Hatoful Ponyfriend - Bad Ponies Love

"So they both lied to us!" Rarity stomps a front hoof. "I can hardly believe it!"

We have just found out that Applejack and Zecora may very likely have seen Spike before he was killed. I am more suspicious of Zecora than ever. She could have poisoned him right then and there.

"Do you fools not understand?" Lyra demands, stomping up to me to shout in my face, "The Guardian of the Blooming Hearts works not of her own accord, but under the dark influence of the Oathbound Shaman of Thorns! She twists the powers linking two hearts, a power stronger than could have possibly been believed! The-"

"Stop that!" Rarity bumps Lyra on the shoulder, just slightly harder than she may have needed to. "We appreciate your help, but do not bother if you cannot speak in ways we cannot understand!"

"You will see, Glorious Enchantress of Inspiration. Mark my words, you will see!" Lyra wheels around and gallops off into the darkness.

"That was odd..." I say, scratching the back of my head. I had heard she was crazy, but that was beyond what I could have possibly imagined. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised after today.

"Now what?" Rarity asks. "Should we check Sweet Apple Acres for clues?"

"That sounds like the best idea, but," I say with a frown, "What if Zecora and Applejack find us?"

"One of us will just have to distract them." Rarity says. I don't need to ask, she doesn't want to go to that farm. There is one more problem, though.

"How will I be able to see without you there?" I realize that there's no point in going to the farm if I'm just going to be stumbling around in the dark.

"Hmm..." Rarity puts a hoof to her chin in thought. "Let's stop by the library and pick up one of the candles there. Nopony will mind." I figure that Twilight Sparkle would have something to say about it, but it's not like she's there all that often to object. I think.

The two of us trot to the library in silence. I pick one of the biggest, brightest candles out and take it with me to Sweet Apple Acres as Rarity heads to the hospital. I have to fly slowly to keep the candle from going out in the wind. To think that only a few hours ago, life was completely normal. Now this. I hope that there are answers waiting for me at the farm.

I've only been here once or twice on delivery buisness and I never took the time to look around. I hold the candle up and see trees on either side of me and a path beneath my hooves. Following the path took me past the hen houses, from which I could hear the soft clucks of the birds inside, to the pens holding the goats and sheep, and finally to a large barn, one door left wide open. It seems too much like a trap, but something it telling me that the answers that I am looking for are inside.

I leave the candle by the door and step inside.

I'm not sure what I'm seeing at first, but it's not what I expected. Instead of bales of hay, sacks of grain, and other things one might see in a barn, I saw tables with vials and bottles filled with many colored liquids. There were small bags of herbs and a mortar and pestle. Zecora has definitely been working here. I look around, careful not to touch anything, until I see something that looks like a long list sitting on one of the tables. The end of the paper curls off the end of the table and rolls at least eight inches on the floor.

I can't be certain, but it looks like it's a list of names of some sort. Some sound like pony names, but others come across more as the names of plants or foods. I quickly scan the list and nothing stands out. Then, I see the name Twilight Sparkle and I have to read it again. Zecora knows about Twilight? Does that mean that she can see her too? A little farther down the list is my name, Derpy Hooves, directly below Spike's. Something catches my eye an inch or so higher, something I missed. Rarity? Applejack? What are their names doing on this paper? What is this paper even for?

Before I can consider this further, I hear hoofsteps and a sharp pain explodes in the back of my head.

"Derpy Hooves! Wake up! Are you alive?"

Fluttershy is shaking me by the shoulders. My face is damp. I sit up and look around. We're in the cottage.

"My head hurts," I groan, rubbing the back of my aching skull. "What happened?"

With a look of concern, Fluttershy says, "Rarity came by about a half hour ago and dropped you off. She said that she expected you to be back at the hospital and went to look for you, but found you lying unconscious in Applejack's barn."

"Where is she?"

"She didn't stay long," the pegasus frowns lightly. "She said something about finding out the truth and left."

A horrible realization hits me. "Rarity's going to talk to Zecora. She's already gone!" I sit up and my head spins. "I need to go after her, she's in danger!"

"You can't go in this state," Fluttershy objects, "You're only endangering yourself! Rarity will have to be on her own for now," she adds grimly.

I would pray to Princess Celestia right now, but I know that she couldn't save us even if she wanted to. All I can do is hope that Rarity will be okay.

Ah, that pegasus is lighter than she looks, Rarity thought as she left the cottage. I sort of feel bad, leaving her like that, but I want to talk to Zecora and learn the truth for myself, without her there.

The unicorn walked quietly through Ponyville, lighting her own way to Applejack's barn. Why did it have to be there? Couldn't the potential crime scene have been somewhere that was a bit... cleaner? I didn't get a chance to see any evidence there, I was more worried about Derpy Hooves' health.

As she entered the orchard, she couldn't help but think about the farm pony who lived there with disgust. It started out with the first day she moved to Ponyville. Applejack had walked into her sparkling clean home with dirt-laden hooves without even a word of warning. She had offered an old, battered-looking welcoming basket that, in Rarity's opinion, was not a worthy gift to welcome a pony to a new town. Although, she had to admit, the treats inside were quite good. And she hated it.

Next came the incident at the cafe. It was a crowded Sunday afternoon and Rarity was about to enjoy a nice, quiet cup of tea at a table with a fine window view, sketching a design for a new dress, when one of the waitresses brought the farm pony over and had the nerve to sit her down on the opposite chair. Applejack had apologized and said that this was her favorite tables and that she hoped Rarity didn't mind the company. Rarity was about to object to the waitress that she did, indeed, mind the company, but she had already gone.

For the rest of the afternoon, Applejack had tried, undaunted, to make Rarity laugh, to tell her stories, to spark a conversation. At one point, she had tried to see Rarity's sketches, leaned over the table, and knocked her beverage onto the unicorn's work. Furious, Rarity had flipped the table over as she stood and stormed out of the cafe. She hadn't bothered to heed Applejack's apologies.

It had been like that ever since. Applejack never ceased attempting to make amends with Rarity, but her attempts were always met with stubborn failure. Rarity's resolve had almost broken when a line of chattering ponies awoke her on the first morning of cider season. She had remembered the treats that the farm pony had brought her on her first day, but her pride wouldn't allow her to join the other ponies in line.

Finally, Rarity reached the barn. The candle that Derpy Hooves had left hadn't moved one bit. It flickered against the barn walls and the door. As Rarity walked in, she saw the faint silhouette of a pony standing at the back of the large room.

"Hello?"

"Ah, you've come at last, I see. Do step inside, miss Rarity."

Nervous and stiff, Rarity walked into the barn and stood before Zecora. She thought she caught the faint shifting of another shadow, but she paid it little mind.

"I need to ask you some questions."

The zebra turned around and lit a second candle that stood on a table behind her. When she turned back, the shadows around her face made Rarity shudder inwardly.

"By the light of the fire's glow, ask me what you wish to know."

After some consideration, Rarity asked, "Did you kill Spike? Is Derpy Hooves right?"

Zecora shook her head. "This question, it is on your mind still? Very well, Spike I did not kill."

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. "That means it was Applejack all along. I knew she couldn't be trusted!"

But to Rarity's surprise, the zebra raised an eyebrow. "I did not say I had no hoof in the deed, I merely said I did not make him bleed. Neither did Applejack commit the crime. You will learn the truth all in good time." She smiled, but it wasn't friendly.

"So wait... neither of you killed him?" Rarity took a step back and shook her head, furrowing her brow. "You were both involved though? I don't understand."

Zecora chuckled darkly. "For now, let's put this nasty business aside. How does it feel to be where you did once did reside?" She took a threatening step forward and Rarity took another step back. "You wanted the truth? Well, this I shall give: Here, in this orchard, you used to live."

Rarity shook her head again, stepping back a third time. Zecora was beginning to unnerve her. "What are you saying? Why does that matter?"

"Oh dear, the time has bested me," In a sudden flash of stripes, the zebra turned her back to Rarity. "I have somewhere I need to be."

Her voice lowered and she spoke slowly, calmly. "Everything so far has gone according to plan. You have helped Derpy Hooves as best as you can. I need you no more, you will not see day light. And now," Rarity saw her body tense, "Rarity, good night."

Before Rarity could even flinch, Zecora blew out the candle and swept her hoof across the table, sending numerous vials and powders flying through the air at her.

Acids? Poisons? Rarity closed her eyes, preparing for the worst, but was met with no pain or even splashes of liquid on her face. There was a heavy thump and Rarity opened her eyes. Between herself and Zecora, Applejack lay on the floor of the barn, coughing and shuddering. Patches of her fur were missing where the concoctions that had been meant for Rarity had hit her. In some places, her fur had been leeched of its color. One of her eyes was shut and around it was a large helping of some kind of paste that made a soft, sizzling sound.

"Stop, Zecora," the earth pony grunted as she tried to stand. "We had a deal, remember? You said you wouldn't hurt Rarity at all."

Zecora started to walk to the door. "I told nopony else, I did not lie. But not to tell her? You did not specify. Oh, a message to Derpy Hooves, when you go: Follow me, find me, down below."

Rarity turned to follow Zecora, but Applejack placed a hoof on one of hers. "Don't. We need to talk."

"She's getting away!"

"Please, Rarity?" Applejack coughed again. "There's something I need to tell you now. Sit down."

"D'you remember Mama and Papa? I don't blame you if you don't, you were only a little foal the last time you saw them. Papa always said I looked exactly like him before he... Anyways, you get your white coat from Mama and your mane comes from a distant part of Papa's side of the family, the Plums. They're all Unicorns up until Papa and his Papa. They were good folk.

"I'm ramblin', aren't I? Alright, I'll get straight to it. The Plums are a high society family that live in Manehattan, even higher than the Oranges. They ain't the family type, though. When Uncle Avalon, Papa's brother, heard about how well Papa was doin' with Sweet Apple Acres, he came all the way down here to learn his secret.

"While he was here, he took a likin' to Mama. One day, when she and I were in town, Uncle Avalon killed Papa while he was playing with you. When we got home, you were sitting in your crib, crying and Uncle Avalon simply said that Mama was his now. He said he would be taking us to Manehattan the next day, and we shouldn't even try to run.

"He didn't want you, Rarity. Mama begged to take us both, but Uncle Avalon said that only one of us could come. The next morning, while Mama was on the phone, making arrangements with Granny Smith to come home early and take care of the farm, I planned to sneak you onto the train. You slept in an old apple crate that I had padded with bedsheets. I said it was full of my old things and on the way there and I wanted to make sure they got there safely. I sat there with you. Uncle Avalon didn't care, he didn't miss me. You didn't wake up once.

"I hid you in my room, feeding you scraps from the kitchen, until Mama had a new foal with Uncle Avalon. She looked just like you. This would be my only opportunity. One night, I crept into the room of the new foal and I put you, still sleeping, in her crib, and I took her away. Now you'd be raised right, in a nice bed, in a beautiful house, not stuck in the back of my closet, livin' on scraps. He would love you, because he would believe you to be his.

"Rarity, I took her into my room and I pressed my pillow to her face until she stopped moving. Then, I threw her into the ocean. Nopony ever found out. I ain't ashamed of what I did. You're my sister. You're family.

"Not long after, I was sent to live with the Oranges for a couple o' months. They lived across the street and my window looked into your room. It was nice, but it wasn't home. It was always loud downstairs, all the parties and dances kept me awake. I could never get the hang of wearing something that looked so nice but felt so uncomfortable.

"One day, I looked out my window and saw Mama with you in her lap, reading a book to you as you fell asleep. That's when I decided that you would be alright without me. She loved you, even though she didn't know it was you. She would take care of you.

"For the rest of my life, I worked at Sweet Apple Acres. I could only imagine the life you were leading. That is the life you remember, ain't it? Fancy parties, pretty dresses, prim and proper like? I see you nodding your head. Then you came here, to promote and expand Avalon's business? Rumor has it that he had two more foals with other mares after Mama.

"Never mind that now. Zecora noticed and threatened to tell the world. It would have ruined you and everything Avalon had worked for. I couldn't do that to you. You're so proud of yourself. Why should I take that away?

"It's alright, I forgive you. Everything you said, everything you did. You didn't know.

"I forgive you, Sister."