//------------------------------// // Oh Child of Mine // Story: The Mystery of a New World // by Fanthrose //------------------------------// Chapter 26 “APPLE BLOOOOOOM!!!” AJ stomped out of his room and down the hall. He hammered on the door in front of him. “Apple Bloom, open this door!” “J-just one minute!” came Apple Bloom’s voice from the other side. AJ could hear Apple Bloom scurrying all around her room. He could hear drawers being opened and closed, her closet being slammed shut, even the window being opened and closed. The entire time he just waited there, tapping his hoof on the floor. The door quickly opened to reveal a smiling Apple Bloom. “W-what can Ah do fer ya?” “Alright, where is he?” asked AJ as he walked past the filly. Apple Bloom glanced around nervously. “A-Ah don’t know what yer talkin’ about.” “I’m not stupid Apple Bloom. I heard you playing around with him in here, and I didn’t like what I was hearing. So where is he?” He started looking around the room for anything out of the ordinary. This was hard as Apple Bloom’s room was never the cleanest room in the world. He made sure he paid extra attention to the window, dresser, and the closet. He turned to glare at the little filly. “Apple Bloom, I’m going to ask you one more time. Where is he?” Apple Bloom shuffled her hooves on the rug in silence until she finally broke under his gaze. She pointed to the closet with her hoof. “He’s in th’ closet.” AJ looked over to the closet and smiled. “The closet, eh?” He walked over to the closet and threw it open. He looked down and gave a relieved sigh. “There you are.” Using his magic he lifted the stuffed rabbit out of the closet. “Apple Bloom, what have I told you about Mr. Bun Bun?” “Not ta just take him from yer room.” “And?” “An' if Ah want ta play with'im Ah ask permission first.” “That’s right,” AJ said with a smile. “And why didn’t you ask permission?” “Because it was supposed ta be a surprise,” Apple Bloom said with a big smile. “Wat?” AJ asked; the confusion clear on his face. “What was supposed to be a surprise?” “His marriage ta Smarty Pants of course!” “I’m sorry, what?!” AJ looked back into the closet. There on the floor sat Smarty Pants wearing a small wedding dress. “I’m not even going to ask where you got that dress.” He turned back to Apple Bloom. “Does Big Mac know you have this?” “Big McIntosh said Ah can play with’er whenever Ah want as long as Ah’m careful with’er,” Apple Bloom said matter-of-factly. AJ raises his eyebrow as he stared at the filly before shrugging. “Eh, whatever.” He floated the stuffed bunny over to Apple Bloom as he started walking out of the room. “I guess it’s alright. Just make sure you don’t damage him.” The filly’s smile widened. He stopped at the door and turned back to Apple Bloom. “By the way, what was with all the scurrying around when I knocked on the door?” “Ah was just tryin’ ta make it harder fer ya ta find Mr. Bun Bun. Ah thought if you heard all that, ya wouldn’t be able ta find where Ah hid’em.” AJ just nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door as he did. Apple Bloom waited a few seconds before letting out a sigh. She ran over and opened the window. “He’s gone. You can come back in.” With help from Apple Bloom, Spike climbed his way back into the room. “Why did you push me out the window again?” “Because Ah didn’t get permission ta have anypony over t’day,” Apple Bloom whispered. “Last time Ah did Ah had ta do th’ dishes all by mah self that night.” “That doesn’t sound too bad,” Spike said with a claw to his chin. “Have ya seen how many dishes we make on a regular night?” “No.” “Between th’ four of us, there’s a LOT of dishes.” “Oh,” Spike said scratching the back of his head. “And the stuffed bunny?” “Just in case somepony came into th’ room to see what was goin’ on,” she said as she held Mr. Bun Bun up. “That an’ he’s really cuddly.” “Uh huh.” The two of them just sat there in silence for a few seconds. “So, do you want to kiss some more?” “You didn’t even need ta ask!” Apple Bloom said with a bright smile. The two of them got close and started to lean forward. “Oh, and one more thing,” AJ said as he opened the door; a smirk on his face. “Next time you bring Spike over, remember to ask.” “H-how did ya know?!” asked Apple Bloom. “Spikes the only one in Ponyville who could scratch the window sill like that,” he said pointing at the window. Spike and Apple Bloom looked over to the window. Sure enough, there was a visible claw mark on the lower left section of the window sill. “Looks like we know who’s doing the dishes tonight.” He started walking back out the room. “You may continue now,” he said as he closed the door. ******************** “Muahahahahaha! You will never defeat me Bubble Cup. My evil magic will allow me to take over all of Hippocampia! Muahahahaha!” AJ said as he held the evil black, and dark brown sea pony doll in his magic. “Nu uh. Me and Prince Sea Foam will defeat you Lord Drift Wood, if it’s the last thing we do!” Dinky said, holding the bright yellow Bubble Cup doll in her hooves. "That’s right. Together, we shall defeat you with the power of love!” Ditzy shouted as she thrust the sea foam green, and royal blue Prince Sea Foam doll forward. AJ had gone over to Carrot’s house to spend time with Ditzy since Carrot was going to be out all day. After eating some dinner, they had decided to watch some movies together. About halfway through the second movie, Dinky had brought down some of her sea pony dolls to play with. The two of them ended up being more entertained by the sound effects Dinky was making while she played than the movie itself. Ditzy did warn that some of Carrot’s movies were a bit…dull. So to have a little fun AJ lifted one of the dolls that Dinky wasn’t paying attention to, and started laughing manically. Playing along, Ditzy picked up another doll and started acting heroically. Dinky, after realizing what was happening, started to play along. AJ gasped. “Nuuuuu! Not the power Love!” Dinky got an evil grin and started pushing Bubble Cup against Prince Sea Foam while she made kissing noises. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’VE BEEN DEFEATED BY THE POWER OF LOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!! HUUURK, bleh!” Both AJ and the doll fell to the floor in dramatic fashion. “Yay! We beat Lord Drift Wood!” shouted Dinky. “That we did. And now, a congratulatory kiss,” Ditzy said as she pushed Prince Sea Foam against Bubble Cup. Suddenly AJ and Lord Drift Wood sprung up. “You think something like that would keep me out of the game for long? I can never be defeated, NEVER!!! MUAHAHAHAHA-OH JEEZE!!!” In the middle of his evil laugh, Dinky pounced AJ. “Oh yea, well try my special attack. TICKLE ATTACK!!!” Dinky started tickling AJ all over. “PFFF-HAHAHA!!! ST-HAHA-STOP!!! YOU WIHIHIHIN!!! I GHIHIHIHIVE UHUHUHUP!!! UNCLE, UNCLHLHLHLHLE!!!” With a bright smile Dinky jumped off of AJ. After taking a minute to calm down, AJ sat up and looked over to the triumphant Dinky. “You’re evil, you know that.” Dinky just stuck her tongue out. Ditzy giggled a bit. “Okay, that’s enough you two. Dinky, it’s time for bed.” “Aww, can’t I stay up a little longer?” asked Dinky as she put on her best begging face. “Nope. Tomorrow’s the first day of school, and I will not let you be tired for it,” Ditzy said not playing into her daughter’s tricks. “Now take you’re dolls upstairs and go get ready for bed. I’ll be up to tuck you in.” “Okay,” pouted Dinky. She collected her dolls, placing them on her back, before heading upstairs. ******************** “She’s such a sweet little filly,” AJ said as Ditzy came down the stairs. Ditzy flew onto the couch and leaned up against AJ as he put a leg around her. “Mmhm. She’s my little muffin and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” The two of them just sat there on the couch watching whatever was on the TV. It was nothing special, but it was made all the more bearable since they were together. After a little bit AJ felt Ditzy start to nuzzle into his neck. As he turned to look at her, he was greeted by her lips pressing up against his. Welcoming the feeling, he just let it happen. Feeling that she had the upper hoof, Ditzy pushed AJ back onto the couch and lay on top of him, kissing him more forcefully. Neither of them knew how long they were laying there in that position. “Really you two? You couldn’t even make it to the bedroom for that? Ugh.” Both of their eyes shot open. They looked over to see Carrot standing in the entry way to the living room. A blush quickly made its way to both of their faces. “At least you waited for Dinky to go to bed before you started your make out session.” Ditzy looked down at AJ, smiled, and gave him one more quick kiss before climbing off of him. “Sorry, we didn’t know you’d be home yet.” “It’s almost nine,” deadpanned Carrot. “How late did you think I was going to be out till?” Ditzy just shrugged. Carrot just sighed as she walked past them to the stairs. Ditzy giggled before leaning close to AJ. “Don’t worry; she’s just mad because she can’t find anypony for herself.” “I heard that Ditzy!” Carrot shouted as she poked her head out from upstairs. AJ chuckled as Ditzy stuck her tongue out at Carrot. “Well, I should probably be getting back to the farm. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Ditzy put on a fake pouty face. “Aww, do you really?” Laughing, AJ kissed her. “Yes, yes I do. I’ll see you tomorrow.” ******************** “Alright, where two steps closer to completing out main goal,” Scootaloo said with a smile on her face. “I got my cutie mark,” she pushed her flank forward a bit to emphasize her words. “And AJ has his, now we need to work extra hard for you two.” “Speaking of AJ, where is he?” asked Sweetie Belle. “He had ta finish something’s around th’ farm before he could come,” said Apple Bloom. “He just told me that he’d meet us here when he’s done.” Apple Bloom opened one of her bags and pulled out a small bit purse. “He also gave us some bits ta get somethin’ while we wait.” “Alright! I’m going to get some cookies!” beamed Scootaloo. “I want some fudge!” squeaked Sweetie Belle” “Cupcakes fer me!” yelled Apple Bloom as the three of them ran into Sugarcube Corner. After about ten minutes, AJ finally came bursting through the door to Sugarcube Corner. It didn’t take him long to find the rest of the CMC. “Sorry I’m late girls. Had to finish things up back at the farm.” “Don’t worry, Ah already told’em,” Apple Bloom said as she stuffed half a cupcake in her mouth. AJ looked at the other two fillies. Sweetie Belle was happily eating her fudge. She had fudge all around her mouth, and AJ could hear her going ‘Om nom nom’ every time she took a bite. Scootaloo was just leaning back in her seat looking very content as she did. Cookie crumbs lined the hair around her mouth as an empty glass of milk sat in front of her. “I see you enjoyed yourselves while you waited.” “Mmhm!” Sweetie said with a full mouth. “Well, once you’re finished we can start.” “Aren’t ya goin’ ta get anythin’ fer yerself?” Apple Bloom asked as she finished her cupcakes. AJ thought for a few seconds until he felt his stomach begin to growl at him. “Uhh, that’s probably a good idea actually. Be right back.” ******************** “Alright, what’s the plan for today?” asked AJ as they got to the field outside Ponyville. “Well, Ah got some idea’s we can try t’day in mah…” “Hold up Apple Bloom, before we start crusading today, there’s something we’d like AJ to try,” said Scootaloo. “Yea!” added Sweetie. “And just what is it that I’m trying here?” AJ asked. He didn’t know weather to be curious or afraid. Sweetie levitated a book out of her bags and placed it on the ground in front of them all. It was dark blue with a glyph on the cover. The title read ‘Spells to Defy Time and Space.’ AJ looked down at the book, then back to Sweetie Belle. “Where did you get this book?” “From the library.” “Uh huh. And Twilight said it was okay for you to take this out, right?” Sweetie thought back to the previous day. ******************** Sweetie and Scootaloo knocked on the door to the library. “Come in!” called Twilight from inside. As they walked in they saw Twilight re-shelving some of the books. Spike was in Canterlot for some royal business, so it was up to her to make sure the library was clean. “Oh, hello girls. What are you here for today?” “We’re just here to look right now,” Sweetie said. Twilight smiled. “Well, it’s still nice to see the two of you in here. Neither of you struck me as the type who liked to read. Just come get me if you find something you’d like to check out.” As Twilight went back to re-shelving, Sweetie and Scootaloo split up. They already knew what they were here for. Acquiring it was the problem. As Scootaloo looked over the adventure books, Sweetie slowly made her way to the shelves full of magic books. She scanned the shelves, peaking over her shoulder every now and then to make sure Twilight hadn’t noticed her yet. Once she found what she was looking for, she looked at Scootaloo and gave her the signal. Scootaloo nodded and grabbed a book off the shelf. “Hey Twilight, I found something I want to check out.” Twilight put the books she was holding down on the floor and walked over to Scootaloo. Taking hold of the book in her magic she looked at the title. She started giggling a bit. “I never knew you were into manga Scootaloo.” “Hey, manga’s awesome!” Scootaloo said to defend herself. “Okay, okay. I’ll admit, I’m a fan of Sailor Luna myself,” Twilight said as she turned to go check out the book. This was her chance. Sweetie lifted the book out of the book case and slipped it into her bags, which were already stuffed with stuff to hide the shape of the book. When she turned, Twilight was just finishing up checking Scootaloo out. “There you go. Don’t be afraid to stop by again. We have plenty of manga here. Spike made sure of that.” “Thanks Twilight,” Scootaloo said as she put the book in her bag. “What about you Sweetie Belle, did you find something you wanted?” “Nope, sorry,” Sweetie Belle said with the most innocent face she could muster. “Well, maybe some other time then.” ******************** “Uhh, yea. She said it was just fine,” Sweetie said with a big smile. AJ stared at Sweetie for a few seconds, not entirely sure if he should trust her or not. After a bit he relented. “Alright, if you say so.” He lifted the book in his magic. “So what exactly did you want to try? It looks like there’s a lot of spells in here.” “Anything!” Scootaloo yelled out. “With a title like that, all of those spells must do something awesome!” AJ opened the book and started slowly skimming through the pages. He became more and more worried every spell he passed. “Jeeze, all these spell look really hard to pull off. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do any of these.” “Come on, you never know if you don’t try,” Sweetie said with a smile. AJ sighed as he continued looking through the book. He stopped when he came across one certain spell. “Hold up, this one actually looks doable. Regression. Makes the old new once again…and that’s it. No in depth analysis or anything. Maybe it’s used to fix old items or something.” “You goin’ ta try it?” asked Apple Bloom. AJ looked the spell over one more time. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try it. Any of you have something old that needs some fixing up?” “Oh, Ah do!” Apple Bloom slipped out of her saddle bags and placed them on the ground. “Applejack gave me these bags. Says she used’em herself.” AJ sighed as he read through the spell one more time. “Alright, get back. I don’t want anything going wrong here.” After the fillies backed away, AJ started the spell. His horn erupted in an icy blue light. A few seconds later the saddle bags began to glow. As AJ continued the spell, a second aura formed around his horn. “Look, it’s working!” shouted Scootaloo. Indeed, the old bags were slowly beginning to magically mend as they went back in time. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through AJ’s horn; causing him to cry out. A third aura formed around his horn as another crippling pain shot through his body. The aura around the bags died as they returned to there original state. He began lifting into the air as the magic consumed him. AJ’s eyes opened wide, and his mouth hung open as they both glowed brightly with magic. He let out a loud, blood curdling scream of pain as a blinding light erupted from his horn. After that a pulse of magic shot out; knocking the three fillies away. He felt his body fall to the ground as his vision was quickly being engulfed by darkness. The last thing he heard before unconsciousness took him was somepony calling his name. ******************** The first thing AJ noticed as he started to come to was that whatever he as lying on as very comfortable. The second thing he became aware of was the voices coming from the next room over. As he slowly opened his eyes, he took in his surroundings. He was in an unfamiliar room filled with baseball memorabilia. Being in this unfamiliar location scared him immensely; almost to the point of tears. As he sat there, quivering in bed, he heard one of the voices getting closer to the door. “Hold on, I’m going to check on him.” The door opened to reveal a dark grey pegasus with a two tone black and icy blue mane. A dove over a black heart adorned his flanks. “Oh, y-you’re up. Hey there. How are you feeling?” He got no answer. “It’s a good thing you have such good friends. After you got hurt they went to go get help. It’s a good thing my brother wasn’t too far away.” Shadow turned when he heard the front door open. “Shadow, I’m back! And I brought help!” “Oh, my bother’s back.” He turned back to AJ. “Don’t worry, he’ll be able to help you.” With that he trotted out of the room. About a minute later a purple unicorn entered the room followed by a brown stallion, a yellow and pink pegasus, and three little fillies. After entering the room, Twilight and Fluttershy stopped dead in their tracks. All Dr. Whooves had told them was that AJ had been in an accident involving magic. The one teeny, tiny bit of information he had left out was that AJ’s body had somehow regressed to that of a three year old colt. “Oh Celestia. Girls, how did this happen?!” Twilight asked. As the girls began explaining everything to Twilight, AJ couldn’t help but wonder one thing. “W-whewe’s my mommy?” Twilight looked over. “Excuse me?” Tears started welling up in AJ’s eyes. “I-I-I want my mommy.” “Your…mommy? AJ, are you alright?” asked Twilight. Twilight was quickly answered as AJ put his hooves up to his eyes and started to cry. “Whoa! I’m sorry, don’t cry!” Fluttershy’s maternal instincts kicked in when she saw the little foal start to cry. She flew over and lifted him out of the bed, cradling him in her forelegs and rocking him back and forth. “Shhh, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” Dr. Whooves put a hoof to his chin. “Fascinating. It looks like whatever happened to him not only regressed his body to that of a three year old foal, but it must have also affected his mind.” “Wait, so you’re telling me that we have a toddler on our hooves now?!” asked Twilight. “It appears so.” Twilight groaned. “Girls, finish your story. What happened next?” “Well, when he tried the spell it looked like everything was working,” started Scootaloo. “Yea. Mah bags looked like they were becomin’ new again,” said Apple Bloom. “But then something happened. He yelled out in pain and…” “And everything started going crazy!” Scootaloo said; cutting off Sweetie Belle. “He started floating in the air! Light was shining through his eyes and mouth!” “Yea! Then a really bright light came from his horn. After that we were knocked back by some magic. After that he looked like this,” Sweetie Belle said. “After that Ah went ta go get help.” ******************** After they found AJ passed out on the ground, Apple Bloom instructed Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to watch over him as she went into town to go get some help. As she ran into town, she ran straight into Dr. Whooves and Shadow Breeze coming out of Quills and Sofas. Shadow eeped and leaped into the air, clinging to the store sign, as Apple Bloom and Dr. Whooves laid crumpled on the ground. Dr. Whooves picked himself off the ground and brushed himself off. “Oh, terribly sorry Apple Bloom. I didn’t see you…” “Ya got ta help me! AJ’s hurt!” Apple Bloom shouted. Dr. Whooves’s face turned serious when he heard that somepony was in trouble. “Hurt?! What happened?!” “Ah don’t’ know! Ya got ta help’im, please!” Dr. Whooves looked over to Shadow who was landing on the ground once more. “Shadow, I need you to go home, go into my room, get my medical supplies, and bring them into your room.” Shadow nodded. “O-okay, but why my room?” “You’re mattress is better suited for somepony who’s hurt.” “Right.” Shadow turned and flew in the direction of their house. Dr. Whooves turned to Apple Bloom. “Alright, point me the way.” ******************** “He was exhausted, but other than that I found nothing wrong…other than the obvious of course,” said Dr. Whooves. Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Hmm, sounds like it may have been magical backlash.” “Magical what-now?” asked Apple Bloom. “Magical backlash. It can happen when you try to force a spell. Magic is supposed to flow smoothly. If you try to push it, it will push back. A number of things can happen.” Twilight looked over to AJ who seemed to have fallen asleep in Fluttershy’s legs. “In his case, it looks like it turned the spell back on him.” She looked back to the girls. “Do you still have the book?” Sweetie Belle shuffled her hooves on the floor. “Well, kinda.” “What do you mean, kinda?” Twilight asked. Sweetie went over to her bags and took out the book. Or what was left of it. The only thing Sweetie brought over was the spine and the back cover of the book; both of which were badly burned. “The book kinda…exploded.” Twilight took what was left of the book from Sweetie Belle and stared at it. She sighed as she let it drop to the floor. “Without the book I won’t know what the counter spell is. I’ll have to order another one. Until then maybe Celestia will allow me to borrow the copy from the royal library.” “What are we going to do Twilight?” asked Fluttershy. “Until I can get my hooves on that book, it looks like Ponyville’s going to have one extra foal in it. Why don’t you go let Applejack know what happened. I’m going to see if I can get a copy of that book.” ******************** Fluttershy knocked on the door of the farm house. Seconds later it was opened by Applejack. “Why howdy sugarcube. Ya here fer Big McIntosh?” “Oh no, our dates not untill tomorrow,” Fluttershy said with a blush. She hid part of her face behind her mane. As she did this, Applejack noticed the sleeping foal on Fluttershy’s back. “Uhh Fluttershy, who’s that?” Fluttershy smiled as she looked back at the foal. She reached back and cradled him in her forelegs once again as she told Applejack the story. “Until Twilight can get a new book, he’s stuck like this.” Applejack looked down to AJ who had woken up during the story. He was standing next to Fluttershy, staring up at her in amazement. Or more specifically, he was staring up at her hat. Noticing this, Applejack smiled and took off her hat; placing it on his head. He squealed in happiness as his entire body was consumed by the hat. He was so small that, while he crouched down, the hat was lying flat on the ground. The two mares just looked at the hat for a few seconds before one side lifted up revealing AJ’s head. He had a smug look on his face as he looked around before pulling his head back into the hat. “Beep, beep! I’m a hat!” The hat suddenly started moving around the porch, seemingly on its own accord. Fluttershy and Applejack couldn’t help but giggle as AJ played around. AJ was having so much fun. He ran all around the porch, even running into the two mares that were watching him at one point. Then he ran right off the porch. Fluttershy gasped and ran over to the hat. “Oh my goodness, are you…” She stopped when she heard AJ start to giggle. Seconds later the hat was off again. He took off down the path to Ponyville; completely unaware of what was in front of him. He was stopped once again when he ran into something a bit more solid than Applejack and Fluttershy. Big Mac looked down questioningly at the hat that had just run into him. He looked up as Applejack and Fluttershy came walking over. He smiled warmly at Fluttershy before turning to Applejack. “Ah think somethin’s wrong with yer hat.” The hat backed up and ran into Big Mac’s legs even harder this time. This time there was an audible grunt when it hit. Raising an eyebrow, Big Mac bent down and grabbed the hat in his mouth, lifting it up. When he looked down he saw AJ rubbing his head. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He looked up at the big red stallion and squeaked. His eyes widened in fear as he started backing away from the goliath in front of him. He continued backing away until he was hiding behind Fluttershy’s legs. Fluttershy bent down and started nuzzling up against AJ. “Don’t worry, that’s just Big McIntosh. He’s a very nice pony.” Big Mac couldn’t help but chuckle. He gave Applejack her hat. “So, who’s th’ little one?” “You should know,” Applejack said with a smirk. “Ah should?” “Doesn’t he look familiar?” Big Mac took another look at the foal before him; taking in every detail. After a few seconds he facehoofed. “Is that?” “Eeyup.” “What happened this time?” “Spell mishap or somethin’ like that,” Applejack said as she adjusted her hat. “Twilight needs ta get another copy of th’ book he used before she can change’im back.” “What do we do till then?” “Um.” “Well, we could take turns watchin’im. Ah take one day, you take th’ next,” Applejack suggested. “Excuse me.” “Either that or we could hire a foalsitter while we work,” suggested Big Mac. “I’ll watch him.” The two looked over to Fluttershy who started blushing a little as she hid behind her mane. “Umm, he seems to like me. I thought maybe I could take care of him until Twilight can fix him. Um, that is, if it’s okay with you?” Applejack and Big Mac looked at each other before looking back to Fluttershy. “This would be a lot of work. Are ya sure ya wanna do this?” asked Applejack. Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “I always wanted a foal of my own.” She quickly glanced over to Big Mac who looked away blushing; shifting the stalk of grain around in his mouth. “This would be good practice. Besides, I did just fine when I babysat the girls that one time.” “That ya did, but trust me when Ah say that a young foal is a lot more work than a pony Apple Bloom’s age,” said Big Mac. “I’m sure it won’t be that difficult,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Well, ya seemed determined. Ah don’t see why not. Take good care of’im sugarcube,” Applejack said with a smile. With a beaming smile, Fluttershy picked up AJ and gave him a motherly hug. “Oh thank you Applejack. I’ll make you proud.” ******************** “Hey Fluttershy!” called out Twilight. Fluttershy was on her way home with AJ when Twilight found her. Fluttershy turned her head and smiled when she saw Twilight trotting towards her with Spike on her back. “Oh, hello Twilight, hello Spike.” “Hey Fluttershy!” Spike said as he waved his claw. As Twilight got closer, she noticed AJ sitting on Fluttershy’s back. He had a big smile on his face as he hugged Mr. Bun Bun, who was almost as big as he was at the moment. “What’s going on?” “We agreed that I would take care of him until you can get the book.” Twilight smiled. “That’s probably for the best. With those two working there wouldn’t be anypony to watch him.” Twilight leaned in close to AJ. “What do you think? Do you like the idea of Fluttershy taking care of you?” AJ opened his eyes and looked at Twilight. His expression turned to a grimace. “You’we smewwy.” Twilight recoiled back. “E-excuse me?!” “You smeww weawy bad.” Twilight looked horrified. “I-I don’t smell! Do I?” She took an experimental sniff. Just to make sure. “Smewwy face.” Twilight started getting angry. “I bathe every day!” AJ blew a raspberry at her. Twilight started fuming as Spike was trying and failing to hold in his laughter. “I’ll have you know that…” “Now Twilight remember, he’s just a foal. He doesn’t know any better right now,” scolded Fluttershy. She looked back to AJ and started nuzzling him; causing him to giggle. “He’s so cute.” Twilight muttered something about the demon foal as Fluttershy turned back to her. “So what did you need?” Twilight continued to mutter under her breath as she regained her composure. “The copy of ‘Spells to Defy Time and Space’ in the royal library is out right now. We’ll have to wait for the new copy I ordered to come in.” “How long will that take?” asked Fluttershy; the worry creeping onto her face. “It should only take about a week to get here. At least that’s about how long it usually takes for new books to arrive,” answered Spike. Fluttershy smiled once again. “That’s good.” She took a look at the clock tower in the middle of town. “Well, I should be getting home. It’s almost dinner time and little foals can get cranky when they’re hungry.” “Yea you do that,” grumbled Twilight. As Fluttershy began walking away AJ looked back to Twilight. “Bye stupid head!” Twilight glared at him as he stuck his tongue out at her. “How can such a nice pony be such a little monster when he’s younger?” Twilight asked to nopony in particular. “Oh lighten up Twilight. I’m sure you and Shining Armor were quite the hell raisers when you were that young.” Not in the mood for Spikes wise cracks, Twilight just bucked him off and started walking back to the library. “What did I say?!” ******************** Fluttershy quickly trotted down stairs when she heard somepony knock on the door. She opened the door to find a concerned Ditzy outside. “Oh, hello Ditzy. What can I do for you?” “Hey Fluttershy, is AJ around? We were supposed to meet for lunch today, but he never came. Applejack said he was over here, but the way she was acting made it sound like something was wrong.” Fluttershy nervously looked back into the house. “Oh, umm, why don’t you come in. There’s something you should…” “I wiww destwoy you monstew!” came a shout from inside the house; interrupting Fluttershy. Fluttershy turned around as Ditzy poked her head in to see AJ wrestling around the room with Angel Bunny. As they stopped rolling, Angel popped out of AJ’s grasp and began to run away; only to be tackled to the floor once again. After about another minute of wrestling, Angel managed to slip free again and bolted into the kitchen. “You can’t get away fwom me!” Crashes could be heard coming from the kitchen as the two mares looked on. “Fluttershy, what’s going on?” “Oh, well you see…” Suddenly they heard a high pitched scream coming from the other room. AJ came out of the kitchen, screaming his head off and running for dear life, while ballistic carrots flew after him. Angel Bunny soon followed with a bag full of carrots dragging behind him. He was throwing them at AJ as he did. AJ ducked behind the couch as the carrots bounced off of it harmlessly. Figuring he had AJ cornered, Angel grabbed a few carrots and jumped up on the couch. Prepared to strike, he jumped onto the back and peered behind it, only to find that there was nopony there. “RAWR!!!” He was suddenly tackled from behind by the foal; sending both of them to the floor behind the couch. A bit of scuffling could be heard from behind the couch before it settled down. A few seconds later AJ came out from behind the couch, dragging Angel out by his tail. He dragged Angel over to Fluttershy. “I did it! I destwoyed the monstew!” Fluttershy looked down at Angel, who was glaring death at her, and giggled. “Yes you did, but you really shouldn’t wrestle around like that. What if one of you would have gotten hurt? That would be very bad.” AJ’s expression became sad as he started shuffling his hooves on the floor. “I’m sowwy.” Ditzy gave the foal a questioning look. “Umm Fluttershy, who’s this?” Fluttershy sighed as she once again prepared to tell the story. ******************** Ditzy was on the verge of tears. “I-it’s not fair. H-he finally asks me out, and now this happens.” Fluttershy drew Ditzy into a hug. “I know it must be hard, but you just need to stay strong. Just you wait. Twilight will have him back to normal as soon as possible.” Ditzy sniffled before returning the hug. “Y-you really think so?” “I know so,” Fluttershy said with a smile. She released the hug and stood up. “Would you like some hot chocolate? I’m sure that would help cheer you up.” “That sounds nice, thanks.” Ditzy watched as Fluttershy trotted into the kitchen. She sniffled again as she looked down to see AJ staring up at her; his head cocked to the side in confusion. His big, innocent, blue eyes just watching her. Mr. Bun Bun was draped over his back. “What’s wwong wady?” Ditzy felt her tears threatening to return. She took a deep breath to try calming herself down before answering. “S-somepony very close to me is gone, a-a-and nopony knows how long it will take to…to.” Ditzy broke down. She put her head in her hooves and started to cry. As she cried, she didn’t notice the foal climb up onto the couch next to her. She felt something being pushed into her right foreleg. “H-h-huh?” she asked as she looked over. AJ was sitting next to her, forelegs extended, offering Mr. Bun Bun to her. His eyes were pleading her to stop crying. “Wouwd you wike to pway wiff Mr. Bun Bun? Wouwd dat make you feww bettew?” Ditzy sniffled as she wiped some tears from her eyes. She tentatively took the stuffed bunny from the foal. She held it in her hooves for a minute, just looking at it. She slowly started to smile. She looked over to AJ. He was smiling and had his forelegs open as if he was asking for a hug. The stallion she knew was still in there, she just knew it. She picked the foal up and gave him a hug. “Thank you.” Fluttershy smiled warmly as she walked back into the kitchen. When she heard Ditzy start to cry she was about to go in and calm her down. When she saw AJ climbing up onto the couch she just stayed in the kitchen and peaked around the corner to see how it would all turn out. She was glad she did. Even she knew that there was only one pony who could cheer Ditzy up, and foal or not, he did just that. ******************** Fluttershy and Big Mac were finally going on their date. Due to the circumstances, they decided to push it back a few days. Seeing as how she has a lot of experience watching Pound and Pumpkin Cake, Fluttershy decided to ask Pinkie to foalsit AJ while she was away. Right now the two of them were on their way to The Grape Vine. It’s Ponyville’s fanciest restaurant known for its giant selection of fine wines. “How’re things goin’ with AJ?” asked Big Mac who had abandoned his yoke for a nice bow tie. This was one of the few times anypony in Ponyville had seen the big, red stallion with his mane nicely combed. “It’s going great,” Fluttershy said in her usual soft voice. She was wearing a simple green dress that hugged her body. Along with the dress she was also wearing s matching set of horseshoes and a bit of make up. “He’s so adorable, and he’s always following me around trying to help.” She remembered back to the previous day when AJ tried to help her feed the chickens. He ended up accidentally spilling the entire bag, burying himself in chicken feed. Fluttershy could only giggle to herself as he ran around the yard, bawling his eyes out, as the chickens chased after him trying to eat the feed that was stuck to him. She knew they meant no harm. “That’s good.” The two of them continued on their way for a few minutes. As they did, a question formed in Big Mac’s head that just wouldn’t leave. “Umm, Fluttershy, can Ah ask you a question?” “Of course.” “W-were ya bein’ serious when you said you’ve always wanted a foal of yer own?” He couldn’t help but blush a bit as he asked the question. Neither could Fluttershy as she hid behind her mane. She gingerly nodded. “Y-yes, I was. It’s been a dream of mine since I was young. After this experience, I want it even more.” Big Mac smiled at Fluttershy. “Ah know you’d make a great mother.” Smiling, Fluttershy leaned over and gave him a kiss. “Thank you.” ******************** It was late by the time Fluttershy got home. She was worried because she didn’t want to inconvenience Pinkie any. Like the gentalcolt he was, Big Mac had walked Fluttershy home, earning him another kiss as they parted ways. She walked in the door to find Pinkie cleaning up a mess that must have been made at some point. “Hello Pinkie. I’m so sorry for being late.” Pinkie held up a hoof to her mouth and shushed Fluttershy with a smile. She turned and pointed to her tail. Fluttershy smiled and giggled when she saw AJ tangled up in Pinkie’s tail with Mr. Bun Bun, sucking on the tip of his hoof as he slept. “I didn’t want to wake him,” whispered Pinkie. “How was your night?” “It was wonderful. Big Mac is just amazing.” Pinkie gave her usual smile as she fished AJ out of her tail. “I should get going. I have to open the store tomorrow.” She handed him over to Fluttershy’s waiting legs. “Thank you again Pinkie.” Pinkie waved goodbye before gently closing the door behind her. Once the door closed, Fluttershy let out a big yawn. It was late and past the usual time she went to bed. Flying up to the second level, she placed AJ in his bed and covered him with the comforter, kissing him on the forehead as she did. A small smile formed on his lips as he hugged Mr. Bun Bun even tighter. She trotted over to her dresser where she took the dress off and gently put it in the cloths hamper to be washed. Her shoes were next. After a quick trip to the bathroom, it was off to bed. ******************** “F-f-fwuttewshy?” Fluttershy began to stir when she heard the voice. “F-f-fwuttewshy?” Fluttershy let out a big yawn before opening her eyes. She looked around, looking for the source of the voice. “F-f-fwuttewshy?” She looked down to see AJ standing next to her bed, trembling, with tears in his eyes. Mr. Bun Bun was draped over his back. “What’s wrong? Is everything alright?” She picked him up and placed him on her bed. He sniffled before speaking. “I-I-I had a bad dweam. C-c-can I sweep wiff you?” Fluttershy smiled as she leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. “Of course you can. Come on.” She scooted over a bit to make room for him on the bed. He crawled into the covers and curled up next to her. “Are you comfortable?” He nodded his head. “That’s good.” Fluttershy laid her head back down on the pillow as she tried to go back to sleep. She couldn’t help but look down at AJ one more time to see him looking at her with a tired smile. “I wuv you mommy.” He laid his head down and was sleeping in moments. Fluttershy felt a tear of happiness roll down her cheek. She had been taking care of AJ for the entire week, but for the first time, she actually felt like his mother. With a smile on her face she closed her eyes. Sleep came easily that night. ******************** The day had finally come. The replacement book had finally come in, and Twilight was here to perform the counter spell to change AJ back. Fluttershy couldn’t have been any more sad. Ever since AJ started calling her his mommy three days ago, she couldn’t help but think of him as her son. The thought of him turning back and losing that connection between the two of them broke her heart. It didn’t take long for her friends to notice this, so when it was time they were all there to make this easier for her. “Are you ready Fluttershy?” Twilight asked in a soft voice. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she shook her head. Rarity was there with a big hug. “I know it’s hard darling, but this is for the best. This isn’t who he is.” “B-b-b-but I’m his mommy. H-h-he’d be lost without me,” she said as she cried into Rarity’s shoulder. “Mommy? Why awe you cwying?” Fluttershy gasped and pulled away from Rarity. Looking down she saw AJ standing there, looking up at her with sad eyes. “Pwease don’t cwy mommy. I don’t want you to be sad.” Fluttershy felt a pain shoot through her chest as more tears forced their way out. She turned to Twilight. “C-c-can I at least have some time alone with him b-b-before you do it?” Twilight understood what she was feeling and nodded her head. “Take all the time you need.” Fluttershy grabbed up AJ in her forelegs and flew upstairs, closing the door behind her. She placed him on her bed and started running her hoof through his mane. “Mommy? Is someffing wwong?” Fluttershy swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t know how to put this to him, nor did she want to. “I-I’m afraid that we won’t be able to be together.” AJ’s eyes got wide. “W-w-what?” “After today, I won’t be your mommy anymore.” At that moment, AJ looked like his entire world had just gone up in flames. His breathing became uneven as hot tears flowed down his cheeks. “B-b-b-but I wuv you mommy! W-w-why won’t you be my mommy anymowe?” Tears were flowing down Fluttershy’s cheeks too. “I-it’s just how it has to be. Just know, that no matter what happens, your mommy always loves you.” AJ began shaking from his heavy sobs. “N-n-n-no! You can’t weave me! I don’t want you too! I wuv you mommy!” AJ ran to Fluttershy and started crying into her coat. She cradled him in her legs and started rocking him back and forth. At this moment she just wanted to sneak out of the house with AJ, and live a happy life with just the two of them. But she knew she couldn’t. As much as she hated it, this is what had to be done. As she continued to rock AJ back and forth, she started singing to him. She had done this a lot during her time with him. If at anytime he was sad, or couldn’t sleep, a simple song and all was right again. As she sang, AJ’s sobs became slower. It wasn’t long before, for the final time, he was asleep in her legs. ******************** It had been about twenty minutes before Fluttershy finally opened the door. Her tears were still flowing, but she was trying to be strong. She came down the stairs with AJ and Mr. Bun Bun on her back. She gently placed him and the stuffed bunny on the couch before turning to Twilight. “Okay, I’m ready.” Pinkie and Rainbow took Fluttershy away from the couch and stayed close to her as Twilight started the spell. She turned to cry into Rainbow’s shoulder as the spell continued. The room was suddenly filled with a blinding light. As it died down, AJ’s body was still consumed by light. His body slowly began to grow until it was back to its original size. The light died down as the spell finished. Twilight let out a sigh as the aura left her horn. “Looks like it worked.” “Do ya think he’ll remember anythin’ that happened?” asked Applejack “I don’t know.” AJ’s eyes slowly began to open. He wearily took in his surroundings. “Here, you might want these,” Twilight said as she floated his glasses onto his head. In his younger state, he didn’t need his glasses. Not like they would have fit his head anyway. He sat up and groaned as he rubbed his head. “I feel like I got hit by a truck.” “Understandable considerin’ what happened,” said Applejack. “Come on, you must be pretty tired. Let’s get ya back ta th’ farm an’ inta bed.” AJ smiled. “That sounds pretty good right about now.” He got off the couch and stretched his limbs. That’s when he saw Fluttershy looking at him with sad eyes. The tears were falling slower, but they were still falling. “Actually, you go on ahead. I’ll meet up with you.” “Ya sure?” AJ smiled and nodded. “Yea, I’d like to speak with Fluttershy.” He looked at Pinkie and Rainbow. “Alone please.” “Alright, we’ll give you some time alone then. Come on girls,” Twilight said as they all filtered out through the door.” The only two left in the house were AJ and Fluttershy. They just looked at each other for a moment. “Fluttershy?” “I-I’m glad you’re back to normal. It’s nice to see you again.” Even as tired as he was, AJ could see right through her. He walked over to her and drew her into a hug. “Fluttershy, for what it’s worth, you’re going to be a great mother.” “Huh?” He pushed her away slightly so he could look her in the eyes. “I should know. I had first hoof experience of just how good you’ll be.” Fluttershy’s eyes got wide. “I’ll never forget that you’ll always love me mommy.” Fluttershy’s shocked expression slowly turned into a smile as she hugged AJ. “Thank you.” **************************************** ((I like this chapter. There’s not much else I can say about it. It was fun to write. I even started to cry when writing that last part. Hope you all get that reaction when you read it. The idea for this chapter was given to me by Sparknanator My little pony © Hasbro Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))