//------------------------------// // Treehouses // Story: A Beautiful Night // by MrNumbers //------------------------------// Pinkie stared at the amethyst around her neck. It reminded her of home. She wondered how the rock farm was doing? Probably exactly the same, honestly. It was always kind of gloomy there anyway, and rocks didn't need much light. She hadn't gone home since this happened. Not to the farm, not to the Cakes... After two years, the castle still felt transitory. This wasn't a home, this was just a place where they lived. Even though she'd made breakfast in this kitchen almost every morning for two years now, it was the castle's kitchen, not Pinkie's kitchen. She was still just borrowing it. Pinkie began to fill a backpack with food and snacks and some potions. It wasn't Pinkie sense, but there was a strong feeling in her gut that she wasn't going to be back for a little while. Visiting Rarity was going to take a while. Canterlot was ages and ages away. She sighed. “Morning?” Pinkie jumped. “Gah! Is Owlowiscious teaching you to sneak up on ponies?” Twilight wore a look of carefully cultivated innocence. “No?” “Well. Tell him he's a stinky butt.” Pinkie stuck her tongue out. “How're you feeling?” Twilight grit her teeth as she went to the fridge. Found where she'd put the cookie sandwich and deemed that breakfast; anything's good for you if it's for breakfast. “That's a complicated question. Better in a lot of important ways. Like I don't have something really heavy hanging over my head anymore, ready to squish me.” “You're only allowed to get squished if it's in a big hug, deal?” Twilight snorted, leaning her head into the fridge and sighing. There was muffled eating noises. “Deal. But I'm also trying to stop taking my... medicine, let's call it medicine. It turns out there are withdrawal symptoms.” “How bad?” “Dry, cottony mouth.” Another bite of ice-cream. “Killer, throbbing headache.” More munching noises. “Feel like my eyes are covered in tiny needles. But mostly I'm feeling a bit... cranky.” “Cranky?” “Trying not to snap at you right now, not because you've done anything, but because I'm indiscriminately furious.” Twilight leaned back out of the fridge, face covered in sticky sugary stuff. “I'm glad you made so much of this, it's helping a lot.” “Well, I'm glad it's helping?” “Mm,” Twilight agreed, going back to grazing it directly out of the fridge. Apparently it was a good substitute for an ice pack, “A lot. I did this to myself, and I'll fix it just fine. But I'd probably give me some space for a while.” “Well. I was going to go see Rarity. I got Dash to do all the paperwork for me, remember?” Twilight smiled and sighed happily like a pony slipping into a warm bath. “Oh, there it is. Someone to be cogently, specifically angry about. Goodbye, directionless flailing, hello spite.” “I figured you wouldn't want to come along.” Twilight shook her head. “It would end badly for everyone involved. Especially Rarity.” “Well. Yeah.” Twilight felt brave enough to pull away from the fridge and give Pinkie a big hug. There wasn't hesitation or stiffness or limpness, it was just a genuinely nice hug. “Take care of yourself. Come back safe.” Pinkie hugged her back tight. “Enjoy being miserable. Take care of yourself too.” Twilight laughed as she broke the hug. “'Enjoy being miserable' huh? I'll see what I can do.” There was a moment of hesitation as Pinkie went for the door. She had such a bad, ominous feeling in her gut... but she touched the pendant around her neck again, and felt better. Hrm. She also grabbed the milk on her way out, and filled another big bowl for Leo, just for good luck. Fluttershy's cottage was still easily findable by following the sounds of the birds. The branches had filled with nests now. Pinkie went to the front door and knocked. Fluttershy opened it with a smile, but when she saw who it was she went really pale. “Oh, hi, Pinkie,” she said. “Hi, Fluttershy,” Pinkie pretended not to notice, “Rainbow Dash was supposed to leave some papers here for me. Did you get them?” Fluttershy nodded. “Uh, they're not here.” “Oh. Well, where are they?” “I wasn't home when Rainbow came to deliver them,” Fluttershy lied, “So she gave them to Applejack instead, they're waiting for you at Sweet Apple Acres.” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Applejack wants to talk to me, huh?” “... yes.” “Sorry you got caught in the middle of this, then. Should I be worried?” Fluttershy sighed in relief. Pinkie didn't know relief at what, but it was still a good sign. “I don't think so. But she just really didn't want you putting it off until after you saw Rarity.” “I can't believe she was nearly the Element of Honesty...” Pinkie grumped. Fluttershy sighed. “It would have been nice to be Kindness, I think.” Pinkie gave Fluttershy a reassuring hug. “You'd have been an amazing Kindness.” Fluttershy hugged back. “Maybe you should have been Loyalty and Generosity too. Give Rainbow Dash honesty, since Applejack and Rarity didn't seem to want theirs much anyway.” Pinkie laughed. “I don't think it works like that.” “Well, it didn't work how we tried it either,” Fluttershy pointed out. Owch. “Thanks again, Fluttershy. You keep looking after the birds.” As Pinkie turned to skip away through Ponyville, she only just heard Fluttershy mutter to herself. “Sorry...” Sweet Apple Acres looked so pretty in the moonlight. The fireflies buzzing about, the new fields of shimmering and glowing flowers. Earth pony magic making the best of it. She got halfway up the walk, passing the old treehouse they used to play in as teenagers, back when Pinkie would drink a few ciders to get all giggly, and Applejack thought smoking made her look tough. It might have, if she didn't panic like a little filly every time she thought she heard Granny coming. It was never just them, though. There was always either Rainbow or Fluttershy or both as well, somepony to act as a join between them. Rainbow and Pinkie would be drinking, and Fluttershy would be smoking something completely different to Applejack, all bonding over doing something their parents would absolutely hate them doing. She missed the days when they bonded over doing stuff everypony else would rather they weren't doing. Like plotting revolutions. What would Twilight have done, if she'd been there? Or Rarity, if she'd known about it? Twilight would think smoking was absolutely disgusting, and be hopelessly addicted to it. And Rarity? Probably just gossip outrageously, like she couldn't anywhere else. That sounded really nice. Applejack was running up to meet her. Pinkie waved, and Applejack waved back, gesturing for her to hurry up. Pinkie skipped up faster, towards the farmhouse. But Applejack wasn't walking back to the farmhouse, but to a nearby barn. She swung the big barn doors shut behind Pinkie, grunting because they were heavy. “Heya, Pinkie.” “Hey, Applejack. What's up?” Applejack spat on the ground next to her hooves. “Heard tell you were going to visit Rarity.” “Yeah! It's been ages. We used to be friends.” “Whatcha gunna talk to her about?” “Uh... I dunno. Why?” The barn was lit by an old oil lantern hanging from the center of it. It made everything feel so... dirty, greasy. Tools hung from nails pounded into the wall, hay bales made sturdy benches. Piles of straw were stored here, where it was dry. Probably for the cows. All cast uneven, scattered and strange shadows. Applejack cleared her throat. “You ain't turning Twilight in are you?” Pinkie flinched. She should have kept a better poker face, but she had been way too unprepared for the question. So, “What? No!” Applejack hung her head and kicked the wall behind her in frustration. “Figures it couldn't be that easy.” Pinkie's eyes widened. “Wait, have you been thinking about that?” “Well, shoot, yeah. Would make my life a heck of a lot easier, I'll admit it. It just ain't in me to do it, betray her like that.” Pinkie exploded at that; “Make your life easier?! She's the one trying to bring the sun back! Don't you miss the sun! Days? Things used to be better for everyone!” Applejack spat again. She didn't even respect Pinkie's anger enough to get angry herself. “'Course it used to be better. Things change, though, and you gotta deal with it, and do the best you can. Twilight's acting like an immature little filly. She needs to grow up, before somepony gets hurt.” “Applejack!” Pinkie shouted, but Applejack was still just... bored and annoyed. “Pinkie, she's out by herself in the middle of the Everfree, doing nothing for nobody, and ticking Nightmare Moon off pretty fierce by doing it. It's why Ponyville gets all those extra Shadowbolt patrols these days. She thinks we're aiding and abetting the enemy, and in truth, we sort of are, aren't we?” Pinkie kept quiet at that. She seethed, but, yeah, they kind of were. And nobody had turned them in yet. The fact that nobody was doing anything seemed to cut both ways, at least. “So what should she do, then? Just give up?” Applejack growled. “Shucks, is that what you call it? Trying to keep everything together, trying to keep everyone going as best you can? Keeping the food growing? When ponies look for a leader around here, it ain't Mayor Mare they look to. Tartarus knows she's just a puppet, and she doesn't even have the stomach to hide it.” Applejack was getting angry, which made Pinkie feel a lot more calm. You only get angry when you care. “You think Twilight should come back to town and be a leader?” “She could have been a leader years ago, if she'd just grown up and been an adult about things. Now I'd just settle for a librarian who isn't making trouble.” “But if she doesn't 'make trouble', then nothing's going to get fixed?” Applejack scowled at Pinkie, but it wasn't really at Pinkie. She held her hat to her chest and squeezed it in frustration. “Nothing's getting fixed no matter what, Pinkie. And the sooner y'all accept that, the sooner you can help me keep things from getting worse. That's all that really matters.” Pinkie wasn't going to get mad, or cry, or anything like that. Old Pinkie wore her heart on her sleeve. But Pinkie Pie had 'grown up' a lot, even if Applejack didn't think much of it. “Why did you take the papers from Fluttershy?” Applejack put her hat back on, walked past a hay pile and reached into it, fishing her hoof back and forth until it came back out with a bottle of cider. Then another. She threw one to Pinkie, who caught it. “I don't have a bottle opener?” “I worked out how to do twist offs.” Applejack was proud of that one. Pinkie twisted it, it popped. Sweet and alcoholic, stronger than she was used to. Good cider. Applejack continued, “I'm working on mead at the moment, since the new flowers have been making for all kinds of tasty new honey. But the old cider's kept, and we keep some around for special occasions.” Pinkie didn't know what this meant, but she wanted it to mean good things. “Mead sounds really nice. I've always wanted to try it.” Applejack reached into the hay pile again and pulled out a manilla folder. She pulled the papers Pinkie needed from it. “I've been good with you and Twilight 'cause you've kept the town out of it as much as possible. But if you're going to Canterlot, I need you to promise you're not going to mention Ponyville at all. You haven't talked to me or Fluttershy. We aren't with you none.” Pinkie nodded. That made a lot of sense. She really wanted to talk to Rarity about how the girls were doing, and if Applejack hadn't thought to warn her... that might have ended badly. “I can't just say I don't talk to Twilight anymore?” “Shoot, Pinkie, you sure can. But it's up to you to deal with the consequences.” “Rarity's still our friend. She's just... doing what's best for her right now.” Applejack downed her entire bottle of cider in one long gulp. Just held it over her head and glugged it down, then wiped her lips with the back of her arm. “Yep. Reckon that's what she's doing too. Horseapples is what it is. I'd buck her upside the head if I saw her again.” Pinkie nodded sadly at that. “That's how Twilight feels too, I think.” Applejack grinned at that. “'Of course it is. Twilight's a smart cookie. Never disputed that.” “So you think she's smart, but you also think she's stupid?” Applejack laughed. “Oh, Pinkie, it's the difference between smart, clever and wise. Twilight's smart, and she's more than a little bit clever, but it's her sense of wisdom that I'm seriously questioning these days.” Pinkie nodded, but then quickly shook her head. It sounded like it should be obvious, like she should understand, but she honestly didn't. “What's the difference?” “It's the different kinds of intelligence. Smart's when you know a lot of words, and a lot of big ones. Clever's when you have a way with words, and you're quick with them. Wise is knowing when to be smart, or clever, and when to keep your mouth shut.” Pinkie thought about that. She felt clever and maybe a little wise, but not as smart as her friends were. Applejack seemed smart and wise, but not always clever – she couldn't think fast to save her life, but she could solve most anything if you gave her some time and some quiet. And Twilight... Well, she was very, very smart. Definitely clever. But... rather than just tell Pinkie 'hey I have a crush on you sorry if I'm weird about it', had started taking what were probably amphetamines and becoming increasingly self-destructive. Yeah, okay, maybe Applejack had a point. Pinkie nodded more confidently this time. “That makes a lot of sense.” Applejack shrugged. “That was it. That was all I wanted to talk about. I trust you, Pinkie, don't make any mistake about that. But Rarity's... well, Rarity's a nasty kind of clever, and I don't trust her. I don't much like you seeing her, but I'm not going to stop you, either.” That made Pinkie really sad, and she got the same bad feeling in her gut, that same twisting sense of foreboding as when she'd left. “I think that's what Twilight thinks, too.” Applejack smiled. “I told you, didn't I? Twilight's a smart cookie. It was good seeing you, Pinkie.” Pinkie was happy to realize it was the honest truth. As much as Applejack made her a bit sad right now, the fact that she was so honest and upfront about it made everything a lot more okay than it might have been. Pinkie looked at the papers Applejack had given her. One of them was a coupon, a chariot ticket. Apparently she was supposed to set it on fire when she was ready to go. “Hey, Applejack, do you mind if I borrow that oil lantern?” Applejack pulled a pack of matches from under her hat and threw them to Pinkie as well. “Get the heck away from the property line before you use that thing, partner. Remember what we talked about?” “Right, right...” Pinkie muttered, feeling horribly guilty she'd already nearly made a big mistake, maybe. No wonder Applejack went so far out of her way to talk to her first... “Hey, why did you have a box of matches in your hat, anyway?” “Old habits.” Applejack said, looking out towards the tree house.