- CHAPTER 22 -
TENDER, LOVE AND CARE
“…Anon?”
Hnnngghh…your head…hurts a lot.
“Wow, he looks terrible…is he gonna be okay nurse?”
“Wait, I think he’s coming back to his senses!”
You finally open your eyes.
”ANON!” Everyone present yells.
“Where…where am I?”
”Oh Anon!” Nelly clings onto your shoulder, with tears rolling down her eyes, “I’m glad you’re okay…”
”You’re in Pleasantview High’s infirmary dude…” Rainbow Dash adds, “you were out for like an hour or so.”
”Eeyup, that Artic Thunder varmint gotcha good…” Applejack adds.
”Inconceivable!” Trixie yells, “how did you let him kick your butt like that Anon?!”
”Cut Anon some slack Trix…” Rainbow Dash says, “Anon just didn’t know that he would act like that.”
”Well…I uh, kinda know why he did it,” Nelly blushes, “I really had to teach him a lesson for mistreating you like that Anon.”
”I think you went a little too overboard there Nelly,” Applejack says to the clingy girl hugging you.
“W-What do you mean?”
The nurse moves the curtains next to your bed, your eyes go wide open as soon as you see Artic Thunder laying unconscious on the bed next to yours, he has a bunch of bruises; a large scratch across his face, bitemarks on his arms, a couple of broken fingers, his nose is also broken.
”Don’t worry Anon, you’re gonna be okay…Artic just gave you a mild concussion,” the nurse says as she scribbles something down on her notepad, “however, Artic Thunder will take some time to recover.”
“What happened to him?” You ask.
Everyone in the room points at Nelly, who just lets out an awkward laugh.
”Well I just couldn’t let him do that to you now could I?”
”Just like the good ol’ practice days with dad, eh sis?” Sandy lets out a laugh, you just raise an eyebrow demanding an explanation, which makes Mirage sigh.
”Our dad was the one who taught us some self-defense lessons,” Mirage says, “according to him, he said we would need it; just in case we ran into some bad people in the future.”
”Yeah, Mirage and I got some lessons from him first, then he enrolled us into martial arts lessons, you know how overprotective dads can get, especially when he had three hot daughters to look after…” Sandy humblebrags about her looks, flicking her hair in a seductive way with one hand and placing the other on her hip, making all the guys present in the room gaze at her, which makes Bell uncomfortable.
”Amen to that,” Sandalwood says with a pervy smile, Mirage clears her throat.
”As Sandy was saying, when it was Nelly’s turn to fight against him…she sent him to the hospital.”
Nelly pouts from embarrassment.
”Girl’s a natural! But that peculiar event made her quit fighting or learning martial arts altogether, she still apologizes to our dad to this day…” Sandy says with a laugh.
”Are you two done embarrassing me in front of Anon and his friends?” Nelly says as she cracks her fingers, both sisters shut up.
”Whoa sis…relax,” Sandy says, “we don’t want any trouble.”
”Nelly Prattle! Report to the Principal’s office immediately!” The secretary of Pleasantview High’s principal talks on the speaker system.
”M-me?!” B-but why me?” Nelly says.
”Looks like you’re in trouble now sis…come on, I’ll speak in your defense,” Mirage says.
Nelly stands up and gives you a last look and a warm, loving smile before she leaves to the Principal’s office followed by Mirage.
”Hehe…if you know what's good for you, then you should not mistreat our sis at all Anon, or you might end up like Artic Thunder,” Sandy whispers into your ear before giving you a smug grin.
”Alright, let’s keep training y’all!” Sandy says to the rest of your team and hers, “ma’am? Will Anon be okay?”
”Oh no, he won’t be able to train at all! In fact his knee will need at least a week to recover.”
Uh oh.
”WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash yells, “you must be wrong ma’am, h-he’ll be okay by the round of sixteen, right?”
”Nope…it is mandatory for him to rest, otherwise his knee won’t heal at all. Fortunately Artic didn’t do much damage to him, however I advise for his sake to rest. You should find another player to replace him soon so…good luck with that,” the nurse suggests.
You see a worried look on Rainbow’s eyes.
“Don’t worry captain…I’m okay!” You say as you try to stand up, however a sharp pain coming from your knee quickly forces you to sit on the bed again, your teammates look concerned, Rainbow Dash however, sits by your side.
”Don’t worry dude…don’t overdo it just to please me, get some rest. We’ll train by ourselves and come pick you up when we’re done.”
You let out a sigh.
”It’s cool Anon, we’ll take it from here…this ain’t your fault.”
Rainbow Dash looks at Artic Thunder, who unfortunately wakes up with such a bad timing.
”Oh man…what happened?” Artic Thuder wakes up.
”It’s HIS!” Rainbow Dash yells, pointing at a confused Artic Thunder with her finger.
”YIKES!” Arthic Thunder yells as Applejack and Sunset Shimmer grab Rainbow Dash by her shirt and hold onto her enraged friend to prevent her from harming Artic Thunder even more.
”Enough Dash! Nelly took care of him already!” Sunset Shimmer yells.
Could this day get weirder?
Hours later...
Your team has been training for a while with Pleasantview’s team while you’re stuck here in this bed, Artic Thunder’s mother dropped by a couple of hours ago to pick up her son; she apologized to you as well for her son’s erratic behaviour. What a nice lady she was...However…your knee still hurts like hell. The school’s nurse said you were lucky, and that you only needed rest. But…that means you won’t be able to participate in the upcoming event.
Lucky? Yeah right…
Perhaps for Kindiak Park High, you wonder what Rarity will think of you now. The door in front of your bed slowly opens, revealing a sweaty Rainbow Dash walking through it. She looks quite upset for some reason, and she looks terribly tired as well.
”Heya Rainbow…how did practice go?”
”Why don’t you come and see for yourself?” Rainbow Dash replies.
“Huh? Did something happen?”
Rainbow Dash comes closer to your bed and helps you to stand up.
"You sure you can do this by yourself?”
”Pssh…’course I can!”
You love it whenever this girl tries to act tough, although she’s clearly struggling with your body’s weight, you do your best to stand on one foot while also trying to not fall onto her.
“Thanks Dashie…”
”Man, I really wish you were okay…” Rainbow Dash complains.
“What do you mean?”
Rainbow Dash guides you to meet your team, and once you get there your eyes go wide as soon as you see how finished they look.
”See?” Rainbow Dash says as she lifts an eyebrow and rolls both eyes.
“Sheesh! What happened to you all?!”
”Well team?” Rainbow Dash demands an explanation while growing more upset at them.
”Lessons got…harder, if that’s the best way to say it.” Trixie says, flicking her unkept hair.
”Eeeyup…” Big Mac adds his insightful thoughts.
”Here’s the problem Anon…” Rainbow Dash sighs. “Big Mac is too slow, he got hit several times by his partner.”
”Hehe…sorry,” Big Mac lets out an awkward chuckle.
”Trixie kept getting distracted, every time she got hit by her partner, she’d ask her for a ‘time-out’ to check her appearance whenever she got hit on the face.”
”Hey! What if Trixie gets a nasty bruise?! A beauty like moi shouldn’t even take part in this dumb event…” Trixie claims.
”Lyra and Sweetie, boy they got carried away and instead of hitting their partners they ended up fighting against each other…”
”We’re sorry Rainbow Dash…” Lyra says.
”Yeah, we were just trying to see who was better,” Sweetie Drops adds.
“Where’s Sonata and Derpy?”
”They got scared and ran back to the bus…they weren’t willing to take a hit for the team.” Cloudy Kicks says.
Rainbow Dash tells you exactly what happened, embarrassing every single one of your teammates for their lack of courage, skill, or simply by their overall failure to land a single hit.
”And what about yerself sugarcube?” Applejack asks with an annoyed tone of voice, sporting a nasty bruise on her cheek.
”Me?” Rainbow Dash feigns complete ignorance.
”Sandy kicked yer tail good didn’t she? Why are you so upset at us when you couldn’t even land a single hit on her, let alone touch her?”
Rainbow Dash grumbles, and everyone laughs at her, you even let out a lighthearted laugh.
”What’s so funny dude?”
“Come on Rainbow…it doesn’t sound that bad, it’s everyone’s first lesson; besides, I’m already out of the competition as well remember?”
”Yeah, but at least you landed a couple of hits, that makes you Canterlot’s MVP…like, holy smokes we’re so gonna lose this event next Saturday.”
”Aren’t you forgetting about the other events?”
”Oh…well, at least in those everyone did great. Sunset did so well at basketball, Aria at High Jump and Flash at-”
“See? As long as you win all those events we’ll be fine. Don’t give up yet Rainbow. Maybe we should rest for today to clear our minds and-”
”We don’t have enough time for that Anon,” Rainbow Dash interrupts you before letting out a defeated sigh.
“And what good will pushing the team to its limit do? I know they can do it! They just need to rest,” you happily say, as everyone else is moved by your faith in them.
"Perhaps we should practice some karate a little bit more…” Trixie says, “this time for real, don’t you guys think?”
”For the first time in like, forever I agree with’cha Trix,” Applejack says.
”YEAH!” Bulk Biceps yells.
”I’ll go get Sonata and Derpy from the bus,” Sandalwood says.
“What? A-are you sure about that?” You ask your teammates.
”Relax sugarcube…we ain’t done yet. Just leave it to us!” Applejack says.
Minutes later.
”Oh? What’s this? Back for another beating?” Sandy says as your team stands in front of hers.
”Very funny Sandy…but no, we’ll be the ones laughing at ya’ll this time.”
Pleasantview High’s team laughs so hard at Applejack’s claim; Sandy has to quiet them all down.
”Well then cowgirl,” Sandy says with a mischeivous smile, “let’s see if you learn something this time…unlike your captain you look like you could stand a chance against me.”
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash help you sit at the gym’s bleachers, then Applejack runs off to fight against Sandy.
“Go Jackie! You can do it!” You cheer for your friend.
Applejack starts by attacking Sandy with fast punches, which she easily dodges.
”Hmph, is that all you’ve got?” Sandy asks.
”You’ve seen nothing yet,” Applejack smirks as she forces Sandy to cover her face with both arms from the intense punches she throws at her.
Now that both of her sides are exposed, Applejack quickly lands a hard kick on Sandy’s right side, making her lose a little balance.
”Ouch! That was gnarly! Babe? Are you okay?!” Bell calls from the bleachers, Sandy falls on her knees and takes one hand to her bruised side.
”That’s…a point,” Mirage says in disbelief, your team’s eyes go bright.
”That was sooo cool Applejack,” Tennis Match happily says.
Sandy stands up and attacks Applejack, this time looking a bit angrier with her rival, she throws fast punches at her, however Applejack quickly swats Sandy’s arm away with one hand to punch her exposed belly with the other.
Sandy takes her hands to her stomach before falling on her back.
”Point…Applejack is the winner,” Mirage says in disbelief.
”Did you see that Anon?!” Sunset excitedly says as she sits next to you, “an hour ago she couldn’t land a single hit on her opponent.”
“Guess it was just a confidence issue, aren’t you gonna join them?”
”I guess I should, who knows what Superintendent Discord might have under his sleeve just to see us lose. Maybe I can get an MVP award like you.”
“And I hope Kindiak Park High won’t be an obstacle for you guys.”
”Why are you talking like that?” Sunset Shimmer asks.
“Like what?”
”Like, not including yourself, you’re still a part of our team Anon! We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you! That little pep talk you gave to us was like, sooo inspiring!” Sunset Shimmer gives you a hug.
“Aww Sunny…"
Applejack helps Sandy Prattle up.
”Huh, maybe you guys aren’t that bad to begin with…” Sandy says, “you ready for the next lesson?”
Everybody present cheers.
”Well, I gotta leave Anon…”
“Kick some tail Sunny.”
”I will…”
You observe your surroundings. Where could Nelly be?
Pleasantview’s classes have ended for the day, you and your teammates are riding the bus back to Canterlot High.
”Man…I’m exhausted,” Rainbow Dash says.
“Yeah, you did well today Dashie.”
”Pfft…save the compliments for your girlfriend Anon.”
“Whoa whoa! Nelly ain’t my girlfriend! She’s just-”
”Suuuure, don’t worry dude, I won’t say a thing!”
"B-but!”
Rainbow Dash lets out a laugh.
”Relax dude…” she says as she punches your arm, “I’m just messing with you, however…she does seem nice, albeit being a little clingy don’t you think?”
“Well, I can’t argue with that…” You let out a chuckle.
”Tell me...what's up with you and her? Do you like her?” Rainbow Dash teases.
“W-what?! Rainbow!?" Your cheeks go red from the sudden question.
"I won't tell anyone, you can trust me!"
"W-well..."
Before you can say more the bus finally arrives to Canterlot High and you quickly stand up.
“OH LOOK WE'RE HERE! I think I can take it from here Rainbow…”
You try to balance your body’s weight on both good and damaged legs, however, that same sharp pain comes back.
“On second thought…hehe, mind helping me out Captain?”
“As long as you don’t get used to this then I’m fine with it.” She just lets out a chuckle.
You all get off the bus and find plenty of your classmates fooling around and talking in groups on the school premises.
”Looks like classes just ended, boy am I glad you struck that deal with that ol’ hag Celestia to let us train dude.”
"Thank Nelly for that, it was her idea.”
”That old what now?!” A voice calls from the Principal’s window.
”Crud…why did the bus have to park here?” Rainbow Dash mumbles to herself.
”Welcome back Ms. Rainbow Dash…” Celestia says, standing behind the open window, “just in time!”
”Umm…for what exactly?” Rainbow Dash asks.
”DETENTION! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ABOUT IT?! And guess what? That little comment you just made earned you yet another week of detention! Congratulations!” Principal Celestia sarcastically claps, Rainbow Dash just sighs.
”Anon, try not to hang out with that delinquent too much, a good student like you shouldn’t…what happened to you?”
“I got injured Principal…I guess I’ll be out for a week or so.”
Principal Celestia almost faints at the end of that sentence, she falls on her chair and lets out a big “WHY?!” in the air.
”Well dude…I have to go to detention. Talk to you later okay?” Rainbow Dash says, “will you be okay?”
“Don’t worry about me Captain.”
”Cool, see ya tomorrow…”
Your teammates gather around you to make sure you’re okay.
”Does it hurt Anon?” Trixie asks.
“A bit, yeah…”
”Need a lift to your crib dude?” Flash asks as he points at his car.
“Thanks…but no thanks Flash, I’ll stay here a little bit longer.”
”A’ight, but if you’re in trouble just give me a call okay?”
“Thanks bro…”
Your teammates look concerned, but gradually understand you want to be alone for a bit.
”See you tomorrow brah…” Brawly Beats says.
"Get some rest Anon…” Sonata says.
”Yeah man, and put some ice on that thing, it’s disgusting,” Aria makes a disgusted-looking grimace.
“Gee, thanks Aria.”
Sonata nudges Aria’s arm with her elbow.
”Fine…g-get well okay?”
Cute.
“Don’t worry about me…see you all tomorrow.”
They all say their goodbyes to you and leave you alone with your thoughts, sitting on the school’s front steps.
Guess it’s game over for you, all that effort gone to waste, all because of that Artic guy. Stealing Nelly away from him? Yeah right. Nelly may be beautiful and charming but…she’s not as beautiful and charming as-
”Darling?”
Your eyes go wide, you turn your head around your shoulder and find Rarity standing in front of the school’s main door accompanied by Fluttershy.
”Oh my…” Fluttershy gasps.
”DARLING! What happened to you?!” Rarity asks, as she quickly sits down next to you and touches your chin with her delicate to face her, you really didn’t want them to see you in this state.
”Oh my goodness Anon, w-who did this to you?” Rarity asks.
“H-heya Rares, hi Flutters…uh, well you see-“
Rarity looks so concerned over your well-being.
“There was this guy over at Pleasantview High who got really mad at me…and taking advantage of the training session he decided to beat me up.”
”But why would he do that?” Rarity asks dumbfounded.
“Well, I recall he said some nonsense of me stealing Nelly from him or something like that…then he hit me real hard and I blacked out.”
”Really, you don’t say?” Rarity says, raising an eyebrow at the mention of Nelly. You let out a chuckle.
”Can you believe it Rares? What a jerk! Me? Stealing Nelly from him? Please…”
Rarity frowns a bit.
”And to top it all, Nelly kicked his butt immediately afterwards,” you say with a laugh, “Nelly’s a pretty good athlete as well as a fighter.”
You shake your head.
“What Nelly did was out of this world according to the team, she could easily win the competition if she trusted herself a bit more.”
”I see…” Rarity says with an annoyed tone of voice before standing up, “I hope you get well soon Anonymous. See you tomorrow!”
Rarity, after saying her goodbyes, hastily leaves the area, almost stomping her feet on the ground after each step, she didn’t call you darling this time? Weird…
“Um, was it something I said Flutters?”
”Oh no no…” Fluttershy lets out a nervous chuckle before helping you standing up, “she’s just…overwhelmed over your condition Anon.”
"Overwhelmed? That sure was an understatement, she looked quite angry!" You say.
”Let’s just forget about this incident Anon," Fluttershy smiles, "you know…judging by your knee’s swelling, I feel like I can help you out.”
“Help me out? But how?”
”Leave it to me Anon,” Fluttershy happily says as she helps you put your arm around her shoulder to support your body, however you wince from the pain.
”Wow that meanie really hurt you didn’t he? Don’t worry Anon, you’ll feel better once we get there.”
“Get where?”
”My home of course…”
Minutes later, you both arrive to Fluttershy’s home.
”Mom! I’m home!” Fluttershy says. you don’t know why she brought you to her home, and when you asked why she only said it was a secret.
”Ahh…Fluttershy you’re here!” Fluttershy’s beautiful mother says before noticing you were accompanying her daughter.
“And you brought a- oh my goodness…what happened to him?”
”Mom, meet Anon…one of the team’s members, he got injured today.”
”Anon?! That wonderful boy you just won’t stop talking about?!” Fluttershy’s mom happily says.
”M-mother?!” Fluttershy’s face goes red.
”Anyways…I suppose you’re gonna take care of him?” Fluttershy’s mom asks.
”Yes…if that’s okay with you.”
”Of course dearie, don’t worry Anon, you’re in good hands! Have a seat, I’ll bring you some tea.”
“Thank you ma’am…”
”I’ll be back in a minute Anon, get comfy because it won’t take long!” Fluttershy helps you sit down, then she climbs up the stairs to her bedroom.
What is she thinking of?
”Here’s your tea Anon…” Fluttershy’s mother says as she hands you a cup of tea and a plate.
“Thanks a lot Ms. Shy,” you say before taking a sip, “delicious…”
”I heard what you did for that girl back at the relay race. What a fine lad you are Anon. no wonder Fluttershy is so umm…infatuated with you.”
You spit some of the tea back into the cup.
“R-really?”
”Oh my, I wasn’t supposed to say that! Just forget what I said dearie,” the mother lets out a giggle before going back to the kitchen, leaving you dumbfounded.
”I’m back!” Fluttershy says as she walks down the stairs, carrying something on her hands, it looks like a tub of cream or something, along with other naturist remedies.
Uhhh…
”I noticed how bad your injuries look, however it’s nothing some of my remedies can’t fix…you’ll be back on your feet by tomorrow’s morning.”
“REALLY?!”
”Yep…I made some of these remedies myself. This one will help out with that swelling.” Fluttershy dips her hand in the tub and spreads a green gooey substance on your knee.
“Ouch, it’s hot!” you wince a bit in pain.
”I know,” Fluttershy giggles, “that means it’s working…I use less of this medicine I prepared myself on my injured animal friends, and at the next morning they get better.”
“Your animal friends?”
”Yes…I always treat pets and sometimes wild animals from any injuries they might have.”
You don’t know what to say, after all. She’s treating you with medicine for pets.
”I know what you’re thinking Anon, yes…it’s safe,” she happily says, “every time my dumb brother gets into trouble with Rainbow Dash or any other girl I always use my remedies to heal his bruises.”
“Zeph? Oh right, where is he anyways? I want to talk about something to him."
In that moment the front door opens.
”Mom! I’m home!”
Speak of the devil...
”You will not believe what an awful day I had, I need my gym clothes washed ASAP! Also could I get a salad and a protein shake and-“
He stops on his tracks as soon as he notices you.
”Sis…what is HE doing here?!”
“Hey Zeph…” you say with a slightly annoyed tone of voice, debating in your mind whether you should go ahead and confront him about the trouble he caused to you, Rarity and Nelly, or leave it like that to not create a tension.
”I’m healing Anon, he got plenty of booboos today and I’m helping him out…” Fluttershy replies in a forced manner.
”And you brought him here? Goodness sister what were you thinking?!” He puts his palm on his dumb face.
”He’s my guest and I won’t tolerate your attitude towards him,” Fluttershy scolds her shocked brother, to be honest you’re shocked too, you have never seen Fluttershy act like this before.
”B-but sis!”
”No ‘buts’ mister! My friend here needs my help, and I believe you have you've been nothing but trouble to him and the rest of the team, remember that they wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't done what you did!" Fluttershy yells at him.
Zephyr Breeze grits his teeth and forms a fist with one of his hand. He storms upstairs and slams his bedroom’s door, Fluttershy lets out a disappointed sigh and goes back to mending your wounds.
”Please excuse him Anon, he gets a bit…emotional at times.”
“Heh, well he sure ain’t as emotional as the guy who did this to me,” you say with a chuckle, which makes Fluttershy giggle, "besides…Nelly taught him a lesson I’m sure he’ll never forget.”
Fluttershy puts on a warm smile as she keeps applying that funny smelling ointment on your bruised knee.
"Um...Anon? What did you want to talk about with Zephyr?"
"Well...here's the story."
You recall the events you had to endure last week and end up explaining to Fluttershy what happened, and how you believe he was behind everything.
Minutes later.
”That should do it…here,” Fluttershy hands you some leaves and a tub of the ointment she applied earlier, “don’t forget to apply it on your knee or wherever it hurts every night before going to bed and morning after you wake up, also; make some tea with the herbs I handed to you and luckily you’ll be ready for the event against Kindiak Park High!”
“Wow…” You say as you try to bend your knee, to your surprise, it doesn’t hurt much like it did before, “this is wonderful…thanks a lot Flutters! Now Rainbow Dash won’t have to look for a replacement!”
”You’re very welcome Anon!” She warmly says, “you better rest for today, don’t forget what I said and you’ll be fine and ret-2-go!”
Cute, she really believes in you. Well, you won’t let her down!
“I better get going Flutters…thank you again!”
”Hold up Anon!” Fluttershy’s mother says as she steps out of the kitchen, preventing you from heading towards the front door, “you are not thinking of walking home with your bandaged knee like that now are you?”
“Well I-“
”How about you have dinner with us first and then I drive you home?”
“Oh, why that would be great Mrs. Shy…um, but won’t that cause any trouble?” You say as you point upstairs at Zephyr’s room.
”Of course not dearie…don’t be shy and come sit at the table!”
“Gee! Thanks ma’am!”
”Zeph? Honey? Dinner’s ready!” Fluttershy’s mother calls for her son.
No response.
“See?”
You let out a chuckle and shake your head before sitting at the table, with Fluttershy sitting next to you.
”My dad should be here soon, so we’ll have to wait for him to arrive from work so he can have dinner with us,” Fluttershy happily says, “we always have dinner together…unless Zephyr gets moody.”
The dude must be adopted or something. Poor Fluttershy and poor parents, they have to deal with his mood daily.
After a nice evening and meal with Fluttershy and her parents, Fluttershy’s mother drove you to your home.
”Get well Anon!” Fluttershy’s mother happily says.
Fluttershy, although a bit hesitant at first…she flies you a kiss, then Fluttershy and her mom drive off in that baby blue SUV their family owns. She’s so nice with you, funny how the first thing you did to her was kick a ball real hard to her face…
That embarrassing moment still lives within your memory and makes you feel terrible everytime, you enter your home and notice that your parents aren’t home, however your mom left you dinner in the fridge.
That’s good, you think, you won’t have to explain where you were or what happened to you, you’ll just rest a little and apply that ointment before you go to bed. You’ll also drink some of that tea and hope to have a night of a well-deserved rest.
Tomorrow will be a new day and you’ll go back to your training session with Sandy and Mirage. Your body will have to endure more pain to keep on going.