//------------------------------// // Ch. 7: Meanwhile in Ponyville // Story: CKF // by Doctoroctagonapus21 //------------------------------// "Everypony's just staring at me..." thought a red pegasus, with his mane put up in a manly ponytail, as he trotted through a village. He thought maybe the scar over his now milky white right eye contrasted with his deep purple left eye was putting them off, or perhaps it was his enchanted obsidian armor and prosthetic back-left leg that made him seem a bit menacing. Where am I, anyway? Just as he thought that a pink pony entered his field of vision as if from nowhere. "HI THERE!" "AGH!" "Wow! I've never seen a pony like you before. You must be new, cause I know everypony in town and I've never seen you before so you must be new here." The pink pony bounced around him, her cotton candy mane bouncing with her. "Do you know anypony in town?" "Actually, that's why I'm here, I'm looking for somepony. Perhaps you can help." "Sure, I can help. And if I can't, I can find somepony who can." "Wait, pink pony... cotton candy mane..." "Why does everypony keep thinking my mane is cotton candy? I mean yeah, it looks like cotton candy, smells like cotton candy, and probably tastes like it too, but that doesn't mean it is. Actually that reminds me of the Nightmare Night after I got my cutie mark, one group of kids thought my mane was made of cotton candy, it hurt when they bit me..." "...and constant nonsensical rambling. By chance, are you Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie? The pony representing the element of laughter?" he asks. "Wow great guess! My turn!" Pinkie began guessing names as the red pegasus continued his train of logic. "If you're Pinkie, that means this must be Ponyville. And if this is Ponyville..." "Danny? Denny? Tommy? Tito?" "Can you lead me to the library? I wish to speak with Twilight Sparkle." "But I haven't guessed your name yet!" "Oh, forgive me. Where are my manners? My name is Arthur." he said with a quick and courteous bow. "Nice to meet you! Library's this way, follow me!" Pinkie said, bouncing away. "...So they're fighting in a pack. I'm not really surprised. Often alliances are formed in the early stages of the Games..." Twilight was nose deep in the new hottest selling book in Equestria. "...The strong band together to hunt down the weak then, when the tension becomes too great, begin to turn on one another..." All of a sudden there's a knock on the door which makes her jump, breaking her concentration. "TWILIGHT! ARE YOU THERE?!" "Just keep quiet and maybe she'll leave..." "Hi!" Pinkie's voice came from behind her. Twilight turned to see Pinkie's front half sticking out of the bookcase, one of the impossible things that she's come to expect from her friend. "Can I help you, Pinkie?" "No." She said, reaching into the bookcase and pulling out Arthur, looking stunned and confused "but maybe you can help my new friend." "... Wha... How..." "Okay, may I help you, sir?" "Oh, right. My name is Arthur. Nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia's personal pupil, sister to the captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard, and the pony representing the element of magic." Twilight looked a bit confused. "I'm sorry, but how do you know all this?" "Let's just say Celestia and I are on friendly terms. Anyway, I have a few questions for you." "Ask away." Twilight said. "First question, have there been any strange goings on lately?" Twilight blinked. "I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more specific." "Any stories of any glowing and/or ghost ponies?" "Well, I remember last cider season Applejack told us about a glowing pony repeatedly breaking in and drinking up the cider but that's ridiculous. Glowing ponies. Pffft." "'Pffft.' eh? Close the curtains." "Why?" "You'll see." "Okay..." As Twilight closed the curtains, the entire room was bathed in a red glow coming off Arthur's body. Her eyes suddenly grew wide. Glowing ponies. A discovery like this could end up putting her in the history books. She could be the next Star-Swirl.. except female. "OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH..." "This is a secret between the three-" as he looks around he notices that Pinkie has disappeared. "Er... the two of us." "WHAT?! WHY?!" "Long story. However, I must insist that you keep this a secret." "Then why bother showing me this?!" Twilight shouted, agitated by having to keep a secret, and a big one. "To convince you that your friend's story may actually be true so that I might locate who I believe is that same glowing pony. Second question: did your friend specify what color this pony was?" "Maybe. I don't know. I can't remember." "Final Question: How do I find your friend Applejack?" He asked as he noticed what book Twilight was reading. "You'll want to head to Sweet Apple Acres. When you leave, head right, then take the second left, and keep going straight til you get there." "Thank you very much. And one thing before I go: they both win." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What?" "You'll see." Arthur said with a cheeky smirk as he left. "The discovery of a lifetime and I have to keep it secret... I hate keeping secrets... Oh well, back to my book. ...I don't have to wonder too hard who has made this alliance. It'll be the remaining Career Tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4... As Arthur walked down the road, he kept getting stares from various ponies. "Take the second-" Before he could finish he bumped into somepony magically carrying several rolls of fabric and multiple bags of gems. "Pardon me." they both said at the same time. When Arthur looked, he saw a white unicorn with a curly purple mane. "Ah, you must be Miss Rarity. The element of generosity and one of the best fashion designers in Equestria." Arthur gave a polite bow. "My name is Arthur, 'tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance m'lady." "Oh my." Rarity said, blushing. "Uh, the pleasure is mine, good sir." "And I hear you stood up to Blueblood at the Gala. Bravo." "Oh. That." Rarity's face turning a bit more red. "What's wrong?" "Oh nothing. Though I admit... I didn't expect such a... battle-worn pony to be quite so... polite." "I happen to be more than your run-of-the-mill soldier." He says with a wink. "I see... well, stop by my boutique later and perhaps I can whip up something to go with your armor. It's just down this road." "Then I'll stop by. Farewell, m'lady." "Farewell, Arthur." Arthur walked up the path to Sweet Apple Acres, a nice cool breeze passing through with the warm rays of the sun beating down on him. As he entered the farm, he walked up to a large red stallion. "Excuse me. This is Sweet Apple Acres, correct?" "Eeyup." "You are... Big Macintosh, correct?" "Eeyup." "Do you know where I might find your sister Applejack?" "Eeyup." Big Macintosh said as he pointed towards the orchard. "Thank you very much." "Eeyup." "Talk about a broken record..." Arthur thought as he walked in the direction Big Mac had pointed. As he walked he looked at all the apple trees. Admiring them until he finally heard a voice. "Howdy!" said an orange and blonde pony in a cowboy hat. All of a sudden, a loud and enraged yell rang out from the library. "Spike must've burned another book. Anyway, welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres, what can ah do fer ya?" "You are Applejack, the element of honesty, right?" "Yessir." "I hear you have quite the story from last cider season." "Oh, you talkin' 'bout that glowin' ghost pony? Ya'll don' wanna hear that story, do ya?" "Perrhaps. May I ask what color this pony was?" "It was more purple 'n grape juice." "Purple?" Arthur asked, suddenly seeming more attentive. "Please. Go on." "Well, alright. It was early in the mornin'. That day was beginning o' cider season..." Applejack yawned as she slowly opened her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked as she looked out the window. "Can't be later 'n one. 'Course. Every cider season." She yawned again as she got up and began walking out the door. As she looked out the window she spotted something said to herself, "What in tarnation is that glow? It's comin' from the cider storage shed." She quickly galloped out to the shed, the night air breezing through her mane. "That shed's supposed to be locked up tight." As she got closer, she decided to tiptoe quietly, hoping to catch the perpitrator red-hoofed. She tried pulling the door open but, surprisingly, it was locked. "How in Equestria..." She pulled the key out from her hat and unlocked the door, slowly pushing it open with a somewhat quiet yet prolonged sqeaing noise. For the shortest second, Applejack looked in, surprised at seeing a purple glowing pegasus with green eyes who suddenly vanished. Applejack shook her head and rubbed her eyes."It's early. I must be seein' things. Better get back to bed." Later that day, the cider stand was set up and tons of ponies were in line to get a cup. Applejack walked up to her friends, minus Rainbow Dash who was still in line. "Howdy. Ya'll ain't gonna believe what happened this mornin'." Applejack recounted her story to her friends. At the end, the five of them all laughed at the implausable tale. "Ridiculous, right?" "No kidding." Twilight replied. "Glowing ponies. Heheh. The chemical mixtures required to make a pony glow would be impossible for the body to produce naturally. And any artifical application would be lethal." "Applejack!" Applebloom called out from the stand. "We got a problem!" Rainbow Dash was next in line, tapping her hooves impatiently. "Comin'!" Applejack said as she galloped up to Applebloom. "What's wrong, Applebloom?" "Two of the barrels are empty. Now we're all out." At hearing this, Applejack froze. "WHAT?! ALL OUT?!" Rainbow Dash shouted with groans from the other ponies in line following suit. "Why am I not surprised?!" When all the customers had gone back to town, the apples gathered in front of the stand and Applejack told her tale to the family. "Glowin' ponies? That's silly." Applebloom said, dismissing the story. "Eeyup." Big Mac agreed. "Then how do ya'll explain the empty barrels?" Applejack challenged. "Maybe some greedy unicorn used their magic to teleport." Applebloom suggested. "I saw wings, no horn." "Besides, two barrels is an awful lot o' cider." "Yeah, an awful lot o' MISSIN' cider... Tell ya'll what. I'll take care of it. Let's make some cider." Later that night, Applejack and Winona stood guard around the cider storage shed, keeping a vigilant lookout. "I'm watchin' fer ya, Cider Sneaker. Ya ain't gettin' past me tonight." Not once, the entire night did Applejack or Winona so much as daze off and there was little sign of activity. Surely, all the cider would be there for the next day. "Applejack! Problem!" Applebloom shouted out to a watch-weary Applejack. "Ya can't be serious..." Applejack said as Rainbow Dash approached. "Now there's FOUR barrels empty." "FOUR?! But- but how?! I stayed up all night. Winona was right there with me!" "Maybe YOU'RE drinking all the cider." Rainbow Dash said, getting in Applejack's face. "No way!" "Maybe some o' the barrels are leakin'." Applebloom suggested. "I'm tellin' ya'll it's that glowin' pony." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. The mysterious glowing pony. Show me this pony and I'll believe you." "Help me with the watch tonight and maybe you'll see it..." "She helped me that night. Nothin' happened, but cider still disappeared. We kept upin' security, even resortin' ta movin' the barrels, but the cider still disappeared. On the last night of cider season, we practically had the whole town on guard duty. Every inch of the farm was covered. We had ponies stationed wherever the cider was stored, but it was no use. That night, one barrel was drained o' cider. Everypony still blames us for the cider shortage." "I see." Arthur said, paying close attention to the story. "Let's say, hypothetically, that this pony left town. Where might it go?" "Canterlot, probably ta taste their fancy-pansty wine. Ya'll can see it right over there." Applejack said pointing to the mountain where Canterlot rests. "Canterlot eh? Thank you very much, Applejack. And if it makes you feel better, I believe your story." Arthur said as he began trotting off. "Thanks! Ya'll are the only one. Come back soon!" "Canterlot." Arthur thought to himself. "Time to visit an old friend... but first I should stop and see Rarity. After all, I want to look my best..."