//------------------------------//
// Bubbly's Worst Fear 
// Story: The Mystery of a New World 
// by Fanthrose 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 46

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Big Mac was happy he was able to sleep in for once.  It was once in a blue moon he was actually able to enjoy a bit of time off.  Not that he didn’t enjoy the farm work.  Far from it.  He just wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

When his eyes cracked open, he quickly took in his surroundings.  He recognised the hospital room immediately.  It was still dark, though the sun would soon be rising.  AJ and Knight were still sleeping, though it sounded like little Knight was having a dream of some kind.  AJ was thankfully sleeping peacefully.

“Big Mac?”

“Hmm?”  He looked down at the butter yellow pegasus sharing the bed with him.  She was rubbing her eye as she let out as big of a yawn you’d get from her.

“Is something wrong?”

A warm smile crossed his lips.  “Not at all.  You just go back ta sleep.  Ah just have ta use th’ bathroom.”

“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy said with a smile as she rested her head back on the pillow.

Like he said, Big Mac got up and headed to the bathroom.  Once he was done though, he made a pit stop before returning to bed.  He walked over to AJ and Knight’s bed.  Applejack’s words about this happening to AJ because he was protecting the girls ran through his head.  Apple Bloom may have been killed if not for him.  He carefully pulled the covers down to look at the bandage around AJ’s leg and chest.  He had a few other cuts and scrapes here and there, but they were nothing he wouldn't have gotten while working at the farm.  He pulled up the covers with a somber look as he promised to be right there with Applejack when it came to thanking him.

“I-I’ll save you...ddy.”

He was knocked out of his thoughts as Knight mumbled in his sleep.  He turned his attention to the small foal sleeping next to him.  At some point during his dream he must have kicked the sheets off of himself.  Without saying a word, Big Mac walked around the bed and pulled the covers back over Knight.  He gently ran a hoof through his mane before finally returning to the bed he was sharing with Fluttershy.

Her tired eyes opened slightly as she felt him climb into bed. She smiled as she snuggled up to him again, quickly falling asleep against his chest once again.


********************


Why did decisions like this have to be so hard?

That was the exact thought that ran through Carrot’s head as she lay in bed the previous night.  After talking things through with Big Mac, she knew she had to think out this whole ‘tell AJ his dumbass got Ditzy preggers’ plan.  Big Mac was right.  If things went wrong, this could very well be the end of their 17 year old friendship.  If she was going to do this, she would have to approach it carefully.  She would give Ditzy one more chance.  She would talk with Ditzy again to try to convince her to tell him.  If she didn’t make her move by the end of the day, she would put things into her own hooves.

She was also prepared to paralyze AJ from the neck down if he dared to break Ditzy’s heart.  But that could wait.  Sleep was at the front of her schedule right now.

Carrot had a dopey smile on her face as she rolled over in her bed.  Despite her talk with Big Mac the previous night, and the thoughts running through her head as she lay in bed, she had pleasant dreams through the night.  Some more pleasant than others.  At this moment, the dreams that were running through her head were...inappropriate to say the least.


********************


”Carrot, ya’ve been so naughty,” Finn said as he whipped her rump with the riding crop.

Carrot cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain as he continued the assault.  “Oh Celestia yes!  Make my ass red Finn baby!”

Carrot let out a whine when she stopped feeling the sting of the crop.  She looked over her shoulder with puppy dog eyes.  “Nu uh.  You don’t make th’ rules here t’night.  We do.”

“We?”

“Yes, we,” came a second voice.

Carrot knew that voice.  Her eyes widened as she saw Ditzy standing in the doorway wearing a dominatrix esk outfit.  She had four sets of hoofcuffs hanging from her extended wings, and wore a slightly sadistic grin on her face.  “He’s right.  You’ve been a very, very bad pony.”

“And t’night, th’ two o’ us’re goin’ ta punish ya fer bein’ so naughty,” Finn said as he pulled out a trunk full of BDSM gear.

Carrot put on a faux look of fear as she felt her loins tingle with anticipation.  “Oh, I’ll be a good girl, I promise.”

“It’s far too late for that now,” Ditzy said as she walked up to the bed.  “Now, roll onto your back.  Carrot did as she was told.  Ditzy wasted no time cuffing the first of her hooves to the bed post.  “We know how to deal with naughty ponies, and we’re going to reform you all...night...long,” she said as she cuffed her other hind leg.

“All night long?” asked Carrot; she couldn’t hide the hope in her voice.

Ditzy glared at Carrot before clapping her hooves together.  Finn smiled as he took swing at Carrot’s flanks with the crop.  Ditzy smiled at Carrot’s squeak.  “No talking, slave.”  Carrot let out a small ‘oof’ as Ditzy climbed on top of her.  “To keep you from moving,” she said as she reached to cuff the first of Carrot’s forelegs.  Once that was done, she grabbed hold of the last of the cuffs and reached for her last hoof.

Clunk!

“Oh shit!” Ditzy said with fear plastered on her face as she dropped the cuffs

“Huh?”

“Please don’t wake up!” whispered Ditzy as she took a side glance at Carrot.

“Wake up?  Huh?”


********************


“W-wha?” asked Carrot as her eyes fluttered open.  Her eyes slowly widened at what she saw.  Like in her dream, Ditzy was straddling her body.  She even had  a pair of hoofcuffs in her hooves.  The only differences was the absence of Finn, the BDSM gear, and Ditzy’s dominatrix outfit.

She also had the face of a little filly that had been caught doing something she shouldn't be doing.  Like that one time Dinky was caught red hooved trying to snatch some cookies out of the cookie jar before bedtime.

“Oh hell.”

“Ditzy...what’s going on?”  She was staring at Ditzy with wide eyes.

“Nothing!  Nothing at all!”

“Really?  Because it looks like you’re chaining me to the bed.”  To make sure, she tried to move her hooves.  Only her right foreleg moved as the others were already chained.  “Why are you straddling me like that.”

“So you wouldn’t move!” Ditzy said before she could stop herself.  Carrot’s eyes widened even further at the answer  “It’s not what it looks like!”

“Are you sure?  Cause it looks like you’re mimicking a scene from my wet dreams,” Carrot said with arousal in her voice.  She could feel her body heating up at the mere thought.

“I...what?” Ditzy asked as a blush made it’s way to her face.

“I swear, if Finn is waiting outside that door with a riding crop…”  Carrot unconsciously licked her lips at the thought of her wet dream becoming reality.

Ditzy quickly cuffed Carrot’s last hoof to the bed before climbing off the pale goldenrod mare; a slight look of horror on her face.  “I-i’m sorry it had to come to this Carrot, but I can’t let you leave this house,” she said as she tried to calm herself down.  “I won’t let you tell AJ.  I can’t let you.”

“Wait, is that what this is…”

“Mommy, what’s going on in here?”

Both full grown mares eyes went as wide as possible as they looked towards the door to see Dinky standing there with a confused look on her face.  Neither of them knew what to say.  Dinky just stood there for a minute as she ran ideas through her head.  “Are you playing a game?”

“No!” both mares said at the same time.

“Were you having a sleepover?” she asked despite them living in the same house.

“No!” they both answered again.

Dinky put a hoof to her chin as she thought.  “Are...are you playing those adult only games that little fillies like me shouldn't’ know about?”

“No!/Yes!” Ditzy and Carrot said respectively.  Ditzy shot Carrot a death glare which went unnoticed by her friend.

Dinky continued to stare on in confusion.  “What?”

“Never mind that Dinky.  How about I get us some breakfast before we go see AJ in the hospital?”

Dinky’s face immediately lit up.  “I get to go see daddy in the hospital?!”  She began hopping in place as her excitement overtook her.

“Mmhm!  Now let’s go downstairs and get something to eat.”  She looked over at Carrot.  “I’ll bring you something to eat before we leave.”

Carrot watched as Ditzy started walking towards the door.  “Wait, you can’t be serious.  You’re actually going to leave me chained up like this?”  Ditzy didn’t answer.  “You can’t do this!  It’s wrong!  It’s immoral!”  Still no answer.  Carrot let out a whine as Ditzy walked out of the room, closing the door in the process.  “At least undo one of the cuffs so I can rub one out!”

“Mommy, what does ‘rub one out’ mean?”

“I-I’ll tell you when you’re older.”


********************


”Wake up…”

“Mmmmh…”

”Come on, wake up.”

“Nngh?  D...dad?”

“Come on!  Wake up daddy!”  AJ’s eyes slowly cracked opened.  Before him he saw a shadow looming over him.  “He’s up, he’s up!” cheered Knight as he began jumping up and down on AJ’s chest in excitement.

“That’s quite enough of that,” Rarity said as she grabbed Knight up in her magic; setting him down next to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.  He just pouted as Sweetie patted him on the head

Applejack smiled; standing up from her seat and walking towards the bed.  “Hey there sugarcube.  How ya feelin’?”

AJ just looked around the room for a minute.  He slowly turned his head to Applejack after a bit as if it finally hit him that Applejack was speaking to him.  “...Where’s dad?”

“Dad?”  With a worried look, Applejack glanced over to Rarity who shared the same look.  “Well, uh...yer dad’s...not here.  Ya musta been dreamin’,” Applejack said hoping to defuse the situation before it got too bad.

“Eeyup.  We’re th’ only one’s in th’ room,” Big Mac said from the other side of the bed.  He and Fluttershy were sitting on the other bed so Applejack and crew could use the couch.

They all watched as AJ just stared at Applejack for a moment.  “...Dream?”

“Ya seem really tired,” Apple Bloom said as she continued to watch him.  “Why don’t ya get more sleep.”

“Acordin’ ta what th’ nurse said last night, he’d be outta it fer a day or two while his, how did she put it, while his ‘brain wakes back up’ from th anesthesia,” Big Mac said matter-of-factly.

“Still, we could always go see if they’ll let us go see Scootaloo,” Sweetie said with a hoof to her chin.

“Ah still don’t see why they let Zecora in, but not us,” pouted Apple Bloom.

“They never did get to talk to her about what she gave to the poor dear yesterday.  They probably just wanted to talk to her in private about it,” reasoned Rarity.

“Sounds reasonable enough,” Big Mac said with a nod.

“Sc...Scootaloo?” questioned AJ.  Everypony turned to him as he mumbled the name.  He continued to stare blankly between Applejack and Rarity for a moment before his eyes slowly began to widen.  “Scootaloo…”  He began struggling around in bed in an attempt to get the covers off of himself.  For some reason he just couldn’t get his limbs to coordinate with each other.  His body just felt partially numb.  “...I have to help her.”

Thinking fast, Applejack got up and held AJ down.  In his current state, it didn’t take much effort, if any, to hold him down.  “Now hold on there pardner.  You really shouldn’t be gettin’ outta bed fer a while.  Specially not in yer condition.”

“She’s...she’s out in the forest.  Have to...have to save...her.  She’s...gonna die.”  It didn’t take long for his fighting to slow and eventually stop outright.  His eyelids began to droop once again as what little energy he had in him was expended.  “I-i’m sorry...Scootaloo,” he said as tears began rolling from his eyes.

“Ya did all you could sugarcube.  Th’ doctors here at th’ hospital can take it from here.  Just rest fer now.”

“B...but…”

“She’s right,” Fluttershy said as she walked up to the other side of the bed.  She pulled the covers back up before gently nuzzling his cheek.  “You need all the rest you can get so you can get better.”

He stared into space again, seemingly trying to stave off the inevitable.  “Will...will I dream of...dad again?”

Applejack looked around the room.  She was unsure of what she should say, and hoped somepony else knew.  They all just shrugged.  “Ah...Ah don’t know.  But Ah do know that any dreams ya do have’ll be happy dreams,” she said with a smile.  She leaned down, giving him as much of a hug as she could with him lying down.  “An’ thank you.  If not fer you, Apple Bloom...Apple Bloom may not have…”  She sniffled as she pulled away; wiping the tears her eyes.  She swore under her breath.  “Told mah self Ah wasn’t goin’ ta cry.”

“It’s alright ta cry,” Big Mac said with a small smile on his face.  He placed a gentle hoof on AJ’s shoulder.  “Thanks fer protectin’ th’ girls when we couldn’t.”

They watched as his fight came to an end.  His lids finally closed as sleep washed over him once again.  As quietly as she could, Rarity started shooing the children out of the room.  She knew AJ needed his sleep.  She had to grab Knight up in her magic though as he tried to sneak away.  “You need to let him sleep,” she whispered as she and the foals left the room.

Applejack sniffled one last time before following Rarity.  Before leaving the room, she turned to Big Mac and Fluttershy.  “You two comin’?”  Big Mac silently nodded before leading Fluttershy out of the room.


********************


As the two of them walked down the hall, Ditzy noticed the group of ponies filing out of AJ’s room.  “Huh, I wonder why they’re all leaving.”  Once the door was closed, she waved down the group.  “Hey, Applejack!”

The group all looked over towards Ditzy and Dinky.  A smile grew on Applejack’s face when she noticed that Ditzy seemed to be in a bit of better mood today.  “Why howdy sugarcube.  You look like yer feelin’ a mite bit better today.”

“She’s right.  You seemed to be in your own world yesterday,” added Rarity.  “If you don’t mind me asking, what was wrong?”

Ditzy scratched the back of her head.  “Let’s...just say I was having a bad day and end it with that.  I really don’t wanna talk about it right now.”  Dinky looked at her mother with a questioning look.  She knew that thing she found in the waste basket was the reason for her strange mood yesterday, she just didn’t know what it was exactly.

Big Mac looked down the hallway as if he was expecting somepony.  “Ah thought Carrot Top woulda been with you.  She made it clear she had somethin’ she needed ta tell AJ.”

Ditzy visibly tensed up.  “Uhh...well…”  She swallowed the lump in her throat.  “She’s a bit...tied up right now,” she said with an obviously fake smile.

“Yea.  Mommy left Aunty Carrot tied to the bed with…”  Ditzy silenced Dinky with a hoof before she could finish.

Ditzy cleared her throat.  “So...how’s AJ doing?” she asked; ignoring the the looks she was getting from the group.

“He’s, uh...sleepin’.  What was that 'bout you tyin’ Carrot ta th’ bed now?”

“Chained, actually.”  Ditzy slapped a hoof over her own mouth.  It was impossible to ignore the looks she was getting now.  She swallowed the lump in her throat.  “Let’s just say you didn’t hear that and move this conversation back to AJ...please?”

They all just continued to stare at Ditzy before Big Mac finally broke the silence.  “This is all 'bout that thing Carrot an’ Ah talked 'bout last night, isn’t it?”

Ditzy was beginning to sweat as all the eyes began staring her down.  Even Dinky turned traitor with those adorable eyes of hers staring into her soul.  “S-so about AJ…”

“Maybe Ah should go check on…”

“Rainbow Dash!” interrupted Applejack.

Big Mac blinked before looking at his sister.  “Rainbow Dash?”

“Eeyup.  She musta had’er hooves full last night.  Ah’m sure she’d enjoy th’ company.”

Big Mac stared blankly at Applejack.  “But what 'bout Ca…”  He was silenced when Applejack gave him a quick shot to the ribs.

“Rainbow Dash.”  Big Mac scowled at his sister as he rubbed his side.  Without saying another word, he went to grab his earmuffs before starting towards the main entrance.

Ditzy let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in.  “Thank Celestia.”

“You’re still not off the hook yet darling,” chimed Rarity.

Ditzy let out a pathetic whine as she looked to the alabaster unicorn.  “Can we just...ignore Carrot for a little while?”  Rarity just continued to stare her down.  “Please?”

Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to the punch by Applejack.  “Ah suppose we could.”

“Are you sure Applejack?” asked Fluttershy.  “It’s not right to hold somepony against their will like that.”

Applejack thought about it for a minute.  “Did ya feed’er?”

“Before we came, yea.”

“Water her?”

“I...assume you mean did I give her something to drink, so yes.  With breakfast.”

“Let’er go ta th’ bathroom?”

“Well, I remember her waking up at some point in the middle of the night.”

“Welp, I don’t see much of a problem right now then.”

“Applejack, you can’t be serious.”

“Now just calm down Rares.  While Ah don’t condone what she did, Ah’m sure she had her reasons.  Ain’t that right sugarcube?”  Ditzy just sheepishly nodded.  “There, ya see?  Now why don’t y’all go see if they’ll let us go see Scootaloo.”

“That’s a great idea!” cheered Apple Bloom.

“Yea!  Come on Rarity!” “Sweetie Belle said as she got behind Rarity and began pushing her down the hall.

“I think I’ll take Knight to the cafeteria.  We haven’t eaten yet, and you know how cranky he can get when he’s hungry.”

“But I’m not hungry!  I just wanna see daddy!” cried Knight as he tried and failed to reach for the door knob.

“You need to let him sleep,” Fluttershy said as she lifted the foal off the floor and into her legs.  “The more he sleeps, the faster he’ll get better.”

“But I wanna be with Daddy!” he shrieked as tears began pouring from his eyes.

“We can see if he’s awake after breakfast,” Fluttershy said as she tried to calm the foal down.  She gave Applejack, Ditzy and Dinky a small smile before flying down the hall towards the cafeteria.  Applejack and Ditzy could see the pain in Fluttershy’s eyes as she smiled at them.  She was hurting just as much as Knight was.

“Does this mean we can’t see daddy yet?”

“Not fer a little while,” Applejack said as she shook her head.

“Yea, it’s best if we let him sleep a little longer,” Ditzy said, understanding the situation.  “Why don’t we go with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.  Maybe Scootaloo got a bit better.”

“It’s possible,” Applejack said as she looked down the hall.  “Th’ doctor’s didn’t really tell us much.”

“Okay,” Dinky said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Oh, before we go, thanks for helping me out back there Applejack.  I didn’t know what I would have done if not for you.”

“No worries sugarcube.  Everypony needs some help now an’ again,” Applejack said as she put a hoof around Ditzy’s withers.

“I’m just glad you were able to turn the conversation away from Carrot.”  As she turned her head to look at Applejack, she noticed the smirk on her face.  “What?”  She didn’t say anything.  She just continued to stare.  Ditzy felt herself begin to sweat.  “You’re...going to make me go let her go, aren’t you.”

“Oh, yer damn right Ah am.  But first, Ah want answers.”

“A-answers?”

“Mmhm.  If it’ll make ya feel better, Ah’m sure Rarity’ll take care of Dinky till we get back.  Besides, Ah seem ta remember her an’ Sweetie Belle gettin’ along pretty well.”

“I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“Not a chance.”


********************


“So lemme get this straight, th’ two of ya were fightin’ all day yesterday over tellin’ AJ 'bout...somethin’?” Applejack asked as the two of them sat in the nearly empty Sugarcube Corner.  The only other ponies that were there were the Cakes and Pinkie.  Carrot and Cup were in the kitchen, while Pinkie and the twins were upstairs.

“Uh huh.”

“An’ after hearin’ Carrot’s conversation with Big Mac, you knew ya had ta do somethin’ ta keep’er mouth shut.”

“Essentially, yes.”

“An’ th’ only way ya could think ta do this was ta chain’er up ta her bed with some hoofcuffs.”

“Y-yea.”

“Ya know, that’s probably th’ worst possible way ta deal with this situation.”

“I know.”

Applejack let out a sigh as she re-adjusted her hat.  “So...what were th’ two of ya fightin’ 'bout?”

Ditzy’s eyes got wide as she looked over at Applejack.  “I-I-I don’t really think that’s too important,” she said with a hesitant chuckle.  She slowly shrunk back at the unamused look Applejack had fixed on her.  “Please don’t make me say it.”

“Ditzy, have you an’ Carrot ever fought this much 'bout a subject?  Not that Ah know of.”

“Not really, no.”

“Yer obviously really upset 'bout somethin’, an’ Ah just wanna help you out.”

“I know, but…”

“But nothin’!  Ya chained Carrot Top ta her own bed with hoofcuffs!  There’s somethin’ more ta this than just a little argument, an’ Ah’m gonna find out what.  Either yer gonna tell me now, or Ah’ll find out from Carrot when we let’er go.  Yer choice.”

“I-I-I…”  Ditzy was backed into a corner.  This is exactly the thing she didn’t want to happen.  The more ponies that knew about her little secret, the more likely it was that AJ was going to find out.  And if there’s one thing Applejack was known for, other than her hard work of course, was her honesty.  If AJ were to ask her, there was no doubt in her mind that Applejack would tell.

Applejack let out a sigh.  “Come on Ditzy, this is clearly eatin’ ya up.  Th’ sooner ya get it off yer chest, the sooner ya can move on.”

“...C-can’t…can’t I just convince you that nothing’s wrong?” Ditzy asked with nowhere else to go; a tear in her eye.

“You know that’ll just make things worst,” Applejack said before standing up and moving around the table.  She pulled Ditzy into a comforting hug.  “You can take yer time sugarcube.  Not like we’re on a time limit or anythin’.”

“W-w-what about Carrot?”

“Okay, we’re on a slight time limit, but Ah think she’ll be able ta hold out fer a little while longer.”

Ditzy took a minute, and a few deep breaths to calm herself down.  “You have to promise me that you won’t tell anypony.”

“Ditzy Ah…”

“Promise me Applejack.”

Applejack let out a sigh before her smile returned.  “What kinda friend would Ah be if Ah said no.”

Ditzy looked around the room to make sure nopony was listening to them.  “W-w-well...You know how AJ came over to my place a couple weeks ago?”

“Couple weeks ago?”  Applejack put a hoof to her chin as she thought.  “Oh, ya mean th’ time he took that suit of armor with’im?”

Ditzy sheepishly nodded.  “Well, when he was over, one thing lead to another and…”

“And…?”  Applejack thought for a few seconds before it hit her.  They were a couple.  A couple that has performed certain...'activities' with each other before.  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise what things lead to.  Her face began to heat up.  “U-umm, ya don’t have ta give ALL th’ details.”

Ditzy’s face was bright red as she nodded.  “I-I-I’ll just say it was my fault.”

“What was?”

“...I got so into things that I...I made him ‘finish’...inside.”

“Finish inside?”  Ditzy nodded in embarrassment.  Applejack could guess what she meant.  But what she didn’t know was what the problem was.  She knew the two of them used protection.  She remembered the empty box of condoms from that one time.  What made this time...so...special.  The reality of the situation was slowly beginning to dawn on the farmpony.  “You...didn’t use protection, did ya?”

Ditzy’s shaking head just confirmed it.  She could practically see the gears turning in Applejack’s head.  As the answer came to her, Applejack’s eyes slowly widened in surprise as her lips began to curl into a smile.  The smile didn’t finish forming though, as it quickly disappeared from her face.

Applejack remembered what happened years ago.  How sad Ditzy was when she first moved to Ponyville.  At the time she was getting a sweet treat from Sugarcube Corner as Ditzy first came in with Carrot Top.  Pinkie was sick at the time, so she couldn’t throw a welcome party.  Carrot just tried to cheer her up with something sweet to eat.  Things turned ugly fast when Mrs. Cake asked why she came to Ponyville.  She broke down in the middle of the bakery.  Pouring her heart out for the elder mare.  

The pain in her eyes.  It was still there.  The pain was still all too real.  Those wounds never truly healed.  “Oh Celestia.  Ya must be so terrified.”

"C-c-carrot want's me to tell AJ, but how can I?  How can I be sure he won't betray me too?"

"Is that what th' fight was about?" Applejack asked in a soothing voice.  Ditzy could only nod.  She was doing everything in her power to keep from crying.  Applejack just sat there for a few minutes trying to comfort the wall eyed pegasus.  She was ready to be Ditzy’s emotional crutch if need be.  “...Hey Ditzy, ya remember th’ day you first came ta Ponyville?  Ah told you that if ya ever needed somepony ta talk to, or somepony ta give you advice, that Ah’d always be here fer ya?”

Ditzy sniffled before nodding her head.  “I-I never did thank you for all your help.”

“No need ta thank me sugarcube, but right now, Ah got some advice ta give.”

“Advice?”

Applejack nodded.  “Ah know this isn’t what ya wanna hear, an’ Ah know it isn’t gonna be easy fer you, but Carrot Top’s right.  Ya gotta tell’im.  It’s th’ right thin’ ta do.”  Ditzy still looked hesitant.  “You said yer goin’ ta that therapist fer yer trust issues, right?”  Ditzy nodded slightly.  “Well, what better way ta show how much progress yer makin’ than ta put yer trust in AJ.”

“I can’t Applejack.  W-what if he leaves me too?”  She was failing in her fight against her tears.

“Oh, he won’t leave you.”

“How do you know?”

“Cause Ah’ll personally make sure he has ta drink all his food through a straw fer th’ rest of his life if he does.  Now come on.  Ah’m sure Carrot’s itchin’ ta get free.”


********************


Ditzy stared at the front of her house with an anxious look.  “Are you sure we can’t just leave her for a couple days?  I promise I’ll give her food and water.”  Applejack just stared at her with a blank look.  “O-okay.”

Applejack rolled her eyes before walking to the house and opening the door.  “Ya gotta do it now sugarcube.”

Ditzy let out a long sigh before walking through the doorway, only to stop midway through.  “Hey, that isn’t Carrot’s scarf.”

Applejack looked over to the scarf hanging on the wall.  “Yer right.  Isn’t that…”

“Bon Bon’s,” Ditzy said as she pointed out the three wrapped candies on the scarf.  “But why would she…”  She was interrupted by a commotion upstairs.

“What th’ hay was that?”

“It sounded like it came from Carrot’s room.”

The two of them looked at each other before rushing up the stairs.

“Hey, don’t break my bed!” cried Carrot.

“Well what do you want me to do?  I couldn’t find the key anywhere, and Lyra and I aren’t into this kinda thing.  Unless you expect Ditzy to magically appear at that door, I gotta break the bed.”

“Uhh, surprise?”

Both Earth ponies in the room blinked before looking towards the door with wide eyes.  “Holy shit.  It’s like I can predict the future or something.”

“Shut up Bon Bon!”

“What are you doing here?” Ditzy asked as she entered the room.

“I originally came over to chew Fire Crotch here’s butt out for skipping out on work…”

“Eat me Candy Ass!” growled Carrot at the use of Bon Bon’s little nickname for her.

“Anyway, long story short, I found her chained up like this and have been trying to free her ever since.”  She took a quick glance over at Carrot.  “She won’t let me break the bed though.”

“Unless you plan on buying me a new one you won’t.”

“You’d be free from your bed, wouldn’t you?”

“Oooor, Ditzy could just get th’ key,” reasoned Applejack.  She looked at Ditzy while saying it.  “Keep th’ property damage ta a minimum.”

“O-oh, right.”  Without saying anything else, Ditzy slunk out of the room and into her own.  About a minute later she returned with the key.  Cuff by cuff she released Carrot from her imprisonment.  She refused to look Carrot in the eye as she stood up and stretched her limbs.  “Carrot I…”

“Your ass kicking can wait.  Bathroom now,” Carrot said as she hurried out of the room.

“So what was that all about anyway?” Bon Bon asked; wondering why she found her friend randomly chained to her bed.

“Long story.  Just know that…”

“Oooooh Celestia sweet relief!” came Carrot’s voice from the bathroom.

Applejack cleared her throat.  “As Ah was sayin’ just know that Ditzy meant no harm in it.”

“It’s Ditzy.  Of course she meant no harm in it.  The only thing she’s ever threatened is the worlds muffin supply.”

“Oh come on, I don’t eat that many muffins!”

“You did.  Back when you were pregnant with Dinky you were like a muffin eating machine.  Who knows how many you’d eat if you ever got pregnant again.”

“Yea, but like you said, that was when I was pregnant with Dinky.  This time could be different!  This time it may be ice cream, or, pickles, or...”

“Wait, this time?” interrupted Bon Bon.  “Are you...did you...”

Ditzy blinked for a few seconds as he realised what she had just given away.  She hung her head with a groan.  “I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut.”

Bon Bon didn’t know what to say.  She was happy for Ditzy, as any pony would be, but Carrot did tell her what happened the first time.  Speaking of Carrot, Bon Bon noticed as Carrot walked back into the room; an unreadable look on her face..  “Well, well, look who’s finally finished relieving herself.”

Ditzy lifted her head to look at the pale goldenrod pony.  Before she could look at her friend, a loud crack could echoed through the room.  Ditzy fell to the floor, as Carrot stood just behind her; her hoof extended.  She retracted her hoof and let out a sigh.  “Well, I feel a little better,” she said in an unconvincing tone.  Bon Bon and Applejack just looked at her in disbelief as Ditzy twitched on the floor.


********************


“So, you got Ditzy to tell you?” Carrot asked as she grabbed an ice pack.  She walked back to the kitchen table; giving the icepack to Ditzy.

“Th-thanks,” Ditzy said as she tentatively placed it on the lump that had formed on the back of her head.  “Sorry for chaining you up like that.”

Carrot let out a sigh.  “Don’t worry about it.”  As she sat down, she noticed the light glare she was getting from Applejack.  “What?”

“Don’t you ‘what’ me!  Despite what Ditzy did, ya shouldn't have hit’er like that.  ‘Specially not in her condition.”

“She’s right you know,” agreed Bon Bon.

“So I’m a little miffed at her.  Can you really blame me?  You’d be too if you woke up to somepony chaining you to your bed for some stupid fucking reason like that.  Besides, I know when to pull my punches.  I didn’t hurt her too badly.”

“Doesn’t mean it was right!”  Applejack held her glare.  “She apologised ta you fer chainin’ ya up like that, Ah think you owe her an apology.”

“Okay, fine.  I’m the bad guy here.  I get it,” she said in a smarmy tone.

“Ah never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.  I don’t see you talking down to Ditzy for what she did.  Or treating her like what she did was bad.”

“Th’ two of us already had a talk about…”

“And I’m guessing you didn’t yell and shout at her like you are with me?”

“What is wrong with you today?” Bon Bon asked with a raised brow.  “I understand being mad after that, but come on.  I think possibly giving Ditzy a concussion is more than enough payback.”

Carrot looked at Bon Bon with a slight glare before letting out a deep sigh.  “It’s not just what happened this morning.  All the fighting yesterday, worrying about all the stress Ditzy’s putting herself through, the conversation I had with Big Mac, the thought of ruining, not only Ditzy’s relationship with AJ, but our friendship.  Just under a lot of stress right now.”

“That’s understandable, but ya need ta watch yer temper.”

“You can’t tell me you’ve never lost your temper at one point and did something you regret.”

Applejack stared at Carrot as memories from the beginning of the summer flashed through her head.  She shrunk back as she thought about the time she bucked a certain human in the head.  “Uhhh...maybe a couple times.”

“I rest my case.  No pony’s perfect.”  She turned her attention to Ditzy who was gently prodding the lump to see just how bad it was.  She looked away and down as she thought about it for a moment.  “Sorry for drilling the back of your head in before.”

“...Yea.”

“Yea?  That’s all I get?  A half hearted yea?”

“Huh?”  Ditzy turned to Carrot as if she hadn’t been paying attention.  “Oh, I-I didn’t mean it like that.  Just thinking.”

“About what?” asked Bon Bon.

“You really think I’d stop being your friend just like that?” Ditzy asked; seemingly ignoring Bon Bon.

“You wouldn’t?”

“Okay, yea.  Thinking about it, I probably would be mad at you.  Probably even hate you for awhile.  But I don’t think I could ever stop being your friend.  We’ve been through too much together, and you’ve helped me through more situations than I can even count.  I’d never be able to stop being your friend if I tried.”

“Besides, Lyra and I would pester her until she decided to forgive you.  I’m sure Berry would even join in.”

“Ah already told you though, Ah won’t let’im say no,” Applejack said matter-of-factly.

Carrot looked at Applejack questioningly.  “Are you threatening violence on him too?”

“Ah’d permanently break his jaw.  You?”

“Paralyze him from the neck down.”  The other three ponies in the room looked at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths.  “Okay, so I may still have a bit of pent up rage towards Morning Glory that I still need to get out.  But then again, who doesn’t.”

“Okay, I can’t really say I blame you for that, but promise me you won’t hurt him.  Either of you,” Ditzy said as she looked between Carrot and Applejack.

Applejack let out a sigh.  “Ah guess it wouldn’t really help th’ situation, would it?”

“I make no such promise,” Carrot said with a straight face.  She received an icepack to the side of the head for it.  “Owww!  That was still mostly frozen!”  Ditzy just glared right back at her.  “Okay, fine.  I won’t maim him…too badly.”

Ditzy just rolled her eyes.  “Hopefully it won’t come to that in the first place.”

“Speaking of that, I believe we’re ignoring the big question here.  Who’s going to tell AJ the news?”

“Isn’t that kinda a stupid question?”  asked Bon Bon.  “Ditzy is, of course.”  She turned her attention from Carrot to Ditzy.  “Right?”

“You obviously don’t know what our fight was about,” Carrot said under her breath.

Everypony turned to Ditzy.  For the second time in the same day, Ditzy felt everypony’s stares weighing down on her.  “U-umm…”

“Now Ditzy, we talked 'bout this,” Applejack said with hope in her voice.

Ditzy looked between the three ponies before her and swallowed the lump in her throat.  “W-well, of course.  Wh-who else should bear the responsibility,” she said with an unconvincing smile.

Carrot remained unconvinced.  “So...if that’s the case, when are you planning on telling him?”

“Ya shouldn’t rush’er on somethin’ like this.  She’ll tell’im when she’s ready,” Applejack said matter-of-factly.

“That’s the same thing your brother said.”

“An’ he’s completely right.”

“W-when he’s feeling better.”  Everypony turned their attention to Ditzy.  “A-as soon as he’s feeling better, I’ll tell him.”

“Are ya sure you don’t wanna wait a bit longer?  Ah mean, he’ll probably be thinkin’ straight again by either tomorrow or th’ day after.”

“I-I know.”

“You’re actually going through with it?”  Ditzy nervously nodded her head.  Carrot lowered her head for a moment as she ran through her thoughts.  “Huh...after all we went through yesterday, I really thought this would have felt like a win.  So why doesn’t this make me feel any better?”

“Cause nopony really feels good about this,” Bon Bon said with an unhappy look.

“Do ya want us there when ya tell’im?”

“I...I don’t know.  Haven’t really gotten that far yet.”

“Well, you know where to find us if you’ll need some support,” Bon Bon said as she stood up.  “We really should be getting our butts back to the shop now.  Lyra can only handle so much by herself.  Especially this time of the year,” she said as she looked towards Carrot.

“An’ we should really be gettin’ back ta th’ hospital.  Ah’m guessin’ everypony’s wonderin where we are.”  She looked over to Ditzy.  “You gonna be okay ta walk back?  Ya still look a little wobbly.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said as she stood up.  “Having more trouble than usual keeping my eyes under control, but what’s new.”  Her voice was still full of melancholy.

“Alright, but let me know if ya start feelin’ woozy’er somethin’.”


********************


Ditzy, Applejack, Dinky, and Knight looked over as they heard the door to AJ’s room open.  AJ himself, who had just woken up again not fifteen minutes ago, just kinda lazily glanced over.  He may have felt less dazed than the previous time he had woken up, but he was still feeling a bit out of it.  Though, he mostly just felt exhausted.  That, and the aching of all his muscles kept him from moving much.

“Hi everypony!” shouted Screwball with great, big smile on her face.

“Hey,” Shadow said in a much more level tone.  On his back sat a present.

“Uncle Shadow Breeze!” squealed Knight as he leapt from the bed to meet the pegasus at the door.

“H-hey Knight,” Shadow said as he backed away slightly from the foal.  It’s not that he didn’t like the foal.  He just knew what was coming.  The energetic little scamp had made a tradition of it.  Ever since their first meeting since his regression, Knight’s always found a way to surprise and scare him.  Screwball always found it cute and funny.

Knight noticed Shadow slowly backing away.  Tears began welling up in his eyes.  “W-what’s wrong?  D-d-don’t you like me anymore?”  He ended his question with a sniffle.

Shadow’s ears folded back as the foal began to cry.  He looked over to Screwball who returned his look with a slightly peeved look.  “Breezey, you made him cry!”

“I-I-I didn’t mean to!”  As Shadow and Screwball began to fret over Knight, Ditzy and Applejack just rolled their eyes.  Shadow got closer to Knight and leaned down; nuzzling his cheek.  “I-I’m sorry Knight, I just…”

“BLLAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHH!!!” shouted Knight as he suddenly sprung up, making a ‘scary’ face.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”  A goat bleat emanated from Shadow as he fell to the ground; his body scared stiff.  The gift fell to the floor.

As Knight and Screwball rolled with laughter, Applejack just shook her head.  “Ya’d think he’d of learned by now.”

“You have to give Knight points for creativity though,” Ditzy said with a giggle.

“Ah just wish he’d use that creativity on more productive things.”

“Give him a break Applejack,” came AJ’s weary voice.  “He’s just playing.”

“Ya won’t be sayin’ that when Knight eventually gives’im a heart attack.”

“Breezey will be fine,” Screwball said with a wave of her hoof.  “He’s strong like an oxe.  See?”  She pointed to Shadow whose eyes were blank and was foaming at the mouth.  “See, strong.”

Ditzy giggled again before standing up to retrieve Knight.  As she got close, she got a better look at Screwball.  Something seemed off about her today?  She looked Screwball up and down, but just couldn’t put a hoof on it.  After a few seconds, Screwball noticed and looked at her with a smile.  “What’s up?”

“I can’t put a hoof on it, but you look...different today.  Maybe I’m just seeing things.”

Screwballs face suddenly erupted with a ear to ear smile.  “You noticed!”

“Noticed what?” asked Applejack.

“Sh-she’s getting b-better,” Shadow said from his position on the floor.  He was finally conscious again.

“Better?”

“Uh huh!  Look!”  She shoved her face really close to Ditzy’s and pointed to her eyes.  “My eyes are almost back to normal!”

“A-and her coat’s changing too.  It’s getting darker again,” he said as he stood back up.

“Yea!”

Ditzy raised her brow as she took a closer look at Screwballs coat.  It was hard to see, very hard to see, but there was a very subtle change in her coat color from the last time she saw her.  “It’s kinda hard to see.”

“But it’s still darker!” Screwball said with pride.

“Uncle Shadow Breeze, uncle Shadow Breeze!”

“Hmm?”  Shadow knew he could finally relax around Knight again.  Knight never scared him more than once per visit, and he already had his fun.

“After daddy’s better, can we go flying again?!”

“Flying?  You wanna go flying again?”

“Uh huh, uh huh!”

“W-well, is your dad okay with it?” he asked as he looked up at AJ expectantly.

“Sure, go ahead.  Have fun you crazy kids,” he said with a soft smile.

“Yaaaay!  Maybe this time I’ll be able to fly on my own!”  Knight tried his hardest to get into the air, but his little wings were still too small and weak.  “Nnnngh.”  As he looked down in defeat, he noticed the gift box that had fallen to the floor.  His eyes grew wide and began shimmering.  “Did you bring me a present?!”

“A present?”  Shadow looked to where Knight was looking and noticed the box.  “Oh!  Oh no, it’s actually a gift for your dad.”

“For me?”

“Awwww!” pouted Knight

Shadow picked up the box and quickly opened it to make sure it survived the fall.  “Yea, Trotsy thought you could use some cheering up, so he made you a cake!”

The smile on AJ’s face grew slightly.  “He didn’t have to do that.  Applejack, could you help me up?  It’ll be easier to open it if I’m sitting up.”

“Sure Ah can sugarcube,” she said as she walked over to the bed.

Shadow sighed as he closed the box again.  “It’s just fine,” he said with a smile.  His smile fell fast though when he got a better look at AJ.  Since he was sitting up, they could finally see the full extent of his injuries.  The box dropped from his hooves.  “W-w-wha…”

“Uh oh,” Applejack said under her breath.

“What?” AJ asked in confusion

“Y-y-y-your l-l-l-l-l…”

“My what?”

“Your leg’s gone!” Screwball said; finishing Shadow’s sentence.

“My leg’s...what?”  He lifted his right foreleg slightly and took a look at it.  “But it’s right here.”

“They’re, uh…”  Applejack cleared her throat.  “They’re talkin’ 'bout yer other leg.”

“My other…?”  He turned his head to look at his other foreleg.

Or what was left of it at least.

From his shoulder, he had maybe a three or four inch, bandaged stump remaining of his left foreleg.  The rest had been amputated.

He lifted the stump a bit to get a better look at it.  Moving it around to see it from different angles.  “Huh...would ya look at that.  My leg’s gone.”

“You’re taking this much better than I thought you would,” Ditzy said with a concerned look on her face.

“Almost too well,” added Applejack.

As AJ looked at his missing leg, his tired smile slowly began to disappear.  His eyes got wider and his jaw dropped.  Dinky slowly shuffled closer to the bed.  “Daddy?  Are you okay?”

“Ah-AAAHH!!!”

“An’ there it is,” Applejack said as she rubbed her ear.

“W-w-what happened to my leg?!  Where’s my leg?!”

“Just calm down,” Applejack said as she tried to keep him from moving too much.

“How can I calm down?!  I have to find my leg!”

“I-I-I’ll go ask a doctor!” Dinky said as she got caught up in the chaos.  “Maybe they can find your leg!”

Ditzy grabbed Dinky before she could bolt away.  “Dinky, we talked about this before we came in here, remember?”  Ditzy looked into her daughter’s eyes with her own, sad eyes.

“Th-the doctor had to...amn...amnpu..amnputake his leg?”

“Amputate, yes.  For medical reasons, they had to take his leg.”

“Trotsworth didn’t say anything about amputation when we asked him,” Shadow said as he looked back to AJ.  He was still in the middle of his freakout. 

“Maybe he knew we’d be even more worried,” reasoned Screwball.

“Would ya just calm down!”  AJ continued to fight against Applejack during his freakout.

“My freaking leg is gone!  How can I just calm down?!”

“Ditzy?”

“Hmm?”

“Ah apologise fer what Ah’m 'bout ta do.”

“Apologise for...huh?”  Ditzy’s eyes widened in understanding as she saw Applejack lifted her hoof.

“Just…”  Applejack swung her hoof and slapped AJ across the face.  “Calm…”  She swung her hoof back and slapped him on the other side.  “Down!”  She finished by bringing her hoof upside his face one last time.

Everypony in the room gawked at Applejack as she stepped back to look at her work.  To her credit, AJ was calm again.  Then again, his face was looking a lot redder after the abuse.  “Ooooow!” he whined as he brought his hoof up to his face.

“You’ll get over it,” Applejack said with a smirk.

“Hey!”

“Hmm?”  Applejack looked down to find two sets of angry eyes fixated on her.

“How dare you hit daddy!” cried Knight.

“Yea!  He didn’t do anything to you!” added Dinky.

“Whether he did somethin’ ta deserve it’r not, sometimes a solid slap is what somepony needs ta bring’em back ta reality.”

“Oh yea?  Well let’s see how you like it!  RRRAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”  Knight leapt up at Applejack and clung to her; punching her in the side.  Ditzy grabbed Dinky up before she could join in.

“Knight…”

Applejack just rolled her eyes as Knight’s ineffective blows hit her.  “That actually feels kinda nice.  Mind hittin’ th’ other side?  Ah’ll always welcome a good massage.”  Just as Applejack was about to shake him off, she felt a set of teeth sink into her side.  “Oww!  Hey, that actually hurt!”

“Knight!”

Applejack and Knight both turned to AJ.  With his hoof still rubbing his sore cheeks, he fixed a light glare on Knight.  Without saying a word, he removed his teeth from Applejack’s hide and jumped back to the floor.  With his ears laid back, and his head hung low, he silently walked over to where Dinky was now sitting to join her.  A whistle suddenly broke the silence.  “Well what do ya know.  You had it in ya th’ entire time,” Applejack said as she looked back to AJ.  “Ah haven’t seen’im listen that well since, well, ever.”  That’s when she realized that AJ was now glaring at her.  “Sorry.”

Now that things had calmed down once again, AJ took another look at his leg.  A pained look came to his face.  “What...even happened?  Why did they have to take my leg?”

“Ya mean you don’t remember?”

AJ swallowed the lump in his throat as he shook his head.  “Th-the last thing I remember was...the forest.  We were looking for flowers.  Scootaloo found that big one and…!  Scootaloo!”  He tried to push himself up yet again, only to nearly fall to the left.

“Woah now, Ah gotcha.”  Applejack quickly grabbed him around the body; gently leaning him against the bed again.  “Ya gotta take it easy.”

“Where’s Scootaloo?”

“She’s here at the hospital.  In the ICU,” said Ditzy.

“I...I wanna see her.”

“Ah don’t know if ya should be movin’ around.”

“I could go ask the doctor,” Ditzy said as she stood up.

“Yea, that sounds like a good idea,” agreed Applejack.

“Right, I’ll be right back.”

Shadow and Screwball moved to the side to let Ditzy out.  As the door closed, Screwball nudged Shadow in the side and pointed at the box on the floor.  “O-oh, right.  While we wait, why don’t you open this.”  With a smile, Shadow walked up and placed the box on the bed.

AJ stared at the box for a few seconds before closing his eyes.  He tried concentrating, but nothing came of it.  “Trotsy said the drugs would dull your magic.”

AJ let out a grunt as he gave up; swearing under his breath as he did.  He looked between the box and his leg for a second before just batting the top off the box.  He peered into the box.  The cake he expected to find was nowhere to be seen.  Instead, a bunch of cookie cupcakes sat on a plate.  They were like normal cupcakes, but with cookies instead of cake.  “Ah thought you said he made some cake?” questioned Applejack.

“Well...he did, but…”

“It was hard as a rock,” Screwball said, finishing Shadow’s sentence.

“And the color of vomit.”

“So we fed it to a dog and went to Sugarcube Corner,” Screwball said with a bright smile.

“You fed it to a dog?”

“It was her idea.  I just wanted to throw it away.”

“Hey, he looked hungry.  Why waste food when a poor doggy was so hungry.”

“It took two bites and spit it up.”

“At least it didn’t go completely to waste.”

“After the dog she tossed it into the bushes.”

“Yup, so we got Pinkie Pie to make you those.”

“Pinkie, huh?”  AJ looked at them again before digging one of them out of the box.  Knowing it was from Pinkie, it was probably going to be good.  He took a bite and chewed for a moment before stopping.  He sat there for a moment before finishing what was in his mouth.  He slowly placed the cookie cupcake back in the box.  Everypony watched and waited to see what he was going to say.  “...Shadow?”

“Y-yes?”

“Go find a doctor or a nurse.”

“Why, what’s wrong? asked Applejack.

“I think I may be about to fall into a diabetic coma.”


****************************************