A New Face in Ponyville

by MeowthRocket

Sins of the Innocent

Note:

The song lyrics in this chapter are based from "Chop Suey" by System of a Down.

I know this chapter is pretty graphic, but trust me, it's ONLY this one chapter that truly causes the T rating.
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Back in Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Josh were both busy helping scrub off Apple Bloom and the whole time, they'd be talking and gabbing.

"So how'd you come by Ponyville anyways?", Apple Bloom asked as Applejack was at work getting some of the liquid off of her mane, a couple of the chunks nice and stuck.

"Well it's actually pretty funny.", Josh replied, "I was just at the local playground watching a bunch of kids having fun when Celestia came up behind me! I thought it was all a big gag at first!"

"I can understand that, honey.", Applejack admitted, "But go on."

"Well...", Josh continued as he wrung out a sponge and wiped down Apple Blooms belly gently, "It took some convincing, but enventually accepted that she was for real and when we got back to my place, she told me she wanted me to come by and help Twilight out in learning more lessons. Although I can't see why since she's already extremely intelligent!"

"That she is...", the cowpony admitted again, "But if I can ask... what was that about bathrooms that Twilight hinted at before?"

"Urm... uh... maybe that's something I should tell ya in private...", Josh admitted as they looked at Apple Bloom, who by now looked a lot less vomity, "Looks like you're all cleaned up! Care ta get out of the tub?"

"YES, PLEASE!", Apple Bloom replied, eager to get back to having fun and allowing Applejack to lift her out and Josh to wrap her in a towel.

"There we go, all nice and shiny clean!", Applejack grinned, earning a glare from Apple Bloom.

"You know when you say things like that, you sound like miss Rarity."

This remark made Josh fall back against the tub, laughing hysterically. He'd seen how fancy Rarity was and the comparision just cracked him up.

"Yeah, ha ha..", Applejack said sarcastically before she heard the phone ring, "Hold on one sec, I gotta take this. Can you dry off Apple Bloom for me, Josh?"

In between peals of laughter, Josh nodded and, after opening the drain to the tub, got to work drying down the filly and making her giggle.

"That tickles, Mr. Josh!", Apple Bloom giggled as Josh rubbed beneath her arms.

"Oh ya like being tickled?", Josh grinned as he rubbed under her arms again, making the filly squeal in laughter before finishing drying her off, "All done, kiddo!"

"Hee hee, you're funny Mr. Josh!", Apple Bloom cooed, making the human blush as Applejack came back in.

"Hey Josh? Pinkie Pie needs me and Apple Bloom to meet her at the bakery to bring down some pies. Think you'll be ok getting back to the library on your own? I have the feeling you may wanna snack on your pie before heading out."

Josh nodded and got up. "Yeah, I think I know the town pretty well. Besides I may get in a quick soak myself if that's cool."

Applejack nodded as she led Apple Bloom out of the bathroom, the both of them wishing the teen goodbye before shutting the door to allow the teen to undress and draw himself a bath too before climbing in and leaning back.

"Aaahhhh... that feels nice..." he sighed before he shut his eyes and rested.
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It took a half-hour for the teen to finish his bath and get redressed, having snuck in a mini-nap before climbing out and heading down to the kitchen and sitting down at the table with the pie, marvelling at how delicious it looked. He raised a fork to start to dig in, when he realized that eating it... just didn't feel the same without getting to enjoy his first pie with his new friends.

"Applejack made this delicacy, I'd like to be able to enjoy it with her..."

Getting up from the table and picking up the pie with one hand, Josh used the other to open the door and venture out into the plains of Sweet Apple Acres. By now, the sky had faded into an orange hue and the teen knew nighttime was approaching. With a small yawn, he walked onwards down the pathway through the trees. But as he walked, he couldn't help but shiver not just at the cold wind starting to form from the night air, but at the rustling sounds echoing out from the groves.

"H-hello?", he called out, "Is anyone there? Anypony?"

At getting no answer, Josh shrugged it off as being his nerves just a little on edge and continued his walk. It took him only a few minutes to get out of Sweet Apple Acres and another few to get to Twilight's house. But as he approached the door, he noticed laying on the bottom of the door was a note. Setting the pie down, he knelt and picked it up, unfolding it.

"Dear Josh..."

That was as far as he got before a sharp thud cracked the back of his skull, crushing it against the door and leaving the teen to slide down unconscious as a group of ponies dragged him off... leaving the pie, now speckled with droplets of blood from where his skull had been cracked, sitting at the door.
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"Burn him... BURN HIM!"

"The flames are starting to take light... praise the lord!"

Hearing the garbled voices, Josh slowly began to regain his sense and was able to look around... but what he saw quickly made him wish he hadn't...

"What... WHAT THE HELL?"

He was splayed out against a big tree in what he could only guess was the Everfree Forest, he hands outstretched and his legs bound together, making him look like he was being crucified. His hands were held fast by nails going through not just his palms, but his wrists as well, allowing lines of crimson liquid to stream out. Jagged cuts and wounds were opened all over his body, blood saturating what had once been beautiful garments and ravaging them forever. Looking down, he could see a group of ponies starting a fire beneath his feet and through the flames... he could see one of them clearly.

"You... YOU'RE THAT PONY FROM EARLIER! THOROUGHBRED PHELPS!"

"I'm surprised a selfish human like YOU would remember that! You don't belong here, heathen!"

"WHY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

"Hell itself has spawned you to our land and we must eradicate all of the demons! Praise Celestia!"

"Celestia was the one who brought me he-"

A jab to his cheek cut him short and, looking by his side, he could see a yellow pegasus, this one with a gray mane, holding a knife now covered in blood and immediately he knew he'd just been stabbed.

"Guh... wha... It's true!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH OF YOUR LIES! EZEKA, SHUT HIM UP!"

Rearing back, the pegasus shot it's forehoof forward and connected with his jaw, nearly knocking the teen back out. The blow had made him bite down on his tongue, nearly severing it in two and filling his mouth with blood, quickly flowing out of his mouth and dripping onto the growing fire.

"Celestia would never have brought a mudbleeder to our home!", Thoroughbred roared, "Not unless you did something to warp her mind!"

"Gkkkk... Gah...", Josh tried to speak, but the combination of his full mouth and his tongue nearly severed left him only able to gargle out incoherent syllables.

"Don't worry... our fire will soon cleanse our town of your evil, by returning your blood to the foul earth that hast spawned you!"

"Gd... no...", he gasped, spitting out a huge mouthful of blood and allowing him mild speech again, but the teen was too terrified and weak to say anything as he began to feel the flames licking his feet.

"But what about that pink one's sense?", Elrad asked Thoroughbred, "Won't that alert them here?"

"Don't worry, Daughter Zela has used her magic to make his presence vanish... but since she's a young child, it may not last long... but hopefully long enough for the fire to return him to the ashes he came from...", Thoroughbred replied before looking up and spitting vehemently at the teen, "Now it's time to leave this place and let the flames of Celestia do the rest... PRAISE CELESTIA!"

"PRAISE CELESTIA!", his clan echoed before leaving the fire and the teen behind. As he watched them leave, Josh had never felt such terror. He could feel his conciousness slipping away, but he had to stay awake... he had to force himself to stay awake... otherwise he felt like he would be never able to wake up... so he did the only thing he could...

He screamed. His song of screams rang out... words from a song pouring from his mouth and voicing his disbelief and despair.

[TWILIGHT!

DASHIE!

FATHER!

RARITY!

Father into your hands... I commend my spirit!

Father into your hands, why have you forsaken me?

In your eyes, forsaken me?

In your thoughts, forsaken me...

And as he felt his voice give out and his energy starting to diminish, he croaked out one last line in the hopes that someone... anyone... would hear him...

In your heart... forsaken... me...
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It had been over an hour since Applejack and Apple Bloom had arrived at Sugarcube Corner as per Twilight's instructions, the welcoming party for Josh all set up. Everypony was there, eagerly awaiting to greet their new friend.

"This is gonna be my best party yet!", Pinkie Pie clapped happily.

"I gotta admit, you've really outdone yourself.", Twilight added as she looked around at the lavish getup. There were games, presents, oodles of food, and just a general feeling of warmth and excitement..

"Hey, he's the first human we've ever had here! We need it to be something hugeriffic!"

"This is gonna be so awesome!", Rainbow Dash squealed, eyeing the outside trampoline eagerly. She was longing to do some flips and kicks on that bouncy mat.

"I just can't wait for everyone to see him in all those nice clothes I designed for him!", Rarity grinned, proud of her work.

"Um... but hasn't it it been awhile for him to have been gone?", Fluttershy couldn't help but mutter to Applejack. Ever since she'd gotten there, a feeling of unease had overtaken the pegasus, like something was wrong.

"Nah, he's just having a nice bath at my place. He should be here soon!", Applejack replied with a smile...

But after 2 more hours had passed with no sign of him, the mood began to change from one of excitement to one of worry. They all knew the teen was in town, they'd seen him earlier... but where was he?

"Ok, even I don't bathe THIS long!", Rarity remarked.

"Yeah, he should have been here by now!", Twilight added.

"Where do you suppose he- Oohh!"

It was then a feeling went through the pink party pony and immediately everyone knew her Pinkie Sense was kicking in. First her body shivered, then her eyes fluttered, and finally her mane shot straight up before falling flat down on her face. But when the mane had regained it's poofy form, the look on Pinkie Pie's face was one of sheer horror.

"Pinkie? Pinkie what's wrong?"

"That... that sense... I only get that when someone's close to... OH MY GOD! HE'S IN THE FOREST!", Pinkie screamed before rushing out the door, the others quickly rushing out after her and leaving Spike and the other ponies looking on in shock.

"Um... could someone tell me what's going on?", the unicorn with the purple, pink, and dark blue mane spoke again.

"Bonbon... I don't know... I really don't...", Spike replied, traces of fear in his voice. NONE of them had ever heard Pinkie Pie swear before, not even when she'd snapped during her surprise party.

It took the 6 ponies just a few minutes, led by the speeding Pinkie Pie, to get to the Everfree forest and immediately a feeling of coldness filled them... a feeling like a life had been taken.

"Guys... I don't like this...", Fluttershy quivered in fear.

"He's probably just lost or something...", Rarity comforted the pegasus, although it was apparent she was terrified too.

"Yeah.. I'm hoping that...", Rainbow Dash started to say before a smell reached her. Raising her snout in the air, a putrid smell entered her nostrils and made her gag... soon the smell had reached the others and made them nearly retch, Twilight having to cover her mouth to keep from losing her meal.

"What's that smell?", She managed to gag out

"It.. it smells like...", Pinkie Pie started to say before she looked up and saw the faint traces of smoke rising from near the middle of the forest. Without wasting a second, the pony dashed into the forest as fast as her legs could take her, the others following behind. Within a minute they, enhanced by fear and a determination to find their new friend, could see a fire burning and the smell growing stronger.

"Josh! Josh we're here!", Twilight called out as she approached the fire, "We're he-"

And then she looked up and what she saw would haunt her forever.

Josh's body was fastened to the tree, his sweats and shoes nearly burnt to cinders. Blood spatters had turned the ground into a red puddle. His face, barely visible through the flames, looked bruised and shattered, blood pouring down his mouth and dripping from his chin. His eyes were closed, streaks of tears and blood dried on his cheeks and a few shards of teeth laid on the ground below. His legs were covered in burns and blisters and his feet had nearly been burned to the bone, the steel rope not only having allowed the bottom part of his pants to be reduced to ashes, but digging a grotesque indentation into his kneecaps, allowing part of the bone to be exposed to the elements. Noticing a lumpy mess in the blood puddle among the white bits of his teeth, Twilight gagged and looked closer... only to realize she was looking at the sloughed off bubbling flesh of Josh's legs. Immediately, she had the feeling that the body above her was nothing more than a corpse and the fact that there were lines of blood dripping into the fire with a sizzle almost seemed to cement that... she was looking at a dead body... and her mind nearly shut off in horror.

"...oh... oh dear god...", Twilight was barely able to gasp out before the sound of violent vomiting filled her ears. Turning around she saw Fluttershy retching and throwing up what had once been her lunch, pieces of apple and celery coming out in a thick orange wave. Applejack looked ready to throw up as well, but her mind had just blacked out at seeing Josh hanging there. Rarity was looking in horror at the scraps of what had once been beautiful garments, now laying on the ground in pieces. Pinkie Pie just started to cry, a cry like she'd never cried before, one of terror and grief. Rainbow Dash just stared up, looking almost catatonic at the horrible sight.

"Horrible... it's horrible!", Fluttershy managed to choke out before throwing up another wave, her stomach completely turning over at the haunting image.

Without a word, Twilight just sat back and buried her head in her hooves, sobbing. There was no lesson, no happiness that could have come from this... It was like a living nightmare...

"No.. no!", she kept repeating to herself as if trying to convince her shattered mind it was all a dream and trying desperately to wake up. But it was then a sound entered their ears, one that shocked them to their core...

"...me... hlp... me..."

Looking up, Rainbow Dash could faintly see Josh's lips trying to move and immediately she flew up towards his head faster than she'd ever flown before. Twilight was in pure terror at seeing the teen struggling to speak... knowing despite his injuries the teen was alive... and in likely an unbearable amount of pain. Although from his subdued reaction, it was likely he'd already gone into severe shock.

"Josh.. JOSH! Are you there!", she screamed, wrapping her forehooves around him as Applejack struggled to put the fire out by filling her cowpony hat with water and dumping it on the flame.

"R...r...Rainbow...", Josh barely was able to get out.

"Josh, stay awake! Please!", Rainbow Dash pleaded. She'd never begged before in her life, but she needed to now! She needed to do whatever she could to help Josh, "Please! Listen to me! We're here! Who did this?"

"T...t...th...", Josh barely managed to gasp. Determined to help Josh think, she did the only thing she could think of, something she'd seen done in countless movies and tv shows...

She placed her lips upon the teen's bloodied ones and gave him a kiss. She pushed into the kiss as hard as she could, her snout rubbing against his bloodied nose. She didn't stop until she saw her energy begin to flow into Josh and his eyes opened wide.

"Rainbow... did... did you...", he whispered weakly.

"I'll kiss you and hug you as much as you want! Just stay awake! Tell me everything!"

"GOT IT! THE FIRE'S OUT!", Applejack called out as she managed to douse the rest of the flames and looked up, "Josh! Can you hear me?"

"Apple.. Applejack... you... you all... you came back?", he managed to call back.

"Of course we did, sugar! Why wouldn't we?", the cowpony called out as she got to work untying his legs and Twilight used her magiic, tears still in her eyes, to fashion together makeshift bandages.

"Please... get... get me down...", Josh whimpered, "I... I hurt... I hurt so bad..."

Rainbow Dash nodded before she looked down at Fluttershy, who by now was just exhausted and drained after spilling out her stomach's contents, "Fluttershy! I need your help!"

She didn't know HOW she was able to, but Fluttershy slowly managed to fly up towards Josh and Rainbow Dash... but as she saw Josh's ravaged face, her cheeks bulged out and she tried to cover her mouth to keep in more of her meal, but failed and ended up hurling onto Josh's chest, covering it in a big brown mess.

"Nice, Fluttershy...", Rainbow Dash muttered before pointing to the nails in his left arm and turning to the ones in his right, the two pegasi prying each nail out, "Applejack? Are the legs free?"

"Just about!", she called back before undoing the last knot and allowing the rope to fall free, releasing his legs, "GOT IT!"

Gritting her teeth, Rainbow Dash resumed pulling out the nails, not stopping until the last one had been extracted and allowed her to wrap Josh's arm onto her back at the same time Fluttershy managed to take out her last few and drape his other across her own before the two of them slowly flew the teen down and rested him on the ground, allowing the teen a chance to finally rest.

"Josh... my god...", Rarity barely managed to gasp out as she looked at his scorched and charred lower body. To her amazement, his jacket and t-shirt had been nearly untouched by the fire, only covered in jagged holes. But for the first time in her life, she couldn't care less about how fancy the clothes were. She didn't even know if the teen would survive!

"Who did this... tell me!", Rainbow Dash yelled as Twilight got to work using her makeshift wraps to cover up Josh's burns and cuts. Rarity could see the lavender unicorn was shaking from her tears and she quickly began to use her own magic to assist her.

"Him... he... that... that gray pony...", Josh managed to sputter out before letting a quivered sob come out as the pain began to hit him, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie doing their best to calm him down.

"It's ok, shhhh.", Fluttershy cooed, "Just let it out. We're here... you're safe now." The pegasus was still very nauseous from what she'd seen, but right now her heart hurt more than her stomach and she was determined to help him calm down. "Pinkie, why don't you sing him something silly? I bet he'd love that!"

"Fluttershy...", Pinkie replied in an unusually somber tone, "There isn't a song in the world that I could sing to ease him right now... we just need to be here for him."

The fact that even Pinkie Pie, the pony who RARELY was seen without a smile, couldn't bring herself to laugh at this situation spooked Twilight Sparkle to her core as they finished wrapping Josh up. She knew if she tried to use her magic to heal all of Josh's injuries and failed, she could end up doing more damage... especially since she wasn't sure the extent of his wounds. All she could do right now was hope...

"Guys we need to get him to Ponyville Urgent Care... now!", she said, "Can one of you help carry him there?"

"No.. no... I... I can walk...", Josh quivered as he got to his feet and tried painfully to limp out of the forest before falling to his knees and dry-heaving at the pain now coarsing through him, "Celestia, help me!"

"Put him on my back...", Applejack spoke up, "He ain't gonna be able to walk in his condition..."

"No... I can do it..."

"Josh listen! I know all about being stubborn... but if you try walking out of here yourself you'll end up making yourself hurt more!"

"But... I... I don't want to hurt... you..."

"Josh trust me... I won't be hurt. Just get onto my back. I may be a young pony, but I can handle heavy loads..."

Josh was in so much pain he didn't even have the strength to argue and he managed barely to place an arm on the cowpony's back, her shifting her weight to allow him to take a better hold. To Applejack's surprise, he was lighter than she expected, although it could have been from the adrenaline now coarsing through her and immediately she took off towards the edge of the forest back towards Ponyville, nearly all the other ponies following behind her. But Rainbow Dash stayed behind, sitting against a tree. Her mind was blown by what Josh had told her and she knew what gray pony had done this to the kind human. The thought made her feel an anger she'd never felt before, not even when Trixie had nearly made her lose her lunch by wrapping her up in that rainbow.

"That... that bastard... he... he hurt him... I... I will make SURE you pay, Thoroughbred... you will not get away with this..." she thought to herself before she got up and flew off after the others.