Everything happened in flashes. I saw a light before I slipped back into a more comfortable abyss. Something was touching my wrists and ankles and then I was in darkness again. I was on something soft with eight eyes looking at me. There was a lot of noise. I was thrust back into unconsciousness. I opened my eyes and saw everything was white. The pain in my arm and side returned.
“Get propofol going. Patient is regaining consciousness.”
Huh? What is propo— Something cold snaked its way through my arm... my left one. Before I could panic, sleep took me again. There were no flashes this time, there was nothing.
~~~
Heavy. Why do my eyelids feel so heavy? Ugh, I need to stop staying up so late, it makes me gro— It was misty, but my last conscious memories flooded back into me: running, chaos, and... “Girls!” I screamed as my eyes flared open.
I sat up, only to fall back onto the bed, clutching my side. “Ow!” Then I saw I was clutching it with a white stumpy ho— No, that was plaster, not fur. A cast? Am I in a hos—
“Thank god!” Something threw itself on me and tried to strangle me. Its curly hair smothered my face. “John! We were so scared! We came as soon as we heard!” My chest suddenly felt wet.
“Mom... choking,” I croaked. She instantly backed off and looked like she’d murdered a puppy. What the hell is going on?
“I... I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I was just...”
“We were worried,” said dad. He was keeping things together much better than mom was, but he still looked shaken. The bags under his eyes were deeper than normal and his beard looked particularly unkempt. “Damned terrorist bastards,” he muttered.
“W-what?” I stuttered. Terrorist?
“You just got up... we’ll deal with it later.” Dad bent down and squeezed his arm around my neck. “We’re just glad you’re safe.”
“Dad... what about everyone else?” I quivered. How long have I been out? What happened? Where’s Discord? Where is everyone?!
“Everyone is fine,” came a new voice. I turned away from dad’s hug and saw Jane was sitting by mom. “We all made it out fine. Sybil got you here and then drove home, but we’re all good.”
“Jane... thank you.” I didn’t want to say more until I got a better picture of what had happened while I’d been out. I let out a deep breath and leaned back. My side still stung a little.
“I’ll go get a doctor,” mom said as she got up and disappeared out of sight. She returned a few seconds later with a portly man in a white coat.
“Ah, Mr. Bacanti, glad to have ya back,” he said with a southern drawl. “Your surgery wasn’t too bad. You’re quite a lucky fellow. If your rib had splintered a little more, you’d be dealing with internal bleeding, and if your ulna had broken a few millimeters to the right you’d be facing the risk of it cutting major arteries. You’re also lucky on beating the rush of victims here. Overall, you’ll just need to take it easy for the rib, and your arm will be better in a few months. We’ll need to run a few tests to make sure you don’t have a concussion or any other issues, but after that you should be good to go.”
“Thank you so much doctor,” said dad. Mom cried a little more.
The doctor walked over to a door. “We’ll also determine if a prescription is needed for pain, but for now I’m sure ya’ll wanna just talk.” He put his hand on the door handle but didn’t turn it. “I normally don’t say this to outpatients and their family, but don’t get too huggy.” He opened the door and was gone.
“You’ve got someone watching out for you,” dad said as he looked down at me.
Scootaloo leaping out for me flashed in my mind. Try somepony. I took a deep breath and winced a little. Okay, watch it on the deep breaths. I looked up at my parents and glanced over at Jane as well. “How long have I been out?”
“You were just getting out of surgery when we got here,” dad explained. “They said the drugs knock you out for a bit.”
“It’s now the eighteenth... in the afternoon,” Jane continued.
A day and a half. I’d been out for over twenty-four hours. “Jesus,” I muttered. I brought a hand to my face and almost knocked myself out with the cast. “I’ll need to get used to that.”
“Well,” mom finally managed to stop sobbing and choke out some words, “you’ll have plenty of time at home.”
“Home? I raised an eyebrow. “What about school? I mean, you heard the doctor, he didn’t seem that worried.” Besides, I need to get back to the Crusaders.
My parents turned away from me and looked at each other. Dad spoke up in a much more deep and somber tone now. “John, if you’re not comfortable, you don’t have to answer this, but what do you remember?”
I looked over at Jane and flashed her a look that said it all: everything. Yet, I focused back up at my parents and spoke, “It’s a bit of a blur. I know I was running, then climbing the stairs, and falling.” At least I wasn’t completely lying.
“Do... do you remember anything else?” mom quivered.
Oh, lets see? A bubble gum wall, a giant fly, a flying monkey, and nearly getting killed by the avatar of chaos. “No,” I answered. Wait, why aren’t they freaking out about that stuff?
Apparently, I replied too slow, since both mom and dad flashed me this look halfway between concern and dismay. “Okay, John,” dad replied.
I corked my head a little. “So what does this have to do with school?”
There was a long bit of silence. Mom opened her mouth, but then closed it and dad did the same thing. I was about to ask again when Jane spoke up. “Mr. and Mrs. Bacanti, it might be easier if I explained it to him.”
“Y-yes,” mom shook, “that’d p-probably be best.”
“Alone,” Jane replied.
Dad gave her a weary look for a second, turned back to me, and then focused on mom and gripped her shoulder. “C’mon, let them talk it out.” They both walked out of the room, leaving just Jane and me.
“Okay, I’m blaming a bit of the confusion on meds, but what the hell really happened?” I asked.
“I’m not too sure either,” Jane explained. “After you fell, we got out of school as fast as possible. When we got to the hospital, they were already starting to cover it on the news, but...” Jane bit her lip.
“But what?”
Jane extended out her hand and grabbed a remote that was by my bed. I noticed my glasses were there as well and put them on while she pushed the power button on the TV.
“...behind this attack,” said a news anchor. My mouth dropped when I saw images of my school on the TV. There were shots of collapsed wall on the grass, only it wasn’t bubble gum anymore and the broken window on the food court as well. “However, more disturbing than the physical attack was the the mental attack on the students. Lets go live to our report with the students.”
The screen blinked and then a microphone was being shoved into someone’s face. He looked a little familiar, but I couldn’t place a name to him. “I was just enjoying breakfast before class when it started. I heard this buzzing...” He jabbed a finger at the camera. “I know I wasn’t the only one, ‘cause everyone started looking around for whatever it was. Then I see this huge black...” He shuddered a little. “...thing and I freaked the hell out. If I hadn’t gotten under the table in time, I’d have been sliced to ribbons by that fly.”
There was a shift on the screen and a new person was being interviewed. I think she’d been in my English class last semester. “It wasn’t a fly I saw. It was monkey... with wings.” Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “I was on my way to my nine-thirty when I started to hear the screaming. Instead of running away, I turned and looked back and saw an entire wall go pink and crash to the ground.Then I saw the monkey in the air. After that, the blast or whatever it was hit and knocked me off my feet.”
Another blink and they were interviewing a different person. I didn’t even recognize them this time. “Whatever hit me, it wasn’t a bomb. See, I saw it all. This old pizza man and some random dude popped out of nowhere and started playing cards. Then came the fly and I swear to god I got video of it turning into a flying ape. Then the old man puffed up like a balloon and sent everyone flying. Pretty sure he sent someone down the stairs.”
The cameras went back to the newsroom with the anchor-woman. “Authorities now believe that students were exposed to a hallucinogen that caused a mass panic. At the same time this drug was taking effect, the group responsible for the attack detonated incendiary devices, damaging areas of the campus and injuring some students. Police are still searching the campus for traces of whatever was used on the students and faculty. We’ll now go to our panel to...” Jane clicked the screen off before the anchorwoman could say more.
“What the hell...” I muttered.
Jane gazed down at the floor. “Yeah, everyone else thinks it was just a terrorist attack. I... I don’t know whether that’s good or bad.”
“Never thought I’d say this, but it’s good. If everyone else thinks it was just a mass hallucination, attention won’t be drawn to the girls or us.”
Jane bit her lip a little more. “About that...”
I ignored the pain in my side and inched myself a little closer. “What?”
“The police are probably gonna question you in a few minutes... they’re outside the room.” Jane must have seen my pupils turn into pinpricks, cause she grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from my panic attack. “It’s okay, just tell them the truth.”
“Are you...”
“Yes, it’s crazy to say that, but that’s the point.”
I leaned back and sunk into the bed. “Okay, how soon till they come?”
“Probably when I go to get your parents.”
“The girls are with Sybil?”
“Yeah, they’ve been lying low with her while you’ve been recovering.”
I reached out my hand and held it open to Jane. “Can I borrow your phone?”
“Your’s is right there.” Jane pointed to my left where my glasses had been. Sure enough, my phone was resting right next to my wallet and my keys.
I reached out and grabbed my phone, twiddled my left thumb across the screen, and went to Sybil’s contact page. I wasn’t even past the first ring when Sybil picked up. “Jane, what’s the situation?”
“Sybil, it’s John.”
“John! Thank god I... wait a second! No! Don’t!”
“JOHN!” three voices all yelled into the phone. I dropped it and clasped my now ringing ear.
“Ow!” I complained.
“What’s wrong?” Jane nervously asked.
I rubbed my ear then and the ringing faded almost instantly. “I just got attacked by the Crusader scream.” I picked the phone up again, but held it at a safe distance away from my ear this time.
“Are ya okay?”
“Is anything hurt?”
“Did you have surgery?”
“Girls, I’m okay,” I replied to all the questions. “I just got a little roughed up.” Scootaloo jumping to save me flashed in my head again. “Scootaloo, I don’t know what you did, but thank you. You probably saved my skin.”
Jane poked at my good side. “Thank Sweetie and Apple Bloom too.”
I moved the phone further away from my face and raised and eyebrow to her. “Why?”
“I’ll explain after the call, but just thank them,” Jane replied.
I brought the phone back over to my face. “Sweetie and Apple Bloom, thank you too. I must have been out for whatever you did, but it probably helped me in more ways than I can count.”
“You’re welcome,” they all said in unison.
“Just... just get better soon, okay?” said Apple Bloom, no doubt flashing the puppy dog eyes on other end of the line.
“I will, stay safe, okay?” I inched a finger over to the end call button.
“We promise,” came three voices at once.
“Good, I’ll see you soon.” I clicked button and the screen went black. I looked over at Jane. “Okay, so what else did I miss while I was out?”
Jane’s eyes darted between my arm and my bad side. “Remember how the doctor was saying you got lucky with your injuries?”
“Yeah, still hurt like hell when I landed though. I couldn’t even breath.”
“Sweetie did something to help.”
“What?”
The room grew deathly still. Jane fidgeted around a little. “She... she used magic.”
“That... that’s not possible,” I retorted.
“I saw it for myself.” Jane brought up and hand and pointed at the center of her forehead. “Her head was glowing right here. I don’t know what she did, but after the glow disappeared, you looked a little better. There’s also Scootaloo...”
An image of translucent orange blazed in my head. “She didn’t...”
“She did, I saw the wings myself.” Jane gazed down at my cast again. “Saved you from a broken neck at least.”
“And Apple Bloom?”
“She’s probably the reason why we’re not in Chaosville anymore. While we were helping you, she and Sweetie held off Discord.”
My mouth must have almost touched the ground hearing that. “What? He’s Discord! He had us like jelly in his hands! What did she do?!”
“She... well... I think she kicked him downstairs.”
“For crying out loud Jane, be serious! There’s no way the personification of chaos got...” Jane gave me a stoic look. “Oh lord, you are serious. I...” I laughed and then instantly stopped because it was literally splitting my side. “Okay, that’s a bit a relief. Discord may have his powers, but he’s also got human weaknesses...” My eyes went wide. “Crap!”
“What?”
“Jane, I need to get online now! I have to warn the guy with Pinkie and Fluttershy! Do you have a computer?”
Jane quickly turned around and grabbed the bag she had with her. “There were a few police in the dorm, but I explained I was getting it for a friend, so they let me through.” She rifled around her bag a little and pulled out a familiar grey macbook.
“Jane, you’re a good friend.” I grabbed my computer, pulled myself up a little, and turned it on. With a little added difficulty of typing with one hand, I logged into my fimfiction account and saw I had not one, but two new messages. They were both from TheSlorg. Guess Pinkie must have gotten to his keyboard.
I began to scan the letter.
Fullmetal_Pony,
Or John, right?
I raised an eyebrow. Did I give him my name? Ugh, drugs must be messing with my head.
Hopefully when you receive this message, you will be recovered from whatever happened to you. You might be wondering how I know that you were injured. Well, I had a visit from a certain Spirit of Chaos, if you get my drift.
No!
Jane must have seen the anxiety twisting my face around. She placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at the screen. “John, what’s wrong?”
“Discord got to Pinkie and Fluttershy too.” Images of Sydney’s streets becoming liquid filled my head. I pasted my eyes to the rest of the letter. Jane did the same.
Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Angel are all okay. We managed to trick him into leaving with the help of someone named Ashton. You might recognize him, he’s registered on this site as Draequine.
Jane and I both breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god,” I said aloud.
“You think this Ashton guy was the one with Discord?”
“No doubt. He sounds beneficial here, but when he was with us it was hard to say what he was doing,” I postulated. “We’ll need to be careful with him.” I turned my attention back to the rest of the letter.
You might already be aware of this, but Discord won’t recognize anyone from Equestria unless you say their names. I don’t know how or why, but Discord has no idea that I found Pinkie and the others, despite the fact that he was staring them all in the face. The same happened with me and Discord. I couldn’t focus on his name until Ashton said it.
Anyway, things are safe here now. Discord took Ashton with him, so it’s just Fluttershy, Pinkie, Angel, and me again. Don’t forget to send pictures of the Crusaders. We need to meet up and make a plan.
Cheers,
-TheSlorg
I finished the letter and slowly laid back on my bed. I looked over at Jane. “Well, at least Australia is safe... as safe as you can call Australia.”
“What was that about pictures though?” Jane asked.
“That’s probably in his other PM.” I clicked on TheSlorg’s older message.
To: Fullmetal_Pony
Good day,
Okay, so here's the deal. We're going to need passports for the Crusaders before they can fly anywhere. Other paperwork too. Birth certificates, that sort of thing. I've got you covered there, but I'm going to need passport-worthy photos of the girls before I can get you everything you need. Email me three photos of each of them just in case you mess up on any of them. Once I have the photos, it will be three or four days before they are finished, then another few days in the mail. Send me an email once you receive the paperwork to aussie_hunter@ausmail.com. Once you've done that, I can sort out your airline tickets.
Oh, and in case you forget. Keep the girls secret and safe!
- Cheers,
TheSlorg
“Okay,” I said after looking over the email. I then looked over at Jane. “Jane this is very important. Call Sybil whenever you think its safe to and tell her to give Sweetie and Scootaloo a dye job so their hair doesn’t stand out too much. Use wigs if that doesn’t work. When that’s done take the pictures and send them to this guy.”
I clicked around my computer a bit and then turned it to her. “I’ve disabled my login password for now. Send those pictures as soon as possible.”
Jane reached out to take the computer away, but I grabbed one of her hands. “I still need to reply,” I explained.
“Right.”
I pulled up my email, typed in Slorg’s email, and began to type:
Subject: Safe
First, the girls are safe. Apple Bloom even managed to drive off Discord and Scootaloo and Sweetie saved my life. I've still wound up with a cracked rib and a broken arm though.
I’m relieved that you and everyone else made it out okay.
Scootaloo’s wings flashed in my head again.
I don’t know how but Scootaloo was able to use her wings to at least save me from more severe injuries. I don’t know if it’s connected to Discord, but this is the first time any of them have done something like that.
Moving on, I might be traveling in a few days as my school got shut down from Discord's attack, but I'll be taking the girls with me.
Don't worry, everyone thinks that the stunts Discord pulled were hallucinations. Everyone is lying low now just in case.
If you need to contact me my email is strawhat_pony@cmail.net and my number (know it’s a little pricy overseas but need it for emergencies) is 555-444-3321.
I’m working on the pictures right now. My friend is giving Sweetie and Scootaloo a dye job so their hair looks normal.
I clicked around and attached the picture I’d taken of girls.
Attached is the one picture I have so far. Stay safe.
-John
I pressed my mousepad and the email went off. I closed the screen and looked at Jane. “You know what to do?” She nodded. “Good, check for responses as well. Now get going. Your parents are probably worried about you too.”
“You’ll be okay?”
“As okay as a guy with a broken rib and arm can be,” I smiled.
“Got it, I’ll get to the girls as soon as possible.” She stuffed my computer into her bag and made for the door. “Get better, okay?”
“Got it.” As Jane left my parents came in. My heart skipped a beat when a police officer followed.
“John,” mom shook, “the police just... just want to talk to you about what happened.”
“Do you think you can do that?” Dad asked.
I clutched the covers of the bed a little. “Yeah.”
“I’ll need to do this alone,” said the officer.
Dad place a hand on mom’s shoulder. “Lets wait outside.” He opened the door and then left me alone with the officer.
“Son, I know you’ve been through alot, but we just need your help figuring out what happened.” He sat down where Jane had been sitting and pulled out a small computer. “Can you start by giving me your name and date of birth.
“Yes,” I replied and listed off both of his requests.
The officer typed on his computer and then scratched his scruffy beard. “Now Mr. Bacanti, can you tell me what events transpired yesterday morning?”
“I can try.” I took a deep breath. “I was going to see my friend Jane about Chinese homework before getting breakfast. However, she’d left it in Sybil’s room last...” I shook my head to make sure my story was straight. “... two nights ago. So I went in to get it.”
The officer stopped his typing and looked at me. “That’s Sybil Falliso and Janet Schmidt you are referring to, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Continue.”
“Well, that was when things went...” Jane’s words rang through my head. “...crazy.”
“Crazy how?”
“I was running. I don’t know from what, but it terrified me. Jane and Sybil were running too.”
“Witnesses said three minors were with you, can you explain that?”
“I... I can’t,” I said truthfully. “I only remember Jane and Sybil,” I lied. I heard my own heartbeat for a second.
“I see, please go on.”
Too scary, gotta finish this. “I got outside and stopped by some trees. That was when the wall turned into pink and fell down... that’s what I saw at least.”
The officer looked up from his screen and rubbed his chin while he stared at me for a second. Then he went back to his computer and waited for me to continue.
“We all ran up the stairs. Then there was the fly that turned into a monkey and an old man that blew me off my feet.” I paused and then added, “Did the doctors say anything about head injuries?”
“Can’t say,” the officer replied. “Is that all?”
“Next thing I remember was my mom strangling me.”
The officer rubbed his beard and closed his computer. “I see. Son, you’re mighty lucky to be alive. From the sound of things, you were right in the center of a mighty nasty attack. Get some rest and get better. Thanks for your time.” He got up and walked to door. He peered out to his left. “Sorry about that, he’s all yours now.
“Are you okay?” dad asked as he entered the room.
“I’m fine, just trying to process everything,” I replied.
“It’s okay sweetie,” mom cued, “we’ll just get you home.” She managed to smile a little. “You get a little break from school at least.”
“When do we leave?” I asked.
“Your mother and I are going to try and get your stuff from school tomorrow. We’ll leave on Friday. The doctors just need to run a few more checks on you and then you’ll be good to go,” dad explained.
“Got it,” I replied.
He walked over and gave me another hug. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
My response was for my stomach to grumble. I awkwardly chuckled. “Heh, well, I have been out for over a day.”
“We’ll get a nurse to bring some food,” mom said. Dad got up and followed her out of the room.
I was left alone with my thoughts. God, I don’t know whether to thank you or ask what I did to deserve this. Thanks for keeping the girls safe though. I was tempted to check the TV for other news of what had happened, but decided not to. Too much stuff to process right now. I just need some food.
Luckily, mom and dad came back quickly with food. “Thanks.”
“It’s probably not the best food, but we’ll get you better stuff when we’re back home,” dad explained.
“Eh, can’t be worse than college food,” I joked. I then dug into the cheap chicken dinner.
“You’ve still got your appetite,” mom commented.
~~~
I leaned back on my bed. I was alone again. After much discussion, mom and dad had left. Unfortunately, over 24 hours asleep wasn’t making it any easier to go to bed. I looked up at the ceiling and resisted the temptation to watch TV. It was getting late now so I didn’t want to call either, especially if the police were looking through things.
I carefully leaned over to the stand by my bed and began to take off my glasses when I saw my phone light up and start buzzing. “Hmm?” I picked it up and looked at the number. I didn’t recognize it, but I decided to answer anyway. I slid the answer bar over and held it to my ear. “Hello?”
“G’day, is this John?” came a rough gravelly voice.
“Um, speaking,” I said, praying this wasn’t a solicitation call. “Who’s calling?”
“It’s TheSlorg, though I reckon you can call me Doug. You alright mate?”
“Oh thank god,” I sighed in relief, “I read that email and was worried he’d gotten you too.” I looked down at my right arm. “I’ve seen better days though. Discord did a number on me, I’ve got a busted rib and a broken arm. The Crusaders are safe though.”
“Christ. Well at least the girls are safe. Where are they now?”
“Laying low with my friends. They’re also taking care of getting pictures... that one I sent probably wasn’t suitable.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Sorry.”
“No worries. It was nice to see them though. It cheered Pinkie and Fluttershy right up.”
“Oh, did Discord try to get to them too?” I asked in a bit of a shaky voice.
“We managed to drive him away before he found out who they were. It’s been tough on them though, what with trying to adapt to being human. They took it really hard when we found out Celestia lost her magic. We were hoping that she’d be the key to getting them home.”
My eyes went wide as dinner plates. “Did you just say Celestia?!”
“Yeah, the princess is in Atlanta with someone I can trust, but it’s not all good news. When she lost her horn, she lost her magic. I’m guessing you already saw that Discord seems to be able to do magic just fine. I can’t imagine what he’d do if he found Celestia powerless.”
“Hmm, they might not be entirely powerless. I’m only talking to you because Sweetie and Scootaloo saved me with hovering and magic... I think.”
“They did what?” Doug yelled through the phone.
“I know I saw something on Scootaloo’s back right before I passed out and my friends saw Sweetie’s head glowing. It’s not much, but from what the doctors say, it may have saved my skin.”
“So there’s some hope after all,” Doug muttered below his breath. “How soon can you get me the pictures of the girls? We can’t do anything until your papers are finished.”
“I’ll call my friends as soon as we finish this call. Hopefully the dye job on Sweetie and Scootaloo won’t take long... so Pinkie and Fluttershy are okay?”
“One moment.” There was the sound of shuffling on the other end of the line.
For a few seconds, everything was silent. I was about to ask if Doug was still there when I heard a bubbly voice in stark contrast to Doug’s on the other end of the line. “So I just talk into this thing and he can hear me? He can hear me right now?” There was a slight pause. “Hello?”
The voice sounded a little familiar, but I couldn’t place it over the phone. “Hello? Doug, are you still there?”
A squeal erupted from my phone and nearly made me drop it. I held it a little further away as a precaution. I didn’t want to add a broken eardrum to my list of injuries. “Oh my gosh, he said something! Can you believe it?” The voice sounded like it wasn’t talking directly into the speaker. I still kept the phone a safe distance from my ear though. The caution paid off since the voice came back loud as ever, “Hi! I’m Pinkie. Isn’t this amazing? It’s like talking to a unicorn with an invisibility spell on, and I should know because I’ve had a lot, and I mean a lot of unicorns go invisible when I come near. It’s like playing hide and seek! Oooh, are you hiding from me now?”
My mouth nearly hit the floor. Oh fourth wall, I’m going to miss you. “Um, hi Pinkie. No, I’m not hiding, I’m just very far away.”
“Uh, hello? That means you are hiding from me. Otherwise I’d be able to see you, silly!”
“Yep, you’re definitely Pinkie,” I sighed. “I’m not actively hiding from you though.”
“Hmm, well you’re not doing a very good job of not hiding. I can’t find you anywhere.” Note to self: Pinkie’s hyperness wasn’t exaggerated. “Anyway, Doug says you found Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. How are they, are they okay? Have you played lots of games together?”
“They’re fine, they actually managed to fend off Discord.” While I couldn’t do crap. “Heh, they actually can stomach my cooking. As for games, I’ve shown them a few fun movies,” I explained.
“Ooh, you can cook?” Pinkie’s voice grew a little distant,“Hey Doug, bronies can cook! I wonder if they can bake cupcakes?” Her voice got loud again,“Can you make cupcakes? How about cookies or cakes? I’m not that bad a baker myself, you know. Oh, did you know that my friend Rarity secretly loves to eat entire plates of cookies? But then she has to go to the gym and—”
The image of the girls crying on the first day came back to me. “Yes, speaking of Rarity, have you heard anything about her or Applejack?”
The phone went silent for a few seconds. “Hey, this is Doug. What happened? Pinkie just handed me the phone and walked out of the room.”
“Oh crap! Tell her I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I just wanted to know if they knew anything about the girls’ siblings.” Great John, you’re just Mr. Understanding.
“Oh no...” Another pause. “Look, I’m going to put Fluttershy on for a few minutes. It’s not your fault, the girls are just under a lot of stress and miss their friends. We only know the whereabouts of the Crusaders and Celestia. Everpony else is missing. I should have warned you. Here, I’ll get Fluttershy now. I need to go talk to Pinkie.”
There was some shuffling on the end of the line. Okay John, you’re about to talk to the most sensitive pony from the show. Just be nice. No Discord. No worries. No problems. Just be ni—
“Um...” came an incredibly small voice.
“Hello?” I paused and lowered my own voice. “Fluttershy?”
No response.
Oh crap, I scared her! My eyes started to dart around the room like it held the answers. “Um, look if you don’t want to talk that’s fine, just please don’t be sad, okay,” I blurted out.
“Oh, um... no. I mean, yes. I, um... “ Fluttershy somehow managed to grow more quiet, “Angel, what do I do?” A second later, her voice was closer, “Yes. I do want to talk to you.”
“Okay,” I replied, only to realize I didn’t really know what to say. “Um, anything you want to talk about?”
“Well, no...” I could have swore I heard a muffled “ouch” in the background. “I mean, yes. Oh, well um, do you like butterflies?”
That... was not what I was expecting. “Yes, I actually used to raise them when I was little.” I smiled a little at the memories of sitting around a little tent and watching dangling cocoons.
Fluttershy’s voice seemed to gain some volume. “Ooh, really? That’s great! Aren’t they just so cute and wonderful?” Her volume returned to it’s normal softness. “I raise animals too.” Another pause. “Or I used to...”
“Oh, um...” I scrambled for something to say. I took a deep breath and focussed. “Look, I’ve promised the girls I’ll get them home and I promise you that too.”
“Really?” She sounded like she perked up a little. “Do you really know how to get us home?”
Oh no, no no no! “I’ll do everything I can to find a way.”
“Oh,” her voice became the faintest whisper, “you don’t know either. It’s okay I guess, Doug promised to take us home, too.”
I felt the same as when I’d told the Crusaders about cutie marks. “Well, I keep my promises. I don’t know how yet, but I will help get you all home. I owe that now more to the Crusaders than before.”
More silence.
“Fluttershy... if it makes you feel any better, the girls were very happy to have found you two.”
“Are, um... could you maybe...” Here it comes, she’s gonna ask to go away. “I just... oh, nevermind.”
“If you want me to hang up that’s fine too,” I sighed.
“Oh no! I’m sorry, it’s not that. I just thought maybe I could say ‘hi’ to them. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
Fluttershy couldn’t see it, but I was frowning immensely. “I’m sorry, the girls are with a friend right now. Tell you what though, you can talk to them tomorrow, okay?”
“Yes,” She paused for a moment. “That would be very... nice, thank you.”
“It is no problem. Tell Pinkie I’m very sorry.”
“Oh, okay. Um, do you want me to do that right now? I think she’s in the other room with Doug.”
“Anything to make her feel better,” I replied. My heart twisted a little.
“Okay. Well, here. I’ll let you talk to Angel while I go do that.”
There was more shuffling. Fluttershy’s voice was barely audible on the other side.“Here you go, Angel. I’ll be right back.”
The phone stayed silent. Wait, is he a bunny here? “Hello?”
Silence.
“Um...” I awkwardly smiled even though no one could see me. “Okay, Angel I’m going to assume you can’t talk here either... which makes this really awkward.”
More silence. I thought I heard a thumping sound in the background.
“Well, just keep those two happy. I bet you know Fluttershy better than anyone else. Please help them until we get them home.”
Still more silence.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
The phone shuffled again and Fluttershy’s voice returned. “Hello? I told Pinkie what you said,” there was a brief respite. “I don’t think she heard me, though.” I noticed the shaking in her voice.
“Oh.” I frowned again. “Well, she’s Pinkie, I’m sure she’ll be happy again soon,” I said, not fully trusting my words. I grasped for the only thing I could think of. “Um, maybe tell her I like making cakes?”
Her voice sounded even more shaky now. “Oh, well you see, um...” No, making her nervous! Maybe I should hang up. “Do you want me to do that now? It just... it’s probably not the best time.”
“N-no,” I replied in my own shaky tone. “You don’t have to do anything if you don’t think it’s helpful. I... look, I’m sorry. I’m not good at this stuff.”
“Oh, okay. You’re right, Pinkie should be okay. I’m sure Doug will get her to stop crying very soon.”
I awkwardly scratched my head with my cast. “Maybe it’d be best if I hung up now.”
“Oh no! Have I made you upset? I’m sorry!” Oh crap. “Oh it’ll be okay. Here, Doug’s back.” Oh thank god. “Maybe he can cheer you up, too? Here he is.” The sound of the phone passing hands filled the the speaker.
Doug whispered, “Can you go see her?” He was probably talking to Fluttershy. “Hello? Sorry about that, mate.”
“I messed up,” I sighed.
“No, don’t beat yourself up about it. Pinkie and Fluttershy both have been worried, and it’s all I can do to try to think up ways to keep them happy.” An audible sigh emanated from the phone. “She’ll come around eventually.”
“Okay,” I nervously replied. “Seems I’m not the best for taking care of ponies.”
“None of us are,” Doug’s tone darkened a little. “They don’t belong here, mate. It’s too much for them to handle. All they’ve ever known is Equestria, and it’s better that way. They need to be protected from violence. Corruption. Hatred. They need to be protected from...” The room felt very tense and I realized I was holding my breath. “Humanity.”
I paused for a moment and took everything in. My stomach twisted as Doug’s word’s ran through my head. “The girls are too young to understand most of it.”
He let out a very long and pained sigh. “It’s so much...” he began. “I’ve done everything I can, but it’s not enough.” There was another tense silence. “Discord nearly had us. I was moments away from choosing to stand and fight. Angel handed me the knife, but it’s the Spirit of Chaos, you know?” Another pause. “How can we win against that?”
I looked down at my cast, but then I remembered the Crusaders. “I’m worried too. I couldn’t do anything... but those kids were able to save me and drive him off. If a bunch of little girls can do that, it can’t be all bad, right?” I nervously asked.
It took a second for him to respond. “You have a point. How’d they manage it, anyway?”
“Um...” Now it was my turn to pause for a moment. “I was knocked out, but Apple Bloom well she kinda... kicked him where the sun doesn’t shine.” Did I really just say that?
There was more silence, but it almost instantly gave way to a chuckle which evolved into a fit of hearty laughter. “I’d love to have seen that. So that’s what Ashton meant, I guess. He mentioned Discord nursing his manhood. So it was Apple Bloom that got him? That’s great. Tell them I’m proud of them next time you see them.” Another small respite. "Those kids are something else when they work together. Their friendship really is...” I saw what was coming and almost sighed at the pun. “Magic...”
“Heh, well it’s where they’re from... I think.” I scratched my head again. “I really should ask them if the show is accur—”
“Wait a minute...” The line went quiet. “Hold on, we might be onto something here.” Doug’s voice seemed much more upbeat now. “You have all three girls, right?”
“Um, yes? You saw the picture right?” Where’s he going with this?”
“Bloody hell. Bloody Hell! Celestia’s all alone! Fluttershy’s still good with animals, but not as well as in the show.” I still had no idea where this was going. “And Pinkie can still do the things she does. But they’re both together with me, just like the Crusaders are all together...”
I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t follow.”
“What if that’s it? What if their friendship is their magic? Think about it, mate. The Crusaders basically did magic or something, right?”
“Yeah, at least I know Scootaloo hovered a little.”
“And Pinkie still defies physics... but not nearly as often as she does in the show. Yeah, think about it! It took having me break a Pinkie promise before she did anything strange. And Fluttershy was still good with animals the few times we’ve been around them, but it wasn’t like in the show. You still with me?”
“I think I’m getting it a bit...” I scratched my head some more. “Can Pinkie sense Pinkie promises?”
“Probably, but that’s besides the point. Look, this might not be anything at all, but the princess is alone and powerless.”
“What can we do about that?”
“I don’t think she’d remain powerless if she was in the company of her friends.” Hooollllyyy crap. “Look, I’ll say it again. It might not be anything, but I think we need to get you and the Crusaders here as quickly as possible. Then we can just sit back and... well, we’ll see what happens, but I have a feeling things will get interesting quickly.”
“Let’s just hope Discord doesn’t come back... I’ll get on the pictures as soon as we’re done here. If you need them, you have my email and they have my computer.”
“Okay. Okay, let’s not get too excited just yet. Look, I need to go take care of Pinkie right now, but I’ll keep an eye out for some updated photos. We need to get the papers to you as soon as possible.”
“Got it. Also, I promised Fluttershy I’d call tomorrow and put the Crusaders on. Is that okay?”
“That would be great. They could really use a good morale boost, and I’m sure that’d do the trick.” A slight pause this time. “Alright, I need to go now. Just one last thing. If Discord does show up again, keep an eye on Ashton. He’s a lying psycho, but... well, he helped me out. More than once.”
I sighed. “I don’t know what to make of him...” I thought back to the strange man who’d leapt out of my shower. “Being cautious is probably the best thing we can do around him. At least now we know him being around isn’t a good sign.”
“Maybe. Just get me those pictures soon. At the very least, the Equestrians will be much happier once they’re together.”
“My friends are on it. I’ll go check on it right now.” I inched my thumb over to the end call button. “Tell Pinkie I’m sorry.”
“Will do. Take care of yourself.”
“I’ll do the best a man in the hospital can. See ya.” I then clicked the button.
I leaned back in my bed and took a deep breath. “This is gonna be a crazy night.” I raised the phone in front of my face and got ready to call Sybil.