//------------------------------// // Chapter III: A Mysterious Ailment // Story: Host Of Souls // by SapphireWings999 //------------------------------// The next morning, I woke up to see Savannah still asleep next to me, her blonde bangs gently covering her still closed eyes. I smiled as I reached over to gently brush them aside. She smiled back in her sleep as I did so. "Hey beautiful," I greeted softly. Savannah stirred for a brief moment before she opened her eyes, but upon seeing me her expression changed to one of panic. "Aaah!" she screamed, backing away from me. "What is it? What's wrong?" I asked nervously. "Y-y-your f-f-f-face!" she stuttered through her fear. "What about it?" I replied as I reached a hand to my face. But upon touching my face, I immediately felt something was wrong. Not counting my mustache, I felt short hair completely covering it and my mouth felt slightly longer, almost like it was a muzzle. "What tha- What's goin on?" I questioned. Suddenly, I felt something against my right leg. Something long and hairy. Throwing the blankets back, I saw a long pony's tail wrapped around my leg. To my horror, I realized that it was my pony tail. "Aaaaaaaah!" I screamed as I fell out of bed, trying to back away from this additional appendage. "What the fuck is happening to me!?!" I then felt a pain in both hands as I watched in horror as they curled up and hardened into hooves. Looking over at Savannah, the same look of shock and terror was evident on her face. "Savannah, you gotta help me," I pleaded. "Go get Twilight. She'll fix this. Please help me, Sava*neigh*" I immediately clasped my hooves over my mouth. At that moment it became evident that my very humanity was slipping away from me. I was slowly becoming nothing more than a dumb animal. This was no different than that creepy Pleasure Island scene from Pinocchio that terrified me soo often as a kid. I struggled to stand up, but my feet also hardened into hooves forcing me to go down on all fours. Savannah could only stare at me in wide-eyed horror with her hands over her mouth as my cries gave way to whinnies of confusion and fear. * * * * * * * * I immediately woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. My hands immediately went up to my face to make sure it was normal before pulling the blankets back to reassure me that I hadn't grown any extra appendages. With this new realization, I was able to breathe much easier. I then felt the bed shift as Savannah turned towards me, eyes fluttering open. "Good morning, baby," she greeted with concern evident in her voice. "Is everything O.K.?" "Yeah. Ah'm fine," I replied. "Jus had a nightmare." "What was it about?" "Well ya know how, las night, ya mentioned how weird it would be if Ah had gone full on pony when we were havin sex?" "Yeah?" "Well Ah was actually transformin into a pony, but not like Twilight, Fluttershy, or Applejack who can actually talk. Ah was turnin into a dumb animal, devoid of any sentience or intelligence." "Oh my!" Savannah answered in shock. "It sounds just like- " "Fuckin Pinocchio." "I know, right?" "God," I sighed. "All these years later 'n it still freaks tha shit out o' me." "Well I'm sorry you had that nightmare and I'm sorry if my comment last night might have contributed to it," she stated as she rubbed my bare shoulders with both hands in a comforting massage. "It's O.K." After a short while, we picked our clothes off the floor from the previous night and put them on. "Whataya say we go get some breakfast now?" Savannah asked. "Sounds like a great idea. Ya know what Ah could really go for right now?" "What?" "Some Golden Delicious Apples from Sweet Apple Acres." "Isn't that a long walk from here though?" "Who said we were gonna walk?" I questioned, spreading out my wings to catch the sunlight pouring in through the balcony. "Ah can jus fly us there." Savannah had a look of uncertainty on her face. "I'm not sure about this." "Aww c'mon, Savannah. Ya'll really enjoy tha view. 'N Ah promise Ah won't drop ya. Not with these bad boys," I stated, flexing my biceps. Savannah giggled at my little display before replying. "O.K. then. So how does this work?" "Well first," I started, while walking behind her, "Ah wrap ma arms beneath yours 'n hold onto yer chest." I placed my arms under her armpits and wrapped them tightly around her chest. "Then what?" "Then we fly." I then started flapping my wings, gracefully lifting us off of the balcony. My hands could feel Savannah's heart racing rapidly in her chest as a smile crept across her face. "Quite a different experience, huh?" I asked. "Sure is." "But ya ain't seen nothin yet." And with those words, the two of us took to the sky as we headed over to Sweet Apple Acres, unaware of what we would discover there. * * * * * * * * Before long, me and Savannah arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. Coming in for a landing, we looked around at the orchard. Something wasn't right; everything was much too quiet. "That's weird," I stated. "Knowin AJ, she'd normally be up buckin apples by this time or somethin like that." "But if she's not doing that then where is she?" Savannah questioned. "Ah dunno. Maybe we should take a look around." No sooner had the words escaped my lips than I heard a familiar voice call out my name. Listening closely, I was able to discern that it was Apple Bloom. "Dayvid! Dayvid!" she called out in panic. "Ya gotta come quick!" Turning in the direction of the voice, I saw the young filly rushing over to me with a look of fear evident on her face. "Apple Bloom? What's tha matter?" "Somethin's wrong with Applejack. She's not breathin!" Following Apple Bloom back to the house, she led us up to Applejack's room. Upon entering, we saw her body lying in the middle of the floor, eyes closed. Swiftly, I rushed over to her body and started performing CPR on her while Savannah did her best to try to comfort Apple Bloom. After nearly a minute of trying to resuscitate her, she showed no change. Checking her pulse, I finally gave up as I cradled her lifeless form in my arms with tears streaming down my face at the loss of a friend. "She... she can't be dead. She just... can't," I stated through tears. "She helped bring me closer with my sister. She was one of my closest friends." As I wept, I suddenly heard a familiar Southern accent calling to me. "Dayvid. Dayvid." I paused for a moment, incredulous to what I was hearing. It couldn't be her could it? "AJ?" I questioned in confusion, drying my tears in the process. Apple Bloom and Savannah seemed to hear it too. "Sis? Is that you?" Apple Bloom called out. "Where are you?" Savannah asked. "Ah'm right here," her voice called out. Turning in the direction of the voice, the three of us saw a small orb of light next to the bed that gave off an orange glow, like a levitating fireball. Confused by this, we stood there silently for several seconds before I spoke up. "AJ? Is... is that... yer spirit?" "Ya could say that. Ah got up early this mornin ta get a start on chores like Ah usually do, but then Ah felt this really bad pain like nothin Ah'd ever felt before. Nex thing Ah knew, ma soul was outta ma body. Right now, though, Ah feel awful weak 'n cold." "Well come here. Ah'll try ta keep ya warm." And so, AJ's spirit orb levitated over to my cupped hands before settling on them. I then pulled my hands close to my mouth where I exhaled a heated breath to warm it. Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation in my right hand as the astral sphere phased into it before traveling up the inside of my arm until it reached my head. Upon reaching its destination, my mind was suddenly flooded with memories, but they weren't my own. All these memories were Applejack's from when she first earned her Cutie Mark to meeting Twilight to her first encounter with the Flim Flam Brothers to when Tirek first attacked Ponyville all the way up to meeting me for the first time. Once the memories stopped, I nearly stumbled backwards. "Whoa. Head rush." "What just happened?" Savannah questioned. Y'all tell me, I heard Applejack's voice echo in my head. Ah don' even know what Ah'm lookin at. Ah don' feel cold 'n weak no more, but where am Ah? "Umm AJ," I started, "Ah think yer inside ma head." There was a brief moment of total silence before I heard her voice again. Hold up there, Sugarcube. Ah need ya ta put yer hand in front o' yer face 'n wiggle yer fingers. I followed her instructions, holding my hand up and wiggling my fingers. It wasn't long before I heard her shocked reply. Nuts 'n chews! Ah am in yer head! Ah can see yer fingers right in front o' me 'n even feel 'em movin! This is real freaky! "Take it easy, AJ. It's gonna be O.K.," I stated, reassuringly. "Yer with me now 'n we'll figure this out together." Savannah and Apple Bloom had been standing there in silence for a good while as they watched me seemingly talking to myself. Finally, Savannah spoke up. "Umm David? Honey? Who're you talking to?" she asked, concern evident in her tone. "Ah'm talkin ta Applejack." "Applejack? How?" Apple Bloom puzzled. "Where is she?" "Well umm... ya see... she's kinda...," I struggled with the right words before pressing my index finger up against my head, "she's up here." "In yer... head?" Apple Bloom replied, apparently skeptical of my claim. "Look, Ah know it's hard ta believe, but Ah'm pretty positive that her soul has taken up residence in ma body." "Prove it. If ma sister's really in there, say somethin only she'd know." Tell her bout how Ah made a promise ta mom 'n dad on tha day they left that Ah'd look out fer her when she was jus a newborn... 'n... that Ah've kept that promise ever since... even... even on tha day when Ah discovered tha horrible truth... that they'd never be comin back, AJ's voice sounded in my head, getting choked up as she spoke. As she was telling me this, my mind was bombarded by a flashback that wasn't my own. It was entirely from Applejack's perspective. I could see her parents as they were getting ready for a big trip to Dodge Junction. They paused to stand with their daughter in front of the mirror, proud of the young filly she was and the mare she was growing up to be. Filly Applejack stood in front of the mirror admiring her newly earned Cutie Mark. She looked soo adorable just like most fillies would. Her parents then led her over to a crib where little baby Apple Bloom was bundled up and sleeping peacefully. Cuteness overload!!!! Applejack's parents made her promise that she'd look out for her sister til they got back; the slight up and down bob in her line of vision indicated a nod. The proud stallion and mare hugged and kissed their daughter before doing likewise to an adult pony-sized, but still not quite full grown yet, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. The whole family said their goodbyes as the couple left on their long journey. The flashback then leapt forward several days to Applejack playing with her little sister outside when the mailpony approached her with a solemn look on his face. Passing a letter to her, she opened it to read the literary contents. It said that her parents had been killed by a runaway twister only a day out from reaching their destination. The flashback then got blurry which I could only guess was from the tears filling her eyes. In that final moment, before I snapped back to reality, I could almost swear that I heard filly Applejack's thoughts at the time. Don' cha worry, Apple Bloom. Yer big sister is still here 'n Ah'll never stop lookin out fer ya, I heard the heartbroken filly think through her tears. And just like that, as quickly as it began, so it ended. Soo shaken was I by the flashback that it took me several seconds before I could speak again. "Wait. They... they died?" I asked, stunned. Y-yes. "Who's dead?" Savannah questioned. I then relayed Applejack's message to Apple Bloom. Upon hearing these words, her expression changed from a harsh and distrustful one to one of wide-eyed shock. She then approached me slowly while I knelt down to her level. Once she was standing in front of me, she burst into tears of joy before lunging at me in a hug which I accepted, softly patting her back. "Oh sis it is you. Ah thought Ah had lost ya ferever." "She wants ya ta know that she'll always be there fer ya 'n whatever happened jus now we'll find a way ta fix it. Ah promise." "Ah love ya, Applejack." "She loves ya too, Sugarcube," I replied with her signature term of endearment. Apple Bloom pulled away, wiping tears off her face as a small smile appeared. "So what do we do now?" Savannah asked. "Maybe we should talk ta Twilight," Apple Bloom piped up. "If anypony can fix a problem, it's her." "Ah'm not sure it's tha best idea ta always go ta Twilight every time a problem comes up," I tried to discourage, not wanting to bother her. "But she knows a ton bout strange 'n unusual cases o' magic which this clearly is." "She does have a point there," Savannah confirmed. There was no way that I could argue with that. Twilight was the best suited to help us out with our dilemma. "Alright then. Let's go find Twi." "Wait. What're we gonna do with Applejack?" Apple Bloom questioned. "Whataya mean?" I asked, confused. "Ah'm takin her with me." "No no not that Applejack," she retorted, before pointing to Applejack's lifeless body. "That Applejack. We can't jus leave her body here. What if Granny Smith found it?" "You're right," Savannah agreed. "In her condition, she wouldn't take the sight of her oldest granddaughter lying there completely devoid of life very well." "Well we've gotta think o' somethin, but what?" I puzzled. And so the four of us put our three heads together (make of that what you will) trying to come up with a solution to our predicament. Finally, after half a minute, Applejack's voice startled me. Ah got it! she exclaimed. "Aaaah!" I screamed, startling Savannah and Apple Bloom in the process. "What? What is it?" Savannah questioned fearfully. "AJ's got a plan." Ma wardrobe. No pony ever goes in there. I nodded as I walked over to AJ's body and carefully cradled it in my arms before turning to Savannah. "Savannah, can ya please give me a hand 'n open that wardrobe over there?" She nodded before walking over to the wardrobe and opening the double doors. I followed behind her and gently laid Applejack's body amongst her workboots before straightening myself up, coming face to face with a dress that I instantly recognized as her dress from the Grand Galloping Gala. "Nice dress," I remarked. Thanks. I then closed the doors on the lifeless form inside and stepped away. "Are you sure no one'll go in there?" Savannah asked me. "Of course Ah'm sure. As a girl yerself, wouldn' cha expect others ta respect yer privacy?" Savannah paused for a moment before answering. "This is true." Me, Savannah, and Apple Bloom then walked over to the bedroom door and opened it only to be greeted by Granny Smith. "Aaaaaah!" we all screamed in unison, startled by the presence of the other, before I finally spoke. "Oh uh... hi Granny Smith. We uh... didn'... see ya there," I chuckled nervously. "Oh Dayvid it's jus you. Heheh. Ah jus had ma whole life flash before ma eyes fer a moment," Granny Smith replied pleasantly before turning to Savannah. "'N who might this fine-lookin young filly be?" Savannah blushed modestly before answering. "I'm Savannah, David's wife." Granny Smith appeared to be trying to remember something before that little lightbulb went off in her head. "Oooh right. Savannah. Ma Applejack 'n her little friends used ta go on 'n on bout all tha things Dayvid said bout you. They were soo much lookin forward ta tha day that they could meet cha face ta face." "Well I certainly enjoyed getting to meet them." "Speakin of Applejack, Ah was jus now comin ta look fer her." "Uhshesnothererightnow!" I spat out a little too quickly as I tried to block the entryway. "What?" "Uh... Ah mean... well... what Ah was tryin ta say is that she..." I stuttered before I finally came up with a proper comeback, "... had a personal emergency. Yeah. She had a personal emergency 'n had ta leave with little warnin." Dayvid! I heard Applejack sternly scold. I ignored the mental consternation as Savannah continued. "Apple Bloom was just telling us how Applejack had told her about her situation and how she'd try to be back as soon as possible. Of course it all depends on how soon the issue can be resolved. Right, Apple Bloom." "Uh... yeah. Right," Apple Bloom chuckled. "Ah was actually gonna tell ya earlier, but ya were asleep at tha time so Ah couldn't. Anyways, she's already left now. See fer yerself." And with that, the three of us stepped aside to let Granny Smith enter Applejack's room. Y'all should be ashamed o' yerselves. I replied to AJ's protest by flicking my index finger right between my eyebrows. Ow! What tha flyin feather was that fer? "Would ya please jus shut yer cakehole til we leave?" I asked/demanded quietly and impatiently through clenched teeth. I then heard an annoyed sigh from her, but nothing followed so I returned my attention to Granny Smith who was staring at Applejack's wardrobe. Mine, Savannah's, and Apple Bloom's insides were tied up in knots at this current predicament. What if she looked inside and saw Applejack's lifeless body lying there. Tension was very high in the room before Granny Smith turned to us. "This here cabinet used ta belong ta ma daughter-in-law. Ah passed it down ta Applejack after..." her voice trailed off for a second, "... well let's not talk bout that. Apple Bloom, Ah need some help in tha kitchen if ya'd be willin ta lend yer ole granny a hoof." "Yes, ma'am," Apple Bloom replied, relieved that Granny Smith hadn't tried opening the wardrobe at all. "As fer you two young whippersnappers, y'all jus run along now 'n have yer fun." "Thank you," Savannah warmly answered. "It was nice to meet you Granny Smith." "Likewise. Don't be a stranger, y'hear?" "K. See ya later Granny Smith," I smiled back as we left. No sooner had we left the house than Applejack let me have it. Ah'm real disappointed in ya, Dayvid. Why did y'all hafta lie ta ma granny like that? "Aww c'mon, AJ. Tha way Ah see it, we didn't lie ta her. At least not entirely." "What's wrong with AJ?" Savannah asked, oblivious to the internal struggle going on between two minds. "Oh she's jus buttsore cause o' what we told Granny Smith." "Really, David?" Savannah scolded. "That seems kinda harsh." Darn straight it does 'n how exactly is it that y'all didn' lie ta her? "Well this is a personal emergency, yer soul left yer body with little warnin, we'll try ta get ya back in yer body as soon as possible, 'n it all depends on how soon tha issue can be resolved. Ya see? It wasn't lyin, it was jus omittin certain truth, jus like when ya didn' tell yer friends that ya failed ta win any 1st Place ribbons at that rodeo in Canterlot." Wait. How'd ya know bout that? "When yer soul merged with mine, Ah received a flood o' yer memories from throughout yer life. Yer memories are ma memories." Ahh. Listen, pardner, Ah'm sorry that Ah got all trigger happy at ya earlier. "It's O.K. 'n Ah'm sorry fer bein a smartass 'round ya. That was uncalled fer. Now whataya say we go find Twi ta hopefully fix this little problem we have?" Sounds good ta me. As we headed off to find Twilight, nervousness came over me. While I had told Applejack the truth about her memories mixing with mine, I only knew about the rodeo incident from watching the episode back home. None of these ponies knew that they were part of a TV Show where me and Savannah came from and I intended to keep it that way, but now, with Applejack in my mind, how long would it be before she started going through my own thoughts and discovered that little detail that I had been hiding from them this whole time? I secretly hoped that it would remain just that: secret, but my fears told me that the truth would be revealed sooner than I expected. * * * * * * * * Before long, me and Savannah were back in Ponyville. As we were walking along towards Twilight's castle, I paused for a moment as I noticed the charred remains of a tree that I didn't remember seeing last time I was there. That used ta be tha library where Twi first lived when she came ta Ponyville, Applejack explained. When Tirek went on a rampage through here, it didn' survive. We don' talk bout it 'round her. She's takin it pretty hard. "Ah'll bet," I replied. No sooner did the words leave my lips then my stomach growled as loud as a manticore. "Whoa. Nice one David," Savannah laughed. "Thanks," I chuckled back. "Ah guess Ah forgot how hungry Ah was when we were at Sweet Apple Acres." Ah'm starvin somethin awful too. "So whataya say tha three of us get somethin ta eat first?" "I'm all for it." Definitely, Sugarcube. One thing Ah was always taught was never work on an empty stomach. "Hey. Speakin o' Sugarcube, why don' we get somethin from Sugarcube Corner?" "That's a great idea." Good thinkin, Dayvid. And so, diverging slightly from our original destination, we made a quick stop at Sugarcube Corner for breakfast. Upon walking through the front door, we were immediately greeted by Pinkie Pie. "Hi hi!!!" she welcomed, enthusiastically. "Welcome back, lovebirds. Couldn't stay away from here for too long could ya? So what can I do for you two?" "Hi Pinkie," Savannah smiled back. "We were just stopping in to pick up some breakfast." "Maybe muffins?" I suggested. "Ooo that's a perfect idea!" Pinkie beamed. "Personally, I think it's muffins that make the best breakfasts." "Can't argue with that. Ah've personally lived by that philosophy fer a few years now back home." "Goody," Pinkie immediately dashed over to the counter. "So what kind of muffins are you looking for? We've got chocolate, chocolate chip, double chocolate, blueberry, apple crumble, banana nut, pumpkin, and even today's special, Lemon Muffin Surprise. That last one is selling out like hotcakes though, or hot muffins in this case," she giggled before finishing. "So whataya think?" "Hmm... what do you think ya want?" I asked both Savannah and Applejack. "The blueberry one is sounding really good to me," Savannah answered back. Ah'm not really too picky. Whatever ya want is fine by me. I then proceeded to think over the options. Banana nut was obviously out because of my allergies, apple crumble was O.K. but not a favorite of mine, and most of the others I liked but had had recently. Lemon Muffin Surprise was what really caught my attention being the citrus lover that I am. In that moment, the choice was obvious. "She'll have a blueberry muffin 'n Ah'll have tha Lemon Muffin Surprise." "Coming right up," Pinkie stated as she reached into the display to pull them out. "Well this is your lucky day, Davey. You just got the very last Lemon Muffin Surprise." She then placed the two muffins in a brown paper bag before passing it off to me. "Here you are. Two muffins on the house." "Oh Pinkie ya don' hafta do that." "Of course I do. The Cakes insisted I do it if you two ever came back here." "Alright then," I smiled back. "Thanks, Pinkie." "Anytime. Come again soon." As we turned to leave, a blur of grey came flying through the door before crashing into the counter. It was Derpy. Seeing how hard she landed, I was quick to voice concern. "Derpy, are you alright?" I questioned as I helped her to her hooves. "Yup I'm fine. Thanks for asking," she replied before turning to face Pinkie Pie. "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Derpy," Pinkie greeted. "What would you like?" "One Lemon Muffin Surprise please." I froze for a second at the realization that I had already taken the last one. "I'm sorry, Derpy, but we're all sold out of that," Pinkie answered sadly. Derpy's ears folded back sadly and her expression quickly dropped upon hearing this. Filled with sympathy towards her, I looked down at the bag in my hand and knew what needed to be done as I reached inside to pull out the citrus flavored pastry. "Here, Derpy," I stated, holding it out to her. "Ya can have mine." Her ears perked back up. "Really?" "Sure. Go on 'n take it." Her crossed eyes then lit up as she gratefully accepted the muffin and reached up to hug me. "Oh thank you, Prince David." "Anytime 'n it's jus 'Dayvid' please," I smiled back at her. "Sure thing. See ya later," she replied as she flew away happily eating her muffin. With Derpy gone, I turned my attention back to Pinkie. "That was generous of you," she observed. "Thanks," I answered. "Hey, Pinkie, do ya mind if Ah bother ya fer another blueberry muffin?" "No problem," she answered back, reaching into the display again and "hoofing" the muffin over to me. "Here ya go." "Thanks," I replied, accepting the muffin as me and Savannah turned to walk away. "See ya later, Pinkie." "Have a nice day." * * * * * * * * Shortly after eating our muffins, on our way to Twilight's castle, we accidentally ran into Twilight herself. We were all surprised to see the other as me and Savannah hadn't expected her to be out of her castle this early. "Hey David. Hey Savannah," she cheerfully greeted. "I had just come from your room where I was planning on checking up on you guys but didn't see you there so I figured I'd try to find the two of you and here you are now. So did you both sleep well?" "We slept pretty O.K., but there's something really important we need to talk about," Savannah stated urgently. Twilight's cheerful expression quickly turned to one of seriousness mixed with concern as we led her into a back alley to avoid attention from other ponies before continuing conversation. "Why? What's wrong? Did something bad happen?" she asked, nervously, once we were out of earshot from everypony. "Well shortly after wakin up," I explained, "me 'n Savannah went ta Sweet Apple Acres ta see bout gettin some apples fer breakfast, but, when we got there, Apple Bloom directed us ta Applejack's room where she was lyin there not breathin with no pulse either." "Oh my gosh!" Twilight gasped. "You mean... Applejack's dead?" "No. Not dead," Savannah replied. "Her soul was still there. It had just... left her body for some reason." "How long ago did this happen and where is her soul now?" "We first arrived there bout a half hour ago, but Ah don' know how long AJ's soul had been out before then. As fer where her soul is now, she's up here," I commented, pointing at my cranium. "What?" "He kind of absorbed her soul through physical contact with it," Savannah explained. "Me and Apple Bloom witnessed it also." "Well that's a relief," Twilight sighed. "Souls don't typically survive very long without a host." "So what do we do?" "I don't know. This is all unfamiliar to me. I'd need to do some research and make observations of one of these moments actually happening." "Well that's jus great," I remarked, mildly annoyed. "How're we supposed ta find another case like this in Ponyville?" As if to answer my question, we heard a small noise heading towards us that sounded a lot like hopping. Turning in the direction of the sound, we saw a small white bunny bolting towards us who I instantly recognized. "Angel?" I puzzled. "What're you doin here?" Stopping in front of me, he started pointing in the direction he came from and coughed before falling over. "Ya've got a really bad cough?" He shook his head and pointed back again before his whole body started shaking. "There's an earthquake bout ta hit Ponyville?" Angel looked at me with an annoyed glance that screamed "Really?" before proceeding to kick my foot. "Hey! What was that fer?" I protested, equally annoyed as he was. He pointed at me and then back at his eyes. "O.K. Ah'm watchin you. What is it ya wanna say?" Angel pointed in the same direction as previously before pulling his ears down to resemble long flowing hair and smiling sweetly at me with big, doe eyes. "Fluttershy?" He nodded before hacking up a storm, shaking violently, and then lying perfectly still, feigning death. I suddenly realized that something was wrong. "Fluttershy's in trouble. We've gotta get ta her cottage now." "I'm all over it," Twilight stated confidently. "Everypony stay close." Following Twilight's advice, we remained still as her magic flowed from her horn, enveloping all of us and with a flash we disappeared from the back alley. * * * * * * * * In the blink of an eye, me (along with AJ), Savannah, Twilight, and Angel were in the living room of Fluttershy's cottage. While me and Twilight were fine, Savannah and Angel seemed a little spaced out. "Savannah? You O.K.?" I asked, out of concern. "Yeah, I'm jus a lil woozy," she slurred as she nearly lost her balance before Twilight caught her with her magic. "Whoa. Take it easy there, Princess," Twilight stated. "It's totally normal for many non-magical creatures to feel a little out of it their first time teleporting. What's important right now is that we find Fluttershy fast so let's split up." "Good idea. AJ 'n Ah'll take tha top floor while you two take the bottom," I replied. "O.K. Let's do this." And so, I headed upstairs while Twilight and Savannah checked the other rooms. It wasn't long before I heard a small, timid, familiar voice from one of the upper rooms. "Hello? Is anypony there? Please. I feel soo alone and cold," it pleaded. Ya hear that? "Ah sure do." That's gotta be her. "Hold on, Flutters. We're comin." Bolting up the stairs in the direction of the voice, I threw open a door revealing a bedroom with Fluttershy's lifeless body lying on the floor. Looking around the room, I finally saw a yellow glowing orb, like a miniature sun, about 10 feet from the body. "David!" she exclaimed, her voice full of relief. "You're here. I was soo afraid nopony would be coming." "Don' worry. Ah'm here now with some help," I replied before turning around to shout downstairs. "SAVANNAH! TWILIGHT! GET UP HERE! WE FOUND HER!" "What do you mean 'we'?" Fluttershy puzzled. "It's complicated. Ah'll explain when tha others get here." We wouldn't have to wait long as the heavy pounding of hooves and feet were followed by Savannah and Twilight joining us in the bedroom, both with shocked expressions on their faces at the sight of the astral ball. "Unbelievable," Twilight uttered. "It's just like what happened to Applejack," Savannah stated. "Fluttershy, what happened?" "I don't know," she admitted, sadly, almost trembling. "I just remember feeling really bad pain and then, next thing I knew, I wasn't in my body anymore. I tried to get back in, but it didn't work and now I just feel really cold and weak." "Here Flutters," I stated, holding my right hand out in front of me, "come ta ma hand." "Why?" she questioned nervously. "What will that do?" "Jus trust me." "O.K. Here I go," she answered cautiously as, slowly, her soul sphere floated over to me before settling on my hand. No sooner had it settled on my hand than it burned it as it phased into it just like AJ's had before. Wincing in pain, I watched as the yellow glow traveled up my arm before reaching my head where I was immediately greeted with another flood of memories from Fluttershy's past from her days at Summer Flight Camp with Rainbow Dash to meeting Twilight to helping the Cloudsdale flight team with the waterspout to befriending Discord to when she first met me. Once the memories ceased, I heard her fearful voice in my head. Wait a minute. What's happened to me? What am I looking at? I feel really weird for some- Her voice paused after she gasped when I held my hand in front of my eyes followed by a scream from her after a few seconds. The panic in her voice became increasingly evident. Wh-wh-what is this? This can't be happening to me! I'm in somepony else's body! No. It's not even a pony's body either! I'm... I'm standing upright! Fluttershy, jus calm down a gosh darn minute. Wait. Applejack? What're you doing here? How many others are here? This is really scary! I don't- "FLUTTERSHY!" I shouted, immediately silencing her. In that moment, my sudden outburst had merely been meant to stop my friends' voices in my head so that I could think clearly. Voices in my head were nothing new. I could still remember the last time I was here when I had everypony's thoughts echoing in my head, but these moments of hearing voices still brought back to my awareness a memory from even before then that I'd rather forget. Instantly, two thoughts crossed my mind. First, this whole "pony soul absorption into my mind" thing wasn't going to just be a one time occurrence. Just now with Fluttershy made me realize that there would be more of these events to come. How many more? I had no idea at the time. Second, I had maybe been a little too harsh in my attempt to silence Fluttershy. While I knew that she could indeed show great strength when necessary, right now she was scared and rightfully so. She now found herself in an alien body she could hardly understand and my yelling did little to calm her down in the fragile state she was in. With this new realization, I calmed down and adjusted my tone. "Look, Flutters, Ah'm sorry fer shouting at ya jus now," I calmly and sincerely apologized. "Ah understand yer goin through a hard time right now with this new... development, but listen ta me. Do Ah sound nervous at all?" N-no, she finally uttered softly. "No. Ah don't," I calmly continued. "Ah admit that Ah have no idea what's goin on right now, none of us do, but Ah promise that Ah'm gonna find out what tha problem is 'n remedy it by any means necessary. Ah'm not gonna give up on you or AJ or anypony else that this might happen to. Ah jus need ya ta stay calm through this 'n trust me. Can Ah count on ya fer that, Flutters?" Yes. I trust you, she stated, her voice slightly more confident than before. And I forgive you. "Thanks," I answered with a smile. "Umm... David? I think I might have just realized something," Savannah spoke up. "What is it?" "Applejack and Fluttershy are the only ponies that this has happened to so far. Now, think. What do they have in common?" Quickly, Twilight's eyes widened upon realization of what Savannah was implying. "They're both Element bearers!" she announced. "Exactly. Applejack is the Element Of Honesty and Fluttershy is the Element Of Kindness." "So you think that, whatever this is, it's targeting tha bearers o' tha Elements Of Harmony?" I asked, slowly piecing it together. "It's a theory at least." "If only I could see it actually happening so that I might be able to get a better idea of what we're up against," Twilight stated, slightly frustrated, "but how are we supposed to know who's next? Does this even follow any kind of pattern?" At that moment, the silence between the five of us only served to prove that none of us had any idea what the fuck was going on or even what to do. All we knew was that we'd need to find out fast and time was not on our side. * * * * * * * * Later on, we were still at Fluttershy's cottage, trying to figure out the meaning behind this strange epidemic. I had originally suggested that we return to Twilight's castle where there were plenty of books for us to use to try to solve the dilemma, but Twilight said she'd much rather prefer our current location. I couldn't help but get the feeling that Twilight was trying to avoid her castle by any means necessary; I just wasn't sure why. Still I decided not to push the issue any further and chose to respect her wishes. Anyhoo, we had spent the past few hours trying to figure out why this was happening, searching long and hard for some sort of pattern to the incidents, but we all found ourselves no closer to reaching enlightenment on the issue than when we originally started. "Ugh," I groaned. "We've been doin this fer hours now 'n Ah think Ah have even less of a clue than Ah did before." Don't worry, David. We'll figure it out eventually. "Thanks, Fluttershy. Ah'm jus really frustrated right now." "O.K. Let's go over this again. What do we know?" Savannah asked for what must've been the 64th time. "Applejack was afflicted first and then Fluttershy after her," Twilight replied, wearily. "And what are their elements?" "Honesty 'n Kindness. Ah know already," I stated with frustration evident in my tone. "So what's the pattern? Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity?" "That would follow a pattern of Earth Pony, Pegasus, Unicorn, but that could jus as well mean that Twilight is next bein that she was a Unicorn formerly." "Yeah that doesn't narrow it down too much," she answered before going onto the next possible option. "Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash? I don't see any real pattern there. How about Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie?" "Ugh this is gettin us nowhere. We'll never figure it out." Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Twilight's head. "Wait a minute," she smiled. "That's it!!!" "What's it?" me and Savannah questioned in unison. "Pinkie Pie is the next target." "How'd ya figure that out?" "When I first came to Ponyville and needed to defeat Nightmare Moon, I had read up on the Elements Of Harmony known at the time. The Elements in order were Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty with Magic being discovered by me later on. Honesty is Applejack's Element and Kindness is Fluttershy's so the next one is Laughter, Pinkie Pie's Element. I believe that whatever this thing is, it's targeting the Elements Of Harmony in that order." "That's brilliant, Twi." "Definitely. You know what that means?" Savannah stated. "I sure do," Twilight answered. "We've gotta get to Sugarcube Corner fast." "Well what're we waitin fer?" I asked. "Nothing. Let's go." * * * * * * * * Several minutes and a quick run later, we arrived at Sugarcube Corner, bursting through the front door. The gourmand of sweets seemed to be less busy than earlier with the only noticeable ponies there being Mr. and Mrs. Cake and their twins, Pound and Pumpkin. "Hey there, Prince David. Princess Savannah. Princess Twilight," Mr. Cake greeted cheerfully. "How y'all doin today?" "Pretty good, thanks," I replied swiftly. "Is Pinkie here by any chance?" "Oh she's in the back right now," Mrs. Cake answered while feeding the twins their bottles. "Why? Is everything alright, dear?" "Oh yeah. Everything's fine," Savannah lied. "We just needed to check in with her on something." "Oh. O.K. then. Go right on ahead." "Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," Twilight smiled as we headed to the back of the shop. Upon entering the back room, we saw Pinkie pulling a tray of cupcakes out of the oven with a "mouth mitt" before setting it down on the counter to cool. Looking up, she noticed us standing there. "Oh hey guys," she greeted pleasantly. "What're you doing here?" "We're here ta protect ya, Pinkie," I answered. "Protect me?" she puzzled, while grabbing a piping bag. "What do I need protecting from?" "We don't know, but, whatever it is, it's already attacked Applejack and Fluttershy and we believe you're next," Savannah stated. Pinkie gasped. "That's awful. Are they at least safe now? Where are they?" "They're safe," I replied before pointing to my head. "They're actually up here right now." "What?" she asked. "How can they both be up there? No offense, Davey, but your head's not big enough to fit an Earth Pony and a Pegasus. Or even one of them at a time now that I think about it." "He doesn't mean them physically, Pinkie," Twilight replied. "He means that their souls are in his head. Their souls mysteriously left their bodies for some strange reason and David has had to absorb them into himself for them to survive." "Exactly," I continued. "As a result, Ah can see their memories as well as hearin their voices in ma head 'n they, in return, experience everythin Ah'm experiencin." Pinkie's eyes then lit up upon realizing what was being explained to her. "Oooh I get it. So it's like last time you were here except that, instead of just having their thoughts inside your head, you literally have them inside your head." "If that helps ya understand it better than sure." "And whatever went after them we believe is coming after you now," Savannah finished. "Oh no," Pinkie panicked. "How will we even know when it comes when we don't even know what it looks like?" "Well, from what we've gathered," Twilight started, "a precursor to one of these events is severe pain. That's at least a start for us." "That doesn't sound pleasant at all." "Tell me about it," I answered. "Don't worry about it though, Pinkie," Savannah assured. "We'll all keep an eye on you in case anything weird happens. You just go about your business and we'll be nearby." "O.K.," she answered, nervously, before returning her attention to the piping bag. Picking it up, she got to work frosting the now-cooled cupcakes as me, Savannah, and Twi (along with Fluttershy and AJ) kept a close and silent vigil on her, prepared for whatever might happen. For a full minute, there was nothing to report on, but, suddenly, Pinkie dropped the piping bag as she let out a cry of pain that caught all of our attention. "Pinkie, what's wrong?" I asked, concerned, rushing over to her. Upon reaching her, I immediately noticed that her eyes were glazed over as she started coughing uncontrollably to the point where I thought she was going to hack up a lung. This went on for about 10 seconds before she fell to the ground, breaking out in a seizure. "MR. AND MRS. CAKE!" I shouted out in panic while trying to hold Pinkie's flailing body still so she didn't injure herself. "GET IN HERE NOW!" Within a few short seconds, I heard their hurried hoofsteps making their way to the back room where we were. Mrs. Cake's voice followed shortly afterwards. "Yes, dear? What's the ma-" her voice halted briefly when she saw Pinkie's spasm, "-oh sweet Celestia!" Both of the Cakes stood slack-jawed with the twins as I fought to keep Pinkie still before the seizing finally stopped and her body went limp. Shortly after this, a small, pink, glowing orb, like a ball of bright cotton candy, exited her mouth. The others were quick to spot it also. "Wh-wh-what is that?" Mr. Cake questioned, unsurely. "It's her spirit," I answered. "It's left her body 'n Ah need ta store it in mine fer her ta survive til we can figure this out." Without hesitation, I reached out and caught Pinkie's astral sphere in both hands, followed by the all too familiar burning sensation as it traveled through my body up to my head. Immediately, Pinkie's memories flashed through my mind, but unlike the last two times, by the time the Cheese Sandwich memory hit, I was unpleasantly interrupted by a severe headache. Actually, "headache" is putting it mildly. This felt like my whole head was on fire while being stabbed. I cried out in pain as I also heard the voices of AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie screaming out in my head. This torment was unbearable and I begged for it to end. Finally, after I have no idea how long, the pain ended and I gasped for breath as sweet relief fell over me. "O.K. Ah dunno what that was, but Ah hope Ah don't hafta go through that again," I stated as I turned to face the others. But upon looking at them, they all gasped at the sight of me. Pound and Pumpkin even burst out crying upon seeing me. This resulted in Mr. and Mrs. Cake moving the twins back to the front of the shop, away from where I was, to calm them down. "What? What's wrong?" I asked, clearly confused and shocked by their reaction. "Y-your face," Twilight uttered, pointing at me in shock. "It's... it's..." Savannah stuttered, nervously. Looking for a mirror (or any reflective surface), I finally found one and, upon looking, horrifically discovered that I now had a pony face complete with one conical horn protruding from my forehead. "Aaaaaaaah!!!" I screamed as I fell backwards. Every pony in my head was quick to panic also at this bizarre sight reflected back at me. D-D-David? I-i-is that y-you? Fluttershy nervously uttered. What in tha name of all things Cinnamon Swirl happened to ya!?! Applejack exclaimed, confused. O.K. I dunno about you guys, but I'm getting really creeped out right now, Pinkie panicked. What am I even looking at right now? Who is that? I then placed my hands up to feel my face, still shocked by this new development. There was no way that I was dreaming it this time. Finally, I stuttered as I struggled to come up with some sort of response. "I-it's me... b-b-but i-i-it can't be me. I-I-I-I'm not supposed to... to have a... pony face. What's even happening to me right now!?!" I started panicking. "David!" Savannah blurted out as she grabbed my arm, snapping me out of my mini freakout, before addressing me in a calmer tone. "Listen to me. I don't know what's going on with you, but losing your head over it isn't going to help anyone right now. The best you can do is keep a cool head about it while we try to get this whole mess straightened out. Understand?" I slowly nodded back at her before she continued. "And don't worry. Just like you're not giving up on your friends, neither am I giving up on you. We'll fight this issue together." "That's right," Twilight affirmed, "and, now that I've seen what happened, I'll know what signs to look for in my books on magical maladies. I'll get right on that tonight. In the meantime, you two better go check on Rarity. According to my theory, she's next on the list." I looked out the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set in the distance. "It's gettin kinda late," I stated. "Are ya sure she won't mind us botherin her?" "Of course I'm sure," Twilight smiled back. "I'll bet she'd even be willing to let you two spend the night. She's very hospitable." "Well let's get going then," Savannah stated as me, her and Twilight left the bakery and parted ways. "We'll see you tomorrow, Twi." "See you later." As we went our separate ways, I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened to me. This was just like my nightmare that I had the night before. It instantly hit me right then and there. Had my nightmare been a vision of the future? Did I somehow have prophetic dreams like Joseph and others from ancient times? All I did know was that my nightmare was very quickly becoming my reality.