Chapter 44
Rick’s vision was doubled from the impact. He rubbed his rapidly swelling cheek where a horseshoe bruise was taking shape. He had to sit down due to the fact that his legs didn’t know which way to go and his brain wasn’t helping because it was still trying to figure out just what happened and why.
“Wha- what was that for?” he asked as the two Applejacks became one again.
“Don’t you sit thar ‘n’ act like you don’t know!”
“Oh, please calm down, Applejack,” Fluttershy tried to interject.
“No! Not after whut this guy did ta Apple Bloom ‘n’ her friends!”
The thought of Apple Bloom and the other Crusaders being in any kind of danger sobered Rick up fast. “Wait, what happened to Apple Bloom? Is she okay?”
His concern was awarded with another slap, this time harder. Almost hard enough to knock him out. “You drive those three ta tears, tear down their clubhouse ‘n’ then ya have tha gall ta sit there and act like ya don’t know anythin’ about it?” Applejack leered at Rick from only inches away, “if Ah ever see ya again, Ah’ll buck yur head clean off yur shoulders. Do you understan’ meh?”
Rick shook his head ‘no’ which was apparently not the answer Applejack wanted. She turned around, reared up and planted both her rear hooves on his chin, making him black out for real this time.
“…Rick! Wake up, Rick!” Fluttershy’s voice crept its way into Rick’s brain and rebooted it.
“Mnn, what happened? For a minute, I thought Applejack was pissed at me and kicked me but that can’t be right.”
“But she did, you’ve been out for twenty minutes,” Fluttershy said as she slid a glass of water toward Rick.
“I don’t understand. Why would she do that? Why was she mad at me? I just don’t get it.”
“AJ told me that you went to her sister’s clubhouse and told her and her friends that they should give up trying to get their cutie marks. That they would be ‘blank flanks’ forever. She said after that, you tore the clubhouse down while the fillies were still inside and they barely got out before it collapsed.” Fluttershy’s eyes were starting to water, “oh Rick, say it’s not true, please.”
“Of course it isn’t. I love those fillies and would never do anything to hurt them, you know that.” Fluttershy was starting to grin a little. “Besides, I was here with you the whole time, so how could I have done that?”
Fluttershy’s grin faded again, “that’s what I told Applejack, but you were gone for an hour and Applejack said that would have been enough time to do that stuff and get back here.”
“You don’t believe I would do something like that… do you? I-I wouldn’t, I couldn’t. I love those girls like they were my own flesh and blood.”
“I… don’t know what to believe. I don’t think you do anything to harm anypony, but Applejack doesn’t lie either. I mean, I want to believe you, but… but… I just don’t know.”
“Alright, fine, I understand. I’ll be going then.” Rick’s voice was deadpan. He wasn’t mad at Fluttershy or Applejack. Something was going on but he had no idea what. He hadn’t been anywhere near the farm since Cider Season let alone the Crusader’s clubhouse. He was hurt, he felt betrayed but he didn’t know by whom, so he decided to leave so as not to say something he didn’t mean to. “Fluttershy, I will see you later. Please know that whatever happened, I had nothing to do with it. C’mon, Paul.”
Rick walked slowly down the path from her house, head hung low. He was deep in thought and in no hurry whatsoever. He was being honest with both mares. He truly was searching the woods for nuts and acorns for the whole hour he was alone. It made no sense. The Crusaders’ drive to earn their cutie marks was endearing to him, he certainly didn’t want them to stop or…
“THERE YOU ARE!!” Dash’s familiar voice screamed from overhead.
Rick looked up just in time to see a flash of spectral light before a huge dust cloud erupted from the path in front of him. “I don’t care what good you’ve done in the past, that doesn’t give you the right to be a jerk!”
“What are you-”
“Scootaloo told me what you did.” The look Rainbow Dash shot him could have melted steel. “I never thought you would do something like this! I should have finished beating you down when I first saw you.”
Rick was going to interject, but Rainbow turned and flew off just as quickly as she had come. “What the fu… hell is going on here?” Rick looked at Paul as if for answers. The dog looked as confused as him. Rick shook his head; the four red and blue hoofprints on his face didn’t help with the confusion of the most recent encounter. He continued walking into town.
The stallion and his dog reached his house and he sat on the bench in the little park next door. Paul sat on the ground next to him with his head resting on Rick’s lap. The fresh, cool breeze was helping to clear his mind a little. Why were they saying these things about him, why would anyone say lies about another per-… pony that were so blatant and cruel? It wouldn’t surprise him on Earth, but in Equestria, he had never heard of a pony acting so destructively toward one another.
Rick looked over at the plaque that had been placed in the park as a dedication to his past self. He couldn’t figure out how the ponies that thought he deserved something like this could ever do anything to hurt them.
“I cannot believe you!”
“Rarity?! No, not you too.” The pearl coated seamstress stomped up to the bench. Paul was doing what any sensible male should do when faced with a female as mad as she was, hiding. “Great work guard dog.”
Rarity stopped a few feet in front of him and got ready to tear into him, though she hesitated for a second when she saw the bruises on his face, but only for a second. “It’s bad enough you insulted my little sister and her friends, but then you tear down their clubhouse with them still inside.” Rarity paused to take a breath and fight back a tear, “but then I see you out on the town with poor, young Derpy, living it up and putting the moves on her. She is a confused young filly and you are just toying with her. You are a horrible pony.” She turned and stomped away from the stunned target. “I can’t believe I ever loved you.”
That last sentence cut him deeper than any blade ever could. Before he came to Ponyville, he never thought he would ever care about another person the same way he did about Hanna again, then he came here and, while they weren’t technically ‘people’, he found six great friends, four of them became more than that. Now, someone was tearing his world down around his ears again. A pony he considered family just told him to stay away, another wanted to pound him into the dirt, one more didn’t trust him enough to go against another over a ridiculous situation that was obviously untrue. Now, probably worst of all, Rarity essentially just broke it off between them. He felt like all four legs had been swept out from under him.
He felt the bench he was sitting on shake a little, someone had sat next to him. Rick didn’t look to see who it was; he couldn’t take any more bad news or hatred right now. “Hey there, how’s it going?” a very sweet and friendly voice came from next to him, but there was an underlying tone that made the hair on his neck stand on end. His force field tried to go up instantly on instinct but he managed to hold it back, somehow. His whole being was screaming at him to do otherwise, but he held it back.
Chapter 45
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I would really like to be alone right now. That is unless you know why someone has been going around ruining my life.” Rick’s voice was raspy from the stress the day had brought him.
“Oh, Silly, nopony’s trying to ruin your life.”
Rick recognized the speech pattern, but not the voice. He turned to look at his conversational partner. He didn’t know this pony at all, though the look did ring a very small bell. A black unicorn with aqua-marine hair that hung down lower than her neck, bug wings and something like a green beetle shell on her back was sitting on the bench next to him. She had holes in her legs, mane, horn and wings. She was smiling through fangs at him.
“I appreciate that, but someone has been going around making me look bad all day. They tormented little girls and then made it seem like I was cheating on my fillyfriends. I just don’t understand it. Why, why would anyone do this?”
“So it’s true!” Twilight’s voice came from the road. “Only Derpy wasn’t enough, so now you’re with Lyra!”
“Twilight! None of it is true! I don’t know what’s been going on but I was not with Derpy, I did not do anything to those girls. And besides what are you taking about? Lyra isn’t here.” The black unicorn looked hurt by what he had just said.
Twilight stormed over to the bench and stood between the two. “I can’t believe you would lie to my face! How dare you!”
“I am not lying! I have never lied to you or anyone else since I got here. I don’t know who that is, but it is not Lyra. Lyra doesn’t have black fur or wings and she damn sure doesn’t have fangs!”
Twilight froze, so did the black unicorn. They both stared at him, then they turned to each other. Twilight slowly stepped over to Rick. “Are you telling me the truth right now?” Rick noticed the way Twilight was glaring at the newcomer and then turned to locked eyes on her and nodded. “Chrysalis? It is you, isn’t it?”
There was smirk forming rapidly on her face. She stood up off the bench, then she started to chuckle. Then she threw her head back and guffawed at the two standing before her. It was a deep, guttural and maniacal laugh. A ring of green fire from on her horn and traveled down her body at the same time another ring formed at her hooves and traveled up, meeting in the middle. It didn’t change anything for Rick but Twilight could now see her for who she really was.
“That’s right, Twilight Sparkle, and everything this stallion has told you is true. I was the one who destroyed those foals’ precious tree house disguised as him,” she spat the words in disgust. “I acted as him and flirted with that little pegasus. Oh, and if you are thinking you can just go back to the yellow one for comfort, I wouldn’t. She doesn’t take kindly to ponies who hurt little animals. I only wish I could have kept up the act and driven you all away from each other so much, that the Elements of Harmony would be nothing more than pretty stones.”
Both Rick and Twilight were charging up their horns and preparing to attack. Twilight stepped forward, “why? Why would you do this?”
“Why?!” Fire rose in Chrysalis’ eyes as she approached. “Have you forgotten our last encounter already? Because I assure you, I have not. Everything was going perfectly until you showed up. I was going to have Equestria for my own. I was going to have enough food for my hive forever. I was going to have it all. Then you came and freed Cadence. Because of YOU my hive has to survive on scraps.”
“That’s why you’ve done this?! You trapped Cadence and me in a cave and tried to trick my brother into marrying you! You captured Princess Celestia and held her captive! Well you stop at nothing?”
“NO! Not until you are as miserable as you have made me! I had tried to simply kill you, but some… creature interjected. It took days to make that bear despise you to the point that it would kill you as soon as it saw you. You survived thanks to that… thing. Though, I suppose I should really thank that creature. When it was killed and you were spared, you became just a shell of yourself. Your agony was delicious.”
The wicked, heartless creature stood before them, gloating at causing Rick’s death and Twilight’s heartbreak so long ago. Rick was livid. He had died due to her actions, but that wasn’t the reason. She had made his friends hurt. He had seen all of them crying for him that day. He had seen Twilight blaming herself for his death. He had seen her blame her brother too. Watching her tear herself apart had nearly destroyed him.
“You are a cruel, heartless beas-” Twilight had started to yell but she was cut off when an orange fist pounded Chrysalis across the snout causing her to stumble and see double.
“Twilight! Get the Elements, we need to get rid of this bitch!”