“No. Nothing on this one, either,” Twilight said, closing yet another book with a flick of her hoof. Her desk was filled to the brim with a vast array of books and scrolls, all of which contained a sliver of hope, a faint, dying ember that kept Twilight’s optimism alight.
“You’ve been reading nonstop since we came back, Twi, we’re going to run out of books eventually,” Spike said from behind the large pile of books he was carrying out of the way and back into the shelves.
“I know, Spike, but I know that there has to be something I missed,” Twilight said as she scanned the table of contents of Enigmatic Equine Epidemics for the third time, “there has to be something we’re not seeing, something we missed before.”
Twilight closed the book and threw it on a pile to her side, causing the rest of the books to topple over and fall to the floor. Unfazed by this, or perhaps oblivious to it, Twilight grabbed the next book with her magic and started flipping through its pages.
Spike gave a groan of frustration as he set aside the pile of books he was carrying and started picking up the ones which had fallen.
“Come on, Spike. That attitude won’t help us solve this problem,” Twilight said as she closed another book in frustration.
“It’s just that you’ve already gone through the entire medical section of the Library,” Spike said as he shuffled the books on the floor, “you even read all the advanced medicine books Doctor Horse lent you.”
Twilight didn’t look away from the book in front of her, but Spike could see that she was frowning.
“We can’t just give up,” Twilight said as her eyes darted back and forth, absorbing as much information as she could.
“I’m not talking about giving up, Twi, I’m just worried about you,” Spike said, laying his hand on Twilight’s back.
Twilight’s shoulders sagged when she felt Spike stroke her coat. “You can worry all you want once we solve this problem,” she said with decisiveness.
Spike gave a huff and removed his claw, turning around to pick up the rest of the books.
“Perhaps we’re tackling this from the wrong angle?” Twilight mused to herself, “Spike, bring me our copy of An In-depth Analysis of Cutie-Marks, please.”
Spike only groaned in acknowledgement.
Twilight chose not to reprimand the little dragon; instead, she opted to clear her desk. She crumpled the frantic—and quite useless—notes she had copied from the medical textbooks and threw them in the bin next to her desk.
“Perhaps it’s not about the vanishing, but about the cutie-marks themselves…” Twilight murmured, scratching her chin, “maybe something about how the cutie-mark relates to the inner workings of a pony’s body.”
Giving her desk one final sweep, Twilight cleaned her quill and levitated a brand new piece of parchment towards her. “Alright, all is set. Give me that book, Spike.”
There was no answer.
“Spike?” Twilight asked as she looked around the room for her assistant.
The pile of books he had been carrying were lying next to a bookshelf, the ones that Twilight had inadvertently tumbled over were now neatly piled up on top of each other a few strides away. Of her assistant, however, there was no trace.
“Spike, where did you go?” Twilight said, standing up from her cushion. She swept the room with her stare, and yet there was no sign of Spike anywhere. Twilight left the room and called out for Spike as she walked down the stairs, but still got no response.
“Young dragon, this is not the time for taking breaks,” Twilight said with an edge of exasperation that she hoped masked the nervousness creeping on her as she saw the first floor was as barren as her study room had been.
“Are you in the kitchen?” Twilight was starting to feel uncomfortable. She tried sniffing out a scent that would show that Spike was cooking, but there was none. The kitchen was empty, with no sign of the dragon anywhere.
“Spike, where are you?” Twilight yelled, as she tried to ignore the jittery tone with which she spoke.
She felt a shiver running down her spine. Spike had been right next to her in her room, and she hadn’t noticed him going out. What’s more, why wouldn’t he say anything if he was leaving? Turning around, Twilight headed outside, giving the main room of the library a sweeping glance as she left the house. Maybe it was due to the franticness of the past couple of days, but she couldn’t shake the discomfort from the back of her mind, telling her something was wrong.
“Where did that dragon go?” Twilight said in an effort to pull herself from another useless line of thought that would only lead her to a depressing rut.
Shaking her head from errant worries, she turned around to face the door, only to be startled by a knock. She couldn’t help but wonder if Spike had gone out while she was distracted with the book; it certainly wouldn’t be the first time she—The knocking came back, three quick hits against the wood in rapid succession. Whoever was knocking, it certainly wasn’t Spike.
Pulling herself together, she cautiously opened the door.
“Did you find an answer, Miss Sparkle?” The voice came as soon as Twilight had opened the door, making her back away instinctively.
“Ah! What…” Twilight mumbled, trying to find the source of the voice.
“Did you find an answer, Miss Sparkle?” Golden Harvest repeated, standing under the doorway.
“Golden? What are you doing here? Does Appleja—”
“You said you’d solve this, that you would find an answer.” Golden Harvest walked forward as if she hadn’t heard her. “Have you found it, Miss Sparkle?”
Twilight stood dumbstruck in front of the other mare, the wayward thoughts and concerns that had plagued her mind since the beginning of this madness suddenly mattered less under the inquisitive glare of the farmer.
“I… I’m trying, I mean…” Twilight said, trying to excuse herself. “I’ve done my best, but—”
“You promised me an answer you would find,” another voice, a deeper one, came from somewhere Twilight couldn’t see.
“Zecora?” Twilight said, craning her neck to see the shamaness standing outside.
“But it seems you only wanted to leave me behind,” the zebra said, a blank expression on her face.
“No! That’s not what happened, Zecora. You have to believe me!” Twilight said, pushing her way out and walked towards her friend, “I wrote to the Princess, and she’s going to help us. But the Guard had to come, and nopony could leave town, so I couldn’t… I mean… I wouldn’t abandon you, they just had to make sure everypony would be safe.”
“Safe?” a higher-pitched voice said, “what makes you think we’re safe? We’re all going to be stuck here until all of us lose our cutie marks.”
Twilight spun around, finding herself in front of an angry small filly with some sort of small crown on her head. “It’s what has to be done, w-we can’t let this spread to the rest of Equestria,” Twilight said.
“And what when all of us have lost our cutie marks?” a mare with a torn dress said, “Are we supposed to stay here forever just so the rest of Equestria doesn’t lose theirs?
She hadn’t noticed it at first, but there were quite a number of ponies gathered outside of the Library. They all wore expressions that conveyed different varieties of fear and anxiety, but above all else there was one sentiment clear in their eyes.
Fear.
Twilight tried to form a reply, but before she could say anything, another voice called out, “You stood idle while the whole town was being ravaged by this… plague!”
“But I didn’t know, I couldn’t have known, you have to believe me!” Twilight cried in a pleading tone, vaguely aware of the mass of ponies approaching her from every side.
“You let it get this bad.”
“Did you really think you could solve this on your own?”
“Did you find an answer?” the group chanted in unison.
“Did you find an answer, Twilight?”
“I… I…” Twilight looked around her at the once familiar faces now morphed into glaring scowls, “I didn’t—I mean, not yet. We are trying…”
She could feel them lashing at her, every word delivering a blow to her mind riddled by anxiety, each confirming the terrible things her mind had conjured about this situation and herself ever since she met Golden Harvest at Sweet Apple Acres.
“Did you find an answer, Twilight?”
“Did you find an answer, Twilight?”
“Did you find an answer—”
“Twilight!” A booming voice, different from the others, exploded inside of Twilight’s mind. Fearfully, she looked up, only to find that the ponies around her had disappeared, alongside the rest of the town. Everywhere she looked, there was only a dark expanse surrounding her, enveloping her as she floated in the nothingness she’d been plunged into.
“What…” Twilight said, not believing what her eyes were showing her.
As she found herself in that void, she noticed a flickering light amidst the darkness which slowly grew until it became so overwhelming she had to turn away. From within the flash of light a small shape emerged, accompanied by a soft clopping of hooves against grass.
At the sound of the grass, Twilight finally looked around her and took in her surroundings. Long gone were the buildings and ponies, now replaced with a starry night sky and lush, green meadows.
“At ease, Twilight Sparkle,” the voice from before said, now in a soothing tone.
“Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaimed when she saw the dark alicorn approaching her, and promptly fell to the ground in a deep bow. Not a moment had passed before she felt a hoof caress her cheek, lifting her head until their gazes met.
“Rise, my friend. I have dispelled the nightmare,” Princess Luna said.
“Nightmare… A nightmare!” Twilight exclaimed as realisation hit her. “Guess that explains why everything was so odd…”
“Yes, this is a dream,” Princess Luna said as she walked around her, “And a rather unpleasant one, at that.”
Slowly, Twilight’s mind began to clear up as her awareness of the dream overpowered her haziness. She looked around them, taking in the finer details of the environment.
They stood atop a small isle in the middle of a flowing river with the sole company of a large tree brimming with blooming pink flowers. Twilight felt a faint breeze rustle the blades of grass around her, as well as several small patches of white flowers all around her.
“Beautiful…” she trailed off, and was all she could say as she took in every last detail of the landscape. The far away cliffs and mountain ranges, the overgrown fauna, the moon shining bright on the sky.
“This is a space within the Dream Realm crafted to act as a safe haven from my duties guarding my subjects’ dreams,” Princess Luna said, staring at the distance. “Never since its inception would I have imagined it’d be seeing this much use.”
Twilight felt a knot forming in her throat. With a hard swallow, she faced the alicorn, “How are things over at Canterlot, Princess?”
There was no immediate reply. Princess Luna chose to leisurely walk around the hill, being careful not to step on the white flowers that grew haphazardly amidst the grass. Once she reached the base of the large tree, she lay down on the grass and motioned Twilight to come closer.
With gentle steps, the unicorn walked closer, until she reached the Princes, and laid next to her under the shade of the tree.
“As I’m sure you must imagine, the news of Ponyville have stirred quite the commotion,” Princess Luna started, but took a pause at Twilight’s pained wince, “Do not feel disheartened Twilight Sparkle. ‘Tis thanks to your timely letter that out sister and I were able to put forth an emergency meeting regarding the course of action to be taken.”
At her use of the word ‘timely’, Twilight had to fight back an eye roll. Being condescending wouldn’t help anypony, though. She took a deep breath, even though part of her was aware that doing so in the Dream Realm was pointless.
“Organising Ponyville’s quarantine in such a short period of time while also keeping it from reaching the public has been an uphill battle, but we believe progress is being made,” Luna said, and Twilight found herself only half-listening to the Princess in spite of her concern. They remained silent for a moment, and Twilight could feel the Princess’s eyes on her.
“Twilight…” Luna prodded her.
“I’m sorry, Princess. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“‘Tis understandable. These past couple of days must surely have been hard on you as well. Tell us, Twilight, how is the situation in Ponyville?”
With a heavy sigh, Twilight did a mental recount of the events of the past two days. The discovery of Golden Harvest, her talk with the doctors, Zecora, the rabble, Celestia’s letter, the Royal Guard, and did her best to relay them to Luna. The Princess offered nods of assurance and words of encouragement from time to time, yet once all was said and done they found themselves lapsing into silence once more.
Luna didn’t press her for more information, though there was a part of Twilight which wished she did. Even though she wasn’t looking directly at her, Twilight could feel the inquisitive edge Luna’s eyes. She wondered if it was a product of the dream magic.
As the minutes passed and the silence extended, she finally felt the Princess stand up.
“Do not be quick to dismiss my words, Twilight. You have done much to help your town in its time of need,” Luna said with a warmth that evoked faint foalhood memories of Princess Celestia talking to her when she tried to reassure her after she had done something wrong.
At that moment, looking up at the regal alicorn, Twilight almost wanted to break down and tell her how much these past days had wore her down, tell her about her insecurites, her worries, and how much of a failure she felt for letting everypony down before she could find a solution.
Almost.
“My sister sends her regards,”—Twilight’s ears perked up at her words—”She won’t admit it, but the stress of this situation is getting to her as well. Scrambling a response as immediately as we did on top of keeping it under wraps was no easy endeavor.”
The thought of Celestia stirred odd feelings inside of Twilight. She wanted to feel relieved, knowing that her mentor shared her distress. She wanted to feel even more discouraged at knowing her plight. She wanted to wake up. She wanted to meet with Celestia and be told that everything would be alright in the end.
She wanted everything to be over.
“I’m afraid I cannot stay for much longer, Twilight,” Luna said, her words never losing their kindness. “I must continue guarding the dreams of our little ponies, these nights more so than usual.”
The odd inflection of that last phrase wasn’t lost on Twilight. “More bad dreams than usual?”
Luna nodded, “Such is the case during troubling times.”
Twilight was ready to let the matter go, she didn’t feel it was appropriate for her to pry in the Princess’s affairs. However, she felt she should at least show her appreciation.
“Thank you,” she said. And as Princess Luna looked back at her with an uncertain gaze, she was quick to add, “for getting rid of my nightmare, I mean.”
Luna stood immobile, regarding the unicorn with an inquisitive look. “It is my duty, Twilight, and I’m more than happy to do so.”
“I still appreciate it,” Twilight said as she stood up.
Princess Luna seemed as though she wanted to say something, but before she could Twilight walked forward and locked necks with her. The alicorn’s wings rustled in surprise, but as she grew more comfortable in the embrace she let one of them extend and drape over her.
It seemed improper to ask the Princess for more comfort than what she had already graciously provided, not to mention all the other ponies who needed the protection of their Princess while in their dreams.
And yet, none of that felt too important at the moment.
“Don’t let your spirit falter, I promise you everything will be alright,” Luna whispered as she gently stroked her back.
She believed her. For a fleeting moment, under the Princess’s soft down, Twilight forgot about the plague, about the afflicted ponies, about the quarantine, about her own insecurities. For those short-lived seconds stretched indefinitely by the Dream Realm’s magic, Twilight felt at ease.
But just as with everything else, it had to end. With a flutter, Princess Luna withdrew her wing and stepped back, staring deeply into the unicorn’s eyes. “I must take my leave, Twilight. My sister shall get in contact with you soon, as well.”
Twilight nodded, and managed to muster a small smile as she uttered one final thank you.
“Don’t be afraid, Twilight Sparkle,” the alicorn whispered into the night as she started to beat her wings. Princess Luna smiled once again, a smile that urged her not to lose hope, to keep her head high and not let this problem drag her spirits down.
Twilight’s eyes followed Luna as she ascended to the sky, getting higher and higher, until the light coming from the moon got too bright, and she couldn’t see her anymore.
Apple Bloom drew a sharp breath as she was abruptly awoken from her dream. She didn’t shoot upright, nor was she gasping for breath, she wasn’t sure if she even had the energy to get worked up. She simply laid in her bed, looking at the wooden ceiling of her room as her mind caught up to the present.
One by one, the events of the past few days wandered back to the forefront of her mind. Images of markless flanks, teary eyes and echoing screams assaulted her subconscious, making sure any remnants of sleep were chased away.
With a toss and a turn, as if to spite the night, she wrapped the blankets tighter around herself, and did her best to try and catch a fleeting trail of sleep, but only succeeded in making the stuffy and hot air of the room feel even more suffocating.
The little filly let out a frustrated groan as she kicked away the covers. She wasn’t sure what she should do, sleep seemed to be out of the question, but she didn’t want to just lay there until morning came since that would only guarantee she’d end up falling asleep at school. At the thought of school, she couldn’t help but think back to what happened at the playground that day.
She refused to let her mind dwell on that for too long, though. Apple Bloom jumped off the bed with decisiveness and headed for her door, maybe a glass of milk could relax her enough to sleep again.
With as much stealth as she could, Apple Bloom walked through the dark corridors of the farmhouse with only the creaking of the wood boards and the odd whisper of the wind to keep her company, as well as that ever present feeling of dread that just wouldn’t leave her alone. She forcefully shook her head, batting away the thoughts of distressed ponies, if only for long enough to get to her glass of milk.
Once she reached the first floor, she was surprised to see a faint candlelight coming from the kitchen. With the frenzy the town had found itself plunged into that evening, she had managed to get away with ditching school, but she didn’t want to push the limits of her siblings’ patience by sneaking around the farmhouse in the middle of the night.
However, one peek through doorway let her know it was neither Applejack or Big Mac who shared her insomnia.
“Miss Harvest?” Apple Bloom said as she arched an eyebrow at the sight of her guest. The older mare was sitting by the table with an empty glass held between her hooves; while the distress she had felt earlier that evening seemed to have lessened some, her face still showed clear signs of sadness.
After a few seconds of silence, as though she had to convince herself somepony did call her out, Golden Harvest finally turned around and faced the filly under the doorway.
“Oh… Hello, Apple Bloom. I didn’t wake you, did I?” she asked, forcing her mouth into a smile.
The filly shook her head before she realised she was still standing outside of the kitchen, amidst the darkness of the corridor. With hesitant steps, she walked closer to the mare as she spoke, “No, I just couldn’t sleep.”
“Bad dreams?” Golden Harvest offered, her lips slowly becoming rigid again.
“Yeah… Came to drink some milk and see if’n that helps,” the filly replied, doing her best to fill in the silence.
“It’s been a hard couple of days, huh?” Golden said, cradling her empty glass. “Lotsa’ things to process…”
Apple Bloom bit her lip in thought. She wanted to say something, she felt she should say something, a word of reassurance, an optimistic statement; and yet there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her that there was little she could actually say to lighten the spirits of the older mare. So, with a sigh, she quietly walked towards the cabinet and took a glass for herself.
“I was thinking about going back to my farm, but your sister wouldn’t have it,” Golden Harvest said, her eyes still focused on the glass. “She wouldn’t budge none, said we have to stick together through this.”
Apple Bloom rummaged through the contents of the fridge, looking for a bottle of milk.
“I didn’t want to impose… You’ve all done so much for me already, I’m sure you’ve your own problems to look for besides silly ol’ me… ” she said in a low voice, as if she was speaking more to herself rather than with Apple Bloom.
“Are…” the little filly ventured, “are you okay Miss Harvest?” She felt dumb asking something with such an obvious answer—probably nopony in town felt ‘okay’ anymore—but she honestly didn’t know what else she could say.
“I feel better,” Golden Harvest said, letting that word linger in the silence of the kitchen for a few seconds, “Not good, mind you… but definitely better. Yeah, better.”
During all that time, Golden’s gaze never left the empty glass between her hooves, and even in the faint darkness of the kitchen, broken only by the dim candlelight, Apple Bloom could have sworn she saw trails of matted fur on the mare’s cheeks.
Her grip on the bottle of milked tightened ever so slightly, but didn’t dare to say anything else. For a fleeting moment she wondered if perhaps she should wake up one of her siblings.
“Mmm… That’s… That’s good?” she said with clear uncertainty in her voice as she made a show of pouring herself a glass of milk.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must be making you uncomfortable,” Golden said, finally tearing her gaze from her empty glass. Her eyes, Apple Bloom noticed, were bloodshot.
She realised the older mare probably was hoping for a reply, even if she hadn’t outright said so. “You’re… you’re not, Miss Harvest,” Apple Bloom said as she pretended to find the bottle of milk quite interesting all of a sudden.
“I should…” Golden trailed off, her hooves trembling, “I should probably go to sleep. We should all just go back to sleep, it’s already late.”
Apple Bloom feigned interest on her milk as she poured herself a glass. She wanted nothing more than to return to her bedroom and try to fall asleep, but part of her told herself that it wouldn’t do good to just leave Miss Harvest alone. Before she could even begin to think about saying something, the sound of something being dragged across the table caught her attention.
Miss Harvest pulled a heavy bottle towards her, and with some effort, managed to lift it and tilt it towards her empty glass. The smell hit Apple Bloom almost immediately and she recoiled a bit, though the older mare didn’t seem to notice.
“Wha… What is that?” she asked.
“Big Mac gave me some of his hard cider,” Golden Harvest said as the amber liquid trickled down from the bottle, “said I looked like I could use a drink.”
The burning smell of alcohol wormed its way through her nose and into her mind, where it brought memories of days when Applejack, Big Mac, or even Granny Smith would have a drink for themselves, all while telling them she was too young to have a taste.
Not that she’d ever wanted to.
“I felt relieved,” Golden Harvest said all of a sudden with a firm tone which Apple Bloom hadn’t seen in her since way before this horrid series of events started.
“What?”
“And… a bit guilty at the same time,” Golden continued as if she hadn’t heard the filly’s remark. “Celestia knows I was down in the dumps that first day, but”—she choked a bit, as if the words were trying to fight their way down her throat—”when I heard this was happening to more ponies… That I wasn’t the only one… For a moment I felt relieved. I felt better knowing that it wasn’t just me.”
Apple Bloom stared speechless at the older mare. It was as if those words had taken all the life away from the room. Now more than ever she felt she should say something, yet once again she was at a loss for words.
To say she was out of her depth would be underselling the situation. Golden Harvest would probably be better off talking with this with her sister, or maybe Miss Twilight or Zecora. What good was she? What could she do to make her feel better?
“I know I must sound horrible,” the carrot farmer continued, “and believe me I felt that way… Guess I still do.”
“I… I…” Apple Bloom stammered in an attempt to force words out. She just wanted to say something, anything. Any possible thing she could say would be better than to sit there in silence, wallowing in their shared misery.
“I’m sorry, Miss Harvest,” she finally said. “I know this… I know this ain’t easy…” she trailed off as her mind failed to come up with words of reassurance.
“No… It ain’t,” Golden Harvest said with an expression of resignation, and after a bleary sigh downed the entire contents of the glass in a single gulp.
Apple Bloom shifted on her seat in discomfort, torn between the desire of going back to her room and wanting to make Golden Harvest feel better. In the end, seeing how she was short on options, she simply took a sip of her glass of milk.
“We should…” Golden said in a considerably slurrier voice, “we should go to sleep, it’s already late.”
A nod was all Apple Bloom could trust herself to do. After drinking the rest of her milk, she mumbled a goodnight to the older mare who, she noticed, was taking the bottle of cider with her.
That feeling of apprehension came back, stronger this time. She knew she just couldn’t leave without saying anything, even if it was an empty wish, even if it was meaningless, even if Miss Harvest lashed out at her for meddling with issues she was far too young to understand, something inside her simply wouldn’t let her leave like this.
“Miss Harvest,” the filly said in a slightly louder voice.
The carrot farmer stopped and perked her ears as if trying to ascertain if she really heard Apple Bloom call her name. With a wobbly turn, she looked at her with tired eyes.
“Everything is gonna be alright,” she said with a wavering tone, not sure if she was only trying to reassure the other mare but also herself, “everypony’s working really hard to fix this whole mess, and even the Princesses are gonna help, and we... We gotta trust'em. We have to believe that everything’s gonna be fine.”
Golden Harvest looked at her with an inscrutable gaze, be it product of the darkness or the cider. The silence stretched on for an uncomfortable amount of time, and Apple Bloom started to wonder if what she said hadn’t made things worse when she heard a sad, hollow chuckle pierce the stillness of the room.
Golden Harvest stood in silence as she gave a small shake of her head. “I want to believe that, Apple Bloom. I really do.”
And something in her voice told Apple Bloom that, just like her, she wanted to believe that soon all would go back to normal and these past couple of days would become nothing more than a bad memory. However, neither of them was at the point where they actually did.
“Everything’s gonna be alright, Miss Harvest,” she repeated the mantra as if in doing so, it would become it a reality. “We hav’ta trust them, we… We have to.”
Once again, Golden Harvest didn’t reply. She stood under the doorway of the kitchen, looking at the floor as if the answers to their situation could be hidden somewhere on the veins of the wood.
“Good night, Apple Bloom,” Golden Harvest whispered, and turned around.
Soon enough, the clopping of her hooves against the wood faded away, and Apple Bloom once more found herself amidst oppressive silence. She sat there, her gaze lingering in the empty space left by Golden Harvest. She wanted to go back to her room, but something anchored her to her seat.
The flame of the candle flickered with a faint breeze.
It was late, and it was getting even later. Soon the morning would come and she’d have to get ready for school. If there would even be school to go after what happened.
Apple Bloom looked down at her empty glass, a few drops of milk pooling in the bottom. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to shout until her throat hurt, but above all, she just wanted things to go back to normal.
She sat in silence. There was no point in staying here. She had to go back to bed and try to get some sleep. She turned around and blew the candle’s flame away.
Darkness enveloped her as she made her way back to her room.