//------------------------------// // Horns are sensitive // Story: Crowns and Apples, Butterflies and Lilies // by zyr1987 //------------------------------// “So, now are you going to explain why you decided to vacation in Ponyville?” an alabaster unicorn mare with a purple mane asked as she headed down stirrup street towards the market. Her companion, a tall white unicorn stallion with a monocle, sighed and said, “Okay, I guess. The thing is, Rarity, I needed a few days away from Canterlot and Fleur after our breakup, and since I know an up-and-coming designer here in town, I figured it would be a good place to stay for a while.” “Wait. You broke up with Fleur?” “Yes,” Fancypants said sadly. “Why?” “Well, when the passion in our relationship died we drifted apart, eventually deciding to go our separate ways. It's too bad really. I thought we were perfect for each other.” “Well, there are plenty of other fish in the sea.” “True, but how many of them are going to be as honest and willing to call me out on my mistakes, or as stubborn and unyielding about her choices as Fleur? After all the yes-ponies I deal with day-in and day-out, talking to her was always a wonderful, if sometimes rough, breath of fresh air.” "I don't know but I'm sure that, if you look hard enough, you'll find somepony else with her honesty, beauty, and stubbornness," Rarity said as they turned the corner into the market square. The market square was filled with bustling ponies looking to buy and sell things ranging from produce and sweets to clothes and jewelry. However, the biggest draw at the moment was a good sized area set aside for a competition. From what Rarity could gather from asking a nearby spectator, it seemed Rainbow Dash had claimed that she could kick apples harder and more accurately that Applejack, and AJ had taken her up on the challenge. They had set up a roped off area, thirty yards long with targets at one end and the two competitors were lining up to take their first shots. Why they had chosen to do this in the market nopony knew, though some suspected that it was to ensure fair play after the incidents during the Iron Pony competition they had two years earlier. Rarity and Fancypants standing at the far end of the course from the two competitors, started to walk past when Rainbow took her first shot, which went wide of the target and hit Fancypants right in the middle of his horn. Now, for pegasi and earth ponies who don't know, a unicorn's horn is just as sensitive as a stallion's, well, stallionhood, which makes it fun to play with in bed certainly, but also makes it very sensitive to painful shocks like those that come from apples hitting them at 50 MPH. This meant that when that particular apple hit Fancy's horn, he found himself collapsing on the ground while clutching his pounding head and drawing the attention of all the nearby shoppers and spectators, all of whom simply stared at him without making any attempt to help. Fortunately for Fancypants, there were three ponies in the area that didn't succumb to the bystander effect that gripped everyone else. Rarity was already attending to him by the time the other two, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, arrived on the scene, and when they got there the first thing she said was, “Rainbow Dash, go get Twilight. Tell her to bring an icepack.” “But-” “Just do it. You're the fastest and I can't teleport.” “Fine,” Rainbow said, taking off towards the library at top speed. Applejack then asked, “What happened?” “I think the apple somepony kicked hit him in the head.” Fancy then said weakly, “no...horn.” Upon hearing this, Rarity gave a sympathetic wince before moving one of Fancypants' forelegs to get a better look at his horn. After looking it over, she said, “Well, it doesn't seem to be cracked or anything, but a doctor should look at it. How are you feeling, by the way?” “Pain...” was all Fancy said. Twilight then appeared near the middle of the market square in a small flash of purple light and quickly spotted the trio and galloped over. “What happened?” She asked, passing the ice pack to Rarity, who pressed to to Fancy's horn. “Me and Rainbow were having an apple kicking contest and I think one of the apples she kicked hit this stallion in the horn. I really wish we had set up that net now,” Applejack said. “Why didn't you?” “We were caught up in the moment and made a stupid decision. Can ya stand?” Applejack asked the stricken stallion. Fancypants answered by slowly clambering to his hooves, with one still clutching the front of his horn. “Wait, I remember you now,” Twilight said, “You're the pony who Rarity introduced us to at last year's garden party.” “...Yes...Fancypants at...your service. If you...don't mind...I want to...to sit down,” Fancy said between the pulses of pain in his head. “Here, let me help ya,” Applejack said, leading the taller pony to a nearby bench. “Thank you,” Fancy said, taking a good look at the mare. Looking at her he thought she was rather attractive in a charmingly rustic, well weathered sort of way, though the pounding in his horn kept him from following that train of thought. Right around the time Fancypants and Rarity were entering the market square, two other ponies were leaving it together, one, a tall white unicorn mare with a light pink mane, was speaking in a rapid fire manner to her companion, a short, yellow Pegasus mare who also had a light pink mane. They didn't get far, though, before the commotion from the market rang out, easily reaching them. The shorter mare turned back to see what was going on and her taller companion followed, herself curious about the commotion. When they looked around the corner they saw three ponies huddling around one spot, obviously trying to take care of somepony. They then saw one of them, a blue Pegasus turn and fly off and Fluttershy asked, “Do you think we should help?” “Hmm...no, I think they have a handle on things and there are plenty of ponies around to help, most of them probably having more medical experience than me. If you want to, though, I won't stop you.” Fluttershy thought for a second then said, “I'll stay here and help out of they need me.” “Okay, I'm going to get us some lunch. What would you like?” “Umm...a dandelion and daisy sandwich and some green tea, please.” “Dandelion and daisy sandwich sandwich, green tea, okay. I'll be right back.” Fluttershy watched as Fleur turned around and walked towards a restaurant just outside the market square, her eyes unconsciously drawn to her swaying hips. A few seconds later, she turned her attention back to the proceedings on the other side of the square. She saw Twilight teleport into the square, carrying something she didn't get a good look at, and immediately help attend to the stricken pony. Soon after, they led the pony to a nearby bench that was perpendicular to her and she got a look at him. At this distance she couldn't see much outside of his white coat and blue mane but he seemed familiar somehow, though she couldn't say from where. His choice to sit on the ground instead of stepping onto the bench meant that the pony sitting on the bench next to him blocked her view. She didn't want to make it hard for Fleur to find her, though, so rather than seeking out a better vantage point, she stayed put and let the identity of the mystery stallion remain unknown for the time being. A few minutes after Twilight's arrival, and while she was busy inspecting his horn more closely than Rarity had, the ambulance arrived. Twilight asked one of the paramedics, “who sent for an ambulance?” “Rainbow Dash. She said that a pony had been hit in the horn by a speeding apple,” one of the paramedics said. “Oh. Do you want to go to the hospital, Fancypants?” “Please,” Fancy said before climbing aboard the ambulance with the paramedics' help. Before it flew off to the hospital, Rarity said, “If they don't release you first, I'll come by later, okay?” “Okay. Thank you.” Rarity watched the ambulance fly away, then turned to her two friends and said, “Thank you for the help, you two. It's so nice that I didn't have to attend to him alone despite being surrounded by ponies!” She emphasized this last part as a way to shame the gawkers. “Of course, I couldn't just leave a pony hurt like that.” A growl then emanated from Applejack's stomach, and after a nervous chuckle, she asked, “Uh, ya wanna get some lunch?” “Sure,” her two friends said in unison. When Fleur got back with their food a few minutes later, the ambulance was loading the injured pony for transport to Ponyville Hospital. She saw this and said, “I guess we weren't needed. Anyway, should we find a table?” “Uh, okay.” When they sat down, a remark about working alone while being surrounded by ponies reached them and Fleur had to fight the urge to make a snarky remark in return. She set out their food and asked, "So, any idea what happened?" "No. I just saw that it was a white stallion that they loaded in the ambulance." "A white stallion? Did you see anything else?" "Uh, he had a blue mane," Fluttershy said. Fleur put two and two together, but decided that it probably was some other stallion with those features, since she thought Fancy would never come to a country town like Ponyville, because he loved being in Canterlot, and anyway, he had friends in other towns that were more posh than Ponyville if he felt like traveling.