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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
****************************************