A Stallion with a Question

by Ugly-Duckling123

Chap 21

With Mac in the lead and the two girls following on the horses, the group slowly and carefully made it down the path that was said was used for hay cart rides for family reunions.

But the further they went, the less sure Mac was of it.

The path and dents for the wheels had been covered by grass, meaning that unless you knew it was there, you couldn't see it. Brambles and tree roots were edging their way in nearly blocking the way. And it was way more quiet than Mac remembered it was, making him not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Mac..." Apple Bloom asked in a shaky voice making Honey stop "Can... Can we turn around? I don't think I want to do this anymore..."

"Ok, you and Fluttershy turn back," Mac said after thinking for a bit "I'll continue to see if this path can be restored. If I'm not back in..." he said looking to his watch "One hour? Or you hear me scream. Go get help."

"We will," Fluttershy said smiling "Just promise you wont make us do that. Me and AJ both nearly lost you twice in here already... I don't think either of us will be able to take any more."

Nodding and kissing her on the cheek and ruffling Apple Blooms hair, Mac waited until they started heading back before he turned around and continued on his way.

---

Back at the farm everyone was checking that everything was still alright and was ready to go off to their destinations.

At the moment Applejack, Rainbow and Scoots were in the barn stashing the food in the loft.

"This the last one?" Applejack asked as she pulled the box onto the ledge backing up to turn around to set it with the others.

"Unless Twi put something in the wrong place while sorting all this out," Rainbow said by the ladder and hay-hook they were using with one of AJ's ropes to lift the boxes up. "Why you ask?"

"Cause there's about fifteen boxes and almost no more room up here." Applejack said coming down.

Scootaloo wasn't paying attention. She was over by Nutmeg's fence trying to get to like horses again.

Reaching out her hand slowly, Scoots fixed her eyes on the mare and tried to control her breathing trying not to be nervous.

Slowly Nutmeg came over to the young girl and sniffed her hand and looked over the purple haired one who helped find her daughter a few years ago wondering why she was so nervous.

Looking to the girls hand to her eyes and back, Nutmeg slowly pressed her nose into the palm of it and let the girl pet her.

Scootaloo smiled when Nutmeg pressed her nose into her hand feeling all her resurfaced fears of horses die back down.

"Hey Scoots," she heard Rainbow call to her making her turn around "If you don't move we'll be leaving you here... Come on."

"I gotta go Nutmeg sorry," Scootaloo said quietly stepping off of the fence and running to the door.

As they went back to the house Rainbow crouched down to let Scootaloo have a piggy back ride, as she and Applejack began to talk about this plan again.

"You really think this will work AJ?"

"Us keeping this secret or the whole thing?" Applejack asked "I mean all of y'all know how bad I am at keeping secrets what with me earning the nickname 'Honest Applejack' at school."

"You've kept it secret so far," Scootaloo said smiling from on top of Rainbow's back.

"Well yeah Squirt," Rainbow said bouncing her makeshift sister a bit smirking "But there's still two days left... What's to say she wont blow it at the last second?"

"Thanks for emphasizing what I was talking about Dashie..." Applejack said as they came to the house.

"Just remember Applejack," Rainbow said setting Scoots down "This is for your sister. You're doing this to make her happy and all that junk. Somehow, someway, you'll manage to do it."

"Thanks 'Bow" Applejack said smiling and hugging her friend gently before they went inside to see what else they had to do.

---

Back in the forest Mac was still on the path coming to a stop as a tree was lying across it, and brambles and other vegetation twirling around it so much that there was no way they'll be able to clear it in time for Wednesday.

"Well that's blown it then," Mac said sighing wondering what to do now.

Coming up with nothing, Mac shook his head and was about to turn around and head back, when a noise caught his ear, almost like a whine and shuffling.

Turning back to the shrubs, Mac slowly crept closer to see if he could find what it was.

"Now what we got here then?" he asked out loud as he saw a puppy buried under the bushes, one of it's fronts paws looking like it was hurt.

"How'd you get like that baby?" he asked getting down to the ground to look the puppy in the eyes a smile on his face, not making any sudden moves to show he was a friend, slowly reaching out his hand for it to inspect.

Slowly, the puppy limped forward and sniffed this things paw to see if it was safe, smelling apples, flowers, and the scent of some meat this thing must of had a bit of time ago.

Liking the smells the cub began to lick the things paw joyfully. But when it reached forward to touch her the pup backed up and began to growl at this thing.

"Hey I'm trying to help you baby," Mac said calmly remembering what Fluttershy always said a bout kindness. "I mean no harm. Look I'll show ya..." At this he backed up a bit, still on the ground and still having a smile. "Trust me now?" he asked.

Slowly the puppy moved forward again and looked around to see if any dangers were there to be found.

When she couldn't find any, the puppy came out from under the thorns and came to inspect this thing before her some more.

"Hum..." Mac hummed a he slowly got into a sitting position "That paw must really be hurting you mustn't it baby?" he asked holding out his hand asking to look at it surprised to see the puppy place her injured paw into it. "I know someone who can help if you can trust me to take you to her..." he said still smiling slowly and gently setting a hand onto the cubs head and running it down her back.

If it meant staying with this new plaything a bit longer, whatever it is he just said, she'd do it. Yapping happily and licking it's paws again.

"Ok, lets go then," Mac said slowly picking up the puppy the way Fluttershy showed him to pick up small animals - an arm under the tummy and wrap the other to support their butt, and bring them into the body.

Getting up Mac took one last look around to see if they could be able to do anything to the path, or find what made this puppy hide under the bushes in the first place.

Finding an answer to neither question, Mac began to make his way back to the grotto.

---

In the grotto, because Bloom couldn't pace, she had spent the time since they got back picking the petals off of her flowers of her crown.

"Bloom," Fluttershy said looking just as nervous but not showing it as much. "I'm sure you know, even more than I do, that Mac is capable of handling himself out there in the woods."

"He hadn't been that capable of it the last few times he went off alone into them," Apple Bloom said quietly accepting Honey's request for a hug.

"You know neither of those times it was his fault he got hurt Bloom," Fluttershy said defending Mac.

"I know..." the girl said sighing "Is it time to go and get help yet?" she asked.

"Well since you've been asking that every fine minutes since we got back, and you've asked it five time meaning it's been.... twenty five minutes," Fluttershy said looking at her phone "No... not yet."

Seeing disappointment on her soon-to-be-sister-in-law's face, Fluttershy went over to the tent and pulled out the basket.

"How about we have something to eat while we wait for Prince Pansy to come back from his quest My Queen," she said smile coming to sit next to Bloom.

"Oh no ya don't," a voice they both wanted to hear said turning around to see Mac and a puppy in his arms "You're not making it so that all we'll have tonight is bread and jam, and jam and bread again Bloom."

"Mac you're back," Fluttershy said getting up and slowly but quickly, because she could see the puppy was a bit shaking by this, to her fiancee. "Now where did this little cute ball of fur come from?" she asked slowly reaching out to the pup smiling.

Leaning forward a bit the puppy began to sniff this new thing's paw, smelling all kinds of different animals on her, the same flowers and the thing holding her had but stronger - this thing must be where the other got it from, and the smell of some of that stuff those noisy pests, that always sting her, make.

"Found her under some brambles when I got to the fallen tree blocking the path," Mac explained shifting his eyes to Bloom. Getting the hint Fluttershy nodded showing she understood "And I think she hurt her paw too."

"Aw... you poor thing," Fluttershy said taking the puppy from Mac and kneeling down to the ground, setting her down too to see if anything else was wrong.

"Please, can I look at your paw?" she said pointing to her eyes then to the paw in question as she spoke.

After a bit of hesitation, the puppy lifted her paw up and gently placed it into Fluttershy's hand trying not to whine when her gentle fingers softly pressed against it to see what was wrong.

"So what wrong Fluttershy?" Apple Bloom asked coming over with the help of Honey Crisp seeing the puppy.

"Well something is definitely wrong," she said scratching the puppy behind the ears a bit "But I'm not sure how bad it is. So I'll need to take her to the clinic to run some tests. Just to be sure she's alright."

"So see you later then?" Mac asked rubbing the back of the neck as they got back up, the puppy now with Fluttershy.

"Yeah," she said smiling "And don't worry I'll take good care of this sweet little thing here, and tell the others the path's a no go."

But as Fluttershy turned and began to walk away from Mac the puppy began to whine and fidget in the girls arms making her stop to see what was wrong.

Looking to where the puppy was staring and trying to get to she saw Mac, looking confused.

"Hey baby what's wrong?" he asked coming over this calming the puppy a bit.

"Um... I don't think she wants to be separated from you Mac," is all Fluttershy said.

"How you going to take her to the clinic then?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I guess you'll need to come too." Mac said taking the pup back, that calming her down. "You might want to give the others a heads up though 'Shy," he whispered shifting his eyes to Bloom again who had somehow managed to get back on to Honey all by herself.

Nodding in agreement, Fluttershy took out her phone and called the others at the farm.

---

"Right that's the last thing to be taken to Fluttershy's," Twilight said checking over the list she had made, everyone around her smiling that all they had to do now, was to get it there.

"Ok then everyone lets get this into the truck and heal it off to Shy's place so she could keep it safe for Wednesday," Applejack said picking up the banner and about to walk out the door when the phone started going off.

"Hello?" Spike, the closet one to the phone asked. "Oh hi Fluttershy. What?" he continued getting everyone to give him curious looks "No not yet. In fact we were just about to pack everything in the truck to do so." that giving him even more looks.

Not being able to take it any longer, Applejack asked for the phone.

" 'Shy? it's AJ," she said whats wrong with if we've taking the stuff to your place yet?"

'It's just Mac's found a lost pup in the woods and she's hurt herself,' Fluttershy answered 'So I want to take her to the clinic to see if she's alright or if anything else is wrong, but for some reason she doesn't want to leave Mac. Meaning he needs to come too, meaning Bloom does too. Unless you think leaving her in the woods with no adult's a good idea.'

"Mac..." Applejack groaned rubbing her bridge of her nose. "Why does have to show the world that big fat heart of his now?"

'I'll call you when their gone and you can come round then,' Fluttershy said seeming to of ignored AJ's remark. 'Bye.'

"Yeah bye."

With that Applejack hung the phone up and turned to the room all eyes, full of questions on her.

"Run down's Mac's found a puppy who doesn't want to leave him, but she's hurt her paw so they all have to go to the clinic of 'Shy's meaning we need to wait for her to call back, to say it's safe."

"But... But that will mess up the whole schedule I've made," Twilight said waving the piece of paper around stepping forward.

"Too bad Twi," Applejack said picking up the banner again - just because they can't go yet doesn't mean that they can't be ready to go when they need to. "Unless you can find some way to go back in time and stop Mac from finding the thing, I can't help you."

---

"I hope they're not too upset about that," Fluttershy said hanging up and began to pack her things so they can go.

"Upset about what?" Bloom asked cocking her head "And why did you need to call someone just so we can go to your place?"

"Upset that I asked for them to wait until later for them to come," Fluttershy said deciding to walk as they left "And I needed to call first, to let them know they can't come over yet because I'll be busy with a patient."

"Then lets get going and get there so we wont need to hold them up any longer than we need to," Mac said the pup almost asleep in his arms loving the fact she was getting all this attention, and the sound of the big thing's heart.

With that the three of them and the animals left the grotto and headed to Fluttershy's.