//------------------------------//
// Trains, Pegasi and Helpful Fillies 
// Story: There Was Going To Be Cake 
// by MarkKB 
//------------------------------//

The ten minutes were almost up.

Pinkamina looked away from the station clock's constant ticking and to where the track was swallowed by the trees of White Tail Woods, from which direction the train from St. Lunis was sure to arrive; indeed, she could already see small puffs of smoke rising above the trees and dissipating in the midday sky.

She sighed with relief – at least she'd been able to get away without much trouble-

"Look out!"

A flash of gray and blonde zoomed down from the heavens and landed in a heap right in front of Pinkamina.

She leaned over the winged body with a look of concern, momentarily forgetting she was supposed to be angry with everypony.

"Are- are you alright?"

But no sooner has she asked, the pegasus sprung back up, and Pinkamina recognised her – it was Ditzy Doo again. Her mane and the mail sash she was wearing somewhat ruffled, but otherwise, she seemed unharmed by her fall, save for perhaps a dazed expression on her face.

"Sure I am! That happens all the time," explained the mailmare with a smile.

"Oh, it's you." Pinkamina glared at her – perhaps she'd get the hint from the bitterness that laced her words and leave.

"Of course it's me!" Ditzy replied. "I couldn't really be anyone else, could I? Unless I am… ooh, what if my mind's been swapped with an alien, and vise versa!"

Pinkamina laughed into her hoof. "You've been talking with Lyra too much."

And then she shook her head. "No, argh! I see what you're doing. I've got my eye on you."

She couldn't let her guard down. She couldn't let them trick her again.

"Oh, I'm glad someone can see what I'm doing, because I certainly can't – my eyes are stuck in my headsies!" She clicked her hoof suddenly. "Ah, that reminds me – I've got a package to deliver."

"I don't want any packages." What would it be, now that Spike had surely told the others that their secret was out? Fake reconciliations? Mocking messages? Hateful hurtful comments meant to slash and tear at her psyche until nothing was left?

"I think you'll like this one."

And before Pinkamina could protest, she placed her snout inside her bag and brought out-

"Gummy!"

Ditzy nodded as she drew the green lizard out and placed him on Pinkie's mane.

"He's been missing you since you left him behind," she explained as soon as her mouth had let go of Gummy's tail. "You left in quite a hurry, you left everything behind. Oh, one more thing."

And out of the sack came Pinkamina's kerchief-on-a-stick.

"Good, everything's here," she said, quickly nosing around in it as soon as Ditzy had placed it on the floor.

"Of course everything's there, silly!" exclaimed Ditzy. "No-one else has had access to it but me!"

"That's exactly what I thought." She raised her head to look Ditzy straight in the eye. "Look, if you-"

But Pinkamina was interrupted by the long, loud whine of the train whistle in the distance, Both she and Dinky looked to watch as the train emerged from the woods and filed along the track, wheels clacking and pistons steaming.

"Oh, you're going somewhere?" Ditzy's eyes lit up. "Ooo, where?"

Don't tell her! whispered the boyish voice into Pinkamina's ear.

Ze joost wants to ruine jour plans! the foreign voice agreed.

PInkamina narrowed her eyebrows. "I have a train to catch, so please, leave me alone, and don't follow."

"Okay-dokay-lokay!" Ditzy exclaimed, jumping into the air and performing a hover-salute.

"It's- never mind," Pinkamina replied as the train sidled into the station behind her, the draft blowing her mane aside. "Thank you."

"Alrighty!" Ditzy did a small twirl. "Well, I've got other ponies' mail to deliver, so catch ya later, party pony!"

And with that, the pegasus took off, very narrowly missing the station tower as she did.

PInkamina slowly shook her head as the turned and trotted to the now-stopped carriage. Ditzy could be stubborn at the best of times, and the last thing she needed was to give her so-called friends her destination.

She was very glad she nipped that potential problem in the bud.





It appeared, however, that unbeknownst to her another potential problem was budding up, and was preparing to bloom.

"Hey, sis! Hey sis!" shouted Apple Bloom as she bounded after her sister, who was at that moment galloping through a wheat field.

Applejack groaned. "Apple Bloom, I'd love to stop 'n' play, but some other time perhaps? I'm a smidge busy-"

Something seemed to catch her attention, because she suddenly stopped – so suddenly that Apple Bloom almost ran into her – and turned her head.

"Hey! Number Twenty-Two! I reck'n I said your group should do the west field!"

"Sorry!" called another pony a few meters away, one dressed in a reflective yellow vest.

Wait, what exactly was Applejack doing?

Apple Bloom shook her head – there were more urgent matters.

"Anyway," continued Applejack as she started walking again, "what I'm doin' here is really important, so unless-"

"But this is really important too!" Apple Bloom protested. "The mailmare sent me!"

Applejack sighed. "The mailmare can deliver any mail to Sweet Apple Acres as usual-"

"It's not about our mail, it's-"

"Well then, I don't see how I can help."

"You're friends with Pinkie Pie, aren't you?"

Applejack stopped in her tracks.

"Uh, come again?"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes – she didn't know why Applejack was being so uncharacteristically… well, dense.

"You. Friends with Pinkie Pie."

"You know somethin' 'bout where Pinkie Pie is?"

"Uh… no. But the mailmare was lookin' for her so she could deliver a package!"

"Apple Bloom, we're… we're all lookin' for her," Applejack replied solemnly.

Apple Bloom jumped with glee. "Ooh, ooh, can I help? I'll be the best searcher helper ever!"

Applejack shook her head. "No. This isn't a game, this is serious."

"But I can be serious!" She adopted what she'd thought was one of the most serious faces she could think of – that of one of the doctors at Ponyville Hospital – and began to 'seriously' look through the stalks of wheat in all directions.

"She's not here, not here… definitely not here – oh hi there, littl' hedgehog! Can you-"

The hedgehog squeaked and scurried for cover.

"Guess he's not in th' talkin' mood," Apple Bloom said, scratching her chin.

"Look, I know you're trying to help. But unless you know where she is, you should really go and – I dunno, have fun with those friends of yours! Leave us to deal with the borin' stu-"

"Friends? That's it! Thanks Applejack!"

"Er… you're welcome?"

And Apple Bloom sprinted off. She knew what to do now – she'd get the Cutie Mark Crusaders to help her find Pinkie Pie! Together there weren't nothin' they couldn't do.

Well, apart from earn their cutie marks… but still, they'd accomplished all those things while trying to earn them, right?

It was at that moment when something clicked in Apple Bloom's mind, and she bounded back to Applejack.

"-direct your search over there," she was saying to a small group of ponies. "And, uh, number Twenty-Two, you still havin' a little trouble findin' your group?"

"Sorry!" called one of the stallions in the back.

"Hey sis!"

Applejack sighed again. "What is it now?"

"I don't know where Pinkie is, but I know where she was. Would that be helpful?"

"You know where Pinkie was?" Applejack turned to face her sister. "Yes, that'd be mighty fine of ya."

"The mailmare said she ran into her at… uh…"

Apple Bloom furrowed her brow in concentration.

"… a farm! Or a field! I think."

Applejack slanted her eyebrows.

"But it wasn't just any farm or field! It was a really odd one, like what it grew was really weird. I reck'n it was something like… uh, soil or dirt or-"

"Sweet Jiminy Sassafras!" Applejack started very abruptly, almost jumping into the air. "It wouldn't 'ave been a rock farm, by any chance?"

"Yes! A rock farm! At least, that sounds right…"

"I shoulda seen it before." Applejack stared at the ground dejectedly. "The farm was one of th' first things she told us about…"

She shook her head. "No use lettin' that stop us. Frettin' about the past doesn't do ya any good."

"Let what stop us? What past?" asked Apple Bloom.

Applejack didn't reply, and instead began to scan the area. Apple Bloom didn't know what she was looking for, but all the same she imitated her sister (between bounds over the wheat stalks), hoping that whatever it was would become obvious if she did.

"Oy, Number Twenty-Two!" Applejack shouted once she'd sighted her target.

"Argh!" said the pony in question, who, from the path he'd made, had been wandering around in spirals. "I'm still in the wrong place, aren't I? No! Bad Sheer! You shouldn't be making these basic mistakes! Oh crud, Ma was right about my sense of direc-"

Apple Bloom stopped bounding and looked to her sister - Applejack was wearing a rather bemused look on her face.

"No, no, that's... that's fine. I'm goin' ta need you to run into town, get the Mayor to ring the town bell. Then alert Twilight – uh, Twilight Sparkle, she lives at the library, if you can't find it ask the Mayor – she'll want to know all about this too."

"Uh…"

Applejack sighed. "Town would be in that direction," she said, pointing her hoof over the stalks. "Just follow the path and it should lead ya down the main road to the hall. You can't miss it!"

"Okay!"

And the muffled sound of crushing stalks made its way towards the main road and off into the distance.

"All right, everypony else! We need to regroup at the rock farm – it's just down the road from here so I reck'n it shan't be too hard to find. Once there, fan out and search for any sign of Pinkie – hair, hoof-prints, anything."

The group nodded in unison and, one by one, filed out of the corn patch.

"Oh, and Number Fifteen, could you go get Big Mac for me, he should be talkin' to the McWillison family."

"Right!" one of them called as they left.

Everypony else having left, Applejack now turned her attention to her sister.

"Now, I know you really wanna help – and you were a big help today, little sis-"

Apple Bloom sighed. "I know, this is no place for a filly."

Applejack smiled. "Glad you understand. Now, I want you to promise – to Pinky Promise – that you'll keep out of all of this, okay?"

"Okaaay," she answered gloomily. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Alright then," Applejack said. "Now, I'll be tellin' that you did to Pinkie Pie after we find her, so there's no gettin' out of it onna-account of it just bein' you an' me."

Apple Bloom nodded solemnly.

"Now run along, and go have fun with yer friends. Pinkie would want ya to."

Again, Apple Bloom nodded, and then she trotted off.

Well, that was a downer. Now that she'd made a Pinkie Promise, she was bound to it. Or else… well, she'd heard rumours about what happened to fillies who broke a Pinkie Promise, and half of them involved kidnapping, chainsaws and cupcakes.

Now sure, eating cupcakes were something she loved to do, but being forced to eat hundreds and hundreds of cupcakes crafted by chainsaws all night long? Even she could see herself getting sick of that. (Although crafting cupcakes by chainsaws was certainly one of the things she wanted to see in her life.)

The other half of the set of rumours featured a crazy Pinkie Pie hunting you down and making you apologise. The fillies in her school weren't particularly inventive.

Focus, she told herself. Foal's tales aren't what you should be thinkin' 'bout at a time like this.

Alright, technically, if the Cutie Mark Crusaders did their own investigation, they would be keeping out of Applejack's investigation. So she wouldn't be breaking her Pinkie Promise!

Then again, if the foal's tales were true, then breaking the Pinkie Promise was the best way to find Pinkie. So, either way would probably work.

Apple Bloom frowned. Better to play it safe. They'd do their own investigation, and who knows, perhaps investigation cutie marks would be on the way for them? Perhaps hers would be a magnifying glass, or maybe even a pipe!

Apple Bloom grinned to herself. An adventure, finding a friend, and a nearly-assured cutie mark? Things were looking bright.





The sound of the town bell jolted Rainbow Dash from her dutiful task of minding the yellow-vested searchers through dirt-patch after endless dirt-patch. She jolted upwards, burst through the tree cover, and scanned the sky for Fluttershy.

"Hey, watch it!" said Spike, yawning and stretching after having been snoozing on Rainbow's back for the last two hours. "Those twigs really scrape!"

Ignoring Spike for the moment, Rainbow continued to look for the yellow-and-purple blob that was her friend. When she at last spied her, she elbowed Spike with her wing.

"What?"

"I could hardly hear that bell myself, so I doubt Fluttershy could."

"Bell?"

Rainbow glared at him.

"Oh, th-that bell," he stammered in an attempt to cover up his napping. "Sure, I'll send up the flare."

Up shot the dazzling display, bursting apart with a loud bang as the lights burst apart. In the distance, the yellow-and-pink-blob appeared to turn, and then sent up their own flare in reply.

At the confirmation of message received, Rainbow dashed back under the canopy (much to Spike's chagrin) to address the team.

"Alright, everypony, I'm going to see what all the fuss is about. I'll probably be back in ten, so stay put for now, Fluttershy and her team will be with you shortly."

The team nodded their acknowledgement, and at that Rainbow Dash sped off (with Spike clamping around her neck in sheer terror), hoping that whatever it was was worth it, that it would bring them one step closer to finding Pinkie.





Pinkamina had found an empty car to sit down in, and was now staring out the window, watching the scenery go by wistfully. A fleeting thought told her that it would be much more fun with her friends.

Oh, the friends that betrayed you and laughed at you at every turn? said the harsh, cold voice inside her head. The ones that didn't believe you about the parasprites? The ones that mocked your Pinkie Sense?

That was pretty cruel, wasn't it?

She had laid out her possessions on the seat beside her, so they could get some air from being locked up in a kerchief all day. Soon, though, it had become clear that two of the three voices came not from her head, but from the objects themselves – they had just sounded like they were inside her head because they had been muffled by the kerchief, as it turned out.

"It vas downright despicable!" the foreign voice of Madame Le Cake replied.

"I'm just glad none of those ponies caught up to us!" agreed the rough, boyish voice of Rocky the rock pile.

She'd not known that she'd baked some sentient cake when she'd been cooking yesterday morning, nor that her rock pile had opinions of its own, but now that she'd given them the chance to speak, she was glad she had. They were her real friends, them and Gummy – they agreed with her opinions, and shared her pain.

Gummy growled his own thoughts.

"Well, sure, there were plenty of good times…"

"But zey were all lies!" Madame Le Cake spat. "Zey were uzing jou vour zeir own zelvish entertainment!"

"You ought to consider yourself lucky you caught on in time," Rocky continued. "If you had kept being deceived, who knows what would have happened!"

"Zey vould haf been enboldend, and would have found biggur and more subtle vays af making jou miserabled!"

Yeah! Who needed them! Pinkamina was a lot better off without them anyway! Her name was Pinkamina and she's fine!

Still, a small part of her couldn't help but disbelieve that those five ponies, the ones she'd spent all that time and effort in caring about, would stoop to such levels. And yet, evidently they had.

Perhaps that was the one thing hindering her, holding her back – a small, silent voice deep inside whispering that it all can't possibly be true.