I Can't Shake These Monday Blues
Monday morning
Castle of Friendship, Ponyville
Twilight Sparkle yawned, stretching as she got out of bed. She smiled at the beautiful summer weather outside her window. Looks like another perfect day in Ponyville.
“Twilight!” Spike's voice echoed through the castle halls. “There's something you need to see in the throne room!”
She sighed. “So much for a slow morning,” she murmured and teleported herself to the castle's throne room.
Appearing in a flash of purple light, Twilight looked around, quickly taking in the situation. The cutie map looked active, with a glowing cutie mark floating above it. Beside the map table, Spike and Starlight Glimmer stared at the cutie mark with identical puzzled expressions on their faces.
“Good morning,” Twilight said with a smile, trotting the last few paces to the table. “So it looks like another map mission is ready. I know I'm not glowing. Who are the lucky ponies going this time?”
Starlight shook her head slowly, raising a hoof to point at the floating mark. “I'm not really sure.”
Twilight stepped right to the table's edge and peered closely at the cutie mark swirling over a small neighborhood in Vanhoover. It looked like a deep-blue glass pitcher. She frowned, glanced at her friends, then joined in their perplexed expression.
“Who the hoof is that?”
Tricky Pickle diner, Baltimare
Dusty Rose sipped tea at her usual booth, glancing from the door to the clock on the wall. The rest of the regular morning crowd busied themselves around her, eating their breakfasts and having the same old conversations to pass the minutes before the day's activities began. She set down her cup and ran a pink hoof over her pale-gold mane, brushing some errant strands back from her face. “Where is he?” she wondered aloud, glancing at the door again.
The earth pony was just taking the last bite of her haycakes when the bell over the door jingled and a stallion covered head to hoof with a heavy cloak pushed his way inside. He looked immediately at Dusty's booth and let out a relieved sigh, pushing back his hood to reveal the smile on his off-white face under a messy orange mane.
“Dusty!” he called, trotting over breathlessly. “I'm glad I caught you here. The weirdest thing happened.”
“Cobalt, what kept you? I waited, but I'm going to be late to work if I don't get going. So will you, by the way. I ordered your usual, but you're gonna have to eat it on the way at this point.”
“Dusty, that's not important right now.” He glanced at the other patrons of the busy diner. “I have something I need to show you. Come into the restroom.”
Her brow arched slowly. “Cobalt! We're friends, sure, but I'm not sure I like where this is going.”
He wrinkled his brow at the response, then gasped with understanding. “Oh! No, it's nothing like that. I just can't show you out in the open in front of everypony. It's a little weird and kinda embarrassing.”
“It's sure sounding like something like that.”
“Dusty, please! I'm a little freaked out right now-”
“I got that.”
“-and you're my best friend. I really need your help on this.”
“I just don't know.”
“Please!”
Dusty Rose sighed and glanced at the clock. “Alright, Cobalt, I'm late now anyway. A couple more minutes won't make a difference.” She got up from the booth, gesturing toward the restroom for her friend to go first.
“Thank you!” Cobalt trotted ahead, leading Dusty back out of sight inside the restroom.
Dusty closed the door behind her as she entered, seeing the nervous tension in her friend as he checked the stalls. “So what's this weird, embarrassing thing you have to show me, Cobalt? And, by Celestia, if this is what it was sounding like-”
Cobalt cut her off by pulling his cloak up off his flank. There was his cutie mark, a deep-blue glass pitcher, glowing brightly in pulses. As she watched it appeared as if each pulse of light came from little copies of the cutie mark seeming to radiate out from the center before disappearing again.
She stared at his flank, mouth hanging open. “Whoa... how is it doing that?”
“I don't know,” he replied nervously. “I was getting ready to meet you for breakfast and it just started glowing! I tried washing it off in case I got some strange, glowing chemical on there, but it didn't do anything.”
“Is it doing it on both sides?” she asked, walking around to get a look. “Wow, yeah, it is! This is really weird, Cobalt.”
“See? I told you it was.”
Dusty reached up and gingerly poked Cobalt's flank. “Does it hurt?”
He shrugged. “It doesn't hurt, exactly. It more sorta... twingles.”
She looked up at his face, raising a brow. “Twingles?”
“Yeah.”
“What's a twingle?”
“It's kinda like a twinge, but also kinda like a tingle, just not quite either one.”
Dusty rolled her eyes. “OK, as long as it's not hurting you.” She circled him again, watching the pulsing mark for several long moments. “What are you going to do?”
“I don't know! That's what I wanted to ask you.”
“How should I know what to do? I'm a florist, not a doctor or a wizard or anything.”
“Dusty, that's it! You're a genius!”
She grinned, polishing a hoof on her chest. “Well, yes, I am pretty amazing.” A second later she frowned. “What was I a genius about?”
Cobalt pulled his cloak over his haunches again. “I'll go see a doctor. This must be some weird illness. A doctor will know what to do.”
“But Cobalt, what about work? You're late as it is.”
“I'm sure my boss will understand. I can't blow glass all day if my flank keeps distracting the rest of the crew. I'll just run over to the hospital and get this checked.” He trotted to the door. “I'll bet they can cure this right away!”
Monday afternoon
Jane Horsekins Hospital, Baltimare
“I don't have a cure for this,” said Doctor Fetlock before writing a note on Cobalt's chart.
Cobalt sat up on the exam table, pulling his examination gown over his pulsing cutie mark once more. “But Doc,” he pleaded, pointing to the glow still visible through the thin fabric. “There has to be something you can do. You can't tell me this is normal.”
The doctor shook his head, hanging the chart on the door. “Oh, it's definitely not normal! I've never seen anything like it in my entire career. That might even be the strangest thing I've seen in my life.”
Cobalt winced a little. “Not really helping, Doc.”
“Ah, yes, sorry about that.” He cleared his throat. “While it's not normal, I can assure you it's also not an illness of any kind, nor is it any form of injury. Physically you're fine, Mr. Cobalt.”
His shoulders sank. “So that's it? My flank will be a beacon for the rest of my days?”
“Now, I didn't say that, Mr. Cobalt. I just said it isn't a physical problem.” He put a hoof on his shoulder, showing his most practiced and sympathetic bedside smile. “It's likely a magical phenomenon. Do you know any wizards you can talk to?”
Cobalt stared back at him. “I'm a glassblower,” he said flatly. “Where would I meet a wizard?”
Fetlock nodded sagely. “Of course. Lucky for you I happen to know a highly-rated wizard who should be able to shed some light on this situation.”
“Shedding light is what I want to stop doing, Doc.”
“Yes, well,” he wrote a few lines of information onto a bit of paper, handing it to Cobalt. “If it's a magical problem, I'm positive Comet Tail will have an answer for you.”
Jane Horsekins University – Astronomy Department, Baltimare
“I don't have an answer for you.” Comet Tail turned away from Cobalt, shifting the huge stack of books and scrolls suspended in the magic aura of her horn. “If you'll excuse me, I have a lecture to prepare and lab notes to review.”
“But, Doctor Fetlock said you'd be able to help. Please! Nopony can tell me what this is.” Cobalt pointed back at his flank and the flashing cutie mark. “It's been doing this all day.”
The teal unicorn stopped, her shoulders tensing. “Fetlock sent you to me?” she asked without looking back at him.
“Yes. He said he was positive Comet Tail would have an answer for me. He, um, seems to think very highly of you.”
She looked up to the ceiling, grinding her teeth. With a swallow she steadied herself. “Oh, yes, he thinks so highly of me that he doesn't bother to learn my specialty.”
Cobalt frowned, cocking his head to one side. “He did say you're a wizard.”
Comet Tail turned back to face him, visibly struggling to contain her frustration. This pony just got here, she reminded herself. “Yes, I'm a wizard. A research wizard specialized in astronomy, with a focus on the magical influences of recurring stellar phenomena.”
He stared back at her blankly. “I don't understand anything you just said,” he admitted, then perked up. “Oh, except wizard! I know that part.”
She sighed. “What do you do for a living?”
“I'm a glassblower,” he replied slowly, uncertain what this had to do with his problem.
“So you make glasses and vases and the like?”
“Yes.”
“What would you say if I came to your shop and asked you to make me a dress?”
“A glass dress?”
“No a proper dress out of fabric.”
“But I don't know anything about making dresses.”
Comet Tail smiled. “Exactly! You and a dressmaker are both craftsponies, both make products for your customers, but you use entirely different knowledge and skills to do so. Just like a magical researcher like me has a whole different set of skills from a therapeutic wizard, which is what you really need. See what I'm saying?”
Cobalt's shoulders slumped and he nodded. “Yeah, I see. That makes sense.” Sighing, he added, “I just have no idea where to go from here. I can't just keep glowing everywhere.”
She reached out a hoof and lightly patted his shoulder. “Look, I sympathize, I really do. I just don't know anypony at the university who studies cutie mark magic. It's mostly a settled subject and there aren't a lot of wizards who deal with it at all, really.”
“So there's nopony who can help me?”
Comet thought for a moment, chewing her lip out of habit. “The only real research on cutie marks I've even heard about lately is a paper presented a couple years ago in Canterlot, by Princess Twilight Sparkle, but even that was about simultaneous cutie mark acquisition in relation to her specialty of friendship magic, not cutie mark related ailments.”
Another blank stare met her answer.
“I'll see what I can do,” she promised, floating a pencil and a bit of parchment in front of her and jotting down a note. “I'll ask around with some of my colleagues to see if they've heard about something I haven't. If that doesn't turn anything up, I'll write to Princess Twilight and ask if she knows anything.” She glanced up at him. “Where can I reach you?”
Cobalt told her his home and work addresses. “Thank you so much for doing this. I know you said it's not your specialty, but it means a lot to me.”
Comet Tail smiled. “I'm glad to help. I'm sorry I was so curt with you before. It looks like I've got to have a long talk with Dr. Fetlock, again.”
He turned to go but stopped after a few steps. “When should I expect to hear from you?”
She pursed her lips. “Hmm, I should be able to ask around within a day or so. If I have to write to the Princess, likely a week.”
“A week?”
“It's the best I can do,” she told him with a smile. “Try and get some rest. Maybe it will clear up on its own. You never know.”
Monday evening
Cobalt's apartment, Baltimare
Cobalt sat on his couch, staring at the flashing light on his flank with half-lidded eyes. He pulled his thickest blanket over his flank, despite the summer heat. The flashing continued, with the same twingle feeling he'd felt all day, the light only slightly obscured by the covering. With a sigh he dropped his head back onto the pillow laid over the arm of the couch.
“Get some rest, she said. Maybe it will clear up on its own, she said.” He pulled the pillow out from under his head, pressing it down over his eyes. “I'm never gonna get to sleep again.” The light kept pulsing, over and over.
A loud knock at the door prodded a groan from Cobalt's lips. “Go away!” he called out, holding the pillow down with both hooves. Great, now it's waking up the neighbors.
“Cobalt? It's Dusty!” came the answer from outside. “I wanted to see how things went with the doctor. I picked up your favorite from the diner on the way, in case you didn't get supper. Can I come in?”
He groaned and lifted the pillow. “I'm really not in the mood right now, Dusty. I appreciate the-” He was sitting up to get a clear shot to the door when the door opened with a rattle of keys and Dusty Rose pushed inside, carrying a couple large Tricky Pickle Diner bags and a small bouquet of pale roses.
“Sorry, I couldn't hear you through the door over the sound of my keys, Cobalt.” She set the bundles on the kitchen counter, then opened one of his cabinets and pulled out a small vase. Moments later she had it filled with water and roses, and placed it on the table. “There! Nothing like a nice rose to help a pony feel better after a rough day.” She smiled and walked around in front of the couch, glancing at the flashing light of his cutie mark under the blanket. “Come on over to the table and eat something while you tell me what the doctor had to say.”
“Dusty, I really don't feel up to entertaining anypony right now,” he said with a groan. “I just want this crazy day to end.”
She grabbed the blanket and pulled it away to the floor. “I'm not anypony, I'm your best friend who's worried about you, you dope.” She raised a brow, giving him her best “problem customer” stare. “I know you skipped breakfast and probably lunch, too. Now get over here and eat something so you'll feel better.” She started opening bags and pulling out to-go boxes, opening them up.
Cobalt sighed, laying his head back. “Dusty, I appreciate your concern, but what I really need is...” He sniffed at the succulent aromas wafting over from the table. “Is that-”
“Pan-fried oat cakes with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots with slivered almonds,” Dusty said, cutting him off. “And I got a peach pie for dessert. But if you're too tired, I could just take this all home.”
She didn't get any further as Cobalt shot up from the couch and trotted over to the table, smiling at the feast in front of him and taking another deep sniff. “Dusty, you're just too good to me.”
“Yeah, I am,” she agreed with a grin. Opening her own salad, she sat down across from Cobalt and watched as he practically dove into his meal. “So tell me what the doctor had to say. How long will the treatment take?”
Cobalt groaned around a mouthful of oat cake, either really enjoying the taste of the dish or strongly disliking the topic of the question. “It's a really long story,” he said once he swallowed.
She smiled. “Then eat your dinner first, and we'll talk after. I've got all the time you'll need.”
He smiled at his friend. “Way too good for me,” he murmured before digging into the potatoes.
“I know,” she said with a smile, pouring some dressing on her salad. “But you can keep telling me all you want.”
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great chapter
Cute start to a story. I wanna see where it goes.
this is kinda on twilight for not informing the public that this can happen and what to do when it does. also canot wait to find out what he called for
11083821
She was supposed to know this could happen to random ponies she's never met HOW?!
Jane...Horsekins
Kudos on the pun and correct location
WAAH! I've said it before, but Dusty Rose is probably one of my favorite OCs ever.
I'm ready for Chapter 2 already
11083829
fair. at least she will now know that it can and will likely plan for it. gonna be funny with our mc trying to figure things out that and twilight serching for a random pony
This is nota that creative, but is sonewhat new, and it's interesting, it could be better later on, si i Will he reading this :D.
I wonder where this will go.
Classic punchy set ups with specialists bring a smile to my face. Have fun with this one! I wanna see what you can do with the premise.
I can see that on the specialists it would be like being referred to a foot doctor for brain surgery.
As to the fact the map indicated a random pony till something happens or there are indications it can happen its generally assume what happened before is what will continue to happen
11083990
gonna guess twilight will try find the pony being summoned. mabey she will think the map made a mistake and go where the map is pointing herself and make whatever is the issue worse?
That was pretty fun. Fave'd!
A whole week... Oh boy. Better hope that friendship problem isn't urgent!
The opening lines made me think this was a mock mmo late into mlp g4 or a video game to capitalize on its success.
Well. Lets git this truck on the road
Can't wait to see what happens next
Huh, I thought the title refers to me being summoned, as in the reader... Well, not what I expected, but consider me hooked in this fic by the first chapter alone
Wonder what's the friendship problem is all about that the map chooses a seemingly random pony from Baltimare? Kinda curious to know~
A new hand has touched the beacon!
11085381
prolly should have read the tags lmao
You have my curiosity and my attention.
11083829
It did happen to Sunburst while he was in the Crystal Empire once. To be fair, we don't know if this story is set before or after that.
11086527
but in the case of Sunburst, he was summoned along with Starlight. And Starlight knew him. so there wasn't much confusion as to the "who" of the situation.
11086986 That's true, but Twilight should have realized at that point that the Crystal Map was capable of summoning ponies without any direct connection to the map, and doing so from across Equestria. That would have been the time to take out ads in all the papers "Hey, is your butt glowing? Get on a train to Ponyville!"
11087061
Fair point.
Our small equines don't always think ahead, though. Not even Purple Smart.
Well I'm hooked! Glad to have seen its evolution from its more beta form!
Keep it up!
is more comming?
11183301
Yes, more is coming. I've encountered a slight delay from RL and too many other stories pressing on my brain. My plan for this is a minimum of four chapters, likely six or seven.
11183364
cool i look forward too them.
11086527
She might have made the same assumption I did - that the Map spreads it's connection via links of Friendship, and therefore no-one not already close to somepony who had already been called would be affected. (Of course, if that was the case, she seems to have miscalculated.)
No, your problem is you can't STOP glowing everywhere.
⁹
Poor dude, he's fortunate he's got such a lovely friend.