After a long day Apple Jack decides to go home and enjoy some alone time. As she slumps on the couch she had taken into notice that no pony decided to say howdy when she walked in. Not thinking about Apple Jack curls up in a blanket and with the faint sounds of yawns falls asleep. A few hours later she wakes up only to still not hear any pony walking around in the kitchen.
“Hello, is any pony home?”
Apple jack had said out-loud as she trots into the kitchen. As she steps hoof into the dusty room she notices shards of bowl pieces have been shattered into small fragile pieces. With her ruff hoof she pushes the broken bowl pieces to the side and continues into the darkness of her home.
“Big Mac! Apple Bloom! Granny smith! Any pony home?”
The home breathes quietly under Apple Jack as she gets no response from any of her family. Now confused she decides to head into the basement to see if any pony was working and couldn’t hear Apple Jacks voice over the sound of hard labor. She walks down the creaky stair case breaking it free from all the cobwebs that had collected over time. To her dismay no pony was down stairs. As she examined the place she found a note on the ground that she had read aloud.
“Sugar Cube Corner 9:30 sharp. What in the hay is that supposed to mean?”
As Apple Jack set the paper down on the table she thought to herself that her family wanted to surprise her with something and without a second more thought she trotted up the stairs past the shattered bowl and out the door to Sugar Cube Corner. As she arrives she can see the lights are out and only Mr. Cake can be seen from the front door.
“Uhm Mr. Cake have you seen ma family here at all?”
“I can’t say that I have but some pony left this note here for you. Maybe this can help you out”
Mr. Cake handed over the note which smelled of black coffee with a dark stain in the corner from a coffee mug as Apple Jack stuck her hoof out to mutter the few words on it to herself.
“School yard 6:30-6:40 tomorrow morning. What is this leading to?”
After Apple Jack read and reread the note to a few times she thanked Mr. Cake and home she went. Now with fear and confusion in her heart and mind she couldn’t sleep for more than an hour. When the time came she headed to the school yard to see Apple Blooms bow lying on the ground. She picked it up dripping water and smelling like cigarettes. On the back of it was another note taped to it.
“You have 24 hours to get what’s mine back to me, you will find another letter in your mailbox describing more of our new game and if you lose. Your family will be my new wall prints”
Apple Jack now terrified scurry’s home to open her mailbox to which she found another letter this time with blood on all four corners. She opened it up and read it out loud.
“The game has officially started; you can find notes in the most places you have spent with your siblings and Grandmother. Be warned though, I am always watching and know what you are doing. If at any point in time you contact the Princess or the PVPD I will slit the throats of the ones you love. If you do not get what is mine in the next 24 hours the same thing will happen. With every piece of my belongings you find set them at the corner entrance of Sweet Apple Acres and when you find the last piece I will give you the location of your family. Let the games begin.”
Apple jack puts the paper in her hat as tears streak down her tan smooth face. Remembering that she is timed she hurry’s to the first place she spent time with Big Mac and Granny Smith, the well of Pony Ville, as she stands there thinking of everything that happened there she has a flashback.
“Grandma is it true that if you make a wish and toss a coin down the well it will come true?”
“Darlin if you reach for the stars and wish hard enough anything can come true”
Granny Smith put her hoof around Apple Jack and gives her a bit to toss in the well. As Apple Jack closes her eyes she makes a wish and toss’s the golden tinted coin down the well and listens closely for it to hit the bottom. As it was being tossed down she caught a glimpse of the faint bent design of the coin and cherished that her wish would happen.
“I hope my wish comes true!”
“One day sweetheart it will, one day”
Apple Jack shakes clear of the memory and searches for a note, as she trots up to the well she notices something in the corner of her eye with a dull shine. Under a piece of ruined molded wood is the same coin she made a wish upon years ago. As she moves the wood away from the still bent coin she finds a note underneath it. She picks up the coin and the note. Whilst hoofing with the coin she reads the note out-loud.
“What wish you make is yours to take, but hesitate and you will regret to not make the bet”
After reading this out-loud to herself she had wondered what it could’ve meant. Still fiddling with the coin she remembered the story behind to why it was bent. Granny Smith was visiting Los Pegasus when she bet a young stallion that had lost his golden horse shoe to what he believed he was cheated. After pulling a knife and stabbing the poor old mare he was tackled to the ground and taken out in hand cuffs. But every pony’s disbelief the poor old pony that was stabbed in the side was fine. She opened her purse to find the bent coin that had just saved her life. Apple Jack snapped back to reality once more and realized that the golden horse shoe belonged to the stallion that had kidnapped her family. She gallops home and searches everywhere for the golden shoe. Apple Jack then trotted upstairs to Granny’s room to find the golden horse shoe hanging above her bed.
“Okay first piece found now let’s get this to the corner quickly”
Apple Jack took the picture frame in which the shoe was placed in and smashed the glass. After smashing the glass Apple jack had started bleeding from her hoof.
“Dag nabbed Apple Jack why’d you have to be so foolish!”
She quickly bandaged herself up and took the golden horse shoe to the corner entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. When she got to the corner there was another note waiting to be read. She put the horse shoe to the corner of the gate and picked up the note. When she unfolded it she couldn’t believe what had fallen out of the enveloped paper…