Forgiveness Pending

by Kiroberos


Chapter 50

Not having realized that the small river branched off from the direction towards the 'dam' from earlier, I was pleasantly surprised at the rather peaceful feeling of the woods as we trotted along. My leg was feeling better after I rested it up, and even though I felt a little guilty over it, I knew transforming it earlier had repaired some of the muscles in it. I really needed to look into a way to turn that off. All the matter that was crammed inside of me was totally unsorted, and I had no way of knowing if what I drew out was mineral and rock, or organic, post-Keldarian. It didn't feel right at all using somepony else's flesh and bone to repair myself, so I didn't want to use ANY of the mass on my own body, if I risked that. Even tiny amounts. Of course, I had needed the muscle, and wouldn't have been able to catch Snapshot without it. The tentacles were totally not me at all, so I didn't care what mass they used to form themselves, as I just tossed the matter back into the pool after I finished using them. They weren't 'permanent', so to speak.

My passive daydreaming was rather rudely interrupted by a rock jutting out of the riverbank. Spike let out a surprised yelp as I suddenly lurched and planted my face into the ground, feeling him roll off me along my neck. Sighing, I popped my head up again from my fallen form, dirt flaking off my face as I slowly relaxed my under-armor. Having that stuff ready to pop out at an instant's notice was really handy, and I was able to keep the basic stuff just under the surface of my skin, so I looked 'normal' still. It wasn't the fancy, ablative stuff, but it was suitable for, well, my 'daily' needs. That was a little sad to word that way...

Scootaloo burst into laughter upon turning around, but Apple Bloom just winced and trotted back, helping me up again. "Ya okay, Mender? We're almost there," she informed, using her right forehoof to wipe off some of the dirt on my chest.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Dumb rock..." I muttered, glaring back at the offending chunk of hardened minerals.

The orange pegasus rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Hard to be mad at something that didn't move into your way to begin with. Besides, what could you do to it in the first place? Scold it?" she pointed out, her wings popping out and stretching, the light distorting off them as the disks appeared around her due to the motion involved.

I glared at her for a moment before my first CPU gave me a targeting analysis. The second CPU fired up and gave me an instant-based movement calculation, and I sent the go-ahead. A tentacle popped out of my right shoulder and lashed out behind me as I continued to glare at her, neatly whipping downwards with a massive slamming noise, and I felt it fragment the rock neatly in two before slipping back inside my body a heartbeat later.

Scootaloo's eyes bugged out and I resisted chuckling until she surprised me with, "Whoa! Awesome!" Figures, she'd be less intimidated and more delighted... She really did take after Rainbow Dash.

Apple Bloom slipped around behind me and picked up the two halves of the rock, looking surprised before smirking at them. It was actually a rather pretty rock, tannish-white and surprisingly round, if not a little lopsided. For a moment, I felt bad that I'd hit it. The little filly then smiled and rotated the stone around, showing me the fractured insides. To my surprise, it was somewhat hollow and lined with a pretty yellow crystal.

"A geode? What are the odds?" I asked, surprised at the pure probability of the rock I tripped over being such.

"What's a geode?" Scootaloo asked, shifting closer and sitting down next to me.

"A volcanic or sedimentary rock that forms with crystals inside of it. Oooh, that's a surprisingly clear quartz formation of the citrine variety!" Spike exclaimed, forgetting he ever fell and popping upright to peek. Whoa! He knew a lot about crystals.

Apple Bloom gave him a skeptical look before shaking her head. "Ya can't eat it, Spike. Mah brother collects these an' uses 'em fer bookends, actually. If ya don't mind, Mender, could Ah give 'em ta him?" she asked politely, smiling up at me.

Nodding happily, I decided to take it with good fortune after all. "Sure. I didn't realize he collected them, but if my little accident can benefit somepony, I'm all for it," I agreed, nodding twice more afterwards.

"Weird. I didn't know Big Mac collected rocks, or read that much anyway," Scootaloo muttered, tilting her head towards Apple Bloom. It sounded more curious than degrading, and the little farm filly just smiled towards her.

"He actually has ah whole collection 'o books in tha basement. Tha geodes make good bookends, an' somehow he gets 'em ta glow in tha dark an' make good lamps! It's pretty down there. He don't talk about it much, though, so don't go spreadin' it around, Scoots," Apple Bloom warned, frowning lightly at her friend.

I shook my head gently at her caution. "There's nothing wrong with reading or having hobbies, Apple Bloom. Your brother is very intelligent, and I respect him for it," I assured, mentally vowing not to tell anypony either.

Scootaloo perked and nodded at me, however. "Yeah, reading is awesome! The coolest ponies read, so there's obviously nothing wrong with it. Still, I won't blab," she promised. Her reaction surprised me a bit, but in a good way. She didn't strike me as having the patience for a good book, but I liked to keep an open mind until proven otherwise, lately. Beats, I don't know, thinking all mares were carnivorous or something, as a good example...

Apple Bloom actually blushed lightly, but smiled between the three of us, obviously not able to see Tank without craning her head back high enough to view his slow orbit above. "Ah thank ya'all, o' course. Ah few ponies think mah brother is 'simple' is all, an' would be right surprised ta find out he's well learned an' good with math. Ah think it's because he works hard ta support tha family, they just think he's all muscle or somethin'," she muttered after considering it for a moment, eyes softening as her ears lowered a bit.

"Well, that's their loss," I pointed out, gently rubbing her on the head with my right forehoof. It had never occurred to me to associate 'muscular' with 'simple' in the first place, but they might have a different culture here.

Apple Bloom smiled softly towards me and nodded, nuzzling my forehoof with her snout momentarily before turning and continuing down the path. "Ah know. Brother always says ta tolerate other's differences an' try ta realize that Ah'm just as different ta them," she continued in a softer voice, Scootaloo falling in next to her. I smiled at that and nodded to myself before standing again. She was doing even more with 'my' differences. She wasn't just tolerating me, but seemed to truly enjoy being my friend, even though I was very, very different from her. Maybe there was a truth in her statement.

With a pleasant smile on my face, I nodded to an extremely skeptical looking Spike, momentarily wondering why he was giving me that look before tripping over the two halves of the geode we had forgotten about and promptly falling sideways into the river...

* * * * *

It was fifteen minutes and forty meters down the hill before the two fillies and Spike managed to help me get out of the elongated underground stream I'd managed to break through into. Sighing, I stared at the makeshift waterfall I'd created in the ceiling from the riverbed, the entire small 'tunnel' of sorts lit up by dozens upon dozens of large, glowing crystals lining the walls. Okay, the probability of me finding that geode wasn't looking so low anymore.

Sadly, it had taken another five minutes for me to finally calm Spike down. It turns out gems were something of a delicacy to him, and me blundering into a natural cavern literally layered with the things was kinda like walking into a sweets shop. At least I got him to focus more on pulling the ones out of me now, instead of going after the ones on the walls!

"Hey, cheer up. At least it had a lower cave exit further down the hill. Plus, these are absolutely delicious," Spike pointed out, pulling another crystal shard out from under my armor ridges. There was occasionally a light crunching accompanying the bigger ones, and I only assumed he was getting a free snack as well. Falling into several crystal formations on the floor tucked amidst the water had gotten dozens wedged into the armor folds along my back. None of them were anywhere near tough enough to pierce my second or skin layer of armor, of course, but I couldn't directly absorb them from my plates. That, and I was a little hesitant in introducing anything that was glowing of its own accord into my body. The last time I did that, I was puking bubbles and frogs.

"That an' it's really pretty in 'ere. Think we can bring mah brother 'ere later?" Apple Bloom asked, her voice leaking so much awe that I honestly couldn't stay pissed off at my luck. She was just too cute, and really ruining my bad mood.

I gave a weak grunt before sighing and checking the map I'd been building of the area in my database. The location program was still running fine, and I had an exact spot for myself, so I simply flagged it on the map and nodded. "Yeah, I can find this spot again easily enough, so we can come back here," I assured, shifting the inner 'window' to the side before smiling at her again. I liked to keep my eye-space free and clear of clutter. I was oh so observant already, and didn't think it was a wise idea to add blind spots into the mix.

Apple Bloom perked up and nodded to me, starting to smile before we both heard a grunt to the left. I glanced in time to see Scootaloo yanking backwards on one of the larger, prismatic crystals with all her body weight and wing power. I raised an eyebrow as she tore the crystal free, causing a fracture to shoot up the wall. My eyes widened and four tentacles shot forwards, catching three falling crystals while the fourth whipped rapidly around above her and knocked the smaller shards away. The little filly didn't even seem to notice as she gathered up the prismatic gem and trotted happily back towards us. Ugh. These fillies were going to be the death of me. If not in their defense, of a heart attack instead.

"You should really be careful, Scootaloo," Spike chimed in as the filly drew back into our group and under my defensive umbrella barrier again. She already knew I was worried about the ceiling collapsing!

The orange filly made a scoffing noise before presenting her rather large rainbow gem, roughly the size of my hoof in diameter before retorting, "This was so worth it! Besides, Mender's here, so nothing could have hurt me."

My turn to scoff. "Scoots, I'm not perfect. I'll definitely try my hardest to protect all of you, but you shouldn't take risks like that. At least warn me next time so I can extend the barrier over you before you do that," I requested, frowning towards her.

"Or just ask him ta get tha gem. Still, she's also right, Mender. You are really strong. Ya make us feel safe, regardless," Apple Bloom suggested gently, still sitting just in front of me. I stared at her for a moment before blushing lightly, unsure of how exactly to handle compliments and gifts still. I wasn't getting any better at dealing with them at all, so I had a feeling that this would always be an awkward point for myself.

"Ha! You pasted those crystals super easy from a dozen feet away! You're too hard on yourself. Plus, I think you're the first adult to not actually tell me not to do the thing I'm in trouble for," she deduced, scratching her chin with a forehoof.

Snickering, I shook my head towards her. "You're not in trouble. Besides, you wouldn't have listened anyway," I guessed, smirk growing on my muzzle. Apple Bloom matched my expression and gave her friend a knowing grin, while Spike just chuckled and yanked out another shard of crystal. At least I’d finally gotten him calmed down now.

Scootaloo grinned back at us before shrugging and nodding. "Nothing can stop me from getting a present for Rainbow if I find one that's cool looking! But, uh, thanks for being cool, Mender. You're the first adult to look out for me and still actually listen to what I want, and that, well, means a lot," she thanked, grin melting into a warm smile instead. A bit of heat fluttered into my chest, and I ruffled the front of her hair with my right foreleg, earning a series of giggles. No, Scootaloo was different from Rainbow in quite a few ways, I realized. This just cemented it further. She wasn't as hardened up as Dash, which was probably a good thing. In some ways, she was braver. I don't think my cyan friend would have been able to admit what Scootaloo just did with an audience around her.

"Hey, all of you crusaders are awesome in my book! Spike included, of course," I assured, resting again as I felt another tug at my back. Then more crunching. Okay, he was eating at least half of them...

"You should meet tha fourth crusader, then!" Apple Bloom chirped, smiling and nodding twice at the two of us.

That caused me to stop for a moment and consider it. Fourth? "Aren't I technically the fourth crusader?" I asked, tilting my head to her.

"Nah. You're actually the fifth crusader for our local branch. Apple Bloom's cousin, Babs Seed, is the fourth. She's also started a Manehatten branch of crusaders!" Scootaloo chirped in response. Oh! That was interesting indeed.

The farm filly did a happy bounce and spin in place before rotating around with a grin towards us. "Yeah! Babs is comin' fer tha harvest festival that marks tha end o' fall an' start o' winter! Ya can meet her then, an' watch tha Runnin' o' tha Leaves with us!" she excitedly offered. I started to smile before Scootaloo perked up and nodded as well.

"Yeah, that's right! All of us can totally watch Rainbow win the Cloudy Sky Dash, too! She's been practicing super hard for it," she added. Oh, was that what the event was called?

"Ya seem awfully sure o' her winnin', Scoots. She must really be practicin'," Apple Bloom admitted, giving her a skeptical glance.

Scootaloo smirked and nodded, adding cryptically, "Yup! She's got a lot riding on this race! She has to win."

"Oh, is this tha race she's plannin' on...?" Apple Bloom started to ask, perking up before her friend nodded to her. "Finally! Ah'm pretty sure Sis has ah thing fer her, too. Won't admit it fer nothin', though, but sure goes red when Ah ask her about it, an' changes tha topic right quick! Brother just grins when she does," she added after another moment, grinning widely again.

Okay, I didn't know much about relationships, especially in Equestria, but it sounded like Rainbow was definitely going to get a positive outcome. I smiled along and nodded to both fillies involved. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to say anything else as my eyes locked onto the gem that Scootaloo had risked getting maimed for.

In an instant, I couldn't move. Both my eyes locked onto the gem as symbols flickered on along the right side of my display, a targeting lock appearing on the thing. What the hell?! My eyes widened as my scans activated by themselves, running a deep analysis on the gem as the little filly carried it closer. "W-What?!" I suddenly managed to spit out, shaking as I fought against the lock that was trying to hold me there as the scans completed.

"Huh?!" Apple Bloom asked, noting my tone, it would seem, and immediately shifting to a concerned one of her own.

A second later, I ran a side script and managed to turn on my projection displays, showing a three dimensional view of the scan going across the gem and data readouts appearing as information was discovered. "It... It's forcing me to scan that gem. Try to-" I started to ask, hoping her moving it out of sight would make this stop!

There wasn't a chance to finish, however. The scan displayed a full data readout, and I jerked in one spastic motion before falling on my face again from the sudden snap release of my muscles. "Mender!" Apple Bloom squawked, and I heard a rapid bound of hoofsteps before two forelegs wrapped around me and gently helped me up again as I shivered. My stomach swam and I felt a wave of nausea as I tried to relax again, opening my eyes into the status display.

The text was written out in front of everypony, myself included. "Scan completed. Unknown Element 003 located, and sample scans saved to local drive. Scouting objective four successfully completed. Samples should be acquired. Scripting disabled." Everypony stared at it in mixed shades of surprise. The message devolved into code after that, which I recognized as an indexing number a second later. I ran the number into my file database and drew up a sheet on 'Element Three' instantly. I tossed that file up, too, and read its leading paragraph, frowning.

"Trace samples of Element 003 discovered on subject. Alongside Blood Particle 001 and Hair Filament 002, this is the third unknown element this specimen has examples of. More might be located after a successful autopsy, but data analysis is given for now. High energy readout displays unusual properties when manipulated with aether energy, producing what can only be described as non-Euclidean energies! With this discovery, we might be able to replicate the element and produce all sorts of technological advances with-" I stopped reading, another wave of numbness and nausea shooting through me. No. Why would this be...? We already knew how to manipulate non-Euclidean space, and had known how since our allies showed up with the technology! Sure, we expanded upon it to make our FTL Slipstream Engine in ways they couldn't even realize, but we'd gotten the technology centuries back. Why was this document discussing the discovery of non-Euclidean energies from something in...

My mind started spinning as I slowly shook my head. Specimen? "W-What is this, Mender?" Spike asked softly, frowning as he looked over the display before adding, "These look like the lab notes I help Twilight take sometimes. She talks formally like this while taking notes." Lab notes.

"Mender, yer scarin' me. What is all this?" Apple Bloom asked, both fillies looking back at us as Spike's eyes got bigger and bigger in shock.

"Really, really bad news. This is a document from a long time ago from my old dimension that's talking about some sort of specimen they found that supposedly had these crystals on it. Crystals from Equestria!" I groaned out, shaking my head rapidly.

Calm down, Mender. Think. Okay, this didn't change too much. It actually explained some stuff. A new element was introduced and we figured out how to replicate it, discovering it could manipulate non-Euclidean space to form our FTL Drive. That's how we figured out folded space and FTL in the first place, both technologies extremely advanced compared to what our allies could do. That's why! The element didn't exist before it was introduced and replicated.

"That means that a long time ago, something made the transfer over into my dimension from here. An experiment gone wrong? An accident? Gah. Um, okay, Princess Celestia probably knows about this. I need to get this data to her fast," I muttered, mostly talking to myself. Scootaloo started to look excited, while Apple Bloom had shifted to uncertain.

"Aether is a fancy word for Magic, isn't it?" Spike asked, digging into his backpack and pulling out another parchment and quill. I stared at him for a moment as he started writing things down rapidly, then glanced back at the gem. Magic. Reaching out, I touched the gem lightly with my hoof, Scootaloo having dropped it to the floor when I started scanning it. Just a little drop of magic, and I focused on the simple image of the other corner of the cave. This would ultimately show us if this was true.

Due to the short distance and low amounts of energy, the transfer was actually almost faster than I could see. Scootaloo gasped as her gem flared with light, the twin ribbons forming and wrapping around it in a blur, and the whole thing disappeared. No. No way. They were the catalyst for our FTL drive! "Hey, my gem!" she squeaked, eyes widening and staring sadly at where it used to be.

Smiling to her, I shook my head and gestured over to the corner with my hoof, drawing her attention to the gem as it spun lightly in place, steaming. "Don't touch it for a couple minutes. It's really hot. This... is bad, but it doesn't change too much. After I tell Tia the discovery, I'm sure she'll know how it affects things," I muttered, staring at the steam coming off the gem. Calming down, I relaxed and started to think things through again.

"Whoa. It teleported? Ah didn't think ya knew how ta teleport," Apple Bloom murmured, also staring at the thing as it slowly came to a stop.

"Technically, it just moved over there really, really fast, but close enough, yeah. Those are the gems we use in our big spaceships to move really, really fast and travel through space," I explained, keeping it simple for all of our sakes. My brain might explode if I tried to fully register what was going on.

Spike held up the letter a moment later, the page gently illuminated by the light of the crystals as I looked it over. If nothing else, he was more than professional with his writing skills, I noticed. Eyes softening, I wondered what Tia would want to do about all of this. I felt a little lost suddenly, but nodded to Spike with a light swallow. It was one of those moments where I felt very small and insignificant.

The little dragon nodded and rolled the scroll gently up, sealing it before tossing it into the air and blasting it with a spout of green flames. It was gone when the blast cleared, and I suddenly snickered, realizing how silly this all was in perspective. If this had been my other self, he'd probably freak out at the fact that Spike just seemingly disintegrated the scroll. Well, no, he'd be too busy freaking out over the dragon and talking ponies, probably.

"Come on, Mender. Let's get out o' this cave an' into tha warmth ah bit. Spike'll let ya know when Princess Celestia responds," Apple Bloom suggested, still looking significantly uncertain while staring at me.

Hesitating, I glanced back over at Scootaloo's gem before extending a tentacle out and snatching it up with it. Three others zipped out and broke more samples off the cave walls, hauling them towards me and dropping them into my bag. Twilight needed to see these, too. Why hadn't the ponies discovered this already?! Swallowing, I nodded to everypony, noticing Scootaloo intently focusing on the gem still in my tentacles.

Smiling, I shook my head and added, "It's hot. Let's dip it in the stream outside to get it cool again. Then you can have it back. I'm not going to take your gem, Scoots." She perked up at that and nodded, offering me a little smile and subtly informing me I was accurate with my guess of what she was worried about.

With that settled, I gave in and the five of us headed outside, Tank hauling another crystal sample along with him, and Spike snapping off gems as we walked, apparently determined to bring half the cave’s supply with him as we left...

* * * * *

Sighing, I walked along with a small barrier floating off my chest, an entire folder resting on top of it and shifting about as I sorted through it all while we walked. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were walking in front of me leading the way, and I only passively paid attention, following along after them instinctively. The folder was sizeable, and Tia had certainly surprised me with it.

Of course, I felt extremely bad after Spike spent almost five minutes leaning over a rock and coughing it all up for me. I'd asked if there was anything I could do to make it up to him, but he assured me that Twilight had once insisted he transfer an entire encyclopedia set from her room in Canterlot, and that was much, much worse. My tentacles had snapped off large amounts of amethyst from the walls regardless, causing him to perk up in shock and delight as I dropped them all in front of him.

"Mmm! They taste so good! It's like a crunchy cream soda," the little dragon murmured next to me, swaying as he walked along and crunched down another gem. I smiled absently, but kept my eyes glued to the documents. If they tasted that good, hopefully they washed out the taste of these things!

Why was she so insistent about this? I stared at the paperwork documenting my official rank in the royal guard and status as Head Dimensional Researcher. Of course, apart from Twilight, I was really the only dimensional researcher. Alongside the documents was a Royal Guard Lieutenant badge with both neck cord and minor "Camouflage" enchantment, which I was now wearing, and a research clearance card for royal material, level four, whatever that meant. I slipped that into my saddlebag and shook my head. This had to be because of what was going on with the newspaper thing. This gave me credentials if I required them, of course, which further solidified what she told everypony at the conference thingy.

Sighing, I read her letter over once more, just to make sure I got everything. She wanted not just me, but all eight of us to come to Canterlot two days after my return from the cabins. She explained that normally she'd request my presence immediately, but realized I wasn't in a position to return to town just yet. Further, Twilight was having issues with something and Tia predicted that she would need a few days to work through it. Mental images of the library exploding or burning down without Spike there to help her came to mind, and I shook my head sadly. Hopefully she hadn't tried cooking something!

It further assured me not to worry about the gems and to just get samples, and that she'd fill me in during my stay there. The visit was for three days, so I assumed she had quite the itinerary for us. Still, why request the Element Bearers and Spike as well? They all had important things to do around town, and couldn't just drop everything because I had discovered yet another problem with my old dimension interfering with theirs. I was getting downright tired of it, frankly, and would be glad to sever the link in a more permanent fashion, if only to let everything return to normal here. Hopefully, Twilight was making progress with a way to do so without hurting Keela.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I exhaled softly and felt my heart slow down again. Anger came easier for me lately, and even the frustration of being a burden to everypony had gotten me upset. What was wrong with me? Was I just getting too stressed out with all this stuff? I tried to relax, reminding myself that I didn't like being angry at anything or anypony, and that it really wasn't me. After a few deep breathes, I managed to ground myself again and really put into focus whom I felt I was. Barely remembering anything I could truly call my own, I wanted to be really careful with what I considered me, honestly.

"Uh, Mender?" I heard Scootaloo ask, causing me to wince at the distraction before sighing. Wait, it sounded like she was right next to me when she said that.

My eyes flicked open gently, just in time to see a very confused looking Sweetie Belle half a second before I crashed into her, tripping and purposefully falling to the side so I wouldn't land on top of her and squish the poor filly. Three seconds later, the world finally stopped spinning and the two of us were a pile of fur and legs, her ending up shoved under my left foreleg and stuck, apparently upside down. Carefully, I tipped over and set her back down on the ground before coughing, a light blush coming to my cheeks.

"Uh, sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going while reading all this stuff," I apologized, gesturing towards my fallen folder with my right forehoof.

The small unicorn sat upright again, also blushing lightly but giving me a soft smile and shake of her head, pawing at the dirt with her right forehoof awkwardly. "Ah, no, it's okay! I hesitated too long and didn't move like I should have. I'm sorry as well for tripping you, uh, Mender," she apologized, not looking me in the eye as her ears twitched about with little spasms.

"Sweetie, calm down. Yer fine, an' he's fine, so everything's fine! What was this thingy ya wanted us out 'ere fer?" Apple Bloom inquired, tone of voice rather soothing as she trotted up and rubbed a hoof over her friend's left shoulder.

The little white filly swallowed but nodded, seemingly bracing herself before looking up and meeting my eyes again. I just smiled and waited patiently for, well, whatever was going to happen. To be honest, I didn't know what to do or say in the first place, so I was really hoping she'd take the lead. "I'm sorry! I, well, I shouldn't have gotten so upset over you turning me down, and I should have realized that I'm much too young for you. I'm sorry for being so mean over it and, well, I made this as an apology!" she spit out all at once, sounding afraid we'd interrupt and tear her down if she stopped talking for more than a second.

Raising an eyebrow, I glanced past her as she gestured, noticing a large blanket spread out on the grass in the clearing we'd made it to, and a rather cute looking wicker picnic basket resting on top of it. Oh, she made us lunch? Wait, there was something I was supposed to be remembering about this.

Scootaloo tilted her head back and looked surprised more than anything before carefully asking, "Wait, you, uh, cooked something for us?" Her tone was rather biting, however, and I frowned. Hadn't I heard an offhooved comment somewhere about Sweetie's cooking?

Apple Bloom shot a glare at Scootaloo, however, and whipped back to facing Sweetie, shaking her head. "It's ah very nice gesture, Sweetie! Ah think this is right nice o' ya. Are we invited, too?" she asked, smiling positively. I smiled as well, realizing that even if the food was indeed terrible, the little filly was trying to apologize and it meant a lot to her. It wasn't so much the apology that was important, or even needed really. I saw it for what it really was. She was trying to smooth things out between us again.

The unicorn perked up at that, but then widened her eyes further as I sat up and rubbed the top of her head, hoof straightening her mane again with a few gentle brushes. "Thank you for this, Sweetie, but you don't need to apologize. This is a good way to get used to each other again, however. I actually meant what I said about simply waiting a couple years. When you turn the proper age, would you like to try going on a sort of test date with Twilight, Fluttershy, and myself?" I suggested for her, trying to drive the point home while also setting it up to not just be a one on one thing. Everypony would be more comfortable that way, I had a feeling. Of course, I'd have to talk to Fluttershy and Twilight about this.

Sweetie's eyes were massive by the time I finished, a deep crimson flooding her cheeks. Scootaloo made another gagging motion, but wore a playful smile this time, while Apple Bloom just grinned at the two of us. "Y-You were serious? I thought that was, um, just something you were saying to be nice," she whispered, suddenly looking down and away from me, a pang of sadness dancing across her features.

"I really meant it, Sweetie. I'll need to talk to the mares, of course, as they're involved, too, but I don't think they'll mind you. It's just, well, hard for me to say because you're too young right now. I have trouble picturing you as older, which is probably my fault, but I'm willing to give you a chance when the time comes," I explained. Her level of focus she was giving me was kind of a little intimidating, which was a strange sort of paradoxical sensation given it was coming from such a cute little filly. For a moment, she seemed deep in thought before slowly nodding to herself.

"So, you're having trouble picturing me as an... adult then, right? I didn't think of that. Um, I might have, well, no, I definitely overreacted earlier. I really am sorry," she whispered, shrinking a little but nodding twice and galloping back to her picnic blanket. Scootaloo gave a sigh, a light bit of frustration showing through in it, but Apple Bloom just nodded to me before looking back over at Sweetie Belle.

I hesitated, but the yellow filly nodded and added, "Yer doin' amazin'. She's super nervous obviously, but just keep bein' yerself an' she'll be back ta normal again in no time, Ah think."

"I hope so. This is really awkward," Scootaloo muttered from my other side. I nodded to both fillies before walking forwards again, trying to put on my most reassuring smile as I headed towards the blanket, noticing the white filly sitting opposite of our approach. Given how absent-minded I'd been lately, it was no real surprise when Apple Bloom deposited my folder into my left saddlebag a second later. Oops. I forgot I'd dropped it when I tripped over a small unicorn. Never thought I'd say that sentence either, probably. It was getting amusing to keep thinking of all the things that would probably break my original self's brain.

Her hoof rose up to point at the spot across from her, and she smiled weakly. "Mender's spot is there. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are to each side," she informed once we got within easy listening distance. She didn't want me sitting next to her? I swallowed lightly, but maintained my neutral smile as best I could. She might have been feeling awkward still, but maybe she just wanted me within the easiest viewpoint? I tried to stay positive as I nodded and sat down where she gestured.

"What about Tank and me?" Spike inquired, smiling as he trotted up next to me, the aforementioned tortoise orbiting him instead. Pity. I had kind have grown affectionate of my orbiting body for a while there. Maybe it was bias, however. My inner mass was envious of the planet and its moon.

Sweetie Belle momentarily blanked out after he spoke up. Heh. I figured that she hadn't taken five guests into account. Thankfully, I had stuffed the dragon full of gems before we got here! "Oh, you can sit next to Mender, of course! I packed plenty of food," our young hostess chirped a second later, gesturing dramatically towards the picnic basket. She recovered fast! I guessed that her social graces were developing rapidly from her sister.

"Uh, I hope they didn't let you near an oven to make this stuff..." Scootaloo muttered, sitting down and giving the basket a suspicious stare. Eh? I didn't think most picnic food required baking. Did they do it differently in Equestria? I suddenly imagined all sorts of fried foods, brown and crisp as they steamed lightly in the cooler air. My stomach growled lightly, and I tried really hard not to drool.

Sweetie Belle made a pouting gesture while crossing her forelegs. "Big Mac wouldn't let me use it! He carried me away from it really fast and told me that it was too hot for cooking. It's colder today than yesterday when he made those baked potatoes!" she protested irritably. Apple Bloom exhaled gently in what almost looked like relief. Oh yeah! Hadn't somepony mentioned that Sweetie Belle's cooking was terrible?

"Eh, at least we won't choke and die on charcoal. What do we have instead, sandwiches?" Scootaloo asked bluntly, reaching towards the basket a moment later. I noticed she was picking up some of Rainbow Dash's less than stellar personality traits, too.

"Scootaloo! Don't be rude! This 'ere is Sweetie's picnic. She serves tha food, and is treatin' us all, so be nice!" Apple Bloom cut in, swatting her friend's hoof away from the top of the basket at the same time. I nodded in agreement towards the little pegasus, lightly pushing her hoof back as she winced and rubbed at it.

"Ow! Sorry! You didn't have to whack me," she whined, frowning down at her hoof. Her eyes widened slightly as I reached forwards again and took her hoof in mine. Her hesitation melted into a smile a moment later as a bit of magic danced into her hoof, spreading soothing heat along her nerves and ankle muscles. She gave a little shiver before smiling back up at me with a nod. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. I didn't mean to be rude," she apologized properly a moment later, settling back into a sitting position.

Apple Bloom looked quite happy over the turn of events, but Sweetie simply gave a blank look, her cheeks blushing still as she watched us. She recovered fast and shook her head, smiling again a moment later. "Oh, no, it's no problem, Scootaloo. I'll get the sandwiches out for us if you're that hungry. I also brought some fresh grape juice!" she exclaimed, nodding twice and lighting up her horn.

The lid of the basket shakily opened, her apparently not having a whole lot of power behind her magic yet. That got me thinking, as I watched her pull out the sandwiches. Could I use enchantments on her, too, in order to enhance her abilities? I knew Apple Bloom wanted something to enhance the physical skills, but maybe I could do something to magnify magic as well? Idly, I started working out the concept in my head as she pulled out three full thermos bottles full of purple liquid. Whoa. Okay, she brought a lot of juice!

Smiling, I helped her steady my cup as she shakily poured the least full one first, giving me a grateful smile as I helped her. Her cup came next, and I suddenly realized the silly filly had given me priority. I tried not to snicker as I realized she really was worried and trying to smooth things over. The first thermos didn't survive both of our cups, and she screwed the cap back on and set it aside, having a lot more trouble lifting the heavier, full one.

Gently, I reached out and stuck my hoof against it, another bit of my magic expanding through it. Her eyes widened, then she smiled as gravity stopped working on the thermos. Discovering it much easier to manipulate, she nodded and smiled to me again as she poured the remaining three cups for everypony else. It took her a moment, of course, to realize she needed to shake the bottle to push the juice free of the no-gravity field I'd put on it. She grinned once she finished and left it floating in the air over the basket, lightly spinning in a circle.

Relaxing finally, I picked up one of the sandwiches with my hoof and sniffed it lightly. It smelled quite good, a spicy mixture of dandelion and alfalfa, if I guessed correctly. My pallet must be significantly different as a pony, as I never anticipated alfalfa to have a spicy flavor to it. A hard crunching noise came from my side as well, Spike resting against my hip as he continued munching on the amethysts. Idly, I wondered what they tasted like to him, having just been on the topic of racial taste buds.

Sweetie started on a sandwich, too, while Scootaloo sniffed at her cup of juice and Apple Bloom smiled over at Sweetie instead. I took the momentary distraction to sate my curiosity, leaning over and asking, "I just realized alfalfa tastes different to me as a pony. What do those taste like to you?" Spike glanced up at me before smiling, light purple flakes in his teeth as he offered up a medium sized chunk of amethyst.

"They taste kinda rooty, like a thick cream soda," he explained, adding, "Wanna try one?" He flattened the palm of his hand out, claws flexing out flat and offering the gem on it.

Apple Bloom snickered at the two of us, warning, "Spike, Mender's ah pony. Ya know he can't eat ah-" Interrupting her, I bent down and snatched up the gem with my muzzle, crunching into it lightly with a couple of chewing motions and running it over my tongue to sample it. Sharp mineral taste, and the oh so familiar sensation of rock. Nope. Guess I wasn't going to luck out and acquire a dragon's taste buds. Darn.

"Ah... uh..." Apple Bloom continued a second later, eyes wider than they had been as she just stared blankly at me. Spike just grinned at my expression and laughed.

"Guessing it's not as good for you?" he asked, snickering as I sighed and shook my head. Crunching the rest of it into chunky dust in my mouth, I just shrugged before swallowing it down. Scootaloo started laughing hysterically, of course, having momentarily forgotten about her drink.

"Wow! You can eat gems, too, Mender?" Sweetie asked, tilting her head towards me curiously.

"I can eat pretty much anything I want. Alien robot, remember?" I returned, averting my eyes and blushing lightly.

Apple Bloom finally recovered and snickered, shaking her head. "All tha same ta me. It don't matter none, honestly. Just surprised me!" she defended, raising her hooves up and waving them in front of her lightly.

Smiling, I shook my head towards her. Scootaloo had recovered and returned to examining her drink, of course. "This smells really like grapes. Like, more than grape juice should. But oh well. I practiced flying a lot this morning, and I'm way too thirsty to be picky!" she chirped, finally smiling and taking up her cup, taking a big swig of it. Uh oh. I suddenly realized there was indeed something Sweetie could have made in our lunch.

I realized I guessed right as Scootaloo's eyes bugged out, her whole body shivering. Sweetie gave her a curious glance, mouth still full of sandwich. A second later, she was blasted directly in the face with grape juice ejected from the little pegasus filly, who started hacking and coughing afterwards. Sweetie yelped and flailed, knocking her own cup over Apple Bloom, who rapidly ducked and shielded her sandwich from the flying refreshment, eyes wide now. I gave a little sigh. Never a dull moment.

Sweetie gave Scootaloo a somewhat annoyed looking glare, purple liquid dripping off her face as her friend rolled onto her stomach, hacking and coughing. "Oh come on. It can't be that bad!" the unicorn protested, sounding annoyed.

Apple Bloom, who had sat up and been just watching, frowned and picked her own cup up instead. "Ah'm sure it ain't that bad, Sweetie. Scoots is probably just bein' all, what's tha word? Mah sis calls yer sis it all tha time," she asked, raising her glass up.

"Melodramatic?" Sweetie offered, glancing over at Apple Bloom, glare shifting to a smile instead, despite the fact that she was covered in grape juice. Rarity? Melodramatic? I averted my eyes and lightly bit my tongue. No, she had been kind to me almost, almost always, so I shouldn't speak ill of her.

"Yeah, that's tha word!" the yellow filly agreed, nodding and taking a much smaller sip of her juice. She coughed and winced a moment later, looking back down at her glass. "Okay, ya might'a added ah mite too many grapes. This must be homemade?" she inquired, shivering lightly but looking much better than the face down pegasus across from her. Maybe Scootaloo just had more sensitive taste buds? Although she did practically inhale the stuff. I patted her lightly on the back between her wings, hoping to knock some of it loose or something. She peeked up and smiled at me, nodding. Heh. She really was starting to feel like a little sister, I noticed. So did Apple Bloom. I considered it for a moment, and suddenly realized Sweetie didn't. What did she feel like, then? I couldn't really place it. It wasn't the same as Twilight and Fluttershy either, that was for sure.

The filly in question frowned and licked some of the grape juice off her face, shuddering a half a second later. "Ah! Oh no. I really did add too many grapes!" she suddenly muttered, eyes softening as her ears drooped down. I swallowed the lump in my throat, the urge to hop over and hug her growing rapidly. Leaving my spot would probably be rude, though. What was Equestrian table etiquette, now that I thought about it? I should probably find a book in the library about it at some point, if Rarity was going to keep hauling me to social functions. Being a lieutenant in the guard and eating by smashing my face repeatedly into the plate seemed kind of improper.

"Hey, cheer up, Sweetie. It's the thought that counts, and I'm really happy you went to all of this trouble for all of us. So thank you," I tried to assure, giving her a soft smile.

She blushed lightly and looked down again, shaking her head. "Ah! No, it's not that much trouble. Um, nopony obviously has to drink any more of it. I feel so stupid!" she murmured, ears flattening rather than just drooping as she glared at the basket. It was like she was personally wringing my heart out, however, and I frowned.

"I'm sure it's not that bad. Mine even looks a little lighter than the other mix, so here. I'll give it a try," I offered, raising my cup up as well. Well, life, I'll miss you, but anything to appease the adorable little filly! She raised her head up instantly, looking surprised and uncertain at the same time. I almost saw a bit of guilt mixed in, too, but I just smiled to her and raised the cup up, deciding to just get my undoubtedly horrifying fate over with.

"Mender." It echoed through my mind and I stopped, frowning as I opened my eyes again. Sweetie still looked at me with that expression of surprise, happiness, and apprehension. It looked a little weird with her just staring at me, frozen in place. Wait...

My gaze shifted to Apple Bloom, who was also stuck in place, head in the middle of rotating over to look at me. A peek at Scootaloo showed that she, too, was unmoving, midway through extending her hooves out towards a sandwich. Apparently, she had decided the crisis was averted after expelling the juice all over Sweetie Belle's face. Regardless, it didn't surprise me when I noticed our clearing had fogged over considerably. Returning my gaze to Sweetie, I saw the dark blue filly with the clouded up eyes step out from behind her, looking over at me sadly.

"Prudentia," I whispered, earning a soft nod from her, her whole face shifting down to look at the cup, empty eyes holding rigid in their sockets. She really was blind, then.

"Don't drink it, Mender. Please," she warned suddenly, her voice a whisper as her eyes softened, giving her a sad look.

Frowning, I inquired as to why as I looked down at the juice again. A sharp intake of breath later, I barely resisted throwing the cup away from me as I beheld the black ichor frozen inside, looking like diseased blood. Well, that wasn't what it looked like a moment ago!

"That's its true form. It's poison, disguised as juice," she explained, shifting her blank eyes back up to me as she gestured to her right. I followed her hoof and locked my eyes on Sweetie's fallen cup, a meter or so away. She'd spilled it. It was poured from the same thermos. But it was an accident. She didn't mean to spill it! Why would Sweetie...? A pang went through my chest and I looked back at Prudentia, expression falling into a frown.

"W-Why would Sweetie try to poison me, though?" I asked her, not entirely believing the mysterious filly.

Prudentia looked even sadder before shaking her head weakly and correcting, "It's not a poison meant to kill. It's true purpose is to destroy aspiration, twisting your every desire and wish in life until you're an empty shell, only desiring one thing." I stared blankly at her, my mind unable to fully process that. How could Sweetie Belle attempt to do something so downright malicious? It literally refused to acknowledge itself as even a concept in my mind. Instead, I tried to understand it better.

"Desire what?" I whispered, frowning at the sound of my own voice. Uncertainty made it feel like a sin to speak above a light murmur. No, Sweetie wouldn't do something like-

"The first pony you look at after imbibing it," Prudentia furthered, turning her face towards the little filly next to her instead. Oh.

Sweetie's expression still held the somewhat lukewarm happiness, but also contained a whole slew of other emotions, guilt and apprehension amidst them. Suddenly, I understood why she looked like that, and it snapped cleanly into place. "This is a love potion, then?" I asked, glancing back down at the disgusting black liquid. She wanted to force me into liking her?

"A love poison is more accurate, and I believe it's the potion's true name. She is so very sad and it hurts to see," the little filly whispered, frowning at my frozen friend. Well, I used the term 'filly' loosely. It was hard to tell exactly what she was, aside from appearances. That went a ways towards answering the most obvious question, but still, I found it lacking.

My small, mysterious friend smiled and nodded, as if somehow hearing my very interest. "She's sad, Mender. She's very much in pain. Perhaps this will clear your mind a little and let you understand?" she asked softly, smiling over at me instead.

My eyes widened fully as I heard a click against my left side. I glanced down in time to see the lock on the book unhook itself, and crack open just the tiniest bit. Images drifted through me, expanding across the area as I gasped, suddenly realizing the full weight of what had just happened. It opened!

The flickering image of Sweetie danced into a dozen places at once, each no more than a faint ghost of her real self. Each I looked at started to move, whining and actually crying as she repeatedly stomped about the clearing. What was all this?

"No! It's not fair! Why am I even thinking of doing this to Mender?"

"This isn't right. I can't just make him love me back. Look at what happened to Big Mac and Cheerilee!" Who was Cheerilee?

"But if I don't do anything, I’m going to lose him. If I have to wait two years, his herd is going to be filled up at the rate things are going. I-I can't risk that!" Did she really think I was that... promiscuous?

"He's my friend, though, even If he doesn't feel the same way! Can I really betray his trust and do this to him? But he lied to me. He just told me that to get me to stop pestering him!"

Frowning, I watched each image as she stormed around the clearing, stomping her little hooves as she seemed to fight with herself over what she wanted to do. It was all to the backdrop of that mixed stare she was frozen in the middle of giving me, which only served to magnify everything her images were saying. If she really had thought I was lying when I told her to wait the two years, what she was trying to do wasn't really that unexpected. I didn't know she felt so strongly about this, to let herself get torn up to this degree.

Exhaling softly, I felt my energy seep out of me and shook my head. "What is all of this, Prudentia?" I asked, unsure of where it had all come from in the first place. Could the book read minds or something? That seemed deeply disturbing, in all honesty.

"What came before. It's hard for me to see the flow, but given your numbers, I think about an hour prior," Prudentia explained, keeping those milky white orbs locked onto Sweetie Belle. So it wasn't a journal, like I had initially guessed. The small blue filly turned to stare at me again instead, as if hearing my thought. No, she really had heard my thought. She continued with, “No, I am a journal. Your journal. My most basic use is simply recording what happens to you. I have other abilities, though. One most used by the other, previous you was to also record those that enter your story as characters. Insight may be given."

Whoa. That was, well, a little scary, actually. It was more frightening by implication than anything. She was vague there, and I was fairly certain it was intentional. Anypony who entered as a ‘character’ into my 'story?' So what, proximity? Or did they have to interact with me? Or scarier yet, did I just have to be aware of them? "So, literally, your most used purpose is exposition?" I asked, feeling more than a little awkward.

She nodded, elaborating with, "Exposition of what you may or may not be aware of, through connection to what you are aware of. As thus, I can report on events that you weren't there for, such as this." Her right foreleg swept wide, gesturing vaguely to all the Sweetie Belle images flickering around the clearing, all whispering into my mind in a strange, pseudo-chorus that was really distracting if I paid it too much attention.

My ears flattened back and I shook my head weakly. "Um, thank you for helping me, but could you try to not use this capability unless I specifically ask? This seems, well, sort of like an invasion of privacy," I muttered, glancing about at the tortured looking images around me.

For just a moment, Prudentia looked utterly blank, giving me a surprisingly amusing dumbfounded expression. Ever so slowly, it shifted to a genuine smile that softly danced across her muzzle. "You are definitely not him. He would have demanded I use it almost constantly and keep him informed of everything going on around him. You are, well, I don't mean to speak ill of him, but I'm very happy you're my new Master," she muttered, shifting tones to her voice in a more upbeat direction, instead of the flat monotone she rarely broke from. The only other time I had heard her voice change was when I stopped Nirru, or whatever that thing was, from attacking her, now that I thought about it.

"I'm not really your master. Did you have to do everything he said?" I asked, a bit of apprehension drifting into me for some reason. What was I suddenly so tense over?

She frowned but nodded twice. "Yes. You are my new Master, whether you wish to be or not. My link was passed to you when he died. Truly died, not when he lingered for days afterwards. I must do everything you tell me to, although I'm much happier to obey your wishes, I'll admit. You're very, um, kind to me."

Smiling to her finally, I reached out and lightly patted her across the top of the head, causing her to give me a shy smile, momentarily leaning up into it. How anypony could be mean to her is beyond my reasoning. Maybe cute things really were my biggest weakness? "Yes, I'm glad. You wear your energy very close to the surface, and you feel so warm and nice. I'm happy that I'm yours now," she cooed, swaying as she tipped gently, then fell off balance and landed on my other foreleg. I raised an eyebrow as I realized I actually felt her there, and then helped her back into a sitting position.

"What do you mean, close to the surface?" I asked gently, steadying her again as she sat back down and nodded. It had me curious, and I wondered if she held more insight on me instead. This was certainly the longest I'd talked to her. It was also a little strange that she was sitting in the middle of the picnic blanket now, the basket partially phasing through her left flank. She was only physical to me?

"It's subtle, so nopony probably noticed yet. Twilight Sparkle will be the first to realize it, unless you inform somepony first. To use your magic, it must be close to the surface to escape your body. A side effect is that your life force, or soul if you will, is also highly visible. It gives you a warmth and gentleness about you. Haven’t you noticed a pattern from those more interested in you yet? More empathic ponies probably more easily pick up on it, such as Fluttershy, Nurse Redheart, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle, although the last took a while to acknowledge it. This little filly is also the most empathic of her friends," Prudentia explained, gesturing without looking towards Sweetie Belle again. My eyes widened, suddenly seeing the pattern she shoved down my throat. Oh. Wait, Rainbow? Empathic?

The little filly pulled off her mind reading trick again, or just had a very accurate guess. "Rainbow Dash is far more empathic than she lets others see, or even admits to herself. For those that can see your aura, those with high empathy, you just happen to possess the traits they look for most in a mate. It’s a bit ironic, but very sweet. You truly are loyal, kind, and gentle,” she continued explaining, tossing in a bit of conjecture for good measure, I noticed. Well, if all that were true, that would go a long ways to explaining why aforementioned mares were interested in me so rapidly. Well, I'd rather have my magic than not, so I guess I was stuck like this? Prudentia, or whoever this little filly really was, also struck me as highly empathic.

"I grow tired, however, and must rest soon. Until the book is properly opened, I'm limited in my time here," she finished, sighing weakly as she slipped into a laying position instead.

Frowning, I asked, "Is it okay if I ask you two more questions before you go, Prudentia?" Well, not including that one, of course.

She smiled up at me and nodded, a bit of lag to her movements now. I started immediately with, "Why are you helping me, for one?"

The filly stared at me for a moment before giggling lightly and looking down again towards my hooves. "You're kind to me. At first I thought you were going to be a bad master and was worried. But you're so nice; I couldn't let you get hurt. I, um, I miss you,” she murmured.

A light blush formed on my cheeks, but I kept up my smile and nodded again. "Then my last question is if it's okay to talk to you more. You, you. Maybe while in my dreams?" I inquired. It was the first time I'd seen the little filly blush, giving me that wide-eyed stare that didn't trace movements. Her recovery was fast afterwards, however, and she got a timid smile on her face.

"I didn't realize you were interested in me. You really are different, Mender. I'll visit you in your private dreams, yes. Don't show me to anypony else yet, though, please,” she requested, bowing politely to me. I lifted the cup back up, moving it into the position I had it at before to account for the strange time shift she seemed to make every time she appeared.

On cue, she gave me a soft little smile after straightening, and was gone an instant later. The fog imploded silently into where she was before, and sound rushed back in to fill the void of silence, suddenly sounding unnatural to me. "...much trouble. Um, nopony obviously has to drink any more of it. I feel so stupid!" Sweetie murmured yet again, ears flattening back against her head and glaring at the basket, just like she did before. I sat there, my cup in my hooves and staring down at it. She was giving me a way out if I wanted. She hoped I'd decide not to drink any, while also secretly hoping I would. She didn't screw up the grape juice. She'd tried to get it the same color as the potion...

My eyes softened as I stared into the purple liquid, sighing finally and looking back up at her. Her eyes met mine with intensity as she tried to search my blank face. Apple Bloom looked somewhat weirded out in my peripheral vision, and Scootaloo tilted her head. "Mine looks lighter than theirs, so it must have been made from a different batch, right? I'm sure it will taste better, too," I finally said, eyes locked directly on Sweetie's as I raised the cup a little higher. Her eyes widened as I spoke, and I knew she knew that I knew. Heh. I continued lifting the glass, thin shield coating the inside of my mouth and throat, and a subspace pocket sliding open at the very top of my stomach, just in case she actually let me drink this stuff.

"W-Wait! You don't have to drink that stuff, Mender. I'm sure it tastes terrible, like the other batch. It, um, wouldn't be good for you," she spoke up hesitantly, front forelegs starting to shiver a little. Close to what I needed, but not quite.

"Are you sure, Sweetie? This probably took a while to make. I'd hate to waste it. It really does look lighter, doesn't it?" I offered, showing her the cup. She winced and backed away from it, as if afraid to even sniff the stuff.

Apple Bloom frowned as she watched before observing, "That actually looks kinda like-” Oops.

"Grape juice, of course!" I interrupted, smiling gently towards her. She gave me a confused look, but Sweetie shivered and snapped an instant later.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! This is wrong. I knew this was wrong. You know what it is, Mender. It's poison! It's Love Poison!" she exclaimed, smashing her eyes shut as tears flowed out instantly. My eyes widened, not anticipating this severe a reaction, and only having wanted her to admit the truth.

Apple Bloom let out a sudden gasp, as if slapped, and shouted, "Sweetie!" The tone was sharp and shocked sounding, causing Sweetie to wince again.

"What, are you crazy?! You remember what happened with Big Mac and Cheerilee, right?!" Scootaloo asked, staring in shocked disbelief at her friend as well.

"Girls, stop it. She's hurt a lot more than she's telling, and needs support, not yelling," I warned, frowning towards the little unicorn.

Sweetie looked up at me slowly, opening her now very red eyes, the tears not stopping as she slowly shook her head. "No, they're right. What I just tried to do... The problem is me, not you. I'm too young. I'm... I need to... No, I don't have a choice. I can't just give up," she muttered, her voice dropping to almost a whisper at the end.

"Sweetie, it's not too late, and you're not going to lose me just by-" I tried to assure, reaching out towards her across the picnic table.

She buckled down and away from my right forehoof, however, screaming out, "No! No lies! I'm too young. You said so yourself! So, there's no other choice!" What?! Her magic lit up again, pulling the top off the basket and pulling out a flower that was tucked into the weave under the cover. I'd never seen anything like it, the blossom on it sort of reminding me of a folded heart, with smaller little hearts off the sides. I took a shot in the dark and wondered if that was something used to make the potion. Scootaloo looked confused, but Apple Bloom's eyes opened up fully in surprise.

"No, Sweetie! Those don't ever give ya-" she started to warn, standing up and leaping towards her friend. Sweetie swallowed the entire blossom however, getting a good part of the stem down as well before her friend bowled her over and tore what was left from her mouth. I stood as well, knocking Spike over as I hopped the basket and landed next to the now coughing and gasping Sweetie.

"What is this, some sort of poison?" I asked, eyes lighting up to try scanning her.

Apple Bloom slowly shook her head, spitting out the stem as Spike and Scootaloo ran up. "No, it ain't. It's called Heart's Desire, an' they're nothin' but trouble. Supposed ta give ya what ya desire tha most, but it almost never turns out right," she explained, glaring down at her friend. I noticed she appeared to have a more involved opinion, but decided not to ask. That concept of not talking when a mare was furious was rapidly applied to the miniature ones, too.

Instead, my energies focused on turning Sweetie Belle over and trying to hit her back lightly, listening to her cough even more violently as a tiny, heart shaped petal drifted out of her mouth. "They ain't supposed ta be taken raw, Sweetie! Ah don't know what they're gonna do," Apple Bloom groaned, looking tense. Okay, this wasn't good.

"Scootaloo, we're going to start heading back in the direction of the camp. Take your new wings and go ahead of us as fast as you can safely manage, and get word to Nurse Redheart about what's happened," I asked, looking over at my orange friend. Her eyes widened, but she puffed up and saluted me before bursting off the ground, the ribbons of orange light expanding from her back as she shot off towards the camp.

"W-Whoa! Scoots can fly now?" Spike asked, staring in surprise at the little filly as she exited the clearing.

Sighing, I extended my tentacles to attempt to lift Sweetie onto my back. I was about to get some serious exercise! Ready or not, it was time to try running with weight on my back. "Not a good time, Spike. I'll tell ya later," I explained rapidly.

Sweetie Belle started to glow before I'd even touched her. Oh hell. Seriously? It was all those times I said things were looking up, wasn't it? I only had half a second to slam my eyes shut before the little filly went off like the light from a flash-bang right in front of me.