//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - A Sticky Situation // Story: Well This Stucks! // by anotheraccount //------------------------------// Chapter 2 – A Sticky Situation “Now why again am I covered in sticky tree sap?” Twilight asked after a rapid-fire series of attempts by the three fillies to free her. “And for that matter, where did it come from?” Apple Bloom looked over at Twilight from where she was sitting over at the table. “Ah'm not too sure, but somehow we get covered in it a surprising number of times when we're out crusading. We've kinda gotten used to it.” Twilight sighed with a bit of frustration. At least it smells good...buy why is it pine sap? We're in an oak tree...oh, never mind, I probably don't want to know. The three fillies were sitting at the table as they thought of what to do next. Scootaloo was in fierce concentration, her eyebrows pulled down close to her eyes, and her chin resting on her hoof. Apple Bloom was more relaxed, but still concentrating. Her left eyebrow was raised and she was looking up at the ceiling of the library. Every few moments she would tap her chin a few times and mumble “no, that won't work either.” Sweetie Bell was looking worried. She was resting her head on both hooves at the table and kept glancing over at Twilight. “I think we should go ask somepony for help,” Sweetie Bell said as she raised her head from her hooves. “We've been at this a while already and I'm sure Twilight is tired of standing over there at the wall.” Apple Bloom looked over at Sweetie Bell and nodded. “That's a good idea. The longer this goes on, the more tired Twilight is going to get and it will be harder to stay in a position where she isn't in danger of hurting her horn.” “Yeah, and she'll need to use the bathroom sometime today,” Scootaloo added. Great, Twilight thought, now I need to make sure to not think about that. At least I don't have to go right now. “That's a good idea, girls. Why don't you go find somepony who can help?” Twilight said as she looked over at them as best she could with one eye. She had tried to be patient with them, but she really didn't want to spend the rest of the day stuck to the wall. Apple Bloom nodded at Twilight's words and looked at her two friends. “I'll stay here with Twilight in case she needs anything. You two head out and see if you can find help.” Sweetie Bell smiled and nodded, and Scootaloo stood up and smiled as she gave her friends a mock-salute, saying “Will do.” The three fillies stood up and shared a three-way hoof-clap and yelled “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RESCUE SQUAD”. Apple Bloom watched as Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo left the library, each heading a different direction. She walked over to Twilight to ask if she needed anything, and before she could speak she was answered in the form of a loud growl coming from Twilight's stomach. “Miss Twilight, have you eaten anything this mornin'?” With a half of a grin Twilight answered, “Well, actually no. I was planning on grabbing some breakfast right after I tested this.” Apple Bloom looked up at Twilight with some concern. “That was earlier this mornin', and now it's gettin' closer to lunchtime. Big sis and Granny Smith are always sayin' how important it is to eat breakfast, and you haven't had any yet.” She looked over her shoulder towards the kitchen and then back at Twilight. “I'll go see if we can fix that.” Apple Bloom started to walk towards the kitchen before Twilight said “Wait!”. She stopped and turned around to look at Twilight. Let's think about this a moment, thought Twilight. Considering all that has happened so far, do we really want an unsupervised filly in our kitchen? Twilight was concerned of not only the mess that could occur, but also that she would be unable to go to Apple Bloom's aid if she got hurt. She really wants to get me something to eat, but we need something that she can do safely. “Are you ok?” Apple Bloom asked, thinking that something was wrong when Twilight asked with some urgency to wait. “I'm sorry, Apple Bloom, I didn't mean to startle you.” Twilight said. After a moment Twilight's expression brightened. “I know,” she said, “I think there is some salad mix and hay fries from the other night still in the fridge. Could you bring those to me?” Brilliant! Twilight thought, these don't even need any preparation! She can just take them out of the fridge and bring them over here...no mess, no hazards! Apple Bloom smiled and headed for the kitchen again, saying “I'll go get 'em right now”. She entered the kitchen and went right to the refrigerator. She opened it and saw the salad greens and hay fries on the bottom shelf. “These look a little plain,” Apple Bloom said after a moment of looking at the salad greens. “I think I'll add some dressing to the salad.” She looked at the door and saw a nearly empty bottle of cream & pepper dressing. “That won't do...it won't even cover one leaf. I'll just sprinkle pepper on the salad instead.” She took the bowl of salad greens and also the hay fries, and took them over to the kitchen table. To save space she put the hay fries into the bowl, on top of the salad greens. She went over to the spice rack and collected the ground pepper, and then walked back over to the table. Tilting her head to the side she began to shake the pepper jar over top of the salad & hay fries until the top was nearly covered. She set the jar of pepper onto the table and then balanced the bowl of salad and hay fries onto her back before walking back into the other room. Apple Bloom walked up to Twilight and then realized that with no magic and also being unable to move her head, Twilight would have a very difficult time trying to eat normally. She looked at Twilight and then back at the bowl sitting on her back, and then got an idea. “Miss Twilight, I'm going to stand underneath of your muzzle so that you can eat,” she said as she crouched and slowly positioned herself between Twilight and the wall. Slowly she stood up so that the bowl was right at Twilight's mouth. Twilight took a bite and started chewing. “Mmm, this is good,” she said as she finished her first bite and took another. “Thank you Miss,” Apple Bloom started to say and then sniffed, “Twilight, I hoped you liked the pepper,” sniff, “on top of your....your....your....” she tried to continue before letting loose a loud “ACHOO!”. One of the unfortunate side effects of pepper is that it can lead to sneezing, Twilight thought as she stopped chewing. And one of the unfortunate side effects of sneezing is that a body moves unintentionally...along with anything it is carrying. Apple Bloom moved out from between Twilight and the wall to stand beside her again. She looked at the salad greens and hay fries sticking to Twilight, courtesy of the tree sap, and then looked down at the floor. “I'm sorry, Miss Twilight.” Twilight swallowed the second and last bite of her breakfast and let out a sigh. “It's ok, Apple Bloom. You tried your best.” Apple Bloom nodded, and then headed back over to the table. “I'll just be over here if you need me,” she said as she sat down at the table again. *-*-*-* Twilight heard the library's door open behind her and somepony walk in. Somepony large, by the sound of the hoofsteps making solid contact with the wooden floor. They grew louder until they stopped right beside Twilight. She looked to her left with her eye on that side and saw the form of Apple Bloom's big brother, Big Macintosh. “You stuck, Miss Twilight?” he said after he had stopped walking. “Eeyup,” answered Twilight. Apple Bloom's spirits lifted upon seeing her big brother walk in the library. “Big Macintosh! I think you might be able to help get Twilight free. I need you to gently pull her mane straight back from the wall....just stop pulling when she says so.” Big Macintosh nodded his head and looked at Twilight. “You wanna give this a try?” “We haven't tried this particular method yet...let's go for it. Just be careful,” Twilight responded. Big Macintosh nodded and took hold of Twilight's mane in his mouth. He started turning his head to slowly face the door of the library and pulling her mane. “Ow!” Twilight exclaimed, “you're pulling at an angle. We need to pull straight back.” Big Macintosh nodded and adjusted the angle of his head and began pulling again. “Still no good...you're still pulling at an angle. We have to pull straight back or we'll risk damage to my horn,” Twilight said. Apple Bloom walked over and looked at the angles involved. “You need to stand behind her and pull her mane straight back to get the right angle,” she said. “Bein' beside her automatic'ly adds a side angle to the pull.” Big Macintosh nodded and started circling around Twilight. “You ok with me putting my hooves on your back for balance?” he asked through a mouthful of Twilight's mane before continuing. “That's fine, Big Mac,” Twilight answered. “Thank you for asking.” Big Macintosh reared up and put his two front hooves on Twilight's back and then started to pull her mane, leaning back into the pull. “Ow! Ok, stop for a moment. That's the right angle, though,” Twilight said. “Let's try a few more pulls.” Big Macintosh nodded as he lessened the tension on Twilight's mane. He then started pulling her mane for a few moments and then when it sounded like it was hurting Twilight he would lessen the tension for a few moments before pulling again. *-*-*-* Rarity and Fluttershy were leaving the spa when Sweetie Bell had found them. “Rarity, Twilight needs some help,” Sweetie Bell said to her sister. “Could you come over to the library with me?” “But of course,” Rarity smiled as she answered her sister, “I would be glad to help.” Sweetie Bell then turned around and began a quick trot towards the library, and both Rarity and Fluttershy followed. As they moved across town they cut through the Saturday market. “Wow, there's a lot of ponies here today,” said Fluttershy as she looked around the market. “The market is much busier than it usually is.” “It is quite a lovely morning,” Rarity replied, “and perfect for going to market. I think I might habwahaa....ah..haa....hyaaa....” Rarity's eyes opened wide in surprise and she trotted her two front hooves on the ground. She had gotten closer to the library and could see...movement...inside through the open library door. Her horn quickly glowed as she closed the library door with her magic. “Eeep!” squeaked Fluttershy before she zoomed across town in the direction of her cottage. Rarity watched Fluttershy run and tried to process what she had seen. Big Macintosh. Pulling Twilight's mane as he leaned back. Twilight making a sound. Rinse, lather, repeat. She heard the sound of hooves clopping on the cobblestones of the street getting closer but paid them no attention as Sweetie Bell had her attention....and she was also a little distracted at the moment as well. “Are you ok, Rarity?” Sweetie Bell asked. “You're panicking and looking a little flushed”. “Oh, am I?” Rarity stalled. “Yeah, you're acting a little weird. You were just...oh, hey, there's Applejack!” Sweetie Bell said as she looked toward the mare who was approaching the library. “She might be able to help also!” Sweetie Bell ran towards Applejack and the library. Rarity started to follow but paused a moment as she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Rainbow Dash was slowly gliding towards the library, which was unusual since Rainbow Dash normally flies much faster than a casual glide. Applejack saw Sweetie Bell and waived a hoof. “Mornin', Sweetie Bell. Have y'all seen Apple Bloom? I sent Big Macintosh to find her 'cause we needed a little help with our stand at market. Sales are great today!” As Rainbow Dash glided closer, Rarity could see the reason why she was not moving faster. Rainbow Dash was carrying Scootaloo on her back and couldn't risk anything much faster with the young filly with her. Applejack pushed open the library's door and jumped back a step as she exclaimed “Whoa, Nelly!” She pushed Sweetie Bell away from the door, and then looked back to grab the door handle to shut it...then recognized the stallion in front of her. “BIG MACINTOSH! WHAT IN TARNATION DO YA THINK YOU'RE DOIN'!” “Oh, dear,” Rarity said as she started running towards the library again. Rainbow Dash banked from her glide and then landed at the side of the library. Scootaloo hopped of of her back as they stopped, and then they both headed around the outside of the tree towards the library's door. Big Macintosh stopped pulling Twilight's mane and looked back towards Applejack as she entered the library. “I was just” he started to say through a mouthful of Twilight's mane. “AH KNOW what you 'were just' doin'!” Applejack yelled. “I send you to go get Apple Bloom and here I find you...” Big Macintosh froze, trying to figure out what the commotion was about. “Calm down , AJ,” Rainbow Dash said as she entered the library. “Hehe, um, stay outside a minute, Scoots.” “Yes, calm down darling,” Rarity added as she joined them in the library. “CALM DOWN?” Applejack yelled. “Calm down? I needed help and sent him away from our stand to go and get Apple Bloom, and he leaves me there alone to handle the crowd while he goes and..” “He wasn't plowin' the garden!” Apple Bloom yelled from the corner. The library became eerily quiet as everypony stopped talking and became still. “Is that what this looks like?” Twilight asked softly as tried to look at Big Macintosh. Big Macintosh turned his head this way and that as he looked at both himself and Twilight. His eyes opened wide in dawning comprehension as his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. Very softly he replied with embarrassment, “eeyup.” Can things get any worse? Twilight thought as she closed her eyes. “Apple Bloom, where did you hear such language?” Applejack loudly asked as she looked over at the filly at the table. “Earlier this mornin' we were crusading and found a book of poems” Apple Bloom answered her sister. “That's just lovely,” Applejack said as she turned around towards Twilight. “Big Macintosh, how long are you gonna stand there like that?” Big Macintosh realized that he was still standing like earlier when he was trying to help Twilight and tried to move away. He tried to spit out Twilight's mane and pull his hooves away from her back, but they wouldn't move. “Ow!” said Twilight as Big Macintosh's tried to remove his hooves from her back. Big Macintosh tried two more times but could not move away. “You stuck, Big Macintosh?” Twilight asked with a frown as she remembered the tree sap. “Eeyup,” answered Big Macintosh.