//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Pies and Jokes // Story: Get Him! // by TJHoofer //------------------------------// Chapter 8: Pies and Jokes Alex followed the scent. It seemed impossible that there would be an apple pie in a deep and dark forest. Still, he couldn’t help it. The delicious aroma of apple and cinnamon made his mouth water, and his hunger overcame every rational thought. As he walked closer, the scent got stronger. He shuddered on the possibility of a trap, but he was too curious to stop now. As he peered through the shrub, he saw it. A delicious apple pie, resting in a clearing, bathed in the piercing sunlight that seemed to shower it in heavenly praise. Alex gazed at the pie, drooling with his tongue practically hanging out. He quickly looked around. Why would anyone, or anypony for that matter, leave a pie right in the middle of a forest? It seemed like the most laziest and unimaginative trap in recorded history. Still, feeling the hunger gnawing at him from the inside, Alex decided to risk it anyway and carefully crept out of the shrub. He darted from one bush after another, popping up once or twice to look for any sign of danger. Moving closer, he carefully tip-toed towards the pie, stopping only to listen incase somepony was watching him. It was eerily quiet. He looked at every tree, shrub and stone, yet he couldn’t see or hear anything. This whole thing sort of reminded him of a Jungle Adventure movie he had seen once. He looked at the pie and took in that wonderful texture. The crust burned to utter perfection with the lovely scent of apple and cinnamon still warm and fresh inside. As he stepped up to the pie, he took one more look around, before bending over to pick it up. As he lifted the pie, he suddenly felt a string attached to the pan being pulled. He heard the sound of a bell. DING! DING! Alex sighed. ‘Here we go…’ THUNK! A large wooden crate suddenly dropped from the sky, trapping him inside. An orange blur wearing a Stetson quickly jumped down from the nearest tree, zipped and dashed around the crate, while the sound of a hammer was heard. The blur then stopped, spit the hammer she had in her mouth into her saddlebag and let a triumphant cheer. “YE-HAW!” Applejack happily reared herself, waving her forelegs into the air. Her dog Winona jumped out of a nearby bush, followed by her brother Big Macintosh, and jumped around Applejack while joining her cheering with happy barks. Big Mac simply smiled. “Ah knew ol’ Granny Smith’s famous apple pie would do tha’ trick.” Applejack jumped on top of the crate and looked at her brother. “Now the future of Sweet Apple Acres is safe n’ secure. Ah tell ya Big Mac, this here golden apple is gonna bring us good fortune.” Big Mac smiled. “Eeyup!” Big Mac walked up to the crate, turned around and waited as Applejack stepped off. With careful precision, Applejack kicked the crate off the ground with her hind legs onto his back. “There! Now let’s mosey on home. We got ourselves a whole lot of plannin’n' organizin' to do.” She trotted over to the crate and tapped gently on it with her hoof. “Ya’ll okay in thar sugar? Sorry bout’ the accommodation. Fer bein’ such a good sport lettin’ us trap ya an’ all, y’ jus’ keep that there pie as yer reward.” She smiled and began to trot ahead. “Come along, Winona. Let’s go Big Mac.” “Eeyup.” Alex felt movement as Big Mac trotted after her sister in a calm pace. He felt around the crate, growing quite concerned when he realized how tight and secure it was. There was no way he could escape. He did however manage to find a small peephole on one side of the crate and peered out. He saw the forest moving passed as they went. He saw the red coat of Big Mac who tirelessly carried him on his back. He then saw the dog Winona, who apparently had noticed Alex’s little peephole and looked at it with excitement in her eyes. “BARK!” Alex pulled away from the hole and knocked on the wood. KNOCK! KNOCK! “Uh... Hello? Excuse me!” his muffled yell emitted from the crate. Big Mac and Applejack stopped. “Um… Is there any chance you two could… let me go?” Applejack and Big Mac looked at each other, before smiling and turning their attention back to Alex. “Snort! Let ya go? Now why in Sam Hill would we ever do that fer?” Applejack trotted over to the crate. “Y’ put up quite tha' chase back there on the farm, ya know. And besides, ya still owe us for them apples ya ate.” “I’m really sorry for all the trouble I caused. And I’ll pay you back for the apples. Just let me go. Please?” Applejack and her big brother shared a look at each other before Big Mac finally answered. “Nnope.” “Sorry sugar, but ya heard Big Mac. Besides, we’ve got big plans fer ya.” She peered into the eyehole. “Ol’ Granny Smith’s gonna love ya. Not to mention all them other ponies who’ll be linin' up just to see ya.” Alex could just imagine how that would be like; all those eyes staring at him as he was forced to do dangerous stunts for them. “Besides, there’s no hard feelin’s. Ah forgive ya for that there ‘Barnyard Tussle’ ya gave me.” She smiled as she looked slightly embarrassed about it. “Ah should’ve known better. Ol’ granny always said; corner a scared animal, yer gonna get scratched.” ‘Great! So I’m an animal now?’ Alex felt insulted. “Enough dilly-dally.” Applejack patted her hoof on the crate. “We wasted a whole mornin’ lookin’ for ya, and we’re pretty behind our chores.” “Eeyup. Waaay behind…” Big Mac answered. Alex’s eyes grow wide with shock. He DID speak more than one line! “Jus’ relax n’ enjoy the ride sugar, and we’ll be home befur ya know it.” Applejack finished and trotted happily with Winona panting cheerfully beside her. Big Mac followed close behind. With no other choice, Alex sat quietly inside the crate as it moved in response to Big Mac’s movements. To be honest, it wasn’t that uncomfortable. Still, it didn’t really lighten the mood as his grim fate grew more and more real by every step. He then looked at the apple pie resting on his lap, and heard his stomach rumbling. ‘No point in letting it go to waste...’ He made a rough slice for himself with his fingers and joyfully bit into its still warm crust with delicious apple filling. It was a heavenly taste and it didn’t take long before he finished the whole thing. Satisfied, he leaned back as he decided to ride it out until he had thought of a plan of escape. Considering how strong and tight the crate was, he didn’t see how any escape now would be possible. He suddenly felt that strange tingly sensation again. He rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It must’ve been the pie, or maybe his imagination. But for some reason the crate seemed to get… ***** Somewhere close by in the Everfree Forest, Twilight and Spike was searching high and low for Alex. (Well, Twilight was searching, Spike was just tired.) Twilight had earlier caught up with Rainbow Dash and learned what had happened. She was really upset with Rainbow and scolded for having let her pride and anger lose Alex to the dark forest. She had spent over an hour searching, trying to find any trail left behind. She refused to give up, knowing that Alex was all alone and probably scared. She had to find him. “Twilight, it’s been an hour. Can’t we go home?” Spike groaned. “Go home?” Twilight stopped, tossed Spike off her back and glared at him. “GO HOME?! Spike! Alex is out here all alone! We can’t leave now! We just can’t!” “Jeez Twilight, chill…” Spike answered nervously. He had never seen Twilight this upset. And believe me, he had seen Twilight upset before. But this was different. “Didn’t know the Hoofbel Prize meant so much to you…” Twilight angry expression quickly changed to sad as she let out a sigh. “It’s not just the Hoofbel, Spike…” “Then what..?” She silently bit her lip and looked into the dark forest. Her ears flattened as she lowered her head. She sniffled as tears began welling up and run down her cheeks. Spike got back up, walked up to her and gently placed his claw on her side. “Look, I’m sure he doesn’t hate you, Twilight.” He comforted her. “If you’re truly sorry, I’m sure he’ll understand.” Twilight looked at Spike and smiled. “Thank you, Spike.” She dried her tears and put on her determined face. She stepped forward a couple of paces and stopped. “And you’re right! Besides, this is my calling, Spike.” Her horn glowed, as the mental image of the Equestrian Banner appeared behind her and the royal anthem began to play. “With Celestia’s sun as my witness; with the magic of friendship, I’ll make him my friend and give him the kindness and respect that he deserves.” The anthem built momentum. She raised her right hoof triumphantly, her hair waving in the blowing wind as the anthem reached its climax. “And with that friendship I’ll bring him to Trotholm, present him before the Committee and get my Hoofbel Prize!” Spike, unexplainably holding a wind-fan next to her, let out a sigh as he tossed it aside, pushed away the Equestrian Banner Backdrop and pulled the phonogram tone arm away from the vinyl record. “And then you’ll say you’re sorry, right?” VINYL SCREECH! Twilight’s eyes widened as she snapped out of it. Her horn glowed as she teleported away the items she had subconsciously summoned during her moment of grandeur. She glanced down at Spike and smiled sheepishly. “Eh hehe… And say that I’m sorry, yes. Squee!” Suddenly, they both heard noises coming towards them. Twilight magically grabbed Spike and teleported away into some nearby bushes. There they lay quietly as the figures came into view. It was Applejack and Big Mac, along with their dog Winona. On Big Mac’s back was a large crate. “Boy Howdy Big Mac, Ah’ sure am’ gonna be glad once we get Alex safely back to Sweet Apple Acres. Tis’ here forest is gettin’ creepier by the minute.” “Eeyup!” As the Apple siblings were out of sight, Twilight and Spike popped their heads out of the bushes. “Oh no! Applejack’s got Alex!” Twilight exclaimed, mentally seeing her Hoofbell Prize practically flying away. “And she has him in a crate? That’s just wrong!” “Didn’t you put him in a cage a while ago?” asked Spike with a cocked eyebrow. “That’s different! That was protocol! In Accordance to Equestrian Government policy, all new unknown species of life forms discovered in Equestria has to be safely contained for registration in case harm was to befall them or they were to harm ponies, sentient or otherwise.” “Even the nice ones?” “ESPECIALLY the nice ones! Sometimes they are the most dangerous. It’s just common sense.” Spike scratched his head, not sure if he really understood that logic of hers. “Oh well, Applejack’s got him now. I guess there’s nothing we can do about that.” Spike shrugged his shoulders. “Who says we can’t?” Twilight asked with yet another determined look on her face. She was not going to let this one slide. “I saw him first and by Celestia I’ll get him back, whatever it takes.” She trotted off to follow them. “Great! Let me know how that turns out.” Spike waved and was about to walk away until he was covered in Twilight’s aura. Spike let out a tired groan as he magically drifted after Twilight. Up a nearby tree, a small red bird watched as they left the forest. It chirped excitedly as it flew away. ***** Applejack and Big Mac finally arrived back at Sweet Apple Acres. “Ah! Good to be back after all that thar excitement. Ah sure Ah’m glad we found Alex befur sompony else did.” “Eeyup!” In a way, Applejack had to honestly thank Rainbow Dash for making such a huge racked that ultimately lead them straight to Alex. Still, she would give that pegaus a good talking to once she found her. She couldn’t believe that anypony like her would treat Alex like that. He must’ve really ticked her off somehow. While she considered Rainbow was a good friend, she hated to think what she would’ve done to Alex if he hadn’t somehow gotten away from her. But now, he was Apple Family property and if she tried anything now, she’d sue her for damages. Once they reached the barn, Applejack opened the doors and signaled her brother to drop Alex inside. Big Mac turned around and gently as he could tossed the crate inside, causing it to tumble quite a bit before finally resting in the middle of the barn. THUMP! “Careful Big Mac!” Applejack exclaimed concerned and cantered towards the crate. “That thar’s precious cargo!” Big Mac didn’t say anything. Much to his surprise, the crate felt lighter. Either that or he had gotten stronger. “Ya’ll okay in there sugar?” Applejack asked, tapping gently on the crate. There was no response. Alex had been really quiet during the whole trip. “Still with the silent treatment, huh? We’ll jus’ be leavin’ ya alone tils ya’ll settled down a bit.” She couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for Alex. She didn’t like to keep him all boxed up like this, but it was the only way to make sure he didn’t run away the first chance he got. She would eventually let him out soon and make it up to him somehow… “We’ll jus’ be in the house makin’ ready the guestroom fer ya. Once we’ve got ya all settled in, we’ll talk business and work out some kinda deal.” To make double certain that he didn’t try anything, she looked to Winona. “Winona, ya’ll stay here and keep Alex company. We’ll be right back.” Winona waged her tail, let out a happy bark and parked herself in front of the crate. Applejack trotted back out, closed the doors to the barn and locked them. “There, that should do it.” She looked to her brother and raised her hoof. “Eeyup!” Big Mac answered and gave her a Hoof Bump. “Applejack!” Applejack and Big Mac turned their heads and saw Twilight galloping towards them, with Spike close behind. Applejack’s blood froze as she began to suspect what Twilight was doing at the farm. Big Mac left her sister alone, whistled nonchalant as he went to tend to his chores. Applejack gulped, played cool and trotted over to greet her best friend. “Howdy there Twilight! Howdy Spike!” She waved. “What brings ya’ll here?” Twilight stopped in front of her, catching her breath before responding. “*Pant!* Applejack! *Pant!* That crate! How much? *Pant!*” Applejack flinched a bit. “Pardon?” “*Pant!* That crate you had with you. In there!” She pointed at the barn before continuing. “You have something very important that I need. How much do want for him? I’ll pay…” ‘Shoot! She found out!’ Applejack mentally groaned. “Whoa there Nelly! Ah don’t reckon Ah know what yer talkin’ about…” She lied nervously, failing greatly. She backed herself against the barn doors, blocking the entrance to her prized catch. Twilight frowned impatiently at her. “Look Applejack, I know what you have in there.” She continued. “I spent the entire morning looking for him. I would be most grateful if you handed him over to me.” “Ya ain’t gettin’ Alex.” Applejack bluntly said. “Ah spent jus’ as much time looking for 'im as well. Ah ain’t givin’ 'im up.” “You’ve got to let me have him, Applejack. He’s a very important scientific discovery.” “No way sugarcube!” Applejack leaned back against the doors, spread out her forelegs and blocked her path. “He’s gonna bring in a lot of Bits for the farm, Ah jus’ know it.” “Applejack…” Twilight tried to reason with her. “Ah caught 'im fair n' square Twilight, and all the Bits ya have won’t make me give ‘im up.” “Please!” she begged. “I’ll do anything. I’ll… I’ll let you borrow all the books you want. As LONG as you want! Free of charge!” “Temptin’, but no!” “I’ll… I’ll…” Twilight looked at Spike and pulled him up in front of Applejack. “I’ll let you loan Spike. To help around the farm and…” “NO WAY! NO HOW! NO DEAL!” Twilight dropped Spike to the ground with a thud. She knew she had to be smart about this. Applejack probably had every reason not to give Alex up. She knew of Applejack’s dream to build up the farm and help her family, but her plans would destroy her hopes of ever getting the greatest prize she had ever dreamed of. Then she had an idea. “Applejack…” Twilight spoke softly, earning the overprotective cowpony’s attention. “Maybe we can work out a deal? And I promise you won’t have to give up Alex.” Applejack’s ears perked as she lowered her guard. “I’m listenin’…” ***** While Twilight and Applejack were outside negotiating, Winona had been sniffing around the crate rather curiously. She knew something wasn’t right. She scratched at the crate and sniffed some more at the peephole on the side. Just then, her ears perked. She jumped on top of the crate and looked protectively around the barn. She was hearing a noise. It was a digging noise. She quickly located the source and dashed towards the back wall of the barn. She noticed the dirt shifting and being pushed up from beneath. Curious, she began to dig into the loose dirt and quickly uncovered a small bunny. She backed away as the bunny, along with several other bunnies, popped out of the hole. They then formed a line, grabbing on to one another as the lead bunny leaned down into the hole and began to pull on something. Soon, a strand of pink hair was pulled out, followed by a yellow muzzle, which soon evolved into a head. With one more pull, Fluttershy was pulled out of the tiny hole, tumbled forward, landing on her face, her hair and coat dirty and messy. “Ouch…” She whispered. Winona wagged her tail and licked Fluttershy’s face as she got back on her feet. “Thank you, Angel. Thank you, bunnies.” She smiled gratefully at the bunnies who smiled back. She then drew her attention to Winona. “Oh! Hi Winona!” she whispered. Winona panted happily, wagged her tail and licked her face again. “I’m really happy to see you too. Look, I’m really sorry about before. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?” “Bark!” Winona said in a forgiving tone. “Oh, thank you! Sssh! But please, not so loud!” Fluttershy whispered as she politely hushed Winona. She glanced at the barn doors, hoping Applejack or Twilight hadn’t heard them. Hearing nothing, she drew a sigh of relief and eyed the crate in front of her. “And thank you so much for your help.” A little red bird suddenly popped out of her mane and happily chirped. It then fluttered out of her mane and landed on one of the support beams. “Angel, did you bring it?” She turned to Angel who reached behind his back and brought forth a crowbar. “Perfect!” She whispered cheerfully. She trotted quietly towards the crate, with the bunnies bringing the crowbar. “Alex? Are you in there?” She asked quietly. “Listen, I’m going to get you out, but you have to promise to be quiet. I’ll bring you safely back home and we’ll forget this whole thing ever happened. Okay?” There was no reply. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’…” She nodded to her bunnies. The bunnies hopped up on to the crate and quietly worked the crowbar into the top side. Angel began chirping orders as his brethren began got to work in opening the crate. ***** Outside, the negotiations continued. “Here’s what we’ll do…” Twilight began. “You come with me to Trotholm with Alex. We’ll present him to the Hoofbel Committee, and I’ll share the Hoofbel Prize with you.” Applejack rubbed her chin. It sounded like a good deal. Still, she had to make sure Twilight was being honest. “And..?” “And once that’s done, I’ll help you and Alex earn all the Bits you need.” Twilight smiled. “Ah still get to keep ‘im, right?” “Too make more Bits?” “What? No!” She answered defensively, appalled by the idea. “Ah mean Ah jus’ want to… Ah mean Ah…” she stuttered, biting her lower lip as she couldn’t bring herself to say it. “Ah mean… It ain’t any of yer business, Twi! Ah’m sorry, but Ah jus’ can’t give ‘im up. Ah jus’ can’t…” Twilight looked at Applejack. Even though she hoped Applejack would give him up after that, she somehow knew what she meant. Clearly she had just as much bad conscience as she did. Defeated, she sighed and made a faint, yet honest smile. “Okay, Applejack… You can keep him.” Applejack’s ears perked up and she smiled. “Then we got a deal!” She spit on her hoof and reached out to shake Twilight’s. “Ew…” ***** Inside the barn, operation B.O.H. (Break Out the Human) was still under way. Angel had been watching as his brethren struggled to loosen the nails, all having piled up at the one end of the crowbar using their weight to try and force it down. Rolling his eyes, he huffed as he knew this wasn’t going to work, and decided to finally help out. He jumped up and down on the crowbar and with a jolt, the nails loosened and the top of the crate was finally forced open. Fluttershy eagerly peered inside the crate and gasped. It was empty. “But… Where’s Alex..?” “HE’S GONE?!!” “SQUEAK!” Fluttershy squeaked with fright as Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared beside her, causing her to fall over. “Pinkie Pie! You startled me!” As she got back up she looked at Pinkie rather confused. She was even more surprised to see her standing there with a butterfly catching net and a magnifying glass. “Wh… Where did you come from?” “Through the hole.” Pinkie smiled and pointed to the hole they had dug. Fluttershy was then curious to know why Pinkie wasn’t dirty, but she pushed it aside. There were more important matters at hand. They both looked inside the empty crate. “I don’t understand…” Fluttershy said still confused. “How could he…” BANG! “SQUEAK!” she fell over again as the doors of the barn were forced open and Applejack, Twilight and Spike barged in. “What in tarnation is goin' on here?” Applejack yelled. She was surprised to see Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie standing by the crate which had now been opened. She galloped over to look inside and was shocked to find it empty. “Alright! What ya’ll done with ‘im?” She glared at the both them. Fluttershy shrank down in fear while Pinkie simply stood there looking confused. “Us?” Pinkie chirped. “Us…?” Fluttershy whimpered. “Darn tootin ya’ll!” Applejack snarled. “Where’d ya’ll hide ‘im? And how’d the Sam Hill did ya’ll get in here anyways?” “Through the hole.” Pinkie chirped again. “Thr… Through the… Gulp! H… Hole…” Fluttershy whimpered again. They both pointed her towards the hole in the back of the barn. Applejack narrowed her eyes and snorted before turning her attention back to them. “As for Alex…” Pinkie looked at Fluttershy who looked at Pinkie. “He was gone when we got here.” “Yes… Gone…” Fluttershy added. “What ya’ll mean ‘gone’?” Applejack asked bewildered. “Is this a joke?” “Wait! He was already gone?” Twilight interrupted as she moved up beside Applejack. Both Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded in synch. “Guess the deal’s off Applejack!” she smirked, causing Applejack to frown. She looked at her spit-stained hoof, stuck out her tongue and grimaced. ‘Blech! All that for nothing…’ Applejack rubbed her brow. “Ugh! ‘Kay, let me see Ah got this straight. You two dug yourselves inside mah barn, broke open mah crate and Alex was jus’ gone. Am Ah right?” Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy nodded. “Yup! Right as rain!” Pinkie chirped. “Horseapples!” Applejack exclaimed. “Ah locked ‘im in there myself! He couldn’t jus’ up n’ disappear like that!” She then eyed Twilight. “He weren’t magical, was he?” “No, I don’t believe so…” Twilight curiously moved over to the crate and examined it. As she looked inside, she suddenly spotted a petal. She used her magic and lifted it up. It was a blue flower petal. “Oooh, pretty.” Pinkie Pie slowly reached for it. “Don’t touch it!” Twilight yelled, swatting Pinkie’s hoof away. “That’s Poison Joke!” The ponies gasped and backed away. They remembered clearly their previous encounter with the mischievous flower, and the humiliation they suffered. Spike remembered it too, but giggled. Twilight carefully floated the pedal in front of her. She rubbed her chin as realization quickly dawned on her. She then spotted the peephole on the side of the crate. “Applejack… Do you remember the last time you were affected by Poison Joke?” “Don’t remind me, Twi.” Applejack groaned. “Ah still ain’t over that whole ‘Appletini’ thing after what happened.” Twilight suddenly had a horrible feeling, causing her to drop the pedal. She shook as she slowly raised her hoof and looked under it. Finding nothing, she gulped and looked at her friends. “Everypony… Don’t move…” They all gulped as realization dawned on them as well. They all slowly and carefully checked underneath their hooves, barely able to look should they assume the worst. Spike, watching closely, merely shrugged and casually looked under his feet. The bunnies and Winona did the same. A huge sigh of relief echoed through the barn. None of them had accidently stepped on him, but that still didn’t make things any better. Somehow Alex had made contact with the Poison Joke in the Everfree Forest, and now he was small as a field mouse, possibly lost somewhere in the tall grass of Sweet Apple Acres. “You girls stay here.” Twilight said as she started to walk out the barn. “I’ll go and find Alex. Come on Spike!” “Now hold on there!” Applejack protested. Twilight stopped as she trotted up to her. “Ah know Sweet Apple Acres better than anypony. Ah’ll find Alex, right Winona?” Winona scampered over to her side, barking cheerfully as Applejack gently patted her head. “No way!” Pinkie interjected. “I’ll find him.” She revealed her catching net, magnifying glass and an assortment of strange catching equipment. “I came prepared!” she smiled. Twilight wondered how she knew, but didn’t bother trying. “Oh no…” Fluttershy squeaked, voicing her objection. “I’m more careful. Angel and my bunnies will find him… Won’t we Angel?” Angel and the bunnies nodded and thumped their feet in unison. “Careful!” “You too Fluttershy?” Twilight was silent for a moment, before a question that had been nagging her finally surfaced. She trotted over to them. “I’m curious. Just what do you two want with Alex anyway?” “Protect him…” Fluttershy answered softly. “Make him a pony.” Pinkie said cheerfully. Twilight looked questionably at Pinkie. Her confusion was shared by both Applejack and Fluttershy. “What?” “You see, I want to throw him a ‘New Pony in Ponyville Party’, because he’s new in Ponyville. But Alex is not a pony, so I couldn’t throw a ‘New Pony in Ponyville Party’ if the new pony in Ponyville wasn’t a new pony in Ponyville. So I decided I’d throw him a ‘Good-Bye Human Party’, and make him into a pony so I could throw him a ‘New Pony in Ponyville Party’ because he’s not a pony and…” “WE GET IT, PINKIE!” Twilight exclaimed. When Pinkie set her mind on something, she would always follow through with some kind of crazy shenanigans, but this one was just way beyond weird. Even weirder than when she decided to clone herself just to have more fun with her friends. She then looked at Fluttershy, and hoped her reasons had some sensibility to it. “Why are you after Alex, Fluttershy?” “Oh, I want to bring him home and take care of him. He’s lost, frightened and endangered. He needs to be safe and protected. Not locked up in some box…” Fluttershy timidly answered while casting a glare at Applejack. Applejack bit her lower lip nervously as sweat ran down her forehead. “Eh hehe… Eh, sugarcube… That wasn’t…” “Ahehe! Sorry girls, but I just can’t grasp this.” Twilight looked at both of them. “Really Pinkie Pie? A pony? And Fluttershy… He’s a not a lost chicken you can just coop up. He’s a thinking creature.” “I know he’s not a chicken, Twilight!” She said defensively. “But how can I just stand by while he’s thoughtlessly scurrying about?” “Yeah!” Pinkie Pie chimed in. She pushed herself against Twilight’s face and looked her firmly in the eye. “And besides, just what were you going to do with him, huh?” She eyed both her and Applejack. “Show him off to everypony like some science experiment? Make him do tricks?” Twilight and Applejack looked at one-another, chuckling, coughing and muttering nervously as they gazed into the air, trying to look innocent. Pinkie gasped. “You were!” “You should be ashamed!” Fluttershy said visibly upset. “Yeah!” Pinkie agreed. “You too!” Fluttershy eyed Pinkie, who gasped at the accusation. “Now see here!” Applejack exclaimed. By now the barn was filled with yelling and shouts as the ponies argued amongst themselves. All expect Twilight, who silently listened to the banter as frustration began to build up inside her. “Enough!” Twilight finally yelled, getting their attention. “Now look. We all have our reasons for wanting Alex. But while we’re bickering and arguing, Alex is out there; tiny, helpless and possibly in great danger. We have to find him before somepony steps on him or worse.” The three ponies looked at each other and nodded in unison. “Now, we all split up and cover each part of Sweet Apple Acres.” She then sighed. “The pony who finds Alex first, gets to keep him...” The other ponies looked at each other and smiled in agreement. It only seemed fair. Twilight wasn’t too happy about this ‘competition’, but there was no choice. “So, are we all in agreement?” All three ponies nodded. “Then let’s go!” They hurried out towards the barn doors. “Girls!” They froze. “Carefully...” They all stood on the tip of their hooves and tip-hooved out of the barn. Spike simply watched as they all left the barn on their tippy-hooves. Winona scampered past him, followed by Angel and several bunnies. Spike let out a yelp as a small bunny ran between his legs. “Come on Spike!” Twilight called. “This has really been one interesting day.” Spike snickered as he was about to run after them. “SPIKE!” Spike froze, groaned and tip-toed out the barn. Moments later, Pinkie Pie tip-hooved backwards inside the barn to where she stood before, eyed the Poison Joke petal on the ground, looked around and, before anypony could realize, scooped it up inside a glass jar, sealing it shut. She giggled as she tip-hooved back out. ***** ‘WHAT THE HECK WAS IN THAT PIE???’ It seemed like a bad joke, but somehow Alex had shrunk to the size of a field mouse. After realizing he wasn’t dreaming, he had seized this bizarre opportunity to escape his mobile prison through the peephole, which he now could conveniently fit through with ease. He stumbled uneasily on Big Mac’s back before he finally lost his balance and fell off, landing on the soft grass inside the orchard. While his escape had successfully gone unnoticed by Applejack, her brother and their dog, he had failed to take into account that he was now small, lost in the giant wilderness of Sweet Apple Acres. He quickly found himself in a dense jungle, being bombarded by fresh, ripe apples, big as station wagons that fell with an earth-shattering crash from the tall trees. Insects and bugs of various shapes and sizes scurried about. Some he would expect and some he would not expect. And right now, he was fending for his life as he was being threatened by a ferocious spider that let out a threatening howl. ‘How cute… A Wolf-Spider!’ Alex thought sarcastically. First Timberwolves that were made of real timber and now a Wolf-Spider that looked and acted like a real wolf? As if Equestria wasn’t strange enough. He had armed himself with a small stick, but it didn’t seem to be enough to fend off a hungry Wolf-Spider. The spider moved closer the more he backed away, looking at him with its hungry eyes, all six of them. ‘Eaten by a spider… Seriously, I never saw THAT coming!’ he grimly thought to himself as the spider made its move on him. Alex closed his eyes and tightened his hands around the stick, nervously ready to strike the spider as it pounced. SPLAT! Alex slowly opened his eyes as he realized he was still alive and breathing. He looked for the spider and saw to his surprise that it had crashed in mid-air. It painfully slid down a transparent wall, which Alex now discovered was glass. The spider quickly regained it bearings and lunged at the glass, trying to get to Alex. Suddenly it looked up and whimpered. It turned tail and ran off, sounding like a frightened dog. Alex stared dumbfounded after the spider. He then glanced at the glass walls and discovered that it surrounded him. He unnervingly looked up and realized he was trapped inside a big glass jar, seeing a pair of enormous eyes looking down at him. Suddenly he was scooped up into the glass jar. A lid with tiny air holes was screwed on tight and he watched helplessly as he was lifted up, eyed closely by his captor through the glass. “Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! Look what I caught!” the orange pegasus filly with purple mane exclaimed. “What is it, Scootaloo?” Two more fillies showed up. One was a white unicorn with purple and pink mane, while the other was a light yellow earth-pony with red mane, wearing a big pink bow. They excitedly approached the jar she was holding. “Wow! Neat!” the little white unicorn chirped. “What in tarnation is it?” Applebloom asked curiously. Alex didn’t really have to guess which one was Applebloom, especially since it sounded pretty obvious. “I’m not sure… Never seen anything like it. Maybe it’s a bug?” Scootaloo pondered, pressing her face against the jar and sticking out her tongue while examining him closely with one eye. Alex didn’t really know what was more demeaning; being trapped inside a glass jar or mistaken for a bug? “Really? It’s a bug?” Sweetie exclaimed in hopeful glee. “Yes, I believe so!” Scootaloo answered sounding more positive. “A new kind of bug! Ya’ll know what that means?” Applebloom beamed with excitement. Alex suddenly found himself being hoisted high above ground as Scootaloo raised the jar above her head, with the other fillies suddenly standing next to her side by side and cheering in unison. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: BUG COLLECTORS! YAY!” Alex felt a painful ringing in his ears. Just what were these fillies doing? “Quick! Let’s take it back to the club house!” said Applebloom. The others agreed and placed Alex on a trolley which was connected to a small kick scooter. Alex watched as the filly named Scootaloo, placed herself on the scooter. “Come on, Crusaders. Let’s go!” Fluttering her wings, Alex noticed that it seemed to propel them forward. He was impressed by the filly’s inventive means of transportation. The scooter sped off, with the two fillies following close behind. With nothing else to do, Alex sat back and relaxed, deciding to just enjoy the ride and see where this was going. As the three fillies disappeared into the woods, four ponies, a dragon, a dog and a bunch of bunnies close by were busy searching the orchard…