My Little Hunchback Of Notre Dame

Chapter 3

Meanwhile in the streets of Ponyville, an earth pony with a pale, light grayish olive mane, moderate sap green eyes, light freckles on the cheeks, and three red apples for his cutie mark named Applejack, or AJ for short who is the captain of the king's guards, and the only earth pony that isn't hated by unicorn and pegasai ponies. In Ponyville and Canterlot, earth ponies are loathed and despised because the unicorn and pegasai ponies thought that they are evil, and they rob them blind, but all the earth ponies really do is tell fortunes, read hooves, and harvest food. AJ threw the map away because it was useless, looked at his pegasai friend named Derpy Hoof who pulls AJ's carriage, and said "Huh, ya'll leave town for a couple of decades, and they change everything." Derpy Hoof nodded, and said "I just don't know what went wrong." AJ saw two unicorn guards walking by, and said "Excuse me, gentlecolts, Ah'm looking for the Palace of Justice. Would ya'll...?" When they ignored him, he said "Hmmm, Ah guess not. Come on, Derpy." Meanwhile, in a corner not far from where AJ and Derpy Hoof were, an earth pony who is a female version of AJ named Applejack, and her little sister who had a a brilliant amaranth mane, brilliant gamboge eyes, light brilliant crimson bow in her mane, and no cutie mark named Apple Bloom were dancing for change.

A little filly unicorn named Sweetie Belle was walking with her mother named Cookie Crumbles, and Sweetie Belle tried to go up to the dancing earth ponies, but her mother stopped her, and said "Stay away, filly. They're earth ponies. They'll steal us blind!" The unicorns walked away to avoid the earth ponies. AJ threw some bits into a purple and looked up to see Applejack dancing, and smiling at him as she spun her rope around with her tail. AJ smiled back but then, an earth pony whistled, and everything came to a halt. Applejack gasped, and all the earth ponies scramble for cover. As Apple Bloom grabbed the hat, the bits flew everywhere, and Apple Bloom said "Applejack! The bits!" Applejack ran to get the bits, only to be caught by two guards. One is a buffalo named Thunderhooves, and one is a little pegasai pony named Scootaloo. "All right, earth pony, where did you get the bits?" Thunderhooves asked glaring at the earth pony. "For your information, ya'll, Ah earn it!" Applejack said glaring at the guard. Thunderhooves scoffed, and said "Earth ponies don't earn bits." "They steal it!" Scootaloo said. "Oh, ya'll would know a lot about stealing!" Applejack said as Thunderhooves and Scootaloo grabbed her. "Troublemaker, huh?" Thunderhooves said as Applejack struggled to get away from the guards. "Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down!" Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom then kicked Scootaloo while Applejack kicked Thunderhooves. They began to run away to safety. "Come back here, earth pony!" Thunderhooves said as he and Scootaloo tried to do, but AJ and Derpy Hoof blocked them with the carriage, and the guards fell to the ground. AJ unhooked Derpy Hoof from the carriage, and said "Derpy, sit." "Yes, sir!" Derpy Hoof said as he went up to Thunderhooves, and sat on him. "Whoa!" he cried out as the other ponies laughed. "Oh, dear. Ah'm sorry." AJ said. He looked at Derpy Hoof, and said "Naughty pony! Naughty!" He looked down on Thunderhooves, and said "She's just impossible! Really, Ah can't take her anywhere." "I really just don't know what went wrong." Derpy Hoof said in a playful tone. Applejack and Apple Bloom who were watching giggled, and quickly made their escape. "Get off of me!" Thunderhooves said to Derpy Hoof who in turn just said "No." "I'll teach you a lesson, eath pony!" Scootaloo said as she approached AJ, but he quickly grabbed his sword, and said "Ah ah ah! You were saying, Lieutenant Scootaloo?" "Oh, Captain AJ!" Scootaloo gasped out as she accidently hit herself. "Ow! At your service, sir!" AJ sheathed his sword, bended down to Thunderhooves, and said "Ah know you have a lot on your mind right now, but...the Palace of Justice?"

Later on as Thunderhooves and Scootaloo made a path for AJ. he saw some bits on the ground. He picked them up, and dropped them in the hat of an elderly pony sitting on the street. After he passes, the elderly pony pulled her hood down to reveal Applejack and Apple Bloom. They both wondered why AJ had helped them. AJ moved through the crowd. "Come on, Derpy." He said. Derpy nodded, and said "Ok." Moments later, they arrived at the Palace of Justice, and AJ went inside. He entered the dungeon to see Discord watching a pegasai pony named Thunderlane whipping a pony prisoner as if he was whipping a pinata trying to make the candy fall out. The sight disgusted AJ, cause he hated to see all ponies suffer, especially earth ponies. "Thunderlane!" Discord called. Thunderlane stopped whipping, approached Discord, and said "Sir?" "Ease up. Wait between lashes." Discord said smiling. "Otherwise the old sting will dull him into the new." "Yes sir." Thunderlane said smirking as he went back to finish his job. Discord turned to AJ, and said "Ah, so this is the gallant Captain AJ, home from the wars." "Reporting for duty as ordered sir." AJ said trying to mask his angry feeling he had.

"Your service record precedes you, AJ." Discord said. "I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your calibre." AJ nodded, and said "And ya'll shall have it, sir. Ah guarantee it." "Yes." Discord said. "You know, my last captain of the guard was, um, a bit of a disappointment to me." A whip cracked, and a very loud scream of agony was heard, startling AJ. "Well, no matter." Discord said. "I'm sure you'll whip my little ponies into shape." As they went outside, AJ said "Uh, thank you, sir. It's uh...a tremendous honor, sir." "You come to Equestria in her darkest hour, Captain." Discord said. "It will take a firm hoof to save the weak-minded from being so easily misled." "Misled, sir?" AJ asked. "Look, Captain. Earth ponies." Discord said pointing down below at Applejack and Apple Bloom dancing while other ponies are either disgusted by it, or throwing some bits for them. "The earth ponies live outside the normal order. Their heathen ways inflame the ponies's lowest instincts, and they must be stopped. Feeling a bit suprised, AJ said "Ah was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers, hoof readers, and food harvesters?" "Oh, the real war, Captain, is what you see before you." Discord said. "For twenty years, I have been taking care of the earth ponies, one..by..one." As Discord said that, he squished three ants on the tile.

He flipped it to reveal more ants, and said "And yet, for all of my success, they have thrived. I believe they have a safe haven, within the walls of this very place. A nest, if you will. They call it the Court of Miracles." "What are we going to do about it, sir?" AJ asked. Discord smirked, and crushed the remaining ants with the tile to prove his point. AJ silently gulped, and said "You make your point quite vividly, sir." "You know, I like you Captain. Shall we?" Discord said as he began to leave, but then he heard a crowd of ponies cheering coming from Canterlot because the Festival Of Fools was about to begin. He sighed, and said "Oh, duty calls. Have you ever attended a peasantpony festival, Captain?" "Not recently, sir." AJ said. "Then this should be quite an education for you. Come along." Discord said as he and AJ took off to go to Canterlot to attend the Festival Of Fools.