//------------------------------//
// 4 Erased From Memory 
// Story: Alternate Beginnings: Year Seven 
// by Doug Graves 
//------------------------------//

February 9th, 999

"Sure don't feel like five years," Applejack remarks, looking out over Ponyville. Not many ponies are visible outside, Ponyville fairly quiet just after the normal breakfast rush. A beautiful winter day, with clear skies and a cheery sun over the snow covered town. Most of the herd is standing around outside Sugarcube Corner, the eight fillies off to the side and being entertained by Fluttershy. Rarity, with occasional help from Rainbow, is preparing the decorations along the front wall, helping Pinkie Pie redecorate a few areas while they wait. "Almost forgot how we got here."

"Let's see, let's see," Doug says from next to her, miming flipping through a couple note cards. He paces back and forth, "Don't claim I eat ponies. Don't say that I could eat ponies." He pulls his hand close to his eyes, squinting at the creases on his skin. "Don't mention eating meat at all. Argh, I could have sworn I had more here!" Doug looks over, yelling, "Pinkie! This ink you used isn't working!" Applejack snickers next to him, watching as Doug puts one hand on his hip, a mock glare on his face.

"That can't be true!" The pink pony exclaims, pronking over, "I got it from Rainbow Dash!"

"What?" the cyan pegasus yells when she hears her name, flying over to the two. "What are you two talking about?"

"This!" Doug says, holding his hand up, palm facing Rainbow. He waves it back and forth, the pegasus looking at him quizzically. "You don't see it, do you?" Pinkie Pie vigorously nods her head, her forelegs crossing across her chest as she sits down, staring at Rainbow.

Rainbow scoffs, unable to see what Doug is talking about. She grits her teeth as she gets closer, trying to track his hand as it waves around. "Come on, dude, hold still!" She finally gets fed up, leaping up to her hind hooves and grabbing his hand with her forelegs. She drags his arm down, holding his hand still as his fingers wriggle back and forth. "I don't see it!"

"Exactly!" Doug exclaims, Rainbow yelping as Doug's hand shoots forward, breaking free and ruffling her mane. Her hooves go up, trying to dislodge his hand as he moves to the back of her neck, his strong hand grabbing hold of her mane. She stands up straighter, swiping her hooves at him and mock glaring at him, giggling at the same time.

Rainbow realizes her predicament as his other arm sweeps her legs out from under her, her fast, "Waitwaitwait-" not enough to keep Doug from his prize. Her hooves wave around uselessly as he flips her to her back, exposing her soft belly and lifting to his mouth. "Nooo!" she wails as his mouth seals around her taut muscles.

"Ffbbbbthhh"

"Oh noes!" wails Rainbow, one hoof going to her forehead, the other three going limp in Doug's arms. "Woe is me!" She laughs uproariously as he goes for another one, writhing in his arms. He lets up a little, a hoof scratching the hair on his chest, "Okay, okay, big guy, you got me."

"The Horror!" comes a cry from the road, three earth ponies gaping as Doug looks up from Rainbow's stomach. Two of the flower ponies faint, falling to the ground while the third panics, spinning in circles a few times before following suit. Each earth pony is holding a hoof to their head, groaning at the gruesome sight.

Rainbow looks down at her raspberry'd stomach, then over at the mares lying on the ground. She lets out a loud, "Ugh, not this again." She leans forward, a quick kiss for Doug, whispering to him as she smirks, "I know what our Nightmare Night costume should be." Doug ruffles her mane again as she leaps out of his arms. Rainbow flips her head one way, then the other, restoring the wind swept look of her mane as she flies over to the earth ponies. She pokes Lily Valley in the side, "Come, on, you three. Stop being so melodramatic."

"Aww," Lily Valley moans, slowly getting to her hooves, "But it's fun." Rainbow sighs, rolling her eyes, starting to turn away. "We know that Doug's fine, even if he eats ponies."

"Hey, it's not like that!" Rainbow grits her teeth as she turns back, the skittish ponies in front slowly getting up. "Doug won't eat a pony, not like that."

"Wait!" calls Rose as she gets up, Rainbow looking over, "What's that supposed to mean? You're saying he won't eat ponies?"

"You want me to tell you a secret?" Rainbow asks, her mouth slowly curling to a smile. The three earth ponies gather close, nervously glancing to each other as Rainbow whispers, "I love it when he eats me." She winks at the three huddled mares, their mouths grinning, "But don't get any ideas! He's mine." Rainbow glares at the three, pointing a hoof at each in turn before she flies back to the stage, leaving the three mares giggling among themselves before they walk off.

More and more ponies are walking by Sugarcube, not much else to do on a beautiful winter morning. The fillies disperse as they spot a few others from their class to hang out with, their dams smiling as they watch them go play. They scamper back and forth, looking at the various stores and stalls. For the younger fillies this is their first time able to really explore the town, following their older sisters as they inspect the wares for sale.

Soon enough, Spoiled Rich and Filthy Rich arrive at the scene. Silver Set follows behind, herding the Rich fillies along. The pink earth pony walks to Applejack, the two mares trading friendly smiles. Both seem a little forced, neither wanting to cause an incident in front of everypony. Spoiled Rich begins, "So, Applejack, are you ready?"

Applejack nods, "Glad to put this all behind us." She holds up a piece of paper, the rest of the mares gathering around. "Ah think it's been shown that there ain't nothing for anypony to worry about."

Spoiled Rich holds up a paper of her own, the two contracts trading hooves. "Indeed." She looks up, her smile growing more natural, "Doug, you've shown that we don't have anything to fear from you. I don't know that I've ever been so happy to be wrong about something." She nods to Doug, the human smiling back.

The two earth ponies take the papers in their hooves, tearing the contract into quarters. A sigh from one of the fillies distracts the two, both looking to see Applebaum with a disappointed look in her eyes. Spoiled Rich raises an eyebrow, Applejack mirroring her as Applebaum says, "You're just going to rip them up?"

Applejack glances to Spoiled Rich, "Um, Ah think so. We don't need to do anything else, right?" Spoiled Rich nods, tearing her paper into eighths.

"I'm with Applebaum here," Doug says with a smirk. "I think we need something a little more dramatic." He moves over to Rarity, the unicorn looking up with a curious expression. "Know any fire spells?"

"Darling, I'm not sure exactly what you are implying," she says as one hand goes to her neck, the other to her waist. She grunts as Doug picks her up, her horn pointing at the two earth ponies. She glances up at him; his shake of the head gets a sigh and eye roll, her horn leveling again at the mares.

Applebaum grins, softly chanting, "Fire! Fire! Fire!" The rest of the fillies soon join her, a circle forming around the two paper holding mares. Pinkie Pie appears with a bag of torches strapped to her back, distributing them to the fillies. They wave them in the air as they march around, a few having difficulty with the pieces of wood that are about as big as they are. Rarity's horn lights, the wood igniting and scaring the smallest fillies into dropping them.

"Ah'm sorry, Mrs. Rich, Ah didn't know they'd do this," Applejack quietly says, the smile on her face growing more and more forced. The two glance around at the movement around them, the flickering flames drawing their eyes as the fillies continue chanting. The four Rich fillies soon join them, the ring of fire expanding to a second row.

Spoiled Rich sighs, whispering back, "I wish I could say the same. Do we give in now or do you think they have more planned?" She glares at Diamond Tiara, the filly either unable or unwilling to meet her eyes. Spoiled Rich's eyes move to Silver Set next, her herdmate giving a sheepish smile as she shrugs.

Applejack snickers, "It's Pinkie Pie and Doug. They don't have anything planned, they just roll with it." She holds a hoof up, looking closely at the papers. "Ah don't know if we should spoil their fun now or risk getting, Ah dunno, burned at the stake."

"Why in Celestia's name would they do that?" Spoiled Rich exclaims, a fearful look at the fires swirling around her. She backs up into the center of the circle, bumping Applejack in her haste. She startles at the unexpected contact, her hooves reacting faster than her mind can stop her. The papers fly into the air as her forelegs hit the ground, her back legs bucking Applejack in the side. Spoiled Rich uses the push to leap away, jumping over the fillies in her way as she tears off into the street.

Applejack grunts as the hooves hit her, knocking her down and into a few of the fillies. Torches scatter to the ground, Applejack yelping at the heat and rolling on the ground away from the ring. The fillies stop moving, all but one watching Applejack while Applebaum grabs the falling contracts.

Doug aims Rarity at Applejack, saying, "Know any water spells?" The mare rolls her eyes, shaking her head as Doug huffs, glancing up to Rainbow. The pegasus is hovering above them, her hooves clasped to her muzzle as she smirks at the commotion underneath. 

"Ah'm fine, stop your worrying," Applejack retorts, getting to her hooves. She winces at the slight char on her coat, wiping the soot off and restoring her orange color. "Much better. Now, where did Spoiled run off to?" She looks around, the pink mare breathing heavily, pointing a hoof at them from across the street.

Spoiled Rich cautiously walks back to Filthy, the stallion watching the entire proceeding with a smirk similar to Rainbow Dash. "You are all crazy!" she yells, shaking her head.

"We're not crazy!" Pinkie Pie shouts, appearing behind Spoiled Rich and startling the earth pony. "We're just overly prepared!" Spoiled Rich rolls her eyes as Pinkie Pie pronks around the torches, kicking small clods of dirt onto the embers.

The gathered ponies watch as Applebaum takes the contracts, gathering the torn pieces into a pile. She glances at Doug; he nods, moving Rarity up and down at the same time. Applebaum smiles, the last lit torch dropped down on the contract. The papers go up in flames, the entire thing now burning in the street.

"Applebaum! What have Ah told you about playing with fire?" Applejack says, moving closer. She stops a few feet away from the smoldering pile of paper, a stern look down at her filly.

"Just to do it when an adult is around," comes the indignant reply. Applebaum points a hoof at Doug, "And he's pretty happy about it." Applejack looks over; Doug looks pleased at the burning contract, the hand holding up Rarity's head giving Applejack a thumbs up, though the mare in his arms looks a little put out at still being held.

The two Rich ponies exchange looks, Spoiled sighing and Filthy smiling while walking up to Applejack. He holds out a sealed envelope to her, Applejack taking the envelope and ripping it open. Filthy says, "Applejack, Ah just want to let you know that there are no hard feelings between us. Despite, um, this misunderstanding with the fire."

"Same thing on our side, Rich. Just glad to get this all behind us." Applejack holds up a hoof, Filthy Rich pressing his against her. Doug hold out a fist, getting a bump from Filthy Rich and a reluctant bump from Spoiled Rich. "What's this?" Applejack asks, looking over the papers inside. "A construction firm?"

Filthy Rich smiles, "It's nothing much. Ah took the liberty of talking to a few of my friends in the construction industry. Ah heard that you were interested in building into the side of a hill instead of your normal, hmm, above ground affairs. And, they're giving you a very good offer on any sort of excavating and foundation work that you need done."

"That's very generous of you, Filthy. Thank you kindly." The gathered ponies trade smiles until Pinkie Pie pronks into the middle of everything.

"Please, Applejack," Filthy says with a wink, "Call me Rich."

"Okay, let's get this party started!" Pinkie Pie manages to push everypony into Sugarcube Corner at one time. She starts distributing various pies, cakes, and muffins to each table.

"Ah, the best way to get over a deeply held grudge," Doug says, holding up a cherry pie. "Parties."

"I couldn't agree more," Silver Set says, winking at Doug while holding up a peach pie. She moves her pie over toward Doug, tapping her tin against his. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Doug says, smirking as he takes a bite from his pie. "Mm, delicious, as always."

"Cheers?" Rainbow Dash says as she flies next to Doug, holding an uneaten blueberry pie. "Cheers? Where's the cider?"

"Sorry, Rainbow, but we don't have the cider stocks for just a small party like this," Applejack quietly says, spinning to look at the pegasus from her seat at a different table. Her muzzle curls to a smile as a hoof reaches up, "However-"

"There's... no cider?" Rainbow asks, her eyes beginning to well up. Applejack stops moving as Rainbow continues, "What do you mean? There's always cider!" Her hooves come to her face, the pie toppling from her hooves and caught by Doug as Rainbow pulls her eyelids down. 

"Ah'm sorry, Rainbow, but we've had to sell more of our own stock to keep up. Those fillies ain't cheap. Maybe not always in pure bits, but with how much time we gotta spend looking after them. And that cuts into how much Ah can do around the farm, ya know?"

"But... cider!" Rainbow zips behind the counter, grabs an empty mug, and waves it back and forth in front of Applejack. "Need cider!"

"Now, stop being so melodramatic, RD. It's just cider, you can live without having it every day for another couple weeks." 

Rainbow glowers, "Yeah, I know. Sorry, AJ. It's just sooo delicious." Her muzzle brightens as she sees Applejack hold a hoof to her mouth, a single unlabeled bottle pulled out from under her hat and stealthily slid over.