew. And then it blew up in a multicolor explosion of sparks, singeing his mane and the coat on the upper half of his body.

Twilight and Ditzy stared at AJ with wide eyes as he coughed up a puff of black smoke. “I think you put a bit too much energy into that one. Why don’t you try that again; only this time be mindful of how much energy you’re using,” Twilight said as she used her magic to snuff out a small fire that had caught in AJ’s mane.

Trying again, AJ formed an orb at the tip of his horn. This time a fountain of colorful sparks spewed out of the orb for a few seconds until the orb spent all its energy. Ditzy started to laugh a bit. “Well that was a nice light show, but I don’t think that’s what she was asking for.”

AJ gave Ditzy an unamused look before trying again. This time he actually managed to make an orb of light. It was small, but it still served its purpose. Twilight noticed something about it though. The orb kept getting dimmer and brighter. “It’s unstable. Try to steady the flow of your magic.”

“How?”

“Why don’t we make that our next lesson then,” Twilight said as she grabbed up another item.

********************

It was time for lunch by the time they finished AJ’s lessons for the day. After a stop at Pony Joe’s, they were on there way back to the castle. That’s when Twilight got an idea. “Hey AJ, did you happen to have any plans for today?”

AJ thought for a moment. “Not really. The only plan I had was to do some more studying. After a bath of course. I don’t think I got all the burned hair off yet. Why?”

“Well when I went to visit my parents yesterday they mentioned that they had two extra tickets to a magic show at the Grand Canterlot Theater tonight. They invited me to come and I thought maybe I could bring you along too. It would be a great way to show you what your magic could do once you get better at controlling it. Think of it as a…field trip.”

“A magic show, huh?” AJ looked over to Ditzy who had been smiling when they left was now looking down at the ground with an unreadable look on her face. “Sounds fun, but I don’t think it would be right if we just left Ditzy out of this. In fact it would be pretty rude.”

“Oh, no worries. I’m sure they would still be selling tickets to the show. If we head over there now, we could probably…”

“No, it’s OK,” Ditzy said interrupting Twilight. “I’d rather not go.”

“Are you sure, cause if you really want to go I’d gladly give you my ticket if it comes down to it,” AJ said trying to convince Ditzy to go.

Ditzy looked up with an obviously fake smile on her face. “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m sure I’ll find something to do. Maybe I’ll just take this time to catch up on some reading. So go and have fun.”

Twilight looked at Ditzy in confusion while AJ looked on in worry. He knew something was wrong, and he was pretty sure he knew why. He pulled Ditzy off to the side. “Go on ahead Twilight, we’ll catch up.” Still confused Twilight continued on her way to the castle. AJ sat down next to Ditzy. “Ditzy, what’s wrong. You can tell me.” Ditzy just looked at the ground. He placed his hoof under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking him in the eyes. “Ditzy, does this have something to do with…him?”

Her eyes got wide. “N-n-no, of course not. Why would you even think that? D-don’t worry, nothings wrong. Come on, let’s get back to the castle.”

From the look in her eyes AJ was pretty confident he was completely right. “Ditzy, please just tell me what’s wrong. I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“Nothing’s wrong, OK!” Ditzy yelled with a tinge of anger in her voice. “Let’s just…let’s just catch up with Twilight.” Ditzy got up and trotted after Twilight leaving AJ behind. AJ sat there for a few seconds. He was even more apprehensive about going now. He looked to the sky to see the Canterlot weather team starting to move clouds into place for the storm.

********************

After AJ finished his bath, he reluctantly left with Twilight. He didn’t like leaving Ditzy alone right now, but she kept insisting they go and have fun. It took the two of them about twenty minutes to reach her parents house. Twilight knocked on the door which was promptly answered by a light grey unicorn mare with a purple and white mane and tail. “Twilight honey, you’re earlier than I thought you’d be. Your father’s not even home from work yet.”

Twilight gave her mom a hug. “Sorry, we just figured we should get here early.”

“We?” Velvet looked over Twilight to see AJ sitting there. He smiled and waved when she looked. Her smile grew. “You must be Twilight’s beau! Oh it’s so nice to meet you.”

“MOTHER!”

AJ blushed slightly. “I-uh I think you got the wrong idea. Twilight’s just a friend. And I don’t think Caramel would be too happy if I tried to steal Twilight away from him.”

“Exactly,” Twilight said. Then she realized AJ had just given up the name of her coltfriend. Twilight knew her mother would tease her about Caramel. She wouldn’t hear the end of it until they met, so she decided to get even. “And besides, AJ here already has his eyes on somepony.” AJ gave Twilight a questioning look. “You know, bluish grey coat, light yellow mane, amber eyes.”

AJ’s blush returned with a vengeance as his mouth started to curl into a smile. Triumphant, Twilight turned back to her mother who had a look on her face that Twilight knew all to well. “Caramel huh? When were you planning on bringing him over? Your father and I would love to meet the strapping young stallion that’s fathering our grandchildren.” Twilight groaned and facehoofed as her mom giggled. “Oh I’m just having some fun. Why don’t you two come in for a little while? Once Night Light gets home we can leave.”

********************

After Twilight and AJ left, Ditzy just sat in her room for a bit. She really wasn’t doing anything or even thinking of anything. Eventually something in her compelled her to go take a walk. She asked for some snacks for later, put them in her saddle bags, left the castle grounds and just walked. She had no real direction; her body just sort of took her where ever it wanted to. She looked into the sky to see that the sky was now mostly covered by clouds, leaving the city looking dull and grey.

‘Great…even the sky’s mocking me now,’ she thought as she continued walking. ‘Why did the show have to be there of all places?’

She walked by many ponies, most were hurrying home so they wouldn’t get caught out in the storm. Nopony really gave her a second thought as she walked by. After a bit her body stopped. Her eyes grew wide when she saw where she was. She was standing in front of the place where it all started, her old school. Seeing that it was open, Ditzy cautiously walked inside.

Nothing had changed. After all this time the school looked no different. There were a few ponies inside. Mostly janitors making sure the school will be clean when summer is over, but there were also a couple teachers wandering around. From memory she walked through the halls, stopping in front of her old classroom. She poked her head in before stepping inside. There were a couple new posters on the wall. They were the usual ‘Reading is Fun’ or ‘Bullying is bad’ type of posters that you usually find in school. Ditzy gave a frustrated snort when she saw the latter and started walking down the middle row of desks. She stopped when she reached her old desk. She sat down next to it; placing her hoof upon it.

********************

It was time for school once again. Ditzy walked into her classroom a couple of minutes before it was time to start. Silently, she walked to her desk and started pulling out a few of the things she knew she would need that day. She heard some snickering behind her and she knew what was coming. It happens everyday. “Well look who it is Card Trick. It’s little Derpy Hooves.”

Ditzy turned around to see the class bullies staring at her with smug smiles. Card Trick was a charcoal black pegasus with a black mane. His cutie mark was a royal flush. He had two different color eyes. His left was a light blue while his right was a deep red. Pirouette, Card Trick’s fillyfriend, was a mint green earth pony with a pink two tone mane. She had a ballerina’s slipper as her cutie mark. Her eyes were a rosy red color. “What do you want Pirouette. Can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Oh but where’s the fun in that,” Pirouette said as she took a step closer.

“Besides, you make it so easy,” Card Trick said as he stepped next to Ditzy, wrapping his tail around her neck to tease her. “You know, with your eye’s being so weird and all.”

“Your one to talk about weird eyes,” Ditzy said in an attempt to retaliate.

“Hah, my eyes aren’t weird,” Card Trick said as he pulled his tail off her neck to flick it in her face. “My eyes make me look mysterious, unique, ravishing, and dare I say it, very attractive. When a pony looks at me, they say ‘Hey, that pony’s going somewhere in life.’ Your eyes just make you look like some brain-dead retard.”

Pirouette laughed. “Good one Tricky.” They heard the teacher coming and made there way to their seats. Unfortunately for Ditzy, Pirouette’s seat was right next to hers.

“OK, settle down class,” said Mrs. Blossom. “We have a new student joining us today. I’d like you all to give a warm welcome to Morning Glory.”

The class went silent as a royal purple unicorn with a long silver mane stepped into the class. Two morning glories tied together in a heart adorned his flanks. He stopped in front of the teacher’s desk. His emerald eyes scanned the room as a bright smile adorned his face. “Hello everypony, my name is Morning Glory. It’s nice to meet you all. My family moved here from Trottingham to help my mother’s business expand. My mother’s business is one of the top producers of dyes and fabrics in Trottingham and she hopes to do the same here in Canterlot.”

“Thank you Morning Glory. You may take a seat right over there next to Petal Dance,” Mrs. Blossom said as she motioned to the left side of the class.

Ditzy watched every move Morning Glory made. From the moment she laid eyes on him she was in love. A slight blush adorned her cheeks. Pirouette was quick to pick up on this. She leaned over to whisper in Ditzy’s ear, “Oh please, you think you have a chance with somepony as handsome and sophisticated as him? Fat chance. He’d never go for some disfigured loser like you.”

********************

“Excuse me miss, but I need to clean this room,” came a voice from behind Ditzy.

Her reminiscing interrupted, Ditzy quickly wiped her damp eyes before turning to see who it was. She gasped when she saw who it was. Behind her was a bigger than average, tan, middle-aged earth pony with a buzzed mane and cropped tail. A mop and bucket sat on his flanks. “F-fresh Start?” Fresh Start was a janitor at the school when Ditzy still attended. He was one of her best, and only, friends in the school. He would always be there for her. If she was crying he would consol her. If she just needed somepony to talk to, he was there. He was basically a secondary father figure to her when she was at school. Because of this he became good friends with her family. Her parents were grateful to him for making sure she was OK.

“Ditzy, is that you?” A smile grew on his face. “It is! Oh honey, how are you? I haven’t seen you since…well, you know. Your parent’s never told me you were coming for a visit.”

“I haven’t told them yet,” Ditzy said with a frown. “I’ve been busy.”

He drew Ditzy into a hug. “Look at you. You’ve grown into such a beautiful mare. How’s the little one doing?”

“Dinky’s doing great,” Ditzy said; her voice filled with melancholy. “She’s doing just fine in school, though she gets made fun of sometimes.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “It’s because of me. It’s because I’m not normal.”

Fresh Start grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Ditzy, don’t you ever say that about yourself. You are a great pony, and nothing anypony says will ever change that. Now come on, let’s get you on your way.” Fresh Start lead Ditzy through the hall to the entrance of the school. “Ditzy, I know it probably doesn’t mean much anymore, but you’re still more than welcome to come see me if you ever need somepony to talk to. Wait here one second.” He ran into one of the offices and came out with a folded paper. “Here’s my address. If you ever need to talk, don’t be afraid to come to me.”

Ditzy took the paper and stared at it for a second before wrapping her fore-legs around Fresh Start. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Any time, Ditzy.” Ditzy placed the paper in her bags and left the school.

********************

After about fifteen minutes of walking, Ditzy had found herself in front of the city park. She looked up at the decorative arch you pass under as you enter. ‘This must be new,’ Ditzy mused to herself as she walked through.

Unlike the school, the park managed to bring a bit of a smile to Ditzy’s face. Many things in the park had changed since she last saw it. New trees had been planted, more gardens now spotted the ground all over the place, and they even had more play equipment up for the foals. Just seeing something new in this city was enough to start brightening her mood. Until, that is, she saw the big, white marble fountain in the middle of the park. The fountain had been there since the park was first made many years ago. To most, it was a place to relax and enjoy the view. To Ditzy, it was just another reminder of times she wished she could just forget.

********************

Ditzy was nervous. For the past twenty minutes she’s been incoherently babbling, and pacing circles around Carrot Top. “What if he says no? He’s probably going to say no.”

“Ditzy.”

“He will say no. I should just go home.”

“Ditzy!”

“Yea, home sounds good. I can just chain myself in my closet and…”

“DITZY!!!” shouted Carrot. Not expecting the loud shout, Ditzy tripped over her hoof and face planted. Still on the ground, Ditzy turned her head to look at her best friend. “Everything’s going to be fine. You’re making a much bigger deal out of this than is necessary.” Carrot helped Ditzy up and brushed the dirt out of her mane and coat. “Now, you put the note in his locker, right?” Ditzy nodded. “OK, if he’s as nice as you say he is, I’m sure he’ll come.” Her ears perked up when she heard hoof steps getting closer. Looking beyond the fountain, their hiding spot, Carrot saw a colt matching Morning Glory’s description. “I told you he’d…” When she turned around, Ditzy was no where to be seen. “Come?”

Seeing some rustling in a nearby bush, Carrot facehoofed and walked over. She poked her head in to see Ditzy cowering. “I’m not coming out!”

“Oh for the love of Celestia. Ditzy, he’s right there. All you need to do is go out there and ask him!” Carrot took another look over to see that Morning Glory was sitting on a bench waiting. “Alright, stay in there then. If you don’t want him, I’ll go ask him out. He is very…alluring.”

Ditzy’s eyes grew wide as she started to panic. “No, you can’t!”

“Then get out there and ask him!” Ditzy moved to leave the bush, but then plopped right back down on her haunches. “Oh for the love of…fine. If you want to do this the hard way; we’ll do this the hard way!” Carrot crawled into the bush, got behind Ditzy, and started to push her out of the bush. She pushed Ditzy around the fountain and right in front of Morning Glory who had been looking on in both confusion and amusement. “There, she’s all yours,” Carrot said to Morning Glory before walking back behind the fountain to continue hiding.

Ditzy was ready to bitch out Carrot Top for her treachery, or at least she would have been if she wasn’t paralyzed with fear. She just looked at Morning Glory just hoping she could disappear. Morning Glory smiled at her. “Hello, you’re Ditzy Doo if I’m not mistaken.”

‘He knows my name. HE KNOWS MY NAME!’ Ditzy’s heart began to race. Her breathing became very shallow.

“Soooooo, is there something you wanted to ask me?” Morning Glory asked. Ditzy just continued to stare at him. “Umm, is something wrong?”

This was it. It was now or never. “WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?!?!?” The question burst out much louder than Ditzy had intended. Behind the fountain Carrot Top could be seen facehoofing. Ditzy’s vision began to blur as she realized what she had just done.

Once he recovered from the outburst, Morning Glory smiled. “Sure, I’d…” He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Ditzy start to fall. The last thing Ditzy heard before blacking out was Carrot Top and Morning Glory calling her name.

“She’s waking up.” Ditzy’s head was throbbing as she started coming to. She slowly opened her eyes to find her vision filled with yellow and orange. Carrot Top hugged Ditzy. “Ditzy, we were so worried about you.”

“Hhhngh-huh?” As her senses slowly came back, she realized she was lying on a park bench.

She tried to get up but felt another pair of hooves hold her down. “No, don’t get up. You need to rest.” Ditzy looked over to see Morning Glory smiling back down at her. “How are you feeling?”

Ditzy weakly smiled back. “Just fine now.”

********************

Ditzy’s thoughts were interrupted when a drop of rain fell on her snout. Shaking her head, she looked up into the sky. The rain was finally starting to fall. The day now completely matched mood. Cursing herself for not bringing anything to keep the rain off of her, Ditzy lowered her head and decided to see where she would end up next.

********************

Ditzy eventually found herself in front of the Grand Canterlot Theater. As she watched ponies that were still filing in for the big magic show, she couldn’t help but wonder if AJ was there yet.

She walked over to the side of the door where they had a list of all the shows they ran in the theater. She scanned through them until her eyes found what they were searching for. A play by the name of ‘The Knight and the Moon Princess.’ It’s a play about one of the best knights to ever grace Equestria falling in love with the beautiful and mysterious Princess of the Moon.

One night, when the Princess was roaming around the country side enjoying the peaceful tranquility of her night, the Knight came up to her and asked her for her hoof in marriage. At first the Princess thought nothing of the Knight and simply told him no, but the knight would not leave her alone. Each night he would find her and ask the same question. Growing annoyed at this the Princess decided to give him a chance. He must complete a single task. This task, to capture the moon. If he could complete this task she would accept him as her husband. Thinking the task was impossible; the Princess thought this would be the last she would ever see of the Knight. Much to her surprise the Knight accepted her proposal and ran off to capture the moon.

Months go by and each night the Knight could be found trying and failing over and over again to capture the giant white orb in the sky. Every night the Princess would watch him to see just how far he would take this. Though after awhile she began watching him for other reasons. She didn’t know why, but she felt compelled to watch him almost feeling…sad every time he would fail.

One night, almost half a year after the Princess had given him the task, the Knight called out to the Princess requesting her presence. He knew the entire time that she had been watching him. She flew down from the cloud she was perched upon to see what the Knight wanted. He pulled out a bucket of water and placed it down in front of her. The Princess asked the obvious question of what the bucket was for. The Knight told her to look into the bucket. When she looked she saw only one thing; the reflection of the moon in the water. Excited, the Knight proclaimed that he had finally managed to capture the moon. The Princess stared into the Knight’s eyes. She slowly started understanding all those feelings that had been building up over the months. She had fallen in love with him. She had been beaten at her own game, but she didn’t care. She leaned in and kissed the Knight; proclaiming their wedding will be on the night of the next full moon.

Unfortunately the Knight never made it to the wedding. A week after the Princess had accepted him he was called off to war. The Princess received notice two weeks later that her Knight had been slain in battle. Overcome with sadness, the Princess flew into the stars. Using her magic she created a new star, but this wasn’t any ordinary star. This star was bigger, brighter and shone a rainbow of colors. It was more beautiful than any other star that was scattered throughout the heavens. She hoped the star would be bright enough to guide the soul of her lover to her so she could see him one more time. Just so she could at least say goodbye.

Ditzy knew this story all to well…

********************

It’s been a week since Ditzy and Morning Glory had started going out and the two of them were on their first date. The two of them had just finished dinner at the Moonstone Café; one of the fanciest restaurants in Canterlot. Now they were on in front of the Grand Canterlot Theater, probably the biggest theater in all of Equestria. At the moment Morning Glory had Ditzy blindfolded wanting to keep the location of the date secret. “Can I take it off yet?”

“Yup, go ahead.”

Ditzy took off the blind fold and looked at the building they were standing in front of. “*gasp* The Grand Canterlot Theater?! But-but-but Morning Glory, you know I can’t afford a ticket to someplace like this. They cost SOOOOOO much money.” She threw her forehooves into the air to emphasize her point. “I mean I’m not exactly poor, but…”

Smiling, Morning Glory levitated two tickets out of the pocket on his vest. “All taken care of Ditzy.”

Ditzy stared at the two tickets as if they were the Holy Grail. Her eyes were wide and shimmering. “How did you get these?”

“I bought them.” Ditzy was stunned. She knew his family was wealthy, but to be able to spend so much money on tickets without even batting an eye? “When I heard they ran the play ‘The Knight and the Moon Princess’ at this theater I just had to get a couple of tickets to go see it. Ever since I saw the play back in Trottingham it’s been my favorite, and after you asked me out I knew exactly what to do with the other ticket I had bought.”

Morning Glory didn’t even see Ditzy move. Before he knew what had happened she had him locked in a death hug. “OH THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! I’ve always wanted to come here!”

“No problem…Ditzy…could you…please let me go…I can’t breathe…” Ditzy let him go allowing him to breath. He gave Ditzy a little laugh and looked into the night sky. “Ditzy, have you ever heard the story of ‘The Knight and the Moon Princess?”

“I think so, why?”

“Legend has it that the story is completely true. That this is the story of the Princess of the moon and her one and only love. And that...” Morning Glory pointed at the biggest and brightest star, “is the star she created for her lover.”

Ditzy followed his hoof and easily found the star he was talking about. “Do you think that’s true?”

Morning Glory shook his head. “There’s really no way of knowing. Come on, lets go inside.” The two of them happily trotted into the building. “Oh, hold on Ditzy, I have to use the little colts room. I’ll be right back.” Morning Glory trotted away leaving Ditzy by the door to wait.

“Hey look Card Trick; it looks like one of the shows lost a freak.” Ditzy turned her head to see Card Trick and Pirouette grinning at her. It looks like they were on a date too. “Maybe we should turn it in, the play’s going to be starting soon.”

“Oh no, not you two,” Ditzy said as she shrank back. “Can’t I just get one day without you two harassing me?”

Card Trick put a hoof to his chin. “Hmm, let me think…nah. There’s just too much fun to be had. So Derpy, what are you doing here anyway. Wait, let me guess, they needed a design for a convincing monster mask, so they brought you in to get a mask made to look like your face. Am I right?”

Dizy was about to tell them off when she heard the bathroom door open. “OK Ditzy, are you ready to go?” Morning Glory saw Card Trick and Pirouette and immediately knew what was happening. “Oh, hello you two. Come on Ditzy, let’s leave this trash behind. I’d rather not be caught talking with the likes of them.”

Pirouette realized quickly what was going on, and her jaw dropped when it hit. “Wait, you mean you…and you?” Ditzy just stuck her tongue out at her before walking off with Morning Glory. “Why would you go out with somepony who’s so…so…disfigured?!

Morning Glory stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, glaring death at Pirouette. “Do you know why I would always choose Ditzy over somepony like you? It’s because…”

********************

Ditzy’s thoughts were interrupted by a crack of thunder ringing through her ears. Looking into the sky she saw a bolt of lightning make its way across the sky followed by more thunder. She wiped tears from her eyes and looked at the list again. Morning Glory had taken her to the theater on multiple occasions. Memories of each show stabbed through her heart, making her feel more and more depressed. Not wanting to be here anymore Ditzy forced her body to stand and turn, walking away from the building that caused her so much pain.

********************

As she walked Ditzy saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was the sign in front of The Solar Empire, Canterlot’s giant theme park. She didn’t realize she was walking towards the theme park, but she wished she hadn’t. Against her will, Ditzy walked towards the entrance only to see another sign saying the park was closed for scheduled maintenance. Looking beyond the gate she saw a few of the rides and attractions. Some were more fun than the others.

Walking along the fence surrounding the park Ditzy saw many other rides. None of which drew much of a reaction from her, until she saw the Ferris wheel in the background.

********************

It’s been a little over one year since Ditzy and Morning Glory had started going out. It was Hearts and Hooves day and Morning Glory wanted it to be a special day. He had surprised her by taking her to The Solar Empire. She’s been there before, but on Hearts and Hooves day the theme park was a much different place. Everything in the park changed to make it as romantic as possible. Roses hung everywhere where they wouldn’t get in the way. All the lights were turned pink to help with the mood. Chocolate and flowers were readily available from every concession stand. Everything they could think of to make the place romantic was done.

The two of them have been at the park all day. They have gone on every ride they could, and Ditzy was ready to head home. “Today was great. Thanks Glory.” She nuzzled up to Morning Glory who nuzzled back.

“I hope you’re not ready to go home yet, there’s one more ride I’d like to go on.” Morning Glory had a hopeful smile on his face.

“I don’t know Glory, I’m starting to get a bit tired,” Ditzy said putting her hoof to her mouth as she yawned. “We do have school tomorrow after all.”

“I know Ditzy, but please just one more ride? It would mean a lot to me.”

This was it. Morning Glory was giving her ‘The Look.’ It was such a sad, pathetic look that Ditzy just couldn’t’ say no. No matter how many times she tried, The Look always bested her. Ditzy smiled as she sighed. “You suck you know that?”

With a wide smile, Moring Glory led Ditzy over to the Ferris wheel. Morning Glory thanked Celestia under his breath that the line was short. When they reached the front, he quickly broke off to talk to the mare running the wheel. He joined Ditzy in the seat and they were off. “What was that all about?”

“You’ll see.” That was all he said the entire way to the top.

Ditzy wanted to question him further, but she was distracted by the view as they started to get higher. The wheel slowly turned until they reached the top where the wheel stopped. “Glory, what’s going on?” Morning Glory didn’t’ say anything. He just smiled and pointed to the horizon. She looked, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “What? What am I supposed to be looking…” Then she saw it. A rocket flew into the air, exploding into a ball of colorful sparks. Then another shot up, and another. Ditzy just watched as the fireworks continued for a minute before looking over to Morning glory who was looking back at her with a soft smile. Tears of happiness started flowing down her cheeks as she threw her legs round Morning Glory. The two of them kissed deeply as the fireworks continued behind them.

********************

Tears of another kind were flowing down her cheeks now. All that effort to make that the best Hearts and Hooves day of her life, and Morning Glory crushed it all with one fatal stomp of his hoof. Ditzy sat there, wallowing in her memories, not hearing the hoof steps behind her. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Turning around, Ditzy saw a stallion in a poncho staring at her. He didn’t look all too happy to be there at the moment. Ditzy looked down as the tears continued to flow. “Reminiscing about the past.”

The stallion gave an annoyed snort. “Yea well the parks going to be closed for awhile, and besides its raining. Shouldn’t you be inside or something?”

“OK.” Robotically, Ditzy stood up and started to walk.

********************

Ditzy felt numb. Not because of the cold rain, but because of all the memories this horrible city held for her. It seems like everywhere she turned there was a memory there to be shoved down her throat. She just could not win, so she stopped fighting it. She just let her body drag her around to where it wanted to go.

She had been walking for awhile. All Ditzy could hope for was that her body was at least taking her to some sort of shelter from all the bad memories. Someplace to make all the pain and hurt go away, but she should have known better. She looked up and her heart immediately sank. This street, this terrible, awful street was the last place she ever wanted to be. She tried with all her might to force her legs to stop. She tried to will herself to turn around and go somewhere else. It was a fruitless effort. Her legs only stopped moving once they reached their destination. She didn’t even need to look up to know where she was taken this time.

She was now in front of 528 Ambrose Street, Morning Glory’s old home.

********************

Ditzy was standing in front of Morning Glory’s house. A few hours ago she had just gotten home from the doctor’s office with the news that she was with foal. After her parents had given her ‘the talk’ she took a walk over to Glory’s house to give him the news. Unfortunately it wasn’t that easy. She had been standing there for the past ten minutes trying to find the nerves to actually tell him. She finally built up enough courage to walk through the gates of the house to ring the doorbell. She was thankful that Morning Glory was the one to answer the door. “Oh, hey Ditzy. Is something wrong?”

Ditzy almost never went over to Morning Glory’s house. She only went over if she needed to tell him something, or if he brought her home to have dinner with his family. “Umm…” ‘Come on Ditzy, you can do this. Just tell him.’ “I just came to tell you that…” Morning Glory was looking on intently. “Glory, I’m pregnant.”

Morning Glory’s jaw dropped. He plopped down onto his haunches and just stared at her. Ditzy looked on in hope. Hoping he would be happy. Hoping that everything would still be the same. She shifted from side to side in anticipation for her answer. “Ditzy…” Ditzy’s smile grew. “Get out of here.”

Her smile faltered. “W-what?”

“I said get out of here. I don’t want to see you again.”

Ditzy’s smile dropped as tears were threatening to fall. “Glory, what’s…”

“Stop calling me Glory!” he shouted at Ditzy causing her to back off.

“W-was it something I did? Something I said? Please, if we could just talk…”

“No. Just leave.” He turned around as if to walk back inside. “If you try to tell anypony about this, I’ll deny everything. I don’t want anything to do with the foal, and I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Ditzy shook her head, still trying to hold back tears. “That won’t work. Everypony knows how close we were and they won’t believe that you just left me like that.”

He turned his head to look at her and laughed. “Oh really, and who will they believe? You, some crazy filly with fucked up eyes, or me. A pony of class. A pony of sophistication. Not to mention the son of a very influential mare. You got nothing over me.” Ditzy finally broke down. She buried her head in her hooves as she let the tears run their course. “Go to hell Derpy Hooves.” With that he slammed the door.

********************

The floodgates had been shattered. Tears were pouring down Ditzy’s face as she wailed into her hooves. She forced her body up and ran. She didn’t care where, as long as she got as far away from this place as possible.

Ditzy ran past a few ponies. Some were in her path and yelled at her as she almost trampled them. She didn’t care. She just wanted to run. Blinded by tears, she couldn’t see where she was going. She was only stopped when she ran straight into somepony, sending both of them to the ground.

The pony she hit was up first. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention and I…” The pony, obviously a stallion from the voice, suddenly stopped. Ditzy knew this voice. She looked up and got a look at the pony. Purple coat, silver mane, and of course the tell tale sign. Two morning glories tied together in a heart adorned his flank. He was looking down at her with shock on his face. “Ditzy?”

****************************************

((Oh shiz. I wonder how many people were waiting for this chapter. Also, If anyone knows the origins of the ‘The Knight and the Moon Princess’ story, let me know. I know I’ve heard it before, aside from Progress. Luna vs. storytelling, and for the life of me I can’t remember where.))

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

A friend in need

((I’d like to thank my new editor Lady-Kaeru for making sure I don’t fuck up XP.))

Chapter 18

Rain continued to fall around them as Ditzy and Morning Glory just stared at each other; both of them too stunned to move. As he looked at Ditzy, Morning Glory could see the emptiness in her eyes. Everything that she had put herself through that day, all the pain, all the torment was visible just by looking into her amber orbs. Her posture certainly wasn’t helping anything. Her entire body just told him that she was about ready to give up. “Ditzy, what happened to you?” He looked over to see his umbrella that had been knocked to the ground when Ditzy had run into him. He levitated it over Ditzy to prevent the rain from drenching her further.

Ditzy said nothing. She just kept looking at him with a pitiful gaze as tears continued to flow down her cheeks. She let out a small whine as her legs gave out; collapsing to the ground in a miserable heap of pony. Ditzy covered her head and whimpered into her hooves, hoping that everything would just go away; that everything that happened was just a horrible nightmare.

Morning Glory knew he had to do something. He couldn’t just leave her here in the rain. “Ditzy, do you have any place you’re staying right now?” She just continued to whimper into her hooves. “Please, you can’t stay out here like this. You’re going to get sick.” It was subtle, but he could see Ditzy motion to the left bag of her saddle bags. Opening the flap, he saw a piece of paper sitting in the bag. He levitated it out and looked at the address written on it. “Alright, let’s go. It’s going to be a long walk.” He helped Ditzy up and let her lean against his body as he led her through the streets.

********************

AJ, Twilight, and Twilight’s parents had been waiting for the show to start for awhile now. The more time that went by, the more anxious AJ became. He felt somepony place a hoof on his shoulder and turned to see Twilight looking at him with concern. “What’s wrong? Ever since we’ve gotten here you haven’t been able to sit still.”

AJ rubbed his legs together as he gathered his thoughts. “I just can’t help but worry about Ditzy. Something was obviously bothering her earlier today. I just don’t know what.” His ears were flat against his head in worry as he thought of the normally bubbly mare.

Twilight put on her most reassuring smile. “I’m sure she’s just fine. I’m sure she’s sitting in her room reading a nice book. Maybe she even took a nice relaxing bath to make all her troubles go away.”

A blush came to AJ’s face as images of Ditzy in the bath started to dance through his head. He quickly shook them from his mind. Thoughts like that could wait until later. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. “I don’t know. Maybe I should go check on her. Just to make sure she’s alright.”

“I’m sure your fillyfriend’s just fine.” came Night Light’s voice from beyond Twilight. “Trust me when I say that sometimes it’s best to just spend some time alone and collect your thoughts.”

“He’s right.” Velvet added. “Just you wait; when you get back I’m sure she’ll be as happy as can be.”

While that helped to reassure him a little bit, AJ still had a nagging doubt in the back of his mind. “I hope your right.”

A few minutes later the lights started to dim. They got darker and darker until the room was covered in an impenetrable darkness. A soft glow appeared on the stage as a feminine voice began to speak. “Welcome fillies and gentlecolts to the magic show of the century. The things you see here tonight will be like nothing you have ever seen before!”

Twilight had a hoof on her chin. ‘That voice. I know it from somewhere.’ she thought as she tried to place it.

“Watch, and be amazed at the astounding magical ability of The GRRREAT AND POWERFUL TRRRRRRRRRIXIE!!!!!!!” Fireworks lit up the room as a cloaked mare in the center of the stage stood on her hind legs with her forelegs in the air.

“Trixie?!” Twilight shouted over the fireworks and the cheering. Twilight couldn’t believe it. There on stage stood Trixie in all of her glory. Twilight noted that the cloak and hat Trixie was wearing were dead ringers for the cloak and hat worn by Starswirl the Bearded, bells and all. ‘I guess it makes sense that she wouldn’t be wearing her old outfit considering what happened to it, but why did she go with that as a replacement?’ Twilight asked herself. Twilight figured it was probably best not to question this and see just how much Trixie improved. ‘I mean, she must have improved right? If what my parents heard was right she should be amazing…right?’

********************

It took about forty five minutes before Morning Glory and Ditzy got to the address. With Ditzy in the state that she was in, Morning Glory was surprised they got there in that amount of time. The entire trip was silent between the two of them.

Morning Glory knocked on the door and waited for an answer. “Just one minute,” came a sing song voice from the other side. A few seconds later a light rose mare with a long, immaculate, magenta mane answered the door. Crossed fencing sabers adorned her flanks. “Oh my, what’s going on here? Why are you two out in the rain? Quick, come inside.” She stepped to the side to let the two dripping ponies in. “Star honey, could you please bring a couple of towels for our guests?”

“Sure, give me a second,” Fresh Start shouted from the kitchen. A minute later he came into the front room with two fresh towels sitting on his back. “Here you go Maxie, anything…” Star’s jaw fell when he saw who the guests were. Morning Glory was the first pony he saw; recognizing him instantly. When he turned to look at Ditzy he couldn’t believe it. She looked like an empty shell of a pony. He had never seen her this miserable before. His gaze turned into a glare of death as he looked back to Morning Glory. Shaking off the towels, he lowered his body, scraping his hoof along the floor. “What did you do to her?” he spat; his voice was low and dangerous.

Morning Glory slowly started backing up when he realized Star’s intentions. “W-what?”

Star rushed Morning Glory, pinning him to the wall with the force of an avalanche. His foreleg was tight across Glory’s throat, choking him. His face was one of pure rage. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO DITZY?!?! ANSWER ME!!!”

Morning Glory tried as hard as he could, but the powerful earth pony was built like a tank and wouldn’t give in. “I…I found her like this! I swear!” Due to Star’s leg Glory’s voice was strained.

Maxie rushed over to try to get Star off of Glory. “Star, let him go! Please!”

Star turned his head to look at Maxie. Those pleading pink eyes slowly calmed him down. He released Glory who fell into a heap on the floor as he turned to tend to Ditzy. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her; hugging her in the process. “Don’t worry Ditzy. You’re safe now.”

Maxie picked up the other towel and handed it to Glory who just sort of draped it over himself. He was still recovering from earlier. “Star, what is going on here?” Maxie asked concernedly.

“You remember that mare I was telling you about earlier? The one who would come to me as a filly? The one who I loved as if she was my own foal? Well say hello.” He hugged Ditzy tighter as he looked at Glory, his seafoam eyes narrowed in distaste. “And that good for nothing bastard is the one who ruined her life. He used her; only to leave her on the street like she was trash. If it wasn’t raining I’d toss him out on his face right this instant.” Star placed his hoof under Ditzy’s chin and lifted her head so she was looking him in the eyes. “You must be freezing. Let’s go run you a nice hot bath.” Ditzy slowly nodded as she was led up to the second level of the house.

********************

After about a half an hour Star and Ditzy came down the stairs. Ditzy was following behind slowly dressed in a bathrobe. During the bath Ditzy started opening up to Star. At the moment she felt he was her only friend in the world. He pointed to the big comfortable looking chair in the living room. “Go ahead and sit there Ditzy. I doubt Maxie will mind. I’ll go get you something hot to drink.” He looked up at Morning Glory who was sitting on the couch and harrumphed. “I guess you’re a guest as well. Coffee or hot chocolate?”

“Coffee please. Black.”

Star walked into the kitchen to find Maxie making a little something for Ditzy and Glory to eat. “Maxie, could you hand me the kettle please? I’m going to make some hot chocolate for Ditzy.”

Maxie reached into the cupboard to grab the kettle. “What about the other one? Morning Glory I think his name was.”

“He’d like some coffee,” Star said as he flipped the switch on the coffee maker. “Apparently what he said was true. Ditzy just ran into him on the street.”

Maxie looked at Star with a smirk. “Now doesn’t that make you feel silly for attacking him earlier?”

“Nope,” Star said without even a second thought.

“And why not?”

“You didn’t see her when it happened.” Star took the kettle and filled it with water before placing it on the stove top to boil. “If you had been there the day he broke her heart, you’d understand my feelings towards him.”

********************

The living room was filled with awkward silence. Ditzy noticed things around the room she didn’t see before. Above the TV sat a pair of crossed fencing sabers mimicking Maxie’s cutie mark. On the side of the room a shelf hung with three fencing trophies sitting on it. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't help but look over to where Morning Glory was sitting. Every time she glanced over at him she became filled with a number of emotions, all fighting to be on top and let themselves be heard. Confusion, sadness, worthlessness, but the one that kept winning out was anger. She was resentful. She was down right pissed off at Glory for everything he had done. She was infuriated that the city hadn’t changed. But most importantly she was furious at herself. She had let all this happen to herself. She refused to let go of the past.

Caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice when Morning Glory got up and walked over to her. “Ditzy, are you OK?”

Shocked from the sudden voice piercing the silence, Ditzy looked up to see Morning Glory in front of her, his face full of concern. She continued to stare at him for a bit before turning away once again. ‘Why do you care?’ she thought to herself ruefully.

“Ditzy, please answer me.”

‘Why?’ Ditzy got up off the chair and slowly started towards the kitchen.

Glory was discouraged. “Ditzy, why won’t you answer me?”

‘Why?!’

“Ditzy please.” Glory reached out and put a hoof on Ditzy’s shoulder.

Ditzy’s entire body tensed up at the contact as she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes and mouth were wide open as tears once again began to fall. She started convulsing as her eyes began to lose focus and her mind became hazy. That’s when everything started to become a blur of anger and hatred. She shook his hoof off before lowering her body and reared her hind legs back, thrusting them out with all her might. She connected with Morning Glory’s jaw, which sent him flying back onto the coffee table, breaking it as he landed.

********************

“Oh, water’s done,” Maxie said, turning off the stove. “Do you have the mugs ready?”

“Mmhm.” Star brought over the tray full of mugs and set it down. He then grabbed the coffee pot and filled his and Glory’s mugs as Maxie filled the others. One full of cocoa powder while the other held a tea bag.. “Which do you want to take in, the drinks or the sandwiches?”

Maxie put the stirring spoon down before speaking. “I’ll take the sandwiches in. You go ahead and…” They were interrupted by a loud crash from the other room. “What was that?!” Maxie turned to Star who had already bolted for the other room, and followed behind.

“WHYYYYY?!?!” Ditzy screamed at the writhing heap of pony on the floor. Tears were once again flowing freely. “WHY DID YOU DO IT?!?!” Glory tried getting up, but as soon as he got onto his unsteady hooves he was once again beat to the floor by a hoof to the side of the head. “I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!!!”

Ditzy was about to charge again but was stopped when somepony grabbed her from behind, and turned her away from Morning Glory. She looked back to see that Fresh Start had his forelegs wrapped around her to prevent her from getting away. She started to struggle violently against his hold in a vain attempt at freedom. “LET ME GO!!! THAT BASTARD HASN’T SUFFERED ENOUGH!!!”

Star easily held Ditzy’s struggling body back. “Ditzy settle down! Violence won’t change anything!”

“LET ME GOOOOO!!!” Ditzy started punching and kicking at Star to try to get him to let go. When that didn’t work, she started reaching over Star to get to Morning Glory in a desperate attempt to inflict more pain. Maxie was now helping him up. “WHY DID YOU DO IT?!?! WHYYYY?!?!” Her struggling got slower and slower until she spoke in an almost inaudible voice, “I loved you.” She finally collapsed in Star’s legs, bawling for all she was worth into his shoulder.

“Do you really want to know why?” Glory said in a low voice, drawing himself to his full height. Star turned to him as Ditzy continued to cry. “I did it for my mother.”

Star furrowed his brows. “What does your mother have to do with any of this?”

“Everything.” Glory stated simply, brushing himself off. “If word had gotten out that I had gotten a filly pregnant, my mother’s business would have been crushed.”

“Bull shit. You’re lying.” Star said roughly, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Glory laughed off Star’s comment before continuing. “It’s obvious that you’ve never been a part of the upper echelon. If you were, you’d know how ruthless they could be. The news would have spread like wild fire. Her business associates would have left her. Investors would have pulled everything. ‘How can she properly run a business if she can’t even properly take care of her family’ they would say. Her business would have eventually crumbled under itself leaving my mother with nothing. When Ditzy gave me the news, I had to think of my family. No matter how much it hurt others.”

Star snorted angerly at Glory. “You crushed her heart. Left her crying in the street, and for what? Some stupid business?! Your family has enough money to put your grandchildren’s grandchildren through school and let them retire without working a day in their lives, and you were worried about money?!”

“My mother’s business means everything to her, and when she retires everything will be mine. I couldn’t let my future just get flushed down the drain like that. I did what I had to do.”

“That’s horrible!” Maxie said, backing away from the unicorn. “What kind of monster would do that to a pony?”

“One who’s thinking about his future.” Glory grabbed his umbrella with his magic and walked to the door. “Send me the bill for the damages. I assume you know where I live.” Upon opening the door, Glory walked out into the rain.

Maxie hugged Ditzy in place of Star when he rushed after Glory. “IF I EVER CATCH YOU AROUND HERE AGAIN I’LL BREAK YOUR FUCKING LEGS!!!” With that being said and off his chest, Star slammed the door and turned back to Ditzy, who was wiping her eyes. “Let’s hope we never see him again.”

Ditzy sniffled. “T-thank you again Fresh Start.”

“Any time Ditzy, any time.” the stallion replied fondly.

Ditzy turned to Maxie who still had a hoof on her shoulder. “And thank you Maxie. It’s good to know Fresh Start has such a great mare in his life.”

Maxie’s eye’s got wide. “Uhh, did you say mare?” Ditzy nodded. Maxie turned to Star who was stifling his laughter before looking back at Ditzy with a sheepish smile. “Um I think you have the wrong idea here. Ditzy honey, I’m not a mare.”

Ditzy looked confused. “What?” she deadpanned.

“I’m a stallion.”

“What?!”

Star was chuckling as he came over and put his leg around Maxie’s whither. “I think it’s time for a proper introduction. Ditzy this is my husband, Maximilian.”

“WHAT?!?!”

********************

“Oh Celestia, I’m so embarrassed.” Ditzy buried her flushed face in her hooves as she sat on the couch.

“Oh honey, don’t worry about it,” Maxie said with a giggle. “Trust me when I say that you’re not the first pony to mistake me for a mare, and I’m sure you won’t be the last.”

Still flushed, Ditzy removed her hooves from her face. “Mom and dad told me you got married, they just never told me to who…or to what gender.”

“Yeah, your parents were surprised at first when they found out I liked stallions,” Star said. “Then they met Maxie, and couldn’t have been happier for me.”

“They’re such nice ponies.” Maxie’s face lit up. “We should invite them over for lunch tomorrow! Oh it’ll be so much fun.”

Ditzy had a smile on her face as she got up off the couch. “And where do you think you’re going little missy?” Star asked.

“I was thinking I should be getting back to the castle. It’s getting late and I don’t want anypony to worry about me.”

“I don’t think so,” Star said with a smile. “It’s still raining, and I refuse to let you leave this house until it’s over.”

“But I’m sure AJ will be…”

“No buts. You can use the guest room for the night.” Star looked over to Maxie with a smile. “And I’m sure your parents would love to see you again.”

Ditzy smiled. “Okay, you win.”

“Oh goodie!” Maxie said while clapping his hooves together. “Now, what was this about the castle? And this AJ, is that the name of a certain special somepony in your life?”

********************

Twilight was amazed. Saying Trixie had gotten better would be the understatement of the century. Whatever she had been doing over the last three years since the ursa minor incident was definitely working. Even AJ; who had been a nervous wreck because of Ditzy before the show, was smiling and applauding at the unicorn on stage. Though while the show was amazing, all good things must come to an end. It was time for the finale.

“Fillies and gentlecolts! For Trixie’s finale she will need a volunteer! Who is brave enough to come join Trixie up on stage for this endeavor?” Trixie started scanning the crowd. “How about…” That’s when she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. A certain purple unicorn with royal blue hair who’s face she would never forget. “YOU?!?!?!” Trixie pointed her hoof at Twilight, mouth agape and her right eye twitching. She quickly remembered she was in the middle of a show and regained her composure. “Um, I mean you! How about you there, fine sir?”

Trixie and the spotlight now pointed at AJ. “Who, me?”

The next thing AJ knew he was on stage standing next to Trixie. She had teleported him to the stage so there was no room for argument. “Thank you for agreeing to help Trixie in her finale.”

“What did I just do now?” AJ asked in a somewhat panicked voice.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, what you are about to witness is not for the faint of heart. Ponies with weak stomachs may wish to turn away.”

“What is going on here?” AJ stiffened as he saw Trixies hat float off her head as her horn lit up.

The crowd watched as the air around AJ began to spin. It got faster and faster until he himself was lifted into the air spinning along with it. Once the tornado was started, Trixie started up another spell as fire burst forward from her horn, shooting flames into the tornado. It wasn’t long before AJ became lost in the flames and disappeared from everypony’s sight. The crowd gasped in horror at the prospect of a pony being burned alive before their very eyes. After about twenty seconds, the flaming tornado burst outward, sending multicolored fire dragons throughout the theater hall. A giant charred circle now sat in the middle of the stage, and in the middle of the charred radius sat a pile of ash.

Twilight was completely horrified. Trixie had just murdered a pony in front of a giant group of ponies, and not just anypony, she had just killed AJ. “No.”

Trixie smiled at the crowd. Her horn flared to life once more, surrounding the pile of ash in a light pink glow. Seconds later AJ appeared standing on stage where the ash had just been. He didn’t have a scratch on him; not a single strand of hair in his mane was singed. The only problem was that AJ looked as if he was about to blow chunks all over the stage. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. AJ stumbled to the stairs leading on stage and fell down them. The whole ordeal had left him more than a little shaken. Trixie bowed to the crowd as the curtain closed, glowing in the adoration of her public.

Twilight and her parents made it through the crowd of leaving ponies over to where AJ was still lying in a crumpled, twitching heap on the floor. Twilight placed her hoof on his side and started to lightly shake him. “AJ, are you okay?”

AJ slowly lifted his head. His eyes were spinning. “HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAAAAAAH!!!” He then vomited on the floor and passed out.

********************

Night Light carried AJ on his back as the three of them left the room. As they started walking to the exit Twilight got an idea. “Hey, do you think you guys could wait here for a bit? There’s something I’d like to do before we leave.”

“Of course honey. We’ll be waiting over there for you.” Velvet pointed to a couple of sofa’s ponies could use before and after shows.

“Okay, thank you!” Twilight ran in the other direction and turned the corner.

It wasn’t long before Twilight found her destination. Trixie’s dressing room. The only problem was it was being guarded by a body guard preventing any random pony from entering the room. The big, burly zebra looked down at Twilight and waited to see what she would do. As Twilight came closer he moved to block the door. “Who are you and why are you here?”

Twilight thought for a second before answering. “Hello fine sir. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a friend of The Great and Powerful Trixie’s and just wanted to congratulate her in person for such a great show.”

The zebra looked at Twilight skeptically. He may have been big, but he wasn’t stupid. He could easily see through Twilight’s lie, but he was bored and decided to humor her. He knocked on the door. “Hey Trixie. Got a visitor here for ya. Says her name’s Twilight Spackle or something like that. Should I let her in?”

A crash could be heard from inside the room. It was silent for a minute before Trixie finally answered. “Its fine Zen, you may let her in.”

Surprised, the zebra opened the door and stepped aside to let Twilight in. The door was closed after Twilight entered the room. Twilight looked around the room. She could see the cloak which was sitting neatly folded on a chair with the hat on top of it as Trixie sat in the back of the room brushing her mane. “Hello once again Twilight Sparkle. It’s so nice to see you.”

“Hello Trixie. Let me start by saying that the show was amazing! I’ve never even seen half of the tricks you used. You have to show me some of them!” Twilight was gushing over the thought of learning some new magic.

“Sorry Twilight Sparkle, but these tricks are mine and mine alone.” Trixie took a sip of the smoothie that was sitting on the table next to the vanity mirror. “Now, what did you really come here for? It couldn’t have been just to gush over my magical talents.”

Twilight rubbed her forelegs together. “Well to be honest, I was wondering how you were. After that incident three years ago nopony saw or even heard anything about you. I was actually kind of worried something may have happened to you after you ran off.” Twilight looked over at the outfit sitting on the chair. “I’m also interested on hearing how you came across such a great imitation of Starswirl the Bearded’s cloak and hat. It looks spot on.”

Trixie sighed as she placed the brush down, her eyes downcast and heavy with sadness. “It was a hard time for me. After the ursa minor incident I lost everything. My spell books, my props, my money.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I even lost the hat and cape my grandmother made. I was forced to return to Fillydelphia and move in with my parents. I had no where else to go.” Trixie looked up at the cloak and hat. “As for my new wardrobe, I’d appreciate if you’d stop calling it a fake.”

“Excuse me?” Twilight asked confused.

“I said stop calling the hat and cloak fakes.”

Twilight was still confused. “Are you telling me that cloak belonged to Starswirl the Bearded? THE Starswirl the Bearded?”

“Why does that surprise you so much?” Trixie asked with annoyance.

“Well not to be rude, but you have been known to lie about things before Trixie. That’s kinda how the entire ursa minor incident started.” Twilight didn’t exactly like bringing that up again, but she wanted to prove her point. “And besides it’s kinda hard to believe that a single outfit could survive this long.”

Trixie was immediately affronted. “Are you calling my grandmother a liar, Twilight Sparkle? Are you trying to tell me that my grandmother; one of the most knowledgeable ponies I know, is lying to my face?!”

“What?! No I wouldn’t…” Twilight stammered.

Twilight was cut off by Trixie who was bearing down on her. “That outfit is a family heirloom that’s been passed down from generation to generation! Don’t you dare insult it by calling it a fake!”

Twilight shrunk back away from Trixie. “I’m sorry Trixie, I didn’t know.”

Trixie pulled back; looking at the floor in shame as she shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. You didn’t know and I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that.”

Now that she wasn’t fearing for her life, Twilight let what she had just heard sink in. Her eyes widened in realization. “Trixie, can I ask you a question?” Trixie nodded. “If that is a family heirloom that’s been passed down throughout your family, does that mean that Starswirl the Bearded…”

Still looking down, Trixie answered the question before Twilight could finish the question. “Is my ancestor. My grandmother constantly tells me I’d be a dead ringer for him if I was born a colt.” She looked back to the cloak. “As for his cloak and hat; he specially treated them with magic so they would never degrade or decompose.”

********************

After having a nice long talk with Trixie, Twilight finally left the dressing room to rejoin her parents and AJ. When she reached the waiting area she noticed AJ had regained consciousness. He still looked a bit shaken up, but compared to earlier he was doing better. “Hello everypony.”

“And where did you run off to for so long?” Velvet asked.

“Just went to go talk with an old friend.” Twilight looked at the clock on the wall and cringed. “We should probably get back to the castle. It’s getting pretty late.”

“Why don’t you two just stay at our house for the night?” Night Light asked. “It’s much closer than the castle, and I’m guessing you want to spend as little time as possible in the rain.” He pointed at a nearby window and sure enough it was still raining.

“Hmm, what do you think AJ?”

AJ shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me I guess.”

“Alright, home it is then,” Twilight said with a smile.

****************************************

((And there you go. I hope Morning Glory’s beating was satisfying to you all. I also hope you people noticed the Courage the Cowardly Dog reference in there. And if you're wondering about Trixie's speech after learning a bit of humility she only speaks in the third person when she's on stage. Not going to lie guys. I would love to see this chapter in turned into a comic. Especially Trixie's finale. Well this chapter and the sleep over chapter.

Fresh Start or Star for short

Maximilian or Maxie

Yes, this does indeed have a penis :D

Since Maxie's pic seems to be borked here's a direct link to his pic.))

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

Specters of the past

Chapter 19

Twilight yawned as she woke up. She rubbed her eyes with her forelegs before opening them. It was still dark out, probably about three in the morning if she had to guess. She wanted to go back to bed, but nature was calling.

She got out of bed and slowly made her way to the door. In her sleepy state she stumbled over her hooves and face planted into the door. Rubbing her muzzle she used her magic on the door. She almost forgot where she was when she looked out into the hallway. She shook some of the cobwebs from her head so she could get her bearings. Using the light of her horn she made her way to the bathroom.

Once that was taken care of Twilight decided to make her way down to the kitchen to get a glass of water before returning to bed. Being more aware of her surroundings now, Twilight made it down the stairs no problem. She gave herself silent praise for not collapsing down the stairs before going to the kitchen.

That’s when she heard something. ‘What’s that? It sounds like…crying?’ she thought to herself. As she listened a bit more closely she could tell it was coming from the living room. There was only one pony who would be in the living room right now. Since Twilight’s old room was the only available bedroom left in the house, AJ opted to sleep on the couch.

Twilight quietly made her way into the living room. The crying got louder as she got closer to the couch. As she reached the front of the couch she saw that it was indeed AJ who was crying. With the soft glow of Twilight’s horn she could see the matted hair on his cheeks and the fairly large wet spot on his pillow. His eyes were clenched shut as his entire body quivered. At some point he had tossed the blanket off of himself in his sleep. “AJ?” Twilight asked in a quiet voice. “AJ, are you Okay?

“Daddy?”

Twilight was taken aback by this. ‘Daddy? Is he…dreaming?’

“Daddy, please I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry daddy, please don’t go. Don’t leave us daddy.” AJ started shaking even more as the nightmare seemed to get worse. Twilight could only sit there as AJ’s mind seemed to emotionally tear him apart. “Don’t do it daddy, please.” Suddenly AJ’s entire body tensed up. “NOOOOO!!!!!” He began thrashing around uncontrollably nearly striking Twilight forcing her to back up.

Twilight had to act fast. If she didn’t stop him he was going to end up hurting himself. Using her magic she bound all of his legs to keep him from hitting her. She placed her hooves on AJ’s shoulders and started lightly shaking him. “AJ, wake up! Snap out of it! It’s just a dream!”

AJ’s eyes shot open. As he stared up he could see Twilight looking down at him with both concern and fear in her eyes. “T-t-twilight?” He slowly stopped resisting Twilight’s bindings; his body going limp.

Seeing that AJ was now starting to calm down Twilight undid her magical binds. AJ’s body slowly curled up into a ball; burying his head as he continued to cry. Twilight sat in front of the couch rubbing his back trying to help him calm down. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine now.”

“Twilight, is everything Okay down here?” Twilight looked over to see her dad was now standing at the bottom of the stairs looking on in concern. “I heard all the yelling, what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said as she looked back down at AJ. “I came down to get a glass of water when I heard some crying. He kept talking about his dad when he suddenly screamed.”

Night light walked over and sat next to Twilight. “Maybe he just misses his dad. Do you know where he lives? We could send him a letter. Let him know that AJ misses him."

Twilight looked down, the sadness clear in her face. Twilight had been there when Luna asked about his family. AJ had even showed her the grave he had made when she asked at a later date. Though she found it odd that he refused to give anypony any specific details about what happened. He even refused any information to Luna. “We can’t.”

“Why not?” Night Light asked in confusion. “It wouldn’t be hard at all.”

“You can’t send something to somepony who’s dead.”

“Oh.” Night Light suddenly felt awful as he looked at AJ. He had cried himself to sleep and was lightly snoring. “Do you think he’ll be alright?”

“I don’t know. For his sake I hope so.” Twilight levitated the blanket off the floor and back onto AJ.

Night Light nuzzled Twilight. “Don’t stay up too late.” Twilight watched her dad walk back up the stairs.

Twilight breathed a heavy, exhausted sigh. She got up and headed into the kitchen to get some water. As she got to the bottom of the stairs she took another glance at AJ before walking back up; only to come back down a minute later with her pillow and blanket in tow.

She brought them over and placed them in front of the couch. She looked at AJ and brushed some hair out of his face. “You need to talk to somepony about this. It’s tearing you apart,” Twilight whispered before laying her head down. It wasn’t long before she was once again asleep.

********************

Ditzy woke up to the smell of breakfast wafting into her room. She gave a great big yawn and stretched before heading downstairs. The smell got even stronger as she reached the bottom of the steps. “Hey wait, I know that smell.”

“I sure hope so. Your mother was more than happy to give us the recipe,” Maxie said as he came out of the kitchen. “I was just about to come get you. Breakfast is just about ready, and I wasn’t about to let you sleep through it.”

Ditzy smiled as she took in the scent of her mom’s special French toast. “I haven’t had mom’s French toast in so long.” It was always her favorite breakfast when she was a filly. She didn’t even realize she was drooling.

Maxie was holding back his laughter as he went to grab a napkin. “Honey, take this. You’re drooling.” Ditzy blushed in embarrassment as she took the napkin and dabbed up the drool, giggling all the while. “ Come on, Star’s probably waiting for us.”

They walked into the kitchen just as Star placed a big plate piled high with French toast on the table. “About time you got up. I thought Maxie and I would have had to eat all of this by ourselves.”

Maxie raised his eyebrow as he looked at Star. “Excuse me? Are you trying to make me fat? I thought you liked how I look?”

“Oh Maxie, you know I love how you look,” Star said as he tried his hardest to backpedal.

Maxie got an evil grin. “Or maybe you’d like a little more ‘cushion’ back here, hmm?” he said as he teased Star with his tail, wiggling his rump as he did. Both Ditzy and Star’s faces burned with blush at the implication Maxie had just made. Maxie just laughed at the two.

“OKAY!!! Why don’t we eat hmm? Sounds great!” Star loudly said in an attempt to derail the conversation. He wanted to change it to something a little less ‘private.’ “So Ditzy, were you going with Maxie after breakfast? Or do you want to surprise your parents when they get here?”

Ditzy thought for a moment as Maxie placed some French toast on her plate. “I think I’ll surprise them here. It’ll give me some time to make myself presentable.”

“Oh honey, you know they won’t care what you look like. Just seeing you again will make them happy,” Maxie said with a caring smile.

“I know, but I haven’t seen them in so long. I want this to be special.”

A tear came to Maxie’s eye as he got up to hug Ditzy. “That’s so sweet. Oh Star, I hope our foal will be like Ditzy.”

Ditzy was, once again, confused. “Your foal, are you adopting?”

Star facehoofed. “That’s right, we didn’t tell you. Well Maxie and I really wanted a foal of our own, but there was the obvious problem. We thought it over for a long time, and decided we’d look for a surrogate mother. Maxie’s best friend Buttercup Blossom was more than happy to accept.”

“She’s four months along.” Maxie started clapping his hooves together. “Eeeeeee I can’t wait!”

With a bright smile, Ditzy hugged Maxie who was still next to her. “Congratulations!”

Star smiled to himself as he watched them celebrate. He was glad Ditzy and Maxie were getting along so well. “I have an idea. Maxie, why don’t I go get Ditzy’s parents, while you help Ditzy get ready. I know you’ll be able to make her beautiful for her parents.”

Maxie thought for a moment. “How about it Ditzy, would you like some help getting ready?”

“I would like that.”

“Eeeee girl time!” Maxie cheered, clapping his hooves together again.

“Alright, alright, let’s finish breakfast first. Afterwards you two can go have fun.” Star said with a laugh.

The three of them had a nice breakfast. Ditzy made sure to eat her fill, almost eating as much as Star. She put a hoof to her mouth as she let out a little burp. “Excuse me,” she said slightly embarrassed.

Maxie giggled at this. “My, my. Somepony must have been hungry.”

“I’m sorry. It was just soo good I couldn’t help myself,” Ditzy said trying to defend herself.

“Oh honey, no need to apologize. That just means Star did good.” Maxie nodded to Star.

“It would be hard not to. Your mother wrote very detailed instructions when she gave me the recipe.” Star said as he started cleaning up.

Maxie took the plates from Star. “Don’t worry about cleaning up. We’ll take care of it. Between the two of us it shouldn’t take too long. You just worry about getting Ditzy’s parents over here.”

“Alright. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Star gave Maxie a quick kiss before heading for the door.

“Don’t rush too much, we’ll need time to get ready,” Maxie called out. When he heard the door close, Maxie turned to Ditzy with an excited smile. “We, are going to have soo much fun today. Now, why don’t you tell me a bit more about this coltfriend of yours.”

Ditzy felt her face heat up. “H-he’s not my coltfriend!”

********************

Night Light woke up to find Twilight sleeping on the floor and AJ, while awake, was just laying there staring forward with a blank look on his face. The events of the early morning ran through his head. Maneuvering around Twilight he sat in front of AJ in an attempt to get his attention. “Hey, how are you doing? Are you going to be okay?” Night Light got no response. AJ didn’t even look at him, he just kept staring forward. “Come on, you can tell me anything.” Same thing.

Twilight woke up when she heard her dad speak. “Huh, what’s going on?”

Night Light turned his head. “Oh, sorry for waking you.”

Twilight got up to stretch; her spine could be heard cracking as she did. “How’s he doing?”

Night Light looked back to AJ. “Umm, better? He’s no longer crying if that’s what you’re wondering, but…” He motioned to AJ who still hasn’t moved.

Twilight sat down next to her dad. “He hasn’t moved at all?”

“Not since I’ve come down.” Night Light sighed. “I should go get breakfast started.” Before getting up he placed his hoof on AJ’s shoulder. “If you need somepony to talk to, don’t be afraid to ask.”

********************

After they finished with the dishes, Maxie all but dragged Ditzy upstairs to begin the pampering. He washed and styled Ditzy’s mane, leaving the blond locks shining and curling around her ears and neck. Maxie gently parted her bangs and placed the locks in a pretty clip that sat beside her ear, making it seem as if she had couple of jasmine blossoms sitting in her mane. Her tail was soon matching and the two spoke candidly as Maxie applied a little bit of eyeliner and mascara to bring out the natural amber of Ditzy’s eyes.

They heard the door open just as Maxie was getting ready to start a hooficure . Multiple voices could be heard downstairs. Maxie looked at the clock and realized an hour and a half had passed since Star had left. “Oh goodness, where did the time go! They’re here!” Maxie proclaimed excitedly. “Okay, you just wait up here, I’ll call you down.”

“Umm, Okay,” Ditzy said as she watched Maxie trot out of the room.

Maxie came down to stairs to see Star talking to an amethyst earth pony mare with a blue mane and a grayish blue pegasus stallion with a blond mane. “Nimbos, Amethyst you made it!” Maxie rushed over and hugged Amethyst.

“Maxie, it’s so good to see you again,” Amethyst said returning the hug. “It’s been awhile since we’ve gotten together.”

“Well we haven’t really had the chance,” Nimbos added. “Especially after the malfunction a while back, they’ve been keeping us busy at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory making sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Star nodded. “Yea, we heard about that. Apparently Ponyville got pretty devastated by that storm.”

“At least nopony was seriously injured,” Amethyst said with a sigh. “I hope.”

“You hope?” Star asked.

Nimbos put a hoof around his wife’s withers. “We haven’t gotten a letter from Ditzy since the storm.”

Amethyst nodded. “It’s not the first time this has happened, but after something like that it would have been nice to hear from her. I hope she’s Okay.”

Maxie had a bright smile on his face. “Well why don’t you just ask her how she’s doing?”

“I wish it was that easy,” Nimbos said.

Maxie giggled. “Oh trust me, it is.”

Star sighed. “Maxie, stop teasing them about this. I think we should just get this over with,” Star said with a smile.

“Get what over with?” Nimbos asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Aww Star, you’re no fun,” Maxie said with a pout. He turned to the stairs and shouted, “Okay honey, you can come down now!”

Nimbos and Amethyst looked to the stairs as they heard the clip clopping of somepony coming down the stairs. Their eyes grew wide and their jaws dropped when they saw Ditzy reach the bottom of the stairs. “Ditzy?”

With a smile Ditzy ran forward and wrapped her parents into a big hug. “I missed you two so much.”

A tear of happiness rolled down Amethyst’s cheek. “Oh Ditzy.” She released the hug as a stern look adorned her face. “And why haven’t you sent us a letter young lady?”

Ditzy looked dumfounded. “What?”

“After the storm! We were so worried about you and you didn’t even send us anything.”

Ditzy looked down in shame. “Oh, that." Ditzy sighed. "I’m sorry. A lot of things have been happening lately.”

“Like finding a very special somepony to take all of her time,” Maxie said with a giggle.

“He’s not my coltfriend!” Ditzy shouted with a blush. She turned back to her parents who looked surprised. “Why don’t we go talk about this.” She smiled. “We do have a lot to talk about after all.”

********************

“So he’s just been sitting there all morning?” Velvet asked as she ate some leftover breakfast. She starts work really early in the morning, so she hasn’t seen AJ acting weird all morning. She didn’t get too much sleep last night due to the show, but it was worth it. Lucky for Night Light it was his day off.

Night Light nodded. “Yup, he wouldn’t even eat anything. Twilight tried, but he refused. Just kept saying he wasn’t hungry.”

“Well, if he isn’t over the death after nine years, something really bad must have happened.” Velvet looked over to the sink. “Do you know anything about this Twilight?”

Twilight, who was washing dishes, came over and sat in another chair. “Nopony knows. He refuses to tell anypony about what happened. You should have seen him earlier this morning. I’m worried about him.”

Night Light stood up. “I think I’m going to try talking to him again. Maybe I’ll be able to get something from him.”

Walking into the living room he saw AJ sitting there with a blank, unreadable look on his face. He was lifting a coaster with his magic. His eyes were following the movements of the coaster. He walked over to the couch and sat down. AJ turned his head to see who it was, dropped the coaster as he did. Dropping his gaze to the floor, he started levitating the coaster once again. “So, what are you doing?”

“Practicing.”

“Why are you practicing? I think Twilight would be fine with you taking the day off.”

AJ placed the coaster back on the coffee table and sighed. “To take my mind off of things.” His voice got low. “If I concentrate on this, I can’t think about…” He quickly lifted the coaster back up.

“Maybe talking will help. If you talk about what happened maybe it’ll help you through this all,” Night Lightight suggested.

“No.”

Night Light thought for a minute. “Maybe you’d like to talk about something else? Conversation is a great way to get your mind off of something.” AJ just shook his head. “Not even the magic show? That was amazing wasn’t it?” He said with a bright smile hoping bring up AJ’s mood.

AJ said nothing causing him to sigh. “You’re not comfortable being here right now, are you?”

AJ shook his head. “…No.”

“Why?” Silence filled the room. Since AJ wasn’t answering, Night Light decided to take a wild guess. “Is it because of me?”

The coaster dropped as AJ sat still. “Yea.”

Night Light sighed. “Alright, if I make you uncomfortable I’ll leave you alone then.”

Night Light started lifting himself off the couch. “Do you think…do you think my dad would be proud of me?”

He stopped and looked back at AJ whose face was now one of sadness. Seating himself back on the couch he thought for a moment. “I’m not going to lie. Never having met your dad I can’t really speak for him. Why?”

AJ took a deep, ragged breath. “I’ve made a lot of stupid choices over the years. Choices I wish I could take back. It seems like no matter what I do I fuck up. If he was alive, my dad would probably be disappointed in me. Probably think I’m worthless.”

Night Light put a hoof on AJ’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t say that about yourself. I may not have known your dad, but for the short time I’ve known you I can tell you’re a pretty good pony. So you’ve made a few bad decisions. So what? Everypony does, and you don’t see that stopping them do you?”

A tear rolled down AJ’s cheek. “He was so mad. I couldn’t even say sorry.”

“Say sorry for what?”

AJ shook his head. “Nothing.”

Night Light got off the couch. “Alright. I’m going to go. Remember, if you’re in Canterlot and you ever need to talk, I’ll be more than happy to help.” AJ nodded as he watched Night Light walk back into the kitchen.

********************

“I’m sorry Twilight,” said AJ who was still moping as they walked back to the castle. After hearing what AJ had told her dad, Twilight suggested they leave.

“No need to be sorry. If you were feeling uncomfortable around my dad I wasn’t going force you to stay.” Twilight smiled. “And besides, you still have studying you have to do mister.”

“Yea, I guess I do.”

Twilight sighed. How was she going to get him out of this funk? Then it hit her. ‘How did I not think of this before?’ “Just wait till we get back. I’m sure Ditzy will be happy to see you. She’s probably waiting for us to come back.”

A small smile graced AJ’s features. “Yea, she probably is.” He slowly started to perk up. “We should hurry. We don’t want to keep her waiting.” He quickened his pace wanting to get to the castle as fast as possible.

Twilight silently cheered to herself. ‘Twilight you are a genius.’ She quickened her pace to keep up with AJ.

At the faster pace it didn’t take them very long to get back to the castle. Smiling the entire way, AJ made his way through the halls until he got to their rooms. He knocked on Ditzy’s door. “Hey Ditzy, it’s me. Can I come in?” After getting no response he knocked again. “Ditzy, you there?” Opening the door he saw that nopony was there. “Hmmm. Oh, maybe she’s in my room.” He walked to the opposite side of the hall and opened the door. His smile fell when he saw that it to was empty.

Twilight came up behind AJ with a smile on her face. “Is Ditzy in here?” She got no answer. AJ just rushed passed her into her room and started looking around. “Umm, what are you doing?”

AJ looked at Twilight with worry. “She’s not here.”

As he started pacing around in the hall, AJ didn’t notice Proper Manners come up behind him. “Is there anything I could help you with sir?” Needless to say he freaked; jumping into the air.

AJ took a minute to make sure his heart was still beating. Turning around he grabbed Proper Manners by the shoulders. “Do you know where Ditzy is?”

“Ah, Miss Ditzy Doo left for a walk yesterday afternoon. She has yet to return. Anything else I can help you with?”

“I think that will be all Proper Manners, thank you,” Twilight said after seeing the look on AJ’s face. She removed AJ’s hooves from his shoulders to allow him to leave before sitting AJ down. “Are you okay?”

Before Twilight even knew what had happened AJ had grabbed her by the shoulders and was shaking her around. “What if something happened to her?! What if she’s hurt?! What if she’s laying in an alley somewhere bleeding out with nopony there to help her?!”

Twilight pushed AJ off of herself. “AJ calm down! I’m sure she’s…” She didn’t have time to finish as AJ bolted past her. “Where are you going?!”

“Can’t talk, Ditzy in trouble! Cant lose her too!” AJ blew past some maids and turned out of sight.

********************

AJ ran through the streets, almost knocking over multiple ponies on his way. He checked every nook and cranny he ran past; making doubly sure to check the alleyways. He ran into Pony Joe’s and rushed to the counter. “Hey, your Twilight’s friend.” He noticed AJ’s bedraggled look. “You okay? Anything I can do for ya?”

“Have you seen Ditzy? I can’t find her anywhere?”

“Ditzy? Isn’t that the mare who’s been coming in with you?” AJ quickly nodded. “Haven’t seen her since you all came here yesterday.”

“Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit,” AJ groaned before turning and dashing out the door. Only to run into somepony who was entering the store. The two of them laid there in a tangled pile of pony for a minute before AJ finally came to his senses. “Shit, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.” He untangled himself from the pony and got a better look at him. He was a pegasus colt. From his size he looked like he was probably in high school. He had a dark grey coat and a two tone black and icy blue mane. His cutie mark was a dove in front of a black heart.

The pony lifted his dazed head. “Nnnno worryz. Izz okhay.” He shook his head and AJ helped him up. “Umm, thanks.”

“Are you okay?”

The pony sat back and shuffled his hooves. “I’m fine.”

AJ sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m looking for somepony and I’m just so worried about her.” AJ plopped down and buried his head in his hooves. Today has just been a bad day.

The pony watched as AJ sulked. He was about to speak up, but Pony Joe beat him to it. “You two are free to talk here if you’d like, but if you could please be somewhere else other than in front of the door I would appreciate it,” he said with a bit of a laugh.

“Oh, um I’m sorry Mr. Joe,” the pony said with a bit of a blush. He and AJ moved to a table near the door.

As AJ sat down he, once again, buried his head under his hooves and groaned. “I just don’t know where she could be.”

“If you’d like, I could help you find her.”

AJ’s eyes shot open and he looked at the pony. “Excuse me?”

He looked around nervously. “Well, I don’t have to be home for awhile yet so I thought maybe I could help you out for a bit.”

“You’d do that for somepony you don’t even know?” The pony nodded. “Oh my…thank you…” AJ stopped mid sentence. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh, my name’s Shadow Breeze.”

“AJ.” They extended hooves and shook. “Okay. We’re looking for a bluish grey pegasus mare with a blond mane and amber eyes. Bubbles for a cutie mark.”

“Is she your fillyfriend or something?”

“She’s not my fillyfriend!” AJ shouted with a blush. Shadow had jumped and hid behind his chair at the sudden outburst. AJ cleared his throat. “Sorry.” He waited till Shadow was back in his seat before continuing. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. Since you can fly, you fly above the north part of the city and look for her. I’ll take care of the south. We’ll meet back here in a couple of hours. Sound good?” Shadow nodded. “Great! Let’s go.”

********************

Two hours later AJ came trudging back into Pony Joe’s, head down. He ambled to the table and unceremoniously plopped down in the seat. Burying his head in his hooves he let out a loud frustrated groan. “No luck huh?” AJ looked up at the sound of something being placed in front of him. Pony Joe had brought over a cup of hot chocolate for him. Knowing just how hot it was, AJ left it to the side so it could cool for awhile

“No. Nopony’s even seen her,” AJ groaned out.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find her soon.” Just then Shadow came trotting through the door, head held high with a smile on his face. “There you see, he looks like he has something.”

AJ looked up as Shadow reached the table. “Did you find her?”

“Nope,” he said with a big smile on his face. Seeing the exhausted scowl on AJ’s face made him shrink back. “Um, while I didn’t find her, I-I did find somepony who knows where she is.”

AJ suddenly looked hopeful. “You did?”

“Yup.” Shadow turned around to see nopony behind him. “He was behind me a minute ago.” After a couple of minutes Shadow saw the pony he was talking about walk into the shop. “Ah, there he is.”

“That’s him?” The pony had a purple coat, silver mane, and two morning glories tied together in a heart as a cutie mark. His jaw looked to be a little swollen and he had a bruise under his left eye. AJ eyed him suspiciously. He was pretty sure he knew this pony from somewhere.

“Mmhm. This is Mr. Morning Glory. He said he…”

AJ’s hooves slammed on the table as he stood up. His eyes full of disbelief and hatred at the same time. “I knew I knew you from somewhere! You’re the rat bastard who hurt Ditzy!”

Morning Glory lightly facehoofed and sighed. “Oh Celestia, not this again. Two days I have to deal with this. Fine, lets get this over with.” He walked over and sat at the table. “Alright, what do you want to know?”

“Just tell me where she is. The less time I have to spend with you the better.”

Morning Glory laughed. “Demanding aren’t we? Tell me, why should I just tell you where that bitch is?”

AJ was glaring death at Glory. His voice was low and dangerous. “What did you just say?”

“What’s in it for me? What do I get for leading you to the bitch that did this to me?” He motioned to the damage on his face.

“Today has NOT been a good day for me, and right now you’re looking like a damn good punching bag to help relieve some stress. Now tell me where Ditzy is or I swear I will…”

Glory cut AJ off. “Or you’ll what? I’ve been threatened before. There’s nothing you could do that would make me want to help you right now.”

AJ lost it. He lifted the still very hot cup of hot chocolate and threw it in Glory’s face followed quickly by the cup itself. Glory went down screaming as he grabbed at his face. “Hey, easy with the cups! You break it you buy a new one!” Pony Joe called out when he saw the cup flying.

AJ jumped onto the table and then on top of Glory. “Tell me where Ditzy is right now!” Glory was too busy screaming to answer. “Answer me!” AJ swung and hit him on the left side of his head.

“SHE’S AT 1492 ORCHARD STREET!”

AJ got off Glory and kicked him in the ribs before walking to the door. “Shadow!”

“Eep.” Shadow had been hiding under the table since AJ flung the hot liquid at Glory.

“Do you know where 1492 Orchard Street is?”

Shadow poked his head out from the table. “Umm y-yes.”

“Awesome, come on.” AJ trotted out the door on a mission.

Shadow slowly made his way out from underneath the table and looked at Glory who was still writhing around and clawing at his face. He eventually made his way to the door where he flew after AJ.

Pony Joe sat there snickering to himself. “Well, at least today wasn’t boring.” He helped Glory up and took him to the back where he helped him get cleaned up.

********************

“So little Dinky is okay, right?” Amethyst asked.

Ditzy giggled. “For the hundredth time, yes. The cast came off and she’s just fine.”

“She’s just worried Ditzy,” Nimbos said. “We both were.”

Maxie came into the room wearing an apron. “Lunch is almost ready everypony. Hope your all hungry.” As Maxie was about to turn back into the kitchen somepony knocked on the door. “I’ll get it!” Trotting to the door Maxie opened it. “Hello, what can I do for you?”

“Yea, hi. I have a question. Is there a pony named Ditzy Doo here?”

Hearing her name Ditzy looked over the couch. Maxie smiled. “Why yes there is. Ditzy honey, somepony’s here to see you.”

Ditzy came over to the door. She was surprised when she saw who it was. “AJ?”

“Ditzy!” AJ ran past Maxie and drew Ditzy in a big hug. “Thank Celestia you’re okay!”

Everypony in the room was looking on in confusion. Even Star who had come out of the kitchen. “Ditzy, who’s this?” Nimbos asked.

AJ, who hadn’t noticed the other ponies in the room, let go of Ditzy with an intense blush on his face. “Oh, um hi.”

Ditzy had a sheepish smile on her face. “Mom, dad, everypony, this is AJ.” She turned back to AJ. “AJ, what happened to you?”

“What?”

“Well to be frank, you look like shit,” Ditzy bluntly said.

“Hey, language young lady,” Amethyst said in a stern voice.

“Sorry mom.”

Confused AJ looked himself over. His tail was a mess, his coat was dirty, and a look in a mirror showed that his mane was disheveled. Sighing he said, “Let’s just say this hasn’t exactly been a fun day.”

Maxie came up behind AJ. “Why don’t you go upstairs and get washed up. I’m Maxie by the way.”

AJ smiled. “That sounds great right about now. You’re a nice mare.” Maxie stared at AJ for a second before giggling to himself. “What, was it something I said?”

Ditzy tapped AJ on the shoulder. “Um, AJ?”

********************

A couple of ponies were trotting down the street talking to each other.

“Did he really say that?”

“Yes he did.”

“O.M.G he did not!”

“I swear to Celestia he did!”

Then they passed by 1492 Orchard Street. A stallion could be heard shouting, “WHAT?!?!?!”

****************************************

((Shadow Breeze is the product of AnonJ17

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Time to go Back Home

((I have changed AJ's coat color. I did a color comparison and it looks to be more of an indigo rather than blue.))

Chapter 20

AJ came down the stairs both looking, and feeling a lot better than he did earlier. It felt like the hot water of the shower had washed away all his stress from earlier in the day. He let out a long, content sigh when he reached the bottom. “That felt great.”

He sat on the couch and began to relax when Ditzy poked her head out of the kitchen. “Why don’t you come and eat with us? I’m sure Star and Maxie won’t mind.”

AJ shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m really not that hungry anyway.”

Ditzy looked disappointed. “You sure?”

“Abso…” AJ’s stomach let out a long, and very loud growl as it protested AJ’s words. With a blush, he finished, “lutely.”

Ditzy’s look turned to a smug stare as her lips turned upward into a smirk. “Not hungry, huh?”

Star could be heard laughing in the next room. “Not bad kid, I heard that in here!”

AJ looked at Ditzy with a sheepish smile. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little hungry.”

“Mmhm.” Ditzy rolled her eyes as she went back into the kitchen to sit down. AJ made his way in and picked a chair next to Ditzy. Ditzy turned to look at him. “By the way, I’ve been wondering something. How did you find this house anyway?”

AJ let out a chuckle. “Well I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any help. Had a lot of help from a kid named Shadow Breeze. I asked him if he’d like to meet you after all the trouble he went through to help me find you, but he had to go home.” AJ looked down as Maxie placed a full plate in front of him. “Oh, thank you. And uh, sorry about before.” Maxie just smiled and waved it off.

“That’s nice and all, but it doesn’t tell us how you knew she was here,” Amethyst said with a questioning look.

AJ looked to the side with an apprehensive look. “Yea, about that. You’re probably not going to believe me, but I actually got the address from Morning Glory.”

The kitchen got awkwardly silent. Everypony in the room was looking directly at AJ. Nimbos was staring at him with a suspicious look. “And just how do you know Morning Glory?”

“He knows about Morning Glory because I told him,” Ditzy said, knowing where her dad was going.

“And he didn’t exactly give me the address willingly.” Ditzy looked at him questioningly. “I uh, kinda threw some scalding hot chocolate in his face…and broke a cup over his head…and punched him in the face…and kicked him in the ribs.” AJ’s voice got lower and lower as he went on; ending with a sheepish smile as Nimbos and Amethyst looked on with shocked expressions. “As I said this has not been a fun day, and he kinda pushed me over the edge.”

“Hah, I like you already kid,” Star said with a big smile. Maxie fixed him with a disapproving glare. “What? Anypony who can knock Morning Glory down a few notches is okay in my book.”

“While I agree that he certainly was a detestable pony, the method used wasn’t exactly appropriate, now was it?” Maxie asked; his attention turned to AJ.

AJ hung his head. “I know. Trust me when I say I’m not exactly proud of myself.” Maxie smiled. He was happy knowing that AJ felt sorry for what he had done.

“I sure hope so,” Amethyst said in a condescending tone.

“Mom, please try to be nice.”

“Ditzy, we know almost nothing about your little friend here. For all we know he could be just like Morning Glory. This whole thing could be an act.”

“And he’s already shown that he’s prone to violence when pushed,” Nimbos added. “I can’t say I like you being around somepony like that.” Those words stung. AJ was not violent. Hell, he tried to avoid violence if at all possible.

Ditzy looked at both her parents in disbelief. “How can you say that? AJ is a nice pony.”

“So was Morning Glory before he showed his true colors,” Amethyst said as she glared at AJ.

Ditzy was about to speak up but AJ stopped her with a raised hoof. “It’s okay Ditzy.”

“But…”

“No, no. I’m not stupid. I can take a hint.” AJ got up from the table and slowly made his way to the front door, head hung low. “It was nice meeting you all.” He opened the door and walked out, not even bothering to close it.

Ditzy glared at her parents. “How could you do that?!”

Amethyst had a level expression. “We’re only thinking about what’s best for you Ditzy. We don’t want to see you be hurt again.”

“What’s best for me? You don’t even know him and you demonize him!”

“Please understand Ditzy,” Nimbos said. “You were so devastated after Morning Glory. We just don’t want to see that happen again.”

Ditzy got up in a huff and ran after AJ. “Ditzy wait!” Maxie called out. The door slammed telling all that she wasn’t coming back. “Aww, and things were going so good too.”

Amethyst sighed. “I hope she understands why we did that.”

“Maybe you should have given him a chance.” Everypony looked at Star.

“I agree. He did look like he was honestly sorry for hurting Morning Glory,” Maxie added. “And he does seem to legitimately care about Ditzy.”

Nimbos shook his head. “I don’t know. We just worry about her.”

********************

It didn’t take long for Ditzy to catch up with AJ. She slowed her pace as she came up next to him. “AJ? Are you okay?”

AJ let out a long sigh. “It’s official. Your parents hate me.”

Ditzy lowered her head. “I’m sorry. They’re just worried about me. They don’t want to see me get together with another Morning Glory.” She looked back in the direction of the house. “I can’t believe they didn’t even give you a chance.”

“Didn’t exactly make the best first impression.” AJ plopped down to his haunches; looking into the sky. “Why am I such a fuck up?”

“What? AJ please don’t talk about yourself like that.” Ditzy wrapped AJ in a hug. “You’re a nice pony. Nothing my parents say will ever change that.”

“I guess.” AJ instinctively started nuzzling up to Ditzy. The two of them sat there for a minute just enjoying each other’s company. “Your mane smells nice.”

Ditzy began to blush. “Um, what?”

Realizing what he had just said AJ’s face began to heat up. “I-uh I mean you smell nice. I mean you look pretty. Wait no I mean…GAHHHH!!!” By the time AJ was done his face was redder than Big Mac. He buried his head under his hooves to hide his embarrassment.

Ditzy started to giggle. “Well thank you for the compliments. Now why don’t we go get something to eat? We didn’t exactly get to finish lunch.”

AJ got up and dusted himself off. “Sure. Let’s go to Pony Joe’s place.”

“Why there?”

“Because I still need to pay him back for that cup I broke.”

********************

“I must be dead. I must have gone to hell. Pain radiating all through out my body. The fires of hell must be all around me. Licking at my body, burning, searing. I will have to feel this pain for the rest of eternity.”

Twilight facehoofed. “Oh for the love of, stop acting like a drama queen. You’re not dead.”

“Then why does living hurt so mu-hu-hu-hu-hu-huch?!” AJ whined. His body still hasn’t recovered from the drastic changes it had gone through, and all the stress and physical exertion he put himself through the previous day just made things worse.

“Well this is what you get when you decide to not listen,” Twilight said mater of factly. “I told you Ditzy was fine, but did you want to believe me? No. Now look at you. Lying in bed and whining like a foal.”

“Bite me.”

Twilight let out a frustrated grunt. “I’m going to go get Luna. Maybe she’ll be able to do something about the pain.” She turned away and lowered her voice. “Or at least be able to do something about the whining.”

“What was that?”

She turned back with a bright smile on her face. “Nothing!”

As Twilight turned to leave the door opened to reveal Ditzy pushing a cart full of food into the room. “I brought breakfast. Who’s hungry?” she said with a big smile.

“I’ll eat in a bit Ditzy. I have to go see if Luna’s free right now.” Twilight left the room.

********************

With an escort of guards Twilight made her way to Luna’s room. “Please wait here Twilight Sparkle,” the younger guard said as he walked up to the door and knocked.

“Yes? Who is it?” came the voice from inside.

“Your highness, Twilight Sparkle wishes to have an audience with you.”

“Its fine, you may let her in.”

The guard nodded and opened the door for Twilight. “Thank you sirs.”

The door was closed behind Twilight as she entered. It didn’t take Twilight long to find Luna. When she did she couldn’t help but gawk. Luna was lying at the foot of the bed, but it was the most awkward position Twilight had ever seen. Her head and neck were on the floor. Her back was pressed up against the bed as her forelegs were curled up against her body. Her backside was dangling in the air with her hind legs swaying back and forth to a tune that wasn’t there. The closest comparison Twilight could make was Luna looked as if she was sitting like Lyra back in Ponyville does; only upside down. She was wearing none of her royal vestments. In front of her floated what looked like an Iron Mare comic book.

Luna looked over to Twilight with a great big smile on her face. “Ah Twilight, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

Twilight continued to stare. “Um Princess, if I may ask, why are you laying like that?”

Luna looked confused. She looked at her body and a smile grew on her face again. “Oh it’s much more comfortable than it looks. Come, you should try it yourself!”

“Uhh, I think I’ll pass if it’s alright with you.”

With a giggle, Luna unceremoniously corrected herself by lurching her backside forward until she could stand up. “What can I do for you Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight composed herself once again. “Well, due to his refusal to take your advice of bed rest, AJ seems to be in an awful lot of pain today. I was wondering if you could do something for him, or at least do something about the whining.”

Luna rubbed her chin as she thought. “While it wouldn’t get rid of the pain entirely; I do know a spell that could dull the pain.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate any help you could give him,” Twilight said, relieved that AJ wouldn’t continue to whine her ears off.

“You can go on ahead if you’d like. I'll be along shortly,” Luna said as she levitated her chest plate over. “Now where is that other slipper?” Luna asked as she stuck her head under her bed to check.

Twilight turned her head to find the offending slipper lying next to the door as if it had been carelessly kicked off and left there. “Um Princess, is this what you’re looking for?”

Luna, who now had half her body under her bed to look for the slipper, slipped out and looked to where Twilight was pointing. “Aha, there it is. I thank you Twilight Sparkle.” She slipped on her slippers and once again started looking around the room.

“Need some help Princess?”

“I can’t find my crown.” Luna’s face suddenly grew annoyed. “Oh, I swear if Tia took it again I’ll turn off all the hot water next time she’s in the shower!” After another minute of searching Luna found the crown. It was sitting on her desk next to an abacus. “There it is. Thank you for finding it for me Abacus. You’re always so helpful.” Luna gave the abacus a little kiss before placing the crown on her head.

Twilight once again stared at Luna in disbelief. ‘Is she talking to an abacus?’

“Alright Twilight Sparkle, I’m ready to go.”

Twilight shook her head. “Um of course, let’s go.”

********************

When Luna and Twilight got to the room they found Ditzy happily munching on breakfast. AJ was lying on his belly looking miserable as he lazily stabbed at his food with a fork and ate. Ditzy looked over and gasped before quickly lowering herself to one knee. “Princess Luna.”

AJ attempted to get up and bow, but collapsed on the bed with grunt. “Umm, I bow too.”

“No need for formalities,” Luna said as she walked up to the bed. “How are you feeling?” AJ just gave a long groan. “Okay, this spell should help dull your pain.”

“Should?” AJ asked.

“Well, I was never really that good with these types of spells. They were always more of Tia’s forte.” Luna put a hoof up to her chin. “Now that I think about it, it has been awhile since I’ve tried this.”

AJ looked worried. “Umm princess? Are you sure this is such a great idea?”

“Of course!” Luna said with a bright smile. “It shouldn’t be too hard. I think.” Luna’s horn began to glow.

“I-ah, I think I’ll just live through the pain, yea. No need for spells,” AJ said as he started scooting away from Luna. “Look, I’m feeling better already, see!”

“Nonsense, I’m here to help.” With a smile Luna continued the spell.

“No, please! I beg you to…” AJ was cut off as a small beam quickly shot from Luna’s horn and struck him. His body shook for a few seconds before falling limp. His limbs and right eye twitched every so often. His tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth.

Ditzy poked AJ. “AJ? Are you okay?”

“Ah cah feew mah anhsing.”

Luna started to pout. “Darn. I thought I had it that time.”

“Umm is he going to be okay?” Twilight asked in concern.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. He should regain the feeling in his body in about one, five hours tops,” Luna said with a smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to see how Iron Mare defeats Whiplash!” Luna happily trotted out of the room to continue her comic reading.

Twilight watched as Luna trotted out. She turned back to AJ who was now drooling. “Well, he’s not whining anymore.”

********************

“Are you ready?”

AJ took a deep breath. “I think so.” It was the last day the three of them were going to be in Canterlot. After AJ’s lessons they would say their goodbyes and head back to Ponyville. AJ was hoping today would be the day that he would be able to lift that damned fifty pound weight. “Alright, let’s do this.” AJ’s horn lit up surrounding the orb in an icy blue aura.

“Come on, you can do it,” Ditzy cheered.

AJ grunted as he tried to lift the orb. “Come on you. Move!”

“Don’t force it; you’ll only exhaust yourself,” Twilight said trying to help guide AJ.

“I can do this!” AJ grunted. “I…can…do…this!” His horn glowed brighter as he started pouring more magic into the spell. The orb started shifting around in its groove. Slowly it started lifting off the ground.

Ditzy watched as the orb was slowly lifted into the air until it was hovering at eye level. “You did it! Congratulations!”

“I did it Twilight, I did it!”

Twilight smiled. “You did great.”

“I DID IT, WOOOOOOOOOOOO-OH CRAP!!!” In his excitement AJ accidentally sent a surge of magic into the orb, sending it flying across the room.

SMASH!!!

CRACK!!!

THUD!!!

The orb had just smashed through the door, and from the sound of it hit something on the other side too. Panicked voices could be heard on the other side of the door. AJ looked over to Twilight and Ditzy before going over to the door and poking his head through the big hole.

What he saw on the other side made his jaw drop. In front of him were no less than six ponies. Four guards surrounded a still body lying on the ground. Said body belonged to none other than Prince Blueblood. His eyes were rolled back into his head and he had a large, bleeding wound on the side of his head. Next to him sat the now bloodied orb. Celestia was the last pony and she was looking at the body in shock. She looked over just as AJ retracted his head from the hole.

Twilight and Ditzy watched as AJ slowly walked back over to them. The blood had drained from his face, making his normally indigo coat appear lavender. He silently sat down and just stared ahead. Twilight cleared her throat. “Is everything alright?” AJ said nothing. She waved a hoof in front of his face. “AJ?”

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

“WHAT?! WHAT?!” Ditzy screamed.

“I JUST KILLED BLUEBLOOD!!!!!”

“WHAT?!?!?” Twilight ran over to the door. She went to open the door, but stopped when the door opened by itself, and Celestia quickly walked in. Her face bore no expression as she closed the door behind her; repairing the hole as she did. “Princess?”

Celestia said nothing. She just walked past Twilight and over to where AJ was sitting. He was now shaking and muttering ‘no, not again’ to himself as Ditzy tried to calm him down. She sat down in front of AJ. “AJ.” No response. “AJ, look at me.”

She put hoof under his chin and lifted his head. His eyes were wide and tears were falling. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Celestia gave him a warm, motherly smile. “No worries. You’re not in any trouble.”

AJ sniffled. It wasn’t the punishment he was worried about. It was the thought of killing somepony that was haunting him. “B-but Blueblood…”

“Will be fine,” Celestia interrupted. “He’ll be back up in a couple of weeks.” She looked over to the door and giggled. “And besides, it would take a lot more than that to do any lasting damage to a skull of that magnitude.”

AJ wiped the tears from his eyes. “Are…are you sure?”Celestia nodded. AJ breathed a sigh of relief.

“The guards have already gone to retrieve the medical staff,” Celestia said as she stood up. “I should be there when they arrive.”

AJ smiled and bowed his head. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Any time.”

********************

After they had gotten back to the castle Twilight had sent a letter to Spike saying that they will be back in a few hours. They packed their bags with what they brought along with a few snacks for the trip back. They were going to be missing lunch after all. Right now they were about an hour and a half away from Ponyville.

Twilight sat back in her seat. “As much as I love Canterlot, I can’t wait to be back in Ponyville.”

“You said it. I can’t wait to see my little Muffin again,” Ditzy said with a big smile. She started hugging a little filly that wasn’t even there.

AJ was just looking out the window with a smile. “What are you thinking about?” asked Twilight.

“I’m just wondering how everypony’s going to react to the new me.” AJ chuckled. “It’s pretty fun thinking of all the different situations.”

Twilight chuckled before her stomach grumbled slightly. “Hey, I’m starting to get a little hungry, could you hand me something please?”

“Sure.”

AJ reached over and unclipped one of the bags and peered in. “Hi!”

Screaming like a little girl; AJ leapt into Twilight’s legs. Not being the strongest pony, Twilight was having a bit of difficulty holding AJ up. “Too…heavy…” She collapsed to the floor with AJ on top of her. “Oww.” Once she got her bearings back she looked over to the bags and saw Pinkie’s smiling visage sticking out of the now open bag. She had three invitations in her mouth. “Pinkie, what are you doing here? Would you get off of me?”

AJ crawled off of Twilight. “Sorry.”

“Hi everypony! I just came to deliver the wedding invitations,” Pinkie said as she placed the invitations on the seat next to her.

Ditzy picked up one of the invitations. “Wedding invitations? Who’s getting married?”

“Lyra and Bon Bon of course!” Pinkie poked her right foreleg out of the bag and looked at a non existent watch and gasped. “Oh my gosh, look at the time! I have to get back! I’ll see everypony later!” She ducked her head back into the bag and everything was silent.

Ditzy cautiously walked over to the bags and peaked in to find nopony there. “How did…how did she do that?”

Twilight just shrugged. “It’s Pinkie Pie. After awhile you learn to stop asking questions.”

“Is everything alright back there?” asked one of the guards.

“Don’t worry, everything’s fine!” Twilight called out

********************

The carriage set down outside the library and the three of them went inside. “Spiiiike! We’re home!” Twilight set her saddle bags down next to the door. “Spike?”

“I wonder where Spike could be,” AJ said as he looked around the room.

Twilight walked over to the desk to see a note sitting on it. She picked it up and read.

Twilight

I’m over at Sweet Apple Acres. I’ll be back later.

Spike.

“Hmm, what would Spike be doing over at the farm?” Twilight asked. “If anywhere I expected him to be ogling Rarity.”

“Why don’t we go look,” AJ suggested. “I should probably make myself known to everypony anyway.”

“Could we stop by Sparkler’s house first? I’d like to see Dinky.”

“Of course we can. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again,” Twilight said with a smile.

********************

“Now where could they have gone?” Ditzy asked as they walked down the path to the farm. Sparkler’s house was empty, and so was Ditzy’s house when they went to drop off Ditzy’s bags.

“Good question, and now that I think about it the streets do seem a bit empty,” Twilight said. There were a few ponies here and there, but for the most part the town seemed pretty empty. “Maybe Spike will know.”

They got to the farm house and AJ knocked on the door. “Anypony home?” No answer. “Hmm, strange.”

They heard a crash from inside the barn. Ditzy pointed to the barn. “Maybe we should check in there.”

Using her magic Twilight pushed open the barn door to find Pinkie lying on the floor, rubbing her head with a banner draped over her. Pinkie looked over and gasped before jumping into a hay bail. Twilight walked in followed by Ditzy and AJ. “Pinkie? What’s going on?”

“SURPRIIIIISE!” shouted all the ponies in the barn.

“Mommy!” called Dinky as she ran up and leapt at her mother.

“Dinky!” Ditzy caught Dinky and hugged her for all she was worth earning an ‘awww’ from the crowd.

AJ smiled before turning back to the barn where he saw Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy coming towards Twilight. “Twilight darling, it’s good to see you again.”

“Ya got that right,” Applejack drawled. “Thin’s just ain’t th’ same without y’all here.”

“Umm, where’s AJ?” Fluttershy asked. “I thought he was coming back with you.”

Twilight looked to AJ and smiled. “Well, he’s right…”

“He’s right here you silly filly!” Pinkie interrupted as she jumped next to AJ.

The three ponies stared blankly at Pinkie. “Beg your pardon Pinkie, but AJ’s not a pony.”

“She’s quite right Pinkie,” Rarity added. “While it’s nice to meet this fine gentalcolt, he most certainly is not AJ.”

AJ laughed. “Well now I wouldn’t exactly say that.”

The ponies around them all looked at AJ as he just waved. “What!? But-but how is that even possible?” asked Rarity.

AJ shrugged. “You’d have to ask Princess Luna about the specifics of the spell she used.” He looked around the room and noticed the distinct lack of rainbow colored hair flying around. “Where’s Rainbow?”

“She’s over in Appleloosa visitin’ Breaburn. But wow, jus’ look at’cha. Yer a pony!” Applejack walked around AJ as if she was examining him. “Can’t say Ah was expectin’ this.”

“Nnope.” Drawled Big Mac. He along with Apple Bloom and Spike had worked their way through the crowd and sat down near Fluttershy.

“Hey, y’all aint got yer cutie mark!” Apple Bloom announced.

AJ looked down at his flank. “Nope. Guess I don’t.”

“Why not?”

AJ shrugged. “Guess I just have to find it like any other pony does. Why don’t we get to the party? I’d hate for everything to go to waste.”

“Yea! Partay!” Pinkie yelled.

********************

The party came to an end as the ponies started to file out of the barn. Twilight and Fluttershy stayed behind with Pinkie to help clean up the mess. Rarity would have helped, but she had a lot of orders to complete and this party had set her behind. Once everything was as clean as the barn could be Fluttershy took her leave.

“Well, it was great as usual Pinkie, but it’s time for me and Spike to get home. Right Spike?” She got no response. “Spike, where are you.” Last she had seen him he was cleaning up the mess with her.

With a smile Applejack spoke in a quiet voice. “Ah found’im Sugarcube.”

Twilight walked over to the hay bail Applejack was standing in front of. “Awww.” Apple Bloom was curled into a ball sleeping on top of the bail. Spike had his small body wrapped around hers with his head resting on her shoulder. “That’s so adorable.”

“They’ve been spendin’ a lot’o time together lately.” Applejack adjusted her hat. “Cutest darn thin’ Ah’ve seen in awhile. He’s free ta stay th’ night if it’s okay with y’all.”

“Thanks Applejack. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” After saying her goodbyes Twilight made her way back to the library.

She was happy to be home. Twilight wasn’t exactly tired yet, so she figured she would do some studying. “Now what should I study.” She scanned through the shelves until one book grabbed her attention. “Of course. Starswirl always makes good study material.” She levitated the book over to her study desk and went to sit down.

That’s when she noticed something under her desk. “What’s this?” She levitated the box in front of her. “Plot pounders 10? What kind of movie title is that?” She looked between the movie and the book. “I guess I could watch a movie tonight.” She left the book on her desk and walked over to the couch. Placing the movie in the slot she hit play. As soon as it started Twilight immediately stopped it, ejected the disk, and hurled it at the wall with as much force as she could; shattering it into pieces. With an intense blush Twilight looked at the box. “How did this get into the…SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!!!!!!!”

****************************************

((In case you couldn’t tell, AJ was saying “I can’t feel my anything” when Luna paralyzed him. Also sorry this is late. A friend and I went to go see 21 Jump Street. Not bad, but not great either.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Arachnophobia

Chapter 21

The sun pierced through the windows of Big Mac’s room telling him it was time to wake up. He stretched his body eliciting a few cracks her and there. Yawning he stepped out of his room to start the first thing on his list of things to do. Knowing that AJ probably needed help waking up again after his time in Canterlot, Big Mac decided to start with him. After knocking on the door he cracked it open and poked his head in. “Time ta wake up.” The lump in the sheets rolled around and grumbled something incoherent. “What was that?” Big Mac asked with a smile.

AJ lifted his body up and glared at the red blob in the door with bloodshot eyes. He was about to repeat himself, but stopped. Now that Big Mac was bigger than him it probably wasn’t the best idea to mouth off to him. So he decided to use nicer words from his vocabulary. “I said you suck, let me sleep.”

Big Mac chuckled. “Sorry, can’t do that. You have ta wake up just like th’ rest of us.” He left the room to continue his duties.

AJ sat there in bed for a minute attempting to wake up. He blinked his eyes over and over in a vain attempt to get them to focus. “Why can’t I see?” Then he realized he wasn’t wearing his glasses yet. He glanced over to the night stand where his glasses usually sat. He was already half blind without his glasses, and that was intensified ten fold due to how tired he was. He couldn’t see anything. “Where the hell are they?” He stuck his hoof out and started feeling around the table in search of his glasses.

Everything seemed so much easier once he was able to see. Getting himself out of bed he stretched his limbs with a big yawn. Using his magic he opened the curtains letting more sun through, brightening the room considerably. Shaking the remaining cobwebs from his head he turned to leave the room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he got about two meters from the door. Something had caught his eye.

********************

Applejack jumped out of bed when she heard a blood curdling scream. She rushed into the hallway to see Big Mac already at AJ’s door. “What’s goin’ on?!” she asked, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. She hadn’t had the time to get her hair ties in yet.

“No idea, but Ah plan on findin’ out!” Big Mac bucked the door open and rushed into the room with Applejack on his tail. There they saw AJ cowering on top of the dresser holding his knife’s scabbard in his magic. The knife itself was imbedded in the floor a little ways in front of them. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on…”

“STOP!! Don’t come any closer!” AJ lowered his voice to that of a whisper. “It will see you.” AJ launched the scabbard at the floor. It harmlessly bounced and skidded across the floor. “NO!! Now what am I going to do?!”

“What’re ya talkin’ about? What will see us?” Applejack asked in a slightly annoyed tone. It was too early to deal with something like this.

“That!” AJ pointed his shaky hoof at the floor near his knife.

Big Mac and Applejack scanned the floor for a few seconds before they saw what AJ was pointing at. On the floor, about a foot away from the knife sat a small spider, no bigger than a pencil eraser. Applejack stared at the shivering pony with a deadpan look. “That’s what all th’ fuss is about?”

“Yes!”

“It’s tiny.”

“IT WILL KILL US ALL!!!”

Applejack facehoofed. “What th’ hay’s with all th’ shoutin’?” came a voice from the door. Applejack and Big Mac turned to see Apple Bloom standing in the doorway rubbing her eyes.

Applejack let out a sigh. “Mr. Scardy Pony here’s scared of a tiny little spider.”

“THEY WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!” Apple Bloom walked over to the spider and looked at it. “Don’t get too close Apple Bloom. It’s just lying in wait for somepony to…”

He was interrupted as Apple Bloom lifted her leg and stomped down, squashing the spider. “There, it’s dead. Can Ah go back ta bed now?”

“Go right ahead. Try not ta sleep too late though,” Applejack said with a smile. Spike was still probably asleep in Apple Bloom’s bed and Applejack wanted to let her get back to him.

As Apple Bloom started to turn she was quickly swept up by AJ in a bone crushing hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re my hero!” After a little bit Apple Bloom was able to pry herself away from the hug and work her way back to her bedroom.

********************

“Watch out sugarcube, don’t want any spiders ta sneak up on ya,” Applejack said with a laugh. She and AJ were on their way to go sell apples. Applejack was pulling the stand, while AJ carried the still drowsy Spike on his back.

“Ha ha, hilarious,” AJ growled back.

“What’s so bad about spiders anyway?” Spike asked, ending his sentence with a yawn.

AJ sighed. “I don’t know. They’re just creepy, crawly, disgusting, revolting, abominations on man and pony kind...and I just don’t much care for them.”

“Ain’t that a bit much? They’re just bugs right?” Applejack asked.

“Arachnids, actually,” AJ stated, earning him a deadpan glance from Applejack. “Anyway, I wasn’t always so afraid of them. Hell I actually liked them when I was a kid.”

“How does one go from likin’ somethin’ ta nearly pissin’ himself at th’ mere sight of it?”

AJ shook his head. “Not entirely sure how it got to that point, but I think the biggest contributing factor was when I was a kid every now and then I would have this one dream.”

“A dream sounds really good right about now,” Spike commented. “It would mean I’d still be asleep.”

Applejack chuckled at Spike. “What kinda dream would do that?”

“It was always the same dream every time. I would be running down this gravel path with tall grass on both sides. Behind me there was this giant spider, easily ten times my size, chasing me. Why, I don’t know. No matter what I did it always knew where I was. I tried to hide in the grass, I tried running down side paths, nothing. In the distance I could always see my house, my one bit of safe haven, but it would never get any closer. I don’t remember any of them ever ending, if they even had an end. I would always wake up before anything could be resolved. Never put any thought into what they might mean. I always just figured it to be just another dream.”

Applejack thought to herself for a bit. “Ah’m not really inta th’ whole psychologimihuzits stuff. So Ah really can’t help ya there.”

“Don’t bother. I’m sure it’s nothing,” AJ said with a smile.

They continued down the path, making idle conversation until they came across the usual spot. “Alright. You go drop Spike off at th’ library while Ah set up th’ stand. Come back when yer done.”

AJ saluted Applejack. “Righty-o boss.”

********************

AJ knocked on the door to the library. Hoofsteps could be heard on the other side of the door. Twilight opened the door with a smile. That smile quickly turned to a scowl once she saw Spike. “Morning Twilight. Just here to drop off Spike. Something wrong?”

“Good morning.” Twilight grabbed Spike by one of the fins on the side of his head and dragged him over to her before glaring at him. “Oh, you are SO grounded.”

“Ouch, what did I do?! I kept the library clean. I didn’t stay up all night eating gem stones, I didn’t…” Spike stopped dead when Twilight levitated a DVD case in front of him. The blood drained from his face. “Oh shit…”

“SPIKE!!” A zipper formed on Spikes lips and zipped shut.

AJ grabbed the DVD case in his own magic. “Plot pounders 10? What kinda movie is that?”

“The kind baby dragons get grounded for watching,” Twilight said grabbing the case and throwing it away.

Spike unzipped the zipper. “Twilight, I can explain everything. You see, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and I had a sleep over, and Scootaloo brought over some movies and…”

Twilight re-zipped Spikes mouth. “I can’t believe you’re going to blame Scootaloo for this. You are in so much trouble. How could you bring such trash into the library.” Twilight slammed the door.

AJ just sat there for a minute listening to them argue trying to figure out what had just happened. Somewhere in there AJ heard Spike shout something about Twilight’s personal book stash, and ‘secret’ box hidden under Twilight’s bed. At that point he figured it was best to leave the two of them be and walked back to the stand.

********************

“So Big Mac’s not going to be home for dinner?” AJ asked. He and Applejack were on the way back to the farm.

It was a good day for sales so Applejack was in a good mood. “Nope. His meetin’ with th’ Mayor’s going ta take a while longer yet. An’ with Apple Bloom spendin’ th’ day at Rarity’s we got th’ house ta ourselves. More pie fer the two of us.”

“Dinner’s sounding pretty good right about now,” AJ said as he felt his stomach growl a little bit.

“Hold yer horses sugarcube. We gotta pack up th’ stand first.”

AJ put on a fake pout. “Ugh, fine. Slave driver,” he said with a smile. He and Applejack laughed as they came up on the farm. “Oh by the way, have you ever heard of a movie called Plot Pounders 10?” Applejack stumbled and nearly fell on her face. AJ looked over to see that she was blushing. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was agape. “What?”

Applejack took a few seconds to get her bearings. “I-uh, umm, why’d ya ask?” Applejack had a big, sheepish smile on her face.

“Well, when I brought Spike back to the library Twilight grounded him for apparently watching the movie.”

Applejack looked shocked again. “Twilight had a movie like that in th’ library?”

AJ shrugged. “Apparently. Though Spike did say something about Scoot’s bringing it over or something like that. She threw the movie away after she confronted Spike with it.” They stood there for a few seconds. “Sooo?”

“So what?”

“Are you going to tell me what the movie is?”

Applejack began to blush again as she let out a sigh. “Well, it’s a…”

“AHH!!!”

AJ and Applejack both looked at the farm house. “What was that?!”

“That sounded like Rainbow!”

AJ looked at Applejack. “I thought you said she was in Appleloosa right now!”

“Guess Ah was wrong, come on!” Applejack quickly unhitched herself and bolted into the farmhouse. AJ quickly followed behind her. They heard more screaming coming from upstairs and followed it to one of the rooms.

“She’s in here!”

Applejack bucked the door down and the two of them rushed in the room. “Rainbow, we’re here ta OH SWEET CELESTIA!!!”

In front of them on the bed sat Rainbow Dash and Braeburn. Both of them had wide eyes, mouths agape, and their faces were burning with embarrassment as they lay there, connected at the hips. Applejack and AJ had just barged in on the two mid-rut. “Oh, wow. This is awkward,” AJ said as he tried to look anywhere but the scene unfolding before him.

As quickly as she could, Rainbow pulled off of Braeburn and covered them both with the blanket. “Uhhh hey guys heheh. How uh, how are you this fine evening?”

Blushing like mad, Applejack turned away. “S-sorry, we’ll just…”

“Hey wait a minute.” AJ interrupted. “This is my room! Aw come on, now I have to wash those sheets!”

Applejack smacked him in the back of the head and glared at him. “Shush you!” She quickly exited the room. After he finished rubbing his head AJ followed behind her; lifting the door back into the jam to be fixed later.

Rainbow and Braeburn just laid there in the bed for a minute just staring at the door. After a while Braeburn turned to Rainbow. “So uh, you didn’t wanna continue, did ya?”

“Not really, no.”

“Good, neither did Ah.”

********************

The two ponies apprehensively came down stairs about a half an hour later. Before coming down they both made sure to take showers to wash any hints of the deeds they had just done. As they passed the kitchen a delightful aroma filled their nostrils. They turned into the kitchen and stopped dead when they saw Applejack and AJ getting ready for dinner. AJ was the first to notice the two of them as he brought some plates over to the table. “Hey, pull up a chair. Plenty of food to go around.”

“Umm, sure,” Rainbow sheepishly said; slowly making her way to the table and sitting down. She kept her eyes on the indigo pony walking around the room. “So who’s the new pony anyway?”

Applejack looked over and smiled. “That’s right. Ya weren’t at th’ party last night so ya wouldn’t know.”

“Know what?”

“That’s AJ.”

Rainbow just stared at Applejack for a moment before busting out laughing. “Hahahaha, good one Applejack, but seriously, who is he?”

“No seriously, it’s me. What, I haven’t changed that much have I?” AJ asked jokingly as he looked at himself.

Dash’s eyes widened in shock. “What?! How is that even possible?!”

“Don’t ask.”

It was about then that Applejack noticed that Braeburn was still in the other room. He sat there shuffling his hooves from side to side. “Aint’cha hungry Braeburn?” Applejack asked as she turned her head from the oven.

He refused to look Applejack in the eyes. He was just too embarrassed. “Ah…Ah think Ah’ll just stay out here.”

Applejack sighed. “Braeburn, what happened up there was embarrassin’, but ya can’t let it get ta ya. Me an’ Big McIntosh don’t let embarrassin’ things stop us. We just shake’em off and go on with th’ day.”

“Things like what?” AJ asked.

Applejack felt he face heat up. “Um, well, ya know…things.”

“They’ve probably walked in on each other clopping or something like that,” Rainbow said completely straight faced. Applejacks reaction told her she was right. Braeburn had his hoof to his mouth trying to hold in his laughter. He made his way into the kitchen at last.

AJ looked confused. “Clopping?”

“You know, masturbating.” AJ mouthed an ‘oh.’

Applejack facehooved. “So Braeburn, what’re ya doin in Ponyville?”

Braeburn smiled. “Ah figured Ah should come ta visit y’all more often. With Rainbow goin’ home it gave me a good reason ta come.”

Applejack nodded. “Makes sense.” She placed the last of the food on the table. “Soup’s on eveypony, dig in!”

“By the way Applejack, you never did tell me what that movie was,” AJ said as he served himself some pie.

Applejack groaned. “Can’t we just drop it?”

“What movie?” Rainbow asked.

“Plot Pounders 10.”

“Oh, it’s a porno.”

“An’ just how do ya know that?” Braeburn asked with a grin.

“I needed some way to get off before we got together,” Rainbow said with a smug grin.

“Hot,” AJ jokingly said with a laugh.

“OKAY, THAT’S IT!!! NO MORE TALKIN’ DURIN' DINNER!!! EVERYPONY JUST SHUT UP AN’ EAT!!!” Applejack shouted.

********************

Big Mac finally walked through the door with Apple Bloom following behind him at around seven. Apple Bloom immediately ran up to her room to play as Big Mac went into the living room. There he found AJ passed out on the couch, snoring loudly, with his left hind leg twitching in the air as he dreamed. “He passed out shortly after dinner.” Big Mac turned his head to see Applejack motioning for him to go into the kitchen with her. Entering the kitchen; Big Mac sat down in a chair. “You hungry?”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac looked into the living room. “Not that Ah mind, but what’s he doin’ sleepin’ on th’ couch?”

“He let Braeburn use his bed while he’s in town.”

Big Mac raised his eyebrow. “Braeburn’s here?”

“He’s out in th’ barn practicin’ fer th' Appleloosa Rodeo right now,” Applejack said as she motioned out the window. “So how’d th’ meetin’ with th’ Mayor go?”

“Not too bad,” Big Mac said as he lowered his head slightly. “Taxes’re goin’ ta be raised slightly. Nothin’ we won’t be able ta handle though.”

“Is it goin’ ta be a permanent increase?” Applejack asked as she placed some of the leftovers on the table.

“Nnope. Just till th’ end of th’ year. Mayor Mare had th’ idea ta help build up th’ emergency reserves incase Ponyville has anymore incidents.” Big Mac smiled at his sister. “Thank ya kindly.”

“Mah pleasure,” Applejack said with a smile. She sat down with a mug of hard cider as Big Mac began to eat.

As he ate, Big Mac noticed that Applejack’s smile was slowly but surly turning into a sad frown. She gave a sad sigh as she took a swig of her drink. “Somethin’ wrong?”

Applejack was silent for a moment. “Do you think we’ll ever lose th’ farm?” Big Mac raised an eyebrow and looked at her; silently begging her to continue. “What if…what if th’ farm get’s destroyed again, an’ we can’t rebuild? Or what if we die like mom an’ dad an’ there’s nopony to pass on our genes? There’d be nopony ta take care of th’ farm when we’re gone! Or…”

Applejack was cut off as Big Mac wrapped her in a hug. “Ah know ya worry ‘bout th’ farm Applejack. Ah do too; all th’ time, but ya can’t keep dwellin’ on that kinda thing. If th’ farm gets destroyed, we’ll rebuild and replant if need be. Us Apples’re strong. We can fight through anything if we try.” He got a mischievous grin on his face. “An’ it’s kinda funny ta hear mah fillyfoolin’ sister talk about passin’er genes on.”

Applejack giggled. She knew Big Mac was just joking around. He always did, and he never meant any harm. Big Mac had made it very clear from early on that he would have been proud of both Applejack and Apple Bloom no matter what choices they made. “Thank’s Big McIntosh. Ah guess ah am bein’ a little foalish, aint ah?” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, what about you? Do ya have a special somepony yet?”

Big Mac was happy for his crimson coat. “W-well ah have found somepony ah like, but ah don’t know if she likes me back.”

“Ah’m sure Fluttershy’ll say yes if ya just ask’er.”

Big Mac’s eyes widened as a noticeable blush started to show through. “H-how do…”

“Mare’s intuition,” Applejack said with a laugh. “Ah’ve seen how ya look an’ act around’er when she visit’s. It’s not hard ta put two an’ two together.”

Big Mac smiled. “An’ Ah thought Ah hid it so well.” He sat back down to finish his dinner.

********************

“So I actually get to buck today?” AJ asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Eeyup. Ah think yer finally ready ta help us harvest now,” Big Mac said.

“And by finally ready you mean now that I’m a pony, right?” AJ asked with a smirk.

Big Mac chuckled. “Eeyup.”

“Thought so.” With a smile AJ walked up to the tree they were standing in front of. “Alright, let’s do this.”

“Don’t get too exited now. It’s not as easy as it looks. It takes practice ta be a proper apple bucker.” Big Mac watched as AJ eyed up the tree and turn around. “Don’t be discouraged if ya don’t knock them all down on th’ first kick.”

“Please, I watched you and Applejack do this tons of times. I think I can handle it,” AJ confidently said.

“Oh really? Alright then, let’s see how ya do.”

Making sure he was lined up with the tree, AJ planted his front hooves. He reared up and thrust his hind legs out at the tree. Upon connecting with the tree only one thought that ran through his mind. There was only one thing that could describe this incredible sensation what he was feeling. “AAAAHHHH!!!” AJ fell to the ground, and began rolling around in pain. After kicking the solid tree it felt like he had just shattered the bones in his legs. To add insult to injury the apples he actually managed to knock down ended up falling on top of him. He was too busy writhing around to even notice Big Mac laughing.

After a minute AJ was finally done making a scene, and Big Mac was able to regain his composure. “So, are ya ready ta listen now?”

AJ got up and shook out his legs as he glared at the bigger stallion. He was about to throw a 'witty retort' at him when suddenly, “AJ, Ah gotta new job fer ya.” He turned to see Applejack and a bouncing Apple Bloom. “Yer goin’ ta babysit th’ Cutie Mark Crusaders t'day.”

“It’s not babysittin’ Applejack. He’s goin’ ta become an official member of th’ Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom said with extreme glee.

“I’m going to be a what now?”

“Well, Ah figured that since ya don’t have a cutie mark yet, we could help ya find it while ya help us find ours! Ah ran it by th’ girls yesterday and they agreed. Come on, we have ta hurry ta Carousel Boutique!” Apple Bloom quickly ran down the path.

AJ turned to Applejack. “I don’t get a choice in this, do I?”

Applejack shook her head. “Think of it as an extra job ya have ta do sometimes. You watch over’em fer us an’ make sure they ain’t gettin’ inta too much trouble. You'll still get paid fer a full day’s work.”

AJ sighed. “Guess I should probably get over to Rarity’s then. I’ll see you later.”

AJ started to follow Apple Bloom down the path only to see her running back. “Hurry up ya slow poke! We still have ta initiate ya as a crusader!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” AJ increased his pace to a gallop to follow Apple Bloom.

********************

“Now just where is Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked. She, Sweetie Belle, and AJ were waiting under the tree next to the boutique.

“I don’t know. She said she would be here a half an hour ago,” Sweetie Belle said. “Maybe we should go get her.”

“Let’s give her a little bit yet. Maybe she had to do some chores or something before coming. Happened to my friends all the time,” AJ said matter of factly.

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin. “Ah don’t know. She usually finds some way ta skip out on’er chores if she can. Maybe she got sick or somethin’.”

“If that’s the case we should probably go see how she’s doing.” AJ stood up. As he did he felt something drop onto his back near his withers. “What was that?”

“Eww, it’s a spider!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

AJ tensed up as the blood drained from his face. “Spider?” He slowly turned his head to see a big spider slowly moving along his body.

The two little fillies watched as AJ stared at it with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. He was shaking uncontrollably. “Um AJ, are ya okay?” Apple Bloom asked.

“SPIIIIIDEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!” Like a bolt of lightning AJ was gone. He was running around the area like a bat out of hell, screaming his head off, trying to get the spider off his back.

“What in Celestia’s name is going on out here?!” shouted Rarity as she opened the door of the boutique. All the commotion had interrupted her creative flow and she couldn’t have that. “What is with all the screaming and hollering?!” It didn’t take long for Rarity to get an answer as she saw AJ blindly running straight at her. Screaming she dove for cover and slammed the door; only for AJ to run straight into it head first. When Rarity opened her eyes she saw many long, snakelike cracks in the door leading to an indigo horn sticking through it.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were about to rush over to help AJ when they heard something up in the tree. “Is that…laughing?” Sweetie Belle asked. The two fillies looked up to see something squirming around in the branches of the tree. The object suddenly shifted and fell off the branch it was perched upon; landing on the ground with a thud. “Scootaloo?!”

Squirming on the ground in both hysterical laughter and pain from the fall was Scootaloo. “HAHAHAHAHAHAH! THAT’S HILARIOUS! OW MY RI-HI-HI-HIBS!”

Rarity, who had rushed out the back door of the boutique, came up behind the stunned AJ. His horn was still embedded in the door. “What in Celestia’s name were you doing?! You ruined my door!”

“Sph…spider…evil…dooooooomed…” AJ managed to garble out before unceremoniously falling limp as unconsciousness took him.

“Spider?” Rarity looked over to see a spider lying next to AJ. Using her magic she apprehensively lifted the spider up to examine it. It didn’t take her long to notice that it was made out of plastic and had a thin, nearly un-seeable thread tied around it. “This is fake.”

“A fake spider?” Apple Bloom put two and two together. “Scootaloo, did you do this?!” Scootaoo was still laughing as she got to her hooves. “That wasn’t very nice Scootaloo! Ya know he’s terrified of’em!” Unfortunately for AJ, Apple Bloom had told her fellow crusaders about AJ’s little incident the previous morning.

“Aw lighten up Apple Bloom. It was funny.” Scootaloo fell to her rump as she began laughing again. She stopped when she noticed it get a lot darker. Opening her eyes she saw an angry Rarity holding the spider standing in front of her. “Uh oh.”

********************

“Thank you for coming over on such short notice Fluttershy. He’s right over there on the couch,” Rarity said as she led Fluttershy into her living room.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all Rarity,” Fluttershy said with a smile. Fluttershy walked over to the couch and removed the ice pack to inspect AJ’s head. “Oh my, how did this happen?”

Rarity gave a ladylike snort and looked over to the corner. “Yes Scootaloo, how did this happen?” In the corner Scootaloo was sitting on a stool with her forelegs crossed and a scowl on her face. Rarity made her sit in the corner and wear a stylish fuchsia dunce cap for what she had done. She grumbled something nopony could hear. “What was that dear?”

Scootaloo groaned. “I pranked AJ and he got hurt because of it.”

“Oh dear, you shouldn’t do that Scootaloo. What if he was severely injured?” said Fluttershy.

“So head trauma and brain damage isn’t severe?” AJ moaned out as he lay limp on the couch. He was still dazed from his intimate encounter with a door.

“Darling I’m sure you’re fine. It's just a…little bump,” Rarity said with a sheepish smile.

“I don’t know, it looks pretty big to…” Sweetie Belle was interrupted as Rarity stuck a hoof in her mouth.

“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “You might want to take it easy for a bit though.”

“So we won’t be able ta do any crusadin’ t'day?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I’m afraid not Apple Bloom,” Rarity said; the relief clear in her voice. "It will just have to wait till tomorrow.”

“We can still make him an official member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders though, right?” Sweetie Belle asked with hope.

Fluttershy gave her a warm smile. “I don’t see why not.”

With glee Sweetie Belle rushed into her room and returned carrying a folded cloth. She placed it on the floor in front of her and Apple Bloom. “Alright now, repeat after me. Ah solemnly swear…” Instead of repeating what Apple Bloom said AJ just groaned. “Aw come on, you have ta repeat after me. It don’t count unless ya do.”

“Now Apple Bloom remember, he’s had a rough day,” said Rarity. “I’m sure he’d repeat what you said if he wasn’t feeling so crummy. Isn’t that right AJ.”

“Mmhm.”

Apple Bloom started pouting. “Ah guess its fine. Just nod if ya agree then. Alright let’s try this again. Ah solemnly swear…That Ah will work hard ta help mah fellow crusaders find their cutie marks. And if Ah find mah own cutie mark…Ah promise that Ah will continue mah quest an’ help mah fellow crusaders find their own.” AJ nodded after each break. “Then it’s official! Welcome ta th’ Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“To commemorate this, I made you a matching cape!” With unsteady magic, Sweetie Belle lifted up the cloth and unfolded it. It looked like the other crusader capes, but bigger. There was also one more very big difference. “I asked Rarity if I could use more of her golden silk but she said no.”

“And I’m very proud of you Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said with a big smile. “You remembered to ask before you used it this time.”

Sweetie Belle’s smile grew. “Since I couldn’t use the gold silk, I had to find some other fabric to line it with!” She turned the cape around to show the inside of the cape. The lining was a turquoise color fabric. It looked to be extremely soft and practically glowed in the light. “I think it still looks nice.”

When Rarity saw the material Sweetie Belle used she shrieked and ran down stairs. “SWEETIE BEEEEEEELLE!!!!!!!” She came stomping back upstairs holding a piece of turquoise fabric with a big hole cut in it. Her eye was twitching as she stomped closer to Sweetie. “How could you use this fabric?! Do you realize how hard it is to get a hold of it?!”

“Umm, no?”

“You can’t get this in Equestria. It must be special ordered and shipped over from the Griffin kingdom!” Rarity started pacing around in anger.

“Ah think we should get goin’, right Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom said as she started backing out of the room.

“Oh yeah.” Scootaloo was more than happy to remove the cap and get off of the stool. “We’ll see you later Sweetie Belle.” The two fillies ran down the stairs and out of the building.

“Wait! Don’t leave me here alone!” Sweetie cried out. She looked over to Rarity who was glaring down at her. She started shuffling her hooves on the floor. “I’m sorry Rarity.”

Rarity let out a frustrated sigh. “I know you are Sweetie Belle, but I have to do this. You’re grounded for the rest of the day.”

“Okay.” Sweetie Belle slowly made her way into her bedroom and closed the door.

********************

“Looks like yer first day as a crusader went about as well as Ah expected,” Applejack said with a laugh.

Before Fluttershy had left the boutique she had wrapped the top of AJ’s head in bandages. When Applejack saw him coming down the path with a wrapped up head and a cape lazily draped over his back she knew something had happened. The sad thing was she almost expected something like this to happen so she wasn’t really surprised. “Yea about that, how much do you think a new door for the boutique would cost.”

“Why do ya ask?”

“No reason.” AJ walked past Applejack.

****************************************

((I think I may secretly have something against doors. Why else would I abuse them so much in this chapter. As for the spider stuff, I fucking HATE Spiders. HATE, HATE, HAAAAATE spiders. I have actually used the ‘take over the world’ and ‘kill us all’ lines when describing spiders. And that dream is an actual dream I used to have when I was younger.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Some Wounds Never Heal

Chapter 22

“Are you sure ya want this?” Big Mac asked.

“Yes, please. I need this,” groaned AJ as he lay under the big red stallion.

“Alright, if yer sure. Here we go.” Big Mac pushed hard.

“AHH!!! Oh Celestia it hurts!” AJ cried as Big Mac went to work. “Stop for a minute, stop, STOP!!!”

Big Mac looked down at AJ as he panted in pain. “Are ya sure you want ta continue? Ah could stop at any time.”

“No, it’s okay. Please continue.”

“Alright.” Slowly Big Mac started to push into AJ eliciting multiple grunts of intense pain.

Big Mac gave one big, solid push. “AHH!!! Oh, oh that actually felt pretty good.” He shifted his body. “Never mind! The pain’s back!”

“How’re things goin’ in here?” Applejack asked as she walked into the living room. “Anything go?”

Big Mac sighed. “Nnope.” He crawled off of AJ. “Ah wasn’t able ta get anything ta move. Ah think he’s goin’ ta need some professional help.”

After Scootaloo’s prank, the worst AJ thought he would have to deal with was a big lump on his head. It wasn’t until he woke up that he started feeling an intense, debilitating pain in his back. Something must have shifted when he ran head first into the door and he was just now feeling the effects. He was barely able to get out of bed, let alone make it down the steps to eat. He practically begged Big Mac to at least try to do something about the pain. “I think…I think I’m going to just lie here for awhile and suffer.”

Applejack thought for a moment. “Ya know, Ah think ah may know what might help ya.”

AJ looked at Applejack with pleading eyes. “I’ll do anything, please.”

“Well, Rarity an’ Fluttershy are havin’ their weekly meetin’ at th’ Ponyville Spa t’day. Ah’m sure they’d allow ya to join them,” Applejack said. “Ah really don’t care fer th’ place, but they might be able ta help ya with yer back problems.”

“The spa?”

Applejack nodded. “It’s worth a shot.”

AJ put a hoof to his chin. “I suppose I could try it. Do you know when they meet?”

“Ah think it’s usually around noon.”

AJ looked over to the clock. It was about eight in the morning. “Hmm, I still have a few hours then. That should give me enough time to make it to Rarity’s before she leaves then.” AJ grunted as he attempted to get up off the floor before slumping back down in failure. “Big Mac, assistance please. I can’t get up.”

********************

So far Rarity’s day was looking good. She woke up to breakfast in bed that Sweetie Belle had made her in an attempt to say sorry for using her fabric. While it wasn’t the most pleasant smell to wake up to, and it was mostly inedible, it was the thought that counted. She did at least manage to make the toast without liquefying it this time. After her usual morning routine, she opened her boutique and decided to clean up a bit as she waited for the time to pass.

A knock could be heard at the door. “Cooomiiiiing,” sang Rarity as she went to answer the it. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is…” Rarity stopped her usual introduction when she saw who it was at the door. Big Mac was standing there with his usual stoic look. Next to him AJ was fighting just to stay on his hooves. “Darling, what’s wrong?”

“Hurt his back somethin’ fierce,” Big Mac said. “We were hopin’ he could join y’all at th’ spa t’day.”

Rarity watched as AJ collapsed to his haunches with a pained grunt. “Oh dear, is this because of that dreadful prank Scootaloo pulled yesterday?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” grunted AJ. “All I know is I can barley move.”

“Scootaloo did this?” Big Mac questioned.

“Yes. She even ruined my precious door,” Rarity said as she pointed at the cracked indent with a hole in the center of it. “It will be a week before I can get a replacement.”

“Maybe Ah should go have a little talk with’er parents. So, you think he could join ya then?”

“Oh of course darling. The more the merrier,” Rarity said with a bright smile. “It will be a while before we go though, why don’t you come in and relax until then.”

********************

Big Mac walked up the walkway to Scootaloo’s house and knocked on the door. “I’ll be there in a minute!” came a stallion’s voice. After a short wait Sunburst answered the door with a smile. “Mr. McIntosh, good to see you again.”

Big Mac smiled. “Big Mac will do. Am Ah here at a bad time?”

“Not at all, just getting ready to leave for work in a bit. Anything I can help you with?”

Big Mac cleared his throat. “Well, Ah’m here ta talk to ya about Scootaloo.”

Sunburst’s smile fell. “What about Scootaloo?”

“Well, she apparently pulled a prank yesterday that ended in some pretty nasty results.”

Sunburst facehoofed as he sighed. “What did she do?”

“Ah wasn’t told th’ details, but Ms. Rarity’s door ended up gettin’ busted up, and ah now got a worker who’s out’a commission with back problems.”

“Oh for the love of…Scootaloo come here this instant!” Sunburst yelled into the house.

Not long after Scootaloo came up to the door with a duster in her mouth. Spitting it out, she looked up at her dad. “What?”

“Don’t you ‘what’ me young lady. You’re already grounded for stealing that movie.”

********************

“You better not be lying to me about this Spike. If you are…”

“I promise I’m not lying,” said Spike as he and Twilight walked up to the door of Scootaloo’s house. Spike had finally managed to convince Twilight to let him prove his innocence. “Just trust me on this Twilight.” Spike knocked on the door. “You did bring the case, right?”

Twilight groaned. “Yes. I feel so dirty just carrying this thing.”

Moments later Sunny Delight answered the door. “Oh, Twilight hello. How are you this afternoon?” She suddenly gasped as her eyes got wide. “Oh no, is my library book overdue?”

Twilight giggled. “No, I’m not here about a book. I’m actually here about this.” Making sure nopony was looking in there direction, Twilight opened her saddlebags and flashed the movie case.

Shocked, Sunny looked around to make sure nopony had seen the case. Jumping behind Twilight she quickly started pushing her into the house. “W-why don’t you two come in for awhile,” she said with a big, fake smile.

As the three of them sat down Twilight placed the case on the table. “Sooo, I assume this is yours then.”

Sunny nodded sheepishly. “We…noticed it was missing a few days ago.”

“I told you it wasn’t mine,” Spike said with a smile. Twilight looked at Spike with an angry stare.

“But how did you get it?” Sunny asked as she picked up the case. “How would it have gotten into the library?”

“It was Scootaloo. She brought it over when we had the sleep over.” Spike eagerly said trying to clear his name.

“She did?” Sunny looked confused.

“Yea. She even told us she took it from her dad’s ‘special’ movie cabinet when she pulled it out. You can even ask Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.”

Sunny bit her lip. “Well the cabinet was open that night.” Her voice got low. “We just thought we forgot to close it the last time we…” She opened the case. “Where’s the movie?”

A small blush grew on Twilights face. “Eheh, well it’s a funny story. You see…”

It was at that moment they heard the front door open. “Mom, I’m home!” Scootaloo walked into the kitchen and saw Twilight and Spike sitting there. “Hey guys. What are you doing here?”

“Scootaloo!” Sunny said in a demanding tone.

“What?” Scootaloo looked at her mother. That’s when she saw the movie case. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “Oh crap...”

********************

“Stupid Spike,” Scootaloo said under her breath. If he hadn’t come over and snitched on her she wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

“Scootaloo, did you prank somepony yesterday?” Sunburst demanded.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Umm, no.”

“Don’t lie to me young lady, Big Mac here tells me you not only damaged Ms. Rarity’s property, but you also hurt somepony. Is this true?” He started glaring down at his daughter.

Scootaloo started to slowly back off from her father’s angry gaze. “I-I umm uhh…” She kept looking into her dad’s eyes until her resolve eventually cracked. She lowered her head and turned away. “Yeeees.”

Sunburst let out a frustrated snort. “Why would you do something like that? We taught you better than that.” Scootaloo didn’t answer. There wasn’t anything she could say that would make her case look any better. “I can’t believe this. You’re grounded for another two weeks.”

“What?! But that’s an entire month!” Scootaloo shouted.

“Mmhm. You do the crime, you do the time. Now, you have some chores to finish up,” Sunburst said as he pointed back into the house. Grumbling to herself, Scootaloo picked up the duster and walked back into the house. Sunburst sighed. “Thanks for telling me about this Big Mac. Hopefully she’ll learn her lesson after this.”

“No problem at all,” Big Mac drawled out. “Ah gotta get back ta th’ farm. Ah’ll talk ta ya later.”

********************

It was about 12:13 when Rarity and AJ came through the doors of the spa. As usual Fluttershy was there early, and was busy reading a magazine. “So terribly sorry I’m late Fluttershy, but the poor darling just couldn’t make it here himself.”

To emphasize Rarity’s point AJ slinked over to one of the couches and unceremoniously plopped down with a grunt. “Don’t mind me. I’ll try to die in peace.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I hope you don’t mind him joining us today.”

“It’s no trouble at all, but what happened to him?” Fluttershy asked with concern.

“Apparently the after effects of Scootaloo’s little prank.” Rarity looked up to Lotus. “The regular for us, and I think he will require the deluxe massage.”

Lotus smiled. “Of course Ms. Rarity. Right zis way please.”

AJ was led to a separate room where an androgynous cream colored mare stood by a table. “And what can I do for you today?” Quake asked.

“He needs a deluxe massage right away,” Aloe said as she led AJ over to the table.

Quake nodded. “Lay him on the table please. I will get the proper oils.” With a gentle touch, Aloe helped AJ onto the table before leaving the room. A moment later Quake returned with a tray of scented oils on her back. “Alright, the deluxe package comes with chiropractic work, a full body massage, and magic therapy.” She placed a hoof on AJ’s back and lightly pressed causing him to tense up and cry out in pain. “And from the looks of it you need it.” Placing the tray on a nearby table Quake got up on her hind legs and placed her forelegs on AJ’s back.

Using her mastered technique, she quickly moved up and down AJ’s spine. As she searched she would thrust down causing an audible pop as something fell back into alignment. The procedure was painful to say the least, causing AJ to bite down on the pillow his head was resting on. After a few minutes it seemed as if she was done. “D-did you get everything?” AJ asked with the pillow still clenched in his teeth.

“Not done yet.” Quakes hooves moved to around the center of his back where she started massaging the area around the spine. AJ groaned in both pain and relief as the sore muscles were worked. This caused AJ to start to relax his body.

Then in one sudden movement, before AJ could react, Quake moved back to his spine and thrust down.

CRACK!!!

AJ threw his head back as pillow fluff went flying into the air. It was so sudden and painful AJ didn’t have time to let go of the pillow causing him to tear a chunk off. His mouth fell open in a silent scream. Quake got down from the table. “Chiropractic procedure is over with.” She looked over and saw that tears were starting to roll down AJ’s cheeks.

Quake started the full body massage as quickly as possible to try to ease AJ’s pain. Thankfully it worked like a charm as he began relaxing shortly after she started. The massage went well. Quake’s masterful hooves worked over every tense muscle in his body, hitting all the right areas. If AJ hadn’t have known any better, he would have thought he was in heaven. He was in such bliss he didn’t even realize she had removed her hooves and walked in front of him until he felt a pair of hooves rest at the base of his horn. “Huh? What’s going on?”

“It is the final step of the full body massage for unicorns,” Quake said before starting to massage the area. “It is important for unicorns to release any excess magic. If this is not done you could become very sick. This can be done with a simple massage at the base of the horn.”

As the massage continued AJ began to feel an odd sensation slowly begin to build up. “This feels…strange.” He felt his face heat up slightly as the sensation grew. Minutes went by as the feeling got more and more intense as he felt the magic begin to build. His horn even began to give off a light glow. “Are…are you sure this…is a normal…procedure?” AJ asked in between pants.

“As I said, it is the final step for unicorns. If you were a pegasus it would be a massage of the sensitive muscles of the wings, or the strong muscles in the legs for an Earth pony. Now please just relax,” Quake said as she continued to work. Suddenly the sensation hit a peak. The build up of magic suddenly erupted from the tip of his horn as the air became filled with the smell of ozone. AJ slumped over breathing heavily; face burning crimson, as Quake got up with a smile. “Very good. Now lie there and relax. Midnight Dreams should be in shortly for your magic therapy.”

Before leaving Quake walked around the room and lit the many scented candles that littered the room. She shut the lights off and walked into the hallway. Closing the door as she did. As AJ’s mind came back to him only one thought came to his mind. “I think…I think I just magiculated.” He continued to lie there as the scented candles replaced the scent of ozone with a much more agreeable smell. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was; all he knew is he loved it.

A few minutes later he heard the door open. Looking up he saw a midnight blue unicorn mare with a pearlescent blue mane. Her cutie mark was a crescent moon sleeping on a cloud. But the thing that drew AJ’s attention was her dark green eyes. Just staring into those soft eyes seemed to take all his troubles away. “Hello, my name is Midnight Dreams. I will be performing your magic therapy.” She turned her head with a slight blush. “I’m still new here. In fact you’re one of my first customers, so I’m sorry if I mess up.” She walked up to the bed and lowered her head so the tip of her horn was touching the very top of his spine. “Okay, here we go.”

The feeling was almost immediate. Pulse after pulse of magic was being sent into AJ’s body, soothing and relaxing every part of him. She slowly worked her way down his spine. It wasn’t long before AJ’s body started going limp. Shortly after that his world went black.

********************

“AJ. Wake up AJ,” came a voice from somewhere.

AJ opened his eyes as his senses slowly came back to him. He had become so relaxed during the magical therapy he ended up falling asleep. As the world began to become clearer he saw Rarity’s smiling face in front of him. “Wha? Where am I?”

“You fell asleep during your treatment,” she said. “Don’t worry; it happened to me the first time I got the deluxe massage. It does feel wonderful, doesn’t it?”

AJ looked around the room he was in. Sure enough he was still lying on the padded massage table. He did notice one difference though. The pillow his head was resting on had been replaced at some point. He slowly stood up and stretched his limbs; happy to realize he could actually do it. “How long was I out?”

“I’m not sure. If I had to guess probably about a half an hour,” Rarity said with a hoof to her chin. “But that’s beside the point. How are you feeling?”

“Much better. A little sore still, but nothing I can’t handle.” AJ got down from the table and followed Rarity out into the lobby.

“And don’t worry about paying. It’s already been taken care of,” Rarity said as she walked by the counter giving a smile to Lotus as she passed.

“Wow, thanks Rarity,” AJ said with a smile. Looking around the lobby he noticed a distinct lack of a certain butter yellow pegasus. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“She had to go take care of her animals. She didn’t have the time to wait for you to wake up like I did,” Rarity said with a smirk as she looked over her shoulder.

“I couldn’t help it.”

As they walked out the door they were blindsided by Pinkie Pie who was carrying a basket full of invitations on her head. “Hiya guys!”

“Why, hello…Pinkie Pie,” said Rarity as she straightened herself out.

“The Cakes are gone tomorrow, and I’m having a party! You two are invited!” Pinkie said as she dipped her head down for easier access to the basket.

Rarity and AJ both took an invite. AJ read over the invite. “Looks like it’s just going to be a casual get together tomorrow night. Sure, why not.”

“Oh goodie!”

“I guess I will see you tomorrow then. I think I need another once over at the spa. Ta Ta!” Rarity said as she trotted back through the door.

AJ thought for a moment. “Hey Pinkie, do you think I could invite Ditzy to the party?”

“Of course! The more the merrier!” Pinkie said with a bright smile. “So, are you finally planning on asking her out or something?”

AJ’s face erupted with blush. “W-what?!”

“Oh come on. Now that you’re a pony there’s no reason for you not to!” Pinkie said with a giggle. “Whelp, time to go deliver more invitations, bye-bye!” Pinkie sped away in the direction of the library.

********************

“Stupid Pinkie Pie,” AJ grumbled as he walked down the street; the blush still visible on his face. It wasn’t long before he came up to Carrot Top’s house. He walked up to the door. “Needs to butt out of other pony’s business.” He wasn’t paying attention when he lifted a leg to knock on the door. Oddly enough when he hit something it didn’t feel like a wooden door. It felt much softer than wood, and...fluffier?

“Oww!”

Hearing the yelp, AJ turned his attention to the door. There he saw Carrot Top, sitting on her haunches, rubbing her forehead; she was wearing her saddlebags. It looked like she was about to go out to do some shopping. “Oh crap, I’m so sorry!”

“No, don’t worry. I’m fine.” She said as she stood up. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I was just wondering if Ditzy was home yet.”

“Did I hear my name?” Ditzy asked as she poked her head out of the kitchen; her mouth full of muffin. Seeing who was at the door Ditzy quickly swallowed what was in her mouth and came to the door. “AJ, how are you today?”

“Well, while you two chat, I’m going shopping.” Carrot Top walked around AJ and towards the market.

“So what’s up?” Ditzy asked with a smile.

“Well, Pinkie is having a little get together at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow night. I was wondering if you wanted to go,” AJ said with a hopeful smile.

“Tomorrow night?” She put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well, it is a work night, but I guess I could stop over for awhile.”

AJ’s smile grew. “Awesome! I’ll come around and pick you up at about six. See you then!”

********************

“Yay, you made it!” shouted Pinkie as she opened the door for AJ and Ditzy.

“I said I’d be here, didn’t I?” AJ said as he raised his eyebrow. Looking around he noticed that the only other ponies there right now were Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

“Mmhm. And you even brought your date with you! How adorable!” Pinkie shouted for everypony there to hear.

“Pinkie!”

“So you two are finally together,” Rainbow said as she flew over head.

“Well alright!” added Applejack.

“It’s not a date,” Ditzy said with a blush. “We’re just here to have fun. Just like everypony else.”

Rainbow flew down next to Applejack and whispered into her ear, “They are in soo much denial right now.”

“I heard that!” AJ shouted. Rainbow just stuck her tongue out and continued to chat with Applejack.

As the time passed more ponies showed up. Fluttershy was the first, followed by a fashionably late Rarity, and finally Twilight and Caramel were the last ones there. Twilight, of course, was busy studying and lost track of time. “Alright, now that everypony’s here, let’s get this party started!” Pinkie shouted as she came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of punch, setting it on the snack table next to a bucket filled with ice and sarsaparilla bottles.

********************

The party was going well. Rainbow, AJ, and Ditzy were busy talking, Twilight, Caramel, and Fluttershy were on the dance floor, Applejack and Rarity were slow dancing with each other, and Pinkie was interjecting herself wherever she pleased.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” AJ said as he walked in the direction of the bathroom.

“While he’s gone, I’m going to hit up the snack table,” Rainbow said licking her lips.

“I think I’ll join you,” Ditzy said following the cyan pegasus.

When they reached the table, Dash looked over all the sugary treats and tried to decide what she wanted to eat first. Ditzy went straight for the muffins. “Hmm, I think I’ll start with some punch.” Dash loomed over the punch bowl and took a big whiff.

She was about to fill a cup when Pinkie grabbed the cup away from her and pushed her away. “Naughty, naughty Dashie! You know you can’t have any of this punch!”

“What, aw come on Pinkie!”

“Nope! It may be a party, but you’re still too young for alcohol!” Pinkie said with a stern look.

“Only by three months! Come on Pinkie, just one taste!” Dash pleaded.

Pinkie shook her head. “I’m sorry Dashie, but rules are rules. Here, have a sarsaparilla instead!” Pinkie shoved a sarsaparilla into Rainbow’s hooves before bouncing away.

With and angry pout Dash opened the bottle of sarsaparilla and started drinking. “Stupid laws.”

Ditzy giggled as she took a bottle of sarsaparilla herself. She couldn’t chance having a hangover on her mail rout tomorrow.

Shortly after AJ came back to the party. Ditzy and Dash were still over by the snack table so he congregated over. “Hungry, are we?”

“A little,” Ditzy said before taking another bite out of her muffin. Dash didn’t answer. She was still busy grumbling over the punch.

AJ decided to let her grumble and get something for himself. The punch at the end of the table caught his eye. Walking over he grabbed a cup with his magic. Rainbow watched with envy as he filled the cup and brought it up to his mouth. Suddenly he stopped. His face twisted in disgust as the smell of the punch hit his nostrils. He quickly moved the cup away from his face and placed it on the table, covering his nose with a hoof. “Ugh! The punch has been spiked!”

“Well of course it has silly!” Pinkie said as she bounced over to the table. “It wouldn’t be Pinkie’s Super Special Party Punch if it wasn’t!”

AJ warily backed away from the punch. “I-uh…I think I’ll stick with the sarsaparilla instead.”

He went to go grab a bottle of sarsaparilla when Pinkie filled his vision holding the cup of punch. “Come on, just try it! It’s super good!” To emphasize her point she took a cup of her own and downed it. “Mmmm, cherry!”

AJ continued to back away. “I’d rather not Pinkie. I don’t drink.”

“Come on, it’s a party! You need to loosen up a little. You’re too tense, and alcohol will help!”

AJ was starting to get to get angry. “Pinkie, I said no, now if you would please…”

Pinkie stuck the cup of punch in his face. “Just a little taste, please!”

“Pinkie!”

“But it’s just a little alcohol. It’s not like alcohol can hurt you or anything like that.”

AJ froze at those words. His eyes were wide and his jaw went slack. He fell to his haunches as he started to shake. “W-what did you say?”

“I said alcohol can’t hurt you silly.”

“AJ, are you okay?” asked Ditzy.

He lowered his head as tears began welling up in his eyes. His face slowly turned to one of anger as he sat there, thinking of Pinkie Pie still standing there with the cup of punch. “So how about it? One little drinkie with your best bud Pinkie?”

AJ snapped. Standing up, he batted the cup out of Pinkie’s hoof, shattering it on the floor. “SHUT UP!!!” Every pony in the room stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the snack table. AJ’s posture was low and dangerous. A fierce look on his face was framed by hot tears rolling down his cheeks. Ditzy and Rainbow backed off at the sudden outburst.

Pinkie fell back, a look of shock on her face. “What? But I…”

“NO, SHUT UP!!! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!!!” Pinkie started backing off as AJ bared down on her. “It’s clear you have no idea what the hell you’re talking about!”

“Hey, what the hell’s your problem?!” Dash yelled. “Pinkie didn’t do anything!”

AJ turned to Rainbow Dash. “You shut your mouth! This doesn’t concern you!”

“B-but I just wanted every pony to have fun,” Pinkie said in a borderline whine.

AJ’s head whipped back towards Pinkie. “Fun? You think alcohol is fun?” He let out an angry snort. “ALCOHOL IS NOT FUN!!! ALCOHOL HURTS YOU!!! ALCOHOL TEARS FAMILIES APART!!!” He was so angry his eyes were glowing white with magic.

“I-I didn’t know. I…” Pinkie was in tears by now.

“ALRIGHT THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” Applejack yelled, standing between Pinkie and AJ. She glared daggers at AJ. “Ah don’t know what yer problem is, but yer goin’ ta tell me right now.”

The magic left AJ’s eyes as he let out another angry snort. “No.” He turned and galloped out the door as fast as he could.

“AJ, WAIT!!!” Ditzy cried out.

“HEY, GET BACK HERE!!!” Dash yelled as she leapt into the air only to be stopped by Applejack biting down on her tail.

“You ain’t goin’ anywhere. Ya gotta stay behind an’ make sure Pinkie’s okay. Fluttershy, yer with me.”

“B-but why me?” Fluttershy asked as she hid behind Rarity.

“You calmed’im down before. Ah don’t see why ya couldn’t do it again. Now come on!” Applejack dashed out the door. It took Fluttershy a moment, but she, along with Ditzy, followed Applejack out the door.

********************

The three ponies followed AJ through the streets with Applejack in the lead. Due to her more athletic nature, Applejack was slowly catching up with her prey. At first they had no idea where AJ was leading them, but as they got closer to the town gates, Applejack had a pretty good idea where he was going. “STOP RUNNIN’ RIGHT NOW!!!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!!! I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO ANYONE RIGHT NOW!!!” AJ shouted over his shoulder. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks. It wasn’t long before they all passed through the town gates. AJ turned his head once again to look at his pursuers. “I TOLD YOU TO STOP FOLLOWING M…” He was cut off when he tripped over a rock sticking out of the dirt path. He fell forward and landed hard on his muzzle before tumbling off to the side of the road.

His pursuers came to a stop a few feet away from him and watched as he slowly got up to a sitting position. They also noticed the blood dripping from his nose. His glasses had fallen off and broke during his tumble. His eyes were wide and full of hatred as he stared at the three of them. “Are ya ready ta talk now?”

He blew some of the blood out of his nose. “Why won’t you stop following me?” he growled out.

“Because Ah want some answers! Why did you blow up at Pinkie Pie like that? There was no reason fer it!” Applejack asked, returning his look with glare of her own.

“Heh, of course you wouldn’t understand. No one ever does,” AJ said as he stood up. He started moving as if he was going to start running again.

“You ain’t goin’ anywhere until Ah get some answers!” Applejack yelled as she prepared to chase him down again. “Ah will get violent if Ah have ta. Now what do ya mean 'Ah don’t understand!' Maybe if ya would just tell me Ah would understand.”

“Please, no more violence!” Fluttershy said as she ran up besides Applejack and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Just tell us what’s wrong, please,” Ditzy pleaded.

“You want to know? You want to understand me?" He looked between the three ponies before him. "How would you feel if someone was treating your dad’s death like it was some kind of fucking joke?!” AJ shouted at Applejack.

“That’s what this is all about? Yer dad’s death? Sugarcube, Ah know how hard it can be ta lose yer kin like that, but ya have ta fight through it,” Applejack said trying to calm him down.

“Don’t you dare compare us! It’s not the same!”

That struck a nerve. Applejack’s anger began to elevate. “Not the same? How is it not the same?! Ah watched mah mom get crushed by a wooden beam when they tore th’ old barn down! Ah had ta watch mah dad die slowly, an’ painfully. Everyday ah had ta watch th’ strongest stallion Ah knew get weaker and weaker till the illness took him from us! Tell me, how is that any different?! Why is yer case so much different than mine, huh?! TELL ME!!!”

“BECAUSE I KILLED HIM, ALRIGHT!!!”

Applejack immediately backed away, her anger replaced with complete shock. “W-what?”

"There, are you happy?! ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY?!?!?!" They watched as AJ went silent. His body seemed to deflate as he began to shake once again. “That’s right. I killed my own dad.”

********************

Earlier in the night his dad had come home from work with probably the worst mood he had ever seen him in. Almost immediately he began drinking. He had been drinking non-stop since he had gotten home. Though he was completely sloshed, his mood seemed to have improved slightly due to high amount of alcohol in his system. AJ was conflicted. He hated to see his dad abuse his body like that, but he did seem to be getting happier. At this moment his mom was at work so he couldn’t get any comfort from her.

He sat on the couch just watching his dad get more and more drunk and it scared him. He had never seen his dad drink so much. “Shtupid bastards. Nnnever give me any respect.”

As he saw his dad go to pour himself another drink, AJ knew he had to say something. “Umm, dad?”

“W-w-what?! What do you want?”

“I-I-I think you’ve had too…”

He was cut off. “What?! I can’t hear you. Shpeak up!”

“I said I think you’ve had too much to drink. Maybe you should stop and go to bed,” he said quickly.

His dad just stared at him for a moment swaying back and forth as he struggled to keep his balance. His face suddenly became angry. “Excushe me? Since when did you become the head of thish houshe?!”

“I-I didn’t say that! I only meant…”

“Nnnno! I know what you mean. Fuck you! I thought you were different. I guesh no one respects me anymore.” He dropped the glass on the linoleum, shattering it and stumbled into the bedroom.

AJ quickly got up to start cleaning up the broken glass. As he began picking up the pieces, he heard a sound that made the blood drain from his face. He knew the sound from when he went hunting with his dad. It was the sound of shells being loaded into a shotgun. Dropping the glass he ran into the bedroom as his dad cocked the gun. “Dad, don’t do it!”

AJ tried to grab the gun away, but his dad wrestled the gun away. He lifted the gun and smashed the butt into AJ’s face, sending him to the floor. Holding his nose, tears began flowing down AJ’s cheeks. He looked up at his dad who was now aiming the gun at himself. He glared down at AJ. “I thought you loved me. Thish ish all your fault.” Time seemed to go into slow motion as he watched his dad put the barrel in his mouth and pull the trigger.

********************

AJ was shaking violently now. He was looking down as tears could be seen falling to the ground. “It was all my fault.”

Ditzy, and Fluttershy were all speechless. They couldn’t believe what they had just heard. “Oh Celestia…” said Applejack as she let everything sink in. Things were silent as they all just sat there.

“It’s…it’s all my fault,” AJ repeated, seemingly having forgotten the others were there.

“Sugarcube, ya can’t believe that. That wasn’t yer fault.”

“YES IT WAS!!!” AJ shouted. “There were so many things I could have done to prevent it from happening. If only I would have stopped him from drinking so much earlier. If only I wouldn’t have been so weak I could have taken the gun from him. If I would have just shut my fucking mouth. If I would have done something, anything he…he…he…” The floodgates were shattered. AJ’s legs collapsed from underneath him as he fell to the ground, bawling his eyes out. Nine years of pain, torment, and inner turmoil came flowing through his eyes.

Ditzy slowly walked over to where AJ was lying down. Without saying a word she drew AJ into a hug, letting him cry into her shoulder, as he once did for her. Her shoulder was dyed red from the blood, but she didn’t care.

Fluttershy and Applejack just sat back and watched the scene unfold before them. “Ah can’t believe somepony would do such a thing.” Fluttershy sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye.

For minutes they just sat there as AJ cried his heart out. Applejack barley noticed as Fluttershy stood up and walked over to where Ditzy and AJ were. Sitting down once more, she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. “Hush now, quiet now it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now it's time to go to bed.” Applejack noticed AJ’s ears twitch as Fluttershy sang. “Drifting off to sleep exciting day behind you. Drifting off to sleep let the joy of dreamland find you. Hush now, quiet now it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now it's time to go to bed.”

By the time Fluttershy was done, AJ’s sobbing had calmed down slightly. She sang the song, over and over again. Each time, AJ would calm down more and more until he eventually fell asleep in Ditzy’s embrace. Applejack walked up and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Ya did good sugarcube. Ah’m goin’ ta go get somethin’ ta get him back ta th’ farm.”

********************

About two hours after they had left the store, Fluttershy walked through the door. All the joy that was in the store had long since left as everypony sat around the once happy pink pony. Her hair lie flat as tears flowed down her cheeks. Everypony looked up to Fluttershy as she walked in. “What’s going on Fluttershy?” asked Twilight.

“Yea, what was his problem? Why did he have to go and yell at Pinkie?” Rainbow asked in anger.

“Rainbow Dash calm down, I think there’s been enough anger here for one day,” Rarity said trying to calm down the cyan pegasus. “I’m sure Fluttershy will tell us everything. Isn’t that right darling?”

“Well, um.” Fluttershy didn’t like being put in the spotlight. She hid behind her mane as the other ponies looked at her.

“Come on Fluttershy, you have to tell us what happened,” pleaded Twilight.

Twilight was right. They had a right to know why this happened. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Fluttershy steeled herself to tell a story.

********************

AJ’s eyes slowly opened as the morning sun poked through the window. His world was in a daze. He was sore all over, and his muzzle was throbbing. Slowly, he pushed his weary body up trying to get his world to stop spinning. Finally managing to make it to hooves he tried to find his glasses.

Failing to find his glasses AJ worked his way to the bathroom. He just sat there for a moment in front of the mirror, hoping that the world would eventually become visible. Feeling dehydrated, he balanced himself on the counter top and turned on the faucet, drinking the cool life giving liquid straight from the faucet.

Once he was done drinking, he looked up into the mirror. Now that he was closer, he could see the shape he was in. The dirt in his coat and mane. The dried blood that ran from his nostrils. The matted down hair on his cheeks and the puffy red eyes from his crying. He fell back to his haunches as the events of the previous day came flooding back into his head.

“Are you okay sugarcube?” AJ looked over to the door to see Applejack standing there watching him.

He looked back into the mirror once more before slouching down; tears rolling down his cheeks once more. “What have I done?”

********************

It was about ten in the morning when Applejack and AJ walked through the door of Sugarcube corner. The emotion in the building could only be described as morose. Rainbow Dash and Twilight, who had stayed behind the previous night, were cleaning up the room from the party. Fluttershy had to get back home to take care of the animals and Rarity had many orders that needed to be filled. Pinkie sat behind the counter. Her mane and tail were still deflated. She looked up when the bell above the door rang and immediately looked away when she saw who it was.

Rainbow Dash put down the bag of garbage she was carrying and landed in front of the two ponies. She scratched the back of her head before speaking. “Hey.”

“Mornin,” said Applejack. AJ said nothing. He was too ashamed.

“I-uh, I assume you’re here to see Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked. AJ just nodded. AJ followed Rainbow as they walked over to the counter. “Pinkie, he’s here to talk to you.”

It took a bit of encouragement from Twilight, but Pinkie eventually made her way to the other side of the counter. She sat down in front of AJ. They both sat there in silence for a moment. Building up the courage, AJ was about to speak until, “I’m sorry.” Looking up AJ saw that Pinkie was almost in tears again. “I didn’t mean to make fun of your dad. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

AJ shook his head. “No Pinkie, I’m the one who should be sorry. You had no way of knowing about anything that happened. I had no reason to yell at you like I did. I’m sorry Pinkie. I’d understand if you don’t want me around here anymore, I’ll just…leave.”

AJ stood up and began walking towards the door. He got about half way before he felt something wrap around his neck. Turning his head he saw the still teary Pinkie hugging him. “Does this…does this mean we can still be friends?” she asked trying to hold back her tears.

A soft smile grew on his face. “Of course we can.” He returned Pinkie’s hug before turning to Twilight. “Hey Twilight, do you think the Princess would mind if I tried my hand at one of those friendship report things?”

Twilight gave him a bright smile. “Mind? I’m sure she would be more than happy to receive a letter from you.”

********************

Celestia gave a small sigh. She had just finished with the first round of meetings with the delegates from the Griffin Kingdom. While they were now on good terms after years of conflict, things could still get pretty heated after awhile. Talks like this were stressful even for the eternal and benevolent ruler of Equestria.

At the moment they were on an hour long recess while the Griffin King discussed with his people and Celestia was going to take advantage of it. “I think it’s time for a nice relaxing bath.” As she reached her bedroom she saw a wisp of magical smoke coming through the window. This brought a smile to her face. She always enjoyed receiving a note from Twilight. Catching the scroll with her magic she unrolled it.

Dear Princess Celestia

I wonder if you ever expected one of these things from me. As you probably heard from Luna, I lost my dad years ago. I won’t go into the specifics of what happened, but I will tell you that it tore me up inside. For all these years I let the memory of what happened torment me. What’s worse is that I refused to tell anypony. Every time somepony would try to get close and learn what happened I would push them away.

I bottled everything up inside. It kept building up until, well, I think you know what’s coming. I ended up hurting one of my friends. I yelled and cursed them out, and they didn’t even do anything wrong. All because I refused to talk to somepony about what happened. I refused to let my friends help me in my time of need. Believe me when I tell you that I will no longer be making that mistake. It’s important to let your friends in. Without friends, the world would be a very dark place indeed.

Your loyal and grateful subject

Celestia smiled. While this was unexpected, she was happy that one of Equestria’s newest members was well on his way to learning a very important lesson.

****************************************

((The big reveal! This was the chapter that’s been lying in wait since chapter 8. I hope you enjoy. This is the last chapter before I go on break to work on the other story. I hope to see you all In “What Lurks in the Darkness.”

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

A Very Important Delivery

Chapter 23

It had been two weeks since the party, and things have calmed down. For the first couple days were things between AJ and Pinkie were tense to say the least. Pinkie wasn’t completely convinced that AJ had forgiven her no matter how much Applejack tried to convince her otherwise. She constantly visited the farm to try to help him in any way that she could, and even threw a party in his honor. During the party, AJ pulled her aside so the two of them could talk in private.

********************

The party has been going full blast for a little while now. While most were having fun, one indigo unicorn wasn’t exactly having much fun. He was sitting by himself near the refreshments table. “What’s wrong sugarcube? Ain’t ya havin’ fun?” asked Applejack as she came up besides AJ.

AJ sighed. “Not really. I just can’t get into it.”

“It’s Pinkie, ain’t it?” Applejack asked already knowing the answer.

AJ nodded. “I think it’s time the two of us have a talk.”

“It’s probably a good idea. Do ya want me ta go get’er?”

“No, I’ll do it.”

AJ got up and walked over the Pinkie who was busy dancing with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “Hey AJ, I thought you’d never come and join the fun!” she said.

“Pinkie, can I talk to you for a minute?”

A bright smile grew on Pinkie’s face. “Of course!” She stopped dancing and waited for AJ to start speaking.

“In private please?” AJ asked as he motioned to the kitchen with his head.

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically and bounced ahead of AJ into the kitchen. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

AJ sighed. “I think you already know.”

The smile on Pinkie’s face wavered for a split second before falling back into place. “I don’t know what you’re talking about silly.”

“Pinkie, I know you. You are not a stupid pony. You can be a bit strange and hard to figure out at times, but you’re far from stupid.” The smile slowly fell from her face and was replaced with a sad frown. Her hair deflated slightly. The two of them sat there silently for a minute. “Pinkie, please just tell me what’s going on. First you come over every day and help me with my work at the farm. Then you give me all those free cupcakes, and now this party. Why have you been giving me all this special treatment?”

“Because if I don’t, how will you know that I’m really, truly sorry for what I did,” she said ending her sentence with a sniffle.

AJ’s eyes widened a little bit. “Is that what this is about?” Pinkie nodded. “Pinkie, I don’t blame you for anything that happened. Everything that happened was my fault.”

Pinkie shook her head. “No it wasn’t. Everything happened because I wouldn’t let it go. I shouldn’t have kept trying to push you into drinking the punch.” A tear started rolling its way down her cheek.

AJ wiped the tear away and hugged Pinkie with a smile. “What do I have to do to prove to you that I’m not mad, hmm?”

Pinkie sniffled again before returning the hug. “Can we…can we just stay like this for a little bit?”

“Of course we can.”

********************

Since then the two of them seem to be spending a bit more time together than they used to. Everypony, especially Ditzy, noticed this, and the rumors began to spread. About a week later AJ went to Sugarcube Corner to curb his sweet tooth. Ditzy had insisted on joining him, claiming she needed more muffins.

********************

“I’m not saying that you’re lying, but didn’t you just get some muffins the other day?” AJ asked Ditzy.

“Uhh yes, but…” Ditzy needed to think of something quick. “But we had guests! Yeah that’s it, guests, and the guests ate all the muffins and now we need more,” she said with a sheepish smile.

AJ wasn’t convinced. He knew something was up, but he didn’t know what. “Mmhm.”

They both passed through the door and were greeted by the sight of Pinkie bringing a big tray of cookies out to the display case. After she was done doing that, she looked up to see the two ponies at the door. “Hey you two!”

“Hey Pinkie,” AJ said with a bright smile.

“Yea, hey,” Ditzy said with much less enthusiasm. She was lightly glaring at the pink pony. Pinkie either didn’t notice, or just completely ignored it.

“So, what can I get for you two?”

AJ started looking at all the mouthwatering sweets that were displayed. “Hmm, those cookies look good, but so do those cupcakes. And over here we have this cake.”

As AJ looked through the display case, Ditzy kept her eyes on Pinkie. ‘What does she got that I don’t?’ she thought to herself. ‘Is it the eyes? I thought he liked my eyes. Maybe he just likes pink. Maybe I could go and…’

Ditzy’s thoughts were interrupted when the door behind them flew open with a rainbow trail. “Pinkie, I have the BEST idea for a prank! We cover Applejack with a bucket of molasses and pour feathers all over her! Her reaction will be priceless!” It was then that she noticed the other two ponies right in front of her on the ground. “Oh, hey. You won’t tell Applejack, will you?”

“I guess not. It does sound like it would be pretty funny,” AJ said with a hoof to his chin.

“Awesome!” Rainbow flew down next to AJ. “So, are you here to ask out Pinkie?” she asked teasingly as she nudged him in the side.

“E-excuse me?” AJ asked with a blush.

“Oh come on, we’ve all seen you spending all this time with Pinkie lately,” Rainbow said matter-of-factly. “Frankly I’m kinda surprised. I thought you had a thing for Ditzy here.”

Ditzy’s anger was starting to elevate. ‘So did I,’ she thought to herself.

AJ just stared blankly at Rainbow for a few seconds. He and Pinkie looked at each other, then back to Rainbow before the two of them burst out laughing. Both Ditzy and Rainbow stared at them. “Hey, what’s so funny?” Dash demanded.

Pinkie was the first to recover. “We’re not in love with each other Dashie!”

“You’re not?” Ditzy asked in a hopeful voice.

“Of course not,” AJ said as he wiped a tear out of his eye. “Don’t get me wrong I do love Pinkie, just not in that way. She’s more like the sister I wish I had.”

“Didn’t you say you had a sister?” asked Dash.

AJ sighed. “Yes, but she isn’t exactly what you’d call a good sister. The less said about her, the better.” Dash just shrugged and went to talk to Pinkie about her prank. Ditzy on the other hoof looked like a weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. Her posture became more confident as she began trotting towards the door. “Hey Ditzy, I thought you were going to get more muffins?” AJ asked.

Ditzy turned to reveal the big smile on her face. “Oh, I have plenty at home. I’ll talk to you later.”

********************

At this moment AJ and Twilight were in the Ponyville park, away from the other ponies, practicing magic. In fear that AJ’s constant explosions would burn down her poor library, Twilight suggested they try someplace else. Most of AJ’s body was covered in black, singed hair due to the multiple colorful explosions he’s already set off when failing a spell. “Well, it seems like I’ve mastered the art of blowing myself up,” AJ said, coughing up a puff of black smoke. “I am going to need a bath after this.”

“I just don’t understand why your spells keep exploding on you like that. It looked like you were doing everything right.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Maybe teleporting is something you can’t do. It IS an advanced spell after all.” Twilight’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait a minute, I think I got it. Why didn’t I think of this before?”

“Think of what before?” AJ asked.

“Try building up some energy at the tip of your horn again.”

AJ stared blankly at Twilight. “So you want me to blow myself up again?”

“Just trust me,” Twilight said with a determined smile.

AJ sighed and did as he was told. He felt the, what was becoming very familiar, explosive energy build up at the tip of his horn. The orb of energy grew to the size of a baseball before stopping. AJ knew what going to happen next. “Umm, Twilight?”

“Alright, now fire it into the sky!” she shouted.

“Do what now?!” AJ asked with wide eyes.

“You heard me!” Not wanting to get blown up again, AJ clenched his eyes and forced the magic outward. The orb shot from his horn into the sky with a loud whistling sound where it exploded in a rainbow of colors. Oohs and aahs could be heard from some of the ponies in the general vicinity. AJ just stared at the explosion as it dwindled away. “Aha!” said Twilight. “Firework magic, I knew it!”

“There’s magic for that type of thing?”

“Mmhm. Think back to Trixie’s magic show. She did it pretty often. You didn’t think she was using actual fireworks, did you?”

“You mean she wasn’t?” AJ said under his breath.

“All this time we thought you’ve been failing at all those spells. You weren’t failing, you’ve just been doing a completely different spell without even knowing it,” she explained with a smile. “From how often it happened you must be quite the natural at that type of magic. Why don’t you try it again?”

“Umm, sure I guess.” Once again AJ began building up energy at the tip of his horn. Seeing that he was going to do it again, a small crowd began forming around the two of them. AJ was just about finished making the ball of energy when he heard a different kind of boom. “What was…” He stopped when he looked to his right. He saw a pink blur careening straight at him at break neck speeds. “OH SWEET JESU…” He was cut off as his world became engulfed in pink. The pink blur hit AJ in the straight in the face; sending him flying. This caused him to unintentionally fire off the ball of magic into the crowd. All the ponies in the area scattered to avoid the spell.

After Twilight got off the ground, she looked over to see AJ sprawled out on the ground on his back with a certain pink pony lying on top of him. She blushed slightly when she ran up to them and noticed the compromising position they were lying in. “Pinkie, what’s going on? Why were you flying through the air like some sort of cannon ball?”

Pinkie sat up and shook her head. “Oh, hey Twilight! I was busy crawling into my party cannon!” she said with a giant smile on her face.

“What in Celestia’s name were you doing inside your party cannon?” Twilight asked.

“Cleaning it of course! You really need to get in there if you want to clean it just right. Naughty little Gummy must have fired it while I was still EEEEEEP!!!” Pinkie squealed and leapt into the air as AJ began squirming beneath her rump.

He took a long, loud inhale after Pinkie got off of him. “AIIIIR!!!” he yelled before going into a coughing fit. “Sweet, sweet air!”

Pinkie landed next to Twilight. She still had a big smile, but she was instinctively holding her tail up to her body. “Oopsy doopsy, sorry AJ! Didn’t know you were down there!”

“Don’t…” He stopped to cough for a second. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Why were you cleaning the cannon anyway?” Twilight asked.

“For the party of course!” Pinkie said as her smile grew. “We have a pony moving in today and he needs a party!”

A smile started growing on Twilight’s face. “I didn’t know somepony was moving to Ponyville today? Do you know where he’s living?”

“Mmhm. Come on, I’ll introduce you to him!” Without waiting for an answer Pinkie started bouncing away from the two of them.

Twilight turned to AJ. “Should we follow her?”

AJ shrugged. “Sure, why not. I didn’t have any other plans today.” AJ brushed as much of the burned hair off his body as he could, and the two of them followed Pinkie.

********************

The house Pinkie was leading them to wasn’t too far from where they were. It only took them about five minutes from leaving the park before they saw the house in question. A few piles of boxes could be seen stacked in front of the building, and the pegasus moving team could be seen taking off. In front of the house stood two stallions, and a mare. The mare was an earth pony with a dark brown coat with a two tone light brown and electric blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a house. The stallion was a pegasus with a black coat with a charcoal black mane and tail. His cutie mark was a pick axe striking a gold vein. The second stallion was somepony AJ had become very familiar with during the time he spent in the hospital with Ditzy and Dinky.

“Tenderhoof sweetie, are you sure you’re up for this?” asked the mare.

Dr Whooves laughed. “Please mother, it’s Trotsworth now. Had it changed a few years back when I still lived in Trottingham. It’s much more fun to say. Not to mention it’s more manly, and makes me sound, dare I say it, rugged and sexy. Come now; say it with me, Trotsworth!”

The other stallion shook his head and chuckled. “Well whatever you’re calling yourself now, are you sure he’ll be alright here?”

Dr. Whooves smiled. “The ponies here are friendly, the air is crisp and clean, and the food is fresh from the source,” he finished by pointing a hoof in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

“I’m just worried that this will be too big a change for him,” Estelle said.

Dr. Whooves waved his hoof at his mom. “Nonsense, I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

“Hey Dr. Whooves, what’s up?” AJ said as the three of them reached the house.

Dr. Whooves and his parents turned their heads to see the approaching ponies. “Ah, it’s good to see you three. Mother, father, allow me to introduce you to Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and one of Ponyville’s stranger citizens, AJ.”

“Hey!”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” said Dusty. He did a double take when his vision moved to AJ. “Why are you covered in burnt hair?”

AJ took another look at himself. He hadn’t gotten as much of the burnt hair off of his body as he had thought. “Umm, I had a bit of a mishap earlier when casting a spell.”

“Oh, that must have been what all those explosions were!” Dr. Whooves said with a bright smile on his face.

“Umm, yea,” AJ said as he rubbed the back of his head. “So anyway, who’s moving in with you?”

“My little brother. My parents think it would be easier for him to finish his schooling in a smaller town. Less things to scar him.” He put a hoof to his chin. “Especially after he, oh how did mother put that, ‘ran into some crazy, psycho pony who dragged him halfway across Canterlot to find some crush,’ or what ever.”

“He was absolutely SCARRED by the experience!” Estelle shouted, overacting in a way that would give Rarity a run for her money.

Dusty groaned and facehoofed. “The boy was fine. He was just a little late getting home is all,” Dusty corrected.

AJ stared at the three of them with a blank stare for a few seconds before turning to Dr. Whooves again. “You’re brother wouldn’t happen to be named…” AJ stopped when he saw a familiar pony walk out of the house. “Shadow?!”

“Eeep!” Shadow dove into the box he was about to pick up.

“Yup, that’s Shadow alright,” AJ said with a small grin on his face.

“AJ, you know this pony?” Twilight questioned with a hint of doubt in her voice.

“Of course, he’s the pony who helped me find Ditzy that one day in Canterlot.”

Shadow poked his eyes out from the box he was in. He slowly removed himself from the box, ignoring the baseball cap that found its way onto his head when he dove into the box. “Oh, h-hello Mr. AJ.”

“Wait, you’re the crazy pony who did this?!” Estelle shouted. She wrapped Shadow in a big, nurturing hug. “You’re the crazy pony who traumatized my precious Shadow Breeze?! My poor baby will never be the same because of you, you horrible, horrible pony!”

AJ put his hooves up in defense. “Hey, all I did was tell him what I was doing. He’s the one who offered to help me.”

Estelle glared at AJ. “Moooom, I’m fine,” Shadow said as he wiggled himself out of the hug.

“Estelle, give it a rest. He’s clearly alright,” Dusty said as he put a hoof on her shoulder. “Who knows, if things like that happen more often maybe he’ll open up a little more and stop being so shy.”

“But he’s only 17,” Estelle said in her defense. “He still needs his mommy.”

“Next year he’ll know the sting of adulthood, and then he’ll be thrust into the real world. Living here should help him ease into that a bit better.”

Estelle looked unsure. “I don’t know.”

“Trust me mother,” Dr. Whooves said as he wrapped a hoof around Shadow’s neck. “Living here with me will do wonders for him.”

“Well, I can see you’re all having a family moment right now. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a bath to get rid of the smell of burnt hair.” AJ said his goodbyes and headed back to the farm.

Twilight and Pinkie did the same. The latter of which dropping an ‘inconspicuous’ hint that something would be happening later at Sugarcube Corner. Dr. Whooves, who still had his leg around Shadow’s neck, gave his parents a big smile. “Well, we should probably let Shadow here unpack his things.”

“Okay, don’t be afraid to contact us if you ever want to come home honey,” Estelle said as she gave Shadow another hug.

“Don’t give your brother too hard of a time now,” Dusty said as he tussled Shadow’s mane.

“I won’t,” Shadow said as he fixed his mane.

“Well it was good to see you two again,” Dr. Whooves said as he put his leg around Shadow again. “Hope you have a nice ride back to Canterlot.” Dusty and Estelle waved goodbye as they climbed into the taxi. “Well little brother, we should get you unpacked.”

“Can’t we get some dinner first? I’m kinda hungry.”

“Nonsense! The sooner we get this done, the better! Allons-y!”

********************

“Coooooffeeeee,” moaned Ditzy as she dragged herself through the door of the Ponyville post office. She woke up this morning to find that they had absolutely no coffee in the house. This proved to be problematic as she needed to get done with her route quickly today. As she got into the employee only area, she immediately headed straight for the break room. When she entered the door the smell of freshly brewed coffee immediately hit her nose. A tired smile slowly grew on her face. “Coffee.”

Ditzy walked over to the coffee maker and had to keep herself from drinking straight from the pot. As Ditzy poured a cup of life giving elixir, Written Script, Boxxy Brown’s assistant, walked into the room. “Ah Ditzy Doo, good to see you’re here. Boxxy’s been looking for you.”

“But…but coffee,” whined Ditzy.

Written Script scratched the back of his head. “Well I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you drank your coffee while you talk to him."

Ditzy smiled before taking a big sip of her coffee and lazily floated out of the room. By the time she had gotten to Boxxy’s office, she was already starting to feel more awake due to the caffeine that was now running through her system. She knocked on the door and poked her head through. “You wanted to see me sir?”

Boxxy looked up from his desk and smiled. “Good, you’re here. Come in and sit down Ditzy, we need to talk.”

In her tired mind, the first thought that came to Ditzy’s head was that she had done something wrong. She sat down in the chair. “Is something wrong? Am I in trouble?”

Boxxy shook his head. “No, you’re not in trouble. Actually, I need your help. We have a package that needs to be picked up from Manehattan and delivered to the Castle in Canterlot, and we need you to do this. Airheart already agreed to take your mail rout today.”

Ditzy woke up pretty quickly after hearing this. “Isn’t this more of Raindrops type of thing?!”

“She’s out with the feather flu. You’re the only other pony here who has any real experience with something this big, and we can’t afford anything to go wrong.”

“B-but something like this will take all day! I have to be home by at least noon so Dinky’s not home alone!” pleaded Ditzy.

“Don’t you have what’s her name to watch her for you?” Boxxy asked with a hoof to his chin.

Ditzy shook her head. “Sparkler’s busy all day, and Carrot’s going to be visiting her parent’s in Las Pegasus for a couple of days. She’s able to stay until noon, but if she waits any longer she’ll miss her train.”

“Hmmm.” Boxxy thought for a minute. Then it came to him. “How about this. You do this for me, and I’ll let you go out there and find somepony who can foalsit for the day.”

Ditzy took the proposition in. If she did this, she wouldn’t need to worry about Dinky being alone for any amount of time, Carrot could be on the train without the worry of being late, and Boxxy would have his pony for this job. It was a win-win situation for everypony. “I suppose that would work.”

Boxxy smiled again. “Then it’s settled. Just come back when you found somepony.”

Ditzy turned with a slight smile. “Thanks boss, I’ll be back ASAP.” With that Ditzy flew out the door.”

********************

‘Crap, crap, shit, crap!’ Ditzy thought to herself. She had been trying and failing to find a foalsitter for the past hour. She was starting to worry that she would have to go back and tell Boxxy she couldn’t do it. ‘Ok Ditzy, lets think about this. Cheerilee has a conference to attend, Twilight is going to be busy studying all day, Fluttershy had been dragged away by Rainbow Dash to watch her practice…’ The list went on. She was quickly running out of ponies to ask. ‘I could always ask AJ, but I think he has to work today, but I’m out of choices.’

She eventually made the decision to give AJ a shot. She quickly flew to the farm seeing that Big Mac has already gotten started. She landed on the porch and knocked on the door. She shifted from side to side in anticipation. The door opened to reveal Applejack standing on the other side. “Hey there sugarcube. What can Ah do fer ya?”

“Could you get AJ please? I REALLY need to talk to him.”

Applejack smiled. “No problem.” She turned into the house. “Hey AJ, Ditzy’s here ta talk with ya!”

AJ could be seen coming down the stairs. “Hey Ditzy, what’s up?”

In her desperation to get all the information out, Ditzy did her best impression of Pinkie Pie. “AJ, I need your help! This morning I went into work only to find out that they need me to go to Manehatton to pick up a package, and take it to Canterlot and it’s going to take all day, and I don’t have anypony to look after Dinky so she’ll be left home alone, and I’ve been looking all over for somepony to foalsit Dinky, and everypony’s to busy, like Cheerilee’s got a conference, and Twilight’s studying, and…”

“Breathe Ditzy!” AJ yelled, interrupting Ditzy. Ditzy took a long draw of air to calm herself down. “Now tell me, what did you need my help with?”

“I need a foalsitter for Dinky today, would you be able to do it?” she asked with pleading eyes.

AJ thought for a few seconds. “I’d be more than happy to do it, but I don’t have off till later today. Sorry Ditzy.” He didn’t want to say no, but he didn’t really have much of a choice.

Ditzy started to deflate as tears started to well up in her eyes. “Now hold on there pardner,” Applejack said. “Ditzy, it sounds like ya need a foalsitter pretty badly, right?” Ditzy nodded. “Well, why don’t ya just take yer day off t’day then?” she said as she turned to AJ.

“You’d let me do that?” AJ asked. Applejack smiled and nodded. He turned to Ditzy with a smile. “Well, looks like I’m open today after all.”

“You mean you’ll do it?” Ditzy asked with a smile.

“Mmhm. I always used to have fun babysitting. It’s been awhile since…”

Ditzy cut him off by leaping forward and wrapping her legs around him in a hug. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me! I’m so happy I could just…” She lifted her head and kissed AJ on the cheek. “Come on!”

AJ just stood there stunned in the doorway as Ditzy flew off towards Ponyville. His eyes were wide, his mouth hung open, and his cheeks were flushed. His expression slowly changed from one of shock to a goofy smile as he watched the bluish gray pegasus fly further and further away. He completely failed to notice Applejack waving her foreleg in front of his eyes. “Hey, sugarcube. You still alive in there?” She jabbed him in the side.

He turned to Applejack, holding the same goofy look. “Huh?”

“You realize she left an’ is probably wonderin’ why ya ain’t followin’er, right?”

AJ stood there for a few seconds letting what Applejack just said work its way into his currently dulled mind. His eyes shot open. “SHIT!!!” He bolted from the doorway down the path to Ponyville.

********************

It didn’t take AJ too long to catch up with Ditzy. They both kept up a good pace until they finally got to her house. “Carrot, good news!”

“Ditzy? What are you doing home?” Carrot asked as she came out of the kitchen. She was making a snack for herself for the trip to Las Pegasus. “I thought you had to work?”

“Mommy’s home early today! Yaaaay!” Dinky shouted as she hopped out of the living room.

“I do, but Boxxy gave me a different job today that’s going to take me all day to finish.”

“What?!” Carrot shouted. “Ditzy, I can’t stay all day! The train leaves at noon, and…”

“That’s what the good news is,” Ditzy said cutting her off. “AJ here said he would foalsit Dinky for the day. You’re free to leave when ever you want now.”

“What, really?”

“Yup, I am here to serve,” AJ said as he jokingly bowed down, eliciting a giggle from Dinky.

Carrot let out a sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia. Mom and dad would have been devastated if I missed the reunion this year.” She turned to Dinky. “That sound okay to you Dinky? Would you like AJ to foalsit you today?”

“I like Mr. AJ, he’s funny.”

Carrot turned back to Ditzy and AJ. “Well, that settles it I guess. AJ will…”

“And mommy really likes him too.”

“Does she now? And how do you know that?” Carrot asked with an evil grin on her face.

“She talks in her sleep sometimes. Sometimes I hear her talking about kissing, and dancing, and…”

“Oh look at the time!” Ditzy said with a bright blush on her face. She desperately wanted to cut off Dinky. “I should really be getting back to work before Boxxy thinks I ditched him.” She scooped Dinky up and gave her a great big hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow my little muffin. Be good for AJ.” She kissed her on the forehead.

“Yes mommy.” She hugged Ditzy back.

Ditzy placed her daughter back on the floor and watched her hop back into the living room. She turned to AJ. “Thanks again for doing this for me.”

“Not a problem. This will be easy.” Ditzy gave him another quick hug before flying out the door.

“Well this is a relief,” Carrot said as she started walking back into the kitchen. “I have a couple hours before I need to leave yet, but you’re free to make yourself at home.”

AJ decided to follow Dinky into the living room. “So, what’cha doing in here.”

“My Little Sea Pony is about to start! It’s my favorite show!” Dinky said with a bright smile.

“Is it now?” AJ looked at the TV as the show started. As the opening scene played it seemed like the typical show for kids, and then the theme song started. ‘SHOO BE DO! SHOO SHOO BE DO!’ AJ watched in horror as the theme continued. He could feel it drilling itself into his head; embedding itself in the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind, ensuring that it would never be forgotten. ‘Celestia help me,’ he thought to himself. The entire time Dinky was bobbing back and forth; singing along as she did. It would have been the most adorable thing AJ had ever seen…if it wasn’t for that damned song.

When the first commercial hit Dinky turned to AJ with a big smile. “Mr. AJ?”

AJ chuckled. “Just AJ please. What’s up?”

“Do you like my mommy?”

He did not expect that question. “Of course I like your mom. She’s friendly, she’s funny…”

“No, do you LIKE, like my mommy?” she asked in a completely innocent voice.

AJ’s eyes shot open as he looked to the kitchen where he could hear Carrot Top laughing. He looked back to Dinky who was wearing an innocent smile. A blush started to show on AJ’s face. ‘Okay, maybe this won’t be as easy as I thought.’

********************

Considering how late she had started Ditzy was making good time. After she got back to the post office, Boxxy had given her the assignment and sent her out. After pushing herself it had only taken her two and a half hours to make it to Manehatton. She walked into the post office with a smile. Then she was stopped almost immediately when she bumped into somepony. “Hey, watch where you’re goin’ I’m standin’ here!” the pony said in a Neightalian accent.

Ditzy looked ahead of her and followed the long, winding line of ponies in front of her. “Oh come on!” She turned to see a mare chewing some bubble gum who worked at the post office a little ways to the side. She left the line to talk to her. “Excuse me.”

“Can I help you?” the pony asked in an un-interested tone; not even bothering to look up.

“Yea, I’m from the Ponyville post office and I’m here to pick up a package and deliver it to Canterlot.” She pulled out a piece of paper from her bags and showed it to the mare.

The mare looked up at the paper for a minute before looking back down. “Pickups are at the front desk.”

“But…isn’t there a different pick up spot since this is a special delivery to the castle?” Ditzy hopefully asked.

The mare blew a bubble. “Nope.”

Ditzy deflated slightly. She turned to see that the line was even longer than before. “Today’s going to suck,” she groaned out.

********************

AJ had just finished washing the dishes. Before she left, Carrot had made him and Dinky lunch as a thanks for foalsitting. After eating Dinky had gone upstairs to play with her dolls. “She can really cook. I’ll have to remember to ask Carrot for that recipe.” Putting the last plate away, he was about to go upstairs to check on Dinky when he heard a knock on the door. “Who could that be?” Opening the door he saw Big Mac and Apple Bloom at the door. “Hey, what’s up?”

Big Mac smiled and nodded. During these last couple months in Equestria AJ learned that it’s his way of silently saying hello. “We were wonderin’ if ya would be able ta watch Apple Bloom fer th’ day.”

“Umm, I don’t see why not. Something wrong?”

Big Mac was about to answer, but Apple Bloom cut him off. “Ah’m bored! Sweetie Belle’s at’er parent’s house, an’ Scootaloo’s grounded fer two more weeks! Ah figured th’ two of us could at least think of ideas fer when we can go crusadin’ again.”

AJ put a hoof to his chin. “I suppose we could do that, but only if Dinky can join us. It wouldn’t be fair to leave her out of this.”

“Ah guess that’s fair,” Apple Bloom said as she walked past AJ.

AJ waited until she was out of range before leaning close to Big Mac. “So you’re dumping her on me because she was annoying you, right?”

Big Mac chuckled a bit. “Eeyup.”

AJ laughed back. “Just wanted to make that clear.”

“Ah’ll be back ta pick’er up later t’night.”

“Alright. I’ll see you then.” AJ smiled and waved as Big Mac started to walk away. As AJ closed the door he cringed as he heard something shatter in the living room. He turned away from the door. “Apple Bloom? What was that?”

“Winona did it!”

He put a hoof to his forehead and sighed. “Yup, definitely harder than I thought.”

********************

Ditzy just glared straight ahead. She had sat in that line for two hours; watching as ponies took their sweet time using the one, AND ONLY ONE, pen that was left out for use. She could have sworn that one pony took twenty minutes alone just to finish a single check. ‘Mental note, get more pens for the Ponyville post office.’

She was so busy complaining to herself about the one pen that she didn’t even realize it was finally her turn. “Miss? Are you alright?” came a cheerful, masculine voice.

“Huh? Is…is it really my turn?” she asked.

“Mmhm! What can I do for you today?” The teal unicorn stallion asked. Ditzy had to keep herself from breaking out in tears as she pulled out the piece of paper and showed it to him. “Ah, so you’re the pony we were expecting from Ponyville.” His bright smile faltered a bit. “Why didn’t you just come into the back?”

The smile immediately fell from Ditzy’s face. “W-what?”

“Oh, didn’t you know? All you needed to do is show this to one of the employees here and we would have had you on your way in no time.”

Ditzy’s eyes started to separate as her right eye began twitching. “B-b-but that mare over there said I had to stay in this line!”

The stallion looked over to the vibrant red Earth pony with the pink and yellow mane working on the other side of the room. “Oh Fire Ball? She’s such a nice pony. Though she’s been working here longer than I have. I’m not sure how she could have gotten it wrong. Oh well, everypony has their off days, right?” He said with a bright smile. He turned back and looked back at the piece of paper. “Uh oh.”

Ditzy was afraid to ask. “Uh oh? What’s uh oh?”

He turned it around to show Ditzy. “It seems like something’s a bit off here. If you’d just go over there and fix it we can get you on your way,” he said as he pointed to the table with the pen.

“Fix it?” asked about ready to tear up again. She looked over to the table. There was a line of at least ten ponies waiting to use the one pen. She lowered her head and started trembling.

“Miss? Are you alright?”

Ditzy threw her forelegs up into the air and screamed. “FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU…”

********************

After they had managed to calm Ditzy down and keep her from going postal, she was lead into the back by the manager. “I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience. It seems I’ll have to have a talk with Fire Ball about how things are done around here. Once she’s out of the hospital that is.”

In her blind rage Ditzy had gotten a hold of Fire Ball and piledrived her through a table. Ditzy had kept her head down in embarrassment ever since. “Sorry for breaking your table.”

“No worries. We needed a new one anyway. I think that one has been here since this building was built,” he said with a hoof to his chin. “Well anyways, you have a package to deliver, and I think you’ve been here long enough.” Ditzy was lead into the back where tons of unshipped boxes sat. Looking at the paper he led her through the maze. “Ah, here we are.”

Ditzy looked at the box in awe. It was at least two times bigger than she was, maybe more. “This is it?!”

“Yup. We have a cart ready just outside to help transfer it to Canterlot.” He looked over to two buff stallions just sitting around. They weren’t as big as Big Mac, but they were still bigger than most ponies. He clapped his hooves together. “Alright boys, load’er up! Chop, chop!”

Ditzy watched as the two muscle bound stallions had trouble moving the box. “What the heck is in this thing?”

“No idea.”

After the stallions managed to get the box into the cart they helped Ditzy get hooked up. “At least I can finally be on my way to Canterlot.”

“Yes, and once again I am terribly sorry for wasting your time like that,” the manager said. “Well, I hope you have a safe journey.”

Ditzy nodded. It was about 1:00 P.M. and she was happy to finally be on her way.

Or at least she would have if the box didn’t weigh a ton and kept her from getting off the ground. Since flying had failed, she tried just pulling it. The only thing she accomplished was digging a hole in the dirt beneath her hooves. “Umm, would you like some help?”

“A small push would be nice.”

********************

It was about 9:00 P.M. when Big Mac knocked on the door to Carrot’s house. He waited for a few seconds before knocking again. After doing this for about a minute he decided to open the door and poked his head in. “Anypony home?” He heard that the TV was on in the living room, but nopony was answering. “AJ? Ah’m here ta pick up Apple Bloom.”

He walked into the house and made his way into the living room. The sight in front of him brought a smile to his face. On the floor in front of the TV, curled up on a pillow was AJ. He was fast asleep. Curled up next to him, being hugged up to his body by his left fore leg, slept Dinky with a smile on her face. Lying on his neck and head slept Apple Bloom, using his mane as a pillow. In front of AJ was a notebook with a bunch of crusading ideas written on it.

Big Mac didn’t have the heart to wake them up. Instead he grabbed the blanket that was lying on the couch and draped it over AJ. He grabbed the notebook, flipped to the next page, and, using the light from the TV, wrote AJ a note telling him to just bring Apple Bloom home with him the next day. After finishing the note, he placed the notebook back in front of AJ. He then took off AJ’s glasses so they wouldn’t get broken during the night and placed them on the table next to the couch before turning off the TV. Once he was happy with how thing were he left as quietly as he could.

********************

The clock read 11:17 when Ditzy finally reached the castle. By this point she was practically dragging herself on her belly to get any further. When she reached the castle gates, she promptly collapsed under her own weight. She was approached by two guards. “State your business,” said the one on the left.

“D…Ditzy Doo…Ponyville post…office…delivery,” she managed to get out between breaths.

The guards looked at Ditzy, then at the box. “Alright, go on in,” said the one on the right.”

Ditzy attempted to stand, but her legs felt like wet noodles after dragging that giant box for ten hours. “Can’t…move…feel…dead.”

She then felt the harness on her back lift from her body. Using what strength she had left she moved her head up to see Celestia; a golden glow surrounding her horn. “Ditzy Doo, it’s good to see you again.” Ditzy just gurgled something incomprehensible. Celestia giggled and lifted Ditzy onto her back. “You must be absolutely exhausted. Why don’t you come inside and rest while I go tell…”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” Luna came blowing through the doors behind Celestia. “IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE!!! NOODLE WILL BE SO HAPPY HE NOW HAS A BED!!!” Luna picked up the giant box with her magic like it was nothing and ran back into the castle.

Celestia stood there blinking for a second before giggling at her sister. She turned back to Ditzy who had already passed out on her back. ‘Maybe it’s best she didn’t know that was all for a pet bed.’ she said to herself as she walked back into the castle.

********************

Celestia leaned back in the tub. Luna had told her that she deserved the day off and opted to take all her duties for the day. At this moment she was talking with the heads of the Cloudsdale Weather Factory about where they were going to get the water for the clouds next. “Oh Luna, you’re such a great sister.” Luna may like to have fun, but when it came to running Equestria; there was no better pony to rule with. She dunked her head down in the bath for a minute before resurfacing; her head and mane covered in pink suds. “I love baths. There’s no better way to relax than a nice, long…”

“TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

“Luna?!” Celestia jumped out of the bath and dashed out of her room. She had to put on the breaks when she noticed Luna standing in the hallway outside her room. “Luna! What’s wrong?! Are you hurt?! Is the castle under attack?! Is…” Luna interrupted her by shoving something in her face. Celestia stared at it for a second before it registered in her head. “Is that an anteater?”

Luna had the biggest, brightest smile Celestia had ever seen on a pony. She was bouncing up and down in excitement. “Isn’t he adorable?!”

Celestia continued to stare. “Umm, yes, yes he is, but where did you find it?”

“The weather ponies and I were walking through the gardens as we spoke! When we passed under a tree I felt something fall onto my back! I looked back to see this little guy! Can I keep him?!”

“Keep him?” Celestia asked. “You mean like a pet?” Luna nodded vigorously. Celestia blinked a few times before smiling. “I don’t see why not. But you must make sure you…”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” squealed Luna as she hugged the anteater to her chest. “I’M GOING TO CALL HIM NOODLE!!!” She dashed down the hall to her room.

Celestia just watched the trail of smoke left in Luna’s wake for a minute before she heard a voice behind her. “Umm, Princess?” Celestia turned to see Green Sea, one of her personal helpers, behind her. Celestia liked her because she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind about anything and everything. She refused to be afraid of both her and her sister Luna. “I must say, I like the new look you’re sporting today. Very scandalous. Wet manes are definitely in this year.”

Confused Celestia looked herself over. Her coat was completely drenched. Her once ethereal mane and tail were both soaked and matted down against her body. She still had soap suds in both her mane and tail. With a light blush Celestia ran back into her room and slammed the door.

****************************************

((God damn does it feel good to be writing this again :D Before anyone asks, when it comes to anything age related, I’m going to use the ages for the US since that’s where I live, and those are the laws I’m most familiar with. Like you’re not an adult until your 18, or you can’t legally drink until 21.
My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

A Little Gender Confusion

Chapter 24

Thanks to her internal clock, Ditzy had woken up early like she does every day. She rolled around in the bed in a vain attempt to get comfortable once again. After trying for ten minutes she decided to just bite the bullet and ‘welcome’ the day. She uncovered herself, rolled to the side of the bed, and proceeded to plop down onto the floor with a resounding thud. “Why can’t I move my legs?” she grumbled. She finally decided to open her eyes. She looked around to see that she was in the same room she stayed in when they were in Canterlot. “Oh…right.”

After a minute of trying to get her very sore legs to cooperate with the rest of her body, she finally managed to get to her hooves. She saw it was 6:24 in the morning as she stared at the clock. She eventually managed to stumble her way to the door. As she was about to open the door, the sound of somepony knocking on her door rang through her ears. She slowly opened the door to find Proper Manners standing there; a smile on his face, and a note floating next to him in his magic. “Good morning Ms. Doo. I trust you slept well?”

“About as well as one can sleep after lugging a giant box halfway across Equestria. How can you even feel alive this early in the day?” asked the envious pegasus.

“It is my duty to awaken with the Princess so that I may aid her in any way that I can, and right now that means passing on this message.” He hovered the note in front of Ditzy. “After you arrived the Princess requested that we send word to your place of employment. The messenger we had sent returned with a message from Mr. Brown thanking you for a job well done; along with allowing you to take the day off to recover after the long and arduous trip.” He folded the note and placed it on the table near the door. It annoyed Ditzy a little bit because she wasn’t done reading it. Not that it mattered anyway. She could barely make out the words in her exhausted state and hadn’t even finished the first sentence before forgetting what she had just read. “You are more than welcome to stay for as long as you require.”

Ditzy tried, and failed to hold back a big yawn. ‘I can’t stay. I need to get back home to Dinky,’ she thought to herself. She watched Proper Manners nod and start to walk away. “Umm, excuse me. Could I ask you a question?”

“Of course Ms. Doo. What would you like to know?”

“What was in that box anyway?”

Proper Manners smiled again. “A few days ago Princess Luna found a baby anteater in the gardens. She loved it so much she decided to make it her new pet. She named it Noodle; adorable little thing if I do say so myself. She’s making sure Sir Noodle has everything he needs to be happy, and thanks to your delivery last night he now has the most luxurious pet bed money can buy.”

“Pet…bed?” Ditzy asked; hoping she had just heard him wrong. She now realized that fate must hate her as she saw him nod. She said nothing. For almost an entire minute she just stared awkwardly at Proper Manners. Then she started laughing. The laughter quickly elevated to near hysterical levels before subtly turning into crying as she curled into a ball.

********************

It was almost nine by the time Ditzy got home. Clearly too exhausted to fly all the way back Celestia had sent her home in a carriage. Ditzy was grateful that she didn’t have to fly home. She was also grateful that they had sent her away with a big thermos of freshly brewed coffee. Since she was done with the coffee she left the thermos in the carriage when she got out.

She walked into the house with a smile. “It feels good to be home.” As she got closer to the living room, she heard the sound of the TV. It was just loud enough to get her attention. She poked her head in and smiled when she saw that AJ was still sleeping, but that wasn’t why she was smiling. At some point AJ had uncurled, rolled onto his side, and was now hugging Dinky to his chest. Dinky was instinctively nuzzling up to him as she slept; the smile still on her face.

Ditzy was about turn and head into the kitchen when she heard the toilet flushing in the bathroom followed by the faucet being turned on. A few seconds later Apple Bloom exited the room; eyes closed and a smile on her face. “Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom opened her eyes to see Ditzy standing there. “Hi Ditzy Doo.”

As she heard the voices, Dinky started to wake up. “Hmm?” Dinky rubbed her eyes with her legs before opening them. The first thing she saw was the legs wrapped around her. She followed them to AJ and smiled; hugging him back.

Ditzy noticed the movement and turned her head. “Morning my little muffin.”

Hearing her mother’s voice, Dinky squeaked in happiness and squirmed out of AJ’s legs. “Mommy’s home!”

“What’s home now?” AJ asked as he pushed himself up. Dinky’s squeak of happiness had woken him up. He let out a big yawn before stretching his limbs. When he opened his eyes he noticed that his world was one big blur. “Where are my glasses? I don’t remember taking them off last night.”

“I believe you’re looking for these?” came a familiar voice from behind him. AJ turned to see Ditzy leaning over and place his glasses on his head.

With his vision clear once more, he smiled with a slight blush. “Thanks.” Looking around the room again he saw Apple Bloom standing there. “Wasn’t Big Mac going to pick you up last night?”

Apple Bloom shrugged her shoulders. “Ah don’t know. He did leave a note fer ya.” She said as she pointed to the notebook in front of him.

AJ looked down at the note and quickly skimmed it; ending with an ‘ah.’ He turned to Ditzy. “Sorry about Apple Bloom. She had nothing to do yesterday so they brought her over here with me."

Ditzy giggled. “It’s no trouble at all.”

Smiling, AJ turned to the clock. “Oh crap! Apple Bloom, we gotta go.”

“Can’t you stay a little longer?” Dinky asked with big, puppy dog eyes.

That look. Not only did AJ feel his heart break at the mere sight of it, he was pretty sure he heard an audible cracking noise to go along with it. He had just found something more powerful than the CMC Special. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Sorry Dinky. I have to get back to the farm for work, and I’m sure they’re wondering where Apple Bloom is too.”

Dinky pouted. “Okay.” She jumped up and gave AJ another hug. “Thank you for playing with me.”

AJ smiled and hugged her back. Ditzy giggled to herself. “So everything went well then?”

AJ let Dinky back onto the floor. “Oh yea, she was the perfect little angel.” Dinky smiled up at her mom. “Well, we should get going. Come on Apple Bloom.” Apple Bloom picked up the notebook and stuck it in her bags before catching up with AJ at the door. “I’ll see you two later.”

Ditzy and Dinky waved goodbye as they watched the two of them leave. When the door closed Ditzy looked down to Dinky. “Why don’t you go take a bath while I get some breakfast ready.”

“Okay mommy.” Dinky hopped over to the stairs, stopping halfway there. “Mommy?”

“Yes?” Ditzy asked as she turned her head, still walking to the kitchen.

“Can AJ be my new daddy?”

Stunned by what she was just asked, Ditzy tripped over her own hooves and fell onto her face. ‘I guess that went a little TOO well,’ she thought to herself.

********************

“Alright, that’s th’ last one,” Applejack said as she placed one last bucket onto the cart. Big Mac was ready to make the next trip to unload at the barn. “Ah’ll meet’cha in th’ north fields then.”

“Eeyup.”

As Applejack walked to the north field, she saw some ponies coming down the path to the farm. She smiled when she saw who it was. “Yer a little late!” she yelled to AJ as he got closer.

“Sorry for sleeping in,” AJ said with a laugh. “Ditzy just got home not too long ago so it’s not like I could have left anyway.”

“Don’t worry, Ah understand. So, did y’all eat yet?”

AJ shook his head. “Nope. We were late enough getting home as it was.”

Applejack smiled. “Well, there’s more than enough leftovers ta go around. Go get somethin’ ta eat before ya start.”

“Sounds good to me. Where are we working today?”

“Th’ north field. Come find me when yer ready,” Applejack said; motioning with her head.

“Right. See you then.”

********************

“So, did Applejack forgive you for being late yesterday?” asked Ditzy. They were both done with work so they decided to go to Sugarcube Corner for some lunch. Sparkler had Dinky for the day. She was going to the fair for the day and invited Dinky to go with her.

“Yea, she was fine with it. She said as long as I don’t make a habit of it she doesn’t mind.” AJ gave a slight sigh. “As long as Big Mac’s there to wake me up I don’t think we’ll have much of a problem though.”

Ditzy let out a sigh of relief. “Well that’s good. I’d hate for you to lose your job because of me.”

“Well, this is Applejack we’re talking about. If it got too bad, she’d probably just pull me aside and give me a stern talking to. Or at least I HOPE that’s as far as it would go. She’s scary when she gets angry.”

“Oh come on. I’m sure she’s not that bad.”

AJ stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes suddenly became distant. “You haven’t been on the receiving end of an angry Applejack before.”

“Is it really that bad?” Ditzy asked.

AJ started rubbing the left side of his head. “You don’t know the half of it.”

It wasn’t much longer before they got to Sugarcube Corner. When they walked in they were greeted by Mrs. Cake. At the moment she was wiping down some tables. “Oh hello you two.”

“Hello Mrs. Cake. How are you today?” asked Ditzy.

“A little tired. Pound and Pumpkin didn’t want to go to sleep last night. Carrot’s upstairs feeding them right now before their nap.” She stopped what she was doing and walked behind the counter. “So, what can I get you two?”

The two of them looked through the display case. “Hmm, I think I’ll take…”

“Oh, oh, I know what you should take!” Pinkie shouted from the kitchen interrupting AJ. She came out of the kitchen with some cake balanced on her back, and a kettle with two cups on her head.

Mrs. Cake stared at Pinkie with a questioning look. “Pinkie, what’s that?”

“It’s tea cake!” Pinkie said with a big smile. “I thought I should try my hoof at something new!” When she got to a table she bucked her hips; sending the plate full of tea cake flying into the air, and landing perfectly on the table. She then did the same thing to the kettle on her head.

“And I assume that’s some tea then?” Ditzy asked pointing at the kettle.

“Mmhm! It’s a special blend that’s supposedly really yummy! You two should try it!”

AJ and Ditzy looked at each other. “Well, what do you say Ditzy? Do we eat cake?”

“Sure why not. It never hurts to try something new.”

“YAY!!!” AJ and Ditzy sat down at the table the cake was sitting at. Pinkie poured the two of them some tea. AJ and Ditzy grabbed up some cake and started digging in.

********************

Big Mac let out a yawn as he walked across the hall. Today was going to be a good day. The weather reports called for a light cloud cover today. The extra shade is going to make bucking all the more enjoyable. He knocked on AJ’s door, and poked his head in. “Time ta wake up.” As he looked at the bed, the only thing he saw was a bit of brown mane sticking out from the covers. AJ grumbled something incomprehensible letting Big Mac know he was awake. Happy, Big Mac closed the door again.

AJ was feeling sore and exhausted. He didn’t even know why. He didn’t overdo it yesterday, so why was he feeling this crappy. He tried to levitate his glasses, but was just feeling too weak right now. So he had to fumble with his glasses until he finally worked them on to his head. He slowly got out of bed. As his hooves got to the floor, he noted that the bed felt like it was a bit higher off the floor than usual. He just figured it was just because he was feeling out of it right now.

“Oh, this is going to be a FUN…” He stopped mid sentence. Something wasn’t right. “Is my voice…” He threw his hooves to his mouth. “What’s wrong with my voice?!” His voice sounded much lighter in tone. He sat down and looked around the room. He stopped dead when his eyes locked onto the mirror. His eyes grew wide.

********************

Applejack walked out of the room with a smile on her face. “T’day’s goin’ ta be a great day ta buck!”

Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.”

The two of them went to go wake up Apple Bloom until. “EEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Applejack looked at Big Mac, and then to AJ’s room. “Ah swear, if there’s another spider in there…” Applejack slowly walked to the door and started opening it. As soon as she cracked it open, she felt something slam into the other side; holding it closed. “AJ? Everythin’ alright in there?” There was silence for a minute. “Sugarcu…”

“Yup, everything’s fine, nothing’s wrong in here. Nothing at all. Go away now…please?” came a voice from the other side of the door.

Applejack looked at Big Mac again. “Uhh sugarcube? Are you alright? Ya sound kinda strange. Do ya got a cold’r somethin'?”

“YES, uh I mean yes, a cold, that’s it.” The sound of obviously fake coughing could be heard from the other side of the door. “Oh, it looks like I’ll have to stay in here for, oh I don’t know, the rest of my life. Don’t want to get anypony else sick, now do we.” More fake coughing followed.

Applejack gave the door a blank stare. “That’s it, Ah’m comin in.”

“NO!!! You can’t! You’ll get sick. Then who will buck apples?” Applejack tried to open the door again. “Please! You can’t come in here!”

“Ah’m sorry sugarcube, but somethin’ fishy’s goin’ on in there, an’ Ah plan on findin’ out what it is.” Applejack gave the door a small shoulder tackle. Still no luck. She was starting to get annoyed. She backed up to the other end of the hall, and crashed into the door as hard as she could. The door flew open as the pony on the other side tumbled forward. Applejack smiled. “Now ta get some answers.”

After his tumble, he ended up resting on his neck, eyes spinning, as his back end hung in the air leaning on the foot of the bed. As Applejack looked at the pony before her, her jaw dropped. The pony before her was definitely AJ. The indigo coat, and the lack of a cutie mark gave that away. But there were a few differences. His mane and tail were longer. His body was smaller, more delicate, and had soft curves. His muzzle was no longer angular, but instead more rounded. But there was one more very big change. AJ was missing a very important piece of equipment between his legs. Instead, there were a pair of teats and a set of lower lips. He…was now a she.

Big Mac poked his head in. “Everythin’ alright in…” He stared ahead at the now mare in front of him. He squinted his eyes as if trying to make sure he was actually seeing what he was seeing. “Umm, Ah’m not th’ only one seein’ this, right?”

“Nnope.”

AJ finally started coming to hi…her senses. As she looked forward she saw the other two ponies in the room. “Eeep!” AJ quickly got onto her hooves and leapt back into bed, covering herself with the blanket. “DON’T LOOK AT ME!!!”

Applejack was still dumbfounded. “Wh-what? What happened?! Yer a mare!”

AJ poked her head out of the sheets. Her face was angry and she had tears rolling down her cheeks. “No shit! Why don’t you tell us something we don’t all know?!”

Applejack backed up a step. She didn’t expect AJ to get so angry. “Hey, settle down now. Ah was just wonderin’ why yer a mare.”

“STOP SAYING THAT!!!”

“But…”

“FUCK YOU!!!”

“ENOUGH!!!” commanded Big Mac. He rarely yelled. In fact, he outright hated to, but when he did it was enough to shake the world. “She didn’t do anythin’ to ya! So just calm down!”

The anger fell from AJ’s face. Only sadness remained. “Now, will ya tell us what happened?” asked Applejack.

AJ sniffled before speaking. “I…I don’t know. I just woke up feeling terrible, looked in the mirror, and…” More tears started welling up in her eyes.

“Whoa now, don’t cry, don’t cry. Ah’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation fer all this,” Applejack said to try to calm her down. “Why don’t we just go ta Twilight’s and…”

“NO!!! I can’t go out like…like this!” AJ said as she sat up; letting the covers drop off her body. “How do you think everypony will act if I just suddenly show up as a mare?! Nopony else must know about this.”

“But…how will we know what happened if ya don’t see somepony?” Applejack asked.

“Don’t care. Not leaving this room.”

Applejack facehoofed. ‘It’s too early ta deal with this,’ she thought. She looked to Big Mac. “Big Mac, get mah rope.”

“Eeyup.”

********************

AJ managed to put up quite a fight. Before they were able to tie her up, she managed to give Applejack a black eye and a bruised chin. Now she was hog tied and lying on Big Mac’s back as she was forcefully taken to the library. “I will destroy you! I will destroy you SOOO hard!”

“Oh shush you! At least we covered ya in a sheet an’ took th’ back roads ta prevent any ponies from seein’ ya,” said Applejack as she knocked on the door to the library.

The door was opened by Spike. “Hey you two. What can I…” Spike noticed the wriggling sheet on Big Mac’s back. “What’s with the sheet?”

“That’s actually what we’re here about. Is Twilight home?” asked Applejack.

“Yep, come on in while I go get her.” Spike let them in before running upstairs.

A couple minutes later Twilight came down the stairs, stopping half way down to yawn into her hoof. “Morning Applejack, Big Mac. What can I do for you?”

“Sorry fer wakin’ ya like ths Twi, but we got a bit of an emergency here,” Applejack said as she motioned to the squirming sheet.

“Untie me you bandits! I will MAME you!” said the sheet.

Twilight just stared at the sheet with a questioning look. “Who’s in the sheet?”

The squirming sheet suddenly slipped off Big Mac’s back, landing on the floor with a loud thud, and an ‘Oof!’ from the sheet. An indigo hoof shot out of the sheet and pointed upwards. “Don’t worry! I am fine! My spine broke my fall! Oww.”

As AJ continued to struggle on the floor, the sheet stopped doing its job and came off of her, revealing the indigo mare with three hooves still bound. She was desperately biting at the rope to try to get it undone. Twilight just stared in awe. “Applejack, who is this?”

“Ah think you can already guess that fer yerself.”

Twilight took another look at the struggling pony. The indigo coat, the brown mane and tail, the lack of a cutie mark, there was only one pony she knew that held these traits. Her eyes widened. “Is that AJ?!” she asked pointing a hoof.

“Yes, and I’d like it if you didn’t announce this to all of Ponyville thank you very much,” AJ said before going back to undoing the knot around her ankles.

“What happened to him?!”

“We don’t rightly know,” Big Mac said. “Said he just woke up like…”

“HaHA!!! I’m free!” AJ got up and bolted for the door. Only to run straight into the brick wall that is Big Mac who stepped in front of the door to block her path. As AJ sat in a heap on the floor, she looked up at the pony she had just run into. Her eyes stared at the muscular neck; slowly moving down to his toned, muscular flanks and legs. She looked back to his head. That chiseled chin, those soft, green eyes, that rugged, orange mane, those adorable freckles. The stallion before her looked as if he had been sculpted by the gods themselves. Why did AJ never notice how handsome Big Mac was before?

Applejack noticed the blush start to grow on AJ’s face. “Umm,you okay?”.

AJ slowly nodded, keeping her gaze on Big Mac. “Y-yea. I’m fine.”

Applejack looked between AJ and Big Mac before leaning down next to AJ. “Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on, but Ah don’t think now’s th’ time ta be checkin’ mah brother out.”

AJ’s face grew crimson as she turned to Applejack. “Sh-shutup! I wasn’t checking him out!”

“Mmhm,” Applejack said clearly unconvinced. She looked to Twilight. “So, ya think ya could do somethin’ fer’im?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “I don’t know. I’ve never come across a spell that can change somepony’s gender like this, and without knowing exactly what happened…”

Twilight got close to AJ and started examining her. AJ started getting very nervous as the purple mare slowly walked around her. “W-what are you looking for?”

“Any sign’s that could tell us what happened.” Once she finished her round, she stepped away with a grimace. “Nothing.”

“So there’s nothing you can do for me?” AJ asked with desperation in her voice.

“Hmmm, I’ll have to look into this. Maybe there’s some old spell books locked away in the closet downstairs that I missed,” said Twilight as she walked towards the basement door.

“Well that was a bust,” AJ said in disappointment.

Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry sugarcube. Ah’m sure Twilight will be able ta find some way ta help ya. Until then, why don’t we get back ta th’ farm.”

“Ooooh no. You are NOT taking me out there again.”

Applejack sighed. “We can do this th’ easy way, or th’ hard way.” She grabbed up her rope to emphasize her point.

AJ was about to retaliate, but stopped as she weighed the options. She could either go outside willingly and risk being seen, or she could be tied up and taken outside and risk being seen. “If we did things the hard way, would I be tied to Big Mac again?” She asked with a slight blush.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at the question. “What th’ hay does that have ta do with anythin’?”

“N-nothing.”

********************

In the end AJ decided to do things the easy way. She figured that everything would go much smoother if she just went along with it. AJ still insisted they go through the back roads though. By the time they got to the farm AJ felt like crying once again. She was having a hard time trying to cope with being female.

As soon as she got into the door AJ fell to her haunches and started whimpering. She felt a leg fall around her shoulders. As she turned her head she saw Applejack looking at her with a soft smile. “Why don’t ya go upstairs an’ get some rest. Ah’m sure some sleep’ll help ya calm down some.”

AJ sniffled a bit. “W-what are you going to do?”

“Ah’m goin’ ta go see if maybe Zecora’ll know about what’s goin’ on.”

For the first time since she woke up this morning, AJ smiled. “T-thanks Applejack. This means a lot to me.”

“No problem at all. Now go on, get. Ah’ll be back as soon as Ah can.”

********************

Applejack walked back through the door about three hours later. The first thing she heard was somepony in the kitchen. Going in she saw Big Mac making some lunch. From the looks of it he was almost done. “Ah’m back.”

Big Mac turned his head and smiled. “You hungry?”

“As a horse.”

Applejack sat down in a chair and sighed. “So, were ya able ta figure anythin’ out with Zecora?” asked Big Mac.

Applejack shook her head. “She’s never heard of anythin’ like this either. So how’s AJ doin’?”

“Ask’im…her yerself,” Big Mac said as he pointed into the living room.

Applejack stood up and walked into the living room. When she did she saw a lump wrapped in a sheet on the couch. She walked up to the couch and sat down next to the lump. “Uhh, everythin’ alright?” No response. “How ya feelin’?”

“Like I’m going to die of embarrassment,” said the lump.

“Say what now?” Applejack pulled the sheet off of AJ’s head to see the intense blush on her face. “What happened?”

“Well, I went upstairs to take a nap like you said. I woke up about an hour and a half later. After that I just sat there in bed to collect my thoughts, and well…”

Applejack waited. “Well what?”

“Well, my thoughts eventually turned to…well…” AJ said nothing. She just looked to the kitchen.

“Turned to…” Applejack followed AJ’s eyes to the kitchen. Not understanding at first, she remembered just who was in the kitchen. Her eyes widened slightly. “Oooh.” She turned back to AJ. “Ah still don’t see what’s wrong.”

AJ started to shift around, clearly uncomfortable with what they were talking about. “W-well, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He’s just perfect. His face, his coat, his strong legs. His firm, muscular butt, his…”

“Alright, Ah get it, ya think mah brother’s hot! Just get on with it already!” Applejack said; slightly disgusted. She didn’t want to think of her brother like that…ever.

“Well…”

********************

Big Mac wiped the sweat off his brow. He may have gotten a late start, but he made up for it by working hard this morning. He looked up into the sky. From the position of the sun, he could guess that it was getting to be around lunch time, and since they didn’t eat breakfast, he was going to have to make this a big one.

He walked into the house. Before he got into the kitchen he stopped. ‘Ah should go check on AJ. See how she’s doin’.

He headed upstairs to AJ’s room. He cracked the door open and poked his head in. “Hey AJ, how ya…”

His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. AJ was lying on the bed. Her rump was up in the air, and her tail was off to the side. Her hooves were quite busy between her hind legs. Her head was buried into her pillow to hide her moans of ecstasy. Though he was pretty sure he could hear his name being called. With the position of the bed, Big Mac was getting quite the show.

“Uhh…” AJ’s eyes shot open as her body froze up when she heard the voice. She turned her head to see Big Mac’s head sticking through the door; a blush visible on his face. Her face became redder than Big Mac’s coat. “Umm, Ah’ll come back later.” He quickly pulled his head from the door and closed it.

AJ just sat there for a minute. To say that she was mortified was an understatement.

********************

“Oh fer th’ love of…” said Applejack as she facehoofed; a light blush showing on her face.

“I was…I was curious,” AJ said; the blush on her face was even more intense than earlier.

“Looks like Ah’ll have ta have another talk with Big Mac about privacy an’ knockin’ before enterin’.” Applejack got up off the couch. “Come on. It’s about time fer lunch, an’ you must be hungry.”

AJ shook her head. “I can’t go in there. Not while he’s in there.”

Applejack sighed. “Look, Ah know how embarrassed ya must feel right now. It’s happened ta me too, remember? We talked about this. Ya can’t let somethin’ like this beat ya.”

“But what if he hates me now? I don’t want him to hate me.”

Applejack giggled and put a hoof on AJ’s shoulder. “Trust me. He doesn’t hate ya. It’ll take a lot more than that ta make him start ta dislike ya. Now come on. He’s probably wonderin’ where we…” Applejack was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Now just who could that be.” Applejack got up and opened the door. “Oh, Hey Rares. What can Ah do fer ya?” she asked with a big smile on her face.

“You’re late,” Rarity said with an annoyed look on her face.

“Late? Fer what?”

“For our lunch date of course. We planned this yesterday, remember?” Rarity started tapping her hoof on the ground.

Applejack stared at Rarity for a moment. Then her eyes got wide. “Oh ponyfeathers! Ah plumb forgot!” Applejack’s face became apologetic. “Sorry sugarcube. T’day’s been a pretty crazy day.”

The anger dropped from Rarity’s face and was replaced with concern. “Is everything alright?”

“Well…” Applejack looked back to the couch. “Not really.”

Wondering what Applejack was looking at, Rarity poked her head through the door. Everything looked alright, the only thing she saw was the indigo mare lying on the couch who eeped and covered herself with a sheet when she realized she’d been seen. “Applejack, who’s this,” she asked in a level tone.

Applejack started to sweat a little bit. She wasn’t so sure she should tell Rarity who that was. “She’s uh…she’s just a friend.” Applejack silently cursed at herself for being such a bad you liar.

“Just a friend, hmm?” Rarity took an angry step towards Applejack. “Applejack, do you think I’m stupid?”

“What? Of course not. Why would ya think that?”

“Then why are you lying to me about who this mare is?” Rarity suddenly gasped. “Y-you’re cheating on me, aren’t you?”

“What?!” Applejack couldn’t believe Rarity would suggest something like that. “Of course Ah ain’t! Ah love ya Rares. Ah could never cheat on ya.”

“Then tell me who she is!”

“Ah can’t.”

“Tell me!”

“No, uhh…”

“Tell me, tell me tell me tellmetellmetellmetellmetellme! Tell me!”

“It’s AJ, alright!” Applejack said; finally relenting.

Once again the anger dropped off Rarity’s face. This time replaced with confusion. “I’m sorry, what now?”

“That mare is AJ. He just kinda woke up like that.”

Rarity looked from Applejack to the mare on the couch. Using her magic she pulled the sheet off of AJ who just stared at her with wide eyes. Getting a better look at the mare confirmed what Applejack had said. Rarity’s eyes got wide. “How…”

Applejack shook her head. “We don’t know. We’ve talked ta Twilight an’ Zecora, an’ neither of them knows what’s goin’ on.”

Rarity took another look at AJ. “Well, how is sh…he…how’s the poor dear handling it?”

“Not too great.”

“Hmm.” Rarity walked up to the couch. AJ was now sitting up, though she was looking away from the other mares in the room. Rarity examined AJ more closely. “Ah ha! I know what we could do.”

AJ’s eyes brightened with hope. “You mean you know how to change me back?”

“Oh, no. If Twilight doesn’t know, how would I know.” AJ immediately deflated. “But I do know how to make this more bearable for you.”

“How?” AJ asked starting to lose hope.

Rarity turned to Applejack. “Applejack, do you still have that makeover kit I gave you last year?”

Applejack groaned. “Ah don’t know why, but yes. Why?”

“It seems like he…she…” Rarity turned to AJ. “Would it be okay with you if I just said she?” AJ just shrugged. “Well, it seems like she’s very self conscious right now. A make over might show her that she has nothing to be self conscious about.”

Applejack looked doubtful. “Ah don’t know Rares. Are you sure that’s really what she needs?”

“It couldn’t hurt to try.” Rarity turned to AJ. “How does that sound darling?”

AJ shook her head. “I-I don’t know.”

Rarity smiled. “Come on. I’ll make you feel better about yourself, or die trying.” She helped AJ off the couch and led her upstairs.

********************

“Alright. Just a few more finishing touches and…done!” Rarity levitated AJ’s glasses back onto her head so she could look at the new her.

AJ’s eyes grew wide. Rarity had washed her mane, put in cream colored highlights, and put it in a braided ponytail that was hanging over her left shoulder. She also had bangs that were hanging over her left eye just slightly. Her tail got the same treatment. Her coat had been brushed to a fine sheen and looked better than it ever had. Rarity had also used a bit of makeup. Not too much, just a small amount of blush, and some eye shadow to bring out her eyes. AJ had to admit, she did look good. But there was one problem she just couldn’t overlook. One major problem that ruined this entire experience. This wasn’t who she was.

Seeing just how different she looked in the mirror brought tears to her eyes. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, ruining her makeup. Rarity became concerned. “Darling, what’s wrong?” AJ brought her hooves up to her eyes and started to cry. “Aww, shh shh, it’s okay. Just tell Rarity what’s wrong,” Rarity said as she drew AJ into a hug.

“I…I can’t do this Rarity, I just can’t do this.” She stopped to sniffle. “I’m constantly battling with my emotions. I can’t get them under control. I can’t even think about Big Mac without turning into a weak kneed little filly. Even going to the bathroom’s a chore now!” She stopped to take a ragged breath. “I hate this. I just want to be me again.” AJ continued to cry into Rarity’s shoulder.

Rarity rubbed AJ’s back, trying to get her to calm down. “It’s okay. I know you must be scared right now, but this isn’t the end of the world. I’m sure Twilight’s close to finding the cause of this, and will have a cure by tomorrow.”

“B-b-but what if she doesn’t. I’ll be stuck like this forever.”

“If that’s the case, then we’ll be here to help you though this,” Rarity said in a reassuring voice.

“Huh?”

Rarity grabbed AJ by the shoulders and held her out slightly so she could look her in the eye. “You heard me. Me, Applejack, Twilight, everypony would be there for you in your time of need to make this transition easier on you. We’ll all be right behind you. So dry those tears and turn that frown upside down. You’re much more beautiful when you smile.”

AJ’s mouth slowly curled into a smile. She sniffled before hugging Rarity. “Thank you.”

There was a knock on the door. “Everythin’ alright in there?” came Applejack’s voice.

“Everything fine! We’ll be out in just a minute!” Rarity called out. She turned back to AJ. “Now, let’s fix your makeup. Then we can get out there and show them that you’re not afraid of who you are.”

********************

A few minutes later Rarity and AJ left the room and walked downstairs. They found Applejack sitting on the couch, waiting anxiously. Hearing the sound of hooves coming down the stairs, she turned her head and smiled. She got up and met them halfway. “Well now, don’t you look beautiful.”

AJ turned away in embarrassment with a smile on her face. “Thanks.”

“So, how’re ya feelin’?”

AJ turned to Rarity who nodded at her. “Better. Much better.”

Applejack adjusted her hat with a smile. “Well, Ah guess there really is somethin’ ta that makeover stuff after all.”

“Indeed there is,” Rarity said with a wink to AJ. AJ just smiled at Rarity.

“Now, th’ two of ya must be starvin’. Ah’m goin’ ta go heat up th’ leftovers fer ya.” With that, Applejack trotted into the kitchen.

********************

AJ woke up the next day with a big yawn. She levitated her glasses onto her head and looked into her mirror. ‘Yup, still a mare,’ she thought with a discouraging sigh. The conversation she had with Rarity the previous day ran through her head. A look of determination ran across her face. ‘No, I have to be strong. Everypony will be here for me.’ “I can do this!” She looked back into the mirror. AJ decided to keep the braided ponytail, and the highlights were there to stay. “And look good doing it.” She closed one eye and stuck out her tongue at her reflection.

With her head held high, AJ trotted out of her room; only to run straight into Applejack. “Whoa, watch out now sugarcube.”

“Hehe, sorry Applejack.”

Applejack smiled. “Well, somepony seems ta be in a good mood this mornin’.”

“Mmhm! Thanks to Rarity, I now know that I have nothing to worry about. If I have to stay like this, I know everypony will be there for me.”

Applejack chuckled. “Speakin’ of ponies bein’ here fer ya, Carrot Tops at th’ door. She’s askin’ fer ya.”

“Oh really? Well I shouldn’t keep her waiting then.” AJ happily trotted past Applejack and downstairs. She got to the door smiled. “Oh, hello Carrot Top. How was Las Pegasus?”

Carrot just stared at the mare in front of her. “Holy shit. Applejack wasn’t kidding. You really have changed.”

AJ looked at herself. “Heh, yea. I kinda like it though. I think the look suits me, don’t’ you?”

“Umm, sure?” Carrot said, a little uncomfortable with the question.

“You know, you don’t seem to be too surprised to see me like this. Something wrong?”

“I probably would have been surprised, if I didn’t have to deal with the exact same thing yesterday.”

AJ looked confused. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Just…see for yourself.” Carrot looked over and motioned somepony over.

“I-I can’t let him see me. Not like this,” came another pony’s voice.

“Oh come on! We talked about this! You said you’d do this, and you’re going to do this if I have to make you!”

“No!”

“Fine, let’s do this the hard way!”

AJ watched Carrot walk off to the side. “Noo! You can’t make mehehehe!”

“Yes…I…can!” Carrot said between grunts. After a minute of struggling, Carrot finally managed to drag the other pony over to the door by his tail. She wiped her brow. “Oh Celestia you’re heavy. No more muffins for you mister.”

AJ blinked as she looked at the pegasus stallion before her. He had a bluish grey coat, a blond mane, and bubbles for a cutie mark. His eyes were amber and were off kilter. He had a bandage on his forehead. AJ’s jaw dropped. “Ditzy?!”

The stallion looked to the door. His reaction was the same. “AJ?!”

Applejack came up behind AJ and peered over her shoulder. Her eyes widened. “Is that who Ah think it is?”

AJ nodded her head. “Eeyup.”

********************

“So you got home from Las Pegasus to find Ditzy a stallion?” asked AJ. Applejack had invited Ditzy and Carrot Top in to talk about what had happened.

“Yea. I didn’t know who this was, and I was scared, so I…got a little defensive,” Carrot said with a slight blush.

“A little defensive?! You broke the frying pan over my head! Dinky was more accepting of this than you!” Ditzy yelled.

“Hey, I said I was sorry!”

“Well, I guess that explains the bandage,” AJ said with a giggle.

Carrot nodded. “And I’m guessing you’re to blame for Applejack getting those?” she asked pointing to Applejack’s head.

“Uhh, yea. Long story. I wasn’t exactly…accepting of the changes yesterday,” AJ said as she scratched the side of her head.

“Speaking of which, do either of ya know what happened? Why did th’ two of ya suddenly change genders like this?” Applejack asked.

Ditzy shook his head. “We don’t know. We don’t even know what could do this.”

“We couldn’t get any answers either,” AJ said with a sigh.

There was a knock on the door. “Ah’ll get it.” Applejack opened the door to see an angry Twilight Sparkle, a guilty looking Pinkie, and an annoyed looking Rainbow Dash. “Hey girls. What can Ah do fer ya.”

“It’s not what you can do for us, but what these two…” Twilight emphasized her words by grabbing Pinkie and Rainbow by the ears with her magic. “Can do for AJ.”

“Oh come on Twilight, isn’t this a bit much?” Rainbow asked. Twilight didn’t answer. She just glared at the rainbow maned pegasus.

“What’re y’all talkin’ about?”

“I’ll let them explain it.” Twilight walked into the house, dragging Rainbow with her. Pinkie followed under her own free will. As she looked into the living room she gasped when she saw that Ditzy was now a stallion. She glared at the two ponies behind her again. “Ditzy too?!”

“What’s going on?” asked AJ.

Rainbow zoomed ahead of Twilight. “No way!” She looked AJ and Ditzy over; taking in every detail. “PFFFBUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Rainbow fell the floor as she laughed. “Oh man, this is great!”

As Rainbow laughed her flank off, Pinkie walked over looking much more apologetic. “We’re sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” AJ asked.

“For pranking you like this.”

AJ just stared at Pinkie for a minute. “A…prank?”

Twilight decided to step in. “Yes. Those Tea cakes you ate, and the tea you drank that day at Sugarcube Corner where laced with a plant called poison joke. It’s a lot like poison oak, but instead of being all itchy and stuff, it just plays a prank on you. It’s mostly harmless; just really, really annoying.”

The room was silent aside from Rainbow's laughter. AJ and Ditzy just stared between Rainbow and Pinkie. The look on AJ’s face slowly went from emotionless, to pure anger. “A JOKE?!?!?! THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!! HOW THE HELL IS THIS A JOKE?!?!?!”

“Hey now, Ah thought ya came ta terms with bein’ a mare?” Applejack asked.

“I did! Back when we thought it was just some evil magic or some bull shit like that!”

AJ looked over to Rainbow who was still laughing. Her horn erupted in anger, lifting Rainbow off the floor. “H-hey, what gives?”

“You think this is funny?! Is my torment funny to you?!” AJ asked as she walked up to Rainbow’s floating form.

“Hey, lighten up! We were just having some fun!”

“Fun?! How would you like it if something important to you was taken away from you, hmm?! How would you like it if I took your wings?!”

Dash looked both confused, and slightly terrified. “W-what?”

AJ started fuming. She started violently shaking Dashes body. “Give back what you stole from me! I WANT MY BALLS BACK!!!”

“Oookay, I think we’ve had enough of this,” said Twilight as she took hold of Rainbow in her magic, breaking AJ’s hold on her. As she was placed back on the floor, Dash looked like she was fighting to keep her breakfast down. “Just calm down. The effects of poison joke are easy enough to cure. The bath is available down at the Ponyville spa. I’m sure Pinkie and Rainbow would be more than happy to pay the expenses, right you two?”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Rainbow said as Pinkie just nodded enthusiasticly.

********************

“Oh, man. It feels SO good to be back,” AJ said as he stretched his limbs.

“Gotta say. It’s good ta see ya back. It was pretty weird seein’ ya as a mare,” Applejack said as they reached the farm house. “Though Ah got ta ask, how was it livin’ life as th’ opposite sex fer a day?”

“It was an…experience. Let’s just say I have a LOT more respect for what you have to go through.”

Applejack chuckled a bit. “So what’re you goin ta do about that?” she asked as she pointed to AJ’s mane.

“What, the highlights?” Applejack nodded. “Don’t know. They’re here to stay for now. Might keep them though, I kinda like them.” Looking back to the farm, he saw Big Mac leaving the barn. “Hold on, there’s one thing I need to make sure of. Hey Big Mac! Come here for a minute!”

Big Mac came over with a smile on his face. “Well look at ya. Yer back ta normal.”

“Yea, yea, back to normal. Look just…stand there for a moment.” AJ started staring intently at Big Mac. After a minute he started to slowly circling around him. Needless to say, Big Mac started feeling a bit awkward. Once AJ finished circling him a smile formed across his face. “No gay thought’s. I’m not gay anymore! I’M BACK BABY!!!” he shouted as he pumped his hoof.

****************************************

((I hope to god I don’t turn any of my female readers off with this chapter. Being that I have a penis, and therefore a man, I know little to nothing of the strange creature known as woman. So I am sorry if I offend any of the women out there XP

For reference, have a few pics.

This is normal, stallion AJ

And this is mare AJ Before

and after Rarity got done with her

My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

The Autumn Festival

Chapter 25

“Nothing to the left…nothing to the right…nothing behind me…above and below is clear. Looks like a clear shot to the house.” Rainbow readied herself to make a dash for the farm house. Making one last check for safety, she bolted from her hiding spot in an apple tree. She breathed a sigh of relief as she made it to the farm house in one piece. ‘Maybe things are finally starting to look up for me,’ she thought to herself.

This past week had been complete hell for Rainbow. Everything that had happened to her came rushing back as she looked at herself. It all started when Pinkie had invited her over for a sleepover. She woke up to find her mane and tail dyed pink, the same pink as Fluttershy’s, and her coat had been dyed lime green with purple polka dots. Pinkie, while finding it hilarious, claimed to have no idea what had happened. Knowing that Pinkie isn’t one to lie about her pranks, she believed her. The next day she woke up from a nap to find herself in a catapult. Before she could figure out what was going on the catapult launched her into a giant cream pie that was mounted on the side of a building. She was pretty sure Pinkie had something to do with that one. After that she opened the door to her house and got blasted by a big cloud of itching powder. The next day she had gotten a surprise package from a secret admirer while she was at the library with Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. Upon opening it, she found it to be packed full of dildos of all shapes, sizes, and species. She wasn’t exactly successful in convincing them that she didn’t order them. Oh, let’s not forget the snare trap that landed her in a vat of pudding.

She knew somepony was out to get her, but she didn’t know who. She had yet to be pranked today, and she planned on keeping it that way. She had scouted out every move she had made that day. She had managed to spot two pranks waiting for her so far on her way to the farm house alone. With a smile on her face she knocked on the door. It opened and a cream pie flew out; hitting her in the face. Wiping the cream out of her eyes, she fell to her belly. “Okay, that’s it. I give up. You win mystery pony.”

She heard hoofsteps coming from inside the house; stopping right in front of her. She looked up to see AJ looking down at her wearing the biggest shit eating grin she had ever seen. “Oh Rainbow, hello. How are you doing this fine day?”

“Y-y-you?”

“Me? Me what?” he asked holding the grin.

“You were the one doing this to me?”

AJ let out an over dramatic gasp. “Moi? How could you blame all these horrible things on me?” He feigned ignorance for as long as he possibly could before his laughter consumed him.

Rainbow continued to stare at him in disbelief. “Why would you do all that?! What did I do to you to deserve this week of hell?!”

AJ stopped laughing. It was his turn to look at Rainbow in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?” Rainbow just stared at him. “You really don’t remember? You don’t remember that little…’prank’ you pulled on me two weeks ago? All the torment I endured in such a short amount of time; just so you could get a laugh? Well I do. I knew I had to get you back, and all our friends were more than happy to help.”

“What?”

“The hair was simple enough. All I had to do was convince Pinkie to have a sleepover. Me and Rarity did the rest.

********************

AJ waited at the outside door to Pinkie’s room. He was waiting for Rarity. She was the only pony qualified to help him with this task. She was bringing the ‘supplies’ and the knowhow to pull off this prank. He took one last look at himself to make sure he was ready. He was wearing a black, skin tight sneaking suit to blend in with the darkness, and he had a bottle of sleeping pills in case his target happened to wake up. He finally heard the sound of somepony coming up behind him. “Alright Rarity, are you ready to…?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

AJ stared at Rarity with a blank stare. “You’re going to be wearing…that?”

Rarity was wearing an extravagant outfit complete with gemstones, and sequins. “Of course. Even when doing something so brutish a lady must look her best.”

AJ sighed. “Well, as long as they’re asleep I guess it doesn’t matter. Let’s go.”

********************

“It’s a good thing you’re such a heavy sleeper. Rarity wasn’t exactly the stealthiest pony around, but her work speaks for itself. As for the others, Pinkie was a big help. Who knew she had catapult stashed in her closet, or that she could even fit one in there in the first place. And all those dildos may have set me back a bit, but you’re reaction was SOOOO worth it.” AJ looked at Rainbow with an awkward stare. “Just…don’t ask where I got them, or who I had to ask. Don’t think she would appreciate that tidbit of information getting out.”

“So…so this was all some sort of twisted revenge?!” Rainbow asked; the anger seeping into her voice. “All because we pranked you?”

“Well…yes and no. It wasn’t because you pranked me. I welcome your pranks. Things like that help spice up the day. It’s how you did it, and the fact that you didn’t even feel sorry after hearing what we went through.” He leaned down so his head was close to hers. “You’ll think twice before pulling a prank like that again, right?”

Rainbow tried to find something to say; anything to try to turn this in her favor. She couldn’t think of a single thing. She lowered her head in defeat and sighed. “You win. I won’t do something like that again.”

AJ’s smile turned a lot friendlier in an instant. “That’s what I wanted to hear!” His horn flared to life as he grabbed a towel that was sitting next to the door, and floated it over to Rainbow. “Go get cleaned up. Afterwards we’ll go to Rarity to see if she can do something about that dye.”

********************

“Are you sure I need to practice this Twilight? It looks like I got it down pretty well,” AJ asked. He and Twilight were once again in the park practicing magic. Instead of trying something new, she had suggested he work on what he knew.

“Sometimes it’s best to practice what you know,” Twilight said matter of factly. “Besides, there’s still a lot of things you haven’t tried yet. All you’ve done is launch fireworks into the air. You should try to pull off something different.”

AJ looked at Twilight with a confused look. “Like what? And how would I even do something like that?”

Twilight stopped for a moment to think. Then her eyes lit up as it hit her. “Remember back to Trixie’s show. She was able to make all sorts of shapes with her fireworks. She was even able to write things in the air.”

“But how would I even do those things?”

He noticed Twilight deflate slightly. “That’s…where things get complicated. You see, I’ve never tried this type of magic before,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I assume you just will it to do stuff like that.”

AJ looked at Twilight with an unsure look. “You really think it’s something as simple as willing the explosions to look different?”

“It couldn’t hurt to try.” Twilight thought for a second. “Let’s try something simple. Try to make a star.”

AJ was still unsure about this. He sighed. “Alright. I guess we’ll never know unless we try.” AJ began to concentrate. His horn began to glow as an orb quickly grew at the tip. He fired the orb into the air where it exploded. AJ looked at the shape and winced. It was a star. It was horribly misshapen, and an abomination on pony kind, but it was definitely a star.

“Umm, well, it was good for a first try,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. “Buuut I think it would be a good idea to practice it a bit more.”

“Yea. Sounds like a plan.” And practice AJ did. He tried to make a star over, and over again. Each time it got better, and better. Even Twilight joined in. The spell didn’t come as easily to her as it did AJ, but she eventually got it. Once he was happy with the shape, he tried controlling the color of the explosions.

“And what do we have here? Practicing for the Autumn Festival are we?” came a voice from behind them.

They turned around to see Mayor Mare smiling at them. “Oh hello Ms. Mayor. No, we’re just practicing some magic right now.”

Ms. Mayor’s smile dropped a bit. “Oh, that’s a pity. A fireworks display would be a nice inclusion this year.”

AJ looked between the two mares; the confusion clear on his face. “What’s the Autumn Festival?”

Twilight looked back to AJ. “Oh that’s right; you’ve never been here for this. The Autumn Festival is held on the first day of autumn to celebrate the new season. There’s games, music, plenty of food, and then there’s the talent show. That’s always my favorite part. It takes place in a couple of weeks, and I’ve been given the honor to plan everything.”

“Hmm, sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun. Can’t wait,” he said with a smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try something a little harder this time.” His horn lit up as he began to cast the spell again.

Twilight watched as AJ fired the orb into the air. It exploded into a star again, but this one had six points instead of five. Then an idea came to her. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” AJ asked as his horn lit up again.

Twilight turned to the mayor. “Mayor, you’re going to get your fireworks display; courtesy of AJ.”

“Say what now!?” In his shock, he forgot to release the energy from his horn, causing it to explode on him once again.

The mayor’s face lit up. “Oh that’s wonderful! He can close out the festival. How does that sound?”

“That’s a great idea. I’ll fit it into the plans as soon as I get home.”

The mayor and Twilight spoke for a little while longer about the festival. The entire time AJ just sat there gawking at Twilight; his coat and mane still covered in burnt hair. “Well, it sounds like I left the festival in good hooves this year. I’ll see you later Twilight.” Ms. Mayor turned to leave. “And AJ,” she turned her head to AJ. “I can’t wait to see your display.”

Twilight waved goodbye as Ms. Mayor walked away. She turned to AJ and saw him gawking at her. “What?”

“Twilight, what the hell?!”

Twilight backed up a couple steps. “What? What did I do?”

“Why did you volunteer me like that?!”

Twilight’s surprised expression changed to a smile. “Oh that. Well, I thought that since you seem to know what you’re doing now, you would have no problem with a simple show like this.”

“A simple show?!” AJ looked a little horrified. “Twilight, I don’t know if you know this or not, but when put under pressure like this I tend to crack. I don't do well under pressure.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. You still have two weeks until the festival. That’s plenty of time to think of a routine.”

AJ shook his head. “I…I don’t know Twilight. This is going to be a lot of work. I already have a lot to do around the farm right now. Not to mention that the girls and I are going crusading this weekend.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about Applejack,” Twilight said as she waved her hoof dismissively. “She absolutely loves this festival. If she hears you’re planning a show for it she’ll probably give you all the free time you need to practice. The crusaders could probably help you think of some ideas.” She could see that AJ was still apprehensive about this. “Think of this as a test of your abilities. If you can pull this off, we’ll consider you a master of fireworks magic and move onto something else.”

AJ thought for a minute. He really didn’t want to do this. This was a lot to put on somepony who was still relatively new to magic, but then again this would be a favor to Twilight. Twilight’s done so much for him since he first arrived in Equestria. This is the least he could do for her. He let out a sigh. “Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Great! Why don’t you go and start practicing. I’ll go work on the schedule.” With that, Twilight was gone.

AJ stared at Twilight as she trotted in the direction of the library. He plopped down onto his haunches with a thud as what he just did started to sink in. “Oh fuck me. What did I just get myself into?”

********************

AJ and Ditzy were sitting together on a cliff; the waves of the sea crashing into the rocks below them. The sun was shining brightly, and a nice picnic lay out in front of them. A nice breeze blew past them; carrying the sent of Ditzy’s floral perfume to AJ’s nostrils. They looked at each other and smiled as they scooted closer. Once they were next to each other, Ditzy rested her head on AJ’s shoulder. “Today has been just perfect,” she said with a contented sigh.

“Mmhm.” For the longest time the two of them sat there enjoying the company of the other. They stared ahead; watching the sea. At one point they even saw some dolphins swimming by. They had stopped and started jumping out of the water. It was almost like they were giving the two ponies a free show.

After awhile AJ pulled his head away. Confused, Ditzy lifted her head and looked at him. He was staring at her with a warm smile. “Is something wrong?”

AJ shook his head. “Ditzy…I’ve had such a wonderful time with you today. I never thought I could be this happy. Nopony else has ever made me feel like this.” He looked at Ditzy who was now smiling back at him. “W-what I’m trying to say is…”

He was interrupted as Ditzy put a hoof on his lips. “No need to say anything.” She pulled her hoof away to reveal a smile on AJ’s face. They embraced in a big hug. They stared into each other’s eyes. Closing their eyes; they started to lean forward. Closer, and closer they got until…

Knock

********************

AJ’s eyes shot open. Seeing the blur that was the ceiling of his room in front of him and not the amber eyed pegasus angered him. “DAMNIT!!!”

“Did Ah interrupt somethin’?” Big Mac asked as he poked his head into the room; the confusion clear on his face.

AJ sat up rubbing his eyes. His brows were still furrowed in anger. “Only the best dream I’ve had in years.” He floated his glasses onto his head. “Why can’t more dreams be like that?”

Not knowing what AJ was talking about Big Mac just shrugged. “So, ya goin’ ta practice more t’day?” As Twilight had suspected, Applejack was more than happy to give AJ the two weeks off to make sure he had plenty of time to work on his show.

AJ got out of bed and stretched his limbs. “Nope.” He stopped his train of thought for a moment. “Well, maybe. It all depends really. The girls and I are going crusading today. If I do get to practice, it won’t be till later today.”

Big Mac just nodded in understanding. “Well, Ah’ll see ya downstairs.”

********************

“Coming!” called out Sunny Delight as she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door to see AJ standing there. She noticed that he was wearing his crusader cape. “Hey. From what you’re wearing, I assume you’re here for Scootaloo?”

“Yup. She’s a little late, and I was voluntold to come see if maybe something was wrong.”

Sunny facehoofed. “Of course she’s late. We get her a clock and she never uses it. It really wouldn’t surprise me if it was still in the box.” She shook her head. “Come on in.”

She led AJ through the house. As they got to the hallway that held Scootaloo’s room, loud music could be heard coming from one of the rooms. “Is that…Swan Lake?” asked AJ.

Sunny sighed. “Yes. It’s one of her favorites. I’ve told her to turn the music down hundreds of times, but she just won’t listen.” She turned to look at AJ. “You look surprised at this.”

“It’s just not the type of music I expected Scootaloo to like.”

“She’s full of surprises.” She stopped and knocked on one of the doors. “Scootaloo! You got a visitor!” There was no answer. Sunny knocked again. “Scootaloo?!” No answer. “That’s it, I’m coming in,” she groaned out.

AJ’s jaw dropped when Sunny opened the door. Scootaloo, the tomboy of the group, the filly who looks up to Rainbow Dash and strives to be everything Rainbow is, was dressed in pink ballet leotard and tights, and was dancing like a ballerina around her room. Her eyes were closed and a slight smile was on her face as her body moved, and flowed perfectly to the music. She was dead to the world. The only thing in her world at this moment was the sound of the music coursing through the speakers. As the music came to an end, so did her dancing. She sat there in her finishing pose for a few seconds, reveling in the feeling of euphoria. Then she heard the sound of somepony applauding. She opened her eyes to see not only her mom, but AJ standing in the door. She felt her face heat up immensely in embarrassment as she started at them in shock

“Scootaloo, that was amazing!” AJ said as he continued to applaud.

“W-w-what are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked.

“You’re late for your little play date with your friends,” Sunny said; a smile on her face.

“W-what?” Scootaloo looked at the clock, which was surprisingly up and working, on her dresser. Sure enough she was about 40 minutes late. “Oh crap!” She ran over and pushed AJ and her mom out the door. “I’ll be out in a minute.” She proceeded to slam the door.

********************

About ten minutes later Scootaloo finally exited her bedroom and met AJ in living room. “Hey, you ready?” Scootaloo gave a sheepish nod. “Alright then, let’s get going.”

“Don’t be out too late Scootaloo,” Sunny said from the kitchen.

“Don’t worry Sunny, I’ll have her back on time.” With that AJ and Scootaloo left the house. They were walking for about ten minutes when AJ realized just how quiet Scootaloo was being. He stopped and turned to look at the filly. “Everything alright Scoots?”

Scootaloo started shifting around uncomfortably. “Umm, could you not tell the others about what you saw?”

“What I saw?” AJ thought for a second. “Oh, you mean your dancing?”

Scootaloo tensed up. She looked around to make sure nopony had heard AJ say that. “Not so loud!” she hissed. “They can’t know about this. They’d just make fun of me.”

“Whaaaat? Scoot’s, nopony would make fun of you if they found out you liked dancing. Especially if they saw how good you were.” He saw the look of desperation on Scootaloo’s face and sighed. “Alright, I won’t tell anypony. Now come on, they probably think I got lost or something.” He chuckled a bit as he started walking again; Scootaloo following behind him. After a few steps he stopped again. “Wait a minute. I have an idea.” He turned back to the orange filly. “You know the Autumn Festival that’s coming up?”

“Yea, of course I know of it. Why?”

“Well, then you’d know of the about the talent show.”

Scootaloo clearly looked confused. “What are you…” Her eyes opened wide as the realization of what AJ was saying hit her. “Y-you’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?” AJ’s smile told it all. “No!”

“Come on Scoots. You looked great back there. I’m sure everypony would agree with me if they saw you.”

“Nonononono! I can’t dance! Not while everypony’s watching.”

“Just think about it. Auditions for the talent show are in a couple of days. You don’t need to make the decision at this time. Now come on, we need to hurry up and get to Carousel Boutique.”

********************

It was time for the talent show auditions. There was one more week until the festival. Twilight, Cheerilee, and Blues where the judges, and couldn’t wait to get started. “Well, are you two ready to begin?” Twilight asked the other two judges.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Blues said as he looked at the giant crowd that came to show their talents.

“Oh this will be so fun,” Cheerilee added.

“Then let’s begin.” Twilight turned to the crowd. “Could the first pony please come up on stage? We’re ready for you now!”

********************

The auditions have been going on for about two hours now. Looking back at the group of ponies, Twilight could see that they were almost at the end. She also noticed AJ sitting off to the side looking pretty disappointed. ‘I wonder what he’s doing,’ she thought to herself. She looked to the other two judges. “I’ll be right back guys.” She walked over to AJ who has yet to notice her. “And just what are you doing here mister?”

“Huh?” AJ turned to see Twilight smirking at him. “Oh, hey.”

“Shouldn’t you be practicing for the show? You looked pretty nervous the other day.”

AJ sighed. “That’s the thing; I’ve been practicing every chance I get. Even skipped out on sleeping one night cause I was determined to get something right. I’m feeling pretty drained right now. Giving myself the day off to recoup.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s probably for the best. Trust me, you don’t want to exhaust yourself too much.”

“And besides, I’m in kind of a rut right now. I’m having trouble thinking of what I should do for the finale. I’ve been trying to think for a couple of days now and I got nothing. I thought maybe coming here and watching the auditions would help clear my mind. No such luck.”

Twilight noticed AJ look around again. It was like he was looking for somepony specific. “Something tells me that’s not the only reason you’re here, is it?”

“Heh, that obvious?” Twilight nodded. AJ sighed as he looked back into the dwindling crowd. “I was kinda hoping to see Scootaloo here today.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cause that little filly can…”

“WAAAAAIT!!!” came a voice from the distance. The two of them looked over to see Scootaloo careening straight at them on her scooter. “WAAAAAIT!!!” She stopped herself inches away from AJ and Twilight. She had her saddle bags on, and was breathing heavily. “I…I want to…audition.”

“Scoot’s, you made it!” AJ said with a bright smile on his face.

“I…I’m not too late, am I?” Scootaloo asked.

Twilight smiled. “Not at all. The auditions go till four. You still have two more hours before we stop allowing anymore ponies.” Twilight looked back over to the stage. “Will you need anything Scootaloo? Music, props, anything?”

Scootaloo smiled as she patted her bags. “Nope, I got everything I need right here.”

“Great! I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do.”

AJ looked back to Scootaloo with a smile. “So, you’re going through with it?”

Scootaloo nodded. “I thought about it a lot over the last couple of days, and I want to do this.”

“Good to hear.”

“Well, I should go get in line then. See you later,” Scootaloo said as she ran over to get in line.

“THERE you are,” came another familiar voice.

Turning around AJ saw Ditzy floating above them. The smile on his face only grew. “Hey Ditzy.”

“I’ve been looking for you. I thought you’d be practicing again.”

AJ shook his head. “Not today. Feeling pretty tired so I thought I’d take the day off.”

“That sounds like an excuse to be lazy,” Ditzy said with a giggle. “Well, that works out anyway. I wanted to ask if you could foalsit Dinky again tonight.”

AJ nodded. “Sure, I’d be happy to. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Carrot, Sparkler, and I were going to go out for a night of fun, and I needed somepony to look after Dinky.”

“Alright, good enough for me.” AJ turned to Twilight. “Hey Twilight, think you could come over later and let me know if Scoot’s gets in?”

Twilight smiled. “Of course. Speaking of the talent auditions, I should be getting back. See you later.”

********************

“I’ll get it!” AJ called out as somepony knocked on the door to Carrot’s house. He smiled when he saw Twilight standing there. “Hey Twilight. Is it that late already?” he asked as he looked at the clock on the wall. Ditzy and the others hadn’t left yet, but that didn’t keep AJ from playing with Dinky.

“Mmhm, time sure flies.”

“Okay, let’s cut to the chase. How did Scootaloo…”

“Scootaloo was amazing!” Twilight said interrupting AJ. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen somepony dance so well! She’s definitely in the show.”

“Yes! I knew she could do it,” AJ said with a bright smile on his face.

“Who’s at the door?” Ditzy asked as she came up behind AJ. “Oh, hello again Twilight.”

“Hello Ditzy.”

Ditzy turned to AJ. “Well, we’re going to be leaving now. Come on you two, I want to get good seats for the movie this time!”

“We’re coming! Jeeze, you act like we always get bad seats or something,” Carrot said as she and Sparkler came to the door.

“Yea, it only happened that once. Besides, the seats weren’t that bad,” Sparkler added.

“You didn’t have to sit behind Bulk Biceps,” Ditzy deadpanned. “I didn’t even know they made pegasi that big…or that smelly.”

“Yea, yea, we get it. Lets go,” Carrot said with a giggle. Her and Sparkler walked past AJ and Twilight.

Ditzy looked to AJ again. “Thanks again for doing this.” She leaned over and kissed AJ on the cheek before following the others. “See you later tonight!”

Twilight watched the three of them leave. She then turned to AJ who had a dreamy smile on his face. She rolled her eyes and giggled as she turned to leave herself. “Twilight?”

Twilight stopped and turned to AJ. “Yes?”

“Forget what I said earlier. I know what I’m going to do for the finale.”

"That's great! Can't wait to see it."

AJ closed the door with a smile and called out to Dinky. "Dinky, i'm going to need your help with something."

********************

It was the night before the festival, and AJ was practicing even harder than before. If he wasn’t sleeping, eating, or going to the bathroom, he was out practicing. He refused to tell anypony what he was working on, and even when one certain little farm filly tried to follow him she was met with a blind fold and a ride back to the farm. Applejack and Twilight were becoming worried about him. Neither of them wanted to see him push himself to exhaustion just for the show.

Seeing as how it was the night before the festival, Applejack wasn’t going to let him stay up all night this time. She knew where his little practice area was. It was a secluded area on the outskirts of the farm where almost nopony went. Once she got to the clearing she saw AJ sitting there. “Alright sugarcube. Ah know you want this ta be perfect, but it’s th’ night before th’ festival an' yer goin’ ta get some sleep if Ah have ta force ya.” She didn’t get an answer. AJ just continued to sit there, staring into the night sky. She walked up next to him. “Did ya hear me?” AJ finally turned to Applejack. He wore an exhausted smile on his face. He had big, dark bags under his eyes. “Whoa, you okay?”

“I did it Applejack.”

“Did what?”

“I finally did it. I mastered the finale.” The smile on his face grew. “It took me most of the week, but I finally did it.”

Applejack smiled. “Well that’s great sugarcube, but now it’s time fer ya ta get some sleep. Come on.” Applejack got up and started walking back to the house. That is, until she realized that AJ wasn’t following. “Ain’t ya comin’?”

“Too tired. Can’t stand.”

Applejack facehoofed. “Oh fer th’ love of…”

********************

This was it. The Autumn Festival was on. Everypony in Ponyville was attending this event. Like Twilight had said, there were tons of games for all ages. The stage that would later hold the talent show was being used for the various musicians of Ponyville to show what they can do. At the moment Lyra and Fiddlesticks were playing a duet while Blues was waiting in line to play a wicked solo on his sax. There was also more food stands than necessary, but that wasn’t exactly a bad thing. That just meant there would be plenty of choices.

Over at the Sweet Apple Acres stand, Big Mac and Applejack were having a bit of an argument. “Applejack, you know Ah can handle th’ stand by mahself, so why don’t ya go an’ have some fun. Ah’m sure Rarity would love ta spend some time with ya t’day.”

“Me an’ Rarity already talked about this. We’d meet up durin’ th’ talent show an’ spend th’ rest of th’ night t’gether.” As always, Applejack was being stubborn as a mule. “Why don’t ya go have some fun fer once.”

Big Mac’s brows furrowed slightly. “Hey, Ah have fun…sometimes.”

“Doin’ th’ taxes don’t count as fun.”

“Shush you!”

“Besides, you have yet ta ask out Fluttershy. Ah’m sure she would love fer ya ta sweep’er off’er hooves tonight.” An eep from besides them grabbed their attention. They both looked over to see Fluttershy standing there; the blush clear on her face. “Oh uhhh, hey there Fluttershy!” Applejack looked over to Big Mac who was glaring at her with a blush on his face. “What? She was bound ta find out sooner or later.”

“Ah wanted ta tell’er when Ah was ready!” Big Mac said, still glaring at his sister.

“Y-you really like me Big Mac?” came Fluttershy’s timid voice.

The glare dropped from Big Mac’s face as he turned to Fluttershy. He stared into her teal eyes, before turning away in embarrassment. Applejack rolled her eyes and got behind Big Mac, pushing him over to Fluttershy. “Get over there ya big lug.”

Now that they were face to face Big Mac had no excuse not to look at her. They both shuffled their hooves on the ground as they sat there in silence. “S-so you do like me?”

Big Mac sat there for a few seconds before shyly nodding. “Ah have fer a long time now. Ah’ve just been too afraid ta ask. Ah didn’t know if you'd like me back.”

The two of them just sat there for a minute in complete silence. Then something unexpected happened. Fluttershy suddenly jumped forward, wrapping her legs around Big Mac’s neck as she kissed him on the lips. His eyes grew wide at the unexpected contact. After a few seconds Fluttershy broke the kiss; falling back to her hooves. “Ponies are always telling me that I need to be more assertive. D-did I do good Applejack?”

“Ya did just fine sugarcube,” Applejack said with a smile on her face. “Now go an’ have some fun ya love birds.”

The expression on Big Mac’s face was still one of shock. It slowly fell to a contented smile. “Eeyup.”

********************

It was about time for the talent show to start. In about two hours the sun would go down, and it would be time for the fireworks display. Everypony started gathering around the stage as the participants all went to the special tent set up for them in back. AJ, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Ditzy, and Dinky had managed to secure a spot up front for everypony to sit. Applejack and Rarity were the first to arrive, followed by Twilight and Caramel a few minutes later. “I’m surprised to see you here. I expected you to be getting ready for you’re big show,” Twilight said to AJ.

“I’d rather not think about it right now,” AJ said with a sigh. “The more I think about it the more time I’ll have to find something wrong with it, and I’ll start panicking because it’s not perfect, and then I’ll have to call it off, and then everypony will be disappointed, and then…”

“Okay, I get it,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Besides, if I left now I’d miss Scootaloo in the talent show.”

“Ah still can’t believe Scootaloo didn’t tell us she was performin’ before now!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“Yea, we could have helped her set everything up!” added Sweetie Belle.

“Trust me when I say that this is something she needed to do herself,” AJ said smiling at the two fillies. “She’ll do fine. I just hope I could say the same for myself.” His mood had immediately changed.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” came a soft voice from behind them. They turned to see Fluttershy and Big Mac walking up to them.

“Yea. You’ve been working so hard for this. You’ll be fine,” Ditzy said, patting him on the back.

“I wish I held you’re enthusiasm about this,” AJ said. “I’m just really nervous. If everything doesn't go just right…” AJ stopped himself with a sigh. “It just needs to go perfect, okay.”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t go perfect. You practiced your flank off. Trust me, I would know,” Rainbow said as she landed next to the rest of the group. She looked around for a moment. “Where’s Pinkie?”

“Hello and welcome everypony!” Pinkie said as she stood up on the stage.

“She’s the announcer for the talent show,” Twilight said with a giggle.

“Pinkie Pie here with my co-announcer Spike!” Pinkie pointed over to behind the curtain as the baby dragon ran on stage.

“Hey everypony! I hope you’ve had fun so far today, I know I have,” Spike said with a wink down to Apple Bloom; causing her to blush.

“If you weren’t having fun before, you sure will now!” Pinkie said. “We have a great lineup for you all today!”

“You bet we do Pinkie! Why don’t we get things started?” Spike stopped as the crowd cheered. “Up first we have Snips and Snails doing a magic show!”

********************

The Talent show was great. Everypony did such a great job. Some of them messed up slightly, but they were able to recover from it. Even Snips and Snails were able to make something of their magic show this time. “Wow! Ah think this show’s been th’ best yet!” Applejack said as Carrot Top left the stage.

“I have to agree darling. Everypony must have worked really hard this year,” added Rarity.

“I just hope Linky will be okay,” Twilight said. “She looked like she was limping offstage.”

“Wasn’t she great everypony? Give Carrot Top another round of applause!” Spike said as he came back on stage. The crowd erupted in applause.

“Alright everypony, we have one more pony here who’s ready to show her stuff. Give it up for Scootalooooo!”

All the stage lights went black. With the quickly darkening sky it made everything dark. Suddenly a spotlight lit up to reveal Scootaloo sitting center stage wearing her ballet outfit. Shortly after music began to play. As AJ expected it was Swan Lake. As the music started to steadily build, Scootaloo got up from her prone position and started to dance. As AJ had seen before, Scootaloo was perfect. Every movement, every sway, matched perfectly with the music. Scootaloo and the music were one. All too soon the music came to an end. As the music did, so did Scootaloo. She sat there in her ending position just waiting for a reaction. Then she heard it. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. She stood up and bowed to the crowd before walking off stage.

As soon as Scootaloo got off stage, she was tackled to the ground by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “That was amazing Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom said as she and Sweetie Belle hugged her to death.

“Yea! We never knew you could dance so good!” squeaked Sweetie Belle.

“You did great Scoots,” AJ said as he came up to the group of fillies.

Scootaloo extracted her from the hug of death and smiled; a light blush on her face. “Thanks everypony.”

As AJ smiled down at the filly, he noticed something odd. “Hey Scoot’s, what’s that?” he asked in confusion as he pointed at her flank.

“What’s what?” She followed his hoof to her flank when she noticed it. She could see a flash of light from under the leotard. Gasping, she slipped out of the leotard as quickly as she could. There it was. On her flank, a silhouette of a pony in a ballet outfit doing a pirouette. Tears of happiness started rolling down her cheeks as a smile grew on her face.

“Scootaloo, ya got yer cutie mark! Ya got yer cutie mark!” Apple Bloom shouted. Apple Bloom and Sweetie once again wrapped Scootaloo in a big hug.

AJ smiled down at the three fillies. They were so happy. ‘Good for you Scoot’s. Good for you.’

“Remember to stick around everypony! I hope you like fireworks, I sure do!” came Pinkie’s voice from the stage.

AJ’s thoughts were interrupted when somepony tapped him on the shoulder. He looked back to see Twilight smiling at him. “Hey, you should go get ready. It’s almost time.”

“You’re right.” AJ let out a sigh. “Here’s hoping everything goes alright.” As AJ walked through the crowd, he walked past Ditzy, Dinky, and Carrot Top who were all talking. He noticed Dinky start looking at him. He looked to make sure Ditzy wasn’t looking before giving Dinky a small nod.

Dinky nodded back enthusiastically and got her mom’s attention. “Come on mommy! We have to get a good spot!”

********************

Everypony quickly gathered outside of Ponyville. For safety Twilight had the fireworks display held just outside of town. Ditzy, Dinky, and all of AJ’s friends were on top of a hill for the best view of the show. “I’m not complaining about the seating arrangements, but why were you so eager to get here Dinky?” asked Ditzy.

“You’ll see!” Dinky said with a giggle.

“I can’t wait! Can you wait? Cause I sure can’t! It’s going to be like boom, woosh, crack, bang, boom, explode!” Pinkie cheered as she bounced around the hill.

“Just settle down Pinkie, it hasn’t even started yet jeeze,” Rainbow said. She was getting dizzy just watching Pinkie bounce in circles. “Where’s Twilight anyway?”

“See fer yerself,” Applejack said as she pointed out into the distance. Two silhouettes could be seen in the distance. The only light source was a small lantern placed next to them.

"She must be giving the dear a pep talk. He looked so nervous earlier,” said Rarity.

“He’s had more than enough practice. He’ll be fine,” said Applejack. She noticed one of the silhouettes in the distance start to move. Shortly after Twilight joined the group. “How’s he doin’?”

“Nervous, to say the least,” Twilight said as she sat down. “He keeps worrying that it won’t be just perfect.”

“Since when was he so worried about perfection?” asked Rainbow.

“Give him a break Rainbow. This is the first time he’s done something this big. He just wants this to…” Twilight was interrupted by the sound of the first firework firing into the sky. Oohs and aahs could be heard throughout the crowd as it exploded in the air. “Well, let’s see how he does.”

********************

So far the show went off without a hitch. Some of the things AJ had managed to pull off were nothing short of amazing. He managed to make cutie marks, ponies dancing and playing, he even managed to replicate a Sonic Rainboom; that was Rainbow’s favorite part hooves down. Though all good things must come to an end. It was just about time for the finale and everypony was wondering what AJ had in store for them.

‘Alright, what’s he going to do,’ Twilight thought to herself.

Everything was dark for a short time. After about a minute a bright pink orb could be seen near the ground. It kept growing bigger and brighter until it was finally fired into the air. The orb split in half, splitting off from each other as they flew into the air. They left a pink trail of magic behind as they flew. Once they reached a certain point the two orbs curved around and met once more, forming a giant heart in the air. Another orb was fired into the air. It flew up until it was right in the middle of the heart where it exploded. Instead of a multi-color explosion, words were formed. Ditzy couldn’t help but gasp as she put her hooves to her mouth. There, framed in the heart, were the words ‘I LOVE YOU DITZY.’ More orbs were fired into the air, surrounding the heart on both sides with Ditzy’s cutie mark. Around those more multi-colored explosions were set loose framing the entire picture.

After about a minute of explosions in the air, everything went quiet. The crowd cheered wildly at the display. It was definitely a great way to end this years Autumn Festival. “Oh, that was so romantic!” swooned Rarity

“It sure was,” added Twilight. They both looked over to Ditzy who was still sitting there in shock. “Ditzy?”

Ditzy suddenly took off into the air, flying towards AJ. Everypony got up to follow her. Ditzy got there before them. When they got there, she was sitting on the ground looking down with a smile on her face. She was watching AJ as he slept. “The show must have tired him out,” whispered Twilight.

“Ah think he deserves a nice rest after a show like that,” added Applejack.

“Let’s get’im home,” Big Mac said. Applejack helped get AJ onto his back. Before leaving he gave Fluttershy one last kiss for the night.

“Carrot?” Ditzy asked.

Carrot turned to Ditzy. “What’s up?”

“Could you take Dinky home for me? I don’t think I’ll be coming home tonight. That is, if that’s alright with you two,” she said as she turned to the Apples.

Applejack and Big Mac looked at Ditzy then to each other. Big Mac just shrugged before continuing to walk. “We’re fine with it,” said Applejack.

Smiling Ditzy gave Dinky a hug and a goodnights kiss before following the two Earth ponies.

********************

AJ was awoken slowly by the rays of the sun shining through his window. After a big yawn, he rubbed his eyes. As he slowly opened his eyes, the sight in front of him made him smile. Ditzy was lying next to him in the bed, a soft smile on her face. “Good morning.”

As his mind started to wake up, one thought came to his head. “I…I’m not dreaming, am I?”

Ditzy giggled a little bit before leaning forward, kissing him on the lips. “No, you’re not.” As the two of them embraced, neither of them noticed AJ’s flanks begin to glow. Three explosions appeared, one red, one yellow, one green. In the middle, a heart was visible.

****************************************

((OK, a bit of news here. First things first, Sparknanator has started an epic reading of The Mystery of a New World on his YouTube. Here’s the link to the first part if you’re interested.

Second, If you’re a gearhead, I have a fic for you to try out. Greasebrony here on Fimficton has a fic called Three Equestrians and an Engineer. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should, because the car stuff just flew right over my head, but if you’re into that kinda stuff, give it a read.

Third, here’s a pic of AJ’s cutie mark.

Fourth, and this is the most important message of them all.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Oh Child of Mine

Chapter 26

“APPLE BLOOOOOOM!!!” AJ stomped out of his room and down the hall. He hammered on the door in front of him. “Apple Bloom, open this door!”

“J-just one minute!” came Apple Bloom’s voice from the other side. AJ could hear Apple Bloom scurrying all around her room. He could hear drawers being opened and closed, her closet being slammed shut, even the window being opened and closed. The entire time he just waited there, tapping his hoof on the floor. The door quickly opened to reveal a smiling Apple Bloom. “W-what can Ah do fer ya?”

“Alright, where is he?” asked AJ as he walked past the filly.

Apple Bloom glanced around nervously. “A-Ah don’t know what yer talkin’ about.”

“I’m not stupid Apple Bloom. I heard you playing around with him in here, and I didn’t like what I was hearing. So where is he?” He started looking around the room for anything out of the ordinary. This was hard as Apple Bloom’s room was never the cleanest room in the world. He made sure he paid extra attention to the window, dresser, and the closet. He turned to glare at the little filly. “Apple Bloom, I’m going to ask you one more time. Where is he?”

Apple Bloom shuffled her hooves on the rug in silence until she finally broke under his gaze. She pointed to the closet with her hoof. “He’s in th’ closet.”

AJ looked over to the closet and smiled. “The closet, eh?” He walked over to the closet and threw it open. He looked down and gave a relieved sigh. “There you are.” Using his magic he lifted the stuffed rabbit out of the closet. “Apple Bloom, what have I told you about Mr. Bun Bun?”

“Not ta just take him from yer room.”

“And?”

“An' if Ah want ta play with'im Ah ask permission first.”

“That’s right,” AJ said with a smile. “And why didn’t you ask permission?”

“Because it was supposed ta be a surprise,” Apple Bloom said with a big smile.

“Wat?” AJ asked; the confusion clear on his face. “What was supposed to be a surprise?”

“His marriage ta Smarty Pants of course!”

“I’m sorry, what?!” AJ looked back into the closet. There on the floor sat Smarty Pants wearing a small wedding dress. “I’m not even going to ask where you got that dress.” He turned back to Apple Bloom. “Does Big Mac know you have this?”

“Big McIntosh said Ah can play with’er whenever Ah want as long as Ah’m careful with’er,” Apple Bloom said matter-of-factly.

AJ raises his eyebrow as he stared at the filly before shrugging. “Eh, whatever.” He floated the stuffed bunny over to Apple Bloom as he started walking out of the room. “I guess it’s alright. Just make sure you don’t damage him.” The filly’s smile widened. He stopped at the door and turned back to Apple Bloom. “By the way, what was with all the scurrying around when I knocked on the door?”

“Ah was just tryin’ ta make it harder fer ya ta find Mr. Bun Bun. Ah thought if you heard all that, ya wouldn’t be able ta find where Ah hid’em.” AJ just nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door as he did. Apple Bloom waited a few seconds before letting out a sigh. She ran over and opened the window. “He’s gone. You can come back in.”

With help from Apple Bloom, Spike climbed his way back into the room. “Why did you push me out the window again?”

“Because Ah didn’t get permission ta have anypony over t’day,” Apple Bloom whispered. “Last time Ah did Ah had ta do th’ dishes all by mah self that night.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Spike said with a claw to his chin.

“Have ya seen how many dishes we make on a regular night?”

“No.”

“Between th’ four of us, there’s a LOT of dishes.”

“Oh,” Spike said scratching the back of his head. “And the stuffed bunny?”

“Just in case somepony came into th’ room to see what was goin’ on,” she said as she held Mr. Bun Bun up. “That an’ he’s really cuddly.”

“Uh huh.” The two of them just sat there in silence for a few seconds. “So, do you want to kiss some more?”

“You didn’t even need ta ask!” Apple Bloom said with a bright smile.

The two of them got close and started to lean forward. “Oh, and one more thing,” AJ said as he opened the door; a smirk on his face. “Next time you bring Spike over, remember to ask.”

“H-how did ya know?!” asked Apple Bloom.

“Spikes the only one in Ponyville who could scratch the window sill like that,” he said pointing at the window. Spike and Apple Bloom looked over to the window. Sure enough, there was a visible claw mark on the lower left section of the window sill. “Looks like we know who’s doing the dishes tonight.” He started walking back out the room. “You may continue now,” he said as he closed the door.

********************

“Muahahahahaha! You will never defeat me Bubble Cup. My evil magic will allow me to take over all of Hippocampia! Muahahahaha!” AJ said as he held the evil black, and dark brown sea pony doll in his magic.

“Nu uh. Me and Prince Sea Foam will defeat you Lord Drift Wood, if it’s the last thing we do!” Dinky said, holding the bright yellow Bubble Cup doll in her hooves.

"That’s right. Together, we shall defeat you with the power of love!” Ditzy shouted as she thrust the sea foam green, and royal blue Prince Sea Foam doll forward. AJ had gone over to Carrot’s house to spend time with Ditzy since Carrot was going to be out all day. After eating some dinner, they had decided to watch some movies together. About halfway through the second movie, Dinky had brought down some of her sea pony dolls to play with. The two of them ended up being more entertained by the sound effects Dinky was making while she played than the movie itself. Ditzy did warn that some of Carrot’s movies were a bit…dull. So to have a little fun AJ lifted one of the dolls that Dinky wasn’t paying attention to, and started laughing manically. Playing along, Ditzy picked up another doll and started acting heroically. Dinky, after realizing what was happening, started to play along.

AJ gasped. “Nuuuuu! Not the power Love!” Dinky got an evil grin and started pushing Bubble Cup against Prince Sea Foam while she made kissing noises. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’VE BEEN DEFEATED BY THE POWER OF LOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!! HUUURK, bleh!” Both AJ and the doll fell to the floor in dramatic fashion.

“Yay! We beat Lord Drift Wood!” shouted Dinky.

“That we did. And now, a congratulatory kiss,” Ditzy said as she pushed Prince Sea Foam against Bubble Cup.

Suddenly AJ and Lord Drift Wood sprung up. “You think something like that would keep me out of the game for long? I can never be defeated, NEVER!!! MUAHAHAHAHA-OH JEEZE!!!”

In the middle of his evil laugh, Dinky pounced AJ. “Oh yea, well try my special attack. TICKLE ATTACK!!!”

Dinky started tickling AJ all over. “PFFF-HAHAHA!!! ST-HAHA-STOP!!! YOU WIHIHIHIN!!! I GHIHIHIHIVE UHUHUHUP!!! UNCLE, UNCLHLHLHLHLE!!!” With a bright smile Dinky jumped off of AJ. After taking a minute to calm down, AJ sat up and looked over to the triumphant Dinky. “You’re evil, you know that.” Dinky just stuck her tongue out.

Ditzy giggled a bit. “Okay, that’s enough you two. Dinky, it’s time for bed.”

“Aww, can’t I stay up a little longer?” asked Dinky as she put on her best begging face.

“Nope. Tomorrow’s the first day of school, and I will not let you be tired for it,” Ditzy said not playing into her daughter’s tricks. “Now take you’re dolls upstairs and go get ready for bed. I’ll be up to tuck you in.”

“Okay,” pouted Dinky. She collected her dolls, placing them on her back, before heading upstairs.

********************

“She’s such a sweet little filly,” AJ said as Ditzy came down the stairs.

Ditzy flew onto the couch and leaned up against AJ as he put a leg around her. “Mmhm. She’s my little muffin and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The two of them just sat there on the couch watching whatever was on the TV. It was nothing special, but it was made all the more bearable since they were together. After a little bit AJ felt Ditzy start to nuzzle into his neck. As he turned to look at her, he was greeted by her lips pressing up against his. Welcoming the feeling, he just let it happen. Feeling that she had the upper hoof, Ditzy pushed AJ back onto the couch and lay on top of him, kissing him more forcefully. Neither of them knew how long they were laying there in that position.

“Really you two? You couldn’t even make it to the bedroom for that? Ugh.” Both of their eyes shot open. They looked over to see Carrot standing in the entry way to the living room. A blush quickly made its way to both of their faces. “At least you waited for Dinky to go to bed before you started your make out session.”

Ditzy looked down at AJ, smiled, and gave him one more quick kiss before climbing off of him. “Sorry, we didn’t know you’d be home yet.”

“It’s almost nine,” deadpanned Carrot. “How late did you think I was going to be out till?” Ditzy just shrugged. Carrot just sighed as she walked past them to the stairs.

Ditzy giggled before leaning close to AJ. “Don’t worry; she’s just mad because she can’t find anypony for herself.”

“I heard that Ditzy!” Carrot shouted as she poked her head out from upstairs.

AJ chuckled as Ditzy stuck her tongue out at Carrot. “Well, I should probably be getting back to the farm. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

Ditzy put on a fake pouty face. “Aww, do you really?”

Laughing, AJ kissed her. “Yes, yes I do. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

********************

“Alright, where two steps closer to completing out main goal,” Scootaloo said with a smile on her face. “I got my cutie mark,” she pushed her flank forward a bit to emphasize her words. “And AJ has his, now we need to work extra hard for you two.”

“Speaking of AJ, where is he?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“He had ta finish something’s around th’ farm before he could come,” said Apple Bloom. “He just told me that he’d meet us here when he’s done.” Apple Bloom opened one of her bags and pulled out a small bit purse. “He also gave us some bits ta get somethin’ while we wait.”

“Alright! I’m going to get some cookies!” beamed Scootaloo.

“I want some fudge!” squeaked Sweetie Belle”

“Cupcakes fer me!” yelled Apple Bloom as the three of them ran into Sugarcube Corner.

After about ten minutes, AJ finally came bursting through the door to Sugarcube Corner. It didn’t take him long to find the rest of the CMC. “Sorry I’m late girls. Had to finish things up back at the farm.”

“Don’t worry, Ah already told’em,” Apple Bloom said as she stuffed half a cupcake in her mouth.

AJ looked at the other two fillies. Sweetie Belle was happily eating her fudge. She had fudge all around her mouth, and AJ could hear her going ‘Om nom nom’ every time she took a bite. Scootaloo was just leaning back in her seat looking very content as she did. Cookie crumbs lined the hair around her mouth as an empty glass of milk sat in front of her. “I see you enjoyed yourselves while you waited.”

“Mmhm!” Sweetie said with a full mouth.

“Well, once you’re finished we can start.”

“Aren’t ya goin’ ta get anythin’ fer yerself?” Apple Bloom asked as she finished her cupcakes.

AJ thought for a few seconds until he felt his stomach begin to growl at him. “Uhh, that’s probably a good idea actually. Be right back.”

********************

“Alright, what’s the plan for today?” asked AJ as they got to the field outside Ponyville.

“Well, Ah got some idea’s we can try t’day in mah…”

“Hold up Apple Bloom, before we start crusading today, there’s something we’d like AJ to try,” said Scootaloo.

“Yea!” added Sweetie.

“And just what is it that I’m trying here?” AJ asked. He didn’t know weather to be curious or afraid. Sweetie levitated a book out of her bags and placed it on the ground in front of them all. It was dark blue with a glyph on the cover. The title read ‘Spells to Defy Time and Space.’ AJ looked down at the book, then back to Sweetie Belle. “Where did you get this book?”

“From the library.”

“Uh huh. And Twilight said it was okay for you to take this out, right?”

Sweetie thought back to the previous day.

********************

Sweetie and Scootaloo knocked on the door to the library. “Come in!” called Twilight from inside. As they walked in they saw Twilight re-shelving some of the books. Spike was in Canterlot for some royal business, so it was up to her to make sure the library was clean. “Oh, hello girls. What are you here for today?”

“We’re just here to look right now,” Sweetie said.

Twilight smiled. “Well, it’s still nice to see the two of you in here. Neither of you struck me as the type who liked to read. Just come get me if you find something you’d like to check out.”

As Twilight went back to re-shelving, Sweetie and Scootaloo split up. They already knew what they were here for. Acquiring it was the problem. As Scootaloo looked over the adventure books, Sweetie slowly made her way to the shelves full of magic books. She scanned the shelves, peaking over her shoulder every now and then to make sure Twilight hadn’t noticed her yet. Once she found what she was looking for, she looked at Scootaloo and gave her the signal.

Scootaloo nodded and grabbed a book off the shelf. “Hey Twilight, I found something I want to check out.”

Twilight put the books she was holding down on the floor and walked over to Scootaloo. Taking hold of the book in her magic she looked at the title. She started giggling a bit. “I never knew you were into manga Scootaloo.”

“Hey, manga’s awesome!” Scootaloo said to defend herself.

“Okay, okay. I’ll admit, I’m a fan of Sailor Luna myself,” Twilight said as she turned to go check out the book. This was her chance. Sweetie lifted the book out of the book case and slipped it into her bags, which were already stuffed with stuff to hide the shape of the book. When she turned, Twilight was just finishing up checking Scootaloo out. “There you go. Don’t be afraid to stop by again. We have plenty of manga here. Spike made sure of that.”

“Thanks Twilight,” Scootaloo said as she put the book in her bag.

“What about you Sweetie Belle, did you find something you wanted?”

“Nope, sorry,” Sweetie Belle said with the most innocent face she could muster.

“Well, maybe some other time then.”

********************

“Uhh, yea. She said it was just fine,” Sweetie said with a big smile.

AJ stared at Sweetie for a few seconds, not entirely sure if he should trust her or not. After a bit he relented. “Alright, if you say so.” He lifted the book in his magic. “So what exactly did you want to try? It looks like there’s a lot of spells in here.”

“Anything!” Scootaloo yelled out. “With a title like that, all of those spells must do something awesome!”

AJ opened the book and started slowly skimming through the pages. He became more and more worried every spell he passed. “Jeeze, all these spell look really hard to pull off. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do any of these.”

“Come on, you never know if you don’t try,” Sweetie said with a smile.

AJ sighed as he continued looking through the book. He stopped when he came across one certain spell. “Hold up, this one actually looks doable. Regression. Makes the old new once again…and that’s it. No in depth analysis or anything. Maybe it’s used to fix old items or something.”

“You goin’ ta try it?” asked Apple Bloom.

AJ looked the spell over one more time. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try it. Any of you have something old that needs some fixing up?”

“Oh, Ah do!” Apple Bloom slipped out of her saddle bags and placed them on the ground. “Applejack gave me these bags. Says she used’em herself.”

AJ sighed as he read through the spell one more time. “Alright, get back. I don’t want anything going wrong here.” After the fillies backed away, AJ started the spell. His horn erupted in an icy blue light. A few seconds later the saddle bags began to glow. As AJ continued the spell, a second aura formed around his horn.

“Look, it’s working!” shouted Scootaloo. Indeed, the old bags were slowly beginning to magically mend as they went back in time.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through AJ’s horn; causing him to cry out. A third aura formed around his horn as another crippling pain shot through his body. The aura around the bags died as they returned to there original state. He began lifting into the air as the magic consumed him. AJ’s eyes opened wide, and his mouth hung open as they both glowed brightly with magic. He let out a loud, blood curdling scream of pain as a blinding light erupted from his horn. After that a pulse of magic shot out; knocking the three fillies away. He felt his body fall to the ground as his vision was quickly being engulfed by darkness. The last thing he heard before unconsciousness took him was somepony calling his name.

********************

The first thing AJ noticed as he started to come to was that whatever he as lying on as very comfortable. The second thing he became aware of was the voices coming from the next room over. As he slowly opened his eyes, he took in his surroundings. He was in an unfamiliar room filled with baseball memorabilia. Being in this unfamiliar location scared him immensely; almost to the point of tears.

As he sat there, quivering in bed, he heard one of the voices getting closer to the door. “Hold on, I’m going to check on him.” The door opened to reveal a dark grey pegasus with a two tone black and icy blue mane. A dove over a black heart adorned his flanks. “Oh, y-you’re up. Hey there. How are you feeling?” He got no answer. “It’s a good thing you have such good friends. After you got hurt they went to go get help. It’s a good thing my brother wasn’t too far away.”

Shadow turned when he heard the front door open. “Shadow, I’m back! And I brought help!”

“Oh, my bother’s back.” He turned back to AJ. “Don’t worry, he’ll be able to help you.” With that he trotted out of the room.

About a minute later a purple unicorn entered the room followed by a brown stallion, a yellow and pink pegasus, and three little fillies. After entering the room, Twilight and Fluttershy stopped dead in their tracks. All Dr. Whooves had told them was that AJ had been in an accident involving magic. The one teeny, tiny bit of information he had left out was that AJ’s body had somehow regressed to that of a three year old colt. “Oh Celestia. Girls, how did this happen?!” Twilight asked.

As the girls began explaining everything to Twilight, AJ couldn’t help but wonder one thing. “W-whewe’s my mommy?”

Twilight looked over. “Excuse me?”

Tears started welling up in AJ’s eyes. “I-I-I want my mommy.”

“Your…mommy? AJ, are you alright?” asked Twilight. Twilight was quickly answered as AJ put his hooves up to his eyes and started to cry. “Whoa! I’m sorry, don’t cry!”

Fluttershy’s maternal instincts kicked in when she saw the little foal start to cry. She flew over and lifted him out of the bed, cradling him in her forelegs and rocking him back and forth. “Shhh, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Dr. Whooves put a hoof to his chin. “Fascinating. It looks like whatever happened to him not only regressed his body to that of a three year old foal, but it must have also affected his mind.”

“Wait, so you’re telling me that we have a toddler on our hooves now?!” asked Twilight.

“It appears so.”

Twilight groaned. “Girls, finish your story. What happened next?”

“Well, when he tried the spell it looked like everything was working,” started Scootaloo.

“Yea. Mah bags looked like they were becomin’ new again,” said Apple Bloom.

“But then something happened. He yelled out in pain and…”

“And everything started going crazy!” Scootaloo said; cutting off Sweetie Belle. “He started floating in the air! Light was shining through his eyes and mouth!”

“Yea! Then a really bright light came from his horn. After that we were knocked back by some magic. After that he looked like this,” Sweetie Belle said.

“After that Ah went ta go get help.”

********************

After they found AJ passed out on the ground, Apple Bloom instructed Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to watch over him as she went into town to go get some help. As she ran into town, she ran straight into Dr. Whooves and Shadow Breeze coming out of Quills and Sofas. Shadow eeped and leaped into the air, clinging to the store sign, as Apple Bloom and Dr. Whooves laid crumpled on the ground. Dr. Whooves picked himself off the ground and brushed himself off. “Oh, terribly sorry Apple Bloom. I didn’t see you…”

“Ya got ta help me! AJ’s hurt!” Apple Bloom shouted.

Dr. Whooves’s face turned serious when he heard that somepony was in trouble. “Hurt?! What happened?!”

“Ah don’t’ know! Ya got ta help’im, please!”

Dr. Whooves looked over to Shadow who was landing on the ground once more. “Shadow, I need you to go home, go into my room, get my medical supplies, and bring them into your room.”

Shadow nodded. “O-okay, but why my room?”

“You’re mattress is better suited for somepony who’s hurt.”

“Right.” Shadow turned and flew in the direction of their house.

Dr. Whooves turned to Apple Bloom. “Alright, point me the way.”

********************

“He was exhausted, but other than that I found nothing wrong…other than the obvious of course,” said Dr. Whooves.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Hmm, sounds like it may have been magical backlash.”

“Magical what-now?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Magical backlash. It can happen when you try to force a spell. Magic is supposed to flow smoothly. If you try to push it, it will push back. A number of things can happen.” Twilight looked over to AJ who seemed to have fallen asleep in Fluttershy’s legs. “In his case, it looks like it turned the spell back on him.” She looked back to the girls. “Do you still have the book?”

Sweetie Belle shuffled her hooves on the floor. “Well, kinda.”

“What do you mean, kinda?” Twilight asked.

Sweetie went over to her bags and took out the book. Or what was left of it. The only thing Sweetie brought over was the spine and the back cover of the book; both of which were badly burned. “The book kinda…exploded.”

Twilight took what was left of the book from Sweetie Belle and stared at it. She sighed as she let it drop to the floor. “Without the book I won’t know what the counter spell is. I’ll have to order another one. Until then maybe Celestia will allow me to borrow the copy from the royal library.”

“What are we going to do Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.

“Until I can get my hooves on that book, it looks like Ponyville’s going to have one extra foal in it. Why don’t you go let Applejack know what happened. I’m going to see if I can get a copy of that book.”

********************

Fluttershy knocked on the door of the farm house. Seconds later it was opened by Applejack. “Why howdy sugarcube. Ya here fer Big McIntosh?”

“Oh no, our dates not untill tomorrow,” Fluttershy said with a blush. She hid part of her face behind her mane.

As she did this, Applejack noticed the sleeping foal on Fluttershy’s back. “Uhh Fluttershy, who’s that?”

Fluttershy smiled as she looked back at the foal. She reached back and cradled him in her forelegs once again as she told Applejack the story. “Until Twilight can get a new book, he’s stuck like this.”

Applejack looked down to AJ who had woken up during the story. He was standing next to Fluttershy, staring up at her in amazement. Or more specifically, he was staring up at her hat. Noticing this, Applejack smiled and took off her hat; placing it on his head. He squealed in happiness as his entire body was consumed by the hat. He was so small that, while he crouched down, the hat was lying flat on the ground. The two mares just looked at the hat for a few seconds before one side lifted up revealing AJ’s head. He had a smug look on his face as he looked around before pulling his head back into the hat. “Beep, beep! I’m a hat!”

The hat suddenly started moving around the porch, seemingly on its own accord. Fluttershy and Applejack couldn’t help but giggle as AJ played around. AJ was having so much fun. He ran all around the porch, even running into the two mares that were watching him at one point. Then he ran right off the porch. Fluttershy gasped and ran over to the hat. “Oh my goodness, are you…” She stopped when she heard AJ start to giggle. Seconds later the hat was off again. He took off down the path to Ponyville; completely unaware of what was in front of him.

He was stopped once again when he ran into something a bit more solid than Applejack and Fluttershy. Big Mac looked down questioningly at the hat that had just run into him. He looked up as Applejack and Fluttershy came walking over. He smiled warmly at Fluttershy before turning to Applejack. “Ah think somethin’s wrong with yer hat.”

The hat backed up and ran into Big Mac’s legs even harder this time. This time there was an audible grunt when it hit. Raising an eyebrow, Big Mac bent down and grabbed the hat in his mouth, lifting it up. When he looked down he saw AJ rubbing his head. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He looked up at the big red stallion and squeaked. His eyes widened in fear as he started backing away from the goliath in front of him. He continued backing away until he was hiding behind Fluttershy’s legs. Fluttershy bent down and started nuzzling up against AJ. “Don’t worry, that’s just Big McIntosh. He’s a very nice pony.”

Big Mac couldn’t help but chuckle. He gave Applejack her hat. “So, who’s th’ little one?”

“You should know,” Applejack said with a smirk.

“Ah should?”

“Doesn’t he look familiar?”

Big Mac took another look at the foal before him; taking in every detail. After a few seconds he facehoofed. “Is that?”

“Eeyup.”

“What happened this time?”

“Spell mishap or somethin’ like that,” Applejack said as she adjusted her hat. “Twilight needs ta get another copy of th’ book he used before she can change’im back.”

“What do we do till then?”

“Um.”

“Well, we could take turns watchin’im. Ah take one day, you take th’ next,” Applejack suggested.

“Excuse me.”

“Either that or we could hire a foalsitter while we work,” suggested Big Mac.

“I’ll watch him.” The two looked over to Fluttershy who started blushing a little as she hid behind her mane. “Umm, he seems to like me. I thought maybe I could take care of him until Twilight can fix him. Um, that is, if it’s okay with you?”

Applejack and Big Mac looked at each other before looking back to Fluttershy. “This would be a lot of work. Are ya sure ya wanna do this?” asked Applejack.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “I always wanted a foal of my own.” She quickly glanced over to Big Mac who looked away blushing; shifting the stalk of grain around in his mouth. “This would be good practice. Besides, I did just fine when I babysat the girls that one time.”

“That ya did, but trust me when Ah say that a young foal is a lot more work than a pony Apple Bloom’s age,” said Big Mac.

“I’m sure it won’t be that difficult,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“Well, ya seemed determined. Ah don’t see why not. Take good care of’im sugarcube,” Applejack said with a smile.

With a beaming smile, Fluttershy picked up AJ and gave him a motherly hug. “Oh thank you Applejack. I’ll make you proud.”

********************

“Hey Fluttershy!” called out Twilight. Fluttershy was on her way home with AJ when Twilight found her.

Fluttershy turned her head and smiled when she saw Twilight trotting towards her with Spike on her back. “Oh, hello Twilight, hello Spike.”

“Hey Fluttershy!” Spike said as he waved his claw.

As Twilight got closer, she noticed AJ sitting on Fluttershy’s back. He had a big smile on his face as he hugged Mr. Bun Bun, who was almost as big as he was at the moment. “What’s going on?”

“We agreed that I would take care of him until you can get the book.”

Twilight smiled. “That’s probably for the best. With those two working there wouldn’t be anypony to watch him.” Twilight leaned in close to AJ. “What do you think? Do you like the idea of Fluttershy taking care of you?”

AJ opened his eyes and looked at Twilight. His expression turned to a grimace. “You’we smewwy.”

Twilight recoiled back. “E-excuse me?!”

“You smeww weawy bad.”

Twilight looked horrified. “I-I don’t smell! Do I?” She took an experimental sniff. Just to make sure.

“Smewwy face.”

Twilight started getting angry. “I bathe every day!” AJ blew a raspberry at her. Twilight started fuming as Spike was trying and failing to hold in his laughter. “I’ll have you know that…”

“Now Twilight remember, he’s just a foal. He doesn’t know any better right now,” scolded Fluttershy. She looked back to AJ and started nuzzling him; causing him to giggle. “He’s so cute.” Twilight muttered something about the demon foal as Fluttershy turned back to her. “So what did you need?”

Twilight continued to mutter under her breath as she regained her composure. “The copy of ‘Spells to Defy Time and Space’ in the royal library is out right now. We’ll have to wait for the new copy I ordered to come in.”

“How long will that take?” asked Fluttershy; the worry creeping onto her face.

“It should only take about a week to get here. At least that’s about how long it usually takes for new books to arrive,” answered Spike.

Fluttershy smiled once again. “That’s good.” She took a look at the clock tower in the middle of town. “Well, I should be getting home. It’s almost dinner time and little foals can get cranky when they’re hungry.”

“Yea you do that,” grumbled Twilight.

As Fluttershy began walking away AJ looked back to Twilight. “Bye stupid head!” Twilight glared at him as he stuck his tongue out at her.

“How can such a nice pony be such a little monster when he’s younger?” Twilight asked to nopony in particular.

“Oh lighten up Twilight. I’m sure you and Shining Armor were quite the hell raisers when you were that young.” Not in the mood for Spikes wise cracks, Twilight just bucked him off and started walking back to the library. “What did I say?!”

********************

Fluttershy quickly trotted down stairs when she heard somepony knock on the door. She opened the door to find a concerned Ditzy outside. “Oh, hello Ditzy. What can I do for you?”

“Hey Fluttershy, is AJ around? We were supposed to meet for lunch today, but he never came. Applejack said he was over here, but the way she was acting made it sound like something was wrong.”

Fluttershy nervously looked back into the house. “Oh, umm, why don’t you come in. There’s something you should…”

“I wiww destwoy you monstew!” came a shout from inside the house; interrupting Fluttershy. Fluttershy turned around as Ditzy poked her head in to see AJ wrestling around the room with Angel Bunny. As they stopped rolling, Angel popped out of AJ’s grasp and began to run away; only to be tackled to the floor once again. After about another minute of wrestling, Angel managed to slip free again and bolted into the kitchen. “You can’t get away fwom me!”

Crashes could be heard coming from the kitchen as the two mares looked on. “Fluttershy, what’s going on?”

“Oh, well you see…” Suddenly they heard a high pitched scream coming from the other room. AJ came out of the kitchen, screaming his head off and running for dear life, while ballistic carrots flew after him. Angel Bunny soon followed with a bag full of carrots dragging behind him. He was throwing them at AJ as he did. AJ ducked behind the couch as the carrots bounced off of it harmlessly.

Figuring he had AJ cornered, Angel grabbed a few carrots and jumped up on the couch. Prepared to strike, he jumped onto the back and peered behind it, only to find that there was nopony there. “RAWR!!!” He was suddenly tackled from behind by the foal; sending both of them to the floor behind the couch. A bit of scuffling could be heard from behind the couch before it settled down. A few seconds later AJ came out from behind the couch, dragging Angel out by his tail. He dragged Angel over to Fluttershy. “I did it! I destwoyed the monstew!”

Fluttershy looked down at Angel, who was glaring death at her, and giggled. “Yes you did, but you really shouldn’t wrestle around like that. What if one of you would have gotten hurt? That would be very bad.”

AJ’s expression became sad as he started shuffling his hooves on the floor. “I’m sowwy.”

Ditzy gave the foal a questioning look. “Umm Fluttershy, who’s this?” Fluttershy sighed as she once again prepared to tell the story.

********************

Ditzy was on the verge of tears. “I-it’s not fair. H-he finally asks me out, and now this happens.”

Fluttershy drew Ditzy into a hug. “I know it must be hard, but you just need to stay strong. Just you wait. Twilight will have him back to normal as soon as possible.”

Ditzy sniffled before returning the hug. “Y-you really think so?”

“I know so,” Fluttershy said with a smile. She released the hug and stood up. “Would you like some hot chocolate? I’m sure that would help cheer you up.”

“That sounds nice, thanks.” Ditzy watched as Fluttershy trotted into the kitchen.

She sniffled again as she looked down to see AJ staring up at her; his head cocked to the side in confusion. His big, innocent, blue eyes just watching her. Mr. Bun Bun was draped over his back. “What’s wwong wady?”

Ditzy felt her tears threatening to return. She took a deep breath to try calming herself down before answering. “S-somepony very close to me is gone, a-a-and nopony knows how long it will take to…to.” Ditzy broke down. She put her head in her hooves and started to cry. As she cried, she didn’t notice the foal climb up onto the couch next to her. She felt something being pushed into her right foreleg. “H-h-huh?” she asked as she looked over.

AJ was sitting next to her, forelegs extended, offering Mr. Bun Bun to her. His eyes were pleading her to stop crying. “Wouwd you wike to pway wiff Mr. Bun Bun? Wouwd dat make you feww bettew?”

Ditzy sniffled as she wiped some tears from her eyes. She tentatively took the stuffed bunny from the foal. She held it in her hooves for a minute, just looking at it. She slowly started to smile. She looked over to AJ. He was smiling and had his forelegs open as if he was asking for a hug. The stallion she knew was still in there, she just knew it. She picked the foal up and gave him a hug. “Thank you.”

Fluttershy smiled warmly as she walked back into the kitchen. When she heard Ditzy start to cry she was about to go in and calm her down. When she saw AJ climbing up onto the couch she just stayed in the kitchen and peaked around the corner to see how it would all turn out. She was glad she did. Even she knew that there was only one pony who could cheer Ditzy up, and foal or not, he did just that.

********************

Fluttershy and Big Mac were finally going on their date. Due to the circumstances, they decided to push it back a few days. Seeing as how she has a lot of experience watching Pound and Pumpkin Cake, Fluttershy decided to ask Pinkie to foalsit AJ while she was away. Right now the two of them were on their way to The Grape Vine. It’s Ponyville’s fanciest restaurant known for its giant selection of fine wines. “How’re things goin’ with AJ?” asked Big Mac who had abandoned his yoke for a nice bow tie. This was one of the few times anypony in Ponyville had seen the big, red stallion with his mane nicely combed.

“It’s going great,” Fluttershy said in her usual soft voice. She was wearing a simple green dress that hugged her body. Along with the dress she was also wearing s matching set of horseshoes and a bit of make up. “He’s so adorable, and he’s always following me around trying to help.” She remembered back to the previous day when AJ tried to help her feed the chickens. He ended up accidentally spilling the entire bag, burying himself in chicken feed. Fluttershy could only giggle to herself as he ran around the yard, bawling his eyes out, as the chickens chased after him trying to eat the feed that was stuck to him. She knew they meant no harm.

“That’s good.” The two of them continued on their way for a few minutes. As they did, a question formed in Big Mac’s head that just wouldn’t leave. “Umm, Fluttershy, can Ah ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“W-were ya bein’ serious when you said you’ve always wanted a foal of yer own?” He couldn’t help but blush a bit as he asked the question.

Neither could Fluttershy as she hid behind her mane. She gingerly nodded. “Y-yes, I was. It’s been a dream of mine since I was young. After this experience, I want it even more.”

Big Mac smiled at Fluttershy. “Ah know you’d make a great mother.”

Smiling, Fluttershy leaned over and gave him a kiss. “Thank you.”

********************

It was late by the time Fluttershy got home. She was worried because she didn’t want to inconvenience Pinkie any. Like the gentalcolt he was, Big Mac had walked Fluttershy home, earning him another kiss as they parted ways. She walked in the door to find Pinkie cleaning up a mess that must have been made at some point. “Hello Pinkie. I’m so sorry for being late.”

Pinkie held up a hoof to her mouth and shushed Fluttershy with a smile. She turned and pointed to her tail. Fluttershy smiled and giggled when she saw AJ tangled up in Pinkie’s tail with Mr. Bun Bun, sucking on the tip of his hoof as he slept. “I didn’t want to wake him,” whispered Pinkie. “How was your night?”

“It was wonderful. Big Mac is just amazing.”

Pinkie gave her usual smile as she fished AJ out of her tail. “I should get going. I have to open the store tomorrow.” She handed him over to Fluttershy’s waiting legs.

“Thank you again Pinkie.” Pinkie waved goodbye before gently closing the door behind her. Once the door closed, Fluttershy let out a big yawn. It was late and past the usual time she went to bed. Flying up to the second level, she placed AJ in his bed and covered him with the comforter, kissing him on the forehead as she did. A small smile formed on his lips as he hugged Mr. Bun Bun even tighter.

She trotted over to her dresser where she took the dress off and gently put it in the cloths hamper to be washed. Her shoes were next. After a quick trip to the bathroom, it was off to bed.

********************

“F-f-fwuttewshy?” Fluttershy began to stir when she heard the voice. “F-f-fwuttewshy?” Fluttershy let out a big yawn before opening her eyes. She looked around, looking for the source of the voice. “F-f-fwuttewshy?”

She looked down to see AJ standing next to her bed, trembling, with tears in his eyes. Mr. Bun Bun was draped over his back. “What’s wrong? Is everything alright?” She picked him up and placed him on her bed.

He sniffled before speaking. “I-I-I had a bad dweam. C-c-can I sweep wiff you?”

Fluttershy smiled as she leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. “Of course you can. Come on.” She scooted over a bit to make room for him on the bed. He crawled into the covers and curled up next to her. “Are you comfortable?” He nodded his head. “That’s good.”

Fluttershy laid her head back down on the pillow as she tried to go back to sleep. She couldn’t help but look down at AJ one more time to see him looking at her with a tired smile. “I wuv you mommy.” He laid his head down and was sleeping in moments.

Fluttershy felt a tear of happiness roll down her cheek. She had been taking care of AJ for the entire week, but for the first time, she actually felt like his mother. With a smile on her face she closed her eyes. Sleep came easily that night.

********************

The day had finally come. The replacement book had finally come in, and Twilight was here to perform the counter spell to change AJ back. Fluttershy couldn’t have been any more sad. Ever since AJ started calling her his mommy three days ago, she couldn’t help but think of him as her son. The thought of him turning back and losing that connection between the two of them broke her heart. It didn’t take long for her friends to notice this, so when it was time they were all there to make this easier for her. “Are you ready Fluttershy?” Twilight asked in a soft voice.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she shook her head. Rarity was there with a big hug. “I know it’s hard darling, but this is for the best. This isn’t who he is.”

“B-b-b-but I’m his mommy. H-h-he’d be lost without me,” she said as she cried into Rarity’s shoulder.

“Mommy? Why awe you cwying?” Fluttershy gasped and pulled away from Rarity. Looking down she saw AJ standing there, looking up at her with sad eyes. “Pwease don’t cwy mommy. I don’t want you to be sad.”

Fluttershy felt a pain shoot through her chest as more tears forced their way out. She turned to Twilight. “C-c-can I at least have some time alone with him b-b-before you do it?”

Twilight understood what she was feeling and nodded her head. “Take all the time you need.”

Fluttershy grabbed up AJ in her forelegs and flew upstairs, closing the door behind her. She placed him on her bed and started running her hoof through his mane. “Mommy? Is someffing wwong?”

Fluttershy swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t know how to put this to him, nor did she want to. “I-I’m afraid that we won’t be able to be together.”

AJ’s eyes got wide. “W-w-what?”

“After today, I won’t be your mommy anymore.”

At that moment, AJ looked like his entire world had just gone up in flames. His breathing became uneven as hot tears flowed down his cheeks. “B-b-b-but I wuv you mommy! W-w-why won’t you be my mommy anymowe?”

Tears were flowing down Fluttershy’s cheeks too. “I-it’s just how it has to be. Just know, that no matter what happens, your mommy always loves you.”

AJ began shaking from his heavy sobs. “N-n-n-no! You can’t weave me! I don’t want you too! I wuv you mommy!” AJ ran to Fluttershy and started crying into her coat.

She cradled him in her legs and started rocking him back and forth. At this moment she just wanted to sneak out of the house with AJ, and live a happy life with just the two of them. But she knew she couldn’t. As much as she hated it, this is what had to be done. As she continued to rock AJ back and forth, she started singing to him. She had done this a lot during her time with him. If at anytime he was sad, or couldn’t sleep, a simple song and all was right again. As she sang, AJ’s sobs became slower. It wasn’t long before, for the final time, he was asleep in her legs.

********************

It had been about twenty minutes before Fluttershy finally opened the door. Her tears were still flowing, but she was trying to be strong. She came down the stairs with AJ and Mr. Bun Bun on her back. She gently placed him and the stuffed bunny on the couch before turning to Twilight. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Pinkie and Rainbow took Fluttershy away from the couch and stayed close to her as Twilight started the spell. She turned to cry into Rainbow’s shoulder as the spell continued. The room was suddenly filled with a blinding light. As it died down, AJ’s body was still consumed by light. His body slowly began to grow until it was back to its original size. The light died down as the spell finished. Twilight let out a sigh as the aura left her horn. “Looks like it worked.”

“Do ya think he’ll remember anythin’ that happened?” asked Applejack

“I don’t know.” AJ’s eyes slowly began to open. He wearily took in his surroundings. “Here, you might want these,” Twilight said as she floated his glasses onto his head. In his younger state, he didn’t need his glasses. Not like they would have fit his head anyway.

He sat up and groaned as he rubbed his head. “I feel like I got hit by a truck.”

“Understandable considerin’ what happened,” said Applejack. “Come on, you must be pretty tired. Let’s get ya back ta th’ farm an’ inta bed.”

AJ smiled. “That sounds pretty good right about now.” He got off the couch and stretched his limbs. That’s when he saw Fluttershy looking at him with sad eyes. The tears were falling slower, but they were still falling. “Actually, you go on ahead. I’ll meet up with you.”

“Ya sure?”

AJ smiled and nodded. “Yea, I’d like to speak with Fluttershy.” He looked at Pinkie and Rainbow. “Alone please.”

“Alright, we’ll give you some time alone then. Come on girls,” Twilight said as they all filtered out through the door.”

The only two left in the house were AJ and Fluttershy. They just looked at each other for a moment. “Fluttershy?”

“I-I’m glad you’re back to normal. It’s nice to see you again.”

Even as tired as he was, AJ could see right through her. He walked over to her and drew her into a hug. “Fluttershy, for what it’s worth, you’re going to be a great mother.”

“Huh?”

He pushed her away slightly so he could look her in the eyes. “I should know. I had first hoof experience of just how good you’ll be.” Fluttershy’s eyes got wide. “I’ll never forget that you’ll always love me mommy.”

Fluttershy’s shocked expression slowly turned into a smile as she hugged AJ. “Thank you.”

****************************************

((I like this chapter. There’s not much else I can say about it. It was fun to write. I even started to cry when writing that last part. Hope you all get that reaction when you read it.

The idea for this chapter was given to me by Sparknanator

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Shadow's Screwy Day

Chapter 27

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, bee… Shadow Breeze sleepily hit the off button on his alarm clock. Trotsworth had gotten him the clock when he had moved in so he wouldn’t be late for school. It took him a little while to get used to the clock. After the first week of school, Trotsworth ended up having to reinstall the light fixture in his bedroom; Shadow kept clinging to it after the alarm went off.

********************

Shadow was sleeping peacefully in his bed. The previous night he had spent hours studying for a history test he had the next day. History had never been his strong suit. He was always more of a math and science pony. Hoping he had prepared enough for it, he tried to make sure he got enough sleep. He had a slight smile on his face as he dreamed. He was dreaming that he was meeting his favorite baseball team, the Trottingham Titans. Baseball all star Strike Out was just extending his hoof for a hoof shake. With a giant smile on his face, Shadow lifted his hoof. They were mere inches from the hoofshake when…

Beep, beep, beep, beep…

“Eeeep!” Shadow leapt into the air, clinging onto the light fixture in the middle of the ceiling. His eyes were wide as he trembled.

A few seconds later Trotsworth came into the bedroom. His brother’s yelp of fear, combined with the still beeping alarm had woken him up…again. “Are we going to be doing this every morning?” He looked up at his brother with bloodshot eyes and sighed. “You know, if you keep hanging from it like that it’s eventually going to…” He was interrupted as the ceiling around the fixture gave way, sending Shadow, the light fixture, and a good amount of the ceiling to the ground in a loud crash. “Fall.”

A shaky, dark grey hoof slowly rose from the pile of debris. “I…I’m okay…ow.” The hoof fell limp as Shadow fell unconscious.

Trotsworth facehoofed. “This is going to be a long day.”

********************

Though while his intentions were good, Trotsworth had gotten the clock as more of a gift for himself. While he loves his little brother, unless there’s an emergency at the hospital, he doesn’t like getting up early.

Shadow lazily stretched his legs in the air before finally getting out of bed with a big yawn. He looked over to his night stand. On it sat two pictures and a baseball trophy. He walked over to the night stand and picked up the first picture. It was a picture of a junior baseball team. Of the entire team, there was only one pony he paid any attention to. One of the ponies in the picture was circled in red marker.

After setting down the first picture, he proceeded to pick up the second. In the second picture sat two smiling foals. The foal on the left was himself. He was hugging the other foal around the neck. She was an earth pony filly with a deep purple coat and purple eyes. Her normally straight, two tone violet and light pink mane and tail were both messy, and covered in dirt. On her head she wore her favorite Trottingham Titans baseball cap. She had a giant, ear to ear smile on her face as she held a trophy in her legs. The picture was taken five years ago.

Shadow put the picture down and lifted up the trophy. It was the same one that was in the picture. It had a pony pitching a ball as the figure head on top. It was approximately one foot tall. The plaque at the bottom read.

First place junior baseball league
Curveball

He gently placed the trophy back on the stand as a tear rolled down his cheek. His head held low, he slowly walked out the door of his room to get ready for school.

********************

The bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. Shadow went to his locker and packed everything he’d need for his homework in his bags before heading to the exit. “Shadow Breeze, could I speak to you for a minute?” came a voice to his side. Shadow looked over to see his history teacher, Mr. Pale, standing in the door. He was a dirt brown Earth pony with a grey mane. His cutie mark was a fossil.

Shadow made a detour into the room and followed Mr. Pale to his desk. “Is something wrong Mr. Pale?”

“I’m going to get right down to it Mr. Breeze.” He took out a small stack of papers and placed them in front of himself; making sure to cover up the top. “I believe you know what this is?”

Shadow quickly skimmed over the top page. “That’s my history report, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and I’m sure you know how much of an effect this has on your grade, right?” Shadow nodded his head. “Well…”

Shadow watched as he lifted his hoof from the top of the page. His eyes got wide. “An F?!” Mr. Pale nodded. “But…but I thought I did so good! I triple checked my facts and everything!”

“All the facts you had were right,” Mr. Pale said trying to calm Shadow down. “This was a very detailed paper on Griffon King Goldo the third. But your assignment was on Griffon King Goldo the second.” He watched as Shadow’s head fell, nearly hitting the desk in front of him, as he groaned. “As of now, you are barely passing my class. You can thank that impressive test score for that, so here’s what I’m going to do.” He took the paper and put it away again. “I’ll give you another week to re-write your report. If you do that, I’ll replace the old grade with the new one. Do we have a deal?”

Shadow’s eyes got wide as he lifted his head. “You’d let me do that?” Mr. Pale nodded. “Thank you so much!” Shadow picked up his bags and started running out the door. “I won’t let you down Mr. Pale!”

********************

Trotsworth looked towards the door when he heard it open. He got up off the couch and walked over to greet his brother. “Well you’re home later than usual. Something happen?”

“I had to make a quick stop at the library,” Shadow said as he placed his bags next to the door. “I needed to pick up some books about the griffon wars.”

Trotsworth looked confused. “The griffon wars? I thought you finished that paper already?”

“I-uh, I kinda failed the paper.”

“What?! But I even read over everything myself. How did you fail it?”

Shadow scratched the back of his head. “I wrote about the wrong King Goldo. I was supposed to write about King Goldo the second, not the third.” Trotsworth facehoofed. “But don’t worry. Mr. Pale said he’d give me a week to redo the paper for a new grade.”

Trotsworth let out a relieved sigh. “At least you’re getting another chance.” His face turned stern. “You will work on it after dinner young stallion, and I expect you to quadruple check your facts, just to be certain. I will have you passing that class, even if I have to bribe an elected official!”

“Ummm I don’t think that will be necessary. I’ll just make sure I get all the facts…” Shadow was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Eeep!” He leapt into a coat that was hanging by the door.

Trotsworth walked over and answered the door. “Hey, Dr. Whooves,” said AJ. He and Ditzy were standing at the door.

“Hello you two. What can I do for you?”

“We were wondering if you were coming to Pinkie’s party this afternoon,” Ditzy said as she pulled an invitation out from under her wing. “It says that everypony’s invited.”

Trotsworth quickly scanned the invitation. “Well I’ll be. There is a party tonight. You bet we’re going!”

“B-but what about my paper?” Shadow asked as he poked his head out from the jacket.

“To hell with the paper!” Shouted Trotsworth. “You still have a week to finish it. I’m sure mother will understand.” He reached in and fished Shadow out of the jacket. “Come brother! We have a party to attend! Allons-y!”

********************

All was quiet in the top secret wing of the castle. This wing of the castle was set aside for the most dangerous experiments. The technology in the lab there was far more advanced than at the Lunar Institute of Science’s technology. Celestia wanted that lab to be part of the castle. That way she would always be close incase of an emergency. Ever since Luna came back and learned of the wing from Celestia, she was put in charge of all the experiments that went on there. Celestia was more than happy to pass the responsibility of the wing to Luna when asked. Luna had always been the more sciencey one between the two of them anyway.

Two unicorns were diligently patrolling the hallways. They passed by the lab access doors, which were always guarded by two more unicorn guards, one of which was always a high ranking member of the guard. “Anything to report?”

“Everything’s quiet sir.”

“Good. Continue your patrol.” The two guards saluted before continuing their patrol.

As the two guards turned the corner, they passed a vending machine and a framed picture of a cute little kitten playing with a ball of yarn. When Luna came to be in charge of the wing, the first comment she had made was how boring the wing looked. She immediately put in an order for 50 potted plants, ten vending machines, 100 different pictures, and even a few water coolers here and there. She had made sure everything was set up to be aesthetically pleasing. ‘What if the guards get hungry or thirsty?’ questioned Luna when asked about the vending machines and water coolers by her sister. In reality only her and some of the scientists ever used the vending machines.

About a minute after the guards passed the vending machine, the slot opened up to reveal two purple, slightly swirly eyes. The eyes scanned the hallway; making sure nopony was there. Slowly squeezing her body out of the vending machine slot, the pony landed on the floor with a small thud. After making sure nopony had heard her landing, she quickly dashed over to the corner and peaked around. She saw the two guards that were guarding the lab doors and frowned. She didn’t know how she was going to get past two, always vigilant guards.

“Hey! What are you doing here?!” came a voice from behind her. She whipped her head around to see one of the scientists staring at her. “You?! How did you get out?! I’m going to call the…” She ended up knocking him out with a, strategically thrown, 40 pound water jug to the head. She quickly looked around the corner to make sure the guards weren’t alerted by all the noise. They still stood by the door. She sighed as she looked back to the scientist. She tried thinking of what to do with him. Then it hit her.

After stealing the scientist's lab coat and ID, she hid the body inside a potted plant. She nonchalantly walked up to the door. After scanning the ID, she was able to walk right in. After she walked into the lab, the younger unicorn guard looked to his officer. “Umm Sir, who was that?”

“Must have been a new scientist.”

The pony looked around in awe at all the things around her. All the scientists, all the machines, all those chemicals just asking to be randomly mixed with each other, and shiny buttons just waiting to be pressed. This was like a playground, and she couldn’t have been any happier. Remembering that she had to keep her disguise up, she regained her composure and started trotting in no particular direction. Not that it mattered if she blew her cover there for a moment. The rest of the scientists were all too indulged in their projects to pay any attention.

She decided to first try her hoof at the chemicals. She came up to the table and sat down. She took a few racks of test tubes filled with a full spectrum of different colors. With a bright smile on her face, she grabbed a few of the test tubes and took a closer look at them, making a silent ‘ooh’ as she did. The scientist across the table from her looked up at her briefly before going back to his work. He did a quick double take and got a better look at what was going on right in front of him. It wasn’t so much the two, highly dangerous chemicals that were being mixed together so carelessly, it was the pony who was doing the mixing that scared him. “Screwball?! How did you escape?!” The entire room stopped working and all turned their focus to the table. “GUARDS!!! GUARDS, HELP!!!”

Screwball put on a sheepish smile as she grabbed a few more test tubes and bolted. As she ran on her two hind legs, she continued to tear the rubber stoppers off the test tubes to continue mixing them. She could hear many sets of metal clad hooves behind her. After she had mixed all the test tubes together, she dumped all the empty tubes and put a rubber stopper on the filled tube before shaking it vigorously. It wasn’t until she looked up that she realized she had just put herself in a corner. She turned to see that she was surrounded by guards. “Give it up you freak! You’re going back where you belong!” shouted the officer.

Screwball looked around. She had nowhere to go. As she looked around, the test tube in her hoof caught her attention. She looked between it and the guards before smiling. She stood up on her hind legs once again, and stuck her tongue out as she measured the throw. She wound up her shot, and pitched the test tube at the officer as hard as she could.

Seeing the glowing red tube flying towards him, the officer quickly dodged to the side. He followed the tubes path as it shattered on the floor right behind him. The room became engulfed in a giant explosion, sending ponies in all directions. The guards that weren’t blown away by the explosion were quickly knocked out by the fumes that came with it. Seeing as that her fun was cut short, Screwball decided to go with her plan B. Holding her breath, she ran through the fumes and out the doors; searching for the nearest window to escape the castle.

Unfortunately for her the first window she found was locked shut, with no conceivable way to open it. She knew she didn’t have much time at all before more guards arrived. She looked around for the closest item, which just so happened to be a potted plant, and chucked it at the window as hard as she could; shattering a small portion of it. The plant wasn’t all that big, so the hole was just barley big enough for her to fit. She leaped through the hole, wincing as the glass cut into her flank. After she made it through the hole, she gave her propeller beanie a spin; flying off into the night sky.

********************

Luna came running into the Lab with a look of worry on her face. A staff of medical ponies followed behind her. “What happened in here?!”

One of the scientists ran up to her. “Princess, Screwball has escaped!”

“What?!” Luna looked around the room. She took note of the damage that had been to her lab. She also took note of the guards, both the unconscious, and the injured. The ventilation system had been turned on. “You’re telling me Screwball did all this?!”

“I’m afraid so. She managed to sneak in, and start mixing random chemicals together. She used the mixture like a bomb to dispatch the guards.” The scientist looked over. “It looks like Officer Stone Wall got the worst of it.”

The scientist led Luna over to where Stone Wall lay. He grunted in pain as the medical team tended to his wounds. He cracked an eye open to look at the princess. “Officer Stone Wall, are you okay?”

Stone Wall grunted before speaking. “Y-yes. I’ll be fine. I’ve had much worse than this. The explosion was big and flashy, but it wasn’t very powerful. It was those damn fumes that got my soldiers.”

Stone Wall tried standing up, but was held down by Luna. “Just rest Stone Wall. Take a few days off to recover.”

“But…” Stone Wall saw the look on Luna’s face and nodded. “Of course. Thank you Princess.”

Luna turned back to the scientist. “Where is Screwball now?”

“Well...we’re not entirely sure.”

“How can you not be sure?” asked Luna.

The scientist sighed. “After she caused all this havoc, she kind of…escaped the castle.”

“What?!” The scientist showed Luna to the window that Screwball had leapt out of. She saw the blood on the window and took a drop in her magic. Focusing her magic on the blood, she used a detection spell. She sighed as she let the blood drop to the floor. “The corruption’s still powerful enough to dampen my magic. I’m unable to find her exact position.”

“What are we going to do Princess?”

Luna sighed. “For now we make sure everypony is okay. Tomorrow I’ll take a team to go find her.”

********************

Shadow groaned as he lay there in bed. If he had to guess, it was probably around seven in the morning. This sucked because it was Saturday, and he felt like sleeping in today. He shifted around in his bed until he found a comfortable position. He let out a contented sigh as he waited for sleep to take him again.

Just before sleep was about to take hold of him, he felt something shift in his bed. His sleep addled mind didn’t really register this so he just tried to fall asleep once again. He felt the shifting in the bed once again. Groaning, he rolled over to look the other way. He slowly opened his eyes and found his sleep dulled vision filled with that of another pony. He was jolted awake almost immediately when he realized that there was indeed another pony in his bed. The other pony put on an ear to ear grin. “Hellooooo.”

********************

Trotsworth leapt out of his bed and dashed out of his room when a blood curdling scream filled the house. With a full body tackle, he burst into his brother’s room. “Shadow?! Is everything alright?! What’s…” His worry quickly turned to confusion at what he saw. On Shadow’s bed was a pastel violet Earth pony filly with a two tone purple and white mane. Her cutie mark was a screw and a base ball. She had a propeller beanie on her head. She looked no older than Shadow.

She was leaning on the edge of the bed, rump in the air, as she peaked under the bed. “Why are you under there?” she asked in an innocent voice.

Still confused, Trotsworth walked over to the bed and peaked underneath to find Shadow curled up in a ball; eyes wide as he shook like a leaf. “Uhhhh.” He looked back up at the filly on the bed. “Shadow, who’s your little friend here?”

“I don’t know!” shouted Shadow from under the bed. “I just woke up and she was lying next to me!”

Trotsworth’s eyes got wide before a smile grew on his face. “Looks like my little brother’s a full grown stallion now.” He wiped a fake tear from his eye. “Can’t say I’m to happy about it being with some filly you don’t even know, but I’m sure we can change that. We should also go and get you some condoms. Don’t want any unwanted surprises, now do we.”

Shadow’s head shot out from under the bed. His face was crimson. “W-W-WHAT?!?!?! N-no! We didn’t do anything!”

Trotsworth grabbed Shadow out from under the bed and put a leg around his withers. “Oh no need to be ashamed. You’re a teenage colt. I know personally how your raging hormones can get out of control. Can’t tell you how many times mother walked in on me clo…”

“BROTHER!!!”

Trotsworth looked down to Shadow. “Yes?”

Shadow broke free from his brother’s hold. “Nothing happened. When I went to bed I was alone. I woke up and there she was.”

Trotsworth blinked a few times. “Oh. Well I’m still going to get you those condoms. You never know when you’ll need them.” He looked back to the filly. “As for you, what’s your name?”

Screwball sat upright on the bed and gave a big smile. “I’m Screwball!”

“Nice to meet you Miss Screwball. Now if you’ll come with me, I’d like to check out that nasty looking cut on your flank there,” Trotsworth said as he pointed to her flank.

Screwball followed his hoof to the deep cut on her flank. She looked back at to him and smiled. “Okay!”

********************

After Trotsworth was finished cleaning, disinfecting, and dressing Screwballs cut, he invited her to breakfast. He had made a traditional Trottingham breakfast, and while he wasn’t the best of cooks, it was at least passable. “So tell me Screwball, how did you get in here anyway?”

After stuffing an entire hard boiled egg in her mouth, she smiled and pointed to the kitchen window. “Da wighoh!” Bits of egg flew from her mouth as she spoke.

“That explains why it’s open. I knew I closed it when I went to bed last night,” Trotsworth said before taking a bite of an English muffin. “And tell me, what’s your relationship with my brother. You seem quite…” He took note of how Screwball stayed as close to Shadow as she could. “Fond of him.”

Screwball swallowed the egg with an audible swallow before throwing her legs around Shadow’s neck in a hug. Shadow tensed up and eeped at the unexpected contact. “He’s my friend!”

“I-I-I don’t even know you,” Shadow said in a low, fearful voice. “P-please let go of me.”

Trotsworth put a hoof to his chin. He was still trying to make heads or tails of this situation. Yes this pony did break into his house at some point during the night, but she doesn’t seem to be dangerous. Quite the opposite in fact. She seems completely harmless. He took another bite of his muffin before speaking. “I feel I must ask, why did you come to this house in particular?” He watched as Screwball pointed to Shadow. “Mmhm. Does you family know where you are?”

Screwballs face became sad. “I don’t know where my family is.”

“Well…that is troubling,” Trotsworth said with a hoof to his chin. “I suppose you could always stay here until we’re able to locate your family.”

A bright smile grew on her face. “Really?! Can I sleep with him?!” she asked as she pointed Shadow.

“W-w-what?!” shouted Shadow; his face was crimson.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. I’m not so sure Shadow could handle any more heart attacks today.” He finished up his meal and got up from the table; taking his plate to the sink. “We can just convert my study into a bedroom or something. Unless there’s an emergency at the hospital I don’t really have any plans today. I could go shopping for a mattress and put it on the floor for now or something. Wouldn’t be a glorious bed, but it would work until we could get something better.”

“YAY!!!” cheered Screwball.

“Alright, now that we have that all settled, why don’t the two of you go play or something. I have a busy day today.”

“But…but I was going to work on my paper today,” pleaded Shadow. He really didn’t want to fail that class. “I told Mr. Pale I’d…”

“Don’t worry,” Trotsworth said as he waved his hoof at Shadow. “You still have most of the week to work on it. Just go have some fun.”

Screwball was beaming. She quickly shoved the rest of her food in her mouth and chewed as quickly as she could. After swallowing, she grabbed Shadow by one of his legs and started dragging him out the door. “Wait! I-I don’t wanna go! Brother, help me! Heeeee…” Shadow’s last pleas were cut off as the door was closed.

Trotsworth chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said before turning to go clean out Screwballs new room.

********************

Shadow hung his head as he followed Screwball down the street. He was being forced to hang out with this strange pony against his will. All he wanted was a nice, relaxing day at home so he could work on his paper. ‘At this rate I’ll never finish my report. I’ll never be able to…’ His thoughts were interrupted when he ran head first into Screwball’s backside. Blushing a little bit, he looked up. “Uhh, what’s wrong?”

He saw Screwball staring straight ahead at Sugarcube Corner. Her eyes were shimmering as she took in the giant gingerbread house shaped building. “Gingerbread house,” moaned Screwball before she dashed ahead.

“Gingerbread house?” It took him a second to figure out what was going through her mind. His eyes got wide. “Oh no. Screwball, wait!”

Screwball got up to the building and stopped; licking her lips as she looked it over. It just looked so delicious. “Okay, where should I start?” She looked over and smiled. “Of course! I’ll start with the corner!” She happily trotted over to the corner of the building.

“Screwball, don’t eat that…” Shadow was too late.

Screwball opened her mouth and chomped down on the corner of the building. She just stood motionless for a moment; her teeth embedded in the wood. Her eyes suddenly got wide as she released the building. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she stuck her tongue out. “This gingerbread house tastes terrible! And it’s too stale!”

Shadow sighed. “That’s because it’s not a gingerbread house.”

“Wouldn’t it be so super awesome if it was though?!” came an overly exited voice from behind Shadow.

“Eeep!” Shadow leapt up and hid behind the roof of the building. When he peeked out, he saw none other than Pinkie Pie bouncing in place.

“It would be sooooo yummy! I would love to work in a gingerbread house. If I ever got hungry I could just eat the building.” She stopped bouncing and put a hoof to her chin. “But then I would eat my room, and I wouldn’t have any where to live. I would have to live on the streets. I’d be a homeless pony. I’d have to sleep under the park bench, hoping a bird doesn’t poop on me while I sleep. Speaking of bird poop, never lick the white stuff off of the park benches. As much as it looks like it, it is not cake frosting.”

Screwball looked at Pinkie with intrigue. She cocked her head to the side as if she was trying to figure out what made Pinkie tick. “Can you make a gingerbread house?”

“Can I?!” Pinkie said with a beaming smile.

“Can you?”

“Can I?!”

“Can you?”

“Can I?!”

“Can you?”

Pinkie blinked. “Can I what?”

“Make a ginger bread house?” Screwball said with a smile.

Pinkie gasped. “A gingerbread house?! I’d love one! Come on, let’s go make one!” She grabbed Screwball and ran into Sugarcube corner.

Shadow slowly landed on the ground and looked through the open door. “But…but what about me? I’d like a gingerbread house too,” whimpered Shadow.

“Well why didn’t you say so?!” Pinke said as the upper half of her body stretched out of the door. She grabbed Shadow by the body and pulled him in, ignoring the yelp of fear as she did.

********************

Luna paced endlessly around her room. She had been a nervous wreck ever since she learned of Screwball’s escape. She would have gladly gone after Screwball herself if she could. As it stands, she knew she wouldn’t be able to touch Screwball’s corrupted body with her alicorn magic. The outcome could potentially be disastrous. She could only wait for her guards to be ready. She dreaded every hour that passed. It was another hour that Screwball could hurt not only herself, but other ponies.

“Princess.” Luna nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice behind her. She was so lost in her thoughts she never even heard the pony walk in.

From her hiding spot under her bed, she could see Vengeance, the head of her specially trained task force standing at attention. “Why did you just barge into my room like that?! What if I was naked or something like that?!” It wasn’t until after she was finished speaking that she realized just how stupid that sounded. Aside from her royal vestments, she almost never wore clothes anyway.

“I...apologize Princess,” Vengeance said awkwardly. “I tried knocking, but got no response. I thought something may have been wrong.”

Luna extracted herself from under her bed and brushed her coat off. “No, I apologize. I’ve been on edge all morning.”

“Understandable your majesty.”

Luna straightened her crown. “So, what is it you wanted to tell me?”

Vengeance saluted. “Your majesty. The team is assembled in the courtyard and is awaiting further instruction.”

“That’s great,” Luna said as she breathed a sigh of relief. “Go inform my sister of my leave. Meet me in the courtyard afterwards.” Vengeance saluted before he flew off.

Luna made her way to the courtyard where she found her five other specially trained, bat winged guards, two stallion and three mares, standing at the ready. She waited for Vengeance to return before speaking. “As I’m sure you all know by now, a potentially dangerous pony escaped from the castle last night. In the process she managed to destroy half of my lab and left multiple guards wounded.” The six night guards started murmuring between themselves. “It is our job to locate this pony and bring her back to the castle before any harm can come to anypony. Do you all understand?”

“But Princess, we don’t even know where to start looking,” said the shortest of the three mares.

Luna sighed. “The only clue we have is the window she jumped out of. The most notable land mark in the distance was Ponyville. I believe our best bet would be to start there. Once there, we will split into teams. Ask the residents and see if they’ve seen any strange ponies around town.” The guards saluted. “Let’s go! We have no more time to waste!” Luna lifted off into the air. The night guards followed right behind her.

********************

Screwball happily licked her lips as she sat at the table. After Pinkie made the gingerbread houses, Screwball scarfed hers down as quickly as she could. Shadow ate his a bit more slowly. He smiled with every bite of the sugary house he took. It tasted even better considering he wasn’t able to finish his breakfast before Screwball forced him out the door.

“How are they?” Pinkie asked as she came out from the kitchen. “Are they yummy? I’m sure they are! They looked really yummy! I made sure I added extra sugar to make them super duper delicious! And that frosting is Mrs. Cakes super special recipe. It’s the most delicious, most bestest frosting I’ve ever tasted. Just thinking about it makes me…” Pinkie stops talking and sticks her tongue out; licking at the air as if there was frosting right in front of her.

Seeing that Pinkie was done with her incomprehensible rant, Shadow turned his attention back to his treat. He broke off another chunk of gingerbread and bit down into it. As he chewed, he noticed Screwball looking at his gingerbread house. She was drooling slightly. He looked between Screwball and his house until he swallowed his mouthful. “Umm, would you like some of my gingerbread house? I don’t think I’ll be able to finish it all.”

“Yay!” Screwball grabbed the gingerbread house and managed to break it perfectly in half. The two of them happily finished the house before leaving the shop.

Shadow let out a contented sigh as they walked. “That really hit the spot.”

“Mmhm!”

The two of them just continued walking for a bit. The silence was awkward, and Shadow didn’t like it. “Soo, uhh, what do you want to do now?”

A big smile on her face, Screwball turned to him. “I don’t know, what do you want to do?”

“Well, I’d like to…” Shadow was cut off when the sound of crying filled the air. “Huh?” They followed the crying to a small unicorn filly crying by a tree. Shadow walked up to her. “What’s wrong little filly?”

“M-m-m-m-my kite’s stuck in the treehehehehe,” she said before continuing to cry.

Shadow looked up to see a kite stuck near the top of the tree. He looked down at the filly and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll…”

“I’ll get it!” interrupted Screwball.

Shadow looked at Screwball and blinked. “Uhh Screwball, I don’t think you’ll be able to get up there. It’s pretty high up there, and there's no good hoofholds near the bottom of the tree. Only a unicorn or a pegasus could…” He stopped when he saw Screwball reach up and spin her propeller beanie. She started lifting off the ground and into the sky. He was completely dumbfounded as Screwball lifted higher and higher until she reached out and grabbed the kite out of the tree.

She landed on the ground and handed the kite to the filly. “Here you go!”

The filly took the kite with a bright smile. “Thank you lady!” Screwball waved as the filly ran off.

Screwball looked back to Shadow. His eyes were wide, and his jaw hung open in shock. “She was a nice filly!”

“H-h-how did you…”

Shadow was interrupted as the sound of a baseball bat cracked through the air. Screwballs eyes grew wide and her smile grew even wider. “BASEBALL!!!” Before Shadow could react, Screwball grabbed him and dragged him away.

********************

Screwball had her smiling face pressed up against the fence as she watched the baseball game. It was nothing special, just some friends having some fun. It was clear to everypony that they either didn’t know, or care about some of the rules. As long as they all had fun they would let them slip. The game came to an abrupt end when the ball ended up hitting a colt in the head. He went down crying as the rest of the kids ran over to help him.

Screwball watched with sad eyes as the colt was lead home by his friends. She started absentmindedly rubbing the side of her head. Shadow watched as she slowly walked into the baseball diamond. He still couldn’t believe what he had witnessed before. ‘How in Celestia’s name was she able to fly like that? It shouldn’t have been possible.’ He looked back up at Screwball to see her sitting on the pitchers mound; a sad look on her face. He stood up and walked over. “Screwball, is everything alright?”

Screwball sadly bent down and picked up a ball one of the kids had left behind. “I haven’t played in so long.” She stood up on her hind legs. She measured her throw before letting the ball loose. It was a perfect pitch.

“Whoa, that was awesome. You’re really good at that.”

“I love baseball.” Screwball slowly got up went to go get the ball.

Shadow just continued to watch her as she walked back to the pitchers mound and threw, yet another, perfect pitch. “Well if you’d like, I have some catcher’s mitts at home. I could go get them and we could play some catch or something.” Screwball’s eyes got wide as she looked at him. A bright smile grew on her face as she nodded vigorously. “Alright, just stay here. I’ll be right back.” Shadow spread his wings and flew home; failing to notice the two armor clad ponies flying high above them.

********************

“Huh?” Trotsworth turned his head when he heard somepony come through the door. He poked his head out of his study and saw Shadow walking through the hall. “Where’s Screwball?”

“She’s at the baseball diamond,” Shadow said as he got to his room. “I just came home to get my catchers mitts so we can play some catch.” He went to his closet and started digging around in one of the boxes. “Aha, there you are.”

“Catch?” A soft smile grew on Trotsworth’s face. “Well look at that. I haven’t seen you pull those out since…”

“Please don’t mention her,” Shadow said as his expression became sad. “I don’t need anymore reminders of her disappearance.”

Trotsworth saw Shadow glance over at the night stand where the pictures and trophy sat. “I’m sorry. I’m just happy to see you enjoying something you used to love again.”

“Yea.” Shadow placed the mitts in his bags and slung them over his back. He walked over to his desk and grabbed his baseball cap; placing it on his head. “I should get back to Screwball.” He walked past Trotsworth and started towards the door. “We’ll be back whenever.”

Trotsworth watched Shadow leave with sad eyes. He put a hoof to his chin. ‘I should have known better than to bring her up, but how do I make it up to him?’

********************

Shadow took a deep breath. He knew he couldn’t let Curveball’s disappearance control his life. He was about half way to the diamond and he didn’t want Screwball to see him acting all mopey. He closed his eyes and started thinking of the good times. A smile slowly grew on his face.

“EEEYAAAAHH!!!”

Shadow stopped dead in his tracks. “Th-that sounded like…” His eyes got wide. “Screwball!” Shadow took off into the air and flew towards the diamond.

He got there as fast as he could. From the sky he could see that Screwball, who had been backed up against the fence, was surrounded by five ponies. Behind them stood the regal figure of Princess Luna. Shadow landed and started running towards Screwball.

“I don’t think so kid!”

“Huh?” Shadow turned his head just as he was tackled to the ground by another pony.

Luna turned her head when she heard the commotion to the side. “Wrath? What’s going on?”

Wrath held Shadow down. “That kid who was with her came back.”

Shadow struggled against the night guard that as on top of him. “L-let me go!” He looked up and saw Luna walking towards him. “W-what’s going on?”

Luna stopped in front of Shadow and looked down. “Last night this pony escaped from the castle. She ended up making quite a mess of things as she did. We are here to apprehend her and return her to where she belongs.”

Shadow looked over to Screwball before looking back to Luna. “Why do you want Screwball? What did she do?”

Luna sighed. “I’m not so sure I should be telling you this, but…” She bit her lip as she looked over to Screwball. “It’s not what she did, it’s what happened to her.” She could see the confusion on Shadow’s face. “Do you remember a couple years ago when Discord escaped?” Shadow nodded. “He caused so much chaos, and corrupted a lot of ponies that day. When he was defeated, we thought the Elements of Harmony had reversed all the damage he had done.” Luna shook her head. “We were wrong.”

********************

It had been a day since Discord had been defeated. Luna, along with a good amount of the royal guard, were patrolling Equestria for any remainders of Discord’s magic. After finding nothing remaining in Canterlot, Luna had high hopes that the rest of Equestria would be the same. She had split her troops into two teams this day. Half of her guards would patrol through Manehattan, while her and the rest of the guards would look through Ponyville.

Her guards were everywhere in Ponyville; not that anypony minded. After the whole Discord fiasco, the Equestria Royal Guard was a welcome site. Luna was just meeting up with one of her sister’s most trusted officers, Sharp Mind. He was older, but he was still one of the brightest guards in the force. “Anything to report yet Sharp Mind?”

“Nothing yet Princess, but rest assure that we won’t rest until every last inch of this town has been looked over.”

Luna smiled. “Good. I knew it was a good idea to bring you with…”

“Sharp Mind sir!” shouted a guard from behind them.

Both Luna and Sharp Mind turned to the guard. “What is it? Did you find something?”

“In an alley on the other side of town.”

“Show us the way,” Luna said in a demanding tone. They followed the guard to the location. As they got close, Luna could feel that ever so familiar feeling of Discord’s magic. ‘How did I not feel this before?’ she wondered to herself. They stopped in front of the alley. Multiple guards were already waiting out front; just waiting for Luna to get there. “Why have the guards not started cleansing the area yet?” Luna asked when she noticed the unicorn guards just standing there.

One of the unicorn guards turned to Luna. “The source of the corruption is a pony your highness. We didn’t want to hurt her.”

Luna’s eyes got wide. “A pony?!” She quickly made her way into the alley. In the back of the alley way lie a pastel violet pony with curly purple and white hair. She was wearing a propeller beanie. She was shivering and Luna could even hear her whining slightly. Luna walked up to her and leaned in close. “Don’t worry, everything’s alright. Are you hurt?”

“D-d-d-discord. Need Discord.”

Luna’s features turned grim as she turned to her guards. “Get her to the castle immediately! It is imperative that we get her help!”

********************

“She had become so corrupted by Discord’s magic. It had become like a drug to her. Without it, her body practically started tearing itself apart.” Luna looked back to Screwball. “It’s been a slow process, but the corruption is slowly bleeding from her body. Though it looks like we still have a long way to go before she’s back to normal. Until that point, it is imperative that she stay at the castle. Both for her safety and the safety of others.”

Shadow looked over to Screwball. She looked absolutely horrified of the guards. Screwball looked over to him with big, pleading eyes. “Help me.”

“W-what?”

Screwball sniffled. “I don’t want to go back Breezey. It’s scary there.”

Shadow gasped as his eyes got wide. “B-b-breezey?” There was only one pony that ever called him Breezey.

********************

Shadow cheered as Curveball struck out the opposing team’s player. She had just won them the game. He watched as she jumped up and down in happiness. This was the happiest moment of her life. Shadow saw her start to walk off field and started following her.

As she happily trotted over to her family, she was suddenly tackled hugged to the ground. “Curveball, you did it!”

Curveball shifted around and smiled at Shadow. “I did, didn’t I!”

As the two of them happily chatted, Curveball’s mom came up behind them. “Curveball honey, look.”

Curveball looked over to her mom and her jaw dropped. Her mother was holding a big trophy. “Is…is that mine?” Her mom nodded. Curveball put on a beaming smile as she ran up and grabbed the trophy.

“Be careful now, it’s fragile,” her mom said with a giggle. She pulled a camera out of her bags. “Now before we go anywhere, I’d like to get a picture of this.” Curveball nodded as she posed for the picture. She felt Shadow hug her from the side. She looked over to him and smiled. “This way honey.”

Curveball quickly looked back at the camera and smiled as the picture was taken. As her mom was putting the camera away, she looked back over to Shadow. “Thanks for being here Breezey.”

********************

“C-c-curveball?” An unknown resolve quickly grew in Shadow. He began struggling in Wrath’s hold once again.

“Hey! Hold still kid! Don’t make this any harder than it has…” Wrath was cut off as Shadow swung his head up, connecting with his jaw.

Wrath reared up on his hind legs due to the unexpected attack. With the weight off of him, Shadow got up and readied his hind legs. “Sorry!” He kicked his legs back as hard as he could. One thing that should be noted about Luna’s specially trained team is that their armor is a lot lighter than your average guard. They make up for the lack of protection by being a lot faster and more agile than the others. This also means that certain parts of the body go…unprotected. Wrath wailed out in pain as he fell to the ground; clutching at his bucked apples. Luna could only watch as Shadow leapt over the guards and landed in front of Screwball. He turned around to face the guards; leaning down to make his posture threatening. “Nopony’s going near Curveball!”

Luna, after finally realizing what had just happened, walked up Shadow. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I must ask you to move. We have to isolate her.”

“She hasn’t done anything to deserve this!”

“You don’t understand. Who knows what will happen if we can’t remove the corruption from her body.”

“I DON’T CARE!!!” Shadow shouted with tears in his eyes. “I already lost her once, I won’t lose her again!”

Luna sighed. “So you leave me with no choice. Restrain him.”

The guards started closing in on Shadow and Screwball. “What in Celestia’s name is going on here?!” Everypony turned to the voice. Trotsworth was standing there, a catchers mitt on his back, with a dumbfounded look on his face. “Shadow, what happened?!”

“Trotsworth? What are you doing here?”

“I figured I’d come down and play catch with you and Screwball.” He looked at the guards. “Why is the Royal guard here?”

“Do you know this pony?” asked Luna to Trotsworth.

“Yes, this is my brother. Look, would somepony just please tell me what’s going on?”

“They’re trying to take Curveball away!” yelled Shadow.

“Curveball?” He looked between Shadow and Screwball. “Don’t you mean Screwball?”

“Screwball IS Curveball.”

Confused, Trotsworth looked at Screwball a bit more closely. After examining her for a few seconds, he turned to Luna. “Uh huh. Princess, if you would, could you please inform me as to why you wish to take our little Screwball here?”

Luna told Trotsworth the entire story. “And that is why we must take her back to the castle. If she’s there, we’ll be able to stop her from accidentally harming anypony.”

Trotsworth sat there with a hoof to his chin. “That is quite the tale Princess.” He turned to Shadow, who was now sitting next to him along with Screwball. “And you’re absolutely sure that Screwball here is actually Curveball, correct?” Shadow nodded. “Well, this is quite the pickle we are in.” He was torn. On one hoof, he was basically ordered by Luna to turn over this strange pony that broke into his house this morning. On the other, Shadow was sure that this strange pony was his old friend who had mysteriously disappeared a couple years ago, and he didn’t want to take that away from him.

Luna sighed. “I’m truly sorry if Screwball here is truly your brother’s long, lost friend, but keeping her at the castle is the safest thing to do.”

“Now hold on Princess. The way you put it, the only way to cure her is to wait it out, am I right?” Trotsworth asked.

Luna slowly nodded her head, not knowing where he was coming from. “That’s correct.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be possible for her to stay in a different location for that period of time?”

Luna looked at him suspiciously. “I don’t understand. What are you getting at?”

Trotsworth smiled. “Why don’t you just allow me to watch over Screwball while she recovers.”

“What?! B-but what about the possible dangers?”

“She seems quite taken with my brother here. Besides, the two of them have been together all day and nothing bad has happened.”

To say Luna was apprehensive about this would be an understatement. “And why are you so sure that you would be a proper candidate to watch over her?”

“Well, I am the Chief of Staff over at Ponyville hospital,” Trotsworth said with pride. He could still see the uncertainty on Luna’s features. “Tell you what. If you allow me to watch over Screwball here, I’ll write you a weekly report, detailing everything that has happened over the week.”

“But…”

“And, you can come check on her at any point if you feel it is necessary.”

Luna thought for a minute. Technically everything he said was right. She didn’t need to stay at the castle, thought it would be the safest place for Screwball to stay. Then again he did claim to be a doctor. “Can you prove what you say about being a doctor?”

“Have a copy of my medical license at home if you’d like to see it.”

Luna thought for another minute. She let out a defeated sigh. “Alright. I’ll allow Screwball to stay here in Ponyville.” A bright smile grew on Shadow’s face. “IF, and only if, you promise to look after her and make sure she stays out of trouble. You are to send weekly reports of her progress. One of my scientists will be here tomorrow to make sure she has everything she needs.”

“Y-you mean you won’t try to take her away again?” Shadow asked with hope in his voice.

Luna shook her head. “Neither me nor my guards will come after, or harm you and Screwball.”

“I’LL KILL YOU KID!!!” shouted Wrath before crying out in pain once again.

“Try not to move, Wrath,” said the shortest mare guard. Out of the group she was the most qualified to handle injuries. “Oh wow, I think he may have crushed one of them.”

Luna looked back to Shadow with a sheepish grin. “Uhh, don’t worry about him, he won’t hurt you.”

“You hear that Screwball?! You can stay!”

A giant smile grew on Screwball’s face. “YIPPIE!!!” She threw her legs around Shadow’s neck in a big hug.

Trotsworth smiled at his brother and Screwball before turning to Luna. “Well, I believe we should be getting back to the house. I really should finish cleaning out Screwball’s new room.” He looked over to Wrath and winced. “Though if you’d like, I’d be happy to check him in to the hospital to make sure nothings…broken.”

“He’ll be fine,” Vengeance said as the mare helped get Wrath on his back for transport. “Once we get back to the castle we’ll get some ice on those balls of his.” Vengeance lifted into the air and started back to the castle, the rest of Luna’s team followed behind him. Before taking off, Luna took one last look at Screwball. She took off into the sky and flew off.

Trotsworth sighed. “Well, I believe we’ve had enough excitement for one day. Let’s get back home.”

********************

Almost a week had passed since Screwball started living with Trotsworth and Shadow. It was Friday and Shadow was looking forward to getting school over with today. Having an entire weekend to catch up with Screwball was looking pretty good. “I’ll see you after school Screwball.”

“Okies!” Screwball waved to Shadow as he walked towards the door.

“Just one moment young stallion,” said Trotsworth as Shadow was about to open the door.

“Yes?”

“I know just how happy you are to have your friend back again, but you did remember to redo that report of yours, right?”

“Report? What repor…” Shadow’s eyes got wide. He had completely forgotten to redo his report. “Eeep!”

****************************************

((I suppose you could call this the “AJ light chapter” as it really doesn’t have much to do with AJ at all.

This is what Shadow Breeze looks like if any of you wanted a hard picture to base him off of.

And this is Curveball

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Facing Your Fears

Chapter 28

Rainbow Dash was feeling pretty low right now. It was her birthday, and it was turning out to be a pretty lousy one. She had gotten a letter from Braeburn saying that he wasn’t going to be able to make it. Things were just too busy down in Appleloosa at the moment. Not only that, but she hasn’t even seen any of her friends all day. She guessed that they were all just busy with her surprise party, but she hasn’t found any traces of a party. She checked, Sugarcube Corner, the library, even the barn. Nothing. She even asked around to see if anypony had known anything. Nopony had known anything.

Rainbow sighed into the cloud she was lying on. “Today…sucks.” She just wanted to spend the day with Braeburn and her friends, and she couldn’t even do that. “Maybe I should just go to bed. The faster today is over with, the better.”

She stood up on the cloud and stretched her limbs. “Yo Dash, where are you?!” came a masculine voice.

“Rainbow Dash?! Where ya at?!” came a feminine voice from down below.

“Huh?” Rainbow poked her head over the edge of the cloud. Down below she could see AJ and Applejack

“Hmm, maybe we should check her house again,” AJ said with a hoof to his chin.

“We just checked there. Maybe she went ta go see Braeburn’r somethin’” said Applejack.

“Hey!” Confused, AJ and Applejack looked up to see a rainbow trail leaving a cloud. Less than a second later, the cyan pegasus was standing next to them.

Applejack smiled. “There ya are. Ah thought you skipped town fer th’ day’r something.”

“Yea, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.” The two of them finally noticed the angry look on Rainbow’s face. “Uhh, is everything alright?”

“Where the hay were you guys?!” yelled Rainbow. “All I wanted to do today was hang out with you guys, and you totally ditched me!”

“Ditched you? Dash, we didn’t ditch you.”

“Yes you did! I’ve been looking for you all day!” A tear rolled down Dash’s cheek. “This was supposed to be my special day, and nopony remembered it.”

AJ and Applejack looked at each other with guilty looks. “We’re sorry sugarcube. We didn’t mean ta make ya feel so down on yer birthday.”

“Yea. We just wanted to make sure you didn’t find your party too soon,” AJ said as he scratched the back of his head.

Rainbow looked at the two of them questioningly. “What party?”

“Your birthday party, duh. What did you think we were talking about?”

Seeing that Rainbow was clearly confused, Applejack decided to elaborate. “We knew ya would look fer yer party, so we had ta move it somewhere new so ya couldn’t find it.”

“So…you didn’t ditch me?”

“Of course not. We’d have to be the biggest group of assholes to ditch you on your birthday,” AJ said with a chuckle. “Now, we should get going. Pinkie’s probably freaking out by now.”

********************

“You finally made it! Yippee!” hollered Pinkie as Rainbow walked through the door to Fluttershy’s cottage. “I thought you were going to miss your party!”

Rainbow looked around the living room of Fluttershy’s cottage with a smile. All the furniture had either been moved to the side, or to another room to make room for the party. Her kitchen table had been brought in and moved to the side for the refreshments. The birdhouses had been moved outside for the day so none of them would be broken during the festivities. Next to the table was a pile of gifts and cards. Tears of happiness started welling up in Dash’s eyes. “This is so awesome guys, thanks!”

“Now that Rainbow’s here, LET’S PARTY!!!” Pinkie pulled her party cannon out from seemingly nowhere and fired it off, covering the entire room in confetti and balloon’s.

With that, Twilight levitated a gift over from the pile. “Since we’re already running a little late, I don’t see why we couldn’t start with the presents.”

With a giant smile, Rainbow took the gift and tore the wrapping paper off. Her eyes shimmered slightly when she saw that it was a Daring Doo book. Daring Doo and the Emperors Cauldron to be exact. “The newest Daring Doo?! How did you get this?! I didn’t think this was coming supposed to be coming out for another couple weeks!”

Twilight smiled. “Look inside.”

Confused, Rainbow opened the front cover. There on the inside was written…

To Rainbow Dash

Thanks for being such a great fan. When your friend wrote me and told me just how much you enjoyed the books, and that your birthday was coming up, I knew I had to do something special for you. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Happy birthday Rainbow Dash.

A.K. Yearling

P.S. I saw your sonic rainboom three years ago at the Best Young Flyer competition. IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!

Rainbow squealed and hugged the book to her chest. “This is so AWESOME!!! Thanks soooo much Twilight!”

“You’re very welcome Rainbow.” Twilight looked over to the pile with a smile. “Let’s see. It looks like the next one is from…”

Twilight was interrupted by a knock at the door. “I wonder who that could be?” asked Rarity.

“Umm, I’ll get it,” Fluttershy said as she floated over to the door. She opened the door with a smile. “Hello, what can I…” Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she saw who it was. “Braeburn?”

Braeburn had his usual bright smile on his face as he stood there; a small present balanced on his back. “Well howdy Miss Fluttershy. Ah was wonderin’ if Rainbow was here. Some ponies said they saw’er comin’ this way.”

Rainbow’s eyes got wide when she heard the voice. She whipped her head to look at the door. “Braeburn?!” She tossed the present currently in her hooves to the side and dashed over to the door, tackling Braeburn to the ground. Rarity caught the gift mere inches to the ground with a sigh of relief. She didn’t want her gift to shatter before Rainbow even got the chance to see it.

Once his eyes stopped spinning, Braeburn returned the hug Rainbow was giving him. “Well howdy ta you too Dashie.”

Dash was nuzzling into Braeburn’s chest. “What are you doing here? I thought you were to busy in Appleloosa?”

Braeburn chuckeled. “Well, everypony felt down right terrible that Ah had ta miss yer birthday t’day. Knowin’ how much ah wanted ta be here t’day, Sheriff Silverstar took over mah responsibilities so ah could come.”

Rainbow gave off a contented sigh. “This is the best gift I could have gotten today.”

Everypony in the room watched as the two ponies cuddled on the ground outside the cottage. The room was silent until Rarity cleared her throat. “I apologies for interrupting darling, but I’m sure you would be much more comfortable inside.”

Rainbow’s eyes got wide as an intense blush covered her face. In her happiness, she had completely forgotten about the other ponies in the house. She looked over her shoulder with a sheepish smile before standing off of Braeburn. She helped him up off the ground. Braeburn brushed himself off before picking his gift off the ground. “Well, should we go in then?” Nodding, Rainbow followed Braeburn into the cottage.

********************

Rainbow’s birthday had gone from bad, to completely awesome. Not only did her friends not forget about her, but Braeburn was able to make it too. She had also gotten some great gifts. Twilight had gotten her the newest Daring Doo book that hasn’t even come out yet. Rarity had gotten her a crystal statue of the Wonderbolts insignia. Applejack and Big Mac had gotten her Spitfire and Soarin’ plushies. Fluttershy had gotten her a new pet bed for Tank, his old one wasn’t the most glorious thing in the world.

She still had three gifts left, AJ’s, Pinkie’s, and Braeburn’s. She went over and picked up the envelope. She looked at it questioningly. “Who’s this from? There’s no name on it.”

“That’s one of ours!” Pinkie shouted as she put a leg around AJ’s withers.

“As in both of yours?” asked Dash.

“Mmhm,” AJ said with a nod. “Pinkie and I decided to pool our bits together to get you a couple bigger gifts.”

“Yea! So…what are you waiting for?! Open it, open it!” Pinkie said as she pointed to the envelope.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Dash bit the top of the envelope off and deposited the card into her hooves. She quickly skimmed over the cover before opening the card. As she did, a couple slips of paper fell to the floor. She stared at the slips for a second before her eyes went wide. She tossed the card off to the side, once again being caught by Rarity, and picked them up with a squeal. “You got me Wonderbolts tickets?!”

“Well yes, but flip them over,” AJ said as he made the motion with his hoof.

Confused, Rainbow flipped the two tickets over. Seeing that there was something on the back, she quickly skimmed over it. Her eyes widened as she got to the end. Making sure she didn’t misread something, she re-read the tickets. “I GET TO SPEND THE DAY WITH THE WONDERBOLTS!!!” She ended her shout with a fangirl squeal of happiness.

“Well that’s just great Dashie!” Braeburn said with a big smile. He loved to see Dash happy.

After placing the tickets back in the envelope, Dash walked back over to the presents. “So, is this one also from you two?”

AJ and Pinkie looked at each other with worried looks. “Umm yes, yes it is. But you may want to…wait to open that one,” AJ said with a sheepish smile.

“Yep. You should definitely wait till later to open that one,” Pinkie quickly added.

Rainbow eyed the two of them suspiciously. “Why? What’s so special about this that I should wait till later, hmm?”

“Just trust us on this one Dash. You’ll be much better off if you just wait,” said AJ. Pinkie nodded enthusiastically to agree with him.

Dash just stared at them with a blank look. “I’m opening it.”

“No Dashie, don’t…” Pinkie was too late. Dash was already tearing into the wrapping paper. “Welp, we tried to warn her,” Pinkie said as she crossed her forelegs.

“Eeyup. We are no longer liable for whatever happens today,” AJ said, mimicking Pinkie.

“What’s in there that you didn’t want everypony else to see?” Twilight asked as she leaned in close.

“Oh, you’ll see,” AJ said with a straight face. Pinkie just nodded in agreement.

Dash had finally gotten the wrapping paper off the box. The paper littered the floor around her. She gripped the cover of the box and took it off, lifting it over her head in her excitement. Her eyes got wide and her mouth dropped as her face became crimson. Everypony in the room looked at her, besides AJ and Pinkie, with confused looks. Braeburn leaned over to look in the box in front of her. “What’s got ya so flustered?” he asked.

Before Braeburn could see, Rainbow slammed the cover back on the box. “It’s, uhh…It’s nothing. Yea, that’s it, nothing.”

“Nothin’ don’t make you turn red like that,” Applejack said with a smirk.

“Nnope,” added Big Mac.

“Yea, what’s in the box?” asked Twilight.

“Please darling, the suspense is killing me,” Rarity added dramatically.

“W-why is it so important to see what I got, hmm?” Dash asked as she looked at her friends. “Look at Fluttershy. She’s being a good friend. She’s not trying to invade my privacy.”

“Umm, actually Rainbow Dash, I, um, I’d like to see what’s in the box, that is, if it’s okay with you,” Fluttershy said in her usual tone.

“You too?! Why does everypony want to see inside my box?!” AJ snorted as he tried to hold in his laughter. Dash didn’t realize what she had said at first; facehoofing when she did. “What’s so funny, huh? Is this some kind of joke to you two?” Dash dropped the box and flew over to AJ and Pinkie.

“No it’s not,” AJ said as he put his legs up in defense.

“Then why’d you do it?!”

“Well, we just thought…”

“Thought what, hmm?!” Dash said; interrupting Pinkie.

Twilight stepped up and put a hoof on Dash’s shoulder. “Calm down Rainbow. I’m sure it’s not that…”

“Oh Celestia!” gasped Rarity; interrupting Twilight. Everypony in the room looked over to Rarity. She had the open box in front of her. Her face was red. She lifted the item out of the box to get a better look at it. Everypony, except AJ and Pinkie, turned red.

Twilight whipped her head back to AJ and Pinkie. “You got her lingerie?!”

“Oh, my,’ Fluttershy said under her breath.

Floating in Rarity’s magical hold was a pair of lacey, lingerie. There were four pink, lace stockings, a red corset, a red garter belt, and even a pair of sheer, lacey, red underwear to complete the look. Tied to the underwear by some string was a note that was obviously written by Pinkie. You could tell due to the balloons and streamers drawn on the note. The note read ‘Give Braeburn a little show next time ;D.’

“It was Pinkie’s idea, I swear! I just helped pay for it!” shouted AJ as he pointed to Pinkie.

“I don’t care whose idea it was! Not cool guys!” Rainbow said with a huff.

“Ah kinda like it,” said Braeburn who had been silent since the reveal.

“What?!” Rainbow whipped her head around to look at her coltfriend.

“Well…Ah think you would look pretty…hot in that,” Braeburn said, shriveling under Rainbow’s gaze.

As Dash glared at Braeburn, she heard AJ start to laugh behind her. “He may be a gentalcolt, but he’s still a stallion,” he said with a smile.

Big Mac chuckled a little bit. “Eeyup.”

With a grumble Dash took the lingerie from Rarity’s hold and put it back in the box, putting it over with the rest of the open gifts. She grabbed up the last small box. It was Braeburn’s gift. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” she grumbled as she started tearing off the paper. She eyed the contents in confusion. She knew what it was; it was a ring box. She opened the box and gasped. Inside the box sat an extravagant looking, gold hoof ring. There were seven gemstones on the ring. The six smaller gems matched the six colors of her hair. They all surrounded one bigger, cyan colored gem in the center. Rainbow looked at the ring in awe before looking to Braeburn. “Braeburn…what…”

“Well, there was another reason Silverstar agreed ta take over mah responsibilities. After Ah told’im what Ah wanted ta do, he almost forced me into th’ train.” Braeburn got up and walked over to Rainbow; kneeling down in front of her. “This past year has been th’ happiest of mah life. I’d love fer mah entire life ta feel like this. Rainbow, would you make me th’ happiest stallion in Equestria an’ be mah wife?”

Everypony in the room was blown away. They all stared between Braeburn and Rainbow in silence. Out of everypony, Rainbow was the most shocked. She just stared at Braeburn; mouth moving in silent words. Her shocked expression slowly turned to a smile as tears of joy welled up in her eyes. She threw her self at Braeburn; wrapping her forelegs around him. “YES!!!”

The room erupted in cheers as Rainbow and Braeburn kissed. The two ponies just ignored all the others. This moment was just about them. As the kiss ended, Rainbow found herself unable to look away from Braeburn’s green eyes. She let out a soft sigh of content as she started leaning in for another kiss. Before they could connect once again, the two of them found themselves wrapped in a big death hug. “OH MY GOSH!!! Congratulations!” shouted Pinkie as she tightened the hug. “This is super duper news! Now I get to throw a ‘You’re getting married’ party!”

Rainbow grunted in Pinkie’s vice like, death hug. “Pinkie, let go! You’re squeezing too hard!”

Pinkie finally decided to let go, dropping both ponies to the floor with a big thud. “I know how we can celebrate this moment!” she said before rushing into the kitchen so fast she left a Pinkie shaped cloud. No pony knew what was going on in there, but they could hear the clinking of bottles. About two minutes later, Pinkie came out of the kitchen carrying a bit bowl of red liquid on her back. In proper Pinkie Pie style, she bucked her hips, sending the bowl flying onto the table without a single drop being spilled. Pinkie looked around the room. They were all nervously staring between the bowl and AJ. “What’s wrong?”

“Isn’t that yer…special party punch?” Applejack apprehensively asked.

“Of course it is, why do you ask?” That’s when it hit her. In all the excitement Pinkie had completely forgotten. Her expression sunk. “Oh.” She looked to AJ. “I’m sorry, please don’t hate me!”

AJ put a hoof up. “Pinkie, relax. I don’t hate you. I’ll just stay away from the punch. Besides, hasn’t Dash been dying to try it? It’s her special day, and I’d hate to take that away from her.”

With a bright smile Rainbow trots up to the table. Grabbing the ladle, she fills two cups with the punch. Braeburn walks up and takes one of the cups. With a smile, everypony follows Rainbow’s example; taking their drink of choice. “A toast, ta’ Rainbow an’ Braeburn,” said Big Mac as he held up his glass.

********************

It had been a couple hours since the punch had been brought out. AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie had all decided to drink the sarsaparilla that had been put out. As much as Pinkie wanted to drink some of the punch, she didn’t want to do anything stupid. She didn’t want AJ to have another…episode. She, AJ, and Rarity were talking about whatever came to mind. Applejack, Big Mac, and Fluttershy were all playing party games. Braeburn was having ‘fun’ dealing with two drunken mares. Rainbow, never having drank alcohol before, was a lightweight. It didn’t take much before she was loaded. Twilight has always been a lightweight.

“Hoh my gosh Twilight, you wouldn’t believe jusht how good he ish in bed,” Rainbow drunkenly blurted out; a smile on her face.

“Really? How big is he?” slurred Twilight; a half sultry, half drunk look on her face.

“Come now ladies, Ah don’t think this is th’ best thin’ ta…”

“Hesh DISH big!” interrupted Rainbow as she extended her forelegs out as far as she could. It was obvious that she was exaggerating, but both of them were to drunk to care.

Twilight stared at Rainbow’s hooves with stars in her eyes. “How did you even get it to fit? You’re soooooo lucky.”

A blush on his face, Braeburn turned to Big Mac. “Uhh, a little help here cuz?”

Big Mac looked over and chuckled. “Sorry Braeburn. Ah’m a little busy over here.”

As he finished, Applejack tied the bandana around his eyes and handed him the tail. She then spun him around and around. By the time he was done spinning, he could barley stand up straight. “Alright Big Mac, pin th’ tail on that pony there.” He stumbled around, trying to find his mark. Once he got his balance back, he steadied himself and walked forward. Once he thought he was there, he thrust the pin forward. He stood there confused for a moment. His target was a lot…softer than he would have expected.

“YAAAAHHHH SON OF A BITCH!!!” shouted AJ. He whipped his head around to find a fake tail pinned to his flank. He glared at Big Mac who was trying to hold in his laughter.

“Oops-snirk-Ah’m mighty sorry.”

AJ grumbled as he pulled the needle out. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get a band-aid,” he said as he rubbed the sore spot. As he turned around he saw Rainbow swaying in place; just staring at him. “Uhh, can I help you?”

“Hoh Sheleshtia, are you okay?”

AJ looked between Rainbow and the slightly bleeding hole in his flank. “Yea, I’m fine. Nothing a band-aid won’t fix.”

“Dat musht have hurt a lot.”

“Yea, it did.”

“You know what will take da pain away? Shome of dish,” she said as she shoved her half empty glass in AJ’s face. She had an oblivious look on her face.

AJ looked between the glass and Rainbow with a worried look on his face. Seeing where this was going, Pinkie quickly decided to step in. “Oh would you look at that, it’s bleeding everywhere. Come on AJ, we should go get you patched up…right now.”

“Oh come on. Don’t be a baby. Jusht drink shome,” slurred Rainbow.

Pinkie smiled sheepishly at AJ before grabbing Rainbow by the shoulders and pulling her to the side. “Rainbow, don’t you remember what happened last time? If you try to force him he might…”

“He’sh jusht being a wush.”

Worried, Pinkie looked to AJ. “Heheh, don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. You don’t have to drink if…”

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“…you don’t want to.” It took a few seconds to register in Pinkie’s mind. “Wait, what?”

All of the coherent ponies in the room looked over in shock. AJ sighed before speaking again. “She’s right. She’s completely shit faced and probably won’t remember a word of this in the morning, but she’s right.” Seeing that Pinkie was confused, he continued. “I’m being a coward. Because of what happened, I refuse to let myself enjoy things to the fullest. It’s always been like that. My friends would enjoy themselves at parties, and I would just sit there sulking. Unable to find anything good about the party. All because I was afraid of what might happen.” He stomped a hoof on the floor. “Well no more! Starting today, I refuse to let my fears control my life.”

“Sooo, you’re not mad?” Pinkie asked hopefully. AJ shook his head. Her worried face turned to happiness once more. “Yay! No hard feelings!”

AJ turns his head when he feels somepony tap his shoulder. “Yes?”

“Oh, um, I have some disinfectant and a bandage here for you,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile. Fluttershy lead AJ to the corner of the room so they wouldn’t be in anypony’s way. There she disinfects the puncture hole and bandaged it up. “There, all better.”

AJ smiles at her. “Thanks Fluttershy.” As Fluttershy goes to put the rest of the disinfectant away, AJ’s pulled off to the side by Pinkie. “What’s up Pinkie.”

She still looked a little worried. “Were you being serious about trying the punch?”

Looking a little worried himself, AJ nodded. “Yea. I’m a bit scared though. I’ve never had alcohol before.”

“How about I drink one with you?” AJ looked at Pinkie in confusion. “Well, if you have somepony there with you, it will be easier.”

AJ thought for a minute before smiling. “I’d like that. Come on, let’s do this.” The two of them walked over to the table. Pinkie picked up the ladle and poured two glasses of the punch. AJ picked up one of the glasses in his magic and gave a nervous sigh. “Well, to new beginnings I guess.”

“Yup.” They toasted to each other before bringing the glasses to their lips. Pinkie drank hers like normal; while AJ eased the glass up, letting the liquid slowly pour into his mouth. He visibly cringed as the unfamiliar bite of the alcohol hit him.

“Oh come on! Shtop being a baby and drink!” came a voice from behind AJ. One cyan hoof opened AJ’s mouth wider as another tipped the glass up, pouring the entire glass of punch down AJ’s gullet.

After the entire glass was emptied into AJ’s mouth, Rainbow let AJ go. He fell to the floor, coughing violently. “Rainbow! Why th’ hay did ya do that?!” Applejack asked as she pulled Rainbow away.

“Come on Apple-hic-Applejack. It’sh a party! Y’all need’sh ta learn ta relax,” Rainbow said; mocking Applejack’s southern drawl.

As Applejack dealt with Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pinkie went to help AJ. “Are you alright?” Pinkie asked as she helped him up.

He coughed a few more times. “Oh god! I think my liver just went on strike!” He went into another coughing fit as he stumbled over to the bathroom; slamming the door behind him.

********************

It had been about twenty minutes since Rainbow forced the punch down AJ’s throat. AJ had yet to leave the safety of the bathroom, and some ponies were starting to worry. “Ohhhh, I’m worried about him. Maybe I should go check on him,” Pinkie said; pacing in front of the bathroom door.

“Just give’im a bit sugarcube. Ah’m sure he’s…fine,” Applejack said in a not very convincing voice. She looked over to Rainbow who was back over by Braeburn, acting like nothing had happened. “Darn Rainbow Dash.”

“Maybe we should bring him some water,” suggested Fluttershy.

“Or maybe we could…”

Pinkie was interrupted as the bathroom door swung open. On the other side wobbled AJ. He had a smile on his face as he barley managed to stay standing. He hiccupped before slowly stumbling into the main room. “Fillies and…uh…fillies and…umm…aaaand not fillies, contain your orgasms, I have returned!”

Applejack looked at AJ in confusion before clearing her throat. “Uhh, hey sugarcube. Are ya feelin’ alright?”

“Nnnnever felt better Applebutt!”

“Applebutt?” Applejack looked at her cutie mark and snorted. “That ain’t funny.”

AJ stumbled further out of the bathroom. After four steps, he swayed to the side and careened straight into a chair. “Hey, watch where you’re going you…chair.” He took a swing at the chair, missing completely. The swing caused him to lose his balance and fall to the floor in a heap. “Yea...didn’t like that, did you. That’ll-hic-that’ll teach you to get in my way.”

“Oh Celestia, I think he’s worse off than Rainbow Dash,” said Rarity.

They watched as AJ slowly got up. He stuck his tongue out at the chair before stumbling over to Fluttershy. He put a leg around her withers. He leaned in close to ‘whisper’ into her ear. “Psssst! Hey, Fluffernutter! You have some butterflies…on, your, butt! Don’t move, I’ll get them!”

“W-w-what?” Fluttershy felt terrified.

AJ lifted a hoof to swat Fluttershy’s cutie mark. Before he could bring it down, his hoof was surrounded by a blue glow and pulled back; sending him to the floor once again. “I don’t care how drunk you are. That is not the way to treat a lady.” Rarity walked over and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Darling, are you alright?”

“Umm, y-yes. I’m fine.”

It took AJ a bit longer to get up this time. When he finally did, he looked at Rarity with the best glare he could muster at the moment. Suddenly his eyes got wide. “O! M! G!”

“What’sh wrong?!” asked Dash.

AJ put the tips of his hooves up to his head. “I’m getting a vision…from the FUTURE!!!”

Twilight let out a loud gasp. “What does it say?!”

“Yea, tell ush!” added Dash.

“It says, it says…” AJ was cut off as his face contorted. He opened his mouth and let out a long, earth shatteringly loud belch. When it finally ended, AJ and Rainbow both fell to the floor as they erupted in laughter.

Twilight had a look of horror on her face. “Oh no! Celestia MUST know about this immediately!” She dropped her glass of punch and started running towards the door. She stumbled and hit the door face first.

Seeing as he was the closest, Big Mac went over to check on her. “Miss Twilight, are ya okay?” As he lowered his head, he heard what sounded like snoring coming from the purple heap on the floor. “Ah think she passed out.”

“It’s probably fer th’ best. Ah think we should…”

“This party is boring!” shouted AJ. He threw a hoof into the air. “I demand a ssssexy party!”

It was Rainbow’s turn to gasp. “Dat’sh a great idea! Truth or Dare!”

Everypony that was coherent stared at the two ponies. Rarity leaned over to Applejack. “We have to stop this. I’ll get Rainbow Dash. You take AJ and…”

“Ooh, ooh, me first! I wanna go first!” AJ said; waiving his hoof in the air enthusiastically.

“Hokay, truth or dare.”

“Dare, dare!”

Rainbow looked around the room and got an evil look on her face. “I dare you…to kish Big Mac on da lipsh!”

Everypony blushed as they looked between AJ and Big Mac. Big Mac looked mortified. “Nnope!”

AJ put on a ‘sultry’ look as he got up. He started a ‘seductive’ stagger over to Big Mac who slowly backed away from the other stallion. “Come on Big Mac. You knnnnow you want to.”

As Big Mac hit the wall behind him, he looked over to Applejack and mouthed ‘help me.’

“Wwwwhat’s wrong Big Mac, don’t you wanna kiss me?” He followed Big Mac’s gaze over to the other ponies. “Oh, I see. You just don’t wanna do it in front of everypony else, I get it.” He leaned in close. “I’ll meet you upstairs.” AJ turned and flicked Big Mac with his tail as he started to stagger away.

Only to pass out and fall over three steps later. Big Mac let out a giant sigh of relief. “Well, that’s two down,” said Applejack.

“Make that three,” said Braeburn. Rainbow Dash was leaning on him, snoring lightly.

“I guess that means the party’s over,” Pinkie said with a sigh. She was having fun, but it started getting a bit out of hoof in the end there.

“It seems so. Would you like help cleaning up darling?” asked Rarity.

“Nope! I got it all under control!” With a smile, Pinkie pulled out a broom and started sweeping up.

With a smile, Rarity lifted Twilight onto her back. “Alright then. I’ll take Twilight back home. It’s not that far from the boutique after all.”

“Alright. Ah’ll see ya tomorrow Rares.” Applejack gave Rarity a quick kiss on the cheek before watching her walk out.

“We should probably be gettin’ home,” Big Mac said as he walked over towards Applejack.

“Yea, yer right. Would you mind caryin’ him home?” asked Applejack.

Big Mac looked over to AJ before looking back at Applejack with a blank stare. “Ah ain’t lettin’ him near me until he’s sober.”

“Oh quit bein’ a baby. It ain’t like he meant anythin’ by it.”

“Ah don’t care. Ah ain’t lettin’ him near me.”

“He could just stay over here. I wouldn’t mind,” Fluttershy said as she brushed AJ’s mane out of his face.

Applejack thought for a moment. “That would work. He could sleep in yer spare bed fer th’ night. Much better than sleepin’ off a hangover on th’ couch back at th’ farm. And it ain’t like he’s gotta work tomorrow, so he could sleep in as much as he’d like.”

“Eeyup.”

“Mmgmgnbut I don’t want to go to school tomorrow,” garbled AJ. Fluttershy giggled as she rubbed his back.

Applejack smiled as she looked to Big Mac. “Think ya could at least carry him ta th’ spare bed upstairs? We’ll make sure he doesn’t get up an’ smooch ya or somethin’.” Seeing her brother’s reaction made her giggle a little.

Grumbling about Applejack under his breath, Big Mac got AJ up on his back and took him upstairs. After placing him on the bed, he waved a hoof in front of his face. “Ugh, he reeks of alcohol.”

“Ah’m sure you would too if ya were that drunk,” said Applejack.

The two of them turned and watched as Fluttershy tucked AJ into bed. She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead after removing his glasses. “We should let him sleep. Let’s go down…”

A knock on the door interrupted Fluttershy. Pinkie opened the door and poked her head in. “Hey guys! Braeburn just wanted me to let you know that he left to take Rainbow Dash back to the farm! Okay, back to cleaning!” As quickly as she appeared, Pinkie was gone.

“We should get goin’ too. We’ll see ya later sugarcube.” With a smile, Applejack headed downstairs. Big Mac smiled and kissed Fluttershy before leaving himself.

With a content sigh, Fluttershy turned back to AJ. ‘I’ll just let him sleep. Maybe Pinkie would like some help downstairs,’ she thought to herself. Turning off the lights, she walked downstairs.

********************

AJ awoke feeling very uncomfortable, and in a lot of pain. His head was throbbing, and his stomach felt like it was twisted in knots. He held his head as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm his stomach down. As he finally opened his eyes, he realized that he couldn’t see a damn thing. He slowly got to his hooves with a groan; feeling dizzy at the change of altitude.

He tried lighting his horn so he could see, but he was only rewarded with the pain in his head getting worse. Fear was starting to grip him. He was in an unfamiliar location, it was pitch black, he couldn’t tell what was lurking in the darkness, and he was in no condition to defend himself if something did attack him. He took a tentative step forward. He froze up when he felt and heard something squish under his hoof. ‘W-w-what was that?’

He quickly backed away from…what ever it was he stepped on. He stopped once he felt something fall onto his back. It quickly started crawling up his back, closer and closer to his head. Yelping in fear, he quickly shook it off and ran as fast as he could. As he ran, he could feel himself barreling through more of what ever it was that surrounded him.

He grunted in pain as he ran into what felt like a rock wall; making his headache feel even worse. He was breathing heavily as he looked around once more. As he tried to collect his thoughts, something zipped by his head. “W-what?” Looking at it, it was a glowing white orb. AJ didn’t know what to make of it, but he knew he had to follow it. It was the only source of illumination in this place. Any amount of light was better than what he had now. Shaking the cobwebs from his head, he got himself up and ran after the orb.

The orb wouldn’t stop. It kept its quick pace as it traveled through the cave; always staying ahead of AJ. He pushed himself harder and harder until his body punished him for his exertion. He had to push through the pain. That orb was his only hope of finding his way out of here.

Suddenly the orb crossed the threshold of the passageway into a gigantic room and stopped. Breathing heavily, AJ finally stopped as he caught up with it. He looked up at the orb which suddenly began pulsing with light. It exploded in a blinding light, forcing AJ to cover his eyes. When he removed his hooves, he saw that the entire room was now lit up. It wasn’t bright, but there was enough light that he could see every detail, and he didn’t like it. The walls were lined with giant spider eggs. Even more spiders crawled all over the walls, floor, and multiple giant spider webs that covered the room. Skeletons of all different types of creatures filled the room. Some ponies, some animals, some, disturbingly enough, human; the fluids drained from their bodies.

With the light now filling the room, all the spiders could now see that a new meal has arrived in their home. They slowly turned and started bearing down on AJ. There was no way out. The spiders surrounded him on every side in such vast numbers. He looked up to see that the orb was still there; just hovering out of reach. It was much duller now that it expelled it’s light. “P-p-p-please help me.” Almost as if answering his call, the orb slowly lowered itself to the floor and started to glow once again. AJ watched in amazement as the orb started to change form. It kept changing until it resembled a human, but not just any human. “D-d-dad?”

His dad opened his eyes and looked down at AJ. A scowl slowly grew on his face as he took in the sight. “What’s all this?”

“W-what?”

His face turned angrier. “Look at you. What the hell happened to you? You’re nothing but a freak.” The words hit AJ like a sack of bricks. He felt a pain in his chest growing quickly. “I hope you’re proud of yourself, because you’re nothing but a disappointment to everyone who ever loved you. Nothing good ever comes from knowing you. I feel awful just knowing I helped birth you. You’re worthless.”

Hot tears were flowing down AJ’s cheeks. He covered his ears with his hooves; trying in vain to block out the verbal assault he was being dealt. He let out a yelp of pain as he felt something dig into his leg. Turning his head, he saw that one of the spiders has got to him and bit him. He could already feel the venom doing its thing as his body quickly began to lock up. No longer able to move, he fell to the floor.

As he lay there paralyzed, more of the spiders crawled onto his body to start cocooning him in web. As the process began, his dad walked up to him. Unable to look away, AJ was forced to watch as his father’s body slowly started to change once more. Six more eyes appeared from his head as his lower body began to swell. Six more legs began sprouting from his abdomen to support his weight. Hair began growing all over his body. By the time he was done transforming, he looked like a hideous, grotesque arachnitaur like thing.

At this point, over half of AJ’s body was cocooned. The sheer amount of spiders made the job of cocooning him easy. When only his head was still showing, his dad bent over and picked up his body. He looked into AJ’s eyes with a sadistic smile. “Isn’t it fitting?” Even his voice was monstrous now. “Years ago, you killed me. Now I get to end you.” He opened his jaws wide and lowered his head. AJ let out a silent scream as he watched the jaws get closer and closer.

********************

“AAHHHH!!!” AJ quickly sat up in bed. His eyes were wide and he was breathing heavily as he looked around. Before he could get his bearings, he felt his stomach start to rebel against him. Looking around, he saw a bathroom over to the side and quickly made a mad dash for it. In his hurry, he failed to see that the other pony in the room began to stir.

Flipping on the light, he threw him head over the toilet, letting the contents of his stomach flow. The visions of his nightmare kept running through his head. Combined with the alcohol in his system, he couldn’t stop. Even when he had nothing to vomit up, he couldn’t help but dry heave into the toilet bowl. After what felt like hours he finally stopped. He wiped the vomit from the hair around his mouth.

When everything was finally done, and everything had been flushed down, he could only slump against the wall. The words spoken by his dad kept running through his mind. He was a disappointment. He was just a worthless waste of space. The only thing he could do was curl up and cry.

As he cried, he felt something wrap around him. Opening his eyes, he saw Fluttershy hugging him. She had her wings wrapped around him to hold him tighter. AJ looked into her soft eyes. He sniffled before speaking. “W-w-why won’t the hurting just go away?” He buried his head in her shoulder and continued to cry.

Fluttershy rubbed his back as she tried to calm him down. “Shhh, everything’s fine. Mommy won’t let anything hurt you. Now, just tell me everything that happened.”

****************************************

((Yea, in case you were wondering, the whole dad sub plot isn’t over just yet

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Is This the Right Choice

Chapter 29

“This is going to be so awesome!” squealed Rainbow as she threw her bag onto the train next to Braeburn’s. Braeburn was only able to spend a few days in Ponyville before he had to get back to Appleloosa. Wanting to spend more time with her fiancé, Rainbow took a week off from work so she could spend it in Appleloosa.

“Ah still can’t believe this is happenin’,” Applejack said with a bright smile. “Let us be th’ first ta welcome you ta th’ family sugarcube.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said with a smile.

“Aww, thanks guys, but I’m not an Apple just yet,” Rainbow said as she scratched the back of her head. “The wedding’s not for another seven months.”

“Good enough fer us!” said Apple Bloom. “From now on, ya got th’ Apple family behind ya.”

“Darn tootin’!” Applejack said with pride in her voice; patting Apple Bloom on the head.

Rainbow wiped a tear of happiness out of her eye before jumping forward to give Applejack a hug. “Thanks guys. This means a lot to me.” Big Mac and Apple Bloom joined in on the hug. Once the hug broke, Rainbow finally noticed that somepony was missing. “Hey, wait a minute. I thought AJ was coming to see me off too.”

Big Mac shook his head. “Nnope. He’s still mopin’ back at th’ house.”

“Still? Jeeze, I said I was sorry,” Rainbow said in disbelief.

"Ah don’t think that has anythin’ ta do with it Rainbow,” Applejack said with a serious face. Fluttershy had told Applejack about the dream when she came to get AJ the day after the party. Since then he’s been depressed. Even knowing that it was just a dream, he was now convinced that his dad would think of him as worthless. Yesterday he only left his room to eat and go to the bathroom. Other than that, he either paced around his room slowly, or lay on the bed just staring at his knife; reminiscing about the past.

Rainbow groaned. “Well whatever it is, if he’s still moping when I get back, I’ll go in there and get my own answers.”

Braeburn poked his head out of the train with a smile on his face. “It’s almost time Dashie. Unless ya want ta miss th’ train, you better get on.”

Rainbow smiled. “Well, I gotta get going.” She flew into the train; landing next to Braeburn. Looking up at him, she leaned up and kissed him before turning back to the others. “I’ll see you in a week!” Rainbow and Braeburn turned into the train to find their seats as it began to move.

“Well, we should get back ta th’ farm. Them apples ain’t goin’ ta buck themselves,” Applejack said with a smile.

“Eeyup.”

********************

“Applejack, Ah’m hungry. Can we have some lunch first?” Apple Bloom asked as she felt her stomach grumble at her.

Applejack looked up at the sun to judge the time. “Ah don’t see why not. It’s gettin’ close ta lunch anyhow.”

“Maybe AJ’ll decide ta join us this time,” added Big Mac.

Sighing, Applejack shook her head. “Ah hope so.” As the three of them walked through the door, they saw AJ walking out of the kitchen; a plate floating in front of him. Hearing the door, he took a quick glance over before dropping his head again. He continued walking towards the stairs. “What’cha doin’ there sugarcube?”

AJ stopped once again, showing the plate to them. “Was hungry. Came down to get a sandwich.”

“Why don’t ya put th’ sandwich in th’ fridge an’ join us t’day fer lunch?” Applejack asked with a hopeful smile. “Ah’m sure ya must be really hungry. Ya haven’t eaten much over th’ past couple of days.” AJ just continued up the stairs. “Well are ya at least goin’ ta work t’day?”

“What’s the point? You’ll get more done without me getting in your way.”

Applejack groaned. “Would ya stop talkin ’bout yerself like that?! Yer not worthless!” She watched as AJ continued up the stairs. When he got to his room, he slammed the door; emphasizing the point that he didn’t want to be bothered.

“What a baby,” Applebloom said with a blank stare.

“Eeyup,” added Big Mac.

Applejack grit her teeth and growled. “That’s it! Ah’m sick of him just mopin’ around all day!” Applejack stomped out of the house. She returned a minute later with her lasso in her mouth. Stomping upstairs, she bucked AJ’s door open.

Big Mac and Apple Bloom just looked on as Applejack disappeared from view. Moments later, a commotion could be heard coming from up the stairs. It continued for about a minute before finally stopping. “LET ME GO!!!” came a masculine shout from upstairs.

“SHUT UP!!!” came a feminine voice. A few seconds later, Applejack could be seen coming down the stairs with one end of the rope in her mouth. As she continued down the stairs, loud thumping could be heard coming from behind her. Applejack had hogtied AJ and was dragging him down the stairs. When they finally got to the bottom of the stairs, they noticed that she had also tied his muzzle shut to prevent him from complaining. He was glaring death at the orange farm pony.

“Uhhhh,” was the only thing Big Mac could think to say.

Applejack dropped the rope. “Can y’all start lunch? We’re goin’ on a little trip.”

“Where ya takin’im?” asked Apple Bloom.

“To th’ only pony who’ll be able ta fix th’ dolt.” She leaned down and bit down on the rope again. “If lunch is done before Ah get back, start without me.”

Big Mac and Apple Bloom watched the entire time as Applejack dragged AJ’s struggling form out the door and down the path to Ponyville. Big Mac closed the door and turned to Apple Bloom. “What would ya like fer lunch?”

********************

Applejack was well aware of the many stares and murmured whispers she and AJ were getting as she dragged him through the streets of Ponyville. She didn’t care. She was sick of his brooding, and she knew the only pony who could help with his little problem. She was only stopped twice. Once by the mayor, asking why she was dragging another pony through the streets, and again by Twilight. She also wanted to know why Applejack was dragging a bound and gagged AJ through the streets.

She dragged him up the walk way to her destination and knocked on the door. The door was opened by Carrot Top shortly after. “Oh hey Applejack, what can I…” She stared ahead and blinked a few times. “Why is he bound and gagged like that?”

“Ta shut’im up,” Applejack said bluntly. “Is Ditzy home?”

Still somewhat dumfounded, Carrot just nodded slightly. “Well yes, but she’s a bit busy at the moment.”

“Carrot?! Are you sure you cleaned this floor?! I can’t see my reflection in it!” came Ditzy’s panicked voice from inside the kitchen.

Carrot’s head dropped as a scowl grew on her face. “For the love of Celestia, yes!” she shouted as she turned her head to look inside the house. “Hell, if we scrub it anymore we’ll scrub it away, and I don’t have the bits to pay for a new kitchen floor at the moment!”

Ditzy’s head popped out of the kitchen. “But what if…” Ditzy stopped when she saw Applejack at the door. “Oh, hi Applejack. What’s up?”

“Ah believe this is yers,” Applejack said as she pushed AJ’s body into the house.

Ditzy looked down at AJ before looking back up to Applejack. “Uhhhhh…”

“He’s yer problem now. Maybe you can get’im ta stop bein’ such a crybaby.” She turned and walked away from the house. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Ah got some lunch waitin’ fer me back at th’ farm.”

Carrot sighed. “I’ll go get a knife or something.”

“Good! You cut him out, I’ll wash the floor!” Ditzy rushed back into the kitchen.

“Ditzy, I swear to Celestia, if you touch that floor again, I’ll tie YOU up!” AJ watched as Carrot stomped into the kitchen after Ditzy, leaving him hogtied on the floor. A few seconds later, she came back out. “Oh yea, forgot about you for a second there.” She grabbed the rope and dragged AJ into the living room.

********************

“Sooooo, are you going to tell me why you were tied up?” asked Carrot.

“Because they don’t want me around anymore. Can’t say I blame them. I’d just get in the way,” said AJ as he lay on the couch.

Carrot arched her brow as she looked at him. “Wow, when did you become such a downer?” Ditzy suddenly flew into the room brandishing a vacuum cleaner. She had a serious look on her face as she slowly looked around the room. Carrot facehoofed. “Do I even want to know what you’re doing?”

“There’s dust in here. I can feel it.” As she looked around the room, her eyes stopped on the couch; AJ specifically. “Of course! You were dragged through the dirt all the way here! You’re covered in it.” Dropping the vacuum cleaner, she hovered over to the couch and stared at AJ.

AJ started feeling very uncomfortable as Ditzy looked over every part of his body. Not an inch of him was saved from her scrutinizing gaze. “Uhhh, D-ditzy?”

“I knew it!” Ditzy finally shouted. “You’re filthy! Bath now mister!”

“I don’t think that’s what he needs right now Ditzy,” Carrot said in an attempt to save AJ.

“Of course it is.” Since AJ wasn’t getting off the couch, Ditzy lifted him off the couch and took him into the bathroom; putting him in the tub. “And don’t come out until you’re clean.” She flew out of the room and closed the door.

About half a minute later, the door opened to reveal Carrot’s head. She had a sheepish smile on her face. “Eheh, sorry about Ditzy. She’s a bit nervous right now.” She scratched the back of her head. “I’ll explain it to you later. For now just play along and take the bath while I go talk with her. You are pretty dirty right now.” She placed a towel on the counter before leaving the room.

AJ looked himself over. “I’m not that dirty…am I?” He patted his side and watched a small cloud of dust come off. He sighed as he turned on the faucet.

********************

AJ finally exited the bathroom with the towel draped over his body. He finished drying his coat before throwing the towel in the hamper to be cleaned. As he walked down the stairs, he looked over at Ditzy, who looked a lot calmer, sitting on the couch. She looked over when she heard him coming down stairs. She flew up to him and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been so nervous today. I didn’t even notice that you were still so depressed.”

AJ slowly returned the hug. “What do you have to be nervous about? Everypony loves you…unlike me.”

“Don’t say that. A lot of ponies love you.” Ditzy tightened her hug. “I love you. Now why don’t you go sit down while I go put the cleaning supplies away.”

As Ditzy flew off to pick things up, AJ slowly made his way to the couch. “In case you’re wondering, she got a letter from her parents.” AJ stopped and turned to look at Carrot. “They’re coming to visit tomorrow, and Ditzy wanted to make the house look as good as possible.”

AJ groaned as he fell to the floor. “Great. Just great. Two ponies that I KNOW hate me.”

“Yea, Ditzy told me about that,” Carrot said as she scratched the back of her head. “So you made a bad first impression. I’m sure they’ll give you another chance.”

“No they won’t, and I wouldn’t blame them.”

“Wow, I can see why Applejack got annoyed with you,” Carrot said under her breath. AJ groaned into his hooves. "Shit!" she hissed to herself. "Uhh, I mean it’s a good thing Applejack brought you over here then. If anypony will be able to brighten you up, it’ll be Ditzy. And playing with Dinky always makes you smile. Once I go get her, the two of you can play as long as you want.”

“Mehh”

Carrot facehoofed. “Well, can’t say I didn’t at least try.” She stated as she went in search of Ditzy. “Ditzy! It’s you’re turn!”

As she made her way up stairs, Ditzy met her half way. “What am I doing now?”

“I give up,” Carrot said bluntly. “Maybe you’ll have better luck getting him to cheer up. I’m going to go get Dinky from Sparkler’s place.”

“What do you want me to do? I’ve tried talking to him,” Ditzy said with worry in her voice.

“I don’t know. Just spend some time with him. Cuddle up to him or something. Show him that you enjoy his company.” Carrot put a hoof up to her chin. “And if that doesn’t work, I suppose you could always try flaunting the goods. Maybe an eyeful will get him going.”

A blush grew on Ditzy’s face. “E-excuse me?!”

“What? You have a better idea?” Ditzy’s silence was all Carrot needed. “Didn’t think so. I’ll be back.”

Ditzy just watched as Carrot walked towards the front door. ‘She just expects me to…to flash him?’ she thought to herself; the blush on her face growing more intense. She looked over to AJ. He had made his way to the couch at some point when she and Carrot were talking. He looked so miserable just lying there like that. She ran the idea through her head a bit more. ‘I-I guess if it will cheer him up, it’s worth a try………but let’s try something else first.’

She walked over to the couch and laid down next to AJ, nuzzling up to him. “Are you at least feeling a little better than you were yesterday?”

She felt him slowly shake his head. “How can I? My dad’s probably up there watching me right now; just thinking about how much of a fuckup I am. Probably thinking I’m horrible for abandoning my family, and making their lives miserable; just so I could live happily.” He stayed silent for a bit. “You know what? He’d be right. I’m the worst type of pony there is.”

“Why do you keep saying that? You’re not a bad pony. You’re kind, helpful, funny. You always find a way to make Dinky smile. How does that make you a bad pony?” AJ stayed silent. “Tell me, if you’re such a bad pony, then why do I love you so much?” To emphasize her point, Ditzy nuzzled up to him before lifting her head to kiss him on the cheek.

“I don’t know, but you deserve somepony better than me.”

“No. It’s me who doesn’t deserve you.” Ditzy hoped that would work. AJ’s silence told her that it didn’t. ‘Ooohhh, I really didn’t want it to come to this, but…’ Ditzy got up off the couch and took a few steps away from the couch. She let out a nervous sigh. ‘Okay Ditzy, you can do this. It’s for AJ. Just keep telling yourself that.’ “Oh AJ.” No reaction. “Look at me AJ.”

AJ let out a depressed sigh as he started to turn his head. “Wha…” His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped as his face heated up. Ditzy was standing in front of the couch, displaying her rump to him. It was swaying side to side. Her tail was also swaying along with it. Occasionally her tail would sway enough where he could see everything. When he managed to pull his eyes away from the bubbly butt in front of him, his eyes fell on Ditzy’s. She was blushing, and attempting a seductive smile; though it was clear that she was feeling very uncomfortable. “Ditzy, what…”

The ‘smile’ fell from Ditzy’s face, and she stopped swaying her hips. The blush on her face grew as she fell to a sitting position. “I’m sorry. It was Carrot’s idea. She thought that maybe if I flaunted myself like that, it would cheer you up.” Tears started welling up in her eyes. “I can’t believe I actually went through with it. I’m not that kind of pony. I’m so stupid.” She lowered her head with a sad sigh. She gasped when she felt something wrap around her. Looking up she saw that AJ was hugging her.

“If you didn’t want to do it, then why?” he asked as he started rubbing her back.

“I didn’t want to see you be miserable anymore, and I didn’t have any other idea’s. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m the one who should be sorry.” Ditzy looked up at him in confusion. “I’ve been so caught up in my own problems, I failed to see how it made everypony else feel.” He tightened the hug. “Can you ever forgive me?”

Ditzy wiped the tears out of her eyes and smiled. “Of course I can. As long as you’re feeling better.” She blinked as her smile faltered slightly. “You are feeling better, right?”

AJ lowered his head and kissed her. “I think so, yea.”

Ditzy smiled and started nuzzling into AJ’s chest. “Do you think we could move to the couch? It’s much more comfortable than the floor.”

With a chuckle, AJ lifted Ditzy into the air with his magic and walked over to the couch. After lying down on his back, he lowered her on top of him. “How could I have been so mopey when I have such a beautiful mare in my life?”

Ditzy giggled as she closed her eyes; enjoying the closeness. As they lay there in silence, Ditzy’s mind began to form a question. A blush came to her face again. “Uhh, AJ? Can I ask you a…question?”

AJ cracked an eye open and looked down at her. “Hmm?”

She glanced around nervously; almost as if looking to make sure nopony was listening in. “D-did you, uhh, like it?”

AJ looked at Ditzy in confusion. “Like it?” Ditzy nodded. “Did I like what?”

“Did you like when I…you know?” AJ still looked confused. “Flashed you?”

“Flashed me?” When AJ remembered back, his eyes got wide. He felt his face heat up. “Well…uhh.” He tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t make him look bad. Unfortunately for him, the only thing running through his mind at the moment was the sight of Ditzy’s backside swaying in front of him. “Ummmmm.” That’s when he felt something beginning to stir. ‘Oh crap! Can’t think about it. Must think about something else. Something. Anything!’ He started humming a tune in his head to try to drive the thoughts from his head. It was a futile effort. ‘Damnit.’

Ditzy squeaked when she felt something warm start to poke her. She turned her head to see what it was and squeaked again. Her face turned crimson. She turned back to AJ who was hiding his face in his hooves in shame. “I-I guess you did.”

Still hiding his face, he sheepishly nodded. “Yea. You’re not mad, are you?”

Ditzy thought for a moment. She couldn’t be mad at him. Not for something like that. “No, I guess I’m not.”

Feeling a little better, AJ started to sit up. Noticing this, Ditzy climbed off of him. “I, uh, I guess I should go take a cold shower or something. Excuse me.”

As AJ started to lift off the couch, Ditzy put a hoof on his chest to keep him down. “Wait.” AJ looked at Ditzy. She was nervously rubbing her forelegs together. “I was thinking…maybe…maybe I could take care of that for you.” A small smile formed on her face as she looked up at him.

AJ’s brain shut down. Ditzy, the most important mare in his life, had offered to ‘take care’ of his needs, and he didn’t know what to say. His mind was drawing a blank. After he was finally able to collect his thoughts, he slowly nodded his head. The smile on Ditzy’s face grew more earnest. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips; gently pushing him down onto the couch as she did. After breaking the kiss, she looked into his eyes. “Just let me take care of everything.”

********************

Carrot trotted up the walkway to her house as Dinky happily bounced next to her. “So, what do you want for lunch Dinky?”

“Pizza, Pizza!” Dinky said with a bright smile on her face.

“Alright. That shouldn’t be to hard to…” Carrot stopped when she heard something from inside the house. Her ears twitched as she tried to discern what it was. Then she heard a series of feminine moans and masculine grunting. It was muffled by the door, but still loud enough to be heard if you listened for it. Carrot’s eyes got wide as a blush quickly grew on her face. ‘I guess she was successful,’ she thought to herself.

Dinky looked up at her in confusion. “What are you waiting for Aunt Carrot?” Dinky stood up on her hind legs to reach for the door knob.

“NOOO!!!” Carrot grabbed Dinky away from the door. “I uh, I mean let’s go out to eat. I’m sure Zippy’s will be able to make a better pizza than me.” She looked at Dinky with a sheepish smile.

“Yaaaay Zippy’s!” squealed Dinky in happiness.

The two of them started walking away from the house again. Carrot looked back. ‘You owe me one Ditzy.’

********************

Carrot and Dinky got back home about an hour later. Dinky was carrying a pizza box on her back as she trotted up behind Carrot. When they got to the door, Carrot put a hoof in front of Dinky to keep her from going in. “Just a sec kiddo.” She put an ear to the door; listening for any signs of…’activity.’ Hearing nothing, she smiled. “Alright, why don’t you go upstairs and play? I’ll take care of the pizza.”

“Okay!”

Carrot took the pizza from Dinky and opened the door. Dinky happily bounced straight for the stairs. Carrot put the pizza in the kitchen before hurrying to the living room. There she saw AJ and Ditzy on the couch. Both of them were sleeping with content smiles on their faces. AJ was lying with his back against the backrest, and his head on the arm. His chin was resting lightly on the top of Ditzy’s head. He had his forelegs wrapped around Ditzy, holding her close against him. Ditzy was facing AJ with her head buried in his chest.

Carrot sighed before walking up to the couch. She made sure Dinky was in her bedroom before forcefully poking both of them. AJ groaned. “Nooooooo, go awaaaaay. Mmfhghf sleepy,” he grumbled before falling back asleep. Ditzy continued sleeping the entire time.

Carrot facehoofed. “Well that didn’t work. Welp, I guess I do things the fun way then.” Carrot moved to the arm where AJ’s head was resting. She lowered her mouth right next to AJ’s ear. An evil smile grew on her face as she took a deep breath. “WAAAAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPP!!!”

AJ’s eyes shot open. “AAAAHHHHH!!!” In his surprise, his horn erupted with magic; surrounding Ditzy’s startled form and accidentally throwing her across the room. She landed in the corner of the room. Her backside was in the air as her neck and head rested on the floor. Her tail hung down in her face as her eyes spun. A potted plant that was hanging from the ceiling had fallen and broken on her back right above her tail.

“I yam oookaaay…I think.”

With a triumphant smile, Carrot looked back to AJ. He was sitting up and holding his right ear against his head; rubbing it with a nurturing hoof. “Fucking hell! Was that really necessary?! That hurt!”

“One hundred percent necessary,” Carrot said in a smug voice. In triumph, she started walking towards the stairs. “We brought a pizza for the two of you from Zippy’s if you’re hungry.” When she got halfway up the stairs she stopped. “Oh, and there’s been enough ‘fucking’ in this household for one day, so please watch your language. There’s a little filly in the house after all.” She continued back up the stairs; only to stop at the top once more. “Oh, and Ditzy…” Her face got serious as she pointed a hoof at Ditzy, who was just regaining her senses. “You better scrub those couch cushions with the strongest cleaners you can legally get your hooves on. I refuse to sit on that thing until you clean away any and all traces of your ‘activities’ today.”

Both AJ and Ditzy stared at Carrot with wide eyes as she finally walked out of view. “AJ?”

“Yes?”

“Did she just…?”

“Eeyup.”

“S-so you think she knows that we…?”

A blush started growing on AJ’s face. “…Eeyup.”

********************

Ditzy was pacing around the living room nervously. Since waking up that morning, she found it nearly impossible to sit still; even with reassurance from Carrot, AJ, and Dinky. She barely ate any breakfast because she just wouldn’t stay in her seat. “They’re going to be here soon. Does the house look nice enough? What if they hate the food?” She rushed upstairs and grabbed her bit purse. When she got back downstairs, she threw it at Carrot. “Carrot! Go to the store and…”

“DITZY!!!” Shouted Carrot. Ditzy stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Carrot with a panicked look. “Just settle down. The house looks fine, and the food is fine.”

“Why are you so worried anyway? They’re your parents. If anything, I should be the pony who’s worried,” AJ said as he put a reassuring hoof on Ditzy’s shoulder. Seeing that it was AJ’s turn again to try to calm her down, Carrot took this chance to go into the kitchen to see how lunch was going.

Ditzy let out a nervous sigh. “I know. It’s just that I haven’t seen, or talked to them since that day at Star’s house. What if they’re still mad at me?”

AJ drew Ditzy into a hug. Dinky joined in, wanting to help calm her mom down. “They weren’t mad at you. They just didn’t approve of me…like, at all. Everything will be fine.”

“I hope you’re right.”

A crash could be heard from the kitchen. “YEEEOOW!!! Damnit, that hurt!” shouted Carrot.

Dinky put her hooves up to her mouth and gasped. “You said a naughty word!”

“Uhh, everything alright in there?” asked AJ.

Carrot walked into the living room favoring her left foreleg. A visible burn could be seen on the leg. “No! I bumped the pot. Everything’s on the floor.” She let out a dejected sigh. “So much for my stew.”

“Do we have enough ingredients to make another one?” asked Ditzy.

Carrot shook her head. “No. I’ll have to go shopping for more. Just great. Looks like we’ll be eating late today.”

Carrot went to go get her bags, but was stopped when AJ put a hoof in front of her; stopping her in her tracks. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“And just why not?” AJ pointed to her hoof. “So? It’s just a burn.”

“Why don’t you let us do the shopping. You can stay here, get some ointment on your burn, and clean up the mess from your first stew.”

Carrot looked at AJ with a blank expression. “Coming from you, that’s a great idea. How did somepony like you think of it?”

AJ was clearly unamused at her joke. “Just give me the list of what you need.”

With a giggle, Carrot walked back into the kitchen. She returned shortly after with a list in her mouth. “There. Just try to be back as quickly as you can. I’d like to eat before tomorrow.”

“Can I come with?” asked Dinky; her face was one big hopeful smile.

Ditzy smiled. “Of course you can my little muffin.” With a bright smile Dinky followed AJ out the door. Ditzy stopped to grab her bags. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.” After the door closed, Carrot let out a sigh before going into the bathroom to get the burn ointment.

********************

Knock, knock, knock.

“You realize you don’t have to knock on your own door, right Ditzy?!” called our Carrot.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Just come in already!”

…Knock, knock, knock.

Carrot groaned. “Oh come on!” She walked to the door and opened it. “I still haven’t finished cleaning the stew up, and you’re…not Ditzy,” Carrot said as she looked at Ditzy’s parents standing outside the house. A slight blush grew on Carrot’s face. “Nimbos, Amethyst, hi! You’re early.”

“Hello to you too Carrot Top,” Nimbos said with a chuckle.

Amethyst giggled. “We wanted to surprise Ditzy.” Her smile dropped slightly. “Where is she anyway?”

Carrot rubbed the back of her head as a sheepish smile grew on her face. “Well, I kinda…dumped lunch all over the floor; burning myself in the process.” She held up her bandaged hoof. “Ditzy and Dinky went to the store to get more ingredients for the stew.”

Nimbos held his smile. “No worries. This just gives us a chance to catch up. We haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I agree. I’d love to know how your family’s doing. How is the house down in Las Pegasus anyway?”

“Come on in. We can talk over some soda or something.” Carrot was smiling as the two ponies walked past her. She let out an internal sigh. ‘I was right, everything is going to be fine.’

********************

All three ponies in the living room erupted in laughter. “And then…and then the goat bit Harvey’s tail. He lost half of his tail before the goat finally let go!” Carrot fell back on the floor in laughter.

Amethyst and Nimbos were also laughing. “When will he learn?” asked Nimbos as he wiped a tear from his eye.

“Well, it’s good to hear that your family’s doing well,” Amethyst said as they started to calm down. “You should tell them to come visit us next time they’re in town. I would love to trade recipes with…”

Amethyst was interrupted as the front door swung open. “I’m gonna getcha!” shouted AJ as he chased Dinky through the door; a playful smile on both of their faces.

“NEVAR!!!” screamed Dinky. As she made it into the living room, she turned the corner.

AJ jumped through the entryway to the living room and looked arouynd the corner. “AH…ha?” Dinky had vanished. “Where did you go?”

“RRRRRAWW!!!” Dinky tackled AJ from behind; sending both of them to the floor with a loud crash.

The two of them just laid there on the floor laughing for a short time until Ditzy finally walked through the door. She put a hoof to her mouth as she giggled. “Okay, that’s enough. Do I have to separate the two of you?”

AJ continued laughing. He opened his eyes and looked into the living room. “Hey Carrot, we got the ingredients for the…” His eyes got wide and the smile dropped from his face. “stew…” Nimbos and Amethyst were looking straight at him. Neither of them looked all too happy to see him. They didn’t look angry, but they didn’t look all that welcoming either.

“Grandma! Grandpa!” squealed Dinky as she hopped off of AJ; rushing over to get a hug.

“Mom? Dad? You’re here early,” Ditzy said with a smile. She too went over to give them a hug.

“Ditzy, Dinky, it’s good to see you two again,” Amethyst said as the four of them embraced in a hug.

AJ got up and brushed himself off. “Uhh, hello Mr. and Mrs. Ditzy’s parents,” he said as he waved sheepishly.

Nimbos looked up from his daughter and grand daughter. He had an emotionless expression as he looked at AJ. “…Hello.”

As the four ponies broke the hug, Amethyst leaned in close to Ditzy. “Ditzy, what’s HE doing here?” she whispered.

“Mother! Be civil, please!”

“Ditzy, please just listen…”

Amethyst was cut off as Nimbos put a hoof on her shoulder. “No Amethyst, we talked about this. We can’t force them to stop being friends. We have to accept the ponies she wants to befriend.” He looked at AJ, glaring ever so slightly. “No matter the case.”

Noticing the glare, Ditzy batted Nimbos’s nose slightly. “Dad, you behave too. No threatening AJ.”

Amethyst sighed. “I suppose you’re right. It would be wrong of us to try to control her life like that.”

Ditzy smiled. “Thank you for understanding.”

“Good! Now that nopony’s trying to kill each other, I’ll go start the stew…again,” Carrot said as she trotted into the kitchen.

********************

“So, what type of work do you do on this…farm?” asked Nimbos. Ditzy’s parents, after deciding that it was wrong to judge her friends so harshly, figured it would be fare to at least try to get to know AJ.

AJ chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “The easier question to answer would be what don't I do on the farm. Nopony’s stuck with a single job. Some days I’ll be bucking apples, others I’ll help tend to the fields. It’s never a dull job.”

“Ugh, I could never work on a farm,” Amethyst said with disgust on her face. “To dirty and brutish for my tastes. I’m happy with what I do. It’s nice and clean.”

AJ couldn’t help but feel like that was an unfriendly jab at him, but he decided to brush it off. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is it that you do?”

“Mom’s a jeweler,” Ditzy said with a smile. “Right now she’s the assistant manager at Golden Gift’s Fine Jewelry.”

“I would be the manager if Precious Gem hadn’t swooped in and stole the position from me,” Amethyst said with a growl.

Nimbos chuckled. He’s heard about this so often since she failed to get the position. “As for me, I work at the Cloudsdale weather factory. I work in the rainbow department.”

“Grandpa makes the prettiest rainbows ever!” squeaked Dinky.

AJ laughed at the over excitable filly and patted her head. “You seem very…close to my granddaughter,” Amethyst said; a hint of venom in her voice.

“How could I not? She’s so adorable.”

“Yea, the two of them get along almost as well as he and Ditzy do,” Carrot said as she came out of the kitchen.

“He’s my new daddy,” Dinky said as she gave AJ a hug.

Amethyst didn’t even try to hide her glare. “And just what does she mean by that?”

The smile dropped from Carrot’s face as she looked at Ditzy. “Wait, you haven’t told them about the two of you yet?”

Ditzy smiled sheepishly. “I-I was going to...eventually...maybe.”

“Tell us what young lady?” asked Nimbos.

Ditzy shrunk back under the gaze of her parents. She swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking. “Well, AJ’s…more than just a friend. He’s my coltfriend.”

Shock crossed Amethyst’s features for a split second before her glare returned with thrice the venom. “Absolutely not! I refuse to let you go out with such a brute!”

“Mother!”

“Now Amethyst, try to settle down,” Nimbos said. He wasn’t exactly happy about it either, but he didn’t want things to end like they did last time.

“And what gives you the right to call me a brute? What did I ever do to you?” AJ asked as he returned the glare.

“You’re trying to ruin my daughter’s life! You may seem nice now, but I know that deep down, you’re no better than Morning Glory.”

“How can you say that?!” Ditzy asked. “If he’s such a bad pony, then how come Dinky likes him so much? The two of them play all the time. How can you say no to that?”

“You mean like how they were ‘playing’ when they barged into the house?” Amethyst harrumphed. “That’s not playing, that’s rough housing. He could have hurt her.”

“Excuse me? Do you really think I’m careless enough to hurt Dinky?”

She turned her attention back to AJ. “You don’t want me to answer that.”

“Trust me Amethyst, He’s a pretty good guy,” Carrot said in an attempt to stop the fighting.

“Carrot Top, with all due respect, I’ll have to ask you to keep your mouth shut. This has nothing to do with you.” Amethyst turned back to Ditzy. “He’s violent, he’s rough with Dinky, and he’s brainwashed you into thinking that he’s so different from the rest of the garbage out there. He has no place in this family. Why can’t you see that?”

“Why can’t you see that he makes me happy!?” Ditzy asked in anger. “Sure he has his problems, but so do you! Stop acting like you’re so much better than him!”

Amethyst was taken aback. “I am your mother! How dare you talk back to me like that!”

“I’ll stop talking back to you when you stop treating me like I’m still a foal!”

“I’ll stop treating you like a foal when you finally prove to me that you’ve grown up!”

A loud crack echoed through the room before everything fell silent. Everypony looked on in shock at what just occurred. Amethyst’s mouth gaped as she slowly brought a hoof to her cheek. Her eyes were wide and fearful. Ditzy glared a hole through her mother as angry tears started to fall. Her teeth were clenched, and she shook as she drew her hoof back. Ditzy had just slapped her mother.

Carrot looked down at Dinky; noticing how scared and confused she was. Thinking fast, she lifted the filly onto her back. “Dinky, let’s go upstairs.”

“But…but…”

“No buts.” Carrot quickly trotted up the stairs.

Ditzy took a deep breath before speaking. “How dare you? How dare you tell me how to live my life?” Amethyst was speechless. “What gives you the right to take away my happiness? You have no right to deny me anything!”

“D-ditzy, I…”

“No, shut up!” Ditzy yelled, interrupting her mother. “You obviously don't care about what I think, so why should I care about what you think! I’ve been happier ever since I’ve met him. He makes me feel happy and safe, and you refuse to see that. You refuse to let anything get through that thick shell of yours. You expect me to live up to your expectations, and nothing in my world has any place in yours.”

“That’s not true! You know I love you Ditzy!”

“Yea? Well you have a pretty terrible way of showing it.” The room became silent once more. “…I think it would be best if you just left.”

“Please Ditzy, we can talk about this,” pleaded Amethyst.

“No, we can’t. If you can’t respect the decisions I make for my life, then maybe you should just stay out of it.” Ditzy turned towards the stairs, and started walking. “I assume you know where the door is.”

AJ was speechless. He watched Ditzy walk up the stairs; her head hung low. When she was out of sight, he looked back to Nimbos and Amethyst. “I’ll go talk to her. Maybe I can…”

“Don’t bother,” Nimbos said coldly. “I think you’ve done enough damage already. Come on Amethyst, we should go.” Without looking back, Ditzy’s parents slowly left the house.

AJ just sat there quietly in the living room. His mind was drawing a blank. After a couple minutes, he heard the sound of somepony coming down the stairs. Looking back, he saw Carrot looking at him with a sad look. She walked over to him and sat down. “Carrot, I…”

Carrot silenced him with a hoof, and a slow shake of the head. “Just go to Ditzy. She needs you now more than ever.” AJ slowly nodded as he stood up.

********************

AJ knocked on the door to Ditzy’s room. “Ditzy?” He knocked again. “Ditzy? It’s me, AJ. Can I come in?” There was no answer. AJ cracked the door open and poked his head in. There was a lump under the covers of the bed. Crying could be heard coming from it. He slipped into the room and closed the door.

“G-g-go away,” came Ditzy’s miserable voice.

“Ditzy, it’s me. Please don’t turn me away. I just want to talk.” AJ walked up and sat on the bed next to Ditzy’s form.

Silence filled the room. “…I’m sorry.”

AJ took the covers off of Ditzy. Putting a hoof under her chin, he lifted her head until she was looking at him. He leaned in and kissed her. “You did nothing to be sorry for.” He lay down next to Ditzy; letting her cry until she fell asleep.

****************************************

((Splitting the chapter got more votes in the end. Which is probably a good thing. This turned out to be longer than expected.))

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

The Bond of Brothers: part 1

Chapter 30

“Are you sure you’ll be okay without me here?” asked AJ.

Ever since Ditzy got in a fight with her parents a week ago, she’s had been an emotional wreck. She also became very clingy towards AJ. She would constantly lean up against him, or nuzzle into him. She also followed him everywhere he went. She even tried following him when he went into the bathroom until he stopped her. This turned out to be a catastrophic mistake as he came out to find her curled up in a ball, bawling her eyes out as she thought that he had abandoned her. She basically used him as a security blanket, and felt completely lost without him. For the first few nights she ended up crying herself to sleep; regretting everything she did to her parents. As the week went on, she did start to become more self sufficient again.

It couldn’t have happened at a better time because it was time for AJ to finally return to the farm and get back to work. Big Mac had come to check on him earlier in the day, and seeing as how he was no longer in a funk, figured that it was time for him to come back. AJ sent Big Mac home saying that he had things he had to do at the house yet and that he’d be home in a little bit. He spent the time talking to Ditzy about how he’ll still be there for her, and that she can’t forget that Carrot and Dinky are also there for her.

Ditzy was about to shake her head until Carrot put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. A weak smile grew on her face. “I-I think so.”

AJ gave her a supportive hug. “You’ll beat this Ditzy, I know you will.” After a bit he released the hug and smiled. “Be sure to give Dinky a big hug when she gets home from school today. I think she’s been more worried about you than either of us.”

“Don’t worry about that. Dinky won’t go un-hugged if I have anything to say about it,” Carrot said with a smile.

AJ chuckled as the two of them hoof bumped. “I know, and thanks Carrot.” He looked at the clock. “Well, I really should get going.” He leaned in for a quick kiss before leaving the house.

Ditzy had to force herself to let AJ leave. She wasn’t ready to let him leave just yet, but knew she had to. She took a ragged breath as she turned back into the house; only to be stopped by Carrot. “And where do you think you’re going?”

Ditzy nervously looked around. “To…the couch?”

“Errrrrrr, wrong!” Carrot said as she crossed her forelegs in a big X. “It’s almost time to pick Dinky up from school, and you…” Carrot booped Ditzy on the nose. “Are going to be there when she gets out. And then you’re going to explain to Boxxy why you no longer have any paid vacation days left.” Ditzy’s eyes got wide at the mention of her paid vacation. Carrot noticed this. “What, you didn’t think Boxxy would just let you skip work for a week and act like it was nothing, did you? It was the only way I got him to agree with this.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat and squeaking was the only response Ditzy could muster.

********************

“So, how was Appleloosa?” asked AJ. After getting back from Appleloosa, Rainbow had gone to Sweet Apple Acres for lunch.

Rainbow put on a big, toothy smile that was ruined by bits of the apple fritter she was eating stuck on her teeth. “As always, it was awesome. We danced, we went out to dinner, we went to go visit Little Strongheart, we did a bunch of things.”

“Well, sounds like y’all had a blast,” said Applejack.

“Get any use of that little gift Pinkie and I got you?” AJ asked with cheeky smile. Rainbow’s wings exploded outward with an audible ‘pomf’ as her face turned crimson. She started violently coughing as she started choking on the apple fritter. Apple Bloom’s face also turned red. She was old enough to know what AJ was getting at knowing Rainbow’s relationship with Braeburn. Applejack quickly passed over her full glass of apple juice. Rainbow quickly grabbed it up and downed the glass as Applejack glared down at AJ who, at this point, was on the floor. Rainbow’s reaction was so funny to him he had fallen out of his seat in laughter. “I guahahaha, I guess you dihihihihihid hahahahahah! Ow my rihihihihihihibs!”

“That was just down right mean!” shouted Applejack. “Wasn’t it Big McIntosh?” Applejack got no answer. “Big McIntosh?” She looked over to see Big Mac with a hoof to his mouth trying to hold in his laughter. “Oh come on! Not you too?!”

It took a few seconds for Big Mac to get his laughter under control. He cleared his throat before speaking. “Eeyup, it was pretty mean. You should be ashamed of yerself.” He glanced over at his sister to see the unamused look on her face. “Not buyin’ it?”

“Nnope.”

Rainbow finally got her wings under control as she cleared her throat. The blush, while less prominent, was still present on her face. “Well, if you’re done embarrassing me…” She glared daggers at AJ who tried to look as innocent as possible as he sat back down in the chair. “something else did happen.” Rainbow’s face was no longer one of embarrassment or happiness.

“What happened?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well…”

********************

Rainbow and Braeburn were just finishing up a nice dinner with Sheriff Silverstar’s and were about to head for The Salt Block for a bit of fun before heading home. “You sure ya want ta drink again? Ya looked more miserable than a bull without it’s horns when ya woke up with a hangover.”

Rainbow put on a cocky smile. “Oh, I’m sure. If I survived Pinkie’s punch, I’m sure I’ll be able to handle anything…right?”

Braeburn chuckled as he turned to Rainbow. “If ya thought that punch packed a punch, wait till ya try some of th’ stuff Ol’ Morton Saltworthy can mix up. It’ll hit ya harder than a buffalo.”

Rainbow gulped audibly as she thought about what Braeburn had just said. “I uh, I’m sure it’s not that…huh?” Rainbow stopped in her tracks.

Braeburn noticed this and stopped. “What’s wrong Dashie?”

Rainbow squinted her eyes and looked off into the distance. She lifted a hoof and pointed. “What’s that?”

Braeburn looked at where Rainbow was pointing and squinted. After a few seconds he saw a blob like silhouette in the distance slowly moving towards them. “What IS that?”

“It’s a pony.” Being a pegasus, Rainbow’s eyes were more adapt for seeing at a distance. Her face turned from confusion to worry. “Something’s wrong.”

“What do ya...” Braeburn’s eyes went wide as the silhouette in the distance fell to the side. Before he could even react, Rainbow had already bolted ahead of him to where the pony was lying. He quickly got his wits about him and followed.

Rainbow gasped as she reached the pony. It was a pegasus stallion. His coat looked to have been yellow, but was very pale right now. He had bruises and scars all over his body. His mangled wings looked like they were broken multiple times, and never set right to heal. His eyes were hollow and dead. He had dried blood leading from his mouth down. One of his ears looked to have been cut off. His cutie mark had been branded over by a symbol. They couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it looked like some kind of flower with five petals and a stem. His red mane and tail looked as if they hadn’t been washed for months on end.

Braeburn acted fast. He quickly brought his ear to the pony’s mouth and listened for a breath. “It’s shallow, but he’s still breathin’.” He got up. “Rainbow, stay here with’im! Ah’ll go get help!

********************

“He didn’t’ make it. He died later that night.” Rainbow started shivering at the memory. “They said…they said he didn’t even stand a chance. There was no way he would have survived the night.”

AJ sat back in his seat; an expressionless look on his face. “Whoa.” The mood of the room had just changed completely. “What happened to him? How did he get in such bad shape?”

Rainbow shook her head. “We don’t know. The scariest part is that they’re pretty sure it was another pony that did it.”

“H-h-how do ya know that?” asked Apple Bloom. The story had clearly shaken her a bit.

Rainbow was about to speak, but was silenced by Big Mac bringing a hoof to her lips and shaking his head. “Ah don’t think this is th’ time or place ta talk about this.”

“Ah agree,” Applejack said as she put her hat to her chest; giving a silent prayer to the pony.

********************

“How’s Ditzy been?” AJ asked as he walked alongside Carrot. He hadn’t been able to go visit her over the last few days. He was so busy catching up on all the work he missed that by the time he was done he was to tired to go anywhere. Seeing as how he finally got some time away from the farm, he decided to spend it with Ditzy.

Carrot was packing up her cart for the day when she saw AJ walking in the direction of her house. She waved him down and the two of them walked together. “It’s been a bit…difficult. She’s still acting pretty clingy around me and Dinky.” She giggled for a moment. “Dinky’s soaking up all the attention like sponge. Half the time I can’t tell who’s clinging to who more. It’s pretty cute actually.”

AJ chuckled. “Has she gone back to work yet?”

Carrot Nodded. “She had no choice. It was either start going back into work or lose her job. Boxxy’s understanding and all, but he’s got a limit.”

“Well, at least she’s feeling better…I think.”

Carrot let out a grunt “Oh Celestia. I swear this thing has gotten heavier.” She readjusted the harness to her cart.

“You’re probably just exhausted. You’ve had a lot of extra responsibilities over the last week.”

“Yea, I guess you're…right?” Carrot felt the weight of the harness lift from her back. She turned to see AJ hooking himself up to the cart. “What are you doing?”

“What, can’t a guy be a gentlecolt once in awhile?” With a smile, AJ continued down the road; cart in tow.

Carrot Blinked a few times before giggling. “There’s no problem with it, I just never expected it from somepony like you,” she said with a cheeky smile.

“Oh hush you.” It took the two of them about ten more minutes to make it to Carrot’s house; joking the whole way there. The friendship between the two of them had grown a lot since the day Ditzy’s parents came to visit. They both cared a lot for Ditzy, and taking care of her had brought the two of them closer. “Alright, so where do you want this thing?”

“I usually just keep it in back. Come on, I’ll show you.” Carrot showed AJ the spot behind her garden where she keeps the cart and helped him tether it down. “Alright, now that that’s over and done with, how about some lunch? I don’t know about you, but I’m really hungry.”

AJ closed his eyes as his mouth began to water. “Food sounds good right now. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.” He followed Carrot into the house; thinking about what delightful recipe Carrot was going to make today. Not paying attention, he didn’t notice when Carrot stopped dead in her tracks with a gasp; running straight into her. “Huh? What’s up Ca…”

AJ’s eyes grew wide. Ahead of them in the hallway, lying on the floor, was Ditzy. She still had her mail bags draped over her back as she lay on her side. Her mane and tale were disheveled. From their spot by the door, they could see that her chest was still raising and lowering as she took breaths. “Ditzy!” the two of them shouted as they ran over to her.

“Come on Ditzy, get up!” Carrot yelled as she shook Ditzy.

“Stay here! I’ll go get Dr. Whooves and…”

Suddenly a groan escaped Ditzy’s mouth as she rolled to her back; waggling her hooves in the air in annoyance. “Stop yelliiiiiiing. Too loooud. Sleep good.” She flopped onto her other side and passed out again.

AJ and Carrot both blinked at Ditzy. AJ looked at Carrot. “Soooo she’s just…”

“Yeah, looks like it.” Carrot let out a sigh of relief. “I guess it makes sense. She’s had to get used to waking up early again, and with her emotional state as of late, she hasn’t exactly been getting that much sleep.”

AJ let out a sigh of his own. “Well, if that’s the case…” AJ carefully lifted Ditzy off the floor with his magic; removing the bags and handing them to Carrot. “I’ll take her up to her room. Her bed’s got to be a lot more comfortable than the floor.”

Carrot smiled as she hung the bags by the door. “You do that. I’ll go start on lunch.” She made it halfway into the kitchen before stopping. She quickly brought her hoof up and facehoofed. “Crap, I forgot about Dinky. She’s going to be getting out of school soon.”

“I can go get her,” AJ said as placed Ditzy on his back. “Just let me get sleepy head here in bed and I’ll go wait for her.”

********************

Carrot happily danced around the kitchen as she made lunch. It wasn’t often that she had some alone time in the house, and when she did, she allowed herself to…express herself. While she wasn’t technically home alone right now, Ditzy was a heavy sleeper, and Dinky still had about 45 minutes before she got out of school. She brought out her CD player, put it on the table, put in her favorite Neighlor Swift CD, and she was lost in her own world. Her entire body twisted and contorted as she danced around the room. Her head and her rump shook to the beat as she moved closer to the pot on the stove.

“Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking, and I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah? I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down, and the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now, now, now. And we're not speaking, and I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah? I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate 'cause we're going down, and the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now. The end,” sang Carrot as the end of the song hit.

“Snirk!” Carrot’s eyes shot open and the smile on her face immediately fell as she heard somepony snort in laughter behind her.

“Eeeehahahahaha!” came another pony’s laughter

She swung around to see AJ, nearly in tears from trying to hold in his laughter at this point, and Dinky who was already rolling on the floor with laughter. “Oh Celestia that was great! I haven’t seen dancing that bad since Twilight!” AJ lost it. He joined Dinky on the floor.

Carrot’s face was crimson at this point. She quickly ran over to the table, and shut the CD player off. “H-how much did you see?!”

“All of it!” squeaked Dinky before laughter took hold once again.

Carrot looked at the clock. Sure enough, an hour had passed since AJ left to go pick Dinky up from school. “S-stop laughing! What I do in my private time is my own business!” Neither of them stopped laughing. “Shut up!” She dug around in the cupboard and brandished the frying pan in her mouth. “I…said…SHUT UP!!!”

AJ lifted himself up to a sitting position as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “Awww, looks like somepony’s cranky. Does somepony need a nappy wappy?”

“RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

AJ’s eyes got wide as Carrot dove at him. He quickly got up, grabbing Dinky up in his magic, and ran into the living room. Carrot followed him with malicious intent in her eyes. “You’ll have to do better than that,” teased AJ.

“I’LL MAME YOU!!!” Carrot dove at AJ again and swung the pan, missing him and hitting a vase instead. It shattered with a loud crash. “STOP MOVING SO I CAN BEAT YOU!!!”

“Ah, ah. That’s not the way to act like a proper lady,” AJ said. Dinky giggled on his back. AJ lifted Dinky off his back; moving her in front of him so he could look at her. “What do you think Dinky, Is Auntie Carrot acting like a proper la…”

AJ was cut off as Carrot tackled him to the floor, sending Dinky into the air. She landed on a pillow on the couch, sending feathers everywhere as it exploded. Carrot looked at AJ with fierce eyes. “Now I got you! Prepare to be…”

“WILL EVERYPONY JUST SHUT THE HELL UP?!?!?! I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!!!”

The two of them stopped moving and looked to the stairs. Ditzy was standing at the top of the stairs with a sleepy glare on her face. She had dark bags under her eyes. A blanket was wrapped around her body with only her head exposed. Ditzy looked around the room. She took note of the broken vase, the soil, and dirty hoof prints that came from the soil that was now on the floor. She also noticed the big mess of feathers on and around the couch with a small, pale purple horn sticking out of the center it. She glared back at the two full grown ponies. “If this mess isn’t cleaned up when I get up, so help me, there will be hell to pay.” She turned and headed back to her room.

Both AJ and Carrot cringed when they heard the door upstairs slam. Carrot got off of AJ and dropped the pan. “Uhhhh, sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made fun of you.”

“Ahh…ahhhhh…CHOOO!!!” AJ and Carrot turned as they saw the feathers on the couch fly into the air, revealing the little filly. Dinky blinked her eyes a few times as she took in what just happened. A smile slowly grew on her face. “That was fun! Let’s do it again!”

********************

“Have either of you ever been to the Whitetail woods?” asked Ditzy. Her and AJ were out for a nice little walk when they came across Shadow and Screwball on their way home from school. After agreeing to go with them, Shadow and Screwball quickly went home to drop off their things. They met AJ and Ditzy at the entrance of town and the four of them were off.

“No. Mom never would have let me enter the woods. To messy, and too many things to scar me.” He looked up into the canopy and smiled. “It’s a shame. Things seem so peaceful here.” When he brought his head down, his vision was filled with brown fur and two beady black eyes. “YAAAHHHHH!!!”

AJ and Ditzy followed Shadow as he shot into the air; clinging to a tree branch. They looked back down to Screwball. “Look Breezey! I found a squirrel!” she said with a bright smile as she held a squirrel in her forelegs. “Can we keep him?!”

AJ chuckled before walking over to Screwball. “Well, I think he’s…that is a he, right?” Screwball shrugged. “I’ll just assume it’s a he. He’s cute, but I think Shadow would rather have a more…normal pet.”

“Awwwww,” Screwball said; the disappointment was clear on her face. She dropped the squirrel back on the ground. It wiped the sweat from it’s brow before quickly running off into the woods before it could be caught again.

“B-besides, I don’t think brother would like a pet in the house. Too much extra work,” Shadow said as he landed back on the ground; brushing the leaves out of his mane.

“Too much extra work?” asked Ditzy.

“Well, he already works full time over at the hospital. Not to mention all the times he’s had to go in on his days off because there’s been an emergency of some kind.”

“Wow, I never knew he worked so hard,” AJ said as he scratched the back of his head.

“Well, think back to that big storm awhile back,” Ditzy said with a hoof to her chin. “I don’t think I remember him leaving the hospital once, at least while I was there. In fact, I think I remember seeing him sleeping on a gurney in the middle of the hall at one point.”

“Yea, that sounds like Trotsworth,” Shadow said.

“I don’t like the hospital. They smell bad, and have too many pointy things,” Screwball said as she stuck her tongue out in disgust.

AJ and Ditzy looked at her in confusion. “Trotsworth suggested she get her immunizations again. Just in case. Turns out she really doesn’t like needles.” Shadow snickered a bit when he remembered back to her last check up. He still wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but in the end, everypony in the room ended up getting a shot in the flank.

“Nurse Meany Pants will think twice before coming after me again,” Screwball said with a triumphant smile.

AJ chuckled. “Well, we should get going. Twilight told me about a few places we HAVE to see. She said that this place is the most beautiful in the fall before the...running of the leaves, whatever the hell that is.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Ditzy said with a giggle. “For now let’s get moving.”

The four of them continued down the path for a ways. They made a few stops here and there to admire the scenery. AJ kept reminding himself to thank Twilight for telling him about this place. AJ and Ditzy couldn’t help but laugh every time Screwball began chasing after an animal they came across. They were having a great time, but unfortunately everything has to come to an end. Ditzy looked up at the sun peaking through the canopy. “Well, we should probably start heading home. It looks like it’s almost time for dinner.”

“But I haven’t caught a bunny yet,” Screwball said with sad eyes.

“I already told you I’d talk with Trotsworth about getting a pet when we got back,” Shadow said as he put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Oookaaay.”

As the four of them walked down the path, Screwballs happiness quickly returned. In no time she was skipping down the path alongside Shadow, and even spun her propeller and started flying for a little bit. It sputtered for a moment almost causing her to hit the ground face first, but she managed to even herself out. Everything was going great. “You think Carrot would mind if I joined you for dinner?” asked AJ.

“I don’t see why not. She usually makes too much anyway, so that just means less leftovers,” Ditzy said with a smile.

“I wonder what Trotsworth is making for dinner.” Shadow shivered. “It can’t be much worse than what he made us eat yesterday.”

Screwball stuck her tongue out. “I saw it move.” When she opened her eyes again, she stopped. A bright smile grew on her face as she started waving. “Hello other pony!”

The other three looked down the path to see another pony slowly walking towards them. Due to the black cloak covering its body, they couldn’t tell if it was a mare or a stallion, though do to its size, they could only guess a mare. “She must be going for a walk too,” reasoned AJ.

The four of them continued down the path, smiling at the pony as they passed. What they didn’t see, was the malicious smile that grew on her face under the cloak. “NOW!!!”

Multiple lassos shot out from the trees, wrapping around AJ and Shadow; dragging them to the ground. “AJ!” “Breezey!” yelled out Ditzy and Screwball.

Two more cloaked ponies leaped down from the tree tops, landing on top of Ditzy and Screwball. An audible snap could be heard as Ditzy let out a shriek of pain. Ditzy tried to get up, but found herself held down by the pony on top of her. She looked over to see Screwball struggling with the same problem. “W-what’s going on?”

“Shut up!” commanded the stallion on top of her.

“Ditzy!” AJ tried to wrestle himself out of the ropes. He even trying to use his magic, but getting pulled around made it difficult to concentrate.

More ponies came from the trees, holding the other ends of the lassos. “H-H-HEEEEEL-MMMFF!!!” screamed Shadow as he was suddenly muffled. When they reached AJ and Shadow, they finished tying them up and gagged them.

“MMFHMHMHMHM!!!” cried Shadow; hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

“HMMFF, LEH MFF GHH!!!” shouted AJ as he fought against his restraints.

“Hmmmm,” purred the mare from before. “These two look like they’ll do nicely.” Her cloak opened up slightly as two syringes floated out. From that, Ditzy could tell that she must have been a unicorn. The syringes floated over to AJ and Shadow before plunging down into their flesh causing both of them to cry out in pain. Ditzy and Screwball watched as the liquid was slowly injected into their bodies. They could only watch as the two of them started to slow their struggling until they eventually fell limp.

“BREEZEY, NO!!!” cried out Screwball as her tears started to fall.

“What should we do about these two?” asked the mare on top of Screwball.

“We don’t need them, just make sure they don’t get in our way,” said the unicorn mare.

Ditzy could almost feel the grin growing on the stallion’s face as she felt him shuffling around. She tried to look up to see what was going on, but before she could see anything, she felt something connect with the back of her head before everything went black.

********************

Ditzy was running through a dark path. Large trees lined the path on both sides. On the left, the trees were luscious and alive. On the right, they were all creepy and dead. In the distance, she could hear a voice calling for her.

“Ditzy, heeeeeelp!”

“AJ?!” She picked up her pace, racing down the path at break neck speeds.

She skidded to a halt when she came to a fork in the path. The left continued into the living trees. In the distance she was pretty sure she could see Ponyville on the other side. The right path lead further into the dead trees. It was too dark to see what was further down the path. “Help me! Please!” came AJ’s voice.

Ditzy listened to the cry for help and turned to the right, taking off without a second thought. “AJ, I’m coming!” As she ran into the darkness, she couldn’t help but look around her at the trees lining the path. The further she traveled down the path, the more the trees looked like they were about to reach out and grab her.

She stopped again when she saw the path start to widen with a big, oversized tree in the center, blocking her from going any further. As she looked around for another way to go, she heard hoof steps off to the left. Preparing herself for the worst, Ditzy gasped in shock when she saw AJ stumble out of the trees. He looked battered and beaten. One of his eyes was forced closed due to the swelling around it

He looked over to Ditzy. “D-ditzy. Help me. You have to…” He was cut off as a dark shadow appeared from the top of the big tree and grabbed him into the air.

“AJ!!!” Ditzy leapt into the air to try to grab him. She was immediately stopped when something grabbed her by her wing and head; slamming her to the ground below. She turned her head to see that the trees themselves had come to life and were now holding her down. She looked back to AJ who was being lifted higher up into the all consuming shadows above. Her eyes grew wide when she saw two eyes open up in the shadow’s depth. The glowing yellow eyes pierced through the shadow and looked straight at her. She heard an ominous laughter as AJ was pulled higher and higher.

AJ began struggling against the shadow’s hold. “AHHHH!!! DITZY, HELP ME!!!” AJ turned his head to look at the shadow above him. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

********************

“AJ, NOOOOO!!!” Ditzy shouted as she pushed herself up. She started whipping her head around, trying to find out where she was. That’s when the dizziness hit her. She grabbed her head, trying to steady herself, but it was too late. The dizziness hit her hard and she started feeling sick to her stomach. Unable to hold it in, she leaned her head over the edge of the bed and let it flow.

“Huh, wha?” mumbled Carrot who was sleeping in the chair next to Ditzy’s bed. She opened her eyes to see Ditzy with her head draped over the other side of the bed as the sound of vomiting began assaulting her ears. Her eyes got wide. “Ditzy, oh no!” She jumped off of the chair and leaned over the bed; rubbing Ditzy’s back until she was done. “Shhh, it’s alright Ditzy, just let it all out.”

Ditzy coughed a couple times before wiping her mouth. “I think…I think I’m okay.” After getting that out of her system, she looked around the room once more. “Carrot? Am I in the hospital?” Carrot only nodded her head. “W-what happened?”

Carrot looked worried. “You mean, you don’t remember?” Ditzy slowly shook her head, she didn’t want to feel nauseous again. “All we know is that Lyra and Bon Bon found you unconscious in the woods. You somehow broke your wing, and had a head injury.” Carrot motioned to Ditzy’s bandaged wing and head. “You’ve been out for the last thirteen hours.”

“In the woods? But what was I doing…” Ditzy’s eyes shot open. She grabbed Carrot by the shoulders and pulled her close. “Carrot, where’s AJ?!”

“Whoa now, settle down. You shouldn’t move so suddenly like that.” Carrot gently pushed Ditzy back down onto the bed.

Before Carrot could pull away, Ditzy grabbed her leg. “Carrot please, you have to tell me. Where is AJ?”

Carrot’s face slowly turned from concerned, to somewhere between sad and empathetic. The continued silence filled Ditzy with dread. “Ditzy, they only found you and that Screwball pony in the woods. Nopony else was there.” She ran this scenario through her head at least a thousand times while she waited for Ditzy to wake up, but she just couldn’t prepare herself for the look on Ditzy’s face. “Ditzy, I’m sorry. Nopony knows where he is.”

Ditzy’s eyes were wide, and her mouth gaped. She lowered her head as she started to shake. Carrot could see the tears falling from her eyes to the blanket below. Ditzy brought her hooves up to her eyes before letting out a loud wail of sadness. It hurt Carrot to see her best friend like this. She pulled Ditzy into a hug, making sure not to hurt her wing even further. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

****************************************

((Another fracken Chapter split. Oh well, I’ll let you all try to guess what’s going on

Also, I’d like to turn your attention to a different fanfic. Sandstallion by my buddy Hydkore. And I have to ask you to forgive any grammatical errors he may have missed. English is not his first language.

The story of us © Nathan Chapman, Taylor Swift

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

The Bond of Brothers: part 2

Chapter 31

The clip clop of hooves could be heard coming down the hall. The pegasus mare looked up from her book as she heard a knock on the door. “You may enter.” The door opened to reveal a light cream colored pegasus stallion. It was difficult to tell if his burgundy mane and tail were spiky or just plane messy. His flanks were branded with a flower with five petals and a stem. He wore a pair of glasses and a dog collar on around his neck. “Ah, Knight Wind, I was wondering where you were. Speak.”

“Y-your hunters are back Master. They have a cart full of ponies for you to train.”

A venom filled smile grew on the mares face. “Excellent. Go get my vestments. I wish to greet my new…'guests' in style.”

Knight Wind smiled and bowed down. “Right away master.”

The mare watched as Knight Wind ran out of the room, closing the door behind him. She looked up above the fire pit to the emblem etched into the rock. It was the same symbol that was branded on Knight Wind’s flanks. “Things are about to become quite entertaining around here once again.”

********************

AJ groaned as his senses started coming back to him. “Ohh, my head.” He tentatively brought a hoof to his head as he forced himself up to a sitting position. His body felt like it was made out of lead, making this task all the harder. After finally getting up, he cracked his eyes open so he could take in his surroundings.

The room he was in was very dim. There was just enough light emanating from the single lantern hanging from the ceiling to be able to see around the room. Looking around the room, he guessed he was in a cave. The walls and ceiling were all made out of rock. The floor was covered in hay that looked much too old to be used as food. There was a thick, metal door in the middle of the left wall. Lying around him, in various levels of consciousness, were many other ponies. They all appeared to be colts and stallions of all races of pony. There was even one that looked like some kind of equine like insect. It was covered in a black, chitinous exoskeleton, had big blue eyes, and had a curved horn, fangs, and insect like wings.

AJ heard a groan come from behind him. Turning his head, he saw a very familiar pony lying a few feet away from him, finally regaining his consciousness. “Shadow?” Seeing a familiar face brought a slight smile to his face. He tried to walk over, but his body refused to cooperate with him. He fell to the floor with a pained grunt. Opening his eyes again, he saw Shadow struggling with his body just as he was. “S-shadow, are you okay?”

Shadow slowly opened his eyes. His head slowly turned until he was looking at AJ. “A-A-AJ? W-what’s going…” Shadow’s eyes got wide.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” asked AJ.

“W-what happened to you?”

“Huh?”

“You’re…”

Shadow was cut off as the door to the room swung open. All the ponies in the room turned their attention to the doorway. Multiple ponies filed in, all holding lanterns to light up the room. Another pony entered the room. He was a tall, slender, dark blue unicorn with soft, cyan eyes. His immaculate, two tone cream and light cream mane and tail practically glowed in the light. Light yellow flower ornaments with rainbow colored ribbons hanging from them adorned both his ears. His cutie mark made no sense to AJ. It looked to be pony head with sound lines coming out of an open mouth.

“Hmmm, looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us.” He spoke in a soft, almost angelic voice.

“W-we're almost there master,” came a voice from down the hall.

A loud cracking noise could be heard, followed by a thud as something hit the ground. “Did I tell you to speak?” came a venom filled voice. “You’d do well to remember what happens when you don’t listen. Now get up, we have some ‘guests’ to ‘greet’.”

About twenty seconds later, a pegasus mare entered the room. Her bat-like wings were fully extended, making her look even more intimidating. Her coat was a dark plumb color. Her two tone black and blood red mane was slicked back. Her piercing, dragon like, yellow eyes gazed around the room. Around her neck she wore a fine silk scarf. It was deep red color. Around her body was a loose fitting belt, a couple sizes too big for her body, the same color as the scarf. The buckle held a big sapphire. Her ears both held two hoop earrings each; one gold, the other silver. Her cutie mark was a mortar and pestle next to a vial of green liquid. Behind her, Knight Wind slowly limped into the room.

“My, my. Quite the group we have today, wouldn’t you say Nebulous?” purred the mare. Her eyes continued to scan the room.

A slight smile grew on Nebulous’ face. “Indeed. I already see some…promising candidates,” he said with a certain arousal in his voice. “You’ve trained your hunters well, Mistress Nightshade.”

An evil smile grew on Nightshade’s face. She walked closer to the group of ponies in the room, examining them closer. “A changeling, how interesting. I believe I know a buyer who would be more than happy to have you as a pet.”

“A different partner every night, how quaint,” Nebulous said in a soft voice. “This will be a new experience.”

Nightshade continued through the room, silently judging all of the ponies in front of her. “W-what’s going on here?!” asked the Earth pony Nightshade had just finished judging. “Who are you?! And what…”

He was cut off as a hoof connected with his lower jaw, sending him flying back a couple feet into the wall. He fell to the floor, blood leaking from his mouth. His body lay there, twitching on the ground. Nightshade glared down at the pony she had just uppercut. “I didn’t tell you to speak, worm.” She lifted her head and turned to the rest of the ponies. “Let that be a lesson to you all! You are now my property, and as my property, you will do as I say! Any acts of defiance will be met with harsh punishment!”

Everypony looked between Nightshade and the corpse on the floor. “I believe they understand, my Mistress,” Nebulous said with a grin.

Nightshade continued around the room. Nopony dared make a move. She got to AJ and started eyeing him up. “I’m not your property,” growled AJ.

Nightshade’s eyes grew cold and harsh. “Did I just hear you talk?” A malicious grin grew on her face. “Go ahead, try my patience. See how that works out for you."

“Let’s see you act so high and mighty with a face full of rocket.” AJ lowered his pose and began pouring magic into his horn. He ignored the smile that grew on her face. He built up more and more energy into his horn. This was going to be a big one. His eyes got wide as he felt his magic ark back into his skull with a sharp pain. He let out a loud scream of agony as the magic coursed through his body; escaping through the pores of his skin. Shadow could only watch as his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the side with a thud.

Nightshade let out a loud laugh, once again catching the attention of everypony in the room. “You fucking imbecile. Did you really think we’d leave you with a means of defending yourself?” She poked AJ in the head. “We removed your horn, just like all the others. Without it, your magic is useless.”

A small commotion began to fill the room; mainly from the unicorns who hadn’t noticed the fate of their horn. They all began examining the now stumps on their heads. “Y-you’ll never get away with this!” shouted a pegasus near the back of the room. “Once the royal guard finds out we’re missing, the Princesses will stop you!”

Nightshade’s eyes got wide as her body locked up. “Oh dear, this won’t end well,” Nebulous said as he brought a hoof up to his head.

Nightshade turned her head to the pony that spoke. Her irises had shrunk to the size of a pin prick. She began to shake as she grit her teeth. Her eyes were full of bloodlust. Before anypony could tell what had just happened, Nightshade had the pony pinned to the wall by his neck with her foreleg. “YOUR PRINCESSES WILL DO NOTHING!!! THEY ARE WEAK!!! With each sentence, she applied more pressure to the pegusus’ throat. “THEIR WILL MEANS NOTHING TO ME!!! DOWN HERE, I AM YOUR QUEEN!!! I AM YOUR GODDESS!!!” She continued her assault until she felt his windpipe crush under the pressure.

“Really now my Mistress, if you keep killing the slaves, we won’t have anything to sell,” Nebulous said in an annoyed tone.

Nightshade finally let the lifeless body fall to the floor as she looked over her shoulder. “Shut the hell up, or you’re next!” She made her way to the door. “Knight Wind!”

Knight Wind flinched when his name was called. “Y-yes master?”

“Go get yourself ready and meet me in my room. I wish to blow off some steam.” She stormed out of the room.

“R-right away master.” Knight Wind left the room to go get ready.

“Poor girl,” Nebulous said as he shook his head. “Looks like little Knighty will have to work double time to ‘relieve her stress.’” He looked back to the ponies in the room. “As you may have heard, my name is Nebulous. I am Mistress Nightshade’s second in command. If at any time she is…indisposed, I will be the pony you answer to. Do you understand me?” Everypony in the room, except AJ who was still dazed from before, nodded. “You can make your new lives very easy. All you have to remember is that anything we say is law. You break the law, and a swift punishment will be dealt.” He turned to leave the room. “I’d suggest you get some rest. Come tomorrow, the real fun starts.”

All the guard ponies filed out of the room, slamming the door behind them. Shadow couldn’t stop shaking. This whole situation outright terrified him. As soon as he got his limbs to start cooperating with him, he slowly crawled over to AJ who was just now coming out of his daze. “A-AJ. Are you okay?”

“I…I think so.” He tried to move his body, but everything hurt too much.

“I-I’m scared,” Shadow said as tears began welling up in his eyes.

“S-so am I, but there’s nothing we ca-AHH!!!” AJ’s entire body painfully tensed up as another serge of magic jolted through him. “T-there’s nothing we can do right now. For now, we wait and see what happens” Shadow didn’t like the answer he got, but he knew AJ was right. For now, all he could do was just lay down next to AJ, crying and hoping that help would come soon.

********************

Knock, knock, knock

“Ju…just one minute,” came Carrot’s voice from beyond the door. The sound of stumbling hooves could be heard getting closer and closer to the door. The door finally opened. “Oh, hey Twilight, Spike.”

“Oh sweet Celestia!” exclaimed Spike.

“Oh dear, are you okay?” asked Twilight. Carrot looked completely miserable. She had dark bags under her bloodshot eyes. Her mane and tail were disheveled and looked like they hadn’t been properly cleaned in days. Her coat had lost its natural sheen.

“Oh don’t worry about me, I’m just…” Carrot went silent.

Spike blinked a few times. “Did she just fall asleep standing up?”

“Uhh, Carrot Top?” Twilight lightly prodded Carrot in the shoulder.

“Huh? What?” Carrot shook the cobwebs from her head; yawning before looking at Twilight. “I-uh…I’m sorry Twilight. I haven’t gotten much sleep the last few days. Between Ditzy crying and trying to explain to Dinky that her new daddy didn’t abandon them, I think I got about an hour of sleep over the last three days.”

“Well, I guess that answerers my next question,” Twilight said with sadness in her voice.

“What about you? Get any word back from the princes yet?” asked Carrot.

“Don’t you mean, princesses?” questioned Spike.

“That’s what I said!” Carrot said defensively. “…Isn’t it?”

Twilight shook her head and sighed. “No, we haven’t gotten any more updates yet. All they know right now is that they think they know why he was taken, but knowing that is pointless without knowing where they took him. Applejack just sent the last of the letters to her relatives around Equestria. We don’t know how long it will take for them to get back to us. Rainbow’s been searching from the sky almost nonstop. I think she’s only stopped to sleep and eat. She hasn’t found anything yet.”

Carrot groaned. “Shit, looks like another sleepless night for me.”

Twilight bit her lower lip as she noticed Carrot turn and start stumbling back into the house. “Carrot Top, wait.” Carrot barely caught her self from falling flat on her face as she turned her head. “Why don’t Spike and I take over for the day? You just take this day off to sleep.”

“What?! But Twilight, I already had plans for today!” pleaded Spike.

Twilight turned her head and glared at the baby dragon. “Apple Bloom can wait Spike. Carrot Top really needs our help right now.”

Carrot could barely contain the smile on her face. “Y-you mean I can finally sleep? Thank you Celestia. Please come in.” Carrot moved to the side to let Twilight and Spike in before closing the door. “You know where their rooms are, right?”

Twilight and Spike looked at each other. “Uhhh n…”

“Good. Now unless the house is on fire, going to explode, or a world ending apocalypse is coming, don’t wake me. My pillow’s calling me, and I don’t plan on disappointing it.”

Twilight and Spike watched as Carrot made her way to the stairs, only to stop in front of them. She just stood there, staring at the stairs. “Is everything alright?” asked Twilight.

“…My pillow can go to hell. Stairs are too much work. The couch will work just as well.” She stumbled over to the couch and flopped down on the middle of it. A content smile grew on her face as she found one of the couches pillows. “Is this what relaxing is? I had forgotten what it felt like.” It wasn’t long before Carrot was lost in the world of dreams.

With Spike still on her back, Twilight tiphoofed upstairs; making sure they didn’t make too much noise. Twilight practically flinched when they got upstairs. The mood was so drastically different it was almost like a slap to the face. “Alright Spike, I’ll handle Ditzy. You try to make Dinky feel better.”

“But I don’t know how to make her happy. Now if you asked me to cheer up Apple Bloom, that’s easy. Especially if you know her secret spot.” Spike chuckled. “She’s got this one spot on her flank that just sends her…”

Spike stopped immediately once he realized what he was saying. Blushing, he looked to Twilight who was clearly not amused. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that…for now. Once this is all over and done with, I think we’ll have to have a talk with Apple Bloom’s family about what the two of you do when you’re alone.”

“But Twilight, we didn’t do anything!”

“No buts!” She levitated Spike in front of Dinky’s door. It was easy to tell which one was hers due to the colorful sign on the door with ‘DINKY’ on it. “Just get in there and try to cheer her up a bit.” Twilight watched Spike until he walked into the room and closed the door. She sighed and readied herself for her own job. She walked down the hall to the room she thought was Ditzy’s.

Steeling herself, she cracked the door open and poked her head in. “Ditzy?” The room was dark. The shades were drawn, keeping most of the light out. It was still bright enough to see Ditzy lying belly down on her bed. Her head was still bandaged up, and she had a cast on her right wing which was sticking straight out until it could heal. “Ditzy it’s me, Twilight. I’m coming in.” Twilight walked into the room and closed the door. She walked up to the bed and sat down.

Now that she was closer, Twilight could see Ditzy’s red eyes and the matted down hair on her face. It was clear that from just looking at her just how miserable she’s been. “Ditzy, I’m here for you. Just talk to me.”

Ditzy turned her head slightly to look at Twilight before looking back at the headboard of her bed. “…W-w-why do all the ponies I love leave me?”

“Huh?”

“First Morning Glory leaves me for his mother’s business, then my parents decide they want nothing to do with me, now…” Tears started welling up in her eyes once again.

“Whoa now, don’t cry. He didn’t leave you, and I’m sure your parents love you.” In reality, Twilight had no idea what she was talking about with her parents.

“He was taken from me. Nopony can find him. I’ll never see him again.”

“Don’t say that Ditzy. The Princess has her guards looking for them right now. They’ll find him in no time.” She got no response. The only sound came from Ditzy’s stomach begging her for some food. “Haven’t you been eating?” Ditzy shook her head. “Well that’s no good. Why don’t I go order us a pizza? Doesn’t that sound good?”

Ditzy’s breathing got unsteady. “Just leave me alone.”

“Come on Ditzy, just open up to me. I’m ready to help in any way I can.”

“JUST GO AWAY!!!” screamed Ditzy as she pushed herself up to look Twilight in the eyes. “Stop acting like everything’s right in the world and leave me alone!”

“I’m just trying to help.”

“Help? How can you help me. Your life is perfect. You haven’t had to deal with any of the problems I’ve had thrown at me.” Ditzy took in a loud, ragged breath. “Come back to me once you’ve lost Caramel. Come back to me once your parents decide they hate you, when your precious teacher decides that you’re no longer worth her time. Or maybe Spike will realize that you’re no replacement for his real mother and will leave you to find her. Until everything in your perfect little world goes to shit, just go…”

Ditzy was silenced as Twilight slapped her. Twilight’s face was angry, and her tears were threatening to fall. “You think my life is so perfect? I’ve made more mistakes than I can count. Aside from my brother and my foalsitter, I didn’t even have any friends until I moved to Ponyville. You call that perfect? I’ve disappointed both my parents and the Princess with some of the decisions I’ve made. How does that make me perfect? I don’t know how far Caramel and I will go. For all I know, he could break up with me tomorrow. That doesn’t sound so perfect to me. If my life is so perfect, I’d never have to worry about Spike leaving me to go find his real parents. I may have lost a friend because some bad ponies took him away. Does that sound so ‘perfect’ to you?” Twilight sniffled. “We all wish he was home. You’re not the only pony in pain right now Ditzy. The biggest difference between me and you is I’m actually trying to do something about it.”

Ditzy was looking down. Twilight could see tears falling to the bed. “Twilight…I’m so sorry.” She started shaking. Twilight got up on the bed drew her into a hug. “I just miss him so much!” Ditzy buried her head in twilight’s shoulder and cried.

A soft smile grew on Twilight’s face as a tear rolled down her own cheek. “Apology accepted.”

********************

“Doctor?” came a distant voice.

“Nghhh…”

“Doctor Whooves?”

“Nnngahhh…”

“Trotsworth, wake up!”

“YAHHH!!!” Trotsworth woke up with a jump as he fell out of his desk chair. Using his desk, he crawled up to see who had just shouted at him. “Redheart? W-what’s with all the shouting?”

Nurse Redheart was staring at Trotsworth; tapping her hoof. She shook her head before speaking. “Alright, this needs to be nipped in the bud right now. Over the past few days you’ve either been too busy being lost in your thoughts or you’ve been falling asleep on the job. Some of the patients have started to notice too. Not to mention how dangerous it is. We almost lost a patient this time.”

“W-what?”

Redheart sighed. “You were supposed to check on Miss Cloudrunner today at noon. I went in there expecting to talk to you, only to find Cloudrunner going into critical condition. We were able to save her, but we may not be so lucky next time.”

With a groan, Trotsworth rested his head on his desk. “I’m sorry. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”

“To say the least.” Redheart walked closer to Trotsworth and started inspecting him. “When’s the last time you ate a proper meal? Or eaten anything for that matter?”

Trotsworth shrugged. “I don’t know, two days ago?”

“How about sleep? From what I just saw, I can’t imagine you’ve been getting a lot of that.” Trotsworth shook his head. “Thought so. Tell me Trotsworth, why are you even here right now?”

“Excuse me?” Trotsworth said with a hint of indignation in his voice. “This is my job. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“Because right now, you’re the pony who needs help. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but right now you’re doing more harm than good by being here.”

Trotsworth tried to think of something, anything to refute her. Anything to prove her wrong. He couldn’t think of a single thing. He closed his eyes and let the truth wash over him. “…You’re right. I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s all true.”

Redheart brushed a caring hoof through Trotsworth's mane. “Until Shadow is found, I think it would be best if you just stayed home. I’m sure Screwball would like that. How is she doing anyway?”

Trotsworth shook his head. “Screwball barely talks anymore. She just stays in Shadow’s room all day. I’ve left her food, and she eats it, but she refuses to do anything else.”

“Well, as your head nurse, I think I’m qualified to send you home on sick leave.”

Trotsworth’s eyes got wide. “B-but my duties…”

“I can handle your duties while you’re on leave.” She put a hoof under his chin to make him look at her. “If you’re not going to do this for yourself…” She leaned forward and kissed him. Trotsworth’s eyes got wide as Redheart’s lips connected with his. A kiss was the last thing he expected from Redheart. He thought she was all work and no play. The sensation was unexpected, but not unwelcome. She pulled away with a soft smile. “Then do it for me.”

Trotsworth looked into Redheart’s sapphire eyes. He found himself unable to look away. When she finally removed her hoof, he lowered his head and sighed. “Alright, you win. Until I’m of the right mind, I’ll stay away from the hospital.”

Redheart’s smile widened. “Thank you.” She helped Trotsworth up and walked him to the door of his office. “Now, go home and get some rest. I’ll be over to check on you later.”

Trotsworth nodded. “Alright. If I don’t answer, just come in then. I’ll probably be sleeping.”

Redheart watched as Trotsworth walked down the hall to the main door. ‘Wow, I didn’t know I had that in me,’ she thought. With a smile, she turned back into his office to get started on his duties.

********************

The sun was beginning to dip behind the mountains in the distance as Redheart walked through Ponyville. Her destination was clear in her head as she turned the corner to the street Trotsworth’s house was on. She had been to his house once before for a party he threw, but never had any reason to go back until now. She walked up the path to his house and knocked on the door. When nopony answered, she tried the doorknob. Like he had said, it was open.

“Trotsworth?” She walked into the house and closed the door. “Trotsworth it’s me, Redheart. Are you awake?” She got no response. ‘Well, he must be sleeping. That’s good.’ She walked further into the house, trying to find which room was his.

Hoping to Celestia she wasn’t going to walk into anything embarrassing, she decided to check every room. She took in the first room she opened. It wasn’t the most decorated room, but the pony who slept there obviously didn’t care how messy their room was. Seeing a picture on the nightstand, she walked in and looked at it. ‘Me and Breezey. This must be Screwball’s room then.’ Leaving the room, she closed the door behind her.

As she turned to the next door, she heard the sound of the toilet flushing. Turning her head, she saw Screwball leaving the bathroom. Her mane and tail, if it was even possible, looked even more unruly than usual. Her carefree attitude had been replaced with deep depression. Her usually lively eyes looked cold and distant. She wasn’t wearing her beanie which was a rarity. This wasn’t the Screwball who managed to wreck her examination room in protest to getting a shot, and that disheartened Redheart quite a bit.

Screwball turned her head and looked straight at Redheart. “Uhh, good evening Screwball. How are you?” She had a sheepish look on her face.

Screwball just turned away and walked into the room at the end of the hall. “Isn’t this one your room?” Questioned Redheart.

Screwball stopped and just stood there for a moment. “This one smells like Breezey.”

Redheart got a small peek inside before the door was slammed shut. ‘Well, that narrows things down quite a bit.’ She walked to the last door remaining and cracked it open. Poking her head in, she saw the pony she was looking for. He was indeed asleep. She walked into the room, closing the door behind her.

He was facing away from her as he slept. When she walked over to the other side of the bed, her heart broke at the sight. His eyes were red and puffy. The hair on his face was matted down by his tears which were still escaping his closed eyes. Under his foreleg was a picture of him, Shadow, and Screwball taken a few weeks earlier. All three of them were smiling brightly. They looked so happy together. Tears, both dry and drying, could be seen on the glass. She could only imagine how long he had been crying over the picture before sleep finally took him.

Sitting next to him on the bed, she brushed a hoof through his mane. “Why did something so bad…have to happen to somepony so good?” She made a promise to herself. From that moment forward, whenever she could, she would be there for Trotsworth. She would make sure he wouldn’t go through this alone.

********************

“Get back ta work!” shouted a guard as he whipped AJ.

He cried out as the whip struck him. After five days, he still wasn’t used to the sting of the whip. Looking at the guard, he grit his teeth. “Fuck…you.”

The guard grinned and whipped him again. “You never learn, do ya? Good, more fun for me.” Just for fun the guard whipped AJ’s prone body, making him cry out once again.

Laughing, the guard walked away. After a minute, AJ forced himself back to his hooves. He took another look around the room they were in. It was one giant room, built specifically for a big farm field. It was kept alive by artificial sunlight made from a unicorn’s spell. It was their job to tend to the fields while the guards watched over them, making sure they were actually working. Punishment was dealt to anypony that refused to work.

AJ was one of the ponies chosen to plow the fields; along with Shadow and a couple others. The rest of the workers would take care of the other jobs. Seeing Shadow off in the distance, AJ made his way over. Shadow was having a lot harder time dealing with this situation than he was. He couldn’t leave Shadow alone at a time like this.

As he got closer to Shadow, he noticed how hard of a time he was having trying to pull the plow. He watched as Shadow collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Pulling up next to him, he reached out a hoof to help him up. “You okay Shadow?”

Shadow shook his head as tears began welling up in his eyes. “I…I can’t do this anymore,” he said as he looked over to AJ. “It’s too hard. I-I just want to go home.” He buried his head in his hooves and started to cry.

AJ put a hoof on his shoulder. “Come on, you can’t let them beat you like this. You have to stay strong.” AJ looked around. A guard had seen them. “You have to get up Shadow, otherwise…”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” screamed the unicorn mare. “You’re supposed to be working, not sleeping!” She raised the whip in her magic to strike Shadow.

Seeing it coming he cringed, waiting for it to hit him. The crack of the whip filled the room, along with a cry of pain. Shadow was confused. He didn’t feel anything. Opening his eyes, he saw AJ standing between him and the guard; shaking from the pain the whip had caused. He had thrown his harness off and took the hit for him. “AJ!”

“What the hell is your problem? Do you have a death wish or something?” asked the guard.

“You’re not going to lay a hoof on him,” growled AJ. He lowered his stance; ready to fight if necessary.

The mare laughed. “What, you think you can protect this little shit? That’s a laugh.” She struck AJ with the whip again and again; leaving big welts on his flesh. She looked down at AJ’s body. Even after the whipping he still tried to stand. “You just won’t quit, will you? Well, I know the perfect punishment for a defiant piece of shit like you.” She motioned over to the other guards who came over.

********************

Nightshade watched as the guards dragged AJ’s body out of the room; a grin on her face. “Isn’t it just great my dear? Sweet, sweet punishment being dealt to those who deserve it,” she purred as she affectionately rubbed Knight Wind behind the ears. She looked down at him with a motherly smile. “Why can’t all of my pets be as obedient as you? So well behaved, so willing to do everything I say. I love you my little Knighty.”

A slight smile grew on Knight Wind’s face. He liked it when his master was gentle with him. “I-I-I love you too master.”

Nightshade’s face became fierce as her hoof collided with Knight Wind’s face. She glared down at his body on the floor. “WHO TOLD YOU TO SPEAK?!?!?! YOU DO NOT SPEAK UNLESS I TELL YOU TO!!!”

“Having any troubles my mistress?”

Nightshade turned to see Nebulous coming up behind her. A smile grew on her face. “What makes you think I’m having any trouble?” She ended her sentence with a giggle.

Nebulous looked down at Knight Wind, who was struggling to get back to his hooves, and smiled. “Oh, nothing.”

“I’m surprised to see you here. I expected you to be too busy to pay me a visit,” purred Nightshade.

Nebulous let out an exhausted sigh. “Even I have my limits, my mistress.”

“I’m guessing there’s a reason you’re here?” asked Nightshade.

Nebulous chuckled. “You know me too well. Actually, there’s been something I wished to ask you for a couple days now. I’ve just been a bit too…preoccupied.” Nightshade just look at him expectantly. “Well, you know how jealous I am of you and little Knighty here.

Nightshade reached down and stroked Knight Wind’s mane lovingly. “You may have mentioned it a few times. Are you asking me if you can take your pick?”

“I feel it’s only fair if I ask you first.”

Nightshade looked over the field with a smile. “Hmm, I suppose things could be arranged. Your loyalty to me has never faltered an inch.” She looked back at Nebulous. “Did you have one in mind?”

Nebulous glanced over to the field; his eyes focusing on one certain dark grey pegasus. “Oh, I’ve had my eyes on one.” He turned back to the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I recall seeing the guards taking a pony to be rehabilitated. I should really be there to make sure they don’t kill him. I bid you farewell.”

********************

Shadow was lying on the floor of the cell. Looking around the room, all the other slaves, except AJ, were there too. He hadn’t seen AJ since he stood up for him in the fields. He was starting to fear the worst. “AJ, where are you?”

The door suddenly swung open; flooding the room with light from the hallway. Everypony in the room looked over to see what was going on. “Get in there!” shouted a guard as a pony was thrown into the room. The pony hit the floor hard with a thud and a grunt. Shadow gasped in horror when he realized who it was. “Maybe now you’ll learn to follow orders.” The door closed, leaving the room in darkness once again.

Shadow got up and walked over to AJ; tearing up when he got close. AJ’s body was battered. He looked like death. The only reason Shadow knew he was alive was the sound of his strained breathing and his chest moving up and down as he took breaths. “Sh-sh-shadow…” Shadow got close to hear his barely audible voice. “Did…did they hurt you?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

AJ closed his eyes as a weak smile grew on his face. “Good. Good. That’s good.” AJ’s body went limp as unconsciousness took him. Shadow couldn’t hold back his tears. Rolling up next to AJ’s body, he cried himself to sleep.

********************

It took more effort than it should have for AJ to get up that morning. His entire body burned with pain. If not for Shadow’s help, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to sit up. “A-are you going to be okay?”

AJ stayed silent as he got used the pain. “I…I don’t know.” His breathing was still ragged and his voice was strained. He slowly brought a hoof up to his chest. “It hurts to breath. I think they broke something. I don’t know if I could take another beating like that.”

“It’s my fault. If I wasn’t so weak, you wouldn’t have had to protect me.”

AJ weakly shook his head. “D-don’t say that. Nothing that’s happened here is...”

AJ was cut off as the door opened. Guards could be seen standing outside the door, as Knight Wind entered the room. He was pulling a cart full of the same, nearly inedible slop they’ve been eating for the past week. “I-it’s time to eat you guys.” Knight Wind made his way around the room; passing a bowl to each of the slaves. When he got to Shadow and AJ, his eyes grew sad. “W-would you like some help eating?”

AJ just stared into Knight’s eyes. “Why do you do this?” Knight Wind looked confused by the question. “Why do you let them treat you like this?”

“Treat me like what?” Knight Wind tilted his head in confusion.

“I’ve seen the way she treats you. Beating you to the ground for no reason.”

Knight Wind shook his head. “Th-that’s not true. Master only hits me when I’m out of line.”

“Out of line? All you do is talk and she strikes out at you.”

“I-if not for master, I would be nothing.” A small, unconvincing smile grew on his face. “I only get hit when I deserve it.”

“You deserve better than this. Nopony should be forced to live like this.” AJ cringed as a sharp pain shot through his chest. “Y-y-you can’t tell me you chose to live like this.” The smile dropped from Knight Wind’s face. “Tell me, when’s the last time you’ve done what you wanted to do? When’s the last time you got to talk to whoever you wanted? You deserve better. You deserve to be free.”

Knight Wind just stared at AJ with wide eyes. He didn’t know what to say. The concept of freedom was foreign to him. For the last ten years of his life, this was all he’s known. Without saying anything more, he put the bowl on the floor and walked out of the room. One of the guards poked his head in the room. “Better eat up. I hear the boss has a lot in store for you today." Laughter filled the room before the door was slammed.

********************

Spike ran to the door as somepony knocked on the door. He opened the door to see a morose Applejack standing there. “Oh, hey Applejack.”

“Hey there sugarcube. Is Twilight home?”

Spike shook his head. “She’s over at Carrot Top’s house right now. She needed another break so Twilight agreed to help her out for the day. Anything I can help you with?”

Applejack reached back into her bags and pulled out two letters. “We just got some letters back from Apple Bumpkin an’ Red Gala. Neither of’em have seen or heard anythin’.” Spike took the letters from Applejack and started reading them. As he did, Applejack let out a depressed sigh. “It just ain’t th’ same around th’ farm without’im.”

Spike looked up from the letters. “Huh?”

“He would always joke around ‘bout everythin’. Even when it wasn’t appropriate. Ta tell ya th’ truth, Ah always found it kinda annoyin’.” She shook her head. “An’ now that he’s gone, Ah just wish he’d do it again.” A sad smile grew on her face. “Heh. Ah guess it’s true what they say. Ya never know what ya got till it’s gone.”

Spike put a claw on Applejack’s shoulder. “Come on Applejack, you can’t give up hope. The Princesses are doing their best to find them right now. They’ll find them, I just know they will.”

Applejack lowered her head. “…Ah hope yer right sugarcube. Ah hope yer right.”

********************

CRASH!!!

Screwball slowly opened her eyes as the sound of breaking glass assaulted her ears. Letting out a yawn, she looked at the clock in Shadow’s room. It was 11: 23 at night. As she perked her ears up, she heard the sound of shouting coming from the other room. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she uncurled herself and got up off the bed.

As she opened the door, she could hear the shouting a bit more clearly. “…can you be so fucking worthless, huh?! How can a single pony be so Celestia damned worthless?!” Screwball could hear more glass breaking. “ANSWER ME!!!”

Screwball poked her head around the corner to the living room. “Trotsworth?”

What she saw scared her. The room itself reeked of alcohol. Lying on the floor was three empty bottles of hard cider. Two more bottles were left shattered. The discarded six pack case was lying on the opposite side of the room. Clutched in Trotsworth’s hoof was the sixth bottle of hard cider which he was already working on. Another six pack sat on the table, just waiting to be opened. Once he was done with the bottle, he looked down at the table. Screwball could see the tears flowing from his eyes as he stared at a picture on the table. Upon closer inspection, it was a picture of himself. “Why the hell are you smiling? Huh?!” he shouted at the picture. “What the hell do you have to smile about?! Your brother is gone!” He just stared at the picture for a moment. “How can you even call yourself a good brother?! He’s gone because you weren’t there to protect him! HE’S GONE BECAUSE YOU’RE TOO FUCKING WEAK!!!”

Screwball watched as Trotsworth punched the picture in front of him. In his rage, he threw the bottle he had across the room; shattering it on the wall. Putting his fore hooves on the table, he leaned over to look at the broken picture that now sat on the floor. “WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?!?!?! ANSWER ME!!!” Screwball watched as Trotsworth’s rage seemed to leave him, being replaced with intense depression. He dropped down to his haunches, resting his forehead on the edge of the table as his tears fell to the floor. “Why am I so weak?”

Avoiding all the broken glass, Screwball slowly made her way over to Trotsworth. When she reached him, she wrapped her forelegs around him. “Please stop this Trotsy. Please stop hurting yourself like this.”

“He’s gone because of me. If I had only been there to protect him, maybe he’d…”

“There was nothing you could have done. Please stop blaming yourself.”

Trotsworth continued to sob. “I miss him Screwball. I just want Shadow back.”

Screwball released the hug and grabbed Trotsworth by the leg. “Let’s go to bed. Shadow wouldn’t want to see you like this.” Trotsworth put up no resistance as she lead him to his room. She took one last look into the living room. She’d clean up the mess tomorrow. Right now, Trotsworth needed her.

********************

AJ trudged through the halls back to the cell with the rest of the slaves. As usual, the work had been grueling, and with his body still aching from a couple days ago, it made everything harder. But even with all that hovering over his head, that’s not what was on his mind. When he had woken up that day, Shadow wasn’t in the room with the rest of them. All throughout the day, he had looked for Shadow as he worked. He even looked over to where Nightshade and Knight Wind sat supervising to see if maybe she had Shadow. The only sight he was rewarded with was Knight Wind getting assaulted by that bitch when he ‘stepped out of line.’

He was worried about Shadow. ‘Shadow, where are you?’ he thought as the door to their cell came into view. The slaves were all herded into the cell. AJ was the last to enter, his eyes got wide when he looked inside. Shadow was in the room. He was curled up in the corner of the room with his head buried in his hooves. Relief washed over AJ’s body as he slowly made his way over to the pegasus. “Shadow, thank Celestia you’re okay.”

As AJ got closer, he noticed some things his tired body missed when he first entered the room. Shadow’s body was shaking with sobs. Around his neck he had a dark blue collar. He also had a similar collar around the base of his tail. Light blue ribbons connected the two on both sides of his body. “Shadow?” AJ reached out a hoof and placed it on his shoulder.

“NOOOOO!!!” Shadow’s body curled into an even tighter ball as AJ made contact.

AJ jumped back a bit at Shadow’s reaction. What had happened to Shadow to make him react like that? AJ got close again. “Shadow it’s me, AJ. I’m not going to hurt you.” AJ saw Shadow’s body slowly start to relax a bit. “What happened to you? I woke up and you were gone.” The only thing he heard from Shadow was a soft squeak. “It’s okay, you can tell me.” Listening carefully, he heard Shadow start to whisper something into his legs before going silent. AJ lowered his ear next to Shadow. “What was that?” Shadow lifted his head slightly and whispered something into AJ’s ear.

AJ’s eyes went wide and the blood began draining from his face by the time Shadow was done. “N-no.” Shadow weakly nodded his head before curling up once more. AJ stared down at Shadow, taking in what he had just been told. After a bit, his face got serious. “Shadow…” He got no response. “Shadow, look at me.” Again he got no response. He put a hoof under Shadow’s chin and lifted his head up, forcing him to look into AJ’s eyes. “Look, at, me.” Shadow looked miserable. His eyes were red, puffy, and blood shot. The hair on his face was matted down by his tears. “You have to stay strong. You can’t let them win. Do you understand?”

Shadow looked at him with a miserable look. “B-b-b-but…”

“But nothing.” AJ drew Shadow into a comforting hug. “I’m going to get us out of here Shadow. You’re going to be back with Screwball and your brother. I know everything seems hopeless right now, but I promise you this.”

Shadow continued to cry into AJ’s shoulder. Neither of them noticed the silhouette in the small bared opening in the door. A grin grew on Nightshade’s face as she got back down onto all fours; walking away from the cell.

********************

“Get up worm!” shouted a voice as a hoof connected with AJ’s already broken ribs; abruptly waking him up. AJ clenched his chest; screaming out in pain. With tears welling up in his eyes, AJ eased his eyes open, looking up at the guard that had just kicked him. “The boss wants to see you.” AJ was in to much pain to even register what the guard was saying. “I said get up!” He kicked AJ again.

“Hey, leave him alone!” shouted another one of the slaves. “He can’t get up if you keep kicking him like that!”

The guard looked up with a scowl on his face. “Are you telling me what to do you piece of shit?” The guard pulled the small club off the belt he was wearing as he turned to the other guards in the hall. “Take this one to the boss. I have other business to deal with right now.”

AJ could feel two more ponies grab him up and start dragging him away. The pain in his ribs didn’t start ebbing away until after they got to their destination. AJ opened his eyes to see the room he was in. Compared to the rest of the rooms in this place, this one almost seemed livable. There was a desk on one side of the room with a book shelf full of alchemy books. Next to the book shelf was a table covered in alchemy supplies and ingredients. On the opposite side of the room sat a fireplace. In front of the fireplace was a big, comfy looking chair. Though there was one addition to the room that reminded AJ just where he was. Above the fire place where the heads of ponies; mounted like sick trophies. He recognized two of the heads as the two ponies that were killed the first day.

“Do you like them?” AJ turned his head to look forward. Nightshade had just come out of the room in front of him. Behind her came Knight Wind, followed by Nebulous. “I’m very proud of my ever growing collection.” AJ looked to Knight Wind who turned away; making sure to avoid eye contact. Nightshade got closer to AJ and put a hoof under his chin, lifting his head up. “You’ve been quite the little nuisance. Even after our thorough ‘rehabilitation,’ you refuse to listen.” She dropped his head and started walking away. “I thought I was beginning to lose my touch.” She stopped as a grin grew on her face. “But then it came to me. I wasn’t losing my touch, I was just coming at this the wrong way.” She signaled to Nebulous who smiled and walked back to the door. “Since the ordinary methods wouldn’t work, it was time to find what you held dear, and crush it beneath my hoof.”

Nebulous came back through the door with a soft smile on his face. He held a chain in his magic. AJ’s eyes got wide when he saw Shadow being dragged through the door by the chain. “Shadow!” AJ began struggling against the guards.

Nightshade licked her lips as she came up next to Shadow. She started caressing his face with a hoof. “It’s cute how two ponies can be so close. Even in such circumstances.” She swiftly brought her hoof down, striking Shadow in the kidneys. He fell to the floor with a cry of pain. She lifted a hoof, and brought it down hard on Shadow’s chest. With a sickening look in her eyes, she looked up at AJ. He was thrashing about in the guards hold, trying to get free and get to Shadow. “You know, it’s funny just how fragile ponies can be. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to snuff there life out.” She removed her hoof from Shadow’s chest and placed it on his head. “All I would have to do is press down hard enough, and he would be no more.”

Nightshade slowly began adding pressure to Shadow’s head, making him cry out in terror. “Shadow, NO!!!”

Nebulous stepped forward. “I’m terribly sorry for interrupting my mistress, but may I suggest something a bit…different?” Nightshade looked up at him in annoyance. She was just starting to have fun. “Not to say you’re doing a bad job…” he said motioning to AJ; proving that her method was definitely having an effect. “But I’d hate to see my new pet’s life ended in such a way, not when he shows so much…promise.”

Nightshade continued to stare at him for a minute before a smile grew on her face. She removed her hoof from Shadow’s head. “I suppose you’re right. Besides, isn’t it about time to begin his training?”

Nebulous smiled as he leaned his head down next to Shadow’s. “You’re right my mistress. With all the excitement, I almost forgot.” Taking a step back, he used his magic to get Shadow up to his hooves. He began caressing Shadow’s body with his hooves; bringing their faces close once again. “It looks like we’re going to have a bit of an audience today my little pet.” He brought his tongue out and licked Shadow’s cheek seductively. Shadow let out a fearful yelp as he tried to get away.

It didn’t take a genius to know what was about to happen. AJ knew he had to try to stop this. “NO, STOP!!! Please Stop!” Both Nightshade and Nebulous looked over at AJ with a smile. They had him. “I’ll do what ever you want, just please stop hurting him.”

“Oh, that’s just what I wanted to hear,” purred Nightshade as she walked over to the alchemy table. Nebulous lead Shadow out of the room. His part in this little game was over with for now. “It’s always so good to hear when slaves vow their obedience to me.” She picked a syringe up in her hoof and flew over to AJ. “Unfortunately for you, I was hoping it would have taken more to break you. I even mixed up this special potion, just, for, YOU!” She emphasized her last word by jamming the syringe into AJ’s neck, causing him to shout out in pain. She slowly emptied the liquid into him; reveling in the perverted pleasure of causing another pony pain.

Once the syringe was empty, she threw it off to the side. “Now, I’m sure you were wondering what that potion does. I made it just for ponies like you. Ponies who refused to listen. It inhibits the brains ability to think for itself. When it’s finished working it’s way through your body, you won’t be able to make your own decisions.” A sadistic giggle escaped her lips. “It took so much work perfecting this little concoction. You wouldn’t believe how many test subjects I went through before it was perfect. It was a beautiful sight actually; watching them writhe before the fire of life left from their eyes. I’m sure you’re already starting to feel the effects.”

Indeed he was. Already AJ felt his mind beginning to cloud. It became harder and harder to focus on much of anything. The last thing that went through his mind was a small, creeping pain shooting through his nerves. AJ’s body went limp. Nightshade lifted his head with a hoof once again and looked into his eyes. They were hollow. Her laughter filled the room. “Now, are you ready to listen to what I say?”

AJ’s hollow eyes looked to Nightshade. “…Yes master.”

********************

Carrot paced around the room nervously as she waited. It’s been about two weeks since AJ’s disappearance, and Ditzy’s emotional state hadn’t changed. She was running out of ideas on what to do. She only had one more chance, but it was risky. She jumped when she heard a knock on the door. “C-coming!” She quickly ran to the door and opened it. At that moment, she didn’t know what she was feeling more of. Relief, or dread. “Hello Nimbos, Amethyst.”

“Hello again Carrot Top,” said Nimbos; a frown on his face.

“I trust the trip was pleasant?” Carrot asked with a sheepish smile. She was hoping this wouldn’t make things worse.

Amethyst, who had been looking down since Carrot opened the door, looked into her eyes. “How’s she doing?”

Carrot dropped her head with a sigh. “Not to good. She hasn’t left her room since it happened.”

Nimbos put a hoof around his wife’s withers before turning back to Carrot. “Could we see her?”

Nimbos made a move to enter the house before being stopped by Carrot. He looked at her in confusion. “Understand that because of what happened between you and Ditzy, sending for the two of you was a last ditch effort to try and improve her mood.” She shook her head. “I’m going to say this now. If you two still refuse to give him a chance, you might as well turn around and go home right now. You’ll only make things worse.”

Nimbos couldn’t believe his ears. Carrot had just given them an ultimatum to see Ditzy, their own daughter. His brows furrowed as he got ready to argue with her. “I understand.” Nimbos looked down at Amethyst in disbelief. “Please, just let us see Ditzy.”

“Amethyst, are you sure?” asked Nimbos.

Amethyst looked up at Nimbos with sad eyes. “Please Nimbos. Ditzy needs us.” She sniffled. “I…I want my daughter back.”

Smiling, Carrot stepped to the side. “Do you remember where her room is?” Nodding, Amethyst stepped into the house. “I’ll give you three some space. If you need anything, I’ll be down here.”

With a smile, Amethyst made her way to the stairs. Nimbos, after giving Carrot a displeased glance, followed. The two of them made their way up the stairs, going down the hall until they reached Ditzy’s room. Amethyst took a deep breath before knocking on the door. “Ditzy?”

They got no answer. Nimbos tried knocking on the door. “Ditzy, honey, it’s your parents. We just want to talk to you.” Again, no answer. They opened the door and looked inside. Ditzy was sitting in front of her window. Her head was no longer wrapped, but it would be awhile before her wing was useable again. She made no sound. She just stared out the window; longing for AJ to return. They walked into the room; closing the door behind them.

The room was silent. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Amethyst swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a step forward. “Di…”

“What do you two want?” Ditzy asked in a cold voice.

“We just came to talk,” Nimbos said; putting on a smile. “Carrot Top told us what happened, and we just wanted to be there for you.”

Ditzy turned to her parents. “What do you care? You hate him. Now that he’s gone, you don’t have to worry about him ‘ruining my life’ anymore.”

They knew she was right. Up to this point, they’ve shown nothing but contempt for the stallion. They couldn’t wait until he was out of Ditzy’s life. “Ditzy…I’m so sorry.” Ditzy’s eyes fell on Amethyst. “You’re right. From the moment we met him, we hoped the two of you would fall apart. We just never realized how much you cared about him.” Ditzy turned back to the window. “Just know that everything we’ve done is because we love you, and we want what’s best for you.” A tear rolled down Amethyst’s cheek. “It’s just a shame it took something like this for us to open our eyes. You love him, and he loves you. I see that now. We shouldn’t have tried to control your life like we did. Can you ever forgive us?”

The room was silent once more. Nimbos and Amethyst could only watch their daughter. They could only wait to see what would happen next. Amethyst gasped to herself as she watched a tear fall to the floor. Ditzy turned back to her parents, tears falling from her eyes. She ran to her mother, wrapping her legs around her in a hug. “I’m sorry!” cried Ditzy. “I…I never should have turned on you like I did!”

Amethyst eagerly hugged Ditzy back. “Ohh, Ditzy.”

Smiling, Nimbos joined in on the hug. “You have nothing to be sorry about Bubbly.”

For the first time in two weeks, Ditzy giggled. “Y-you haven’t called me Bubbly since I was a little filly.”

He brushed a hoof through Ditzy’s mane. “Well, I thought I should…”

They suddenly heard somepony franticly pounding on the door. After a few seconds, the knocking ended. Voices could be heard downstairs, one frantic, the other calm. The sound of hooves could be heard rushing through the house and up the stairs. Suddenly, Twilight burst through her bedroom door, breathing heavily. “Twilight? What’s…”

“They…they found him!” Twilight said between breaths.

Ditzy’s eyes got wide. “What?”

Twilight took a second to catch her breath. “The Princesses know where AJ and Shadow were taken.”

********************

“I told you to work!” The guard whipped AJ’s prone body; getting no reaction.

“What’s the problem?” asked Nightshade as she and Knight Wind walked up to the guard.

The guard whipped AJ one more time before looking up to Nightshade. “This one refuses to work. He’s just lying there.”

Nightshade glared down at AJ. “What’s wrong? I thought I told you to work. You will listen when I give you an order.”

AJ’s soulless eyes slowly moved to Nightshade. “Y…yes m-master.”

Nightshade watches as AJ tried to get to his hooves, only to fail and fall back to the ground. “The drugs affecting him, so why isn’t he…” Her eyes got wide. Since she had first injected AJ with her drug, she had made sure he got a dose every day. She failed to notice his condition getting worse by the day. “Damn. I thought I had finally perfected the mixture.” She turned back to the guard. “Stay with him. See if he get’s better. If not, well, there’s always more room on my wall for another…”

Nightshade was cut off as a giant explosion rocked the entire cave. Screaming could be heard from other parts of the underground encampment. One of the mare guards could be seen running into the room. “Nightshade, Nightshade!”

“What is going on out there?!” demanded Nightshade.

“Nightshade, they found us!” Nightshade’s eyes got wide. “Luna and the royal guard are attacking the encampment! What should we do?!”

Nightshade just stared at the mare in disbelief. Her breathing became frantic as the realization hit her. Her ‘perfect’ world was crumbling before her very eyes. Years worth of work, years of surrounding herself with ponies she could trust, it was all about to crumble beneath the hoof of the princess she hated the most. That’s when another realization hit her. If Luna was here, then her elite night guard was probably with her, and if the elite night guard was here… “No! Nononononono!”

For the first time since being brought into the encampment, the guards were seeing fear in their leader’s eyes. “Boss?”

“I-I have to escape. I have to run. I can’t let them get me. I can’t let them…”

Nightshade stopped when she felt a hoof on her. She turned her head to see Knight Wind’s concerned face. “M-master, is everything alright?”

Nightshade slapped his hoof away. “Get away from me! You’ll just slow me down! You’re worthless to me!”

The look on Knight Wind’s face told all. The only pony who mattered in his life had just turned him away. “B-b-b-b-but master...”

The big double doors to the room burst open. “There’s some in here!” came a voice from one of the royal guard.

Vengeance swooped into the room. “You are all under arrest! Come quietly, and none of you will be hurt!” Vengeance scanned the room, counting the number of slavers. He stopped cold when his eyes locked onto Nightshades. “Nightshade. It can’t be.”

Nightshade started shaking when her eyes locked on to Vengeance’s. She had never felt more fear in her life. “I have to go. I have to run. I…I…” Without another word, Nightshade took off into the air and fled.

“NO!!! YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY AGAIN!!!” shouted Vengeance as he took off after Nightshade.

The rest of the guards swept through the room. Some of the slaver guards went quietly while others fought back. It wasn’t long before the room was cleaned of every guard. It wasn’t long before Luna entered the room; a medical team following behind her. Luna turned to the nurse beside her. “You know your job. Round up every slave here and get them to safety.”

“Of course your highness.” The mare started commanding her team around the big room.

Luna herself walked around the room; aiding in the search for slaves that needed help. Knight Wind sitting in the distance caught her eye and she made her way over. She stopped right next to him. Knight Wind looked like his world had fallen apart. He just sat there; shaking like a leaf with tears flowing from his eyes. Luna placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Do not worry little one. Everything will be fine now.”

“M-m-m-master’s gone. Sh-sh-she’s gone.”

Luna looked down at Knight Wind. It saddened her to see one of her little ponies in such a way. She was about to do whatever it took to cheer him up until, “Princess Luna, come quick!”

Luna turned her head to the nurse that had called out to her. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a pony over here that’s not responding!”

Luna’s face became serious. “Lead me to him!” The nurse led Luna across the field to the pony in question. Luna’s eyes widened when she saw who it was. AJ was lying nearly motionless on the ground. Only his chest raised and lowered slightly. His hollow eyes refused to focus on anything. Luna looked back to the nurse. “Get him out of here now! We mustn’t lose him!”

********************

The door to the medical wing of the castle burst open. “Shadow?! Shadow where are you?!” shouted Trotsworth as he dashed into the room. Screwball was right behind him. After sending Twilight the confirmation that the slaves had all been rescued, Celestia had sent a carriage to pick her and the others up. To say Trotsworth was exited to see Shadow again was an understatement. Even with Celestia there to greet them, he nearly trampled her in his hurry.

“Uhhh, can I help you sir?” asked one of the nurses in the room.

Trotsworth grabbed the nurse by the shoulders. “Not now woman! I’m busy looking for Shadow!”

Trotsworth suddenly became engulfed in a pink aura as he was lifted away from the nurse. Twilight walked up to the nurse, her horn aglow, and helped her up. Ditzy and her parents followed close behind her. “Eheh, sorry about him. He’s just looking for his brother, Shadow Breeze. I believe he was one of the ponies that were rescued today,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. Trotsworth just floated in the air, unsure of what just happened.

“Shadow Breeze?” The nurse took a look at the clip board that had dropped from her magical hold when Trotsworth grabbed her. “Ah, here he is. It looks like he’s in the examination room right now.” She looked back up to the group. “If you’d like to wait right over there, he’ll be out soon.”

As Twilight led Screwball and Trotsworth over to the waiting area, Ditzy stayed behind. She poked the nurse in the shoulder lightly. “Umm, excuse me?”

The nurse turned back around and smiled. “Oh, was there something else you’d like to ask?”

Ditzy looked back to her parents. Nimbos put a hoof on her shoulder while Amethyst nodded in approval. Smiling, she turned back to the nurse. “I’m looking for my coltfriend. He’s an indigo unicorn. His names AJ.” Smiling the nurse looked back at her list. Ditzy became worried when she saw her smile drop. “I-is something wrong?”

The nurse looked back at Ditzy; an unreadable look on her face. “Well, he was brought in with the rest of them, but…”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to him?” asked Nimbos.

“He was in a near comatose state when he was brought in. We’ve managed to stabilize his condition, but he has yet to wake up.”

Ditzy fell to her haunches. The worries began flooding into her mind once again. He was back, but what if he never woke up? What if... “Could we see him please?” asked Amethyst, interrupting the thoughts in Ditzy’s head.

“I don’t see why not. Please follow me.” The nurse lead the three of them to a small area in the corner where a few curtained off area’s sat. “He’s right in here.” The nurse opened the curtain and let the three of them in.

Ditzy was both relieved and worried when she saw AJ lying in the bed. She was more than happy that she was finally seeing him again, but seeing him in this state worried her. He had many bandages around his body. A heart monitor sat next to the bed, beeping away. The doctor next to the bed was inspecting the IV that pumped a clear liquid into his leg. He was still breathing, but no other movement was made.

After writing something down on a clipboard, the doctor looked over. He noticed the worried look on Ditzy’s face. He smiled warmly. “No need to be worried. He’s stable. He’ll be asleep for awhile, but he should make a full recovery.”

A smile grew on Ditzy’s face. She turned around and hugged her parents. “He’ll be okay. He’ll be okay.”

As Ditzy opened her eyes, she saw Trotsworth and Screwball in the background being reunited with Shadow. Screwball nearly took his head off as she tackled him to the floor in a hug. Trotsworth was off to the side talking to the doctor in charge of examining him. A look of horror filled his face as he turned to Shadow. He walked over to Shadow, putting a hoof on his shoulder before hugging him close to his body. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he held Shadow close. Reading his lips, she saw him say, ‘I’ll never let anypony hurt you again, I promise.’

With a smile, Ditzy turned back to the doctor. “Would I be able to stay with him until he wakes up?”

The doctor smiled. “Of course you can.”

********************

AJ awoke to the sound of beeping assaulting his ears. He slowly opened his eyes, bringing his leg up to block the intense light that was flooding his vision. He heard a gasp come from somewhere. He tried to look around, but everything was just a blur. “W-where…”

He suddenly felt something warm and soft on his right leg. Turning his head, he saw a bluish grey pony blob sitting next to the bed. “You’re safe now.”

A weak smile grew on AJ’s face when he heard the voice. “I’m…I’m not dreaming…am I?”

Overcome with happiness, Ditzy leapt up and hugged AJ; tears of happiness rolling down her cheek. “No, you’re not.”

****************************************

((Fucking hell. I split the chapter TWICE, and this ones still 11.5k words.

Here’s a pic of Nightshade and Nebulous

And Knight Wind © Silver Wind (pic by the-Orator/Whirly, commissioned by Silver Wind. I got permission to use this) Knight Wind is the one in the maid outfit

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

The Bond of Brothers: Finale

((A lot of this chapter details what happens before AJ wakes up.))

Chapter 32

“Nnnggghhh! How much longer until we can see Shadow?” grumbled Trotsworth as he paced around the waiting area. Screwball, much to the shock of the ponies around them, was hovering above him; copying his path. Twilight had gone off to help wherever she could. Trotsworth looked up to see her consoling the family of one of the less fortunate ponies who didn’t survive the encounter.

He let out a pained sigh. ‘That could have been me,’ he thought. He had to hold back his tears as the thoughts came to him. What if Shadow hadn’t made it? What would he do? Would he be able to go on knowing his little brother was killed and he could do nothing about it?

His thoughts were interrupted as Screwball let out a gasp. He looked up. “What’s wrong Screwball?” Screwball suddenly bolted off into the main part of the room. Looking into the distance, he knew why. He could see a certain dark grey pegasus slowly making his way through the crowd with a mare doctor walking next to him. As quickly as he could, Trotsworth took off after Screwball.

Shadow slowly walked through the oversized room. His head hung as the memories of what happened to him ran through his head over and over again. It took all he had to keep himself from curling up into a ball and crying right there and then. His ears perked up when he heard somepony yelling over the crowd.

“BreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!”

Shadow looked up just in time to see a pastel violet blur before it collided with his throat. He and the blur flew back a few feet before he finally landing on the floor. He laid there on the floor, his eyes spinning, for a few seconds. After shaking the cobwebs out of his head, he realized that something was lying on top of him. He was still slightly dazed as he tried opening his eyes. He looked down to find his vision filled with an unruly purple and white mane. He immediately knew who it was as he felt Screwball begin nuzzling into his chest. For the first time in weeks, tears of happiness fell from his eyes as he reached down to hug Screwball back.

A couple seconds later, Trotsworth caught up with Screwball. A relieved smile grew on his face as he looked down at his brother. He was about to join in on the hug, when somepony tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see the doctor that was walking with Shadow. “Excuse me, but are you related to Mr. Shadow Breeze?”

Trotsworth looked back down at Shadow and smiled. “Yes, I’m his brother. Trotsworth, or Dr. Whooves if you’d prefer, Chief of Staff at Ponyville hospital.” He extended his hoof for a shake.

Smiling, the mare extended her own hoof. “Doctor Swift Cure, but everypony around Canterlot Medical Center just calls me Dr. Cure. Now, I’m sure you’d like to spend some time with Shadow, but…” The smile dropped off her face. “I have some information here that you should really know about.”

Shadow had finally gotten Screwball off of him long enough to get back up. Even after getting up, Screwball still clung to him. Not that he cared. Over the past two weeks, there were two ponies he wanted to see more than anything else, and they were both here with him. Again, he hugged Screwball back. “I missed you sooo much.”

“I missed you too Breezey.” Screwball tightened her grip on Shadow; her tears staining his coat. “Never leave us again.”

“What?!” Both Shadow and Screwball looked over to Trotsworth. His eyes were wide and his jaw was agape.

Dr. Cure slowly nodded her head. “All the signs are there. Aside from the physical trauma, the mental scars are all there,” she said in a low voice. “None of our male doctors and nurses could even get close to him. I even had difficulties during my examination. It took a long time to convince him that I was there to help him, not hurt him.”

Trotsworth looked over to Shadow, a look of horror on his face, and tears in his eyes. The tears in Shadow’s eyes were no longer of happiness. He knew what they were talking about. Trotsworth took a step towards Shadow and sat down. He put a hoof on Shadow’s shoulder, just looking into his eyes before wrapping his legs around Shadow. Shadow hugged back as he started crying into Trotsworth’s shoulder. “I’ll never let anypony hurt you again, I promise.” Screwball watched as his tears hit the floor.

********************

Twilight continued to walk around the room, searching for anything she could do to help. Any ponies who needed help getting through this hard time. She’s had to deal with a lot of sadness and hardship over the last two weeks, but for her it was over. The least she could do is help ease the pain of the ponies that needed it. Celestia was already in the middle of planning a funeral service for those that didn’t make it. As she looked around, she noticed a light cream colored pegasus stallion sitting by himself near the entrance of the wing. He was slouched over against the wall. He looked like he needed a bit of support right now so Twilight trotted over.

Twilight had a soft smile on her face by the time she reached Knight Wind. “Hello there.” She got no reaction. He sat there; shaking like a leaf. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. “Are you alright? Is there anything you’d like to talk about? I’m sure it must have been quite the experience.”

“…I-i-I’m sorry master. Please come back. Don’t leave me master.”

“Master? I’m not sure who you’re talking about, but you’re safe now.” Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. “Nopony here is going to hurt you.”

“I’m sorry master. I promise I’ll do better. Please take me back. I’ll never disobey a…”

Knight Wind was interrupted when a loud ruckus could be heard in the hall outside the wing. The sounds of struggling and loud shouting got closer and closer. “What is going on out there?” asked Twilight.

Knight Wind stood up; staring intently at the door. “That’s master’s voice.” He bolted through the door and into the corridor.

“Hey, wait!” Twilight followed behind him.

What Twilight saw when she got out there shocked her. Seven bat winged pegasi were in the hall. Three stallions and four mares. Six of them were in armor; the other had a torn scarf hanging from her neck and a scuffed up, loose fitting belt around her waist. Her once slicked back mane was messy and disheveled from the fighting. Nightshade was being restrained in chains by four of the armor-clad pegasi while the others cleared the path for them. Luna brought up the rear; staying close in case her help was needed. Nightshade was futilely thrashing around against her bindings in a vain attempt to escape. “LET ME GO!!! I’LL KILL YOU DAMNED FOOLS!!! YOU’RE HEADS WILL HANG FROM MY WALL!!! RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Twilight was trying to wrap her mind around what was going on here when, “Master!” Knight Wind took off towards the bound pegasus.

Eclipse, the mare guard that wasn’t holding Nightshade in chains, cut him off. “Please stay back, she’s very dangerous.”

“Master needs me. I must go to master,” said Knight Wind as he tried to get around the guard.

Nightshade continued thrashing around until her eyes fell upon Knight Wind. Her body froze up and her eyes got wide just at the sight of him. “Knight Wind…”

Vengeance yanked on the chain around her neck; nearly sending her to the floor. “Get your ass moving Nightshade. You have a nice little date with the castles dungeon.” She still refused to move. Vengeance pulled on the chain again, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “If you don’t move I swear to Luna I will cast judgment upon you myself, and trust me…” His eyes became slits and his voice lowered to a dangerous growl as he glared a hole through Nightshade. “I will make you wish you were never…”

“Vengeance, that’s enough!” shouted Luna; pushing Vengeance away with her magic. Vengeance turned to glare at Luna. “I know your past with Nightshade clouds your judgment, but lowering yourself to her level will only end in tragedy.”

Vengeance looked between Luna and Nightshade almost as if he was weighing his options. He turned his head to Nightshade; letting out a frustrated snort. “You’re not worth my time.” Turning away, he stormed off down the hall.

“Whoa. I’ve never seen Vengeance so angry,” Wrath said, taking up the chain that Vengeance had dropped.

“Well can you blame him?” asked Moon Runner, the shortest of the three mares. “How would you feel if your psycho of an ex ended up being the leader of a slavery operation?”

“I shall talk to Vengeance later. For now, get her into the dungeon,” said Luna. Her guards saluted before dragging Nightshade away. Her gaze never left Knight Wind as she was taken away.

“What should I do about this one?” asked Eclipse; pointing to Knight Wind.

Luna thought for a moment. “I see no harm in letting him follow you, but keep an eye on him.” Eclipse saluted before leading Knight Wind to the dungeon. Luna sighed. “I’m sure you must be wondering what’s going on.” Luna said before turning to Twilight.

“A little yea,” Twilight said with a nod.

“Then come with me. There is a lot to tell.”

********************

“Wait. So you’re telling me that pony, the one who did all this, is an ex-royal guard?!” asked Twilight.

“One of my elite night guard to be exact,” Luna said with a nod as she lay on her bed. Luna had led Twilight to her bedroom so the two of them could talk in private. Luna didn’t feel that this conversation should be made very public. “She and Vengeance were the best of the best, and they knew it. They quickly became rivals, always trying to one up each other. It wasn’t until Moon Runner walked in on them that we knew there was something more to their relationship.” Luna shook her head as she sighed. “They were together for almost a year before it happened.”

“Before what happened?” asked Twilight.

Luna looked out the window. In less than an hour, it would be time for her moon to rise. “Nightshade’s first and only mission. I sent my team after a stallion who had been making and selling the drug deztripan. They were meant to bring him in. Nightshade had different plans.”

********************

”Any word on Nightshade’s location? Vengeance asked as the team made it to the mansion.

“None yet, but we’ll find her,” Echo said as he landed next to Vengeance. “It seems nopony’s seen her since last night.”

Vengeance sighed. “Shit.”

“Now’s not the time to be thinking about your piece of flank, Vengeance. Focus.” Blue Moon said as she looked up into the sky. She tapped the side of her helmet, activating the radio inside. “Eclipse, can you see anything from the sky?”

“Not a thing,” came the voice from the radio. “Wait a second?”

“What do you see?” asked Vengeance.

“I just saw somepony walk past one of the window’s. I’m going to go check it out.”

“Just be careful,” said Moon Runner.

“Aren’t I always?” Eclipse smugly said.

The radio went silent for a moment before a gasp could be heard from the other end. “What, what’s wrong?” asked Vengeance.

“…I…I can’t believe it. Guys, its AHHH!!!”

A loud clang could be heard before the radio cut off. “Eclipse!? Eclipse, can you hear me?!” Vengeance looked to the rest of his team. “No time to chat. Let’s move!”

The five remaining pegasi busted into the house and split into two teams. This simple mission now became a search and rescue mission. Vengeance and Echo quickly made their way through the mansion. “What ever got her must have hit her hard. The implant in her helmet isn’t responding to my locator.”

“Just keep looking!” demanded Vengeance.

The two of them suddenly burst into a big library. Giant book cases lined the room on all sides except for a window on the far side of the room that sat open. Under the window sat Eclipse’s nearly motionless body. A small amount of blood tricled from her mouth. In the middle of the room was a big table with only one chair. Lying next to the table in a pool of his own blood was the unicorn they were supposed to bring in. His horn had been broken off and his throat had been slit. In the chair, sat Nightshade. Blood stained her coat and armor. Her helmet had been removed and smashed on the floor, making it impossible to track her with any of Echo’s tech. Nightshade was just sitting at the table, reading the unicorns notes.

“You know, this stallion was a genius,” she said in a low voice. “All this knowledge of potions, poisons, and the like. To bad he didn’t have the balls to actually use them. He could have been useful.”

Vengeance looked between the unicorn, Eclipse, and Nightshade. “Nightshade, did you do all this?” He got no answer. “Why?”

Nightshade looked over her shoulder. “Isn’t that what rivals do? The only thing I’ve done here tonight was prove once and for all, that I’m better than you. I got here first, and I completed the mission first.”

“But you killed him. Our mission was to bring him in. Killing wasn’t involved in any way,” Echo said as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening.

Nightshade laughed under her breath. “Sacrifices must be made.” She turned to look at Eclipse. “Poor little Eclipse learned that the hard way.”

“You disobeyed a direct order from Princess Luna herself to…”

“Princess Luna is weak!” Nightshade said, cutting off Vengeance. “If she’s so powerful why couldn’t she take care of such a simple little task herself?” Her gaze became more dangerous. “I never did like her. She comes back after 1000 years, nearly destroys Equestria, and then thinks she can just beg for forgiveness? I’ve proven that not only am I better than you, but I’m also better than your precious little princess.” She took the notes she was reading and slipped them into her saddle bags. “And with these notes, I finally have everything I need.”

Vengeance couldn’t believe his ears. He lowered his posture; getting ready to strike. “Echo, get Eclipse out of here. I’ll take care of Nightshade.”

“B-but…”

“GO!!!” Nodding, Echo swooped over to Eclipse; grabbing her up and flying away. “Now, it’s your turn.”

Nightshade looked at Vengeance with a smile. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Too bad I don’t have the time. Knight Wind must be worried sick by now. He’s nothing without me after all.”

“You’re not going to get away from me!” Vengeance said. He took off like a missile; heading straight for Nightshade. The grin on Nightshade’s face became more malicious as she danced around his form. Vengeance cried out as he felt something sink into him. He stopped and looked at his side. There was an empty syringe embedded in his side. He looked to Nightshade. “W-wha…”

“Its a little mixture of my own, do you like it? By now you should already feel your body locking up. It won’t be long until you’ll be out of my hair for good.” Nightshade watched as Vengeance collapsed to the ground. With a throaty laugh, she walked towards the open window. “I wish I could say it’s been nice knowing you, but I’d hate to lie to a dying pony.” The last thing Vengeance saw before blacking out was Nightshade jumping through the window.

********************

“Vengeance was found and brought back to the castle. He woke up a week later; seemingly paralyzed. It took months before he was able to return to duty.” Luna slowly shook her head. “He’s never forgiven her for betraying him and breaking his heart.”

Twilight took in what she just heard. “I guess that explains why he was so angry before. But that doesn’t explain why she did it. How did she go from being part of your special unit, to slavery?”

“We’re not sure. When searching through her things, we found a journal she left here, accidentally or not, that had dates from about two years ago, all the way back to about ten. In it she talked about a pony named Knight Wind multiple times. It wasn’t all that descriptive about what was going on, but it kept talking about his progress. None of us had any idea what she was talking about.” Luna sighed. “I guess now we know what she was doing all the times she left the castle.” Luna took another look out the window before stepping off her bed. “I’m afraid I must cut our talk short. It’s time for me to raise the moon. Goodbye Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you for explaining some things to me. Good night Princess.”

********************

Celestia breathed a sad sigh as she walked through the hall. She never liked planning funerals. The thought of another pony’s life ending always brought tears to her eyes. Even after thousands of years of life, death never got any easier to deal with. As she walked past Luna’s bedroom, she noticed it open and Twilight exit the room.

Twilight had her head down. All the things Luna had just told her were running through her mind. She didn’t notice Celestia standing there until it was already too late. “Oof!” Twilight backed up a few steps and rubbed her nose. “Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was…” As she looked up, she noticed the regal Princess of the Sun standing in front of her; a smile on her face and a light giggle escaping from her lips. “Princess Celestia! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry Twilight. It was a simple accident.” She giggled again at Twilight’s over reaction. “So, what were you and my sister talking about?”

“Oh, uhh, yes, well Luna agreed to answer some of my questions about what was going on.”

“So you know about Nightshade then?” asked Celestia with an unreadable look. Twilight just nodded. “Did she also tell you about Nebulous?”

Twilight cocked her head in confusion. “Who?”

Celestia looked down the hall before looking back at Twilight. “Come with me. I’ll tell you as we walk.” The two of them started down the hall. Where they were going, Twilight didn’t know. Twilight was about to ask, but Celestia began speaking again. “About eight years ago, Nebulous joined the Manehattan police force. With the help of his special talent, they were able to track and bring down two of the biggest gangs in Manehattan.”

“What’s his special talent?”

Celestia remained silent for a moment. “…Interrogation. Everypony he’s ever interrogated ended up giving up the information he wanted.”

Twilight noticed the look on Celestia’s face. After spending so much time with her, she knew how to read a few of her teacher’s tells. “Isn’t that a good thing? With his help they brought down two dangerous gangs. What’s wrong with that?”

Celestia sighed. “I’ve heard stories about his…methods. He would do anything to get the answers; even if it meant inflicting pain or bringing their loved ones into it. It may have gotten results, but that doesn’t make what he did anymore right.”

“What happened to him?”

“About two years after he began his career as an interrogator, he left the force. He gave no reason as to why, he just left. After that he vanished. Nopony knew where he went and he left no evidence as to where he had gone.” Celestia slowly shook her head. “Now we know where he went. He was captured during the initial raid on the encampment. He tried to escape, but was no match for the guard. According to what some of the guards were saying, he was their second in command.”

“An ex-member of the Lunar Task Force and a police interrogator. It seems so surreal.” Twilight lifted her head and looked at where they were. “What are we doing in the guest wing?”

Celestia looked at Twilight; a soft smile on her face. “I just thought you would like to meet the pony who made the rescue operation possible.”

Celestia stopped in front of one of the doors and knocked. “Just a minute! I’m in the middle of something!” came a stallion’s voice from the other side. A loud crash could be heard from the other side of the door along with the sound of something big getting dragged around. Celestia and Twilight just looked at each other in confusion as the commotion continued. Suddenly, a loud crack could be heard as the sound of something falling apart filled their ears. “…Oops. Umm, I-uh, I swear this bed was broken when I got here!” Another loud sound filled the room. “And that dresser too!” About a minute later, the door swung open to reveal an earth pony. He had a chocolate colored coat with darker brown blotches around the end of his legs, on his back, and around his muzzle. His unruly brown and dark brown mane and tail looked like they hadn’t been combed in years. His cutie mark was a bar of dark chocolate. “Heeeeey, what can I do for you this fine day…don’t look inside.”

Celestia and Twilight did anyway. To say this was still a room would be having mercy on it. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the room. The drapes had been shredded, and the window had been cracked. The bed had, somehow, been broken in two, leaving the mattress to lie on the floor covered in the broken wood. The dresser had been completely shattered by Celestia knows what and sat in a pile on the floor. The door to the bathroom had been torn off, broken into pieces, set up into a fire pit, and lit on fire in the middle of the room. He had some how managed to cover the entire room in a layer of sand and dirt. He even managed to get a cactus in the room. The bathroom itself faired no better. The toilet had been broken off with water shooting out of the pipe in a geyser. The sink had a giant hole in the bottom and the spigot was bent upwards; unable to be shut off. The bath, at least what wasn’t cracked or full of holes, was covered from top to bottom in thick, dark mud.

Twilight’s mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. Her right eye twitched. “How…the…hell…”

Celestia looked around the room; eyes wide with surprise. “Well. I see you made yourself at home.”

A bright smile grew on his face. “Uh huh! That old room was too stuffy. To soft and…not sandy enough. So I did a bit of remodeling. Now it’s just like camping under the stars…without the stars. I wonder how I could get rid of the ceiling. Damnit, I’ll never be able to find some C4 at this time of the night. Oh well, that’s beside the point. Do you like it?”

“Well it’s…different,” Celestia said; trying to calculate the repair cost in her head. “But that’s not why we’re here. Twilight, I’d like you to meet Dark Chocolate. If not for his tip, we never would have found the slaver’s encampment.”

“Everypony always just calls me DC,” Dark Chocolate said with a bright smile.

Attempting to ignore the disaster area behind him, Twilight extended a hoof. “I must thank you. If not for you we may never have gotten our friends and family back.”

His eyes suddenly got wide as a loud gasp escaped from his mouth. “THAT’S IT!!!” He grabbed Twilight by the leg and pulled her into the room. “You, unicorn lady, blow up the ceiling please!”

“E-excuse me?!” asked Twilight.

“The ceiling, it’s got to go,” DC said with a contemplative look on his face. “It’s the only way this will be a true camping experience.”

“I am NOT going to destroy ceiling of the castle just so you can…”

“Okay, fine. I’ll do it myself.” In one swift movement, he grabbed Twilight with one leg around her throat and the other on her tail.

Twilight was completely horrified. “W-w-what are you doing?!”

“Renovating!” he said with a big smile. He pulled hard on her tail; causing her to yelp out in pain, and forcing a blast of magic to explode out from her horn and fly towards the ceiling. This resulted in a big explosion, covering the room in a giant cloud of smoke.

Both Celestia and Twilight could be hard coughing in the cloud. After about a minute, the cloud finally started to dissipate. Once the cloud was gone, Celestia looked into the room again. Twilight was no longer being held by DC. She was on the ground, rubbing her rump where her tail is connected because of the pain. DC was happily staring up at the ceiling. Celestia looked up. Make that the ex-ceiling. Most of the ceiling had been demolished, leaving only a small amount around the edges of the room. “There, now this is a room.” He picked up Twilight again and tossed her out of the room. “Sorry, but I’m a bit tired. Good night!” He slammed the door shut.

Twilight, who had landed face first when she was tossed out of the room, groggily sat up. Celestia walked up to her and helped her keep her balance. “Are you okay Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head. “Well, he's certainly a…unique individual.” She stood up on wobbly legs. “I think I’m going to go to bed too. After meeting him, I’m a bit worn out.”

With a giggle, Celestia lifted Twilight onto her back. “Well, let me take you to your room then.”

Twilight’s face began to heat up. “Uhh, princess. I can walk myself you know. This is kinda embarrassing.”

“Oh really? You never minded when I did this when you were a little filly,” Celestia said with a mischievous smile. “In fact, I remember you always asking for me to carry you like this. I remember one day you rode on my back for the entire day. You even fell asleep while hugging my mane.” Celestia let out a sigh of happiness at the happy memory. “You were such a silly little filly back then. Well, I suppose you still are.”

“I am not a silly little filly!” protested Twilight.

Celestia giggled. “You would always say that too.” Knowing she couldn’t win, Twilight just crossed her legs in a huff as Celestia carried her down the hall.

********************

“Are you sure it’s okay for him to be down here?” asked Echo as he pointed to Knight Wind.

“Princess Luna said it was okay,” said Eclipse. “Just keep an eye on him.”

The clip clop of hooves could be heard coming from deeper in the dungeon. Soon after Moon Runner, Wrath, and Blue Moon could be seen. “Alright, the bitch is locked up. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry as hell,” Blue Moon said; satisfied with the work they had done that day.

“I…I want to see master,” pleaded Knight Wind.

“Oh yea, I forgot about him,” deadpanned Blue Moon. “I guess my Hungry Mare’s going to have to wait.”

“Oh quit your whining Moon,” scolded Moon Runner. “It’s Stockholm syndrome. There’s not much we can do until he can get some professional help.”

“Isn’t that what you were trained for,” teased Wrath.

“I was trained for physical injuries, not mental you dolt.”

“Meeeeow, kitty’s got some bite,” Wrath said as he continued to tease.

Moon Runner facehoofed. “Sometimes it feels like Vengeance and I are the only mature ones in this unit.”

“What about me?” asked Echo as he lifted his scanner from his left eye. “Am I not mature all the time?”

Eclipse looked at Echo with a smirk. “Three words. Extreme wardrobe racing.”

“I still can’t believe you guys did that! I had so much money invested in that wardrobe!” yelled Moon Runner as tears started welling up in her eyes. “All my saddles, all my dresses, all gone in a giant, fiery, fruity smelling explosion.”

“Not to mention all your unmentionables,” Wrath said with a sly grin. “I am so happy I got to race yours. In fact, I still have some ‘trophies’ of yours that I managed to save back in my room.”

Moon Runner’s face was crimson as she gawked at Wrath. “You have my underwear?!” Wrath just smiled brightly at her.

“I swear I didn’t know my experimental rockets would have such a volatile reaction to a collision,” Echo said as he scratched the back of his head.

“Though you have to admit, that was one hell of an explosion,” Wrath said with a smile. “How did you even make it all blue and fruity like that?”

Echo smiled. “Well I got the idea from this game I’m playing. In it, there’s a grenade that…”

“Can we just get this over with?! I’m dying of hunger over here!” yelled Blue Moon.

“I agree. I’d like to go start on the next Daring Do book myself. Come on, let’s go see Nightshade,” Eclipse said as she lead Knight Wind down the hall.

The rest of the guard followed; Moon Runner glaring and growling at Wrath as they walked next to each other. “When we’re through here, I am getting my clothes back you pervert.”

“Come on, you know you want me.” Wrath chuckled to himself.

Moon Runner suddenly got an evil idea. Her gaze became seductive. “Oh, looks like you got me.” She moved closer until she was leaning on him. A light blush grew on Wrath’s face. “All this time I’ve just been denying my true feelings. It’s about time I start…going with the flow. How about after this, you and me spend some private time together my room?”

The blush on Wrath’s face grew. “What, r-really?”

“Mmhm.” She turned around and started circling Wrath; brushing his face with her tail. Wrath shivered with delight at the sensation. “In fact, why don’t I give you a bit of a spoiler of what I’m going to do to you?”

Wrath’s face was practically steaming. “Right here?! B-b-but what about the others?”

“Let them watch,” Moon Runner said in a seductive voice. “Just stand there and let me work.” Wrath froze in anticipation. What was she going to do? How far was she going to go in front of the others? Was she going to let him…

CRUNCH!!!

Wrath fell to the floor; wailing as he gripped his bruised fruits. “Why…is it always…the balls?” he asked as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Oops, looks like my hoof slipped,” Moon Runner said with a content smile as she walked over to the other guards. “Now remember, if you want more of that, come to my room later.” The rest of the guard continued on as Wrath writhed on the floor.

“Uhh, shouldn’t we do something about him?” asked Eclipse.

“Nah. He can claw his way up to the infirmary,” Moon Runner said with a smile.

********************

“This is her cell,” Moon Runner said as she unlocked the door. Once the solid, metal door was opened, Knight Wind quickly poked his head in. In the back of the dark, dank cell, sat Nightshade. When the door opened, she looked up; her yellow eyes piercing through the darkness that shadowed her upper body. She had been chained to the wall by her neck and torso. Her wings had been bound against her body.

A smile slowly grew on Knight Winds face. “M-master.”

“Knight Wind,” Nightshade said in a low voice. “Come closer.” Knight Wind happily obeyed Nightshade; he was just happy he was with his master again. When Knight Wind was close enough, Nightshade extended a leg and placed it on his cheek; stroking his face in a loving manner. “Oh Knight Wind, it’s so good to see you again.”

“I-I-I missed you master.”

“This is sickening,” Blue Moon said as they watched the scene unfold before them.

“I have to agree,” added Echo.

“Just keep watching, I don’t trust her,” Eclipse said as she focused her eyes.

Nightshade continued stroking Knight Wind’s head until she brought her hoof to his chin. “Knight Wind, I’ve trained you well, haven’t I?”

“Yes master,” Knight Wind said with content smile on his face.

“I’ve never steered you wrong, have I?”

“Of course not master.”

“If I’ve treated you so well…” The smile dropped from Nightshade’s face. “Then why are you betraying me so?” Knight Wind looked confused. “Why am I chained to the wall, forced to rot down here, while you walk free? Free to do whatever you please.”

Knight Wind’s eyes got wide. “B-but master, I would never betray you. I love you master.”

“I thought I had done so well with you. You showed so much promise when you were a foal.” Nightshade lowered her head; slowly shaking it from side to side. “I guess I wasn’t as good as I thought.”

“T-t-that’s not true. You’re great.”

“Remind me my little Knighty, what do we do with failures?” Knight Wind stayed silent; unsure of what was happening. “Oh, that’s right. Now I remember……” She pulled him close and whispered into his ear. “We get rid of them like the trash they are.”

Eclipse’s eyes got wide as she noticed Nightshade’s posture suddenly change. “Look out!”

Before anypony could react, Nightshade took the hoof that was on Knight Wind’s chin, and wrapped it around his throat; dragging him to the floor in front of her. She climbed on top of him and pressed down on his throat. Knight Wind began struggling underneath Nightshade as his life was slowly choked out of him. He was forced to look Nightshade in the eyes. Her irises had shrunk to the size of pinpricks. She had a big smile on her face as she strangled him. “No, no. Stop struggling. Soon my greatest failure will be gone. Your fire snuffed out like so many before you. Then I can start anew. I’ll find somepony better than you. Somepony more willing to listen to me.” She put a little more pressure on his throat. “YOU’LL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING YOU LITTLE WORM!!! YOU’VE NEVER AMOUNTED TO ANYTHING!!! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS YOU’VE NEVER BEEN GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!! YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU!!! YOU DESERVE TO…”

Suddenly, a blue hoof connected with Nightshade’s chin, sending her head into the wall behind her. With her hooves removed from his throat, Knight Wind took in a long, deep breath; getting some much needed oxygen. As he looked up, he saw Nightshade being pinned against the wall by Blue Moon; Her big leg pressing against Nightshade’s throat. She turned to the rest of the team. “Get the kid out of here, now!”

Knight Wind put up no resistance as Eclipse and Echo took him from the room. He looked back into the room. Nightshade was staring at him with ferocity in her eyes; a line of blood dripped down her face from when her head hit the wall. She was thrashing against Blue Moon’s bigger body; trying desperately to get to Knight Wind. “GET BACK HERE!!! I’M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!!! YOU HAVE TO DIE SO I CAN START OVER!!!”

“I thought I told you to get the kid out of…” Blue Moon was cut off as Nightshade’s hoof struck her in the jaw. She turned and glared at Nightshade. “Oh, that’s it.” Blue Moon reared her head back and brought it forward as hard as she could; head butting Nightshade for all she was worth. Blue Moon brought her head back with a grin; blood leaking from the new gash on her forehead. Her smile dropped when she noticed that Nightshade was still struggling.

Nightshade suddenly let out an earth shatteringly loud howl. She brought all four legs close to her body. She thrust them out; kicking Blue Moon in the chest and gut causing her to stagger backwards. Now free, Nightshade kicked off the wall and began running towards Knight Wind. The chains that held her to the wall proved useless against Nightshade, breaking off at the wall. Now free to move, Nightshade made a mad dash forward. She was mere inches from Knight Wind when something tugged on the chain around her body. She looked back to see that Blue Moon had recovered and had the chain in her mouth. She turned back to Knight Wind, reaching out for him.

Blue Moon grinned around the chain as her special horse shoes began glowing. “Wrong move.” She pulled back on the chain, causing Nightshade to tumble back towards her. Blue Moon prepared herself to strike as Nightshade got closer. Nightshade looked over her shoulder in time to see Blue Moon bring a hoof down at her. The hoof connected with her back, right between her wings. The force of the hoof caused her to hit the floor hard; cracking the stone under and around where she hit. The force of the hit could be felt by everypony in the room. Nightshade’s face told it all. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was agape in a silent scream of pain. Blood began flowing from her mouth. Her head fell to the floor; darkness creeping further, and further into her vision. In one last attempt to get to Knight Wind, she weakly lifted a shaky hoof; reaching out to him before her body fell limp.

The cell fell silent. “I-is she…?” asked Eclipse.

Moon Runner checked for a pulse. She lifted her head and slowly shook her head; a morose look on her face. “My scanner show’s no heart beat or brain activity. I’m afraid she’s dead,” said Echo.

Blue Moon let out a sigh as she let the chain drop to the floor. She turned and began walking out of the room. “Where are you going?” asked Moon Runner.

“To go tell Luna the news. Shit. She’s not going to be happy about this.”

They watched as Blue Moon walked down the hall. “Well, what should we do about him?” asked Eclipse as she pointed to Knight Wind. He was lying on the floor near the door. Loud sobs could be heard as he coved his head with his hooves. He let out a loud, pained cry that echoed through the dungeon.

“I’ll take care of him,” Moon Runner said as she helped Knight Wind up. “You two take care of the body.

“Understood,” said Echo. Eclipse just nodded before watching Moon Runner escort him out of the dungeon.

********************

“What?!”

“I’m sorry Princess, but it had to be done,” Blue Moon said in a calm tone.

“You had to kill her?! Explain yourself!” shouted Luna.

Blue Moon sighed. “She forced my hooves. She was dead set on getting her hooves on that kid. If I hadn’t of acted as I did, chances are they would both be dead.”

Luna paced around her room in anger. Yes Nightshade needed to be punished for her actions, but the correct actions needed to be taken. “I understand why you did what you did, but that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do. I’m sorry, but I can’t let this slide. As of now, you are out of this unit. We will have a trial once this is all over and done with to decide your fate. Until then, you will be under house arrest.”

Blue Moon’s eyes got wide. The Lunar Task Force was her life. If Luna had never come and hoof picked her, she would still be living on the streets of Manehattan; fighting for her survival. “No. Please, you can’t do this. This unit means everything to me. You can’t take this away from me.” Luna’s stern look told her everything she needed to know. Her head lowered in defeat. “I understand Princess.”

“Guards, please escort Blue Moon to her room. She is to remain there until further notice.” The guards saluted before escorting Blue Moon out of the room. “Blue Moon, one more thing.” Blue moon looked back at Luna. “We’re always looking for new recruits for the unit. If the outcome of the trial is in your favor, you’re more than welcome to go through the trials once again.”

A smile grew on Blue Moon’s face. “Thank you Princess.” She turned around and began walking once more; only to stop dead in her tracks. Standing in front of her was the only other pony to ever best her in a fight. “Vengeance…”

“…I heard what happened.”

Blue Moon lowered her head. “It had to be done.”

“I know.”

Blue Moon took a step towards Vengeance and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it had to come to this. I know how you still feel about her.”

Vengeance just lowered his head as the guards escorted Blue Moon away. “…I hope the trial goes in your favor.” Blue Moon looked over her shoulder. “The team wouldn’t be the same without you.” Smiling, Blue Moon continued down the hall.

********************

This was it. Trotsworth had sent a letter to their parents the previous day; telling them that Shadow was found and was now okay. He also mentioned that they were going to visit them. He knew that this would do Shadow some good. Seeing his family again after everything that had happened is just what the doctor ordered. The problem he faced was he didn’t know how his parents would act. He was pretty sure their dad would just be happy that Shadow was okay, but their mother was a different story. She had always been overprotective of Shadow. It was part of the reason Trotsworth suggested he move in with him and not with a different relative. Shadow needed to get some real life experience that he wasn’t getting under their mothers wing so to speak.

The entire night, while Shadow and Screwball slept next to him, he stayed up wondering how everything was going to turn out. He was worried his mother would overreact, and if so, how far would she go. These thoughts kept him awake all night, and now that they were there, standing in front of their parents home, only one thought ran through his mind. “You know, mom’s garden looks pretty comfortable. You think she’d mind if I slept in it?”

“I-uh…I don’t think she’d like that. C-c-can we please go inside now?” Shadow timidly said as he scooted closer to Trotsworth. Being out in the open like this made him feel uncomfortable and very vulnerable.

Shadow felt somepony put a leg around his withers, causing him to jump. He turned his head to see Screwball looking at him with a brave face. “Don’t worry Breezey! I’ll protect you!”

A slight smile grew on Shadow’s face. “Thanks Screw…”

“Shadow Breeze, my baby! You’re okay!” came Estelle’s voice from the door. Shadow and Screwball looked up to see Estelle bursting through the door. She ran to Shadow and squeezed him in the biggest, bone crushing hug she could muster. She flowered him with loving kisses as she spoke. “Oh, my baby’s come back to me. Don’t worry, you’re safe and sound now. Mommy will never let anypony hurt you ever again.”

At this time, Dusty finally caught up with Estelle. He joined in on the hug; although his was much less painful than hers was. “It’s good to see you safe again kiddo. We were so worried about you.”

“Good, now that everypony’s happy again, I’m just going to...collapse over here for awhile.” Trotsworth wearily walked over to Estelle’s garden where he plopped down on his side. “Unless somepony’s on their deathbed, don’t wake me.” He was asleep in moments.

Screwball, who had to jump to the side to escape the death hug, just watched as Shadow was hugged from both parties. “Please come inside. You must be so scared right now, and only mommy can help.” Finally releasing Shadow from the hug, Estelle led him into the house. Dusty followed close behind.

Screwball looked between Trotsworth and Shadow before walking over to the garden. She poked him in the side. “Trotsy, wake up.”

“Is somepony dying?” groaned Trotsworth.

“No.”

“Then go away. Sleep now.”

Sighing, Screwball grabbed Trotswroth’s tail and began dragging him into the house. By the time Screwball had him in the house, she heard Estelle showering Shadow with more love. Hearing that it was coming from the living room, she slowly dragged Trotsworth’s flower covered body through the house. Once she finally dragged him into the living room, she finally took a look around the house. It hadn’t changed at all since she had last been in the house. A smile started to grow on her face as the familiar surroundings began coming back to her.

“Oh my precious little baby. I’m so happy you’re finally home,” Estelle said as she flowered him with more kisses.

Dusty came out of the kitchen with a tray of drinks on his back. “I’m happy he’s safe and sound too, but if you don’t give the boy some air, he’s bound to pass out.”

“Oh, but I’m just so happy he’s finally back. Now that he’s home, he’ll never have to worry about anything again. He’ll move back into his old room and everything will be as it should,” Estelle said as she brushed a hoof through Shadow’s mane.

Shadow blinked a few times. “W-w-what?”

She looked into Shadow’s eyes with a smile on her face. “You didn’t think I’d let you live in that horrible town anymore after this happened, did you? I always knew letting you move out was a bad idea, and look how right I was. I knew hanging around that horrible AJ pony would lead to bad things. Well, starting tomorrow you’ll no longer be living in Ponyville.”

Screwball’s eyes got wide. “N-no! You can’t do that!”

“Not so loud. Sleeping,” grumbled Trotsworth.

Screwball turned around and began shaking Trotsworth. “Trotsy, wake up! She’s going to take Breezey away!”

“That’s nice Screwball now go to bed,” mumbled Trotsworth before falling asleep again. About five seconds later his eyes shot open. He immediately sat up and gawked at his mother. “I’m sorry, you’re going to what now?!”

“Tomorrow I will send for his things. I’ll not let him leave my sight.”

“B-b-b-but...”

“Uhh Estelle, don’t you think you should let the boy decide for himself? He’s more than old enough to make his own decisions,” asked Dusty.

“Yea! What if Breezey wants to stay with me and Trotsy?” added Screwball.

“Umm…”

Estelle glared at Screwball. “Excuse me, but I don’t even know who you are. What makes you think I’d let my precious Shadow Breeze anywhere near strange ponies like you after what happened to him? For all I know, you could be in cahoots with those evil, evil ponies.”

“Mom…”

“Please mother, be reasonable,” pleaded Trotsworth. “Screwball would never hurt Shadow. She cares about him just as much as I do. She always has, and she always will.”

“Well, that must not be too much if you just let him get taken away like that.” Trotsworth felt a jolt of pain run through his chest at his mother’s words.

“Now Estelle, there’s no reason to say things like that,” Dusty interjected.

“Umm, could I please…”

Ignoring Dusty, Estelle leaned forward; getting in Screwballs face. Screwball glared right back; growling like a dog as she did. “And you, I don’t care how much you claim to care about my little Shadow. You are not welcome in this house hold, so I must ask you to…”

“WOULD EVERYPONY JUST SHUT THE HELL UP?!?!?!”

With wide eyes, everypony in the room turned to look at Shadow who looked at everypony in the room with angry eyes. “I am old enough to make my own decisions in life, so stop making them for me!” His eyes fell on his mother. “First things first! Stop blaming everything that happens to me on everypony else! Did you ever stop and think that maybe, just maybe, I’m at fault?! Second! Stop treating me like I’m a little foal! I’m 17 for Celestia’s sake!” He turned and pointed at Dusty. “Third! Stop acting so damned spineless! Marriage is supposed to be a group effort where both parties make the decisions, so if mom does something you don’t agree with, stallion the hell up!” He pointed at Trotsworth. “Fourth! Stop acting like Mom’s never right! She’s your mother and you should respect her!” He turned to the group outright. “And fifth! Could we just have one family get together where everypony just get’s along?!”

The room was silent for a bit. Nopony knew what to say. After about twenty seconds, Trotsworth broke the silence. “Holy shit.” A smile slowly grew on his face. “Shadow…that was bloody amazing! I never knew you had it in you!”

“Whoa,” Screwball said; a look of amazement on her face.

The anger dropped off of Shadow’s face as the events of the last minute and a half hit him. He blinked a few times before a blush grew on his face. He brought his hooves up to his mouth. “Oh sweet Celestia, did I just…?”

“You bet you did. Now come on, let’s go…” Trotsworth’s eyes fell on Estelle’s. He looked into her eyes. The sadness, the worry, the stress, the lack of sleep, everything was there. It was like looking into a mirror. No matter how hard she may have tried to hide everything, it still showed in her brown eyes. She had been just as worried about Shadow as he had been, if not more. He mentally slapped himself. He never even considered his mother’s feelings when suggesting Shadow move in with him. He let out a defeated sigh. “No. It’s your choice Shadow. If you wish to move back in with mother and father, then I’m all for it.”

Screwball looked at Trotsworth like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “B-b-b-but…”

Trotsworth put a hoof up to her lips. “It’s his choice, and in the end mother’s probably right. In the end, he would be much safer here in Canterlot.” A look of disbelief crossed Estelle’s face. Trotsworth had always been a bit rebellious towards her, and, for what felt like the first time, he was agreeing with her. He smiled at her. “Mother, for all it’s worth, I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you.”

A tearful smile slowly grew on her face. She walked over to Trotsworth and hugged him. “Apology accepted honey.” She pulled away. “Now, why don’t we sit down and have a nice little chat. Maybe you could tell me who your little friend is,” Estelle said as she pointed at Screwball.

Shadow smiled. Standing, he followed his mother and brother into the kitchen. He may just get his wish.

********************

Shadow had a soft smile on his face as he, Screwball, and Trotsworth walked back to the castle. For the first time in years they had a family get together where everypony got along. He leaned against Screwball slightly as the three of them walked through the streets. Screwball smiled and began nuzzling into Shadow. “I’m happy you’re staying with us Breezey.”

Shadow’s smile widened as the smell of Screwballs Shampoo wafted into his nose. He missed that smell so much over the last two weeks. “I could never leave you.”

Trotsworth watched on with a warm smile. ‘Maybe I should give the two of them a bit of privacy tonight,’ he thought as he looked into the sky. It was a little after five in the afternoon. ‘Maybe we should have stayed for dinner. Oh well, maybe it’s not too late for dinner at the castle. Oh, maybe they’ll have some English muffins and bananas there. I like bananas. Bananas are good.’

“Uhh, brother?”

“Huh?”

Screwball giggled. “You’re drooling.”

Blushing slightly, Trotsworth wiped the drool from his chin. The three of them continued the rest of the way in silence.

********************

“There you guys are!” Twilight said as she saw Trotsworth and the others walking down the hall.

Trotsworth looked over to see Twilight running down the hall towards them. She had a bright smile on her face. “Well, you seem happy. What happened?”

“AJ woke up a little bit ago.”

A bright smile grew on Shadow’s face as he and Screwball looked at each other. Before Shadow could even make a move, Screwball was already dragging him down the hall to go see him. Trotsworth looked back to Twilight. “Well, should we go pay him a visit?”

Twilight giggled. “Yes. Yes we should.” The two of them followed Shadow and Screwball through the halls until they got to the medical wing. Twilight led them to the area designated for AJ. Outside the curtain sat Ditzy’s parents. They decided to leave when AJ woke up. They figured, given how they have treated him thus far, they would probably be the last two ponies he would want to see when he woke up. “Who’s all in there?” Twilight asked as they walked up.

“Just Ditzy and that one pegasus from earlier today,” Nimbos said.

Shadow looked at them in confusion. “What one pegasus?”

“I believe he was one of the ponies brought in yesterday with the rest of you,” Twilight said with a hoof to her chin. “I think Luna said his name was Knight Wind or something like that.” Shadow’s eyes got wide. “A little after the three of you left, a nurse brought him in. She said he wanted to talk to AJ. He’s just been sitting there ever sense.”

“Has he said anything?” asked Trotsworth.

Amethyst shook her head. “He hasn’t said a single word to anypony.”

“Hmm.” Trotsworth put a hoof to his chin. He looked over and saw the look on Shadow’s face. “Shadow, do you know who this pony is?”

Shadow slowly nodded. “H-he was always following Nightshade around. I-I-I think he was her personal slave.”

“Why would he want to talk to AJ then?” asked Twilight. Shadow just shrugged.

********************

AJ felt a soft warmth radiate through his body. He weakly lifted his right leg; wrapping it around Ditzy’s soft, warm body. “I missed you. I missed you so much,” Ditzy said as her tears fell against his coat.

“I…I missed you too Ditzy, but…could you please get off? It hurts…a lot.”

Ditzy blinked her teary eyes and looked down. Not only was she pressing down on his bandaged ribs, but also numerous other bandages on his body. “Eheheh, oops.” She lifted herself off of him. “Sorry. I’m just so happy you’re finally safe.”

AJ let out a groan of relief now that his body was crying out in pain anymore. He tried to look around but couldn’t make out anything around him. Everything was just a giant blur. “Where are my glasses?”

A look of worry crossed Ditzy’s face. She placed her hoof on his. “AJ…you’re already wearing them.”

“Huh?” AJ slowly lifted his hoof up to his head. Sure enough, his glasses were sitting on his head. A tinge of panic shot through his mind. He tried to push himself up. “W-w-why can’t I see?”

Ditzy got back up and held AJ down. “Just calm down. It’s probably just temporary. I’ll go ask the doctor later.” Ditzy sighed. “For now, you just need to rest.” Ditzy reached down and removed AJ’s glasses. Not like they were doing much good right now anyway.

“E-excuse me…”

Ditzy blinked and looked over to the corner of the curtained off room. In the corner sat Knight Wind. Sense he was first brought into the room, he looked empty. This was the first time he so much as made a peep. “Oh, that’s right. I uh, heh, I kinda forgot about you,” Ditzy said; her voice getting lower and lower as she spoke. A sheepish smile grew on her face. She turned back to AJ. “You have another visitor here. I’m not too sure who he is, but it sounds like he knows you.”

AJ heard somepony walking closer to the bed. He turned his head to see another pony blob. This time he couldn’t guess who it was. “Who are you?”

“I-it’s me…Knight Wind.”

AJ’s eyes widened. He woke up to Ditzy’s smiling face, thinking that everything was finally over, thought that everything that had happened to them was finally behind them, and here Knight Wind was standing right in front of him. He became slightly apprehensive. “W-what are you doing here?”

Knight Wind nervously rubbed his fore legs together. “I…I…” He looked away from AJ. “Y-you were right.” AJ looked on in confusion. Knight Wind sniffled before continuing. “Mast…N-n-nightshade never loved me. Sh-she never cared about me.”

“What made you change your mind about her,” AJ asked as he tried to find a comfortable position.

He sniffled again. “Sh-she told me herself last night as she…” A tear fell to the floor. “She told me that I deserved everything that ever happened to me. A-a-all the pain, the tears. For the last ten years, I deserved it all. I deserved to die.”

“Ten years?” asked Ditzy; noting how young Knight Wind looked. “How old are you?”

Knight Wind looked around the room nervously. “I-I-I don’t know. 18, I think.”

“Y-you were her slave since you were eight years old?” asked AJ; his eyes wide. “Do…do you even remember anything from before you were a slave?”

Knight Wind began trembling as he shook his head. “B-b-b-being a slave and following orders is all that I know. Nightshade was the only family I knew. A-a-and now she’s gone.”

AJ looked down. “Some family she turned out to…” AJ interrupted himself as he went into a coughing fit; hugging his chest in pain.

“Oh no! AJ, are you alright?!” asked Ditzy.

AJ was cringing as he looked to Ditzy. “Y-yea. M-m-my throat’s just really dry.” His voice was raspy.

Ditzy let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, I’ll go get you some water."

AJ watched as Ditzy’s blob left the room. He turned to Knight Wind. His voice was still raspy. “Maybe it’s the exhaustion, but I really don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.”

Knight Wind remains silent for a few seconds. “…Y-you were the only pony who’s ever said any different. You’re the only pony who said that I deserved to be…free.”

“And?”

“I…I don’t know what to do? H-how does one be free?”

AJ sighed. “Listen Knight. Being free isn’t hard. The first thing you need to remember is that you should never let anypony control you. Be your own pony.” AJ began coughing again.

Knight Wind looked around as he though. “B-b-but how do I be my own pony?”

“It’s up to you to find who you really are.”

“I don’t know how!” Knight stood up put his legs on the bed; unintentionally placing one on AJ’s chest causing him to cry out. The tears that had been welling up in his eyes began to fall. “Please…you have to tell me how to be free! I-I-I-I beg you!”

Suddenly a pink glow surrounded Knight; tearing him away from the bed. “What are you doing?! Get off of him!” yelled Twilight. After hearing AJ cry out, the ponies outside the curtain had rushed in to see what was happening.

Shadow and Trotsworth ran over to AJ; checking to make sure he was okay. Now that Knight was off of him, AJ began clenching his chest. With tears in his eyes, he cracked them open. Hovering in the air above him, he could see Knight’s blob surrounded by a pink light. His ears twitched as he heard somepony whining. He felt tears falling onto him from above. “T-t-twilight…y-you have to let him go.”

Twilight looked at AJ in disbelief. “But he was hurting you! He may have made your injuries even worse!”

“It was an accident. Please Twilight, you’re…you’re scaring him.”

Twilight looked back up to Knight. He was curled into a ball and trembling in her hold. “I’msorryi’msorryi’msorryi’msorryi’msorry. Please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry.”

Twilight looked back to AJ before sighing. “Alright, but I’m keeping my eye on him.” She slowly lowered Knight back down to the floor.

A weak smile grew on AJ’s face. “Thank you.” AJ turned his head to the side of the bed that Knight was lying next to. “Knight. You have to learn to make your own decisions in life. Until then, you’re never going to be your own pony.”

Knight slowly rose to a sitting position. He was still lightly sobbing from when twilight grabbed him. “B-b-but I don’t know h-h-how.”

“You’re not alone in this. You have your friends to help you.”

Knight looked around nervously. “B-b-but…I don’t have any friends.”

AJ extended his hoof in friendship. “Well, allow me to be your first then.”

Knight didn’t know what to think about the extended hoof. Conflicted emotions were running through his head. Every time somepony lifted a hoof to him before, it was followed by pain of some kind, but the pony in front of him had never once tried to hurt him. He apprehensively began to lift his own hoof. Slowly, he extended it to AJ’s. As his hoof got closer, he kept pulling it away; acting as if AJ’s hoof was going to shock him. Clenching his eyes shut, he pushed his hoof forward, pressing the hooves together. He opened his eyes slightly when he felt his hoof begin to move up and down slowly. He saw AJ weakly smiling at him. “Welcome to the group Knight.”

********************

It had been a week since the slaves were rescued. Shadow, Trotsworth, and Screwball had left for Ponyville a few days prior. Shadow was getting uncomfortable being around all the unfamiliar stallions. AJ was unable to leave. The doctors refused to let him go until they were sure he would be fine. Today was the day he would finally be allowed to go home. He, Twilight, Ditzy, and Knight were preparing for the flight home. Twilight carried her bags on her back and Ditzy’s in her magic as Ditzy pushed AJ down the hall. He may have been cleared to leave, but he was still feeling very weak so they gave him a wheel chair.

“It’s going to feel good having everything back to normal,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Mmmmmmmhh.” moaned AJ. The doctors had given him some pain killers earlier in the day to help ease his pain. They worked wonders, but they also had the added effect of making him very drowsy. He had been asleep most of the day.

“You know, we’re going to have to wake him so we can get him into the carriage, right?” Twilight asked; smirking at Ditzy.

“Do we have to? He looks so cute when he sleeps,” pouted Ditzy.

Twilight giggled. It didn’t take much longer before they were outside the castle. When they got to the carriage, Ditzy’s eyes widened. Waiting by the carriage, was her parents. A smile grew on her face as she stopped the wheel chair; running to her parents. The sudden stop jarred AJ awake. He opened his heavy eye lids. “Huh?”

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Twilight said with a giggle.

AJ looked at Twilight with a groggy look before rubbing his eyes. “How long was I out?”

“About six hours, but don’t worry. You need all the rest you can get.”

“Y-you snore loudly,” Knight said in a light voice.

After yawning, AJ turned his head and looked forward. He saw Ditzy talking to her parents with a smile on her face. It took a couple days, but his vision did start to clear up. He saw Ditzy turn her head towards him before motioning towards him with her head. The three of them began walking over to him, Twilight, and Knight. Ditzy walked up to AJ and kissed him on the cheek. “Glad you’re awake. Mom and dad have something they wanted to tell you.”

“Something they wanted to tell me?” He looked over to Nimbos and Amethyst. He noticed Nimbos cringe as he looked him over. Many of the bandages had been removed from his body; showing the scars underneath. His ribs were still bandaged up though.

Twilight noticed this too. “Don’t worry. The doctor said his coat should grow back in and cover the scars.”

“Ah yes, of course.” Nimbos cleared his throat. “Well, AJ, Amethyst and I have something we would like to say.”

Amethyst had a warm smile on her face. “AJ, we’re so sorry for the way we’ve treated you.”

“We were so worried that you’d end up being like Morning Glory that we convinced ourselves it was true,” added Nimbos. “Well, now we know how wrong we were.”

“Ditzy loves you so much, and it was wrong of us to try to force you apart.”

“Son, can you ever forgive us?” Nimbos and Amethyst looked to Ditzy who smiled and nodded in approval. Smiling, they waited for their answer.

“Zzzzzzzz…”

“Did he just snore?” Nimbos deadpanned.

Sure enough, AJ’s head was down and his eyes were closed. He had fallen asleep midway through their apology. “Eheh, well he did say those pain killers were strong,” Ditzy said with a sheepish smile.

Nimbos facehoofed. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I thought it was a nice apology,” Twilight said as her horn lit up. She grabbed Ditzy’s bags in her magic. “Knight, could you get AJ’s chair please? We should get him ready for the flight.”

“O-okay.”

Ditzy smiled sheepishly at her parents. “I’m sure he would have forgiven you. Maybe you could come to visit after he’s feeling better and try again.”

“If he’ll actually stay awake this time I guess we could,” Nimbos said with a deadpan look on his face.

“It sounds like a plan then,” Amethyst said before pulling Ditzy into a hug. “We’ll see you…”

Suddenly the castle gates burst open. “WOOOOOOOOOOO PONYVILLE!!!” called out the chocolate Earth pony. DC happily trotted through the doors, over stuffed saddle bags on his back and a big, over packed duffle bag in his mouth. “I’ve never been to Ponyville before. I wonder if they have good food there.”

He trotted past Ditzy and her parents and went straight to the carriage. Twilight had just finished making AJ comfortable and was about to load the wheel chair when she saw him. “Oh, DC. Hi.”

“Hello unicorn lady.”

“It’s Twilight.”

“Tiddlywinks. The Princess said I could go to Ponyville with you.”

“How thrilling.”

“I know, right! So anyway, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m just going to get my stuff in there now.”

Twilight groaned. “Alright, but be careful. AJ’s in there and he…” Twilight watched as DC carelessly tossed the duffle bag into the carriage. Twilight and Knight cringed when the bag hit the seat directly across from the door. Mainly because when it hit, a loud cry of pain came from inside the carriage. Not really wanting to see the damage, Twilight slowly peaked inside. She saw the duffle bag. She could also see four, twitching, indigo hooves sticking out from underneath it. She slowly facehoofed. “Ponyville’s doomed.”

********************

“Oh, it’s good to see you,” Trotsworth said as AJ and Screwball walked through the door. After AJ had gotten back to Ponyville, Trotsworth knew he had to do something for him for helping his brother through the toughest trials in his life. They had set up a time and he sent Screwball to go pick him up. He was in no condition to be going anywhere alone just yet.

“I wouldn’t have missed spending time with Shadow. How is he doing anyway?” asked AJ as Trotsworth took over for Screwball; letting AJ lean on him.

“He’s still a bit shaken up, but he’s trying to be strong. He seemed very happy that you were coming for dinner.”

“I didn’t know Breezey wanted to kill him,” Screwball said under her breath as she went to go get Shadow.

“Oh don’t mind her,” Trotsworth said with a smile. “So, how’s that Knight Wind fellow. Is he adapting well?”

AJ shook his head. “Hard to say. He’s terrified of Applejack. Apparently he thinks she’s going to tie him up with her lasso and beat him. He’s warming up to Big Mac, but other than that I don’t know.”

“That’s too bad.”

Hoof steps could be heard coming through the house. Shadow came around the corner with a big smile on his face. “Hey AJ. How are you feeling?”

“Weak and useless. I’m still not used to living like an earth pony.”

“Will you ever be able to use magic again?” asked Screwball.

AJ nodded. “Apparently so. Twilight estimated I have about a week and a half to two weeks before my horn fully grows back. Then I should have my magic back.”

“It’s kind of rare, but a unicorn’s horn breaking off does happen,” Trotsworth said. “All it takes is a bit of time and you’ll be using magic again.” Screwball smiled.

“Uhh, AJ?” AJ looked over to Shadow who was walking closer to him. “I never did get to properly thank you.”

A warm smile grew on AJ’s face. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I did what I had to do.”

Shadow smiled. “You did so much for me there. You helped me stay strong. You provided a shoulder for me to cry on when I needed it.” He pulled AJ into a hug. “I hope this doesn’t sound too weird, but while we were there, I kinda thought of you as my big brother. Thank you.”

AJ chuckled a bit as he weakly returned the hug. “Well, I hope you know that I’d do it all again if I needed to.”

With a smile on his face, Trotsworth nudged Screwball. “Come on, let’s go set the table. Dinner should be ready about now.”

****************************************

((This is Dark Chocolate in case you guys forgot what he looked like.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Magic Poisoning

Chapter 33

“How long has he been out?” asked Apple Bloom as she poked AJ’s almost unmoving body. Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac had just come home from an all day Pinkie party and found AJ passed out on the couch. A book Twilight let him borrow from the library had fallen to the floor. Every so often one of his legs would twitch.

“I-I-I don’t know,” Knight said in a quiet voice. “H-he said he was in pain so I gave him some pain killers.”

“How many did ya give’im?” asked Big Mac.

“Umm, six? Maybe seven?” Knight lifted up the now empty bottle of pills.

“Ya gave’im th’ rest of th’ bottle?!” shouted Applejack. “Ya were supposed ta give’im one ta help take th’ pain away, not put’im in a coma!”

Knight began cowering away from Applejack; tears welling up in his eyes. “I-I-I-I’m sorry. I-I-I didn’t know. I j-j-just wanted to make him feel better.”

“Now Applejack, just calm down. Ya can’t expect th' kid ta know this stuff,” Big Mac said in a calm tone.

“He still needs ta be careful! What if somethin’ bad happens now?”

“I’s can has ponieses,” mumbled AJ in his sleep; a dopey grin on his face.

“Well, he’s fine,” deadpanned Apple Bloom. “Can we eat now? Big Mac didn’t let me eat that much at th’ party.”

“That’s cause everything was made of pure sugar,” Big Mac said.

“But it was a party. It wouldn’t be a party without sweets,” countered Apple Bloom.

“Not when fillies have school in th’ morning,” Applejack said with a stern look. “Now, after we eat dinner it’s off ta bed. Ya don’t want ta be sleepy fer class tomorrow.”

“Aww come on! Can’t Ah skip school just this once?”

Applejack just stared at her.

Apple Bloom crossed her legs and pouts. “It ain’t fair. You didn’t have ta go ta school.”

“Ah didn’t have a choice,” Applejack said as she started walking to the kitchen. “With mom an’ dad gone, somepony needed ta be here ta help on th’ farm. That doesn’t mean Ah didn’t continue mah studies. Big McIntosh homeschooled me whenever he could.”

“Eeyup.”

Apple Bloom grumbled to herself. “Fine, Ah’ll go.”

“Atta girl.” Big Mac patted Apple Bloom on the head before following Applejack into the kitchen.

Knight watched as Apple Bloom walked into the kitchen; grumbling the entire way. He turned back to AJ; a sad look on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. P-please don’t hate me.”

“Iy yam a silly pony,” mumbled AJ as he shifted on the couch.

Knight reached a hoof out and put it on AJ’s shoulder. “Hey Knight.” Knight squeaked, quickly pulling his hoof back and turning to where the voice came from. Big Mac smiled as he walked back into the living room. He placed a hoof on Knight’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Ah’m sure he’ll be just fine. Fer now, why don’t ya come an’ eat. It won’t do ya any good ta starve yerself.”

Knight slowly nodded. “O-okay.” He stood up and slowly followed Big Mac into the kitchen; taking one last look at AJ before crossing the threshold.

********************

“A-are you sure you’re okay?” Knight asked.

“Yea…maybe…not sure. Come ask me again when my head stops throbbing...and I can move,” grunted AJ. He had woken up the next day with a throbbing headache. His body felt like it was made of gelatin, and he could barley even lift his head without feeling dizzy. AJ groaned into the couch. “I didn’t know painkillers could do this to you.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault…I think…kinda hard to think straight right now.” Even with his horn back, he had only been able to use magic once or twice. It’s just been too hard to concentrate on anything other than how terrible he felt. “Maybe I should go see the doctor.”

“Are ya sure ya don’t just want us ta go get th’ doctor fer ya? Ya probably shouldn't be movin’ too much in yer state,” Applejack said as she walked into the living room. On her back sat a platter with a cup of juice and a bowl of oatmeal for AJ.

AJ weakly shook his head causing some dizziness to hit him. “N-no. I need to get out of the house. I haven’t been out of the house for the last two weeks, and there’s nothing but re-runs on TV right now.”

“What about that book Twilight let ya borrow?”

“I’m almost done with it. It may keep me preoccupied for maybe half a day, but what then?”

“Y-you could always sleep. M-Mr. Whooves said you needed your rest,” Knight said; scooting away from Applejack.

“I just slept all of yesterday. I think I can go one day without just sitting here. See, I’ll show you.” Fighting against his body, AJ forced himself to the edge of the couch. He eventually worked his limbs into an unsteady standing position. His legs were quivering under the stress of his weight. “S-s-see…n-no problem.” A sheepish smile grew on his face.

Applejack stared at AJ with a deadpan stare. “Mmmmhm. Alright then, try takin’ a step towards th’ door then.”

The smile dropped off AJ’s face. He looked down at his unsteady legs; trying to will them to walk forward. “Uhhhh, sure. Alright let’s do this.” As he began to take a step, his head started to throb and another dizzy spell swept over him; sending him to the floor. He lay there for a minute, waiting for the dizziness to go away. “O-o-okay. Maybe you should go get the doctor.”

Smiling, Applejack and Knight helped AJ back onto the couch. “Alright, Ah’ll be back as soon as Ah can. Ah just need ta take Apple Bloom ta school first. You just make sure he doesn't try gettin' up again,” Applejack said to Knight.

“O-okay.”

********************

“Thanks fer comin’ over Rares. With Big McIntosh gone till th' beginnin' of cider season, there’d be nopony ta watch’im.” Applejack was just getting ready to take Apple Bloom to school, and go sell some apples. With Big Mac down in Appleloosa until cider season starts, there would be nopony home to watch AJ while she was gone.

“Oh, no worries Applejack. Anything I can do to help,” Rarity said with a flick of her mane. “But if I may ask, what about Knight Wind? Hasn't he watched over AJ before?”

Applejack scratched the back of her head. “Well…”

“I-I-I’m ready,” came Knight’s voice from the stairs.

Rarity turned to see Knight standing at the foot of the stairs with AJ’s saddle bags on his back. Many of the knots had been combed from his mane and tail to make him look a bit more presentable. He had a slight blush on his face as Rarity looked him over. Rarity turned to Applejack in confusion. “In case yer wonderin’, Knighty here’s startin’ school t’day.”

“School? As in high school…right?” asked Rarity.

“No,” groaned AJ from the couch. “He’s going to school with Apple Bloom.”

Rarity looked at Applejack in disbelief. “But Applejack, isn't he a bit old for grade school?”

“He was never able ta finish grade school on account of…well…ya know,” Applejack said in a hushed voice.

“Oh, the poor dear. Does Cheerilee know about this?”

“Ah talked about it with’er yesterday. While it’s goin’ ta be a bit strange, she think’s it’s goin’ ta be a great opportunity fer th’ both of’em,” Applejack said with a smile.

“Come on Applejack! Scootaloo’s probably there already!” Apple Bloom said as she tried to push Applejack out the door.

“Heh, well Ah suppose we should go then.” Applejack leaned in and kissed Rarity. “Thanks again Rares.”

Rarity watched as Applejack left with Apple Bloom and Knight. She lightly bit her lip as her eyes found their way to Applejacks flanks; hoping the two of them would be able to have a night of fun together soon. A blush grew on her face when she heard a groan come from behind her. She turned to see AJ clutching his stomach. “Oh, uhh, what’s wrong darling?”

“Oh…nothing much. It only feels like my stomach’s imploding,” complained AJ sarcastically.

“Well, it must not be too bad if you can be sarcastic about it,” Rarity said in a stern tone. “I understand that you aren't feeling to well right now, but that is no excuse for poor manners.” AJ groaned and flopped down onto the couch. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong.”

AJ took a deep breath and waited for the pain to subside a bit before speaking. “Well, aside from the stomach pain, and the crushing headache, I’m getting constant dizzy spells and I’ve been feeling too nauseous to even attempt to eat anything today.”

Rarity put a hoof to her chin. After a moment of thinking, a grim look slowly crept onto her face. “Umm quick question. About how long did you say that you've been without your magic?”

AJ looked around the room as he though. “Uhh, about a month…I think.”

“Oh dear.”

AJ eyed Rarity as suspiciously as he could at the moment. “What?”

“Well, have you been able to use magic since you horn has grown back?”

“Once…maybe twice.”

Rarity sighed. “Twilight was afraid this would happen.”

AJ tried to be as calm as he could. “Rarity…is there something you’re not…” AJ suddenly cried out in pain as his horn flared to life.

Rarity gasped and ran over to the couch; placing a hoof on AJ’s back. “Shh, it’s okay. It will be over soon.” Rarity watched as an orb of magic formed at the tip of AJ’s horn before erupting in a fountain of sparks. The smell of ozone filled the air.

After a few seconds, the fountain died down, and the glow left AJ’s horn. AJ’s body fell limp as he took heavy breaths. He looked up at Rarity with weary eyes. “W-w-wha…”

“Sh sh sh. Let’s just get you upstairs and into bed.” Helping him off the couch and letting him lean on her, Rarity led AJ through the house and up the stairs.

“R-urp-Rarity?”

“What is it dar…” A look of horror grew on Rarity’s face as she looked at AJ. “Please tell me you’re not…” AJ’s cheeks puffed out slightly. “No, no, no, no, NO!”

********************

Zecora hummed a happy tune in her head as she added the next ingredient to her caldron. After hearing that the hospital in Ponyville was running low on certain medicines, she figured it would be a good idea to try her hoof at making some remedies to help them until they could get more supplies. “I almost have everything for my brew. Just one more ingredient and I will be through.”

She went to her shelves to grab the last herb she would need when, “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Zecora shook her head and sighed. “I will never solve the mystery, of why I can always hear the screams of Rarity.”

********************

“I-I’m sorry,” AJ weakly said as Rarity walked into his room. It had been an hour since AJ had hurled all over Rarity and he had been put to bed. She had been in the bathroom taking a shower ever since. In her state of shock, the word ‘unclean’ could be heard being shouted from the bathroom the entire time. Even as she walked into the room, she was twitching slightly.

“I-I-it’s alright. You…didn't mean to do it,” Rarity said; her left eye twitching the entire time. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down before walking closer to the bed. “Now that that’s over, let us both agree to never speak of this again.”

AJ slowly nodded as he watched Rarity sit down. “What happened to me?”

Rarity twitched one more time before answering. “It’s magic poisoning. It is important for a unicorn to regulate the amount of magic in their bodies. Too little and you will feel tired and exhausted. Too much, and…well...” Rarity just motioned to AJ.

He pulled the covers over his head and moaned. “Will I ever get a break?”

“Now, now, no need to make a fuss. It’s a common sickness for unicorns that don’t use their magic daily, or in your case, lose their horn. Just give it a few days. Your body will expel the excess magic and you’ll be fine.”

“There has to be something you can do to speed it up. I’m sick of being sick,” whined AJ as his head began to throb again.

Rarity’s face flushed. “W-well, there is something I could do, but it’s kind of...private.”

“What is it?”

Rarity bit her lip. “Well, you remember that day you went to the spa with me and Fluttershy?” AJ took a few seconds to think before nodding his head. “Do you remember that…special massage you got? The one where they…” Rarity was too uncomfortable with the conversation to continue.

AJ ran through the events of that day through his head. He woke up with debilitating back pain. With Big Mac’s help he made it to Rarity’s house. They went to the spa. He had his back cracked. He got a massage ending in a… AJ’s eyes slowly got wide as his already flushed cheeks reddened even further as the realization hit him. “O-oh…my.” He glanced around the room in embarrassment for a few seconds. “I, uh…I think I’ll just try to sleep it off.”

“Yes!” Rarity said loudly; happy this conversation was ending. “Sleep is good.”

The room was filled with awkward silence as the two unicorns refused to look at each other. “U-unless you wanted to…you know,” AJ said; desperate for relief from the agony he was in.

Rarity’s face heated up in anger this time. “Excuse me?! Are you insinuating that a lady, such as myself, would go around giving…horn jobs to any old pony?! How DARE you think something so vile! I am no whore!”

“B-b-but I wasn't…”

With a huff, Rarity stormed out of the room. “Unless you desperately need something, don’t bother calling for me!” She slammed the door.

“But…but...I wasn't…” AJ whined. “Applejack’s going to kill me.”

********************

“Oh Rodriguez, if I wasn't already in a relationship with such an amazing mare, I would make you mine,” swooned Rarity as she watched her soap’s in the living room of the Apple family home. She was mesmerized by the Adonis on screen until she heard the door start to open.

The first thing she saw was Knight rush into the house; sobbing uncontrollably. The hair on his face had been matted down by tears, and his previously combed mane and tail were now a mess. Much of his coat was covered in dried mud. He dove onto the couch next to Rarity. “Oh, what’s wrong darling?”

“Th-th-they were…they were…were mean to m…to mehehehehehehe,” he managed to say between sobs. He buried his head in a pillow on the couch and cried.

Confused at what was going on, Rarity just put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “Uhh…there, there?” She turned again when she heard Applejack and Apple Bloom walk through the door. She gave Applejack a look that said she didn't know what was going on.

“Apparently he was bullied at school t’day,” Applejack said with a sigh.

“Th-th-they made fun of me, and called me names, and, and I don’t want to go to school anymohohohohore!” wailed out Knight.

“Who did darling?” asked Rarity.

“Diamond Tiara an’ Silver Spoon. Who else?” Apple Bloom stated with an angry look on her face. “They harassed’im all day. They didn't stop until Scootaloo punched Tiara in th’ nose.”

********************

”Just look at him Silver Spoon. He’s old, like, as old as Miss Cheerilee,” Tiara said with a smug smile on her face. She knew from the instant she heard that Knight was here to be a student that he was going to be an easy target. After hearing that he didn't even have a cutie mark, she was going to have a field day with him.

It was recess now, and she and Silver Spoon had him cornered. “He must be even dumber than Snips and Snails if he’s still in grade school with us,” Silver Spoon said, building off of Tiara.

“And he doesn't even have a cutie mark. HAH! Looks like he’s going to be a loser blank flank forever.”

Knight slowly backed away from the two fillies in front of him as the verbal assault continued. Tears were flowing down his cheeks. He sniffled before speaking. “W-w-why are you being so mean to me?”

“You hear that Tiara? He wants to know why we’re doing this to him,” Spoon said with a giggle.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Tiara asked; her smug grin becoming even smugger. “It’s because you’re a big…stupid…loser…blank flank.” She emphasized each insult by taking big step closer to him every word.

Knight cringed and backed up even faster. Not paying attention to where he was going, he ended up tripping over a rock; landing in a puddle of mud left over from the rain the previous day. As he slowly got up, he heard the two fillies laughing. “Look, he’s covered in mud!” said Spoon.

“I guess we should add clumsy to the list,” Tiara said as she leered down at him. Knight stopped trying to get up and plopped back into the mud; burying his head in his hooves and crying. “Aww, is the baby crying?” Tiara began laughing again.

“Hey! Diamond Tiara!”

“Huh?” Tiara turned around just in time for an orange hoof to hit her square in the nose; sending her to the ground. She looked up in shock to see Scootaloo standing in front of her. Her posture told everypony that she was ready for more. Because of the pain in her snout, she slowly brought a hoof to her nose. When she pulled it away, she saw a bit of blood staining her hoof. Seeing the blood brought tears to her eyes.

“HAH! Look who’s crying now!” Scootaloo smugly said.

“SCOOTALOO!!!” came a voice from behind her.

Scootaloo’s posture changed completely. “Uh oh.” She turned around to see Cheerilee glaring at her.

“Scootaloo, why did you hit Diamond Tiara?” Cheerilee asked as she tapped her hoof.

“They were making fun of Knight. They made him cry. I was just sticking up for him,” Scootaloo said to try to defend herself.

“That is no reason for violence young lady!” She walked passed Scootaloo to check on Tiara who was trying and failing to hold back her tears. Silver Spoon was trying to comfort her. “Silver Spoon, could you help Diamond Tiara inside? Scootaloo and I have to have a little talk.”

“Of course Miss Cheerilee.” Silver Spoon obediently followed Cheerilee’s orders and helped Tiara into the school house.

Cheerilee turned to Scootaloo again. “As for you young lady, bully or not, it is not okay to hit another pony. I think two weeks of detention seems like enough punishment. You’re parents will also have to be informed.” She pointed to the school house; silently telling Scootaloo to get moving.

Scootaloo snorted before following Cheerilee’s orders. She turned her head as she passed Apple bloom and smiled. “Worth it.”

********************

“Ah’ve never seen Scootaloo so happy ta get detention before,” Apple Bloom said as she scratched the back of her head.

“While I agree that those little…fillies deserve some sort of punishment for the way they act, violence is never the answer,” Rarity said with a flick of her mane.

“She’s right. If Ah ever hear about ya punchin’ some filly in the face, ya won’t be able ta sit fer weeks,” Applejack said with a stern look.

“Ah know,” Apple Bloom said. She looked around the room. “Where’s AJ?”

“Yea. Ah expected’im ta be on th’ couch still,” said Applejack.

Rarity let out an angry, yet lady like, snort. “That vile mongrel is upstairs in his bed.”

‘Vile mongrel? Uh oh,’ thought Applejack. “What exactly happened while Ah was gone?”

“That pervert tried to get me to give him a horn job! Can you believe it?! A lady such as myself.”

Applejack facehoofed. She knew Rarity was probably just over reacting, but it probably wouldn't hurt to make sure he wasn't trying to make a move on her. “Ah’ll go have a talk with’im, but thanks fer watchin’ over’im while we were gone.”

Apple Bloom looked between Rarity and Applejack in confusion. “Applejack, what’s a horn job?”

“Ah’ll tell ya when yer older,” Applejack said with a blush.

“Well anyway, I’m always happy to help. Are we still on for tomorrow night?”

“Ya know it,” Applejack said with a bright smile.

Rarity smiled as she began walking for the door. “I’ll see you then. I really should be getting home. Sweetie’s coming tomorrow and I’ve barley put a dent in that war zone she calls a room.”

“I’ll see ya then sugarcube.” As Rarity passed, she gave Applejack a seductive smile; brushing her chin with her tail. Applejack shuddered at the feeling as she turned to watch Rarity leave. “Ah hate ta see’er go, but Ah love ta watch’er leave,” Applejack said in what she thought was a low enough voice that Apple Bloom wouldn’t be able to hear.

Apple Bloom just rolled her eyes before throwing her bags off. “Applejack, can Ah go ta th’ library now?”

Applejack turned to Apple Bloom and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have homework?”

“Yea, but we have all weekend ta do it,” protested Apple Bloom.

Applejack put a hoof up to her chin. “Hmm, Ah suppose yer right. Alright. ya can go, but tomorrow ya got ta finish yer homework before ya do anythin’ else.”

“Okay!” With a big smile, Apple Bloom ran out of the house.

With a sigh, Applejack turned to Knight who had just finished crying into the pillow. “Why don’t ya go get cleaned up. Ah’ll get dinner started in a bit.”

Knight wiped a tear out of his eye before sheepishly nodding. “O-okay.” He got up and walked up the stairs; leaving a muddy mark on the couch behind.

Applejack cursed to herself. That just meant one more thing for her to do today. Before going into the kitchen to start dinner, Applejack instead began heading upstairs. There was somepony she needed to talk to. She went to knock on the door when she heard pained grunts coming from the other side of the door. Opening the door, she saw AJ with a pained look on his face as a fountain of sparks erupted from his horn. It ended seconds later with him flopping back down on the bed. Applejack walked over to the panting pony. “Are you alright sugarcube?”

AJ cracked an eye open to look at Applejack. After a few seconds he turned away; the most shameful look he could muster at the moment on his face. ”...’m sorry Applejack. I didn't mean to offend her. I just…”

Applejack put a hoof to his lips to silence him. “It’s okay sugarcube. Why don’t ya just tell me what happened.

“Rarity said that if I got that special horn massage, I wouldn't be in as much pain.” A tear formed in his eye. “I just want some relief. I’m tired of this pain. I didn't mean to offend her Applejack, I swear.”

Applejack slowly nodded as AJ told his half of the story. Now that she understood both sides of the story, she was ready. “It’s okay. Ah’m not mad at you. Ah understand that ya ain't thinkin’ right at th’ moment, but you should know that Rarity can be a bit of a prude. Especially with somethin’ as…well…sexual as that. It ain't exactly something ya should go around askin’ ponies fer.” AJ weakly nodded. “Good, now that we got that out of th’ way, is there anythin’ Ah can get fer ya?”

“Something to drink would be nice. Also, a bucket.”

Applejack immediately understood why AJ wanted a bucket and chuckled. “Ah’ll be right back.”

********************

“Are you ready Caramel?” asked Twilight. She and Caramel were going on a date tonight. Caramel had suggested a simple dinner date followed by a movie. He wasn’t so sure about Twilight’s choice in movie, but she seemed really interested in that documentary about magic.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go,” he said with a smile.

Twilight smiled before turning her head to look upstairs. “I’ll be back late tonight Spike! Don’t stay up too late!”

“I wont!” shouted Spike.

“There’s money for a pizza in the kitchen!” Before Twilight could reach the door, somepony knocked. “Oh, I wonder who that could be?” Opening the door, Twilight saw a smiling Apple Bloom standing there. “Oh hello Apple Bloom.”

“Heya Twilight. Is Spike home?”

“Sure, he’s right up stairs.” Twilight turned towards the stairs again. “Spike! Apple Bloom’s here for you!”

A crash could be heard from upstairs. Seconds later, Spike could be heard running down the steps. When he got to the door, he had a bright smile on his face. “Oh, hey Apple Bloom.”

A smile and a blush grew on Apple Bloom’s face. “Hi Spike.” Trotting past Twilight, her and Spike embraced in a hug.

While Caramel smiled at them, Twilight raised an eyebrow. While she knew their relationship hadn’t gotten past first base, after what Spike had let slip a few weeks back she had a feeling it wouldn’t’ be too long before they went to the next step. “Spiiike?”

Spike looked up at Twilight and groaned. “Yea, yea. I know Twilight. Jeeze, you act like I’m not responsible or something.”

Twilight just stared at him with a blank look before rolling her eyes. “Well, we should get going. Our reservation is for 5:30.”

“Hey Twilight, can Ah ask ya somethin’ before ya go?” asked Apple Bloom.

Twilight looked back and smiled. “Of course Apple Bloom. What did you want to ask me?”

“What’s a horn job?”

Everypony else in the room looked at Apple Bloom in shock. Even Spike couldn’t believe Apple Bloom had just asked a question like that. Twilight’s face was crimson as she and Caramel looked at each other. “Uhh…well…” She knew she had to get out of here. Applejack would kill her if she told Apple Bloom something like this. “Uhhhh oh look at the time! Come on Caramel!” Dragging Caramel along in her magical hold, the two of them were on their way.

Apple Bloom raised her eyebrow as she looked at Spike. “What? Is a horn job somethin’ really bad or somethin’?”

Spike fumbled his claws around. “Well. A horn job is when…” He looked around to make sure nopony was listening in. “Come on. I know where Twilight keeps the books that can tell you.”

********************

“How’s is he?” asked Ditzy as Applejack let her through the door.

“Better than he was a couple days ago. He can keep food down now. Says he can’t wait ta get back ta work.” It had been a couple days since AJ contracted magic poisoning. Since then, the magic being forced from his body had gotten less violent as the excess magic left his body. “Go on up. Ah’m sure he’d love ta see ya right about now.”

With a smile, Ditzy trotted up the stairs. When she got to AJ’s bedroom, she knocked. “Come in!” When Ditzy opened the door, she saw AJ sitting up in bed reading a book. When he looked up a smile grew on his face. He hadn’t seen Ditzy in a week. She had been busy, and he’s been too sick to go see her. “Ditzy, you don’t know how happy I am to see you.”

Ditzy giggled. “I would have brought Dinky with me, but she’s going to be at mom and dad’s for a few days. She’s missed you quite a bit you know.”

“Well, sorry for getting sick,” AJ jokingly said.

Ditzy giggled. “At least you’re getting better. How about your ribs? Have they been giving you any trouble?”

AJ shook his head. “No actually. Which is good, cause I’m out of painkillers.”

Ditzy looked surprised. “How are you out of them already? Didn’t the doctor give you more than enough to last at least another couple days?”

AJ scratched the back of his head. “Well…there was a bit of a, uhh…mishap with Knight and the pills. Let’s just say if you take more than one a day, you won’t be getting up. Apparently Apple Bloom used me as a trampoline before she went to school that day. I just have to take their word for it.”

“Why can I see her doing that?”

“Cause she’s a…” AJ stopped and groaned in pain. A small ball of energy formed at the tip of his horn, spraying out a small fountain of sparks for a second before dying down.

“Are you okay?” Ditzy asked with a worried look.

“Y-yea.” AJ rubbed his head. “Couldn’t say the same thing a day or two ago. That would have floored me. Twilight said I should be better tomorrow. I hope she’s right. I have things I need to do yet.”

“Like what?” asked Ditzy.

“Well, Halloween is coming up and I still need to prepare.”

Ditzy looked at AJ with a confused look on her face. “What’s a Halloween?”

AJ looked at Ditzy with a shocked look. “You know. Dressing up in costumes. Going out getting candy. Having fun.”

Ditzy’s eyes got wide. “Oooooooh! You mean Nightmare Night! Me and Dinky already have our costumes.”

“Well whatever you call it, I need to get started on it. You know any good metal workers in Ponyville?”

“Ummmm.” Ditzy put a hoof to her chin as she thought. “Caramel’s pretty good I think. He’s fixed my horseshoes before. Did a really good job too. Why?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

“Mmhm. So, what’s that you’re reading anyway?” asked Ditzy.

“Oh, this?” AJ lifted the book up he was reading. “It’s book 2 in ‘The Solaris Chronicles.’ Twilight got me hooked when she let me borrow book 1 back when I first got sick. I’m almost at the end. I got one more chapter to go. One book left after this one. Can’t forget to let Knight read it before I return it to the library though.”

“Knight can read?”

“Kid read through the first book in under a day. I think he liked it more than I did.”

Ditzy just gawked at AJ. “He’s struggling in grade school, but yet he can read at a college level?” AJ just shrugged. “I don’t even.”

“You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to even get him to continue going to school after he got bullied on his first day.”

“He got bullied? What happened?”

“Well, I’ll try to explain it as best as I can.”

********************

“So, you think you’ll be able to do it?” As soon as he started feeling good enough to get around, AJ began preparation on his Nightmare Night costume. Going off of what Ditzy said, AJ went to Caramel.

Caramel looked over the plans AJ laid out in front of him. “I-I-I don’t know. I’ve only ever worked on horseshoes and farm tools. I’ve never worked on anything like this.”

“Hey, you never know if you’ll be able to do it if you don’t try. Besides…” Using his magic, AJ lifted up and inspected some of Caramel’s metal working tools. “I’d help you in any way that I could. I’m sure having a unicorn help you with this would make it easier.”

Caramel put a hoof to his chin and thought for awhile. He looked around at all of his tools, and equipment. “Well…I guess I could try. I would need you to…”

“U-umm…”

AJ and Caramel turned to see Knight standing at the door. “Oh, hey Knight. What’s up?”

Knight shifted around uncomfortably. Without saying a word, he opened the flap to one of his bags, pulling out book 2 of ‘The Solaris Chronicles.’ “I-I’m finished reading it.”

“Didn’t he just start reading it last night?” asked Caramel.

AJ nodded. “Yea, but he was up all night reading it. I don’t even know if he got any sleep.” AJ remembered back to the previous night. He was woken up multiple times as Knight reacted to things that were happening in the book. “Alright, thanks Knight. I’ll take this to Twilight once I’m done here.”

Knight nodded. “Okay.” Smiling, AJ turned back to Caramel so the two of them could talk some more. “U-umm…”

AJ turned back again. “Oh, did you want something else?”

“Umm, c-could I go with you on N-nightmare Night?”

AJ was surprised. After explaining to Knight what Nightmare Night was, he was terrified. Even after explaining to him that all the monsters were just ponies in costumes, Knight seemed content with just hiding under his bed. “Sure. Of course you can, but what made you change your mind?”

“I-I want to…dress up.”

AJ began to smile again. “Well alright. Glad your getting into the spirit of things. Alright then. you can come with me when I go to Twilight’s. We’ll pick some stuff up for your costume.”

Knight began to smile. “Okay.”

********************

“Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!” called out all the foals as Twilight opened the door. Twilight smiled as she levitated candy into the bags of the children before they could run off.

“This is always such a fun holiday, isn’t it Spike?” She turned around to see Spike putting on the finishing touches to his costume. A pair of torn, purple pants.

“You bet Twilight! Alright so tell me, is my costume awesome, or is it super awesome?”

Twilight giggled as she brought a hoof up to her mouth. Spike had used green paint to paint all of his scales green, and purple paint to paint his head fins purple. “Well, I’d imagine that’s what The Hulk would look like. If he was a baby dragon that is.”

Spike began to pout. “Yea, well at least mine’s homemade. I didn’t go to the store to buy mine.”

“I’m just joking Spike. Besides, do you really think I would have been able to make an Iron Mare costume with what we have in the library?”

Spike folded his arms. “I guess not.”

Another Knock came at the door. “Oh, more trick-or-treaters. Twilight opened the door with a smile; candy bowl floating next to her. The smile on her face grew when she saw who it was. “Oh, hello Ditzy.” Twilight blinked a couple times as she got a better look at Ditzy. “Are you a basket of muffins?”

Ditzy nodded her head with a smile. “AJ gave me the idea. I’m pretty sure it was just a joke, but I can’t wait to see his face when he sees me.”

Twilight giggled. A costume like that definitely fit Ditzy. Everypony in Ponyville knew of Ditzy’s love of muffins, so seeing her dressed as an oversized basket of giant muffins wasn’t much of a surprise. Twilight looked around. “Is Dinky with Sparkler right now? I don’t see her anywhere.”

A grin grew on Ditzy’s face. “You can’t find Dinky? Oh, she was just here a minute ago. Where oh where is my little muffin?”

As if on cue, one of the muffins from Ditzy’s costume began to move. Twilight looked at it in confusion. Suddenly, the muffin leapt from Ditzy’s back and straight at Twilight. “RAAAAWR!!!”

“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” cried Twilight as the muffin tackled her to the ground. As soon as she got her bearing again, she looked down to see a pale purple face, framed by muffin, looking at her with a big smile. “D-dinky?!”

“Did I scare you?!” Dinky asked with excitement.

“N-no. I wasn’t scared,” Twilight said in an unconvincing voice.

“You were totally scared,” Spike said as he laughed at Twilight.

Twilight turned to angrily glare at Spike. Dinky, a triumphant smile on her face, bounced off of Twilight. With a giggle, Ditzy bent down so Dinky could climb back into the basket. Twilight grumbled to herself as she got back up. Brushing the dust off her costume, she looked back at Ditzy. “So, what brings you to the library?”

“AJ told us to meet him here.” Ditzy put a hoof to her chin. “I wonder what his costume is. He’s been awfully secretive about it.”

Twilight giggled. “Well, he and Knight are still upstairs getting dressed. If you’d like, you can come in and…”

Suddenly the library went dark. Confused by what was going on, Twilight turned to look inside.

Ditzy looked over Twilight’s shoulder. She had no idea what was going on.

“I am the blade that cuts through the darkness,” came a gruff voice from the darkness. “I am the head of the spear that drives into the hearts of evil. I have single-hoofedly slain a hydra that threatened my lord’s ponies. Together with my squire, we complete the tasks given to us by Lord Solaris. My goal…to drive all evil from this land, and to protect my lord at any cost! I am…” Suddenly the room became engulfed in flames. In the center of the flames stood a red pegasus pony. His crimson armor was reflecting the flames. A slightly brighter trim highlighted the edges of the individual plates; highlighting the joints and making him look more like a moving battlefield than a pony. An elegant cape hung off of the armor; blowing in a false wind. Many jointed plates covered his wings. He wore heavy looking, armored boots on all four hooves. Red eyes could be seen through the holes in the helmet’s visor. A 26 inch broadsword hung from his side. He had a yellow goatee and an orange and yellow, flame-like tail. The parts of his body that could be seen were covered in scars. With a grin, he took a proud stance. “Firebrand the Crusader!”

Ditzy and Dinky looked on in amazement. The sight in front of them blew them away. “Whoooooooa,” said Dinky.

While Ditzy and Dinky were amazed at the sight in front of them, Twilight looked on in horror. “Did you just set fire to my library?!”

Firebrand laughed as the flames died down. “Oh just calm down Twilight. It was just magic. Nothing was burned.” He looked around the room. Everything around him was lightly singed. “Much.”

Ditzy blinked a few times. She knew that voice. “AJ?!” The pony smiled brightly at her. “How in the…”

“Magic,” AJ said with a big smile. “Well, and a bit of hair dye. Caramel made the armor and the sword. Rarity made the cape and helped with the dye. Everything else was thanks to Twilight.” He looked at his wings and flapped them a bit. “I’d say she did a damn good job.”

“But…but…you have wings now, and no horn. How…”

“As I said...magic. Twilight just hid my horn and gave me a pair of wings. These babies are only for show though. Trust me, I tried.” He rubbed his muzzle. “And the eyes…” An icy blue aura surrounded the helmet’s visor and lifted it. A red contact lens floated away from his eye; revealing the blue beneath it.

“You better not have ruined anything in here,” Twilight said as she looked around the room.

AJ facehoofed. “I told you everything’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Alright Twilight, I’m ready to go get some free candy,” Spike said with a grin as he came out of the kitchen.

“Yaaay! Candy!” squealed Dinky as she jumped up and down on her mom’s back.

“Now hold on there,” AJ said as he put the contact back in. “Knight’s still getting dressed. We have to wait for…” The sound of hooves could be heard slowly coming down the stairs. “Ah, here he comes.”

Everypony went silent as Knight finished descending the stairs. The first thing of note was that, like AJ’s, his coat had been dyed. His coat had been dyed a rose red color. His mane and tail had both been cleaned, combed down, and dyed silver. His mane hung over his shoulder being held together by a light bluish silver bow. With the help of Twilight’s magic, he was missing his wings, but now had a horn. He wore an elegant light bluish silver blouse with short sleeves ending in flared frills, and crimson buttons. Covering his flank was a skirt of the same color. The hem of the skirt was crimson in color. On his hooves were crystal dress shoes. Around his neck was a silver helix necklace with a ruby on it. Like AJ, he too had colored contacts in. Only his were pink in color. A quiver full of fake arrows hung at his side while a bow sat slung around his leg. Knight stood there looking at everypony with a shy smile and a blush on his face. Knight was already pretty scrawny and feminine. Now, the only thing differentiating him from a mare at first glance was his angular muzzle.

“Wow, the end product turned out a lot better than I had expected,” AJ said with a smile.

“D-do you like it?” Knight asked in a timid voice.

As AJ nodded, Ditzy couldn’t help but wonder something. “Uhhh, why is he dressed like a mare?”

The smile fell from Knight’s face. “I-is there something wrong with my costume?”

AJ quickly shook his head. “No, nothing’s wrong with your costume! It looks great!” AJ grabbed Ditzy with his magic. “Ditzy and I have to go over here and…talk.” With a sheepish smile AJ took Ditzy around the corner. Still holding her in the air, AJ looked at her. “What are you doing?!”

“What? I just asked why he was dressed as a mare,” Ditzy said. “And can you put me back on the ground please?”

AJ groaned; finally placing her back on ground level. “Look, it took enough courage for him to even join us tonight. I don’t want him to change his mind because he no longer likes his costume.”

“Okay, fine. I won’t question his cross-dressing ways, but can you at least explain to me why he’s dressed like that?”

AJ sighed and nodded. “You remember when I said he was reading The Solaris Chronicles after I was done with the books?” Ditzy nodded. “Well, he’s also dressed as one of the characters. Silver Rose, Firebrand’s squire.”

“And this Silver Rose character is a…”

“Teenage filly, yes. Silver Rose is his favorite character. She’s everything he wants to be. Kind hearted, gentle, strong willed. She refuses to let anypony tell her what she can and can’t do. He wishes he was more like her. If he was, maybe his life wouldn’t have been so hard. When he told me who he wanted to dress as…well…I questioned him on it. Turns out he doesn’t know that things like skirts are meant for fillies and mares.”

“I think he looks really pretty!” squeaked Dinky.

“Yes he does. Look, I know how he’s dressed is a bit…strange, but this is his first Nightmare Night. I just want him to have fun and enjoy himself.”

Ditzy blinked a few times before smiling. “Okay, I understand.”

“I hope you two are almost done back here. Spike and Knight left you guys behind.”

AJ and Ditzy turned to look at Twilight. Looking past her they could see Spike leading Knight down the street. Dinky gasped. “Come on mommy! If we don’t hurry they’ll get all the candy!” Dinky leapt off her mother’s back, her candy bag in her mouth, and took off after Spike and Knight.

AJ looked to Ditzy and snickered. “I guess we should go too. Don’t want them getting into too much trouble without us.”

********************

“Where th’ hay is Rainbow? She was supposed ta meet us here half an hour ago,” grumbled Applejack.

“She’s probably off harassing other ponies like she does every year,” said Rarity. “When will that pony ever grow u-AAAAAAHHHHH!!!” A bold of lightning suddenly struck the ground directly in front of Rarity and Applejack.

As the two of them clung to each other for protection, they heard laughter coming from above them. “Do storm clouds usually have rainbow tails?” asked Applejack.

A look of anger quickly grew on Rarity’s face. “Rainbow Dash! Get down here this instant!”

Still cackling at her prank, Rainbow flew down and landed in front of the two mares. “Oh man, that was great! You two should have seen the looks on your faces!”

“Ah swear, one of these day’s Ah’m goin’ ta get ya back mahself,” growled Applejack.

“Oh lighten up you two. I’m just getting into character. I am Thor after all,” Rainbow said as she grabbed the fake hammer at her side.

“Thor or not, somepony could have been hurt,” scolded Rarity.

“Oh come on, I’m not that stupid. I know to be careful when using lightning.” A grin grew on Rainbow’s face. “And besides. Thor could totally beat Captain Equestria and Black Widow in a two on one fight.”

Applejack and Rarity, who were dressed as Captain Equestria and Black Widow respectively, glared at Rainbow. “Oh yea, well Ah think mah shield has somethin’ ta say ‘bout that.”

“Bring it on!”

“Wow, you two are really getting into character.”

Applejack and Rainbow turned and saw Twilight and Ditzy walking towards them. “Well alright, we got our Iron Mare now,” Applejack said with a smile. “Wait, Ah thought AJ would have been with ya.”

“He’s just taking the kids to a few more houses. He’ll be here soon,” Ditzy said with a smile.

Rainbow Smiled. “Alright, now all we need it Pinkie and Fluttershy and everything will come together.” Rainbow reached into her costume and pulled out a piece of candy. Unwrapping it, she began lifting it to her mouth. Suddenly, a tongue shot out from nowhere and wrapped around the piece of butterscotch. “W-what?!”

Everypony followed the tongue as it retracted. They followed it until it reached a very familiar face. Pinkie crunched down on the butterscotch with a big smile on her face. “Mmmmmm! This is good!”

Everypony stared at Pinkie as she chewed on the candy. Her body was covered in a tight, green costume with a wide head, and big, googly eyes on top. Pinkie was dressed as a frog. Dash began to fume. “Pinkie, what the hay?! You were supposed to dress as Hawkeye! And that was my butterscotch!”

“Well, I was going to dress as Hawkeye, but then I thought, hey, frogs are funny! They have really long tongues and can eat things from a super duper long ways away! So now I’m a frog!”

Rainbow groaned. “Now our costumes won’t match. We were supposed to be The Avengers, not The Frogvengers.”

“So, you having fun tonight?” Everypony turned to see AJ walking down the path towards them. Dinky was sitting on his back with her bag of candy behind her. Spike was to his right with a big pile of candy in his arms.

“Mmhm!” answered Knight; a bright smile on his face. He was carrying his bag of candy in his mouth. “Mnhf fmfnh fm fhfm fnmh.”

AJ chuckled as he turned to the ponies in front of them. “Hey, looks like most of us are here.” His eyes fell on Pinkie. “Are you a frog?”

Pinkie just smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

Rainbow, who just moments before was busy grumbling to herself because of Pinkie, was now eyeing up Knight. In an instant her frustrations had vanished and were replaced with laughter. Knight just cocked his head in confusion. “Is…is he wearing a…and a…” Tears began to form in her eyes as she tried to hold her laughter back.

Suddenly a clod of mud struck Rainbow in the head. As the mud slowly slid down her body, she looked over to where the mud came from. AJ was trying to look as innocent as possible. “What the hell?! Why did you just throw mud at me?!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Must have been some passing pranksters. Darn those pranksters! DARN THEM!!!”

Rainbow didn’t buy it one bit. “If you didn’t have Dinky on your back right now…”

“A-are we interrupting something? I’m sorry.”

Looking to where the timid voice came from, everypony saw Fluttershy, and an unamused Big Mac walking up to them. Going along with the Avengers theme, Fluttershy was dressed as Nick Flurry. Even with his relationship with Fluttershy, AJ had to admit that she looked pretty cute with that eye patch.

But that’s not what caught his attention. It was the big red stallion behind her that had his attention. “Oh my god no way!” AJ couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Big Mac walk up to the group dressed in a French maid uniform. Almost immediately, AJ lost it. He fell to the ground and laughed.

Big Mac let out an angry snort before deciding the best idea would be to just ignore him.

Everypony else just stared at him in confusion. “If I may ask, why are you dressed as such?” asked Rarity.

“Ah lost a bet.” The venom could be heard in his voice.

********************

”Alright. If I win, I get to chose your Nightmare Night costume. If you win, I do your chores for a week. Deal?” AJ asked as he propped his leg up on the box.

Big Mac chuckled. “Are ya sure ‘bout this?”

“Oh yea, I’m sure I can beat you.”

“Alright.” Big Mac propped his leg up and interlocked it with AJ’s. “Ah feel Ah should warn ya. Ah ain’t ever lost a hoof wrassle.”

“Well, prepare to lose big guy. On the count of three. One…two…THREE!!!” On three, AJ began pushing against Big Mac’s hoof. To say it was a futile effort was an understatement.

With a chuckle, Big Mac slowly began to put on the pressure.

AJ watched as his hoof slowly moved towards the table. ‘Shit! Why did I agree to do this?! I can’t beat this goliath at something like this! And if I can’t beat him fairly…’ AJ lifted his free hoof and pointed behind Big Mac. “Sweet Celestia Apple Bloom! Are you pregnant?!”

“WHAT?!?!?!” Big Mac’s face turned pale as the strength left his leg. He whipped his head around to see that nopony was there. That’s when he heard a thud. He turned back to see his hoof touching the table, and AJ with a big grin on his face.

“I guess I win big guy.”

“Hey, that wasn’t fair!”

AJ stood up and began trotting out of the room. “Street rules. Oh, I am going to have fun with this.”

********************

Big Mac continued to grumble to himself. AJ was just recovering. He knew Big Mac would get revenge on him at some point, but it would all be worth it. “If yer done laughin’ at me, Ah’d like ta get this night over with.”

"I didn't think you'd actually do it," AJ said as he wiped a tear from his eye. “Oh, I wish I had a camera right about…”

AJ was interrupted as three blurs blew past him; sending him spinning. He fell to the ground in a heap; his eyes were spinning. “Whaa?”

“Blossom!”

“Bubbles!”

“Don’t forget Buttercup!”

“We are, the Powerpuff Fillies!” called out the CMC. Apple Bloom was dressed in pink, Sweetie was dressed in blue, and Scootaloo was dressed in green.

“The Powerpuff fill…” AJ chuckled to himself. “You know, I thought I was done being surprised by this world.”

Apple Bloom ran up to AJ. “Come on! We have some idea’s on how ta get our cutie marks tonight!”

“Yea! We’re going to build a haunted house that’s going to scare everypony!” added Sweetie Belle.

“I can’t believe we never tried something like this. If we succeed, you two will finally get your cutie marks!” Scootaloo said in excitement.

“Tonight? Don’t you three just want to have fun tonight?”

“We can have fun any old day,” Scootaloo said. “Tonight’s the perfect night for crusading!”

“Yea, so come on!” Apple Bloom got behind AJ and began pushing him.

AJ chuckled again before turning to the rest of the group. “Well, looks like my crusading duties are calling. I’ll see you guys later.” With that, AJ followed the three fillies to wherever they would drag him.

****************************************

((It’s finally finished :D

For those of you who didn’t see the blog post, here’s AJ’s costume

And Knight’s

I’d like to thank Shadow Breeze for giving me the idea for Ditzy, and Dinky’s costumes, and Cheese Bread Eddy for the Avenger’s idea.

Hydkore wanted me to throw this in. It’s a little something he thought up.

I’m the A to the J, and that's about it. And guess who’s got the mare with derpy eyes? I'm AJlicious

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Ditzy's Heated Week

Chapter 34

“So, how was your Nightmare Night crusading?” asked Ditzy as she and AJ walked down the street.

“Not too bad. With Apple Bloom’s help, we were able to get the thing built pretty quickly, all things considered.” AJ let out a long sigh. “If only everypony would have been able to actually enjoy it.”

Ditzy looked at him with confusion on her features. “Why? Did you finish it too late?”

“Nnnno, that’s not it…”

********************

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up at their masterpiece with pride. Thanks to Apple Bloom’s natural ability, they were able to build their haunted house in record time. “Well what do you girls think? Are we ready for business, or are we ready for business?” AJ looked down at the three fillies as he waited for an answer.

“You bet!” said Scootaloo as she pumped her hoof. “This is going to be sooo awesome!”

Apple Bloom squinted at the structure for a second before pride filled her features. “Yup, we’re ready ta scare everypony.”

“So what are we all going to do?” asked Sweetie Belle.

AJ put a hoof up to his chin. “Well, Apple Bloom and I need to be inside. She knows the ins and outs of this thing better than the rest of us, and I need to control the monsters. Sweetie, why don’t you stay here and usher ponies in while Scootaloo goes and…”

“EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!!”

All four members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders freaked out as screams filled the air. AJ, who was the first to recover, brandished the broad sword at his side with his magic and turned to see a domed, golden robot flying in front of him. Coming out of a hole near the top looked to be a camera of some kind on the end of a metal pole. A little under that was what looked like a plunger and a whisk sticking out the front of its body. Beneath that, the entire body seemed to widen a bit and was covered in bumps.

AJ shakily held the sword out in front of him as the rest of the CMC hid behind him. “W-w-what are you?”

Everything was silent for a few seconds. “EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!! EX-TER-MIN…”

“That’s quite enough Screwball. You don’t want to give him a heart attack. I think he’s been in the hospital enough for one year.”

AJ looked to the side to see Trotsworth and Shadow walking towards them. Trotsworth was wearing, what appeared to be, an old timey police box. Shadow’s entire body had been dyed a stone like color. On his head sat a wreath of white flowers, and he was wearing a simple robe making him look like an angel made out of stone or something. He then looked back at the flying robot in front of him. “S-screwball?!”

A hatch on top of the robot opened up and a very familiar pair of slightly swirly eyes peaked out. A second later, her entire head popped out; a giant smile on her face. she had her propeller beanie on and it was spinning which explained how the ‘robot’ was flying. She waved a hoof. “HI!”

AJ breathed a sigh of relief as he re-sheathed the blade. “Fucking hell. Scared the shit out of me,” he said under his breath. “So, what are the three of you up too? You know, besides scaring everypony?”

“We were just going around looking at all the attractions,” said Shadow.

“That’s when we noticed this,” Trotsworth said as he motioned to the haunted house.

Apple Bloom’s eyes got wide. “Do y’all wanna be th’ first ponies through it?!”

“We’d love to.”

“Alright!” cheered Apple Bloom. She grabbed AJ and dragged him towards the building. “C’mon! We have ta get ready ta…”

Suddenly the haunted house exploded. Shards of wood went flying everywhere. Thinking fast, AJ grabbed Apple Bloom and hugged her to his body; turning away so she wouldn’t get hurt by the shrapnel. While his armor took the brunt of the damage, AJ ended up with a few cuts here and there. One even embedded itself into his right foreleg between the armor and boot.

After things calmed down a bit, AJ risked looking around. Trotsworth used his costume to protect Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo by using himself as a shield. He was now outside of his costume; looking them over for any injuries. Screwball poked her head back out of her costume as Shadow peered around it.

He was afraid to, but he knew he had to see what had happened to their baby. It was worse than he thought. What used to be a haunted house was now a pile of burnt wood and shrapnel. He looked down when he heard a whimper. Apple Bloom was just staring at the pile of wood in disbelief. All that hard work…for nothing.

“THAT…WAS…AWESOME!!!”

Everypony looked beyond the rubble and saw a chocolate brown stallion standing there with a bright smile on his face. DC had his mane combed into a mullet and wore a baseball cap. “I, Michael Neigh, have just shot another explosion for my next film, ‘Explosion, the movie!’”

“That explosion was amazing Darky!” came a familiar voice. Pinkie could be seen hoping up to him where she planted a big kiss on his cheek. She looked over and saw everypony sitting there. “Hi everypony!”

“Hey, are you guys building something?” asked DC as he looked at the rubble in front of them. “You should hurry, Nightmare Night won’t last forever.” He turned to Pinkie. “Let’s go babe! I have more explosions to shoot!”

********************

“We caught up with them later and told them what happened. They did apologize. Didn’t know they actually hit something with that rocket.” AJ put a hoof to his chin. “I still have no idea where DC got those explosives.”

“I guess that explains your leg and the limping,” Ditzy said as she pointed to AJ’s leg.

AJ chuckled. “Trotsworth is thinking of giving me my own room in the hospital. Maybe some kind of punch card system. Pay for ten hospital visits get the eleventh free. Says I’d fill mine up in no time.” As he looked back at Ditzy he saw the sad look on her face. She wasn’t finding his constant injuries as funny as he was. He laid his ears back as shame began washing over him. “Sorry.”

“Your magnetism towards injuries is not something to joke about you know.”

AJ sighed. “I know. Guess it’s just my way of coping with everything. Don’t have time to be sad or angry if I’m to busy laughing. That’s probably how I made it through the last nine years of my life without ending everything.”

Ditzy stopped in front of AJ; an angry look on her face. “And look at all the trouble it’s caused you! You keep everything pent up inside, and look what happens! If you’re not mind numbingly depressed, you get violent towards other ponies! You blew up at Pinkie Pie! You might have physically scarred Morning Glory with that hot chocolate! And while I can’t say the thought of hurting him more doesn’t’ fill me with a warm, fuzzy feeling, it’s still wrong!”

AJ stared at Ditzy with wide eyed and slack jawed. “Ditzy…”

“No! I’m tired of you keeping your feelings pent up like that! It stops now! Do you understand me?!”

“B-but…”

“NO BUTS!!!” A small crowd was beginning to gather, but Ditzy didn’t care. “Either you start sharing your feelings with me, and let me help you through them, or we’re through!”

AJ nodded meekly. “O-okay. Crystal clear. I understand perfectly. I’ll start sharing my feelings with you.”

“Great!” Ditzy said with a bright smile on her face. “Now come on. Dinky get’s out of school soon and I want to be there when she does.” She turned and happily trotted towards the school.

AJ just sat there in place; too afraid to move. Eventually Caramel came from the crowd. “Uhh, you okay?”

“Caramel...do you know what just happened? Cause I sure as hell don’t.”

Caramel shook his head. “I have no idea, but you may want to hurry up. Unless you want your butt chewed out again that is.”

“Y-yea, that’s probably a good idea. I’ll talk to you later.” Favoring his right foreleg, AJ got up and trotted off after Ditzy.

********************

Ditzy restlessly squirmed around in her bed. The moment AJ had left their house the previous night she began to feel very antsy and lonely. Sleep didn’t come very easily for the bluish gray mare that night. The little sleep she did get was plagued with…strange dreams. The strangest part was that every single one had two things in common. AJ was always there, and she was always pregnant. Every dream had her at a different stage of pregnancy, but she was still pregnant. The only one she could fully remember all the details about was one where she was a queen. If she had to guess, she was about eight months into a pregnancy. As she sat on her throne, a literal harem of about 100 AJ’s sat in front of her; ready to do anything she asked of them.

As she lay in bed, she thought what it could have meant. ‘It’s strange. Yesterday I just blew up at AJ when I wasn’t really even mad. I felt so lonely after he left. Now these dreams.’ “Ooooooohhh…what’s wrong with me?”

Ditzy gasped when she heard mumbling coming from the next room over. Did she just wake somepony up? She stayed silent and listened in. “I love you too Prince Sea Foam. I would gladly marry you and live in your underwater bubble castle.”

Ditzy let out a sigh of relief before giggling to herself. She was well aware of Dinky’s crush on Prince Sea Foam, and knew that she would grow out of it soon enough. ‘Come on, what kind of foal would actually grow up thinking they could actually marry a cartoon character? They’re not even real. And come on. Hippocampia? What kind of name is that for a world?’ She giggled again before realizing that she was getting off topic. ‘Come on Ditzy, focus! You have to think! What is wrong with me?’

She put a hoof to her chin. ‘Now that I think about it, this does feel familiar. Yea, this is definitely familiar. Restless sleep filled with dreams of being pregnant, feeling antsy, wishing I had the company of…a…stallion…’ Ditzy’s eyes got wider and wider as the realization dawned on her.

********************

Unlike Ditzy, Carrot was having a very peaceful rest. She was able to get to bed very easily. Her dreams were all filled with happy things. Very happy things. “Oh Written Script. Why didn’t you just tell me that you wanted to marry me you silly pony you. I’d love to have your foals you sexy stallion you.” A light blush grew on Carrot’s face as the dream continued. “Oh my, it’s so beautiful. Just lay back and let me take care of Little Script for…”

“CARROT!!! WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY HERE!!!” Ditzy blew through the door to Carrot’s room, waking her up in the process.

“Ditzy…I am going to open my eyes now. If you are still here, you better learn to get around in a full body cast.”

“Carrot please! This is serious!”

“What...in Celestia’s name…is so important that you need to wake me up at…” She looked over to the digital clock on her dresser. “2:30 in the morning?”

Ditzy looked around the room. She then looked at the door to make sure Dinky wasn’t listening in. “Carrot!” she whispered. “I think I’m going into heat!”

Carrot just stared at the pegasus with a sleepy glare. “And?”

“This is serious!”

Carrot slowly brought a hoof to her forehead in frustration. “Ditzy, this happens to us every…single…year. Just be happy you always seem to get yours over with early.”

“But it’s different this year,” whined Ditzy.

“Why? Because AJ?” Ditzy sheepishly nodded. “Shouldn’t that be, oh I don’t know, a good thing? Why don’t you just call him over and have him rut your brains out?”

Ditzy’s eyes widened even more than Carrot thought was possible. “NO!!!” Ditzy cringed and turned to the door. She hoped to Celestia she didn’t just wake Dinky. After she was sure her little muffin was still asleep, she turned back to Carrot. “I-I-I can’t do that. What if I get pregnant? I don’t…I just don’t know if I’m ready for another foal just yet.”

“Then go to the store and get some condoms or something. You’re making a much bigger deal out of this than is necessary.”

Ditzy thought for a moment before shaking her head. “N-no. It’s too risky.”

“Then go clop for awhile, or whatever it is you do to calm yourself down during this time.”

Ditzy shook her head. “I can’t. What would Dinky think if she heard me?" Ditzy swallowed the lump in her throat. "I guess I’ll just have to try and control my urges for the next week. Ohh, it’s going to be soooo hard avoiding AJ for a while.”

“Good, great, you have it all figured out now. Can I go back to bed?”

A slight blush came to Ditzy’s face. “Of course. Sorry for waking you Carrot. I just…needed somepony to talk to.”

Carrot sighed. “And you know I’m always here for you Ditzy. Just…try to have your ‘crises’ at a more Carrot friendly time.”

Ditzy giggled. “I’ll try. Night Carrot.”

Carrot lay her head on her pillow once again. “Yea…night.” After hearing Ditzy’s door close, she let herself got caught up in her own thoughts. “Oh Written Script, why must you elude me so?”

********************

AJ let out an audible sigh as he lay on his bed. At the moment, he was supposed to be helping knight with his math homework, but he was too busy thinking of other things to pay any attention. It took him a few seconds to register that Knight was asking him a question. “U-um AJ? Are you okay?”

AJ blinked a few times before turning to Knight. “What’s up?”

“Did I do this right?” Knight held out his math assignment. Seems like they were learning long division in school now.

“Uhhh, probably?”

Knight turned the page back around and stared at it. His cheeks puffed out in anger. “Why does math have to be so stupid and hard?”

“Hmm. Looks like ya divided when ya should’ve subtracted right there.” A big hoof came over Knight’s shoulder and pointed to the mistake he had made.

Knight looked up in confusion to see Big Mac gently smiling down at him. He looked back at the page in his hooves; squinting as he looked at where Big Mac was pointing before pouting. “Oohhh. I’ll never get this stuff. It’s just too hard.”

Big Mac chuckled. “All ya need ta do is work at it. It’ll come ta ya.” That was the exact same thing Applejack would always say when she got frustrated with her studies. He always found someway to help her through her problems. “How about Ah work on it with ya since AJ here obviously ain’t got his heart in it t’day? Just let me have a quick talk with’im first.”

“Okay.” Knight took the homework back to the writing desk and sat down.

With a smile, Big Mac took the spot next to AJ’s bed that Knight was just occupying. “Now, Applejack noticed that ya seem ta be in a bit of a funk t’day. What’s wrong?”

AJ sighed again. “I think Ditzy’s mad at me or something.”

“What makes ya think that?”

“Cause she’s been avoiding me.” Big Mac looked on in confusion. “Every time we’ve seen each other around town she quickly flies off. She doesn’t even give me a chance to say hi.”

Big Mac put a hoof to his chin. “How long has this been goin’ on?”

“About four days. I did manage to actually talk to her today when I was out before.”

Big Mac smiled. “Well that’s good, right?”

AJ shook his head. “It…didn’t end very well.”

“How…'not very well’ are we talkin’ ‘bout here?"

“Well…”

********************

A frown adorned AJ’s face as he sat on the park bench. He had left for a walk after eating a light breakfast to clear his head. After the past few days, he couldn’t get it out of his head that he had done something to make Ditzy mad at him. As he walked around town, he thought of everything that had happened the last time he had been with her. He couldn’t think of anything out of the ordinary.

“Maybe she just doesn’t love me anymore. That’s why Kelly broke up with me,” he said to nopony in particular. He put a hoof up to his chin and thought. “Maybe there’s just something I’m not seeing. Something that…”

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt something hit him in the side. Looking over in confusion, he saw a ball sitting on the bench next to him. “Hey mister!” Looking up, he saw a small colt with a brown coat and a cream colored mane looking at him. “Could you throw my ball back please?”

AJ looked back down at the ball before smiling. Using his magic, he tossed the ball to the colt. “There you go kid.”

The colt smiled as he caught the ball in his fore hooves. “Hey, come on Lickety Split! Pass the ball!” called out another foal.

AJ watched the foals playing for a little bit. The innocence made him smile. He continued to watch them until he felt his stomach start to rumble. “Guess I should have eaten more for breakfast.” Sighing, he got up off the bench. Looking around, he saw the closest place to eat just happened to be Sugarcube Corner. “Pure sugar it is.”

As he got closer to the building, he heard voices. “...anks again for the talk Mrs. Cake. I just didn’t know who else I could talk to about this right now. Carrot keeps telling me the same thing over and over again. I just wanted another mare’s perspective.”

AJ’s eyes got wide. ‘That’s Ditzy’s voice!’ He pressed his ear to the door and listened in.

“I understand dear. More than you know. In fact, I used to do the exact same thing you’re doing right now.”

“You did?” Ditzy’s voice was full of surprise.

“Mmhm. I did it every year Carrot Cake and I dated. I even avoided him the first couple years through our marriage. Like you I was scared. I didn’t know if I’d be ready for the responsibility. Not saying you aren’t responsible, but you know what I’m trying to say. One day he cornered me and got me to spill the beans. He was so…” Mrs. Cake was interrupted by the sound of crying coming from the upstairs. “Oh shoot. Could you give me a minute dear?”

AJ heard somepony start moving through the building. He leaned more into the door; trying to hear anything else in the silence. Unfortunately for him, he was also leaning on the door knob causing him to accidentally turn it. He unceremoniously spilled through the doorway with a loud thud and an ‘oof.’

As he looked into the building, he noticed Ditzy and Mrs. Cake looking straight at him in shock. He knew at that moment that his cover was blown. Quickly sitting up, he put on a bright yet fake smile. “Ditzy, Mrs. Cake, hello!”

Mrs. Cake looked between the two ponies in front of her as an awkward silence filled the room. The smile on AJ’s face slowly waned, becoming more and more unsure as the time passed. She noticed that Pound and Pumpkin were no longer crying. ‘Pinkie must have gotten to them first,’ she thought. She walked back to the table they were sitting at and placed a hoof on Ditzy’s shoulder. “This is your chance. Just tell him what’s on your mind,” she whispered.

Ditzy swallowed the lump in her throat as she fought to control her urges. She was about to open her mouth to speak, but AJ beat her to the punch.

“Ditzy, is something wrong?” AJ walked forward until he was at the table. She said nothing. She was using every ounce of will power she had to not just jump him there and then. “You’ve been avoiding me all week, and I’d like to know why.” He reached out and placed a hoof on hers. “Please just talk to me.”

Ditzy let out an involuntary shudder of pleasure as AJ’s hoof contacted hers. Unfortunately for AJ, in her confused state, that triggered her fight or flight reflexes. “YEPEVERYTHING’SFINEOHLOOKATTHETIMEIHAVETOGOILOVEYOUBUY!!!” With speed rivaling that of Rainbow Dash, Ditzy got up from her seat and blew out the front door of the building, leaving two very confused ponies in her wake.

********************

“After that I just came home.”

Big Mac thought for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like Ditzy. Maybe ya should go over an’ talk with Carrot Top.”

“You think so?”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

After a few seconds AJ sat up; a look of determination on his face. “You know what? You’re right. If Ditzy won’t talk to me, maybe Carrot will know something.” He leapt off the bed and ran out of the room, shouting a thanks to Big Mac as he did.

********************

With the determination still on his face, AJ knocked on the door of Carrot’s house. Hoof steps could be heard getting closer and closer to the door before it finally opened. A look of surprise crossed Carrot’s face as she looked at AJ. “AJ? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for answers Carrot. When I confronted Ditzy today, it got me nowhere, so I’m here to get some answers from you. You’re her best friend and I know she tells you everything.”

Carrot looked at AJ in confusion. “What?”

AJ sighed. “Ditzy’s been avoiding me. I know you know why. Could you please talk to me here?”

Carrot facehoofed. “She chickened out didn’t she?”

“I have no idea!”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to know. Come on in and I’ll tell you everything.” She began walking away from the door. AJ walked into the house, closing the door as he did. "So tell me, how much do you know about ponies, or equines in general?”

AJ shrugged as he walked. “About as much as the next guy, I guess. Why?”

“Well, I don’t know how things are where you’re from, but here in Equestria, mares go through a thing called…”

Before Carrot could finish, a bluish grey blur blew past her; sending her spinning, and hit AJ like a cannon ball. He hit the floor hard. As his eyes stopped spinning, he looked at what was on top of him. Ditzy was standing over him. She was looking down at him with a hungry look in her eyes. “Uuhhhhh, h-hi Di…”

Ditzy silenced him by slamming her lips onto his. The kiss continued for a little while before she pulled away from the stunned stallion. “You…my bedroom…now,” she said between pants.

AJ was still dazed from the unexpected, yet powerful kiss. “W-what?”

She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled his face close. “GET UPSTAIRS AND RUT ME LIKE AN ANIMAL!!!” Before AJ could do anything else, she grabbed him up in her hooves and dragged him through the house until her bedroom door could be heard slamming shut.

It took a moment for the events of the last minute to sink into Carrot’s mind. A grim look crossed her features. “Oh Celestia. I hope he’ll be okay.”

********************

Carrot got up off the couch as she heard somepony knock on the door. Opening the door, she saw a very unhappy looking Applejack standing at the door. "Hey Applejack. Something wrong?”

“Where is he?”

Carrot was confused. “Where is who?”

“Ah know AJ’s over here. He was supposed ta work t’day, an’ he never came home.”

Carrot could hear her grumbling something about having to do his chores. “Well…it’s not entirely his fault.”

“What’re you talkin’ about? How is him missin’ work not his fault?”

“Because Ditzy wouldn’t let him leave.” Applejack looked on with a look somewhere between confusion and annoyance. “You see, a few days ago Ditzy went into heat.” Any anger Applejack held immediately left as a grim look slowly grew on her features. “And when he came over yesterday, she kinda…got her hooves on him.”

“Oh sweet Celestia. Is it really that time already?” Carrot slowly nodded. Another thought crossed her mind. This was AJ’s first experience with estrus. He wouldn’t know how to deal with a mare in heat. “I-is he okay?”

“Define okay.” Carrot shuddered. “Oh Applejack, it was just awful. You needed to have been there to understand just how bad it was.”

********************

The upstairs hallway was dim. Everything was black and white. For some reason, the world was covered in a grainy filter. Dark shadows crept over the floor. A faint heartbeat could be heard echoing through the house.

Carrot stared down the hallway where faint growls could be heard. Fear consumed her heart as she crept closer to the source of the growls. As she passed Dinky’s room, whimpering could be heard from the other side of the door. Dinky hadn’t left her room since it started. She was too afraid.

Carrot finally came to Ditzy’s door. The growling suddenly stopped. Aside from the heartbeat, the world was silent. “D-Ditzy?” There was no response. “A…”

Something suddenly crashed into the other side of the door, followed by a loud thud. Carrot stared at the door with fear as it slowly opened. The room beyond was consumed in dark shadows. Not a single noise could be heard from within. Carrot continued to look through the open portal; hoping to be able to see anything inside.

She gasped as an indigo hoof slowly made its way out of the shadows. Another soon followed. Soon enough, AJ had managed to slowly crawl halfway out of the room. His disheveled mane and pale coat were drenched in sweat. His eyes looked glazed over and distant. He was breathing heavily as he tried to lift his head. “C-c-c-ca…C-carrot...”

“Oh Celestia! AJ, are you okay?!” Carrot hurried over to AJ.

“S-s-so tired…so sore. She’s…so…horny. H-h-help meeeee.”

Carrot put a hoof on AJ’s. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here. Then you, Dinky and I can…”

Carrot was cut off as an ominous laughter came from the shadows of the room. Two glowing, amber, off kilter eyes pierced the darkness; looking between Carrot and AJ. An evil smile filled with rows of sharp teeth formed under the eyes. A bluish grey claw shot from the darkness to swipe at Carrot; knocking her back against the wall. After Carrot was out of the way, another claw shot out. The two claws gripped AJ by the shoulders and began dragging him back into the room.

“N-no! Carrot! Carrot, help me! No! Nooo! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” The door slammed shut; making sure he wouldn’t be able to escape again.

********************

Applejack stared at Carrot. A look of shock, awe, and disbelief filled her features. She didn’t know whether to call Carrot out on her BS, or award her for trying so hard.

Carrot blushed a little. “Okay, so there maaaaaybe a tiny, small, minuscule, huge, giant, 100% chance that I may have embellished the story…a lot.”

“Ya think?!”

Carrot lowered her head. “Dinky’s not even here right now. Ditzy took her over to Sparkler’s when her heat started so she wouldn’t see her acting so weird.”

“Mmhm. So where is AJ right now anyway?”

“He’s locked in my room so Ditzy can’t get to him. Last time I checked he was still sleeping. I may have been exaggerating, but he was still a mess after all that.” She shook her head.

Applejack was confused. “Why is he locked in yer room? Why doesn’t he just sleep in Ditzy’s bed?”

Carrot fixed Applejack with a blank stare before turning to the kitchen and walking away. A few seconds later, she came back with a box in her mouth. She spat it on the floor. “I found this in her room.”

Applejack looked at the box on the floor. “A box of condoms?” Carrot nodded. “What’s wrong with th’ two of’em wantin’ ta play it safe?”

“Applejack, I just bought those for her three days ago. It remained unopened until yesterday.”

Applejack’s eyes got wide as she took another look at the box. It was a box of 12 condoms. “They blew threw this entire box in a day?!” She knew that estrus hit some mares harder than others. She just didn’t know Ditzy was one of those mares.

“That’s the only reason they stopped last night. She asked me to go get her more, but…” Carrot shuddered. “For the sake of both AJ’s health and my sanity, I had to decline.”

“Yer sanity?”

“I had to listen to every…last…minute of their love making. I tried SO many things to try to drown out the noises. Nothing worked! My love life’s already pretty much dead in the water. I don’t need anymore reminders of that fact.” Instead of anger or annoyance, a look of sadness filled Carrot’s features.

“But that begs th’ question. Where’s Ditzy?”

As if on cue, the sound of somepony knocking on a door inside the house could be heard. “Carrot?! Are you there?!”

Carrot groaned before slowly turning into the house. “What do you want Ditzy?!”

“Can you let me out of here please?! I’ll be good! I promise!”

“I told you before! I’m not letting you out of there until AJ’s out of this house! And he’s still sleeping!”

“Come on Carrot! I have to peeeeeee!” whined Ditzy

Carrot facehoofed. “Can’t you just hold it for awhile?!”

“I’ve BEEN holding it! If I don’t go soon I’ll pee myself!”

With a defeated sigh Carrot walked into the house. Confused as to what was going on, Applejack followed. Carrot walked to a door on the side of the staircase. It was being held shut by a chair. She removed the chair and opened the door. Ditzy was dancing from side to side on the other side. “Alright. You can leave the basement, BUT…you better go…”

Ditzy didn’t even bother waiting for Carrot to finish. She bolted past her and straight into the bathroom; slamming the door shut. “Wow. Ah guess she really had ta go.”

Carrot facehoofed. “I’ll try to have him back later today Applejack, but if he’s still out of it when he wakes up I’m not going to force him to leave.”

Applejack nodded and began walking towards the door. “Ah understand sugarcube. Just tell’im ta get home whenever he can.”

********************

“You got th’ chips?” asked Braeburn.

Big Mac turned his head to look at the multiple oversized bags of tortilla chips on his back. “Eeyup.”

“I have salsa and the cards,” Carmel said as he trotted past them with a big bowl of salsa and a pack of cards on his back.

“Ya brought th’ cider, right?”

Braeburn smiled at Big Mac as he opened the door to the barn. Three barrels with Braeburn’s cutie mark on them sat in the middle of the barn. “Ah think this should be enough fer th’ three of us?”

“An’ then some,” Big Mac said with a glimmer in his eyes. “You spoil me sometimes.”

“Ah know.”

The three of them walked into the barn and set everything up. They had a small table set up on the side of the barn where Big Mac and Caramel set up the chips and salsa. Braeburn took some mugs and started filling them with his special hard cider. “Th’ two of ya can start without me. Natures callin’.”

Braeburn and Caramel nodded as Big Mac walked out of the barn. He looked up at the sky. Soon the sun would lower past the mountains, and the moon would take its place. He looked back down when he heard a loud groan. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the site before him. AJ was slowly making his way back to the farm. His entire body hung low, and he had a bit of a kink in his step. “Looks like somepony had a rough night.”

“Fuck…you,” AJ said as he fixed Big Mac with a glare.

“Personally, Ah’m surprised ta see ya home. Ah expected ya ta be too exhausted ta come home.”

AJ winced as he sat down next to Big Mac. “I never thought it was possible to be tired of sex.”

Big Mac couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’ll learn ta deal with th’ mares after ya've have been here fer awhile.”

“I’m just happy it’s going to be over soon. Carrot said Ditzy should be back to normal in a couple days.” AJ noticed the look Big Mac was giving him. “What?”

“You do know that th’ estrus cycle’s just startin, right? Some mares just happen ta get theirs earlier than others.”

AJ looked at Big Mac with a pitiful, yet worried look. “Y-you’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking!” Big Mac shook his head. AJ grabbed him by the shoulders in a panic. “I-I-I can’t handle anymore man! I barely made it though yesterday! H-h-how am I supposed to make it through another week?!”

Big Mac pushed AJ off of him. “Now just calm down. As Ah said, you’ll learn ta deal with mares in heat. How do ya think Ah survived this long?” Big Mac thought back through the years to all the times he’s practically had to beat mares off of him with a stick.

“What do I do? Please teach me how to deal with this stuff.”

Big Mac looked at AJ, who was looking at him with big, pleading eyes, and sighed. “It’s not all that hard. Fer now, why don’t ya join us in th’ barn. Caramel, Braeburn, an’ Ah are havin’ a stallion’s night. yer free ta join. Who knows, maybe it’ll help ya relax.”

“Stallion’s night?”

“Eeyup. We got chips, an' salsa. Goin’ ta play some cards an’ just have fun.”

“Fun…fun is good.” Lifting himself to his hooves, AJ slowly walked towards the barn.

Big Mac chuckled as he got up went into the house. “He’s in fer one hell of a week.”

****************************************

((For those of you who didn’t see it, I made a very rough layout of Carrot Tops house. Check it out here.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

The Alcoholic Adventure

Chapter 35

Pain.

That was the only word that came to mind as AJ began to stir. Every part of him was in pain. Worst of all was the intense throbbing in his head. It felt like his head was in an unrelenting vice intent on causing him everlasting pain. Not only that, it felt like somepony was stabbing him with needles right above his tail. Combined that with the soreness that dominated the rest of his body, and how dry his mouth was, he was one miserable pony.

As he lay there wishing for death to take him, he could hear muffled voices coming from the other room. He couldn’t understand a word of what was being said. The only thing he could tell was that one voice was female, and the other sounded like a young male. Whatever they were talking about, they were laughing.

The smell of fresh pancakes began wafting into the room. As the smell hit his nose, the urge to vomit grew. He turned onto his side as he let out a loud, pathetic groan. Opening his eyes, he saw two bright, blue eyes framed by lots, and lots of pink peering at him from below the couch cushion. “P…Pinkie?”

“…How are you feeling?” A miserable groan was the only answer she got. “Oooooh, that bad huh? Well, just leave it to your big sis! I know just the thing to get rid of that hangover! Pinkie’s Super Special Hangover Hammer! Sure to get rid of even the worst hangovers! Now, where am I going to find a box of lobsters?”

“While I’m sure…whatever it is you need lobsters for…would cure his hangover, I think this will have a more immediate effect.” A glass of water in a pink aura floated across the room. The water stopped directly in front of AJ’s gaze. He stared at it for a moment with a shimmer in his eye. It was like a gift from the heavens. He quickly grabbed the glass with his hooves and greedily downed the glass of cool, life giving liquid.

Pinkie looked over to Twilight with a frown. “Awww. You’re no fun Twilight.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “If you’re hungry Spike just finished making some pancakes.”

“Oh boy! Pancakes!” Pinkie dashed past Twilight and into the kitchen.

AJ groaned on the couch. “Please don’t-urp- talk about food.”

“Yea, hangovers aren’t fun, are they?” Twilight asked as she tapped her hoof on the floor.

“Hangover? I was…drinking?”

“Uhh, yea. You came into the library last night completely hammered. To give you the abridged version, you came in, demanded I give you some nachos, were very rude to both me, and Pinkie, and passed out.” Twilight sighed. “I don’t appreciate drunken ponies randomly storming into my library and harassing me you know.”

“Please just shut up with the lecturing and let me die in peace,” groaned AJ as he sat up. “Fuck me. How much did I even drink?”

“How should I know?”

“Hey Twilight, you better get in here and get something to eat before Pinkie eats it all.” Twilight turned to see Spike standing in there in his pink apron. Spike turned and glared at AJ. “Oh, you’re awake. Are you going to throw up all over me again?”

“Throw up? I didn’t throw up on you.” AJ put a hoof to his head as his headache continued to throb. That’s when he noticed something strange. He patted down the rest of his body. “Why am I all crusty?”

Spike facepalmed. “No, of course you wouldn’t remember. After how bad you were last night I’m surprised you even remember your name.”

“Spike, be nice,” said Twilight.

“Hey, you didn’t get covered in stomach juice last night! I have the right to complain!”

AJ sighed as he began rubbing his temples. “What exactly did I all do last night?”

“Why?” asked Twilight.

“I want to know what I all need to apologize for.”

“Where do I start,” Spike said with an annoyed look on his face.

********************

All was peaceful in the Ponyville library. A little while ago, Spike had finished cleaning the library from top to bottom. He had been working all day to make it as clean as possible. The inside of the building practically sparkled. Unfortunately for him, much of that dirt and dust had clung to his scales. As thanks for doing such a good job, Twilight had given him the next day off. She felt bad taking any of the books off the shelf to study that night.

She turned from the shelves as she heard Spike coming down the stairs. Like the library, he to was practically sparkling. “How was your bath Spike?”

Spike had a bright smile on his face. “It felt amazing.” The smile on his face turned a bit sheepish. “But…the tub is a bit of a mess right now.”

Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth and giggled. “Well, you were pretty dirty Spike. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“Alri…” Spike was interrupted as a yawn escaped from him. “Whoa, I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“Maybe you should go to bed early tonight. You have been working hard all day.”

“Yea, you’re probably…”

The door to the library suddenly burst open with a loud crash. Standing in the doorway was a certain, swaying, indigo unicorn. “Wwwwwhat up bitches?! The pimp is here!”

Twilight and Spike looked at each other in confusion. “Uhhh, hey AJ. Have you been…drinking?” asked Twilight.

“You bet your sssssweet ass I’ve been drinking!” AJ stumbled into the building; not even bothering to close the door. “Now, I demand you give me your biggest bowl of cheesy nachos. Chop, chop!”

“Excuse me?”

“Twilight!” Pinkie suddenly ran through the open doorway with a look of worry on her face. She ran up to Twilight and grabbed her by the shoulders. “You have to help me! I just can’t stop him by myself!”

“Just slowdown Pinkie!” Twilight pushed Pinkie off of herself. “Now, just what is going on? Why is HE, of all ponies drunk?” Twilight took another look at AJ. “And is that a tattoo above his tail?”

********************

“WAIT, WHAT?!?!?!” Quickly sobering up, AJ whipped his head around. Sure enough, right above his tail was a tattoo of a scratched vinyl record with a crimson DJ, outlined in gold sitting above it.

Twilight and Spike watched as AJ just stared at the tattoo in wide eyed shock. “Hmm, you’re taking this better than I thought,” said Twilight. AJ gave no answer. He just kept staring at his inked backside. “Uhhh, hello?”

“I think you broke him.”

Twilight turned to see Pinkie’s head right next to hers. “Nonsense. He’s just in a state of shock. He’ll recover soon enough.”

“Oh, okay!” Pinkie bucked her hips and bounced back into the kitchen. Twilight watched as a plate of pancakes landed on the floor next to her. She rolled her eyes and turned back to AJ just in time for him to grab her by the shoulders.

“Tell me these things can be removed!”

Using her magic she pushed AJ off. “Tattoo’s can be easily removed, but for now, back to the story.”

********************

“HEY!!!” Twilight and Pinkie looked over to AJ. “I don’t hear the sounds of you making me nachos over there!” AJ managed to stumble his way over to Twilight and Pinkie to ‘glare’ at them.

“You have GOT to be kidding me!” yelled Spike. “You come in here, drunk off your ass, demand that Twilight make you some food, and you expect her to do it?! I don’t know who you think you are, but you need to…”

Spike was interrupted as AJ swept him up in his legs. “Yyyyyou know Spike, us guys have to stick together. Asssss you can clearly see, all these crazy mares are useless. They aren’t good for nothing. I mean look at her.” Using a free hoof, AJ pointed in the general direction of the two mares in the room. “The bitch hasn’t even started on my pie.”

“I thought you wanted Nachos?” asked Spike.

AJ blinked a few times. “I…I don’t rrrrrremember. All I know is the two of us need to stick to…” Before he could finish his sentence, AJ bent his head down and began vomiting for all he was worth. Unfortunately for Spike, he was in the direct path of the projectile vomit. What didn’t cover Spike, made a big puddle on the floor in front of him. Once he was finished hurling his guts out, AJ looked up with a dopey smile on his face before falling forward into the pool of his own vomit.

Pinkie and Twilight looked on in disgust for a second before the sound of struggling could be heard coming from under AJ’s passed out body. Using her magic, Twilight lifted his body out of the pool to reveal a very horrified Spike underneath.

Spike slowly got himself into a sitting position. He looked himself over, before looking at the pool he was sitting in. He had to force the tears back. Not only did he JUST finish cleaning himself off, but he had worked so hard all day to make the library shine. In a matter of minutes, AJ had stormed in and made a mess of both.

Twilight dropped AJ on the floor and lifted Spike up. “Pinkie, could you go get some towels and cover the couch with them? I guess he’s going to need somewhere to sleep.” Pinkie nodded and trotted upstairs. Twilight sighed. “Come on Spike. Let’s get you back into the tub. I’ll clean this up while you get yourself clean…again.”

********************

Once again, AJ looked down at his body. A look of disgust grew on his face as the realization hit him. He was covered head to hoof in his own dried vomit. His stomach started twisting into knots once again. “Oh god…I think I’m going to be sick.”

Spike had a smirk on his face. “Is it wrong that I’m enjoying this?”

“Yes. Yes it is,” scolded Twilight. She turned back to AJ. “Why don’t you go take a shower? In case you haven’t noticed, you don’t smell very pleasant right now.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Spike suddenly felt a sharp painful tug on his head fin. He looked at Twilight who was giving him an unamused look. “Ugh, fine. I’ll go talk with Pinkie then.”

Twilight facehoofed as a sigh escaped from her lips. “As I said, you should probably go and…” As she turned back to the towel covered couch, she noticed that AJ wasn’t there. The sound of vomiting suddenly started echoing down from upstairs. Twilight shook her head. “At least he made it to the bathroom this time.” Lifting up the plate Pinkie left for her, she went into the kitchen to begin eating.

********************

About 45 minutes later, hooves could be heard coming down the stairs. AJ had vigorously scrubbed every inch of his body down three times over to make sure he got all the vomit off. While he got that problem taken care of with enough scrubbing, the throbbing pain in his head still continued.

As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he heard the sound of voices. He followed the sound of voices into the kitchen. He saw Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie talking about something. He wasn’t too sure what they were talking about, but then again, he really didn’t care at the moment. He walked over to the table and sat down in the chair. He laid his head down on the table and lightly groaned in pain.

“Here, drink this.” AJ looked up to see Twilight sliding a glass of green liquid in front of him. “It will help with your hangover. It’s what I do whenever I have one.”

He looked between the glass in front of him and Twilight. “What is…”

“Just drink it,” said Spike. AJ looked over to him. “What? It can’t be much worse than the hangover.”

Figuring Spike was right; he lifted the glass and slowly began dinking. Moments later his eyes widened. He got up and made a mad dash to the sink; spitting out what was in his mouth. Turning on the faucet, he stuck his head under the water and washed his mouth out of the foul tasting liquid. Once he was sure the taste was out of his mouth he turned to Twilight. “What the hell was that vile crap?!”

“Pickle juice. It’s very good for a hangover. While I admit it’s not the greatest taste in the world, it does work wonders,” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

AJ spat into the sink one last time. “If that’s the best way to cure a hangover I think I’d rather just suffer. That was just terrible. And I thought mayo was bad.”

“Fine, but I don’t want to hear you complaining then.” Twilight lifted the glass over to the sink.

AJ glared at the juice as it was poured down the drain. “Good riddance.”

“Wait!” cried out Pinkie. Everypony turned to look at her. “Didn’t you have to work today?”

AJ blinked a few times before slowly facehoofing. He groaned before speaking. “Oh Celestia. Applejack’s going to kill me.”

“Oh come on. I’m sure you’re just blowing this out of proportion. Once you explain the situation to her I’m sure she’ll understand.”

********************

“When Ah get mah hooves on’im, he’ll wish he’d never got away from Ditzy,” grumbled Applejack before taking a sip of lemonade. She was sitting on the front porch of the farm house watching the path that lead to and from the farm. She had been waiting all morning for a certain unicorn to come waltzing back to the farm. To say she was angry was an understatement.

Applejack didn’t even turn when she heard hoof steps coming towards her. “Hey Applejack, can Ah please just go ta th’ bathroom?” asked Braeburn.

“Ah don’t remember sayin’ y’all could stop workin’ yet.”

“Come on Applejack. We said we were sorry.”

“Sorry ain’t goin’ ta finish th’ unfinished chores around here. Th’ three of ya are just as guilty as he is.” Applejack shook her head. “Y’all saw how bad he was after just one glass! Why in Equestria would ya allow’im ta drink half a keg by himself?!”

Braeburn laid his ears back in embarrassment. “Okay, Ah guess we did kinda drop th’ ball there, but is this really all necessary? Ah mean me an Rainbow had plans t’day an’…”

“Yer plans can wait until th’ three of ya finish every single chore around th’ farm, an’ the east field is all bucked. We’re goin’ ta need plenty of apples. Cider season’s just around th’ corner.”

“Can Ah at least go ta th’ bathroom?”

“There’s plenty of bushes around th’ place.”

********************

AJ let out an involuntary shudder. “What’s wrong? Are you cold?” asked Twilight.

AJ shook his head. “No, I just get the feeling my impending doom is near.” He sighed. “I guess I should be getting back to the farm and face my…”

Knock, knock

“I’ll get it!” called Pinkie as she bounced out of the room.

“Who do you think it is?” asked Spike.

“Maybe it’s somepony looking for a book.” Twilight smiled. “It’s always nice to see somepony coming to the library to expand their knowledge.”

Pinkie poked her head back into the kitchen. The smile on her face had turned a bit sheepish. “It’s uhh…It’s for AJ.”

AJ looked at Twilight and Spike in confusion before walking out of the room. Imagine his surprise when he saw Shadow and Screwball standing in the doorway. “Hey. What are you two doing here? And how did you even know I was at the library?”

Shadow and Screwball looked at each other for a moment before looking back at AJ. “We uh…kinda ran into you last night,” Shadow said.

“You did?”

“Uh huh. You were really silly too,” Screwball said with a smile.

“Oh no,” groaned AJ. “Please tell me I didn’t do anything too bad.”

Shadow put a hoof to his chin. “Well…”

********************

Shadow and Screwball were walking home from the movie theater. Screwball had desperately wanted to see the new Body Harvest movie that had just come out. With Trotsworth being too busy with work, it was just the two of them that night. And while he always enjoys the time he spends with Screwball, Shadow spent more time hiding behind her in terror than he did actually watching the movie.

“Did you like the movie Breezey? I loved it! Like the part where Mareis Hayton’s character got her head chopped off by the killer!”

“Y-y-yea…great,” Shadow nervously said.

Screwball stopped and put a hoof to her chin. “Maybe she should have been paying attention to what was going on instead of having sex with those five stallions at the same time.”

“I-i-i-i-I thought it was terrifying.”

Screwball looked at Shadow in confusion. She didn’t really understand how he found the movie so frightening. She enjoyed every minute of the movie. “Was it really that bad?”

Shadow let out an involuntary shiver as he thought back to the movie. “I don’t think I’ll sleep for weeks.”

Screwball felt horrible. She had dragged Shadow, the one pony that meant more to her than anything else in the world, to a movie that he didn’t even want to see in the first place, and now he was scared. “I’m sorry Breezey. I shouldn’t have talked you into watching it.”

“N-no, it’s okay,” Shadow said with an unconvincing smile. “As long as you had fun I don’t mind.”

Screwball thought for a moment before her face lit up. “Oh, I know! How about I sleep with you from now on?!”

Shadow’s face immediately turned an intense shade of red as his eyes grew. He looked around; hoping nopony had heard that. “N-n-n-no, th-that won’t be nece…”

Screwball giggled. “Not like that silly.” Screwball wrapped a leg around Shadow’s neck; hugging him to her chest. “Just think about it. You’re having a bad dream. Bad, evil monsters are chasing you. Suddenly, I appear around the corner and fend off those baddies. You wake up, and there I am. Your protector both in, and out of your dreams. We look into each others eyes. You lean in and kiss me as thanks for protecting you, and…”

“K-k-k-kiss?!”

Screwball was once again confused. “Well, yea. Isn’t that what coltfriends and fillyfriends do? Trotsy and Nurse Meany Pants do it all the time.”

Shadow had never thought about it before. He and Screwball were really close. At times it felt like they were even closer than he and his brother. They did everything together. Everywhere Shadow went, Screwball was right there to accompany him. Even Trotsworth had made comments about how close the two of them had become. ‘Are…are we really going out?’

Before Shadow could put anymore thought into it, indigo hooves wrapped around both him and Screwball. The scent of alcohol filled the air around them. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyy you guys. How the hhhhhell are ya?”

The two teens looked up in confusion to see AJ’s face hovering between theirs. He had a goofy grin plastered on his face. From the constant shifting and correcting, they could tell he was having a hard time keeping his balance. Every breath he took just intensified the smell in the air. “Heeey uh, AJ. We’re fine.” Shadow looked at Screwball who just shrugged in confusion before looking back at AJ. “A-a-are you drunk?”

The smile dropped from AJ’s face. “Wwwwwhy does everypony keep *hic* keep asking me that?” The smile quickly returned. “Oh hey, yyyyyou know what we should do?!”

“W-w-what?”

“We should totally go to the bar!”

Shadow and Screwball looked at each other again. “Aren’t we too young to drink?” asked Screwball.

“FFFFFFFFUCK THE SYSTEM!!! If they try to kick you out, I’ll just kick’em in the balls, and…”

“There you are!” came a mares voice. “How are you so hard to find?” Before either Shadow or Screwball knew what was going on, AJ was suddenly pulled off of them. They turned to see none other than Pinkie Pie dragging AJ away by his tail. “You aren’t going to any more bars! You are going home to get some sleep mister!”

“Hi Miss Pinkie!” said Screwball as she waved to the pink pony.

Pinkie let go of AJ’s tail so she could speak. “Hello you two. Sorry, but I can’t stay and chat. I have to get him back to the farm.”

“I-Is he going to be okay?” asked Shadow.

“Oh, don’t worry about him. He’ll have one doozy of a hangover in the morning, but he’ll be fine. Oh, I remember the last time I drank too much.”

“Uh, Pinkie?”

“I woke up the next morning feeling so crummy.”

“Miss Pinkie?”

“It’s a good thing I had everything I needed for Pinkie’s Super Special Hangover…”

“Pinkie, he’s gone.”

Pinkie stopped speaking and just stared at the ponies in front of her. Turning she saw that AJ had indeed fled once again. Off in the distance he could be seen stumbling straight towards the library. “Oh ponyfeathers! Sorry you two. Got to go!”

They watched as Pinkie began chasing AJ down the street. “Uhh, maybe we should just get home,” Screwball said with a straight face.

“I agree.” The two of them turned around so they could continue to their house to find Pinkie staring directly at them again. This, of course, freaked Shadow out; causing him to leap into the air and hide behind the sign of the candy shop they were in front of.

“Oops, sorry. I just had one last thing that I almost forgot to say.”

“What?” questioned Screwball.

The bright smile on Pinkie’s face grew even more. “You two should come to Sugarcube Corner for your next date! I’ll be sure to make you something super special.” Shadow could only blush as Pinkie, once again, took off after AJ.

********************

“And that’s all that happened,” Shadow said; finishing the story.

“Sooooo I didn’t do anything too stupid?” Both Shadow and Screwball shook their heads. AJ let out a relieved sigh. “That’s a relief. Sorry if I scared you at all.”

“It’s okay!” Screwball said with a smile. “Breezey wasn’t hurt, so everything is okay.”

AJ couldn’t help but smile as Screwball hugged Shadow close to her body. “Well, I guess that’s one less worry on my mind. I just hope I didn’t cause too much trouble last night.”

“Well, Rarity didn’t sound too happy with you last night.”

All three ponies looked at Pinkie in confusion. “Rarity? So I visited Carousel Boutique last night?”

“Uh huh,” Pinkie said as she nodded her head.

AJ sighed. “Well, I guess I know where my first stop is.” He got to his hooves; stretching his neck as he did. “We should go then. The faster I apologize to Rarity, the faster I can get this thing off of me.” Pinkie giggled as AJ pointed to the tattoo above his tail. “Yea, yea, laugh it up. It’s gone the first chance I get.”

“But it looks so nice,” commented Screwball who received an unamused glance in return.

“Let’s just go Pinkie.” AJ began walking towards the door before stopping next to Shadow. “It’s was nice seeing you again. You should come over for dinner one of these days. I’m sure Applejack wouldn’t mind.”

Shadow scratched the back of his head. “Well, we didn’t have any plans today. We could just go with you if you if it’s okay. Besides, it sounds like you could use a bit of help right now.”

“Am I really that transparent?” AJ said with a chuckle. Lifting a hoof he affectionately tussled Shadow’s mane. “I’d like that. I’ll need all the support I can get right now. Right, let’s go.”

********************

AJ was too busy grumbling to himself to realize that they had arrived at Carousel Boutique. The entire way there he had overheard ponies whispering and giggling at the tattoo he now had. “I swear…the next pony that says anything about the tattoo is getting a face full of rocket.”

“Uhhh, AJ?” Shadow shrunk back as AJ turned to glare at him. “W-w-we’re here.”

AJ glanced in the direction Shadow was pointing. Sure enough, Carousel Boutique was right in front of them. Taking a long, deep breath to calm himself, AJ walked up to the door. “Well, here goes nothing. I hope Rarity isn’t too mad.”

Everypony watched on as AJ knocked on the door. “Just one minute!” came Rarity’s sing song voice from inside the building.

A smile grew on AJ’s face. “Well, she doesn’t sound mad at all. Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.”

The door opened to show Rarity’s beaming face. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and…” Rarity finally opened her eyes to see who was at the door. Her expression soured in a matter of seconds. AJ’s confidence quickly began to plummet. “Oh…it’s you.”

AJ slowly backed away from scary looking mare. Unfortunately for him, Pinkie was in his corner and pushed right back into place. “Uhhhh h-hey…Rar...”

Rarity silenced him by putting a hoof up. “Just one moment.” Rarity calmly closed the door, and hoof steps could be hard walking away.

“She looked maaaaaaaaad,” said Screwball.

“Nonsense! I’m sure she’s just getting some cake to share with everypony as an act of friendship!” Pinkie said with her usual smile.

“M-maybe we should go. I don’t think Rarity’s in the mood to…”

“Uh oh,” Pinkie said as she began looking at her tail.

“What?”

“Twitchy twicha twicha twitch!”

AJ looked at Shadow and Screwball in confusion before looking back at Pinkie. “What are you ta…”

Before he could finish, Pinkie tackled him to the ground. Shadow and Screwball jumped back as a sewing machine smashed on the ground in the spot that AJ had just occupied. Everypony looked at the smashed piece of machinery on the ground before looking up to the upper level of the boutique. A very cross looking Rarity had stuck her head out the window. “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU THAT I NEVER WANTED TO SEE YOU AROUND HERE AGAIN!!!”

“WHAT THE HELL RARITY?!?!?!” Once again, Pinkie grabbed him out of the way as an old, broken mannequin was thrown out the window at AJ. After that a big spool of gaudy fabric flew out the window.

“PINKIE!!! STOP HELPING HIM!!!”

Pinkie looked at Rarity with a smile. “Okay!”

AJ looked at Pinkie with a panicked look. “WHAT?!?!?! Don’t ‘okay’ her! She’s trying to kill me! Celestia knows what she’s going to throw next!”

Pinkie watched as the next projectiles flew out the window. “Uhh, you may want to…”

“Just tell me when she’s about to…” AJ was silenced as he felt multiple sharp items embed themselves into his backside. “YYYYYYOUCH!!!” AJ looked back at the many needles stuck into his flesh.

“Go get him Opal darling!”

“Opal?” Looking up, he saw a snow white ball of fur fly straight into his face at terminal velocity.

In an attempt to save herself from the sudden impact, Opal extended her claws as she headed straight for him.

AJ winced as Opal landed straight on his face; embedding her claws on impact. From her position, the two of them were looking directly into each other’s eyes. “U-u-u-ummm, n-n-nice kitty?”

Opal let out a ferocious howl of anger. AJ’s face suddenly became a cloud of fur, claws, and pain as Opal went ballistic. A cacophony of pained screams could be heard echoing all throughout Ponyville.

********************

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!”

“Would you sit still? All that flinching and moving around is making it a lot harder to clean all these scratches,” Spike said as he applied more disinfectant to a cotton swab.

“I can’t help it. Not only does, whatever the hell that is you’re using on me, sting like a bitch, but…” AJ stopped and tensed up as a sharp pain jolted through his backside. “Pinkie! Could you please be a bit more gentle back there?!”

Pinkie dropped the needle she had just removed from his rump before smiling sheepishly. “Oops, sorry.”

“At least try to stay still then,” Spike said as he reapplied the swab to AJ’s face.

After his little…encounter with Opal, his face looked like it had gone through a battle with a lawn mower and lost horribly. Claw marks littered his face. The only silver lining of this mess was that none of the claw marks got deep enough to do any permanent damage. “And to think, I actually liked cats. Stupid sentient ball of lint.”

“Excuse me?! My darling Opal is a refined feline with exquisite tastes! She is most certainly not a ball of lint!” came a voice from the door.

Looking towards the door, Twilight, Rarity, Shadow, and Screwball could be seen entering the library. A saddened Sweetie Belle was riding on Rarity’s back. After Opal had her way with AJ’s face, Pinkie had dragged his twitching body back to the library where she and Spike went to work fixing him up. While they worked, Twilight, Shadow, and Screwball went to try to calm Rarity down so AJ could at least talk to her. Now that they were face to face again, after what she had just done to him, AJ felt the need to flee in fear of another cat attack. “Y-you didn’t bring Opal with you…did you?”

“Nope. The kitty stayed at home,” Screwball said with a smile. AJ let out a sigh of relief.

“Opalescence needs to be groomed again,” Rarity said with a huff. “After today, her perfectly manicured claws are all dull.”

“Gee, I wonder how that happened,” grumbled AJ as Pinkie pulled the last needle out. With all the needles out, AJ let out a groan of relief. “That feels sooooo much better.”

“I hope it hurt. Those were some of my best needles.” Rarity bent down to let Sweetie off her back. “At least I can sleep easily knowing they were put to good use.”

“Now Rarity, we brought you here to talk,” Twilight said. “I’d prefer to keep things as civil as possible.”

Rarity let out a sigh. “As you wish Twilight.” She turned and glared at AJ. “But if he tries anything, the gloves are off.”

“I don’t even know what I did! Why in the hell were even throwing things at me?!”

Rarity looked miffed. “You stormed into my boutique last night and tried to ruin Sweetie's life.”

“I did what now?” AJ looked at Sweetie who sniffled and turned away. AJ slowly brought a hoof up to his face before wincing as he touched one of the scratches. “Why do I have a feeling this is going to end with another story of me being an asshat?”

********************

Rarity let out a weary sigh as she put the last of the dishes away. It hadn’t exactly been a busy day around the boutique, but with Sweetie around, everything that was once easy always seemed to become a chore. Rarity loved her younger sister with all her heart, but sometimes she could be a pain in the flank.

Dinner, for instance, should have been a very simple and clean ordeal. Rarity will never understand how Sweetie had managed to light a glass of milk on fire, or how in Equestria the noodles had turned into a single, solid, unbreakable cube after they were boiled in water. Not even the cheese sauce that was meant to go on the noodles made it out alive. It had exploded and covered the kitchen in a coating of cheese. In the end they had just resorted to a bowl of cereal for dinner.

Sweetie Belle had gone to bed a little while ago after helping clean up the mess in the kitchen. Rarity wouldn’t be too far behind. She would probably already be in bed if it weren’t for her usual nightly routine. She was just about to go upstairs to start a bath when she heard a commotion coming from outside her door. As she listened in, it sounded like somepony was singing. It also sounded like said pony was inebriated if said pony’s inability to keep a tune or remember half the lyrics were any indication.

It wouldn’t have bothered Rarity so much if it wasn’t for the fact that the singing was getting closer and closer. She had dealt with drunk ponies before, usually harassing her during the few times she’s actually been to a bar, but she’s never had to deal with one in the privacy of her own house. When she was in public, she always had her friends to give her support. Now, she was alone. For all she knew, the pony could have every intention come into her house and hurt her, or worse, Sweetie Belle. ‘Celestia, please let them pass.’

Normally she wouldn’t have been afraid of that type of this type of thing, but tonight was different. Earlier in the day she had watched a movie called ‘Innocence Lost.’ It was a movie about a perfectly normal 16 year pegasus filly named Wonder Star. She was just about to start her junior year in high school, and had just been asked out by the colt of her dreams. Then one night her world came crashing down. She and her younger brother were going to be home alone until late. Her parents had gone out on a date, and left her in charge while they were gone.

It was almost her brother’s bed time when she heard a knock on the door. Wondering who it could be, she went to go answer the door. upon opening the door, she saw their neighbor Brick Wall. He was a middle-aged earth pony stallion, and he had helped build their house years ago. He even used to foalsit her when she was too young to stay home alone. After noticing that he was drunk, she asked if everything was alright. Brick Wall eventually forced his way into the house by striking Wonder Star hard; sending her to the floor. After getting into the house, he dragged her into the living room and onto the couch where he forced himself on her. The rest of the movie dealt with her trying to piece her life back together. She felt even worse after finding out that the act had made her pregnant.

Even knowing that none of the ponies in Ponyville would do that type of thing, the movie left a bad image in her mind that just wouldn’t go away.

The singing suddenly stopped and everything went silent. She was sure she felt her heart skip a beat when she heard a knocking on the door. She quickly grabbed up a parasol that was sitting in a holder near the door and readied it. “W-w-who is it?”

It was silent for a moment. “…Wwwwwwwwhy is the door locked. Doesn’t she know its vvvvery rude to not let somepony in?”

Rarity blinked a few times. She knew that voice. Taking a peek out the window just confirmed her suspicions. AJ was standing just outside her door. He was drunkenly swaying side to side.

He looked over to the side and saw Rarity looking at him through the window. A big smile grew on his face. He lifted a foreleg and began waving to her. “Hi Rarity! Can I come in?!”

Rarity watched as he lost his balance and fell onto his side. Sighing, she replaced the parasol. She unlocked the door and began opening it. She knew he was harmless. Even if he did try something, she knew she’d be able to take care of him. She opened the door to find him struggling to right himself. “Would you like some help?”

AJ looked at her with frustration on his face. “Hhhhey, did you see the guy that did this? I nnnnever knew Ponyville was so full of jerks.”

Rarity facehoofed before helping him up. “You do know you fell over, right? No pony pushed you.”

“Nnnnnonsense.” AJ draped a leg around Rarity’s shoulders and started whispering in her ear as if it was a secret. “There’s somepony who’s pushing ponies over. Wwwwwe should get inside so he doesn’t get us too.”

Rarity nearly gagged at the powerful stench of alcohol on his breath. “What have you been drinking?”

“Hhhhard cider is good.”

“Uh huh. Darling, just how many mugs of cider did you drink exactly?”

AJ blinked his eyes out of sync as he thought. “Uhhhh lesse...” He lifted a hoof into the air and began doing whatever drunken form of math he had just thought up of. “What number comes after seven?”

‘Oh sweet Celestia how is he even standing?!’ “Why don’t you come in for a glass of water? Wouldn’t want any ponies coming and pushing you over again now would we?”

“Yyyyea, good idea.”

AJ followed Rarity into the boutique. After closing the door, Rarity headed to the kitchen. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen and get you that water?” She looked over her shoulder to see AJ just standing there swaying from side to side. “Well, are you coming?”

“Wwwwhat are we doing now?”

Rarity facehoofed once again. “We were going to get you some…”

AJ suddenly gasped loudly. He drunkenly tiphoofed over to Rarity and put his leg around her shoulders again. “Rarity, loooooook!” He pointed a hoof at a mannequin that had an unfinished dress on it.

Rarity sighed as she looked at the dress. “Oh I know. I wasn’t able to finish it today. Not to mention all the revisions that I need to…”

“Nnnnnot the dress stu-hic-stupid. The pony wearing the dress.”

Ignoring the insult, she raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking about my mannequin?”

“Manny Quinn? What a name,” gushed AJ.

“It’s a mannequin,” deadpanned Rarity.

“I think she’s flirting with me.” AJ gave a sheepish wave to the mannequin. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”

“It’s a mannequin! It can’t flirt with you because it’s not alive!”

“Hhhhey baby. I noticed you from across the room, and noticed you giving me the llllllook.” Aside from Rarity’s facehoof the room was silent. “You really mean that! awesome! Yyyyou know what, we should totally make out!”

“Excuse me! You will not make out with my…”

“Yea I know she’s sssstanding right there, but I don’t care. I am in love with you and I don’t care who knows it!” AJ puckered his lips and pressed them against the mannequin’s snout.

Rarity’s horn erupted in magic as she pulled the mannequin away from AJ causing him to lose his balance and fall flat on his face. “I will not have you defiling my mannequins like that! If you’re going to act like that I will have to ask you to leave!”

After getting off the floor, AJ fixed Rarity with a drunken glare. “God Rarity, why are you such a biiitch?!”

Rarity’s rage was beginning to build. “Rarity? What’s going on down here?”

Rarity blinked before looking towards the stairs. Sweetie Belle was standing at the bottom of the stairs. She had a plain pink night gown on, and was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Oh, Sweetie Belle. Did we wake you? I’m so sorry!”

Sweetie took another look around the room. “Why is AJ here?”

Rarity looked at AJ and let out a lady like harrumph. “No reason. In fact, he was just about to…”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle! Good thing yyyyyou’re here! I have some good news to tell you.!” AJ stumbled over to Sweetie.

Sweetie gave AJ a questioning look. “Are you drunk?”

AJ completely ignored the question. “Sweetie, I now know how you’re ssssuch a sweetie, and why Rarity’s a dumb biiiitch.”

Sweetie looked at Rarity before looking back at AJ. “I don’t know. Rarity’s been a pretty good sister to me. She has her moments, but…”

AJ put a hoof up to Sweetie’s mouth to silence her. “Shushshushsushss. This will be easier if you don’t speak. Sweetie, I know why the two of yyyou are so different.” Sweetie just waited silently for the answer. Rarity, on the other hoof, was a bit more worried about what AJ was going to say. He’s proven that, when he’s drunk, he’s not afraid to speak his mind. “Sweetie, you’re adopted.”

Sweetie’s eyes got wide. “W-w-what?!” Rarity couldn’t believe he had just said that. She just stood there, mouth agape, staring at the stallion in front of them. “I-I’m not adopted! Rarity’s my real sister!”

“Nnnnope. Not possible. The two of yyyou are too different to be related.” AJ patted Sweetie on the head. “I can only imagine how awesome your real parents are.” AJ blinked out of synk. “I wonder if your real mom is hot.”

“B-b-b-but…”

AJ noticed the tears welling up in Sweetie’s eyes. “Whaaaaat?! No, don’t be sad! This is a day to celebrate! Your parents picked you out from the rest of the little fillies cause Rarity turned out sooooo badly. They picked you so they could have their perfect little angel instead of a fuddy duddy. You won’t grow up like that old sssstick in the mud Rarity. Isn’t that great?!” The room was silent. The only sound was Sweetie Belles haggard breathing getting louder. “Yyyyou know what we need to celebrate? Booze. Hey Rarity, where do you keep the…” Sweetie Belle suddenly ran upstairs; crying her eyes out. “Hey! Where are ya going?!”

AJ turned as he heard somepony stomping closer to him. The look on Rarity’s face said it all. If looks could kill, AJ would be dead, embalmed, wrapped in gauze, and buried six feet under by this point. Her horn erupted in magic as AJ suddenly began lifting into the air. She brought his face close to hers; ignoring the stench of alcohol. “I bring you into my house to help you, and what do you do? You make out with my mannequin, insult me, and worst of all you made Sweetie Belle cry!” Using her magic, she opened the front door to the boutique again. With as much force as she could muster, she hurled AJ’s body out the door; hoping to cause as much pain as possible upon landing. After watching him bounce and tumble, she poked her head out of the door. “I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AROUND HERE AGAIN!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!” She slammed the door shut as hard as she could to emphasize her point before going upstairs to calm Sweetie Belle down.

********************

“Do you realize how long it took me to explain to Sweetie that she wasn’t adopted? That she is my flesh and blood sister? I had to show her more photos than I can count. It’s a good thing I have those photos of her just after she was born.” Rarity smiled down at Sweetie who smiled back at her.

Everypony in the room watched Rarity and Sweetie before turning to AJ who was busy slamming his head into the arm of the couch repeatedly. He took a momentary break to look at Twilight. “Hey Twilight, where’s the nearest cliff?”

“Why?”

“Cause hurling myself off of one is sounding like a pretty good idea right about now.”

Twilight shook her head. “Some how I don’t think that will help this situation. At all. Why don’t you just tell her the truth and apologize to her?”

“Twilight, I convinced her she was adopted! What do you want me to say?! ‘Oh, hey there Sweetie Belle. Sorry for saying you were adopted. I was waaaaaaaaaaay to drunk, and didn’t know my ass from my head. No hard feelings.’” He smashed his head into the arm once again.

“You uh…you know she’s right there and can hear everything you’re saying, right?” asked Shadow as he nudged AJ’s shoulder with a hoof.

“This I know.” AJ lifted his head to look at Sweetie Belle. She was shuffling her hooves around nervously. He sighed and got off the couch. “Guess I can’t make things any worse than they already are.” As AJ got closer to Sweetie, he noticed Rarity giving him an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture. AJ sat down in front of Sweetie and began to collect his thoughts. He still didn’t know what to say.

“Why did you say all that stuff?” Asked Sweetie before AJ could finish thinking. “Why would you lie about something like that?”

Everypony looked at AJ; waiting to hear what he was going to say. He scratched the back of his head as he decided to bite the bullet. “Truthfully, I don’t know.” He could feel Twilight facehoofing behind him. “I don’t even remember most of yesterday, and I sure as hell don’t remember last night. I doubt I’ll ever know or understand what was going through my mind at that moment.”

“Actually, I think I remember reading a spell that could give us some insight into what you were thinking not too long ago.”

“Not helping Twilight.” He turned back to Sweetie Belle and sighed. “Look…all I can really say right now is I’m sorry. I messed up. I drank too much and turned into a grade A douche bag.” He turned away from Sweetie to look out the window. “I only hope I didn’t hurt anypony else.” He turned back to Sweetie. “I uh…I think it would be for the best if I kept my distance from you for awhile.”

Sweetie’s eyes got wide. “B-but what about your duties as a Cutie Mark Crusader?!”

“I never said I’d quit the CMC, but I don’t think this is the best time to…”

“You took an oath! You can’t just avoid us!”

“I just thought that…”

“If you don’t complete your duties, you’ll have to be punished for betraying the oath.”

“Wait, punishment? You girls never said anything about a punishment.” AJ looked at Rarity who just shrugged. He sighed again. “Alright. I won’t avoid you, but there’s got to be something I can do to try to make things better.”

Sweetie put a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. AJ swallowed the lump in his throat; hoping she would think of something. “Well…I have some ideas, but I’ll need to run them by the girls. For now, just promise me you won’t drink anymore. You’re really mean and scary when you’re drunk.”

As much as he wanted to be worried about the ideas Sweetie had thought about, he decided to concentrate on her proposition; nodding with a smile before speaking. “Yea, I can do that. Shouldn’t be too hard. Anything else?”

Sweetie thought for a moment before shaking her head. “Well, it’s good to see that everypony’s getting along again,” Rarity said with a smile. “But it’s time for Sweetie Belle to get back home and finish her homework.”

“What?! Can’t I just play today?”

Rarity lifted Sweetie onto her back. “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but your education is very important. You don’t want to grow up to be an uneducated silly filly, do you?”

“Noooooo.”

Rarity smiled as she looked to Twilight. “Well, it’s time for us to be getting home. It was nice seeing you again Twilight.”

AJ sighed in relief as he watched Rarity walk out the door. He didn’t even realize Twilight was walking towards him until he felt her pat him on the back. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“I don’t know Twilight. I feel like I got off too easily.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure they realize it was a mistake, and didn’t feel like anything more was necessary.”

Twilight and AJ were suddenly wrapped in a tight, group hug. “Yay! Everypony’s happy again!” Pinkie said with glee in her voice. “You know what this calls for? Cupcakes!”

AJ felt his stomach begin to lightly rebel against him again at the thought of sugary sweets. “Ugh, I think I’ll pass Pinkie. Besides, I should really be getting back to the farm.”

“What are you going to do about that?” asked Screwball as she pointed at the tattoo on his back.

Looking at his back, AJ gave a big sigh. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to live with it until I can get it removed.”

“Aren’t you even curious about how you got it?” asked Twilight.

“Not really. The story probably includes me being a jackass and making a complete and utter fool of myself.”

“Yea. You probably have a point there.”

“I’ll talk to you later. I’m sure Applejack is wondering where I am.” He looked over to Shadow and Screwball. “You two still up for dinner at the farm?”

“Uh huh! Trotsy’s fun, but his cooking really sucks,” Screwball said; sticking her tongue out to emphasize her words.

“Can’t deny that. Alright, let’s go.”

********************

“Aren’t you even a little curious about that tattoo?” asked Shadow as they walked down the street.

“Nope. Don’t know, don’t want to know. As I said, I’d rather not hear another story about me being a…”

“Hey hey, look who it is! What’s up ‘Tongue Twister?’ How’s the ink today?”

AJ stopped dead in his tracks. He began crying internally as his posture became pathetic. “Celestia, why does life hate me?”

The three of them turned to see a scrawny looking unicorn stallion trotting towards them. His coat was golden, and his mane and tail were crimson red. His eyes were a dull green color. His ears were longer than normal, and flopped over a bit. He had piercings in both of his ears, his eyebrows, and his lip in a wide variety of colors. He had many tattoos covering a fair amount of his body. A pair of black goggles with red tinted lenses hung around his neck by a strap. His cutie mark, a scratched vinyl record, looked very familiar to anypony that had seen AJ’s tattoo.

When he reached the group, he put his leg around AJ’s shoulders. “How ya been bro? You seemed like a pony on a mission when you left the club last night.”

AJ just sighed and facehoofed. “What club are you talking about, and who the hell are you? I can’t say I remember seeing you.”

The pony looked at AJ for a moment before chuckling. “Heh, it really doesn’t surprise me that you don’t remember me. You were pretty wasted last night.”

“No shit.”

“Bro, it’s me! Disk Jockey!” He put a hoof to his chin. “Though everypony just calls me DJ.” AJ just grumbled a response to DJ. “Heeeey, come on. What’s with the hostility today?”

“He hasn’t had the best of days so far,” said Shadow.

DJ looked at AJ with a grimace. “Well that’s no good. You seemed so happy last night. Hell, you were probably the happiest pony in the club last night. You were…”

DJ was silenced as AJ put a hoof to his mouth. “I’m going to stop you here and now. I’ve already heard stories about how big of an ass I was last night. I don’t need to hear another.”

DJ cocked an eye brow as he moved AJ’s hoof away from his mouth. “An ass? Dude, I don’t’ know what you did after the club, but while you were there, you were amazing. You were having almost too much fun.”

********************

DJ removed the goggles from his eyes as he looked over the crowd. “How is everypony doing tonight?!” The crowd in front of him cheered wildly. “That’s what I like to hear!”

Looking to his right, DJ saw his boxes full of records and other types of music. Thinking for a moment, he lifted the record off his player and replaced it with one of his personal favorites. “I hope you’re all ready for something a bit heavier! This is one of my personal favorites by my hero, DJ Pon-3 herself!” The crowd cheered as the beats filled the club.

Knowing how long this set could go on, he decided to take a bit of a break. Removing his headphones, he walked away from his equipment and towards the bar. It took him a moment, but he eventually found an open seat next to a certain swaying indigo unicorn. As he sat down, he nodded to the bartender. “Just the usual Shakes.”

The bartender grunted in acknowledgment as he walked away to go make DJ’s drink. As he waited, he looked to the swaying pony to his left. The pony hiccupped before returning the stare with an inebriated smile. “Hey, you must be new here. Don’t think I ever remember seeing you.”

AJ just hiccupped again before turning forward; continuing to stare at nothing in particular. DJ watched as he brought a glass up to his mouth; downing what was left. DJ turned when he heard Shakes place his drink on the bar. “Don’t worry. I’ve been givin’im nothin’ but cola since he got here. He don’t need any more alcohol in’im.”

DJ let out a slight relieved sigh. He should have known though. Shakes was an amazing bartender, and always knew when somepony was at their limit. “Good to know.”

DJ brought his glass up to his lips when he felt somepony tapping him on the shoulder. Turning his head, he saw a stallion with a teal coat and a caramel colored mane standing there. “What’s up?”

The pony shifted nervously before speaking up. “Uhh, I was wondering. W-would you like to…go out with me?”

DJ sighed before taking a small swig of his drink. “Sorry dude. Not really interested in a relationship right now.”

“O-oh…okay.”

DJ watched as the pony sulked away and sighed. “Wwwwwhy did ya do that?”

“Scuse me?” DJ turned his head to the inebriated pony sitting next to him.

“He just wanted to go out with you. Why did yyyyyou say no?”

DJ took another sip from his drink. “I probably get hit on at least once a night. It’s all the same. They come up to me, act all timid like, and act like I’m a scary dude.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s just not the type of pony I’d wanna date, ya know?” DJ looked up as he reminisced about his perfect stallion. “I wanna date a stallion that’s strong. He’s gotta be forward with me. If he wants some of this…” DJ motioned to his body. “He comes up to me and says so. He doesn’t act all timid and shit. I dunno. When he comes up to me, he needs to act like he’s in control of me.”

“Yyyyou mean like this?” Before DJ could even react, AJ grabbed him up in his legs and leaned him back. The next thing he knew, the inebriated stallion had his lips pressed up against his, with his tongue working its way into his mouth. After about ten seconds, AJ let up; letting DJ fall to the floor.

Still stunned from the sudden kiss, DJ crawled back onto his bar stool. “Whoa. That…was…awesome.”

AJ smiled. “Thhhhanks. My fillyfriends loves it when I do that.”

DJ blinked a few times. “Wait wait wait wait wait. You’re not gay?”

AJ laughed a little too loud. “Wwwhat made you think I was gay?”

“Well, that kiss just now was very…convincing.” DJ scratched the back of his head. “Not to mention that this club is a hot spot for filly foolers and colt cuddlers. Hell, I think the only regular here that isn’t gay is Shakes, and he’s only here all the time because he owns the place.”

AJ looked around the club. Sure enough the big room was full of many same sex couples. Some were getting into the party atmosphere a bit more than others. “Well…would you look at that.”

“You mean you really didn’t know?” AJ shook his head. “Wow…awkward.”

“Wwwhats wrong?”

DJ sighed. “Nothing. Just thought I finally found my dream stallion.”

“Whaaaaat? No no no no no no no no. No being sad. Sad is bad.” AJ drunkenly patted DJ on the shoulder. “Besides, you’re too cute to be sad. In fact…if I was gay, I would TOTALLY go out with you.”

DJ just stared at AJ for a moment before bursting out laughing. “You’re either the most sexually confused stallion I’ve ever met, or you’re just very open about your sexuality. Either way, you’re one fun bro.” He looked out to the rest of the club. “Come on, there’s some open spots on the dance floor. Let’s go have some fun.”

********************

“We danced for awhile. At some point you gave yourself the nickname Tongue Twister. After awhile you commented on my tattoos. I took you to the back room where my brother gave you that baby.” DJ pointed to the tattoo on AJ’s back. “After that, you left saying you had stuff to do.”

“Well…that wasn’t too bad,” Shadow said with a slight smile.

AJ sighed. “I guess hearing that I frenched a stallion I don’t even know is better than hearing that I was an asshat.” His ears twitched as he heard Screwball giggle. “What? Would you rather hear about me doing something stupid such as breaking a bar stool over somepony’s head? Compared to the rest of the stories I’ve heard today, I’d say this is an improvement.”

Screwball giggled again. “You liked it.”

AJ facehoofed before turning to DJ. “Heya, quick question…”

DJ chuckled a bit. “Yes, the tattoo can be removed. Pretty easily too.”

AJ blinked a few times. “How did you know I was going to ask that?”

“Trust me. I’ve gotten my fair share of drunken tats. Just come on down to the club, and Needle Point can take care of it no problem.”

AJ sighed in relief. “That’s a load off my mind. Now I just need to find where the club is.”

“How about this. I’ll meet you here tomorrow and we can go then.”

“Round 2 work for you?” DJ nodded his head. “Sounds like a date. Right now, I need to get back to the farm. I’ll see you then.”

As DJ split away from the group, Screwball couldn’t help but burst out with giggles. “And just what is so funny?”

“You have a crush on him,” Screwball said with a sly smile.

“Screwball! I swear to Celestia…”

********************

AJ smiled warmly as he walked towards the farm house. Screwball had been giggling the entire way, but AJ wouldn’t let it get him down. His day was finally starting to look up. He had only been up for about four hours, but it felt like an entire day had gone by already.

“Thank Celestia. Today can finally start…”

“An’ just where have you been?!”

AJ looked towards the barn to see Applejack stomping out of the building. “Applejack, how are yyyyou look very angry.”

“You were supposed ta work t’day.”

“Yeah, sorry bout that. I had a pretty wild night last night,” AJ said as he scratched the back of his head.

“So Ah’ve heard.” Without saying another word, Applejack leaned over and bit down on AJ’s ear; dragging him towards the barn.

“Owww! What the hell Applejack?!”

“There’s a lot of work ta do around th’ farm since ya skipped out fer two days in a row. You have a lot ta catch up on.”

“Oww! But Applejack we ha-ow-have guests! They were ow going to have din-ow-dinner with us tonight!”

“Yer little play date can wait! There’s too much ta do!”

Shadow and Screwball watched as AJ was dragged across the farm by his ear. They looked at each other. “I uh…I guess there’s been a change of plans then.”

Screwball nodded her head. “Uh huh.” They just sat there for a moment until AJ was tossed into the barn to start cleaning it. “So…you wanna go on a date?”

Shadow felt his face heat up as he looked at Screwball. A soft smile slowly grew on his face. “Y-yea. I’d like that.”

********************

Celestia was sitting at the head of the table in the royal eating quarters. She was resting her head on the table; rubbing her temples to try to rid herself of a throbbing headache she was suffering from. Her day had started out so good. She thought that nothing bad could have happened.

She couldn’t have been anymore wrong.

Her ears perked up as she heard the familiar sound of a cloud of magical dragon flame entered the room. She looked up as a scroll dropped to the table in front of her. She grumbled to herself as she lifted the scroll into the air and unrolled it.

Dear Princess Celestia

Alcohol sucks!

AJ.

Celestia let the scroll fall to the table with a sigh. She took another look around the room. In the center of the room hung a huge banner with “HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS CELESTIA” on it. Party decorations littered the entire kitchen, along with birthday presents and tons of sweets.

That’s not what had made her so aggravated though. After the party had died down a bit, Luna had taken it on herself to keep the party going. Unfortunately for her, that meant she was at her sister’s mercy. As soon as she had gotten the chance, Luna had brought out more punch bowls filled with spiked punch. Not only that, she had also brought in a bit of…entertainment. For the last two hours, Celestia had to deal with, not only a drunken Luna, but also had to fend off the many, many strippers, both male and female, that Luna had brought in.

Using her magic, Celestia summoned up a scroll and a pot of ink.

Dear AJ

Trust me…I know

Celestia.

****************************************

((HOLY SHIT IT’S FINALLY DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wait, what am I talking about. It hasn’t been that long since I updated this.

Other me: It’s been about a month.

Me: HEY, FUCK YOU OTHER ME!!!!!!!!!!

Aaaaand a pic of Disk Jockey

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

The Issue is Trust

Chapter 36

Rainbow had a content smile on her face as she lazily glided through the sky. She had just gotten back to Ponyville after spending some ’quality’ time with Braeburn down in Appleloosa. She didn’t have to go back to work until tomorrow, and she planned on using the rest of the day to just relax. Maybe take a nice long nap. It’s not like she got much sleep while in Appleloosa after all.

A yawn escaped her lips as she looked for a good enough cloud. After a bit of searching, she finally found the perfect one. As she landed on the cloud, she took it in. It was a decent size. Under the sun, it was nice and warm. Nothing too warm, but just the perfect temperature. It was also light and fluffy enough where, if she needed to, she could burrow into it to help block out any interruptions. It was, without a doubt in her mind, the perfect napping cloud.

As Rainbow stretched her limbs, memories of her time in Appleloosa danced through her mind. She had so much fun. She was able to join Braeburn in a good old fashioned hoedown. She couldn’t remember having that much fun dancing. The two of them also went to visit Little Strongheart and the rest of the buffalo. She even helped out in the orchard. She also had a bit of a talk with Sheriff Silverstar that she won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

********************

Everything was going great. Rainbow and Braeburn had just gotten back from visiting Little Strongheart, and were now sitting on the porch of Braeburn’s house; watching the sunset together. Dash was leaning into Braeburn, resting her head on his shoulder, and he was resting his head on hers. After a little bit, Rainbow felt something nudging her in the side. “Hmm?”

“Hey Dashie, would ya mind gettin’ off fer a minute? Ah gotta use th’ little colt’s room.”

Dash leaned into him even more. “Mmmm you can hold it. You’re too comfortable and warm. If you leave I’ll freeze my little hooves off.”

Braeburn chuckled. “Well alright, have things yer way. Just don’t come complainin’ ta me when everythin’, includin’ yerself, get all wet.”

“Ewwwww!” Rainbow said with a giggle as she pushed herself off of the light gold stallion. “Just go.”

Rainbow watched with a smile as Braeburn walked into the house. She turned back to look at the sunset when she heard hoofsteps approaching. “Well howdy Rainbow Dash.”

Turning her head, she smiled at Sheriff Silverstar. “Hey Silverstar. What’s up?”

“Ah was just wonderin’ if Braeburn was around?”

Rainbow chuckled as she looked back to the house. “He’ll be right back. He just went to the bathroom.”

“Hmmm.” Silverstar slowly nodded his head. “Good, cause Ah also wanted ta talk ta you ‘bout somethin’.”

Rainbow cocked her head in confusion. “What’s going on? I didn’t do something wrong when I helped with the harvest yesterday, did I?”

Silverstar shook his head. “Now, now, ya didn’t do nothin’ wrong. Ah just had a question about th’ weddin’.” He walked over and sat down next to Rainbow. “Ah’ve been wonderin’ where th’ two of ya are goin’ ta live.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened slightly. “Where we’re going to live?”

“Mmhm.”

Rainbow looked down as she ran the question through her head. “I guess…I guess I never thought about it yet. There’s still so much time before the wedding, and there’s so many other things to think about I guess where we’re going to live kinda…slipped my mind.”

Silverstar smiled and put a hoof on her shoulder. “As ya know, Braeburn is probably mah best friend, so trust me when Ah tell ya that Ah haven’t seen’im this happy in a long time. Probably not since we finally finished Appleloosa. You mean everythin’ ta him. Yer a good pony Rainbow, so know this. Wherever ya plan on settlin’ down, yer always welcome here in Appleloosa.”

A tear of happiness rolled down Rainbow’s cheek. She wrapped her legs around Silverstar. “Thank you.”

“Th’ same goes fer all’er friends, right Silverstar?”

Both Rainbow and Silverstar looked towards the door. Braeburn was standing there with a smile on his face. A blush could be seen on Rainbow’s face as she let go of Silverstar. Silverstar chuckled. “Course they are.”

“So what did ya need ta talk about?”

Silverstar stood up. “Ah was just wonderin’ how th’ buffalo were.”

“Well, why don’t ya come on in? Me an’ Rainbow were about ta get somethin’ ta eat. Yer free ta join us.”

“That’s mighty kind of ya.” Silverstar nodded to Braeburn as he walked past him, and into the house.

********************

The smile on her face slowly widened as she lay her head down on the cloud. She closed her eyes as sleep quickly took her.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow’s ears twitched as the sound of calling out to her reached her.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow groaned in protest as she pried open the cloud and crawled into the fluffy surface; hoping the offending pony would get the hint.

“Hi Rainbow.”

Rainbow’s ears twitched again. The voice sounded a lot closer that time; despite being buried in the cloud. With an irritated groan, Rainbow opened her eyes. She saw a bluish grey face with amber eyes. “Heeeey,” Ditzy said with a smile.

“Ditzy? What do you want? Can’t you see that I’m trying to take a nap?”

Ditzy giggled as she reached into her mail bag. “Sorry Rainbow. I just came to deliver your mail.” She handed Rainbow a couple letters. “Hold on, I think there’s one more thing.”

Rainbow looked at her mail with indifference. It was more of the same. She sighed internally as she made a mental note to get rid of them later. As she turned back to Ditzy, a look of confusion crossed her features. In Ditzy’s mouth was a yellow envelope. “What’s that?”

“Ay dunnow,” Ditzy said through the envelope.

Rainbow took the envelope from Ditzy and tore the top off. Inside was a decorative letter. “Dear Rainbow Dash,” she read aloud. “First things first, we would like to thank you for being a fan of Everfree Radio. Its fans like you that make us love what we do. We would also like to thank you for entering our contest to meet the always awesome Vinyl ‘DJ Pon-3’ Scratch.”

Rainbow blinked a couple times before looking to Ditzy. “I completely forgotten about that contest.”

“I didn’t even know there was a contest like that.”

Rainbow looked back at the letter. “As you probably already know, many ponies had entered the contest. You’ll be happy to know that…” Rainbow’s eyes got wide as a gasp escaped from her. She tossed the letter away. She took up the envelope and began digging through it.

Confused Ditzy grabbed the letter out of the air and began reading. “You’ll be happy to know that you have won. Enclosed in the envelope with this letter are three tickets, and three backstage passes, to The Sun and the Moon, the biggest music festival to ever grace Equestria. You’ll be able to meet artists like Dead Hor5, and Wooden Toaster, and bands like Disturbed, and Green Hay. And of course you’ll be able to meet DJ Pon-3 herself. Congratulations on winning. Eight Track.”

Ditzy had to quickly cover her ears as an overly loud, fangirl squeal filled the air. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I can’t believe it! I get to meet Vinyl Scratch! THE Vinyl Scratch!”

“That’s…great Rainbow,” Ditzy said as she made sure she hadn’t just gone deaf.

“Oh my gosh! I have to go tell Pinkie! She is going to freak!”

Ditzy smiled. “Hey, what a coincidence. That’s my next stop. We could go there to…” Before Ditzy could finish, Rainbow blew past her; sending her spinning. After she stopped spinning, she shook her head and began following the rainbow trail. “W-wait Rainbow! I’m coming with you!”

********************

While Ditzy wasn’t able to keep up with Rainbow, they did meet up again once Ditzy made it to Sugarcube Corner. Ditzy sagged slightly as she tried to catch her breath. “Why…why didn’t you…wait for…me?”

“Cause I know Pinkie’s going to freak when she hears the news!” Without another word, Rainbow blew through the front door of Sugarcube Corner and began looking around. “Pinkie! Hey Pinkie, where are you!?” As she looked around, she noticed the distinct lack of anypony. “Where is everypony?”

“Well…Mr. and Mrs. Cake…are out for…a couple days,” Ditzy said; still trying to catch her breath. She took a few seconds before continuing. “They told me to just give all their mail to Pinkie.”

“Well where is she then?”

Suddenly, a loud thud could be heard coming from up above. Ditzy and Rainbow looked at each other. “I’m going to guess she’s upstairs,” Ditzy said as she began walking towards the stairs.

“Of course. I knew that,” Rainbow said before following her up the stairs.

“So which room is hers,” Ditzy asked as she looked down the hallway.

“Second one on the left,” Rainbow said as she began walking down the hall. “Come on. I can’t wait to see her rea…”

Rainbow stopped as a sound hit her ears. “What’s that?”

“Huh? What are you…”

Rainbow stuffed a hoof in Ditzy’s mouth to silence her. “Shhhh. I hear something.” Removing the offending hoof from Ditzy’s mouth, she began walking closer to the source of the noise. She stopped once she reached the door to Pinkie’s room. Pressing her ear to the door, she listened in.

Ditzy watched as Rainbow’s eyes slowly got wide, and a blush crept its way onto her face. “Rainbow, what’s going on?” she asked in a whisper.

“Ditzy, I think you’re going to want to hear this,” Rainbow whispered back; moving over to give Ditzy some room.

As Ditzy got closer to the door, she began to hear what Rainbow was talking about. She began to blush as she heard the masculine grunting. “R-rainbow, we should be listening to this!” she said in a loud whisper.

“Just keep listening!”

Unsure of what to do, Ditzy pressed her ear to the door. “P-pinkie…I don’t…I don’t know how much longer I can last!”

Ditzy’s eyes got wide and began to separate. Her jaw practically hit the floor. “A-AJ?”

Pinkie could be heard giggling. “Come on! Just hold out a little longer!”

“I-I-I can’t hold iiiit! Aaaahhh!”

A commotion could be heard from inside the room. After it died down, the only sound coming from the room was AJ’s heavy panting. “Wow! That was awesome! It sprayed everywhere!” It went silent again. “But it sure did make a mess. I mean look at you, you’re covered in it.”

“G-gee…I wonder…how that…could have happened,” AJ said between breaths. “Maybe if…you hadn’t… have aimed it…at me…I wouldn’t have…gotten so much…on me.”

“Well don’t worry. I’ll just lick it off of you. I’m sure it’ll taste amazing.”

“P-pinkie…wait!”

Rainbow couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. ‘Are they really…’ She took a look over to Ditzy. Her head was down and she was shaking. Rainbow didn’t know what to do. She took a tentative step forward and carefully put a hoof on Ditzy’s shoulder. “Ditzy, are you…”

Rainbow let out a squeak of pain as Ditzy gripped her leg and started to squeeze with all her might. Rainbow looked on in fear as Ditzy raised her head. Her eyes were full of hatred and anger. She was grinding her teeth together so hard, Rainbow could’ve sworn she could see sparks. Ditzy removed Rainbow’s hoof as she turned around. She bucked Pinkie’s door with all her might, sending it to the floor. With the door out of the way, she dashed into the room. “GET YOUR HOOVES OFF MY MAN YOU TRAMP!!!”

Rainbow slowly entered the room after Ditzy. Her eyes got wide as she took in the sight. Over half of the room was covered in whipped cream. Off to the side sat a discarded whipped cream can. The top of the can was mysteriously missing. In the middle of the room sat both AJ and Pinkie. AJ was completely covered in whipped cream, and Pinkie was on top of him; licking him clean. Both of them were looking at her and Ditzy in complete confusion.

As Rainbow took the scene in, she realized something. Aside from the awkward situation they were currently witnessing, nothing sexual had been going on in this room. ‘Oh crap.’

Pinkie licked up one last glob of cream off of AJ’s body before climbing off of him. “Hey guys. What’s up?”

“W-what’s going on in here?” asked Ditzy.

“We’re experimenting!” Pinkie said as she bounced in place.

“Experimenting? What kind of experiment could you possibly be doing in your room?” asked Rainbow.

“How magic affects a can of whipped cream,” AJ said as he flicked some whipped cream off his hooves. He was still lying on the floor trying to wipe as much of the whipped cream off of himself as he could. “Turns out it makes all the cream erupt from the can.” He glared over at Pinkie. “And all over any pony you aim it at.” Pinkie ignored the glare.

“Why were you using magic on a can of whipped cream?”

“To see if it would taste any better silly,” Pinkie said as she put a leg around Rainbow’s withers. Using her freakishly long tongue, Pinkie took a bit more cream off of AJ’s snout and gulped it down. “Nnnnope! Still the same.”

“She asked Twilight to do it, but she refused. Said she had better things to do or something like that.” AJ got himself to a sitting position, only to start wobbling. After steadying himself, he put a hoof to his head. “Whoa…dizzy. I think I may have…overdone it a bit there. Mind if I lie down for a bit Pinkie?”

“Sure! Go ahead.”

“Awesome.” AJ got up to unsteady hooves and began stumbling over to Pinkie’s bed. When he got there, he unceremoniously plopped down. As he rested his head, he noticed something very odd about the pillow. “Pinkie?”

“Yeeeees?”

“Is…is your pillow nothing but a big bag of candy?”

Pinkie let out a snort as she giggled at AJ. “Of course not silly. That’s my late night candy bag you’re sleeping on. My pillow’s right there.” Pinkie pointed to the floor next to the bed.

AJ leaned his head over the edge to see that Pinkie’s pillow had fallen off the bed. He looked back at the bag of candy with a glare. He pushed it to the side before reaching down; taking the actual pillow in his mouth.

As AJ got situated on the bed, Ditzy tried to take this all in. “S-so, that’s all you two were doing? Experimenting on the can of whipped cream?”

“Uh huh.”

“So you weren’t doing…other things?”

AJ rolled over and eyed Ditzy suspiciously. “And just what are you implying exactly?”

Ditzy began to sweat. She took a nervous step backwards as AJ’s unrelenting gaze held firm. She knew telling him the truth could only lead to trouble, but she didn’t know what else to do. Her mind was drawing a blank. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she tried to look at anything but the pony before her. “I-I-I-I just heard the noises through the door, and thought…” Ditzy took a deep breath before continuing. “I-i-it sounded like the two of you were…doing it.”

The room was filled with an awkward silence for a moment. A chortle of laughter suddenly filled the air as Pinkie lost it. “We weren’t having sex you silly filly!” Rainbow let out an awkward laugh as she scratched the back of her head.

While Pinkie found the mistake hilarious, AJ found it much less so. Gone was his look of suspicion. It had been replaced by a look of betrayal. Ditzy refused to look him in the eyes. She kept looking at everything but him. “Ditzy…” Ditzy finally looked at him. “How could you even think I would do something like that to you?”

Ditzy took another step towards the door. “I-I-I-I…”

“You what?!” AJ pushed himself up on the bed with a hoof. “You thought I would actually cheat on you? Whiii…” AJ put a hoof to his head as another dizzy spell hit him. “W-with Pinkie of all ponies?! For Celestia’s sake Ditzy, she’s like a sister to me! Not to mention she’s going out with that DC guy.”

“Hey, calm down! To be fair to Ditzy, it did sound like Pinkie was…well, you know,” Rainbow said to try to back up Ditzy.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that Ditzy would even think that I’d cheat on her. What have I done to make you think that I would do something like that?” AJ let out a frustrated groan. “I thought you trusted me Ditzy. I guess I was wrong.”

Ditzy had tears rolling down her cheeks at this point. “I…I…”

AJ let out an angry snort as he flopped back down onto the bed. “Maybe you should just go.”

Without another word Ditzy turned and ran. She wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Neither Pinkie nor Dash could believe what they had just witnessed. Neither of them had ever seen AJ get that mad at Ditzy before. “What was that!? Rainbow said, breaking the silence. “So she made a mistake! That’s no reason to just flip out at her like that.”

“Dash, please just shut up,” AJ said as he rolled over to face away from the cyan pegasus.

“Dashie’s right Mr. Grumpy Gus.”

“See, even Pinkie’s with me on this,” Rainbow said triumphantly.

AJ rolled back over to glare at Rainbow. “Okay, if you think I was wrong to get mad, then let me pose a question to you.” Rainbow and Pinkie looked at each other in confusion. “Tell me, you would never even think of cheating on Braeburn, correct?”

Rainbow looked at AJ as if he had just said the dumbest thing in the world. “Of course I wouldn’t! Why in Equestria would you even ask something like that?!”

“Okay then, how would you feel if one day Braeburn came up to you and accused you of cheating on him with somepony? Anypony? It doesn’t matter who, or for what reason. Just accused you of cheating on him.”

The anger slowly fell from Rainbow’s face as she finally began to understand where AJ was coming from. “I…I would feel…”

“Betrayed? Angry that he would even suggest such a thing? Stop me if I’m wrong.”

Dash backed down now that she understood what AJ was feeling at this moment. “That still doesn’t mean you should have been such a mean meany pants to her.”

“Yea. I mean, okay. I would be angry at Braeburn, but I would at least give him a chance to explain himself.”

“Yea!”

“I…I really don’t wanna talk about this right now,” AJ said as he rolled back over; closing his eyes to try to shut out the rest of the world. After a few seconds, he felt some shifting around on the bed next to him. As he opened his eyes, he saw Pinkie lying on the bed next to him; looking him straight in the eye. “What?”

“You need to go talk to her.”

“Pinkie, I just said…”

Pinkie put a hoof to AJ’s lips to hush him. “Ssshhh. Save the talky talk for Ditzy.”

AJ groaned as he pushed Pinkie’s hoof away. “Fine. I’ll to talk to Ditzy…tomorrow. I’m just too angry right now. I’ll probably just make things worse.”

********************

Ditzy burst through the door of Sugarcube Corner into the streets of Ponyville. As she did, she managed to startle a few ponies that were walking nearby. She tried to hold back as many tears as she could. Much to her dismay, they wouldn’t stop.

As she ran home, she ended up running through the town square; the main shopping hub for produce and other miscellaneous items. As she ran, one certain Earth pony looked on with a worried look. “Uh oh. This can’t be good,” Carrot said. As she watched Ditzy run, she could only wonder what happened.

“Excuse me, I would like to buy some carrots please,” came a timid voice.

“Huh?” Carrot turned to see who was there. “Oh, umm sorry Fluttershy, I’m not open yet.” Carrot looked between Fluttershy and her open sign for a couple seconds before quickly taking it down; smiling sheepishly at the butter yellow pegasus.

“O-oh, um, sorry for bothering you,” Fluttershy said before walking away. “Ohh, Angel’s not going to be happy about this.”

With any potential customers out of the way, Carrot quickly maneuvered through the crowd until she got out of the square. Once she was free of the crowd, Carrot quickened her pace until she finally reached her house. As she walked through the door, she saw Ditzy’s discarded mail bag lying on the floor. Taking a quick peak inside revealed that some of the mail had yet to be delivered. ‘She didn’t even finish delivering the mail. This must be bad.’

As she closed the door, she could hear the sound of Ditzy crying from the other room. Hanging the mail bag up so it would be out of the way, she made her way into the living room. She walked up to the couch where Ditzy was crying into a pillow.

Ditzy gasped when she felt somepony put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see Carrot looking at her with concern in her eyes. “Ditzy, what happened?”

Ditzy took a long, ragged breath before answering. “I-I-I-I-I messed up Carrot. H-h-h-he hates me now.”

“Who hates you?”

Ditzy wiped some of the tears from her eyes. “AJ. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want anything to do with me now.”

“Wha? Why would AJ hate you? The two of you were so happy together.” Ditzy buried her head in the pillow again; sobbing for all she was worth. Carrot sighed; making a mental note to castrate AJ if he hurt her in any way. “Why don’t you just start from the beginning.”

********************

AJ took a deep breath as he stood in front of Carrot’s house. After getting back from Sugarcube Corner, AJ went straight to work. Despite being his first day off in a couple weeks, he asked if there was any work that still needed to be done. After being grilled on his bad attitude by Applejack, being forced to tell her everything, she finally gave him some work to help blow off some steam. He didn’t stop until Knight got home from school and asked for help with his homework.

By the time he went to bed, most of his anger had been vented into the trees he had been bucking all day. After he had gotten off of work today, he took a while to collect his thoughts before finally leaving for Carrot’s house. As he knocked on the door, thoughts of how this could turn out ran through his head.

Carrot eventually opened the door with a smile on her face. That smile quickly dropped when she saw who it was. “Oh…hi.”

“Hey Carrot. Is Ditzy home?”

Carrot was conflicted. She was angry at AJ for getting mad at Ditzy and making her cry, but after hearing what happened from Ditzy she couldn’t find it in herself to be too angry at him. “She just left not to long ago to go pick up Dinky from school. She’ll be back in a bit.”

“Oh. Maybe I’ll just come back later then.”

Carrot groaned as she stepped to the side. “Just get in here. If you have something important to say, you can just wait here for her. Besides, I wanna get your side of the story, and this will give us some time to talk.” With a sigh, AJ walked into the building.

********************

“So Ditzy accused you of cheating on her. And because of that, you felt betrayed and angry that she would even assume you would cheat on her. Do I have that right?”

AJ nodded. “Eeyup. Sounds about right. I just thought that, after everything we’ve been through, she would have a bit more faith in me.” He shook his head. “I don’t know, am I in the wrong here?”

Carrot put a hoof to her chin. “Well, I can definitely see why you would be angry. Ditzy did jump the gun with her accusation. But when you’ve known her for as long as I have, I’m surprised she’s as trusting as she is. Every time we would see each other when we were fillies, she would always have a new story about her getting harassed by the other kids at her school. Not to mention what happened with Morning Glory.”

AJ pondered over his thoughts for a moment. “So what do you think I should do?”

Carrot laid her ears back before answering. “Well…while I hope the two of you can talk things through, I’m probably the last pony you should ask for relationship advice.”

“Why? You’ve had a coltfriend before…right?”

Carrot anxiously fidgeted around. “Nnnnot exactly.”

“You mean to tell me that you’ve never had a romantic relationship with another pony? Ever?”

“It’s not like I haven’t tried,” Carrot quickly said to defend herself. “It’s just that everypony I’ve tried asking out has turned me down. Ginger Snaps back in middle school. Juicy Fruit and Spring Melody in high school. Daisy, Ace, Ambrosia…the list goes on. I even asked out Ditzy when we were foals. I couldn’t bring myself to see her for months after she turned me down.”

“Hold on a minute. Daisy? Ambrosia? Ditzy?!”

A light blush crossed Carrot’s features. “I-I guess the cat’s out of the bag. I’m, uh…I’m bisexual.” She anxiously rubbed her legs together. “It’s not really something I like telling ponies very often.”

Carrot looked down with a sigh. “W-would you believe that Ditzy’s the only pony I’ve ever kissed?”

“What about your brother at that one party?” AJ was pretty sure he felt the blood in his veins go cold after witnessing the glare Carrot fixed him with. “Sorry, sorry.”

Carrot let out a sigh as she composed herself again. “Sometimes during our sleepovers, we would…well, practice kissing. It was usually pretty tame.”

Carrot closed her eyes and became lost in her memories. Both her smile and her blush grew as she remembered locking lips with the wall-eyed pegasus. When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed AJ staring at her with a look of interest. Her already flushed face grew even hotter. “W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing, nothing. I just can’t help but picturing you and Ditzy in the middle of a hot make out session.”

“W-well stop it!”

“What? You tell me that you and Ditzy, two attractive mares, use to make out with each other, and I’m not supposed to fantasize about it?” As AJ looked at Carrot, he noticed that she was just gawking at him with a light blush. “What?”

“You think I’m…attractive?”

“Well…yea. You’re pretty easy on the eyes.” AJ just sat there; waiting to see what Carrot was going to do next. The one thing he didn’t expect was a hoof flying straight for his face.

********************

The door slowly opened as Ditzy trudged in. Dinky ran past her into the house. After discarding her bags on the floor, Dinky turned back around to face her mother. “Mommy?” Ditzy raised her head to look at her daughter. “Why won’t you tell me why you’re sad?”

Ditzy closed the door before lowering herself to her haunches with a sigh. She couldn’t tell Dinky that she blew it with AJ. Dinky adored him, maybe even more so than she herself. Telling her that he was probably no longer part of their life would devastate her. “Well, mommy made a mistake Dinky. A really bad one, and the consequences of that mistake have made me very sad.”

“What did you do?” Dinky asked innocently.

Ditzy nervously scratched her leg as she tried to think of what to tell her. “W-w-well, I…”

“Carrot, just come out of there. I said I was sorry.”

Ditzy froze as the two of them heard AJ’s voice. A bright smile grew on Dinky’s face as she turned into the house. “AJ’s here! AJ’s here!” She took off to find him.

Ditzy remained frozen in place; to afraid to move. ‘Why is he here?! What does he want?! Does he just want to tell me how badly I messed up again?!’ Her eyes grew wide. ‘What if he tells Dinky what I did?!’ With the fear of everything being exposed, Ditzy found the strength to push herself forward.

As Ditzy made it to the living room, she saw Dinky climbing the stairs. Somepony could be heard knocking on a door upstairs. “Come on Carrot, at least tell me what I did wrong.” Ditzy quickly followed Dinky upstairs.

AJ knocked on Carrot’s door once again. “Why won’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

“No! Just go away!” shouted Carrot from behind her bedroom door.

AJ let out a frustrated groan as he looked to the side where he was instantly blindsided by a flying, pale purple filly. AJ went down as Dinky clung to him; nuzzling into his chest. After shaking the cobwebs from his head, he looked down at the filly. “D-dinky?” Dinky looked up at him with a bright smile. “If you’re here, then…” AJ trailed off as he looked down the hallway. It was as he expected. Ditzy was staring at him from the top of the stairs; a look of fear on her face. “Ditzy.”

The only response Ditzy gave was a pathetic squeak. AJ sighed before looking back down at Dinky. “Hey Dinky, me and your mom have to talk. Why don’t you go to your room and play for awhile. If you’re a good girl, I’ll take you out for some ice cream later. Sound good?”

Dinky let out a loud gasp at the mention of ice cream. “ICE CREAM!!!” Dinky leapt off of AJ, and ran straight into her room to go play.

After Dinky’s door was slammed shut, the hallway remained quiet for what felt like hours. AJ got up off the floor and brushed himself off. “Ditzy, I think the two of us need to…”

“W-w-what happened to your eye?” Ditzy said to try to distract AJ.

AJ blinked in confusion before turning to the side. Using the picture on the wall as a mirror, he looked at his reflection; cringing as he did. His right eye was bruised and had swollen shut. The right lens of his glasses was also cracked and would need to be replaced. “Let’s just say that Carrot’s stronger than she looks, but that’s beside the point. Ditzy, we need to talk.”

Ditzy’s entire body drooped. She knew what was coming. “I-I-I know you must hate my guts right now, and probably won’t want to see me again, but please…” Ditzy stopped to wipe some tears away. “Please don’t take it out on Dinky.” She sniffled as she looked back at AJ. “She’s gone her entire life without being able to call anypony her daddy. Please don’t take that away from her. She’s done nothing to deserve it.”

AJ stared at Ditzy for a moment before looking down. A deep, saddened sigh escaped from him. “We…should go down stairs. I don’t want Dinky to hear any of this.” Without waiting for Ditzy to answer him, he stood up and began walking towards the stairs. He passed Ditzy without a word.

********************

It took Ditzy a few minutes to gather the courage to follow AJ down the stairs. As she slowly made her way down the stairs, she saw AJ sitting on the couch. Aside from the sound of her walking through the house, it was completely silent. She eventually made her way to the couch; sitting on the opposite side. After a minute of silence, she looked over to AJ. His head hung low. He hadn’t looked at her since she came down. Ditzy took a deep breath to try to calm herself down. “I-I-I…”

“I’m going to be blunt Ditzy. No beating around the bush.” He finally turned to look at her. “I want to know why you thought I would cheat on you.”

Ditzy nervously rubbed her leg; her tears threatening to return. “I-I-I-I…” Her words turned to a whine as she turned away.

AJ’s head fell again. “You can’t tell me, can you?”

Ditzy took a deep, ragged breath to try to calm herself down. “It’s just…It’s just that I haven’t seen you in a few weeks. When I did, y-y-you were always busy to stop and talk.”

“That’s because things have been hectic around the farm,” AJ said. “It took a week before Applejack forgave me for missing work two days in a row. Not to mention I was trying to avoid any mare in this town like the plague if at all possible. The next two weeks were spent getting ready for the upcoming cider season. Between us all, I think we finally finished bucking all the trees. I was actually planning on surprising you with a visit yesterday when I was done at Sugarcube Corner.”

Ditzy couldn’t help but feel even more foolish now. She sniffled before going on. “I-I guess I just had this feeling that maybe you were avoiding me, and I guess deep down I started having…doubts. When we heard you and Pinkie through the door, i-it sounded like the two of you were having sex. After hearing all that, something in me just kinda snapped.”

AJ sighed. “I’m not going to lie. When you were avoiding me during your heat, I did think that maybe you no longer loved me, but not once did I think you were doing…things with other ponies. I had too much trust in you to believe something like that.”

Ditzy sniffled again; wiping away a tear before it could fall. “Do you…still love me?”

AJ finally looked back at Ditzy. At this point his own tears were threatening to fall. “Of course I do. That’s why it hurts so much.” Unlike Ditzy, he didn’t stop his tears from running their course.

Ditzy couldn’t help herself. She leapt forward; wrapping AJ in a big hug. “I’m sorry!” she cried as she tightened her hug. “I’m so sorry!”

With a ragged breath, AJ returned her hug. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“I should have trusted you more,” said Ditzy as she cried into his shoulder.

AJ sniffled before speaking. “I-it’s okay. This is just a…bump in the road for us. W-w-we’ll work through it. We’ll get through this, even if we need help.”

AJ gasped as he felt somepony suddenly hug him from the side. Looking down, he saw Dinky clinging onto his side for all she was worth. She looked up at him with sad eyes. “Does this mean we can still be a family?”

He continued to take ragged breaths as he stared at Dinky. Curiosity must have gotten the best of her; causing her to follow them downstairs. She heard the entire thing. He looked at Ditzy who was looking at him with hopeful eyes. A smile slowly grew on his face as he looked back at Dinky. He lifted her up so he could hug them both. “I promise I’ll never leave you Dinky. I’ll never leave either of you.” He tightened his hug as tears of another kind continued to flow down his cheeks.

****************************************

((As I said in the vent blog, so I could get this out in a somewhat decent amount of time, I split it.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

Carrot's Dilemma

Chapter 37

It was about 4:30 in the afternoon, and the sun was well on its way to disappearing behind the trees of the Everfree. As the sun got lower, its rays began pouring through the windows of the houses. A certain indigo unicorn began to stir as the soft rays pierced through the living room windows of Carrot Top’s house; shining onto his face.

“Mmmmhh?” AJ slowly cracked his good eye open. He let out a big yawn before trying to collect himself. He stretched his neck, causing a couple things to pop back into place. As he became more aware of the world around him, he noticed the warmth that was surrounding him. Looking back, he saw that there was a blanket covering him. It was the blanket from Ditzy’s bed. He could tell, not only from how it looked, but the scent coming from it.

With a soft smile, he took a big whiff of the familiar scent. As he was about to start getting up, he felt something squirming around next to him. “Ay luff you daddy.”

As he looked down, his smile doubled. Dinky was lying down next to him. Her head was the only thing exposed as she slept soundly. She must have been having a dream with him in it. A soft warmth slowly radiated through his chest as he watched the little filly sleep. He couldn’t explain it. The feeling was completely foreign to him. Despite the tinge of confusion running through his head, he hoped the feeling would never go away. He slowly bent his head down and kissed her on the forehead. “I love you too, my little angel.”

********************

Ditzy quietly hummed to herself as she worked in the kitchen. She was wearing Carrot’s apron as she worked. She gently folded the ingredients in the bowl until she was sure the batter was ready. As she greased the next pan for use, she heard a ding come from the oven. With a smile, she opened the oven and grabbed the oven mitt in her mouth. She pulled out the tray of muffins and set them off to the side to cool.

While she usually just went to Sugarcube Corner for her muffin fix, sometimes Ditzy just like to stay at home and make her own. They didn’t always turn out as good as they could, but that never stopped her from enjoying the experience. It had always been a good way for her to relieve a bit of stress, and after what she had just been through, a bit of stress relief was just what she needed.

Before she could start pouring the batter into the second tray, she heard a knock on the door. “Who could that be?”

As she opened the door, she was greeted by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Hey you two.”

“Heya Ditzy,” Applejack said with a smile.

“Hi,” Rainbow said sheepishly.

“So, what’s up?” Ditzy asked, figuring the two of them weren’t just here to say hello.

“Before we get ta business, we’d like ta know how everythin’ went.” Applejack said with a smile.

“With what?”

“Between you and AJ,” said Rainbow.

“Oh…that.” Ditzy sheepishly rubbed her leg. “Why don’t you two come in.” Ditzy stepped to the side to let them in before closing the door. Applejack and Rainbow followed her into the kitchen. “Can I interest you in some muffins?”

“What flavor?”

“Blueberry.”

“Awesome! I love blueberry muffins!” Without waiting for Ditzy to put them on a plate, Rainbow swooped over; grabbing two of the muffins out of the pan. As she plopped down into a chair, she took a big bite of the first muffin. When she opened her eyes, she noticed Applejack lightly glaring at her. “Whaa?” she said through the muffin in her mouth.

Applejack just rolled her eyes with a sigh.

“Whaa?! She saih Ah coulh!”

Applejack facehoofed with a groan. “Why don’t we get ta th’ reason we’re here. So, how did everythin’ go?”

Ditzy let out a deep sigh before answering. “We were able to talk things through. We’re going to make this work, even if we need help.”

“Dash greah!” Dash shouted with muffin in her mouth; spewing muffin bits everywhere.

Applejack noticed the sudden change in Ditzy’s demeanor. She was clearly uncomfortable with what she was going to say. “I…I think I might need some professional help with my…trust issues.”

“Oh sugarcube, Ah’m sure yer just blowin’ this outa proportion.” Ditzy slowly shook her head as she nervously rubbed her leg. Applejack’s smile began to waver. Ditzy was serious about this. She walked over and placed a supportive hoof on Ditzy’s shoulder; putting on a warm smile. “Well, if ya think ya need some help, we’ll be behind ya one hundred percent.”

“What if I can’t be helped Applejack? I’ll end up destroying our relationship.”

Applejack drew Ditzy into a hug. “Nonsense. All ya need ta do is believe in yerself. If ya do that, ya can beat this.”

A smile slowly graced Ditzy’s features. She felt lucky to have such great friends. “Speaking of AJ, where is he anyway?” asked Rainbow. "Did he leave after the two of you talked things out?”

Ditzy shook her head as she released the hug. “No. He was taking a nap on the couch. He cried himself to sleep after we talked. He must have been really tired from working so hard.”

“Yea. We haven’t had much time ta rest lately. We’ve all been a bit tired,” Applejack said, confirming Ditzy’s thoughts.

“I think he’s still sleeping.”

“No he’s not,” came a voice from the living room entrance of the kitchen.

The three of them turned to see AJ walking into the room. He stopped as a big yawn escaped from him. “Did we wake ya?” asked Applejack.

AJ groggily shook his head as he walked to one of the chairs and sat down. “Been up for probably fifteen minutes now.”

“What took ya so long ta join us then?”

A warm smile grew on AJ’s features. “I didn’t want to wake Dinky.”

Ditzy giggled. “She climbed up onto the couch to snuggle with you while she watched cartoons. She didn’t even make it through one episode before falling asleep.”

The smile slowly fell from AJ’s face. “I love her Ditzy. She’s my little angel…and I almost let her slip away.” His let his head drop to the table with a thud. “I almost let both of you slip away. I’m such an idiot.”

“Hey, everypony makes mistakes. You can’t let one little thing like a misunderstanding get you down. So don’t go all depressed on us again.”

AJ raised his head to look at Rainbow before sighing. “I know. It’s just kinda depressing to know one simple mistake like that could almost ruin our relationship.” AJ felt somepony nuzzling into him; bringing a smile to his face. He turned his head to smile at Ditzy. Ditzy leaned her head forward; pressing her lips against his.

The room was silent for a moment. Rainbow began looking between the other ponies in the room. “So nopony’s going to ask? Nopony at all? Alright, guess it’s up to me. What happened to your eye?”

An audible facehoof could be heard. “Ya just had ta ruin th’ moment, didn’t ya?”

“What?! It’s a good question! It looks like somepony really laid into him!”

“You know, you never did tell me what actually happened to your eye,” added Ditzy.

AJ tentatively brought up a hoof to touch his swollen eye. “Well technically I did.”

“Yea, but why did Carrot hit you?”

“Wait, wait, wait…Carrot Top did that to you?” Rainbow asked. “Jeeze, she’s stronger than she looks.”

“That’s what I said,” AJ said with a chuckle.

“But why would she just go an’ hit ya?”

AJ shrugged. “Hell if I know. We were talking about things while I waited for Ditzy to get home, the conversation went to her relationship issues, and she punched me.”

“Relationship issues? Ah didn’t think Carrot Top was in a relationship.”

“She’s not; look it’s really not my place to say anything about it.”

“Well, what was all said?” asked Ditzy.

AJ put a hoof to his chin. “Well, we talked about you and me, the two of you when you were fillies and some of the…activities you did during your sleepovers…”

AJ paused to see what Ditzy’s reaction would be. “What activities?” questioned Ditzy.

“Oh, you know.” AJ puckered his lips and made kissing noises.

The realization slowly began to dawn on Ditzy. Her eyes slowly widened, as her face began to heat up. “O-oh…that stuff. She told you about that?!” she asked in a loud whisper.

“Yes, yes she did. After that I admitted that I find her attractive. That’s when she flipped out on me, and gave me this.” He motioned to his eye. “I tried asking her what it was I exactly did, I even apologized for doing whatever it was I did. She wants nothing to do with me.”

“That’s it? Sounds to me like she just has a bug up her butt,” Rainbow said as she started on her second muffin.

“Maybe I’ll be able to get some answers from her later,” Ditzy said as she looked towards the stairs.

“Probably have better luck than I did at least.” AJ looked back to Applejack and Rainbow. “So, what are the two of you doing here anyway?”

Applejack stood there for a moment blinking before facehoofing. “Ah plumb forgot why we were here in th’ first place fer a moment there.” Applejack walked over and took the seat next to Rainbow. “How would you like ta go on vacation fer a little while?”

AJ looked at Applejack in confusion. “Scuse me?”

“Well, me an Rainbow have been talkin’ bout letting ya go with’er ta her little music thingy.”

“It’s a music FESTIVAL Applejack, and it’s only the biggest, most awesome music festival in all of Equestria!” Rainbow pulled the letter, a ticket, and a backstage pass from under her wing; passing them to AJ.

He took the items in his magic. He read through the letter first; taking longer than it should have due to trying to focus with only one good eye. When he was done with the letter, he looked at the ticket. He took note of the dates printed on the ticket. “Wait a minute, this is in a few days. During cider season. Aren’t you going to need my help? I mean, you made this sound like a pretty important thing for the farm.”

“It is. Th’ profits we make from cider season keep us goin’ through th’ winter. We don’t make enough from th’ milk we sell ta live off of, so we try ta sell as much cider as we can ta build up our savin’s.”

“Shouldn’t I be there too then? Not only am I an employee, but I live there. If something happens to the farm it’s going to affect me just as much as it would you guys.”

Applejack smiled as she shook her head. “You worked hard enough over th’ last few weeks. Ya technically hadn’t had a day off fer th’ last three weeks. How many times do ya think Ah’ve found ya passed out on th’ floor because ya were too tired ta make it ta bed? You've done yer part.”

“Besides, if they really need help, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity would be there to lend them a helping hoof.”

“What about Pinkie?”

“Oh, she’s going with us.” Rainbow said matter-of-factly. “After hearing that her favorite band was going to be there, she all but forced me to give her one of the tickets if I won.”

“How come you didn’t offer the other ticket to Braeburn?”

“I did, but he didn’t want it. He doesn’t like any of the music that’s going to be playing.” Rainbow stuffed the last of the muffin into her mouth. “Youh shoun lhikh youh donh whanna gho.”

AJ shook his head. “Nooo, it’s not that. I’m just surprised you decided to give me the last ticket, that’s all.”

Rainbow swallowed before speaking. “It was either you or Ditzy, and Ditzy didn’t have anymore days of vacation left. Both of you looked like you could use some time away from everything after what happened yesterday.”

“So, ya interested?” asked Applejack.

AJ put a hoof to his chin. “You sure you won’t need me here?”

“Absolutely! Would Ah lie ta you?” Applejack asked with an honest smile.

“Yea, good point. You are a terrible liar. I would have known if you were lying.” Applejack’s smile fell; turning into an unamused stare. “When would we be leaving?”

“In two days. We’ll board the train to Vanhoover, and transfer to Las Pegasus from there.”

AJ thought for a minute before nodding. “You know what, this actually sounds kinda fun. I think I’ll take you up on your offer Rainbow.”

Rainbow pumped her hoof. “Aww yeah! Pinkie’s going to be stoked when she hears this.” She unfurled her wings. “Thanks for the muffins Ditzy!” With that, Rainbow dashed out of the house.

Ditzy smiled as she removed the apron. “I think I’m going to go talk to Carrot. Excuse me.” She gave AJ a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room.

AJ watched her until she was out of sight. He turned back to Applejack with a sigh. “Guess I should be getting back to the farm soon.”

“Nnope.”

AJ looked at Applejack in confusion. “Buuuut I have work tomorrow.”

Applejack shook her head. “As of now, yer on vacation.”

AJ’s eye got wide. “Wha? I thought the festival wasn’t for a few days?”

“An’ Ah thought Ah was yer boss. Last time Ah checked, as a boss, Ah have th’ right ta give mah employees some vacation if Ah think they need it.” Applejack looked to the other room as she heard Dinky mumble something in her sleep. “An’ Ah think yer needed here more than ya are at th’ farm right now.”

A warm smile graced AJ’s features. “Thanks Applejack.”

“Now go on. Spend some quality time with them before ya go.” She turned towards the door. “Ah’ll pack yer stuff fer th’ trip. Come by an’ pick it up before ya leave.” With a smile, Applejack walked out of the building.

AJ stood up from the chair and headed to the fridge. After getting some ice from the freezer, he made a makeshift icepack for his eye. He levitated the glasses off his head as he applied the pack to his eye. Knowing that Ditzy would probably need some time alone with Carrot, he decided to go rejoin Dinky on the couch. He wanted to be there when she woke up.

********************

As Ditzy reached Carrot’s room, she heard some grumbling coming from the other side of the door. Unable to understand what it she was saying, Ditzy knocked on the door. Carrot let out an angry growl. “GO AWAY YOU STUPID BASTARD!!!”

Ditzy backed away from the door; stunned by the explosive response. What exactly happened to spur such a reaction from Carrot. “Uhh, I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding here Carrot. Can I come in?”

All was silent in the room for a moment until Ditzy heard a sigh. “Just go away Ditzy. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Not heeding her friends words, Ditzy tried the door. Much to her chagrin, it was locked. “Carrot, just let me in.”

“I said no! Now go away!”

“Carrot, stop being so stubborn!”

“I am not being stubborn! I’m being indignant! Now leave me alone dammit!”

“I…don’t even know what that means.” Ditzy let out a groan as she realized that Carrot wasn’t going to relent. As she thought of what to do, something caught her eye. She looked to the side as a smile began to cross her features.

********************

Carrot let out an angry snort when she heard Ditzy getting further away from her door. “Why won’t anypony just let me brood in peace?” she asked herself. “Why won’t anypony give me some space, and leave me alone?”

The anger slowly dropped from Carrot’s face as she lowered her head. With a sad sigh she buried her head in her pillow. She took in a deep breath. “Why doesn’t anypony like me?”

“Is that what this is all about?”

“YAHH!!!” The unexpected voice caused Carrot to jump to the side. As she jumped, she got tangled in her bed sheets; unceremoniously collapsing off the side of her bed with a loud thud. “I’m okay!”

Carrot’s ears twitched as she heard somepony giggling. After untangling herself from the blanket, she lifted herself up just high enough to see where the giggling was coming from. “D-ditzy?! H-how the hell did you get in here?!”

Ditzy continued to giggle as she pointed her hoof. Carrot looked to see that her window was now open. “You told me yourself that you never lock your window. I just used it to my advantage.”

Carrot looked between Ditzy and the window for a moment before quickly turning away. “W-what do you want?”

“I want to know why you punched AJ in the face,” commanded Ditzy. “Not only did you break his glasses, you hurt his eye. It’s all swollen shut now.”

Carrot let out an angry snort. “Good. I hope it hurt.”

Ditzy looked at Carrot in disbelief. “What is wrong with you?! You’ve NEVER advocated violence before!” Carrot refused to look at her. “Carrot, why did you do it?!”

“BECAUSE HE’S A LYING PIECE OF SHIT!!!” Carrot shouted as she turned to look Ditzy in the eyes. Ditzy looked at Carrot with wide eyes. Now that she was finally getting a good look at her, she noticed some things she hadn’t before. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her cheeks were damp. Even now she could see tears threatening to fall from her angry eyes.

“I poured my heart out to him. I told him things about me that only the ponies closest to me know. I trusted him, and what does he do?! HE TREATS IT ALL LIKE A FUCKING JOKE!!!” Carrot took a deep, ragged breath. “Even after telling him everything, he still toyed with me, with my emotions.”

“What was he lying about? That he thinks you’re attractive?” questioned Ditzy. Carrot sniffled as she nodded her head. “How do you know he was lying? What if he does find you attractive?”

“I-if I’m so attractive, w-w-why am I so alone?” Carrot couldn’t hold back her tears any more. She turned back around; slumping against the bed as sobs wracked her body. “F-for months, I’ve had to sit on th-the sidelines while the two of you flaunted your relationship in my face. All the hugging, the kissing, the sex…you even made fun of me for being so lonely.”

Ditzy was confused. “We never made fun of you.”

Carrot turned to look at Ditzy; glaring at her through silted eyes.

********************

Ditzy looked down at AJ, smiled, and gave him one more quick kiss before climbing off of him. “Sorry, we didn’t know you’d be home yet.”

“It’s almost nine,” deadpanned Carrot. “How late did you think I was going to be out till?” Ditzy just shrugged. Carrot just sighed as she walked past them to the stairs.

Ditzy giggled before leaning close to AJ. “Don’t worry; she’s just mad because she can’t find anypony for herself.”

“I heard that Ditzy!” Carrot shouted as she poked her head out from upstairs.

AJ chuckled as Ditzy stuck her tongue out at Carrot. With a huff, Carrot pulled her head back from around the corner, stomping down the hall to her room. She slammed the door after passing the threshold of her room. Unable to hold herself up anymore, she collapsed to her haunches. She leaned back against the door as her tears fell to the floor.

Her ears twitched as she heard the front door open and close, followed by hoofsteps moving through the house. She heard Ditzy walk down the hall and into her room, closing the door behind her. She grit her teeth as images of the bluish grey pegasus ran through her head. ‘She’s just mad because she can’t find anypony for herself’ kept replaying in her head. “Fuck you…Derpy Hooves.” She slowly curled into a ball as her angry tears continued to fall.

********************

Ditzy just stood there; staring at Carrot with wide eyes. The only sound in the room was Carrot’s sobs. “That’s why you randomly apologized that morning,” Ditzy said as she thought back. Carrot silently nodded.

Ditzy laid her ears back as Shame began washing over her. For a moment, she felt her anger begin to swell over the use of that terrible nickname. By Carrot of all ponies. She quickly snuffed out the feelings. Carrot’s words were driven by anger. They meant nothing in the end. Her words, on the other hoof, didn’t have that luxury. “Carrot, I’m sorry. I…I didn’t know.”

Carrot sniffled before turning to Ditzy. “D-d-do you realize how much those words stung w-when they came from you?”

Neither of them said anymore. They just continued to stare at each other. Without saying a word, Ditzy began moving through the room. She walked around the bed until she was standing in front of Carrot. Without saying a word, Ditzy wrapped Carrot in a comforting hug. Carrot sniffled before returning the hug.

Neither of them knew just how long they sat like that. As she comforted her friend, an idea slowly formed in her head. “Carrot?”

“H-hmm?”

“I have an idea.”

********************

The day had come for Rainbow, Pinkie, and AJ to leave for Las Pegasus. AJ had gotten up early so he could make a couple stops before going to the train station. His first stop was to the optometrist to pick up his glasses. He had taken them to be fixed first thing the previous day, and hadn’t gone to pick them up till then. His second stop was the farm. Not only did he have to pick up his bags, he also wanted to say his goodbyes. It took a bit, but they were finally able to convince Knight that AJ wasn’t leaving forever. It was about nine in the morning when the three of them met Rainbow at the station

At the moment, AJ, Rainbow, Ditzy, and Dinky were waiting for Pinkie to arrive at the station so they could board the train. “I still can’t believe Carrot Top of all ponies gave that to you,” Rainbow said with a chuckle as she pointed to AJ’s now bruised and bloodshot eye. It was no longer swollen, but it was still a nasty site to behold.

AJ waved Rainbow off. “Oh come on. It doesn’t look that bad, right Ditzy?”

Ditzy turned to AJ and took a nice, long look at his eye. A quick look of disgust momentarily crossed her features before she put on a fake smile. “Y-yea. Looks…great.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Ditzy,” AJ said with a deadpan look.

“Hey, I offered to cover it up with some makeup, but you said no.” Ditzy turned away with a mischievous smile. “And Dinky was looking forward to giving you a makeover.”

“I was going to make him look like a pretty princess too,” Dinky said with a look of disappointment.

Rainbow got a mischievous glint in her eye. “Aww, AJ won’t let you have any fun?” She walked over to Dinky. “It’s a shame. I think he’d make a very pretty princess.”

“Rainbow,” AJ said in a slightly commanding tone; knowing where Rainbow was going.

A bright smile grew on Dinky’s face. “You do?!”

“Oh yea. In fact, I think that, when we get back from Las Pegasus…”

“Noo.”

“You and me gang up on him…”

“Nooo!”

“And turn him into the prettiest princess this side of Equestria.”

Dinky let out a squeal of happiness as she began bouncing up and down. She bounced over to AJ and looked up with a look of excitement. “We’re going to make you look so pretty!”

AJ put on a fake, nervous smile. “Yeah…pretty.” As Dinky bounced away, AJ began glaring death towards Rainbow who was trying to contain her laughter.

After regaining her composure, Rainbow took a look around the platform. “Now where the hay is Pinkie? She should have been here by now.”

“I don’t know. I thought you were the one in charge here,” AJ said, still a bit miffed that Rainbow roped him into getting a makeover.

“Yea, where is Pinkie?” Everyone blinked before looking over to see Pinkie standing right next to them with a giant case, twice as big as she was, next to her. She had a hoof to her chin as she thought. “Oh wait, here I am!” She pointed to herself as she wore a big, Pinkie Pie smile.

“H-how did you…” questioned a shocked Ditzy as she pointed to Pinkie.

“How did I what?”

“There was nopony there a second ago. All of a sudden, POOF, there you are!”

AJ put a calming hoof on Ditzy’s shoulder, slowly shaking his head as he did. “Ditzy, it’s Pinkie Pie. You’re best off not questioning it. If you do, your brain may implode.”

“So what took you so long Pinkie?” asked Rainbow.

“I couldn’t find my favorite shirt!” Pinkie said as she sat on her haunches, and spread her forelegs wide; showing her shirt to everypony. “I searched EVERYWHERE for it! Little did I know that sneaky little Gummy took it under the bed.”

AJ’s eyes got wide as he eyed the shirt. It was a black T-shirt. On the front, there were caricatures of four griffons riding on top of a white elephant. The griffon in front had a stick in its talon. The elephant was running through a field of mushrooms with faces. A few of the mushrooms were jumping around on pogo sticks. Above the griffons was printed the name of the band depicted on the shirt. System of a Down.

“System of a Down? System of a Down?!” AJ rushed over; grabbing Pinkie by the head so she couldn’t look away. “You have System of a Down here in Equestria?!”

Pinkie’s smile returned even bigger than before. “Well, duh! They’re only the greatest, most bestest band in the whole world! When Dashie found out they were going to perform at The Sun and the Moon, she gratefully asked me to join her to bask in their awesomeness.”

Rainbow glared at Pinkie. “That’s not how it happened and you know it!” She turned to the rest of the group. “She wouldn’t leave me alone for a week after I told her. Everywhere I turned, there she was. She even popped out of my toilet once when I was trying to go to the bathroom. I couldn’t get any privacy.” Rainbow’s cheeks began to flush. “At all.”

********************

Rainbow’s ears perked up when she heard somepony knocking on her door. She put her book down and glided through her the living room before opening the door. “Hey Ditzy. You’re early today.”

“I had some packages to deliver that I wanted to get out of the way first, so I decided to do my route in reverse.” With a smile, Ditzy reached into her mail bags and took out Rainbow’s mail. She handed it to the cyan pegasus. “I’m sure Boxxy won’t mind.”

Rainbow took the mail; stashing the letters beneath her wing. “Thanks Ditzy. I’ll see you later.” With a smile, Ditzy flew back towards the rest of Ponyville. Rainbow closed the door before pulling the letters out from under her wing. She flipped through them as she floated over to the couch; throwing the junk away as she did. “Junk. Bill. Subscription to the Equestria Daily. Letter from Braeburn. Ju...” Rainbow blinked a few times before grabbing the letter she had just thrown. “A letter from Braeburn?!”

She tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter. The smile on her face quickly dropped as she read through it.

‘Dear Rainbow

I’m awfully sorry, but I won’t be able to make it to Ponyville for your birthday. Things have just been too hectic around Appleloosa for me to even think about leaving. I know how much it meant to you for me to be there. Again, I’m awfully sorry.

I promise to get over there as soon as I can. I’ll make it up to you in any way I can. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll show you the time of your life, both in, and out of the bedroom ; )

Braeburn’

“He’s…he’s going to miss my birthday tomorrow.” Rainbow let out a depressed sigh. She hasn’t seen Braeburn for a few months. They had kept in touch via letters, but that’s just not the same. She was looking forward to spending some quality time with Braeburn on her birthday. She has been missing him so much. Not to mention her other ‘needs.’

She bit her lip as she read through the last bit of the letter again. She had been feeling so pent up over the last couple days. She was hoping Braeburn could help her blow off some steam while he was visiting, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen. Her face began to heat up as she looked around. “Nopony’s around. If Braeburn’s not here, I’ll have to take care of myself.”

Rainbow went around her house; covering all the windows to make sure nopony could peek in. Once all the windows were peek proof, Rainbow made a b-line for her bedroom. She flopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment before she closed her eyes. Images of Braeburn began running through her head as she began exploring her body. Her face grew hotter as her hooves moved lower and lower on her body. Her hind legs instinctively began to slowly spread open.

Her hooves stopped when she reached her lower belly. She opened her eyes and looked towards her closet as she remembered a certain box she had placed in there a little while back. “I haven’t had to do this since I got with Braeburn. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right.”

She pulled her hoof away and flew over to her closet. Opening it, she dug around until she found said box. She pulled it out of the closet so she could get a better look. ‘I still can’t believe I kept this box,’ Rainbow thought to herself.

Rainbow began reaching out for the cover of the box. Just before she was about to open the box, it erupted open. Dildos of all shapes, sizes, and species flew all over her room. Rainbow was to shocked by the sudden explosion of phalluses to do much of anything. One shaped like a griffon’s tool ended up smacking her in the face.

Once she recovered from her close encounter of the silicone kind, Rainbow took another look at the box to see a very familiar face looking at her. “P-p-pinkie?!” Pinkie’s head was poking out of the box of dildos with her fore hooves hanging onto the side as if she was climbing out of it. She had a pleading look on her face. She either didn’t notice, or didn’t care that one of the dildos was stuck in her poofy mane.

“Pleeeeeeeeease Dashie! You HAVE to give me one of the tickets if you win!”

Rainbow smashed her legs together to try to hide her arousal as best as she could. “Pinkie, what the hell?! What are you doing in…there?!”

“Come ooooooooon Dashie! I promise I’ll do anything if you give me one of those tickets.” Pinkie reached into the box; pulling out one of the toys. “I’ll even give you a once over with this! Just pleeeeeeease give me one of the tickets!”

Rainbow’s face was crimson as she stared at the pink mare with an appalled look. “Pinkie, get out of here!”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!” Pinkie thrust the toy forward; bumping the head against Rainbow’s snout.

Rainbow was at her wits end with Pinkie. She had been doing this all week. She should have known better than to do something so…private while Pinkie was doing this, but she was just so pent up. She needed her release, and there was only one way she was going to get it. “Uhhhhhhhhhh, fine! You can have one of the tickets! Just get out of my room, and let me have some privacy!”

A gasp filled the room as the rest of Pinkie’s body erupted from the box. She dashed forward and entrapped Rainbow in a bone crushing hug. “Oh thank you thank you thank you Dashie! You don’t know how happy this makes me!”

“Yea. Everypony…is happy,” grunted Dash as she struggled against Pinkie’s hug. “Just get…out of…here!”

A light blush grew on Pinkie’s face. “Oops, sorry Dashie.” She released the hug before jumping back into the box and disappearing.

Rainbow let out a frustrated sigh as she looked around the room. Her room was now decorated in dildos. She let out a groan knowing that she would have to clean the mess up. “Thanks a lot Pinkie.”

“You’re welcome!”

Not expecting the sudden voice, Rainbow leapt into the air. She looked back down to see Pinkie, once again, sticking out of the box. “Pinkie?! I thought I told you to get out of here!”

Pinkie held her smile. “You did! I just thought I’d nudge you in the right direction.” Pinkie reached into the box again, pulling out a multi colored phallus. She held the toy in one leg and pulled Rainbow close with the other to whisper in her ear. “Go with this one. It’s amazing, trust me.” Pinkie pushed the toy into Rainbow’s hooves before disappearing into the box once again.

Rainbow looked between the box, and the dildo in her hooves as the blush on her face grew even more intense. She threw the toy down and walked away from it, going to go pick up the mess in her room. As she got half way across her room, she looked back at the toy. She bit her lower lip as she nervously looked around the room. She walked back over to the toy, looking around once more before grabbing it up in her hooves; taking it over to her bed to help relieve some of her pent up frustrations.

********************

Rainbow felt her face heat up as the memory ended. She turned away so nopony could see her blush. “Stupid Pinkie,” she said under her breath.

“Oh Dashie, stop being so silly,” Pinkie said with her usual smile.

Rainbow let out a frustrated groan. “Well, since Pinkie’s here I guess we should board then. Come on you two, let’s…” As Rainbow turned, she noticed that a certain indigo unicorn was missing from the group. Pinkie’s giant case was also missing. “Where’s AJ?”

The rest of the group looked over to the spot where AJ used to occupy. They all looked up as they heard a banging noise coming from the direction of the train. Looking over, they all saw AJ trying to force Pinkie’s giant case into the door of the train with his magic. He looked back to the group. “What are you all waiting for?! We have to hurry! We can’t keep System of a Down waiting any longer!”

Using his magic to hold the case to the door, he threw his entire body into it in a big, full body tackle; finally succeeding in pushing the case through the door. With a triumphant smile, he dashed back to the rest of the group. “What are you guys still doing here?! We should be gone already!”

“Uhh, aren’t you going to…”

Ditzy was cut off as AJ grabbed her up in his hooves. “Think I was going to forget to say good bye?” He leaned her back; pressing his lips against hers in a big, romantic kiss. While she was surprised by the kiss at first, it didn’t take her long to become lost in the pleasure of the kiss. She closed her eyes, and hugged him back as she felt his tongue enter her mouth.

“Woooooah,” said Dinky as she watched the two of them make out. Until, that is, her vision was blocked by two pink hooves. “Hey!”

“That’s not something a silly little filly like you needs to see,” Pinkie said matter of factly. Pinkie looked over to Dash who looked about ready to blow her chunks all over the platform. “Oh come on Dashie. They’re just making out. You and Braeburn probably do it all the time.”

Dash brought a hoof to her mouth as she began taking deep breaths. “It…it’s not that. I just, urp…” Dash sat there for a minute; hoping the sudden nausea would pass.

AJ finally let up on the kiss; lifting Ditzy up so she wouldn’t fall over. “Was that good bye worthy enough?”

“Hooooo yea,” Ditzy said, still in a daze. She had a dreamy smile on her face.

AJ looked over; noting the look of nausea on Rainbow’s face. “Oh come on Rainbow. It wasn’t anything you haven’t seen before.”

Rainbow tried her best to glare at AJ as she waited for her stomach to settle down. It took a couple minutes, but her nausea finally died down. She let out a sigh of relief. “Jeeze, what was that about?”

“Maybe it’s something you ate?” suggested Ditzy.

“I haven’t even eaten today. I was just gonna get something on the train.”

Ditzy put a hoof to her chin. “Hmm.”

A whistle suddenly blew from behind them. “All aboard! Last call for Vanhoover!”

Rainbow straightened herself out as she stood up. “I guess that’s our call to get on the train. At least we don’t need to worry about getting Pinkie’s stuff in.” She began walking towards the train; Pinkie followed right on her hooves.

AJ took one last look at Ditzy and Dinky. “Looks like we’re out. I’ll see you when we get back.” He gave Ditzy one last quick kiss before leaning down to give Dinky a kiss on the forehead. He ran to the train so it wouldn’t leave without him.

****************************************

((Yea, Ah’m splittin’ th’ chapter. I figured you all waited long enough due to my writers block, I should finally give you something new to read.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))

You're Never Alone

Chapter 38

Ditzy had a smile on her face as she walked home. After seeing AJ off, she went to go drop Dinky off at Sparkler’s house. Sparkler had come over the previous day and invited Ditzy, Dinky, Carrot, and AJ to go with her and her family to Disneigh World for a few days. While AJ, Ditzy, and Carrot had other plans, Dinky was more than happy to take her up on her offer. Ditzy knew Dinky was in good hooves, so she allowed Dinky to go with her.

As Ditzy walked through the door of their house, she heard the sound of the TV from the living room. As she walked into the room, she saw Carrot lying on the couch. Looking at the TV, she saw that Carrot was watching a movie.

The movie was about a middle aged pegasus mare named Puzzle Piece. She had a peach colored coat, with a curly, olive colored mane that had started going grey. Her dull plumb eyes looked tired. She had gone her entire life without having a single relationship. It had gotten to the point where, even when a stallion did show interest in her, she pushed them away. In her eyes, they were just being charitable to an old spinster.

Ditzy never found out how the movie ended. Everytime the movie got to the third act, Carrot would turn the movie off. Before, Ditzy always just thought Carrot just got bored with the movie. Now she knows the real reason Carrot watched the movie so much. Misery loves company.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” asked the older mare on the screen.

“What? Can’t a pony ask a lovely mare out,” asked a somewhat younger stallion.

A look of disgust crossed the mare’s features. “Alright, who put you up to this?”

“E-excuse me?”

“There are loads of other, younger, more beautiful mares you could chose from out there,” she said as she motioned towards her door. “I’m supposed to think you’d choose somepony like me? A dried up, old crone that doesn’t belong in society?”

“Amen sister,” Carrot said in a depressed voice. Ditzy rolled her eyes as she walked over to the TV; turning it off. “Hey, I was watching that!”

“Not any more. From this moment on, it’s only positive thoughts.”

Carrot sat up with a huff. Ditzy wasn’t even going to let her watch her favorite movie anymore. “Look, I know you said you were going to go on some crusade, or whatever, to find me somepony, but does that really mean I can’t even watch TV?”

“Oh, you can watch TV, just none of that stuff you usually watched. There will be no more sulking about being lonely in this house.”

Carrot let out a sigh. “How do you even know I’m not a lost cause? Or just too ugly to…” Carrot was silenced as a hoof was shoved in her mouth. She let out a frustrated growl as she glared at Ditzy.

Ditzy returned Carrot’s glare with a determined smile. “Nope! No more sulky, pouty Carrot.” She removed her hoof from Carrot’s mouth and put it around her withers. “Remember, I promised you I would help you find that very special somepony, and I’ll do it again! I, Ditzy Doo, promise you, to all of Ponyville, to Princess Celestia and Luna themselves, that I will not stop in my quest until I find you, Carrot Top, a very special somepony! I won’t stop until you get laid!” Ditzy had a triumphant look about her as she finished.

Carrot’s cheeks began to heat up. “D-do you really need to put it like that?”

“Yes, yes I do!” Ditzy’s ears twitched as the sound of somepony knocking on the door hit her. She let out a gasp. “They’re here! Yay!” Ditzy got up and trotted towards the door. “They’re earlier than I thought they would be.”

Carrot gulped nervously. “W-who’s here?” Ditzy said nothing; continuing to the door. “Ditzy, who’s here?!”

As she reached the door, she turned her head; smirking at Carrot. “I knew when undertaking this project that it would be more than a one pony job, so I sent for some help. I sent for the one pony that has always been there for me. The one pony that has never, and will never steer me wrong.” Without saying another word, she opened the door.

“Ditzy, honey! It’s soooo good to see you again!” Before Ditzy could react, she was quickly scooped up in a hug.

A big smile grew on Ditzy’s face as she returned the hug. “Maxie! I’m glad the two of you could make it!”

Maxie pushed Ditzy away so he could look her in the eyes. “You should have invited us sooner! We haven’t seen you since your visit a few months ago, and that was cut a bit short.”

“We’ve had to hear everything second hoof from your parents,” came a masculine voice from behind Maxie.

Ditzy’s smile grew wider as she pried herself away from Maxie’s grip. “Fresh Start!” Ditzy launched herself at full velocity at the sturdy stallion. “Ooooh, I missed you!”

Chuckling softly to himself, Star returned Ditzy’s hug. “I missed you too.” It didn’t take long befor Star’s paternal instincts began kicking in again. “Have you been taking care of yourself?” He rubbed Ditzy’s back soothingly.

Ditzy let out a comforting sigh. Star always knew how to calm her down. “Yes.”

“What about the little one? She seemed like quite the little firecracker when we finally met her.” He finally loosened the hug as he remembered back to a little over a month ago. While Dinky was staying with Nimbos and Amethyst, they invited him and Maxie over so they could meet their granddaughter.

A warm smile grew on Ditzy’s face. “She’s with our friend Sparkler and her family right now. They went to Disneigh World. She’ll be gone for a few days.”

“Oh how fun!” Maxie said excitedly. “I haven’t been there since I was a foal.”

“Dinky’s fine though. Better than fine actually.”

A knowing smile graced Star’s lips. “So we’ve heard.” He noticed the confusion on Ditzy’s face. “When we met her, she mentioned a…’Daddy,’ on more than one occasion.”

Ditzy felt somepony nudging her from the side. When she turned, she saw that Maxie was now standing next to her with a sultry look on his face. “So when were you planning on telling us about your special somepony, hmmm?”

A light blush grew on Ditzy’s face. “I-I was going to tell you. I was just going to wait for him to get back is all. He’s going to be in Las Pegasus for the next week, I think.”

Ditzy noticed Maxie deflate slightly. “Awww. I was hoping we could have seen him again.” He let out a soft sigh.

“Now Maxie, we don’t know how long we’re going to be down here. Depending on our progress, we may very well be here for a week.”

“But I can’t leave Buttercup alone for too long! She could go into labor any moment now!”

Star rolled his eyes. “Maxie, she’s still got at least a month before it’s time. We got plenty of time.”

“But…but…” Star fixed Maxie with a deadpan stare. Maxie began to pout. “Oh, fine. But if I miss the birth because of you, no sex for a year,”

Star’s eyes got wide as his face began to heat up. “W-w-what?! B-but honey…”

“One! Year!” Maxie said defiantly. As Star began to sulk, Maxie put a leg around Ditzy’s withers. “Speaking of sex, I have to know. How is he in bed?”

Ditzy’s face turned crimson. “W-w-what?!”

“Come on, you can tell me. Oh, oh! I bet he’s wild! Or does he prefer to take it nice and slow?”

“Umm, excuse me?” came a timid voice from behind them.

Maxie blinked a few times before turning his head. He never even noticed the timid looking mare on the couch until now. “OH! I didn’t even see you there!” He let go of Ditzy, and walked further into the house. He took one last look at Ditzy, and gave her a wink. “I expect details later young lady.”

Ditzy continued to stare at Maxie, the embarrassment clear on her face. “Don’t worry.” She looked over as Star passed her; his and Maxie’s bags on his back. He had a smile on his face. “Maxie’s always been a bit more…open about that type of thing than I would have liked, but he means well.”

Ditzy took a moment to regain her composure before closing the door, and following Star and Maxie into the house. For the moment, Star just set their bags to the side. “Well, since you’re here, I suppose I should introduce the two of you to my best friend, Carrot Top.”

Star walked up with a smile on his face; extending his hoof in a gesture of friendship. “Ah Carrot Top. I’ve heard a lot about you over the years. I always hoped I would have been able to meet you at some point.”

Carrot tentatively extended her hoof. “Uhh, hi. You’re Fresh Start, right?” Star just nodded. “A-and this must be your wife then?” Carrot asked as she motioned to Maxie.

“Wife?”

“Actually, Maxie is…” Ditzy was silenced as Maxie put a hoof to Ditzy’s lips. He just smiled; silently shaking his head.

Removing his hoof, he turned to Carrot. “I’m Star’s wife, Maxie.” He smiled warmly at Carrot.

“It’s, uh…It’s a pleasure to meet the two of you. Here, let me go get some refreshments for us.”

Carrot got up off the couch, and headed towards the kitchen. Once Carrot was out of earshot, Ditzy just had to ask. “Hey, uhhh Maxie?”

“Yes honey?”

“How come you didn’t tell Carrot that you’re a stallion?”

Star could be heard chuckling. “It’s a little game he likes to play. Sometimes Maxie likes to see how long it can take a pony to realize his actual gender.”

“The record is three months so far. You’re parents really were surprised once they found out.” Maxie let out a playful giggle as he remembered back to that day.

“Hey Ditzy, could you come in here and help me please?” came Carrot’s voice from the kitchen.

“Sure, be right there.” With a smile, Ditzy trotted into the kitchen.

********************

Ditzy had a smile on her face as she reached the kitchen. It slowly dropped as she looked around. “Carrot? Where are you?”

As she continued to look around, she failed to notice the shadowy figure looming behind her with glowing eyes. For a moment it just sat there; watching the bluish grey mare’s every move. After a bit, it slowly raised an appendage, quickly striking out at Ditzy.

CLOCK!!!

Ditzy went down as stars filled her vision. “OWWWWWW!!!” She brought her hooves up to rub the back of her head. Due to the pain, she couldn’t find the willpower to keep her eyes together at the moment. With tears in her eyes, she turned to look at her assailant. “Carrot?! What in Celestia’s name was that for?!”

Carrot was glaring down at Ditzy. “What do you mean what was that for?! Why in Equestria are THEY here!” she said in a loud whisper. She didn’t want Star and Maxie hear them.

“T-they’re here to help me find you a very special somepony,” Ditzy said; still wincing from the pain. “Jeeze. You really are stronger than you look.”

“What makes you think I want them butting into my sex life?!”

“They just want to help!”

“I don’t even know them! They’re strangers to me! Do you really think I want a complete stranger to know what has, or hasn’t, been stuffed into my snatch?!” To emphasize her words, she pointed a hoof at her rump.

“Oh come on, you know Fresh Start.”

“Noooo, I know OF him. I’ve never met him until today.”

“Oh…right.” Ditzy sat up; still rubbing her head. “Still, what’s wrong with them helping out a bit?”

“I’m just…not comfortable with everypony knowing that I’m a…” Carrot let out a depressed sigh. “A big dumb virgin.”

Ditzy put a comforting hoof on Carrot’s shoulder. “Now, now, there’s nothing wrong with being a virgin at 23.”

“Says the mare that lost her virginity when she was 15,” Carrot said with a hint of venom in her voice. She felt Ditzy’s leg tense up at her words as a look of regret crossed her features. Carrot immediately felt terrible for what she had said. “Sorry.”

“No…it’s alright. It was stupid of me to give into him like that.” A soft smile grew on Ditzy’s face again. “Though I suppose I don’t have it in me to be too mad at him for that night. If it hadn’t have happened, I wouldn’t have been graced with my little muffin of happiness.”

A smile slowly grew on Carrot’s face. “Yea. I guess I’ve always been jealous of you. You had your first coltfriend at 13, and went all the way at 15, and I’ve been…well, you know.”

“There’s nothing to be jealous about.”

Carrot’s cheeks slowly started to heat up. “It…wasn’t just you I was jealous of. After hearing what happened, I couldn’t help but feel jealous that your first time was with him…instead of me. I spend countless nights dreaming about how things would have went.”

“Uhh…”

Carrot’s eyes became distant as she slowly became lost in her own thoughts. “We would be lying on the bed in my bedroom, staring lovingly into each other’s eyes.”

“Carrot?”

“We would then kiss intimately. Our tongues would dance with each other as we melted in each other embrace. You pull a hoof away. Instead, you would move it lower, and lower until you found your mark. I would be like putty in your hooves.”

“Uhh, Carrot?!”

“I would moan into your mouth. You would pull away; saliva connecting our lips. You would look at me with those beautiful, amber, gem-like eyes of yours. With a beautiful smile, you’d lower yourself down my body, replacing your hoof with your…”

Carrot was interrupted as a hoof was jammed into her mouth; jarring her thoughts back to the real world. She looked back at Ditzy who’s face was flushed. “As…thrilled…as I am to be part of some of your more…intimate dreams…I’d prefer if you didn’t tell me about them.”

Carrot stared at Ditzy for a moment before her face turned crimson. “Oh…sweet…Celestia.” She looked around the room to make sure nopony else was listening. “Did I really just say that all out loud.”

“Yyyyeaah.” Ditzy scratched the back of her head. “B-but no worries. If everything goes right, you won’t need dreams like that anymore.”

“But I like that dream,” Carrot said under her breath.

“Since you seem to be nervous about discussing this type of thing with Star and Maxie, why don’t we just spend the day talking, and getting to know them?”

“I-I guess we could do that.”

“Is everything alright in here?”

Ditzy and Carrot turned to see Maxie’s head poking in from the living room. Ditzy glanced at Carrot for a moment before smiling. “Yup! Everything’s fine. We were just discussing what everypony wanted.”

“Uhh, yea. That’s it. I can handle everything from here. Thanks Ditzy.” With a blush on her cheeks, Carrot walked over to the fridge.

Ditzy was smiling as she walked towards the living room. “Oh, this is going to be even more fun than I thought,” Maxie whispered as Ditzy passed.

Ditzy stopped dead in her tracks, and turned to Maxie. She continued to stare at him for a moment before it hit her. “You…were listening to us, weren’t you?”

“Heard every word,” Maxie said as he turned back into the living room. “You weren’t kidding when you said she needs to get laid.” Maxie giggled as he walked to the couch.

A light blush covered Ditzy’s cheeks as she remembered what she put in the letter to Star and Maxie. She had written it in the heat of the moment. Even so, she couldn’t help but giggle as she followed the light rose colored stallion.

********************

AJ and Pinkie stared around in amazement. From the instant they stepped out of the train, they were bombarded with bright lights, fun sounds, and other excitement. Every chance they got, the two of them ran off to go explore, much to the annoyance of their rainbow maned leader.

In the past hour, Rainbow had to reign in the two of them at least fifteen times, three of those times she needed to help AJ get Pinkie out of some small hole she shouldn’t have been able to conceivably fit into. They had just finished pulling Pinkie out of the third hole when Rainbow let out a growl. “Come on you guys! We’re here for the festival, not so the two of you can keep fooling around!” She looked at Pinkie, whose upper body was in the shape of the hole she was just stuck in, and sighed.

“Oh lighten up Dash,” AJ said with a smile. “It’s just exciting to be here. I never got a chance to go to Las Vegas before I came to Equestria. And while technically I still haven’t, this is like…Equestria’s equivalent, so it counts as a win in my book!” He looked back to Pinkie and couldn’t help but laugh.

To get herself back to normal, Pinkie stuck the top of her hoof into her mouth and blew. Her body slowly ballooned out until she was once again Pinkie Pie shaped. She shook her head before looking towards Rainbow. “He’s right Dashie! Besides, the festival doesn’t start till tomorrow! We should spend today gathering everypony for a big party!”

Rainbow facehoofed. “I know this place is exciting and all, but before we do anything I think we should at least find the Encore so we can drop off our stuff. After that, we can…”

“You said you guys are looking for the Encore?” Rainbow blinked before turning her head. She’s pretty sure her jaw hit the ground when she laid eyes on who had just spoken to her. He had a dusty brown colored coat, a long, blond mane, and a goatee. He was wearing a black jersey with 47 on the front. His cutie mark was a black Gibson Les Paul. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses. “I was just about to head back there. King and I need to talk some thing over before the show.”

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!”

“Uhhh, you okay there Dash?”

Rainbow quickly grabbed AJ by the face; squishing his cheeks together. “Do you know who this is?!” He just stared at her. “This is Jeff Haynneman! THE Jeff Haynneman!”

“Who?”

Rainbow gawked at him as if he was a moron. “Jeff Haynneman? Lead guitarist for Neighyer?”

As Rainbow let go of AJ’s face, he put a hoof to his chin. “Neighyer? That sounds…familiar? I think?”

Rainbow could only facehoof as Haynneman chuckled. “Anyway, you’re free to come with me if you’d like. Though we should probably hurry. King wanted me back a half an hour ago.” He turned, and began trotting down the street.

Rainbow let out a subdued squeal before following him down the street. AJ just looked at Pinkie and shrugged. “I guess fun is gonna have to wait,” he said before following Rainbow.

“Awwwww.”

********************

AJ and Pinkie took a look at their room as they waited for Rainbow. With Jeff Haynneman’s help, it didn’t take them very long to reach the Encore. They couldn’t have been anymore amazed once they saw their room. Along with winning the tickets for the music festival, they had also paid for room and board for Rainbow and her guests. What they didn’t know is that they would be getting the biggest suite the hotel had to offer. Each of them got their own full size bed. There was a full kitchen, full bath, a bar stocked with a wide variety of alcohol, and they even had their own hot tub. There was even a giant TV built into the wall with a game system.

As Pinkie was busy making sure she knew every last crevice of the room, AJ was enjoying the view of the city from their room. He had a soft smile as he took in the sights. “Whatcha thinking about?”

AJ turned around to see nopony there. He looked around for a moment before blinking. Looking up, he saw Pinkie looking down at him from the ceiling. On her hooves were suction cup horseshoes keeping her firmly in place by a light fixture. He smiled knowing he shouldn’t question it. “Nothing much. Just wondering what Ditzy’s doing right now."

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin before gasping. “I bet she’s making plans for a giant, humongous party for when you get back!”

AJ raised an eyebrow as he looked at Pinkie. “Ssssomehow I doubt that.” His ears twitched as he heard the bathroom door open. Turning his head, he saw Rainbow looking more miserable than he had ever seen her. “You going to be okay Dash?”

As they rode the elevator up to their room, Rainbow, just like the previous day, began to feel nauseous. This time, however, she wasn’t able to keep it down. The instant they got into their room, she made a beeline for the bathroom. After finding it of course. She trudged out of the bathroom, and over to the couch where she plopped down. “If you count puking your guts out as ‘okay,’ then yes. I’m doing just fine,” she said sarcastically.

She heard AJ begin to walk through the room, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t until she saw a paper towel floating in front of her that she took note of what was happening around her. She turned her head to look at AJ. “You uh…you missed some of it. Right there.” He pointed just off to the side of his mouth to indicate to Rainbow where she had missed cleaning.

Rainbow groaned before taking the paper towel. She wiped her face until she got the offending vomit out of her coat; tossing the towel away when she was done. “This…sucks.”

As Pinkie threw the towel away, AJ tried to cheer Rainbow up. “Come on Rainbow. I know you must feel completely lousy, especially with where we are, but I can’t see the Rainbow Dash letting something as simple as being sick keep her down.” All he got in return was a glare telling him that she wasn’t in the mood. He backed off a bit. “B-besides, if it’s anything like y-yesterday’s bout of nausea, you’ll be better in no time.” He put on a sheepish smile as he backed away from the angry mare.

Rainbow pouted as she curled up on the couch. “Why did this have to happen now of all times? Maybe I should go to the doctor. Do you think there’s one close?”

“Why go to the doctor when you’re Auntie Pinkie’s here for you?” AJ and Rainbow looked over to see Pinkie decked out in a doctor’s lab coat, with a stethoscope around her neck, and nerdy glasses. With a big confident smile, she began trotting over to the couch. What she failed to realize is that she couldn’t see a single thing due to the very powerful prescription lenses in the glasses. It wasn’t long before she tripped over Rainbow’s bags which had been carelessly tossed into the room when she ran for the bathroom. She stumbled until she hit the couch; falling over it, and rolling forward until she face planted into the coffee table in front of it.

Awkward silence filled the room as Pinkie’s motionless body limply sat there. AJ slowly walked up to her. “Uhh, Pinkie?” He poked her in the side. “You okay?”

Her body suddenly sprung up. Despite what happened, she held the confident smile from before. That quickly changed when the lenses of her glasses cracked and fell out. “Awwww! I liked those glasses.” Without missing a beat, she took the glasses off. She tossed them to the side as she pulled out another pair. This time with fake lenses.

Pinkie turned to Rainbow and began ‘examining’ her. She used the stethoscope to listen to Rainbow’s heartbeat. During this time, she completely ignored how uncomfortable Rainbow was with this whole process. “Mmhm.” She moved to Rainbow’s lungs. “Breathe deeply please.” Figuring it was best to just go along with this, Rainbow began breathing deeply.

AJ watched as Pinkie continued the examination. After each breath, she would let out a ‘hmm,’ or ‘uhuh.’ He had absolutely no idea what she was looking for. “So Pinkie, does that stethoscope even work? Is it even real?”

Pinkie blinked before backing away from Rainbow a bit. She eyed the stethoscope with suspicion. She brought it up to her ear and shook it before tapping it with her hoof. A smile grew on her face as she pulled the plugs from her ears and tossed it away. “Nope!”

Rainbow let out a frustrated growl. “What?! Then what was…”

Pinkie silenced Rainbow with a hoof. “Shhh, I’m not done yet.” Pinkie leaned in close and began eyeing Rainbow. Rainbow tried to back away from Pinkie’s scrutinizing gaze, but was stopped by the back of the couch.

“Pinkie, is this really…”

“Not done!” Pinkie leaned in even further to the point where hers and Rainbow’s muzzles were almost pressing together. AJ couldn’t help but blush. Any closer and the two mares would be kissing. Pinkie’s eyes suddenly shot open. She let out a loud gasp. She covered her mouth with her forelegs as she jumped back; tripping over the coffee table, and landing flat on her back.

“What, WHAT?!?!?!” asked Rainbow and AJ simultaneously.

When Pinkie got up, she had a huge, pride filled smile framing her large, sparkling eyes. “Oooh Dashie! You’re soooooo lucky!”

The other two ponies in the room were staring at Pinkie. AJ was staring at her with a look of confusion, while Rainbow was looking on in annoyance. “What? How does puking my guts out make me lucky?”

“Yea? What’s wrong with her?”

“Not telling!” Pinkie hopped towards the door of the suite; shedding the coat and the glasses as she bounced. “Now come on! We’re in Las Pegasus! We should be partying!”

Rainbow was fuming at this point. “WHAT?!?!?! What do you mean you’re not telling?! I have the right to know what’s happening to, urp.” Before she could finish, her nausea began rearing its ugly head once again. “G-get out of the way!” Leaping over the couch, she made a mad dash for the bathroom; slamming the door shut behind her.

********************

Like Ditzy had suggested, Carrot Top had spent the last day getting to know Star and Maxie in hopes that she would get more comfortable with this situation. Unfortunately for her, it did the exact opposite. While she finally understood why Ditzy was so fond of Star, she was feeling even more insecure around Maxie. Because of Maxie’s openness with sex, Carrot couldn’t help but feel even more nervous around him. Regardless, Ditzy was going to go forward with her plans.

At the moment, Star, Maxie, and Carrot were sitting in the living room as they waited for Ditzy. “What’s taking her so long?” asked Carrot who was liking this idea less and less with each and every passing moment.

“Calm down. I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” Star said in a calming voice.

“Star’s right honey. Besides, you don’t want to rush something as important as finding your very special somepony.” With a smile, Maxie leaned over, kissing Star on the cheek.

Carrot let out an uncomfortable chuckle as she nervously fidgeted around. ‘Ditzy, where the hell are you?’

“ATTEEEEN-HUT!!!!”

Everypony in the room jumped from the unexpected voice. Almost on instinct, they all stood at attention in a straight line. As they stood there, they heard the sound of metal clad hooves walking into the room. Turning their heads, they saw Ditzy standing tall; her wings extended to make her look bigger. On her body, she was wearing polished golden armor. She had a matching gold helmet with a plume of blue hair on the top. Her mane stuck out from the bottom of the helmet, and over her right eye. She wore an eye patch over her right eye. While they knew it served no purpose, it only made her look more intimidating. Around her neck she wore a silver scarf that flowed as she walked. On her hooves she wore polished, golden horseshoes.

All eyes were on Ditzy as she walked into the room. She stopped once she was in front of the group; setting a box down beside her. The other three ponies looked at the box with a look of confusion. She turned on her hooves so she was facing them. She stared at the three ponies in front of her; measuring them under her scrutinizing gaze. She let out an angry snort before speaking. “So…this is what I have to work with? Alright ladies, listen up!” Ditzy began pacing. “To complete our mission, we’ll need to find the cream of the crop! The pick of the litter! The best damn pony, to ever step hoof in Ponyville!” She stomped her hoof down as emphasis.

Maxie brought a hoof to his mouth and began giggling. “My, my. You’re really getting into this, aren’t you honey?”

In an instant, Ditzy was in Maxie’s face; staring into his soul. “Did I say you could speak maggot?!”

Maxie nearly jumped out of his skin at Ditzy’s reaction. He quickly stood at attention once again; shaking from the shock. “N-n-no sir! I-I mean Ma'am! Eep!”

Ditzy continued to glare at Maxie as she slowly turned. “I didn’t think so.” She began pacing once again. “Now, you’re all here for a reason. Fresh Start! Step forward!” Holding his resolute posture, Star took a step forward. “You are here because you have always been a good judge of character. If there was a pony better suited for this job, I have yet to meet them.” A small smile grew on his face. “You will be our pony in the field. You will go and find the ponies best suited for our sexually repressed red head here.” Carrot could only blush as Ditzy pointed to her.

“Maxie! Step forward!”

Maxie took a quick step forward. He was still jumpy from before. “M-ma'am!”

Ditzy lightly glared at Maxie who swallowed the lump in his throat. “You’re a very open pony. You have a knack for getting ponies to open up about themselves. You’re also a master at makeovers. Your job will be to gather information about Carrot Top’s perfect pony and relay that information to Fresh Start. Once Fresh Start finds his mark, you will make sure Carrot Top is ready for her date. You will be in charge of her makeup and dress. Rarity at Carousel Boutique can help with the dress. Do I make myself clear?!”

“Crystal clear ma’am!” shouted Maxie as he saluted the armor clad mare in front of him.

“And you!” Ditzy quickly turned to face Carrot; pointing at her. Carrot flinched at the sudden attention. “Your job is to pull that stick out of your ass and relax for once in your life. You’re always so wound up. You need to blow off some steam, and I don’t mean that little ‘activity’ you do every other night when you think everypony’s asleep.”

Carrot’s face was crimson. “Ditzy!” She looked over to Maxie and Star. While Star held his pose, Maxie was trying to keep from laughing.

“Speaking of your late night activities, you are forbidden to touch yourself in that manner until further notice. To help you remember this, I’ll be keeping a little something of yours with me.” Ditzy patted the small box next to her with a smile. Carrot’s eyes widened in horror as she realized just what was in that box. She shrunk back as she, once again, looked at the other two ponies. Star was looking at the box in confusion, while Maxie, while still unsure, looked like he had a bit of a clue as to what was in the box. “To help you relax, I’ve set up an appointment at the Ponyville Spa for noon. You will get the best treatment they can offer. You WILL be relaxed by the end of the day if I have to kill myself doing it.”

While Ditzy stood tall and proud, Carrot was about as meek as a pony could get. Things couldn’t get any worse for her at this point. Or so she thought. “Right men, you have your orders. Move oooaaaaAAAAaahhHhHHHH!!!” As Ditzy turned to begin walking to the door, she tripped over the box. She fell forward; slamming her chin on the floor. Her helmet flew off her head and rolled across the floor. Her eye patch became askew, only half covering up her eye. Her eyes spun in her head due to her dazed state.

She shook the cobwebs from her head as she heard a loud gasp. She turned to see what she tripped over. Her eyes got wide when she saw that the box had fallen over with it’s contents spilled on the floor. Carrot’s face was steaming with embarrassment as she looked on. Her eye was twitching at this point.

Star just cleared his throat and turned away; a light blush clear on his cheeks. Maxie, on the other hoof, was a bit more vocal with his surprise. “Is that a carrot shaped vibrator?! That is so adorable!” Maxie’s eyes practically sparkled as he clapped his hooves together.

Carrot buried her face in her hooves. “Celestia kill me now!”

Ditzy looked between the vibrator, Carrot, and Maxie as sweat began pouring down her face. Thinking fast, she quickly stood tall, and proud once again. “What the hell are you all still doing here?! I told you to move out!” Star and Maxie’s attention was, once again, on Ditzy. “MOOOOOOVE!!!”

“Yes ma’am!” shouted Star and Maxie simultaneously before the two of them rushed out the door.

********************

After Rainbow’s nausea finally settled down, the three of them decided to spend the day exploring the city. They went around taking in the sights, and take part in some of what the city has to offer. In Pinkie’s case, this included picking up some party favors that you just couldn’t find in a small town like Ponyville. Some favors, however, Rainbow had to make sure Pinkie didn’t buy. The last thing they needed was for Pinkie to start passing out roofies at her parties thinking it was some kind of candy.

As the day went on, the three of them couldn’t help themselves. They were in Las Pegasus, and what was one of the biggest reasons to go to Las Pegasus? To gamble of course. They eventually found themselves in the Mirage, and they were ready to bet their bits away.

After a couple hours of gambling, Rainbow figured it was time for a bit of a break. She had a small grin on her face. While she hasn’t been all that successful tonight, she’s going to be leaving with more bits than what she came in with. While she tried her hoof at some high risk slots and roulette, she mainly stuck with the blackjack tables. She had hoped learning to count cards would have given her more of an edge, but she couldn’t complain.

When she got to the bar, she noticed Pinkie Pie was sitting alone at the bar. Her mane and tail were somewhat deflated, and she had a scowl on her face. She angrily took a swig of her hard cider, finishing it off, before demanding another from the bartender. Rainbow sat down as another bottle was placed in front of the pink mare. “I take it things didn’t go to well for you tonight?”

Pinkie glanced over at Rainbow before grumbling something and taking a swig.

“Wow. That bad, huh?” Rainbow chuckled a bit. “I didn’t do too bad. Didn’t lose anything, but my winnings are nothing to write home about.”

Pinkie was about to speak, but was beaten to the punch. “T-t-there you guys are. C-c-could I get some help please?” came a strained voice from behind the two of them. Turning, the two of them saw AJ struggling to stay standing behind them. On his back he had a set of overstuffed bags, overflowing with poker chips. Not to mention the cloud he was carrying above his head that must have dropped out of the bags.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie both stared at the bags in awe. “What in the hell?” questioned Rainbow.

AJ strained his way over to the bar before setting the bags on the floor. He let out a loud sigh of relief now that his spine wasn’t being crushed by the bags, thankfully sturdy, strap. He stretched his back before speaking. “Apparently I’m better at poker than I thought.” A pained smile adorned his face as an audible pop sounded something popping back into place. “Looks like those lessons my friend gave me in poker really paid off.”

“Those are your winnings?!” Rainbow still couldn’t believe it. “They actually let you walk away with that many chips?!”

An evil smile crossed AJ’s features. “You should have seen the dealer’s face when I walked away instead of betting it all.” He closed his eyes and reveled in the memory of the moment. “It was a look of desperation. A look of somepony who knows they just fucked up royally. And it was beautiful.”

“That’s kinda…mean. Isn’t it?”

“Hey, some casinos don’t exactly play fair. So when somepony comes in and beats them fair and square, without any dirty tactics, it’s fun to watch them squirm.”

Pinkie let out a growl before she downed the bottle of cider. AJ just looked at her questioningly. “Seems like she lost pretty badly tonight,” explained Dash.

“Ah.” AJ let out a small sigh as he stood back up. “Well, I think I’m going to go cash out. Think I could get some help?”

Rainbow put on an evil grin of her own. “Hey, it’s your winnings. You take care of it.”

“Gee, thanks.” With a grunt, AJ got the heavy bags on his back once again. “C-could I at least g-get some help carrying it back to the hotel?”

“Yea, I guess I could help.”

“A-awesome. I-I’ll be back as soon as I c-can.”

As AJ barely managed his way through the crowd, Pinkie slammed her hooves on the bar. Rainbow jumped at the loud crash before turning back to Pinkie. “Jeeze! What was that for Pinkie?”

“What do you mean, what was that for?! I lost almost every bit I came in with, and he goes and wins all that money? It’s not fair I tell you!”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “And? You’re not the first pony to lose everything at a casino Pinkie.”

Rainbow backed off as Pinkie began glaring a hole through her. “It’s not the same! All those bits I lost came from my party budget! How am I supposed to finance my parties now if I don’t have any bits in the budget for it?!” She smashed her head into the bar. “Of all the times for my Pinkie sense to not work.”

Now Rainbow understood why Pinkie was in such a foul mood. A Pinkie Pie without parties is a very miserable pony indeed. “Maybe AJ will front you some bits for party supplies. He’s got enough there. Besides, wouldn’t using your Pinkie sense for gambling be cheating?”

“I DON’T CARE!!!”

Rainbow sighed before turning to the bartender. "Could I get a…” She tapped her hoof against her chin as she thought. “What in Celestia’s name is a pink pussy? Do I really wanna know?”

“It’s actually pretty good. Aaaaas long as you don’t let the name get to you,” the bartender said as he scratched the back of his head. “It’s a shot of strawberry liquor, and coconut rum, topped off with some cream.”

“Hey, that DOES sound pretty good. I’ll try one.”

The bartender smiled. “One pink pussy coming right…”

“WAIT!!!” Both ponies turned to look at Pinkie with wide eyes. She was wearing a look of determination. “Don’t give her that drink! Give her something without alcohol!”

Rainbow just raised an eyebrow to Pinkie before turning back to the bartender. “So yea. I’ll try that pink pussy.”

The bartender just shrugged and began making the shot. “Dashie, no!”

“And just why can’t I have a little drink, huh? I’m 21. Not to mention we’re in Las Pegasus. Since I’m here, I’m going to live it up. What happens in Las Pegasus, stays in Las Pegasus.” Rainbow looked down as her shot was placed in front of her. She smiled as she paid for the drink and picked up the glass.

As she began lifting the glass up, it was quickly snatched out of her hooves by a pink blur. Rainbow blinked before she realized what had just happened. “Pinkie, what the hell?! Give that back!”

“No! You can’t have it!”

Rainbow grit her teeth before taking a big breath to clam herself down. “Pinkie, I’ll give you to the count of three to give back my pink pussy. One, two…”

“NEVER!!! Before Rainbow could get to three, Pinkie quickly downed the shot, ensuring Rainbow wouldn’t get it. After slamming the glass back on the bar, her eyes snapped shut, and her body shuddered as the alcohol it her. A bright smile crossed her features. “Mmmmm! That was good!”

Rainbow looked on in anger. “Could I have another?” She paid the bits again as she waited for another shot to be made. The instant it was set on the bar, Pinkie swiped it up again; downing it in an instant. Rainbow growled as she slammed more bits onto the bar. “Another!”

The bartender just shrugged as he made yet another pink pussy which was, once again, taken away by the pink mare in front of him. “I can d-do thish aaaaaaall night Dashie.” Pinkie ended her sentence with a hiccup.

“Oh yea?!”

“Ye-hic-ah!”

********************

AJ was pleasantly surprised when he cashed in his winnings. He didn’t even know Equestria used paper currency of any kind. When given his winnings in bills, he asked if they were even real. They explained to him that, while most places use bits, it’s fairly common in bigger cities to use the bills for bigger transactions. When questioned about how he didn’t know this, the first excuse he came up with is that he lived a very sheltered life until recently. While he got questioning stares, they seemed to buy it.

He had a smile on his face as he trotted through the crowd. Bags stuffed with paper money were MUCH lighter than metal coins. As he approached the bar, he heard a very loud, very angry growl fill the air. “RrrrrraAAAAAHHH!!! FORGET IT!!! I’M DONE TRYING!!!”

“Probably for the best,” the bartender said. “She’s not looking too good right now.”

“SHAYSH YHOU!!!” shouted Pinkie as she pointed at the bartender. “AYE COULD DRINK SHICSHTEEN MORE ANS SHTILL BE…” Before Pinkie could finish her sentence, she dropped like a rock as she passed out. Her face smashed into the bar where it remained. Her back hooves balanced on the bar stool while the rest of her body drooped in between.

As AJ reached the bar, he looked between Rainbow and Pinkie in complete confusion. “What in Celestia’s name was that all about?”

“Pinkie wouldn’t let me have any alcohol,” Rainbow said in annoyance. “She kept drinking them on me.”

“Well, how many did she drink?” Rainbow just pointed to the ten empty shot glasses sitting on the bar in front of them. He cringed and began rubbing his head as he imagined the hangover Pinkie was going to have in the morning. “So, did you get to drink any of them?”

“No,” spat Rainbow. “And I’m done trying. I paid for ten drinks I didn’t even get to enjoy. I’m not paying for any more.”

AJ just shrugged. “Well, what should we do with her? Do you want to carry her back, or…” AJ was interrupted by the sound of Pinkie blowing chunks all over the bar. “Should I? Eww.”

Rainbow looked on in disgust. “Leeet’s take a cab. You can carry her there.”

“Thanks Dash. Carrying a passed out mare that could spew all over me at any moment. Just what I always wanted to do,” deadpanned AJ.

“Oh quit complaining and do it.”

AJ lowered his head and sighed. “Fine. Take my money.” He levitated his bags onto Rainbow’s back. “But if I find any missing, I swear to Celestia I’ll aim her vomit at you.” Rainbow had a look of fear and disgust on her face as she nodded her head. “Good, I’m glad we have an understanding. Aaaand UP we go.” AJ lifted Pinkie up onto his back as they left the casino.

********************

After her treatment at the spa the previous day, Carrot was feeling more relaxed than she ever had in years. Every single inch of her body had been worked over. Every single muscle had been rubbed until not an ounce of tension remained. Aloe and Lotus even gave her a bath with the highest quality bath salts, and soaps they had. ‘A pony must feel beautiful both inside and out’ Lotus told her. Or was it Aloe? Carrot could never discern who was who. She also found out just how sensitive her hooves were when she was getting her hoof massage. Despite the embarrassment, and getting the whole ‘don’t worry, it happens all the time’ talk, she thoroughly enjoyed her time at the spa. From that day forward, she made a mental note to make regular visits to the spa.

Her relaxed state didn’t last very long however, as she began leaving for work, she ran into Maxie who had been looking for her. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you.”

Carrot froze up at the sound of his voice. A sense of dread began to fill her. She slowly turned her head to look at the feminine stallion. “Uhh, heeeey Ms. Maxie.”

“Please, just Maxie will do, but no time for that now. Come with me! We have a date with a dress maker!”

Carrot began to sweat a bit. “C-can’t I just go and sell some Carrot’s in peace?”

“No can do. Ditzy told me to take care of you. That includes making you ready for your date once we get you one. And I see no better time than the present to get started. I already have most of the makeup, and shampoos we’ll need at your house, and I told that lovely Rarity pony you were coming today. We don’t have any time to waste.”

“B-b-but I want to sell…!”

“There will be time to make some bits once we’re done getting you a pony to love,” Maxie said as he circled around Carrot; unhooking her from the cart. “Sooooooo move!” Now behind her, he gave Carrot a little nudge in the direction of Carousel Boutique.

Carrot’s cheeks flared up with blush at the unexpected and unwanted contact with the stallion. She quickly jumped away from him. “P-please don’t touch me.”

Maxie took a step back; his face was halfway between hurt, and confused. “What’s wrong honey? I thought you wanted help?”

Carrot shook her head. “I-I did, but not from you. Not from somepony that’s still basically a stranger to me. Not to mention one that has no sense of shame or privacy. Do you realize how embarrassing this all is? Knowing that somepony I just met yesterday, is trying to help…” She lowered her voice. “Get me laid?”

Maxie’s hurt look slowly turned to one of understanding. “So that’s what this is all about. I have a question. Why are you so uncomfortable around me?”

Carrot looked at Maxie as if he was stupid. “I just told you why.”

A knowing smile formed on Maxie’s lips. “Are you sure it’s because I’m so open about sex?”

“What are you talking about?”

Maxie giggled as he motioned for Carrot to follow him into the house. Once the two of them were sitting down, Maxie spoke. “As much as you may not believe it, you and I are a lot alike.”

“What, you were a hopeless loser that couldn’t find love? Oh wait, that’s just me,” spat Carrot. “Look, I know what you’re trying to do, but you’re nothing like me. Ponies actually like you. You found your special somepony.”

“Okay, yes. I did find Star, and he does mean everything to me, but you have to understand what I went through before I finally found him. I didn’t meet Star until I was 36. Until him, I…”

“Wait a minute. 36?! How long have the two of you been married?”

“We’ve been married for five years now,” Maxie said with a dreamy smile.

“So you’re…41 years old?! But you look so young!”

“43, actually. Oh Celestia, I wish I was still 41.” Maxie took a minute to shake off the fret of getting old. “I’m actually three years older than Star. I first met him a week or two before my 37th birthday. My best friend Buttercup Blossom introduced the two of us. Her husband had worked with Star in renovating the park.” Carrot nodded. Star did mention that he dabbled in landscaping when he wasn’t busy being a janitor at the high school. “He seemed nice, so I invited him. I got to know him more during my party. He stayed behind to help clean up, and I couldn’t help myself. I squealed like a little filly when he said yes. He proposed after a year, and that was that.”

“B-b-but, how can you be older than him?! You look so young!” Carrot was having a hard time wrapping her mind around Maxie’s actual age. After a minute, she gave up with a groan. “Just…get on with your story.”

Maxie just shook his head before continuing. “As I was saying. Until Star, I wasn’t all that happy with my life. I went from coltfriend to coltfriend. Each worse than the last. Some of them immediately dumped me once they knew the ‘real’ me. Other’s wanted only one thing. Sex.”

“At least you had sex. I’ve never even made it that far. I’ve had to rely on myself my entire life.”

“Trust me honey, before I started dating Star I spent more time than I care to admit going to town on myself. Speaking of which…” Maxie leaned in close with an amorous look. “You’ll just HAVE to tell me where you got that little toy of yours sometime. I would love to have one for myself.”

Carrot could only blush. “J-just get on with it!”

Maxie giggled. “Anyway, yes. I did have sex before I met Star. Quite a bit of it in fact.” He could see Carrot’s body begin to droop. “But that doesn’t mean I was happy.”

“What do you mean?”

Maxie smiled. He had her. “Sex is sex. You get the feeling of euphoria during, but that feeling doesn’t always stick with you. Hell, some times you don’t even get that. If you have no real emotional connection with the pony you’re with, you get nothing out of it let me tell you. Do you know how many times I came home after a night of sex absolutely hating myself? More times than I can count. I would have traded every night of sex for just for the chance to be with somepony that actually cared about my feelings.” Maxie let out a sad sigh as the unhappy memories of all his one night stands came flooding back into his head. “Like I said. Sex is sex. But it’s no replacement for somepony who truly loves you. Without that feeling of happiness, that euphoric feeling of being with the one you love with all your heart, sex is like putting a band-aid on a compound fracture. It just doesn’t help.”

“Eventually, I became uncomfortable at the mere mention of anything sexual. The ponies I had sex with all ended up being big jerks. Subconsciously, I let myself think that everypony that liked sex must have been a big jerk, and I tried to avoid them. I stopped dating all together for awhile, thinking it would help. I thought that if I stopped dating all those sex craving perverts, I’d learn to stop hating it so much.”

“D-did it work?”

Maxie shook his head. “Not one bit. It eventually got so bad that I even began looking down on myself.” Maxie looked over at Carrot. “Remind you of anypony?” Carrot began blushing. “Thought so. Anyway, I told myself that there must have been something wrong with me. That it was me, and not all those ponies.” A smile adorned his face. “If not for Buttercup, I would have given up completely.”

Carrot let everything slowly sink in. “So…when did you get over your fear of sex?”

Maxie stayed silent for a moment. “It was a month after I started dating Star. After a date, he walked me home. After we got there, he asked if I wanted to take our relationship a step further. As you can guess I was hesitant at first. Memories of all my failed relationships ran through my head. For a minute, I thought he was just like all the rest, but I pushed those thoughts back. Already he had treated me better than the rest of them. Maybe this time, it would be different. So we went inside.” A slight blush adorned his light rose cheeks as a smile slowly crept across his face. “I will never forget that night. After that night, I knew what I had been missing all those years. We didn’t have sex…we made love. He loved me. And I loved him. I couldn’t remember a time I fell asleep feeling so happy.”

Maxie held his smile as he reached over; placing his hoof on Carrot’s. “Do you understand now?”

“Nnno?”

Maxie’s smile wavered slightly. “Eheh, w-what I was trying to get at was that all that time I wasn’t afraid of the sex, I was afraid that I was never going to find happiness. I equated sex to happiness at first because many of the loving relationships I knew of when growing up involved sex. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that wasn’t the case. I think you have the same fear. You’ve been around other ponies that seem so happy, and you’ve gone through life without anypony to call you special. From what Ditzy has told us, you’ve started acting differently around her and her coltfriend recently.”

“That’s because I have to hear them going at it all the time.” Carrot shuddered. “You should have heard the two of them when Ditzy was in heat.”

Maxie snorted as he tried to hold back his laughter. He took a minute to regain his composure. “Anyway, you’re jealous and angry at them because they’re happy, and you’re not. And because of your repeated failed attempts to get a date, you believe you’ll never find happiness. That’s exactly how I felt, and that’s why I want to help you through this. Nopony should have to go through life thinking they’ll never find happiness.” Maxie brushed some of Carrot’s hair from her eyes. “Please let me in sweetie. I only want to help.”

Carrot sat there for a minute letting everything said here sink in. She lowered her head as she thought more. Maxie gasped when he saw Carrot begin to shake, and a tear fall to the table. “Honey? Is everything okay?”

Carrot sniffled before looking up; tears still rolling down her cheek. “P-please. Y-you have to help me.” She took a deep, ragged breath. “I-I-I don’t wanna be alone anymore.”

With a smile, Maxie got up from his seat. He walked over to Carrot and pulled her into a hug. “Shh, shh, shh. Don’t worry. Maxie’s here for you honey.”

********************

For two ponies, their journey was just about to come to an end. As the two of them crested the final hill, their destination was finally in sight. “Well would ya look at that!” exclaimed the white earthpony with the two tone, black and red mane. “It’s Ponyville! We’re finally here!”

“Mmhm,” said his traveling companion. A dusty red pegasus with a two tone, electric blue and yellow mane.

“Oh come on Feather, ya gotsta be more exited than that. This is Ponyville! Th’ place where our lives can finally begin.”

Cloud Feather sighed. “Yes, I know this Fine Tuned,” he said; not sharing his companion’s thick, southern tang. “And?”

“Aaaaaand…” He put a leg around Feather’s neck. “Ya can’t tell me yer not exited ta finally be on yer own. Y’all finally get ta work on yer own without worryin’ ‘bout what other’s want ya ta do. An’ Ah’ve told ya b’fore. Call me R1. Everypony else does!”

Feather slowly shook his head. “I still have to answer to my superiors before I go ahead with my research. You should know that.” He straightened himself a bit. “Now if you would, please remove yourself from my neck. This cart is heavy enough as it is. And I refuse to call you ‘R1’ so please drop it.”

“Oh, yer no fun sometimes, ya know that?”

“I have plenty of fun. It’s just not the same type of fun you like to have.” Feather readjusted the harness. “So, shall we continue?”

Fine Tuned threw his hooves into the air. “WOOOO!!! NEXT STOP, PONYVILLE!!!”

As he quickly marched ahead, Feather shook his head; a soft smile forming on his face. “Next stop Ponyville.”

****************************************

((And incase you forgot, here’s a pic of Fine Tuned

And Cloud Feather

And for all of you that comment about me always posting at night, the reason for that is quite simple. I find it easier to type at night than I do during the day. Don't know why. Whenever I try to get some writting done durring the day, I almost always stare at the screen blankely for a minute before going off to do something else. It's just how I am.

My little pony © Hasbro

Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

General Derpy pic © Equestria-Prevails))

All's Fair in Love and War

Chapter 39

The mysterious samurai held his head low as he walked down the path. Cherry blossoms fell all around him from the many trees that lined the path. On his body he was wearing a grayish blue kimono with yellow along all the edges. On the back of the kimono was an intricate wing design made with a golden thread. The sash that tied the kimono together was adorned with bubbles. On his head, he wore a cone shaped straw hat which prevented anypony he passed from seeing his eyes. The only thing that could be seen was the end of his indigo muzzle. It had holes for both his ears and his horn. Both his ears were pierced with amber colored gemstones. On his hooves he wore wooden sandals. On his side hung his blade. The curved sheath holding the blade was made from solid ebony. Into the dark wood was carved many intricate runes. Around his neck he wore a golden pendant. Upon closer inspection, seven bubbles were etched into the pendant.

After traveling for awhile, he veered off the path; coming to a stop under a massive weeping willow. As he sat down, he removed the hat revealing his brown mane done up in a top-knot. As he rested, he lifted the pendant with his magic. Pressing the little button on the side, it opened up to reveal two pictures. On the left, was a picture of the empress of Neighpan, Empress Ditzabell. She was dressed in an elegant, and beautiful silk kimono. In her long, blond mane was a regal headdress. Behind her were her two hoofmaidens. One was a pale goldenrod mare with carrot orange mane and an oversized, red mare with an orange mane. The memory of his mission given to him by the empress ran through his head. Rescue her hoofmaidens from the great evil that had abducted them.

He turned to look at the picture on the other side and smiled. It was of him and the empress kissing. He knew the world would never accept their love. She was an empress in charge of an entire country, and he was just a lowly, wandering samurai. He didn’t care. Every time he stared into those off kilter, amber eyes, his heart fluttered. He remembered back to the night before he set off on this journey. The empress knew the journey would be dangerous, and she knew there was a possibility the two of them wouldn’t see each other again. She wished to make what could be their last night as memorable as possible. She also hinted that she hoped their night together would give her something to remember him by for the rest of her days.

He closed the pendant and held it close to his heart. “My love for you will give me strength.” Placing the hat back on his head, he stood up; continuing his journey.

It wasn’t long before he finally reached his destination. He looked at the evil castle with a glare. The bricks used to make the castle were as black as the night. The entire thing was illuminated by the pits of lava that surrounded the castle. Dark spires on all sides reached up into the sky, while one in the center pierced the heavens. He could only imagine there was a spire reaching from under the castle deep down into the depths of whatever hells the evil had come from. The gate leading into the castle was the face of the great evil that owned the castle carved out of the dark stone. Dark storm clouds let out their payload around the castle as fierce storms clashed all around.

The samurai’s ears twitched as the screams of the hoofmaidens reached his ears. His attention was drawn to the piercing tower. Knowing his destination, he lowered his head; holding the pendant to his heart again. Power began radiating around him as his horn flared to life. With were he was going in his head, he teleported into the castle.

Once he got his bearings, he took a look around the room he was in. He was in a large corridor. The corridor was lit by red torches giving everything a red hue. At the end of the corridor was a giant doorway. Standing in front of the door was many armed guards who had, by now, noticed his presence. Knowing he didn’t have anymore time to assess things, he drew his blade and readied for battle.

Dispatching the guards was easy enough, though he didn’t escape without his fair share of pain. One of the guards had managed to surprise him and stab him in the shoulder. Using some clean looking cloth, he wrapped it to the best of his ability. He didn’t have time to do much else. Fighting through the pain, he walked up to the doorway.

As he reached up for the door, he was surprised to see it opening on its own accord. Waiting to see what was going to happen he was suddenly pulled into the room, and thrown against the wall by magic. After crying out in pain, he opened his eyes to stare into the eyes of the demon himself. He had a purple coat and a long silver mane that blew in a non-existing wind. His emerald eyes pierced into the samurai’s soul. The fetlocks around his cloven hooves twisted and whipped around like fire. His horn was aglow with the same deep red aura that was holding the samurai to the wall. On his side was a wicked looking blade that shone in the dark light of the room.

“I’ve been waiting for you samurai. It isn’t very nice to make a pony wait like that.” With an evil grin, the demon flung the samurai across the room, and into an armor rack.

As the demon laughed his wicked laugh, the samurai struggled to stand. Memories of the empress began rushing through his head. He reached for the pendant; holding it to his heart. A mysterious power began whipping up around the samurai as he stood up. He glared at the demon with cold eyes. “This ends now, demon.” He bent down as he got ready to strike.

The demon smiled, showing his rows of sharp teeth. “Oh, I couldn’t agree more.” The demon readied himself; his blade hovering in his magic.

As the samurai readied himself, he began pouring magic into the scabbard holding his blade. The runes on the scabbard began to glow as the magic was fed into it. Not wanting to wait any longer, the demon let out a battle cry as he rushed the samurai. Once ready, the samurai followed suit. As he charged, the scabbard at his side flashed a blinding light, momentarily stunning the demon where he stood. As the samurai dashed pass the demon, a loud slice radiated through the room.

The demon stood there in the middle of the room as his blade flew through the air; embedding itself into the ceiling. Without even looking, the samurai slowly sheathed his blade. Once it fell back into place, a vertical slice appeared on the demon’s body. With a scream of agony, the demon fell in two; heavenly light emanating from both sides of his body before he turned to dust.

With a smile, he turned to a door on the side of the room. He walked to the door and opened it. The two ponies inside looked up as light began filling the room. Lady Carotene’s look of fear quickly changed for the better when she saw who it was. “S-samurai AJ! Y-you’re here!”

“Hello Lady Carotene. I am glad to see you safe, but we cannot dawdle. Where is Lady B…”

“Oh mah stars! Thank goodness yer finally here!” The samurai was suddenly hugged from the side by the goliath of a mare. She was bigger than he was. Her red coat always made her stand out even more. She had a short orange mane, and a cropped tale. She had thick layers of mascara, blush, and lipstick caked onto her face. Unlike other mares, her muzzle was angular like a stallion's. In fact, AJ was pretty sure he had seen a package between those legs at one point. She had green eyes, with freckles on her cheeks. Her cutie mark was a Macintosh apple cut in half.

“H-hello…Big Mackenzie,” the samurai struggled out against the crushing hug.

Big Mackenzie let go of the hug and began fanning herself dramatically with a hoof. “Ah was just SOO scared by all this. Ah didn’t know what ta do! But Ah knew you would come fer us! Ah just knew it! Ah knew ya wouldn’t leave me behind!”

The samurai gave a sheepish smile. “O-of course I wouldn’t have left you behind my lady. Now come. We have a long journey ahead of…”

“Th’ journey can wait. Ah want ta reward ya fer rescuin’ lil ol me.” Big Mackenzie once again wrapped the samurai in a hug and puckered her lips. The samurai attempted to escape, but just couldn’t pry the mare off of him. He looked on in horror as the lips got closer.

Suddenly, Big Mackenzie’s cheeks puffed out before she opened her mouth. The world went into slow motion as vomit shot out of her mouth; aimed straight at him.

********************

AJ’s eyes shot open as the sound of somepony vomiting assaulted his ears. He blinked the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes before slowly sitting up; an unreadable look on his face. As he sat there, he rolled the dream through his head. The sound of more vomiting broke him from his thoughts. He got out of bed and left his room.

Rainbow looked over from the counter when she heard the door open. She was still wearing her pajamas, which was nothing but a comfy looking button up, sky blue shirt with clouds on it made of cotton. “About time you got up. I was worried me and Pinkie would have to leave without you.” She took a big sip of her coffee.

“Pinkie and I, Rainbow,” AJ said as he slowly walked to the counter. Rainbow just rolled her eyes, telling AJ she really didn’t care. As AJ reached the counter, he heard the sound of more vomiting. “Wait, that wasn’t you?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Thankfully no. Pinkie was already crawling to the bathroom when I woke up.”

“Speaking of being sick, what was in those drinks you made us last night?”

“Ginger ale and grenadine. Pinkie didn’t leave anything else, remember?”

Rainbow momentarily remembered back to the previous night. Pinkie had woken up on the way back to the hotel. She was surprisingly calm for Pinkie Pie, though she seemed to anger pretty easily. At one point she nearly decked the cab driver for asking how much she had drank. Once they got her back to the room, Rainbow mentioned that she was finally going to get something to drink. Halfway to the bar, Pinkie shouted out as loud as she could before grabbing Rainbow by the flanks. Rainbow yelped as she was tossed across the room towards the couch. Just before landing, Rainbow, somehow, slowed to a snails pace before landing safely on the couch. After tossing Rainbow, she stumbled over to the bar; grabbing everything she could and taking it into her room before she slammed the door shut. They’re not to sure what happened after that, but with all the crashing and shattering heard from beyond the door, they could only imagine.

Rainbow grumbled to herself before turning back to AJ. “Why do you ask?”

“I think that grenadine may have been bad or something.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “I’m fine. Why, what happened?”

AJ shook his head; shuddering as the memory came back to him. “I’m just trying to figure out why my dream included Big Mac in drag trying to kiss me.”

Rainbow stared at AJ with an amused, yet confused look. “You dreamt that Big Mac was kissing you?”

“No, no. He was TRYING to kiss me. Pinkie spewing her guts out thankfully woke me up before it actually happened.” AJ blinked a few times before slowly facehoofing. “I never thought I would ever be thanking anypony for vomiting.”

Rainbow was beginning to crack up. “Still, you were dreaming that BIG MAC, one of the, admittedly, most handsome stallions in Ponyville, the stallion that I’m sure every mare has had at least one wet dream about, was kissing you.” She blinked her eyes. “What is it about those Apple family stallions? They all seem to be just…amazing. Big Mac’s quite the looker, as I just said. Breaburn is like…the greatest stallion in all of Equestria. Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious are probably harder workers than even Applejack, not to mention not too bad looking. They make them good in the Apple family.” After a moment Rainbow realized her thoughts were beginning to drift. She shook her head. “A-anyway, back to what we were talking about. Did he use any tongue when he kissed you?”

“Hah. And another hah.”

“I thought you didn’t have a crush on him anymore. After you got your balls back I thought you went back to Ditzy.”

A slight blush adorned AJ’s cheeks. “I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never crushed on Big Mac. W-where would you ever get that idea?”

“Oh please. Applejack told me everything. How you couldn’t even look at him without drooling. How the mere mention of his name made you giggle and squirm like a little filly.” And evil grin crossed her features. “How you clopped while imagining him taking you from behind.”

To say AJ was mortified would be an understatement. “I-I-I-I wasn’t thinking properly! My head was all jumbled from the poison joke!”

“Uhuh, suuuure it was. You keep telling yourself that.”

“I’m not gay!”

“Then why are you dreaming of Big Mac? I’d say you’re dreams know more about you than you do.”

“I…I…” AJ’s head dropped. “You’re a bitch. You know that?”

“Be that as it may, I’m right aren’t I?” AJ just glared at Rainbow. “Well?”

He angrily pointed at Rainbow as he tried to think of a response. His leg dropped as he gave up. “Fine! Yes! Okay?! Big Mac is a good looking stallion! Hell, he looks damn fine! If I was gay, I would beg him to pick me over Fluttershy! I would plead for him to bend me over and take me in the middle of the orchard before falling asleep in his warm, muscular embrace! There, are you happy?!” His eye was angrily twitching as he took deep breaths through clenched teeth.

Rainbow couldn’t hold it in anymore. “BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” She pounded on the counter as she continued to laugh. “This is…this is rich! W-wait till Ditzy hears about this!”

“If you tell anypony about this I swear to Celestia I will end you.”

Rainbow took a minute to regain her composure before speaking. “Alright, alright. I won’t tell Ditzy.” A playful smile shone on her face. “I’ll just keep it as ammunition in case I ever need it.

Just as AJ was about to start contemplating how to get away with murder, the bathroom door flew open. In the doorway stood a very gloomy and very irate looking Pinkie Pie. Her mane was as deflated as it could be without being completely straight; hiding her right eye from sight. The eye that could be seen looked to be full of hate for just about everything it set itself on. Before shuffling into the room, she grumbled something. The only words that were understandable were ‘too loud’ and ‘box of lobsters.’

Being the only one in the room not grumbling to themselves, Rainbow looked over to Pinkie. “Morning Pinkie. Got you some coffee here.” Rainbow pointed to a mug full of coffee she poured for Pinkie earlier. “Made it with lots of sugar, just like you like it.”

Pinkie’s glare went between Rainbow and the mug on the counter. Moving to the counter, she grabbed the still hot mug in her hooves. In a move that grabbed even AJ’s attention, Pinkie quickly swung the cup up; splashing the contents of the mug into her face.

Both AJ and Rainbow just stared at Pinkie in shock. Witnessing a pony douse herself in a mug of hot coffee will do that to you. They looked at each other for a moment before looking back to Pinkie. While the coffee soaked into her mane and ran down her body, she did seem to perk up a bit. Despite being soaked in coffee, her mane floofed up a bit. Plus, her gaze wasn’t full of pure hatred anymore. She stuck out her tongue and licked the coffee from around her mouth before walking over to the coffee pot.

“You uh…you getting more coffee Pinkie?” asked AJ.

Pinkie didn’t give an answer. She just stood there in front of the coffee pot. The pot was still about 3/4th full. She glanced down at the mug she was still holding onto before looking back at the pot. With a slight shrug, she tossed the mug over her shoulder. Ignoring how hot the pot was, she grabbed it in her hooves and lifted it over her head. She tipped it over and began pouring the rest of the pot down her open gullet.

AJ watched the scene with an unreadable face before standing up. “Where are you going?” asked Rainbow.

“Going to go shower,” he said as he walked towards the bathroom door. “I’ve been traumatized enough for one morning. Plus, I’d like to keep what shreds of dignity I have left.”

Rainbow just rolled her eyes as the bathroom door was closed. She looked over when she heard Pinkie let out a loud gasp. “You going to be okay over there Pinkie?”

Pinkie, whose mane was almost restored to its former poofyness, let out a loud, content sigh. “That really hit the spot.” She walked back over to Rainbow with a slight smile on her face, and a mug, somehow full, of coffee in her hoof. Despite the large amount of coffee she had just consumed, she was still looking a bit exhausted. “What was that about shreds of dignity?”

“Oh it’s nothing. AJ’s just in denial about liking stallions. He’s having trouble keeping his ragging hard on for Big Mac under control.”

“Oh, is that all?” She took a sip of her coffee. “He needs to talk to somepony about that before he does something he regrets.”

Rainbow looked at Pinkie in surprise. She wasn’t sure whether it was because she knew of AJ’s crush on Big Mac, or because the fact that Pinkie of all ponies was actually making sense. “How did…”

“Pinkie senses,” Pinkie said calmly. “Not to mention how he acted around Big Mac every time he got drunk. Then there’s the story Screwball told me about him frenching that male DJ at that gay night club.” She took another sip of her coffee. “Come on Rainbow. I think you and Applejack are the only two that haven’t at least seen the signs until now. Even Twilight put two and two together after awhile.”

Rainbow just blinked as she let this all register in her head. “Soooo Fluttershy…”

“Mmhm. Though she understands that, despite his feelings, AJ would never do anything to hurt her like that.” Pinkie giggled. “He couldn’t hurt his mommy. Besides, he loves Ditzy too much to make a move on Big Mac.”

Rainbow slowly nodded her head in understanding. “Huh. So…”

“No he doesn’t realize that we all know.” Rainbow lifted her hoof as her mouth opened to speak. “We were just planning on letting him figure everything out on his own,” interrupted Pinkie.

“How did you know what I was going to ask?” Pinkie didn’t answer. She just smiled knowingly.

Rainbow let out a sigh. “Pinkie, you are so random.”

********************

“So why exactly are we doing this right now?” questioned Carrot as Maxie continued shampooing her mane and tail. After Carrot had calmed down, she agreed to go with Maxie to Carousel Boutique for her dress. Now that they were home, Maxie decided it would be best to get a bit of a head start on beautifying Carrot.

Maxie was too busy humming a tune to himself as he worked to pay much attention. “Alright. Let’s get this shampoo out of your mane so we can begin conditioning.”

“Is this really necessary?”

“Hmm?” Maxie looked Carrot in the eyes as her question registered in his head. A smile formed on his lips. “Of course it is. When was the last time you properly cleaned your mane?”

“Hey! I wash my mane every day!”

“Yes, but how well do you wash it? Hmm?” Maxie asked with an accusatory glance. “Do you really get down to the scalp and scrub away the dirt, oil, and dry skin?”

Carrot blinked. “Uhh…”

“When was the last time you used conditioner?”

“Well…”

“And when’s the last time you combed all the knots out of your mane?”

“Okay, that last one isn’t fair. I can’t help the fact that my mane always gets tangled. It’s what I get for having naturally curly hair.”

“Trust me. I’ve dealt with ponies that have curlier hair than you. It’s far easier to keep the tangles out than you’d think.” Once Maxie was finished washing all the suds out of Carrot’s mane and tail, he took a long look at his work. “Looks like we got most of it. A few more sessions and you’re mane will be as stunning as mine. Now for the conditioner.”

Carrot stuck out her tongue. “I hate conditioner. It’s so thick, I can never get it all out of my mane, and it always burns like hell when I rub it down into my scalp.”

“That just means you don’t use it often enough,” Maxie said through the conditioner bottle in his mouth. “Your scalp is too dry. If you used conditioner more, it wouldn’t hurt so badly. Remember, a healthy scalp means healthy hair.” Maxie squirted a generous amount of conditioner on his hooves and began lathering it up. “Besides, you don’t want flakes, do you?” Without waiting for an answer, Maxie began working the conditioner into Carrot’s mane making sure to get down to the scalp.

Carrot winced as the conditioner began doing its thing. “I bring us back to my original question. Why are we doing this?”

Maxie smiled. “We want you to look your best for your blind date tomorrow night. You do want to make a good first impression, right?”

“Date?” Suddenly the stinging feeling didn’t hurt so much. All of Carrot’s attention was brought to something else. She turned to look at Maxie. “As in, me and another pony being together romantically date?”

“Well, what other kind of date would I describe as ‘blind?’” Now finished with Carrot’s hair, Maxie moved onto her tail. “While the two of us were getting you fitted for a dress, Star was hard at work setting everything up. He works fast, doesn’t he?”

Carrot continued to gawk at Maxie. “B-b-b-but what if I’m not ready? What if I need more time to prepare? Why don’t you push it back to…”

“If we push it back now, you’ll just want to keep pushing it back until it never happens. I know you’re worried, but you have to calm down. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll look like a princess. Plus Ditzy, Star, and I will be there incase something goes horribly wrong.”

“But…but…” Carrot let out a sigh. “I can’t get out of this, can I?”

Maxie shook his head. “Not if I have anything to…” Maxie was silenced as a growling sound filled the room.

Carrot blinked. “Was that…?”

A light blush came to Maxie’s face. “I guess I’m a little…hungry. Why don’t we go get something to eat after we’re done here?”

“Umm, sure. I’m kinda in the mood for something sweet. How about you?”

Maxie looked a little unsure. “I guess as long as I don’t overdo it. Sugar goes straight to my flanks. I’m not too sure how Star would react if I came home with a big, bubble butt.”

“But Ditzy has a nice, bubbly butt, and she looks amazing,” Carrot said without thinking. As her words registered in her head, a blush came to her face. “F-f-forget what I just said.”

Maxie could only giggle. “While you’re right about Ditzy’s figure, it actually looks good on her. Her hips are wider than mine to begin with. Having a bigger rump looks natural on her. On me it would just look…fat.” Maxie cleared his throat. “Well, enough about my insecurities. Why don’t we wash this conditioner out so we can go eat?”

********************

“Why won’t you just admit that we’re lost and ask for directions?” Cloud Feather asked as he stuck a hay fry in his mouth.

“’Cause Ah ain’t lost!” fired back Fine Tuned. “Maybe if y’all would stop houndin’ me fer one second Ah could find mah way!” He kept his glare on Feather as he took a bite of his tofu burger. “Mah sense of direction is next ta perfect.”

“That’s why we’ve been searching around this town for three hours now, right?” Feather had an amused look on his face.

“Shut up! It ain’t mah fault that this here map is defective!” He looked down at the map. “Ah mean, come on! What th’ hell is that?!” He pointed at a red splotch on the map. “Do they have some kinda creepy pool’o blood’er somethin’ in this town?!”

Feather picked up another fry as he looked down at the map. He grinned as he dabbed the fry in the red smudge. “Finn, that’s ketchup. It dripped out of your burger when you took a bite. You put way too much on…like you always do.” He tossed the fry into the air; catching it in his mouth.

Finn blinked before looking at his burger. Sure enough there was ketchup leaking out of one side onto the plate. “Oh.” He lifted the map and licked the rest of the ketchup off. “Not mah fault th’ stuff is so danged delicious.”

Feather shook his head. That’s when he notices two mares walking down the street. One had a pale goldenrod coat, a carrot orange mane, and three carrots as her cutie mark. The other was taller and had a light rose coat, a long, magenta colored mane, and crossed fencing sabers on her flanks. As he watched the mares, an idea formed in his head. He reached over and grabbed the map from Finn. “Give me that for a second.”

With the map in his grasp, he flew over to the mares. “Excuse me, may I ask you two lovely ladies a quick question?”

Carrot and Maxie looked at each other for a moment before turning back to this complete stranger. “Uhhh, sure?” answered Carrot.

Maxie giggled. “Sure, ask away cutie.”

A light blush slowly made its way to Feather’s face. “Well, uh...” He cleared his throat. “I and my colleague over there seem to be lost.” He pointed over to the table where Finn was sitting.

Still grumbling to himself, Finn glanced over to where Feather had landed. The anger dropped from his face as he did a double take. Never in his life had he laid his eyes on such a beautiful mare. Those beautiful green eyes. That yellow coat. Those curls in her vibrant orange mane. He always did like the color orange. All his focus was on this mare he had never seen before. She looked over to him and waved with a smile. Holding his dumbstruck look, he waved back.

After a couple minutes of ogling the mare from afar, he saw her reach out and shake the hoof of…somepony. After that, she left. She turned the corner and out of view.

“See? Look how easy that was.” Feather placed the map down in front of Finn. “All I did was ask somepony for directions, and voila.” He pointed to a marked location on the map. “This is where we are. And this…” He pointed to the other marked location. “Is where we need to go. See what you get when you stop and think things through?” As he rolled up the map, he noticed that Finn was being quiet for once. Finn was one of those ponies that was almost never silent. He was even vocal in his sleep. Needless to say you would need a healthy supply of earplugs if you wanted a good night’s sleep with Finn around. So for him to be quiet for this long something must have been wrong.

“Finn?” Feather waved a hoof in front of his face. “Finn, you okay?” He clapped his hooves together. “Equestria to Fine Tuned, you in there?!” Still no response. “Please don’t make me call you ‘R1.’”

Finn slowly turned his head to look at Feather. “Who was that?”

“Who?”

“That mare!”

“Which one? There were two mares there.”

“There was two of’em?” Finn was clearly confused. “Never mind. Th’ one with th’ orange mane! Who was that?!”

“Oh. Her name was Carrot Top,” Feather said as he put the map away. “She’s apparently going to be one of our neighbors.” He sat down and began munching on his fries again. “Her house is just down the street from ours. Why do you ask?”

“She was beautiful.”

Feather shrugged. “She was okay. Now that other mare, she was a solid ten.” As he bit down on a fry, Finn suddenly grabbed him by the face and began staring into his soul. “Wha awe…”

“Okay? Okay?! What do ya mean okay?! She was th’ most beautiful creature Ah ever laid mah eyes on. She was even more beautiful than Princess Luna. Better ass too.”

Feather just stared at Finn with an unreadable look on his face. “Caw u pweas leh goh oh mah fwace?” Letting go of Feather’s face, Finn turned back to look at the corner Carrot had turned. “Thank you. Now if you’re thinking of asking her out, you’re out of luck. They’re both already taken."

A sudden sharp pain jolted through Finn’s chest. “Sh-she’s taken?”

“Mmhm. Her friend said something about getting her ready for a date tomorrow night. Sorry.”

Finn’s lip began to quiver as sadness began to overtake him. “B-but…Ah didn’t even get a chance ta...”

Feather laid his ears back. Despite how annoying Finn could be at times, they were still friends, and he hated to see him sad. “Now, now. If it’s any consolation, she said she’s glad that somepony finally moved into that old house, and that she’ll come over to visit sometime.” Finn just looked at feather with sad eyes before looking down at the ground. “Come on. Why don’t we get home and start unpacking? It may help take your mind off of her.”

“Mmkay.”

Feather dropped some bits on the table before hooking himself up to the cart. “You ready?” Finn silently nodded as he stood up from his seat.

********************

To say that Rainbow was exited was an understatement. It took all her self control, however miniscule that was at times, to keep from lifting off into the air to do some flips in glee. “I can’t believe it! One more hour before the most awesome and amazing music festival starts!” For the hundredth time since they got to their spots in the front row, she pulled the brochure out from under her wing. “First will be Disturbed, then Neighyer, A7X, Poets of the Fall, Anberlin, and we end the day with System of a Down.”

“WOOOOOOO!” Pinkie cheered at the mere mention of her favorite bands name.

“Yes, we know Rainbow,” AJ said just loud enough to be heard over the quickly forming crowd. “You’ve told us this like…twenty times already. You don’t need to keep reminding us.”

“I can’t help it. I’m just too exited,” Rainbow said; her wings flapping excitedly. “You can’t tell me you’re not…”

“Hey, get back behind the ropes! Don’t make me throw you out before this thing even starts!”

Rainbow’s body froze. “That…that voice…” She quickly whipped her head around to look for the source of the voice.

As she continued to look around, she stopped when she realized that field of view was filled with pink. “Whatcha looking for Dashie?” Pinkie asked as she balanced on Rainbow’s head.

“Pinkie! Tell me you heard that just now!”

“Heard what?”

“That voice! It sounded like…”

Pinkie began giggling before bouncing off Rainbow’s head. “Silly Dashie, there’s like…a bamillion voices. Of course I’m hearing them. Maybe you should get your ears checked.”

As Pinkie turned to talk to some random griffon that was standing next to her, Rainbow continued to look around. “M-maybe I’m just hearing things. I mean…why would she be here of all places.” She turned to the stage. “She’s probably off hanging out with her ‘cool’ friends.” Rainbow plopped down to her haunches and let out a sad sigh. “Stupid Gilda.”

“Who’s Gilda?”

Rainbow let out a gasp as she turned her head. AJ was looking at her with concern in his eyes. She didn’t realize anypony was listening to her. “Uhh nopony! Gilda’s nopony.” She quickly stood up and brushed herself off. “In fact, forget I even said the name.”

“But…” His questioning was returned with a glare from the rainbow maned pegasus. “Alright, fine. If you don’t wanna talk about it, I’ll leave you alone then.” Rainbow let out a slight sigh of relief. “But…” Her ears perked. “If you decide you do want to talk about it, you know where to find me.”

Rainbow just looked at AJ with a hint of annoyance. He just shrugged and turned back to the stage to watch things get set up for the first band. She turned away from him with a huff. As she sat there, her annoyance slowly withered away. Memories of her time back in the Junior Speedsters ran through her head. She quickly shook the fog from her head. ‘No. I won’t let Gilda ruin this for me.’

********************

Carrot happily sniffed the air as they walked through the door of Sugarcube Corner. The smell of freshly baked confections filled the air. The smell that caught her attention the most was the smell of some cinnamon buns that were being placed out at this very moment. “This place always smells so good.” Her smile dropped slightly as she turned to Maxie. He almost looked sick to his stomach. “What’s wrong?”

Maxie brought a hoof up to his nose before speaking. “It’s nothing. The smell in this place is just so…sweet. It’s overpowering.” He removed his hoof from his nose and began rubbing his flanks. “I can almost feel myself getting fatter just by smelling all those sweets.”

Carrot rolled her eyes. “You get used to it. Trust me.” She licked her lips as she walked up to the counter; her eyes on the prize.

“Hello dear,” said Mrs. Cake as she finished putting away some cupcakes.

“Hello Mrs. Cake. How are you today?”

“Just fine,” Mrs. Cake said with a smile. “With Pinkie gone to that festival, we’ve been able to keep up with the rush much easier than usual.”

“Why is that?”

“Without Pinkie eating half of what we make, we don’t need to keep re-making everything,” Mr. Cake said as he walked down the stairs. “Isn’t that right Honey Bun?”

“I am grateful she lives with us, but she can be a hoof full at times,” she said with a sheepish smile. “Anyways, what can I get for you two?”

Carrot turned to Maxie. “I know what I want, what about you?”

Maxie looked at everything on display with an unsure look. “You wouldn’t happen to have any low fat treats, would you?”

“Oh come on Maxie, live a little!” Carrot couldn’t believe that Maxie of all ponies was acting so worried over something as trivial as a little weight gain. “Besides, you could stand to put on a few pounds. You’re too thin. Indulge yourself a little.”

“I did enough ‘indulging’ when I was in grade school. Any more and you would have had to roll me around.” Maxie said matter-of-factly. He was over exaggerating just how fat he was, but it helped make a point. “I was such a chunky little c…filly.” Maxie internally slapped himself. He almost let his little ‘secret’ slip out. “I’m quite happy with how I look thank you very much.”

Carrot was trying to hide her laughter as the image of a chunky little Maxie ran through her mind. She turned to Mrs. Cake with a smile. “I’ll take some of those great smelling cinnamon buns, and Maxie will take your sweetest, most sugar filled pie please.”

Mrs. Cake giggled as she tallied up the bill. “That will be eight bits please.” Carrot placed the bits on the counter. “Thank you. Go ahead and find a table. We’ll bring them out to you.”

“Thanks Mrs. Cake.” As Carrot turned, she ignored the piercing glare Maxie fixed her with. It was a glare that said ‘I know where you sleep,’ and ‘I hope you can sleep with one eye open.’ She didn’t care. She thought of it as payback for all the teasing Maxie had dished out. Her head held high, she trotted to an open table.

As she sat down, Carrot heard some giggling from behind her. Turning her head, she saw a pastel violet earthpony filly, and a dark grey pegasus colt sitting at the table behind her. Between the two of them sat a shake with two straws sticking out of it. One for each of them. The colt had a half eaten creampuff in front of him on a plate. The plate in front of the filly was empty. “What happened after that?” Screwball asked.

“After that, he leapt onto his bed shouting ‘I’ll destroy you with my trusty sonic screwdriver you Dalek scum!’” Shadow stopped for a moment to laugh to himself. “He pulled his electric toothbrush from his collar and charged at his pillow which had a crude crayon drawing with a Dalek taped to it. His hoof got tangled in his blanket; causing him to fall flat on his face. He ended up tumbling off his bed with all of his bedding falling with him. As his head popped out from under his bed sheets, the pillow he had the picture taped to fell on top of him.”

Screwball giggled again. “He lost to a pillow. Oh Trotsy, you’re so silly.”

“That show’s actually where he got his nick name. He looked just like a younger version of the actor that played Dr. Whooves. Aside from his mane of course. Until he became a fan of the show, his mane looked like a big puff ball. Dad told me how he would always hide things like candy in his mane for later. By the time I was born he already started straightening his mane, but I’ve seen the pictures.”

Shadow chuckled. The sight of his brother with his big, poofy afro always made him laugh. “Oh, speaking of Trotsworth, I remember a time when…” Shadow finally noticed that the two of them were being watched. Looking over Screwball, he saw Carrot Top watching the two of them with a smile on her face. “Oh, hello Carrot Top. How are you today?”

Carrot smiled. “I’m fine, thank you. How about the two of you?”

“We’re on a date!” Screwball said with a bright smile. “Breezey promised to take me on one this weekend!”

Carrot giggled as a blush came to Shadow’s face. “Ah young love,” Maxie said as he took the seat opposite from Carrot. “It’s so nice to see two ponies find love when they’re still so young.”

Carrot turned her head to look at Maxie; realizing that she had yet to introduce him. “Oh yes, how could I forget? Shadow, Screwball, this is Maxie. She, and her husband are staying at my place for a little while.”

“Nice to meet Mrs. Maxie,” said Shadow.

“Ooh, such manners. I like this one,” Maxie said; a warm smile gracing his features. His eyes fell upon Screwball, who was just staring at him in confusion; her head cocked to the side. “Can I help you sweetie?”

Screwball just sat there for a moment in silence. “…Are you a transvestite?”

Carrot was pretty sure her jaw unhinged with how hard it plummeted towards the floor. She couldn’t believe Screwball would just go and ask something like that. Especially to somepony that’s clearly a mare.

Shadow was equally as shocked. Though unlike Carrot, he wasn’t speechless. “S-screwball?! How could you ask her that?!”

“What?”

“Apologize before she gets…”

The sound of laughter cut Shadow off. All three of them looked over to Maxie who was too busy laughing harder than he had ever laughed before to pay attention to much of anything else at the moment. “Maxie? Is everything alright?” asked Carrot.

Maxie wiped away a tear that was forming in his eye before tying to collect himself once again. “Oh, I like her too. This world needs more blunt ponies like her.”

Carrot was confused. “Aren’t you mad?”

“Nope,” Maxie said without missing a beat. “Should I?”

“Well, yea…I think.” Carrot scratched the back of her head. “She DID just call you a transvestite.”

“And? She was simply speaking her mind. Should I get mad at everypony who speaks their mind?”

Carrot thought about it for a second. “I guess not.”

Relieved that Maxie wasn’t mad at Screwball, Shadow reached for his creampuff. He took a bite of it; savoring the taste as he chewed. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that Screwball was giggling as she looked at him. He swallowed before speaking. “What?”

“That’s a good look for you, you know,” Carrot said with a giggle of her own.

“W-what? What’s so funny?” he asked as a blush came to his face.

“Sweetie, you have some cream on your nose,” Maxie said, not wanting to embarrass him any further.

Shadow’s blush grew more intense as he dabbed his nose. Sure enough, a dollop of cream was sitting on his nose. Most creampuffs only have cream on the inside. When the Cakes make them, they add a big dollop of cream to the top of the puff along with what’s on the inside. “O-oh. Let me just grab my napkin and…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it!” Before Shadow could reach his napkin, Screwball beat him to the punch. Leaning over the table, she stuck her tongue out and licked the tip of his nose. She pulled away with a warm smile on her face. Her eyes never left his.

“E-eep.” Shadow’s face was crimson. Carrot was pretty sure if his face had gotten any redder, he would have gotten a nose bleed like all those characters in the stupid animes Harvey forced her to watch over the years when they were younger. After his brain began registering what had just happened, he slowly reached up to his nose; feeling the wetness left behind by Screwball. Slowly, a smile formed on his face.

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Maxie said under his breath.

“Huh?”

Maxie smiled at Carrot. “You see that? That is true love. You can practically see it in the air around them.” Carrot didn’t understand what Maxie was getting at, but decided to take his word for it. Maxie stood up. “Let’s find a different table. I’d hate to get in the way of these two love birds.”

Carrot took one last look at Shadow and Screwball. Screwball had moved to the seat next to Shadow and was now nuzzling his neck. Shadow was quite content with just leaning his head onto hers. “Alright.”

Carrot followed Maxie to an empty table on the other side of the shop. As they sat down, Mr. Cake came up to them with their orders. “Here you two are. The cinnamon buns for you and the sextuple chocolate éclair pie for you.”

Maxie looked at the pie in front of him in complete and absolute horror. Not only was the pie itself huge, but it had at least three layers of different types of chocolate covering the crust alone. The crust itself was infused with chocolate to the point where it may as well have just been made of chocolate. The filling was a mix milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate mixed, and whipped together with the richest cream available. He could feel himself getting fatter just by LOOKING at this thing. The smell wafting off of the pie was so sickly sweet, he had to keep himself from gagging so he wouldn’t offend the proprietor of this fine establishment.

“The sextuple chocolate éclair pie?” questioned Carrot.

Mr. Cake nervously rubbed his legs together. “Well, it was initially Pinkie’s idea.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

“While I wouldn’t recommend it to anypony unless they have a massive sweet tooth, it is pretty good.”

Carrot took a look at the pie again. While it did look like the very definition of a diabetic coma, it looked pretty good nonetheless. She then looked at Maxie. She couldn’t tell exactly what was going through his mind at that moment, though by the look on his face, she could guess. It was a mix between disgust, self hatred, shame, and hunger. Carrot began smiling on the inside. Despite what he had said before, Maxie was going to eat, at least some, of that pie.

With a smile, Carrot turned to Mr. Cake. “Thank you very much Mr. Cake.”

“No problem you two. Enjoy.”

Carrot watched as Mr. Cake walked away. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Screwball adjust herself to kiss Shadow proper. A sick feeling slowly began welling up in her stomach. The fear of never having that feeling began making her feel sick to her stomach.

Thankfully those thoughts were ripped from her mind as the sound ravenous slurping and eating filled the air. Turning her head, she saw that half of the pie Maxie had been given had already been devoured. What shocked Carrot the most was the method Maxie was using to eat the pie. During all of the meals they have had together, Maxie always made sure to make as little mess as he could. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t all messy. Now, he was like an animal. He was buried face deep in the pie. Munching and chewing as loudly as possible. He was even using his hooves to help shovel the pie into his mouth. Chocolate and cream was smeared all over his face, and even in his mane. As terrifying of a sight as it was, Carrot couldn’t help but find it extremely hilarious at the same time. “Umm, Maxie?”

At the sound of his name, Maxie was broken out of his reverie. He looked around the immediate area. His eyes fell upon Carrot who was trying to keep from busting out laughing. Other customers around them were looking at him in absolute horror. He looked down at the pie, which was, for some reason, now at face level. He noticed something drip down from his mane. He was about to lift his hoof to see what was in his mane when noticed that it was now covered in pie. So was his other hoof. Looking down at his muzzle, he could see that it too was covered in pie. Not to mention the amazing taste of chocolate that was tantalizing his taste buds like magic. It took a minute, but he eventually pieced together what had just happened. He quickly sat up in his seat; putting on his best poker face.

“I thought you didn’t want any…”

“If you mention this to anypony I will end you.”

“You know, it’s hard to take you serious when you just got finished making love to a pie.” Despite the chocolate coating he now had, the glare in Maxie’s eyes did not fail to make the blood in Carrot’s veins run cold.

********************

“That was so much fun,” Carrot said as she and Maxie walked down the street. Both of them were covered from head to hoof in frosting, pie filling, and other sugary confections. Carrot even had a cinnamon bun cemented to her mane. Trust her, both she and Maxie tried to get it out with zero success. After teasing Maxie about the pie, Maxie dove over the table, pie in hooves, and smooshed what was left into Carrot’s face. In retaliation, Carrot grabbed the closest thing she could get her hooves on, one of her cinnamon buns, and hurled it at the light rose stallion. She missed by a long shot and hit one of the other ponies in the shop. It wasn’t long before the entire shop was part of their war. Mr. and Mrs. Cake, along with a couple of the other ponies in the shop, decided it would be best to take cover until it was all over. In the end it was Carrot and her general Screwball against Maxie and his confidants, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Needless to say, no food fight cutie marks were attained. “I just hope I won’t have to cut my mane to get this thing out.”

“Well, that’s what you get for ordering me that horrendous pie.”

“Come on, you can’t tell me it didn’t taste amazing.” To prove her point, Carrot licked some of the pie from around her lips. “Mmmmmmmm. I may have to order one of those the next time my family comes to visit. That is, if they ever allow me back in there.”

“I’m sure once we pay for the damages they’ll welcome you with warm smiles.”

“I don’t know. The looked really angry.”

“Don’t worry honey, they’ll forgive you eventually.” A bit of pie filling fell from Maxie’s mane. He looked down at it with a sigh. “I can’t believe I actually ate some of that pie.”

“I still don’t see why it’s such a problem. It was just a bit of pie.”

Maxie quickly stepped in front of carrot; cutting her off. “A bit of pie that will most definitely make my flank balloon out. Did you think I was joking when I said sugar goes straight to my flanks? I’m going to have to double my workout routine to make sure I don’t get fat. It happened when I was a foal, it started happening again when I was all depressed, I don’t need it happening a third time.” A light blush formed on his cheeks. “There’s a reason I don’t allow sweets in our house. As, uh…as you could tell, I can’t really control myself when it comes to sweets. Especially chocolate.”

Carrot snickered. “Guess I know to keep my stash of chocolate hidden till you leave then.” She was rewarded with another glare from Maxie. “Sorry, sorry.”

Maxie’s features softened as he giggled to himself. “I guess I really did deserve all this with how much I’ve been teasing you, huh?”

“Just a bit.” Carrot extended a hoof. “Truce?”

Maxie smiled before extending his own hoof. “Truce.” As he looked Carrot over one more time, his smile grew. “Besides, it was all worth being able to act like a foal again.”

“Yea, I guess it was. It’s been awhile since I’ve had that much fun.”

“Oh it has, has it?”

Carrot’s smile faltered slightly. “What are you getting at? I thought we had a truce?”

“Oh no, no teasing, just…an idea. Why don’t you go out with some friends and have some fun today? Just go wild. Don’t let anypony tell you what to do.”

Carrot raised her brow. “So you’re telling me to shirk any and all responsibilities for the rest of the day and go have fun?”

“Exactly. You just said you don’t have enough fun. This is your chance to get it out of your system. After we get you clean of course. I will remove that cinnamon bun from your mane if it kills me.”

Carrot poked the bun. “Oh yea. I forgot about that thing.” Carrot laughed to herself. “You’re just lucky I never hit you with one of them.”

Maxie shuddered. “The thought of having one of those things stuck in my mane gives me the chills.” The two of them looked at each other before they both burst out laughing.

The two of them continued reminiscing about the food fight until Carrot’s house came into view. About halfway down the street they saw the door open with Star and Ditzy leaving. Carrot couldn’t believe Ditzy was still wearing that general’s outfit. ‘It makes me feel powerful,’ she said when questioned about it.

“Like I said, if you want to live a long, healthy life, you need to start eating better honey,” Star said with a smile.

“I still don’t see what’s wrong with the way I eat. Carrot’s a very good cook, and…”

“Aaaand, while the food she cooks tastes good, they’re not the healthiest meals in the world. Trust me, being married to a health nut like Maxie has made me learn to start eating healthier. I even changed the recipe to your mother’s French toast a bit to make it healthier.”

Ditzy giggled to herself. “No you didn’t. I loved mom’s French toast. I think I’d notice if something was changed.”

Star glanced over with a look Ditzy hadn’t expected from a pony like Star. He had just taken what she had said as a challenge. “Is that so? Alright. I’ll make dinner tonight, and it’s going to be French toast. For one batch I’ll use your mother’s recipe. For the other, I’ll use my updated recipe. We’ll see if you can tell the difference.”

Ditzy couldn’t help but return the look. “Oh, it’s on.” As the two of them turned to look where they were going, they noticed something…odd walking down the street towards them. “Star?”

“Yes?”

Ditzy pointed to the two golems made of sugar. “What the hell are those?”

Unable to discern what they were from a distance, Star waited till they were a bit closer before he passed judgment. It took a minute, but he was eventually able to tell just what they were. “Maxie?!”

“Hi sweetie!” As Maxie passed Star, he gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing into the house.

“Carrot, what the hell happened to you two?” questioned Ditzy.

Carrot looked back to Ditzy for a second before turning to Maxie. Both of them burst out with giggles before they continued into the house. Without answering the question, they closed the door behind them.

Star lifted his hoof to dab at the spot Maxie had kissed him. Looking at what was on his hoof, he gave it a little lick. “Chocolate? I thought Maxie hated chocolate.”

“Looks like there’s a couple dirty little secrets he’s been hiding from you,” Ditzy said with a giggle. “Now come on. You have a challenge to lose.”

Star fixed Ditzy with a smirk. “I do believe that’s where you’re wrong young lady. I have a challenge to win.”

****************************************

Author's Note

Not even going to say it anymore. This thing is just a lot longer than I thought it would be. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but still.

My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

The Mare of the Moon

Chapter 40

Ditzy paced throughout the first floor of the house; a look of worry, and concern plastered on her face. For the thousandth time that night, she looked at the clock.

10:24P.M.

It took a bit of work, but Carrot was eventually able to get clean. Maxie was even able to get the cinnamon bun out of her mane with enough work. After she was clean, she took Maxie’s advice and just went out with some friends. Now Carrot has gone out before. She doesn’t go out very often, but when she does, she always tries to be home by, at latest, nine. Her being out this late was pretty much unheard of. “Oooooohhhh. Carrot where are you?”

“Ditzy, she’s fine,” Star said before putting a hoof on her shoulder. “She’s probably having so much fun she just lost track of the time.”

“Yea. Besides, weren’t you the one that told her she needed to pull the stick out of her butt?” Maxie asked with a smile. “You should let the girl have her fun, and get some sleep.”

“Maxie’s right. Carrot Top seems too stressed out. A night to blow off some steam is just what she needs.” Star let out a yawn. “Besides. Don’t you have to work tomorrow morning? Why don’t you go to bed?”

“Speaking of going to bed, it’s about time we finally get to bed,” Maxie said with a smile. “Good night Ditzy.”

“Yea, you’re right,” Star said as he stretched his body. He took one last look at Ditzy and sighed. “Don’t worry sweetie. She’ll be able to take care of herself.” He pulled Ditzy in for a hug. “Don’t stay up too late.”

Ditzy looked up at the clock one more time before sighing. “I won’t.”

Star smiled as he let go. “Good night Ditzy.”

At the bottom of the stairs stood Maxie. He was waiting for Star before going upstairs. Not wanting to be rude, Ditzy allowed the two of them to use her room for the duration of their visit. Ditzy didn’t have any reservations about sleeping on the couch, and Dinky’s bed was too small for her liking, so the couch is where she slept.

“Thanks for waiting for me Maxie,” Star said before leaning in for a kiss.

Maxie was more than happy to return the kiss. After their lips parted, Maxie stared deeply into Star’s seafoam eyes; a content smile on his face. The memory of their first night together ran through his mind as he leaned in for another kiss. Star smiled as they parted once more. “My, somepony’s affectionate tonight.”

“I can’t help it. You’re just irresistible.” A sultry smile came to Maxie’s face as he looked over at Ditzy. She was sitting on the couch; still completely engrossed with watching the clock. He leaned in close to Star and spoke in a quiet, yet sultry tone. “Say, I’ve been a naughty little colt today, eating all those sweets. Why don’t you help me burn off some of those calories?”

Star’s cheeks flushed as his eyes got wide. He turned to make sure Ditzy hadn’t heard Maxie before turning to him. “I uh…I don’t know if this is the best place.”

“I’m sure Ditzy wouldn’t mind,” purred Maxie as he nuzzled into Star’s neck.

“B-but in her bed?”

“We’ll wash the sheets.” Maxie licked Star’s cheek before starting up the stairs. He brushed his hips against Star in passing; looking over his shoulder as he walked. Half way up the stairs, he wiggled his rump to put on a show for Star.

Star watched every second of Maxie’s display. He refused to blink until Maxie giggled and continued up the stairs. Star couldn’t help himself. Maxie’s rump was hypnotic. Once Maxie started working it for him, he was under his control. After taking one last hurried look at Ditzy, Star hurried up the stairs after him.

********************

Ditzy let out a long sigh. “They’re right. I’m worrying for nothing. Carrot’s a grown mare. She can take care of herself. Right?” As ‘convincing’ as the argument was to her, she couldn’t help but be worried. “Alright Ditzy, just calm your teats. Maybe some TV will help me calm down.” She adjusted herself on the couch and groaned. “And maybe I should take this armor off. It’s starting to get uncomfortable.” After removing the armor, she situated herself on the couch. “Alright, what’s on at this time of the night?”

Ditzy laid there on the couch for about 15 minutes before she finally found something to watch. Two and a Half Stallions had never been a show Ditzy found…entertaining. She found it humorless, and she had great distaste for the actor Charlie Preen, but some of her co-workers had insisted she give it another chance.

Needless to say, the show failed to entertain her…again, and she soon found herself starting to doze off. She tried her hardest to stay awake, but her eyelids kept feeling heavier and heavier. It wasn’t long before her lids met in blissful sleep.

Knock, knock, knock.

Ditzy shot up. “I-I’m awake! I totally didn’t fall asleep!” Another knock at the door got her attention. She rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. ‘Who in Equestria would be knocking at the door at this time of the night?’ “Coming!”

Ditzy let out a yawn as she headed to the door. Another knock sounded from the door. “Yes, I hear you! I’m coming!” Ditzy sleepily grumbled to herself as she reached the door. Standing at the door was an irritated looking Berry Punch. “Can I help you?”

“I believe this…” Berry pointed over her shoulder. Standing behind her was Lyra and Bon Bon. A very familiar pale goldenrod mare with an orange mane was passed out on Lyra’s back. “Belongs to you.”

It took a minute for Ditzy’s sleep addled mind to register things. Her eyes got wide once she finally realized what was going on. “Carrot?! What in Celestia’s name happened to her?!”

“The poor girl drank herself silly,” Bon Bon said with a giggle.

“Yea. You know, she’s a pretty good dancer once she hammered,” Lyra said with a smile.

“She got half the ponies there to join her in dancing on the bar before she finally passed out. Isn’t that right Lyra?” Bon Bon asked with a teasing glance.

“At least I had the nads to get up there and dance. Unlike somepony we know.”

Berry turned to glare at Lyra. “Hey! If she was trying to get between your bed sheets all night, you wouldn’t have been so eager to join her either.”

Lyra giggled until she felt Carrot shifting on her back. Carrot’s eyes slowly opened out of sync. She hiccupped as she looked around. “Mghey! Where’sh da pharty?!”

Berry facehoofed. “Oh hell she’s up again. Welp, I’m gone.”

“Oh lighten up Berry.”

“Hey!” Berry pointed an angry hoof at Bon Bon; glaring a hole through her. “I’m all for a little flirting, maybe even a little something extra in the bedroom, Minuette does like her three ways, but only in the privacy of our bedroom. When some drunken pony starts grinding herself all over me where everypony can see, that’s where I cross the line.”

“Okay, I’ll admit. Things did start getting a bit awkward there,” Bon Bon said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Just a bit. I’ll see you girls later.” Giving a slight wave, Berry began walking away.

“Hey, hey, hey. Where ya going juishy teatsh?”

Berry froze as she heard Carrot’s slurred voice. “Just calm down and walk away Berry. Just walk away.”

“Dhon’t aye getsh a good night kish?”

Against her better judgment, she turned to look back at Carrot. Carrot did the best sultry wink she could muster with all the alcohol running through her. “Back dat ash up sho aye can kish dem lipsh between yer hipsh.” Carrot puckered her lips and stuck her tongue out; making lewd sounds as she viciously lapped at the air. Berry just shuddered before continuing down the street.

“Heeey. Where ya going?” Carrot began reaching for Berry.

The shift in weight caused her to begin losing her balance on Lyra’s back. She began slowly sliding forward until she inevitably faceplanted on the ground. Lyra winced when she saw Carrot’s face collide with the ground. “Oooooh. That looked like it hurt.” Carrot, instead of showing signs of pain, instead began giggling. “Or not.”

“Think you can handle her alone? Or would you like some help getting her up to her room?” asked Bon Bon.

Ditzy just watched Carrot for a minute, who seemed content just chewing on some dirt and grass at the moment, before looking up at Bon Bon. “I should be able to handle things. Thanks for bringing her home you two, and in case you see her before I do, apologize to Berry for me for putting up with her tonight.”

Bon Bon giggled. “Can do.”

“See you tomorrow morning Ditzy.” Lyra and Bon Bon turned and began walking the opposite direction of Berry before Lyra stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, speaking of tomorrow morning, do you know if my new lyre strings came yet?”

Ditzy just shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Lyra’s bright smile quickly fell. “Oh poo.”

Bon Bon put a comforting hoof around Lyra’s withers. “Don’t worry hun, I’m sure you’ll be the first to know when they do.” Lyra’s smile slowly began to return. “Now come on. Unless I’m remembering wrong, we had some plans for tonight.”

“Can I call you Candy Ass?”

“Only if I get to call you G-string.”

Ditzy let out a sigh as the two mares continued down the street. A great yawn escaped from her mouth as her exhaustion began catching up with her again. She looked over to where Carrot had been lying as she tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes. As she stared at the spot, she noticed the distinct lack of the carrot pony she knew as her best friend. She knew that was the right spot. There was a small wet area that Carrot had been chewing on.

Ditzy was suddenly knocked off balance as something slammed into her. Her eyes were spinning in her head as she attempted to figure out what happened. After shaking the cobwebs from her head, she turned to look at her assailant. Well, maybe assailant was too strong of a word. Carrot wasn’t doing much of anything threatening. In fact, all she was doing was dancing. She must have accidentally bumped into Ditzy as she danced around. ‘Wow. Lyra was right. She really is a better dancer when she’s drunk.’

Carrot noticed that Ditzy was watching her. Once again, her smile turned sultry. “Come on Dishy! Dansh wid me!” She began shaking her rump more and more, almost as if she was trying to put it on display for Ditzy to see. “Aye wanna shee dat booty shake!”

Ditzy just stared blankly at Carrot. Or more specifically, her butt since it was being constantly shoved in her face. “I’m not going to shake my butt at you. Also…” Ditzy shoved Carrot’s rump away from her. “Stop shaking yours in my face.” Ditzy got up and brushed herself off. “Now come on. It’s time for bed.” She began pushing Carrot into the house.

“Why? Are ya going to join me?” Carrot giggled as Ditzy grumbled to herself.

“It’s too late, and I’m way too tired to deal with this shit right now.” Ditzy gave one last shove to get Carrot into the house.

To say Carrot was unfazed as she stumbled and rolled on the floor would be an understatement. “Taking charge are we?”

Ditzy groaned as she closed the door. “Just…get upstairs and go to bed.”

“But aye want shomepony to shnuggle wid.”

Ditzy facehoofed. She needed to think of some way to get Carrot to go to bed. More importantly, a way that didn’t involve her being forced to join her. Her eyes slowly widened as an idea came to her. “Okay Carrot. You win. I’ll join you in your bed.”

Carrot’s inebriated smile grew. “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

“But!” Ditzy shoved a hoof in Carrot’s face. “You have to go up to your room, like a good little filly, and wait for me. I’ll be up there when I’m ready. Do you understand?”

Carrot rapidly nodded her head as she struggled to get herself up onto her hooves. After finally succeeding, she drunkenly swaggered through the house towards the stairs, flaunting her rump to Ditzy as much as she could.

Ditzy let out a loud sigh once she heard Carrot reach the stairs. She shook her head. “I need a drink.”

********************

Carrot continued to shake her rump even after Ditzy was out of sight. She had a song in her head that she just needed to dance too. She ended up dancing down the entire hallway, surprisingly, bumping into nothing along the way.

She eventually arrived at the door to her bedroom. She stopped dancing as she stared at the door. She just sat there staring at the thing as she wobbled back and forth. “How do aye open dish ding?”

Her first couple attempts at opening the door failed miserably. With her first attempt, she just poked it a few times, hoping it would magically open for her. Once that didn’t work, she tried smacking it a few times. After that, she tried dancing for it, hoping to woo it into submission…or something. After about three more attempts, things became personal. With a growl, Carrot dove at the door. She bit the knob, and wrenched it around. Fortunately for her, she ended up actually turning the knob as she wrestled with it. She unceremoniously collapsed into the room; a smug look on her face. “Ha! Take dat door.”

After struggling to get onto her hooves, again, she began walking forward. “Need to get in bed or Dishy won’t cuddle wid me.” She unintentionally let out a yawn as she stumbled forward. It wasn’t long before she bumped into something very soft and cuddly. Normally she would have suspected something odd about a nice, soft, and cuddly object in the middle of her room, but at the moment, she was both too tired, and drunk to care. “Aye didn’t know pillowsh were dish comfortable. Nighty night.”

Carrot just sat there in the middle of the room; cuddling up against the soft, cuddly pillow as sleep slowly started to take her. That is, of course, until she heard somepony clear their throat. Carrot begrudgingly opened her eyes to find herself staring straight into a pair of pink eyes. “I’m happy you find my butt comfortable honey, but do you think you could let go? We’re kinda…in the middle of something right now.”

With a disgruntled look on her face, Carrot got a better look at the situation. This wasn’t her room. There were also two other ponies in the room. She recognized one as Maxie from the voice. Maxie’s light rose face was tinted red in embarrassment. She had to squint to get a look at the other one. It was Fresh Start, and his face was flushed a deep red with embarrassment. Maxie had a certain item wrapped in his forelegs.

Carrot blinked her eyes before she took a better look at her ‘pillow.’ After taking a nice, long look, she discerned that it was indeed a butt, and not a pillow. There was one thing she noticed though. This butt was attached to Maxie, but something was…off. “Hey. Where’sh yer pushy?”

Maxie’s blush grew a bit deeper. “Uhh, well…”

Carrot examined Maxie’s rump for a little longer. It didn’t take long for her to notice something else that was off about it. She reached out and poked it to see if she was just seeing things earning an ‘eep’ from Maxie. As she stared, her eyes slowly got wider and wider. She began feeling more and more coherent as the realization of what she was looking at became clearer and clearer. “Y-y-y-you’re a-a-a-a…”

A sheepish smile appeared on Maxie’s face. “Eheh, surprise?”

With a look of complete shock, Carrot kept turning her attention from Maxie, to his rump, and back to Maxie. After a few seconds, Maxie was sure he heard something blow in Carrot’s head. Her eyes rolled back into her head before she collapsed on the floor.

Both Maxie and Star could only stare at the unconscious heap on the floor. “Well. She took that better than I expected,” Maxie sheepishly said in an attempt to ease the tension in the room. Star just gave him a blank stare. “I uh…I guess we should take her to her room, huh?”

“Maxie, I’m not leaving this room like this.”

Maxie looked at Star and giggled. “Fine, I’ll take her to her room.” He grabbed a sheet that had been thrown off the bed when they started and wrapped it around himself to cover up before getting Carrot on his back. “I’ll be back in a minute, but you owe me when I do get back.” Maxie winked suggestively before walking out the room; closing the door behind him.

********************

AJ groaned as he cracked his neck; a smile on his face. “Last night was AWESOME!!!”

“Yea!” chimed in Pinkie. “Like when they were like NAH!!! NAH, NAH, NAH, NAH!!!” Pinkie started jamming out on an air guitar.

“Or, or BUDUMB! BUDUMB BU, BU BUDUM TISH!!!” AJ began hammering on some air drums.

“I KNOW!!!”

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, the two of them stood on their hind legs and put a leg around each other’s neck. “IT’S A VIOLENT PORNOGRAPHY!!! CHOKING CHICKS AND SODOMY~!!! THE KINDA SHIT YOU GET ON YOUR TV~!!!” The two of them sang as they rocked back and forth

“Would you two keep it down? It’s too early for you to be so loud,” groaned out Rainbow.

AJ turned his head to look at the cyan pegasus. “Well maybe SOMEpony should have gone to bed at a reasonable time instead of staying up all night.”

“Piss off.”

AJ let go of pinkie and got back down on all fours. Pinkie was lost in her own little world as she continued down the hall. “What kept you up so late anyway?”

“Just…thinking.”

AJ raised his brow. “Thinking? About what? What’s so important that you need to miss out on sleep?”

Rainbow fixed AJ with a light glare. “Just…shut up.” She continued down the hall; yawning as she did.

“It’s that Gilda, isn’t it.” Rainbow froze in place. Her body tensed up, and after a few seconds began to lightly shake. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

In an instant Rainbow was in AJ’s face. If he hadn’t have gone before they left the room, he was sure her sun crushing glare would have made him piss himself. “I TOLD YOU TO SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU WHINEY LITTLE BITCH, OR I WILL TEAR YOUR DICK OFF AND SHOVE IT STRAIGHT UP YOUR ASS!!!”

“Y-y-y-y-yes ma’am,” AJ let out a squeak as he did his best Fluttershy imitation.

As AJ feared for his life by curling into a ball, he felt a drop of wetness hit him from above. Taking a chance, he poked his head out. Another drop landed on his nose as he did. Looking up, he saw that tears were falling from Rainbow’s cheeks. She sniffled before rubbing some of the wetness from her eyes. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. You just hit a sore spot, that’s all.” She wiped her nose on her leg. “Can you forgive me? Please say you’ll forgive me.”

AJ just stared up at Rainbow in confusion. Rainbow had just gone from planet destroying anger, to depressed sadness in a split second. Before AJ could even begin to comprehend what was going on, Pinkie decided to make her presence known. “Come on you slowpokes! If we don’t hurry, they might use all the syrup! I can’t have my pancakes without syrup!”

Rainbow’s tears immediately stopped. Her face lit up like Times Square. She turned to Pinkie with an ear to ear smile. “Do you think they have pickle stuffed pineapples smothered in ketchup?!”

“I don’t know, let’s go see!”

AJ just sat there as Rainbow and Pinkie tore down the hall to the elevator. His mouth was agape as the elevator doors closed. “What…the fuck just happened?”

He could only gawk at the elevator as he tried to piece together what happened. He sat there for a minute before he realized something. “H-hey! Wait! I’m hungry too!” He took off down the hallway; hoping he would be able to catch the elevator. He was so focused on the elevator he didn’t even see the door swing open until it was too late.

CRACK!!!

AJ crumpled into the door at full blast. The last thing he remembered seeing before blacking out was a midnight blue hoof stepping out in front of him.

********************

Carrot groaned as the sunlight began assaulting her face. She brought up her hoof in an attempt to block it out, but it was to no avail. She slumped down on the bed; wishing the throbbing in her head would come to an end. Her dry mouth was also a problem, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

She turned her head towards the window. The sound of a hammer striking a piece of wood filled the air. “Stupid workers. It’s too early to be working. Don’t they know some ponies are trying to sleep?

After a minute, she decided that more sleep was the way to go. Unable to block out the sun any other way, she grabbed her blanket and pulled it over her head; letting out a slight moan of happiness as her world was brought into darkness once more.

She lay there for a few minutes before sleep took her once more.

Knock, knock, knock!

Carrot’s bloodshot eyes shot open. “Hey Carrot! It’s time to wake up!” came Ditzy’s voice from the other side of the door.

********************

Ditzy had a giant grin on her face as she knocked on the door again. She knew Carrot would call for her death for waking her up like this after a night of drinking, but she couldn’t pass this up. Not after what happened the last time Ditzy had gotten drunk on a work night

********************

Carrot had an evil grin on her face as she took a step back. She remembered to the last time this had happened. Ditzy had ended up being late for work because she just wouldn’t wake up no matter what Carrot did to wake her up. Even after half of her tail was accidentally torn out, and blowing an air horn straight into her ear, she continued to snore.

Carrot looked over her bathroom. Ditzy, who had spent the previous night drinking herself stupid, was being dangled over the bathtub by a couple ropes tied around her body. The ropes were hung up by a pulley system that snaked throughout the room before leading to a jury rigged pressure plate by her hoof. Next to the pressure plate sat a lever. A cord leading from the lever ran up the wall to a jury rigged claw like mechanism holding a big, fluffy towel in front of the tub.

She took a look at the tub. It was filled to the brim with water. Though the water couldn’t be seen. Not only had she filled the tub with water, but she added 20 buckets full of ice into the already cold water. Walking over, she stuck a hoof in to test how cold it was. Her hoof quickly retreated the instant it hit the water. The water was freezing. Oh Celestia was it freezing. Any colder and she would be looking at a big, tub shaped, block of ice.

“Perfect,” she purred.

She walked back over to the pressure plate and turned around. Her grin grew more evil as she lifted a hoof. “RISE AND SHINE BUBBLE BUTT!!!”

With the smile cemented on her face, she slammed her hoof down on the plate. It released the ropes holding Ditzy up. Carrot watched with sadistic glee as Ditzy dropped like a rock. In Carrot’s world, the world went silent until the sound of a splash filled her ears.

“EEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Ditzy’s blood curdling scream echoed all throughout Ponyville. She thrashed around in the tub for a few seconds, splashing water and ice cubes everywhere, before it finally ran through her head to get out of the freezing cold water. It took her a moment to get her bearings, but she finally found the edge of the bath and crawled out; landing on the floor with a wet plop.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Her entire body was shivering. Eager to find any source of warmth she could, she clawed at the floor mat and wrapped it around herself. Unfortunately it didn’t do much of anything as it too was soaked with the ice water. That’s when she heard the hysterical laughing.

A few feet in front of her, Carrot was grabbing her chest as if it were in pain as she rolled with laughter. “BUWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! OH CELESTIA MY RIBS HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Ditzy’s eyes, which were already going crazy after her surprise ice bath, began twitching. “C-c-c-c-c-c-car-r-r-rot? D-d-d-did you d-d-d-do this?”

It took a minute, but Carrot finally began collecting herself. She was still gripping her chest as she sat up. “Oh sweet Celestia that was hilarious. You should have seen yourself. You were like AAAHHH!!!” Carrot began spazzing out in an attempt to mimic Ditzy’s earlier bout of flailing.

“F-f-f-f-f-fuck…y-y-y-you.”

Carrot wiped a tear out of her eye. “Hey, I got you up without ripping your tail out this time. You should be thanking me.”

“W-w-w-when I g-g-get my h-h-h-hooves on you…” Ditzy stood on her shaky legs, knowing she couldn’t do much else.

“What’re you gonna do, huh? Wrestle me? I’ll warn you, I’m stronger than I look.” Carrot began sizing up Ditzy. She wanted to make sure she could fend Ditzy off if she did try something.

She soon regretted letting the idea of wrestling Ditzy right now enter her head. Ditzy was sopping wet. It almost looked like her mane grew twice as long as it scandalously draped over her shoulders and down her back. Her wet tail was matted against her rump; fitting every contour and curve of her body perfectly. Her face heated up as Ditzy shook her head. Her mane whipped around as water droplets splashed all around her.

Ditzy seemed to become surrounded in a warm, rose colored light as she stared at Carrot with a seductive smile. After shaking her hair out, the wet strands were now hanging in front of her face in a way that Carrot could only describe as sexy. Ditzy slowly began walking up to Carrot; lightly swinging her hips. Carrot could only watch those hips sway from side to side as they got closer. She finally looked up at Ditzy who was standing in front of her; the seductive look still on her face.

She lifted her hoof and stuck it forward. “All you ever do is stare. Why don’t you join me in my bedroom for a little…extra pre-work fun.

Carrot’s cheeks flared with an intense blush. “W-w-what?!”

After shaking her head, she took another look at Ditzy. The warm light around her was gone. All that remained was a pissed off, drenched pegasus. “I-I-I-I said, g-g-g-get me a f-f-f-fucking towel y-y-y-you b-b-b-bitch.”

“O-oh…right.” Carrot fumbled around for the lever before pulling it. The big towel, which thankfully managed to escape getting drenched, fell on top of Ditzy. Carrot watched for a moment as Ditzy’s wrapped herself in the warm, fluffy towel. That was the last thing on her mind at the moment though. She had other pressing issues to take care of. “Breakfastisonthetableifyouneedanythinggetityourselfexcusemebye!”

Before Ditzy could even comprehend what Carrot had just said, she was already out the door. Ditzy could hear the door to Carrot’s room open slam shut. She wanted to know just what was going on, but she didn’t care at the moment. She now had a source of warmth, and she was going to take advantage of it.

********************

“Wake up sleepy head!” shouted Ditzy as she hammered on Carrot’s door. She had a big, shit eating grin plastered on her face. “Don’t make me get the air horn!”

Ditzy began internally celebrating when she heard Carrot walking towards the door. The door to Carrot’s room slowly creaked open. The smile on Ditzy’s face slowly dropped, and was replaced by a look of horror as she got a better look at the zombie that was her housemate. The first thing she noticed was the empty, bloodshot eyes staring straight at her. Her breath reeked of alcohol and whatever nasty bar food she had consumed while there. Not to mention the unpleasant odor coming from the rest of her body. Her mane and tail were an absolute mess. Her coat was dull, and dingy. The only thing she was missing to complete the look was missing chunks of flesh, and an exposed brain.

“Uhhhh, hi…Carrot.”

“Bluh.”

“It’s, uh…it’s about time you woke up.”

Carrot slowly turned her head until she was staring at Ditzy. “Shouldn’t you be at work?” Ditzy just stared blankly at Carrot for a moment. “What?”

“Carrot, I just got home from work a half an hour ago.” It was Carrot’s turn to stare blankly. “It’s 11:30 A.M.”

“Are you serious?”

“Mmhm.”

Carrot swore under her breath. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

“Because after last night we thought you could have used the sleep,” came a masculine voice from down the hall. Carrot and Ditzy turned to see Star standing at the top of the stairs. He had a bright smile on his face. “We were almost afraid you were going to sleep all day, so we sent Ditzy to go wake you up. Good thing too, Maxie wanted to make sure you looked good for your date.”

Carrot let out a tired groan. “I forgot about that. You sure we can’t put it off till tomorrow?”

“No can do. Maxie would kill me if I started changing everything.” He turned back to the stairs. “Now come on down. Lunch is almost ready.”

Ditzy smiled as her stomach growled for nourishment. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. You coming?”

Carrot shook her head. “No. I’m pretty sure I reek of ass right now. I’m going to go take a shower before I do anything else.”

Ditzy wanted to laugh, but it was true. Carrot was pretty much offensive to all five senses right now. “Good idea. I’ll see you down stairs.” Ditzy made it half way down the hall before she remembered something. “Oh yea. Maxie wanted me to remind you to use conditioner this time.”

Carrot could only facehoof as Ditzy continued down the hall.

********************

Lunch was well on its way by the time Carrot got down stairs. To her credit, she did manage to clean herself up pretty well all things considered. She still wouldn’t pass Maxie’s test, but there was still plenty of time before the date.

Carrot couldn’t get over the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. She had never been on a date before. With nothing to go off of, she had no idea how to act during one. What was she supposed to say? How would she know if the pony was actually going to be interested in her? What if the ear piece Ditzy and crew were going to give her so they could talk to her failed and she would be left on her own?

Carrot stopped halfway down the stairs as a smell hit her nose. “What in Celestia’s name is that smell?!” She covered her nose in a vain attempt to keep the stench from burning her nose any further. She hurried down the steps; following the smell so she could rid the house of whatever it was that was poisoning her house.

Maxie smiled as Carrot rushed into the kitchen. “Carrot! Good to see you finally join…”

Carrot stuffed a hoof in his mouth, effectively shutting him up. “Shush.”

Ditzy and Star looked at each other in confusion. “Uhhh, Carrot? What are you doing?”

“That smell. It’s coming from in here.”

“What smell?” asked Star.

“That smell!” shouted Carrot. “How can you not smell it?! It’s revolting! It’s like…dog poo, covered in cat urine, mixed with a foals dirty diaper that’s been vomited on.”

With an annoyed look on his face, Maxie removed Carrot’s hoof from his mouth. “Excuse me? My food does not smell horrible!”

Carrot looked confused. “Food?” She looked over at the table to see the dish Maxie had placed out. It looked like a normal stir-fry. It had carrots, potatos, peas, celery, red and yellow peppers, onions, you name it. But something was different. Carrot leaned in close; taking a tentative sniff of the dish. She recoiled back after getting a whiff from ground zero. She began choking as she scrambled away from the pile of pure evil that sat on the table. She struggled to get to her legs in an attempt to get away from the vile stench. Unable to stand, she looked around for an escape. That’s when she saw the window above the sink. The heavenly light coming through it beckoned for her. After clawing her way across the floor, she climbed up to a standing position. With her last ounce of strength, she opened the window.

She was immediately hit by a burst of cool, Autumn air. She leaned foreword so she could hang her head out the window. She just sat there for a minute, taking in the fresh air, before she angled her head down; upchucking on the ground beneath the window.

The entire time, she was being watched by Maxie who was not amused. “Oh come on. It doesn’t smell that bad.”

Carrot turned her head to look at the light rose stallion. Her right eye was twitching. “Fuck me it doesn’t smell bad! I’ve changed dirty diapers that smelled more pleasant than that abomination you call food! If AIDS had a smell, I’m sure this is what it would smell like!”

“Oh come on Carrot, now you’re just over exaggerating. Be nice.”

Maxie smiled as he looked at Ditzy. “Thank you honey.”

“I mean, okay, it does smell something fierce, but it tastes a lot better than it smells.”

Maxie’s smile immediately dropped. “Oh come on!” He turned to Star. “Sweetie, tell them my food doesn’t smell bad!”

Star, who had been taking this all in stride, swallowed the food in his mouth. “Maxie’s right. It doesn’t smell bad.”

“HAH!!! You see?!” Maxie had a triumphant smile on his face.

“Then again, I’ve had years to get used to the smell of Maxie’s cooking, so it doesn’t really phase me anymore.”

“WHAT?!?!?!” Maxie leaned foreword so he could glare into Star’s soul.

Star swallowed the lump in his throat. “W-well, your cooking has never been the most…pleasant thing to smell Maxie. I had to force myself to get used to it over the years.”

With a ‘harumph’ Maxie sat back in his seat; an unreadable look on his face. “Well, now I know where we all sit on this.” Without saying another word, he grabbed the skillet and tossed it towards the window. Carrot yelped as she saw the skillet fly towards her. She ducked as the hot metal flew over her head. The skillet flew out the window; landing on the lawn with a thud. Everypony looked at Maxie with looks of confusion and shock. “See if I ever cook for you ungrateful ponies again.”

Maxie stood up and stormed out of the room. Everypony looked between the living room and the open window as an awkward silence filled the room. Star cleared his throat. “Sorry about the skillet.”

“No worries,” Carrot said as she looked out the window. She couldn’t help but feel for the ponies that passed by her house. Some looked towards the house as they tried to figure out what the stench was. A few of them were gagging at the smell; fleeing from the stink as fast as they could. One even passed out and had to be dragged away. “I was probably going to throw it out after this anyway.”

“As you can see, Maxie doesn’t take criticism about her cooking very well. She tries so hard, and it does taste pretty good, but the smell…” He shook his head. “Never been able to get it down.”

“Speaking of Maxie…I had the strangest dream about her last night,” Carrot said as she took a seat at the table.

“What was it about?” asked Ditzy as she took a bite of what was on her plate.

“Well…I dreamt that I had walked into Star and Maxie’s room last night while they were doing…uh…’things.’” Carrot failed to notice the glare Ditzy shot to Star who could only smile sheepishly. “When I got a good look at Maxie’s rump, she had a…well…she had everything BUT what she should have had back there.” Carrot shook her head. “Don’t remember much other than that. I probably shouldn’t have drunk so much last night. I always have the strangest dreams when I do.”

While Ditzy stared blankly at Carrot, Star began to sweat. “Uhhhh, yea. A dream. That’s what it was. Just a…”

“Fresh Start, just stop,” Ditzy said as she silenced him with a hoof. “This was funny at first, but now it’s just getting sad. She needs to know.”

“Know what?”

“Carrot, that wasn’t a dream. You did walk in on the two of them having sex. In my bed!” She shot Star yet another glare. “And what you saw was not something brought upon by how wasted you were. Maxie is, 100 percent, male. Never has been a mare, never will be.”

More silence filled the room for a minute before Carrot burst out laughing. Ditzy just rolled her eyes; turning to Star to get his thoughts on this. He only shrugged his shoulders. After a short bit, Carrot finally stopped laughing. She wiped a tear from her eye before speaking. “That’s a good one Ditzy. Maybe you should quit your job and become a comedian.”

Ditzy was clearly unamused. “Hey Maxie!”

“What?!” Maxie still sounded angry.

“Come here for a minute!”

“Why?! So you can make fun of my cooking to my face instead of behind my back?!”

“Forget about the food for now and come in here please!”

After a few seconds, Maxie appeared in the entryway to the kitchen; an angry pout on his face. “What do you want?”

“I want you to tell Carrot the truth.”

Maxie looked confused for a moment before his pout returned. “The truth about what?”

“That you’re really a stallion, and are only pretending to be a mare to mess with her.”

Maxie fell to his haunches as a look of understanding replaced his pout. “Oh…that.”

“What do you mean by ‘oh that?’” questioned Carrot. “Ditzy can’t be right about this. I mean, look at you! You’re hot! You’re down right sexy! You sure as hell look better than me! There’s no way you could be a stallion!”

Maxie nervously tapped his hooves together. “Well…that’s not entirely true.”

Carrot stared blankly at Maxie. “What?”

“Honey, I’ve been lying to you since we’ve met. It’s just a little game I like to play with ponies I’ve just met. I’m not a mare. I never have been.”

Carrot looked between the three ponies in front of her; not quite sure what she should believe right now. An uncertain laughter filled the air. “Y-you’re funny too, eheh. Everypony’s just playing a prank on ol Carrot Top, eh? Funny, funny.” Everypony was looking at her with serious looks. She slammed her hooves on the table. “No! No, no, no! I refuse to believe that that pony right there has a dick! It’s just impossible!”

Maxie let out a defeated sigh. “I was really hoping it wasn’t going to come to this. Honey, you’re coming with me.” Without waiting for conformation from Carrot, Maxie grabbed her by a leg and dragged her out of the room.

Star could only shake his head. “Oh boy, here we go.”

“What? What’s going on?”

He lifted his glass of water and took a drink. “You’ll see.” He had an unreadable look on his face as he placed his glass on the table again. Ditzy looked towards the living room with unease. “Three…two…one…”

“WHAAAAAAAHHH…”

THUNK!!!

Star’s eyes widened. “Thunk? Why was there a thunk?” The frantic sound of hooves dashing through the house hit both their ears. Maxie bolted into the kitchen, a look of horror on his face, and clung to Star. “Maxie!? What happened?!”

Tears started rolling down Maxie’s cheeks as he tried to speak. “C-c-carrot Top! S-s-she’s, she’s…”

Star began comforting Maxie. “Shh, shh, shh. Calm down.” Maxie took a few deep breaths to try to calm himself down. “Now tell me. What happened to Carrot Top?”

“S-she’s…she’s…”

“Yeees?”

Maxie sniffled. “MY ASS KILLED CARROHOHOHOT!!!”

Ditzy looked at Maxie in both confusion, and fascination. “You killed Carrot…with your butt?” Realizing that was the last thing she should be thinking of right now, Ditzy got up from her chair and hurried to the bathroom without waiting for an answer.

“Maxie, what happened?”

Maxie wiped his nose before speaking. “I-i-I took Carrot Top into the bathroom to prove to her I was a stallion. So I showed her my butt like I had to do with your friends.”

“Don’t remind me. That wasn’t the way I would have liked for them to find out I was a colt cuddler. ”

“S-s-she was so surprise. She tripped over her legs and hit her head on the sink.”

Star drew him into a hug. “Don’t worry sweetie. I’m sure she’s fine.”

He took a loud, ragged breath. “S-s-she wasn’t moving Star. I killed her. I murdered ano…”

“She’s fine,” came Ditzy’s voice from the living room.

“H-huh?”

Ditzy flew into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. “I said she’s fine. She’s probably going to have one hell of a headache, and a wicked bruise on the side of her head, but she’s fine.” Opening the freezer, she pulled out an icepack before moving back towards the living room. “I moved her to the couch if you’re interested.”

Maxie looked at Ditzy with a look of relief. “Y-you mean she’s okay?”

“That’s what I said. Maybe you should have checked to see if she was breathing before freaking out like that.” With a slight grin on her face, Ditzy exited the kitchen.

Maxie let out a big sigh of relief. He was about to go into the living room when he heard Star chuckling to himself. “And just what is so funny?”

“She’s right you know. You did handle that in the worst possible way.”

Maxie put on his angry pout once again. “Hey, I was scared! I thought I had killed a pony for Celestia’s sake!”

Star kissed Maxie. “You know, you’re adorable when you’re angry.” With a ‘harumph’ Maxie stormed out of the room once again. Star just chuckled before sticking a forkful of stir fry into his mouth.

********************

AJ began to come to as the sound of somepony’s voice hit his ears. It was hard to understand what was being said due to the ringing in his ears though. There was also the throbbing pain in his head and his muzzle that made it difficult to concentrate on much of anything else.

He did notice something odd though. The last thing he remembered was walking down the hall with Rainbow and Pinkie. After that, everything is a blank. What he was lying on was not the hard, yet surprisingly cushy carpeting. No, he was lying on something much softer. His head was resting on something soft and plush, almost like a cloud. His body was surrounded in a blanket of warmth. It felt like the warmth of a mother’s embra… The urge to facehoof hit him like a brick as he finally realized that he was lying in a bed.

He decided to just lie there for now. He was in too much pain to really care about much of anything else. After a little while, the ringing in his ears began to fade away. The voice became clearer as the ringing in his ear became duller, and duller. It wasn’t somepony talking, somepony was singing. It was a haunting tune, yet…strangely beautiful and alluring. The song rang through his ears. The longer he listened, the more he felt compelled to find the source.

He turned his head; looking at the door to the room he was in. With as much effort he could muster at the moment, he got out of the bed. Standing on unsteady hooves, he made his way to the door. He tried to use his magic to open the door. The only thing that succeeded in was making his headache worse. After a few seconds of fumbling around with the knob, he finally managed to get the door open.

As if he was caught in a trance, he mindlessly stepped out of the room. Almost immediately he knew something was wrong. As his hoof came down, it found nothing but a void. His eyes widened as he began falling forward.

Time seemed to slow down as his sense of awareness returned to him. The room that he expected on the other side of the door was not there. Instead, it was replaced with a deep, dark, endless void. Despite how dark it was, he could see perfectly. Dots of light littered the void, making it look like he was staring into space. In the distance, a comet could be seen flying by. The singing could be heard coming from somewhere in the void.

He finally remembered what was going on as he felt himself being pulled through the gate. His three remaining hooves left solid ground as he tumbled into the void. AJ cried out as he helplessly floated through the void. He tried to get a better view of things, but it was too hard to pay attention in his panicked state.

Suddenly, AJ felt his body stop dead. He just floated in place as his body righted itself. Once he became calm enough, he took a look at his body. His body was surrounded by a cobalt blue aura. Before he could muster an idea as to what was going on, he once again felt his body moving.

It didn’t take long before he realized where he was being dragged as the destination quickly came into view.

The moon.

His body was slowly lowered to the moon’s surface. As afraid and panicked as he was feeling right now, he was just happy to be standing on something solid once again. He made a mental note to thank Luna for not making him a pegasus pony, whether she could have helped it or not.

His ears perked as the sound of singing hit them once again. As if the voice singing the song was magical, he immediately began to calm down. His fears began to wither away as the words washed over him. Wishing to find the source of the singing, he began walking across the rocky surface.

It didn’t take him too long before he found the source. It was coming from up top a giant plateau. He stared up at it in both awe and defeat. The sheer walls of the plateau were impossible to climb. The only way he would have been able to get up there would have been with wings, or teleportation, and he was never able to perform a teleportation spell. His head fell in defeat. Now he’d never be able to get to the source of the music.

As AJ opened his eyes, he saw the same blue glow that had surrounded him earlier covering the ground in front of him. He stepped back as the ground was raised, and carved until it looked like a step. The same thing happened to the ground just beyond that. AJ watched as the ground was raised and carved into steps that curved up and around the entire plateau. He looked on tentatively for a moment before steeling himself, and starting up the steps.

About halfway up the steps, his muscles began fighting against him. He was still feeling somewhat groggy from whatever it was that happened to him, and the workout was taking its toll on him. But he couldn’t stop. He needed to get to the top of those steps. He needed to find out who was making such beautiful music. Forcing strength into his legs, he continued on.

When he reached the top, a gasp escaped his lips as his eyes grew wide. Sitting in the middle of the plateau was the regal form of Princess Luna. She was facing away from the top of the stairs. In the darkness of the void, her mane and tail shone with an eerie, yet beautiful light. She wasn’t wearing any of her royal vestments. She kept her eyes closed as she sang with all her soul.

AJ could only watch as Luna continued her song. Without even realizing it, he slowly began moving towards the Princess of the Night. He couldn’t help it. He was compelled ever closer as if he was in a trance.

He stopped dead in his tracks as silence filled the air. His eyes blinked as his senses returned to him. It didn’t take him very long to notice the Princess no more than two meters in front of him. She was still turned away from him. In fact, she had not moved since she stopped singing. At that moment, a million questions began running through his head. “P-princess?”

“Welcome…” She turned just enough to look at him. Her cyan eyes falling on his. “To my kingdom.”

“Your…kingdom?” It took a moment to register in his mind. “Princess…are we really on the moon right now?”

Luna said nothing. She turned away from him and raised her leg. Pointing upwards into the void. AJ looked to where she was pointing. His eyes widened when at what he saw. There above them, was Earth. From the maps he looked at in Twilight’s library, he could make out Equestria, and he was pretty sure that was the Griffon Kingdom to the west of that. They truly were on the moon.

“The stars that glow in the night sky. The comets that fly among the stars. The aurora’s that paint the sky in beautiful colors. The moon that lights up the night with its splendor. Every night the sky is my canvas. It is my muse. It…is my kingdom.”

With a sigh she looked up at Earth. “That is the sight I stared upon for a thousand years. A thousand years of fear, loneliness, and sadness. All buried under the deep, intense feelings of anger and hatred directed at my sister.”

Luna stayed silent for a moment as she stared at Earth. “The tales state that I was trapped in the moon, but that wasn’t true. I was neither in, nor on the moon. Rather, I became the moon. Or that’s what it felt like. For a thousand years, my sister would raise and lower me with her magic.” The haunted look in Luna’s eyes was a look AJ would never forget. “Every time her magic touched my essence I felt a rush of emotions. Regret. Sadness. Longing. Hatred. Self loathing. My sister hated herself for what she had to do. With the Elements of Harmony she banished her only sister, the only family she had left in this world, to the heavenly body which she controlled. The only silver lining she could find in this situation was that, in banishing me, she had saved the lives of all the ponies she ruled over.”

AJ stared at Luna in confusion until it hit him. “Are you talking about Nightmare Moon?” Luna nodded grimly. He remembered back to the night Twilight told him the story of Nightmare Moon. How Celestia banished Nightmare Moon to the moon for a thousand years, and how she returned only to be defeated and purified by the Elements of Harmony. “I’m sorry if I’m crossing any lines here, but do you still feel anger for what your sister did to you all those years ago?”

Luna shook her head. “She did what she had to do. I see that now. Without the sun, crops wouldn’t grow. Food would quickly grow scarce. Eventually, ponies would have turned against one another for what little food there was. It would have been anarchy. All because of my selfish need to be loved as much as my sister.” Luna let out a sigh. “I hold no ill will towards my sister for anything she did back then. I just wish she would finally forgive herself.”

“She still blames herself?”

Luna nodded. “She believes that there were other options that she just hadn’t seen back then. In her mind she believes there was a way to both save Equestria, and myself.” Luna stared up at Earth. A look of longing on her face. “Oh Celestia…It has been so long since that time. I have already forgiven you. So please…forgive yourself.” Luna closed her eyes as her horn began to glow.

AJ was forced to cover his eyes as a blinding light erupted from her horn. A moment passed in silence as a strange fog cleared from his mind. Once his mind cleared, he uncovered his eyes. “Wha?” Confusion struck him when he saw that he was sitting in a room at the Encore. “W-what’s going on? I-I thought…”

“It was an illusion.”

AJ turned to see Luna standing behind him. She looked at him with a straight look. “An illusion?” Luna nodded. “B-but it felt so real! The moon…I could feel it! The rocks and dust…it was real! I know it.”

An amused smile crossed Luna’s features. “A good illusion spell must be able to trick every sense a pony has, not just one or two. It took me decades to hone my craft. The only pony who ever came close to matching my abilities was Ethereal Wisp, the pony that helped me control my magic when I was but a young filly.”

“Ethereal Wisp?”

Luna nodded. “He was the grandson of Starswirl the Bearded. It seems that Starswirl’s family line is destined for greatness. From my understanding a young mare from his family is making quite a name for herself all around Equestria.” she said with a smile. “It was unfortunate when his life came to an end.”

She let out a small giggle. “It was always fun messing with my sister when we were younger. I once had her rolling around in mud because I made her think it was delicious cake frosting. She even began eating it. The look of horror on her face when I lifted the illusion.”

AJ couldn’t help but smile as the thought of watching Princess Celestia not only rolling around in, but also eating mud. “Excuse me Princess, but I…”

“Please, just call me Luna. I’ve always been uncomfortable with such formalities. Besides, it’s just the two of us here. I don’t see any problems with treating me like you would any other pony.” She walked past him towards the couch, beckoning for him to follow her. The room they were in wasn’t as big as the one he, Rainbow, and Pinkie were staying in, but it was still big enough. The couch was more than big enough for the Princess of the Night and a simple unicorn stallion to sit comfortably. “Besides, without me you never would have come to Equestria in the first place. It was the research of me and my top scientists that Twilight followed. I believe we could…should be more than just acquaintances.”

“You do mean as friends right? Cause I’m already spoken for.”

“Of course I mean as friends,” Luna said with a giggle. “I wouldn’t wish to get between you and Ditzy Doo.”

AJ blinked. “How did you know it was Ditzy?”

“I may have been busy after we rescued you from Nightshade, but I took the time to visit every victim. I was responsible for what happened. If I’d been able to find her after she escaped, none of that would have happened.” She took a moment to regain her composure. “I visited you when you were still asleep. Ditzy told me that the two of you were together. Not to mention how close the two of you were after the initial transformation.” AJ nodded in understanding. “Even if I didn’t know, her scent is all over you. It would have been pretty obvious.”

A light blush came to AJ’s face. ‘Do I really smell like Ditzy?’ “Uhhh so…what was with that illusion thing anyway?” he asked trying to change the subject.

Luna giggled as his obvious attempt. “While being trapped in the moon may have been a torture I wouldn’t wish upon even my greatest foes, I can’t deny how peaceful it was. If there’s ever a time I need to think about things, or feel like I just need to get away from things, I’ll seclude myself in my room and weave my spell. And before you ask, no. You were not the first to be consumed by my illusion.”

AJ could only nod. It made sense. Space was quiet. Why wouldn’t it be a good place to think? “And what about the song?”

“What about it?”

AJ closed his eyes as he collected his thoughts. Just remembering that haunting melody seemed to dull his senses. He gave his head a slight shake before speaking. “Well…it was beautiful. Just thinking about it...I felt compelled to listen, like my life wouldn’t have been complete if I didn’t.”

Luna nodded her head in understanding. “I don’t remember where I learned that song. I’ve known it for as long as I can remember. I don’t know much, but it’s always been a source of comfort for me.” She brought a hoof to her chin. “I don’t know much about it, but if it had that type of effect on you there must be something more to it.”

AJ put a hoof to his chin as he thought. His eyes suddenly shot open. They were practically glowing as the idea hit him. “Oh, oh! Maybe it’s like…”

Luna couldn’t help but laugh to herself over AJ’s fascination over the song. He almost sounded like an over exited foal as he delved into the deepest recesses of his imagination just trying to figure out the hidden meaning of song. Not only was it entertaining to hear the downright foalish things he was coming up with, but it also gave her a bit of insight into AJ’s mind. As much as he hid it behind his, probably forced, maturity, he was a lot more childish than she had realized before. Just watching him ramble brought back happy memories from her foalhood. Her happiness waned slightly when she realized that, do to the certain events in his life, he was forced to grow up earlier than he should have.

“What do you think Pr…I mean Luna?”

“Huh?” Luna blinked as she was torn from her thoughts. AJ was staring at her with a big, expectant smile on his face. She quickly mulled over what AJ was talking about before smiling. “Well, there are numerous possibilities. Any of those could be true.”

“But…what if…”

Luna raised a hoof to silence him. “I know your mind must be filled with questions right now, but if it’s alright with you, I have some questions for you.”

AJ just gawked as he thought for a moment. “Umm, sure. Go ahead.”

She smiled as she cleared her throat. “First things first, how are you feeling? Are you still in any pain?”

“Pain?” That’s when it hit him. He woke up in somepony’s, now known to be Luna’s, hotel room. His muzzle was throbbing when he first woke up, and his head hurt. He had completely forgotten about the pain with what all happened. He brought a hoof up to his nose, and began to rub it. It did still hurt, just not as bad. “A little, I guess. What even happened? The last thing I remember before waking up in your bed was walking down the hall with Rainbow and Pinkie.”

“You ran into my room door,” Luna said as she pointed to the door. “I don’t know why you were running, but I heard some loud yelling in the hallway. Fearing that somepony was in trouble, I rushed to get out there to see if I could help. In my hurry, I swung the door open with as much force as I could without ripping it off its hinges.” She hesitated before continuing. “That’s…when I felt something hit the door…hard.”

AJ was able to put the pieces together himself. “I was that thing, wasn’t I?” he asked with a facehoof.

Luna sheepishly nodded. “I was actually quite impressed that you managed to crack the door with your face. You must have been running pretty fast to pull off such a…feat.” Luna smiled sheepishly when she noticed AJ’s unamused glare. She awkwardly cleared her throat before continuing. “Eheh, anyway…after I found your unconscious body, I took you to my bed. You had a broken nose, and a minor concussion. Nothing to fret about.”

AJ looked down and began to contemplate things. “I’m beginning think that this universe has something against me or something.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because that is literally the second time I’ve busted a door with my head since I’ve come to Equestria.” Luna decided not to question the destructive abilities of AJ’s skull. She would rather not bring back more memories of him getting hurt in, admittedly, interesting ways. “I was kinda hoping I could have gone thorough this vacation without getting hurt…for once.” A thought rushed into AJ’s mind. “Speaking of things I wasn’t expecting to happen here, I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to see you here. I would have thought you would have been busy in Canterlot. Did Celestia give you the week off or something?”

Luna could only stare at AJ with an unreadable look. “Uhhhh yea. Sheeeee gave me the week off. That’s it.” She fixed AJ with a sheepish smile.

********************

Celestia was never one to wish harm on anypony before. Violence was never the answer. Even during times of war, she would put more effort into diplomacy than she would actually fighting the war. She hated violence and everything that came with it. Even when she was forced to fight, she never went for the killing blow instead opting for rendering her opponents unconscious.

So when she of all ponies had to force back thoughts of violence, you know something was wrong.

“You must understand Princess. All I’m asking for is that you consider what I’ve been saying,” said Mitt Roaney. He was as slimy, and stuck up as they came. He was a unicorn with a pure white coat. His perfectly combed, dark brown mane was beginning to grey. Everywhere he went, that same, scummy smirk could be seen plastered on his face as he looked down his nose at everypony he passed. He was fairly well known throughout the bigger cities of Equestria for his complete and utter disdain for any race of pony other than unicorns. Not only was he one of the richest ponies in Equestria, he was also a politician.

Celestia let out a frustrated sigh. Her composure was beginning to crack. Even she had a limit. “I’ve said this many times before Mr. Roaney. The propositions you’ve laid out before me time and time again just would not work. You’ve tried hiding your intentions under fancy words, but it’s always the same. Your proposition would lower the taxes on ponies like you that make millions of bits a year, but it would also make the taxes of those ponies that are less fortunate skyrocket. I just can’t let you do that. It would be catastrophic for smaller towns such as Ponyville or Appleloosa. Even Cloudsdale would be hurt by your propositions.”

“Ponyville and Appleloosa,” scoffed Mitt Roaney. “Those ramshackle, hodunk towns started by…” A look of disgust crossed his features. “…Filthy, dirty earth ponies would be fine Princess. Trust me when I say this. Besides, if something did happen to those towns, it wouldn’t be a big loss. I mean, those ponies are poor after all,” he said as his smug smirk grew even slimier. “I’d be more than happy to send some ponies to bulldoze the areas so something of actual worth could be built instead.”

Celestia couldn’t take it anymore. How could one pony care so little about he wellbeing of others? He didn’t even try to hide it. She stood up from her seat. “I’ve said my peace. Your request is, for the fifth time, denied.” Without another word, Celestia began walking out of the room; her guards flanking her on both sides.

Once the doors to the great hall were closed, she turned to Aquilinus. “You are dismissed.”

Aquilinus turned to the other guard with a grimace on his face. With how much time he spent guarding the princess, he could tell when she was angry, and she was never in a good mood after a visit from Mitt Roaney. It was generally a good idea to do what she said. “Of course your highness.”

Celestia let out a frustrated sigh as her guard left. “I don’t know how he does it, but that pony always brings out the worst in me.” She stretched her neck as she started down the hall. “Maybe Lulu will take the rest of my responsibilities for the day. After that I need some time to relax.” She could already feel her body starting to relax at the thought of Luna taking over her duties for the day. Her younger sister was always happy to help her when she was busy, or had other things she needed to do.

It didn’t take her very long to get to Luna’s room. She knew the layout of the castle by heart. She dismissed the guards that were tasked with guarding the princess of the night. Knowing her salvation sat on the other side of the door she raised a hoof and knocked. “Sister, it’s me. May I come in?” She got no answer. “Lulu?”

A look of worry crept its way onto Celestia’s face. Why wasn’t Luna answering? Was something wrong? Was she hurt? Sick? Worse? Using her magic, Celestia opened the big door in front of her; letting the light from the hallway pour into the room. There, sitting on the bed, was the pony she was looking for. But something was wrong. Something looked off about her sister. She flicked on the lights inside the room so she could see. Any and all relief she had felt immediately drained away as light filled the room.

The room was spotless. The bed sheets were done up perfectly. Luna’s comics were properly put away. Her video games, which were usually scattered all around her giant TV, were put in their proper place, and the consoles themselves looked untouched for days. This wasn’t right. Celestia’s heard, usually on a weekly basis, how horrible it was to clean Luna’s room. It usually took an hour after it had been cleaned for it to look like a disaster area again. The room she was looking at looked like it hadn’t been touched since it was cleaned three days ago.

She took another look at the bed. She walked closer, an unreadable expression on her face, as she stared down Luna. No, that wasn’t Luna. Rather, it was a big Luna plushie, about half the size of Luna, which was sitting up in the bed. It just stared ahead as the princess of the sun walked closer. Floating next to the plushie was a balloon with the words ‘I AM AN ANTEATER’ written on it.

Celestia slowly brought up a hoof and poked the plushie causing it to let out a squeak before it collapsed on the bed. Celestia’s head dropped causing a shadow to fall over her eyes. The plushie became enveloped in a golden glow as Celestia’s magic lifted it into the air. Her body slowly began to tremble as the plushie hovered there in front of her. Her mouth opened showing her teeth grit in anger.

A plume of black smoke started coming from the plushie.

********************

“Mom, dad, it’s good to see the two of you again,” Twilight said with a bright smile. Like she had promised, Twilight decided that she needed to go visit her parents more often.

“It’s good to see you remembered your promise to visit us more,” Velvet said as she hugged her daughter.

“Of course I remembered mother. I was serious when I said I should have come to see you more often.”

“And you brought Spike this time,” Night Light said with a smile. “How are you doing kiddo?” he asked as he ruffled the fins on Spike’s head.

“I’ve been just fine Grampy,” Spike said as he sucked up the attention.

“Oh Spike, you look thin. Has Twilight been feeding you properly?” asked Velvet after she took notice of the baby dragon.

“Excuse me?” Twilight asked. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you saw him eat. I have yet to find a good hiding place for the gem jar.”

“She’s right Grammy. Besides, I have to do all the cooking, so I make sure there’s enough for me to eat,” Spike said with a smile.

“Well that doesn’t matter. Now that you’re here, Grammy’s going to fill that little belly of yours with all sorts of treats.” Velvet lifted Spike off the ground and onto her back. “Do you still like emeralds?”

“Do I ever!”

As Velvet reached the door to their house, a loud eruption filled the air. The view of everypony in Canterlot was drawn to an explosion near the top of the castle. Screams filled the air as panic filled the city. The top of the tower in question had been completely demolished.

“The castle’s under attack!”

Night Light saw the expression on Twilight’s face, and the posture her body was in. He knew what she was thinking. He placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled. “Go give’em hell honey.”

Twilight turned to her father in amazement. Her look of confusion quickly turned to a smile. “Right.” Without another word, Twilight willed the magic into her horn. In a blink of light, she was gone.

********************

Twilight appeared in a hallway of the castle just at the top of a set of stairs. The place was buzzing with attention. Most of the guards stationed at the castle were rushing towards the source of the explosion while others evacuated any and all non-combatants to safety. Knowing where she had to go, she followed the flow of guards.

“Lady Sparkle?” said a gruff voice as she reached the top of the stairs.

“Captain Aquilinus, what’s going on?! Where’s the Princess?!” asked Twilight; fear lingering on her voice. He looked over his shoulder to the large door that leads to Luna’s room. It had somehow managed to survive the explosion. Her eyes widened in fear. Celestia may have basically been a goddess, but even she had her limits. Without thinking, her horn flared to life. The door became surrounded in a pink aura as it creaked open. Fearing for her teacher’s safety, she bolted into the ruin; Aquilinus hot on her tail.

There was nothing left of Luna’s room. All that was left beyond the door was a big pile of rubble. Anything that would have remained intact was crushed by all the rubble. That included Equestria’s Princesses. Twilight could only look at the demolished structure in pure horror. Nothing could have survived this.

Twilight fell to her haunches as a tear rolled down her cheek. Aquilinus stared on in disbelief. He took of his helmet and let it drop letting his short blond mane blow in the wind. He failed. His job was to protect both princesses, even if it meant his life. He didn’t want to believe it. He, the one who was chosen to take Shining Armor’s place after he went to rule over the Crystal Kingdom with Princess Cadance, had failed.

More soldiers were looking on from the open door. None of them could believe what they were looking at. This was truly the darkest day in the history of Equestria.

Then the rubble began to move.

Aquilinus was the first to notice this. He stared at the moving rubble in disbelief. Something had survived the explosion. But there was no way to tell who or what it was. He lowered his posture, ready to strike at a moments notice. “I don’t know who, or what you are, but I, Captain Aquilinus of the Royal Guard, command you to show yourself!”

“H-huh?” Twilight looked over at Aquilinus in confusion. She turned to where he was looking. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw the movement of the rubble. Not knowing what to think, she backed away from the rubble.

A golden aura suddenly surrounded a large area of the rubble before it lifted into the air. Everypony was shocked when the matriarch of the day rose from the destruction. Her royal vestments were all damaged in some way. Her once white coat was covered in scrapes and dirt. Despite all that, her mane and tail were still as radiant as ever. She even had a bright smile on her face.

“My, I think I over did it a bit.” Celestia turned her head to see Twilight, Aquilinus, and over half of the royal guard staring at her from the door. “Oh, Twilight. This is a pleasant surprise,” she said as her horn began glowing again.

Twilight watched as Celestia’s coat magically cleaned itself. “P-princess! You’re okay!”

Celestia just stared at Twilight for a second before she began giggling. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

“But…but the explosion!? You were right at its epicenter!” questioned Aquilinus.

“I assure you that there’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go talk to Silver Mortar to see about getting Luna’s room rebuilt. Come Aquilinus.” With that, Celestia unfurled her wings and took into the air.

Neither Twilight, or Aquilinus knew what to say. “What just happened?”

A smile slowly made it’s way to Aquilinus’ face. He lifted his helmet off the ground and back onto his head. “I have no idea.” Unfurling his wings, he took off into the air after the princess.

****************************************

Author's Note

Before anyone says anything, no. I was not, in any way, taking a jab at republicans/conservatives. I was taking a jab at Mitt Romney himself, cause frankly…the guy was a train wreck, and deserves to be treated as such. He shot himself in the foot so many times during the elections it actually started getting kinda sad. He showed, on numerous occasions, that he didn't give two shits about anyone other than millionaires. (If you want an example, just google 'Mitt Romney 47 percent') Everyone else was only fit to clean the shit off his shoes when he was done ramming his foot up their asses.

My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust

A Date with Destiny

Chapter 41

“So you got your cutie mark when you finally confessed your feelings for Ditzy Doo?” asked Luna. She was curious about how AJ had gotten his cutie mark. It was actually kind of lucky that he had used his own face as a battering ram to break her room door. She had wanted to spend some time with him to see how he was adapting to his new life.

AJ’s cheeks became lightly flushed as he remembered back to that night. “Y-yea. I’m not too sure what happened after I finished the finale, but I woke up the next morning to Ditzy’s beautiful smile.” He scratched the back of his head. “Apparently everypony loved the show. At least that’s what Big Mac told me at breakfast.”

“Yet, you don’t seem too happy with it.”

He let out a dejected sigh. “It was sloppy. The shapes were all wrong, the sonic rainboom should have been bigger, and don’t even get me started on how much of a disappointment the finale was. I’m just happy it was good enough to impress her."

“Sounds to me like you should have a talk with Flash Powder.”

“Who’s Flash Powder?” AJ asked in confusion.

“She’s a mare from Stalliongrad that sets up all the fireworks displays at royal events. She is hooves down the best pyrotechnic magic expert this world has ever seen. She has seen, and preformed every type there is. If you’d like, I could ask her if she could give you a chance.”

“That really won’t be necessa…”

“Yes, she’s been looking for more recruits. Seems as though some of her students couldn’t handle her training. Oh how did she put it, ‘dose pathetic little failures vere too incompetent’ so she ‘booted dem out.’”

“Okay, now I know I don’t want to…”

“In fact, I think I’ll send her a letter to let her know I found her another student.” Using her magic, Luna grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the table. She quickly scribbled something down on the paper. Once she was done, she rolled it up. Luna took in a long, steady breath through her nostrils. When she had a sufficient amount of air in her lungs, she blew through her mouth. A gout of blue flames shot from her mouth and engulfed the letter, turning it to ash. She watched with a smile as the wisp of ash and smoke danced around the room for a moment before flying out the window.

For a moment, the only thing on AJ’s mind was how much Luna’s method of sending letters reminded him of Spike. Then he remembered just why Luna sent that letter. “Luna, I’m not so sure about this. I mean yea, I’m still pretty sloppy, but I don’t think I need any special training or anything like that. It’s not like my job requires me to fire off rockets, or perform pretty little light shows or anything like that.”

“Not with that attitude it won’t,” Luna said with a smile. AJ could only look on in confusion. “But if you train with Flash Powder, and work your butt off, you’ll be performing with her and the group by next years Gala. You’ll be paid for the performances of course. The money’s good. You will be working for the castle after all.”

“Performing at the Gala? In front of, not only you and your sister, but for the thousands of ponies in attendance?” AJ asked, the nervousness tingeing his voice. “And what’s this about pay, and ‘working for the castle?’ Did you just apply me for a job that I didn’t even ask for?”

“Isn’t it great?” she asked with a big smile. “Well first you’ll need to finish your apprenticeship under Flash Powder, and if she finds you good enough, then you’ll have the job.”

“But I already have a job. A job that I’m quite happy with I may add.”

“No worries, you’ll be able to keep your job at the farm. As a member of Flash Powder’s team, you will only perform during special events. Aside from those events, you are expected to attend a bi-monthly practice session. The rest of the time you are free to do as you please.”

“But…I…you…” His body drooped in defeat. “I really have no say in this, do I?”

“Not anymore,” she said; either ignoring, or not noticing the dejected look AJ had. “Once Flash Powder has found a potential candidate, she’ll go to Tartarus and back to try to get them to the castle. I believe she actually did go to Tartarus once to personally drag one of her students back.” She giggled a bit. “Her son was always running away from the training.”

AJ suddenly began fearing for his life. “Should…should I be fearing for my life?”

“Oh don’t worry. Nopony’s been hurt during her training. Severely at least.”

“That makes me feel SOOOOO much better,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“Great!” With a bright smile, Luna got up off the couch. “Now if it’s alright with you, I’d like to see your abilities for myself.”

Knowing he couldn’t win, he just sighed. “How? Even if they did allow us to go on the roof or something, it’s a bit too bright to properly see everything.”

“That’s why we’ll be going into you’re head,” Luna said as her horn began to glow.

“Into my…head?” He noticed that Luna was beginning to lower her horn towards him. “A-are you sure about this?”

“It’s perfectly safe,” came Luna’s voice; seeming much more soothing than before. “Just lay back and relax.”

AJ closed his eyes and prepared for what was going to come. He felt Luna’s horn tap his forehead just below his horn. A cool sensation washed over his body for a moment followed by feeling very dizzy.

Once the dizzy feeling left him, he slowly cracked his eyes open. The feeling of fear slowly began to consume him. For miles, and miles, there was nothing but darkness. Everywhere he looked was nothing but darkness. Even looking straight down at the solid surface he was standing on yielded nothing different.

Something was strange about the darkness though. It wasn’t dark due to the lack of light. In fact, he could see perfectly fine. He was standing in an endless void of blackness.

Or was it?

The landscape began to shift and change. Dark trees quickly began sprouting all around him; growing to full size in a matter of moments. The surface he was standing on was replaced with dirt and rocks. The darkness turned from black to red as a blood red moon shone in the sky. The more he looked around him, the more terrifying his surroundings became. Dense foliage filled in the already crowded forest.

AJ was trembling fear. Every direction he looked filled his vision with the dark, claustrophobic forest. The stench of death filled his nostrils. As he looked around, something caught his eye that made the blood drain from his face. Standing amongst the trees was a pony. But this was no ordinary pony. Its coat was a sickly white color. It was very tall and slender, standing almost twice as tall as Princess Celestia. It was wearing a black suit coat, and a red tie. No tail or mane could be seen. Its face was completely featureless, only having the basic shape of an androgynous pony. A circle with an X through it sat on its flanks.

AJ wasn’t even sure why, but just the mere sight of this strange pony absolutely terrified him. The pony lifted a hoof and pointed it at AJ. He could only watch, frozen with fear, as the pony’s mouth opened. Jagged teeth lined its mouth as a black substance oozed from its mouth. Many long tendrils shot from its back, and quickly reached out for him.

A blinding light suddenly erupted from behind AJ causing the forest, the red sky, and the pony to wither away. After a few seconds, all that remained was the never-ending blackness from before. He had no idea what had just happened, and was too confused to do much of anything.

“I apologize for that. I had hoped to get to you before something like that could happen.”

AJ turned to see Luna coming up behind him. “L-l-luna?”

Luna smiled when she stopped in front of him, and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” AJ was still visibly shaken up by what just happened. He just slowly nodded his head. Luna pulled him close with her wing to help him calm down. “We are in your dreamscape,” she said as she looked around the blackness. “Everything here comes from your mind. Your thoughts and feelings control this realm. It picked up on your feelings of fear, and shaped your dreams to match those feelings.”

“Dreams? Th-that was all a dream?”

Luna nodded. “The spell I cast on you put your body into a state of simulated REM sleep. At this moment, you’re sleeping peacefully on the couch in the hotel room. Once you were asleep, I pulled your consciousness into your dreamscape, and here we are.”

“W-why are we here?”

“Certain types of magic, such as pyrotechnic magic, are influenced greatly by our thoughts and imagination. The dreamscape is plane of pure thought and imagination. Like those fireworks you fired off, you control and shape this plane with your thoughts.” Luna looked around the dreamscape once again. “I’ve noticed that those that have…stranger dreams seem to be more creative when they are awake.” She looked back at AJ with a smile. “That’s why I brought you here. To see first hand how your dreams play out. Guess we already got a taste, huh?”

AJ shot Luna an uncomfortable glance. Even knowing that was just a dream, he’d rather not remember it. “Yea…a taste.”

“Why don’t we begin?” AJ gave a slight nod. “Great. Here’s how things will go. I’ll give you a situation. Use your imagination to bring it to life.”

“That’s it? Just imagine things up?”

“Mmhm. Remember, be as creative as possible. While you’re dreaming, I’ll be watching from afar. I won’t step in unless things get out of hoof like they did before. Chances are once the dreams start you’ll be consumed by them. Sucked into the imagery you create. You’ll most likely completely forget about this conversation until the end.” AJ silently nodded in understanding. “Now, why don’t we start with...”

********************

“Are you sure it isn’t noticeable?” Carrot asked as Maxie added the finishing touches to Carrot’s makeup.

“For the thousandth time, yes,” Ditzy said from beside Maxie. Curious as to what Maxie was going to do with Carrot’s makeup, Ditzy sat to the side and watched as it was applied.

“You’re curly hair does a good job at hiding the bump honey. So just stop worrying your pretty little head over it,” Maxie said with a smile. “Now, do you have your ear piece?”

Carrot lifted her hoof, showing the small device to Maxie. “Yea, right here.”

“Good. Let’s get this in your ear so we can try the bad boy out.” Taking the ear piece from Carrot’s hoof, Maxie clipped it onto Carrot’s ear. “There, now to hide it from view, aaaand voilà!”

Carrot prodded at her ear a little. “It feels weird.”

“You’ll get used to it as the night goes on. Now for the test.” Maxie turned his head to the bedroom door and nodded to Star. Star nodded back before walking further down the hall. He had on a separate Ear piece, but this one also had a mic. He wanted to make sure she was hearing him through the ear piece, not from the next room.

Carrot recoiled and grabbed her ear as a loud wave of static and garbled noise suddenly blasted her eardrum. She clawed at her ear for a moment until she dislodged the ear piece. She rubbed her ear soothingly as she glared at the piece of tech that now sat on the floor. “Ffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuck.”

“Jeeze! Are you okay?” asked Ditzy who came up besides Carrot to make sure she was okay.

Carrot turned to look at the wall eyed pegasus when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. “What!?”

Maxie picked up the ear piece with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry honey. I guess I forgot to turn the volume down.”

Star walked into the room to see what was going on. “Is everything okay?” When he saw Carrot favoring her right ear as Ditzy tended to her, he knew something happened. “What happened?”

“I think we may have made her go deaf in one ear.” Maxie showed Star the ear piece. “I forgot to turn down the volume before I put it in her ear.”

Star groaned as his hoof met his face. “Wow. We’re really batting a thousand today, aren’t we? First we bust her head open on a sink, now we blow out her eardrum.”

With a look of concern, Maxie joined Ditzy at Carrot’s side. “Honey? Are you okay?”

Carrot looked at Maxie. “What?! Money?! Yea I have money! What of it?!”

Maxie looked at Carrot in confusion. “I didn’t say money. I said honey.”

“Sunny?!” She looked to the window. “I guess it’s still sunny, but the sun’s going to be going down pretty soon!”

“Not sunny, honey!”

“Bunny?! If you want a bunny why don’t you go talk to Fluttershy! She’s got plenty of critters that would love a good home!”

Maxie stared at Carrot for a second before his lips curled into a smile. “That’s not what I said, but I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“Well, whatever you’re planning on doing, we don’t have much time left before we need to leave,” Ditzy said as she pointed to the clock. “We need to be there in 45 minutes.”

Star sighed. “Right. Maxie and I will go test the ear piece. You make sure she’s ready for when we leave.”

“Good idea. We wouldn’t want her to go deaf in both ears now would we,” Maxie said as he clipped the ear piece to his ear.

“Speaking of going deaf, did you remember to turn the volume down this time?” asked Star.

Maxie rolled his eyes. “What? Do you think I’m stupid or something? Of course I…” Maxie reached up to the volume control to find it still set to max volume. “Didn’t.” He looked over to Star who was just staring at him with an amused look. “If you say one word I will smack you so hard,” he said as he adjusted the volume.

“I didn’t say a thing.”

********************

“Where the hell have you been!? You missed the entire show!” asked Rainbow. By the time Luna was finished testing AJ, the sun was already beginning to set. In total, it took the two of them about six hours to finish. Luna wanted to make sure she got a good grasp on things.

That’s not to say that Rainbow and Pinkie didn’t know he was missing. They realized he was gone the moment they began eating breakfast. In fact, they were beginning to worry something had happened to him…again. There was a problem though. Due to the massive amount of artists they had to set to play today, they had to start the activities early.

Rainbow was torn. While she knew the right thing to do was to go find AJ, this was the day she was waiting for the most. It was Pinkie that assured her that AJ was going to be just fine. That didn’t stop AJ’s whereabouts from weighing on her mind. It almost ruined her ability to enjoy the show.

Key word is almost.

It wasn’t until after the show, while they were in the walking through the lobby to begin their search, did they see him step out of an elevator with another pony. AJ’s face was flushed red with a look of embarrassment plastered on. The other pony was midnight blue with a flowing, ethereal mane and tail that looked like the night sky. She had a long horn, and a loose fitting, white t-shirt with ‘I AM NOT LUNA’ crudely painted on it with midnight blue paint. On her face she wore big, nerdy glasses, and a big, clearly fake, Fu Manechu mustache. Sitting on her back was an anteater sporting much of the same attire. Though his shirt had ‘NOT NOODLE’ painted on it, and his mustache was a handlebar.

“I was…uhh.” AJ rubbed his hooves together nervously.

“He was with me,” said Not Luna; making her voice sound deep to try to mask her identity.

“Clearly, and why were you with Princess Luna anyway?” asked Rainbow. “Why is she even here in the first place? Shouldn’t she be in Canterlot or something?”

Luna’s eyes shrunk behind her glasses as sweat began running down her forehead. ‘Oh no! Somepony saw through my clever disguise! I have to do something to hide my true identity.’

“Silly Dashie! That’s not Princess Luna!” Pinkie said, still hyped up from the show. “Her shirt even says so, see? She is not Luna,” she said as she pointed at the words.

“Yes, she’s right!” Luna said; forgetting to disguise her voice. Realizing this, she cleared her throat. “I mean, she’s right. Would this Princess Luna character have such a stylish mustache?” As she prodded the mustache, it ended up falling from her face to the floor. She looked between Rainbow and the mustache with a nervous look before quickly picking it up with her magic and placing it back on her face.

“Your uh…your mustache is crooked,” Rainbow said with a smirk.

Looking down, Luna saw that the mustache was indeed crooked. ‘Oh ponyfeathers! Got to think of something! Can’t let her know it’s me!’ That’s when she felt the gurgling in deepest depths of her stomach. Her face contorted in disgust at the vileness that she felt. Not even Discord could match the sheer amount of chaos that was brewing up in her very body at this very moment. “Oh Celestia I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that Hayspanic food.”

Rainbow backed up with a look of fear on her face. “W-what are you doing?” She watched as Luna brought a hoof to her gut; her cheeks bulging out as something threatened to escape her mouth. “Are you going to hurl on me?!”

That’s when it happened. Earthquakes pale in comparison to its Earth moving power. Tornados could only dream of being even half as destructive. Even an army of dragons would quiver at its unbreakable might. Yes, there was no force in the world that was more destructive than a legendary belch from the Mistress of the Moon.

Dash held firm as she was blasted point blank by the explosive belch. That’s not saying it was an easy task. Her mane and tail were blown back by the sheer force as tears ran from her eyes. The stench was an obstacle all by itself. She felt the mustache smack her in the face as it flew through the air.

After what felt like forever, it finally died down. All eyes in the lobby were now on Luna and Rainbow. Both Rainbow’s tail and mane were stuck in the blown back position. She sat there for a moment, her eyes both watering and twitching, before bringing a hoof up to cover her nose. “Oh…sweet…Celesia!”

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

“Celestia damnit!” Rainbow said cutting her off. “Okay, I believe you! You’re not Luna! No royalty would have a breath that smells that bad!”

“Hey!”

“Maybe we should have just called you to fight all our battles! With a stench like that, I think even Discord would have folded!”

“My breath does not smell!”

“Maybe Applejack should call you next time she needs to repaint the barn! One belch and all the old paint would just peel right…!”

Rainbow was interrupted when she was suddenly lifted into the air by a cobalt blue aura. She was brought face to face with an angry Luna. The glasses she was wearing were torn from her face by her magic. The shirt she was wearing was torn to shreds as her wings extended in anger; sending Noodle flying. He was quickly caught by AJ’s magic and brought over to safety. “What do you say now Rainbow Dash? Does my breath smell bad now?”

Rainbow just stared at Luna with wide eyes for a moment before her lips curled into a grin. “Hah! I knew it! I knew you were Luna!”

Luna stared at Rainbow in confusion when she finally realized that she was no longer wearing her glasses. She could also feel the open air on her wings letting her know that the shirt was gone. Her mustache was firmly planted on Rainbow’s forehead. That’s when she noticed that the room was suddenly very quiet. Turning her head, she saw that everypony was now looking at her in awe. Without thinking, she let go of Rainbow, who just dropped to the floor, and turned to the crowd.

A loud gasp filled the room. “What?!” shouted Pinkie. “But your shirt said you WEREN’T Luna! Why would a crudely painted shirt lie to me?!”

“You mean you actually bought it?” Rainbow said as she removed the mustache.

“I’ve never known a shirt to lie to me before,” Pinkie said with complete honesty.

Murmurs could be heard throughout the crowd. What was the princess doing here? What’s with the anteater? Where did she learn to belch like that? How come Princess Luna of all ponies has a breath that could strip the paint off a wall? These were all questions that could be heard and more.

“Uhhhhhh hello…everypony,” Luna said nervously. This was the one thing she was afraid of happening during her vacation. Now that the ponies knew she was there, word was bound to get to Canterlot where her sister would no doubt find out about her impromptu vacation. Knowing this, she did the one thing she knew would get attention off of her. “Hey!” she said loud enough to get everypony’s attention. “I hear Fleur De Lis is offering free lap dances at the Eastside Lounge! Better hurry if you want a turn!”

To say Luna’s plan worked would be an understatement. Over half the room cleared out within’ a minute. Those that were left, most of which were the angry fillyfriends of those that left, ran after them. That’s not to say that they all left. There were still a few ponies that didn’t fall for her ruse. They pretty much just continued their business.

Luna let out a relieved sigh as she looked down at her disguise. “Looks like I’ll need to find a new disguise now. Maybe something with an afro. I could be known as Trotsy! Trotsy Cleopatra!”

As Luna contemplated a new disguise, Pinkie walked over to AJ who was just sitting quietly to the side. He still had a light blush on his face as he cuddled Noodle to his chest; petting the anteater. “Heya AJ! Whatcha…”

“NOTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN US!!!” freaked AJ at the unexpected attention. His hooves flew up, sending Noodle into the air where he safely flopped back down onto AJ’s head.

Pinkie just stared at AJ for a moment before giggling. “Of course nothing happened between the two of you silly. I would have gotten the combo if you would have cheated.”

The blush on AJ’s face grew, this time because of his overreaction. “C-combo?”

“Yea! Eye twitch, itchy ear, dancing dangly thingy in the back of my throat!”

“You mean your uvula?”

“Gesundhite.”

“Wub a dub dub Everypony! Vinyl Scratch is in the house!”

Pinkie whipped her head around at the voice. “Hey! It’s Vinyl Scratch! Hi Vinyl!” Pinkie waved her hooves wildly at the white unicorn.

Vinyl had a bright smile on her face as she lifted her shades. Her crimson eyes practically glowed when they fell on the pink pony. “Pinkie Pie, what’s up?!” Walking up to Pinkie, the two ponies hoof bumped. “How’s my favorite party pony doing?”

“I’m doing great! Hey, do you wanna meet some of my friends?”

“Sure! Any friend of Pinkie is a friend of mine!”

“Yippee! Okay, first let me introduce you to AJ,” Pinkie said as she pointed to the indigo unicorn. “He’s pretty much Ponyville’s resident punching bag.”

“Hey!” AJ said indignantly before lowering his head with a defeated sigh. “Yea she’s pretty much right.”

Vinyl looked at AJ with amusement. “You do know there’s an anteater on your head, right?”

“Yes, yes I do. Say hello to Noodle. He is my hat. Say hello Noodle,” he said with a deadpan look. Noodle just stared at Vinyl with his beady black eyes. “Noodle says hello.”

Vinyl just chuckled before turning to Pinkie. “You guys were the ones that won the contest, right?”

“Yuppers!”

“Awesome. Why don’t you introduce me to the rest of your group while we go to my dressing room? I told Card I’d be back after the show. The little guy must be worried about me.”

“We get to go into your dressing room?” asked Rainbow. She had been too star struck to speak till now.

“Sure. I don’t see a problem with it.”

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!”

“Oh come on Dashie. You act like you’ve never personally met Vinyl yet.”

“That’s because I haven’t!”

“What about the wedding?”

“Yea, but that doesn’t count! I never got to actually TALK to her!”

“Sounds like somepony’s quite the fan,” Vinyl said as she put a leg around Rainbow’s withers.

Rainbow’s body froze at the contact. “She’s touching me. Vinyl Scratch is touching me!” She let out a loud, fangirl squeal before becoming lost in her stupor.

“You coming with us Princess?”

“No, I have things to do. But are you going to be free next week?”

“Next week? I’ll have to check my schedule. You have another surprise party for your sister planned?”

“Oh no, but she has one planned for some delegates from Saddle Arabia. Though her get-togethers are always so boring. I just thought I’d help make things a bit more interesting.”

Vinyl nodded. “Alright. Just tell me when and where and I’ll try to fit it in.”

“Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go find a convincing afro.” Before getting too far, she turned to AJ. “Do you think you could look after Noodle for now?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Thank you. I want his new disguise to be a surprise. I know he’s just going to love it!” Without another word, Luna left the room.

“Alright, looks like it’s just us at this party,” Vinyl said as she replaced her shades. “Everypony follow me and the real fun can begin.” With a confident stride, Vinyl trotted across the room. AJ silently followed; making sure Noodle was comfortable on his head. Pinkie grabbed Dash’s tail before dragging the fangasming pegasus along with her.

********************

“So you’re the one that actually won the contest,” Vinyl said with a smile.

“That’s right. Those ponies at Everfree Radio must have been able to sense just how awesome I am through my letter, so they picked mine over everypony else,” Rainbow said in an attempt to sound cool in front of the DJ. “These two were on their knee’s, just BEGGING for me to take them with me.”

“Of course I was Dashie!” Pinkie said with her usual smile. “I mean, it’s not everyday you get to see System of a Down live in concert.”

“Uhh no. I call bullshit here.” The rest of the group looked to AJ. “If I remember right, YOU asked ME if I wanted to go because you thought Ditzy and I could use some time apart. There was no begging involved.”

Vinyl had a smirk on her face as she looked to Rainbow who knew she was just caught in a bold faced lie. With a chuckle she said, “No need to lie like that just to impress me. Just be yourself.”

Rainbow laid her ears back in embarrassment. “Heh, sorry.”

“It’s okay Dashie. We forgive you,” Pinkie said as she wrapped Rainbow in a big hug. “Isn’t that right AJ?”

AJ rolled his eyes before patting Rainbow on the head; chuckling as he said, “I guess I can forgive such a…heinous sin. Right Noodle?” Noodle just blankly stared back at AJ before lashing his tongue out; tickling his nose. “Noodle forgives you too.”

“Alright everypony, my room’s just around the corner here,” Vinyl said just before rounding the next corner.

“Alright! Time to party!” Pinkie shouted as she let Rainbow drop to the floor.

From her spot on the floor, she watched Pinkie hop around the corner after Vinyl. Then an indigo hoof came into view. “Huh?” Looking up, she saw AJ standing there offering to help her up.

“Would you like some help?”

Rainbow took AJ’s hoof. “Thanks.” As she brushed herself off, the two of them heard a loud gasp come from around the corner. “What’s Pinkie up to now?”

“Oh my gosh, hi Gilda! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”

“G-g-gilda?!”

AJ watched as the color drained from Rainbow’s face. ‘There’s that name again,’ he thought. ‘Time to find out who this Gilda is.’ Walking forward a little, he poked his head around the corner. Standing a little ways down the hall were two ponies, and a griffin. The griffin had a look somewhere in between complete shock, and utter disgust. ‘That’s Vinyl, that’s Pinkie, so that must be…’ He turned to Rainbow. “I didn’t know Gilda was a griffin.”

“You were never supposed to find out,” Rainbow said as she took a step back.

AJ raised an eyebrow as he stared at the cyan pegasus. “And just why not?” Rainbow said nothing. “Rainbow, what happened between the two of you? I thought she was your friend?”

“Exactly. She WAS my friend.”

“What happened?”

“None of your business, okay? Just forget about it.” Rainbow turned and began walking away with her head down.

She was about halfway down the hall when she noticed that she was no longer making any progress. Her hooves were moving, but she was not. That’s when she felt something tugging on her tail. “Huh?” Looking back, she saw an icy blue aura grabbing her tail; holding her in place. “Hey, what gives?!”

As he continued to hold her tail, AJ walked up next to her. “Maybe I don’t want to ‘just forget about it’ Rainbow.” Rainbow could only glare at the unicorn. “Maybe I know what it’s like to keep something bottled inside like that. Maybe I don’t want to see anypony go through what I went through all those years.”

“Maybe I don’t care.” Rainbow quickly extended her wing; smacking AJ in the face. As he recoiled from the hit, the aura around his horn and Rainbow’s tail died down. Letting out a frustrated snort, she continued down the hall. “Stay out of my personal life and leave me alone.”

AJ rubbed the side of his face watched Rainbow as she walked down the hall. He let out a sigh as he thought about what she just said. ‘Why is she so adamant about this? What happened between them? Did Gilda steal her coltfriend or something? Or was it…’ “You loved her, didn't you?”

Rainbow stopped walking, and turned her head. She fixed AJ with a dagger like glare before turning back; violently lashing her tail out in anger. “Just shut up.”

“Dash wait!”

“Oh come on, you’re here too?! I thought that pink loser was bad enough.”

Rainbow froze mid step. She slowly turned until she was looking the griffin in the eyes. AJ stood, uncomfortably, in the middle of the stare down; looking between both parties. Gilda stared at Rainbow with a look of contempt, while Rainbow stared right back with a mix of hatred and sadness. A suffocating silence filled the hallway.

“And I thought this day couldn’t get any worse,” spat Gilda; ending the silence. She continued down the hall towards Rainbow. She stopped again when she reached AJ. “And I suppose the lame-o with the anteater is your friend too?”

“So what if he is?” The usual bravado in Rainbow’s voice was gone.

“Tch, I’m surrounded by losers.” Continuing down the hall, her and Rainbow locked eyed once more as she passed. Rainbow turned away; breaking eye contact. Gilda snorted; quickening her pace to get away from the rainbow maned pegasus.

“At least he’s a better friend than you ever were.”

Gilda’s head whipped around, glaring death at the pegasus. She grit her teeth hard as her glare turned to AJ who just stared right back at her. She began lifting her claw; clenched in anger.

Gilda moved before either of them could react. Using her wings to boost her, she leapt over Rainbow; landing in front of AJ. In one swift movement, she grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the floor; slamming him into the wall behind him. Noodle, fear consuming him, grabbed onto AJ’s horn and held on for dear life. “You’re no better than the rest of those loser ponies she calls friends. You all stole her away from me!” She tightened her grip around his throat as she lifted her clenched fist. “No more! I’ll pay you all back in spades!”

“That’s enough Gilda!”

Rainbow turned to see Vinyl Scratch standing at the corner. Behind her stood Pinkie, and a short, scrawny, green pegasus stallion. He had a blue mane with a silver streak in it. His cutie mark was three cards. He had a watch on his left ankle and round glasses over his rust colored eyes.

Vinyl’s shades were gone. Instead they were replaced by a normal pair of glasses. Her angry, magenta eyes fixed on the griffin in front of her. “I thought I told you to control your anger!” Gilda glared at Vinyl. “Put him down Gilda!”

Gilda turned her attention back to AJ. She clenched her fist so hard her talons drew blood. She brought her fist back, looking like she was going to just ignore Vinyl. “I said put him down! Now!”

Gilda let out a loud, eagle like screech as her fist flew forwards. AJ clenched his eyes shut at the oncoming fist.

CRACK!!!

When he felt no pain, other than the pain from the claw gripping his throat, AJ slowly opened his eyes. Gilda’s fist wasn’t aimed at him. He saw her arm extended just to the left of his head; planted into the wall. The blood drained from his face when he realized that that could have been the fate of his head.

Gilda extracted her fist from the wall before letting go of AJ’s throat; letting him drop to the floor. Without saying a word, she started down the hall; turning away from Rainbow as she passed. Without acknowledging Gilda, Rainbow ran over to AJ to help.

Vinyl let out a deep sigh. “I swear that griffin needs some serious help.” She turned to Rainbow and AJ. “You two okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” Rainbow said as she looked at AJ’s throat. Aside from where Gilda’s talons started digging into his flesh, there looked to be no real damage.

“Yea. Sad to say that I’ve been through worse than that,” AJ said as he rubbed his soar neck. Rainbow and Pinkie could only nod knowingly.

“That doesn’t excuse what she did,” Vinyl said as she shook her head.

“I still say we should just commit her to a mental hospital,” added the green pegasus. “I would love to see her reaction when the ponies in the white coats drag her furry ass to the happy hotel.”

“I’m inclined to agree with the kid. She’s a fucking psycho,” AJ said as he stood up.

“She’s not a psycho!” defended Dash.

“And I am not a kid! I just haven’t stopped growing yet.”

“Cool it Card,” Vinyl said as she put a hoof on his shoulder. “Pinkie already met him, but this is my coltfriend, Fated Card.”

“Yea, that’s right! I’m nailing this pony right here!” Card said with a look of pride. “Bet you’re super jealous now, huh?”

“Nnnoooo, not really. I’m quite happy with my marefriend.”

“I call bullshit. I can see the jealousy in your eyes.”

AJ rolled his eyes. “Piss off you sawed off Chihuahua. I got a headache right now, and I really don’t feel like dealing with a little cretin like you right now.”

“Sawed off Chihuahua?! Little cretin?! Ffffuck youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

Using his magic, AJ lifted Noodle off his head; making sure he was okay. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw that the anteater was just fine. “I think I’m going to go back to the room. Maybe go to the bar to get something to eat first. I’ve had enough excitement for one day, and a hot tub is just what I need to relax.”

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” asked Rainbow.

“I’ll be fine. As I said, I’ve been through worse than that.”

Rainbow watched with worry in her eyes as AJ walked down the hall. “Yea, that’s right! Just walk away! Save yourself the embarrassment of getting your flank kicked by yours truly!”

Rolling her eyes, Vinyl clamped Card’s mouth shut with her magic. “Not now Card.” She let out a sigh before her usual smile came back. “Looks like we’re down one pony, but that doesn’t mean the four of us can’t still party!”

“Alright! I’ll get my party canon!” Pinkie ran back into Vinyl’s room to set up the party.

“Card, could you go help her set things up?” Vinyl asked as she extinguished her magic.

“Yea, I guess. But the next time I see that guy, I swear to Celestia I will kick him in the dick.”

“You do that.” Vinyl watched as Card followed Pinkie into the room before walking up to Rainbow. “You gonna be okay?”

Rainbow shook her head. “I…I don’t know.”

Vinyl put a comforting hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, Gilda really does miss you.”

Rainbow’s eyes got wide as she turned to Vinyl. “She misses me?”

Vinyl nodded. “You should hear her drunken ramblings when she’s at the bar. It’s almost always about how she lost her only friend and how she wants her back. And just think about what she just said. She believes your new friends stole you away from her. If she really didn’t care anymore, why would she feel so strongly about something like that?”

Rainbow just looked down and started to think. “You think that we could still be friends?”

“Maybe. Can’t be too sure right now,” Vinyl said with a shrug. “For now, let’s just give her some space. Now come on. We can still make something of this night. You know how awesome Pinkie’s parties are.”

“Yea, you’re right.” With a smile, Rainbow stood up and started down the hall to Vinyl’s room. “By the way, what’s with your eyes?”

“Hmm?”

“Well, during the show, they were red. Same with before in the lobby. Now they’re different. And now you’re wearing glasses too.”

“Oh, that. They’re called prescription contacts dude. Plus, red looks a lot cooler than magenta does.” She lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Too bad they’re so uncomfortable, or I’d wear them all the time.”

“Oh. Makes sense. I guess.”

“You two may wanna hurry it up,” Card said as he poked his head around the corner. “That crazy pink pony’s already eaten about half of the food.”

Vinyl and Rainbow looked at each other and rolled their eyes. “That’s Pinkie Pie for you,” they said together before laughing and hurrying to the room.

********************

“I…don’t…wanna…go!”

“Too…bad!”

“You…can’t…make…me!”

“Yes…I…can!” Maxie growled at the pale goldenrod earthpony. “This is not the time to get cold hooves!”

“I don’t care!”

“10 bits Maxie wins,” Star said as he and Ditzy watched Maxie try to push Carrot out the door.

“I don’t know. Carrot’s a lot stronger than she looks. If she actually tries, she’ll easily win.”

“A little help you two?!” pleaded Maxie as Carrot began pulling at his hair. “Hey! Watch the hair!”

“Think we should help?” asked Star.

“Yeeaaaa. I guess we should.” Ditzy unfurled a wing, and grabbed a loose feather. “Bah. I really need to keep up with the preening.” Feather in mouth, she walked over to the fighting earth ponies.

“I changed my mind, and that’s final!” Carrot shouted as she fought against Maxie. “You can’t make meeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!”

Maxie jumped back to avoid Carrot’s wildly flailing hooves. Utterly shocked from the unexpected tickle, Carrot fell backwards. As Carrot flopped on the ground, recovering from the tickling, Star came up behind Ditzy. “Impressive.”

Ditzy spit out the feather with a smug grin. “Yup. When you’ve known a pony for as long as I’ve known Carrot, you eventually learn all of their weaknesses. Carrot’s biggest weakness is that she is extremely ticklish.”

“Hmm, that’s good to know if we need to persuade her to get moving again,” Maxie said with an evil grin.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Maxie picked up the feather. “Watch me.”

“Can this wait?” asked Star. “Chances are we’re already going to be late. Let’s not make things worse by making it a no show.” He turned to Carrot with a stern look. “Now Carrot, I know you’re scared about this, but you need to pony up. If you don’t want to live the rest of your life alone, you’re going to have to take chances like this.”

“But what if it doesn’t work out? What if I mess this up and they never want to speak to me again?” Carrot asked; the fear of yet another rejection looming over her.

“Then you get back up and try again,” Star said sternly. “Just because one pony says no, doesn’t mean they all will. Yes rejection can hurt at first, but you can’t let it get to you. You need to shake it off and get right back on, do you understand me?” The two ponies just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. “Now, are you going to go through with this blind date, or was this all just one big waste of time?”

Carrot began to quiver beneath Star’s hard gaze. She was scared. No mater what was said, the fear still continued to loom over her. She didn’t know if she could take anymore rejection. Then again, he was right. Over the past couple days, these ponies in front of her worked hard to give her this chance. To say no would just be rudely grinding all their hard work into the ground. “I-I wanna do this.”

“Are you sure? Just say the word and I’ll go down there and call this whole thing off. I’d just hate to see your life in a couple years when you’re still all alone. How horrible your life will be, just because you were too pathetic and scared to go on one, little…”

Star was interrupted as a hoof connected with his jaw. The hoof was quickly retracted when Carrot realized Star’s body was a lot more solid than most. She silently cursed as she shook the pain from her leg. “I…am not…pathetic?”

Star, barely feeling Carrot’s retaliation, smiled. “What’s that?”

“I’m not pathetic.”

“Again.”

“I’m not pathetic!”

“I can’t hear you!”

“I’M NOT PATHETIC!!!” shouted Carrot at the top of her lungs. “I’m not a loser! I will go on this date, and I will get laid!”

“There we go. That’s the fire I was looking for. Though maybe you should slow down a bit. It’s only the first date. Sex can wait. For now at least.”

A light blush came to Carrot’s cheeks. “Y-yea…right.”

“Good, can we go now?” Maxie asked impatiently.

“Aww, but things were just starting to get good,” joked Ditzy.

Star rolled his eyes before ushering Carrot down the path to the street.

********************

Despite the fiery passion Carrot had when they finally left the house, by the time they got to the restaurant, she was practically hyperventilating. As Star went to go check them in, Maxie and Ditzy stayed behind to make sure she didn’t get cold hooves again.

“You going to be okay Carrot?” asked Ditzy. She had never seen Carrot this nervous before. Usually the situation is reversed. She was the one that was freaking out over something, or passing out due to the lack of oxygen brought on by the hyperventilating. It actually scared her to see her best friend in this position.

“Define okay!”

“Carrot, look at me,” Maxie said as he grabbed Carrot’s head, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “You just need to take long, deep breaths. It’ll help you calm down. Follow my breathing.” Maxie started instructing Carrot to take long deep breaths. Carrot, in her worry, couldn’t control her breathing to save her life. “No, not quick and shallow, long and deep.”

“Maxie, stop,” Ditzy said as she pulled Maxie’s hooves off of Carrot’s face. “It sounds like you’re instructing her on how to give a better blowjob, not trying to calm her down.” Nudging Maxie out of the way, Ditzy got in front of the pale goldenrod earthpony.

“Well what do you plan on doing then?”

“The same thing she does to me whenever I freak out like this.” Without another word, Ditzy lifted her hoof.

SLAP, SLAP!!!

Carrot brought a hoof up to one of her, now sore, cheeks. “Ooooow!”

“Well, that’s one way to do it I guess,” Maxie said, not quite sure how to react.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Ditzy said triumphantly.

“I don’t know what the three of you are up to, but we can go in now,” came Star’s voice from behind them.

“Right. Ready Carrot?”

“Not really.”

“Well too bad.” Ditzy got behind the earthpony mare and began pushing her into the restaurant. “It’s do or die, and I refuse to let you die.”

“Who said anything about dying?” asked Maxie who walked along side the two of them.

Ditzy stopped in her tracks as Maxie’s question hit her. “I…well…look, don’t question things I say when I get all fired up like that. Half the time they don’t make sense.”

“Noted,” Maxie said with a smile. He winked at the doorpony as they passed who could only awkwardly stare as he watched Carrot get pushed into the restaurant.

They saw Star waving them over to a booth as a waiter placed three menus at the seats. When the rest of the group got to the table, Star cleared his throat. “Alright. This will be our base of operations. That table over there…” he pointed to a booth about two tables over, is where your date is. We’ll be able to hear everything that goes on from here, and will instruct you if you ever need help. You do have the earpiece in, right?”

“Yea. And I made sure the volume was down before I put it in,” Carrot said; lightly glaring at Maxie.

Maxie smiled sheepishly. “What? I said I was sorry.”

“Good. Just do what we say, and you’ll do fine.”

“Mr. Written Script? One second sir.”

Maxie’s ears twitched as he heard Written Script’s name. “Oh my gosh he’s here!” he said in a loud whisper. “Everpony hide!”

“Here we are. Looks like your date has already arrived.” He motioned for a waiter. “You will be at table 24.”

Carrot’s eyes got wide when she heard the table number. She took another look at the table from her hiding spot behind Ditzy. Table 24. Her brain shut down for a moment as this information wracked it’s way through her head. That’s when it finally clicked. A heavy blush came to her cheeks. “Oh sweet Celestia my blind date is…!”

“Shhhhhhh!” Star stuffed a hoof in Carrot’s mouth to shut her up. “He doesn’t know that the three of us are here. You can’t bring attention to us.” They watched as Written Script was lead to the booth. When the waiter left, he removed his hoof from Carrot’s mouth. “Alright. Now that he’s here, things can start. You’re going to go over there, say hello, and you will have a great night. Do you understand?” Carrot nodded. “Good girl. Now go and be happy.”

Ditzy stepped out from the booth to let Carrot out. As Ditzy got back into her seat, she noticed Carrot looking at her with a big smile. “Something wrong?”

Carrot shook her head. “Remind me to kiss you all later.” Without waiting for an answer, Carrot trotted towards her table.

Written Script looked nervously looked around the restaurant. He took one last look at his appearance. He was wearing a nice button-up shirt and a piano tie. He knew this wasn’t the fanciest of restaurants, but he wanted to make a good impression. “I thought he said my date was already here. Where could they be?” He started tapping his hoof on the table to try to pass time. A smile started to form on his face when he heard some hoofsteps get closer and closer.

“Sorry I’m late. I had to use the little filly’s room.” The smile slowly began to drop when he heard the voice. He turned his head to see Carrot Top standing in front of the table; a bright smile on her face. He just watched as Carrot took a seat opposite of him. “Were you waiting long?”

“Umm, no. A couple minutes maybe.” He got a better look at Carrot. Like him, she wasn’t extravagantly dressed. Her hair was done up nicely with a carrot shaped hair clip, and she was wearing a nice skirt. The slightest touch of makeup adorned her face. “You…look nice,” he said uncomfortably.

Carrot could feel her face heat up. “Th-thank you.”

A bit of static started sounding from the earpiece. “Remember to compliment him on his looks too,” came Star’s voice.

“Yea, you want to make him feel just as special as he makes you feel,” added Maxie.

“Oh, right,” Carrot whispered a little too loudly.

“Hmm?”

“N-nothing, heh. Uhh, you look good too. That tie is adorable.” Carrot was internally screaming at her choice of words.

“Uhh, thank you?” He looked down at his tie. “It’s nothing special though. Just a cheap tie I picked up in case I ever needed one.”

“Well it looks nice.”

An awkward silence filled the area around them. With the initial interactions out of the way, neither of them knew what to talk about. “Don’t just sit there doing nothing, ask him how his day went. Maybe how things are going around the office,” said Maxie.

“But she already knows how everything’s going. I told her,” said Ditzy. Her voice could be heard in the background.

“But he doesn’t know that, now does he,” countered Maxie.

“I’m sure he knows that his co-workers talk about what’s going on at the post office.”

“Would you two keep your voices down? He’s going to hear us if you keep talking like that,” chastised Star.

“Did you hear that?” asked Script.

“H-hear what?” Carrot asked with a sheepish smile.

“It sounded like some ponies are arguing,” he said as he began looking around restaurant again. “And one of them sounded like Di…”

“So how was your day?!” interrupted Carrot in an attempt to change the subject. “Anything exiting happen at the post office today?”

Just as he was about to look behind them into the other booths, he stopped and looked at Carrot with a curious look. He had an uncomfortable look on his face as he sat back down. “Uhhh, it was fine. Nothing of interest really happened.” He tapped his hoof on the table. “I thought Ditzy would have told you.”

“Told you,” came Ditzy’s smug voice from the ear piece.

“Oh yea…forgot about that.” A light blush came to Carrot’s cheeks. “I, uh…I just thought maybe she forgot something.” An uncomfortable laughter filled the air.

“No, no she didn’t.”

Another uncomfortable silence filled the area around them. “Try to keep the conversation going Carrot. Don’t let things get stale,” said Star.

As Carrot tried to think of something to talk about, she noticed something about her date. He looked extremely uncomfortable. He was looking at everything except her. She could hear his hoof tapping nervously underneath the table. “Is something wrong?”

His eyes finally met hers before he let out a sigh. “Carrot, I don’t think this is going to work out.”

Carrot was pretty sure she felt a vice tightening around her heart. Her eyes got wide as panic quickly began overtaking every other emotion. “H-huh?”

“Boxxy was right. This was a bad idea.”

“What do you mean bad idea?! Star said you were exited for this!”

“Carrot, just calm down,” Ditzy said.

“I was, until a few minutes ago.” He saw that Carrot was on the verge of tears. “Look, I don’t want to make you feel bad, okay? It’s not you. It’s me. You’re a nice pony. You’ve always been nice to me when we’ve talked, but you’re not the pony for me. I’m sorry.”

“Couldn’t we just give it a chance?! Maybe we’ll be happy in the end!”

“Maybe if the situation was a little different,” he said with an embarrassed chuckle. “But as things are, it just wouldn’t work. I’m sorry I wasted your time tonight. Tell Ditzy I said hi.” As Script was about to get up, Carrot practically leapt over the table; grabbing his foreleg to keep him from leaving. His somber look turned to one of fear as he turned to the mare. “W-what are you doing?!”

At this point Carrot had hot tears pouring down her cheeks. “Y-y-you can’t leave! Please don’t leave! I-I don’t want you to leave!”

“L-let go of me!” demanded Script as he tried to pry his leg away from Carrot’s vice-like grip.

“Ple-he-he-heas! You have to love me!”

“Carrot let him go!” Ditzy shouted as she rushed from the booth. She ran up to Script and tried to help get him away from the pale goldenrod mare.

Script looked at Ditzy with a mixture of fear and confusion. “D-ditzy?! What are…”

“Reeeeally not the time for this Script! Just pull!”

It didn’t take long for Star and Maxie to join in. Star tried to pry Carrot’s legs off, while Maxie joined Ditzy in trying to pull him out. “How…is one pony…this strong?” grunted Maxie as he pulled as hard as he could.

“Carrot, let go…of him!” demanded Star.

“No! Not until he loves me!”

“But he doesn’t love you Carrot! And this sure as hell isn’t helping!” said Ditzy.

“Why won’t it help?! It has to help!” Carrot took in a long, ragged breath. “Why won’t you love me?!”

“Because I’m gay, alright!”

“W-w-wha…?” In an instant, the vice grip on Script’s leg was released. The three ponies currently attached to it landed in a pile of tangled limbs and grunts.

Star’s eyes were wide as he looked at the light grey unicorn. He then looked around the restaurant. All eyes were on them. Not a single pony was paying attention to something else. “Uhhhhh…”

As soon as she got her eyes under control, Ditzy turned to her co-worker. “Wait, you’re gay?”

“We’ve worked together for years. How could you not know this?”

“Well excuse me. I don’t exactly make a habit out of learning every last detail about my co-worker’s personal lives.”

“I didn’t exactly hide it you know. And what are you guys doing here anyway?” Script asked with a ting of anger.

“This was little Carrot’s first date,” Maxie said as he stood up; brushing his coat off. “We just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.” He took a look around the restaurant. “Which it most certainly did not.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Star said as he sheepishly smiled and waved at the owner.

“Look, I’m sorry about everything Script. Carrot’s always had a bit of trouble when it came to the love department. We were just trying to help make her first date a good one. Please don’t hold this against her. She’s still a good pony.”

“Ditzy, I know she’s a good…”

“Please?”

“Di…”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?” Ditzy tried her best to emulate Dinky’s impossibly adorable begging face. The only thing she accomplished was losing her focus which caused her eyes to start separating.

Script sighed. “Okay, I get it. She’s not psycho…just desperate.”

Star, finally realizing he still had one leg on Carrot’s, felt her body tense up at the word psycho. “You okay sweetie?”

Ditzy let out a sigh. “We should get her home. I think a good nights sleep is just what she needs right now.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Maxie said with a slight smile.

“Well, sounds like this is goodnight,” Ditzy said as she turned to Script.

“Yup. See you tomorrow Ditzy.”

“See y…” Before Ditzy could finish, a loud crack filled the room.

It took a moment for Ditzy’s brain to put things together. The loud cracking sound. All of the gasps that emanated from the crowd around them. The spot where Script’s head once took up had been replaced by a pale goldenrod hoof with Maxie’s horrified face on the other side. Her, now, unconscious co-worker lying on the ground with his face beaten in. It took her about a second, but she was able to put together the facts and come to the conclusion that Carrot Top, her housemate, her buddy, her best friend in the whole world, had just caved in Written Script’s face. Her face went from zero to freak out in record time. “SWEET HOLY FUCK!!!”

Before anything more could be said, Carrot shook Star off of her before bolting from the restaurant. Noticing this, Ditzy took off after her. “Carrot, wait! Come back!”

Star watched as Ditzy flew through the door. He couldn’t help but wince when she hit the doorframe face first. The words ‘stupid doorframe’ could be heard before she finally made it through. He looked back to Maxie. “You go with Ditzy. I’ll take care of things here.” Without saying a word, Maxie nodded before taking off after the two ponies.

“Ehem!”

Star swallowed the lump in his throat before turning to see the owner glaring at him. “Eheh, hi.”

********************

Ditzy hammered on the door to Carrot’s room once again. “Carrot, please open the door!” There was no answer. “Carrot?!”

“Isn’t there any other way into her room?” asked Maxie.

Ditzy shook her head. “No. She actually locked her window this time. Unless we wanted to MAKE a new entrance, and I really don’t feel like paying for a new wall, there’s no other way in.”

Maxie tapped a hoof on his chin. “Are you sure we can’t put a hole in the wall?” Ditzy just glared at him. “Okay, so that’s out of the question.”

Ditzy sighed. “Let’s just give her some time. Maybe she’ll be more inclined to talk tomorrow.”

“Or, just hear me out, Maybe we could just remove the door.”

Ditzy looked at Maxie with a deadpan look. “What?”

“If you have the right tools, I could probably just take the door down. That way we could just put the door back, and there would be no permanent damage.”

“Just…just no.”

“Can I at least offer her some food? It’s not like she had anything to eat tonight.”

“Hmmmm. That sounds like a good idea actually,” Ditzy said as a smile slowly grew on her face. “And maybe we’ll be able to get her to talk while she eats.”

“Good idea honey! I’ll go make her a sandwich,” Maxie said as he trotted towards the stairs.

“Remember to put some spinach on it if we have anymore. She loves spinach.”

“Mmmm. She has good tastes. Okay, I’ll add some then.”

After a couple of minutes, Ditzy heard Maxie coming back up the stairs. When he rounded the corner, she saw that he had a platter on his back. A plate with a sandwich on it, and a glass of milk sat on the platter. In his mouth was also a leaf of spinach. He happily chewed as he came down the hall. He swallowed as he reached the door. “Hope you don’t mind. I couldn’t help myself.”

“It’s fine. We can always buy more.”

Maxie knocked on the door. “Carrot? Honey we have some food here for you. A nice spinach sandwich. There’s tomato, daisies, spinach of course, and I even have a glass of milk for you.”

Silence filled the hall for a moment until the sound locks unlocking hit their ears. The door cracked open and the silhouette of Carrot could be seen on the other side. Her angry eye looked between the two ponies in front of her before zeroing in on Maxie. Without warning, her forelegs shot from the room; grabbing Maxie and pulling him into the room. A slight commotion could be heard from inside the room before Maxie suddenly flew from the room; landing on the floor with a loud thud.

“I guesh she wash hungry,” Maxie said before shaking the cobwebs from his head.

“And it got us no closer to getting her to talk,” groaned Ditzy. “I’m going to go try her window again. Maybe I’ll be able to get her attention this time.”

Maxie watched as Ditzy opened the window and flew out. He was pretty sure he heard somepony knocking on some glass, followed by some mumbling from outside as Ditzy tried reasoning with Carrot. Maxie wasn’t sure what happened, but a loud, monstrous roar filled the air. Maxie stared at Carrot’s door with shock after the roar ended. After about ten seconds, he heard hooves touch down at the end of the hall by the window. “Ditzy, is everything oOOH SWEET CELESTIA!!!”

The color had completely drained from Ditzy’s coat making her look like a ghost of a pony. Her eyes, which were going crazy in her head, were but the size of pinpricks at their biggest. Her right eye was twitching as the rest of her body shook in fear. Her tail stuck out completely straight. “Not Carrot…not Carrot…fire…evil…teeth…sharp, evil teeth…”

Her incoherent rambling continued as Maxie walked up to her. “Honey? Are you alright?” He got no answer other than more incoherent ramblings. “That bad, huh? Come on, let’s go get something to eat. You can tell me all about it over dinner.”

********************

The atmosphere in Carrot Top’s house that morning was glum to say the least. After the disastrous conclusion to Carrot’s date the previous night, no pony was feeling all too cheery that morning.

Ditzy was horrified to go into work today. Not only did she not know if Script was okay or not, she didn’t know what Boxxy was going to say about everything. Chances are Script was going to tell him about what happened. They told each other everything. Everypony at the office knew how close Boxxy’s family was with Script’s. It’s why Script got his job in the first place. Ditzy was sure Boxxy would flip his shit when he found out, so she psyched herself out and decided to just bite the bullet. She was going to explain everything when she got there.

It’s been an hour since Ditzy left for work, and the only one stirring at the moment was Star who was trying to kill time by watching TV. While he didn’t have too much trouble falling asleep, unlike Maxie, he found it hard to stay asleep. Eventually he just opted to stay up. He knew Maxie would kill him for it, but he made a pot of extra strong coffee. If nothing else, Ditzy appreciated the extra boost it gave her. She would need all the energy she could get.

He was on his third cup of coffee by the time Maxie came down the stairs. A long yawn filled the air, causing Star to turn around. He could immediately tell Maxie’s mood when he saw him. Maxie would always make sure he was clean and proper before showing his face in the morning. Today his mane was dull, and he was sporting bed head. His coat was still dirty, at least as dirty as Maxie usually gets, from yesterday. “You’re up already?” Star asked as Maxie reached the bottom of the stairs. “You were up pretty late last night. Go back to bed.”

“Says the pony that woke up at four in the morning,” Maxie groggily said. “Did you get anymore sleep.”

Star shook his head. “Third cup, extra strong.”

“Extra strong? Star!” chastised Maxie. Maxie was silent for a moment as his body sagged once again. “Is there anymore?”

“Mmhm. About enough for one more cup.”

Maxie let out a depressed sigh as he trudged his way into the kitchen. After a minute he came back out with a cup full of piping hot coffee on a platter. He took a spot on the couch next to Star before he took a sip of the coffee; his face scrunching up at how strong it was.

An uncomfortable silence radiated between the two of them as they sat there watching some TV. Star wasn’t even paying attention anymore. He just closed his eyes; taking sips from his coffee every now and then. Maxie, on the other hoof, wasn’t paying attention for another reason. He solemnly turned away from his husband. “It…”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Star said; knowing what Maxie was thinking.

“And why shouldn’t I? If I hadn’t been fretting over how she looked every minute of every day, I would have gotten to know him better. I probably would have been able to tell that he was a colt cuddler. I would have known that we should have found somepony else. Maybe, just maybe we would have…”

Star silenced Maxie’s lips with his own. The light rose stallion was practically in tears at this point. He pulled away and looked into his eyes. “Maxie, you can’t put everything on yourself. This was a group effort. We all had a hoof in it, not just you.”

“But I know personally how it feels to think that nopony loves you. Nopony should have to feel like that. I should have done more for her. We just made things worse for her.”

“I know you have a personal stake in this, but you can’t carry the entire burden like this.” Star felt his stomach grumble a bit. “I’m going to go fix us up something to eat. Maybe some food in your stomach will help you feel better.”

“Okay.” Maxie felt naked as Star left his side. It was moment’s like this he was happy he had Star. Star was always a comforting presence to be around. Maxie learned that a long time ago. Without that presence, and with how he was feeling right now, Maxie’s world felt so cold and lonely.

Shuffle…shuffle…shuffle…shuffle…

Maxie’s ears perked up at the sound of hooves coming down the stairs. He turned to see Carrot slowly coming down the stairs. He wanted to smile. He tried his hardest to curl his lips upward. But seeing the condition she was in, all happiness was drained from his body. Her body hung low. She dragged her hooves with every step. Her curly mane wasn’t as lively and poofy as it usually was, and it hung over her face; hiding her eyes from view. Her head hung low as she refused to look at anything other than her hooves. This was the look of a pony who had given up on the world. There was no other way to take this.

Maxie just watched as Carrot reached the bottom of the stairs. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Good morning Carrot. Did you sleep well?” Carrot said nothing. Instead she just lifted her head; looking Maxie in the eyes. Maxie felt his heart sink at the sight. They almost looked hollow and empty. It just confirmed his fears.

“Carrot’s up?” Star asked as he poked his head out from the kitchen. “How you doing…sweetie…?” His expression sunk when he saw her.

Carrot took a quick glance at Star before lowering her head again. “Mmm goin’ out.” She slowly started shuffling in the direction of the door.

Unsure of what to do, Star and Maxie looked at each other; hoping the other had an idea. “Don’t, uhh…don’t you at least want something to eat before you leave?” asked Star.

“I said I’m going out,” Carrot said with a ting of anger in her voice.

Maxie put a fake smile on in hopes of brightening the mood. “Why don’t you come sit on the couch with me and we can talk while Star makes…”

Carrot stomped her hoof on the floor as hard as she could. “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” Both Star and Maxie could only look on with wide eyes, and mouth agape after the outburst. “Why won’t you just take the fucking hint?” Without another word, Carrot increased her pace out the door.

“H-h-honey, wa…”

“Maxie!” Maxie, practically in tears once again, turned to look at Star. “That’s enough. Just let her go.” He walked over to the couch and drew Maxie into a hug. “We’re only making it worse.” Maxie buried his head into Star’s shoulder as the front door slammed shut.

********************

“Ah’m goin’ ta go see if Ah can’t find a job’er somethin’!” Finn shouted as he opened the door to their new house. Feeling too depressed to do much of anything else he had diligently unpacked most of his stuff. He figured that unpacking the rest of his stuff would be pretty pointless at the moment. He needed a few pieces before he could set up his ‘special thing.’ Without those things it wouldn’t work properly, so it would just be a big waste of space at the moment.

“A job? Already?” asked Cloud Feather from inside the house. “Don’t you want to settle in a bit more first?

“Unlike y’all Ah don’t get free money from some hoity toity ponies sittin’ in an office somewhere.”

Feather poked his head out from around the corner; an annoyed look on his face. “You know very well that the institute is in Cloudsdale. Aaaaand, you know very well that if I don’t produce results, I don’t get paid.”

“Pulease! Everypony knows that Cloudsdale is just a cover up fer some evil rainbow factory in th’ clouds!” Finn looked around conspiratorially before fixing Feather with squinted eyes. “They take little foals up there an’ grind’em up inta rainbows usin’ this really big, uhh…grindy thin’. Where do ya think they get th’ rainbow juice fer them there rainbows ya always see? Probably throw’em in there with some crayons, a puppy, an a picture’o their families too.”

Feather just stared at Finn with an unamused look. “Finn, how much sleep did you get last night?”

“Sleep’s fer th’ weak!” Finn said proudly. “Coffee an’ Red Minotaur are all Ah need ta keep me goin. Why?”

“Because you only come up with crazy conspiracy theories like that when you’re either tired or after you drank enough of your shine to kill a bull elephant.”

“Whatever,” Finn said; waving an uninterested hoof at Feather. He turned to start walking out the door.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay Finn? You still seemed pretty depressed yesterday,” asked Feather as he stepped out from behind the corner. He had a box on his back. Unlike Finn he still had quite a few things to unpack.

Finn tensed up as he passed through the doorway. His head dropped. “Ah’ll be fine. As they say. There’re plenty’o fish in th’ sea’er whatever.” He let out a deep sigh. “None’o them’ll ever be as beautiful as mah orange beauty though.”

As Feather walked towards Finn, he noticed the very pony they were talking about walking down the street beyond him. “Speaking of Carrot Top, isn’t that her right over there?”

Finn’s eyes shot open as his head sprung up. Sure enough there she was. The very mare that had consumed his thoughts for the last day and a half was right there in front of him. His mouth began to feel dry. Sweat began to fall down his face. Any and all words died in his throat before they could be freed through his mouth. He felt his heart begin to pound in his chest as he stared at the pale goldenrod beauty.

As Feather looked Carrot over, he noticed a few things. Her head was down. Her entire body drooped. Her curly mane and tail almost looked flat. Her mood had taken a complete 180 compared to the last time they had seen her. Two days ago she was happy and smiling. Now she looked like she had just given up on life.

Feather was about to point this out to Finn, but... “Ah’m goin’ ta go talk ta’ her.”

Feather blinked. “What?”

“Ah know Ah don’t stand a chance with’er, but Ah gotsta at least let’er know how Ah feel. Ah’d be happy ta just be friends with’er.”

Feather took another quick glance at Carrot before looking back to Finn. “Finn, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Take another look at her. Something’s wrong here. Something’s very wrong.” He sat there for a moment waiting for a response from Finn. After a few seconds of waiting he turned his head. “Finn?” He just stared at the spot Finn had been standing. Turning his head he saw Finn walking towards Carrot. He sighed as he slowly shook his head. “This can only end hilariously.”

********************

Finn ran this scenario through his head over and over again as he walked across the street. A dumb looking smile came to his face because they always ended the same way. He would confess his love to the mare of his dreams. Her heart would melt and she would dump whoever it was she was dating. He was probably a big jerk anyway. Definitely not good enough for his pale goldenrod princess. Instead she would pick the smoking hot Adonis that stood in front of her. She would look over his rippling muscles. His long, flowing mane. She would fawn over his brilliant mind that rivals those of the greatest minds in all of Equestria. She would spring forward and pull him into a big, wet…

His thoughts were interrupted as he tripped over somepony. The two of them collapsed to the ground in a big heap. Both of them groaned as pain wracked their bodies. Finn shook his head to clear the cobwebs before looking down. Due to his already white coat, it was hard to see the fact that the blood had drained from his face. He had just tripped over the very pony of his affections.

Carrot Top, who was sandwiched between Finn and the ground, looked up at the face of the pony that had run into her. Her eyes were full of anger. “What the hell is your problem?!”

Finn swallowed the lump in his throat. “U-uhh…”

The two of them just sat there for a moment. “…Well?” grumbled Carrot.

“Well what?”

Carrot growled at the white earth pony on top of her. “Get off of me you moron!”

Finn looked down to see that he was indeed still lying on top of Carrot. A blush came to his face. “O-oh! Right!” After maneuvering his hooves around, he managed to push himself up and step away from the mare. “Sorry.”

“Yea, whatever,” Carrot said as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. She started brushing the dirt from her coat. As she stood up to continue on, she noticed that he was still staring at her. She fixed him with a glare. “What?”

Finn’s blush intensified. “O-oh, well…”

“Out with it already!” shouted Carrot. “I have things to do.”

Finn swallowed another lump in his throat as he steeled himself. “W-well…h’llo.”

“Goodbye.” Without another word, Carrot continued down the street.

Not taking the hint, Finn followed after her. “Hi. A-ah just moved inta’ that house over there.”

“Good for you.”

“An’ Ah wanted ta know if y’all wanted ta be friends.”

“Not interested.”

“’Cause…well…” He scratched the back of his head. “W-when Ah first saw ya a couple days ago, Ah thought ya were th’ most beautiful pony Ah’ve ever seen.” Finn noticed that Carrot stopped dead in her tracks. He smiled internally. ‘Right. Now ta lay on that ol Fine Tuned charm.’ He puffed out his chest as he came up behind her. “Ah know yer goin’ out with somepony already, but that’s alright. Ah would be more than happy ta jus’ be friends with such a beautiful mare such as yerself.”

He smiled to himself. ‘Nailed it!’ He just stood there as he waited for her response. ‘Just give’er a minute an’ she’ll throw’er hooves around me a plant a big, wet kiss on mah…’

His thoughts were, very rudely, interrupted as a powerful hoof connected with his lower jaw, sending him head over hooves. He groaned as he lay there on the ground; tentatively bringing a hoof up to rub his jaw. When he looked up, he saw Carrot Top glaring down at him. She was grinding her teeth in anger as her body trembled. After shaking the cobwebs from his head he stood up again. He looked at her with an apologetic look. “Was it somethin’ Ah said?”

His answer came in the form of another hoof colliding with the side of his head. He was seeing stars as he, once again, sat sprawled out on the ground. This time, however, he felt something wet land on his nose. When his senses came to him, he looked up at the mare again. She was standing over him; her tears falling from her cheeks to his face. He saw that she was trying to say something, but due to the blow to the side of the head his ears were still ringing. He rubbed his ears until the sounds of the world came back to him. “W-what?”

She sniffled before speaking. “M-maxie put you up to this…didn’t he?”

“Who?”

“Or was it Written Script? Is this some kind of sick revenge for last night? What, didn’t he humiliate me enough last night?! Huh?!” Finn just stared up at her; a look of utter confusion on his face. “ANSWER ME!!!”

“Ah have no idea what yer talkin’ ‘bout.”

“So what? Is this just some kind of joke to you? Are you doing this on some sort of bet? Are your friends around a corner somewhere ready to laugh at me? Is that it? Are you just trying to get a laugh at my expense?” She took a deep, ragged breath as her tears became more frequent.

“No! That ain’t it!” Finn said as he pulled himself from underneath Carrot; getting himself to his hooves. “Ah just…”

“Well go ahead! Laugh! What does it matter?! I’m nothing but a fat, dumb, ugly, obnoxious, freakish, o-old…” Finn noticed that Carrot’s composure, what little she had left, broke down more and more with every insult she laid upon herself. It broke his heart to see her tear herself down like this. “…B-broken, ratty, no talent, p-piece of…piece of…of…”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Collapsing under her own weight, she fell to the ground. She broke down as she buried her head in her legs and cried. “W-w-w-w-what’s wrong with me?!” she cried. “Why won’t anypony love meheheheheheeee?!”

Finn felt his stomach churn with guilt and sadness as he looked at the emotional wreck of a pony in front of him. He felt horrible. He had, inadvertently, set her off. He was the straw that broke the camels back. She was having an emotional breakdown all because of him.

‘Why does this always happen ta me?’ he thought. ‘Ah always stick mah hoof in mah mouth. An’ look where it’s gotten me now!’

Suddenly something clicked in his head. This was no longer about him chasing after a beautiful mare. No, that train left the station awhile ago. The urge to help her quickly grew. Not because he was in love with her, but because she was another pony, and she needed help. There was a bit of a problem though. He was never good with this type of thing, and making this worse was the last thing he wanted to do. Closing his eyes, he did the first thing that came to mind.

Carrot’s eyes shot open when she felt herself being lifted up off the ground, and a set of hooves wrap around her. It took her a minute to realize that the crazy pony that had been following her now had her wrapped in a hug. She looked at him with a mixture of confusion, anger, and sadness.

“It’s okay. Jus’ let it all out,” he said as he tightened the hug.

A million things ran through Carrot Top’s head that moment as she stared at him; trembling in his hold. Not knowing what to think, she clenched her eyes shut and tried to push him off. “L-let me g-g-go!”

“No need ta worry. Everythin’ll be jus’ fine.”

Carrot sniffled as she grit her teeth. “I-I said let me go!” She struck out at Finn yet again. His only reaction was to tense up and cringe at the pain. Nonetheless he kept hugging her. She didn’t know what to think of this pony. “Why won’t you let me go?!”

Finn cringed as Carrot struck him again and again. His body was screaming at him to let the mare go; that her happiness wasn’t worth all this pain. He promptly told his body to shut up. Even if she didn’t return his feelings, he was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy once again. He didn't care how battered and bruised he was going to be afterwards.

His goal clear in his head, he tightened the hug even more. “No need ta feel sad anymore. Just let it all out.”

Carrot’s assault went on for minutes before she finally began to slow. It didn’t take long after that before her blows stopped inflicting pain. She finally stopped fighting as her body went limp; tears flowing down her cheeks. Slowly, she wrapped her legs around him, returning his hug. “I just want to feel loved,” she said before burying her head in his shoulder; crying into it for all she was worth.

Finn finally let his back relax as he rubbed her back. “Ah’m here fer ya. Ah’ll be here fer ya as long as ya need.”

********************

Maxie let out a deep sigh of sadness as he sat on the couch. He couldn’t help but feel that everything that happened last night was his fault. If only he would have been more serious about this, it wouldn’t have turned out so badly. The memory of the catastrophic ending to Carrot’s date ran through his head again. The reveal that Written Script was gay. The face punching. It was all just terrible.

‘I’m usually so good at seeing these things. Why wasn’t I able to tell he was a colt cuddler? Maybe I should just pack up and leave. I’m sure Star and Ditzy could handle everything if I wasn’t there to mess it all…’

Maxie’s thoughts were interrupted when a spoon full of something was stuck in his mouth. His eyes shot open as chocolaty sweetness filled his mouth. On instinct, he swirled his tongue around; coating his mouth in the substance. A soft smile slowly formed on his face as he reveled in the taste. “Mmmmmmm. Chocolate.”

“You looked like you could use some comfort food right about now.”

Maxie looked to his left. Star was sitting next to the couch with a smile on his face, and a bowl full of chocolate pudding in his hooves. He bit his lower lip as he eyed the bowl; a hungry look in his eyes. Clenching his eyes shut, he turned away. “N-no, I shouldn’t…”

“You shouldn’t nothing. All these years I thought you hated chocolate. Now I know you just avoided it because you couldn’t control yourself,” he said with a chuckle. He lifted a spoonful of pudding towards Maxie. “Maxie, a little chocolate here and there won’t kill you. You just need to make sure you don’t pig out on it.”

Maxie nervously rubbed his leg. “I…guess you’re right.” Maxie took another look at the spoonful of pudding before opening his mouth and letting Star feed him. He let out a moan of pleasure as the chocolate once again tantalized his taste buds.

“Besides. With how much you exercise, you don’t need to worry about putting on pound or two. You will still have the same, perfectly rounded flank you have today even if you do indulge yourself every now and then.”

“You really think so?”

Star nodded. “Besides, you were pretty cute when you were covered in all that sugar and chocolate. I only wish I could have joined you in cleaning it off.”

Maxie giggled. “Hey, it’s my job to say perverted things. Stop stealing my shtick.” After another quick look, Maxie grabbed the pudding out of Star’s hooves.

“Hey, you’re not moping anymore. I’d say it got the job done.”

Maxie sighed before sticking a spoonful in his mouth. “I just wish things would have gone better last night. I feel like it’s my fault everything went awry.”

“It was all our faults. I probably should have asked if he had a preference. I just assumed Ditzy would have known after working with him for so long. But don’t worry. That was only one date with one pony. There are still a lot of ponies we haven’t talked to yet.”

“If she’s even up to it anymore. You saw how she was before Star. She looked like she’s given up on the world. Maybe it would have been better if we wouldn’t have helped in the first place.”

“Now I know you don’t believe that.” Maxie kept his head down. He was too depressed to even eat his pudding. “Come on Maxie, let me see a smile.” Placing a hoof under Maxie’s chin, he lifted his head up; turning it so he could stare into his pink eyes. “If you don’t smile, I’ll go get the rest of the pudding and feed you until you do. I made enough for the four of us, so trust me when I say there’s plenty left.”

Maxie couldn’t help but smile at Star’s attempts. Then again, maybe it was the prospect of being fed chocolate pudding that made him smile. He wasn’t too sure. Regardless, He couldn’t deny that Star had managed to make him smile. He deserved a reward for his actions. Maxie leaned forward; kissing Star on the lips.

As their lips connected, they heard the front door open. Maxie’s eyes shot open as he pulled away. He looked at the clock. It was still an hour before Ditzy would be getting home. “Carrot must have come back. Oh I hope she’s alright”

“Are ya sure yer goin’ ta be okay?” came a stallion’s voice.

“I’ll be fine,” came Carrot’s weak voice.

Star and Maxie looked at each other in confusion; silently asking if the other knew who the other voice belonged to. Their answers were answered when the two ponies came into view. A look of concern flashed across both their faces when they saw the ponies. Carrot Top looked emotionally drained. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her entire body drooped. She had dirt all over her.

The other pony looked like he had just gone 12 rounds with the world heavy weight champion with all four hooves tied behind his back. Big, painful looking bruises littered his white coat. His lip had been busted open, and was lightly bleeding. Both lenses of the goggles he wore on his head had been broken. There was another lightly bleeding cut under his left ear. Star figured the guy must have had a great tolerance for pain. Maxie figured he was just ignoring the pain. Technically, they were both right.

“Oh dear, are the two of you alright?” Maxie got up off the couch and met the two ponies half way.

“Don’t worry ‘bout me. Ah’ll be fine.” He sat down with a grunt. Now that he finally got a chance to relax, the pain in his body began to hit him once again. By shear willpower, he endured the throbbing pain. “She just needed ta do a little ventin’. That’s all.”

“A little of venting?” Star asked as he looked Finn over. He took another look at Carrot, not wanting to believe she did this to him. “That looks like more than ‘a little’.”

Finn was about to reassure him when he was cut off by a small voice. “He did it for me.”

Star and Maxie looked at Carrot. “He let you…beat him?” questioned Maxie in an attempt to figure out what was going on.

“She had a lot’o emotional baggage she needed ta vent out. Ah saw no reason she couldn’t use mah body ta do it. It was th’ least Ah could do ta help’er out.”

“You realize there are a lot better ways to help somepony other than letting them use you as a punching bag, right?” Star asked. He was beginning to wonder if this pony was suicidal, or just plain stupid.

“Ah don’t care. She needed mah help, and whether she asked fer it’er not, Ah gave it. Even if helpin’er meant gettin’ mah flank kicked, it was all worth it if it meant makin’er feel better.”

“If I may ask, why was her happiness so important to you?” Maxie asked, legitimately curious as to why he went to such lengths to make Carrot feel better.

“What do ya mean?”

“Well, I’ve met a lot of ponies that would give you the saddle off their backs if it meant helping you. Not one of them would let the pony their helping beat the living tar out of them.” Maxie put a hoof to his chin. “Nooo…there’s something else to this.”

“We should save this little talk until later.” Both Finn and Maxie looked at Star. “Before we do anything else, we should take him to the hospital to make sure nothing’s broken.”

“Do you even know where the hospital is?”

“Of course. Ditzy gave me a bit of a tour of the town when we went shopping.”

“Well you go do that,” Maxie said with a smile. “I’ll take Carrot upstairs and get her washed up.” Maxie moved up next to Carrot and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Come on honey, let’s go run you a bath. I’ll even let you use my lilac shampoo that you like so much.” Carrot didn’t budge. If anything, she just leaned into Finn a little more. “Honey?”

Without thinking, Finn leaned down and nuzzled Carrot’s cheek. A look of understanding quickly crossed Star’s face. “It’s alright. Y’all go get cleaned up. Ah’ll be back when Ah’m done at th’ hospital.”

Carrot’s lips curved into a weak smile as she slowly nodded. “Okay.” She stood up and turned to Maxie. “I’m ready.”

Maxie smiled at Carrot before turning to Finn. “Despite the extreme lengths you went, I must thank you for helping her Mr…”

“Th’ names Fine Tuned, but y’all can call me Finn. Feather always does.”

“Fine Tuned? Feather?” Maxie’s eyes lit up. “Heeey, I know you! You’re the friend of that pony we met the other day. We weren’t properly introduced. My name’s Maxie.”

“Pleasure ta meet ya m…” Finn blinked his eyes before taking a closer look at Maxie. He looked him over with his scrutinizing gaze for a moment before pulling back with a smile. “Sir.”

Maxie’s eyes got wide, his jaw dropping slightly as he turned to Star. Star, while slightly surprised, just shrugged. He turned back towards Finn. “How did…”

“Mah special talent,” interrupted Finn; his chest puffed out in pride. “Ta properly tune instruments, ya need ta have keen eyes an’ ears ta notice even th’ smallest’o details.”

“Good enough for me,” Star said with a chuckle. “My names Fresh Start, but you can call me Star. We should be going now.”

“Right. Lead th’ way.”

As they started to the door, Star motioned to Maxie. When their eyes met, he gave a smile and a slight nod of the head. Maxie smiled in understanding. This went unnoticed by both Finn and Carrot as they were to busy staring at each other.

********************

To say Ditzy was confused when she got home would be an understatement. She knew immediately that something was amiss when she heard laughing coming from inside the house. She was even more confused when she saw Star, Maxie, and even Carrot smiling and having a good time, along with a bandaged up, white stallion she didn’t know lying on the floor. He was lying on his back, with his legs sprawled out in all directions, and a look of pure, unadulterated awe on his face.

Maxie was the first to notice Ditzy as she stepped into the living room. “Hello Ditzy. How are you this fine day?” he asked with a bright smile.

Ditzy looked around with a look of uncertainty. “Fine.”

“You’re over an hour late young lady. Where have you been?” asked Star as he pulled Maxie close to him.

“At work…kinda. Boxxy and I went to Script’s house, and we had a long talk about what happened last night.”

“How’s Written Script? Is he okay?” asked Carrot whose smile dropped as the memory of last night hit her again.

Ditzy groaned. “He’s about as okay as one can be when one’s face get’s pulverized in a fit of rage.” She noticed Carrot’s body droop at the news and sighed. “He’s got a broken nose, he’s in pain, and he’s understandably angry about what happened, but said he’d be willing to give friendship between the two of you another chance. As long as you keep your inner demons at home next time.”

“That’s great!” Maxie said with a smile. “I knew all along that everything was going to be fine.”

“Says the silly pony that was fretting all morning about how we ruined everything,” Star said playfully.

“Hey! You were worried too!”

“Yes, yes we were all worried. Now can somepony please tell me who that stallion is? And why is he chewing on our couch pillow?”

Everypony looked down at Finn who was, indeed, chewing on the decorative pillow. “Ah can taste rainbows.”

“Oh, this is Fine Tuned. Finn for short,” introduced Star.

“And why is he like…that?”

“Oh, Carrot used him like a punching bag, so the hospital patched him up and gave him some pain killers.”

“Used him like a punching bag?” Ditzy looked at Carrot in confusion who just smiled sheepishly. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not,” said Maxie.

“Uhuh. Last time I checked, pain killers don’t do anything like that unless you take too many.”

“He did it to himself,” Star said with a shrug. “In his own words, ‘if’n one’o these thin’s can take away mah pain, four of‘em should fix me right up.’ So he grabbed the bottle away from the doctor and downed a few more.”

Ditzy looked at Finn like he was the dumbest pony in the world before hacehoofing. “I don’t even…”

Ditzy was interrupted by a knock at the door. “What now?” Turning around, Ditzy walked to the door again. She sighed before opening the door. “Can I help you?”

The dusty red pegasus on the other side of the door greeted her with a smile. “Hello ma'am. My names Cloud Feather. I believe you have something of mine, and I was hoping to get it back.”

Ditzy blinked a few times. “This thing of yours, it wouldn’t happen to be that stallion on the floor eating our pillow, would it?”

Feather looked beyond the wall eyed pegasus to see Finn lying on the ground. He looked back at Ditzy with a smile. “That is indeed my thing. If you’ll allow me, I’ll be happy to get him out of your hair.”

“Umm, I don’t know if he’s going anywhere at the moment, but you’re free to come in if you’d like.”

“Thank you.” Feather walked into the house as Ditzy stepped to the side. As he entered the living room, he smiled to everypony there. “Hello everypony.”

“Oh, it’s you! Hello again cutie,” Maxie said with a wink.

“Hello again Mrs. Maxie. You’re looking as beautiful as ever.”

Maxie giggled and nudged Star. “He’s such a charmer, isn’t he?”

Star chuckled as he put a hoof around Maxie’s withers. “Oh yes, charming.”

Feather glowed with pride at the comment as he walked up to Finn. “Alright. Now how do I get you home?” He put a hoof to his chin. “I could carry you on my back, but I’m tired from all the unpacking. I could always drag you home by your tail. That could work.”

“Want some help?” asked Star. “I got him home just fine before. Wouldn’t be too hard to get him to your place.”

Feather looked at Star with a smile. “The help would be appreciated.”

“Right.” Star got up off the couch and came up next to Finn; leaning down so Feather could get Finn on his back.

“Ah can see angels Mr. Bubbles,” Finn said as he was resting on Star’s back.

Feather blinked before looking at Star. “Mr. Bubbles?”

“I have no idea. It’s just something he started calling me as I brought him here.” Star shook his head. “Kept saying something about ADAM in angel’s bellies or something like that. I just stopped paying attention at some point.”

Feather nodded. “Probably for the best. He’s been known to spout random nonsense before. You should hear him when he’s shitfaced.”

“I think I’ll pass.” He turned to the rest of the ponies. “I’ll be right back. Just have to take him home.”

“Don’t worry hon, we’ll hold down the fort until you get back,” Maxie said with a smile.

“You always do,” Star said before he followed Feather out of the house.

Ditzy sighed as she heard the door close. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go relax in the tub for awhile.”

“Okay Ditzy, what’s wrong?” Maxie asked knowingly.

“Whadaya mean?”

“Don’t you ‘whadaya mean’ me young lady, you know what I’m talking about,” chastised Maxie. “Since you’ve gotten home, all you’ve done is sulk and be a downer. You should be happy. Despite everything that’s happened, Carrot’s able to smile and laugh.”

“He’s right,” added Carrot. “You’ve been awfully grumpy so far today.”

“I have not been grumpy!” She noticed the looks Maxie and Carrot were giving her before groaning. “Okay, so I’m a bit grumpy. Can you really blame me though? It’s only 1:30 and I feel like an entire day has passed already.”

“Long day?” asked Carrot.

“You don’t know the half of it. Right now I just wanna relax before I go to Carousel Boutique.”

“Why are you going there?”

“To play laser tag,” Ditzy said sarcastically. “Why else would I go there?” With a smirk, she trotted up the stairs.

********************

“Thanks for taking care of Dinky, Sparkler,” Ditzy said with a smile as Dinky hopped around her; a look of happiness and glee on her face. On her head, she wore a pair of big mouse ears. “I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Dinky? Never,” Sparkler said with the wave of her hoof. “She’s always been a perfect little angel. Isn’t that right Dinky?”

“Uhuh!”

“Well that’s good to hear. We should get going.” Ditzy grabbed Dinky mid hop, causing a small ‘eep’ from the filly. She pulled the little filly to her body in a hug. “Are you ready to go home?”

Dinky nuzzled into her mom’s body. “Mmhm.” She looked up at her mom with an innocent look. “Is daddy home yet?”

Ditzy shook her head. “Not yet, but he’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Aww.”

“Now, now. Don’t be sad my little muffin. Once we get home, we’ll all go out for some ice cream. How does that sound?”

“Can I have strawberry?!” Dinky asked as her face lit up.

“Of course. But first, mommy needs to go to Ms. Rarity’s place to go pick something up.”

“Do you think Sweetie Belle is there right now? She’s funny.”

“I don’t know, but if you’re good, I’ll make it a double scoop of strawberry ice cream.” Dinky looked up at her mother with awe. “Topped with whipped cream and a cherry.”

“Yaaaaaaaaay! Ice cream!” Dinky shouted as she tore down the street.

Both Ditzy and Sparkler couldn’t help but laugh. “You spoil that filly, you know that?”

Ditzy turned to Sparkler. “You’ve seen her. How can I not?” They both laughed again. “Well, I’ll see you later. She’s probably half way to Carousel Boutique by now.” With a wave, Ditzy took to the air.

It didn’t take her long at all to spot Dinky. With a smile, she dipped down until she was just above the filly. “Do you want a lift?”

Confused, Dinky looked up to see her mother’s smiling face staring down at her. “Yeah! I love flying with mommy!”

Ditzy needed no more encouragement. Lowering herself a little more, she grabbed Dinky around the stomach before beating her wings; lifting the two of them into the air.

A couple minutes later, the two of them were at Rarity’s boutique. After making a safe landing, the two of them entered the building. “Just a minute!” came Rarity’s voice from further in the house. Shortly after, she came out from the back with a smile on her face. “Good morning Ditzy. I was wondering when you were going to show up. I was just putting on the finishing touches on your order. Would you like to see it?”

“Sure.” Ditzy turned to Dinky and smiled. “Mommy has something to go take a look at something. Be a good girl until I get back, okay?” Remembering the promise of Ice cream, Dinky vigorously nodded her head. “Alright, lead the way Rarity.”

“Right this way,” Rarity said as she led the pegasus into the work room. “Now before you see it, I feel I must remind you that I’m not exactly used to making this type of…clothing.”

“I know, but I didn’t know who else to ask on such short notice,” Ditzy said apologetically. “There’s no store’s that sell this type of thing in Ponyville, and It probably wouldn’t have been here on time if I ordered by mail.”

“No need to fret darling. It feels nice to be able to test myself every now and then.” She led Ditzy to a mannequin that was covered by a sheet sitting off to the side. Using her magic, Rarity pulled the sheet off. “Well, how do you like it?”

Ditzy stared at the mannequin in awe; her cheeks tinted red with blush. “W-whoa.”

“It took a bit of thought, but I eventually thought of the perfect way to accentuate your…assets.” After noticing how quite it was in the room, she turned to Ditzy. “Well, what do you think?”

Ditzy took a moment think of the right words. “It’s…much more than what I was expecting. Or should I say less? Do you think he’ll like it?”

“Oh come now Darling,” Rarity said with a laugh. “He’d need to be blind not to.”

After a few more minutes, Dinky saw her mom and Rarity come out from the back. She noticed that Ditzy now had a box on her back. “Is that you’re new dress? Can I see it?”

The blush on Ditzy’s face grew brighter. “N-no. It’s not something a little filly needs to see.”

“Awww.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d love to hear his reaction when he sees you in this number” Rarity said with a sultry wink. “Feedback is always welcome.”

“I’ll…keep that in mind. Thanks again Rarity.” Ditzy looked to Dinky. “Are you ready to go home Dinky? That ice cream won’t eat itself.”

Dinky’s face lit up as she turned to Rarity. “We’re going to get some ice cream! I get strawberry!”

“Ooh, sounds yummy. Do have fun you two.” With a wave goodbye, Ditzy and Dinky left the boutique.

********************

“How’s it feel ta finally be back?” Applejack asked as she watched AJ unpack his things.

“As fun as it was, I think I prefer Ponyville any day.” He walked over to the closet and placed a duffle bag full of money inside. “Besides, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been missing Ditzy.”

Applejack nodded knowingly. “Speakin’ of Ditzy, when she delivered th’ mail this mornin’ she asked me ta tell ya ta git yer flank over there. Ah think she’s missed ya just as much.”

AJ smiled. “I already planned to go over there. I don’t work again till tomorrow, and I have to wait for word from Luna about the job in Canterlot.”

“Job in Canterlot?”

AJ let out an annoyed groan. “Long story. I’ll explain everything later.”

Applejack shrugged. “Fair ‘nough.”

“So where’s Knight right now anyway?”

Applejack gave a nervous chuckle causing AJ to give her a questioning glance. “Let’s just say that th’ Cutie Mark Crusaders thought it would be a great idea ta try ta toughen’im up. They want’im ta stand up fer himself next time he gets bullied.”

AJ slowly brought a hoof to his forehead. “This…can only end badly.”

“Th’ chicken’s will attest ta that.”

AJ looked over his stuff with a quick glance. “This looks good enough for now. Think I’ll go say hi to Ditzy now.”

Applejack nodded. “You do that. An’ don’t worry. Ah won’t hold it against ya if yer a little…late tomorrow.”

AJ raised his brow as he looked at Applejack. “Just what are you insinuating?”

“Ah ain’t sayin’ a thing.” With a chuckle Applejack walked from the room.

AJ could only stare in confusion at the entrance of his room. ‘Just what is she up to?’ With a shrug, he followed her out of the room.

It didn’t take AJ too long to get to Ditzy’s house. He was exited to finally see his marefriend again after his time away. With a big smile, he knocked on the door. After a few seconds, The door was answered by the pegasus in question. Her face immediately lit up. She leapt through the doorway; wrapping her legs around him.

“Well hello to you too,” AJ said; returning the hug.

“I missed you so much,” Ditzy said as she nuzzled into his chest.

The two of them sat there for a moment before AJ thought of something. “I’m kinda surprised Dinky hasn’t joined us by now.”

“Oh, she’s not home right now. Star and Maxie took her out for dinner and a movie. They’ll be gone for awhile yet.”

“Star and Maxie?”

“Come on, you remember them.” AJ blinked in confusion. “Remember? You were running through Canterlot trying to find me? The time you first met my parents? You mistook Maxie for a mare?”

“Oooooh,” AJ said with a look of understanding. “Not my finest moment.”

Ditzy giggled. “Don’t worry, he’s not mad. If anything he found it funny and cute.”

“Uhhhh cool?”

“Just get in here,” Ditzy said with a roll of the eye.

As the two of them walked through the house, AJ began to notice just how empty and quiet things were. “Where’s Carrot? I thought she’d be here.”

Ditzy’s smile turned warm. “She’s been spending a lot of time with our new neighbor’s as of late. I could be wrong, but I think she may have finally found that special somepony she’s been searching for all these years.”

“So does this mean no more face punching?”

“Yes, no more face punching,” Ditzy said with a laugh. Her eyes suddenly got wide. “Oh crap, I forgot something. I’ll be right back.” Without another word, Ditzy ran up the stairs.

AJ could only watch in confusion. “Uhhhhh okay. I’ll just…be here then.”

He could only sit there for a couple minutes as he waited for Ditzy to return. As he did, he could only wonder what Ditzy needed to go get. “Hey AJ, could you come up here and help me for a minute?”

With a shrug, he got up off the couch and headed up the stairs. When he got upstairs, he saw that the door to Ditzy’s room was open slightly with some sounds coming from inside the room. He pushed the door open. “What do you need heeeeeeeee…”

AJ’s jaw dropped when he saw inside the room. Lying on the bed, waiting for him, was Ditzy clad in lingerie. She had on a sheer, burgundy camisole. On her hooves she wore matching stockings. She had a choker around her neck with a little bell attached that jingled whenever she moved. It could barely be seen from where he was standing, but he was pretty sure he could see some underwear too. “Ahbbuh duuh…”

“So I’m guessing you like it then,” said with a giggle. “Well, I’m glad this has been worth it then.” Ditzy stood up and turned around. “Cause this thong has really been riding up,” she said with a sultry smile. Her smile widened a bit when she saw his eyes bug out, along with something else spring to life. “So, are you just going to sit there and stare, or are you going to join me in the bed?” She wiggled her rump enticingly.

Without saying a word, AJ’s horn sprung to life. The door was slammed shut and locked, ensuring they wouldn’t be interrupted.

********************

All the guards could do was gawk in confusion as the pony in front of them walked down the hall. She strutted her stuff with each step. She trotted down the hall like she owned the place. Mainly because she kinda did.

As Luna passed the doors to the dining hall, they opened to reveal Celestia and some delegates from Zebrabwe. To say they were a bit shocked by what they saw would be an understatement. In front of them stood a midnight blue alicorn with a big afro. She wore a skin tight, shiny, gold vest. She also wore matching pants. On her back sat an anteater dressed in a purple and blue striped suit with a pair of glasses. “Luna, what are you doing?”

Luna stopped her strut to look at her sister. A smile graced her features. “Luna? I’m not Luna.”

Celestia smiled knowingly. “Oh, I apologize for the mistake. To whom am I speaking to?”

A big, toothy grin flashed on Luna’s face. Noodle levitated off her back as she stood up on her hind legs with a flair filled flourish. “My name’s Trotsy. Trotsy Cleopatra. And I’m a whole, lotta mare!” Using her magic, she made a backdrop of yellow and orange action lines appear behind her and Noodle.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Ms. Cleopatra.” With a slight bow, Celestia continued out the door and down the hall. “Oh, by the way…” she said as she turned around. “If you happen to see my sister before I do, could you give her a message for me?”

‘A message for me?’ She cleared her throat. “Uhh, of course. Trotsy’s always ready to help a pony in need.”

“That’s wonderful. Please tell her that she’ll have to sleep in the guest’s chamber’s for the remainder of the week. Her room won’t be useable for a few days yet.”

Luna blinked. “Excuse me?” she said; forgetting to change her voice.

“Oh, didn’t you know?” An evil smile crossed Celestia’s features. “An explosion rocked the castle a couple days ago. Luckily nopony was hurt, but Luna’s room was completely destroyed.” The look on Luna’s face made Celestia giggle. “I hope to talk to you soon Ms. Cleopatra.”

Luna was so dumbfounded by the news, she didn’t even notice that her afro wig had fallen off. “M-my room?”

“Oh yes. I’m pretty sure everything was destroyed. The clothes, the comic books…” Celestia could barely hide her sadistic glee as she watched Luna’s face get more and more horrified. “The video games.”

“NO!!! MY SAVE FILES!!!” With Celestia’s evil laughter filling the air, she teleported away to mourn the loss of her memory cards.

****************************************

Author's Note

((Fun fact: while writing the pre-coitus segment, I accidentally wrote Dinky instead of Ditzy. Let that sink in. Dinky, a little, grade school aged filly, trying to entice a full grown stallion with lingerie. Wiggling her little, thong clad rump to get him hard. Yes, I am a very evil person >:D))

The Innocent Dreamer

Chapter 42

Knight Wind felt his heart thundering in his chest as he crawled backwards on the floor. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t tear his fear filled eyes from the figure in front of him. It was a dead pony. His chest had been crushed, and was left to rot. An evil cackle filled the air, causing the blood in his veins to run cold.

The only light in the room came from a single, dim lantern that hung from the ceiling. What little light it shed illuminated a big, stone room. The floor was covered in old, moldy hay. In the center of one of the walls was a single, solid metal door with a small, barred opening in it.

A small yelp of fear escaped his lips as he felt his back press against something soft, yet solid. He craned his head upward to see two blue eyes looking down at him. “Poor little Knighty. It looks like you’ve been lead astray,” Nebulous said in a menacing tone. “All those naughty little ponies, corrupting your mind. Twisting your values. Turning you against us.” He turned to look towards the door. “Wouldn’t you say, my mistress?”

More wicked laughter filled the room. Knight slowly turned his head to the door. The sight caused the blood to drain from his face. Through the opening in the door, he could see two yellow, piercing, dragon like eyes staring through him. Eyes that were horrifyingly familiar to him. Surrounding the eyes wasn’t a pony, but instead a black smoke.

The smoke slowly crept through the opening of the door; the eyes coming with. The amorphous smoke filled the room as a low, ghostly moan emanated from the blackness. As more and more of the room became consumed by the darkness, the eyes got closer and closer.

Knight hid his head in his hooves; trying his hardest to make everything go away. “I-i-it’s not real. Sh-she’s dead. She c-c-can’t be here.”

“Kniiiiiiiiiight Wiiiiiiiiiind.” Knight felt his heart skip a beat at the voice. “Cooooome to meeeeeeee Kniiiiiiiiiight Wiiiiiiiiiind.”

“Y-y-y-you can’t hurt me a-anymore! A-A-AJ said…”

Knight’s body tensed up as a soft hoof brushed through his mane. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with. He couldn’t understand why, but something deep inside him compelled him to lift his head. Some deep seeded need to seek the familiar feeling.

As his head lifted, the hoof curled around his ear; caressing his cheek with a loving motion. It took a few seconds, but he finally opened his eyes. The eyes still gazed upon him, but they were no longer evil and piercing. Now they felt more loving, and caring. The leg that extended out of the smoke was pitch black, and almost looked to be made of an oily substance. The smoke slowly receded, revealing more of the limb. Soon after, a muzzle became visible, followed by the rest of the head. The smoke stopped receding when half of her body was showing. Like the leg, the rest of her body she looked to be made of a black, oily substance; her yellow eyes being the only thing to bring color to the body.

“My precious, little Knight Wind. How I’ve missed you,” Nightshade said in a loving voice.

He tried his hardest to resist the urges that were returning to him. “…M-m-m-mast…”

“My poor, little Knight Wind. Without me, you must be miserable. My protection. My loyalty. My love.” Knight let out a whine as it became harder and harder to resist. She moved her hoof to his chin; lifting his head so he would have to look her in the eye. What Knight didn’t see was the smoke around the room beginning to converge upon him. “You must miss me so. It’s been too long since we’ve been together. I think it’s finally time for us to be together, once again.”

Breathing suddenly became much harder as the smoke fell upon Knight. A powerful force shoved him to the floor, causing him to cry out in pain. He saw Nightshade’s body over him before her hooves came down on his throat. Memories of Nightshade’s last moments flooded his mind as she throttled the life out of him. The anger in her eyes. The hatred she thrust upon him. The fear of knowing that her death was near. The figure on top of him mirrored everything from that moment perfectly.

“Knight Wind…” came a voice from behind him. Forcing himself to look away from Nightshade, he turned his gaze to the other pony in the room. Nebulous was still right behind him. Well, most of him was. His eye sockets were now empty. A small amount of blood leaked from both empty sockets. He just looked at Knight with that eyeless stare; a grin on his face.

“Shhhhhhhhhh. Struggling only makes it worse. You don’t want to suffer, do you?” She applied more force to his throat. “It will all be over soon. All you need to do…is sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.”

“Knight Wind…” came Nebulous again as he got closer. He reached a hoof out and placed it on his shoulder; shaking Knight’s body.

Darkness slowly began creeping into his vision as his body was deprived of oxygen. His body was becoming to feel like it was made of lead. “Once we’re together again, we’ll be so happy. All you need to do…is sleep.”

“Come on Knight Wind! You have to wake up!”

********************

AJ could only watch as Knight thrashed about in his bed. He was woken up to the sound of somepony struggling. After lighting his horn, he looked to where the noise was coming from. Fear started to consume him when he saw Knight violently tossing around in his bed; gasping for air.

At the moment, AJ was holding Knight by the shoulders, trying to shake him awake. “Come on! Why won’t you wake up?!” He continued to shake Knight until the ceiling light suddenly filled the room with light.

“What is goin’ on in here?!” AJ turned towards the door upon hearing Big Mac’s voice. A big, red, pony shaped blur quickly approached the two of them from the door; stopping on the opposite side of the bed as him.

“H-he won’t wake up!” AJ said franticly. “He’s choking an-an-and I can’t wake him up! You have to help!”

Big Mac quickly looked Knight over before letting out a soft sigh; sitting down next to the bed as he did. Without saying a word, he waved AJ back before gently resting his leg across Knight’s chest, almost hugging him. If nothing else, it did wonders to keep Knight from thrashing about. He moved his other hoof behind Knight’s head, lifting him up slightly. Leaning down, he touched his forehead against Knight’s.

Aside from Knight’s struggles, the room was silent. AJ just sat there wondering what Big Mac was doing. His ears twitched when the sound of a low, soft humming reached him. Big Mac was humming to Knight Wind. It wasn’t a tune he was familiar with. In fact, he was pretty sure he had never heard it before.

It didn’t take very long at all for this method to start taking affect. The first change in Knight’s condition was his breathing. After a few seconds he stopped choking and began breathing once again. It was quick and rough at first, but slowly calmed down. As the tune went on, he stopped fighting against Big Mac’s leg.

By the time Big Mac was done, Knight was resting peacefully once again; a light snoring escaping from his lips. With a slight smile, the big, red stallion gently laid Knight’s head back down on his pillow. As he looked up, he noticed AJ staring at him with a light blush. He could only roll his eyes. He knew of AJ’s ‘secret’ crush on him. In fact, he was one of the first to notice it along with Fluttershy and Pinkie. He found it a bit odd at first, especially with his relationship with Ditzy, but Fluttershy was able to reassure him that nothing would come out of it.

Big Mac cleared his throat, bringing AJ back to reality. After realizing he had been caught gawking, his cheeks flushed even more. “I-uh…I wasn’t staring.”

“Mmhm,” he grunted knowingly.

AJ cleared his throat. “Uhhh…where did you learn to do that anyway?”

“It’s somethin’ our pa used ta do when we were little whenever we had nightmares. He showed me what ta do before he…” He let out a low, melancholy filled sigh.

AJ laid his ears back. “Sorry for bringing it up.”

Big Mac shook his head. ”There’s nothin’ ta be sorry about. Ah’ve come ta terms with what happened a long time ago.” He turned to Knight. “Is this th’ first time this has happened?”

Trying to ignore his own flustered state, AJ turned to Knight. “H-he’s been having a lot of nightmares lately. Almost every night.” He shook his head. “Never anything this bad though.”

Big Mac watched as AJ ran a comforting hoof through Knight’s mane. “That’s why ya’ve been so tired lately.”

AJ nodded. “Some nights I just didn’t even bother going back to sleep. I just wanted to make sure he’d be okay.”

“A nightmare’s nothin’ ta lose sleep over,” he said as he watched AJ. “Ah understand that ya want ta help’im, but yer own health should take priority.”

AJ’s glance turned from Knight to Big Mac; a glint of anger in his eyes. “Want? You think I’m doing this, just because I can?” Big Mac didn’t relent in their little stare down. “I don’t ‘want’ to help him McIntosh. I need to help him. I promised, I would help him. That I would protect him, and keep him safe.” He slowly turned back to Knight. “Even if it means putting him over me,” he said under his breath.

The room was silent as AJ continued to watch over Knight. He was so fixated on being a guardian angel, he didn’t even notice as Big Mac started walking around the bed. He jumped a bit when he felt a hoof on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw the big, red stallion staring down at him.

“Ah know an’ understand why ya want ta help’im…” Big Mac said in a low, yet comforting voice. “But what would you do if ya got sick?” AJ could only look at Big Mac. “Ya won’t be able ta do much good if yer cooped up in yer bed fer a few days. An’ what do ya think Ditzy would think if she knew ya were doin‘ this ta yerself?”

“…She’d probably force me to get some sleep. And Carrot would gladly help her. Probably offer to tape me into the bed so I couldn’t get out.”

Big Mac chuckled to himself. Hearing someone shouting outside, he looked towards the window. He smiled at the sight he saw.

Snow.

Winter had always been Big Mac’s favorite season. He loved how calm things always seemed to be. The crispness of the air. The sight of Apple Bloom, and Applejack playing in the snow. It was also in winter when he first met Fluttershy all those years ago. He was always at his happiest when snow was on the ground.

“First snow of th’ season,” he said with a smile. He turned to AJ. “Get some sleep. We can talk more in th’ mornin’.”

A smile formed on AJ’s lips. “Right.” Taking one last look at Knight, AJ climbed back into bed as Big Mac turned the light off.

********************

“Look out!” yelled Applejack as she saw a snowball flying towards AJ.

AJ just barely managed to dodge out of the way. He tensed up as he felt the snowball clip the tip of his horn. “H-h-hooooo fuck me that’s cold!” he said as he shivered behind the wall of snow; gently rubbing his horn to try to get the feeling back. “W-why do horns have to be so sensitive?”

“It’s snow! Were ya expectin’ it ta be warm?” Applejack asked him as she dove behind their snowy barricade.

“I told you I hated the snow!” he shouted as he attempted to retaliate with a couple snowballs of his own. “The only reason I’m even out here right now is because Knight was really exited to come out here and play. I’ve never seen him get this exited about anything. Of course I wasn’t going to say no.”

“Maybe ya should have,” Applejack said as she rolled up more snowballs. “They’re creamin’ us because of him.”

“Well excuse me for wanting to make this snowball fight fair.” AJ’s ears twitched as everything became quiet. “Think they finally ran out?”

“Ah don’t know, but nows as good a time as any ta retaliate.” Applejack scooped up as many snowballs as she could.

“I suppose so,” AJ said as he picked up what was left of his pile with his magic. “We just going all out?”

“Might as well. We’re done fer if we just sit here anyhow.”

“Go on three?”

Applejack just nodded. “One…two…THREE!!!” Both of them leapt from cover; tossing snowballs at the enemy base as they ran. “You go left! Ah’ll go right! We’ll flank’em from both sides!”

“Right!”

They separated as they neared the base. Applejack kept her goal in mind as she ran along the wall of the enemy base, noting just how much bigger, and well formed it was compared their own. ‘Just a little more an’…’ As she rounded the wall, she hurled a snow ball at full force.

“GAH!!!”

Applejack gasped when she saw who it was she just attacked. AJ had his body pressed up against the snow wall. The few snowballs he still had left had fallen from his magical grasp due to the shock of the surprise attack. AJ looked at her with an appalled look. “What the hell?! We’re on the same team here!”

“Sorry sugarcube. Ah didn’t expect ya ta be th’ only one here,” she said as she walked closer.

AJ breathed a sigh as he removed himself from the wall; readjusting his earmuffs as he looked around. “Yea, neither did I.”

“Where do ya think they are?”

“I have no idea,” he said as he lifted a snow ball up. “Four ponies don’t just disappear. I don’t like this.”

“Yea. Just keep yer guard up. We don’t wanna get caught in a…” Applejack’s eyes shot open as she was suddenly hit repeatedly from the side. Eruptions of red coming from each impact.

“APPLEJACK!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!” The world seemed to go in slow motion as Applejack fell into the snow. Her hat, now covered in red, fell away from her body. The scarf Rarity had made for her came undone; getting caught in the breeze and blowing away only to be caught on a tree branch. Her body and the snow around her had been dyed crimson from the assault.

AJ ran over to Applejack’s motionless body. Her eyes remained closed no matter how much he shook her. “Applejack?! Come on Applejack, get up! I can’t do this alone!” He got no response from his earth pony companion.

His ears twitched as he heard hoofsteps approaching him in the snow. He turned to face his enemies as a shadow fell over them; an unreadable look on his face. About 10 meters in front of him stood three ponies. On the right stood Apple Bloom. She was wearing her white kung fu outfit, but had the addition of a white mask to go along with it making her look like a white ninja.

On the left stood Sweetie Belle. Her white coat helped her blend in fairly well already, but instead of a mask, she had a too big helmet on that covered her eyes. Around her body was a bandoleer with, what he hoped were, fake grenades.

Between the two of them stood Knight. On his head he wore a general’s hat. Over his left eye he wore an eye patch. The burgundy scarf around his neck blew in the wind. He wore a smirk as he shifted a pipe around in his mouth.

“Looks like you’re all alone now,” said Knight.

“You monster,” AJ said through his teeth.

A throaty laugh filled the air. “I’m a monster, am I? You call me a monster, but you must remember. All’s fair in love and war.” AJ stood up to face the opposing force; using his magic to scoop up some snow and form it into a snowball. “Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You saw what we did to your only ally.”

“Shut up!”

“Before you do anything too rash, hear me out,” Knight said with a stern look. “I’m willing to let you live, but on one condition.”

“And just what is that?”

“Join us. If you join our side, I can promise your safety. You will not be harmed. If not, well, you saw what happened to your friend there.” AJ growled at the remark. “So what do you say, hmm? Will you join us? We have cookies.”

AJ just glared a hole through the stallion. “You think I’d ever join you? After what you did to Applejack?! I’ll never join you! I’d rather go down fighting!” With a battle cry, AJ charged the ponies in front of him.

With a smile on his face, Knight lowered his head. “Pity.” Raising his fore hoof, he motioned to AJ.

Before he could reach Knight, AJ was struck in the side of the head. He fell to the ground hard; his head and a bit of the snow around him dyed red.

The smile slowly fell from Knight’s face as he looked around the battlefield. Their big wall of snow, while still holding strong, had taken its fair share of damage. Looking over, the defending wall of their enemies had been devastated. It was a mere shell of what it was in the beginning. The battleground between was littered with points of impact of the many projectiles that missed their mark.

Then he looked at the two ponies in front of them. Both had fought valiantly for their rights. For everything they believed in. And now they were gone. He closed his eyes in mourning for these two brave warriors. A slight gasp escaped his mouth as a large snowflake landed on his snout. He watched as it quickly melted before staring up into the sky.

It was snowing again.

‘It seems even the heavens cry frozen tears for these fallen warriors,’ he thought to himself as he looked back down at the bodies.

All was silent for a moment before Apple Bloom walked up to AJ’s motionless body. She removed her mask to show an amused look on her face. “You do know those were just snowballs right? Ya ain’t dead,” she said as she prodded his body.

AJ’s eye quickly opened and fixed itself on Apple Bloom before turning agitated. “Shhhhhh! I’m trying to be dramatic!” he whispered.

“Well it ain’t workin’. Now get up already before ya catch a cold.”

AJ let out a slight growl as he sat up. “First you dominate us in the fight, now you won’t let me have my fun.” He grumbled to himself as he turned to look at his ally. “Need any help there Applejack?”

Applejack lifted her hat out of the snow. “Ah could use some help gettin’ mah scarf out of th’ tree, but other than that Ah’m fine.” Her face soured as she finally got a good look at herself. The entire right half of her body had been dyed red from the assault. Her hat didn’t escape unscathed either having been hit by some of the splatter. The ground around her looked like a murder scene. “Consarnit! Ah look like a murder victim!” She eyed the other team with a piercing gaze. “Who’s bright idea was it ta dye yer balls red any who?!”

“It was Scootaloo’s idea!” Sweetie quickly said to cover her own butt. “She brought a bunch of red food coloring from home so we could make things more authentic!”

“Food coloring?” AJ asked in a monotone voice.

“Yea. My mom likes to bake this time of the year, so she always has tons of the stuff. I asked her if I could use some and she said yes,” Scootaloo said as she walked up to the rest of the group. She was wearing a black turtle neck, and had on a pair of night vision goggles.

“An’ just where were you,” Applejack asked; curious as to where she had been hiding this entire time.

“In that tree over there,” Scootaloo said as she pointed to one of the only trees that still had some leaves on it. “It made the perfect spot to spy on the two of you. All I had to do was use this walkie talkie and…”

“You said you used food coloring to dye the snow for those snowballs?” AJ asked, interrupting Scootaloo.

“Yea. What of it?”

“Scoots, when your mom bakes using food coloring, does she wear gloves of any kind?”

Scootaloo sat down as she thought for a moment. “Yyyea. Disposable, I think. Why?”

“Scoots, she wears those gloves so the coloring doesn’t get in her coat. Do you realize how hard it is to get food coloring out of hair?!”

“Just where are you goin’ with this?” Applejack asked; hoping AJ wasn’t going to say what she thought he was going to say.

“It’s almost easier to just cut the hair off than it is to wash the color out.” He turned to Applejack and slowly shook his head when he saw the damage done.

Applejack let that sink in for a minute. She just stood there, staring at her coat as she did. Apple Bloom’s eyes got wide as she watched her sister. Just by looking at her she could see all the minute signs that she learned to look for over the years. The tensing muscles. The little, pulsing vein in her forehead that only showed itself when she was really angry. Her teeth grinding behind her closed lips. While Applejack seemed calm on the outside, on the inside she was absolutely furious.

Scootaloo had a horrified look on her face as she stared at the orange mare. “I-I didn’t know! I swear!”

Applejack took a deep, calming breath before looking at the foals. “Ah’m goin’ ta go ta Rarity’s,” she said in a level tone. “An’ you better hope she knows how ta get this crap outa mah coat. Cause if she can’t…”

“Now Applejack just calm down,” interrupted AJ. “Yes this sucks, but threatening children won’t make the problem go away. Let’s just get to Rarity’s before we do something we regret. Besides, that doesn’t look like the face of somepony who did this on purpose,” he said as he motioned to Scootaloo.

“Yea! I swear I didn’t know!”

“Hey Knight, would you mind taking the girls back to the house. Maybe Big Mac could make you something to help warm up.”

“Maybe he’ll make some hot cider fer us!” Apple Bloom said excitedly as she took off towards the farm house.

“Or some cookies!” Scooaloo said as she and Sweetie followed.

“H-hey! Wait for me!” called Knight as he tried to keep up with the fillies. His hat fell off his head as he ran.

********************

“Hey Spike, before you go to help Rarity with…whatever it is she needs you for, could you help me find Cosmic Dance’s ‘The Majestic Cosmos?’” Twilight asked as she readied her desk for studying.

“Sure thing Twilight, but haven’t you already read through that book like, a hundred times?”

“It’s not my fault the book is so compelling,” Twilight said with a smile. Spike just rolled his eyes as he began his search. “It’s nice that you can still help Rarity without things being too awkward.”

“It’s not awkward at all Twilight. We are still friends after all,” Spike said in a confidant tone as he set the ladder up.

As she got the last inkwell into place, a knock sounded from the door. “I wonder who that could be.” Seeing that Spike was already in the process of climbing a ladder to find her book, Twilight went to open the door herself. “Hello, how can I help yyaAAHH!!!”

“Hey Twilight,” AJ said in his normal tone. Twilight continued to stare at him with a shocked expression. AJ could only roll his eyes and sigh. “Go ahead and ask. You wouldn’t be the first”

“Whoa! What happened to your face!?” came Spikes voice from behind Twilight.

“Spike!” chastised Twilight.

“If you think I look bad, you should see Applejack,” AJ said as he rubbed the right half of his head. He looked like a real life Two-Face. The left half of his head was indigo like the rest of his body. The right half was pink and naked. Some of his mane had even been taken off. Needless to say none of Rarity’s soaps were able to get the coloring out of their coats. When AJ and Applejack had suggested she go and buy some cheap shampoo that could strip the paint off of a house, Rarity nearly had a melt down. She refused to let such damaging shampoo anywhere near her establishment. She suggested dying their coats back to their natural color, but neither of them felt like getting even more dye into their coats. Unfortunately for AJ and Applejack, that meant only one thing.

“That’s actually one of the reason’s I came over here. Applejack’s hoping you know a spell that could re-grow her coat. As funny as a half shaved Applejack looks, I can’t help but feel sorry for her.”

Twilight thought for a moment. “Well…I know a spell that can grow a mustache on anything. Even on Spike’s scales. I’m sure I could twist the spell around a bit to grow a pony’s coat.”

“I think she’d even be happy if you were only able to grow a bunch of mustaches all over her body.”

“What about you?”

“Eh, it’ll grow back soon enough.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “So what else did you need?”

AJ cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you knew anything about nightmares.”

“Nightmares?”

AJ nodded. “Maybe you have some books or something? Or a spell to change dreams or…”

“Spells that effect dreams or nightmares are dark magic, and therefore are strictly forbidden.” Twilight said with a stern look. “The Dream Walker spell is the only one that isn’t considered dark magic, and the only pony that knows how to pull that off is Princess Luna.”

“I am very familiar with that spell,” AJ said under his breath. “Well if spells are out of the question, do you have any books on the subject?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “I believe there’s a couple around here. Why don’t you come in out of the cold for a bit? It must be freezing with your head shaved like that,” she said as she finally took notice of his shivering.

“It is quite cold, yes.”

Twilight stepped to the side to let him in. Before AJ made it into the building, he felt a little tickle inside his nose. His nose began twitching as he tried to fight back the impending sneeze. He held a hoof up to His nose as the feeling started going away. “You okay there?”

He sniffled a bit before answering. “Yea. Just a bit of aaah, ahhhh, aaAAHHHH-CHHOOOOOOO!!!”

Twilight slowly opened her left eye as she wiped the projectile saliva her face off with her hoof. “Ewwww.”

“Sounds like somepony has a cold,” chuckled Spike.

“Hah. Laugh it up lizard boy. Let’s see you spend all day out…” Before he could finish, a big pile of snow fell from above; completely burying him.

Twilight blinked before poking her head out the door and looking up. Some of the snow from the top of the library had been dislodged by the force of AJ’s sneeze. “C-c-c-c-coooooooold!” moaned AJ as his head sprouted out from the snow.

Twilight groaned. “Come on. Let’s get you inside and warm you up.”

********************

After helping Twilight melt the snow that had buried AJ, Spike was told he could go to Rarity’s place. He was going to be late as it is. She could just find the book herself. But before any books were to be found, she had somepony to take care of.

“Is that blanket warm enough?” she asked as she set a cup of hot tea on the table.

“B-b-barely,” AJ said as he took the tea in his hooves. He was too cold to even want to try magic right now. “M-my hooves are really cold.”

“Well I offered to run a hot bath for you.”

“Noooooooo,” AJ said as he glared at Twilight from above the tea cup. “I-I’ve seen enough water t-today. Frozen or otherwise. Kn-knowing my luck the water would just freeze on me.”

Twilight facehoofed. “Oh for the love of…fine. I’ll go see if I have something else that could help.”

As Twilight went upstairs, AJ took a big gulp of his tea. He didn’t care what Twilight said about drinking slowly at the moment. He just wanted that warmth inside of him. After reveling in the warmth for a minute, he heard Twilight coming back down the stairs. She walked back into the kitchen with a box in tow. “W-what’s in the box?”

Twilight placed the box down on the table in front of him. “They’re custom made socks,” she said as she lifted the cover of the box, a light blush on her face. “Specially made and delivered from Trottingham.”

AJ peered into the box to get a better look at the socks. He lifted one of them out of the box, raising his eyebrow as he looked it over. The socks were a pearl white color. Different colored, pastel fabric adorned the cuff of the sock. In the middle of the sock, there was a bright sun which looked very familiar to anypony who knows anything about their beloved princess of the sun. The end of the sock was done up to look like one of the royal slippers Celestia wears. With an almost judging look, he looked from the sock to Twilight. “Why does this sock look like…”

“All my other socks are in the wash!” Twilight said defensively; her face reddening even more. “Now are you going to wear them or not? Or would you rather stay cold?”

AJ recoiled slightly at the thought of staying cold before shaking his head. “N-no! Warmth good.” With a sheepish smile, he started slipping the first sock on. He shuddered slightly in delight as the comfortable fabric covered more and more of his leg. A smile adorned his face as he finished pulling the sock up. “This feels…amazing. What is this made of?”

Twilight just shrugged. “I tried to ask, but he said it was a trade secret. I thought about letting Rarity look at them, but…”

“The whole ‘looks like Celestia’ thing would be a bit awkward to explain.” Twilight just nodded sheepishly. With a smile, he quickly, as quickly as a half popsicle pony can move anyway, slipped on the other socks. Once he had them all on he stood up, looking himself over. “Well, they clash with my coat something fierce. But it’s totally worth it to be wearing something so warm and cuddly,” he said as he hugged himself. “And they fit me perfectly too. Pretty amazing considering they were probably made to fit your legs.”

“The fabric is magically treated to stretch to any size.” AJ looked at her questioningly. “What? I felt magic in the cloth and tested it. I was even able to stuff Spike’s entire body into a single sock when he was sleeping once.”

AJ couldn’t help but snicker at Twilight’s testing methods. “And he stayed asleep?”

“You wouldn’t believe how heavy a sleeper he can be sometimes. The entire library could be demolished with him inside it, and he’d continue to sleep.”

“I know some people like that.” The rainbow of colors that adorned the cuff caught is attention again, reminding him of a certain rainbow maned pegasus. “Oh, that’s right. We got a letter from Appleloosa today.”

“Oh?” Twilight’s eyes grew wider as the smile on her face also grew. “How’s Rainbow doing?”

“Still near catatonic. Soooooooo pretty much no different from when Braeburn first came to pick her up at the station. Good news is she’s actually eating now.”

Twilight sighed. “I was hoping being around Braeburn would’ve snapped her out of it.”

“To be fair to Rainbow, I think pregnancy was the last thing she ever expected to happen to her.”

“Maybe a foal is what Rainbow needs to teach her some much needed responsibility,” Twilight said with a smile as she finished her tea. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go see about finding those books you asked for.” She placed her cup by the sink before exiting the room to begin her search.

As for AJ, he sat there to finish his tea. With the combined effort of the blanket, socks, and tea, the warmth was starting to return to his body. As he sipped his tea, he started to think about things. What if Twilight’s books didn’t have the answers he needed? What if the answers were too vague? What if they made the problem worse? He didn’t want Knight to suffer anymore. Just remembering what happened during the previous night sent shivers down his spine. ‘If not for Big Mac, if not for that thing he did, Knight might have…’ He shook the thought of his head. ‘I-I have to find an answer. For his sake.’

He quickly downed the last of his tea, placing his cup by the sink before joining Twilight in her search. Twilight looked up from the book she was skimming through when she saw him out of the corner of her eye. She immediately took note of the worried look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to help you look,” he said as he levitated some books down. He was too determined at the moment to even remember that not even 15 minutes ago he was complaining about being too cold.

“You don’t need to do that,” she said as she replaced the books she had just been levitating. “I can search just fine if you want to rest for awhile still.”

AJ was not deterred as he began skimming through the second book. “No, Knight’s depending on me to find these answers.”

“Knight? He’s having nightmares?”

AJ nodded as he put the books off to the side; grabbing a few more in his magic. “He’s been having them almost every night as of late. And they’re just getting worse and worse.” Another sharp chill ran down his spine as memories of last night came to him again.

“They must be pretty bad if you’re taking it this seriously.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

Things were silent between the two of them for awhile after that. The only sounds were the sounds of the two of them flipping through pages and AJ’s groans as each book resulted in more disappointment. Twilight looked over at him from her books to see him adding to his already pretty big pile. He was grumbling something about last night. “Everything okay?” she asked as she placed her books gently on the table.

Being so absorbed with what he was doing, AJ barely noticed Twilight’s words. He quickly glanced over to Twilight before looking back to the books in front of him. “I’m fine.”

Twilight just continued to watch him for a minute. “Are you sure? Because you look like you’re getting pretty worked up about this.”

“I’m fine, Twilight,” he said with a hint of anger in his voice.

Twilight raised a brow as she looked at him. She could tell he was starting to get angry, and his anger seemed to elevate a bit with every book that didn’t give the answers he wanted. With a sigh, she used her magic to grab the books he had just pulled from the shelves away from him, placing them on the floor beside her. With a fierce look, he turned to her. “What the hell?! I need to look through those!”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on. Besides, I think it’s time you stopped going through my books. You’re getting a bit rough with them,” Twilight said as she pointed to the ones he just tossed away. The frustration had been getting to him and instead of just setting them off to the side he just tossed them over his shoulders carelessly.

“I already told you! Knight’s having nightmares and I wanna know how to stop them!” he said in anger as he tried to take the books back from her.

Twilight’s magic was easily able to overpower his as the books stayed where they were. “There’s got to be more to this than that. I doubt you’d be this worked up over a few nightmares.”

“Maybe I just wanna help! Did you ever think of that?!” shouted AJ as he pumped more magic into the spell in a futile attempt to overpower Twilight.

Twilight just sighed before teleporting the books to the other room. With nothing to latch onto, AJ’s magic just fizzled out. When he realized what just happened, he fixed his gaze on Twilight; his muscles tensing in anger. “Don’t even think about it buddy,” she said before her horn blazed to life. AJ’s legs became engulfed in a pink light before they were brought together, and lifted into the air. Within seconds AJ’s body was hanging upside down, the blanket and his glasses falling off of him. Now that he was at her mercy, Twilight calmly walked up to the hogtied pony. “Now, are you going to calm down, and tell me what’s wrong? Or would you like to stay like this for awhile?”

AJ glared at the slightly blurry Twilight for a moment before his gaze slowly became less angry. After a minute, he let out a frustrated sigh. Seeing that he was ready to talk things out, Twilight gently lowered him to the floor. Instead of getting up, he just kind of laid there for a minute. With a groan he finally got up to a sitting position, lazily lifting his glasses back onto his head.

Now that he was calm, she placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Now, are you ready to tell me just why this is so important to you?”

“…Because I promised to protect him Twilight. What kind of guardian angel am I if I can’t even stop a few nightmares? A terrible one, that’s what.”

“That’s it?”

“No that’s not it,” he said with a hint of depression in his voice. “For once…maybe I wanna be the one helping somepony instead of being the one needing the help. Most of my life I’ve been the one who needed the help. Even before the string of bad luck I’ve had since coming to Equestria. I’m sick and tired of feeling like such a helpless loser.”

“Didn’t you write to Princess Celestia about this? There’s nothing wrong with needing a bit of help, and true friends are always willing to help you through things.”

“That’s not it,” he said with a sigh.

“Then what? Why are you suddenly now feeling so inadequate?”

“Because last night Knight almost died, and all I could do was sit off to the side while Big Mac came to the rescue.”

Twilight stared at AJ in shock. “Knight Wind almost died?”

AJ nodded solemnly. “He was having some kind of nightmare, and he started choking. No matter what I tried I couldn’t wake him out of it. Then in comes Big Mac and with in minutes everything’s back to the status quo. At the time I was just happy that Knight was better and that everything was going to be okay, but after I woke up I just started feeling so…useless. It probably wouldn’t have even mattered if I had been there or not. He’d probably be better off being under Big Mac’s watch.”

“Now I know you know that isn’t true,” Twilight said with certainty. “Knight loves you. You’re like a brother to him. You always make sure he has what he needs. Hay, you even made sure he’s getting an education. If you ask me I’d say you’re doing a pretty good job.”

“That’s all well and good, but what if his life is in danger again? I’m not strong like Big Mac and Applejack, or as skilled with magic like you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to be strong or be good with magic to protect people. Just being there for him will be enough.”

“But what if that doesn’t help? What if he keeps having the nightmares?”

As much as Twilight wanted to give him an answer, she couldn’t. She knew little to nothing about nightmares. The only pony that really does is all the way…in…Canterlot. Her eyes widened as the idea hit her. “Duh, why didn’t I think about this before? We can just ask Luna if there’s anything she can do.”

“Luna?” AJ could only blink as he let that mull around in his head. “Oh Celestia, why didn’t I think of that?” A smile began to form on his face. “I’ll just send her a letter asking for help. I’m sure she’ll be happy to help.” With his smile continuing to grow, he searched out an empty scroll and a quill to begin his letter.

****************************************

Author's Note

You guys have waited long enough for a chapter. With my recent lack of free time, and with...other shit going on in my life, i wanted to give you something. I told myself i wasn't going to split this one, but it looks like i lied to myself XP

The Meeting with the Moon

Chapter 43

Knight had been fighting all morning to keep his eyes open. A few days had passed since the snowball fight, and while his nightmares haven’t been as bad as that night, that didn’t stop the nightmares from assaulting his mind. It had gotten to the point that he just tried to stay up. While he was able to fend off sleep for the night, his heavy lids were no match for his arch nemesis…math.

Knight liked Cheerilee. She was nice, always had a smile on her face, and never laid a hoof on him unless it was to comfort him. She was always happy to help him every time he needed with his school work. And her voice was always very calming and cheerful.

Though no matter how nice she was, her lectures about math never failed to bore Knight to no end. No matter how short they were, they always seemed to drag on for hours on end. Combine his boredom with his lack of sleep, and he was not in a good position.

He had managed to catch himself multiple times. Though even with Apple Bloom’s help, he couldn’t escape sleep forever. When Knight joined the class, Cheerilee gave him a chair and a small table set up on the side of the room that he could use as a desk since he was too big to fit in the desks. To make it easier for him, Apple Bloom suggested that her seat be changed so that she was sitting next to him. That way he would be close to a familiar face during class. Even with her proximity to him, Apple Bloom couldn’t prevent it. One second he was still battling his heavy lids, the next his head was resting on the table; eyes closed, and his chest slowly rising and lowering.

********************

Knight felt cold as he slowly walked through the cave. The clack of his hooves hitting the cave floor echoed through his ears. Every now and then he would step in a small puddle made by water dripping from the ceiling. There was a fairly dense fog lingering throughout the entire cave, making it hard to see more than a couple meters ahead of him. He could barely see the walls, but he could see them well enough to see the blood that stained them every so often.

After a few minutes of walking, he heard sounds echoing through the cave. It was faint at first. He didn’t know what to make of the sounds at first, so he cautiously got closer. As he did, the noises became easier and easier define. They were sounds he had become very familiar with over the years.

They were the sounds of torture.

The sound of a pony grunting and yelling in pain. The sound of a pony’s flesh being struck by a hard, solid object. The sickening crack of bones being crushed by the sheer force of the blows. They were all sounds he had been forced to endure throughout his life.

Knowing what the sounds were made him stop in his tracks. He began shaking as the guttural grunts coming from the tortured pony continued to assault his ears. He tried to turn back to get away from the sound, but some ghostly force grabbed hold of his body. He fought against it, but it quickly pulled him further into the cave, closer to the tortured pony.

He was deposited at the end of the tunnel he was walking through. He slowly rubbed his head as he slowly got to his hooves. After shaking his head, he noticed a couple things. The first thing he noticed is that he was standing in front of a wide open room in the cave. The fog seemed to be even denser in this room. Because of this he couldn’t even begin to guess how large the room was.

The second thing he noticed is just how quiet it was. The sounds of torture no longer filled the cave. The silence unnerved him even more than the sounds did. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “H-h-hello? I-is anypony…”

A loud, sickening snap filled the air, interrupting him. It was followed by the sound of something being thrown and landing a few feet in front of him. Knight could only stare into the fog at the spot the sound came from. He could feel sweat running down his face as he continued to stare. He didn’t know what to suspect, all he knew is that he wasn’t going to like it. As if by magic, the fog started to part, but only in that one spot. It was slow, but the small area in front of him became more and more visible. His eyes widened in horror as the fog finished parting. Tears quickly began welling up in his eyes.

Lying in front of him, in an ever increasing pool of his own blood, was AJ. His body was covered in burn marks, deep cuts and gashes, and ugly bruises. All four of his legs were bent in impossible ways, and in multiple places ensuring that they would never heal properly, if at all. AJ’s cutie mark had been branded over by a symbol that was very familiar to him. His chest had taken a lot of punishment also, to the point where it looked like it had been caved in slightly. His face was barely recognizable anymore. It was so battered and beaten it would have been impossible to tell who it was if not for the cutie mark. The most disgusting part of it was his neck though. He now knew what that loud snap was before he was thrown. His neck had been snapped and twisted a full 360 degrees, and was limply hanging from his body now.

Hot tears poured down Knight’s cheeks. He was practically hyperventilating as he stumbled towards the body. He crouched down and poked the body as if to make sure it was real. He was shaking at this point as the sound of his sobs filled the cavern. He lifted the limp body and hugged it to his chest as he cried.

“Hmhmhmhmhahahahahahaha!”

Knight’s eyes got wide as the laughter filled the room. He looked up from the body in his hold to see that all the fog in the room was starting to come together and converge in the middle of the room. An impenetrable cluster of fog had condensed in the middle of the room.

After a few moments, a dark plumb leg pierced through the cluster. Knight was pretty sure he felt his heart skip a beat at the appearance of the leg. Another leg pierced through before the two of them planted themselves on the floor of the cave. The muscles tensed up as the legs began clawing at the cave floor to pull free from the fog. After enough pulling a terrifyingly familiar face broke free from the fog. Nightshade had a disturbingly calm look on her face as she pulled the rest of her body free. It didn’t take much longer before she was standing in front of Knight.

Her eyes slowly opened. Instead of a piercing yellow like he expected, her eyes were instead a deathly white. A cruel smile started to form on her lips. “My precious Knight Wind. You can never escape from me. My gaze will always find you.”

Dragging AJ’s body away from her, Knight backed away from the bat-winged pegasus. “Y-y-you can’t be here! You’re dead! I-I-I saw you die!”

An evil laugh filled the cavern. “Even in death my gaze is eternal.”

Before Nightshade could take another step, she was dispersed by a bright light from behind her. She, along with all the fog she had come from, quickly dissipated. Knight gasped as he felt AJ’s corps shift in his hold. Looking down, he saw the bleeding cuts and gashes starting to close up. The rest of his wounds also began to repair themselves. As disturbing as it was, Knight couldn’t take his eyes off of his body as his neck slowly righted itself and mended. The instant his neck righted itself, his eyes shot open as he took a long, loud draw of air. After he took a few more breaths, AJ fell limp again. This time though, he had just fallen into a deep sleep. His chest was rising and falling slowly as light snoring could be heard coming from him.

Knight’s ears twitched as he heard some hoofsteps walking towards him. Looking up he saw a midnight blue figure standing before him. She was imposing, but her presence seemed to calm him some how. Her horn glowed blue before another bright flash of light surrounded him before everything went white.

********************

Knight’s eyes shot open. He quickly lifts his head and begins to look around the room. As he scans the room, he noticed something a bit odd. Everpony seemed to be looking at him in surprise. Nopony said a thing. Even Cheerilee looked like she didn’t know what to say. That’s when he noticed that it wasn’t really him they were staring at. It was the pony that was standing directly in front of his desk. He blinked before turning his head.

“It’s good you’re finally awake Knight Wind,” Princess Luna said in a somewhat stern, yet comforting tone. She turned to Cheerilee. “I apologize for the intrusion, but I must ask that you give Knight Wind permission to leave school early today. We have some pressing matters that we must take care of.”

Cheerilee nodded slightly. She was still getting over the shock of Princess Luna randomly teleporting into her classroom. “O-of course your highness. He’s more than welcome to leave early if you need him for something. Is there anything else I could help you with?”

Luna shook her head. “No, I’m only here to pick up Knight Wind. Now if you’ll excuse me, we must be getting to the farm.” She turned to Knight who still looked like he was trying to piece everything together. “Come, we have much to discuss today.” Knight slowly nodded his head before standing up from his chair. As he walked next to her, she extended her wing and lightly wrapped it around him as a calming gesture.

********************

“Ah’m commin’!” called Big Mac as he heard somepony knock on the door. He quickly downed what was left in his cider mug before placing it back down on the table to answer the door. The smile he had on his face quickly turned to surprise as Luna’s visage filled his sight. “Princess Luna?” He quickly gave a bow before speaking. “Well what can ah do for ya, yer highness?”

Luna always found herself smiling whenever she came in contact with he big red stallion. Even though it was usually just in passing when he made a delivery to the castle, he was always so kind. “We’re looking for AJ. Do you know where I could find him?”

“AJ?” Big Mac put a hoof to his chin as he thought. “Ah could be wrong, but Ah think he’s still clearin’ th’ snow from th’ Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse. He said he was hopefully goin’ ta finish today.”

Luna nodded in appreciation. “Thank you Mr. McIntosh. Now, where would I find this clubhouse?”

“I know where it is,” Knight said from behind Luna.

Big Mac blinked before looking behind the princess of the night. “What’s Knight doin’ here? Ah thought he was supposed ta be at school?”

“We have some things we need to discuss, so I asked his teacher if he could be excused for the rest of the day. She was happy to let him have a break from his studies,” Luna said as she motioned to Knight.

“She got me out of having to learn math,” Knight said under his breath. He had a slight smile on his face.

Big Mac nodded in understanding. “Alright, Ah’ll just go get th’ lesson plans fer th’ day an’ do a bit of homeschoolin’ once yer done with yer little talk,” he said with a knowing smile. Knight’s smile on the other hoof dropped from his face completely.

Luna smiled brightly. “Wonderful! A good education is one of the most important things a pony can receive. Well, we should get going. You said you knew where the clubhouse was?” she asked as she turned to Knight. He was to busy sulking to pay attention.

Big Mac chuckled to himself before pointing north of the farm house. “Just keep walkin’ north through th’ trees. You’ll find it after a couple minutes.”

Luna followed his hoof before nodding. “Thank you for your assistance Mr. McIntosh. I hope that one day the two of us will be able to have a meaningful conversation,” she said as she started to lead Knight into the trees.

Big Mac nodded his head as he waved goodbye. “Ah’ll be lookin’ forward to it.” After he two of them were out of sight, he closed the door. “Hey Applejack, do ya know where mah scarf is? Ah need ta take a trip ta school?”

“Oh Celestia, what did Apple Bloom do this time?” Applejack asked as she poked her head out from the living room.

“Nothin’, this time,” he said with a chuckle.

********************

As Big Mac said, it didn’t take very long before the clubhouse came into view. And as he had said, AJ was hard at work removing the snow from where it shouldn’t have been. With the use of a ladder, he had gotten onto the roof of the building and was scraping a heavy load of snow off the top.

The look on his face was less than pleasant. As they got closer, they could hear him grumbling about something. Luna could only imagine that it was something about the snow. It had been snowing quite a bit lately. She had no idea why the weather team had so much snow planned this early in the season, but she wasn’t going to complain. She did love her snow angels.

“Fucking weather ponies, with their fucking snow, and their fucking weather plans, and their not letting me finish this fucking job, and their…” Out of the corner of his eye he could see a weather pony flying around to make sure there were no holes in the clouds for the coming snow later in the day. “Hey weather pony! Fuck you!” he shouted as he raised an angry hoof into the air.

Luna could only laugh. “Such language! Is that the type of language they teach you in the human world?”

Not expecting the voice, AJ jumped. As he landed, his hooves slipped out from underneath himself, causing him to start sliding off the roof. He slid down and off the roof, quickly plummeting towards a pile of snow he had made. Just before making contact with the snow, he was stopped in midair. After blinking his eyes a few times, he turned his head to see an upside down, giggling Luna and a surprised Knight standing there watching him.

“Luna! Hello! What are you doing here?”

Luna giggled before righting the indigo unicorn and placing him back on the ground. “I’m here to talk with you about Knight Wind’s little nightmare problem. You did send me that letter the other day, did you not?”

AJ looked a little shocked. “Well, I did send you the letter, but I didn’t expect an answer for at least another week. If I’d have known you were coming I would have set something up.”

“I thought we agreed that you don’t be so formal with me,” Luna said with a chuckle.

“I know, but just telling Big Mac and Applejack to expect another pony for dinner wouldn’t be too formal, would it?”

“I suppose not. I’ve never had any Apple family cuisine. Is it any good?”

“Is it any good?” AJ said in disbelief. “Oh that’s it; you are so invited to dinner one of these days. You haven’t lived until you had one of Big Mac’s pies, or one of Applejack’s fritters.”

Luna couldn’t help but giggle. “I’ll be sure to make some plans then. For now, we should hurry to the library. I would like to show you the information I gathered over the last few days after studying his dreams,” she said as she motioned to Knight.

“Y-you were studying my dreams?” Knight said; the fear was obvious in his voice.

“I asked her to Knight,” AJ said with concern in his voice. “I’m worried about you. About all the nightmares you’ve been having, so I asked Luna if she could do anything for you.”

“That’s actually one of the things that we must discuss. So if you wouldn’t mind, Twilight will be expecting us.” Without waiting for a response, Luna’s horn sprung to life. The three of them became engulfed in light before they were teleported away.

********************

AJ’s eyes spun in his head as the three of them appeared in front of the library. He held his head in an attempt to make everything stop spinning. “Why did I ever want to learn how to teleport? I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

As Knight went over to make sure he was okay, Luna just ignored him as she knocked on the door. After a bit, the door was answered by a living bundle of blankets. “W-w-w-who is it?” asked the blankets.

Luna just blinked for a moment as she tried to figure out what was going on. “Spike? Is that you?”

“W-w-w-who else would i-i-it be?”

“Why do you look like an animate bundle of blankets?”

“B-b-because the h-h-heat’s out in the l-library. T-t-the heater started making a lot of noise, and i-i-it suddenly started getting cold.”

Luna put a hoof to her chin. “It could just be the nexus core, but if it was making noises before hoof I doubt it’s something that simple. If it is the core, maybe it needs to be re-energized, or maybe even replaced.”

“P-p-p-please, you have to do something!” Spike said as he poked his head out from the blankets. “Twilight refuses to do anything because she’s afraid to ruin something.”

“If it just needs to be re-energized, it would be a quick fix. If it needs to be replaced though, that could take a bit longer to…”

“Spike, close the door!” Twilight said as she started coming down the stairs. “It’s already cold enough in here without you letting out all the…” Twilight stopped mid sentence when she finally noticed the ponies standing there. “Princess Luna! Oh, I’m sorry the library looks so bad right now. Not a lot of things have gotten done since the heat went out.” Twilight herself was wearing her full set of winter gear.

“Don’t worry Twilight Sparkle, I understand completely. If you’d like, I could see if I could fix your heater for you. That way you wouldn’t need to wait for somepony to come fix it.”

Twilight’s eyes got wide. “No no no, it’s fine. You don’t have to do anything like that. The repair pony should be here later today. It’s nothing you should have to…”

“But I insist,” Luna said as she walked into the library. “Especially with Spike living here, this building should never be this cold.” She turned to the other two ponies she was with. “Are the two of you coming?”

“I’ll be right in. Just waiting for my stomach to catch up with me,” AJ said as he tried not to blow chunks.

“Right! Spike, show me to the heater!”

“Gladly!” Spike said with a bright smile.

********************

Luna came up from the basement with a smile on her face. She was wiping some dirt and grime from her face with a rag as she looked over at Spike. He was happily curled up on the couch as heat once again filled the library. It still wasn’t up to a comfortable level for a reptile, but given enough time and he’ll finally be able to get rid of his blanket cocoon. Hearing voices coming from the kitchen, she made her way to join the group.

The first thing she noticed when she walked in was AJ letting out a big yawn as he nursed a mug of hot chocolate. Knight was laughing slightly, and Twilight was rolling her eyes. “You’re still staying up all night, aren’t you?”

“No!” AJ said defensively. The look Twilight gave him said it all. “Maybe.”

“I can say with absolute certainty that he hasn’t been getting very much sleep,” Luna said as she stepped up behind him. AJ looked up at her to see her looking back at him with a stern look.

AJ looked down with a sigh. “You think I haven’t tried? I can’t help it.”

“I know you care about Knight’s well being, but that doesn’t mean you should completely ignore your own,” said Twilight. Luna nodded her head at her words. “Besides, I don’t think Big Mac would be too happy to know that you’ve been staying up all night again.”

A small thud sounded through the room as AJ’s head hit the table. “He already knows. Already got scolded for it. Ditzy wasn’t exactly too thrilled about it either. I had to play dress up with Dinky all day, and I wasn’t allowed to say no to whatever outfit she picked. If you would have told me a few days ago that I would have spent all of yesterday crossdressing, I would have laughed in your face.”

“Do I want to know?” Twilight asked with a smirk on her face.

“No. Unless, of course, you’re into that type of thing,” he said with a small smirk in an attempt to catch her in an embarrassing predicament.

“It depends on the stallion really.”

Both AJ and Twilight blinked before turning to Luna. She had a simple smile on her face. “A stallion like you would just look silly in a dress,” she said while pointing at AJ. “You’re too masculine to make it look good. Now, if you were to take a stallion like…” Luna’s eyes scanned the room before falling on Knight. “Take Knight Wind for example. He’s smaller, and more petite than AJ is.”

Memories of Knight in his Nightmare Night costume flashed through both AJ’s, and Twilight’s heads. They looked at each other and shared a look that said, ‘let’s not mention that to her.’ Knight on the other hand looked very uncomfortable to be put in the spotlight.

“Speeeeeaking of Knight, would we be able to get started? I’d like for him to be able finally start getting some sleep.”

“Of course.” Luna used her magic to discard the rag before turning the kitchen into a mini lab. The table was gone, and all but one of the chairs turned from wood, to big, cushioned chairs. The chair Knight had been sitting on had turned into a big plush couch, the type you’d find in a psychologists office.

As for Knight himself, he was looking awfully confused. He had absolutely no idea why his chair had turned into a couch for no reason. “What…just happened?”

AJ smiled as he adjusted in his now much more comfortable chair. “Don’t worry about it. Luna just used a bit of magic to make things a bit more comfortable for us.”

Luna nodded as she took a sip from a cup of tea. “I don’t understand how you can stand those wooden chairs. They’re so uncomfortable compared to the chairs I’m used to. And let’s not even begin to compare it to my new gaming beanbag chair. Nothing will ever be as comfortable as that.” She let out a depressed sigh. “I guess one good thing did come out of my room being destroyed.”

“Yes, well I really don’t need anything to extravagant. The chairs suit my purposes just fine,” Twilight said as she cleared her throat. “So, my choice of furniture aside, what did you figure out while studying Knight’s nightmares?”

“Yea. Don’t skip on any of the details,” AJ quickly added.

Knight turned to AJ and Twilight with a questioning look. “Studying my nightmares?”

Twilight nodded. “In an attempt to try to get rid of your nightmares, we asked Luna to watch over them.”

“Every night I made sure to visit your dreams,” she said with a nod. “Normally if I saw somepony having a nightmare I would do what I could to bring them out of it. In this instance though, to help find the root cause of your constant nightmares, I watched how they played out.” Her horn came to life as a giant, over stuffed folder popped into existence. “I took very detailed notes in case you’d like to read them.”

Twilight’s eyes grew wide and started to sparkle as she eyed the folder of notes that Luna had placed on the table. “Look at all this new reading material!” she said as her smile grew to near Pinkie Pie levels.

AJ and Knight, on the other hoof, looked at the folder with disbelief and horror respectively. “Could we just get the shortened version? That looks like an awful lot of reading,” AJ said in an attempt to get to the answer they were looking for quicker.

“Of course. Just let me get everything set up and we can begin.” Without another word, Luna’s horn began glowing again. A projector materialized from out of nowhere next to Knight’s couch along with a canvas screen for it to project onto. Two wires with suction cups on the end came from the projector and attached themselves to Knight’s temples.

“W-what’s all this for?” Knight asked as a third wire attached itself to his forehead.

“Instead of explaining everything I witnessed, I figured it would be best for you to witness the nightmares for yourselves. Please make yourself comfortable Knight Wind. Just lie back and relax. Let me take care of everything.”

Knight, not sure if he wanted everyone to know what was in his nightmares, was about to start protesting. Before he could sit up, he felt a hoof on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw AJ reaching over from his seat; silently urging him to do what Luna said. Knight returned the look with one of fear. “But what if…I-I don’t want you to think any differently of me.”

“Is that why you haven’t wanted to talk about this?”

Knight slowly nodded his head. “If you knew what they were about, maybe you’ll be scared of me. M-maybe you won’t wanna be my friend anymore.”

AJ could only look at Knight with a slight look of hurt on his face. After all they’ve been through, he thinks a few nightmares would change anything between them? “They’re just nightmares Knight. Even if they are a bit…disturbing, they will never be real. They’re just bad dreams.” Twilight said with certainty in her voice.

“Yea, what she said,” agreed AJ.

Before Knight could respond, Luna cleared her throat; drawing all attention to her. “As ‘fake’ as nightmares are, you may want to wait till you actually see them before waving them off as ‘harmless.’” Her eyes turned to Knight for a moment before her horn came to life again. The shades fell over the windows leaving them in the darkened room before the projector sprung to life. Knight squeaked lightly in fear as he felt the magic snaking its way into his mind. After a second, the screen lit up with light before a still image appeared on screen. “I believe you’ll soon see why there’s something more to nightmares than ‘just a bad dream.’” Before anyone could respond, the still image came to life.

********************

The projector finally shut down as the last of the nightmares finished up. Aside from the sound of Twilight finishing her own set of notes, the room remained mostly silent. Luna’s eyes remained closed as she took a sip of her tea; letting everything they had just witnessed sink in. Knight had remained relatively silent since it started. At this time he was trying to avoid eye contact with the rest of the group.

Twilight let out a sigh as she let the quill fall to the table. She turned her head to look at everypony else in the room until her eyes fell on AJ. His eyes were wide. He looked a little pale, and was trembling slightly. “AJ?” She lifted a hoof and placed it on his shoulder.

AJ gasped and jumped away slightly from the contact. He fixed his fearful eyes on Twilight for a moment before letting out a relieved sigh. “Oh…just you. Sorry, seeing Nightshade again just brought up some…less than happy memories.”

Twilight’s ears fell as she tried to think of something to say. “Now do you see that there’s more to a nightmare than ‘just a bad dream?’” The two of them looked over to Luna. They looked into Luna’s knowledgeable eyes before nodding silently. “Would it be safe to assume that on an average day, Knight seems happy and care free?”

“For the most part, yea,” AJ said with a nod. “Especially since it started snowing.”

“I like snow,” Knight said in a low voice.

“Given what’s happened to him, and the contents of his nightmares, I’d say it’s all an act. Well, most of it anyway. Chances are he just puts on a happy face, a mask so to speak, so nopony worries about him.”

“That sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?” Twilight said to AJ with a raised brow.

“Hush you. This isn’t about me…for once.”

“Not wanting to make everypony worry about him at every moment, he formed this emotional mask to hide everything. Essentially an attempt to block out any and all memories of what happened to him. Unlike AJ, whose mask was shattered in a fit of explosive rage and sadness when memories of his trauma were brought up…” AJ suddenly felt small as he swallowed a lump in his throat. “Knight’s is being slowly chipped away by his dreams. If the nightmares don’t cease, there is a chance he may eventually break.”

“Is there anything we can do about it? Maybe there’s some dream spells that are so secretive that even Twilight doesn’t know about. Spells other than the Dream Walker that aren't considered dark magic?”

Luna shook her head. “Unfortunately not. Even if there was, the most I would be able to do would be stop the nightmares. It wouldn’t stop him from being haunted by his memories of what happened. We’d be treating the symptoms, not the disease so to speak.”

“And before you say anything, no. There are no spells that can erase memories,” Twilight said before AJ could even begin to come up with the idea.

“That’s what you think,” Luna said under her breath.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing,” Luna said with a simple smile. “Even if there was such a spell, it would be extremely dangerous.” Knight’s ears perked up at this. “We would be tampering with ten years worth of memories. For a pony like my sister and I, that would be nothing. That would be nothing but a mere speck of our millennia long lifespan. For Knight, we would essentially be deleting over half of his life from existence. Something like that would be traumatizing beyond belief, and would probably leave him in a vegetative state that he may never recover from as his mind attempts to piece together what memories it still has. If he was lucky enough to stay with us, he would essentially revert back to the mentality of an eight year old, seeing as how that would be the last memory his mind would be able to latch onto.”

Knight’s eye twitched at the thought. “I-I-I vote for a different plan. I don’t wanna be a vegetable.”

“I’m not going to turn you into a vegetable,” AJ said with a sigh. He just sat there in silence for a minute to think things over. “So…is there anything we could actually do? Cause, to be blunt, it sounds like we’re shit out of luck.”

“Off the top of my head, no,” Luna said, her voice heavy. “The best thing you could do for him right now would be to get him some sort of professional help. I hear there’s a great psychologist in Trottingham. I could set something up for you if you’d like. She does make house calls.”

AJ let out an irritated grunt. “A psychologist. Just what we need, some shrink we don’t even know poking around in his head. Somepony who probably hasn’t been in a fourth of the situations she claims to know so much about. ‘So, for years you were tortured, raped, mind fucked, and beaten within an inch of your life on multiple occasions by some psycho bitch with a god complex? Tell me, how does that make you feel? Oh really? Well that’s just fine and dandy. That will be 200 bits for this consultation. How does THAT make you feel?’” he said with a condescending tone and smile

The other three ponies in the room just stared at the angry pony in silence for a few seconds. “Sooooo that’s a no?” asked Luna. AJ could only facehoof.

“It wouldn’t hurt to at least try it,” Twilight said with a light glare.

“What makes you think she’d be more qualified to talk with Knight about this than me?”

“The fact that she has a collage education for exactly this type of situation?”

“I’ve had personal experience with what he had to go through. Same with Shadow. The three of us could get together and talk things out. Probably be good for all of us in the end.”

“I’m guessing she also has more tact about how she approaches things. I highly doubt she’d be as blunt as you, instead easing him into things. And when I talked to Trotsworth about it, he said that Shadow is already getting help for what happened. He seems to be making a lot of progress. Apparently Tenderheart minored in psychology, and was more than happy to help him out.”

AJ let out a sigh. “I know. Trotsworth told me all about it. It doesn’t change the fact that I went through four psychologists, none of which did me any good.”

“What did you need a psychologist for?” asked Knight.

“I-uh…I’ll tell you later.”

“So what will it be? Shall I set up the appointment?” asked Luna.

Knight didn't know what to do. On one side he's never really discussed, in detail, what exactly happened to him all those years. Getting that out may do him some good. On the other hoof, AJ's his best friend and caretaker. Not only that, but he's had personal experience with, not only what happened in the encampment, but also with psychologists. He claims they don't know what they're talking about, and that they're worthless. He also had to take Twilight's words into acount. She seemed to be a pretty smart pony, and seemed to think Luna's way was the better choice.

Knight cleared his throat and took a deep breath before finally speaking. "I...I think I wanna try Luna's idea."

"That's a good choice," Twilight said with a smile. "I'm sure with time she'll be able to help you through everything."

"Indeed," agreed Luna. "I'll be sure to set something up as soon as I get back to the castle." She looked at AJ who had a slightly annoyed look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he said in an unconvincing tone. "I just hope this shrink is as good as you say. I don't want this all to be one big waste of time."

"I'm sure everything will be fine. For now, I must be getting back. I told Tia I'd only be gone for a couple hours."

"Thank you for all the help princess," Twilight said with a slight bow. Despite how informal the situation was, she still felt the need to show her respect.

"Do you know how much this shrink will cost?" AJ asked before Luna could leave.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Want to know just how many bits will be 'wasted' on the visit?"

He fixed Twilight with a glare. "Whether or not they will be wasted is yet to be seen. I just wanted to know how much I should set to the side for this."

"I'm not sure, but i'll send you a letter with the price on it once everything's set up. I shouldn't waste anymore time. Goodbye my little ponies." With a smile her horn came to life. A flash of light engulfed Luna before she disappeared from the room.

Once Luna was gone, a loud sigh filled the room. "This can only end well," AJ said with a touch of venom in his voice.

"Oh will you get over it?" Twilight said in annoyance. "The choice has already been made, so you may as well bite the bullet."

"I know. It's Knight's choice in the end, and I won't take that away from him. He's old enough to make his own decisions." He looked at Knight who just smiled back. "But with my experiences, can you really blame me for thinking this won't work?"

"I suppose not."

A growling could suddenly be heard throughout the room. AJ and Twilight both turned to Knight who's face almost matched his hair. "I-I-I was taken out of school before we could eat lunch."

"I guess it is getting to be that time. Let's get back home. They should have started lunch by now."

"Okay!" With the prospect of food, Knight happily trotted into the other room to get his winter gear on.

Twilight giggled, but AJ had a more serious look on his face as he slowly followed. "...I'm not going to let this drop yet. There's gotta be more I can do," he said quietly.

"What's that you're grumbling about now?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'll see you later Twilight." He said before exiting the room.

****************************************

The Tearful Rebirth

Chapter 44

The full moon was brightly shining brightly in the night sky. It gave enough light for the night owls that preferred the night. It also gave enough illumination for those ponies who just couldn't find sleep that night.

AJ was the only pony awake on the farm. For the first time in weeks Knight was getting a good nights sleep, and AJ couldn't help but feel jealous. Despite how heavy his lids felt, sleep continued to evade him. He shifted in the bed yet again; hoping the next comfortable position he’d find himself in would put him to sleep.

It did not.

With a frustrated sigh, he tossed the covers off of himself and got out of bed. He lazily levitated his glasses onto his head as he left the room. He didn’t bother lighting his way with magic He’d been in this house long enough to know the way without the help of light. Smashing his hoof into the side of the entryway of the kitchen didn’t help his case any, but no one was awake to see it anyway so he could still save face. After shaking out his hoof, he made his way to the sink; grabbing a glass with his magic as he did.

He let out a loud yawn as the glass began to fill with the cool liquid. “Oh, sure. if you’re really so tired, why can’t you get any fucking sleep,” he said to himself. After turning off the faucet, he took a slow sip of the water. As he drank, the events of the day ran through his head again. From when Luna met him at the clubhouse, to everything that happened at Twilight’s place, to the lingering problem of what to do with Knight.

‘They just had to suggest a crackpot shrink. Why even waste the time and money? Not like its gonna help in the end anyway,’ he thought to himself. ‘Just gonna sit there, and act interested until she can get paid. They all do. Not like talking to some stranger will help him forget about everything that happened in his past. He’d need to go back in...time…!’

********************

Applejack and Winona quickly made their ways down the stairs. The two of them had been woken up by the sound of glass shattering and quickly went to go investigate. She didn’t know what to expect, but she was ready for a fight if it came down to it. Together with Winona, she knew they didn’t stand a chance.

She skidded to a halt when the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs. AJ was frantically getting dressed in his winter gear. He was too busy to even realize he was now being watched. “What in tarnation are ya doin?”

“Huh?” Taking a second to stop and look, he finally noticed the other pony in the room with him, along with the excited border collie. Seeing a familiar face instead of an intruder put Winona back in a good mood. “Oh, it’s nothing. Go back to bed,” he said as he finished putting his scarf on.

“What did ya break?”

“Glass.”

Applejack was obviously unamused. “A glass what?”

“Cup. Look I gotta go talk to Twilight about something. It’s kinda important. Just...take it out of my pay or something.”

“Now just hold on a minute. What’s so got dang important that ya gotta go an’ bother Twilight this late…” She stopped to take a look at the clock. “This early in th’ mornin’?”

“Stuff. I’ll be back when I get back.” He didn’t even bother waiting for Applejack to say something else.

Before she could say anything else, AJ walked through the door; closing it behind him. She shook her head with an annoyed sigh before entering the kitchen to clean the mess up he had left. Winona had since gone back upstairs to take her place at the end of Applejack’s bed. With the house safe once again, she deserved more sleep.

********************

Twilight let out a content groan as she unconsciously shifted in her bed. She had a long night studying and cataloging all the notes Luna had left behind for her. She didn’t end up getting to bed until late, and she was out the instant her head hit the pillow. Much to Spikes glee. He found it difficult to sleep with all of Twilight’s gasps, oohs, and ahhs as she read over everything.

With all the talk and studying of dreams, it’s no surprise that Twilight was having dreams of her own. Though unlike Knight, hers were of happier times. At this time she was gliding through the sky on brilliant wings. Flying with her were none other than the princesses themselves. Celestia, Luna, and even Cadance was there. Pride swelled through her heart as she flew together with them, not as a student, but as an equal. She was Princess Twilight, and she couldn’t be any happier.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. The dream was missing just one, little thing to make this dream complete. As the four of them landed at Canterlot castle, it was as the world was reading her mind. Caramel, her own personal guard and lover, was there waiting for her. Not only that, but their two children were also there. In this moment, she couldn’t be any happier.

And that’s when she was woken out of her reverie by a knock on the door.

Her tired eyes slowly crept open as murderous thoughts replaced the happy ones. To say that she was unhappy about being woken up was an understatement. That was the best dream she’s had in a long time. Probably since she was a little filly and still thought boys were ‘icky’. For a minute she had just planned on just ignoring whoever it was that was out there, but the rapping on the door continued. Intent on making them suffer out in the cold for as long as she could, she shuffled out of bed and slowly made her way downstairs.

“Mmmmcommin’! Keep your saddle on!” She continued to grumble to herself as she opened the door. AJ was standing there with a smile on his face “What?”

“Good, you’re awake. We need to talk.”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t get Spike to set you on fire where you stand,” she said as she tried to hold back a yawn.

For a moment, AJ didn’t know whether or not to take her seriously, so he decided to just ignore that comment. “Aaaaanyway, we need to talk about Knight.”

“Yes, let’s talk about night. You know, night. The time of day it is right now. The time of day sane ponies usually use for sleep.”

“No, the OTHER Knight. You know, the pony?”

Twilight sleepily rubbed her eye before a yawn managed to escape. “Why can’t this wait until tomorrow exactly?”

“Because...uhhh...because I say it can’t?” Twilight fixed him with a glare. “Look, just listen. I thought of a way we could help Knight with his little problem without needing to go to a shrink.”

“Are you really still on that?” Twilight asked in annoyance. She thought this conversation had hit its conclusion when Luna had left. “Luna already said…”

“I know what Luna said, but I remain unconvinced. We still don’t know if this mare’s as good as Luna heard she was.”

“If she’s good enough to be recognised by the princesses, I’d say she’s good enough. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Twilight tried to close the door, but was stopped when AJ stuck his hoof in the door. She let out a defeated sigh. “You’re not going to let me sleep until you’re done here, are you?”

“You make it seem as if I’m a pest,” AJ said as he pushed the door back open. On the other side he saw Twilight giving him a look that said ‘That’s exactly what you are.’ He let out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll get this out as fast as I can then. Remember back when Sweetie Belle stole that spell book and I turned into…”

“If you’re going to suggest what I think you’re going to suggest you can just stop talking right now.”

“But…”

“No buts. You should know better than anypony just how dangerous that spell can be. I refuse to let you, or any other pony for that matter, use it to solve their problems.”

“It’s not being used as a problem solver. It would be used to help Knight deal with a serious issue. With something that’s seriously affecting him. I remember when I was a foal. I didn’t remember much of anything about my life until after you changed me back. It was almost as if my life had been completely wiped, and replaced with the new reality. A reality filled with lots of singing, and cuddling, and so much love…and getting pecked by chickens, but that’s besides the point. It would give him a chance to start over with his life. We’d be giving him the chance he never had.”

Twilight groaned as she slowly brought a hoof to her forehead. “And who, exactly, were you expecting to cast this spell?” The stupid smile on his face told her all she needed to know. “What’s the best way to put this, there is no way in hell I would, or will, ever approve of this. Go home, get some sleep, come back when you’re not sleep deprived, and start thinking of less crazy ideas.”

“But Twilight, I know it would…” Before he could finish, Twilight used her magic to force his hoof out of the door; slamming it shut and locking it. “Work...fuck.” He knocked on the door again. “Come on Twilight, at least think about it! That’s all I ask!”

Twilight sat by the door for a minute until she heard AJ walking away. She let out a tired sigh. ‘Damnit. it’s times like this I kinda wish I wasn’t the go to pony for magic,’ she thought to herself. ‘He seemed pretty dead set on doing this though, and with how tired and stressed he is, I could see him actually trying something stupid like this.’ She shook her head and sighed again. “Spike’s going to be pretty mad at me for waking him up for this,” she said as she used her magic to grab a quill and scroll.

********************

“Thanks for letting me stay here for the day Fluttershy,” AJ said with sigh as he removed his winter gear.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” she said with a smile. She motioned for him to join her on the couch. “But doesn’t Applejack need help around the farm?”

He sheepishly scratched the side of his head. “Normally yes, but after last night Applejack said she needed a bit of a break from me.”

“What happened last night?”

“I kinda...couldn’t sleep...again.”

“Oh dear. Was Knight Wind having nightmares again?”

“Oh no, for the first time in weeks he was able to sleep through the night,” he said with a smile. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about...things.”

“…”

“And when I got back from Twilight’s, there’s a slight chance I may have found Applejack’s special cider stash while searching for a pen so I could write down my thoughts.”

“Oh my.” Things were silent between the two of them for a moment. “How much did you…?”

“Less than half a glass. Enough where I’d feel it, but not enough to send me into a drunken stupor. I guess I kinda hoped it would set my mind at ease long enough to get to sleep. All it did was make me go into Applejack’s room and bug her...for about 3 hours. I never knew I knew so much about thermonuclear energy until now.”

“What’s thermonuclear energy?”

“Uhhh, I guess nuclear fission’s something Equestria hasn’t achieved yet. Probably for the best. Anyway, when it was time for everyone to wake up, I had since sobered up by that point, Applejack gave me an ultimatum. Either lock myself in my bedroom and, and I quote, ‘get some fucking sleep,’ or get out of the house for the day. As long as it lead to her not seeing me all day, she would be happy. As I wasn’t tired, I got dressed and left the house. I would have gone to Ditzy’s place for the day, but nopony’s home.”

“Didn’t you say she was going to visit her parents over the weekend?” Fluttershy could have sworn she remembered AJ bringing this up when she went over to the farm the previous week for dinner. “And Carrot Top is probably busy with something else. She has been spending a lot of time with her new coltfriend lately.”

AJ blinked a few times. “Oh...right. Forgot about that. I guess this whole lack of sleep thing really is getting to me.”

“Well, you have the day off. Why don’t you try to get some rest? I promise I won’t make much noise while I feed the animals.”

“That’s the thing. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in...I can’t even remember how many weeks now, but I’m just not tired. And even when I am, there’s just too much on my mind for me to be able to fall asleep.”

Fluttershy brought a hoof to her chin. “Maybe I could help. I have been able to help you get to sleep before when you were being stubborn and cranky.” A smile came to her face when memories of the week and a half she spent with the, at the time, age challenged stallion.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I doubt even you could help me with this.” AJ let out a sigh, made ragged due to his exhaustion. He sat back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling as thoughts ran through his head once again. That’s when his eyes got wide. “Speaking of when you were taking care of me, I need to talk to you about Knight, and what I think we should do with him.”

“I thought Twilight said you were going to get a psychologist?”

“We are, but I have an idea that I just know would work. I’d just need somepony on my side, to see my side of the story. Twilight seems to think I’m completely insane for even thinking of this, and Applejack just didn’t care.”

As AJ began ranting about his plan, and about how nopony seems to be on his side, Fluttershy was busy hatching a plan of her own. A smile formed on her lips as she stood up. She slowly started walking towards the stairs, not even bothering to look back to see if AJ stood up to follow her. She already knew he would before she even finished her plan. He had something to get off his chest, she had ears, and he was too out of it to even realize what was going on.

AJ continued to rant as the two of them entered Fluttershy’s bedroom. The first thing she did was walk to the far side of the room; grabbing something and hiding it under her wing before walking to the window. She pulled the shades, darkening the room a bit. She then walked back to her bed; pulling the blanket down before sitting down. Without thinking, AJ followed suit. At this point, he had gone from complaining about nopony being on his side to ranting about how the weather ponies seem to have had it out for him with all the snow. Her smile widened ever so slightly as she assured him that the weather ponies have nothing against him.

As AJ switched subjects yet again to just random odds and ends that just happened to bug him, Fluttershy stood up from the bed. As she did, she began lightly humming a tune. A tune that, if he was actually coherent and not too busy ranting, he probably would have recognised. His eyes slowly began to droop. His rants kept getting interrupted by yawning as he tried to force his eyes to stay open.

Using her light, motherly touch, Fluttershy placed a hoof on his shoulder; guiding him to lie his head on the pillow before removing his glasses. She pulled the item from under her wing, which turned out to be her teddy bear, and placed in his legs. As she expected, he wasted no time snuggling up with it. It was no Mr. Bun Bun, but it would do.

She pulled the covers up, and tucked him in like she had done many times before. He was still attempting to rant, but his words came out as little more than incomprehensible babbling. It wasn’t much longer before his eyes finally closed. Fluttershy continued to hum for a minute, just to make sure he was sleeping. Light snoring emanated from the stallion. With a smile, she leaned down to give him a small kiss on the forehead. “Mommy knows best.” Without another sound, she left the room.

********************

Fluttershy poked her head out from her kitchen when she heard a knock on the door. “Who could that be?” She floated through her house till she reached the door. Upon opening it, a bright smile crossed her face. “Oh, Big Mac! It’s so nice to see you.”

“Afternoon Fluttershy. We still up fer tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said with a slight flutter of her wings. “I made sure to let Angel know that I’ll be gone tomorrow night. He was very understanding.” Without warning, a carrot suddenly rocketed out from behind Fluttershy, striking Big Mac in the forehead. He just blinked it off, but Fluttershy gasped as she turned to see Angel standing behind her. Big Mac also noticed the snow white bunny standing there with a glare who gave him the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture before hopping out of sight.

“Ooh, I hope he’s not mad.”

“He’s just bein’ protective is all,” Big Mac said with a chuckle.

Looking into her house made Fluttershy realise that Big Mac was still standing out in the cold. “Oh dear! Where are my manners. Please come in. It must be cold out there.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, but Ah can’t stay long. Ah was just wonderin’ if you saw AJ. Rose said she saw’im comin’ this way.”

“AJ? Oh yes, he came over a couple hours ago. I’d go get him, but he needs his sleep.”

“Sleep?”

“Mmhm.”

“Ya actually managed ta get’im ta go to bed...an’ actually fall asleep?”

“Oh yes. It’s easy if you know what you’re doing.”

Big Mac blinked before a smile crossed his lips. “Oh, right. Yer his mommy. You know just how ta deal with him. Maybe we shoulda called ya over sooner. Ah can think of plenty’o times he coulda used a good scoldin’ from ya.”

Fluttershy giggled and decided to play along. “If he ever steps out of line, just let me know. I’ll properly punish him. No dessert for a week.”

The two of them laughed to themselves before Big Mac reached into his yoke and pulled out a sealed letter. “When he wakes up, could ya make sure he gets this? Miss Twilight said it was imperative that he get it.”

Fluttershy grabbed the letter with a smile. “I’ll make sure he gets it when he wakes up.”

“Thank ya kindly. Ah wish ah could stay a bit longer, but Applejack’s already in a foul mood after this mornin’, Ah could only imagine what she’d do ta me if Ah left’er hangin’ like that.”

“Don’t worry, I understand.” She leaned up, kissing the big red stallion. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

********************

Twilight took one last look in the mirror to make sure her makeup was done right. She knew her date at Caramel’s house wasn’t anything big or spectacular, in fact they were just planning on watching some movies tonight, but that didn’t keep her from wanting to look nice for the stallion she loved. It wasn’t as flashy as something Rarity would have done, but it would do.

“Are you sure you don’t mind me going tonight Spike? It’s a bit short notice,” she called out from the loft of the bedroom.

“Just go Twilight. When’s the last time the the two of you have spent some time alone? Usually it’s a double date with some other couple.”

Spike remembered back to the last two dates Twilight and Caramel had gone on. One of them was with he and Apple Bloom. She said it was just so they could have fun together, but he knew it was because she was worried that the two of them were going too far with their relationship. Spike made sure to let her know that he knew her motive.

With the other, they just so happened to meet Pinkie and DC at the movie theater on a date of their own. Unbeknownst to her and Caramel, the other couple had managed to swap the movie reels with something a bit more...risque. Instead of a romance about two long, lost lovers brought together after years of war, they were instead witness to a movie called The Room. Twilight, Caramel, and many other movie goers watched on in complete confusion. Pinkie and DC, on the other hoof, were critiquing each and every moment of the movie. Even going so far as to note that during the first sex scene, it looked like the stallion was having sex with the mare’s belly button. Twilight had a bit of a talk with Pinkie about how they wanted a normal date.

“Besides, you’ve been a bit, how do I put this nicely, wound up lately. Especially last night. You need a night or two to unwind,” noted Spike.

“Hey! To be fair, last night was not my fault. You would be grouchy too if somepony woke you up, only to spew insanity in your face.”

Spike just shrugged as he turned back to the TV. Scootaloo had told him about this TV movie that was supposed to start today, and he wanted to make sure he’d catch it. Looking at the clock, he smiled. “Six, time for the movie to start.” His excitement escalated as the title came onto the screen.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Twilight, Caramel’s here!” Spike shouted not wanting to have to get up.

Twilight blinked in confusion. “But I’m supposed to go over to his house tonight, not the other way around.” Making one last touch to her hair, she made her way downstairs. Another, more forceful knock at the door made her question if it was actually Caramel. “I’m coming!”

As she opened the door, a strange sight welcomed her. AJ was standing at her door with an unreadable smile on his face. She noticed that he actually looked rested. The bags were gone from his eyes, and he looked much more focused. But that wasn’t what was so strange about it. The strange thing was the royal guard standing just off to the side of him.

“Twilight! So good to see you,” seethed AJ; venom leaking through every word. “I trust you’ve had a good day?”

“Yyyea,” she said apprehensively. “In fact, I was just about to go meet Caramel for a movie night.”

“Oh, good for you, good for you,” AJ said in faux happiness. “I’m glad you get to relax tonight, because I sure as hell won’t be able to.”

“Does this have to do with that guard that’s with you? Why is he here anyway?”

“Oh Twilight, don’t be so coy. You know exactly why this guard is here. Because YOU…” he said as he poked Twilight in the chest; the smile on his face replaced with anger. “Are the reason this tick has been following me around all day!”

Twilight swatted his hoof away. “What do you mean ‘I’m the reason?’”

“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but Fluttershy told me that you’re the one that gave this little note to Big Mac to give to me,” AJ said as he pulled out the note.

Twilight looked at the note he was holding in his hoof. “That’s the message from the princess. What’s it say?”

“What’s it say? Oh, nothing much. Just that I’m apparently a threat to myself and others, and that I’m under house arrest! It’s only by a miracle that Shao Kahn here allowed me to come over here. Even for a little bit.”

“You can’t be serious,” Twilight said in disbelief. She took the note from him and read it herself.

“Apparently SOMEpony informed our fair princesses of a, admittedly, foolish idea I came up with, and now they’re afraid I might hurt somepony. Now tell me, who is it in this town that has a direct link to the princesses? Oh, right...YOU!!!”

Twilight looked up from the note after she finished reading it. “Wow, that seems a bit extreme. I never would have guessed that they would have put you under constant watch. But she is right you know. Especially after last night, who knows what was running through your head.”

AJ rolled his eyes. “Of course you’d take her side. Well, maybe you’d change your tune if you woke up one day to find a random stranger just staring at you from the foot of your bed, or followed you into the bathroom and refused to leave so he could make sure you weren't going to hurt yourself. Or, this is a good one, how would you feel if said random pony put a disabling spell on you to lock your magic?! Oh what a surprise to wake up to!”

Twilight honestly couldn’t believe how far this had gone. “Why would he do something like that?”

“I don’t know, but there is one thing I do know.”

“And just what would that be?”

“The name of the pony who’s going to fix this, and when it’s going to happen.” He fixed a dagger like glare on Twilight.

“Look, the most I could do is let them know what’s going on, but what am I supposed to do if they refuse to lighten up on you?”

“Oh, they won’t be able to deny your request, because you’re going to be very persuasive, and explain to them that I most certainly am NOT a menace to society. I don’t care what you have to tell them…” He prodded twilight in the chest with his hoof again. “You, will, fix, this,” he jabbed her with each word to accentuate them.

The guard grabbed his hoof away with his magic. “That’s enough. Time to go back.”

“BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS!!!” AJ shouted as he turned to the guard.

The guards horn lit up as magical shackles formed around AJ’s legs. “You’re time limit is up. You will go back to the farm, now.”

AJ grumbled to himself as he looked down at the shackles before looking back up at Twilight. “Have fun tonight Twilight, but I expect this to be resolved by tomorrow. So help me if it’s not.” Feeling a tug on the shackles, he walked away from the tree house.

********************

Twilight reread the response she got as she came up to the farmhouse. She had written to Celestia about AJ’s predicament once she got back from Caramel’s. After, of course, she deflected the many tongue in cheek questions from Spike about why she didn’t come home last night.

Because they totally didn’t do anything.

She swears that she’s a good pony...honest.

Okay, maybe they had a little bit of fun last night.

But Twilight losing her V card isn’t important. What is important is that she got a response from the princess. One that made her both happy, and confused at the same time.

She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. A few seconds later, the door was opened by Knight. “Oh, hello miss Twilight.”

“Good afternoon Knight Wind. You must be done with school today.”

“Mmhm. Thanks to Big Mac, I was able to finish all my homework for today. He said I was getting better.”

“That’s wonderful! You know, I believe a good education is one of the most important things a pony can receive in their life time.”

“You already said that.”

“I know, but it’s still important. Anyway, is AJ around? I need to talk to him.”

“You know I’m here Twilight! Not like I can exactly go anywhere right now!” shouted AJ from the living room.

“Oh, right. Could I come in?” Knight nodded as he stepped to the side. Twilight stepped into the house, and into the living room. There she saw AJ, Big Mac, and the guard all playing cards. And from the looks of it, AJ was winning. It was fairly obvious due to the fact that AJ had the biggest stack of bits and was already wearing almost an entire set of guard armor. All he was missing was the body armor which was sitting on the table for an ante. Big Mac also seemed to be down quite a few bits. “Well, looks like we know how you won so much in Las Pegasus now.”

“Yea, yea, I’m good at poker. If you would get to the reason you’re here please. It’s good news, I hope?” he asked as he raised the bet.

“Well, yes and no.” She pulled the note out and passed it to AJ. “They said they’re sorry for the severe action’s taken. It was just a precautionary method until they could be sure you were thinking properly again. And since you actually managed to get some sleep yesterday, they’ll lift the restrictions on you. Somewhat, at least.”

“So I get my magic back, and I can actually leave the house again, but I still need a guard watching my every move to make sure I don’t do anything bad?” He looked at the guard, who looked desperate to get his armor back. He let out a sigh as he looked back at Twilight. “Will I at least be able to have some privacy in the bathroom again? I highly doubt me taking a shit is a threat to national security.”

“They don’t say.”

He rolled his eyes as he continued to read the note. His brow raised when he got to the end. He looked to Twilight with a questioning look. “Why, exactly, do they need me to come to Canterlot in a couple of days?”

“That I don’t know.”

“Maybe it’s just ta help clear some’o this up,” Big Mac said just to throw an idea out there.

“Yes, but they’re also asking for Knight and Ditzy to be there too. And what’s really surprising is that they don’t want Twilight to be there. In fact, they specifically asked for Twilight to stay here in Ponyville.”

“Yea, that surprised me too,” Twilight said with a hoof to her chin. “Why wouldn’t they want me there?”

AJ shrugged as he showed his cards. The guard slammed his head on the table while Big Mac let out a quiet, annoyed grunt. AJ scooped up his winnings, examining the armor with a smile. “Ditzy’s already in Canterlot, but I think she’s returning today. In fact…” He turned to look at the clock. “The train from Canterlot usually arrives around 2ish, right?”

“2:30 ta be exact,” Big Mac said as he scooped up the rest of his bits. He knew when to quit. “Ah’m out. Applejack would kill me if ah bet away all mah bits.”

“Those are your extra bits, right? I’m sure it’ll be fine,” AJ said as he removed the helmet to slip on the armor. “Wow, this is a bit big on me.”

“Ah guess yer right.”

“Besides, if you really needed money, you know I’d throw a few bits your way.”

“If you’re giving away your winnings, could I get my armor back please?” pleaded the guard.

“Haaaahahahahahaha, not a chance.”

********************

“So tell me again, why exactly do I need to go all the way back to Canterlot? I just got back like...an hour ago,” Ditzy asked in annoyance. “I’m already going to have to go back there once a week to visit the therapist starting next week, I’d like to stay away from that city as much as I can.”

“I don’t know,” AJ said as he leaned back in the chair. He and Ditzy were sitting in the kitchen of Carrot’s house. After she and Dinky got back from Canterlot, all she wanted to do was relax with a hot cup of coffee. Having AJ over was a bonus that was kinda ruined by the oddly armorless guard with him. Hearing that she would have to go back to Canterlot in a day kinda ruined her mood. “I don’t really even know why they want me there. Hopefully it’ll get rid of the goon here.” He felt a hard tug on his right foreleg pulling him to the floor; slamming chin first on the floor. Once the stars cleared from his eyes, he looked at his leg, seeing a magic shackle around it.

“For the last time, I do have a name you know. Petal Dance. You’d do good to remember it.”

“Oooh, how threatening,” AJ said as he sat up; rubbing his chin. “I can just feel your enemies trembling in fear when they hear that Petal Dance is coming to get them.” Petal Dance just stared at AJ with an unamused look before his horn lit up once again.

AJ wasn’t sure exactly what happened. All he knew is that one second he was sitting up staring at Petal Dance, the next his face was firmly planted to the floor with his limbs being contorted in ways they really shouldn’t be. “Maybe I should have mentioned that I graduated top of my class in hoof to hoof combat. Just thought I’d let you know.”

“Ookay, this has gone on long enough,” Ditzy said as she walked over to the grappling ponies. Coming up behind the guard, she reached over and swatted his horn. He flinched as his horn flickered out. “Now, if you will, let him go.” Petal Dance glared at Ditzy. “Why are you so mad at him anyway? Isn’t this a bit much?”

“He’s just mad because I beat him at poker,” AJ said before his head was once again forced to the floor.

“I think the asshole deserves the rough treatment,” Petal Dance said as he torqued AJ’s leg even more.

“He may be an asshole, but he’s my asshole. Now be a dear, and let him go.”

“Try and make me.” Ditzy just sighed as she walked over to the counter. Petal Dance gave a smirk when he saw her walk away. He turned back to AJ. “Now, where were we?”

DING!!!

Ditzy watched with a smile as Petal Dance fell to the floor. “Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.” She walked over to the counter again and set down the frying pan.

AJ groaned in relief when the pain ended. “Oh thank Celestia. Much longer and I think my leg would have snapped off.” He sat up and stretched his legs a bit. “Do you really think I’m an asshole?”

“Oh yea, definitely an asshole. But like I said…” She sauntered over and kissed AJ on the cheek. “You’re my asshole. Also, if you make fun of Petal Dance again I’ll have to punish you,” she said in a completely serious tone as she went to go pour herself another cup of coffee.

“Hey, he started it!”

“No he didn’t.”

“Yes he did! You saw how he threw me to the floor.”

“But you called him a goon.”

“Only because he’s been harassing me all day.”

“Under order from the princess, so enough of your complaining or I’ll have to spank you.”

AJ gave Ditzy an amorous look. “Sounds kinky.”

“Ugh, asshole,” Ditzy said with a roll of her eyes as she turned back to the counter.

“Yea, but I’m your asshole.”

DONG!!!

AJ fell to the floor, the frying pan falling next to him. Ditzy sat by the counter, dusting her hooves off with a smirk. “Asshole.”

“I...I deserved that...ow.”

********************

The four of them came up to the castle, and Petal Dance moved ahead of the group to talk with the guards at the gate. “Lieutenant Petal Dance, reporting from Ponyville.”

The guard on the right looked Petal Dance over. “What happened to your armor this time, Lieutenant?”

Petal Dance shrunk back slightly. “I, uh...I lost it sir.”

“You bet it away in a card game again, didn’t you?” asked the guard on the left.

“Uhhhhhmmyyes...yes I did.” Petal Dance said knowing he was in trouble.

“And I assume they’re the ones the princesses wanted to see,” the one on the left said. “I was wondering when we’d be seeing him again.”

“At least he’s in one piece this time.”

“That he is.”

“Yes, he sure is,” came Luna’s voice from just behind the two guards.

The door guards sprung back into formation. “Your majesty!” they said in unison.

“Yea, yea. Petal Dance.”

“Your majesty!”

“As he will be under mine and my sister’s watch, you are relieved.”

Petal Dance saluted Luna. “Thank you Princess Luna.”

“Also, Bulwark would like to see you about your armor. He sounded very unhappy with you.”

“B-b-bulwark?” Petal Dance swallowed a lump in his throat. “Celestia help me.”

“Now that that’s been taken care of…” Luna turned to AJ. “Please follow me. We have important matters to discuss.”

AJ looked between Ditzy and Knight. “S-should we follow her?” asked Knight.

“I guess we don’t have much of a choice,” Ditzy said with a shrug.

“Yea. Besides, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner our lives can get back to normal...well, as normal as my life can get, at least,” AJ said in a completely serious tone.

“Come, my sister’s waiting for us in the throne room,” Luna said before turning back into the castle.

********************

“...And that’s all there really is to tell,” explained AJ. Once the three of them had been brought before the two sisters, AJ was instructed to explain everything that had happened during the last few days. “I woke up two days ago at Fluttershy’s house with Petal Dance staring at me from the foot of the bed.”

Celestia let everything AJ had told them run through her head. “And I can confirm that he got sleep last night too. I could even show you his dreams as proof.”

“That won’t be necessary Luna.” Celestia turned to the group before her. “What did Knight think of your plan? I’m sure he must have had his thoughts.”

“He...He never told me. What are you talking about?”

Celestia looked at AJ with a questioning look. “Of all the ponies, Knight should have been the first pony you ran this by. You never asked him how he felt about this?”

“I...I know. I guess I...didn’t want to scare him.”

Ditzy turned to AJ. “What are they talking about? What’s this ‘plan’ you’re all talking about?”

“Y-yea, I wanna know too,” agreed Knight.

AJ anxiously rubbed his legs together. Despite there only being 4 other ponies, it felt like a thousand sets of eyes were suddenly upon him. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Well, you remember that time I, uhh...got turned into a foal?” he asked as he turned to Ditzy.

Ditzy’s eyes slowly widened as she started realise what this ‘plan’ was. “No.”

“Well, I thought that we could use the same spell on Knight. Give him another chance at life, ya know?”

The room was silent. Knight was confused. All ponies were foals at one point, right? What made AJ’s foalhood so special. And what did he mean by ‘turned into?’ Ditzy, on the other hoof, had a completely different reaction. “Are you fucking retarded?!”

AJ shrunk back at the outburst. Celestia, Luna and Knight were also taken aback. “Well, kinda...at the time.”

“No really, what the hell were you thinking?! Twilight told me everything! Don’t you remember how dangerous that was?!”

“Of course I do, but I…”

“You’re lucky turning into a foal is all that happened to you! What in the actual hell were you…”

“Now now, calm down,” Celestia said in a calming tone. “I’m sure he realises how much of foolish idea it was.” AJ sheepishly nodded his head, hoping to Celestia that Ditzy didn’t have access to another frying pan.

“It was a stupid idea. I see that now. I just wasn’t thinking straight at the time.”

“To say the least,” snorted Ditzy.

“A-a-a spell that can turn a pony into a foal?”

AJ looked over at Knight. “Y-yea, but that wasn’t the intended use for it. It’s supposed to be used to repair old items and make them new again. It basically turns back time on the item. I just kinda...messed up when I tried it...badly. Turned me into a foal for a week and a half. Had to wait for a replacement spell book to come in before Twilight could fix my mistake.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You made a mistake. Everypony makes mistakes at times. Luckily yours was able to be reversed. Please don’t beat yourself up over it,” said Luna in an attempt to make him feel better about it. Celestia nodded.

“I’d just like for this all to just be put behind me so we could go on with our lives.”

“Now hold on, don’t be so hasty. I realise this is probably going to sound crazy after what you’ve been through these last couple days, but Celestia and I have been talking. There’s a possibility that the Regression spell may work.”

“Wait…what?” AJ asked. He was completely confused now.

“I’m with him, what?” added Ditzy.

“Just let us explain.” Celestia’s horn came to life as a piece of paper popped into existence. “I’m sure you remember the notes Twilight took after that experience, right?”

“Umm, yea. Said she wanted to know what it was like. It was Twilight. Figured it was just her looking for research material. She sent the notes to you?”

Celestia nodded. “Along with what you told her a couple nights ago, we were able to get a better understanding about what you went through during that time.”

“But all that was just tired ramblings. True or not, it was stupid to even bring it up.”

“Be that as it may, that doesn’t change the fact that, during the time you were a foal, your life was completely different. Almost as if you had gotten a chance to start over, am I right?” asked Luna.

“Y-yea, I guess. I didn’t really remember anything. Everything was foreign to me.”

“Ch-ch-chance...to start over?” whispered Knight to himself.

“You told us that Knight never got the chance at a foalhood, correct?” asked Celestia. “He was taken when he was only 8, and had his life taken from him. I believe if anypony deserves a second chance at life, it would be him.”

“I-I-I don’t get it. It sounds like you’re...condoning this stupid, stupid idea,” Ditzy said trying to understand things.

“To a point, we are,” Luna said with a serious face.

AJ couldn’t believe his ears. “Wait a minute, so why is it now okay to use a spell like that? I suggest it a couple days ago, and I get put under house arrest. What gives?”

“Because the blatant misuse of magic is incredibly dangerous. After what happened to you that day, I would have thought that you’d have a better understanding of that.” Celestia said in a tone AJ never expected to hear from a pony like her. It was a tone that actually sent a slight chill down his spine. “Magic is a gift. A gift that should not be taken lightly. Do you really think, knowing what I did, that I shouldn’t have acted upon it? That I should have just let you do as you please?”

“I...I guess not.”

The room was silent for a moment. “Despite how angry you were with her, and despite the fact that you weren't thinking right at the time, Twilight did the right thing in telling me what you were planning. I think she deserves an apology once you return.”

“I believe he understands now, sister,” Luna said as she motioned to AJ.

“To say the least,” AJ said; feeling lower than he had in a long time. “...I would have hurt him.”

Celestia let out a sigh. “I know it may seem hypocritical of us to suggest the Regression spell after what we did, but Luna and I are much more knowledgeable about this type of thing.”

“Not to mention the creator of the spell,” Luna said with a smile on her face.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Anyway, as to what we are proposing. With Knight’s approval, of course, we would perform the spell ourselves. More specifically, Luna would do the honors. AJ, if we do this, I assume you would make sure he has everything he needs? Food, a safe home, education, protection from the dangers of the world, the love only a parent could give? Everything that was taken away from him?”

AJ remained silent as he thought all this through. This was all stuff he didn’t think of when he was tired. He had only gotten as far as using the spell. Everything after that was just an after thought at the time.

“Umm, excuse me,” interrupted Ditzy. All attention was suddenly drawn away from AJ. “Sorry for interrupting, but I fail to see why you needed me here. Unless it was just to show me how much of a moron my coltfriend is when he hasn’t gotten any sleep, I don’t know why I’m here.”

Luna nodded. “Yes, I suppose we have kept you in the dark up till now. Our apologies.”

“You’re a mother, are you not?” asked Celestia.

Ditzy looked slightly confused before slowly nodding her head. “Umm, yea. My daughter’s name is Dinky.”

“Such an adorable name,” Celestia said with a smile. “How old is she, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Seven, she’ll be eight in December.”

“You’re so young yourself, and yet you’ve learned so much. That’s exactly why we asked for you today.”

“If we end up going through with this, we’d like for you to assist AJ in any way you can.,” added Luna. “We don’t expect you to watch over him every minute of every day, but just give him any hints or help he may need at the time.”

“I suppose taking care of a kid full time is much different than babysitting for awhile, isn’t it?”

Ditzy nodded. “Just a bit.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself just yet. There’s still the issue of what Knight wants to do. I believe the final decision on what happens should be his,” Celestia said before things got too far.

“Right, right. Knight, do you know what…” AJ turned to his left to find nopony standing there. He looked around the room, finding no trace of the light cream pony. “Knight?!”

“He left a few minutes ago,” Luna said as she got up off her throne. “Don’t worry, he’s still in the castle. I’m sure he’s just confused. He’s probably just looking for a quiet place to think.”

“He likely wouldn’t have gotten too far. The guards would have likely stopped him and prevented him from going anywhere he shouldn’t,” Celestia said as she too stood up.

“I’ll find him. Make sure he’s safe.” Luna’s horn lit up moments before she teleported from the room.

Celestia could see the worry on AJ’s face. “Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take Luna more than a minute to find him. She’ll keep him safe.” She looked over AJ, and took in every detail. “You really do care about him, don’t you?”

AJ swallowed the lump in his throat before slowly nodding his head. “I was his first friend. I promised I’d protect him. To make sure nothing like that happened to him again.”

“AJ, are you okay?” asked Ditzy. She learned AJ over the time they’ve spent together. She knew when something was wrong. Then again, he wasn’t exactly hiding it very well right now.

“I-I-I was going to hurt him. I’m supposed to be protecting him, and here I’m the one he should be afraid of.” He shook his head. “I’m no better than she was.”

Ditzy looked confused. “She? She who?”

“He’s talking about Nightshade. The leader of the slavers that abducted him and all those other ponies,” Celestia said as she came up to AJ. “Do you want to know why you’ll never be like her?” AJ looked up at her with fear in his eyes. “What you were doing, you were trying to do what you felt was best for Knight. You were very misguided, but you were only trying to help. Nightshade was only hurting him to fulfill her own sick, twisted, selfish desires.”

“I still betrayed his trust though. I was the first one he could trust, and I dashed that trust. Destroyed it. How’s he supposed to trust anypony now?”

“It will take more than this to break his trust,” Celestia said in a soothing voice. “Let Luna talk to him. Give him some time to think things over. For now, go get some rest. We can talk more about this tomorrow. I had Proper Manners set up some rooms for the three of you.

“Thank you your highness,” Ditzy said with a slight bow. “I’ll see if I can calm him down a bit.”

********************

“You sure he wants to talk to me?” AJ asked as Luna lead him to her room.

“Quite sure. The two of us had a nice talk before he asked to be left alone for awhile. After awhile, he asked for you.”

“Do you think he hates me now?”

“No. He doesn’t hate you, but I believe the two of you should talk things out.”

“What should I say?”

“Look, you’re thinking way too hard about this. You know him. Just talk with him. No BS. Answer all of his questions truthfully. He deserves that at least.” Luna smiled when they reached her room. “Here we are.”

“Thanks Luna.” AJ looked at Luna’s door with a bit of apprehension.

“Something wrong?”

He looked between the door and Luna. “Just...feels weird going into a princess’ room.”

Luna raised her brow, looking at him with a knowing look. “Celestia told me what you were talking about once I left. That you felt that you were no better than Nightshade for what you could have done to him.” She noticed him tense up. “You’ll just have to believe me when I say that he doesn’t think of you like that.” She placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Now just get in there…” Using her magic, she opened the door and shoved AJ into the room. “And just talk to him.” Before it even registered in AJ’s mind, the door had already slammed shut behind him.

He looked around the room, taking everything in before noticing Knight sitting on the opposite side of the room in front of the large window. He was looking straight at him, a look of surprise on his face. AJ took a deep breath, cursing Luna’s name as he did. “Hey...Knight.”

A look of apprehension crossed Knight's face. “Is it true?”

“I-is what true?” AJ asked with a look of confusion.

“That what you were going to do could have hurt me. Is what the princess said true?”

It was now that AJ’s stomach felt like taking a job as a contortionist. After taking a minute to calm himself down, he remembered what Luna said. That he deserved the truth. He slowly nodded his head. “Y...yea. There was a chance that it...could have hurt you...pretty severely depending on how badly the spell was messed up.”

“That’s what Luna said, too.” The room was silent for a moment. “I guess I just wanted to hear it from you,” he said with a pained smile.

“I’m sorry.” The two of them just sat there for a bit. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. “I could make excuses all day long, but it won’t cover the fact that I wasn’t going to do what was best for you. I wanted so badly to help you myself, to make myself feel good about everything, that I guess I forgot about the one I was actually trying to help.” Knight didn’t say anything. All he did was turn away from AJ and out the window. “Knight I…”

“I’m...not mad at you,” he suddenly said. “Luna told me that everything you were going to do was in my best interest, that you were just trying to help. She told me that before I ‘cast my judgement,’ whatever that means, that I should just listen to what you have to say.”

“Yea. You have the right to know everything.” AJ let out a bit of uncomfortable laughter in an attempt to ease the tension. “I guess now comes the question and answer segment, huh?”

AJ could see the gears turning in Knight’s head. He knew Knight had plenty of questions that needed answers, so which question was going to come first. “When we were at the library, you said you’d tell me why you needed a psychologist. I wanna know why.”

AJ’s eyes got wide. He had actually hoped that Knight would have forgotten about that. “A-are you sure you want to know that? It’s a pretty boring story. Totally not…” He noticed Knight let out a sigh, making AJ mentally kick himself. He knew he was already on thin ice. “Sorry. Truth is I was kinda hoping you’d forgotten about it.”

“How come?”

“It’s...it’s a bit painful to bring up. I’ve made a bit of progress since coming to Equestria though.”

“Since...coming to Equestria? Haven’t you always been in Equestria? Did you live in a different country?”

AJ blinked a few times before realizing what he had just said. “Oh...right. I...never told you about that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I-I guess you were bound to learn about it at some point.” He looked at the door for a moment. “Just a sec.” He walked up to the door and knocked on it. “Hey Luna!” There was no answer. “Luna, I know you’re listening! Could you come in here please?”

Everything was silent for a moment before the door opened to reveal Luna standing on the other side of the door. She had a slight blush on her cheeks. “Uhh, hi.”

“Luna, could you please get me a copy of those research pictures you took of me awhile back?”

Luna looked between Knight and AJ. “Decided to be completely sincere about who you are, I assume?”

AJ nodded. “It’s the least I can do.”

“It’s probably for the best,” Luna said as her horn came to life. An envelope appeared before her. “The pictures are in here.”

AJ grabbed the envelope in his own magic. “Thank you. Now if you would, a little privacy please?”

Luna blushed again. “Right, of course.” Luna bowed to the two of them before walking out the door; closing it behind her.

AJ stared at the door for a moment before sighing. He let the envelope fall to the floor as he prepared another spell. Knight watched as the orb that had formed disappeared. A moment later, a small explosion could be heard from the other side of the door, followed by a shriek. “Okay, okay! I’m going! I’ll stop eavesdropping!” shouted Luna from the other side of the door.

AJ allowed himself to smile a bit before turning back to Knight. “Wow, I actually got it to work for once.” He grabbed up the envelope in his magic and opened it, pulling out all the pictures and lying them on the floor in front of Knight. “I guess the best place to start would be what I am, and where I actually come from,” AJ said as he sat down next to Knight.

********************

It had been hours since AJ had been shoved into Luna’s room for a one on one conversation with Knight. The moon had long since graced the sky with it’s presence, and most ponies were already sleeping. They hadn’t heard from Luna since AJ chased her off with magic, and they were only interrupted by Proper Manners who had brought them both something to eat.

After the two of them ate, they moved to Luna’s bed to get more comfortable. The floor wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world when having an extended conversation. As Luna said, AJ answered all the questions asked of him, and he did so truthfully. AJ was completely transparent about everything Knight asked. It was the least he could do.

It took awhile, but Knight’s questions eventually turned to the spell. What it would do. How it would affect him, and Knight’s main concern, how would it affect his memories.

It was about three in the morning when AJ heard a knock on the door. “Come in.”

The door opened slightly and Luna’s head poked in. “You’re still awake?”

“Mmhm. Just...thinking.”

“About what, if I may ask?”

“Stuff. Mainly about Knight.” AJ looked to his right. Knight had fallen asleep about a half an hour ago. “He…he wants to go through with it.”

Luna let out a sigh. “Somehow, I knew that’s what he would choose.”

“You did?”

Luna nodded as she sat next to the bed. “The way he acted when we were in the throne room, to our conversation. I could see the clues.”

“Did you know that he wants me to be the one to cast the spell?”

Luna blinked. “That...I didn’t know.”

“Knowing the risk, he’d only trust me to do this.”

Luna put a hoof to her chin. She was sure that, if Knight agreed to the use of the spell, that she would be the one to cast it. “You seem troubled, how do you feel about this?”

AJ let out a pained sigh. “I’m scared.”

“Scared?”

“I don’t know if I could handle it if something went wrong. What would happen if something really bad happened to Knight? I think I’d freak out if this ended in disaster.”

“Calm down,” Luna said in a calming voice. “I know you’re scared right now, and you have every right to be, but Knight is putting his trust in you.” AJ looked at Luna with needy eyes. He needed guidance right now. “Yesterday, you were so afraid that you had lost his trust. Well, he’s trusting you with the future of his life right now. This is a good way to try to regain that trust.” Using her magic, she pulled a book from her book shelf. “I’ll talk with Knight again in the morning. In case I can’t change his mind, here’s the spell book. I’ll be there to help you incase something goes wrong.” After setting the book on the bedside table, she closed the curtains. “For now, you should get some sleep.”

AJ watched as Luna began walking out of the room. “Luna…” She stopped and turned her head to AJ. “Have you...canceled that psychologist yet?”

“Not yet. I didn’t want to do anything until I knew for sure what was going to happen. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“No, don’t cancel the appointment.” Luna looked at him with a questioning look. “I...need you to do something else for me.”

********************

“Are you really sure you don’t want Luna to do this instead?” pleaded AJ. The two of them stood in the hallway of Celestia’s magic school. It was agreed that, especially with AJ performing the spell, It would be safer to be in a controlled environment. Not only did the school have safeguards built in to control out of control spells, but they were also surrounded by unicorns that were genuine masters of the craft. Since Celestia had matters to take care of in the castle, Crystal Ball, the headmistress of the school, was going to be overlooking the spell in her place.

“I’m sure. You’re the only pony I can trust with this.”

“Yea, but Luna’s the one that created the spell. If you’d have to trust anypony on this, it would be her.”

“Y-you don’t want to do this?”

“No, it’s not that,” AJ said with a sigh. “I’m just a bit...nervous.”

“I am too.”

It was silent between the two of them for a moment. “Knight, you do know that it’ll probably be very painful, right? Even if done correctly.”

Knight swallowed a lump in his throat. “I-I-I know.”

A door a little ways down the hall from them suddenly opened. Ditzy’s head popped out and started looking around before she finally noticed the two of them. “There you two are. We were wondering where you ran off to.”

“Sorry. It’s my fault,” AJ said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I kinda wanted to spend a little bit more time with Knight.”

“It’s not like he’ll be gone,” Ditzy said as she walked over to them.

“Depends on how you look at it,” AJ said; his head hanging low.

“I...I guess so. But it’s not like this is a bad thing. You’re going to make sure his life’s going to be better now.”

“Sh-she’s right,” Knight said with a fearful smile.

“Come on, the princess is waiting for us,” Ditzy said as she lead the two of them to the gymnasium.

Before he could reach the door, Knight felt a hoof on his shoulder. He turned, only for two legs to be wrapped around him. “Knight...if something happens...if something bad happens...” AJ said as he tightened his hug. “Not only are you my friend, but you’re part of my family. Just know that, no matter what happens, I love you.”

Knight didn’t say a word. With a tear in his eyes, all he could do was return the hug. Ditzy stood by the door, watching with a look of worry on her face. “Are they going to need a minute?” came Luna’s voice from behind Ditzy.

She turned to look at the princess of the night. “Princess Luna, do you think everything’s going to be okay?”

“I think today’s going to take an emotional toll on both of them,” she said in complete honesty. “It’ll take time, but together they’ll work through it.”

“What about the spell?”

“That’s actually the least of my worries. He’ll have me and Crystal Ball there to help him. Not to mention a staff of some of the best magic users in all of Equestria ready to come to our aid if something were to go awry. We shouldn’t need any help though. Crystal Ball will be ready to cast a counter spell should something go amiss.”

Ditzy looked back over to AJ and Knight. They were no longer hugging, but AJ still had a hoof on Knight’s shoulder. They were speaking quietly, but Knight had a smile on his face. AJ turned to the two mares. “Alright...we’re ready.”

Luna smiled. “Good. Crystal Ball’s waiting for us.” She stepped aside and ushered the other three ponies into the gym.

Standing in the center of the gym stood a middle aged mare with a teal coat, and a greying, pearlescent blue mane. Her cutie mark was a crystal ball. She silently nodded her head in greeting as the group reached her. “Mr. Knight Wind, If you would, please stand in the center of the circle.”

Knight nodded as he stepped into the center of the circle. “A-anything else?”

Crystal Ball shook her head. “For something like this, the best thing you could do is to stay in one spot, and try to move as little as possible.”

“What about me?” AJ asked.

“We have some instructions for you,” Luna said as she took her spot next to Crystal Ball. “Number one, don’t force the spell. If something doesn’t feel right, just stop the spell. If you can’t, let us know.”

“Number two, do not stray from the spell.. If you let your mind wander, even for a second, that’s the number one reason a spell will fail.” Crystal Ball said; her voice full of wisdom. “Especially with a spell such as this, one mistake and the results could be disastrous.”

“Third, and most important,” Luna said with a serious face. “You mustn't panic.”

“Easier said than done,” AJ said before he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

“Just remember, Princess Luna and I are here to help. Our job will be to watch for anything going wrong. If we see something wrong, we will not hesitate to cancel the spell. Do I make myself clear?”

“I understand.”

“Take however long you need to prepare, and start when you’re ready,” Luna said as she and Crystal Ball prepared for the worst.

AJ took his time table to heart. He didn’t know how much time he spent just trying to calm down. He could feel his stomach tying itself in knots. He looked over at Ditzy who looked back at him with worry on her face. He then turned to Knight who also looked just as nervous as he was. AJ knew they had to do this now. He gave Knight a nod, letting him know he was ready. After a few seconds, Knight nodded back.

AJ’s horn came to life as he let out deep breath. A few seconds later, Knight became engulfed in an icy blue aura. Crystal Ball and Luna made sure to watch closely as the spell continued.

At first, Knight didn’t feel a thing. He began wondering if the spell was even doing anything. That was, until, his entire body started to tingle. It was as if every muscle in his body had fallen asleep and woke up. It wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world, but it wasn’t too bad.

That’s when the sharp, searing pain shot all the way down his spine.

“Ah-AHHHHHHH!!!”

“Knight!” AJ’s horn immediately fizzled out as he ran over to Knight who was having trouble keeping himself up.

Crystal Ball let out a sigh. “This could take longer than I anticipated.”

Luna walked up to the two ponies. “AJ, are you sure you’ll be able to do this?”

AJ looked at Luna with fear in his eyes. “I-I-I don’t know. I thought I could. Th-then I heard him scream.”

“You had to know there would have been pain.”

“I did. I thought I would have been able to handle it, but…”

“A-AJ…”

AJ quickly looked back to Knight. “How ya feeling?”

“D-do it. Do the spell.”

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna hurt you Knight.”

Knight weakly nodded his head. “Y-yea. I’m sure.”

AJ took a few deep breaths before quickly nodding his head. “Okay...okay I’ll do it.” He was shaken, but he took his position again, as Luna took hers. He didn’t even try to prepare himself this time. He now knew it was pointless.

Ditzy could only watch as AJ’s horn lit up once again. So far, it all happened like the first time. Knight’s body started to glow after a few seconds. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, just like the first time, Knight’s body convulsed as pain rocked through his body. He cried out, just like he did the first time. The only difference is that AJ didn’t end the spell this time. Ditzy watched as AJ’s entire body flinched at Knight’s pain. His breathing got heavy as he had to force himself not to stop.

Knight’s body couldn’t hold himself up any longer as he collapsed to the floor. Cries of torment rang through the gym. Ditzy looked back to AJ. He looked like he was in just as much pain. His limbs were beginning to shake, and his breathing was becoming erratic.

Knight’s body began lifting into the air. Shortly afterwards, His eyes and mouth began glowing. AJ gritted his teeth as Knight let out a blood curdling scream. Ditzy could see a tear fall to the floor. She suddenly felt a pulse of magic coming from Knight hit her. It wasn’t strong enough to knock her down due to her distance from him. AJ, on the other hand, was close enough to be thrown to the floor.

Crystal Ball’s eyes widened as she immediately started up her counter spell. She stopped when Luna put up her leg, signaling her to back down. Knight’s body was covered in a white light. Luna watched as the illuminated form slowly began to get smaller. A smile crossed her lips as his body stopped shrinking. Knight’s body slowly dropped to the floor. A few seconds later the light ebbed away from his body, leaving behind a foal.

Once everything died down, Ditzy quickly made her way over to AJ who hadn’t moved since he was sent to the floor. Luna and Crystal Ball went to go check up on Knight. Ditzy leaned in close to AJ, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “AJ? Are you okay?” Before she could get an answer, AJ quickly got to his hooves and bolted from the room.

“AJ wait!”

“Go after him.” Ditzy turned to look at Luna. “Knight’s fine. He’s just exhausted. AJ needs your support right now.”

Ditzy nodded before quickly following AJ into the hall. Looking both ways, she was able to spot AJ’s tail going around the corner. She followed him as fast as she could. It wasn’t long before he finally stopped running. He eventually found his way back to the room where Twilight had taught him magic. He tried to get in. He needed a quiet place, but without the key, he was out of luck. He pounded on the door a couple times before he broke down. He fell to his haunches, his leg still on the door, and cried.

A few seconds later, he felt somepony pull him into a hug. He didn’t even need to open his eyes to know who it was. “I-I-I-I-I hurt him.”

“Shhhhhhh.”

“He was in so much pain.”

“It’s okay.”

“He was screaming so loudly and it’s all my fault.”

“Princess Luna said that Knight was just fine.”

“I’m sorry Knight, I’m so sorry.”

Ditzy continued to comfort AJ, despite the attention they had drawn. Like Luna had said, he needed her support right now.

********************

It took a while, but he had eventually calmed down. Ditzy eventually lead him back to the gym. Luna was waiting for them there. “Are you going to be okay?”

AJ sniffled a bit before nodding his head. “Y-yea...I think so. Can I see Knight?”

“Of course. Crystal Ball took him to the infirmary so he could rest,” Luna said as she lead the two of them into the hallway. When they got to the room, Luna stepped to the side. “He’s right in here. If you need me, I’ll be out here.”

“Thank you.” AJ and Ditzy walked into the room.

The nurse, who was sitting at her desk, looked up and smiled before pointing to the side of the room. There Crystal Ball could be seen sitting next to one of the beds with a soft smile on her face. “He’ll need to rest for a bit still, but it looks like you’ll be the father of a perfectly healthy, 3 year old colt.” She noticed the look AJ gave her. “Princess Luna explained everything to me. She’ll take care of the adoption papers when she gets back to the castle. I’d stay longer, but I have some business I need to take care of.” Crystal ball nodded to them before excusing herself.

AJ sat in front of the bed, just staring at the foal in the bed. He didn’t know what to do now. It was all over and done with, so now what? He had no idea what to do. Without thinking, he raised a hoof and brushed Knight’s mane out of his eyes. “W-what do I do?”

Ditzy placed a hoof on his shoulder. “You take care of him, and I’ll be there to help you every step of the way.”

AJ slowly lifted his other hoof and gently placed it on Ditzy’s with a smile. One last tear rolled down his cheek as he closed his eyes. He opened them and slowly leaned down, kissing Knight on the forehead. “I love you, my brave, little Knight.”

********************

“I’ll get it!” AJ called from the living room. Opening the door he saw Twilight standing there with a smile. “Hey Twilight. What can I do for you?”

“Hey. I just came to deliver a message to you from Luna.”

“Oh?” AJ grabbed the scroll in his magic and read it. Before he could finish he was tackled from behind. “Ow, hey!”

“Come on! I wanna play some more!” whined Knight as he jumped up and down on AJ’s back.

“Hey, hey hey hey, listen to me, listen...to me,” AJ said as he pointed to Knight. “I said I’d just be a minute while I answered the door. You can wait a minute, now go back into the living room and wait for me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Ooooooooh…” AJ twirled his hoof around and booped Knight on the nose. “Kay.” With a bright smile, Knight jumped off of AJ’s back and ran back into the living room.

“I still can’t believe the princesses agreed to do that.”

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” AJ said as he shook his head. “It’s been three days, and I’m still a little shaken from it all.”

“Yea, Ditzy told us that you had a bit of a breakdown after it was over with.”

“Just a bit.” Now that he wasn’t being used as a jungle gym, he could finish reading the message.

“You wanna know what else I can’t believe?”

“Hmm?”

“That you actually asked Princess Luna to change the psychologist appointment so you could see her instead.” She noticed the unamused look AJ gave her from over the scroll. “What? I wasn’t the one saying that all therapists were completely worthless. I just find it a little funny is all.”

“I figured I’d give it another chance. It’s been years since I’ve talked to one, and it probably wouldn’t hurt to talk things out more thoroughly with somepony.”

“Well I’m proud of you. You’re grown up enough to admit when you made a mistake. I’m sure it’ll help you sort things out.”

“Yea, that’s what Ditzy said,” he said with a chuckle. “Looks like she’ll be here tomorrow at around 12 in the afternoon. Luna suggests I make more appointments after tomorrow. I don’t see why noooAHHH!” Before AJ could finish, he was tackled from behind once again.

“It’s been more than a minute! I wanna play!”

Twilight could only giggle to herself as AJ attempted to negotiate with Knight. “I’ll just let myself out.” She knew AJ didn’t hear her. She closed the door and started back towards the library.

****************************************

Bubbly's Worst Fear

Chapter 46

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Big Mac was happy he was able to sleep in for once. It was once in a blue moon he was actually able to enjoy a bit of time off. Not that he didn’t enjoy the farm work. Far from it. He just wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

When his eyes cracked open, he quickly took in his surroundings. He recognised the hospital room immediately. It was still dark, though the sun would soon be rising. AJ and Knight were still sleeping, though it sounded like little Knight was having a dream of some kind. AJ was thankfully sleeping peacefully.

“Big Mac?”

“Hmm?” He looked down at the butter yellow pegasus sharing the bed with him. She was rubbing her eye as she let out as big of a yawn you’d get from her.

“Is something wrong?”

A warm smile crossed his lips. “Not at all. You just go back ta sleep. Ah just have ta use th’ bathroom.”

“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy said with a smile as she rested her head back on the pillow.

Like he said, Big Mac got up and headed to the bathroom. Once he was done though, he made a pit stop before returning to bed. He walked over to AJ and Knight’s bed. Applejack’s words about this happening to AJ because he was protecting the girls ran through his head. Apple Bloom may have been killed if not for him. He carefully pulled the covers down to look at the bandage around AJ’s leg and chest. He had a few other cuts and scrapes here and there, but they were nothing he wouldn't have gotten while working at the farm. He pulled up the covers with a somber look as he promised to be right there with Applejack when it came to thanking him.

“I-I’ll save you...ddy.”

He was knocked out of his thoughts as Knight mumbled in his sleep. He turned his attention to the small foal sleeping next to him. At some point during his dream he must have kicked the sheets off of himself. Without saying a word, Big Mac walked around the bed and pulled the covers back over Knight. He gently ran a hoof through his mane before finally returning to the bed he was sharing with Fluttershy.

Her tired eyes opened slightly as she felt him climb into bed. She smiled as she snuggled up to him again, quickly falling asleep against his chest once again.

********************

Why did decisions like this have to be so hard?

That was the exact thought that ran through Carrot’s head as she lay in bed the previous night. After talking things through with Big Mac, she knew she had to think out this whole ‘tell AJ his dumbass got Ditzy preggers’ plan. Big Mac was right. If things went wrong, this could very well be the end of their 17 year old friendship. If she was going to do this, she would have to approach it carefully. She would give Ditzy one more chance. She would talk with Ditzy again to try to convince her to tell him. If she didn’t make her move by the end of the day, she would put things into her own hooves.

She was also prepared to paralyze AJ from the neck down if he dared to break Ditzy’s heart. But that could wait. Sleep was at the front of her schedule right now.

Carrot had a dopey smile on her face as she rolled over in her bed. Despite her talk with Big Mac the previous night, and the thoughts running through her head as she lay in bed, she had pleasant dreams through the night. Some more pleasant than others. At this moment, the dreams that were running through her head were...inappropriate to say the least.

********************

”Carrot, ya’ve been so naughty,” Finn said as he whipped her rump with the riding crop.

Carrot cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain as he continued the assault. “Oh Celestia yes! Make my ass red Finn baby!”

Carrot let out a whine when she stopped feeling the sting of the crop. She looked over her shoulder with puppy dog eyes. “Nu uh. You don’t make th’ rules here t’night. We do.”

“We?”

“Yes, we,” came a second voice.

Carrot knew that voice. Her eyes widened as she saw Ditzy standing in the doorway wearing a dominatrix esk outfit. She had four sets of hoofcuffs hanging from her extended wings, and wore a slightly sadistic grin on her face. “He’s right. You’ve been a very, very bad pony.”

“And t’night, th’ two o’ us’re goin’ ta punish ya fer bein’ so naughty,” Finn said as he pulled out a trunk full of BDSM gear.

Carrot put on a faux look of fear as she felt her loins tingle with anticipation. “Oh, I’ll be a good girl, I promise.”

“It’s far too late for that now,” Ditzy said as she walked up to the bed. “Now, roll onto your back. Carrot did as she was told. Ditzy wasted no time cuffing the first of her hooves to the bed post. “We know how to deal with naughty ponies, and we’re going to reform you all...night...long,” she said as she cuffed her other hind leg.

“All night long?” asked Carrot; she couldn’t hide the hope in her voice.

Ditzy glared at Carrot before clapping her hooves together. Finn smiled as he took swing at Carrot’s flanks with the crop. Ditzy smiled at Carrot’s squeak. “No talking, slave.” Carrot let out a small ‘oof’ as Ditzy climbed on top of her. “To keep you from moving,” she said as she reached to cuff the first of Carrot’s forelegs. Once that was done, she grabbed hold of the last of the cuffs and reached for her last hoof.

Clunk!

“Oh shit!” Ditzy said with fear plastered on her face as she dropped the cuffs

“Huh?”

“Please don’t wake up!” whispered Ditzy as she took a side glance at Carrot.

“Wake up? Huh?”

********************

“W-wha?” asked Carrot as her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes slowly widened at what she saw. Like in her dream, Ditzy was straddling her body. She even had a pair of hoofcuffs in her hooves. The only differences was the absence of Finn, the BDSM gear, and Ditzy’s dominatrix outfit.

She also had the face of a little filly that had been caught doing something she shouldn't be doing. Like that one time Dinky was caught red hooved trying to snatch some cookies out of the cookie jar before bedtime.

“Oh hell.”

“Ditzy...what’s going on?” She was staring at Ditzy with wide eyes.

“Nothing! Nothing at all!”

“Really? Because it looks like you’re chaining me to the bed.” To make sure, she tried to move her hooves. Only her right foreleg moved as the others were already chained. “Why are you straddling me like that.”

“So you wouldn’t move!” Ditzy said before she could stop herself. Carrot’s eyes widened even further at the answer “It’s not what it looks like!”

“Are you sure? Cause it looks like you’re mimicking a scene from my wet dreams,” Carrot said with arousal in her voice. She could feel her body heating up at the mere thought.

“I...what?” Ditzy asked as a blush made it’s way to her face.

“I swear, if Finn is waiting outside that door with a riding crop…” Carrot unconsciously licked her lips at the thought of her wet dream becoming reality.

Ditzy quickly cuffed Carrot’s last hoof to the bed before climbing off the pale goldenrod mare; a slight look of horror on her face. “I-i’m sorry it had to come to this Carrot, but I can’t let you leave this house,” she said as she tried to calm herself down. “I won’t let you tell AJ. I can’t let you.”

“Wait, is that what this is…”

“Mommy, what’s going on in here?”

Both full grown mares eyes went as wide as possible as they looked towards the door to see Dinky standing there with a confused look on her face. Neither of them knew what to say. Dinky just stood there for a minute as she ran ideas through her head. “Are you playing a game?”

“No!” both mares said at the same time.

“Were you having a sleepover?” she asked despite them living in the same house.

“No!” they both answered again.

Dinky put a hoof to her chin as she thought. “Are...are you playing those adult only games that little fillies like me shouldn't’ know about?”

“No!/Yes!” Ditzy and Carrot said respectively. Ditzy shot Carrot a death glare which went unnoticed by her friend.

Dinky continued to stare on in confusion. “What?”

“Never mind that Dinky. How about I get us some breakfast before we go see AJ in the hospital?”

Dinky’s face immediately lit up. “I get to go see daddy in the hospital?!” She began hopping in place as her excitement overtook her.

“Mmhm! Now let’s go downstairs and get something to eat.” She looked over at Carrot. “I’ll bring you something to eat before we leave.”

Carrot watched as Ditzy started walking towards the door. “Wait, you can’t be serious. You’re actually going to leave me chained up like this?” Ditzy didn’t answer. “You can’t do this! It’s wrong! It’s immoral!” Still no answer. Carrot let out a whine as Ditzy walked out of the room, closing the door in the process. “At least undo one of the cuffs so I can rub one out!”

“Mommy, what does ‘rub one out’ mean?”

“I-I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

********************

”Wake up…”

“Mmmmh…”

”Come on, wake up.”

“Nngh? D...dad?”

“Come on! Wake up daddy!” AJ’s eyes slowly cracked opened. Before him he saw a shadow looming over him. “He’s up, he’s up!” cheered Knight as he began jumping up and down on AJ’s chest in excitement.

“That’s quite enough of that,” Rarity said as she grabbed Knight up in her magic; setting him down next to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. He just pouted as Sweetie patted him on the head

Applejack smiled; standing up from her seat and walking towards the bed. “Hey there sugarcube. How ya feelin’?”

AJ just looked around the room for a minute. He slowly turned his head to Applejack after a bit as if it finally hit him that Applejack was speaking to him. “...Where’s dad?”

“Dad?” With a worried look, Applejack glanced over to Rarity who shared the same look. “Well, uh...yer dad’s...not here. Ya musta been dreamin’,” Applejack said hoping to defuse the situation before it got too bad.

“Eeyup. We’re th’ only one’s in th’ room,” Big Mac said from the other side of the bed. He and Fluttershy were sitting on the other bed so Applejack and crew could use the couch.

They all watched as AJ just stared at Applejack for a moment. “...Dream?”

“Ya seem really tired,” Apple Bloom said as she continued to watch him. “Why don’t ya get more sleep.”

“Acordin’ ta what th’ nurse said last night, he’d be outta it fer a day or two while his, how did she put it, while his ‘brain wakes back up’ from th anesthesia,” Big Mac said matter-of-factly.

“Still, we could always go see if they’ll let us go see Scootaloo,” Sweetie said with a hoof to her chin.

“Ah still don’t see why they let Zecora in, but not us,” pouted Apple Bloom.

“They never did get to talk to her about what she gave to the poor dear yesterday. They probably just wanted to talk to her in private about it,” reasoned Rarity.

“Sounds reasonable enough,” Big Mac said with a nod.

“Sc...Scootaloo?” questioned AJ. Everypony turned to him as he mumbled the name. He continued to stare blankly between Applejack and Rarity for a moment before his eyes slowly began to widen. “Scootaloo…” He began struggling around in bed in an attempt to get the covers off of himself. For some reason he just couldn’t get his limbs to coordinate with each other. His body just felt partially numb. “...I have to help her.”

Thinking fast, Applejack got up and held AJ down. In his current state, it didn’t take much effort, if any, to hold him down. “Now hold on there pardner. You really shouldn’t be gettin’ outta bed fer a while. Specially not in yer condition.”

“She’s...she’s out in the forest. Have to...have to save...her. She’s...gonna die.” It didn’t take long for his fighting to slow and eventually stop outright. His eyelids began to droop once again as what little energy he had in him was expended. “I-i’m sorry...Scootaloo,” he said as tears began rolling from his eyes.

“Ya did all you could sugarcube. Th’ doctors here at th’ hospital can take it from here. Just rest fer now.”

“B...but…”

“She’s right,” Fluttershy said as she walked up to the other side of the bed. She pulled the covers back up before gently nuzzling his cheek. “You need all the rest you can get so you can get better.”

He stared into space again, seemingly trying to stave off the inevitable. “Will...will I dream of...dad again?”

Applejack looked around the room. She was unsure of what she should say, and hoped somepony else knew. They all just shrugged. “Ah...Ah don’t know. But Ah do know that any dreams ya do have’ll be happy dreams,” she said with a smile. She leaned down, giving him as much of a hug as she could with him lying down. “An’ thank you. If not fer you, Apple Bloom...Apple Bloom may not have…” She sniffled as she pulled away; wiping the tears her eyes. She swore under her breath. “Told mah self Ah wasn’t goin’ ta cry.”

“It’s alright ta cry,” Big Mac said with a small smile on his face. He placed a gentle hoof on AJ’s shoulder. “Thanks fer protectin’ th’ girls when we couldn’t.”

They watched as his fight came to an end. His lids finally closed as sleep washed over him once again. As quietly as she could, Rarity started shooing the children out of the room. She knew AJ needed his sleep. She had to grab Knight up in her magic though as he tried to sneak away. “You need to let him sleep,” she whispered as she and the foals left the room.

Applejack sniffled one last time before following Rarity. Before leaving the room, she turned to Big Mac and Fluttershy. “You two comin’?” Big Mac silently nodded before leading Fluttershy out of the room.

********************

As the two of them walked down the hall, Ditzy noticed the group of ponies filing out of AJ’s room. “Huh, I wonder why they’re all leaving.” Once the door was closed, she waved down the group. “Hey, Applejack!”

The group all looked over towards Ditzy and Dinky. A smile grew on Applejack’s face when she noticed that Ditzy seemed to be in a bit of better mood today. “Why howdy sugarcube. You look like yer feelin’ a mite bit better today.”

“She’s right. You seemed to be in your own world yesterday,” added Rarity. “If you don’t mind me asking, what was wrong?”

Ditzy scratched the back of her head. “Let’s...just say I was having a bad day and end it with that. I really don’t wanna talk about it right now.” Dinky looked at her mother with a questioning look. She knew that thing she found in the waste basket was the reason for her strange mood yesterday, she just didn’t know what it was exactly.

Big Mac looked down the hallway as if he was expecting somepony. “Ah thought Carrot Top woulda been with you. She made it clear she had somethin’ she needed ta tell AJ.”

Ditzy visibly tensed up. “Uhh...well…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “She’s a bit...tied up right now,” she said with an obviously fake smile.

“Yea. Mommy left Aunty Carrot tied to the bed with…” Ditzy silenced Dinky with a hoof before she could finish.

Ditzy cleared her throat. “So...how’s AJ doing?” she asked; ignoring the the looks she was getting from the group.

“He’s, uh...sleepin’. What was that 'bout you tyin’ Carrot ta th’ bed now?”

“Chained, actually.” Ditzy slapped a hoof over her own mouth. It was impossible to ignore the looks she was getting now. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Let’s just say you didn’t hear that and move this conversation back to AJ...please?”

They all just continued to stare at Ditzy before Big Mac finally broke the silence. “This is all 'bout that thing Carrot an’ Ah talked 'bout last night, isn’t it?”

Ditzy was beginning to sweat as all the eyes began staring her down. Even Dinky turned traitor with those adorable eyes of hers staring into her soul. “S-so about AJ…”

“Maybe Ah should go check on…”

“Rainbow Dash!” interrupted Applejack.

Big Mac blinked before looking at his sister. “Rainbow Dash?”

“Eeyup. She musta had’er hooves full last night. Ah’m sure she’d enjoy th’ company.”

Big Mac stared blankly at Applejack. “But what 'bout Ca…” He was silenced when Applejack gave him a quick shot to the ribs.

“Rainbow Dash.” Big Mac scowled at his sister as he rubbed his side. Without saying another word, he went to grab his earmuffs before starting towards the main entrance.

Ditzy let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. “Thank Celestia.”

“You’re still not off the hook yet darling,” chimed Rarity.

Ditzy let out a pathetic whine as she looked to the alabaster unicorn. “Can we just...ignore Carrot for a little while?” Rarity just continued to stare her down. “Please?”

Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to the punch by Applejack. “Ah suppose we could.”

“Are you sure Applejack?” asked Fluttershy. “It’s not right to hold somepony against their will like that.”

Applejack thought about it for a minute. “Did ya feed’er?”

“Before we came, yea.”

“Water her?”

“I...assume you mean did I give her something to drink, so yes. With breakfast.”

“Let’er go ta th’ bathroom?”

“Well, I remember her waking up at some point in the middle of the night.”

“Welp, I don’t see much of a problem right now then.”

“Applejack, you can’t be serious.”

“Now just calm down Rares. While Ah don’t condone what she did, Ah’m sure she had her reasons. Ain’t that right sugarcube?” Ditzy just sheepishly nodded. “There, ya see? Now why don’t y’all go see if they’ll let us go see Scootaloo.”

“That’s a great idea!” cheered Apple Bloom.

“Yea! Come on Rarity!” “Sweetie Belle said as she got behind Rarity and began pushing her down the hall.

“I think I’ll take Knight to the cafeteria. We haven’t eaten yet, and you know how cranky he can get when he’s hungry.”

“But I’m not hungry! I just wanna see daddy!” cried Knight as he tried and failed to reach for the door knob.

“You need to let him sleep,” Fluttershy said as she lifted the foal off the floor and into her legs. “The more he sleeps, the faster he’ll get better.”

“But I wanna be with Daddy!” he shrieked as tears began pouring from his eyes.

“We can see if he’s awake after breakfast,” Fluttershy said as she tried to calm the foal down. She gave Applejack, Ditzy and Dinky a small smile before flying down the hall towards the cafeteria. Applejack and Ditzy could see the pain in Fluttershy’s eyes as she smiled at them. She was hurting just as much as Knight was.

“Does this mean we can’t see daddy yet?”

“Not fer a little while,” Applejack said as she shook her head.

“Yea, it’s best if we let him sleep a little longer,” Ditzy said, understanding the situation. “Why don’t we go with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Maybe Scootaloo got a bit better.”

“It’s possible,” Applejack said as she looked down the hall. “Th’ doctor’s didn’t really tell us much.”

“Okay,” Dinky said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Oh, before we go, thanks for helping me out back there Applejack. I didn’t know what I would have done if not for you.”

“No worries sugarcube. Everypony needs some help now an’ again,” Applejack said as she put a hoof around Ditzy’s withers.

“I’m just glad you were able to turn the conversation away from Carrot.” As she turned her head to look at Applejack, she noticed the smirk on her face. “What?” She didn’t say anything. She just continued to stare. Ditzy felt herself begin to sweat. “You’re...going to make me go let her go, aren’t you.”

“Oh, yer damn right Ah am. But first, Ah want answers.”

“A-answers?”

“Mmhm. If it’ll make ya feel better, Ah’m sure Rarity’ll take care of Dinky till we get back. Besides, Ah seem ta remember her an’ Sweetie Belle gettin’ along pretty well.”

“I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“Not a chance.”

********************

“So lemme get this straight, th’ two of ya were fightin’ all day yesterday over tellin’ AJ 'bout...somethin’?” Applejack asked as the two of them sat in the nearly empty Sugarcube Corner. The only other ponies that were there were the Cakes and Pinkie. Carrot and Cup were in the kitchen, while Pinkie and the twins were upstairs.

“Uh huh.”

“An’ after hearin’ Carrot’s conversation with Big Mac, you knew ya had ta do somethin’ ta keep’er mouth shut.”

“Essentially, yes.”

“An’ th’ only way ya could think ta do this was ta chain’er up ta her bed with some hoofcuffs.”

“Y-yea.”

“Ya know, that’s probably th’ worst possible way ta deal with this situation.”

“I know.”

Applejack let out a sigh as she re-adjusted her hat. “So...what were th’ two of ya fightin’ 'bout?”

Ditzy’s eyes got wide as she looked over at Applejack. “I-I-I don’t really think that’s too important,” she said with a hesitant chuckle. She slowly shrunk back at the unamused look Applejack had fixed on her. “Please don’t make me say it.”

“Ditzy, have you an’ Carrot ever fought this much 'bout a subject? Not that Ah know of.”

“Not really, no.”

“Yer obviously really upset 'bout somethin’, an’ Ah just wanna help you out.”

“I know, but…”

“But nothin’! Ya chained Carrot Top ta her own bed with hoofcuffs! There’s somethin’ more ta this than just a little argument, an’ Ah’m gonna find out what. Either yer gonna tell me now, or Ah’ll find out from Carrot when we let’er go. Yer choice.”

“I-I-I…” Ditzy was backed into a corner. This is exactly the thing she didn’t want to happen. The more ponies that knew about her little secret, the more likely it was that AJ was going to find out. And if there’s one thing Applejack was known for, other than her hard work of course, was her honesty. If AJ were to ask her, there was no doubt in her mind that Applejack would tell.

Applejack let out a sigh. “Come on Ditzy, this is clearly eatin’ ya up. Th’ sooner ya get it off yer chest, the sooner ya can move on.”

“...C-can’t…can’t I just convince you that nothing’s wrong?” Ditzy asked with nowhere else to go; a tear in her eye.

“You know that’ll just make things worst,” Applejack said before standing up and moving around the table. She pulled Ditzy into a comforting hug. “You can take yer time sugarcube. Not like we’re on a time limit or anythin’.”

“W-w-what about Carrot?”

“Okay, we’re on a slight time limit, but Ah think she’ll be able ta hold out fer a little while longer.”

Ditzy took a minute, and a few deep breaths to calm herself down. “You have to promise me that you won’t tell anypony.”

“Ditzy Ah…”

“Promise me Applejack.”

Applejack let out a sigh before her smile returned. “What kinda friend would Ah be if Ah said no.”

Ditzy looked around the room to make sure nopony was listening to them. “W-w-well...You know how AJ came over to my place a couple weeks ago?”

“Couple weeks ago?” Applejack put a hoof to her chin as she thought. “Oh, ya mean th’ time he took that suit of armor with’im?”

Ditzy sheepishly nodded. “Well, when he was over, one thing lead to another and…”

“And…?” Applejack thought for a few seconds before it hit her. They were a couple. A couple that has performed certain...'activities' with each other before. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise what things lead to. Her face began to heat up. “U-umm, ya don’t have ta give ALL th’ details.”

Ditzy’s face was bright red as she nodded. “I-I-I’ll just say it was my fault.”

“What was?”

“...I got so into things that I...I made him ‘finish’...inside.”

“Finish inside?” Ditzy nodded in embarrassment. Applejack could guess what she meant. But what she didn’t know was what the problem was. She knew the two of them used protection. She remembered the empty box of condoms from that one time. What made this time...so...special. The reality of the situation was slowly beginning to dawn on the farmpony. “You...didn’t use protection, did ya?”

Ditzy’s shaking head just confirmed it. She could practically see the gears turning in Applejack’s head. As the answer came to her, Applejack’s eyes slowly widened in surprise as her lips began to curl into a smile. The smile didn’t finish forming though, as it quickly disappeared from her face.

Applejack remembered what happened years ago. How sad Ditzy was when she first moved to Ponyville. At the time she was getting a sweet treat from Sugarcube Corner as Ditzy first came in with Carrot Top. Pinkie was sick at the time, so she couldn’t throw a welcome party. Carrot just tried to cheer her up with something sweet to eat. Things turned ugly fast when Mrs. Cake asked why she came to Ponyville. She broke down in the middle of the bakery. Pouring her heart out for the elder mare.

The pain in her eyes. It was still there. The pain was still all too real. Those wounds never truly healed. “Oh Celestia. Ya must be so terrified.”

"C-c-carrot want's me to tell AJ, but how can I? How can I be sure he won't betray me too?"

"Is that what th' fight was about?" Applejack asked in a soothing voice. Ditzy could only nod. She was doing everything in her power to keep from crying. Applejack just sat there for a few minutes trying to comfort the wall eyed pegasus. She was ready to be Ditzy’s emotional crutch if need be. “...Hey Ditzy, ya remember th’ day you first came ta Ponyville? Ah told you that if ya ever needed somepony ta talk to, or somepony ta give you advice, that Ah’d always be here fer ya?”

Ditzy sniffled before nodding her head. “I-I never did thank you for all your help.”

“No need ta thank me sugarcube, but right now, Ah got some advice ta give.”

“Advice?”

Applejack nodded. “Ah know this isn’t what ya wanna hear, an’ Ah know it isn’t gonna be easy fer you, but Carrot Top’s right. Ya gotta tell’im. It’s th’ right thin’ ta do.” Ditzy still looked hesitant. “You said yer goin’ ta that therapist fer yer trust issues, right?” Ditzy nodded slightly. “Well, what better way ta show how much progress yer makin’ than ta put yer trust in AJ.”

“I can’t Applejack. W-what if he leaves me too?” She was failing in her fight against her tears.

“Oh, he won’t leave you.”

“How do you know?”

“Cause Ah’ll personally make sure he has ta drink all his food through a straw fer th’ rest of his life if he does. Now come on. Ah’m sure Carrot’s itchin’ ta get free.”

********************

Ditzy stared at the front of her house with an anxious look. “Are you sure we can’t just leave her for a couple days? I promise I’ll give her food and water.” Applejack just stared at her with a blank look. “O-okay.”

Applejack rolled her eyes before walking to the house and opening the door. “Ya gotta do it now sugarcube.”

Ditzy let out a long sigh before walking through the doorway, only to stop midway through. “Hey, that isn’t Carrot’s scarf.”

Applejack looked over to the scarf hanging on the wall. “Yer right. Isn’t that…”

“Bon Bon’s,” Ditzy said as she pointed out the three wrapped candies on the scarf. “But why would she…” She was interrupted by a commotion upstairs.

“What th’ hay was that?”

“It sounded like it came from Carrot’s room.”

The two of them looked at each other before rushing up the stairs.

“Hey, don’t break my bed!” cried Carrot.

“Well what do you want me to do? I couldn’t find the key anywhere, and Lyra and I aren’t into this kinda thing. Unless you expect Ditzy to magically appear at that door, I gotta break the bed.”

“Uhh, surprise?”

Both Earth ponies in the room blinked before looking towards the door with wide eyes. “Holy shit. It’s like I can predict the future or something.”

“Shut up Bon Bon!”

“What are you doing here?” Ditzy asked as she entered the room.

“I originally came over to chew Fire Crotch here’s butt out for skipping out on work…”

“Eat me Candy Ass!” growled Carrot at the use of Bon Bon’s little nickname for her.

“Anyway, long story short, I found her chained up like this and have been trying to free her ever since.” She took a quick glance over at Carrot. “She won’t let me break the bed though.”

“Unless you plan on buying me a new one you won’t.”

“You’d be free from your bed, wouldn’t you?”

“Oooor, Ditzy could just get th’ key,” reasoned Applejack. She looked at Ditzy while saying it. “Keep th’ property damage ta a minimum.”

“O-oh, right.” Without saying anything else, Ditzy slunk out of the room and into her own. About a minute later she returned with the key. Cuff by cuff she released Carrot from her imprisonment. She refused to look Carrot in the eye as she stood up and stretched her limbs. “Carrot I…”

“Your ass kicking can wait. Bathroom now,” Carrot said as she hurried out of the room.

“So what was that all about anyway?” Bon Bon asked; wondering why she found her friend randomly chained to her bed.

“Long story. Just know that…”

“Oooooh Celestia sweet relief!” came Carrot’s voice from the bathroom.

Applejack cleared her throat. “As Ah was sayin’ just know that Ditzy meant no harm in it.”

“It’s Ditzy. Of course she meant no harm in it. The only thing she’s ever threatened is the worlds muffin supply.”

“Oh come on, I don’t eat that many muffins!”

“You did. Back when you were pregnant with Dinky you were like a muffin eating machine. Who knows how many you’d eat if you ever got pregnant again.”

“Yea, but like you said, that was when I was pregnant with Dinky. This time could be different! This time it may be ice cream, or, pickles, or...”

“Wait, this time?” interrupted Bon Bon. “Are you...did you...”

Ditzy blinked for a few seconds as he realised what she had just given away. She hung her head with a groan. “I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut.”

Bon Bon didn’t know what to say. She was happy for Ditzy, as any pony would be, but Carrot did tell her what happened the first time. Speaking of Carrot, Bon Bon noticed as Carrot walked back into the room; an unreadable look on her face.. “Well, well, look who’s finally finished relieving herself.”

Ditzy lifted her head to look at the pale goldenrod pony. Before she could look at her friend, a loud crack could echoed through the room. Ditzy fell to the floor, as Carrot stood just behind her; her hoof extended. She retracted her hoof and let out a sigh. “Well, I feel a little better,” she said in an unconvincing tone. Bon Bon and Applejack just looked at her in disbelief as Ditzy twitched on the floor.

********************

“So, you got Ditzy to tell you?” Carrot asked as she grabbed an ice pack. She walked back to the kitchen table; giving the icepack to Ditzy.

“Th-thanks,” Ditzy said as she tentatively placed it on the lump that had formed on the back of her head. “Sorry for chaining you up like that.”

Carrot let out a sigh. “Don’t worry about it.” As she sat down, she noticed the light glare she was getting from Applejack. “What?”

“Don’t you ‘what’ me! Despite what Ditzy did, ya shouldn't have hit’er like that. ‘Specially not in her condition.”

“She’s right you know,” agreed Bon Bon.

“So I’m a little miffed at her. Can you really blame me? You’d be too if you woke up to somepony chaining you to your bed for some stupid fucking reason like that. Besides, I know when to pull my punches. I didn’t hurt her too badly.”

“Doesn’t mean it was right!” Applejack held her glare. “She apologised ta you fer chainin’ ya up like that, Ah think you owe her an apology.”

“Okay, fine. I’m the bad guy here. I get it,” she said in a smarmy tone.

“Ah never said that.”

“You didn’t have to. I don’t see you talking down to Ditzy for what she did. Or treating her like what she did was bad.”

“Th’ two of us already had a talk about…”

“And I’m guessing you didn’t yell and shout at her like you are with me?”

“What is wrong with you today?” Bon Bon asked with a raised brow. “I understand being mad after that, but come on. I think possibly giving Ditzy a concussion is more than enough payback.”

Carrot looked at Bon Bon with a slight glare before letting out a deep sigh. “It’s not just what happened this morning. All the fighting yesterday, worrying about all the stress Ditzy’s putting herself through, the conversation I had with Big Mac, the thought of ruining, not only Ditzy’s relationship with AJ, but our friendship. Just under a lot of stress right now.”

“That’s understandable, but ya need ta watch yer temper.”

“You can’t tell me you’ve never lost your temper at one point and did something you regret.”

Applejack stared at Carrot as memories from the beginning of the summer flashed through her head. She shrunk back as she thought about the time she bucked a certain human in the head. “Uhhh...maybe a couple times.”

“I rest my case. No pony’s perfect.” She turned her attention to Ditzy who was gently prodding the lump to see just how bad it was. She looked away and down as she thought about it for a moment. “Sorry for drilling the back of your head in before.”

“...Yea.”

“Yea? That’s all I get? A half hearted yea?”

“Huh?” Ditzy turned to Carrot as if she hadn’t been paying attention. “Oh, I-I didn’t mean it like that. Just thinking.”

“About what?” asked Bon Bon.

“You really think I’d stop being your friend just like that?” Ditzy asked; seemingly ignoring Bon Bon.

“You wouldn’t?”

“Okay, yea. Thinking about it, I probably would be mad at you. Probably even hate you for awhile. But I don’t think I could ever stop being your friend. We’ve been through too much together, and you’ve helped me through more situations than I can even count. I’d never be able to stop being your friend if I tried.”

“Besides, Lyra and I would pester her until she decided to forgive you. I’m sure Berry would even join in.”

“Ah already told you though, Ah won’t let’im say no,” Applejack said matter-of-factly.

Carrot looked at Applejack questioningly. “Are you threatening violence on him too?”

“Ah’d permanently break his jaw. You?”

“Paralyze him from the neck down.” The other three ponies in the room looked at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths. “Okay, so I may still have a bit of pent up rage towards Morning Glory that I still need to get out. But then again, who doesn’t.”

“Okay, I can’t really say I blame you for that, but promise me you won’t hurt him. Either of you,” Ditzy said as she looked between Carrot and Applejack.

Applejack let out a sigh. “Ah guess it wouldn’t really help th’ situation, would it?”

“I make no such promise,” Carrot said with a straight face. She received an icepack to the side of the head for it. “Owww! That was still mostly frozen!” Ditzy just glared right back at her. “Okay, fine. I won’t maim him…too badly.”

Ditzy just rolled her eyes. “Hopefully it won’t come to that in the first place.”

“Speaking of that, I believe we’re ignoring the big question here. Who’s going to tell AJ the news?”

“Isn’t that kinda a stupid question?” asked Bon Bon. “Ditzy is, of course.” She turned her attention from Carrot to Ditzy. “Right?”

“You obviously don’t know what our fight was about,” Carrot said under her breath.

Everypony turned to Ditzy. For the second time in the same day, Ditzy felt everypony’s stares weighing down on her. “U-umm…”

“Now Ditzy, we talked 'bout this,” Applejack said with hope in her voice.

Ditzy looked between the three ponies before her and swallowed the lump in her throat. “W-well, of course. Wh-who else should bear the responsibility,” she said with an unconvincing smile.

Carrot remained unconvinced. “So...if that’s the case, when are you planning on telling him?”

“Ya shouldn’t rush’er on somethin’ like this. She’ll tell’im when she’s ready,” Applejack said matter-of-factly.

“That’s the same thing your brother said.”

“An’ he’s completely right.”

“W-when he’s feeling better.” Everypony turned their attention to Ditzy. “A-as soon as he’s feeling better, I’ll tell him.”

“Are ya sure you don’t wanna wait a bit longer? Ah mean, he’ll probably be thinkin’ straight again by either tomorrow or th’ day after.”

“I-I know.”

“You’re actually going through with it?” Ditzy nervously nodded her head. Carrot lowered her head for a moment as she ran through her thoughts. “Huh...after all we went through yesterday, I really thought this would have felt like a win. So why doesn’t this make me feel any better?”

“Cause nopony really feels good about this,” Bon Bon said with an unhappy look.

“Do ya want us there when ya tell’im?”

“I...I don’t know. Haven’t really gotten that far yet.”

“Well, you know where to find us if you’ll need some support,” Bon Bon said as she stood up. “We really should be getting our butts back to the shop now. Lyra can only handle so much by herself. Especially this time of the year,” she said as she looked towards Carrot.

“An’ we should really be gettin’ back ta th’ hospital. Ah’m guessin’ everypony’s wonderin where we are.” She looked over to Ditzy. “You gonna be okay ta walk back? Ya still look a little wobbly.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said as she stood up. “Having more trouble than usual keeping my eyes under control, but what’s new.” Her voice was still full of melancholy.

“Alright, but let me know if ya start feelin’ woozy’er somethin’.”

********************

Ditzy, Applejack, Dinky, and Knight looked over as they heard the door to AJ’s room open. AJ himself, who had just woken up again not fifteen minutes ago, just kinda lazily glanced over. He may have felt less dazed than the previous time he had woken up, but he was still feeling a bit out of it. Though, he mostly just felt exhausted. That, and the aching of all his muscles kept him from moving much.

“Hi everypony!” shouted Screwball with great, big smile on her face.

“Hey,” Shadow said in a much more level tone. On his back sat a present.

“Uncle Shadow Breeze!” squealed Knight as he leapt from the bed to meet the pegasus at the door.

“H-hey Knight,” Shadow said as he backed away slightly from the foal. It’s not that he didn’t like the foal. He just knew what was coming. The energetic little scamp had made a tradition of it. Ever since their first meeting since his regression, Knight’s always found a way to surprise and scare him. Screwball always found it cute and funny.

Knight noticed Shadow slowly backing away. Tears began welling up in his eyes. “W-what’s wrong? D-d-don’t you like me anymore?” He ended his question with a sniffle.

Shadow’s ears folded back as the foal began to cry. He looked over to Screwball who returned his look with a slightly peeved look. “Breezey, you made him cry!”

“I-I-I didn’t mean to!” As Shadow and Screwball began to fret over Knight, Ditzy and Applejack just rolled their eyes. Shadow got closer to Knight and leaned down; nuzzling his cheek. “I-I’m sorry Knight, I just…”

“BLLAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHH!!!” shouted Knight as he suddenly sprung up, making a ‘scary’ face.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” A goat bleat emanated from Shadow as he fell to the ground; his body scared stiff. The gift fell to the floor.

As Knight and Screwball rolled with laughter, Applejack just shook her head. “Ya’d think he’d of learned by now.”

“You have to give Knight points for creativity though,” Ditzy said with a giggle.

“Ah just wish he’d use that creativity on more productive things.”

“Give him a break Applejack,” came AJ’s weary voice. “He’s just playing.”

“Ya won’t be sayin’ that when Knight eventually gives’im a heart attack.”

“Breezey will be fine,” Screwball said with a wave of her hoof. “He’s strong like an oxe. See?” She pointed to Shadow whose eyes were blank and was foaming at the mouth. “See, strong.”

Ditzy giggled again before standing up to retrieve Knight. As she got close, she got a better look at Screwball. Something seemed off about her today? She looked Screwball up and down, but just couldn’t put a hoof on it. After a few seconds, Screwball noticed and looked at her with a smile. “What’s up?”

“I can’t put a hoof on it, but you look...different today. Maybe I’m just seeing things.”

Screwballs face suddenly erupted with a ear to ear smile. “You noticed!”

“Noticed what?” asked Applejack.

“Sh-she’s getting b-better,” Shadow said from his position on the floor. He was finally conscious again.

“Better?”

“Uh huh! Look!” She shoved her face really close to Ditzy’s and pointed to her eyes. “My eyes are almost back to normal!”

“A-and her coat’s changing too. It’s getting darker again,” he said as he stood back up.

“Yea!”

Ditzy raised her brow as she took a closer look at Screwballs coat. It was hard to see, very hard to see, but there was a very subtle change in her coat color from the last time she saw her. “It’s kinda hard to see.”

“But it’s still darker!” Screwball said with pride.

“Uncle Shadow Breeze, uncle Shadow Breeze!”

“Hmm?” Shadow knew he could finally relax around Knight again. Knight never scared him more than once per visit, and he already had his fun.

“After daddy’s better, can we go flying again?!”

“Flying? You wanna go flying again?”

“Uh huh, uh huh!”

“W-well, is your dad okay with it?” he asked as he looked up at AJ expectantly.

“Sure, go ahead. Have fun you crazy kids,” he said with a soft smile.

“Yaaaay! Maybe this time I’ll be able to fly on my own!” Knight tried his hardest to get into the air, but his little wings were still too small and weak. “Nnnngh.” As he looked down in defeat, he noticed the gift box that had fallen to the floor. His eyes grew wide and began shimmering. “Did you bring me a present?!”

“A present?” Shadow looked to where Knight was looking and noticed the box. “Oh! Oh no, it’s actually a gift for your dad.”

“For me?”

“Awwww!” pouted Knight

Shadow picked up the box and quickly opened it to make sure it survived the fall. “Yea, Trotsy thought you could use some cheering up, so he made you a cake!”

The smile on AJ’s face grew slightly. “He didn’t have to do that. Applejack, could you help me up? It’ll be easier to open it if I’m sitting up.”

“Sure Ah can sugarcube,” she said as she walked over to the bed.

Shadow sighed as he closed the box again. “It’s just fine,” he said with a smile. His smile fell fast though when he got a better look at AJ. Since he was sitting up, they could finally see the full extent of his injuries. The box dropped from his hooves. “W-w-wha…”

“Uh oh,” Applejack said under her breath.

“What?” AJ asked in confusion

“Y-y-y-your l-l-l-l-l…”

“My what?”

“Your leg’s gone!” Screwball said; finishing Shadow’s sentence.

“My leg’s...what?” He lifted his right foreleg slightly and took a look at it. “But it’s right here.”

“They’re, uh…” Applejack cleared her throat. “They’re talkin’ 'bout yer other leg.”

“My other…?” He turned his head to look at his other foreleg.

Or what was left of it at least.

From his shoulder, he had maybe a three or four inch, bandaged stump remaining of his left foreleg. The rest had been amputated.

He lifted the stump a bit to get a better look at it. Moving it around to see it from different angles. “Huh...would ya look at that. My leg’s gone.”

“You’re taking this much better than I thought you would,” Ditzy said with a concerned look on her face.

“Almost too well,” added Applejack.

As AJ looked at his missing leg, his tired smile slowly began to disappear. His eyes got wider and his jaw dropped. Dinky slowly shuffled closer to the bed. “Daddy? Are you okay?”

“Ah-AAAHH!!!”

“An’ there it is,” Applejack said as she rubbed her ear.

“W-w-what happened to my leg?! Where’s my leg?!”

“Just calm down,” Applejack said as she tried to keep him from moving too much.

“How can I calm down?! I have to find my leg!”

“I-I-I’ll go ask a doctor!” Dinky said as she got caught up in the chaos. “Maybe they can find your leg!”

Ditzy grabbed Dinky before she could bolt away. “Dinky, we talked about this before we came in here, remember?” Ditzy looked into her daughter’s eyes with her own, sad eyes.

“Th-the doctor had to...amn...amnpu..amnputake his leg?”

“Amputate, yes. For medical reasons, they had to take his leg.”

“Trotsworth didn’t say anything about amputation when we asked him,” Shadow said as he looked back to AJ. He was still in the middle of his freakout.

“Maybe he knew we’d be even more worried,” reasoned Screwball.

“Would ya just calm down!” AJ continued to fight against Applejack during his freakout.

“My freaking leg is gone! How can I just calm down?!”

“Ditzy?”

“Hmm?”

“Ah apologise fer what Ah’m 'bout ta do.”

“Apologise for...huh?” Ditzy’s eyes widened in understanding as she saw Applejack lifted her hoof.

“Just…” Applejack swung her hoof and slapped AJ across the face. “Calm…” She swung her hoof back and slapped him on the other side. “Down!” She finished by bringing her hoof upside his face one last time.

Everypony in the room gawked at Applejack as she stepped back to look at her work. To her credit, AJ was calm again. Then again, his face was looking a lot redder after the abuse. “Ooooow!” he whined as he brought his hoof up to his face.

“You’ll get over it,” Applejack said with a smirk.

“Hey!”

“Hmm?” Applejack looked down to find two sets of angry eyes fixated on her.

“How dare you hit daddy!” cried Knight.

“Yea! He didn’t do anything to you!” added Dinky.

“Whether he did somethin’ ta deserve it’r not, sometimes a solid slap is what somepony needs ta bring’em back ta reality.”

“Oh yea? Well let’s see how you like it! RRRAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” Knight leapt up at Applejack and clung to her; punching her in the side. Ditzy grabbed Dinky up before she could join in.

“Knight…”

Applejack just rolled her eyes as Knight’s ineffective blows hit her. “That actually feels kinda nice. Mind hittin’ th’ other side? Ah’ll always welcome a good massage.” Just as Applejack was about to shake him off, she felt a set of teeth sink into her side. “Oww! Hey, that actually hurt!”

“Knight!”

Applejack and Knight both turned to AJ. With his hoof still rubbing his sore cheeks, he fixed a light glare on Knight. Without saying a word, he removed his teeth from Applejack’s hide and jumped back to the floor. With his ears laid back, and his head hung low, he silently walked over to where Dinky was now sitting to join her. A whistle suddenly broke the silence. “Well what do ya know. You had it in ya th’ entire time,” Applejack said as she looked back to AJ. “Ah haven’t seen’im listen that well since, well, ever.” That’s when she realized that AJ was now glaring at her. “Sorry.”

Now that things had calmed down once again, AJ took another look at his leg. A pained look came to his face. “What...even happened? Why did they have to take my leg?”

“Ya mean you don’t remember?”

AJ swallowed the lump in his throat as he shook his head. “Th-the last thing I remember was...the forest. We were looking for flowers. Scootaloo found that big one and…! Scootaloo!” He tried to push himself up yet again, only to nearly fall to the left.

“Woah now, Ah gotcha.” Applejack quickly grabbed him around the body; gently leaning him against the bed again. “Ya gotta take it easy.”

“Where’s Scootaloo?”

“She’s here at the hospital. In the ICU,” said Ditzy.

“I...I wanna see her.”

“Ah don’t know if ya should be movin’ around.”

“I could go ask the doctor,” Ditzy said as she stood up.

“Yea, that sounds like a good idea,” agreed Applejack.

“Right, I’ll be right back.”

Shadow and Screwball moved to the side to let Ditzy out. As the door closed, Screwball nudged Shadow in the side and pointed at the box on the floor. “O-oh, right. While we wait, why don’t you open this.” With a smile, Shadow walked up and placed the box on the bed.

AJ stared at the box for a few seconds before closing his eyes. He tried concentrating, but nothing came of it. “Trotsy said the drugs would dull your magic.”

AJ let out a grunt as he gave up; swearing under his breath as he did. He looked between the box and his leg for a second before just batting the top off the box. He peered into the box. The cake he expected to find was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a bunch of cookie cupcakes sat on a plate. They were like normal cupcakes, but with cookies instead of cake. “Ah thought you said he made some cake?” questioned Applejack.

“Well...he did, but…”

“It was hard as a rock,” Screwball said, finishing Shadow’s sentence.

“And the color of vomit.”

“So we fed it to a dog and went to Sugarcube Corner,” Screwball said with a bright smile.

“You fed it to a dog?”

“It was her idea. I just wanted to throw it away.”

“Hey, he looked hungry. Why waste food when a poor doggy was so hungry.”

“It took two bites and spit it up.”

“At least it didn’t go completely to waste.”

“After the dog she tossed it into the bushes.”

“Yup, so we got Pinkie Pie to make you those.”

“Pinkie, huh?” AJ looked at them again before digging one of them out of the box. Knowing it was from Pinkie, it was probably going to be good. He took a bite and chewed for a moment before stopping. He sat there for a moment before finishing what was in his mouth. He slowly placed the cookie cupcake back in the box. Everypony watched and waited to see what he was going to say. “...Shadow?”

“Y-yes?”

“Go find a doctor or a nurse.”

“Why, what’s wrong? asked Applejack.

“I think I may be about to fall into a diabetic coma.”

****************************************

Author's Note

To those of you that looked at that spoiler blog I posted a couple days ago, No I didn't scrap that. It'll just be in the next chapter which is already over 4k words, soooooo yea.

Also, this was basically the the expression I was going for with Shadow part where he was foaming at the mouth

No I don't know what anime this is from. Just found it on google.

Fullmetal Drill Sergeant

Chapter 47

“Where’s Rarity an’ th’ girls?” Applejack asked as she and the group walked into Scootaloo’s room. Shadow and Screwball decided not to stay very long. They just felt it really wasn’t their place to intrude.

“The girls were being...well, the girls, and Zecora wasn’t feeling the greatest, so Rarity took them all back to her place,” Rainbow said as she stood up.

“And after we got back, Big Mac took Fluttershy home. She looked like she needed to get away from everything,” Ditzy said as she wheeled AJ through the room.

Rainbow’s attention was drawn to the chair by a pained groan coming from AJ. “What’s wrong with him?” asked Rainbow Dash as Ditzy parked his wheelchair near Scootaloo’s bed. AJ was slouched over in the wheelchair with his hoof on his head. After Pinkie’s over zealous attempt to make him feel better with over sweetened treats, it didn’t take long for all that sugar to run its course through his body. On the way to Scootaloo’s room, he was actually fairly hyper for one who had just lost one of their limbs. By the time he reached the room though, the crash had hit him, and hit him hard. His head throbbed as he pined for the somewhat comfort of his hospital bed.

“Pinkie put too much sugar in her cupkies,” Screwball said matter-of-factly.

“What’s a...cupkie?”

“I can go get the box if you want,” Screwball said with a bright smile on her face.

“Don’t go get th’ box,” Applejack said in a low, yet demanding voice. “We don’t need ta risk another pony fallin’ victim ta all that sugar.” She gave the two of them a wave as they stepped out of the room to leave.

“Besides, don’t you usually eat at Sugarcube Corner like...at least once a day?” Ditzy asked with a hoof to her chin.

“Yea, so? I can’t help it if I get these cravings for sugar,” Rainbow said defensively. “And pickle stuffed pineapples smothered in ketchup,” she added under her breath.

“Trust me, I know all about cravings. Just make sure you don’t eat too much. I don’t think I ever did lose all of that weight,” Ditzy said as she poked her flank.

“A sugar rush is the last thing you need,” Sunny Delight said as she brushed a hoof through Scootaloo’s mane. Both she and and Sunburst looked tired and exhausted. Neither of them must have gotten much sleep last night. Nopony would blame them though. You try getting some sleep while your daughter’s in the ICU.

“Yea. You’ll want to try to cut down on the sweets. You already needed to cut back on your flying. In a couple weeks, you may need to stop flying all together,” Ditzy said as she remembered back to when she was pregnant with Dinky. “Being hocked up on sugar makes the whole no flying thing much harder to deal with.”

“What?!”

“Ya sure about that?” questioned Applejack.

Both Ditzy and Sunny nodded their heads. “It’s the hormones...I think,” Ditzy said with an unsure look.

Sunny nodded her head to confirm what Ditzy said. “It’s pretty common for pegasi to become airsick due to all the extra hormones.”

“WHAT?!?!?!”

“Kinda ironic, don’t you think?” AJ asked as he looked up at Sunny. “What about the ones that live in Cloudsdale?”

“They either stay home the entire time, or, the more likely choice, they move in with some grounded friends or relatives until the foal's born. Most just decide to move for the year. That’s what Sunny did when she was pregnant with Scootaloo,” Sunburst as he motioned to his wife. “After awhile we just decided to get a house instead. It was getting awfully lonely in that house without her. Besides, it was nice in Ponyville. A longer flight to work was a small price to pay.”

Applejack put a hoof to her chin as she looked over to Rainbow Dash. She looked like somepony had just slapped her upside the head multiple times, which, with her flying habits, they may have well have done so. “We should probably get’er some wing bindin’s then. Knowin’ Rainbow, she’ll try ta sneak in some flyin’ here an’ there.”

“No! Out of the question!” cried Rainbow. “I refuse to wear wing bindings!”

“Would you stop shouting in my ear? My head already hurts,” whined AJ as he rubbed his temple.

“Aw, come on. We could even get ya one with th’ wonderbolts logo on it. Maybe Braeburn’s cutie mark ta show yer his,” Applejack said in a teasing manner.

“It’s either that or self control, and self control’s one thing you don’t have,” Sunburst said knowingly.

“Looks like we’re goin’ shoppin’, when this is all over,” Applejack said with a smile. “Maybe Rares can make ya somethin’.”

“Don’t I have any say in this?” cried Rainbow over the fact that the decision had been made for her.

“Not when it comes ta yer foal. Besides, Ah think Braeburn would want ya ta be as safe as possible.” Rainbow tried to retort. She tried to think of something to say to turn this in her favor, despite how right everypony else was. In the end, she crossed her legs with a pout on her lips. She grumbled something about Braeburn. “What was that?”

“I’ll get some for Braeburn,” she said with venom in her voice.

“Good girl,” Sunburst said with a smile.

“How’s Scootaloo doing?” Came AJ’s voice; derailing the current conversation.

Everypony turned to him. While he was still rubbing the side of his head, his focus seemed to be on the filly in the bed. “Scoots? She…” Rainbow fell silent as she looked over to the bed.

“She hasn’t gotten any better, has she?” questioned Ditzy.

A suffocating silence filled the room. Even the beeping of the heart monitor seemed to be drowned out because of it. “Y-you know, when we first saw Scootaloo just...lying motionless in this bed, a small part of me was...seething mad at you,” Sunny said as she looked at AJ. “Like...why didn’t you take better care of our little girl? Why did you allow this to happen to her?” She glanced over at Applejack with a guilty look. “...Why her and not the others.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “But the rest of me knew that if you hadn’t been there in the first place...we’d probably be planning her funeral right now instead.”

“The same goes for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle,” added Sunburst. “Rarity, and their parents. You and your brother,” he motioned to Applejack. “We wouldn’t be the only ones in this boat. That giant...flower thing probably would have gotten them all.”

“The girls also told us about the razorbacks.” Sunny looked back to Scootaloo. “We’re sorry our daughter put you through so much.”

“Razor...backs?” asked AJ.

“They’re like cute piggies, but with lots fur,” Dinky said excitedly.

“Don’t forget th’ razor sharp claws an’ blades that sprout from’em,” Applejack said in a low tone.

“Don’t you remember anything about some razorbacks?” asked Ditzy.

AJ slowly shook his head as he tried to piece everything together. “It’s...after the flower, it all kinda becomes a blur. I remember being chased by something. I got...bit, I think, in the leg...Apple Bloom and Sweetie took Scoots to Zecora’s to could get away. Other than that it kinda just blends together.” Other fragmented memories flashed in his head. Stumbling up to Zecora’s hut. Being rushed through the forest in a simple cart with Scootaloo. Big Mac joining them at some point. Being taken into a building, now known to be the hospital, and being separated from the rest of the group. The fragmented memories didn’t make much sense to him right now. “It all happened too fast.”

“An’ we can only tell ya so much. Only what Apple Bloom an’ Sweetie Belle told us,” Applejack said as she sat down by Rainbow.

********************

”I thought you said Zecora’s place was just beyond those trees,” AJ said as he continued to run through the forest.

“Ah thought it was,” shot back Apple Bloom. She was leaning on AJ’s head and neck while Sweetie Belle made sure Scootaloo didn’t fall off of his back. “It must just be further than Ah thought! Ah know it’s in this direction, just keep goin’!”

“M-m-maybe you’re just remembering wrong,” commented Sweetie. “You usually go from the other…”

“Ah know where Ah’m goin!”

“Not the time to start a fight Apple Bloom!” AJ said as he came to a clearing. He skidded to a halt when five small boars came into view. They were about half the size of him, were covered in brown fur, and looked like they had paws instead of hooves. They were all sniffing at the ground.

“How come we stopped?” asked Sweetie Belle as she looked around AJ’s head.

“It’s just a bunch of boars. Just need to avoid them and we’ll be…”

“Run,” Sweetie said in a low voice. Her eyes were full of fear.

“Huh?”

“You need to run,” Sweetie said in a slightly higher voice. Her face grew paler as one of the boars turned towards them.

“I know, but we need to…” AJ was interrupted by a loud squeal echoing through the clearing. Apple Bloom and AJ turned to the boars who were all staring at them now. “Mmmmaybe we should…” AJ could have sworn his eyes bulged from their sockets when long claws shot from their paws. Long, sharp blades sprouted from their fur, covering their backs in a deadly sea of razor edged metal. AJ couldn't even finish his thoughts before bolting out of the clearing. “What the fuck are those things?!”

“Razorbacks!” shouted Sweetie as she hung onto Scootaloo for dear life.

“Razorbacks do not have jutting metal blades,” AJ retorted as he dodged through the trees.

“They’re carnivorous pigs! They’re incredibly territorial, and incredibly dangerous!”

“Not th’ time fer a lesson Sweetie Belle! Just keep runnin’!” shouted Apple Bloom.

“Don’t worry, I think we lost them.” AJ let himself relax slightly and was about to have Apple Bloom point him to Zecora’s when he was suddenly cut off by something blowing by him. He was barely able to stop in time as one of the razorbacks blocked his path. His ears twitched as a grinding sound filled the air around them. He looked around to see the other four razorbacks rolling around before coming to a stop. They surrounded him on all sides; getting ready to strike.

“Oh, of course they can spin like Sonic the fucking Hedgehog! Why WOULDN’T they be able to?!” He tried to keep tabs on all of them, but five on one, the odds were against him. “Sweetie, are these things easily startled?” AJ asked as he started pouring magic into the tip his horn. Sweetie didn’t answer. She was too busy cowering. “Sweetie!”

“I-I don’t know!”

“We better hope they are then!” Aiming at the ground directly in front of him, he launched the large orb. He shielded his eyes as the spell went off, covering the area in a large, colorful explosion. The razorbacks could all be heard squealing along with a cacophony of grinding sounds getting further away.

As the sound started to die down, he chanced a look around the area. His plan had worked. The explosion, while marking both them and the ground around them, had scared the razorbacks off. He let out a small sigh. “Let’s hope we can get out of here before they decide to come back. Apple Bloom, where to from here?”

It took a second, but she was able to get a bead as to where they were. “She should be that way!” she said as she pointed her hoof.

“Alright, let’s hurry before…” Before he could start running again, the grinding sound of the razorbacks started getting louder once again. “I swear to GOD I am going to BURN down this FUCKING forest! Hang on!” He took off as fast as he could in the direction Apple Bloom gave him.

“They’re gettin’ closer!” Apple Bloom shouted as she looked around.

“I can hear them Apple Bloom! Tell me when you can actually see them! I can’t keep an eye on the path and look for them at the same time!”

“Got it!” Apple Bloom remained on edge the entire time. For about a minute, the sound of the razorbacks haunted them as they ran through the woods, though it didn’t get any closer. As she looked around for any hint of where they were, she noticed something familiar about the forest around them. “Hey, Ah know where we are! Zecora’s ain’t much further!”

“Good! Just keep an eye out for…”

“Look out!” shrieked Sweetie Belle. AJ looked to the side just in time to see a Razorback lunge out of some bushes next to him.

There was no time to dodge out of the way. The razorback tackled him from the side, firmly embedding it’s claws and teeth into his left foreleg. The fillies on his back fell to the side of the path as the boar knocked AJ to the ground.

Apple Bloom was the first to shake the cobwebs from her head. The first thing she heard was AJ’s cries of pain, causing her to turn her head. Her eyes widened. The razorback that had tackled AJ held his leg in place as it bit down with all its might.

“A-Apple Bloom!” cried out AJ.

“H-huh?!”

“Get to Zecora’s! Don’t worry about me!”

“A-A-Ah’m not goin’ ta leave you!”

“Just geeeaaaaaAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The blood curdling scream filled the forest as the razorback yanked it’s head back, tearing a chunk from his leg.

Apple Bloom had to force back her nausea after what she just saw. She quickly turned away to see Sweetie Belle looking over Scootaloo. “Sweetie Belle, get’er on mah back!”

“B-but what about AJ.”

Apple Bloom turned back to AJ. It looked like he was actually managing to hold the razorback off with his magic to keep it from taking another bite.. “H-he’ll be fine, just hurry!”

Sweetie looked between Apple Bloom and AJ. “B-b-but…”

“Just do it Sweetie!” AJ yelled before using as much force as he could to push the razorback off of him. Unfortunately for him, it’s claws had gotten him good, and didn’t come out cleanly; tearing deep wounds in his leg before finally leaving his body. Fortunately, the razorback was thrown in the path of a second one who had just come to join the feast, getting cut up and impaled by it’s blades.

As Sweetie helped lift Scootaloo’s body onto Apple Bloom’s back, AJ did his best to stand up. He was successful, but the problem was staying up. The pain in his leg was unimaginable, but by now, he was running on pure adrenalin. “I’ll hold them off, just go!”

Apple Bloom chanced one last look back. By now the other three razorbacks had joined in. AJ’s leg was bleeding profusely, and it looked like he was having trouble standing. She swallowed a lump in her throat before motioning to Sweetie Belle to follow her.

********************

“Shortly after th’ girls made it there, ya managed ta stumble yer way ta Zecora’s before blackin’ out. Apple Bloom had ta build a cart usin’ parts of Zecora’s cart ta carry both you an’ Scootaloo ta th’ hospital.”

“Blacked out? B-but I remember some things. Like Big Mac running with us.”

“You must have kept going in and out of consciousness,” reasoned Sunburst.

“How did Big Mac know about everything anyway?” asked Rainbow.

“He was at Fluttershy’s cottage helping her feed the animals when Zecora and the girls came through the trees near her place.” Everypony turned to look at Ditzy. “What? I asked him how he knew AJ was hurt.”

Applejack looked at AJ who looked like he was in his own little world right now. He was reaching over; rubbing his stump with his leg. “It all feels so...surreal,” he said to himself. “Like one big nightmare you just can’t…”

AJ’s thoughts were interrupted by a commotion coming from outside the room. Three voices could be heard arguing. Well, two were arguing, one was apologising profusely.

“Is dis da room?”

“Even if it is, you will not…”

“Is dis da room!”

“Sir, I am so sorry. She’s just a little cranky right now.”

“You vill tell me now or I make sure you vill need one of dese rooms!”

“Is that a threat? Because I’ll have you know that…”

“IS DID DA ROOM?!?!?! TELL ME NOW LITTLE MAN OR I VILL MAKE SURE YOU GET FIRED!!!”

Everypony in the room looked completely confused. Everypony except AJ. He was staring at the door with a look of pure, unadulterated fear. He knew that voice. “Why are you so scared? Who is that?” asked Ditzy in a hushed voice.

AJ didn’t answer. He just continued to look at the door. “It must be somepony really bad if he’s that terrified,” reasoned Applejack.

“Do you think it’s one of those slaver scumbags coming back for him? Do you think one of them got away from the guards?” Rainbow asked as she got into a defensive stance.

“No,” AJ said in a low tone. “It’s much, much worse.”

The door was kicked open with great force. Standing in the doorway was a stern, middle aged, silver unicorn mare with a half grey, half greyish blue mane. Her mane was done up nicely in a bun, and she had on a nice, light blue and gold coat with a royal crest strapped over her chest. The colors matched the colors of the royal guard’s armor. Her tail was medium length, and was nice and straight. Her cutie mark was a piece of paper with a flaming pile of silver powder in the middle. She seemed to stare a hole through everypony with her grey eyes. The strangest detail about her was her right hind leg. Starting just below her hip, her leg was metallic.

Standing just behind, and to her left stood a greyish red unicorn stallion. His silver hair was short to medium length, and was slicked back. His tail had been cropped. He was wearing the same outfit as the mare, though he didn’t have the crest. He wore some red saddlebags with the same insignia on the mare’s crest. He looked between the mare and the group in the room with his sky blue eyes. His cutie mark was a rocket with a lit fuse. After a moment he put on a sheepish smile and waved to everypony.

“F-F-Flash Powder sir, I mean ma’am!” cried AJ as he sat up straight in his wheelchair; offering a salute to the mare.

“Flash Powder? Isn’t that your teacher in Canterlot?” asked Ditzy.

“Not teacher, drill instructor!” Flash Powder said with more force than necessary.

“It’s really just some training. Calling them drills is just a formality,” the stallion behind Flash Powder said before a sharp look from her shut him up.

“Well whatever ya are, you really shouldn't be in here,” Applejack said as she got in Flash Powder’s face. “Ah think you should just walk right out that door.”

Flash Powder stared Applejack in the eyes for a moment before her horn flared to life. Applejack’s hat became engulfed in an orange light before it was forced over her eyes. Using the hat, Flash Powder pushed Applejack out of the way to clear the path to AJ. “So, dis is vhere you’ve been hiding.”

“What do you mean hiding? And why did you just burst into our daughter’s hospital room?” demanded Sunny.

“Yes, hi. I believe I can answer that,” said the stallion behind Flash Powder. “First off, my name’s Lit Fuse, and I’m terribly sorry for the…”

“Get to da point!” demanded Flash Powder.

“S-sorry mum.”

“Mum? Poor guy,” Rainbow said under her breath.

“Well you see, AJ was supposed to report to Canterlot for drills yesterday, but failed to show.”

“That was yesterday? I thought it was on Tuesday? You know, today.”

Ditzy leaned in close to whisper in AJ’s ear. “Yesterday was Tuesday.”

“...Oh. Well excuse me for losing track of what day it was.”

A loud stomp drew everypony’s attention again. “Enough small talk. Explain to me vhy you missed your drills.”

AJ swallowed the lump in his throat as he collected his thoughts. “W-well, aside from losing track of what day it was, I was...indisposed for most of the day,” he said as he motioned to his stump.

Flash Powder eyed AJ’s bandaged body with a scrutinizing gaze. “...Explain to me vhat happened.”

“Wh-what happened...you want me to tell you everything?”

“It’s probably best if you just tell her,” said Lit Fuse. “The sooner you give her what she wants, the sooner she’ll leave you alone.” He turned away from everypony. “And the sooner I can get back home to my wife and kids,” he added under his breath. He cringed as Flash Powder gave him a quick kick to the ribs.

AJ knew Lit Fuse was right. Unlike his mother, he was generally a pretty kind pony. He had his moments where his mother’s side came through, but he could usually keep it under wraps. “R-right. I just heard the story myself, so excuse me if I miss some details.”

********************

It took AJ a bit, but he did eventually get the whole story out. He needed a bit of help here and there from Applejack and Ditzy to make sure he got some of the details right though.

“When I woke up today, I wasn’t even aware that my leg was missing until I was told.” He took a deep breath. “That’s pretty much everything there is to tell, or at least everything I know.” As he looked back to Flash Powder, he noticed the look of annoyance on her face. He knew that look. It was a look she wore fairly often during drills. “Ma’am?”

With the look plastered on her face, she slowly turned to look down at her right hind leg. Or more specifically, the small foal that had been poking at it for the better part of the last five minutes. When he finally realised he was being watched, Knight lifted his head to look at Flash Powder. The two of them had a stare down for a few seconds. When AJ realised what was going on, he was pretty sure he felt his heart stop. To AJ, the staredown felt like it lasted hours. ‘Pleasedon’tmakehermadpleasedon’tmakehermadpleasedon’tmakehermad,’ he thought to himself over and over again.

“How come your leg’s all metal and stuff?” And that’s exactly when AJ wished he could turn invisible.

He was even more scared when she didn’t say anything. Her horn suddenly came to life. Knight became surrounded in an orange glow and began lifting off the floor. “I believe dis is yours,” Flash Powder said as she placed Knight next to AJ’s chair. Once the annoyance was taken care of, she stared right back at AJ. “And you are sure da story is true?”

“An’ just why would we lie about somethin’ like an amputated leg?!” asked Applejack who was long since annoyed at Flash Powder’s attitude.

“Silence hick pony!” shouted Flash Powder before using Applejack’s hat to shove her off to the side once again. She pointed a hoof at AJ. “You! Speak now!”

“A-as far as I know that’s the true story, yes.”

The room was mostly silent as Flash Powder began thinking things through. The silence broken only by the heart monitor and the grumblings of Applejack. “Lit Fuze…”

“Yes mum?”

“Get ahold of Monkey Wrench. Tell him I have a job for him.”

Lit Fuze pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from his saddlebags before turning to his mother. “I have a feeling I know what you’re talking about, but shouldn't we get his permission to do this first?”

Flash Powder glared at Lit Fuse with a growl before whipping around to look at AJ. “Vat are you going to do now dat your leg is gone?”

“Uhh…”

“Vhere you going to just sit dere and sulk?”

“Well…”

“Do you vant a your life to go back to normal?”

“Umm, yes?”

“Good enough for me. Send da letter to Monkey.”

Lit Fuse just shrugged before starting to write the letter. “An’ just what did he supposedly agree to?” Applejack blinked when she noticed the absence of something on her head. She looked up to see her hat floating over her head surrounded in an orange aura. “Oh fer th’ love of…” She was silenced as her hat smacked her in the face, shoving her off to the side.

“In a couple days Monkey vill be here to build your new leg.”

“Build his new...what? I’m sorry, but what the hell are you talking about?” asked Ditzy.

“Monkey Wrench will build him a sort of...biomechanical prosthesis...if that makes any sense to you,” Lit Fuse said with a tone in his voice that hinted to the fact that he himself didn’t really understand it. “If you want an example, just look at mum’s leg. He built hers for her.”

Flash Powder nodded as Lit Fuse finished the letter. Once he was finished, he began digging in his bags for an envelope. “Assuming da mail gets to him quickly, he should be here in a couple days,” Flash Powder said with a blank face. “I vill give you to da end of January to recover and get used to your new limb,” she said as she turned around. “But I expect you to be at da castle on da first of February, vhere you vill be mine for one full veek.”

“Wait, till the end of January?” Lit Fuse asked as he finally placed the letter in an envelope. “But whats Party Popper supposed to do? AJ’s her partner during the drills?”

“I guess you’ll just have to step up again. Just like yesterday,” Flash Powder said as she walked past him.

“Of course,” he said under his breath. Lit Fuse turned back to the group in the room. “Well, this certainly was an adventure. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.”

“Yea, loads of fun,” grumbled Applejack from her spot off to the side. She was hiding her hat behind her so it couldn’t be used against her again.

“Once again, I apologise for mum’s forwardness, and hope we haven’t caused you too much trouble.” With a slight bow, he followed his mother out of the room.

“She is such a bitch,” Applejack said as she finally placed her hat on her head once again. “No wonder yer so tired after trainin’. Ah’d be exhausted after havin’ ta deal with her all day.”

“The drills are no cakewalk either,” AJ said as he slouched back in his chair. “I hope nopony cares if i just go back to my room. I’m not feeling up to entertaining anypony right now.”

“Yes, I think it would probably be best if everypony left right now,” Sunny said in agreement, a sorrowful look on her face.

“Did...did you want me to stay, or did you…”

“We’d like to have some alone time with our daughter, if that’s okay with you,” Sunburst said as he comforted his wife.

Rainbow nodded her head before standing up. “R-right. If you need me, you know where you can find me. For a little while longer at least.”

“Yer free ta come stay with us ya know. Ah just gotta make sure AJ get’s inta bed, an' pick up Apple Bloom from Rare’s place, an’ Ah can get somethin’ set up fer ya,” Applejack said as she began walking out of the room. She waved to Sunny and Sunburst before walking through the door.

“I was probably going to ask Fluttershy if I could stay there till this is all done,” Rainbow said as she followed.

“Come on you two. Let’s go back to Daddy’s room,” Ditzy said to Knight and Dinky as she got behind AJ’s chair. AJ took one last glance at the filly before he was pushed out of the room.

********************

With Ditzy’s and Applejack’s help, he AJ was once again lying in his bed. He took a deep breath as he began to relax. He looked at the clock in the room and sighed “It’s only 3 in the afternoon and it feels like an entire day’s gone by.”

“Well, ta be fair, ya’ve been through a lot today,” Applejack said with a slight smile.

“Yea. You’ve been through way too much excitement for one day,” Ditzy said as she pushed the chair into the corner. “Way too much for a pony in your condition. You should have been getting more sleep instead.”

“You’re probably right,” AJ said as he let a yawn escaped.

“Awwww, you’re going to sleep again?” Dinky asked with her big, puppy dog eyes.

“Yea! I wanna play!” added Knight.

AJ leaned over to look at the two of them before letting out a sigh. “I guess I really haven’t been a lot of fun over the last couple of days, huh.” He thought for a moment as he looked around the room; his eyes falling on the TV. “Hey, I know it’s not much, but why don’t we watch some cartoons together? I can’t exactly do much else right now anyway.”

Ditzy and Applejack watched as the foals looked at each other with a smile. Dinky helped Knight up on the bed before leaping up on her own. She just barely made it as the bed was a little higher than she was used to, but Knight helped pull her up. Ditzy turned her head when she felt Applejack nudging her shoulder. “Hey, Ah wanna ask ya somethin,” she whispered as she motioned away from the bed.

Ditzy nodded as she followed Applejack to the far side of the room. She had a feeling she knew what this was about. “...Is this about…?” she asked in a hushed voice

“Yea. Ah was just wonderin’ if you were goin’ ta tell’im now or tomorrow. Ya did say you were goin’ ta tell’im when he was feelin’ better.”

Ditzy laid her ears back as she thought. “I...think he’s been through enough today. I’ll tell him tomorrow.”

“Tell me what tomorrow?”

Both Applejack and Ditzy were pretty sure they felt their hearts stop at AJ’s voice. It was then they also realised just how quiet the room was. Ditzy swallowed the lump in her throat as she turned her head. AJ, Dinky, and Knight were all looking in their direction.

Neither Ditzy or Applejack knew what to say. All they did was stand there and stare with wide eyes. “Is something wrong?”

“No no no, nothin’s wrong. Nothin’ at all” Applejack said with an unconvinced smile, following it with an equally unconvincing laugh.

Ditzy quickly glanced over at Applejack. “U-umm, yea. N-n-nothing’s wrong.” Her smile was even more unconvincing.

The three of them just continued to stare at the mares for a minute before AJ let out a deep sigh. “If you’re going to lie, at least try to make it convincing.” Both of their smiles slowly started to falter as they looked between each other and AJ; silently trying to figure out what to do.

Ditzy swallowed the lump in her as she ran everything through her head. “It’s...it’s nothing important. Nothing that can’t wait till tomorrow.”

“Nothin’ important?” whispered Applejack knowing just how much of a lie that was.

“Okay, it’s really important, but it can wait till tomorrow. I promise.”

“Oh come on, you peaked my interest now,” AJ said with a smirk

“No really, it can wait till tomorrow. You should just relax.”

“Pleeeease,” he ‘whined’ as he attempted to do the puppy dog eyes, failing miserably. It came off as more pathetic than anything else. Dinky and Knight began laughing to themselves at his attempt. “It must be something juicy if you’re being so reluctant.”

“Ah think it might be best ta tell’im now.”

Ditzy turned to Applejack. “B-but…”

Applejack placed a calming hoof on her shoulder. “He already knows ya got somethin’ ta tell’im. No point in holdin’ back now.”

“What’s wrong? The way you’re acting makes me think that it’s something bad.”

“I-it’s not bad. At least I hope it isn’t.” Ditzy took a few moments to attempt to gather up her courage. “I wanted to wait till you were feeling better, but you’ve already been through so much today. You sure you don’t just want to wait till tomorrow to hear it?”

AJ had to take a minute to think. With something like that, he could only imagine that this...thing...Ditzy needed to tell him about was something important, and probably going to give him a shock. With all the shock he’s been through today alone, it probably would be a good idea to wait till tomorrow. But… “If it’s as shocking as you’re making it sound, I think I wanna get it out of the way. That way I’ll hopefully be able to go a day without some life changing event taking place. I mean, after today I probably already shaved a few years off my life, what with the freaking out over my leg, and the surprise appearance of Flash Powder. Whats a few more days.”

Ditzy and Applejack looked at each other for a moment before Applejack shrugged. “He’s got a point.”

“Yea, I guess he does.”

“Do you want me to send the kids out of the room?” AJ asked as he pointed to the foals on the bed with him.

“No, no...they should hear this to. Especially Dinky.” She took a deep breath as she readied herself for the worst. “W-well. You know how I was kinda...out of it yesterday?”

“Nnno, not really. I really don’t remember much from yesterday, remember?”

“Oh...right.”

“I do,” chirped Dinky. “You were acting all weird in the bathroom. And then you put that thingy in the waste basket.”

“Thingy?”

Ditzy nodded her head. Sweat began rolling down her face. “Yesterday I just got this feeling that something was...off. Something that felt strange, yet familiar. So I went to the store early and got a test.”

“A test? What for?”

“Put it together genius. What kinda test would a mare take in th’ bathroom?” Applejack said with a smirk

Ditzy turned to Applejack with a slight glare. She turned back to AJ with a sigh. “It...was a pregnancy test.”

AJ wore an unreadable look on his face. He just stared at Ditzy as he put things together. It took him longer than really should have, with the anesthesia still somewhat affecting his mind what did they expect, but he eventually put two and two together. His tired eyes widened. “Are...are you saying that you’re…?”

Ditzy nodded her head. “I-I’m...pregnant.”

“I-i-i-I’m gonna be a dad?”

“Technically yer already a dad, but yea,” Applejack said, happy that things haven’t taken a turn for the worse. At least, not yet.

“Preg...nant?” asked Dinky. She’s heard that word before. But where? Her ears suddenly perked up, and her eyes got wide as a giant smile grew on her face. “You’re pregnant?! I’m gonna be a big sister?!”

AJ’s face pretty much ran a gambit of emotions. After a bit, Applejack was sure she saw his lips began curling into a smile. His smile half formed before immediately falling. His face turned slightly pale. “W-w-w-what’s wrong?” Ditzy asked expecting the worst.

Applejack noticed AJ’s eyes begin to roll back into his head. “Uh oh.”

“G-goin’ duwn,” AJ mumbled before his head abruptly fell back down to his pillow.

The other four ponies in the room stared at the passed out pony. “I think you killed him,” Knight said with a completely straight face.

“Well...Ah guess we really should’ve waited till tomorrow.”

“W-w-what does that mean? Is he happy? Mad? Does he want to break up with me?!”

“Just calm down sugarcube. It was probably just too much of a shock fer’im. Like we said, he’s been through a lot today. We’ll just ask’im tomorrow how he feels ‘bout it.”

“But what if he’s not happy? I-I-I don’t know if I can handle the pressure of not knowing!”

“Snap outta it!” shouted Applejack, getting everypony’s attention. “Ah’m sure everythin’ll be fine.” A smile grew on her face. “Besides, Ah’m pretty sure Ah saw a smile there before he passed out. Now come on, Ah think we should let’im sleep an’ come back tomorrow.”

“Aww,” came the combined voices of Dinky and Knight.

“Don’t you ‘aww’ me,” Applejack said with a smirk. “Th’ more sleep he gets, the faster he’ll get better, an’ th’ faster he gets better, the sooner you’ll get ta play with’im. Specially if that new leg thing's goin’ ta work like it’s supposed to.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Applejack said before grabbing Knight off the bed. “You want us ta walk ya home?” she asked as she turned to Ditzy.

Ditzy gave a slight nod. “Y-yea. I’d like that.”

********************

”AJ…”

“Mmmm.”

“AJ.”

“Mmmdad?”

“Wake up.”

AJ’s eyes cracked open. The bright, blue sky, filled with light, fluffy clouds greeted him. He felt a light breeze blowing through the air; teasing the hair in his face and the leaves on the tree just behind him. The grass underneath him felt so soft. It was like he was lying on a cloud. Up above he could see a couple pegasi playing around in the clouds before flying off to do something else.

He started to sit up, but as he began to move, he felt something strange. He could feel parts of his body that he no longer had. Fingers and toes that he had given up when he became a pony suddenly felt real again. He lifted his arms, first noticing the distinct flesh color of his skin. Gone was his indigo coat and hooves. As he stared at his hands, he flexed his fingers to make sure what he was looking at were actually hands. After a couple seconds he sat up and began feeling up his body. His face, body, hips, legs . He even had shoe covered feet at the end of his jean covered legs.

He wasn’t sure what happened, but he was a human once again.

“No way.” he said breathlessly.

It took him a moment, but he finally stood up and took a look around. He was on a hill top. A very familiar hill top. One that meant more to him than it did to anyone, or pony, else. He stood there with mixed feelings as he stared at the makeshift gravestone he placed at the base of the tree. Part of him felt at peace seeing it again. The rest of him, however, felt conflicted. Even with all the help he’s gotten since coming to Equestria, some part of him still felt guilty over what happened.

“AJ.”

Hearing the voice behind him, AJ whipped around to try to find the source. Nothing was there. All he saw was Ponyville off in the distance. He was too far away to tell what was going on, but he could only imagine how busy the market must be right now.

“AJ.”

Hearing the voice behind him again, he turned around yet again. This time, however, was different. He suddenly felt an intense tightness in his chest. His stomach began twisting and tying itself in knots. His face went pale, and his body began to shake. Tears began welling up in his eyes as he stared at the smiling figure before him.

“D-d-d-d-dad?” His dad just nodded as his smile grew. AJ fell to his knees as tears began rolling down his cheeks. “I-I-I’m sorry. It’s all my…”

“Shhhh,” shushed Mark with a finger to his mouth. He walked up to AJ and put a hand under his chin; lifting AJ’s head to look him in the eyes. “It’s not your fault.” AJ felt a comforting warmth begin to flow through him.

Before anymore could be said, the breeze began to pick up slightly. AJ turned his head only to see Scootaloo of all ponies flying towards him and his dad. After doing a loop in the air, she landed just to the side of them. She seemed to ignore AJ’s presence. “Okay, I’m ready to go!” she said with a big smile.

Mark looked down at the filly with a smile. He stepped away from AJ and back to the gravestone with Scootaloo following him over. He made eye contact with AJ one last time. “Remember, I am, and always have been, proud of you.” Nothing else was said. Both him and Scootaloo suddenly began to disappear. From the ground up, they began vanishing into nothing. Scootaloo just waved to AJ before she was gone, while Mark just smiled.

The last thing AJ saw was a single, glowing tear falling from his dad’s eye.

********************

AJ’s eyes shot open and he quickly pushed himself up. He had to quickly try to catch himself as he pushed himself to the left. After catching and righting himself, he noticed he still had his glasses on, and took note of his surroundings. He was in a dark hospital room. He couldn’t see the clock, but if he had to guess, it was probably around midnight, maybe a little later.

Remembering what just happened, he began patting his body down, noticing the distinct lack of a left arm, or foreleg, as the case may be. He was a pony again. Lying in his hospital bed after having his foreleg amputated. He let out a sigh before flopping back onto the bed. “It was just a dream,” he said to nopony in particular. “...Of course it was just a dream.”

As he lay there, the contents of the dream mulled around his head. He played it through again, if for no other reason to get a positive memory of his dad to think about.

That’s when he remembered Scootaloo. She was there. Along with his dad, they vanished into nothingness. Why was she there? What did it mean? Was Scootaloo okay, or did she…?

AJ’s eyes got wide. When they left Scootaloo’s room, there was still no telling if her condition was going to get any better or worse. He had been asleep for hours. What if in that time she had gotten worse? What if she got so bad that she died?

Numerous outcomes began running through his head. None of them ended in a good way. He knew he had to go see if Scootaloo was okay. He sat up again, this time making sure not to push himself off the bed. He threw the covers off of himself before forcing himself to the edge of the bed.

This was going to be the hard part. He knew he should use his wheelchair. In fact, he could see it in the corner of the room. The problem came with getting around in it. With only one foreleg, he had no way to move it around, and with the drugs still dampening his magic, the chair was a no go.

He knew a doctor or a nurse would just tell him to stay in bed, and with nopony else in the room to help him he was on his own. He took a minute to look between his three limbs and the floor. It didn’t take a genius to know what he was going to have to do.

Then came the problem with trying to keep his balance with only three legs. He had enough trouble getting used to four. Now he had to completely change how he would walk.

“Ooooh, this is gonna suck.” He took a deep breath before scooting himself forward. It felt okay as his hindlegs hit the floor. Now came the hard part. He lurched his body forward, trying to gently place his foreleg on the floor. It didn’t matter how gentle he was. As soon as his leg hit the floor, pain shot through his chest. He fell to the floor, causing even more pain as he collided. He tried and failed to fight back the tears as he writhed on the floor.

After about a minute and a half, the pain slowly started to ebb away. He lay there, breathing heavily through his teeth. “I-I-I guess I know why my chest is wrapped now.” He took another minute before trying again. Lifting his body off the floor proved slightly easier. He still had to contend with the searing pain in his chest. That was just from standing there. He took another deep breath for courage before taking a test step.

It hurt. It hurt a lot, but it was bearable enough where he could get around. He swallowed the lump in his throat before hobbling towards the door. Luckily, his magic was at least strong enough to open the door again. He poked his head out the door, making sure nopony was around before hobbling into the hall, and towards Scootaloo’s room.

Even when he heard another pony down the halls he passed, he couldn’t stop. Not because he was worried about Scootaloo, he knew she wasn’t going anywhere, but because putting a stop to his momentum would alert everypony in the building to his presence as he crumpled to the floor and cried out in pain. He was just moving too ‘fast’ to be able to stop on a dime without causing himself an immense amount of pain.

Unfortunately for him, a door a little down the hall from Scootaloo’s opened as a doctor walked out. And not just any doctor, this was a doctor he’s become very familiar with over his time in Equestria. Trotsworth closed the door before stopping to let out a deep sigh that sounded like it was one part sigh and two parts yawn. “I honestly just don’t know how Healing Touch does it. This shift is going to be the end of me. Let’s hope I won’t need to do this again for a very long time.” He turned his head when he heard a thud followed by a muffled scream. His eyes widened when he saw AJ’s bandaged up body writhing on the floor a few meters down the hall. “What in Celestia’s name are you doing out of bed?!” he asked as he rushed over to his aid.

As he writhed, he tried to push Trotsworth away, knowing he would just take him back to his room. It took a little bit, but the pain began ebbing away. “J-j-just get away.”

“I don’t think so. You need to get back in bed. I read your charts when I came in, and I know about that wound on your chest. You may have re-opened it with this little stunt of yours.”

“D-don’t care. Have to go see Scootaloo,” he said as he tried getting up again. “Just get out of my way.”

“Scoota…?” Trotsworth let out a slight frustrated grunt. “That can wait until tomorrow. It’s 11:54, and you are going back to your room.”

“I’m going to see Scootaloo whether you help me or not.”

“Look, Scootaloo is…”

“Doctor? Is everything alright?” came a nurses voice from down the hall.

Trotsworth stood up and turned to see one of the night nurses coming down the hall. “Define okay. I need you to get me a wheelchair and 2 ml of xylazine.”

“Right away,” the nurse said before he turned and rushed to get what was needed. As the nurse turned the corner, Trostworth let out a sigh. He knew that when he turned around, AJ was going to be gone. Sure enough, the floor in front of him was unoccupied. Though just down the hall, he could see AJ opening the door to Scootaloo’s room. He took one last look at Trotsworth before entering the room.

AJ didn’t make it far into the room before he noticed something was wrong. His eyes widened as he took in the room. There was no beeping heart monitor. The bed was not only empty, but it looked clean and immaculate. It looked like nopony had ever been in that bed. “S-s-scootaloo?”

“I tried to tell you before,” came Trotsworth’s voice behind him.

AJ turned to look at the brown Earth pony. “What do you mean? Why isn’t Scootaloo in her room?” Trotsworth just stared at him for a second. “What happened to her?! Tell me?!”

“Would you just calm down? You’re going to give yourself an aneurysm.” He walked in and sat next to AJ. He just sat there for, what seemed like, an eternity just waiting for AJ to calm down. “A few hours ago, around 8:30 to be more exact, her condition began to improve. Quite a bit in fact. So much so that they were able to move her out of the ICU without fear of her relapsing. I guess the antivenom finally started doing it’s job. She’s lucky though, and strong willed to boot. A weaker pony would have sucomed to the venom a lot sooner than that. She’ll get far in life.” He noticed the look of pure relief on AJ’s face. It looked like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “What did you think happened to her?”

AJ played the events of his dream in his head again. More specifically, the end. “I...I don’t know.”

“Doctor? Ah, there you are!” the nurse said as he entered the room with a wheelchair. He had a small syringe hovering next to him in his magic.

“Ah, yes. Thank you for this.” Trotsworth said as he grabbed the syringe.

“What’s that?” AJ asked as he stared at the clear liquid in the syringe.

“Just a little something to calm you down and help you get to sleep again. Besides, it’ll be much easier to check your stitches if you’re calm,” he said as he noticed some blood beginning to soak through the bandages He motioned for the nurse to help him get AJ in the chair. After injecting AJ with the syringe, he allowed himself to smile. “Now, you better stay in bed. If I find you pulling a stunt like this again, I’ll make sure to strap you down.”

********************

“You idiot!” shouted Ditzy as she paced alongside AJ’s bed. She ran into Trotsworth, who was finally getting off from the overnight shift, and was told about AJ’s little adventure through the hospital. This was the last thing she wanted to hear after such a stressful day at work. AJ knew he was in for it when Ditzy practically kicked his door in. “What the hell were you thinking getting out of bed and traipsing around like that?!”

“Th-th-that I needed to check on…”

“Scootaloo was fine!” Ditzy shouted, cutting off AJ. “Her parents came by to tell us all as soon as they found out!”

“I-I-I didn’t know.”

“Did you ever think to, oh I don’t know, ask a nurse or something?!” AJ swallowed the lump in his throat before shaking his head. Ditzy let out a frustrated sigh as she rolled her eyes. “Great. I’m in love with an idiot. You’re just lucky you’re already in the hospital, or I’d probably put you in here myself.”

Ditzy let out one last huff before moving away from the bed. She didn’t leave the room, she just wanted more room to pace around. As Ditzy grumbled to herself, AJ took this time to take things in, and collect his thoughts. Something he really hasn’t been able to properly do since before he and the girls went into the forest. His thoughts eventually turned to Ditzy. Namely, what she said yesterday. At least, what he could remember. It’s all kind of a blur after Ditzy mentioned she was…

“You said you were pregnant?” he asked to make sure he wasn’t just dreaming when she said that.

Not two seconds later he heard a thud. He looked over to see that Ditzy must have tripped over her own hooves. Her chin was firmly planted on the floor. She quickly picked herself up and looked at him; a half scared, half hopeful look on her face. “W-w-what was that?”

“Yesterday, you said you were pregnant, right? I just wanted to make sure that wasn’t a dream too.”

Ditzy stood there for a moment trying to read the unreadable look on AJ’s face. She took in a deep breath before nodding her head. “Y-y-yea. I just found out about it the other day when you were in surgery.”

A suffocating silence filled the room as the two of them had a staredown. Ditzy swallowed the lump in her throat as she resisted the urge to bolt from the room as fast as she could. AJ could see the fear in her eyes. He let out a sigh as he started to push himself up to a sitting position. “Come here.”

“W-w-what?”

“Come over here.”

“B-but…”

“Don’t make me come over there.” Ditzy just stared at him. “No seriously, don’t make me come over there. I still hurt after what I did last night.” Ditzy quickly nodded and got closer to the bed; moving to the side he had shifted over to. Though she still kept her distance. AJ just rolled his eyes. “Closer.”

Using his still dulled magic, he gave Ditzy’s flank a slight pinch causing her to yip and jump a little. “Okay, okay. I’m coming.”

She closed the last couple feet and sat next to the bed. AJ wasted little time reaching over to hug the pegasus to the best of his ability. It was a lot harder to do with only one leg. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even know what he could say. Ditzy, while slightly stunned, was also silent. After a few seconds, she shakily returned the hug. AJ could feel Ditzy’s tears hitting his shoulder. He let go of her just long enough to swap to the other side of the bed. She didn’t need to be told twice to join him. Nothing would be said between the two of them. The only sound coming from the room were the sobs of a pegasus who needed to let it all out.

********************

“My, my. Sounds like you’ve had a pretty rough month,” Soft Spoken said as she took a sip of some apple juice she had been offered. “I can see why you had to push back this appointment a bit.”

At this moment, AJ was lying on the couch while Soft Spoken, his therapist, sat on the chair a few feet away. Soft Spoken was a snow white pegasus with a deep pink mane. She had sapphire blue eyes, and a smiling teddy bear as a cutie mark. Though he had to push back the appointment, he had quite a bit he needed to tell her about. “Yea. It’s been...eventful...to say the least. I’m just happy everything seems to finally be going back to normal. Well, as normal as life can get when you have a mechanical leg,” he said as he lifted his left leg to look at it. "But I guess it wasn't all bad. I mean, Apple Bloom did get her cutie mark because of all this."

"She did? What for?"

"Well, I can only guess she must have gotten it for building that cart they used to drag my sorry butt to the hospital." He remembered back to one of the days Applejack came to visit him in the hospital. Along with her was an overexcited Apple Bloom who literally bounced into the room. Before he knew what was going on, she shoved her flank into AJ's face to show him her cutie mark. It was a wooden cross, the same one that was on sign for the hospital, though it didn't have the hearts. It was painted red, and had a paint covered paint brush next to it. They could only guess that she must have gotten it after building the cart, and nopony noticed till then due to everything that happened. Including Apple Bloom herself.

“Good for her," Soft Spoken said with a bright smile. "Though I’ve been wondering about your leg actually. That’s not like any prosthesis I’ve ever seen. How exactly does that work?”

AJ looked between his leg and Soft Spoken for a few seconds. “I don’t suppose you’ll take ‘science’ as an answer, will you?” The knowing look told him no. “Well, I had to be awake during the procedure, so I can give you the basics. It’s basically a steel skeletal structure covered by a protective, metal shell. Then of course you have all the other bits. Tubes, joints, all that fun stuff. I probably should have asked more questions about the innards of this thing.”

“And how are you able to move it like that? Does it have a powered crystal inside it?”

“I wish it was that simple.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see how it’s anchored to my body like this?” he asked as he motioned to the plates that reached past his leg. “Well, when he installed the anchor, he also had to attach it to my body.”

“I’m...I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“I really don’t understand how it works, but this thing is actually connected to my nervous system. Moving it is just as easy as moving any other limb on my body. At least, it was after I got used to it. That’s why I had to be awake during everything. To make sure everything was hooked up properly. You ever have your nerves played with directly?”

“Nnnno, can’t say that I have.”

“It sucks. It sucks a lot. Almost as bad as having a chunk of your flesh torn off by a razorback. If not worse.” AJ couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “Scootaloo says I remind her of the main character from one of her manga, Fullmetal Alchemist. Speaking of Scootaloo, she’s doing just fine. Hell, she got out of the hospital like...almost a week before I did."

Soft Spoken let out a small giggle of her own. “I can only imagine how heavy that leg must be.”

“You don’t know how right you are. That’s what made getting used to this thing so hard. I can’t even recall all the damage I did around the house. Broken drinking glasses, dishes, cracked bathtub, dents in the floor. I even broke a decent sized hole in Applejacks door when she was doing...personal things, just by knocking on it.”

“Hey! That’s not somethin’ ya need ta be tellin’ anypony!” came Applejack’s voice as she poked her head out of the kitchen; her face was flushed red.

AJ just rolled his eyes. He knew she’d get over it. “As I was saying, I eventually learned the necessary restraint. Haven’t broken anything in the last week.”

“The restraint was bound to come with time. Though I wouldn't be surprised if you still had an accident from time to time. I assume it’s waterproof too?”

“Mmhm. Monkey Wrench did give me some cleaner and metal polish to help keep it clean though. Said I should clean it about once a month. It may be waterproof, but hot, soapy water just ain't going to clean it like a specialized cleaner would.”

“Can you get this cleaner just anywhere, or is it something special that you’d need to special order?”

“He said I could always just let him know if I needed a refill. Otherwise he gave me a list of cleaners that would do the job.”

Soft Spoken had a soft smile on her face. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to ask you how your relationship with Ditzy Doo’s doing.”

AJ let out a chuckle. “Oh man, things are going great. No, scratch that. Better than great. Did you know that in about tenish months I’m going to be a dad.”

“Oh? Congratulations! Though, technically you’re already a dad. Unless I’m remembering wrong, Knight Wind is you’re adopted son, right?”

“Yea. And I love him with all my heart. I love Dinky too, but this feels...different.”

“I think I may know why this feels so...special.” AJ looked at Soft Spoken with an expectant look. “While you love Knight like a son, he’s not your blood related son. The foal you’ll be having with Ditzy, you had a hoof in it’s creation. It’ll be your blood related child.”

AJ raised a brow as he looked at his therapist. “You seem to know quite a bit about this situation.”

“I had a friend who went through the exact type of thing. She thought she couldn’t have a foal of her own, so she adopted. Loved that little filly as if she was her own. Two years later, she ends up getting pregnant with a foal. She felt that special feeling towards the foal, the same one you’re feeling, even though he hadn’t been born yet. Though she was worried that she was going to stop loving her adopted daughter as much when her foal was born. Turns out she was worrying over nothing. Four years later, and she hasn’t stopped loving either of them.”

“Oh trust me, I wouldn’t be able to stop loving Knight. Not after all we’ve been through.”

“Well that’s good to hear.” Soft Spoken noticed the clock on the side of the room and let out a slight sigh. “Ooh, it looks like our times almost up for today. Is there anything you’d like to talk about before I have to say goodbye?”

AJ put a hoof to his chin as he thought for a moment. A small grin formed on his face. “I...I had a dream about my dad while I was in the hospital.”

Soft Spoken’s ears perked up at the mention of his dad. That did seem to be the origin of most of his internal torment. She got comfortable once again. She’d be willing to go over the appointment time for this. “Oh? Was it as bad as the last one?”

AJ’s smile only grew as he shook his head. “No, not at all. It...It was actually a happy dream. Probably the best memory I’ve had of him in nine years.”

A smile grew on Soft Spoken’s face. Hearing some whispering, she turned her head to see Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all ‘secretly’ listening in from the kitchen doorway. They all pulled back when they noticed they had been seen. “Well I’d love to hear about it. Please, go on.”

“Gladly.”

****************************************

Author's Note

If you wanna know what his leg looks like, It looks like this...

but with an anchor to his body like this...

FMA (c) Makoto Inoue, Hiromu Arakawa, Viz Media

Chaos Looms

Chapter 48

Twilight’s head throbbed as she slowly picked herself up from the floor. It felt like she had been struck upside the head by a brick. She began rubbing her head as she decided to just sit instead. As she began rubbing her head, she noticed something very important to her was mysteriously missing. “M-m-m-my horn?” She opened her eyes as she tried to spot the tip of her horn, but it was no use. She was hornless. That’s when she noticed something else. Muscles on her back she never remembered having. Turning her head, she was sure her eyes would have popped out of her skull if they weren't attached by the optic nerve. Two purple wings were sticking straight out.

After a few seconds of freaking out over her new appendages, she decided to look around the room. Twilight felt as if she was suffering from shell shock as she took in her surroundings. Despite all the commotion happening around her, all she heard was muffled screams and shouts. Calling the throne room a mad house at this time would have been a compliment.

AJ, for some reason, was now a mare with a pregnant bulge. The look on her face was near rabid as she reached and thrashed around for something. The only thing holding her back from ending the life of...whatever it was, was the stallion that was holding her back. That stallion just so happened to be Ditzy. Why the two of them had suddenly changed gender, she wish she knew. She really wish she knew.

Dinky and Knight had their colors swapped. Dinky had a light cream colored coat and a burgundy mane, and Knight had a pale purple coat and a blond mane.

She turned her head to see her teacher, and co-ruler of Equestria, Celestia. She was now bald. Like...completely bald. Not only were her flowing, ethereal mane and tail gone, but her beautiful, pearlescent coat was gone leaving her pink, naked body on display for all to see. All of her hair had fallen to the floor in a pile around her.

Luna seemed to escape whatever happened unscathed. Though she seemed to be rubbing her throat with a look of worry on her face.

Applejack looked very unamused that she had been transformed into a literal cow pony. While she was still the size of a pony, and held the same basic body shape, everything else was that of a cow. She had small cow horns, cow like splotches covering her orange body, a cow like snout, a cow tail, and a cows udder hanging beneath her.

All the guards in the room had also suffered in some kind of way. Ranging from something as simple as being disorientated, to being turned to stone.

And amid all this…this, chaos, stood Discord.

With everything going on, and her head still throbbing, all Twilight could think to do was try to remember what all happened that lead up to this point.

********************

“Are you really sure you have to do this?” Ditzy asked as she uncomfortably shifted in her seat. “You just got back yesterday from your week of training, and now you’re going to just...leave Equestria for a couple of weeks?”

AJ’s head lowered as he let out a sigh. “I told you before. When Lit Fuse and I were talking one night, I told him that I was just feeling a little...anxious. He said it was probably just homesickness.”

“But you’re home now. Shouldn’t you be feeling better?” Ditzy asked knowing the home he was actually talking about.

“Are you okay Ditzy? I can go get you a cushion or something to sit on,” Twilight said when she noticed all the squirming around Ditzy was doing. She was worried that her kitchen chairs may be to uncomfortable for the pregnant mare.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not the chair that’s making me so uncomfortable.”

“And this is why I wanted to talk to you about this,” AJ said before taking a sip of his tea. “This is, obviously, a big decision that shouldn’t be made lightly.”

“Clearly. What made you start feeling homesick anyway?” asked Twilight. “I mean, you’ve been living in Equestria for months without any worry about going back. Why now?”

AJ sat back in his seat and let out a deep sigh. “To be completely honest, I think it was getting Ditzy pregnant.”

“Okay, I’m lost. What does me getting pregnant have to…” Ditzy stopped talking as she let out a small groan of discomfort. “Okay, I think I’ll take that cushion after all. Or a couch. Could we move upstairs to your couch?”

Twilight’s ears lowered as she looked towards the other room. “We could, but Spike’s got Apple Bloom and the girls over to watch some movies, so they’ll have the upstairs occupied for most of the day. I’ll go get you a cushion though.”

“Thank you,” Ditzy said with a smile. She watched as Twilight walked out of the room before turning back to AJ. “I swear I wasn’t this big at this point with Dinky.”

“I guess he’s gonna be a big one...or something,” AJ said as he scratched his head. “I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know till just recently just how little I knew about pregnancy.”

“He?” Ditzy asked with a smirk on her face. “What makes you so sure it’s going to be a he? It could very well be a she.”

“I know, I know. I just don’t like saying ‘it’ all the time.”

“Will this do?” came Twilight’s voice as she walked into the kitchen with a cushion. From the looks of it it was the one she had on the chair at her studying desk.

Ditzy let out an audible sigh as she stood up from her seat with a smile. “That’ll be fine, thanks. As long as there’s something between me and the chair I’ll be happy,” she said as she gratefully grabbed the cushion from Twilight’s magical hold.

“Okay, where were we now?” Twilight asked as she took her seat.

“He was about to explain why me getting pregnant is making him want to go home.”

“You make it sound like I wouldn’t be coming back,” AJ said under his breath. “Anyway, since I became 18, mom’s been joking around about me and my brother giving her grandchildren. I knew she was just joking, but I could always tell there was a hint of seriousness there too.”

“So you specifically miss your mom?” asked Ditzy.

“Essentially, yea. She wanted grandchildren so badly. And now that I have kids, that I’m actually making something of my life...I guess I kinda want to see mom happy about something.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “That makes sense.”

“And it’s not like we won’t be coming back. It’ll only be a visit. Like...about two weeks probably.”

“We?”

“Well, Applejack noticed me acting a bit down last night and I talked to her about it. She said that if I go, she’d be interested in meeting my family. Maybe learning more about me in the process.”

“Well, family is very important to Applejack,” Ditzy said with a nod of understanding.

“I assume Big Mac would be staying home?” asked Twilight.

“Of course. Somepony needs to stay and watch the farm. And since Apple Bloom would be too young to stay home alone for weeks at a time, that responsibility would fall upon Big Mac. I was actually wondering if you wanted to go too,” he said as he turned to Twilight.

Twilight’s eyes widened slightly before a smile creased her lips. “You want me to go to your world with you? Why, I’d…”

“Now just hold on!” interrupted Ditzy. Everypony turned to her to see a disgruntled look on her face. “You invite her, but never once think to ask me?”

“Ditzy, just calm down,” AJ said to try to keep Ditzy from getting too mad at him. “I’m not even completely sure if I’ll be going just yet, but I have a good reason for not wanting you to come.”

“And just what would that be, hmm?”

AJ looked down, his ears falling, as he let out a sigh. “If we do go, everypony that’s coming with me would need to be changed into a human.” Ditzy’s eyes widened at this news. “The transformation would put a huge amount of stress on your body, not to mention the...other things. Correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t a lot of stress lead to a miscarriage?”

“That’s right, but what did you mean about, ‘other things?’” Twilight asked curious about what the transformation was like.

AJ sat back in his seat as he bit his lower lip; trying to remember everything that happened during Luna’s spell. “Well...where should I start? There was the extreme pain. The growing of an actual tail. The shifting, breaking bones that sickeningly snapped and readjusted themselves into place. To be completely honest, I’m not sure what bones went where to change my body from what it was to what it is now. Much less what it would go through to be changed back. Pretty sure I either lost some bones, or they at least shrunk a bit. Then there’s the muscles. Well, you remember how much pain I was in after it all happened.”

Twilight looked at AJ with a slightly horrified face. “B-b-but I’ve done transformation spells before. Nothing like that ever happened.”

“Luna said that any normal spell would just fade after a bit. To make it last, she needed to use a special type of spell. Don’t ask me what made it so special, because I have no clue.”

“Could we please stop talking about breaking bones and stuff like that?” asked Ditzy. The other two ponies looked over at Ditzy to see her looking a bit green.

Twilight’s eyes widened before she whipped her head towards the door. “Spike! Bring me down the bathroom bucket, now!”

There was silence for a second. “Can’t you come get it? I’m kinda…”

“Not the time Spike, just bring it!”

Twilight knew Spike, while grumbling the whole time, would do as she said. While she waited for the bucket, she could hear AJ walking around the table to tend to his fillyfriend. “You gonna be okay?” he asked as he started rubbing her back.”

Ditzy began taking deep breaths to try to calm her stomach down. “D-don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Spike could be heard grumbling as he came into the kitchen. “Here’s the bucket Twilight.”

“Thank you Spike!” Twilight said as she quickly grabbed the bucket from him with her magic and passed it over to Ditzy.

“I’m fine Twilight, I don’t need a bucket,” Ditzy said more to convince herself.

“Sorry for interrupting your get together,” Twilight said as she grabbed decent sized ruby from the cupboard and presented it to the dragon.

Spike looked between the ruby and Twilight for a second before his grumpy exterior began to crack. “Aww, I can’t stay mad at you for something like this,” he said as he took the ruby. “Just try not to make a habit out of it,” he said with a chuckle before heading back upstairs.

“Would you stop fussing? I-I-I said I’m fine.”

Twilight turned her attention back to Ditzy. “You don’t need to hide it Ditzy. You still look like you’re feeling pretty nauseous.”

“For the last time, I’m fi…” Ditzy suddenly interrupted herself as her stomach suddenly started a revolution. “N-no I’m not.” She quickly grabbed the bucket in front of her and began upchucking.

Twilight recoiled slightly as the sound hit her. The sound of somepony vomiting was never a pleasant sound. As she looked at AJ, she could see that he was actually smiling...kinda. To be honest it looked like he himself was about to start vomiting. AJ could see Twilight staring at him in confusion. “I heard on a show once that smiling can help with nausea,” he said as he continued to hold the smile.

They remained silent until Ditzy finished upchucking. She looked a bit worse for wear as she pulled her face from the bucket. She let out a groan as she spit the last of the bile into the bucket. “W-w-we’re not...finished with this conversation yet.”

“I think we’ve talked about it enough for now,” AJ said as he gave his body a small shake to ease his tension. “Besides, I’m not even completely sure if I’m going yet.”

Ditzy just glared at AJ as she placed the bucket on the floor. “He’s right. There’s no reason to get so worked up about this. Especially in your condition.” With her magic, she moved the bucket to the sink to be taken care of later.

“Stay out of this Twilight,” Ditzy grumbled as she shifted in her seat once again. She let out a small growl as she looked at her back. “I forgot how uncomfortable these stupid wing bindings can be.”

“Why don’t you take it off for a bit? I’m sure just stretching your wings wouldn’t hurt,” AJ suggested to try to get back on her good side.

“Don’t you need to get back to the farm?” Ditzy questioned as she scowled at the stallion.

AJ’s ears fell back as he looked at the clock. She was right. He did need to get back to the farm to help Applejack, but he also knew he should probably stay until everything can be explained. Then again, you do not want to get on Applejack’s badside. He let out a sigh. “I...guess I should get going. I’ll try to get over to your place later so we can finish this. If I can’t, I’ll be over tomorrow. Promise. ” AJ said as he leaned over and kissed Ditzy on the cheek. “See you later Twilight.”

Twilight waved to AJ as he walked out of the room. When she heard the door close, she heard Ditzy let out an angry sigh. “Can you believe him?”

“Excuse me?”

“Inviting every pony other than me to come with him on his little trip. Who the hell does he think he is?!”

“Ditzy, you need to calm down. He’s just worried about the health of both you and your foal. That’s all.”

“Oh, but he’s just fine with you and Applejack going through all of that. If the two of you can handle it, then I sure as hell can! I birthed a foal for Celestia’s sake! I think I can handle my body being broken apart and rebuilt!”

“Those...are very different things. Look, I’m going to go take the bucket back upstairs to clean it since you look like you’re done with it for now. We’ll talk more about this when I get back, please just try to calm down.”

Ditzy let out an annoyed grunt. “Whatever.”

“Oookay, good. I’ll be back shortly.” With a hopeful smile, Twilight gently lifted the bucket with her magic and left the room. She made sure to keep the bucket far enough away so she wouldn’t have to look at, or smell the vomit.

She let out a sigh about half way up the stairs to the second floor before stopping to look back down. “I hope she understands why he’s doing this.”

“Why who understands what?”

Twilight jumped a little, nearly spilling the bucket in the process. She let out a vocal sigh of relief when she made sure she had a firm, magical, grip on it. Looking up the stairs, she noticed Scootaloo staring at her from the top step. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just business between AJ, Ditzy and I. So how are you doing? Something wrong?”

Scootaloo had a slight look of annoyance as she mumbled to herself. “Mom said I had to be home before two since grandma and grandpa are going to be here for dinner.”

“Where do your grandparents live?”

“Just Cloudsdale, but they’re staying for the weekend. And mom said it would be rude if I wasn’t there, so I gotta go.” Twilight just nodded and stepped aside so the filly could get around her. “By the way, what was the bucket for?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.” With a shrug, the orange filly scooted around Twilight and continued down the stairs.

Now that the path was clear, Twilight finished the last few steps up the stairs. As she did, she was greeted by the smiling faces of the remaining CMC and Spike. “Hello. Sorry Scootaloo had to leave so early.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Spike said with a wave of his claw.

“Yea. Besides, it ain’t like we can’t just hang out with’er any other day.”

“Ugh hughg,” added Sweetie Belle after stuffing multiple marshmallows in her mouth.

“Well, maybe she’ll be able to stay longer next time. Now if you’ll excuse me, this thing’s really starting to smell,” Twilight said before hurrying into the bathroom.

After emptying and cleaning out the bucket, she placed it back under the sink. “Let’s hope we won’t need to use that again anytime soon.” She let out a sigh as she walked out of the bathroom. Not wanting to interrupt the get together anymore than she already had, she made as little noise as she could. Before she could reach the stairs, she was stopped by Spike. “Hey Twilight, do you think Apple Bloom could sleep over tonight?”

“Just Apple Bloom?” Twilight asked as she turned around.

“I have to get home and pack tonight. I’m going back to mom and dads tomorrow morning,” Sweetie said with a smile.

“So can she?” Spike asked with a bright smile.

Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof. “Did you run this by Applejack before you came over?”

Apple Bloom’s excitement dwindled slightly. “N-no.”

Twilight thought about it or a bit before smiling. “Well, I have no problem with it. As long as you clean up your mess.”

“It’s not that messy up here,” Spike said ignoring the landfill of strewn snack bags and sarsaparilla bottles between them and the TV.

Twilight just stared at him with an unamused look. “You can’t be serious.” Spike gave her a sheepish smile. “I may be your mom, but you’re old enough to clean up your own messes.”

“Yer mom?” questioned Apple Bloom. She turned to notice the slight blush on Spikes face.

“I always thought she was more of a sister if anything,” Sweetie said as she looked between the two of them.

“Sister? Please. Every year I can remember he’s gotten me something for mother’s day. Not to mention all the times he talks in his sleep. Which dream should I tell them about? The one where ‘mommy’ feeds you spoonfuls of crushed gems, or the one where ‘mommy’ has to come to your aid because you have a boo boo?”

Spike’s face was glowing by now. “N-n-n-no! You can’t!”

Twilight giggled to herself. “Oh I’m just teasing you Spike. Apple Bloom can stay the night. Just...try to clean up a bit. This place is a mess.”

Twilight left the second floor to the sound of giggling coming from the girls. As she reached the bottom, a different sound hit her ears. “Crying? Who could be…” Her eyes widened when she remembered who was in her kitchen. “Uh oh.” As she walked into the kitchen, her fears were realised. Ditzy was sobbing into her legs. She couldn’t know just how long Ditzy was crying for, but from the looks of her cheeks, she could imagine it must have started shortly after she went upstairs. “Ditzy, is everything okay?”

Ditzy looked up with a big sniffle. “I-I-I-I yelled at him! I was mad at him for no reason! And now he’s going to be mad at me! And he’s gonna leave me! And he’s not going to wanna be my coltfriend anymohohohohohore!”

Twilight only watched as Ditzy buried her face in her legs again. Her ears dropped as she thought about the situation. ‘Mom always told me that your hormones can go a bit nuts when you’re pregnant,’ she thought to herself. ‘Guess I can only try to calm her down.’ A smile suddenly crossed her features. ‘And mom told me about her secret weapon. The one thing that will always help in a situation like this.’ “Hey Ditzy, I have some chocolate oat crunch in the freezer. Why don’t we talk about this over some ice cream?”

Ditzy looked up from her legs to stare at Twilight for a moment. A smile began to show on her face as she nodded. “I-I’d like that.”

********************

“Has AJ told you anymore about the trip?” Twilight asked as she and Applejack walked down the wintery street to Ditzy’s house.

“Nothin’ more than what he’s told you, Ah reckon. He did drop one ‘minor’ detail he kinda left out th’ first time though.”

“You mean the fact that we’re all going to have to be changed into humans for the trip?”

“Eeyup. Somethin’ like that would have been nice ta know from th’ start.”

“Did he mention what that all entails?”

“He mentioned th’ basics. Nothin’ Ah haven’t dealt with before. Day’er two of bedrest an’ Ah’ll be right as rain again.”

“Yea, well not all of us can jump back from something like that as quickly as you can.”

“Trust me. If AJ can deal with it, you sure as heck can,” Applejack said with a smirk.

“How’s Knight been taking the news that he won’t be going with?”

Applejack let out a small sigh as she shook her head. “Let’s just say that AJ’s still dealin’ with that little...problem.”

“That bad?”

“Hasn’t shut up ‘bout it since.”

“Can you blame AJ for not wanting him to go though? He was shaken up for a couple weeks after all the pain he put Knight through to regress him. I can only guess he’d be catatonic after something like this.”

“Yea. Ah reckon yer right.”

“You sure you don’t want us to bring you something back?”

Twilight and Applejack turned to see Carrot Top and Fine Tuned standing in the doorway of her house. “Yea. Ah know how much ya like those there muffins they got. An’ after that job Ah jus’ got finished with, bits’re th’ last thin’ Ah’m worryin’ ‘bout. Not ta mention th’ money Feather brings in.”

“I’m sure, I’m sure,” Ditzy said as she shooed them out of the house. “I was planning on just making my own,”

Carrot just stared at Ditzy with a smirk. “You’re going to apologize to AJ with muffins, aren’t you?” Ditzy’s look told her she was spot on. “I don’t know, from the way he was acting, something tells me that’s not necessary.”

“Don’t care,” Ditzy said with a smile. “Now get out of here,” she said with one last push. “You have a date to go on.”

“Yea, yea. See you later,” Carrot said with a roll of her eyes. Ditzy closed the door as the two of them turned away. As they did, they saw Applejack and Twilight coming up the walk way. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Oh nothing much. We’re just here to see Ditzy,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Good luck with that,” Finn said with a smile. “She’s in a super bakin’ mode right now. Tryin’ ta make it up ta AJ fer bitchin’im out yesterday’er somethin’.”

“Which is funny because I don’t remember getting any ‘sorry muffins’ for all the times she’s chewed me a new ass for the simplest things,” Carrot said with a smirk. “I swear, compared to this pregnancy, she was completely normal when she was pregnant with Dinky.”

“Maybe...maybe she’s got more than one bun in’er oven,” Applejack said with a hoof to her chin.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Carrot said with a serious look.

“Who said Ah was jokin’?” Applejack said in a defensive tone. “Ah know fer a fact that a mare’s hormones tend ta be more extreme when she’s caryin’ around twins. That’s something Ah had ta learn when Big Mac was home schoolin’ me.” When she was done, Applejack noticed that the other ponies were staring at her with a surprised look on their faces. “Hey, just because Ah wasn’t able ta go through proper schoolin’, doesn’t mean Ah’m stupid,” she said with an annoyed look on her face.

“I-I’m not saying you are!” Twilight said as she waved her hooves in front of her defensively. “Just surprised he went into something like that,” she said as she scratched the back of her head.

“He wanted ta make sure Ah’d be ready fer anything that might happen ta me in mah future.”

“Right.”

“I pray to Celestia that you’re wrong. I don’t know if her psyche could handle having two new foals around. Not to mention the lack of room. There just wouldn’t be enough room for another two permanent residents in my house.”

“It might be a good idea to watch this pregnancy closely then,” Twilight said with a hint worry. “That way you’d be able to prepare for the worst. Anyway, could we go in and talk to Ditzy?”

“Yea sure, have a blast.” Carrot said with a shrug. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a date to finally start,” she said as she and Finn walked around Twilight and Applejack.

With a smile, the two ponies entered the house. “Ditzy? It’s Twilight and Applejack!” called out Twilight.

After a moment, Ditzy’s head poked out from the kitchen with a smile. “Hey! What brings the two of you over here?”

“We just came ta check up on ya after yesterday,” Applejack said as she undid her scarf. “AJ told me ‘bout yer reaction when he came back from th’ library.”

Ditzy scratched the back of her head. “Yyyeah, not my finest moment.”

“It’s not like it’s your fault or anything,” Twilight said to try to cheer her up.

“Oh, I know. It just sucks that my hormones decided to go nuts like that while he was around.” She stopped to sniff the air before turning to the kitchen. She motioned to the other ponies to follow her as she walked back into the kitchen. “As you can see I’m feeling much less hostile today. Heck, I was actually feeling much better after eating all of Twilight’s ice cream yesterday.” She turned to Twilight with a guilty look on her face. “Sorry again. I swear I’ll buy you another tub.”

“Again, don’t worry about it. If you hadn’t have done it, Spike probably would have. And all that ice cream’s the last thing he needs right now. He’s starting to put on a bit of pudge,” she said with a giggle.

Ditzy pulled out a tray of muffins from the oven before placing them on a cooling tray. “Would you two mind trying these after they cooled? I’ve never tried baking chocolate muffins. Much less dark chocolate.”

Applejack twisted her face in disgust. “Ah’ll pass. Can’t stand dark chocolate.”

“Well I’ll try one. A bit of dark chocolate is good for you every now and then. It’s good for your heart.”

“Ah’ll stick to good ol’ fashion exercise.”

“Well AJ likes it, and these are going to be for him. Well, most of them are anyway,” Ditzy said as she took a seat at the table.

“Most of them?”

“My friends from Canterlot are coming down to visit for the night. Maxie’s attempting to work chocolate back into his diet after shunning it for so long. I figured I could make something sweet for him to munch on while he’s here.”

“Maxie? He?” asked Twilight. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Maxie more of a mare’s name?”

“Maxie’s short for Maximilian. Trust me, once you see him you’ll see that Maxie fits him so much better.”

“Uh huh. Are they coming down just for a visit?” questioned Twilight as she and Applejack joined her at the table.

Ditzy thought back to the letter she got. “Well...yes and no. They did want to come and visit. Say hello. Get a chance to really meet AJ after the...less than impressive meeting back in Canterlot. Show off their new foal. But Maxie also remembered Carrot mentioning Fluttershy being the go to pony if you wanted a pet.”

“Ah guess that’s why ya wanted AJ over here t’day then,” Applejack said as she leaned back in her seat. “He made it sound urgent that he get back over here.”

“Yea. I may have still been a little emotional when I told him to come back over here.”

“Speaking of AJ, how did everything go last night when he came over to talk?”

“A lot better than it went at your place,” Ditzy said with a sigh. “It took a bit, but I eventually understood everything.”

“Ah’m glad ya understand sugarcube. Ah’d hate ta see somethin’ happen ta you or th’ foal durin’ th’ change. An’ if it makes ya feel any better, he doesn’t want Knight goin’ fer th’ same reason.”

“Yea, he mentioned that.” Ditzy let out a sigh. “I still wish I could go. He said that he would be going for a couple weeks. It’ll feel awfully lonely without him here.”

“Don’t you worry ‘bout that none,” Applejack said with a grin. “Ah’m sure Dinky an’ Carrot will make sure yer never lonely.”

“Yea. I’m sure you’ll get through it just fine. And we’ll make sure AJ comes home in one piece.”

“If it were any other pony we wouldn’t even need ta make a promise like that,” Applejack said to nopony in particular. “Well, Ah should get goin’. Ah’ll let AJ know yer waitin’ fer him,” she said as she stood up from her seat.

“Alright. Thanks for stopping over Applejack,” Ditzy said with a smile.

Applejack grabbed her scarf; wrapping it around her neck before opening the door. Her eyes widened as a hoof flew at her face; stopping inches before striking her. “W-w-what in tarnation?!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect the door to just open like that,” said the stallion as he lowered his hoof. “Are you okay.”

“J-just peachy,” Applejack said as she let out a breath of air she wasn’t even aware she was holding. After regaining her composure, she took another look at the stallion at the door. “Hey, aren’t you one of them ponies that was stayin’ here at Ditzy’s that one time?”

“That would be me,” he said with a smile. “And If I remember right, you’re the pony Maxie and I bought some apples from before going back to Canterlot.” He extended his hoof for a hoof shake. “Fresh Start.”

“Applejack,” she said as she extended her own hoof.

“Applejack, what’s going on out he…” Ditzy stopped herself when she saw Star standing in the door “Fresh Start! You’re early!”

“We decided to get a personal taxi rather than wait for the train. Figured it would be an easier ride for little Crystal Blossom here,” he said as he motioned with his head to the foal carrier on his side.

“Oh! Oh oh oh! She must be freezing out there. Please come in!” Ditzy as she shooed Applejack to the side without thinking.

“All ya had ta do was ask,” Applejack said with an understanding smirk on her face. “Ah’ll talk to ya later. And Ah’ll make sure ta send AJ over right away if he isn’t already on his way.”

Star snickered as he walked into the house; giving Ditzy a hug as he did. “How have things been since we last saw you?”

“The word chaotic comes to mind.”

“I believe that word fits quite well actually,” Twilight said as she came out from the kitchen.

“And who’s this?”

“This is Twilight Sparkle. She lives in, and takes care of, the town library.”

Star looked Twilight over for a moment. “You look like a very learned pony.”

Twilight’s face practically glowed with pride. “Why, yes! Yes I am.”

“She practically lives in her books. I’ve heard the stories about her studying almost a week straight,” Ditzy said with a giggle.

“Hey!” Twilight said as her face pulled a complete 180.

Star laughed right alongside Ditzy until he felt movement in the carrier. He turned as he heard Crystal Blossom let out a small yawn. “Sounds like somepony’s up.” he said as he reached for the little filly. “Ditzy, Twilight, meet Crystal Blossom.”

“Aww, she’s so cute!” squeed Ditzy as she eyed the green filly with the magenta mane. “I haven’t seen a foal so adorable since Dinky was born. Hard to believe you were the donor.” She grabbed the foal from Star’s hold.

“And just what’s that supposed to mean?” Star asked with an unamused stare. “I’ll have you know that it was Maxie who donated his sperm to help make this little one a reality. It was a decision we both agreed on.”

“Well looks like you got lucky,” Ditzy said in a baby voice to Crystal. “If you would have gotten Daddy Star’s genes, you would look like a big, scary, monster pony.” Ditzy ended with a silly face, complete with letting her eyes go nuts to get the foal laughing.

“Remind me why we came to visit again?”

“Because you love me,” Ditzy said with a cheerful smile.

“I’m beginning to question that love,” Star said with a slight smirk. He and Ditzy looked at each other for a second before the two of them started laughing.

“Speaking of this Maxie pony, where is he? Ditzy said the two of you were coming,” asked Twilight.

“He’ll be along shortly. He was dropped off at that Fluttershy pony’s place to get a pet before we came here. I told him to wait, but he was just too excited to wait.”

“Sooooo your pet’s going to be staying here for the night too?” Ditzy asked with a look of apprehension.

Star let out a sigh. “I’m sorry hun. It’ll just be for the night, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t destroy anything.”

“It’s Carrot I’m worried about. I don’t know how fond she’ll be of the idea.” She looked up at Star to see him leaving the house to grab a couple bags. “Oh, do you need some help?”

Star turned to Ditzy with a smirk. “And what kind of pony would I be if I made a mare in your condition help me lifting my bags.”

“Oh phooey. I’m not helpless just yet. I can still work. I’m just a bit limited right now,” Ditzy said as she looked at her bound wings.

“You still shouldn’t push yourself too hard,” Twilight said as she took Star’s side.

“Two on one,” Star said as he walked passed Ditzy with the bags. “Besides, it’s mostly stuff for Crystal. Nothing you need to worry yourself with.”

“I don’t know, sweetie. She may be able to give you some pointers.” The three ponies turned to see Maxie standing in the door. He had a decent sized, blanket covered pet carrier sitting on his back. “You need a lot of work changing diapers.”

“Maxie, hello! How did you get here already?” Ditzy asked as she eyed up the light rose stallion. “Fluttershy’s cottage isn’t exactly next door.”

“Yea. I expected you to be gone for at least an hour,” Star said as he set the bags in the hallway.

Oh, it didn’t take very long at all. Fluttershy and I have been in contact for a while now finding the perfect pet, and I sent her a letter yesterday asking if she could set everything up for a quick pick up this morning. If it had been any faster, I probably would have been able to see the cab disappear into the distance,” Maxie said as he closed the door. “She was happy to see one of her critters go to a good home.”

Twilight stared at Maxie for a moment as Ditzy’s words ran through her head. “Wow. Maxie really does fit him better,” she said under her breath.

“What was that hun?” asked Maxie.

“Oh uh, nothing,” she said with a slight blush. “Anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Miss Sparkle.”

“So what kind of pet did you get? I know that any pet under Fluttershy’s care has got to be a winner,” Twilight asked with a smile.

Maxie’s face lit up. “Oh, I just know you’ll love her! I know we’ll all be able to get along.” He placed the carrier on the floor and removed the blanket to get to the door.

“That’s a pretty big carrier,” Star said to himself as Maxie began digging the pet out of the carrier.

“Everypony, say hello to Basilisk.” Both Star and Twilight’s faces went pale as Maxie turned around with a six foot python wrapped around his hooves and neck. “Isn’t she just adorable?” Maxie just couldn’t contain his smile as he kissed Basilisk on the nose. “Fluttershy said she was so happy when she heard she was getting adopted by us.”

“Th-th-that’s lovely,” Star said as he backed away from his husband. “W-w-w-why did it have to be a snake?”

“A snake?” asked Ditzy. “That...wouldn’t have been my first guess.”

“There were plenty of other cute animals to pick from. Dogs, cats, bunnies, squirrels, but the instant I saw this cutie, it was love at first sight.” Basilisk gave Maxie an appreciative smile and hiss. “Come on sweetie, give her a kiss,” Maxie said as brought the snake closer to them. Both Twilight and Star fled further into the house, Star tripping over their bags before fleeing into the living room. “Huh...I wonder what that’s all about. Well, I know one brave little pony that would love to meet you,” he said as he got closer to Ditzy. “Basilisk, meet Crystal Blossom.”

Basilisk extended her head towards Crystal before sticking her tongue out; tickling Crystal’s nose. Crystal began giggling at the snake before reaching out for her and hugging her head. “Aww, that’s adorable...in a bit of a creepy kinda way,” Ditzy said as Basilisk and Crystal continued to bond.

“Star honey, come say hello.”

“I-I’m fine all the way over here, thanks!” Star said from behind the couch.

“Hey, does this house happen to have a back door?” asked Twilight who was hiding right next to Star. “I’d rather not have to get near that thing.”

“No...no it does not.” Twilight and Star looked at each other and gave an involuntary shudder as they both turned to look at the snake. “Why did it have to be a snake?” he asked again as he watched Basilisk affectionately wrap her body around Crystal as she had done with Maxie, and lift her away from Ditzy.

********************

“Remind me again why I did this?” AJ asked as he sat at the farm’s kitchen table. In front of him sat a letter from the princesses discussing the matter of his trip back to his Earth. He looked out the window to see only a small portion of the sun still peaking out from behind the mountains.

“Because after two weeks you thought you were finally ready to make the trip,” Twilight said with a smile on her face. “Come on, smile a little. I know I am. I’m so giddy just thinking about exploring this new world.”

“An’ Ah’d be lyin’ if Ah said Ah wasn’t a mite excited ta meet yer family an’ friends back in yer world.” Applejack said as she took a swig of her hard apple cider.

“But I’m not ready to do this.” AJ’s head made a loud thud as it smacked down onto the table. “Ow.”

“Then why, exactly, did you have Spike send the letter to the princesses this morning?”

“Because I thought it would have taken them longer to respond.”

“How long are we talkin’ ‘bout?”

“I dunno...couple days at least.” AJ looked at the letter again with a sigh. “At least enough time for me to make sure I have everything under control.”

“Oh please. From what Ah can see, everythin’s already set. Ditzy’s alright with it. Big Mac agreed ta deal with any temper tantrums Knight’s goin’ ta throw. Th’ princesses agreed ta help with anythin’ else ya need help with. So what are ya so worried about?”

“Lets see. How about explaining to mom where I’ve been? How to explain my now metal limb, or lack there of if I can’t get a replacement or anything of the like, not to mention all the scars I can only imagine lie under my coat. Finding a good reason as to why Ditzy couldn't come with me despite being the one carrying my foal. The questions go on.”

“Why don’t you just tell the truth?” Twilight asked as if it were a stupid question.

“Oh yea, tell my family and friends that I was teleported to a world inhabited by talking, technicolor ponies and other assorted creatures from mythology. All that would do is earn me a one way ticket to the happy hotel.” He shook his head. “And then, to turn into one of those technicolor ponies myself just so I could be with the one I fell in love with. And that adds a whole new layer onto it.”

Applejack and Twilight looked at each other in confusion. “Such as…” Applejack asked to get him to elaborate on the subject.

“Well, despite me being a pony at the time, what we did would most likely be considered bestiality. Which, at least in the state I live in, is a crime.”

“Are you serious?”

“I understand that interspecies relationships are seen differently on this version of Earth, see Apple Bloom and Spike, but on my planet, people are a bit more close minded about the subject...at least most people. Mainly because the animals can’t give consent. Humans are the only species that are sentient enough in my world. Horses, or ponies in this case, cattle, mules, they’re all just animals in my world. It would be like if somepony tried to have...’relations,’ with Winona.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Applejack said with a serious look.

“Just using it as an example. I’m just saying that if it was just as easy as telling the truth, I probably would have sent that letter a week ago.”

“Okay, so it’s not that easy.”

“Well Ah still think th’ truth is th’ best policy,” Applejack said as she finished off her mug. “They’re yer kin. Ah’m sure they’d understand.”

AJ let out a sigh. “I really wish the human race was as understanding as you ponies are.” He glanced over at Applejack for a moment before a dull, phantom pain grew on the left side of his head. “M-most of the time, anyway,” he said as he rubbed the side of his head. Looking down, he read through the letter again. “You think Princess Celestia or Luna would have any ideas?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to ask, I suppose,” Twilight said with a shrug. “What would you do if they can’t help you?”

“Before or after I panic?”

“Ya need ta just calm down.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t need to explain to your family where you’ve been for the last three fourths of a year, and how all of this happened to you,” he said as he motioned to the left side of his body.”

Applejack just rolled her eyes before getting up to refill her mug. “Yer just thinkin’ ‘bout it too much. As always.” She ignored the dirty look AJ shot her.

“She’s right. I’m sure the answer’s much easier than you’re making it out to be,” agreed Twilight.

AJ’s head dropped to the table as he let out a sigh. “I...I wish I could be as calm and collected about all this as the two of…” He was interrupted by Applejack putting a mug in front of him. Looking at it, he could only guess that it was full of the same hard cider Applejack was drinking.

“You need ta lighten up. Now Ah don’t wanna hear another word about this outta you tonight,” she said as she took her spot at the table. “Tomorrow's yer day off. No work ta worry ‘bout, so that gives ya plenty of time ta think of some answers. Just relax fer th’ rest of th’ night.” She took a swig from her mug. As she pulled away, some of the foam remained on her muzzle. “An’ if ya still can’t think of anythin’, ya can just ask Princess Luna fer help. Th’ two of ya seem ta get along pretty well.” She ended by licking the foam from her face.

“Do you really think you should be giving him alcohol?” Twilight asked knowing AJ’s history with the stuff.

“Ah’ll make sure he doesn’t do anythin’ stupid.”

AJ, who had the mug up to his mouth, glared at Applejack over the mug. “You act as if I’ve always been irresponsible when I was drunk.”

“Name one time when ya have been responsible while under th’ influence.”

He continued to glare at her for a few seconds as he remained silent; the mug still hovering just in front of his mouth. “...Touché.”

********************

“What…”

“Th’…”

“Fuck…”

“Is going on here?” asked the four adult ponies standing in front of the castle.

It was complete chaos at the castle. Unicorn guards were running around everywhere doing everything they could to fix the many magical changes the castle had sucumed to while the rest evacuated the bystanders and delegates. As the six ponies watched, things seemed to get worse and worse. More changes kept happening to the castle such as the spires turning into giant ice cream cones.

While Ditzy, AJ, Dinky, and Knight watched on in awe, Applejack and Twilight looked at each other with a knowing look. “Discord!” they both said before taking off towards the castle.

Before the two of them could even make it five feet, Applejack suddenly disappeared. Twilight skid to a halt as she looked around for her orange ally. “Applejack?!” She heard another magical pop behind her.

“Ditzy/Mommy!” cried AJ and the kids as Ditzy disappeared just as Applejack had.

“What is going…” Twilight was interrupted as AJ and Dinky were the next to go.

“D-d-d-daddy?!”

“Knight, come over here! It’s not sa…” Before she could finish, both she and Knight were teleported away.

********************

“W-w-waaaaahh!” cried Twilight as she immediately began plummeted towards the floor. A second later, she was caught in a cobalt blue glow, along with Knight and two other ponies, and gently placed on the ground.

“Welcome to the party Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as she turned to catch another pony.

“Princess Luna, what’s going on here?! Where’s Discord?!”

“Believe me when I say it isn’t what it looks like,” Came Celestia’s voice from behind her. Twilight turned to see her teacher let out a sigh. She looked around the room, seemingly looking for more ponies that may be falling. “It looks like it’s slowing down for now. Blueblood, we’ll be fine here. Make sure the delegates made it to safety.”

“Of course auntie.” With a bow, Blueblood and his guards rushed from the room.

Now that she had a moment, Twilight took a minute to look around the room. They were currently in the throne room. On one side of the room she could see AJ fretting over Ditzy and Dinky. A moment later Knight made himself known as he threw himself at AJ, wrapping his little legs around him as best he could. AJ quickly returned the hug in an attempt to comfort the foal. Applejack was helping a couple soldiers up on the other side of the room. Other than them, the room was filled with guards, both standing and dazed, and both princesses of Equestria.

“Princess Celestia, what’s going on here?! Is Discord on another rampage?!”

“If only things were that simple,” Luna said as she joined her sister.

“Indeed. All this...chaos, is indeed Discord’s doing, but it’s not what you think.”

“W-what? What do you mean?”

“After Fluttershy reformed him, Discord decided to travel,” Celestia said as she watched one more pony getting teleported into the room, only to be caught by one of the guards.

“Around the world?” questioned Twilight.

“No. Around the cosmos,” Luna said as she motioned towards the ceiling.

“E-excuse me?”

“He went...planet hopping, as he put it.”

“Discord always did have weird tastes,” Luna added with a grimace.

Twilight let that bit of info run through her head. “So...what you’re telling me is he’s been traveling through space this entire time?”

“Until today, yes. But...something was wrong when he returned.”

“What happened?”

“That idiot got sick,” Luna said in a very un-princess like manner. “You’d think somepony as smart as he claims to be would be smart enough to bring something to keep himself warm in the vacuum of space.”

“Very...eloquent way of putting it sister.”

“Sick?”

“Yes, since he got back, he’s been sneezing and coughing seemingly non-stop,” Celestia said as she shook her head. “Every time he does so...well, you’ve seen the damages.”

“Apparently his magic is uncontrollable when he’s sick,” added Luna. “And we got the ‘honor’ of dealing with him as he’s sick. I wish this was just the usual Discord bull shit. Much easier to deal with.”

“I have to agree,” Celestia said with a hint of annoyance cracking through her regal features. She may have a much better poker face than Luna, but even she had her limits.

“So you mean ta tell me this is all because Discord’s got a cold?” asked Applejack as she approached the three of them.

“I...guess so,” Twilight said with a hint of relief in her voice. “Is there anything we can…”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHCHOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Discord’s sneeze thundered through the throne room moments before he popped into the room himself. He was looking much worse for wear, complete with a sickly green shade tinging his coat. Afterwards, he went into a sneezing fit. Each and every sneeze sent bolts of magic throughout the room, striking either the ponies that littered the room, or the walls around them. Nopony was spared from the assault, not even the princesses.

Twilight was able to evade the first bolt of magic, but ended up getting caught off guard by a second one immediately following the first. The bolt sent her to the ground as another one flew over her head and struck a guard behind her. Just as she was moving to stand up once again, she heard Celestia call out to her.

“Twilight, look out!”

“Wha…” Before Twilight know what happened, a brick that had been dislodged by Discord’s magic fell, striking her in the head. The last thing she remembered feeling was her head making contact with the floor.

********************

Dinky and Knight had their colors swapped. Dinky had a light cream colored coat and a burgundy mane, and Knight had a pale purple coat and a blond mane.

Luna seemed to escape whatever happened unscathed. Though she seemed to be rubbing her throat with a look of worry on her face.

All the guards in the room had also suffered in some kind of way. Ranging from something as simple as being disorientated, to being turned to stone.

And amid all this…this, chaos, stood Discord.

****************************************

The Sick Side of Chaos

Chapter 49

“I WILL FUCKING END YOUR FUCKING LIFE YOU FUCKING FUCK!!!!!!!” shouted AJ at the top of hi...her lungs.

“W-would you just calm down?!” begged Ditzy as he tried with all his might to pull AJ away from the draconequus. Once all the chaos in the room started, and the two of them had their genders swapped...again, one of the things he noticed about AJ before she began raging towards Discord was the pregnant belly she was sporting. He had no idea if that means what he thinks that means, but he wasn’t going to take the chance. If AJ really was now carrying their baby, he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. “Could I get a little help over here?!”

“Ah’m commin’! Mmmoooooooove...!” Applejack smacked her hooves over her mouth after the moo came out. She looked between her snout and Ditzy for a second with wide eyes; her face flushed red. She noticed Ditzy giving her a questioning look. “Ah’mma kill Discord mahself once this is all over.”

With Applejack’s help, the two of them were able to pull the raging mare to the opposite side of the room. The two foals remained where they sat. They were both too stunned by what just happened to them to realise what was going on. Luckily there was a couple guards by them that got off easy and agreed to watch over them.

As the two of them tried calming down AJ, Twilight continued to take the scene in. She didn’t know exactly what was going on here, just that Discord was most certainly at fault here. “T-Twilight, are you okay?”

“Huh?” Twilight turned her head to look at Princess Celestia who was now standing next to her. She was staring back with a look of concern on her face. Getting a better look at her teacher, she could see the embarrassment that was clear on her face. She wasn’t even trying to hide it. Not surprising since she had nothing to cover her pink body now. “Princess, w-what happened?”

“Don’t worry about that right now.” Celestia brushed a hoof through Twilight’s mane. When she pulled it back, her brows furrowed slightly at the blood staining her hoof. “You should just worry about that wound on your head. Private Sea Swirl.”

“M-m-ma’am.” answered a disoriented guard just behind Twilight. He looked as if he was about to blow chunks all over the floor. The blast of Discord’s magic must have messed with his equilibrium.

“If you’re feeling okay, could you please go to the infirmary and let them know we need a wheelchair for Twilight?”

“Permission to vomit first please,” asked Sea Swirl who looked as if he would hurl regardless of her answer.

“Granted.” Celestia turned her attention back to Twilight as Sea Swirl began upchucking onto the floor. The place was a mess right now anyway. A puddle of vomit wasn’t going to do much harm.

Luna gazed around the room at all the chaos Discord had caused before fixing a glare on him. She stomped over to him and poked him in the chest. “[Horse noises!]” With wide eyes, she slammed her hooves over her mouth; looking between her muzzle and Discord.

“Egscuse be?” questioned Discord before blowing his nose into a hankie.

Luna removed her hooves and cleared her throat. “[More horse noises.]” She covered her mouth again. “[Even more horse noises!]” She had a horrified look on her face before she began flailing her hooves around in a blind panic. “]Panicked horse noises!]”

“I hodestly cad uderstad you,” Discord said before sniffling.

“RrrrrrrrRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” roared AJ from across the room; drawing Celestia’s attention away from Twilight. Even with Applejack’s help, they were still having a bit of trouble holding her back. She wouldn’t stop fighting until she was able to exact revenge on Discord.

“Am Ah goin ta have ta find somethin’ ta tie you down?!” Applejack asked as she held AJ back with more force.

“You have to calm down!” begged Ditzy. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“The only one going to get hurt is that chimera freak!” With one lucky swing, AJ managed to catch Applejack hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. With one ‘anchor’ gone, she turned all her attention to the stallion holding her back. Using all her strength, she shook off Ditzy and tackled him out of the way before bolting over to Discord.

Not even noticing AJ charging him, Discord felt another sneeze coming on. “Ah, aaah, aaaH CHOO!!!” This sneeze didn’t send out another bolt of magic. No, this time, something else went flying.

AJ had to put on the breaks when she saw something flying at her. It landed on the floor and bounced a couple times before sliding to a halt. It took a moment for it to register in AJ’s head just what it was. Her eyes slowly widened. Discord’s head sniffled before speaking. “Sorry. I didn’t tink dis cold was sometink to lose my head over.” AJ let out a terrified shriek before her eyes rolled back into her head. Discord’s body walked over just as AJ’s body flopped down onto the floor. He picked up his head and wiped his nose before replacing it. As he twisted his head back on, he noticed the glare Applejack was giving him as she and Ditzy came to help the mare. “Whah? I said sorry.”

Celestia let out a sigh before turning back to Sea Swirl who was looking much better than before now that he got it out of his system. “Make that one wheelchair and a gurney.”

“Ma’am.” With a salute, Sea Swirl headed towards the door.

********************

“Owwww,” moaned Twilight as one of the castles nurses tended to her head.

“I’m sorry dear. Give me a minute more and I’ll be done.”

Twilight winced as the nurse began wrapping her head with a sterile bandage. “The princess said I was hit in the head by a brick. It sure feels like it.”

“The debri I pulled from that wound of yours will attest to that.” The nurse took one last look at the bandage to make sure it wasn’t too tight before smiling. “And done. I’d advise you to stay here and rest for the night. You may not think it’s too bad, but a concussion is nothing to sneeze at.”

Twilight let out a small sigh before nodding her head. She immediately regretted the action as her head began to throb. With help from the nurse, she lie down on the bed. “Thanks.”

“Mmhm. If you need anything, just hit this button,” the nurse said as she pointed at a button next to the bed. “I’ll be back later with some dinner. For now, try to get some rest.”

Twilight watched as the nurse walked past the curtain; closing it behind her. She let out a sigh as she looked around her ‘room.’ It was just a small, curtained off section of the infirmary. She could hear some of the other ponies that occupied other beds in the big room. Some sleeping, others talking to their nurse. She couldn’t tell just how many of the beds were filled yet, but after today, she knew they would probably all be filled by the end of the day.

As much as she wanted to get back and try to help out, she knew the nurse was right. She would need all the rest she could get. Getting comfortable, she let her lids droop.

“Hey, ya awake sugarcube?”

Twilight opened her eyes to see Applejack’s smiling, cow-like face staring at her from the curtain. “Hey Applejack. I was just about to take a nap, actually.”

Applejack bit her lip. “Sorry, Twi. Just wanted ta know if you were okay. That looked like it hurt somethin’ fierce.”

“That’s...putting it mildly,” Twilight said as she rubbed the bandages. “The nurse said it’s nothing to worry about. No bleeding in the brain or anything. Just a concussion. Nothing worse.”

Applejack’s smile seemed to get more genuine. “Finally, some good news.” She noticed the look Twilight was giving her. “Not that you gettin’ a brick ta th’ head is good, or anythin’. Just that it’s not worse.” She had a sheepish smile on her face.

“It’s okay, Applejack,” Twilight said with a giggle.

Applejack let out a sigh. “Well, Ah should probably be gettin’ back ta th’ throne room. They’ll need some help ta clean everythin’ up.”

“Wait, before you go, how’s AJ? I…I remember him be…” She had to stop as a yawn escaped from her mouth. “Being taken out on a stretcher.”

Applejack blinked before looking towards the door of the infirmary. “Well...Ah don’t really know. They took’im...her...screw it, i’mmooooo…” Her face grew hot as she once again let out a moo. She cleared her throat before continuing. “I’mma just say she, inta a room just down th’ hall ta do a proper examination. At least, that’s what Ah was told. Must be ta make sure th’ foal’s okay after everythin’ that happened in there. Probably a good idea,” she said with a shrug. “Gotta make sure everythin’s alright after the switch. What do ya think?” Applejack waited for an answer she wasn’t getting. “Twi?”

When Applejack looked back, she saw why she wasn’t getting her answer. At some point, Twilight had fallen asleep. “Well, guess that’s mah cue ta leave,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Sleep tight sugarcube.” She closed the curtain and headed back for the door.

********************

As Applejack left the infirmary, she noticed Ditzy sitting outside the room AJ was in. It looked like he was mumbling something with a shocked look on his face. She walked up to the stallion and waved her hoof in front of his face. “What’s got ya all flabbergasted all of a sudden?”

Ditzy turned to look at Applejack. He turned to look at the door before letting out a slight stressed whine. “I-it’s nothing. Nothing at all. Not a single thing wrong. AJ’s just sleeping. Everythings fine. She’s fine. I’m fine. The...” He quickly cut himself off before he could finish and slumped back against the wall.

“The…” Applejack tried to coax the rest of his thoughts out. “Come on now, th’ sooner ya get it out, th’ sooner ya can just relax.”

“Twins. Twins! Applejack...we’re going to have...twins.” The more Ditzy said the word, the more panic filled his features.

“Twins?” Applejack let that sink in for a moment before her mouth curved into a smile. “Ah knew it!”

With a mix of confusion and a hint of anger, Ditzy stared Applejack down. “You knew?”

“Well, it was mmooooore of a hunch, rea…” Before she knew what happened, Applejack was suddenly being held up against the wall by her shoulders. “What in tarnation?!”

“You knew about the twins, and you never bothered to say anything about it?!”

“Would ya get offa me?!” Applejack easily pushed the stallion off of her. Her body may look different, but she was still the strong, stalwart pony everypony knew she was. “This udder’s enough of a burden without you puttin’ it on display fer everypony ta see.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?!” Demanded Ditzy as Applejack readjusted her udder so it wouldn't get in the way.

“Because Ah wasn’t completely sure mah self,” she said calmly. “And Ah didn’t want ta alarm you if Ah was wrong. Besides, shouldn’t th’ doctor’s have noticed it by now? There’s a reason ya go fer regular checkups.”

“I...haven’t...been going to the checkups,” Ditzy said as he backed down slightly; a hint of guilt in his voice.

“And why not?”

“Because...I don’t like going to the doctor. I’ve never felt comfortable getting poked, prodded, and otherwise examined like that. Really the only reason I went when I was pregnant with Dinky was because Carrot’s parents made me go.”

“And they’re smart fer makin’ you go.”

Ditzy let out a sigh. “I know. Believe it or not I was planning on going while AJ was gone. He made me promise him I would, and made Carrot promise to make me if I didn’t go before he left.”

“Aaaand?”

“I-I-I haven’t made the appointment yet. But hey, this check up proves that everything’s alright. No need for me to go to the doctors office anymore, right?”

“Do Ah even need ta say it?”

“...No.”

Applejack smiled as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Good g...boy. Ah’m goin’ ta go see if Ah can do more ta help. Try ta relax fer once.” She pat his shoulder a couple times before continuing her way down the hall.

********************

“For the hundredth time, I said I’m fine!” complained AJ as Ditzy continued to fret over her. After being woken up by one of the nurses checking up on her, AJ was allowed to leave the confines of the private room. Ditzy, who had been waiting outside the room the entire time, was overjoyed to see AJ up and about again, and, much to her chagrin, refused to give her even an inch.

“I know. That doesn’t mean I can’t worry about you,” Ditzy said as the two of them were lead to the visitor’s quarters by one of the guards. “When we get to the room, is there anything I’ll be able to get you?”

AJ grumbled to herself for a few seconds before turning to the stallion. “There are only four things I want right now. Something smothered in copious amounts of chocolate, a giant pickle, my Knighty so that I can hug him, and a dark hole I can crawl into and cry.”

“But I thought you hated pickles?”

“Don’t make me show you just how soft and vulnerable those testicals of yours truly are,” growled AJ.

Ditzy stopped in his tracks for a moment and thought. Not being a regular owner of testicals, he didn’t know the true terror of that threat. The guard leading them, on the other hoof, shuddered at the mere thought. He knew that balls hurt when struck, just not to what extreme. “Uhh, okay.”

“And that pickle better not be the thing that’s covered in chocolate. That would just be disgusting.”

“Ugh, who would put chocolate on a pickle?” Ditzy asked with disgust in his voice.

“Barbarians,” agreed AJ.

“This is your room,” the guard said as he stood to the side of the door.

AJ let out a relieved sigh. She could finally relax with her precious Knighty and try to take her mind off of things. “It may be a bit fancy, but I’m sure I’ll find a way to make a dark hole out of it.”

“Right! You go relax, and I’ll go get Knight Wind.”

“Mmmmm I bet he’ll be like a teddy bear,” AJ moaned as she slunk into the room.

********************

Knight could only stare in awe at what was in front of him. He had already been through so much today. Having his coat and mane colors swapped with Dinky was already a shock to the system. Seeing that his mother figure was now a stallion was another. But this...he just didn’t know what to think anymore as his daddy wandered around the room, tearing the sheets off the bed so they could be rearranged into a blanket cave, in the body of a mare. “D-daddy?”

AJ’s ears twitched before she turned her head. A smile crossed her features as she moved towards the foal. “Ooooh my little Knighty.”

“Is that what daddy looks like as a girl?!” Dinky asked with a smile on her face. She recovered from the shock of Discords magic quicker than Knight did. She’s also seen her mom as a stallion before, so it wasn’t as big of a shock as it probably should have been.

“Yes...Dinky. That’s what daddy looks like as a girl.”

“She’s really pretty! Can we play dress up?”

“Not now Dinky. She’s not really in the mood for play time right now.” He watched as AJ swooped in and hugged Knight’s stunned body to her chest.

“Ooh, you’re as soft and warm as I knew you would be.”

“Be careful with him,” Ditzy said with concern in his voice. “I don’t think he’s taking any of this very well at all.”

“It’s okay my little Knight. We can just keep each other company until all this bull shit passes.” AJ blinked when she felt Knight try to push away from her. “Knight?”

“Y-y-you’re not my daddy. Daddy’s a boy!”

AJ looked appalled at what Knight said. “W-what?! I may have a different body, but I’m still the same pony. I just have enough hormones to drive a bull elephant bat squeak crazy right now.”

“Daddy isn’t fat.”

AJ suddenly felt the intense urge to hurt something, but was thankfully able to bury those feelings deep down. “O-okay, what can I do to prove I am who I say I am?”

“Tell me something only daddy would know!”

“Your favorite cartoons are Adventure time and Spongebob.”

“That’s not good enough! Everypony should like those cartoons!”

“You feed all the spinach you’re supposed to eat to Winona.”

“N-n-no I don’t!” Knight answered, his face that of a deer caught in the headlights.

“A few weeks ago you had a nightmare where the world was taken over by evil bunnies that forced you to eat nothing but spinach for the rest of your life, and that’s why you’re now afraid of Mr.Bun Bun.”

Knight gasped as he stared at AJ with a horrified look. “You weren’t supposed to tell anypony!” he shouted as he tried to shut AJ up.

“So you finally admit I’m your daddy?” AJ asked with a smile.

“He’s afraid of Mr.Bun Bun?” questioned Ditzy with a smirk on his face.

“You don’t like spinach?” asked Dinky. She loved the stuff, so she couldn’t understand how Knight could hate it.

AJ easily brushed off AJ’s Knight’s attempts to quiet her. “Now that we all understand everything, kinda, why don’t you help me build a dark hole the two of us can crawl into and cry together. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“Will it be like a pillow fort?”

“Sorta, yea.”

Knight was suddenly much more excited. “Yaaay! Pillow fort!” He leapt from AJ’s hold and ran towards the bed.

Dinky was about to join in on the fun, but was stopped when Ditzy blocked her path with a leg. She looked up at Ditzy with a disappointed look. “Awww, why can’t I join?”

“Because she made it very clear earlier on what she wanted, and it didn’t involve either of us. Come on, let’s go get something to eat, and if there’s nothing we fun we can do around here, maybe they’ll let us go visit grandma and grandpa’s house.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He turned to AJ who, along with Knight, had just finished tearing the bed apart. “We’ll be leaving now. I’ll bring your chocolate covered...whatever they decide to make, and you’re pickle in a little bit.”

“Could you bring Knight some oranges?” AJ asked without looking. “He’ll probably want something to eat when we’re done.”

“Sure.”

After setting a pillow to the side, AJ turned to give Ditzy a kiss goodbye. “Thanks, I lo…” Before she made it even half way, a pillow collided with the side of her head.

“Oops. Uh, Winona did it!” shouted Knight as he did every time he did something wrong.

AJ had an unamused look on his face as he looked at Ditzy. “I’ll see you later. I have to deal with a certain little colt who needs to be taught a lesson.” She quickly walked up, gave Ditzy a quick kiss, and shooed both he and Dinky out the door before closing it.

“Is Knight going to be okay?” asked Dinky as the two of them just stared at the closed door.

Ditzy waited a moment before the air became filled with a cacophony of horrific squeals of laughter as AJ ‘taught Knight a lesson.’ “Something tells me he’ll be just fine. Come on, let’s go.”

********************

“Do you think we should start running?” Amethyst asked as she and Nimbos continued to watch the castle.

“I don’t know, it looks like whatever’s going on started to slow down,” Nimbos said as he put a hoof on his wife’s shoulder. “Still, it might be a good idea to start making an emergency bag.”

“Good idea. Do we still have those cans of peaches and cream? What about that canned pineapple and mixed fruit?”

“We should,” Nimbos said with a hoof to his chin. “Just pack what you can, I’ll go pack some blankets and such.” With the plan in their minds, they both turned to head back inside.

“Grandma, grandpa!”

Both Nimbos and and Amethyst were shocked when they saw a light cream filly with a burgundy mane rushing towards them with a bright smile on her face. She stopped in front of them and looked up between the two of them for acknowledgement. They both looked at each other in confusion before looking back at the filly. “I’m sorry sweetie, I think you have the wrong ponies,” Amethyst said with smile on her face.

“If you like, we could help you find your parents,” Nimbos added as he bent down to be more on her level.

Dinky blinked stood there and blinked for a second before turning her head and pointing behind her. “But mommy’s right there.”

Both ponies looked behind the little filly to see a greyish blue pegasus stallion with a blond mane walking up to them. He smiled and waved once he caught up with the little filly. “Hey mom. Hey dad.”

Both of them looked between the two ponies before them with complete confusion. It wasn’t until Amethyst took a better look at the stallion that it began to dawn on her. “...Ditzy?”

“Ditzy?” Nimbos asked as he looked between his wife and their so called daughter. “That’s not Ditzy. Ditzy’s a mare.”

“And that’s why I was kinda apprehensive about coming today,” Ditzy said with a sigh. “Look, what can I do to prove I am who I say I am?”

“Prove you’re…uhh.” Nimbos thought to himself for a moment. What could they ask or have this stallion do to prove he is their daughter.

“I have a question for you,” Amethyst said’ interrupting Nimbos’ train of thought. All attention was now on Amethyst. “When, and where were we when we first met AJ, and how did we react?”

“When you met AJ?” Ditzy asked under his breath before he started racking his head for the answers. “Well, it was...early September? Maybe the second or third I think it was. We were at Star and Maxie’s house, the two of you came over for lunch, and AJ randomly found the house with Shadow Breeze’s help. Oh, and you absolutely hated his guts when you first met him.”

“I think ‘hated his guts’ is a bit much,” Nimbos said with a nervous chuckle. He cleared his throat. “So, why exactly are you a stallion now? And what happened to your unborn foal?”

“And what happened to Dinky’s coat? It was the most lovely shade of purple.” Dinky’s face shown with pride and glee over the compliment given about her original coat color.

Ditzy let out a sigh. “That’s...going to take a bit of time to explain.”

“Well, I don’t think we’re in danger at the moment, we have the time,” Nimbos said before opening the door for the other three ponies. “I’ll start some coffee for us all. And some grape juice for little Dinky,” he said with a smile to the foal.

********************

“Anypony home?” Celestia asked as she poked her head into AJ’s room. With her sister taking over for the night, Celestia decided to use her downtime to make sure everypony’s doing okay. It’s not like there would be anything political going on that night, but somepony needed to watch over things. After making sure all the ponies that were sent to the infirmary were okay, she took a stroll to the visitor's quarters next. Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed the fort that AJ and Knight made out of the bed; complete with a very crudely drawn ‘NOW GURLZ ALOUWED’ sign that was stuck to the the side of the bed. “Well, looks like you’ve been busy.”

“I thought I asked to not be bothered,” came AJ’s voice from inside the fort.

“I apologise for the intrusion. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”

Celestia could hear a bit of shuffling from inside the fort before AJ’s head popped out from the sheets. As the two of them just looked at each other, Celestia noticed the slightly red and puffy eyes behind her glasses. AJ raised a brow as he tried to figure out who the bald pony in a frilly dress was. “Who the hell are you?”

Celestia laughed to herself for a moment before regaining her composure. “I guess my new appearance is having that effect on ponies today. It’s me, Princess Celestia.”

“Oh right. You’re all bald now. Forgot about that.”

“Are you alright? It looks like you’ve been crying.”

“This was my dark cave to cry in. What else would I be doing in a dark cave to cry in?”

“Was?”

“I stopped crying a couple hours ago. Now it’s my dark cave of contemplation.”

“And the sign?” questioned Celestia as she motioned to it.

“Knight’s Idea.” AJ thought about it for a second. “Don’t try to explain the irony of the situation to him right now. I think he’s too young to understand.”

“What’s Knight doing right now anyway? He’s been awfully quiet.”

“Sleeping. Which is exactly what I should probably be doing. Emphasis on probably.”

“Well, I don’t think anypony would blame you if you stayed up a bit late. I’m sure you have a lot to think of right now. Though I would suggest you try to get some sleep. Maybe you’ll feel better after a good nights sleep.”

“Doubt it. If you knew how I felt right now, you’d understand.”

Celestia giggled. “It’s just the sudden influx of hormones that has you feeling like this. Once you calm down, everything will be much better. And if a good nights sleep doesn’t help, maybe a few ponies waiting over you horn and hoof at my personal spa would help.”

AJ seemed to perk up at that. “Spa? I could spend the day at the spa?”

“Of course. But you have to be good and get some sleep. And no more outbursts like in the throne room. Hormones or no, I won’t tolerate it.”

AJ shrunk back as her ears lay back on her head. “I...guess I did go a little overboard back there, didn’t I?”

“To say the least,” Celestia said with a smile. “Have a good night.” With a slight bow of the head, Celestia turned and left the room.

********************

Ditzy had a smile on his face as he walked through the castle with an unicorn guard escort. Getting away from everything and talking things through with his parents was surprisingly therapeutic. Both he and his parents thought it would be best for Dinky to stay with them until everything was over and done with. Not only for her safety, but so she wouldn’t get in the way.

When the two of them turned down the hall before the visitors quarters, one of the castle maids came up to the guard. “Ah’m sorry ta bother ya, but you wouldn't happen ta be Tide Turner, would ya?”

“I am,” the guard said with a raised brow. He had never seen this cow like maid roaming the castle. “And you are?”

“Applejack sir. Ah’m just doin’ what Ah can ta help around th’ castle, an’ they just happened ta need some extra maids ta replace th’ injured until they can return ta duty.”

“Hmm, and what do you need me for?”

“One of th’ guards holdin’ the barrier 'round Discord is gettin’ a mite exhausted. They needed ya ta take over fer’im.”

Tide Turner nodded his head. “They’re holding him in Princess Celestia’s room, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll go right away. Could you lead him to his room please?”

“Ah sure can.” Applejack smiled at the guard as he passed her by to fulfill his duty. As soon as he was out of sight, Applejack’s expression turned sour as she turned to Ditzy. “If ya tell anypony about th’ uniform Ah swear ah’ll smack you.”

“I wouldn't dream of it,” Ditzy said as he attempted to hide his snickers. He backed off slightly when Applejack glared at him. “So, uh...sorry I kinda bailed yesterday. I wanted to make sure my parents were okay.”

“Ya have nothin’ ta be sorry about,” Applejack said as she motioned for Ditzy to follow her. “Not really much ya could be doin’ around here anyway. Unless ya wanted ta be fitted fer a suit an’ wait on ponies fer a few days.”

“I’d...rather not, thanks. So, how’s AJ doing? I’m kinda worried about her.”

“Last time Ah saw’er she was bein’ lead to th’ castle spa, an’ that was ‘bout two hours ago.”

“The spa? I didn’t even know the castle had a spa.”

“Neither did Ah. Ah guess even th’ princess needs her own private resort ta relax in every now an’ then.”

“Makes sense I guess. Hey, I noticed you haven’t been going 'moo' anymore.”

“Had a day ta work on hidin’ it,” Applejack said with a proud smile. “Easier than Ah thought.” After a few seconds, the two of them turned down another hall to the visitor's quarters. “Ah assume yer stayin’ in th’ same room as AJ, so it should be th’ second door on th’ right,” Applejack said with a smile as she stopped in front of the door. “Anythin’ Ah can get ya before Ah go get another assignment?”

“Other than some water, no. You probably have a lot on your plate already.”

“There should be a jug in there already unless AJ got back an’ drank it all.”

“Oh, alright then. I’ll see you later.” With a smile, Ditzy opened the door while waving bye to Applejack. As he turned into the room, he called for AJ. “AJ, you in heeEEE!” Before he could finish, he was literally dragged into the room by an icy blue aura.

“Thank Celestia you’re FINALLY here,” AJ said as she sat up on the bed; an anxious look on her face..

Ditzy had to regain his composure before turning to the mare. “Well hello to you too.” He got a better look at AJ. “You know, for somepony who just got back from the spa, you look awfully stressed out about something. And where’s Knight?”

“The spa ponies are looking after him. They fell in love with him, so I figured why the hell not.”

“Is there a reason you needed them to look after him? Why couldn’t you do it?”

“Because…” She let out a whine as she turned away in embarrassment.

Ditzy walked up next to the bed and brushed some hair from her face. “Because…?” After getting close to her, he began to smell a faint scent that, while he couldn't place, was not a scent he found disagreeable. He watched as AJ looked around the room as if to make sure nopony was listening in, despite them being the only ones in the room, before leaning in close and whispering in his ear. Ditzy immediately felt his face begin to heat up. “O-oh. That’s why.” His face grew even hotter when he realised just what that mysterious scent was. The two of them just sat there for a few seconds in awkward silence. “Did you try...didling yourself?”

AJ’s face grew even hotter as she glanced at the stallion. “M-m-maybe.” She just sat there for a moment. “It wouldn’t help. It just wasn’t enough. Ditzy, what should I do? I-I-I’ve never felt this horny in my entire life?”

“If you’re hooves won’t work, do you have any toys?”

AJ just took a moment to stare at Ditzy with a look that said she had just been asked the stupidest question in the world. “Oh yes. I totally brought some sex toys with me on this trip because I totally knew something like this would happen.”

“Ah, right. That...really was a stupid question, wasn’t it? Sorry, but I really don’t know what you could do about it then.”

AJ let out a sigh. “What did you usually do if you had this problem?” she asked assuming Ditzy went through this problem while she’s been pregnant.

“Use...some toys?” Ditzy said with a sheepish smile.

AJ threw her hooves up to her forehead, letting out a frustrated groan as she did, before spinning around and flopping down onto her belly; face buried in the pillow. “Hhuck wy lihh,”

Ditzy sighed internally as he watched AJ sulk into her pillow. He just didn’t know what to do. There is one thing he forgot about though. The faint scent he smelled before, it was still lingering in the air. The longer he sat there, the more his mind was being unknowingly clouded. He slowly started looking down AJ’s body. Taking in all her curves, and zeroing in on her flanks. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he kept staring at the rump in front of him. His eyes went wide as AJ let out a sigh, flicking her tail as she did, and revealing to Ditzy the treasures that lie behind. “Hey. I, uhh...I know something we may be able to try.”

AJ rolled her eyes as she lifted her head. “Oh yea? And just what would tha…” She froze as she felt Ditzy grope her rump. She whipped her head around to stare at the stallion. He was standing next to the bed, one foreleg on the bed, the other fondling her backside “A-a-a-are you crazy? W-w-w-we can’t do this! I-I-I’m supposed to be the stallion and you’re supposed to be the mare! It’s not right...is it?”

“If you want me to stop, just let me know,” Ditzy said as he slowly inched his hoof closer to the treasure.

AJ’s mind was rushing at a million miles an hour. As she continued to stare at the stallion, she noticed his little buddy beginning to poke out of its sheath. A shiver radiated through her body as she looked back into his eyes. “I-I-I’m scared.”

Ditzy removed his hoof from AJ’s rump and caressed her cheek. “So am I.” He pulled AJ into a kiss. The kiss was happily returned as the mare shifted her body so she was on her side. She wrapped her forelegs around his neck and began pulling him onto the bed with her. He didn’t need to be told twice, and crawled up immediately.

********************

“Are you sure there isn’t anything you need me to do?” Twilight asked as she and Luna walked through the halls.

With a calm look on Luna’s face, she started writing on the small marker board she started carrying around to be able to communicate with other ponies. She showed it to Twilight with the words ‘You’re injured. Get better.’ written on it.

Twilight let out a sigh. “I know I know, but the nurse said it wasn’t anything to worry about. I’m not showing any signs of getting any worse, so I feel like I should be doing something.”

Luna let out a quiet whinny while cleaning off the board to write something else on it. ‘Celestia’s orders. Nothing I can do,’ was written on it. Twilight groaned in protest while Luna cleared off the board again and began writing something else. ‘Tia wants you 100%.’

“I know.” The more Twilight thought about it, the more a smile grew on her face. “It reminds me of when I was just a little filly still learning magic from Princess Celestia. If I got sick, she would always make sure I took it easy even if I wanted to spend all that down time studying.”

‘Good memories,’ was written on the board when Twilight looked over at Luna who was staring at her with a smile.

“She did the same for you?”

Luna nodded as she wrote something new on the board. ‘When we were still young.’

Twilight giggled at the thought of a sick little filly Luna attempting to be rowdy and a filly Celestia keeping her in check. “Hey, do you think we could make a pit stop at AJ’s room? I wasn’t able to talk to her yesterday after everything happened.”

Luna thought about it for a moment before putting something onto the board. ‘Out of the way, but sure.’

It took the two of them a little bit, but they eventually made it to AJ’s room. With a smile, Twilight knocked on the door. “AJ?” After a few seconds she knocked again. “Ditzy, are you in there?” She turned to Luna who shrugged her shoulders.

Luna grabbed the knob in her magic and opened the door before poking her head in. It didn’t take her long to retract her head with a grin on her face. She pulled the marker board out again and started writing. ‘They’re sleeping.’

“Sleeping?” It was Twilight’s turn to look in. Sure enough, Ditzy and AJ were both under the covers snoozing away with smiles on their faces. As quietly as she could, she pulled out and closed the door. “I guess I’ll talk to her later.” Luna nodded with a smile before continuing to their initial destination.

********************

“What, exactly, are we doing here?” AJ asked as she looked around the room. She, Knight, Ditzy and Applejack were all called to the throne room. When they got there, Twilight was already there. Despite what Luna had told her the previous day, she refused to just sit there. She couldn’t sit by and do nothing while there was still something she could do. Even if it was just something as simple as being a messenger for the princess.

“It’s nothing bad I assure you,” Celestia said as she sat on her throne. Luna was already sitting in hers; her marker board at the ready in case she needed it. “It’s just news on Discord’s condition, and your subsequent trip to your world.”

“Is he finally feelin’ better so Ah can finally go back ta bein’ a pony?” Applejack asked with hope in her voice. She was still annoyed at being turned into a cow. The udder kept getting in the way, and was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Luna shook her head as she started writing something on the marker board. She levitated it down to the four of them so they could see it. ‘Discord’s still sick.’ To say Applejack was annoyed would be an understatement.

“He is still sick, but according to the nurses that looked him over, he should be better within the next couple of days, so don’t fret. It won’t be too much longer before you’ll be back to your old selves.”

“So that means it won’t be too much longer before we start preparations?” AJ asked with an apprehensive look on her face. There were still a lot of details she hadn’t been able to think through.

“That’s right. I’m so excited,” Twilight said as her wings furled out and fluttered happily. “I can’t wait to take all the notes I can about this new experience.”

“I just can’t wait until things finally go back to normal,” Ditzy said relieved that things would soon be returning to how they should be.

“Yea!” added Knight.

“Don’t get too excited just yet,” Celestia said with a giggle. “You have to remember that Discord is the only draconequus we know of, and therefore very little is truly known about them.” Luna let out a whinny as she quickly wrote something down; showing it to Celestia. “Yes, that’s true. We have learned a bit since Fluttershy helped reform him, but not enough to know how his body handles sickness.”

“Sooo what you’re trying to say is that the two to three days thing was just an educated guess based on what we know about ponies?” asked AJ. Princess Luna smiled and nodded at the question.

“An’ that it could take four, five, maybe even a week until we can go back ta normal?” added Applejack fearing that may be the case.

“That...could very well be the case, yes. Though we are holding out hope it will be sooner.”

Luna looked over at her sister with a smirk as she wrote something down on her board; showing it to the crowd of ponies. ‘She’s just embarrassed because she’s bald.’ She pulled it back and wrote something else on it. ‘Did you see her little, pink tail? Adorable.’

Celestia looked between the marker board and Luna, who had a grin on her face, and smiled. “I’ll assume Luna’s making fun of me and hide her moonpies later.”

Luna’s expression turned to horror in an instant as she looked at her sister. Luna loved her moonpies. They were her favorite treat to snack on as she played games. Those sweet little cakes were one of the more simpler pleasures in life. “[Horrified horse noises!]” In a very un-princess like manner, Luna scrambled off her throne and out the door to go protect her precious moonpies.

Celestia chuckled to herself before turning back to the group. “However long it takes, we will continue to make preparations for the trip. Be sure that we will be ready whenever you are.”

AJ let out a sigh. “Thank you princess.”

Celestia looked at AJ with a raised eyebrow. “For somepony who just spent some time at the spa yesterday, you seem awfully stressed out right now. Is something wrong?”

“Nnnno. Other than the obvious, nothing’s wrong.”

“We were just going to visit my parents today,” Ditzy added as he put a leg around AJ’s whithers.

“And my relationship with his parents have always been a bit...rocky, at best.” AJ said with her ears laid back.

“Oh? I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s gotten better over the months since the whole abduction thing, but things are still a bit tense between us.”

“Today should be fine though,” Ditzy said with certainty in his voice.

“Why do you say that?” asked Celestia.

“They wouldn’t dare do anything to stress out AJ while she’s the one carrying our foals,” He said with a smirk. “If anything, they’ll fawn over her to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible.”

“Wait, foals?” asked Twilight. “As in plural?”

“Yea. We’re having twins,” Ditzy said with a half smile. His eye still slightly twitched at the thought.

“Yea. Didn’t anypony tell you?” asked AJ.

“They just let me out of the infirmary yesterday afternoon. I haven’t really had much time to learn about what’s been going on.”

“Ah yes, right. Didn’t exactly come up last night either,” AJ said as she rubbed her neck.

“And it’s not like we’ll be around to talk much today, either. Mom and dad will be waiting for us.”

“Then I shouldn’t hold you up any longer,” Celestia said with a smile. With a bow, AJ and Ditzy turned and headed towards the door; Knight in tow. “And Applejack…”

“Yes yer majesty?”

“Before you go back to your duties, I’d like to talk to you in private. I may have a solution for your udder problem.”

Applejack’s face glowed with a smile. “Ya do? That would be great!”

Celestia turned to Twilight and gave a small nod, letting her know she was free from her duties. “Alright. I think I’ll go check on Princess Luna then. Make sure she’s not doing anything too crazy.”

Applejack watched as Twilight left the room. When it was just the two of them she looked back to Celestia with a smile on her face. “Now, I understand you have dairy cows on your farm, is that correct?”

“Eeyup. Daisy Jo an’ th’ gals live pretty darn well if Ah do say so mahself.”

“Then you should be familiar with with the concept of milking.” Applejack’s smile immediately fell as Celestia looked down at her with a knowing look. “Of course, I don’t expect you to just let anypony touch you in such an intimate manner without your consent, so whoever helps you with this task is up to you. But I just know a good milking will make you feel much better.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat. “Ah’m goin’ ta kill Discord.”

********************

“It’s official. You’re mom’s trying to kill me,” AJ said as she and Ditzy walked down the street towards the castle.

“I told you they were probably going to fawn over you. Dad even let you sit in his chair, and knowing dad, he probably spent much more money on it than was necessary.”

“But it was sooooooooo comfortable,” AJ said with a dopey smile on her face. “And did you really expect me to turn down all that free chocolate your mom was showering me with? And what about that fondue? Was I just supposed to let it go uneaten?”

“Be careful with eating too much. I learned that the hard way just how hard it can be to lose all that extra weight,”

AJ stopped dead in her tracks and started poking her belly; her face was one of contemplation. “Meh, totally worth it.” While Ditzy continued down the street, AJ turned back the way they had come from. “Do you think Knight will be okay staying with your parents?”

“You’re worrying too much. Mom and dad will make sure he’s safe.”

“It’s not that, you know how he gets if I’m away too long.”

“He’ll have Dinky there to play with. He’ll be fine.” As they walked up to the guards standing at the castle gate. “Hello again sirs.”

The guards looked the two ponies over for a second before the one on the left used his magic to open the door for them. As the two of them entered the castle foyer, one of the maids that were passing by noticed them and came up to them with a smile. “Good evening sir and madam. How may I help you?”

AJ smiled before speaking. “Yea, would you be able to take us to your room? We’re staying in the visitor’s quarters, room four.”

“Of course, right this way,” The maid said with a smile. The closer they got to their room, the happier AJ got. The two of them had a better day than she expected them to have, and she wanted to bookend it with a nice, hot bath. “Here we are, room four.” The maid stood to the side to let the two of them get to their room. “Anything else I could help you with?”

“No thank you.” with a small bow, the maid left the two of them. With a smile, Ditzy reached for the door.

“PSSSST!”

Both AJ and Ditzy looked around when they heard the sound. “You hear that?” asked AJ.

“Yea. Where did it come from.”

“AJ, over here!” came a voice from across the hall.

AJ scanned the other side of the hall until she noticed door to room number five, the room kitty corner to theirs in the hall, was slightly open, and Applejack was looking at her from the crack. “Uhh, I’ll be right back,” AJ said as she walked across the hall. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Get in here. It’s kinda private.” Applejack stepped away from the door to let the pregnant mare in the room. AJ closed the door once she was pass the threshold. With AJ in the room, and the door closed, Applejack let out a deep sigh. “Ah...need yer help.”

“You do?” AJ asked in a somewhat surprised tone. She wasn’t used to Applejack needing his help. Usually it was the other way around. “What’s wrong?”

Applejack looked around the room as her face seemed to grow hotter and hotter by the minute. “Well...it’s been brought ta mah attention, that th’ reason this darned udder is so gosh, danged uncomfortable is because…”

AJ waited a moment for the mare to continue. “Because…?”

“Because...Ah need ta be milked.”

“Milked?!” AJ asked in surprise. “You actually need to be milked? That’s a thing you need to have done to you?”

“Would you keep it down?!” Applejack said in a hushed tone. “Ah was just as surprised as you are when Ah was first told.”

“Well why do you need my help? Can’t you milk yourself? I mean, you’re the one who taught me how to properly milk the girls back home.”

“Ah tried. It’s...awkward ta do it mahself. Not ta mention Ah couldn’t get it ta go in th’ bucket by mahself.”

“Right. I suppose it would be a bit hard to do something like that alone,” AJ said the more she thought about it. “Okay, if we’re going to do this, it would probably be easier to do this if you’re standing up. Maybe hold yourself up on a table or something. Make it easier to reach your udder.”

“Yea, yer right.”

With AJ’s help, the two of them moved one of the bedside tables to a more open part of the room. “Right, I’m going to go wash my hooves first. Don’t want you to get an infection. Plus…” She lifted her metal limb. “...this thing is still cold from when we were outside, and it’ll probably be much more comfortable if it’s warmer.”

“Will that thin’ pinch?”

AJ blinked before looking at her limb. “Whenever I ask the cows about pinching, they always say everything’s fine, so no worries. Be right back.”

As AJ went into the bathroom to wash up, Applejack got the two buckets, she got two of them just in case of an emergency, and got up against the table like AJ suggested. “Just keep tellin’ yerself you’ll feel better after this,” she said to herself.

“What was that?” asked AJ when as she came out of the bathroom.

“Nothin’.”

AJ shrugged her shoulders before positioning herself right next to Applejack. She moved one of the buckets just in front of Applejack’s udder before letting out a sigh. “Right, I know this is going to be just like milking a cow, but this still feels awkward.”

“Yer tellin’ me.” Applejack watched as AJ started reaching for her udder. “Before ya start, ya gotta promise me somethin’.”

“Hmm?”

“Please, don’t tell Rarity 'bout this.”

AJ stared at the orange cowpony with a raised brow. “Okay?”

“Promise!”

“Okay, I promise! But I think Rarity would understand that you just needed a little intimate help. It’s not like we’re doing anything perverted in here or anything.” With her right hoof, AJ reached out and gently gripped one of Applejack’s teats. Applejack’s body shuddered at the contact as she let out a stifled moan causing AJ to freeze her actions. She looked between her hoof and Applejack who’s face was bright red. “Uhh.”

Applejack had to calm herself down before looking over at AJ. “A-as Ah said, don’t tell Rarity.”

********************

After helping Applejack with her little problem, and both of them agreeing to never mention this again, AJ headed back to her room for a bath. After getting cleaned up, with a little help from Ditzy, she decided now would be a good time to go see Celestia about the other little problem she had. It didn’t take her long to track down a guard to get an escort to the princesses temporary quarters. She was both annoyed and slightly surprised that Princess Celestia was currently staying on the far end of the hall she was currently staying in. Thought the extra guards around the area should have made it a bit obvious.

“Princess, you have a visitor.”

“Send them in.”

The guard at the door opened the door for AJ to step through. “Hello Princess,” She said with a bow. Celestia was sitting at a desk on the side of the room. Unlike the last time she had seen her, the princess was no longer wearing anything. The dress she was wearing was hanging on a hook on the other side of the room. Some important looking papers sat on top of the desk, and an inked quill floated to her side in her magic. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something? I can always come back if you’d like?”

Celestia giggled to herself as she placed the quill back in the inkwell. “Don’t worry. Just a few forms I’ve fallen behind on. With everything that’s happened, I’ve been a bit too busy.” She stood up from the chair and walked over to the mare. “But don’t worry, I always have time for my subjects. What do you need.”

“Umm, well, it’s kinda embarrassing, but I have have something I need to talk to you about.”

“Hmm? Is something the matter?”

AJ nervously rubbed her leg. “You know how I said in that letter that I was prepared for this trip?” Celestia silently nodded. “Well, it wasn’t until after I got your reply that I realised just how unprepared I really was.”

“What do you mean? Do you need us to postpone the trip so you can go get something?”

“No, no, nothing like that. It’s just that...I don’t know what I’m going to tell everyone.”

Celestia thought for a moment. “Do you mean your friends and family?”

“Yea. Questions like where I was, what I was doing, and what happened to me. These are all things that will probably be asked, and I don’t know what to say. If I tell the truth, they’d probably think I was just going crazy.”

“Why do you say that?”

“To you all this seems completely normal, but If I go to my world and say I was taken to a world full of technicolor, talking ponies that can fly and use magic, and was turned into one myself, I could only imagine the whiplash I’d get from how fast I’d be sent to the happy hotel.”

“Hmm, I guess in a world with no magic that does seem kind of farfetched,” Celestia said with a hoof to her chin. “Come, let’s talk this through. I’m sure we’ll come up with something.” She lead AJ to a chair in the room so the two of them could talk.

****************************************

Lending a Chaotic Hand

Chapter 50

AJ seemed to be in her own little world as she worked Applejack’s udder. Since she and Ditzy left her parents house that day, she could only really think about Knight. Even as Applejack tried getting her attention, she just continued to stare ahead. It wasn’t until Applejack poked her head that she got any kind of reaction.

“Mmmmf, A-are ya almost done?!” Applejack asked as AJ continued to milk her. Since Discord’s sickness had lasted longer than they had hoped it would, Applejack and AJ needed to work out a milking schedule. If they didn’t, those days spent as a cow would have been much more unbearable. In the end, they decided that AJ would take a quick stop to her room each day when she got back from her daily visit to Ditzy’s parents house. She claimed the visits were for Knight’s sake, but Ditzy knew it was because AJ was being emotionally clingy and couldn’t stand to be away from Knight for too long right now.

“Huh?” AJ blinked a couple times before looking at the orange cow. Oh, sorry. My minds kinda on something else right now. Anyway, yea. Almost done. It’s a good thing we’ve been doing this every day now. It goes so much faster. Much less embarrassment for both of us,” AJ said as she felt her face begin to heat up. She remembered the first day she had to milk Applejack and the...’explosive’ results that came with it.

“Y-yer not kiddi-ah.” Applejack’s face was flushed red as she tried to hold back her moan. “Hopefully Discord’ll b-be better soon so he ca…” Applejack was cut off as a wall of magic suddenly burst through the wall, and straight for them. “What in tarnation?!”

The wall ran through both of them, causing them both to flinch. After a few seconds of nothing happening, AJ chanced opening her eyes. The first thing that he saw was Applejack, which made sense since she was right in front of her before.

But that’s not was surprised her. What surprised her was the fact that the Applejack standing before her wasn’t a cow. She was a pony. A normal, everyday pony. AJ’s eyes widened as she took her free hoof and quickly felt between her legs.

Make that his legs.

A smile began forming on his face as he felt the all too familiar feeling of his long, lost equipment. But before he could become too overjoyed, he heard Applejack clear her throat; causing him to look at her. “A-Ah don’t think ya need ta be, uh...grabbin’ me down there anymore.” Her face was still crimson red.

It took AJ a moment to realise what she was talking about before he looked to where his right hoof was. More specifically, what it was still gripping. His own face grew red as he quickly removed his hoof from Applejack’s teat. With AJ no longer feeling her up, she quickly got off of the table and sat down to try to calm herself down.

For about half a minute the two of them just sat there; neither of them knew what to say. “So...I believe it’s safe to say neither of us will speak of this ever again,” AJ said in an unreadable tone.

Applejack was about to respond, but before she could, her bedroom door burst open to reveal an exceptionally happy, pregnant pegasus on the other side. “AJ, Applejack, look! I’m a mare again! Discord’s magic is gone! What about you two, are you back to…” She finally noticed Applejack and AJ sitting in the middle of the room, both back to normal, with flushed faces. It didn’t take her too long to piece everything together. She knew AJ had been milking Applejack over the week. She was there when they made the schedule. “Let me guess, the two of you changed back mid milking, and AJ still had his hooves all over your lady bits?” she asked with a smirk.

AJ slightly noded. “Y-yea, pretty much.”

“Well then what’s the problem? It’s not like you were helping her rub one out or something like that.” The reaction on both ponies faces were both priceless, and very telling. “Is...is there something you’re not…”

“No!” both AJ and Applejack said at the same time.

“Then why are you acting like that, hmm?” As she stared the two of them down, she noticed AJ give Applejack a silent look saying he had to tell. He knew better than to get on Ditzy’s bad side.

“Well, I assure you the we did not lie about the reason I came here every day, see?” Using his magic, he pulled the two thirds full bucket of milk out from behind the two of them. “Applejack really did need to be milked. The, uh...little piece of information we both left out the other day was that…” He hesitated as he looked at Applejack again,. “Was that Applejack is really sensitive down there, and she would always get worked up while she was milked.” He mouthed sorry to the orange mare

Ditzy took that information in as it slowly dawned on her. “So...the other day, when you asked me to ‘help’ you in the bath…”

“It had been days without her being milked, and with the extra time it took, Applejack was pushed over the edge.” AJ glanced over at Applejack who had since covered her face with her hat to hide her shame.

“And because of that, you got worked up.” AJ nodded his head in shame. Ditzy nodded her own head as a smile grew on her face. “Well, now that that’s all dealt with, come on. Let’s go see the others.”

Both AJ and Applejack looked dumbfounded. “You’re...not mad?” asked AJ.

“Even though we hid th’ truth?”

“But you weren't lying...kinda. Just not telling the whole truth. Just don’t let it happen again, or you’ll both be leaving here with matching casts. Now come on I wanna go see my little muffin.” With a bright smile, Ditzy trotted out of the room.

AJ swallowed a lump in his throat. “I’ll...talk to you later,” AJ said before quietly following Ditzy out of the room.

Being alone in the room, Applejack had a moment to think this through. After what just happened, she knew it was only right to let Rarity know what happened. It was just the right thing to do. She let out a deep sigh. “Ah hope Rarity’s not goin’ ta be too mad ‘bout this.”

********************

“Hey, where are the two of you going?” Twilight asked as she trotted towards AJ and Ditzy.

The two ponies stopped and turned towards the light purple unicorn unicorn. “Well somepony looks happy,” AJ said when he saw the bright smile on Twilight’s face.

“Aren’t you?” She asked as she caught up with them. “Everypony in the castle is celebrating now that everything’s back to normal.”

“Of course we’re happy. We just already had our celebration,” Ditzy said with a smile.

“Well you did at least. We just had a heaping tablespoon of embarrassment,” AJ said under his breath. “Aaanyway, we’re just on our way to go see Knight and Dinky. With Discord’s magic gone, we figured now would probably be a good time to go get the two of them.”

“Besides, I don’t think Knight really likes it over there very much. He’s been almost too calm. He hasn’t been eating like he was when he first went to stay with them, and he hasn’t acted up at all in the past couple days. It’s kinda freaky. Even mom and dad are getting worried.”

“It’s possible he’s just not used to spending so much time away from ponies he’s familiar with.”

“I hope that’s all it is. I’d hate to leave on the trip if he’s getting sick. Probably have to postpone it until he could get better. Either that or bring him with so we’re never too far away. But that wouldn’t be a very good idea.” AJ looked deep in thought as he turned back towards the entrance. “We should hurry. If something’s wrong with Knight we should be there with him.”

Ditzy recognised the look on AJ’s face. It was the face of a concerned parent. It’s one she’s had plastered on her face every time Dinky was sick or hurt. Right now, AJ was a pony on a mission. “We’ll talk to you later Twilight. Leave us some celebratory cake. With Ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream.”

********************

“So, Discord’s magic is finally gone for everypony it seems,” Nimbos said with a smile as Ditzy and AJ stepped through the door.

“Yea. The castle’s all celebrating right now,” AJ said as he looked around for the two foals.

“We’d be right there with them, but we figured, with everything going back to normal, it would probably be okay for the kids to come back to the castle. Also, AJ’s worried sick about Knight.”

“Where is he anyway?” AJ asked as he looked into the kitchen; earning him a dirty look from Amethyst for being rude. He backed off slightly with a sheepish grin. “I was kinda hoping he would be happily playing now that it’s all over.”

“Well unfortunately, a little after the two of you left, the little dear said he wasn’t feeling very good,” Amethyst said with a slight shake of her head. “Stomach flu, I think. We gave him a little something to settle his stomach and took him up to bed.”

“So he was getting sick,” AJ said as he lay his ears back.

Ditzy placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “What about Dinky? Where’s she at?”

“She should still be upstairs with Knight. I believe she was coloring when I last went to check on them not too long ago,” Nimbos said with a hoof to his chin.

“Could I go see him please?” AJ asked wanting to go see his son.

“Of course. He’s up in Ditzy’s old room. Come with me,” Amethyst said as she lead AJ through the house.

Dinky looked up as the door to the room opened up and notices as AJ poked his head through. Her eyes grew bright and a smile grew on her face. “Hi da…” Dinky quickly covered her mouth with her hooves to silence herself as she turned and looked to the bed. Knight was still sleeping soundly despite her outburst. She smiled before turning back to AJ who was quietly walking into the room up to her. “Hi daddy,” she whispered to the stallion who bent down to hug the filly.

“Hey my little angel,” he said as he nuzzled the little fillies cheek. “Have you been watching over Knight for me while I was away?”

“Uhuh.”

“That’s my girl. Hey, you’re mom’s downstairs, why don’t you go say hi to her,” he said as he rustled her mane.

“Okay,” she said with a bright smile before hopping out of the room.

AJ could hear Amethyst scolding Dinky for bouncing around the house before he closed the door. He looked at the bed where Knight continued to sleep away. He walked over to the bed and sat down before he slowly reaching over to run a hoof through Knight’s mane. “Knight.” He smiled as the foal began to stir. “Wake up Knight.”

Knight’s eyes slowly opened. When he saw the indigo stallion’s smiling face hovering above him, a weak smile came to his face. “Daddy. You’re back.”

“Yea, I’m back,” AJ said with a chuckle. He leaned down to nuzzle the foal and feel his forehead. As he feared, the foal had a fever. “Oh Knight, if you weren’t feeling good why didn’t you just say so?” Knight turned his head with a groan; mumbling something into the pillow. “Hmm?”

“...didn’t wanna worry you.”

“Didn’t wanna worry me? I’m your dad. It’s my job to worry about you,” AJ said with a smile. His smile began to falter when Knight let out a groan and began clutching his tummy. “Aww, starting to feel icky again?” Knight nodded his head before AJ ran a hoof through his mane again. “Okay, I’ll go get you something to settle your tummy and let you go back to sleep then.”

AJ stood up from the bed and left the room. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he was greeted by Ditzy’s smile. She was sitting on the floor with Dinky. “How’s he doing?”

“Could be better.” He turned to Nimbos who was sitting in his big, comfy chair. “I hate to impose, but would it be okay if Knight stayed here until he got better? It’s still cold out, and it would probably just make it worse if we took him back to the castle.”

“Of course it’s fine. I’d hate if he ended up getting even more sick. Speaking of, you need to watch out little filly, we don’t need you getting sick too,” Nimbos said to Dinky.

“I won’t get sick. Mommy bought me some yummy vitamins that I take every day,” she said with pride.

“Trust me, vitamins only do so much,” AJ said with a slight smile. “By the way, what did you give Knight before to help settle his stomach? He may need a little more?”

“Just a bit of ginger ale. There’s more in the fridge if you need it. Just ask Amethyst for a glass.”

“Thanks,” AJ said with a slight nod of his head.

********************

AJ and Ditzy decided against staying at her parents house for too long. Dinky decided to stay to help watch over Knight. They may not be related in any way, but the two of them are close enough to be blood related siblings. They probably would have stayed longer, but AJ didn’t like being under the scrutinizing gazes he was getting now that he was a stallion again. “You know, those visits were a lot easier when you were the one with the balls,” he said as the two of them closed in on the castle. “They may not be saying it, but I can still feel their judging eyes.”

“I know, but please give them a break. They’re whole perception of who is and isn’t a nice pony kinda got messed with when...’He’ showed his true colors.”

AJ let out a sigh. “I know, I know. Just tired of spending my entire life feeling like I’m being judged, or that I’m the bad guy.”

Ditzy laid her ears back as she looked at AJ. “I’m sorry if they make you feel uncomfortable. They are trying though. I mean, you managed to have a full conversation with them today and nothing too bad was said.”

AJ looked back at the mare. “Yea, I guess you’re right. Probably the best conversation with them since I first met them.”

Ditzy noticed the slight smile that started to form on his face. “And if you’re still feeling down, we could just relax when we get back to the room and I could scratch you behind the ear again. It’s always helped you relax before.”

AJ let out a chuckle. “You know me too well.”

The mare couldn’t help but smile. “I think I like you better like this. A lot easier to read, and MUCH easier to make happy.”

As the two of them got the the castle, the guards looked them over before letting them in. Before the doors were closed behind them, the two ponies noticed the others in the room. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you’re forgetting?” Celestia asked as she and Discord walked through the foyer of the castle.

“Hey, I said I was sorry,” Discord said with a smirk. “Besides, I think you look adorable without your hair. You’re little, pink tail is just too cute.”

“I know for a fact it wasn’t my tail you were looking at,” Celestia said with a slight blush on her face. “I know what you did the other day wasn’t done on purpose, but it’s still your responsibility to make sure everything goes back to the way it was.”

“I already told you, fixing everything was as easy as a snap…” Discord snapped his finger and popped over to the other side of Celestia. “...of my finger. Everything should be back to nnnnn…” Discord suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned towards the two ponies that just entered the castle, AJ specifically “Hello. It looks like I did forget something after all.”

AJ started slowly backing off as the draconequus approached him. “What do you want?”

Discord stroked his beard with a contemplative look as he stopped before the stallion. “Hmmm, you look familiar. Now where do I know you from.” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. Both AJ and Ditzy became engulfed in a bright pop for a moment before the two of them were, once again, gender swapped.

AJ looked over herself for a second. “Hey!”

“Oh now I remember you! You’re the crazy mare who was screaming and shouting at me the other day.” He let out a happy sigh as he remembered all the chaos he accidentally caused the other day; snapping his fingers to change them back. “Ahh, good times.”

AJ grit his teeth as he stared at the draconequus. Ditzy could see AJ’s body tensing up. She put a hoof on his shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?”

He let out a furious snort to try to calm himself down. “I promised Princess Celestia that I wouldn’t have another outburst like the one in the throne room. I’m pretty sure ramming my hoof down this jackass’ throat would count as an outburst.” AJ glared at Discord with a snort before grabbing Ditzy by the leg. “Come on Ditzy, let’s get out of here.”

“Good idea,” Ditzy said before following AJ around Discord.

Both of them stopped in their tracks when a whistle sounded behind them. “Stop where you are, we’re not done here.

AJ let out a grunt before turning to face the draconequus. “What in the hell do...you...want?” Discord was nowhere to be seen.

AJ’s attention was quickly gained when he heard the end of a pole being slammed on the tile floor behind him. When he turned, he saw Discord standing there with a stop sign in his hand. He was wearing a police pony’s outfit and had the whistle in his mouth. He blew it one more time before letting it drop. “I was tasked by Celestia to make sure I fix all magical mishaps before I can finally go to my scheduled tea party with Fluttershy. And There’s something about you that just doesn’t add up.”

AJ stared at Discord like he was crazy. Which I think everypony would admit that he is crazy, but that’s beside the point. He had no idea what he was talking about. “What the hell are you…”

AJ was interrupted as Ditzy tapped him on the shoulder. “AJ, you don’t think he means the transformation, do you?”

“Transformation you say?” came Discord’s voice from just to the side of them. They both turned to see his face mere inches away with a smile on his face. “Oh hohoho! I knew something was up. Now comes the fun part. Trying to guess what you truly are. Could it be a griffon?” he asked as he snapped his fingers, turning AJ into a griffon with a metal claw. “How abow about a deer?” He snapped his fingers yet again; changing AJ’s form to a majestic looking deer with a slender, metallic leg. “Or maybe a legendary sea pony?” Snapping his fingers again, AJ transformed into a seapony, complete with an adorable little metal fin, and fell to the floor. Discord’s eyes widened as he watched AJ struggled on the ground for air. “Woops! Forgot they couldn’t breath out of water.” With a quick snap of his fingers, AJ was changed back into a unicorn and quickly took a loud draw of air. “Sorry about that.”

“That’s enough, Discord,” Celestia said with a demanding tone.

“Oh lighten up. I was just having a little fun. It’s kinda hard to find something fun to do when you’re locked in a magical bubble for days on end you know.” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers once again.

AJ transformed once again, but not into any sort of magical Equestrian creature this time. When he looked down this time, he noticed the distinct lack of a muzzle. Looking down even further, his forelegs were now arms. The right was flesh colored, and the left metallic. Looking down at the rest of him, he saw the rest of his human body. “What the hell?!”

“Hello. Well this is new,” Discord said as he examined the fleshy ape thing before him.

Ditzy watched with wide eyes as AJ struggled to get to a sitting position, almost as if he needed to get used to his old limbs again. “You’re a human again.”

AJ was busy patting himself down to make sure this wasn’t a dream again. “Is that what you call this thing? It’s hideous.” He snapped his fingers, changing AJ back into a unicorn. “Still not very pretty, but it’s better than before.” He shook his head before turning towards Celestia. “I’m sorry Celestia, but there’s nothing I can do for this one. I’m afraid he’s a lost cause.”

“He was not a result of your magic Discord. Leave him be,” Celestia said with a stern look. She walked past the draconequus; helping AJ up. “Are you okay?”

“Yea...yea. Just fine,” he said as if he wasn’t entirely paying attention to the princess of the sun. Instead, he continued looking over his body with a look of thought on his face. “Ditzy, why don’t you go back to the room for now. I need Discord for an experiment.”

“An experiment? Oooh, what kind of experiment?” Discord asked as he unzipped his fur to reveal a scientists coat underneath. “Will it include mixing a bunch of potions together until we blow something up?”

“No, nothing like that. I need your magic. Princess, do you know where I could find Applejack and Twilight?”

********************

Applejack opened an eye when she heard a knock on her door. After the small celebration, she retired to her room for a bit of rest and relaxation. Taking on the job of a maid for the castle for the last few days didn’t exactly give her a lot of free time. She spent more time making other people comfortable rather than herself. So now that she had a bit of time to herself, she decided to take a nice, hot shower and have herself a bit of a nap. It wasn’t as nice as sleeping under the shade of her apple trees, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t wish she had a mattress this nice at home.

“Ya can come in,” she said with a yawn.

AJ opened the door; poking his head through the opening before opening it all the way. “Hey Applejack. Hope we’re not intruding on something.”

Applejack stretched her legs as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Nah. Just gettin’ a bit of shuteye.” She thought about what AJ said for a moment. “Wait, we?” When she actually turned to see who was at the door, she saw the other two guests standing behind AJ. Princess Celestia stared back with a smile, while Discord had a look of indifference while he itched the inside of his ear. “Uhh, is somethin’ wrong? An’ why is he here?” She asked pointing an accusatory hoof at Discord.

“What?! Oh Applejack you wound me,” Discord said as he was suddenly lying in a hospital bed; wrapped head to toe in bandages. “I simply came here at the request of him,” he said as he pointed at AJ.

Applejack raised an eyebrow towards AJ. “Don’t worry, Applejack,” Celestia said in a calming tone. "He won’t do anything bad. Will you Discord?”

“Yes, yes. I got the speech already,” Discord said before flicking a bit of ear wax onto the floor.

“At least we hope it won’t turn into something bad.”

“Excuse me?” Discord asked as he slinked over to the side of AJ. “Do you doubt me?”

“Of course I doubt you. You’re bat shit insane.”

Discord gasped and covered his mouth with his paw hand. “I...I can’t believe you said that.”

“Well, it’s t…”

“That’s...one of the nicest things anypony’s ever said to me,” Discord said with a smile.

AJ looked on in disbelief. “What the fu…”

He was interrupted as Celestia cleared her throat. “I’m sorry for interrupting such a...riveting conversation, but I believe we came here for a purpose.”

Finally remembering where they were, AJ turned to face the orange farmpony. “Oh...right.” He turned to Discord with a look of disdain. “Okay, let’s get this over with then. Discord, you’re up I guess.”

“What, exactly, is he up fer?” Applejack asked as she stood up.

“Nothing to worry that silly little head of yours,” Discord said as he stood in front of Applejack wearing a western themed getup. “I just need you to sit...”

“Just get on with it!” AJ complained from the back of the room.

The smile on Discord’s face turned to a disgruntled frown before turning to the unicorn. “Can’t I have a little fun for once?”

“Get on with what?!” Applejack asked.

“This.” Without warning, Discord snapped his fingers.

AJ’s eyes widened when the flash around Applejack went away. Gone was the orange coated Earth pony they all knew. In her place was a white skinned, freckled human woman with a stetson standing on her hands and feet. Her long, blond ponytail curled over her shoulder. She had a well toned body with a nice muscle build. She had wide hips, and powerful looking legs. Her chest looked to be about a c cup. Just from looking at her on her hands and feet, he had to guess she’d probably be somewhere between 5’ 8’’ and 5’ 10’’. “Holy shit it worked,” AJ said in amazement.

“W-w-w-what in tarnation?!” Applejack instinctually reared back in surprise, or at least she tried too. Her new body wasn’t like her original one. It just didn’t move the same way. All she succeeded in was lifting her body up about an inch before falling back down; landing hard on her chin. Her body collapsed to the floor as she clenched her face in pain.

AJ cringed before hurrying over to Applejack’s side. “Shit, you okay?” He could hear Applejack quietly cursing behind her hands. He offered a hoof, only to have it waved off.

“A-ah’m fine, Ah’m fine.” While still on the floor, she looked at one of her new hands. She twisted it around to look at it from all angles. Using her other hand, she pushed herself up into somewhat of a sitting position. Lifting her hand again, she slowly clenched her fist like she had seen AJ do many times. She then turned her head to look down at her legs. She twisted her foot around and curled her toes with a questioning look on her face. She then looked down at the rest of her body.

AJ raised his brow in question when he noticed Applejack’s face slowly turn red. “What’s up?”

Applejack cleared her throat before answering. “Ah, heh...Ah was just wonderin’ what these were doin’ up here,” she said as she pointed at her breasts. “Ya know what, that’s not what Ah should be wonderin’ ‘bout. What in Celestia’s name were ya thinkin’ changin’ me like this?! Ya didn’t even ask!”

“Well, I did mean to ask you before we went through with this. I just got distracted by Discord is all.” He scratched the back of his neck as he sheepishly laughed to himself. “And as for your breasts, that’s where they are on humans,” AJ said with a shrug of his shoulders. “To be honest, I’m actually surprised Discord got it right considering he never even saw a human until a little bit ago.” He couldn’t help but imagine what she would have looked like if her breasts were still down near her groin.

“I resent that remark,” Discord said with his arms folded. “I take pride in my work.”

“Think you can stand?” AJ asked seemingly ignoring Discord.

“Ah..can try.” She took another look at her legs before taking a deep breath. It’s not like she never stood on her hind legs before as a pony. But this was different. Her joints bent in different ways now, and her center of balance wasn’t as close to the ground anymore. To start, she planted both hands on the floor in front of her; using them to balance herself as she got onto her knees.

“Okay, now bring one of your knees forward,” instructed AJ who got to her side to help guide her. He walked her through each step until she had her left foot on the floor. “Now comes the fun part. Place one of your hands on your left knee, or something close by to support your weight, and lift yourself up.”

Not sure if she would be able to support herself on her knee just yet, she extended both hands to find support on the two closest objects. The bed and AJ just so happened to be those objects. Like AJ had told her, she pushed herself up. Using AJ turned out to bad decision though. As she started to lift herself, she dug her fingers into both objects to make sure she wouldn’t slip. As AJ felt her fingernails beginning to dig into his flesh, he flinched in pain causing her hand to slip on his coat as he shifted his body.

Celestia could only watch as Applejack ended up pushing herself on top of the indigo unicorn, causing both of them to land in a pile on the floor. “Are the two of you okay?”

“Yea. Ah’m alright,” Applejack said as she shook her head.

“I’ll be alright once Applejack removes her elbow from my kidney.” Upon landing, Applejack accidentally ended up burying her elbow straight into his side. Even after she moved her arm, the look on his face didn’t change for the better. “Oooh fuck. Feels like I’ll be pissing blood for the next few days.”

“Well, think of it as payback fer not gettin’ mah consent ta do this ta me,” Applejack said with knowing smirk. “Besides, Ah didn’t hit ya in th’ kidney.”

“Okay, I deserved it, but still, ow.” After all the complaining was done with, Applejack finally crawled off of AJ, allowing him to get up. He stretched his body and rubbed the spot Applejack had elbowed before turning back to her. His eyes widened when he saw her sitting on the floor, leaning back on her hands, with her legs spread. Now, it’s not like he didn’t realise she was naked before, but when everything was on display like this, it made that fact all the more apparent. He turned away with a blush on his face. “U-uh Princess, is there a tailor near here that would be able to make us some human clothes?”

“Human clothes?” Celestia asked as she put a hoof to her chin. “We could try the royal tailor. He’s always looking for a bit of a challenge.”

“That’s right, ya did mention somethin’ about always needin’ ta wear clothes.”

“Yea. They’ll keep you warm and cover up any...important bits,” he said as he motioned to Applejack’s chest and groin.

Applejack looked down at her naked body before looking back to AJ who was doing his best to look away. Celestia just smiled at her, and Discord was sitting back eating popcorn as if he was enjoying the show. She frowned as a blush overtook her face. She reached over, grabbing a sheet off the bed and pulling it in front of her. “Ah don’t like this one bit.”

“That’s why we need to get you some clothes,” AJ said as he turned to Celestia. “She’ll probably need a couple pairs of pants, shirts, some underwear…” He stopped to think for a moment. Would a pony be able to make everything they’d need? He did have Rarity make a coat for him awhile back, but she did have to use him as a living mannequin to do so. And a coat is much different than pants and underwear. “I don’t mean to be rude, but would your dressmaker be able to make everything we need? We’d need multiple full sets of clothing for all three of us, and I doubt he’s ever made anything for, let alone seen anything like a human.”

“As I said. He’s always looking for a challenge,” Celestia said as she turned towards the door. “Come with me Discord. We need to go find Twilight.”

Discord rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Fine, but let’s make it quick. Any longer and the tea will be cold.”

“I’ll stay here for now. See if we can’t get Applejack walking a little,” AJ said as he sat next to Applejack.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to be changed right now too? I’m sure a visual aid would help her along,” Celestia asked knowing that visual aids are usually a good way of teaching.

“Naaah. I kinda need to stay a pony for a couple more days at least. Knight’s sick, and I doubt carrying him through the winter air would be a good thing for him.”

“An’ goin’ ta pick’im up lookin’ like this probably wouldn’t open too many doors,” Applejack said knowing the troubles he’s had with Ditzy’s parents. He’s vented about them to her before.

“Exactly. Tell Twilight I’ll be in to help her with her walking as soon as I can. Gotta make progress with Applejack first.”

“Of course.” With a slight nod, Celestia walked out of the room while Discord rode on her back.

********************

Ditzy looked up from her book when she heard the door to the room open. A smile came to her face when she saw AJ slog his way into the room. Her smile waned a little when she saw just how raged he looked. Once he was actually in the room, he lazily kick the door closed. “Well, somepony looks tired.” She only got a groan of acknowledgement letting her know she was right. “Maybe you should have come back to the room with me to relax instead of spending all day on your little...project I guess we’ll call it.”

AJ glared slightly at Ditzy as he reached the bed. “I was curious to see if Discord could do it. Besides, helping them walk was important. What if they needed to go to the bathroom?” he questioned as he crawled onto the bed next to Ditzy; lazily flopping down

“Speaking of which, how did they do? Princess Celestia said you were going to stay with them until they could walk.”

“And they can...kinda. Well enough to get around at least. Going to the bathroom shouldn’t be a problem.”

AJ closed his eyes and stretched his body; shifting around to get more comfortable. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Ditzy looking at him with an expectant look. “Yes?”

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“How did they look?” AJ looked at her in confusion. “You’re a human turned pony. You, out of anypony here, would be the one to check them out and get something out of it. So I wanna know, how do Applejack and Twilight look to you now that they’re humans?”

AJ stared at Ditzy for a moment in slight surprise. He didn’t expect a question like that from Ditzy. It also didn’t help that a slight blush came to his face. “Uhhh…”

“So you did check them out. I knew it.”

“Not like I could help it. They don’t exactly have any clothes right now.” The blush on his face grew even redder.

“I know, but that still doesn’t change the fact that you perved on their poor, exposed, vulnerable bodies.” Ditzy internally cheered as she saw AJ turn away from her in embarrassment. She wasn’t mad at him for looking at Applejacks and Twilight’s bodies like that. He was just helping them learn to walk while they just so happened to be naked. She just wanted to get him back for leaving her alone and bored for the last few hours. “So tell me, which one did you like better, hmm? Which of their bodies did you find more attractive?”

AJ let out a snort as he tried to ignore the pregnant pegasus beside him. She made it very difficult to ignore her as she continued to poke him in the side. With an unamused, and pained, look, he turned to Ditzy; silently begging her to stop. “What do I have to do to get you to stop poking me? It still hurts from when Applejack elbowed me there.”

“Oh, sorry.” She removed her hoof from AJ’s sore side. “Anyway, I’ll stop tormenting you once you answer my question. Which one did you like better?”

AJ sighed knowing there wasn’t any way out of this. He looked in no particular direction as he remembered what the two of them looked like. “Well, Applejack’s built how you’d expect her to be. Wide hips, strong legs and a muscular build. She looked good with that ponytail of hers, but Twilight…” It wasn’t hard to remember Twilight’s body. He had just come from her room. She had an olive colored skin tone, with her three toned hair reaching down to about her mid back. She was thin, but didn’t have much of a build to her. All that time just sitting in the library studying hasn’t exactly given her a toned body. Her breasts were only slightly smaller than Applejacks, and she had much smaller hips than the cowgirl. At full height, she stood about 5’ 4’’ to 5’ 5’’.

AJ thought for a minute about the two of them before letting out another sigh. “If I had to choose, I’d probably have to say Twilight.”

“Any particular reason?” Derpy asked with a cheeky grin.

AJ’s blush came back as he grumbled to himself. “Because...she has a great ass.” He remembered all the times he couldn’t help taking peeks at Twilight’s butt when she would either fall over or bend down for some reason. He made sure to take some mental snapshots for future memories.

Ditzy giggled a little as she started rubbing AJ behind the ear. “I should have known you’d pick the one with the better ass. You’re always very fond of mine.” She could already see him relaxing due to her ministrations.

“Well your ass is amazing. W…” He interrupted himself as a yawn escaped his lips. “Why wouldn’t I be fond of it?”

“Did I say it was a bad thing?” She said with a smile. “I guess I know the perfect way to get you to do something now. A little shaky shake of the hips and you’ll be under my spell. Think I’d be able to get you to paint Dinky’s room? It’s needed a new paint job for awhile now.” She waited for an answer that didn’t come. When she didn’t get an answer, she looked to the stallion in confusion. “AJ?” She stared for a second before giggling to herself. “If you were going to fall asleep on me you should have said something.”

Sure enough, AJ was out like a light. It had been an eventful day, and he was in need of some rest and relaxation. She leaned down to kiss him on the head. “Good night, my sweet prince.”

****************************************

Author's Note

For a good representation of human Applejack, i think this would be a decent pic

Pic by Ponut Joe (often does NSFW)

and Twilight (just imagine she has a more olive skin tone here)

Pic by King-Kakapo (also does NSFW)

The Loss of Control

Chapter 51

“Daddy!” came the shouts of the two foals as AJ walked through the door to Ditzy’s parents house.

Amethyst, who was flanked on both sides by the foals when she answered the door, had to jump back as the two of them flung themselves at the stallion who had just entered the house. They clung to AJ, laughing and smiling, as he tried and failed to stay upright. Amethyst stomped her hoof down and put on a stern face. “How many times do I have to tell you two that there is no roughhousing in this house?!” She reached out and grabbed Dinky with her hooves and placed her back on the floor next to her.

“Sorry grandma,” Dinky said as she kicked at the floor.

Knight continued to hug AJ; a big smile on his face. “Looks like you’re feeling much better today,” AJ said as he used his magic to lift the foal off of him. After getting up off the floor, he placed Knight on his back. “Thanks again for looking after him Amethyst. I really owe you one.”

“Oh no need. You did the right thing keeping him here. It’s quite a walk from here to the castle, and that would have been a lot of time spent in the cold. He was better off staying here under the warmth of the covers.”

“Gramma Amnithurst gave me a lot of juice when I was sick,” Knight said with a bright smile. “And Grampa Ninboss gave me soup.”

AJ chuckled to himself. “I think you mean Amethyst and Nimbos,” he said as he ruffled Knight’s mane. “Glad you’re feeling better kiddo.”

“And I made sure he wasn’t lonely,” Dinky said with pride in her voice. “I read him stories, watched movies with him…”

“Woke him up when he was trying to sleep,” Amethyst said as she pat Dinky on the head. “I applaud her enthusiasm, but she was a bit overzealous in her actions.”

“Heh, knowing Knight he probably enjoyed every second of it.” Knight nodded his head with a bright smile. Using his magic AJ started grabbing Knight’s winter stuff and putting them on him.

“Speaking of getting sick, you’re not exactly looking your best right now,” Amethyst said as she got a better look at the stallion. She noted the bags that were starting to form under his eyes and his mane that looked a bit more disheveled than usual.

“It’s just stress. There’s not much time left before we leave for this trip, but there’s still so much that needs to be done. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine...I think.”

“Well, maybe you should take the day off. Not only for your sake, but for little Knight Wind’s, too. And fretting over you is the last thing Ditzy needs right now. By the way, where IS Ditzy? I expected her to come with you.”

AJ looked back to Amethyst. “Ditzy? She said she was feeling really tired today. She just wanted to go back to the room and take a nap. So I told her I’d get the kids and wake her up when I got back.”

“Mmmwell she still should have come with to see her mother. This is the most we’ve seen of her in a long time. She’s just using her hormones as an excuse to be lazy. I should know, I did the exact same thing.”

“Can’t say I blame her really. After just spending over a week like that, I felt like I could have taken naps every day. Being pregnant is tiring.”

“It’s probably the twins,” Amethyst said as she grabbed Dinky’s hat from the hanger and placed it on her head. “Tell her that we still expect to see her again before she goes back to Ponyville.”

“I will.” He looked down to make sure the kids weren’t forgetting anything. “Well, looks like we’re ready. Thanks again for watching them.”

********************

AJ looked on in curiosity as he came upon the castle. There was a large cart with ‘Marigold fabrics’ on the side with many ponies pulling crates and preparing to take them through the gate. They were being coordinated by a mint green earth pony. Her pink, two tone mane was cut into a pixie cut. A ballerina’s stlipper adorned her flanks. “Now what’s going on here?” he said to nopony in particular.

Pirouette turned her head when she noticed something coming up in her peripheral vision. She smiled as the indigo stallion with a light cream colt on his back and the pale purple filly at his side stopped in front of the cart. “Hello. Sorry if we’re in your way. It shouldn’t take too much longer.”

“No, it’s fine. So what’s all this, anyway?”

Pirouette smiled. “Oh, we’re just making a delivery of fabrics and other materials to the castle.” She brought a hoof up to her chin. “I’m a bit surprised though. I don’t ever remember them getting an order this big.”

“Hmmm, maybe Luna would know,” AJ said with a shrug. “Well if you’ll excuse me, I have somepony waiting for me and these two troublemakers inside,” he said with a smirk as he looked at the two foals he was with.

“Hey, I’m not a troublemaker,” Knight said as he puffed out his cheeks in a pout.

“That’s a lie and you know it.” AJ chuckled as he ruffled the colts mane.

“What about me?” Dinky asked as she gazed up at him with those eyes of hers. “I’m not a troublemaker, am I?”

AJ chuckled as he pat the filly on the head. “You have your moments, but most of the time you’re a perfect little angel.” Dinky had a bright smile as she began bouncing next to AJ. “Have a nice day.”

“Oh, uhh, could you wait a moment?” Pirouette asked as she turned to the cart and grabbed a clipboard. “I hate to ask you this, you know, considering you don’t work for us and all, but do you think you could give this to my husband? He forgot to take it with him when he went to go meet with the princess.” She looked at AJ with a sheepish look.

AJ looked at the earth pony for a moment before a smile grew on his face. “Sure, I don’t see why not. I’m heading that way anyway,” he said as he took the clipboard in his magic.

“Oh thank you! My name’s Pirouette by the way. My husband shouldn’t be to hard to find. He has a certain...air about him.”

“I’ll just look for the pony talking to one of the princesses,” he said as he waved to her. He trotted around the working ponies, making sure Dinky didn’t bounce into them as he did, and motioned to the guards as he reached them. “Morning gents. Just returning from a trip to pick up the little ones here. Oh, and that mare over there needed me to deliver this to her husband. He should already be inside.”

The guards nodded before stepping out of the way to let him pass. As the three of them entered the castle, he looked around the foyer. Off to the side, he noticed Luna, flanked by two of her guards, talking to a unicorn with a regal purple coat. He had a silver mane and...and after getting a better look at him AJ knew exactly who it was she was talking to. His eyes grew wide when he realised what that would mean. “Oh fuck me. Please tell me that’s not her husband.”

“Daddy?” AJ looked down at Dinky who was looking up at him with a look of curiosity.

He looked between Dinky and the other pony before swallowing a lump in his throat. “Dinky, I need you to stay here. Do not move, do you understand me?” Using his magic, he levitated Knight off his back and placed him next to Dinky. “You too Knight.”

“But…” the two foals said simultaneously before being cut off.

“No buts,” AJ said in a stern tone he rarely used when talking to his two favorite foals. “I’ll be right back.” He took a deep breath before turning towards the chatting ponies.

As he got closer, a thousand thoughts ran through his head. He had no idea how this was going to play out. He could only hope it wasn’t going to end badly. Well, too badly at least. “I swear, I thought I grabbed it before coming in here,” the pony said as he patted his vest over yet another time.

“Are you feeling alright? It’s not like you to forget something like that,” Luna said with concern in her voice.

“I think I’m just exhausted is all. Pirouette and I poured everything into the wedding. Now that it finally happened, I think it’s finally catching up w…” He was interrupted as somepony cleared their throat. “Yes, can I he…” When he looked over to the offending pony, his eyes widened slightly. “You.”

Everything about AJ made it clear to them that he really didn’t want to be standing here right now. He steeled himself by taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling. “Morning Glory.”

Luna looked between the two ponies for a moment. “You two know each other?”

“Kinda.” AJ got a better look at Morning Glory’s face, and noticed a little something that wasn’t there the last time he had seen him. “I assume that’s from our last little...encounter?”

Morning Glory lifted his hoof to touch the small burn scar that he had gotten on his cheek with a low growl. “You’re lucky Pony Joe was there, or it would have been a lot worse.”

“Wait, you’re the one who gave him that scar?” Luna asked in surprise.

AJ let out a sigh. “Yea, not one of my finest moments. Though I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun knocking this prick down a few pegs.” He tried to ignore the look Luna was currently giving him.

“So why are you bothering me this time? Come to gloat over how you managed to best me before?” spat Morning Glory.

“No, but That would be pretty fun. Maybe we could compare battle scars. At least mine would actually have some pretty interesting stories,” AJ said as he lifted his metallic leg to emphasise his point.

“Hah, I don’t have any other scars. I usually win any fights I get into.”

“You mean other than the time I beat your worthless…”

“That’s enough! Both of you!” Shouted Luna. She was standing at full height with her wings extending. The two ponies looked at Luna with wide eyes. After a few moments they turned to stare each other down again before turning their heads away with a disapproving grunt from them both. “Now AJ, I’m sure you have a reason to interrupt us like that?”

AJ grumbled to himself before answering. “Yea. His wife asked me to deliver this.” He levitated the clipboard that had been floating to his side the entire time over to Morning Glory who watched him carefully the entire time.

Morning Glory grabbed the clipboard in his magic and turned away from the indigo stallion. “...Thanks.”

Luna let out a sigh herself as the two ponies seemed to have calmed down. She didn’t like having to do that. Especially not to AJ, but just because he’s her friend doesn’t mean she’d let him mouth off to anypony he wished. She furled her wings as she returned to a passive state. “Well, now that you have the clipboard we can…”

“Daddy?”

AJ’s eyes grew wide when he heard the voice just behind him. He swung his head around to see the always curious Dinky right behind him with Knight in tow. “What are you doing! I told you to stay over there.”

Morning Glory eyed the two foals with a raised brow. “And who are these two?”

AJ shot Morning Glory a glare. “Ponies you have no business in knowing.”

“AJ!” demanded Luna as she fixed her eyes on him. It was a look telling him to ‘play nice.’ “Knight Wind is his adopted son. Dinky is his fillyfriend’s daughter.”

“Hmm.” Morning Glory slowly approached Dinky. He looked between the two foals, ignoring the growing look of anger on AJ’s face. “Cute. Try not to pick up your fathers more...violent tendencies,” he said as he reached over to pat Dinky on the head.

As if on instinct to protect Dinky, AJ’s horn erupted in an icy blue aura. Morning Glory was surrounded in the aura as he was pushed back across the floor. He managed to stay on his hooves, but he skid back a decent distance before stopping. “Don’t you DARE touch her!” AJ shouted as he glared death at the royal purple stallion; his body shaking with anger.

The next thing he knew, he had two spears mere inches away from his face. Both of the guards that were flanking Luna had sprung into action. The attack may not have been aimed at the princess, but it was still their duty to make sure no harm came to her or anypony around her. “You may be here as our guest, but I will not hesitate to have you thrown in the dungeon if you harm somepony within these walls,” Luna said in a low voice as she walked up to AJ.

AJ, who’s glare had since left his face after being threatened by sharp, pointy metal, looked to the Mistress of the Moon. “That bastard threw Ditzy to the curb like a bag of garbage eight years ago. He doesn’t just get to come back now and play nice with Dinky after ignoring her existence for so long.”

“I don’t care about your history with him. You will not, I repeat, WILL NOT, harm another pony as long as you are under our watch. Do you understand me?” AJ stared at her for a few seconds before turning away with a look of shame. “As a friend, I’m going to give you one chance. Walk...away.”

AJ stood there for a minute, almost as if he was weighing his options, before turning away from the princess. “Dinky, Knight, let’s go.”

Dinky looked between AJ and Morning Glory in confusion. “But…”

“No buts.” His horn lit up as he lifted the small filly into the air and took her away. “Knight.”

“Coming!” Before chasing after his dad, Knight turned to look at Morning Glory. As Morning Glory’s gaze met his, he blew a raspberry at the stallion before finally galloping after his dad. He wasn’t exactly sure why his dad hated that pony, but if daddy thought he was a bad pony, then he must be a bad pony.

Luna let out a deep sigh before turning to one of the guards. “Orion.”

“Your majesty.”

“Follow him. Make sure he actually goes to his room and report back to me.” Orion saluted Luna before turning to follow AJ out of the room.

Morning Glory put a hoof to his chin as he thought about what AJ said. “The way he was talking...you said that little filly was his fillyfriends child, correct?”

“Morning Glory…”

“His fillyfriend wouldn’t happen to be…”

“I was prepared to throw AJ into the dungeon if he hurt you, and I consider him a friend,” Luna said with a glare. “Don’t even get me started on what I’d do to you if you hurt either him OR Ditzy Doo. Do I make myself clear?”

Morning Glory shrunk back slightly at Luna’s unrelenting gaze. “C-crystal.”

********************

It was a slow and arduous trudge back to his room. AJ couldn't believe he lost his temper again like that. And in front of Luna of all ponies. He just couldn’t help it. Even the mere sight of Morning glory was enough to get him riled up, but seeing him even attempt to interact with Dinky was enough to send him over the edge. He knew he had to talk to Luna about this situation later. For now he just felt like burying himself under the soft quilt of his and Ditzy’s bed. Now that the adrenalin has worn off, he had a killer headache. Stress will do that to a pony.

“Daddy, can I walk now? Knight gets to walk.”

“Huh?” AJ turned to look at the pale purple filly who was still floating next to him in his magic. “Oh...sorry.” He placed Dinky on the floor next to Knight before continuing forward.

Dinky and Knight looked at each other. “What’s wrong with daddy?” asked Knight.

“I don’t know.”

“You may wish to let the topic drop for now,” Orion said as he came up behind the foals.

“But why?” asked Knight.

“Because daddy made a fool of himself,” AJ said as he looked over his shoulder. “...Again.” Without saying anything else he continued down the hall.

Dinky let out a small whine as she watched AJ walk down the hall. “Mr. Guard, do you know how we can cheer him up?” She looked up at Orion with a hopeful look.

“Yea! He was happy until he saw that poopy face!” added Knight.

Dinky gasped as she looked at Knight. “I’m telling daddy you said a bad thing!”

Knight’s eyes got wide as he turned to Dinky. “Nuh uh! I didn’t say anything bad!” He rushed after Dinky who was already at AJ.

AJ slowly brought a hoof up to his head as the two foals shouted at him. “Sweet Celestia make this suffering end,” he said to himself. “Hey, you two. Why don’t you go tell mommy about this little issue. Daddy’s got a headache.”

“I bet I can beat you there!” Knight said as he bolted ahead.

“Hey! Wait for me!”

As the kids took off down the hall, AJ took this moment to sit down and rub his head. He let out a deep sigh as he heard Orion come up to him. “I’m almost tempted to take the dungeon right now. Maybe the quiet would be good for this headache.”

“Being in the dungeons would make it worse. Trust me, you chose right,” Orion said as he ushered him down the hall.

It wasn’t long before they finally reached the guest quarters. With Orion making the pace, it sped things up a bit. Once there, AJ saw Applejack stepping out of his room and looking around. Her face lit up when she saw AJ. “There ya are! We were wonderin’ what happened to ya after th’ kids came in without ya.” She gave a wave to Orion. “Don’t worry. Ah got’im from here.” Orion nodded before turning back down the hall.

“Let’s just say there was an...incident in the entrance hall and leave it at that for now.” He sat down to the side of the door and rubbed his head again. “I swear that pony exists specifically to piss me off.”

“Who?”

“Mo…” AJ stopped and thought if he should really say it. “Never mind.” He looked Applejack over again. “So...how do the clothes feel?”

Applejack looked down at herself. Earlier in the day, a little before AJ left to pick up Dinky and Knight, Celestia delivered some clothes made by her tailor to Applejack. Given his dwindling supplies, he was only able to make something simple for her. At the moment, she had an a thin, white, silk camisole and some small, white, silk shorts that barely reached past her crotch. In truth, she was basically walking around in little more than underwear right now, but it was better than being fully exposed. “Well, they’re comfortable, but wearin’ clothes all th’ time’ll take some gettin’ used to.”

“How do you think I felt when I turned into a pony. It felt weird at first walking around naked everywhere,” AJ said before lowering his head with a groan.

Applejack crossed her arms as she looked over the stallion. “Are you okay, sugarcube? You’ve been rubbin’ yer head since ya got here.”

AJ slowly shook his head before looking up at his now human friend. “Ever since the adrenaline from before wore off my head’s been throbbing.”

A hint of worry tinged Applejack’s expression. “Well, ya have been takin’ on a lot of responsibility lately. What with helpin’ me an’ Twilight with our walkin. Helpin’ that Silver Needle pony get th’ plans fer our clothes right. Teachin’ us about yer society so we’re not completely in th’ dark. Th’ list goes on. Maybe ya should just take it easy today. Let us take care of things fer once.”

“Speaking of Silver Needle, I think his shipment just came in. Maybe now Twilight can get something. Unless she likes being wrapped in a sheet all the time.” He stood up with a grunt. “I should be there to help him again. Think the medical staff would give me some aspirin or something if I asked?”

Applejack stared at AJ with an unamused look. “Don’t make me do this th’ hard way. Human or no, Ah can still manhandle ya no problem. Probably even easier now that Ah’m actually bigger than you. An’ Ah think doin’ somethin’ like that would just make that headache of yers even worse. So stop bein’ stubborn and get yer butt inta bed.”

“You know, you’re actually the second one who’s told me to take the day off. I’m beginning to think you may be right.” Applejack was now tapping her foot at him. Without saying a word she pointed towards his door. Letting out a deep sigh, he turned towards the room. “Okay, fine. I’ll take today off. Just please promise me you’ll come get me if there’s an emergency.”

“Yea, just what ya need right now. More stress. Wouldn’t be much of a day off if we had ta constantly bother ya. We’ll handle everything. If we really need some help we’ll ask Princess Celestia fer some assistance.”

AJ grumbled as he walked through the door. He really didn’t think he was asking too much of her. It was then that he realised just how quiet the room was. There were ponies talking, but there was a distinct lack of noise being made by the two hyperactive foals that had recently ran into the room. When he looked around, he saw the kids just standing there. They were just staring straight ahead in shock. When he followed their gaze, he saw two humans sitting on the bed, and Princess Celestia who was standing next to the bed. When she noticed the new pony in the room, she looked over with a smile.

That’s when it hit him.

Two humans? Why was there two humans in the room. Applejack was standing behind him in the doorway, so who was sitting on the bed? One of them was obvious. He recognised Twilight almost instantly by the sheet that was wrapped around her body, but who was the other…

His eyes slowly widened as he looked over the third human. She was a white skinned woman with blond hair that looked to be about the same length as Twilight’s. While she was by no means overweight, she did seem to have a little bit of fat to her. Especially around her butt. She looked to have bigger hips than Twilight, but not bigger than Applejack, and her breasts looked to be about the same size as Applejacks. If not slightly bigger. She looked to be taller than Twilight, but not as tall as Applejack. Probably somewhere around 5’7’’. Her off kilter, amber eyes fell on him as she gave a weak smile. Her left arm was cradling her small, pregnant belly as the other was wrapped around a bucket. On the floor in front of her sat a very familiar, discarded wing binding.

“Thank Celestia you’re back,” Ditzy said as she held back more vomit. The sudden height change was doing awful things to her equilibrium right now. It made her morning sickness even worse. “Though I wish I could have gotten more presentable before you saw me.”

AJ didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare ahead with wide eyes. “Heck of a surprise, ain’t it?” Applejack said as she walked up next to him. “Now that we know Discord could transform us like that, Ditzy said she wanted ta give it a shot. So what do ya think? You think she looks good?” After a few seconds of silence, Applejack looked down at the stallion. “AJ?”

It was unnerving how he had just gone completely silent. His indigo coat looked sky blue, as if all his color had drained without explanation. His blue eyes were wide and unfocused, zeroed in almost unseeing on what was before him. “Sugercube, what’s goin’ on?” His entire body was trembling, but none more so pronounced as his legs. His artificial limb was tapping on the floor, filling the room with a rather macabre tune. The shaking grew so pronounced that they looked about ready to give out on him. His breathing was fast and shallow, and it looked as if he were about to faint.

It was deathly quiet, though AJ knew that shouldn’t be the case. Not with the filly and colt in their room seeming to ramble on excitedly at the sudden change. Not when her lips were moving as she tried to talk to him.

All he could hear was his heart was pounding faster and harder than he had ever felt it before as sheer terror washed over him. How could she? What had possessed her to do this?! His stomach rolled violently, threatening to cause an upheaval of epic proportions the longer he stared. Everything was going white the more he looked at her, at the two legs, the sight of hands where hooves should have been. His gaze was wildly flitting over the changes she had gone through, buxom breasts, gently flared hips. Long, lean legs and delicate looking hands. Even though her expression was warm and loving, AJ felt cold despite how temperate it was in the palace, though his lungs felt as if they were aflame. He was breathing right? He could barely focus on anything other than the sight of the woman before him.

“AJ?!” The bucket in her hands was forgotten as Ditzy let it just fall to the floor. She was about to try to stand but was held down by Twilight. She had just been transformed a short time ago. She had no idea how to walk yet.

“D-daddy?!” cried Knight Wind. At this point even the children noticed what was going on.

“Hey, snap outta it!” Applejack shouted as she kneeled down next to him.

“Applejack, let me handle this,” Celestia said as she came over to him. She gently shooed the farm girl to the side as she bent down to get more on his level. “Everything’s going to be okay.” She placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder. “Come with me. Let’s get to someplace quieter.” Using her hoof, she slowly got him to turn towards the door.

She wrapped a wing around him as she slowly led him out of the room. His left foreleg hit the floor hard with every step. It was as if he had suddenly completely forgotten how to control the heavy, metal appendage. Once they were in the hall, she led him to the nearest room. She knew it was empty since Twilight was currently in AJ’s room.

Once inside, she closed and locked the door with her magic as she led him over to the bed. She helped him sit down on the edge of the bed before taking the spot next to him. Using her wing, she hugged him to her body. “Just listen to my breathing, focus on it. Try to match it with your own.” It took a few minutes, but after some time his breathing seemed to steady itself, if only just a little bit. Celestia then used her magic to open the windows, hoping that the fresh air would do him some good. She took notice that while his breathing was slower than it had been, it was still shallow. His eyes were still wide and his trembling had yet to stop. In other words, he wasn’t out of the woods yet. “AJ, I need you to follow my directions as much as you can, alright? Find five things in the room that you can see. Describe them in as much detail as possible to me.”

“W-w-what’s the point?” replied the indigo pony. His tone was bitter, shaky, and borderline nasty. Celestia couldn’t hold it against him considering the shock that he had just been through.

“Please, just focus on five things that catch your attention and describe them. Trust me, my little pony. It will help in the long run.” Celestia’s tone was nothing short of calming, there was no judgement there. Only acceptance and empathy for what he was going through.

AJ’s wide eyes continued to stare ahead of them. Taking her words to heart, he noticed the intricate, yet simple rug to the side of the bed. “There’s a rug right here…” he began. His brow furrowed as he leaned over a little to look at it closer. “...It’s roundish with some kinda ‘v’ pattern for each color. I thought it was just blue and green at first, but it looks like there’s some gold and purple in there too.”

His eyes rose as he looked around the room and his gaze fell on a standing bureau in the corner of the room. “That dresser has some...flower pattern on it. Like a vine that’s going around the edges of the wood, not over any corners or anything. The painting next to it is a portrait of Luna. It sucks. A lot. Not sure who did it, but I’d suggest getting your money back.” Celestia’s amused snort made one side of his mouth quirk up.

AJ’s gaze roamed over to the table near the window and he took a deep breath in. His chest still felt tight but he did feel able to think a little clearer than before. “The vase has a some sort of fruity art style going on. The curtains are a deep burgundy color, ceiling length, and they match the rest of the room well enough, I guess. That’s five things I can see, princess, and I won’t lie. I don’t feel any better.”

Celestia smiled as she kept one wing draped over him. “That’s because we’re not done yet, AJ. Now, close your eyes and just listen. Tell me about four things that you can hear well enough,” the princess ordered gently.

Skeptical all the while, AJ did as he was told and his ears flicked up so that he could listen better. The first thing that caught his attention was not the gentle breeze coming into the room, nor the small song of the winter birds that was swimming through the air. In fact is was just a rhythmic ‘pat-pat-pat’, though it did make him frown in annoyance.

“There’s an icicle dripping above the window. It would drive me nuts if I were the one staying in this room and that’s what I woke up to every time. There’s a bird nearby that’s singing,” the stallion began. “ I can also hear the soldiers doing their drills in the courtyard below. Who is sleeping in here?”

Celestia chuckled. “ This is Twilight’s room, but you need to concentrate. What else do you hear? You need one more.”

AJ frowned and he closed his eyes again, though he listened a little harder. He could hear voice carrying towards the room from the hall. “I can hear Applejack and Twilight talking in the hall. Can’t tell what about though.”

Celestia nodded and she stretched her wings a little before folding on back over AJ. “Tell me about three things that you can smell.” His breathing had finally evened out and his heart rate was coming down. Now all there was left was to get him back into a calmer state of mind.

“All I can smell is you,” AJ said without thinking. His cheeks began to glow crimson in embarrassment as what he had just said hit him. “I-I-I mean th-th-that I, uh, well, you’re right there!”

“ Just talk through it. You’re fine.”

AJ closed his eyes again and he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. “ I don’t know how to describe it, but your smell reminds me of a summer day. Citrusy types of fruits, sunshine, a sweet breeze that blows through your mane. But there’s other softer scents too, like lavender. Maybe some others, too.” The smell of some sweet confections wafted in from under the door. His mouth watered a little at the scent of freshly baked brownies. “I can smell food. Chocolate, brownies specifically. I wonder if its an ice cream brownie sundae with hot fudge, caramel, crunchy walnuts…I can also smell smoke on the breeze. Is...is the forge nearby?” Celestia nodded her head. “They might have just used the bellows.”

“Look around and find two things that you can taste.”

“I can taste the smoke from the forge, it kinda reminds me of bar-b-que in all honesty.” AJ yawned, suddenly feeling more at ease than he had when Celestia had dragged him in here. “Then there’s the smell of those brownies. I can practically taste the chocolate on my tongue. It reminds me of Pinkie’s brownies back in Ponyville.”

Celestia smiled as AJ began leaning into her; his lids beginning to droop. “Last thing, tell me something that you can feel or touch,” she whispered.

Her coat was so soft, so warm. It was drawing him into a lull that he didn’t want to fight. It was more than just Celestia being a warm body though. AJ could feel that she truly cared for how he was feeling. That she was truly trying to help him. The sound of her heartbeat, soft and sure, echoed in his ears. Memories of being scooped up and held against his mother came to mind, the reminder of the calm that she had brought to him when he had been upset settled over the indigo colored stallion. “I can feel you. You’re so warm. So cuddly. It...it almost...reminds me of…” he trailed off as he fell asleep.

Celestia’s smile widened as light snoring could be heard from the stallion. She could have gotten up then and there, lying him down in the bed to rest and moving on to other things, but she knew better. She wanted to make sure he was at peace. It would be best if she sat here with him for as long as he needed.

********************

About 35 to 40 minutes passed before Celestia finally walked back into AJ and Ditzy’s room. She had an unreadable look on her face. The mood of the room was morrose to say the least.

Twilight was still sitting on the bed next to Ditzy. She was quietly trying her best to try to calm the walleyed woman down. Ditzy looked like she had finished crying just moments ago. She was still sniffling and wiping the remnants from her eyes. She looked absolutely miserable. Not surprising after what just happened.

The kids were sitting at the foot of the bed. Dinky, despite looking down herself, was reading a book out loud for Knight. Knight looked like he wasn’t even listening. He was trying to hold back his own tears as he leaned up against his big sister.

The only one who didn’t look completely miserable was Applejack. She was busy trying her hardest to clean the vomit that spilled from the dropped bucket. Unfortunately there was only so much she could do for the carpet with what she had. “Consarnit,” she said under her breath. That was the last clean towel they had in the room. As she stood up, she noticed Celestia standing there taking everything in. “Princess!”

Everyone in the room turned towards Celestia. “Please Princess, tell me he’s okay,” begged Ditzy as tears threatened to fall once again.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she slowly walked further into the room. She sat down a short distance from the foals. “He’ll be fine. Right now he’s resting in Twilight’s bed.”

“What even happened?” asked Twilight. “He seemed fine before he left earlier on.”

“Tell me, do any of you know if AJ has ever suffered from a panic attack before? Let alone one as serious as this?”

“A panic attack?” Twilight asked with a look of shock on her face. “I know he suffers from anxiety, but I don’t think he’s ever a panic attack before.”

“N-never. At least not around me he hasn’t,” Ditzy said as she looked to Applejack for an answer.

“Same. I’da remembered somethin’ as scary as that.” Applejack shuddered as she thought back to when the attack hit him. “Big Mac an’ Apple Bloom would’a told me if they’d of seen it.”

A look of Concern grew on Celestia’s face. “That is...troubling. If he doesn’t have a history of them, finding out the trigger could be difficult.”

“Well, he has been runnin’ himself ragged over th’ last few days. Goin’ ta bed late an’ wakin’ up early so he wouldn’t miss anything,” Applejack said as she thought to herself. “He also said somethin’ about an incident in th’ entrance hall.”

Celestia looked to be deep in thought for a moment. “I’ll have to ask Luna if she knows anything about that. I’m pretty sure she was there this morning.”

“There was a mean poopy face there,” squeaked Knight Wind.

“Hey, language!” chastised Applejack.

“It’s true,” added Dinky. “And when he got too close, Daddy used his magic to push that meany away!” In an attempt to imitate AJ Dinky tried lighting up her horn, succeeding in only having a couple sparks pop from the tip of her horn.

Celestia slowly shook her head. “We can talk about that later. Can you think of anything else that may have contributed to the attack?”

“I...I think I might have an idea,” Ditzy meekly said. All eyes in the room were now upon her. “I-I-I think it may have been because of me.”

“What’re ya talkin’ about, sugarcube?”

“The transformation,” Twilight said as the realisation hit her. She noticed the confused look Applejack was giving her. “Don’t you remember? What was the one reason AJ refused to let Ditzy go with us?”

Applejack’s eyes slowly widened as it came to her. “Oh yea, that’s right!”

“I’m...afraid I’m lost.”

“He explained it to us before he even sent you the letter,” Twilight said as she turned to her teacher. “Because of what all happened to him during his own transformation, he was afraid of what would happen to Ditzy and their unborn foals. It was the same with Knight.”

Celestia brought a hoof to her chin in contemplation. “That does make a lot of sense.”

“Yea, but we got Discord ta help with th’ transformation now. What’s th’ problem?”

“Even with Discord’s help, that fear must still be present in the back of his mind. On top of that, it was a situation that was completely out of his control”

“Now Ah don’t follow.”

“One symptom of a panic attack is feeling like you’ve lost control,” Celestia said matter of factly. “Ever since we started on the preparations a few days ago, AJ has been in control of everything. Even if he has...overstepped his boundaries a few times.” She remembered one of the days AJ was helping Silver Needle with the clothes. He used Applejack’s body to illustrate how the clothes were supposed to fit the body. EVERY part of the body. Needless to say he left the room later that day with a visible handprint on his face. At least he apologised to her both before and after it.

“This is his project. It makes sense that he’d want to be in full control of the situation,” Twilight said knowing that feeling all too well.

“Despite all th’ stress, Ah think he actually liked bein’ in control of everything. He actually seemed pretty happy. Always smilin’ an’ jokin’ about things.”

Celestia nodded in understanding. “Then I think we may have the framework for his panic attack. From the sound of it, he had finally found something in his life he actually had full control of. Even if it was just something as simple as preparing for a trip back to his own world.”

“Well, it hasn’t exactly been simple,” Twilight said as she thought back to all the steps they’d already taken.

Celestia giggled to herself. “The point remains that he had found something to put his all into. Something he could take the reins of and control each and every aspect of. And it makes sense. He’s our only link to his world. Without him this trip wouldn’t even be possible. Unfortunately shouldering so much responsibility by himself put him under a lot of stress. Add to that the lack of sleep and he was left in a vulnerable state.”

“I knew I should have put my hoof down,” Ditzy said as she berated herself for not doing anything. “I just watched him this entire time from the sidelines, doing absolutely nothing but give him some moral support.”

“Maybe that’s what kept’im going,” Applejack said in thought. “Knowin’ you’d be there for’im if he needed it.”

Celestia just nodded. “And then he started losing control of things. In his compromised state it’s not surprising it took so little to push him over the edge. The situation in the foyer was just the beginning. It challenged his view of having everything under control.” She looked at Ditzy who’s look told her she knew what was coming. “And then he saw Ditzy.”

“And everything fell to pieces,” Twilight said before turning back to Ditzy.

“I...it was all my fault,” Ditzy said as tears threatened to fall once more. She took a look at herself with a look of both disgust and pain. “I-I-I only asked to be changed like this because I was…” She stopped and looked down as if she was embarrassed to admit it. “...I was jealous of all the attention he was giving you two. I thought if I was transformed too, he’d start paying attention to me.” She stopped trying to hold back her tears at this point.

“I wasn’t aware wanting your significant other to pay attention to you was something to be embarrassed about,” Celestia said as she walked up to the crying woman. Using a gentle touch, she lifted Ditzy’s head so she was looking her in the eyes; a gentle, caring smile on her face “You did nothing to be ashamed of.”

“She’s right, sugarcube,” Applejack said as she sat on the other side of Ditzy. She put an arm around her shoulders. “An’ Ah doubt AJ’ll blame ya fer it either. All ya need ta do is explain it ta him.”

“For now though, we need to give him some time,” Celestia said as she stood up. “It’s unknown when he’ll wake up, but I’d like to make sure he’ll be mentally stable enough when he does. I believe I remember Luna mentioning him talking to a psychologist as of late. I’m going to see if she’d be available for an emergency consultation.”

“We’ll be here with Ditzy for awhile,” Twilight said with a smile. “Not only for emotional support, but she’ll need someone to help her learn to walk.”

“Thank you Twilight,” Ditzy said with a sniffle.

“I’ll let you know when we hear from his psychologist.” Celestia said before walking out of the room.

********************

“He had a WHAT?!” shouted Luna who had drawn the attention of the castle staff around them. After she had left the guests quarters, Celestia went to go find Luna. Not only to talk about what had happened in the foyer earlier that morning, but she also knew the name and address of AJ’s psychologist. After asking one of the guards, she found out Luna had returned to her room to finish some of her duties.

“A panic attack,” Celestia said as she rubbed her ear. “Please, there’s no reason to shout.”

“Well where is he?! Is he okay?!”

“He’s resting in Twilight’s room right now, and we won’t know that until he wakes up.”

Luna looked like she had a million thoughts running through her head at that moment. She took a deep breath to calm herself down a bit. “Well, is there anything I can do to help? Maybe make sure he has happy dreams while he sleeps, or...”

“I need you to contact his psychologist.”

Luna stared at her sister for a moment as the simple request registered in her mind. “Contact Soft Spoken?”

Celestia nodded. “Ask her to come to the castle at her earliest convenience for an emergency consultation.”

“Right. Yes. Of course. I can do that.” She turned her head towards one of the younger unicorn maids. “Spring Echo.”

The young maid, surprised by the sudden attention, accidentally knocked the flower vase she was dusting off of it’s pedestal. She stared at the broken vase in horror for a moment before turning to the princesses. “I am soooo sorry! It was an accident, I swear! Please don’t fire me!”

Celestia giggled to herself for a moment at the new maids overreaction. “It’s fine. You’re not in trouble, I promise.” She smiled as Spring Echo let out an audible sigh.

“I need you to go give a message to Commander Vengeance. Tell him I need to see him in my quarters immediately. At this time he should be at the training grounds training a new recruit.”

At that moment Spring Echo felt more a rush of pride run through her. Not only was she not going to get fired for breaking the vase, but after only two weeks of joining the castle staff she had already been given a personal task from Princess Luna herself. She saluted Luna with a bright smile on her face. “R-right! I won’t let you down Princess Luna!”

Luna watched as she started running full pelt down the hall. “The training grounds are the other way!” she shouted before Spring Echo could get to far.

In a feat of athleticism one wouldn't expect to see from a pony in the castle maid’s dress, Spring Echo quickly planted a forehoof on the floor and sprung over one of the butlers walking right towards her. She spun in the air before gracefully landing back on the floor and running back towards them. “I knew that!” she shouted as she passed the princesses.

Celestia looked on in awe as the spritely young maid ran out of view. “I think I like her.” She put a hoof to her chin. “Though I don’t think a maid was her best career path. I might have to talk to Squeaky Clean about her joining the guard.”

“While she goes to get Vengeance, I’m going to write up the letter.” Luna turned back into her room.

“Do you really think Vengeance of all ponies is the right one for this job?” Celestia asked as she waited for her sister to finish the letter.

“If we want Soft Spoken to get here as soon as possible, the sooner she gets the letter the better. Vengeance is the fastest pony I know. Much faster than a mail carrier would be.”

“Just seems like a waste of his talents.”

“It’s not like I ask things like this of him all the time. Besides, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a bit of a break. The trials only recently ended, and Blue Moon was finally able to be accepted back into the unit. He’s had to pick up the slack since she was ejected back in the fall.” After another minute Luna came out of her room with an envelope floating in front of her. She finished licking the glue before sealing the letter. “Thank you, by the way, for finding her innocent. I know I’ve thanked you about a thousand times by now, but I really do mean it.”

“While I certainly don’t condone what she did, her reasons for doing so were sound. Who knows how many ponies Nightshade would have hurt before being subdued again.”

With a soft smile Luna turned back to look at the clock in her room. “Hmm. Assuming she went to the right place, with the pace she was going, Vengeance should be here right aboooout…” Her smile widened as she heard the sound of hooves landing behind her.

“That’s impressive,” Celestia said as she smiled at the bat winged pony.

“What can I say, I know my team.”

“Princess Luna, you requested my presence?” Vengeance said with a salute.

“I know this is isn’t the usual sort of task I have for you, but I need you to deliver an important letter for me,” Luna said as she levitated the envelope over to Vengeance.

Vengeance stared at the floating envelope with a questioning look. “Deliver...a letter?”

“I know, I know, but it’s imperative this gets to its recipient as soon as possible. Going through the normal method would take too long, and you’re the fastest pony I know. If anything, think of it as a bit of a break. Flying to Trottingham and back must be easier than training a rookie.”

Vengeance still looked very confused with the task. “I...suppose.”

“And if it still bothers you, think of it as a time trial. Test yourself to see how quickly you can make the trip.”

The stallion continued to stare for a few moments before his mouth curled into a smile. “A time trial...I like the sound of that.” He grabbed the note from Luna and gave a salute. “I’ll report back ASAP.” Without another word, he was off.

“You really do know your team well,” Celestia said with a smile.

“It comes from watching them for a period of time before picking them for the trials. Well, that and the many nights I’ve spent drinking with them. You’d never think by looking at her small frame, but Moon Runner can really knock them back. She holds her liquor very well.” She noticed the unamused look Celestia had fixed her with. “What? I know my limits.”

“Yes, and I wish you would actually stick WITHIN those limits.”

Luna just waved off her sister’s wishes. “With all that said and done, I’m going to the library. I’d like to do some research about panic attacks. See if maybe there’s something else I can do.”

“Before you do, I’d like to talk to you about what happened in the foyer.”

Luna stopped mid step and turned to her sister. She let out a slight sigh. “I’m assuming you’re talking about how AJ attacked Morning Glory?”

“So what the little one’s said was true.”

“All he managed to do was shove Morning Glory away. Luckily no actual harm was done this time. Orion and Emerald Tempest had him at spear point before he could even think to do anything else.” Luna thought for a moment, thinking if she should divulge the rest.

“You look like you know a bit more about the situation.”

Luna bit her lip, she knew it really wasn’t her place to speak about other ponies business, but maybe her sister would be able to help in some way. “From the sound of it...I think Morning Glory...I think he’s little Dinky Doo’s real father. And given what AJ said, his relationship with Ditzy ended on...less than favorable terms. Disastrous even.”

“So he did it under the mantle of protecting a foal he’s come to love as if she were his own. At least I understand where his head was at. It’ll be good to know when I talk to him.”

“Would you mind if I talked to him instead? I was already planning on it after he cooled off anyway.”

Celestia put a hoof to her chin as she thought. “I suppose the two of you have had multiple candid conversations in the past. He’s most likely a lot more comfortable speaking with you than he is with me.”

“Among other things,” Luna said under her breath as she remembered back to what happened in the hotel room back in Las Pegasus.

“What was that?”

“N-nothing. If you see Vengeance first, let him know I’m in the library please.”

********************

Soft Spoken read the note one last time as the castle gates came into view. It wasn’t every day she got to visit the castle. In fact, she’s NEVER been inside the castle before. Because of her job she’s been to Canterlot before, but never to the castle itself.

She could only wonder what was so important that she, of all ponies, was needed at the castle. None of the things she could think of would have required her presence. She figured the castle probably already had a therapist, or something along those lines, on the payroll that would take care of any such incidents that happened at the castle. So what was it.

She looked up into the sky to see the sun already well on it’s way behind the mountains. In maybe an hour the moon would be in the sky. She would have loved to have gotten here earlier, but she already had a consultation booked back in Trottingham. She couldn’t just let that pony down. She had her problems that she needed help dealing with too.

As she reached the gates, she let out a deep sigh. She knew she couldn’t let the stares of the guards get to her. They were just doing their jobs. “Uhh, good evening gentlecolts. This letter was delivered to me earlier today asking for my presence.”

The unicorn guard on the left took the note from her with his magic. After reading it over, he turned to the other guard and gave a nod. After returning the note to her, the two guards stepped to the side and opened the gates for her. “Please wait inside. Somepony will be with you shortly.”

With a smile, Soft Spoken trotted into the foyer. She looked on in awe at the grand room before her. It was so much more beautiful than she could have ever imagined. This was a moment she had dreamed of since she was a filly, and she wished it would never end.

“Good evening, madam.”

“Hmm?” Soft Spoken looked to the side to see an older unicorn stallion standing there with a gentle smile on his face.

“My name is Proper Manners. How may I help you this fine night?”

“Oh, yes. My name is Soft Spoken. This letter was delivered earlier today requesting my assistance for an emergency consultation.”

The smile on Proper Manners’ face grew slightly. “Ah, yes. The Princess did mention she was awaiting somepony. Please, follow me.”

Soft Spoken couldn’t help but take in the sights as she was lead through the castle. Just like the foyer, it was so much better than in her dreams. The two of them passed some ponies as they walked through the hall. All except the occasional guard casting a smile their way as they passed.

Soft Spoken’s eyes widened as the two of them turned the corner to the guests quarters. Princess Celestia was standing in the hallway talking to some creature. As they got closer she could hear the conversation between them. “...Hope you don’t mind the room change Twilight. It should hopefully only be for tonight.”

Twilight was now wearing the same outfit Applejack was wearing. Without the help of AJ to make sure the clothes would turn out right, Silver Needle wanted to play it safe. “It’s fine. If it really was seeing Ditzy like this that triggered his attack, asking him to go back to his room would probably make things worse right now.”

Celestia slowly nodded. “I hope Soft Spoken will be able to find time in her schedule soon. The sooner he’s able to speak with her, the better.”

“U-u-umm…”

Celestia and Twilight turned to look at the source of the voice. Before them was Proper Manners and a white pegasus who was kneeling before the princess. “Good evening Your Majesty. I apologize for interrupting, but your guest, Soft Spoken, has arrived.”

“Y-y-your Majesty! It’s an honor to meet you!”

A smile grew on Celestia’s face. She was honestly not expecting Soft Spoken to arrive until the next day. “Thank you, Proper Manners. You may go now.” As Proper Manners took his leave, she turned to the pegasus mare. “Please rise, my little pony.” She waited until Soft Spoken was up right before continuing. “Thank you for coming to the castle on such short notice.”

“Oh no, it’s an honor to be requested by the princesses. In fact, I would have been here earlier if I hadn’t of had a consultation around noon.”

“I appreciate the urgency in which you arrived,” Celestia said with warm smile. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Twilight here. She said you’ve been helping AJ work through some of his...demons. From the sound of it, it’s been helping him quite a bit.”

“AJ?” Soft Spoken turned to the hairless ape...thing standing next to Celestia. “Y-you know AJ?”

“Yes, we’ve been friends for quite awhile now. I was both surprised and proud of him when he agreed to start seeing you. He’s had some bad luck with psychologists in the past, so it was good to see him swallow his pride and admit he needed the help.”

Soft Spoken could only nod. She remembered AJ mentioning his past with psychologists before. “I’m sorry to cut our conversation short Twilight, but I have something I need to discuss with Soft Spoken.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll see you tomorrow Princess.”

Celestia smiled as Twilight walked into her room and closed the door. “I apologize if I’m overstepping my boundaries Princess, but what in Equestria was that? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Celestia let out a small sigh. “I’m afraid that’s a question for another time. Right now there is a pressing matter I need to talk to you about. Come with me.” She motioned for Soft Spoken to follow her. It’s not like it was a very far walk. Only a couple doors back the way she had come. “It wasn’t on accident that we brought up AJ before. He’s actually the reason we requested your presence.”

“What? Is he here?” She watched as Celestia knocked on the door they were in front of

“Come in!” came a voice from inside.

Celestia opened the door and ushered the snow white pegasus into the room. She stopped mid-way through the door with a gasp. Sitting at the far side of the room was none other than Princess Luna. She was staring at her with a smile on her face.

But what really caught her attention was the pony lying in the bed. AJ looked like a disaster. His eyes looked somewhat distant, and his coat was pale. Even on days she had to see him after he was done with work he never looked this ragged. “Sweet Celestia, what happened to him?!”

“Earlier today he had a rather serious panic attack,” Luna said as she approached the mare.

“A panic attack?!”

“He’s been resting for most of the day, but it seems like we’re still not out of the woods. Oh, but I’m being rude.” Luna extended a hoof. “I’ve heard many good things about you, Soft Spoken. It’s an honor to fin…” Luna just watched as the mare walked around her and over to the bed. “...ally meet you.” Celestia had to stifle her laughter, earning her a sour look from the Mistress of the Moon.

Soft Spoken sat next to the bed and placed a hoof on AJ’s metallic limb. She put on a gentle smile as she looked into his eyes. “Hey there.”

AJ stared at the hoof on his leg for a few moments before looking up at the mare. A slight, weak smile formed on his face. “S-soft Spoken? Why are you here?”

“I was asked to come here by the princesses.” She took another look at the stallion. “Oh my, you look like you’ve had a rough day.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to help him?” asked Luna as she once again came up to Soft Spoken.

Soft Spoken turned to Luna as she took everything in. “In situations like these, it’s hard tell.” She turned back to AJ. “I’ve been talking to him for a few months now, and I never would have expected this.” She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out to steady herself. A determined smile grew on her face. “But what kind of psychologist would I be if i didn’t even try.”

A look of relief grew on Luna’s face. “Thank you. Is there anything I could get for you while you’re here? Water? A chair? Maybe some fresh fruit?”

“Umm, a chair would be nice. It doesn’t even need to be anything extravagant. It’s just how I’m used to doing things.”

With a smile, Luna used her magic to teleport a chair into the room. “Just let us know if there’s anything else you need.” She turned towards the door. “I’ll have one of the maids get a room ready for you for the night, so please take all the time you need.” Luna walked towards the door, stopping when she reached her sister.

Celestia watched as Luna’s smile began to wain. “Is something wrong Luna?”

“I...really hope she can do this,” Luna said in a low voice as she looked over her shoulder.

“All we can do right now is wait.” She could see the worry on Luna’s face. She wanted her friend to be okay. Celestia backed out of the door to let Luna out of the room. “Come, let’s give her some space to do what she does best.”

****************************************

Author's Note

I’d like to thank my editor for really helping me out with the panic attack scene. Considering I’ve never suffered through one or even seen someone suffer through one, she really helped make it actually sound believable.

Helping the Broken

Chapter 52

Ditzy let out a quiet sigh as she lay in bed. Applejack and Twilight had long since left for their own rooms, leaving her alone with the foals and her own thoughts. That’s not to say she didn’t welcome a bit of alone time right now, but what she really wanted was to be with AJ in his time of need. Unfortunately that would probably only make this whole thing even worse. All she could do right now was wait and hope.

She looked down as she felt something moving around in her hold. Knight, who she was hugging to her body with her left arm, was adjusting in his sleep. A slight smile grew on her face as his little hooves began gently kicking against her. ‘He must be having a dream,’ she thought to herself. Even if he was putting any sort of strength behind the kicks, he wasn’t strong enough to make it hurt.

Dinky, who was being held in her right arm, let out a yawn as she nuzzled into her right breast. Ditzy was honestly surprised with just how well Dinky was taking everything over the last week and a half to two weeks. She was actually kinda worried she was just keeping everything deep down so nopony would worry about her. When asked about it, the only thing Dinky said that really bothered her was ‘Daddy’s sick and there’s nothing I can do.’ In the morning she would make sure to ask Twilight or Applejack to take the kids to see AJ. Maybe seeing them would help him.

Ditzy looked up from the bed as she heard a knock on the door. She was curious who, exactly, it was at the door, considering just how late it was. She figured most ponies in the castle would be sleeping at this point. “Come in.”

The door opened slightly and a snow white mare’s head poked in and began looking around. “Hello? Dit...zy?” The mare’s eyes grew wide and her voice trailed off when she found who she was looking for. Soft Spoken had met Ditzy once before. She and her daughter were over at the farm house for dinner one day when she came for AJ’s consultation. She was nice, and her daughter was absolutely adorable. This is why seeing her how she was now was a bit of a shock to her. If AJ hadn’t had told her about the change when she was talking to him, it probably would have been even more of a surprise. “O-oh...right. AJ did say you were a...a...human? I think he called them?”

Ditzy squinted to get a better look at the pony in the dark as she entered the room. “Aren’t you AJ’s therapist? Soft...Spoken, was it?”

“Y-yea. That’s me.” She was clearly still a bit uncomfortable around this strange species she’s never seen before. This was the second time that day she saw one of these big, hairless ape like creatures, and it still wasn’t any less weird. “I know AJ said you’re all just ponies turned into...that, but this still feels really surreal. Like something out of a fantasy novel or something.”

“Did he tell you that he wasn’t originally a pony? That this is what he used to look like?”

“That...might have come up, yea.” Soft Spoken closed the door and walked further into the room. She didn’t want to have to speak too loudly this late at night. “He told me a lot about himself. A lot of things he just so happened to leave out on our first day. Can’t say I really blame him. If not having actually seen one with my own two eyes, I probably would have thought him to be insane. Probably would have had him diagnosed with some sort of psychosis, and...well it would have been a mess.”

Ditzy didn’t even want to think about that. AJ’s already been through enough in his life. The last thing he needs is somepony throwing false diagnoses at him. She pushed those thoughts away and let the real question bubbling around in the back of her mind come to the forefront. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Well, that entirely depends on your definition of the word ‘okay.’ He’s pretty drained right now. Both physically and mentally. On top of that he’s so...scared right now. About everything. Going to visit his mother. If your parents will ever fully accept him. Making sure Knight Wind is healthy and that he’s raising him right. About your unborn foals. Congratulations on the twins, by the way. But mostly about you.”

“Me?”

Soft Spoken nodded. “He kept going back to you. Asking if I knew if you were okay. No matter how many times I said I wasn’t sure, he’d bring it back up ten minutes later. That’s actually why I’m here. Before leaving for the night he asked if I could come and make sure you were okay. I don’t know exactly what happened, he couldn't really give me the specifics, but whatever you did, it terrified him to his core. So if you really want my professional opinion, no. He is far from okay. Though I’m hoping I’ll be able to make more progress tomorrow.”

Ditzy knew she didn’t even need to ask this, but she couldn’t help herself. “Please, is there anything I can do? Anything at all?”

A gentle smile grew on Soft Spoken’s face. “The best thing you can do is take care of yourself,” she said as she placed a hoof on Ditzy’s arm. “If he’s really worried that you’re not okay, that you’re hurt or whatever’s the case, the best thing you can do is show him that you’re fine. When he’s able to see you, prove to him that he doesn’t need to worry. And you can start by doing the exact same thing I’m going to go do in a minute here.”

For the first time since this morning, Ditzy let herself giggle. She was right. If AJ truly was terrified that she wasn’t okay, then she would prove to him that he has nothing to worry about. And besides, she was pretty tired. “Thank you. For everything.”

“I’ll come let you know how he’s doing when I’m done talking to him tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll have better news to give you. Just be strong, and most importantly, don’t blame yourself. You had no way of knowing he’d react like that. Good night.” With a smile Soft Spoken stood up and left the room.

********************

AJ turned his head and looked to the left as he heard the door to his and Ditzy’s room open and close. In the hall he could hear hoofsteps walking down the hall before they got too distant to hear. Though he could hear another door further down the hall opening and closing. He could guess that it was Soft Spoken leaving their room and going to her own.

Despite having slept all day, he still felt like he hasn’t slept in days. Even with that, he couldn’t fall asleep. Too many things were running through his head. Specifically thoughts about Ditzy. Was she okay? Did she really get transformed? How could she do it? Why would she do it? Why? Why? Why?!

That was the major question that tormented him. Why? Why would she do it? She knew he didn’t want her risking both her health and the health of their unborn foals, so why did she do it? Why would she risk doing something so dangerous and stupid?

He couldn’t help himself. He had to get his answer now. With as much strength as he could muster right now, he threw the covers off of himself, and scooted to the edge of the bed. He pushed himself out of bed, as he always did, bringing his hind legs to the floor first before letting his forelegs hit the floor. As they did, his left leg landed with a loud thud as the metal hit the rug hard. Just like before it felt like his artificial limb weighed a thousand pounds right now. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it to cooperate just like he wanted it to.

Fear began creeping into his head once again. Was there something wrong with his leg? Did he do something to break it? Could it even be repaired, or would he lose it for good? With his right hoof, he struck himself in the head a few times to try to knock the thoughts from his head. He had more important things to worry about right now. He closed his eyes and tried his hardest to calm his breathing a bit.

After about a minute, he opened his eyes and looked to the door. He looked back down at his metal limb and took a deep breath. With as strength as he could, he tried once again to move it.

He succeeded, barely.

He was able to lift it maybe an inch off the floor before he had to let it fall. But that was all he needed. As long as he could move it, he could get over to the next room. Unfortunately walking with it was much more difficult than just lifting it. When he tried to take a step, it was less of a step and more of a drag as he did his best to move forward. At least he could work with it.

He managed to struggle his way over to the door. Unfortunately with his current mindset, he wasn’t able to think straight enough to use his magic. It wasn’t until moments like these that he realised just how much he came to rely on his magic. “Son of a bitch,” he said to himself as he racked his brain on how to open the door. There was no way he was going to just use his hoof. He didn’t trust his ability to balance on his artificial limb right now. He just didn’t have enough control of it. The only thing he could think of was to use his mouth to try to bite the knob and twist it.

He opened his mouth as wide as he possibly could and tried to wrap his mouth around the knob. When that didn’t work, he angled his head to bite down on the very top of the knob so he could just crane his head to turn it. The metallic tang of the brass knob filled his mouth as he bit down on it. He cringed as he tightened his bite to get a grip on the metal before slowly turning his head.

His lips began curling upward as the knob began turning with his head. When his head had twisted to the side, he pulled his head back, successfully opening the door. He thankfully pulled his mouth off the knob, spitting the taste of metal from his mouth, before nudging the door open the rest of the way.

He wasted no time making his way into the hallway and down to the room next door. He stopped once he got in front of the door. “Celestia kill me now,” he cursed to himself when he realised he’d need to open yet another door. Using the same technique he used on the previous door, he managed to open this door, too. After he got into the room, he just stared ahead to the bed. He decided to leave the door open so there would be some light in the room. He didn’t want to turn the light on.

“Mmmmmhm?” mumbled Ditzy. She was just about to actually fall asleep, and now there was light shining onto her face. As she rubbed her eyes and yawned, she could hear the sound of dragging metal coming closer to the bed. “What in Celestia’s name i…” Her eyes got wide when she opened her eyes to see AJ slowly making his way to the bed. “Oh sweet Celestia, what are you doing in here?!” she loudly whispered as she pushed herself up in bed. At this point the kids were no longer lying on her, so she wasn’t interrupting their sleep.

AJ didn’t even speak. He was at the foot of of the bed when she pushed herself up. That’s when he got a better look at her once again. His fears were, indeed, confirmed as he stared at the human before him. His eyes grew wide, and he fell to his haunches as his hind legs gave out on him. His chest became tight as his breathing got ragged, and he started shaking again.

Ditzy climbed out of bed and kneeled down next to AJ, and placed her hands on his shoulders, causing him to flinch upon contact. She had a look of panic on her face. “Oh no, please tell me you’re not having another one.” She looked out the door to see if she could see anypony passing by she could call to. When she saw and heard no one, she prepared herself to shout at the top of her lungs for somepony, anypony, to come and help.

Before she could though, she felt AJ’s shoulder shift as he brought his hoof up and placed it on her hand. She turned her gaze down to her left hand, and the indigo hoof that was resting on it. As she did, she noticed something about his shaking body. It wasn’t shaking like it was earlier that morning. It was different. When she looked up into his eyes, it all became clear.

Tears were running down his cheeks.

He wasn’t shaking, his body was wracked by sobs. He was looking up at her, pain clear in his eyes. He took ragged breaths through clenched teeth. Just like she had seen Dinky do so many times when she got hurt, and was brought to tears. With how he was looking at her, and with how his grip on her hand was slowly tightening, it was as if he was making sure she was real. That he wasn’t looking at a figment of his imagination.

“W-w-why?”

Ditzy was pulled out of her thoughts as AJ’s weak, barely audible question hit her. “Huh?”

“W-w-why?” he choked out between sobs. “W-why did you do it?”

“Why did I...oh.” She knew what he was talking about. It’s been one of the only things she’s been able to think about throughout the day. “I’m s....”

“Y-you knew I didn’t want you to do it,” interrupted AJ. “You knew it was dangerous, but you did it anyway.” He stopped to take a deep, ragged breath. “You knew about the risks! About what could have happened! You could have been hurt! Our babies could have been hurt! So much could have gone wrong! Why did you do it?! WHY?!”

The anger suddenly dropped from his eyes. His teeth were no longer clenched as his jaw went slack. All he did now was look up at her with sad eyes as tears continued to roll down his cheeks. The only notable sounds in the room were his almost pathetic sounding whimpers and sobs.

Ditzy didn’t know what she could say. She was pretty sure nothing she could say right now would help any. All she could do was try to comfort him. She removed her hands from his shoulders and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him against her chest so he knew someone was there for him. She did have to maneuver him so she wouldn’t be jabbed by his horn, though.

“Why is daddy crying?” came a small voice behind Ditzy. She turned her head to the bed. Knight was looking on from the bed. He must have been woken up by all the yelling. She could see Dinky sitting up and rubbing her eyes on the far side of the bed.

As Knight jumped off the bed to try to help his dad, Applejack came rushing into the room. Her shorts were askew, and her top was only half pulled down as if she hurried to get them on. “What in tarnation is all th…” She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the indigo stallion sitting in Ditzy’s embrace. Knight was sitting next to him, looking between AJ and Ditzy for a moment before hugging his dad from the side. Dinky, who looked like she was still half asleep, was looking on from the bed in both confusion and worry. “What’s goin’ on? Why is he in here?” Applejack asked as she walked closer to the group.

“I don’t know. He just came in here when I was about to fall asleep.” She gently ran a hand through AJ’s mane. “He said he wanted to know why I asked Discord to be transformed, but…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it was because she was jealous in front of AJ. It still felt like she was just being childish. “What should I do? Should we try to get him back to Twilight’s room.”

“N-n-n-nooo,” whimpered AJ as he tensed up. His sobs seemed to get worse as he shook his head. “I-I-I-I don’t w-want to go. Ple-he-hease.”

Applejack put a hand to her chin as she took the situation in. She knew little to nothing of panic attacks. “Well, the darned fool seems pretty adamant about stayin’ here. Doubt we’d be able ta get him ta leave without a fight. Ah think lettin’im stay here is th’ only thing we can do right now.”

Knight looked at Applejack and vigorously nodded his head. “I’ll make sure Daddy gets all better,” he said with a bright smile. He was just happy he’d get to be with his dad again. Even if it was trying to make him happy again, that’s all he wanted the entire day. “So he can stay, right?” he asked as he turned to Ditzy.

As Ditzy looked down at Knight, a small smile grew on her face. “Well, I guess we have our answer.”

“Ah suppose we do,” Applejack said with a tinge of apprehension. She wasn’t completely convinced this was the best course of action.

Ditzy placed a caring hand on AJ’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you into bed.” She waited for his nod of acknowledgement before standing up. She took his right foreleg and gently helped him stand before leading him into bed.

Or at least that’s what she tried to do.

His metal leg was acting like an anchor. While the rest of his legs seemed to be trying to move forward, his left foreleg remained planted on the floor. Afraid to hurt him by simply dragging him along, Ditzy turned to Applejack. “Uhh, c-could we get a little help please? I never realised how heavy that leg was until now.”

Applejack let out a chuckle. “Ah suppose Ah could help. Just get inta bed yerself and let me worry about him.” Ditzy’s smile grew as she bent over to pick up Knight to get him into bed easier. As she moved away from the pony, Applejack took her place to his left. She knelt down and grabbed his metal limb, lifting it up and bending it into a resting position to make it easier to lift him. “Alright, on th’ count of three, Ah’mma lift ya,” she said as she got ready to lift him. He didn’t respond. He looked like he just felt lost without Ditzy there. “One...two...three.”

With a grunt, Applejack hefted up AJ’s body. “You weren't kiddin’. That leg really does add a few pounds. But don’t worry, nothin’ Ah can’t handle.” She looked over to see if Ditzy was ready. After waiting a moment for her to get situated, she carried AJ over to the other side of the bed. She gently placed him down so he was facing Ditzy.

Figuring he’d want to be close to her again, Ditzy adjusted herself and helped him rest his head on her chest. His left leg was still curled underneath him, and his right leg was resting over her body as if he was giving her a hug while his hind legs were sprawled out. Knight wasted no time finding a comfortable position next to AJ, and Dinky happily nuzzled up against her mother’s side. With everyone finally in position, Ditzy ran a hand through AJ’s mane again. Being close to her and the children seemed to calm him down a little. His sobs seemed to be less prominent than before. “Thanks Applejack.”

“Anytime,” she said with a smile. “Now y’all get some sleep. Hopefully this’ll all blow over by tomorrow. G’night.” With a wave, she turned to leave the room.

As darkness once again overtook the room, Ditzy let out a sigh. This was not how she expected the night to turn out. Though she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t happy to be with AJ. Even if he wasn’t the most mentally stable at the moment, having him there was doing her own psyche a load of good. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She allowed herself to relax as her exhaustion began to hit her once again.

********************

Celestia stifled a yawn as she walked down the hall to the visitors quarters. She had just woken up a few minutes ago, and hadn’t even had the chance to bathe yet. Not that she was dirty, or had a bad odour to her, but it was always good to be the best she can when meeting with ponies. For now though, she had somepony she wanted to check on before she did anything today. She wanted to make sure he hadn’t relapsed or something like that.

When she reached her desired hallway, she stopped when she saw her sister already standing in front of the door to Twilight’s room with a small cart full of food next to her. Judging by the look on her face, and the dark bags under her eyes, Celestia could guess she probably didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night. “Hello? AJ are you awake?” Luna called as she knocked on the door. She shuffled back and forth as she waited for some kind of response. When she didn’t get one after a few seconds, she knocked again. “AJ?”

“He’s probably still sleeping,”

Luna jumped at the sudden voice behind her, nearly knocking over the cart as she did. All her attention was on the door she was in front of. It didn’t even occur to her that somepony would come up behind her. After making sure her heart didn’t just stop, she turned to see her sister giggling at her. “Sweet Celestia, Tia! What are you trying to do to me, kill me?”

“‘Sweet Celestia?’ So you’ve started using that expression now, too?” questioned Celestia with smile on her face.

Luna took a deep breath to calm herself down. “I’ve heard some ponies say it when playing some games. Kinda stuck after a little while, I guess.”

“I think it’s cute,” Celestia said with a giggle. “Though I admit, it did feel awkward the first time I heard it used.” She took another look at the cart of food. “By the way, what’s with all the food? Looks like a bit much for you to eat.”

“Oh, with all the studying I did last night, I came across something saying we should make him as comfortable as possible. So i figured a nice breakfast in bed would help him. I know he likes chocolate, so I asked for some chocolate chip pancakes, orange juice WITH pulp, because...somehow that’s how he likes it.” Luna stuck out her tongue at the thought of having a cold glass of orange juice with the pulp. “A bowl of fresh fruit, toast with grape jam, some oatmeal with honey…”

“And I’m guessing those muffins are for you?” Celestia asked noticing a platter of Luna’s favorite small, breakfast muffins alongside everything else.

“Of course, what breakfast wouldn’t be complete without some of these tasty little things,” she said as she picked one up in her magic and popped it into her mouth. “Ah’m jusht hopping he liksh dem ash much ash I do,” Luna said as she chewed, ending her sentence with a loud gulp.

“I’m sure he will, but are you even sure he’s up yet? You may have brought all this food for a pony that could very well still be sleeping.”

“Don’t worry, I made sure to check before going to the kitchen. He wasn’t dreaming, and I didn’t get anything when I specifically looked for him. So either he’s awake, or he got powerful enough to block out my magic overnight.” Using her magic she opened the door, smiling when she found it unlocked. “And I think we both know that just isn’t possible. Especially with his current mental state.”

Celestia could only assume what Luna said was true. She knew very little about the world of dreams, or the spells Luna uses to visit them, so it was best to just believe her in this situation. With the door now open, she watched Luna push the cart into the room. “Well, if you’re sure.” With a sigh she followed Luna into the room.

“Gooood morning!” Luna said with a bright smile as stopped in front of the bed. She lifted the plate of toast and one of the glasses of orange juice in her magic. “I hope you’re hungry, I brought a bunch of food for us to enjoy. Let’s start with this perfectly toasted toast and this freshly prepared oran…” Her voice trailed off when she finally noticed the empty bed.

Celestia noticed Luna’s face go pale as the plate and glass dropped from her magic. Before she could even make it to the bed herself, Luna turned and rushed to the bathroom. She threw the door open and began looking through the room. As Luna was inspecting the bathroom, Celestia finally got a good look at the bed. “Empty? Where’s AJ?”

“Celestiiiiiaaaaaa!” Luna shouted as she bolted from the bathroom. She stopped in front of Celestia and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her as she spoke. “He’s not in the room!”

“I-I-I-I-I c-c-c-can s-s-s-s-e-e th-th-th-a-at,” responded Celestia in an attempt to speak through the shaking.

Luna let go of Celestia, and began pacing around in front of her. “Where could he be? Did he leave the castle? Is he wandering the streets of Canterlot? What if…”

“Luna, please.” Using her magic, Celestia picked up Luna so she would stop moving and listen to her. Now she knew for certain Luna was running on minimal sleep. She only over reacted to this extent when she was really tired. When Luna was finally paying attention to her, she let out a sigh. “If he would have left the premises in the middle of the night, we would have heard about it. The night guards keep very good track of any traffic in and out of the castle during the night. They would have told us. Which means he’s still in the castle, and given his mental state, I think it would be safe to assume he probably didn’t go very far. Which means…” She let Luna fill in the rest.

Luna stared at her for a moment before a relieved smile grew on her face. “Yes, of course. He’s...probably in one of the other rooms. That’s it.”

“Well ya won’t need ta look very far,” came a voice from behind the two princesses.

Celestia looked over her shoulder to see Applejack standing in the door. She was currently in the middle of a big stretch. “Oh, I apologize if we woke you, Applejack.”

“Nah, y’all didn’t wake me. At this point Ah’m hard wired ta wake up this early. Ah just heard th’ commotion an’ thought Ah’d come ta see what was goin’ on.”

“Well you sound like you know where he is,” Celestia said as she placed her sister back on the floor. “Did he make his way into your room last night?”

“Nnope. He went back inta his room for th’ night.”

“Excuse me?” The smile on Celestia’s face fell.

“He went where, and did what now?” Luna brought a hoof to her head as she tried to rack her brain for the information she had just read about panic attacks over the night. “But...but you’re supposed to avoid the trigger of your panic attack. Wasn’t Ditzy becoming human the trigger? Why...what...how…” She brought her other hoof to her head and began rubbing her temples. “My brain hurts.”

“Sister, please go back to bed. You’ll think much more clearly once you get more rest.”

“Yes. Thinking clearly is good. Thinking clearly will help get us past this emergency.” As Luna continued to ramble about thinking clearly, she made her way over to the bed in the room. Ignoring broken plate and glass, she lifted up the side of the duvet and crawled under the covers. Her tail was still sticking out the side by the time she came to rest.

Celestia let out a slight sigh. “You could have at least tried to go to your own room.” Using her magic, she picked up the shattered bits of the glass, plate, and floor toast. She made a mental note get a maid in here as soon as possible as she placed them on the bottom of the cart to dispose of. Hopefully that rug would still be salvageable. She really did like it. “While Luna...rests for a while longer, I’d like to go see AJ. I’m both curious and worried about how he’s handling being in Ditzy’s presence right now.”

“Ah don’t know how much you’re goin’ ta get outta him. He didn’t exactly say too much after he got done yellin’ his head off last night.”

“What was he yelling about?”

“No idea. That’s what woke me up. By th’ time Ah got there he had calmed down,” Applejack said as she and Celestia started leaving the room. Celestia was draging the cart behind her in her magic. “An’ he refused when Ah tried ta bring him back here.”

“Hmmmm.” Celestia thought about the situation as she left the room, closing the door after the cart was out. She took a moment to search for a maid. When there wasn’t one within sight, she turned to Applejack. “Could you go find one of the maids and let them know about that mess on the rug? I’d like to get it taken care of before the stain can set.”

“No problem, Princess. Want me ta take care of that while Ah’m at it?”

“Feel free to eat what’s left. It would be a shame for all that food to go to waste.” With a smile, Applejack took left the cart in her room before going off to search for a maid. As Applejack left, Celestia went one door over and knocked on the door. “Hello? Is anyone awake in there.” When no one answered, she gently opened the door. She didn’t want to make too much noise in case Luna was wrong, and everyone was sleeping.

From where she was, Celestia couldn’t see much in the bed. She could see part of Dinky’s tail hanging off the right edge of the bed, but that was about it. She could also hear Knight mumbling in his sleep, and Ditzy quietly snoring. The only one she couldn’t tell was there was AJ. He made no sounds, and she couldn’t see any part of him hanging off the bed. As quietly as she could, she moved through the room. It didn’t take long before she saw a brown mane on the bed that could only belong to the stallion she was looking for.

As she came up to the bed, she saw that AJ was indeed awake. His eyes seemed to be trained on nothing in particular, and he was slowly rubbing Ditzy’s belly with his free foreleg as if he was cherishing it. He didn’t even seem to notice the presence of the new pony in the room. With a soft smile, she walked to the side of the bed, and slowly placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Good morning,” Celestia said in a soft voice.”

It took him a few seconds, but AJ’s eyes eventually found their way to Celestia. He turned his head enough so he could comfortably look at her. “...Morning,” he mumbled in a raspy voice.

“Are you thirsty? You sound like your throat is awfully dry.” Her question was returned with a subtle nod. “I suppose you didn’t exactly get much of a chance to hydrate yourself yesterday. Give me one moment.” Celestia walked over to the opposite side of the bed, where the side table with the water jug sat. Upon lifting it, she noticed that it was empty. “I’ll be right back.” With a quick trip to the bathroom to fill the jug from the sink. As she came back, AJ was slowly pushing himself up. He grunted as he used his artificial limb to right himself. It looked like he was having a bit of trouble. “Is everything alright?”

After he finally finished pushing himself up, he slowly shook his head. “...Don’t know. Can’t control my leg.”

“It’s possible it could be all in your head. I noticed you seemed to be having trouble with your leg after...it happened,” Celestia said as she lifted and began filling a glass. AJ seemed to only half pay attention as the filled glass floated over to him. Once it did, he seemed to just stare at it for a moment. It almost seemed as if he was trying to determine what exactly it was floating in front of him. “Go ahead, drink up.” He continued to just stare at the glass for a couple seconds before lifting his right hoof.

He didn’t grab the glass though. He just didn’t trust himself right now. Rather, he just placed his lips on the rim of the glass and slowly tipped it with his hoof, letting Celestia do all the “hard work.” Once the glass was empty, Celestia brought the glass back to the table, filling it again in case he wanted another one. “...Thanks.”

“Would you like some more?” He slowly shook his head before trying to ease himself back down onto the bed. “Please, let me he…” Before she could get it out, his mechanical leg buckled under him, sending him crashing down to the bed. She cringed when she saw his horn come down and jab Ditzy hard in the right side of her chest.

“Ooooowwwww,” groaned Ditzy with a pained look on her face. She initially tried to move her right arm. Unfortunately for her AJ had also fallen on top of her arm, so with that out of the question, she reached over with her left hand to try to rub the pain away. She opened her eyes when she felt AJ’s fuzzy, boney horn. “I don’t know what you’re doing down there, but that really hurt.”

“It was an accident, I assure you. Are you going to be okay?” Celestia asked with concern on her face?

“Princess Celestia?” Ditzy looked over to see the Sovereign of the Sun standing next to the bed. “What are you doing in here?”

“I came to check on AJ. To make sure he’s doing okay being around you so soon after it happened. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. He just stabbed me right in the...chest teat.”

“I believe he said they’re called breasts.”

“Whatever. I’ll probably have a bruise, but I’ll be fine.” She looked down to her right arm, or more specifically, the pony lying on top of it. He was staring at the spot his horn accidentally hit with a terrified expression. Judging by how worried he was that she was hurt last night, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going through his mind right now.

She pushed herself up, pulling her arm out from under him, and adjusting herself so she was sitting against the headboard. She reached out, and began pulling AJ over to her by placing her arms under his forelegs and pulling him to her. To Celestia it almost looked like a mother pulling her child to her. Though a child wouldn’t have a heavy, metal limb weighing him down.

With a grunt, Ditzy was finally able to overcome the weight of his limb and pull him to her chest. She wrapped her arms around him, and began running a comforting hand through his mane. “Shhhhh. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“B-b-b-b-but you…”

“But me nothing. I said I’ll be fine, didn’t I?” With her right hand, she brushed over the spot he had stabbed her. “See? No blood. It’ll probably just be a bruise. That’s all.” She went back to hugging him, but rather than running her hand through his mane, she instead began rubbing him behind the ear. That spot had always calmed him down. “So just relax. I’m here for you.”

“Mmmmmdaddy?” came a moan from behind AJ. Ditzy looked over to see Knight stirring from his resting place. He must have realised he was no longer leaning against AJ’s warm body. Knight sat up and began rubbing his eyes. As he looked around, he saw Celestia looking at him with a warm smile. “Pincess Cestia?” he mumbled in a quiet, tired voice.

“Good morning, my little pony.”

Knight didn’t answer. He was tired, and wanted to continue sleeping. But before he could do that, he needed to find a way to get comfortable again. And for that to happen, his daddy needed to get back into a more Knight friendly position. Or at least have some warm body to be able to snuggle up against. With Daddy currently indisposed, and Mommy just not as comfortable to snuggle up to now that her coat was gone, that left one pony.

Standing up, Knight slowly stumbled around Ditzy’s legs to her other side where Dinky still peacefully slept on her side. “Dinky?” he asked as he lightly nudged her. He got no response. “Dinky?” he asked with a slightly more forceful nudge. Dinky just grumbled something incoherent before falling back to sleep. Knight let out a tired groan. Since Dinky wasn’t going to help him in this, he’d have to take matters into his own hooves.

Celestia tried her hardest to muffle her “awww” as Knight tried to nudge his way into Dinky’s hold. Despite how much easier it would have been to just lift her foreleg and crawl in, he decided the best method to achieve his goal was to just nudge his way in with his snout. It took a bit of fighting, and a little help from Dinky when she inevitably woke up, but he eventually got comfortable with his new snuggle buddy. A small, tired smile grew on Dinky’s face as she hugged Knight before falling back to sleep herself.

“Well, I can see you have things under control for now,” Celestia said as she turned back to Ditzy.

“I think so, yea.”

With a smile, Celestia turned towards the door. “Good. I’ve got to go get ready for the day. I’ll check in on you all later.” With that, she left the room.

********************

“I’m beginning to think that pony has zero sense of self preservation,” Soft Spoken said as she slowly face hoofed. She had met Applejack in the hall after she had woken up. Despite the farm owners different look, she could tell it was the same orange pony she met back in Ponyville due to her voice and mannerisms. Not to mention AJ told her about the change the prior night, so she kinda knew to expect it.

At the moment, they were both sitting in Applejack’s room and chatting about AJ’s change of rooms the previous night. “What do ya mean?”

“I mean despite the fact that he’s in no condition to be up and about, much less being around Ditzy right now, he did it to himself anyway.”

“Ya mean like when he was in th’ hospital after gettin’ his leg amputated an’ he just got up n wandered around th’ place.”

“Exactly.” Soft Spoken remembered Applejack bringing that little detail of AJ’s hospital visit up the first visit after he got back home. She looked towards the door with a sigh. “He’s really not making it easy to help him work through things. I know you said he seemed calm when you left them last night, but the simple fact that he, on his own volition, went to go be with what triggered his panic attack very well could have undone some of the progress we made last night.”

“Danged idiot,” Applejack said as she shook her head. “Ah really hope it didn’t. Not only fer his sake.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re pretty far behind schedule as is. We were supposed ta have left fer his world last week already, but with everything that happened we haven’t been able ta start most of th’ preparations ‘till a few days ago. Ah left Big Mac in charge of th’ farm ‘till we get back. While Ah know fer a fact he can hold down th’ fort, Ah’d rather not leave’im high an’ dry fer too long. Spike’ll like having some free time ta do what he wants around th’ library, but Ah know fer a fact he’ll start missin’ Twilight before too long. Ah might send Big Mac a letter tellin’ him ta invite Spike over till we get back so he’s not so lonely. An’ then there’s lil’ Dinky. Ah’m sure she was only cleared ta miss a few days of school before she returned home with Ditzy. By th’ time she gets back, she’ll be pretty far behind all’er school work. Speakin’ of Ditzy…”

“I think I get it.” Soft Spoken let out a sigh. “Well, as soon as he’s up, I’ll go see if I can help a bit more.”

“If that’s what yer waitin’ for, he’s probably been up for at least an hour by now. Given when he’s up an’ about on his days off.”

“Really? Well then, if you’ll e…”

Soft Spoken was interrupted as a door across the hall was opened and another voice filled the air. “...old you we’d ask for a wheelchair. It’ll be much easier to take you around the castle like that until you can get that leg of yours under control again.”

“N-no...I can do it,” came a certain stallion’s quiet voice.

Ditzy let out a groan. “If you don’t wait here for that chair, I’m going to go get Applejack and have her hold you until it does.”

“B-b-b…”

“No buts, mister. I’m worried about you, and I don’t want to see you hurt yourself cause you’re dragging that thing around everywhere.”

“Is everything alright out here?”

“Huh?” When Ditzy turned her head to see Soft Spoken poking out from Applejack’s room. “Oh, hi. Everything’s fine. It’s just that this lovable dork of mine being difficult...as usual.”

“I-I’m not…” AJ’s voice just kinda trailed off. It was like he forgot what he was saying as he just continued to stare up at Ditzy.

Soft Spoken looked at AJ with a hint of concern. “What was that?” AJ didn’t respond to her. All he did was turn and look at her for a moment before turning back to Ditzy. She let out a small grunt of contemplation. “He most certainly wasn’t so...withdrawn last night. Despite what happened, he was talking pretty normally,” She said quietly to herself.

“Excuse me?”

“Hmm?” Soft Spoken looked to Ditzy. “Oh, sorry about that. Bad habit. I was just thinking to myself about how AJ seems so withdrawn right now. Last night he was scared, but he was coherent. Now he seems almost…crap muffins, I can’t think of the word”

“Like he’s really needy? He hasn’t let me out of his sight since he came into the room last night, and he always wants to be by my side. Well...for the most part, at least. Bathroom’s a no go.”

“Yes, needy’s a good way to describe it. It may be because he’s so worried about you. He’s probably not convinced that everything’s totally okay, so he wants to always be with you until he’s sure everything’s fine.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s just an educated guess, really. Until I can talk with him more about his current state, that’s all I really have to go on.”

“Well, it’s funny you should say that. Because we just got a visit from Proper Manners saying Princess Celestia set up a visit with the castle doctor to perform a full physical on me. And she wants AJ to be there for everything so he can see that everything’s okay.”

“Oh...well that’s convenient.”

“Speaking of, could you keep him company until I can get us a wheelchair? I refuse to let him drag that leg around everywhere.”

“Of course,” Soft Spoken said with a smile. “It’ll let me get a feel for where his head’s at right now. And if you’d like, I’ll even watch the kids while you’re getting your checkup.”

“That’d be great, thanks.”

“Are you sure ya wanna go lookin’ like that?” came Applejack’s voice from behind Soft Spoken. She was staring at Ditzy with a questioning look.

Ditzy looked down at her body in confusion before looking back at Applejack. “Looking like what? You mean without clothes on?”

“Eeyup.”

“Well, I’ve been without anything since yesterday and nopony’s said anything. I don’t see why I couldn’t just go like this.”

“Aren’t you at all embarrassed by everyone starin’ at all yer...bits? At least when you were a pony ya had yer tail ta keep it all hidden. It wasn’t on display fer all ta see.”

Ditzy had a look of contemplation on her face as she looked from Applejack back to her body. She did have a good point. While it is true that most ponies walk around without anything on, most ponies had tails long enough to hide anything important. And even those that didn’t, due to them being cropped or what not, it was basically an unwritten rule that you don’t gawk at another pony’s privates. It was just rude.

But as a human, she had no such coverage. Aside from a bit of short, blond hair down on her crotch, that didn’t cover anything anyway, she was on full display. It was just something she really didn’t think about since she had just been in their room the entire time. A light blush began to form on her face. “U-umm, I guess you do have a point. Excuse me.”

As Ditzy walked back into the room, Applejack looked down at AJ who watched Ditzy walk away with a look of longing. “Ah’m surprised you didn’t say anything about her walkin’ around naked. Then again, ya were probably too busy oglin’ her ta care, wern’t ya?” She chuckled to herself when AJ shrunk back slightly with a blush on his face.

“S-shut up…”

“Well, can’t blame ya for it too much. Ya do love’er ta death. An’ you droolin’ over her is better than ya oglin’ me an’ Twilight all day.”

“I-I wasn’t…”

“You wern’t nothin’. Don’t think we didn’t notice ya starin’ at us the entire time.”

“It’s okay, Applejack. I teased him enough for that already,” came Ditzy’s voice from inside the room. She walked out a few seconds later with the bed sheet draped over her. “I’ll have to ask Twilight how she got it to stay up when we get back, but this’ll do for now. Now, if you’ll excuse me. It’s finally time for me to go get that wheelchair.”

********************

“Thanks again for the help with the blanket, Twilight,” Ditzy said as she got up off the bed. After her check up, and she and AJ returned to their room, Soft Spoken wanted to talk with AJ a bit more. See where his head was at after all the tests.

“It’s not a problem. Maybe you should have Silver Needle make you some clothes like ours. It’s easier than constantly having to deal with the blanket.”

Ditzy let out a sigh. “If I was going to stay like this for longer than just a few days, I would. But once Discord gets back from...wherever the heck he went, it’s back to pony life for me.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us now that you’re human? I’m sure AJ would appreciate the emotional support.”

“As tempting an offer as it is, I just can’t. Not only do I need to get back to Ponyville and explain to Boxxy in detail why I needed more time off, but on the way back to the room, AJ told me that my mom wants to see me again while I’m still in Canterlot. They had enough trouble believing that I was magically changed into a stallion. Imagine their reaction if they were to seem me looking like this.”

“Yea, I guess you’re right. Still, it would have been nice if yo…” Twilight was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Huh? I wonder who that could be? Come in!” A moment later, the regal forms of Celestia and Luna came through the door. “Princesses, hello.”

“Hello Twilight,” Celestia said with a warm smile.

“G’morning,” Luna said as she rubbed the sleep from her eye.

Ditzy stared at Luna for a moment. “She...does know it’s almost 12, right?”

“Princess Lazy Butt here just woke up,” Celestia said as she chuckled to herself. “She was up all night, so she slept in a bit.”

“You still won’t tell me why I woke up in the guest quarters.”

“I’ll just let you figure that out yourself.” Celestia giggled as Luna grumbled something nonsensical. “Anyway, we wanted to ask how everything went with the tests,” Celestia said as she turned to Ditzy. “Our inhouse doctor said everything was fine, if not a bit strange working with a patient that wasn’t a pony.”

“Yup. Everything was A-OK. Thank Celestia it was. Heart rate was normal. Blood pressure was a bit high, but he said that’s normal when you’re pregnant. He...did what he could with a pelvic exam. He said it didn’t look like there was any tearing or any other damage...down there.”

“Are human female genitals really all that different from a mare’s genitals?” Luna asked as her more scientific side came out. “Not really having seen them myself, I can’t really say. If it’s alright, would I be able to take some pictures for my research?”

“Now’s hardly the time to be wondering that, Luna.”

“I didn’t say it has to be now, dear sister. I just thought it would be nice to have a more complete research. We have pictures of a human male body, thanks to AJ. But until now, we’ve never been able to find a human female. It’s not like I’m trying to perv on their bodies, or something. Get your mind out of the gutter, Celestia.”

“I wasn’t…” Celestia let out a sigh.

“If it’s for your research, I’d be more than happy to help you out, Princess Luna,” Twilight said with a smile. Of all ponies here, she knows the horrors of having unfinished research material.

A great, big smile grew on Luna’s face. “Wonderful! Just come to my room a little later. I have to make sure my research camera isn’t full.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Just ignore them. So, did they run any other tests?”

“They put a rush on the blood work, and everything came back okay.”

“What about an ultrasound? Given your condition I’m sure he would have done one,” Luna said now that she wasn’t off in her own world.

A soft, warm smile slowly grew on Ditzy’s face as she cupped her belly. “Yea. He did an ultrasound. And that’s when I knew everything was going to be just fine.”

********************

”Well...it’s definitely not what I’m used to seeing,” Dr. True Shot said as he was finishing up Ditzy’s pelvic exam. “But nothing looks to be to be out of the ordinary. No abnormal bruising, tears, or anything like that.”

“Th-that’s nice t-t-to hear,” Ditzy said with a light blush on her face as he pulled the instrument from her nethers. To this day, she never understood how doctors could act so calm and professional while practically being face deep in a mare’s most intimate of areas.

Now that she wasn’t being split wider than she thought possible by cold metal, she chanced another look at AJ. He was sitting on a stool with wheels just off to the side of her. Close enough to be able to reach out and stroke his face lovingly, but far enough so the doctor could work comfortably. With each passing test, he seemed to relax, little by little. But they weren’t done just yet. There was still one very important test that needed to be done. So far, the tests have only gone to prove that Ditzy, herself, was just fine. There was still the question of their unborn children.

As the doctor went to go grab the materials he’d need for an ultrasound, AJ slowly inched closer to Ditzy. She smiled as AJ got right next to her. He lifted his hoof and placed it on Ditzy’s hand as he gave a weak smile back. Without saying a thing, she twisted her hand to hold his hoof. “See? Everything’s come back fine.”

“Yeah. Just the...babies...” He seemed to tense back up at the thought that the fate of their unborn children was still unknown.

Seeing this, Ditzy pulled him close for a hug. “Don’t worry. I’m sure our little buns in my oven are doing just fine.”

“We’ll see in just a moment,” Dr. True Shot said a he wheeled the ultrasound machine over to the bed. He set up the machine on the opposite side of AJ, and grabbed the bottle of gel that sat on the small shelf attached to the machine. “Just going to apply some of this gel to your belly. It’ll help the ultrasound get a more clear picture.” After squirting some of the gel onto Ditzy’s belly, he put the bottle back and grabbed the probe. It looked to be a little small for a human body. Given it was made for a pony’s smaller frame, that’s not too surprising. “Just lie back, and relax. I’m just going to run this prob over your belly so we can get a picture.”

Ditzy nodded her head before looking back to AJ. “Just pay attention to that screen, there. That’s where all the magic will happen.” AJ didn’t even answer. Even with his head still being hugged to her chest, all his attention was turned towards the ultrasound machine.

As the doctor began running the probe over her belly, a picture immediately popped onto the screen. It took a moment, but after a little searching, Dr. True Shot was pretty sure he had found what they were looking for. There on the screen, in two separate amniotic sacs, lay two small, barely formed bundles of cells. “There we are. I believe I’ve found them. You can see the two, separate amniotic sacs, there. Fraternal twins. How lucky for you,” he said with a smile. “Aaaand those…” He pointed to two little beating lumps in the middle of the two clumps of cells. “...look to be the tiny, beating hearts of two, healthy, fetuses.”

“You’re sure they’re healthy?” Ditzy asked with hope in her voice.

“Well, while there are obvious differences between your anatomy and a pony’s, from what I’m seeing here, there doesn’t appear to be any abnormalities.”

Ditzy unintentionally tightened her hug as relief washed over her. While she could guess there was nothing wrong with the unborn babies, considering she herself was fine after the transformation, she had no way of knowing for sure without help from an external source. “Did you hear that?” She turned to AJ, who currently had an unreadable look on his face. “They’re fine. The babies are fine!”

AJ just continued to stare at the image on the screen for a few seconds. “T-they’re fine…” A smile slowly began creeping onto his face. “The babies are fine.” Ditzy noted that it looked as if all the fear, pain, and worry that had built up over the last 24 hours seemed to slowly melt away. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he reached up with his metallic limb to return Ditzy’s hug. “You’re okay...the babies are okay...everything’s going to be okay.” He ended with a sniffle before tears of another kind fell to the floor.

********************

“It was like the weight of ten worlds just...lifted from his shoulders. He was so happy to see that everything was okay. He was even able to walk back on his own.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Celestia said with a smile.

“It’s good to know he’s back to his old self,” added Luna.

“Well, kinda.”

Luna eyed Ditzy with a questioning look. “What are you getting at?”

“He still looks like he’s a little uncomfortable around me. Because I look like this.”

“I’m sure that’ll pass with time. His fears have just been alleviated. By the end of the day, he should hopefully be back to his old self.”

Ditzy mulled Luna’s words around in her head for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m sure she is,” Celestia said with a comforting look. “He has you, the kids, and his friends here to support him. He’ll be just fine.”

“Princess Celestia’s right. You’ll have to give him a bit to get used to you as a human. It usually depends on the pony, but AJ tends to warm to change fairly quickly...most of the time,” Twilight said as she remembered back to when he was initially forced to come to Equestria.

“Yea, you’re right. At least if he has trouble getting used to this, it’ll only be a couple more days until I get changed back. Or however long it takes Discord to get back.” Ditzy perked up a little when she heard a door open and close in the hallway. “Oh, excuse me for a minute.” Ditzy got up off the bed and walked to the door, poking her head out the door. Just down the hall she saw Soft Spoken coming down the hall with a smile on her face. “So? How is he?”

Soft Spoken turned her head when she heard Ditzy speak. “Oh, Ditzy. Just the pony I wanted to see. He’s actually doing really good. Much better than the last time I talked to him. Seeing the results of those tests really did him a world of good.”

“You should have seen him when we were looking at the ultrasound,” Ditzy said with a giggle. “It was like a complete 180.”

“I bet.”

“So can I go see him?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Why not?”

“After everything he’s been through, he was feeling a bit tired. He felt like taking a nice, relaxing nap.”

“I...suppose he probably didn’t sleep very well since the incident,” Ditzy said, clearly disappointed at the news.

“Buuuut, he told me to tell you to go wake him in about an hour. Now that he’s feeling better, he’d rather not spend the day sleeping when he could spend it with you.”

“I’m surprised he’s not planning on going back to work on the trip,” came Celestia’s voice from the room. Her and Luna wern’t really all that far into the room, so they were easily able to overhear the conversation.

“Maybe he figured it’d be best to take some time off before getting back to it,” reasoned Luna.

“That’s exactly it, actually,” Soft Spoken said with a smile. “After getting so stressed out he suffered from a panic attack, he figured a day or two off was probably the best thing he could do.”

“Thank Celestia.” Ditzy was clearly relieved. Not only was AJ not going to overwork himself again, but she was finally going to get to spend some time with him again. Well, time that wasn’t spent just trying to make sure he wasn’t going to freak out again.

Celestia snuck past Ditzy and moved into the hall. “It’s good to know he’ll start taking better care of himself. Were you planning on sticking around to talk with him some more?”

“As much as I’d like to, I don’t think there’s anything else I could help him with in this situation. I feel like I’d just be treading water at this point. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing, right now. I’ll probably head back to Trottingham in a little bit. I probably have some requests waiting for me back at the office.”

“I understand. Please, as thanks, allow us to take care of your travel back home.”

“I...I’d be honored.”

“Alright. I’ll send somepony to come get you when the carriage is ready,” Celestia said as she started down the hall.

“Seriously though, thank you. For everything,” Ditzy said as she kneeled down to be more on Soft Spoken’s level. “I doubt we’d have understood the situation as well if not for you.”

Soft Spoken bashfully rubbed the back of her head. “I was only doing my job, but thank you. It’s always nice to know all those years of collage and that degree hanging on my wall weren’t for nothing.”

“And sorry if the kids were acting up in there while you were talking to him.”

“Those two? They were perfect little angels. Though, Dinky did have to keep Knight Wind in check so he couldn’t be too loud,” she said with a giggle as she remembered Dinky sitting on Knight at one point to keep him under control.

“That’s a relief. Well, I’ll let you go get ready. I’ll see you later.”

********************

After waiting an hour watching Applejack try to help Silver Needle with human clothes, Ditzy made her way back to her room. She probably would have spent the time talking to Twilight more, but she went with Luna to help with her research on humans. It would have felt rude to sit there and watch as Luna took pictures of Twilight’s nude body. Besides, some pony named Atom Split was also going to be there, so it would have felt a bit crowded in the room. She didn’t want to go into the room and risk waking AJ up early so that left Applejack.

She didn’t even bother knocking on the door. It WAS her temporary home after all. When she got into the room, the first sight she was gifted with was the sight of Dinky and Knight drawing at the foot of the bed with crayons. Knight was filling in something with quite a bit of fervor, while Dinky was trying to be a bit more delicate with her art. That’s not to say Dinky was good at art. Art was just one of those things Dinky wasn’t very good at. Even compared to the art of other kids her age, but that didn’t keep her from having fun doodling in her free time.

The two of them looked up when they heard the door opening. “MmmMmy,” mumbled Knight through the crayon.

“Hi mommy,” Dinky said after placing the crayon on the floor.

“Hello my little muffin. My brave, little Knight.” She bent down to give a hug to the two foals as they came running up to her. “And just how have the two of you been while I’ve been gone?”

“We’ve been drawing!” Dinky said with an excited squeak “It’s so fu…”

“Boring!” interrupted Knight “It’s so boring. I wanted Dinky to read me a story, but she doesn’t want to.” He ended with a small huff.

“I told you we ran out of stories,” Dinky said matter of factly.

“You could have read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” again. It’s my favorite.”

“I already read that one two times.”

“So?”

“Now, now you two, what did we tell you about fighting?”

Dinky and Knight looked at each other before looking back at Ditzy. “That...if we fight, we have to hug for an hour?” Dinky asked as she tried to remember. The two of them rarely fight, so it doesn’t really come up very often.

“Ewwww, hugging Dinky?” Knight said seemingly forgetting that he was snuggling up to, and being hugged by Dinky as they slept this morning.

“That’s right. So if you don’t wanna hug each other for an hour, you better behave.”

“Oookaaaay,” the kids said in tandem.

“Alright then. Now, have you two eaten lunch yet?” She smiled as Knight shook his head. “Well Applejack was going to go get some lunch right now. If you hurry, you can probably catch her before she leaves.”

“Yaaay, I want some applesauce,” Knight said as he ran from the room.

“Aren’t you coming, mommy?” Dinky asked as she stared up at her mother.

“I had a little something when I was watching Applejack before, so I’m not hungry. Now go on, Applejack won’t wait forever.” She gave Dinky another big hug before sending her on her way. Once she was out the door, Ditzy closed it. “And now, for my prize,” she said as she turned towards the bed.

She could hear the sounds of AJ’s snores coming from a lump in the sheets. As she got closer, she felt her heart sink for what she was about to do. “Aww, he looks so...peaceful.” When he was sleeping with her over night, he seemed so jumpy, and woke up multiple times. It was as if he thought she’d just disappear if he slept for too long. She was pretty sure he woke up at least every half hour, or at least that’s what it felt like.

So to see him sleeping soundly, and knowing that she’d have to be the one ruin that sleep made her feel bad. “Well, I guess he did ask for this.”

She sat on the side of the bed, causing AJ to shift in his sleep as the bed beneath him did the same. “...dun wanna go school, mommy,” he mumbled before settling back on the mattress.

Ditzy stifled a giggle. Dinky always did the exact same thing when she tried to wake her up early. Unlike Dinky, however, she had a different idea of how to actually wake the stallion up. She turned her body, now kneeling on the bed with one knee, so she was facing him. She lowered her head close to his before puckering her lips and giving him a long, loving kiss on the lips.

When she pulled away, AJ’s face seemed to twist in confusion. “Mmmm? Mom doesn’t kiss me,” he said as his eyes cracked open. Since he didn’t have his glasses on, he blinked a few times to attempt to clear his vision.

Ditzy looked over to the side table and grabbed his glasses. “I believe these will help.”

After his glasses were placed on his head, he looked up into those beautiful amber eyes he’s come to know and love. “Definitely not mom. This is a much better view to wake up to,” he said as a smile grew on his face.

A big, prideful smile grew on Ditzy’s face. “Glad you feel that way.” She pushed herself off of him when she noticed him begin to push himself up.

AJ let out a yawn before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I almost regret telling Soft Spoken to ask you to wake me after an hour. That was the best sleep I had in the last 24 hours.”

“Well, the sooner you get up, the sooner we can start spending some time together.”

He stared at Ditzy from the side as he continued to rub one of his eyes. She was beginning to remove the sheet from her body. He wasn’t completely sure, but it almost looked to him like she was making a show of the whole ordeal. A knowing smirk grew on her face when she saw him staring. She kept her eyes on him with an almost hungry look as she undid the knot. She could have just let it drop, but she held it there for a moment before letting it slowly fall down her chest. It finally fell past her breasts before she stopped it once again at her belly. Again, she teased him. From her belly, she slowly eased the sheet down her body until a hint of her, seemingly, golden pubic hair could be seen. After what felt like forever she let the sheet fully drop, revealing all of her to the stallion. “Well...I did say almost.”

Ditzy giggled as she climbed onto the bed, and sat up against the headboard. She pat the spot next to her on the bed, beckoning AJ to come over to her. “Well we have the next day and a half to do whatever we want. Any ideas of what you want to do?”

AJ did just as Ditzy wanted and sat next to her. “Off the top of my head, no. For...obvious reasons, I haven’t exactly had much of a chance to think of activities for us to do. I’m just happy to be to, well, me.”

Ditzy slowly nodded her head. “Yea. You gave us all quite the scare. I think the only one who wasn’t freaking out was Princess Celestia. If not for her, we all would have been left flapping in the wind, so to speak.”

“Trust me, I’m more than thankful for what she did. I’d probably still be emotionally broken if not for her.”

“It was even her idea to have Soft Spoken come to help.”

“Which I appreciate. She really helped me collect my thoughts today. And last night she helped talk me through the worst of it.”

“Heck, she even helped me get through this. We didn’t talk all that much, but what she did say helped a lot.” Ditzy let out a slight sigh. The direction this conversation was going was slowly killing the mood she had started before. If she wanted this to go her way, she’d need to change things up. “Well, thankfully that’s all in the past. No more scaring us like that.”

AJ let out a small chuckle. “Given my luck after coming to Equestria, I make no promises, but that doesn’t mean I certainly won’t try.”

“For now, let’s just think of all the fun we can have on your time off. Once we think of something to do, that is.”

“I almost wish there was a TV in these rooms. Wouldn’t mind relaxing with you while we watch a movie, or something like that, but I’m sure it won’t be too hard to think of something.”

“Oh yea, shouldn’t be too hard.” Without giving him warning, Ditzy snaked her arm around him and hugged him to her body. “Shouldn't be too hard at all.”

A light blush began to grow on AJ’s face when he realized his head was resting on Ditzy’s breast. “U-um, Ditzy?” He tried to look her in the eye, but with his current vantage point, the view of one of his eyes was filled with Ditzy’s nice, soft breast. It made it kinda difficult to concentrate on other things.

“Yeeeees?” Using the hand that was wrapped around his body, she began slowly rubbing circles around AJ’s belly. "Is there something you wanted to say to me?”

The blush on AJ’s face intensified. Not only was his head currently being forced into Ditzy’s breast, but her hand was rubbing awfully low on his belly at times. It didn’t take a genius to pick up on the hints Ditzy’s been dropping. “Now...I know I’m not as smart as Twilight, but I’d like to think I’m intelligent enough to know when you’re dropping...hints.” He let out a small squeak and jumped slightly as Ditzy “accidentally” brushed his equipment with her fingers. “O-o-o-oh yea. Definitely dropping hints.”

“On a scale of one to ten, ten being super subtle, how subtle am I being?”

AJ jumped as Ditzy brushed him again. “I-I’d say maybe…negative ten.”

“Okay, good. I wasn’t trying very hard to hide it.”

“Are you sure we should be doing this? I-I-I-I don’t know where the kids are, but they could find us at any moment, and…”

“And I highly doubt that. Right now they’re with Applejack getting some lunch. And I MAAAAAY have dropped a hint that I wanted to spend some alone time with you. She seemed pretty sure that she’d be able to buy us a couple hours.” She removed her hand from his belly and went a bit lower.

AJ swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt Ditzy’s hand begin to fondle his berries. “A-a-are you sure you want to do this?”

Ditzy looked down at him with an amused look. “I’m currently grabbing your boys right now, and you’re wondering if I really, truly want to do this?” She let out a small giggle. “Well, to answer your question, yes. I’m more than sure. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to see how this new body handles you.” She congratulated herself for a job well done as she saw AJ’s Mini Me slowly growing. “Looks to me like you’re also interested in finding out.”

“I...um...maybe.”

“Good. Now come on, let’s not waste this grace period Applejack’s giving us, and test out this new model of mine.”

********************

“You know, after spending most of a year on four legs, this feels awfully...strange,” AJ said as he stared at his now human form in the mirror.”

After a couple days, Discord returned from...wherever he went and was able to finish the changes that needed to happen. Unfortunately it happened fairly late into the day, but better late than never. While she was finally getting used to her human body, Ditzy admitted she was happy to be back to her old, familiar self. It’s what she knew, and it’s how she felt most comfortable. Plus, the teats were a lot easier to manage when they’re back down between her legs, so that’s a plus.

AJ, on the other hand, seemed a bit mixed about being changed back into a human. While he did look happy to be back to his true self, he felt a sense of longing as he thought of all the happy moments he spent as a pony. All those times with Ditzy, the kids, and the friends he’s made were some of the happiest times he’s had. Now that he was bipedal again, that sense of happiness felt a bit...distant.

And that wasn’t because he didn’t have a coat of hair on his body to cover the scars he’s gotten as reminders of all the bad times. In fact, a good majority of those injuries had actually healed quite nicely, barely leaving a mark in their place. The most notable scars were a big, nasty one on his chest from when he was attacked by the razorbacks, and a scar on his back and leg left by some whip strikes.

And then there was his mechanical limb, of course. What once looked fairly simple on the outside, it now looked like a complex piece of machinery with five digits. It was also still heavy and required a lot of concentration to keep his balance. It made getting used to two legs again that much more difficult when you’re being weighed down on one side.. “I REALLY wish Discord could have done something about this. It was so easy to forget how heavy this thing when it’s always planted on the ground.” AJ said as he flexed his arm. He slowly balled the fingers into a fist before extending them again. Fortunately the more complex nature of it didn’t seem to hinder the movement. He honestly expected all the extra joints to make it a nightmare to control. “If not for the weight, it would have made for many less questions from mom. I can guess there’ll probably be questions about it until we come back.”

“I’m sure everything’ll be fine.”

“Oh, you don’t know my mom. She is VERY over protective. Even at 22, before I came here, at least, she’d always call me to make sure she knew where I was, or who I was with. You know nothing of what I had to go through.”

Ditzy looked at AJ as if he was stupid. “Excuse me? You seem to forget who my parents are. Maybe you’ll remember them. They tried their hardest to get you out of my life? Treated me like a foal until I slapped my mother across the face? Took you getting kidnapped for them to realise how important you were to me? This ringing any bells?”

“Ah...yes. Forgot about that.”

“It’s only natural that parents are going to worry about you. Even if they go a bit overboard at times.” She walked up to him and placed a hoof on his hand. “Not all ponies can say their parents actually love or care about them. I’d rather my parent care a bit too much rather than not at all.”

AJ let out a chuckle. “I’ve actually had that exact conversation with mom before.”

“Well it’s true. And while I, obviously, get aggravated at them sometimes, I love them so much.”

“And they’re...getting used to me...somewhat. Sooooo yay for me. And yea, I’m not saying I hate my mom or anything. I love her so much. I really do.”

“Slowly, but surely. Just keep showing them you’re not going to run out on me when times get tough and they’ll come around.”

“You know, I really do wish you could come with us. Having you there would do wonders for my sanity.”

“I want to. I really do, but I just can’t stay away from Ponyville any longer than I already have. I’m pretty sure the only reason I’m not going to get fired is because Princess Celestia herself informed Boxxy that I needed to be here for longer than anticipated. Not to mention Dinky’s schoolwork is already far enough behind.”

“Yea, I know. And I’m sure Knight’ll be more comfortable at home. At least, I hope he will.”

“Don’t worry. If it gets too bad, I’ll have him sleep over at my house. He can sleep with Dinky. Her bed’s big enough for the two of them.”

“I appreciate it.”

Ditzy smiled as she took a step back and took another look at AJ’s human body. Aside from the obvious changes, like his arm and the scars, he did look like he lost a bit of weight from the last time she’d saw him like this. He was noticeably thinner, though still overweight, and had a lot more muscle tone than he used to. In that there was actual muscle tone to be seen. All the work he’s done on the farm has clearly been good for his health. “You know, I gotta say. All that work you do around the farm’s clearly done good things for you.”

AJ looked at Ditzy with a questioning look. “You think?” He took another look at his body. He was currently naked since his old clothes weren't taken out of wherever Celestia had stored them yet. “I guess I do look like I lost some weight...I think. Don’t really remember exactly what I looked like before.”

“Well, I never saw you without clothes before, but you are thinner. Got some nice muscles there, too. Another year of this and you’ll be quite the looker.”

“Are you saying you don’t think I’m attractive as I am?” he asked with a knowing smirk.

Ditzy let out a giggle. “I’m teasing you and you know it. You being chunky as a human never bugged me in the slightest. Besides, you were squishy and comfy to sleep on.”

“Excuse me, but I am not “chunky.” The proper term is fluffy. You’d do good to remember that,” AJ said with a chuckle.

“Yeaaaa, I’m not calling you fluffy. Not when I’m fluffier than you.”

“It’s a joke from a comedian. He had a joke about there being different levels of fatness. He himself was a big dude.”

“And I assume fluffy was one of those levels?”

“Eeyup. The bit’s a lot funnier when it actually comes from him, though.”

“I’m sure it is.” Ditzy stretched her body as a yawn escaped from her lips. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to go to bed. I think Dinky and Knight could use some company in that big bed.”

“I’ll join you shortly. Just want to spend a bit more time getting used to the old me.” He kneeled down to get on Ditzy’s level and pulled her in for a kiss. “Night, beautiful.”

“Night, lover boy.” Ditzy happily turned to leave the bathroom, humming a happy tune to herself as she passed through the doorway.

****************************************

The spell

Chapter 1

It was a bright summer day today in the small town of Ponyville. The sky was clear of clouds, thanks to the diligence of the weather team, Princess Celestia’s sun was shining nice and strong in the sky. There was a nice gentle breeze blowing through, making the day perfect for a nice walk through the park or a picnic. Yes it was overall a perfect day here in Ponyville, and everypony was making sure to enjoy it.

Everypony that is, except for Celestia’s prize pupil and all around bookworm, Twilight Sparkle who had her face buried in book after book doing what she does best, studying. At the moment she was in the middle of a four day studying binge preparing for a task given to her by none other than the princess herself. Much to the annoyance of a certain purple dragon, who had to not only perform his normal duties of cleaning the library that also made up their home, but also was forced to take on Twilights duties. Things such as taking care of anypony who just so happened to need a book. These tasks were made infinitely harder by Twilight herself. She would constantly put one book down, grab another one, and shortly after grabbing that one, put it down, and send Spike to get another one. Spike didn’t hate the work, but there were times he wished he could have a bit of help in these tasks. At the moment, he was desperately trying and failing to get Twilight to go with him to the picnic with the rest of their friends.

“Twilight come on! You’ve been cooped up in here for the last 4 days and you haven’t eaten since yesterday!” Spike was getting frustrated at all his failed attempts to get Twilight away from the books. “You know everypony’s expecting you to be there. They’ll be so disappointed if you don’t come.”

“I can’t leave now Spike, I’m 'in the zone' as Rarity would say. I’ve almost gotten all the information I need to complete the assignment Princess Celestia has given me. And besides, I’m not even hun…” Before Twilight could finish her sentence she was rudely interrupted by her stomach growling loudly; complaining to its owner that it needs to be fed. Twilight groaned and hung her head in defeat. “Fine, I’ll go to the picnic.”

********************

It took the two of them about 10 minutes to reach the clearing where three mares were waiting for them. When they reached the spot they were immediately greeted by the orange coated farm pony.

“Well howdy there Twi. Ah was afraid we were gonna have ta drag ya here. Looks like Spike was able ta convince you ta drop the books and come have fun fer once,” Applejack drawled out in an upbeat voice.

“Yea, what the hay is up with that! You haven’t been enjoying this amazing weather we’ve been having thanks to yours truly,” stated the always boastful Rainbow Dash who was hovering just behind Applejack.

“It’s nice to see you Twilight,” Fluttershy said with a small smile present on her face.

“Hi girls, sorry I haven’t been around much lately,” Twilight apologized with a sheepish look on her face.

“You haven’t been around at all,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, earning her a stern look from Applejack. “What?”

"I know, but I’ve been so nervous about this assignment, and I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“Nervous is an understatement. You’ve hardly gotten any sleep since you started. I practically had to drag you up to bed on multiple occasions,” Spike said. “I even had to threaten to burn all of her data yesterday to get her to eat and go to bed. Her reaction was hilarious...until she started hyperventilating. After I calmed her down she finally ate some dinner and went to bed.”

“Well, it sounds like a picnic with yer friends is just what you need Twi. Some time out of that stuffy ol library will do ya a world of good,” Applejack said.

“Speaking of friends, where’s Rarity and Pinkie? I expected us to be the last ones here,” Twilight questioned, just now noticing the absences of the beautiful fashonista and Ponyville’s very own premiere party pony.

As if on cue, Twilight was immediately tackled in a patented Pinkie Pie hug, knocking the air out of her lungs. “Hiya Twilight! It’s been so long since we’ve seen you! Oh, we should throw you a “You’re finally done with all of your studying party!” Pinkie Pie yelled while continuing her relentless hug.

After about a minute, Pinkie finally let Twilight go allowing her to get enough air in her lungs to speak. “Hello to you too Pinkie, but I’m afraid I’m not done yet. I’ve almost gotten all the information I need to start the experiment. After I finish with that, I just need to acquire a few things from around the town, the hardest being a flawless star shaped diamond approximately 4 inches in diameter.”

“Oh darling, that shouldn’t be a problem. I should have a big enough diamond back at the boutique. I could just take it to Fine Cut and have him shape and polish it into the perfect shape,” Rarity called out from a short distance away carrying small basket and a large intricately designed thermos. “Sorry I’m late girls, I had some last minute business at the boutique to take care of.” Rarity joined the rest of the group exchanging hellos.

While Twilight was happy the diamond wouldn’t be as hard to find as she thought it would be, she couldn’t let Rarity give her something that valuable. “Oh thank you for the offer Rarity, but I couldn’t just take something like that without at least paying Fine Cut for the work.”

“Oh no I insist darling. I would gladly help you with your assignment from the princess. Besides, I’ll need Spike's help hunting more gems soon anyway. I think letting me borrow the little dear for the day would be payment enough.”

Spike who had been fawning over Rarity since she arrived finally spoke up. “Of course I’ll help you Rarity, I’d do anything for you.”

“Settle down there lover boy. Since were all here, why don’t we start eatin. Ah’m hungrier than herd of buffalo,” Applejack jumped in, adding herself to the conversation.

“That is marvelous idea Applejack. I too am quite peckish, just let me get the paper plates and...” A loud gasp met the rest of the group as Rarity stopped mid sentence with a horrified look on her face. “Oh no, this can’t be happening, this is The worst! Possible! Thing!” She cried before using her magic to pull a fancy couch seemingly out of nowhere and dramatically throwing herself onto it.

“Oh dear, what happened Rarity?” Fluttershy squeaked out from her hiding place behind Pinkie.

Rarity pushed herself up before speaking again. “I’ve forgotten the napkins! Now what are we going to use to wipe our mouths and hooves while eating!” She then proceeded to flop back onto the couch.

“That’s it?” Rainbow Dash groaned between bites of a daisy and tulip sandwich. “I thought it was something important.” She then wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof much to the horror of Rarity.

The rest of lunch went on without a hitch and Rarity lead Twilight and Spike to her boutique to see if she did have a diamond that would suit her needs. After they put the basket and the remaining paper plates away, Rarity set out on finding the diamond with Spike floating right behind her the entire time. After a few minutes, Rarity returned to Twilight with her prize.

“This will be perfect, thank you so much Rarity.”

“No need to thank me darling. Now come along, if you want this finished by tomorrow we should get to Fine Cut immediately.”

********************

“Hmmm, well it certainly is flawless, but shaping this will take some time,” The older unicorn stallion said as he closely examined the diamond. “If I had to guess, it will probably be done in about in about two days.”

“Two days? Are you sure you can’t finish it sooner than that?” Twilight asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid I have too many other jobs right now to finish it before then,” He said in a level tone.

“Oh Twilight it will be fine, and trust me you don’t want to rush an artist such as him.” Fine cut gave a proud smile at Rarity’s compliment. “Besides it will give you some more time to prepare yourself for the experiment.”

“I suppose you're right, thank you for your time Mr. Cut.”

“No worries Ms. Sparkle, now for the price. With the Ms Rarity’s frequent business discount the total comes out to 35 bits.” Rarity took out her purse and paid Fine Cut before leaving the shop.

********************

The day had finally come. Twilight would finally finish her assignment and report her findings to Celestia. While Spike was resting, Twilight took her time collecting rest of the materials needed. Spike was cheery after his day off and raring to go; setting up for the experiment as Twilight went to go pick up the diamond from Fine Cut’s place. “Good morning Mr. Fine cut.”

“Ah good morning Ms. Sparkle. I just finished your order about an hour ago.” He walked into the back room of the store. When he came back he was holding a brilliant star shaped diamond, perfect in every way.

“Oh Celestia, it’s so beautiful. Thank you so much.” Twilight nearly gushed at the sight of the beautiful diamond. She was almost afraid to take the diamond out of his magical hold. She didn’t want to risk scratching it in any way. He wrapped the diamond in fine velvet like cloth and put it in a hard cushioned case so not to scratch it and handed it to Twilight. She thanked him and trotted out of the shop, making a b-line for her library.

********************

She arrived just in time as Spike had just finished setting up the experiment. “So Twilight, you never explained to me what were doing here.”

“Well Celestia wanted me to try a new spell that was just discovered by some of the scientists at the Lunar Institute of Science. It requires an immense amount of magic and Celestia said she trusts me to be able to pull this off. With help of the other materials, we’ll channel magic through the diamond and it will open a portal to another dimension. If done right, the spell should deposit something from the other dimension into our dimension where we will be able to study it and find out something about said dimension.”

“You lost me at 'channel magic through the diamond',” Spike stated in a flat tone

Twilight just sighed as she magically lifted the diamond into the center of the circle. “Stand back Spike.” Spike stood at the edge of the room as Twilight started up the spell. The pink light around Twilight’s horn started dim as she slowly channeled magic into the diamond but quickly began to brighten as she continued. The diamond began to glow as magical energy was being pushed into it. About 30 second into the spell, the diamond began glow a bright blue and started to float in the air. All Spike could do was sit back and watch in amazement.

After another 30 seconds the diamond began to give off a bell like humming sound. Twilight was exhausted, and her body was covered in sweat. The spell was exhausting to say the least. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. Suddenly the diamond stopped taking in magical energy. The light the diamond gave off became blinding, making Twilight flinch and cover her eyes with her hooves. The diamond gave off a loud thunderous boom as the energy exploded outward. After the explosion the diamond proceeded to fizzle out and gently fall to the ground.

“What happened?” Spike asked shaking in fear under a pile of books that were knocked off the shelf in the explosion. Spike had to wait to get his answer. Twilight needed to get her bearings again before she did anything. He had to help her up and help her into a chair so she wouldn’t collapse on the floor. After she slowly finished a couple glasses of water, she was finally able to speak.

“I don’t know Spike, but I think Celestia will want to know about this as soon as…” She couldn’t finish her sentence as she almost collapsed in the chair. The spell had taken more out of her than she had originally thought.

Afraid to leave her alone in this condition, Spike woke up Owlowiscious and told him to go get one of their friends. About 10 minutes later, Owlowiscious came flying through the window with Applejack following through the door seconds later. The first thing she noticed was the general state of the room. Most of the books were knocked off the shelves. The pictures on the wall had fallen to the floor. All of the windows on the main floor had been blown out. “What in tarnation happened in here?” It was then that she noticed a barely conscious Twilight slumped over in the chair. “Twilight, are you OK?!”

“I think she’s just exhausted. Could you help me get her up to bed? I don’t want to try moving her alone in this state.” Applejack just nodded as Spike gently got Twilight onto Applejacks back. They got her into bed where she almost immediately fell asleep. After tucking her in, Spike and Applejack quietly walked back into the main room.

“Ah’ll go get the nurse. Ah wanna make sure she’ll be alright.” The worry was obvious in Applejacks voice.

“Good idea, I think I’ll start cleaning up around here while I wait,” Spike said as he started picking up books. Applejack returned about 20 minutes later with Nurse Redheart.

It only took Nurse Redheart a few minutes to examine Twilight. She came down the stairs back into the main room where Applejack and Spike where waiting. “She’ll be alright; she just needs a few days of bed rest. I’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon to see how her recovery’s coming along.” The two of them thanked Redheart and she went on her way. Applejack decided to stay with Spike a while longer to help him with tiding up the library.

With Applejacks help, Spike had the room cleaned up in about 2 hours. “So all this and the spell didn’t even work, that’s a shame.” Applejack said with disappointment in her voice.

“Yea and Twilight had worked so hard on this too.” Spike said as he was hanging the last of the pictures. “Thanks for the help today Applejack. You really didn’t need to help me clean the place up.”

“No worries sugarcube. Big McIntosh was there to watch the shop so Ah’m in no hurry to get back. Ah’m just glad Twi’s goin' ta be OK,” Applejack said as she shelved the last of the books. “So what'r yer plans fer the rest of the day?”

“I think I’m going to take the rest of the day off. I should probably send a quick message to the princess explaining what happened first though. Then I’ll probably catch up on some of my comic books.”

“Ya”ll deserve the day off Spike. Ah better be gettin' back to the farm. Big McIntosh’ll be mad enough as it is that Ah left him alone at the stand. Ah’m gonna have ta take some of his chores tomorrow ta make it up ta him,” She gave a quick goodbye before trotting out of the library.

********************

All was calm on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Birds were happily chirping and the other critters were skittering around like they had no care in the world. The river was calm and the fish were lazily swimming around. All the peace of this place was shattered as a portal was suddenly ripped open about six feet off the ground. A strong wind was blowing through the portal as something was slowly being pulled through. All the animals in the surrounding area fled immediately while some of the slower animals just hid behind rocks and trees watching in fear at what was happening. After about 10 seconds some strange creature fell out of the portal with a loud thud. It slowly sat up rubbing the back of its head as it spoke.

“Seriously, fuck my life,” the creature growled as it gritted its teeth in pain. After a few seconds of making sure nothing was broken, it started looking around at its surroundings. “Where the hell am I?”

****************************************

Meeting of the two worlds

Chapter 3

“Spike, I’m home! Could you get some tea ready please?” Twilight was just getting home from a party at Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie Pie had just thrown a party for Gummy because he supposedly said his first word. When she tried to get him to say it again, all the alligator could do was stare blankly into space, blink his eyes out of sink, and squeak. Either way, the party was exhausting. She was ready to relax with a good book or watch some TV. Twilight could just sigh as she continued to shout into the library at Spike. “It was a fun party and all, but there’s just no way Gummy would have been able to speak. The day he does is the day I'll sprout wings, become an alicorn, and live side by side with Celestia and Luna as Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

As she walked further into the library, she began to wonder why Spike hasn’t answered her back. “Spike, are you here?” She looked at the desk where Spike usually left a note if he went out while she was gone. Twilight was about to berate Spike for not leaving a note, but before she could, she heard a crash come from upstairs. “Spike, are you up there?” Worry began to creep its way onto Twilights features. What if something had happened to Spike and he couldn’t’ move. Or what if somepony had broken into the library. She began to slowly walk up the stairs to the house portion of the library. What she saw when she got to the top of the stairs both relieved and confused her.

Standing in the middle of the room, flanked on all sides by the royal guard, were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with a somber and sad looking Spike riding on Celestia’s back. “Princess, what are you doing here? *gasp* Oh if I would have known you were going to be here I’d…” Celestia put her hoof up to silence Twilight. It was immediately clear that they were not here for a friendly visit.

“Twilight Sparkle, tell me, why were you sent here?” Celestia spoke in a tone that while calm, meant business.

“You mean why I was sent to Ponyville?” Twilight just stared at Celestia and Luna for confirmation. They just glared back. “U-um to make friends and to study friendship?”

Celestia just nodded as she continued to glare a hole through Twilight. “Very good. So tell me, if you’re here to study friendship, why have you been neglecting your oldest and best friend?"

“W-what do you m-mean?” Twilight turned her head to look at Spike as if to ask if he knew what she was talking about. He just turned his head as a tear started to roll down his scaly cheek.

“Oh come on Twilight Sparkle, I thought you were smarter than this!” It was Luna’s turn to speak up now. The words and the tone they were spoken hit Twilight like a slap to the face. She was about to speak up to try to defend herself when Luna continued. “You go and make all these new friends, go to parties and hang out with them all, and while you’re out having fun, you leave Spike here all alone to clean up your mess!”

“But….but but Spike said he didn’t want to come to the party. He said that…”

“STOP LYING!!!” Spike wailed. He was no longer trying to hold back his tears. “Y-you don’t care about me, you don’t love me! I-i’m practically your SON, and you treat me like I’m nothing but your DAMN SLAVE!” Hearing these words coming from Spike, Twilight felt like she had just been stabbed in the chest. Tears were now freely rolling down her cheeks.

“S-s-s-spike, y-you know that’s not true. I’ve always loved…” She was interrupted as Celestia slammed her hoof on the floor.

“That’s enough out of you. I thought you were better than this Twilight Sparkle. I’m afraid I can’t let such acts continue.” Celestia’s tone was now bitter and cold.

“W-what are you going t-to do?” Twilight was shaking from both her sobs and fear.

“There’s only one thing we can do. Captain Aquilinus, if you would.” Celestia took a step back as the captain of the guard stepped forward.

“It would be my pleasure your majesty.” He pulled out his sword and slowly started to bare down on Twilight. Twilight was too afraid to say anything. Princess Celestia, benevolent ruler of all of Equestria and secondary mother figure to her, had just given the order to have her killed.

Twilight slowly started to back away from Aquilinus, but after a few steps, her left hind leg suddenly flared with pain and could no longer carry her weight. She fell to her haunches with a grunt as she stared at her assailant. Without even thinking of the repercussions, Twilight tried to teleport out of the library. Anywhere would do, as long as she was away from this nightmare. As she brought on the spell, a searing pain shot through her head causing her to yelp and collapse onto her belly, covering her head with her fore hooves.

Aquilinus was right on top of her by now. He glared at her with uncaring eyes and an evil grin appeared on his face between the blade in his mouth. “Any last words you uncaring scum?”

Twilight was sobbing uncontrollably by now. How did everything turn out so badly? She tried to lift her head and plead with the Princess, but the pain was just too intense. At this point, she knew her time was up. “…..I’m sorry.” Those were the only words she could think to say. In her head, she mentally started saying goodbye to all of her friends, and cursed herself for not visiting her parents more often. Aquilinus would wait no longer. He brought up his sword and prepared to strike.

Celestia just stood there and grinned. “Do it.” With that, all Twilight heard was the sound of the sword cutting through the air.

********************

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Twilight woke up and started thrashing around. After a few seconds, she realized she was still alive. She slowly tried opening her eyes, but was immediately punished by an intense throbbing pain in her head. After a minute or two, she tried to open her eyes again. She inched her eyes open but couldn’t see much of anything. Her vision was so hazy she could barely make out her own hoof right in front of her face. As her headache started to subside, she began to realize that her entire body was sore. No matter what she tried to move she would be in some kind of pain. For the moment she gave up trying to do anything and decided to just lie in her bed and try to get comfortable.

As she rolled on her side, she noticed something strange about her bed. It wasn’t as comfortable as it should be and it was very lumpy. Granted her mattress wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but it did its job well enough. She opened her eyes again. Her vision was starting to clear and she could actually make out what was around her. She looked around and saw that she was in a cave. Somepony had lit a fire about 4 feet away from her. She also noticed a sheathed knife, and what appeared to be a forest green hooded sweatshirt lying next to a rock near the other wall of the cave. She then looked down at her bed. It was nothing more than a bunch of leaves and other foliage that had been piled up into a big useable bed. Her saddle bags were at the foot of the “bed”.

She was about to start questioning things when she heard somepony coughing at the mouth of the cave. Twilight turned her head and saw some...thing walking into the cave carrying some fish.

It was nearly as tall as Princess Celestia. It walked on two legs and like Spike, had hands. Though these hands didn’t end in claws. It looked to be overweight and appeared to be male. It was wearing blue jean pants and a black shirt with a golden dragon design on it. On its feet was a pair of black tennis shoes. The parts of its body that weren’t covered in clothes were bald besides the brown hair on top of its head. It had blue eyes she could make out from behind a pair of rectangular glasses, and had a small hoop earring in his left ear. If Twilight had to describe it in as few words as possible, she would have to say it was an 'overweight hairless ape that wore clothes.'

As he walked further into the cave he started talking…to the fish? “Damn fish always make it so difficult to catch them. Always swimming away before I can grab them or bludgeon them with a rock.” His face suddenly turned to a smile. “But I finally caught you didn’t I. Yea, not so tough now that you’re out of the water are you, ya damn fish.” The smile quickly dropped from his face and it blinked a few times. “…Why am I talking to a dead fish? *sigh* I guess I really am going crazy.” He went over to the rock that had the knife by it and put the fish down. He then turned and looked straight at Twilight. “At least it looks like you’re finally awake. Maybe I can have some interaction with something other than myself for once.”

He walked over to Twilight and knelt down in front of her. At this moment Twilight was too confused and afraid to do much of anything other than stare blankly at the thing in front of her. He then lifted the mane from the right side of her head and started getting a closer look. “Yeesh, that’s an ugly looking bruise. That’s going to take awhile to go away.”

‘Bruise?’ Twilight thought. ‘I guess that explains why my head hurts so much.’ As Twilight started going through her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed the thing getting up and moving lower on her body. She didn’t snap out of her thoughts until she felt him touching her left hind leg. She suddenly snapped to attention and blushed as the thing started lifting her leg up. “Hey, hey, HEY! What do you think you’re doing?”

Almost immediately the thing was against the other side of the cave, mouth agape, eyes the size of saucers, just staring at Twililght. They just stared at each other in silence for a few moments that felt like hours before the thing spoke up. “Y-you can talk?”

“Yes, yes I can. Why wouldn’t I be able to?” Twilight asked, feeling more than a little annoyed.

He continued to just stare at Twilight, still in shock at what was transpiring before him. Tired of waiting for an answer she decided to ask again. “Well? Why wouldn’t I be able to talk, hmm?”

“Y-you’re a horse. Horses don’t talk. They can’t talk. It’s impossible.” Suddenly a look of understanding slowly crept onto his face. “Oh I know what’s going on, I must be dreaming. Yea, that’s it. I’ve been here so long with no human interaction, my minds just playing a trick on me.” He started to laugh at himself. “At least I know I’m not going crazy. I’ll just pinch myself to wake myself up and this will all be over.” He proceeded to pinch himself, wincing as he does, and reopened his eyes. “Hokay, now that that’s over, lets check that leg.”

He began to walk over to Twilight once again and she spoke up. “You’re not very smart are you? And why are you so intent on checking my leg? Are you just trying to get a peak?” The anger was clear in her voice at the thought of somepony trying to get a peak at her most intimate areas.

“HOLY SHIT YOU CAN TALK!!!!!” he screamed at near hysterical levels. The thing was once again at the other side of the cave. “HOW CAN A HORSE TALK?!?!?”

“And that’s another thing, stop calling me a horse, I am a pony,” Twilight said mater of factly.

********************

It took awhile before he calmed down enough to be coherent. He was still staring at Twilight like she was a ghost or something. He got up and started talking to himself. “OK, let me see if I got this straight. I find this purple, unicorn, pony…thing that for some reason has a tattoo on its ass. Then bring it into my cave. After a day it wakes up and starts talking to me.”

That caught Twilights attention. “Sorry to interrupt your little rant, but what do you mean 'after a day'?”

While he didn’t completely freak out this time, he was still clearly a bit weary of the talking pony. “Umm I found you yesterday at around 12.00, I think. You’ve been out till, well about an hour ago. If I had to guess, it’s probably around 5.00 P.M. right now. Damnit I wish my phone hadn’t died on me. It’s so hard to keep track of time now. I need a real fucking watch.”

Twilight grew worried. She had told Spike she was going to be home later in the day. “Oh no, Spike must be so worried about me.” As Twilight continued worrying, He continued his rant in his head for a little bit.

When Twilight decided to look back at the thing, she noticed a small spark in his eyes as a smile forms on his face. “Holy shit, this could be the discovery of the century. I’m probably the first to ever see something like this. I’ll be the talk of the town and everyone will praise me for my discovery!” The smile on his face quickly turned to a frown. “No. Who am I kidding? Everyone will just think I’m crazy. It wouldn’t be long before the men in the white coats came to take me to the happy hotel. This last week has just been hell. Ever since that damned portal tore open and dragged me here.”

After hearing about the portal, Twilight’s ears twitched and her eyes grew. ‘A week ago. A portal. Could that mean…no, there’s no way. But what if...’ “Um excuse me. Sorry to interrupt your little rant again, but what’s this about a portal?”

He stared at twilight, a sad look on is face, and sighed before answering. “About a week ago, I was walking home when I heard a loud thunderous boom. I looked into the sky and saw that the sky was clear of clouds. Then the air in front of me tore open into some kinda portal thing that dragged me in kicking and screaming. It deposited me about half a mile away from this cave. I was lucky I was so close to it cause it started raining shortly after I got dropped on my ass.”

Twilight was shaking with excitement as a wide smile graced her features. “So my spell worked? I brought something from another dimension?” She leapt into the air in glee. As she landed, she immediately collapsed in the ground with a loud yelp of pain. The thing quickly rushed over to try to help.

“This is why I wanted to take a look at your leg. I think you sprained it when you fell, or whatever happened to you.” After he stretched her leg, testing it to see how much it could bend without causing her pain, a thought crossed his mind. “And what do you mean by spell? Are you telling me you’re the reason I’m here? That you’re the one to blame for taking every thing away from me?” The anger was clear in his voice.

“Well I AM a unicorn. All unicorns can use magic. Hay, magic is actually my special talent as you can see from my cutie mark,” Twilight said as she motioned to her flank with her head. “And yes, I suppose I did bring you here. I thought the spell failed but it worked wonderfully!” She either didn’t notice his anger or just didn’t care in her moment of joy.

He got up with a huff and angrily stomped out of the cave. Twilight could hear him shouting and yelling. She couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying, but she was pretty sure she heard him cursing the 'purple pony' with certain words she was happy Spike wasn’t around to hear.

********************

After a few minutes, he finally walked back in the cave looking a lot calmer than before. “So, a cutie mark. You mean that tattoo on your ass? How did it even get there, and how can it symbolize your 'special talent'? And your telling me there are more talking hor…I mean ponies out there?”

Twilight could only sigh. “OK first, it’s not on my…rump, it’s on my thigh. Secondly it appeared when I found out my special talent was magic.” She noticed the look of utter confusion on his face and started to get slightly aggravated. “OK, listen…you…” Twilight stopped her train of thought. She just realized she had no idea what this thing was, or even what its name was. If it even had a name. “Before I explain this, could you at least tell me your name?”

“Huh, umm my name is Anthony Hartley, but everyone just calls me AJ. What about you, do you have a name I should start calling you by? Or are you OK with me calling you pony thing?”

Twilight cringed at the prospect of him calling her pony thing. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. OK, listen AJ, when a pony finds their special talent, their cutie mark will appear on their flank symbolizing to everypony what their good at. And yes, there are other ponies out there.”

AJ thought for a moment about what he had just heard. So there were more ponies out there like this one. Then he started to think about what she had just said about these, cutie marks. Once they find their 'special talent' bam, it appears on their flank. “You said your talent was magic? Would you mind showing me?”

Twilight smiled a bit as it seemed to finally be sinking into his head. “I would love to.” She turned her head and looked at some of the smaller rocks that littered the floor of the cave. Her horn quickly flared with pink light as she encased the rocks in a pink light and started to levitate them. The spell started to falter as her headache started to return with a vengeance. The rocks fell back to the ground as Twilight started rubbing her temples with her fore hooves.

While it only lasted a couple of seconds, it was more than enough to impress AJ. As he tried to think of something to say, the only words that came to him were “Damn. That beats smoke and mirrors any day.”

He decided to return to his first train of thought about cutie marks. As he thought more about this, he couldn’t help but snickering. Twilight took notice of this and started to worry that he was making fun of her. “What, what’s so funny? Was it something I said or did?”

“Oh no, it’s not you. I was just thinking. What if a pony’s special talent was being a complete whore, spreading their legs everywhere they went. Wouldn’t that be a bit embarrassing to have something like that permanently plastered to their flank?” Twilight felt her face heat up as an intense blush quickly grew on her face as she quickly decided to just ignore the question.

“Before you mentioned someone named Spike. Is he your room mate? Boyfriend?” Twilight snickered slightly at the thought of Spike of all ponies being her coltfriend.

Twilight thought a bit and her mind eventually moved back to the dream she had before she had woken up in the cave. Spike's words 'I-i’m practically you SON' kept running through her mind over and over again. “I suppose if anything, you could consider Spike to be more of a son. Oh he’s probably worried sick by now.”

“Consider him your son, how could you…you know what, it’s probably none of my business.” AJ looked over at Twilight and noticed the worry on her face. “*sigh* Look, I can see that your worried, how about I, I don’t know, carry you home? Maybe you have a friend who lives close?”

Twilight perked up a little when she heard this. “Yea, I do have a friend who lives not to far from here. Her house should be only about two to three hours away.”

“House, as in civilization? There are other humans not far away from here?” AJ was clearly exited at the prospect of finally seeing another human being in this world.

“A hue-man? Is that what you are? I don’t know about other hue-mans. I don’t even know if there are any more of you here. But my friend Applejack lives in a farm house not far from here.”

The smile on his face fell at her answer. Once again he felt completely alone. Another thought crossed his mind. “So you’re going to tell me that not only can you talk and use magic, but you also build and live in houses?”

“Of course, were not savages. Why wouldn’t we live in houses?” AJ wanted to pull the 'you’re an animal' card again, but he just sighed and decided to not to start something that would not end nicely.

“I suppose I could take you to this…Applejack’s house if it would make you more comfortable.” He got up and walked over to his hoodie and put it on. He also undid his belt and hung his knife on it before tightening it again.

“Really? Oh thank you so much.” Twilight was happy to hear she could get back to her friends.

“It shouldn’t’ be too much of a problem. For a…pony, you’re actually pretty light.”

“A-are you saying I look fat?” Twilight asked in panic.

“No. It’s just that where I’m from horses generally weigh close to about 1000 lbs I think. So forgive me if I find it surprising that I can lift you.”

AJ picked up her saddle bags and slung them around his own neck. He then gently picked up Twilight, making sure not to put much pressure on her bad leg. “Well, lead the way.”

********************

It was night time by the time they reached the orchard. The trip took about four hours in total. It normally wouldn’t have taken this long to reach Applejack's, but the added weight of Twilight and the bags slowed AJ down. Not to mention everything that happened today had been exhausting both physically and mentally. “So, what are you going to do once we get there?” Twilight asked breaking the silence.

“I’ll probably just head back to my cave. I know it’ll take a while to get back, but I don’t think I could handle anymore surprises today.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’m sure if I just explained the situation to Applejack…”

AJ cut her off before she could finish. “No. And besides, what would your reaction be to some strange creature you’ve never encountered before carrying one of your friends at your door in the middle of the night? I’ll just drop you off at her door and start heading back.” Twilight was about to say something else but stopped as she noticed they were nearing the farm house.

AJ set Twilight down on the porch and deposited her bags next to her. “Well, I guess this is good bye.” He didn’t even let Twilight say goodbye before he started walking away from the house. Twilight just watched him go, knowing she couldn’t change his mind. She turned and knocked on the door.

He wanted to go back to his cave and just forget all of this had happened, but as he heard the knocking on the door, his curiosity peaked. He hid behind the side of the farm house and watched the porch. He was sure he couldn’t be seen. Twilight knocked on the door again and deep masculine voice came from inside. “Ah’m comin, ah’m comin.”

The door was opened to reveal a red pony with green eyes and an orange mane. As he saw who was at the door he seemed to be surprised. “Miss Twilight! Where have ya been? Everypony’s been looking fer ya all day.”

“Big McIntosh, who th’ hays at th’ door at this time of th’ night?” A female voice called from inside the house. AJ heard some hoofsteps coming from inside the house. “Twilight, yer alright!” An orange pony with a blond mane rushed out the door and hugged Twilight. The sudden jar caused her to yelp in pain as pressure was put on her bad leg. “Oh sugarcube, come on in. Let’s get ya in bed. Ya look like you've been through a lot.”

As Twilight was helped into the house, AJ turned and started walking back to the cave. Before he even made it ten steps he let out a big yawn. The events of the day had taken more out of him than he had originally thought. He now realized he probably should have taken Twilight’s offer, but it was too late now. He wanted so badly to muster up the strength to get back to his makeshift bed and pass out, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. He looked around in hopes to find something to use as a bed for the night when he noticed the barn had been left slightly open.

He slowly walked over to the barn and pushed it open to find the back of the barn was lined with apple barrels. The rest of the barn was littered with bins full of more apples and a bunch of hay. Some bundled, some left to lie on the ground in a pile. To tired to care anymore, he stumbled over to one of the bigger piles of hay and plopped down on it, falling asleep almost instantly.

****************************************

((Yes his name is AJ. To get rid of any confusion, I’ll say it now. Applejack will not be called AJ in this story. If I do accidentally call her that at some point in the story and it confuses you, I apologize ahead of time.))

The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

Chapter 7

The sun was once again peaking over the distant hills, which for AJ meant he didn’t need an alarm. He was given Granny Smith’s old room which was on the same side of the house as Big Mac’s room. The sun was his alarm, much to his annoyance. Twisting and turning in bed trying to go back to sleep, he was interrupted by a knocking on his door. A few seconds later it was opened and a crimson stallion stuck his head in. “Time ta wake up.”

Rubbing his eyes, AJ squinted in the direction of the clock on the wall. “It’s only six in the morning, how can you function so well this early in the morning?”

“Ya get used ta it after a while,” chuckled Big Mac before leaving to go wake his sisters.

AJ sat in bed for a few seconds, before reaching for his glasses. Putting them on, he took another look around the room. It was a medium sized room, but the small amount of furniture in it made it seem bigger. A simple bed was directly opposite the door. Just to the right of the bed was a night stand where he kept his glasses while he slept. A little to the left of the bed was a now empty dresser. A small closet was past that on the left wall. In the center of the left wall was a big mirror directly across from a window. Under the window was a writing desk with a lamp on it. The desk was the only thing on the right wall. A clock adorned the wall to the right of the door.

By the time AJ got dressed and left the room, the rest of the house was already up and getting ready for the day. “Mornin’. How’d ya sleep?” Applejack asked as she walked by.

“Well enough I suppose. I guess I’m going to have to get used to waking with the sun now huh?” AJ groaned, still waking up.

“Eeyup. It gets easy after awhile. Though Apple Bloom still likes ta make a fuss,” Applejack said with a smile on her face.

“I can sympathize,” AJ said as he followed Applejack downstairs.

********************

Big Mac had already started breakfast when they got to the kitchen. “Ah hope yer hungry, cause Ah’m makin’ the traditional Apple family breakfast.”

“Oh trust me, I’m so hungry I feel like I could eat a horse,” AJ said without thinking. After realizing what he just said, he clamped his hand over his mouth and looked at both Big Mac and Applejack staring at him with big eyes. It was time to backpedal. “It’s just a saying. I would never eat a pony. Sorry.” AJ had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time he stuck his foot in his mouth while he was in Equestria.

“Don’t worry about it. Everypony makes mistakes,” Applejack said with an understanding look on her face. “Apple Bloom should be done now, Ah’m goin’ ta go get cleaned up first Big McIntosh.” Big Mac just nodded as Applejack trotted upstairs.

“So, anything I can do to help?” AJ said as he came up next to Big Mac.

Big Mac thought for a minute before nodding. “Eeyup, you can help me with th’ pie crust.” Big Mac showed AJ how to get the pie crust just perfect before starting to roll it out. It took a few tries, but he eventually caught on and was able to line the first pie tin. Big Mac was busy making the pie filling as Apple Bloom came running into the kitchen.

“Can Ah lick the spoon this time Big McIntosh, pleeeeeeease?” asked Apple Bloom as she jumped up into her chair.

Big Mac turned to look at Apple Bloom’s smiling face. “Eeyup.” He always had trouble saying no to his baby sister. If she were to ever use The CMC Special on him, he would probably give her anything her heart desires.

About ten minutes later Applejack came down to see Big Mac and AJ preparing the apple fritters. Apple Bloom was sitting in her chair, happily licking and sucking on the apple filling covered spoon. “Looks like everypony’s havin’ fun in here. Yer turn Big McIntosh, Ah’ll take over.” Applejack walks up to the counter and takes Big Mac’s place as he goes upstairs to shower. “So, how’d pie makin’ go?”

“It went…well,” AJ said with a sheepish smile as he moved to block her view of the pile of failed attempts. “I wouldn’t have expected pies and apple fritters for breakfast though. Though I suppose I can’t say anything, I would regularly have pizza for breakfast back home.”

Applejack noticed the sad look on AJ’s face when he mentioned his home. “Don’t worry. Ah’m guessin’ th’ Princess is workin’ on a way ta get ya back home.”

A small smile formed on his lips. “Thanks.”

Wanting to change the subject, Applejack figured they better get going on breakfast unless they want to eat late today. “Now, Big McIntosh may be better than me at makin th’ pies, but he’s no match for me when it comes ta makin the fritters an apple brown betty.”

********************

After about 15 minutes, Big Mac walked into the kitchen. “Alright, its yer turn ta get washed up. Ah got a towel for ya on the sink.”

“Huh, oh thanks,” AJ said as he put down what he was working on and started walking out of the kitchen. He stopped and turned around when he realized he had no idea which room was the bathroom. “Umm, which room is it?”

“Second room on th’ left,” Apple Bloom said, as she played with the spoon.

After finding the Bathroom, AJ took a minute to note how simple it was. A tub, a towel rack, a toilet, and a sink were the only things in the room. As he started getting undressed, he noticed that his clothes were starting to smell. He had washed them in the river before he met Twilight, but they hadn’t been washed since. ‘I’ll have to ask Applejack or Big Mac if they have a laundry room,’ he thought as he finished undressing to take a shower.

********************

After AJ was cleaned up, he walked into the kitchen and was awestruck at the sheer amount of food on the table. He had helped make some of it, but he hadn’t realized just how much there was. Looking it all over, there were four pies, a big bowl packed full of apples, about two dozen apple fritters, and 4 big apple brown betties. “Jeeze, that’s a lot of food!”

“Eeyup should be enough fer the four of us,” Applejack said as she sat down to start eating.

AJ was about to make a comment about how this much food could feed the entire town, but his grumbling stomach made him shut his mouth and go to sit down. He decided to start with his apple pie as he cut a slice out of it. As he took a bite, he dropped the fork. “What’s wrong?” Apple Bloom asked her snout covered in pie filling.

AJ just sat there as his eyes started glistening with tears. “This…is the best pie…I’ve ever tasted.” Big Mac beamed with pride as he continued to eat his food.

********************

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything else this week,” AJ said as he patted his over stuffed belly. As he looked around the table, he couldn’t help but feel slightly inadequate. While he ate his fare share of the food, the others ate a lot more than him. Even little Apple Bloom ate him under the table.

AJ’s job was to help Apple Bloom put away the leftovers and clear the table of any dishes. They took them over to the sink where Applejack and Big Mac had already drawn the dish water. It wasn’t long before a question started to present itself to him. “Hey Applejack, I’ve been wondering. What type of things will I be doing around the farm?”

Applejack had to put down her washcloth before she could speak. “Well, today ah was just hopin’ ya could get to know everypony around Ponyville. It’ll make things easier if’in we need you ta help sell apples or go into town ta get us somethin’.”

AJ immediately felt a sense of dread. His job for the day was to make nice with everyone in the town. Just remembering the reaction he got when he was revealed the previous day made him shiver. The awkward stares of scared ponies still burned in his mind. He got a sickening feeling in his gut, further punishing him for eating so much. “Oh god, this can only end in me getting hurt again.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll send Apple Bloom with ya. As long as she’s with ya, you shouldn’t have any problems,” Applejack said without a doubt her plan would work. The feeling in AJ’s gut intensified ten fold.

********************

AJ and Apple Bloom had just entered Ponyville and they were already getting stares. The ponies that didn’t hide in fear, made sure they kept their distance from the pair. While AJ just wanted to go home, Apple Bloom remained undeterred. “So, who do ya wanna meet first?”

As much as AJ wanted to tell her no one and go home, he didn’t want to make Applejack mad again. Last time he did, it led to a lot of pain and bed rest. “I don’t know. I’ll let you lead the way.”

“Alright, maybe Ah’ll even get mah cutie mark for doin’ this,” Apple Bloom said with an ear to ear smile. “Lets to introduce you ta Carrot Top first. She’s our resident carrot farmer and she’s really nice. She should be settin’ up her stand now.

Apple Bloom led AJ through the streets of Ponyville towards the market. All along the way AJ was glancing around at the ponies staring at him as he passed. “There she is!” Apple Bloom shouted, distracting AJ from his pony watching. He looked ahead to see a pale yellow pony with a carrot orange mane setting up a merchants stand full of carrots. She was turned away from them and didn’t see the two of them approach. “Howdy Carrot Top.”

“Oh, hello Apple B…” Carrot Top cut herself off as she turned around and saw AJ standing right behind the little filly. “Umm h-hello A-apple B-bloom.”

“Carrot Top, Ah’d like to introduce you ta AJ. He’ll be livin’ on th’ farm fer awhile and Applejack wants him ta meet some ponies around town,” Apple Bloom said seemingly unaware of Carrot Tops fear.

“Uhh, hi,” was all AJ could say, not wanting to scare her any further. He wanted to extend his hand in friendship, but didn’t think it would be a good idea. Carrot top just continued to cower as she stared at him. “OK, I’m sure you would like to get back to work, let’s go Apple Bloom… lets go meet some other ponies.

“Hmm, who should Ah introduce you ta next,” Apple Bloom said as they walked away from the still quivering carrot vendor. As they walked a little bit, Apple Bloom noticed two mares walking towards them. “Hey, it’s Lyra and Bon Bon, they must be out fer a mornin’ trot.” Apple Bloom quickly sped ahead to make herself known to the talking ponies. “Hi Lyra, hi Bon Bon.”

“Hello Apple Bloom, what are you doing here this early? I thought you were working on the farm during the summer break,” asked the cream colored pony with the two toned mane.

“Ah’m introducin’ ponies to AJ here,” Apple Bloom said as she pointed her hoof in AJ’s direction. AJ just waved with a sheepish smile on his face.

The two ponies looked like they didn’t know what to make of him. They knew that Celestia had introduced him to the town, but it’s not like they had any interactions with him. Lyra decided to break the ice and took a nervous step closer to AJ. “Umm, hi. I’m Lyra, and this is my marefriend Bon Bon.” Bon Bon blushed and gave a small, scared smile in his direction. After the small introduction, Lyra took a nervous step back to Bon Bon.

AJ let out a small sigh of relief as Apple Bloom led him away from the two nervous ponies. “At least it went better than last time. They didn’t look like they were about to piss themselves with fear.”

“Come on, let’s go say hi ta mah teacher Ms. Cheerilee!” Apple Bloom shouted as she ran ahead.

********************

It was around noon when Apple Bloom started getting hungry again. Up to that point, they had met a handful of ponies, all with varying degrees of success. Cheerilee was exited to meet someone new and wanted to learn more about humans. The flower trio all had the same reaction of fear. Rose and Daisy both ran into their shop, while Lily shouted 'The horror, the horror!' and passed out. Then there were ponies like Berry punch who pulled her child inside at the site of him.

“Ah’m hungry, are you hungry?” Apple Bloom asked

“No, I’m still full from breakfast, but if you are, don’t let me stop you,” AJ said not wanting to sound rude.

“Let’s go to Sugar Cube Corner and get some cupcakes then. Pinkie pie makes the best cupcakes,” Apple Bloom said as she pulled out a purse full of bits Applejack had given her for lunch.

“Pinkie Pie, who’s that?” AJ asked as he followed Apple Bloom into a building shaped like a ginger bread house. When inside he saw a pink pony with a dark pink mane. That’s when he remembered back to his day from hell a week ago. He remembered back to when he was being 'chased' by the pink bouncing pony with limitless energy. “Oh god, it’s you!”

“Hiya Apple Bloom, Hiya AJ!” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced over to the pair. “Are you here for a party, oh I love parties! Which reminds me I have to throw you a “Glad you’re feeling better” and a “Thanks for forgiving Applejack” party. Or maybe you’re here for some of the fresh baked blue berry muffins I just baked. There so warm and yummy in your tummy. Or maybe you’re here for…”

AJ was afraid. They just entered the building and they were being verbally assaulted by this pink, pony-shaped bundle of pure energy ranting about whatever little thing just happened to be on her mind. Relevance be damned. He didn’t know whether to grab her and tell her to slow down, or run away. Apple Bloom spared what little sanity he had left by cutting Pinkie’s endless rant off. “Where just here for some cupcakes Pinkie.”

“Oh, good choice! Mrs. Cake worked really hard on them all morning!” Pinkie said as she bounced behind the counter, retrieving a box full of cupcakes. “That will be six bits!”

AJ wanted to leave. Not only was Pinkie Pie horrifying to him, but the smell of all the sugary confectionaries were making him sick to his stomach after that breakfast. “I think I’ll head out on my own Apple Bloom. I’m not very hungry.”

“Are ya sure? Ah could come with ya again?” Apple bloom said with the cupcakes in her mouth.

“Nah, I’ll see if I can make some friends on my own. And besides, I wanna go talk with Twilight about some…things that don’t really concern anyone but the two of us.” As AJ walked out of the building, he didn’t notice that Pinkie had started joyously bouncing again with a glimmer in her eyes.

********************

It was about three hours later and as expected, AJ made little to no progress around Ponyville. Most of the ponies either avoided him, or ran scared. “*sigh* Maybe I should have stayed with Apple Bloom, at least she would have started up a conversation, keeping them from running away immediately.” As he reached the library, he knocked on the door. After getting no response, he knocked again, this time calling out for Twilight and Spike. Still no response. He opened the door and immediately noticed how dark the room was. “Twilight, Spike, you there?” When he got about half way into the room the door slammed shut leaving AJ In complete darkness. “Umm, h-hello?”

Then all the lights in the Library were turned on all at the same time, temporarily blinding AJ as his eyes adjusted to the light. “SUPRIIIIIISE!!!!!” shouted a horrifyingly familiar voice.

When AJ could see again, he saw Pinkie Pie bouncing in front of him, and surrounding him, were a bunch of ponies he had met throughout the day. He also noticed Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Fluttershy, and two ponies he had yet to meet. “What the hell is going on here?” he said with a tinge of fear.

“It’s your welcoming party!” shouted Pinkie pie. “While talking about parties before, I remembered that I haven’t thrown you one yet, so before I could throw you those other two parties, I needed to welcome you!”

Mercifully the white unicorn with the purple mane stepped up and stopped Pinkie. “Pinkie darling, can’t you see that you’re scaring the poor dear. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, my name is Rarity. I run Carousel Boutique.”

AJ watched as Pinkie hoped away to go have fun with the other party guests. “What is up with her? Its like she’s on the sugar high from hell.”

“That’s Pinkie for ya,” said the blue pegasus behind Rarity. “You get used to it after awhile. I’m Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in all of Equestria! ”

“Umm hi,” AJ said, half paying attention. He made sure he kept his eye on Pinkie. After making sure Pinkie wasn’t up to no good, AJ finally turned his attention to Rainbow Dash. “So what do you do?”

“Dashie’s a weather pony!” came an over exited voice shouted from over his shoulder.

“GAH!” AJ screamed as Pinkie’s voice made him jump a bit. “Where did you come from? I only took my eyes off of you for a second!”

“Silly willy, I’ve been here the entire time!” Pinkie said as she smiled and bounced.

Dash just facehoofed. “Pinkie Pie, you are so random.

At this point, Fluttershy and Twilight joined the group to make sure Pinkie wasn’t going to give AJ a heart attack. “You don’t have to be so afraid of Pinkie, she’s really very nice,” said the purple unicorn.

“Oh yes, she’s really nice to everypony,” Fluttershy added. “All you need to do is give her a chance, um…if that’s ok with you.” With the words of encouragement from the two of them, AJ figured he might as well give the pony shaped nuclear reactor a chance.

********************

The party went on for hours, and with many close encounters of the pink kind, AJ was finally starting to get used to Pinkies limitless energy. She still scared him, but he was sure he could be in the same room without fearing for his life. The same could be said for the ponies that were at the party. Many of them were able to at least tolerate AJ’s presence without fleeing in terror now.

It was about 9 at night as Applejack and AJ were heading back from the library. Apple Bloom had fallen asleep and was sleeping on Applejacks back. “Pinkie sure can throw a party can’t she?” Applejack asked

“It was fun I suppose,” AJ said deep in thought. “But with everything that happened, I forgot that I wanted to ask Twilight something.”

“Don’t worry about it. Twi will be there tomorrow. It’s not like yer goin’ ta be workin’ the entire day,” Applejack said, adjusting so Apple Bloom would be more comfortable. “Come on, it’s gettin’ late and we have an early day tomorrow.”

********************

The next morning played out much the same. Though the breakfast was simple oatmeal with apple slices instead of the 4 course apple themed meal. “So, what’s my task for the day?” AJ asked Applejack as they walked out the door to begin working on the farm.

“Well, Ah think today ya could help Apple Bloom clean up the barn,” Applejack said leading him to the barn. “There’s a lot of hay that still needs to be bundled, and all those apples need to be moved into the cellar.” Remembering the large amount of apples that were piled up in the barn, AJ knew this task would take awhile, even with the help. Apple Bloom started cleaning up the hay, while AJ decided to start working on the apples. He wanted to try to at least put a dent in the numbers before lunch.

As he hefted the first bin full of apples out of the barn, he heard something coming from the distance. He couldn’t tell what it was, and just decided it wasn’t important. “Look out belooooOOOOOOOWWW!!!!” This was a mistake as he was hit from the side by a blur, sending the apples he was carrying all over the ground.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on he…oh, hi Ditzy Doo,” Applejack said as she came through the trees to check on what was making all the ruckus. It turns out the mailmare Ditzy Doo had another crash landing. This time right into AJ.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to run into you!” Ditzy was frantically trying to help AJ up to his feet. This was made difficult due to the sheer size difference between the two.

“Don’t worry about it,” AJ said as he rubbed his side. He looked at his “assailant” and realized he hadn’t seen her before. Despite this, she wasn’t afraid or anything. She was worried that she'd hurt him. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“What do you mean?” Ditzy asked as her eyes started to separate.

“Well, most of the ponies in town seemed to flee in terror at the site of the strange creature they've never seen before, but you, you just start up a conversation with me like we’ve known each other for years,” AJ said.

Ditzy’s face turned to one of sadness. “Well, I know what its like to be treated differently because you’re different,” she said pointing at her eyes.

“And it’s a damn shame too,” Applejack added in anger. “Ditzy’s probably the nicest pony you’ll ever meet in Equestria, and someponies make fun of her because of her eyes. Darn foals always callin' er Derpy Hooves.” Applejack let out a frustrated snort at the name some ponies throw her way.

AJ looked into Ditzy’s eyes and watched she blinked them back into their proper place. He could sympathize with her as he was made fun of throughout most of his life because he was fat. “I don’t know, I think it’s kinda cute actually.”

Ditzy blushed. “Really? You don’t think its weird or strange or anything like that?”

AJ shook his head. “Nah, if anything, it makes you special. It’s something that defines you.”

Ditzy smiled at this. “Thanks! Say, would you like to be my friend?”

AJ looked as the bluish grey pegasus stuck her hoof out. He grabbed her hoof and shook it. “Sure, I’d like that. I’m AJ by the way.”

****************************************

Oh Child of Mine Alternate Ending

((This is only a 'What if...' scenario. It is not canon to the actual story.))

The day had finally come. The replacement book had finally come in, and Twilight was here to perform the counter spell to change AJ back. Fluttershy couldn’t have been anymore sad. Ever since AJ started calling her his mommy three days ago, she couldn’t help but think of him as her son. The thought of him turning back and losing that connection between the two of them broke her heart. It didn’t take long for her friends to notice this, so when it was time they were all there to make this easier for her. “Are you ready Fluttershy?” Twilight asked in a soft voice.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she shook her head. Rarity was there with a big hug. “I know it’s hard darling, but this is for the best. This isn’t who he is.”

“B-b-b-but I’m his mommy. H-h-he’d be lost without me,” she said as she cried into Rarity’s shoulder.

Fluttershy felt a pain shoot through her chest as more tears forced their way out. She turned to Twilight. “C-c-can I at least have some time alone with him b-b-before you do it?”

Twilight understood what she was feeling and nodded her head. “Take all the time you need.”

Fluttershy grabbed up AJ in her forelegs and flew upstairs, closing the door behind her. She placed him on her bed and started running her hoof through his mane. “Mommy? Is something wwong?”

Fluttershy swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t know how to put this to him, nor did she want to. “I-I’m afraid that we won’t be able to be together.”

AJ’s eyes got wide. “W-w-what?”

“After today, I won’t be your mommy anymore.”

Tears were flowing down Fluttershy’s cheeks too. “I-it’s just how it has to be. Just know, that no matter what happens, your mommy always loves you.”

AJ began shaking from his heavy sobs. “N-n-n-no! You can’t weave me! I don’t want you too! I wuv you mommy!” AJ ran to Fluttershy and started crying into her coat.

‘No. It can’t end here. I won’t let it,’ thought Fluttershy as she looked down at the foal.

********************

“I wonder what’s taking her so long,” asked Rainbow as she finished another slow lap around the house. It had been about an hour since Fluttershy had taken AJ upstairs, and the mares were beginning to wonder what was going on.

“Well, this is hard for her Rainbow. To her, it must feel like we’re forcing her to give up her very own son,” reasoned Twilight. “We need to give her some time.”

“It has been mighty quiet up there. Maybe she fell asleep or somethin’,” Applejack reasoned.

“Maybe a party will cheer her up!” Pinkie said as she bounced around. She stopped mid bounce when she saw everypony giving her a blank stare. “Ooor maybe it can wait.”

“I’m going to go check on her. To see if she’s okay,” Rarity said as she began walking up the stairs. She knocked on the door to Fluttershy’s room. “Fluttershy? Is everything alright in there?” Not getting an answer she knocked again. “Darling I know this is hard, but please just answer me.” No answer. Getting worried, Rarity tried the door. It was still unlocked, so she slowly opened it and poked her head in. “Fluttershy, are you…” She gasped when she saw that the room was empty. Drawers were hanging open, and bed sheets were gone. Her saddle bags were also missing. The last thing Rarity noticed was the open window next to her bed.

Everypony looked over when they saw Rarity rushing down the stairs. “Rarity, what’s wrong?” asked Twilight.

“Fluttershy’s gone! She flew out a window in her room!”

“What?!” shouted everypony in the room. They all blew past Rarity to see if she was right.

Everypony was aghast as they looked around. The room was a mess. It looked like Fluttershy hastily packed up her things and just fled. “Fluttershy, why did you do it?” Twilight asked to nopony in particular.

“She couldn’t have gotten too far, if we leave now, we should be able to catch her!” said Rainbow Dash.

“We don’t know that. We don’t know how long ago it was that she left,” Twilight said with a hoof to her chin.

“No, Rainbow’s right,” interjected Applejack. “Not only is she caryin’ full bags, but she’s also caryin’ AJ. That’s goin’ ta slow’er down.”

“Okay, but where do you think she went?” asked Rarity. “None of us were watching her, she could have gone anywhere.”

Twilight thought for a moment. “There’s only one place she could go if she was trying to run.”

********************

For probably the hundredth time since leaving the house Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to make sure nopony was following her yet. She knew it was inevitable, but she had to try. She continued to hold onto AJ’s sleeping form as she flew through the forest. ‘I won’t let them take you away from me.’ She had been flying for the past forty minutes, trying to get as much distance between her and the house as she could.

Unfortunately, she was starting to get tired. Unlike Rainbow, she wasn’t built for long distance flying. She needed to find a safe place for the two of them to rest. As she continued to fly, she ended up coming across a small clearing. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to rest in. She set AJ down and lay down next to him.

Now that she was resting, she had time to finally think of what she was going to do. She had no plans. She couldn’t go to her family. AJ couldn’t survive up in Cloudsdale. Rainbow would no doubt check there anyway. Zecora would probably just talk her into giving AJ up, and she wasn’t going to let that happen. She couldn’t risk going back to Ponyville for any reason.

Her best option was to flee to another city and start a new life. At least then nopony would know who she was. Having that out of the way, there was one more problem that needed to be taken care of. Her friends. She knew they would be after her, and would probably go out of their way to find her. She needed to think of some way to trick them, some way to make sure they won’t be able to follow her.

Her eyes got wide as an idea hit her. She didn’t know why something like that came to her. She had never thought about doing that kind of thing before…but would it work? That’s the question that ran through her head. She looked around the clearing for anything she could use. She looked up and noticed a dangling branch that could be used. She quickly flew up and broke it off. With the branch, she started digging into the ground. After a few minutes, she had managed to make many scratches in the dirt around the clearing. She even managed to scrap some of the bark off some of the trees. She backed up and looked at it. The ground was littered with gouges that looked like timber wolf claw marks. The trees looked like something had clawed off the bark.

She moved to her bags and pulled out the pair of scissors she brought in case she needed to cut something; placing them on the ground. She looked over at AJ to make sure he was still sleeping, she unfurled her wing. Bending her head back, she bit down on some of the feathers and pulled them out. She did the same for the other wing, before scattering them around the area. She left just enough feathers to be able to continue flying.

She looked back at AJ once more before picking him up and moving him out of the clearing along with her bags. She didn’t want him to see this. She walked over to the pair of scissors on the ground and picked them up in her mouth; opening them as she did. She extended her left foreleg out and just stared at it. She began to shake as tears started to roll down her cheeks. Losing her will to do the deed, she was about to drop the scissors. “Mommy.” Her eyes widened as she whipped her head around. She looked back at the foal, afraid that he had seen her. He was still sleeping. He was just talking in his sleep.

She turned and looked at her extended leg once again. ‘It’s the only way,’ she thought to herself. She took a deep breath before lowering the blade to her leg. Using the scissors, she made a long, deep cut on her leg; cringing the entire time. She tossed the scissors off to the side and pressed down on the wound, making it bleed even more. She slowly moved around the clearing; saturating the area with her blood. When she was happy with the look of the clearing, she walked over to the bags and pulled out one of the bed sheets. Using her mouth, she tore off a big chunk to use as a bandage. She didn’t have any real medical supplies since her first aid kit was in the downstairs bathroom.

After wrapping her leg in the sheet, she began to feel light headed. She had used a lot of blood to make the scene as convincing as possible. She collected the scissors and placed them back in the bags before placing them on her back. She lifted AJ off the ground; ignoring the pain in her leg and battling the dizziness as she lifted off the ground.

********************

“Do you see anything yet?” asked Twilight as she turned her head.

“Not a thing,” said Rainbow.

“Nnope,” drawled the big red stallion. Before going into the Everfree Forest they stopped off at the farm to pick up Big Mac. If anypony would be able to talk Fluttershy out of this, it would be him. Upon entering they split into two teams. Twilight, Rainbow, and Big Mac were team one, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie were team two.

“Keep searching. We have to find her.” As Twilight looked back at the other two ponies, she saw the look of worry on Big Mac’s face. “Big Mac? Are you okay?”

He shook his head. “Ah can’t believe she’d do somethin’ like this. Ah can’t believe she’d just…”

Rainbow landed in front of Big Mac. “Come on big guy, cheer up. We’ll find her in no time and get this all sorted out.”

Twilight put on a warm smile. “Rainbow’s right. So come on, we must be...” Twilight was cut off when a loud, shrill shriek rang through the air. “That sounded like Rarity! Come on!”

********************

When Twilight’s group reached the other, they saw Pinkie on the ground. Her mane and tail were lying flat as she cried into her legs. Rarity had her head buried into Applejack’s shoulder as Applejack was trying to be strong for the three of them as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Applejack, what happened?!” Twilight asked as she stopped in front of them.

“I-I-It’s Fluttershy. She’s…”

“What about Fluttershy?! What happened?!” asked Rainbow

“SHE’S DEAD!!!” wailed out Pinkie before burying her head in her hooves once again.

“W-w-what?!” Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Big Mac fell to his haunches as tears began welling up in his eyes.

Rainbow violently shook her head. “No! It’s not true! It just can’t be!” She saw Applejack point a hoof towards the clearing. Rainbow immediately dashed over to the clearing. She didn’t like what she saw. “N-n-n-no…it can’t be true. I…I wasn’t fast enough.”

Twilight wasn’t far behind Rainbow. She took in the scene with a heavy heart. “Fluttershy…no.”

********************

Ditzy trotted to the door after hearing the knock. “Just a second!” She opened the door to find Twilight standing there. She looked absolutely miserable. Her mane was a mess, the hair on her face was matted down, and her coat was covered in dirt. “Twilight? What’s wrong?”

Twilight took a deep, haggard breath. “C-can I come in?”

“Of course.” Ditzy stepped to the side to let Twilight in. She leads Twilight to the couch so she could sit down. “Is everything alright?”

Twilight slowly shook her head. She was voted to go give the news about AJ to Ditzy. As if loosing Fluttershy wasn’t enough, she had to go break another pony’s heart. Today was turning out to be one of the worst days in her life. “Ditzy…I have some bad news.” Ditzy waited for an answer. “It’s about AJ.”

Ditzy’s face became grim. “What about him?”

Twilight took another deep breath. “Fluttershy…couldn’t let go. After we came to turn him back, she ran.”

Ditzy became angry. “What?! Well what are we waiting for?! Let’s go after them!”

Twilight shook her head. “We can’t.”

“Why not?!”

Tears started welling up in Twilight’s eyes once more. “They…They never made it out of the forest.” Ditzy’s eyes got wide. “They were…they were killed.”

“W-w-what?” Ditzy stared at Twilight who became silent except her soft sobs. “N-no, you’re lying. He can’t be dead! He just can’t!” Ditzy kept glaring at Twilight until the tears started to flow. It wasn’t long before she collapsed on the couch; wailing into her forelegs.

Twilight drew her up into a big hug. “I’m sorry.”

********************

Beep…beep…beep

As Fluttershy finally started coming to, her ears were being assaulted by a constant beeping noise. She tried opening her eyes to no avail. They just felt too heavy. As her senses slowly began coming to her, she began to notice things about her surroundings. Where ever she was, it smelled of anesthetics. The only sounds she could hear were that annoying beeping noise and a light breathing next to her. She also noted that whatever she was lying on was much softer than the ground.

She tried once again to open her eyes; having marginal success. She managed to open her eyes about half way before it became too difficult. Even though her eyes were open, she could barley see a thing due to the deep haze that filled her vision. She slowly blinked her eyes, trying to remove the haze. After a little while she was at least somewhat successful. Now that she could see, she looked at her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. Next to her bed sat a heart monitor which explained the annoying beeping sound. She had an IV going into her bandaged leg leading to an almost empty bag of blood.

She saw the door slowly open as a purple pegasus stallion with stethoscope cutie mark walked in. “You’re awake, that’s good. Looks like the blood transfusion was a success.” He started scribbling something down on a clip board as he walked over to the bed. “We weren’t sure if you were going to make it for a while there. You lost a lot of blood.”

“W-w-where am I?” Fluttershy asked in a weak voice.

“You are in Park View Hospital in Fillydelphia,” came a voice from the door. Both Fluttershy and the doctor looked over. In the doorway stood a zebra mare. Her eyes were green, and her cutie mark looked like it was a plant of some kind. “It is good to see that you are alright.”

“Ah Vrede, I was wondering when you would come to visit again,” the doctor said. Looking over he saw the slight confusion on Fluttershy’s face. “Vrede here is the one who brought you in.”

“He is correct. Though the thanks should go to the little one there.” Vrede pointed to the side of Fluttershy. Looking down she saw AJ’s sleeping form curled up next to her. He was using Mr. Bun Bun as a pillow as he hugged it against his body. “If it was not for him, I would have never found you.”

********************

Vrede was on her way back home from Manehattan. She had a cart full of veterinary supplies and couldn’t wait to return to Fillydelphia. “Dier will be happy to finally receive these supplies. I will just be happy to be home,” she grunted to nopony in particular. Climbing the hill normally wouldn’t have been a problem for her, but the cart she was hauling made it a bit harder. As she crested the hill she saw the city in the distance.

As she reached the bottom of the hill a smile formed on her face. It was smooth sailing from here on out. Knowing this she quickened her pace. Her ear twitched as she heard something odd in the distance. She stopped all movement and listened. It sounded like…crying? She turned her head; trying to determine what direction it was coming from. After pulling the cart over to the side of the road, she unhooked herself from it.

It didn’t take long for her to pin down where the crying was coming from. She quickly trotted off road towards a hill. As she neared the hill, she could hear the crying getting closer. She crested the hill and gasped. At the bottom of the other side, laying on her side, was a butter yellow pegasus with a pink mane. She had a blood soaked cloth wrapped around her left fore leg, and many of her feathers looked as if they had been torn out. Next to her, crying over her form, was a small, indigo unicorn foal with a brown mane. “Wake up mommy! Pwease wake up!”

Vrede quickly made her way to the bottom of the hill. She saw the foal look over to her as she made her way over to them. “What happened?!”

“You have to hewp mommy! Pwease hewp hew!”

Noting just how matted down the hair on the foals face was, Vrede figured he must have been crying for awhile now. She tested for a pulse. As she did, she took note of how cold the body seemed. She leaned her head down, placing her ear next to the pegasus’s mouth. “She is still breathing!” She lifted the pegasus, thanking Celestia that pegasi were naturally light, and the foal on her back; taking them back to the cart. She quickly adjusted the supplies and placed her and the foal in the back. After hooking herself back up she turned her head to look at the foal. “Hang on! I will get her some help!”

********************

“If I had not heard him crying, I fear the worst,” Vrede said in a grim voice.

A small smile grew on Fluttershy’s face. She lifted her un-bandaged leg and began stroking AJ’s mane. “He loves his mommy.”

Reacting to the petting, AJ started to stir. He let out a big yawn as he stretched his legs in the air. As he opened his eyes he looked over to see Fluttershy smiling at him. His eyes got wide. “Mommy! You’we okay!” He leapt up and wrapped his tiny legs around her neck as best as he could, hugging her for all he was worth.

The doctor smiled at the scene in front of him. It would have been hard to have to tell a foal so little that his mother had died, but right now he had a job to do. He cleared his throat to get Fluttershy’s attention. “My apologies for interrupting, but if I may ask, I would like to know what happened.”

Fluttershy’s expression got grim as she ran the events through her head.

********************

About an hour after faking her death, Fluttershy had finally made it out of the Everfree Forest. Since then she just flew forward. She had no specific direction, she just flew. At some point AJ had woken up, happy to see that he was still with Fluttershy. “Mommy? I’m hungwy.”

She looked down at the foal in her legs and gave a tired smiled. “Alright, we’ll stop here and rest.” Fluttershy really needed to rest. She was beginning to feel nauseous.

She set down in an open field and took off her bags. A frown grew on her face when she looked inside. She was able to grab a small amount of food before fleeing her home. She just didn’t realize how small that amount was. There was only one small package of crackers, just barley enough to sate the foals hunger. She thought she had grabbed more. She looked over to AJ who was playing with Mr. Bun Bun, he had taken him out of her bags the instant they landed. Ignoring her growing hunger pains, she took out the food and passed it to AJ. “Here you go, eat up.”

AJ took the food with a bright smile. He was about to start filling his belly, but stopped. He looked at Fluttershy, then back down to the food before offering the package to her. “Do you want some mommy?”

Fluttershy had to fight the urge to grab some of the crackers. She couldn’t let AJ go hungry. She put the best smile she could muster in her current state. “No, it’s okay. I’m not that hungry. Go ahead and eat.” She watched as AJ dug into the crackers. When he was done, she took the wrapper and stuck it in her bags. Putting the bags back on, she grabbed AJ up in her legs and began flying once more.

********************

Everything after that was a blur. She can only imagine that she must have passed out from the blood loss at some point. She knew she couldn’t tell them what happened. She couldn’t tell them everything she had done. “I…I don’t remember.”

“Well, I guess it’s not important. What is important, is that you’re going to make a full recovery,” said the doctor.

“Do you have someplace to stay? Any family or friends nearby?” asked Vrede. The concern in her voice was clear to everypony in the room.

Fluttershy knew she had to lie. She had to think of lies to go with her new life. “No,” She said as she shook her head. “My parents died a few years ago, and my husband left after he was born.” She motioned to the foal who was still affectionately nuzzling up to her. “I have nowhere to go.”

The room was silent for a minute. The only sound came from the heart monitor. “Then you can live with Dier and I.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she looked at Vrede. “What?”

“My husband Dier and I live above the veterinary clinic he runs. We have plenty of room to accommodate you and your son.”

Fluttershy smiled once again. “Thank you.”

“Would I be able to get your name?”

“Huh?” Fluttershy looked over to the doctor.

“Your name. Could I get your name please?”

“My name?” The doctor nodded. She looked down. Of all the things she had thought of as she was flying, this was the one thing that hadn’t ran through her mind. She was silent for a minute. She said the first thing that came to mind. “Posey. My name is Posey.”

The doctor smiled and started writing it down on the clipboard. “And what about your son?”

She looked down at AJ and smiled. “His name is…Lavender Bud.”

After he finished writing the information down, he looked back to Fluttershy. “It will be a few days before you’ll be cleared to leave. Until then just rest.” He nodded to Vrede before leaving the room.

Vrede smiled as she turned to leave. “I will talk to Dier. I am sure when I tell him the situation he will be more than happy to let you live with us.”

********************

Twelve years have passed since Fluttershy had taken the name of Posey. After she got out of the hospital, she moved in with Vrede and Dier and started helping out in the clinic. Dier was pleasantly surprised when he found out just how good she was with animals, and jumped at the opportunity to hire her on full time. Working with animals made Posey happy and made this change all the more bearable. After he grew up a bit, Dier started showing Lavender Bud a thing or two about making homemade herbal medicine for animals which eventually lead to him earning his cutie mark.

Lavender Bud was enrolled in school as early as possible. Posey wanted him to make sure he got a good education. Things were hard for him at first. All throughout kindergarten and first grade he kept to himself and seemingly refused to talk to the other kids. In the second grade, he met the two children who ended up being his best friends. A magenta Earth pony filly with a purple mane named Jasmine. Her cutie mark was a black belt. She was a bit of a tom colt. Being a unicorn, her dad was happy to teach Lavender Bud the basics of magic. The other was a male blue and white griffin named Roc. The three of them were inseparable.

At this moment Bud and Vrede were out grocery shopping while Dier and Posey tended the clinic. “Hey Vrede, did we need any more apples?”

Vrede put a hoof to her chin. “I am not sure. Grab some just in case.” Smiling, Bud levitated a bunch of apples into his basket. “Alright, this looks good. Let us go pay and get this home.”

After paying for the groceries, they trotted out of the store and started home. “Hey, Buddy!” came a young, feminine voice. Buddy turned his head to see Jasmine and Roc coming towards them.

Buddy smiled and waved at them. “Jaz, Rocky, what’s up!” Rocky stopped directly in front of him and shoved something in his face. He focused on the items in Rocky's claws. Three movie tickets for the midnight showing of The Zombie Yard; one of the most anticipated movies coming out this year. His eyes got wide. “You got the tickets?!”

“He got the tickets!” squealed Jaz.

“I may have had to do a lot of extra chores around the house, but it was worth it!” Rocky said with a cocky grin.

“Oh man, this is going to be soo awesome!” Buddy said as he pumped his leg.

“Are you sure your mom’s okay with this? You know how she can be when it comes to violence; real or not,” Jaz asked Buddy with a questioning look.

“I already okayed it with her,” Buddy said with a smile. “She said as long as we could get the tickets ourselves I can go.”

“Alright! Come on, we can wait at my house 'till it’s time to go,” Rocky said.

“I’ll meet two there. Have to take these groceries back home first.” Buddy felt the weight of his bags lift from his back. “Huh?”

“Do not worry about that. I will take the groceries home,” Vrede said with a smile. “You go have fun with your friends.”

A bright smile grew on Buddy’s face. He jumped up and gave her a hug. “Thanks Vrede! You’re awesome!” Vrede waved as the three of them ran off.

“I’m going to beat you guys there!” Rocky said as he unfurled his wings and took off into the air.

“Hey, no fair! You can’t use your wings in a race!” shouted Jaz as she kicked it into overtime.

Rolling his eyes, Buddy took off after them. He was easily the slowest of the three, so he already knew he was going to lose. The three of them continued to race down the sidewalk until they reached the post office. As they passed, the door opened and a bluish grey pegasus with a blond mane walked out. Her cutie mark was seven bubbles. Not really paying attention to what was ahead of her, Jaz didn’t notice the pegasus until it was too late.

Rocky turned around when he heard the collision and landed as Buddy got there. Rocky extended a claw and helped up Jaz as Buddy went to help up the mare. The mare's eyes were still spinning as she accepted the help. After she was standing, she shook her head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention to where I was…” As Ditzy opened her eyes, her mouth dropped as she looked at the pony in front of her. An indigo coat, brown mane and tail, blue eyes with glasses. The only difference was the size, the cutie mark, and the lack of an earring. She was speechless.

“Miss? Are you okay?” asked Buddy.

“Everything alright Buddy?” asked Rocky.

They watched as Ditzy slowly nodded her head. “I…I gotta go.” Ditzy quickly leapt into the air and bolted away.

“I wonder what was up with her,” asked Rocky.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to beat you!” Jaz said as she took off down the sidewalk again.

“Oh no you won’t!” Rocky jumped into the air and was off. Buddy sighed before following his friends.

********************

“Twilight, open up!” Ditzy cried as she hammered on the library door. “Twilight!”

A few seconds later the door opened to show an annoyed looking Twilight. “You don’t have to pound on the door Ditzy. A simple knock will…”

Ditzy flew forward and grabbed Twilight by the shoulders. “Twilight, I saw AJ!”

Twilight was taken aback at what Ditzy had just said. “I’m sorry what? I’m sorry Ditzy, that’s impossible.”

“I know what I saw!”

“Look, I know you miss him. I do too. I miss both of them, but there’s no way you could have seen him.” Twilight saw the look of desperation in Ditzy’s eyes, and sighed. “Alright. Tell me where you saw him.”

“It was in Fillydelphia.” Twilight was obviously confused so Ditzy continued. “I had just finished with my delivery to the Fillydelphia post office and left the building. Suddenly some filly ran into me. While some griffon boy helped the filly up, AJ helped me up. They must have been friends because the griffon called him Buddy, but I know it was him! I just know it!”

“Maybe it was just a coincidence? I’m sure there are more ponies out there with an indigo coat and brown hair.”

Ditzy shook her head. “He may have changed, but that look in his eyes hasn’t.”

Twilight sighed. “Alright, I can see you’re adamant about this. Tomorrow I’ll make preparations to go to Fillydelphia. I’ll see for myself if it’s true.”

Ditzy smiled. “Thanks Twilight.”

Twilight waved to Ditzy as she flew back home. ‘I hope you’re not just getting your hopes up Ditzy. I’d hate to see you go back to that dark place.’

********************

After getting off the train, Twilight had no idea where to start looking. After searching for hours, she decided to ask somepony if they knew. She walked into the grocery store and walked up to the counter. “Excuse me?”

An older pegasus stallion, came up to the counter. “Hello maam. What can I do for ya?”

“I was wondering; do you know a pony by the name of Buddy? Indigo coat, brown mane, blue eyes.”

“Buddy, eh?” The stallion put a hoof to his chin and thought for a minute. He suddenly clapped his hooves together. “Oh, you must be talking about Posey’s kid, Lavender Bud. Good lad that one.”

“Do you know where I could find him?”

“Well, right now he’d probably be in school. Other wise, he lives over at the veterinary clinic.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you very much sir. But I have one more question. Where’s the vet clinic?”

********************

Posey was busy cleaning up the clinic. Nopony had come in with a sick animal yet today, and she wanted to do something to pass the time. Vrede and Dier had gone on vacation for the week, and left her in charge while they were gone.

She looked over as she heard somepony walk in. “Oh, it looks like somepony needs some help.” She happily trotted out of the back room and into the waiting room. “Hello, how may I…” Her eyes got wide and her jaw dropped when she saw none other than Twilight standing there. Her jaw began moving wordlessly.

Twilight stared at the yellow pegasus in front of her in shock. Fluttershy was alive. She was standing right in front of her. And if Fluttershy was alive, then so was AJ. The shock slowly dropped off of Twilight’s face and was replaced with a light glare. “You must be Posey, or should I say Fluttershy.”

“H-h-how…”

“Ditzy saw AJ the other day,” said Twilight.

“She was here?!”

“She had to deliver a package to the Fillydelphia post office. It just so happens that she saw somepony very familiar on her way out.” Fluttershy slowly started backing away from Twilight. “You know, everypony really did believe that you had died. We grieved for months. Some of us still haven’t gotten over it. Rarity can’t find her inspiration anymore. She always seems out of it when we talk. Ever since she lost her best friend.”

“B-but…”

“Rainbow gave up on her dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt. She just doesn’t see the point anymore. How can she be good enough for the Wonderbolts, if she couldn’t even save her oldest friend.”

“I…”

“Ditzy took it worse than everypony else. She cried herself to sleep more nights than I can count, just wishing AJ would come back to her. She was just so torn up. She even tried killing herself, just so she could be with him once again. We’re just lucky Carrot Top found her in time.” Twilight shook her head. “You’ve hurt so many ponies with this stunt you’ve pulled Fluttershy, so I have to ask you...was it worth it? Was living this lie worth all this?” Fluttershy stayed silent. “Answer me!”

“…Why couldn’t you just let me be happy?” Fluttershy said as a tear hit the floor.

Twilight looked aghast. “You ruined other ponies lives Fluttershy! What makes you think you deserve this happy little life of yours?!”

“I was happy. He was happy. I didn’t want it to end. I couldn’t let it end. Not like that.”

“It was the right thing to do! He had a great life that you just tore him away from! He had a job, he had friends, he had a fillyfriend that he loved! You took that all away from him to sate your own selfish needs! You should have just let him live his life. I should have just changed him back when I had the chance. Maybe I should just change him back the first chance I get.” Fluttershy flinched at those words. “What, you don’t like that? I think I’ll do just that then. Maybe then you’ll know just how the rest of us felt.”

“WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT?!?!?!” screamed Fluttershy. “Why can’t you just let us live in peace?!”

“Mom?” Both mares looked over to the door. Standing in the door way, a look of worry on his face, was AJ. “Mom, is everything alright?”

Fluttershy looked between Twilight and AJ. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “O-oh, hello honey. How was school today?”

“It was fine. Who’s this?”

Fluttershy looked at Twilight once more. “She’s nopony special. In fact, she was just about to leave.”

Twilight glared at Fluttershy. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’d like for me to just leave, and let you keep living this lie.”

“Lie?” Fluttershy’s eyes lit up with worry. “What does she mean by ‘living this lie?”

Twilight smiled at Fluttershy. “Yes Fluttershy, what do I mean? Why don’t you tell him.” Fluttershy stayed silent. She couldn’t believe that everything she had worked so hard to preserve was crumbling before her. “Alright. I guess I’ll just tell him everything myself.”

“No…If anypony’s going to tell him, it should be me,” Fluttershy said with a sad look on her face.

“Mom?”

“Let’s go into the other room. We have a lot to talk about.” Fluttershy said as she led them upstairs.

********************

AJ sat there in his chair, blown away by the story he was just told. He looked between both Fluttershy and Twilight. “Is this…is this all true?”

Fluttershy slowly nodded her head. “Every word of it.”

He leaned back in his seat, just letting all the information settle in his mind. He turned to Twilight who had a smug smile on her face. “What about you? What are you going to do?”

“Well, I guess I’ll take you back to Ponyville. Once there I’ll change you back to normal so you can get on with your life.”

He looked back to Fluttershy. “And what about Po…I mean Fluttershy? What do you plan to do with her?”

Twilight looked over at Fluttershy and sighed. “To be frank, I really don’t care what she does. If she’d like, she can stay here for the rest of her life. All I know is the sooner I can forget about her, the better.” She stood up from her chair. “Well, we should get going. I’m sure you’re egger to go back to the way things were.” She started walking towards the stairs. She stopped once she reached them and turned her head. AJ hadn’t moved from his chair. “Aren’t you coming?”

AJ looked over to Fluttershy and shook his head. “Why?”

Twilight looked at him as if he had just asked the stupidest question in the world. “We’re going to get you back your life of course. It won’t be hard at all. Just one little spell and everything will be right again.”

“…What if I don’t want to leave?”

“What?!” both Twilight and Fluttershy said.

“What if I’m happy with how things are? So what if she’s not my real mother? For twelve years she’s treated me as if I was her own. Never once has she steered me wrong. As far as I’m concerned, she is, always was, and always will be my mother.” He looked over and smiled at Fluttershy who’s look of shock was slowly turning into a smile.

Twilight was baffled by what she was hearing. She thought he would have jumped at the chance to get his life back. “B-b-but…”

“But nothing. What gives you the right to tell me what I should do? I’m happy with everything I have in my life. I’ve learned so much from Vrede and Dier. If not for them, I wouldn’t have gotten my cutie mark. I have great friends who I wouldn’t give up for the world.” A slight blush grew on his face as he started to smile. “I’m actually thinking of asking out Jaz tomorrow.”

“But…but what about your old life, all your old friends? Don’t you want to see them again?”

AJ sighed. “I’m sorry, but if they’re all like you, maybe it’s best I just forget about them all together.” Twilight was appalled. “I think it would be best if you just left now.”

Twilight just stood there mouth agape. She tried to think of something, anything to say, but nothing came to her. After about a minute, she lowered her head in defeat. “I…I can see that I’m not wanted here. I apologize for…wasting your time. I’ll see myself out.” Twilight slowly turned and walked down the stairs.

They heard the front door open and close. “AJ, did you really mean everything you said?”

AJ got up and hugged Fluttershy. “Please, my name’s Lavender Bud, and it always will be.”

****************************************

The Young Dancers Fight for Life

Chapter 45

It’s been about a month and a half since Knight’s transformation. With a little help from the Apples, Ditzy, the cakes, pretty much everypony around him, AJ’s been doing his best to raise his new son. He knew he had a lot to learn, but there were times he felt like he was in over his head. Despite this, he was assured he was doing just fine.

Applejack was getting quite aggravated with the fact that AJ just couldn't seem to find it in himself to punish Knight. He would always attempt to defend the little colt, no matter what he did. ‘Oh come on Applejack, he’s just a kid. He’ll learn eventually, I just know it,’ he would say. She’s tried to punish him herself since AJ refused to, only to find out that AJ went behind her back. Instead of being sent to his room without dessert, Knight instead spent the night eating pudding and watching cartoons. After that, Applejack and Big Mac made it their duty to teach AJ how to properly punish a foal. It took many tries, and more than a few facehooves, but he finally punished Knight. It was about as light of a punishment as possible, but it was a start.

Ditzy’s household remained pretty much the same. The biggest difference was that AJ would bring Knight along with him when he visited. It wasn’t so bad. Knight and Dinky got along relatively well, with only the occasional tormenting. Needless to say those were the only times before his training that AJ found it in himself to punish Knight. He may have loved Knight with all his heart, but Dinky was still his little angel, so when Knight tried to steal Dinky’s cookies, or pulled her tail, he had to regulate.

Other than the new foal in the picture, things were good around the house. Dinky was getting good grades, and was excited for her, quickly approaching, birthday. Carrot’s been in the best mood of her life since she started going out with Finn. And Ditzy could see why. Other than his more idiotic tendencies, she still couldn’t believe how he initially got her attention, or that one pony could come up with so many conspiracy theories when they were tired, he seemed like a very nice pony. Even his roommate Feather seemed to be nice. When he could actually pull himself away from his work, that is.

Yup, things finally seemed to be looking up in Ditzy’s life.

“FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUCK!!!”

Nevermind.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Dammit!” shouted Ditzy as she slammed her head on the bathroom counter. “No, no, no, damnit, no! Why did this have to happen? It can’t happen!” Dinky, who had been wondering why her mom was spending so much time in the bathroom, and why she was swearing so much, heard a particularly loud thud. “Owwwwwchie! Too hard! Very too hard!”

“Mommy? Are you alright? You’re swearing again!”

A slight commotion could be heard from the other side of the door. It ended with the sound of something being stuffed into the waste basket. The door swung open to show Ditzy standing there with a fake, yet bright smile on her face. “Oh, Dinky, hi! Sorry, mommy just...stubbed her hoof,” she said. She hated lying to her precious little muffin, but… “It really, really hurt, so mommy got a bit...vocal.” Ditzy noticed the shocked stare on Dinky’s face. “What?”

“Mommy, your head’s bleeding!”

“My what’s, whating?” She put a hoof on her forehead; wincing in pain as she pulled it away. She gawked at the blood on her hoof. “Oh, wow. That was not bleeding before.” She quickly turned back into the bathroom and dug around in the cabinet, pulling out some bandaids. After cleaning and bandaging up her head, she turned back to the door. Dinky looked concerned. “I’m sorry for worrying you Dinky.”

“Are you okay now?” Dinky asked as she walked up to her mother, offering her a hug.

Ditzy smiled as she took the offer for a hug. “I...I think so.”

“Ditzy!” came Carrot’s voice from downstairs. The two of them looked between each other and the door before poking their heads out into the hallway. Carrot hurried up the stairs. “Ditzy?!” When she saw the two of them in the bathroom she let out a relieved sigh. “Good you’re here.”

“What’s up? Why were you in such a hurry to find me?”

Carrot took a deep breath to calm herself down. “AJ’s just been taken to the hospital.”

“What?” Ditzy looked at Dinky before looking back at Carrot. They both looked concerned. “What happened this time.”

“I...have no idea. Fluttershy came to the sweets shop and told me about it. She seemed pretty freaked out about it herself, so I couldn’t get much out of her.”

Ditzy let out a deep sigh of her own. “I, uh...I guess I should go see what he’s gotten himself into this time. Could you watch Dinky?”

“Well, I need to get back to the shop or Bon Bon’ll kill me. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if Dinky stayed for a while.”

“Thanks.” Ditzy gave Dinky another hug. “Go with aunty Carrot. I’ll come and get you when I can.”

“Okay,” Dinky said in a melancholy tone.

With a pained look Ditzy flew out of the bathroom. Carrot shook her head. “I swear that guy gravitates towards things that inflict pain, right Dinky?” When she got no answer, she turned back to the bathroom. She couldn’t help but be confused when she saw Dinky half inside the bathroom waste basket digging around for something. “Dinky, what are you doing?” Dinky continued to ignore Carrot until she found what she was looking for, letting out an ‘ahah’ as she did. She pulled herself out of the wastebasket, along with the item. “What’s that you got there kiddo?”

“Aunty Carrot, what’s this,” Dinky asked as she held out her hooves. Carrot looked at the item in Dinky’s hooves. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She just stared at it for a moment. “Aunty Carrot?”

“Oh no,” She said under her breath.

“Huh?”

Carrot grabbed the item away from Dinky, putting it on the counter. “Alright, change of plans. You’re going to go spend the afternoon at Sparkler’s place,” She said with a fake smile.

Dinky looked confused. “But…”

“No buts.” Carrot ushered the little filly out of the room, taking one last glance at the counter before it was out of sight.

********************

It was a fairly short flight to the hospital. It normally would have taken longer, but this wasn’t a time for a leisurely flight. Though during her short flight, she had a lot on her mind. Surprisingly enough, very few of her thoughts were actually about AJ. Oh, she was worried about him, she’s always worried about him. How can she not be. He was always getting himself hurt. There was just...something else that dominated her thoughts.

She was so caught up in her thoughts, she completely forgot the fact that the hospital had doors. She swooped down, ready to land inside the building, when...

SMACK!!!

She saw stars as the bandaged spot on her head connected with the doors of the hospital. She fell to the ground; clutching the stinging wound on her head. “Fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu…”

A moment later, the door opened. Big Mac looked out the door at the pile of pegasus lying on the ground in front of the hospital. Her eyes were spinning in her head. “Ditzy, you okay?”

“Do I look okay to you?” she seethed through her teeth. She was in pain, A LOT of pain, and didn’t really care to be very kind right now.

“Here, let me help ya up,” Big Mac said as he extended a hoof. Ditzy gladly accepted the helping hoof. “Ah assume Fluttershy must’ve told ya ‘bout AJ?”

Ditzy slowly shook her head, not wanting to make her head throb anymore. “No, actually. She found Carrot at Bon Bon’s shop, and Carrot told me. Is he okay? Carrot said that Fluttershy was pretty freaked out.”

“Her maternal instincts musta kicked in when she saw AJ in that shape.” The look on Big Mac’s face didn’t give her much hope. “Ah...Ah don’t rightly know what happened.”

“W-what do you mean you don’t know?”

“Th’ doctor’s took’im ta be prepped fer surgery when we brought’im in.”

A sense of dread rolled over Ditzy. “S-surgery? What for?”

“Ah don’t know what happened, but his leg looked pretty messed up. You’ll have ta ask Zecora an’ th’ girls what happened.” Ditzy looked at Big Mac with a worried look. “But…”

“But what?”

“W-well, He’s not th’ one Ah’m worried ‘bout.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Scootaloo’s in bad shape. AJ was at least conscious when they were bought in.”

“Wha…”

“Ah was just about ta get th’ story from Apple Bloom an’ Sweetie Belle before ya slammed inta th’ door.”

“Well, what are we waiting for!” Ditzy stormed past Big Mac and into the building. She was determined to get answers.

“Maybe ya should…”

Ditzy ignored Big Mac’s words. “Alright girls, I demand to know wha…” She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as the fillies came into sight. Apple Bloom was wiping tears from her eyes before turning to look at her. Sweetie Belle was crying into Zecora’s side while the zebra gently rubbed her back to calm her town. Zecora herself had a morose look on her face.

Big Mac came up behind her. “As ya can see, they’re in no shape ta have anythin’ demanded of’em.”

Feeling lower than dirt right now, Ditzy let out a deep sigh. “Sorry girls, I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“As do we all miss Ditzy Doo. What has turned you into such a shrew?” Zecora said with only a passing glance. She was more worried about the two fillies with her.

“I-I don’t...it’s not important.”

Zecora stared at Ditzy with knowing eyes. She knew Ditzy was hiding something. “It’s probably for the best. Deal with one problem before we deal with the rest. I’m sure you know of poor Scootaloo, and why we are all so blue. The poor filly is in bad shape. A condition from which we all hope she can escape.”

“Yea...that’s what Big Mac said. What happened anyway?”

Apple Bloom let out a sniffle before speaking up. “I-it all started in th’ Everfree forest.”

********************

”Are you three quite done here?” AJ asked as he looked around the forest. The rest of the CMC had the idea to get cutie marks for botany. What better place for that than the one place where ponies fear to tread.

“Oh quit being a baby,” Scootaloo said as she looked around in some dense, oversized bushes.

“Yea! We haven’t even been here that long,” Apple Bloom said as Sweetie Belle helped her into a tree to look at a flower that was budding on it’s branches.

“Yea. You sound like my sisOW!” cried Sweetie as Apple Bloom accidentally kicked her horn. “Watch where you’re stepping Apple Bloom!”

“Sorry Sweetie Belle, but Ah just need a little more height.”

AJ just rolled his eyes as he used his magic to lift Apple Bloom higher. “I know, but I’ve never been this far into the forest before. The furthest in I’ve ever been was to Zecora’s hut. Just a little nervous is all."

“I can see that,” Scootaloo said as she climbed through the bushes to see what was on the other side.

“Don’t go too far Scoots! We have to stay together!” AJ called as he set Apple Bloom back on the ground.

“I know, I know.”

“What do ya think it’s called?” Apple Bloom asked as she took another look at the bloom she had picked.

“No idea. Sweetie, get out that book Twilight let us borrow. It may be in there.”

“Right.” Sweetie’s horn lit up as a book floated from her bags. She set it in front of her as she started flipping through it. “No...no...no...not this one either…”

“Hey guys! Come take a look at this!” called Scootaloo from beyond the bushes.

The three of them looked at each other before heading through the bushes themselves. Their eyes widened when they saw what was on the other side. In the middle of a small clearing sat an enormous red flower with a big pod in the middle. It was easily bigger than the four of them put together. White dots covered the five oversized pedals. Scootaloo was standing in front of it covering her nose and trying to keep from gagging.

“Woah! What’s that?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Whatever it is, it smells really bad,” Sweetie Belle said as she covered her nose with her scarf.

“Actually...that looks kinda familiar,” AJ said as he sniffed at the air. He gagged before covering his nose. “O-oh yea! Th-that’s a corpse flower alright!”

“A what? Do ah even wanna know why it’s called a corpse flower?”

“D-d-d-does it eat ponies?” Sweetie asked a she backed away from the flower.

“No. They get all their nutrients from water and the soil around them. Just like a tree. Corpse flowers just get their name from that horrid smell they let out. You know Pokemon?”

“Yea! My Eevee is soooo adorable!” squeaked Sweetie Belle.

“Well, the Pokemon Vileplume was based off of one type of corpse flower. I don’t remember seeing one with a bulb like that, or remember them getting that big.” He turned to Scootaloo who now had her scarf covering her snout. “Hey Scoots, don’t get too close to that thing!”

“Stop worrying, I’ll be fine.”

“How do ya know so much about these flowers?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Went to a museum a couple years ago that had some on display.”

As AJ continued to explain things about corpse flowers, Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel adventurous. She walked right up next to the flower and began prodding it. “Heh, you’re not so scary. Don’t know why he’s so worried about it.”

“Scootaloo, look out!” yelled out Sweetie Belle.

“Huh?” Scootaloo turned her head to see a wide vine towering over her. “W-what the heck is…” The vine lashed out at Scootaloo; launching a bunch of thorns at her. She tried to dodge out of the way, but cringed as she felt one of the thorns lodge into her hind leg.

She took another look at the flower itself to see it actually looking at her. The bulb in the center suddenly began to move before opening up. A large tooth filled, acid dripping mouth was staring Scootaloo right in the eyes. It shrieked at her as more vines broke through the ground around her. Scootaloo tried backing up, but staggered and fell to the ground as her hind leg started to lock up.

“Scootaloo, get down!” shouted AJ.

Scootaloo complied and ducked her head down as a stream of fire blazed overhead. The giant plant shrieked in pain, it’s vines flailing around wildly, as the flame blasted it in it’s core. To escape the flames, the flower closed up into a giant bud, wrapping it’s vines around itself and burrowed into the ground.

Once the coast was clear, AJ rushed into the middle of the clearing. “I thought I told you to stay away from it!” he scolded as he looked over the shivering filly. Using his magic he pulled the thorn from her leg.

“I...I…”

“Come on, we should get out of here before that thing comes back. Can you walk?”

“...I don’t feel so good.”

“Scootaloo?” His eyes widened as the filly in front of him fell to her side.

“Scootaloo!” shouted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at the same time as they ran to their pegasus companion.

“Come on, wake up,” AJ said, nudging her body. He looked at the thorn on the ground again. “Shit, musta been poisoned or something.”

“W-what are we going to do?” Sweetie Belle asked as tears started to form in her eyes.

“Uhh…” He looked around the clearing. “We need to get her to the hospital. Get her some antivenom or something.”

“Antivenom?” Apple Bloom’s eyes got wide. “Zecora!”

“What about her?”

“Zecora should be able ta make an antivenom! Should fix Scootaloo right up!”

“She can do that?”

“Uhuh. She can cure anything! Even fixed mah chipped tooth once.”

“Then she’s our best bet.” He lifted Scootaloo onto his back. “Do you know the way from here?”

“Pretty sure, yea.”

“Good.” He lifted the other two fillies onto his back. “Apple Bloom, point the way. Sweetie Belle, hold on tight.”

********************

“I did not have enough materials for a cure on such short notice. It would have taken too long to find some lotus,” Zecora said in a somber tone.

“So what did ya do then?”

“I did what I could, as any other pony would. The potion I gave her could not cure the venom, only slow. I could do more if not for this snow.”

“You did what ya could. It’s all we could ask fer,” Big Mac said with a deep sigh.

“Do you think she’ll make it?” asked Ditzy.

Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked up at Zecora with a hopeful look. The grim look on her face didn’t give them hope. “It is times like this I wish I could control fate.” She let out deep sigh. “I fear...I-I-I fear we may have gotten here too late.” Apple Bloom had never known Zecora to choke on her words like that. The hope in the remaining CMC’s eyes had disappeared.

“N-no. You can’t be serious.” Ditzy looked between Zecora and Big Mac. “Y-you have to be able to do something else for her. Anything!” Zecora remained silent. “Maybe now you could go and…”

Ditzy stopped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Big Mac staring at her with a saddened stare. “She did all she could.”

Ditzy turned to look at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle again. Apple Bloom was trying and failing to hold in her tears while Sweetie had since began sobbing into Zecora’s coat once again. She thought about Scootaloo. That young filly was fighting for her life as they sat there doing nothing. At any moment, she could pass away. Just like that. No parent should ever outlive their child.

That’s when it hit her.

“D-do her parents know yet?”

Big Mac and Zecora looked at Ditzy with wide eyes. “A-Ah didn’t…Ah didn’t even think ta tell’em yet.” Ditzy looked at him with a shocked look.

Zecora swallowed a lump in her throat. “It should be up to me I fear, to go tell her parents the news they should never have to hear.”

“No, Ah’ll go tell’em.”

“You are under enough stress, so please just tell me the address.”

“But they may need ya ta answer some questions about what ya gave’er.”

Zecora looked at the big red stallion for a moment before lowering her head in defeat. “I suppose you are right. That would have been quite the oversight. I just wish I could do more, for these fillies I do adore.”

“Ditzy, could ya stay here with Zecora?”

“Yea, sure.” Big Mac nodded before grabbing his earmuffs and heading out the door. Ditzy finally removed her winter scarf and earmuffs before sitting next to Apple Bloom. “Don’t suppose you two would be in the mood to tell me what happened to AJ right now, would you?” she asked already knowing the answer. She put a comforting hoof around Apple Bloom’s withers knowing she was going to have to wait.

********************

Carrot couldn’t get over this sense of dread in her gut. She could only imagine what Ditzy’s mindset was right now. How chaotic her thoughts must be. She imagined what it would be like to watch her mind on a screen if she could some how record it. She would hit play and all that would show up would be a modern artists wet dream.

She quickened her pace as soon as the hospital came into view. She needed to talk to Ditzy. She opened the doors and looked around the lobby. On the far end, she saw Ditzy sitting on a bench with Zecora and the two members of the CMC. “Ditzy!”

Ditzy looked up when she heard her name. “Huh? Oh, hey Car…”

“Hellos can wait. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Where’s Dinky? You were supposed to be…”

“She’s with Sparkler, now come on. We need to talk.”

“I’m kinda busy right…”

“Now Ditzy.”

“I can’t just leave…”

“Damnit Ditzy! Dinky found the test!” Carrot hissed through her teeth. She didn’t want to make a scene.

Zecora and the fillies watched as the pegasus before them suddenly turned pale. “D-d-dinky found the…”

“W-what test?” asked Apple Bloom.

“It’s none of your business Apple Bloom.” Carrot tried not to sound hostile.

“B-but…”

“It is not our place Apple Bloom. She has her reasons for being so gloom,” Zecora said as she placed a hoof on Apple Bloom’s head.

Ditzy looked at the zebra. Their eyes met only for a moment, but that was all it took. It said so much. That look in her strong cyan eyes.

Zecora knew.

She didn’t know how, but she could just tell that Zecora knew.

“U-u-um, let’s…let’s go talk...over there,” Ditzy said before getting up from the bench.

Carrot followed Ditzy into a hallway; out of eyesight and earshot of the other three. The two of them took some chairs in front of an empty room and sat there for a moment to let Ditzy compose herself a bit. “...How...how long have you known?”

Ditzy remained silent for a moment. “I-I just found out about it today. It’s why you found me outside the bathroom before.”

“How could you tell?”

“I could just tell something was...off. It must have happened when we were role playing a couple weeks ago.”

Carrot could only stare and blink for a moment. “Is that why he brought over that suit of guard armor that one day?”

Ditzy’s face turned crimson. “I was the captain of the guard and was abusing my power by having my way with a new recruit.” Her voice got lower and lower as she spoke. “L-l-look, that’s not what this is about.”

“I’m not the one that brought your little role play session up,” Carrot said with a smirk. “Look, I don’t care what you were doing at the time, I’m just worried about you right now.” She put a hoof around Ditzy’s withers. The two of them just sat there for a minute. “I should probably just come out and ask…” Carrot said breaking the silence. “When were you going to tell him?”

Ditzy swallowed a lump in her throat. “I-I-I...I don’t know if I can.”

“What do you mean ‘you don’t know if you can?’ Ditzy, you have to tell him.” Carrot looked at Ditzy like she was crazy.

“I…”

“I know you’re scared. After what happened last time it would be impossible not to be scared. But come on, AJ’s a good guy. I doubt he’d do that to you. Isn’t this exactly why you’re going to go see that shrink every week? To help with trust issues such as this?” She got no answer. “And what about AJ’s feelings? How do you think he would feel if he had to find out second hoof about this?” Ditzy turned her head away from Carrot in shame. “Okay, let’s say you don’t tell him, and somehow nopony else does. What do you think he’ll say once you start to show?” Ditzy didn’t say anything. Carrot could only see her start to shake in her seat. “What would he say if you started to avoid him because of it so he wouldn’t notice?” Nothing still. “What about Dinky?” Ditzy’s eyes got wide. “You’ll have to tell her eventually. You know she’ll probably get over excited like she tends to with things like this. News is bound to spread after that.”

“Shut up, just shut up!” Carrot recoiled back, almost falling from her seat. Ditzy still couldn’t look at Carrot. She was looking at the floor; tears were threatening to fall from her closed eyes. “You’ve never had to go through what I did.” She sniffled before continuing. “Two years...for two years Morning Glory said he loved me. And with two words it was over. Two words!”

“I know, but…”

“No, you don’t know!” Ditzy said as tears finally started falling down her cheeks. “After two years Morning Glory didn’t love me enough to stay with me when I got pregnant. I haven’t even been with AJ for half a year. I-I-I don’t think I can handle any more heart break.”

“You’re right...I’ve never had to go through all that. Hell, up till a couple months ago, I’ve never even had a special somepony to call my own. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned anything in that time. Namely how to deal with you. What to do when you were sad, when you were depressed...when you’re being difficult.” Carrot remained silent for a moment as if she was waiting for a rebuttal from the pegasus. “Alright, we’ll do this the hard way then. I don’t want to have to be hard on you, not with something like this, but…” She got up from the chair. “We’re going to go see a nurse about this. There’s a chance that the pregnancy test was wrong. It’s happened before.” She noticed a glimmer of hope shine in Ditzy’s eyes. “But...and this is the important part...if it turns out that you really are pregnant...if you don’t tell AJ about it, I will.”

“No, you can’t!”

“Try and stop me,” Carrot said as she walked back to the lobby.

********************

The moon shone brightly in the night sky as it began to peak over the mountains. After the events that had occurred that day, most of the group at the hospital had since gone home to rest. The only ones remaining were Fluttershy, Knight, and Big Mac. A little while after AJ had finally woken up, Big Mac took it upon himself to go see how everypony was holding up.

“He’s finally awake?” Applejack asked as she stood in the door of Rarity’s boutique. After hearing about what happened, she, and Rarity made a b-line to the hospital with Knight riding on Applejack’s back. By the time they got there, Sunburst, Sunny Delight, Rainbow Dash, and the fillies had already gone in to see Scootaloo. AJ was still undergoing the surgery, so they joined the group.

Eventually, Fluttershy and Big Mac finally made it back. While she was worried about Scootaloo, Fluttershy’s mind was elsewhere. They had to wait about an hour before they were allowed to see him. To say Fluttershy and Knight didn’t take it well was an understatement. Ditzy joined them in the room shortly after. She was clearly distraught over AJ, but Big Mac could tell that wasn’t her top priority for some reason.

“Eeyup. He’s a bit out of it right now. Doctor said it was normal.”

“How’re Fluttershy an’ Knight doin’?”

Big Mac let out a sigh. “Better than they were. Ah think Fluttershy’s just happy ta see’im awake an’ alive right now. Knight fell asleep about fifteen minutes before Ah left. Tired himself out with worry.”

“What about Ditzy? She seemed kinda...odd t’day.”

Big Mac nodded in agreement. “She an’ Carrot Top left th’ same time Ah came ta see ya. Rainbow was able ta convince Sunburst an’ Sunny Delight ta get home an’ get some rest. She went with’em as emotional support. How’s everypony doin’ here?”

“Rares an’ I are a bit shaken up over everythin’. Th’ girls’re understandably scared, but we managed ta calm’em down. Zecora’s feelin’ pretty down too. Says she should have kept’er stock up fer th’ winter.”

“Ah’m surprised she didn’t go back home.”

“She can’t bring herself ta be too far from Scootaloo right now. She was lyin’ down on th’ couch last Ah saw’er. Said she wanted time alone ta think.” The two of them were silent for a moment. “Ya know, th’ girls told us what happened ta AJ.”

“They did?”

Applejack nodded. “He protected them. Kept some razorback’s from gettin’em.”

“Razorbacks?”

Applejack nodded as she let out a sigh. “It’s scary, ya know? If...If they can’t do anything fer Scoot…” She looked back into the boutique. “Ah can’t help but think what Ah would do if it was Apple Bloom in that position.” She began shaking at the thought of losing her little sister. “After what th’ girls said...A-ah need ta go see AJ tomorrow. Ah need ta thank’im fer everything he did today.”

“Doctor said he should be back ta normal by either tomorrow'er th' day after. Want me ta come get ya when he wakes up?”

Applejack raised her brow. “Yer stayin’ at th’ hospital tonight?”

“Fer Fluttershy,” Big Mac said with a nod. “She asked if she could stay the night ta watch over’im. Figured Ah’d keep’er company.”

“Like a good coltfriend should do,” Applejack said with a smile. “Tell’er Ah’ll take care of’er animals till she gets back.”

“Appreciate it. Ah’m gonna go check on Ditzy before Ah head back. Ah’ll see ya tomorrow.”

Applejack smiled as Big Mac walked away. “Hey Rares, could ya look after th’ kids for a bit?!” she yelled into the boutique as she reached for her scarf.

“I suppose I could, why? Did something happen at the hospital?” Rarity asked as she started coming down the stairs; a look of worry on her face.

“Th’ only change is that AJ finally woke up. Loopy as heck though. Fluttershy’s stayin’ at the hospital tonight ta watch over’im and Knight, an’ Big Mac’s keepin’er company. Ah just volunteered ta go feed’er animals till she get’s back is all.”

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. “At least things haven’t gotten any worse.”

“Ah know what ya mean.” Applejack walked over to Rarity and gave her a kiss. “Ah’ll be back as soon as Ah can.”

********************

“Who in Celestia’s name is that?” Carrot asked as she lazily lifted her head off the arm of the couch. She was feeling exhausted after dealing with Ditzy all day. As Carrot said she would, she talked to one of the nurses about getting Ditzy checked out. There fears proved to be genuine as the nurse gave them the answer they had feared. As they left the room, Ditzy began to have a bit of a freak out, which eventually lead to the two of them having a big fight. They had pretty much been fighting since, only stopping when they were visiting AJ’s room. In Ditzy’s mind, she was confident that AJ was going to betray her like Morning Glory before him. Though she had her own fears, Carrot knew that telling AJ was the right thing to do. Since she couldn’t convince Ditzy of this, she knew she was probably going to have to take things into her own hooves.

Hearing another knock, she let out a grunt as she forced her body off the couch. She opened the door to see Big Mac standing there. “...Hey.”

“Ya seem exhausted. Everythin’ alright?”

She let out a sigh as she shook her head. “I wish.”

“Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

“Not really, no.”

“Fair Enough. Ah was just wonderin’ how th’ two of ya were doin’.”

“We’ve...been better.”

“Are th’ two of ya still fightin'?”

Carrot’s eyes widened. “Y-you know about that?”

“Ah could hear y’all in th’ hallway before ya came inta th’ room,” Big Mac said with a nod.

“Greeeeat,” Carrot said with a groan. She continued to look at the floor for a moment. “Hey Mac, can I ask you a question?” He gave her a silent nod. “Let’s say...let’s say that there’s a pony that’s got some information that another pony really, seriously needs to know, but refuses to tell him. And let’s say this pony’s best friend is dead set on telling this other pony the information, but the first pony is dead set on keeping that information from getting out. Should this friend tell the other pony the information?”

Big Mac looked at Carrot with a knowing look. Hypothetical situations were almost always about the pony asking, and this one was no different. “Well, ‘hypothetically’, Ah think this other pony should be told.”

An exhausted smile grew on Carrot’s face. “I knew you’d agree.”

“But…”

And it immediately fell. “Of course there’s a but. There’s always a but.”

“Th’ first pony should be th’ one ta tell’im.”

“But she won’t tell him. She absolutely refuses.”

“Look, Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on here, but Ah’m goin’ ta guess this here’s about you, Ditzy, an’ AJ. If there’s somethin’ Ditzy needs ta tell AJ, it should be up ta her ta tell’im.”

“But what if I can’t convince her?”

“Just give’er some time. Ya shouldn’t force her ta do somethin’ she doesn’t want ta do.”

“But what if she doesn’t tell him? Before long it may be too late.”

“Too late?”

“Look, this is something he needs to be told about ASAP, and if Ditzy had her way she would never tell him. If I don’t tell him, he may find out a little too late from somepony else.”

“But what if ya tell’im an’ somethin’ goes wrong? Yer friendship with Ditzy may never recover from what happenes.” Big Mac could see the pained look on Carrot’s face as it hit her. It was a thought that hadn’t crossed her mind. “Look, If yer really that dead set on tellin’im, Ah won’t stop ya.”

Carrot took a deep breath as she collected herself. “I-I...he needs to know.”

Big Mac let out a soft sigh. “Th’ road ta hell is paved with good intentions,” he said just loud enough to be heard.

“Huh?”

“Ah just hope ya don’t end up regrettin’ yer decision. If you’ll excuse me, Ah should be gettin’ back ta Fluttershy.” He gave a slight nod before turning from the house.

Carrot slowly closed the door with a heavy heart. She was seriously reconsidering her decision. She forced those thoughts to the back of her mind as she turned away from the door. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of Ditzy’s tail, and one of her hind hooves walking away. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Ditzy, please forgive me.”

********************

Big Mac let out a sigh as he reached for the knob to AJ’s hospital room. Before he could reach it, he stopped as a sound reached his ears. The sound of light sobbing could barely be heard over some quiet singing. It wasn’t very loud, but there wasn’t exactly a lot going on around the hospital at this time. He knew who was singing. It was Fluttershy’s voice. Her soft, beautiful voice. So who was crying?

He cracked the door open, silently peering inside. Fluttershy was sitting next to the bed. She was cradling Knight in her forelegs as he cried. She lovingly ran a hoof through his hair causing him to look her in the eye. “Are you still hungry?”

Knight sniffled and wiped his nose on his leg as he nodded his head. “U-Uhuh.”

With a smile Fluttershy turned her head and reached for the table next to her. When she looked back at the foal, she had an orange slice in her hoof. “Okay, open up.” Knight sniffled again before opening his mouth for the butter yellow pegasus. She slowly fed him the slice; making sure he was done with what was in his mouth before feeding him anymore.

Big Mac smiled and entered the room as Knight finished the slice. Fluttershy looked at him as her smile grew. Her attention was drawn away from him though as the foal currently in her care let out a yawn. “Sounds like somepony’s tired,” she cooed as she placed Knight down in bed next to AJ's sleeping form.

Knight looked up at Fluttershy with tired eyes. “D-do you think Daddy will be okay?”

Big Mac noticed as Fluttershy’s body tensed up. She was forcing herself to be strong for Knight. “Of course he will. In fact, I know he’ll just fine. In a day or two, he’ll be back to his normal self.”

“Really?”

Fluttershy smiled brightly as she leaned down and kissed the foal on the forehead. “Really.”

Big Mac kept his distance for a minute until he was sure Knight was asleep. He quietly made his way over to his fillyfriend and placed a hoof on her shoulder. She was shaking. With Knight finally sleeping once again, her strong front was beginning to chip away.

With a gentle touch, he turned her so she was facing him. Tears were already beginning to stain her coat. He pulled her into a hug. “Ya did a good job, Fluttershy.”

She sobbed into his coat for a minute before looking up into his green eyes. “H-h-h-he’s going to be okay...right?”

Big Mac smiled and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. “Ya said it yerself. Give’im a day'r two an’ he’ll be back ta normal.”

“B-but what if he isn’t,” she said with a sniffle.

“He will be. Don’t forget, he’s been through worse than this.” Fluttershy sniffled once again before nodding. “Come on, you’ve had a long day. Let’s get you ta bed.” He lead Fluttershy over to the other bed in the room. “Ah doubt they’d mind if ya slept here. Nopony else is usin’ it.” He sat Fluttershy down on the bed and let her go. “If ya need anythin’, Ah’ll be sleepin’ on th’ couch,” he said as he turned and pointed to the simple couch on the other side of the room. “Sleep well Flutter…”

His eyes widened slightly as he felt Fluttershy grab hold of his leg. He turned back to her to find her glistening, cyan eyes staring straight into his. “Please stay with me. I-I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Big Mac looked at Fluttershy for a moment before a soft smile grew on his lips. He silently walked back to, and around the bed. Fluttershy crawled under the covers as Big Mac joined her. It was a little cramped, but that didn’t matter. Fluttershy stayed close to the big, red stallion; her head was against his chest. The sound of his calm breaths and the quiet pulsing of his heart slowly became etched in her mind. She concentrated on those sounds instead of the things that were troubling her. Slowly her mind was put at ease, and it wasn’t long before she was sleeping in his embrace.

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