//------------------------------// // 3:15 to Ponyville // Story: And Hell Followed // by BaeroRemedy //------------------------------// Scootaloo watched in horror as Rainbow Dash was carried through the castle walls. Her hero, her idol, her role model was out cold and smoking ever so slightly. Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to keep up with Thunderlane’s pace. “She has to be okay!” Scootaloo cried out as her wings buzzed uselessly, doing their best to speed her up even a little. The Element of Loyalty was draped over the dark gray back of the stallion, her hooves nearly dragging across the ground as they walked through the halls. They made it to Rainbow’s room in a flash, the stallion depositing the mare onto her bed. In an instant Scootaloo was at her side and ready to do whatever Rainbow Dash needed. She looked so exhausted, her fur caked in sweat and her mane burnt in a few places. “Relax, Scoots.” Thunderlane panted, wiping his own brow and patting the filly on the back. “I think she’s okay, just passed out. You heard what Applejack said, she had to outrun Twilight while pulling Big Mac.” Thunderlane chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think any other pony could do that. Maybe without Big Mac, sure...but carrying all that dead weight?” “No, nopony could.” Scootaloo retorted. “Rainbow Dash is the best flier in the history of Equestria, no way anypony else could do something like that.” She hopped up on the bed, ignoring the frown she was getting from Thunderlane. “Yeah. Right.” Thunderlane huffed and rolled his eyes, turning to leave. “She’ll be fine. Have fun watching her sleep or whatever…” The jealousness in his voice was noted by the filly and slightly irked her, but she let it slide. The door slammed behind him as he left, causing Rainbow Dash to stir a little. Scootaloo was going to sit here with her hero for a little while longer. ---- “Oh my goodness, Big Mac!” Two Apples stumbled into the dining area, where Cheerilee and Rarity had been cleaning up after the meal this morning. They both dropped what they were doing and rushed over to the pair. “Are you alright, darling?” Rarity was the first to lay hooves on him as he slumped into one of the chairs. Her pair of bright red glasses levitated up to her face as she examined a few of the cuts and scrapes the unicorns had given him. “Nope.” Big Mac groaned as Rarity started to poke around at his various wounds. She began to raise the bandage that covered his eye, but touched her with a large but gentle hoof and shook his head. “Y’all don’t wanna see that…” “Big Macintosh, you may think of us as soft and delicate ladies, but we have seen just as much as you have since this started.” Rarity tutted at the stallion and shook her head, still tugging on the bandage. “I may not be Redheart, but I’ve already had to patch up Pinkie Pie and Applejack and I’m talented with a needle. I can handle a head wound.” “Yeah and I had to take a lot of first aid classes since I’m a teacher, so I can help.” Cheerilee had to take care of more than a few nasty cuts since becoming a teacher. Who knew that playground equipment could be so dangerous? “It’ll be alright, Big Mac. Trust us.” “Alright…” The stallion relented and dropped his hoof, closing his one good eye and waiting. Rarity’s horn lit up and continued to unwind the bandage until it all fell away. “Dear Celestia!” Rarity cried out as she stared at the socket that once contained an eye. It was void now, dry blood around it and looking like an infection had set in. Cheerilee winced, her stomach churning a bit as she stared at the open and festering wound. “M-Mac what happened?” Applejack stammered, her eyes wide and panic coursing through her entire body. “What did this to ya?” “Cheerilee, go get me a few cloths from the counter and the liquor from the cabinet by the fridge please?” Rarity had regained her composure almost immediately after the initial outburst. She shook her head and sighed, knowing that she was in for a longer day than usual. “Lyra got me good, AJ.” Cheerilee kept an ear on the conversation as she fetched what she was asked. “Was tryin’ to get her off the porch’n her horn got my eye. Sharp as a nail, took it right out.” “You big dummy, you’re supposed to stay away from the pointy bits!” Applejack slapped her brother on the shoulder, apparently completely serious. “And Granny? Tell me those monsters didn’t get Granny.” “Nope.” Mac responded with a light sigh. Cheerilee sat the simple supplies on the table, uncorking the bottle of clear and very strong-smelling alcohol. “Passed in her sleep two weeks back, couldn’t do much without medicine. Put her out back next to Ma and Pa.” Rarity lifted one of the cloths in her magical grasp, twisting one end up and sticking it in the bottle. She tipped the bottle upside down, letting the booze soak into the cloth thoroughly. The seamstress-turned-medic pulled the now damp piece of fabric free and held it up in front of Big Mac’s face. “This is going to sting, darling.” Both Rarity and Big Mac took a deep breath, the latter taking his sister’s hoof in his own and giving it a squeeze. The unicorn pressed the sterilizing fluid into the open wound as gently as she could, hoping to burn away the infection that had taken hold. Big Mac clenched his teeth and squeezed Applejack’s hoof as hard as he could, hissing and groaning loudly as he squirmed and writhed in the chair. “Ya did good, Big Mac. Ah knew those things couldn’t take down an Apple no matter how hard they tried.” Applejack was being tough with her brother, but gentle at the same time. It felt very distinctly Apple family. “Ah just knew you’d make it out.” “E-eeyup.” Big Mac grunted through gritted teeth as Rarity continued to clean his eye. There wasn’t much said after that, not until Cheerilee was sent to fetch a thick roll of gauze that apparently Twilight kept around for ‘research mishaps’ according to Spike. Rarity took a good bit of the fabric, cut it into about eye-sized squares and layered it several times over. She then placed it over Big Mac’s empty socket and used some tape in her sewing kit to keep it in place. “We’re probably going to need to change that every couple of days and clean it out…” Cheerilee commented, receiving a nod from both Rarity and Applejack. “The last thing we want is that infection getting any worse.” “Miss Cheerilee, Ah’m awful glad you’re still around.” Big Mac shot her a small smile, one that she gratefully returned. “And Rarity, Ah’m glad you ain’t one of them things.” “As am I, darling. As am I.” There was a sense of relief that came off of Rarity in waves, pretty obviously glad not to answer anymore questions about why she wasn’t one of those monsters, or that he wasn’t wanting her thrown out. The two went about fixing the stallion up the rest of the way. Cheerilee would sterilize the open wounds and, if they were deep enough, Rarity would stitch them up. It was slow work, but necessary. Neither of them relished in the pain that it brought what was now the oldest Apple; in fact they knew that some of the things they saw would haunt them a little while longer. None of this was supposed to be ordinary in Equestria, but here they were. “H-havin’ fun without me?” Every head in the room turned to see Rainbow Dash entering the room, still a little wobbly on her hooves with Scootaloo to support her. The pegasus still looked drained of all color and energy, but she was awake and standing now. “Rainbow Dash, y’all should be restin’.” Applejack told her friend in a stern flat tone. “Ain’t no reason for you to be up and around yet.” Dash only rolled her eyes as the farmpony advanced on her. “Now g’on, git.” “I’m fine.” Rainbow Dash grinned, trying to exude her usual confidence. “Just needed a little rest, then get some food in me and I’ll be good as new.” The pure admiration in Scootaloo’s eyes as she looked up at the Wonderbolt was enough to worry Cheerilee. A filly like that needed a role model who knew her limits, who knew when it was okay to lay down and recuperate. “She can take anything, Applejack! You should know that!” Scootaloo bounced on her hooves, grinning from ear to ear. “If y’all are gonna insist on stayin’ up, then tell us what happened at Fluttershy’s.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash were nose to nose now, the latter seeming almost ten times bigger than the former after saying that one simple word. Noting the change in countenance, the farmer frowned. “Rainbow Dash, what happened?” “She wasn’t there.” Whatever false bravado the speedster had worked up to walk down here had evaporated within seconds, the extent of her exhaustion becoming evident once more. “None of it was, Applejack. Her house, the animals. None of it. It was just dirt. Not even the grass was there.” Every word dripped out of her word with gallons of malice and shame “Twilight?” The question was simple, but the potential answer was nigh unthinkable. “What do you think? Who else could do something like that?” Dash sneered at the idea of it all. It even started to turn Cheerilee’s stomach, even more than Big Mac’s wounds ever did. Innocent little Fluttershy perishing like that was...one of the worst thoughts so far. “Well Ah don’t know! Discord?” Applejack began to pace, biting her lip and stroking her long blonde ponytail nervously. “For all we know, Discord caused this.” Rarity chimed in. “After all, it would be him to turn Twilight into that as a joke and let it get out of his control.” If this was a joke by the trickster god, then it wasn’t a very funny one. “But...getting rid of Fluttershy is decidedly not him.” “Daring Do always says that the simplest answer is usually the right one.” Rainbow spoke up, her eyes falling to the floor. “Twilight is...scarier than anything we’ve ever dealt with before. She could level any building she wanted to right now.” “‘Cept this castle, apparently.” Big Mac mused. Before they could continue their collective train of thought, chaos erupted in the dining room once again. Every other surviving Ponyvillian surged into the room, all with something to say. The loudest, of course, being Mayor Mare. “And where is Fluttershy?” The question rang through the hall, aggravating the nerves of several ponies at once. “I thought this whole adventure was about getting her back, not Big Macintosh.” “Well-” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to fight with the pony politician, but Applejack silenced her with a hoof and by speaking louder. “-she wasn’t there. We don’t know where she is or what happened, but she ain’t there.” The disbelieving gasps from the crowd caused Rainbow’s ear to flatten against her head, another kick to her already wounded pride. “There wasn’t no body, so we don’t think...those things got her. All we know is she ain’t there.” “Then what good was Dash’s little excursion?” The Mayor shouted back, Bon Bon and Thunderlane flanking either side of her. “We’re still down two Elements and no closer to solving this!” “What do the Elements matter?” Thunderlane added, glaring at the once-supposed heroes of Equestria. “Fat lot of good they’ve done us so far, huh? Applejack’s been the only useful one, and that’s because she’s bossy.” “Hey.” Pinkie stepped out of the crowd, crossing the line to join her friends. “Rarity has been doing a lot of work sewing up our cuts and stuff.” Icy blue eyes leveled at Thunderlane, burrowing into his skull. “But where was she when we needed her?” The stallion fired back, proud wings flaring out wide. “Applejack helped save me and my brother, Bon Bon, and Mayor Mare. What did Rarity do? Bunker down in the castle like a coward!” “I-” Cheerilee turned to her side, only to see that tears were streaming down the unicorn’s cheeks and her makeup had left black stains on her pearlescent white coat. “-It’s not like I didn’t want to help.” Rarity’s demeanor broke, all elegance gone leaving only a scared mare in its wake. “You don’t think I didn’t want to run out there to find my little sister? I was here with Starlight and Pinkie when this started, when they said they were going out to help.” The unicorn inhaled, drawing what little courage she had left to guard her from a memory. “I saw what happened when they stepped outside, I saw Starlight turn into one of those monsters right in front of my eyes!” Silence pervaded the dining hall, perhaps shame washing over the accusatory group. It hung thick in the air for more than a few moments, neither side wanting to meet the eyes of the other. Something broke the silence, however. A distant sound. It was familiar, but so different in this new world. “Is that a train?” Scootaloo was the first to speak, which prompted everypony else to tilt their heads and listen for a moment. Sure enough, the sound of a train horn bellowed through the air. The castle walls dampened it a bit, but it was unmistakable to the ear. Every adult in the room looked at each other, then sprinted off towards the stairs. “Maybe it’s the Royal Guard!” Mayor Mare speculated from the back of the pack. Even the run-down Rainbow Dash was faster than the out of shape politician. “I-If this made it to Canterlot, they had to have contained it by now and now they’re coming to save us!” It was a lofty idea, but one that sent Cheerilee’s hopes through the roof. The idea that Celestia and Luna were too preoccupied with saving the citizens of Canterlot and curing whatever this was to move the sun and the moon was far-fetched maybe, but Cheerilee had to admit it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. “Or they’re just coming for the Elements of Harmony.” Pinkie concluded in her usual deadpan tone. “Maybe they think we’ll save them.” That killed a majority of the hope that had built in the hearts of the group, who had at some point been joined by the other schoolfoals. The pack of ponies pounded their way through the halls, up to the room where the scorched and broken cart that ferried Big Mac here still sat. Throwing caution to the wind, Applejack slammed into the doors and threw them open, allowing the crowd to spill onto the tallest balcony in the castle, all but Vinyl and Rarity who stopped at the threshold. In the distance, the familiar visage of the Friendship Express chugged along the tracks heading into the town. Thick black smoke poured from the engine as it made its way towards the village from the direction of Canterlot. “Oh no, Twilight.” Cheerilee muttered out as she saw the monstrous princess flying through the sky and towards the train. She hadn’t seen the group at the castle, as she was making a beeline straight for the train station. “She ain’t the only one.” Applejack added, her eye pressed against the telescope. “Looks like every one of those things is headed that way to meet ‘em.” Applejack shook her head. “Ah don’t care if it’s an entire regiment with Celestia’s own anti-monster cannon, they can’t fight off all of those things.” “We need to help them! Draw the unicorns off!” Scootaloo jumped into the air, wings buzzing as she spoke. “Make a bunch of noise or something!” There were rumblings of agreement from the crowd, the prospect of being saved was just too much to let go. “The bells!” Mayor Mare added, finally deciding to say something useful for the first time since Cheerilee arrived. “The bells in the schoolhouse and the clocktower. I-if we ring them both, it should be enough to draw most of them away. Maybe even Twilight.” “I can hit the bell towers.” Rainbow stepped forward, still looking like death warmed over no matter how much she tried to hide it. “No problem.” There was a collective eye roll to the point that it caused Rainbow to scoff. “I can do it!” “No, sugarcube, ya can’t.” Applejack just sighed. “Y’all have done enough today. Just stay here and watch after the foals with Mac, Rarity and Vinyl.” Rainbow dash opened her mouth to protest but stopped. “Please, just do this for me, Dash.” It was a quiet plea, but one that got the brash pegasus to listen. “The rest of ya, we’re gonna split up. Three groups; one for the schoolhouse, one for the clock tower, and one for the train station.” Applejack boomed out, her chest puffed out and eyes burning bright. “This ain’t gonna be easy, and it’s gonna be dangerous as sin but this is our best chance at gettin’ saved and maybe even gettin’ whatever this is cured.” The ponies gathered before her weren’t fighters, they weren’t Elements or guards, but they would have to do for right now. “It’ll be a straight shot there, be quick. But don’t take no chances gettin’ back; the last thing we want is to lose more ponies.” “I’ll go to the schoolhouse.” Cheerilee spoke up first, volunteering to venture to her old place of employment. “I know it the best and I can hide in my old shelter if things get hairy.” She was met with a nod of confirmation from Applejack. “Take Pinkie with you, she’s at least fought a couple of those things before. Y’all should be able to handle yourself.” The de-facto leader of the castle colony looked to the other ponies. “Mayor, Thunderlane, think y’all can handle the clock tower? It’s a little ways off but Thunderlane can circumvent a lot of the climbin’.” “We’ll handle it no problem!” The stallion puffed out his chest and nodded. There were things Cheerilee wanted to say, to caution against that kind of bravado. It suited Rainbow Dash because she had proved her mettle time and time again, it had to be earned. “Bon Bon, me and you are goin’ to the train station. Probably gonna be the stickiest of the situations if Ah’m honest, but Ah saw y’all fight off the love of your life so Ah know we can do this.” The candymaker looked down, the mention of the name bringing her down before lighting a fire in her belly. “That’s the plan. Just get ready, y’all, we leave in a few minutes.”