A Tale of Deceit

by ChainGunDragon

Day one

Walking through the small town named Ponyville, I found myself completely lost. Everyone seemed so happy and carefree, I couldn't help but question if I was even awake. For the time being I disguised myself as a white earth pony mare with a yellow mane. The colors seemed bland enough that I might avoid suspicion. That was until I found an all pink mare bouncing up and down through the street. Normally I’d steer clear of direct contact as per my orders, but I was hungry and tired with no idea where to start.

“Excuse me?” I asked, hoping to grab the mare’s attention. She seemed to stop midair although I must have imagined it. The mare with the fluffy, pink mane started bouncing backwards, retracing her path until she could see me. As soon as she could, she smiled and bounced towards me, stopping barely an inch in front of me.

“Hi!” She shouted with an upbeat, cheery tone which nearly deafened me. I was dizzy enough as I was from hunger, she probably didn't realize she was making things worse. “Have I seen you before?”

“No, probably not. You see, I-“ The mare gasped and interrupted me as I shrunk into the ground.

“I've seen everyone in Ponyville which means if I haven’t seen you before you must not be from Ponyville. If you’re in Ponyville that must mean you’re new here! And if you’re new here and I haven’t seen you then you might not know anybody, you might not even have any friends here.” The mare gasped again at the thought as I sat perfectly still, hoping she would stop. “If you don’t have any friends here then you must be all alone with nowhere to go, unless you've already met somebody like Rainbow Dash or AppleJack. But if you already met one of them then why wouldn't they tell me? I don’t remember them telling me anything about a stranger in Ponyville, but I suppose I could have forgotten. Isn't that the worst when you’re trying to figure out why something didn't happen for ages until you suddenly remember that it did?” She paused for the smallest fraction of a second and I decided it was probably my best chance to interrupt her, otherwise I could be here for an eternity, starving to death before she even takes another breath.

“I’m actually pretty hungry, do you know of someplace I can get something to eat?” The eccentric pony wasted no time in delivering an answer.

“Of course, silly. Sugar cube corner is right there, they always have something tasty to eat.” She didn't bother lifting a hoof but instead pointed her fluffy pink tail directly at the nearest building, colorfully decorated with all shades of pink and brown as if the entire shop itself was made of food.

“Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do for a friend!” I panicked at hearing the last word. Did this pony see me as a friend? That meant that she was going to find me out, that she was going to turn me in, that I've failed me entire race in the first day on the job. The mare stared at me with what was probably confusion but it was hard to tell as I was running in the opposite direction, desperate to put as much distance between me and her as possible.

I turned the corner and dove into the nearest bush, waiting for what felt like ten minutes before I set hoof out of the plantation again, scanning my surroundings to make sure the pink one was nowhere in sight.

“Sugar cube corner.” I repeated to myself, trying to remember where to find the shop. I peeked around the corner and suddenly thought I probably should have run further when I realized the bright and colorful building was only just down the road. As I approached the shop, I had to squint as the sun caught my eye. It was already setting.

“Good afternoon.” The blue mare on the other side of the counter greeted me as I walked inside. As I looked up and down between her and the cupcakes she was selling, I couldn't help but notice that her pink mane and the icing on the treats looked almost exactly the same. “What can I get you?” she asked as I walked up to the counter.

“Do you have any… cakes?” I had no idea what to ask for. We didn't bake cakes back at home, all I knew about them was the quick briefing Vano gave me.

“What flavor? We have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry-“

“Surprise me.” The mare smiled and walked away into a back room, quickly coming back and showing me a decently sized box that gave off a peculiar yet enticing aroma.

“That’ll be 20 bits,” she said cheerily. I was almost intoxicated by the smell of the icing until her request snapped me out of it.

“Come again?”

“I said that’ll be 20 bits. The cake costs 20 bits, dear.” I had forgotten all about the currency system. I didn't know what to do. On one hoof, I really didn't want to leave without the cake. On the other hoof, without any money to pay for it, my only option left was to steal it. I couldn't steal anything. That would certainly get authorities breathing down my neck not to mention it just felt wrong considering how nice this pony had been to me. I opened my mouth to say something but I had nothing to say. The only word running through my head, repeating itself over and over was bail. So I did. As I ran out of the store, I could feel my stomach growling at me, trying to tell me to go back, but my legs wouldn't listen. I kept running, determined to beat my runaway high score of the bush down the road.

Eventually I started to wonder if I had run too far as I found myself in the middle of a dense group of trees that stretched as far as my eyes could see before me. I looked around and it seemed to stretch in every direction. When I looked up I recognized a series of shiny, red, ball-like things hanging from the branches. These must have been the apple trees I was told about. According to Vano, the red fruits were edible but I had no idea how to reach them from down on the ground. I would fly up but this disguise didn't have wings and I couldn't risk changing forms while I was still in pony territory, even if I didn't see anyone around. I tried climbing up but there were no low hanging branches to grab on to. I tried running up the side of the tree, determined to silence my grumbling stomach but before I could reach the apple, I fell flat on my back as gravity returned to me. I groaned audibly, wishing the day would just end as I stood up and dusted myself off. I decided to start looking for shelter as the night rose over the land, but I was distracted when something hit the top of my head. When I looked at the object rolling across the ground I noticed it was red, shiny, and oddly ball-like. I must have shaken something loose when I hit the ground but I was too hungry to care. I scrambled to the ground, stuffing the apple in my mouth as I could taste the love that had gone into growing it. Every minute of this tree’s growth was absorbed into the form of a red ball and it was delicious. My joy of finally finding something to eat didn't last long as I heard voices nearby, slowly drawing closer.

“I thought I heard something over this way. If one of those thieving varmints is after my apples again, there’ll be hay to pay.” Did these trees belong to someone? Was I stealing? I bolted again. It seemed like I was starting to make a habit out of it but I didn't care as long as it got me out of trouble. Or at least I thought it did. As I continued, the trees grew darker and the night air grew colder. Howling could be heard in the distance as I started looking around frantically for something I could use to defend myself. My eyes landed on a dark cave off to my left, embedded into the side of a hill. I figured a place to hide was even better as I walked towards it, exploring the inside to make sure I was alone.

My face found a wall on the other side of the cave and I figured it was probably empty. Even if it wasn't, it was probably too dark for something to find me even if it was sitting right next to me so I didn't care. As I calmed down and relaxed behind a rock, the warmth of being inside a shelter, away from the night air overtook my body as I felt the exhaustion of today’s activities finally hit me. I turned off my disguise, letting my body rest into the stone floor of the cave.

“Maybe I could make this cave my home,” I thought aloud to myself as I drifted off into a well-deserved sleep.

Author's Note:

It's funny that most of the people who are reading this story haven't read my other one, since those that did might already understand the significance of the cave. That being said, the cave won't be that significant to this story, just more of a nudge and a wink to those who are loyal to the series.