ML54: Oh yeah! This chapter is definately going to be brutal! At least, I hope it is!

Pinkie: It certainly is...dark.

Applebloom: ML54 don't own MLP...An' thank Celestia he don't!

Conflicts

Seven weeks after the Fall of Ponyville

No-one's POV

Sweet Apple Acres

Fluttershy cringed when she heard Rainbow next to her, talking to her about a subject she was quite uncomfortable with.

"So then we quickly got cleaned up and decided to head out the back way of the Pharmacy to avoid the Trotters, we were sure, would've piled up outside," Rainbow said, thankfully finished with the...*ahem* other part of the story. "And when we almost got back, I asked how he felt and he wasn't sure, Flutters. I don't know if I should be glad it wasn't too soon, or worried that it was too soon. You know?"

"Y-yeah. I get what you mean," Fluttershy replied, placing the antibiotics on another high shelf, trying her hardest not to let her disdain show on her face. "All I can say is...well, give it time, I guess? We aren't going anywhere, after all."

"Yeah, that does sound like it's for the best. I don't want to pressure him into anything and I do have Scoots to care for as well," Rainbow rambled, not noticing Fluttershy grip a bottle of cough syrup a little too aggressively. "You're right, Flutters, we both have other things to deal with right now, no need to rush anything. Thanks, you always know what to say."

Fluttershy shook her head and took a calming breath through her nose. "It's okay, Rainbow. I'm glad I could help," She then turned from her job to look her friend in the eye. "But next time, please leave out the details. I could live without knowing how 'well endowed' my best friend is."

Rainbow chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry about that. I got a little carried away," She then looked at the pregnancy test under her wing and remembered that favour to Applebloom she had to do. "I'll see ya later, 'kay, just gonna check on Scoots."

Fluttershy nodded, putting on a pleasant smile. "Don't worry, take your time. I'm sure she's bored to death in the farm house."

"Don't I know it?!" Rainbow laughed, jogging out the barn, not noticing Fluttershy's pleasant smile drop into a harsh frown.

After she was sure Rainbow was out of earshot, she slammed her back hooves against the wall of the barn beside the medicine cabinet. "For the love of Celestia! Again!"

Angel jumped out of his sleep and glared up at his owner, who had frustrated tears welling up in her eyes. She looked back down and huffed. "I'm not in the mood for this, Angel Bunny, now be a good boy and go back to sleep, okay?"

Angel shivered at the tone and did as he was told, less he get the stare. He hated the stare.

Fluttershy sighed and continued her job, trying to ignore the many ways in which she could kill Rainbow with these drugs, all at her disposal, and no-one would be any the wiser.

See she, like Rainbow, has had a crush on Mac for as long as she could remember. However, unlike Rainbow, Fluttershy grew a pair and started a friendship with him so that they could, one day, get together. It also let her get to know the stallion and, if it were possible, she had fallen for him harder.

He was funny, kind-hearted and braver than any stallion she had ever known. He loved kids, always allowed her time to speak (something even her five best friends had trouble doing!), listened to her problems and helped her with her confidence issues a lot over the years!

She loved everything about him, so she was devastated when she heard that he was in love with Pinkie Pie. But she couldn't do anything about that. By the time he was her friend, he had been infatuated with her pink one for quite some time.

But now was different! Mac, as far as her memory serves, has never had an extended conversation with Rainbow since she woke up last week and she was sure Rainbow never really cared about the big, red horse one way or the other! So why did they suddenly decide to bang in the middle of Ponyville?!

Because...He saved her life, Fluttershy sighed, finishing her job and walking outside, cringing at the mess of flattened trotters all over the place. Now that they've done it, I can only hope that Mac doesn't feel the same...and break Rainbow's heart...Like he did mine.

She looked to her left and saw that Spike left his axe next to the barn door. She stared at it for a few seconds, before she picked it up and trotted over to the closest Trotter she could find, swinging the axe round and embedded it into its skull.

She felt a strange satisfaction when she had done this. She felt...powerful! She felt strong, like nothing was going to stop her and anything that got in her way would be sorry it did!

She looked over to find one crawling towards her, using only one forehoof as all its others were broken. Fluttershy gave it a sadistic grin and closed the distance...towards the cyan trotter.

"W-what...?" Applejack stuttered after what she just heard from her sister, who was trembling behind her forehooves. "Y-yer...pregnant?"

"Ah'm sorry Applejack!" She cried out, backing away from the strangely silent orange pony in front of her. "Ah couldn't help mahself! It's like Ah was bein' possessed an' Spike was tha only one for ages! He smelled real good an'...Ah'm sorry!"

Applejack tried to take a breath, but she couldn't get enough in as it suddenly left her. She couldn't even see much as red was starting to paint her vision. "Where is he?" She asked in the calmest voice she could muster.

Applebloom flinched, not liking the underlying tone in her sister's voice. "He's lookin' fer Rumble. Please! Please, don't hurt him it ain't his fault, it was mine! AJ please!"

Applejack didn't even listen to her sister's pleas as she left, walking out of the farmhouse and looked around for the little dragon.

...And find him she did, exiting the orchard with a very sombre look on his face, as if something awful happened.

But she didn't care about that right now, she growled, almost ferally, and charged at him. "YOU!"

Everypony in the orchard turned in surprise as Applejack charged at the purple dragon, who hadn't noticed her. Too lost in his own little world, which suited her just fine.

She charged straight for him like a bull out of Tartarus, before stopping just in front of him, swinging her body round, and smashed her back hooves straight into his stomach, making him collide painfully against one of the trees behind him.

Everypony's hooves flew to their mouths in shock, some even turning away as they heard his shout of pain. The poor little dragon was bent forward, his arms wrapped around his stomach, shaking violently.

Applebloom rushed out the house and heard Spike's yell of pain. She kept pleading with Applejack to stop, to leave him alone and telling her it wasn't his fault, but the orange Earth Pony was having none of it as she strode over to him, with a look that could kill.

Fortunately, or unfortunately given this pony's mood, Twilight had teleported in front of Spike, extending her wings to their full extent, her horn lighting up with a threatening purple glow, causing Applejack to freeze in place. "Applejack! What the buck was that for?!"

"That little foal-fooler got mah little sister knocked up! Let me go so Ah can kill him!" Twilight's eyes shot open as she and everypony else in camp turned towards Applebloom, who whimpered and cried under her hooves, scared for Spike's safety.

Spike also heard what Applejack had said and, suddenly, the pain in his stomach didn't seem as painful as the fear settling in his mind. I-I...I got her...She was...She was in heat?!

Applebloom peeked her eyes out of her hooves and looked up at Spike's shocked expression, before she pulled back and cried even harder. Thinking that she had already screwed everything up between them before anything even started! Ah...Ah think Ah'm gonna be sick...

"Ah said let me go Twilight!"

"Applejack, can't you see that you're scaring Applebloom?!" Twilight yelled back, forcing her head to look at her trembling, mess of a sister, who was retching with tears coming out of her pathetically.

Her eyes soon softened and she sighed, trying to get over to her sister, which Twilight allowed. "A...Applebloom?" Applejack said, extending a tentative hoof towards her sister, who flinched back as if physically struck. "Hey, Ah ain't gonna hurt ya."

Her words fell on deaf ears, though, as the little yellow pony ran off right afterwards, wanting to be alone.

There was a silence over the farm, before Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned to each other, nodded and chased after her.

Applejack, meanwhile, fell to her hooves and looked off to where Applebloom disappeared to, before she felt a familiar wing wrap around her and noticed Soarin nudging her towards the farm house. "C'mon, I think you need to lie down for a bit."

Big Mac, who had just squished the last of the trotters, was about to chase after Applebloom, before seeing her two friends chase after her and decided to let them sort it out. He also decided that talking to Spike might make things worse, considering that it'd be lucky if his insides don't resemble zap apple jam at this point.

Spike, himself, was currently in the middle of a panic attack, not really noticing that he was coughing up a little blood or that his gut felt like it was pressed into a vice. She's pregnant...With MY baby! My baby! I'm...I'm going to be a...father...

Twilight turned to him in concern before he passed out. In panic, she scooped him up and rushed towards the barn, hoping that Fluttershy was finished with whatever she was doing in the orchard.

There was a pause of about ten seconds, before Pinkie decided to pique up. "Well...At least things can't get any worse!" She announced, trying to stay optimistic, before Button Mash exited the orchard, carrying Rumble's body with a downcast look on his face.

Everypony blinked as Button slowly made his way towards their little graveyard on the far right of the farmhouse, grabbing a shovel on the way, before the scene suddenly caught up with them...

...Rumble's dead.

Pinkie sighed, picking the cake twins up as they suddenly started crying. "Me and my big mouth..."

"R-Rumble..." Thunderlane muttered, unable to believe what Lyra just told him. "N-no...You're lying! There's...NO!"

He pushed the green Unicorn out of the way, leaving the supplies he brought back on the ground and headed straight for their little cemetery.

There he found a downcast Button Mash, digging a hole and Big Mac and Rarity constructing a makeshift coffin out of the spare wood that was lying around.

On shaking hooves, he stepped forward, Mac and Rarity noticing and quickly stepping back to finish the lid as Thunderlane, fearfully, looked over the edge.

Inside he saw his little brother, his hind-hoof having been chewed up and looked as if it were mauled by a timberwolf, the blood and such having been cleaned off the poor little colt, looking as if he were rather peaceful.

He lifted a hoof and touched his brother's cheek, brushing it slowly, remembering all the times he were just a little foal, getting spaghetti sauce smeared all over them and having to clean them up.

It was a weird memory, sure, but it was the only one that came to his mind. His eyes misted up, his lips trembling but, strangely enough, he was smiling slightly. "You...You...I'm sorry I couldn't protect you...I...But you're in a better place now...Say...Say hi to mom and dad and...just wait for me, okay?"

Mac and Rarity glanced at each other before Mac noticed something and his blood ran cold...

...Thunderlane was pulling his gun out.

"Thunderlane, no!" Mac cried out, tackling the grey Pegasus, pushing the gun away from the pair of them as it fired and hit the fence to the side.

"Let me go, Mac, buck off!" Thunderlane growled back, using his other hoof to swing a nasty right hook into the red pony's eye. Mac flinched back enough for the Pegasus to push him off.

Before he could try to finish the job though, Rarity quickly used a small magic bolt to hit the hoof that was holding it, causing him to drop the gun and Button to wrap his hoof around the larger pony's neck, using the same sleeper hold that got him before.

After they were sure Thunderlane was done for good, they saw Lyra, Bonbon and Blitzkrieg approach them, Mac holding a hoof over his eye, cursing at the pain while Rarity checked him over and Button grabbing the gun, quickly holding it out for Blitzkrieg to take.

Bonbon sighed and nodded to Lyra. "You get Thunderlane and I'll help Mac up, and get them to Fluttershy, okay?"

"You got it!" Lyra replied, Blitzkrieg taking the gun off Button and taking Mac's place with helping Rarity to fix up the coffin lid. "...Bonbon?"

Bonbon got Mac up on wobbly hooves, but nodded for her to continue. "Do...Do you think...We'll recover from all this? I mean...Applebloom's pregnant, Rumble's dead and Thunderlane's suicidal!"

Bonbon sighed, but walked to her side and nuzzled her cheek. "I don't know, Lyra, I hope so though...I hope so..."

ML54: ...This too depressing for you guys?

Everypony: *nods*

ML54: Okay here are some fart noises to break the tension! *PTTTTPTPPPPTTTTTT*

Sweetie: It's official! He's gone crazy!