Chapter 20

Dave groaned as he opened his eyes, his body felt sore and his head pounded in agony. He moved to sit up but felt something weighing down his arm, he looked over to see Celestia holding onto him, her mane matted with sweat

She did not stir as Dave managed to wiggle his arm free. He moved again only to find that his other arm was pinned by Luna, causing his jaw to drop

“The hell happened?” Dave whispered to himself as he retrieved his other arm, he looked at both princesses before he noticed the changeling queen sleeping between his legs “Chrysalis?” he rubbed his head as he looked around the room

Cadence and Larva were snuggled together on the floor as empty bottles of wine laid around the room. Dave crawled out of bed and slowly got to his feet, his legs wobbled as he leaned against the wall to support himself

Dave rubbed his eyes as he looked around the room again, the princesses of the sun and moon both moved closer together as they embraced the changeling queen between them

“Either I am in a really weird dream or alcohol makes me get laid way too easily,” Dave groaned as his headache continued, but a smile crept across his face “At least cider helped me find you” he aimed at Celestia

“Dave?” Luna called, her mouth remained still as the voice seemed to echo around the room “Dave wake up”

Dave released his head as he looked at the princess of the night “Did you say something?” he staggered over to the bed as he stared down at Luna “Hello?”

“Dave we have a problem!” Luna called again in a more panicked voice but her body still rested perfectly still as Dave looked around the room

“LUNA!” Dave yelled as the room suddenly disappeared and darkness filled his vision. His shoulders began to shake as his eyes opened to reveal the dark alicorn was shaking him

“Dave I need you to wake up!” Luna almost sobbed, “Please don’t leave me” she sniffed as she stared at the door

Dave sprang up and glanced around the room, he pinched himself a couple of times before he turned to Luna. “What’s going on?” he asked as he rubbed his face

“There were changelings everywhere” Luna shuddered “I was so afraid that I would let everypony down if I tried to fight them alone” she dropped her head into her hooves “I ran to find you but you were asleep”

The bedroom door swung open and Strong Shield hurried in “Princess Luna, Dave” he sighed as he regained his breath “Queen Chrysalis has escaped with her entire swarm”

“It was just to get Chrysalis back?” Luna groaned, “No wonder there was so many inside the castle… are you sure they are all gone?”

Strong Shield nodded “They even stopped to pick up their dead or wounded” he looked at the balcony doors “Looks like they tried to get in any way they could” he sighed as they all looked at the cracked glass

“Good thing that the glass was strong enough to keep them out” Luna smiled “Dave was so asleep they could have dragged him away”

Dave chuckled “Trust me when I say that my sleep wasn’t nice” he stood up as he put on his trench coat “So what’s the plan?” his head hit him with another wave of pain as he sat down again

“Get everypony to repair any damages and make sure any wounded get attended to” Strong Shield responded, he held up his hoof as he sighed “Forgive me, I am still used to dealing with these issues”

Luna nodded understandingly “Your advice is still some of the best we can get” she smiled to the ex-guard “Go tell the other guards so that they can follow it out”

Strong Shield almost saluted but settled with a nod as he left the royal chambers. Luna turned to Dave who was rubbing his head “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah” Dave groaned, “Maybe a changeling hit me when I wasn’t looking” he shook his head as he smiled reassuringly to Luna “I’ll be fine in a minute”

“Alright” Luna smiled “I have to go attend to a few things but when Celestia comes back we have to tell her everything” she exchanged nods with Dave before she left the room as well

Dave sat alone on the white bed, his hands shook as he looked at them, his chest squeezed painfully as he pushed himself to his feet. He stretched resulting in a loud and painful crack as he collapsed to the bed again

“What the hell happened?” Dave groaned as he pushed himself onto his back and stared at the ceiling, “I go to sleep for a few minutes and I wake up feeling like I have been beaten up”

The human attempted to get to his feet again, he held onto the bed until he managed to stand up straight, his legs wobbled before he fell to his knees. He panted as he dragged himself onto the bed and spent a few minutes rubbing his skull

“Did Battering Ram do this?” Dave asked himself before he slowly shook his head “This feels to blunt to be him, he would just snap everything rather than leave me like this” his body responded by stabbing him with pain again

“Argh, why is this happening?” Dave groaned as the pain continued to assault him “Hello? Can anyone give me a hand err… hoof?” his yelling caused his stomach to twist violently “Ow… Celestia where are you?” Dave groaned in pain as he was left alone in the room to suffer

Meanwhile…

Sweetie Belle walked up the clubhouse ramp to see Scootaloo sitting by the door, a worried expression was stuck on her face. “Applebloom has locked herself inside” the orange Pegasus shrugged “I don’t know what to do”

“Well we have to find out what is wrong” Sweetie Belle walked up to the door and knocked gently “Applebloom! What’s wrong? You can tell us!”

“GO AWAY!” Applebloom yelled angrily before her voice cracked and she resumed her sobbing, the pain in her voice made Sweetie Belle shudder slightly before she looked at Scootaloo

“I’ll go find Applejack or Big Mac,” Sweetie Belle said as she ran off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, leaving Scootaloo to sit at the door again, listening to the faint sobs and sniffs of her friend

Sweetie Belle returned shortly after a few minutes with both of Applebloom’s older siblings following beside her. Applejack used a spare key to unlock the clubhouse as she entered with Big Mac, closing the door behind them and leaving Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo outside

Applejack sighed as she trotted over to her younger sibling and put a hoof on her shoulder “Now what’s up sugarcube?” she said reassuringly as she sat next to her sister

Applebloom sniffed as she threw her arms around Applejack and held on as she buried her face into the mare’s mane. Applejack held Applebloom reassuringly as she stroked her mane, Big Mac walked over and sat down as well

“I-I liked a colt” Applebloom sniffed as Big Mac carefully wiped the tears from her face “B-but he doesn’t like me, he likes Sweetie Belle” she burst into tears again as her older siblings exchanged sympathetic smiles

“Hush now” Applejack whispered “We all like somepony at one point but it doesn’t work out, I’ve had a few in my life and I cried just as much as you are now” she smiled as Applebloom looked up at her

“R-really?” She waited for a nod from Applejack before looking at Big Mac, who slowly nodded as well “B-but it isn’t the same, the colt I like is different!”

Big Mac chuckled as he rubbed Applebloom’s mane “Who is this colt?”

Applebloom looked down at her hooves as she tapped the wooden floor “I like Nox but he likes Sweetie Belle” she looked up to see the shocked faces of her brother and sister “I told you he was different”

“Y-yeah but an alicorn is REALLY different” Applejack played with her hat before looking at Applebloom again “Nox is a prince, he has got to live a life around servants and maids”

“But he was willing to be special someponies with Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom stomped her hooves angrily “If she wasn’t around then Nox wouldn’t like anypony and I could be with him”

“APPLEBLOOM!” Big Mac growled, “Never wish your friends gone” he scolded his sister as she began crying again

The yellow filly curled into a ball as she cried, her hooves covered her eyes as tears streamed down her face. “I don’t wanna lose my friends!” she ran for the door and yanked it open, she dived towards her fellow crusaders as she threw her hooves around them “I don’t want to lose either of ya!” she wept “I don’t care if Sweetie Belle is with Nox, so long as we are friends ah don’t care”

Sweetie Belle frowned slightly “I’m not with Nox” she smiled as she saw Applebloom’s confused face “I said no when he asked me to be his special somepony”

“Y-ya said no?” Applebloom wiped the tears from her face as she looked at her unicorn friend “Why would ya say no to being royalty?”

“Because I knew you like Nox and I would rather have you as a friend than be married to a prince” Sweetie Belle hugged Applebloom “We are Cutie Mark Crusaders and that bond is stronger than anything!”

Applejack and Big Mac stood at the entrance to the clubhouse as they exchanged relieved and happy smiles. Scootaloo joined in the hugging as the three crusaders began laughing and planning their next adventure

Meanwhile…

“Thanks again for helping out in the barracks” Shining Armour thanked Nurse Redheart as she walked along the corridor, her medical equipment in her brown saddlebags

The white mare smiled happily, “it was only a few scrapes and bruises, the changelings just wanted to get their Queen, not to destroy the city”

Shining Armour nodded as walked beside the nurse “Your career is certainly getting more exciting than it was in Ponyville” He joked as Nurse Redheart nodded in response

“I went from town nurse to royal nurse in a very short space of time,” Redheart pointed out “I never expected everything to be easy or dull, life never is”

The captain of the guard chuckled “You say that as if your entire life has been one long struggle to survive”

“My life has been fine” Nurse Redheart sighed “It’s just that I have treated everything from ponies to alicorns to buffalo, I just hate to see what else could be injured” she turned the corner and saw Dave sprawled out in the middle of the corridor “Me and my big mouth” she groaned as she rushed to the human’s side

Shining Armour rolled Dave onto his back “Hey Dave!” he tapped his cheek “wake up buddy” he shook Dave a bit more until his eyes flickered open

“Shining?” Dave groaned loudly as he rubbed his head again “I was in Celestia’s quarters for so long that I had to try and find somepony” he flinched as Nurse Redheart placed a hoof against his neck

“His pulse seems fine,” She observed as she set about checking for injuries “Where do you feel pain?”

Dave rolled his eyes “Everywhere” he groaned as Shining Armour helped him sit up and rest against the wall “I staggered for a few minutes before everything went black”

“We have to get you somewhere where you can rest” Shining Armour commanded as he lifted Dave’s arm around his neck “I’ll drag you if I have to”

Nurse Redheart pushed Shining Armour away from Dave “He is not moving anywhere until I am sure that he is fit to travel” she matched Shining’s scowl “I can have you reported for being unfit for duty if I believe you have so much as a cold”

“Fine we will leave him in the cold corridor then” Shining Armour snarled “You’re the nurse, you know best for everypony,” he mocked as Nurse Redheart stepped forward to retaliate

“SHUT UP!” Dave yelled before he grabbed his head again, “You are both acting like silly… fillies!”

Nurse Redheart sighed as she slowly nodded. Shining Armour shrugged as he pointed at the white mare “She started it!”