//------------------------------//
// 6 Town Meeting 
// Story: Alternate Beginnings: Year Two 
// by Doug Graves 
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Applejack shifts nervously back and forth as she stands on the stage. Mayor Mare was gracious enough to let them use the Winter Wrap Up mustering area for their informal assembly. The area is certainly spacious enough, but Applejack alternates between worrying if there will be too many ponies or too few. If nopony shows up, does that mean that nopony is worried about the foals, or about Doug? Or does that mean that they are all too scared to come to a place where they know he will show up? And if too many ponies show up, will they be able to contain their misconceptions and head off any herd mentality?

Applejack looks to the side of the podium; her herdmates are milling about, making sure that everything is in place. Rarity is going over potential talking points with Fluttershy while Rainbow is close to the back with Doug, playing with the foals. Doug is wearing his coat, boots, and gloves. If the human could tolerate the cold a little better he might fit in more, as not a lot of ponies wear winter garb every day. They just grow a thicker coat; at least Doug didn't complain about being cold.

A few ponies start showing up, gathering at the outskirts of the staging area. There is still about five minutes before the meeting starts, so Applejack heads over to start chatting with them. She is happy to see a few more mares walking towards them. She greets the first two, "Hey Carrot Top, Roseluck, sure is nice to see you two here. How have you been?"

Carrot Top smiles while Roseluck looks side to side, a nervous look on her face. Carrot Top responds, "Oh, doing well, ready to get back to farming."

Applejack nods, "You and me both. Winter is nice and all but Ah sure prefer the feel of ground on my hooves, not snow. You working plant team again?"

"Yup; we'll see whose farm gets done first!"

Applejack smirks, "Bushel of apples says Ah get my farm done before yours!"

Carrot Top narrows her eyes, "Oh, you're on!"

Applejack looks over to Roseluck, "You seem awful quiet, Rose. Ready for spring?"

Roseluck stammers, "Oh, um, yes. I am."

Applejack nods to the two mares, "Well, Ah'll see you two around. Take care y'all!"

The two mares move towards another group in the center area while Applejack makes her way back to the stage area. She moves over to Rainbow, saying, "Alright Rainbow, it's about time. Try to keep the foals from making too much of a scene, ya hear?"

Rainbow rolls her eyes, "Ya, I'll just sit here quietly and not say anything either. You trust me to not screw that up as well?"

Applejack huffs before moving over to Rarity. "You feeling ready for this?"

Rarity looks pensive as she moves her note cards off to the side. "As ready as I'll ever be, darling. Did you want to lead us off or shall I?"

Applejack says, "Ah'll lead us off, Ah suppose," and moves to the front of the stage. She clears her throat as the area has become somewhat crowded. "Well, Ah'd like to start off by thanking y'all for all showing up today. There's been a lot of speculation as to our foals, and we here would like to put a lot of those worries to rest. We'd also like to thank Doctor Horse for his considerable expertise and continued assistance."

Applejack stops speaking, silence spreading over the area. A lone cough echoes as Rarity moves up to the front of the group. Applejack steps back as Rarity continues, "First, a little background information. Doug, who you can see behind me, sitting with our foals, is known as a human. He is the sire of each of them and, yes, we are sure of this. The foals were all born on the fifth, or three days ago. All of our hospital visits had proceeded normally, and the foaling itself was unremarkable." Rarity pauses, a tear coming to her eye, "Oh, do excuse me, this next part is... a little difficult for all of us."

Rainbow whispers to Doug, "Pony she's good."

Doug nods back as Rarity continues, "The... Doctor Horse informed us, later that day, that there was a... discrepancy with the foals. Later tests confirmed that the foals each have a magic deficiency, and that-"

Rarity pauses again, levitating a hoofkerchief over to wipe the tears in her eyes. She visibly steadies herself, breathing out a long, steady breath and pushing one hoof away from her body. She looks up at the crowd again, saying, "The foals suffer magic deficiencies, possibly for the rest of their lives. Doctor Horse was unable to find other cases that mirror ours, so the next area is, unfortunately, mostly speculation."

Sweetie Belle breaks from her spot next to Doug, racing across the stage towards Rarity. Rarity hears the light hoofsteps approaching and turns, smiling down at her foal. Rarity hunkers down, letting the foal run up next to her before picking Sweetie Belle up with her magic and depositing the foal on her back. She softly coos at her foal before turning back to the crowded ponies, "As you can see, they are no different from than any other foal, maybe just a tad bit more adventurous than most." The crowd laughs as Sweetie Belle starts babbling in her dam's ear, wanting to be let down.

Rarity shushes her foal before continuing, "The tests the doctors have run show that the foals' magic is staying constant at a low thaum level. We believe they will continue to develop normally, aside from their magic difficulties. We also want to assure you that they are in no danger from yourselves or your foals and that they are not dangerous to you. Now, if you all have any questions, we would be more than happy to answer them for you."

The assembled ponies look around for a few seconds before a mare near the front raises her hoof. Rarity points her hoof at her, saying, "Carrot Top, go ahead."

The mare says loudly, "First, thank you for taking the time to have this discussion. I know there was a lot of rampant speculation as to what was wrong or what happened, and thank you for putting those fears to rest. Then I have, well, two questions. What are their names and who is with whom?"

Rarity smiles, "Well, it is our pleasure to have this meeting. My foal, as you can probably guess, is sitting on me and her name is Sweetie Belle."

Doug moves over to Applejack, holding Apple Bloom, while Rainbow grabs hold of Scootaloo, propping her between her wings. The two move up as Rainbow says, "This little scamp's name is Scootaloo, and she will not sit still!" as the foal struggles to escape her wings. Rainbow tilts her body one way and then another, leaning forward to try to keep the foal contained.

The crowd laughs at the pair's antics while Doug, having handed Apple Bloom off to Applejack, comes to Rainbow's rescue by picking the foal up and cradling her in his arms. Scootaloo whines softly, raising her hooves towards Rainbow as the mare moves closer.

Rainbow nuzzles Scootaloo and says softly, "Don't worry, Mama will be able to play with you more soon. Until then, we have to sit still, okay?" She then looks up at Doug, shooting him a quick glare, "You say nothing of this to anypony, got it?" 

Doug laughs, shifting Scootaloo so she is carried in one arm while the other pets Rainbow's mane. The pegasus ducks her head before reconsidering, pushing up against Doug's hand while turning to face the crowd.

Applejack finishes laughing and says, "And this here's Apple Bloom. She's mine if the name didn't tip you off."

The crowd laughs again as Applejack points to another raised hoof. The mare asks, "What kind of magic difficulties will the foals have?"

Each of the mares on stage look a little dejected, their eyes focusing on their foals. Doug moves up, answering, "This is mostly speculation and assumptions. Most likely, Apple Bloom may have trouble using her magic on crops, but we don't know to what extent. Sweetie Belle may have difficulty with telekinesis, and we will have to see how well she learns other spells." Doug looks back; Rainbow looks to be close to tears as she raises a hoof towards her foal. Doug continues, "Scootaloo... we don't know if she will develop sufficient flight magic to be able to fly or perform weather work. However, we will be working with several specialists in magic to find if there is a way to infuse the foals with more magic or some other method to bring the foals to the same level as everypony else."

A mare shouts, "Are the foals ponies?"

Doug scratches the back of his head, looking towards Rarity, "Um, if you mean are they some sort of hybrid, then as far as we can tell they are all pony, at least physically. Magically, they seem to be a mix of their dam's magic and mine; my magic, as far as we can test, is none."

Hushed whispers spread among the crowd, and a mare tentatively asks, "So, what is a human?"

Doug coughs, "Let's see. Mammal, biped, no magic. Progressed through intelligence and tool use instead of natural defenses or weapons. This might be a little disconcerting but we can eat fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, but not grasses like hay. We live much like ponies, fall in love, and raise families-"

The same mare asks, interrupting Doug, "Meat? Like, you can eat ponies?"

Doug gives his best reassuring smile, "First, I don't want to come across as hiding anything, so please, I know this might be unsettling. Yes, I can eat ponies in the same sense that I can eat other humans. I would only do it in the most dire of circumstances, when there is literally no other option than starvation, and I share the same belief concerning all sapient species. I assure you that you are in no danger from me."

The whispering among the mares grows louder as a trio of mares shout, "Monster!" and run screaming from the area. Some of the other ponies can be seen shaking their heads as they let the mares pass, though more than a few can be seen looking inquisitively at Doug.

Doug sighs loudly as he moves from the front of the stage, returning to Rainbow. She nuzzles up next to him as she says, "Well, that went as well as expected." Doug smiles, petting her mane and taking a seat next to her. He recognizes the mare that moves forward as the same one from earlier, and tenses as she raises a hoof.

Applejack moves to the front, motioning at her. Spoiled Rich asks, "What precautions are you taking to ensure that this... creature doesn't harm anypony here?"

Applejack's smile turns to a scowl; she begins a retort as Rarity puts a hoof on her lead's shoulder. Applejack turns; Rarity shakes her head, removing her hoof and moving forward. Rarity answers, "The same precautions that apply to any of us here. Doug, and I would appreciate you using his name, is a citizen of Equestria like any other. He has spent a year among us without incident and I am sure that his record will remain unblemished."

Spoiled Rich continues, raising her voice, "You call what happened to the three of you 'without incident'? He seems to be a menace that the rest of us should be extremely cautious around!"

"HEY!" a voice calls out from the crowd. Pinkie Pie marches up to the mare, putting her hoof square on the other mare's chest and pushing. Spoiled Rich staggers back a little as Pinkie continues, "You don't get to decide who is a meany pants and who isn't!"

Spoiled Rich scoffs, "Well then, show of hooves, who here thinks that Doug doesn't belong here?"

Another pony shouts, "Ponyville for Ponies!" as many of the ponies in the crowd raise their hooves.

Applejack's ears flatten against her head as the chant echoes loudly among the gathered ponies. She looks worriedly at Rarity and Rainbow as she slowly backs away from the front of the stage. The two mares are holding their foals close to their bodies, the foals scared enough to not even cry. Fluttershy slowly makes her way from the back of the stage, her whisper lost in the roar of the crowd as Doug moves between the mares and assembled ponies. 

Applejack yells to her herd, "Well that went pear-shaped quick. Let's just-" she notices Doug moving forward, "Doug, what are you doing? Get out of sight, stop inciting them!"

Doug gives her a confused look before backing down, moving to one of the back exits. He stops at the exit, waiting for his mares to catch up. Rainbow moves to the side, body checking him through the opening and past the wall, yelling, "GO GO GO, if they catch you who knows what they'll do?" As Doug moves away from the mustering area she continues, "We'll be safe, it's you we need to watch out for! Try to keep low, but make your way back to the farm!"

A few ponies can be heard shouting, "They're going out the back!" before the sound of a piano drowns out the shouts. The herd continues their exit while Pinkie Pie can be heard singing loudly. She makes it through one song and the words "You've got to-" can be briefly made out. This is followed by the sounds of a piano being smashed and the song comes to a halt. Fortunately Pinkie's diversion is enough of a distraction for the herd as they make their way out the staging area and start galloping down the streets. 

Doug takes Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, holding the two in his arms as Ponyvillians move out of their way. Clouds of dust can be seen further behind them as ponies pour out of the staging area, milling around and looking for them. A few pegasi take to the sky, quickly pointing out to the earth ponies on the ground which direction they have taken. The ponies give chase, quickly gaining ground on the herd.

Rarity's stamina gives out just on the outskirts of Ponyville, the exertion just too much for the unicorn. She tries to push to her hooves, a terrified look in her eyes as she gasps for breath. Doug quickly sets the foals on the ground; he moves to Rarity as Applejack nuzzles Apple Bloom and Fluttershy takes Sweetie Belle. He gives a loud grunt as he lifts Rarity to his shoulders, staggering under the weight of the unicorn. He breaths hard, scowling as the Ponyvillians start to encircle them.

Spoiled Rich walks to the front of the crowd, a wicked smile on her mouth.