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Act 2: The Sorrow of the Siblings
As the sun shone into the room the next morning, Crackle Pop squinted. The bright light drilled right into his eyes through the curtain-less windows. Annoyed, he groaned and turned to the left, showing the merciless sun rays his back.
As the colorful flecks of light had vanished from his vision, he slowly opened his eyes again. Chirpy appeared to be still asleep. She was lying on her back now and her mouth was open. Fast-paced breaths left it, her chest rising and falling in accordance with them.
Crackle Pop smiled. Not intended to wake up his sister just yet, he sat up, still avoiding the light as good as possible, and began to stretch himself. His muscles ached slightly, a result of him swimming for pretty much the whole day yesterday, which was only in his favor. He groaned satisfiedly. As he felt that the last remnants of lethargy were gone; at least from his upper body, the hindlegs would have to wait a little longer for this treatment, he turned to the left again.
“Time to make you some breakfast, Chirps,” he whispered while removing his part of the blanket from his body. Carefully, he slipped out from underneath it. He got up and, standing on all fours now, put the blanket down on the sheets. Crackle Pop stretched it out over his pillow, then smoothed its surface thoroughly. As he was finished with making his side of the bed, all as quiet as possible to give his little sister more rest before her big day started, he turned around and carefully attempted to climb over Chirpy and leave the bed. When his left hoof got sat down by him at Chirpy's side, he noticed something and stopped in his movement. He blinked surprised, then he moved his hoof over the blanket, alongside Chirpy's legs. “Hmm?” he thought. “Did she–?” Unbelievingly, he shook his head. “No, that can't be. She didn't wet our bed for years. It must be something else.”
Crackle did a few steps back and removed the blanket from his sister's legs. The coat on them glistened and the hairs were soaking-wet. A stench wafted into his nose from them.
He bent down on the wet spot on the sheets and sniffed at it. It didn't smell like what he suspected it to be. Making sure, he reached out with his hoof until the hairs on it were wet as well and sniffed on it again. He nodded affirmatively. Definitely no urine. What he was smelling there was sweat, nothing more. “Strange.....” he thought. “It wasn't so hot last night. It wasn't even warm!”
It was just now that he noticed that his left side was covered in thick sweat too. His right side was completely dry, though, and their bed was small. Their bodies touched it each other often while they were sleeping, especially if Chirpy was lying on her back as well, like she did now. There was no doubt about it. This sweat came from his little sister.
Triggered by an alarming thought, he turned around and quickly removed the blanket from his sister completely. His eyes widened. From her chest down to her hooves, Chirpy's body was drenched with sweat!
Crackle set a hoof down on her chest and stroke over it gently. Although he didn't put much pressure on it, while moving over the hairs, he could see the liquid flowing out from between them as his hoof displaced it. Just after a few seconds, he felt that his hoof was completely soaked, which a look at it confirmed. Her body was unusually warm as well. Concerned, he put his hoof on Chirpy's forehead. He gasped from shock as it felt hot.
Chirpy's mouth was still open and her breath going as fast as moments before and it was only now that Crackle Pop realized what it meant. Not caring about being quiet anymore now, he jumped over his little sister and galloped out of the room. “Mom!”
Worried, Crackle Pop's eyes rested on his little sister. As he was bursting into his parent's bed room, telling them that Chirpy was sick, they got up immediately and hurried at Chirpy's side. Both parents had dismayed expressions on their faces as they looked down on their daughter.
“She has fever,” his mom said. “Chirpy shouldn't have gone swimming anymore yesterday evening. It was too cold for it.”
Crackle twitched and looked at his mom with a shocked expression. “But we can do something about it, can we? We can get her fit enough again to participate in the race today, right?!” His voice was panicking.
Sadly, his mom shook her head. “No. Her fever is very high, Crackle. It will at least be a few days until your sister can leave the bed again.”
Crackle turned back to Chirpy. For some moments he just looked at her, a sad and distraught expression in his eyes. “It's because of me,” he said as he finally broke the silence. His parents looked at him.
“Chirpy did not want to go into the water, but I encouraged her to come. She did and it was too cold for her, but I told her she should just swim some rounds to get used to it and she did. So she stayed in the water with me until you called us, mom. That's why Chirpy is sick now.” He sighed.
Instead of getting angry at him now, his parents gave him compassionate looks. His dad put a hoof on his shoulder. “Don't agonize yourself with it, Crackle. You know it was not your fault.”
Crackle nodded, but his eyes kept resting on his sister and the sad expression didn't leave them.
His dad turned his attention to his wife. “Nimble, I go to the drugstore and see if we can get a discount on some medicine to lower the fever.”
Nimble nodded sternly. “Okay. I will go downstairs and make some tea for her.” She looked at her son. “Crackle?”
“I stay here, mom. I'm going to tell her the bad news once she wakes up.”
Deep concern was washing over his mom's face, but she nodded.
Crackle watched his parents leave the room and as they were gone, redirected his eyes on his sister. “I'm sorry, sis,” he said. “I didn't mean to make you sick but now you are and you can't fulfill your dream. All because of this stupid cutie mark.....” Upset, he turned around and gave the mark on his flank a hateful glare. “If only I could get rid of it!” He lashed out at his flank with one hoof, but before he could finish the movement, Chirpy began to stir.
Her hooves were grasping the top of the blanket and she moaned uncomfortably. Then she turned her head around to him and slowly opened her eyes. They were red and looked swollen. Despite the aching in her head, she gave her brother a smile.
“Crackle,” she said weakly. “How late is it? Have I slept too long?”
Quietly, he shook his head.
“My head hurts,” she continued. “And today of all days!” Her face frowned. “But I'm sure it will be gone until the race starts.” Shakingly, she removed the blanket from her and sat up.
Crackle gasped and did a step towards her. “No, Chirpy, you must lie down!”
But his sister was already climbing out of the bed. Clumsily, she tried to get on all four hooves, but when everything circled around her, she collapsed. In a posture that was a mixture between crouching and crawling, she inched forward and managed to put her forehooves down on the ground. As she moved forward to get the rest of her body out of the bed, she broke down again. With her head now resting on her collapsed forehooves, she gasped for breath. “Crackle? What is.....” But she trailed off and couldn't finish the sentence as her voice broke.
With as much care as he could, Crackle grabbed his sister, lifted her up and placed her in the bed. Gently, he pulled the blanket over her as her head was resting on the pillow again.
“Crackle?” Chirpy asked again. Worry and confusion alike were adorning her face now.
“You can't get up now, Chirpy,” he answered. “You.....” He looked aside and clenched his teeth. “You are sick, Chirpy. You..... You can't be in the race today.”
Crackle didn't dare to look at her, but if he would, he would have seen how Chirpy's face broke and how confusion was replaced with desperation.
“What?!” she said as upset as she could with her weak voice. “But, Crackle, I need–“ Suddenly, coughing let her body erupt and she sat up. Hooves pressed in the blanket at her sides, she coughed loudly, her face grimaced in pain.
Crackle Pop reached out and held his little sister to support her in her coughing fit. It was so loud that he figured his mom could hear it downstairs. As it was over, he lied her down again gently and put the blanket back over her once more.
“My chest hurts,” Chirpy whimpered and looked with an agonized expression at her brother, tears glistening in the corners of her purple eyes now.
Comfortingly, he stroke over her mane. “I'm sorry that you have to stay at home,” he said.
“It's all because I went swimming,” she explained, in a weaker voice than before. “I shouldn't have. I'm so stupid.” Now her voice sounded like she was on the verge of crying.
“You aren't stupid!” Crackle Pop burst out. “You just did because I told you to. If I wouldn't have tried to convince you, you could participate now.” He bit his lip.
Seeing her brother so distraught now, compassion started to appear on Chirpy's face. “It's okay,” she said. “I–“ she coughed again a few times, quieter now. “I'm not angry. You can't do anything against it when it happens.” Slowly, she lifted up a hoof, trying to reach his mane to return the comforting gesture he gave her earlier. As she failed with it, she gently rubbed over his cheek instead.
Crackle smiled at his sister. “I know. But.....” His face became distorted in anger now. “But now you can't be a part of the Applewood Derby, even though you dreamt so long of participating, and that's all because I have the stupidest special talent a pony ever had!” This time, he gave his flank a pat for real. Then he let his head hang. “Being good at bursting the bubbles of other ponies' dreams..... This should only happen if somepony plans to do something evil. But I even end up destroying good dreams that ponies have..... Every time it happens, I do or say something that leads to this..... Why do I never notice it or see it coming?! It's like this stupid mark is mind-controlling me and making me oblivious to everything! And now I destroyed your big dream!”
A scream left this throat and he turned around and gave his cutie mark a punch again. And then another. Soon, he was inflicting a series of furious punches on the mark on his flank.
Chirpy flinched as she saw this display of self-harm. “Please don't do this,” she reached out to him.
Crackle didn't hear her. Faster and faster and with more and more intensity, he began to punch down on his flank, not noticing the increasing pain that it caused him. And with every punch, his face distorted a bit more, becoming adorned with more hatred every time.
“IT'S SO STUPID!” he screamed again. “Why do I have such a talent? How do I deserve it? How do YOU deserve it? I don't want to have it anymore! Maybe I should just cut off this damn mark from my flank, maybe this will let this wicked talent disappear, I should go down in the kitchen right now and–”
“CRACKLE, PLEASE STOP!” Chirpy reached out to him again, pleading and yelling now.
A cold wave washed through Crackle's body and he stopped in his movement. He turned around again and looked in his sister's face. It was marked with fear now; her mouth gaped open, her eyes were wide and a few tears had run over her cheeks. Immediately, Crackle Pop felt the piercing pain of guilt in his heart. “I'm sorry,” he said regretfully. “I didn't meant to scare you, sis.”
“I-It's okay,” she stammered. “B-But I don't want that you hurt yourself, Crackle. It isn't your fault and it makes me afraid if you do this.” She sniffed.
Now fully realizing how much he had scared his little sister, Crackle reached out to her and wrapped her into a hug. He felt that her body was shivering. His head resting on her shoulder, he apologized again. “I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again.” In response to the promise, Chirpy tilted her head and nuzzled his mane.
After he had released the hug and smoothed the blanket, that had become mussed up while he was hugging her, again, Chirpy gave him another smile. It was just for a moment, though. Right in the next moment, Chirpy's eyes welled up and her emotions began to overwhelm her as the realization of what she would miss today hit her completely.
Her lower lip began to quiver. “B-But I really wanted to participate this year,” she said sobbing. “So much. It would be my first year and now I'm going to miss it. Why? It meant so much to me.....” She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her face until it was covering her eyes and, now giving in to her emotions completely, she whimpered and cried into it, all the while she was pressing the blanket against her wet eyes.
Crackle Pop's head shot up. Seeing Chirpy like this broke his heart and he already felt the warm feeling of an upcoming crying fit in his eyes as well, ready to join his sister in her own, as a sudden thought hit him.
“I can't get you to participate in the race,” he said. “This stupid fate isn't allowing it. But–“ He carefully took his sister's hooves and made them let go of the blanket, then he pulled it down. With eyes even more puffy and red than before, Chirpy looked at him, still sobbing heavily, with the tears constantly streaming over her cheeks.
Crackle Pop continued. “But I can get you that ribbon! I can get you the ribbon for fastest cart!”
Chirpy's face lit up a tiny bit and a small glimmer flashed up in her eyes for a moment. “Y-You can?” she asked between two of her sobs.
“Mhm!” Crackle Pop responded confidently. “I need to leave right now, but if I hurry I can still catch the train to Ponyville and meet up with Derpy there!”
Chirpy's eyes widened in surprise. Crackle Pop held a hoof at her eyes and softly, he rubbed the tears out of them. “Don't worry, Chirps, I will get you that ribbon! I swear I will win it for you!”
He gave Chirpy a last hug and before she could reply anything, he darted out of the room, galloped down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Crackle Pop?” his mom asked him upset as he galloped past her and almost knocked her down together with the cup of tea she was carrying.
Crackle Pop didn't answer. He snatched up Chirpy's saddlebag, that her parents had prepared for her last night, aimed for the door of the house, threw it open and immediately took flight once he was outside. “I'm going to win the ribbon for her, mom!” he said before he took off. In his hurry, he even forgot to say goodbye.
Flapping his wings as fast as he could, he flew towards the train station, only paying as much attention to his surroundings as it was necessary to not crash into something.
As the train station was right in front of him, he could already spot the train. Taking a dive, he landed right in front of one of the doors. His hooves barely on the ground, he already jumped into the door and literally the second after, it closed behind him.
Relieved, he took seat at one of the empty places at the windows and took off Chirpy's saddlebags. Holding them in a tight grip, he stared at the small bird emblem that was adorning it. His eyes showed a serious, grim expression and his thoughts circled around the task in front of him. Soon, he didn't notice his surroundings anymore, all his eyes saw were the saddlebags in his hooves.
“Your ticket!” a voice suddenly rang out to him and Crackle Pop looked up and into the, visibly annoyed and impatient, face of the conductor.
Back in reality, he opened the saddlebags of his little sister and took out the bits his parents had saved up for this day, just enough to buy a return ticket for the trainride to Ponyville and back.
As the conductor was gone again, he carefully placed the saddlebags beside him on the seat. “Don't worry, Chirpy,” he silently spoke to it. “I'm going to win the ribbon for you. This is something fate can't stop me from.”