Meanwhile, at Sugar Cube Corner...
Throughout Ponyville, the town is filled with houses and shops of all different uses. Selling fruit, vegetables and all sorts of other things. However, most of these buildings look...very similar. The same yellow hay roofs, the same grey stone or brown wood exterior, the same windows, slightly dirtied. It is a shame that in these buildings have no flair.
Of course, there is an exception to every rule; in this case, there are several, but the one that stands out the most is the semi-famous Sugar Cube Corner.
The bakery/confectionery in question looks so out of place because of it looking like a gingerbread house.
The walls on the ground floor looked the same as any other house, save for the windows and front door, which are a marshmallow-pink, much like the resident baker and party-goer Pinkie Pie. The glass in the windows is tinted this colour as well. This floor has the kitchen, the counter, and a guest room for parties, which Pinkie throws often.
Then comes the roof, with it's chocolate-browns and icing-whites, looking much like a delectable treat as what the owners are selling. Circular tiles shaped like cookies decorate it. The chimney is made of purple bricks, and is itself slathered with 'frosting'. On this floor is where the owners of the store, Mr. Carrot and Mrs. Cup Cake reside, along with their infant twins, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake.
Finally, a large turret sits in the middle of the roof, pointing at the sky. This turret contains loft that serves as the living quarters of Pinkie Pie an Gummy, and is shaped much like a cupcake, with three candles coming out of the very top, fake fire and all, currently pointing towards the now grey sky, which was scheduled for rain later that day.
It is this very loft where Pinkie Pie finds herself, no longer crying, but still very upset over what Christian had said. And it is just outside this very bakery/confectionery that Applejack finds herself, looking to comfort the party mare.
Applejack pushed the front door open, causing the little bell on the upper door frame to ring, alerting the Cakes to her presence. Mr Cake was in the back, baking, so it was Mrs. Cake who came to Applejacks side.
"Oh hello, dearie. Are you here to see Pinkie Pie?" Mrs. Cake inquired, genuinely worried about the mare she honestly considered as a daughter. "She just ran past everyone, scaring the daylights out of all our customers! I swear she had tears running down her face!"
"Yeah, Mrs. Cake, Pinkie ain't feelin' like herself right now, so Ah've come to offer her a little comfort." Applejack said with a smile. Mrs. Cake nodded in response.
"Oh, thank you dearie. I have to keep tending to the customers, so I haven't been able to go up and ask her what's wrong. If you would be a dear and head up right away...oh, sorry, more customers. I have to go!" Mrs. Cake said, as she quickly moved back behind the counter to serve the awaiting customers.
With that, Applejack trotted over to the foot of the stairs, took a calming breath, thought about what she was going to say, and made her way up.
After making it past the Cakes residential floor, where Pound and Pumpkin were probably sleeping, Applejack went up one floor further, to the entrance to Pinkie's loft.
The door to the loft is a bright pink, with a heart shaped window. Very fitting.
Applejack raised one orange hoof, and with a solid knock knock knock, alerted Pinkie Pie to her unannounced guest.
Applejack was at first met with silence. After about a solid minute of waiting, she tried again.
Knock knock knock.
"C'mon, Pinkie. I know yer in there."
Silence. Then, "Go away. I don't wanna talk."
To Applejack, she knew that tone of voice. Pinkie had been crying, and not just the hysterical, overreacting kind. The voice Applejack heard was an 'I hurt inside' voice.
"Pinkie, please. Let me in. I just want to talk, see what went wrong."
There was silence for the longest time, and Applejack thought Pinkie was still refusing. She was about to knock again, when she heard hoofs on a wooden floor, getting closer to the door. The light under the door disappeared slightly, meaning somepony was blocking the light. Definitely Pinkie.
Another long pause, before the door could be heard unlatching, and then slowly being opened. Applejack had first though 'When did Pinkie put a lock on her door?' but those thoughts immediately left her head as she saw the state her pink friend and fellow Element was in.
Pinkie was a shade darker than average, which usually happens whenever she is depressed or angry. Her hair was straight, which Applejack knew was not a good sign, as this is almost exactly what she looked like during the 'Party of One' incident a little while back. But that's not what worried Applejack.
What worried the orange farm mare was that last time Pinkie was like this, she was depressed, but was very angry about it, going so far as to yell at her friends. This time, however, Applejack saw no anger or hatred in her baby-blue eyes.
For the first time, Applejack saw pure, unaltered misery in Pinkie Pie.
The two stood there for a few seconds, Applejack very concerned for her friend, Pinkie Pie very, very sad.
The silence was broken, but only barely, by Pinkie. "Come in," she whispered, moving out of the way, allowing Applejack trot into Pinkies loft.
Applejack had never actually been in Pinkie's loft before. In fact, the only ones who had were Rainbow Dash during the 'Party of One' incident, the Cakes, who had built this place anyway, and Gummy, who probably didn't count.
So Applejack trotted inside, taking a quick look around, satisfying her curiosity, but also knowing that that's not what's important right now.
As soon as Pinkie closed the door, Applejack spoke.
"Now Pinkie Pie, Ah don't know what that monster said to make ya'll upset like this. Ah didn't think anything anypony said could faze you, of all ponies." Pinkie was not faring any better, still looking completely miserable, eyes on the floor. Applejack decided to cut to the chase, and get to why she was here. "If'n it's alright with you, Pinks, would ya'll mind tellin' me what he said?"
Pinkie still looked at the floor. Apparently, at that moment, those pale brown boards were the most interesting thing in the world.
Applejack smiled, even knowing that Pinkie couldn't see it. "Take yer time, sugarcube. Ah'll wait." She meant it, too. She was the Element of Honesty, after all.
Pinkie did take her time, but when she did speak, her voice was so horribly dejected that Applejack simultaneously wanted to cry along with her, and go beat Christian into next month.
"Well, I bounced into the room, h-hoping that we could be f-friends, even after he said those mean things to me." Pinkie began. Applejack was pretty sure she knew where this was headed, and Christian was going to suffer for it, but she didn't say a word, and let Pinkie continue.
"He was...standing there, all super tall and stuff, a-and I said 'Hiya, Christian! Remember me? I'm Pinkie Pie! You said some mean stuff earlier, but I forgive you!' T-then he said 'Pinkie, I do not like you.' Then, he s-said 'You are overly happy, which is usually an indication that you are either on some sort of narcotic, or are secretly depressed and are trying to hide it. You are the kind of person who thrives on attention, a social butterfly, who cannot stand to be alone. Your 'friends' are probably aware of your depression, and simply hang around you to try and make you feel better about yourself. They do not really care about you. They do not want to be there, but the feel guilted by you.' Then I t-tried to say something, but he said 'This interview is over. Run along home now, Pinkie Pie. Or even better, do what everyone else really wants you to do, go jump off of a bridge.'
"I started crying really loudly, and I...ran back here, and all the way up the stairs, and I slammed the door, and locked it, and then you came here." Pinkie finished.
It came as no surprise to Applejack that Pinkie could remember the entire conversation word-for-word, because she could remember every little detail about literally everypony in Ponyville.
"But, Ah don't understand, sugarcube. You never let insults get to you before, because you know, deep down, that they ain't true." Applejack tried to reason. "Ah mean, Ah know that Ah don't feel sorry for ya." Pinkie gasped "Yer a good friend, Pinkie. Ah don't need to feel sorry for you to want to hang around you. Ah want to hang around you because you really are one of my best friends. That goes for the others, too." Applejack quickly said, causing a sad smile to appear over the pink party pony's face.
"Ah also know ya ain't on any, uh, what'd he call 'em? Nar-cot-tics? Or drugs, or whatever. Ya'll are bouncy and happy all the time 'cause that's who ya are. He don't know squat." Applejack said indigently.
Pinkie's smile got a little bigger, and Applejack could see the colour starting to return to her pink friend. Time for the home stretch.
"And Ah certainly know ya'll ain't depressed. Ah mean, look at ya. You, of all ponies? Ya'll are the happiest, perkiest pony Ah've ever met. I know you ain't depressed."
This, however, did not have the same effect on Pinkie as Applejack would have hoped. Pinkie did not light up further, nor did she darken. Her smile, however, vanished completely.
"Um, Applejack?" Pinkie whispered.
"Yeah, sugarcube? If he said something else that upset you, then ya'll have to tell me." Applejack replied.
Pinkie sighed. "No, he didn't say anything other than that."
"Then Ah don't get it. You know none of what he said is true, so why're you still sad?"
"..."
"Please, Pinkie. Why did what he said have such an effect on ya?"
"Because..."
"Yeah?"
Pinkie stood there in silence for a few seconds, before replying.
"I'm not really depressed, but...I have been hiding something..."
Applejack was again confused, something of a natural state with her. "What do you mean ya'll are hidin' somethin'?"
"Well, like I said, I'm not depressed, but I am sad, and not just from what he said."
"Please, Pinkie, ya can't hide things from yer friends, 'specially if they're makin' you feel awful on the inside."
Pinkie lay there on the bed, which looked a little too soft for Applejack's liking- Wait, why in the hay am Ah thinkin' of somethin' like that at a time like this?
"Please, Applejack...I don't wanna say. Please, please please don't push the issue. I'll..." Pinkie sighed. "I'll tell you, and everyone, when I'm ready."
'Sugarcube, Ah can't stand to see ya like this...but if this is what you want, Ah'm behind you."
Pinkie looked up. "Really?" she sniffled.
"Yep." Applejack replied simply, smiling.
Pinkie sniffled, then giggled. "I'll tell you guys someday...and it'll be a doozy!" Pinkie's face then went serious. "I need to go back to the library, don't I?"
"Yeah, you do, sugarcube."
Pinkie smiled. A full blown smile. She had an idea. She will make Christian be her friend, and she will make him nicer. If she could do it for Cranky Doodle Donkey, she could do it for anyone!
With this thought and sudden determination, Pinkie's hair suddenly went poof into it's natural, cotton candy-esque state, and her full colour scheme returned, bright as ever.
"Alright, Applejack. I won't let anything that big ol' grumpy-tush says to me make me sad anymore, because I know it's not true! He can't hurt me anymore!"
Applejack returned the large smile. "That's the spirit, Pinkie Pie! Now let's head back to the library and show him what your made of!"
"Yeah!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing off of the bead and proceeding to bounce towards the door.
"Pinkie, wait a second!"
Pinkie stopped bouncing, levitating in mid air while Applejack spoke, who was used to Pinkie doing things that shouldn't be possible.
"Even though ya'll ain't sad cryin' anymore, sugercube, Christian still made ya cry." Applejack went very serious. "Ya don't mind if Ah...rough him up a bit for it, do ya?"
Pinkie Pie looked a little evil, not something Applejack was used to seeing.
"Sure, Applejack. Anything you want."
///
A little while beforehand, on the inside of the library...
A shape blocked some of the light from the doorway, casting a shadow across the room Christian was standing in. He recognised the shape to be Rainbow Dash. She looked behind her to the rest of the ponies standing outside, and said "Somepony go comfort Pinkie Pie. In fact, somepony go find Rarity and Spike as well." She looked at Christian through the doorway, who was smirking evilly. "I'll take care of this guy."
Then, the cyan pegasus with the rainbow mane slammed the door shut behind her. She had a grin on her face to match.
"So, you think you can just waltz into our town, start trying to eat ponies, make Rarity and Spike run away, and then insult the Princesses? That's low," she began, "but then you took it that extra step too far and made Pinkie Pie cry."
Christian stood there, not a sound coming from his lips. He was intent on letting Rainbow get her little monologue over and done with.
"Rarity can take insults, and I know she'll be fine in a little while when she talks it over with Spike. He'll be fine, too. Even the princesses can handle a little talk back." Her expression darkened.
"But nopony ever makes Pinkie Pie cry and gets away with it."
Christian did not react. He simply stood there, hands behind his back. He knew what was coming, and how to make it come sooner.
'Ah yes, of course. The annoying pony with cotton candy hair cannot take a simple insult? Perish the thought." Christian replied.
Rainbow Dash lowered herself down to the floor, and stood on her hind legs, putting up her fore-hoofs in a fighting stance. "Put 'em up! You've hurt too many ponies to not go unpunished!"
Christian again stood stock still, not showing any emotions. Silent.
"I said put 'em up! What are you, chicken?" Rainbow declared.
"No, no, my dear, I will get my hands dirty if necessary." Christian replied, as if he didn't have a care in the world, and certainly not a raging pegasus in front of him. "However, this incident got me thinking. You are the element of Loyalty, yes?"
Rainbow did not drop her guard. "Yeah, so?"
"Well, as the Element of Loyalty, I would expect something like this to happen. You, trying to avenge your friends honor. It would be touching if you were speaking to anyone else but me." Christian replied. "I cannot help but wonder, however..."
"About what?" Rainbow was getting inpatient, and was thinking about attacking him first. Exactly what Christian was planning for.
"Well, you show much loyalty, and that is to be expected. But, I look at your mane, and I look at how you stuck up for Pinkie Pie, and I cannot help but think 'Is there something more here?'"
Rainbow, not the sharpest tool in the shed, again growled "Yeah, so?"
"Oh, there is no need to hide it anymore, Rainbow. I know that you care for Pinkie in 'that' way. You do not have to be ashamed."
Time stopped for Rainbow. An enormous wave of rage washed over her after hearing what Christian said, but not just that. No, it also brought back memories of her being teased in Flight school. All the hanging out she did with Fluttershy, along with the colour of her mane, sparked a lot of teasing about her being a filly-fooler. All of the bad memories, and all of the taunts and chants hit her at once.
As such, she didn't even have to think twice when she flew across the library towards Christian at full speed.
Exactly what Christian had been waiting for.
He dived to the side just as Rainbow had flown by, and she smacked full force into the wall, just as she did not too long ago. The same wall, in fact.
But Rainbow was so full of adrenaline, she didn't feel the pain of the impact. She unstuck herself from the wall, and aimed at Christian again. When she shot towards him, this time he wasn't able to dodge.
Christian hit the wall with Rainbow's hoofs pressed against his stomach. If they had been pressed against his ribs, they would have been broken for sure.
Christian slumped to the ground in faux-pain, acting like he was seriously hurt. He coughed a few times to add to the effect. While the slam did hurt, Christian had had far worse.
He sat there, clutching his gut, while Rainbow hovered in front of him.
"That was easy...you sure talk tough for a guy who can;t even defend himself!" Rainbow declared proudly.
Christian coughed before answering her. "Well, you can certainly *cough* hit. I am defeated."
Rainbow grinned. "Oh yeah! I'm the best!"
"I am sorry." Christian said.
Rainbow looked at him with disapproval. "You'd better be. You made Pinkie Pie and Rarity cry, and called me a filly-fooler!"
Christian looked up at her. "What are you on *cough cough* about? That is not what I am apologising for." He smirked. "I am sorry for offending you and getting your secret love wrong."
Rainbow was stunned. "W-what?"
"Pinkie Pie does not seem your style anyway. Who else would be more fitting to you?" Christian put a hand to his chin. "Hmm...Applejack seems your type. It is her, is it not?"
Rainbow cried out in rage, dropped to the ground, turned around, and bucked him as hard as she could in the chest.
Christian felt it. He could feel one of his ribs fracture. But he had no time to feel pain. He had vengeance to wreak.
'*cough cough* Oh, goodness, I am so sorry for getting it wrong again! May-uh-maybe it is really Twilight Sparkle?"
"GRAAAAH!"
She kicked him again. He felt another rib fracture, but he had no time for pain. He was working.
'No? Maybe...ugh, maybe Rarity?"
She kicked him a third time.
"Yes, you are right, she is *cough cough* far too uptight for the likes of you."
Kick. The coughs were real this time, and Christian could taste blood. He knew she would not kill him, and that was all he needed. He just needed to block out the pain, and do what he loved best.
"Well, that *cough* leaves *cough cough* only one more ca*cough*ndidate." He gasped. "It seems your secret crush is Flu-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Rainbow shouted, kicking him hard in the face this time. Not hard enough to break anything, or to knock him out, but enough to hurt. A lot.
"AUGH! Ah, ahha, ow*cough*." Christian seemed down for the count. He was still trying to speak, but only air was coming out, not words.
He did, however, managed to say something through the coughs and the pain that pissed Rainbow off to no end.
"S...struck a n-nerve, did I?"
Rainbow was facing away from him at the time, flying towards the door. She stopped at that, but did not turn, nor did she acknowledge what he said.
"I *gasp* know I *cough* did."
Facing away, she was lost in her own thoughts, too busy to notice the human get up, too lost in her own memories to hear him limp up to her. All she could think about were the same sentences over and over. What the bullies in Flight school had teased her and Fluttershy with.
"Rainbow Cash!"
"Filly-fooler!"
"Aw look, it's Rainbowshy!"
"Hey, look at the Flutterdash girls!"
She had always gotten so mad over these things, these names, these chants, but she never revealed why.
It's 'cause they were right.
It was then that Christian decided to jump on her. Literally jump from his position and grab her out of the air, pulling her down to the floor.
Rainbow had not been expecting this, and gasped and she hit the floor, and Christian sat of her back, stopping her from using her wings. From there, he grabbed the back of her head, and began slamming her face into the ground repeatedly.
No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't get him off of her. He weighed heaps. He just kept slamming and slamming until Rainbow was bleeding from a broken nose, her eyes were bloodshot and she was seeing stars, which took a grand total of thirty-eight slams.
He stood, leaving her beaten and bloody on the ground. She was fully awake, but to disoriented to move. It was then Christian decided to kick her as hard as he could on the side. She had chosen this unfortunate moment to try and roll onto her back, and this caused his kick to hit her in the stomach.
There was a short pause before she let the contents of her stomach grace the floor with their presence.
Her nose was broken. She couldn't see straight. She couldn't stand. Her stomach was bruised, and she felt like she was going to vomit again. Christian was pretty sure he'd won this fight. And with not a lot of effort on my part.
However, he felt something was...missing. She was a pegasus, after all. What's to stop her from flying away?
He bent down on one knee, and rolled Rainbow Dash onto her stomach, letting her chin reside in her own vomit.
She said that she was the fastest flier in Equestria. He smirked evilly.
Not after this.
He leaned in, right next to her left ear, and whispered to her, "You love to fly, do you not? This is what causes you the greatest pleasure in life?"
She knew what he was about to do, but she couldn't move. She was barely conscious. Nonetheless, her mind was screaming at her body "NO! STOP HIM! DO SOMETHING!, to which the body replied I can't. I just...can't.
Christian grabbed hold of her left wing, feeling the feathers, and the muscles in the wing. He could feel her heartbeat through it. It was quite fast.
He had a firm grip on the wing, holding it in both hands. He was going to break it like one would try to bend and iron bar.
All Rainbow Dash could think was "No, please, not those..."
But it was too late.
With pulling both his hands and turning them in opposite directions, the bones in the wing broke with a sickening SNAP, making sure Rainbow would never fly again.
His work here was done.
Thankfully, that didn't actually happen.
Before the wing could be snapped, Applejack burst into the room.
"WHAT IN THE HAY DO YA THINK YOU'RE DOIN' TO RAINBOW?!" The orange farm pony bellowed, charging at him.
Christian did not anticipate this, and it caused him to pause and look at the door. He had actually frozen in place. He was so enthralled in his revenge that he didn't take notice of the world around him before it was too late.
Applejack had reached the human, who had finally realised what was happening, and turned around, bucking him full force before he could do a thing about it.
Applejack's bucks are the most powerful in Ponyville, if you don't count Big Mac, and Christian felt it. At least, he did before he slammed into the wall, losing all consciousness.
Twilight ran in, restraining his sleeping form with a binding spell, while Rarity, Spike, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Geo all ran in afterwards, followed by the Princesses.
Everyone was panicking. Rainbow was seriously hurt, and was in immense pain. Rarity wasn't strong enough to levitate her, at least all the way to the hospital. Fluttershy didn't know what to do. She did however, turn to the Princesses.
"Well? Can you levitate her, Princesses?" Fluttershy demanded. She was very serious about it. She had more to thank Iron Will for than she cared to admit.
"Yes, of course, Fluttershy. We may not be able to make it in time. While levitating, we can only walk, due to the concentration the spell requires." Celestia replied.
"Well then do it! Please, please Princess, I be-" Fluttershy began, before Geo cut in."
"I'll do it."
Everyone looked at her. Normally, no one would have accepted, but these were desperate times.
"O-okay, Geo. Please be careful." Fluttershy begged.
With that, the pudgy human girl walked over, picked up the blue pegasus, flung her over her shoulder, and began to run as fast as she could towards the door.
As she got there. she stopped.
"Uh, I'll be needing directions, maybe? Anybody think of that?"
Fluttershy nodded hurriedly, and quickly ran over to Geo, going with her and showing her the way to the hospital.
This left everyone in the library looking at the unconscious human, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight with hate, Pinkie Pie with sorrow, and the Princesses with pity.
No one had seen this coming, but they knew they should have.
Geo and Fluttershy were going as fast as they could towards the hospital. The sky was grey, as the later half of that day was scheduled for rain. Suddenly, the heavens opened up, as if weeping for the damaged pegasus, while many ponies were looking on in horror at Rainbow Dash's state.
All Fluttershy could think of was "Please be okay, Rainbow Dash. I don't know what I'd do without you.
Geo was thinking something else entirely. "What the HELL were you thinking, Christian? I just hope they can forgive you for this..."
Indeed, it was a sad day for the ponies of Ponyville.
This was the next step in the large chain of events centred around the two strangest creatures in all of Equestria, Christian and Georgina.
Sorry, Geo.
///
Author note: No chapter update tomorrow. I have holiday homework, people. The bane of my existence must be finished sometime.
Next chapter, Geo and Fluttershy wait for Rainbow Dash to get better, while the others discuss what to do with Christian. But seeing what he can do...what reason do they have to trust Geo?