//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 - In Harm's Way 
// Story: Newborn Mare 
// by nanashi_jones 
//------------------------------//

Eventually, Tim returned. He started to wheel Erishy’s stretcher off to a waiting ambulance, but Stephanie stepped in front of him.

“She’s coming with us,” she said. That earned a few raised eyebrows, most notably, Tim’s.

“She’s injured, and probably in shock,” Tim said, fixing Stephanie with a solid Look.

“I know,” she said, unfazed. “That’s why she’s coming with us.”

Tim turned the stretcher to go around Stephanie, but she moved to intercept him. I stepped over and put a hoof on one wheel. Tim frowned at me.

“You do know she’s CIA, right?” I said. “One of the good guys?”

“I do,” Tim replied, acidly. “I also know that this is an injured pony who needs further medical attention.”

“And if she were anypony else, I would so be out of your way like you wouldn’t believe,” Stephanie said. She rested a hand on Erishy’s stretcher.

Erishy looked up at the two hard-faced professionals, and swallowed audibly. Raritony reached a hoof up to pat hers.

“But this is a VIP,” Stephanie continued. “See that necklace she’s wearing? That’s magic. Serious magic. And we need it, and her, to stop that Discord guy in New York. Because if he isn’t stopped, he’ll be more than New York’s problem, soon.”

“Right now, the only problem I see is a bureaucratic busybody inhibiting my ability to care for a patient,” Tim said, voice sharp. “The threat can wait, she needs-”

“I’m fine.”

Tim blinked, looking down at Erishy. She smiled, sitting up as straight as her wounds allowed.

“I only hurt a little,” she said, voice quiet, but firm. “And other ponies and people need me. I won’t do much. Just walk a little. Mostly, I’ll sit still. I promise. Is that okay?”

Then she turned on the Big Eyes. I’d seen Fluttershy do it before. One second, she’s just a pony, then bam! She suddenly has the biggest, neediest eyes you’ve ever seen. And I’ve yet to see the pony, or person, who can say no to them. In a lot of ways, I think her Big Eyes are more dangerous than her Stare.

Unprepared, Tim met the Big Eyes head on. He held out for about ten seconds, which was a new record, near as I could recall.

Sighing, he threw his hands up. “Fine! Fine,” he grumbled. “I think she could use a quiet bed and lots of fluids, but what do I know?”

Stephanie nodded, her face softening. “I understand,” she said. “We’ll take good care of her. Is she okay to  travel?”

“Yeah, yeah, she can travel,” Tim admitted, scowling. “But you better make damn sure she takes it easy,” he said, levelling a finger at Stephanie. “No more…” He waved his hands at the circus around us.

“I’ll do my best,” Stephanie said, with a nod.

Tim lowered the stretcher so Erishy could get off, under her own power.

Stephanie’s phone chirped. She glanced at the caller ID, then answered with, “Tell me good news.” Turning her back to us, she took a few steps away. We focused on helping Erishy off the stretcher.

“Thank you, Tim,” Raritony said. “We really appreciate it.”

He sighed. “Don’t thank me,” he said. “What she really needs is to not be in action right now.”

“And we’ll keep an eye on her,” I told him. “Promise.”

Shaking his head, he wheeled the stretcher away. Probably to find someone who would listen to good sense. Once he disappeared, Stephanie walked back up to us. Her expression was cool and collected.

“We have transport,” she told us. “So let’s get going.”

“We all gonna fit?” I asked, glancing around at our little parade.

I wasn’t trying to be an ass- it was a legit question. Since coming here we’d picked up two more full-grown ponies in Raritony and Erishy,on top of  the original group of May, Sam, Alphonse, Stephanie and myself. I didn’t see a sedan being that accomodating.

Stephanie sighed. “Yeah. Alphonse got a federal SUV,” she said, lips pursing. “Which means I’m now a CIA soccer mom.”

I chuckled.

“Don’t laugh,” Stephanie said. “You’re the one with the backpack.”

“Can I have a juice box on the way to practice, mom?” I teased.

“Oh god, my life,” Stephanie breathed, as she walked on.

Up ahead, Alphonse was looking particularly pleased as he leaned against a black Ford Expedition. It shone like new.

“Ah, a fine carriage for a fine group of ladies,” Raritony said, coming up behind me.

Alphonse barked a laugh. Sam ran from his side to bark at me, tail wagging.

“Hey girl,” I said, stroking her affectionately. “Holding down the fort for me?”

She yipped an affirmative and sat, tail thumping on the ground.

“Oh, who’s this cutie?” Erishy said, coming up next to Sam.

I grinned. “Sam, Erishy. Erishy, Sam.”

Sam barked, and Erishy held out a hoof. “It’s a pleasure.” She leaned in close, eyes shining with concern. “Oh my, are you okay? You look so thin.”

Sam made some weird noise between a growl and a bark, looked at me, then yipped at Erishy.

Her smile was almost as wide as one of Pinkie’s. “I’m so glad to hear,” she replied, sweet and pleased. “Apple- Rae Jay is great like that.” She reached out a hoof and scratched Sam right at the sweet spot behind her ear. The pup leaned in like she just found heaven.

“You still got a knack with animals,” I said, approvingly.

Erishy blushed. “I couldn’t lose my special talent, could I? My animal friends need me.”

“We gotta book it. C’mon, my little ponies,” Stephanie said, with a smirk.

Raritony and I shared a look. Raritony rolled her eyes and I laughed.

“What’s the rush?” May asked, hopping up onto the seat. Our backpacks were already inside.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” I said.

“On the road,” Stephanie said. “I promise I’ll tell you on the road. Where it’s quieter.”

Shrugging, I shuffled places with Raritony so May was between us and Raritony had a window seat. Erishy took the other window seat with Sam in her lap. Stephanie rode shotgun, sliding on a pair of shades.

Alphonse gunned the engine, and we pulled out of the dirt lot. A uniformed agent waved us to the main roads.

After a minute of quiet, Stephanie took a breath. “Okay. What… do you guys know about Twilight Sparkle?”

I rolled my eyes. “All kinds of stuff,” I replied, glibly. “You might wanna get out a pen, because it could take a while.”

Raritony’s eyes grew wide. “Rae Jay? You- you don’t know?”

“Woods,” I said, my face pinching. “I’ve been hiding in the freaking woods, after smashing my cell phone! Does nobody believe me? I’m wearing the gol-darn Element of gol-darn Honesty and everything!”

Everyone kept staring at me, so I sighed, pushing deeper into the seat. “Alright, fine. What’d I miss this time? Did Pinkie get on Youtube again? She and Twilight doing a conga line at a Waffle House in Idaho?”

“She… she was shot,” Erishy said, gently.

It was like all the air suddenly left the car.

When I realized I hadn’t spoken in too long, I gulped in a breath. “She was…? Wait. You were shot, too, Shy. Was it-”

Erishy shook her head.

“She was hit in the head. She’s in a coma,” Stephanie explained.

Raritony rested her hoof on my leg. Erishy lay one on my back.

For a moment, I could only hear the blood rushing in my ears.. “God fucking dammit,” I whispered.

“Yeah...” Stephanie said, her voice tight. “So, the hospital has her stabilized, and I made sure they kept her tiara near her, but… Well, we’re on our way there. You’ll see for yourself.”

More quiet. “When did it happen?” I asked.

“A while back,” Stephanie said. “Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. We were… kind of preoccupied.”

I nodded. It made sense. “What about the others?” I asked.

“Do you know where Pinkie is?” Erishy added.

“Not... exactly,” Stephanie admitted. “She took off to do something with Shining Armor, and we haven’t heard from either of them for a while. If they don’t check in soon, we may have to take more action.”

“And Rainbow?” I said.

“She was en route to Pinkie, last I heard,” Stephanie said. “She busted out of the same sort of situation we were just in, actually.”

I leaned my head back. Twilight was down. Twilight Sparkle. The Element of Magic was in a coma. Dread crept up my spine.

Before this, whenever things got screwy, Twilight usually counted on me to help her out. Managing a farm helps you keep a good head in a minor crisis. But, this wasn’t Ponyville. We weren’t dealing with parasprites, or lending a hoof for Winter Wrap-up. Hell, this wasn’t even as “minor” as a sleeping dragon. This was Discord. Nothing in either of my lives was ready for him.

But, New York was counting on us. Maybe even the world. Which meant we couldn’t mess around any more. Which meant somepony had to take charge without Twilight here. Which meant Twilight was counting on me.

So, things were screwier than usual. So what? I’d deal. I may not have had a tiara, but I sure as Celestia wore a hat named Liana.

Taking another deep breath, I set my jaw. And my hat.

“Okay,” I said.

“Okay?” Raritony said.

“Any way we can reach out to Pinkie or Dash?” I said, voice firm.

“We’re working on it now,” Stephanie said.

“I hope they’re okay…” Erishy said.

“They’ll be fine, hon,” I said. “It’s Pinkie and Dash, for Celestia’s sake.”

“I know,” Erishy said, but she didn’t sound like she believed it. I placed a reassuring hoof across her withers.

“Given how dire everything is, and what we just survived, I’ve secured authority for a straight shot into New York, and the hospital where Twilight is,” Stephanie said. “No traffic this time. If anyone gets in our way… well, they better not get in our way. I’ve had one hell of a day, and Alphonse hates traffic.”

Despite the dire mood, we all chuckled.

“Everyone settled in?” Alphonse asked.

“Yes,” we all said in unison. This just made for more chuckling. Too bad Pinkie wasn’t here. She’d have us in stitches.

“Nonstop to New York,” he said, hitting the highway. “No more interruptions.”

“Uh, is it possible we can have… one more interruption?” Raritony asked.





By the time we parked at the gas station, two exits up, I had almost stopped laughing.

“I don’t see what’s so damn funny,” Raritony said, exiting the bathroom.

“Just our lives,” I replied, wiping a tear away. My stomach ached. I’d laughed all the way here. I guess I needed to let off some steam.

“I noticed that you used the facilities, as well,” Raritony said, walking with me down the snack aisle. She picked up some corn chips. I know it was cliche, but I snatched up an apple tart.

“Yeah, but that’s ‘cause I agree with American Gods,” I said, noticing Stephanie and Erishy looking at bottles in the first aid section.

Raritony tilted her head at me as she floated her chips up to the counter.

“Never pass up a chance to eat, sleep, or take a leak,” I said.

Raritony made a face. “Darling, I may be a bit more butch, but I am still a lady.”

“There’s the Rarity I remember,” I said, rolling my eyes.

We paid the cashier and returned to the car.  Alphonse was texting, and May was giving Sam belly rubs.

“Where’s Steph and Shy?” May asked, after we climbed back in the car.

“Back in the shop,” I said, opening the tart and biting in. It was okay- too much sugar, but I needed the fuel. “They were looking at aspirin and stuff like that.”

“But I thought the EMT took care of her,” May said.

“He probably thought she wouldn’t be going quite so far,” Alphonse replied. “She’s our principal and we need to make sure she’s okay.”

“I’m actually doing pretty well.”

We turned. Stephanie had opened the door and was helping Erishy climb inside. She sported a few new band-aids on her bruised body. Stephanie put a bag on the floor in front of her. Through the plastic, I could see a big bottle of ibuprofen. Settling in, Erishy buckled up.

“You sure on that, sugarcube?” I asked, as Alphonse turned the engine over. “Tim back there was pretty intent on you taking it easy.”

“I’ll be fine,” Erishy said. She smiled at us. “I have my friends with me, so I’m already doing loads better.”

I smiled back. “Bring it in, Shy. That’s hug worthy material.”

“Is the show always like this?” Alphonse said, looking at Stephanie. Erishy and I wrapped our forearms around one another.

“Quiet, Al. Ponies are being heartwarming,” Stephanie said, smiling back at us.

We all laughed. Maybe a little harder than the joke warranted, but it was real laughter.

“Thanks, Steph,” I said. “We needed that.”

“Well, Pinkie Pie isn’t here, so I figured…” Stephanie shrugged. “Someone had to bring the funny.”

“It’s appreciated,” Erishy said, easing out of our embrace. “I miss her though. I really hope she’s okay.”

“Aw, you know Pinkie,” I said. “She’s always-”

Someone’s phone went off.

I blinked. “What the…” I said, looking around.

It rang again. This time, I recognized my ringtone.

“Oh! That’s me,” I said, blushing. “Probably my friend, Max. Yeesh, I haven’t called him since Stephanie first picked me up...”

I opened my bag up and pulled out my phone, but the caller ID wasn’t Max’s number. It wasn’t familiar either. Frowning, I prepared for Fakey-Shy 2: Revenge of the Changeling Bitch, and flipped it open.

“Hello?” I said, cautiously.

“Aha! It worked!” came a perky, familiar voice. “I told you it would work! Eventually. Anyway, hi AJ and/or AJ’s partner human!”

I blinked. “Pinkie Pie?!”

“Well, actually, I’m Pinkamena Reid Diane Xansta Priddy Pie, Professional Party Proletariat and Preposterous Pandimensional Player with a pizazz for precluding prudence! And I am a portly pink pony, yes.” She giggled. “I guess Pinkie is an easy enough abbreviation. You would not believe how many random numbers I had to punch in before I got to you.”

“Hey, don’t forget about me!”

“Rainbow Dash?” I shouted.

“One and only! Well, Markus Dash, really,” she replied. “Hey guys!”

I laughed, my eyes feeling wet. “I don’t care what I call either of ya, it’s darned good to hear from you two. Here, I’m puttin’ you on speaker.”

I held the phone out and tapped the speaker button.

“Aw, thanks,” Pinkie said. “Hey guys! Hello hello hello!”

“Heya!” Dash added.

“Greetings, oh Pink and Rainbowed ones!” Raritony cheered.

“Hey Rainbow! Hey Pinkie!” May squealed. 

“Hi Rainbow. ….Hi Pinkie,” Erishy said, a warm look in her eye.

The line went quiet. Then I heard Dash snickering. “Uh, girls?” I said.

“Erishy’s with you! That’s great!” Pinkie said, her voice a bit overbright.

“Yeah… it is,” I said, looking at Erishy, who was blushing. Dash’s laugh just got louder.

“Well yeah because she’s-” Pinkie coughed. Awkwardly. Raritony and I shared a look. “Actually, you know what? I’m glad all of you are a-okay! But I may just be the teensiest tiniest bit more glad because Erishy’s okay. Because... reasons. Wanna talk to Dashie?”

Erishy’s blush deepened.

“Oh no, you got this one, Pinkster. Totally,” Dash said. “I can wait.”

Then, Raritony, May, and I all realized at once what was going on.

“Uh, Pinkie?” I said. “Would you like to talk to Erishy? Alone?”

At this point, Erishy looked as red as Big Mac. She’d half-heartedly hidden her face in her hooves, but it didn’t really disguise her grin.

“But- but- but you just put me on speaker phone!” Pinkie said. “I mean, I’m here with Dashie and other ponies, and-”

“And we’re glad to hear that, and we will definitely address it, but it sounds like you and Erishy need to talk,” I said. “So we’ll let you do just that.” I turned off the speaker before Pinkie could respond, and hoofed the phone over to Erishy.

She nodded her thanks to me, and turned toward the window for some semblance of privacy. Raritony, May, and I did what we could to give her some space.

“I think my brain exploded,” I whispered to our huddle.

“Your brain? I’m a FlutterJack shipper,” Raritony replied. “Reality really does let you down.”

I stared at Raritony.

“What?” she said.

“No,” I said.

“But Rae, it’s just shipp-”

“No.”

“But it’s just a harmless little-”

“No.”

“But really, you two-”

“Nooooooo.”

Raritony harrumphed, and we lapsed into silence. The only sound was Erishy quietly murumuring into the phone.

“I like Rainbow Shy, but that’s me,” May said.

I groaned and pulled my hat down over my face.