There's something special about the ponies of Ponyville that made me fall in love with each and every one of them, almost from the day I moved there. I'm not sure—I'm not even sure I ever can be sure—but I think it might be how much they care about each other. Even when they're a little bit unkind or don't understand each other, they never give up.
At the same time that means a little tiny problem can easily turn into an enormous problem because of how much they worry about each other, like the time Apple Bloom left the note.
Apple Bloom's not-so-harmless note was sitting on the night-stand next to her empty bed when Applejack found it. She had made Apple Bloom's favorite cinnamon-daisy hotcakes as an apology for the frustration and hurt feelings the sisters had shared over their farm chores the day before, and good smells, daylight, and bird song were just beginning to soak into the bedroom. Today was supposed to be a new day and Applejack meant to start it out on the right hoof.
But Apple Bloom had hitched herself to the stump of the problem before Applejack had a chance. The note told Applejack she was terribly, terribly late, and with shame gnawing a hole in her stomach, she read it again.
Family,
I'm sorry I was such a useless pony yesterday. AJ's absolutely right that I shouldn't just spout off ideas without putting in the work to make them happen. And there's no better time to start doing that than right now. Scootaloo's been talking about having a really big adventure, so I'm gonna ask her to come along. I promise to do the heavy lifting myself and not boss her around, and anyway, I figure you all will feel better if you know I won't be alone. Please don't worry about us.
–Apple Bloom
"Mac?" Applejack called. "Can I show ya this?" She picked up the note in her lips and half trotted, half tumbled down the stairs to the kitchen. Her brother sat at the table, a red mountain of a pony reading the paper and calmly making his way through a hefty stack of hay.
"Mornin', AJ," he rumbled.
She set the note on the table, and before he had a chance to read it, she cried, "She's run off, Mac! And it's my fault, too. I shouldn't have raised my voice at her yesterday and now we've gotta find her. Oh, Winona, I'm gonna need ya..."
Applejack raced back upstairs, her hooffalls a chaotic clatter on the treads and floorboards overhead. Winona looked up for a moment, but she wasn't an excitable puppy anymore. The leader of her pack was agitated about something, and that worried her, but she wanted to finish her breakfast at least.
Applejack returned with a ribbon, which she laid across a forehoof and held out. "Winona. Winona, come here! Track."
Winona gave her food a sad parting sniff and went to see what the boss thought was so important. It smelled like the little one, but they were in the den and everything smelled more or less like everyone in the whole pack. The boss was beginning to stink of panic, and that really worried Winona. She whined and sniffed at the floor leading towards the door. The boss followed.
"Applejack," Big Macintosh said, rising. "Settle down."
"We've got to get going, Mac! Who knows how far she's gotten by now?"
He laid a hoof on her back. "Probably as far as her clubhouse, and if not, you ain't gonna find her by running around like your tail's on fire."
Of course all that commotion had woken the last member of the Apple household, who tottered from her bedroom, blinking sleep from her eyes. "Now whazzall this ruckus about?"
Macintosh explained the situation, stepping back to the table to read the note for Granny, who didn't have her glasses with her. Applejack leaned against the counter by the door, tapping her hoof against the floor. Her barely-contained disrespect didn't escape Granny's notice, but the poor young mare's heart seemed to be in the right place and at least she didn't walk out in a huff.
Before Macintosh finished, Granny's mind was made up, but she paused anyway 'cuz it made her sound wiser. "I see. Y'all woke me up for this? Our little Apple Bloom's growing up an' loosening her ties with us, is all."
"But she left!" Applejack sprang forward, stamping a hoof on the floor with a heavy thunk. "Just left, in the middle of the night like that."
Granny sat next to the table. "I remember a filly who was gonna make herself a new home in Manehattan. She wasn't much older than Apple Bloom is and she turned out just fine. Apple Bloom's got a stout heart and fire in her gums! Ain't no reason for us to worry about her yet. Now that I'm up would you get me two a' those there hotcakes?"
Applejack groaned inwardly, but she set about serving her grandmother, setting a plate with cakes and syrup. "I wish she'd asked us and said goodbye like I did. And in the end I came back."
"That you did and so she will too," Granny said. "Sit down and let Macintosh get you a plate if he'd be so kind." Applejack sat and Granny leaned towards her, almost conspiratorially. "Apples always come back. It's in our bones."
Macintosh brought Applejack her breakfast and sat stoic and pensive. Waves of turmoil seemed to be breaking around him, but he couldn't tell if the storm had passed or was just beginning. He did the one thing he could do for the sake of peace. "AJ. I've got your chores today."
"Thank you, Macintosh," she said and took another bite of the cinnamon-daisy hotcakes. They tasted like ashes.
Winona bounded down the hill from Sweet Apple Acres, full of joy to be playing a game of "find the little one." Applejack was at least properly fed, watered, and outfitted with her "going to town" saddlebags, even if breakfast had done nothing to lift her spirits. They passed by picket fences and farm land, thatch-roofed townhouses and wound their way between the market stalls in downtown Ponyville. Merchants were just beginning to set up for the day, spreading fruits, vegetables, and flowers, gems, small goods, and even a tent promising fortunes told.
But before reaching any of that, the very first thing they passed outside the kitchen door was the new terraced garden that Applejack had been building with her sister.
Landscaping was hot, heavy work, and by afternoon the sun and cloudless sky made things twice as hot. The sisters grew frustrated and tired and began making mistakes that only fed their bad moods. A barrow-full of dirt dumped in the wrong place cascaded down the hill back to where it started, taking even more with it. The timbers for the retaining wall seemed to be twisted just a bit and didn't fit together quite as Applejack had planned. Apple Bloom struggled with the two-pony saw, and Applejack's comment, "Don't worry about how big or strong you are, it's all about technique," made her feel even worse.
Applejack decided to cope with the tension by falling silent and focusing on the job at hoof. Apple Bloom took up the ancient folk art of complaining. Either would have been quite effective on its own, but Apple Bloom's litany of "stupids"—stupid timbers, stupid dirt, stupid rocks, stupid garden on the stupid hill—reacted with Applejack's grim resolve and formed a toxic brew that soon had each sister at the other's throat.
"Apple Bloom, " Applejack said with deliberate calm. "We've gotta to cut them straight across or we'll have even more work to fill the gaps."
"Well maybe it was a stupid plan to use this stupid saw. I'm sure somepony somewhere has figured it out and there's a better tool."
"That would be nice," Applejack agreed. "if we'd rather spend all day hunting for tools instead of getting things done. If we buckle down, we can be done tomorrow."
"I need a break and then a bigger body," Apple Bloom complained. "Stupid one-and-a-half-pony saw." She walked away.
"Motivation," Applejack called after her. "Unless ya wanna be one of them ponies who just stands to the side acting like she knows the job better, even though she can't get her hooves dirty, learn to get things done."
As luck had it, in the marketplace Applejack ran into Twilight Sparkle. She was shopping and her saddlebags contained produce, lists, and bits. The produce replaced the bits, following the formula of the lists. It was a lot like math or magic and Twilight Sparkle was proud to be good at it.
"Applejack, is something wrong?" she asked. Applejack looked haunted somehow. She pushed through the gathering crowd in a hurry, her eyes scanning this way and that, and barely acknowledged Twilight as she passed.
"Nope, not a thing. I don't need your help, Twilight. Strictly family business."
Winona barked, leading her boss to the edge of the marketplace. Twilight followed both to a long building with a prominent clock in the center, The Ponyville Train station.
"Oh, horse-apples," Applejack said. "She could be anywhere in Equestria by now."
"Who?" Twilight asked, coming to stand alongside her friend. "Applejack, please, let me help."
"I've gone and lost my sister! Drove her away. Went to wake her up this morning, and found this." She took the note from her saddlebags.
Twilight levitated it to her face and read. Her heart sank in sympathy and she set aside her plans that day. Applejack needed her. "You're her big sister. She respects you more than you can imagine and I promise we're going to find her."
"No, but I'm..." Applejack gestured at the train station. "I'm not even sure that's a good idea, or if she'll hate me more for chasing after her. I did something similar myself and if Big Macintosh showed up then, I'd have figured he didn't trust me."
"Do you trust her?"
"That's the thing. She doesn't plan. I planned everything out, made sure to tell Granny were I'd be and everything. I more than half expected her to try to stop me, but she didn't. Now I don't really want to stop Apple Bloom and I can't believe she'd just cut and run neither..."
"But you want to know that she's safe," Twilight said.
Applejack took a few steps towards the station's doors but shook her head. "Don't matter now. This is a dead end. Winona can't track a train, there's no scent."
If there was any pony who cared a little too much about her friends, it was Twilight Sparkle. She looked at Applejack starting to despair, and from that moment, she was willing to do anything to bring the two sisters back together.
Anything at all.
"We're not beaten yet. I have a plan," she said and led Applejack into the train station.
The architect had called for a lot of wooden paneling and brass rails. The counter-tops were granite and so was the floor, though only the first was polished to a mirror shine. Plenty of windows filled the room with cheerful morning light. Applejack's shoes rang against the stone as she followed Twilight to the ticket counter.
"Hello," Twilight said. "I was hoping you could tell me about two ponies who may have departed last night.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we hold passenger records in the strictest confidence." The stallion behind the counter, a slate-blue unicorn wearing a uniform cap that was really too small for him, frowned apologetically.
"Of course," Twilight said, "but we're asking about a minor, my friend's little sister and her friend. We think they left last night."
"In that case, I'll see what I can do. I'll need ID. What time did they depart?"
"Late," Applejack said.
"Just the two of them? After seven?" The stallion turned around and levitated a record book from the shelf behind him.
"Yeah."
He frowned and set the book down unopened. "In that case, I'm sorry. Company policy. No travel for unaccompanied minors between seven in the evening and six in the morning without parent or guardian permission."
"You don't know the pony who was working last night by any chance," Twilight asked.
The stallion looked to either side and leaned over the counter. "Look, ma'am, you didn't hear it from me, but Amethyst did mention this morning that two fillies came in about quarter of ten last night. Yellow earth pony, real polite, and an orange pegasus who wasn't once she heard they'd have to wait until morning. Don't know if that helps any but I hope it does." He drew himself back. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Applejack was beginning to feel faint yet warm embers of hope. Of course Twilight would help her and she was more than a little embarrassed that she hadn't immediately thought to ask her friends. She smiled at the stallion. "Thank you so very, very much sir."
"Always a pleasure, ma'am."
Twilight stepped back from the counter, hoping that she hadn't exhausted her cleverness but not seeing what she should try next. A conductor called, "All aboard for Hoofington, platform three," and a small group of ponies got up to board the train. A station unicorn focused his magic on a large board in the middle of the hall. Letters flipped, spelling out the names, numbers, and times of upcoming departures and arrivals.
None of this brought her any closer to figuring out where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had gone.
"It's a dead end, ain't it, Twilight?"
"Not yet. We'll just look for clues someplace else, I guess." Twilight didn't even manage to convince herself.
Rainbow Dash had a terribly boring and not at all exciting day to look forward to. She just had to keep the sky clear, which might keep her entertained for a grand total of five minutes all day long—and then she had to give that job to the new pony, Tropical Breeze, who seriously needed to practice her cloud-bucking on something easy before being allowed within five miles of real weather.
That left Dash bored—terribly, dangerously bored. Boredom lead to getting antsy, which lead to crazy stunts, which tended to end in property damage, personal injury, and liability. All of which was fun in a crazy sort of way for a pony who lived on the edge, but without any storm bonuses in the forecast, her bank account could use a break. Dash was relieved to spot her friends exiting the train station. She swooped down from the town hall bell tower.
Applejack looked glum and Twilight hung her head low. Dash settled into a hover and figured they could use a little encouragement. "Hey, girls. Cheer up, you look like somepony died or something."
She knew at once she'd stepped in it. Applejack froze and squeezed her eyes shut. Twilight gave Dash a peeved glare and, wordlessly, floated a piece of paper in front of Dash. It was Apple Bloom's note.
"Oh," Dash said, dropping to the ground. "So nopony actually died, right? 'Cuz it'd be really awkward if somepony did."
"Can we please," Applejack said, "not talk about anypony dying?"
"I'm sure they're fine," Twilight said. "Rainbow, if you're not too busy, we could use your help finding Apple Bloom and Scootaloo."
"Sure thing. I can't believe that they'd do that, though. Just run off and have an adventure while I'm stuck here in Ponyville being bored. Stupid kids."
"Well, they did," Applejack said. "Up and left in the middle of the night and everything. Was all my fault for bein' too harsh with her too.
Twilight filled Dash in on what they had learned so far. She and Applejack planned to return to Sweet Apple Acres and see if they could find any more clues.
"You do know," Dash said, "that you don't one-hundred-percent need a ticket to ride a train if you know what you're doing, right?"
"Rainbow," Applejack said, "you ain't seriously suggesting that my sister would actually jump a train."
"Look, I'm just saying that maybe I should take a quick look around the yard and see if I see something. It's not a great idea so you should probably go with Twilight and I'll catch up with you."
Dash sped away, leaving Twilight, Applejack, and Winona to make their way back to the farm. Twilight was very excited to "try something," and before Applejack could properly object, she found herself wrapped in an uncomfortably close hug with her friend and her dog. The marketplace disappeared behind a flash of purple light and was replaced with Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight looked around, confirmed that her passengers had teleported with her with all their parts in the right places, and let herself enjoy a giddy-proud giggle.
Applejack took a deep breath to settle the queasiness in her stomach. She watched Winona lurch over to a flowerbed and be pathetically sick into it, which wasn't okay at all. "Twilight," she said. "You will warn me before you even think of trying that again and you will not ever do that to my dog, you hear?"
"But, we saved minutes of trotting time and arrived fresh and unfatigued!" Twilight said. Life had given her a Problem, and if there was anything Twilight really appreciated, it was a good problem. She had the mind for it too, but sometimes she forgot to take care of other ponies' feelings along the way. That was how she started to go just the tiniest bit crazy.
The search for clues wasn't as productive as Twilight had hoped, leading her to believe that they had missed something significant like the exact way the sheets lay on Apple Bloom's bed or the precise number of steps between the farmhouse and each shed. The Problem was really starting to take root in her mind and she would feel so good to finally figure it out.
The facts most likely to be significant were that Apple Bloom's window had been closed but not latched, Apple Bloom had left a shed unlocked, and there were no hoofprints in the mud outside the door, which meant they had been wiped away by the rain the night before.
Applejack for her part, decided to not be mad about Apple Bloom carelessly leaving the door open. Compared to the big picture it just didn't seem that important. None of what they learned seemed to bring them any closer to figuring out where Apple Bloom had gone, but it sure felt better to be doing something rather than sitting and stewing in her own guilt.
By some kind of fate or instinct, they wandered back to the farmhouse kitchen, where Granny had warmed up a pie for them to share. She asked how their adventure was going and was calmly supportive, all of which was good for Twilight and Applejack: food and family and a nice day—it's easy for ponies to forget important things like that when something else comes up. Still, Apple Bloom was very noticeably absent, and even though the edge had gone off Applejack's worry, she was scared that her sister might not want to be with them any more.
"That smells awesome," Dash declared as she pushed open the door, "and I have found us some clues. First thing, though: pie, because the moment I tell you where they went, I'm not gonna get any." She had gone home for her saddlebags and a pith helmet and had somehow managed to get twigs in her mane adventuring around and being Dash.
Twilight thought that maybe Dash was taking her pastries a bit too seriously. It was preposterous for a bunch of ponies to sit around eating pie when they needed to find fillies who might be in peril! "Darn it, Dash, they could be hurt or scared, every moment we waste is... Fine. Eat your pie. See if I care."
Dash polished off the last of her substantial slice and looked up at the clock. "Eighteen seconds. New record!" She pumped a hoof in the air. "So anyway, there I was, flying circles around the Ponyville train yard looking for the tiniest clue that would lead me to the dastardly selfish ponies who went on an adventure and left me, the dashing Rainbow Dash, behind. I thought I spotted something so I swooped down just outside the hedge that marks the edge of railway territory."
"Land sakes, Rainbow, why didn't ya land inside hedge?"
"It wouldn't have been as much fun that way. Besides, are you telling this story or am I? Yeah, that's what I thought. To catch a crook, you have to think like a crook, or in this case think like a pegasus whose wings haven't grown enough for her to fly. I crawled through that thorny bush, barely making it to the other side without getting too many scratches and having to turn around. That was when I found..." Dash paused to dip her head into her saddlebags and bring out a small orange down-feather in her lips. "Thish!" She dropped it on the table.
"So they did sneak aboard a train," Twilight said. "But that still leaves the question of which one."
"I can't believe my little sister's a sneak and a thief," Applejack said. "And Rainbow, this is fun and all, but did you or did you not find out where they went? This is important, my sister's missing. It's not one of your Daring Do stories."
"Fine, fine, ruin my story," Dash said. "So I looked around for a little while more, then I got out of there and decided to pick up a train schedule. I mean, we're Ponyville, not exactly the biggest city around. How many night trains are there anyway? It turns out, only three."
She unfolded the schedule on the table. "And if you look at the destinations, it's not too hard to make a guess. I mean, if you're looking for an adventure at ten at night, you're probably not going to Little Hoof or Mareston because everything's closed just like in Ponyville. The closest big city, where you'd find anything worth doing, is Canterlot."
"Canterlot," Applejack said.
"I'd say that's a reasonable psychological model," Twilight said, impressed. "I guess that's where we're going."
"Already figured that out, too. I guess you two are gonna take the train, so how about the nine-twenty?" Dash pointed at the schedule. "I'm gonna fly ahead, scout around, and catch up with you when you arrive."
"Oh, good, I know how to solve this one," Twilight said, happy to finally have some control over the situation. "All I need to know is how fast you fly and how far it is to Canterlot both as the pegasus flies and the train goes and how fast the train is of course and are you going to leave now or later, but the math itself isn't all that hard."
As she spoke, parchment and quills took flight from her bags and floated around her head in a halo.
Dash sighed and pointed to the timetable. "You could do that, but I was just gonna start here in Ponyville and read down to Canterlot and keep an eye on one of the many clocks in the city so I can meet you at the station right after I see your train pull in. With some luck, I'll even have those two with me, okay?"
Twilight's mouth and ears drooped crestfallen and she returned everything to its place. "Or we could go with that. Sounds like a plan."
"Oh, and one other thing," Dash added. "Twilight, do you maybe know anypony inside Equestria Rail who could help me out with a tiny problem?" She took out one last piece of evidence, a slip of paper. "I kinda got a ticket for trespassing on railway property."
At just about the same time that Twilight, Dash, and Applejack set out for Canterlot, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were in fact there, waiting in line for their return tickets at the train station. For Apple Bloom at least, the adventure was starting to wear off and their errand felt more and more like an... errand. Still, they had found what they came for and the only thing left to do was to get it home and then they could take a well-earned nap.
Scootaloo was taking her turn hitched to a small cart emblazoned with the trade mark of Rolling Stock's Portable Equipment Sales and Rental. It wasn't terribly heavy and came with a convertible tandem harness, and together the two of them had gotten it to the train station without any real trouble. Fortunately, it also came with a tarpaulin across the top, which they hadn't removed - fortunate because it had rained and thundered something awful through the early morning.
Apple Bloom was glad she took the few extra minutes to pick up her camping gear. They locked the cart to a hitching post in Puddinghead Park and bivouacked in her tent. It was a little too small for both ponies at once, and between the thunder and Scootaloo's snoring she hadn't gotten much sleep, but she was glad to be warm and dry at least.
When their turn came, Scootaloo pulled the cart up to the counter. She thought it had been a grand adventure from the moment they decided to sneak aboard the train up until sitting in a tiny little shop by the park for coffee and donuts. She was a little sad that it would be over so soon.
The mare behind the counter raised an eyebrow at the cart. "You're checking that? I'll need to see the rental agreement or proof of ownership."
"Sure thing, ma'am," Apple Bloom said and took the agreement from her bags. The mare looked it over carefully, then at Scootaloo, who wore a sheepish grin, and Apple Bloom, who was beginning to wonder what exactly was the matter.
"Aren't you two a little young to be renting power tools?"
Apple Bloom thought about that a moment. It was weird how ponies who weren't Apples treated her sometimes. "Well, yes, ma'am. I reckon we are a little too young." She looked the mare right in the eye and dared her to disagree.
Country ponies were the tiniest bit outside the ticket mare's experience. There wasn't any rule that said fillies couldn't travel with power tools, she just hadn't expected it. "Everything's in order, I guess. Here are your tickets. You can leave the cart right here."
Apple Bloom sighed in relief and helped Scootaloo out of the harness. If they had to stow away again, she had no idea how they'd deal with their luggage.
That's how the adventure wrapped up for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. They sincerely meant what Apple Bloom had written, that ponies shouldn't worry about them, and there hadn't been anything to worry about, but like I said, ponies really care about each other in Ponyville.
By the time their train arrived in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle didn't just have a Problem. She had a Plan and Applejack was beginning to worry. With some luck the girls would be safe and found at the station with Rainbow and there wouldn't be any need for the Plan.
With some luck.
But it didn't turn out like that. The Canterlot train station was a lot like the one in Ponyville only bigger and busier, which makes sense because they're both buildings for stationing trains. Canterlot's architect decided on more gold and marble, though, and instead of having torchiere-style lighting on the walls, crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
Rainbow Dash was carefully hovering between two of them, waiting to whoosh down when she saw Twilight and Applejack, just like she promised.
She hadn't found the fillies. "It's a really big city," she said in her defense. "I looked everywhere I could but I didn't see them anywhere."
"Fortunately," Twilight said, "I have an idea. I grew up here, remember, so I know how big it is and I thought to myself, 'Self, how can we possibly search all of Canterlot within a reasonable time-frame?' Then the solution hit me, and here it is." She took a poster out of her bag and unrolled it on the floor.
It had pictures of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and asked anypony who saw them to bring them to the train station.
"Now, I can hear what you're wondering; you're wondering, 'Twilight, how is one poster going to be seen by all the ponies in Canterlot?' and the answer is both simple and brilliant." She turned the poster over. A faint, sketchy duplicate image of the poster appeared on the back side in mirror image, like it was soaking through the paper. As Applejack and Dash watched, it slowly grew more solid.
"Once it finishes duplicating itself it splits. Then it's a simple charm spell to get somepony to put the new one up somewhere else and the whole thing repeats every ten minutes. The hard part was making sure that they wouldn't get too thin but I added a spell to regenerate the lost thickness from ambient magic and now everything is perfect!"
Twilight had been thinking about the Plan the whole way from Ponyville. She was really smart and talented with magic, and it was a very clever solution with one teeny-tiny flaw.
"Oh sugar," Applejack said as the full implications began to dawn on her. "Listen, that's a great idea, Twilight, and I'm sure it'll work and all, but can I try something else first?"
"Of course. Go right ahead. I'll even give you a few minutes head start."
Applejack leaned close to Dash and whispered, "We can't let her put that poster up. Dang things'll breed like bunnies and take over Equestria. I'm gonna ask at the ticket counter." She trotted away.
Dash felt her eyes grow wide. She knew what Twilight was capable of with a small town, a charm spell, and a swarm of parasprites or an old doll. Now they were in Canterlot and the fate of the capital rested around her neck—a well toned and strong neck, sure, but still only that of one young pegasus. And it was even worse than that: they were in a train station and what were the chances that posters wouldn't end up on trains going every-which-way, charming ponies across all Equestria?
"So, Rainbow Dash, you like races. How much do you think is a fair head start for Applejack?"
"W–well, you're pretty darn awesome at magic. I think h–half an hour. At least. It's no fun if you don't give the other pony a fighting chance."
Applejack found herself waiting for the customer service window behind a unicorn mare with a very serious problem.
"But the flier—look, can you read this for me?"
The earth pony behind the counter took the deep centering breath of those who deal with the public day after day. He read the fayer aloud. "Buy two tickets, get one free."
"Precisely. Now I am trying to buy two tickets. One for myself, and one for my adorable Mr. Precious Pusskins here." A pet crate sat next to the unicorn, its occupant surveying the goings-on with super I'm-better-than-you-a-tude. "Obviously I would like my ticket to be the free one."
"Well what the flier means, ma'am, is that you pay full price for two tickets. The intention was, for example, that two ponies could travel and bring their foal for free."
"That's a very noble intention, but it's not exactly fair to expect your customers to be able to read minds. I'm just asking that you go by what it says."
The customer service pony felt even his well-practiced temper begin to crack. "Speaking of fair, ma'am, you seem to be expecting us to conduct anypony anywhere in Equestria for the price of a small-animal up-charge, a fee which I may point out is a nominal flat rate."
"I just don't want to have to file a complaint for false advertising with the Royal Trade Commission." The unicorn said and smiled sweetly.
The service pony felt that the trade commission, or really anywhere else, would be a better venue for the issue. She probably was a member of their frequent plaintiff club or something.
He said, "Well, you have a point there. I'm afraid I don't have the authority to resolve your problem so I'm escalating this case." With well-practiced calm, he pushed the silent alarm behind the counter. "May I help the next customer?"
She stepped aside, turned to Applejack and said, "Good luck, ma'am. I'm afraid he's just a cog in the corporate machine. No real power to help the common pony like you or me."
Applejack held her tongue and spoke directly to the service pony instead. "I'm looking to catch up with my little sister, who might have come through here this morning, so I'd like to check with the unaccompanied minor records. Before ya ask, here's my identification."
The stallion was sorely tempted to declare his undying love for Applejack, the beautiful, well-informed, and remarkably sane young mare across the counter. He was, however, a professional and he restrained himself.
Twilight was growing antsy. Her mane had started to go frazzled and her eyes wide, exactly like what tended to happen whenever she had a Plan that wasn't going well for some reason.
She wanted—she needed to put that poster up somewhere. The reason why she couldn't was sitting across from her, blue forehooves holding her shoulders against the cool marble wall she was sitting against, promising, "Everything's going to be okay, Twilight." She muttered under her breath, counting down her head start.
Ponies were starting to stare. Dash had no idea what she would do if Applejack didn't come back before Twilight finished. They had agreed to twenty minutes and it was almost gone.
"Time!" Twilight grunted. "Let me up."
Rainbow looked behind, hoping that Applejack would be there. As fortune had it, she was, and she broke into a canter as Twilight threw Dash off and lurched to her feet.
"Twilight, it's okay!" Applejack shouted.
Twilight had the poster floating in her magic. She looked for the a blank spot on the wall. Perfect.
"No!" Dash cried, tackling the poster. At the same time Applejack crashed into Twilight, attempting to break her concentration.
The sticky poster crumpled against Dash's side, gluing down one of her wings. She crashed to the floor.
Twilight struggled in Applejack's grasp, screaming. "Don't you dare mess up my poster, Rainbow! My beautiful, beautiful poster!"
Applejack held on like she was wrassling an ornery hog. "Twilight, it's okay. They went back to Ponyville."
Twilight blinked and collapsed hard against Applejack. "B–back to Ponyville? But... my posters..."
Applejack rubbed her back. "It was a nice thought but it's all over now. Everything's okay. Let's go home."
The train station fell quiet except for one little colt's voice. "Cool! Mommy, are they making a movie?"
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo arrived in Ponyville and claimed their luggage without any trouble. It was already early afternoon and they were starting to get hungry, but Apple Bloom was eager to get the darn thing home and see the look on Applejack's face when she proved that she wasn't lazy and useless.
Then lunch and a nap would be very, very welcome. So maybe it wouldn't be perfect proof, but Apple Bloom was very close to finishing what she started, and that's what Applejack wanted.
That was the exact moment when I felt an itchy nose, twitchy ear, and thought I could taste asparagus. That usually means somepony is having an important homecoming so I looked out the window and down into the marketplace, saw the two fillies and their cart, and that's when I started to put things together. Of course the first obvious thing was that a parade would be just about perfect so that's what I started to plan.
But I've heard that a pony telling a story about herself is kinda boring so let's get back to the good part.
The train headed back to Ponyville wasn't crowded at all. There were plenty of empty seats, which was good because Twilight had finally stretched out to sleep.
"Sometimes she scares me," Dash said. She and Applejack sat on either side of Twilight. "Do you remember how quiet things used to be before she showed up?"
"She was a lot of help today. You were too." Applejack thought about her words carefully. "Do you think I'm too tough on Apple Bloom? I figure she's coming back today, but what about a year or two from now?"
"I..." Rainbow Dash shifted her wings, still kinda gummy. She took the train back because she had done a lot of fast flying and needed the break and they had this cool promotion where her ticket was free. But it put her inside a box and she didn't think as well there as she did in the open sky. "I can't say for sure what she thinks, but I didn't leave Cloudsdale because I hated anypony. I think she'll choose her own path someday, but don't ever think she doesn't love you, okay?"
"But do I deserve it, Rainbow?"
The train ran along the tracks, click-clak, click-clack.
"Did I deserve the Best Young Flier? I went out there and did what I did and let the judges decide. If you ask me, I see a pony who was ready to go across Equestria for her sister. And I thought I saw you help Twilight out at lunch too."
"Wasn't nothing. Just a pinch of dried moon's-tears in her drink to help her calm down."
"That's it? She must've been really worked up if that put her out." Dash took a moment to try to preen some more of the paste out of her feathers. "Hey, Applejack?"
"Yeah?"
"Do us a favor and don't ever turn evil, okay? Crazy Twilight is enough of an adventure."
The homecoming party was winding down by the time Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash made it back to Sweet Apple Acres. Not that it was much more than a family thing, I got some of the ponies who were shopping to sing a little song and maybe carry Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and their cart of whatever it was to the Acres in a little parade—nothing serious. Only Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stayed with the Apples, and I did too of course to ask questions and start to figure everything out.
We waited for the rescue party—even though they didn't end up doing any rescuing and weren't really a party—I could tell, I know a party when I see one.
Apple Bloom was really tired so she took a nap and let Scootaloo tell Sweetie Belle and me about their adventure. Most of the tool rental places in Canterlot were closed but they finally found one at about one in the morning that mostly does railway stuff and had exactly the tool that Apple Bloom was looking for. What are the chances?
So anyway we ended up playing Mareopolis, you know, the board game where it takes forever to force everypony out of business, and we were drinking cider when Applejack and the others arrived home.
"Well," Applejack said. "That sure was something."
Apple Bloom must've heard her sister 'cuz her hooves fell clip-clop on the floor as she walked in. "Sis, I'm sorry. I didn't think and I'm sure I made you–"
Applejack wrapped her sister in a long tight hug. "S'okay. I messed things up too. I reckon we should give the landscaping a rest for a day or two."
"Oh, but..." Apple Bloom sounded disappointed. "I went and got exactly the tool we need. Lemme show you." She headed outside and we all followed. Apple Bloom undid the straps that held the tarpaulin over the cart and took it off.
It was some kind of saw, even I could tell that. It had a table made of metal, a long kind of an L-shaped half-of-a-box, and there was a slot in the middle. The saw part was a little vertical chain-saw on an arm so it could slide back and forth across the box. If I knew then what I've told you now, I could probably have guessed what it was. Apple Bloom was really proud of herself.
"I know we use Birch-Cog fittings for the cider press so I made sure to get one that would work with our treadmill. I hope it works better than the two-pony saw on the timbers."
"But what is it?" Applejack asked.
"They use it to fix up the railroad. It's a portable mill for cutting ties."
Anyway it took me a while to discover the rest of the story. It's amazing how much a pony will tell you over a sarsaparilla. I'm not one-hundred percent sure I've got it all right but as far as I can tell, that's what really happened.
So Applejack didn't actually do any work on the garden that day. The next morning she marched Apple Bloom down to the train station and made her pay for her and Scootaloo going to Canterlot, and after that?
They finished up the garden and sent the tie mill back to Canterlot, and if you ask me, I'd say it worked out pretty good.