The sound of crickets chirping was muffled as Pinkie shut her balcony doors. She took a moment to appreciate the sight of the faint rainbow that Dash produced whenever she glided through the skies. Pinkie had asked Rainbow to leave, and Rainbow had happily obliged after sensing the brewing tension between the sisters. Pinkie wished that she could do the same, but she had responsibilities to uphold. She gazed over the banister and saw that Maud still stood stoic and unmoving. She sighed as she walked back down to the main floor of the loft. She looked at her sister with worry, trying not to give into her own poor mood. A lifetime of knowing her sister meant that she could read Maud much easier than the average pony. She observed the little cracks and identified a big bundle of stress under the flatness.
The party pony was also stressed, but she hoped that their anguish was drawn from differing sources. In a perfect world, Maud wouldn’t know anything about this, but the world is far from perfect. Maud is close friends with Starlight and Trixie, which means that the unicorns might have utilized Maud’s big brain to investigate Cloudy Whistles. Pinkie probably would have done the same if she were in their situation.
The younger sister also noticed that her older sister was being cold to her. Her tone at the door was not reassuring or supportive, it was authoritative and lecturey. Pinkie wrapped herself in a blanket as she sat on her bed. She hoped that Maud would make herself comfortable as well, but her older sister continued standing there. It hurt Pinkie to see her sister so defensive and cut off. She hugged herself under the blanket and waited, not wanting to start blabbing about one thing if Maud was worried about another. The siblings watched each other wearily before Maud stepped forward to speak.
“Why did you use our mother's name as an alias for your illegal firework cartel?”
Pinkie tried her best not to cringe at her sister’s statement. Bluntness was a common trait in the Pie family. Their parents preferred that their daughters just say what’s on their minds rather than sugarcoat everything. Even Pinkie, with her propensity to run on, tended to speak a little too honestly and boldly. The younger sister took a moment to ponder her next move, but Maud beat her to the punch.
“I know it's you. Starlight and Trixie told me everything. I should have known as soon as I saw the riddle. It just…read like you.”
Pinkie didn’t say anything, she looked at her sister skeptically as she tried to keep her body language in check. She knew the riddle wasn’t her best work, but she wrote it in a rush.
“I thought about the chemical composition of fireworks. Those minerals are not easy to come by if you don’t have a connection. Who helped you, Limestone or Marble? I assume it was Marble? That’s why ma always worried about you two. You two were always getting in trouble, that’s why you and I were always paired together. I could look after you and keep you safe. Now mob ponies are coming to burn this town down.”
Pinkie was really perplexed now, and her face showed it. Almost everything that Maud had said might have been correct, but Pinkie didn’t know anything about ‘mob ponies.’ Her face scrunched up as she searched her brain for any mob ties. In the meantime, Maud had taken to pacing the room as she waited for her sister to say anything at all. A part of her hoped that Pinkie would provide some proof to exonerate herself, allowing Maud to go home and finally rest easy, but her sister’s silence spoke volumes.
“I told Starlight and Trixie to not tell Twilight, which might buy you some time. But I’m not sure how to fix this, I’m worried about you. This was all happening around the time when we had that big fight. I thought you weren’t talking to any of us, but I guess I was wrong. I need you to tell me the truth Pinkamena. This is important and I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”
Pinkie frowned at the use of her full first name but tried not to hold it against her older sister. She dropped the blanket and sat up as straight as possible. A part of her wanted to deal with this as she usually would. Maybe a song or a party, a nice little cupcake, or a warm hug. But now wasn’t the time. It was time for serious Pinke to reemerge. It felt odd to meditate on this specific time in her life. She almost felt smaller and more uncertain of herself, as if she might wake up tomorrow in the Cake twins’ room. Except that it wouldn’t be the Cake twins’ room, it would be her’s again, and she would have to go downstairs and show that she could craft a perfect pavlova to get a checkmark in her apprenticeship book.
She shivered as she pushed up her glasses. “Maud don’t worry your sweet little head about any of this. You don’t need to fix anything. Pinkie’s gonna work this out.”
She smiled at her sister to show that everything would be fine, but Maud only grew more nervous.
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Applejack fanned herself with her stetson as the morning sun beat down on her. She had recently returned home from her not-so-relaxing vacation in Appleloosa, and found herself thrown back into her work at Sweet Apple Acres. It’s not that she minded though, she actually enjoyed keeping her hooves busy. She wiped the sweat out of her eye before picking up her hammer in her muzzle. Apple Bloom had informed her that the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse had endured a bit of damage due to no fault of the Crusaders' own. The way her little sister described it sounded way worse than what it actually was, which might have been a clever strategy on her part. Nonetheless, Applejack set off to fix it right away and was happy to see that the door was only slightly off its hinges.
Having been the one to initially fix it up, Applejack knew that this clubhouse had seen worse days. She grunted as she began hammering, silently praying that the door would stay up once she finished. She gave the door a light tug and grinned when it stayed put, then she opened and closed it a dozen times for good measure. Satisfied with her work, she whistled in accomplishment and placed her toolbox on her back. That’s when she heard that sickening voice from below.
“Looking good, Applejack. Long time no see.”
The toolbox crashed to the ground as Applejack spun around to find the source of the voice. She peered down into the darkness underneath the clubhouse.
“Show yourself, you slimy good for nothin’ snake!” Applejack demanded and stomped a hoof that shook the entire treehouse.
Bugs Marean emerged from its underbelly sporting his usual smirk. He waved to Applejack lazily before pulling out a cigar.
“Now you put that thing away before you smoke all the green out of my trees. What I tell you about comin’ out to these parts again Bugs.”
Bugs eyed her sardonically before stuffing his cigar back into his trench coat. “If I recall correctly, you said something about your back hooves going through my eye sockets. I honestly didn’t believe you at the time, but you’ve certainly proved your valor. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but you’re kinda famous in the wide world of Equestria”
Applejack scoffed as she centered her hat. “Is that why you’re comin’ round here and stirrin’ things up? You want to blackmail me or somethin’?” Applejack muttered. She was more angry at the moment then she was scared. She was confident that Bugs had nothing on her. It didn’t take long for him to reassure her.
“No, Applejack, no blackmail. We’re just here looking for Al Capony.”
Applejack’s eye twitched at the mention of a collective searching, but she otherwise remained stoic. “I already done told you all those years ago. There ain’t no Al Cawhoey in Ponyville. Y'all ain’t looked in one of them big cities with all the rascals and hoodlums?”
He chuckled and cracked his neck. The mob pony looked at Applejack with a slack expression. “To think, after all these years. The Element of Honesty is still lying about the same old thing.”
Applejack was taken aback as she stared in awe and disgust. Her muscles tensed as she prepared to do one of three things. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” she muttered.
The leaves of the trees rustled as Bugs shook his head. “I’m talking about the original Al Capony firework that somepony tried to sell out of this very town Applejack. I’m not sure if you or someone on your team decided to get back in the business, but that moron didn’t even try to hide it. I always knew that this town was hiding that crook and now I’m here to collect.”
“The ponies of this town ain’t got nothin’ to do with your kind Bugs!” Applejack declared with intensity.
“Well then why did Al Capony step all over our territory then, huh? You think we were ever gonna let this go?” Bugs had been a master of keeping his cool, but at this moment even his tone became fiercer.
His shoulder tensed at the mere thought of all that Al Capony accomplished in less than a year. The thousands of bits that must have flooded the pockets of that backwater pony as he dismantled the underground firework market. The ponies who suffered because they depended on Bugs’ leadership and business to survive. He ground his teeth and looked at Applejack.
“Listen kid, I don’t care who you’ve become, because I know exactly who you were. Years ago, we stood in this very spot and you lied to me. You said that there, ‘ain’t no such thing as an Al Cawhoozy,’ and I took your word for it. We even looked the other way when rumors of our ponies burning down this stupid treehouse were spread around. You were always so careful, but now somepony finally bucked up.” Bugs sneered and looked at Applejack smugly.
Applejack swallowed as she snorted. A gust of air escaped her nostrils as she looked at Bugs with contempt. She spoke slowly and lowly, “I’m goin’ to give you 30 seconds to get off my property before I beat the Tartarus out of you.” She revved her hooves up in preparation for a chase.
Bugs rolled his eyes as he popped his collar, he disappeared with a mighty beat of his wings. Applejack shaded her eyes with a hoof as she looked up and watched him grow smaller. She surveyed her surrounding to ensure that nopony else was stalking her before collapsing backward. Her body hit the side of the CMC clubhouse with a thud, eliciting a grunt from the apple farmer.
She covered her face with her hooves and tried not to shake too much. Now that he was gone, Applejack couldn’t help but feel disorientated. She lowered her hat over her eyes in hopes of easing her panic, but she also knew that there were thousands of things that were about to go wrong at once. She blew out some air from her mouth as she rested her head against the wall and cursed to herself.
“Buck.”
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Twilight Sparkle dropped her scrolls when she was ambushed by a flurry of confetti. She barely had any time to let out a, “gah,” before a pair of familiar pink hooves wrapped around her neck. Twilight instinctually reciprocated, wrapping her hooves around Pinkie and allowing herself to be tackled to the floor in a crushing bear hug.
“I missed you, Twilight!” Pinkie shouted as her smile stretched impossibly wide.
Twilight beamed and nuzzled her friend. “Pinkie! It’s good to see you. How was y- Oh Woah, you’re wearing the glasses!”
Twilight held Pinkie out at a hoof distance as she studied Pinkie’s smiling face. The alicorn knew that a coincidence like this was unusual, but Pinkie was a very unusual pony.
Pinkie lifted her glasses up and down with a hoof, before performing a well-executed hoof stand. “Yeppers! Mrs. Cake found out I may have not been wearing my contacts for the last couple of years. So ole Pinkies going old school!” She flailed her back hooves in the air and giggled.
“So, you haven't been wearing your contacts this whole time? Is your eyesight…not that bad?” Twilight didn’t know why she was starting to feel anxious as she rubbed her hooves together.
The party pony blew an upside-down raspberry. “Oh Twilight, my eyesight is absolutely terrible! Speaking of which~” Pinkie sang as she sprang up into a standing position.
She disappeared for a brief moment before reappearing by Twilight’s side. She grabbed one of her friend’s wings and practically buried her face in it.
“Wowie McWowerson! Twilight! You’re an alicorn!” Pinkie diagnosed.
Twilight blinked in confusion, she thought she had grown past blinking in confusion when it came to Pinkie, but Pinkie always found a way.
“Er…Pinkie? I’ve been an alicorn for some time now.”
Pinkie giggle-snorted as she delicately studied Twilight’s feathers. “Oh, I know Twilight. But I’ve never actually seen alicorn Twilight. I never actually got to see unicorn Twilight or any pony that I met post-glasses.”
“You’ve had no idea what I’ve looked like this whole time!”
“Nopey!” Pinkie chirped and waved her forehooves around in circles. “You always just kinda looked like a big purple blob and Spikey was a smaller purple blob. But you will always be my most bestest best friend of a big purple blob!”
Another burst of confetti blasted Twilight in the face as Pinkie wrapped herself into her wings and presented her best puppy dog eyes. Twilight sighed as she pulled Pinkie in closer.
“Am I really your bestest best friend of a big purple blob?”
The pink mare’s skull rattled as she nodded her head vigorously. Twilight held a hoof up to her muzzle in a failed attempt to stifle a giggle; Pinkie was quick to join her.
“I liked blob Twilight just fine, but not blob Twilight is super-duper spiffy. And everypony else looks so different from what I imagined of them. Like all of the girls! I just pictured them as I last saw them, but that was yeeeeeeeaaaaarrrrrrrrrrs ago. So now everyponies kinda old. Pretty and not blurry, but old!” Pinkie analyzed the pink stripe in Twilight’s mane.
The alicorn bowed her head to give Pinkie a better view, she smiled as her friend squealed in delight. “Well I’m happy that you finally get to see me Pinkie, this should be a fascinating experience for you. Although, you might want to avoid telling ponies that they look older, especially Rarity.”
The pair giggled to themselves again before Pinkie clapped her hooves together. “You’re right Twilight there are so many things that I need to look at! But first, I want to show you something.”
Pinkie pulled herself out of her and Twilight’s hug and stood in front of Twilight. She held a hoof to her chest, briefly bowed her head, and spoke in her fanciest accent. “I have returned from Canterlot having studied the finest cuisines meant for nobles and royalty. If I may be so bold, I would greatly appreciate the honor of cooking a dessert for her ladyship and Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight wasn’t a fan of anypony referring to her formally, and this sentiment was doubled when it came to her friends. But Twilight also knew when Pinkie was joking and played along the best she could. She tried not to laugh too much as she stood up and curtsied.
“Madame Pinkamena, the honor would be all mine. Please, lead the way.”
Pinkie beamed as she skipped alongside Twilight to the kitchen. As they made their way down the hall, they spotted Spike holding a comic book.
Pinkie waved to the little dragon. “Hiya Spike! I’m back from Canterlot and I’m gonna whip Twilight up a tasty dish. Care to join us!”
Spike ran over to Pinkie and offered her a hug and a smile. “Absolutely!”
Pinkie squealed with joy as she shot up into the air and spun around. She took a moment to survey her surroundings before turning to Twilight. “The more the merrier! Oooohhh, are Trixie and Starlight here too?”
“I’m sorry Pinkie, Starlight and Trixie are not here. They’ve been err… working on a project recently. They probably won’t be home until late.” Twilight explained with a regretful expression.
“Oh well, I guess Starlight and Trixie will be out for a few hours! Meanwhile, Twilight, Spike, and me will be in the kitchen for one hour, forty-eight minutes, and thirty-three seconds!” Pinkie said loudly.
Spike and Twilight exchanged a confused glance at Pinkie’s odd wording before shrugging and accepting that it was just Pinkie being Pinkie. The party pony happily skipped along as her tail subtly zig-zagged in an odd rhythm. Rainbow Dash watched the signal from her hiding place in the ceiling. Pinkie had told how much time she had to find the firecracker without fear of being caught, she was determined not to let her down.
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Ponies all over Ponyville narrowly avoided colliding with the orange blur that rocketed through the streets. Applejack flexed all of her rodeo abilities as she jumped, dodged, and evaded various obstacles and ponies. She knew that it was rude of her to not acknowledge all of the greetings, well-wishes, and chides that she received, but the impending disaster looming over Ponyville was much more important. She didn’t have much of a plan at the moment. After recovering from her initial shock, she galloped back to her home and informed Apple Bloom that the clubhouse was off limits until further notice. Knowing her little sister, Applejack’s explanation was lacking and was probably a call for further investigation. She could only hope that Apple Bloom had seen the fear and anxiety in her warning. She had left almost immediately, galloping into town at maximum speed in pursuit of nopony in particular.
In situations like these, Applejack usually found herself at Twilight’s doorstep. Among many things, Twilight’s level-headedness and expertise were a great comfort and benefit to Applejack. When Twilight first came to Ponyville, having somepony else to rely on for advice or leadership was a blessing to the apple farmer who had grown used to assuming a role of authority in every corner of her life. She could only hope that Twilight felt a similar sense of solidarity when seeking help. That’s why it was so hard for Applejack to imagine who else she could go to during this time. The roster of ponies was constricted to her four other best friends, which wasn't exactly a bad thing. Those girls were some of the most talented and skilled ponies that she knew, but none of them really exuded the consistent guidance and stability that Twilight could.
There was also the unfortunate fact that her five other best friends were all culprits in a heinous crime. Applejack didn’t know who she could trust, and she didn’t know how to go about interrogating her friends without losing her cool. Whoever caused this screw-up had attracted the attention of a dangerous gang of smugglers and dealers. Now, those smugglers and dealers were showing up on her homestead to harass her, which could put her entire family in jeopardy. She grunted and mumbled an apology as she narrowly avoided clotheslining Filthy Rich. Her uncertainty of who to question first was alleviated once she spotted Ponyville’s resident fashionista comparing ribbon samples.
Rarity could barely get a “Hello,” out before Applejack apprehended her and dragged her away from the marketplace. She huffed and sputtered as Applejack led her back to Carousel Boutique without uttering a single word. She could only go off of what she was seeing, and what she saw was an exceptionally scared and frazzled Applejack. When Rarity caught a clear glimpse of the apple farmer’s face, it looked puffy, and her mane was messier than usual. Her beautiful emerald green eyes had a red tint to them that felt familiar to Rarity. It was this familiarity that troubled Rarity the most, and it was why she allowed Applejack to publicly foalnap her.
As she entered her home and workplace, Rarity set down her basket which was only half full of what she intended to get today. She considered telling Applejack that she was going to put on some tea and freshen up but quickly decided against it once she looked into Applejack’s hurt expression. Applejack slammed the door shut and locked it with haste as she struggled to catch her breath. She sat on Rarity’s floor and buried her head in her hooves.
Rarity's heart nearly broke as she heard Applejack’s trembling and cracking voice. “We got trouble down here Rarity. Big trouble. I did something stupid and now somepony else has done something stupid.”
Rarity sat down in front of Applejack and tried to soothe her with a comforting hoof. “Well Applejack darling, it pains me to see you this way. I assure you that I will help you subdue whatever is causing you such distress. Please tell me, what is happening?”
“I-it’s about…the ‘Star Incident.’ They found it Rarity. Somepony’s been sellin’ on the black market recently, and now some bad folks are comin’ to town to cause some trouble.”
Rarity gulped as she began to understand why Applejack was so distressed. “The ‘Star Incident?’ And ‘Bad folks’ you say? Of what sort Applejack? And why would anypony sell those things on the black market, how would they even end up there?”
Applejack sighed and rubbed her head.
“Because I put them there Rarity. I bucked up and I did something stupid a long time ago. And now, one of us five has done something stupid right now.” The words felt sour coming out of Applejack’s mouth, but she couldn’t deny the wave of relief that washed over her as pieces of the truth came forward.
Rarity didn’t know how to respond or what to say. She had many years trying to forget that entire saga of her life, but now it was back in full color with new developments. She rapidly replayed various conversations and agreements that the group had shared on the matter, trying to calculate just how devastating this revelation was to the situation. She swiftly came to the conclusion that this was immensely devastating if not a little eye-opening and obvious in hindsight. She was starting to feel numb, which was not her typical response to drama. But, this situation was distinctly different from any of Rarity’s past dramas, it was formidable and complex. It occurred in a desperate and vulnerable time in her life, a time that deserved to stay buried away. The dressmaker could have thrown Applejack out just for alluding to this particular mess, but one look at her disheveled friend softened Rarity’s heart.
The unicorn licked her lips and spoke with confidence. “Well Applejack, I can assure you that I have no knowledge of any black market or how to access it. I also do not have any of the goods that would be sold there. I assume we both have a strong suspicion of two particular ponies. Perhaps we should stop by Sugarcube Corner first? We can sort this out further upon arrival.”
Applejack regained some of her sturdiness as she listened to Rarity’s words. It pained her to admit that her line of reasoning was leading her in the same direction. She sniffed and corrected her stetson before putting on her game face.