Stranger Magics

by GMBlackjack

II - Sunrise

The Everfree had many deep, dark corners within its leafy grasp. The clearings - if the spaces within the flora could even be called clearings - were shrouded by a choking magical shadow in most places. Usually, the softly glowing flowers and magic sparks would provide a sparse amount of light - but not in one particular clearing that was far too large and round to be natural. In this place all plants had been cleared out and all sparks banished.

Along the edges stood tall, red crystals that absorbed every single Everfree Light that dared approach the premises. Not a single glowing intruder got through - from the sides or above. It was a perfect magical net. Inside this ring of protective crystals were ponies - lots of them. Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies; male, female; young, old, though notably there were no children. All worked in the wreckage that surrounded them.

it was evident there'd been a disaster recently. Where a dozen or so concrete buildings had once stood, now there were only three - and all but one looked hastily thrown back together. The ponies sifted through the rocks, pulling out magic crystals and giant folders of paper, looking at everything closely. Salvage was important - even the non-valuable items and rubble were gathered up and sorted for reuse. The ponies in labcoats looked the most frantic out of all of them, clearly the least prepared for this sort of work. The rest were some measure of panicked, worried, depressed, or disheartened.

Something had scared them.

Standing at the edge of the clearing at a higher elevation than the rest was a yellow unicorn. She stared down at the slow, methodical work, her face straight. None could tell what was going on behind those red eyes of hers. Her ears gave no indication either, simply moving around to let her bright red and yellow mane flow in the soft breeze.

She saw an Everfree Light get captured by one of the red crystals. Something about the event made her lips twitch ever so slightly.

"Ma'am..." a pony addressed her. She nodded for the stallion to continue. "There's been... 'evidence' in Ponyville."

The yellow unicorn nodded slowly. "Find out everything we can."

"Yes, Miss Shimmer."

~~~

Applejack woke up coughing. The horrendous fit of her lungs woke Big Mac in the room across from hers. Tired though he was, he leaped out of bed. In his rush, he forgot to open his door and busted it down instead.

He opened Applejack's door, running in. "What is it?"

Applejack was out of bed, standing, but holding her head and coughing. "Wh... What did we do last night?"

"Ah..." Big Mac blinked. He remembered... A lot from early in the night. The chandelier... Talking to Lotus for a long time... Then not much. "Ah really don't know."

Applejack groaned. "I feel like old fertilizer..."

"That's normal for you."

"Yer a riot," Applejack coughed out. She wobbled over to her door.

"Now, you probably need some rest-"

"Big Mac, you busted your door down. Again."

"-Now Ah don't want to hear any excuses, you are still a kid and Ah've got to make sure you - wait what?"

Applejack coughed. "Door. Broken. In hallway."

Big Mag followed her gaze. "So it is."

"Sure Ah'm the one who needs sleep?"

"We both could stand a bit of extra shuteye..."

"Big Mac, Ah've got school. Your classes might start in the afternoon but Ah gotta get goin'." She coughed again, the motion forcing her to stop in her tracks. "...After breakfast."

Big Mac found he couldn't argue with that, so they made their way to the main living area.

"Do you... remember gettin' home?" Big Mac asked.

"Eenope. Ah don't even remember leavin' the party." She coughed. "Agh my darn throat..."

Maybe you should lay off a bit of the talking, give your voice a rest."

"And let you do all the talkin'? That's a pretty bad idea, even for you."

Big Mac rolled his eyes and entered the living room. "Mornin' Granny," he addressed the sleeping green form in the rocking chair. "Mornin' stranger on the couch-"

Big Mac and Applejack stopped dead in their tracks, staring right at the white pegasus on their couch. She stared back, eyes wide, but face otherwise expressionless. She didn't move an inch. Was she even breathing?

Big Mac turned to Applejack. "What do we do?"

"What do we do?" Applejack coughed. "You're the oldest!"

"But you have the ideas!"

"Ah'm busy coughin' up a storm!"

"Ah busted down a door with my head and Ah may have a concussion!"

"My voice is about to go out and I don't believe that!"

"It sounds perfectly fine to me!"

The pegasus stepped off the couch, prompting an end to Applejack and Big Mac's conversation. The two of them froze as she approached. They could make out her bruises and scratches now, as well as a back leg she didn't put any weight on. She sniffed.

Applejack started a coughing fit at that exact moment, prompting the pegasus to launch backward and knock the couch over.

"Bwha-huh-bah?!" Granny blurted, coming out of her sleep. "What happen- oh." She looked from the dazed pegasus to her grandchildren. "Ah must have dozed off there..."

Everypony was silent, looking to Granny to make some sense of the situation.

"Oh fine, Big Mac, Applejack, Ah found this poor soul on our doorstep last night after you left. Bruised, battered, and everythin'. Took her in and fed her, gave her a couch. Mysterious mare, these are my grandkids, Big Mac and Applejack."

Applejack started coughing again. This time, instead of reacting in shock, the pegasus approached her cautiously. Applejack looked into the wide purple eyes and saw... sadness. Intense sadness.

"You sound sick," Granny observed.

"Ah'm pretty sure Ah am," Applejack admitted.

"You're staying home from school today."

"But Granny Ah need to talk to-"

"Ah let you go to a party last night, don't push it, missy."

Applejack nodded, devolving into coughing again. She tensed when she felt something foreign caress her - a white wing. "Uh..."

The mare seemed to realize she had done something wrong and backed away, looking downward.

"Oh, uh..." Applejack coughed. "It's okay! Ah just wasn't expectin' that."

The pegasus made no indication she'd even heard. She just sat still, wings folded, not making any further eye contact.

Granny sighed. "Somethin's happened to her, we'll just need to give her time."

Big Mac blinked. "Time? ...You can't mean..."

"Ah'm not turnin' her away and Ah get the impression she has nowhere to go. So unless she proves herself dangerous or something' Ah'm gonna show a little kindness."

Big Mac looked at the silent mare. For the briefest of moments, he saw her eyes - pleading, begging, wishing for anything. Anything at all. He sighed. "...Okay Granny."

"Actin' like you had a say in the matter. Humph! She was stayin' whether you liked it or not."

Big Mac nodded. That was true.

"Now, Ah'm gonna put Applejack back to bed. You go take care of farm chores for the day. Northwest field looks like it has some ripe ones."

Big Mac nodded. "Ah'll see what Ah can get done before school."

"Good. Come on, Applejack."

Applejack moved to object but was subjected to another bout of coughing. She groaned, walking back to her room with Granny, making no further comment.

Big Mac took a moment to stare at the pegasus. The pegasus stared back at Big Mac.

"Do you... talk?"

The pegasus didn't move.

"Riiiiight... Well, Ah'll be outside then." He walked out, taking the path down to the northwest field. Most of the apples weren't ripe, but he could see a few red, glistening orbs in the leaves. He'd have to be careful how he bucked today, didn't want to dislodge the green ones. He moved to the closest tree, set up a bucket, and kicked. Three red apples fell down from the tree into the basket. He smirked, taking a step back to admire his work. The pegasus was standing right alongside the tree, staring at him intently.

"Waugh!" He yelled, jumping back. She jumped back as well, but the two of them recovered from the surprise quickly. "You scared me!"

The mare gave no acknowledgment. She turned and started walking around another tree, looking at the red apples in it. She glanced from the tree to Big Mac and back to the tree. She blinked.

Then she turned around and bucked the tree, wings splayed.

Three apples fell from the branches. All of them hit the ground instead of the basket, and only one was ripe, but she had bucked a tree.

She turned to Big Mac and smiled ever so slightly.

He stared, slack-jawed. "Well, ain't that somethin'! Only earth ponies are supposed to be able to do that! You're pretty strong!"

She blinked, as if thinking this over. Then she walked back to the house.

Big Mac shrugged. Maybe he could teach her how to really buck a tree. She had the strength, he knew it... If she really had nowhere to go she could be a great help on the farm. ...After they figured out who she was, of course.

~~~

The younger class was seated, bored out of their minds while Ms. Scroll told them about their homework assignments, scribbling down numbers and sentences upon the chalk board that a little over half the students would bother to remember. They all leaped out of their seats the moment the bell rang - caring much more about freedom that homework - scrambling for the door. Many of them looked really tired - Thunder Lane was even asleep at his desk; others were tripping over their own hooves as they scrambled out.

Rarity had just gotten outside when Tree Hugger trotted up to her.

"What is it?" Rarity asked, downplaying her ire at seeing Tree Hugger's face.

"Sorry about your chandelier, Rars," Tree Hugger apologized, appearing legitimately bothered by it. "I mean, the party was awesome, but your parents... Is there, like, anything I can do?"

"Can you replace the chandelier or make my parents vanish?"

Tree Hugger shook her head.

"Then I'm really not certain you can do anything. I hope you'll remember what I did for you and your party when I'm rotting in my room for eternity."

Tree Hugger nodded. "I will. I'll make sure the whole school remembers as well. I can do that - for whatever reason, ponies like me."

Rarity took in a sharp breath. "Yes. You do... that."

"Whatever I can do to make it up to you. Say, me and Vinyl are going to do a thing tonight. Much smaller gathering. I could..."

"I think I've had enough of parties for a while, even little ones. Though it was fun." Inwardly, she cursed herself for letting this tidbit of information out. Tree Hugger's smile just made the burning sensation within Rarity heighten.

"Yeah, I guess there is such a thing as too much party... See you around, totally stay in touch!" She trotted off.

Berry tapped Rarity on the shoulder. Rarity freaked out, whirling around like she was being attacked. When she saw it was just Berry - and Golden in tow - she relaxed. "Celestia! How'd you get there!?"

Berry and Golden exchanged glances. Berry shrugged. "We've been here the entire time."

Rarity blinked. "Oh, yes, right, of course..."

Golden smirked. "You seem to have a problem."

"What problem? No problem! Why are you even talking?"

Golden rolled her eyes. "It was just Tree Hugger."

Rarity twitched. "Oh... Her..."

Berry blinked. "You... Really are having trouble with this, aren't you?"

"Trouble with what, dear?"

"Need I spell it out? Nevermind, stupid question, of course I do. One: Tree Hugger is providing that boost in popularity you wanted. Two: she's being extra nice to you because of that chandelier. Three: you hate her guts for no good reason. SO you're... conflicted! That's it."

"I am not!"

Golden facehooved. Berry just let out a breath of air. "Fine, nevermind, just know that everypony thinks you and Tree Hugger are the best of friends right now."

Tree Hugger waved at Rarity from across the field. Berry smirked. "Including Tree Hugger."

Rarity shivered in disgust. "...I think see the problem..."

"You have a serious denial issue?"

"Do not!"

Golden cracked up, trying in vain to stop the mad giggling.

Rarity glowered. "Remind me again why I put up with you and your hillbilly antics!?"

Golden stopped laughing, processed the insult, and started laughing again.

"Simply wonderful..." Rarity muttered.

Berry sighed. "Did you at least enjoy the party last night?"

"As a matter of fact I did," Rarity emphasized. "After that disaster, I guess I just... cut loose or something. It was great fun."

"Maybe you should thank Derpy then?" Golden suggested.

Rarity bristled. "Wasn't that fun. I'm still dead."

"Oh, I still think you should."

The three fillies looked up to see the Doctor standing over them, Derpy at his side.

Golden paled, hiding behind Berry and Rarity.

"Doctor..." Rarity said, recognizing her neighbor. "Care to tell me why?"

Berry nudged Rarity in an attempt to calm her down, but the gesture was pointless.

The Doctor's glare deepened. "You used a certain word in her presence."

"So?"

"You should say sorry, or I will tell your parents."

Rarity laughed. "Doctor... Whatever, I'm already dead when they get home. I have serious doubt it could get any worse. So perhaps you should stop threatening me before I call for Miss Scroll?" She put the smuggest of all smug looks on her face. She loved this part - when the adults realized they were trapped and awkwardly had to pull out.

"I can get you a replacement chandelier by tonight," the Doctor said.

Rarity's smugness vanished. That wasn't supposed to happen. "...You can?"

"Yes. I can. But there are a few conditions."

Rarity bristled. "What are they?"

"First, apologize to Derpy."

Rarity shivered. "...Done. Derpy, I'm sorry I kicked you out and called you names."

Derpy nodded slowly.

"Next?" Rarity asked, ready to get this ordeal over with.

It was the Doctor's turn to look smug. "You will let Derpy play with you and your friends."

Rarity tensed. "For how long?"

"As long as she wants. And you have to be nice to her."

Rarity shook her head. "No deal."

"Death by parents..."

Rarity growled. "Preferable to what you're suggesting."

The Doctor shrugged. "Fine by me. Suffer. And once you're done suffering, then, and only then, will I tell them about what you said to Derpy."

Rarity began to turn red with rage - this wasn't fair! She was supposed to be the one in control! But first Tree Hugger and now this?! Of all the-

Berry nudged her. Rarity heeded the message this time. She took a breath and stamped her foot on the ground. "Fine, Derpy. You can... Hang out... With us..."

"Yay!" Golden cheered, leaping out from her hiding spot and tackle hugging Derpy. "You don't have to hide anymore!"

"Ha! Yeah!" Gone was the depressed filly; only the cheerful pegasus remained.

The Doctor nodded. "Good choice. The chandelier will be back by nightfall. You girls have fun now!"

"Oh, we will Doc!" Derpy cheered. "What do you guys wanna do? Huh? Huh?"

Berry looked at Rarity - a filly who was not ready to answer questions. Rarity coughed. "Well how about we get out of here, the older kids are coming in."

"Oh! We could go to my house! I have a lot of cardboard boxes!"

Rarity groaned, letting her head hang down. "Fine. We'll go to your darn - I mean darling house, hahahah!"

The Doctor just smiled at her - and walked away.

"This is it," Rarity said. "I've doomed myself to living Tartarus."

"It won't be that bad," Berry said. "Derpy's a little off at times, but she's nice and she's not 'trying' to steal your popularity! Bonus!"

Rarity nodded slowly, taking up position in the back of the group while they headed for Derpy's house.

~~~

Cheerilee was one of the first to arrive at the schoolhouse. She did notice the Doctor talking to Rarity - and quickly decided it was none of her business. She took up a position to the side of the school doors, waiting for her friends. Aloe and Lotus weren't there yet, but they were rarely as early as she was. She just leaned against the schoolhouse wall attempting not to nod off.

That had been quite the party last night... She had danced with Carrot most of it, though she switched more times than she could remember. Most of it was a blur...

She became fully alert when Carrot walked into view. She stood up straight and tall, trying to make her frizzy mane look at last somewhat organized, attempting to force herself awake.

"Hi, Carrot!" She waved. "...And Big Mac!" She added as an afterthought.

"Why hello there Cheerilee!" Big Mac called. "Uh... Have you seen Lotus?"

"Nope, the twins aren't here yet," she said, not taking her eyes off Carrot.

Carrot gulped. "Uh... Hi, Cheerilee!"

"Hi..." Cheerilee muttered, wobbling slightly.

"...You okay?" Carrot asked.

Cheerilee sighed. "Yeeeah..."

Big Mac facehooved. "Oh for the sake of apples... You're not used to long nights are you?"

"Noooo... But I could be!"

Carrot laughed nervously. "Erm... Yeah! that'd be... Nice."

Cheerilee giggled again. Oh, he was just so adorable! How he flushed... Nervously looked to the side... smiled... Had Cheerilee been more aware of herself she would have realized that she was being rather stupid and ditzy, but she was not, and was frankly incapable of any form of objective self-analysis at the moment. She was so out of it she took no notice when Big Mac turned away from the two of them, ears raised. She just stared at Carrot, leaning in...

In her mixture of fatigue and hormone-induced-inebriation, she slipped and fell face-first into the ground. "Ow..." she muttered.

Carrot helped her up. "...Sure you're okay?"

"Oh, you farm types are always built better. I'm just tired Carrot. And..." She perked up her ears. "...Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he said, pushing his ears up as well.

They could hear someone calling in the distance. Big Mac looked at them and frowned. "That sounds like Lotus."

Sure enough, the blue mare charged into the schoolyard, mane frazzled and eyes haunted. It was starting for everypony to see her like this - she was very particular about her appearance. Few had even seen her with an unkempt mane at all. Or, for that matter, this disoriented. Or arriving at school without her sister.

"Aloe!" She called, frantically running to the schoolhouse. She grabbed Cheerilee by the shoulders and shook her. "I can't find Aloe! Have you seen her!?"

"N-No..." Cheerilee said, backing up from her friend. Aloe was missing? How was that possible - the twins were almost inseparable.

"You? Have you seen her?" She prodded Big Mac.

"Ah'm afraid Ah haven't."

"Me neither," Carrot said, gulping.

Lotus took a step back and shivered. "I... I had hoped she'd be here... This..."

"Where was the last place you saw her?" Big Mac asked.

"The party... She stepped out because of her stomach... I... I thought she had gone home..."

Cheerilee stepped in, giving Lotus someone to cry on. "There there... We'll find her. Can you think of anywhere you haven't checked?"

"I aleady... The house... The salon... Here... Those were the places she'd be! I... I even checked Rarity's house again..." Her tears freely flowed down Cheerilee's back. "Oh Cheerilee! What if something terrible has happened to her!?"

"Sh... Sh... It'll be fine... She's somewhere...This isn't a big down..." Cheerilee consoled.

"Excuse me..." The Doctor said, walking up. "Your sister has vanished?"

Lotus nodded slowly.

"Would she, by chance, look exactly like you but pink?"

Lotus' eyes lit up. "Yes! Have you seen her?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not recently, I'm afraid. I did see her outside the party last night. Lots of Vinyl's lights were around her - you know, the ones that look like Everfree Lights?"

"Did you see where she went?" Big Mac asked.

"Again, sadly no. I became occupied by other matters, I am sorry. Derpy came to my house after the incident, and when I looked back she wasn't there anymore."

Lotus shuddered, gripping Cheerilee tighter. "Something happened to her..."

The Doctor looked left and right - was he nervous? "Now, I'm sure it's nothing like that. Look, how about you two go take this up with the Mayor? See what can be done. I'll explain everything to Miss Scroll, don't worry about school."

Lotus nodded slowly. "Yeah... Let's do that..."

"You sure you can?" Big Mac asked, holding her hoof.

"I need to find her."

Cheerilee nodded. "We... Should get going. Thanks, Doctor."

"I do what I can," the Doctor bowed.

Cheerilee led Lotus along, the two walking through town in silence. Normally, Cheerilee would be talking about Carrot, and how obviously smitten Big Mac was - but such conversations were for normal days when nothing was happening. The time at hand demanded such things be put aside for later. There was a point at which relatively trivial things were pushed completely out of their minds, and something of real importance could take its place - finding Aloe. That was it.

Nothing less. Nothing more.

They found the mayor asleep on the porch of city hall. He was a middle-aged white stallion whose name nopony could seem to remember.

"Mayor?" Cheerilee called.

The Mayor snored.

"Mayor!" Cheerilee yelled.

He still did not stir, his snores actually getting louder. Almost as if he were purposefully drowning them out.

Cheerilee carefully released her hold on Lotus, sure the blue mare was now able to carry herself. CHeerilee walked up to the rocking chair the Mayor was in and tipped it forward, knocking the Mayor out of it. He was 'awake' before he hit the ground, but that didn't stop him from landing flat on his face.

He grunted. "What do you want?"

"Aloe is missing!" Cheerilee snapped. "You need to do something!"

The Mayor sighed, standing up. "Look, all requests must be made through my secretary-"

"Are you... For real? A mare is missing and you want us to make a request!?"

"Look, calm down. You'll need to go to her and file a missing pony report. She knows the procedure better than I." He righted his chair and climbed back into it. "I seriously doubt I can help."

Cheerilee's face turned red with rage. She raised a hoof to smack him across the face - but Lotus stopped her. "Let's just go to the secretary Cheerilee."

Cheerilee's anger melted. "O...Okay Lotus." The two walked into City Hall. Cheerilee found herself wondering how Ponyville could have elected such a buffoon. What had they been thinking?

The two of them walked through the main room, shelves lined with files on all sides. Situated in front of them was a desk at which a yellow mare with a curled blue and pink mane sat. She looked up at them - she looked about their age, Cheerilee would have even said younger had the mare not been sitting at such an official looking desk. Cheerilee didn't recognize her at all - and she knew the face of everypony in town. Perhaps not the name, but the face. This mare was completely new. "Uh... Who are you?"

"Bon Bon," she said, giving the two of them a warm smile. "I'm the new secretary from Manehattan." She saw the tear-stained face of Lotus. "Oh no... What's happened?"

"Aloe is missing!" Lotus called out.

Bon Bon nodded solemnly. She pulled up a typewriter and put in a piece of paper. "I'm so sorry. I'm going to need to ask you a few questions, all right Lotus?"

Lotus nodded slowly. Cheerilee put her hoof around her friend.

"Where was she last seen?" Bon Bon asked, typing away on the typewriter quickly - as all earth ponies had to do with such devices to get anything done. Amazing as the devices were, hooves were awkward to use with them.

"Outside Rarity's house," Cheerilee answered, "at the party last night. She was having stomach trouble. The Doctor saw her from across the street with some of Vinyl's lights."

"Did he see what happened to her?"

"No."

"Were there any problems or drama at home or at the party?"

"No! We.. We were happy... The drama didn't come until after she stepped outside... Rarity threw a fit at Derpy, but... Not important..."

Bon Bon nodded, clacking away. "Was she sick from something at the party?"

"Tree Hugger's... Green juice. It didn't sit well with her."

"So, she went outside and never came back in. Have you looked for her?"

"Yes!" Lotus shouted. "Everywhere! I've spent all day looking for her!"

"Easy, easy," Bon Bon said, hooves up. "I just need to ask these questions so I can help find her, okay?"

"O...kay..."

Bon Bon took the sheet of paper out of the typewriter and laid it on her desk. She stamped it. "Okay... We can't actually declare her missing until tomorrow-"

"WHAT!?" Cheerilee blurted.

"I'm sorry! It takes a full 24 hours of disappearance for this to go through! I shouldn't even be typing it up yet! But I will act on it as soon as I can, okay?"

CHeerilee was about to let loose, but Lotus stopped her. "Let's just go, Cheerilee."

"...Okay," Cheerilee said.

"Thanks, Bon Bon."

Bon Bon nodded sagely. "I'll do everything I can."

Lotus walked out of the Town Hall and sat on the porch, ignoring the Mayor and staring straight ahead.

Cheerilee sat down beside her.

"I... Cheerilee I can't just sit here and wait..."

Cheerilee nodded. "I know. I'll help you look, okay?"

"I already looked everywhere... Ponyville isn't big..."

"Well, there has to be somewhere you didn't look. We could go around kicking in doors..." Cheerilee furrowed her brow, trying to think. Where could Aloe be? Where would nopony think to look?

She looked out towards the edge of town, beyond the Apple family farm.

"Everfree Lights..."

"Hm?" Lotus grunted.

"The Doctor said Vinyl's tricks looked like Everfree Lights. But I don't think Vinyl would use her magic outside, and I don't remember anything like that in the show... What if they weren't hers?"

Lotus blinked. "Do you mean..."

"We should at least check out the Everfree while we wait for that report to go through."

"Cheerilee, the Everfree is dangerous."

Cheerilee nodded. "all the more reason we should go on now... ...Or after we pack some gear, anyway."

Lotus raised a hoof to object - and then lowered it. Cheerilee saw her realize what this all meant. "...Let's go. We need to find her. Fast..."

Cheerilee smirked. They headed back to her house. Cheerilee knew deep down that this was extremely stupid and dangerous. But they had already tried seeking help - it was time to put matters into her own hooves.

And much like earlier that day with Carrot, she was rather incapable of objective self-analysis at the moment.

~~~

The Doctor dragged a wheelbarrow across the street. His load was impressive - a crystalline chandelier identical in every way to the one that had broken last night. It was a brilliant thing to carry in broad daylight since sun rays reflected through the facets into vibrant rainbows.

Roseluck coughed to grab his attention. "...Remind me why you went through so much trouble to get... this..."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all!"

"You know what I mean."

"Well, I made a deal. I fix Rarity's chandelier problem, and she fixes her Derpy problem."

Roseluck raised an eyebrow. "No way that could backfire."

"Oh, of course, it's bloody blackmail. But it's better than nothing. Not to mention there's something I want to look into here..."

"Oh?" Roseluck asked. "That disappearing girl?"

"Yes." He walked up to Rarity's front door and pulled a small, metallic rod out of his tie. The rod glowed a soft blue at the tip. With a quick point of the rod on the door's lock, it made a satisfying clicking sound. The Doctor pushed the door - but it didn't open.

"...Huh." He said.

Roseluck chuckled. "I think you just locked it. Thought the sonic was smart enough to avoid that?"

"Har-de-har," the Doctor muttered, using the sonic screwdriver to open the lock. He pushed the door open and dragged the wheelbarrow in. He went straight to the dining room. He took a moment to observe his surroundings - the ceiling was bare. Six screw holes were the only sign a chandelier had ever been there. He frowned. "...Going to need a ladder..."

Roseluck blinked. "Doctor, there's literally one in the open closet over there."

"Ah! So there is! I was just testing you."

"Roseluck huffed. She grabbed the ladder and dragged it over to the Doctor. "So, why are you so interested in her disappearance?"

"It was those lights... hand me the chandelier will you?" Roseluck delicately lifted up the crystal object and the Doctor took it from her decidedly left delicately. "I don't think Vinyl has an Everfree Lights trick, nor do I think it would get out of the house if she did. Screws please."

Roseluck handed him the screws, which he fumbled with, trying to keep the chandelier on the ceiling. "Hm... How am I going to screw these in..."

"It's called a sonic screwdriver for a reason isn't it?"

The Doctor blinked. "I do seem rather absent-minded today don't I?"

"More like preoccupied," Roseluck said. "I can see those cogs in your head turning, trying to figure out what you missed, where she could have gone."

"Think I'm worrying too much?"

"Not at all. A lost kid and unusual circumstances... Sounds like just the thing for you to set your mind to."

"Yes... Yes it does!" He smirked, stepping down from the ladder - the chandelier was in place and perfect. He folded the ladder up and put it away. "Let's go check outside."

The two left through the front door and circled to where they had seen Aloe the night before. There was a faint stink coming from behind a bush that smelled of fruit and grass.

"She was not having a nice breath of fresh air..." Roseluck observed.

"It would appear not... I say, does this patch of grass look odd to you?" He pointed with his hoof at a circular patch of grass that was yellowing, dying.

"Look," Roseluck said, pulling down a branch of a nearby tree. "The leaves on the tip of this are dead..."

"Like something sucked the life force out... Or just cut it off..." the Doctor pursed his lips, looking closely at the leaves. Parts of them looked like they had been torn apart from inside... "Something's going on here, that's for sure..."

"Any of the usual suspect?"

"No... That's what's bothering me. This doesn't even look similar to anything I've encountered..."

Roseluck bit her lip. "Do we need some equipment?"

"I don't believe so. I do think we need to find us some Everfree Lights..."

"...We're going into the Forest? Again?"

"Again," the Doctor grinned. "Oh come on Rose, it'll be fun!"

"We will need equipment, Doctor," Roseluck insisted. "I am not going back there without some preparation!"

"If you insist."

"I do!" Rose turned and ran to the Doctor's house to start her rummaging. The Doctor chuckled - this could take a while.

He tried not to think about what dead grass implied about Aloe...

~~~

Granny was humming a little ditty to herself in the kitchen, something about raining and washing necks. She energetically stirred a pot of soup, the yellow broth wafting a sweet smell into her nostrils. She cracked a few eggs into the pot, letting the drops congeal into long wisps of cooked egg.

Egg-drop soup was wonderful for colds. so was chicken soup, but Granny wasn't about to go slaughter a chicken just because Applejack was sick. That'd mean fewer eggs!

She took the pot off the heat and poured a small helping into a bowl. With a spring in her step, she moved through the house to her granddaughter's room. Granny could hear the coughs from a fair distance away, each heave tugging at her heart and slapping her peppy mood away bit by bit. No grandmother could stand to see their grandkids sick, it just wouldn't do. Sure, sickness wasn't likely to be fatal in this day and age, but Granny could never be too careful.

Granny slowly opened the door. "Applejack, your Granny's got some egg-drop soup for you..."

Applejack was in the bed, asleep despite the coughing. Her jaw was hanging open and her mane was splayed everywhere - she looked pale. Applejack wasn't what made Granny stop in her tracks though - it was the pegasus. The white mare was sitting on a stool, one of her wings caressing Applejack. her face was, for once, not stoic or skittish; her frown was deep, her eyes filled with sorrow. She didn't even seem to know Granny was there

Granny coughed. "Ahem?"

The mare turned to look at Granny and saw the soup. She backed away from Applejack sheepishly. Granny looked at her with scrutiny for a few seconds - she couldn't trust this strange pegasus with her sick granddaughter, could she? What was behind those sad eyes?

Granny pushed the thoughts back - it was time to attend to Applejack. "Hey, Ah got soup."

Applejack slowly opened her eyes. "Oh." She coughed again. "...Thanks..."

Granny helped Applejack sit up and gave her the bowl. "This is a nasty cold you got."

"Mm-hm," Applejack managed, carefully sipping the soup between coughs. After about six sips she put it on the bedside table. "Ah... Don't feel like it."

"That's okay, long as you drink every last drop later!"

Applejack let out a soft laugh which prompted another sequence of coughs. With a moan, she ducked back under her blankets, trying to rest.

Granny sighed. "Ah wonder..." She turned to look at the pegasus. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Woah, it's okay there, she's just sick. She'll get better."

The pegasus nodded slowly, looking past Granny to the lump that was Applejack.

"...You have any kids?"

The mare nodded, as if by reflex, but stopped herself. She shook her head with much more conviction. With a sharp breath, she closed her eyes tight as a lockbox.

"Oh... Ah'm so sorry, ain't nopony who deserves that."

The pegasus opened her eyes. She approached Granny and sniffed, a look of puzzlement crossing her sorrowful features.

"Ah'm part of a really large family myself. You've only seen two of my grandkids. Ah have several dozen now, just a bunch of bundles of joy. Ah... Ah've been around long enough. Seen a lot of them grow up."

The pegasus stood, attention focused entirely on Granny for once.

Granny chuckled. "Well. Let me tell you about little Braeburn, such a rascal. Lives down with my third eldest down in Appleloosa, trying to start a new frontier farm like Ah did back in the day. Braeburn seems to have it in his little head that he's some destined hero. This idea gets him into all kinds of trouble. One time, when Ah was visitin', he had set up some pie-flinging device to keep the 'disgustin' girls' away from the 'great artifacts' of his room. That pie didn't hit me, oh no, it hit Big Mac. Oh, what a day that was!"

A small smile began to creep up the pegasus' face.

"...More," she said.

Granny blinked, startled by the sound of the mare's voice. It was a high pitched sound that would have felt better in somepony younger and much more innocent.

"You can talk."

The pegasus nodded slowly, looking guilty.

"Oh no, it's not a bad thing! You have a beautiful voice. Just surprised, is all."

She nodded slowly, unsure.

"Well, you want more stories? Filly, Ah've got a century's worth here. How about... Oh, my son Red..."

Granny spun tales for her mysterious guest for the better part of an hour. She spoke of the many exploits of the Apple family ranging from her own discoveries of zap apples to the exploits of her many descendants, she always found something else to tell the white pegasus. The stranger began to smile brighter the more stories were told - even letting out a few harmonious laughs towards the end. The sound was delightful - short, sweet, and the perfect noise to get Granny laughing as well in her much rowdier fashion.

"...And that's how my aunt always told us Equestria was made!" Granny concluded. The pegasus clapped in response. Granny shook her head and sighed, suddenly, drawing a look of concern. "...Look, much as Ah like doin' this, Ah got things to do. Sorry." She turned to look at Applejack. "Such a sweet thing..."

The pegasus nodded.

"Can Ah trust you with her?"

The pegasus nodded again without hesitation.

"Good. Ah think you're an okay sort. Try to smile a little more though, will ya?"

She nodded, once again waiting over Applejack.

Granny turned to leave the room-

"Surprise."

Granny looked at the mare. "What?"

"Surprise... My name."

Granny broke out into a grin. "That name sure suits you."

Surprise smiled. She gave no indication she had anything else to say. She just focused on Applejack, watching like a guardian angel...

Comments

[Ponygood11]

Of course the Doctor has a sonic screwdriver. Are you going to reveal his time-and-space-traveling blue box, or his immortality next chapter?

I jest. You are very good at making compelling universes, and this is no exception. Keep up the good work!