Applejack charged through the entrance to the school’s roof full of worry and concern. Her sister was acting mighty peculiar today and on top of that the entire student body, aside from her friends, was mocking her by making pig noises. Whoever this Anon-Y-Mous person was she was goin’ to get a stern talking too just as soon as she made sure Apple Bloom was alright.
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack found her sister standing on the roof without her coat on or anything else really.
Apple Bloom slowly turned to face her sister. Her skin looked sickly blue and her hair had changed since that morning, but Applejack failed to notice this as her sister seemed to flinch in her presence before collapsing to her knees.
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack repeated with deep concern. She ran up to her little sister and got her coat on, she’d fetched it out of Bloom’s locker before rushing up here. “What in tarnation are ya doin’ up on this here roof without a stitch of protection on?”
Apple Bloom gagged slightly as her sister came close to her. The fire of friendship was strong within her currently, family bonds were always the strongest. The Apple Bloom part of her admired and cared deeply for her sister’s concern, the growing Windigo part of her felt sick to her stomach and wanted to lash out, but that would have been fatal for her plans.
“Ah’m fine!” she said pushing at Applejack to get her to back off.
“Like heck ya are!” Applejack argued. “Come on, we’re gonna get ya to the hospital!” She knelt down and lifted her little sister up effortlessly.
Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. If they were stuck in the hospital all of her plans for getting back at Sunset Shimmer and regaining control of Applejack’s affections were doomed. Even if they did make her sick to her stomach right now.
“Ah don’t need ta see no doctor!” Apple Bloom declared frustratedly.
Applejack shook her head. “Your delirious, little sis.”
Pinkie Pie popped up just then. “Everything ok, Applejack?”
“No it ain’t. Make way, Pinkie!”
“Okie dokie Loki,” Pinkie sang as she cartwheeled out of the stairwell.
Apple Bloom was utterly mystified by the display, but as the group ran downstairs and off towards where Windy Whistles was waiting she began to feel stronger.
“You told Anon-Y-Mous about this!” Diamond Tiara screamed at Silver Spoon.
“No I didn’t!” Silver Spoon defended.
Diamond Tiara stomped her foot. “I told you in confidence and only you! So you had to have told Anon-Y-Mous about it!”
Silver Spoon trembled frustratedly. “I already told you I wouldn’t share that with anybody!”
“Then how did Anon-Y-Mous find out about it?”
“I don’t know! But I didn’t tell anybody.”
Diamond Tiara turned away in a huff and started off down the hall. “Until you admit what you did we are no longer friends!”
Silver Spoon felt really hurt. She clutched her chest and wobbled slightly on her legs as if struck. With tears stinging her eyes she marched off in the other direction; neither girl noticed the small burst of frozen wind that seemed to dance around their legs, or float off down the hall where Applejack was carrying Apple Bloom.
Sighing in content Apple Bloom let herself be taken away. Anon-Y-Mous had played her part well, she had absorbed the hatred and despair released just now and it fueled her growing magic. She wouldn’t have to worry too much about somebody examining her now.
“See! I told ya, ya had ta come inside,” Applejack told her. Her accent thickened slightly with her concern making it come out more strongly.
Pinkie nodded with a giggle beside them both. “We’ll get you to the doctor and some chicken soup will make you feel all better.”
Apple Bloom grimaced, but mostly because Pinkie Pie had even more of the Fire of Friendship than her sister did; if that could be believed.
The trio arrived at the loading dock for the cafeteria to find everybody waiting there, including Granny Smith. The elder woman walked up to her granddaughters with concern in her expression. “Applejack, you make sure they take good care of her, ya hear me?”
“Yes, Granny.”
“We’ll get her seen to in time, Miss Smith,” Windy Whistles assured as she ushered the group towards her waiting car.
“Shucks, no need ta be so formal, call me Granny,” Granny said with a warm smile.
Apple Bloom really thought she was going to throw up this time; the Fire of Friendship was extremely powerful here. Steeling herself for having to go through with this she waited until she could see the others and then she smirked. Scootaloo was already changed, considering her right ear was now fully pierced with the focal gem. Sweetie Belle still seemed to be holding on to her true self, but once they began to enact plan Anon-Y-Mous fully she had every confidence that she would come around.
Still; what could be causing such a delayed reaction within the cream skinned girl? It wasn’t as if her magic hadn’t been strong enough, considering Scootaloo’s transformation had accelerated, so why was… Apple Bloom’s eyes widened in sudden realization. “Aria,” she cursed under her breath.
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The purple siren floated next to the human girl with her forehooves crossed and glared at the landscape she was stuck in. Granted she was only a shade of the magic which had been part of Aria Blaze for so long, but even so she was still highly linked to the original personality of the bearer of said magic.
“Like hell I’m going to go from taking orders from Adagio to being stuck with Sonata in charge, of all sirens,” she complained.
“Apple Bloom isn’t that bad, she’s really smart and clever. I mean she thought up Anon-Y-Mous all on her own,” Sweetie said.
“I don’t care! It’s still Sonata’s magic she absorbed.” The not Aria pouted considerably.
Sweetie sighed. “This kind of really, really hurts, couldn’t we just merge together like they did and work out how to get along with her in charge when I’m not feeling like a huge gaping void has torn out my heart?”
Aria slowly turned to stare down at the girl, a swirling vortex of white and dark blue icicles had formed inside her chest making it look like she’d been shot with a snow gun. “She is totally the worst.”
“I’m deeply concerned for my sister,” Rarity suddenly spoke up as she entered the picture. “But I can share her with you if it means making her whole again, I am after all the very embodiment of generosity.”
Aria stuck her tongue out and made a bleh sound.
A cute little Windigo girl floated around the trio next and offered a smile towards Aria. “We could play some really mean tricks on a lot of people, especially Apple Bloom.”
Aria jabbed one hoof at the embodiment of all that was wrong with this world. “Windigos are not cute! You are an abomination of the highest order and I refuse to acknowledge you!”
Rarity sighed. “This is getting absolutely nowhere.”
“Tell me about it,” Sweetie complained.
“Well I suppose there’s really only one thing for it then,” Rarity decided.
Aria eyed the spiritual embodiment of generosity with a sudden hint of worry. “Stay back. I’m warning you.” Before she could utter another word Rarity grabbed her by the tail and pulled her next to Sweetie Belle, then things really got weird. “Hey! Stop! What are you doing! That doesn’t bend that way!”
Sweetie Belle giggled as she felt like a nice warm blanket was now covering her. In a way it was because Generosity had given them both something.
Aria stared down in horror at herself, she was dressed in a cute little outfit that somehow both clashed with and complimented her purple scales and fins. Then her eyes widened as she saw the matching outfit on Sweetie Belle. “Gah!”
Twirling in the tight frilly dress Sweetie giggled again and showed off her new wardrobe. It was a complimentary looking one-piece dress with a dark ice blue colour that turned into white the higher up it went until the blue was completely gone. A matching hairband with Windy’s hair colour was resting on top of Sweetie’s head and a pair of sparkling earrings rested in her ears. They were in the shape of two whirling vortexes of sleet.
“By The Leviathan’s left teat! This is worse than being stuck with Sonata in charge.” She wasn’t sure how she was even wearing a near identical outfit to the younger teen, but the siren was definitely disturbed by it. Horrified even.
“I think it’s adorable,” Windy said.
“You stay out of this!” Aria snapped.
Sweetie pouted slightly. “Don’t you like it?”
Aria grit her teeth. “Nope, no way am I being caught dead in that.”
“Dead is exactly what you’re going to be if you don’t shake a fin and merge with my adorable little scamp of a sister,” Rarity pointedly stated. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at the stubborn siren mental construct.
“Can’t we just all get along?” Windy pleaded.
Aria rolled her eyes, but finally consented to what Generosity was saying. “Alright, better stuck with Sonata in charge than being dead I suppose. But you better not tell her I said that!” she threatened Sweetie Belle.
“I thought this was all just some odd symbolism thing inside my mind to make sense of everything?”
“Whatever.” Aria flicked her tail and charged bodily into Sweetie. The two then merged and Sweetie’s skin tone changed slightly gaining a bluer tinge to it. Her hair band also got purple spikes all over it.
Sweetie sighed contently as the maelstrom within her finally settled down. “Much better, I think I’m ready to…”
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A piercing bright light shone in Sweetie’s eye as she finally woke up. At some point during the car ride she’d lost consciousness, but now she was fully awake again and wasn’t feeling nearly so cold. She did feel a little sick to her stomach though with all the waves of concern and love and hope bleeding off her sister.
“Yuck,” she complained in a weak tone.
“Hmmmm.” Doctor Horse frowned as he continued to study her. “Just like the others… I’m afraid it isn’t like any kind of Flu I’ve ever seen, but at least their body temperatures seem stabilized.”
“If you call being on the brink of Hypothermia stabilized!” Rarity exclaimed in her usual dramatic fashion.
Doctor Horse shot her a brief annoyed look. “Yes, well, seeing as how they do not seem to be dying at the moment it’s possible that they are past the danger. We’ll run several tests of course, however with the hospital so full of patients already I recommend giving them plenty of bed rest, some TLC and this prescription,” he informed passing a piece of paper to Rarity. “If this phenomena persists or the test results come back with anything more alarming we’ll call you back in.”
Rarity nodded as she accepted the prescription and rushed over to hug her little sister.
Sweetie flailed her arm in Rarity’s general direction. “Get off!” she whined as she really thought she was going to throw up.
“Tut, tut, my little sister is going to get all the love and attention she needs.” Rarity was actually crying. “And please don’t ever scare me like that again,” she whispered.
Sweetie Belle, the part of her that still wanted to be close to Rarity, smiled gratefully. Then the rest of her realized what was about to happen, turned her head to one side, and expelled her lunch all over the hospital room floor.
Rarity’s eye twitched briefly. “Yes, um, I think we’ll be needing something to help settle her stomach as well, Doctor Horse.”
Chuckling lightly he passed her a second prescription.