//------------------------------// // A Taste of the Past // Story: Eclipse: Poets and Pests // by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof //------------------------------// The Next Day: Pinkamena made a round through the seating area, checking on the customers to make sure they had everything they needed. According to one of the other waitresses, the opening shift had been pretty typical. That was no surprise really. Pinkamena expected that trouble would happen later in the morning, closer to afternoon. What was surprising was that things seemed to be progressing slower than she had expected. She had still seen a few Parasprites out and about, but not as many as she had thought. Either something was keeping the parasprites from reproducing as quickly as Pinkamena had figured, or other ponies had found ways to manage them that she had been unaware of. Perhaps they would be fortunate enough that her own counter-measures would prove unnecessary -- even if already set in motion. Three earth ponies mares galloped along the street as fast as they could. Even from the distance and with the doors closed, shouts of "run," "help," and "horror" could be heard. Although not considered an official indicator by any means, those three particular mares were often the first to sign there might be possible trouble (or were just the victims of a prank to get them going, but that seemed unlikely at the moment). The customers in Bean There, Done That watched the group -- collectively known as The Flower Trio -- run by. When the three were out sight, the silence was broken as the customers returned to their own matters. The lack of worry was not because they believed there was no threat. It was just that in light of recent events, it took more than used to for some of them to break their regular routines. Whatever the problem was that had sent the three into their usual panicked run, it was probably not immediate enough to require abandoning what they were already enjoying. A few minutes later, three familiar looking ponies were making their way toward the shop. Pinkamena had been expecting one of them to show up soon, but not with the other two. She figured they would have shown up eventually -- and was even hoping to talk to one of them about the matter -- but had not known when it would be. Still, she was grateful to see them. Plus, it would make things easier since she would only have to explain everything once. The three ponies stopped at the door, staring at the No Parasprites Allowed sign that Pinkamena had posted yesterday. Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle gripped the door and pulled it open, stepping inside. She was immediately followed by Rarity, with Sergeant Nocturne Striker. As soon as they caught sight of Pinkamena, the three of them started toward her. "Rarity said that you know about these things," Twilight called out as she got closer. "Please tell me you know something to help us." "Like-" Nocturne started, her voice extremely raspy. She stopped as she was forced into a coughing fit. "Are you okay?" Pinkamena asked, looking at the batpony. "We discovered that the soundwaves used for her echolocation can temporarily disorient the creatures," Twilight explained. "They stop whatever they are doing at the moment, even flying. It makes it easier to catch them." She grimaced, ears pulling back. "Unfortunately, the constant use has kind of strained her throat for the moment." She turned to Nocturne. "Sorry." Nocturne gave a wave of her hoof as her coughing ended. "It's alright," she rasped. "Best idea we had." "Take a seat and I'll get something for her throat," Pinkamena said. "Would you like anything else?" "Well," Rarity said, considering, "I think I could use a cup of tea." "A mocha sounds good right now," Twilight admitted. "I'll get on those," Pinkamena said. "If one of you could catch a parasprite for me, it will make it easier to answer some of your questions." Nocturne and Rarity walked toward a table, taking a seat, while Twilight went back outside to catch a parasprite. Pinkamena went back behind the counter and started working on the drinks: a large mocha latte with extra whipped cream for Twilight Sparkle; a green tea with milk and sugar on the side, and raspberry scone, for Rarity; and one of Zecora's herbal healing brews with honey and lemon for Nocturne. After all the drinks were ready and on the tray, Pinkamena reached under the counter. Pulling out a glass display stand filled with various baked goods, she set it on the tray as well before carrying the whole thing. While the drinks were being made, Twilight had returned and joined the others. Her horn gave off a faint glow of magic as she held a parasprite in her aura, keeping it close to her and away from the other customers (most of which were watching the thing and pulling their food away from its direction). Pinkamena set the display stand in the table before passing out the other beverages. "You must be quite hungry if you are planning to eat all those," Rarity said, giving a small smirk. "They aren't for me," Pinkamena answered as she moved to sit down. "These are some of the leftovers from yesterday." "I thought Joe normally gave those away at the end of the night," Twilight said, looking at the case as she grabbed her beverage. "He does," Nocturne confirmed, her throat already feeling better. She grinned to herself as she remembered when Scootaloo had brought a bunch home one time, practically buzzing with excitement that she got free sweets. "I held onto a few of them yesterday," Pinkamena explained. "There's one thing that's easier to show than tell." A painful admittance for her to make. After all, it was her job to evoke emotion through words, to give a feeling of understanding to things that others would have difficulty doing so. The thought was pushed aside as she reached out to take a hold of the parasprite. The faint aura of magic vanished, Twilight releasing her grip on the creature. Quick as she could, Pinkamena lifted the lid, shoved the parasprite inside, then shut the opening to keep the thing inside. The parasprite floated in there a moment, blinking its big green eyes. Its gaze then turned toward the pile of baked goods trapped inside with it. After licking its lips, the creature flew around the food pile. The four ponies only saw a little blue blur moving around. In seconds, the entire container was empty, the parasprite sitting in the middle and looking quite content. "This is not new information," Rarity said. "We are already aware that they-" She stopped as a hoof was held up, turning her attention back to the display case. The parasprite continued to sit in the now empty container, its eyes half-closed and a smile on its face. The creature's eyes went wide as its body swelled up. With an audible burp, a ball of pink emerged from its mouth and started flying in the air next to it. The other three mares all stared, eyes wide at the sight of a new parasprite now in the container with the first one. "When I was growing up," Pinkamena explained as the others were still silent from surprise, "there were other farms not far from us. Most of them were crop producers: fruits, vegetables, sugar cane, wheat, et cetera." Lowering her head, she rested her chin on the table and stared at the two parasprites. "One day, the son of one of our neighbors was out playing when he found one of these" -- she pointed at the pair -- "and brought it home." "Oh, my," Rarity whispered. "A few days later," Pinkamena continued, "there were uncountable numbers of the parasprites. They had eaten all the crops at that farm and had begun to spread out to the others. As you can see, the more they ate, the more there were. The more there were, the quicker they ate. So you can probably deduce how much trouble the farms were in." She let out a sigh. "Even with help from disaster relief and emergency assistance funding, some of them were just not able to get up and running again. A few were abandoned, others sold. My father even bought one, wanting to rent it back to the owners until they could pay it off again. Now he's trying to get Marble or Limestone to take over while the other inherits the main homestead. But I digress." She straightened up, looking at the others. "I had a great aunt named Piper Pie. Kind of like me, she was different from the rest of the family. Not only because she was brightly colored, but because she was creative. She was actually a musician. Except she had this odd affinity. Somehow, she could use her music and talent to get most creatures to follow her: rats, bats, bugs, and so on. Aunt Piper had managed to work it into a pretty successful pest control business. "So when my father found out what was happening, he took me with him and went to visit Aunt Piper. After he told her all about it, she told us what they were and agreed to help. She came back with us, pulling a wagon cart filled with all sorts of instruments. When we got back to the farm, Aunt Piper went over to one of the neighbors that had parasprites. Soon, she was playing a song, and all the parasprites were following after her, like they were hypnotized. Just followed her off the farm and into the woods." "Wait," Twilight said, holding up a hoof. "You're telling me, that your aunt was able to lead these things away, with just a song?" "Yes." After that, Twilight entered her contemplative mode. Her eyes glassed over as her mind turned inwards, analyzing the new information, processing it, and figuring out any and all possible applications for it in the current situation. "Forgive me," Rarity stated, "but it seems rather difficult to believe. Even in our current situation, were such a tale being told by any other pony, I would think they were joking." "I believe it," Nocturne replied. "After seeing how some animals react to sonar -- and some ponies to music --" she stared at Rarity for a moment "-- I don't find it hard to believe at all." Rarity turned away from the batpony and let out a snort, her cheeks turning a faint pink in color. "Any chance you remember what song to play or instruments to use?" Twilight asked, exiting contemplative mode and looking at Pinkamena. "Great Aunt Piper gave a copy of the music and list of instruments to my father and me, just in case they came back." "Perfect." Twilight stood up and chugged the rest of her mocha. "Now all we need to do is collect the necessary instrument, find musicians who can play them, give them copies of the music, and have them lead the parasprites into The Everfree Forest. Once there, natural predators and competition for resources should reduce the population and restore balance. After that, it will just be making sure that nopony tries to bring them into a populated area again." "Hi, mom." "Hi, Rarity." Nocturne, Rarity, Twilight and Pinkamena all turned toward the source call. Standing there beside the table were three fillies, smiling proudly. "Hello, Scootaloo," Nocturne said, reaching out to ruffle her daughter's mane. "Did you need me for something?" "No," Scootaloo replied, trying to slip out from under her mother's hoof. "We were just coming back to report to Miss Pie." "'Report to Miss Pie?'" Twilight repeated. She moved to look at both the trio of fillies and her pink poetic friend, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah," Sweetie Belle answered. "She said that she needed our help to save Ponyville from the Parasprites. We've been traveling all over Ponyville all morning." Her eys suddenly went wide. "We got all the instruments you wanted," Apple Bloom said. "They're in the wagon outside." "And all the musicians on your list have been told that you want to see them," Scootaloo added. "And they all have copies of the sheet music like you asked," Sweetie Belle finished. "Good job," Pinkamena replied. "Thank you."