//------------------------------// // A Beautiful Summer's Day // Story: Funeral Pyre // by VioletsInSpring //------------------------------// The summer sun hung just high enough to coat the park in a warm hue. The light reflected off the pond, so Rarity turned to keep it out of her eyes. The gentle sound of faraway birds and foal’s laughter set the mood for a thrilling day with friends. She let the cool, tickling gale move her mane around as she waited for them to arrive. Pinkie showed up first; she skipped over to the bench Rarity was waiting on. “Hiya, Rarity!” “Hello, darling, how was Sugarcube Corner today?” “Super! I cooked about thirty batches just of cupcakes today. I ended up making five batches of vanilla—pink frosting of course, four batches of double chocolate, three batches of vanilla swirl and nutty surprise, two lemon zests and cookie batters, and a whole bunch of others. We had an super long line of customers, I saw Carrot Top, Caramel, Strawberry Surprise, and Pear Butter today.” “How is Pear Butter?” “She seemed kind of distracted, I think.” Pinkie rubbed her neck. “Maybe Applejack will know why.” “Perhaps.” Rarity nodded. “It sounds like you worked a lot today. Are the Cakes treating you well? I hope they’re not overworking you.” Pinkie stood up straight. “T-they’re treating me great,” she said with a tight smile. Rarity was about to ask further, when Applejack called out “Howdy, gals.” “Applejack! How was bucking season today?” “Long. Apple Bloom kept pestering me about that strange monster from the Everfree.” “What did she call it again? The Firewolf? The Timberfire? The Fire Timberwolf?” “The ‘Pyrewolf,’ she calls it.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know where she got the word ‘pyre’ from, honestly. But, she hasn’t seen it again since last week.” She shook her head. “I dunno, there’s some small burnt areas near the Everfree boarder, but nothin’ substantive.” “Do you still think she’s lying for another foal?” Pinkie asked. “Not really. She’s been distressed every day since she’s seen it, and she doesn’t seem guilty to me. At least, not anymore.” Applejack looked down at her hooves. “I think tonight I might apologize to my ma’ ‘bout the argument we had.” “I’m sure your mother knows it was coming from a place of concern.” Applejack remained silent for a moment. “You’re probably right. Honestly, I’m starting to worry Apple Bloom has whatever Cousin Crispin had.” “Wasn’t he fine until his twenty-fifth birthday in Manehattan?” Pinkie asked. “Yeah,” Applejack replied hurriedly, “but what if Apple Bloom is starting early? What if this is a sign or something? What if we didn’t notice the signs for Crispin and this is a sign we didn’t notice? What if—” “It’ll be okay Applejack,” Pinkie interjected, putting a hoof on her withers. “You’re noticing. It’s worth knowing about, but maybe if you notice early we can all prepare for it. And we can all watch out for signs ahead of time.” Applejack turned up a little smile. “Yeah, that’s a nice thought.” She took a deep breath. “Yeah, we can make sure Apple Bloom is okay.” Rarity sat in the silence and squirrel chitters and bird chirps and rustling leaves. Applejack went to slowly sit down on the bench. Pinkie started humming to herself. But, once again, Rarity’s mind was drawn to her moral shortcoming: Applejack’s unladen head. “Darling,” she said turning to Applejack, failing to hide a smile, “Are you sure Apple Bloom just isn’t getting heat stroke?” “Heat stroke? Why would Apple Bloom be getting heat stroke now?” “Well, she’s not wearing a hat.” Applejack groaned. She put her face in her hooves, but it failed to cover her growing smile. “Not this again.” “Dear, I’m simply saying that a hat would be great for her, nothing else.” Applejack gave a deadpan stare, but her unyielding smile betrayed her. “Sure y’are.” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “You’re not gonna get me to wear a hat, Rarity.” Rarity sighed dramatically. “Oh well, I’m sure someone will appreciate my craft someday.” She stared out above the trees. “Is the apple business going well here in Ponyville?” Rarity asked. “Yeah, I think so. We had a productive year last year. Granny keeps saying she thinks the Zap Apple harvest will be good this year, but I don’t really know why. I’m a—I think it might be that Apple Bloom saw the Pyrewolf and Granny’s interpreting that somehow. The harvest looks big this year, but I keep overhearing my parents talking about Filthy offering to buy the farm. He did last year, but last year we were a lot worse off.” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at Applejack during the ensuing pause. “Oh, we did manage to shrug off that bat swarm that flew through Ponyville this year. I feel bad for Carrot Top. And all the other farmers.” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at Applejack again. She was stalling. “I don’t feel bad for Strawberry, though. She definitely had it coming.” Rarity continued fluttering her eyelashes. Applejack would cave any moment now. Applejack gave her a smug grin. “How’s your business going, Rarity?” Pinkie supplied. “Oh darling,” Rarity said, drawing out every vowel, “I thought you’d never ask.” Applejack, wearing an amused grin, rolled her eyes. Rarity pretended not to notice. “Well, I finally decided on the emeralds for the Lower Manehattan Open this year. I think they do a better job of highlighting the neckline than the amethyst.” “I thought you wanted to emphasize the wing… wingline?” Applejack asked. “I did, but I’m afraid I couldn’t end up making the wings mesh as well with the dress as I wanted to, so I ended up switching focus to the neckline. I’m sure that this one will give me the breakout I need.” Pinkie’s smile went taut. Applejack furrowed her brows. “What happened to the Canterlot… uh… Canterlot New Artists Invitational?” “Open, darling. And nothing good,” she sighed. “I got fine enough marks I suppose… No commissions yet, though.” “Well, some will come through,” Pinkie said. “The contest judging was over three weeks ago. I should’ve gotten something from somepony by today, at least.” “Oh,” Pinkie said. “Well, maybe the Manehattan contest will be better than the… the CNAO!” Rarity furrowed her brows and turned to Pinkie. “The cuh-now?” “The CNAO! The C-N-A-O! The Canterlot New Artist Open!” Rarity and Applejack chuckled. “And if you don’t,” Applejack said, “we’ll be here for you when you need it.” “Well, that makes me feel better, darlings.” There was a brief lull in the conversation. “Do you have any commissions right now?” Pinkie asked. “One, but it’s for a scarf.” “Ah,” she replied Rarity saw a pony she didn’t recognize in the park. There seemed to always be someone new in Ponyville these days. “Applejack, have you talked to the Pear that’s come back to town yet? Bosc Barter, I think was his name?” But Applejack wasn’t paying attention to her question. She was watching Strawberry Sunrise crossing the park on the other side of the pond. “Did you have another tussle with the Flavescent Menace?” “She kept yelling about how much better strawberries were than apples. We’ve barely even started selling stock and—already—she’s tryin’ to bring our sales down.” “It is the end of Strawberry season,” Pinkie said. “She can’t have a lot of stock she can sell fresh. If she doesn’t sell now, she’ll be forced to sell it in jams. Sugarcube Corner doesn’t sell a lot of strawberry goods, and I can’t imagine her processed produce is any better. Plus, she did have a particularly bad time with the bat swarm.” “Doesn’t give her the right to put down another farm.” “Yeah.” Pinkie said quietly. “Sorry, Rarity, what did you ask?” “If you had talked with the Pear that’s come back in town.” “Nah, I don’t think my ma’ would like it if I talked to much with them.” “Has she talked with Bosc?” Pinkie asked. “I don’t think so. She seemed agitated this week. My pa’ suggested she talked to him. She didn’t… say anything angry, but she didn’t look happy about it. I heard her say that she could talk to her when she wanted to.” Applejack ran her hoof along the grass. “I think my pa’ wants her to reconnect with her family. I… I saw her lookin’ at a photo of her and the other pears.” “Maybe that’s what she was so agitated about this morning; maybe she was planning on talking with Bosc.” Pinkie said. At Applejack’s insistence, Pinkie described her interaction with Pear Butter that morning. “I dunno, she could’ve just as easily been distracted because she saw him at the market today.” “You should inquire when you get home. She might need somepony to discusss it with.” “Maybe. But I really don’t know much about the whole affair. I’ve never met any of the Pears and my parents barely even talk about what happened back then.” “A fresh pair of ears might be just what she needs.” “Or they could be just as bad as a rotten pear.” Rarity hummed. “What about the Cakes, Pinkie?” “I told you, they’re great!” Pinkie said, much more excitedly this time Rarity detected a too much enthusiasm for her taut smile and nervous chuckle. “Yes, you said that earlier. Tell me, what makes living with them so great?” Pinkie’s eyes widened. “W-well, I do miss Maud.” “Is that all, darling?” “Y-yes, it—” Pinkie’s entire body started vibrating. Pushing her off the bench and onto the ground. “Sugarcube! Are y’all alright?” Applejack asked as the helped Pinkie up. She then looked up at the sky, seeming to notice something. Pinkie grabbed her now stable head as her eyes seemed to refocus. “Yeah, I think—” She started vibrating again. Rarity ignored Applejack in favor of her friend’s apparent stroke. “Are you quite sure you’re alright?” “Y-yeah.” “Is this a Pinkie Sense thing?” “Yeah, it,” Pinkie replied, “it’s only happened once before.” Pinkie stared out towards Sugarcube Corner. “I think something really bad is about to happen.” “What makes you think—” “Does that smoke look like it’s over Sweet Apple Acres to you?” Rarity looked up at where Applejack was looking. “I… I’m not sure.” “I think so?” “No, actually, I believe that’s over the Everfree.” “Yeah… yeah. It’s probably a whole lotta’ nothing, right?” Applejack paused for a moment. “Actually, maybe I should go anyway. It could be some foal starting fires again and we could put this whole business—" A whoosh drew Rarity’s attention. “There’s no clouds there this morning! There should be some to the East over the White Tail woods. Prioritize darker and larger clouds, it looks like it might start to get…” The voice faded away. “I gotta go.” Applejack said before sprinting off to Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity and Pinkie looked at each other briefly. They sprinted along after her.