“Interesting. She went in the one place we wouldn't think to look. Not so clever a place to be after dark from what Twilight tells me though.”
The morning sun peaks out over the horizon as the Apple household rises early and heads for the kitchen. Granny Smith, Big Mac, Applejack and Arc sit down to a hearty breakfast before starting the day’s work. Applejack sets a fresh stack of Apple Pancakes on the table.
“Eat up everypony. We got a lot of work that needs doing today.”
She looks over at an empty chair at the foot of the table and frowns.
“Is Apple Bloom STILL in bed?!”
“Eyup!”
“I'll go and fetch her down. You un's go on with eatin'.”
Granny Smith disappears up the stairs. However, a few moments later she shouts for help.
“APPLEJACK! BIG MAC! COME QUICK!”
Everyone runs up the stairs. A wide-eyed Applejack is the first to reach Granny Smith.
“What is it Granny?! What's wrong?!”
Granny Smith points to a pile of blankets under the bedspread. “It’s Apple Bloom! She’s gone!”
Applejack runs into the room and searches it frantically. “WHAT?!”
Noticing the note, Granny Smith picks it up and quickly reads it.
“She says here that she ain't gunna wait around to be eaten by no monster. Says she’s gunna take one of the bags o' apple seeds and start her own orchard far, far away.”
“What else, Granny?!”
“Nothin' That's where the letter ends.”
“We have to find her! Big Mac, you check the orchard! Granny, look over the whole house top to bottom! Make darn sure she isn't hiding somewhere in the house! I'll get my friends and we'll get a search party going!”
Applejack leads the others down the stairs and out the front door as Arc calls out after her.
“Don’t worry, Applejack! I’ll help too!”
Applejack looks over her shoulder as she races toward town at top speed. “Thanks, sugarcube! I owe ya one!”
Everyone scatters as Arc looks toward the Apple’s big red barn.
“I guess I'll start my search in there.
Arc hurries over and enters the building. He notices a bag of seeds is missing from its place in the row on a shelf. Spotting something on the ground nearby he bends down to investigate.
“What do we have here…?”
A few seeds lie on the floor in a trail, presumably from a small hole in the burlap sack. He follows the seeds out the barn door.
“I wonder if I can follow this trail all the way to Apple Bloom.”
Arc follows the seeds through the orchard and down the path. It leads into the Everfree Forest. He frowns.
“Interesting. She went in the one place we wouldn't think to look. Not so clever a place to be after dark from what Twilight tells me though.”
Arc follows the seeds deeper into the forest until it ends at the mouth of a small cave opening.
“Maybe she took refuge from last night's storm in here.”
He slowly and cautiously enters the cave. Ahead on the ground is the now empty bag of seeds. A bit further in Arc finds Apple Bloom asleep on the ground. He gently nudges her. Waking up with a start she screams out.
“AHHH!!! Please don't eat me!”
“No need to scream Apple Bloom. It's only me.”
Apple Bloom lies on the ground crying and covers her eyes with her hooves. One of her hind legs appears to be pinned under a rock.
“So this is how it ends?! Eaten by a monster in a cave!”
“Hold still and I'll see if I can't get your foot loose, Apple Bloom.”
Using all his strength Arc is able to move the rock enough for Apple Bloom to pull her leg free. She immediately tries to run away, but the rock seems to have injured he fetlock and she collapses back onto the ground. With tears in her eyes, she tries to pull herself away with just her front hooves.
“Please! Stay back!”
“It's okay Apple Bloom. I just want to take you home. I'm not leaving you here.
She continues to try and crawl away. “No! Go away! Get away from me!”
Arc puts his hands on his hips and looks down at her. “Oh, so you want me to go? Leaving you unable to walk and in the middle of a forest full of monsters MUCH scarier than I am?”
Apple Bloom appears to ponder his words as he slowly moves toward her. Arc crouches down in front of her.
“It's going to be okay. Here, I'll carry you... sugarcube.”
He reaches toward her ever so carefully. She winces and closes her eyes when he finally touches her but allows him to pick her up.
“Come on. Let's get you home. Your family is worried sick about you.”
Apple Bloom shivers lightly. Either from fear or from spending the night in a dark, damp cave, Arc does now know.
“Cold”?
She says nothing, but slowly nods her head.
“I think I can fix that.”
He adjusts Apple Bloom's body in his arms to carry her as one would carry a human child. Her head resting on his shoulder looking behind them. Frowning, she calls out to him.
“What… are you planning to do with me?!”
“Take you home. What else?”
Apple Bloom grits her teeth. “I know exactly what you’re up to!”
“Yeah. Walking.”
“No, no! You’re planning to dom… domes… keep us in cages and pens!”
“You mean ‘domesticate’?”
“That’s the word!”
Arc sighs. “Can I assume you overheard us talking last night after supper?”
Apple Bloom nods. “Darn right! I heard you telling my family about how humans… what was that word again?!”
“Domesticate.”
“That humans domesticate animals!”
“Yes, we do.”
“So you admit that you’re planning to do that to us?!”
Arc shakes his head. “No, Apple Bloom.”
“Liar!”
“I’m going to assume that you didn’t hear the whole conversation.”
“I heard enough!”
“Oh really? Then did you hear the part where it was brought up that ponies also domesticate creatures too?”
“We do not! Animals are allowed to be free here in Equestria!”
“Are they now?”
Apple Bloom nods. “That they are!”
“Then can you explain something to me?”
“What?”
“Can you tell me what a chicken coop is for?”
“It’s a place for the chickens to sleep and lay their eggs! What else would we do with it?!”
“I see. And that smaller barn next to it?”
“That houses our cows and pigs.”
“Why do you have them there?”
“Cows are for milk and pigs are for… I don’t actually know what they do. When they get big enough we sell em.”
“Can they leave?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if your animals can leave.”
“Um… no. But why would they want to? After all, we keep them safe, feed them, and care for them.”
Arc nods. “Just like humans do with the animals they’ve domesticated.”
“That’s different though!”
“How so?”
“Well… you probably eat them, or something!”
“That’s true. Cows make beef, pigs make pork, and chickens make… chicken.”
“We don’t do things like that to them though!”
“You don’t?”
“NO!”
“Then what happens when a chicken gets too old to lay eggs, or a cow stops producing milk?”
“Applejack sells them.”
“And who buys them?”
Apple Bloom shrugs. “I dunno his name. Some stallion with a white apron that has a lot of red stains on it.”
“Apple Bloom?”
“What?”
“He sounds like a butcher.”
“A… what?”
“Someone who’s entire job is killing and dressing animals.”
“That’s a lie! There’s no way…!”
“I could be wrong, of course. But you should probably ask you sister about this.”
Apple Bloom frowns. “Believe me, I will.”
After a few minutes of walking Apple Bloom falls asleep. Arc smiles and pats her back.
“You just rest now.”
Meanwhile, back at Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse, Applejack and her friends re-converge after completing their search.
Applejack’s eyes dart around frantically. “Any sign of her?!”
The five ponies all sadly shake their heads. Twilight appears almost as nervous as Applejack as she speaks.
“We have half the town searching! Now what do we do?!”
Pinkie raises a hoof. “Uh, panic?!”
Rainbow Dash facehoofs. “That’s your answer to everything!”
Rarity puts her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “Don't worry darling. Somepony will find her.”
Pinkie pulls out a pair of binoculars. “Yeah! She can't have just disappeared!”
Rainbow Dash nods. “Pinkie Pie's right. She's got to be here somewhere!”
Fluttershy suddenly points a hoof to the east. “Look! It's Arc! And he's carrying Apple Bloom!”
Applejack runs over to Arc with the others. “Wha?! Apple Bloom!!!”
Fluttershy gives a small smile. “yay…”
Arc turns to Applejack. “Her leg is injured, but other than that she seems to be okay. I found her in the Everfree Forest.”
Apple Bloom slowly wakes up and looks Applejack in the eye sleepily.
“What in tarnation were you thinking, Apple Bloom?! Running off to the Everfree Forest at night! Half the town is looking for you!”
Arc looks down at Apple Bloom in his arms. “I think she's learned her lesson, Applejack.”
Granny Smith comes outside to see what all the fuss is about. “Arc, you found Apple Bloom!”
”Yup. Her leg was pretty banged up so I carried her back. We should probably get her to the hospital to get it x-rayed.”
Big Macintosh appears to come out of nowhere. “Eyup”.
“Want me to carry her for you, sugarcube?”
Arc looks down at the foal in his arms. “That’s alright, but… Apple Bloom wanted to ask you something first.”
Applejack sighs. “She can do so on the way. Now come on.”
Arc and Applejack walk down the path toward town as Apple Bloom turns to her sister.
“Applejack?”
“Yes, sugarcube?”
“What happens to the animals that get too old to produce eggs or milk.”
“We sell em.”
“I know that. But what do they do with them?”
“Make dog and cat food mostly.”
“WHAT?!”
Applejack shrugs. “They have to eat too.”
“And the pigs?!”
“They’re sold to the slaughterhouse to make food.”
Apple Bloom gasps. “But nopony eats meat here in Equestria!”
“Right. That’s why it’s shipped across the sea to the Griffon Kingdom.”
“So they… eat pigs?!”
Applejack nods. “Amongst other things, yes.”
“But why?!”
Arc clears his throat. “I think I can answer that. You see, different creatures need different diets. The dogs and cats need some meat in their diets as do the griffons.”
“Why can’t they just eat fruits and vegetables like we do though?!”
Applejack sighs. “Because their nutritional needs are different. If they didn’t eat right they’d become malnourished very quickly.”
“Well, it still doesn’t seem right.”
“I’ve visited the slaughterhouse before though. And they take care to end every pig’s life quickly and mercifully.”
“How, Applejack?”
“A bullet to the side of the head. Believe me, they don’t feel a thing. Now I understand that you might not like this aspect of farming, Apple Bloom. But it’s how things are done and have been for centuries.”
Arc nods. “You’ll understand when you get older, I’m guessing.”
Apple Bloom frowns. “Well, I don’t have to like it.”
“No, you don’t. But to be honest with you, neither did I when I found out.”
“Then why are we still doing it this way?!”
Applejack sighs. “To fill a need.”
Arriving at the hospital, they head up to the front desk together. Applejack points a hoof at her sister as she looks to the nurse.
“Apple Bloom hurt her fetlock. Can we get Doctor Horse to take a look at her?”
Nurse Redheart nods. “Of course. Right this way.”
Leading them down the hallway to an examination room, Arc sets Apple Bloom down on the examination table as Nurse Redheart turns to Applejack.
“The doctor will be in shortly.”
“Thank you.”
She leaves the room closing the door behind her. Applejack turns to Apple Bloom.
“How’s it feel?”
“Really bad.”
Applejack frowns. “I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
Arc nods. “I’m sure the doctor will be able to fix her up as good as new.”
A few moments later Doctor Horse walks into the room. He looks over the chart in his hooves as he walks over to Apple Bloom.
“So you’re fetlock is bothering you.”
Apple Bloom nods. “Yes sir.”
“Well, let’s have a look at it, shall we?”
Doctor Horse picks up the fetlock and feels it for a few moments before carefully putting it down and turning to Applejack.
“It doesn’t feel broken, but we’ll take some x-rays just to be sure.”
Nodding, Applejack helps her sister off the table. She limps a few steps before Arc picks her up and carries her down the hall. Coming to another room, the doctor motions to a large examination table in the center of the room.
“Lay her down here.”
Arc does so as the doctor picks up a small blanket. Laying it on Apple Bloom she wines.
“That thing’s heavy!”
The doctor nods as he carefully maneuvers her fetlock out from under the blanket. “It’s made of lead to help protect you.”
Apple Bloom gasps. “Is this going to hurt?!”
“Not at all, miss. Honestly, you won’t feel a thing.”
Moving a large cameralike device to point at her fetlock, he turns back to her.
“Now then, we’re going to leave the room while the x-rays are being taken. You just lie there and try not to move.”
“Wha-what’s going to happen?!”
“You’ll hear a click and a small hum.”
“That’s all?!”
The doctor nods. “That’s all.”
“You sure it won’t hurt?”
Applejack chuckles. “No, it won’t. I was around your age when I got my first x-ray.”
“What happened?!”
“I fell off the wagon and landed funny. Trust me when I say that this part won’t hurt a bit.”
Apple Bloom sighs and lays back. “Okay.”
Leading them out of the room, the doctor enters an adjoining door. Pressing a few buttons he begins the process. A few minutes later he returns to Apple Bloom’s side with Arc and Applejack.
“That’s it?”
Arc nods as he picks her up. “That’s it.”
The doctor turns to Applejack and points a hoof. “I’ll get these developed as soon as possible. Please have a seat in this examination room.”
Doing as they are told Arc carries Apple Bloom into the room as Applejack follows. Sometime later the doctor returns with a folder. Pulling out several x-rays he puts them up on a light board for them to look at.
“It appears your fetlock is only twisted.”
Applejack appears relieved. “That’s good news!”
“You’ll need to stay off of it for a few days, of course. But it’ll heal on its own.
Apple Bloom looks nervous. “Doctor Horse, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Why do some creatures need to eat meat?”
The doctor raises an eyebrow. “What brought this on?”
Applejack sighs. “It’s something we were talking about on the way over here.”
Arc nods. “Apple Bloom just learned where the pigs go.”
Doctor Horse nods as he turns to the filly. “I see.”
Apple Bloom frowns. “What I don’t get is why though. I mean… couldn’t the griffons just eat plants like we do?!”
“Yes, they could.”
“Then why…?”
Doctor Horse sits down across from Apple Bloom and looks her in the eye.
“Because they’re carnivores.”
“Meat eaters?!”
The doctor nods. “Yes.”
“But we send apples oversees too! They HAVE to be able to eat THOSE!”
“That is true, yes. Any creature is capable of putting any kind of food it its mouth and swallowing.”
“Then why don’t they?! Is it because they’re meat eaters?”
“No. Biology.”
Apple Bloom appears confused. “Biology?”
Doctor Horse nods. “Yes. What makes a carnivore a meat eater isn’t that they can’t eat plants, but that their biology doesn’t allow them to absorb very many nutrients from them.”
Applejack sighs. “That’s roughly what the vet told me when I saw one of our cows accidently eat a stray baby chick that had escaped from the chicken coop. I thought it would make them sick, but was told she would pass it just like any other thing she ate.”
The doctor puts a hoof to his chin thoughtfully before speaking. “Take a manticore for example. They could certainly eat all plants, yes. However it wouldn’t take long before they started showing signs of malnutrition.”
Arc puts a hand on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “While I’m sure your stomach turns thinking about an animal being eaten, this is how nature works sometimes.”
“I… guess that makes sense.”
Applejack turns to Doctor Horse. “Thanks for everything, doc. And that great explanation too.”
“You’re welcome. Bring Apple Bloom back if you see any redness or swelling though.”
“I will.”
Arc picks Apple Bloom up and follow Applejack out of the room. They proceed down the hall together as Apple Bloom thinks.
“Big sis?”
“Yes?”
“I still don’t approve of what we’re doing to the pigs.”
“That’s fine, Apple Bloom.”
“It is?”
Applejack nods. “Sure. You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, after all.”
Arc nods. “True. That and I can understand your mindset, what with ponies being herbivores.”
He frowns before continuing.
“After all, everyone has things that they disagree with.”
Apple Bloom looks up at Arc. “Even you?”
“Even me, yes.”
“Like what?”
Applejack shakes her head. “Why don’t we talk about that another time. You look pretty tired.”
Apple Bloom yawns. “I… didn’t get much sleep last night. That cave was really scary.”
Arc shrugs. “Well, at the very least it kept you safe.”
“Arc?”
“Yes, Apple Bloom?”
“I just wanted to say… thank you. For coming and finding me. That and I’m sorry for all the stuff I said back then.”
“It’s fine, Apple Bloom. Now why don’t you just lay your head on my shoulder and get some sleep.”
“Okay.”
She wraps her hooves around Arc’s neck as they head down the road back toward Sweet Apple Acres.