2
“Can’t you just tell me what’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom cried at her sister.
Ever since coming back home from school, Apple Bloom had been trying to find out exactly what happened that morning, with little success. Miss Twilight had already left by the time she got back home, so she didn’t have the chance to ask her about it.
“Sorry, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said while rummaging through her closet, “This ain’t something young fillies should be worryin’ about.”
Dissatisfied with her fruitless search, she shut the closet door perhaps a bit too forcefully. With a heavy sigh, she pulled open one of the drawers and went back to digging through its contents, all while paying no attention to her sister's complaints.
“But I should be worryin’!” exclaimed Apple Bloom. She trotted towards her sister and grabbed her foreleg, forcing her to look her way. “None of you are bein’ yourselves.”
Applejack let go of the blanket she was holding, pulled back from her self-absorption, and looked down to face her sister.
“You’ve been cooped up in the livin’ room all morning, and you only came out to tell me to ask Miss Twilight to come here, and Big Mac is outside, in the rain...” A frown formed on her face as she spoke. “And he doesn’t have to be outside, 'cause he worked hard all last week 'cause the storm wouldn’t let him buck the trees, and you said that big rock wasn't no trouble f'him...”
Apple Bloom’s lip quivered as she caught her breath. “And Granny Smith is just so… quiet.” She looked down and gave a small pause before speaking again. “Kind of like when—” she sniffled as she tried to continue, “—like when our…”
The rain hit the windows with the same strength as it did in the morning. Its incessant pattering only served to accentuate the silence the two sisters fell into. Applejack took a step forward and lifted the filly in her arms, bringing her close to her and locking their necks together in a reassuring nuzzle.
“Listen to me, ‘Bloom,” Applejack said in a firm, but gentle voice. “You’re the smartest and kindest filly I’ve ever met and you’re darn right for worryin’ ‘bout your family.” Her grip tightened before she continued. “So believe me when I tell you that I ain’t keeping you in the dark because I don’t think you won’t understand, or because you don’t deserve to know.”
The sisters took a step back and looked at each other. Apple Bloom’s cheeks showed trails of falling tears. Applejack could see her face reflecting on the moist surface of her little sister’s eyes.
“I just don’t want anythin' to happen to you,” said Applejack, her own voice faltering, “and… I can’t rightfully say I understand all that’s happenin'...” Her own lips quivered for a second before she steeled herself and a resolute expression appeared on her face. “But once all of this is over, you have my promise that I’ll explain everything that has happened.”
She then made a crossing motion over her heart with her right hoof. “And that’s the honest truth.”
“I’m scared, AJ,” said the filly after a moment of silence.
Applejack nuzzled her sister, trying to calm her down and doing her best not to show that she was scared as well.
“Twilight?”
Life is unpredictable. No matter how stable things may seem at one point, everything can come tumbling down in a flash. This was supposed to be a simple day off. She was going to spend it with Spike in the library, just relaxing with some books.
But things just had to go south. Maybe it was because she had been looking forward to this day for so long, so fate just had to go and stir up some trouble. Something always happened when Twilight was feeling happy and without worries.
“Is… is everything alright?”
Twilight looked at the piece of paper she was holding. She had scrawled on it and ripped it off in a hurry from whatever she could find, and now she couldn’t identify a word she had scribbled because the rain had caused the ink to smudge, though not beyond the point where it was unrecognizable. What was it that she had meant to write? “Oilmeints”? “Ointments”?
“You’re dripping on the floor…”
“Ailments”, that was it. The title of the book she had written on the page was “Uncommon Illnesses and Ailments.” That was one of the books she was supposed to bring back with her to the farm.
“Twilight, you’re scaring me.”
The farm…
When Golden Harvest had woken up that morning and realised what happened, she must've gone to the nearest house to ask for help, Sweet Apple Acres. That was good thinking, asking for help instead of panicking. Though she may have panicked as well. Twilight couldn’t know for sure, after all. She didn't know how one should react to—
“Twilight!” yelled Spike.
“Gah!” Twilight yelled in surprise as she was pulled from her trance by her assistant’s scream. “What? Spike! Don’t do that!” she said sternly, causing the little dragon to flinch.
“I’m sorry, but you were lost in your thoughts, again. I’ve been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes,” he said as he threw her a towel. “I thought you said your spell would keep you dry, but you’re drenched to the bone!”
He then took a small towel of his own and began drying the unicorn's back. “You bolted through the door and came straight to the bookshelves,” Spike said as he rubbed the towel on Twilight’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Spike. I guess I must have... tuned out since I left Applejack’s house.”
She was lying, of course. Her brain had stopped registering her actions the moment she saw what had happened to Golden Harvest. Everything since then was a blur in her mind. She knew that at some point she wrote out a list of books that may shed some light in the matter. And she knew she had tried to reassure the poor mare, but she couldn’t recall her actions, nor the exact words she used, for that matter.
“You’re doing it again, Twi,” said Spike as he removed the towel and threw it over his shoulder. “What happened at Applejack’s house?”
Twilight could feel the concern in the dragon’s voice. She didn’t know how she would approach the topic. She didn't know if she should even tell Spike, or anypony else for that matter. The last thing she wanted was to spread panic in Ponyville.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a purple claw holding her hoof.
“I meant what I said, Twilight,” Spike said. His spines were limp, and they were hanging on their sides. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you like this and it’s scaring me.”
Twilight blinked a few times to clear her mind, and as she did that she took a good look at the dragon in front of her. She saw the little hatchling that came out of its egg so many years ago, she saw the companion that had been with her during her time in Canterlot, back when she didn’t have any friends outside of her family, she saw the assistant that had supported her in everything she had ever done.
And she saw a friend, worried about her.
Twilight sighed and sat on her haunches, deciding the best course of action would be to get it off her chest as soon as possible.
“Did you buy that coffee?”
“Y’know?” came the hasty voice of Scootaloo as she entered the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. “I’m amazed by how pegasi can make weather do whatever they want, and all that... but why did they have to make it rain for a full day?” She closed her umbrella and threw it on the floor, shaking her wings off of any errant traces of water left on her.
“I ain’t sure about why, but I remember my sister mentionin' somethin' about an excess of clouds, and the soil and grass needing to be… uh, wet or somethin',” Apple Bloom said as she entered the clubhouse behind her friend and closed the door with a kick. “It’s a pity Sweetie Belle couldn’t come.”
“Rarity wouldn’t let her go out because of the storm. I mean, I was only let out because I needed to pick up my model,” Scootaloo said with a discontent tone as she looked around the room.
Apple Bloom opened the closet, revealing a small yet very detailed model of the Water Cycle. It consisted of a big plastic lake with a wide clear pipe on top of it through which the water came up, and on top there was a cardboard model of Cloudsdale’s Weather Factory. It was a pretty impressive work, if Scootaloo might say so herself. Which she had. Several times.
“It’s lookin' pretty good, Scoots,” Apple Bloom said, in a considerably more cheerful tone than how she actually felt.
“Thanks! I’ve been working really hard on it,” Scootaloo replied as she carefully took it out of the closet. “I just have to fix the leaking and it will be good to go.”
Scootaloo cradled the model between her arms almost as a mother carrying a child, she then lowered it until it sat on the floor. The little pegasus walked around it, inspecting it to make sure no harm had befallen it. In contrast with her meticulousness, Apple Bloom felt content with simply staring at the falling rain through the clubhouse window.
Once Scootaloo was satisfied and knew nothing was out of place, she pressed the button that started the mechanism. “Let’s see if it’s still working right.”
A faint hum was heard as the inner cogs of the model began whizzing, and the fan inside of the lake started to spin. Scootaloo gave a wide smile, she was proud of her work.
“Hey, Scoots, did you remember to take out the leftover water from last time?”
The little pegasus didn’t have time to answer before a squirt of water hit her straight in the face.
“Gah!” She fumbled backwards and fell on her haunches. “Stupid pipe...”
Apple Bloom gave a soft giggle before helping her friend back on her hooves.
“So much for staying dry...” she said flatly as she wiped the water from her coat. “Hopefully I can fix it before Thursday. That and I still have to paint the little pegasi flying around the pipe.” Once she was more or less satisfied with how dry she was, she stuffed the model into her saddlebags, making her lean slightly to one side.
Scootaloo walked towards the door, but Apple Bloom stayed in place. She had a question all morning, a question that didn’t want to leave her alone. It was probably nothing, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something… odd about today.
“Hey, Scoots,” Apple Bloom said tentatively, “have you noticed anythin' weird 'round town lately?”
“Uh… no?” The pegasus said, stopping just before reaching the door. “Nothing that comes to mind, at least. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that…” She clicked her tongue before continuing. “There were lotsa' ponies missin' at the market this morning, and then a bunch of fillies and colts skipped school today.”
Scootaloo looked at her with an arched eyebrow. After a second of silence, she replied, “Well, duh. It’s because of the storm, ‘Bloom. Who would want to get out with weather like this?”
“Uh… I guess you’re right,” Apple Bloom said as she followed her friend outside.
“Just wait, the storm will be over by tomorrow and everything will be back to normal,” Scootaloo said as she opened the door and fumbled with her umbrella before leaving.
“I hope you’re right...” the little earth pony whispered as they left the clubhouse.
As the day got darker, the heavy rain that had taken hold over Ponyville started to wane, ever so slowly. The road that led to the farmhouse was muddier than it had been in the morning, with some puddles scattered throughout its course. Taking that into consideration, Twilight appeared with a flash at the backdoor of Sweet Apple Acres's farmhouse.
She tightened her grip on her umbrella and closed her eyes to reduce the prick of pain she felt course through her head. The long distance teleportation usually made her feel a bit dizzy, but it faded away rather quickly. Stabilising herself, Twilight knocked on the door and waited.
She had been about to walk all the way to the farm until Spike had suggested to teleport there instead. Not only that, but she had forgotten about the storm, so he made her put on her boots and take an umbrella with her.
Spike... Celestia bless that little dragon. Even after the shock that came with the news about Golden Harvest’s problem, he still managed to keep his composure long enough to help Twilight gather the books she needed and pack them up in her saddlebags. Her train of thought was quickly derailed, however, when the door opened.
“Hi, Twilight,” Applejack greeted her, and moved aside so the unicorn could come in.
“I brought the books,” Twilight said as she gave her umbrella a shake before closing it. “How is Golden?”
“Asleep. Hasn't really moved since you left. Hasn't said much, either,” the farmer said, closing the door behind her, though not before making sure there were no curious ponies around. "She's been staring out the window most of the morning. Must've dozed off when I wasn't with her."
Twilight nodded and walked to the kitchen table. Once there, she opened her saddlebags and took out the books one by one.
“You think the answer will be in these books, Twi?” asked Applejack.
“Maybe,” she said as she moved the books around the table, “there are a couple of things that I have to check first. First of all, I want to determine the possible cause of Golden's condition, so I’ll run a few tests on her.” After saying that, she withdrew a rolled parchment from her saddlebag and opened it up with her magic.
Applejack looked at her friend with wariness. “You’re not gonna hook her up with a bunch of those fancy sciencey gizmos of yours, are you?”
“Oh, no. Nothing of the sort,” said Twilight absentmindedly as she looked over the items on her checklist, “just a few magical scans to try to determine the cause of, well—” She rolled up the parchment and looked at Applejack. “—that.”
“Ok, Twilight, I’ll go wake her up, then...” Applejack said, but before she could turn around, Twilight raised an objection.
“I’d prefer you didn’t,” Twilight said, causing Applejack to arch an eyebrow, “it would be better and faster if I can run these tests while she’s relaxed. Her being asleep is probably the best scenario.”
“Alright, then,” Applejack said and moved aside to let the unicorn pass. “Let me know if I can help with anything.”
“Well,” Twilight said as she stopped walking, “there is something you can do.”
Applejack seemed to brighten up slightly at the prospect of helping her fellow farmer in any way. “Sure thing, Twi, just tell me what you need me to do and I’ll get it done.”
“I want to have all my bases covered,” Twilight said as she walked towards the door, “please contact Ponyville Hospital and ask them to send someone.”
Applejack looked at her for a couple of seconds before nodding and going to the kitchen. Twilight watched her friend go before whispering, “I don’t want to run any risks."
The unicorn lingered there for a moment, almost as if she feared what she may find out when she ran those tests. Or, perhaps, what she may not find.
The backdoor of the farmhouse flung open to let a damp Apple Bloom inside. The filly shook herself and walked towards the stairs, hoping to take a hot shower to fight the cold when she heard the voices of her sister and Miss Twilight talking in the living room. Her sister had told her to stay out of the living room for today, and she planned on being an obedient filly and going straight to her room.
And then she heard another voice, a different one. A voice she couldn’t quite match to a face, but could tell belonged to a stallion.
Apple Bloom was facing the stairs, but she turned her head towards the door that led to the living room. “I…” she began. ”I just want to check who’s that stallion.”
The kitchen was silent, save for the pattering of the rain.
She scrunched her muzzle and looked up. “Oh, who are you kiddin', ‘Bloom.” The little filly scampered to the door and slightly opened it, leaving a gap just wide enough to peek inside.
The living room had the curtains closed, so it was hard for her to see anything. Granny Smith must have gone to her room already, she thought. It took her eyes a while to adjust but she could recognise some shapes in the darkness.
“…nor has she been near the Everfree lately,” Miss Twilight said.
“There’s one explanation we can scratch, then,” a male voice said.
“I’ll go talk to Zecora later today, maybe she knows something.” The shape that Apple Bloom assumed belonged to Twilight moved towards a window and moved the curtain to look in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
“I just hope we can fix this whole mess sooner than later,” her sister said as she sat on the couch, “I feel really bad for her, Doctor Horse. Nopony should have that happen to them.”
A doctor? Just what was going on here? She assumed that the “mess” they talked about was what had sent their family into a frenzy that morning, but she didn’t know who this her was. Hoping to find out more, she leaned in and kept eavesdropping.
“The preliminary tests didn’t give us any results,” Doctor Horse said with a sigh, sounding perplexed, “did they, Miss Twilight?”
“They did not,” Twilight said as she shook her head. “The scans didn’t reveal any sort of magical feedback, or traces of magical interference, there’s nothing to hint that this is of magical origin."
At this point Apple Bloom started to piece together what was happening: Somepony must have gotten sick and came to the farm for help. That’s why her sister made her ask Miss Twilight to come home to figure things out, and then they called a doctor to help cure the sick mare. Eeyup, that must have happened.
That didn’t explain why her family had been so shaken up, though. Just a cold or a sprain wouldn't have caused all the weirdness. Just what was going on?
The ponies in the room remained silent for a while. The doctor murmured something too low to be heard over the rumbling of the storm outside.
“Well, there has to be an explanation for Golden’s cutie mark bein'..." Her sister choked up before continuing, "Well, gone.”
“I already took some blood and fur samples. We'll have to wait and see what if the lab results can shed a light on this mystery,” the doctor said. He then fidgeted as he wrote on some bottles. “Although, to be sincere, I couldn't hazard a guess as to what those results will be…”
“We won’t give up,” Twilight said, “I’m going back to the guest room, I’ll be reading the books again and see if there’s something I missed.”
“Ok, Twilight. I'll go make somethin' for us to eat later,” Applejack said.
Apple Bloom had stopped registering the words a while ago; she had barely managed to close the door and walk towards the stairs, the thought of a hot shower long forgotten. Their neighbour... Miss Harvest's cutie mark… gone? She walked up the stairs and headed to her room.
It sort of made sense, but at the same time it didn’t. It would have taken something pretty shocking to make her family react the way they did, that much made sense. How could a cutie mark just disappear, though? Neither Miss Twilight nor the doctor knew what happened, and that alone confused and scared her. She looked at her bedroom door, maybe she could think clearly after sleeping.
Yeah, she’d do that for now.
Twilight kept flipping the pages of “Perplexing Pony Plagues” on the desk next to the bed in which Golden Harvest laid. Twilight had brought this book hoping to find information about whatever had happened to the carrot farmer, since the book had contained information on other cutie mark related diseases, but her search had yielded zero results so far. None of her books mentioned any instance in history in which cutie marks had simply vanished.
She furrowed her brow and rubbed her forehead with her free hoof. The lack of results was starting to be a bit discouraging, but then a sound caught her attention. Twilight thought she heard a whimper, so she turned around and faced Golden Harvest.
“I’m sorry, Golden, did you say anything?”
Golden Harvest didn't answer right away. She was lying on her side, facing away from Twilight. A blanket covered most of her body, and she was squirming under it.
“Did I do something wrong?” the earth mare said in a soft voice.
Twilight was caught off guard by her question. “You… What?” she asked with a hint of shock.
The carrot farmer turned around, lying face down, and staring straight at Twilight. She seemed... calmer than how she'd been in the morning, that much was obvious. Right now the only noticeable thing that jumped to Twilight was the sadness in her eyes.
“You know how I got my cutie-mark, Miss Twilight?” she asked.
Twilight didn’t know how to respond, so she just shook her head and let the mare speak.
“My grandparents came to Ponyville to settle in as farmers, they were from Fillydelphia, but a bad season forced them to move. They only had one child, Red Core, my dad.” She crossed her forearms under her head and rested her chin above them. “My mom always said that he was the cutest and dorkiest stallion she had ever met. They got married and not too long after that I was born.” Her lips tugged slightly to form a soft smile.
Golden Harvest raised her head and looked at Twilight. “I know this may sound like the most obvious thing in the world, but carrots aren’t like apples—” she chuckled “—you can’t just kick the trees and have a bunch of them come out. You have to pull them gently, each one of them. And they have to be weeded constantly.” She lifted a hoof and made a pulling motion as an earnest smile appeared on her face, the first Twilight had seen in the whole day. “My dad taught me everything he knew about carrot farming. That stallion could speak to the crops. But working so hard eventually took its toll on him... Twelve years ago he got very sick, and couldn’t tend to the fields anymore.”
Twilight could sense the sadness in her voice, she wasn’t quite sure why Golden Harvest was sharing this with her, but she wasn’t going to stop her. She jumped from her seat and slowly walked towards her. She gave Golden a reassuring look, and held her hoof with her own.
“I remember the deadline to send a big order of carrots was getting closer and closer. My mom couldn’t finish all of it on her own, and they said I was too young to help them.” She paused for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to continue. “So I sneaked during the night, and carefully harvested every carrot in that field. I passed out before the sun came out. When I woke up the carrots were already being stored, and I had gotten my cutie mark,” she finished with a smirk.
Twilight smiled at the thought of a young Golden Harvest, knee deep in mud and carrots, getting her cutie mark after helping her family when they needed her. It was an endearing memory, and she winced internally as she thought how the loss of her mark would have caused a lot of emotional distress to the farmer. But she knew that this wasn’t where the story ended, so she let the earth mare talk.
“We were so happy to have finished harvesting on time that we didn’t—” She choked and looked down, Twilight wanted to say something, but Golden Harvest kept speaking. “My dad got worse. We tried to get the best doctors we could find, but… It… it was t-too late.” She broke down, her eyes were shut and tears appeared on the corners.
“H-he said…” She sniffled, and wiped a tear from her face. “He said, ‘Take care of the farm for me, my little Carrot Top’, he always called me his Carrot Top. And... And those… those were his last words.”
She hiccuped, but tried to steady her voice. Golden Harvest squeezed Twilight’s hoof before she talked again. “M-my farm is not the biggest in Ponyville, it hasn’t really grown that much since I inherited it. I... I make enough to live by, but that’s it.”
Tears were flowing from her eyes, streaking her fur and forming a small stain in the cushion underneath her; she gently lifted her head to look at Twilight and spoke again.
“I promised my dad that I'd take care of the farm, and that I’d make our carrots the best of Ponyville.” She put her free hoof over her muzzle to drown a soft whimper. "I don't think I've lived up to the promise I made." She paused as a quick sob escaped her, “at this rate... I may not even have a family that will carry our name…”
All the stress of the day came crashing down on her, and Golden Harvest buried her head between her forelegs and let out a choked sob that sent jolts down Twilight's spine.
“Twilight,” she said with a frightened voice, “did... did I fail them?”
Twilight could sense the disappointment the farmer felt with herself. In the look Golden Harvest was giving her, she could discern a plea of help, of reassurance, begging to be proven wrong. To be honest, she was taken aback by the thought that this mare could be blaming herself for losing her cutie mark. And even more so because she'd be lying if she said that hypothesis hadn't fluttered across her mind earlier.
However, she would not dare entertain that thought. And she wouldn't let Golden do the same.
“Golden,” Twilight spoke in a firm yet kind tone, “do not believe for a second that you have failed your parents. If they saw you right now, they’d be proud of you and I can assure you that.”
“Really?” Golden whispered.
“Really. Your carrots are the best I’ve ever eaten,” Twilight said with a smile. She gave the mare's hoof another squeeze before continuing, “And I know for a fact that there are several ponies in town who love your carrots above other types of food. Your farm may not be the biggest, but you can be sure that the whole town is proud of you, and is happy to count you as one of its finest citizens.”
She seemed to brighten up at this, even if only a little bit. Twilight gently stroked her mane and spoke again, “You’re a great farmer and a great mare, and don’t you ever doubt it.”
Golden Harvest rubbed her eyes with her free hoof to wipe away any idle tears, “Thank you, Miss Twilight,” she said as she gave Twilight a soft smile.
Twilight returned the smile as she tugged the blanket with her magic and pulled it to cover the body of the earth pony mare. “It’s been a tough day, Golden, you should try to get some sleep.”
Golden Harvest shifted under the blanket and hugged it close to her. Twilight didn’t want to remove her hoof yet, so she let the farmer hold on to her.
“It seems almost childish in hindsight, though,” Golden Harvest said with a faint smile on her face.
“What does, Golden?” asked Twilight as she kept stroking the mare’s hoof.
“To think that I almost stayed locked inside of my house,” she yawned, and her eyes began to close as she continued, “all because of that dumb storm.”
Twilight’s hoof stopped on top of the farmer’s mane, her face had frozen in a blank expression. She slowly brought down her hoof, hoping that Golden Harvest hadn’t realised the effect her words had on her. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breaths, which were increasing in rhythm.
She failed.
“The storm...” she whispered.
"Did you say something?" Golden Harvest asked her in a calm tone that made it harder for Twilight to keep her composure.
"I... I just remembered something. Something I have to, uh, check with the doctor. I'll be back soon," Twilight said in what she hoped passed for an even tone.
"Don't let me hold you back, then. You've already done more than I could ever repay, Miss Twilight," Golden said, and promptly turned around.
Twilight looked at Golden Harvest once again to make sure she wasn't paying attention to her. The slow movements of the blanket showed that the mare’s breathing had slowed, and soon she'd be on her way to sleep. Nodding to herself, Twilight turned around and slowly walked towards the door.
Once she had reached it, she grasped the knob with her magic, and gently twisted and pulled it, hoping it wouldn’t creak. She opened it just enough to let her pass and she closed it behind her, again, trying to keep noise to a minimum.
After she closed the door, she let out a loud gasp.
“The storm!” she cried before running down the corridor.
“Well, Miss Applejack. I think that should be everything,” Doctor Horse said as he finished filling out a form, “I’ll take these samples to the lab and see if we can identify what happened.” He then closed his bag and lifted it with his magic.
“That’s good to know, Doc. I hope she—” Applejack was cut off by the sudden sound of hoofsteps coming from the corridor. As one, they turned around to see a frazzled Twilight Sparkle running towards them.
“Twilight? What the hay happened? Is Golden alright?”
Twilight was panting, and a few strands of hair were out of place. Before either could inquire any further, she spoke, “The storm.”
“What about it?” asked Applejack.
“When Golden Harvest woke up this morning... and realised that her cutie mark was missing, she almost didn’t come out and stayed home.” Twilight walked towards them. “Because of the storm.”
“Wait,” Doctor Horse said, “what are you trying to—“
“What if this has happened to who knows how many ponies,” Twilight cut him off, “but they stayed at home due to the storm?"
Applejack and Doctor Horse shared a look of disbelief. However, Twilight didn't back down. "I mean... Think about it. There could be lots of ponies afflicted by this... whatever it is, and we'd have no way of knowing!”
“Uh… I think that’s a bit of a stretch, sugarcube,” said Applejack.
“I agree with Miss Applejack, what makes you think that more ponies may have the same…” Doctor Horse fumbled with the words for a second as he gave a furtive glance at the corridor leading to the guest room. “…condition as Miss Harvest?”
“When I went to the market this morning, it was almost empty,” Twilight said, and the strength in her voice wavered near the end. Giving an objective look at the evidence, she had to admit it did seem like a bit of a stretch. But even though she knew it was a flimsy conjecture at best, she still couldn’t shake the suspicion gnawing at her mind.
“Twilight, that doesn’t have to mean half the merchants lost their cutie marks,” Applejack said in a low voice as she walked towards her friend, “they probably just... stayed inside because of the storm.”
“Had Golden Harvest not come to the farm for help, would you have stayed inside, Applejack?” Twilight asked, her tone perhaps a bit more accusatory than the question warranted.
“Well, I—” Applejack cut herself off and tried to mumble a response. Seeing that she didn't have one, she looked down, defeated.
“Miss Sparkle, I understand your concern, but we must act with caution.” Doctor Horse walked towards the unicorn before speaking again, “I’ll be the first to admit that this situation has me perplexed, but we should have something more concrete than a mere hypothesis before we actually address this as something more than an isolated case, lest we cause a commotion over nothing.”
“You… are right, Doctor Horse,” Twilight said, and let out a long sigh that carried with it some of the stress of the day. She remembered what she told herself back in the library: the last thing she wanted was for panic to spread in town. Still, she felt there had to be something she could do about this, something she was overlooking.
“I do not mean to be discouraging, Miss Sparkle. After all, it’s thanks to you that we’ve helped Miss Harvest and managed to shed some light on her situation. Even if it's small, it's a step in the right direction.” He turned around and lifted his bag with his magic. “I’ll be going back to the hospital to run a few tests on the samples we have, I’ll be sure to inform you of any development.”
“Please do so,” Twilight said as she walked towards the door. “Right now, though, I’m going to see Spike.”
“Wha—Spike?” asked Applejack. “Why Spike?
“Because if it turns out that there’s something else going on,” she said as she pushed the door open, “I want Princess Celestia to be informed immediately.”
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So far so good. You're doing a pretty good job of setting up the story, and to repeat my first comment (4740158), you're really quite good at writing scenes and dialogue so that they do not feel forced or rushed.
Just be careful not to let the mystery go unresolved for too long. Not that you're showing any signs of doing that, but a lot of the stories I've been reading lately have ended up in that trap, where they just keep going and going without actually explaining anything.
DISCORD!! He can hide his magic most likely!!
Okay, I read chapter two anyways.
4766077 I thought of the same thing when I found out the Ponyville doctor is aparently called Doctor Horse.
4765959 Oh, everything will be explained, don't worry. Whether or not people like that explanation is another story.
4765967 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
4766105 Everyone kept their legs, hopefully you're not disappointed.
4766162
Sorry to burst your bubble, the name for Ponyville's doctor on the wiki has changed twice already. First the "official fanon" name was Doctor Tenderhoof, then it was Doctor Stable, now it's Doctor Horse. Next week it will be Doctor Colts, the arrogant and annoying hockey fan who drinks too much and refers to blonde ponies are Barbie.
And I'm just glad you didn't decide to cop out and make magical weather responsible for this shit.
4766176 Well, I'll be damned.
I just used the name they used on the wiki, still I think it's fun and that it woks.
Oh, God no. It's actually something else, entirely.
I'd love to find out how snooty Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon will be feeling about the loss of their prized cutie marks now.
4766176
The CCG has a Doctor Horse, so it is canon to some degree.
hoping it wouldn’t creek
creak
4766896
You tease... Not that I was really expecting an answer here.
I can't wait to see future progression!
My bet is on a cutie mark plague~ something new and insidious. Or harmless and innocuous as it just wipes off a ponies cutie mark for a short while before letting the pony recover~
No need to go offing ponies naow haha~ >v>;;
I see you've gotten to using contractions. That's good enough, even with just one in each sentence, it's enough to make it sound Southern. Good job.
Also, I caught this little slip of yours, this one the most noticeable to me.
Should be 'in,' not on.
4766162 Unless you think up a valid reason, Twilight should send a letter to Celestia and Luna as soon as she gets home. Because no books have the answer, nor the doctors, but Celestia and Luna are very very old, they may have seen this happen before.
4768442
Of course they haven't. No one ever writes Celestia and Luna to actually have SEEN their mysterious things before unless it's to say "There was no cure, we had to burn everyone alive!" And then Twilight saves the day and thousands of years of experience and knowledge are pointless. @_@
OMG! IT'S PONEBOLA!
Hide your kids, hide your wives,
Everypony's infected up in here!
Very interesting so far, I look forward to the next chapters.
Can't wait for more chapters!
This better not become vaporfiction. As in we get a couple chapters and it just stops being developed. If that happens, I will be vewy sad.
Haven't started on this yet, but every time I see the description on my RIL list a song comes to mind.
4781052
Fret not, for the whole story has been planned out in advance, and I'm currently writing Chapter 3
4791846
hypothesis
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