//------------------------------// // Ch. 4 - Talents & Treasure // Story: Different Events // by Moonlight Bloom //------------------------------// Twilight slowly opened her eyes to the sound of music playing in a pitch-black, windowless room. After turning on a bedside lamp, she shut off the radio alarm and found the time to be 6 AM. She then proceeded to quickly brush her mane before exiting the Orange’s guest bedroom. On her way to the living room, she spotted that Applejack’s door was still shut. Quietly, Twilight peeked inside, spying an oblivious Spike being hugged closely by young Applejack, both still sound asleep. Twilight smiled and shut the door. Rounding a corner out of the hallway, she turned to see Honey and Mosley preparing breakfast in the kitchen. From the looks of it, omelets and waffles were on the menu today. Honey stopped for a moment, then turned to face Twilight. “Good morning Miss Twilight! Breakfast will be ready soon; feel free to have a seat at the table.” Twilight sat down, only for Honey to walk out of the kitchen a few moments later. “Here’s a glass of orange juice for you,” she said, placing a cup on the table. Twilight turned around and picked it up in her aura. “Oh, thank you,” she replied, taking a sip afterwards. “Morning everypony,” Spike mumbled as he walked out from the hallway with his eyes still half shut, Applejack trailing behind with much the same appearance. “Looks like they don’t want to wake up,” Honey remarked to Twilight, before returning to the kitchen. Spike hopped into a chair at the table, followed by Applejack climbing into the one next to him. “Sleep well?” Twilight asked. “Good I guess ‘er whatever...” Spike mumbled in reply. “I- *yawn* -slept well,” Applejack stated, groggily. “Any dreams?” Twilight inquired. Spike thought for a moment, his face grimacing a little. “Eh, all I can remember is you were super happy and kept smooching me a lot.” He stuck his tongue out. Twilight giggled a little. “Well, I guess you must’ve been doing an extra good job on everything then!” She turned to Applejack, who was staring down at the table with a slightly red face. “Any good dreams, Applejack?” “Oh, I jus’ had a dream that I was dancin’ at our post-harvest hoedown with...uh...Braaeburrnn... Yeah.” The red in her face had increased. Spike turned his head toward Applejack slightly and raised an eyebrow. “Alright, there we go,” Honey said, placing five plates of omelets and waffles, along with additional glasses of orange juice on the table. “Thank you,” Twilight responded. Applejack watched as Honey momentarily stepped back into the kitchen. After her aunt had passed though the doorway, Applejack quickly gulped down her glass of orange juice and burped loudly in Spike’s direction. “Think ya can top that?” she asked, raising one eyebrow and smirking. “Oh you bet I can!” Spike replied as he grabbed his glass, only to see it get teleported right out of his hand by Twilight. Spike looked over, seeing her head shaking back and forth with eyes wide in concern. Spike groaned and rolled his eyes. “On second thought, maybe we should try again when everything’s less flammable.” Applejack’s face lit up in surprise. “So you’re sayin’ ya burp fire?!” Spike nodded pridefully. “Yep! It’s a signature dragon feature!” “Woo-wee! Ya just keep gettin’ better an’ better!” she exclaimed, giving him a teasing push on the side with her hoof. Spike shook his head slightly. “Whoa, déjà vu.” Twilight playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head as she gave Spike his drink back. Honey and Mosley finally exited the kitchen and sat down at the table. Honey leaned over to Twilight and spoke softly. “Thank you dear, for putting a stop to that burping contest.” “Oh, it was nothing,” Twilight responded, waving her hoof down slightly. After everyone had eaten and was finished, Applejack went to pack up a few things. Twilight and Spike headed back to the guest bedroom to grab the saddlebag worth of stuff they had brought. Before leaving the room however, Spike spoke up. “We are helping Rarity next, right?” Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. “Yes, we are helping Rarity next.” Spike clenched his claw into a fist and pulled downwards mouthing “YES” silently. The two walked back out to the living-room where Applejack was waiting with a pair of brand-new green saddlebags. “Are you ready to go?” Twilight asked. Applejack nodded. Twilight stood up and began walking to the door, followed by the others. “Thank you for letting me and Spike stay the night,” Twilight said to the Oranges. “The pleasure was ours. Plus we’re just happy that Applejack seems to be feeling better,” Mosley stated. Applejack gave Honey and Mosley each a hug, after which Twilight, Spike, and Applejack all headed for the train station. Once there, with tickets now acquired, Twilight and Applejack sat down to wait for the train. Applejack looked around, concerned. “Hey, where’s Spike?” she asked. “I think he said he was going to grab a few more comic books for the train ride,” Twilight answered. She looked up. “Oh, speaking of!” Spike was walking towards the bench the two were on, carrying a large grilled carrot. He sat down between them, eagerly eyeing it. “Got hungry?” Twilight asked. “Just a little,” Spike replied, picking up the carrot and taking a bite off the tip. He then immediately opened one of the comic books to start reading. After a short minute, he found his right arm getting squashed by Applejack, who was leaning against him quite a lot, trying to read the comic book. Twilight smiled. “Aw, you two remind me of when Shining and I used to read comic books together!” Spike rolled his eyes. Applejack smirked and blushed slightly. The sun was almost gone from the sky as the train pulled into the station at Ponyville. Twilight turned to a napping Spike beside her, who Applejack was using as a pillow for her own nap, and nudged the two to wake up. “Huh?” Spike said, yawning. “What time is it?” “Almost nine o’ clock,” Twilight replied. Spike sat up, causing Applejack to slump off of him and begin waking up. “Ngh...” Applejack muttered. Twilight stood up and levitated Applejack into a standing position next to her, bracing the drowsy filly with her foreleg. The walking helped wake Applejack up, and by the time the three were walking through the entrance archway of Sweet Apple Acres, she was as bright and chipper as usual. Before reaching the kitchen door, Twilight nudged Applejack to go ahead of them into the house. She took the hint, and raced up to the door, throwing it wide open. “Granny! Mac! I’m home!” she exclaimed. Twilight came up far enough to peer in the doorway to see Granny Smith turning from the stove with a big smile on her face. Applejack ran up to her and gave her a hug, after which Little Mac dashed in from the living room. “APPLEJACK!” “MAC!” The two hoof-bumped each-other, followed immediately by a squeezing hug. “I missed ya so much!” Applejack declared. “Not as much as I missed you!” Mac stated. The two let go, and Mac spotted Spike and Twilight standing in the doorway. “Spike!” he exclaimed, running up to him, with the two then doing their guy’s night dance. “Looks like y’all came back in time fer dinner,” Granny stated. “Have a seat an everythin’ ‘ll be ready in a few.” On the way over to the table, Mac tapped Twilight to get her attention. “Thank you; havin’ Applejack around again means a lot,” he said. “You’re very welcome,” Twilight replied. All four sat down at the table, the three young ones clumped together. “So, ain’t Spike a hoot?” Applejack asked Little Mac eagerly. “Eeyup, he sure is!” Spike spoke up. “Well, it’s not everyday you get a friend who’s a dragon!” “You can say that again!” Mac declared. “Hey, we should continue that Ogres & Oubliettes game tonight!” “Yeah! We barely even got stared last time!” Spike replied. “Ogres & Oubliettes?” Applejack asked. Both boys looked over at Applejack. “Have we got a game for you,” they said in unison. As promised, dinner was served a few minutes later. After everyone was finished, Applejack spoke up during a pause between conversations. “I was a little nervous comin’ home, but y’know, now that I’m here, I’m glad I’m back.” Twilight looked over at Applejack. “I knew you’d start feeling better.” Mac turned to Applejack. “Jus’ promise ya won’t leave like that again, alright?” “Aw, don’t worry Mac,” Applejack said, “I jus’ felt kinda lost after Mom an’ Dad died, but now I know that Sweet Apple Acres is where I belong.” Immediately after finishing her sentence, a light began to emit around Applejack below the table. Everyone noticed, and Applejack jumped out of her seat to find that the glow was coming from the side of each hip. The area then flashed, and the glow faded to leave behind an image of three apples. Applejack’s eyes slowly went as wide as the empty plates on the table, and a huge smile crept across her face. “Applejack...” Mac began. “I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!” she exclaimed, jumping up for joy repeatedly, after which she grabbed Mac and Spike and pulled them into a tight hug. Twilight felt like a portion of a huge weight was lifted from her, and felt herself smiling ear-to-ear along with everyone else. “Well I’ll be,” Granny began “Looks like that trip ta Manehattan helped ya find yerself after all!” “Yep!” Applejack replied, her eyes watery with tears of joy. “But I wouldn’t be back here right now if it weren’t fer you, Twilight!” she said, looking at her. “Don’t sell yourself short, Applejack. You had it in you all along, I just gave you a little push, that’s all.” “I guess...” Applejack started to look down. “Applejack?” She looked back up. “Congratulations.” Applejack smiled. “Thanks Twilight.” She paused and then looked at Granny. “Hey, we’re gonna need ta invite the family ta my cute-ceañera! Or heck, we could even make it part of the reunion this year! Or maybe-” “Applejack,” Granny interrupted. “Why don’t ya settle down fer now an’ we’ll figure it all out soon.” “Alright.” Applejack turned to Mac an’ Spike. “So, ya wanna celebrate with anythin’? Maybe that game y’all were talkin’ about?” “Sure!” The two agreed, and all three ran upstairs to Mac’s room. After a relaxing bath, a good night’s sleep, a hearty breakfast, and an awkward moment of explaining her alicornhood to Applejack, Twilight donned her “disguise” sweater and headed off with Spike to help Rarity earn her cutie mark. After arriving at Rarity’s parents’ house, Twilight rang the doorbell as Spike dismounted from her back. A slightly heavy, pink mare with a light purple mane done up in a beehive style answered the door a few moments later. “Oh hello there! How can I help ya?” the mare asked. “Hi, my name’s Twilight,” she began, before moving her head to the side of the mare and intentionally speaking a bit louder to be heard from inside the house. “I saw that play put on by the school, and I was just wondering if I could congratulate that talented young lady who designed those spectacular costumes.” No response. Twilight looked back at the mare with a nervous grin. “Oh Rarity’s just probably still all upset that the costumes weren’t ‘spectacular’; I’ll go up and get her for ya. My name's Cookie Crumbles by the way; and feel free ta step inside and make yourself at home!” Twilight and Spike stepped into the living room as Cookie headed up the stairs. A few moments later, they tensed up as they heard a voice of pure shame and despair shouting from upstairs. “No she doesn’t! They’re all just horrible, ugly rags! Tell her Equestria’s next fashionista is somewhere else!” Twilight bit her lip. “That sounds like Rarity all right...when she’s really upset,” Spike stated. Cookie came down the stairs and shook her head with a fearful look on her face. “Maybe I should try?” Twilight asked hesitantly. “You’re more than welcome; I just wouldn’t be surprised if ya get a spoon or a tub thrown at you,” Cookie warned. “Her room’s around the corner and down the hall.” Cookie picked up an infant Sweetie Belle out of a crib and walked into the kitchen. “Tub?” Twilight questioned. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Spike muttered. Twilight nervously ascended the stairs and walked down the hall to Rarity’s bedroom door. She slowly began to creak the door open, the hallway light and a small amount of sunlight leaking through the closed drapes being being the only sources to illuminate the room. The first things Twilight was able to see were stacks. Stacks upon stacks. All of one thing: empty ice cream tubs. As she opened the door further, Twilight was able to see a bed, followed by a rectangular table and a chair next to the window, with sewing supplies and a sewing machine sitting on top of the table. After her eyes adjusted to the darker room, Twilight saw that the bed had a couple fresh ice cream tubs atop it. Lying on the bed, was a pouting filly, with a white coat, sapphire eyes, a disheveled, rich blue mane, and a body that was so bloated and pudgy that she could pass as a stuffed animal. “Woah,” Spike blurted out. Instantly, the filly’s eyes shrunk, snapped over to the dragon, locked onto him with a death-glare, and used her magic to chuck her half-eaten container of ice-cream at him. Spike suffered a direct hit, and toppled over as a result. Twilight quickly dragged Spike out of the room and shut the door. Spike sat up and rubbed his nose. “That’s Rarity all right,” he remarked. Rarity cried out from inside her room. “Oh who am I kidding; I look terrible! I’m not just a mediocre seamstress! I’m a big, fat mediocre seamstress! Everything I do just makes everything worse! My life is ruined!” She began to bawl loudly. Twilight and Spike looked at each-other in concern. Spike gestured for Twilight to wait, and slowly opened the door, noticing that the lights were now on. He paused and looked over at the teary, sniffling Rarity on the bed. Rarity noticed him, and immediately yanked the blanket & sheets over top of herself, making the fresh tubs of ice cream, as well as some previously unnoticeable romance novels, fall off the bed. “Don’t look at me!” She wrapped herself in the sheets and turned away. Spike sat down on the bed. “Aw, c’mon Rarity, you don’t look that bad! You’re still beautiful overall, and you’re not even that fat!” Spike appealed. “No! I look like an *sniff* over-puffed marshmallow, and I can’t even make an outfit to hide it!” “C’mon, who cares about a few extra pounds; you’re just more soft and huggable now!. Besides, there’s nopony I’d rather be with right now more than you.” Rarity giggled slightly and rolled over to face Spike. “Are you being serious?” she asked with a half-smirk. “Uh-huh!” Rarity smiled, sniffling a little again as she wiped her tears away and sat up, unwrapping the blanket from her head in the process. “Well, I suppose I am overreacting a little bit.” She looked up at Spike. “I guess you already know my name’s Rarity?” He nodded. “And I’m Spike!” He held out his claw for Rarity to shake, to which she obliged. “So who was your friend?” Twilight stepped into the room. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle.” “Nice to meet you-uuAUGH!” Rarity exclaimed, backpedaling on her bed. “Sweet Celestia, you look horrendous!” Twilight’s eyebrows furrowed in surprised concern. “I do?” “Yes! That sweater; it looks awful!” Twilight looked down, pulling on the diamond-patterned, gold, orange, and brown sweater a little with her magic. “Oh this old thing? I just picked up at a thrift store for five bits to...stay warm.” “Thank Celestia you didn’t pay full price! We’ll have to get you a proper coat as soon as we can!” Twilight giggled. “You know, Rarity, I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself. You do have a knack for fashion.” Rarity sighed. “I suppose, but all I’ve been able to do is just know everything. I can’t seem to be truly creative; I can’t find a way to make my designs stand out and be spectacular...” Twilight was reminded of when she first became an alicorn, and felt like she had nothing unique to offer as the fourth princess of Equestria. “But you know what? Sometimes it just takes a little time to figure out what you’re good at. You’ll find your way of being unique before you know it.” Rarity sighed. “I just wish I could’ve figured it out before I had to turn those costumes in for the play.” Suddenly, her horn began to light up and spark a bit. “Hey!” she yelled, grabbing it with both hooves to fizzle out the magic. “Dumb horn!” She looked back to the others. “It’s been acting like that all week!” “Maybe we should see why it’s doing that,” Twilight suggested. “I already tried, and all it lead me to was some dumb rock.” “Did you figure out why it took you to a rock?” Rarity started to inhale sharply, but paused and released her breath. “...No,” she mumbled. “It wouldn’t hurt to try again. Besides, I don’t think you’ve got much else to do.” Rarity looked around at all the empty tubs of ice-cream, then down at her now-chunky physique. “...Fine.” “That’s the spirit!” Spike cheered. With that, Rarity got up from her bed, and the three headed downstairs to inform her mom of their plans. “Right here. This is where the rock was.” Rarity was standing near the edge of a small cliff, in the rocky hills located about a couple miles outside Ponyville. Twilight, with Spike on her back, walked up to the edge and looked over the cliff, seeing the rock a little ways down at the bottom of the cliff, surrounded by piles of boulders and jagged spires. “Nopony’s going to be able to get to it now, that’s for sure,” Spike remarked. “Well Rarity,” Twilight began, turning around to face her, “it looks like your horn is going to have to find a new rock for us to investigate.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Figures. We wouldn’t have to if I didn’t shove it off the edge. I just keep making everything worse.” “Look on the bright side, at least we’re surrounded by rocks!” Spike commented. Rarity looked around. “Just boring, dumb rocks.” All three waited in silence as Rarity continued to stare at the landscape. “We’re ready whenever you are!” Twilight called out. Rarity walked up to a boulder and knocked a few smaller rocks off it, then looked back to the landscape again. “Is her horn going to light up?” Twilight questioned, low enough for only Spike to hear. “I don’t think she can control it.” Twilight sighed. “Of course...” “What am I even looking for?” Rarity asked, slightly irritated. “Anything really. Whatever will make your horn activate on it’s own like it's been doing.” “But this could take hours!” Rarity whined. “Well how often does your horn light up?” “I don’t know! The day after the play it was happening at least a couple times an hour, but the past couple days it’s been more sparse!” Twilight took a deep breath. “Oh boy,” she muttered quietly. She spoke up to Rarity again, “I guess we’ll just have to walk around and figure out what will make it light up.” “Of all the worst possible things, this is the second worst possible thing,” Rarity moped, walking off among the rocks. Twilight leaned back to Spike. “Go find some gemstones and hide them around here; that might make her horn light up!” she quietly instructed. Spike saluted and hopped off Twilight to go find gemstones. Twilight caught up to Rarity and began helping her explore the area. Rarity began to climb on top of a rock, struggling quite a bit on her way up. “Need any help?” Twilight asked. Rarity grunted. “No, I’m fine.” She strained to try and pull herself up to the top of the rock. “It’s just that – *pant* – this would be a lot easier if – *ngh* – I didn’t weigh so much now!” Rarity stopped and caught her breath. Twilight picked Rarity up in her magic and set her down on the top of the rock. Rarity looked down at Twilight, angrily. Twilight gave a soft smile. Rarity’s face simply went red with a mix of frustration and embarrassment. As she continued to explore, she only began to complain about more things. “Ehck, my mouth’s all dry! … Oh for Celestia’s sake; my hooves are filthy now! … This has got to be one of the most boring things I’ve ever done; why won’t my horn just light up already!? … It’s so hot! Eugh, look at me, I’m soaking with sweat!” Eventually, Spike came back, looking a bit miserable. “Did you find any to hide nearby?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, but not a lot. It’s way easier with Rarity’s spell.” “Well, at least it’s better than none.” “I’m also getting kinda hungry.” Twilight looked him straight in the eyes. “You didn’t eat any of the gems did you?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Nope, I had perfect self control!” Twilight continued to stare. “Okay maybe I ate a couple…but I really am hungry!” Rarity came back up to Twilight, walking a bit anxiously yet cautious. “Excuse me, Twilight, but I think I’m going to need to find a restroom.” Twilight thought for a moment. “Maybe now would be a good time to go back to Ponyville for a lunch break.” “Sounds good to me!” Spike responded. “Please,” Rarity replied. With that, Twilight teleported the three back into town to have lunch at the Clover Cafe. On the way back to the rocky hills after their much-needed lunch was finished, Spike approached Rarity. “So, ever considered designing an outfit for a dragon?” Rarity looked up in surprise and confusion. “No…I never even met a dragon until today, let alone one as nice as you’ve been.” “It wouldn’t hurt to try; maybe that could even be how you’ll stand out!” Rarity furrowed her eyebrows. “I’m not sure designing outfits for dragons would be a...popular...market. Besides, I want to find a way to stand out overall, not just because I’m designing for a particular species...” Rarity’s horn sparked. “ACK!” She reached up, ready to snuff it out, but stopped herself. “Hey! M-My horn’s doing something!” Twilight turned her attention to Rarity as the filly began to get tugged on by the magic force. “Woah!” Rarity stumbled forward a few steps, and began to walk in the direction her horn was pulling her. “Ow! Stop tugging so hard!” Spike and Twilight followed her. Her horn led her the rest of the way back up to the hills, over a few high rocks, across a wide clearing, and up to a small boulder. “Another rock...Of course,” Rarity griped. “Well maybe there’s something special about it,” Twilight hinted. “What could possibly be special about a rock?” Twilight picked the boulder up in her aura, turning it over to reveal an underside speckled with a bright purple coloration. Rarity’s eyes went wide in amazement. “Wow...” Spike walked up to the boulder and licked the purple with his tongue. “Those are gemstones all right!” Rarity looked over at him. “You can tell that by licking?” “Dragons have a natural taste for gems,” he replied proudly. Twilight set the boulder down for Rarity to take a closer look. “So...my horn led me to gemstones?” “Uh-huh!” Twilight responded. Rarity tilted her head at them. “I didn’t know unicorns could do that.” She picked at the gems a little. “Although I don’t know what I could possibly do with this.” “Well, you could always become a gem miner!” Spike confidently suggested. Rarity turned to him. “And get sweaty and filthy every day?! No thank you!” “Or, you could add them to your dress designs,” Twilight recommended. Rarity’s face twisted in disgust. “Are you serious? These would look completely tacky on a dress! They’re all cloudy and unpolished!” “Well maybe you could search for some better ones!” Rarity looked back at the gems, visibly contemplating. “I suppose...” She turned back towards the clearing. “Alright horn, lead the- WAY!” she yelped as it immediately lit up and began to pull her in a new direction. Her horn soon led them to more gems, but just like the last ones, these also looked quite rough. As the hours passed, the pattern kept repeating, and Rarity began to whine about her previous complaints again. Eventually, she sat down on a boulder to rest, visibly frustrated over the events of the day. The sun had begun it’s descent towards the horizon. “It’s just not fair! It bothers me all week, randomly lighting up and tugging my head this-way and that, and now that I finally find out what it wants, it just turns out to be some stupid spell for finding sub-par gemstones!” Rarity groaned loudly. “I don’t know what to say,” Twilight remarked, sitting down beside her. “I thought for sure we would’ve found some better gems by now.” “All I have to show for this awful day are some dirty hooves, a wet mop of a mane, and a few cuts and scrapes!” “At least you burned some of those ice cream calories!” Spike noted, poking her stomach. Rarity glanced at herself and rolled her eyes. “Like those mattered much. I still look as fat as before...” Twilight pondered for a minute. “We need to find a way to refine the spell and make it more focused on high-clarity gemstones.” Twilight perked up. “I could try supplementing your spell with some of my own magic; that could make it easier for you to-” “ENOUGH ABOUT MY STUPID MAGIC!” Rarity shouted. “I’ve had it! I’m tired, I’m dirty, and I’ve wasted this whole day out in these stupid hills trying to find some kind of ‘perfect gem’, WHEN I NEVER! WILL!” Her eyes began to tear up. “I just wanna go home...” “But Rarity, we have to keep trying! If this spell is your special talent then–” “Twilight!” Spike interrupted. “She doesn’t have to do anything! She’s just a filly!” “But–” “A filly with her own thoughts and feelings, Twi. We can’t change that.” Twilight stared into Spike’s eyes, her eyebrows tilted with concern. After several moments, Spike turned away to comfort Rarity, Twilight continuing to stare at the two. Rarity simply sat there, lightly crying, an emotional wreck. This was Rarity. An adolescent filly feeling adrift in the world. Twilight finally spoke. “I...I’m sorry, Rarity. We can go home if you want.” Rarity continued to stare at the ground. Spike remained focused on comforting her. “...Rarity?” Spike looked up. “I think she just wants to be left alone for now.” “But you’re-” “Left alone from you, Twilight.” Twilight stared. “O...oh…” After a minute of silence, she spoke up again. “I…I’ll be back at Sweet Apple Acres.” Twilight turned and walked away.