Bloodthirst laid down on his mattress that night, feeling helpless and miserable, thinking about the events that happened that afternoon.
The twins offered kindly to send Bloodthirst home, and when Rarity asked what happened, the twins related everything as Bloodthirst looked for Platinum Royale, crying upon seeing her. Everyone consoled him, saying that it wasn’t his fault. The twins felt sympathetic, but they weren’t sure if Bloodthirst would still continue to work.
Feeling overwhelmed, Bloodthirst drifted to his sleep, with teary eyes. Platinum Royale entered a minute later, in her pajamas, looking at Bloodthirst.
“Poor little boy,” she whispered, and she went to sleep.
Soon, Bloodthirst began dreaming, dreaming himself in a flowery meadow. He knew what it meant. His mother Marigold Scent was there, smiling and waiting for him.
“We meet again, dear son,” she began. “You’re hurt again?”
“I am. Somepony doesn’t like me,” he replied and told her all that happened.
“I see,” she said as he finished. “Well you know, there are ponies of this kind in the world. You must learn to ignore these ponies. They are like this because they are jealous.”
“I know, but he was doing harassing things to Pepper Flake. I have to save her!”
“Then,” she advised. “You have to report to your boss if you see this happening again next time. Don’t just go and barge in like that. This will be a loss to you.”
“I understand, Mom. Now I don’t know what my boss will do next.”
“He’ll surely find it out,” finished Marigold as she began to fade away. “Just let time reveal the true culprit…”
Bloodthirst woke up, knowing his dream ended. He looked out of the window. It was already morning, the cool morning breeze blowing in and the birds sang. He sat up, remembering his mother’s advice earlier.
“Well,” he decided at last. “I shall wait then.”
On Wednesday, he returned to work. Mr Carrot Cake had told him and Striking Taps, “Your earnings will now be halved for a fortnight as part of your punishment!”
He reached the entrance and opened the door, finding Mr Carrot Cake waiting for him.
“I hope you’re behaving today,” he spoke severely. “If I see red on you again don’t come back again.”
“Yes, sir,” he said meekly.
Soon, Bloodthirst was working hard in the kitchen. He mixed the ingredients and prepared the cream, and helped prepare everything.
The twins were amazed.
“Will you look at that?” Pound said to Pumpkin. “He’s working hard all day long. Kinda impressed by his recovery.”
As Bloodthirst served the desserts on the counter, a number of customers stood there to compliment about him.
“Hello Bloodthirst. Feeling better?”
“I like the way you work, man. Just keep it up!”
“You know, you’re better than that racist jerk. You work every day without fuss. Keep working, buddy!”
His happiest customer of all was Novella Fantasy, who brought along a card which she made with her friends. It was telling him that she and her friends loved him.
“Novella said that she wanted to try one of your bakes,” Sweetie Belle told him. “So I took her along today.”
“You’re the best, Bloodthirst,” Novella said. “We’re with you!”
Soon it was time for Sugarcube Corner to end the business for the day. It was when Pinkie Pie brought in some news.
“The Mayor says that the renowned Fancypants is coming over to Ponyville for a visit at the end of the month! He is expecting some nice hostility here.”
“Did you hear that?” asked Pepper Flake. “Somepony important is coming! If you can work well on that day, maybe you can regain Mr Carrot Cake’s trust on you!”
“I’ll try,” he replied. “Please be on my guard if that guy ever comes on duty.”
“We’ll see what we can do,” promised Pumpkin. “For a rough pony like him it’s unpredictable.”
Back home, he told Rarity and everypony else about everyone’s compliments, and Novella Fantasy’s gift for him.
“I think that must be Novella,” Rarity replied. “Sweetie Belle must have told her everything when I told her about your story.”
“She must have rallied up everypony in Ponyville to give you moral support,” added Platinum Royale. “Everypony must have known about that incident already…”
“That’s nice to know, that little filly…” He gave a sigh. “I don’t know what to do on that day Fancypants comes, especially if he will be on duty too…”
“Who cares?” said Prudence Aura. “We’ll defend you, don’t worry.”
The day eventually arrived.
Bloodthirst got up earlier than the rest, as he needed to begin his duties very early to welcome the VIP. He reached the entrance, where Pumpkin Cake was waiting.
“That was pretty early!” she remarked as she saw him.
“Punctuality matters, you know,” he replied. “Needa start working early to make preparations faster.” He said and went into the kitchen.
Soon he was working tirelessly, preparing the refreshments and the drinks. But just as he peeked out of the kitchen door, he froze.
Outside stood his enemy, Striking Taps.
“Bloodthirst…? What’s the matter?” asked Pound Cake.
“S-see him over there…?” he stammered, pointing to him.
“Chill, man, chill,” calmed Pound as he escorted him to a corner. “I’ll try to defend you, with everyone else, as I’ve promised!”
Striking Taps had seen him, and he was thinking hard how to pay him out.
“I’ll make sure that scum eats my words, for foiling my plans to get him fired!” he thought to himself.
Just fifteen minutes to twelve, Sugarcube Corner was already packed with visitors. Twilight Sparkle was among the visitors, making host to the VIP. She was busy making arrangements with Mr Carrot Cake.
Meanwhile, Melody Aurora and her friends tried to look for Bloodthirst. They found him at a corner, looking uneasy. The twins were with him.
“You look sick, Bloodthirst. Anything wrong?” asked Beryl.
Bloodthirst tried to speak, but due to his extreme nervousness, he could only stutter.
“What?” asked Melody, annoyed.
“Just let him be,” said Pumpkin Cake calmly. “Somepony he’s afraid of is here today, and he doesn’t want to get exploited.” She looked around. Striking Taps wasn’t in sight.
“We’re not sure what will he do today to pay him out,” added Pound. “Whatever the reason we’re trying to defend him. Maybe you could probably lend us a hoof and help us.”
“Hmph, that trash. I haven’t finished dealing with him!” snorted Greenie Hats.
“Control yourself,” advised Raisin Brandy. “If you fight with him again here it will be bad for the VIP!”
Out of nowhere, Bloodthirst was glancing around when he saw Striking Taps looking around suspiciously. He then saw him taking out a packet of strange powder, then pour it into one of the glasses filled with punch when no one was noticing. He then threw it and buried the packet into the trash bin, and pretended everything was normal.
“Oh, no!” thought Bloodthirst. “That’s the drinks for the VIPs! If anypony or even the main VIP drinks this he might get poisoned! I must do something!” He immediately salvaged for the packet. Luckily it still had some of the powder remaining, and he quickly hid it behind the trash bin. Then, quietly he exchanged the glass from the VIP table to the normal guests’ table.
At 12 o’clock, as everyone was still chattering excitedly, Featherweight announced.
“The VIP and his entourages have arrived!”
Twilight Sparkle and Diamond Tiara stood on guard at the entrance as everypony cheered. In came Fancypants, then his model Fleur dis Lee, and his entourages.
“A pleasure to welcome you here, Sir,” greeted Diamond Tiara.
“Thank you, Mayor,” replied Fancypants. “I’m here as well to take a break from Canterlot. All I can say is that Ponyville and the residents remain that rustic look, just like how I said about Princess Twilight and her friends many years ago.”
Twilight only blushed and giggled.
“Well,” announced Pinkie Pie. “Now that our VIP is here, IIIIIIIT’S MEAL TIME!!!” She shouted and popped her party cannon, and at once everyone went for their refreshments.
At first, everything seemed normal. Suddenly, the sound of somepony vomiting sounded from the crowd.
“Blarrgh!” exclaimed Pizza Frenzy as he coughed. “There’s *cough* something wrong *cough* with my punch!”
“Seriously?” asked Cheese Sandwich as he sniffed his own. “There’s nothing wrong with mine.”
“So is mine,” replied Soarin.
At once, all guests checked their drinks. To everyone’s surprise, all their drinks were normal!
“There’s something wrong with it. Let me have a look,” said Mr Carrot Cake. Pizza handed him over his punch as Thunder Clash helped him.
“Easy there, buddy,” he said, handling him over a glass of water.
“There is something wrong,” he remarked after sniffing the punch. “Twilight, do you know what it is?”
“Let me see…” As Twilight smelled and stirred the punch, bubbles began to form, and it was concentrated. “It has been contaminated with soap powder!” She turned to the guests. “Who’s the culprit to Pizza Frenzy’s punch?”
As everypony looked at each other, without any ideas, Bloodthirst, who had heard everything from the kitchen, called out.
“I have proof!” He went to the trash bin and revealed the packet of soap powder. At once, everypony gasped.
“So it was the soap powder!” called Peanut Butter.
“W-wait! How the hay did you…” Striking Taps called from the crowd.
“I saw you did it!” Bloodthirst pointed to him. “You tried to make our VIP cough and then put the blame on me as if you’re not done with our incident!”
“Wait, how did you know it…?”
“Admit it! You’re trying to harm our friend!” hissed Greenie Hats.
“Stop arguing!” snapped Mr Carrot Cake. “Are you gonna make me fire you right away for this nonsense?”
Thinking it was Bloodthirst who was going to get fired, Striking Taps sniggered. Just then, Chaos Control interrupted.
“Excuse me, Sir,” he began. “I have proof that Bloodthirst is err, innocent.”
“Innocent? Rubbish!” Striking Taps snorted. “What sort of proof do you have?”
“Well then, do you have any soap powders in your kitchen?” he asked Pepper Flake.
“Err, yeah, five big packets left.”
“Show us one, please.”
Pepper returned instantly with a packet of soap powder.
“Well that was a big one. The one at the trash bin was a smaller packet meant for home use. Besides, if Bloodthirst had been holding that soap powder he would have soap smell on his body.”
“He’s got some weird soap smell on him,” Sonic Flash, who was beside Striking Taps murmured.
“And if Bloodthirst went to commit that despicable act, he wasn’t around talking with me and my friends,” finished Chaos.
“Yeah, he was with us,” agreed Melody Aurora. “He was trying to tell us how nervous he was because he saw his enemy here today.”
“And he was really nervous,” added Pound Cake. “So nervous that we had to help him say what he meant.”
Soon all of his friends agreed that Bloodthirst was with them.
“A-and, I saw him emptying the powder into a VIP glass, so I had to exchange it with a normal guest’s one,” said Bloodthirst.
“And Pizza Frenzy turned out to drink the contaminated one,” remarked Sweetie Belle.
“So that’s how it is,” said Mr Carrot Cake. He turned to Striking Taps. “It seems you haven’t let go of the grudge of that fight a few weeks back, huh?”
Striking Taps could only gulp, knowing that his intention to frame Bloodthirst had been foiled.
“I’m absolutely disappointed on you. Apart from not showing any commitment on your job, you nearly upset my arrangements.”
“And you’re lucky that my son can remain fine. If my son passed out here you’ll be taking this entire responsibility!” thundered Cheese Sandwich.
As the guests booed and humiliated him, Striking Taps ran away, embarrassed and feeling disgraced.
“You feeling better now?” Diamond Tiara asked Pizza.
“I’m… alright,” said a recovered Pizza as he drank plain water. “That weird taste freaked me out.”
“As long as you can still stand and talk, we’ll be relieved,” said Applejack.
“I have to thank Bloodthirst,” he continued. “For being so alert on his actions.”
“R-really?”
“That was pretty impressive,” said Fancypants. “Saving my life for that. The Princess could’ve given you an award.”
“You probably could have at least alerted your boss,” said Diamond Tiara. “Then we wouldn’t have this commotion.”
“I was very scared. He won’t believe me ever since my previous incident.”
“Bloodthirst,” Mr Carrot Cake said. “I deeply apologize for that incident. Perhaps I should listen to my children to act thoroughly. You and everypony else deserved to be treated equal without discrimination.”
“Yes! He’s my number one!” A filly’s voice cried out. It was Novella Fantasy.
At once, everyone gave praises to the young vampire pony.
“Did you hear that?” asked Chaos Control to him. “From now on you’re going to work harder than usual!”
“We’ll be by your side, darling,” supported Rarity.
“Th-thanks, everypony,” said Bloodthirst gracefully. “If it wasn’t Chaos Control who helped to defend me I would’ve been depressed.”
“That’s what we always do,” said Melody. “Helping somepony in need with each other.”
“Why don’t we finish this party first?” asked Twilight. “We can talk afterwards.”
The lunch reception continued, as Bloodthirst’s heart filled with hope and support.