Chapters “There! Done!”
Scootaloo placed the third cup on the table, alongside a huge pitcher of punch, a big bowl of apples and bananas, and a large plate of sandwiches.
Apple Bloom stared at the food before them. “Awesome!” said the yellow earth pony filly with the pink bow in her mane. “So, when can we eat?”
The orange pegasus filly looked out the window of the Cutie Mark Crusader club house. “When Sweetie Belle gets here. I wonder what’s taking her.”
Apple Bloom shrugged. “Ah can go over and check,” she said in her southern accent. “She said she’d be doin’ important things with Rarity, like helping her make dresses.”
Scootaloo went back to check on the food. “I hope this doesn’t take too long. I worked hard on those sandwiches. Halfway through, I ran out of ingredients, and I had to go over to Pinkie Pie’s to borrow some more!”
“I’m here!” The two heard a loud squeaky voice from outside. They looked out the window and saw Sweetie Belle walking over to the treehouse steps. The white unicorn filly had a bunch of hair bows in her pink and purple mane.
“I’m here,” she said again. “I’m sorry I took so long. Rarity forced me to dress up in the most embarrassing costume you can imagine!” She pulled the last of the hair bows out. “So, what did you guys prepare for our big CMC snacktime?”
“We wanted to surprise you!” said Apple Bloom. As soon as Sweetie Belle trotted into the treehouse, Scootaloo pointed over to the table.
“See?” said the pegasus excitedly. “We added the punch like you asked! Apple Bloom came up with the apples and bananas, and I made a bunch of sandwiches!”
“That sounds great!” Sweetie Belle said, her eyes beaming.
“Now we can eat. You want the first bite?” Scootaloo held half of one sandwich up to Sweetie Belle’s face.
Sweetie Belle smelled the sandwich. The smell of something familiar hit her nostrils, causing her to gag.
“What’s the matter, Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked.
Scootaloo sighed. “It went bad, didn’t it?” She put the sandwich back on the plate. “I’m sorry. You were taking a long time, and…”
Sweetie Belle began to breathe harder and harder as she clumsily trotted around the treehouse in circles.
“Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked. “Are you okay?”
Sweetie Belle’s breathing slowly turned into gasping before she fell onto the floor. Her face turned reddish purple.
Apple Bloom’s look of worry turned into panic. “Ah think somethin’s wrong with her!” she shouted. She turned to Scootaloo. “Quick! You stay with her! I’ll go get Applejack!”
Scootaloo sat down next to the gasping filly as Apple Bloom sprinted out of the clubhouse and straight to her front door.
***
Inside the kitchen, an orange earth pony with a brown cowboy hat was washing dishes. At that moment, her sister ran into the kitchen.
Applejack turned to Apple Bloom, looking confused. She noticed that her sister was sweating and looking extremely anxious. “What’s goin’ on, sis?” she asked. “Is there another vampire fruit bat infestation?”
“Sweetie Belle! There’s something wrong with her! She came into our clubhouse, but then started gasping and fell to the floor! Come quick!” She dashed outside with Applejack in pursuit.
***
When the sisters arrived at the clubhouse, Scootaloo was standing at the door, nervously jumping up and down. “Oh, thank Celestia you guys are here!” she exclaimed. “Sweetie Belle is looking worse than ever!”
Sweetie Belle was still lying on the floor gasping. This time her face was badly swollen, and looked more like a purple-red balloon with two eyes and a tiny muzzle.
“Great jumpin’ rattlesnakes!” the elder pony shouted. “We’d better get her to the hospital and fast!”
***
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat by the window of the clubhouse. Neither of them spoke. They just stared outside, anxiously. After a few minutes of this, Scootaloo spoke up.
“I hope Sweetie Belle is doing fine,” said the pegasus.
Apple Bloom turned to her friend. “What do ya’ think’s wrong with her?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Nurse Redheart said that her airways were blocked by her throat swelling, and she needed oxygen.”
Apple Bloom sighed and curled up on the floor. Tears began to form in her eyes. “Ah feel this is our fault.”
“How?” Scootaloo replied.
“She didn’t start goin’ into that fit until we offered her that sandwich.”
“But that sandwich was peanut butter and jelly, not cyanide and toxic waste.” Even though Scootaloo was trying to look confident, she had just as much a weight in her stomach as Apple Bloom did.
“Well, somethin’ caused that fit. And it was somethin’ in this here clubhouse, that’s fer’ sure.”
“Apple Bloom! Scootaloo!” called Applejack from outside.
The two fillies trotted outside, their eyes closed and heads down. When they opened their eyes, Applejack was standing there with Sweetie Belle’s sister Rarity right next to them.
“Tell me, girls,” the white unicorn said, in a cold flat tone. “Were there any peanuts in your clubhouse?”
Both fillies shook their heads.
“Well, what about peanut butter ?”
Apple Bloom spoke up. “Well, Scootaloo made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and she offered one to Sweetie Belle when she started…”
Rarity held up a hoof to silence her. “That explains it. Follow me.” She gestured with her hoof.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other. Then they followed Rarity into Applejack’s house.
Rarity sat down on the couch in the living room. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat next to her. Rarity spoke to the two fillies.
“Sweetie Belle is deathly allergic to peanuts. The first time she had a reaction was on her first Nightmare Night. She was only five.”
Tears filled the unicorn’s eyes. “She bit into a peanut-butter chocolate bar, then began to suffocate. We had to take her into the hospital. None of us, not even the nurses, were sure she was going to make it.”
She paused for a bit and quietly sobbed into her hooves, with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo quietly looking at each other. Then Rarity stopped crying, and her mood quickly changed.
“YOU LITTLE BEASTS!” she screamed at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who jumped back in shock with their eyes wide open. “I ALMOST LOST MY SISTER LAST TIME! THIS TIME I MIGHT LOSE HER AGAIN, AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! I HOPE YOU TWO BRATS ARE HAPPY!”
Suddenly, she felt a tug at her tail. She turned around to Applejack, who spat the tail out and spoke.
“Now, Rarity. It was an accident. They didn’t know. Ah’m sure they understand, and are gonna be more careful next time. Aren’t you two?”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded.
“See? Plus ah spoke with Nurse Redheart. She made the injection, and Sweetie’s startin’ to recover. You can even come in and see her.”
***
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both felt like they had a knife in their sides as they trotted into the hospital waiting room. To their surprise, Sweetie Belle was standing in the middle of the room and looking completely fine. In fact, she looked even perkier than she did earlier today.
“Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked. “Are you okay?”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “I’m fine now.”
“Me and Apple Bloom wanted to say…”
“I know you’re sorry,” Sweetie interrupted. “And I can forgive you guys. You just didn’t know.”
“But…but…” Apple Bloom stuttered. “We could’ve KILLED you!”
“But you didn’t,” Sweetie Belle replied, smiling. “And that’s all that matters.” She lifted up both forelegs, embracing her two fellow Crusaders in a hug.
As the fillies walked home with their sisters, they discussed what to do about the CMC snacktime.
“Well, first of all, we’ll obviously have to dispose of the sandwiches,” said Apple Bloom.
“I feel kinda bummed about that,” replied Scootaloo. “I worked hard on those. But I don’t have a problem with making new ones. How about cream cheese and jelly?”
Sweetie Belle leapt into the air. “I love cream cheese!” she squeaked.
“Then it’s settled,” said Apple Bloom. “We can have our CMC snacktime with punch, apples, bananas, and cream cheese and jelly sandwiches.”
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.
That night, the crusaders were on their way back to the clubhouse.
“Man,” said Scootaloo. “Those were some good milkshakes.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “They sure were. And ah’m also glad we stopped by that place to get Sweetie Belle a medical bracelet.”
Sweetie Belle looked up at the rubber bracelet on her horn that read “Peanut Allergy”.
“Rarity will be happy,” she said. “Ever since the incident, I can’t go out without her telling me ‘don’t go near anything peanut-related, blah blah blah’. Now I’ll tell her that ponies will see this bracelet, and I’ll most likely be safe no matter where I go.”
“Hel-lo, Crusaders.” A familiar mocking voice came from the bushes.
“Oh no,” groaned Apple Bloom, her bow lowering. “That sounds like…”
A pink earth pony filly wearing a tiara on her head trotted out of the bushes. Following her was a gray filly wearing glasses and a pearl necklace.
“Hello, Crusaders,” Diamond Tiara said again. “Me and Silver Spoon heard about your friend’s supposed peanut allergy.”
“That’s right!” shouted Apple Bloom. “And it’s very serious, so you’d better not…”
“Food allergies are a bunch of bunk,” replied Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara nodded.
“But…but…” Scootaloo said. “We actually saw Sweetie Belle suffocating! She had to go into the hospital!”
Diamond Tiara laughed. “It was all in her head. She just needs to toughen up. That’s why we brought this.”
Diamond Tiara reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a big jar of peanut butter. As soon as Sweetie Belle saw this, her eyes grew huge.
“NO!” she squealed as she turned and ran toward the clubhouse. “KEEP IT AWAY!”
The two bratty fillies laughed. “See what we mean?” said Diamond Tiara. “Sweetie Belle’s a huge baby.”
Diamond Tiara opened the jar and handed it to Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon grinned maliciously as she stuck one hoof into the jar and began to rub peanut butter all over her friend’s side and back.
“Stop!” shouted Apple Bloom. “What are y’all doin’?”
“We’re going show you,” said Diamond Tiara as Silver Spoon rubbed some peanut butter on her face. “That peanut butter isn’t going to hurt your friend. She’ll get dirty at worst. I think I’ll go over to the clubhouse and give her a big hug, to show her what a good friend I am.”
As soon as Silver Spoon was done, she put the jar back in Diamond’s saddlebag. Diamond trotted over to the clubhouse. “Sweetie Belle!” she called out. “Here, Sweetie Belle!”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both stared in horror, their mouths wide open.
“What are we gonna do?” Apple Bloom asked. “Diamond might end up killin’ her!”
“We could try tackling her,” said Scootaloo. “But then we’ll get peanut butter on ourselves, and we won’t be able to go near Sweetie Belle until we take a bath.”
At that moment, the two fillies heard loud barking, and Diamond Tiara screaming. They looked up, and saw Diamond being chased by Winona, Applejack’s dog, who had smelled the peanut butter on the filly.
“Get away from me, you dumb dog!” Diamond Tiara whined. “I’m allergic to dog saliva! Silver Spoon! Help me!”
“Hey! Dumb dog!” Silver Spoon yelled. “Get away from her!”
“Help! Help!” Diamond Tiara ran off into the distance away from the clubhouse with Winona in hot pursuit. Silver Spoon ran after her as well.
As soon as the other fillies were gone, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo ran to the clubhouse. When they came in, they noticed that Sweetie Belle was hiding underneath the table.
“Is Diamond Tiara gone with the peanut butter?” Sweetie Belle asked them.
They both nodded. “The smell of the peanut butter attracted Winona,” said Apple Bloom. “She chased Diamond off. It seems that Diamond is allergic to dog saliva.”
“Hopefully, it’s not deadly,” said Scootaloo. “As much as I hate her, I’d feel bad if she died.”
Sweetie Belle came out from under the table. “Well, if she survives, she’ll have hopefully learned a little lesson.”
“Though, you might not want to pet Winona for a while,” said Apple Bloom. “She’ll probably still have peanut butter on her breath.”
***
Diamond Tiara sighed as she sat in her oatmeal bath and scratched the itchy rash that formed all over her body.
Her father, Filthy Rich, rubbed a special soap across his daughter’s coat.
“So, tell me, Diamond,” he said to her. “How did this happen?”
Diamond sighed. “I was over by Applejack’s, and her stupid dog smelled the peanut butter on…”
“Peanut butter?” Filthy raised one eyebrow. “Uh huh. And you do realize that Sweetie Belle was over there, and that Sweetie Belle is allergic?”
“Well, I thought it was a bunch of bunk, and I wanted to show her that…”
“Well, your cousin Greedy is allergic to dairy, ain’t he?”
“But only if he eats it! Just being around it won’t hurt him. And it doesn’t kill him, it just makes his face swell up funny.”
“Well, Sweetie Belle’s allergy is a bit different. Tomorrow, ah’m taking you over to Rarity’s house, and you’re gonna apologize to both her and her sister. Is that clear?”
Diamond Tiara mumbled under her breath.
“What did you say?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Thank you. It seems that the hives on your skin are startin’ to go away. You can get out now.”
***
The next morning, Rarity was working on yet another dress. She remembered last night when Sweetie Belle came home and showed her sister her new medical bracelet. The bracelet not only stated what Sweetie Belle’s condition was, but also gave info on what to do if such a situation occurred.
At that moment, a knock at the door was heard. Rarity went to answer it.
Standing at the door was Filthy Rich. Standing next to him was Diamond Tiara, who looked extremely embarrassed.
“Good morning, Mr. Filthy…I mean, Mr. Rich,” Rarity said. “Do you want me to make you another suit?”
Filthy shook his head. “Is your sister here?” he asked. “My daughter would like to apologize for something.”
Sweetie Belle was in her room drawing another picture. This time, it showed a wedding between Applejack and Rarity, with herself and Apple Bloom swooning and Scootaloo puking. At that moment, Rarity burst in.
“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked. “Diamond Tiara and her father are here to apologize to you for something.”
Sweetie Belle had a feeling she knew what Diamond was apologizing for. She trotted down the stairs over to the door to where Filthy and his daughter were.
Filthy nudged his daughter’s shoulder. “Go on, Diamond,” he said. “Say it.”
Diamond blushed and turned her head away.
“Diamond!”
Diamond turned her head back. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“Ah don’t think she can hear you.”
Diamond spoke up. “I’m sorry!” she said.
“Tell her what you’re sorry for.”
Diamond sighed. “I’m sorry for bringing the peanut butter over to Sweet Apple Acres. I know now that food allergies are a pretty big deal. I won’t do it again.”
“Very good,” said Filthy, turning to Sweetie Belle. “My daughter had a reaction to your friend’s dog’s saliva, and ah had to give her an oatmeal bath. Her allergy isn’t deadly like yours, but ah’m sure she knows how you feel. Now come on, Diamond.”
As Diamond and her father walked away from Rarity’s house, Diamond turned her head around back towards the building. She noticed that Sweetie Belle was looking out the window and smirking at her.
As soon as Diamond arrived at her house, she noticed Silver Spoon standing in the front yard. “Hi, Mr. Rich,” Silver said. “Where have you guys been?”
“Ah took Diamond over to Rarity’s house to apologize to her sister.”
As soon as Silver Spoon heard this, she started laughing. “You had to apologize? To Sweetie Belle directly? How embarrassing! Haha!”
“Shut up, Silver!” Diamond shouted through her teeth. “This peanut butter thing was your idea, and you know it!”
Silver continued to laugh as Diamond Tiara followed her father into the house.
***
“So, Diamond had to apologize directly to me, and she looked so embarrassed! It looks like she’s learned her lesson.”
The Crusaders were sitting in their clubhouse and gossiping about what happened this morning with Diamond Tiara. As soon as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo heard this, they burst out laughing.
“Diamond’s probably gonna be the laughing stock at school tomorrow,” said Scootaloo. “But at least she’s not going to try to do anything like she did yesterday.”
“Ah’m glad you survived that day,” said Apple Bloom. “So, what did Rarity think of your medical bracelet?”
“She was very happy. Now she doesn’t have to worry about me having another reaction as much, since she knows other ponies will be aware of my condition.”
After chatting a bit more about Diamond Tiara, the fillies thought about what kind of cutie mark activities they should do today.
“I know!” said Sweetie Belle. “Let’s make some medical bracelets of our own, and give them to fillies who also have life-threatening conditions!”
“That’s a great idea!” said Scootaloo.
“Awesome!” said Apple Bloom.
“Cutie Mark Crusader Bracelet Makers! Go!” They did a triple hoof-bump before trotting out the door of the clubhouse to find some blank bracelets to write on.
Author's Note
So, here's the third chapter. It might need some work, so if there's any way you'd like me to improve it, please comment and tell me.
It's VERY unlikely I'll write a fourth chapter, just letting you guys know.
