//------------------------------// // 18 Blind Venture // Story: Errant Finale // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// Well, Pinkie Pie is trying to kill herself. Fortunately, it’s no more than Applejack does every day. The pink mare - no Stetson covering her straight pink mane, three red apples next to her curl-less tail - strains against the heavy iron plow. Her eyes nearly bug out, howling in frustration that builds to rage. She spins around, beating her hooves and then her head against the metal, neither of which yields. Pinkie Pie stops trying to force her way through the rock-strewn field as a light rain begins to fall from the white clouds in the sky, despite no precipitation having been scheduled. Or clouds having been present at the start of the night. Pinkie Pie rips off the plow’s straps as she glares up at the sky, angrily shaking a hoof at the rainbow contrail making wide loops above them. Twilight, Starlight, and Fluttershy follow as Pinkie Pie storms back to the nearest barn. The unicorn’s shouts are ignored, or it could be the rain drowning her out, the three getting drenched along with the ground. Inside the barn, Pinkie Pie hastily piles empty baskets into the closest cart. She then drags that cart outside, huffing in frustration as she spots yet another thing that needs to be done. She pulls the baskets out of the cart, pushing it against the barn to try to reach one of the loose gutters. Water gushes out as the rain steadily increases, growing in intensity as the clouds above spread out and thicken. Pinkie Pie gives up on the busted water chute nearly as quickly as she started - getting blasted in the face by an unexpected downpour did not help her foul mood. She loads the baskets back up, dragging the cart towards a grove of fruit laden apple trees. She hops up, tossing the baskets into the mud. While she might not know everything there is to know about applebuckin’, Twilight does know that Applejack almost never bucks apples in the rain, and for good reason. And gets on Rainbow’s case hard whenever the weather team mixes up where the clouds should be. Or to get some special consideration for reworking what clouds are where, to keep some dry spots where she’ll be working. And it’s because- Pinkie Pie rears back to buck the tree, only for her front hooves to lose their purchase in the slippery mud. She flails with her hind legs, only to collapse on herself, grunting in pain at the contortion and subsequent collision with the ground. She slips as she gets up, snorting in frustration, this time slamming her head against the trunk.   Not as effective as a buck, as only a few apples come down, one landing on Pinkie Pie’s head and adding insult to the concussion she looks to have suffered. “Pinkie Pie!” Twilight shouts again, this time getting a reaction from the dazed mare. “What are you doing? “Ain’t it obvious?” Pinkie Pie scowls, wobbling as she picks herself up. “There’s so many chores to do on this here farm, Ah couldn’t sleep! All these apples waiting to be bucked, and fields to be plowed, and pipe that needs laying!” Pinkie Pie snorts, flinging droplets of water away from her. “And it couldn’t wait?” Twilight asks, looking around at the fully laden orchards around them. During the year, all the stages of growing are represented, with some trees recently harvested, others blossoming, and some a few days away from ripening. The Apples generally keep a pretty good rotation going, so they don’t have to work too hard at any one time. At the start of the year, though, everything gets growing all at once, and there is a lot to do. “Of course it can’t!” Pinkie Pie growls out, resetting her bucking stance. Except she puts so much effort into maintaining her balance she doesn’t buck the tree hard at all. A few apples tumble down, most landing in the baskets but a few in the mud. “Ah wish this job were more fun, but somepony’s gotta do it! And mah cutie mark is telling me that that pony is me!” “Well, maybe you just need to make a fun game of it!” Fluttershy drops down, grabbing one of the apples that missed their mark and tossing it into the basket. She giggles. “There’s one!” She goes for another apple, only for Pinkie Pie to lunge as well. The scowl on Pinkie’s face drops as her hoof rams into Fluttershy’s, both of their expressions going blank. Twilight, ready this time, watches with shining white eyes as the three red apples fade from Pinkie Pie’s flank, reappearing in the same instant on Fluttershy’s. Pinkie Pie’s energy seems to drain into Fluttershy, leaving Pinkie Pie lethargic while Fluttershy perks up. “It’s just like Ah tell Apple Bloom,” Fluttershy says happily as the two finish gathering the fallen apples. “Sometimes a chore ain’t a chore when you’re having fun!” She giggles again, the rain falling square on her face not dousing her chipper attitude. “Aww, too bad the rain makes it hard to buck. We’ll just have to try something new!” Fluttershy flies into the tree, hunting for apples like she hunts for birds nests before Winter Wrap Up. Apples rain down like water as she flits around, easily maneuvering inside the branches. Perhaps not as quickly as Applejack, but certainly faster than Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy loads the full baskets onto the cart. “Thanks for the help, Pinkie Pie! I can always count on you; you’re such a dependable friend!” Fluttershy embraces Pinkie Pie, smiling broadly, before she straps herself into the cart. She takes to the air, though the cart dragging through the mud makes it difficult. Pinkie Pie mostly sits there, out of it, blankly staring at her hooves before she follows Twilight. Twilight’s horn lights, helping the cart along as her eyes narrow. That’s twice now that she’s seen a cutie mark get stolen by somepony without a mark by touching them. And then the mark not transfer back when they touch again. Fluttershy breaks her concentration by resting a hoof on her, the cart dropping back into the mud. “I appreciate the help, Twilight, but my mark is telling me that I have to do this. If I need help, I’ll be sure to come right to you.” She nuzzles her herdmate, her smile creepily twitching. “...You got it,” Twilight says, warily pulling away. Fluttershy beams at Twilight, dragging the cart the rest of the way into the barn. Twilight, Starlight, and Pinkie Pie follow, eager to get out of the steady rain. Fluttershy returns outside, a few nails in her mouth and hammer in hoof, flying to the water chute and nailing it back in place. Twilight grimaces as the rain pounds against the barn. She chances a glance outside, asking nopony in particular, “Who brought this storm?” “Doug, Ah reckon,” Fluttershy drawls, shrugging as Pinkie Pie glumly follows Twilight in staring at the solid white clouds above. “Suppose it’s gonna thunder soon.” “Wait.” Twilight spins, staring Fluttershy in the eyes and trying to spot any trace of deceit. “What do you mean, Doug brought the storm?” “Uhh,” Fluttershy cocks her head slightly, meeting Twilight’s stare. Her expression the same as when she explains to Apple Bloom why tree sap does not make good wagon grease. “Because that’s his job? He’s been doing it since he got his cutie mark.” Twilight grits her teeth. “I know it’s his job, I just-” “Wait.” Twilight stops, trying to find one of the rainbow contrails in the sky. It’s hard to make anything out in the night sky, now that a lot of thick, fluffy white clouds have appeared. “Doug is making those clouds?” * High up in the sky, Doug moans in pain, his legs cramping from being held in the same position for what feels like hours. He knows it’s less than that, since he has a clear view of the moon, but ever since he was rudely awakened this morning by spontaneously flying through one of the Boutique’s windows he can’t seem to… stop. He’s narrowed it down, somewhat. The constant force pushing his body is channeled from his white cloud and multicolored lightning bolt marked hips to his knees. About twice as strong as gravity, he estimates. But it’s constant, a dynamo he can’t throttle back, that he can steer only by rotating his hips and keeping his body locked in place. He can’t really relax, or his torso will flop over and point him directly at the ground, and recovering once from far too literal of a nosedive is enough for him, thank you very much. The holding pattern he’s established above Ponyville is working pretty well for him, though. As long as he keeps circling his speed remains fairly constant, his altitude is holding as best he can tell, and the minor turns he constantly makes are enough to keep the cramps from getting too bad. But he’s going to need to try something soon, as the clouds that form behind him - another addition he can’t control - have finished lumping together and are starting to build. And, if his instincts are correct, about to unleash the second part of his cutie mark. He tilts himself up slightly, climbing above the turbulent air of the storm clouds. Maybe next go around. If only it was easier to see, but the dark and the odd angle he has to keep his body makes it quite difficult. * “What’cha thinkin’ about?” Pinkie Pie asks, bouncing slightly on her hooves. “It’s like a puzzle,” Twilight says, wishing she brought quill and parchment with her. She needs to go back to the library, if only to confirm her suspicions about how the Elements have changed! Twilight explains as they trudge through the rain at a quick pace, both Starlight and Pinkie Pie struggling to keep up. “Each of you, the other five Elements of Harmony, have swapped cutie marks. And I have to get each mark back in the proper place.” “Really?” Pinkie Pie says incredulously. “That doesn’t sound like it’ll work.” Twilight ignores her doubt. “If Doug does indeed have Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, then that means that Applejack has Rarity’s mark. We just need to figure out a plan.” While Scootaloo is most prominent in the windows of the Golden Oak Library, all three Crusaders and Spike anxiously await her return. Twilight looks the Crusaders in the eyes. “Alright, you three, listen up. I need you to go to your dams, and convince them to come here.” She shushes their quizzical replies by raising a hoof. “However, they aren’t… where you would expect them to be. Sweetie Belle, Rarity is at Fluttershy’s cottage.” “What’s she doing there?” Sweetie Belle asks, trembling. “There’s no time to explain!” Twilight stops, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Actually, I can explain, I just don’t want to have to explain multiple times. Just, say whatever you have to to get them here. It’s of utmost importance that you do so.” “Oh, okay,” Sweetie Belle replies, not satisfied in the least. “Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash is at Sugarcube corner.” “Right.” Scootaloo nods, puffing her chest in determination. “Apple Bloom, I think Applejack is at the Carousel Boutique.” Apple Bloom shudders. “Spike, if you can go to Sweet Apple Acres and get Fluttershy." Spike yawns. "You sure? It's storming pretty bad out there." "I know." Twilight grimaces. "But the longer we wait, I'm afraid the worse it will get. They... they weren't themselves. And I'm afraid it's only going to get worse." Twilight glances over at Pinkie Pie, the normally ebullient mare quietly sitting on the floor and eating an apple she picked up somewhere. Just sitting, staring at nothing in particular. The four youngsters run out of the library, shivering against the chill wind. Twilight leaves Pinkie Pie and Starlight with barely an explanation, just a command to “Wait here,” while she teleports to her room. Inside the chest, just like she suspected, are the Elements. Blue lightning bolt. Pink diamond. Black balloon. Orange butterfly. Purple apple. The colors flash in her eyes. Maybe a swap here… then here… and afterwards, they'll be set up for when Doug returns! This could work!