Blankness

by Zaid ValRoa

Rating: everyone
Tags: Apple Bloom, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life
Length: 81592

When a mysterious plague strikes Ponyville, everyone is faced with a challenge that defies one of the very principles on which their society is built. To which degree are ponies defined by their cutie marks?

A farmer, a teacher, a student, a family.
One morning, they woke up and realised something was missing.
But what, exactly, has been lost?

Chapter 2 - Deleted Scene
"What Do Ponies Truly Fear?" - Essay

Published 2014-07-22 20:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-09-19 17:00:50 UTC

1

Twilight gasped as her eyes shot open. She blinked once, twice, and by the third time her brain realised she was indeed awake. She stayed there, lying under the blankets, lost in the post-sleep drowse that permeated her mind, until she finally registered the sound of raindrops falling outside.

“Ugh…”

She clenched her blanket with her teeth and turned around, fruitlessly trying to find the trail of her fleeting sleep so it could take her back, but the increasing hammering sound of the rain against her window assured that she wouldn’t make it.

“And here I thought I could get to sleep in on my day off.”

She remained in bed, groaning as she stared at the wood ceiling of her room. She could try to get some more sleep, but the abrupt awakening had jolted her brain. Had she been dreaming? She wasn't even sure about that. Knowing that staying in bed would be useless, she kicked the blanket off her with unconcealed exasperation.

“Huh? Wha...?” Spike's sleepy voice came from the foot of the bed. Slurred. Muffled by Twilight’s blanket.

“Oh, sorry Spike,” she apologized as she got off her bed. Wrapping the blanket with her magical aura, she pull it away from Spike and, giving it a thorough shake, she stretched it over her bed. “And good morning.”

A tired grumble was his only reply.

“Since we’re already awake, I was thinking we might as well start the day.”

Twilight walked towards her mirror and brushed her mane, fighting with the knots in her hair until the comb managed to pull through them. Spike for his part managed to gather enough willpower to get off his bed.

“I thought you said that we would have this day off,” the little dragon said, stretching until his back gave a satisfying crack. “What, with the storm and all. I mean, we've been cooped up in the library sorting those new books and organising the shelves for most of last week.”

“I know what I said, but the storm has just started. It likely won’t pick up much strength until the afternoon." With that, she walked up to her window and pulled the curtains. "Right now it’s just like any light summer rain.” Not a moment had passed since she spoke when thunder roared outside, catching both of them by surprise. “At least, that’s what the weather team said.”

Spike crossed his arms and gave her an unimpressed stare, to which Twilight could only respond with an apologetic smile.

“Besides, if we wrap up anything that has to be done we can spend the rest of the day in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate.” Satisfied with the result, she laid the comb down and looked at Spike. “What do you say?”

Her assistant mulled the thought for a moment before an eager smile appeared on his face. "Can I put those little quartz marshmallows on mine?”

Twilight giggled and rustled Spike’s spines. “I don’t see why not. Right now though, it’s time for breakfast.”

With a brighter prospect for the day, the pair made their way out of the room and down the stairs.

“What would you like to eat, Twilight?” the little dragon asked as he opened the kitchen cabinets in search of his cooking implements.

“Oh, I’d love some toast, maybe with some eggs and hay bacon,” Twilight answered.

“You got it!” Spike replied as he took out frying pans and pots.

“Or what... about...” the unicorn trailed off.

Spike turned around, waiting for Twilight to bring the food to cook. "What was that, Twi?"

The unicorn rummaged through the few contents of the fridge. “Spike, when did we last go out to get groceries?”

"Uh... Last weekend, I guess," Spike said as he walked away from the stove. "We're out of food already?"

“Unless you count half a carton of milk, an empty pizza box and what I suspect is some kind of cheese as proper food, then yes. We're out," Twilight said in a sardonic tone.

"Huh... Guess we've been stuck in here for longer than I thought," Spike mused out loud.

Twilight took the carton of milk and closed the door, “How come we didn’t realise that we were running out of food?” She enveloped two glasses in her magic and brought them to the table, and poured some milk for both.

“Well, we’ve been quite busy this past couple of days with those new books.” The dragon downed the glass of milk in a single gulp before speaking again. “Plus, there was that food fair at the market last week, so we were eating outside with the girls almost daily.”

Spike was right, the past week had been more than a little bit hectic. Not only had the arrival of new books clogged up Twilight’s time—who had insisted to read all of them before organizing them and adding them to the library’s index—but Spike had also gone on several gem-hunting trips with Rarity due to an influx of orders for new dresses over the last weekend, all of which had led to their current predicament.

Twilight looked at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. It was little over eight o'clock.

“It’s still early, and the storm hasn’t picked up much strength yet,” she mused out loud.

Spike did a double take at that. “Are you thinking about going to the market?” He looked at the pouring rain through the kitchen window before turning to face the unicorn again with eyes bearing a mix of worry and disbelief. “Really?”

“Maybe,” Twilight replied before finishing her glass of milk, “although... considering this downpour has been scheduled since last month, I think its' likely that some of the merchants could have decided to stay at home."

"Oh, doesn't that sound cosy," Spike whispered.

"Ha ha... I think the best thing to do would be going to Sugarcube Corner and grabbing breakfast there.”

Spike beamed when he heard this.

“That should last us for the rest of the day, or at least until the afternoon.” She gave her assistant a warm smile. “What do you think?”

“Count me in, Twi. Let’s go.” After saying that, he jumped from the chair and ran out the door with blatant eagerness.

Twilight took the glasses to the sink, and opened the faucet, letting the water rinse the leftover milk. They would grab some breakfast from Sugarcube Corner, go through the market to see if they could buy some food, and then spend the rest of the day cleaning up and resting inside Golden Oaks. Maybe go visit some of the girls, if the rain waned.

It should be a nice day.

Even though it hadn't been more than a few hours since the storm had begun, the downpour had already caused the ground on the road to the market to soften. As Twilight’s boots sank into the soft soil, she let out a grumble. “This makes you wonder why the Mayor doesn’t approve my proposal of replacing the dirt roads with gravel,” Twilight mused while sidestepping another puddle in the road.

“Are we there yet, Twi?” Spike asked as he tried to steady the umbrella above them.

“We should be getting there already,” she said while squinting. “Actually, we should already be—” Twilight stopped talking as she looked around.

The Ponyville Market was usually a lively place, filled with happy ponies going on about their days; and even though Twilight had expected a few absences on account of the rain, she couldn’t have imagined that almost half of the usual vendors wouldn’t be here. It was odd, to say the least, and more than a little unnerving, in all honesty.

“—here,” she finished.

“Well,” Spike said, “seems like Sugarcube Corner it is!”

Twilight frowned at the eagerness in her assistant’s voice. “I just find it weird that so many ponies decided to just not show up.” Her eyes focused on the heavy grey clouds above them. “It’s not as though this is a storm, or anything. It’s just a twelve hour downpour to help the crops and the grass around Ponyville.”

“Maybe they took it as an excuse to take the day off and sleep in,” Spike mused in a nonchalant tone as he rubbed his claws on his chest.

“Very funny,” Twilight replied.

She eyed the stalls, looking for familiar faces amongst the sparse groups of ponies who had ventured into town in spite of the weather. There was the cherry vendor wearing a trench coat, the honey vendor, who hadn’t taken out her bees, and the celery stalk vendor was there too, making sure none of his produce would get soaked in the rain. And yet nowhere she looked could Twilight find—

“G’mornin', Miss Twilight!” said a cheerful voice behind Twilight. “Mornin', Spike!”

They turned around and saw the small Apple Bloom wearing a raincoat.

“Hello, Apple Bloom,” greeted Twilight.

“Hi, ‘Bloom,” replied Spike from atop Twilight’s back.

“I don’t see your sister at the market; did they decide to stay at home?”

Apple Bloom frowned and twisted her mouth. “Well, y'see…” She kicked the ground with her hooves, letting the rest of her sentence fade away.

The filly’s reaction further worried Twilight's already shaken mind, which immediately started to think of possible scenarios that would make Applejack stay at home, none of which were particularly positive. Walking towards the little filly, Twilight spoke in a soft tone. “Apple Bloom… Is everything ok?”

“Well...” Apple Bloom kicked a loose pebble on the ground before continuing. “Ah... I can’t say for sure.”

Twilight and Spike exchanged brief looks of concern.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” asked an increasingly confused Twilight.

“She didn’t want to tell me,” Apple Bloom said in a tone that was both worried and annoyed, “when I woke up this morning, everyone was runnin' around the house like crazy!” She waved her hooves in the air for emphasis, “Applejack shut herself in the livin' room and Big Mac wouldn’t let me in.”

That wasn't how Applejack normally acted, not even when facing a problem. What could possibly have happened for the normally level-headed farmer siblings to react in such a way?

Apple Bloom looked back towards Sweet Apple Acres for a moment before facing Twilight once again. “She came out later and told me to find you, Miss Twilight. My sister would like you to go to the farm as soon as you can. I don’t know what’s happenin', but Applejack sounded really worried.” She then trotted towards Twilight and touched her hoof with her own. “Would you please help her?”

Twilight stared into the big, shiny eyes of the filly. She could see confusion and fear in her, and she wanted nothing more than to offer her some comfort. Whatever she could extend without knowing what had happened, she would give. With the best smile she could muster, she spoke again. “I’m sure everything will be alright, Apple Bloom. Maybe they just need my help to move that big rock they found on their land, or fix something with magic.”

That much was a stretch and she was well aware of it. Judging by the filly's description, whatever problem Applejack had was far more serious than broken furniture; not to mention that Big Mac would be more than capable of moving that rock. Still, it seemed to do the trick, if Apple Bloom’s soft smile was any indication.

“Thanks, Miss Twilight,” she said, still smiling. “It’s gettin' late, though, and I have to go to school.” She backed a couple of steps and spoke again, “Goodbye, Miss Twilight. And thanks for the help. Goodbye, Spike.”

“Goodbye, Apple Bloom,” both replied in unison.

They remained silent for a moment, staring at the filly as she left.

“What do you think happened, Twi?” asked Spike.

“I don’t know, Spike,” she said, “but I intend to find out.”

“We’ll skip the market, then?” Spike said.

“No, you go ahead without me.” Twilight levitated her coin purse and gave it to Spike. “You have the list and here’s the money, see who has come to the market and buy what you can, I’m going to check on Applejack right away. If what Apple Bloom said is true, then I don’t want to waste time.”

Twilight’s horn began glowing, and her magic aura surrounded Spike, she lifted him and moved him to the ground as a magical barrier appeared on top of her and made its way down, encasing her in a bright bubble of lavender energy.

“This should be enough to protect me from the rain.” Twilight moved around to check her mobility. “Go do the shopping; I’ll head down to Sweet Apple Acres.”

“You got it!” exclaimed Spike as he stood upright and gave a salute.

Twilight smiled and galloped towards the farm. Before she was too far, however, she stopped and yelled, “And I don’t want to find out that you bought another tub of ice cream!”

Spike sighed and walked to the closest stall with a lethargic pace.

Apple Bloom stood under the porch of the schoolhouse, shaking the water off of her raincoat while she thought about the events of the morning.

Things had been just... weird. Normally Applejack or Big Mac made sure to wake her up, but today it'd been the sound of heavy hoof steps that stirred her from sleep. She was used to the old farmhouse creaking due to hurried steps. Work on the farm began at sunrise, after all. But there was something odd about the way everypony walked. It wasn't the usual hurry to get ready for another day of work. They were... what was that word? Frantic. They ran from one place to another and then stopped for a moment, only to start running again, never leaving the farmhouse.

The filly removed her raincoat and entered the schoolhouse. She did try to ask what was happening, but nobody would talk to her.

Applejack ran into the living room as soon as Apple Bloom got down from her room, and Big Mac stood by the door and wouldn’t let her pass. Her brother was silent, he had always been, but this was different from his usual silence; it was almost as if his lips had been glued together, and the way his eyes darted back and forth around the house told her that something was definitely not right. Granny Smith wouldn’t tell her either.

Granny Smith...

Even though she was quite advanced in age, she was always happy and energetic, but this morning, for the first time since Apple Bloom could remember, she had seen her grandmother as an old pony. Frail, small, and even a bit scared.

She didn’t like this, she didn’t like it one bit.

She made her way to her desk and sat there. Class was yet to start, so she looked around for her friends.

“Hi, Apple Bloom,” said a cheerful white unicorn.

“Hi, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom turned to the pegasus trotting towards her. “Hi, Scootaloo.”

The trio of fillies began chatting cheerfully and, for a moment, Apple Bloom forgot about the troubling morning she had had.

“I still got to work on my water cycle model,” Scootaloo said. “I just have to find a way to prevent it from leaking.”

"Big Mac always says a good heap 'o duct tape can fix any leak," Apple Bloom said. Then thought back for a second before speaking again, "Or a weldin' torch."

The group shared a small laugh, but were soon interrupted by a new arrival.

“I’d be amazed if you manage to finish that thing in time,” said a snarky voice, “haven’t you been at that little project of yours for weeks now?”

The three little fillies begrudgingly turned around to see Diamond Tiara trotting towards them with a smug smile on her face.

“Hey!” Scootaloo began batting her wings and pointed a hoof to the pink earth pony. “It’s not my fault that this project is difficult, I’ve been working really hard on it,” she protested.

“Oh, I’m sure you have,” Diamond Tiara said in a mocking tone. “But you’ve been working so long on it, and have been talking about it so much; it would have to be the best thing ever not to disappoint.” A malicious smirk formed on the filly’s face.

“Why you…” Scootaloo began, but was interrupted by Apple Bloom.

“You’re just mad 'cause nopony liked your project about trade and commerce!" she shot back at the bully.

Diamond Tiara was about to respond, but she was interrupted by the door opening, and Cheerilee walking in.

“Good morning, students,” their teacher said as she entered the room. “I’m glad to see that most of you could make it.”

With that, Diamond Tiara huffed and trotted back to her seat in the back. The other students went back to their seats as well and waited for the class to begin.

“We’ll be going at a slower pace today, we wouldn’t want to leave your classmates too far behind.” She sat on her chair and withdrew a book. “Be sure to let them know what we’ve done today if you see them.”

“Huh, that’s weird,” Sweetie Belle said in a low, soft voice.

“What’s weird, Sweetie Belle?” asked Scootaloo in a not as low voice.

“I figured a few ponies wouldn’t come due to the rain, but…” the unicorn trailed off.

Apple Bloom felt something grip her stomach as she looked around the room. She wasn't quite sure why, but the uneasiness she had felt since that morning became a heavier pull inside her.

“…I didn’t think a third of the students would skip class!” Sweetie finished.

Twilight arrived at Sweet Apple Acres just as the storm was picking up strength, and made her way to the farmhouse. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees of the orchard, and the increasing rain turned the dirt road into a muddy trap.

Still, Apple Bloom had made it clear that this was an emergency, and Twilight was more than happy to lend a helping hoof. She assumed that everyone would be inside due to the heavy rain, so she went straight to the farmhouse, and knocked on the door. She didn’t have to wait too long until Applejack opened the door.

“Hello, Twilight,” Applejack greeted her friend with what Twilight could identify as forced cheerfulness. Whatever their problem was, it must have been a serious matter.

“Good morning, Applejack,” Twilight said as she released her protective spell and made her way into the Apple home.

It didn't take long for Twilight to confirm her worries. The mood in the house was far different from the usual warmth that characterised the Apple family. She saw Granny Smith sitting on her rocking chair and looking through a window at the rain pouring down outside.

"Good morning, Granny Smith," Twilight said.

The elder mare didn't react right away, it took her a moment to acknowledge someone had even arrived at the house. When she finally noticed the unicorn in the living room, she gave her a smile and a greeting in return.

"Hello, dear," Granny Smith said, "how nice of you to come visit us."

“Apple Bloom asked me to come over as soon as I could. She said it was an emergency,” Twilight said, hoping that she could find out what exactly had happened that morning.

Granny Smith's façade crumbled in an instant, and yet Twilight was surprised when she recognised the expression on the mare's face. She had expected many things: worry, unease, confusion, perhaps even fear. Definitely not sadness.

Granny Smith looked sad, and seeing the usually happy and energetic old mare in this state was more than a bit shocking for Twilight. She snapped back to reality when she felt Applejack nudging her on the side.

"Ah, yes... Your sister said it was urgent, but she couldn't tell me what exactly happened," Twilight said, grateful to see her friend, but just as grateful for being given a distraction from Granny Smith's odd demeanor.

“It is an... emergency. Sort of.” The downcast tone in the farmer’s voice did little to ease Twilight's growing concern. She motioned for the unicorn to follow her to the kitchen.

“Does this have something to do with you being missing from the market this morning?” Twilight asked in a low voice as they stepped out of the living room.

“It does,” Applejack replied in a monotone.

“Applejack, you're not one to beat around the bush.” Twilight caught up with Applejack and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Tell me what’s happening, is everyone ok?”

“I think… I think it’s better if you see it for yourself, sugar cube.”

The uneasy feeling inside of Twilight grew even more. It was unusual for her friend to beat around the bush this much.

Applejack opened the door to the living room and moved aside so Twilight could go through. What waited for her in there was nowhere near what she could have imagined. Lying on the couch, resting under a blanket was a yellow coated mare that Twilight recognised.

“Golden Harvest? What is she doing here?” She knew all the farming families in Ponyville got together quite well but, considering the heavy downpour of that day, seeing the owner of the second largest farm of Ponyville here instead of dealing with her own chores was unexpected, to say the least. Could she be the one with the problem Apple Bloom mentioned?

“She came to the farm early this mornin', she was pretty shaken and, well...” Applejack’s words lingered in the air as she walked towards the couch, stopping a couple of strides from it.

“Golden? Wake up, girl. Somepony's here to see you.”

The mare stirred in place almost immediately. It was obvious she hadn't been actually sleeping.

“Huh…? Oh, M-miss Sparkle.” Golden Harvest gave a small jump once she saw Twilight, but she winced and immediately lied back, almost as if she was trying to sink into the couch. “It’s good to see you…”

This whole situation was already beyond Twilight's levels of tolerance for abnormality. She wasn’t particularly close with Golden Harvest, just familiar faces in a small town; they occasionally made some small-talk in the market but never anything beyond that. But seeing the farmer like this, clearly shocked and disturbed, compelled Twilight to help her.

The unicorn got closer to her and knelt in front of the couch before speaking again.

"Hello, Golden," Twilight said, trying to be reassuring as the mare in front of her was clearly under a lot of stress, and she was more than willing to help a pony in need. “Tell me what happened.”

“I… I’m not sure...” her eyes darted around the room, as if searching for something that wasn't there, before she continued. “I just woke up this morning and…” she trailed off and closed her eyes, almost as if she was actively forcing herself to speak.

Dozens of different scenarios went through Twilight's mind, but nothing really added up. What happened? What could have possibly scared Golden Harvest, and by extension the Apple family, to this degree?

“I don’t understand...” she shied away and pulled the blanket tighter around her body, but Twilight guessed that it wasn’t due to the cold. “Why is this happening to me?”

“Golden, I think it would be better if you just showed her,” Applejack spoke again from her spot behind the unicorn.

Before Twilight could ask Applejack just what she was talking about and why she was keeping her distance, Golden Harvest gave a hesitant nod and propped herself up, letting the blanket slide off.

Twilight focused her attention back on Golden Harvest. Her eyes scanned the mare sitting on the couch, trying to figure out what was wrong. And then she saw it.

Or rather, didn’t see it.

“I’m scared, Twilight.” The mare's words barely registered as Twilight’s mind went numb.

Thunder roared outside of the farmhouse.

Golden Harvest’s flank was bare.

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.”

3

Dear Princess Celestia,

I wish I was writing this letter under happier circumstances. First of all, let me assure you that no harm has befallen me or any of my friends, but the situation is Both my friends and I are fine, but a certain situation has come to my attention, and I feel that I should inform you.

This morning, my friend Applejack asked me to help her with a prob an earth mare woke up with a dire problem. Golden Harvest, a local farmer found that her cutie mark had vanished. I know this sounds outlandish, but it is the truth.

While I initially took it upon myself to try and solve this issue, I’ve found dead end after dead end. I’ve done my best to find an explanation for this situation, but since my initial analysis didn’t turn up any results, I decided to ask for help my friend Applejack contacted the local hospital and they’re doing their best to find an answer.

Still, I thought it would be better if I should inform you about the current developments and anything new that we may

What do I do?

"This isn’t working," Twilight said with a sigh as she crumpled the piece of parchment with her magic and threw it in a nearby bin.

She had been writing non-stop since she arrived at the library, but she still couldn’t find the right words to convey all her worries and doubts. Her first priority was to inform the Princess about Golden Harvest’s situation, of course, and that measures had already been taken regarding that but... At the same time she couldn’t decide whether or not to share her suspicions about other possible afflicted ponies.

Ultimately, she decided to share only what she knew, since she didn't want her paranoia to exacerbate things. Besides, she wished this problem could be solved without taking more… extreme measures.

“You know,” said a voice that pulled Twilight from her trance, “I’m always willing to help you write to the Princess.”

Twilight turned away from her desk and saw Spike walking towards her with a small smile on his face. Stopping next to her, the small dragon rested a claw on her shoulder. “It’s kind of what I do,” he finished with a shrug.

The dragon’s words managed to put a faint smile on Twilight’s face. She drew a new piece of parchment before turning around to face her assistant.

“I know, Spike, I just needed to clear my mind.” Twilight looked at the bin full of discarded letters and sighed. “I’ve been trying to decide how to tell the Princess about what happened today but I don’t really know anything concrete beyond—” She stopped abruptly as the words died on her throat, she then gave a sigh and looked through the window.

“Golden Harvest losing her cutie mark?” ventured Spike.

“Yeah,” Twilight sighed and walked towards her balcony. “I still have a hard time believing what happened, much less even trying to understand how or even why it happened.”

“I just hope we can find a solution soon," she said, staring longingly at the sky.

The stillness of the night enveloped her as she stepped outside. She looked at the overcast sky in silence, the rain had stopped just a moment ago, and the clouds were now a pure white shade that barely let the last dying rays of sunlight pass through.

Quietly, Spike made his way to her side and stood fumbling with his thumbs. “Hey, Twi,” he said in a low voice.

“Yes, Spike?” she answered absentmindedly.

“You did all your magic scanning things, right?” the dragon asked.

“Yes, I did,” Twilight said with a sigh.

“And the doctor took samples to find out what happened to Golden, right?” he continued.

“Yes...” Twilight arched an eyebrow at her assistant. “You already know that, why are you asking?”

Spike gave a soft smile as he lifted a claw before speaking again, “And you are going to ask Zecora later about all of this, right?”

She glanced at the last dying beams of sunlight in the sky, thinking if it would be safe going into the forest at this time. “Maybe tomorrow. Once the morning comes, I’ll go to the hospital to see if there are any developments, and then I’ll go visit Zecora.”

“Ok, then. That means that you are doing your best to find a solution to this problem.” He grabbed Twilight by her shoulders, making her look at him and the earnest smile he could give. “I know that if there’s anypony who can solve this, it’s you, Twi, and the doctors at Ponyville Hospital are trying to solve this as well, and I’m sure Zecora has some insight into all of this, so don’t worry too much, ok?”

Twilight looked into the dragon's eyes in silence. Slowly, a smile began to tug at her lips. With all that had happened that day—the stress, helplessness, and the growing paranoia—it was easy to forget that there were still ponies, and dragons, who were always willing to stand by her side and support her.

And maybe that's all that she needed right now.

She then pulled the dragon closer to her, holding him tightly. “Thanks, Spike, I won’t.”

They stayed on the balcony, until the sun set behind the clouds and darkness enveloped them. Neither wanted to say anything, for there wasn’t anything to say, nor was there anything for them to do other than enjoy the company and support they could give themselves.

The moment was finally interrupted by the sound of Twilight’s stomach growling. They both stared at each other, before Twilight turned her head away in embarrassment.

“Twi, don’t tell me you haven’t eaten anything today,” Spike scolded her.

“Well,” Twilight smiled a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head, “We had that coffee earlier and I ate a couple of apples back at the farm, so…” she trailed off and let a giggle escape her.

Spike just sighed and walked back inside the room, motioning Twilight with a claw to make her follow him. “Come on, Twi. Let’s give you something to eat before your intestines implode.”

“I’m going, Spike,” Twilight said as she followed her assistant into the library. She paused for a second and shot a look in the direction of the forest. She lingered there for a second before shaking her head and entering the room, closing the doors behind her.

“It took me the whole night, but it’s done!” Scootaloo said with a huge grin plastered on her face. “My water cycle model is done!” The small pegasus beamed with happiness as she held the scale model on her desk.

“It looks amazing, Scootaloo. How did you fix it?” Sweetie Belle said with a smile of her own as she gently pressed her hoof against the painted pegasi on the clear tube.

“Tape! Lots and lots of tape, my parents said I'm too young to use a welding torch.” She looked at the model with pride. “It’d take a lot to make it leak again. What do you think, ‘Bloom?”

Apple Bloom was resting her head on top of her desk. She hadn’t said a word since she arrived at the schoolhouse that morning, and even then she had barely acknowledged her friends.

“That’s… cool, Scoots,” she said, dragging her words out.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other in confusion before Scootaloo asked with concern, “Hey, ‘Bloom. Are you ok?”

“Yeah… I am,” Apple Bloom answered in a monotone.

The other two shared a worried glance and walked closer to their friend.

“Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said, “Discord said that he wants to teach me magic, I begin next Wednesday.”

“That’s… cool, Sweetie Belle,” the earth filly said.

Scootaloo hit her face with her hoof in frustration and jumped on top of Apple Bloom’s desk. “Ok, that’s it,” she said as she took her friend’s face between her hooves. “Equestria to Apple Bloom!” she yelled, snapping the yellow filly back to reality.

“Gah!” Apple Bloom exclaimed in surprise. “Scoots!”

“You were gone! Like a zombie,” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah, are you feeling alright?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom sighed; the memories of yesterday’s discovery were still fresh in her mind. She had slept throughout the night, and had woken up with barely enough time to make it to school.

Even then, Scootaloo was right, she had spent the whole day in a trance, barely paying attention to what happened around her. Her sister’s words still rang inside of her mind, “There has to be an explanation for Golden Harvest’s cutie mark bein'… well, gone.” Those words had haunted her all night before she could fall asleep. She may or may not have woken up several times in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and shivering, she couldn’t be sure, everything was a haze to her.

“Yeah, I’m alright…” she said half-heartedly. “I’m just tired, that’s all.” She gave a fake yawn to emphasize her point, opening one eye to look at her friends. “Y’know, farm work and all of that.”

“But I thought the storm was—” Sweetie Belle started but was interrupted by a voice coming from behind them.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to know that you were on those muddy fields all day,” Diamond Tiara said, closely followed by Silver Spoon.

Apple Bloom was about to tell the duo to mind their own business, but she stopped when she saw the look on their faces. Instead of the usual smug smirks they usually sported when teasing them, Diamond Tiara had a serious look on her face, almost a scowl, while Silver Spoon was frowning and was visibly uncomfortable.

“Uh, are you girls alright?” Apple Bloom asked as she arched an eyebrow.

“We’re fine, don’t ask,” Diamond Tiara spat.

“Uh… Okay, then,” Apple Bloom said. Diamond Tiara had come off a little strong, but she was far too tired and worried to pay attention to her.

“Do you need anything?” Sweetie Belle asked tentatively.

“Hmm…” Diamond mused as she twisted her mouth. “What would we need with a bunch of dumb blank flanks like you?”

“Diamond…” Silver Spoon whispered while looking at her friend with soft eyes, but the pink filly ignored her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?,” Sweetie Belle asked, but Diamond Tiara just looked at her and kept talking, though Apple Bloom could have sworn that the bully’s lips trembled for a moment.

“Like you care,” she huffed.

“What’s wrong with you, Diamond Tiara?” asked an annoyed and confused Scootaloo. “This isn’t like you.” She crossed her eyes before speaking again, “well, it is kind of like you, but this is nastier than usual.”

“Pffft…” she said dismissively. “Whatever, you dumb featherbra—”

“Diamond Tiara, that’s enough!” yelled an angry and thoroughly shocked Miss Cheerilee from the schoolhouse doorway. “I’m surprised by your behaviour,” the teacher said as she walked towards the group of fillies.

Diamond Tiara simply snorted and averted her gaze, looking at no particular point on the floor. Silver Spoon stood next to her, but didn’t know how to react; her eyes kept wandering from the pink filly to the teacher, not knowing what to say.

“I’ll be having a word with you after class, young filly,” Miss Cheerilee said as she looked down at Diamond Tiara. “The rest of you go back to your seats, class will begin soon.”

Diamond Tiara huffed and walked towards her desk without sparing the Crusaders another look. Silver Spoon, meanwhile, lingered on her spot for a brief moment before giving the trio a confused look, almost as if there was something she wanted to tell them, before turning around and following her friend.

The three friends shared a confused look and went to their seats without saying another word, and whether it was due to the events of the last day, her restless night, Diamond Tiara’s outburst, or a combination of all those factors, Apple Bloom didn’t notice the two students missing from class.

“The next patient can come in,” said the voice from inside the consulting room.

“Good morning, Doctor Horse,” Twilight said, opening the door to the doctor's office. After waking up, She had gone straight to the hospital, despite Spike’s protests of eating breakfast first. That could wait; right now she had other things in mind. Things she deemed more urgent.

“Ah, Miss Twilight,” the doctor greeted her and motioned towards a chair in front of his desk. “Please take a seat.”

Twilight noticed the doctor's eagerness in his speech, emotion which was absent from his initial greetings. Yesterday's events must have been circling his head as well, it seemed. Pushing the thoughts aside she walked to the chair, levitating a piece of paper on top of the doctor’s desk. “I had to take a number to get here.”

Doctor Horse raised an eyebrow at that. “Why?” His eyes suddenly widening at the sight of Twilight’s saddlebags. “You don’t mean to say that you—”

“No, no. It’s not that,” Twilight was quick to interrupt the doctor. “I just didn’t know if you had told anypony else. With how delicate this situation is, I hope you'll understand if I’d rather not tell anypony else than strictly necessary. For the time being, at least.”

“I do. I’ve only told my lab assistant, since she was going to run the tests on the samples I took from Miss Harvest yesterday.” He twisted his mouth into a grimace. “She promised to keep a tight lid on the information. She took the news rather well, even if she was pretty shaken by them, to say the least.”

“Aren't we all...” Twilight started as she sat down on the chair. “Speaking of which, I don’t think there has been any development with those samples, has there?”

“I am sorry to say there hasn't,” the stallion answered while reclining on his chair. With a sigh, he continued, “these tests take time, I wish I could speed things up, but we are just going to have to wait."

“It’s only been a day, after all. It's not as if I had any real expectations, it's just that...” Twilight said as she slumped on her chair, “I still felt the need to check because I don't think there's much else I can do right now.”

It was something that had been irking Twilight since she came back home yesterday. Sure, she had been shocked initially, but even then, she managed to keep it together and help Golden Harvest. However, she was aware that the issue was far from resolved, and she couldn't help but wonder how to start unraveling this puzzle.

“Don't feel discouraged, Miss Sparkle. This isn't the kind of problem that can be solved in a day. Speaking of which, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you,” the doctor said as he leaned forward. “Ponyville’s Hospital doesn’t exactly have the best equipment, so I’ve been thinking about contacting some colleagues of mine from the Manehattan Institute of Medicine who may be willing to help us solve this if it turns out we... well, if we can’t.”

As Twilight reflected on the doctor’s words, many thoughts crossed her mind. Whether or not it was okay to ask for outside help and risk causing panic if word of it came out, to try and find the answer to this problem on their own…

And to make sure the Princess was informed as soon as possible.

“If I send them a letter today, I may get a reply before the weekend.” Doctor Horse eyed the file in front of him before continuing. “I believe this is our best course of action.”

“If you feel that's our best shot, go ahead,” she said as she stepped from the chair, “I’ll be going to the Everfree.”

“You’ll be visiting your zebra friend, right?” asked doctor Horse.

“Her name is Zecora,” Twilight said, looking at the doctor over her shoulder, “she’s a shaman who has a lot of knowledge about magical diseases, hopefully she’ll have some idea of what’s going on.”

“Goodbye, Miss Twilight,” he said, “and please tell the next patient to come in.”

Twilight said her goodbyes before leaving his office. She knew it was a long shot, but she just needed to be sure. Besides, she had to talk with somebody who knew what was going on. Regardless, she knew what she had to do now: Visit Zecora and ask her if she could tell her anything about this whole situation.

But first, she had to tell the next patient to come into the office. She walked towards the waiting room before bumping into a brown stallion wearing a long, heavy coat.

“Oh, sorry,” Twilight replied with a sheepish smile, “I didn’t see where I was going.”

The stallion cleared his throat and looked at the wall behind Twilight before answering in a low voice. “It’s… It’s no problem.” He then grabbed the collar of his coat and squeezed it with his hoof.

Twilight smiled sheepishly again, realising that the stallion was probably in a hurry to see the doctor. “Doctor Horse will see you now,” she said, giving a soft chuckle as she stepped aside and let the stallion pass.

“Thanks,” the stallion whispered as he hurriedly made his way to the doctor’s office.

Twilight looked at the closing door and stood there for a couple of seconds before turning around and heading towards the Hospital’s door. “Seems like somepony stayed too long under the rain yesterday” she said, not realising that if it hadn’t been for the eager patient, she would have walked into the waiting room to see an unusually large amount of ponies wearing far too many clothes for a warm summer day.

The sun hung brightly in the sky, in direct contrast with yesterday's gloomy weather. In a similar contrast were the ponies going about their day, far more than the ones who ventured out of their homes the day before.

Not that Twilight cared about any of that.

She walked into Ponyvillle’s market with decisiveness. While she was on her way to the Everfree, she figured she should ask Applejack about Golden Harvest’s state, seeing she already took a detour to check on Doctor Horse's progress.

The ground had already dried from yesterday’s downpour; but when Twilight pressed her hooves on the soil, it still felt mushy at times. Musing about gravel and proposals, she made her way through the light crowd of ponies until she found a familiar face, a familiar freckled face.

“Good morning, Applejack,” Twilight said.

“Mornin’, sugarcube,” the farmer said with a faint smile tugging at her lips.

“How are you today?” the unicorn asked absentmindedly as she eyed the apples on the stand.

“Calmer, that’s for sure,” Applejack replied while giving a careful look at the ponies closer to her stand. “And so is our guest, if you were wonderin',” she added in a low voice.

Twilight gave an inner sigh of relief, she was glad to know that the situation hadn’t taken a turn for the worse. Taking a couple of apples, she asked another question.

“Won’t anyone ask why she isn’t here?”

“Big Mac’s tendin' her stand,” Applejack said with a nod towards the other end of the market, where Twilight could recognise a large red stallion next to a wooden stand with a carrot sign on top of it, “he’ll know how to handle any curious ponies.”

Twilight smiled, giving her friend a couple of bits for the apples. “That’s good to know.”

“Did you visit Zecora yet?” Applejack asked.

“I’m on my way to do so,” Twilight said as she stored the apples in her saddlebags, “it was too late to go into the Everfree yesterday, besides the rain would have made it even harder to go through it.”

“I see,” Applejack whispered. “Did you…” she trailed off.

“Yes?” Twilight asked.

Applejack’s eyes scanned the entire market, and once she was sure nopony was near enough to listen to them, she whispered, “Did you write that letter to Princess Celestia?”

“No... I tried, but I kept sounding paranoid.” She sighed. “I went to the hospital earlier and they still don’t have any information.”

Applejack just nodded as she looked down.

“If Zecora doesn’t have any information, though, I’ll write to her immediately,” Twilight said in a reassuring tone, directed more towards herself than to her farmer friend. “Goodbye, Applejack.”

“G'bye, Twilight,” she said as the unicorn walked down the road to the Everfree forest.

Applejack looked around the market, stopping at the empty spaces where several stands would normally be. “Celestia, I hope you were wrong, girl,” she whispered to herself.

“Ok, just one more test and I’ll be ready for the presentation,” Scootaloo said with a mix of pride and eagerness.

The Crusaders were huddled together under the school's veranda. Recess would soon come to an end, and Scootaloo decided to perform one last test on her model just before class resumed.

“This is lookin' pretty cool, Scoots,” Apple Bloom said, sounding more cheerful than she had all morning.

“Hopefully it’ll be just as cool once I turn it on,” the pegasus said as she carefully inspected every nook and cranny of the model, looking for any dent or imperfection her project may have. Once she was satisfied, she laid it on the ground and stepped back after pressing the big red button on it.

The inner mechanisms whirred, its cogs coming to life and starting their work. The fan started moving and the sound of water running through the small pipes could be heard by the three fillies. Scootaloo bit her lip in nervousness and excitement as she saw her weeks-long project come to life.

After a few seconds of silence, the clear pipe with small pegasi painted all over it began twisting, slowly at first but picking up speed as it went. As this happened, the fan sped up, and the water rose through the plastic tube, reaching the top of the model, where the cardboard version of Cloudsdale’s Rain Factory opened up to let a wad of cotton pop out.

Scootaloo beamed and her wings gave soft flaps that barely raised her body. Her excitement was contagious, and soon her friends were cheering her on for a job well done.

“That's pretty cool, Scoots,” Apple Bloom congratulated her.

“Well done, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Thanks, girls! I hope every—” Scootaloo was suddenly interrupted by an all too familiar voice coming from the playground.

“What did I tell you?” a lone Diamond Tiara said as she walked towards the Crusaders, “It’s pretty disappointing considering how highly you’ve been talking about it.”

“Oh... It’s you again,” Scootaloo muttered with disdain.

“You’re already in trouble with Miss Cheerilee, Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom said, “why don’t you just go back to the classroom?”

“You won’t tell me what to do!” Diamond Tiara cried out. The Crusaders flinched, taken aback by her outburst.

“Diamond, you’re starting to creep us out, and not in the usual way,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Hmph… What do you know?” Diamond Tiara said as she walked towards them.

At this point, several of the other foals had stopped playing and were gathering around the four fillies with curious eyes.

Diamond's behaviour worried Apple Bloom. To a certain degree, she was used to the way Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon treated her friends and her; but there was something weird about the bully today. She was going out of her way to antagonize the group, which was a lot different from her usual teasing and name-calling.

“Diamond Tiara, just leave us alone,” Scootaloo said as she flapped her wings furiously. At this point several of the other fillies and colts were starting to form a circle around them, but neither the pegasus nor the earth filly seemed to notice their murmuring audience.

“Or what?” Diamond Tiara asked in defiance.

Scootaloo frowned, appearing to be on the verge of yelling at the pink filly before sighing. “Or nothing,” she said before turning around and pressing the red button on her model to make it stop. “Just leave us alone, class is about to start anyway.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gave a sigh of relief and went to follow their friend into the classroom, but Diamond Tiara acted faster.

“Don’t you dare turn your back on me!” she cried as she jumped on Scootaloo.

It all happened in an instant.

The scale model of the water cycle fell out of its owner’s hooves. Scootaloo’s eyes widened in fear and her hooves shot up trying to catch it, but it was too late. The result of weeks of work hit the wooden floor of the schoolhouse’s porch. The clear pipe cracked at the base, shooting a stream of water that hit Diamond Tiara on the side.

After a few seconds of silence, the students gathered around them gasped in unison.

“My model!” Scootaloo cried in horror. Her lips started to tremble, but before her friends could try to reassure her, the little pegasus turned around and faced Diamond Tiara with a look that showed the hurt and anger boiling inside of her. “What is wrong with—”

Her words died in her throat, as did the rage and resentment, and the face that until just a split second ago was contorted into a grimace was now frozen in shock. Scootaloo was staring at the now wet Diamond Tiara, who was struggling to dry herself.

“Now look at what you’ve done!” The pink filly shook and rubbed the side of her body, trying to get rid of the water, oblivious to the stares of her classmates. Diamond Tiara looked up at the small crowd that was surrounding her, and she saw how they were slowly backing up. “What are you all looking at?”

“Diamond…” Apple Bloom said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Everyone stood silent, immobile, as they watched Diamond Tiara trying to dry herself, “Everyone just leave me…” She seized up once she saw the source of their consternation.

The water stream had hit her square on her side, and had wet part of her shoulder and her flank, which in turn caused her cutie mark to smudge, leaving a trail of paint running down her leg.

The world seemed to be frozen in time as everypony stared at Diamond Tiara. “I…” The earth filly gave everyone a fearful look as she slowly backed away, trying to hide her paint smeared blank flank. “I…” Her head darted around the group of fillies surrounding her.

Apple Bloom saw Silver Spoon making her way to the front of the group and run next to her friend, she saw Scootaloo back away, taking her broken model with her, she even saw Miss Cheerilee through the window of the schoolhouse trying to see what was causing the commotion outside.

She probably didn’t see who'd been the first pony who screamed.

Everything came crashing down after that. The screams multiplied and soon everypony ran away from Diamond Tiara, either into the classroom, or back to Ponyville.

“Kids? What is happening?” Asked a worried Miss Cheerilee as she stepped out of the schoolhouse, only to be besieged by several scared fillies and colts.

Silver Spoon pulled Diamond Tiara and took the shocked filly with her as they ran towards the high-class neighbourhood. Apple Bloom stood on the porch, taking in what just happened.

“What... what happened to Diamond Tiara?” asked Sweetie Belle, with utter fear and confusion in her voice.

“I don’t know,” Apple Bloom said, “but I know who might do.”

And after that, without a word of parting to her friends, she ran towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight walked down the road leading to Zecora’s hut. The uneven consistency of the ground made it hard to trot, and she didn’t want to risk a teleportation in the middle of the forest, so she walked.

She had to pay attention to the rough terrain, as well as the odd rock in the way or the overgrown tree root. In a way, she was thankful for that; the lack of uniformity of the trail forced her to focus on every step she took rather than on the reason she was coming into the Everfree.

Of course, the distraction was only momentary.

During the silent trek to Zecora’s house, Twilight had time to think over—or, perhaps overthink—the events of the last day: Golden Harvest waking up without her cutie mark, the storm, the ponies missing from the market, the apparent lack of magical intervention, and the doctor’s words.

Twilight shot a small spell to dissipate the light fog that covered the trail towards her friend’s house. The warm atmosphere of Ponyville didn't go as far as the Everfree, Twilight realised, as a chill made its way down her spine.

Doctor Horse would do his best with the resources he had, but he wanted to ask for help from those he knew could help him, and wasn’t Twilight doing the same by consulting Zecora?

Twilight shook her head and kept walking down the road, looking for Zecora’s tree. She found it odd that she still hadn’t arrived.

Except she had.

As if the events of the past day hadn't been enough to spark a feeling of unease deep inside of Twilight's mind that told her things were objectively wrong in a way she couldn't quite comprehend, seeing the current state of Zecora's once-ornate home turned that voice into overdrive. The tribal masks she had on her entrance were nowhere to be seen, and the colored bottles filled with diverse liquids had been removed as well; as Twilight walked towards the tree, she noticed that the small, round windows had been closed and locked, which only caused the knot in her throat to tighten.

“Zecora?” Twilight asked as she knocked the door. “Are… are you there?”

“Go back home, pony mare,” Zecora’s muffled voice came from inside, “I have no business with your affairs.”

Twilight did a double take at the zebra’s words and pressed her ear on the door. “Zecora, it’s me, Twilight.”

Silence followed her words and the unicorn thought that maybe Zecora didn’t hear her. She waited fruitlessly for any sign of acknowledgement from her friend, but after hearing none, she spoke again with a hint of worry creeping in her voice, “I just needed to... I mean, I just wanted to talk to you, is everything alright?”

Twilight thought she heard movement inside of the tree, but it quieted down almost immediately. After a few seconds, however, the door opened.

“You may come in, Twilight,” Zecora's voice was heard from deep inside the house, “I didn’t mean to be impolite.”

The irksome feeling of wrongness she felt only increased as she stepped into the dark room of Zecora's house. The closed windows and unlit candles made it almost impossible to see; her surroundings were shrouded in shadows which were barely dispelled by the faint, green-tinted glow coming from Zecora’s cauldron.

Slowly, almost as if she had to ask her hooves for permission to move, Twilight walked towards the zebra, who was sitting behind the boiling concoction, patiently stirring it and throwing in the contents of a bottle. “I sense in you a disturbed spirit,” the shamaness said as she looked up at the unicorn. “Twilight Sparkle, to what do I owe your visit?”

Twilight approached the cauldron, eyeing its contents as she walked and, for a moment, she found herself mesmerised by the rising fumes. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she focused on her friend and spoke again, “A… worrying situation came up over in Ponyville.”

Zecora drew a hoofful of green powder from somewhere Twilight couldn’t see, and threw it into the cauldron. She kept stirring the mix and nodded for the unicorn to continue.

“Golden Harvest, a local farmer, woke up yesterday and, well…” Twilight took a deep breath and spoke again, “her cutie mark was gone.”

Zecora stopped stirring her brew for a brief moment, but quickly continued moving the large wooden spoon as though nothing had happened. After another second of silence, she lifted her gaze to meet Twilight’s. Her blue eyes betrayed no emotion as she nodded at her, asking her to keep going.

“I did some magical tests, and the doctors from Ponyville agreed to help, but…” Twilight trailed off.

Twilight looked at the zebra, but her blank look didn’t tell the unicorn anything. The silence stretched for almost a full minute in which both mares remained silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the bubbling of the liquid inside of the cauldron.

“My insight you expect,” Zecora said, “in this am I correct?”

Twilight silently mouthed a few muddy thoughts before nodding once.

“A loss of cutie mark you say? I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle, I am afraid to disillusion.” The zebra slowed her stirring until the bubbling liquid stopped moving, she then walked towards her bookshelf, and eyed its contents as she spoke again, “I know not what could cause cutie marks to go stray. This matter too, brings me much confusion."

Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth, not knowing what to say. “I… Well…” She muttered before sighing in defeat at the prospect of another avenue to a solution being summarily closed.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help,” Zecora spoke again, “but this perplexes me, as well.”

“Don’t worry, Zecora, it's not your fault,” Twilight said in the most reassuring tone she could muster. “We’re already trying to come up with an explanation for this back at the town.”

“Hmmm… Do tell. My sour mood you may quell.”

“I know that this isn’t caused by a spell or a curse,” Twilight said as she recounted yesterday’s tests. “And I talked with one of the doctors at the—” Her words died in her throat. What did Zecora just say? It was probably nothing, but the way she spoke... Something about the tone and word choice bothered Twilight.

“What do you mean ‘sour mood’, Zecora?”

Zecora didn’t answer. Instead, she kept looking through her shelves and finally turned around, returning to the cauldron with a large candle in her mouth.

“Zecora?” Twilight asked again.

The zebra didn’t give any sign of acknowledging Twilight. She bent down and lit up the candle with the fire under the cauldron. Twilight took a deep breath as her friend stood up. Zecora had placed the candle on the floor and now a dim orange light bathed the room.

“I hope that you can see,” the zebra said, “not all is as it should be.”

Twilight scanned the mare, eyeing the striped, deep grey pattern that repeated over her coat... and down her flank.

Twilight let out a loud gasp as realisation hit her. She shot backwards in shock, stumbling back and knocking over one of the bottles from its shelf on the wall.

“Ze-zecora…” she stammered. “You too?”

Zecora gave no reply other than a somber nod.

“B-but how could—I mean... I mean, that doesn’t make… that can't be! How would you—” Twilight found herself stuttering uncontrollably and running on her own sentences at the sight of Zecora’s mark-less flank.

This couldn't be happening. She had thought Golden Harvest was the only pony afflicted, and while she had some suspicions, she now knew for sure she was right.

“How long?” She managed to say.

“Since the Ponyville storm, the day before. I woke up to see my mark was no more," Zecora said.

“Since before the storm?” Twilight asked, flabbergasted. “But then, that means…” she trailed off, as she went over the events of the last thirty hours on her mind, reassessing her theories about what was happening... and growing convinced on what she had to do.

Zecora cocked her head, but otherwise remained glued to her spot next to the cauldron, staring at her as she took deep breaths in an attempt to put an end to the myriads of doom-heralding thoughts that assailed her.

“I have to go,” Twilight said, abruptly breaking the silence that had dawned upon them. “I promise I’ll be back with help, Zecora, but there’s something I have to do and I can't put it off any longer.”

With one final look that asked for forgiveness and understanding, Twilight stepped out of the hut, stumbling as she tried to walk straight. She looked at the sky and focused on a long-distance teleportation spell.

There was no more time for thinking, no more time for wondering, and no more time for stalling.

She had a letter to write.

4

Applejack sighed as she pulled her cart. It had been a long day, but market hours had finally drawn to a close; and as the sun made its way through the sky, its rays beating down on her and Big Mac, they headed back to the farm, pulling both their cart as well as Golden Harvest’s carrot stand.

As they walked down the dirt path that led to Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack’s mind couldn’t help but wander back to the events of the previous day, and to the mare waiting for them back at the farm.

Yesterday morning, she had awoken to frantic knocks on the farmhouse’s door, and soon found herself facing a frazzled and shocked Golden Harvest, the carrot farmer had been stammering incoherent words through her constant sobbing. Applejack tried to calm her and ask her just what in Tartarus happened when she noticed the source of Golden’s distress.

Needless to say, Golden hadn't been the only one who was shocked that morning.

She inhaled deeply as she felt that same sensation gripping her guts and kept walking, there was little use in thinking about it, and there was nothing she could do besides being there for her fellow farmer.

In an effort to steer her mind away from yesterday's events, Applejack turned around and faced her brother. "You're gonna put Golden’s cart in the farmhouse with ours, Mac?” she asked.

“Eeyup,” he replied laconically. "I may go to the new field. See if I can get that rock out."

“Good, I’m gonna see if there's any—” she started but was interrupted by a yell coming from one of the roads behind them.

“Applejack! Big Mac!” Apple Bloom cried as she ran towards her siblings.

“Apple Bloom?” asked a confused Applejack, she looked up at the sky and then back at her sister, “School ain't over yet, what are you doing out here?”

The filly skidded to a stop in front of her siblings, trying desperately to catch her breath. Applejack was about to scold her when she noticed her sister was shaking and was visibly shocked, “Apple Bloom? Yer alright?”

“It happened again!” she yelled between gasps for air, fear visible in her eyes. “What happened to Miss Harvest happened again!”

Applejack stepped back, speechless; she gave her brother a quick look and saw that he was equally surprised. She then looked back at her little sister. “How did you…?”

“I heard you yesterday when you were talkin' with Miss Twilight and the doctor,” the filly said while squirming in place.

“Oh, Apple Bloom...” Applejack scolded her.

“I know, I know. And I’m sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop and I know I should have told you, but that’s not important right now.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in hopes of calming her nerves before she spoke, “It happened again, at school.”

“Wh-what do you mean, ‘Bloom?” Applejack asked, even though deep down she could already imagine what happened.

Apple Bloom closed the distance between them and placed a hoof on Applejack’s before speaking again.

“Diamond Tiara lost her cutie mark,” she said, biting her lip.

“By Celestia... She was right,” Applejack murmured as a chill went down her spine.

“Did Cheerilee let you go after that?” Big Mac asked, worried as well.

“Well… Not exactly...” the filly said with a hint of embarrassment.

Big Mac gave her a look of confusion, and silently prodded her for more information.

Being under the scrutiny of both of her siblings caused Apple Bloom to start feeling the guilt she didn't feel earlier due to her quick escape from school. “When... when we found out that Diamond had lost her cutie mark, I just—I mean, a lot of us just... Uh... We ran away,” she admitted as she avoided their gaze in shame.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack said in a slightly chastising tone.

“I’m sorry, but I had to tell you!” the filly yelled, “you’re the only ones who know about what’s happening, and Miss Twilight’s Library was too far from the schoolhouse.”

Applejack’s eyes darted back and forth as she thought about what to do. She suspected at least some ponies must have realised something odd was going on in town, and if Apple Bloom was telling the truth, then the fillies and colts who ran away from Cheerilee's class would only serve to confirm the town's fears. Having made her decision, she turned towards her brother and spoke up.

“Big Mac, let’s take the carts to the farmhouse, then I’ll go talk to Twilight,” she said.

Big Mac nodded, “I’ll check on Cheerilee."

“I’ll come with you,” Apple Bloom said, but she was quickly interrupted by her sister.

“No,” Applejack said firmly, “You’re goin’ back to the farm with Big Mac.”

“What!? But sis, I wanna help too! I don't wanna stay in the farm...” the filly whined with a slightly hurt expression on her face.

“And you will help, Apple Bloom,” Applejack knelt down until she was at eye level with her little sister, “I want you to stay with Granny Smith and take care of Golden Harvest while we’re gone.”

Apple Bloom scrunched her muzzle and looked down, but Applejack lifted her chin and forced the filly to look at her, “That poor mare has been through a lot, ‘Bloom, and you know it. I ain’t sure of what will happen once word comes out, but I don’t want her to worry more than she already has.”

Apple Bloom was still avoiding her sister’s gaze, but still let out a grunt of agreement. “M’kay, sis..."

“Thank you, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said in a tender voice.

“I’ll take the carts, AJ, you go see Miss Twilight,” Big Macintosh said, taking a step forward.

Applejack gave him a quick nod and unlatched the cart off her back, she then turned around to face Ponyville. “I’ll try to get back as soon as I can!” she yelled as she galloped towards Ponyville.

“C’mon, ‘Bloom,” Big Mac said as he attached the apple cart to the carrot stand he was already pulling, “let’s go home.”

Apple Bloom looked at the path and at the shrinking figure of her sister in the distance.

"Everything will turn out fine, you'll see," he said as as he walked, pulling both carts.

Apple Bloom hesitated before turning around to follow her brother; for some reason, she didn't fully believe him.

A bright light flashed inside of Golden Oaks Library, signaling the return of a certain mare. Twilight fell to the floor with her hooves clutching her head; she could feel her magic going crazy inside of her brain, and trying to focus only caused her to wince in pain.

“Twilight!” Spike yelled as he dropped a pile of books and ran next to the writhing unicorn. “W-what happened? Are you alright?”

She mumbled through clenched teeth, but wasn’t able to form coherent words as her sole focus was on trying to ease the waves of pain in her head.

Spike’s eyes opened wide in realisation. “You teleported all the way from Zecora’s house? Why would you do something like that, Twi?” He asked as he helped her friend stand up.

“I c-couldn’t waste more time,” she said, pushing Spike aside and stumbling towards her desk in the other end of the room, “I’ve already wasted enough.”

She shook her head to clear the haze inside of her mind but only succeeded in increasing the pain caused by the magical overexertion. Once she got to the desk, she lifted a quill with her magic, but she let out a pained gasp and dropped it as she felt a wave of magic recoiling from her horn and through her head.

“Twilight, stop!” Spike yelled as he grabbed the unicorn by her shoulders, “Teleporting takes a lot out of you, especially with distances that long.”

“Sorry, I just…” Twilight pressed her hooves on her forehead and lightly tried to rub the pain away, “I have to write to the Princess about the lost cutie marks, I can waste any more time.”

“You have me for that, Twilight,” Spike said, looking into the unicorn’s eyes, “I was only half-joking when I said that was my job.”

Twilight could see him making the connections in his mind. Her assistant was smart; she knew he must have figured out what happened with Zecora, there were few things that would make her risk a teleportation all the way from the Everfree.

Nevertheless, the dragon still felt compelled to ask, “Twilight... What happened in Zecora’s house?”

Twilight gave Spike a forlorn look, to which he replied with a sigh that seemed to drain the energy from his body.

“She lost hers as well, huh?” he said, his shoulders slumping as he made the connection in his mind.

Twilight just nodded and turned to face the desk.

“This is going to be a long one, Spike. I don’t want to miss anything,” she said as she pushed the parchment and quill to her assistant.

Spike was about to take them when he heard a loud knock on the door. “I’ll get that,” he said and walked towards the door.

Twilight let her body lie against her desk, the teleportation took a lot out of her, and jumbled what was left behind. But she knew her current state was also due to the stress of the last couple of days finally catching up to her. Her blurry mind and achy muscles just made her wish that all of this mess would be over.

Princess Celestia would read the letter and, undeterred by the possible shock, she'd pull something from her vast library of knowledge. She'd find a solution and guide Twilight down the path to solve it herself.

She gave a heavy sigh. If only, she thought.

“Applejack? What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Spike. I was wonderin' if I could speak with Twilight.” Applejack said with urgency in her voice.

“I’m here, AJ.” Twilight opened her eyes and stood up, slowly walking towards the door to face her friend. “Is everything alright?”

“No, Twi,” Applejack walked into the Library and closed the door behind her, “things ain’t right.”

The knots inside of Twilight’s stomach tightened when she heard that.

“What… what do you mean, Applejack?” Her mind quickly conjured several situations that could have sent Applejack straight to her for help, but none of them managed to alleviate her mood. “Is Golden Harvest alright? Has her condition worsened?”

“No, Golden is fine, it’s just that—” she stopped and gave out a long, drawn out sigh as she resigned herself to accept the truth, “you were right, Twi.”

Twilight cocked her head in confusion, “Right about what?”

Applejack closed her eyes and frowned before speaking, “It’s not just Golden, other ponies are losin’ their cutie marks too.”

Twilight felt the world around her brought to a standstill, Applejack’s words still rang inside her head, but she hadn’t quite registered their meaning.

“Ah, I…” she stammered, “I’m sorry, Applejack, how do you know that?”

“Apple Bloom came to the farm tellin’ us that a filly had lost her cutie mark at school this mornin',” Applejack said.

Spike gasped, and the fog inside of Twilight’s mind grew thicker.

“Oh, no,” she said, “that’s awful, does anypo—”

“That ain’t all,” Applejack interrupted her; the worried look on her face became more marked, “on my way here I saw a whole rabble of ponies outside of Town Hall.”

“What?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

“They know, Twi,” Applejack said, walking closer to her, “they know about what’s happenin'.”

The fog that clouded her mind was quickly dissipated when the notion of what was happening hit her like a blunt kick. Twilight fidgeted in place, not knowing what to do. She could feel her breath coming out quicker; her eyes went from Applejack to the door and from the door to her desk, and finally back to Applejack again.

“Twi? What are we gonna do?” Applejack asked.

The unicorn closed her eyes and took a deep breath; and while the stress hadn’t left her, she was calmer now.

“Spike,” she said with determination, “take a note.”

Apple Bloom stared at the orchard through the living room window. Big Mac had left for the schoolhouse as soon as he stored the carts in the barn, stopping only to let Granny Smith know about what was happening. He probably wouldn’t return until much later; seeing as he was close friends with Miss Cheerilee, he would want to make sure she was okay and everything was under control again before coming back home.

Her sister hadn’t returned either. She guessed Applejack would probably stay with Miss Twilight to help her to solve this problem, and Celestia knew how long that would take. They were both needed where they were and Apple Bloom knew this, which is why she felt a little guilty for wishing they were at the farm with her.

She sighed.

“This is my fault, this is all my fault,” Golden Harvest said as she rocked back and forth in the living room couch.

“Now now, young’n. You can't go blaming none of this on you, you hear me?” Granny Smith said, trying to reassure the distress farmer.

Golden Harvest could use some support as well, the poor mare hadn’t stopped blaming herself since she found out the same thing that happened to her happened to other ponies as well. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were probably at home by now, and they’d stay there until this whole situation blew over. If it ever did, that is, Apple Bloom no longer knew if it could be that easily solved.

The filly pressed her forehead against the glass of the window, not knowing what to say to Golden Harvest. Or her friends. Or even to herself.

At the very least, she knew she had to apologise to her friends after ditching them in school. With a groan, she let her head slide down the glass of the window until her head rested in the window ledge. She was a mess, and felt like one, too. Without her friends and her family, she just felt so…

“…alone,” she murmured to nopony.

She lifted her head and tried to look at the path that led to Ponyville, hoping in vain to see a familiar face coming back and tell them everything was going to be alright.

“Please, hurry,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“What is the meaning of this!?” cried a mare in front of the podium of Town Hall.

“My son came from school saying that a filly’s cutie mark disappeared!” Yelled a yellow pegasus who hovered above the rest of the crowd.

“Why are there so many ponies missing?” asked a reddish mare from the back.

“Ponies, please. I need all of you to remain calm!” The mayor raised her voice, trying to be heard above the loud mass of citizens.

All in all, Ponyville’s centre was a veritable mess. Ponies were shouting left and right, just a few farming implements short of a rabble. And there was nothing Ivory Scroll could do to appease them.

“Well, this ain’t good,” Applejack said as she looked at the dozens of ponies gathered in front of Town Hall.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t get to this,” Twilight said in a low voice.

“They were going to find out one way or another, weren’t they? At least now we're not afraid of whether or not they'll find out,” Spike murmured as he crossed his arms.

“Yes, but I wanted to at least be the one that would break the news to them,” Twilight said looking at the disheveled figure of the mayor. She could see the frustration on the older mare’s face; she was clearly in way over her head.

At that moment, Twilight felt something cold spreading through her chest, and every worried cry from the crowd worsened that sensation. The irking thought that she had somehow failed Golden, Zecora, and that filly, did little to alleviate the growing guild in her.

"This is exactly what I wanted to avoid," she whispered, feeling some of her strength leave with those words.

The Mayor’s eyes brightened when she saw Twilight at the end of the crowd. “Miss Sparkle!” she said with relief clear in her voice, and every head to turned towards the unicorn as a result.

Twilight managed to form an awkward smile as every head in the crowd turned towards her.

“Could you please clear things up for these ponies?” she finished, far too eager to ditch the problem on the unicorn’s hooves.

Twilight squirmed in place, but was nudged on the side by Applejack. “Go there, Twi, tell ‘em what’s happenin’ and set the record straight,” she said in encouragement before she backed away.

Twilight gulped and made her way to the podium, followed closely by Spike. The mass of ponies parted to give her room to pass through, and as she walked, she could feel every set of eyes drilling into her, she could feel the hope of all those ponies in her being capable of solving this. She just hoped she wouldn’t disappoint them.

“Please tell me you know what’s going on, Miss Sparkle,” Ivory whispered with a hint of desperation in her voice.

“I… do,” Twilight said, not mentioning that while she did know what was going on, she didn't know much else, least of all what to do about it.

Ivory Scroll sighed in relief and moved aside to let Twilight take the podium.

Once she was up there, staring at the dozens of ponies in front of her, she realised she wasn't entirely sure how to address the issue. It's not as if she could beat around the bush too much, the word had spread and everypony already knew about... whatever it is that was happening. On the other hoof, she didn't want to be too blunt, lest she ended up scaring them more.

"Well, is it true?" asked a mare in an ornate dress near the front.

She decided to be direct, it'd be better to just get it out of the way, so she inhaled deeply and spoke, “It’s true... Some ponies have lost their cutie marks.”

The reaction was immediate as it was intense, everypony present began to scream in both fear and protest to the reveal.

"But how is this possible?"

"Why is this happening!?"

“I can only tell you what I know,” Twilight said, raising her voice as to be heard above the shouting of the growing crowd, “I know this isn’t caused by a spell or a curse, which leads me to believe that this may have a more down to Earth explanation.”

The mob erupted in nervous murmurs, once again. Twilight had to stop for a second and try to look at it from their perspective. She still felt shocked and she had a full day to digest the news while it all was still fresh to them. If nothing else, she'd try to ease the process for their sake. She raised her voice again and kept speaking, “I assure you, measures have already been taken regarding this problem!”

This seemed to do the trick, as the ponies calmed down and listened intently. “The head of Ponyville Hospital, Doctor Horse, has gotten in contact with his colleagues in Manehattan, and they will be working together to find a cure.”

Twilight took a deep breath and looked at the ponies in front of her, though some seemed to be more calm, many still had fear and doubt planted firmly on their faces. She still had one last final bit of information to share, and she expected that this could finally ease the tension in town.

“Princess Celestia has been informed as well, and I assure you she’ll work hard to give us a solution,” she said as she scanned the crowd of ponies with her eyes.

Several seemed to relax: the thought of having the Princess involved gave them a sliver of hope. Still, some ponies held their expression of discomfort.

“Has she answered you?” asked a brown stallion near the front.

This caught Twilight off-guard. “Uh, well... No. I mean, not yet…” she said, embarrassed, “but that’s just because I only wrote to her this evening, and—”

“What!?”

“Why did you wait so long?”

“Ponies, please calm down! I only waited because I needed to find out as much as I could before I—” Twilight tried to explain herself, but was drowned by the cries of protest of the ponies in front of her.

“How long have you known?”

“Why didn’t you tell us before?”

"Did you think you could hide this from us?"

The mass of shouting bodies moved erratically, some ponies left while others pushed forward, tangling themselves with each other, becoming a single, writhing mass.

“Look out!” a mare yelled as a stallion stepped on her dress.

The ripping sound was heard by everyone present, and the ponies around her stepped back to give her some room.

"Ah... I'm so sorry mi—" the stallion tried to apologise, but his words died on his throat.

“Now look what you’ve...” the mare started, but was cut off by the collective gasp of the ponies who surrounded her.

The murmurs and yelling were slowly replaced by the silence that fell over the crowd. Everyone stared at the mare with the ripped dress... And at her blank flank.

Twilight stared at the mare in disbelief. “No… This can’t be happening,” she murmured.

The mare pulled the remnants of her dress down, unsuccessfully trying to cover her flank. She looked frantically at everypony around her, not knowing how to react.

Twilight spared Spike a glance. The dragon seemed to be as lost for words as she was if his bewildered expression was any indication. “Alright, I’m going to need every—” She started, but was soon interrupted by the cry of fear of a blond maned pink mare. Everypony else soon followed.

Several ponies ran away, including the mare with the ripped dress.

“Please be quiet!” Twilight yelled, hoping that she could somehow salvage the situation, “Everypony, please. We have to keep—”

She was suddenly interrupted by a loud burp and a flame of green magic fire. Every pair of eyes focused on Spike, and on the scroll that had appeared in front of him.

It was a bulky scroll, that much was obvious; Twilight could feel the extra weight as she lifted it with her magic.

Even though her sight didn’t leave the piece of rolled parchment, she could feel dozens of stares drilling into her, expectantly. She gulped as she broke the wax seal and opened the letter, her eyes scanned its contents in a hurry, and an expression of uneasiness formed on her face with every word she read.

The silence continued for almost a full minute, and the crowd grew more anxious, more restless with every passing second, soon enough the murmurs began once again, gradually becoming discontent grumbles.

“So? What does the Princess say?” yelled a cream coloured mare, followed by several cries of agreement.

Twilight stared at the letter, and she kept staring at it, rereading the last paragraph over and over. She slowly shifted her gaze away from the parchment to address the ponies in front of her. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, not knowing what to say. She looked down at the scroll once again, almost as if she thought she could hide behind it.

She knew it was pointless, why was she even stalling? She lifted the scroll in front of her and read the last sentences out loud.

"A small regiment of guards has been dispatched to Ponyville, and they should arrive before sundown. I beg of all of the ponies of Ponyville to remain calm during this time of distress."

While some ponies seemed to calm down at the words of the Princess, most of the ponies in the crowd didn't react, they were focused on the unicorn at the podium, hoping to get more information.

“But tomorrow morning,” Twilight gulped before continuing, “Ponyville will effectively be under state of quarantine.”

5

“No. Nothing on this one, either,” Twilight said, closing yet another book with a flick of her hoof. Her desk was filled to the brim with a vast array of books and scrolls, all of which contained a sliver of hope, a faint, dying ember that kept Twilight’s optimism alight.

“You’ve been reading nonstop since we came back, Twi, we’re going to run out of books eventually,” Spike said from behind the large pile of books he was carrying out of the way and back into the shelves.

“I know, Spike, but I know that there has to be something I missed,” Twilight said as she scanned the table of contents of Enigmatic Equine Epidemics for the third time, “there has to be something we’re not seeing, something we missed before.”

As the pile of read books grew, so did Twilight's unease. It was... disheartening to have so many avenues of research prove fruitless so quickly. She closed the book and threw it on one of the piles close to her, causing it to topple over and fall to the floor. Unfazed by this, or perhaps oblivious to it, Twilight grabbed the next book with her magic and started flipping through its pages.

Spike gave a groan of frustration as he set aside the pile of books he was carrying and started picking up the ones which had fallen.

“Come on, Spike. That attitude won’t help us solve this problem,” Twilight said as she closed the book in frustration.

“It’s just that you’ve already gone through the entire medical section of the Library,” Spike said as he shuffled the books on the floor, “you even read all the advanced medicine books Doctor Horse lent you.”

Twilight didn’t look away from the book in front of her, but Spike could see that she was frowning.

“We can’t just give up,” Twilight said as her eyes darted back and forth, absorbing as much information as she could.

“I’m not talking about giving up, Twi, I’m just worried about you,” Spike said, laying his hand on Twilight’s back.

Twilight’s shoulders sagged when she felt Spike stroke her coat. “You can worry all you want once we solve this problem,” she said with decisiveness.

Spike gave a huff and removed his claw, going back to his seemingly redundant task of rearranging the discarded books.

“Could we be tackling this from the wrong angle? Perhaps it’s not about the vanishing, but about the cutie-marks themselves…” Twilight mused to herself, “maybe something about how the cutie-mark relates to the inner workings of a pony’s biology.”

“I must've missed something,” Twilight murmured, scratching her chin, “Spike, bring me our copy of An In-depth Analysis of Cutie-Marks, please.”

Spike only groaned in acknowledgement.

Twilight chose not to reprimand the little dragon; instead, she opted to clear her desk. She eyed the hastily scribbled notes about the different kind of melanin components that gave hairs its colour. Eumelanin for darker shades, pheomelanin for lighter shades, and thaumelanin for distinct hues. The combination of these three gave ponies their vibrant colours as well as what helped cutie marks manifest. It was informative, but it only covered the most surface aspect of a cutie mark. The last step of the process. So far, she'd found nothing that could explain a biological breakdown of the actual cutie mark on any level.

She crumpled the frustrating notes she had copied from the medical textbooks and threw them in the bin next to her desk. Giving her desk one final sweep, Twilight cleaned her quill and levitated a brand new piece of parchment towards her. “Alright, all is set. Give me that book, Spike.”

Silence was the only answer.

“Spike?” Twilight asked as she looked around the room.

The pile of books the dragon had been carrying were lying next to a bookshelf, the ones that Twilight had inadvertently tumbled over were now neatly piled up on top of each other a few strides away. Of her assistant, however, there was no trace.

“Spike, where did you go?” Twilight said, standing up from her cushion. She swept the room with her stare, and yet there was no sign of Spike anywhere. Twilight left the room and called out for Spike as she walked down the stairs, but still got no response.

“Young dragon, this is not the time for taking breaks,” Twilight said with an edge of exasperation that she hoped masked the nervousness creeping into her as she saw the first floor was as barren as her study room had been.

“Are you in the kitchen?” Twilight was starting to feel uncomfortable. She tried sniffing out a scent that would show that Spike was cooking, but there was none. The kitchen was empty, with no sign of the dragon anywhere.

“Spike, where are you?” Twilight yelled, as she tried to ignore the jittery tone with which she spoke.

She felt a shiver running down her spine. Spike had been right next to her in her room, and she hadn’t noticed him going out. What’s more, why wouldn’t he say anything if he was leaving? Turning around, Twilight headed outside, giving the main room of the library a sweeping glance as she left the house. Maybe it was due to how frantic of the past couple of days, but she couldn’t shake the discomfort from the back of her mind, telling her something was wrong.

“Where did that dragon go?” Twilight said in an effort to pull herself from another useless line of thought that would only lead her to a depressing rut.

Shaking her head from errant worries, she turned around to face the door, only to be startled by a knock. She couldn’t help but wonder if Spike had gone out while she was distracted with the book; it certainly wouldn’t be the first time she got so—The knocking came back, three quick hits against the wood in rapid succession. Whoever was knocking, it certainly wasn’t Spike.

Pulling herself together, she cautiously opened the door.

“Did you find an answer, Miss Sparkle?” The voice came as soon as Twilight had opened the door, making her back away instinctively.

“Ah! What…” Twilight mumbled, trying to find the source of the voice.

“Did you find an answer, Miss Sparkle?” Golden Harvest repeated, standing under the doorway.

“Golden? What are you doing here? Does Applejack know—”

“You said you’d solve this, that you would find an answer.” Golden Harvest walked forward as if she hadn’t heard her. “Have you found it, Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight stood dumbstruck in front of the other mare, the wayward thoughts and concerns that had plagued her mind since the beginning of this madness suddenly mattered less under the inquisitive glare of the farmer.

“I… I’m trying, I mean…” Twilight said, trying to excuse herself. “I’ve done my best, but—”

“You promised me an answer you would find,” another voice, a deeper one, came from somewhere Twilight couldn’t see.

“Zecora?” Twilight said, craning her neck to see the shamaness standing outside.

“But it seems you only wanted to leave me behind,” the zebra said, a blank expression on her face.

“No! That’s not what happened, Zecora. You have to believe me!” Twilight said, pushing her way out and walked towards her friend, “I wrote to the Princess, and she’s going to help us. But the Guard had to come, and nopony could leave town, so I couldn’t… I mean… I wouldn’t abandon you, they just had to make sure everypony would be safe.”

“Safe?” a higher-pitched voice said, “what makes you think we’re safe? We’re all going to be stuck here until all of us lose our cutie marks.”

Twilight spun around, finding herself in front of an angry small filly with some sort of small crown on her head. “It’s what has to be done, w-we can’t let this spread to the rest of Equestria,” Twilight said.

“And what when all of us have lost our cutie marks?” a mare with a torn dress said, “Are we supposed to stay here forever just so the rest of Equestria doesn’t lose theirs?

She hadn’t noticed it at first, but there were quite a number of ponies gathered outside of the Library. They all wore expressions that conveyed different varieties of fear and anxiety, but above all else there was one sentiment clear in their eyes.

Fear.

Twilight tried to form a reply, but before she could say anything, another voice called out, “You stood idle while the whole town was being ravaged by this… plague!”

“But I didn’t know, I couldn’t have known, you have to believe me!” Twilight cried in a pleading tone, vaguely aware of the mass of ponies approaching her from every side.

“You let it get this bad.”

“Did you really think you could solve this on your own?”

“Did you find an answer?” the group chanted in unison.

“Did you find an answer, Twilight?”

“I… I…” Twilight looked around her at the once familiar faces now morphed into glaring scowls, “I didn’t—I mean, not yet. We are trying…”

She could feel them lashing at her, every word delivering a blow to her mind riddled by anxiety, each confirming the terrible things her mind had conjured about this situation and herself ever since she met Golden Harvest at Sweet Apple Acres.

“Did you find an answer, Twilight?”

“Did you find an answer, Twilight?”

“Did you find an answer—”

“Twilight!” A booming voice, different from the others, exploded inside of Twilight’s mind. Fearfully, she looked up, only to find that the ponies around her had disappeared, alongside the rest of the town. Everywhere she looked, there was only a dark expanse surrounding her, enveloping her as she floated in the nothingness she’d been plunged into.

“What…” Twilight said, not believing what her eyes were showing her.

As she found herself in that void, she noticed a flickering light amidst the darkness which slowly grew until it became so overwhelming she had to turn away. From within the flash of light a small shape emerged, accompanied by a soft clopping of hooves against grass.

At the sound of the grass, Twilight finally looked around her and took in her surroundings. Long gone were the buildings and ponies, now replaced with a starry night sky and lush, green meadows.

“At ease, Twilight Sparkle,” the voice from before said, now in a soothing tone.

“Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaimed when she saw the dark alicorn approaching her, and promptly fell to the ground in a deep bow. Not a moment had passed before she felt a hoof caress her cheek, lifting her head until their gazes met.

“Rise, my friend. I have dispelled the nightmare,” Princess Luna said.

“Nightmare… A nightmare!” Twilight exclaimed as realisation hit her. “Guess that explains why everything was so odd…”

“Yes, this is a dream,” Princess Luna said as she walked around her, “And a rather unpleasant one, at that.”

Slowly, Twilight’s mind began to clear up as her awareness of the dream overpowered her haziness. She looked around them, taking in the finer details of the environment.

They stood atop a small isle in the middle of a flowing river with the sole company of a large tree brimming with blooming pink flowers. Twilight felt a faint breeze rustle the blades of grass around her, as well as several small patches of white flowers all around her.

“Beautiful…” she trailed off, and was all she could say as she took in every last detail of the landscape. The far away cliffs and mountain ranges, the overgrown fauna, the moon shining bright on the sky.

“This is a space within the Dream Realm crafted to act as a safe haven from my duties guarding my subjects’ dreams,” Princess Luna said, staring at the distance. “Never since its inception would I have imagined it’d be seeing this much use.”

Twilight felt a knot forming in her throat. With a hard swallow, she faced the alicorn, “How are things over at Canterlot, Princess?”

There was no immediate reply. Princess Luna chose to leisurely walk around the hill, being careful not to step on the white flowers that grew haphazardly amidst the grass. Once she reached the base of the large tree, she lay down on the grass and motioned Twilight to come closer.

With gentle steps, the unicorn walked closer, until she reached the Princes, and laid next to her under the shade of the tree.

“As I’m sure you must imagine, the news of Ponyville have stirred quite the commotion,” Princess Luna started, but took a pause at Twilight’s pained wince, “Do not feel disheartened Twilight Sparkle. ‘Tis thanks to your timely letter that out sister and I were able to put forth an emergency meeting regarding the course of action to be taken.”

At her use of the word ‘timely’, Twilight had to fight back an eye roll. Being condescending wouldn’t help anypony, though. She took a deep breath, even though part of her was aware that doing so in the Dream Realm was pointless.

“Organising Ponyville’s quarantine in such a short period of time while also keeping it from reaching the public has been an uphill battle, but we believe progress is being made,” Luna said, and Twilight found herself only half-listening to the Princess in spite of her concern. They remained silent for a moment, and Twilight could feel the Princess’s eyes on her.

“Twilight…” Luna prodded her.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“‘Tis understandable. These past couple of days must surely have been hard on you as well. Tell us, Twilight, how is the situation in Ponyville?”

With a heavy sigh, Twilight did a mental recount of the events of the past two days. The discovery of Golden Harvest, her talk with the doctors, Zecora, the rabble, Celestia’s letter, the Royal Guard, and did her best to relay them to Luna. The Princess offered nods of assurance and words of encouragement from time to time, yet once all was said and done they found themselves lapsing into silence once more.

Luna didn’t press her for more information, though there was a part of Twilight which wished she did. Even though she wasn’t looking directly at her, Twilight could feel the inquisitive edge Luna’s eyes. She wondered if it was a product of the dream magic.

As the minutes passed and the silence extended, she finally felt the Princess stand up.

“Do not be quick to dismiss my words, Twilight. You have done much to help your town in its time of need,” Luna said with a warmth that evoked faint foalhood memories of Princess Celestia talking to her when she tried to reassure her after she had done something wrong.

At that moment, looking up at the regal alicorn, Twilight almost wanted to break down and tell her how much these past days had wore her down, tell her about her insecurites, her worries, and how much of a failure she felt for letting everypony down before she could find a solution.

Almost.

“My sister sends her regards,”—Twilight’s ears perked up at her words—”She won’t admit it, but the stress of this situation is getting to her as well. Scrambling a response as immediately as we did on top of keeping it under wraps was no easy endeavor.”

The thought of Celestia stirred odd feelings inside of Twilight. She wanted to feel relieved, knowing that her mentor shared her distress. She wanted to feel even more discouraged at knowing her plight. She wanted to wake up. She wanted to meet with Celestia and be told that everything would be alright in the end.

She wanted everything to be over.

“I’m afraid I cannot stay for much longer, Twilight,” Luna said, her words never losing their kindness. “I must continue guarding the dreams of our little ponies, these nights more so than usual.”

The odd inflection of that last phrase wasn’t lost on Twilight. “More bad dreams than usual?”

Luna nodded, “Such is the case during troubling times.”

Twilight was ready to let the matter go, she didn’t feel it was appropriate for her to pry in the Princess’s affairs. However, she felt she should at least show her appreciation.

“Thank you,” she said. And as Princess Luna looked back at her with an uncertain gaze, she was quick to add, “for getting rid of my nightmare, I mean.”

Luna stood immobile, regarding the unicorn with an inquisitive look. “It is my duty, Twilight, and I’m more than happy to do so.”

“I still appreciate it,” Twilight said as she stood up.

Princess Luna seemed as though she wanted to say something, but before she could Twilight walked forward and locked necks with her. The alicorn’s wings rustled in surprise, but as she grew more comfortable in the embrace she let one of them extend and drape over her.

It seemed improper to ask the Princess for more comfort than what she had already graciously provided, not to mention all the other ponies who needed the protection of their Princess while in their dreams.

And yet, none of that felt too important at the moment.

“Don’t let your spirit falter, I promise you everything will be alright,” Luna whispered as she gently stroked her back.

She believed her. For a fleeting moment, under the Princess’s soft down, Twilight forgot about the plague, about the afflicted ponies, about the quarantine, about her own insecurities. For those short-lived seconds stretched indefinitely by the Dream Realm’s magic, Twilight felt at ease.

But just as with everything else, it had to end. With a flutter, Princess Luna withdrew her wing and stepped back, staring deeply into the unicorn’s eyes. “I must take my leave, Twilight. My sister shall get in contact with you soon, as well.”

Twilight nodded, and managed to muster a small smile as she uttered one final thank you.

“Don’t be afraid, Twilight Sparkle,” the alicorn whispered into the night as she started to beat her wings. Princess Luna smiled once again, a smile that urged her not to lose hope, to keep her head high and not let this problem drag her spirits down.

Twilight’s eyes followed Luna as she ascended to the sky, getting higher and higher, until the light coming from the moon got too bright, and she couldn’t see her anymore.

Apple Bloom drew a sharp breath as she was abruptly awoken from her dream. She didn’t shoot upright, nor was she gasping for breath, she wasn’t sure if she even had the energy to get worked up. She simply laid in her bed, looking at the wooden ceiling of her room as her mind caught up to the present.

One by one, the events of the past few days wandered back to the forefront of her mind. Images of markless flanks, teary eyes and echoing screams assaulted her subconscious, making sure any remnants of sleep were chased away.

With a toss and a turn, as if to spite the night, she wrapped the blankets tighter around herself, and did her best to try and catch a fleeting trail of sleep, but only succeeded in making the stuffy and hot air of the room feel even more suffocating.

The little filly let out a frustrated groan as she kicked away the covers. She wasn’t sure what she should do, sleep seemed to be out of the question, but she didn’t want to just lay there until morning came since that would only guarantee she’d end up falling asleep at school. At the thought of school, she couldn’t help but think back to what happened at the playground that day.

She refused to let her mind dwell on that for too long, though. Apple Bloom jumped off the bed with decisiveness and headed for her door, maybe a glass of milk could relax her enough to sleep again.

With as much stealth as she could, Apple Bloom walked through the dark corridors of the farmhouse with only the creaking of the wood boards and the odd whisper of the wind to keep her company, as well as that ever present feeling of dread that just wouldn’t leave her alone. She forcefully shook her head, batting away the thoughts of distressed ponies, if only for long enough to get to her glass of milk.

Once she reached the first floor, she was surprised to see a faint candlelight coming from the kitchen. With the frenzy the town had found itself plunged into that evening, she had managed to get away with ditching school, but she didn’t want to push the limits of her siblings’ patience by sneaking around the farmhouse in the middle of the night.

However, one peek through doorway let her know it was neither Applejack or Big Mac who shared her insomnia.

“Miss Harvest?” Apple Bloom said as she arched an eyebrow at the sight of her guest. The older mare was sitting by the table with an empty glass held between her hooves; while the distress she had felt earlier that evening seemed to have lessened some, her face still showed clear signs of sadness.

After a few seconds of silence, as though she had to convince herself somepony did call her out, Golden Harvest finally turned around and faced the filly under the doorway.

“Oh… Hello, Apple Bloom. I didn’t wake you, did I?” she asked, forcing her mouth into a smile.

The filly shook her head before she realised she was still standing outside of the kitchen, amidst the darkness of the corridor. With hesitant steps, she walked closer to the mare as she spoke, “No, I just couldn’t sleep.”

“Bad dreams?” Golden Harvest offered, her lips slowly becoming rigid again.

“Yeah… Came to drink some milk and see if’n that helps,” the filly replied, doing her best to fill in the silence.

“It’s been a hard couple of days, huh?” Golden said, cradling her empty glass. “Lotsa’ things to process…”

Apple Bloom bit her lip in thought. She wanted to say something, she felt she should say something, a word of reassurance, an optimistic statement; and yet there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her that there was little she could actually say to lighten the spirits of the older mare. So, with a sigh, she quietly walked towards the cabinet and took a glass for herself.

“I was thinking about going back to my farm, but your sister wouldn’t have it,” Golden Harvest said, her eyes still focused on the glass. “She wouldn’t budge none, said we have to stick together through this.”

Apple Bloom rummaged through the contents of the fridge, looking for a bottle of milk.

“I didn’t want to impose… You’ve all done so much for me already, I’m sure you’ve your own problems to look for besides silly ol’ me… ” she said in a low voice, as if she was speaking more to herself rather than with Apple Bloom.

“Are…” the little filly ventured, “are you okay Miss Harvest?” She felt dumb asking something with such an obvious answer—probably nopony in town felt ‘okay’ anymore—but she honestly didn’t know what else she could say.

“I feel better,” Golden Harvest said, letting that word linger in the silence of the kitchen for a few seconds, “Not good, mind you… but definitely better. Yeah, better.”

During all that time, Golden’s gaze never left the empty glass between her hooves, and even in the faint darkness of the kitchen, broken only by the dim candlelight, Apple Bloom could have sworn she saw trails of matted fur on the mare’s cheeks.

Her grip on the bottle of milked tightened ever so slightly, but didn’t dare to say anything else. For a fleeting moment she wondered if perhaps she should wake up one of her siblings.

“Mmm… That’s… That’s good?” she said with clear uncertainty in her voice as she made a show of pouring herself a glass of milk.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I must be making you uncomfortable,” Golden said, finally tearing her gaze from her empty glass. Her eyes, Apple Bloom noticed, were bloodshot.

She realised the older mare probably was hoping for a reply, even if she hadn’t outright said so. “You’re… you’re not, Miss Harvest,” Apple Bloom said as she pretended to find the bottle of milk quite interesting all of a sudden.

“I should…” Golden trailed off, her hooves trembling, “I should probably go to sleep. We should all just go back to sleep, it’s already late.”

Apple Bloom feigned interest on her milk as she poured herself a glass. She wanted nothing more than to return to her bedroom and try to fall asleep, but part of her told herself that it wouldn’t do good to just leave Miss Harvest alone. Before she could even begin to think about saying something, the sound of something being dragged across the table caught her attention.

Miss Harvest pulled a heavy bottle towards her, and with some effort, managed to lift it and tilt it towards her empty glass. The smell hit Apple Bloom almost immediately and she recoiled a bit, though the older mare didn’t seem to notice.

“Wha… What is that?” she asked.

“Big Mac gave me some of his hard cider,” Golden Harvest said as the amber liquid trickled down from the bottle, “said I looked like I could use a drink.”

The burning smell of alcohol wormed its way through her nose and into her mind, where it brought memories of days when Applejack, Big Mac, or even Granny Smith would have a drink for themselves, all while telling them she was too young to have a taste.

Not that she’d ever wanted to.

“I felt relieved,” Golden Harvest said all of a sudden with a firm tone which Apple Bloom hadn’t seen in her since way before this horrid series of events started.

“What?”

“And… a bit guilty at the same time,” Golden continued as if she hadn’t heard the filly’s remark. “Celestia knows I was down in the dumps that first day, but”—she choked a bit, as if the words were trying to fight their way down her throat—”when I heard this was happening to more ponies… That I wasn’t the only one… For a moment I felt relieved. I felt better knowing that it wasn’t just me.”

Apple Bloom stared speechless at the older mare. It was as if those words had taken all the life away from the room. Now more than ever she felt she should say something, yet once again she was at a loss for words.

To say she was out of her depth would be underselling the situation. Golden Harvest would probably be better off talking with this with her sister, or maybe Miss Twilight or Zecora. What good was she? What could she do to make her feel better?

“I know I must sound horrible,” the carrot farmer continued, “and believe me I felt that way… Guess I still do.”

“I… I…” Apple Bloom stammered in an attempt to force words out. She just wanted to say something, anything. Any possible thing she could say would be better than to sit there in silence, wallowing in their shared misery.

“I’m sorry, Miss Harvest,” she finally said. “I know this… I know this ain’t easy…” she trailed off as her mind failed to come up with words of reassurance.

“No… It ain’t,” Golden Harvest said with an expression of resignation, and after a bleary sigh downed the entire contents of the glass in a single gulp.

Apple Bloom shifted on her seat in discomfort, torn between the desire of going back to her room and wanting to make Golden Harvest feel better. In the end, seeing how she was short on options, she simply took a sip of her glass of milk.

“We should…” Golden said in a considerably slurrier voice, “we should go to sleep, it’s already late.”

A nod was all Apple Bloom could trust herself to do. After drinking the rest of her milk, she mumbled a goodnight to the older mare who, she noticed, was taking the bottle of cider with her.

That feeling of apprehension came back, stronger this time. She knew she just couldn’t leave without saying anything, even if it was an empty wish, even if it was meaningless, even if Miss Harvest lashed out at her for meddling with issues she was far too young to understand, something inside her simply wouldn’t let her leave like this.

“Miss Harvest,” the filly said in a slightly louder voice.

The carrot farmer stopped and perked her ears as if trying to ascertain if she really heard Apple Bloom call her name. With a wobbly turn, she looked at her with tired eyes.

“Everything is gonna be alright,” she said with a wavering tone, not sure if she was only trying to reassure the other mare but also herself, “everypony’s working really hard to fix this whole mess, and even the Princesses are gonna help, and we... We gotta trust'em. We have to believe that everything’s gonna be fine.”

Golden Harvest looked at her with an inscrutable gaze, be it product of the darkness or the cider. The silence stretched on for an uncomfortable amount of time, and Apple Bloom started to wonder if what she said hadn’t made things worse when she heard a sad, hollow chuckle pierce the stillness of the room.

Golden Harvest stood in silence as she gave a small shake of her head. “I want to believe that, Apple Bloom. I really do.”

And something in her voice told Apple Bloom that, just like her, she wanted to believe that soon all would go back to normal and these past couple of days would become nothing more than a bad memory. However, neither of them was at the point where they actually did.

“Everything’s gonna be alright, Miss Harvest,” she repeated the mantra as if in doing so, it would become it a reality. “We hav’ta trust them, we… We have to.”

Once again, Golden Harvest didn’t reply. She stood under the doorway of the kitchen, looking at the floor as if the answers to their situation could be hidden somewhere on the veins of the wood.

“Good night, Apple Bloom,” Golden Harvest whispered, and turned around.

Soon enough, the clopping of her hooves against the wood faded away, and Apple Bloom once more found herself amidst oppressive silence. She sat there, her gaze lingering in the empty space left by Golden Harvest. She wanted to go back to her room, but something anchored her to her seat.

The flame of the candle flickered with a faint breeze.

It was late, and it was getting even later. Soon the morning would come and she’d have to get ready for school. If there would even be school to go after what happened.

Apple Bloom looked down at her empty glass, a few drops of milk pooling in the bottom. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to shout until her throat hurt, but above all, she just wanted things to go back to normal.

She sat in silence. There was no point in staying here. She had to go back to bed and try to get some sleep. She turned around and blew the candle’s flame away.

Darkness enveloped her as she made her way back to her room.

6

The air was tense amongst the ponies in the room; the still silence was broken by the sounds of a marker against paper. Twilight fidgeted on her seat and looked at the white earth pony clad in golden armour making marks on a large map in front of the mayor.

“We have stationed guards all around Ponyville. Two every three hundred meters all around town,” he said, putting down the marker on the mayor’s desk. He then stretched the map so everypony in the room could see it.

“These points will serve as the limits of the barrier, and here are the barracks where, alongside the medical team, we will be stationed until the quarantine ends,” he finished talking as his hoof traced a medium sized circle drawn outside of town.

“Let’s see…” the mayor said as she adjusted her glasses and leaned closer to her desk.

Twilight cocked her head to the side, hoping to gain a better look of the map. The markings the guard had made circumvented the entire town, with a bigger concentration on the main roads that connected Ponyville with the rest of Equestria, but as her eyes followed the trail of crosses, she found an oddity.

“Sergeant, if I may,” said a younger and obviously lower ranked unicorn guard who was standing next to Twilight. His light gray coat and dark blue mane contrasted heavily with the Sergeant.

“Speak up, Private,” the first guard said back.

The younger guard trotted next to him and pointed at the houses at the edge of the forest. “We noticed a couple of houses on the outskirts of town that are outside of the perimeter, sir,” he said, without losing his firm tone.

The guard had pointed at the exact spot Twilight had been looking, far from the centre of the town and near the Everfree Forest, right where—

“Oh, yeah, the cottages,” the Sergeant said as his hoof went from one of the marks to the location of the houses, he then looked down and scratched his chin with a hoof as he focused on the offending houses in the map, “I suppose a relocation is plausible,” he said, and Twilight couldn’t help but be bothered by his slightly disinterested tone.

The unicorn mare stared at the Sergeant with a furrowed brow, “I’m sorry,” she said, calling the attention of both guards, “but I don’t think we can take the time for relocating anyone right now. Starting the quarantine is of utmost importance.”

The Sergeant huffed and looked at Twilight with an annoyed expression, “Excuse me Miss Sparkle, but this meeting is supposed to be between the Mayor and me, there isn't—”

“Sergeant Bold Spear, if Miss Sparkle is here it’s because I requested her presence,” Ivory Scroll said, rising her voice, “You may have been given executive power by the Princess during this crisis, Sergeant, but I’d appreciate if you remembered that I’m still the leader of this town, and that Miss Sparkle has been of paramount importance in the detection of this plague, which is why I summoned her to serve as a consultant,” she added in a calmer tone as she crossed her forelegs, “If she has something to say about these procedures, I only ask that you listen to her.”

Twilight winced slightly at the mayor’s words, but nopony else seemed to notice. She knew the mayor was stretching the truth a bit for her sake, and she appreciated her intentions; but that alone didn’t manage to quell the feeling of guilt inside of her. There was a voice inside of her that kept nagging her, telling her that had she informed the Princess as soon as she found out about what was happening, this situation probably could have been solved much sooner.

Eventually, she was pulled back to reality when she heard Sergeant Bold Spear give a deep sigh. The pegasus rubbed his forehead before speaking again, “You are right, Miss Scroll, I apologise for my attitude,” the Sergeant then looked directly at Twilight, “I am sorry Miss Sparkle, I am just a bit tense, as I hope you can understand. It is not easy to organise and lead several squads of guards in less than eighteen hours,” he finished, a tired look on his face.

Twilight allowed herself a small smile, “I understand, Sergeant. My brother used to be Captain of the Royal Guard, so believe me when I tell you that I know how stressful it can be,” Twilight said in what she hoped was a calmer tone.

“Captain Shining Armour, I remember him. Good soldier, although I believe he goes by a different title these days, does he not?” the Sergeant said before turning around and addressing the mayor once again, “Either way, regarding those cottages, we would need to reorganise the guards to cover that part of town, but it is doable with the amount of troops we have. I will talk to the squad leaders and inform you of the changes we make.”

“I’ll be waiting, Sergeant Spear,” the mayor said.

“I can send a letter to Princess Celestia and ask her to send more guards; the last thing we’d want to do is compromise the integrity of the barrier,” Twilight chimed in.

The Sergeant shook his head as he rolled up the map, “Do not worry, Miss Sparkle, we have more than enough unicorns to keep the barrier up,” he said as he stuffed the parchment in his saddlebags.

“Are you sure? Because there’d be no problem—”

“Miss Sparkle,” the Sergeant said in a calm, but firm tone, “while the barrier spell is indeed a delicate one, we only need eight unicorns to keep it up and we currently have well over fifteen in our ranks.”

Twilight was taken aback by the Sergeant’s words, “Why do you need that many unicorns to maintain the spell?”

“Well, Miss Sparkle—” he started before being interrupted by Twilight.

“You can call me Twilight, Sergeant,” she said.

Sergeant Bold Spear let out a deep breath after hearing her, “Alright, Miss Twilight,” he said, not breaking eye contact, “if we learned anything from Captain Armour’s wedding, is that it is not wise to rely on one single pony with the safety of an entire city.”

Twilight managed not to wince at the Sergeant’s words, but she had to admit that he made a fair point, “Why have almost double the amount you need, then?” she asked.

The Sergeant remained silent for a second, as if pondering the answer, before giving Twilight a soft smile, a sincere smile, “It is better to be over prepared than being underprepared, would you not agree, Miss Twilight?”

Twilight sighed and returned the Sergeant's smile as best she could, "Yeah... you're right, Sergeant."

"Besides, the Princesses went through a lot of trouble to make sure troops were dispatched as soon as possible," the Sergeant twisted his mouth before speaking again, "I am just glad I am not the one who has to deal with all that paperwork," after that, he turned to face the mayor, “Miss Scroll, we will be leaving now, unless any of you feel there is something else that needs to be discussed.”

“There’s still the matter of Miss Zecora,” the mayor said.

“And who would this 'Miss Zecora' be?” the Sergeant asked, raising an eyebrow.

“A friend of mine, she’s a shamaness who lives in the Everfree—” Twilight’s words died in her throat as the memories of yesterday’s evening rushed back in, and the words of the zebra mare rang in her head. Since the Ponyville storm, the day before, I woke up to see my mark was no more.

“She… Uh,” Twilight stammered, “she has also been affected by the plague. And judging by the time her cutie mark disappeared, she was probably amongst the first, if not the first to be infected. I'm sure the medical team would find her highly valuable to their research.”

The Sergeant stood in silence, musing over Twilight’s words, before turning to the other guard in the room.

“Private Radiant,” he said abruptly, causing the younger guard to somehow straighten his back even more, something that Twilight didn’t think was possible, “take the map to the barracks and inform Lieutenant Shield of the changes that need to be done to the formations.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Private Radiant said with eagerness before saluting once again and levitating the map from Sergeant Spear’s hooves.

“I will be right behind you, as soon as Miss Twilight gives me the details of the location of the house of her friend,” Sergeant Spear said.

“Yes, Sergeant,” Radiant said as he saluted once again and turned around to leave the office.

“Oh, and Private,” the Sergeant spoke again, causing Private Radiant to turn around and stand in attention.

“Sir, yes sir!”

“Try to calm down a little bit, you will be of no good to anypony if you are that high strung,” the Sergeant added with a smirk.

“Uh, y-yes, sir,” the Private said, resisting the urge to salute once again, and left the room.

Once the young guard had closed the door, the Sergeant sighed and turned around to face Twilight, “So, you were telling me about Miss Zecora?”

“She’s an esteemed member of our community,” the Mayor said, “I think we’d very much prefer her to be with us during the quarantine.”

“Her house is in the Everfree Forest, but it’s down one of the main roads, it shouldn’t be hard to get there though it’d probably be better if I went with you,” Twilight said and walked towards the Sergeant, but he held up a hoof in front of her.

“I am sorry, Miss Twilight, but I am afraid I cannot let you do that,” the Sergeant said.

Twilight wasn’t willing to yield, so she spoke back to the Sergeant, “But Zecora is my friend, and I promised her I’d get help; you have to at least let me—”

“The quarantine starts within the next couple of hours, Miss Twilight. I cannot let you leave Ponyville, and you know that; you read the letter the Princess sent, I cannot let anyone leave the town,” he said as he put down his hoof.

Twilight looked down and grimaced as the memories of the letter came rushing back to her mind. Equestria hadn’t faced a threat of this nature in centuries, so there was no real protocol to follow. Therefore, the Princesses opted to err on the side of caution, and their instructions had been pretty clear: Quarantine, get everyone who may be infected together in a single location and do not let them leave said location.

“Just tell us exactly where she lives and I give you my word we will bring your friend here, safe and sound,” the captain said.

Twilight sighed and obliged. She described the path to the house of the shamaness as best as she could, the lack of ornaments making it hard to pinpoint the exact tree.

“…It shouldn’t be a problem, though, it’s the only tree in the forest with a door,” the unicorn finished.

“Then so be it, I will send a detachment after her immediately,” the Sergeant said, “If that is all, I will be leaving. Good morning, ladies.”

And with a nod, the Sergeant left the office.

Once the door closed, Twilight let out a low groan.

“Are you alright, Miss Sparkle?” Ivory Scroll asked.

“Yes, I just…” Twilight trailed off, not sure of what to say, “I just…” finally, she remained silent as she stared at the ground.

The mayor gave her a soft smile and jumped from her seat, “Your distress is understandable, Miss Sparkle,” she said as she walked around her desk and stopped in front of the unicorn, “but I ask you to remember all the good you’ve done for this town.”

Twilight kept looking down, until she felt the mayor’s hoof on her shoulder.

“If it weren’t for you, Miss Sparkle, there’s no telling how this situation would have developed, or if we could have stopped it in time,” the mayor said with a smile on her face.

We still don’t know if we managed to stop it, Twilight thought, but she didn’t voice her doubts, “I hope that’s the case, Miss Scroll,” she said instead.

“We all do,” the mayor said, “now, if you excuse me, I’ll try to occupy myself with whatever paperwork I have left.”

“Sure thing,” Twilight said, as she walked towards the door. “Have fun,” she added as an afterthought. Her mind didn’t register the words until she reached the door, but when she realised what she'd just said, she turned to face the Mayor with an apologetic look.

“Don’t think about it,” the mayor said before she could apologise. With a lopsided smile, she shuffled some of the papers on her desk. “I think I saw a fifty page proposal for gravel roads. That should keep me busy.”

Twilight remained immobile for a few seconds before shaking her head and opening the door, “Good bye, Miss Scroll.”

Apple Bloom walked down the dirt path that led to the schoolhouse, sporting a frown on her face; she shifted under her saddlebags, trying to settle them in place, as if to take her mind from the events of the last day, but her lethargic trot and the vacant expression on her eyes made it clear that her mind was elsewhere.

She sighed and kept walking forward, fighting the urge of turning around and running back to the farm. She knew there was no point in doing that since her siblings would most likely send her back. Not to mention that she also wanted to know how Cheerilee was faring.

So Apple Bloom walked, and tried to find something to focus and fill the blanks in her mind.

Blank like the flanks of those ponies, she thought.

Needless to say, she wasn't successful.

"Ugh... Shut up, brain," Apple Bloom said. The filly quickened her pace until it became a gallop. She could feel her hooves aching a bit, but she pressed on and didn't stop until the schoolhouse came into view.

She stopped at a distance, far from the building; her uneasiness and the need to return to the farm were pulling her back, while her worry for Cheerilee and the wish for things to be over were pushing her forward. So she stayed there, immobile, not knowing what to do, until she heard a commotion coming from the schoolhouse.

Her curiosity trumped over her doubts for a moment, and the young filly trotted towards the wooden veranda. As she got closer, the noises grew louder, but Apple Bloom couldn't make out what words were being spoken. She raised a hoof towards the doorknob, and was about to open it when the door was flung open, startling Apple Bloom, and out came a unicorn with a nervous look on his face. His eyes darted back and forth as he left the room behind, "Come out, honey, don't stay—" he stopped abruptly once his eyes landed on the little filly next to him, "Ah, hello there..."

Neither Apple Bloom nor the stallion managed to say anything else before a greenish mare exited the room as well, "Come on, dear, let's go," she said as she pushed the stallion and both left the premises of the school.

Apple Bloom stood in the doorway with her mouth slightly agape, her mind was flooded with dozens of new questions, but before she could vocalise any of them, a voice called her from inside the schoolhouse.

"Apple Bloom? Is that you?"

"M-miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom asked as she entered the room. The older mare was sitting behind her desk at the end of the classroom, the decidedly empty classroom. She had suspected several of the students wouldn't come today, but seeing the lone figure of the teacher in the otherwise empty room didn't help her feeling of uneasiness.

"Good Morning, Apple Bloom, it's good to see you," Cheerilee said, snapping Apple Bloom back to reality.

"Wha... what happened, Miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom asked, not sure if she referred to the couple who just left, the empty classroom, or yesterday's events.

"Everyone is afraid, Apple Bloom," the teacher said, a melancholic look on her face, "a lot of parents opted to keep their children at home," she let out a sad chuckle, "I can't say I blame them."

Apple Bloom let out a sigh and sat on her haunches, "I suppose there ain't gonna be any classes today."

"No, and there probably won't be until the situation improves," Cheerilee said as she absentmindedly shuffled with some papers on her desk.

The filly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel how one of the last traces of normalcy in this maelstrom of madness slipped away from her. She wondered how much things would change before they returned to normal.

If they ever did, that is.

"Why did that couple run away, Miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom asked, remembering the other issue that circled around in her mind.

Cheerilee kept smiling, but the forced cheerfulness had left her eyes. "They're the parents of one of your classmates, they wanted to know what happened yesterday when all of you ran away."

Apple Bloom winced at the slight reprimand, she felt the guilt resurface and offered the teacher an apology, "I'm sorry, Miss Cheerilee, after we found out about Diamond Tiara, we all kinda panicked and, well, we just..." she trailed off.

"It's alright, Apple Bloom," she said, although they both knew it wasn't.

"What did you tell them?" the filly asked, trying to veer the conversation back to its original topic.

"The truth," Cheerilee said, the last traces of her smile now gone, "I told them everything I know, however little it is."

The little filly nodded as she listened to her teacher's explanation, but she felt that there were things that didn't seem right.

"But why did that couple run away like that?" the filly asked, cocking her head to the side.

Cheerilee blinked a couple of times before answering, "Because I told them the truth," she said, rising from her seat, "all the truth."

Apple Bloom still was confused, she didn't understand what Cheerilee meant, until the purple mare walked in front of her.

"Miss Cheerilee..." the filly said in a low voice as she stared at her teacher's flank, "How?"

"Not too long after I arrived at school," she said absentmindedly, "I know I still had my cutie mark when I woke up today."

After saying this, Miss Cheerilee sat on the floor, in front of Apple Bloom. Up this close, the filly could see that the teacher looked very tired, she had bags under her eyes and her mane looked disheveled.

"When I heard what happened yesterday, I wanted to remain calm and be strong for you and the other foals," Cheerilee said, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath, "but it seems that I won't even be able to do that," she finished with a sad smile tugging at her lips.

"It... it's gonna be alright, Miss Cheerilee. My sister and Miss Twilight are doing their best to solve this, and so are the doctors, and even the Princesses are working hard to fix everything as well."

The older mare smiled a slightly more genuine smile this time, "I'll keep my hopes up," she said.

"You'll see!" Apple Bloom continued with confidence, "soon everypony will have their cutiemarks back; you, Diamond Tiara, Miss Harvest too—"

"Golden Harvest lost her cutie mark?" Cheerilee said, worry taking over her expression.

"Eh, well.,. Y'see..." Apple Bloom fumbled with her words as she felt her throat tie itself into a knot, wondering if she had revealed too much, "Miss Harvest came to the farm looking for help the day of the storm, and it looks like she lost her cutie mark that day," the filly finished, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.

"Oh, poor Golden, I hope she's alright," Cheerilee said, lifting her front hooves to her mouth,

"We're takin' care of her back at the farm. She was a bit shaken up, but now she’s feeling...” Apple Bloom trailed off. She was doing her best to sound optimistic, though she couldn’t help but remember the way the carrot farmer had looked last night. Sad, defeated, almost as though she wanted to give up.

Cheerilee seemed to be relieved by this, which was made evident by the return of her smile, "That's good to know." Silence fell over both of them after she said this. With nothing more to say, the older mare stood up and looked at the filly, "I think you should be going back home, Apple Bloom, the quarantine will begin soon."

"Ok, Miss Cheerilee," Apple Bloom said, standing up as well, "What will you do?"

"I'm going to stay here in case any more parents come," Cheerilee said looking at the door.

"I don't think many will come, Miss Cheerilee," Apple Bloom said turning around to follow her teacher's gaze, "Not if that couple tells everypony about... Well..." she fell silent, not being able to finish the sentence.

Miss Cheerilee remained silent for a moment before speaking again, "They will come, Apple Bloom."

"Why are you so sure?" Apple Bloom asked.

The mare remained silent.

"Miss Cheerilee?" The filly asked again.

"I guess there's no point in hiding it, you will hear about it sooner or later," Cheerilee said. She looked down at the filly and Apple Bloom could see the sadness in her eyes, "they think I lost my cutie mark because I was being a bad teacher."

The filly's reaction was as immediate as it was intense.

"What!?" she yelled, jumping on her hooves.

"Calm down, Apple Bloom," Cheerilee said, laying a hoof on the filly's shoulder.

"How can they think that? You're the best teacher ever, Miss Cheerilee!" Apple Bloom replied.

The filly's words caused the mare to smile again, "Thank you, Apple Bloom, that means a lot to me."

"It's the truth," Apple Bloom said, looking down, "They all are talkin' nonsense."

"Maybe... But it's what everypony seems to be thinking," Cheerilee said, grimacing.

"But why?" Apple Bloom asked in a pleading tone.

"Maybe they feel the need to blame this on something," Cheerilee shrugged.

"Why would they think that's why you lost your cutie mark?" Apple Bloom said.

The older mare remained silent for a moment, as if she was deciding whether or not to answer the filly's question, "I couldn't say how it started, but the prevalent theory running around town is that if you're not doing a good job with whatever your special talent is, you'll lose your cutie mark."

"But that can't be true, Miss Cheerilee, it can't!" the filly said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself as well.

"I don't think that's what's happening either, and as long as we believe that, things may still be fine," Cheerilee said, in the most reassuring tone she could.

"But what will happen if everyone ends up thinkin' like that?" the filly asked.

Cheerilee didn't answer right away. Instead, she let her eyes wander around the room for a moment before finally answering, "We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there."

Apple Bloom kept looking at her teacher before giving a sigh and looking down.

Cheerilee stood up and held her hoof towards Apple Bloom "You should head back home, Apple Bloom."

Apple Bloom wanted to say something, anything that would make the situation better, or at least bring some comfort to her techer. She just didn't know what she could possibly say, so she simply said goodbye and turned around to leave the room.

"Oh, and Apple Bloom?"

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom asked back.

"Don't be afraid," the teacher said, a sad yet slightly optimistic smile on her face, "everything will turn out fine in the end."

Apple Bloom stood in the middle of the room, staring at her teacher. The filly wasn't too surprised that the older mare was able to see through the mask of false bravado she was trying to keep. She remained silent for a moment before speaking again, "G'bye, Miss Cheerilee."

"Goodbye, Apple Bloom," Cheerilee said from behind her desk, "Be careful out there."

Not sure if she should say anything else, the filly turned around to leave the classroom and head back to Sweet Apple Acres. It wasn't until she was halfway through the road when she had to stop because the tears welling up in her eyes made it hard to watch her step.

She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the tears, but she did it with so much strength that she only caused more tears to come out. With a huff, she stomped her hoof on the ground, and then she did it again, and again, and again, and again, now with both of her front hooves, and she kept stomping the ground faster and faster, and the tears kept coming, but Apple Bloom didn't care anymore. And when her shoulders wouldn't let her keep stomping the ground, she shook her head and let out an angry cry, and ran the distance left to the farm.

It was the fourth time Twilight had read the same paragraph of the medical textbook she had been skimming, and the words were starting to blur together into an indistinguishable mess. The unicorn sighed and closed her eyes, unsuccessfully trying to clear her mind. She shook her head and, realising she couldn't concentrate, closed the book and placed it back on its correct spot in the bookshelf, resisting the urge of taking out another, since she knew the guards would be coming by the library any minute now.

As if on cue, Twilight heard a loud knocking on her door, "Miss Sparkle?" came a voice from outside of the Library door.

"I'll get it," Spike said, getting up from his spot near where Twilight had been sitting. Her assistant opened the door to reveal a white pegasus clad in golden armour.

"Uh, hi," the dragon said.

"Good morning, I'm here to inform Miss Sparkle that the quarantine is about to start."

Twilight sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall, "Right on time."

"I've been ordered to escort you to the edge of town," the guard added, "we must leave presently."

"Alright, I'm going," Twilight said as she walked towards the guard, "Let's go, Spike."

The dragon walked behind Twilight as she left the library, and closed the door behind them. They followed the guard, their trek marred by a silence that neither dared to break. Even the ocassional chirping of birds or wind blowing through a tree served only to accentuate the stillness of town.

"Hey, Spike," Twilight said as she walked.

"Yeah, Twi? Spike asked back.

Twilight kept walking in silence for a couple of seconds.

"Twi?" Spike prodded her.

"Princess Celestia hasn't sent any letters since yesterday, has she?" Twilight said in a low voice.

Spike scratched his chin as he watched his friend, "I think I would have noticed, that last one hurt my throat," he said with a smile. His smile quickly died, however, once he saw the crestfallen expression on the unicorn's face.

"Twi, I'm sure Princess Celestia will write us back soon," Spike said, as reassuringly as he could.

"I know, Spike, organising the quarantine in such a short time can't be easy," Twilight said, and even though Spike noticed that she didn't sound too convinced, he opted not to press the issue. The rest of the walk went without any major incident, most ponies didn't want to leave their homes, and that decision to stay indoors caused the streets to be barren of practically everypony, which increased the eerie feeling that had fell upon the town since the previous day.

Twilight could have sworn she saw movement in the houses. Whether it was due to the rustling of curtains, or the shadows moving behind closed windows, she wasn't sure. Regardless, the unicorn kept walking next to the guard, down the road that led to the edge of town.

As they got closer, Twilight could see that a group of ponies was already gathered there, talking intently with each other. Some of them were guards who were starting to leave to their designated positions. The rest of them she couldn't recognise, but judging by their attire, they seemed to be a medical team, although she was able to make out a familiar face amongst the crowd.

"Doctor Horse?" Twilight asked when she saw the yellow unicorn who was talking with the other ponies in white robes.

"Ah, Miss Twilight, it's good to see you," the doctor said, turning around to face the unicorn, "this is the medical team that was sent from Canterlot."

The group of ponies nodded in acknowledgement to Twilight, and she could hear some murmured greetings, before they all turned around to face the doctor again.

"Time is running short, doctor. Now that the discussions are over, may we take the samples with us?" a mare at the front of the group said.

"Of course, they should be arriving shortly," Doctor Horse said.

As if on cue, a white mare came trotting down the road alongside another guard.

"Here they are," the mare mumbled, holding a medical bag with her mouth. Once she laid it down, she spoke again, "they're processed, labeled and organised."

"Thank you, Nurse Redheart, I don't know what I'd do without you," Doctor Horse said with a smile.

"We will be taking these, then," another doctor of the Canterlot team said, levitating the bag towards him with his magic.

"Our team will be collaborating with the Manehattan Institute of Medicine during our research, we're under the impression you already contacted them, right Doctor Horse?" the first doctor said.

"The letter I sent must have reached them by now, no doubt they'll be more than willing to help us," Doctor Horse said.

"Very well, then," the first doctor said, adjusting her glasses, "we'll talk to them as soon as we can, it would be for the best for this situation to be kept under wraps until the Princesses deem it appropriate to make a formal announcement to all of Equestria."

"It's... Understandable," Nurse Redheart said in a tone that let everypony know that she didn't entirely agree.

Twilight stayed silent during the entire exchange, watching from the sidelines at the doctors talking, idly waiting for them to finish.

"I never quite understood how medicine works," a voice next to her said.

"Gah!" Twilight yelled, startled by the sudden apparition next to her.

"I am sorry, Miss Sparkle, I did not mean to scare you," Sergeant Bold Spear said with a worried look on his face.

"It's okay, Sergeant, you only caught me by surprise," the unicorn said, catching her breath, "and I told you to call me Twilight."

"I will remember it," the Sergeant said.

Twilight looked back at the group of doctors for a moment, "I can't say my grasp on medicine is too good, either. There's only so much that can be learned from books, after all."

"I agree, it is better to leave those who know about it to do their jobs," the Sergeant said.

"Oh, Twilight could be a great doctor if she tried," Spike chimed in, jumping from Twilight's side and onto her back.

"Spike!" Twilight said, giving the dragon a stern look, "don't pay attention to him, Sergeant."

"And who may this be?" the Sergeant asked as he looked at Spike.

"Spike, the dragon, at your service," Spike said, extending his claw towards the Sergeant.

Sergeant Bold Spear eyed the dragon's claw for a second before extending his own hoof and shaking it, "You are the dragon Miss Twilight hatched all those years ago, are you not? I have heard about you."

Twilight smiled at the sight of her assistant shaking the Sergeant's hoof, and for a moment, her mind could forget about the situation they were in.

This feeling, however, didn't last for long.

A guard headed towards them, and gave a salute once he was in front of the little group before speaking, "Sergeant, the guards are in position, it's time to put up the barrier."

"Thank you, I will be on my way," Sergeant Bold Spear said, saluting as well.

Twilight saw the guard walk away, and felt a sour sensation grow in her stomach, for she knew that the time was upon her.

"You wanted to be present, did you not, Miss Twilight?" the Sergeant said, looking at her.

Twilight nodded in agreement.

"Then follow me," he said as he started trotting towards the barracks.

Twilight took a deep breath and went after the Sergeant. She remained at a distance, however, and making sure she couldn't be heard, she spoke again, "I guess this is it, isn't it?"

"Huh, what do you mean, Twi?" Spike said in an equally low voice.

"I mean that it has come to this, a quarantine. The Princess had to have the town sealed because I couldn't solve this in time," Twilight said in a depressed tone.

"Twilight..." The dragon trailed off. The unicorn didn't give any sign of acknowledgement towards Spike, so he spoke again, "You can't blame yourself for this, you did everything you could."

And I still failed them, she wanted to say, but kept walking in silence instead, as if she hadn't heard what her friend said.

Once they reached the tents, Sergeant Bold Spear made them stop, "This is as far as you can go, Miss Twilight," he said.

Twilight was about to say something when she realised they had reached the edge of the perimeter established by the Royal Guard, "Oh, I'll go back, then," she said, taking a couple of steps back.

Sergeant Bold Spear nodded and turned around to face the rest of the guards, who were approaching him.

"Attention!" he hollered, causing the guards to quickly take their places in front of him, "I will not waste the time of anypony, all of you know the reason why we have been sent here. We have been entrusted with the safety of this town and the safety of Equestria, and I know all of you are up to the task," the Sergeant made a pause during which he scanned his troops, "and we shall not disappoint."

Once the Sergeant stopped talking, two unicorns gave a step forward and met with him. He gave them a nod and, immediately, the two unicorns charged their horns and after less than a second, a clear, slightly rose-tinted surface started materialising out of thin air. It grew exponentially, quickly forming a gently curved wall that burrowed into the ground, it kept expanding into the heavens, curving ever so slightly, towards the center of the town.

Almost simultaneously, similar walls raised towards the sky from several points around the edge of town, all of them just like the first one. They all grew and kept growing until each wall met with the rest, and together formed an enormous dome over Ponyville.

Twilight walked towards the edge of the barrier, and raised a hoof towards it, pressing it against its surface.

It felt cold.

"It lets the sunlight in and filters the air that comes in and out, not to mention it is much harder to dispel," the muffled voice of the Sergeant came from outside of the barrier, catching Twilight's attention, "we have made a few improvements over the spell your brother used on his wedding."

"What now, Sergeant?" Twilight asked.

"We wait for new orders. Until then, we make sure the barrier is holding up, we divert any curious ponies before they can see the barrier, and we let the medical team do their job, assisting them when possible," the Sergeant said. He then took out a rolled up piece of parchment from his saddlebags, "Right now I am going to check on the eight outposts around town."

"Hopefully you won't mind if we join you," Twilight said.

The Sergeant stared at Twilight for a moment before speaking, "You would only be able to watch us from the inside, Miss Twilight, I am sure you have better things to do."

Twilight spared Spike a glance before looking back at the Sergeant, "Until I get further instructions from Princess Celestia, no, I don't."

"Very well," the Sergeant said, stuffing the parchment back where they had been, "let us go."

And withouth another word, they walked.

7

“C’mere everypony!” Applejack hollered, making sure that the ponies of the market heard her clearly, “get your apples, fresh from the farm!”

Apple Bloom watched as her sister kept tending their stand, her gaze wandered over the market, not focusing on anything in particular.

“It sure is a slow day, ain’t it, ‘Bloom?” her sister asked, through a forced smile, doing her best to sound cheerful on behalf of her sister, but only succeeding in making a frown appear on Apple Bloom’s face.

“Oh, c’mon Apple Bloom, there’s no sense in bein' gloom,” her sister said. She then blinked and gave a light chuckle, “Heh, I just spoke like Zecora, ain’t that somethin'?”

“I don’t think that’s funny, Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, dryly.

Applejack was taken aback by her sister’s reaction. She remained silent while she scratched her head in thought, wondering what she should say to her little sister. After a few seconds of silence, Applejack removed her apron and threw it over the stand and knelt down, until she was lying on the grass right next to her sister.

“It’s okay to be angry, Apple Bloom,” she said.

“No, it ain’t okay,” the earth filly said abruptly, “I shouldn’t be angry because none o' this should. Be. Happenin'!”

Apple Bloom’s outburst caught her sister by surprise. The filly’s lip quivered, but she scrunched her muzzle and laid her head down between her forelegs, facing away from her older sister.

“Listen to me Apple Bloom,” Applejack said after a couple of seconds of silence.

The filly didn’t raise her head, but she perked up her ears, showing that she was listening. “I don’t blame you for feelin' that way, ‘Bloom,” Applejack said as she rested her hoof on her sister’s shoulder, which Apple Bloom promptly shook off. Shocked, but undeterred, Applejack kept talking, “with all that has happened, I’m amazed you’re takin' it this well.”

Apple Bloom buried her head in her forelegs even more, as if she was trying to disappear between them.

“Celestia knows I probably couldn’t have taken it when I was your age,” Applejack added in a whisper.

The filly squirmed in place, and Applejack took this as a sign to keep going, “I meant what I said, Apple Bloom. You are the strongest filly I’ve known and don’t you forget it.” After saying this, Applejack crossed her hooves and looked up, “I have to keep tendin' the stand, we have to get rid of all the apples we have left, hopefully somepony will—” she was interrupted by a yellow blur that had tackled her side.

“I’m sorry,” Apple Bloom said, her voice muffled by her sister’s coat, "I shouldn't have said all those thin's."

A smile tugged at Applejack’s lips as she hugged back the little filly, “It’s alright, ‘Bloom,” she said, gently stroking her sister’s mane.

“Hello?” came a sing-song voice from the front of the stand.

“Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked, pulling herself away from her sister and rubbing her eyes.

“Hi, Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle said, “Hello, Applejack.”

“Hi, Bloom. Hi Applejack” Scootaloo said, jumping from her scooter.

“Hi, girls,” Apple Bloom said with a decidedly happier tone, “what are you doin' here?”

“We wanted to come see you,” Sweetie Belle said.

“We thought we could hang around,” Scootaloo said, “since y’know, there’s no school today.”

The words of the pegasus caused Apple Bloom’s shoulders to sag, but she was back to normal before the other two fillies could notice.

“Sure thin',” she said before scrunching up her muzzle and turning around to face her sister, “I can go, right, AJ?” she pleaded.

Applejack chuckled and rustled the filly’s mane, “'course you can, sugar cube. It’s not like ponies are doin' a lot of buyin' today.”

“Yeah, they all seem to have come just to talk to each other,” Scootaloo said as she jumped back on her scooter, “G’bye Applejack!”

“Good bye, Applejack,” Sweetie Belle said as she started to walk.

“Bye, AJ. I’ll be back in a while,” Apple Bloom said as she followed her friends, none of them noticing the grimace forming on the face of the farmer.

“Come back to the farm before sunset, you hear me?” Applejack said, rising her voice. She grabbed the apron from the cart and struggled to put it back on, hoping to focus on selling the remaining apples she had, however, she couldn't help throwing sideway glances at the ponies who were on the stands next to her.

Scootaloo was right; they weren’t here to buy, if the small groups of murmuring ponies were any indication.

“C’mere everypony!” Applejack yelled again, doing her best to avoid eavesdropping on the other ponies, “get your apples, fresh from the farm!”

And yet, she failed.

“It’s insidious, that’s what it is,” the yellow stallion said, jabbing a hoof on his friend’s chest.

“Calm down, Caramel. You’re starting to freak me out,” the other stallion said as he ogled the jars of honey in front of him.

“That too, why are you so calm?” Caramel said.

“Because I’m choosing to trust the measures taken by the Princess, that’s why."

“Speaking of whom, why didn’t she come to the lockdown?” Caramel asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, if this thing's really serious, maybe she didn't want to risk spreading the disease, I don’t know, why are you asking me?” the brown earth pony replied.

“Hey, Turner,” the honey vendor said, catching the attention of both stallions, “you’re a learned pony, aren’t you?”

“Well, I…” Time Turner fumbled with his words, “I guess?”

“I know you are,” she said before leaning towards the two stallions and whispering conspiratorially, “do you have any idea of what’s going on?”

“Yeah, Turner, you’re a history buff. Do you know if anything like this has ever happened before?” Caramel asked back.

“What? No, of course I don’t,” Time Turner said, taking a step back. “If Princess Celestia’s personal student doesn’t know what’s happening, what makes you think I do?”

“I don't know, man. This whole situation is messed up, I don’t know what to think.” Caramel threw his hooves in the air, looking befuddled.

“I think it’s a curse,” the honey vendor said, crossing her hooves over her chest.

“A curse? Seriously?” Time Turner asked.

“Well, how else would you explain what’s happening?” the honey vendor asked back.

"A curse makes no sense. Who would even be casting it?"

"Hey, weirder stuff has happened."

"Okay, yes. Even still, why target random ponies?"

Caramel shrugged. The honey vendor leaned over her counter, resting her head on her crossed hooves.

"I still think it's a curse."

"Of course..."

"Maybe the curse wasn't aimed at some ponies, but to the entire town. Maybe all of us have been cursed, but it’s just waiting to happen,” the honey vendor said.

“That’s grim... What do you think, Turner?” Caramel asked.

“I…” Time Turner paused, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times before sighing, “I don’t know… I just don’t know.”

“I tell you, it’s all a bunch of nonsense,” the old donkey said.

“Doodle! What an awful thing to say,” Matilda shot back.

“It’s the truth, Matilda. Some ponies got a dye job on their flanks and now everyone is panicking,” Cranky said.

Matilda looked around with a grimace, "Still, Doodle, cutie marks mean a lot to ponies, you can't blame them for being afraid."

"I can and I will," Cranky said, shifting under his saddlebags. "These ponies are losing their minds over nothing."

"I don't like your tone, Doodle," Matilda said with a huff, "just imagine how Pinkie Pie would react if she lost her cutie mark. The poor dear would be devastated."

The donkey stopped on his tracks and his shoulders slumped as he sighed. He looked towards the building shaped like a pastry and let out a long, disgruntled sigh.

"I suppose you're right, Matilda," Cranky said. "Ponies really do care about their cutie marks. I guess this whole thing can be pretty upsetting for them."

The couple shared a smile before Matilda spoke again, "I'm sure it is, Cranky. Come on, let's go home."

"It's still not fair that we're stuck in here," Cranky mumbled.

"Doodle, this is only going to last until they solve this little problem," Matilda said back.

"Alright, alright," Cranky said as he started to walk.

And after a quick nuzzle, both donkeys made their way out of the market.

“They seem to think it’s a disease, don’t they?”

“That’s what I heard,” the mare next to her said, “though I don’t know what kind of disease could do something like this.”

“Didn’t a filly get sick and started getting random cutie marks a few months ago?” the first mare said, “maybe this something like that.”

“And to think you girls doubted me when I got those hazmat suits,” a third mare added.

“This is not the time to be smug, Daisy, this is a serious problem,” Rose replied, her voice torn between scolding and pleading.

“How long do you think the town is going to be in quarantine?” Lily asked her friends.

“Until they find a solution to this problem and they can cure the sick ponies, isn’t that the purpose of a quarantine?” Roseluck said.

"I suppose," Lily said, crestfallen.

"I think it's some sort of punishment," Daisy said after a few moments, catching her friends off-guard.

"What?" Rose asked, dumbfounded.

"Daisy! How can you say such a thing?" Lily said, staring at her friend with a frown.

"Well, think about it," Daisy said, arching an eyebrow, "you get your cutie mark once you realise what your talent is, right?"

The other two mares nodded, though not without a certain discomfort.

"Then what would it take to make it disappear?" Daisy asked.

"What... What do you mean, Daisy?" Rose asked her.

"Well," Daisy said in a low tone, leaning towards her friends, "You know how Davenport started selling pencils on his store instead of just quills?"

"You don't really think that's what caused him to—" Lily stopped and gulped before continuing "—you know..."

"I'm just saying it's quite a coincidence..." Daisy said as she turned around, "and I also know that Green Jewel started using low quality gems, and you saw what happened yesterday at Town Hall."

"That's kind of harsh, Daisy," Roseluck said, grimacing.

"Maybe, but I think it makes sense," the mare said back, and with that, she pulled some of the biggest and most colourful flowers from the stand and began tying them together.

Roseluck and Lily stared at their friend, then at each other, not knowing what to say. Finally, they looked back at their flowers and, shaking their heads, went back to tending the stand.

"Well, that sucked," Scootaloo said as she and the other Crusaders left the market behind.

"Everypony is really sad, they must be worried about what's happening," Sweetie Belle said.

"Well duh, of course they are worried, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo said, "this whole situation is crazy, and it's making everyone nervous."

"But it is gonna be solved, right?," Sweetie Belle said.

"I guess, that's why the Prin—Oof!" Scootaloo yelped as she bumped on Apple Bloom, who had stopped walking and was looking down at the ground and was breathing heavily. Scootaloo rubbed her shoulder and looked at the yellow filly with a puzzled look

"Apple Bloom, are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked, as she walked towards her friends. She was about to lay a hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder when the earth filly turned around quickly.

"Right? You wanna know if I'm right?" Apple Bloom yelled, causing her friends to flinch.

"Hey, 'Bloom—" Scootaloo started, but the earth filly began yelling again.

"I ain't right, girls, I'm everythin' but right!" Apple Bloom had her eyes closed and was shaking her head violently

"Apple Bloom, calm down," Scootaloo said with a worried expression on her face.

"No, Scoots, I don't wanna calm down. I wanna yell, and I wanna go home, and I want to go into my room and cry until this whole thing ends and I don't even know what else 'cause right now I don't know how to feel, and I think I could just—" Apple Bloom's rant was abruptly interrupted by a loud yell in the distance.

"Wow, how did you do that, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle said.

"That... that wasn't me," the earth filly said, dumbfounded. Her anger now forgotten, she looked in the direction the scream had come, "That sounded like..."

Scootaloo let out a loud gasp as realisation dawned on them, "That was Rainbow Dash!"

"Let's go, girls!" yelled Apple Bloom, turning around and running in the opposite direction, closely followed by the rest of the Crusaders.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, sir," a guard said.

"The barrier went up without a trouble," her partner added.

"Very well," Sergeant Bold Spear said back, "If any problem arises, just follow the protocol and inform me or Lieutenant Shield immediately."

"Yes, sir!" both guards said at unison as they saluted.

Twilight stared at the guards as they discussed the routine they would follow. She wasn't really paying attention to what they said, which didn't go unnoticed by Spike.

"Hey, Twi..." Spike said, bringing the unicorn back to reality.

Twilight blinked a couple of times before addressing the dragon, "Yeah, Spike?"

"Why are we going with the Sergeant to check the outposts?" He asked her. Once Twilight didn't respond, he talked again, "It's not as if we are really helping in anything."

"I guess I just didn't want to be cooped up in the Library all day," Twilight said. It would just remind me of how ineffective I've been, she didn't say.

"Alright... What are we going to do once the Sergeant finishes his check up, then?" Spike asked again.

"I've been thinking about that, actually, I want to talk to the Mayor and have a meeting to decide what course of action we should take," Twilight said.

"Oh... ok" Spike said, not knowing what else to do to try to cheer up his friend.

"You were right about something, though," Twilight said, still looking forward.

"I was?" Spike asked in incredulity.

"Yeah..." Twilight trailed off, looking at the Sergeant speak with the guards, "I can't keep blaming myself for this."

Spike couldn't help but crack a smile, in spite of the situation, "That's good to hear, Twi."

Twilight kept staring forward, breathing slowly. She knew that she couldn't let this get to her, at least not more than it already had.

"That will be all, then. Go back to your positions," the Sergeant said, catching Spike and Twilight's attention.

"Yes sir!" both guards replied in unison.

"I assume there are no problems with this one either, Sergeant," Twilight said.

"Indeed," Sergeant Bold Spear said turning around to face the unicorn, "There is only one more outpost to check and that will be it for the day."

"Alright, then. Let's—" Twilight said, but was interrupted by an intense yelling coming from somewhere not too far from them.

They all turned around , trying to find the source of the loud discussion.

"What..." Spike said, looking at the direction the scream had come from.

"That... that was Rainbow Dash," Twilight said. Immediately, she bolted forward, running towards the source of the yelling, "come quickly, Sergeant!"

"Lead the way, Miss Twilight," Sergeant Bold Spear said as he galloped behind the unicorn.

"Miss, I'm going to need you to remain calm," the guard said, trying to remain calm himself.

"Don't you Miss me, what the hay is going on here?" Rainbow Dash said, pushing away the guard, "What is this thing?" The pegasus kicked off the ground and hovered above the guard, far from his reach.

"Miss, if you could calm down, then—" the light gray stallion tried to talk to the frazzled pegasus but was ignored.

"I told you to tell me what's this!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Like I was trying to say," the guard said, nervously, "Ponyville is in state of quarantine, Miss, and I can't let you—"

"Quarantine? What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash said, arching an eyebrow, "I'm just trying to get back home."

"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me," the guard said, mustering all the courage he could.

"Save it, pal. The only place I'm going is home, so get this thing open now," the pegasus demanded, causing the guard to flinch.

"Rainbow Dash!" came a yell from inside of the barrier.

The pegasus perked up her ears and hovered towards the purple~ish screen that separated her from the town, "Squirt? Is that you?" Rainbow Dash said, closing the distance to the barrier as a trio of fillies came into her view.

"Rainbow... Dash..." the orange filly panted as she stopped running. Once she reached the barrier, she lifted a hoof and placed it on the barrier's surface, "what are you doing outside?"

"I had to go to Cloudsdale for a couple of days, and I come back to find that the whole town is inside of a bubble!" the pegasus said motioning towards the town with a hoof, "and numb-flanks over there isn't being any help," she added with a flick of her mane.

"H-hey!" the guard said, but was ignored.

"Is Trixie back in town? Is that what's happening?" She asked, arching an eyebrow as her ayes trailed along the curving shape of the dome.

The crusaders shared a look of confusion between them before looking back at the blue pegasus.

"Y-you mean you haven't heard?" Scootaloo asked, hesitantly.

"Heard what?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Ugh... I swear, everypony is being so cryptic it's not even fun."

"There, uh... There has been some stuff going on in town..." Scootaloo said, kicking the ground. She looked at her friends, hoping to find support from then, but they were equally nervous.

"Scoots, what did I just say about being cryptic?" The pegasus said, crossing her forelegs.

"It's a disease," Twilight's voice came from behind the pegasus, causing the five ponies to turn and face it, "The town is infected and that is why a state of quarantine was established."

Twilight came trotting down the edge of the quarantine barrier, closely followed by Sergeant Bold Spear on the outside.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said, brightening up, "Thank Celestia you came."

"Sergeant!" the first guard saluted, "I was trying to get the lady to cooperate and come with me."

"At ease, Radiant," the Sergeant said.

Twilight stared at her friend in disbelief, "Rainbow... How?" she said in a low voice.

"What is this disease you're talking about, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"A... a disease has been detected in Ponyville, and Princess Celestia declared a state of quarantine to prevent it from spreading to the rest of Equestria," Twilight said.

"What disease? Did everyone get the feather-flu, or something?" Rainbow Dash said, staring at the group in confusion.

Everyone looked at each other, not sure about how should they break the news to the pegasus. The crusaders had fell silent, as did Twilight and Spike; meanwhile, Sergeant Bold Spear turned around and mumbled some orders to Private Radiant.

"There's an unknown plague in Ponyville," Twilight said after a moment of silence, "it's causing some ponies to... to lose their cutiemarks."

Rainbow Dash stared dumbfounded at her friend, almost as if she hadn't heard her correctly, "Losing their cutiemarks? Are... are you for real Twi?" She said with a nervous edge on her voice.

"Miss Sparkle speaks the truth," Sergeant Bold Spear said, walking towards the pegasus, "which is why we would like to know what are you doing outside of the quarantine."

Rainbow Dash looked at the slightly rose-tinted dome that covered the whole town, "How can something like that happen, Twi?" she asked.

"It's what we're trying to solve, the Princess sent a medical team from Canterlot and they're doing their best to solve this," Twilight said.

"Yeah, and Twilight is doing her best too, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said, giving a step forward.

An uncomfortable grimace appeared on Twilight's face, but it disappeared before the rest could notice it. It was nice to know that everypony trusted so much in her and held her efforts in such high regards, but thinking about the events of the last couple of days, and how she had handled this issue, she didn't think she deserved it.

Her lack of reaction when she had found out, keeping the information from the Princess and the rest of Ponyville. Twilight couldn't help but chastise herself for not acting differently, and as much as she wanted to blame the shock of finding out about what was going on, she knew she still could have done much more.

"Miss Dash, I am Sergeant Bold Spear and I have been entrusted by the Princesses with the safety of this town and to make sure the integrity of the barrier is not compromised," the Sergeant said, and when he spoke again, even the otherwise brash and confident Rainbow Dash was put off by his stern tone, "and by the authority that was bestowed upon me, I will ask again, what are you doing outside of the barrier."

"I... I had to go to Cloudsdale to clear the paperwork of Tuesday's storm," the pegasus said.

The storm, the storm that had hit Ponyville just as the plague began to manifest, the damned storm that had prevented them from realising what was happening before it was too late.

"That storm took place two days ago, Miss Dash, why are you returning now?" the Sergeant said.

"Well, I don't really go to Cloudsdale that often, so I went to visit my dad and stayed overnight, and now I come back to see that reality has flipped itself upside down!" Rainbow Dash said, and as she did this, a small group of guards led by Private Radiant arrived and positioned themselves behind the Sergeant.

Sergeant Bold Spear closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Then we know what we must do," he said before turning around and facing the guards, "Private Radiant!" he called.

"Yes, sir!" the gray unicorn said, giving a step forward.

"We must inform Cloudsdale immediately, clear things with Lieutenant Shield and have her send a message to the Mayor immediately," the Sergeant said.

"I'll inform the Princess, Sergeant," Twilight said.

"I will be counting on it," the Sergeant said, not looking at the unicorn.

"Ok, then. Now how about letting me in so you can go do your guard stuff?" Rainbow Dash butted in, a nervous smile on her face.

"I am sorry, Miss Dash, but I cannot do that yet," Sergeant Bold Spear said.

"What?" Rainbow Dash, and the Crusaders yelled at unison.

"What do you mean you can't let her in?" Apple Bloom said.

"You can't just leave her outside," Spike chimed in, leaning from Twilight's back.

"We will not leave her outside, she must be processed first," the Sergeant said back to the filly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute, Mister Sergeant. What do you mean processed?" Rainbow Dash said, waving her front hooves as she flew towards Sergeant Bold Spear.

"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash, it's standard procedure," Twilight said, "the medical team just has to see if you are infected or not."

The guards trotted towards Rainbow Dash, circling her.

"H-hey, back off," she said, nervously, as she slowly rose up.

"Miss Dash, do you want to be let in?" Sergeant Bold Spear said, rising his voice, and causing Rainbow Dash to look straight at the white earth pony in front of her, "then you should let us and the medical team do our job, let us process you and then you can go back home."

Rainbow Dash stared into the Sergeant's eyes, almost as if trying to discern whether or not she should trust him.

"Please, do not make this any harder," the Sergeant added in a softer tone.

Everyone remained silent, and no other sound could be heard save for the beating of the pegasus' wings. The guards stood surrounding Rainbow Dash, waiting for her to come down; Sergeant Bold Spear was behind them, seeing how the situation developed. Inside of the barrier, Twilight, Spike, and the Crusaders stood motionless, waiting for Rainbow Dash to either comply or rebel.

Finally, after what felt like minutes of waiting, Rainbow Dash landed on the ground and gave a sigh, "It's... it's only a medical check up, right?"

The Sergeant gave her a silent nod.

Rainbow Dash looked at the guards and then back at the sergeant. After a few more seconds of silence, she spoke, "Okay, fine. Let's do this."

"What are you going to do to her?" Scootaloo said, nervous as well.

"The medical team will take a look at her and then we will wait for their diagnosis, that is all," the Sergeant said, back to his stern tone.

The pegasus kept staring at the guards around her before turning her back on them, and pressing her hoof against the rose-tinted barrier, "You're trying to solve this too, aren't you, Twi?" Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight was surprised by the pegasus reaction, but she still managed to give her some encouraging words, "I promise you, I'm going to get to the bottom of things."

"Miss Rainbow Dash," the Sergeant said, "please."

"Trust them, Rainbow, it'll all be over soon enough," Twilight said, trying to reassure her friend.

Rainbow Dash frowned, but gave no other sign of discomfort as she landed and trotted towards the guards. They positioned themselves around the pegasus, and motioned her to start walking.

Twilight's gaze followed Rainbow Dash as the guards took her away, and during all this time she didn't remove her hoof from the clear, rose-tinted barrier, "Everything’s going to be just fine, Rainbow, trust me!" the unicorn yelled, hoping her friend would hear her, "E-everything's gonna be ju—" the words died on her throat, and the unicorn let out a soft whimper, just as her friend disappeared into a tent.

"Twilight..." Spike said, trailing off. He didn't know what to say to cheer up his best friend, nor did he have to, for a stern voice caught their attention immediately.

"Is there anything else you forgot to mention, Miss Sparkle?" Sergeant Bold Spear said as he grimaced.

"I... What?" Twilight asked, dumbfounded, as she slowly turned around to face the Sergeant.

"The letter of the Princess was very clear. You were to inform the citizens about the quarantine and more importantly," he stomped his hoof on the ground for emphasis, "do not let anyone leave the town."

Twilight opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, unable to form words. She looked in the direction the guards had gone and took a deep breath, "Sergeant Spear, I'm sorry, but I couldn't—"

"Forget it," the Sergeant said dryly, "the barrier has been up for less than six hours and we already have a containment breach!"

Twilight was taken aback by the Sergeant's outburst, she quickly regained her composure, however, and replied to him with almost equal strength in her words, "Sergeant Bold Spear, this isn't my fault, I didn't know Rainbow Dash wasn't here, I couldn't have known!"

"That's right. She's been dealing with a lot of trouble in town, she can't be aware of what everypony is doing!" Spike yelled at the Sergeant.

"Spike, don't," Twilight whispered at the dragon.

"Don't what? Defend you from this guy?" Spike said with a mild anger tone in his voice.

"Spike's right, you didn't do anything wrong, Twilight!" Scootaloo said, eliciting comments of agreement from the other Crusaders.

"Girls, that's enough. Spike, you can't talk like that to Sergeant Bold Spear," Spike was about to interject, but Twilight cut him off, "Regardless of how inaccurate his accusations may be."

Sergeant Bold Spear's lips tightened, he closed his eyes and flared his nostrils, visibly trying to calm himself down, "I am going to need you to take a census of everyone in Ponyville, Miss Sparkle," he said, opening his eyes and walking towards the barrier, "because if there is someone else missing from this town, then we all have bigger problems than we originally thought."

Twilight bit her tongue and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She knew that the Sergeant was right, but that didn't mean that she had to like his tone. She looked straight at him and talked back, "I'll let the Mayor know right away."

"Once you are done, inform one of the guards and they will contact me," the Sergeant said, coldly. He then turned his back on Twilight and started to walk in the opposite direction, he had only taken a couple if steps before stopping and looking at Twilight over his shoulder; he lingered there for a second, staring at the unicorn with an indiscernible stare, before shaking his head and silently walking towards the nearest tent.

Twilight rested her head against the magic barrier and let out a deep sigh, the feeling of uneasiness and dread that had been eating her away for the last three days were nothing compared to the anger welling up inside of her right now, "Now what, Twilight..." she mumbled to herself. She gave the barrier a hard kick, and she closed her eyes with all the force she could muster, trying to ignore the increasing tightness she felt on her throat.

"Miss... Miss Twilight?" a voice called her from behind, making her jump and turn around.

"Oh, A-apple Bloom? You girls are still here?" Twilight asked as she rubbed her eyes; for a moment, she had forgotten about the Crusaders. Once she opened her eyes she saw the trio of fillies staring at her, each one sporting a frown on their faces.

"Are you ok?" Sweetie Belle asked her, "you seemed pretty upset."

"I'm alright, girls, I was just resting for a moment," Twilight said, trying to keep her composure.

"You sure?" Scootaloo asked her.

Twilight nodded and gave the girls what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "I'm sure, girls. I just have to go talk to the Mayor," she said, standing up.

"Well... Ok," Apple Bloom said, the frown still present on her face.

"Yeah, and you should probably head home, it's getting late," Twilight said as she stood up.

"What about you?" Sweetie Belle asked her.

Twilight didn't answer immediately. Instead she looked at the town, slightly squinting her eyes in a determined stare, "I'm going to Town Hall. There are matters I must discuss with the Mayor. Let's go, Spike."

"Bye, girls," Spike said, turning around and waving at the Crusaders before jumping on Twilight's back.

"Be sure to get home safely," Twilight said , already leaving the Crusaders behind and walking straight to Ponyville.

The Crusaders waved at them before Twilight turned at a corner and they disappeared behind a building.

"Twilight, what are you going to do?" Spike asked her once Town Hall was in their sight.

"Sergeant Bold Spear ordered a census, and I'll be making sure that it's carried through; but I'm not going to let Ponyville stand idle while everyone else makes decisions for us," Twilight said.

"What do you mean, Twi?" Spike asked.

Twilight went up the stairs of the veranda of Town Hall. She stopped in front of the doors and took a deep breath, "It's about time we took matters into our own hooves."

After saying that, Twilight threw the doors open with her magic, and strode into the building.

"Well, that sucked," Scootaloo said in a low, sad voice, trying to break the silence that had fallen over the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse.

"'Course it did," Apple Bloom said dryly, "everythin's just wrong."

"What do you think will happen now?" Sweetie Belle asked, timidly, catching the attention of both of her friends.

"I don't know," Apple Bloom replied, the same tired monotone from earlier seeping into her words.

"The barrier is going to stay up, that's for sure," Scootaloo said, tracing the grain on a plank of wood with her hoof.

"But for how long?" Apple Bloom said, standing around with a jump. "You've seen how everypony is actin', and that bubble thin' is been up for just a day! What do you think will happen after a week? Or in a month? How do you think they're gonna react then?"

Her breathing had gotten ragged, as if she'd ran all the way to the clubhouse. For their part, Sweetie Belle only looked down and buried her face between her hooves. Scootaloo, simply stared back at her, mouth opening and closing.

"Apple Bloom... You... you need to calm down," Scootaloo said, extending a hoof as she walked towards her friend.

"No, Scoots! I don't wanna calm down!" Apple Bloom yelled, tears now threatening to come out of her eyes, "I wanna know why does this have to happen and I want it to stop!"

"But they're working on it," Scootaloo protested, "aren't they? Twilight and those doctors?"

"They don't know what's going on, who knows how long is going to take them to solve this," Apple Bloom shot back, her voice threatening to crack with every word that came out of her mouth. "My family's been acting all weird. They try 'n hide it, b-but I can see it. Granny Smith, Big Mac, even Applejack... I don't understand what's happening, and nopony seems to know! Not Miss Cheerilee, not Twilight, not even the guards, or the Princesses!"

Scootaloo closed the gap between them and grabbed the shaking filly by the shoulders, holding her in place. "Apple Bloom, listen to yourself!" she yelled, "this isn't like you, this is not Apple Bloom! What's gotten into you?"

The earth filly didn't answer, she just looked down and bit her lip.

"'Bloom, I get it, I really do. This whole thing is awful, but you gotta trust Twilight. She has always pulled through before, hasn't she?" Scootaloo said, causing Apple Bloom to raise her head and look at her friend, "And hey, if it does come to the worst, you know you'll always have us."

Her breathing slowed down, almost returning to normal. She didn't feel any better, but at least she didn't feel she was about to lose her mind. She forced herself to keep a neutral expression, and surprised herself with how little resistance her body offered.

Perhaps she was also tired of feeling so hopeless.

Apple Bloom looked into Scootaloo's eyes, bright and full of nervousness that mirrored her own. Yet her friend still tried to cheer her up. Tried to keep her mind from wandering into terrible places. With a bit more effort, the earth filly managed to crack a smile. A small smile, one that would certainly make Pinkie Pie raise objections, but a smile nonetheless.

"Crusaders 'til the end, right?" she ventured, her voice sounding just a tiny bit stronger than it had moments ago.

Scootaloo smiled as well, "Crusaders 'till the end. What do you say, Sweetie Be—?" The pegasus' words died on her throat, and so did her smile once she saw her friend lying on the ground, heaving. Her quiet sobs could barely be heard, but it broke her friend's hearts all the same.

"Sweetie Belle..." Scootaloo said, approaching her friend with tentative steps.

"Sweetie Belle, sorry for that. I ain't feelin' well, I shouldn't have reacted like that," Apple Bloom said as she rubber her eyes.

"It's... It's not that," Sweetie Belle said back, in between sobs.

"Sweetie Belle, you can tell us what the problem is. We're your friends," Scootaloo said.

"It's just that..." Sweetie Belle said, catching her breath, "Miss Cheerilee lost her cutie mark, and Diamond Tiara too, and so did Miss Harvest, and a lot of other ponies as well."

"I know, and I feel bad for them too, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo said as she walked towards the unicorn, "but we have to believe that they can find a solution to this, we can't just—"

"But what if..." Sweetie Belle said, cutting off her friend, "what if we never get our cutie marks?"

The other two crusaders fell silent as the realisation hit them.

"Ah... I..." Scootaloo mumbled, not being able to form a coherent sentence due to the shock.

She hadn't thought of that. As worried as she'd been over how everypony was reacting to the disease, she hadn't stopped to consider how it affected her. She didn't have a cutie mark yet, so she assumed she would be unaffected. However... Sweetie Belle brought up a good point. If this illness took cutie marks away from ponies, could it stop her from getting one in the first place?

A sidelong glance told her Scootaloo was just as lost as her. What could even be said to soothe that fear? The seconds passed, and Sweetie Belle's sobs turned to muffled whimpers.

While she may be young and not know much, but she knew her friends. And Scootaloo was right. Whatever happened, they had her back, and she would have theirs. Apple Bloom stared at the white filly, who was clearly on the verge of crying again. She walked towards her and lifter her face with her hoof.

"Sweetie Belle, listen to me."

The little unicorn sniffled, but managed to look up at her friend. Apple Bloom did her best to draw strength she didn't have, to express the waning faith she had left. With a low, but steady voice, she spoke, hoping for Sweetie Belle and for herself that she could sound reassuring. "Truth is... I don't know what's gonna happen. Can't say how long it'll be before things get better."

Sweetie Belle seemed to be holding back tears, but she kept listening.

A deep breath, and Apple Bloom kept talking. "But we've gone through lots together. I know they didn't work out in the end, but I appreciate every time we went crusadin'. I still had fun. I still am glad we tried all that, because we did that together. So, even... even if..." her voice caught in her throat. "Even if it comes to that, we'll face it together. I'll have your back, 'cus I know you'll have mine. No matter what may happen, we'll face it together as friends."

Part of her wondered if she should do something more to reassure her friend. Big Mac sometimes patted her head to cheer her up. Before she could consider that any further, Sweetie Belle threw herself over her friend and started crying again. Apple Bloom hugged her as the tears started to flow from her own eyes as well.

Scootaloo didn't say anything. She didn't call out her friends for being mushy, she didn't blew a raspberry at them or tried to ignore them as she often did when her friends got too sentimental. She simply trotted towards them, and hugged her friends.

That evening, the Crusaders didn't say anything. They simply lay in each other's embrace, offering whatever comfort they could, wondering what tomorrow might bring.

8

“A… census?” Ivory Scroll asked.

Twilight nodded, “To determine if there are any other ponies missing from town. I’d like to know if you have some sort of registry of all the citizens of Ponyville that we can use as a starting point.”

Twilight stood in the middle of the office, staring at the Mayor with a weary but firm look. Spike stood not too far from her, scratching his head and alternating his glance between Twilight and the Mayor.

Ivory leaned back on her chair and scratched her chin as she thought, “I do believe we have something of the sort, I’ll tell my assistant to give us a copy right away. Wait here, Miss Sparkle,” she said, and then jumped from her chair.

Twilight followed the Mayor with her eyes as she left the room. As soon as she left, Twilight let out a long sigh. She had been doing a lot of that lately.

“What is it, Twi?” Spike asked her.

The unicorn didn’t answer for a few seconds as she looked through a nearby window instead, “When the guards arrived yesterday, they immediately closed off the roads and everypony ran back home. At that moment I didn’t think about making sure everypony was still in town,” she turned around and looked at Spike, “And because of that, this thing, this… plague may spread to the rest of Equestria.”

Spike remained silent. He didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t stand seeing Twilight like this, but what could he possibly say? He had never seen Twilight so shaken up before, not when she was trying to prevent Nightmare Moon’s return, not even when she had faced Discord. He kicked his feet in the air, and twisted his tail in nervousness, “Twi…” he said in a small voice.

Twilight didn’t say anything, but simply turned around to look at him. He was now the one looking sideways.

“Do you remember when I had that greed growth?” Spike said, still holding his tail.

Twilight blinked a couple of times and sat upright. Spike didn’t like to mention the incident that had caused him to turn into a huge, rampaging dragon. She wondered what had brought this up.

“Back when that happened, I didn’t know how I could cope with all the stuff I did,” Spike said, twisting his tail even harder than before, “I mean, I caused a lot of pain and damage to a lot of ponies, how could I ever make it up to everyone?” Spike let go of his tail and looked upwards. Twilight wanted to say something, but the dragon turned around and smiled, “But you girls were always by my side, all the time. You helped me every step of the way and, in the end, things went back to how they were. It took a lot of effort, but I don’t think I could have done it without all of you.”

“Spike…” Twilight said in a slow, whispery voice.

“Twilight,” Spike said, taking the unicorn’s hoof in his claws, “I don’t want you to blame yourself for this, nothing good will come of it. I know everything is going to be alright in the end, and you can count on me being by your side all the way.”

Twilight blinked a couple of times; Spike was looking at her with beaming eyes. She opened and closed her mouth, for a moment unable to form a sound.

“Twilight?” Spike said, his smile faltering ever so slightly.

Twilight threw her arms around Spike and pulled him closer to her, holding him tight. She hadn’t realised just how much she had kept bottled inside of her for these past couple of days, but in that moment it all came crashing down on her, “I love you, Spike,” she said.

“I love you too, Twi,” Spike said, returning the embrace, “It’s all gonna be alright, you’ll see.”

Thanks to that simple gesture, Twilight could feel as if the weight that had been accumulating over her started to lighten up, if only a little bit.

They remained like this, until the sound of a door opening reminded them of where they were. Clearing her throat, Twilight let go of Spike and turned around to face the Mayor.

“Here it is,” Ivory Scroll said, entering the room while holding a bundle of papers, “It was made almost a year before both of you arrived to Ponyville, but it should be more than enough to begin.”

Twilight levitated the files towards her, and proceeded to skim the pages, “How many ponies could Town Hall spare to help us, Miss Scroll?”

“Since paperwork has taken a considerable dip in importance for the time being, I think every set of hooves is available, Miss Sparkle,” the Mayor said, crossing her hooves over her chest.

“Great, let’s go to a meeting room so we can properly organise this,” Twilight said.

“Alright, I’ll be right behind you,” the Mayor said. She then pushed a pack of files off her desk and into the trash bin, the largest of which was labeled ‘The Advantages of Gravel as a Building Material for High Transit Roads in Small Rural Towns’. Twilight pretended not to notice.

“I also wanted to talk to you about something else,” Twilight added as she gave Spike the file.

“What is it?” the Mayor asked.

Twilight took a deep breath and walked towards the Mayor’s desk, “I have a proposition for you.”

This caused the Mayor to raise an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything else.

“We don’t know how long the barrier is going to stay up,” Twilight said, “It may be one week, or it could be much more than that. Whichever it is, we need to figure out a course of action for the town.”

“I… see,” the Mayor nodded, “I was already discussing with my advisors regarding that matter. We wanted to have a meeting with the whole town tomorrow at sunrise.”

“Good,” Twilight said, “but if yesterday’s event was any indication, it’d be better if we already had a plan to discuss with the rest of town tomorrow. Even a rough draft, at the very least.”

“What do you mean by that Miss Sparkle?” the Mayor asked her.

“I’d like to have a meeting with a smaller group of ponies, just a few who would be able to give us their insight on how to handle this situation.”

“Do you have somepony in mind, Miss Twilight?”

“A few,” Twilight said as she brought a quill close to her with magic.

“And who may they be?” The Mayor asked as Twilight wrote down something in the piece of paper. Once she had finished, Twilight levitated the parchment towards the Mayor, who took it and ran her eyes down the listed names.

“I hope you agree with the names on the list,” Twilight said.

“I assume there is a reason for choosing these ponies in particular,” the Mayor asked.

Twilight nodded, “I thought it’d be better if we could get as many different points of view as possible.”

“I see no problem with that,” the Mayor said before she scribbled down a couple of names down the list, “If we are going to have this ready by tomorrow’s town meeting, then we’d have to talk tonight at the very least.”

“We’d have to let them know immediately, though I’m sure that can be done while we carry out the census,” Twilight said.

“I’ll see that it’s done,” The Mayor said, nodding, “Will you need something else, Miss Twilight?”

“Not something,” Twilight said as she opened the door, “but rather somepony.”

“And who would that be?” the Mayor asked, furrowing her brow.

“Somepony who knows everypony in Ponyville,” Twilight said with a sigh before leaving the room.

“Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! How may I help—Oh, hi Twilight! Hi, Spike!” Pinkie Pie said from behind the counter.

“Hi, Pinkie,” Spike said as he waved.

“Good evening, Pinkie,” Twilight said, closing the door behind her, “How are you?”

“Oh, same ol’, same ol’,” she said, “I feel much better now that you get to be the first customer of the day!”

Twilight and Spike looked around the room. The pastry shop, known as a lively place, gave an eerie feeling due to how vacant it was at the moment. Even with the vibrant pink pony behind the counter.

“Actually, now that I think about it, nopony has come since yesterday’s evening,” Pinkie Pie said, as she tapped her chin, deep in thought, "Oh, well. I’m sure they’ll show up sooner or later.”

“Hopefully that’ll be the case,” Twilight said with a hint of bitterness.

“Anyway, how can your pal Pinkie Pie procure you some pretty palatable pastries?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, I’d—” Spike started, before being interrupted by Twilight.

“I’m not here to buy anything, actually. I was—” Twilight said, before being interrupted herself.

“Oh, shoot,” Pinkie Pie said, stomping her hoof on the floor,” I thought I’d get to sell at least a cupcake today.”

“Pinkie, I need your help,” Twilight exclaimed, interrupting her friend’s tirade.

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Pinkie Pie said with cheerfulness, “How can I help you?”

“I need you to come with me, we’re going to visit some ponies,” Twilight said as she levitated a file.

“Why? Are we going to have an ‘Under the Dome’ party? Because I’m still not done with the arrangements,” Pinkie Pie said.

“No, that’s… not why we’re doing this,” Twilight said, slightly bewildered by Pinkie’s shocking gleefulness.

“Oh, so why are we visiting them, then?” Pinkie said.

“We just want to know if anypony is missing,” Twilight said.

“Sounds like fun!” Pinkie said before jumping from behind the counter and landing next to the unicorn, “It’ll be like playing hide and seek, except nopony is actually hiding.”

“You could… you could say that,” Twilight said.

“Where are we going first, Twilight?” Pinkie chimed in.

“The ponies who work at Town Hall are lending us a hoof so we can cover all of Ponyville before nightfall,” Twilight said as they both headed for the exit, “We’re going to start with the south of town and then meet back in Town Hall once we’re done.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Pinkie half said, half yelled. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open, and she pursed her lips.

“Uh… Pinkie, are you alright?” Twilight asked, but before she could say anything else, Pinkie Pie bolted to the kitchen.

Twilight blinked a couple of times and was about to call out for her friend, and tell her that there was no time for stalling, when the pink pony darted back to her side, holding a large basket with her mouth.

“Pinkie, what are those?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie laid the basket on the ground before smiling, “All the cupcakes we made today, we can bring them along and give one to the ponies we find,” Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight started at Pinkie in silence before giving her a small smile, “That’s a nice gesture, Pinkie.”

“It’s better than letting them go to waste, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said before picking up the basket again.

Twilight nodded absent-mindedly. While she hadn’t been so sure that bringing Pinkie Pie along would be the best decision, she knew her knowledge about “every pony in Ponyville” came in extremely handy with the present task. And seeing her do something so simple yet thoughtful reminded her that perhaps a touch of laughter could be what the town needed after what they’ve been through.

“Let’s go, we have to be on our way,” Twilight said, turning around and heading for the door.

“Do you think we’ll see any of the girls?” Pinkie asked, as she tried to balance the basket on her back .

Twilight didn’t answer immediately, instead she kept walking, staring into the distance.

“Twi?” Pinkie prodded her.

“I believe so, Pinkie,” Twilight said, turning around to face her pink friend, giving her a smile.

“Me too, I want to check on Rarity before the day is over,” Spike said.

A joyous smile bubbled its way to Pinkie’s face. She continued to hop alongside Twilight, her cheerfulness contrasting heavily with the somber atmosphere that hung all over town.

“Oh, no. I better bake a huge cake when they let her back in, then,” Pinkie said with worry, “do you think she’ll be alright, Twilight?”

“She probably will. After all, Rainbow Dash left Ponyville just as this whole madness was starting. The chance of her not being infected is quite high,” Twilight said as she skimmed the file.

“Phew! That’s good to know, for a second there I was starting to get worried,” Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight didn’t say anything else. She figured a little white lie wouldn’t hurt anypony. Besides it wasn’t entirely a lie, it was highly possible that Rainbow Dash hadn’t been afflicted by the disease. And either way, she did say ‘probably’.

“Are we close, Twi?” Spike asked, veering the conversation back to the problem at hoof.

“Yes, we’re starting with this block,” Twilight replied as she walked towards the closest group of houses, followed closely by Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, I know this place, this is where Cherry Berry lives,” Pinkie Pie chirped in, “and there’s where Sweetie Drops has her shop.”

Pinkie Pie went on and on, listing the ponies who lived in that particular block, and then the ones on the next block, all while Twilight cross referenced it with the list she had. When she arrived at the wooden door, she stood still for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. She made sure to knock loudly enough as to be sure she was heard, but not so much as to be an annoyance, and she stood there, waiting for someone to come out.

And she kept standing.

And she kept waiting.

Twilight frowned. She leaned towards Pinkie and whispered in her ear, “You said Cherry Berry lives here, didn’t you?”

“Abso-posi-tuvely, Twi,” Pinkie said with a firm nod.

Twilight looked back at the house, and grimaced.

“Hello? Miss Berry?” Twilight asked after knocking again, but there was still no response, “I’m Twilight Sparkle, I’m here on behalf of the Royal Guard, we just want to make sure you are alright.”

Twilight stood still, perking her ears in the hopes that she could catch the sound of Cherry Berry moving inside of her house, but she couldn’t hear anything. She turned around to face Spike and Pinkie Pie, and she could notice the feeling of worry in their eyes, but before Twilight said anything, she was finally able to hear a faint shuffling inside the house.

The attention of the little group was focused on the door, they heard a metallic sound, followed by a loud thump. They stood expectantly for Cherry Berry to come out. Finally, the door opened slightly, barely a hoof’s width, and through that gap, they could see a lock of blond hair draping over a violet eye.

“Good evening, Miss Berry,” Twilight said, and Spike nodded behind her.

“Hi, Cherry!” Pinkie Pie chirped, waving at her from the back.

“Good… good evening,” Cherry Berry said, averting her gaze.

“Thanks for opening the door, Miss Berry,” Twilight said, “We just wanted to check how everypony was doing.”

“I haven’t lost my cutie mark, if that’s what you wanted to know,” Cherry Berry said as she turned around to show her marked flank to Twilight through the gap in the door.

Twilight was taken aback by Cherry Berry’s boldness, causing her to stammer an unintelligible response before Pinkie Pie intervened.

“Oh, silly. We’re not here for that,” Pinkie Pie said, stepping next to Twilight.

Cherry Berry turned around and faced the pink mare, “Why, then?”

Twilight cleared her throat loudly, and gently pushed Pinkie aside, “The Mayor has scheduled a town-wide meeting, everypony must assist, it’ll be over at Town Hall first thing in the morning.”

Silence followed Twilight’s statement. Cherry Berry looked at Twilight with inquisitiveness before nodding, “Alright.”

Twilight gave Cherry Berry her best reassuring smile, “Great, then. Thanks for your time, Miss Berry.”

Cherry Berry was about to close the door when Pinkie Pie butted in.

“Hold on, Cherry” Pinkie said as she rummaged through the contents of the basket. “This is for you,” she said after a few seconds, and held a hoof outstretched, holding a cupcake in front of Cherry Berry.

It had a cherry on top.

Cherry Berry grimaced initially but after a moment she let out a long, drawn out sigh, and took the cupcake from Pinkie’s hoof, “Thanks, Pinkie Pie.”

“Don’t mention it!” she managed to say back before trotting away..

Twilight looked at Cherry Berry through the door. She was eyeing the cupcake, and Twilight could almost swear she saw Cherry smirk before taking a bite and closing the door.

It seemed that bringing Pinkie Pie with them had been the right choice.

“Come on, Pinkie. We still have a lot of ponies to check on,” Twilight said with a hint of a smile.

There was a knock on the door.

“Apple Bloom?” a deep voice came from outside. When there was no reply, the door opened, and a burly stallion entered the room.

Big Mac looked around the room until his eyes fell upon a small heap under the blankets. He remained silent as he walked towards the bed and he remained silent as he knelt next to it.

“‘Bloom?” He asked in a low voice.

The bundle squirmed under the blankets, and only grunted in reply.

“Supper’s ready,” he said.

The bundle did not move.

“We all are waiting for you,” he said.

“M’not hungry,” Apple Bloom said back.

Big Macintosh didn’t say anything at first. Applejack had told him how their little sister had been feeling these past couple of days, and truth be told, he was a tad sad knowing that she was still feeling down. He kept looking at his sister, thinking about what he should say.

“You ain’t gonna solve a thing by staying cooped up in here, you know?” he said.

“Goin’ down won’t solve much either,” Apple Bloom said back, not looking at her brother.

He raised an eyebrow at her sister’s reply, and thought for a couple of seconds before speaking again, “I know this whole thing is hitting you pretty hard, but staying holed up in your room won’t do you any good,” Apple Bloom squirmed under her blanket, but Big Mac kept going, “If we’re ever gonna go back to the way things were, we need to take control over our lives. An apple tree can’t grow if you keep the seeds in a bag, and we can’t move on if we stay holed up in our rooms.”

They remained silent afterwards.

“They’re waiting for us,” Big Mac said as he stood up.

“Will… will there be apple fritters?” Apple Bloom ventured, peeking her head from under the blanket.

“I’m sure Granny Smith will be happy to make some for all of us,” Big Mac said, smiling.

Apple Bloom shook the blanket off herself and jumped to the floor. She didn’t look happy, but she didn’t look sad either. To be honest, she didn’t feel either way, and maybe that was good enough for the moment.

“Let’s go, Apple Bloom,” Big Mac said, turning around and headed for the door.

“Let’s,” Apple Bloom said as she walked behind her brother.

“Thanks for your time, Lyra,” Twilight said as she nodded.

“No problem, Twi. Glad to be helpful,” Lyra said, smiling.

“Send my regards to Sweetie Drops,” Twilight added, and she saw Lyra’s smile falter for a brief moment.

“Sure thing, Twilight. See you tomorrow at six,” Lyra said before closing the door.

“My basket is only a quarter of the way empty. I knew it was a good idea to bring all of these,” Pinkie Pie said as she rummaged through the basket she had brought, but almost immediately looked up and frowned, “Wait, that should be three quarters of the way full…”

“There’s only one house left,” Spike said, pointing at the last house of the block.

The two story house stood slightly away from the rest of the houses, but still close enough to form part of the block. Adding to its aura of isolation were the closed windows and drawn drapes, giving the building an unnerving sensation. And yet, what shocked Twilight was what she saw once she got closer to the house.

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, Twilight?” Pinkie pie said.

“Who lives there?” Twilight said back.

Pinkie Pie scratched her chin and let out a long hum as she thought, “Oh, there’s where Pokey Pierce lives,” she said, “I didn’t know he was into carpentry.”

Twilight eyed the house warily, although the upper windows just had drapes over them, the first floor was a different matter. If the whole atmosphere of the town wasn’t enough to let Twilight know that the fear was starting to take over the ponies of Ponyville, the boarded up windows were.

“Let’s go,” she said, walking forward and pushing aside the worrisome thoughts that threatened to creep back to her mind.

This time, Pinkie Pie went ahead and knocked on the door,” Hiya, Pokey! It’s Pinkie Pie, we wanted to—”

“Go away, Pinkie!” A loud voice came from inside the house, taking the group by surprise.

“Somepony is jumpy today…” Spike said, shaking his head.

Twilight didn’t say anything because of the shock, although she couldn’t say that she wasn’t expecting a reaction like this sooner or later.

“Pokey?” Pinkie Pie asked, folding back her ears.

“I’m not coming out until this situation has drastically improved,” Pokey Pierce yelled.

Twilight looked around her, and for the first time since the quarantine had begun, she was grateful that there was nopony on the streets right now. Nodding to herself, she marched towards the house and spoke mustering all the authority she could.

“Mister Pierce, you don’t have to come out,” Twilight said, causing Pinkie to turn around and lash out at her.

“But Twi! We can’t just—” Pinkie started, but Twilight laid a hoof on her shoulder. With a shake of her head, she told her friend to remain silent.

“I just need you to listen to me,” Twilight said, when no reply came out, she kept talking, “things will improve. You have my word that this problem is going to be solved, but that can only happen if we all work together, all of Ponyville.”

Initially, there was no response, Twilight didn’t know if what she had said had gotten through Pokey, and was about to speak again when the stallion’s shaky voice came from one of the windows.

“What do you want from me…”

“Nothing,” Twilight said back immediately, “we’re just here to inform you that the Mayor has organised a meeting for tomorrow morning, they hope to have the participation of all citizens of Ponyville.”

Again, no response.

“We need everypony’s help if we’re going to make it, Mister Pierce.”

“I… I’ll think about it,” he said.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief, as did Pinkie Pie next to her.

“That's all I ask for, mister Pierce. Thank you, and I hope we can see you tomorrow,” Twilight said.

“Bye, bye, Pokey,” Pinkie Pie said, “I’m going to leave you a cupcake outside your window, alright?”

“Ah... alright, Pinkie,” Pokey trailed off.

Having settled things to the best of her abilities, Twilight turned around and walked away, closely followed by Spike. Pinkie Pie, however, lingered in front of the house for a brief moment before walking next to Twilight.

“That’s it for this block, Twi,” Spike said once they had walked a considerable distance away from the house. He looked throught the list and searched for the next group of ponies to look for, hoping to take the group’s mind of the encounter they just had.

“How many do we have left?” Twilight asked.

“We have to check the next three before going back to Town Hall,” he said back.

Twilight nodded absentmindedly as she walked, “Are you feeling up to it, Pinkie?” she asked.

“I am, Twi, I still have a bunch of cupcakes left to share, and a whole lot of ponies’ day to brighten up,” Pinkie Pie said, shaking her basket. Although Twilight thought she looked a bit more determined now.

“That’s good to hear,” Twilight said with a small smile.

And so, they marched on.

The two ponies and a dragon stepped into the reception of Town Hall, where they were greeted by a frantic group of ponies talking loudly and walking around the room.

“Hi, Miss Mayor!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, waving at a couple of ponies.

“Miss Twilight, it’s good to see you,” Ivory Scroll said as she walked towards the group with a greenish mare with a gavel cutie mark following her closely, “most of the aides have already returned, and are waiting for your report, but it seems that no more ponies are missing.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief, after the way this day had played out, it was nice to have some good news.

“Pinkie Pie, Spike, why don’t you go ahead and talk with them? I want to have a word with the Mayor for a moment,” Twilight said as she gave the papers to Spike.

“Sure thing, Twi,” Spike said before jumping from her back.

“Please follow Miss Justice, she’ll let you know how can you help,” Ivory Scroll said, motioning to the green mare next to her.

“If you may,” Justice said walking past Pinkie Pie and towards the end of the room.

“Who wants cupcakes~?” Pinkie sang as the trio trotted off to meet with the rest of the ponies.

“How are the preparations for the meeting coming along?” Twilight asked as she watched them walk away.

“Swimmingly,” Ivory Scroll said, setting her stack of papers on a nearby table, “all the participants agreed to come at the allotted time; we should be ready within a couple of hours. In the meantime, I’d recommend you to try and rest for a while. You know, get ready and everything.”

It was true Twilight hadn’t been sleeping well these past couple of days, and she would have loved to get some rest, but she knew there was still much to be done before she could allow herself that luxury.

“Thanks, Miss Scroll, I appreciate the concern, but I think I’m alright,” Twilight said with a nod as she tried to stifle a very untimely yawn.

“As you wish, Miss Sparkle, the meeting will start at eight o’clock, be sure to be there at that time,” the Mayor said before turning around and returning to her office.

Twilight stood in the middle of the reception of Town Hall. She was staring at the door to Miss Scroll’s office. She blinked a couple of times to clear her head before turning around, and her eyes lingered on the front door for a brief moment.

It had been a hard day, quite a few of them in fact. Her sleeping schedule left a lot to be desired, not to mention she hadn’t been eating that well due to the frenzy she had been thrown into since that Thursday’s morning. The Mayor was right, she did need some rest.

Twilight stood in the middle of the reception of Town Hall, staring at the front door, lingering there for some time. She then looked at the clock on the wall and squinted.

“Six forty-five,” Twilight read out-loud, “I still have an hour to help sort out the list.”

After that, she turned around, and walked towards the group of ponies at the far end of the room.

“N’after you’ve got them all nice ‘n golden, you take ‘em out and dry them,” Granny Smith said before flipping the pan over and letting the apple fritters slide into a plate with a few paper towels on top of it, “and done in less time than you can say ‘refill’.”

“I wanna try it now, Granny Smith,” Apple Bloom said as she took a spoonful of batter and tried to hold it still.

“Hold yer horses, yung’n. You don’t want the oil splashing all over your face, do you?” Granny Smith said, holding back her granddaughter.

“Listen to Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and try to be in bed by nine, will you?” Applejack said as she finished scrubbing the dishes.

“Will y’all be back by then?” Apple Bloom asked her sister.

“Can’t say I know, but I sure hope so,” Applejack shook her hooves of excess water and walked towards the door, “I don’t even know why the Mayor asked for us to be there, but they said we should swing by there by eight, so we will.”

A pony came to the farm earlier and talked with AJ and Big Mac. She didn’t quite catch what they talked about, but apparently he was sent by the Mayor to know if everyone at the farm was accounted for. Apple Bloom couldn’t say she cared much about what happened. Right now her mind was focused only on making apple fritters.

“It’s gettin’ late, AJ,” Big Mac said, popping his head through the door, “we should be on our way.”

“I’m goin’, I’m goin’... Don’t get your tail in a knot. We’ll try to come back early,” Applejack spared her family one last look before leaving the farmhouse.

Silence followed.

“Now now, Apple Bloom, get that spoon over ‘ere and let’s finish up this batch.”

Apple Bloom started at the doorway for an instant before grabbing the spoon between her teeth and going back to help her grandmother. There were fritters to be made.

“Twilight?” Spike asked as he gently shook the unicorn’s shoulder.

“Huh… what?” Twilight mumbled, waking from the trance she had unwittingly fell into.

“You’ve been staring at the same page for a while now,” Spike said, stating the obvious, “I didn’t want to wake you up, but the meeting is going to start soon.”

Twilight shook her head a couple of times and looked around the room. Pinkie Pie was listing all the ponies of Ponyville as the Mayor’s aides cross-referenced it with their own data.

“Then there’s Davenport, and Raindrops, and Sunny Meadows for the third block of Second Street. The fourth block is where Daisy, Lily, and Roseluck live,” Pinkie Pie said, counting in her mind.

“Miss Pie, please slow down,” a gray stallion said as he fumbled with his papers.

“Official Decree, please do try to keep up, we are working against the clock here,” Lady Justice said, more than a little bit exasperated.

“What time is it?” Twilight asked Spike in a low voice.

“Eight minus ten,” Spike replied in an equally low voice.

Twilight nodded. She then looked back at the desk and the pages that were spread all over it. Sighing, she stacked them together with her magic and walked towards the group of ponies.

“Justice, do you have the records for the fifth block?” Official Decree said as he went through the papers in front of him.

“Here they are, sir,” one of the aids said, pushing a folder towards him.

“How’s everything going?” she asked them.

“We’re almost halfway through all the data, and there are only a couple of ponies who are yet to arrive with their lists,” Official Decree said.

Lady Justice nodded as she added another sheet of paper to a pile next to her, “It appears that every citizen is accounted for.”

“Yup! No pony, donkey, mule, or cow is missing,” Pinkie Pie added.

“So far, at least…” the greenish mare added somberly.

“Alright, then. The rest of the team should be arriving shortly, so keep up the good work. I’ll be back as soon as the meeting with the Mayor is over,” Twilight said.

“There’s something else,” Official Decree said.

“Yes, what is it?” Twilight asked him.

The whole group looked at each other, all of them with uncomfortable expressions on their faces. Even Pinkie Pie seemed a bit unnerved.

“From… from what we’ve gathered so far, I think it’s safe to assume that…” Lady Justice trailed off.

“About one in every five ponies have already lost their cutie mark,” Official Decree said.

Twilight didn’t react immediately. The news were shocking, yes; but she couldn’t say she didn’t see something like this coming.

“That’s… that’s more than I…” Twilight wanted to say hoped, but said, “expected,” instead.

One in five. Twilight found herself trying to connect that information with something else, to give it context, but fell short of doing it. She simply didn’t know how fast this plague was spreading, or if everypony had been infected. Hell, she didn’t know the first thing about what was going on. Every bit of information that she acquired only made another question pop up, while also reminding her of all that she didn’t know.

“It’s more than any of us expected, and we thought we should let you know so you could pass the information along to the Mayor and everyone else at the meeting, Miss Sparkle,” Official Decree said.

Twilight limited herself to giving a firm nod.

“I will,” she said as she turned around, “keep up the good work.” She didn’t want to betray her thoughts by saying anything else, so she walked out of the Reception Hall and into one of the smaller rooms.

This night, Twilight knew, would certainly be a long one.

9

“Careful… Careful, dear.”

“I’ve got it,” Apple Bloom said as she took a spoonful of batter and moved it over to the skillet. As carefully as Granny Smith shown her, she tilted the spoon to let the batter fall into the boiling hot oil and gave it a small tap to flatten it so it would cook quicker.

“There you go, Apple Bloom. Yer gettin’ good at it,” Granny Smith said, patting her granddaughter in the back.

“Thanks, Granny Smith.” Motivated by her initial success, she took another spoonful of batter, ready to drop it.

“Let’s make a whole bunch of ‘em, We don’t rightly know when everypony will be back, so we better have somethin’ fer them to fill up their bellies when they get here,” Granny Smith said as she looked through the cabinets for a large enough plate.

“I hope they don’t take long…” Apple Bloom whispered to herself.

“Oh, they’ll be back in two shakes of a pony’s tail, ya’ll see,” Granny Smith said, and gave a reaffirming thrust in the air with her good arm to drive her point.

Apple Bloom, for her part, stared at the little gob of yellow batter in the oil, watching as it started to sizzle all on its own. She quickly dropped another spoonful of batter into the skillet to keep it some company.

“It feels kinda lonely in here,” Apple Bloom muttered to herself, “just the two of us. I mean, the house is all silent and, well…”

Granny Smith sat next to the filly and gave her an affectionate nuzzle, one that Apple Bloom was quick to reciprocate.

“Don’t you worry your purdy lil’ head, Apple Bloom. Once everypony’s back, they’ll be hankerin’ for a nice plate of warm apple fritters,” the elder mare said, reassuringly.

“I know… I ain’t saying they won’t be back, but…” Apple Bloom let the spoon rest inside of the bowl. “Gosh, I don’t even know what I want to say, anymore.”

“Oh, you lil’ sapling. What’s on yer mind?” Granny Smith asked her.

“I don’t even know where to start…”

“Speak what comes to your mind, dear,” Granny Smith said, prodding her.

For a moment, all that could be heard was the sizzling of the fritters as Apple Bloom ‘s gaze remained fixed on the frying pan. Many things came to Apple Bloom’s mind, perhaps that was part of the problem. She thought about all that had happened since that Thursday. Miss Harvest, Diamond Tiara, Miss Cheerilee. They all lost their cutie marks, just like dozens more all over town. She thought back to the couple she saw today at the schoolhouse, the ones who blamed Miss Cheerilee for losing her cutie mark.

How many ponies would think that way? Quite a few if what she heard at the market today was any indication.

“What’s gonna happen now, Granny Smith? Princess Celestia closed up the whole town, and we don’t know how long it’ll be until that ends, and… And ponies are already starting to panic.” Apple Bloom’s words bled out from her mouth, and each caused her body to slump a bit more, as though she was carrying the weight of each of those words on her back.

The elder mare didn’t say anything, not immediately, at least. She poked the half cooked lumps of batter, turning them around so they would cook evenly.

“Did I ever tell you how I got my cutie mark, Apple Bloom?” Granny Smith said, giving her granddaughter a sideways glance.

Apple Bloom couldn’t say she expected that response. Her grandmother, on the other hoof, was expecting one, so she shook her head.

“We used to spend quite a lot of time on the road, our family and I, way back before we settled here in Ponyville,” Granny Smith said. “Quite a lot of times we all had to tighten our belts just to get through the day. Ain’t easy to get by only on dry food for months on end.”

Nor did she expect that, if she were to be honest. The grim sense of resignation that had slowly filled her that day gave room to a gnawing discomfort.

“How… how were things back then?” the filly asked with traces of hesitance in her voice.

For her part, Granny Smith either didn’t notice, didn’t press, or more likely didn’t care about her granddaughters’ reticence enough to stop her tale. “Life was different back in those days, less big farms meant fresh produce was harder to come by. We lived off of selling the seeds and fruits we could collect while travelling from town to town, or we ate ‘em when there weren’t any buyers.”

Apple Bloom was aware of how far from luxurious life at Sweet Apple Acres was, a far cry from the commodities of places such as Canterlot, but a difference about which she cared little. However, her granny’s retelling of the hardships of a foalhood lived on the road—at one point nothing more than fleeting afterthoughts which were quickly waved off as tales of days gone by—were so far below the life at the farm as her own was from the posh Canterlot lifestyle.

And yet, Granny didn’t seem to recall those days with resentment, if the softness in her eyes was anything to go by. What’s more, she was able to identify some hints of fond remembrance in her smile.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on these thoughts, as Granny Smith started once again.

“Ah know whatcher thinkin’ Apple Bloom,” the elder mare said as she threw her a dirty look, and the filly couldn’t help but wonder if her thoughts were really that obvious. “N’ Ah reckon not everything was as easy as a pie. Yes there were them times when things were rougher than a sandpaper saddle, and more than once the thought of settling down on the first patch o’ free land crossed our minds. Those were the times we needed to stick together as a family.”

Those last words were punctuated by the sound of batter touching burning hot oil as Granny Smith dropped another glob into the pan.

“We’d just made our way from the far eastern coast of Equestria, down from Fillydelphia and past the Foal Mountain,” Granny Smith said, tracing the imaginary ridges of an unseen map that floated in the kitchen air. “Winter’d been rough, and we were just starting to see the first sprouts of Spring, ‘n it’d be a while before we could see some fresh fruits growing from the trees.”

She paused for a second to regard her granddaughter, as though she had forgotten for a moment that the filly was there. She looked straight at her for a few seconds before the corners of her mouth twisted into a wrinkly smile. “Couldn’t’ve been much older than you back in those days. Just as youn’, wide-eyed ‘n curious about the world around me.”

Apple Bloom couldn’t help but crack a smile of her own at that. She had seen the few pictures there were of Granny Smith when she was younger, and the even fewer there were of the time her grandmother’s flank was as blank as her own. All things being said, it wasn’t that much of a stretch to see the resemblance.

Almost as if they were family, some could say.

“I remember the times we didn’t have much to eat, my pappy used to go a few ways ahead to ‘scout the road’ whenever supper time came round, just so we didn’t see how he had gone hungry so we could eat.”

At that moment, Apple Bloom became painfully aware of the sizzling batter in the pan. Not to mention the already plentiful platters of food on the table.

“They thought I didn’t realise what they were doing, but I had a good head above my shoulders.” At this, Granny leaned a little bit towards Apple Bloom and gave her a small wink. “Good enough to know not to say anything.”

Despite herself, the corners of Apple Bloom’s mouth twitched slightly upwards.

“But Ah knew,” Granny Smith continued, unabated, “we all knew. Diff’rence was, what were we gonna do about it?”

With the precision brought by years of experience, she deftly took the ladle in her mouth and removed the already cooked fritters from the pan.

“Back in Fillydelphia, I saw this lil’ shop. Quaint ‘ol place, a bakery it was. Yes. T’was run by this mare and her colt. Both happy as they could be,” the elder mare said, a smile on her face and the glazed eyes of one lost in remembrance of times long gone.

Apple Bloom listened intently at her grandmother’s words, the melancholy of before already swept away by her tale.

“We didn’t stay long, no. But I remember going there every day after we closed up at the market. You could smell the cakes and the pastries and the bread from a block away,” Granny paused to let out a wistful sigh. “Wasn’t until Pinkie Pie moved in with the Cakes that I got to taste pastries that good again.”

That was high praise if Apple Bloom ever heard some.

“Ah stayed there 'til way after sundown, and in those few days, that mare and her colt shared all their knowledge with me,” she said with a happy grin plastered over her face. “Had to do some fastin’ of my own e’ry now and then, plus usin’ some good restrain myself whenever Ah saw a pretty trinket or a nice dress that caught my eye, but soon I got enough saved up to make somethin’. Mah very first apple pie.”

Another glob of batter found its way into the oil, sizzling as if to cut through the thick silence that had settled in the room.

Hearing Granny Smith tell her about those days made her feel queasy, yes. But what really got to her was the way the elder mare spoke, as if that was the most common thing to starve yourself just so you could eat the next day. It was such a harsh disconnection from the life she knew, Apple Bloom almost wished her grandmother would speak of those days with sadness or resentment, even if such a wish made her feel disgusted with herself.

A brief thought, however brief it was, ran through her mind, making her wonder if ponies were really able to adapt to anything. That thought was gone, though, as soon as Granny Smith spoke again.

“You learn to live with the daylight, y’see. Live on the road long enough ‘n you’ll find yerself lying fer sleep as soon as the sun hides itself down the horizon and waking up soon as it comes out. But that night the whole family stayed up 'til sunrise,” Granny Smith leaned towards her granddaughter once more, as if they hadn’t been close enough already, and continued with a whisper, “Not even the most exhausted of stallions can resist the smell of my apple pie, and that first time was no exception, Ah’ll tell you that.”

A quick flip and the apple fritters were turned around, showing off their beautiful golden coating.

“You haven’t known tough 'til you find yourself tryinna bake a pie with no oven. That’s tough ‘n a half, tell you that much,” Granny said in between short laughs. “I reckon we made more than a few messes, ‘n maybe the pie wasn’t near as good as the ones I’ve made since, but we didn’ care much about any of that. We were just glad we were together ‘n we were having fun. That apple pie wasn’t any highfalutin’ dish, but it was the darnest tastiest thing we had sunk our teeth in since we could remember.”

With a wistful sigh, Granny Smith stopped talking and focused on making sure the apple fritters didn’t burn.

“Oh, silly me. Ah was supposed to tell you how I got mah cutie mark,” Granny Smith said as she started to laugh at her own forgetfulness. If Apple Bloom was being honest, even herself had forgotten about that. “Can’t rightly say when that happened, none of us were paying much attention, but by the time we finished eating, we found these here pies on my flanks.”

A comfortable warmth wormed its way to Apple Bloom’s core, and she knew it had little to do with the heat coming from the kitchen. Without even thinking it, she leaned to the side and rested her head on her grandmother’s arm.

“Feelin’ a lil’ bit better, Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom looked at the small pile of apple fritters on the plate next to the stove. Maybe things weren’t all that well right now. Maybe a lot of time would pass before they came back to normal. Maybe they wouldn’t. But, Apple Bloom thought, she had her family with her, she had her friends. She wasn’t alone. No matter what came, they would face the weather.

“Yeah… I’m alright, Granny.”

Apple Bloom rubbed her head against her grandma without saying another word. And whether it was due to the events of that night, her talk with Big Mac, Granny Smith’s story, or a combination of all those factors, Apple Bloom meant what she said.

It was with a solemn pace, as if wearing lead horseshoes, that Twilight entered the main meeting room of Ponyville’s Town Hall. Part of her wanted to turn around and leave, another wanted to yell and ignore this entire mess. However, over the course of the day, these had lost strength until they faded into an uncomfortable murmur in the background of her mind, overpowered by a single, focused voice that motivated her to see things to their end.

Whatever it may take.

She entered the room and saw Ivory Scroll sitting at the head of a long conference table, idly skimming some files and waiting for the time to pass until she finally became aware of the other pony in the room. Perhaps too eagerly, she pushed aside the documents she held and greeted the unicorn who just arrived.

“Miss Twilight, is it time already?” she said as she motioned towards the chairs. “Please take a seat.”

Twilight gave the Mayor her best smile and returned the greeting.

“Thanks, and yes, it’s about time the meeting starts,” she said as she gave the Mayor the best smile she could muster. She sat in one of the chairs to the right of the Mayor and couldn’t help but eye the clock as she counted down the minutes left until it marked eight o’clock.

“How is the census going?” Ivory asked.

Twilight wondered if her lack of a sigh was a sign that she had run out of them.

“Why don’t we wait until everyone arrives to talk about it?” she said in an attempt to buy herself some time to think about how to break the news to everypony. Applejack would be quick to remind her that honesty was the best policy, but she wondered if perhaps there was a way of softening the blow. She didn’t have to wait for long, however. Not a minute had passed since the clock had struck eight when somepony knocked on the door.

“Hello?” a stallion with a measured voice said from behind the door.

“Come in, Mister Rich,” the Mayor greeted her.

“Good evening, to both of you,” Mister Filthy Rich said as he entered the room, “I see I’m one of the first one to arrive.”

“And right on time too,” the Mayor added as she motioned to one of the empty chairs.

“Well, considering the circumstances, I didn’t see it fit to be fashionably late, wouldn’t you agree?” Mister Rich said, taking a seat opposite to the Mayor.

He wore his typical business façade: a confident smirk and a relaxed gaze. However, the way he quickly avoided eye contact, how his shoulders slumped every few steps before he remembered to straighten them, as well as the rigidness of his lips betrayed a deep worry the source of which Twilight knew very well. She thought it would be impolite to ask, however.

“Your punctuality is appreciated, Mister Rich,” Ivory said, offering the stallion her best reassuring smile.

“I, uh…” Twilight trailed off, her mouth having gotten ahead of her brain and started speaking before she could figure out what to say. “I hope you didn’t have any trouble getting here.”

“No, I did not. It was a considerably calm walk, seeing how the streets are empty tonight.”

While she knew Filthy Rich didn’t mean anything by that statement, Twilight had to fight the urge to groan.

“After I assured my family I’d be back as soon as possible, I came straight to Town Hall. Hopefully that’s one promise I get to keep.”

“I promise you this won’t take more time than what’s strictly necessary, Mister Rich,” Twilight said in hopes of defusing the tension in the room before it settled.

That got a smile out of Filthy Rich, a more genuine one this time. Pinkie Pie would be proud. “And I, Miss Sparkle, hope you get to keep that one,” he said, just as two ponies appeared in the doorway.

“Uh, hello,” the stallion said with a nervous edge.

“We were told to come here at eight,” the mare said, walking into the room ahead of the stallion.

“Miss Raindrops, Mister Thunderlane, I’m glad you could make it in time,” the Mayor greeted them, and after exchanging some polite hellos, they took their seats.

The arrival of the two pegasi marked a shift in the mood of the room. A bit of the tension had left, and Twilight felt grateful for it. However, the underlying worry about their situation wasn’t something that could be whisked away with such ease. She still didn’t know what to say, there had to be something she could say to at least try to maintain a positive environment in the room.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice, all of you,” she ended up saying.

“It’s no problem, really,” Raindrops replied.

Nodding, Thunderlane spoke up as well, “Besides, it’s not as if we had much to do at the office anyway.”

“I can imagine being under a bubble would make for a rather uneventful weather,” Filthy Rich deadpanned.

Thunderlane gave a slight grimace at Mister Rich’s remark. Raindrops, in turn, simply rolled her eyes and ignored the stallion.

“We’ll get to that,” Twilight said, “we’ll figure things out tonight, that is why we’re here. So we can decide what to do under our… new circumstances.”

All eyes turned to Twilight, all filled with a trace of wistful optimism. With how these past days have been, it was somewhat reassuring to know there was at least some optimism left in town.

“Good,” Thunderlane finally said. “Good to know. Who else is coming?”

As if to answer that question, there was another knock on the door.

“Evenin’, y’all,” Applejack said from the doorway, holding her hat to her chest, “hope we’re not late.”

“Not at all, but please come in,” Ivory Scroll said.

“Good evening, Miss Applejack, Mister Big Macintosh,” Filthy Rich said.

The rest of the ponies in the room mimicked the greetings, and after nodding in return, the Apple siblings walked in.

Silence followed.

The group of ponies kept their stares fixed on the door, and in the pony who was standing there.

“Good evening, Miss Harvest,” Twilight said in an attempt to ease the growing tension in the room.

“Good evening, Miss Sparkle,” Golden Harvest said in a flat tone as she averted her gaze, and walked into the room, doing her best to ignore the eyes that followed her and drilled into the blankness of her flank.

Nopony said anything as she followed the apple siblings, nor did they say anything as she took her seat next to them at the end of the table, not even when she was sitting, staring down at the wooden table.

“Good… Good evening, everypony,” she finally said, and there was a bit more energy behind her words this time.

“Good evening, Miss Harvest,” Filthy Rich said back, followed by equal greetings from the rest of the ponies at the table.

Twilight gave the carrot farmer a nod of encouragement, and did her best to keep the conversation flowing in hopes that it would drive the attention away from the newly arrived.

“How is everything going at your farms?”

“Reckon they’re as good as they can be,” Applejack said from her seat, “we’re done collecting all the leftover fruits from the apple trees and will spend the comin’ days storin’ ‘em.”

“Same here,” Golden interjected with a melancholic tone, but past it the firmness of her voice came through.

Twilight gave her another encouraging smile. Earlier that day, she hadn’t known for sure if Golden would be willing to come, but seeing the mare here, taking steps to get out of her rut and help her fellow ponies brought a small smile to her face. If anything, it furthered her resolve to do her best.

Not long had passed before the final pair of ponies arrived, and with them came a rekindled sense of hope.

“Doctor Horse, Nurse Redheart,” Twilight greeted them, “I’m glad you could join us.”

“Apologies for not being here earlier, but we had a lot of paperwork to straighten out at the hospital,” the doctor said as he waked in, giving everypony in the room a polite nod as the nurse and him made their way to one of the empty seats.

Silence followed, once again, nopony willing to break the silence and be the first to bring up the issue that had brought them here tonight.

“Well, now that everypony is here, I think we should start with this meeting,” she said. A few scattered grunts of acknowledgement were her only response. Undeterred, she decided to press on, “I know it’s sudden, and with the way things have been—”

Raindrops raised a hoof.

“Oh, uh… Yes, Miss Raindrops. Do you have any question?”

The pegasus stood up.

“Heh, yeah… I mean… I’m sorry, I’m sure there’s a very good reason you asked us to be here, but…” the pegasus stopped for a second, grimacing as she fumbled with her words, “It’s just that we don’t really understand what’s going on. I’m not trying to be rude, but yesterday’s meeting left a lot of things to be desired.”

Twilight’s expression mimicked the one on Raindrops’ face.

“Yeah, and what with the confusion and the guard arriving after that, and then the census…” Thunderlane gave a nervous shrug.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about today’s events, as well,” Filthy Rich added.

Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Golden Harvest remained silent.

Twilight gave a heavy sigh. Even after all that happened today, or perhaps because of it, she hadn’t been able to shake off the disappointment over yesterday’s fiasco. Regardless of her feelings, however, she was here to rectify her mistakes, as was everyone else. So she would tell them all she could.

“There have been some new developments since yesterday’s meeting, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,” this was met with grunts of agreement. “While we haven’t learned much else, I’ll lay down the facts for you.”

Twilight looked around the table. Seeing everypony’s gaze fixed on her made her feel slightly uneasy, but she managed to swallow the knot forming in her throat and kept talking.

“As of this time, you know as much as I do, ponies are losing their cutie marks, and in the event that this was indeed caused by a disease, it was opted to quarantine the whole town. The exact cause of this plague is unknown, although we do know that there isn’t a magical cause behind it, according to my initial analysis. Which is why I contacted the hospital, and thanks to the efforts of Doctor Horse and Nurse Redheart alongside their colleagues that we may find a solution to this problem.” She nodded towards the medical ponies, hoping they would take the lead from her.

“Thank you, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor said, straightening his back and regarding everypony else in the room with a serious expression. “While I would love to say that the Canterlot medical team has made progress, the truth is we still have much to figure out.”

The atmosphere of the room, already melancholic and dour, became even more so, much to Twilight’s discontent. Regardless, Doctor Horse didn’t let the silence stretch and spoke up once more.

“This disease does not seem to present symptoms before the disappearance of the cutie mark. We still do not know how it spreads, how it infects the pony, how long it has to pass from initial infection until the cutie mark disappears, nor do we know if something specific triggers the effect. These are the main points the medical team will try to identify. Until then, the barrier will keep us quarantined while also filtering the air coming in and out of Ponyville.”

The doctor concluded his summary by lying back on his chair and letting out a small sigh. On cue, Nurse Redheart took the floor.

“We have taken a few tissue samples from a few of the ponies who have already lost their cutie marks, these are currently in possession of the Canterlot medical team.” Nurse Redheart’s eyes settled on Golden Harvest for an instant before continuing to look around the table at the rest of them. “As… As the spread of the disease increases, they’ll monitor the reaction of the population with periodic tests. At this point, they’ll probably be performing tests on Rainbow Dash fi—”

“Wait, what?” Applejack exclaimed, standing up. “What’s this about Rainbow Dash?”

A pang of guilt shot through Twilight’s heart at Applejack’s worried look. She had been so preoccupied with carrying out the census, she hadn’t gotten around telling her other friends about what happened with Dash.

“During the first rounds of the guards, we found that Rainbow Dash was outside of Ponyville when the quarantine begun. I didn’t really have the chance to tell many ponies afterwards, we had to act fast once we found out what happened. I spent the afternoon helping the Mayor organise the census while Sergeant Bold Spear contacted Cloudsdale,” Twilight said, and while her words didn’t assuage Applejack’s concerns, they at least appeared to shift her concerns.

“Cloudsdale?” she asked.

“Oh… That’s right,” Thunderlane said, slumping in his chair, “she had to report back to central about Tuesday’s storm, but she was supposed to come back after that.”

“It appears that she stayed with her family for a while,” the Mayor interjected, “she only returned today once the quarantine had begun.”

“Have they let her back in yet?” Raindrops asked.

“No… not yet,” Twilight replied, wincing slightly. “They fear she may have carried the blankness plague with her.”

If Twilight had thought the earlier silence had been unnerving, the one which followed her words was downright painful. Finally, the silence was broken by the pony she least expected.

“Did she… Did she lose her cutie mark?” Golden Harvest said.

“No,” Twilight replied almost immediately, deciding she didn’t want to sit through another grating silence, “she has not, but the med team didn’t want to take the risk.”

“They will have her under observation for the time being, and see if she shows any symptoms. Other than that, there’s not much that can be done,” Doctor Horse said.

“As I was saying,” Nurse Redheart continued, “Miss Dash will be kept under observation as they determine whether or not she’s infected. Right now, however, we have no way of knowing how long that will be.”

Applejack opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if trying to force out words of acceptance, but ultimately stayed silent and sat down. Golden Harvest just gave a small nod, whether it was directed to them or to the farmer herself, Twilight wasn’t sure. Regardless, the conversation had already found its momentum so she pushed forward.

Just like ripping off a band-aid, she thought.

“It was Rainbow Dash’s situation which prompted the census, yes. But as it was being carried out, something came up. Specifically… the amount of ponies who have been afflicted by the blankness.”

“What did they say?” Golden Harvest asked before anypony else in the room had time to react.

Twilight, once again, replied almost right away, but in those scant seconds, she felt the air in the room grow heavier with anticipation. “About twenty percent of the population of Ponyville have lost their cutie marks.”

“What?”

“That’s terrible!”

“How did that happen so fast?”

“What does that mean for the rest of us?”

At least this was better than another pained silence, but only marginally so.

“I don’t know what to make of it either, the news was a shock to me as well,” Twilight confessed, a bit downcast. “But that’s the purpose of this meeting. To assess the situation and figure out a course of action… The rest of Ponyville deserves that much, you all do.”

As a stone thrown into a pond, Twilight’s words had a ripple effect on the room. One by one everypony settled back into their seats and waited for her start. With a deep inhale and an encouraging gesture from the Mayor, Twilight looked through her notes and spoke again.

“I don’t want this to take longer than strictly necessary. We have only three major points to address, and we’ll start with the most important one: Food. There are approximately three hundred and fifty ponies living in Ponyville, not counting temporary residents. Ponies who must eat three meals a day for however long the quarantine will last.”

“Barnyard Bargains will make all the stock of its Ponyville stores available for the town,” Filthy Rich said with no hesitation in his voice. His announcement was met with a mix of surprised and thankful stares.

Twilight, for her part, felt a small weight be lifted from her shoulders. She counted on Filthy Rich to extend a helping hoof—that is why she had included him in this meeting after all—but it was good to know he was so willing to extend a helping hoof.

“Thanks Filthy, that’s very kind of you,” the Mayor said, giving the older stallion a smile.

“Everypony must do their part, right?”

“Darn tootin’, and y’all can be sure Sweet Apple Acres is gonna help as well,” Applejack said while Big Mac gave a small grunt of agreement. “We’ve lots of produce over at the farm, and we’ll be more than glad to share.”

“I may not have as much, but I’m willing to part with this season’s carrots as well,” Golden added, doing her best to smile at the group. And while Twilight did her best to return her smile, she was becoming well aware of a growing sense of discomfort in the room.

“Ah…” Thunderlane let out but quickly stopped himself from saying anything else, trying to pass it off as a cough. Raindrops elbowed him on the side; however, everyone else had already caught on his reticence.

“Is everything alright, Mister Thunderlane?” Twilight asked him.

One by one, the eyes of everypony else in the room settled on him. Thunderlane’s gaze flickered back and forth between them, not able to meet anyone’s eyes for too long before having to look elsewhere. Not once, did he look at Golden Harvest, though.

“Geez… I’m sorry, Golden. I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just that… well…” he started once again, but his words died on his throat.

Golden Harvest huffed as the last traces of her smile bled away from her face. “What, Thunderlane? What is it?”

“You know what I mean…” Thunderlane said, looking as though he wished to fly away from that room.

“No, I believe I don’t,” Golden said, raising her gaze and looking straight into the eyes of the pegasus.

Everypony else remained silent. None dared to speak and be the one who would break the tension in the room.

“It’s just that, well, I don’t know if may ponies are gonna be willing to try your carrots since… Since we all know you lost your cutie mark,” he said, as if he had to forcibly pull the words out of him.

The effect in the room was immediate. Raindrops gave a long sigh as she covered her eyes with her hooves, Applejack and Big Mac’s threw the pegasus a dirty look but remained silent otherwise while Mister Rich simply looked away.

“Uh, I mean. Don’t… Don’t take it the wrong way, it’s just that, well…” he stumbled with his words, trying to save face.

“I understand what you’re saying, Thunderlane,” Golden said, her face morphing into an unreadable mask. “I’m still going to give my carrots away. If ponies don’t wish to eat them, that’s fine by me, but that won’t stop me from doing my best to help.”

Twilight felt a small warmth flicker in her heart at the firmness of Golden’s words. If, despite the hardships she’d been through, she could still find the strength in her to stand up for herself, what excuse did Twilight have?

“You can count on us standin’ right besides you, Golden. We ain’t gonna leave you hangin’,” Applejack said as she gave her fellow farmer a friendly bump on her arm while Big Mac smiled and gave her a small nod.

“You have my support as well, Miss Harvest,” Filthy Rich said, putting his hoof over his chest. “I won’t stand by anypony discriminating you because you lost your cutie mark.”

The meaning behind Rich’s words was not lost on the group. Golden Harvest looked at him and managed to gather enough strength to give the old stallion a small smile. “Thank you, Mister Rich. I really appreciate it.”

“Golden, listen... I’m sorry, seriously, that was completely out of line,” Thunderlane said, his features growing heavy with worry, although Golden was quick to calm him down.

However, amidst the expressions of apologetic regret and calm acceptance, what Twilight found most remarkable was the serene expression of two ponies. Both Doctor Horse and Nurse Redheart remained stoic, staring right at her.

“Is there anything you would like to add, Doctor Horse?” Twilight asked, and the gazes of the other ponies quickly turned towards the two medical ponies.

The doctor’s face betrayed no emotion. He gave Nurse Redheart a sidelong glance before speaking. “I just wanted to note that any precaution regarding further spread of the plague within the boundaries of the quarantine would be useless.”

Confusion slowly dawned upon the rest of the ponies as a blanket. They exchanged a few inquisitive looks as they waited for the doctor to speak again.

“Even if there were still uninfected ponies in town, it won’t be long until it gets to everypony,” Nurse Redheart added.

Twilight felt grateful for their professionalism. While it by no means softened the blow, at least it didn’t spark further outrage; however, she could feel her shoulders being weighed down by the sorrows of the other ponies and knew she couldn’t let it go on like that.

“Hey, how about we talk about the weather?” Twilight asked with a smile full of hope. One that quickly receded as she saw the looks of confusion spread amongst the other ponies.

“Um… pardon, Twi?”

“Ah, I meant talking about how the weather will be managed while Ponyville is under quarantine,” she said once she realised how she must have sounded. “Sergeant Bold Spear told me that the barrier lets clean air come through, but I don’t know the extent to which this applies regarding wind currents and air moisture.”

“It’s a good thing we just had that storm, then. Seems like Ponyville is going to have a dry summer,” Raindrops said as she uncrossed her forelegs and leaned forwards. “Guards are stationed outside of the barrier, right? We’ll have to figure things out with them.”

Applejack was quick to express her discomfort at the notion, “I hope this don’t mean we won’t be gettin’ any rain. Earth pony magic will take you so far, but even we can’t make crops grow with no water.”

“If we don’t get water, the crops will be the least of our problems,” Big Mac said, uttering his first long sentence since arriving. Those who grimaced at the prospect of a drought on top of their already strained situation weren’t few.

“We’ll work something out. Quarantine or not, the town can’t be cut from the rest of Equestria like that.” Twilight knew they wouldn’t simply lock the town and throw away the key, but there was a small part of her which wondered if that’s not what they should do. “We can always organise the construction of a few greenhouses. That way we won’t have to rely on rainwater as much. However, this is just a theoretical worst case scenario. We should be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. Let's believe the medical team will find a solution. Should the situation go south, though, I’ll make sure to contact Princess Celestia and arrange the delivery of supplies, including clean water.”

Or just contact her at all, she added as an afterthought.

“Very well,” Ivory Scroll said, taking control of the conversation, “that gives us three major points to consider: Discussing the management of weather with the guards, establishing ways of saving water, figuring out the logistics of the greenhouses, and organise the distribution of food amongst the citizens. Let’s get to it, ponies.”

Now that they had finally overcome the initial friction with which the meeting had started, she found that the conversation flowed with relative ease. All their worries were left in the background as the group worked together for the sake of their fellow ponies. It brought Twilight a measure of comfort to know that, despite the hardships, they were willing to put their fears aside for the common good of the town.

The minutes passed, each bringing them closer to the completion of their task, and Twilight allowed herself a small smile as she finished the first draft for the following morning’s meeting with the rest of Ponyville.

As she should have come to expect, her relief was short-lived. The noise of a growing ruckus outside the meeting room came to her ears. All ponies fell into silence and looked at the door just as it flew wide open and two ponies burst in.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight said when she saw her friend gasp for air, probably having ran all the way from the main room. She was followed by two city hall’s workers, who looked just as ragged as her.

“Decree, Justice,” the Mayor said, addressing the other two ponies, “what is the meaning of this?”

“Miss Scroll, we—” One of the aides started before being cut off by Pinkie.

“We were doing the recount of the ponies who were missing, and we got to that part in the outer circle of town near the farms where the buildings start spreading a little bit more, and there’s this block with all these new buildings, and it took a while to check everypony who was there because—”

“Pinkie, stop!” Twilight said, her insides already twisting in anticipation to what was to come, “what happened?”

The earth pony bit her tongue as if to stop herself from going into another ramble, and took a deep breath before speaking once more. “There is one pony missing from town.”

10

The sound of hooves against dirt echoed in the empty streets of Ponyville as the small group galloped towards the edge of town. Worry and urgency carried their steps as they sped towards the guard outpost.

Twilight had wasted no time after hearing the news of the missing pony. She left the last of the preparations for tomorrow’s meeting to the Mayor and bolted out of Town Hall alongside Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, who had insisted on coming along.

Barely a word had been exchanged amongst them since they left. Perhaps one time had been enough to etch the information into their minds. Perhaps they were too focused on the task at hoof to think of anything else. Or perhaps they simply didn’t want to risk betraying their façade and show what they truly felt by saying anything.

Whichever the case, they remained silent as they galloped through the moonlit streets of the sleeping city.

“I hope we’re not too late,” Spike said, finally breaking the silence.

“What matters is we found out,” Twilight replied, and almost as an afterthought she added, “and we’re acting right away.”

Nothing else was said before the trio arrived at the edge of the magical barrier. After a few moments of frantic search, Twilight spotted one of the guards who—having apparently done the same—rushed towards her.

“Halt! Who goes there?” the young guard yelled as he reached the quarantine barrier, and Twilight recognised him as the Private who had accompanied Sergeant Bold Spear earlier that day.

“We need to speak with Sergeant Bold Spear, right now,” Twilight said with an unwavering tone.

A flash of recognition crossed the Private’s face, who spared nothing more than a nod before running towards the barracks. Twilight watched him run, letting out a long and pained breath as she processed what had happened in the last thirty minutes.

“Twilight?”

As if broken from a trance, Twilight turned around to face Applejack, her friend’s face twisted into a worried frown. At some point Spike had jumped off her back and was now standing next to the farmer, sporting a similar worried expression. In their eyes she found concern which far from calming served only to drive home the futility of her efforts.

“Twi...” Spike trailed off, “You can’t blame yourself for this.”

A nagging voice in her mind reminded her that while she couldn’t reasonably blame herself for the missing pony, she was free to blame her lack of oversight for turning this problem into an even bigger mess. However, before that line of thought could drag her into another tirade of self-belittlement, Twilight felt her shoulders being shaken.

“No, you don’t, Twilight,” Applejack said in a stern tone which reminded her of the way her mother would speak when chastising her. “I know that look o’ yours, and I don’t care how you’re trying to twist this in your mind to blame yourself for it, but I’ll be having none of that, you hear me?”

“I…” Twilight started, but the words died in her throat as she acknowledged Applejack was right.

The events of the week had taken its toll on her. She wasn’t going to pretend her life in Ponyville was a paragon of normalcy, but this was different from anything they had faced before. Had this been some resurrected evil from ancient times, she could find a prophecy which would tell her how to defeat it. If it were a wild monster or creature, they could take it down and prevent anyone from getting hurt. Heck, if this was a friendship problem, she’d be more equipped to deal with it, but this… She didn’t have the faintest clue about how to solve it.

Not being able to solve a problem was not the same as being responsible for it, though, and it was about time she stopped trying to carry the weight of a whole town on her shoulders.

“Pssst… She’s doing it again,” Pinkie whispered loud enough to make the action moot.

“I know. I think I was getting too wrapped up in my own thoughts, but I’ve done enough of that already. There are more pressing matters right now,” she finally said. Perhaps they believed her, or not. Either way, it made little difference, they could already see the soldiers galloping towards them.

“Miss Sparkle,” Sergeant Bold Spear said once he reached the edge of the quarantine barrier. The stress of the situation was starting to get to him as well. His fur was slightly frazzled, the bags under his eyes accentuated his incipient crow’s feet, and the gentle swaying of his body betrayed his rigid posture. He was tired, Twilight noticed, and wondered if she looked the same to him. “I assume the census has been carried out.”

“Yes.”

“How many?” he asked, diving straight to the point.

“Just one, we doubled checked,” she replied without missing a beat. The sergeant’s face twisted despite his attempts to remain stoic, and for a moment Twilight caught a glimpse of the tired eyes befitting a stallion of his age.

“How did that happen?”

Twilight took a deep breath as she sorted through the mess of jumbled of thoughts running through her mind. “He left before we even caught wind of the plague happening.”

“Well, this is just great,” the Sergeant said, his voice getting lower, “Just… Celestia damned great.”

“My friend Pinkie Pie will be able to provide an accurate description.” Twilight found that she didn’t have as much of a trouble in keeping her voice steady as she spoke; no matter how bad things got, she was going to do her best to clear it.

With a jump, Pinkie landed next to her and smiled at the Sergeant, though he remained impassive.

“Well, Miss Pie? What can you tell me?”

Pinkie looked back at Twilight for a moment before taking a deep breath and started talking, “You see, Mister Sergeant, we had a really nice event last week at the local market where all the vendors marked down their produce, and they managed to sell quite a lot, but turns out a lot means more to some ponies than others, because a few ran out of all they had to sell. There’s this stallion, Crafty Crate, nice guy despite the temper. Anyway, he also managed to run out of cherries. I mean, good for him, but—”

“Miss Pie,” Sergeant Bold Spear interrupted her, “please be concise.”

Pinkie blinked a couple of times before a nervous smile appeared on her face. “Ah, right. Sorry Mister Sergeant. Yeah, Crafty Crate ran out of cherries on Sunday and said he was going to Dodge Junction with other market ponies come the weekend, but he got ahead of schedule, his friends said he left around Wednesday.” Her smile became more subdued, and a nervous edge crept into her eyes.

Seeing her cheerful friend act so apologetic felt odd, but it brought some relief knowing she took this seriously.

Sergeant Bold Spear was quick to react. Without missing a beat, he turned around and addressed the guard next to him. “You know what to do, Private.”

The guard gave a hasty salute before galloping back to the barracks.

“Thank you, Miss Pie. Are you sure nopony else is missing?”

She gave a strong nod. “Yuppers. We even double checked our double check. I don’t know if that’s a quadruple check or a square check, but I figure you know better than I do.”

The grimace on the Sergeant’s face softened, but otherwise made no intention to leave. Pinkie Pie looked back at Twilight and smiled before trotting back to where Applejack and Spike were waiting.

Silence settled amongst them once again, and Twilight felt the air between them grow heavier, as if the magic barrier wasn’t enough. They hadn’t parted in the best of terms earlier, and that ought to be solved sooner than later if they were going to keep working together until the quarantine ended.

Just as he looked as though he was going to say something, Twilight spoke. “Sergeant, I’d like to apologise.”

Reactions were as immediate as they were silent. Sergeant Bold Spear’s frown faded away, replaced by a look of curiosity. In contrast, the reaction of her friends were more intense, although equally silent. Just out of the corner of her eye, Twilight could see their faces, emotions ranging from surprise to angry disbelief in the case of Spike. Nevertheless, she focused on the stallion beyond the barrier and kept talking.

“This evening… After what happened with Rainbow Dash. I know we were under a lot of stress”—Twilight chose each word carefully, gauging the stallion’s reaction—”we still are after all, but I shouldn’t have tried to dodge responsibilities.” Twilight immediately looked back at Spike, who seemed eager to jump in her defence, and held up her hoof.

Sergeant Bold Spear looked at her in silence, his expression unreadable, before he finally spoke, “You would make a great diplomat, Miss Sparkle.”

She couldn’t hold back a smile at that, nor did she want to, if she was being honest.

“It is as you said, perhaps the stressful situation we find ourselves in got the better of us. Rather than be sorry, I would urge you to keep up the good work while your town still needs you,” he said in a calm voice, a direct contrast with the exasperation which had marked their parting words earlier that day.

Twilight mused over his words. As hard as she had been on herself, she knew he was right. Making mistakes didn’t matter as long as you worked to make up for them. “Right back at you, Sergeant,” she finally said.

“If you excuse me, I must coordinate the course of action regarding the missing pony. Should anything noteworthy come up, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“What about my friends?” Twilight asked before the stallion could leave.

A few contemplative seconds passed before his reply. “Miss Dash is under observation by the medical team, and we’re being informed of any progress.”

Twilight gave a sad nod, Pinkie’s sigh echoing her disappointment at the lack of news.

“Regarding your friend Zecora, hopefully you’ll understand if we couldn’t get to her. It has been a hectic day, after all.” The Sergeant’s flat tone made it hard to know if he was being sarcastic or not. “Rest assured that we will go for her first thing in the morning, and I will be sure to let you know once she is with us.”

Twilight nodded once more, and that marked the end of the conversation. With nothing more to say, Sergeant Bold Spear turned around and walked away. Once he was a good distance away, she felt her friends approach her.

“Why did you apologise, Twi? You didn’t do anything wrong,” Spike said, a trace of disdain clear in his voice.

Twilight smiled and lowered her body until she was face to face with the dragon. “Apologies are not about being right or wrong, Spike. It’s about letting go of the past,” she said as she ruffled his spines. “Right now, the last thing we need is ill will between us.”

“Darn tootin’, Twi,” Applejack said with a tone of impressed satisfaction in her voice.

While he didn’t seem to agree with her, he nodded a few times showing he understood. Twilight replied with an affectionate nuzzle which dispelled all notions of discomfort from Spike.

Just a few moment later, though, Pinkie was the one to ask the question in everyone’s mind. “So, what do we do now?”

With the census done and the Guard informed, there was not much they could do other than wait for tomorrow’s meeting. Thought that didn’t mean they had to wait alone.

“We should probably check on Rarity and Fluttershy. I’ve been meaning to check on them but with the frenzy of the past couple of days, I—”

“It’s alright sugarcube, I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Oh! Oh! Rarity said she would be visiting Fluttershy at her cottage tonight, we can drop by and check both of them at once!” Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped in place a few times.

Between Applejack’s kind words and Pinkie’s enthusiasm, Twilight felt more at ease now. Despite the less than ideal turn of events, she enjoyed the brief moment of comfortable silence between them.

“Let’s go, then,” Twilight said, the hints of a smile, the first genuine one in days, appeared on her face.

The girls walked in silence—a more comfortable one this time—as they made their way through town.

“Been a while since I last saw Ponyville so empty, it ain’t even that late,” Applejack said as eyed the barren streets.

Twilight looked, as well. Though Ponyville wasn't known for its active nightlife, there were still plenty of ponies out at this hour Just a few days ago. Even a store or small cafe would still be open. Tonight, however, the air was filled with a silence induced by fear, like that of a wake. And thanks to the protective barrier, there wasn't even a cold breeze to breathe life into the streets.

“I hope they’ll come to the meeting tomorrow," she said. Her words barely above a whisper. "We need to remind everypony that we're together in this. That we can count on each other. We can’t do that if half the town doesn’t show up.”

“I’ll personally knock every door at the crack of dawn!” Pinkie chirped, raising a hoof way up high.

Knowing Pinkie, she’d probably do it, and she’d pull an all-nighter for the sake of having a cupcake ready for everypony. However, pressing them into action while the events of the past days were still fresh in their memories could have the opposite effect.

“I appreciate the thought, Pinkie, but I don’t think that would be for the best… We have to trust they’ll come,” she said, mustering every trace of confidence left in her. Nevertheless, she stopped in her tracks and looked at the houses around them “It’s easy to forget that this doesn’t necessarily affect everypony in the same way. We are all afraid, but some could take it worse than others. I mean, we’ve already seen it happen, but that’s all the more reason why we must stick together and—”

Her words died on her throat once she turned around and saw her friends standing behind them. Applejack was looking at some point in the distance while Pinkie and Spike were facing the spot where she had been standing just a few moments ago. Shock, confusion, fear, all these emotions flashed across her face as she tried to make sense of what had happened.

“Oh, please, go on. I believe you were about to go into a rousing speech about friendship.”

Ultimately, though, she settled with apathy the second she heard the voice coming from nowhere.

“Where are you?” she said, disdain dripping from her words.

Away from her, reality twisted upon itself until a void formed in the space between folds of air, and from its depths emerged a tall figure of mismatched parts. The newly arrived smiled at her in a way which would almost feel warm if it weren’t for the t-shirt saying ‘Friendship is Magic’ and the pink and purple pennants he held in each of his dissimilar arms.

“Twilight! So good to see you!” Discord said, throwing his arms into the air. His smile quickly turned into an inquisitive frown when he looked at the unicorn's weary expression. "You don’t look too thrilled, though.”

Twilight simply gave him a flat look as he caught his arms once they fell down. “What are you doing here? The barrier is supposed to keep the town closed!”

“Twilight, please. Do you really believe a simple shield spell could keep me out? Why, I almost feel offended.”

Her look of exasperation grew at the sight of the draconequus crossing his arms and facing away with a huff. “I didn’t ask how you got in, I want to know why. Ponyville is under quarantine, and we can’t risk an outbreak!”

“Oh, please. I know that much. You wouldn’t believe I’m actually here, would you?” to mark his words, he snaked his way to her and phased through her body.

Even though she felt nothing when he went through her torso, she couldn’t fight back the shiver that ran through her body at his action.

“I pose no risk regarding an outbreak. Cross my heart and so and so,” he said while half-heartedly making the motions. “That should be a load off your mind, right? I’m sure you could use that.”

“Why are you here, Discord?” she asked. The severity in her words coming clearly through gritted teeth.

“Can’t I worry about you ponies?” he replied in an insincere tone. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that a thing friends do?”

“Forgive me for being skeptical,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Come on, I’m reformed now! I’m all about smiles and rainbows now,” Discord shot back as he played with puppet versions of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

“You’ve only been ‘reformed’ for a month, and I don’t think I’ve seen you since then!”

Discord tapped his chin, as though deep in thought, “Yes, I suppose from your perspective it’s only been that long…”

“Did you come here just to kick us while we’re down?”

“Why, I am positively aggravated, Twilight, how could you say such a thing?” he said while fanning himself with a frilly fan and pinching an equally frilly white dress before giving a huff and walking around her. “Next thing I know, you will be trying to find a way to pin all this to poor old me!”

Twilight’s blood ran cold before she fixed a trembling gaze on Discord.

“Oh, you can’t be serious,” he said—silly props already forgotten—as his voice lost all traces of playfulness.

“Should I be?” she shot back, her features twisting into a scowl.

Discord stood straight, giving a flat look to some point beyond her.

“Twilight, come with me for a second.”

Before she could form a reply, Discord had snapped his fingers and Ponyville disappeared. She looked around at the white expanse around her, barely processing what had just happened. There were no signs of the Chaos Lord, just and endless blankness as far as she could see.

She could at least see herself, but she noticed to her distress that her body looked a bit blurry. As she was trying to make sense of where she was, she heard the voice of Discord echoing in her mind.

“I say this with as much seriousness as possible for me,” he said, devoid of his usual snark, “Do you think I could do something like this?”

Before she even had the chance to think of an answer, her whole body lunged forwards. Her eyes opened wide when she realised there was something coming towards her. She slowly came to a stop in front of a large golden rectangle shimmering with light.

Discord’s voice came again, just not inside her head. She looked and found him standing on nothing next to her, staring straight ahead.

“Take a look and tell me if you think this is the kind of thing I’d do.”

Hearing him speak so seriously felt odd, it was unexpected from the embodiment of randomness, but she took it as a sign he’d tell the truth.

The shine of the golden rectangle died down, and Twilight started to notice blurry shapes moving on the surface. Before she could say anything, though, the image got clearer and she got to see a pony whom she didn’t recognise at first. The stallion walked in an empty room before stopping next to a bed. He then turned on a lamp and she could see the serene visage of an older pony.

“Mister Rich?” she whispered.

Filthy Rich stood next to a bed. Twilight traced the shape under the covers with her eyes and even though it was dark, she had a good idea of who it was. The filly flinched at the touch of her father, burrowing further into her bed. Undeterred, Mister Rich leaned forwards and nuzzled her daughter. Although Twilight couldn’t make out the words, she could feel the love and worry in his tone.

She was pulled back from the scene when Discord snapped his fingers and the image disappeared, blinking into the golden shape once again before another mess of blurry shapes appeared.

This time, she was quick to recognise the pony in the picture. Sweetie Drops was lying on a carpet in front of a fireplace—a tired expression on her face and an empty space on her flank—, when Lyra walked into her room carrying a box with her magic. She settled down next to her friend and floated the box towards her. Sweetie Drops eyed the box suspiciously before opening it, finding it full of bonbons. She gave her friend a small smile before giving her an affectionate nuzzle. Still, as they shared the candies, the sadness didn’t quite left the mare’s eyes.

Another snap and the image changed to that of a white unicorn with a blue mane, laying on her back, closed eyes and blank flanks. With a flash of magenta magic, she floated a record out of its sleeve and onto a nearby turntable. Save for a flick of her ears when the music started to play, she remained immobile.

“Why are you showing me this?” Twilight asked, tearing her gaze away from the scene in front of her.

“That,” Discord said as he waved the image away, leaving the golden shape barren once more, “is just an example of what’s going on in your little town.”

Her throat tied itself into a knot. She was glad things hadn’t escalated into full-blown panic, and hopefully they wouldn’t, but Discord was right, and that felt like a slap to the face.

“Tell me, Twilight. What did you see?”

She looked back at where at the golden shape, seeing dozens of ponies flash before her eyes, one after another. Neither of whom had as much as a smile. She thought about them and the many more who had to be going through the same. A problem that went deeper than just a change in fur tone. Suffering from a blow to their very identity.

Twilight saw sadness, apathy, anger, resignation, impotence, confusion. She saw cutie marks, and lack thereof. Coats uniform in colour, a sea of b—

“That’s right. Boooring,” Discord said as he made the gold screen disappear with a huff.

“W-what?”

“I mean it, this is miserable!” the draconequus cried out, thrusting his arms in an overtly dramatic way. “Everyone’s so gloomy and bitter… Do you seriously believe this is the kind of chaos I’d make? I’m insulted, Twilight. Insulted!”

Twilight would’ve paid attention to the seemingly genuine hurt in Discord’s voice if her mind wasn’t being pulled apart by shock and outrage.

“Is this just a joke to you!?”

Her outburst seemed to actually grab Discord’s attention, who sighed as he floated downwards until he was at eye level with the mare.

“Twilight, let me level with you,” a shadow of a smirk crossed his face at his bad joke before he got serious again, “I’m new to this whole friendship thing. I still have a hard time looking at you ponies as more than parts of the landscape which happen to talk, but I assure you I bear no ill-intent nor animosity towards you or your kind.” A pause. “Regarding this whole cutie mark debacle, at least. This is not my doing, I promise”

Twilight tried to keep the frown on her face, but deep down she knew he was right. This was different from Discord’s usual methods, different from his type of unpredictability.

“After all, why get rid of cutie marks when they have so much potential for fun!” He said as he conjured an easel and a canvas out of thin air. “Never been a fan of the whole symmetric pattern, to be honest.”

Much to Twilight’s dismay, Discord quickly painted an exact replica of her cutie mark, and started changing the shape, colour, and number of points of each star.

“Oh, you know what would be great? Swap your cutie marks around, I’m sure that would make quite a stir!”

While on some level she felt disturbed by Discord’s words, another thought popped into her mind which soon overshadowed everything else.

“Wait, Discord!”

“No, no. Let me finish, I’m sure you’ll like it once it’s done,” he said while he kept painting over her cutie mark.

Rather than pay attention to his nonsense, Twilight jumped in front of him and threw her hooves on his chest. This caught him off-guard, but before he could voice his objection, Twilight spoke, “You can fix this!”

“I’m assuming you don’t mean the painting,” he said with a flat tone.

“You know I mean the disease. You can… find a way of getting rid of the virus and fixing what it has done on those who are already infected,” she nearly begged, looking up at him with hope in her eyes.

For the briefest of moments, she thought she saw something flicker in Discord’s eyes. Where normally she’d find disinterest and condescension, there was something else. She hoped it was a measure of empathy, that she could somehow let the draconequus know how important this was and he’d agree to help. However that light was gone almost as soon as it came.

Discord let out a heavy sigh before snapping his fingers once more. Colour returned to their surroundings as the white void receded until they were in Ponyville once more. Even as she felt the grass under her hooves, Twilight did not break eye contact with him.

“This has really got you down on the dumps, huh?” he said, his face showing something resembling actual emotion for a moment.

“Will you do it?” Twilight said, and even she was surprised by her pleading tone.

It was then that Discord did the most random and unexpected thing Twilight could have imagined him doing. He took her hooves in his hands and gently put them down before he coiled his serpentine body and sat on the grass next to her.

In all the time Twilight had known Princess Celestia, few were the times when she had noticed the age of her mentor. Be it after a hard day in court, or a moment of great duress, Twilight could easily recall the rare moments when she was able to feel the thousands of years the Princess carried on her back; and in that moment, she noticed the same in Discord.

When was the last time the Lord of Chaos had looked so serious?

“It would be easy, you know? Just a thought and I could change everything,” he said, looking up at the rose-tinted night sky, “just as I used to.”

The silence after he spoke hung heavily on the air. She wouldn’t pretend she understood the way Discord’s mind worked, but Twilight wondered if perhaps there was a hint of regret in his voice.

“I don’t blame you for not buying into my reformation. From time to time, neither do I,” Discord said, shrugging, “I wasn’t kidding when I said it still takes some effort to see ponies as real, unique beings, I used to simply not care.”

“But now you do, right?”

“Now I do.”

Much to her own surprise, Twilight found she wanted to believe Discord. However, that didn’t supersede her worry for their current predicament. “If you care, why won’t you do this one thing for us?”

“Because it’s never one thing. That’s just how it starts. I do one thing and it becomes much easier to do the next one, and so on. Not even consciously, but there’s less resistance in my mind the next time, and before you know it, cardboard sun and moon. I’d rather not deal with that, all things considered.”

“That seems… a bit pessimistic, if you ask me.”

Discord just chuckled, which was more in line with Twilight’s image of the draconequus than the seriousness he’d had over the past minutes.

“So…” she said with a final trace of hopefulness, “This is all in our hooves, huh?”

“I’m afraid so. No divine intervention to fix things for you at the last second, I’m afraid,” he replied with a smirk.

She wasn’t sure how to feel. A part of her still wished they all could’ve been saved by Discord, the Princesses, or even the Elements of Harmony, but by this point she had already accepted that nobody would. Nopony but themselves.

“Oh, cheer up. You’ll be fiiiine,” Discord said, waving his claw dismissively.

Twilight huffed before rubbing her eyes. “You mean it?”

“This is not the first status-quo altering event I’ve witnessed, and what with being immortal and all, I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last.” The draconequus then stood up, cracking his back in a way which produced an odd yet familiar melody.

“Hey, Discord,” she said, catching his attention. “I don’t know if this was your intention when coming here, but… I feel a bit better so, thank you.”

He gave her an amused smirk. “Really, now?”

“I think so. Ever since this whole thing started, I’ve just felt nothing I did was enough and there was a part of me which kept blaming myself because of that.” Twilight looked back at her friends, still frozen in time. “But this is bigger than me, bigger than any single pony. This affects all of us, and we have to work together to get out of this mess.”

“Well, I consider it a job well done,” Discord said as he started floating. “I’d love to stay, but all this gloom and doom does horrors to my mood.”

“I’ll be sure to let everyone know you dropped by,” she said with a smile.

“Do as you please, Twilight. Maybe I’ll come back once this whole thing blows over.” He paused for a second, rubbing his paws against the ground. “You ponies should look into making your roads out of something other than dirt. Gravel works wonders. Anyway, bye bye!”

Before she could reply, the draconequus disappeared, leaving silence in his wake and leaving her feeling somewhat better—if a bit annoyed. Seems as though talking things out did help.

“I’m going to take your silence as a yes, Twilight,” Pinkie said, breaking Twilight from her reveries.

It took her a moment to remember where the conversation with her friends had paused before the interruption, but smiled once she did. “How about this, Pinkie. We let everypony have a good night sleep, and we can make all the cupcakes you want afterwards.”

“Twi’s right, Pinkie. Forcing ponies to do something they don’t want won’t lead to no good,” Applejack interjected.

“Fine… But I’m still taking a bunch of sweets to the meeting and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” Pinkie exclaimed, making her words with a pout.

“I can help with that,” Spike chimed in, smiling a mischievous grin which spoke loudly about his true intentions.

Twilight giggled at the sight. On some level, she found odd how easily she could laugh, considering the stress over the past days. However, maybe that’s why it was so easy. She needed something positive in her life at that moment. She’d have to check the logic of that with Pinkie. At the thought of that, she let out a hearty laugh.

“Let’s go, girls. We should check on Fluttershy and Rarity before it gets too late,” Twilight said as she started walking to the edge of town, followed by her friends.

Twilight took a long sip of her tea. With closed eyes, she enjoyed the warmth of her beverage before setting down the cup and looking at her friends.

“It’s so good to know you’re alright, girls,” she said, smiling.

“Likewise, dear,” Rarity replied, “I wish we could’ve dropped by sooner, though.”

“Oh, I’m sure Twilight had plenty of things to do,” Fluttershy was quick to interject.

“That still doesn’t excuse it, I should’ve found the time to come see you.” Twilight would’ve continued, but she was interrupted by Spike.

“Don’t listen to her, she’s been busy as Tartarus trying to solve this whole thing,” the little dragon said, playfully elbowing her on her side.

“And don’t let her tell you otherwise,” AJ added, shooting Twilight a sidelong glance.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite an interesting couple of days,” Rarity said, nursing her cup of tea.

“More than you can imagine… Enough about that, how have you girls been?” Twilight asked them with an eager tone. Perhaps she was trying to make up for not seeing them by making as much small talk as possible, though she did want to know.

Fluttershy gave her a smile before she started speaking, all previous worry now forgotten, “Well, um, I was tending to my animals. They’ve been quite stressed lately, but I’m doing my best to help them relax.”

Pinkie brightened up at that, and was quick to express her thoughts, “Oh, would you like me to throw them a little animal party?”

“I, uh… Don’t think that’d be such a great idea, Pinkie,” Applejack replied.

Far from backing down, Pinkie Pie puffed her cheeks and gave her friends a hard look before letting out all air in her lungs, seemingly deflating in the process. “I know… It’s just that I really want to feel useful right now, because I feel there isn’t much I can do as a whole because, well, everypony is so bummed out and, duh… Of course they are, but still, it makes me wish I could do something for them, and I don’t really know if there even is something I can do. I mean, you’re right AJ. What good would a party do right now? That’s not going to cheer them, that’s not going to give everypony back their cutie marks. This is not a fear we can just laugh away, and I’m running out of ideas…” Pinkie trailed off, hanging her head in defeat.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group showed varying degrees of bafflement, ranging from Rarity and Fluttershy’s blank stares, to Applejack and Twilight’s faces of utter shock.

After the silence hanged above them for far too long, Fluttershy broke their spellbound daze and spoke, “Ummm… Pinkie, are you alright?”

“Oh, of course I am,” she said, immediately cheering up, “I just have to keep trying and I’ll find a way to cheer ‘em up. It’ll just take a bit longer, but Pinkie Pie is no quitter!”

The whole room breathed a sigh of relief at her words.

“Huh… I thought that was going in a completely different direction,” Spike muttered while Twilight pretended she didn’t feel the same way.

Rarity then walked towards Pinkie and gently held hooves with her. “It’s good to know your spirits are still up, dear. Blue is definitely not your colour,” she added with a wink which got a few giggles out of their pink friend.

“What about you, Rarity? How have you been?” Twilight asked and only got a lopsided smile as an answer.

“As good as one can be, I suppose,” Rarity said after a moment, “I’ve tried to focus on making dresses, but inspiration has eluded me for the best part of a week.”

“Can’t imagine what happened with Green Jewel’s dress yesterday will help much,” Applejack mentioned, and immediately regretted doing so once she saw the look on Rarity’s eyes. “Shucks… Sorry, Rares. I don’t mean nothing by that.”

Rarity kept her gaze fixed on her friend for a few seconds before her eyes softened and a sigh escaped her lips. “No, AJ, you’re right. I fear getting new dresses is probably the last thing in anypony’s mind.”

“What happened to Green Jewel?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight was quick to answer, “Yesterday at Town Hall, everypony saw Green Jewel lost her cutie mark when a stallion ripped her dress by accident.”

“Hard to believe it was only yesterday,” Applejack said, talking to herself more than to the rest of the girls, “so much has happened today, it feels almost like a lifetime ago.”

It had been a busy day—one of the busiest Twilight had had since she came to Ponyville—and she knew it was about to get even busier. The group fell into silence once more, though it was short-lived, as Fluttershy soon spoke.

“Do you think she’s alright? Green Jewel, I mean.”

“I checked on her this evening and, all things considered, she was holding out well enough,” Rarity said. “I hope she’s feeling better, though I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to go to tomorrow’s meeting.”

Needless to say, ‘well enough’ was a long way from ‘doing well’, but Twilight thought it was an improvement over the general mood the town had presented today, and every bit of optimism would help. Celestia knew she was low on that.

She couldn’t help but frown. The success of tomorrow’s meeting depended on the collaboration of everyone in Ponyville, which could only happen if they went to the meeting. She knew some ponies, those who had been hit the hardest, would probably not go. However, she couldn’t shake the fear that many more wouldn’t go either.

“You girls will go, right?” Twilight said, knowing full well how needy she sounded, but cared little about that. Anything which helped her fight the mental image of an empty Town Hall was welcomed.

“Course I will, Twi,” Applejack replied. “Don’t have much to do back at the farm, so you can bet Apple Family will lend a set of hooves.”

“Oh, me too! Not many ponies are going to Sugarcube Corner, so I don’t think the Cakes will complain if I take a day off or two if it’s for Ponyville’s sake,” Pinkie said with a smile across her face.

“And it should go without saying, but I will be there as well, dear,” Rarity chimed in.

Twilight’s heart swelled with joy and relief at her friend’s reassurance. Just as many times before, no matter how dark things got, they got her back.

At that moment, though, Twilight realised one of her friends had remained characteristically silent. One by one, all eyes turned towards Fluttershy. The shy pony, aware of the attention her silence had earned, looked down at her cup of tea with such intensity, Twilight wondered if she wasn’t trying to find something to say in the leaves of her tea.

“Shy?” Pinkie prodded the pegasus, who was still silent.

“Fluttershy… You don’t have to go to tomorrow’s meeting if you don’t want to, you don't have to force yourself to do so,” Twilight was quick to add, hoping to ease her friend’s mind.

After another prolonged second of silence, Fluttershy set down her cup and looked straight at Twilight.

“I… I will go,” she said with an unwavering tone, and before anyone could object, she spoke again, “You’re right, part of me doesn’t want to go, and it’s not because I’m afraid, thought that’s part of it, too…”

Fluttershy looked wistfully through her window at the town beyond. “I feel I can’t not go. I know there’s probably not much I can do to help, but I have to do my best, just as everypony else will.”

She turned around and gave a small yelp of surprise once she saw everyone staring back at her. This time, however, their looks held nothing but heartfelt admiration and appreciation.

Twilight gave her the biggest smile she’d had since this whole ordeal started, and she felt some of her accumulated stress go away. “Thanks, Fluttershy. That means a lot.”

“Ummm… I mean, I don’t want to be a nuisance, I just want to help,” Fluttershy said.

“And that’s already a lot, Fluttershy,” Twilight continued, “Just as much as it’s needed to decide on a course of action for the rest of town, I was really hoping tomorrow’s meeting would help everypony see they’re not alone in this. That they have a town full of ponies on whom they can rely.”

Looking around, she saw Rarity, Pinkie Pike, Spike, Applejack, and Fluttershy returning her smile, and she knew she didn’t have to say anything else.

Perhaps that was why her body chose that moment to yawn.

“Oh! I’m sorry.”

Rarity was quick to assuage her concerns, though. “Don’t worry dear, we know you’ve had a rough day.”

“Yeah! You helped set up the dome thingy with the guards, and then we carried out a census with the ponies from Town Hall,” Pinkie chimed in. “I’m still not sure how we managed to do all that in just one afternoon, but we did it!”

“Honestly girl, you must be worn slap out after all you’ve done today,” Applejack added.

“And the day before, too,” Spike said, playfully elbowing her side.

“I suppose I’ve been quite active lately…” Twilight said, rubbing her hoof against the cushion.

“I’d say,” Rarity agreed, “you should go back home, dear. It’s getting quite late as well.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to worry my family. Big Mac must’ve told them what happened, but still. Should let them know everything’s alright,” AJ said, standing up and stretching her back.

“Oh, I should go back and check on the Cakes, too!”

“You should all be getting back home before it gets too late,” Fluttershy said. “We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

“We will,” Twilight said, a small smile tugging at her lips. She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but at that moment, surrounded by her friends, Twilight managed to feel a bit optimistic.

12

Twilight peeked into the main hall through the heavy curtains of the stage. Over the last hour, ponies had slowly trickled in. At this rate, perhaps even half of town would show up by the time the meeting started. However, that was as far as her optimism took her.

Some of the ponies who had come were visibly uncomfortable as they tried to keep their distance from everypony else. Twilight wondered just how common the sentiment amongst the rest of the crowd was, and how it would affect the meeting itself… as well as what would it take for things to take a turn for the worse.

“How are you holding up?”

Twilight threw Applejack a sidelong glance. The earth pony eyed her with warranted concern. The day had started in a less than stellar way but, Celestia willing, they may pull through.

“I’m okay, Applejack. I think we can do this.” She exhaled. “I know we can.”

Applejack smiled. “That’s the attitude.” With a sharp breath, she took a step back and turned around. “I’ll leave this to you, Twi. I’m gonna check on Pinkie Pie. She was pulling two carts full of pastries into the backroom and I don’t want no accidents.”

Twilight’s lips twitched for a moment, but returned to normal before a smile could appear. Her friend’s nod of reassurance before she walked away helped further Twilight’s resolve. She could do this. They could do this.

“Ah, Miss Sparkle. I’m glad you could arrive on time.”

Twilight turned to see Mayor Mare walking towards her followed by a few of Town Hall’s workers. The older mare smiled despite the noticeable dark spots under her eyes.

“Nothing could’ve stopped me from coming,” Twilight said. The firm tone of her words felt invigorating. Soothing, even.

With a pleased smile, the Mayor walked up to Twilight and looked at the gathering ponies. “I hope you had no problems this morning.”

A low groan escaped Twilight before she could suppress it. She had to get her mind in order. What good would it be for everypony if she let her thoughts take on a pessimistic edge?

Mayor Mare turned to face her with a serene façade, betraying no hint of worry while making it clear she wanted more information. Twilight wondered if every politician eventually developed such a face. Either way, she ought to inform the Mayor about what had happened earlier at the barrier.

"One of the guards lost his cutie mark."

Twilight felt the Mayor's sharp inhale. The air stood still as the seconds of silence stretched, uncertainty hanging around her as the Mayor took her time to reply.

“Is the situation under control?”

“The sergeant and everypony else on the other side… they seemed to have contingencies ready for this,” Twilight said, her tone matter of factly. “I… I trust they’ll handle things on their end.”

Silence. A nod. A sigh. “Then let’s make sure things are handled on our end.”

With that, they both looked back at the stage.

“How’s attendance?” the Mayor asked.

“It’s about what we expected, but I hope more ponies will arrive soon,” Twilight replied.

“Even if they don’t, all will proceed as planned.” With that, the Mayor turned and motioned to one of her aides. “Don’t worry too much, Miss Sparkle. We need our heads clear for this.”

The pony standing next to her gave her a clipboard with a few papers that the Mayor started reading. “After last night’s meeting ended sooner than expected, we kept working on today’s schedule.”

“Schedule?” Twilight asked, more than a little confused.

“See for yourself. I hope you don’t think I was too presumptuous.”

Arching an eyebrow, Twilight took the clipboard from Mayor Mare’s extended hoof. Looking over it, it appeared to be a pretty simple list of points to address.

Greetings, then a general rundown of everything that had happened over the past few days, the details discussed in last night's meeting regarding food and water… It appeared Doctor Horse was going to address the crowd as well. There were little details regarding what he was going to say. As obvious as it must’ve been by then, Twilight wondered if he’d break the news about the likelihood of everypony being infected. After that it seemed the only—”Wait, what!?”

“I was hoping you could deliver the closing words for the meeting,” Mayor Mare said in a soft yet firm tone.

Twilight couldn’t reply. Her eyes lingered over the “Closing statements by Twilight Sparkle” at the end of the list. Her mind was thinking back to that ill-fated meeting before the quarantine started, reminding her how poor of a job she had done at the start… But… That was then. She’d made mistakes and worked to rectify them. Perhaps this could be a way to make up for that blunder. Could that be why Mayor Mare wanted her to speak?

She looked up at the older mare, who still had a calm expression on her face.

After a few seconds of silence, Twilight took a deep breath and nodded. “You can count on me.”

Mayor Mare smiled. “I know I can, and I hope you remember that everypony still holds you in high regard, despite a few hiccups.”

Twilight felt something inside her swell at those small words of encouragement. It was funny, in a way. How just those few words were enough to reassure her. It was much the same way when she was a filly, how Princess Celestia telling her she’d done a good job was enough to make a week filled with all nighters feel worth it.

Princess Celestia… Although it was likely Spike’s dragonfire would get rid of anything malicious, she still didn’t want to risk it. She just wished the Princess would contact her. She’d give anything for some guidance.

And she supposed everypony who’d come felt the same way.

With a sense of determination that had eluded her for the past day, Twilight looked back at Mayor Mare and levitated the clipboard back to her. “Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

The older mare smiled at her. “I’d expect nothing less.” And with that, she walked away, towards the back of the room, as she started talking with her aides once more.

Alone once more, Twilight’s eyes wandered back to the stage and her thoughts went to the ponies beyond the curtains. Just a moment ago, they seemed keen on keeping their distance from one another. She wondered if, once more ponies came, those who still kept their cutie marks would stay away from those who had lost them.

She was suddenly pulled from those thoughts when she felt a prodding on her side.

“Hey, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said. “Spike said you were in such a hurry you didn’t get to have breakfast, so I brought you this!”

Pinkie held out a generously sized muffin. It seemed rather fluffy with a crumbly top.

“It has oats in it. And blueberries.” Pinkie looked down at the muffin before looking back at Twilight. “It was the breakfastiest one I had, so I thought you’d like it.”

Twilight stared at her for a moment. “I guess this morning was a bit of a frenzy. I really shouldn’t make a habit of skipping meals.” With that, she took the muffin from Pinkie and took a bite. It was still warm, and delicious as always. Perhaps it was the sugary treat satisfying the hunger she'd been ignoring since her abrupt awakening, but Twilight felt a small rush of happiness coursing through her.

As if sensing her joy, Pinkie started to lightly bounce in place.

“I’m glad you like it, Twilight.”

“It’s delicious, Pinkie,” she replied before taking another bite.

“Good!” Pinkie then leaned forward and gave her a light poke on her cheek. “It feels like an eternity since I last saw you smile.”

After that, Pinkie Pie smiled and walked away, leaving Twilight deep in thought.

Had it really been that long? Of course, this entire situation was nothing to smile about, but… She supposed she’d lost sight of herself the more wrapped up she got in trying to figure out what was going on. Other than a passing thought, she didn’t really dwell on how this was affecting her on a personal level.

She looked down at the remaining bits of her muffin.

As terrible as this situation was, if she just let herself get further into sorrow, then she couldn’t be of help to anypony.

On the other end of the room, Applejack and Spike talked as they organised the rest of the pastries on a small table while Pinkie talked with the Town Hall workers and offered them some.

If she’d managed to keep going for this long, it was due to the support of her friends. This disease may have made the ponies of Ponyville forget they were all in this together. That they had friends and families who shouldered the burden with them.

Discord’s words came to her mind. While they certainly had never even imagined something like this could happen, Ponyville had gone through weird and rough situations before and probably would in the future. Whichever way things developed from here, she knew they could pull through. Despite how bad things may seem now, she believed in the ponies of Ponyville.

She could feel the smile still tugging at her lips. In spite of it all, Twilight felt a sense of calmness wash over her. She’d have to thank Pinkie Pie later.

With one last bite, Twilight ate the rest of her muffin. She then turned around, her smile just a bit wider than before, and looked around for anypony who needed help before the meeting started.

The sound of a gavel hitting wood cut through the murmurs of the crowd. All in all, the attendance had surpassed Twilight’s initial prospects. While she had hoped Town Hall would be more full, the truth was seeing as many ponies as there were was already invigorating.

A bit near the front, she saw Rarity and Fluttershy sitting together. The moment Twilight met her eyes, both her friends gave her a small smile, and she found herself reciprocating it.

“Good morning, everypony.” Mayor Mare spoke with a strong yet calm tone. “We greatly appreciate your willingness to attend today’s meeting in spite of the circumstances.”

It appears Mayor Mare and her team must have finished punching up the speech to give it that concerned politician edge. Perhaps in doing so they hoped to show some semblance of normalcy. That they could deal with this just as they had dealt with different issues beforehand. That they had somepony who they could trust.

“As you all know, we are dealing with a situation of emergency. Going forward, we must work together to ensure the wellbeing of every pony in Ponyville. Today, we are going to share with you what we know so far, as well as the preliminary decisions made…”

The mayor kept talking, but Twilight was more focused on gauging the reactions of the audience. Her eyes swept across the hall, looking at the variety of expressions, gauging their reactions.

Was it doubt she saw? Fear? There was an obvious sense of unease amongst everypony, but the fact that they keenly followed Mayor Mare’s words had to mean they wanted to believe things weren’t so bad. That they left their homes and came here showed that, perhaps, they thought it was possible to pull through. To make the best out of a bad situation. That they weren’t alone, and they didn’t want to be.

Perhaps, she thought, there was a glint of hope in everypony's eyes.

As the topic moved on to food supplies, Mayor Mare was quick to assuage any possible worries.

“Last night we talked with Mister Rich. This morning, he confirmed his intent of making the stocks of Barnyard Bargains available to the ponies of Ponyville as the need arises. In the same vein, some of our local farmers have agreed to share their produce with everypony who will take them.”

The murmurs returned, though they were noticeably less anxious this time around. Amidst the crowd, Twilight could see Filthy Rich. He looked calm, but even at that distance, she noticed the resolve in him. There had been pressing matters last night, but she still regretted not taking the time to ask him about his daughter. Perhaps once the meeting was over, she could go look for him.

Not far away from him, a group of farmers were sitting together. Amongst them, Golden Harvest sat next to Big Macintosh. It was reinvigorating, in a way, to see the mare who a mere few days ago had been shaken to her core turn around and offer to help her friends with her head held high.

Was it wrong to feel proud of her? Inspired? If Golden Harvest could have lost so much and still fight back, then she was sure everypony else could.

The sound of a clearing throat caught her attention. Turning to face Mayor Mare, Twilight noticed she seemed to be finishing her part of the speech. “With that, I would like to go ahead and let the esteemed Doctor Horse take it from here.”

A few scattered hoof stomps were heard, probably more out of politeness than anything. As Doctor Horse walked up to the podium, the murmuring slowly faded until only the creaking wood was heard.

“Good morning,” Doctor Horse started, his semblance serious, but not downtrodden, showing no emotion other than his concern for the ponies. “I’m sure you’re all looking for answers, so I’ll do as much as I can. At this time, our knowledge is limited. The Canterlot medical team is working hard on determining the exact cause of this condition, as well as information regarding its spread. We can expect the tests to take anywhere between a few days to a few weeks, and the analysis of those results could take just as long.”

She had to give credit to the doctor for making such a succinct summary of the situation. Everypony’s reaction, however, was mixed at best. Eyes tinted with confusion and worry looked back at the doctor.

Twilight wondered how she should address everypony at the end of the meeting. Last time… That evening she hadn’t known how to bring up the news of the lost cutie marks and the ensuing silence led to everypony panicking and besieging her with questions that only served to make her panic. This time around, she had to be firm. Direct. She didn’t want to cause any further sorrow to anypony, if she could avoid it.

“As a result, the quarantine and monitoring will continue for the foreseeable future, pending on the results of the tests.” Once the doctor stopped, faint murmuring began once more. Hearing this probably wasn’t easy. To know that they would be stuck here and would remain here, with no idea of what may be going on beyond the barrier. “What this means going forward is—”

Before Doctor Horse could continue speaking, amidst the crowd, a hoof shot upwards.

Slowly, all heads turned towards the cream coloured mare near the back of the hall. At the newfound attention, the mare seemed to shiver. Perhaps she was holding back a recoil, fighting the urge to put down her hoof and sit back. Though fearful, Twilight could see the energy in the mare’s eyes.

Doctor Horse looked back at the Mayor, who nodded before her eyes moved towards the mare in the audience.

“Ahem, yes. Is there anything you’d like to say?”

Putting her hoof down, the mare cleared her throat and spoke.

“Yes… I… I know this is a serious matter. I get it. All these measures are necessary, but—”she pointed at Mayor Mare”—all that talk about food distribution and greenhouses just makes it sound like it’s a given we’ll be stuck in here for months!” At this, the whispering started anew. Hushed murmurs that quickly morphed into agitated mutters swept across the hall.

Twilight felt her insides twist themselves. As much as she wanted to step up and assuage their worries, she knew she couldn’t. After all, she shared the same worries. She had very limited knowledge regarding epidemiology, or biology at a microscopic level. She could only make limited guesses regarding what the medical team would have to do, but she knew that even if everything went well, it could still be weeks before there were results, much less a solution…

“Everypony, please. Nobody is happy with these circumstances, but they are necessary,” Doctor Horse said, a pleading edge cracking through his professional tone, but even if he was right, his words did little to calm the crowd.

“Necessary?” the mare shot back, with new vigour in her words. “How so? You seem to have taken all these decisions, but I’ve yet to hear any concrete answer about anything. Honestly, you appear to be just as lost as the rest of us!”

Twilight saw it. The result of all those pent up emotions reaching their boiling point. The uncertainty, the powerlessness, the confusion, the anger… and the fear. If left unchecked, it could easily get out of hoof. This needed to be addressed and deflated now. Doctor Horse seemed overwhelmed. He could explain things over and over, but that would do little to calm a scared crowd. Would Mayor Mare have a better shot with a diplomatic approach? Would they be willing to listen, anyway?

Making an effort, she swallowed the knot in her throat. Perhaps… Considering the current state of everypony in the audience, a more emotional appeal was needed. She knew that if she thought about it for too long, she may get cold hooves. Besides, nopony seemed to be in the mood to wait.

Looking to her side, she made eye contact with Mayor Mare. Though the older mare stared at her for just a second, Twilight could feel a silent reassurance in her gaze as her earlier words came back.

I hope you remember that everypony still holds you in high regard.

Without wasting another moment, Twilight stood up and walked towards the crowd. She quickly lit up her horn and cast a spell on herself.

"Everypony, please listen to me!"

Her magically amplified voice washed over Town Hall, smothering the murmuring. At once, everypony turned to face her. Though the fearfulness seemed to be momentarily dissipated, dozens of ponies still stared at her in agitation. Twilight felt her jaw tremble, but bit down immediately. Would they remember the fiasco of a few days back? It mattered little. Right then, they needed hope. And she was going to do her best in giving it to them. She undid the spell on her voice and talked normally, hoping her voice was steady enough.

“I understand you’re afraid… Truth is… I’m a bit scared, too…” Twilight started. The crowd’s attention was firmly on her, intently listening to her every word. She only had a vague idea of what she should say, but at this point, she had to trust her instincts and hope for the best. “I know how it feels to be afraid. Not knowing if things will be alright. A long time ago, I was like that.”

A vision of her foalhood days flashed across Twilight’s mind. Days spent in isolation, with nopony to trust outside her family. That may have been a decision she made herself, but she knew quite well the consequences it carried.

“I understand that fear, that sense of being lost. But that’s not the pony I am anymore… And it’s all thanks to you.” Twilight took a deep breath as she looked at the crowd. Her eyes never settled on anypony, rather, they swept across all the ponies gathered, trying to make sure they knew she was speaking directly to them. “Ponyville gave me friends. Ponies who cared for me, and for whom I cared…”

The ponies in the audience were silent. Other than an occasional glance to the ponies around them, they were focused entirely on Twilight’s words.

“I’ve been through some rough times ever since I came here…” Twilight noticed her voice was getting lower as the many memories of her times in Ponyville came to her mind. Swallowing, she steeled herself and kept talking. “And if I managed to overcome them, it was because I had friends by my side who supported me. Ponyville isn’t foreign to troubles and catastrophes. We survived parasprite infestations, natural disasters, even Discord and Nightmare Moon’s return! No matter what’s thrown at us, we’ve managed to pull through every time—”Twilight gave a sharp inhale after she finished her sentence”—Even when things look bleak.… Even when we don’t handle the situation in the best way possible… We’ve faced it all and come out stronger than before. And this is no different. Now, I know that this seems worse. There’s still a lot we don’t know, but there are ponies out there who are working hard to ensure our well-being. And just as they are doing their best, I know that we—that all of Ponyville can do this if we work together."

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She said what she had to say. All that she felt she could say. She spared a last glance at the crowd before speaking a few words of reassurance. "You've had my back before, and you can be sure I'll have yours."

Everypony was silent. The gathered audience exchanged doubtful looks, but at least the murmuring had stopped. Doctor Horse—whose grimace and flattened ears showed quite clearly how he felt about having lost control of the situation—simply gave her a nod while mouthing a silent “Thank you”.

Mayor Mare walked up to her and laid a hoof on her shoulder. “You did as well as I hoped, Miss Sparkle.” The smile on the older mare was reassuring. It reminded Twilight of Princess Celestia, in a way. How she’d congratulate Twilight after finishing a task or learning a new spell. It was… nice.

One final glance at the ponies in the crowd showed them to be… Of a mixed reaction. Although some looked just as afraid, the majority appeared less restless than they’d been before. Perhaps, even a bit calmer than they were when she had seen them when they’d entered the main hall. Twilight supposed only time would tell if her words had a positive impact on them.

After that, Twilight stepped back, letting Mayor Mare take the podium. The older mare started speaking, but Twilight wasn't listening anymore.

Once again, she let that early sensation of calm wash over her. She believed every word she had said, she believed in the ponies of Ponyville… And she believed in herself.

They could do this.

"And this is for you," Pinkie Pie said, holding out the little pastry to the pony coming out of Town Hall. Though a bit shocked at the sudden offering, the pony managed a smile before grabbing the treat, muttering a thanks, and going their way.

"Thanks for coming to the meeting~!" Pinkie sang while pulling the next baked good out of her cart just as the next pony came out.

Twilight looked at her friend with mild amusement. After Mayor Mare brought the meeting to a close, ponies slowly started making their way out. Doctor Horse was quick to thank her again, as was everypony else. However, as much as Twilight would’ve wanted to stay and talk about the meeting, she really needed some fresh air. Besides, she wanted to lend a hoof to Pinkie Pie in thanking everypony who came.

Lighting up her horn, Twilight floated an eclair towards the next pony coming through the door. "Here you go, sir!" she said, putting as much cheer into those words as she could. The stallion looked startled, but he managed to accept the pastry and mutter a thanks before walking away.

“Everypony seems to be in higher spirits now,” Spike said as he munched on a cupcake with crushed gems in it.

“Thank Celestia for that…” Twilight said under her breath. “I hope I wasn’t too overbearing at the end there.”

“Oh, you did wonderfully, darling.”

Twilight turned just in time to see the rest of her friends walk out of the building, all sporting smiles of varying intensity, with Rarity’s being by far the brightest. “Truly, I expected no less from you.”

Fluttershy nodded. “To be honest… I started getting nervous halfway through. Everypony was starting to get anxious, and I didn’t know what was going to happen…” The more she spoke, the more Fluttershy got agitated. Her features twisted in a clear show of anxiety before she let out a soft squeak and said no more.

Before Twilight could even think of comforting her friend, an arm wrapped around her neck and she was suddenly assaulted by the intense scent of sugar.

“Good thing we had Twilight to keep things in check, huh?” Pinkie Pie said as she strengthened her hold on the unicorn. “I don’t even want to think what would’ve happened if she hadn’t been here and everypony got more and more upset, and everything they were told just made them angrier and angrier, until they couldn't stand it anymore…” Suddenly, Pinkie Pie squeezed Twilight as she let out a faint whimper. “Thank you, Twilight!”

“Heh… Thanks, girls. Honestly, I was kind of figuring out what to say as I spoke,” Twilight said as she pulled away from Pinkie’s hug. Truth be told, she still felt a bit self-conscious. She hadn’t expected to talk at the meeting, much less having to salvage it at the last second. Be that as it may, she had to admit she felt better now. Certainly a step up from how she’d felt yesterday. “I just hope everypony took it to heart.”

“I’m sure they will, Twi.” Applejack walked up to them with a smile on her face. “Things sure got rattled, but I don’t think nothing bad was going to happen. Everypony was just in need of a bit of reassurance, is all.” Those words were punctuated by a light hoof bump on her shoulder.

Fluttershy stepped forward and crossed necks with her. The warmth of the other mare was comforting, and greatly appreciated. “You’ve worked so hard for everypony's sake. Thank you, Twilight.”

Although a dismissal started to form right in her mind, Twilight’s throat was suddenly dry and no sound would come out. It was curious how she hadn’t paid much attention to how the stress of the past week had been weighing down on her until it started to slowly fade away. “You’re… You’re welcome.”

“I better go, now.” Fluttershy said as she stepped back. Looking straight into Twilight’s eyes, she spoke once again. “Um… Remember to visit again, will you Twilight? As soon as you find out more about Rainbow Dash, or even if you just want to talk. You’re always welcome to drop by, okay?”

Fluttershy’s eyes were sparkly, clearly threatening to let out a tear or two.

“Of course I will. Thank you,” Twilight replied, her voice small, and nobody had anything else to say. They all smiled at her, and even though Twilight wished their small group could be complete, her friend’s company soothed the weariness she felt deep inside.

After a few seconds, Applejack tipped her hat and took a step back. “Whelp, much as I’d love to stay and do some small talk, I gotta run back to the farm. Take care, Twilight, and don’t think twice about dropping by if you need anything.”

“Likewise, dear,” Rarity said. “I’ve got to pick up Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo from Sweet Apple Acres. I’m sure you have to attend to your own matters.”

With a few small nods and smiles, her friends turned around and walked away. For a moment, Twilight just stared at them while Pinkie Pie and Spike continued giving away treats to the last few ponies coming out of Town Hall. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to feel optimistic.

“Twilight.”

She turned around and saw Golden Harvest standing close to her, the mare’s lips upturned in a subtle smile.

“Golden!” Twilight said, closing the distance between them and crossing necks with her. Perhaps the girls had left her in a huggy mood. Stepping back and reciprocating the farmer’s smile, she spoke again. “It’s good to see you here.”

“I’m glad I could make it… Honestly, when I woke up this morning, I almost got cold hooves.” She took a deep breath and steeled her gaze, looking at the buildings around her. “But I had to come. I couldn’t let myself not come. The Apples didn’t give up on me and neither did you. I couldn’t give up on Ponyville.”

The sight of a downtrodden Golden Harvest, shaking on Applejack’s couch, early on a stormy morning came to the forefront of her mind. It was almost surreal to think the mare in front of her had managed to bounce back in such a short amount of time. However, it was just as Golden had said. She didn’t do it alone.

It was quite reassuring. In spite of having lost something so precious to her, she kept moving forward. If she could do it, so could everypony else.

“I’ll go back to my farm now. I’ve imposed on the Apples long enough, and I've got to get things running soon if I want to get my carrots ready for everypony.”

“Thanks for your support, Golden,” Twilight whispered, but it was still loud enough for Golden to hear.

“Oh, let’s not get caught in a cycle of thanking each other. We’re all doing what we can,” Golden Harvest replied with a chuckle. A few moments later, however, she took a deep breath and turned to look at Twilight with a serious expression. “I can tell the coming days are going to be rough, but I trust we can manage. We’ve got some good ponies holding the reins. Good evening, Twilight.”

With that, she smiled and turned around.

Twilight looked at Golden Harvest walking away with her head held high. As the farmer walked, the morning sunlight made her coat shine a bit brighter than it had the last few days.

“It all went better than expected, huh?”

She turned around to see Spike smiling at her.

“I suppose it did,” Twilight replied and, despite herself, a chuckle escaped her.

“What’s so funny, Twi? Tell me! Tell me!” Pinkie Pie said, pulling her cart devoid of pastries behind her.

“Oh, it’s just that… It’s only been a few days since this whole thing started, but I feel my mind’s been flipping from optimism to pessimism so often, I think I’m going to give myself whiplash!” Pinkie gave a gigglesnort at that. “I feel… I feel I’ve done what I can. I have to believe everypony will do their part, and hope for the best.”

Twilight felt Pinkie Pie giving her a playful punch on her shoulder. "We'll be alright. If anything, we're going to have a lot of free time. I'm sure you'll be glad to go back to the library and catch up on your reading."

"Heh… I suppose that's true. I put a lot of things on hold over the past few days," Twilight said. The thought of an overdue letter to Princess Celestia circling her mind.

Pinkie smiled. "No time like the present, right? And speaking of which, I should get the cart back to Sugar Cube Corner and tell the Cakes about the meeting. Catch you later, guys!"

With a final wave, Pinkie Pie, too, walked away, leaving only Twilight and Spike standing outside of Town Hall. There was barely anypony else left. As the last few stragglers hurriedly made their way home, Twilight looked around the block. The streets were silent and empty, just as they had been the previous day. However, the dour atmosphere seemed to have dissipated, if only a little bit.

Finally, her eyes settled on something she’d never paid much mind before.

“I suppose we should get going,” Spike said. “The library is still a bit of a mess, but I’ll get it tidied up in no time, Twi. We can even cook lunch together. What would you like to…”

Spike kept talking, but she stopped listening at some point.

“Twilight?”

She blinked, broken from her trance. “Huh? Oh… Sorry, Spike. I was just… I never really paid attention to this statue.”

The fountain was just a little out of the way from Town Hall. The light purple stone shaped like a smiling mare with her front hooves in the air. She’d never spared it a second thought, but she vaguely remembered somepony mentioning it was made to honour a mare who lived in Ponyville a long time ago. Whoever it was, she must’ve been important for the town to want to remember her.

“She looks quite happy,” Spike said.

“She sure does,” Twilight replied as she looked at the smooth surface of her flank.

“Hey, maybe there’s something about it in the Library. Want to go check it?”

Twilight’s gaze lingered on the statue for a moment longer, a flurry of thoughts crossing her mind, before she turned around and looked at Spike.

“Sure,” she said, smiling. And as they walked back home, she found it to be genuine.

13

The sound of rustling sheets caught Twilight’s ears. The final pull needed to bring her into the waking world. She blinked a few times, before the fog of sleep dissipated. She stayed there, lying under the blankets, lost in the post-sleep haze for a while. She sat up and looked down at the little dragon stirring in the basket next to her bed.

“Ugh…” came his tired groan. Spike turned away from the beams of light coming through the curtain’s edges, clenching the blanket over him as if trying to prevent his fleeting sleep from escaping him.

A smile tugged at Twilight’s lips for a brief moment, before a yawn broke out. “Good morning, Spike.”

Speaking between sleepiness and awareness, Spike replied with a mumbled greet as he stopped stirring, seemingly resigned to having his rest come to an end.

Breathing deeply, Twilight thought. Just a few days ago, they’d woken up just like this, oblivious to what had been happening in town. It was an odd feeling. Though this was far from the first time it felt her life had been thrown into a hurricane. It was, however, the first time so many ponies were affected. It was still hard to wrap her mind around the scale of it. How long had this been happening right under her nose, escalating until it escaped their control.

Control…

What things could she still control?

Doing an obvious effort, Spike stretched and stood up. Letting out a long yawn as he scratched his chin. "What do you want for breakfast, Twi?" he half said, half sighed.

Twilight stayed silent for a moment as she looked out the window. Rays of light with the faintest pink tint bathed Ponyville, where soon everypony would wake up to face another day. While things were far from usual, they had to keep moving forward. They still had control over their lives.

Over their destinies.

“Twi?” Spike asked her again.

She turned to face him and, flashing him a smile that he was quick to reciprocate, she replied, “Let’s go out.”

In spite of the protective barrier, the sun still managed to cast its warm glow over the fields on the outskirts of Ponyville. Once more, the lack of breeze made the stillness of the early morning seem unwelcoming, but Twilight tried to not let it get to her. Thankfully, Spike helped fight the silence.

“You know what we haven’t had in a while? Pancakes. Applejack gave us some of her harvest yesterday. If we get milk, we can make pancakes with apple slices and caramel on top.”

Spike kept talking about yet another option for breakfast, but Twilight let his voice be the background noise of their stroll.

“I think I’d like some oats,” Twilight said. “Something simple. Perhaps a shake of cinnamon or some honey.”

“Can do!” Spike replied. A happy edge to his voice. After a while, he looked around and—probably noticing they weren’t going in direction to the market—spoke again. “So… we’re going to the edge of the barrier?”

Twilight let out an agreeing hum. “I just want to know if there’s been an update on the situation on the other side.”

Spike remained silent. Perhaps he was worried she’d start feeling down once more. Not that she could blame him. She hadn’t been a paragon of optimism these past two days. However, as the barrier got closer and the guards came into view, she felt a renewed sense of determination fill her steps.

As they came closer, one of the guards noticed her and—suppressing a quick startle—approached her.

“Miss Sparkle?”

As she reached the magical barrier, Twilight recognised him, once more, as the guard who had accompanied Sergeant Bold Spear at Town Hall.

“Private Radiant.” She acknowledged him with a nod “Where’s Sergeant Bold Spear?”

Dancing pupils were the only sign of Radiant Cut thinking. “At sunrise, a detachment of guards led by the Sergeant and a medical team went into the Everfree to retrieve some items your zebra friend mentioned. I don't know all the details, but they left in a hurry, so I imagine it's important. They should be back within the next few hours.”

Twilight sighed as she felt a knot undo itself deep in her chest. It may have taken longer than she would’ve wished, but she managed to get some help for her friend. And by the sound of it, she was collaborating with the research efforts in some way.

“As for Miss Dash,” he continued, “there’s nothing to report. As far as I know, they’re waiting on the results of those tests before they make any decision.”

Probably for the best, but it circled back to the same thing: waiting. It seems that’s all they could do for the foreseeable future.

“It will take some time. Even more so considering the medical team is spread thin at the moment.”

That caught Twilight off guard. Her brows furrowed in concern, she leaned forward and addressed the young stallion. “What do you mean?”

Radiant’s eyes widened. Perhaps he had said more than he intended. Or more than he was allowed.

“Ah… You see…”

“I thought there were doctors coming from Canterlot and Manehattan to work on this,” Spike whispered into Twilight’s ear, voicing her thoughts.

“It’s true,” Radiant Cut said, apparently having resolved himself to spill the details. “However, we are working under very strict orders. We’ve been told the team is relatively small because it’s composed of ponies who are leaders on their field. When the news about the breach arrived, they couldn’t make another team in time. The medical team here was split and one part went to meet the squad that left from Canterlot. That’s as much as I know.”

Right. It had been a little over twelve hours since they’d found out Crafty Crate was missing. Iit was unlikely they had managed to make any real progress on that front, but at least they took immediate action. There was still hope things would work out for the best. Maybe Rainbow really had avoided the infection. Maybe Crafty Crate was healthy. Maybe Zecora could hold answers for the medical team. Maybe this wouldn’t last for much longer.

The silence prolonged, and Twilight realised she hadn’t replied to the guard. Awfully rude of her part. A nod and a small smile. “Thanks for the information,” she said.

“Thanks for helping us keep the order on your side of the barrier,” he replied.

“You give me too much credit. It’s the spirit of the ponies of Ponyville that has kept them going forward. All I’ve done is… remind them of that.”

Radiant tilted his head, as if the weight of his thoughts pulled it to a side. “Perhaps. But I know fear can be powerful, and can lead ponies to do things they wouldn’t normally do. I’m just glad everything has been calm so far.”

Images of an alternate reality where Ponyville descended into a chaos that Discord may have found enjoyable flittered to the forefront of her mind before she quickly chased them away. There was that word the guard used.

Fear.

That had certainly been a driving force these past few days. Twilight thought… She wondered… If that was true of them, could the same apply to those on the other side? One of the guards had lost his cutie mark just the day prior. Could fear make its way through the ranks of the guards?

“Private,” Twilight spoke before she could think better of it, ”are you… Are you afraid? Of losing your mark, I mean.” Her own voice sounded soft to her ears. Meek, even. Perhaps the remnants of her own fear were seeping into her words.

Silence followed her question. It had been, after all, quite a heavy thing to ask somepony she hardly knew. The guard, however, barely gave any sign of being affected by the question.

“Miss Sparkle. Do you know what a radiant cut is?”

Twilight blinked, slightly taken aback. “Ah… I can’t say I do.”

Radiant Cut turned his head, facing the mountain in the distance where Canterlot lay. “Emerald, Oval, Pear, and Heart. Those are the names of my mom and my siblings.” He looked back at her, the corners of his lips upturned into the faintest of smiles. “They’re all the names of the finishing cuts given to gems.”

“Hey, he’s right,” Spike said. “The radiant cut is the one Rarity uses the most on the dresses she makes.”

“I come from a family of jewellers,” he continued. “Fourth generation. Oval and Pear carry the business. Heart went into showbiz. Does the gem arrangements for a theatre troupe back in Canterlot.”

Only the distant sound of grown grass rustled by the wind could be heard in the wake of his words.

“How did you become a guard?”

The traces of a smile turned into a full one. Pinkie Pie would be proud. “One Summer Sun Celebration I saw the guards parading after Princess Celestia raised the sun. I knew then that I wanted to be a guard and help keep Equestria safe. I always had a good eye for detail and could use a wide variety of tools, so I was accepted.”

“Quite the curious case,” Twilight said.

“Not as uncommon as you may think,” Radiant replied with a shrug. “I know that’s what you really asked. None of us want to… lose our mark, but we were told what to expect of this mission.”

A question remained. “Private… Uh… Radiant. This may seem a bit unprofessional.”

“Don’t worry. This is strictly off the record.”

She giggled. “I suppose that’s true. I wanted to know how the other guards were taking what happened to your colleague yesterday.”

With a sharp inhale, the smile was gone. It remained a sore spot, it seemed. Though from what the Private had said, it had more to do with the pride of the guard than any individual fear.

There was clear solemnity in his features before he spoke. A clear image of a well trained guard. “It was a matter of time, but that didn’t make it any easier. I guess we hoped this would resolve itself before it got to that point.”

You were not the only ones, she thought.

“We joined the guard knowing that we’re asked to lay our lives for Equestria and its citizens. Should it come to that… Well, losing our marks is a small price to pay. Besides, Swift Strike may be a goofball, but he’s a good guard. It won’t keep him down for long, and neither will it keep the rest of us down.”

And with that, Twilight knew there wasn’t anything to add. It was quite reassuring to know the rumours about the worthiness of the ponies who lost their marks hadn’t emerged amongst the guards.

Nodding, she smiled at the guard across the barrier. “Thanks for your time, Radiant. I’m sure you’ve got things to do. Don’t let me distract you any longer.”

“Likewise, Twilight,” he said and, reciprocating her nod, turned around and walked back to the camp.

Twilight stood there for a while, watching him get smaller and smaller until he stepped inside the tent. And yet, she remained. A million different thoughts passing through her mind, yet never focusing on anything in particular.

“Hey, Spike?” she asked as she started walking.

“Yeah?”

A smile. “Did you decide what you want for breakfast?”

There was a reticence in the air of the market that morning. Funny word. Apple Bloom hadn’t known that one until they’d played Scrabble last night. She wouldn’t have paid it any mind, but the girls got into an argument about whether or not it was a real word, and it lasted until they went looking in the dictionary.

Last evening, Applejack had told her about the town meeting. She supposed that explained why ponies at least seemed to be trying today. There were more vendors out than there had been the last few days, even if they looked very nervous to be there. They all had to make a living, she supposed. There were more regulars doing their shopping, as well.

Rather than keeping to small groups like they had before, they were walking around the market. They seemed to be less nervous, too. If only a little. They all lingered a few strides away from the stalls, as if daring each other to be the first to approach. The groups of ponies wandered slowly from one side of the market to another, like a slow tide.

Just as her eyes wandered around the market, Apple Bloom’s ears wandered as well.

Golden Harvest was looking past the crowd. Never focusing on any one pony. She kept her head high, patiently waiting for anypony to come closer and ask for her carrots. Those nearby never came too close to her market stall, but she stood undeterred. After a few minutes passed, she noticed movement coming from the side. Turning slightly, she smiled when she saw an older stallion walk out of the thin crowd and make his way to her.

“Good morning, Mister Rich.”

The older stallion smiled and nodded as he reached the table overflowing with stacked carrots. “A fine morning, Miss Harvest.”

All around them, the air was filled with held back murmurs; but for those two ponies, they mattered little.

With a professional smile, Golden Harvest greeted her first potential customer of the day. “How can I help you today?”

“I’m a bit worried about my daughter’s diet.” His eyes scanned the table. “I’m trying to make her eat better, so we will be eating a salad at home. I wanted to procure some fresh carrots.”

A tilt of the head before she waved an arm over the small heaps of tied carrots resting on the mantelpiece. “Well, you’ll be glad to know I’m fully stocked with freshly harvested carrots. I’m sure your daughter will love them.”

“I have no doubt that’ll be the case. You’ve yet to disappoint, Miss Harvest.”

Their conversation was nothing more than an exchange of banal formalities. Trite, some could say. Normal, the two of them would. The back and forth consisted of nothing but pleasantries that one should expect of a seller and a buyer.

A throwback to a past as recent as last week, but already distant in their minds.

“Um… Sorry.”

The spell was broken by an approaching mare. She slowed down as she got closer, but still stopped a full stride away from them.

Undeterred, Golden Harvest shot a smile her way. “Hello, dear. How can I help you?”

The other mare stopped. Her raised hoof, not yet touching the ground, a show of reluctance. One that was quickly overcome as she swallowed and stepped forward.

“I’d like some carrots, please…”

For a moment, the professional smile faltered. Immediately afterwards, however, a genuine one took its place.

“I still stand by what I said, you know?”

Matilda rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. You’ve said as much yesterday and the day before, Doodle.”

“I admit this is worrisome,” he said, holding up a hoof. “And I do feel sorry for the ponies who lost their cutie marks and all. But I still think it makes no sense to keep us locked in with them.”

“They just don’t want anyone getting sick, that’s all. This will soon be over and we’ll only remember it like that weird thing we had to stand for a few days.”

“And until that happens, I won’t be happy about our situation,” Cranky grumbled.

Her eyes were getting quite the workout with all the rolling they were making today. “Hmmm… You say that, but you seemed quite happy this morning when we went to visit Pinkie Pie.”

Cranky’s annoyed noises turned into a pensive humming as they walked through the scattered vendor stands. “I just wanted to check on the girl. Better do it myself than wait for her to drop on us.”

“And I appreciated it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she jumped from behind a cart.

Both Matilda and Cranky cried out in surprise, reeling back from the newly arrived.

“P-pinkie! Don’t do that!” Matilda said, right after catching her breath.

"Shoot, I thought I'd gotten the timing right…" Pinkie said as she scratched her chin. Before the couple could reply, she brightened up again and said, "Well, I've got to go. Take care, Cranky and Matilda!"

Pinkie picked up Cranky's fallen toupée, dusted it, and set it on top of his shiny bald head. With a final wave, she walked away while singing a happy song.

Silence stretched for a few seconds before Cranky sighed. "We're taking a vacation as soon as that dome is up."

Green Jewel stood at the edge of the market, looking at the different ponies walking around. She wore a different dress today. One more resistant to wear and tear. The reason eluded even herself. After what had happened at Town Hall that evening, everypony knew she’d lost her mark. Everypony knew she’d tried to hide it. How would others react to her showing up as if nothing had happened?

Although nopony had noticed her yet, she still could feel eyes on her. She knew she was being paranoid. She knew she had to get over herself. Not only would staying cooped up in her home do her no good, she’d soon run out of food if she didn’t resupply her pantry.

Her eyes scanned the nearest stalls, hoping to find one that had few ponies around it. However, it seemed the moment she found one, a pony or two would step forward. She held back a defeated sigh, just as she suppressed anything that would draw attention towards her. She should feel happy for them. They were trying to go back to some level of normalcy, back to how things used to be.

Could she do the same?

Yet her hooves refused to move, rooted to the grass as the crowd of ponies slowly drifted back and forth. No matter how much she wanted it, she couldn’t bring herself to go and be with everypony else, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave either. For as much as she felt pulled apart in those directions, she still didn’t move. The weight of her empty saddlebags kept her in place.

She shouldn’t have gone out. She should’ve never left her home. She should go back and find a way to make her remaining groceries last. Yes. She’d do that. If her friends were still willing to talk to her, maybe she could ask them to buy something for her.

Resigned, she closed her eyes and turned around. As luck would have it, just as she started to walk, she ran right into somepony.

“Ah!”

With a yelp, Green Jewel stumbled and fell backwards.

“Dang, sorry Miss,” the other pony said.

As she saw him extend a hoof towards her, she couldn’t fight back the flinch.

“Are you alright?” He said, yet didn’t withdraw his hoof. “Were you hurt?”

The only hurt she felt was hearing the concern in his voice. She didn’t deserve it, not after how she’d behaved.

“I…” She spoke, her own voice sounding alien to her ears. “I’m fine. I just… I can’t… I can’t…”

Her mumbled words did not receive a reply. Whether in fear or shame, she averted her gaze. After a few seconds of silence, the stallion shuffled in place and, with clear hesitation in his voice, asked her, “Do you need help?”

She met his offer with stupor rather than with words.

Undeterred, he continued, “It’s just that.. Well, your saddlebags look empty and you’ve been standing there for a while.”

For a moment, it felt as if the crowds weren’t looking at her anymore. The building dread and paranoia which had besieged her all week seemed to be on hold for that brief moment. That instant of clarity told her that, if she declined, she likely wouldn’t get another chance to break the cycle of self-pity in which her life was immersed.

“I would like that… I would like that very much,” she said. Barely a whisper, but with those words she could feel a spark ignite inside of her. Optimism? Hope? The last few days had made it hard to remember how that felt.

Determination filled the void left by the loss of her cutie mark. Her lips trembled as they went through the neglected motions of a smile as she took the stallion's offered hoof.

"Thank you. My name is Green Jewel."

The stallion smiled. "I'm Thunderlane."

"That was less depressing than last time…"

"Did you say something, Apple Bloom?"

The filly shook her head. "Nah, just thinkin' out loud, sis."

"Well, don't you let your hooves wander alongside your mind, y'hear?" Applejack replied as she stacked a few crates next to each other. "It's just the two of us today, so let's keep our heads in the game."

"Don't worry, sis. I'm right here."

Apple Bloom found it easy to get lost in the rhythm of the day. Not having to deal with bits made things easier for sure, but the general mood being brighter, if not happier, made her feel better in turn. Her mind went back to the night she’d found Miss Harvest drinking in the kitchen, already feeling as if it had happened a lifetime ago. Despite at the time coming off as desperate words of somepony who didn’t know any better… Things really were getting better.

“Good morning, Applejack! Good morning, Apple Bloom.”

She turned around to see Miss Twilight and Spike walking towards them, smiling.

“Howdy, Twilight! How are you doing?” Applejack asked.

The unicorn responded with a shrug. “We’re doing our best. We’re just going around the market and seeing what we can get to eat.”

“Would you like some apples?” Apple Bloom was quick to interject. Just because they weren’t really selling them didn’t mean she would slack off.

Following her lead, her sister tapped the side of a crate full of red apples. “We do have plenty to share.”

Twilight giggled. “Well, if you’re willing to part with some.”

Not a second had passed before Apple Bloom pulled out a paper bag and started filling it with apples and eagerness, much to the amusement of the older mares.

“Hey, Applejack. I was thinking…”

“That’s always a good sign,” the farmer replied, to which Spike let out a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah… Say, did you get rid of that rock in your new field?”

A moment of silence passed before Applejack replied. “Uh… Big Mac managed to get it out of the way, but it’s still there. Why do you ask?”

“Great! Do you mind if I take it?”

“What?”

“Here’s your apples!” Apple Bloom said, enthusiastically pushing the bag towards her. Smiling, Spike picked it up.

“We’re probably going to spend a while like this,” Twilight said, tilting her head towards the empty road, where they could get a clear view of the magical quarantine barrier. “I figured I should get something to occupy my time.”

“Uh, um… Sure. You can drop by whenever. Granny Smith can tell you where it is.”

“That’s great. I won't take more of your time. Have a good day!”

With a... somewhat odd smile, Twilight and Spike waved at them and walked away, down the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres.

“I swear, that girl can give Pinkie Pie a run for her money, sometimes,” Applejack mumbled, although Apple Bloom could sense the amusement hidden under her confused expression.

Honestly, Apple Bloom was just glad they were finally gonna get that rock out of the farm. That expansion of the orchard had been planned for quite a while, and she wanted to see her siblings working on it. Maybe she could help them somehow. Learn more about how farming worked.

Looking down, she saw light reflect on the shiny surface of the apples, and couldn’t help but smile.

A bright flash of magenta magic broke the stillness of the afternoon, and the loud thud of a rock of enormous proportions landing against the soft grass and soil shattered it.

With another flash of magic, Twilight summoned two rakes, one big for her, and a smaller one for Spike. Satisfied, she walked around the rock. It was certainly big. A good head taller than her, and at least twice as wide as her from tail to nose. A few calculations gave her an idea of the volume of the rock, and an additional mental diagram let her come up with a plan. She smiled the smile that only confidence can inspire, and she turned to face Spike.

“Let’s go for a straight line, and do what feels natural.” Just after she said this, her horn lit up, and the rock behind her cracked and burst into thousands of little even pieces.

“I still can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“Cheer up, Spike. It won’t take too long.”

The young dragon grumbled, but didn’t reply. Silently, they both started shaping the gravel into a linear path going from the main road to the entrance of Golden Oaks. Twilight cleared the ground with her magic, sinking and flattening the soil as much as possible, while Spike pushed the small rocks into place. The work was monotonous, mechanical, but rewarding in a way. She didn’t even work up a sweat as they advanced, and barely twenty minutes had passed before they had gotten the rough shape of the path done.

“I imagine you want the neighbours to see the gravel path and want one for themselves,” Spike said as he walked up to her, pushing a few errant pebbles back into place.

“We’ve got to lead by example. Now everypony who comes to the library can see for themselves how better gravel is over regular soil,” Twilight said, resting her chin on her rake while observing their work. “Hm… I think I should’ve saved a few bigger stones for the sides.”

“We can ask AJ if she has more rocks she wants out of her farm. But that’s future Twilight’s problem,” Spike said, leaving the rake resting against the tree. “Now. I don’t know about you, but present Spike has worked up an appetite.”

“Yeah, yeah, smart guy.” Twilight sighed. “I suppose this is a good start. Let’s go get breakfast.”

Smiling, Spike opened the door to the Library and walked in. “Let me take care of it. You can just take it easy for the morning.”

Twilight mirrored his smile. “Thank you. I’ll make sure you get to rest in the afternoon.”

Spike replied with a wave as he walked into the kitchen, vowing to return with breakfast. She watched him go, and as she turned away, her eyes lingered on the stairs going up to her study. She stood in the middle of the reading room, looking at the stairs in silence.

There was little else to be done. It was all now on the hooves of the medical team. She knew that.

And yet… She just couldn’t shake that feeling of missing something. There had to be something that went unnoticed. Something that helped shed some light on the issue. She had no doubt the medical team would be capable of figuring it out, but still…

The room’s tentative silence was marred by her long, drawn out sigh. Her mind was already set. Spike would take a while with the breakfast. No reason not to go over her notes one last time. Around her, the world seemed to vanish as Twilight dwelled into her mind, going over the events of the last week again.

It could’ve originated from the Everfree. Zecora may have been the first, if not one of the first to be infected. She’d lost her cutie mark the day before the storm, so she must’ve been infected well before that. It would help to know the incubation period and if something triggered the effects. The medical team would figure it out eventually. For the time being, she only knew Zecora lost her mark before Golden Harvest.

Now, the farmer had lost hers the day of the storm. If her suspicions regarding the uncharacteristically empty market that day were correct, then several ponies had lost theirs around that time, as well. That hinted to a common infection event. That food fair the week before? Maybe. If so, she hoped Crafty Crate wasn’t infected and the quarantine would hold. Still, that was the most likely scenario.

She thought back to the day after the storm. Doctor Horse confirmed a few ponies had gone to the hospital that day to report a missing cutie mark. On top of that, the incident at the schoolhouse meant that filly lost her cutie mark that day or the night before. How many other fillies and colts had lost theirs that day? How many had lost theirs since then?

Images of several ponies grieving the loss of their marks flashed across her mind, but she was quick to send them away. Not now. She needed to focus. What was she missing?

Golden Harvest hadn’t shown any kind of magical interference, which confirmed this wasn’t a spell or hex. Not that she knew any spell that could affect a cutie mark, nor anypony capable of casting such a spell.

The image of Golden Harvest laying on Applejack’s couch, her blank flank staring right at her, was burned into her mind.

“Wait…” Twilight whispered. The words on her list seemed to blur as the cogs in her mind twisted and turned, as if trying to bring something out. But what? What was that nagging feeling? What was she missing?

She thought of Golden Harvest. She’d seen her two nights ago at the meeting with the Mayor already in better spirits, and once more yesterday at the Town Hall meeting.

Twilight looked at Golden Harvest walking away with her head held high. As the farmer walked, the morning sunlight made her coat shine a bit brighter than it had the last few days.

Her eyes shot wide open.

“No… Hold on, that can't be right…”

That couldn’t be right. It had to have been the morning light. Maybe the way it filtered through the magical barrier. But still, it made no sense… and yet she had noticed that. Her coat’s colour… it did seem to shine a bit more intensely. But that made no—

She let out a loud gasp as her hooves shot to cover her mouth.

Zecora.

The day after the storm, she’d gone to see her. And the zebra mare had shown her how she’d lost her cutie mark as well…

Twilight scanned the mare, eyeing the striped, deep grey pattern that repeated over her coat... And down her flank.

No. She couldn’t have. There was no way Twilight had really missed something so obvious. Something that had been staring right back at her. But she could check. She had to. She needed to be sure.

Without missing a beat, Twilight scrambled to her hooves and ran back downstairs, nearly tripping on the steps.

“Twilight?” Spike’s voice came from the kitchen, but she ignored him as she ran towards a small shelf.

As she started pulling books and throwing them away, the little dragon came running to her side. He was talking, and sounded quite worried, but Twilight didn’t pay him any mind, focused entirely on her search. Where was it?

“Spike. The photo album.”

“What?”

Twilight turned around. Her expression must’ve been more frantic than she imagined, judging by how Spike flinched when he saw her. “The photo album! The new one!” She yelled, wildly gesticulating.

“The bookcase next to the basement, top shelf!”

Celestia bless that little dragon. She’d have to thank him properly later for keeping his head cool. Not now, though. Now, Twilight looked at the bookcase and used her magic to bring all the books towards her, floating them one by one closer to her until she found the album.

All other books fell to the floor, but she didn’t care. She just flipped the pages, praying she hadn’t been so stupid as to miss such an obvious clue.

The striped, deep grey pattern that repeated over her coat... And down her flank.

She found it. A picture she had taken after the Poison Joke incident. The girls were laughing around the Ponyville Spa’s large bathtub with Zecora and Apple Bloom next to them. Her eyes zeroed in on the zebra mare laughing with them.

Over her coat... And down her flank.

And down her flank.

The picture showed a happy Zecora, the dark grey stripes repeating over her barrel and legs.

And down her flank.

But not over the area where her cutie mark was.

When Twilight spoke again, it was in a fragile voice that threatened to break at the lightest push. “I’m such an idiot,” she said, her voice echoing in the library room.

14

“Are you sure about this, Bloom?”

Scootaloo’s words rattled in her mind, just as they’d been doing every time her friend had asked her that.

“Nope,” Apple Bloom answered. “Not more than I’ve been the last few times you asked.” She then shrugged to emphasise her point.

Though she couldn’t see it, she could feel the stern look the pegasus was shooting her way.

“I’m just saying. With school being cancelled, I can think of a few ways to spend our evening that would be more enjoyable.”

“We still have a few school assignments left, you know?” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “We don’t know when we’ll have to go back, but Miss Cheerilee will likely want those done.”

“Don’t remind me…” Scootaloo replied, her voice devolving into indistinct grumbling, laced with equal parts annoyance and regret.

“I’m just saying,” Sweetie Belle said back, mimicking Scootaloo’s earlier tone.

“Ha ha ha.” Scootaloo’s voice was dry and humourless. “I suppose I could take the time to fix my model. Maybe my dad can use the blowtorch.”

The voices of her bickering friends served as a backdrop to her thoughts. She’d decided to do this on a whim. In all honesty, she wasn’t even convinced if it was a good idea… And as the shape of the Rich Manor came into view, she doubted if this would even have a positive outcome.

She feared Mister Rich would send her away once he opened the door… or maybe hoped he would. She wasn’t sure of that, either.

Truly, the only thing of which she was sure was that Scootaloo was right. She probably had dozens of different things she could do. Nevertheless, the first thing that popped into her mind had been Diamond Tiara. It wouldn’t be a lie that, on any regular day, she’d rather work on overdue school assignments than deal with the bully.

But this was far from a regular day. And these were far from regular circumstances. As a blank flank, the prospective loss of a cutie mark was more of an uncertainty. A fearful “what if?” that loomed on the horizon. One that, as unpleasant as it was, could not compare to having lost a cutie mark you already had.

Granted, Diamond had Silver Spoon, much like Apple Bloom had the crusaders. Knowing those two, they’d probably spent every waking hour together.

Besides… Diamond had her dad. Apple Bloom didn’t know much about Diamond’s mom, but she knew Mister Rich would do anything for his daughter. He’d make sure she was comforted and reassured after what she had gone through.

Apple Bloom let out a long exhale. She shook her head, as to free herself from the thoughts that would only lead her to grim places.

It wasn’t long before the voices of her friends slowly faded into silence, and the trio found themselves standing before the ornate wooden door of the Rich Manor.

All of a sudden, Apple Bloom felt her hooves too heavy to lift. What had seemed like a good idea at the moment sure felt like she was just intruding on personal matters. However, the heart of the matter still was that she wanted to come see Diamond Tiara.

Just as those thoughts kept circling in her mind, Scootaloo stepped forward and rang the doorbell.

The friends exchanged a look that covered the entire gamut of shock.

“Well,” Scootaloo started, “might as well get it over with, right?”

After a few seconds of silence, a chuckle escaped Apple Bloom. “I guess you’re right.”

“Somepony’s coming!” Sweetie Belle alerted both of them, and the trio soon sat with upright backs, one next to the other while putting on their best non-threatening smile.

The sound of distant hoofsteps grew closer and closer. Apple Bloom hoped their efforts to look innocent weren’t making them look ridiculous, instead.

With smooth and silent motions, the large door swung open, and a stoney faced grey pony stared back at them.

“How may I help you?”

Blanking for a moment, Apple Bloom took a deep, calming breath. Hoping her unease wouldn’t show in her voice, she spoke. “G-good mornin’. We’re Diamond Tiara’s classmates, and we wondered if I… I mean, if we could speak with her.”

Without missing a beat, the old stallion spoke once more. “Apologies, young lady. Miss Tiara has made it quite clear she is not to be disturbed by anypony sans young Miss Silver Spoon.”

“Oh…”

“Well, that’s a shame!” Scootaloo jumped in, leaning over Apple Bloom. “Wouldn’t want to go against the young lady’s wishes, would we? Guess we’ll have to get out of your mane and leave. Sorry to bother you!”

“Ugh… Scootaloo, get off my mane!” Apple Bloom said as she pushed the pegasus away.

“Hey, you heard the stallion. Diamond doesn't want us here, so let’s skedaddle.”

“Do you even know what that word means?”

“Uh… Girls?” Sweetie said, poking at their sides.

The stern butler shot an unamused glare at them. Sensing that it would be foalish to test his patience, Apple Bloom cleared her throat and put on her best apologetic smile. “Just… Could you let her know we came to see her?”

“I’ll see that the message is—'' His words were cut short as another muffled set of hoofsteps were heard coming from inside the house.

“White Glove, what’s taking so long?”

The butler stepped aside to let Mister Rich who was at the door. “There are visitors wishing to see young Miss Diamond Tiara.”

Mister Rich looked… tired. The same tiredness Apple Bloom had gotten used to seeing on adults over the past few days.

“Apple Bloom?” he asked, confusion clear in his tone. “What are you doing here?”

“Uhm. Hello, Mister Rich. We came to… Uh… To see Diamond Tiara.”

The stallion regarded them with a puzzled look, as if the mere thought of somepony wanting to have anything to do with his daughter was an unprecedented event. Apple Bloom supposed that, if even just a fraction of the interactions Diamond had with the crusaders had reached Mister Rich’s ears, he’d be justified in his confusion.

“May I ask why?”

That was the real question, wasn’t it?

The knot that had been forming in her throat tightened so hard, no words came out. At the stallion’s arched eyebrow, Apple Bloom forced herself to swallow and speak the first words tgat came to her mind.

“We know she lost her cutie mark, and we… I… It’s just… I wanted to know how she was holding up.” She tried to keep it simple and as honest as possible.

Mister Rich’s demeanour didn’t change. His eyes kept scanning the trio. Perhaps looking for signs of deception or hidden motives. The seconds stretched into a minute, with the fillies growing restless as time passed.

“I wanted to know if she is alright,” Apple Bloom said with finality. If they were turned away, she could at least take solace in knowing she tried.

Just when she thought they’d lapse into silence once more, Mister Rich blew air out of his nose and nodded. “I see… Very well. You can come in.”

Apple Bloom blinked. Part of her couldn’t believe Diamond’s dad had agreed.

“Uh… Alright, then,” Sweetie Belle said, breaking the shock induced stupor that had fallen over Apple Bloom. “Let’s go!”

“White Glove, please escort these fillies to the backyard.” Mister Rich stepped aside, making room for the Crusaders to pass.

Apple Bloom looked at her friends before leading the way inside. As she passed the older stallion, she let out a small, but firm, “Thank you.”

“Hmmm… If all goes well, you’ll have my thanks, instead.” He looked… Apple Bloom wasn’t sure what would’ve been the right way of describing it. There was sadness in his eyes, yes… But there was also a hint of something brighter, something that seemed to desperately want to be positive. Before much else could be said, Mister Rich turned around and walked deeper into his home.

“Ahem,” the butler said, and the fillies all turned to face him. “If the young misses are ready, allow me to show you the way.”

With that, the butler started walking, and the trio followed him closely. A part of Apple Bloom wanted to take in the fanciness of the Rich Manor, but her mind kept running back to Diamond Tiara. The filly who was the meanest, most arrogant, and most self-absorbed bully of Ponyville Elementary School. The filly who had always teased her about her blank flanks.

Honestly, there was a voice in the very back of her mind that wanted to throw that to her face. To make note of the retribution the world had sent her way. She wouldn’t do that, though. Not after seeing what had happened to Golden Harvest, to Miss Cheerilee, and to so many others… She felt nothing but sadness for what Diamond was going through.

“Young Miss Tiara spends her afternoons in the garden,” the butler said, “by all means, do try to be kind to her. She has not been herself ever since this whole incident has started.”

Apple Bloom could almost feel Scootaloo coming up with a snarky comeback, but a quick look at the filly showed that there was no sign of ill-intent on her face. If anything, she looked deep in thought.

White Glove’s steps slowed down as they reached a glass door that led to an open backyard full of greenery, and a small pink shape in the middle of it.

This was it, she thought. Time to see if she could do… whatever it is her gut made her come here to do.

The butler pushed the door open. The sound must’ve caught Diamond’s attention, judging by the twitch of her ear. Clearing his throat, the stallion announced the trio’s arrival. “Young Miss Tiara, you have visitors.”

“You’re early, Silver,” Diamond said, not bothering to stand up. “I thought you said—” The words were abruptly cut off as she looked over her shoulder and saw the ponies she probably least expected to see.

Shock was clear in her face. During the ensuing silence, the butler gave a courteous nod and walked away. Apple Bloom’s eyes never left Diamond Tiara, however.

The shock didn’t last for long. Soon, Diamond’s features turned into an angry scowl. Jumping to her hooves, she directed an all too familiar glare towards the girls. “What are you doing here?”

“We came to see you, Diamond,” Apple Bloom said.

Diamond Tiara replied with an eye roll. “Yeah, fat chance. I don’t know what lies you told White Glove, but just you wait until I tell my daddy you’re here. He’ll make sure to have you kicked out!”

“Your dad’s the one who let us in…” Sweetie Belle replied, sounding somewhat sheepish.

Diamond’s reaction was to be expected. The three of them had never been good at standing up to the bully, after all.

Apple Bloom expected Diamond Tiara to get angrier. To start shouting at them and calling them names. To make her regret coming here. Instead, the anger in her face melted away into something akin to apathy. Slumped shoulders, lips turned into the opposite of a smile, eyes that Apple Bloom could swear had a reddish tint to them. Diamond Tiara looked as if she’d just given up, and didn’t care if her former victims saw her misery.

“What do you want? Came here to laugh at me? Kick me while I’m down? Oh, the big mean Diamond Tiara is not so mean without her cutie mark, huh?” She shrugged. “Well? Here I am. Get your stupid payback and leave…”

With those words, the last of Diamond’s energy seemingly escaped her body. The pink filly just slumped back on the grass, not even bothering to look at the other fillies. Apple Bloom could feel the awkward stares of her two friends drilling into the sides of her head.

Why had she come here? After meeting with the other two Crusaders after lunch, they wandered aimlessly for a while. Just as they crossed the street that led to Diamond’s neighbourhood, Apple Bloom had been invaded by a desire to come see her. She hadn’t really thought about it but, considering everything that had happened recently, she felt bad for Diamond Tiara. Pity? Perhaps. She’d seen enough to know Diamond had to be suffering, and even in spite of their history, she didn’t want to let somepony have to go through that.

“I want to,” Apple Bloom said, much to the shock of her friends. Diamond Tiara looked up at her, a steely expression on her face. “Silver Spoon and you always teased us about not having a cutie mark. Bullied us. So, yes. There’s a part of me that really would like to turn that on you right now.”

Silence fell upon the garden like morning dew. It was as if time sensed the tense atmosphere between the two fillies and decided to go somewhere else to avoid the awkwardness. Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom stared into each other’s eyes. Months worth of animosity shining like a raging inferno in their pupils.

Finally, after an untold amount of time, Diamond spoke again with a whisper. “Then why don’t you?”

Apple Bloom closed her eyes and breathed slowly. For a brief second, she could picture what Diamond must have experienced over the past few days.

“Because I know not having something is different from losing it.” Apple Bloom opened her eyes and was greeted by a wide eyed Diamond Tiara.

“Apple Bloom…” her friends murmured behind her.

Carefully, not wanting to put Diamond on edge, Apple Bloom slowly took a few steps towards her.

“I could be mean back at you. Kick you while you’re down, like you said.” Apple Bloom looked down at the pink filly, who was staring back at her with a confused expression. “But what good would that make? It’s not gonna make either of us feel better… It’s not gonna give you back your cutie mark or give me one.”

Diamond Tiara didn’t reply right away. She spent a while carefully analysing Apple Bloom. Perhaps looking for signs of deception in her words. After a moment, she spoke again, her voice barely stronger than a sigh, “Why did you come, Apple Bloom?”

“Because I don’t like how we treat each other. I don’t want us to keep hating each other, and I hate that it had to take something like this—” Apple Bloom tilted her head towards Diamond’s body “—to make me want to do something about it. I just… I just wanted to make an honest attempt to talk things out. Maybe put an end to this… Whatever this is.”

There it was. Her half-formed thoughts and intentions laid to see as best as she could. She didn’t know if Diamond Tiara and her could be friends, or if the filly’s attitude would swing back to anger and have them kicked out of her house, but she hoped they could at least put an end to the enmity between them.

The silence continued, but as the seconds passed, Apple Bloom could see Diamond’s expression soften after a moment. Suddenly, Diamond let out a long sigh, as a deflating balloon would. Afterwards, she looked back at Apple Bloom with a serious expression this time.

“I love my dad,” Diamond started. “He’s smart, talented, and a hard worker. Ponies look up to him and he knows how to make things work out for the best. He’s everything I want to be when I grow up… I… I want to be a leader. Getting ponies to do what I tell them to do is my special talent… Uh… was.” As she said that, Diamond Tiara slumped back to the grass and laid her head between her hooves. “I just feel like I’ve failed him. And I’ve failed myself.”

It was just as Miss Harvest had felt that night. How those parents felt about Miss Cheerilee. How she imagined all those ponies who lost their cutie marks must feel. She didn’t know how to console either of the adults… But maybe she could offer some comfort to Diamond Tiara.

“Diamond…” Apple Bloom said.

Diamond Tiara looked up, and in her eyes Apple Bloom could see a scared and confused filly, much like herself.

“I heard what they’re saying around town. About why cutie marks are disappearing. I can guarantee you it’s a bunch of nonsense.” Apple Bloom poured every bit of conviction she had into her words. Changing the way the town thought was more of Twilight Sparkle’s field. But if she could make at least one pony feel better, then she’d be satisfied. “The ponies who are saying that are just scared. They’re just as scared as everypony else, but they say those things because they want to make themselves feel better. Feel safe. It’s just a rash on… Reish on…” She turned around to look at Sweetie Belle.

The unicorn tapped the side of her head as she thought. “Rationalisation?”

“That’s the one!” Apple Bloom exclaimed and turned back to face the expectant Diamond Tiara. “We’re all in this together. We’re all affected by this. It could’ve happened to anypony. It can still happen to anypony.” She spared one forlorn glance at her own blank flank. “I wouldn’t even know if it happened to me…”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the pained expressions cross her friends’ faces. They’d talked about this before, and knew they had each other’s support. But the idea of never having a cutie mark still hurts.

“It’s just a disease, Diamond. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Apple Bloom paused, and had to admit that the idea of her of all ponies telling that to Diamond Tiara was somewhat funny. “ At least, nothing that would deserve this.”

Another stretch of time passed in stillness. Neither Diamond Tiara, nor the Crusaders said anything or even moved. Then, Diamond looked down and shook her head.

“How can I believe that?” She whispered.

How indeed? Apple Bloom could keep talking and talking, but she didn’t think that would do any good. Perhaps… Perhaps she could get Diamond to talk more, instead.

“Diamond, do you think you’ve done something that deserved you losing your mark?”

The meekness in Diamond’s voice was quickly replaced with bitterness. “What do you think, Apple Bloom? Honestly, you of all ponies should be the last one to have to ask that.” Diamond then stood up, her body language becoming more aggressive. Nevertheless, Apple Bloom tried quite hard not to flinch. “Ever since I got my cutie mark, I’ve been making your lives miserable because you don’t have one yet! I even dragged Silver Spoon into it. Great use of my talent right there!”

A tear threatened to escape Diamond’s eye, but she kept her stare fixed on Apple Bloom. She then took a few steps forward until their snouts were almost touching.

“My dad uses his talent to make his business successful, employs dozens of ponies, and tries to make things better for everypony. I use mine to be a bully. What do you think, Apple Bloom?”

Honestly? She was surprised Diamond Tiara realised how deep the issues ran. Not that she would say that to her face. Still, she had to say something. Something that would keep Diamond Tiara opening up.

“I think that if what you’re saying is true, then neither Miss Cheerilee, Miss Harvest, Miss Zecora, or anypony else would’ve lost their cutie marks. None of them used their talents to hurt anypony, but they still lost theirs. By repeating those things, you’re only hurting yourself, Diamond.”

The other filly’s breath hitched for a moment, and she almost recoiled at those words. Her eyes took on a pleading look as she spoke, her voice filled with hurt and desperation.

“Then… Why?” she asked. “Why did I lose my cutie mark?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Because you got sick.“

Diamond Tiara tilted her head in confusion.

“That’s all there is to it, isn’t it? If somepony sneezed and you walked by, you would get their cold. You didn’t do anything wrong, you just…” Apple Bloom paused for a second, unsure if she should finish her thought. Her gut instinct had taken her this far, though. She should trust it. “You just got unlucky.”

The tears finally escaped Diamond’s eyes, as well as a soft whimper escaped her lips. Suddenly, she fell forward and buried her face against Apple Bloom’s chest and started crying loudly.

Apple Bloom shot a nervous glance to her friends in search of support. While Sweetie Belle looked conflicted and indecisive, Scootaloo shot her a flat stare that told her she was on her own. Traitors…

Steeling herself, she focused on the crying Diamond Tiara. Not knowing what else to do, she gave her some gentle headpats and a few gentle words of reassurance. To that, Diamond mumbled something that Apple Bloom couldn’t quite catch.

“What did you say, Diamond?”

“I’m sorry…”

That… She hadn’t expected.

“I’m sorry, Apple Bloom.” Diamond looked aside, just barely, to look at the ponies standing away from them. “Sweetie Belle… Scootaloo… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all I put you through. I don’t even know why I was so hard on you, anymore. I just… I’m so sorry…”

Diamond Tiara broke down, her words devolving into a garbled mess as she buried her face in Apple Bloom’s chest once more and her crying turned into sobbing. Apple Bloom heard a loud sigh followed by hoofsteps. On her right side, Scootaloo came up and—though she kept the same unamused expression—sat close to Apple Bloom and laid a hoof across Diamond Tiara’s back. Almost immediately, Sweetie Belle trotted up to them and wrapped the other fillies in a hug.

The group remained like that for a while. She wasn’t sure how long, but eventually Diamond’s tears subsided.

The pink filly stood up as she rubbed her eyes. “I… I really meant it. I’m sorry, girls.”

The Crusaders shared a look that spoke of plenty at once. Of letting go of resentment. Of being hoping their animosity could come to an end. Of just being done.

However, Apple Bloom was sure the other two Crusaders were asking themselves the same question as her: What now? Things would change between Diamond and them, but only time would tell if it’d end up being for the better. At the very least, she felt this marked the end of a chapter in the lives of the four.

A more immediate matter was what was supposed to happen right then? Just say goodbye and leave? It felt wrong to leave Diamond Tiara right now, but Apple Bloom wasn’t sure what was the right thing to do.

Thankfully, Diamond was the first to break the silence. With a sniffle, she separated her head from Apple Bloom’s chest. Hopefully, the dampness left on her fur was just tears.

“I… I’m sorry for the mess, Apple Bloom,” Diamond Tiara said as she rubbed her eyes.

“Don’t mention it,” Apple Bloom replied as she looked over the other filly, glad to see most of the sadness had already left her.

Diamond Tiara turned, but didn’t raise her head. She took a few steps forward until she stood right in front of Scootaloo. Immersed in a seemingly eternal pause, neither said a thing. Scootaloo looked somewhere between uncomfortable and serious, but waited for Diamond to speak her mind.

“I’m sorry about your model. I didn’t mean to break it. I was just… Scared.” Though her head remained downcast, she managed to look up at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo swished her tail and buzzed her wings, but said nothing. Her eyes showed no hint of whatever was crossing her mind. And yet, Apple Bloom could see hints of neither anger nor pity in the pegasus.

“You were angry. I get it. I think I would’ve been if I’d gone through that,” Scootaloo said. Giving a shrug, she continued. “I’m sorry things went down like that at school.”

“I don’t know why I made Silver Spoon go through that ridiculous charade,” Diamond replied, scoffing at her own words for good measure. “Painting a fake crown on my flank… I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did.”

“To be fair, it was kind of a freak accident.”

“Yeah, an accident I caused,” Diamond let out a humourless laugh as she shook her head. “I’ve just been making things harder for myself all this time, haven’t I?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah, but there’s no reason to keep doing that. I know none of us want to give you a hard time no more.”

Diamond Tiara’s posture became more relaxed, as if an unseen weight had disappeared from her back. “Thank you, girls,” she said, and silence returned, bringing warmth and comfort this time around.

“So…” Sweetie Belle started after a short while. “Are we… okay, now?”

That was a blunt approach, but Apple Bloom supposed they were past the point of subtleties. And—if she was honest—she also hoped they would be.

“Yes. Yes, we are,” Diamond said. She spoke with a tone that left no room for doubt.

“Good,” Sweetie Belle replied.

Apple Bloom found it easy to smile this time around. Soon enough, all four of them were smiling and, for a moment, she could pretend nothing was wrong.

“Are you gonna be alright, Diamond?”

Diamond nodded. “Silver Spoon will come later. She’s been keeping me company.” A pause. Diamond’s lips twitched into something vaguely resembling a smile. “I’m gonna have to get her up to speed with what just happened.”

“I see. Well… I guess we’ll catch you later,” Apple Bloom said.

A series of nods were exchanged. Perhaps none of them really knew what to say, or if anything else had to be said at all. Either way, they did what they came here to do. And finally realised what that was.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo mumbled a few goodbyes as they walked back into the hallways of Rich Manor, but Apple Bloom walked in silence. Soon enough the three of them walked next to each other as the tension between them grew with each step. Neither spoke in spite of the obvious desire to spill their thoughts and feelings. Perhaps it was the foreign environment, but Apple Bloom imagined they’d all prefer to talk in a more comfortable and familiar place.

Just as they stepped into the main hall, Apple Bloom saw Mister Rich looking at her from down one of the hallways. She barely paused in her step as their eyes met. The stallion regarded her with a soft gaze, already looking better than he had when he let them into his home. Mister Rich mouthed a silent “Thank you”. He gave a nod as a smile spread across his lips. He then turned around, and she couldn’t see him anymore.

Before long, the three girls left the Rich Manor behind, and found themselves walking down a dirt road.

Apple Bloom wasn’t sure what to think. She knew that having patched things with Diamond Tiara was good, yes… But she still found it hard to get a good grasp on how she felt.

The sentiment must’ve been common, since not long passed before Scootaloo spoke up. “Y’know… If you’d told me on Monday all that was gonna happen this week, I think us making up with Diamond Tiara would still be in the top three things I wouldn’t have believed.”

Sweetie Belle giggled at that. “Just third?”

“I mean… It’s not the first time Ponyville’s been trapped under a dome,” Scootaloo replied, shrugging.

“It is weird for it to happen twice…”

“I know, right?” Apple Bloom said, “I remember AJ argued with the insurance company for a few months. They said after the parasprites and the Ursa, we were at risk of it happenin’ again.”

“Wow, adults are weird.”

Apple Bloom couldn’t fight back the smile spreading across her face. “I probably wouldn’t have believed it, either. Still, I’m glad we did.”

Scootaloo let out a short humming noise before she finally replied. “Yeah… Guess I am, too.”

“She seemed much happier than when we arrived,” Sweetie Belle said. “That alone is a positive in my book.”

That much was true. The difference was night and day, and Apple Bloom had to admit she felt glad she played a part in cheering up the filly. At that moment, she thought back to Golden Harvest, and part of her wished she could’ve done a better job at making her feel better that night.

Then again…

Had she given more thought to Diamond Tiara’s situation, she’d probably feel some regret over not lending a helping hoof before. But in the end, she just did, and that really made a difference for Diamond. And to herself. She wondered if she could do it again.

With those thoughts swirling in her mind, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but voice them. “You girls think we could help other ponies?”

“Huh?” both her friends replied.

The earth filly stopped and turned to face the other two. “I mean, we know Diamond isn’t the only one who lost her cutie mark. Lots of other ponies have lost theirs, too.”

“So?” Scootaloo asked.

“Just think about it. If we could help Diamond Tiara, don’t you think we could help cheer up all the ponies going through a rough time?”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Grief Counsellors?”

“I think that was in one of our first lists, actually,” Scootaloo replied.

“Why did we make so many of those?”

“List-making cutie marks was one of our first attempts.”

“Oh, right.”

Apple Bloom stepped in before the conversation got sidetracked. “What do you say, girls?”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a glance before nodding.

“It sure beats sitting at home doing nothing,” Scootaloo said.

Eagerly, Sweetie Belle put forward a hoof as her eyes glinted with expectation, and the other two were quick to imitate her.

In the days since this disease had started spreading, things had changed. Ponyville had changed, the ponies themselves had changed. Apple Bloom was sure that a part of her had changed as well.

“Wait, how is this going to work? Do we make flyers or something like that?”

“Maybe we could check on ponies we know are feeling down and see if they know somepony else who needs help. Rarity calls it work through referrals, I think.”

In spite of it all, Apple Bloom felt a warm and cosy sensation fill her as she knew deep down in her that she could always count on her friends.

15

Twilight’s throat felt as dry as a desert. Running across Ponyville tended to have that effect. Swallowing did little to ease the raspiness she felt. She figured her body didn’t want to cooperate because it felt as restless as her mind did. It seemed to be running as fast as she had, after all. Once she… connected some dots back at the Library—and after the initial shock wore off—she’d rushed to the hospital as fast as she could without teleporting. She didn’t trust herself to focus well enough for that.

She could have misread the changes in Golden Harvest, she had to admit. The evidence was subjective at best, delusional at worst. But Zecora’s stripes? Those were much harder to explain away.

It had been a rather strong wake up call. Her mind was rushing to fill all the gaps in her theories with rampant speculations brought forth by the picture of her zebra friend and her cutie mark, all while berating herself for missing something so obvious.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Deep breaths, Twilight. Deep breaths. There was no point in getting worked up before she could share her thoughts with Doctor Horse. This all could end up amounting to nothing but a misguided hunch—though she didn’t believe that for a second.

With a sigh, Twilight slumped on her seat and looked at the empty waiting room. A stark contrast to how packed it had been only a few days ago. The doctor had mentioned at the meeting how more and more ponies had started to come regarding their missing marks, even after the quarantine barrier had been set up.

Now, though, the waiting room was devoid of other souls. The soft buzzing of the halogen lights filled the silence left by the absent chatter, murmurs, and occasional coughing she’d come to expect from Ponyville’s Hospital. She supposed everypony would much rather stay at home for the time being.

Still, the emptiness only deepened the eerie feeling settling in her chest.

Nurse Redheart had been kind enough to accommodate her and let her be in the waiting room as she let Doctor Horse know she’d arrived. Then again, Twilight had to admit she’d probably had a frantic and disturbed expression when she’d run into the hospital, so perhaps the nurse had just been worried for her.

At the thought, Twilight’s lips twitched into a faint, lopsided smile. She should worry about herself a bit, too. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t eaten anything all morning, and that hadn’t been the first time since everything started. So much had happened in the last couple of days, it all started to blur.

“Miss Twilight?” The sudden voice made her head whip around. Nurse Redheart stood nearby, eyes filled with concern. “Uh... Doctor Horse will see you now.”

Twilight scrambled to her hooves, forcing herself not to dash toward the office. Nurse Redheart looked as if she wanted to say something, but decided to step back and let her in. Twilight made a mental note to thank her later—when she wasn’t in such a frenzied state.

She opened the door and was met with a crestfallen Doctor. The stallion was poring over some reports with a concerned expression when he looked up and their eyes met. Somehow, Twilight suspected she wouldn’t be the only one with information to share.

“Good evening. Please, take a seat,” he greeted, nodding toward the chair in front of his desk. As she walked in, Twilight noticed him hurriedly organising the scattered papers. “Curious of you to visit me right now.”

That was unexpected. With decisive steps, she walked up to his desk and sat down on the seat across from the doctor. “I… I take it that there have been developments in the case.”

A quick rise and drop of his eyebrows. “You could say that.” He lifted the stack of papers and gave them a final shake before setting them on his desk once more. “I got an update from the medical team. It’s still preliminary, but… It seems promising.”

A flurry of emotions stirred in Twilight’s chest, just as an innumerable torrent of questions fought to be the first to escape her lips. Taking a deep breath, she squashed those thoughts and urged the doctor to keep going. “What… What did they have to say?”

Doctor Horse tapped his hoof lightly on the desk, his expression difficult to read. “So far, the developments seem in line with our initial guesses. We already knew there was no magical feedback, nor traces of magical interference, either before or after the cutie marks vanished. Building off that, they continued the tests we started running and…”

Twilight swallowed as the knot in her throat tightened in anticipation. “What did they show?” Her voice was quiet, though her mind had already latched onto an answer she didn’t want to believe.

With a heavy exhale through his nose, Doctor Horse laid the papers down on the desk. “It appears we were barking up the wrong tree.”

The silence in the office seemed to press down on them both. It wasn’t just the two of them alone in the room—it felt like even time had abandoned them. “I…” Twilight’s breath caught for a moment, but she pushed forward. “I was thinking that may have been the case.”

Doctor Horse’s expression quickly turned into confusion. “Oh. Were you expecting this?”

“Not at all, it’s just—” A sigh “—Just a moment ago, I was thinking back to some of the things that have happened these days and I… Well, I think I may have stumbled upon something. Something we’ve been overlooking.”

The doctor’s face was blank, as if he were trying to assess whether to take her seriously. If she were to be in his position, would she consider listening? She wasn’t on the same level as the experts from Manehattan or Canterlot, after all. Not that she’d pretend to be. But… She still hoped he would hear her out. Whether to soothe her fears or confirm them, she couldn’t tell.

After a pause, Doctor Horse leaned back in his chair, the tension in his posture softening slightly. “I’m listening.”

This was it. Time to see if her thoughts and hunches were correct. “Golden Harvest was the first who came to our attention,” she pulled out the photo album from her saddlebags and opened it where she had first marked it.

One of the many pictures taken right after her first Winter Wrap Up showed Applejack’s team after they’d managed to finish planting the seeds for the spring flowers in time. Front and centre stood Golden Harvest, clearly tired but with a content smile.

Doctor Horse adjusted his glasses, leaning closer to inspect the photograph. “I remember that day. Everypony was glad to finish on time, for once. But… What am I supposed to get from this picture?”

Twilight took a steadying breath and pointed right at Golden Harvest. “Look at her. Does Golden’s coat here look… paler to you?”

The doctor glanced up at her, a flicker of confusion passing over his face. His mouth opened as if to speak, but he seemed to decide against saying anything. Instead he leaned forwards, focusing on the farmer. “Hmmm… Maybe,” he muttered. “I suppose she does look a bit lighter, but this picture was taken at the end of Winter. The lighting is different, not to mention it’s normal to shed your winter coat in the first weeks of Spring.”

Twilight nodded, her voice quieter but firm. “So, we can agree that her coat colour… changed.” She let the word hang in the air.

Doctor Horse squinted, looking as if he was trying to connect the dots in his mind. “Are you implying that this disease didn’t just affect the cutie marks, but her entire coat?”

Twilight shook her head slowly. Her gaze lingered on the picture, particularly on Golden Harvest’s bright smile, a stark contrast to the realisation she was about to share. Letting out a sigh, she gave the doctor a solemn look. “I’m saying that this disease never really affected cutie marks specifically.”

Her words hung heavy in the room, as if they’d snuffed out the last bit of warmth. Doctor Horse’s face twisted in confusion before he spoke again. “Hold on, Miss Twilight. What are you trying to say?”

“Wait. That’s not all.” Quickly, Twilight flipped through several pages of the photo album until she reached the blasted picture that had eluded her memory these past few days. “Back when I first arrived at Ponyville, after just a few weeks, we had that run-in with Poison Joke, and that’s when we met Zecora.” She jabbed a hoof at the image of the zebra, perhaps with more force than intended.

Doctor Horse nodded, his gaze briefly flicking between Twilight and the image. “You mentioned her. She was one of the first to lose her cutie mark, wasn’t she?”

“That’s the thing.” Twilight swallowed hard, feeling the returning dryness in her throat get worse the more she spoke. She rummaged through her saddlebag and took out a simple notebook and a pencil. In quick, precise motions, she sketched a simple outline of a pony and drew her best approximation to Zecora’s stripes and cutie mark. “This is what Zecora’s coat used to look like.” She used the pencil to point at the stylised sun. “As you can see, her stripes go up her legs, stopping just above her knees, and cover her back, leaving space for her cutie mark, right here.” She tapped the stylized sun on the drawing.

“I’m following…” the doctor replied, his face unreadable, though Twilight sensed an undercurrent of tension hidden by the stillness. Almost unnaturally so, she noticed. His expression hadn’t changed, but the subtle twitch of his ears betrayed something… No, she had to focus.

With a quick spin, she erased Zecora’s mark, leaving a blank space between her stripes. “Had she just lost her cutie mark, this space would be bare, but that’s not what happened.“ Another spin, and she filled the space with two thin stripes the same shade as the ones covering the zebra’s body. "I made sure to brush up on zebra biology. Their stripes don't do that. They are born with blank flanks just like us."

Doctor Horse was just as impassive as before, but now she was sure he was putting in the effort not to move. His ears gave just the slightest shiver, so was sure he was making a conscious effort not to move them. Why? Why was he so rigid? Was he hiding something, or just processing everything?

"I think... I think this was never about the cutie marks,” Twilight said, her voice wavering, as if the words were foreign even to her. “I think this disease just targets hair in general and the fur on our flanks was... I don't know. Evened out.” She shook her head, as if she herself couldn't believe the words she was speaking. "It sounds so absurd when I say it out loud, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I'm not sure if I'm right or if I'm crazy, or maybe it's both and I've been freaking out for the past thirty minutes and it doesn't help that you—" she jammed a hoof at the doctor "—are so calm! Why are you so calm? I mean, I guess you have to know how to keep your emotions in check if you're a doctor, but isn't this kind of a big deal!?"

It was a big deal… Wasn't it?

Doctor Horse held her gaze for a few seconds, his silence stretching thin across the space between them. Then, he looked away and let out a heavy sigh. He removed his glasses and cleaned them absentmindedly with a piece of cloth. Without them, his face seemed to sag, the weight of sleepless nights and stress etched into every line. He looked older, more worn.

“Because I did my freaking out about an hour ago,” he admitted quietly.

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. She blinked, then blinked again, her mind stumbling over his words. “I… Wait, what? What do you mean?”

The stallion rubbed his temples, his magic lighting up as he levitated a folder from the pile next to him. His expression was weary, his movements slow. Twilight gave him a confused glance before her eyes dropped to the folder as it floated towards her.

“I’ve been receiving somewhat frequent updates from my colleagues on the other side of the barrier ever since the quarantine started.” An exhale. “It appears the arrival of your friend sent them into a frenzy.”

It was Golden Harvest’s test results, at last. Admittedly, she didn’t understand most of the words in the paper, as they were very technical. The one that she understood right away was ‘melanin’. Was she breathing faster? It felt as if she was. Another gulp, but it didn’t help. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to begin her breathing exercises, her mind reeling as she waited for Doctor Horse to continue.

“They didn’t go into details. In fact, their reports became more laconic from that point onwards. Not that I’m complaining. They are under no obligation to keep me up to date, after all. But I’m capable of coming up with my own theories.” Doctor Horse’s hoof rubbed at his forehead. Twilight was reminded of her father’s habitual gesture whenever he tried to stave off a brewing headache. “It was hard to notice anything at first. After all, the melanin levels on all the coat samples were normal.” A short laugh, more of a tired exhale than anything. “It was staring us right in our faces.”

Twilight felt her brain whirring, her thoughts catching on every word as they began to line up with what she had suspected. If she was right about the disease, then… What was wrong with the test results?

“You know what gives hair its colour, don’t you, Miss Twilight?”

“Melanin,” she replied immediately as her mind recalled the information she’d gathered during her early research. “In the case of equines, it’s a distinct balance of eumelanin for darker shades, pheomelanin for lighter shades, and thaumelanin for distinct hues. It’s the combination of these chemicals that leads to the variations of hair colours.”

Doctor Horse gave his desk a light tap. “Quite so. But what’s interesting is that these concentrations vary between individual strands of hair.”

Suddenly, he tousled his mane. Twilight blinked, startled by the sudden action. Before she could ask if everything was alright, he plucked a single hair from his head, holding it aloft with his magic.

“Grey hairs,” he said as he lifted the nearly white strand in his magic for her to see. “Caused by the death of melanocytes in hair follicles. No more melanin. No more pigments for hair.” He released the hair from his telekinesis, letting it float lazily through the air before it drifted away.

Twilight’s eyes followed the grey hair, but quickly went back to meet the Doctor’s. Her gaze quickly snapped back to meet the doctor. A growing realisation began to settle deep within her chest, an uncomfortable swelling of fear and understanding. “If something was interfering with the levels of melanin…”

“ …perhaps causing them to even out with those surrounding it,” Doctor Horse added.

“Then… Then the marks were never affected at all. This disease was just affecting the melanin in our coats.” She could feel the warmth spread even further, filling her with hope. “If that’s the case, then—”

Her sentence stumbled to a halt as she caught the doctor’s forlorn expression. The hope faltered, tripped by the quiet weight in his eyes. Why wasn’t he relieved? They’d just uncovered a major revelation, hadn’t they? Did she miss something? Again?

“Do you remember what makes thaumelanin special, Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight blinked. "Ah... Um... the other two are purely biological chemical compounds, while thaumelanin reacts to magic. It's what gives ponies such a wide variety of colours, and it's what helps—" Her voice caught in her throat, the realisation hitting her like an icy splash of water.

Doctor Horse gave a slow, solemn nod. "Once you realise your special talent, you get your cutie mark. Your inner magic makes the thaumelanin react and change colour into the pattern of a mark. But thaumelanin isn't magic in and of itself."

All the sounds in the room seemed to vanish, swallowed by the silence that followed his words.

"If only melanin... If only the hairs themselves changed colour... If there was no change to the inner magic of a cutie mark...” Her voice wavered. “Then that means..."

It meant the magic within—the essence of a pony’s special talent, their unique signature—hadn’t been erased or lost. It was only the outermost layer, the coat itself that had… faded. And if it wasn't lost, how was one supposed to bring it back? As far as the magic within could tell, everything was normal. There had only been a change on the surface.

“Can this even be cured, then?” Twilight whispered.

Doctor Horse leaned back in his chair, his eyes on the ceiling as if searching for answers in the white plaster. “That’s the question, isn’t it? In theory, it should only be a matter of turning those hairs back to their original colour, but…” He sighed, a weary sound that filled the room. “Well, they are technically back to their original colour already.”

Twilight felt a chill run down her spine. “And it’s not as if simply recreating the exact conditions that produced their specific cutie mark would make it reappear somehow. Magically speaking, the mark is still there. We would have to… I don’t know, recreate each pony’s unique balance of eumelanin, pheomelanin, and thaumelanin for every individual strand of hair.”

“And that’s assuming the melanocytes can even be reactivated or replenished.”

The technical jargon started to weigh on Twilight—not because she couldn’t understand it, but because it felt like they were drifting further away from the core of the problem. She had come here hoping to share her suspicions, maybe find a spark of hope, some way forward. Instead, she was faced with a grim confirmation that only deepened the void of hopelessness swelling in her chest.

What would this mean for everypony who had already lost their mark? The mere thought of telling them, "We know you lost your cutie mark, but biologically and magically speaking, you really didn’t," felt like a cruel irony. It wasn’t comforting. It was a hollow explanation that offered nothing but despair.

“We are making quite a lot of assumptions,” she murmured, more to herself than to the doctor, perhaps in an attempt to fool herself into thinking there could be another explanation.

Doctor Horse shrugged, his movement almost too casual for the grim situation. “Even if we’re wrong, we can’t be too far off, given the data we have.”

Twilight buried her face between her hooves, as if by squeezing tightly enough, she could hold herself together. She could barely believe it herself. “What now? What do we do now?”

The question hung in the air, unanswered, as the weight of their predicament settled over both of them like a heavy fog. For a long moment, neither spoke, the silence thick with the unspoken fears that neither wanted to voice.

Eventually, Doctor Horse leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, his expression grave. “Ponies aren’t going to just shrug this off,” he said quietly. “Even if every single pony who lost their cutie mark could understand what happened and that their cutie marks aren’t technically gone… it won’t change how they feel.”

Twilight looked up, locking her gaze with his. She felt a pang in her chest as she thought back to Golden Harvest, to Diamond Tiara, Sweetie Drops, and to all the ponies who had a deep personal story behind their marks. All of it, gone in an instant. Not just the marks, but part of their stories as well.

“I know,” she finally said, her voice trembling with the weight of her own realisation.

Doctor Horse nodded, his gaze distant as he considered the implications. “A cutie mark is more than just a symbol. It’s a reflection of who a pony is at their core. Their identity, their purpose. It’s something they’ve spent their entire lives discovering and embracing. And now… it’s been stripped away, or at least it feels like it has.”

Twilight’s chair grew more uncomfortable with every passing moment, or perhaps she was just overcome with the need to pace around the room, to do something—anything—to escape the suffocating atmosphere. Truth be told, she wasn’t even sure how she should feel. Still, a part of her hoped the medical team would have more information and could come up with alternatives… But deep down, she already knew. This was it. This was the truth they had to face.

Doctor Horse let out a quiet hum, as though mulling over some distant thought. "Back when that Saddle Arabian delegation came to Ponyville, I couldn't help but notice they didn’t have cutie marks."

Twilight blinked, the memory surfacing from what felt like a lifetime ago. Two diplomats sent from the faraway desert region, and yes, she had noticed their lack of a mark as well, though it hadn’t seemed important at the time. "I… I think I remember some ancient history books saying they were not, uh, blessed by Celestia's light. That's why they didn't have a mark. Now we know it's because their levels of thaumelanin are much lower than in ponies in Equestria."

"And yet, their society thrived," the doctor mused.

"Do you think we will?"

"I don't know," he replied immediately. But then, as though some deeper thought had softened the sharp edges of his doubt, his gaze shifted, more reflective now. "Then again, ponies over a thousand years ago didn't think all three tribes could live together. So we will have to wait and let time give us the answer."

His words swirled around Twilight, sinking in slowly as she mulled over their meaning. She could see it now—the same fear of change, of losing something fundamental to their way of life, just like now. Back then, it had been about tribes, about their places in the world. Now, it was about their cutie marks, their identities. But maybe, the fear was the same.

Her eyes trailed to her own cutie mark—the six-pointed star she had worn proudly for years. It was more than a representation of her talent, after all. It was a reminder of the journey that had shaped her, the struggles she had overcome, the friendships that had defined her path. But if it disappeared… if that star faded into nothing… would the essence of who she was fade too? No. It wouldn’t.

She would still have her magic, her knowledge, her accomplishments. The Element of Magic would still rest safely in the vault in Canterlot. And most importantly, she would still have her friends. Her bonds, her memories, her experiences—those would remain untouched.

In the end, that was what mattered most. Was it not?

Twilight looked down at the floor as her mind conjured up a scene of her walking through Ponyville, seeing everypony with blank flanks. The image still twisted something deep in her heart, but it didn’t feel as dire as it had just the day prior. She raised her eyes to Doctor Horse, the smallest flicker of hope remaining in her voice. “Everypony who has lost their mark… They’ve not lost who they are. Even if they’ve lost sight of that. They still remember their talents, their passions. What their cutie marks represent is still inside them.”

The doctor gave a small nod, his expression softening. “You’re right. It’s a loss, but it’s not the kind that destroys who we are. In the end, it’ll be more of an inconvenience—a painful one, no doubt—but ponies will learn to move forward, even without their cutie marks.”

She found some amusement in her thoughts from way back when this whole madness started. Life was unpredictable. No matter how stable things may seem at one point, everything can change in a flash. As Discord’s words, seemingly spoken ages ago, resonated in her mind. He’d been so sure that things would turn out fine. That ponies would adapt.

"I guess, in the end, it’s not really about whether we can bring the cutie marks back,” Twilight said, her voice steadier now, though no less sombre. “It’s more about whether ponies can regain hope in themselves. At least, in the long run."

Doctor Horse nodded again, his eyes holding that same weary understanding. “Hope. That’s what we’ll need most.”

Twilight leaned back, letting the words sink in. There would be pain, of course—she knew that all too well. But ponies were resilient, capable of adapting to change. It wouldn’t be easy. But maybe, just maybe, they would find their way through this, as they had before.

As she stared out the window, her gaze was drawn to the sun, hanging in the sky, its light painting the clouds in shades of orange and gold. A faint smile tugged at her lips, unbidden but not unwelcome. “They will move forward,” she said softly, almost to herself. “We always do.”

And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Twilight allowed herself to believe it.

11

Twilight woke up to the sound of frantic knocking on her door. While her mind, still groggy from sleep, hadn’t caught up to the present, her body was already thrashing, kicking away the covers as she stumbled out of bed.

“What… What’s going on?”

“It just started,” Spike said from his basket, obviously having woken up not too long before her.

The rising sun had yet to chase away the chill of night. It was early, the town meeting wouldn’t happen for another two hours, which at this point could only mean one thing: Something had gone wrong.

Her mind was already rushing through the countless scenarios that could have taken place since last night, each one worse than the previous one. She swallowed that already familiar lump of bitterness and, with a quick spell to make herself somewhat presentable, ran downstairs and flung the front door open with her magic before she even reached it.

A startled Applejack flinched in surprise, but quickly regained her composure.

“Twilight! There’s a—”

“Where?” she interrupted with force, making it clear she wanted a direct answer.

“The barrier, the guards said they were going to the entrance of town.”

Twilight heard the hurried thumping of Spike’s steps as he walked out of Golden Oaks, closing the door behind him. Without pausing, she started gathering magic on her horn. Spike would probably chastise her later, but she didn’t have the time to worry about that.

“Meet me there,” was all she said before the teleportation spell went off and she disappeared in a flash of light.

An instant later, she appeared in the outskirts of town, close to the barrier. She held her right hoof against her temple, hoping the twinge of pain would dissipate sooner than later. A quick look around showed her exactly what she was looking for: A small group of guards was walking alongside the edge of the barrier, towards the main road and their encampment. Though the pain still coursed through her head, Twilight ran towards them, carried by fear and trepidation.

She was about to call them, ask them to slow down and wait for her so they could tell her what had happened. In the end, she didn’t have to. Coming to meet the group of soldiers was Sergeant Bold Spear, closely followed by a couple of ponies from the medical team. When they met, they spoke in hushed tones, hurriedly, and even though they were too far away to make out what they said, Twilight could see that a few of the guards were visibly shaken. The reason became quite apparent only moments later.

After what must not have been longer than a minute—yet seemed to stretch eternally—, the other guards nodded and turned around, walking back from where they’d come. Leaving behind a lone guard standing alone in front of the Sergeant while one of the ponies in lab coats took off his armour, revealing his bare flank.

Though shocking, Twilight steeled herself. She didn’t shudder, she didn’t flinch, nor did she let the simmering mix of conflicting emotions take over her. She did her best to remain stoic, and waited for the scene to play out.

The guard who had lost his cutie mark stepped aside, obviously making a conscious effort to keep his head high, and followed the medical team. Twilight watched them go until she inadvertently made eye contact with Sergeant Bold Spear. The expression on his face did little to ease her mind.

Most of the other guards were long gone, but Sergeant Bold Spear remained on the same spot, looking straight at her. Twilight stared back at him, almost daring him to turn away. After a moment, the sergeant turned to give a few orders to the guard next to him. The younger guard saluted before turning away and walking towards their camp.

Neither moved for a while, as if their glances would exchange all the information needed. And, in a way, she felt they did. The older pony on the other side of the barrier looked tired. Not physically. At least, not only in that way. He was entrusted with at least part of the responsibility of overseeing the quarantine of Ponyville. She was barely keeping it together and could only imagine how he would be faring. A few seconds later, though, he started walking towards her.

“Good morning, Sergeant Bold Spear,” she greeted him with barely any hint of emotion on her voice.

“Good morning, Miss Sparkle,” he replied, waiting for her to talk.

“Is he going to be alright?” Twilight asked with a nod towards the medical tent.

Sergeant Bold Spear looked back at the way the guards had gone before finally turning to face Twilight. “He will be under the care of the medical team. They will follow the appropriate procedure,” he replied, and silence dawned between the two. Silence that was shattered by the clopping of hooves against the dirt road.

Twilight looked back and saw Applejack coming down the road at full speed with Spike holding on to her neck. Once they were but a few strides away, the farmer skidded to a halt and barely avoided crashing on the barrier.

“Sorry I took so long,” Applejack said, “we came as fast as we could.”

“What happened? AJ told me the guards were leaving their posts. Are we gonna be let out?” Spike asked, and despite his obvious efforts to contain himself, the hope in his words was as clear as day.

Twilight held his gaze for a few seconds before looking down and shaking her head. “One of the guards lost his cutie mark. The medical team took him in.” She didn’t have to look up to see the faces on her friends, their defeated sighs already painted a vivid image.

Before anything else could be said, Twilight felt a small itch on the base of her horn. The glow of the magic barrier intensified for a moment, before a wave of magic rippled through its surface and the colour changed so subtly, she wouldn’t have noticed had she not been standing but a stride away from it. As she pondered the reason for this, an errant memory dredged its way to the forefront of her mind.

“Back at town hall…” she started, though the Sergeant didn’t show any sign of having heard her beyond a flick of his ears. “Back then, you said you had well over fifteen unicorns to keep the barrier up when you didn’t need as many. This is the reason, isn’t it?”

For a second which once more stretched eternally, neither spoke, letting the silence speak the implicit answer.

“It is better to be over prepared than to be underprepared, would you not agree?” the Sergeant finally replied.

She let out a humourless chuckle. He was right, of course, but it still felt odd to know the Royal Guard had come here with a worst case scenario already in mind.

“I do not question my orders, Miss Sparkle,” he said after a few seconds, “I only follow them to the best of my abilities for the well-being of the citizens of Equestria.”

He looked at Twilight with a steady gaze. Despite the slight slump of his shoulders and a slight hints of bags under his eyes—which at least seemed less pronounced than they had the day before—she sensed firmness in his voice and conviction behind his words which, in a way, reminded her of the times her brother talked about their duty to the crown and Equestria. Much like herself, Sergeant Bold Spear and the rest of the guards were doing their best in the current situation. Considering that, she couldn’t bring herself to get angry at any of them.

“I understand, Sergeant,” she said. “I can sympathise with that sense of responsibility… Don’t think I’m blaming you.”

“I do not think there is any blame to be assigned, Miss Sparkle.” With a heavy sigh, the sergeant closed his eyes and turned away, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his hoof.

On some level, she wanted to know what the plan was when... if more guards fell victim to the plague. Would they just keep putting them under quarantine until they ran out of guards? Would they start letting them into town and bringing more? What if the town reached its capacity? Would this crisis last long enough for that to happen?

In the end, her empathy trumped her curiosity.

“How are you feeling, Sergeant?” she asked.

He looked at her with a sidelong glance, silent for the briefest of moments before speaking, “As well as one can feel under these circumstances. We all knew what could happen when we received our orders, but that does little to ease the shock of it actually happening.” He paused once more, turning around to look at her straight into her eyes. “I suppose you can relate.” Just as her thoughts went back to her friends, the Sergeant spoke once more, “Regarding your friend Zecora, a detachment was sent at sunrise. We expect them to return within the hour.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” she said.

It had been almost two days since she last saw Zecora, since she promised she would help her. Twilight sighed as she felt a knot undo itself deep in her chest. It may have taken longer than she would’ve wished, but she managed to get some help for her friend. She managed to keep that promise. She had at least done that right and, Celestia willing, she could still find a way to help everypony else.

“What about Rainbow Dash?”

“She is still under observation. She has become much more cooperative since the medical teamed explained the situation to her,” he replied.

Twilight’s heart ached for her friend. Knowing Rainbow Dash, she was probably blaming herself for breaking the quarantine, even if she couldn't have possibly known there was a need for one in the first place.

“Now, if it is all the same to you, I will take my leave. I assume you have much to do as well. Should anything relevant regarding your friends come up, I will be sure to inform you.”

“And I’ll be sure to do the same if anything pops up over here, Sergeant.”

With a firm nod, Sergeant Bold Spear looked at her one last time before turning around and trotting away. Twilight watched him go, not sure of what to make of the mess of thoughts in her mind.

“Guess nopony’s really safe, huh?” Applejack said.

Twilight spared a glance at her friend. “If what doctor Horse said yesterday is true, then all of us are infected. That would extend to the Guard and the medical team who were in contact with us, as well, but I trust they’ve taken the necessary precautions.”

Applejack regarded her with an inscrutable look, though the creeping unease was quite apparent. With a sigh, she looked back at Ponyville and spoke, “I’ll be the first to admit I don’t rightly understand all that’s going on nor any of that quarantine business, but I reckon they don’t want this thing spreading to the rest of Equestria any more than we do. We have to trust them to do their job.”

Though Applejack’s words were firm, Twilight wondered if she was trying to convince herself, too. Whichever the case, she was still right.

“What do you think will happen?” Spike asked.

Twilight’s mind drew a blank. Be it the lack of information regarding the plague, or a subconscious refusal to even entertain the thought of what the future may hold, Twilight couldn’t think of anything.

“As far as this town is concerned, nothing has changed,” Twilight said after a few minutes of pondering. “We still have to carry out the meeting, and we have to decide what to do alongside everypony else.”

“Reckon we should mention this?” Applejack asked.

Twilight turned to face her friend, giving her a thorough look now. Although at first glance she seemed to be fine, if a bit frazzled, she caught a faint glimpse of a foreign emotion on the farmer’s face.

Doubt.

While it was true that their situation got more complicated with each passing day, Twilight still tried to hold out hope. Knowing Applejack of all ponies started to waver did little for her spirits. Even more so because she didn’t know how to reply.

“I… I wouldn’t know how to bring up the topic, but I feel we should tell them. They have the right to know. After all… ” Twilight trailed off before mustering enough energy for a smile before asking her, “Honesty is the best policy, isn’t it?”

Applejack let out a short laugh, more of an abrupt exhale than anything, but it was the happiest she’d seen her friend be in the past couple of days.

“Sure is, Twi. It sure is…” the farmer trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

“We should get going, Twilight. It's almost time,” Spike said.

Twilight looked back at Ponyville. Soon, ponies would soon wake up and—hopefully— would make their way to Town Hall.

“Yes. I figure we should,” she said.

Without another word, Twilight, Spike, and Applejack walked back into town, and towards one of the most important days of their lives.

Apple Bloom kicked the tree, sending her body forwards, swaying gently on the tire swing hanging from the tree branch, as if moved by the breeze.

“Do you think they already started?”

Sweetie Belle was lying on the grass, looking as troubled as she had the day before. A glance to her side showed that Scootaloo wasn’t faring much better. While Apple Bloom herself had felt the same way, she had gotten the chance to talk things out with her brother and Granny Smith, to get most of her worries out of her chest. If her friends’ expressions were anything to go by, they probably hadn’t had the chance to do so.

“Maybe. I don’t know,” Scootaloo replied in a flat tone.

Apple Bloom thought back to the way she had felt last night, back to that gnawing, empty feeling somewhere in her stomach that grew stronger whenever she thought of the ponies back in town who were losing their cutie marks.

The previous evening, when they’d cried out their laments in their clubhouse, the sorrows had been lessened somewhat, but that had only been a temporary fix. Her lower lip quivered as her mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water, gasping for the right words to say, and once more coming short. Once more she didn’t know what to say, or if she even could say something to make things right. Just like the time she found Golden Harvest late at night and couldn’t offer more than the empty promises of a child.

“I want to believe that, Apple Bloom. I really do.”

Perhaps… Perhaps she didn’t have to say anything. Perhaps it was enough to listen. It wasn’t much, but it was all she could do at the moment, and she was going to run with it for the sake of her friends.

She swung back and forth before jumping down from the old tire swing, landing with a thud. Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked up at her with melancholic eyes. For a second, none of them spoke, they didn’t even move, nopony wanted to be the first to speak. After a few more seconds of lingering silence, Apple Bloom sat down in front of her friends.

“Are we going to do another group hug? 'Cause I don’t think I can take another one of those so soon…” Scootaloo said, looking away.

“I wouldn’t mind a hug,” Sweetie Belle mumbled.

“Maybe later,” Apple Bloom replied, smiling. “I just wanted to talk… To know how y’all were holding up since yesterday.”

Sweetie Belle looked up at her expectantly while Scootaloo did her best to pretend not to be interested. Curiously enough, the latter was the first to speak.

“I’m fine,” the pegasus said, too quickly to feel natural, “I’m, uh… Yeah. Fine.”

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a sidelong glance. Her friend was obviously trying to play down her worries; it probably wouldn’t do them any good to try and force an answer out of her. Better let her come around and open up at her own pace.

Turning around to face Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom found that the unicorn wouldn’t meet her gaze. Keeping her eyes fixed on her own hooves.

“How are you feeling, Sweetie Belle?”

The unicorn sighed and kicked a pebble away. “I’m… I’m alright, I think.”

Apple Bloom didn’t reply. She thought back to the previous night, to the way Granny Smith had talked to her. Her grandma had been patient with her, she didn’t pressure her but just gently urging her to speak her mind at her own pace until she was comfortable enough to talk. Hopefully, she could do the same for her friends.

With greater resolve, Apple Bloom kneeled down and nuzzled her friend. Sweetie Belle tensed up for a second before mellowing out and nuzzling her back. She was certain Scootaloo was making some retching motions behind them, but she didn’t care.

“My parents are out of town,” Sweetie said. Though her voice was barely louder than a whisper, her words brought down a silence over the orchard like a blanket of snow on a winter morning.

Though she heard Scootaloo walking closer to them, Apple Bloom didn’t break her gaze away from Sweetie Belle. The unicorn spared her friends a glance before she continued speaking.

“But… Then how come yesterday—” Scootaloo started, but was interrupted by the unicorn.

“They left weeks ago. Before all of this started,” Sweetie cleared up. “They’ve been planning their second annual honeymoon for several months now, so it’s only been Rarity and me.”

Apple Bloom nodded, hoping her friend would know she was listening and she wanted her to go on.

“We were together the whole afternoon. She tried to cheer me up… She even got those cookies she says she shouldn’t eat too often.” The faint smile tugging at Sweetie’s lips didn’t go unnoticed by Apple Bloom, though she remained silent as the unicorn kept talking. “We talked for a while and things, I don’t know, they seemed back to normal for a while. As if I could pretend nothing was wrong.”

Scootaloo stood right next to Apple Bloom, and she too eyed the unicorn with curiosity.

“But then the ponies from Town Hall came for the census, and Rarity sent me to sleep before she went to see Fluttershy,” Sweetie Belle continued in a lethargic tone that left little doubt about if she managed to fall asleep or not. “Before she left, though, she told me not to be afraid.”

Apple Bloom thought back to Cheerilee’s words just two days prior. She had asked her not to be afraid, too. To be strong and to believe they would pull through.

“You know…” Scootaloo chimed in. Apple Bloom looked up to see their pegasus friend fidgeting in place, as if she wasn’t sure whether to come closer or not. “I’m not afraid.”

“Seriously?” Apple Bloom gave her a flat look, and Sweetie Belle must have done the same, seeing how Scootaloo’s eyes widened and she looked away.

“Wait, no! That’s not what I meant!” she replied, waving her hooves in front of her friends. “I mean that, I talked with my parents yesterday, too… They’re nervous about what’s happening, and so am I, but… It’s not fear. It’s more like… I still don’t understand what’s happening. I don’t know why it’s happening, but I can understand why every adult is so freaked out. I’ve been thinking about it too, and it’s not that I’m scared—”Scootaloo looked at her friends with a serious expression on her face, one that felt alien on the young pegasus.”—it’s just this weird feeling in my chest… It’s weird, but, it’s like I feel sad for them. I’m not sure how else to say it.”

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to face Sweetie Belle. The unicorn’s eyes danced from side to side before she tapped her chin in thought. “I think that’s called empathy.”

“Yeah, what she said,” Scootaloo continued. “It’s just that it’s all so… weird. Don’t you think so? You don’t buy that nonsense about it being your fault you lose your cutie mark, do you?”

“No.” Apple Bloom said, her voice unwavering. “That can’t be right. I mean, those ponies who lost their cutie marks didn’t do anything wrong.” In her mind, Apple Bloom saw Golden Harvest’s downcast expression, she saw Miss Cheerilee’s heartfelt encouragement, she even saw the fear in Diamond Tiara’s eyes on the playground that day. Neither had done anything that would deserve the loss of their cutie marks. Even at her worst, she wouldn’t have desired this for Diamond Tiara. Then why was everyone so quick to point hooves?

“Well, there has to be a reason, right?” Sweetie Belle chimed in, looking unsure.

Sweetie Belle’s words managed to make Apple Bloom’s thoughts come to a halt. She had considered that in passing, but it never registered in her mind until her friend actually said it out loud.

“Does there have to be one?” She finally said.

“Huh?”

Apple Bloom’s eyes went back and forth between her friends confused faces, knowing she looked much the same. “I mean, why does there have to be a reason? There’s no reason for getting sick, it just happens.”

Her friends exchanged a quick look before Scootaloo spoke up, “Well, the grown ups want one.”

Apple Bloom shook her head, barely noticing how she had started pacing. “That’s what I don’t get. I mean… I get they want a reason, but why do they have to blame the ponies who lost their marks?”

Their friends became silent, but she barely paid attention to them. Now that she was—mostly—out of her slump, she could think on what had been bothering since her talk with Cheerilee the other day. What that couple said, what she heard at the market, what she’d overheard after her siblings came back home… Everypony wanted to convince themselves it was the sick pony’s fault.

“Maybe…” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “they just want to convince themselves it won’t happen to them?”

Apple Bloom considered that thought for a moment, trying to make sense of it. “Y’mean… Like, it’s their fault they got it, but that wouldn’t happen to me in the first place?”

Sweetie Belle just shrugged, looking somewhat downcast. “But it’s just a disease. It’s not your fault you got it, right? You just… caught it.”

“Well, they obviously don’t see it that way,” Scootaloo said with a huff.

“Do you think they will?” Sweetie Belle asked.

There was a part of Apple Bloom that wished they would, hoped they would. However, a quieter part also imagined that, even if they stopped trying to pin the blame on the sick ponies, they’d just find somepony or something else to blame. There’d be little point in mentioning that, however.

“Maybe…” she said, not trusting herself to say more than that and opting to change topic instead. “I guess AJ will tell us when she comes back.”

Whenever she comes back, her mind added, much to her distaste.

“What do we do until then?” Scootaloo asked as she fluttered her wings as if trying to purge some of her anxiety through them. “My parents will come as soon as that meeting wraps up, and your sister and Rarity will probably stay until much later.”

Apple Bloom pawed at the ground, unsure of how to reply. The meeting was sure to take all morning at the very least. Probably even longer. Normally, they’d be at school, but that was off. And after the past couple of days, going on a crusade for their cutie marks was the last thing on their minds. Right now, the only thing they could do was kill time. That didn’t mean they had to keep moping, though.

“Hey, girls… Do you want to make apple fritters?” At the sight of their somewhat confused friends, she continued, and a hopeful edge seeped into her voice. “Granny Smith taught me how to make ‘em last night. I thought we could try making a few to pass the time.” Apple Bloom finished the sentence with a small shrug.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged an quick look before facing her. After a few seconds of silence, Scootaloo nodded and helped Sweetie Belle stand up.

“Sure, I could give it a shot,” the pegasus said and started walking towards Apple Bloom.

“Oh, Rarity congratulated me the other day! She was proud my toasts managed to still end up with toast shapes when I was done!”

At that, Apple Bloom failed to suppress a giggle. For her part, Scootaloo laughed out loud, which in turn let to both of them laughing merrily. Sweetie Belle managed to look offended for all of two seconds before a smile found its way to her lips, and soon enough all three were laughing as they walked back to the farmhouse.

Apple Bloom didn’t know how the day would turn out, but right now, being with her friends, she found it hard to care.