//------------------------------// // 2:4 Two Sides to Every Story // Story: Pinkamenace II Society // by jmj //------------------------------// Segment 2: Chapter 4 Laughter surrounded the pink pony. Pinkie Pie, feeling like her old self again, looked around the room. It was beautifully decorated with party accessories. Streamers hung from the ceiling in all different colors, balloons floated back and forth, and several fun games were scattered around the room. This room had been designed for parties, it had to have been. It was pink and white and painted to look like the walls themselves were made of cake! They were pink at the bottom but leading up towards the ceiling they turned white with multicolored sprinkles dotting the white icing on the upper sections of each wall. The ceiling itself was solid white, but with more of the rainbow sprinkles dotting here and there. There was a table buffeted with tasty snacks and drinks and a ritzy ice sculpture of Fluttershy standing in the middle of the punch bowl. The party pony giggled and hopped around the room, taking it in and laughing at the clever designs. She didn’t remember setting this up, but she must have. It was gorgeous! Pinkie Pie found another table loaded with wrapped presents stacked on top of each other to form a pyramid. The happy pony saw this as a game in itself and took several moments to size up the weakest link. She was going to pull one of those gifts from the bottom without toppling the whole pile; her tongue poked out to the side of her mouth and she narrowed her eyes in concentration as she settled on the present she was going to withdraw. Carefully, Pinkie wrapped her hooves around the box and, looking up to watch for signs of instability, began tugging the box from its home at the bottom of the pile. The pyramid wobbled slightly and she stopped, holding her breath as if her breathing might cause a giftalanche of epic proportions. She sighed in relief as the gently swaying pile righted itself. Pinkie Pie began tugging on the box again. Inch by inch, she worked the yellow wrapped present until it slid free of the other wrapped presents. Pinkie held the box above her head in triumph and giggled at the silly game she had played. Everything was silly, happy, and fun to the merry mare. Pinkie checked the tag and smiled. “To: Fluttershy. From: A Friend.” Pinkie read the tag and chuckled as she rolled to her back and held the gift out in front of her. This was Fluttershy’s party, then! Hooray! Pinkie rolled back to her hooves and replaced the present in the stack. She was turning around to try the punch when another tag caught her eye. She stopped and looked again to make sure she had not misread the sticker. “To: Pinkie Pie. From: Your friend. Why did she have a present at Fluttershy’s party?” Pinkie checked another tag, “Fluttershy”, and another “Pinkie Pie”. Had she thrown a party for Fluttershy and herself? That was great! She wished she had remembered setting this one up; the painting alone must have taken a day! Either way she was so happy to be in the middle of such a great celebration … if only the other guests were around. All the presents were from “a friend”. Where was this friend? “Come out, come out wherever you are!” Pinkie smiled and jerked her head back and forth in excitement for the benefactor of the gifts. Her smile turned into a confused grimace when nopony showed. “Ollie ollie ox and free!” Nothing. Nopony came to greet Pinkie. She looked around and smirked. “Are we playing hide and seek? That’s the best game ever! This one time I played hide and seek with my sisters for two straight days! I was always a good hider and I hid inside a cabinet the entire time! It was cramped and smelled weird, but it was such a good hiding place! I could hear my siblings looking for me and eventually they started calling for me, but I just covered my mouth and laughed into my hooves until they started looking in other places. My mom finally found me and boy was she mad! I guess I took it a little too seriously, because they had become really worried and went out into the forest to find me and called the local Royal Guard unit to aid in their search. When she finally found me, I was like ‘WOW! You found me,’ and she was all like ‘Pinkie! Is this where you have been? We were worried sick! Get up to your room, young filly!’ I didn’t even mind being in trouble, because it was the best game of hide and seek ever! Oh … I guess I should start looking if I ever want to have a chance to hide, huh? I’m going to find you!” Pinkie began searching for her “friend”. She opened doors, leaped behind furniture, and even lifted rugs in pursuit of her prey. She sighed and looked around. There had to be somewhere she had forgotten to look. She scoured the room for possible hiding places and grinned. Aha! Under the snack table! Where else could they be? It was such a great place with the long draping tablecloth than nearly touched the pink-carpeted floor. She walked on the tips of her hooves to the table and gently ran her foreleg under the fabric. With a might upward swing, she brought the tablecloth up and shouted triumphantly, “FOUND YOU!” But, there was nopony there. Incorrect, but not discouraged, Pinkie turned her back to the table holding the snacks, punch, and ice sculpture. Where else could they be? She brought her hoof up to tap her chin as she became deep in thought. “Help me, Pinkie.” Pinkie nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice. It had come from behind her, so she turned quickly to search for the voice. “Please, Pinkie! Please help! It’s so hot!” The party pony gasped at the source of the voice. It was the ice sculpture that had been carved into the likeness of Fluttershy. How could a statue made of ice talk? Well, she supposed it might be able to. Weirder stuff had happened. “Pinkie! Help! Help! I’m melting!” The sculpture not only asked for help, but moved. It brought its hooves down into the bowl of punch and wriggled as it began to melt before the pink mare’s eyes. Pinkie looked around for a way to cool down the statue. The room, she realized, had no windows. She ran to one door, then another, and another; all the doors were suddenly sealed again and, no matter how hard she pulled, she could not open them. The statue began howling in agony as parts of it turned to water and ran into the bowl of bright red punch. Pinkie tried everything she could think of to cool down the screaming statue, but even blowing on it furiously didn’t alleviate the shrieking thing. “You were my friend! Why? Why wouldn’t you save me? I’m DYING!” What little remained of the once Fluttershy ice statue suddenly fell apart into the bowl of liquid, sloshing gently back and forth. Pinkie was afraid and confused and looked into the large round refreshment. Before her eyes, the watered down punch caught fire. Pinkie turned the bowl over and it spilled all across the floor, running flames this way and that, spreading their appetite for destruction to seemingly every corner of the party room. Pinkie gasped and jumped away from the flames, but they chased after her, licking her hooves and consuming all things as they made their way towards the pony. Pinkie watched as the room turned black and crisped as the fire devoured everything in its wake. Before long, the only thing left was the poofy-maned pony surrounded by fire in a room of ash. Pinkie screamed and swiped her hooves at the encroaching flames to no avail. She was going to burn to death. She closed her eyes tightly and waited for the fire to leap onto her body and transform her to ashes. Suddenly she felt cool water run down her body and heard the hiss of fire being beaten back by water. She felt strange as the water dripped down her body. The party room had been beautiful and now it was gone. It was like a candied apple that turned out to be an onion instead of an apple! All the joy was gone from it. Pinkie Pie felt her mind reel and she was instantly across from herself, where the punch bowl had been. She could see her own body being soaked by an overhead sprinkler system. It must have finally kicked on to control the fire. She felt so odd looking across at herself. She couldn’t make out much, just her pink coat, the running water obscured all her other features. How could she be seeing herself? She needed back inside her body! It might drown without her mind inside controlling it! And then, it moved without her control. Pinkie watched as her body shook some of the water from its face, hair long, flat, and a darker shade of pink fell to the side of its head. She noticed that her body’s bright pink coat was darker, duller, and more dismal. She watched as it moved towards her. Maybe it was just coming back to her, reuniting with its mind. She somehow doubted that. Just as it got a few feet away, the overhead sprinklers died and the obscuring water vanished. Staring at her was a face twisted into a psychotic grin. It spoke of pain, pleasure derived from such pain, and lust for more. Its mouth jerked upward as it locked its demonic gaze onto Pinkie. It began to giggle, but not a happy joyful laugh, a sick and demented chortle that promised unbounded terror and agony. Its eyes flared with hatred and promised a terrible death. “You thought you could kill me? Now you are going to pay …” Pinkie Pie screamed at her body. It meant to kill her in a fashion she could not imagine. Whatever it planned would make her beg for death before it found enough pity to give her the release. It lunged towards her, teeth gnashing and expelling that terrible laugh, like metal scraping against metal and then … *** Pinkie Pie awoke with a start. She gasped and found herself in her own bed. She didn’t know why she felt scared, but the hilarity of the situation dawned on her and she started laughing to herself. A nightmare! She must have had a nightmare. She couldn’t even remember what it was! She had woken up afraid of something she couldn’t even remember, how silly! The sound of her laughter attracted Fluttershy from the den. Pinkie laughed so loudly at herself that she didn’t hear the meek mare enter the room. Fluttershy moved to the bed and smiled, then smiled wider, and finally started laughing, too. Pinkie’s giggling was contagious and she couldn’t help but laugh along with her friend. Pinkie recognized the sound of Fluttershy and turned to face her friend. She fought the fit of felicity and flopped back onto her pillow. She turned and grinned to Flutters as the mare climbed back into the bed as well, calming from her own state of laughter. Shy lay back on her side of the bed and smiled back to her dearest friend. “What was that about, Pinkie?” Flutters had woken up nearly an hour before and went to clean up the den from the night before. She had found Rarity awake and feasting upon a piece of leftover cake. The two had talked for a short while and made plans to keep in touch with one another. Shy had seen Rarity off and began cleaning. She had barely started when she heard Pinkie begin laughing. “I must have had a bad dream, Shy. I woke up like …” She gasped loudly, overplaying it dramatically, and jerked straight up in bed with a shocked look on her face, her eyes wide and searching. “I was SO scared, but I didn’t even know why! I couldn’t remember. Isn’t that funny how something can scare you so bad when you’re asleep but then you have no memory of it?” Shy chuckled gently at the pink mare and lay her head into her pillow, facing Pinkie. “Oh, I don’t like bad dreams. I usually remember them, but it scares me anyway. I usually can’t go back to sleep after them. Sometimes, though, I can’t remember them and then I am even more scared.” Pinkie giggled and lay back down into the soft sheets and mattress and eyed her friend. “Last night was so much fun! I had forgotten how good it felt to throw a party. I can’t believe that! I, Pinkie Pie, forgot how to have fun! Can you believe that? Well, I never want to forget again and I’m going to make sure everypony gets to feel this good!” Shy timidly looked the cotton-candy maned pony over and smiled sheepishly, taking deep satisfaction in her friend’s recovery. “I’m glad you are happy, Pinkie. How, um, are you going to make other ponies feel like this?” Pinkie brought her hoof to her chin in thought and with a mighty “Hmmm…” she pondered the question brought to her by the yellow pegasus. She thought for a few moments. “Ponies in this town, most of them anyway, have already shown they don’t want to party, at least not without drugs, alcohol, and loose mares. Even with those things, they are apt to shoot it out with other ponies who might show up.” “What about baking cupcakes and things?” Shy watched her friend and tried to help facilitate a positive answer. “Already failed once, Shy. Ponies don’t use what bits they have on normal items. They’re reserved for, well, the other things I make.” Pinkie’s expression turned dour and she rolled on to her side, looking down at the mattress. She suddenly wasn’t so keen on manufacturing drugs. Sure, the bits were right, but how many ponies had she hurt with them? She knew the Royal Guards had found several overdoses. That wasn’t her fault, was it? She didn’t force them to do her drugs. She just gave them an opportunity to get the high they wanted. The pink pony sighed and rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow. Who was she kidding? She made the drugs that caused the overdoses. She had provided a dangerous, mind-altering substance to the ponies who were once her friends. She felt a little sick and pounded her forehead into the pillow. Shy watched Pinkie, growing ever more worried. She had, all at once, become serious and then began to pound her face into her pillow. Shy wasn’t sure what to say or do, so she just lay still momentarily. Finally, Pinkie seemed to have deemed an adequate amount of pillow bashing and rolled back over with a sigh. Shy didn’t miss the glimmer of fluid in Pinkie’s eyes and reached out to comfort the mare with her foreleg. “What’s wrong, Pinkie?” Pinkie remained staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t want to make drugs anymore, Shy. They hurt ponies. I have hurt ponies by making them available. I just don’t know how else to make money.” “I … I’m glad you said that, Pinkie. I’m so scared Applejack is going to kick in our door and hurt us. If she ever found out about us, I’m sure she would. She’s cruel now, Pinkie. Oh my … and she has that unicorn working for her now. Maybe if you stop making those drugs, she won’t come after us.” Shy’s voice cracked and her eyes grew in fear as she thought of the prospect of her old friend showing up with a few goons to “talk” to the mares. “I’m not worried about Applejack so much. I just don’t want to hurt others anymore.” The pink mare heaved a sigh. “I still have to make more of them. I have orders to fill. I can’t just stop, not yet. Rarity still has her dress shop … Did she say anything about how she keeps it running? Her dresses are far more expensive than cupcakes.” “Oh! She has a catalogue business, she said. We talked about it before she left this morning, actually.” “She left? I wanted to invite her over again soon. It was nice seeing her again. Catalogue? That’s super-de-duper smart of her. I wonder … No, they would melt if I had to send them through the mail. Plus cupcakes wouldn’t do so well being tossed around in a box.” Pinkie scratched her head and continued to look into the ceiling deeply, thinking about her situation. “What about partying? You do that well. You usually throw them for free, but what if that was your business?” Shy tried to think of Pinkie’s strong suits and throwing parties had always been her greatest ability. Shy knew that she generally took the burden of cost on herself for the general joy of those in attendance. If she were to charge for her services, she might do well. She smiled and looked to her friend for reception of the idea. Pinkie was giving her a very strange look as if she had never thought of charging for a party. “Shy …” The fundamentals were there. How had she never thought of that herself? Parties had always been free to anyone, but if she charged for them, she could make a living for herself AND see the happy, satisfied faces of the ponies who got to enjoy the party. It was genius! Oh … but Ponyville would never go for it. A few might be interested, as there was still a small middle class in the better part of town, but not enough to sustain a business. Most ponies opted to celebrate their birthdays with illicit parties. Pinkie had brightened at the idea, but then frowned again. “It’s genius, but there aren’t enough ponies here that would want parties.” “Yes, but what if we moved away? To Canterlot, Manehattan, or Hoofington?” Shy was hopeful for leaving Ponyville sometime. She lacked the courage to go alone to a city she had never been to before and she couldn’t face Cloudsdale again. All of her fuzzy friends were on the ground. “It’s a great idea, Shy, but we’re a little too broke for that.” She giggled slightly at a play on words that popped into her head. “Brokey dokey lokey. If we could earn enough money, it might be an option. I’d rather not abandon Sugar Cube Corner. The Cakes gave it to me; and I sure would like to see them again. I thought I could change this place, Flutters, but I guess there’s just not enough business here anymore. This problem just can’t be solved with parties.” “I guess sometimes not everything can.” Shy thought for a few moments. If they could raise enough money to buy a new building in another town and all the equipment, then maybe they could move away. Pinkie had been receptive to the idea. Suddenly an idea came to the pegasus. Shy had talked at length with Rarity about her business. She sometimes took the dresses to Canterlot and other nearby cities. The train still ran a couple times a day to other towns. It basically ran a big loop between Ponyville, Canterlot, Hoofington, and Trotdale. If they could restrict business to those areas, they could still provide services to them. “What if you and I catered parties in those cities? We could take the train to and from the towns, or stay the night if we had to. Other places are safe at night, unlike here. We could advertise online and have flyers printed up and distributed in Canterlot and the others. We’d just have to travel to them and set up.” Pinkie sat up with a shocked expression and grinned. “Oh my! That’s so brilliant!” Her voice, normally high, hit new levels in her excitement and changed pitch in a vibrato fashion. “Fluttershy, you are so super-duper-double-looper smart! We can completely do that! We’d just have to buy some supplies for parties. Just a few things like streamers, confetti, balloons, strings, hats, buzzers, noisemakers, clown noses, make-up, sheets, ribbons, cups and plates, and games! It wouldn’t take that much money to get what we would need.” Pinkie Pie hopped from the bed and started singing a happy, bouncy song about parties. Pinkie’s song was catchy and Fluttershy found herself dancing with her friend. She laughed and they busted a move into the still-decorated den. Pinkie kept singing praises about Fluttershy’s brilliant idea and Shy couldn’t help but feel good about it. She worried the business might fail, but Pinkie made everything seem so easy and achievable. It had been so long since Flutters had heard Pinkie break into song that prospects of failure did not matter. Pinkie finished her song with a pull on the party cannon. More confetti exploded about the pair and they laughed together. Shy’s idea really was good. Pinkie Pie was certain they could do it. They would party and make a living from it. All she needed was capital. Pinkie hugged Shy. “I need to make the order for Golden Harvest, Shy. Hopefully, soon I won’t have to make these things anymore. It shouldn’t take long if we use the money from these drugs wisely and then we can be finished with it. I can bake, plan, and party for my bits—things that hurt nopony.” Pinkie smiled happily at her friend, her blue eyes full of genuine excitement and elation. Pinkie went into the kitchen and broke out the drug making apparatus. Her sudden disdain for this business was brought on by the reclamation of her old self. Life could be happy again. Soon. Soon the drug business would be behind her and the damage she caused with those drugs out of her hooves, not to mention that the chance of discovery and the resulting punishment from Applejack would cease to be a problem. They just had to hold out a little longer … Just long enough to get the business going. *** JackSlap was angry to say the least. He had escorted the mares and the dragon to Ponyville the day before and here he was, waiting outside Rarity’s shop again after taking that stuck up unicorn back to visit Rarity. Sheesh, like he didn’t have better errands to run for Applejack. She had him as a babysitter instead of an enforcer. If she wouldn’t buck him in the mouth, he’d tell her his complaints. He had learned long ago, however, not to backtalk the boss or challenge a task she had given him. JackSlap grumbled to himself. The summer sun was beating down on him and he could hear the mares inside laughing about something. “Chuckle it up. Loads a’ bucking fun. Sure am glad ta babysit miss goody four hooves an’ her dragon.” Then again, he could go and find some fun. There were certainly a lot of ponies in this part of town that owed some bits to the boss. He wouldn’t mind taking some frustration out on one or two of them. He wouldn’t be gone long and that unicorn would wait on him. She was scared to death of Ponyville after those two punks had gotten after her. JackSlap chuckled to himself and mentally plotted his course. He could be back shortly, but not too shortly. He cantered off to the beat of backhoofs across the faces of his victims ringing in his head. *** Twilight and Spike left Rarity’s a little earlier than the day before. The sun was going down, but had a couple hours before it would sink completely behind the horizon. She had waited for a few minutes for JackSlap, but decided he must have left for the farm without them. He had threatened to do so the ENTIRE trip to Ponyville, after all. He was so obnoxious that Twilight had used a spell to silence the area around her and Spike. JackSlap, of course, had never known it; he was probably talking, threatening, and complaining the whole way, not caring whether he got any response from his companions. She and Spike had had a great time with Rarity. She seemed different today, happier, more talkative, and sort of bubbly in conversation. She said she had visited with friends the night before, old friends she had not seen in years, but hoped to see again soon. Twilight had jumped on the chance to talk about friendship and how its magical properties might help the town. Rarity had agreed with Twilight that friendship was indeed a magical thing and that, perhaps, there was something to Twilight’s theory. They had spent the largest part of their day talking about what friendship meant to each of them. Rarity seemed shocked that Twilight had never really had any friends. Twilight had talked about how Applejack was her first friend. She also talked about Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. Unfortunately, their time was cut short as a prospective buyer had entered the shop. Rarity had told Twi that she was welcome to stay and wait, but Twi did not want to intrude and felt it to be bad manners if she stayed while Rarity conducted business. They had both been surprised that a customer had come into the boutique. Most business, Rarity had specified, came in through the web. Twilight had excused herself, ready to head back to Sweet Apple Acres. She and Spike walked the street. Twi wondered about their safety without JackSlap, but she saw several other ponies who did not look rugged or dangerous and soon lost the nervous feeling. She smiled at Spike, who had been a little foreboding since they had returned yesterday. He appeared to be preoccupied with some troubling thought, little wrinkles appearing on his scaled face. Twi, after giving him an entire day to resolve the issue himself, asked. “Are you okay, Spike? You seem like you have something on your mind.” Spike had been lost in thought. Something just didn’t set right with the dragon. Rarity had posed her words in a strange way the day before and, to some degree, today. It was as if she were accusing Twilight of getting Sweetie in trouble, or that something weird was going on. Twilight hadn’t noticed it. Spike hated to think poorly of his pony friend, but sometimes she could overlook obvious details, especially when she was out of her element. Twi was definitely out of her element when it came to socializing with others. She had not picked up on any of Rarity’s phrases or cold semi-accusations. Was she trying to insinuate something about Twilight? Probably not, but then why was she acting so strangely? What could she be hinting at? “Oh … just the way Rarity talked. Do you get the feeling she was trying to hint at something? Like, maybe something isn’t exactly right.” Twilight gave the dragon a perplexed look and shook her head. “No, why? Did she say something to you?” “Well, no, but the way she said things kind of seemed like she was trying to say something without just saying it.” Spike looked up at his friend and scratched his head. “Didn’t you notice anything a little weird?” “Oh Spike, I think she is just happy to see us. She has Sweetie’s best interests at heart and probably just wanted to make sure we were a good influence on her. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary with her. She’s nice and I want to see her more.” Twilight was happy to be out in Ponyville and actually working towards her goal. She was glad Spike was with her. He was a good assistant and did, often, advise her when she was over-thinking a problem, but sometimes he could let that aspect of his personality take over. Rarity wasn’t hinting at anything devious. Twilight was confident in that. “I hope you’re right, Twilight. I don’t exactly like it here in Ponyville.” “Oh Spike, I really don’t—” Suddenly, something moved and caught Twilight’s eye. Something small darted across the road in front of them and fell over, apparently injured. It was a small bunny and it was kicking its leg up as if it was in pain. The sight took Twi’s mind from her assistant and she watched the creature. It needed help. Something was wrong with the poor thing. “Spike, we have to help that creature. It’s hurt.” *** Spotsy the rabbit was Fluttershy’s long ears in Sweet Apple Acres. He was the one who had informed the pegasus about Twilight in the first place. He didn’t know he was a spy, but knew his friend wanted to know about Sweet Apple Acres and what the ponies who lived there were doing. He didn’t understand exactly why she wanted to know, but he was more than happy to spend his time hopping around the farm, digging up carrots when he could find them in the semi-barren farmland, arguing with the squirrels about whether the forest floor or the canopy was a better place to reside, and watching the interesting lives of the ponies who lived there. Spotsy didn’t really have a whole lot to talk about this week, but the unicorn had gone into Ponyville twice. His friend might find that interesting. He hopped along, finding tall weeds on the sides of the street to hide inside of on his route. He hoped that pink pony wasn’t there when he arrived. He was nervous around her. She was prone to being loud and those things she made, the little pink squares, smelled strange … of poison and death. He wished his yellow friend would find a new home. He twitched his little nose at the thought and then an idea came to him. He would fake an injury! Spotsy loved calling attention to himself from the mare. He liked her attention and cooked up ways of getting it. He liked to make a big entrance. She was easy to scare, but the fun of sneaking up on her and jumping out was over. She jumped at anything and he wanted a new tactic to gain her attention. If he pretended he was hurt, she would hug him and stroke him until he felt better. It was a great idea. He just had to practice. He had to cross the street and he didn’t see anypony in front of him, so he dashed out, fell over and kicked his leg up as if a thorn had been buried in his foot. He squeaked out once and grasped the “sore” leg. It just wasn’t enough. It needed to look more severe. What else could he do? OH! The brown bunny began dragging himself with his front legs, pulling himself inch by inch as if his back legs were paralyzed. That would certainly get her attention. She would be all over him when he got there. It was perfect. Spotsy was just priding himself on his acting skills when he heard something, something too close for comfort. The bunny looked up and right next to him was a unicorn, no not just any unicorn, THE unicorn. The purple one that his pegasus friend had become nervous about. Where did she come from? He had to move quickly, she was charging her horn and would have him if he lingered. The brown bunny took off like lightning, his sudden speed must have confused her, because her magic had not taken hold of him as he had expected. He had to run, get to his friend where he would be safe and could warn her that the unicorn had followed him. How did she know? She must be more magical than he thought. Twilight looked at Spike when the rabbit sprung to life from literally dragging himself across the street. “Come on Spike! His adrenaline has given him enough natural painkillers to fight through the pain. He must be scared, but with an injury like that, we have to help him!” Before Spike could protest, the lavender unicorn chased after the quick brown bunny. He was darting behind trash cans and other objects, making it exceedingly difficult for her magic to grasp him. She had to catch him before he really hurt himself. If his injuries were that severe, there was a high chance that he was going to make them worse. Spotsy dodged and darted as best he could and looked back to see the mare and her dragon companion keeping pace with him. If he could just get to Sugar Cube Corner, he would be okay. He could wriggle into the underground entrance and be safe from the magical pony. If he could only make it. The bunny continued his frantic run and soon could see the building he sought. The unicorn was behind him, a little further back, but still coming. He ran with all his might, sprinting towards the underground entrance. He could see the gutter-drain that marked the entrance. It was just next to the spout and … disaster! A brick had fallen on it, holding the little trap door closed. He skidded to a halt and tried to lift the brick, but it was just too heavy. He would have to dash to the front door and try to get attention there. He looked up and saw the unicorn bearing down on him. He scampered around the building and to the wooden door. He quickly turned and thumped the door rapidly with his hind leg as hard as he could. The sound wasn’t very loud, but he hoped it was enough. The bunny looked up and saw the lavender mare, horn glowing and breathing hard. He felt her magical power lift him from the doorway. It didn’t hurt or oppress him in any way, but he was still frightened. He had been so close to escape. If that brick hadn’t been there, he would have been fine. “He looks fine to me, Twilight. I think we should just let him go.” The dragon evaluated and waited for judgment from the mare. “I don’t know. If you look closely at …” To Spotsy’s overwhelming joy, the door to Sugar Cube Corner opened and the pink mare stood in the doorway. The pink one might not be his favorite, but she was tougher than the yellow pegasus. She would show these ruffians. *** Pinkie Pie hadn’t heard the knock on the door, but Flutters had. Pinkie had been sitting in the kitchen floor with her sciency tools creating the vision-granting drugs, when Fluttershy came in with a frightened expression. Everything scared Shy. The sooner the business started, the better. They would be able to move out of Ponyville and maybe Shy would be able to rest and not jump at every little noise. Pinkie doubted it, but there was always a possibility. “Somepony just knocked on the door really fast, Pinkie. It sounded like they meant business … Eep!” Pinkie heard a voice, muffled, coming from the door. Flutters must have heard it too, because she retreated into the bedroom. Pinkie chuckled for a second and then toughened her resolve. If it was Applejack’s goons, she would have to protect Shy. She might not be able to stop them from taking her, but she would swear she acted alone and protect her pegasus friend. She stood and debated covering the apparatus, but couldn’t due to its temperature. It would melt or set fire to anything that covered it. She would just have to leave it there for a few minutes. The pink pony stood and walked to the door. She breathed in deeply and jerked the door open to reveal … Two strangers. A unicorn and a dragon were standing on the other side of the door holding a brown rabbit. He was struggling against the magic levitating him. He must have been one of Fluttershy’s friends. What was going on? “Hi, umm, why do you have a bunny floating around?” She couldn’t help but crack a joke despite the situation. She was, after all, her old self again. “OH! What instrument does a bunny play?” Twilight looked down at Spike with a questioning look and back to the mysteriously smiling pink earth pony before her. “Ummm, I don’t know. What?” “A HOPsichord!” Pinkie giggled wildly at her joke and didn’t really notice that the strangers didn’t laugh. She caught herself and tried to become serious, but the lavender mare cut her off. “Yes … that’s great and all, but this rabbit needs help. He’s injured. We found him crawling down the street, but when we tried to get him he ran to this … um … shop.” Twilight could see it was a bakery in disrepair. She assumed it did not function any longer, but she wasn’t sure. She just wanted to leave and get the bunny back to Sweet Apple Acres where somepony might be able to help it. “Well, we’re going to go now. Injured bunny and all …” “OH! A HOP-sichord, I get it!” Spike started laughing as the joke dawned on him. He couldn’t help but laugh; it was a funny pun. He noted the disapproval in Twilight’s grimace toward him. This pair wasn’t what Pinkie expected and didn’t make the connection to Applejack’s unicorn and this unicorn. She didn’t look the type to be criminal and her friend had laughed at her joke. Leg-breakers didn’t laugh unless their prey was screaming. “Oh no no no, that bunny is friends with my roommate. If he’s hurt, she’ll know what to do! She’s really good with animals of all types and takes care of them when they’re sick. This one time, she nursed a sick squirrel back to health after it fell out of a tree with a mouth full of acorns! I have heard of flying squirrels but not falling squirrels! And another time she found this—” “Spotsy, oh my goodness. What happened to you? Are you hurt; is it bad?” Fluttershy had poked her head out from the bedroom and heard pinkie mention one of her animal friends. She had come out and seen Spotsy floating in front of Pinkie. Her natural instincts took over and she ran up to aid her injured friend. She took him in her hooves and walked him to the den, laying him on the couch. The other ponies and the dragon followed likewise, watching the yellow pegasus work. Fluttershy lay the bunny on the couch and gently touched his legs. She looked worried and began asking him question about pain. She hoped he was okay; bunnies were fragile things and they would take some time to recuperate if he was injured. Spotsy looked from the yellow pegasus to the strangely happy pink pony and to the purple pair. Did they not understand who these two new ones were? On other other paw, an opportunity like this was hard to pass up and he feigned pain, bringing his foreleg up above his brow as if the injury was too much. He reached out his little forelegs and beckoned the yellow mare to come to him. Flutters recognized Spotsy’s deception as soon as he started dramatically waving his forelegs to her. He was always big on show. He liked the attention and came up with new ways to get it. “Spotsy, you’re faking. How can you scare us like that? I thought you were really hurt and these two nice strangers thought you were, too.” She was agitated by him. Scaring her was one thing, but faking an injury was too much. She saw his look pacify and turn sad. “Oh, it’s okay. You’re just a good little bunny. You just like to get attention, don’t you?” Fluttershy kissed the bunny on the head and he sprang up happily. All the ponies, and Spike, sighed with relief that the bunny was not injured. Twilight wasn’t sure what to think about the bunny or these two ponies, so she looked at Spike who only shrugged. “Well, I guess we should get going since everything is okay.” Pinkie, sensing an opportunity for another party, had to interject. “Wait, you can’t leave! You just got here. We can have so much fun. We have some cake and cupcakes and punch and chips and chocolate chips and games and…” Spotsy recalled suddenly who it was that was in the room with his friend and kicked himself for getting caught up in his ruse. He beckoned Fluttershy while the pink pony had the attention of the other two. She moved close to him and he proceeded to tell her in his bunny way who was standing right in front of her. Fluttershy was whispering to the bunny while Pinkie talked loudly and quickly to the unicorn and DRAGON! Oh, a real baby dragon! She had to wait a second before letting her excitement take her. Spotsy was trying to tell her something and whatever it was seemed important to him. “A unicorn … yes … THE unicorn?” Fluttershy gasped and let out a weak exclamatory “meep” in response. She was looking at the unicorn Applejack had recently employed. All her worst nightmares had come true. Applejack knew about them and this unicorn was here to hurt them or take them back to her employer for Celestia knew what reason. Fluttershy cringed and Spotsy jumped off the couch, running for safety. Fluttershy was glad her bunny friend had escaped, but her own escape was troubling her more. She made another shrill sound and looked to the bedroom. She could run and hide, but that left Pinkie alone. She wouldn’t just leave Pinkie out here to deal with two of Applejack’s henchponies, well henchpony and henchdragon. “P-P-Pi-Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie had been going on about all the wonderful things that they would be able to do if the unicorn and dragon stayed. It was a feat to stop the pink pony from rambling, but the shrill sound of a seemingly frightened Fluttershy made did it. She looked over at Fluttershy and back to the new faces. Her friend could be SO shy sometimes! But, it fit with her name, after all. Pinkie smiled good-naturedly at the strangers in reassurance. “Umm, I’ll be right back!” Fluttershy nearly galloped into the bedroom and Pinkie followed her. Pinkie shut the door behind them. “What’s wrong Shy?” She could see more fear in Shy than she had ever seen since the night those two hooligans had planned on burning her to death. Suddenly, Pinkie’s smile faded and cold spot formed in her stomach. “That … that’s … that’s Applejack’s … unicorn. Spotsy told me. She’s going to hurt us, Pinkie. We have to go, now.” The poor pegasus could barely speak for all the fear. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest and she backed up to the bed, sure the unicorn was going to blow the door from its hinges and come in to collect her victims. Pinkie looked at Fluttershy with wide, unblinking eyes for a moment, but then just giggled. “Her? Does she look like an enforcer to you? Your bunny must have been wrong. She’s not a dangerous pony. Maybe a little tightly wound, but not dangerous.” She smiled at her friend and tried to calm her down. “Hey, Flutters, come on. It’s okay. We’ll be alright. Even if she is working for Applejack she’s not a leg-breaker. She’s not here on business and …” She remembered all of her drug making apparatus and the drugs themselves were still sitting in the kitchen floor. A shard of ice buried itself deeply into her mind and her giggling suddenly stopped. “I left all that stuff in the kitchen. She might see it. Shy, you have to get their attention so I can clean up the kitchen before they see it. They aren’t dangerous, but if they see that stuff they might tell Applejack. Then we would have to worry.” Fluttershy shook her head and pulled the blanket from the bed and over her body, becoming a quivering mass underneath it. “I can’t. I can’t, Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie grabbed the blanket and yanked it off the pegasus. Shy squealed and Pinkie hugged her tightly. “I know you are scared. I think we’re okay, but we might not be if she sees that equipment. I … I could kill her. My hoofgun is just in the kitchen, but I don’t want to, Shy. I don’t want to be that way again. I had to be like that to survive. Please … please just get their attention. I don’t want to … I don’t want to be like I was. If I have to kill them, I will, but I don’t think I could do it and be happy still.” Pinkie could feel the darkness crowding in her mind. She knew, somehow, that if she were forced to kill these two, the darkness would take her over again. She would lose all the happiness she had so recently regained. This time it might be permanent. “Make your decision, Shy. We’re wasting time.” Fluttershy was terrified. She didn’t want to face Applejack’s goons. What if they used magic on her? If they hurt her or took her prisoner? Pinkie wanted her to get their attention. She couldn’t face them. Pinkie would have to shoot them. Shy flattened herself as low to the ground as she could and covered her eyes. Pinkie would have to deal with these two alone. She was the brave one. Shy was the coward and she knew it. She would hide while Pinkie took the hard actions. Pinkie sighed and turned away, stopping at the door. “It’s all right, Shy. I understand. Just stay here.” Her voice was already colder. The light was dying inside of Pinkie Pie. Her rebirth was short lived. She would deal with these two to protect her and Fluttershy. She would have to call upon that darker part of herself and deal with the consequences after the deed was done. She opened the door and walked out to the unicorn and dragon still standing in the den. Shy began to cry. She was such a coward. Pinkie did too much to protect her. She had tried to explain to herself that she had helped Pinkie by bringing her happy self out again, banishing the lonely, frightened, and depressed side of herself by showing her that one thing that Pinkie Pie had always loved. She was going to lay there as Pinkie killed those two and, by proxy, kill herself. Maybe not physically, but mentally. She could hear Pinkie in the other room. Her voice was hollow now, a trait of the other Pinkie, of Pinkamena. “She’s just shy. Her name is Fluttershy, after all. Just wait right here and I’ll get something special for you two. I’ll be right back. I hope you like surprises!” Flutters cried and hated herself. She was weak and useless. She would never beat her fears. She would always have to rely on others when confrontation reared its head. She was the worst friend in the world. She had helped Pinkie? It didn’t matter anymore. She had just killed her all over again … by just lying here, cowering. From somewhere deep inside, a calming strength filled Shy’s mind. She might be scared, but she couldn’t just stand by as Pinkie did everything for the two of them. She wouldn’t let her friend die all over again. If she did, all the work Flutters had done to coax Pinkie Pie from Pinkamena would have been for nothing. She would get up. She WOULD face her fears. She had to, for Pinkie. Her legs, wobbly as they were, hefted her shivering body and propelled her towards the door. Shy’s courage was tiny, but her will forced her onward. She quietly walked towards the unicorn and dragon, who were talking amongst themselves and waiting for Pinkie’s return. They had no idea what Pinkie was going to bring with her when she returned. Shy could still stop it. Fluttershy closed her eyes and galloped two large steps towards the pair and crushed all the air from her lungs in order to make a sound break through the fear that clenched her throat. “Hi!” *** Twilight and Spike were confused by the whole situation. Twilight was saying how she thought these ponies were strange and Spike was arguing to give them a chance. They were each quiet, so only the other participant could hear their whispered words, but suddenly the “shy” yellow pegasus had returned and somewhat loudly greeted them. They looked at each other for a second; the pegasus was visibly shaking, but trying hard to be engaging to the pair. Spike made a disapproving noise to Twilight and stepped toward the shaky pegasus. “Hi, my name is Spike and I’m new here in Ponyville. We come from Canterlot and are here to study the magic of friendship. We hope that studying the relationships between friends we can find some meaningful magical connection and use it to help all of Ponyville. What’s your name?” Spike had been long winded, but was trying to sound non-threatening and good natured. He wanted to show Twilight that having weird mannerisms might be normal in a decrepit town such as Ponyville. The ponies who lived here probably had all kinds of past trauma that had scarred them emotionally. It would require work to help these ponies. He cast an eye at Twilight, expecting her to follow suit. There was an awkward moment of silence from the pegasus and Twi decided to follow Spike’s example. Twilight stepped forward, as well. Sometimes she hated how strong-willed her dragon friend could be. She had just wanted to bail on this situation. These ponies were crazy! What kind of friendships could she have with one pony who could barely stop talking and another who didn’t talk? She put on her best friend face and introduced herself. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. I hope we’re not scaring you. We didn’t mean to scare you. We just found that bunny and he seemed injured. He ran from us to this … lovely … shop. We just wanted to help him. I hope you’re not afraid of us. We want to be friends.” Fluttershy maintained eye contact with the pair. Their words were genuine; she sensed it. She had always been good at judging character. To her surprise, a portion of her fears fell away, leaving her in control of her voice. “My name’s … Fluttershy.” Her voice trembled and cracked, making her name hard to understand, but she had been able to say it. From the other side of the one remaining saloon-style swinging door that led into the kitchen, Pinkie peeked out. She had her hoofgun and was coming back to kill the unicorn and dragon when she heard Shy’s trembling voice. Pinkie’s body suddenly shook and she moved away from the door, falling to the floor. She wouldn’t have to do it. Shy had come through for her. She trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks. She had been so ready to do it. She didn’t want to, but she was going to. The darkness in her mind receded and she took a moment to regain herself. She thought of the happy cupcakes and the good time they had had the night before. She thought of the business they would soon start and the life they would start over. “Thank you, Shy. Thank you … Oh, thank you.” She had things to do. The equipment was scattered all over the floor, but the pieces were cool enough to handle now. She would have to hide them quickly and get a suitable snack ready. There were plenty of leftover snacks in the refrigerator. She preferred hot, fresh goods when entertaining guests, but, this time, she would have to make due. Fluttershy was able to keep the pair entertained long enough for Pinkie to return with a tray of snacks, giving Shy a friendly wink and mouthing the words “thank you” to her friend as she lay the snacks on the table. Over the course of a few hours, the ponies began to trust one another. Pinkie had found herself completely trusting the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, and her dragon assistant, Spike. Even Fluttershy found their company to be enjoyable. The pegasus was especially interested in Spike. She asked many questions and, once more at ease, hung on every word the dragon spoke. Twilight, at first unwelcoming of the strange ponies, found charm in both of their respective personalities. Pinkie Pie, a high-energy party enthusiast and the embodiment of spontaneity, was fun, funny, and upbeat. Her energy was addictive and her inherent giggly attitude a true benefit. Fluttershy, while shy and nervous, was gentle, soft, and sweet. She was probably the most good-natured pony Twilight had ever met. Time slipped away from the group and Twilight explained her trip to Ponyville and how her balloon had been shot down. She had been taken in by Applejack and was searching for the magic of friendship, her assignment, as a student in Canterlot. Pinkie tactically asked about her involvement with Applejack. Pinkie was far better at hiding her emotions than Rarity and was able to ascertain that Twilight knew nothing about Applejack’s real business without even hinting at it. She gave Shy a wink and a smile. They were safe, at least for now. By the time their friendly conversation had ended, it was too late for Twilight and Spike to venture home that night. That meant one thing. TIME TO PARTY! Pinkie blasted music and the three ponies and dragon enjoyed their time together. Even if all the food was only re-heated, it still tasted good. The music was addictive and the budding friendship between them was almost palpable. Twilight and Spike fell asleep, grinning and full of tasty baked goods, on the couch. Pinkie made sure the closet where she hid the drug equipment was locked and followed Fluttershy to bed. Despite the rough start, they had become friends with the pair from Canterlot and fell asleep without worry. *** JackSlap had returned from his escapade of violence empty-hooved. Most had not been at home, though he took the time to trash their living quarters, and the one that had been had bailed out of the back door before JackSlap could catch him. He had been waiting for far too long and was pissed off. It was almost dark. He had had enough of this. JackSlap pounded furiously on the door to Rarity’s boutique and immediately harangued the unicorn mare when she opened the door. “Tell those idiots that it’s gettin’ dark. I’m tired of waiting for them and they’re lucky I’m here at all. I should make them walk home by themselves! Now go get’em and make it snappy, mare.” Rarity, looking down her nose at the rude and brash pony, only smirked, using her best condescending tone. “Oh, my dear JackSlap, they left for Sweet Apple Acres hours ago. I do hope that won’t cause a problem for you. You are their bodyguard, right? Doesn’t that mean you should know where they are at all times? I’m sure Applejack will understand, however. She is such a … patient and forgiving pony. Good night.” She shut the door, amused by JackSlap’s failure; he was sure to be reprimanded. She suddenly frowned with worry; she hoped that Twilight and Spike had made it home safely. However, it had been a few hours before night when they left, which cut down significantly on the chance of something ill happening to them. Staring blindly at the door that had been unceremoniously slammed in his face, JackSlap’s blood ran cold. If they were already back at Sweet Apple Acres and the boss knew they had come back alone, he was sure to get chewed out or hit. If they weren’t back home when he arrived, he would have to tell the boss personally … and that was a far worse possibility. The green earth pony ran at full gallop towards Sweet Apple Acres and hoped that the unicorn and dragon were already there. *** Applejack sat behind her desk and listened closely to her informant. She had paid the mare, Gumhoof, well to gather information on the source of the Pink Dreamz drug that was currently cutting her business margins. She had hoped that Gumhoof had found some new piece of information that Applejack could allow the cow-mare to sweep in and destroy this problem, but she hadn’t. AJ listened closely to the mare, but couldn’t help but grow irritated. Gumhoof had brought news that the source was being guarded closely and, as far as she could find out, only Golden Harvest knew who it was. This meant that the Trotters were selling the drug and Harvest had set it up. Applejack could move against the Trotters, but the size of their gang would pose some problems for the Apple Family. Harvest controlled the largest section of that side of town and Applejack did not trust other gangs of the area enough to form any type of alliance with them. The Apples only trusted themselves. Applejack thought of her options. She could move against the Trotters in force, bring the fight to them and hope that a few quick and high casualty displays of force would bully the Trotters into submission. The problem lay within the response. If the Trotters decided to fight back, there would be a lot of casualties before Applejack could defeat their numbers. AJ cared for her kinfolk and her workers enough to want to keep them alive. She couldn’t afford to start over with a new labor force of unknowns. Alternatively, Applejack could send a specialized force to capture Golden Harvest to bring her back for questioning and execution. If this tactic was employed correctly, they could avert street war by leaving the gang headless. The ensuing power struggle would tear the gang apart and make life easy for the Apples. It was a sound plan, unless it failed. If it were to fail, the wrath of the Trotters might rise up against Sweet Apple Acres. Once again, the losses would be high for both gangs. Too many of her kin would be corpses and her power would diminish. Street wars could be costly and the cost of winning was nearly as high as the cost of losing. As frustrating as it was, Applejack’s best bet was to continue to employ Gumshoe and hope she would discern the source, sooner rather than later. Moving against it would be far easier than moving against the gang itself. Once the source was gone, the Trotters’ money would deteriorate and without financial support, any prolonged war with the Apples would falter. They would know this and fall back to being just another gang in Ponyville. Their sudden wealth was giving them power, but without it their growth would cease. Applejack growled and slammed her hoof on her desk, silencing the talking Gumhoof. AJ had heard enough. She stood and pointed an accusing hoof at the white and red mare. “Y’all’re getting paid very well ta find out this information, Gum. Find the source! Yer wastin’ mah time and mah patience with ya. If ya want ta continue makin’ money from me, yer gonna have ta bring me some useful information. Find out who the source is or yer services won’t be needed any longer! An’ y’all know what that means. Now Git!” The frightened Gumhoof nodded apologetically and stammered out a few apologies, taking flight from the angry country mare. AJ grumbled to herself and sat down in her chair, leaning back and sighing. The stress was really getting to her. So much money had been lost since the arrival of Pink Dreamz. She needed to relax somehow. Twilight wasn’t back yet. AJ found the unicorn’s companionship to be relaxing and wished she were back already. The orange earth pony looked to the window. It was almost dark, Twilight would be back soon and they could discuss … well, anything, really. She’d be happy to discuss anything but this dreadful business and falling profits margins. AJ wished, momentarily, that her only worry was whether or not she could buck all the apples from the trees by herself. Life was simpler then, far simpler. And there were far fewer deaths related to her former occupation. AJ reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle of hard cider. This would calm her nerves until Twilight could come back. She carefully unplugged the cork with her teeth and took a heavy drink, breathing the fire out of her throat with a harsh sigh. Soon the alcohol would run through her veins and dull the world. She closed her eyes and waited patiently. “Applejack?” A scratchy voice called her name and she groaned, opening her eyes to find Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway. What did she want? Finally coming back to ask for Sweets? Of course she was. She could pretend to be off them as long as she wanted but, at heart, she was still an addict. A familiar pain set into Applejack’s heart, but she had learned long ago how to bury it. “What the buck’re the likes a’ you doin’ here? Crawlin’ back for more Sweets? I knew y’all couldn’t stay off’em.” Her voice was cruel and mean, taking a small pleasure in the weakness of the multicolored mare. Rainbow bristled somewhat at the accusation, but let it roll off her back like rainwater. Her voice told another story, one with slightly rebellious tones. “No, I’m done with that stuff. I just … I just wanted to see how you were doing. I know things haven’t been going well lately.” “Y’know that do ya? Shut tha door, Rainbow. I don’t want no others ta hear this.” Applejack was turning to the weirdest places for help. Dash? Buck, what a useless pony. At one time, she had been the greatest friend AJ had ever had, but had become a failure. AJ watched as Rainbow shut the door and walked towards the desk. The orange mare had to admit, however, that she was looking better, much better, since the last time AJ had really taken note of her. Applejack watched the mare take the seat on the other side of the desk. Rainbow had gained enough weight that she didn’t seem skeletal anymore and her coat had begun to shimmer again. The cyan coat was fuller and brighter, same for her mane and tail. She must be actually trying to keep it clean. The rainbow pattern was straight again and radiant. She really had been off of the drugs for a while, AJ realized. She was pretty again ... Applejack suddenly realized where her thoughts were going and took another swig of her drink, draining what was left of the bottle and tossing it into the trash beside the desk. “So, what do ya suppose Ah do? Ah’m not willin’ ta get mah family kilt out in the streets. Ah’ve done it before an’ it takes a lot of blood ta stop a problem. Golden’s gang is gettin’ mighty strong, Dash. Too strong fer their own good.” Rainbow, surprised by the sudden receptive treatment, sat and listened to her friend and thought the problem out. She sighed and realized, after a moment, that Applejack was genuinely waiting for her advice. At one time in the past, Rainbow had been good for advice, before she failed with the WonderBolts and before she came home and became addicted. She used to be good for more than using Sweets. “I think … going to war would be a problem. I remember the last one. I’m not sure how most of us survived. If we hadn’t caught their second-in-command and assaulted their home base, we probably wouldn’t have.” Applejack nodded and dug another bottle of hard cider from her desk, tearing it open and pouring more burning liquid into her stomach. The fuzzy feeling was starting to take root in her and things seemed a little better. She snorted and watched Rainbow. Clever mare. Rainbow had always been clever. Rainbow had always been smarter than Applejack. And pretty, so pretty ... “So, what should Ah do, Dash?” “You’ve got spies, I assume, so wait until one of them can dig up where their drugs are coming from. If you could wipe out the source, or persuade it to join you, then you could control everything again. Harvest’s gang is less likely to fight without a stream of income.” Rainbow felt proud of herself. She hadn’t formulated such thoughts in a long while. She hoped Applejack would see her value and, maybe, take her advice. If she did, then it would be a way to begin trying to turn Applejack around. If she would listen to her again, maybe she could persuade the country mare to give up the drug market. Applejack pushed the bottle across the desk to Rainbow and chuckled. “Exactly what Ah’d already planned, Dash. Maybe there’s been some sense kicked inta this old mare.” Applejack watched Rainbow take a drink from the bottle and smirked. “Y’all drink like a filly. Turn that bottle up’n drink like a real pony.” Applejack grinned in challenge at the cyan pegasus. It had been years since she had challenged her. Maybe Dash was waking up after all. A small part deep inside AJ hoped so. She used to compete with Dash in everything. She had loved it. Maybe more than she meant to … Dash smirked. “Oh yeah? You think you’re so tough?” She turned the bottle up and swallowed four hard drinks, more than most ponies could endure, before gagging and spewing the hot liquid across the floor. She brought the bottle down, fought to control her stomach muscles and grinned. “How’s that for a filly, AJ?” She passed the bottle back across the desk to rest at Applejack’s hoof. Applejack laughed and matched the mare’s drink. Her throat felt like acid had been dumped down her gullet, but she wouldn’t give in to Dash. She slammed the bottle down, grimaced, and turned it into a toothy grin. “For a filly? Not too bad.” She began to laugh as the room moved around her. Rainbow was feeling the effects of the strong liquor as well and laughed alongside her friend. “Hey, do you remember that time you and I went to Canterlot and were invited to that hoity-toity shindig? We really livened things up, huh?” The mares spent nearly an hour reminiscing and talking as friends. It had been so long and both of them, lost to the alcoholic haze, felt as if nothing could go wrong for that time. They talked about their younger years and the competitions they had each won or lost over the other and various adventures about Equestria. They laughed, joked, and felt as one as the drink took over their judgment. Alcohol is a funny thing. It can lower inhibitions and boost ego. It also can destroy barriers built for protection, as Applejack was finding out. AJ couldn’t help but look Rainbow Dash over. She wasn’t as she used to be, but she was looking so much better than recent years. Applejack’s defenses were lowered. They had been built, stone by stone, to protect the mare from Dash’s inevitable death from overdose. Most ponies thought Applejack kept the cyan pegasus around as a trophy, as proof that anypony could be beaten, because surely, if the confident rainbow mare could be beaten then anypony could fall before Applejack. But, that wasn’t the true reason … Applejack lamented the fall of Rainbow Dash. She had tried reeling the multicolored mare back from the pit with harsh words, challenging her to stand up for herself. Rainbow, if anything, stood against even the smallest slight against her. Alas, she had only whimpered and sunk deeper into her despair. At some point, AJ had become violent towards her, physically trying to get a reaction from her. However, it failed as well and the pain it caused the cow-mare was greater than almost any other loss in her whole life. Rainbow was dead, maybe not physically, but the mare she cared for was trapped hopelessly under failure and addiction. When Twilight had asked Applejack about Rainbow’s sickness, AJ had told the truth in one part—it was Rainbow’s battle. She had the means to defeat what troubled her; AJ just hoped that someday she would. All the nasty things she had done to Rainbow, all the abuse, and poor treatment were to help her along. She had to treat her ill because … because she couldn’t treat Rainbow Dash the way she really wanted to treat her. Applejack wanted to hug Rainbow, kiss her, tell her how much she meant to her and plead with what was left of her to fight and come back. She wanted to, desperately. For her whole adult life, Applejack’s secret desire had been to be with Rainbow Dash. It was her deepest secret and she was ashamed and afraid of it. She had been raised by a conservative family. Her father had made clear, all too often, his views on same-sex relations. Any Apple who encouraged or partook in such deviancy was to be disowned and cast out. AppleJack had witnessed this with one of her cousins, being kicked off the farm and sent away to make her own way without her family’s support. For young Applejack, the event had been traumatic. She couldn’t think of being alone. Family was everything for the Apple clan and to have to face the world alone seemed a certain death sentence. Once, she had attempted to separate herself from her immediate family. A young, strong mare like her needed a change of pace. She had stayed with her cousins in Manehatten and the whole ordeal had been a catastrophe. She was a country mare at heart and moved back home within the week. It was wrong to have feelings for a pony of the same gender; that’s what her father had taught her and she had recited it without thought, until she met Rainbow Dash. Applejack had never really had any feelings for anypony until the multihued mare appeared. At first, she didn’t know what that tingling sensation was. She didn’t understand why she wanted to be near the pegasus all the time. Luckily, they had become fast friends and they were together often. It wasn’t until she started having dreams about Rainbow Dash that she realized what was happening. In the dreams, they would be having fun, running, jumping, and working together and then the sun would start going down. They would watch the sun set and move close together. Their eyes would meet suddenly and Applejack would … She was a deviant, just like her father had warned against. She had become the one thing that was rejected by the Apples. She would wake up sweating and wish the thoughts away, but they simply would not obey. At night, the desires she secretly hid would blossom in her dreams. She couldn’t tell anypony, not her family, father, or Dash. What if Dash thought that lesbimares were deviant and evil, as well? What if she confessed and became completely alone? Could her family really abandon her to the harsh world without aid or hope? She had witnessed the answer before and knew it to be yes. Applejack buried those feelings, tormented at night by her body’s wants and needs until … the race. The friends had entered a race, each strong and capable, and bragged about who would finish in first place. Nearly one hundred ponies had shown up for the event. The whistle sounded and everypony did their best, trying to be the first to complete a five-mile course around Ponyville. It was during this competition that AJ found her peace. She had pulled to the lead by a large margin, that is, until a streaking color pattern flashed by her. Dash, she was so strong and quick. Applejack wouldn’t let herself be beaten. She pushed herself, catching the cyan mare and making a comment to provoke her. The two had nearly exhausted themselves as each would narrowly edge the other out only to be retaken a few moments later. It was bliss. The hard breathing, the sweat, the connection, and spirit between the two, it was everything Applejack’s dreams had been made of, except this wasn’t deviant. She couldn’t remember who had emerged victorious, but they had collapsed together, their energy expended from the event. They looked at each other, panting, and each congratulated the other for such a good race. Applejack’s heart was full and she wanted to feel like that the rest of her life. Maybe she couldn’t act on her feelings, but she could find new ways to challenge the rainbow mare. As long as they could share the moments of passion during each competition, Applejack could feel as if she was truly with Rainbow Dash. She would do whatever she could to keep that feeling. Applejack came from her reverie, fighting the spinning room for a moment, and looked directly into Rainbow’s eyes. They were enchanting; the color was that of the most exquisite sunset. It reminded her of a better time, when life was less complicated and she could spend her free time with friends and family selling apples. She sighed and shook her head; she had to say something. She was so proud of Rainbow for fighting back against her addiction. She hoped, before long, her friend would be complete, whole, and she could test herself against the pegasus. “Rainbow … Ah … Ah have always felt …” Never good with words Applejack, almost leaped across the desk, wrapping her hooves around Dash’s neck and pulling her forward, their lips meeting in the middle. Applejack’s body tingled and shivered at the taste, the taste she had longed for for so long. Dash’s lips were soft, gentle, and sweet. They were everything she had ever imagined and more. Bliss was there, on the other side of the table, her dream. Her Rainbow Dash. Dash, shocked at the sudden movement, found herself confused momentarily, but, realizing that her own dreams were becoming material, followed AJ’s lead. She opened her mouth and felt the warm tongue slide between her lips, touching her own tongue. The sensation was exhilarating and she quickly began moving her tongue with AJ’s. She almost moaned from the satisfaction of finally achieving a hope she thought unattainable. She moved with AJ and enjoyed the moment to the fullest, trying to make this moment last forever. The door suddenly burst open and Applejack jerked backward, standing up. She had let her emotions go. The damn alcohol had caused it. What would Rainbow think? Who the buck ruined this? She glared angrily at the door and walked around the desk, unable to look at Dash. “What? What, JackSlap?” The green pony had better have a good excuse for this, and more so he had better not utter a single bucking word about what he might have seen. JackSlap, shocked by what he had opened the door onto, stuttered over his words, but seeing Applejack angrily coming towards him, spit them out as quickly as possible. “Boss, I can’t find that unicorn. She left the shop early while I was doing some business in town. She ain’t back and I thought you should know.” Applejack growled. Everything was going wrong! JackSlap, a trusted enforcer, had lost Twilight. She genuinely felt frightened. She didn’t want Twilight harmed in Ponyville; they were friends after all and the lavender mare was the only way to release stress, that didn’t impair her judgment. She yelled irately at the enforcer, “How the BUCK do you lose a unicorn and a dragon? Go get some of the others. We’re headin’ inta town ta find her. JackSlap, if she’s so much as nicked Ah’m gonna make ya regret it.” Rainbow had loved every second of their moment, but the way Applejack refused to look at her afterward and the way she had suddenly become so concerned for Twilight upset her. What was that they had just had? Now she was rushing off into the night to find that unicorn spy? Was Dash just a plaything to her? Kick her when she’s down and use her when she’s well? Was that it? They had never kissed. What had happened? She stood and faced the country mare. She watched the green earth pony hustle off to gather some other enforcers and dashed up to Applejack before she could exit. “AJ, I … what was … didn’t that …” Applejack had to protect herself. She wasn’t a deviant. She wasn’t a lesbimare. She couldn’t be. If she gave in, she would be a freak and weak. She had to be strong. With that mentality, Applejack rebuilt her protective walls, at least for the moment, and glared at Rainbow Dash. “Dash, you’ve always been a loser. Get out of mah sight. Ah’ve got things ta do.” Applejack’s heart felt like breaking and, as she walked out of the house and away from the cyan pegasus, she shed only a single tear before turning to stone again.