//------------------------------// // Storm of the century // Story: The Mystery of a New World // by Fanthrose //------------------------------// Chapter 9 It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville, and AJ was happy to spend his day off having fun. Or he would have been, if he wasn’t going to be busy all day. His first stop for the day was Carousel Boutique to commission a coat from Rarity to keep him dry in the rain. He was hoping to have the coat ordered a week ago, but he has been busy on the farm all week. “So, do you think you could do that Rarity?” “It…will be a challenge. I’m used to making clothes for ponies. I never tried to make anything for other species,” Rarity said as she put on her glasses and grabbed her measuring tape. “Luckily it has been a slow month, so I’ll have more than enough time to get it perfect. Now tell me darling, what exactly what you were looking for.” “Well, let’s see. The only thing I really care about is that it’s water proof. Though Applejack did warn me to say, oh what were her words, ‘none of that frilly, girly, frou frou junk’ or something like that.” AJ laughed at his horrendous attempt to mimic Applejacks voice. After he finished laughing, AJ noticed how deflated Rarity looked. “I thought she liked all of my designs now, or at least tolerated them.” Rarity’s face turned from sadness into an angry pout as she spoke in a voice she thought was quiet enough no one would hear. “She is SO not getting any tonight.” Pretending he didn’t hear what she just said AJ tried to think of something to cheer Rarity up. “While I kinda have to agree with the ‘no frills’ thing, I see no reason why you can’t decide on the color or any design that goes into it. It’s your creation and you have every right to add your own special touch to it.” AJ gave a sheepish grin, hoping that would be enough. Rarity sat there for a minute pouting as she let what AJ said sink in. Suddenly her eyes shot open and looked like they had stars gleaming in them. “Oh darling, I know exactly what to do. I promise you won’t regret it. Now, step over here and let’s get those measurements.” ******************** After about an hour, AJ was finally released from Rarity’s grasp. Not only did Rarity get AJ’s measurements, she also had him stand there so she could use him as a living mannequin. Never having made any clothes for anything other than ponies, she needed AJ to stay long enough that she could get a rough draft made so she could go off of it. AJ, to say the least, was elated to be able to go. Being a living mannequin was not fun in the least. On more than a few occasions he was poked, prodded, and out right stabbed by pins and needles when he moved. While Rarity was sorry, she knew it was nothing serious. “I don’t think I’ll want to do this again anytime soon.” “Oh stop being a baby, you’ll be fine. Now, assuming I won’t have any distractions, I should be able to have it finished this after noon.” Rarity cringed as she heard a crashing come from upstairs. “Sweetie Belle, What are you doing up there?!” “Umm, nothing! Defiantly not breaking your favorite vase!” came the filly’s voice from upstairs. Rarity’s eye twitched when she heard what Sweetie Belle said. She quickly rushed upstairs to see the damage. Curious, AJ followed. When he got there, he saw Rarity standing over what AJ assumed to be the shattered remains of the vase with tears in her eyes. Rarity looked like her face was having a battle of whether to be overwhelmingly sad or murderously angry. “YOU BROKE GRANDMOTHER’S VINTAGE VASE! THIS WAS WHAT SHE GAVE ME TO REMEMBER HER BY!” “Rarity I’m sorry. I was just coming to show you the dress I just made when I tripped over it and fell into the vase,” Sweetie Belle said as she pointed at the abomination of fabric sitting next to her. “Please don’t be angry Rarity.” "Angry? Angry doesn’t even BEGIN to explain what I’m feeling right now!” Rarity was violently shaking with anger at this point. “Hey, calm down Rarity. She didn’t mean to break anything.” All AJ got for attempting to calm down Rarity was a stare he thought was going to murder him where he stood. “U-umm, w-why don’t I go take it over to Mr. Fix-it’s shop? I-I’ve seen him fix stuff for Applejack before. By the time he was done with them, they looked good as new.” With a big, sheepish smile, AJ slowly backed away from the angry unicorn in fear of getting gored. “I’ll even take Sweetie Belle with me.” Quicker than AJ has ever seen Rarity move, she bagged the remains of the vase, practically threw them and Sweetie Belle into his arms, and pushed him out the door shouting something to Sweetie that neither of them heard in all the confusion. Sweetie started sniffling and looked down for a minute before speaking up. “Do you think Rarity hates me now?” “No. She’s just mad because of what happened to the vase. She’ll cool down when she realizes it was only an accident.” To try to cheer her up, he started rubbing her head. “Now let’s go get the vase to Mr. Fix-it. After that, I’ll get you something from Sugarcube Corner.” “C-can I have a big ice cream sandwich?” Sweetie Belle asked as she wiped a tear from her eye. Seeing AJ nod was all she needed to cheer up as she hopped circles around him. ******************** Sweetie Belle was still hopping about when they exited Mr. Fix-it’s shop. AJ could only laugh when she tripped and fell on her face, only to quickly get up and start hopping again. When they reached Sugarcube Corner, they saw Ditzy Doo trotting out carrying a box in her mouth. A small pale purple filly with a light yellow mane that looked even younger than Sweetie Belle trotting next to her. “Hey Ditzy, how are you today?” “Ugh. Hgh AhJg…” Reaching back and placing the box on her back, she tried again. “Oh, Hi AJ. I’m doing great! What are you doing here?” AJ looked around for a second, as if he was looking for someone. “Well, Applejack wanted me to ask Pinkie if she could throw Apple Bloom a surprise party for her birthday next week.” He looked at Sweetie Belle who was now talking to the little filly who came out with Ditzy. “I also promised Sweetie something from Sugarcube Corner. Now, if I may ask, who’s this little cutie?” Looking at the two fillies, Ditzy smiled with pride. “This is my daughter, Dinky Doo. She’s my little muffin.” “Mommy, don’t call me that, it’s embarrassing,” Dinky said running up to her mother. She looked up to AJ with a smiled and waved. “Hello Mr. Monster man.” “Dinky, he is not a monster man,” Ditzy scolded Dinky. “Now, apologize to AJ.” Dinky looked at the ground and shuffled her hooves. “I’m sorry Mr. AJ” AJ had to resist the urge to reach down and hug the cute little filly. “It’s ok, don’t worry about it.” Dinky smiled and returned to playing with Sweetie Belle. “So, where did the muffin nickname come from?” AJ asked turning back to Ditzy. Ditzy blushed a bit at the question. “Well, when I was pregnant with Dinky, I had the most unbearable craving for muffins. Every day felt incomplete if I didn’t have at least one. Even after she was born, I still get intense cravings for muffins every now and then. Because of the cravings, I just started calling her muffin sometimes. Carrot Top likes to give me hell about it from time to time. It’s all in good fun though.” The two of them laughed a bit and watched the fillies play for a little bit. “Wow, I’ve known you for two weeks, and I didn’t know you were a mother. You don’t even look any older than Fluttershy. You must take great care of yourself.” Ditzy stopped smiling and her eyes shot open. Losing her concentration for a second, her eyes started moving away from each other. Her mouth hung open in shock as a tear ran down her cheek. “Ditzy? Are you OK?” Ditzy blinked her eyes to fix them. “Um, well, you see...” Not knowing what to say, she panicked and made a quick escape. “YupneverbetterohlookatthetimegottogocomeonDinkyletsgo!” Ditzy dashed over to Dinky, dropping the box on her back. She scooped up Dinky and flew away as fast as she could. AJ just stood there confused as Sweetie Belle came walking up to him. “What’s wrong with Ms. Ditzy?” “I don’t know, but I think I should go apologize.” Picking up the box that Ditzy dropped, AJ sighed. “Looks like my list will have to be postponed for a little while.” He looked down at Sweetie Belle who was looking up at him with big eyes. “After I get you your ice cream sandwich of course.” ******************** “You sure this is where she lives Pinkie?” AJ asked the pink pony at his side. “Yup. Ditzy’s lived with Carrot Top for years. Before then she lived with her parents in Canterlot until she moved here 7 years ago. *GASP* I never threw her a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! Well, it’s never too late. Let’s see, I’ll need streamers, balloons, piniat-hmffs…” Pinkie’s rambling was stopped when AJ covered her mouth with his hand. “I think you should stick to Apple Bloom’s party for now Pinkie. Think you could watch Sweetie while I go talk to her?” AJ looked over at Sweetie Belle who was sitting next to Pinkie finishing her ice cream sandwich. She had ice cream and crumbs all around her mouth. “Sure, she can help me plan the party. Oh it’s going to be sooo much fun!” Without waiting for a response from AJ, Pinkie grabbed Sweetie Belle, put her on her back, and hopped her way back to Sugarcube Corner with Sweetie Belle hanging on for dear life. Knocking on the door, AJ tried to think of what he had done to make her run away so fast. Was it his compliment? Did his compliment somehow offend her? Should he take it back and say her body was horrible? No, that’s stupid. To busy with his thoughts, AJ didn’t notice the door opening. “Hello, can I help you?” Hearing the voice knocked AJ out of his thoughts as he turned to see Carrot Top standing in the door way. “Oh, hi. Umm, Is Ditzy home right now?” “She’s home, but I don’t think she’s in the mood to talk to anypony right now,” Carrot Top said as she turned her head to look up the staircase behind her. "She came home about 10 minutes ago crying.” He felt even worse now. He had just caused probably his best friend in this place to run home crying, and he didn’t know why. “I’m afraid I’m to blame for that. I think I said something to her that I shouldn’t have.” “Well, what did you say to her? There are not a lot of subjects that make her…sad.” Carrot Top’s eyes got wide as she realized something. “You were talking about Dinky’s birth weren’t you?” “Kinda, all I said to her was I didn’t know she was a mother, and that she must take great care of her body cause she looks no older than Fluttershy.” Carrot Top shook her head and sighed. “Why don’t you come in. I think you and Ditzy have some things to talk about.” “If it’s alright with you, I think I’d rather let this drop,” AJ said shaking his head. “If it makes her that uncomfortable, I’m not going to force her to talk about it. Could you just give her these and tell her I’m sorry?” AJ handed the box over to Carrot Top who placed them on her back. “I hope we can still be friends after this.” “Oh trust me. This isn’t the first time somepony’s brought up this subject around Ditzy. She just needs some time to calm down and she’ll be right as rain again. I’ll give her the message, and her muffins.” She didn’t even need to open the box to know what was inside. As AJ left, Carrot Top trotted inside and saw Ditzy at the top of the stairs wiping tears out of her eyes. “Ditzy, you know you can’t keep running from the problem like that. You should have told him.” “I-I know. I-I tried to tell him the story but, but it’s just..” Ditzy took a moment to sniffle, looking positively miserable. “...so hard.” Ditzy collapsed to the ground and started bawling her eyes out. Carrot Top knew all she could do is be there for her friend. She placed the muffins on the table next to the door and went up the stairs to comfort her friend. ******************** It was late in the afternoon when AJ and Sweetie Belle returned to the Carousel Boutique. They just finished picking up the vase from Mr. Fix-it and like AJ said, it looked good as new. As soon as Rarity saw them enter the shop, Sweetie Belle was immediately swept up in a crushing hug. “Oh Sweetie Belle. I’m so sorry for yelling at you earlier. I should have known that it was just an accident.” “Rarity, I can’t breath,” Sweetie Belle managed to squeak out. AJ placed the vase on the table next to the door and watched Rarity smother Sweetie in the hug. When he was sure he saw Sweetie’s consciousness fading, AJ cleared his throat to grab Rarity’s attention. “I think Sweetie’s going to need air soon Rarity.” Realizing her sister was slowly fading, Rarity lessened the pressure of the hug and Sweetie gasped for some much needed air. “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but that was the only thing I could think about all day. I had trouble concentrating on the order. I had to start over twice.” She let her sister go and turned to AJ. “But I did manage to complete it. It’s in the back.” She motioned for AJ to follow her into the back. AJ was led to a table in the back of the room where a folded piece of clothing was lying on it. Rarity lifted the hooded coat and unfolded it, showing it to AJ. The coat was a dark regal shade of purple that practically glowed in the afternoon sun that shone through the window. It was long enough to reach down to AJ’s ankles. A zipper at the collar extended all the way down to just past the groin. A heavy hood hung from the back. An intricate, gold design, decorated the edges of the hood and the end of the sleeves. The middle of the back was designed with a small mural of a tree. The trunk was done in a deep crimson red, while the leaves were done in a vibrant emerald green. A couple vibrant red apples dotted the leaves. AJ could only guess it was to signify his job at the orchard. Overall, it was a lot more than AJ was expecting. That’s not to say he didn’t appreciate the extra work Rarity put into it. “Wow, this is amazing.” Glowing with pride, Rarity still wanted to see if she made it right. “Try it on darling. I want to make sure I made it right.” Watching AJ put on the coat, she watched for any signs that would tell her if she messed up. “So, how is it?” AJ moved around in the coat. He went through all ranges of motion with his arms, moved his head around, bent over to pick things up, and walked around the room. It was a little heavy, but it was nice and toasty and he had no doubt it would keep him dry in the rain. “Everything seems to fit just fine. This is great, thanks a ton Rarity. How much do I owe you?” “Oh no no no, I couldn’t charge you for this; especially after you took care of Sweetie Belle for me today. This is on me, I insist.” Rarity bowed slightly as she spoke. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for the…” before AJ could finish, Rarity silenced him with a shake of her head and a ‘no’. “That’s extremely generous of you.” Taking off the coat, Rarity folded it again and placed it in a box so AJ could easily carry it to the farm. Goodbyes were exchanged and AJ could finally relax on his day off. ******************** The next morning, AJ was woken up by a loud boom coming from outside. When he looked out the window, he saw dark storm clouds as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t raining yet, but lightning could be seen dancing through the clouds for miles. Looking at the clock, he saw it was already 9:00. He got dressed and walked downstairs to find a fuming Applejack sitting at the table. “Oh Ah’m gonna give Rainbow a peace of mah mind fer this weather. There weren’t supposed ta be any storms till next week!” “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this whole ‘planned weather’ thing you guys do here in Equestria,” AJ said as he sat down at the table. His comment earned him a glare from Applejack who wasn’t in the mood for it. “What?” Apple Bloom came running down the stairs with Big Mac following behind. “Applejack, Ah thought it was supposed ta be sunny today. Ah was gonna hang out with Scootaloo an’ Sweetie Belle today.” “Look’s like it’ll have ta wait till tomorrow Apple bloom,” Big Mac said as he walked to the counter to start breakfast. “Do y’all think maybe they gave th’ wrong date fer th’ storm?” “Ah don’t know but Ah plan on findin’ out after breakfast.” Applejack didn’t bother waiting for Big Mac to finish anything. She just grabbed some apples and chowed down. “I’ll come with you. Since it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting any work done today, it’ll give me something to do,” AJ said grabbing an apple himself. He ran upstairs to grab his new coat since it would probably start raining any minute. As AJ came down the stairs with the coat on, Applejack just stared at him. “You ain’t really wearin’ that thing are ya?” “Yup. It’s nice and warm. And while it’s a bit fancier than something I’d usually wear, I like it,” AJ said as he reached down to zip the coat up. Applejack just facehoofed before stepping out the door. AJ followed her and they walked towards the rest of Ponyville. ******************** As AJ thought, it had started raining shortly after they left the farm house. By the time they got into Ponyville proper, it was absolutely pouring. The two of them took shelter under a gazebo in the park hoping the rain would let up soon. As they were hiding, Applejack noticed a distinct rainbow trail streaking across the sky. She was about to call out, when she saw an army of weather ponies following behind her. “What th’ hay is going on here? Ponyville don’t have that many weather ponies.” Applejack left the safety of the gazebo to go talk with Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, what th’ hay is goin’ on here?!” Looking down, Rainbow made her way down to ground level to talk with Applejack an AJ. “What the hay are you two doing out here? You should be inside!” “What’s going on Rainbow? What’s with all the storm clouds and what’s with the army of pegasi?” AJ asked motioning to the giant group of weather ponies. Rainbow took one quick look at the sky. “The cloud making machines in Cloudsdale are on the fritz. They're spewing out storm clouds uncontrollably and all of the clouds are blowing towards Ponyville. They’re trying to fix them, but until then it’s our job to keep the damage here to a minimum. They sent us Brolly and his entire weather team from Cloudsdale to help.” As if on being called by his name, Brolly flew down to talk to Rainbow. “Rainbow, we need you up here now. If we don’t hurry, things are going to get a lot worse.” “OK, I’m coming. You two should get inside now. Let us take care of things.” Rainbow met up with Brolly and they both flew up to their teams. Applejack looked into the sky as the teams split up to tackle the storm. “It would take too long ta get back ta the farm. Maybe we could shack up with Pinkie till th’ storms over. Sugarcube Corner’s probably th’ closest place an’ Pinkie would probably make a sleep over of it.” With that, the two of them ran towards the sweets shop. ******************** Applejack and AJ ran threw the door of Sugarcube Corner much to the surprise of Mrs. Cake who was cleaning the store front. “Oh my, what is going on dears?” Even though he was out of breath, AJ was the first to answer. “We were…caught in the…storm and…this was the…closest place…to go.” “Would it be too much trouble if we stayed here with Pinkie till th’ storm blows over?” Applejack finished for AJ, letting him catch his breath. “Oh that would be wonderful. The poor dear’s been feeling so down all morning because of the weather. Having company should cheer her right up. She’s in her room, go on up.” Mrs. Cake waved her hoof towards the stairs inviting the two of them into their home. When AJ and Applejack got to Pinkie’s room, they opened the door to find Pinkie slouched over at the window watching the storm. Gummy was clamped tightly to the tip of her hair. “Oh Gummy, why did today have to be such a poopy day? I still have a lot of party supplies to get.” As usual, the only response Pinkie got from Gummy was a squeak as he let go of her mane. Applejack was about to make there presence known, when AJ had an idea. He motioned to Applejack to be silent as he crept over to Pinkie. He moved slowly making sure he didn’t make any noise. When Gummy looked in his direction, AJ put a finger up to his mouth silently telling him to stay silent. Gummy just blinked out of sync. When he got behind Pinkie, he got ready. “Huh, why is my knee all pinchy?” “HI PINKIE!” The shout caused Pinkie to leap into the air and fall onto her back. When she looked up, she saw AJ and Applejack laughing which caused her to start laughing. “Oh my gosh, what are you two doing here?” Pinkie asked still laughing. “Th’ storm brought us here sugarcube. Mrs. Cake told us we could stay here till th’ storm’s over,” Applejack said helping Pinkie up. “She also said you'd been been feelin’ a bit down cause th’ weather. She was worried ‘bout ya.” Pinkie let out an excited gasp and smiled broadly. “That means we can have a sleepover! Oh I’ll go get the food!” With that, Pinkie ran out of the room, leaving a pink, Pinkie shaped cloud in her place. AJ tapped Applejack on the shoulder. “She knows that it’s only about 10:30 in the morning, and that the storm could lighten up by then, right?” “Yup. That’s Pinkie for ya. Any chance to spend time with her friends, she’ll take it.” Applejack said as she plopped down on a beanbag chair. Suddenly Pinkie appeared in the doorway smiling and bouncing up and down. “Hey guys, I made us some hot chocolate. Let’s go downstairs and drink it!” Then as quickly as she appeared, she was gone, leaving yet another pink cloud in her place. “How did she make it so fast?” AJ asked as he looked to Applejack. He just got a look that said ‘I don’t know, and you’re better off not knowing.’ The two of them got up and headed back downstairs, and sure enough, sitting on one of the tables was three cups of hot chocolate. Sitting at the table, Pinkie brought a bag of mini marshmallows out for anyone who wanted them in their hot chocolate. Pinkie’s cup ended up having a mountain of the small puffs towering out of it. ******************** The three of them sat there talking for awhile. Laughing, drinking hot cocoa and eating freshly baked cupcakes that Mr. Cake had brought them. Looking out the window, Applejack noticed that some parts of the town were starting to flood pretty badly. The weather ponies had already made this section of the town safe in case of flooding, but they still had a lot of work to do. Brolly and his team could be seen trying to break up some of the clouds to make the storm less intense while Rainbow’s team were taking care of damage control. “Look’s like we may be in fer th’ long haul today.” “Don’t worry Applejack; I have the perfect sleepover plan. First we’ll play games, then we’ll watch some movies, then we’ll eat some cupcakes, then we’ll…” Pinkie was interrupted when a certain bluish grey pegasus came stumbling through the door. She was shivering and had tears in her eyes. “Has anypony…seen Dinky…I can’t…find her anywhere.” Ditzy was able to get the sentence out before she collapsed on the ground breathing heavily. Applejack ran up to Ditzy to help her up and noticed she was bleeding from the side of her head. “Ditzy, what happened?! Yer bleedin’!” “I was bringing Dinky over to Sparkler’s house this morning when we got caught in the rain. We were running for cover, when I heard a loud crack, and then nothing.” Ditzy stopped to rub her head a bit. “I don’t remember much after that, but when I woke up, Dinky was gone. Please, you have to help me find her!” Pinkie came up to Ditzy with a first aid kit in her mouth. “You’re not going anywhere missy, you’re hurt. Besides, if we tell Dashie, I’m sure she’ll find her.” Applejack started cleaning the wound on Ditzy’s head so she could wrap it. “I already told the weather team. They haven’t found her yet. Please, you have to help me!” “Settle down sugarcube; now tell me, where have ya looked already?” Applejack asked as she reached for the bandages. “After this, the only places I haven’t checked are the area’s that have started flooding already.” Ditzy got up as if she was about to head out into the rain once again. She was still shivering, but at least her wound was cleaned and dressed. “Yer not going anywhere missy,” Applejack said with authority. “Yer in bad shape and Ah’ll be damned if ah let you go anywhere like this. Pinkie here will watch ya while we go out an’ search for Dinky.” “If you’re going out there dear, use my coat,” Mrs. Cake said as she walked into the room carrying a coat on her back. “It may be a bit big on you, but it will keep you warm in this dreadful weather.” “Thank ya kindly Mrs. Cake.” Applejack took the coat and slipped it on. She hung her hat on the coat rack and pulled the hood up. AJ had already slipped into his new coat and was waiting outside for Applejack. “Don’t worry Ditzy; I won’t come back till we find her.” Ditzy smiled as Pinkie dropped a towel and a blanket next to her. When Applejack was ready, the two of them ran out to brave the storm. ******************** “So what’s th’ plan?” Applejack asked as the two of them were blasted by wind and rain. “Well, Ditzy said she checked all the area’s that haven’t been flooded, so our best bet would be to start over there,” AJ said, pointing in the direction of the flooded area’s. “Do ya realize jus’ how dangerous that’ll be? By now th’ water’s too deep for an earth pony to properly walk. If this continues, Ah’ll be swimmin’ within th’ hour.” Applejack didn’t like the idea of going through the flooded areas, and she was right. It was dangerous for a pony to traverse that area at this point. But a human, that was a different story. “It may be too deep for you, but for me it’ll be no problem,” AJ said with smile. “Why don’t you give the non-flooded area’s another check. Dinky may be on the move and looking for her mom this area. If you can’t find her, tell the weather ponies to keep an eye out for me and go back to Sugarcube Corner. We don’t want you getting hurt too.” Applejack stomped her hoof. “No, Ah won’t leave you alone out here. Ah’ll learn to breath under water before ah leave ya out here in this weather.” “I can’t let you do that Applejack. I don’t want to have to tell Big Mac and Apple Bloom that I let you go into danger if you got hurt.” AJ was ready to be just as stubborn as Applejack if it meant keeping her out of trouble. “I’ll take care of the flooded area.” Not wanting to argue anymore in this weather, Applejack agreed only if they tell the weather ponies about their mission first. After giving the message to the first pegasus they saw, Applejack ran off to the west, while AJ went east to battle the flood. ******************** As AJ passed the flood barrier, he was interrupted by an angry looking Rainbow Dash. “What the hell are you doing you moron? I thought I told you to get inside!” “I see our message reached you,” AJ said as he shirked off the angry pegasus. “We have to find Dinky, Rainbow. We have no idea where she is, and she may not be visible from the sky.” “You think I don’t know that? I have half of my team searching for her. About a forth of them had to be hospitalized from injuries already when we tried to search on the ground.” Rainbow was not happy about being told how to do her job. “If you’re so smart, why don’t you come up with a plan?” “Just give me two of your team to help me with the ground level search. The rest of you keep searching from the sky.” Rainbow just stared at AJ. “That’s a horrible plan.” “Well you try thinking of a better one under pressure,” AJ said in defense. Sighing, Rainbow called over two members of her Dinky search team to join up with AJ. “Dizzy Twister, Merry May, you two will take orders from him for now, don’t mess up.” With those words of 'encouragement' Rainbow flew back to the rest of her team to give them the low down. “OK you two, were going to start by going down the main streets. Leave no stone unturned. If we don’t find her on the streets, we’ll search the ally ways. The only rule I can give is stay together. Make sure we can all see each other at all times.” With salute from the two of them, the search was on. ******************** Applejack wasn’t having any luck finding Dinky. She had been searching for a half an hour and she was still unable to find her. She was running out of places to search and was starting to lose hope that Dinky was somewhere safe. The only place she had left to search was the school house. When the building was in sight, a big smile grew on Applejacks face when she saw the lights on. When she got to the school, she threw the door open and ran in to see a big group of ponies huddled up in the safety of the building. “Has anypony here seen Dinky Doo? She’s missin’ an’ her mother’s worried sick.” “Little Dinky’s out in this storm?” came a worried voice from behind Applejack. Turning around Applejack saw Cheerilee coming out of the office. “Yea. Me n AJ are out lookin’ fer her in the storm. Ditzy ran herself ragged an’ is restin’ at Surgarcube Corner right now.” “That’s AJ and I, Applejack.” Seeing the unamused look on Applejacks face told her now was not the time that. “Sorry, force of habit. Nopony here has seen Dinky. Is there anything I can do?” “Just stay here and keep safe.” With that, Applejack began her trek back to Sugarcube corner. ******************** AJ, Dizzy Twister and Merry May were working like a well oiled machine. They were making there way down each street, checking every house, every nook and cranny looking for Dinky Doo. Unfortunately they haven’t found hide nor hair of the little filly. Like Applejack, they too were running out of places to look. There were only a few more allies and one more road to check. The flooding on this street wasn’t as bad as in some areas, but for a small filly like Dinky, it was bad enough that they would need to hurry. They were about half way down the street when Dizzy Twister heard a very faint voice calling out over the rain and wind. “I think I hear something! Dinky Doo, can you hear me!” The three of them followed the voice to an upturned store cart that had been blown over in the wind. “Dinky, are you there?” “Help me please! I want my mommy!” “Can you move?” AJ asked as he tried to look underneath. “N-no, I can’t move my leg!” “OK, hold on! Were going to lift this thing up and get you out of there! You two, get the cart, I’ll reach under and grab her!” Dizzy and Merry each took a side and lifted the heavy cart. They weren’t able to lift it very far, but it was enough to get Dinky’s leg out and get her out from under the cart. “Everything’s going to be okay Dinky, you’re safe now. Dizzy, go to Sugarcube Corner and let Ditzy know we found Dinky. Merry, you go tell Rainbow. I’ll go get her to the hospital.” AJ unzipped his coat a bit and placed Dinky inside to keep her warm until he got her to the hospital. ******************** Applejack had finally gotten back to Sugarcube Corner. When she walked in the door, Mr. Cake took her coat and pointed her up to Pinkie’s room. He told her he would bring her some nice hot soup and some hot tea to warm her up. When she opened the door to Pinkie’s room, she was welcomed by a big sneeze and a sniffle from Ditzy Doo who was now wrapped in a big blanket in front of a heater. Pinkie was wearing a nurse’s outfit she got from Celestia knows where and was feeding her some nice hot soup. When Ditzy saw Applejack at the door, she got up with a big smile on her face. “Did you find her? Tell me you...” She was forced to pause as she sneezed loudly. “..you found Dinky?” Applejack shook her head grimly. “Ah’m sorry surgarcube. Ah looked everywhere ah could. Th’ only place she could be now is in th’ flooded area’s.” She saw the look of dread on Ditzy’s face as tears started to form in her eyes once again. “AJ’s still out there though, Ah’m sure he’ll find ‘er.” “He has to find her,” Ditzy said between sobs. “I don’t want to lose her too.” As Applejack sat next to Ditzy to comfort her, they heard a commotion come from downstairs. Mr. Cake was talking to somepony who sounded like they were in a hurry. Then they heard somepony running up the steps and down the hall to Pinkie’s room. Dizzy Twister burst into the room, still dripping water everywhere. “Dizzy? What’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked the drenched pegasus. “Ditzy, we found Dinky!” Ditzy rushed over and grabbed Dizzy by the shoulders. “Where is she? Where’s my little Muffin?” “AJ took her to the hospital. She’ll be fine now. That was the first place we made flood proof.” Ditzy was about to make a b-line for the hospital when she felt something holding her tail, keeping her in place. “Whoa there partner, you ain’t goin’ nowhere. Yer in no condition ta be goin back out in this weather.” “Applejack let me go! I have to go see Dinky!” Ditzy said trying to pry her tail from the powerful earth pony. “Weeeeeee! Pony pile!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she leapt into the air and landed on Applejack, making her let go of Ditzy’s tail. Taking the chance, Ditzy raced out the door as fast as she could and made her way to the hospital. “Pinkie, what th’ hay was that fer?” Applejack asked glaring at the pink pony on top of her. “You two looked like you were having so much fun I wanted to join in.” Pinkie just laughed and smiled as Applejack facehoofed. ******************** Ditzy made record time to the hospital despite the storm. When she bolted through the door, she was 'greeted' by a surprised looking Nurse Redheart. “Ditzy, what are you doing out in this weather, and what happened to your head?” “No time! Where’s Dinky?! Where’s my little Muffin!” “I think I can answer that Ms. Doo.” Ditzy turned to the hallway to see Dr. Whooves looking at a clip board. “Dinky was brought in a little while ago by the hu-man. She has a broken leg and she has been coughing quite a bit. We just finished with the x-ray of her chest and we’ll soon find out if she has pneumonia.” Ditzy barley heard what the Dr. Whooves said. She just wanted to see her daughter. “Can I please go see her doctor?” “Of course, follow me.” Ditzy could barley walk in a straight line as she followed the doctor. She was so happy she would finally be able to see her daughter she was shaking with glee. “Ah, here we are, room E17.” Dr. Whooves opened the door to let Ditzy inside. “I’ll give you some time with your daughter. I’ll be back once we get the results.” The first thing Ditzy saw when she entered the room was AJ sitting on the floor leaning against the wall who was now looking at her with a smile on his face. “AJ how’s Dinky?” “Shhh, she’s sleeping,” AJ said in a hushed tone as he pointed to the bed. Ditzy looked to the bed and saw her daughter’s sleeping form in the bed. Her chest was slowly moving up and down. Ditzy walked over to the bed and hugged her daughter. “It’s ok my little Muffin, mommy’s here.” AJ sat back and watched the heart warming scene that played out before him. For minutes, Ditzy sat there holding Dinky in her legs. The nightmare was finally over. “AJ, you were still wondering why I look so young weren’t you?” Her question shocked AJ a little. From what happened the previous day, AJ knew this was a touchy subject for her. “Umm, yea, but if it makes you uncomfortable you don’t have to say anything.” Ditzy sat there for a minute in silence. “You said that I don’t look any older than Fluttershy, right?” AJ nodded. “Well, that’s because I’m not. I’m only 22 years old.” AJ’s jaw dropped. He had not expected this. “That means…that means that Dinky was born when you were…” Ditzy nodded her head. “I was only 15 when Dinky was born. Before I lived here in Ponyville, I used to live in Canterlot.” “Yea, that’s what Pinkie said.” “She didn’t tell you why I moved though, did she.” AJ shook his head. “I’ll tell you the whole story. When I was 13, I was just your normal, everyday filly. Up till that point, I had never loved anypony romantically. One day, we got a new student. He was a unicorn named Morning Glory. He had a beautiful purple coat, a long silver mane and beautiful emerald eyes. His cutie mark was two morning glories tied together in the shape of a heart. It was love at first sight.” Ditzy had to stop to wipe some tears out of her eyes. “A week later, while she was visiting for the weekend, Carrot Top convinced me to go talk to him and ask him out. I had to ask Carrot Top what happened, but apparently he said yes and because I was so nervous I must have blacked out. I woke up on a park bench with Morning Glory and Carrot Top looking down at me.” “So this Morning Glory guy, I assume he’s Dinky’s father?” AJ asked Ditzy nodded sadly. “We were together for two years. It was on my 15th birthday when everything between us changed. After the party, he stayed behind to be with me. My parents had left for the night because they trusted that I wouldn’t burn down the house. When we were alone, he asked something of me that I didn’t expect. He asked if we could take our relationship to the next level. At first I wasn’t so sure, but he convinced me that nothing would change between us. He said he would always love me. So we did it. It was great, just me and him, joined as one. A few weeks later, I started getting sick. Every morning like clockwork I would have to throw up. You should have seen the look on my moms face when the doctor told us I was with foal. Despite getting the talk, my parents were behind me the entire time.” She had to stop again to wipe more tears away. “That’s when I went to tell Morning Glory the news. When I told him he was silent for awhile. I was sure he was just so happy he was going to be a father that he had to collect his thoughts.” Ditzy’s head dropped as more tears started pouring down her cheeks. “That’s when he said he never wanted to see me again.” AJ’s jaw dropped again. “He did what?” “He-he told me that he would deny that this happened to anypony who asked. He said that he wanted nothing to do with the foal. He kicked me out of his house and left me to cry in the street.” A loud sniffle interrupted the sad tale. “I loved him so much!” Ditzy was sobbing uncontrollably now. Not knowing what to do, AJ just did the first thing that came to mind. He got up, walked over to Ditzy, and threw his arms around her in a big hug. He would just hold her there, letting her cry into his shoulder until she was ready to continue. After a few minutes Ditzy calmed down enough to continue her story. “A few weeks later I had asked Carrot Top if I could move in with her and her parents here in Ponyville. I wanted to be as far away from that bastard as I could be. I also thought it would be easier for me to raise a child in a much quieter location like Ponyville. After our parents had talked it through, we all agreed and I moved. My parents sent me a letter every week asking how I was. With the letter they always sent money so life would be easier. About ten months later Dinky was born. It was the happiest moment of my life. I know it’s been seven years, but his betrayal still hurts so badly. Carrot has tried to help me, but whenever somepony brings up Dinky’s birth, I can’t help but think of Morning Glory.” At that moment, Ditzy covered her mouth with a hoof and yawned. “Oh, I’m sorry. I guess today took a lot out of me, huh.” It was true. Though it was still relatively early in the day, Ditzy had gone through a lot. “Why don’t you get some sleep. I’ll go talk to Dr. Whooves for you.” Nodding, Ditzy climbed into bed next to Dinky and hugged her till she fell asleep. AJ walked out of the room and closed the door only to find Dr. Whooves sitting on a chair outside the room. “How long did we keep you waiting?” “Oh, not too long.” Getting to the point, Dr. Whooves pulled out an envelope with the x-rays inside. “Ms. Doo will be happy to know Dinky will be fine. She doesn’t have pneumonia. Though we would like to keep her here for a few days while she recovers. As for you, you’re welcome to stay here until the storm is over. If you’re hungry, the cafeteria is down the hall and to the left.” With a slight bow, the doctor walked down the hall to check on his other patients. **************************************** (For fans of Dr. Whooves, yes he will be in this story every now and then. No, he will not have anything to do with Dr. Who, so don’t expect any TARDIS or Dr. Who jokes. Also sorry it took longer for this chapter to come out. Blame Saints Row the Third.) My little pony © Hasbro Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust