Blue Flu

	“Hehh… Ehh…” Applejack moved in her sleep, her red nostrils flaring. “EHH… HehhhCHOOOO!”

	The orange farmpony jolted awake as she sneezed. Her nose began to run. Beside her in bed, she could see her friend Rarity, stirring slightly. She looked terrible, even worse than Applejack did. Applejack’s head throbbed as she tried to go back to sleep. It seemed like she had been lying in this bed for days.

	In reality, it had only been a few hours since Discord had infected the Rarity and Applejack with the Blue Flu. It was the fastest acting illness that Applejack had ever heard of. She had been planning on going back to the farm, but she had been feeling so weak by the time they passed Carousal Boutique. She had decided to go in and sit down, but sitting down had turned into laying in Rarity’s bed, and it wasn’t long before she closed her eyes and sleep set in.

	Applejack was absolutely miserable. Her throat burned, her head was killing her, and her muscles ached so much that she could hardly lift her hoof. And, to top it all off, her nose was tickling again. “Ehh..”

	“Hehh…” Applejack hitched, suddenly remembering Rarity sleeping beside her. Painstakingly, she lifted a hoof to her nose and tried to rub away the itch. “Hehh.. EHH…”

	“HEHH… EHHEH…” It was no use, she just couldn’t help herself. Applejack pressed a hoof into her nose in an attempt to stifle. “HehhPMMXF!”

	Applejack’s head ached so badly that she thought she could feel her brain rattling inside her skull. And her nose continued to tickle. “Ehh…”

	“Gehh… EHH…” She scrubbed at her nose, trying hard to stay focused on holding the sneeze back, but slowly giving in. Her nose itched desperately, and she teetered on the brink of her sneeze. She had to release. “EHH! EHH!”

	“KKAARAAACHOOOOO!” Applejack bellowed, somewhat surprised that her weak body was able to produce such a strong sneeze. Rarity’s eyes opened.

	“Oh… Applejack… I didn’t realize… you…” Rarity’s eyelids drooped shut. “Were… zzz…”

	Unfortunately for the both of them, Applejack needed to sneeze again. She rolled out of bed, feeling as if she was going to fall apart at any moment. One step at a time, she made her way into Rarity’s kitchen. “Ehh… EHH… Haaachooo!”

	She opened up Rarity’s cabinet and found a can of instant soup. Personally, she didn’t feel like eating any, but she knew it would make her feel better, and maybe Rarity would want some too. She heated up the oven, then placed a pot on the burner, dumping the soup base in, and adding water.

	Applejack resisted the urge to lay down onto the floor and take a nap. She stared into the pot, and her nose began to tickle tremendously. Applejack’s hoof snapped to her nostrils, and she turned her head before she sneezed into the soup.

	However, just as quickly as it appeared, the urge to sneeze disappeared, replaced by a dull itch in her nose. Applejack sniffled, trying to coax the sneeze out, but it was no use. At least the soup smelled good… And if the soup smelled good, then her sinuses must be clearing. Applejack’s stomach grumbled. She took out a large wooden spoon and stirred the soup, before lifting a spoonful to her mouth.

	It was pea soup. She hadn’t paid any attention when she selected it. Perhaps it was just the Blue Flu, but the soup tasted a bit bland. Applejack realized what it needed: garlic! Granny Smith used to force-feed her cloves of the stuff when she got sick as a filly.

	Applejack combed Rarity’s cabinets. Rarity seemed to be out of garlic, and she didn’t even have any garlic powder! Applejack grabbed a pepper shaker, shaking it over the soup a few times. Her nose was beginning to tickle again from the smell of the pepper. “Ehh…”

	The tickle slipped away, and Applejack sniffed the air, trying to make it return. “Heh… Hehh…”

	The sneeze eluded her again. She set the pepper shaker down on the countertop, and took a sharp sniff of the air directly over it. Nothing. Acting on an impulse, Applejack shook the pepper shaker slightly, and then sniffed again.

	“Hehh… Ehhh… EHH… HEHHEH! EHH…” Damn. Her nose burned with the urge to sneeze. Well, surely she was in too far to give up now. Applejack set her nose on the top of the pepper shaker and gave a solid sniff. “HehhCHOOO!”

	Applejack sneezed suddenly, her head crashing into the counter. The pepper shaker fell on its side, and slid across the surface, releasing a black cloud. Applejack’s nostrils flared. She quickly backed away from the counter, her hoof fanning in front of her face. Her tongue pushed into her cheek, and her mouth opened as she began to suck in air.

	“HEHH… HEHH! GEHH… HEHHEHH!” Applejack hitched. A sneeze like this would probably wake up Rarity, but she just couldn’t help herself. “KKKEEERRTTTIIIIIIICHHOOOOOOOHH!!”

	Applejack exploded, her front knees giving way as her body fell forwards. Mucous dripped out of her nose, so she quickly stood up and tried to grab a paper towel. The sneeze had taken a lot out of her, however, and Applejack could feel her head spinning as she stumbled around the kitchen. Finally, she reached the counter, and leaned against it as she wiped her nose.

	The feeling of the coarse paper tower against her nose was causing another sneeze to build. Applejack didn’t bother trying to resist. “Hehh.. Ehh.. Haah… HaaaaCHOOO!”

	Applejack sneezed into the paper towel, tearing a hole through the middle. She grabbed another and continued cleaning her nose.

	The soup smelled done, so Applejack turned the stove off and poured two bowls, placing them on a tray. She could feel another sneeze coming on. “Hehh.. Ehh.. Aaachooo! HeehhCHOO! Ehh… Achhoooiiee!”

	She really needed to get control of herself before she went back in the bedroom. Applejack did not want to wake Rarity up. Although she would never admit it, she also didn’t want Rarity to see her sneezing. Most of the time, she wouldn’t have given a hoot what Rarity thought, but for some reason, she was feeling protective of her sick friend. And a sick mare who was sneezing her head off could hardly be a protector.

	Applejack balanced the tray in her mouth and headed towards the bedroom. The soup was steaming, and smelled delicious. However, a combination of the steam and the spice was beginning to tickle Applejack’s nose. Her nostrils flared. Her breath hitched through gritted teeth. “Hehh..”

	She couldn’t sneeze now, not with the tray in her mouth. But nevertheless, a sneeze was coming. Applejack stopped, and her head tilted back slightly. Her nostrils continued to flare, and behind the tray, her tongue curled and pressed into her cheek. “Hehh… AAH!”

	Applejack pushed a hoof into her nose, but it seemed to be too late. Every hitching breath was a struggle to not release the powerful sneeze that was building inside of her. “HEHH… EHH… EHHEHH!”

	“HEHH! EHH… EHH…” Applejack didn’t know how much more of this she could take. The scent of pepper invaded her nostrils, and her nose crawled with the urge to sneeze. She didn’t have a choice anymore. “EHHEH! EHH!”

	“Hehhhchooo!” Came a sneeze from on the bed, distracting Applejack. Her head lowered. That had been a close one. “Bless ya, Rarity. Ah made us some soup.”

	“Ugghh… I don’t want to think about eating right now.” Rarity replied. Applejack climbed onto the bed beside her and put the soup in her lap.

	“You eat it, it’ll make ya feel better.” Applejack said. She ate a spoonful from her own bowl. Her nostrils flared as the sneeze from earlier returned. Applejack put her spoon down and rubbed at her nose.. “Ehh…”

	Applejack held the sneeze off, but she knew it would come again. This was going to be a doozy of a sneeze, and she was determined not to release it in front of Rarity. She began shoveling the soup into her mouth, wanting to finish so that she could have an excuse to get up.

	Looking over, Applejack saw her friend building up to her own sneeze. Rarity’s eyelids were shut, her mouth hung open, and her hoof fanned in front of her face. The sight was making Applejack’s nose tickle, but she couldn’t look away. “Ehh… Ahh…”

	“Aaaachheeeew!” Rarity sneezed. It was a loud sneeze, but it had an almost musical sound to it. Applejack’s nostrils flared, and her head tilted back. She placed a hoof on her nose. “Ehh… Hehh…”

	“HEHH…” Applejack’s tongue pressed into her cheek. She knew it was hopeless, she simply had to release. Her lips curled as she continued to draw in air. “HEHHEH! EHHEHH! EHHEHHEHHH!!”

	“KKKAAAAAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAAAAAAATTTTIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH!!!” Applejack exploded, sending her soup bowl flying. It landed on the other side of the room with a splat. Applejack sighed, and got out of bed to go clean it up.

	Then, she noticed something. Her legs no longer felt weak. Her sore throat was gone. Most importantly, her nose was no longer suffering from a constant tickle. She looked down, and her fur had changed back from blue to orange.

	Applejack walked back into the bedroom, pepper shaker in hand. “Rarity, Ah think Ah know how to cure ya.”