//------------------------------// // 40. That’s one night down... // Story: The Tale of Lord Barleycorn // by Blue Cultist //------------------------------// The Tale of Lord Barleycorn - - - - - - Chapter 40: That’s one night down... --- After several minutes of being on stage Corn Crib had come to a very important realization: Plays were actually kinda fun. Rehearsal had been tedious and boring, but when the time came to step out on stage it felt like she was traveling down a well worn road. Instead of worrying about the audience Corn Crib focused on finding her marks and delivered lines just like she was supposed to. After several minutes she had nearly forgotten the audience existed at all. There was one thing that continued to bother the filly though--the continual drop in temperature. The night air was growing progressively colder as the night went on, but her costume was enough to make performing tolerable for the time being. However, there were several instances where a sudden gust of wind or a sharp movement would flutter Corn Crib’s robes and rob her of all that precious warmth. She had been worried that somepony might hear her teeth chattering when she threatened Wedge with the first of her ‘spells,’ but thankfully nopony seemed to notice. Uncontrollable reactions to the cold aside, Corn Crib was proud that she had managed to refrain from laughing when it came time for Wedge’s prolonged slapstick routine. Her fellow actors had to stifle a giggle as the colt tripped over pots and pans and burned his flank on the fake fireplace they had made. The audience at first looked concerned that the colt might have actually hurt himself, but they quickly realized it was all for show. The big prop door for Wedge’s last big crash got a brief but loud round of applause that secretly had the young stallion beaming with pride. The final scene of the play called for Corn Crib to fly off on her broom. Like the other props and her spells, the broom wasn’t magical in any sense, and relied entirely on what Lord Barleycorn called ‘stage magic’. Instead of being levitated by unicorn magic, the broom was attached to a system of ropes and pulleys that was controlled by stage hooves under Rarity’s supervision. The barbers began their final reprisal of the only song in the play as the broom slowly lifted her off the stage in a poor imitation of flight. Much to Corn Crib’s delight, the moment she was offstage the foals controlling the ropes safely returned her to the stage floor. Once she had all four hooves on the ground and her heart had stopped pounding, Corn Crib resolved to offer to trade roles with anypony else during any repeat performances. Let somepony else worry about breaking their neck; one broom ride was enough for her. At last came the final line of the play, and by Lord Barleycorn’s request the youngest member of the troupe got the honor of saying it. That particular privilege fell to little River Stone, who trotted proudly out to the middle of the stage in her ghost costume. The barber ponies held the last note of the song for a few seconds to give the filly time to rear up on her back hooves, lift her forelegs to look as scary she could, and let out a loud ‘boo!’ The audience chuckled at the sight, with several of them vocalizing their opinion of the little one with loud ‘daw’s that wounded little ghost’s pride. Even though every bit of her was hidden under that ghost costume, Corn Crib knew River Stone was pouting with extreme disappointment. Whatever embarrassment River Stone suffered was ended when the audience began to stamp their hooves in earnest applause. Shortly after, Rarity signaled for the curtains to close and at last call the production to an end. Like the rest of the troupe, Corn Crib had believed that when the curtain fell they were finished and could go enjoy their first Halloween night. Rarity however had other ideas, and hurried every foal involved in the production, acting role or not, for a ‘final bow.’ Since it wasn’t anything complicated Corn Crib didn’t complain as she walked back out with her fellow cast members. She had been attempting to ignore the audience for so long it might be a good chance to see where her family was situated… although she had a feeling they were predictably sitting around their produce table. Her suspicions were proven only partially correct when Rarity hoisted the curtain. Once her eyes adjusted, she was greeted by the sight of her mother waving from their table. Corn Crib of course waved back, but the smile she wore was strained when she saw her father had to be nudged to notice what was happening on stage. He had been talking to somepony beside the table, likely trying to sell more vegetables, and awkwardly tried to make it seem like he had been paying close attention to the play. While Corn Crib had easily located her parents, her brother was not so easily found. There was some chance that Leadfoot was sitting among the audience, hidden among all these new and unfamiliar faces. There was also the possibility that he had slunk back to their farm to hide under his bed, and Corn Crib wouldn’t have blamed him now that she had seen what these forest spirits were capable of. She may have had some idea as to where her brother was at this very moment, Corn Crib could not say the same about her cousin. She knew she had seen Golden Harvest helping to put pumpkins on the table, but after that point it was as if the mare had vanished like smoke in the wind. She clearly wasn’t in the crowd, and the longer Corn Crib looked she began to worry that perhaps cousin Golden returned to Ponyville with her friends without saying goodbye. Perhaps if she just looked around audience one more time... The curtain suddenly dropped, cutting Corn Crib’s search short. She quickly jerked her head back to level a disappointed frown at Rarity, which went unnoticed. The applause that had erupted moments ago was already being replaced by the sound of many subdued conversations. Corn Crib had no doubt that the ponies on the other side of those curtains had enjoyed the play, but she wasn’t sure if the play was what everypony was talking about. Every mare, stallion, colt, and filly had been left speechless by what had preempted their performance. Those lights and shadows, and the animate piano… all of them proof that Barleycorn had friends in many places who were willing to give everypony a wonderful surprise. She could scarcely imagine what other tricks Lord Barleycorn might have up those long, gangly sleeves. "All these city ponies were probably expecting a bunch of foals in costumes some lame magic. I guess I can’t blame them for being excited." Corn Crib smiled, "It’s a shame cousin Golden’s friends went home to Ponyville, they’d love to see real ghosts!" A yawn abruptly interrupted Corn Crib’s thoughts, giving her an opportunity to glance around at the other foals. Many of them were looking ready for bed, but spirits were still high from putting on a successful production. They had every right to be proud, but Corn Crib noticed one little difference between her and everypony else: nopony seemed to be as cold as she was. Not wanting to be seen as the schoolyard wimp, Corn Crib decided to put her newly acquired acting talents to the test and try to look like the cold didn’t bother her. Wedge stretched his back as it came his turn to yawn, "That… was easier than I thought it would be." "And we all got to see that Wedge looks good with painted hooves." Thistle Bloom teased as she trotted next to the colt, a rag and a can held in the crook of one leg and. Wedge brought his forehooves closer to his body in a weak attempt to make his purple hooves less noticeable. He turned to deliver some attempt at a comeback, but held his tongue when he saw the purple-maned filly set the can in front of him. "It’s turpentine, ‘should take the paint off." Thistle smirked, "Unless you wanna walk around all night lookin’ like that." A few ponies, Corn Crib included, chuckled as they saw how flustered Wedge became as he realized he’d become the center of attention. The colt mutter a quick ‘thanks’ as he began to dab the rag with the solvent and began to return his hooves to their natural tan coloring. River Stone poked her head out from under her sheet-like ghost costume, "Miss Rarity, is it okay if I keep this? For the trick or treating?" Rarity took the question as an invitation to join the foals on stage, "Of course you can all keep them, and I’ll be making costumes for the other foals who didn’t get costumes. We can’t have the five of you getting all the candy." That got a cheer from the other foals who had been working behind the scenes. Rarity’s offer, however was interpreted as meaning that she was accepting costume requests and was swiftly surrounded by a mob of eager children. Rarity was forced back a step, a little overwhelmed by the herd of rowdy farm children vying for her attention. Corn Crib had backed out of the way of her schoolmates as they had blitzkrieged their way toward the Rarity. She wasn’t surprised they were so excited, real Nightmare Night costumes were just too expensive for anypony in town to buy for their foals. Rarity might as well have waved a bone in front of a pack of hungry wolves. "Now now, settle down." Corn Crib knew that voice. She turned in time to see two ragged sleeves parting the backstage curtains, allowing Lord Barleycorn to step out onto the stage. "Let’s give the poor mare some breathing room," Lord Barleycorn said firmly to the gang of excited foals. As if the request had come from the lips of Princess Celestia, the foals swiftly withdrew and quieted down. Rarity secretly wished that Sweetie Bell was so easily handled, considering that her little sister could be just as energetic when she encountered something new. "That’s better. Now what do you all say to Ms. Rarity for extending such a gracious offer?" Lord Barleycorn asked. Each foal gave their own response, with some thanking Rarity excitedly and earnestly, while others mumbled it reluctantly like a scolded child. "Very good." Said Lord Barleycorn, "Now, I know you’re all excited about Trick or Treating for candy, but that won’t be for five more nights." That got a groan from the foals, Corn Crib included. "But don’t worry. You’ll be having so much fun every night that you’ll hardly notice. There’ll be scares, music, stories and all sorts of other fun, and on the last day we’re going to have the biggest party this town has ever seen." Lord Barleycorn then tilted his head toward Rarity, "Besides, we have to allow Rarity time to work her magic and get you all proper costumes." Rarity nodded at this acknowledgement. "That leaves us with one last thing before we conclude tonight’s production," Lord Barleycorn waved to the other foals to come over, "If I can have everypony come out and join us… that means you too Dame Fluttershy." Corn Crib saw the curtains part once again, this time by the barber ponies who held the curtain open for Fluttershy to join everypony else on the stage. "Now, if I can have everypony form a circle here on on the stage, yourself included Ms. Rarity, if you would be so kind?" Lord Barleycorn asked as he himself took a spot in the forming circle. Rarity slowly joined the foals and barbers, taking a spot next to Fluttershy who smiled at her company. Corn Crib was feeling excited about this as she took a spot next to Wind Row. Lord Barleycorn hadn’t mentioned any special surprise when they were rehearsing, was this some sort of magic spell? Was the King of Autumn going to knight them all like he did for Fluttershy or call on some pretty light spirits? Lord Barleycorn waited for the ponies to form a circle like he had asked, "Okay, now everypony sit and take the hooves of the pony sitting next to you." Corn Crib did as the rest of the circle, sitting on the stage as she touched her neighbor’s hooves with her own. She was almost certain this was some sort of spell, and she gleefully awaited the result... "And now, altogether we thank everypony for a job well done." Lord Barleycorn explained, "Putting on a play is a lot of hard work and everypony did their very best, so let’s show our appreciation. On three say ‘thank you’, one..." "That’s it?" Corn Crib thought, "Just a thank you?" Thinking that her schoolmates felt as disappointed as she did, Corn Crib looked around the circle. To her surprise, Corn Crib found everypony was content with this simple gesture. "Two..." That’s when her mind went back to what she had heard from her brother’s story of how Princess Twilight had offended the spirits at the old shrine and that ghost head appeared. If Corn Crib complained out loud, would the same spooks show up to chase her or worse? "On the other hoof, thanking everypony for a good job’s not so bad. The colts working those ropes did a good job of not letting me fall." She hastily reasoned. Lord Barleycorn continued his countdown, "Three!" "Thank you!" Said everypony in the circle. "And with that, you are all dismissed with extreme gratitude." Lord Barleycorn said, inclining his head in a small bow, "I’ll be taking a short break to decide what event will come next, so please enjoy yourselves until then." Tired as many of them looked, Corn Crib watched her classmates begin to slog their way off the stage in whatever direction struck their fancy. Most queued up to descend down the one narrow flight of stairs on the side of the stage, while the few pegasi in the production simply hopped off the side with ease. A few tried to force their way through the curtain but couldn’t find the divide in the two massive drapes. These foals quickly gave up and fell in line with the others who were using the one set of stairs along the side. Corn Crib gave a look back over her shoulder as she waited her turn to get down the steps. Lord Barleycorn was talking with Fluttershy and Rarity, who both seemed to be showing him a great deal of respect. She really wanted to go over and talk to him, but it looked like he was going to be busy with the princess’s friends, presumably about whatever Halloween fun he was planning next. What she couldn’t understand was why Fluttershy was sipping from a glass bottle. She hadn’t seemed like the kind of mare who drank. She recalled her brother once muttering ‘it’s always the quiet ones’ to himself, and wondered if this was what he meant. It seemed her chance to talk with Lord Barleycorn simply wasn’t going to happen, but that didn’t bother Corn Crib too much. It was only one missed conversation, and there would be a whole week to try again, and there was nothing stating that she wouldn’t see him again tonight. Besides, her family probably wanted to talk about the play. Finally her turn came and she was free to leave the stage. The audience had remained mostly where they were, with some going back to the tables to listen to the farmers who were weaving tired, old stories of how they saw spirits back when they were foals. The piano was still sitting out in the street, with onlookers not sure if they should approach it or avoid it. Corn Crib hoped that the spirits played another song on it, the duet with Lord Barleycorn had been absolutely amazing to hear! There was less joy to be had as Corn Crib’s attention went to the backmost rows of the crowd, which she hadn’t a chance to study from the stage. Many ponies were still sitting and talking, though the filly didn’t care enough to single out any particular conversation. From one end to the other, Corn Crib scanned the gathered ponies and was forced to conclude that her cousin was not in attendance. Perhaps she had left for Ponyville like Corn Crib had thought. That’s when Corn Crib felt a hoof tap her on the withers, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Heart in her throat, Corn Crib whirled around to find her missing cousin standing behind her. Carrot Top was looking a little out of breath, and her mane was curiously wet, but for the moment, Corn Crib was just simply glad to see her. "Cousin Golden, there you are!" Corn Crib exclaimed as she gripped Carrot Top in a hug. "Of course’ I’m here, where else should I be?" Carrot Top chuckled as she returned the gesture. To Corn Crib the hug was oddly moist, like cousin Golden had recently gotten out of a shower and her coat was still only half dry. It may have been damp, but she felt so warm that Corn Crib tried to make the hug linger a little longer. "Well..." Corn Crib said, "I haven’t seen you all day, and I thought you might have gone back to Ponyville with your friends." Carrot Top didn’t seem surprised by this, and gave the filly a reassuring pat on the withers, "Like I’d miss your play after you put so much work into it. You know me better than that." "Y-yeah, I know but..." Corn Crib slowly broke the nice warm hug, "I really didn’t know where you were. You weren’t with mom or dad, and since you spent a lot of time with Lord Barleycorn I thought you would have shown up before the play started." "Jack, I hate it when you’re right…" Carrot Top thought bitterly before turning her attention back to her cousin, "I would have, really, but Lord Barleycorn had something else in mind for me." Corn Crib was surprised to hear this, "He did?" "Yeah, since I didn’t have the table to watch or any real involvement with the play he asked me to test out a few ideas he had for the festival." Carrot Top sighed, "Before you ask, a few of them were complete duds." "Oh yeah?" Corn Crib asked, "Like what?" "I don’t really wanna go into too much detail and ruin any surprises," Carrot Top said, "But let me say I don’t think you, me, or anypony in town would be excited for ‘bobbing for pears.’" The very idea of more pears made Corn Crib want to cry. They had been fine for a while but they had completely lost any appeal they might have had days ago. "Thank goodness." Corn Crib said with a relieved sigh. "I don’t blame you." Carrot Top muttered as she recalled Jack’s complaints, "If the town had any apple trees it might have been different but between your mom’s limited table options and me falling face first in the wash tub… I said ‘no’ to it." Corn Crib’s ears perked up, "Is that why you’re wet?" "Yeah, with all the running around I didn’t really get a chance to dry myself off." Carrot Top shrugged, "Not a big deal." She was okay with being wet in this chill? Oh how Corn Crib envied her cousin right now. "You’re not going to disappear again, are you?" Corn Crib asked. "Not a chance. If I left, who’s going to keep you outta trouble?" Carrot Top then reached out and playfully pushed the brim of the filly’s hat down. Corn Crib quickly readjusted her hat with an hopeful glimmer in in her eye, "You mean it?" "No way I’d miss out on Equestria’s first Halloween." Carrot Top smiled, "And since the play was a huge success, how about I treat you to something sweet from the restaurant?" “Stuff my face with unhealthy amounts of sugar?" Corn Crib thought greedily, "How could I say no to that?“ Carrot Top produced a few bits and placed them in the filly’s hooves, "Go ahead and pick out something. I’ll meet you back at the table in a little while." While the idea that her cousin was going to wander away again didn’t sit well with Corn Crib, it didn’t curb her enthusiasm for restaurant food. The filly stuffed the coins under her hat and as she gave Carrot Top a warning, "When I’m done at Tablecloth’s, you better be at our tables." Carrot Top chuckled, through Corn Crib thought it sounded suspiciously nervous. "I promise I’ll be there." Carrot Top placated, "I just need to say hi to somepony and then I’ll be checking in on your folks." This earned Carrot Top a smile from her little cousin, "Alright, see you later!" Carrot Top waved a short goodbye, but she quickly put her hoof down when her cousin turned her back. She leaned against a nearby post, finally able to relax after what she’d gone through... --- Earlier… --- While she may have had prior knowledge of the spirits lurking in the Everfree, Carrot Top was as unprepared for the appearance of these entities as everypony else. Yet unlike anypony else she knew what they represented, the veiled threat they had delivered to Jack which was likely now extended to her as well. Thankfully everypony else was as thunderstruck as she had been, and nopony noticed as Jack gently pulled her backstage. Before Carrot Top could understand what he was doing her head was in his lap, and those wonderful hands began to comb through her mane and scratch her ears. The earth pony could not explain how he seemed to know the right spots to attack, but she was quickly lulled into such placid contentment that she could have fallen asleep at any moment. Carrot Top could have sat there all night like that, but Jack of course had to spoil the moment. "I think we might be in trouble." Jack whispered in her ear. Those words sadly ripped Carrot Top out of her comfortable half-sleep, and she turned her head enough so she could look up at him. "I think Corn Crib’s looking for you." He elaborated. "What about the… spirits? Why did they-" A hint of Carrot top’s anxiety returned, and she struggled to keep her voice down. "I don’t know what they want or even meant by that little display." Jack countered, "But I can guess what Corn Crib’s going to be doing when the play’s over. She’ll be looking or you." Jack couldn’t see it, but Carrot Top was scowling up at him from under her mask, "How in Tartarus do you figure that?" "She wasn’t looking at her parents when she kept peeking out at the audience earlier. And you’ve been ‘missing’ all day." Said Jack. Carrot Top snorted, nearly forgetting to whisper, "And what do you want me to do, run back home and shower off all this dye?" "Would you rather she think you just skipped town to avoid watching her act or maybe we should let her in on our little masquerade?" Jack snapped, "I know it won’t be easy to get that dye out but you’re more useful as cousin Golden than a field spirit now that everyone’s seen real ghosts." Carrot Top clenched her teeth as she begrudgingly agreed with him. She didn’t want to go, despite the mask being uncomfortable she’d gotten used to the costume… and of course she’d be leaving those hands. Asking her to leave his lap was like asking her to get out of a warm bed on a cold winter morning. "Dear Celestia help me, I’m becoming just like Lyra..." Carrot Top mentally groaned. "Guhh… fine." She groused, getting to her hooves and making for the back road behind the stores just as the opening song had begun… --- When Carrot Top had returned to the farmhouse, she was sure she had broken an Equestrian sprinting record. She barely remembered entering the bathroom or turning on the shower. The whole effort of removing the dye from her body was a blur to her, with the only concrete memory being her constant stops to check her tail and fetlocks for any lingering traces of dye. One rushed shower proved not enough to remove all of the walnut oil. Her mane and tail remained a coppery tone that was noticeably darker than her natural bright orange. By some miracle, her fetlocks faired better but still had a slightly muddied appearance to them. She had been concerned that somepony might notice these differences, but if Corn Crib couldn’t tell while staring right at her, then maybe nopony else would. It was also possible that maybe it was simply too dark to discern such a minute detail. Now that she was in the clear, Carrot Top sat on her flank and shut her eyes to enjoy a few moments of complete stillness. After all that running, it felt nearly as good as Jack’s ear massages. Almost. The moment she had deemed her appearance adequately restored, she had raced out the door. The two minutes it would have taken to towel herself off were two minutes that would have had her miss the play entirely. She’d barely had a chance to lurch into an alley and catch her breath before the foals came down from the stage. While the cold air was nipping at her wet everything, Carrot Top felt a sense of pride in accomplishing what she had thought was impossible. When she had left she was sure she wouldn’t make it back, and yet she had arrived just as the curtain had gone down. Late for sure, but what was important was that Corn Crib believed she had stuck around for the play. A sense of satisfaction warmed Carrot Top’s bones as she thought about all that she had accomplished today without anypony being the wiser. Corn Crib wasn’t worried about her disappearance, her arrival as the field spirit had made Jack to look like a legitimate spirit, and said field spirit’s absence could be easily hoof-waved away as her ‘returning to her field.’ "And those Flim Flam brothers like to think they were so clever." Thought Carrot Top. A simple glance across the street shattered Carrot Top’s good mood. Seated at the back of the audience was Applejack, that stetson hat of her making her laughably easy to find. It had taken Carrot Top all of five seconds to locate her in the audience, but of course she could also see hints that her friends were with her. "How predictable," Muttered Carrot Top to herself, "I go the extra mile and a half to make sure my little cousin doesn’t feel bad and I have the most awkward moment of my life with an audience." As she slowly began to cross the street, Carrot Top’s attention was drawn to one of the nearby abandoned shops. The door was wide open, and ponies were coming and going at such a pace Carrot Top wondered if somepony inside was cracking a whip. They were sweeping out what must have been a lifetime’s worth of dust, some of which was also wafting out the open windows. The sound of furniture being dragged across a wooden floor and the hammering of nails implied there was some serious renovation was going on in that neglected building. As she watched, Carrot Top saw mayor Silver Lining step out, looking like a stern teacher who’d just got done scolding a room full of rowdy students. The reason for this sudden renovation was made obvious by the stack of old mattresses resting on the boardwalk. The idea of just reopening an abandoned building to serve as lodging for tourists didn’t seem exactly legal, but Carrot Top could at least understand the financial desperation that motivated such actions. Even if she objected to the mayor’s methods what was she going to do? Arrest the whole town herself? Carrot Top rolled her eyes, not at the questionable legality of the renovation but at herself. Why was she standing here watching ponies scurry about cleaning an old building? What next, was she going to offer to help the mayor so she might delay this meeting another hour or two? The longer she waited, the worse she’d feel about putting it off. With her eyes locked on the back of Applejack’s head, Carrot Top marched toward the back of the crowd with an air of conviction. Ponies were now leaving the stage to resume wandering about the town, but there were small pockets of idling ponies who were lost in conversation. Applejack and her friends were one such pocket. One member of their little clique was missing; Twilight. Carrot Top hadn’t spotted her earlier, and a quick glance around the surrounding area yielded no sign of the alicorn. There was reason enough to assume Twilight was off on some information gathering mission about what she had to do for that ‘ceremony’ Jack conned her into. Still, had Twilight missed the play? If so, then whatever she had seen at the shrine had really lit a fire under her tail. Not that Carrot Top could blame her, now having seen them first hoof herself. It wasn’t long before Carrot Top was close enough to hear the discussion between Applejack and her friends. While eavesdropping wasn’t polite, she thought that she might learn a thing or two that could benefit Jack in the future. She would wait until a good time presented itself to inject herself into the conversation and get Applejack’s attention. "Wha-what do you mean you didn’t see anything?" Rainbow Dash sputtered as she stared at Fluttershy, "The whole town saw them and somehow you didn’t!?" "I was backstage the whole time, I didn’t even know there were so many ponies here until the play was over." Fluttershy’s ears dipped, "But I would have prefered not knowing there were spooks around at all." "Sounds like Twilight’s little poison joke trick has worn off." Thought Carrot Top, "A shame, I thought Fluttershy sounded great as a timid lumberjack." Carrot Top wasn’t sure how she hadn’t noticed this right away, but Rainbow wasn’t wearing that old, white flight suit anymore. Earlier that day the pegasus had seemed rather attached to it, yet here she was without it. Whatever the reason, Carrot Top didn’t believe it would hurt her or Jack’s machinations. "While I fully understand that it wouldn’t be your cup of tea Fluttershy," Said Rarity, "It was a truly breathtaking spectacle." "I’m… sure it was." Fluttershy said, though she clearly didn’t mean it. Applejack nudged Pinkie with her hoof to get her attention, then asked quietly, "How’re you doin’ sugar cube?" Although her whole body was gently rocking from side to side, Pinkie was sitting without any need of support. "Yeah. I think I’ll be okay now." Pinkie said, letting out a very unladylike belch, "Lesson learned. Drink in moderation…" The idea of Pinkie drinking would have worried Carrot Top if she didn’t look so worn out. Maybe they had finally found the mare’s off-switch. "I still can’t believe Maud just walked away like she did." Rarity grumbled, "The second the play was over she ’had to get back to work’ and took off. What could be more important than her sister’s health?" "Aw, don’t think about it that way," Said Pinkie, unoffended by Rarity’s criticism, "Maud knows you girls would make sure I was alright. It’s just her way of saying she trusts every one of you with my life." Rarity didn’t reply, but she also didn’t seem entirely convinced that Maud’s choice was the correct one. "Wait," Applejack blinked her eyes as if in realization, "Didn’t you say the other night at the restaurant that Maud was workin’ fer the princesses? Then why-" "Wait, I forgot! I totally have a cinnamon swirl spice cupcake." Pinkie suddenly announced as she pulled said confection out of mane. Applejack narrowed her eyes, a little annoyed that she’d been interrupted by one of Pinkie’s non-sequiturs, "You sure you’re sobered up?" Pinkie gigglesnorted, "Yeah I’m fine. I just was waiting to see Carrot Top cause I know these are her favorite." Carrot Top blinked, what did she just say? "And… why are you have that out now?" Fluttershy asked. Pinkie simply stated; "Cause she’s right behind us." Since she had come to know her, there were always moments that Carrot Top thought Pinkie Pie was strange. There were many times when she thought Pinkie was crazy. But in this particular instance Pinkie Pie was just as scary as the ghosts that haunted this town. There hadn’t been a single hint that Pinkie had seen her, and Carrot Top was certain she hadn’t made a sound. If Pinkie knew where she was by that preternatural ‘pinkie sense’ then what did did she know? If so, might she be able to tell a real spirit from a human in a scarecrow costume? Maybe she’d been worrying about the wrong pony but how do you predict a mare like Pinkie Pie? Carrot Top felt herself stiffen when Pinkie so casually turned around, cupcake in hoof. The party mare’s smile was so innocent and friendly that Carrot Top expected some other slip of the tongue to come, some hint that she knew something she shouldn’t. The rest of Pinkie’s friends had all shifted to stare at Carrot Top, and it was under this scrutiny that she managed to get a grip on herself. "Erm, yeah. Hi girls." Carrot Top said awkwardly. "Hi! I baked you this!" Pinkie beamed as she presented the cup cake to Carrot Top, "I know it’s your favorite and I had a little cinnamon leftover so I figured you haven’t been at Sugar Cube Corner for a week and haven’t had any of these for so long I knew you’d be really happy to get one!" Carrot Top simply stood staring at Pinkie. She still expected some cryptic line, some subtle hint to the girls about her and Jack’s plans for Halloween but still all that came was Pinkie smiling without any sign of duplicity. She kept her eye on Pinkie as she accepted the cupcake, and took a bite to buy herself time to fully compose herself. It was as good as anything that had ever come out of Sugarcube Corner, and it had been a while since she’d had her favorite mid-morning snack. The trouble, however, was that she had already pigged out on an entire pumpkin pie. She was surely going to suffer through a stomach ache in the near future. While Pinkie seemed to be pleased with her unique brand of gift giving, her friends did not seem to share her enthusiasm. Nearly all of them were watching Carrot Top as if she was about to commit some sort of faux pas, or start yelling like Summer had done. With the last bite of her cupcake gone and nothing further to hide behind, Carrot Top put on a smile for Pinkie, "Thanks, I always feel better after one of those." Pinkie beamed at the compliment, which seemed to soften her friend’s expressions as well… with one notable exception: Applejack. The apple farmer was doing her best to try and watch Carrot Top without making eye contact. "Seems like she’s about as eager to talk as I am." Carrot Top thought, "Or maybe she’s worried that the goat spirit’s going to jump out at her, not that I blame her after seeing them myself." "Hey I know this is sudden, but can I borrow Applejack for a moment?" Carrot Top asked, "I… kinda need to talk to her." "Well if it’s something important it could be said in front of us." Rarity offered, trying to sound diplomatic. "I’m sure you’ll all know eventually, you girls don’t keep secrets from each other." Carrot Top thought sourly. "It’s personal." "It’s fine girls," Applejack stood up before anypony else could argue, "Ah’ll be right back." "Thank Celestia… I thought getting her away from her friends would take so much more convincing." Carrot Top looked to Applejack with a thankful if somewhat strained smile, "Follow me… please." For Carrot Top, the sooner they left the better. Her eagerness to leave might have interpreted as unfriendly, but she wasn’t there to ingratiate herself to Applejack’s friends. Applejack herself however was dragging her hooves as if she didn’t want to leave the nest. Her reluctant companion was doing a poor job at trying to look calm, with her attention constantly being drawn to the dark, looming shadow of the Everfree Forest. Perhaps she believed something was going to come screaming out of the woods... For a moment Carrot Top felt guilty for leading Applejack toward one of the alleyways, which was only a stone’s throw from the edge of the forest. Fortunately, the alley wasn’t as dark as Carrot Top feared. The rusty lanterns that were hung out to support the pitiful illumination of the jack o’lanterns were fighting the darkness with an almost dogged persistence. The sight of the shadows on the ground was cause enough to make Carrot Top slightly alter her plans. The tall weeds that called this narrow place home were taking the dim light and throwing long, grasping shadows that excited the imagination. Applejack would surely not be able to concentrate in such surroundings, and truthfully, neither could Carrot Top. However, that meant there was only one other place to go: behind the shops and even closer to the Everfree. Applejack was looking quite furtive as they stepped out of the alley, and Carrot Top believed they had gone far enough. It was darker here, but Luna’s moon was giving them enough light to see by. "So… what do you think of Hollow Shades?" She asked, fishing for a way to break the ice. Applejack jumped at the question, clearly on edge from her proximity to the forest but she seemed to perk up a little. It was almost as if she wasn’t expecting such a soft question. "It’s… nice." She said slowly, "But Ah admit Ah didn't believe any of the things Ah heard about the place were true." "Yeah, the weather takes a little getting used to, but its not as bad as ponies make it out to be." Carrot Top chuckled, "Probably spooked your friends something good though, huh?" "Yeah... ain't at all normal." Applejack then hastily added, "Not that it’s bad, its just real… different." "A typical reaction," Carrot Top cast her eyes up at the night sky, "I suppose the other tourists aren't freaking out over the weather because of how clear it is tonight. Any of them who shack up in that hovel-hotel the mayor's prepping are in for quite the shock come morning." "If it was just the weather it'd be okay," Applejack shuddered, ears pinned back as she edged closer to the mouth of the alley and the protection of the bright street, "I just hope Twi's ritual or whatever makes everythin' alright again." "Oh you aren't alone there." Carrot Top shook her head, "I'm sure she'll have it down to a science by week's end. You know how precise she is when she puts her mind to something." Applejack was silent for a moment, but soon seemed to relax a little, "Yer right, though it means Ah can't just leave town to help with the harvest back home until this is resolved. Granny's probably gettin' worried about me." Carrot Top scratched her head, "You think a letter would make her worry less, or more?" Applejack tapped the ground with her hoof, then shook her head, "Definately more. She'd probably drop everythin' to come out here to calm the spirits down... and Ah wouldn't want her an' Summer in the same room." "Good idea." Carrot Top stated. "But, why haven't ya gone back home?" Applejack asked, "You got a whole field of carrots waitin' to be out fer market." Carrot Top bit her lip, she was missing out on a lot of good money but of course she wasn't going to tell Applejack the whole truth. "I’m taking a hit in one of my biggest sales months, sure but I can take one loss. For my cousins, though, it's sink or swim and I can’t leave until I'm sure they have their business with the bank is settled." Applejack gave a knowing nod, "Ah kin’ understand that. But, this isn’t what you wanted to talk about, isn’t it?" "Of course she had to be perceptive now." Carrot Top took a breath, "Alright, you got me. I dragged you out here because I was hoping to get you to agree to never mention we’re related to anypony." "And why shouldn’t everypony know?" Applejack asked defensively, seeming to forget her surroundings. Carrot Top felt she should have expected Applejack to react this way. Why wouldn’t family be a hot button issue to the mare who’s part of the biggest farming clan in Equestria?  She needed to take a different approach or else Applejack would show she could be just as loud and stubborn as Summer Harvest. Then, an idea struck her. "Applejack, do you respect me?" Asked Carrot Top. The question took Applejack off guard, "Wha? Well, ‘Course Ah respect ya. An’ Ah’ll add yer one of the best carrot farmers Ah know." "Thanks," Said Carrot Top genuinely, "But I want you to tell me, has that respect changed at all since you learned we’re related?" Applejack seemed to run Carrot Top’s question through her mind several times before she adamantly replied; "It ain’t changed one bit." "If that’s the case, then you’ll please keep the fact we’re related a secret just because I asked." Said Carrot Top, "It shouldn’t matter if I’m your friend or your cousin if I ask politely." Applejack’s face twisted into a scowl, "Hey don’t think you kin’ play them fancy word games on me to make me agree to sumthin’ Ah ain’t agreed to." "I’m not playing games." Carrot Top rolled her eyes, "Tell me the truth, do you see me as Carrot Top, or as a member of the apple family?" "You can be both!" Applejack affirmed, adding a stamp of her hoof for finality. "And what if I don’t want to be?" Carrot Top’s eyes narrowed, "What will you do when you get back to Ponyville? Tell everypony my secret?" Applejack fumbled with her words, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. "Applejack, you know ‘Carrot Top’ isn’t my real name. I changed it before moving to Ponyville, and I can do it again. I don’t want to but I can pull up stakes and disappear from your life." Carrot Top warned, "Do you want to prove a plothead like Summer right about the Apples?" Unable to stare the other mare in the eye any longer, Applejack turned her glare to the shop wall as she struggled to find some counter to her cousin’s threat. Try as she might, she couldn’t quite dredge up the right words that might swing the argument back in her favor. Seeing victory within her grasp, Carrot Top thought perhaps she could soften the blow, "If you agree to keep this under your hat, I can promise to at least be a closer friend than before. Maybe help out a little around your orchard?" Applejack continued to menace the wall, bit little by little bit her vitriol faded to a look of begrudging resignation, "Ah don’t like this. Don’t feel right. Kin’ Ah… have some time to think about this?" Carrot Top felt a little cheated. This had gone so well and now Applejack wanted to leave this for another day. Worse, there was the possibility that Applejack would tell her friends about their talk. If she did, then they might convince her to keep fighting Carrot Top on this issue and they’d be back at square one. However if Carrot Top pushed the issue any further she might just start a fight. Carrot Top cursed under her breath, "Alright. Just… don’t take too long." Applejack nodded, and without a word or a backward glance left the alley. Carrot Top slumped down on her flank and felt like she was no better off than when she started. --- The festival had lasted for a few more hours before Jack felt his limits were being tested. Midnight had come and gone, and he at last called an end to the activities so that everypony would be able to wake up at a somewhat reasonable time. While there were a few who wished to keep going, the majority of ponies were happy to be excused to bed. Many foals were carried home on their parent’s back, too sleepy to continue. Jack had no doubt that they were dreaming of all the candy and sweets he’d promised that would be available for Trick or Treating. With the cornfields gone, Jack had been forced to use the woods to sneak back to the Harvest’s farm. After a short and thankfully uneventful walk he was soon back in the hayloft that was the closest thing he had to a home in this strange world. As he laid down he vaguely remembered Carrot Top promising that he wouldn’t have to sleep in the hay again but he was too tired to care. He’d remind her tomorrow about that little promise, maybe guilt her into letting him have her bed or something. Hay sucked. Jack stared up at the dark rafters of the barn, mask rolled under his head for a pillow as he had done many times before. "That’s one night down..." He muttered before he drifted off to sleep. --- To be continued… ---