//------------------------------// // The aftermath // Story: The Mystery of a New World // by Fanthrose //------------------------------// Chapter 5 News spreads fast in the small town of Ponyville. So when a couple of ponies saw the royal chariot off in the distance, it didn’t take long for the whole town to know they were about to get another visit from the princesses. Everypony in town gathered at the entrance of Ponyville to welcome their benevolent rulers. When the princesses arrived, the town was greeted with warm smiles from them both. They were also greeted by a chariot being guarded diligently by the royal guards and four of their fellow Ponyville residents. Hushed wispers were heard all throughout the crowd about a covered lump seen inside, causing the guards to shift positions to close the gaps. Two fillies in particular were especially curious about what they were trying to hide after seeing Rarity and Rainbow Dash along with the guards. “Hey, Scootaloo, what do you think it is?” whispered Sweetie Belle. “I don’t know, but I wanna find out. Let’s go get Apple Bloom and follow them,” Scootaloo said as she started running off in the direction of the orchard followed closely by Sweetie Belle. ******************** “Why wont she answer?!” shouted Scootaloo as she pounded on the farm house door. “I don’t know. If she’s not here, and not in the tree house, where else could she be?” Sweetie bell added. The two fillies were at a loss. If Apple Bloom wasn’t at home, and she wasn’t with Applejack or Big McIntosh, where could she be? Their thoughts were interrupted when somepony called out to them. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, good morning.” The two of them turned around to find Caramel walking down the path to the farm house. “If you’re looking Apple Bloom, she should still be at the library. She went with me to…” He couldn’t finish his sentence as the two fillies dashed past him, sending him spinning. “Thanks Caramel!” Sweetie Belle shouted as they ran to go get Apple Bloom. ******************** When the princesses reached the library, they ordered the guards to form a perimeter around it to prevent anypony from seeing their extra cargo. Celestia was the first to enter the library, levitating the sheet covered body in front of her. Applejack, Big Mac, Rarity and Rainbow Dash entered next, followed by Luna bringing up the rear. They were greeted by a limping Twilight and Fluttershy who was helping support her. Twilight was about to welcome everyone, when she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash and Rarity pulling everypony together in a group hug. “Oh Twilight darling, it is so good to see that you’re alright.” “Hey, why wasn’t I invited to this group hug?” shouted a loud voice as a pair of pink legs wrapped around everypony currently involved in the hug. “Pinkie Pie, where the hay have you been?” asked Dash, still suffering from the recoil of the ever tightening hug “And jus’ how did ya get past th’ royal guards? They weren’t supposed ta let anypony through.” drawled Applejack. Pinkie Pie just smiled. “Silly Applejack, I’ve been here the entire time!” Applejack was about to start arguing when Rarity put her hoof on her withers and just shook her head. In the end they just chalked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie. When they were all freed form the hug, Twilight noticed the covered figure levitating to the side of the princess. “If I may ask Princess, What’s with the sheet?” Celestia’s smile fell as she removed the sheet revealing AJ’s unconscious body to Twilight causing her to gasp. The reveal also scared Flutershy enough to send her flying behind the couch. Applejack could only look away in shame. By this point the entire left side of his head was bruised and his jaw was starting to swell. Twilight led the princess up to her room and offered her up her bed for AJ to lie on. “Fluttershy, could I speak to you please?” Twilight asked as her and Celestia were coming down the stairs. Fluttershy poked her head out from behind the couch and slowly nodded her head. “I need you to go get your medical supplies from your cottage. Out of all of us hear you’re the most qualified to deal with his injuries.” “B-but Twilight, I’ve never seen anything like him. I wouldn’t know the first thing about treating him,” Fluttershy said; she was shaking like a leaf. She looked into Twilights pleading eyes, then over to the princess who just smiled and nodded her head in encouragement. Seeing this made Fluttershy calm down a bit. “OK, I’ll do it.” “Thank you Fluttershy, this means a lot to me. If you could, try to hurry back. We don’t know the extent of his injuries, and we don’t want to let them sit to long without treatment,” Twilight said with concern in her voice. “I’ll go let the guards know to let you through when you leave and come back,” Luna said stepping out the door. “OK. Try to keep ice on his face while I’m gone. It should help reduce the swelling.” With that, Fluttershy started walking out. “Ah’ll come with ya Fluttershy,” Apple Bloom said causing Fluttershy to stop and turn around. “Since we’re not workin right now, Ah wanna go have fun with Scootaloo an’ Sweetie Belle.” She looked hopefully at Big Mac who just smiled and nodded. Celestia just smiled at Apple Bloom. “I suppose you could go too. A little filly like you shouldn’t have to be cooped up in a library all day.” Celestia cocked an eye brow and glanced over to Twilight who just gave a sheepish grin. “Fluttershy, please inform my sister that Apple Bloom is also allowed through.” Smiling, Apple Bloom quickly trotted out the door with Fluttershy. ******************** “What do you mean we can’t go into the library? Our friend is in there and we want to see her!” Scootaloo yelled, getting angrier by the second. “Give me one good reason we cant go in?” The guard just stood there like a statue blocking the two fillies’ path. “Can we please go in Mr. Guard?” Sweetie bell said as she looked at the guard with the 'kill it with cuteness' face Apple Bloom showed them how to do. They decided to call it 'The Cutie Mark Crusaders Special.' After a few seconds of the guard not flinching, Sweetie Belle stopped the face and started pouting. Just then Luna stepped out of the library and walked up to the guard standing in front of the girls. “Excuse me Captain Aquilinus, I am here to inform you that the pegasus pony Fluttershy has mine and my sisters permission to pass through the parameter. We are in need of medical supplies and she has been chosen to retrieve them.” Captain Aquilinus saluted Luna and went back to standing in the way of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Luna noticed this. “I’m sorry you two, but we cannot allow anypony into the library right now.” “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo what’re y'all doin here?” asked a voice right behind Luna. The startled princess turned around to see Apple Bloom rushing past her to hug her friends. Fluttershy just looked at Luna with an apologetic smile. “Oh, um Princess Celestia said Apple Bloom could leave with me…um if that’s ok.” Luna just blankly stared at Fluttershy and nodded her head. ******************** “OK, now that Fluttershy’s going to get her medical supplies, and Spikes taking care of the ice, could somepony tell me what happened to AJ? Why is he unconscious and what happened to his head?” Twilight asked trying to get answers. Everypony in the room turned their heads to Applejack who just stood there with her head down. “Ah’m afraid Ah’m to blame fer everything sugar cube. Apple Bloom found him in th’ barn this mornin', and everything jus kept piling up from there. He tried to explain what was goin' on, but Ah wouldn’t listen after Ah found yer hair all over him. Ah was jus too darn stubborn ta listen to him. Ah jumped to conclusions an thought he was th one who hurt ya. When he ran, Ah gathered up the girls an Big McIntosh an we chased after him. We chased him for bout an hour before we finally caught up with him. After Rainbow stopped him Ah…” Applejack had to stop to sniff as she fought to hold back tears. “Ah bucked him in the head. A-after yesterday, A-a-ah guess Ah just wanted somepony t-ta blame fer everything an' he was an easy target.” Applejack was failing in her fight. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Rarity was quickly by her side to comfort her “It’s OK darling. I am sure everypony here will forgive you,” Rarity said as she looked over to all of her friends with hope in her eyes. One by one, their friends all came over to hug Applejack. A small smile formed on Applejacks face, and her tears slowly stopped flowing. “That was a very brave thing for you to do Applejack, but I think there is one more apology you need to give,” Celestia said as she motioned upstairs with her wing. Applejack sniffled again and nodded. “Yea, Ah know. First thing Ah do when he wakes up,” Applejack said with a determined smile. ******************** “OK Apple Bloom here’s the deal. Sweetie Belle and I have a plan to get our cutie marks.” Scootaloo said as they sat at the table in Carousel Boutique having some cookies and milk. “Yea, we're going to sneak into the library to see what ever it was the princesses brought there,” Sweetie Belle said “Is that all? All ya had ta do was ask.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other then back to Apple Bloom, silently pleading her to go on. “It’s some big, hairless ape monster that Ah found sleepin in th’ barn this morning. It apparently helped Twilight git back to th’ farm last night, though Applejack n Big McIntosh ran’em off this morning.” “That’s so cool!” Scootaloo shouted in the middle of chewing a cookie, spewing cookie all over the table. “Now we really have to get in there to see that thing!” “Are you sure it’s not dangerous?” Sweetie Belle said after taking a drink of her milk. “Ah don’t think so. If it was, Ah don’t think Twilight would have asked Fluttershy ta treat its injuries,” Apple Bloom got out before stuffing a cookie in her mouth. “But what if it is? Maybe it was just acting to gain her trust,” Scootaloo said suspiciously. “What if it wants to eat Twilight and wanted her to show it Ponyville so it would know where to get more food?” “W-w-what? B-but Rarity’s in there, I don’t want her to be eaten!” Sweetie Belle said in a panic. “We have to do something!” “Calm down Sweetie Belle, we still don’t know if he really is dangerous,” Apple Bloom said after finishing her milk. “He hasn’t done anything yet.” “That’s why we need to strike now!” Scootaloo emphasized her words by slamming her hoof onto the table. “If we can destroy it before it can eat anypony, we’ll be heroes! That’s bound to get us our cutie marks!” “Please Apple Bloom, we have to hurry before it can hurt Rarity!” Sweetie Belle was still panicking. Apple Bloom got up and started pacing. “Ah suppose yer right. We’ll have to sneak into the library and slay the monster.” A smile appeared on her face. “Maybe if Ah save them from th’ monster, Applejack and Big McIntosh will let me do what ever Ah want this summer. Let’s do this!” “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MONSTER SLAYING NINJAS ARE GO!!!!!” the three fillies shouted in unison. ******************** “OK, here’s the plan. From watching the patrols, we know there’s a very short period of time where they leave an opening. During that time, I will fly us one by one to the balcony from the roof of the neighboring house. If all goes as planed, we should make it over without being seen.” “Are ya sure yer strong enough Scootaloo? Ah know yer gettin better at flyin n all, but will ya be able ta handle that much extra weight jus yet?" Apple Bloom said concerned for Scootaloo’s well being as she stretched her limbs getting ready to beat up the monster. “Of course I can. Mom and dad have been going through endurance flying with me,” Scootaloo said as she hung a nunchaku around her neck. “And besides, you two aren’t that heavy.” “OK, let’s do this.” Sweetie Belle said as she picked up her weapon of choice which happened to be a short, flimsy stick. Waiting for the opening, Scootaloo got ready to carry Sweetie Belle over first by grabbing her around the neck and belly with her four limbs. When the opening appeared, Scootaloo dashed from the rooftop and made her way to the balcony. She made it with little problem and Sweetie ducked down so the guards wouldn’t see her. Waiting for the next opening, she flew back to the rooftop to pick up Apple Bloom. “OK, your turn.” Scootaloo grabbed Apple Bloom and waited for the next opening. She flew as fast as she could, but there was one little thing she forgot about Apple Bloom. Working on the farm left Apple Bloom a lot more muscular than Sweetie Belle making her a lot heavier. “Jeeze Apple Bloom, you’re heavy.” “Hey, It was yer idea ta fly us over, so stop complainin,” Apple Bloom said as she hung on for dear life. With the extra weight Scootaloo barely managed to make the distance in time, both of them landing with a resounding thud. ******************** Consciousness slowly returned to AJ, as much as he wished it hadn’t. All he could feel was a throbbing pain in his head and an intense pain in his jaw. The only thing he could hear was a sharp ringing in his ears. He tried to open his eyes, but had to close them immediately as the light flooding into them made the pain in his head even worse. “Wah happed?” was all he was able to get out before the pain in his jaw got the better of him. Due to the ringing in his ears AJ could barley hear the door opening and closing as Spike came into the room. “Hey, you’re awake. Twilight’s going to be so happy to hear that.” Spike noticed the bag of ice had melted and fallen on the bed. “Here, let me get you some more ice.” He grabbed the bag and left the room again. The ringing in his ears was slowly subsiding as other noises started flooding in. From what sounded like it was coming from a floor below, he heard mumbling voices conversing. AJ tried opening his eyes again. It didn’t do him much good as the only thing he could see was a brown blurred mess of nothing. He slinked his way over to the side of the bed and tried getting up. As soon as he got to his feet the world around him started spinning and he became extremely nauseous. Falling to his knees, he couldn’t help emptying what little was in his stomach all over the floor. That’s when he heard a thud coming from outside the building. ******************** “How’s he doing Spike?” Twilight asked as she noticed Spike coming down the stairs “Well he’s awake, but I don’t think he’s ready to talk to anypony yet,” Spike said as he walked into the kitchen to get more ice. “We should give Fluttershy a chance to look him over before we do anything else,” Rarity said still nuzzling up to Applejack to comfort her. “The dear should be back soon.” “Ah hope so. Ah don’t think Ah’ll feel any better until Ah apologize,” Applejack said as she returned Rarity's nuzzle. “Do you guys think I should bring him some water?” Spike asked as he poked his head out from the kitchen. “That’s probably a good idea,” Twilight said nodding to Spike. “From the sound of things, he’ll probably be very dehydrated.” Just as Spike returned to the kitchen, everypony heard a small thud coming from outside the library. “What was that?” Big Mac got up. “Ah’ll go check,” he said as he started walking to the door. He got about halfway across the room before they heard something that chilled the blood in their veins. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MONSTER SLAYING NINJA’S ATTACK!!!!!!” Everypony just looked at each other before racing upstairs as fast as they could run, or hobble in Twilights case as she brought up the rear. Celestia and Luna just sat there staring at each other with confused looks on their faces. ******************** When the group of ponies made it upstairs, they were greeted by the site they feared the most. AJ was huddled in a ball in the middle of the floor. Apple bloom was biting and kicking him in the arm and side. Scootaloo was flailing her nunchaku into his back over and over again. Sweetie Belle was just randomly swinging her stick into his outer thigh. “Sweetie Belle, What in Celestia’s name are you doing?!” Rarity shrieked as she used her magic to grab Sweetie away from the shivering ball in the center of the room. “Apple Bloom, stop that right now!” Big Mac Shouted as he picked up his baby sister by the scruff of her neck. Applejack was too dumbfounded from this whole situation to do anything other than just stare mouth agape. “What the hell’s wrong with you kid?!” Rainbow dash asked as she smacked Scootaloo upside the head. “But Rarity, if we don’t kill it, it will come and eat every pony in Ponyville!” Sweetie Belle squeaked out as she struggled in her sister’s hold. “Yea, we're going to stop it before it can hurt anypony,” Scootaloo said reaching for her weapon again, earning herself another smack from Rainbow Dash. “What are you girls talking about, he’s not going to hurt anypony,” Twilight said as she hobbled over to the shivering ball on the floor. “What made you think that in the first place?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both pointed at Scootaloo who just gulped. “Umm, I just thought…maybe…what if…I got nothing.” She just looked down as Rainbow Dash bit down on her ear and started dragging her down stairs. “Hey, what gives?” “We're going to have a talk with your parents about this,” Rainbow said around Scoot’s ear. As Dash left the library with Scootaloo, Big Mac and Rarity pulled their respective sisters down stairs to punish them. ******************** Fluttershy was completely dumbfounded as she walked back into the library. She passed by Rainbow Dash dragging Scootaloo away as she got closer. When she entered the building, she saw Apple Bloom in one corner of the room getting spanked, and Rarity yelling at the top of her lungs at Sweetie Belle in the other. “Umm Rarity, what’s going on?” “Huh, oh Fluttershy darling thank goodness you’re here. They are going to need you upstairs more than ever,” Rarity said as she turned away from the cowering filly. Deciding it wasn’t any of her business, Fluttershy just walked up the stairs. ******************** “Fluttershy, you have to help us!” Twilight said in a panic. “Ever since the girls attacked him he won’t let anypony near him!” Fluttershy looked over Twilight so see AJ hunched over in the corner of the room shaking like a leaf with tears flowing down his cheeks. He was holding a broken off chair leg to strike out at anypony who tried to get close. He kept opening and closing his mouth as if he were saying something. “B-but Twilight, what am I supposed to do?” Fluttershy asked as she started hiding behind Twilight. “Come on Fluttershy, you have to try!” Twilight was getting desperate now. “The Princess doesn’t want to try any spells right now because we don’t know how that will affect him in his current state of mind! You were able to calm a manticore. You were able to talk down a dragon. You have to try Fluttershy, please!” Fluttershy knew she had to try something. She was afraid he would hurt her if she tried to get close, but she couldn’t stand to see anypony in so much pain. “OK, I’ll try.” She slowly started walking over to AJ. Seeing Fluttershy coming, Applejack and Pinkie Pie backed off and just watched. When Fluttershy was only a few feet away, she was able to look him straight in the eyes. What she saw scared her. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused. She could also hear him talking in a very faint voice. “Go away, leaf me alone…” over and over. His jaw had swelled even more than it had before. He also had a bunch of new bruises and cuts which must have been given to him when he was attacked by the CMC. He needed help, and fast. Fluttershy tried to take another step closer, but had to step back when AJ swung at her. This was good though as she now had his attention. “Shh it’s OK, no pony's going to hurt you anymore.” A gentle smile grew on her face as she continued to stare into his eyes. “Everything’s going to be OK.” AJ lowered his guard, and Fluttershy took a step forward, causing him to flinch. “Now why don’t you drop the chair leg and let me help you.” They just sat there at a stand still for a minute before the chair leg dropped from his hand. He fell to a sitting position and curled up in the fetal position crying. Fluttershy slowly made her way up to him and brought him into a comforting hug. “Shhhh, it’s OK. Let’s get you into bed.” AJ tried to stand up and walk with Fluttershy to the bed, but he suddenly became dizzy and lost his balance. With the help of magic, they were able to lift him up into Twilight’s bed so Fluttershy could help him. He ended up falling asleep almost instantly. From all she noticed before, she could already guess he had at least a mild concussion. She was concerned about his jaw though. She had an idea as to what the problem was, but she was afraid to do much else until the swelling went down. Fluttershy sent Spike to go get some ice once again. After an hour the swelling of his jaw went away enough for Fluttershy to confirm that his jaw was broken. With help from Princess Celestia, his jaw was able to be mended leaving only residual pain and bruising. After placing another bag of ice on his head, they left him to sleep. It was getting late and everypony was going to be busy tomorrow making up for lost time. Fluttershy was promised to be over in the morning after she took care of all her animal friends to check on AJ. **************************************** (I’m sorry this is so late guys, a friend came over and it put me behind XP. Quick note, starting tomorrow I’m probably going to start posting these on my Deviant art too. http://fanthrose.deviantart.com/) My little pony © Hasbro Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust