//------------------------------// // Chapter ten // Story: Love for all // by Thestoryteller //------------------------------// There were many specialized rooms within the castle which ranged from kitchens, bedrooms, lounges, mail center, throne room, etc. Some where used daily and some had never been touched in years, one of these rooms was the infirmary. It wasn’t much, just a large room with about ten beds, five on each side of the wall, with a pillow and a blanket on them. A nurse, a white female earth pony by the name of Nurse Redheart, sat at the front desk with her head being held up by her hoof as she read her book with a bored expression. Her dull moment came to an end when a bright flash of light entered the room and everyone from the beach appeared. Nurse Redheart, shocked by the sudden appearance of everyone, fell out of her chair. Discord clapped his hooves and everyone who was not apart of his family or the injured griffons were teleported in the blink of an eye. Discord clapped his hooves again and all four of the griffons were now tucked in bed and Sunset was too. He then went up to Nurse Redheart and said, “Nurse, I know this is sudden but I need your help.” With that, Discord and the Nurse teleported to the bedside of Sunset’s bed. Both the Nurse and Discord looked at Sunset for an unnecessary amount of time, as if the two were expecting one of them to do something. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Discord asked, exclaiming to the injured Sunset. “Heal her.” It was then that Nurse Redheart explained the dilemma they were now in, “Your majesty, I’m rather…embarrassed to say this but…I have no idea how to treat her.” Upon hearing that, Discord’s jaw literally dropped to the floor. After scooping it back up and slamming it back in place he said, “What do you mean you can’t heal her!? You’re a nurse aren’t you?!” “Yes, I am, your majesty.” Nurse Redheart began to explain in a calm manner. “However, Chaosville hasn’t really had a major medical field since…well…ever since you rule it. Your magic can cure any disease or injury that anyone might experience, the only thing us nurses can do is slap a bandaid on a small injury and give them a lolipop.” She said, looking to Sunset. “And I don’t think a bandaid and a lollipop can fix this.” Discord was about to protest but stopped himself when he realized that what she said was true. Thanks to his magic, Discord could cure any illness or fix any major injury no matter what it might be. However, for whatever reason, his magic could not heal the wounds of any of them, which meant they were in serious trouble. ’think, Discord, think, how can you solve this without magic or medical treatment?' Discord thought before an idea came to mind. “Brain blast!” Discord exclaimed. “I’ll just use alternative medicine, that should do the trick.” Meanwhile, both Fancy Pants and Cheese were facepalming as Discord began creating scented candles and crystals and placing them around Sunset’s bed. “Okay, so it looks like it’s up to us to help Sunset.” Cheese said. “Luckily, I have a plan that involves only slight shenanigans.” Cheese said, gaining everyone’s attention. “We must make…” Cheese paused for dramatic effect. “A cake!” Cheese answered, causing everyone to frown and roll their eyes. “More specifically, a cake made of special herbs and ingredients that have the ability to heal wounds and fix injuries. Luckily, I know just the recipe to such a cake.” “Next time, you should lead with that.” Fancy stated, before addressing everyone on a plan. “Alright, while Cheese is baking the cake, I will go reassure everyone that the situation is under control, the last thing we need is for everyone to start panicking. In the meantime, Johnny, Flash, and Soarin, I want the two of you to go back to the beach and search for anything that could’ve been the cause of their injuries.” With the plan laid out, the five of them set off to accomplish their tasks, on a separate note, Spike was running towards the infirmary with haste. When he barged into the infirmary it caused Nurse Redheart to fall out of her chair once more in surprise. “For Petes sake,” Nurse Redheart grimaced as she got back up, “does nobody here know how to knock?” “Sorry.” Spike halfheartedly apologized as he ran into the room with the beds, closing the door shut behind him. Spike, after making sure the door was secure and no one could hear them, approached Discord. “Um…your majesty?” Spike spoke up. “Not now, can’t you see that I’m in the middle of-“ Discord snapped but stopped himself when he realized that it was just Spike. “Oh, it’s you.” Discord let out a sigh of relief as he continued to place transparent crystals around Sunset. “Are those-“ “Healing crystals,” Discord answered for Spike, “yes, yes they are. I know that there’s no scientific proof that they work but they’re the only thing I’ve got right now.” Discord said as he placed the last crystal down. “But enough about that, did you learn anything from…’you-know-who’?” Discord said with emphasis. Discord opened his mouth to speak but then he closed it, like a fish. Spike wanted to tell Discord about Garble and the powers he had, but in doing so that would put Garble in danger, and it was Garble who saved Spike’s life when the Timberwolf attacked. In doing so, Spike was now honor-bound to Garble, but he still wanted to do something to help Discord. That’s when realization struck and he gave Discord his answer. “Gar- I mean, ‘you-know-who’ didn’t do anything suspicious or anything noteworthy, but for whatever reason all three of us, me, Ember, and Garble, were attacked by a Timberwolf.” Spike said. “A Timberwolf?” Discord repeated, raising a brow and stroking his chin in perplexity. “That can’t be right, the spirits of the timberwolves were put to rest long ago. The original settlers and I made sure of that, I don’t understand what could’ve upset one to appear.” “Maybe since you held the event there it must’ve caused some of the spirits to become restless?” Spike suggested. “No,” Discord shook his head lightly in disagreement, “before the event I casted a spell on the land to make the spirits dormant for the entire event.” Discord eyes went wide as a nasty thought came to mind, ’Could my magic be the cause of this? I might’ve stretched it out too thin and my spell must’ve fizzled, which means that…this is all my fault.' “Spike, thank you for your report. You are dismissed.” Discord ordered, clapping his hooves and Spike vanished in a bright flash of white light. Discord looked over to Sunset with a somber expression. “No matter what I do, I’m never going to stop myself from hurting the ones I love.” Fancy Pants stood in the throne room, alone. He used his magic to bring a piece of paper as well as a quill and ink to him. He then began to write on the letter, Dear Esteemed Guests, I write to you to assure all of you that there is nothing to fear, the situation is completely under control. Princess Sunset Shimmer, and the four griffons, are undergoing a full recovery thanks to the efforts being done by Prince Cheese Sandwich. Please be assured that this issue is being handled and we are doing everything to the best of our ability. Once the situation has been resolved we will be more than happy to compensate all of you for any inconvenience. Signed... Prince Fancy Pants. Fancy Pants rolled the scroll up and it became engulfed in a blue flame, turning the paper into smoke which split apart and sailed towards the rooms where everyone was. Fancy let out an exhausted sigh as he sat on his haunches, he stared blankly at the floor as his mind raced while he tried to grasp the situation. As he looked at the floor his attitude worsened when he noticed a slight smudge on his spectacles. He lifted them off with his magic and reached for his pocketcheif, but he only grasped air for when he looked to where his pocketchief was usually, there was nothing there. Fancy then realized that he was still wearing the plastic armor and didn’t change back into his regular attire. “May I?” A familiar voice spoke up as a deep purple square piece of fabric floated in front of Fancy, he looked to the source of the voice and saw none other than Rarity smiling at Fancy. Fancy liked her smile, it was a smile which reflected her generous intentions. “Thank you.” Fancy said, taking hold of the fabric with his magic and using it to clean his spectacles. “What are you doing here, miss Rarity?” “Forgive my intrusion,” Rarity requested, “but her lady, Fleur De Lis, requested that I bring her some refreshments. However…I’m rather embarrassed to say that I do not know my way around the castle and got myself lost. I only just so happened to stumble upon you and noticed that you were in need. Uh, I mean, in need of a pocket chief.” Rarity quickly corrected herself. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about, miss Rarity.” Fancy said. “Believe it or not the castle has a mind of its own, partly because it’s alive.” “I beg your pardon?” Rarity said with a puzzled expression. “You see,” Fancy began to explain, “long ago, there existed a massive creature known as a Titaiumasour, it was a creature that roamed the earth that carried a mountain on its back as a shell. Other creatures would build their nests and seek refuge in the creature’s shell, a Titaiumasour is home to over a thousand creatures. However, one day, father came across one of these creature’s right here in Chaosville, but it was old and dying. Discord made a deal with the Titaiumasour, he offered to transform its soul into the castle he would craft form his shell, the creature agreed and Discord bound the creature’s soul to the castle.” “Amazing,” Rarity said, astonished, “so this whole castle is alive?” “Yes, she is.” Fancy answered. “Every now and then she moves parts of herself around in order to confuse potential intruders.” Fancy stated as he headed to the door. “Follow me, I’ll guide you to the kitchen so that you can give Fleur her refreshments.” With that, both Rarity and Fancy made their way to the kitchen. The kitchen was a thing of wonder, it housed ten stoves, fifteen sinks, a counter with pots, pans, and utensils hanging from the ceiling, refrigerators next to each sink, and cabinets above each stove that housed several spices and herbs for cooking and baking. The staff was comprised of about twenty highly trained cooks, all of which were told to vacate the kitchen when Cheese Sandwich entered the room. Even though all of the chefs were highly trained cooks, Cheese was deemed to be the best cook and baker in all of Chaosville. Cheese was preparing to bake his recipe by setting out all of the necessary ingredients, of course this was after he had washed his hooves and put on his chef apron and hat. With everything ready he looked over to the cookbook he had set out and began following the directions. However, he came to a sudden stop when a key ingredient appeared in order for the cake to be complete. ”Must be baked by two ponies" Cheese face-hoofed at his incompetence, how could he have forgotten the key ingredient to the cake?! He remembered why his grandmother would always bake the cake with him instead of by herself. However, Cheese wondered how and where he was going to get help at this time due to the situation at hand. “Ooh, is that a tier 2 health cake?” The sudden appearance of a pink mare startled Cheese. Cheese looked over to see a pink earth pony mare with a pink poofy mane staring really closely at the ingredients Cheese was going to use. Cheese, quickly regaining his sense of sociability, spoke to the mare. “Uh…yes, this is.” Cheese answered, an idea popping into his head. “Say, you wouldn’t by any chance know how to bake one of these, do you?” “Sure do!” The pink mare grinned. “Although,” she added, her smile falling just a bit, “it can’t be made without two ponies, otherwise it’s just a plain ol’ cake.” “Quick question, what’s you name?” Cheese asked the pink mare. “My name is Pinkamia Pie, but friends just call me Pinkie, you can too.” Pinkie gleamed before realizing who she was talking to, she bowed and humbled herself before Cheese. “Uh…what I mean is that you can call me Pinkie too, your highness.” A shiver went down Cheese’s spine, the kind of shiver you get when someone scratches a chalkboard, or when someone says the word ‘moist'. “Oh please don’t call me that,” Cheese begged, “I really don’t like the whole fancy titles, if anything I would much rather prefer it if you just called me Cheese.” “As you wish then, Cheese.” Pinkie continued to smile. “Good, now that that’s out of the way,” Cheese walked away from the counter and grabbed another apron and chef hat just for Pinkie and offered them to her, “how would you like to assist me in baking this here cake?” “REALLY?!” Pinkie bounced with glee before returning to her composure. “I would be more than honored.” Pinkie said, and in the blink of an eye she grabbed the apron and hat and, after spinning like Wonder Woman does when she transforms, she was adorned in the apron and hat. “Let’s bake some treats.” As the two started baking, Cheese asked, "So Pinkie, what brings you to the kitchen?" "Oh, well I was brought here by my Pinkie Sense." Pinkie answered. "Pinkie Sense?" Cheese repeated, this time as a question. "Yep, it's what happens when my body gives off signs that something is about to happen. I got the signs that someone was baking a magical healing cake and I just knew that I had to be a part of that. So I asked Prince Blueblood if it would be okay and he was more than happy to give me the go ahead." Pinkie explained. “Wait,” Cheese paused looking at Pinkie, “Blueblood, my sister’s ex, ordered you to come over here and help make a cake that would heal her?” “Yep yep.” Pinkie said before realizing Cheese’s skepticism. “Ohhhhhh, you mean…Cheese you don’t have to worry about that, Prince Blueblood isn’t…like that anymore.” Cheese raised a brow. “I dunno, Pinkie, I’ve heard some pretty nasty rumors about Blueblood, mostly from Sunset herself. Rumors about how he’s a no-good two-timing jerk.” “Well…I mean-“ Pinkie, baffled, tried to retort. “I’m just messing with ya!” Cheese chuckled as he went back to baking. “Honestly I’m glad he’s no longer the jerk he was back them.” Pinkie blinked in confusion, “What’da mean?” “Ever since Sunset broke up with Blueblood I heard he got his act together and started doing things that made him less jerky. Like his volunteer services, his charities, and his attitude all together. Truthfully, I don’t really see Blueblood as that bad of a pony.” Cheese stated. “So…you forgive him?” Pinkie asked, trying to understand what Cheese’ point was. “I guess so…” Cheese said, “honestly the one who helped me understand all of this is Flash. That guy could forgive the meanest, most evil thing in existence if he sees even the dullest of a glimmer of goodness in someone.” Cheese said before deciding to change the conversation. “But enough about that, I wanna hear more about you.” “You wanna know about me?” Pinkie asked, caught off guard by the question. "Of course, one of the ingredients is a casual conversation." Cheese said, indicating to the ingredient's list. "Oh neat." Pinkie said, seeing that a casual conversation was indeed one of the neccasary ingredients. "Well...I guess the main thing I'll start with is that I'm a party pony, in which I like to throw parties for everyone for just about anything." "Get outta here!" Cheese exclaimed. "Me too!" "Your'e a party pony too?!" Pinkie also exclaimed. "Wow what a coincidence, what kind of parties do you throw?" "All kinds," Cheese said before going down the list of parties he'd thrown, "birthdays, weddings, bachlor parties, thera-parties, houswarming parties, and all kinds celebrations." "Amazing, what was the first party you ever threw?" Pinkie asked. "I'll never forget it," Cheese reminisced, "I threw it for my father on his birthday in the hopes of making him smile, but...that didn't go so well." "Wow, the first party you ever threw was for King Discord? That's amazing!" Pinkie exclaimed. "No, no, no." Cheese shook. "See, King Discord isn't my dad, he's more of like a...Godfather to me. My real dad is Cheddar Dough." "Wait, as in thee Cheddar Dough? One of the most wealthy ponies in the whole known world?" Pinkie asked in awe. "Yep, the one and only." Cheese sighed, leaning his head on his hoof. "Trust me though, it isn't all that great to have him as a dad." "What's so wrong with that?" Pinkie asked. "Nothing, forget about it." Cheese waived. "What about you, what was your first party?" "My first party was the one I threw for my entire family. I was so happy when I turned all of their frowns into smiles." Pinkie smiled. "Lucky." Cheese muttered under his breath. "I'm so happy to hear that, no doubt you're probably the second best party planner to ever lived." Pinkie froze. "Whadda you mean, 'second best party planner'?" "Well, you know, I have no doubt that your parties are something to behold but my parties are legendary, I've been aclaimed as the best party pony in all of Chaosville." Cheese stated. "Well now hold on their mister, you can't just call yourself the best party pony and expect me to not challenge you." Pinkie declared. "Are you challenging me to a party off?" Cheese inquired. "You bet your royal tush I am." Pinkie smirked. "Name both the time and place and I'll throw you the best party you ever had." "Oh yeah, Imma throw you a party so epic that you'll be dancing for weeks." Cheese declared. "Imma throw you a party so spectacualr that your entire castle will be covered in decorations that will take months to take down." Pinkie retorted. "Imma throw you a party so amazing that you'll be unable to throw any party different to the one I threw you." Cheese said, moving closer to Pinkie. "Imma throw you a party so fantastic that you won't be able to help but talk about it for the rest of your life." Pinkie said, also moving closer to Cheese to the point where their muzzles were inches from each other. "*ahem*." The sound of someone clearing their throat caused both Cheese and Pinkie to look to the doorway where both Fancy and Rarity were standing. "Sorry to disturb...whatever this is, but would you be so kind as to give me some refreshments?" Fancy asked. Meanwhile, Lightning Dust paced around her room in a very frustrated manner. On top of her bed sat a strange box with a crystal ball hovering over it that had white clouds swirling within it. It gave off a ringing sound similiar to the song a skype call makes if it ever existed. She paced for what she thought was hours, but was actually mere minutes, before the white clouds faded and an image of *Malt Cetio* appeared in the ball. “Finally,” Lightning snarled at the image of *Malt Cetio*, “where have you been?” She demanded. ”Well, for your information, I’ve been busy covering our tracks." *Malt Cetio* answered, his voice echoed like a ghost. “No, no no.” Lightning pointed an accusing hoof. “Not our mess, your mess. You were the one that attacked both the griffons and Sunset, whatever happened to being discrete?!” ”Perhaps you didn’t hear me, this is our mess, as in all of our mess. Starting with the fact that Garble revealed his powers to two dragons and you haven’t been spreading misinformation like you should’ve been." *Malt Cetio* stated. Lightning’s eyes looked to floor to avoid the gaze of *Malt Cetio*. “I…It’s not as easy as it looks.” ”Oh spare me, the only reason you haven’t been changing is because you’re still trying to win the heart of that failure of a clone, Soarin." *Malt Cetio* rolled his eyes. “He is not a failure.” Lightning growled, her eyes flashed a shade of green. ”If it walks like a duck, and it weighs the same as a duck, then chances are it’s a witch. *Malt Cetio* stated matter-of-factly. ”But enough of that, we have nothing to worry about should they find some way to heal both the griffons and Sunset, and I’ve made sure that no one will discover us thanks to the spirits I’ve angered." Lightning Dust opened and closed her mouth like a fish, as much as she wanted to yell at *Malt Cetio*, she couldn’t deny the fact that he did save them. ”I believe the words you’re looking for are, thank you *Malt Cetio* for saving my flank." *Malt Cetio* smirked. Lightning sighed, “Thank you *Malt Cetio* for saving my flank.” Lightning unwillingly repeated, not wanting to suffer the consequences should she refuse him. ”Good girl." *Malt Cetio* smirked. “So…where do we go from here?” Lightning asked. “Surely the plan has changed now, what with Sunset being incapacitated.” ”Not exactly, both Soarin and Sunset will still be two of the three sacrifices. Thanks to this ball that Discord is deadset on having, the third one will be practically given to us on a silver platter." *Malt Cetio* explained. “And you promise that when this is all over Soarin will be mine.” Lightning asked, wanting to reconfirm her deal with *Malt Cetio*. ”Dearie, when this is all over, Soarin won’t have a choice but to be yours." *Malt Cetio* stated. ”But he will only belong to you if you stick to the plan. It’s time to get your hooves dirty and do your part. Don’t make me remind you again." “Yes, it won’t happen.” Lightning nodded. ”One more thing, Dearie," *Malt Cetio* glared at Lightning, his eyes glowing black and red, ”never accuse me of any faults whatsoever ever again or I will turn you into shoes." *Malt Cetio* threatened before his image faded away and it was replaced by white mist swirling around in the ball. Lightning let out a sigh of relief once the image was gone, she took both the box and crystal and hid them under her bed. She then sat there, contemplating her options on what to do next. On one hoof, she could do as *Malt Cetio* ordered her and on the other she could continue trying to win Soarin’s heart. She knew all too well that Soarin had feelings for Rainbow, the thought of that fact made Lightning angry but she couldn’t deny it. If she was to be happy with Soarin, she would have to do as *Malt Cetio* said. “Sorry Soarin, but I swear this is for your own good.” Lightning said to herself, trying to convince herself that her actions were moral. “So…what are we lookin’ for?” Johnny asked his two brothers. Flash, Soarin, and Johnny had made their way down to the beach where they were searching the area for anything that would answer their many questions. “Anything, Johnny, anything that might be a clue as to what hurt Sunset.” Flash answered. “…oh, and the griffons.” He quickly added, before returning to his search. “Okay…” Johnny said looking around at everything. “Trees, sand, branches, rocks, and branches. Welp, nothing here, might as well call it a day.” Both Soarin and Flash glared at Johnny’s smart-aleck statement. “Johnny, why do you want us out of here?” Soarin inquired. “Because this is pointless.” Johnny stated. “Look, whatever happened to Sunset sucks but there’s not much we can do about it. We can just leave it to King Discord.” Both Flash and Soarin looked at each other with a confirmed look, they both nodded as if they both came to the same conclusion. “Bull.” They both said in unison, calling out Johnny for lying. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you?” Soarin pointed an accusing hoof. “Whaaaaaaat?” Johnny exclaimed. “Pffft, no I’m not.” He waived. Upon hearing that, Flash closed the distance between both him and Johnny by flying and poked his chest. “Look, if you know something then spill it. Our sister is in the infirmary right now she might never wake up, and if she doesn’t wake up and you knew what the cause of her injuries are then you better tell me right now or so help me I will…do something unfavorable.” Flash said, despite his frustration he couldn’t keep up his tough attitude. Johnny looked to Soarin that he also had a look that said if he didn’t spill his secrets then there’d be hell to pay. Johnny released a defeated sigh and told the truth. “I’m going on a date.” He admitted. Both Flash and Soarin were baffled and caught off-guard by Johnny’s statement. “Bull.” They both said in unison, calling Johnny out once again. “No really, I am.” Johnny defended. “Look, I didn’t want to tell anyone what with the whole ball going on and everything. The truth is there’s this mare I kinda like and was gonna ask out but then the ball happened so I asked her out in secret and we were supposed to meet up here after the game ended and now there’s this whole mess.” Both Flash and Soarin still didn’t believe their brother. Before Johnny could continue to defend his statement, an orange blur came running out of the bushes and towards them. It collided with Flash and the two rolled back before both Flash and the blur came to a stop. Flash let out a groan as he got back up, rubbing his head to stop the aching pain he was feeling, when he looked to see what hit him he saw an orange earth pony mare with a blonde mane and tail wearing a cowboy hat. “Applejack?” Johnny asked, confused by the mare’s sudden appearance. “Johnny?” Applejack asked back. “What are you doing here?” “What are you doing here?” Johnny asked back. “We were supposed to meet at the beach.” “I know, that’s where I was heading but-“ Applejack was about to explain herself before several growls cut her off. Appearing from the edge that Applejack ran from were at least twenty timberwolves, all growling and slowly approaching them. All four of the ponies grouped up, covering each other as the Timberwolves began to slowly circle them. “Friends of yours?” Johnny joked to Applejack. “Yep, thought you might like an audience.” Applejack joked back. “Wait, you actually brought all of these Timberwolves here?” Johnny asked, baffled. Applejack rolled her eyes. “No I obviously didn’t bring them all here.” She stated. “I was doing a thing, where you make a joke and then I make a joke and then…you know what, forget it.” “As lovely as this awkward moment for you two is, we’ve got bigger problems to face.” Soarin stated as the Timberwolves began to close in, and once they were in range, they all let out a vicious howl before going in for the kill.