//------------------------------// // Chapter Six: Welcome to Sunnytown // Story: Fancy Pants In: The Mystery of The Blanks // by TheTeaTurtle //------------------------------// Chapter Six: Welcome to Sunnytown The crickets had begun their song, their chirping starting as a low ring before picking up into a chorus of cries. Pip heard their melody as he rushed through the forest, every fiber of his being screaming at him for being so moronic, so foolish as to rush ahead by himself.  But when he had caught sight of...her when he peaked over his shoulder to check for more timber wolves, he knew he had to follow while his mentor and new friends were distracted by the rescue ponies.  He stopped to catch his breath, the thick, wet air of the late evening Everfree making it harder to keep up his rapid pace. He felt his chest heave as his thoughts turned to Fancy Pants, the sting of guilt making it harder to recover his breath. His head hung low, the doubt and anxiety that hung over him like a dark cloud nearly causing him to collapse.  But in his peripheral vision, he saw a bright light that made him raise his head instantly. Standing between the gigantic trees, hidden just behind a thin wall of vines, was a grey coated filly with bright yellow eyes and mane. She beckoned him with a hoof and trotted away, the light following her.  “W-Wait!” Pip gasped out and stumbled as he tried to gallop once more, falling to the moist forest floor. With a grunt, he pushed himself back up and forced himself to run, ignoring the painful protest of his little legs.  The orange light of the horizon hugging sun was hidden behind countless, menacing looking trees. Were it not for the filly, he would have surely gotten lost by now. But from his short time researching the Everfree, getting lost wouldn’t be the worst thing that would happen to him when night came.  He had to hope that his hunch was correct and that this filly could be trusted. If not.... He yelped as he barely ducked out of the way of a large spider web, his fear building more and more as he charged through the darkness, that bright light ever just out of reach.  “‘Find me and you’ll find them’ she said.” He thought, jumping over a puddle “I’m sorry Mr. Fancy. But you’ll understand...I hope.”    His hoof suddenly caught on something, causing him to scream before he hit the coarse ground with a thud. Pain shot through his tiny body and he rolled over, groaning. His brown eyes went wide when he noticed the filly standing on the other side of the small clearing he had found himself.  Something that stood out more than her, however, was the object she was standing over: a bright pink bow that had been seemingly untouched by the elements.  “A-Applebloom’s bow.” Pip muttered as he stood up and cautiously approached, taking it into his hoof. His fearful expression went dour as his thoughts took a dark turn, meeting the expressionless glowing eyes of the filly before him “I-Is she…?”  She did not respond verbally, choosing instead to turn her head to the right. Pip followed her gaze, seeing another familiar sight only ten hooves away. A blue and white striped scarf was tangled in a bush, briars doing their best to keep a hold of it until Pip pulled it free.  “S-Sweetie Belle’s scarf…” with both objects in his hooves, he turned to look back at the filly.  She was gone. Where she had been standing, however, a treaded path that Pip didn’t notice before lay in wait. At the end of said path, sat between a natural archway, was a light that bore a resemblance to the one that mystery filly had been giving off. It almost looked like a doorway of some kind.  Pip gulped and looked once again at the items in his hooves for a few moments, unsure of how to proceed. “What would Fancy Pants do?” He asked the ribbon and scarf, closing his eyes as terror began to grip his heart and tears began to well up in his eyes.  The rustle of a nearby bush made him jump, dropping the vital clues onto the ground as he faced the darkness. He backed away slowly, trying to make out any shapes coming through the trees as his lower lip trembled.  For but a split second, he caught sight of a pair of dark red eyes staring right at him. That’s the moment he dashed toward the light, screaming all the while as his little legs carried him toward what he thought was safely as quick as they could.  Everything went white when he passed the threshold and his ears began to ring. A sudden dizzy feeling took hold and he came to a standstill, falling onto his haunches as he covered his eyes.  “Help me!” He cried and curled into a trembling ball, seeking comfort within his mind. He thought of Fancy Pants, Fleur, his grandparents and even his father, mumbling to himself words of comfort. “A gentlecolt always faces danger bravely, a gentlecolt always faces danger bravely, a gentlecolt always faces danger bravely…..”  “Um, excuse me little guy? Are you okay?”  A voice.  Pip’s eyes shot open and he looked up slowly, his body still shaking. He met the face of a gray stallion with a black mane, whose face was one of concern.  “W-W-Wha…?”  The pony looked Pip over and smiled “Well you don’t seem to be hurt so that’s good! Lots of dangerous things in the Everfree Forest, yep!” Pip remained silent, too stunned to speak. He chose instead to observe his surroundings and his confusion only mounted the more he saw.  It was like a piece of Ponyville had been sliced from the cake of Equestria and dumped into the middle of the Everfree. Cute, square buildings littered the clearing and party decorations were strewn up everywhere. Tables with different confections, such as cupcakes and bowls of punch, were littered about as well. The strangest thing of all was the fact that Celestia’s wondrous light was hanging bright in a slightly cloudy sky. “W-W-Where am I?” Pip sputtered and rose to his hooves, eyes wide with wonder and confusion as he looked back to the stallion.  The stranger smiled warmly and waved a hoof “Welcome to Sunnytown, the happiest place in Equestria!”  “S-Sunnytown?” “Yep! Now, I know what you’re thinking,” The stallion gestured with his hoof to the surrounding trees of the Everfree “Why build a humble little village in the middle of the Everfree Forest? Well, the answer is quite simple really!” the grey pony leaned in close, as if he were about to whisper a secret. Pip turned his head and raised an ear inquisitively as the stallion said: “We just wanted to!”  Pip’s face was a cocktail of confusion and amusement as the stallion chuckled at his joke “Uh huh. But why is it sunny here? It was almost nightfall when I ran in here and-”  “Whoa whoa, little guy. I’m gonna need a name attached to all these questions you’re throwing at me.” His smile was mischievous “I’m Greyhoof! Town greeter and shindig starter extraordinaire!”  Pip, remembering his manners, bowed his head “I’m Pipsqueak! My friends call me Pip, though.” He looked around and pointed to the sky “So, about the sun?” Greyhoof looked up, his smile faltering slightly “Well ya see, I’m not exactly supposed to tell anypony. The head of the village is always going on about ‘keeping need to know things in the know’. You know?”  Pip tilted his head but nodded slowly nonetheless. It was clear he was either lying or he really was just not ‘in the know’, whatever that meant “Okay then. The party then, what’s the occasion?”  Greyhoof’s face brightened instantly “Glad you asked! It’s a special day for a special little filly named Ruby today! She’s out and about gathering herbs and we’re gonna surprise her when she gets back!”  Pip’s eyes widened and he looked back the way he had come. The red eyes flashed in his mind “U-Um are you sure it’s safe for her to do that? C-Cause I saw-”  “No no no, don’t you worry now! Ruby is the best little forager this side of Equestria! I’ve seen her sneak her way past freaky monsters of all kinds, if you can believe it!” Greyhoof said with a bright smile “Now, enough pounding the greeter with questions! Go on, enjoy the party!”  Pip’s dubious expression never left, and he turned to look back to where he had come. The natural archway that had guided him into this town appeared to have vanished, replaced instead with a couple of bushes and trees. While Pip had no magical sense of any kind, he knew a thing or two about the subject from his studies and this positively reeked of some kind of magic.  He resolved to keep an eye out and looked at Greyhoof, smiling “Okay, thank you!”  With a synchronized nod, the two parted ways as Greyhoof went to look over one of the treat tables. Pip watched him go and noticed something rather odd that had escaped his attention before.  Greyhoof didn’t have a cutie mark.  It was not unheard of for adult ponies to lack cutie marks, as Pip had researched himself quite a few times, but it was quite a rarity indeed. He looked down at his own blank flank and sighed. It brought him comfort, in a way, to see a pony so chipper despite not knowing what his special talent was. Turning his attention back to the path, Pip caught sight of a white mare with a red mane sitting idly next to one of the trees at the border of the town, her expression rather morose.  “A gentlecolt must always help a lady in need.” Pip said to himself and approached her. She didn’t seem to notice him “Hello there! Is everything okay?”  The mare gave him a passing look before turning her attention back to the tree, a sigh leaving her lips “I’m fine, thank you. It’s just...oh I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”  “No, it’s fine madam! I’m a gentlecolt in training and I’d love to help, if you’ll let me.” Pip said proudly, his chest stinging slightly as he thought of Fancy Pants once more. The mare gave him a once over and looked past him. Pip followed her gaze and noticed she was staring at a beige stallion standing next to a building farther down the path.  “Roneo hasn’t talked to me all day. He’s usually so happy to speak to me but he’s been distant and I…” She sniffled, turning away “I’m worried he may not like me anymore.” Pip nodded “I’ll go ask him for you! I’m Pip, by the way.”  “Starlet.” She replied, clearly not intent on continuing the conversation. Pip turned to leave and noticed something out of the corner of his eye. She didn’t have a cutie mark either. One is rare enough but two adult ponies without cutie marks? Pip rubbed his chin and hummed to himself. Something was odd here. Tabling the thought for now, Pip continued down the path and made his way over to Roneo, who seemed to be occupied with his own thoughts.  “Hello, Roneo is it?” Pip greeted and placed a hoof on his chest “I’m Pip!”  The blue maned stallion looked down at the little colt and quickly looked away “Hi, Pip. I...saw you talking to Starlet. Is she doing okay?”  Pip looked back over at the mare, who still looked as downcast as she did before “She’s, um, just confused as to why you haven’t talked to her all day.”  Roneo facehoofed and groaned “I knew it was my fault! It’s just...I got her a really nice gift earlier and I know she’s gonna love it! But I...kind of lost-”  “There ya are, Roneo!” A chipper voice with a distinct drawl called out, making Pip freeze. Another voice soon followed, this one higher pitched and without a drawl. “We finally found that gift of yours! It was just lying on the ground near the edge of town!”  “How in the hay did you lose it over there anyway? You’re such a klutz!” Another filly teased.  Pip finally turned his head, everything moving in slow motion. Coming down the path that led deeper into town were three little fillies: a light yellow Earth Pony with a red mane, a white Unicorn with a purple and pink mane, and an orange Pegasus with tiny wings and a purple mane.  His jaw dropped and he took a step back as the fillies approached Roneo, the stallion smiling when he saw them.  “Thanks, girls! Now I can finally clear things up with Starlet!” He said excitedly and galloped past Pip “Thanks again!”  Pip stared at the three fillies in disbelief, feeling a sense of relief build in his chest as they finally met his eyes, their expressions curious.  “Pip? Is that you?” Applebloom asked, tilting her head “What the hay are you doing out here and why are ya dressed like a prune?”  “I-I could ask you the same thing!” He nearly yelled and bounced in place, ignoring the dig at his suit “Everyone in Ponyville was worried sick about you! I and Mr. Fancy Pants came all the way from Canterlot to help look for you and-”  “Well you don’t need to worry, we’re fine where we are!” Sweetie Belle cut in with a smile.  “Yeah, this place is super awesome! Way better than Ponyville ever was!” Scootaloo bounced, fluttering her little wings. Pip looked at them like they had told him they were secretly griffons in disguise.  “W-What are you three on about?! Your families are worried sick about you!” He pointed to Sweetie Belle “ Sweetie, Rarity is the one who called me and Mr. Fancy here in the first place! She misses you so much!”  Sweetie Belle kept her smile despite the revelation but for a moment so brief Pip would have missed it if he blinked, her green eyes lost their sparkle of joy and shifted into...something else that the little colt couldn’t describe.  “She worries too much, just like Applejack!” Applebloom said, giggling “Look around ya, Pip! Didn’t ya notice somethin’? Everypony here doesn’t have a cutie mark!”  “Yeah! Isn’t that cool?” Scootaloo piped up, resting her right foreleg on Applebloom’s back “Now we don’t have to worry about ponies judging us anymore! We fit right in!”  Pip looked between the three of them in incredulity, his jaw nearly falling to the forest floor as he listened to the insanity coming out of their mouths and he opened his own to object.  “Oh, hey you three!” A brown colored stallion with a golden mane trotted toward the little ponies, having come from further down the path where Pip saw even more colorful buildings “I needed your help with bringing out more desserts and-” He noticed Pip and tilted his head “Say, who’s your well dressed friend?”  “This is Pip! A friend of ours from Ponyville!” Sweetie Belle introduced. The stallion bowed slightly at the colt.  “Well, howdy Pip! I’m Gladstone, the town baker and decorator!” He said cheerfully “Well, one of the decorators anyhow. Three Leaf is the other one but, to tell ya the truth? I’m way better at it.” He whispered with a laugh afterward “Just joking! Anyhow, since you’re new, would ya like me to give ya a tour of the place?”  “Ooh ooh! We can give him the tour!” Applebloom chirped, the other two crusaders coming to her side with innocent smiles as they looked up at him. Gladstone pretended to look dubious before conceding with an exaggerated sigh.  “Alright, you win! Don’t worry there, Pip. Even though they’ve only been here a few days, these little fillies know every nook and cranny of this little hamlet of ours!” Gladstone declared and turned around “Got lots of baking to do before Ruby gets here! Have fun, you four!” Pip stood there, still processing the last five minutes. He looked at Scootaloo as she came to his side, gesturing down the path with a hoof “Come on, Pip! I wanna show you this cool little spot over here! It’s right next to the….”  As the trio of fillies led him around, spouting random bits of trivia about the town, Pip kept his eyes trained on them and didn’t say a word as he tried to wrap his mind around everything. It had been nearly a year since he last saw the girls, and even then, he hadn’t really gotten to know them too well, but they seemed to be acting just like the excitable fillies who had invited him to join their club. It really did seem like they came to this cutie markless town of their own volition. To be free of societal pressures and to be themselves. It was tempting in its own unique way, Pip had to admit. He had his own anxieties about his lack of a cutie mark and stressed over getting it constantly.  But it didn’t feel quite right to the young colt. He couldn’t put a hoof on it but something about a happy little village in the middle of the Everfree Forest felt...wrong. Even if this place had somehow escaped the notice of cartographer ponies that dared venture into the Everfree, he would have at least expected to have heard of a quirky little village full of cutie markless ponies.  “Hey, Pip? You listenin’?”  Pip shook his head as he jumped out of the comfy couch of his brain “What?”  “We said: that’s the tour!” Sweetie Belle said with a bounce and a voice crack “Wanna go get some cupcakes? Gladstone makes a mean cupcake!”  The colt looked around and noticed that they had indeed reached what could be called the edge of town. Even though it had felt like an hour's worth of time that he had spent pondering his current predicament, it appeared that only five minutes had passed in real time. With a turn of the head, Pip noticed another trail behind him that seemed to lead back into the Everfree Forest proper, judging from the darkness that lay beyond.  “Um, what’s that way?” Pip pointed down the path. The three fillies' faces were neutral as they looked past him.  “Nothing important, don’t worry about it.” Scootaloo said, her voice near monotone as the other two fillies shook their heads in unison. Pip quirked an eyebrow before noticing that, just like Sweetie Belle earlier, their eyes had gone...blank for lack of a better word, the vibrance of life vanishing for only a few seconds. In those different colored pools of faded tones, Pip could swear he saw hints of sadness and fear.  Then suddenly, everything was right as rain as Applebloom regained her smile “Now, what’dya say to those cupcakes?”  “I-I’ll pass for now. This place is so cool, I might just wander around and get cozy!” Pip half-lied, his gentlecolt heart stinging him in the process. The trio of fillies looked at each other with raised brows.  “Alright, suit yourself!” Sweetie Belle responded, seeming to answer for the other two as they all three trotted away and began talking amongst each other. The little colt felt some of his anxiety leave as he sighed. He gave the mystery path another glance.  “Nothing interesting, huh?” Pip muttered under his breath. His curiosity was peaked at the Crusader’s reactions when he prodded them about it, he had to admit. Then again, going into the darkness and possibly running into that red eyed horror wasn’t exactly high on Pip’s list of ambitions.  Following the trail back to the building where he first encountered the trio and doing his best to stay out of sight of any of the blank flanked townsfolk, Pip got into the shade and withdrew his notepad. Noticing numerous mud splotches on his saddlebag, he took the time to look himself over.  “Oh bother.” He groaned as he noticed the poor, dirty condition of his suit “Mrs. Fleur is going to give me an earful for this.”  Deciding to ignore the physical and metaphorical stain on his gentlecolt-hood for now, Pip began to scribble down some notes. Despite the odd circumstances, it felt rather nice to be one of the first ponies to write something down about a location that was unknown to the rest of the world. It made him feel like Daring Do, in a way, and he couldn’t help but feel giddy about that.  Just as he raised his pencil from the paper, having just finished his observations, his ears perked up when he heard something odd over the cheers and laughter of happy ponies farther into town. It almost sounded like...weeping? Pip slowly got onto four hooves and put away his things, trying to pinpoint the source. It didn’t take him long to realize it was coming from the very building he had chosen to be his writing spot.  Looking around to make sure nopony was watching, Pip slowly opened the door. The groan of the hinges made his fur stand on end as the light from outside clawed its way from the floor and to the walls. With the boxes stacked here and there, the location resembled a storehouse of sorts and judging from the cobwebs that lined the wooden ceiling and walls, it hadn’t been used in quite a while.  Pip stepped inside and carefully closed the door, pulling out his flashlight from the survival pack. Clicking on the light, he used the bright yellow beam to inspect the room to find that one of the storage crates had been moved to clear a path farther into the building.  “Hewwo?” He called out through a mouthful of flashlight. The only reply he received was the continuous sobs coming from deeper within. Swallowing his fear, Pip crept through the warehouse, navigating the large crates with little issue. Rounding the corner of his sixth crate, Pip nearly jumped when his beam revealed the source of the crying: a light grey mare with a messy red mane. She was too lost in her grief to even notice the light shining on her.  “It’s all my fault...I couldn’t save them either! T-They...t-they…” She sobbed louder and buried her face into her forelegs. Pip sat the light down and approached the miserable pony, his expression one of empathy.  “Are you okay?” He asked and placed a hoof on her back. Her reaction was immediate as she screamed and smacked his hoof away, backing away from him as Pip leapt back in surprise.  “Get away from me you mur-!” Her light pink eyes went wide when she saw the timid little colt “No...they’ve already lured another one here…”  “W-What are you talking about?” Pip inquired, taking a cautious step forward. The mare’s expression shifted to one of panic.  “You have to get out of here...you have to go!” She yelled and crawled closer her eyes making her look insane “Please, it’s almost time! You have to listen to me! Run!”  Pip did not need any more encouragement. Leaving his light, he whirled around and began to gallop through the darkness as quickly as he could. What little light was funneling in through the windows was enough for him to navigate his way back to the door, which he promptly kicked open and threw himself against to shut, gasping for precious air all the while.  “Whoah, Pip! Are you alright?”  The colt nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the squeaky voice from his right flank, turning to see Sweetie Belle giving him a concerned look. For the briefest of moments he considered not saying anything but his tongue moved first “T-There was a pony in there and s-she was crying and I-!”  “Oh! You met Mitta!” She said nonchalantly “Yeah, she’s sad all the time. Greyhoof said it’s because she had a friend who left the village a long time ago.”  “W-What?”  “It’s really sad, I know.” Sweetie tilted her head as he looked toward one of the building's windows. Pip approached her after making sure nopony was staring.  “Sweetie, there’s something weird going on.” Pip whispered urgently “She told me to run, that it was ‘almost time’. What does that mean?”  The white filly looked him directly in the eye before biting her lower lip as she looked over to see Greyhoof still near the entrance, seeming to be fighting an internal conflict. The stallion seemed oblivious as he scarfed down another cupcake. She then spoke in an edged hushed tone “Listen, Pip. Go to the edge of town and follow that path. Then you’ll know.”  “H-Huh?”  “No more questions.” She shushed him “Go. Now.” Then she walked away, all smiles as she trotted over toward the other two crusaders.  Pip spared her one more look of confusion as he watched her go before straightening his tie and sighing. The feeling in his chest was a mixture of anxiety and excitement at the thought of having to solve a mystery on his own. He was so used to playing the sidekick, being the little helper who Fancy could bounce ideas off of. But Fancy wasn’t here and while Pip had faith his mentor would find him in no time at all, it was up to him to find out what to do next . Talking to Mitta wasn’t an option as she was too hysterical, despite the pile of questions he had for the mare and while running away was definitely an idea, he simply couldn’t leave without the fillies. This left him with only one option: to follow Sweetie Belle’s suspect advice.  “A gentlecolt’s work is never done.” He mumbled and began to creep between the buildings, taking the same route he had before to avoid contact with the happy go lucky residents.  Eventually, he wound up near one of the houses near the edge of town, where Gladstone and Three Leaf were busy putting up a large sign in the center of the villa that read ‘Happy Birthday Ruby!’ in red font. As Pip stepped out of the shadows, the brown stallion turned and looked in his direction, making eye contact and causing the colt to freeze. Either Gladstone didn’t have good eyesight or he simply didn’t care because he turned and went back to whatever he was doing.  Odd. Feeling his heart start beating again, Pip galloped behind another building, soon arriving at the mystery pathway once again. The dark that lay beyond the pastel village had only grown more intense and without his flashlight, it would be rather hard to navigate. Pip felt his courage waning the longer he waited, so he took a deep breath and muttered a familiar phrase: “A gentlecolt always faces danger bravely...and smartly.”  He took his first step into the cold gloomy forest, the warm light of Sunnytown being sorely missed the farther he went. Briars and fallen tree limbs were a constant threat, the path having been sorely neglected for many years from what Pip could tell. The sounds of the forest were an unwelcome return, with the distant roar of manticores and the loud chirping of crickets only aiding in whittling down Pip’s resolve. He shivered from a sudden cold gust of wind that shook the nearby trees.  As he rounded a bend in the path he spotted something that made him halt his course. Further along the path was a long abandoned cabin, its wooden exterior long touched by decay and the passage of time, with holes in the walls and moss growing on the logs. What drew his attention immediately, however, was what was talking toward the cabin. Or rather, who.  The very same filly who had led him here gave off her familiar golden glow as she seemed to float up the small set of stairs, turning her head to gaze at Pip before heading inside the open doorway, her light vanishing afterward.  “Wait!” He called out and dashed for the dilapidated home, the adrenaline surging in his veins letting him leap up the stairs with ease before he headed inside. The interior was dark and devoid of furniture with glass fragments littering the floor beneath small windows broken long ago. Pip’s nose twitched as he picked up a concerning scent. The floor, walls and ceiling all gave off a strong burnt smell and, thanks to the little amount of moonlight that leaked through the windows, he saw scorch marks that seemed to originate from the fireplace near the back.   He approached slowly, hoping internally that Applejack had packed a fire starter and simply forgot to mention it. Suddenly, the moonlight coming from outside seemed to get brighter as a tree in front of one of the windows was blown by a heavy gust of wind that belted against the house.  The young gentlecolt’s eyes widened and he felt his stomach drop when Luna’s light touched the fireplace, revealing what lay in the ashes.  The charred skeleton of a young pony, its eyeless sockets seeming to stare back at him as he fell on his haunches.  Pip screamed.