Last time on “The Gang Is Here And Applejack Too” Quest:
>Spend diner with Dash and Pinkie talking about the trouble that’s been going on.
>Inadvertently miffed a servant who had brought you the food.
>Dash went off to bed, but was able to convince her to have slumber party with you and Pinkie, mostly because you didn’t want to be alone.
>Later when she asked about Celestia, you dodged the question, which seemed to only make her more upset.
>Tried to sleep, only to wake up in the middle of the night scared, but not sure why.
>When you woke up for real in the morning, the temperature was blazing for some reason.
>Pinkie burst into the room, shouting happily how the others had arrived.
You are Rusty Shackleford, a human who has found himself lost in Equestria with no memory.
Currently you are in the entrance hall of the Canterlot Palace with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle. AJ and Twilight are both exhausted from the journey here and are gulping down water. Fluttershy is mostly catatonic in wagon.
You pick up Fluttershy out of the wagon. Like before she's as responsive as a wet noodle in your arms, though now she seems to be really warm, though you guess that’s probably from the sudden weather.
"Hey, is there someplace cool we can go?" You ask a near by guard standing at attention. "My friends don't seem so good."
"Sorry," He says, blinking sweat out of his eyes. "It's blazing everywhere today with this crazy weather. Here is about as cool a place as you'll find."
"It's OK Rusty," Twilight says, finishing the last of her water. "You've all been staying here, right? Lets go to your rooms. We have a lot to talk about."
"OK."
You and five of your pony friends make it back to guest rooms Luna had set aside for you. Not sure what else to do, you lay Fluttershy down on the bed and open a window.
"So what happened?" Applejack says. "I was half expecting us to find you in a dungeon somewhere."
"That’s... a bit of a long story,"
"It's not like we walked all the way here for fun, Rusty." Applejack says.
"OK OK," You say thinking back. "Me, Rarity and the others were abused by Diamond Dogs, but Pinkie got away. I was able to bargain with them to let them go in exchange for me. Met their king, threw me in a dark hole, some weird things happened, somehow ended up under Canterlot and climbed up threw the sewers. Then I got captured, ran into Pinkie again, they brought me to Luna and we kinda talked things out."
"Really?" Twilight says, looking at you unsure. "All this trouble was just... a misunderstanding? What about Celestia?"
"It's kinda complicated." You say, noticing Pinkie giving you the evil eye. "I'm sure Luna will want to explain things herself."
"And no one has seen Rarity since?" Applejack asks.
"As far as we know, yeah."
"Maybe we should get a doctor to look at Fluttershy." You say, looking at the little pony lying on the bed by herself. "Clearly something is wrong."
"That's a good idea," Twilight says, yawning and heads to the door. "I know where to go so I'll do it. Be back in a bit."
"Something must have happened if Rarity has been missing this whole time." Applejack ways after Twilight leaves. "Whatever happens, we should probably start looking for her ourselves. She's our friend after all."
"Yeah!" Pinkie agrees.
"Fine, but where are we even going to start looking for her?" Adds Dash.
"Well, I know I last saw them in the tunnels, so they're either still lost or with the Diamond Dogs." You say, thinking and returning Pinkie's look. "Either way, Luna is probably going to want to talk with you all before leaving."
She nods in agreement when the door opens with Twilight leading an orange earth pony stallion in. He double takes when he sees you, but then goes over to the bed with the others.
"Another heat stroke case?" He asks, using a stethoscope on Fluttershy's midsection.
"No no, nothing like that." Twilight says, shaking her head. "She's been like this for a few days now and we don't know why."
"She's hardly moved or talked or nothin'." Adds Applejack.
The doctor continues to examine the yellow pegasi, checking her throat, going over her wings, taking her temperature and more. You stand there watching with her worried friends. After what feels like the better part of an hour, he seems to have finished.
"So whats the problem, doc?" Applejack asks.
"Well," He says slowly. "Normally I'd keep this between me and my patient, but seeing as she's completely unresponsive and you seem to be taking care of her, in my medical opinion she's depressed."
"What do you mean depressed?" Dash says floating over everyone.
"Medically she's fine." The doctor explains. "The only explanation is that it's a mental issue. That's not my expertise, but she seems to be exhibiting the symptoms of major depression."
"Fluttershy..." Twilight says, going to her side sympathetically.
"Could this have something to do with her animals?" You ask. "I don't really know Fluttershy all that well, but you all tell me she's close with a bunch of animals and cared for a lot of them, but there weren’t any at her home."
"And she was really upset when the helmet head died." Pinkie adds.
"Like I said, I'm a medical doctor, not a therapist." The doctor says, going to the door. "Look, I have a lot of other patients. If you want your friend to get better, the best thing to do is help her resolve whatever personal issues there are."
"Thank you doctor." You say as the pony leaves.
"Come on now, Fluttershy." Applejack says, nudging Fluttershy on the bed. "Buck up now. We're all here to help ya."
She doesn't respond.
"Come on Fluttershy!" Pinkie shouts and hopping over to the bed. "Let's turn that frown upside down!"
Pinkie shoves the corners of Fluttershy's mouth up into a big, toothy smile. When she lets go it stays like that for a moment, but then slinks back to a blank expression.
Applejack and Twilight each try talking encouragingly with her friend, while Dash watches from off to the side. Try as they might, Fluttershy remains aloof on the bed. Defeated, they all huddle together and whisper about what to do next. As they do, you sit on the bed beside the little pony.
"Fluttershy, we all care about you, and we understand you love every creature in Equestria. Death is a horrible thing, and I am truly moved that you are so affected by it. You're a compassionate pony, and we all love you very much. You may be upset at the moment, but understand that death is a part of life. The creatures that have passed on will live forever in the hearts of those who loved them, and that's you Fluttershy. Is lying around, comatose, any way to honor their memory? We won't push you to do anything you're uncomfortable with, but I'm sure you'll find the strength to continue. If you don't, then it will be as though you've died, and your friends love you too much to see that happen."
When you finish talking, you see the other four ponies staring at you with a variety of looks.
"What?" You ask.
"Rusty..." Twilight says.
"That." Applejack says
"Was" Pinkie says
"Beautiful." Dash says, finishing the line. Everyone then turns to stare at Dash. "What? It was."
You smirk, feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing, but feel something nudge you. Fluttershy is sitting up beside you now with tears in her eyes. Without saying anything, she embraceses you in a hug. You feel your shoulder getting a little wet with tears.
You hug Fluttershy back trying not to say anything and spoiling the moment. After a moment the others come over and put her in the middle of a big group hug. Its a very nice tender moment, but the ungodly heat makes the whole thing pretty uncomfortable after a while and the group breaks. Fluttershy is the last to let go and she does, sitting next to you wiping her eyes.
"Thank you." She say quietly.
"You're welcome."
"Fluttershy," Twilight says carefully. "I don't mean to push you, but now that you're... awake, why have you been like this?"
"I..." Fluttershy stammers a little, looking at the ground. "I just... don't want to keep hurting animals."
"What? You mean those monsters that keep attacking Ponyville?" Dash exclaims. "That have nearly killed us a bunch of times?"
"They're not monsters." Fluttershy says with a bit more spine, but still not making eye contact. "They're just animals... acting weird."
"You have to be kidding me." Dash says rolling her eyes.
"Hush Dash," Applejack shushes the blue pony, giving her an angry look. "Go on Fluttershy. What do you mean, acting weird?"
"Well... take all the jellies." Fluttershy explains. "They're not predators. And they don't like going out in sunlight. There shouldn't be a reason why even a very large one would come and attack Ponyville they way they have."
"That is strange." Twilight says, rubbing her chin. "Come to think of it, I read something similar about helmet heads when I was studying to find a cure before."
"I think I might know what the problem is," You say, feeling kinda guilty. "We can probably fix this, bu-"
Theres a knock at the door that makes Fluttershy jump. Twilight goes over and answers it. It's Luna.
"Oh Princess, it's you." Twilight says surprised.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Twilight Sparkle."
All of the ponies give her a little bow by leaning down on their forelegs. You at least do the courtesy of standing up, still unsure about royal protocol.
"I trust that things are well, given the circumstances," Luna says, momentarily eying you. "I apologize for not greeting you earlier personally, but I've been very busy."
"That’s all right," Twilight says with a smile. "We're good given the problems, but we'd really like to find our Friend Rarity."
"Also Princess," You interrupt. "Can I tell everyone what you've told me yet? I'm getting a little tired dodge questions."
"Yes, I think its about time you were all privy to everything happening," Luna says, addressing the others. "You see, many thousands of years ago..."
....
....
"OK, let me see if I have this straight," Applejack says when Luna finishes. "Rusty's people came from.....somewhere, caused a lot of trouble like the kind that’s happening now, fought a bit and then left? And that's what all the trouble with Rusty was about?"
"That is basically what happened, yes." Luna
"Huh." Applejack seems to be mulling all this over. Twilight is sitting down with a confused look and Dash is flapping her self with her wings, trying to keep cool in the heat.
"Well, if you want to know what I think, I think that humanity either came back or never left." You voice you thoughts seriously. "And I also think they're somewhere underground and they probably have Rarity and those guards."
"Would your people really do something like that, Rusty?" Applejack asks.
"I... don't really know."
"They would." Luna says matter of factly.
"What does Celestia have to say about all this?" Twilight asks. You and Pinkie exchange looks.
"There’s something you should see," Luna says.
.....
.....
.....
After a short walk and another serious talk at the door, you and the others enter Celestia's bedroom. Today she's drinking from a large bucket on the floor, splashing a lot of water around in the process. Luna explains the situation.
Twilight cautiously walks closer to Celestia, her expression frozen in a mix of skepticism and horror. Applejack and Fluttershy are behind her, looking curious. You and Pinkie stand together, letting the others have things sink in.
"Pffftahaha, what?" Dash shouts, snickering. The noise seems to spook Celestia, who jerks her head up fast and causing the bucket to spill over.
"Easy Dash," You say, trying not to shout. "You'll spook her!"
"Celestia's all pffftahaha," Dash continues to snicker, covering her mouth.
Fluttershy steps ahead of the others and starts rubbing Celestia's side.
"Shhhhh, shhhh now. Easy. Everything's fine. Shhhh." The smaller pony coos to the larger. Celestia seems to respond almost immediately and leans into the petting. She even bends her neck down and nuzzles the top of Fluttershy's head, who giggles.
"Yeah, Celestia's acting like this after she went to talk with my people." You add on to Luna's explanation. "They found her like this. I don't know what caused it or how to fix it, but me and Luna think that using the Elements of Harmony might help. We just need Rarity."
"This is the strangest thing," Applejack says, staring at Fluttershy petting Celestia. "I guess this explains why Celestia didn't reply to any of your letters, right Twilight?"
Twilight just stands there in the puddle of water with the same expression frozen on her face.
"Twilight?"
"Twilight?" Applejack says again, waving her leg in front of Twilight's face to no effect.
"It's OK Twilight," You say coming over and resting a comforting hand on the purple pony. "We'll find Rarity and then we'll fix everything."
"That's right!" Pinkie chimes in, joining the rest of you
"Right. First things first, we need to find Rarity. Then we can use the elements." Applejack says.
"If you are all going to undertake another journey, you'll need some help," Luna says. "Come, we'll get you some supplies and whatever else you'll need."
Everyone says their good byes to Celestia, except Twilight, who had to be dragged out like a statue. Before your little group got very far anywhere, however, you were intercepted by a guard.
"Your majesty!" He says panting from running and the heat, giving a crisp salute.
"YES?" She says, going to her loud voice again.
"Those guards we've been searching for. They've been found!"
"Was Rarity with them?!" Applejack asks. The guard shakes his head.
"No. And... there's another problem."
"SHOW US." Luna says. The guard salutes again and leads you all down another series of hallways.
"We wanted to keep them hidden from everyone because of... you know, Celestia." The guard explains, leading you to what seems like a secluded part of the palace. Maybe the barracks wing or something. He opens the door for the princess and you all follow in after here.
Inside is a bedroom, though much simpler then the kind you slept in the other night; a small bed, a few utilitarian looking pieces of furniture. There’s a a few guards in here, but everyone seems to be focusing on two in particular. You recognize them as Flatfoot and Bacon, the two guards who arrested you not too long ago.
The two of them are out of their armor and are mulling around. One of them is idly chewing on some piece of fabric, the other is rubbing his backside against a wall. They don't really acknowledge any of you or even the Princess.
"Princess," You say, whispering into Luna's ear. "How long would it take to get someone to temporarily wield the Element of Generosity. If Rarity is like this, then things could get complicated."
"It doesn’t work like that." She whispers back. "An element can't simply be replaced. The only way to make it work is with Rarity."
You frown, thinking. Whatever has caused Celestia's condition has struck again, claiming the two guards you thought were with Rarity. Your friend is still missing, condition unknown. And its becoming clear that what ever the cause it, its happening underground.
You look back to your friends, who are looking on the scene with various expressions of shock and concern, most of them having the bombshell of their leader's condition hitting them followed by this. You've only been around for a few days, but you've grown close to these ponies, enough for them to call you their friend. One thing is for sure,
You won't let them down.