The Mystery of a New World

by Fanthrose


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))