//------------------------------// // Facing Your Fears // Story: The Mystery of a New World // by Fanthrose //------------------------------// Chapter 28 Rainbow Dash was feeling pretty low right now. It was her birthday, and it was turning out to be a pretty lousy one. She had gotten a letter from Braeburn saying that he wasn’t going to be able to make it. Things were just too busy down in Appleloosa at the moment. Not only that, but she hasn’t even seen any of her friends all day. She guessed that they were all just busy with her surprise party, but she hasn’t found any traces of a party. She checked, Sugarcube Corner, the library, even the barn. Nothing. She even asked around to see if anypony had known anything. Nopony had known anything. Rainbow sighed into the cloud she was lying on. “Today…sucks.” She just wanted to spend the day with Braeburn and her friends, and she couldn’t even do that. “Maybe I should just go to bed. The faster today is over with, the better.” She stood up on the cloud and stretched her limbs. “Yo Dash, where are you?!” came a masculine voice. “Rainbow Dash?! Where ya at?!” came a feminine voice from down below. “Huh?” Rainbow poked her head over the edge of the cloud. Down below she could see AJ and Applejack “Hmm, maybe we should check her house again,” AJ said with a hoof to his chin. “We just checked there. Maybe she went ta go see Braeburn’r somethin’” said Applejack. “Hey!” Confused, AJ and Applejack looked up to see a rainbow trail leaving a cloud. Less than a second later, the cyan pegasus was standing next to them. Applejack smiled. “There ya are. Ah thought you skipped town fer th’ day’r something.” “Yea, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.” The two of them finally noticed the angry look on Rainbow’s face. “Uhh, is everything alright?” “Where the hay were you guys?!” yelled Rainbow. “All I wanted to do today was hang out with you guys, and you totally ditched me!” “Ditched you? Dash, we didn’t ditch you.” “Yes you did! I’ve been looking for you all day!” A tear rolled down Dash’s cheek. “This was supposed to be my special day, and nopony remembered it.” AJ and Applejack looked at each other with guilty looks. “We’re sorry sugarcube. We didn’t mean ta make ya feel so down on yer birthday.” “Yea. We just wanted to make sure you didn’t find your party too soon,” AJ said as he scratched the back of his head. Rainbow looked at the two of them questioningly. “What party?” “Your birthday party, duh. What did you think we were talking about?” Seeing that Rainbow was clearly confused, Applejack decided to elaborate. “We knew ya would look fer yer party, so we had ta move it somewhere new so ya couldn’t find it.” “So…you didn’t ditch me?” “Of course not. We’d have to be the biggest group of assholes to ditch you on your birthday,” AJ said with a chuckle. “Now, we should get going. Pinkie’s probably freaking out by now.” ******************** “You finally made it! Yippee!” hollered Pinkie as Rainbow walked through the door to Fluttershy’s cottage. “I thought you were going to miss your party!” Rainbow looked around the living room of Fluttershy’s cottage with a smile. All the furniture had either been moved to the side, or to another room to make room for the party. Her kitchen table had been brought in and moved to the side for the refreshments. The birdhouses had been moved outside for the day so none of them would be broken during the festivities. Next to the table was a pile of gifts and cards. Tears of happiness started welling up in Dash’s eyes. “This is so awesome guys, thanks!” “Now that Rainbow’s here, LET’S PARTY!!!” Pinkie pulled her party cannon out from seemingly nowhere and fired it off, covering the entire room in confetti and balloon’s. With that, Twilight levitated a gift over from the pile. “Since we’re already running a little late, I don’t see why we couldn’t start with the presents.” With a giant smile, Rainbow took the gift and tore the wrapping paper off. Her eyes shimmered slightly when she saw that it was a Daring Doo book. Daring Doo and the Emperors Cauldron to be exact. “The newest Daring Doo?! How did you get this?! I didn’t think this was coming supposed to be coming out for another couple weeks!” Twilight smiled. “Look inside.” Confused, Rainbow opened the front cover. There on the inside was written… To Rainbow Dash Thanks for being such a great fan. When your friend wrote me and told me just how much you enjoyed the books, and that your birthday was coming up, I knew I had to do something special for you. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Happy birthday Rainbow Dash. A.K. Yearling P.S. I saw your sonic rainboom three years ago at the Best Young Flyer competition. IT WAS SO AWESOME!!! Rainbow squealed and hugged the book to her chest. “This is so AWESOME!!! Thanks soooo much Twilight!” “You’re very welcome Rainbow.” Twilight looked over to the pile with a smile. “Let’s see. It looks like the next one is from…” Twilight was interrupted by a knock at the door. “I wonder who that could be?” asked Rarity. “Umm, I’ll get it,” Fluttershy said as she floated over to the door. She opened the door with a smile. “Hello, what can I…” Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she saw who it was. “Braeburn?” Braeburn had his usual bright smile on his face as he stood there; a small present balanced on his back. “Well howdy Miss Fluttershy. Ah was wonderin’ if Rainbow was here. Some ponies said they saw’er comin’ this way.” Rainbow’s eyes got wide when she heard the voice. She whipped her head to look at the door. “Braeburn?!” She tossed the present currently in her hooves to the side and dashed over to the door, tackling Braeburn to the ground. Rarity caught the gift mere inches to the ground with a sigh of relief. She didn’t want her gift to shatter before Rainbow even got the chance to see it. Once his eyes stopped spinning, Braeburn returned the hug Rainbow was giving him. “Well howdy ta you too Dashie.” Dash was nuzzling into Braeburn’s chest. “What are you doing here? I thought you were to busy in Appleloosa?” Braeburn chuckeled. “Well, everypony felt down right terrible that Ah had ta miss yer birthday t’day. Knowin’ how much ah wanted ta be here t’day, Sheriff Silverstar took over mah responsibilities so ah could come.” Rainbow gave off a contented sigh. “This is the best gift I could have gotten today.” Everypony in the room watched as the two ponies cuddled on the ground outside the cottage. The room was silent until Rarity cleared her throat. “I apologies for interrupting darling, but I’m sure you would be much more comfortable inside.” Rainbow’s eyes got wide as an intense blush covered her face. In her happiness, she had completely forgotten about the other ponies in the house. She looked over her shoulder with a sheepish smile before standing off of Braeburn. She helped him up off the ground. Braeburn brushed himself off before picking his gift off the ground. “Well, should we go in then?” Nodding, Rainbow followed Braeburn into the cottage. ******************** Rainbow’s birthday had gone from bad, to completely awesome. Not only did her friends not forget about her, but Braeburn was able to make it too. She had also gotten some great gifts. Twilight had gotten her the newest Daring Doo book that hasn’t even come out yet. Rarity had gotten her a crystal statue of the Wonderbolts insignia. Applejack and Big Mac had gotten her Spitfire and Soarin’ plushies. Fluttershy had gotten her a new pet bed for Tank, his old one wasn’t the most glorious thing in the world. She still had three gifts left, AJ’s, Pinkie’s, and Braeburn’s. She went over and picked up the envelope. She looked at it questioningly. “Who’s this from? There’s no name on it.” “That’s one of ours!” Pinkie shouted as she put a leg around AJ’s withers. “As in both of yours?” asked Dash. “Mmhm,” AJ said with a nod. “Pinkie and I decided to pool our bits together to get you a couple bigger gifts.” “Yea! So…what are you waiting for?! Open it, open it!” Pinkie said as she pointed to the envelope. “You don’t have to tell me twice!” Dash bit the top of the envelope off and deposited the card into her hooves. She quickly skimmed over the cover before opening the card. As she did, a couple slips of paper fell to the floor. She stared at the slips for a second before her eyes went wide. She tossed the card off to the side, once again being caught by Rarity, and picked them up with a squeal. “You got me Wonderbolts tickets?!” “Well yes, but flip them over,” AJ said as he made the motion with his hoof. Confused, Rainbow flipped the two tickets over. Seeing that there was something on the back, she quickly skimmed over it. Her eyes widened as she got to the end. Making sure she didn’t misread something, she re-read the tickets. “I GET TO SPEND THE DAY WITH THE WONDERBOLTS!!!” She ended her shout with a fangirl squeal of happiness. “Well that’s just great Dashie!” Braeburn said with a big smile. He loved to see Dash happy. After placing the tickets back in the envelope, Dash walked back over to the presents. “So, is this one also from you two?” AJ and Pinkie looked at each other with worried looks. “Umm yes, yes it is. But you may want to…wait to open that one,” AJ said with a sheepish smile. “Yep. You should definitely wait till later to open that one,” Pinkie quickly added. Rainbow eyed the two of them suspiciously. “Why? What’s so special about this that I should wait till later, hmm?” “Just trust us on this one Dash. You’ll be much better off if you just wait,” said AJ. Pinkie nodded enthusiastically to agree with him. Dash just stared at them with a blank look. “I’m opening it.” “No Dashie, don’t…” Pinkie was too late. Dash was already tearing into the wrapping paper. “Welp, we tried to warn her,” Pinkie said as she crossed her forelegs. “Eeyup. We are no longer liable for whatever happens today,” AJ said, mimicking Pinkie. “What’s in there that you didn’t want everypony else to see?” Twilight asked as she leaned in close. “Oh, you’ll see,” AJ said with a straight face. Pinkie just nodded in agreement. Dash had finally gotten the wrapping paper off the box. The paper littered the floor around her. She gripped the cover of the box and took it off, lifting it over her head in her excitement. Her eyes got wide and her mouth dropped as her face became crimson. Everypony in the room looked at her, besides AJ and Pinkie, with confused looks. Braeburn leaned over to look in the box in front of her. “What’s got ya so flustered?” he asked. Before Braeburn could see, Rainbow slammed the cover back on the box. “It’s, uhh…It’s nothing. Yea, that’s it, nothing.” “Nothin’ don’t make you turn red like that,” Applejack said with a smirk. “Nnope,” added Big Mac. “Yea, what’s in the box?” asked Twilight. “Please darling, the suspense is killing me,” Rarity added dramatically. “W-why is it so important to see what I got, hmm?” Dash asked as she looked at her friends. “Look at Fluttershy. She’s being a good friend. She’s not trying to invade my privacy.” “Umm, actually Rainbow Dash, I, um, I’d like to see what’s in the box, that is, if it’s okay with you,” Fluttershy said in her usual tone. “You too?! Why does everypony want to see inside my box?!” AJ snorted as he tried to hold in his laughter. Dash didn’t realize what she had said at first; facehoofing when she did. “What’s so funny, huh? Is this some kind of joke to you two?” Dash dropped the box and flew over to AJ and Pinkie. “No it’s not,” AJ said as he put his legs up in defense. “Then why’d you do it?!” “Well, we just thought…” “Thought what, hmm?!” Dash said; interrupting Pinkie. Twilight stepped up and put a hoof on Dash’s shoulder. “Calm down Rainbow. I’m sure it’s not that…” “Oh Celestia!” gasped Rarity; interrupting Twilight. Everypony in the room looked over to Rarity. She had the open box in front of her. Her face was red. She lifted the item out of the box to get a better look at it. Everypony, except AJ and Pinkie, turned red. Twilight whipped her head back to AJ and Pinkie. “You got her lingerie?!” “Oh, my,’ Fluttershy said under her breath. Floating in Rarity’s magical hold was a pair of lacey, lingerie. There were four pink, lace stockings, a red corset, a red garter belt, and even a pair of sheer, lacey, red underwear to complete the look. Tied to the underwear by some string was a note that was obviously written by Pinkie. You could tell due to the balloons and streamers drawn on the note. The note read ‘Give Braeburn a little show next time ;D.’ “It was Pinkie’s idea, I swear! I just helped pay for it!” shouted AJ as he pointed to Pinkie. “I don’t care whose idea it was! Not cool guys!” Rainbow said with a huff. “Ah kinda like it,” said Braeburn who had been silent since the reveal. “What?!” Rainbow whipped her head around to look at her coltfriend. “Well…Ah think you would look pretty…hot in that,” Braeburn said, shriveling under Rainbow’s gaze. As Dash glared at Braeburn, she heard AJ start to laugh behind her. “He may be a gentalcolt, but he’s still a stallion,” he said with a smile. Big Mac chuckled a little bit. “Eeyup.” With a grumble Dash took the lingerie from Rarity’s hold and put it back in the box, putting it over with the rest of the open gifts. She grabbed up the last small box. It was Braeburn’s gift. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” she grumbled as she started tearing off the paper. She eyed the contents in confusion. She knew what it was; it was a ring box. She opened the box and gasped. Inside the box sat an extravagant looking, gold hoof ring. There were seven gemstones on the ring. The six smaller gems matched the six colors of her hair. They all surrounded one bigger, cyan colored gem in the center. Rainbow looked at the ring in awe before looking to Braeburn. “Braeburn…what…” “Well, there was another reason Silverstar agreed ta take over mah responsibilities. After Ah told’im what Ah wanted ta do, he almost forced me into th’ train.” Braeburn got up and walked over to Rainbow; kneeling down in front of her. “This past year has been th’ happiest of mah life. I’d love fer mah entire life ta feel like this. Rainbow, would you make me th’ happiest stallion in Equestria an’ be mah wife?” Everypony in the room was blown away. They all stared between Braeburn and Rainbow in silence. Out of everypony, Rainbow was the most shocked. She just stared at Braeburn; mouth moving in silent words. Her shocked expression slowly turned to a smile as tears of joy welled up in her eyes. She threw her self at Braeburn; wrapping her forelegs around him. “YES!!!” The room erupted in cheers as Rainbow and Braeburn kissed. The two ponies just ignored all the others. This moment was just about them. As the kiss ended, Rainbow found herself unable to look away from Braeburn’s green eyes. She let out a soft sigh of content as she started leaning in for another kiss. Before they could connect once again, the two of them found themselves wrapped in a big death hug. “OH MY GOSH!!! Congratulations!” shouted Pinkie as she tightened the hug. “This is super duper news! Now I get to throw a ‘You’re getting married’ party!” Rainbow grunted in Pinkie’s vice like, death hug. “Pinkie, let go! You’re squeezing too hard!” Pinkie finally decided to let go, dropping both ponies to the floor with a big thud. “I know how we can celebrate this moment!” she said before rushing into the kitchen so fast she left a Pinkie shaped cloud. No pony knew what was going on in there, but they could hear the clinking of bottles. About two minutes later, Pinkie came out of the kitchen carrying a bit bowl of red liquid on her back. In proper Pinkie Pie style, she bucked her hips, sending the bowl flying onto the table without a single drop being spilled. Pinkie looked around the room. They were all nervously staring between the bowl and AJ. “What’s wrong?” “Isn’t that yer…special party punch?” Applejack apprehensively asked. “Of course it is, why do you ask?” That’s when it hit her. In all the excitement Pinkie had completely forgotten. Her expression sunk. “Oh.” She looked to AJ. “I’m sorry, please don’t hate me!” AJ put a hoof up. “Pinkie, relax. I don’t hate you. I’ll just stay away from the punch. Besides, hasn’t Dash been dying to try it? It’s her special day, and I’d hate to take that away from her.” With a bright smile Rainbow trots up to the table. Grabbing the ladle, she fills two cups with the punch. Braeburn walks up and takes one of the cups. With a smile, everypony follows Rainbow’s example; taking their drink of choice. “A toast, ta’ Rainbow an’ Braeburn,” said Big Mac as he held up his glass. ******************** It had been a couple hours since the punch had been brought out. AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie had all decided to drink the sarsaparilla that had been put out. As much as Pinkie wanted to drink some of the punch, she didn’t want to do anything stupid. She didn’t want AJ to have another…episode. She, AJ, and Rarity were talking about whatever came to mind. Applejack, Big Mac, and Fluttershy were all playing party games. Braeburn was having ‘fun’ dealing with two drunken mares. Rainbow, never having drank alcohol before, was a lightweight. It didn’t take much before she was loaded. Twilight has always been a lightweight. “Hoh my gosh Twilight, you wouldn’t believe jusht how good he ish in bed,” Rainbow drunkenly blurted out; a smile on her face. “Really? How big is he?” slurred Twilight; a half sultry, half drunk look on her face. “Come now ladies, Ah don’t think this is th’ best thin’ ta…” “Hesh DISH big!” interrupted Rainbow as she extended her forelegs out as far as she could. It was obvious that she was exaggerating, but both of them were to drunk to care. Twilight stared at Rainbow’s hooves with stars in her eyes. “How did you even get it to fit? You’re soooooo lucky.” A blush on his face, Braeburn turned to Big Mac. “Uhh, a little help here cuz?” Big Mac looked over and chuckled. “Sorry Braeburn. Ah’m a little busy over here.” As he finished, Applejack tied the bandana around his eyes and handed him the tail. She then spun him around and around. By the time he was done spinning, he could barley stand up straight. “Alright Big Mac, pin th’ tail on that pony there.” He stumbled around, trying to find his mark. Once he got his balance back, he steadied himself and walked forward. Once he thought he was there, he thrust the pin forward. He stood there confused for a moment. His target was a lot…softer than he would have expected. “YAAAAHHHH SON OF A BITCH!!!” shouted AJ. He whipped his head around to find a fake tail pinned to his flank. He glared at Big Mac who was trying to hold in his laughter. “Oops-snirk-Ah’m mighty sorry.” AJ grumbled as he pulled the needle out. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get a band-aid,” he said as he rubbed the sore spot. As he turned around he saw Rainbow swaying in place; just staring at him. “Uhh, can I help you?” “Hoh Sheleshtia, are you okay?” AJ looked between Rainbow and the slightly bleeding hole in his flank. “Yea, I’m fine. Nothing a band-aid won’t fix.” “Dat musht have hurt a lot.” “Yea, it did.” “You know what will take da pain away? Shome of dish,” she said as she shoved her half empty glass in AJ’s face. She had an oblivious look on her face. AJ looked between the glass and Rainbow with a worried look on his face. Seeing where this was going, Pinkie quickly decided to step in. “Oh would you look at that, it’s bleeding everywhere. Come on AJ, we should go get you patched up…right now.” “Oh come on. Don’t be a baby. Jusht drink shome,” slurred Rainbow. Pinkie smiled sheepishly at AJ before grabbing Rainbow by the shoulders and pulling her to the side. “Rainbow, don’t you remember what happened last time? If you try to force him he might…” “He’sh jusht being a wush.” Worried, Pinkie looked to AJ. “Heheh, don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. You don’t have to drink if…” “Alright, I’ll do it.” “…you don’t want to.” It took a few seconds to register in Pinkie’s mind. “Wait, what?” All of the coherent ponies in the room looked over in shock. AJ sighed before speaking again. “She’s right. She’s completely shit faced and probably won’t remember a word of this in the morning, but she’s right.” Seeing that Pinkie was confused, he continued. “I’m being a coward. Because of what happened, I refuse to let myself enjoy things to the fullest. It’s always been like that. My friends would enjoy themselves at parties, and I would just sit there sulking. Unable to find anything good about the party. All because I was afraid of what might happen.” He stomped a hoof on the floor. “Well no more! Starting today, I refuse to let my fears control my life.” “Sooo, you’re not mad?” Pinkie asked hopefully. AJ shook his head. Her worried face turned to happiness once more. “Yay! No hard feelings!” AJ turns his head when he feels somepony tap his shoulder. “Yes?” “Oh, um, I have some disinfectant and a bandage here for you,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile. Fluttershy lead AJ to the corner of the room so they wouldn’t be in anypony’s way. There she disinfects the puncture hole and bandaged it up. “There, all better.” AJ smiles at her. “Thanks Fluttershy.” As Fluttershy goes to put the rest of the disinfectant away, AJ’s pulled off to the side by Pinkie. “What’s up Pinkie.” She still looked a little worried. “Were you being serious about trying the punch?” Looking a little worried himself, AJ nodded. “Yea. I’m a bit scared though. I’ve never had alcohol before.” “How about I drink one with you?” AJ looked at Pinkie in confusion. “Well, if you have somepony there with you, it will be easier.” AJ thought for a minute before smiling. “I’d like that. Come on, let’s do this.” The two of them walked over to the table. Pinkie picked up the ladle and poured two glasses of the punch. AJ picked up one of the glasses in his magic and gave a nervous sigh. “Well, to new beginnings I guess.” “Yup.” They toasted to each other before bringing the glasses to their lips. Pinkie drank hers like normal; while AJ eased the glass up, letting the liquid slowly pour into his mouth. He visibly cringed as the unfamiliar bite of the alcohol hit him. “Oh come on! Shtop being a baby and drink!” came a voice from behind AJ. One cyan hoof opened AJ’s mouth wider as another tipped the glass up, pouring the entire glass of punch down AJ’s gullet. After the entire glass was emptied into AJ’s mouth, Rainbow let AJ go. He fell to the floor, coughing violently. “Rainbow! Why th’ hay did ya do that?!” Applejack asked as she pulled Rainbow away. “Come on Apple-hic-Applejack. It’sh a party! Y’all need’sh ta learn ta relax,” Rainbow said; mocking Applejack’s southern drawl. As Applejack dealt with Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pinkie went to help AJ. “Are you alright?” Pinkie asked as she helped him up. He coughed a few more times. “Oh god! I think my liver just went on strike!” He went into another coughing fit as he stumbled over to the bathroom; slamming the door behind him. ******************** It had been about twenty minutes since Rainbow forced the punch down AJ’s throat. AJ had yet to leave the safety of the bathroom, and some ponies were starting to worry. “Ohhhh, I’m worried about him. Maybe I should go check on him,” Pinkie said; pacing in front of the bathroom door. “Just give’im a bit sugarcube. Ah’m sure he’s…fine,” Applejack said in a not very convincing voice. She looked over to Rainbow who was back over by Braeburn, acting like nothing had happened. “Darn Rainbow Dash.” “Maybe we should bring him some water,” suggested Fluttershy. “Or maybe we could…” Pinkie was interrupted as the bathroom door swung open. On the other side wobbled AJ. He had a smile on his face as he barley managed to stay standing. He hiccupped before slowly stumbling into the main room. “Fillies and…uh…fillies and…umm…aaaand not fillies, contain your orgasms, I have returned!” Applejack looked at AJ in confusion before clearing her throat. “Uhh, hey sugarcube. Are ya feelin’ alright?” “Nnnnever felt better Applebutt!” “Applebutt?” Applejack looked at her cutie mark and snorted. “That ain’t funny.” AJ stumbled further out of the bathroom. After four steps, he swayed to the side and careened straight into a chair. “Hey, watch where you’re going you…chair.” He took a swing at the chair, missing completely. The swing caused him to lose his balance and fall to the floor in a heap. “Yea...didn’t like that, did you. That’ll-hic-that’ll teach you to get in my way.” “Oh Celestia, I think he’s worse off than Rainbow Dash,” said Rarity. They watched as AJ slowly got up. He stuck his tongue out at the chair before stumbling over to Fluttershy. He put a leg around her withers. He leaned in close to ‘whisper’ into her ear. “Psssst! Hey, Fluffernutter! You have some butterflies…on, your, butt! Don’t move, I’ll get them!” “W-w-what?” Fluttershy felt terrified. AJ lifted a hoof to swat Fluttershy’s cutie mark. Before he could bring it down, his hoof was surrounded by a blue glow and pulled back; sending him to the floor once again. “I don’t care how drunk you are. That is not the way to treat a lady.” Rarity walked over and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Darling, are you alright?” “Umm, y-yes. I’m fine.” It took AJ a bit longer to get up this time. When he finally did, he looked at Rarity with the best glare he could muster at the moment. Suddenly his eyes got wide. “O! M! G!” “What’sh wrong?!” asked Dash. AJ put the tips of his hooves up to his head. “I’m getting a vision…from the FUTURE!!!” Twilight let out a loud gasp. “What does it say?!” “Yea, tell ush!” added Dash. “It says, it says…” AJ was cut off as his face contorted. He opened his mouth and let out a long, earth shatteringly loud belch. When it finally ended, AJ and Rainbow both fell to the floor as they erupted in laughter. Twilight had a look of horror on her face. “Oh no! Celestia MUST know about this immediately!” She dropped her glass of punch and started running towards the door. She stumbled and hit the door face first. Seeing as he was the closest, Big Mac went over to check on her. “Miss Twilight, are ya okay?” As he lowered his head, he heard what sounded like snoring coming from the purple heap on the floor. “Ah think she passed out.” “It’s probably fer th’ best. Ah think we should…” “This party is boring!” shouted AJ. He threw a hoof into the air. “I demand a ssssexy party!” It was Rainbow’s turn to gasp. “Dat’sh a great idea! Truth or Dare!” Everypony that was coherent stared at the two ponies. Rarity leaned over to Applejack. “We have to stop this. I’ll get Rainbow Dash. You take AJ and…” “Ooh, ooh, me first! I wanna go first!” AJ said; waiving his hoof in the air enthusiastically. “Hokay, truth or dare.” “Dare, dare!” Rainbow looked around the room and got an evil look on her face. “I dare you…to kish Big Mac on da lipsh!” Everypony blushed as they looked between AJ and Big Mac. Big Mac looked mortified. “Nnope!” AJ put on a ‘sultry’ look as he got up. He started a ‘seductive’ stagger over to Big Mac who slowly backed away from the other stallion. “Come on Big Mac. You knnnnow you want to.” As Big Mac hit the wall behind him, he looked over to Applejack and mouthed ‘help me.’ “Wwwwhat’s wrong Big Mac, don’t you wanna kiss me?” He followed Big Mac’s gaze over to the other ponies. “Oh, I see. You just don’t wanna do it in front of everypony else, I get it.” He leaned in close. “I’ll meet you upstairs.” AJ turned and flicked Big Mac with his tail as he started to stagger away. Only to pass out and fall over three steps later. Big Mac let out a giant sigh of relief. “Well, that’s two down,” said Applejack. “Make that three,” said Braeburn. Rainbow Dash was leaning on him, snoring lightly. “I guess that means the party’s over,” Pinkie said with a sigh. She was having fun, but it started getting a bit out of hoof in the end there. “It seems so. Would you like help cleaning up darling?” asked Rarity. “Nope! I got it all under control!” With a smile, Pinkie pulled out a broom and started sweeping up. With a smile, Rarity lifted Twilight onto her back. “Alright then. I’ll take Twilight back home. It’s not that far from the boutique after all.” “Alright. Ah’ll see ya tomorrow Rares.” Applejack gave Rarity a quick kiss on the cheek before watching her walk out. “We should probably be gettin’ home,” Big Mac said as he walked over towards Applejack. “Yea, yer right. Would you mind caryin’ him home?” asked Applejack. Big Mac looked over to AJ before looking back at Applejack with a blank stare. “Ah ain’t lettin’ him near me until he’s sober.” “Oh quit bein’ a baby. It ain’t like he meant anythin’ by it.” “Ah don’t care. Ah ain’t lettin’ him near me.” “He could just stay over here. I wouldn’t mind,” Fluttershy said as she brushed AJ’s mane out of his face. Applejack thought for a moment. “That would work. He could sleep in yer spare bed fer th’ night. Much better than sleepin’ off a hangover on th’ couch back at th’ farm. And it ain’t like he’s gotta work tomorrow, so he could sleep in as much as he’d like.” “Eeyup.” “Mmgmgnbut I don’t want to go to school tomorrow,” garbled AJ. Fluttershy giggled as she rubbed his back. Applejack smiled as she looked to Big Mac. “Think ya could at least carry him ta th’ spare bed upstairs? We’ll make sure he doesn’t get up an’ smooch ya or somethin’.” Seeing her brother’s reaction made her giggle a little. Grumbling about Applejack under his breath, Big Mac got AJ up on his back and took him upstairs. After placing him on the bed, he waved a hoof in front of his face. “Ugh, he reeks of alcohol.” “Ah’m sure you would too if ya were that drunk,” said Applejack. The two of them turned and watched as Fluttershy tucked AJ into bed. She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead after removing his glasses. “We should let him sleep. Let’s go down…” A knock on the door interrupted Fluttershy. Pinkie opened the door and poked her head in. “Hey guys! Braeburn just wanted me to let you know that he left to take Rainbow Dash back to the farm! Okay, back to cleaning!” As quickly as she appeared, Pinkie was gone. “We should get goin’ too. We’ll see ya later sugarcube.” With a smile, Applejack headed downstairs. Big Mac smiled and kissed Fluttershy before leaving himself. With a content sigh, Fluttershy turned back to AJ. ‘I’ll just let him sleep. Maybe Pinkie would like some help downstairs,’ she thought to herself. Turning off the lights, she walked downstairs. ******************** AJ awoke feeling very uncomfortable, and in a lot of pain. His head was throbbing, and his stomach felt like it was twisted in knots. He held his head as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm his stomach down. As he finally opened his eyes, he realized that he couldn’t see a damn thing. He slowly got to his hooves with a groan; feeling dizzy at the change of altitude. He tried lighting his horn so he could see, but he was only rewarded with the pain in his head getting worse. Fear was starting to grip him. He was in an unfamiliar location, it was pitch black, he couldn’t tell what was lurking in the darkness, and he was in no condition to defend himself if something did attack him. He took a tentative step forward. He froze up when he felt and heard something squish under his hoof. ‘W-w-what was that?’ He quickly backed away from…what ever it was he stepped on. He stopped once he felt something fall onto his back. It quickly started crawling up his back, closer and closer to his head. Yelping in fear, he quickly shook it off and ran as fast as he could. As he ran, he could feel himself barreling through more of what ever it was that surrounded him. He grunted in pain as he ran into what felt like a rock wall; making his headache feel even worse. He was breathing heavily as he looked around once more. As he tried to collect his thoughts, something zipped by his head. “W-what?” Looking at it, it was a glowing white orb. AJ didn’t know what to make of it, but he knew he had to follow it. It was the only source of illumination in this place. Any amount of light was better than what he had now. Shaking the cobwebs from his head, he got himself up and ran after the orb. The orb wouldn’t stop. It kept its quick pace as it traveled through the cave; always staying ahead of AJ. He pushed himself harder and harder until his body punished him for his exertion. He had to push through the pain. That orb was his only hope of finding his way out of here. Suddenly the orb crossed the threshold of the passageway into a gigantic room and stopped. Breathing heavily, AJ finally stopped as he caught up with it. He looked up at the orb which suddenly began pulsing with light. It exploded in a blinding light, forcing AJ to cover his eyes. When he removed his hooves, he saw that the entire room was now lit up. It wasn’t bright, but there was enough light that he could see every detail, and he didn’t like it. The walls were lined with giant spider eggs. Even more spiders crawled all over the walls, floor, and multiple giant spider webs that covered the room. Skeletons of all different types of creatures filled the room. Some ponies, some animals, some, disturbingly enough, human; the fluids drained from their bodies. With the light now filling the room, all the spiders could now see that a new meal has arrived in their home. They slowly turned and started bearing down on AJ. There was no way out. The spiders surrounded him on every side in such vast numbers. He looked up to see that the orb was still there; just hovering out of reach. It was much duller now that it expelled it’s light. “P-p-p-please help me.” Almost as if answering his call, the orb slowly lowered itself to the floor and started to glow once again. AJ watched in amazement as the orb started to change form. It kept changing until it resembled a human, but not just any human. “D-d-dad?” His dad opened his eyes and looked down at AJ. A scowl slowly grew on his face as he took in the sight. “What’s all this?” “W-what?” His face turned angrier. “Look at you. What the hell happened to you? You’re nothing but a freak.” The words hit AJ like a sack of bricks. He felt a pain in his chest growing quickly. “I hope you’re proud of yourself, because you’re nothing but a disappointment to everyone who ever loved you. Nothing good ever comes from knowing you. I feel awful just knowing I helped birth you. You’re worthless.” Hot tears were flowing down AJ’s cheeks. He covered his ears with his hooves; trying in vain to block out the verbal assault he was being dealt. He let out a yelp of pain as he felt something dig into his leg. Turning his head, he saw that one of the spiders has got to him and bit him. He could already feel the venom doing its thing as his body quickly began to lock up. No longer able to move, he fell to the floor. As he lay there paralyzed, more of the spiders crawled onto his body to start cocooning him in web. As the process began, his dad walked up to him. Unable to look away, AJ was forced to watch as his father’s body slowly started to change once more. Six more eyes appeared from his head as his lower body began to swell. Six more legs began sprouting from his abdomen to support his weight. Hair began growing all over his body. By the time he was done transforming, he looked like a hideous, grotesque arachnitaur like thing. At this point, over half of AJ’s body was cocooned. The sheer amount of spiders made the job of cocooning him easy. When only his head was still showing, his dad bent over and picked up his body. He looked into AJ’s eyes with a sadistic smile. “Isn’t it fitting?” Even his voice was monstrous now. “Years ago, you killed me. Now I get to end you.” He opened his jaws wide and lowered his head. AJ let out a silent scream as he watched the jaws get closer and closer. ******************** “AAHHHH!!!” AJ quickly sat up in bed. His eyes were wide and he was breathing heavily as he looked around. Before he could get his bearings, he felt his stomach start to rebel against him. Looking around, he saw a bathroom over to the side and quickly made a mad dash for it. In his hurry, he failed to see that the other pony in the room began to stir. Flipping on the light, he threw him head over the toilet, letting the contents of his stomach flow. The visions of his nightmare kept running through his head. Combined with the alcohol in his system, he couldn’t stop. Even when he had nothing to vomit up, he couldn’t help but dry heave into the toilet bowl. After what felt like hours he finally stopped. He wiped the vomit from the hair around his mouth. When everything was finally done, and everything had been flushed down, he could only slump against the wall. The words spoken by his dad kept running through his mind. He was a disappointment. He was just a worthless waste of space. The only thing he could do was curl up and cry. As he cried, he felt something wrap around him. Opening his eyes, he saw Fluttershy hugging him. She had her wings wrapped around him to hold him tighter. AJ looked into her soft eyes. He sniffled before speaking. “W-w-why won’t the hurting just go away?” He buried his head in her shoulder and continued to cry. Fluttershy rubbed his back as she tried to calm him down. “Shhh, everything’s fine. Mommy won’t let anything hurt you. Now, just tell me everything that happened.” **************************************** ((Yea, in case you were wondering, the whole dad sub plot isn’t over just yet My little pony © Hasbro Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))