//------------------------------// // Aftermath // Story: OC, Oh Crap! // by SmokeShadow95 //------------------------------// Pain. The first thought that entered Austin's mind. It was pain. His eyelids drowsily lifted up to reveal the new day. At first everything was just a blur, nothing but shapeless blotches of color against a white background. As his eyes focused more the shapeless began to take on shapes of their very own. “Hey, everyone. I think he's waking up.” Austin would know that soft voice anywhere. And Fluttershy was pretty much clear in his vision now, as well as every other pony. “Hey, Flutters,” Austin said groggily. “What happened?” “You took a pretty nasty scratch from one of those brutish timberwolves, that's what happened,” Rarity said as she walked up to the side of his bed. “Yeah, but then you passed out,” Dash interjected. “How not awesome is that?” Austin grumbled. There was so much he wanted to say to Dash, but he didn't want to seem mean or spiteful. He also didn't want to start yelling and aggravate his wounds at all. So he just grumbled and bottled it up. He would have to talk with her later at some point. For now, he was just content to lay there. “How are you feeling,” Fluttershy asked. “That looks like it hurts. A lot.” “It does, but I can handle it.” Austin put on the brave face but this was absolutely, definitely the most pain he had ever been through. Sure he could handle while laying motionless in a hospital bed, but as soon as he moved he would feel it. “Good, because I need to talk to you.” Twilight. Of course. He had almost forgotten, but the memory came back as her voice echoed through his mind. “Of course, Princess. Could you girls give us the room please?” Fluttershy kindly nodded and moved to go out of the room. Dash pulled her back in by the tail. “Whatever you can say you can say in front of all of us. You got that, buster?” “I just thought it was getting kinda crowded in here,” Austin responded and gestured around the room. “Besides, we're going to be talking about magic. Do you really want to stay for that boring conversation?” Dash had no reply other than leaving the room. She was still dragging Fluttershy by the tail when she left. Rarity also left. She had a little sister to get back to and there were several ponies with several more questions. There were also parts of Ponyville that really needed to be fixed up. That left him alone with Twilight. Meanwhile, Ben was still dealing with some trouble. Trouble of the Tessla variety. Meanwhile. . . Ben was standing at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Two ponies stood with him. He still wasn't sure as to why it was those two ponies, but he was glad he some help nonetheless. “So, why are we here again,” Pinkie Pie asked. “Because, Tessla is in there somewhere.” Ben thought back to the previous day. Austin had delegated them all some jobs after he got slashed. Ben followed through with his job and protected the ponies as best he could. With Pinkie Pie and her party cannon to back you up it was an easier job than Ben thought. Also, timberwolves are apparently scared of a big six foot tall human running at them at a full sprint while also yelling like a madman. “What are we waitin' fer, then? Let's go in and get 'im.” Applejack's enthusiasm was easily passed to the other two. Ben buttoned up his big green coat and Pinkie Pie party growled. The three all readied themselves and traded one last glance. A shared battle cry echoed from them as they ran for the Everfree Forest. However, as soon as they got close they saw Tessla walking out with Zecora at his side. That changed things. Applejack skidded on her rump to a complete halt so as to not charge through the human and the zebra. She finally managed to stop when Pinkie Pie crashed into her backside and carried her further. The two sides collided with surprising amount of force and toppled onto each other. Tessla at the very bottom with Zecora above him. On top of her was Applejack and Pinkie took the top. The title of King of the Hill went to another, however. His larger frame made it harder for him to stop. Try as he might he wasn't able to slow down in time. He stopped just short of the dogpile and teetered on the verge of falling. His arms flailed about at his sides as he rocked back and forth. “Oh no!” Applejack said. “Don't ya dare fall now, ya hear me?” Ben was to busy to answer her, and for a moment it seemed like all would be fine. From his limited field of vision Tessla could still see Ben. He also saw a Pegasus pony flying towards him. This pony flew over, nearly hitting a tree and several ponies on the way. This pony, who Tessla could now see was a mare flew over and did the most ridiculously adorable thing ever. “Hiyas!” Ditzy Doo said as she landed on Ben's shoulders. With that, the fight was over. It was a hard fought battle and one Ben fought well, but it was too much now. Gravity won and Ben's mighty form toppled like a felled tree onto the four others. All that was missing was a flannel wearing pony with an axe shouting “Timber!” Eventually, through groans and aches and pains and more than a little annoyance every pony, zebra and human was able to separate themselves. With the pile now dissolved all eyes turned to one person. Or rather, one pony. Ben moved out of the way so they could all glare at Ditzy Doo. She was sitting a little ways off with her head spinning. She had on her Equestrian Mailmare uniform. The mail in question was now littered all over the place, not that Ditzy really cared at the moment. “Ditzy Doo,” Applejack growled, “Just what in tarnation were thinking just now?!” She immediately regretted raising her voice as it sent an ache traveling down her spine. Ditzy turned her attention to Applejack and the others. “Letter!” She shouted joyfully. “Yes, yer supposed to be deliverin' the mail, right?” “Uh huh. Letter!” Ditzy said. She stood up and brushed herself off. Then she searched around her. There was mail everywhere, but just not the right one apparently. She scooped up as much as she could and haphazardly stuffed it back into her mail bag. Once she was done she looked around. No more mail. “No more letters,” She whimpered. She was sad. She didn't find the letter she was looking for. Until Pinkie Pie pulled her party cannon out of bush that is. Ditzy Doo immediately recognized the form of a letter slip down the barrel. “Letter!” She happily exclaimed and darted over to Pinkie and her party cannon. She dropped her mail bag and shoved herself down the barrel of the party cannon in order to retrieve the letter. Her weight kept the cannon shifting from side to side and on the verge of falling over. “Pinkie Pie, don't let that thing go off!” Applejack hurriedly shouted to Pinkie Pie. Why is it always too late?! The cannon slipped out of Pinkie's hooves as she tried to keep it right side up. It smacked into the ground and the jostling of the impact fired the cannon, and the pony inside the cannon. Ditzy shot out of the cannon at party speed, which was pretty darn fast. She shot out of it amidst confetti and streamers. She shot out right at Ben. He took the hit right in his chest. It sent him flying on his back. He groaned as he landed with an even more confused than usual Ditzy Doo on top. She righted herself and blew some streamers out of her mane. “Letter!” She held up the mangled mail and then slapped it down on Ben's face. “For you.” “Thank you, Ditzy Doo,' Ben groaned out. “You're welcome!” Ditzy replied in her always cheerful attitude. She sprang off Ben and retrieved her mail bag once again. Then she set out to deliver the rest of the mail. The rest of them sat in silence for a moment. “So. . .” Pinkie Pie disrupted the awkward silence, “That just happened.” “What was all that about anyway,” Tessla asked. “And why are you all out here anyway?” “We came ta look fer you,” Applejack said, “I coulda sworn I saw ya hop on the back of a timberwolf yesterday. How in the hell did ya end with her?” “I simply lead him back to Ponyville,” Zecora said, “And remember, strange Tessla, you owe me a favor still.” Tessla waved goodbye to Zecora and watched her as she disappeared beyond the trees of the Everfree Forest. “So now what do we do?” “Well, I reckon we go and help out around Ponyville,” Applejack suggested. So that is what they did. The four of them walked back into Ponyville and helped out as much as they could. Many of the ponies were hesitant to accept help from Ben and Tessla at first. They were still strangers and still unknown to them. This was good however, as it gave them a chance to prove themselves. They were not without a few fans, however. Lyra and Bon Bon moved about the town assisting the other ponies where they could. Both of them moved together. They were as inseparable as hydra heads and they didn't care who saw it. If a pony didn't like it they could just go away. At one point the pair even came by to help AJ and Pinkie Pie. Applejack was struggling with this wall. Somehow the timberwolf invasion had knocked a few walls over or down. This particular wall, belonging to somepony neither Applejack not Pinkie knew was a tad bit on the heavy side. Good thing two mares showed up to help. Lyra and Bon Bon jumped in and helped out. They added their strength to that of Applejack's already considerable strength and that of Pinkie's unusually and often unexplainable strength. With all four of them helping out the wall went up with no problem. Applejack made sure it wouldn't fall down and then turned back to her other pony friends. “Howdy there, Lyra, Bon Bon.” Applejack greeted them warmly. “I'm glad to see you both ain't hurt to bad. I saw you two take quite a hit out there yesterday.” “I know. It's amazing isn't it.” Lyra said. “That human, Austin. He just jumped out and threw himself in front of that timberwolf. I honestly don't think we would be here if it weren't for him.” “Lyra, dear. I think you might be exaggerating a bit, don't you?” “Come on, Bon Bon. I know you feel the same way.” “Oh, you're right. He did save us after all.” Bon Bon rested her head on Lyra's shoulder. They had been working hard today and both of them looked pretty worn out. They weren't work ponies like Applejack was. She was used to laboring away all day. “Hey! I gots an idea!” Pinkie blurted out loudly. She hopped up and thrust a hoof out at Lyra and Bon Bon. “Why don't you two go and visit Austin in the hospital? He's still there from that scratch he took for you guys.” “I don't know about that,” Bon Bon worried, “The town still needs a lot of work.” “Come on now,” Applejack interjected. “You two have been runnin' 'round all day helping out ponies left an' right. You two deserve and look like ya could use the break. Take it. We got it from here.” “Okay. I'm sold.” Lyra quickly stated as she dragged Bon Bon off in the direction of the hospital. Bon Bon struggled to keep up with her better half as she was nearly running. Applejack chuckled to herself. That's love for ya. Meanwhile, at the hospital. . . They came as soon as they could. They didn't waste a second of their time. They actually got there in record time. And now Austin had three young visitors staring at him. Not that he knew that at the time. The CMC burst out of the school building as soon as they possibly could. The whole class was talking about the new humans, and how they helped to save the town. They could finally brag about how they were actually the ones to find the one called Tessla. Of course, not many of their classmates believed them, but they didn't care. The first thing they did when the most long and boring day of school ended was head for the hospital. When they got there they asked where the human was. They raced over to it quickly but stopped at the doorway. They could hear voices inside. A doctor and a two nurse ponies came out of the room a moment later. One of them was carrying a whole mess of bandages. The CMC ducked down low as they passed by, but they could still see that most of the bandages were stained red. The three young fillies peeked their heads into the room and looked up at Austin. He had his head turned to look out the window. They entered the room more silently than they meant to be. None of them noticed at the time. They moved over to his bedside and stared up, but they said nothing. Scootaloo tapped Apple Bloom on the shoulder and pointed up at the human in the bed. Apple Bloom shook her head almost violently and pointed back at Scootaloo. Scootaloo defensively waved her hooves in front of her. She fluttered her wings and moved behind Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle sighed and walked up to the bed with all the confidence and courage she had. Then she opened her mouth. “H- Hello,” She mumbled. Austin turned and looked down. “Hey, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo. What's up?” “We just came by to see how ya doing.” Apple Bloom said. “So, how ya doing?” “Are you dying?” Scootaloo blurted out. She stole a step stool like thing from the next bed over and had brought it over to the bedside. She hopped up to Austin's bedside and took one more small jump to actually land on the bed. The other two followed and Austin sat up and gave them some room. Once they were all up and comfortable Apple Bloom gave a Scootaloo a hard hit to the shoulder. “Ouch! What was that for?” “You know darn well what it's for!” Apple Bloom said, “You can't just come out and ask somebody if they be dying or not.” “But there was so much blood on those bandages. I know you were thinking it too.” “Was not!” “Were too!” “Was not!” “Were too!” As those two bickered, Sweetie Belle noticed Austin had moved again. His head lay on the pillow and his arms lay at his sides. He did not move even as two young fillies were having a near wrestling match using his legs as the arena. Sweetie Belle stepped closer and that was when she got her first real good look at his injury. Even though bandages were just changed blood still seeped through, though not nearly as much as the last bandages had. No, this was just four long, thin lines of red that stood out against the white fabric that wrapped around his torso. “Hey, girls. Come here. You've got to see this.” “Were too!” “Was not!” Apple Bloom shouted back angrily. “What was that Sweetie Belle?” She said with a smile. Sweetie Belle waved them over and they moved along his other side. They moved along his left side while Sweetie Belle stood at his right. She gestured down at his chest and the others looked on in awe. As they stared at his chest and the wound that now decorated it they noticed little else. “Whatchya doin'?” Austin quickly said as his snapped up from the pillow. The all too sudden words surprised the CMC and sent them off the bed. Well, not all of them. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo jumped back far enough to clear the bed and then just fell to the floor. They could hear their hearts pounding in their chests and little else. They could feel the cold tile flooring of the hospital room. And as their senses returned to normal they could hear Sweetie Belle laughing her little butt off from still on the bed. “Hey!” Scootaloo said accusingly. “Why didn't you fall off?” “That's because I wasn't scared.” Sweetie Belle proclaimed from on high. She looked down at her friends as they righted themselves and got back their hooves. She was still laughing a bit but most of it had passed. Needless to say neither Scootaloo or Apple Bloom believed her when she said she wasn't scared. The three young fillies brushed the whole thing off, but they would surely laugh about it later. They would most likely argue about later as well. Austin had one small laugh as he sat up a bit more. He could only move a little bit at a time or pain would shoot through his torso. Unfortunately, this was a painful time. He sat up just a bit more as he laughed. The combined effects on his chest aggravated his injuries and sent pain shooting through all of his wounds and the surrounding flesh. It was far from pleasant. He kept it together as best he could so as not to worry his three young visitors, but they did notice his discomfort. “Whoa. You all right?” Apple Bloom asked after she climbed back on the bed again. Austin smiled and nodded. The pain was fading, but it still hurt. “I'm fine, young one. Just hurts a little.” “Ooh. Let me sing a song for you. I promise it will make you feel better.” Sweetie Belle excitedly proclaimed. Without waiting for an answer from Austin she started to sing. Sweetie Belle's voice filled the room. Her lovely song rang out in a sweet harmony of notes and verses. Austin closed his eyes as he let the song flow through the air around him. It filled his mind and touched his soul. And soon he was lost to the music. “That was lovely, Sweetie Belle. Thank you.” Austin said. He smiled and the pain in his chest was gone. “I truly am feeling much better now.” Sweetie Belle smiled happily. She was glad that she was able to make him feel better. The four spent the next several minutes just talking. Austin mostly listened while the CMC talked. He was glad to see them so upbeat and excited. They would have liked to keep talking, but a nurse came in and told them it was time for them to go. She looked oddly familiar to Austin. White coat. Light pink mane. She wore a strange expression on her face. It looked a mix of annoyance and happiness. OF course. Now he remembered who pony was. “Awww, do we have to leave now?” Apple Bloom whined as she and the others jumped off the bed. “Now girls, listen to Nurse Redheart.” Austin said as he motioned at the nurse and the door with the same motion. Nurse Redheart herself looked up at him with the look of confusion now mixed in with her face. That got the CMC to laugh. “How did you. . . .” “It's a long story.” Sweetie Belle said. “It's also mighty confusing.” Apple Bloom added. “Better just leave it alone.” Scootaloo chimed in. They walked past the still confused Nurse Redheart on their way out. Nurse Redheart stood their for a moment longer before turning to look at Austin one last time. “You have two more visitors,” She said before quickly exiting the room. Austin chuckled at himself. He hated the boringness of hospital rooms as much as Rainbow Dash did, but he had managed to amuse himself a little bit. The CMC visiting was a nice change of pace, and now Austin found himself wondering who these next two visitors were? Lyra and Bon Bon walked in side by side. They wore smiles on their faces and happiness followed them as they moved. Love filled the air around them and everypony knew it. If it were any more potent it would be a widely spreading epidemic of love! “Of course it's these two,” Austin whispered under his breath. “Should have known they would come by.” Once Austin stopped talking to himself he saw that they remained a few paces away still. Both Lyra and Bon Bon stared at him as if they had only just seen him for the first time. In a way they were. There last encounter was rather brief, and they were too preoccupied with each other to take much notice in him. Now they saw him as he truly was. Just flesh and blood, but still just as strange and unusual as any unknown thing. “So. . .” Lyra finally started to speak, “You are a human?” “I am,” Austin blankly stated. Silence. “I KNEW THEY EXISTED!” Lyra loudly shouted out for all of Equestria to hear. Bon Bon shook her head to try and get the rining to stop. Once she realized it wasn't working she just gave Lyra a glare. “Sorry, Bon,” Lyra said with a nervous chuckle. “Anyway,” Bon Bon started, “We wanted to come on by and thank you. We owe you so much more than we could ever repay.” “Yeah. Thanks. You saved our lives, and now we can keep on loving each other forever and ever.” Lyra draped her forelegs around Bon Bon's neck, much to Bon Bon's annoyance. She was still sore there and Lyra knew that. She gave her a swift, almost imperceptible kick that pushed her off. Lyra nervously smiled and Bon Bon smiled back. They would work out all the kinks later. ALL of them. “It really was nothing,” Austin said. “I wasn't about to stand by and let two innocent ponies get trampled by Timberwolves, or worse. I had to do something, so I did.” “That's so brave,” Bon Bon said, “Are all you humans like that?” “Unfortunately, no. There are some who stand by and let that happen just for laughs and amusement. I am not one of those people, and I don't like those people.” Austin said. He could tell his words had an effect, but now was not the time. “But lets not think of such things now. This is a time of happiness.” “You're absolutely right!” Lyra stated as excitedly as ever. “I have an idea.” “Really? You? And here I was thinking you were just a pretty face,” Bon Bon teased. “You know we already talked about this, Bon. You're the pretty one. I'm the crazy one,” Lyra said as her eyes narrowed to a wickedly devious point. “Remember, after that wild night a few months back. You heartily agreed.” Lyra's sultry voice had an immediate effect on Bon Bon, whose cheeks turned bright red and her own eyes darted around. “Lyra!” Bon Bon said with a nervous chuckle. “You know I don't like it when you talk like that in public.” “This isn't public.” Lyra said, still using her teasingly sultry voice. “This is a hospital room, and I don't think the human minds.” “My lips are sealed.” Austin reassured Bon Bon. Later That Night. . . . . Ben sat with the Mane Six at Sweet Apple Acres. It was a beautiful night and they were determined to spend at least a portion of it under the stars. He had spent the majority of the day laughing and working alongside Pinkie Pie and Applejack. It was nice to just sit and relax. He plopped down on a bail of hay provided. This caused his large green coat to fall to the ground and spill out a few things. Most notably among the items was a letter. “Hey, whats this?” Twilight asked asvBen picked up his belongings. Most of it was odds and ends he found in town while helping to repair and clean things. “A letter. Ditzy Doo gave it to me.” Ben involuntarily winced at the memory of his “meeting” with the Mailmare. “I didn't open it then, because of all the help Ponyville needed.” Twilight held the letter with her magic. She had absolutely every intention of giving it back to Ben when her eyes caught something that caused her to pull it back for a closer examination. It was something familiar, like she had seen it before a million times. “This letter is from my brother, Shining Armor.” Twilight stated. “Why would yer brother be sendin' a letter to this fella?” Applejack asked as she lounged back in her own bail of hay. “Maybe it had something to do with him assaulting his wife,” Rainbow Dash said from the comfort of her cloud. “I did not assault her!” Ben protested! He declared his innocence as clearly as Pinkie Pie declared she was pink. “I simply gave her a hug. If a hug is now considered assault then Pinkie Pie would be Public Pony Enemy #1!” All eyes turned to Pinkie Pie. She had just shoved an unnaturally large apple into her mouth. She could feel the gaze of all the eyes on her after that. She turned to face the group. She chewed and swallowed the apple before smiling at the in her usual way. “What?” “Apparently, you are Public Pony Enemy #1 now Pinkie,” Dash blankly reported. Silence. “WWWHHHHHAAAAATTT?!” Pinkie screamed out. She stamped around nervously and started mumbling to herself. It was incoherent to everyone else, but Fluttershy went over to console her anyway. She was such a good friend. “Okay then. Back the matter at hoof,” Twilight said. “ That letter. It's from my brother. Have you read it?” Ben didn't answer as he held up the letter to show Twilight the seal had not been broken. The letter had clearly been through a rough journey, but it had not been opened. Twilight took it upon herself to make a small incision down the length of the letter. Ben nodded his thanks as he retrieved the paper inside the envelope. He unfolded the paper and skimmed through the letter quickly. He would do a more thorough reading later, when he was alone. For now, he was just wanted the same answers Twilight did. “It seems my arrival at in the Crystal Empire has caused a bit of commotion,” Ben said as he read the letter further. “Shining Armor requests my assistance in resolving some of the matters that I have caused, whether intentionally or not. That's all.” “Yeah, I know my brother. That is not a request,” Twilight said as she pointed at the paper. “That is a demand, a command, a summons, a call to arms if need be. You have to go!” “I was already thinking just that.” Ben said. Twilight was staring at him very intensely and it was putting him on edge. He was a big guy. Edges were not nice places to be for him. Just as he was getting his soul picked apart by Twilight gazing eyes a loud, booming sound broke the moment rather nicely. It came from the direction where Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were standing. Only now, it was just Fluttershy and she looked like a mini sonic rainboom went off right in her face. It left her with her mane blown back, one eye closed and the entire front half her was covered in pink sugar dust for some reason. “Hey now! Just where in the hell did Pinkie run off to?” Applejack asked. “Don't worry,” Tessla said casually. “She may not be back in the next chapter, but maybe the one after that. Yeah, I'm definitely thinking that one..”