//------------------------------// // Part 29: Strength In Numbers // Story: A Mother's 'Love' // by deadpansnarker //------------------------------// Receiving a teacher of the year award. Snips and Snails being top of the class. A dinner date with... "Cheerilee, wake up, darn it! Are you alright?!" Came the strange disembodied voice from nowhere, ruining her private dream. "Oh, I do Big Mac, I do!" mumbled the teacher, as she gazed into those perfectly rounded green eyes... With primped eyelashes?! Cheerilee suddenly sprang to attention, straightening herself up and offering the orange mare in front of her an embarrassed grin. "Er, hello!" Applejack raised an eyebrow at the teacher's unintended remark. " I know Mac can carry off the whole 'female disguise' thing now Miss Cheerilee, but I ain't him. And what was all that I do nonsense..." "Nothing, Nothing! I was delirious, that's all!" Cheerilee waved her hooves frantically, desperate to change the subject. "Uh huh." Applejack was somewhat unconvinced by the teacher's frantic denials, but decided to let the matter rest for now. "Anyway, what were you doing charging around the corner like a minotaur in a china shop? You fair near cracked our skulls open! Is anything the matter?" Was anything the matter indeed. Still a little groggy, Cheerilee racked her brains for a minute to try and figure out why she, as a role model for children, had acted so irresponsibly. Did she try to avoid Scootaloo's out-of-control vehicle again? Was she on her way to replenish her supply of coffee? There was that whole thing with Diamond that morning... Oh, no. Trying to maintain as sanguine a facade as possible, but internally sweating buckets, Cheerilee confronted Applejack and grimaced awkwardly at her. "Well, as you're asking, there was a little incident today, the consequences of which I might need your help with now. Let me see, It all started when..." ........................................................................................................................... At the edge of the Everfree Forest, that most peaceful of ponies Fluttershy was busy feeding the birds outside, while humming a soothing little tune. "There we are my feathered friends, eat up..." She hovered slightly off the ground, while watching them peck up each tasty morsel with relish. Alongside her were a large grizzly bear, and a small white rabbit. You'd think the furry brown mammal would be the most dangerous creature in the sector, and the bunny would be the one needing protection. You'd be completely wrong. Angel tapped his foot impatiently, glancing at a pocket watch he somehow always managed to carry around with him, trying to attract his owner's attention away from her joyful interaction with her winged friends. Fluttershy noticed his impatience, and flew over there, giving him a sympathetic look. "Oh Angel, don't you worry. You'll get your food soon. As soon as I've fed the rest of these precious birds, and helped Mr Bear with his recurrent back injury, I'll be straight into that kitchen to whip you up that green salad you requested..." Angel was a little placated, but looked as if he wanted more. Fluttershy pondered for a moment, before remembering something. "With extra shredded carrots, of course. As a reward for being such a patient little bunny-wunny that I love so very much!" She massaged a tender spot between the rabbit's ears, which finally made him smile and wag his little cotton-tail with glee. He wasn't much one for the goo-goo talk, but rubbing that special area just above his forehead got him every time... All of a sudden, a loud noise echoed from the other side of Ponyville. It was louder than Pinkie's party cannon, the super deluxe model. More intense than a whole pack of Timberwolves howling simultaneusly. It even rivalled the explosion that denoted the tragic end of the Golden Oak library. A single sentence, ringing out through the treetops. "She's where? With who?!" The effect was instantaneous... Multitudes of birds flying off, temporarily blocking out the sun. A frightened bear ignoring his lumbar problems and making a break for it. Only the unruffled Angel and Fluttershy remained. The pegasus had her hoof over her mouth, a look of concern etched into her features. "Oh, my!" She stated. "That sounded like Applejack! I wonder what the matter could be..." Her consternation was cut short by a small tug on her back leg, and a white paw gesturing towards the cottage. Now that all other distractions had been dealt with, her pet expected to be given his meal. There and then. "I'm sorry, Angel Bunny..." Fluttershy conceded. "But your appetite will have to wait. This could be very important, and I don't want to let my friend down. I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm sure you understand. Be good, okay?" And with a little kiss blown into the wind, the yellow pegasus was away, leaving behind a very irate rabbit. Angel scowled as he watched his owner go, wondering what he'd done to deserve such shabby treatment. No, he didn't understand. No, he wasn't going to be good. An evil little plan entered his head. Unable to shake it off, he began to hop back to the cottage. Was Fluttershy ever going to be in for a surprise when she got home... ............................................................................................................................ More hopping was going on elsewhere in Ponyville, as Pinkie Pie made her way to the elementary, alongside a gasping Silver Spoon who, despite the party pony's odd gait, was struggling to keep up. "Wait...*Gasp*...For me...*Phew*" Came the call from the grey filly, as she tried to keep level with her faster companion. Pinkie looked back for a minute, with a wide grin. "What's the matter, slowpoke? This is only half my regular speed. If I went any slower, by the time we got there school would be out!" "Well, I'm sorry, but gym isn't exactly my best subject.*Wheeze*..." Silver stopped for a minute to catch her breath, her tongue practically hanging out of her mouth by a thread. "Oh, sorry to hear that!" Pinkie replied with genuine concern. "Would you like me to give you a ride there?" "What? N-no..." Spoon abruptly stuck her hooves up in protest. "What would happen if somepony important saw me? I'd never live it down...!" "Oh, come on! You don't have to be shy! I provide lifts for Gummy all the time and he never complains! Now, let me give you a hoof up onto my back. Alley oop!" The party pony went to grab onto a squirming Silver, whose howls of protest seemed to count for nothing. Fortunately for Spoon's dignity, if not her legs, both ponies were cut short by a familiar voice nearby. "Pinkie, darling. What are you doing here? And with Silver Spoon, too? Shouldn't you be at work?" It was Rarity, obviously. Poking her nose out of Carousal Boutique, where she'd just been sorting through a delivery of haberdashery the shop had received that very morning, before going to investigate the commotion outside. Silver and Pinkie glanced at each other. In the middle of their set-to, they hadn't realised where they'd stopped. Taught to be polite to her elders, Spoon was the first to speak. "Hello there, Rarity. My mother loves the new dress you made for her last week. Sorry about the noise me and Pinkie made outside your place of business. We were on our way to see Diamond Tiara about something important. We'll get out of your mane now..." "Oh, okay." Rarity responded, still a little nonplussed as to why they were making such a racket. "I guess you must be headed to the hospital." Pinkie and Silver's jaws hit the ground at this unexpected news. Literally, in the case of the party pony. Rarity looked startled on seeing this reaction. "Oh, my. You didn't know? I only just found out myself, from one of my customers who was working there when she was bought in. To think, this was just after Applejack left, after dropping off a load of material scraps for me. As her current primary caregiver, she should've been the first pony to be informed. I was just finishing up, before going down to Sweet Acres to tell her what had happened..." Silver Spoon wasn't able to listen to any more. If she'd felt bad previously, then now those feelings were now multiplied a hundred-fold. "This is all my fault..." She sobbed, tucking her head into Pinkie's body once more." Why did I say those horrible things to her? Now she's sick, and it's all because of me..." Rarity took a moment to assess the situation, before trotting over to Spoon and putting a comforting hoof around her neck. "Now, dear. You mustn't say those things without knowing all the facts. I'll tell you what, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll come down to see Diamond with you too..." "W-would you really?" Silver sniffled, feeling slightly better talking to a pony she had a lot more in common with than the rambunctious Pinkie. "B-but I'm not sure if I can make it there, now. I'm so tired already, and I just don't feel like travelling anymore. P-plus, what about you telling Applejack that Di is sick?" "If you don't have any objections, I'm ready to help carry you there, on my back. I have the most darling chiffon saddle you can recline on! Of course, I'll hold you in place with my magic as an added precaution" The white unicorn offered. Silver Spoon liked this idea. Going there in style, and far safer than balancing precariously on a manic party pony. "As for Applejack..." Rarity continued. "I'm sure Ms Pie would be more than happy to fetch her from the farm for us. Can you do that for us, darling?" Pinkie didn't respond. She was looking at a gathering cloud of dust, heading their way. Spotting who was causing it, the party pony replied, without looking back at Rarity, "I don't think that'll be necessary somehow..." ......................................................................................................................................................... "...So, that's the story." Cheerilee briefly filled in all interested parties on what had transpired that morning, leaving the listeners either shocked, confused, concerned or a combination of the three. "You mean to tell me..." Rarity stated with concern, putting a hoof to her mouth. " Diamond could be all alone in that hospital with that...That..." Being a lady, she didn't want to use the word. "Well, she ain't 'all alone' at least." Applejack replied. "My lil sis is there as well, and I trust she'll take of her. It still doesn't mean that we shouldn't get down there lickety split..." Pinkie didn't really understand everything, having not been present the previous night at the Rich mansion, but it sounded like a fun adventure. "I'll go too! It sounds like Miss Tiara needs cheering up, and nopony is better at that than humble old me!" Cheerilee, desperate to get going, started to once again take a few steps on the road to the hospital, which was not too far now. Her concern for Diamond was at an all-time-high, but she was also worried for Silver Spoon, who'd barely moved an inch since finding out the extent of her former best friend's suffering. "Hold on a minute, sugarcube..." That was Applejack again, stopping the teacher in her tracks. "Didn't you say you'd left a class full of students unsupervised? I mean, I'm sure everything's fine and dandy back at school, but isn't it sort of your job to make sure they get an education and not up to mischief?" Cheerilee froze. Oops. In her haste to make sure Tiara was okay, she'd plain forgotten about the rest of her pupils. And now, she had no idea what they were up to. She only hoped she hadn't left out any matches from the scientific experiment she was planning on exhibiting that afternoon... "Yes, you're right." She reluctantly agreed. "As worried as I am about Diamond, I must consider the needs of the rest of the children. Now that I've informed you, her adoptive parent about her circumstances, I suppose I've fulfilled my obligations, too. Come on, Silver Spoon. Let's go back to class. I think these mares have got everything under hoof here..." "No." Came the sharp reply from the grey filly, who'd now stopped crying and stood tall and resolute. "What?" Cheerilee looked over at her defiant pupil with surprise. Usually it was Tiara who was the belligerent one, not her easy-going best friend. " I said, no. It's my fault Di's in that hospital bed in the first place..." Silver stated with absolute conviction. "So it's up to me to make sure that I'm there for her now, in her hour of need. You couldn't stop me from going if you gave me with a month's detention." The teacher listened to this determined speech with admiration. Smiling back, she replied. "Okay, I hear you. How about a year's detention? Would that tip the balance of your decision, at all?" Spoon's strong stare crumbled under such a dire threat, and even the other ponies present seemed taken aback by this unwarranted punishment. Cheerilee savoured the moment, before deciding to break the ice with a giggle. "I was only joking. I'm proud of you, Silver Spoon, for standing by your friend. Both now, and in the past, too. With that kind of attitude, I think we know who the next class president is going to be! Of course you can stay! I've never seen such loyalty from anypony..." "Are you sure about that?" A voice from on high rang out. Everypony spun round to see who was speaking, and as they'd all guessed, it was the Element of Loyalty herself, Rainbow Dash. "I don't mean to blow my own horn, but I think I may just have the edge on that score..." Ignoring her friend's heedless egotism, Rarity asked "Rainbow, what are you doing here?" "I heard Applejack's 'little' yell all the way over in Cloudsdale." The blue pegasus said. "I gotta say, I was impressed! I think you've finally found the one area you can beat me in!" The orange mare rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever you say, Dash." "Anyway..." Rainbow continued. "I just had to see what was up, so I followed her and Cheerilee here, until they met up with everypony else, and I've been secretly eavesdropping from the clouds." "Hang on, hang on, isn't that a little rude?" Pinkie Pie disliked bad manners. "Oh yeah that's rich, coming from the most obtrusive pony in all of Equestria!" Rainbow sarcastically retorted. "In any case, I figure you could use my help, too. Besides, I want to see if they've got any new Daring-Do books at the hospital. They always seem to get first dibs on them..." "That's because the author, A K Yearling, selflessly prioritises sick foals and gives them a first read of her books a week before publication, for free!" Applejack replied crossly. "And anyway, I've got a better job for you. Could you fly down to Twilight's castle, and go and get her, please? I get the feeling she's going to want to be here for this, too..." Rainbow was on the verge of agreeing to the request and speeding off through the sky, before she and the group were halted by another voice, this one light and soft. "Um... I don't think she's there at the moment..." Fluttershy had finally tracked her friends down, and settled herself on the ground next to Rarity. "Whatever do you mean, darling?" The white unicorn asked her. Fluttershy cleared her throat, before speaking. "Well, she was called away on urgent business in Canterlot earlier on, and she asked me to look in on Owlicious this afternoon. She would usually have trusted Spike to feed him, but he's just got a fresh batch of comic books to keep him occupied, so she feared his attention might be diverted elsewhere..." The group grimaced as a whole, upon hearing that. Could they really handle what was going on inside the hospital, without royal authority? Pinkie Pie was in no doubt, though. "Let's go! My Pinkie Sense is telling me we have a sad filly in there, and it is my life's mission to make sure I can turn her frown upside-down! Come on, everypony! No more dawdling!" And with that, she rushed off, followed quickly by a freshly rejuvenated Silver Spoon and the other mares, Only Applejack stayed behind a moment, to tip her hat to Cheerilee as a goodbye gesture. The teacher watched them disappear with a sigh. How she wished sometimes she was part of an elite group of world-savers, instead of the drudgery of being a teacher, although she did love the children... Speaking of them, the school had better be in one piece when she returned. She galloped off in the opposite direction, trying to think of an excuse for her employers if her worst fears were realised. .................................................................................................... "So, what'd wanna do now?" Apple Bloom asked her friend, after Nurse Redheart had gone. "I don't know..." Diamond replied scratching her chin. "The nurse says I'll be here for a few hours at least, so they can make sure I'm okay. And this isn't like my mansion, where I have things to keep me entertained everywhere." "It is possible to have fun without spending loads of bits..." Bloom proposed. "For instance, have you ever tried juggling apples, apple bowling, climbing trees to get apples..." "Is there anything on your farm that you do, which doesn't revolve around apples?" Tiara asked, warily. Bloom looked at the pink filly as if she was speaking in a foreign language. "Um, well, we could always go and feed the pigs..." "Eww. Gross!" Diamond cringed at the mere thought. "Why would I possibly want anything to do with those foul creatures?" "Well, there are some similarities between you..." Bloom innocently commented, much to Tiara's chagrin. "What?!" Diamond lifted herself out of bed, and began advancing menacingly on her target. Bloom, realising she was in trouble, regretted her choice of words. "Um, I mean, you're pink like them. And you were covered in muck earlier, like them. Hey, do you remember the day Babs caused you to fall into that mud puddle with a pig in it? You gotta admit, that was kinda funny..." "I'm going to kill you!!" These were the hissed words that left Tiara's lips, as she launched her entire frame at her new roommate. "I was just kidding, Di. Cantcha take a joke?" Bloom was chased all over and around the bed, before jumping underneath it to escape the pink filly's wrath. "Get back here! Nopony compares me to one of those filthy beasts!" Tiara dived in after her. "I'm sorry!" Bloom was desperate to avoid being throttled. "You will be!" Came the angry response. Then suddenly, the door swung open, and three voices were heard. "I thought you said she was in here." Said a haughty, female voice that Diamond knew only too well. "She was. She must have gone to the bathroom, with that common friend of hers..." That was another stuck-up mare speaking. "Well, I hope they arrive back soon. We'll only be able to avoid the other nurses for so long, and that's to say nothing of the security..." A posh stallion now commented. "Listen you two, I did not come all the way down here and risk everything just to give up now. I intend to stay here until my Diamond reappears. Even if it takes all day." The first voice rang out again, with added panache. At this point, the bed creaked as the same mare sat down on it, followed by a grey stallion and a yellow mare making themselves comfortable. Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara, their little squabble completely forgotten, cowered at the bottom of the bed, huddled up together. What could they possibly do to get out of this situation?