• Published 24th May 2015
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My Little Pony Bizarre Adventures - Part 1: Ponyville Central - LateBronyWriter



One Thousand years ago, the saints Celestia and Luna drew upon the power of the Red Stone of Aja to defeat the demon Discord. Now one thousand years later the Stone is destroyed, beginning the tale of six ponies and their quest to redeem the world.

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Chapter 11-Sprout-Take 1

Sprout-Take 1:


“Heh, magic wishes…… Just how dumb am I?” Standing before a hospital bed, her coat drenched in sweat, stands the farm mare Applejack. Having run the entire distance from Golden Oaks Library to Ponyville Central Hospital - a seven mile distance - in under twenty two minutes the mare is significantly winded. However, upon seeing her sister Applebloom still lying in her bed as cold as death Applejack’s breath stops in her throat, her hopes dashed to pieces as she watches her sister’s chest shallowly rise and fall.

“I told you, MISS Applejack!” A grey-coated, black-maned unicorn stallion walks up, arrogantly scolding the mare “But no, you refused to believe the words of a professionally-accredited doctor. Now as you can plainly see, your sister is still in a coma.” The doctor says sporting a smug grin. “Now do you have any other ridiculous accusations of magic wishing stones? Or can I get back to my job?”

The orange mare looks down at her sister and sighs deeply. “No…. No doc. I just…. I just want to visit her now, if that’s all right.”

“Are you kidding me?” the doctor exclaims, “You disrupted the entire hospital with your deluded antics, pulled me away from some very important paperwork, and you just showed up here this morning! Why on this good Equestria would I…”

For the first time since he encountered the supposedly ignorant and impudent farmer, the doctor stops and looks at the mare herself: her slumped, defeated posture; her disappointed frown and eyes that radiate sorrow; and suddenly he realizes depth of sorrow this common farmer is going through. He sighs in defeat. “Fine, you can have extra visiting time despite the fact you showed up this morning! But ten minutes only, then the nurses have to care for her.”

Applejack weakly nods as the doctor turns and opens the door out, looking at her one last time before closing the door behind him. Applejack, seeing that she is finally alone, takes off her hat and stares at her unconscious sister, the lights from the fading sun outside reflecting off Applebloom’s coat. “Hey Bloom. How are you doing?” she asks.

“The farm’s doing fine, case you were wondering. Big Mac has been handling a lot of the new hire-ons, an with the money Ah’m making with this new job with Twilight we’ve got quite a bit saved up till harvest time. May even have room to expand….”

The orange mare fiddles with her hat. “Granny took it the hardest, you being here. She pretends to be tough as nails but Ah can tell how she’s really doin. An Twi, bless her heart, she’s never met ya but she provides the best care and expenses fer ya for nothin. You …. You ‘d like her, Bloom.”

A lone tear falls down Applejack’s face, landing on her sister’s sheets. “She’s snobby and opinionated most of the time but she is a good pony who will do all she can to help out others. An she’s always got a plan, even when things look their worst. But most importantly she never gives up, just like you Bloom; she puts her all into everything she does even when… Even when…..” A teardrop falls on Applebloom’s face, making it appear as though Applebloom is crying along with her big sister.

Now the orange mare can no longer hold back her tears. “Ah…. Ah miss ya, Bloom. There’s no point dancin’ round it. Ah’m not upset yer chores aren’t done” Applejack sniffles “Ah’m not upset that ya tried to play it tough when ya first got sick, heck I ain’t even upset about ya whining fer yer cutie mark.” The mare cries over her prone sister, knowing her words can never reach her. “So please. Please come home.”

Applejack lays her head on the bed spread, letting her tears soak into the sheets, not caring who is looking. And there she cries, not a loud sobbing but a gentle stream of tears that slowly lets out the deep seated sorrow that has been building up in her soul. She had hoped, she had prayed, but in the end it had meant nothing at all. Life was really too cruel. So caught up in her tears and sorrows, the farm mare almost misses the soft sound of rustling sheets and a gentle voice.

“A-Applejack…..?”

Applejack’s ears immediately perk up at the sound of a familiar, long-lost voice. The voice speaks again.

“…..Sis….. Is that you…..?”

Applejack’s head snaps up with such force it rustles the bedspread with the air currents alone. There, looking her dead in the eyes, are the small inquisitive pupils of her sister, her head craned towards her, eyes wide open and awake. Applejack stares, unable to even speak as her little sister blinks back at her.

“Applejack….. Are ya really not upset fer skippin out on mah chores?”

“APPLEBLOOM!!” The orange mare surges forward with tears in her eyes as she embraces her waking sister for the first time in weeks. She holds her sister in a fiercely-loving hug as the surprised filly slowly wraps her arms around her in return; and no matter what troubles and calamities the future may hold for those two, for that moment, for that single moment everything is right in the world.

“Humph, will you look at that,” the doctor mutters to himself as he looks in on the two sisters, hugging and greeting each other with open arms and hearts filled with joy. Unwilling to join them, the harsh stallion is content to watch on through the glass window above the doorway as Applebloom and Applejack embrace tearfully.

“In all my years I’ve never seen a patient wake up from a coma that deep, it’s a scientific improbability.” Though the doctor wants more than anything to rush in and apply cold hard science to the filly’s miraculous recovery, not even he can bring himself to tear apart the two sisters for even a second.

“Dr. Flesh who are you kidding,” The doctor chastises himself. “You’ve spent your entire life studying more improbable happenings in the RSD. You just can’t stand to accept that such a miracle could occur without it being documented and recorded.”

“Perhaps… perhaps there is more to this line of work than science and research,” the doctor remarks half-heartedly to himself as he ceases looking in on the two sisters, walking down the hall with a new spring in his step. “I may hate to admit it but, behind all the glamor, being a doctor is really about reuniting ponies like these two.”

However, the doctor’s new perspective on life is suddenly cut off as a deep fit of exhaustion begins to overcome his previous excitement. “Goodness, what’s gotten into you, doctor? S-So tired all…. of a….. sudden?” To his great surprise, the doctor’s steps become more and more heavy by the second. His breath grows shallow as his senses begin to shut down without reason or cause, one after the other.

“Wh-What’s going on?” the doctor asks himself as he props himself in a nearby chair. “I-I feel so…. tired……” Dr. Healthy Flesh remarks to himself, his incredible intelligence no longer able to function under the debilitating onslaught of exhaustion that overtakes his every thought.

“I…. guess a little nap….. wouldn’t……” And with that the good doctor, completely overwhelmed by an unexplainable exhaustion, falls into a deep and troubled sleep; his very presence ignored by the two happy sisters walking hoof-in-hoof out of the hospital, happy as can be.

…………….

“…. An that’s what happened more er less, Twi.” Applejack finishes her story for everypony at the table as she looks back at her sister. “Ah’m just glad that things worked out the way that they did! Ah don’t like to admit it, but Ah was really scared fer ya, Applebloom.”

The filly looks up at her sister with utter appreciation in her eyes as she rubs her head. “Ah just can’t believe Ah was out fer two an a half weeks! It feels like just yesterday Ah was bucking apples…”

“AHEM!” The orange mare taps her hoof impatiently.

“… All right helping to buck apples and the next thing Ah know Ah’m sitting in bed starin up at Applejack! It’s like magic!”

Applejack wraps her hooves around her sister, crushing her with a hug. “An it was magic! The best kind of magic: the one that makes wishes come true!” Dropping her sister like a sack of potatoes, the orange farmer points accusingly at Twilight Sparkle. “SEE?! An you doubted me when Ah said that Ah heard voices from the Stone! It’s just like Lyra said: the Stones Grant wishes, and Bloom here is proof!”

Twilight looks at the little filly, rubbing her hoof to her chin. “Wellllll…… it is true that Applebloom recovered quite coincidently, and your claim isn’t entirely without merit.”

Twilight sits steadfast and closes her eyes as if reciting an element of her moral code. “Nevertheless, a theory is still a theory, and evidence that these Stones really can grant wishes is shaky at best. However I will admit that there is evidence that could be attributed towards wish-granting.”

Applejack rolls her eyes. “ Give me a break…… Twi, yer as paranoid as a squirrel protectin its nuts in an early winter.”

Dash jumps to her hooves. “Yeah! What Applejack said! Except less country. Why can’t you just accept that the Stones are magic? I mean, you use magic all the time!”

Twilight glares at the pegasus. “Because I’m a scientist! That’s why! Now I’m sure we are all very glad that Applebloom has recovered, but we have other matters to attend to in this meeting. So if Applejack is done with her story I’d like to move on.”

The entire table looks towards Applejack for a sign, who after a few seconds tips her hat signaling that she is fine with Twilight moving on. “Thank you, Applejack.” Twilight says. “Well then, with Applejack’s story told and everyone finally on the same page I call the first ever meeting of the Stardust Crusaders into order!”

“Wait hold on there, Twilight…” Dash rises up to her hind hooves placing her forehooves on the table. “‘Stardust Crusaders’? What the heck?”

Twilight tilts her head. “What? I thought that it was clever! We’re crusading for pieces of magical stones that fell from the sky like stardust; so: Stardust Crusaders. Given that the night this all started was called the Night of Shooting Stars I thought it was a perfect name for our team!”

Applejack and Rarity look at each other with concerned faces. “Um, darling, I don’t mean to insult your creativity but that name, oh how do I put it…..”

“….. It’s as horrible as cider made from rotten apples.” Applejack finishes.

“What?!” the lavender mare shouts, “it is not horrible! It’s creative and original! Back me up, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy immediately flinches at Twilight’s requests as she begins to sweat profusely. “Um….. I don’t mean to…. ummm….. be offensive or anything….. but that name does seem really plain and generic…… I mean what if somepony is already using it? We could be sued! And I don’t want to go to jail!”

Pinkie smiles. “I like ‘The Mane Six’ cause there’s six of us and we all have manes and we’re main characters!”

“I’M NOT CHANGING THE NAME!” Twilight shouts, “I’m the government employee and I’m footing the bill so I get to decide what we call ourselves.”

Giving her friends a look that lets them know that this discussion is over, Twilight clears her throat and resumes, “Now, on to the main topic of tonight’s discussion….” With a deft moment of her hooves the unicorn picks up a box filled with the Strange Stone fragments and places them on the table proper. “What do these Strange Stones really do? Thoughts?”

The entire table face hoofs as everypony, save Twilight, realises that their entire conversation is going in circles. Everypony except for Pinkie that is. “Oh! Oh! I know, pick me!”

Twilight points to the Pink mare. “Yes, Pinkie?”

Pinkie lowers her hoof and excitedly exclaims, “They grant wishes!”

Now it is Twilight who is facehoofing. “No, Pinkie, I just got through explaining that’s illogical and it’s only a loose theory. We need a real, scientific hypothesis, not mystical mumbo jumbo!”

Pinkie puts her hoof to her chin and thinks as hard as her mind will allow before speaking up. “Okay I got it! Not only do they grant wishes, but they also talk to ponies as well! Is that a good hypothesis?”

Twilight double face hoofs. “NO! When will you ponies get it? Granting wishes is illogical and unscientific!” The lavender mare declares. “There’s a rational reason for all of this and if we can pull ourselves out of superstitious behavior we can figure out what it is! Now any real contributions?”

Applebloom tensely raises her hoof, causing Twilight to point to her. “Yes Applebloom? You have something to say?”

The filly lowers her hoof. “Are you always this crazy or is it just today? Cause this is mah first time meetin ya and Ah don’t want to jump to conclusions.”

“Well, Applebloom, that’s a very good question… you see…… WHAT?!” Twilight slams her hooves on the table, fuming at the filly’s accusations. “What kind of question is that?”

“Applebloom!” Applejack snaps at her sister “That was a very rude question to ask! But to answer yer question, yes she’s always this crazy.”

“ENOUGH!” the unicorn yells, “I’m sick and tired of all this…. this…. NONSENSE! I know that all of you are set on the idea that wish-granting magic exists but I am……”

“Oh lighten up, darling!” Rarity says as she is filing her hoof. “I know that you are upset that your theories aren’t going anywhere, but please.”

Throwing her hoof file off to the side Rarity clears her throat, preparing to take up the role of the voice of reason. “Dash just let her own inability to see the error of her ways backfire on her and I for one am not eager for a repeat.”

Twilight is about to yell at her ivory friend when she realizes the reason behind Rarity’s words. Taking several deep breaths, she calms down before addressing Rarity again. “Thank you, Rarity. You’re absolutely right; getting frustrated won’t solve anything now. Thank you.”

“It's quite all right, darling,” Rarity replies, nodding. “I’m glad you were able to see how crazy you were acting……”

“I’m not CRAZY!” the lavender mare shouts, slamming her hooves into the table as her horn glows menacingly. Yet Twilight quickly realizes all her friends are moving away from her, scared stiff by her outburst. Calming herself, Twilight clears her throat as she blushes profusely. “Sorry…… Again.”

“Like I said, quite all right, darling; what are friends for?” Rarity looks towards the center of the table at the box of Strange Stones. “To be honest, it feels nice to be good for something around here, for once.”

“Hunh?” Fluttershy asks, “what do you mean, Rarity? You’re a great help! Your gem-finding spell has helped us find so many of the Red Stones in town. We never could have found them without you!”

Rarity turns to Fluttershy, a look of sadness in her eyes. “Yes, I suppose that you are right, Fluttershy. I know that I have already been an immense help to you all. It’s just that..…” The ivory mare hesitates. “It’s just that I hate being helpless in a pinch. As a matter of fact, the main reason that I joined this little group was to keep Applejack and later all of you out of harm’s way.”

The fashionista looks down at her hooves. “Yet when Lyra attacked us I was completely powerless, I could only sit on the sidelines and signal for help. I mean it was Fluttershy of all ponies who was able to stop Rainbow Dash, no offense, darling?”

Fluttershy shakes her head graciously. ‘”That’s fine, Rarity. I never expected to be able to stop Rainbow like that; it just happened. And besides, you’re the one that taught me that we can do what we are able and let our friends to do the rest.”

“I know, darling…. I know. But is there a problem with wanting to do more?” the ivory mare asks. “Now you all have such fantastically flashy powers and I feel so….. So powerless in the face of adversity. I know I am always putting my everything into everything I do. But to be unable to do anything……”

Rarity’s eyes fill with tearless sorrow, her face twisting into a visage of one haunted by ghosts of the past. “To watch helplessly as ponies precious to you die; that is something unbearable to me……”

Applejack looks at her friend, concern etched on her face. “Rares… Ah had no idea that ya felt that way…”

Seeing her friend’s concern, Rarity instantly brushes her sadness away. “Oh don’t worry about me, Applejack. It’s just my silly feelings getting in the way again. It’s just that I wish….” The fashionista closes her eyes. “I just wish that I had the power to help you all better, that’s all….”

Responding to the mare’s sudden profession of her desires and much to the shock of everypony at the table, the Stones ignite once again in a flash of light that fills the room, causing all the ponies in the group to cover their sensitive eyes to prevent blinding. Twilight particularly flails about as she tries to make sense of the situation. “What’s going on? This had better not be another light show!” However, the purple mare’s scientific inquiry is cut off by a gentle voice that resonates through the library.

‘You seek to better express your desires to aid others and bestow upon them a gift of your creativity.’

‘There’s… there’s that voice again!’ Applejack thinks to herself ‘That’s the same voice that came out of nowhere; Ah knew it came from the Stones!’

‘You seek power, not for your own sake, but that you might aid others and in doing so atone for your own mistake.’

‘A mistake?’ the orange mare thinks. ‘Rarity made a mistake? What could it be?’

‘A mistake that drives you to be generous. You, Rarity, are worthy. Now find your inspiration and create.’

The light bursts again, leaving the room exactly as it was before as the mares right themselves. Rarity in particular seems to have trouble standing on her own four hooves. “Ugh… darlings, this bright light is simply not good for my skin, or my eyes. Twilight, dear, do those dreadful Stones always flash that bright? Because if so I think that I’ll need a pair of sunglasses!”

A pair of sunglasses forms around Rarity’s eyes shielding her from the light of the room. “Thank you, Pinkie; a bit too late, but it’s the thought that counts.”

Pinkie sits on the other side of the table, pointing her hoof at Rarity’s’ glasses. “Ummm, Rarity? I’m over here.”

Rarity looks to see that the pink mare is indeed on the other side of the table. “Oh, then I suppose it was you that provided me with these stylish silver glasses, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nervously shuffles in her seat as she stares at Rarity. “Um. No it wasn’t me, Rarity.”

“Oh?” Now the ivory mare is truly stumped. “Well, if you didn’t give them to me then where did they come from, Fluttershy?”

Applejack stares, mouth agape at the ivory mare. “Rarity….. Ah think that you made them…”

Rarity scoffs at this. “Oh, Applejack, hush now. You know that I am a fabulous designer of fashion but forming something out of thin air, like a new umbrella is simply….” Rarity picks the glasses off her face with the gentle glow of her telekinesis, causing it to take the form of a smart silver umbrella.

Rarity stares at the silver object; then closing her eyes intently, the silver umbrella then changes shape into a beautiful silver dress. Blinking again, Rarity wills the dress to change form into a solid silver sphere about seven hoof lengths across, each molecule of the quicksilver ball moving and flowing like water at its user’s slightest will.

Twilight stares in shock as Rarity forms the liquid metal Stand into various shapes with her glowing horn. The Stand itself seems to flow like water as Rarity molds the shimmering metal, completely absorbed in her newfound powers. “My goodness gracious….”

Twilight’s imminent burst of obscenities is cut off by Rainbow Dash’s perfect timing. “Oh come on!” Dash yells, “Now Rarity gets a Stand? Now it works? Why didn’t the Stone grant my wish to have a mountain of bits or be captain of the Wonderbolts?”

Rarity fiddles with her amorphous Stand like a foal with a new toy, constantly forming it into new shapes or levitating it in the air with her telekinesis while moving it around.

Applejack gives her friend a bemused look. “Dash, Ah don’t think that that’s a good wish. From mah experience the Stones seem to only grant the real important-like wishes.”

Dash slams her hooves on the table. “But me being the fastest most Awesome Wonderbolt in Equestria is real important!”

Applejack rolls her eyes. “Whatever, Dash…” Dash grumbles as the orange farmer turns to face her ivory friend. “More importantly……” Applejack watches as Rarity shapes her Stand into the form of a glimmering sword.

“Rarity has one of them there stand powers!” Applejack stares intently as Rarity moves the liquid shape with her mind alone. “Rarity, Do you know what this means?!”

Rarity looks at Applejack, her lack of attention causing the liquid to pool and fall to the floor before evaporating into thin air. “It means that I can design my dresses at twice the normal rate at which I normally craft them?” she asks excitedly.

Applejack looks at Rarity as if she just grew a third head. “Uhhhhh yeah that, but more importantly……” The orange farmer trots up to Twilight, dropping to her plot only a hoof-length away from her and staring at her unnervingly.

“Ummm, Applejack, what’s with the staring?” Twilight asks, unnerved by Applejack's behavior.

The orange farmer begins to smile like a mare that has cheated death itself, all the while staring at Twilight. “Why are you smiling like….. Oh no.”

The farmer licks her lips slowly wetting her mouth. “Don’t do it, Applejack!”

The mare coughs as if to pave the way for saying something important. “I know the disintegration spell, Applejack, and I’m not afraid to use it!”

Applejack slowly opens her mouth. “Applejack, I swear to Celestia! If you even think of saying it, IF YOU EVEN THINK of saying those words there will be DIRE consequences!”

Slowly…. ever so slowly the orange mare opens her mouth, and says the most painful and embarrassing words a pony who is wrong can possibly hear. “Ah told you so.”

Twilight freezes up like a statue, Applejack’s words echoing through the corridors of her mind, each time chipping away a little bit of her sanity. Suddenly the mare can take it no more and fires a light blue beam of magic at the filly Applebloom.

Her sister gasps in terror. “TWILIGHT! Ah know that was kind of tasteless but how dare ya take it out on mah sister like that!” Turning to her sister, Applejack begins to coddle her in her hooves. “Applebloom, are yawl all right?”

The filly raises her hoof to her ears with a quizzical look. “WHAT?”

Applejack raises her voice. “Ah said, ARE YAWL ALL RIGHT?”

“WHAT?”

“She can’t hear you, Applejack, my deafening spell has made sure of that.” Twilight says as she takes in very deep breaths. “Don’t worry, I can easily dispel it later.”

“Deafening? Why would yawl deafen mah sister ta punish me?”

“Applejack, I didn’t deafen your sister to punish you,” Twilight says “I did it so that she wouldn’t hear this.”

Suddenly, with the force and intensity of the royal canterlot voice, Twilight begins to cuss with such depth and creativity that it makes Applejack very glad her sister can’t hear anything. In great detail, and using almost every curse word known in the equestrian language (‘101 words not fit to be said’), the lavender mare begins to curse the laws of physics, probability and the utter defeat of the scientific process. But more than anything she curses the universe itself that seems to be conspiring to make a deliberate fool out of her. The mare continues and continues to curse as her friends look on with mixes of horror, admiration, laughter and bashfulness simultaneously, until she finally runs out of steam and falls to the table in exhaustion.

Her rant concluded, Twilight dispels the spell she cast on little Applebloom. “All right, Applebloom,” the lavender mare sighs, “you should be able to hear now…..”

“WHAT?” the filly asks.

Twilight sighs as her head hits the table, all her friends watching her and respectively trying to recover from her barrage of profanity. Finally, the butter-yellow pegasus builds up the courage to walk up to her. “Um…. Twilight? Are you okay?”

Twilight raises her head. “Yes of course I’m fine, Fluttershy! It’s not like the universe is conspiring against me or anything!” The lavender mare laughs emptily before slamming her head into the table again. “Now I just have to find a way to send a letter to Princess Celestia saying that magical wish-granting stones are falling from the skies all around Equestria.” Twilight sighs again as she looks around the table. “I just… I just don’t know what to do. What do I do now…..?”

The entire group is silent as they gather around their sarcastic leader, all of them not knowing what to say while Twilight Sparkle slowly bangs her head into the table. Suddenly Pinkie Pie’s hoof shoots straight up in the air as she bounces excitedly in place. “Ooo! Ooo! I know what to do! We should throw a party!”

Twilight groans as she pulls herself off the table. “Pinkie! A party is your answer for everything!”

“I know, Twilight, but please, hear me out,” the suddenly-serious tone of the party mare causing everypony to pay attention. “When you first came to Ponyville you were super alone! You didn‘t trust anypony and you didn’t even want any friends. But now….”

The pink mare pulls all of the ponies in the room into a single giant hug, defying all possibility. “… Now you have lots and lots of friends that really care about you! You said once that I couldn’t throw you a party cause you didn’t have any ponies to celebrate with. But now you do and no matter what’s going to happen we’ll be able to face it together!”

Pinkie extends her hoof to her friend Twilight. “So I say we throw the biggest ‘welcome to Ponyville’, ‘we all have Stands’ and ‘Applebloom’s not in a coma’ combo party ever! What do you say?”

Twilight tears up a little as she looks across the room to see it filled to the brim with all of her most important friends. All of them willing to stand by her through thick and thin, whatever the dangers the world can throw at her. With a smile on her face she takes Pinkie’s hoof. “You know what, Pinkie? You’re right! We’ve all gotten Stand powers, Applebloom has woken up, and we’ve all solved a major mystery about the Strange Stones, all while retaining our health. I would never have thought that I would be saying this when I was living in Canterlot, but let’s have a party!”

Without another word Pinkie disappears in a cloud of smoke; and before a pony could say Yahtzee! the room is covered in streamers, banners and several kinds of cake, all a courtesy of Pinkie’s party cannon. “Then without further ado… Let’s party!”

Applebloom’s eyes widen as she looks across at the colorful display. “Wow! Can Ah party too? Ah just love Pinkie’s parties!”

Applejack looks at her sister with worry. “Ah’m not so sure of that, Bloom. Ya just got out of the hospital an all. Doctor said that ya needed rest an….” Applejack is cut off by the sight of the filly‘s pouting, her little eyes widening to maximum cuteness. Not even Applejack can resist. “Well…. Ah suppose it is yer party….. But no stayin up past yer bedtime! Ya need yer rest.”

The filly looks disheartened. “Aww, but Applejack…..”

“No buts, missy. Ya can stay fer the first half of the party but no later!”

“Aww……” The filly begins to pout against the injustice of it, no sooner than getting out of the hospital and she gets groused by her sister.

However, the filly’s plight does not go ignored as a rainbow-maned pegasus flies down next to her. “Hey, kid, don't sweat it! You’ll be able to stay up and do all the best and most awesome things like the grown-ups do!”

“Really?” the hopefully filly responds.

“Yeah!” Dash snickers, “in about ten years! Ha!” Dash slaps the filly’s back in her cruel jest. Yet the moment her hoof lands on the filly’s back Dash is sent flying backwards, landing head over hooves on the hardest, most fortified part of her body: her head. The entire room looks over in surprise at the speedster groaning on the floor, a victim of her own malice.

As Twilight walks over to the embarrassed pegasus, Rainbow Dash looks up at her. “How…. How did I get on the floor? Did we break out the cider already?” the rainbow mare asks, her eyes spinning in her head.

“I have no idea, Dash, but I know for sure that that certainly wasn’t normal,” Twilight muses as she picks her impulsive friend off the ground. “But it seems like you just fell over. Applebloom, did you do anything to….. Applebloom! Look!”

All eyes in the room turn to the yellow filly and the strange object that seems to have shielded her from harm. The object appears to be a small sapling comprised of brass that has only three small branches, a hoof-full of golden leaves sprouting from each one. The brass plant appears to be growing out of Applebloom herself, its roots completely invisible as only the stem juts out of her back. However the strangest feature of the Stand is the fact that its branches and stem are curled up into the shape of circular springs, giving the plant a bouncy and flexible look as it bobs back and forth along with every movement of the filly’s body.

“GUAH!” The surprised Applebloom, seeing a plant growing out of her, falls flat on her flank, the plant disappearing almost instantly as she stares at where it popped out of her body. “A-Applejack? Is this because Ah ate that watermelon seed when yawl told me it would grow inside of me? Cause if it is I’m sorry that Ah ever doubted ya.” The filly looks on her elder sister with pleading eyes. “Please remove it before a watermelon grows inside of me, Ah don’t want ta explode.”

Applejack tilts her head, looking at her sister with confusion and slight fear. “Uh, sis? Ya didn’t eat any watermelon seeds while you were in the hospital did ya? Ah mean ya were in a coma all that time, right?”

The filly tilts her head. “Uh yeah, Sis….. Ah woke up, we spent the next two hours fillin out discharge paperwork an stuff an we came straight here. Why?”

The orange mare throws her hooves up in exasperation. “Well if ya didn’t eat a watermelon, why would ya think one was growin in yer stomach?! Sides, watermelons don’t do that; now, thimble melon seeds…. Whoee! Now yawl don’t want ta see what happens when ya eat those!”

“Well Ah didn’t know! What else could that have been?” Suddenly the filly’s mind catches up to her sister’s words. “Wait! Yawl were lying to me about the watermelon seeds?! Ah was so terrified of a plant growin in mah belly Ah never ate a single Watermelon all last summer! Why in Equestria did yawl lie….”

“Well Ah don’t know Applebloom?” Applejack rolls her eyes. “It may have something ta do with the fact that we’re the APPLE family an Ah don’t want mah kin eatin any ‘lower class’ fruits on mah watch.”

“Anyways!” Twilight walks between the two sisters. “I think that the bigger issue is that Applebloom sent Rainbow Dash falling to the floor without even touching her.” Twilight looks inquisitively at the filly as the lavender mare gently manifests her own Stand in front of her. Tapping Bloom in the side with her Stand, Twilight’s prodding causes the plant like object to spring out of Applebloom again, this time with much less force.

Twilight nods and withdraws her Stand. “Well it’s official. Applebloom has a Stand power.”

“What!” Applejack yells. “What….? But how….? What….?”

Applebloom fares little better. “Ah…. Ah have a Stand?”

Twilight taps her chin. “Well it seems to be an automatic Stand power; that is, it automatically activates its power once the pony wills it to work, like a shield. And from what I can tell it doesn’t seem to be able to move at all, so it’s an Ability type Stand like Fluttershy’s.” Applejack, her eyes widening, prods her sister causing the plant to appear at the point of contact and sending Applejack’s slight prod shooting back on itself.

“And more interestingly,” Twilight continues, “it seems to respond automatically to the stimulus of being attacked so you won’t have to worry about it going out of control or having to learn how to use it. But yes, it seems like now even a little filly with no formal training can develop a Stand power. Ugh! Just how many more ponies are going to get Stand powers?! Who’s next? The mail mare?! I should really start with a……”

Twilight’s rant is cut off by Applejack tapping her on the shoulder. “Uh..… Twi?” The farm mare points to her sister, who looks as though she has drank an entire liter of coffee in under three seconds. Her body bounces around in excitement, her words streaming out of her mouth like a river of fire.

Applebloom gasps. “Ah have… A Stand? Just like mah sis?” Twilight nods, causing the filly to woop in glee, jumping in the air and clicking her hooves. “This is great! We can go on adventures together! Ah can help out a be part of the team an have mah own theme song an…”

Applejack sighs. “No ya ain’t, Applebloom.”

The filly stops her prancing immediately. “What? Why not? Ah got a Stand an everythin!”

Applejack stamps her hoof. “Because it’s dangerous! That’s why. An just cause ya have a Stand that..… That…. What does yer Stand do anyways?”

Twilight looks at Applebloom inquisitively as she trots around the filly unnervingly. “Well, from Dash’s initial response and the fact that the ‘counter’ activated the second after she was ‘attacked’ by Dash…. I would say that Applebloom’s power is some kind of kind of kinetic energy rebound.”

Applejack blinks with a vacant stare.

Twilight suddenly realizes she’s talking to a farmer. “Uhhhhhh it returns an opponent’s attacking force back on them.”

“…. Right, that.” Applejack turns back to her sister. “Anyways, it’s one thing ta have a Stand, it’s another ta be able ta use it. Sides our work’s too dangerous fer a little filly.”

“But Ah can use it!” Applebloom protests, “an Ah can help!”

“The answer’s no, Bloom.” Applejack puts her hoof down. “Yawl can help by stayin out of the grown up ponies way, an stayin out of trouble.”

Applebloom is ready to begin another round of protesting when Pinkie grabs the two sisters with a surprise hug, squeezing them both together. “Come on, girls, let’s stop with this moping! We’ve got a party to celebrate! This is no place for an argument! Unless it’s about what kind of cake is best, that in that case it‘s triple mocha chocolate fudge deluxe!”

Applebloom’s further protests are cut off by Applejack. “Pinkie’s right, this is no place fer arguin, Bloom, we’re here to celebrate yer recovery.”

“But Applejack! You were arguin too!”

“Applebloom!” Applejack stamps her hoof with the sound of thunder, laying down the law. “Now Ah don’t want ta hear any more o yer bickerin. Yawl are too young an that’s that. An if Ah hear any more sass you’ll be sleepin through the rest Ah the party. Understand?”

Applebloom opens and closes her mouth repeatedly, however in the end her desire to stay at the party and not be sent home early overrides her indignity and she nods affirmatively.

“Good!” Applejack nods. “Now run along an have fun. Ah see Pinkie brought yer favorite cake so have a slice er two and remember it’s yer party too.”

As the slightly-less-disappointed filly (Pinkie’s cake will do that to a pony) trots off, the remainder of the group comes together as Pinkie hands each one a mug of fresh (non-alcoholic) cider. Raising her glass high in the air Pinkie shouts, “A toast! To a great party, and even greater friends!”

Applejack raises her mug. “A toast!”

Rarity Raises hers as well. “A toast darlings!”

Fluttershy raises her glass with much more gusto than normal. “A toast….”

Rainbow nearly slams her glass into the others, raising it with such gusto. “An Awesome Toast!”

“A slice of toast!” Pinkie smiles as she holds up a cooked slice of bread.

Twilight beams as she raises her glass to her friends’, a look of sheer joy on her face. “And a toast to great friends!”

“HERE HERE!!!” they all yell at once, downing their drinks with mighty gulps.

Pinkie, seeing the mood is just right, jumps up on the table. “Well then, ponies, without further ado, let the triple party jubilee, the greatest celebration ever held in a library, BEGIN!”

And with that the six new friends - with the exception of one little filly who was sent to bed early - celebrated all night, excited at the fact that their journey was just beginning.

Author's Note:

To Be Continued

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