"Boy howdy, it sure is a good lookin' morning today," Applejack said as she made her way downstairs. "I reckon we've got a long day of work ahead of us." Her affirmation was answered by a crash of thunder. She looked out the front window and saw the sky dark with thunderheads and the orchards soaked in rain.

"Nope," Apple Bloom and Big Mac responded.

"Well ain't that the cow's bell. Could have sworn everything looked clear a minute ago." Applejack rubbed her chin with her hoof. "Might have to go have a talk with Rainbow Dash about that later."

"What are we gonna do now?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Eat some breakfast and wait for the storm to pass, I suppose. It can't last all day."

[hr]

"I can't believe it's still raining," Applejack said as she paced around the living room couch. "This is downright silly now."

"You've been wrong about everything all day, Sis. It's kinda weird," Apple Bloom said. "You didn't step in any Poison Joke lately, or catch some weird magic curse, did ya?"

"Curses ain't..." Applejack stopped herself and reconsidered her answer. "I didn't step in anything funny or catch a curse, 'Bloom. Might just be havin' an off day."

"I wonder about that." Apple Bloom walked over to Applejack and checked her hooves and legs. "Nope, no Joke on you anywhere I can see, so you were right about that."

"Told you so."

"I'm still not convinced there isn't somethin' going on here." Apple Bloom sat for a moment and rubbed her hoof across her chin. She glanced up at the clock and had an idea. "Hey Big Mac, come on down here a minute," she yelled upstairs. "Me and AJ need your help real quick."

"What in blazes are you planning?"

"You'll see. Just don't say anything unless I ask you a question, okay?"

"Fine."

"'Ssssup," Big Mac said as he rounded the stairs into the living room.

"I'm doin' an experiment. I need all three of us to watch the clock and make sure it's ticking exactly how it's supposed to. Will you do that for us?"

Big Mac shrugged. "Eeyup."

The three ponies gathered around the wall clock and watched it carefully. The second hand and minute hand looked like they were keeping proper time. Once the minute hand ticked over Apple Bloom spoke up. "Okay Applejack, what time did the clock say a minute ago?"

"It said five twenty-two," AJ answered.

"That's what I saw, too. Big Mac?"

"Eeyup."

"Step two. What time does the clock say..." Apple Bloom waiting a few seconds for the minute hand to tick over again. "right now."

"It's five twenty-three."

As soon as the words left her mouth the clock changed to read 5:24.

"You saw that, right Big Mac?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Uhh, eeyup," he said as he stared unblinking at the clock, which continued to keep time as though nothing strange at all had happened.

"That's probably nothin'. Right?"

"AJ, what color is my bow?" Apple Bloom asked with a trace of fear creeping into her voice.

" Your bow's... your bow is pink," Applejack said. As soon as she spoke the words Apple Bloom's bow turned a brilliant shade of blue.

"Granny, get down here there's somethin' strange going on!" Apple Bloom yelled. She waited, but there was no response from upstairs. "Granny?"

AJ and Big Mac looked at each other for a moment, and then Applejack ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She turned hard on the landing and made straight for Granny Smith's door. She knocked it open and stopped at the threshold and scanned the room. Granny Smith was bundled up under the covers on her bed. AJ walked over to her and placed a hoof in front of her grandmother's nose. Applejack couldn't feel any air movement.

"No, not yet, no no," she whispered to herself.

And then Granny Smith let out a bellowing snore, shuffled around in bed a bit, and continued breathing normally.

Applejack fell onto her haunches and cried. "Oh thank Celestia." She sat for a minute and watched Granny breathe. Satisfied Granny Smith was alright, she left her room and closed the door behind her.

"Applejack," Big Mac called from the living room.

AJ walked back to the upper landing and looked down at Apple Bloom hugging her brother's leg tight. "Don't worry," she began. Before either Apple Bloom or Big Mac could stop her, she finished, "she's just sleeping."