Mass Hysteria

Chapter 2: One Week's Time

As the sun rose high over the horizon another day of spring began, but this time the rooster's crow was replaced by the sound of gagging, coming from all corners of town...

The Library

"Spike!" Twilight shouted out, just as another wave of nausea hit her, forcing her head back into the toilet bowl. As she continued to empty her stomach her number one assistant appeared at her side, worried about what was going on, but eager to help nonetheless. Once the nausea subsided Twilight turned to him, wanting to speak before she was down again.

"Spike, look through every book about known illnesses, and find one that fits what's going on right now, okay?" Twilight said shakily, just before another wave hit her, forcing her back down. Spike quickly saluted Twilight before running over to the main room, his eyes silently searching for any book that would be able to tell him what was going on. Within thirty minutes there was a large pile of books in the middle of the room, still no sign of any book that might explain what was happening to Twilight, that is, until Spike accidentally grabbed the wrong book.

"I've got it!" Spike cheered happily as his eyes read down a page titled Morning Sickness. Without looking at the title of the book he ran back into the bathroom and placed it down in front of Twilight, still open to the page he had found. He beamed happily until Twilight pushed the book away, not believing what she had just read.

"It can't be that, I'm not pregnant" Twilight said, making Spike look at her funny, not exactly seeing the correlation between morning sickness and pregnancy. Twilight saw his confused look and shut the book, turning it so he could read the title, which was What to Expect When Expecting; A mare's guide to pregnancy.

"But Twilight, you showed all the symptoms they talked about in here, right down to the`anger part" Spike said, trying to defend his reasons for bringing the book in without checking the front cover, but Twilight wasn't going to, nor was she able to, have any of it.

Sweet Apple Acres

"What's goin' on in here?" Big Mac asked as he stepped into the bathroom, the sound of Applejack's constant gagging having interrupted breakfast. When he looked down at the toilet he saw Applejack with her hair loose and her hat sitting discarded on the floor next to her. With a loud sigh he left to get Granny, who would be able to help Applejack more than he could. A few minutes later Granny was at the bathroom door, with Applebloom right behind her trying to sneak a peek inside.

"Applejack, are you feelin' okay?" Granny asked as she stood next to Applejack, being considerate enough to hold her mane back as she continued to vomit into the toilet.

"Does it look like I'm feelin' okay?!" Applejack shouted as she came up for air, quickly forcing her head back to toilet as another wave of nausea hit her. Granny simply nodded and looked over to Applebloom, who was watching from the doorway with a mixture of horror, and curiosity. She had never seen her sister in this kind of state, which scared her, but she was also interesting in finding out why Applejack was like this.

"Granny, is she going to be okay?" Applebloom asked as she took a few careful steps into the bathroom. Applejack came up for air again, this time wanting to tell Applebloom to leave, but opening her mouth made her shove her face back into the bowl. Granny shook her head before beckoning Applebloom to sit next to her and hold up Applejack's mane for her.

"I think your sister's come down with a case of morning sickness" Granny said, giving Applejack an inquisitive look, which she returned with an angry stare, "It's the only reason she'd be like this right now"

"I've never even slept with a stallion!" Applejack shouted back, her stubbornness allowing her to hold back the nausea for a few moments, "How would I have gotten pregnant?!" Applebloom's eyes grew wide when she heard Applejack mention pregnancy, and she quickly looked over at Granny for confirmation about it.

"Applejack, why else would you be shoving your face into the toilet in the mornin' after eating one bite of bread?" Granny asked, not paying any attention to Applebloom. Applejack tried to give another rebuttal, but the nausea finally became too much for her again, and she was back into the toilet, now throwing up a clear liquid because nothing else was left in her stomach.

"Exactly" Granny said, taking the silence as Applejack backing down from the argument, which made Applebloom's eyes get even wider as she thought about what this means.

"I'm going to be an Aunt!" Applebloom said happily, a muffled groan coming from Applejack because she knew the entire town was going to hear about that within a few hours.

Rainbow's Cloud House

"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!" Rainbow cried mere moments before she shoved her face back into her toilet, a strong wave of nausea rushing up from her stomach. Rainbow had no idea what was going on, she had been woken up by a sudden feeling of being sick to her stomach, and now she couldn't stop vomiting. She had stopped for a short while, but as soon as she saw the food in her refrigerator she was back upstairs, head firmly stuck inside the toilet bowl.

"OH CELESTIA WHY?!" Rainbow cried as an even stronger wave of nausea hit her, making her feel as if her insides were trying to escape through her mouth. At this point it was nothing but a clear, gooey liquid, but it didn't matter to Rainbow, it was still extremely disgusting, not to mention the smell. Every time she managed to pop up for air her nostrils were filled with a horrid stench, one she placed as the worst thing she has ever smelled, just above rotten rainbow mix. Once the new wave of nausea wore off Rainbow attempted to stand, only to fall face first onto her bathroom floor, a Wonderbolts' poster being the last thing she saw before passing out.

When she woke up a few hours later she was hungrier than she had ever been before, but the smell of her vomit was still floating around, so her appetite was quickly destroyed. Out of curiosity she flew out of her bedroom window and looked down below her cloud house, seeing a strange pool of a liquidey brown and yellow mixture, as well as a trail of hoof prints leading away from it.

"I feel sorry for which ever poor pony got hit by that mess..." Rainbow said quietly before her stomach grumbled at her, reminding her that it was completely empty. Flying back into her house through the front door she quickly ran to her kitchen, opening the fridge to find a plate of half eaten sandwiches from the Winter Wrap Up party that Pinkie had thrown for everypony.

"A week old sandwich?" Rainbow asked out loud, a growl from her stomach reminding her just how hungry she was, "Oh well, I might as well eat something, I'm starving!" As Rainbow chowed down on the sandwich all memories of her being sick left her mind, being replaced with images of her being a Wonderbolt, among other things.

Carousel Boutique

"Sis?" Sweetie Belle asked tiredly as she wandered around the boutique, trying to find Rarity after being woken up by the sound of somepony gagging. When no pony replied Sweetie Belle decided to go looking for whoever was making the gagging noise, eventually being led to Rarity's personal bathroom. Despite being told to never go in there without permission Sweetie opened to door, finding her sister bent over the toilet, still in her bathrobe.

"Sis, are you okay?" Sweetie asked as she trotted up next to Rarity, who was making the most disgusting noises Sweetie had ever heard. After a few seconds Rarity popped up from the toilet, giving Sweetie an angry glare.

"Does it look like I am o-" Rarity tried to say, but she was soon back in the toilet, leaving Sweetie Belle to watch her in confusion. Sweetie had no idea what was going on, but judging from the state her sister was in she managed to figure out that she wasn't in the best condition. While silently wishing she was still at home Sweetie Belle went looking for something to help Rarity with, only finding a strange box in the medicine cabinet.

"Do you think this would help you Rarity?" Sweetie asked, showing the box to Rarity, who managed to look up long enough to grab the box from her. Rarity read over the cover of the box, but as soon as she finished reading it she got up from the toilet. Without saying anything she pushed Sweetie Belle out of the bathroom and shut the door, locking it as well. Outside Sweetie Belle pressed her ear up against the door, only to hear a small dripping noise, followed by a shock gasp from Rarity.

"Sis?" Sweetie asked as she opened the door slowly, looking nervously inside to see Rarity on the floor in a dramatic pose. Stepping over to her sister Sweetie crushed the box, which was now empty. Out of genuine curiosity she picked up the box, actually reading it this time. Pregnancy Test, Sweetie Belle read, quickly looking at Rarity, who had the test lying next to her on the ground.

"Rarity, are you...?" Sweetie asked hesitantly, getting a rather quick reaction from Rarity.

"Yes!" Rarity cried, curling up into a ball as she rolled back and forth, "This is THE worst possible thing!" Rarity continued to roll around as she cried dramatically, getting a roll of the eyes from Sweetie Belle before she left the room, not only to get away from her, but so she could go tell all of her friends the news.

Sugar Cube Corner

"Dear, I think something is wrong with Pinkie" Mrs Cake said worriedly as she looked at Pinkie, who was coming out of the bathroom for the hundredth time that morning, her mane loosing it's puffiness thanks to the sweat that was running down her head.

"Why do you say that honey-bun?" Mr Cake asked, looking away from the dough he was rolling so he could face Mrs Cake.

"Well, she keeps doing this" Mrs Cake said, waving a hoof at Pinkie, who was in the kitchen looking at a plate of cupcakes with hungry eyes. Mr Cake watched her as well, seeing her pick up a cupcake, throw it into her mouth, swallow it, and then quickly run upstairs to the bathroom, followed by the sound of her gagging horrendously. Mrs Cake turned to look at Mr Cake, who was trying to figure out what had just happened as Pinkie came trotting back down the stairs happily, again taking her place at the cupcakes.

"See, I don't think she's feeling well today" Mrs Cake said, just as Pinkie raced back upstairs, another cupcake gone from the tray.

"I think you're right sweetie" Mr Cake said as Pinkie once again entered the kitchen, "Pinkie, can you come over here?"

"Yes Mr Cake?" Pinkie asked as she suddenly appeared next to him, eliciting sharp gasps from the two Cakes.

"Are you not feeling well today Pinkie, dear?" Mrs Cake asked, getting a confused look back from the pink mare.

"Why do you think I'm not feeling okay?" Pinkie asked back, completely ignoring the fact that moments before she had her face in the toilet, entire chunks of cupcake flying out of her mouth.

"Well, you can't seem to keep any of the cupcakes you eat down this morning," Mr Cake explained, "and you keep running upstairs to throw up after you eat one"

"Oh, well I am feeling a little funny this morning, but I'm okay!" Pinkie said with a smile, still ignoring how strange it was that she couldn't keep anything down. Mr and Mrs Cake looked at each other worriedly as she bounced back over to the cupcakes, eating one, and then running upstairs again.

"There's definitely something wrong with her" Mrs Cake said worriedly, getting a nod from her husband as they both looked over to the cupcakes, where Pinkie was eating another one, yet again bolting up the stairs to throw it up into the toilet. With two loud sighs they went back to what they had been doing before, knowing that asking Pinkie about it wasn't going to help solve the problem.

Fluttershy's Cottage

Angel hopped around the cottage with an angry look on his face. Taking a short look at the clock that hung on the wall only made him angrier as he realized how late in the morning it was. By now Fluttershy had normally fed him and the other animals, but today she was late by five minutes. Looking around the cottage he found her in the bathroom, huddled over the toilet with her mane lazily hanging next to her. He bounced up next to her and began to tap his foot impatiently, getting her attention.

"Oh, good morning Angel bunny" Fluttershy said weakly, "Is everything okay?" Angel stopped tapping his foot and motioned towards Fluttershy, and then his mouth, followed by rubbing his stomach. Fluttershy was about to respond to him, but a wave of nausea forced her into the toilet again, but as soon as it was over she replied.

"I'm sorry Angel, I'm not feeling good this morning" Fluttershy apologized sincerely, but Angel was still angry. He waited as Fluttershy began to throw up again, but as soon as she was finished he began to pull her away by her mane. Fluttershy silently went with him, having to use every bit of willpower that she had to keep herself from throwing up again as he pulled her away. Eventually they ended up in the kitchen, and Angel motioned for her to make him breakfast. She quickly did as he asked and placed his breakfast on the counter for him to eat, and then went to feed the other animals, who were a thousand times happier to get fed than Angel was.

"There you are, now eat-" Fluttershy attempted to say, but a sudden urge to throw up took over. She managed to shut her lips fast enough to keep herself from throwing up all over the animals, but her puffed out cheeks worried them. They had never seen her act this way, and the pained look on her face from trying to hold it in made them worry even more. A few of the smaller animals went to her side, hoping to comfort her, but she ran into the house quickly, dropping the food bag in the process. As a few of the greedier animals went to eat what had spilled the larger animals stepped in the way, picking up the food and putting it away inside the house.

"I am so sorry for running away like that!" Fluttershy shouted from the bathroom, her voice being followed by the sound of her gagging furiously, all of the vomit that she had held in coming out all at once. A few of the other animals looked over at Angel, who was completely ignoring what was going on as he ate his breakfast. They then went upstairs, getting Angel's attention for only a moment before he went back to eating. Fluttershy started throwing up again just as they animals got to the bathroom door, a few of the smaller ones heading inside to help her out. A pair of hummingbirds held her mane up so it wouldn't get in the way, some mice grabbed a few tissues and then hopped onto the toilet to wipe the sweat off her forehead, and group of hedgehogs ran outside to get Harry the bear so they could go find some help for her. Meanwhile Angel finished his breakfast and headed upstairs to lay in Fluttershy's bed for a nap, his full belly making him feel tired.