Efficiency

Twilight makes her way down the long dirt road toward Sweet Apple Acres. The sun had begun to sink lower on the horizon. In another hour or so, the blue of the sky would fade to orange, and the trees would darken to silhouettes. It was always her favorite time of day, Twilight. A slight breeze rustled the leaves on the trees as she made her way through the main gate and up to the farmhouse proper.

Once again, not knowing what to expect, she readied her magic as she knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” A voice from inside called out. It was Granny Smith.

“It’s me Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight replies, still keeping herself on guard.

“Twilight? Hold on a second, I’ll be right there.”

A few moments later Granny Smith opens the door and steps out onto the porch. She holds a small satchel in her hoof.

“I knew you would come eventually.” She says, gesturing for Twilight to take a seat in one of the rocking chairs. “You or somepony like you anyways. I’m guessing this is about what Applejack did?”

“Yes, I need to talk to her.”Twilight says impatiently. “I need to find out what she did, and how to fix this.”

“No need for all that youngin.” Granny says, settling into another rocking chair. “I can tell you everything you need to know. Just sit down for a minute.”

“Fine then,” Twilight says sitting down. “Tell me what happened.”

“It all started the day you left.” Granny says, as she begins to rock her chair.

“Applejack had come back from your castle with some liniment for me, and something called an efficiency potion. She said it would help her become more organized and help her do her chores better.

Well, we all thought that was a fine thing, Applejack, bless her heart, was never very good at being organized. Anyway, she chugged down that thar potion, and you could tell that it was definitely doing something. Her eyes seemed to become more alert, and as she looked around the house, she started telling us stuff that would make things run more smoothly. She began reorganizing things, and sure enough, she knew what she was talkin about. Everything seemed ta be fine.

Until about four days later.

She had just come back from town, madder than a hornet. She was complaining about how everypony in town was being inefficient, and how they were keeping her from getting her work done. She said she had stopped by your castle, and picked up some notes, and wanted Apple Bloom ta go over them and see if she could make another batch of that efficiency potion.

Well, Apple Bloom always loved any excuse ta practice her potion makin, so she looked over your notes and whipped up a batch. Just ta make sure it worked, she and Big Mac each volunteered ta try a swig.

Sure enough, just like with Applejack, their eyes became sharper and more alert. Big Mac said he had some ideas about changing some things out in the fields, so he headed off outside. Apple Bloom on the other hoof began rereading your potion formula. She told us that the potion itself was inefficient, and that with a few changes it could be a hundred times more effective.

I reckon that right there was when everything went south.

She made her changes to the formula, her, an Mac, an Applejack all tried it. An they all went plumb loco. Everything became about work and efficiency. Worse yet, Applejack was still goin on about ‘fixing’ the ponies in town. She had Apple Bloom make up four big barrels of the stuff, and hauled it to town to dump in their water supply. I tried ta talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen. None of them would. They tried ta get me ta take the potion, but I refused. I even had ta start making my own meals ta make sure they didn’t try ta sneak it in on me.

Oh, but they worked me after that though. The worked me hard Twilight Sparkle. Even though I hadn’t taken their potion, they still expected me to perform my duties around the house just as efficiently as they did. It was hard on an old mare like me Twilight. But I was tough. I’d lived my whole life on this farm, an there wasn’t anything they could ask me to do that I haven’t done a thousand times before.”

“So where are they?” Twilight asks. “I haven’t seen or heard a sound from anypony else since I’ve been here.”

“They’re dead Twilight.” Granny says flatly. “All three of them are dead. I don’t know what the effects of those barrels were on any other pony, but Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all drank an undiluted version of that potion, a hundred times as strong as the original. They stopped being able ta sleep. Their bodies got thin, no matter how much food they ate. Finally their hearts just gave out. Imagine that Twilight, Apple Bloom, dead from a heart attack at her age!

They’re all gone Twilight. My whole family is gone. Forgive me if I can’t help but blame you, just a bit, for making that blasted potion in the first place.”

“I-I’m sorry. This whole thing… because of me.” Twilight says, tears running down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to hear it!” Granny yells. “Go be sorry on your own time. Here, take this,” Granny says, tossing the satchel that she had been holding into Twilight’s lap. “That’s Apple Blooms modified formula notes, and a sample of her potion. Go back home and fix this mess. THEN you can go be sorry.”

Twilight takes the satchel, and rises from her chair. “Thank you Granny, I promise, I’ll cure everypony. I will.”

“Everypony still ALIVE you mean,” Granny says bitterly. “Now go! Get off my land! Leave an old pony in peace.”

Twilight takes the satchel and quickly makes her way up the dusty road back toward Ponyville. Her form is a dark silhouette, as twilight falls upon the farm.

“Heh,” that’s fitting at least,” Granny says as she hobbles back inside.

She stops at Apple Bloom’s room, and takes a jar off of her potion ingredients rack.

“Always wondered what it tastes like,” She says, as she makes her way to the dining room.

She goes over to an ancient looking phonograph, and cranks the handle several times, as the record begins to spin, she carefully lowers the needle. A moment later the sounds of an old, old, dance tune fill the air. Soft brass, and woodwind instruments, and the tinny voice of a pony crooning to whomever will listen, echo throughout the quiet household.

She takes her seat at the head of the table. Uncorks the jar, and pours the contents onto a bowl of vegetable strew as she begins to speak.

“That was Twilight” she says, as she stirs her stew. “Took her long enough to come. A body gets tired of waiting. Is everybody ready for dinner?” she asks, looking around the table.

There is no sound, except for the buzzing of flies.

“Come on, don’t be shy, dig in.” She urges. “Now that’s just inconsiderate,” she says after a moment. “Here I go to all the trouble of making each of you your favorite dish, and you just sit there and let it get cold. Fine then, I’ll just have to dig in myself.” She takes her spoon and begins shoveling large spoonfuls of stew into he mouth.

“Hmm, surprisingly tasty. Who would’ve guessed.”

She eats for a few more minutes before her head crashes down into her bowl. He arm knocks off the now empty jar of belladonna onto the floor where it shatters.

All the flies in the room leap into the air at the crash, before settling back down onto the three corpses which had been carefully arranged around the table. And then with the soft strains of music filling the air, they quickly resume their meals. Some of them eventually make their way over to the body of Granny Smith.