The Young Dancers Fight for Life
Chapter 45
It’s been about a month and a half since Knight’s transformation. With a little help from the Apples, Ditzy, the cakes, pretty much everypony around him, AJ’s been doing his best to raise his new son. He knew he had a lot to learn, but there were times he felt like he was in over his head. Despite this, he was assured he was doing just fine.
Applejack was getting quite aggravated with the fact that AJ just couldn't seem to find it in himself to punish Knight. He would always attempt to defend the little colt, no matter what he did. ‘Oh come on Applejack, he’s just a kid. He’ll learn eventually, I just know it,’ he would say. She’s tried to punish him herself since AJ refused to, only to find out that AJ went behind her back. Instead of being sent to his room without dessert, Knight instead spent the night eating pudding and watching cartoons. After that, Applejack and Big Mac made it their duty to teach AJ how to properly punish a foal. It took many tries, and more than a few facehooves, but he finally punished Knight. It was about as light of a punishment as possible, but it was a start.
Ditzy’s household remained pretty much the same. The biggest difference was that AJ would bring Knight along with him when he visited. It wasn’t so bad. Knight and Dinky got along relatively well, with only the occasional tormenting. Needless to say those were the only times before his training that AJ found it in himself to punish Knight. He may have loved Knight with all his heart, but Dinky was still his little angel, so when Knight tried to steal Dinky’s cookies, or pulled her tail, he had to regulate.
Other than the new foal in the picture, things were good around the house. Dinky was getting good grades, and was excited for her, quickly approaching, birthday. Carrot’s been in the best mood of her life since she started going out with Finn. And Ditzy could see why. Other than his more idiotic tendencies, she still couldn’t believe how he initially got her attention, or that one pony could come up with so many conspiracy theories when they were tired, he seemed like a very nice pony. Even his roommate Feather seemed to be nice. When he could actually pull himself away from his work, that is.
Yup, things finally seemed to be looking up in Ditzy’s life.
“FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUCK!!!”
Nevermind.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Dammit!” shouted Ditzy as she slammed her head on the bathroom counter. “No, no, no, damnit, no! Why did this have to happen? It can’t happen!” Dinky, who had been wondering why her mom was spending so much time in the bathroom, and why she was swearing so much, heard a particularly loud thud. “Owwwwwchie! Too hard! Very too hard!”
“Mommy? Are you alright? You’re swearing again!”
A slight commotion could be heard from the other side of the door. It ended with the sound of something being stuffed into the waste basket. The door swung open to show Ditzy standing there with a fake, yet bright smile on her face. “Oh, Dinky, hi! Sorry, mommy just...stubbed her hoof,” she said. She hated lying to her precious little muffin, but… “It really, really hurt, so mommy got a bit...vocal.” Ditzy noticed the shocked stare on Dinky’s face. “What?”
“Mommy, your head’s bleeding!”
“My what’s, whating?” She put a hoof on her forehead; wincing in pain as she pulled it away. She gawked at the blood on her hoof. “Oh, wow. That was not bleeding before.” She quickly turned back into the bathroom and dug around in the cabinet, pulling out some bandaids. After cleaning and bandaging up her head, she turned back to the door. Dinky looked concerned. “I’m sorry for worrying you Dinky.”
“Are you okay now?” Dinky asked as she walked up to her mother, offering her a hug.
Ditzy smiled as she took the offer for a hug. “I...I think so.”
“Ditzy!” came Carrot’s voice from downstairs. The two of them looked between each other and the door before poking their heads out into the hallway. Carrot hurried up the stairs. “Ditzy?!” When she saw the two of them in the bathroom she let out a relieved sigh. “Good you’re here.”
“What’s up? Why were you in such a hurry to find me?”
Carrot took a deep breath to calm herself down. “AJ’s just been taken to the hospital.”
“What?” Ditzy looked at Dinky before looking back at Carrot. They both looked concerned. “What happened this time.”
“I...have no idea. Fluttershy came to the sweets shop and told me about it. She seemed pretty freaked out about it herself, so I couldn’t get much out of her.”
Ditzy let out a deep sigh of her own. “I, uh...I guess I should go see what he’s gotten himself into this time. Could you watch Dinky?”
“Well, I need to get back to the shop or Bon Bon’ll kill me. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if Dinky stayed for a while.”
“Thanks.” Ditzy gave Dinky another hug. “Go with aunty Carrot. I’ll come and get you when I can.”
“Okay,” Dinky said in a melancholy tone.
With a pained look Ditzy flew out of the bathroom. Carrot shook her head. “I swear that guy gravitates towards things that inflict pain, right Dinky?” When she got no answer, she turned back to the bathroom. She couldn’t help but be confused when she saw Dinky half inside the bathroom waste basket digging around for something. “Dinky, what are you doing?” Dinky continued to ignore Carrot until she found what she was looking for, letting out an ‘ahah’ as she did. She pulled herself out of the wastebasket, along with the item. “What’s that you got there kiddo?”
“Aunty Carrot, what’s this,” Dinky asked as she held out her hooves. Carrot looked at the item in Dinky’s hooves. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She just stared at it for a moment. “Aunty Carrot?”
“Oh no,” She said under her breath.
“Huh?”
Carrot grabbed the item away from Dinky, putting it on the counter. “Alright, change of plans. You’re going to go spend the afternoon at Sparkler’s place,” She said with a fake smile.
Dinky looked confused. “But…”
“No buts.” Carrot ushered the little filly out of the room, taking one last glance at the counter before it was out of sight.
********************
It was a fairly short flight to the hospital. It normally would have taken longer, but this wasn’t a time for a leisurely flight. Though during her short flight, she had a lot on her mind. Surprisingly enough, very few of her thoughts were actually about AJ. Oh, she was worried about him, she’s always worried about him. How can she not be. He was always getting himself hurt. There was just...something else that dominated her thoughts.
She was so caught up in her thoughts, she completely forgot the fact that the hospital had doors. She swooped down, ready to land inside the building, when...
SMACK!!!
She saw stars as the bandaged spot on her head connected with the doors of the hospital. She fell to the ground; clutching the stinging wound on her head. “Fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu…”
A moment later, the door opened. Big Mac looked out the door at the pile of pegasus lying on the ground in front of the hospital. Her eyes were spinning in her head. “Ditzy, you okay?”
“Do I look okay to you?” she seethed through her teeth. She was in pain, A LOT of pain, and didn’t really care to be very kind right now.
“Here, let me help ya up,” Big Mac said as he extended a hoof. Ditzy gladly accepted the helping hoof. “Ah assume Fluttershy must’ve told ya ‘bout AJ?”
Ditzy slowly shook her head, not wanting to make her head throb anymore. “No, actually. She found Carrot at Bon Bon’s shop, and Carrot told me. Is he okay? Carrot said that Fluttershy was pretty freaked out.”
“Her maternal instincts musta kicked in when she saw AJ in that shape.” The look on Big Mac’s face didn’t give her much hope. “Ah...Ah don’t rightly know what happened.”
“W-what do you mean you don’t know?”
“Th’ doctor’s took’im ta be prepped fer surgery when we brought’im in.”
A sense of dread rolled over Ditzy. “S-surgery? What for?”
“Ah don’t know what happened, but his leg looked pretty messed up. You’ll have ta ask Zecora an’ th’ girls what happened.” Ditzy looked at Big Mac with a worried look. “But…”
“But what?”
“W-well, He’s not th’ one Ah’m worried ‘bout.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Scootaloo’s in bad shape. AJ was at least conscious when they were bought in.”
“Wha…”
“Ah was just about ta get th’ story from Apple Bloom an’ Sweetie Belle before ya slammed inta th’ door.”
“Well, what are we waiting for!” Ditzy stormed past Big Mac and into the building. She was determined to get answers.
“Maybe ya should…”
Ditzy ignored Big Mac’s words. “Alright girls, I demand to know wha…” She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as the fillies came into sight. Apple Bloom was wiping tears from her eyes before turning to look at her. Sweetie Belle was crying into Zecora’s side while the zebra gently rubbed her back to calm her town. Zecora herself had a morose look on her face.
Big Mac came up behind her. “As ya can see, they’re in no shape ta have anythin’ demanded of’em.”
Feeling lower than dirt right now, Ditzy let out a deep sigh. “Sorry girls, I just have a lot on my mind right now.”
“As do we all miss Ditzy Doo. What has turned you into such a shrew?” Zecora said with only a passing glance. She was more worried about the two fillies with her.
“I-I don’t...it’s not important.”
Zecora stared at Ditzy with knowing eyes. She knew Ditzy was hiding something. “It’s probably for the best. Deal with one problem before we deal with the rest. I’m sure you know of poor Scootaloo, and why we are all so blue. The poor filly is in bad shape. A condition from which we all hope she can escape.”
“Yea...that’s what Big Mac said. What happened anyway?”
Apple Bloom let out a sniffle before speaking up. “I-it all started in th’ Everfree forest.”
********************
”Are you three quite done here?” AJ asked as he looked around the forest. The rest of the CMC had the idea to get cutie marks for botany. What better place for that than the one place where ponies fear to tread.
“Oh quit being a baby,” Scootaloo said as she looked around in some dense, oversized bushes.
“Yea! We haven’t even been here that long,” Apple Bloom said as Sweetie Belle helped her into a tree to look at a flower that was budding on it’s branches.
“Yea. You sound like my sisOW!” cried Sweetie as Apple Bloom accidentally kicked her horn. “Watch where you’re stepping Apple Bloom!”
“Sorry Sweetie Belle, but Ah just need a little more height.”
AJ just rolled his eyes as he used his magic to lift Apple Bloom higher. “I know, but I’ve never been this far into the forest before. The furthest in I’ve ever been was to Zecora’s hut. Just a little nervous is all."
“I can see that,” Scootaloo said as she climbed through the bushes to see what was on the other side.
“Don’t go too far Scoots! We have to stay together!” AJ called as he set Apple Bloom back on the ground.
“I know, I know.”
“What do ya think it’s called?” Apple Bloom asked as she took another look at the bloom she had picked.
“No idea. Sweetie, get out that book Twilight let us borrow. It may be in there.”
“Right.” Sweetie’s horn lit up as a book floated from her bags. She set it in front of her as she started flipping through it. “No...no...no...not this one either…”
“Hey guys! Come take a look at this!” called Scootaloo from beyond the bushes.
The three of them looked at each other before heading through the bushes themselves. Their eyes widened when they saw what was on the other side. In the middle of a small clearing sat an enormous red flower with a big pod in the middle. It was easily bigger than the four of them put together. White dots covered the five oversized pedals. Scootaloo was standing in front of it covering her nose and trying to keep from gagging.
“Woah! What’s that?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Whatever it is, it smells really bad,” Sweetie Belle said as she covered her nose with her scarf.
“Actually...that looks kinda familiar,” AJ said as he sniffed at the air. He gagged before covering his nose. “O-oh yea! Th-that’s a corpse flower alright!”
“A what? Do ah even wanna know why it’s called a corpse flower?”
“D-d-d-does it eat ponies?” Sweetie asked a she backed away from the flower.
“No. They get all their nutrients from water and the soil around them. Just like a tree. Corpse flowers just get their name from that horrid smell they let out. You know Pokemon?”
“Yea! My Eevee is soooo adorable!” squeaked Sweetie Belle.
“Well, the Pokemon Vileplume was based off of one type of corpse flower. I don’t remember seeing one with a bulb like that, or remember them getting that big.” He turned to Scootaloo who now had her scarf covering her snout. “Hey Scoots, don’t get too close to that thing!”
“Stop worrying, I’ll be fine.”
“How do ya know so much about these flowers?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Went to a museum a couple years ago that had some on display.”
As AJ continued to explain things about corpse flowers, Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel adventurous. She walked right up next to the flower and began prodding it. “Heh, you’re not so scary. Don’t know why he’s so worried about it.”
“Scootaloo, look out!” yelled out Sweetie Belle.
“Huh?” Scootaloo turned her head to see a wide vine towering over her. “W-what the heck is…” The vine lashed out at Scootaloo; launching a bunch of thorns at her. She tried to dodge out of the way, but cringed as she felt one of the thorns lodge into her hind leg.
She took another look at the flower itself to see it actually looking at her. The bulb in the center suddenly began to move before opening up. A large tooth filled, acid dripping mouth was staring Scootaloo right in the eyes. It shrieked at her as more vines broke through the ground around her. Scootaloo tried backing up, but staggered and fell to the ground as her hind leg started to lock up.
“Scootaloo, get down!” shouted AJ.
Scootaloo complied and ducked her head down as a stream of fire blazed overhead. The giant plant shrieked in pain, it’s vines flailing around wildly, as the flame blasted it in it’s core. To escape the flames, the flower closed up into a giant bud, wrapping it’s vines around itself and burrowed into the ground.
Once the coast was clear, AJ rushed into the middle of the clearing. “I thought I told you to stay away from it!” he scolded as he looked over the shivering filly. Using his magic he pulled the thorn from her leg.
“I...I…”
“Come on, we should get out of here before that thing comes back. Can you walk?”
“...I don’t feel so good.”
“Scootaloo?” His eyes widened as the filly in front of him fell to her side.
“Scootaloo!” shouted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at the same time as they ran to their pegasus companion.
“Come on, wake up,” AJ said, nudging her body. He looked at the thorn on the ground again. “Shit, musta been poisoned or something.”
“W-what are we going to do?” Sweetie Belle asked as tears started to form in her eyes.
“Uhh…” He looked around the clearing. “We need to get her to the hospital. Get her some antivenom or something.”
“Antivenom?” Apple Bloom’s eyes got wide. “Zecora!”
“What about her?”
“Zecora should be able ta make an antivenom! Should fix Scootaloo right up!”
“She can do that?”
“Uhuh. She can cure anything! Even fixed mah chipped tooth once.”
“Then she’s our best bet.” He lifted Scootaloo onto his back. “Do you know the way from here?”
“Pretty sure, yea.”
“Good.” He lifted the other two fillies onto his back. “Apple Bloom, point the way. Sweetie Belle, hold on tight.”
********************
“I did not have enough materials for a cure on such short notice. It would have taken too long to find some lotus,” Zecora said in a somber tone.
“So what did ya do then?”
“I did what I could, as any other pony would. The potion I gave her could not cure the venom, only slow. I could do more if not for this snow.”
“You did what ya could. It’s all we could ask fer,” Big Mac said with a deep sigh.
“Do you think she’ll make it?” asked Ditzy.
Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked up at Zecora with a hopeful look. The grim look on her face didn’t give them hope. “It is times like this I wish I could control fate.” She let out deep sigh. “I fear...I-I-I fear we may have gotten here too late.” Apple Bloom had never known Zecora to choke on her words like that. The hope in the remaining CMC’s eyes had disappeared.
“N-no. You can’t be serious.” Ditzy looked between Zecora and Big Mac. “Y-you have to be able to do something else for her. Anything!” Zecora remained silent. “Maybe now you could go and…”
Ditzy stopped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Big Mac staring at her with a saddened stare. “She did all she could.”
Ditzy turned to look at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle again. Apple Bloom was trying and failing to hold in her tears while Sweetie had since began sobbing into Zecora’s coat once again. She thought about Scootaloo. That young filly was fighting for her life as they sat there doing nothing. At any moment, she could pass away. Just like that. No parent should ever outlive their child.
That’s when it hit her.
“D-do her parents know yet?”
Big Mac and Zecora looked at Ditzy with wide eyes. “A-Ah didn’t…Ah didn’t even think ta tell’em yet.” Ditzy looked at him with a shocked look.
Zecora swallowed a lump in her throat. “It should be up to me I fear, to go tell her parents the news they should never have to hear.”
“No, Ah’ll go tell’em.”
“You are under enough stress, so please just tell me the address.”
“But they may need ya ta answer some questions about what ya gave’er.”
Zecora looked at the big red stallion for a moment before lowering her head in defeat. “I suppose you are right. That would have been quite the oversight. I just wish I could do more, for these fillies I do adore.”
“Ditzy, could ya stay here with Zecora?”
“Yea, sure.” Big Mac nodded before grabbing his earmuffs and heading out the door. Ditzy finally removed her winter scarf and earmuffs before sitting next to Apple Bloom. “Don’t suppose you two would be in the mood to tell me what happened to AJ right now, would you?” she asked already knowing the answer. She put a comforting hoof around Apple Bloom’s withers knowing she was going to have to wait.
********************
Carrot couldn’t get over this sense of dread in her gut. She could only imagine what Ditzy’s mindset was right now. How chaotic her thoughts must be. She imagined what it would be like to watch her mind on a screen if she could some how record it. She would hit play and all that would show up would be a modern artists wet dream.
She quickened her pace as soon as the hospital came into view. She needed to talk to Ditzy. She opened the doors and looked around the lobby. On the far end, she saw Ditzy sitting on a bench with Zecora and the two members of the CMC. “Ditzy!”
Ditzy looked up when she heard her name. “Huh? Oh, hey Car…”
“Hellos can wait. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Where’s Dinky? You were supposed to be…”
“She’s with Sparkler, now come on. We need to talk.”
“I’m kinda busy right…”
“Now Ditzy.”
“I can’t just leave…”
“Damnit Ditzy! Dinky found the test!” Carrot hissed through her teeth. She didn’t want to make a scene.
Zecora and the fillies watched as the pegasus before them suddenly turned pale. “D-d-dinky found the…”
“W-what test?” asked Apple Bloom.
“It’s none of your business Apple Bloom.” Carrot tried not to sound hostile.
“B-but…”
“It is not our place Apple Bloom. She has her reasons for being so gloom,” Zecora said as she placed a hoof on Apple Bloom’s head.
Ditzy looked at the zebra. Their eyes met only for a moment, but that was all it took. It said so much. That look in her strong cyan eyes.
Zecora knew.
She didn’t know how, but she could just tell that Zecora knew.
“U-u-um, let’s…let’s go talk...over there,” Ditzy said before getting up from the bench.
Carrot followed Ditzy into a hallway; out of eyesight and earshot of the other three. The two of them took some chairs in front of an empty room and sat there for a moment to let Ditzy compose herself a bit. “...How...how long have you known?”
Ditzy remained silent for a moment. “I-I just found out about it today. It’s why you found me outside the bathroom before.”
“How could you tell?”
“I could just tell something was...off. It must have happened when we were role playing a couple weeks ago.”
Carrot could only stare and blink for a moment. “Is that why he brought over that suit of guard armor that one day?”
Ditzy’s face turned crimson. “I was the captain of the guard and was abusing my power by having my way with a new recruit.” Her voice got lower and lower as she spoke. “L-l-look, that’s not what this is about.”
“I’m not the one that brought your little role play session up,” Carrot said with a smirk. “Look, I don’t care what you were doing at the time, I’m just worried about you right now.” She put a hoof around Ditzy’s withers. The two of them just sat there for a minute. “I should probably just come out and ask…” Carrot said breaking the silence. “When were you going to tell him?”
Ditzy swallowed a lump in her throat. “I-I-I...I don’t know if I can.”
“What do you mean ‘you don’t know if you can?’ Ditzy, you have to tell him.” Carrot looked at Ditzy like she was crazy.
“I…”
“I know you’re scared. After what happened last time it would be impossible not to be scared. But come on, AJ’s a good guy. I doubt he’d do that to you. Isn’t this exactly why you’re going to go see that shrink every week? To help with trust issues such as this?” She got no answer. “And what about AJ’s feelings? How do you think he would feel if he had to find out second hoof about this?” Ditzy turned her head away from Carrot in shame. “Okay, let’s say you don’t tell him, and somehow nopony else does. What do you think he’ll say once you start to show?” Ditzy didn’t say anything. Carrot could only see her start to shake in her seat. “What would he say if you started to avoid him because of it so he wouldn’t notice?” Nothing still. “What about Dinky?” Ditzy’s eyes got wide. “You’ll have to tell her eventually. You know she’ll probably get over excited like she tends to with things like this. News is bound to spread after that.”
“Shut up, just shut up!” Carrot recoiled back, almost falling from her seat. Ditzy still couldn’t look at Carrot. She was looking at the floor; tears were threatening to fall from her closed eyes. “You’ve never had to go through what I did.” She sniffled before continuing. “Two years...for two years Morning Glory said he loved me. And with two words it was over. Two words!”
“I know, but…”
“No, you don’t know!” Ditzy said as tears finally started falling down her cheeks. “After two years Morning Glory didn’t love me enough to stay with me when I got pregnant. I haven’t even been with AJ for half a year. I-I-I don’t think I can handle any more heart break.”
“You’re right...I’ve never had to go through all that. Hell, up till a couple months ago, I’ve never even had a special somepony to call my own. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned anything in that time. Namely how to deal with you. What to do when you were sad, when you were depressed...when you’re being difficult.” Carrot remained silent for a moment as if she was waiting for a rebuttal from the pegasus. “Alright, we’ll do this the hard way then. I don’t want to have to be hard on you, not with something like this, but…” She got up from the chair. “We’re going to go see a nurse about this. There’s a chance that the pregnancy test was wrong. It’s happened before.” She noticed a glimmer of hope shine in Ditzy’s eyes. “But...and this is the important part...if it turns out that you really are pregnant...if you don’t tell AJ about it, I will.”
“No, you can’t!”
“Try and stop me,” Carrot said as she walked back to the lobby.
********************
The moon shone brightly in the night sky as it began to peak over the mountains. After the events that had occurred that day, most of the group at the hospital had since gone home to rest. The only ones remaining were Fluttershy, Knight, and Big Mac. A little while after AJ had finally woken up, Big Mac took it upon himself to go see how everypony was holding up.
“He’s finally awake?” Applejack asked as she stood in the door of Rarity’s boutique. After hearing about what happened, she, and Rarity made a b-line to the hospital with Knight riding on Applejack’s back. By the time they got there, Sunburst, Sunny Delight, Rainbow Dash, and the fillies had already gone in to see Scootaloo. AJ was still undergoing the surgery, so they joined the group.
Eventually, Fluttershy and Big Mac finally made it back. While she was worried about Scootaloo, Fluttershy’s mind was elsewhere. They had to wait about an hour before they were allowed to see him. To say Fluttershy and Knight didn’t take it well was an understatement. Ditzy joined them in the room shortly after. She was clearly distraught over AJ, but Big Mac could tell that wasn’t her top priority for some reason.
“Eeyup. He’s a bit out of it right now. Doctor said it was normal.”
“How’re Fluttershy an’ Knight doin’?”
Big Mac let out a sigh. “Better than they were. Ah think Fluttershy’s just happy ta see’im awake an’ alive right now. Knight fell asleep about fifteen minutes before Ah left. Tired himself out with worry.”
“What about Ditzy? She seemed kinda...odd t’day.”
Big Mac nodded in agreement. “She an’ Carrot Top left th’ same time Ah came ta see ya. Rainbow was able ta convince Sunburst an’ Sunny Delight ta get home an’ get some rest. She went with’em as emotional support. How’s everypony doin’ here?”
“Rares an’ I are a bit shaken up over everythin’. Th’ girls’re understandably scared, but we managed ta calm’em down. Zecora’s feelin’ pretty down too. Says she should have kept’er stock up fer th’ winter.”
“Ah’m surprised she didn’t go back home.”
“She can’t bring herself ta be too far from Scootaloo right now. She was lyin’ down on th’ couch last Ah saw’er. Said she wanted time alone ta think.” The two of them were silent for a moment. “Ya know, th’ girls told us what happened ta AJ.”
“They did?”
Applejack nodded. “He protected them. Kept some razorback’s from gettin’em.”
“Razorbacks?”
Applejack nodded as she let out a sigh. “It’s scary, ya know? If...If they can’t do anything fer Scoot…” She looked back into the boutique. “Ah can’t help but think what Ah would do if it was Apple Bloom in that position.” She began shaking at the thought of losing her little sister. “After what th’ girls said...A-ah need ta go see AJ tomorrow. Ah need ta thank’im fer everything he did today.”
“Doctor said he should be back ta normal by either tomorrow'er th' day after. Want me ta come get ya when he wakes up?”
Applejack raised her brow. “Yer stayin’ at th’ hospital tonight?”
“Fer Fluttershy,” Big Mac said with a nod. “She asked if she could stay the night ta watch over’im. Figured Ah’d keep’er company.”
“Like a good coltfriend should do,” Applejack said with a smile. “Tell’er Ah’ll take care of’er animals till she gets back.”
“Appreciate it. Ah’m gonna go check on Ditzy before Ah head back. Ah’ll see ya tomorrow.”
Applejack smiled as Big Mac walked away. “Hey Rares, could ya look after th’ kids for a bit?!” she yelled into the boutique as she reached for her scarf.
“I suppose I could, why? Did something happen at the hospital?” Rarity asked as she started coming down the stairs; a look of worry on her face.
“Th’ only change is that AJ finally woke up. Loopy as heck though. Fluttershy’s stayin’ at the hospital tonight ta watch over’im and Knight, an’ Big Mac’s keepin’er company. Ah just volunteered ta go feed’er animals till she get’s back is all.”
Rarity let out a sigh of relief. “At least things haven’t gotten any worse.”
“Ah know what ya mean.” Applejack walked over to Rarity and gave her a kiss. “Ah’ll be back as soon as Ah can.”
********************
“Who in Celestia’s name is that?” Carrot asked as she lazily lifted her head off the arm of the couch. She was feeling exhausted after dealing with Ditzy all day. As Carrot said she would, she talked to one of the nurses about getting Ditzy checked out. There fears proved to be genuine as the nurse gave them the answer they had feared. As they left the room, Ditzy began to have a bit of a freak out, which eventually lead to the two of them having a big fight. They had pretty much been fighting since, only stopping when they were visiting AJ’s room. In Ditzy’s mind, she was confident that AJ was going to betray her like Morning Glory before him. Though she had her own fears, Carrot knew that telling AJ was the right thing to do. Since she couldn’t convince Ditzy of this, she knew she was probably going to have to take things into her own hooves.
Hearing another knock, she let out a grunt as she forced her body off the couch. She opened the door to see Big Mac standing there. “...Hey.”
“Ya seem exhausted. Everythin’ alright?”
She let out a sigh as she shook her head. “I wish.”
“Wanna talk ‘bout it?”
“Not really, no.”
“Fair Enough. Ah was just wonderin’ how th’ two of ya were doin’.”
“We’ve...been better.”
“Are th’ two of ya still fightin'?”
Carrot’s eyes widened. “Y-you know about that?”
“Ah could hear y’all in th’ hallway before ya came inta th’ room,” Big Mac said with a nod.
“Greeeeat,” Carrot said with a groan. She continued to look at the floor for a moment. “Hey Mac, can I ask you a question?” He gave her a silent nod. “Let’s say...let’s say that there’s a pony that’s got some information that another pony really, seriously needs to know, but refuses to tell him. And let’s say this pony’s best friend is dead set on telling this other pony the information, but the first pony is dead set on keeping that information from getting out. Should this friend tell the other pony the information?”
Big Mac looked at Carrot with a knowing look. Hypothetical situations were almost always about the pony asking, and this one was no different. “Well, ‘hypothetically’, Ah think this other pony should be told.”
An exhausted smile grew on Carrot’s face. “I knew you’d agree.”
“But…”
And it immediately fell. “Of course there’s a but. There’s always a but.”
“Th’ first pony should be th’ one ta tell’im.”
“But she won’t tell him. She absolutely refuses.”
“Look, Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on here, but Ah’m goin’ ta guess this here’s about you, Ditzy, an’ AJ. If there’s somethin’ Ditzy needs ta tell AJ, it should be up ta her ta tell’im.”
“But what if I can’t convince her?”
“Just give’er some time. Ya shouldn’t force her ta do somethin’ she doesn’t want ta do.”
“But what if she doesn’t tell him? Before long it may be too late.”
“Too late?”
“Look, this is something he needs to be told about ASAP, and if Ditzy had her way she would never tell him. If I don’t tell him, he may find out a little too late from somepony else.”
“But what if ya tell’im an’ somethin’ goes wrong? Yer friendship with Ditzy may never recover from what happenes.” Big Mac could see the pained look on Carrot’s face as it hit her. It was a thought that hadn’t crossed her mind. “Look, If yer really that dead set on tellin’im, Ah won’t stop ya.”
Carrot took a deep breath as she collected herself. “I-I...he needs to know.”
Big Mac let out a soft sigh. “Th’ road ta hell is paved with good intentions,” he said just loud enough to be heard.
“Huh?”
“Ah just hope ya don’t end up regrettin’ yer decision. If you’ll excuse me, Ah should be gettin’ back ta Fluttershy.” He gave a slight nod before turning from the house.
Carrot slowly closed the door with a heavy heart. She was seriously reconsidering her decision. She forced those thoughts to the back of her mind as she turned away from the door. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of Ditzy’s tail, and one of her hind hooves walking away. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Ditzy, please forgive me.”
********************
Big Mac let out a sigh as he reached for the knob to AJ’s hospital room. Before he could reach it, he stopped as a sound reached his ears. The sound of light sobbing could barely be heard over some quiet singing. It wasn’t very loud, but there wasn’t exactly a lot going on around the hospital at this time. He knew who was singing. It was Fluttershy’s voice. Her soft, beautiful voice. So who was crying?
He cracked the door open, silently peering inside. Fluttershy was sitting next to the bed. She was cradling Knight in her forelegs as he cried. She lovingly ran a hoof through his hair causing him to look her in the eye. “Are you still hungry?”
Knight sniffled and wiped his nose on his leg as he nodded his head. “U-Uhuh.”
With a smile Fluttershy turned her head and reached for the table next to her. When she looked back at the foal, she had an orange slice in her hoof. “Okay, open up.” Knight sniffled again before opening his mouth for the butter yellow pegasus. She slowly fed him the slice; making sure he was done with what was in his mouth before feeding him anymore.
Big Mac smiled and entered the room as Knight finished the slice. Fluttershy looked at him as her smile grew. Her attention was drawn away from him though as the foal currently in her care let out a yawn. “Sounds like somepony’s tired,” she cooed as she placed Knight down in bed next to AJ's sleeping form.
Knight looked up at Fluttershy with tired eyes. “D-do you think Daddy will be okay?”
Big Mac noticed as Fluttershy’s body tensed up. She was forcing herself to be strong for Knight. “Of course he will. In fact, I know he’ll just fine. In a day or two, he’ll be back to his normal self.”
“Really?”
Fluttershy smiled brightly as she leaned down and kissed the foal on the forehead. “Really.”
Big Mac kept his distance for a minute until he was sure Knight was asleep. He quietly made his way over to his fillyfriend and placed a hoof on her shoulder. She was shaking. With Knight finally sleeping once again, her strong front was beginning to chip away.
With a gentle touch, he turned her so she was facing him. Tears were already beginning to stain her coat. He pulled her into a hug. “Ya did a good job, Fluttershy.”
She sobbed into his coat for a minute before looking up into his green eyes. “H-h-h-he’s going to be okay...right?”
Big Mac smiled and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. “Ya said it yerself. Give’im a day'r two an’ he’ll be back ta normal.”
“B-but what if he isn’t,” she said with a sniffle.
“He will be. Don’t forget, he’s been through worse than this.” Fluttershy sniffled once again before nodding. “Come on, you’ve had a long day. Let’s get you ta bed.” He lead Fluttershy over to the other bed in the room. “Ah doubt they’d mind if ya slept here. Nopony else is usin’ it.” He sat Fluttershy down on the bed and let her go. “If ya need anythin’, Ah’ll be sleepin’ on th’ couch,” he said as he turned and pointed to the simple couch on the other side of the room. “Sleep well Flutter…”
His eyes widened slightly as he felt Fluttershy grab hold of his leg. He turned back to her to find her glistening, cyan eyes staring straight into his. “Please stay with me. I-I don’t want to be alone right now.”
Big Mac looked at Fluttershy for a moment before a soft smile grew on his lips. He silently walked back to, and around the bed. Fluttershy crawled under the covers as Big Mac joined her. It was a little cramped, but that didn’t matter. Fluttershy stayed close to the big, red stallion; her head was against his chest. The sound of his calm breaths and the quiet pulsing of his heart slowly became etched in her mind. She concentrated on those sounds instead of the things that were troubling her. Slowly her mind was put at ease, and it wasn’t long before she was sleeping in his embrace.
****************************************
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Don't forget what I said in your blog post...
Ah! The ache! Right in the heart!
Ohheynewchapter
Well, that explains the sudden interest in big-ass flowers.
4494930 Actually, in the old days "to eat a horse" means you literally have nothing but a horse left to eat and you're on the brink of death from starvation.
A awesome and cute chapter with a few D'awww moments. AJ did really great in protectimg the Crusaders. I'm sure Scoots will make him her honorable Big Brother!
... that would mean, AJ und Rainbow Dash become Brother and Sister, too.
Oh! Just so you know:
I warn YOU! Don't let Scootaloo OR AJ die! You are warned, Fanthrose!
Looks like ditsy has another muffin on the way!
I hope Scoots is ok. And Ditzy has another on the way? AJ is going to love it.
please update more often. i really wanna know what happens now
THERE'S A MUFFIN IN THE OVEN!!!
4589830
This is silly
4603122 ....... erm..... yes.
looks at chapters left and how long ago this was posted.... shit
4623565 This was long before season 4 came out. Never thought to go back and change it.
4627998 Please don't spam my comment section with the exact same comment
Aww, poor Scootaloo.
is it just me or dose the cover art make the guy look evil?
4688368 My thoughts exactly when I first saw it (commissioned it), but everyone I asked about it didn't see it.
The quote mark shouldn't be there.
Oh man, that ended too quick! Is there an ETA for the next chapter?
4717000 I have literally seen all of one episode of Dr. Who. Being on Tumblr, and seeing so much garbage about Time Turner being the ponification of the 10th Dr. is what taught me everything I know about the series. From what I saw in the episode, it wasn't too bad I guess. Don't know how well it fares next to the others.
For some time I was a tad confused on what everything was going on about, but I thin kI am seeing where your going now with it, and I am quite glad I spent the time reading this that I did.
"Scootaloo!” shouted Apple Bloom and Scootaloo (this should be sweetie bell) at the same time as they ran to their pegasus companion.