The sweet aroma of fresh pastries filled the bakery, and a bouncy pink mare with a darker, bubbly pink mane and tail completed another order. A pleased stallion trotted past with a bag of goodies, inhaling the heavenly scents that emerged from it with a contented, somewhat euphoric grin. Pinkie waved to the next pony and everypony in the line moved forward one space like clockwork, each bearing excited grins on their muzzles.
"Ooooo-kay! Your usual basket of muffins and chocolate milk, coming right up, Derpy!" the pink earth pony happily exclaimed, already a blurred motion of hyperactivity. In a flurry of movement, the order was completed and the gray, golden-eyed pegasus exited the line. In a timely fashion, the next patron took their turn at ordering.
“Good afternoon, Pinkie!” came a voice from nearby.
The pleasantly pink pony at the counter squealed in delight as her friends approached. "Twilight, Rarity, Spike, it’s soooooo nice to see you!" She quickly turned to an older, light blue mare behind her. “Mrs. Cake, please take over, I’ll be back in a jiffy!”
“Sure thing, Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake replied, smiling as she stepped up to the counter and greeted the next patron.
"Hello, darling!" Rarity greeted her with a large smile. "It's nice to see you too!"
"How have you been, Pinkie?" Twilight added.
"I’m doing abso-posi-lutely-tively amazing! Are you here for your usual four cups of coffee with cream and sugar and a half-dozen glazed doughnuts with chocolate chip sprinkles?"
Twilight let out a nervous chuckle as Rarity stared at her in awe and jealousy upon taking a quick peek at her trim figure. "I’m not here for study fuel, Pinkie. The four of us came for some ice cream," she replied.
"Four?" Pinkie looked around the store in confusion until Twilight stepped aside, revealing a nervous white foal with a blond mane behind her.
"Uuuh, hi miss."
Pinkie gasped and waved from behind the counter. "Oh my, hi there! You’re new!"
Twilight perked up an ear, already knowing where this was going. "Pinkie, meet my distant cousin New Blood. New Blood, this is one of my best friends, Pinkie Pie.”
"H-Hello, miss P-Pie," Blueblood said, greeting her with a nervous wave.
Pinkie giggled and trotted out from behind the counter. "Hey ya, New B! I’m Pinkie Pie, but everypony calls me Pinkie.” The pink mare wiggled a fore-hoof. “Normally, my wibbly leg would’ve let me know if there's a new pony in town so I could throw them a party, but I feel like I’ve already met you and I can't put my hoof on where." She hummed once, and then her eyes lit up as she reached behind the counter, pulling out a chocolate treat. "Apology muffin? It's on the house!" she offered with big, hopeful eyes.
Blueblood looked over to Twilight, who gave him a simple nod. He took the offered treat in his hoof and gave it a careful test bite. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as the sweet flavor exploded in his mouth like a Roman candle, and his jaw dropped in shock. A mere one second later, which felt like an eternity for his taste buds, he ferociously began consuming the rest of the treat with vigor, the smile never leaving his face. "Waw, miff Phie! Thif muffin tafteff amasin!!" he exclaimed, his mouth full of muffin.
Pinkie giggled at his reaction. "I’m so glad you like it! And you can just call me Pinkie!"
"Will do, mi—I mean, Pinkie," Blueblood said in-between bites, then promptly stuffed his mouth with the remainder of the muffin, much to the amusement of the bakery’s patrons who knew the feeling of “The First Taste” all too well.
While Blueblood was momentarily distracted, Twilight took Pinkie in her magic and pulled her aside. She took the opportunity to give her friend the same quick explanation that she had given Rarity.
When she was finished, Pinkie let out an oddly muted gasp. "Really?!"
Twilight’s ears drooped, "Yes, which is why we’re here."
"Awww, that poor little colt…you’ve got it Twilight. I'll be on my bestest behavior! Not even a single teensy-eency-weency shenanigan," Pinkie responded with a salute, then hopped over the counter to directly land in the ice cream preparation station. "Soooo, you’re all here for some ice cream, right?"
Blueblood vigorously nodded his head the moment he finished his muffin. "Yes, please!" His voice crackled with childlike glee. If the ice cream in this place was just as good as the muffin, then by God, he never wanted to leave.
"Okie-doki-loki! And what flavor can I get ‘cha?" she asked, taking a serving scoop into her hoof.
"I’ll have a single scoop of double-chocolate truffle in a waffle cone, please," Twilight answered.
"Two scoops of low-fat vanilla in a bowl for me, darling," Rarity added politely. Then she had a thought. “Oh, and just the barest hint of butterscotch, please.”
"A scoop of a sapphire explosion in a cone for me," Spike replied coolly. “With emerald sprinkles.”
Unsure of what to order, Blueblood pointed a small hoof at the pail closest to him. "That one, please."
Pinkie followed his hoof and tilted her head in confusion when she saw which flavor he was pointing at. "Hmmm…are you suuuure you want pecan butter tart? You look more like a blueberry cheesecake kind of pony to me.”
“Uh…I do?” Blueblood asked.
Pinkie nodded rapidly. “Uh-huh! Those pecans will get stuck in your teeth and you’ll be picking at them with your tongue all day.”
Blueblood winced. “Ooo, that doesn’t sound pleasant.”
Twilight shivered. She had the same problem with…eugh…cheese.
“You should probably get blueberry cheesecake, dear. Pinkie is rarely ever wrong about these things,” Rarity bumped Twilight’s flank with her own, “Isn't that right, Twilight darling?”
“O-oh, right. Yes, absolutely!” she stammered.
“Er, okay. I guess I’ll try the cheesecake one?”
“Comin’ right up!” Pinkie cried, before madly scooping out the various flavors of ice cream and presenting them to the group in about five seconds flat. Blueblood swore he never even saw her get the cones before he was suddenly presented with one. "Here ya go!" she said.
Rarity paid the crazy mare several bits and grabbed Blueblood’s cone with her magic, bringing it down to his level. He took it with a gleeful smile and started to slowly lick it, and once again his taste buds fell in love.
Pinkie, however, was staring at him intently. She never once lost her kind smile, but her eyes seemed to bore into him. Something felt a little off to her. "Hmm, you know New B, I know I said it before, but I really do feel like we’ve already met. White coat, blonde mane, colt, Twilight’s cousin…hmm…" She thought hard to herself as she looked between him, the cone, and Twilight over and over, repeating the same action again and again.
“Pinkie?” Blueblood asked, pausing his licks (and momentarily making his taste buds weep in sorrow).
"Hmm…have you ever been to the Sparkleworks?” Pinkie asked suddenly.
Rarity let out a horrified gasp. “Pinkie! I hardly think that such a little colt has ever been to the Stalliongrad glitter mine."
Twilight was getting nervous, thinking Pinkie was about to untangle her web of lies and discover the truth. If anypony could do it, Pinkie was that pony. She had only finished preparing the third of a long list of backup plans when Blueblood sniffed the air. "Hey, do you guys smell something burning?" he asked.
Pinkie gasped in panic and jumped into the air, somehow hovering in place as she held her gasp. "MyTripleUpsideDownBlackForestAngelCakeSupremeGottaGoSeeYouLaterByeeeeee!" she screamed while dashing into the kitchen in a mad rush.
Blueblood quietly chuckled at her "I like her, she’s really funny."
"Oh-ho-ho, dude, you don't even know the half of it," Spike chuckled along with Blueblood.
"What do you say we find a table and enjoy our treats? When we’re done, we can continue with our tour," Rarity proposed. "There is still a lot more of Ponyville for you to see."
Blueblood nodded, and the four of them sat down at a window-seat table, each of them digging into their ice cream with barely-suppressed zeal.
The Farmer
After a long walk exploring all over Ponyville with Spike acting as the group’s self proclaimed tour guide, the gang finally arrived at the massive farm located on the outskirts of town.
"…And here we have Sweet Apple Acres, Equestria’s largest apple farm, owned by the Apple family, which were the very first to settle this region and establish what later became Ponyville," Spike informed them, as the group entered the large farm. Blueblood looked around him with wonder in his eyes.
"Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many apple trees before!" he remarked, greatly impressed.
Rarity tittered at his reaction. "Indeed! Applejack has done a marvelous job continuing her family’s tradition of growing the best apples Equestria has ever seen."
"You could even say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!" a mare whose voice carried a Southern twang called out to the group. The approaching earth pony's golden coat rippled in the sunlight over taut cords of muscles. Her mane, the color of a wheat field in autumn, spilled out from beneath a lovingly worn stetson, to be tamed by a red ribbon into a ponytail. The pony's tail was similarly styled.
"Hiya, Applejack," Spike called to her with a wave of his claw.
Applejack tilted her hat to the dragon in a friendly manner. “Howdy, Spike. You here to join Applebloom ‘n her friends at the clubhouse?” she asked before noticing the small white colt trotting with the group.
“Nah, not today. We’re on a walking tour!” Spike replied.
"That so? Looks like you picked up a little straggler there, Twi. Howdy there, little feller! Did Spike bring ya here to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
Blueblood gave her a polite shake of his head. "Nope, sorry. I’m visiting my cousin for a while. My name’s New Blood. It’s very nice to meet you, miss."
"Well, the pleasure’s all mine, partner," Applejack said before looking at Rarity. "Ah didn’t know you had family comin’ over Rares. You shoulda told me! Ah woulda had Granny Smith make y’all some of her famous apple pie!"
"Actually dear, his arrival was a surprise for me, too," Rarity corrected as Twilight approached them.
"Rarity is not my cousin, Miss Applejack, Twilight is," said Blueblood.
Applejack let out a guffaw and looked at Twilight with a warm smile. "Twi, Ah'm starting ta think you have more family than Ah do, and that’s sayin’ somethin’!"
Twilight nodded and introduced them to each other, "Applejack, meet my distant cousin, New Blood. New Blood, meet Applejack. She’s another one of my closest friends.”
“If’n that’s too much of a mouthful, ya can just call me AJ. All my friends do.”
"Hi again, AJ," said Blueblood. "Hey, miss AJ can I ask you a question?"
"Sure thing, sugarcube."
"Did you really plant all of those trees?" he asked innocently, pointing to the orchard behind her.
Applejack chuckled. "Well, maybe a few in the northern field, but nah, nowhere near all of ‘em.” She flipped her head, gesturing to the stand of trees. ”This here’s the family plot. When we have a family hoedown, the new youngins of the family get to plant their own tree. Been an Apple family tradition for generations," she said to him with pride.
"That’s so cool!" he beamed. “You must have a really big family to plant so many trees.”
“We’ve got some of the deepest roots ‘round these parts, and even over all of Equestria," she affirmed, scuffing a hoof through his mane.
"So, what brings y'all here?" Applejack asked, looking at the rest of the group.
"Hey Spike, why don't you take New Blood to see the chickens?" Twilight suggested.
"Wait, you also have chickens?" Blueblood asked.
"It's not a farm just ‘cause of the apples, sugarcube. We’ve got all sorts of things. Chickens, pigs, and even goats, but don’t talk to the goats. Those varmints are darn liars. They’ll talk their fool heads off about things they think they heard," she answered with a mischievous grin. "Now go on, partner. We’ll be right behind ya."
Spike gave Twilight an understanding nod and nudged Blueblood in his flank. "This way, dude. You think the trees here are impressive, these chickens will make you lose your mind!" He pointed to a wooden structure in the distance and they both headed towards it.
Once they were far enough away, Applejack turned to the others, a more serious look on her face. "Alright, so, you got rid of ‘em. Now can you tell me what’s really goin’ on?"
“What makes you think something is ‘going on’?” Twilight asked. Goodness, she felt jumpy today.
“We’ve all played poker together, remember?” Applejack deadpanned. “Y’all have one of the worst poker faces Ah've ever seen. Ah’ve seen better on a dragon with greed problems.”
“Er, right…” Twilight replied sheepishly, and just like the others, she explained what was going on with her cousin.
By the end of the story, Applejack looked in the direction of Spike and Blueblood. "Land sakes, that’s quite the story. He really don’t remember a thing?"
Twilight shook her head, "He didn't even know how to walk.”
"He’s been so brave considering what he’s been going through and he’s trying his hardest at hiding it! But the truth is that he’s still a scared and confused little colt, Applejack. That is why we didn't want to tell you about it with him present. It's not fair to him that he is constantly reminded of what he’s lost," Rarity added.
"Ah understand," Applejack replied with a solemn nod. "But what in tarnation could just…wipe out a pony’s memories like that? Must be somethin’ mighty nasty.”
"I don't know Applejack,” Twilight answered with a grimace. “Even Princess Celestia doesn't know the cause. He wouldn't even remember it himself, which may be for the best."
"Oh, he remembers, Twilight," Applejack said, looking back at her. "You’re right, the lil’ critter’s a fighter for tryin’ to hide it…but Ah’ve seen that look on mah own face since we lost our parents. That’s the same look Applebloom would give me after she’d had a nightmare and she’s too proud of herself to admit she had one." She looked over at Blueblood as he pulled his hoof away from a chicken before he could get pecked. "Somethin’s really got him spooked, and Ah’m sure he remembers it."
Twilight’s eyes widened in realization, and she recalled Blueblood’s panic attack back at the castle. Maybe it wasn’t an act at all?
"Oh my goodness! Do you think he’s starting to remember?" Rarity exclaimed, voicing Twilight’s thoughts and putting a hoof up to her mouth.
Applejack just shrugged, "Ah don't know…maybe it was some other thing, but Ah know Ah’m sure of one thing: keepin’ a brave face and pretendin’ nothing bad’s happenin’ is never a good thing. Ah say we let the poor colt sort himself out a bit and then afterwards we coach him into telling us what’s happenin’. After all, it ain’t good forcin’ these kinds of things outta ponies, but it sure as hay ain’t good to keep lyin’ to yourself either."
Twilight nodded in approval, albeit in slight guilt as well. “You’re right, AJ. We need to give him some space and ensure that he’s in a safe state of mind."
"That was the point of his parents dropping him here, right Twilight? Now, what do ya say we go see how the little feller is doin’? Ah’d imagine by now he’s bored of the chickens," Applejack chuckled.
"I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if he was, dear," Rarity commented as they all trotted off to go and see Spike and Blueblood. When they finally reached the coop, the trio of mares saw something none of them were expecting.
"What in tarnation…?" Applejack muttered.
Spike was sitting off to the side of the chicken coop, idly watching over his charge and eating from a bag of popcorn, which was the least odd thing about the situation, occasionally tossing a handful of the kernels at Blueblood. Not more than a few paces away the unseen colt could be heard giggling up a storm, as he was completely buried under a feathery mass of clucking chickens. “They’re so warm and fluffy!” he shrieked in delight. “Spike, get in here, you gotta try this!”
“Later dude, this is too good to pass up watching for a bit first,” Spike answered, stuffing another handful of popcorn into his mouth.
"Well now, this was unexpected," said Rarity.
"Twi, are ya sure that he’s your cousin and not Fluttershy’s?" Applejack asked while looking at her friend and pointing over at Blueblood.
The Caretaker
After getting some apples, courtesy of Applejack, and saying their goodbyes, the group decided to continue their tour of the Ponyville area by visiting a cottage not too far away from the farm, but a little ways out of town still.
Beyond Sweet Apple Acres, a little over half a kilometer down the road and over a sturdy cobblestone bridge, and within stone throwing distance of the Everfree Forest, was a cottage built into a grassy hill. Small trees and hills dotted the land around it and multiple flocks of birds of various shapes, sizes, and colors could be seen gathering on the roof.
As the group approached, Twilight gave her number one assistant a suggestion: “Spike, why don't you take New Blood around back and show him Fluttershy’s newest guests?”
Spike snapped to attention and saluted. “Sure thing, Twi. Come on, dude, you’re gonna want to see this!”
Within seconds, Spike and Blueblood had dashed off behind the cottage to play which gave Twilight the time she needed to knock on Fluttershy’s door and quickly explain what was going on. By this point, retelling the fabricated story had become almost second nature to her and flowed easily from her lips, a fact which actually concerned her greatly. When she was done, as expected, the shy pegasus whimpered in worry.
"Oh dear," she whispered. "That poor little colt…" Her eyes had teared up at some point during the story, and she was now on the verge of crying. Always prepared, Rarity hoofed her friend one of her personal, embroidered handkerchiefs, which Fluttershy took to dab her eyes.
"It’s…a lot to take in, I know,” Twilight conceded. “Which is why he’ll be staying with us at the castle for a while. Since he lost most of his memories, the doctor thought it would be better to have him under constant supervision, preferably with family, to watch over him while he recovers. He wasn’t physically injured, but they needed to keep the bed available for ponies who could be, so they sent him to live with his closest living relative, which would be me. I brought him to you thinking that maybe your animal friends could help him feel a little more at home."
"Oh, but of course, Twilight. I’ll gladly help," Fluttershy said with a soft smile.
"He seems to be very good with animals," Twilight mentioned. "Even Owlowiscious was very friendly toward him, which I thought was very unlike him."
Fluttershy gave back Rarity’s handkerchief with a nod. "Thank you, Rarity. So, um, you see, it's pretty common for animals to be more receptive towards ponies that shy away from them," she informed her friends. “It’s a sympathetic response that all creatures have but more, um, self-aware creatures subconsciously tend to ignore.”
"But darling, how could you possibly know that?" Rarity asked while using her magic to levitate the now soiled handkerchief back into her saddlebag.
"Well, you see…" Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together. “You know how animals can sense fear?"
They both nodded in confirmation.
"Well, the truth is, fear is not the only thing they can perceive. They can also tell when their caretaker is in trouble, sad, angry, or even if they’re not feeling well," she explained. "So when a pony gets seriously injured, critters, by their very nature, can somehow feel that too. Some of my little animal friends have told me of their experiences when they lost their closest friends and family. According to them, being near some critter that has just recently passed on, they feel a comforting warmth, like being reunited with a loved one that they thought was gone a long time ago. And that’s how New Blood feels to them.”
"If I’m understanding you correctly, you mean to tell us that your darling little friends believe that New Blood has had a near death experience?” Rarity interjected, rubbing her hoof on her forehead. “How could you possibly know all that so soon? We haven’t even introduced him to you yet."
Fluttershy looked up to her roof. “A little birdy told me,” she simply replied.
Twilight frowned. "This is more serious than I thought."
Fluttershy nodded. "I don't know if we can help him, but I believe my animal friends would like to try to help him overcome his recent trauma. You can count on my help too, Twilight."
"Thank you, Fluttershy, I really do appreciate it…" Twilight moved in and gave her shy pegasus friend a hug.
Rarity cleared her throat. “Ahem, yes, we’re all here for him. But I believe it has been far too long. If New Blood is anything like my little Sweetie Belle, we shouldn't leave him unattended for too much longer.”
“Of course you’re right, Rarity.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “We should go check on him and Spike, and make sure they’re not stuck in a tree, or covered in sap, or building a catapult.”
“That was one time, darling…” Rarity mumbled as she led the group around to the back of Fluttershy’s cottage. “And besides, I would hardly think those two could possibly get into as much trouble as the Cutie Mark…” she froze, and her jaw dropped. “…Crusaders.”
"Oh my…" Fluttershy stopped mid stride and gasped, confused at what she was seeing.
Spike was sitting off to the side of the puppy pen, idly watching over his charge and eating from a box of surprisingly tasty dog biscuits, occasionally tossing a broken treat at Blueblood. Not more than a few paces away, the unseen colt could be heard giggling up a storm, as he was completely buried under a fuzzy mass of excited, barking puppies.
“I don’t even know how this keeps happening,” Blueblood shrieked in delight. “But I love it! Come on, Spike, you’ve gotta get in on this!”
Spike licked off the crumbs from his claws, brushed off his rather full tummy, and grinned. "Oh yeah, he’s going to fit in juuuust fine."