//------------------------------// // Chapter 2:6 - Heart's Desire // Story: Camaraderie is Sorcery // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter 2:6 – Heart’s Desire “A’right Cutie Mark Crusaders, is e’erypony ready?” Apple Bloom asked her friends. “Ready!” Scootaloo replied. “Mm-hmm!” Sweetie Belle mumbled enthusiastically through the axe held in her mouth. All three of them had axes, meant for the gnarled old tree in front of them. Applejack had been talking about cutting it down before she’d been called to Golden Oak’s laboratory and had to leave with the rest of the Brave Companions. They weren’t due back until at least later today, which Apple Bloom thought was plenty of time for her and her friends to chop down the tree for her sister and quite possibly earn their cutie-marks in the process. They’d split firewood before, but never actually felled a tree, but they weren’t going to let complete lack of knowledge on how to complete a task keep them from earning their cutie-marks. Apple Bloom lifted her axe and struggled to balance it. She’d loaned the hatchet she normally used for tasks around the farm to Scootaloo. The one she had now was normally used by Applejack or Big Mac (who was currently at the market in Ponieville, selling some of the last apples of the season), but she was determined to use it even if it was too big for her. Awkwardly, she swung the axe at the tree’s trunk, the blade chipping off some loose bark. Again she swung, and again, the blade actually biting into the tree as she got the hang of it. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle joined in, following her lead. Blades swung dangerously close to exposed limbs as the fillies worked to fell the tree, but nopony was unlucky enough to be hurt. Sweetie Belle tired the quickest and stepped back as the others cut at the tree haphazardly; they were getting the job done, but nowhere near as neatly as it should’ve been. Apple Bloom too had to step back as she tired out, panting as Scootaloo alone cut away at the last of the trunk, leaving only a sliver supporting the top of the tree. “Now what?” the pegasus filly asked wearily, looking at the tottering tree. “Timber!” Sweetie Belle yelled, jumping and bucking the tree. She stepped aside awkwardly as the tree didn’t fall. Apple Bloom struck the tree next, followed by Scootaloo. Despite the fact that it looked ready to fall at any moment, it refused to budge, seeming to mock them. All three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped at the same time to strike the trunk, and at last it creaked and began to topple. The trunk twisted as it fell, and the fillies scrambled to get out of the way of the falling tree. It crashed to the ground, and the three little ponies popped up around it, checking that the others were okay. “Alright! Cutie Mark Crusader Lumberjacks!” Scootaloo proclaimed. The fillies checked to see if the magical marks they so desired had appeared on their flanks. Unfortunately, they were still blank. Silence and depression reigned over the group, but quickly left Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Apple Bloom wasn’t so fortunate, her ears still drooping when the others trotted around the fallen tree to join her. “Well, maybe next time,” Sweetie Belle said as she offered a hoof to help her friend up. “Yeah, maybe,” Apple Bloom sighed forlornly. “What’s the matter Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked. “’Tis just … we’ve been at this fer a year now, girls, an’ we don’t seem any closer t’ gettin’ our cutie-marks,” Apple Bloom replied, “I’m star’in t’ think we may ne’er get our cutie-marks.” “Don’t say that!” Sweetie Belle gasped, “Of course we’ll get our cutie-marks!” “Sweetie’s right,” Scootaloo backed her up, “We just need to keep trying.” “Maybe. I’m done for today, though,” Apple Bloom said morosely as she got up and trotted away. “Should we follow her?” Scootaloo asked, looking after Apple Bloom. “No, we should head back to Ponieville,” Sweetie Belle said, “We better return this axe to Rarity’s shop before she gets back and finds out we took it without asking. Apple Bloom never misses one of Cheerilee’s lessons; we’ll see her there again later.” *** Apple Bloom had not forgotten that she was to be at the Ponieville chapel later for Cheerilee’s lessons, but she knew she still had time and she wanted to be alone. She wandered through the lands tended by her family, letting herself wallow in her melancholy mood while she paid little attention to where she was wandering. The quest that had seemed so promising when she and her friends had decided to embark on it now seemed impossible. Every spare moment they had together, they’d tried different trades in search of their cutie-marks, but their flanks remained blank. Their Cutie Mark Crusade was not going as well as the unicorns’ crusade for Equestria had gone. During her wandering and feeling sorry for herself, Apple Bloom had unwittingly strayed into the Everfree Forest. She checked to make sure she knew where she was in the twisted forest before carrying on, paying a little more attention to her surroundings. Now that she was here, she had a destination in mind. They didn’t always understand each other, but she could talk things out with Zecora. She was trotting through the minefield of hexes when one of them suddenly went off near her in a flash of light and puff of multicolored smoke, startling her. She jumped away, tripping over a tangled bundle of roots, and fell down into a shallow trench strewn with rocks. As she landed jarringly, one of her hooves struck a sharpened edge of a rock, splitting it severely. The filly whimpered as she held the painful hoof close to her chest. “Who there goes?” a familiar zebra’s voice called out through the trees. “’Tis me, Apple Bloom!” the filly called out to guide Zecor to her. “It is you, for true, Appa’Bloom,” Zecor said as she found her where she was still reclining against the edge of the trench, “But what is this? You have hurt been.” “I tripped an’ fell, Zecora,” Apple Bloom said, and she winced when she tried to stand on her chipped hoof, “I don’t think I can walk ‘ome.” “Come, little one,” Zecor said, offering to help Apple Bloom walk, “I have something to you help.” Carefully, the two of them made their way to Zecor’s home deeper in the Everfree. Once there, the zebra ordered the filly to sit and wait while she gathered ingredients into a pot. Apple Bloom looked around the house from her spot as she did so. Zecor shunned the use of sorcery, but she had embraced alchemy. In addition to the plants growing in the garden outside, there were also many alchemy ingredients strewn around the zebra’s home. Much of it she’d gathered from around the Everfree Forest, but there were also many new ingredients here that Zecor had accumulated by trading with ponies now that she was becoming more accepted by the residents of Ponieville. She hadn’t paid much mind to it before, but now she watched intently as the zebra grabbed ingredients and combined them, looking back at an old tome laid out on a nearby windowsill every so often. “What does trouble you, little one?” Zecor asked as she searched for something to stir her brew. “It seems like I’ve been tryin’ forever t’ get m’ cutie-mark, an’ nothin’ is workin’!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, “Except for m’ friends, ‘o’ve been tryin’ as ‘ard as I ‘ave, everypony m’ age ‘as got their cutie-marks already! I should be startin’ an appren’iceship or somethin’, an’ instead I’m still tryin’ t’ figure out what I should be doin’ wi’ my life!” “You can not force your cutie-mark to appear,” Zecor replied, “No pony has so done, and no zebra has their lert’kray—their … glyphmark—so gotten.” “I had th’ feelin’ y’ were goin’ t’ say that,” Apple Bloom grumbled. “The salve is ready,” Zecor announced, and Apple Bloom hobbled over to her. Spreading some of the concoction she’d made onto a cloth, Zecor rubbed it back and forth across Apple Bloom’s chipped hoof. The filly felt a little tingling in the flesh near her hoof, but not much else. The pain did subside as the salve took effect, and Zecor stopped rubbing in the ointment after a few minutes. Apple Bloom’s hoof was as good as new, better even, with a glossy finish. “Wow, that’s amazin’, Zecora!” Apple Bloom said as she marveled at her hoof, “I didn’t know y’ could do that. Y’ must have all kinds o’ remedies in that book.” “Yes, there are,” Zecor replied, looking at the tome propped on her windowsill and flipping through it, “Some there were, some I have added. There good and bad are, remedies for illness and injury but also those that inflict it, though remedies I do make. This potion sweating sickness helps. This grants the heart’s desire. This loss of hair slows. Many I use not, but this book is important to me. Once, my husband it belonged to. Panid was the better potion-maker.” “Sounds like y’ have potions t’ cure everythin’,” Apple Bloom said excitedly, especially remembering the heart’s desire potion that Zecor had pointed out while flipping through. “No, Appa’Bloom,” Zecor said, closing the book, “There be no potion to give you your cutie-mark. I thought Twilight-Sparkle had you told the magic of cutie-marks—and glyphmarks—is not understood.” “Fine,” Apple Bloom sighed. “To keep your hoof from hurt again, you rest here must,” Zecor said, “I must go again out. Here stay a little longer.” Zecor left the cottage, and Apple Bloom waited a minute before flipping open the book filled with potion recipes. She paged through until she found the one she was pretty sure was the heart’s desire potion. She couldn’t be completely sure, since everything was written in Cainhiran Zebrikaanian (and she could only passably read her own language); even if she knew the language, she couldn’t recognize the Zebrikaanian script, far different from the unicorn alphabet she was used to. The pictures looked right, though, and there were plenty of them. To ensure every step was done correctly with the right ingredients, the pages were covered in illustrations, some of them in various colors of ink to reduce confusion even further. Yes, with this, she believed she’d be able to brew a heart’s desire potion herself. *** “Do you think maybe she’s not coming after all?” Scootaloo asked Sweetie Belle as they waited outside the Ponieville chapel for Cheerilee. Most of the other young fillies and colts who came to Sister Cheerilee’s lessons were already here, but Apple Bloom was still conspicuously absent. The other Cutie Mark Crusaders hoped they hadn’t underestimated how hard their friend had taken their most recent failure to acquire their cutie-marks. Maybe it would be best if they went back to the Apples’ lands to look for her. It turned out they needn’t have worried, though, as Apple Bloom arrived while Sweetie Belle was still pondering what to do. She seemed a changed filly, her head held high and a grin on her face. “Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle called out, “We were beginning to think you weren’t coming.” “Not a chance,” Apple Bloom said excitedly, “Then I wouldn’t have a chance t’ tell y’ I got m’ cutie-mark!” “You did?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “Come on, let’s see it,” Scootaloo said as she hovered enthusiastically. Adjusting her skirts, Apple Bloom gave them a glimpse of her flank and the new image there. Where her coat had once been uniformly yellow, there was now a ring of silvery-gray hair. Her friends tried to figure out what it could possibly and what talent Apple Bloom had discovered while they’d been apart. “Is it … a ring?” Scootaloo asked, “Are you going to be a jeweler?” “Nope, ‘tis a barrel hoop,” Apple Bloom said before darting back the way she’d come and rolling a barrel back after her, “Back at th’ farm, I figured out how t’ put this t’gether.” “A cooper! You can apprentice with my father!” Sweetie Belle said excitedly, “This is going to be so great!” The other ponies waiting for Cheerilee to arrive gathered around. They were of varying ages, but most were younger than the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and for those without their cutie-marks this was an exciting event they anticipated happening to themselves someday. Hardly anypony was watching the chapel by the time Cheerilee emerged, having spent her time after arriving from the Ponieville Convent until then speaking with the chapel’s priestess. “Foals?” Cheerilee asked, trying to get their attention, “Foals, are you ready for today’s lesson?” “Yes, Sister Cheerilee,” a chorus of voices replied, but Sweetie Belle continued to talk about how the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be together more often now and planned for Apple Bloom to try to teach them so they could get their cutie-marks as well. “Sweetie Belle, are you ready for the lesson?” Cheerilee asked in a measured tone. “Sorry, Sister Cheerilee,” Sweetie said, blushing in embarrassment, “It’s just, Apple Bloom got her cutie-mark!” “Did she?” Cheerilee said, her stern countenance giving way to a warm smile, “Congratulations, Apple Bloom, that is certainly grounds for celebration. If it could wait until after the lesson, though, I think that would be best.” “Of course, Sister Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom replied. She and the others followed the nun into the Ponieville chapel, Apple Bloom casting a longing look back at the barrel she’d made as they did so. She felt she should be making more, but that was probably just excitement from finally getting her cutie-mark. She tried to ignore it, as she also tried to ignore the slight tingling in her flanks around her new cutie-marks. *** By the time Cheerilee had finished her lesson, Apple Bloom was practically thrumming with anticipation to get back to making barrels. She was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong with the potion she’d mixed back in Zecor’s cottage. The feeling passed as she left the chapel, though, so suddenly that she nearly tripped and fell. “Watch where you’re going, blank flank,” Diamond Tiara said as she pushed Apple Bloom away, happening to be passing by the chapel with Silver Spoon when the attendees of Cheerilee’s lesson were departing. “Hey, you can’t call her that anymore!” Sweetie Belle said as she caught Apple Bloom and kept her from falling into the dirt. “Why not? It’s what she is,” Diamond Tiara said, her nose held high as she began to trot past the group. “Because she’s got her cutie-mark now. She’s a blank flank no longer,” Scootaloo said as she stepped in front of the spoiled filly. “I don’t believe it,” Diamond Tiara said after a moment’s contemplation, “Show me.” Apple Bloom presented her flank, and she and her friends gasped when they saw what was there. The ring representing her cooping abilities was still there, but it was now accompanied by a second cutie-mark: a fishing rod. Could it really be? Could she have two cutie-marks, two special talents? “What is it supposed to represent?” Silver Spoon asked, puzzled and assuming they were both parts of the same cutie-mark, a reasonable assumption since she hadn’t seen the first one separate earlier. “Barrel-makin’, this one I had earlier,” Apple Bloom said as she pointed to the ring, “But this one is new, an’ for fishin’?” “Are you trying to say you have two cutie-marks?” Diamond Tiara asked snarkily, “Because that’s impossible, and these cutie-marks are fake.” “They are not!” Apple Bloom said defensively, “Maybe I just have two diff’rent talents!” She was trying to convince herself as much as anypony else. As badly as she wanted it to be true, it wasn’t hard, because there was evidence for it. Her first cutie-mark couldn’t have been fake because she really was able to build a barrel. The potion had granted her heart’s desire and given her her cutie-mark … or rather cutie-marks. It just took longer for the second one to show up. “Prove it, then,” Diamond Tiara demanded. “I will!” Apple Bloom replied defiantly. She and the other four ponies trotted in the direction of the North Equestry River where it flowed past the town. Apple Bloom rolled her barrel along with her and still managed to build a fishing rod by the time they reached the river out, of a branch, hair from her tail, and a bent nail. The guard at the town gate watched as the fillies climbed onto the bridge straddling the river, and Apple Bloom sat on her barrel before casting the line into the water below. In only took her a few minutes to catch a fish, though Diamond Tiara attributed it to beginner’s luck or coincidence. Her skepticism faded away, however, as Apple Bloom caught fish after fish. She filled the barrel she’d built with water, and soon it was packed with fish too. I was right! I do have two special talents instead of one! She was brimming with excitement by the time she spotted Applejack and the rest of the Brave Companions approaching from the south. “Applejack!” she exclaimed as she galloped toward her sister, “Somethin’ amazin’ ‘as happened!” *** Applejack slept well that night. In past days, her mind had been on the lingering problem that Discord posed. They had just recovered his second soul fragment from the centaur in Grunstead, but five more remained. Not only did the five ponies possessed by those wicked and chaotic souls pose a threat to Equestria, but Applejack also feared how her absences when she had to travel with the Brave Companions to deal with these threats would affect the Apples’ farm. Twilight Sparkle was convinced that it was otherworldly magic within Applejack that allowed her, Big McIntosh, and Apple Bloom to tend the Apples’ land alone, and though she objected to the idea because it seemed too self-centered, the evidence was there. When she was away, things didn’t go as well as otherwise, and the effect was more than just being short a pony. Now, though, her thoughts were on Apple Bloom. While her talents hadn’t turned out to be related to tending the land with her kin, she wouldn’t forget her family. Things might be hard for a while without her to help out in the work, but eventually she would be able to help them in other ways, maybe enough that they could afford some help. That wasn’t Applejack’s primary thoughts about her sister, however. Mostly she was happy for her, glad that she’d finally managed to acquire the one thing she’d been striving for so hard for years. Not only that, but she had managed to obtain two cutie-marks, a feat unheard of. She was so proud of her younger sister. When she awoke the next morning, she prepared breakfast as she usually did for the family. Apple Bloom was conspicuously absent when it was ready, though. Applejack headed to her room to check on her, but she wasn’t there either. She hadn’t left any note that she was heading to Ponieville to see her friends, so Applejack decided to first look around the farmyard. As she stepped outside of their home, a tree in the orchard past the palisade toppled and fell. Applejack rushed out of the enclosure to see what was going on, and was shocked to see Apple Bloom chopping at another tree. “Apple Bloom! What are y’ doin’?!” Applejack yelled as she galloped toward her younger sister, jumping back as she was nearly struck by her axe. “I can’t stop!” Apple Bloom mumbled frightfully around the axe, “Help me!” *** Applejack was eventually able to get the axe out of her sister’s hold, thankfully before she chopped down any more of the family’s precious apple trees. Apple Bloom seemed compulsively inclined to try to knock the tree down anyway. She tried to explain to Applejack that she didn’t really want to fell the apple trees, but she felt she had to, ever since a third cutie-mark had appeared on her flank in the night. Applejack checked, and an axe had joined the barrel hoop and fishing rod. She was getting worried, as was Apple Bloom by this point, so they headed to the pony they felt would be best able to answer their questions. “So, what do y’ think, Twi’?” Applejack asked the half-awake sorceress. Unlike some sorceresses, Twilight Sparkle was not in the habit of sleeping half the day away. For her, early mornings could be incredibly productive if she planned for them. Today, however, she had planned on getting some extra sleep after the journey to and from Grunstead. She’d barely been awake when Applejack and Apple Bloom had arrived at Golden Oak’s laboratory and Spike had let them in. “Two cutie-marks was unheard of, not to mention three,” Twilight replied with a yawn, “I began to look into the matter yesterday to see if there was any precedent, but maybe I was looking in the wrong place. Spike, could you fetch the Catalogue of Bizarre Ailments, Plagues, and Diseases?” While the majority of Golden Oak’s laboratory was dedicated to botamancy and the lost histories of the Third Age, he also had accumulated a decent collection of books on sicknesses. All the more ironic then, that he’d himself died of the plague. Spike fetched the book easily, the keen knack for knowing the location of every book in a library he’d acquired during his time growing up with Twilight coming in handy. “Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said as she took the book from him and flipped it open, “Let us see, Diseases with Magical Side Effects. This looks promising: cutie pox.” “Cutie pox?” Apple Bloom asked worriedly. “The cutie pox, also known as the cutie-mark plague, afflicted the town of Bercia in the Kingdom of Auberan some time between the eighth and twelfth centuries of the Age of Uncertainty,” Twilight Sparkle read aloud from the tome, “Random cutie-marks appeared all over the bodies of its victims, and with the appearance of each new cutie-mark, the afflicted ponies were forced to perform the associated talent. Fragmentary records of the time make it difficult to determine if this plague was naturally-occurring or was inflicted through magical means by a local disgruntled sorceress. No further outbreaks have been recorded.” “Is it … contagious?” Spike asked, backing away from Apple Bloom, who also was trying to distance herself from her sister (though if it was contagious, it was probably too late to protect her). “Unknown,” Twilight replied, “The outbreak did not spread outside of the town, and nopony who visited after the outbreak began contracted it, so probably not, but the records are unreliable at best.” “What’s th’ cure, Twi’? How d’ we get rid o’ it?” Applejack asked worriedly. “There is no known cure,” Twilight said, shaking her head sadly, “Everypony who was afflicted with the cutie pox died of exhaustion, and the town of Bercia was abandoned for fear that the sickness would return.” “Oh no,” Apple Bloom said, tears beginning to leak from the corners of her eyes, “I think it’s goin’ t’ happen again.” Suddenly, Apple Bloom was off like a shot out the laboratory. Twilight, Applejack, and Spike followed her out, intent on chasing her down. The filly had found a shovel by a nearby house and had returned to the laboratory. She was now busily digging a trench around the tree while some of the ponies in the square watched her curiously. “What is she doin’?” Applejack asked. “I think she’s … fortifying the laboratory,” Spike replied. “We have t’ do somethin’, Twi’!” Applejack said frantically as she grabbed the sorceress, “I can’t lose m’ sister!” “I know we have to do something, but I do not know just what it is we can do,” Twilight admitted to her hysterical friend. “Where is Bercia? Maybe y’ can figure out what happened an’ come up with a cure!” Applejack suggested desperately. “It has been gone for millennia,” Twilight said, hating how her words made her friend’s spirit fall even lower, “All we know is that it was somewhere in Auberan, but that is on the Eastern Continent, well within the Zebrikaanian Empire. It would take us months to reach it.” “Zecora!” Apple Bloom managed to squeeze out between thrusts of the shovel. “She’s from th’ Zebrikaanian Empir; maybe she can make a cure!” Applejack said, latching onto this new idea. Twilight Sparkle highly doubted that that was a possibility. Certainly, Zecor had grown up in the Zebrikaanian Empire, but other than a brief stay in the imperial capital of Zebrikaan, she had spent most of her time in the border province of Cainhira. Even if you didn’t consider that she’d grown up as a peasant in the rural hinterlands of the empire, the cutie pox was probably even more obscure in the Zebrikaanian Empire. The region of Auberan was part of the empire now, but when the cutie pox had broken out it had been a pony kingdom. The zebras had only conquered the northern half of the Eastern Continent in the Third and Fourth Ages, their latest conquests only a few centuries old, long after any knowledge of the cutie pox had faded away. Still, the sorceress had been surprised by Zecor’s skill with alchemy in the past. It was possible, albeit unlikely, that somehow she knew a cure. More importantly, she had no ideas herself on how to cure Apple Bloom, and she couldn’t deny Applejack the opportunity to seek help from Zecor. Even if it led to nothing, which was more than likely, they had to try every possible path. “Okay,” Twilight said, “But we had better get going quickly.” Applejack grabbed Apple Bloom, and they started on their way out of Ponieville. That necessitated crossing the square, though, which was quickly filling with ponies curious to see why other ponies were gathering here. By now, most of the town knew about Apple Bloom’s acquisition of dual cutie-marks the day before, and they were no doubt wondering if it was related to her odd behavior today. Before they could make it through the square, another cutie-mark appeared on Apple Bloom’s coat. She managed to break free of Applejack and darted into a cobbler’s shop, intent on making boots, much to the cobbler’s displeasure. Applejack and Twilight managed to wrestle her out of the shop, but no sooner had they gotten her outside than she broke free and began juggling cabbages from a nearby cart. Cutie-marks appeared in rapid succession now, and she darted back and forth across the square, startling the ponies standing there as she stepped into each of their roles. The cutie-marks were visible now on the naked patches of her coat, some ponies calling them out with unease. “She’s been cursed!” one of the ponies in the crowd cried out, no longer content to just watch worriedly like the rest. “She is not cursed,” Spike told her, which seemed to soothe her fears and those of the ponies around her a little, “She just happens to have a disease with no known cure called the cutie pox.” “Did you say pox?” a pony wearing a bird mask asked excitedly as she pushed through the crowd, “It’s a plague! Return to your homes! Prepare the fire and body carts! I will fetch my herbs and leeches!” Before Spike could explain, Redheart, the town’s resident plague doctor, had whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Ponies nearly trampled each other in their haste to get as far away from Apple Bloom as possible. Soon the streets of Ponieville were empty, ponies preparing to wait out the plague they thought the filly had brought to their little hamlet. Spike looked at Twilight in embarrassment, regretting he’d spoken up. Applejack and Twilight tried to pull Apple Bloom away from her latest talent, the task easier now that so many ponies weren’t in the way. “Where have the ponies all gone?” Zecor asked as she trotted into the square, “I thought they no more feared me, but they their homes close up when I come.” “Zecora! Are we happy t’ see you!” Applejack exclaimed, “Apple Bloom has cutie pox an’ we were just on our way t’ y’ t’ see if y’ had a cure.” “I know not of this ‘cutie pox,’ but a cure I have,” Zecor replied, confounding Applejack, “Day before today, Appa’Bloom did me a visit pay. I did help her, and did leave her to heal, but she did go before I did return. Ingredients of mine were gone. What say you, Appa’Bloom?” “Well, I …” Apple Bloom said before another cutie-mark appeared on her face and she was forced to partake in yet another activity. “If y’ have a cure, then give it t’ her!” Applejack said. “A cure I have, but it will her no good do until it complete is. A transgression must confessed be over the cure before it effect has,” Zecor said, before pulling a potion from her saddlebags. Even ponies terrified of catching a dangerous and unknown illness were nosy enough to pause in barricading themselves inside their homes to peek out at what was going on. It was strange enough that Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike were still here, seemingly uncaring of the danger to themselves, but now they were also speaking to the zebra that lived in the Everfree Forest. They’d also caught the word “cure,” and some of the less frightened ventured out to hear more, albeit with cloths wrapped over their muzzles. “Well, somepony confess!” Applejack said, looking at Twilight and the ponies hanging back as she worried over her sister. “I some pony have in mind,” Zecor said before grabbing the potion and trotting over to look sternly at Apple Bloom. Among the ponies hanging around the edges of the square, she could see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Her friends, who she’d tried so hard with to earn their cutie-marks together. She’d been too impatient, too frustrated to wait like them, though, and had sought a way to get her cutie-mark faster. Now, she was feeling the consequences. It couldn’t go on any longer. “None o’ m’ cutie-marks are real! I didn’t get ‘em fairly!” Apple Bloom admitted; some ponies gasped, and a faint glow momentarily came from the neck of the potion bottle, “After Zecora left me alone, I mixed a potion t’ give me m’ heart’s desire, an’ I got all these cutie-marks! I shouldn’t’ve taken those ingredients or tried t’ cheat at getting’ m’ cutie-mark! I just want it t’ stop!” A clear glow was coming from the potion bottle now, and Zecor pushed it toward Apple Bloom. Pulling herself away from repairing a cart’s wheel, she drank the potion down and immediately collapsed. A tingling passed through her body in a wave, but it was a different tingling than the one she’d experienced on acquiring her fraudulent cutie-marks. One by one, the cutie-marks disappeared from her coat until she was a blank flank once more. Just to be safe, she checked her flank, and it was free of all marks. “Thank you, Zecora,” Twilight Sparkle expressed her gratitude as Apple Bloom rushed off to apologize to her friends for misleading them, “How did you know how to cure her?” “The potion she made was from my book, but she did not read its warnings,” Zecor said, before pulling the tome from her saddlebags, “The potion she made gives the heart’s desire, but it twists to do ill instead of good. The cure also is here, had she known it.” “I must admit, I am not much skilled in alchemy, but I would like to go through this book with you some time and see what I might learn,” Twilight said. “Potions that twist a wish like a genie o’ legend, others that require a confession t’ work,” Applejack commented, “Do any o’ y’ really know how magic works, or are y’ just makin’ it up as y’ go along?” “It may not be completely understood or as precise as we might wish,” Twilight admitted, “The sorceresses of Cant’r Laht have accumulated a wide range of knowledge, though, and we work to uncover ever more understanding.” Applejack didn’t look totally convinced, but it was enough of an explanation that she didn’t press Twilight harder. Redheart chose that moment to burst her way through the crowd, unaware that anything had changed. “Where is the afflicted! I must excise the foul humors posthaste!” the plague doctor exclaimed. “Do y’ think she’ll figure it out on her own, or should w’ tell her?” Applejack asked.