Fever Enigmatic

Fairy ignored that last part. Instead, she stopped, fixing Fluffy with a stare.

"Reveal yourself to Apple Bright? Why?" she demanded. "I realise these ponies are quite...soft-hearted, but you must have heard the Glow Triplets back there. They might open their hearts and hooves to someone who is a little clumsy, but do you really think telling them you're a changeling will end well?"

Especially since she wasn't just carrying her own secret anymore...

Summer smiled. "No problem, Pepper. It was really sweet of you to come by."

Assignment? That sounded... well, actually, it sounded like it could be just about anything.

"Well, it may not be quite what you had in mind, but you've revealed yourself to me. I may not be a 'pony', precisely, but it should be a start, no?"

Fluffy Crust sighed, "Not really. The goal was either to work up enough reputation to live in a town with everypony's knowledge or to find some sort of alternate food source. I almost had both and now I might not have either."

Having seen Pepper off, Summer hurried back to the clinic. Winter probably wasn't awake yet, but she wanted to be sure.

"Ah...ye~es," Fairy replied non-commit ally. Pointing out that Fluffy was already putting a fairly impressive reputation for being a hazard was probably neither tactful nor helpful.

"...Wait. What do you mean by 'alternate food source'?"

mjh6 wrote:Having seen Pepper off, Summer hurried back to the clinic. Winter probably wasn't awake yet, but she wanted to be sure.

Summer's parents had been gone several minutes when Summer herself arrived.

"You just missed your parents," Marvel said. "No matter. Come on back," she continued, leading her back into the clinic proper with Sunset.

"Welcome back, Summer." Sunset says, rising to his hooves. "How are you feeling?"

Fluffy Crust seemed to perk up, "You know how we feed on love?  Well, what if love and magic was in a tidy little non pony package?  I think I figured out something close enough--Zap Apples!"

Fairy raised an eyebrow.

"Magic I can understand," she said slowly, "but let's pretend I'm utterly incapable of growing thing. How does 'love' feature into zap apples? I was under the impression one didn't put anymore love or affection into them than into any other crop."

Summer sighed. "A little tired, I guess. How's Winter?"

Fluffy Crust sighed, "I don't know how it works, I just know that it does. The pie was filling for you earlier, right? Regardless, 'growing' is the problem since neither of us is good at farming and you're not supposed to remove Zap Apples from the town."

Summer let out a big sigh of relief, and cat down with a thud. "A-A drink?" She asked faintly. "Water, I guess."

"Plenty of that here." Sunset Stroll says with a reassuring smile, bringing her a glass of water. "So how are you doing? I imagine no one's thought to ask you that in a while."

Summer took the drink of water and snorted. "Me? I'm fine physically. Mostly tired, I guess."

Sunset Stroll lets out a small chuckle. "It wasn't a medical question, Summer. You just saw your...relative...go through some dangerous trauma. Do you feel alright?" He rolls his eyes. "Years of medical study, and we still don't have a better term than that. Do you feel alright about...everything? Life? The future? The past?"

ZamuelNow wrote:Fluffy Crust sighed, "I don't know how it works, I just know that it does.  The pie was filling for you earlier, right?  Regardless, 'growing' is the problem since neither of us is good at farming and you're not supposed to remove Zap Apples from the town."

"Considering I had just spent a -heh- glorious morning with Glorious Morning, and a lunch run with Mrs Cake, I don't know if calling it filling is entirely accurate"-Fairy held up a hoof- "but I'll presume for the moment that you at least tested the pies on yourself first. So, assuming you're right, and zap apples do work as an alternative, how did you plan on getting the end result to your hive? Unless you have someone to help smuggle them out, I think a whole hive of changelings showing up for zap Apple jam might give even this town some cause for concern."

Summer took a large gulp of Water, and gave off a shuddering sigh. "Well, what are you expecting me to say? Winter... he's hurt. And you say he's going to be fine, but all I can do is wait and see if you;re right. But at the same time, all my adrenaline has worn off, so now I'm just... tired."

ooc:

"There's not much else to it, is there?" Sunset Stroll says, with his sympathetic smile. However, he also looks very subtly disappointed. "Let's talk about something else." He says abruptly. "Have you done anything interesting recently? Has Light Burst corralled you into helping set up the race?"

Fluffy Crust nodded in response to Fairy Charmer, "Yeah, that's the problem. I know it works but I don't know how to make more. Neither of us is all that good at farming. Maybe...maybe I should just call it a night. A good rest may help me think this over."

"Actually, I decided to sign up for the apple toss." Summer giggled nervously. "Broaden my horizons, you know."

"I don't think I've ever seen a unicorn participate in an apple toss before." Sunset Stroll says, tilting his head inquisitively. "Do they let you use magic?"

"I should hope not," Marvel interjected. "Too easy to cheat."