A couple days passed since the incident. Even though Sweetie had recovered, and the fillies had had fun at their CMC snacktime, Apple Bloom still felt confused about what was going on.

Today, Apple Bloom was lying on the couch, staring down at the floor. Applejack trotted in, with a plate on her back.

“You hungry, Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked her younger sister. “I brought you your favorite: peanut butter with apple jelly!”

Apple Bloom looked up at the sandwich, then back towards the ground.

“Oh, it’s okay to eat this, sis,” Applejack said. “Sweetie Belle ain’t here, is she?”

Apple Bloom sighed. She didn’t feel comfortable eating the food that had almost killed her friend.

Applejack could see that her sister wasn’t hungry. She placed the plate on the table and sat down next to Apple Bloom.

“Listen sis,” she said. “Ah know you and Scootaloo feel guilty about what happened. But it was an accident, and Sweetie’s okay now.”

Apple Bloom finally decided to speak. “Ah know it was an accident,” she replied. “And ah know Sweetie survived. But ah still feel confused. Ah have a million questions.”

Applejack thought for a minute. “Why don’t you and Scootaloo go over to Twilight’s castle?” she said. “Surely she knows a lot about food allergies. She has all those books and everythin’.”

“Ah guess so,” said Apple Bloom. She got up off the couch and trotted out the room.

***

Twilight was sitting at the table reading a book about elves when Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trotted in. As soon as the fillies arrived, Twilight put the book down.

“Oh, hi girls,” said Twilight. “What do you want to know about today?”

“We wanna know about food allergies,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah,” said Scootaloo. “Sweetie Belle had a reaction to some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a couple days ago that almost killed her. Rarity said she has a peanut allergy. We disposed of the sandwiches and continued our snacktime, but we still don’t completely understand how this works. Think maybe you could tell us?”

“Sure,” replied Twilight. “I actually heard about Sweetie Belle’s reaction from Rarity and Applejack, which caused me to look at a book about food allergies.” She levitated the book in question so that the fillies could see it. “Any specific questions you girls have?”

Scootaloo raised her hoof. “Is it like being allergic to dust, fur, or pollen?”

“Somewhat, but not completely. See, the reaction is caused by your immune system. It thinks that the potential food is a threat once it gets consumed, so it starts to react. The reaction varies from pony to pony. Sometimes it’s just a mild stomachache and itchy throat, but, in the case of Sweetie Belle, it can be deadly. The best course of action is to avoid these foods in question.”

“But Sweetie Belle didn’t eat that sandwich,” said Apple Bloom. “She just smelled it.”

“They talk about that in this chapter. While fruit and milk are only dangerous when eaten by the ponies who have the allergy, peanuts contain a spore that can be spread. So just being in the same room can trigger a reaction.”

“So, if she was allergic to milk, it would be fine for us to eat ice cream as long as she herself doesn’t eat it, but with peanuts…”

Twilight nodded. “Just going into certain restaurants can be dangerous, since the room is filled with peanut oil from the kitchen.”

“Well, is there a cure?”

Twilight sighed and lowered her eyebrows. “I’m sorry to say this, but…there is no cure.”

“What?!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both shouted in shock.

“You mean Sweetie Belle’s gonna spend the rest of her life havin’ to avoid rooms with anythin’ peanut related in ‘em?”

“Well,” Twilight continued. “I read that some experts are trying to think of a cure. Some have suggested injecting foals with tiny amounts of the food in question, so their bodies can develop a natural immunity. However, other experts are unsure about this, believing that it might trigger a reaction anyway. So, as of the moment, it’s best for Sweetie Belle to stay as far away as possible from any and all peanut products.”

“That’s all we wanted to know about,” said Scootaloo. “Thanks, Twilight.”

“You’re welcome, girls. Come back anytime soon if you want to know more.”

***

At Rarity’s house, Sweetie Belle was in her room drawing a picture with some crayons. She had just finished drawing a house and flowers, and was starting to add the caption “Faust’s House”, when Rarity barged in.

“Here’s another letter from Apple Bloom and Scootaloo,” said Rarity, dropping it on the floor next to Sweetie Belle before leaving.

Sweetie Belle sighed as she glanced at the letter on the ground. For the past couple days, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had been constantly sending her letters that all said something along the lines of “We’re sorry we almost killed you, we didn’t know, it was an accident, blah blah blah”. The filly debated whether or not to open it, as it might just be another one of those letters.

She decided to open it anyway. Indeed, the letter was related to the incident, but thankfully it wasn’t completely like the previous ones.

Dear Sweetie Belle,

Hi! This is Apple Bloom and Scootaloo again. We were going to write another apology, but we decided that maybe we had written you enough of those and that maybe you were sick of it. So we decided to tell you that we went to Twilight’s to learn more about food allergies.

It must really stink for you to not be able to go into any rooms with peanuts in them! Twilight said that, while there is no current cure, there might be one in the future. Hopefully, it will happen while you’re still around.

Your good friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo

Sweetie Belle smiley softly at the idea of a cure for her allergy. But she still wanted to talk to the others about this.

As Rarity worked in her dressing room stitching together a dress for a new client, Sweetie Belle came in.

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I’m going over to Apple Bloom’s. Is that alright with you?

Rarity nodded. “Of course! Just please make sure to…”

“I know. I know. Stay away from peanut products. Relax. It’s been a couple days, and I’m fine now.”

***

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trotted over to the crusader clubhouse, both curious.

“What did Sweetie Belle want us for, anyway?” Scootaloo asked.

“She said somethin’ about havin’ a meetin’,” replied Apple Bloom. “Ah dunno what kinda meetin’, but it probably has somethin’ to do with her peanut allergy.”

Sure enough, Sweetie Belle was sitting behind the podium, a serious look on her face. She gestured for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to sit down.

“Listen, you guys,” she said. “I understand you both feel bad about the incident. But it was an accident, and I’m fine now. I appreciate your apologies, and I also got your newest letter. I like the idea of being cured, but can we please just forget about this? Yes, I should stay away from peanut products, but what’s wrong with just going on with our lives like we did before?”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other. Then Scootaloo spoke up.

“Well, it’s just that, this is such a big, life-threatening thing that we didn’t know about beforehand, and…”

“Yes, I know,” interrupted Sweetie Belle. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t go back to the way we were before the incident. In fact, let’s only bring up my allergy when we need to, like if you guys are warning me about something. Okay?”

The other two fillies thought about this for a second. Then they nodded. “Okay,” they both said.

Sweetie Belle nodded along with them. “Good. Now that this meeting is over, why don’t we go get milkshakes?”

“Ah love that idea!”

“Me too!”

“Alrighty then,” said Sweetie Belle. “Let’s go. And don’t worry about me, there’s no peanut-flavored milkshakes there yet.”

Author's Note

The thing about injecting foals with tiny amounts of the food they're allergic to is based off an actual thing I heard about on the radio.

I'm thinking about adding a third chapter, but that's a big "maybe", so I'll mark the story as complete until I decide to do so.