The Tales of Friendship

by maxisscrewed

Chapter 2 — Property Stakin’

Twilight Sparkle didn't know the pretty, pink-haired girl that tried to comfort her, but she let the sweet young lady take her into her shop with loving arms and fix her a milkshake anyway. It was her favorite flavor, and she sucked it down gently as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Bacon?" Twilight's eyes searched up the girl's short denim shorts and a graphic band tee, up to her smiling, pale face.

"No, thank you," Twilight sniffled, squeezing her eyes shut. The girl had given Twilight some time to cry, as she had gone to the bathroom to take her long curls down. She still wore a forced yet happy look on her face as she carried five baskets with a greasy burger and well-seasoned fries to the table, all lined and balanced up and down her arms. The pudgy woman brought two bowls of peas to the table and sat them in front of the babies that sat in their high chairs, squealing angrily for food.

"Here," she cheerfully began, placing two baskets down in front of Spike and Twilight. Spike dug in immediately, chewing his burger loudly.

"Spike, manners," Twilight snapped, but the girl giggled, followed by a little snort.

"I know it's good! Everybody says I make the best burgers." The girl passed out the three remaining baskets around the circular table, and Twilight looked to the blue-eyed, pink-haired across the table.

"Can you pass me the ketchup, please?" The pink girl gave her another sweet giggle before grasping onto the bar in the middle of the table, pulling to her left. The family spun around a circular insert in the middle of the table, which was piled up with condiments. Twilight and Spike had wondered why there was a step-up to the table, and immediately Twilight remembered riding the teacup ride at the amusement park with her father long ago when Spike was just a little baby. Their dining room table was a spinning teacup cart.

"Your house is so cool," Spike excitedly shouted, and Twilight held her hand up to him.

"Quiet down! I'm sure this nice family doesn't appreciate you yelling in their home—"

"Oh, honey, don't worry about it," the heavy woman laughed, "we live with Pinkie Pie!"

"Pinkie Pie?"

"That's me," the pink girl shouted loudly right back with a huge smile, nearly blowing Spike and Twilight's hair off with her volume. As the girl screamed, she jumped up to her feet on the table, crouching down as she ate. Twilight Sparkle had never seen anybody so energetic in her entire life. "Hey, this is, like way off-topic, but you can sleep in my bed tonight with me! It'll be like a sleepover!"

"I've never had a sleepover."

"Really? They're super fun! We can stay up late and eat candy—well, I can't eat candy because it keeps me up later than usual because I have this thing called ADHD, so I can't focus on anything for long—hey, look at that!" Pinkie Pie smiled and looked through the window before she grabbed the handlebar again and twirled the table so that Twilight and Spike could look through the large window that covered most of the wall. Twilight looked out at the beautiful sunset and began to feel a bit of nausea rise in her stomach from all of the spinning and Pinkie Pie's sickeningly fast pace.

"What am I looking at?" Pinkie Pie sat up on her skinny knees and reached behind the teacup, grabbing a pair of binoculars from the wall before plopping back down with a little bounce from the leather seat. She tossed them to Twilight with a "whoop" sound from her mouth, and Twilight cringed while she caught them. She then held them up to her eyes, and hesitantly took a look through the binoculars.

Through them, she saw Applejack and Rarity passing by the lot that her yellow, ugly house once sat, with Applejack surveying the land and Rarity jogging down notes frantically on a notepad.

---

"Oh, sweetheart, I simply do not think all of this is exactly necessary." Rarity tried her best to keep up with Applejack in the deep mud, but her feet felt as if they were stuck in a glue trap. Applejack took no trouble at all wading through the mud in her cowboy boots, but Rarity was wearing dainty little heels.

"Not necessary," Applejack asked in a huffy tone, "it's definitely necessary! You gotta know how much land you got! Do you even know how many acres y' got?"

"No, Jackie, I do not! Can't we go back home and look when it's not so—" Rarity's eyes widened when her foot slipped out of her heel, and she squealed, nearly falling face-first into a puddle of mud. She caught her balance and moved her foot back into her shoe, whimpering at the sight of her adorable shoes. "I just got these!"

"They'll wash out in the hose," Applejack sighed, looking back at Rarity.

"They're designer suede, Applejack, they will not 'wash out in the hose' quickly, and they will be absolutely stained!" The girl sighed and wiped some wet mud off of her face before cocking a brow.

"Let me get this last stake measured, m'kay?" Applejack quickly took the end of the tape measure and whipped it outwards, just so happening to catch the end of the stick on the other side. Applejack then smiled. "Whoo-whee! Would' jya look at that, Rare-Bear? Ten by twenty-five!"

"What now," Rarity groaned unhappily, and Applejack squished to the edge of the lot where Rarity stood.

"Now we get to go home and have us a good ol' movie night," Applejack replied softly, and Rarity grinned when Applejack wrapped her muscular arms around her slightly chubby waist.

"Oh, really?"

"Really," she whispered, and Rarity smiled as she received a kiss on the forehead.

---

"I thought you said we were watching a movie," Rarity wailed dramatically.. Applejack rolled her eyes and finished scoping the living room on the upper floor of the Carousel Boutique.

"Rarity, have ya even had yer house inspected?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You got mold in the walls!"

"Mold," Rarity squealed, sitting up on the couch.

"Yep! Water damage 'round the ceilin' where it's at, too." Applejack looked around and pondered the building. It was all one color—which wasn't Rarity at all—and the walls were cracked and riddled with darkened, moldy water damage. "Do you even come upstairs?"

"Only when I have to use the restroom or sleep," Rarity admitted, and Applejack smiled.

"Don't worry! I'll have this up to OSHA standards in a jiffy!"

"OSHA? Who cares about OSHA anymore, Jackie? That's so last week."

"Do you know what OSHA is?"

"Obviously," Rarity shouted, seemingly disgusted that Applejack would even ask. "It stands for over-stated hashtag adorable!"

"What in the hell did you even just say?"

"It's a whole fashion promotion, dear, but it's so 2005. What is that not what you were talking about?"

"OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration!"

"Well, I sure didn't see OSHA when that poor girl's house was destroyed!"

"Rarity, that was a natural disaster! Things happen, sugarcube!" Applejack sighed and reached to the side of her belt, removing a hammer. "Alright, here goes." She raised her hand over her head and slammed the tool through the sheetrock, exposing layers upon layers of oozing, black slime. Rarity fainted to the floor, and Applejack covered her mouth and nose with her orange button-down shirt.

This would be a doozy.

---

"Here's my room!" Pinkie Pie slammed open the door to a room that was in complete disarray. There were streamers and paper chains strung all over the ceilings and pink-painted walls. She had a computer with many different colored sticky notes all over the rim of the monitor and the back wall around the substantial machine. There was a spreadsheet on the computer with different sorts of finances on it, which seemed out of character for the silly girl.

"Oh, oh, let me show you something cool!" Twilight Sparkle gently sat down on the bed as Pinkie Pie bent down, rummaging around in the back of the closet. Then, with a few powerful tugs, she pulled out a vast, blue canon.

"Oh my God," Twilight panicked, but Pinkie Pie held up her hands.

"It's okay! It's not really a canon, silly!"

"It sure looks like one!"

"No, silly, it's a party canon!"

"I' m the silly one," Twilight mumbled to herself, watching as Pinkie Pie grabbed the long, pink string. "Ready?"

"No!"

"Great!" The girl yanked the string, and in the blink of an eye and a boom, the room was filled with streamers, confetti, and balloons. "It's incredible, isn't it? I made it myself!"

"It sure is, uh..." Twilight cocked an eyebrow before leaning down to look inside of the barrel. "It has an air pump inside?"

"Yep! Ten of them!"

"How does it work?"

"It's a secret!" Pinkie Pie jumped up onto the edge of the footboard, which seemed like a very tall height for anybody to be able to jump.

"It's like she's lighter than air," Twilight whispered, glaring as she looked between Pinkie's feet and the floor.

"Huh?"

"Nothing! Nothing, really," Twilight insisted with a fake giggle. "What else do you have?"

"Oh, right! This is the best one of all!" Pinkie Pie fell back off of the footboard and onto her back, letting the squishy mattress propel her back into the air. She squealed when she was launched gently into the air, and she landed back on her bottom instead of her back. She plowed through the pillows to look for something, and Twilight looked back at the canon.

"Dad would've loved to pick that apart," she whispered, and she felt the prickly tears come back into her eyes.

"Here you are! This is my stuffed alligator, Gummy!" Pinkie Pie showed Twilight the cute, cartoony alligator in her arms, and the hyperactive girl smiled even brighter. "I can't have a real pet because I'm irresponsible or something, but Mr. Cake said I could have a stuffed animal!"

"Good for you, Pinkie Pie," Twilight sighed, looking down at the floor. Pinkie's smile vanished, and she tilted her head.

"Do you want to go to sleep for tonight?"

"Yeah," Twilight sniffled, and Pinkie Pie turned off the light. The fan continued to blast cold air into the room, and Pinkie Pie lay down in bed. Twilight lay on her other side, and Pinkie Pie sacrificed Gummy to Twilight.

"You can sleep with Gummy tonight," she explained, shutting her eyes with a big smile on her face.

"I can't take Gummy from you, Pinkie."

"Don't worry—he wants to sleep with you!" Twilight slowly took the alligator, and Pinkie Pie pretended to be asleep until she heard Twilight snore instead of sniffling her tears back. Her smile turned a bit more sinister, and Pinkie Pie silently turned on her phone, turned on the voice recorder, then placed it upside down on the table before she lay back down and was able to sleep soundly.

She would get answers about Twilight, and in return, Twilight would get answers about her.

---

"So, are you coming over tonight or what?" Rainbow Dash listened to Fluttershy nervously stutter, and Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "That means yes, I suppose!"

"Please reconsider," Fluttershy whined, and Scootaloo grabbed her backpack hastily. She folded up her scooter and tucked it safely into her pack, and she grabbed Fluttershy's skirt with wide, sweet eyes.

"Please," Scootaloo pleaded, and Fluttershy's heart softened.

"Oh, of course, I will," she passively cooed, and the girl turned around to give Dash a high-five. "Hey, stop using the child to get to me!" Scootaloo pulled out a large and small skydiving harness. The buckle plate on the back of Dash's had a lightning bolt coming from a cloud, and the straps were blue and yellow. Scootaloo's was just plain maroon. Between the two, there was a strong tether cord that connected the girls.

"Ready," Dash asked as she wrapped her arms around Fluttershy, and Scootaloo pulled her backpack onto her back, jumping up and down from excitement. Fluttershy whimpered, and Rainbow Dash's pendant began to illuminate. The blue wings unfolded from her back, and she gave them a hard flap to launch the three into the air.

Fluttershy shrieked at the top of her lungs—which was much unlike her—and Scootaloo screamed in excitement. "Rainbow Dash put me down! Please! Please!" The sky began to shrink, and Fluttershy watched her feet disappear into the clouds.

"Too late now—we're already halfway there," Dash shouted over the sound of the wind, and before they even knew it, they were above the clouds. Nestled gently into one was the bright blue bungalow that Rainbow Dash's family lived in. Fluttershy began to panic as Rainbow Dash plopped her and Scootaloo onto the porch, and her wings shrunk into her shoulder blades, letting her drop down onto the porch. Fluttershy dusted off her skirt and gained control of her nerves before she tried to assert herself.

"What on earth will be your outlet for this when you get older, Dashie," she huffed in her sweet little voice before she whimpered and looked down. "I'm so sorry, Dashie, that was so rude of me—"

"—I dunno," Rainbow Dash replied, taking off the tether and the harness, helping Scootaloo out of her own.

"Huh?"

"Don't know yet! I guess I'm just kinda the keeper of the skies until I die. What I really want to do is play soccer on the Wonderbolts team!" Rainbow Dash unlocked the door, and Scootaloo ran inside. Fluttershy approached Dash as the two girls recklessly entered into the messy house. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I am gonna do it one day because I believe in myself just—that—much." After every pause, Rainbow Dash used her finger to poke Fluttershy's nose, and the rainbow-headed girl ran into the house. She saw the empty recliner and quickly used her mind to think of something to make Scootaloo feel better.

"Daring Do! It is I—Ahuizotl, and I have the eternal flower you search for!" Scootaloo played along and jumped up onto the couch.

"Not today, Ahuizotl!" Rainbow Dash let Scootaloo tackle her to the ground onto her back, and the small girl laughed wildly as Rainbow Dash tickled her. Fluttershy smiled and sat gently at the edge of the large recliner. Rainbow Dash picked Scootaloo up by lying on her back and letting the girl stand with their feet and hands together.

"Wanna hear some sick riffs I've been learning?"

"Yeah!" Then, just like that, Scootaloo joined Fluttershy in the recliner, letting the girl wrap a skinny arm around her shoulders.

---

Fluttershy sat next to Scootaloo in the recliner in front of the prominent speakers in the living room. She was much better off watching the two play together, but now she supposed that it was the annual nine-o'clock-guitar-time.

Rainbow Dash's dad had left a note on the fridge saying he had "left for a little while," which was a tell-tale sign that he was out to get alcohol. Rainbow Dash was always so upset when she knew that Scootaloo was exposed to their dad, and Fluttershy had known for forever that Dash was Scootaloo's biggest role model. Rainbow Dash was the apple of her eye since her older sister would play with her, teach her how to play sports, and hang out with her and her friends occasionally.

"Look," Scootaloo whispered, nudging Fluttershy. Her eyes widened as she saw Rainbow Dash's strings start to glow rainbow colors. Fluttershy gasped when they got brighter, and she looked down to Scootaloo.

"Has this happened before?"

"No, I was wondering the same thing," the girl commented, and Fluttershy looked back to Rainbow Dash.

"Dashie? Oh my goodness," Fluttershy whispered as Rainbow Dash strummed on her guitar one last time. The glowing strings used this as their opportunity to shine, and the different colors of light wrapped around each other to create a spiraling, rainbow beam. Fluttershy and Scootaloo screamed as they scurried over either side of the recliner. It exploded in between them, blowing the recliner up into nothing but a pile of feathers on the floor. Rainbow Dash stared in shock at the feathers, and Fluttershy began to have a panic attack.

It was just then that the door creaked open, and the three looked to see Rainbow Dash's dad, holding a suit in his hands and a shopping bag with cologne in the other. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't drunk, and he whistled just like he used to long ago.

When he saw the exploded chair, though, his face twisted in shock, and he dropped the suit to the floor.

"What happened here," the heavy man asked frantically, and Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"I don't know! My guitar just, like, made a bomb happen!" He sighed and shut the door, but Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were still shocked and ecstatic that he wasn't holding a pack of beer in each hand. The girls both ran to greet him, and he seemed confused that the girls both hugged him tightly.

Fluttershy looked at the chair, then back at the girls, and she smiled nervously at the man.

Author's Note:

Things are going to start looking up for Dash's dad, and Pinkie and Twilight are determined to get more information about each other.