Gladstone and Roneo didn’t take long to help Gray Hoof clean up his house. Despite numerous party supplies littering the floor, the cleanup was easy. Gray Hoof, in return, arranged drinks for everypony.
Gray Hoof set the drinks of fruit punch on a table in the living room as the door knocked. He opened the door and saw several ponies outside, including Sunny Town’s resident man, Konrad. The ponies and the man walked into the house, and the expression on Konrad’s face told Gray Hoof all he needed to know. The look of anxiety on the man’s face told him he was scared of losing his loving wife. Ruby was the first friend he ever made after being found in need having been lost in the Everfree Forest. She was there for him from the beginning, and Konrad told him she was his rock and center long ago.
”Such devotion and love from that man. I hope to earn the same from Ms. Suprise in due time. I hope we can figure out what’s wrong with Mitta and Ruby.
Ruby owed her life to Konrad as he stopped them from committing a terrible crime. Despite having been 13 years since that dreaded day, Gray Hoof remained haunted by how he and everypony had almost walked down an evil path of no return. Konrad’s determination and unwillingness to give up on them saved their souls. He also knew that everypony else in Sunny Town wouldn’t stop.
Three Leaf, Starlet, Sprite Punch, Crimson Bass, and Konrad walked in and sat down on Gray Hoof’s couches. Roneo joined his wife, Starlet, while Gladstone sat next to Three Leaf. The two finally dated after Gladstone relented to Three Leaf’s advances, and the stallion was noticeably happier. Crimson Bass was next to Sprite Punch and was the first to take a drink. Nopony was saying anything due to the difficult situation before them, which prompted Gray Hoof to start.
“So...well, everypony, it seems we have a problem with Mitta and Ruby. They keep going back and forth from thinking we...”
Everypony focused their eyes on Gray Hoof, expecting to say the horrible answer they knew. Konrad, however, kept staring at the drinks on the table in the center, lost in thought. The man was the one to finish Gray Hoof’s sentence as he added, “Murdered her. She thinks you guys murdered her over her cutie mark.”
Everypony, except Crimson Bass and Sprite Punch, lowered their heads in shame. The two ponies looked at each other in confusion before Roneo spoke up.
“13 years ago, all of us were blank flanks. We didn’t understand what cutie marks meant. The town suffered cutie pox generations before us, and we assumed they were a disease.”
Crimson Bass and Sprite Punch dropped their jaws and couldn’t believe what they had heard. The thought of cutie marks being a disease was lunacy to any average pony. But Sunny Town was unusually isolated from the rest of Equestria due to the Everfree Forest. When Konrad’s discovery went public to Equestria and Ponyville rapidly grew, Sunny Town itself finally started to expand. As word had spread about the unknown and secluded town, Konrad drew many ponies to Sunny Town. Many ponies were curious to see the only human in existence.
Such a secret about Sunny Town was shocking; what followed next was even worse. Starlet added, “My husband, then special somepony, wanted to gift a gem to me, but he lost it. He asked Ruby to find it, but she found Konrad instead. He was hurt and almost on the verge of death. We were all scared and shocked to find a human, but she and Mitta helped him recover.”
Gladstone then chimed in, “Months went by, and he slowly became our friend over time. We protected him from the outside society because he was afraid of how Equestria would react to him. And to be fair, that was understandable. Sunny Town had been isolated for generations and forgotten over time, and we enjoyed the privacy it brought us.”
Three Leaf took a drink and sipped a little before jumping into the conversation, “He helped us improve the town during that time. He even helped me get rid of those nasty forest grubs that ruined my carrot crops!”
Konrad smiled before lightly chuckling and added, “Yeah, I remember those stupid things. They bit my fingers so many times. They were like little razor blades, but I got them out of there. A shame they ate half of your carrot crops.”
Three Leaf shrugged her shoulder before replying, “Oh well, better to have some than none.”
Crimson Bass asked, “That’s interesting, but what about the other stuff you were talking about?”
Three Leaf blushed before continuing, “Sorry, got off track. Anyway, months had passed since Ruby found Konrad, and things in Sunny Town continued fine. Then....”
Roneo face hooved as Starlet put of hoof on his back as she attempted to comfort him. The blue maned earth pony lowered his hoof and continued the story.
“I still wanted to give Starlet the gem. This time as a marriage proposal. So I asked Ruby to find it again.”
Now it was Konrad’s turn to explain his part of the story. The man took a sip of the cup of fruit punch before adding, “Ruby found it close to where she found me. Once she realized her special talent was finding things, Ruby’s cutie mark appeared, and everything went downhill.”
Gray Hoof lowered his head in shame and remembered his behavior that day all too well. The screaming, the panic, and the banishment under the threat of death sickened him. However, he was not wholly to blame due to the supernatural influence held over him at the time. Gray Hoof took a breath and added, “I accused Ruby of trying to spread disease to us, and I tried to banish her from Sunny Town. We were all freaking out, and I tried to harm Ruby, but Konrad stopped me.”
Crimson Bass dropped her drink in shock as Sprite Punch attempted to make sense of what he heard. The stallion asked, “I’m sorry, but WHAT?!”
”Why did I have to find that thing in my house!? Why did my great-grandfather even have it?!”
“I tried to harm Ruby. I thought she had cutie pox and would destroy the whole town. I was...under the influence of an evil spirit at the time. Something that we found out after the fact after Konrad took Ruby, and both went to Canterlot for help. I still remember the whisperings in my mind, telling me to do things I would never have imagined.”
Gray Hoof took a sip of the drink and continued, “It...it made things seem like they were the answer. Bad things that should never be done, but it...I had no clue about the power it held over me! Princess Celestia came to Sunny Town and removed it from me. The thought of doing something terrible to the ponies I care for still sickens me today!”
Crimson Bass and Sprite punch held each other while Konrad consoled Gray Hoof, “Dude, you didn’t know any better at the time, and that thing possessed you. You aren’t to blame for it.”
Gray Hoof set his drink on the table and looked at the man. “Am I?! Am I not to be blamed for it?! I found that stupid spirit board in my attic and used it! I brought that thing into my life and to our town! I endangered all of us!”
Gray Hoof covered his face in shame as Sprite Punch asked, “What is a spirit board? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Konrad sighed and explained, “A spirit board is usually a wooden board with letters and numbers, with the words yes or no. You’re supposed to put your hooves, fingers, whatever on a centerpiece with a lens over it. You’re supposed to use it with two or more players, but I’ve heard of people using it solo. They existed when I was around other humans. Still, many, including my family, shunned them because spirit boards believed them to be sources of evil and no good. Other people thought it was just a joke game; it was anything but a joke. After what happened, I learned my parents were right.”
Gray Hoof uncovered his face and added, “In my case, I found it in my attic after doing a spring cleaning. I thought it was, as Konrad put it, a game. I figured I could learn about it and use it for a party with everypony for entertainment. My great-grandfather left instructions behind with a few notes saying how he read about the board in ancient Equestrian scrolls and made one himself. I asked the board questions, and it worked every time I put my hooves on the darned thing!”
Sprite Punch and Crimson Tail held each other, worried about what they would hear next. Konrad put a hand on Sprite Punch’s shoulder and shook his head as the stallion looked at him. Knowing his friend was telling him to chill, the stallion smiled embarrassedly before telling Crimson Bass to relax.
Gray Hoof continued, “I asked it simple things like: “What would be a good game?” or " What time would be good to set up a party?”. Every single time, from the moment I put my hoof on the planchet, it worked! As the days went by, I found myself using the thing more and more. It became an obsession, and if I failed to use it for even a day, strange things would happen around my house. Random knocking sounds and stinky smells for no reason. Finally, I started hearing a voice in my head.
It would try to tell me things I won’t repeat to anypony, but it slowly got worse and worse. I snapped when Ruby found Roneo’s gem and earned her cutie mark. It was like I lost complete control and freaked out, and it made me try to hurt Ruby! But Konrad stopped me and got her out of the town. Princess Celestia purged it with, what was it, Konrad?”
The man answered, “The Elements of Harmony.”
Gray Hoof clapped his front hooves together and said, “Yeah, those. Once she did that, my mind became clear, and I felt like me again. She even cleansed the house and took the board away. If Konrad weren’t here to help, we probably would have killed Ruby and, who knows, forever cursed our town!”
Sprite Punch and Crimson Bass were at a loss for an explanation from their friends. To hear that their closest friends had almost committed murder was a hard horse pill for them to swallow. Roneo held Starlet as she cried into his chest at the hard memories. Gladstone looked solemn while a sad Three Leaf put a hoof on one of his hooves.
Konrad sighed, “Yeah...I’m sure this whole town would have been cursed if that thing got a kill. It didn’t happen, though, and it’s a distant memory. Or so we thought it was. Which brings us to our next question; where do we go from here, Gray Hoof?”
Everyone turned their attention back to Gray Hoof, and the weight of the leadership was once again on his shoulders. He felt like he was almost in a frying pan, and the heat was rising. For some reason, Ruby and Mitta were going back and forth between acting like life went on as usual to an almost different timeline. Before Gray Hoof could come up with a suggestion, he needed to rule out any other factors. More likely than not, they would have to seek outside help, medical or therapeutical.
“Well, before we do anything, like seeking outside help, is there anything in Sunny Town that might have caused them to act this way? Anything we could narrow down or rule out?”
Everypony was brainstorming possible causes for Ruby and Mitta’s condition. Gray Hoof tried to think hard about the day Ruby and Mitta panicked and beat him up. He remembered Konrad asking him to create a distraction so the town could set up their anniversary party. It was a surprise he wanted to throw her, and it was a relatively uncommon request for married couples to celebrate with a town-wide party. Most Sunny Town couples would celebrate privately or head to Ponyville or other towns for a vacation.
”What was the request again? Oh! Daffodils!”
“I have an idea where we can search. I asked Ruby and Mitta to head to the fields near the town entrance to search for Daffodils. Maybe they came across the Poison Joke plant!”
Everypony, except Crimson Bass and Sprite Punch, groaned in annoyance at the mere mention of the Poison Joke plant. During one of Sunny Town’s improvement and expansion projects, several ponies were unfortunate to come across the plant. Even Konrad fell victim to the plant as he attempted to help Three Leaf remove the plants. She had been the first to fall victim, with Konrad being the last one.
It took the efforts of Ruby and Mitta to find a cure. They were fortunate enough that a Canterlot Apothecarist was passing through Ponyville, who made a potion batch for a reasonable price.
”That day was one heck of a hay ride! I still get flashbacks trying to manage everypony’s affliction.”
Three Leaf’s eyes widened as a scowling expression formed on her face. Gray Hoof understood why the Poison Joke plant took an especially cruel prank on her. The same plant mocked her special talent for Gardening and warped her cutie mark of three green leaves on her flanks to a set of wilted brown dead leaves. But that wasn’t even the worst of what it did to her.
“Those stupid plants! They made a mockery of me! I”LL DESTROY EVERY SINGLE ONE IF THEY’RE THERE!!”
Sprite Punch and Crimson Bass were surprised, as Three Leaf was one of the least anger-prone ponies in Sunny Town. Crimson Bass asked, “Dang! What did these plants do to you? Are these bad?”
Three Leaf’s face was red with anger, and it took Gladstone nuzzling her to calm her down. This did the trick before Gladstone answered Crimson Bass, “Yeah, they’re bad enough, alright. They literally will change your body if they come in contact with you. You could get hurt if you weren’t careful with your altered body.”
Sprite Punch asked, “Wow, did all of you get hurt or altered?”
Konrad pointed at Three Leaf, Gladstone, Roneo, and himself, before answering, “Just us four. We cleared weeds, removed plants, and chopped trees to make space. They walked into the plants when we got closer to where the town’s entrance now sits.”
Roneo added, “It stopped me from being able to talk. Every time I opened my mouth, parchment paper would come out as if I was a typewriter. Since my name means the rotary part of a typewriter, it decided that would be a good joke. My mouth even made the darned clicking noises too!”
Sprite Punch started laughing, making Roneo blush in embarrassment. Crimson Bass lightly punched Sprite Punch’s right foreleg, annoyed that her colt friend was laughing at Roneo’s tale.
“Stop it, Sprite Punch! This is serious.”
The stallion laughed while Konrad rolled his eyes while everypony else looked at him with annoyance.
“I’m so sorry! I’m just laughing at the thought Roneo had a typewriter mouth!”
Roneo shook his head while Gladstone sighed and added his story, “The plants made my face turn into stone. My face would change expressions, but I couldn’t talk.”
Sprite Punch stifled a laugh, knowing his mare friend would punch him again. Turning to Three Leaf, Sprite Punched asked, “Well, what was so bad about yours?”
Three Leaf huffed air through her nostrils and tried to calm down. Taking a sigh, she explained, “It...it turned me into a plant pony. My mane and tail were leaves, it warped my cutie mark into three brown leaves, and my teeth were wooden. And my hooves were turned into roots. I couldn’t walk, and I could barely talk. Konrad had to carry me back into town, and I had to stay outside in the sun, or else I got really cold.”
Three Leaf lowered her ears and face in embarrassment, but for once, Sprite Punch didn’t find it funny. The Poison Joke plant made a complete mockery of her and her special talent for gardening, and it was easy to see why she was so upset about it. After calming down, Three Leaf said, “Yeah, that’s why I hate those stupid things. I’ll see if they have returned and kill them with some leftover herbicide.”
Sprite Punch nodded, “Sorry you had to go through that.” He turned his attention to Konrad and asked, “So...what happened to you?”
Konrad sighed, “When I was carrying Three Leaf back to town, Poison Joke stuck a few leaves in her mane. They fell out and touched my fingers as I set Three Leaf on a flower bed Gladstone made for her. As a result, the leaves made my hands lose their finger bones. I had butterfingers and couldn’t grab anything to save my life. I couldn’t open doors or do anything. Pretty much useless, and it sucked standing around.”
Sprite Punch shook his head and replied, “Dang, that sucks, bro.” He turned his attention to Gray Hoof and asked, “Is that what we will do for now? Are we just going to look for this Poison Joke plant? What if we don’t find it?”
Gray Hoof sighed and said, “Failing that, we’ll take them to Ponyville Hospital and get them checked out. If that doesn’t work, we can seek a psychiatrist that specializes in magical treatments. In the meantime, we’ll just have to watch them and act accordingly to whichever “ponysona” they are experiencing at the time.”
Konrad nodded and replied, “Sounds like a plan. I’m going home to check on my wife and mom-in-law and wait for my foals to get home from school. I’ll let you guys know if anything changes. See you guys tomorrow... I guess.”
As the man got up, Gray Hoof addressed Konrad, “Hey, Konrad, we’re here for you and your family. We owe a lot to you, and if we can get through what we’ve faced in the past, we can do it again.”
Konrad turned and faced everypony, nodding and lightly smiling, “Thanks, guys, it means a lot. Sorry, Ruby and Mitta beat you up, Gray Hoof.”
Gray Hoof waved a hoof in dismissal. “Think nothing of it; I’m already over it. We’re friends, and nothing is going to stop the friendship of Sunny Town!”
Everypony started stomping in applause and cheer, giving the man needed encouragement. He smiled and closed the door, heading back to his family. Three Leaf and Gladstone left and headed to her house to gather tools and herbicide just in case they needed it. Roneo and Starlet helped clean up the place before they left for their home. Gray Hoof heard Starlet talk about their daughter, Ivory, giving a gift to Blau Streifen at school today just as they walked out and closed the door.
Gray Hoof chuckled, knowing that love still was going on in the town despite the severe matter at hoof. Roneo and Starlet’s daughter had a great affection for Konrad and Ruby’s son. It was well known among the parents of Sunny Town, and many were placing small wagers when they would become special someponies. Gray Hoof himself hoped Ms. Surprise and him would become something more and hoped to have foals of his own finally.
Seeing the town grow and his friends being happy was one of the most satisfying feelings for the stallion. He vowed to do anything in his power and abilities to ensure that would continue. If he had to give up his house to save Ruby and Mitta, he would do it.
“One thing at a time Gray Hoof, one thing at a time. Let’s hope tomorrow will be a better day for them.”
Gray Hoof sighed, made his way to his desk, and sat in the chair. He wrote many notes about the events of yesterday and wrote down as many ideas as he could think one. If he could plan a party, he could plan for solutions. Satisfied, he came up with a few plans to execute should the Poison Joke possibly be a bust. Gray Hoof sighed as he looked out the window and asked, “I hope we can fix this. I’m not sure what will happen if we don’t.”
With the weight of his friend’s health and well-being on the line, Gray Hoof didn’t sleep well that night.