Lost Fate

by Fluxxdog

Chapter 10: One Trip Too Many

Chapter 10: One Trip Too Many

Twilight rushed into the bakery and saw two ponies on the floor, seemingly passed out. One of them she knew very well. “What happened? I was on my way here when I heard an explosion! Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie was in a corner looking panicked to the point of shock. “Ink Nose?” Her new librarian looked to be at a complete loss for words.

Cantrip finally spoke up. “I don’t know what happened. Lookout mentioned something about needing razor grass, she passed out, next thing I knew, this little filly gave her some kind of candy and she calmed down. I think one of the other girls went for a doctor.”

Almost as if on cue, Scootaloo came in. “I got the doctor! Make room!” The doctor went over to check on Apple Bloom first, then on Lookout. “They are definitely in bad shape, but I only have room for one.” The ambulance was waiting.

Twilight said, “The heck with this.” She spread her wings and everyone saw white. Next thing they knew, they were in front of the hospital. Dumbfounded for the moment, Twilight shouted, “Don’t just stand there! Get them inside!”

---

After that, she had Scootoloo go get Applejack. It’d be best she knew what happened as soon as possible. And now, Twilight had to deal with a very angry Applejack. How would Applejack put it? Angrier than a rodeo bull that sat on a bee’s nest?

“Twilight, I’m gonna ask politely.” Here she goes again. Twilight cast the silence bubble around her and kept her from grabbing hold of anyone. The doctors had already threatened to remove her from the hospital if she caused any more of a ruckus. Twilight did everything should could to keep her from being kicked out. She could just imagine Shining Armor acting the same way.

It was also best she got to speak with Apple Bloom as soon as she could as well. If razor grass was involved, she had questions. She could already draw logical conclusions about Lookout based on what Cantrip and Ivy told her. What she wanted to know is what Apple Bloom had fed her. She got the recipe from Mr. Cake, and apart from the apple seeds, the spices were used for antitoxins. But in that combination, they were very risky. It was better to used extracted ingredients. So why had Apple Bloom done that?

Finally, Applejack was coming down from her latest rage. Twilight released her. With a hoarse voice, she barely said, “Thanks. I’m real angry right now, but I don’t think I got much left.”

“Save it, Applejack. You’re gonna need your strength for your sister. I need you to promise me you’ll keep calm when she wakes up.”

“Yeah, sure, not a problem.”

“Good, because when she wakes up, nopony is to go into her room without my permission.”

A look of shock came over Applejack. She wanted to yell, but she didn’t have the voice for it anymore. “What’re y’all talking about? That’s my sister!”

“I know, but right now, she a centerpiece in an investigation. I have questions I need to ask. I already have guards posted at her room and Lookout’s room. They will stay there until I say so. Nopony except myself and the doctor is allowed in that room."

“Twilight, what in the world of Equestria in going on?”

“Lookout was in the final stages of razor grass withdrawal. By all rights, she should be dead. Your sister saved her life. I need to know how she knew the recipe she used. I will let you know when you can see her, but I have to follow protocol.”

Applejack turned to Cantrip. “Did you know about this?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t even know about razor grass until today.”

“Oh really? I find it quite odd that all this happens when you come in to town, and just happen to meet five other ‘strangers’ that turn up. Do you expect me to believe that was a coincidence?”

He shook his head. “If you say it like that, no it doesn’t, but I assure you it’s completely by coincidence.”

Doctor Horse came in. “Your highness, the filly is awake.”

Twilight turned to Applejack. “No. I know it’s hard on you. But you have to trust me on this. Please.”

Applejack knew she had no choice. She loved Twilight almost like a sister, but this really strained their friendship. “Fine.”

“Thank you. Ink Nose? Hand me a quill, paper, and ink.” Ink Nose pulled the items out of her saddlebags. Twilight walked out of the room with them.

---

To say Apple Bloom hurt was incorrect. There wasn’t any real pain, but she felt like she had been dragged through the mud and back. She wanted her sister. She ached and she wanted someone to tell her everything was going to be OK.

When the door opened, she expected Applejack. When Twilight walked in, she almost felt like her heart was going to break as she slid further under her blanket. “Hello Apple Bloom. Glad to see you’re awake.”

“Where’s my sister?”

“She’s out in the waiting room. I have to ask you a few things first, okay?”

“I want my sister!”

“Apple Bloom? Please, I have to ask you some questions. They’re very important.” The look on Apple Bloom’s face was breaking Twilight’s heart as well. This was the hard part of being a princess: Putting aside your personal feelings for duty.

“Listen to me, Apple Bloom. Answer and I’ll do what I can to get Applejack in here. Okay?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Okay. You saved that pony’s life with some candy. What was it?”

Apple Bloom looked her straight in the eye. “It wasn’t candy, it was medicine. Zecora showed me how to make it. I was reading one of her books, about some of the plants they have in Zebrica, and one of them sounded weird. It was called razor grass. Zecora told me how it could hurt ponies. But they found a way to stop ponies from dying because they stopped eating it.”

“And that way was the medicine you made, right?” Apple Bloom just nodded. “Okay. Did Zecora teach you to use saffron, tarragon, and rosemary?”

Apple Bloom shook her head weakly. “You did.”

“Wait what? I never told you to mix them like that.”

“No, but the ingredients I needed could be found in those spices. You taught me how to substitute stuff. I know the other stuff in them were dangerous, but that pony was gonna die if I didn’t.”

“Apple Bloom, are you telling me you willingly risked your own well-being to save somepony else?”

“It’s what my sister woulda done.”

“That she would. Thank you, Apple Bloom. I’ll get Applejack in here right away.” Twilight was glad she didn’t have to sequester the little filly. She gave instructions to the guards as Nurse Snowheart walked up to her.

“The other one is awake. The doctor thought you’d want to see her immediately.”

“Thank you, Nurse.” Twilight had another stop, but that would wait until later.

---

Lookout was frantic. She was in a hospital bed. The last thing she remembered before that was shaking, her vision going wild, and then… she woke up here. The doctor said she had company coming, just relax and everything would be fine. They better not mean family. That was the last thing she wanted.

Too late. The door opened. Oh, it was only the princess.

… … wait.

Now she panicked. She didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, she felt a calming sensation over her. “Relax, you’re going to be okay. I have to ask you some questions.” Lookout looked more relaxed, but that wasn’t much of an improvement. Instead of her head popping off, only her eyes looked ready to go.

“Do you understand what happened?” Lookout shook her head slowly. “No. Here’s the short of it. Razor grass can have deadly withdrawal symptoms. You had a bad case of the shakes before you went to the final stage. When was the last time you had razor grass?”

“Two…”

“Two months ago? Wow, that’s quite some time.”

“No, two weeks.”

Twilight stood in awe. Only extremely advanced cases only lasted two weeks. Four was the normal. “And how much did you have?”

“About an apple’s worth.”

“How much is an apple’s worth?”

“It’s a ball about the size of an apple.”

Again, very bad. Amounts the size of an unfrosted cupcake were enough to put most ponies in the hospital. Here she was ingesting about twice as much just for her fix. “Where did you last get it from?”

“I… I kinda ripped off a dealer in in Manehattan. The ball was supposed to last me a while, but I just kinda lost track of how much I was using.”

Twilight nodded. “I don’t think you’re through the withdrawals just yet. The medicine you were given should delay the shakes for a time, but you may need more. I’m going to talk to a friend of mine who may be able to help. Thank you for your time.”

She turned to leave, but before she could, “Princess? Am I ever going to be okay?”

She ran through a whole range of answers, but she decided on Applejack’s method. “I don’t know. We’ll do what we can to help, but have some faith in your friends to help you through this.”

“I don’t have any friends.”

This struck Twilight as odd. “What about those five you were with at the bakery?”

“Oh, they’re not really friends. More like old work buddies.”

As she left, an alarm went off in Twilight’s mind. This pony was too young to have “old work buddies”. She was hiding something. She had to find one of them to crack.

But first, Zecora. As soon as she stepped outside the hospital, she disappeared in a flash.

Comments

[Sunlight Blaze]

Alright; this chapter starts out in a complete rush (not rushed as in the writing seemed rushed; the situation is a rush): Twilight arrives and gets a basic rundown of what happened before Scootaloo arrives with the doctor.

The doctor went over to check on Apple Bloom first, then on Lookout. “They are definitely in bad shape, but I only have room for one.” The ambulance was waiting.
Twilight said, “The heck with this.” She spread her wings and everyone saw white. Next thing they knew, they were in front of the hospital. Dumbfounded for the moment, Twilight shouted, “Don’t just stand there! Get them inside!”

Okay, Twilight definitely knows when teleporting is important. (Twilight is best pony in my opinion...)

So Applejack arrives and finds out that Apple Bloom was in the hospital and Twilight does what she can to keep her from getting kicked out.

Okay, so now we learn some more about Razor Grass: in the later stages of trying to quit, ponies could likely die from it (I'm guessing because the body literally hurts itself from the inside in its need for the drug), and in the following scene we see that
A) Twilight again learns that it's tough being a Princess and that she, reluctantly, has to put her friendships second in scenarios like this,
and B) that Apple Bloom learned the cure from Zecora.
Oh yeah! I forgot that Apple Bloom used to spend quite a bit of time for Zecora; I should have realized that she'd pick up a thing or two from the zebra sage.

Once Twilight is done with her questions, Lookout wakes up (Convenient!) and Twilight goes and asks her some questions. When she's done, we...

She turned to leave, but before she could, “Princess? Am I ever going to be okay?”
She ran through a whole range of answers, but she decided on Applejack’s method. “I don’t know. We’ll do what we can to help, but have some faith in your friends to help you through this.”
“I don’t have any friends.”
This struck Twilight as odd. “What about those five you were with at the bakery?”
“Oh, they’re not really friends. More like old work buddies.”

And Twilight thinks the same thing and decides to investigate it after she pays Zecora a visit.