//------------------------------// // How about a band aid? // Story: The Ballad of Royal Blue // by PonyWithAPen //------------------------------// The blizzard came much sooner than expected. In fact, it began snowing only an hour after Royal left his home in search of Scootaloo's precious picture. Two hours passed, and there was still no sign of the kindly blue pony. Every pony was getting worried, especially Scootaloo, but that went without saying. "What if he's trapped under a pile of wood? What if he's dead? Oh, it's all my fault!" Twilight was quick to correct the young pegasus. "Oh no, honey. This isn't your fault at all! Royal went there on his own. He didn’t listen to me. He’s being way too reckless...oh, what if something did happen to him?" Rainbow, who was sitting on the floor, slammed her hoof in frustration. "I'm going after him! I should have gone with him in the first place!" "I don't know, sugar cube. It looks awfully dangerous out there. The odds of you actually finding your way to him are slim to none." AJ said. Rainbow stared daggers through her. "I don't care! I’m the Element of Loyalty, remember?" Rainbow opened the door and spread her wings. "Oh, and by the way, never tell me the odds." With those words, she took off like a bullet, disappearing into the white blanket that made up the sky. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was sound asleep in her bedroom at Sugar Cube Corner. She awoke with a fright, breathing frantically. Her Pinkie sense was tingling, so to speak. It told her that somepony was in a bind. "Somepony's in big trouble...but who is it?" Her senses told her in the next moment. Her brain registered a photo of a familiar stallion. "Royal? Where is he? Oh, I've got to find him!" Pinkie got dressed in her winter best, which looked more like combat gear. "All right, let's save my friend!" Pinkie opened the door, only to get covered in a mountain of snow. She dug herself out and proceeded into the elements, finding it very difficult to move. Before too long, she felt herself being lifted into the air. She flailed her hooves and legs. "What's going on?" She looked back and saw the familiar face of Rainbow Dash. "Hey Pinkie." The Pegasus said. "Rainbow!" She reached to hug her friend, which almost caused them to crash to the ground. Fortunately, Rainbow recovered. "Did your Pinkie sense tell you that Royal was in trouble?" "Uh-huh!" "I know where he went, so hang on!" "Okey-dokey-lokey!" Rainbow cut through the sky with incredible speed, bringing herself and Pinkie to a landing just outside the house. The ashes were completely covered in snow. Rainbow noticed the standing structure. She headed inside, with Pinkie close behind her. She encountered a pile of wood. "Geez, this place really got messed up! Pinkie, let's move some of this rubble!" Rainbow, using a few tricks she'd learned from Applejack, bucked some of the rubble away. Pinkie did what she could to move the rubble, until she saw a face. "Aaaaaaaaaaah! A dead pony!" Rainbow ran over to her. She recognized the face immediately. "Royal!" She dug the rest of the rubble away from him. She slapped his face with one of her wings. "Come on, pal! You can't be dead! Wake up!" Royal could hear a voice calling to him. His eyes fluttered open to see the relieved faces of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. "What the...” the dazed stallion’s eyes adjusted. “Oh hey Rainbow, Pinkie. When did you two become doctors? Are you gonna operate on me?" Rainbow slapped him with her hoof this time. That snapped him out of it. He sat up, grimacing in pain. "Where am I?" "You're still in Scootaloo's old house. We've gotta get you outta here! I'll fly you back to your place." She stopped talking, because Royal had grabbed both her and Pinkie in a hug. "Thanks. You two saved my life." "Aw, it was nothing." Rainbow said, grinning bashfully. "Nothing? It was everything! Welcome back, Royal!" Pinkie said. Rainbow broke off the festivities. "Pinkie, it's dangerous to go back to your place alone. You should come with us." The peppy pink pony nodded. "Okay!" Eventually, the trio made it back to Royal's house. They opened the door, figuring everyone would be asleep, which they were. Royal grabbed Scootaloo's picture from under his cape and placed it on the table, next to his own favorite photo. After this, he passed out on the floor, not to move for another several hours. Rainbow had a warm smile on her face. "Sleep well, you royally awesome pony." Royal woke up to see Scootaloo staring at her favorite picture, speechless. They were alone again, except for Pinkie and Rainbow, who had yet to wake up. He tried to sit up, but it just wasn't happening. He fell onto his back, which left him looking up at his ceiling. When the door knocked, Royal hoped that Scootaloo would hear it, which she did. She answered the door, revealing that Fluttershy had come for a visit. "Oh, hi Fluttershy. What are you doing here?" Scootaloo asked her. "Twilight sent me over here. The hospital staff is booked, so I'm supposed to...oh my goodness!" The wielder of the element of Kindness spotted her target. She literally rushed over to him. "Scootaloo, honey, help me prop him up!" The filly obliged, and Royal was soon propped up against the table. Fluttershy went to work treating his wounds. It took some time, but Fluttershy eventually finished her work. Rainbow and Pinkie had gotten up by this time, and they helped her move Royal to the sofa. "It's a good thing Scootaloo is living with you now. You won't be moving too much for the next few weeks, Royal." Fluttershy said. Royal looked at his bandaged body. The only thing he remembered was getting clocked in the face by a swinging board. "I regret nothing. Thank you for fixing me up, Fluttershy. How much do I owe you?" Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh no. You don't have to worry about that. I should be going. Get well soon, Royal!" Fluttershy headed for the door and left Royal's house. Pinkie and Rainbow walked in that direction as well. "We should be going too. Let us know if you need anything, all right?" Rainbow said. "Yeah, and I'll bring over some more muffins tomorrow! Oh, wait, that was supposed to be a surprise!" Pinkie covered her mouth. Royal nodded. "Thanks for everything, you two!" Rainbow shut the door behind her as she and Pinkie left. After staring at her precious photo for a while, Scootaloo turned to Royal. "Royal, I don't know what to say." He shook his head. "Just help me around the house, okay? I'm a little sore." "Deal!" Scootaloo jumped up on the couch and hugged him tightly. Royal did everything he could to avoid screaming in pain. "Ow! Gently, kid. I'm damaged goods." Royal said. Scootaloo let go. "Oh, sorry!" Royal suddenly realized something. "Hey, isn't it a school day?" Scootaloo went into a state of shock. "Oh, no! I'm late!" She began scampering around. "Get me some paper and a pen. I'll write you a note. You can give it to Miss Cheerilee and get this whole thing cleared, all right?" Scootaloo stopped in her tracks. She was holding a pen and paper in her mouth. "Of course!" Scootaloo left for class with the note in her mouth. She hopped on her scooter; one of her prized possessions that survived the fire. "I'll get there in no time now!" She sped along and, true to her word she reached the school house in lickety-split fashion. She quietly opened the door, catching the eye of her teacher when she strolled into the room. "Scootaloo!" Cheerilee said. The tardy filly turned around to face her. "Yes, I know I'm late, Miss Cheerilee. I have a note right here." Scootaloo handed it over to her teacher, who skimmed through it. "Okay, you're excused. I know you're still getting adjusted. Take your seat, Scootaloo." Scootaloo trotted over to her seat, right in the vicinity of her best friends. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were whispering to each other and giggling. Apple Bloom turned around and stared daggers through them. It was then that DT flashed back to what she had said to them at the beginning of the school day. (flashback) Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were taking their seats as class began. They started making remarks about Scootaloo's tardiness. The present Cutie Mark Crusaders were not about to accept any jokes directed at their friend, given the circumstances. Apple Bloom leaned in on their conversation. DT and SS took offense to her intrusion. "What do you think you're doing, blank flank?" DT asked. Apple Bloom had a serious look on her face. She was not in the mood for their attitudes. "You say one bad thing about Scootaloo, and no pony will ever find your bodies. Have a nice day!" A smile spread across her face as she went back to her seat. (end of flashback) *Gulp!* We had better lay off the teasing today! She sounded serious! The pair of "mean girls" sat up straight, not wanting to make eye contact with any of the crusaders. Scootaloo was happy to make it through the day without a single remark from DT and SS. Every time they tried to speak up, all it took was a look from Apple Bloom and they quickly reconsidered. School had let out, and Scootaloo had easily convinced her friends to come visit Royal. She had told them the details she'd learned from Rainbow. When the crusaders reached Royal's house, Scootaloo quietly opened the door, thinking that Royal might be sleeping. She was correct in her assumption. "Okay, crusaders, we're gonna have to whisper." she said. "Oh, he looks really beat-up!" Sweetie Belle said. "Well, duh! Were you not listening when I was talking earlier? Rainbow Dash told me he was buried under a pile of wood! It obviously collapsed on...!" Scootaloo covered her mouth, realizing that she had raised her voice well above a whisper. Royal stirred, and then he opened his eyes. The sun shone directly in his face. "What? Is it the afternoon already?" He yawned. Scootaloo turned around with a guilty look on her face. "I didn't mean to wake you!" she said. The blue Pegasus shook his head rapidly. This woke him up in a heartbeat. “Oh, hey girls. School must be out. Good. The first day is almost over.” “First day of what?” Sweetie Belle asked. Royal pointed to his bandages. “The first day of a week of immobility. I don’t regret a thing, but I’ll sure be glad when I’m able to take these things off.” He looked over at his guitar, longingly. “Once this week is done, I should be able to play my guitar again. That will make the rest of the recovery go flying by.” Apple Bloom walked across the room to the guitar and picked it up. She started strumming a few chords, to Royal’s amusement. Hearing her play made him want to play even more. After about five minutes, the bow-wearing filly finished her song. She carefully placed the guitar back where she had found it. “Wow. I didn’t know you could play guitar, Apple Bloom!” Royal said. “Well, I’m not very good.” The young pony grinned, awkwardly. “Don’t kid yourself, kid. Freddie Mercury said the same thing about his piano skills.” This was accompanied by a long pause and blank stares from the crusaders. “Who’s Freddie Mercury?” Scootaloo asked. Royal slapped his head, which made him grimace in pain. “Doesn’t Cheerilee teach you anything?” A little bit later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders left Royal’s home with a plethora of knowledge about this human called Freddie Mercury. “Are you going to remember any of that?” Apple Bloom asked her friends. “I think we’d better.” Sweetie Belle said. “Yeah, Royal’s pretty passionate about that kind of stuff.” Scootaloo said. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, causing her fellow crusaders to bump into each other. "Ow! Why'd ya stop?" Apple Bloom asked, shutting her mouth when a shadow fell over her. The youngsters looked to the sky. A griffon flew directly over the trio, occasionally looking down on them. Scootaloo started shivering. She had never seen a griffon before, but she had recently learned about them in school. They were dangerous creatures. However, as soon as it had appeared, the griffon flew in the other direction, leaving the sight of the fillies. "We need to tell somepony about this!" Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo knew who they had to find: none other than the scholar herself, Twilight Sparkle. They headed toward the library. Spike and Twilight were chatting about everyday things when they heard a knock on the door. Spike got up from his spot. "I'll get it!" Just when he reached the doorknob, the door swung open, crushing him against the wall. The three fillies burst into the room, attracting Twilight's attention. "Well, if it isn't the Cutie Mark Crusaders. What can I do for you?" The purple unicorn was eager to help. Scootaloo stepped forward. "Twilight, don't freak out or anything, but we just saw a griffon fly over Ponyville." "A griffon? I haven't seen one since Rainbow's friend Gilda came to visit. That...didn't end well." "Do you think it's some kind of sign?" Sweetie Belle asked. Twilight smiled. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. You three run along now. You should be doing kid stuff, like seeing who can do the most spins with a loopty-hoop!" The wise student smiled. She was trying desperately to take the fillies' minds off of the situation. "Okay! Cutie Mark Crusaders, move out!" Scootaloo shouted. They exited the library, being careful not to smash Spike this time. The purple dragon, who had spent the extent of the crusaders' visit recovering, stumbled over to Twilight. "You know, I'm going to be sad when the day comes that those three won't be the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore." Twilight said. Spike nodded. "Well, nothing lasts forever, Twilight. We all have to make our move eventually." She looked at him, surprised. "Wow, Spike. That was deep!" He grinned. "Yeah, well, I have my moments!" This caused Twilight to giggle. That night, Apple Bloom told her family of what she had seen. "It was a big griffon! I mean this big!" The filly made a gesture with her hooves. Applejack sat and thought for a moment, while Big Macintosh tended to Granny Smith, who was recovering from the hip replacement surgery she had desperately needed. "I believe ya, Apple Bloom. But what would a griffon be doing flying around here? Did it look female?" Apple Bloom shook her head. "We couldn't tell. Why?" "I was thinkin' maybe it was Gilda coming back to make amends with Rainbow. Never mind." Sweetie Belle spoke with Rarity on the same subject, and got mainly the same response. Both fillies went to bed that night with more questions than answers. Maybe Twilight was right. Maybe they needed to go back to doing kid stuff rather than worrying about one freak encounter. They fell asleep, looking forward to the day ahead.