Prologue
It was a beautiful day in PonyVille, the sun was shining more beautiful than ever the streets were filled with eager ponies bustling through the PonyVille street markets trying to buy handcrafted souvenirs or fresh produce. It was always like this on a Sunday morning and a fellow pony of the PonyVille community had become quite accustomed to the living conditions of a Sunday morning. That Ponies name was Al. Al was a typical earth pony that had a white coat combined with slick black mane and tail that usually represented the style of the Great Elvis himself, he was your average pony he slept during until morning, woke up to attend his daily chores and would usually help his mother around the house but today of all days Al felt like he could use a few extra minutes or hours even of Rest….Well that’s what he was hoping for.
“Wakey…Wakey…eggs and bakey” shouts Al’s Mother trotting into his room smashing to big frying pans together.
This usually would happen when he tried to sleep in, his mother never would let him take time to gain a little bit more shut eye, even If he was finished all his chores his mother would find him something to do so he wouldn’t fall asleep.
“Oh” moans Al, “Can’t I at least sleep in a little longer”
“No…No…We can’t have you sleeping around all day…if we did that who would help me with all this house work” laughs his mother ripping the blanket of top of him leaving Al shivering from the cold that his blanket helped protect him from.
“Agh” yawned Al as he stretched his fore hooves above his head, “What’s for breakfast then?”
“The usual eggs and bacon with a side of hay” smiled the old brown pony
Al’s mother wasn’t very healthy for her age I probably didn’t help that she looked like an old and worn out pony hidden behind the old tacky brown coat and the light grey mane and tail but it didn’t stop her from cooking meals each day, do the laundry every once and a while and attend the Sunday markets when she felt that she was up to it.
“Cool thanks mum” said Al, slowly getting out of bed “I’ll be down in a little bit just let me have a quick shower and I’ll be down.
He walked over to his mother and lightly kissed her on her fore head and then trotted of to the shower across from his room.
He quickly finished up in the shower as he could begin to smell the lovely breakfast he had grown to love of the years of living with his mother.
Al used to live with his dad when he was a young col, he only just happened to begin living with his mother when his father become an arrogant drunk that had a dead end job and couldn’t provide for himself let alone Al as well, he would all ways spend his weekly pay check from work on booze or on anything he could find as a substitute for alcohol.
“Agh it smells lovely mother dear” said Al drying the rest of his mane of with his light blue towel
“It should…I’ve cooked it the same way for almost three years now and you haven’t complained about it since” said Al’s mother as she places the two fried eggs out of the pan and on to Al’s plate, “Well dig in Al”
Al began to wolf down his breakfast as if it was the last meal he would have for a long time but you never know what will happen during the day he would always say after wolfing down a big breakfast like that
“So Mother, what do you want me to do today” smiled Al placing his dirty dishes in the sink ready for him to clean later on
“Well I was planning to go to the markets today but im not feeling up to it at the moment” said his mother sitting down at the kitchen table
“What’s wrong mother?” Said Al concerned about his mother’s health
“Oh nothing’s wrong dear; just could you go to the market and buy the items I have written on the grocery list”
“Sure” said Al getting up from the table and grabbing the list from on top of the fridge
“here this should be enough bits for the essentials” said his mother grabbing the bits out of a perse sitting on top of the table
“Thank you mum, I’ll be back soon with the groceries” smiled Al walking towards the front door
“Hurry back dear” acknowledge his mother, “oh Al Honey”
“Yeah mum” said Al turning to face his mother
“The doctor called today” coughs Al’s Mother into a hanker chief
“Doctor Hoofman, What did he want?”
“He said that he will be travelling to Manehattan on business for a little while so he said that another doctor has been assigned to take care of me while he attends to his business in Manehattan”
“Oh…Okay mother, thanks for notifying me about that, at least he took the decency to call and explain that another doctor will be looking after you as he is away…any other doctor probably wouldn’t have” Smiles Al
“Yeah” coughs Al’s Mother again, “I better not keep you the market will usually be packed at this time of morning and usually that means all the fresh produce has been poked and prodded by the other ponies of PonyVille and Celestia knows what germs they may have”
“Don’t you worry Mother” Laughs Al heading towards the front door once again, “I’ll make sure not to pick up anything that looks like it has been touched by any pony else ok”
“Okay Darling” coughs his mother, “Be careful”
“I will Mother”
Al waved good bye to his mother as he walked out the front door and out onto the street were the market was set up.
Chapter 1: The Market Place Tragedy
Chapter 1: The market place tragedy
Al steps out into the nearby street packed with trades people, local merchants and customers bustling up and down the main street, but Al was always used to the PonyVille market it was second nature to him to avoid rampaging customers trying to buy there fresh produce before they ran out but Al was a smart thinker when it came to the local markets he always had a friend of his hold some stock for him every weekend so he could enjoy the market without having to worry to about the fresh produce being bought and his mother having to find them away to purchase food. Al loved walking down the main street of the market it allowed him to unwind amongst the sound of eager ponies bartering on local goods, he especially loved the atmosphere of the market how inviting and carefree it was. Al walked along his usual route until he reached a stall in particular.
“Hey Al” sayed a familiar orange pony that always wore her trademark cowpony hat that was standing behind the market stools
“Hey Applejack” smiled Al as he trotted over, “how’s business been treating ya”
“Same old same old ya know...nearly sold out of my apples which is a good sign” smiled Applejack in return
“That’s good to hear…hows Big Macintosh?”
“He’s been busy helpin ol’ grandma smith with the house work while im gone” said Applejack, “Hows your mother doing?” Applejacks expression turning into a concerned look
Applejack has been a good friend of mine since my mother fell ill, she’s helped by holding certain produce for me…well apples for me and if im never able to pick them up she always goes out her way to deliver them to us even though she now’s she doesn’t have to. She’s also been someone I could talk to about my mother and about anything in general…Since my mother has been sick it was hard to keep in touch with friends and Applejack just happened to be someone I could talk to ever Saturday since she ran her market stool
“She’s alright but she’s not getting any better anytime soon….we got told that doctor Hoofman won’t be in Ponyville for a while” said Al sadness beginning to lingering in his voice
“Oh…where has he gone?” sympathises Applejack
“He’s gone to Manehattan for a business trip…so another doctor has taken his place while he is gone” says Al kicking the dirt road with a hoof which causes dust to rise
“Im sorry to hear that” sayed Applejack sympathetically, “Well it’s good to see you out and about again”
“Yeah its nothing to worry about I’m sure that this doctor will be as good as Hoofman”
Yeah im sure he will be, well im sure he has been notified on the condition your mother is in and has a list of medical advice as well” Comforts Applejack, “Well I have your apples ready for you”
“Oh thanks Applejack” I say as a small smile breaks across my face
“No problem” Applejack smiles back, “Here you go” she says as she lifts a basket onto the counter
“Thanks and here is a couple more bits for your trouble” I say placing the bits my mother gave me onto the counter
“Oh I don’t need that much” says Applejack as she grabs the required bits leaving the others on the counter
“No I insist” says Al as he places the basket into his mouth
“Well if you insist” smiles Applejack, “I’ll see you next week”
“Mmmoarppp” says Al his words muffled by the basket
Al trots of back home in a casual speed taking in the sites as he goes back home
Next thing he knew he was bumped into by a black pony who was running away from something, the impact knocked the basket out of Al’s mouth and caused him to fall over at the same time
“Ough” moaned Al as he collided against the dirt ground
The impact barely shudder the runner.
“WATCH IT NEXT TIME” yelled Al in annoyance as he got back up onto his hoofs
Al proceeded to pick up his apples and place them back in to the basket
“I better get back home” whispered Al to himself
Al hurried back home looking out for the mysterious runner so that he could give him a piece of his mind
He finally reached home and opened the front door and headed inside, one think about living in Ponyville there was no need to lock your doors during the day cause crimes occurred very little during the day, the only reason we locked them at night was so no one would disturb you while you were trying to sleep.
Al walked into the kitchen and placed the basket of apples he bought from Applejack on the kitchen table he noticed it was awfully quite inside since he arrived back home he would normally be greeted y his mother with a sloppy kiss even if he only went down the road
“Hey mum I have the apples” shouted Al so he could be heard upstairs, “Mum you there”
Al went upstairs so he could see if his mother was in her room or listening to her records and couldn’t hear him
“Mum?” sayed Al softly as he knocked on her bedroom door, “You in there?”
As Al opened his mother’s bedroom door he was greeted by a horrific sight that no pony should ever have to see
“NO” muttered Al under his breath, “It can’t be”
