Chapter 19
Ghost POV
"Here, like this Diamond." I sighed, watching her trip up yet another time. I began to twirl a loop-de-hoop around my waist, not going as fast as Applebloom was, but fast enough to not let it drop. I was trying to help Diamond Tiara and Sliver Spoon not fall flat every time, but it seemed that they weren't too used to physical activities like this.
"I just can't get it right!" Silver complained, once again attempting to keep the hoop spinning around her waist. Diamond Tiara stayed silent most of the time, only giving small grunts of frustration every now and then. "What about you Diamond?"
"I'm... not doing so good either..." She sighed. "Some help Ghost?"
I grinned and began to show her how to move her hips to keep the hoop twirling, and was able to get her to keep it spinning for about 30 seconds before she slipped up and the hoop came to a stop. "See? Just takes some practice." I consoled, before a yelp broke my concentration.
"Hey! What is she doing with two cutie marks!?" Rumble yelped, causing all eyes to go directly to the filly in question. Applebloom stopped and looked to her flank, and there was indeed two cutie marks, one for her loop-de-hooping, and another one which looked like it was for plate spinning. "That's not fair!"
I stared confused at Applebloom, knowing that the first cutie mark was magically artificial, but never expecting a second to show up. Diamond Tiara scowled a bit, obviously a bit jealous as well. "Miss Cheerilee, have you ever heard of a pony with two cutie marks?" She asked, sneering a bit at Applebloom as well.
"I must say that I never have, but maybe Apple Bloom has two special talents!" She said optimistically, but Diamond wasn't very convinced. At this point I was just wondering what Applebloom used or took to get multiple artificial cutie marks.
"Oh yeah? Let's see her do that!" Silver Spoon called out, pointing towards her plate spinning cutie mark. I stepped forward and scowled.
"She doesn't have to prove anything!" I defended, knowing that if the cutie marks were fake, she would just embarrass herself in front of everypony.
"Spin the plates!" Snips yelled, somehow managing to get a pair of plates and two wooden sticks for them. I was about to catch them with my magic, but Applebloom shoved me out of the way. I closed my eyes to avoid seeing her getting hit with the plates, but instead I heard a collective gasp come from the crowd of foals.
Applebloom was indeed spinning the plates on her nose, and managing to keep her loop-de-hoop spinning around her tail.
"Two cutie marks?!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Two talents?!" Scootaloo added.
Now confident in her new skills, Applebloom grinned and began to walk around triumphantly, as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle continued to gush over Applebloom's new found talents. I could only stare in awe, trying to find out why this was happening. I knew when something was too good to be true, and whenever it was, there was always a terrible catch.
Unfortunately, I couldn't just leave school to go and investigate. Applebloom seemed to be leading everypony towards town, akin to the Pied Piper led the foals off of a cliff, so I followed to watch her showcase her new skills. Throughout the entirety of Ponyville Square, Applebloom showed off her amazing talents, leaping into the air and tossing her hoop and plates around and about.
I saw Twilight Sparkle also come to the Square to watch Applebloom's talents, but I was sure that she was there to spectate for the exact same reason I was. "This sort of thing isn't natural is it?" I asked her, continuing to keep my eyes on Applebloom.
"Not even magically! I've tried to recreate the same magic that cutie marks contain, but it doesn't seem possible! They aren't harmonious magic or chaotic magic! They can't just be altered or added!"
I could see that this dilemma was boggling her mind just as badly as it was mine, if not worse. I began wonder if looking towards other forms of magic could be the solution, but for there to be a solution, there had to be a problem. in the first place. These cutie marks seemed to make Applebloom really happy, if not a bit of a showoff, so would it really be that bad to just let her enjoy if for a bit?
"Maybe we should just keep an eye on her for a bit... Let her enjoy this for awhile. We don't need to intervene unless things get really bad." I suggested, watching as Applebloom somehow managed to slice an apple pie into 8 slices and plated them perfectly.
"I'm not to sure Ghost. What would you do if 64 just suddenly managed to perform stunts he wasn't able to do before?" Twilight asked me, as I thought about it.
"I would think... he got a little help from somepony..." I thought, remembering what Applebloom told me when she recounted her actions yesterday. "Or some zebra..." I whispered to myself. I had the inkling that Zecora had helped Applebloom get her cutie mark in someway, but now I was sure of it.
"And would it worry you?"
"I... I'm not sure. But this seems pretty harmless. It's just plate spinning and loop-de-hooping."
Twilight went silent and hummed to herself, also mulling over the thought in her mind. I continued to watch Applebloom twirl and dance around, before a hoop came shooting towards me, causing me to duck to avoid it. It ricocheted off of the building behind me, and bounced back towards Applebloom, who picked it up and continued to toss it up and around.
"I'll keep an eye on her Twilight. I promise I'll contact you if things get a bit hairy." I consoled, watching as the Apple family cheered on the red headed filly.
"Alright then... I'm trusting you with this Ghost. Remember, your job is to protect Applebloom and keep her safe. You have to make sure to do that job."
I nodded and looked at Applebloom again. Slowly but surely her ordeal in Smokey Mountain was having less of an impact on her, but even one little incident could send her back spiraling into her fear riddled mind.
Of course loop-de-hooping couldn't be that dangerous... right?