//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Appleloosa // by Kraken Albatross //------------------------------// Appleloosa By Kraken Albatross Chapter 2 Fluttershy bit her lip as their hooves sloshed through the muck of the thoroughfare, trying not to let her repulsion overcome her.  Applejack didn't seem to mind.  The friendly encounter with such an admirable pony had mostly dispelled her initial reservations about the town.  She hummed happily while trudging onwards until she was struck by an inexplicably ominous feeling, almost  as if she was being watched.  The mare stopped in her tracks and swivelled about in attempt to confirm or banish her fears.  She searched through the crowd but couldn't find anything to suggest that her paranoia was well founded.  After several moments of frantic scanning, she was beginning to think that she had been mistaken or even going crazy, nervously laughing off her silliness.  Then she saw him.   Her gaze made its way to a two story building fastened with a large wooden sign that read 'The Pearl Saloon.'  It was on the second floor balcony where she locked eyes with the dark gray unicorn stallion that had been watching her.  Upon being discovered, the stranger's eyes did not waver and he continued his fixed gaze.  Applejack couldn't put her hoof on the nature of the stare.  It didn't appear to be inherently malicious or malevolent, but there was not an ounce of joy or kindness in it either.  It was simply... intense.  Applejack felt as if his eyes were piercing her  very soul and she was suddenly overwhelmed with a bizarre terror.  She broke off her futile attempt to stare him down and lowered her eyes, ashamed.  The earth pony hadn't been that scared since she was a little filly. "What's wrong Applejack?" asked Fluttershy who had kept her head down to navigate the terrain until now.  Applejack didn't respond at first.  She was lost in her thoughts, trying to make heads or tails of what had just transpired.  She didn't dare look back up to the balcony. "Applejack?" the pegasus asked again in a nervous tone, nudging her wife.  The earth pony quickly shook her head, snapping back to reality. "Huh?... What?!  No!  Nothing's the matter!  Everything's just swell!  Just a bit of a headache is all," Applejack finally responded, grinning awkwardly. "How fortunate that we're already on our way to visit the doctor right now," Fluttershy beamed, never one to push a subject.  She turned back towards their destination and resumed her meticulous navigation. "Yep... how fortunate indeed..." Applejack warily followed after her wife.  She could feel his eyes on her every movement until they turned down Dead Mare's Alley, letting out a sigh of relief when they finally got out of sight.  Although the strange gray pony haunted the back of her mind, she could finally focus on the task at hand.  The couple made their way down the alley until they hit a dead end.   "Is this it?" Fluttershy asked, confused.  The structure in front of them was less of a doctor's office and more of a cabin connected to a large tent. "I s'pose so," Applejack answered, spying a crudely painted image above the door depicting two snakes wrapped around a scepter.  "You'd think that he'd have a nicer office, bein' married to a railroad tycoon and all," she added with an arched eyebrow. Fluttershy simply shrugged, waiting for the earth pony to make a move.  She was clearly unsettled by the dilapidated facade of the building.  Applejack sighed and took the initiative to approach the cabin and open the door, beckoning her skittish wife to follow.  Fluttershy was even more unnerved by the darkness of the room before her, but after a gulp, she hesitantly followed the earth pony inside. They were immediately met with the sight of a eggplant colored unicorn stallion busying himself at the far end of the room.  The glow from his horn flickered on his shaggy dark blue mane as it lit up the cramped workspace, plucking various herbs that had been strung up from the ceiling and dropping them into a mortar.  Not quite sure if the doctor had heard them come in, Applejack cleared her throat to get his attention.  However, he continued to take no notice as he hobbled over to a nearby cabinet to fetch a jar of some nondescript liquid.  Applejack squinted to peer through the dim room, observing the busy unicorn.  She noticed that he was very thin, appearing almost withered, and that in place of a right hind leg was a wooden prosthetic.  Her eyes widened in surprise, especially in light of the fact that he was apparently Atlantis’ husband.   “Beg pardon sir, but are you Doctor Nevermore?” she finally asked, tired of employing subtly.   “You can call me Pegleg,” he answered dryly, not even turning his head to look at them as he continued his work. Applejack hesitated awkwardly, not sure if he was serious or not.  “What do you want?” he snapped in an irritated tone as he ground the herbs in the mortar with a pestle.   “Well, I was wonderin’ if you had happened to see to a pony who died from a fall ‘bout a month ago.”  The mare fidgeted nervously, thrown off by the doctor’s gruffness.  Fluttershy even stepped out of the claustrophobic cabin into the adjoining tent which housed a handful of sleeping patients in order to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere. “You mean the idiot that tumbled from a ridge in a dehydrated stupor?” he asked indifferently, quickly added some liquid to the powdery mixture.  Applejack was completely taken aback.   “Now you wait just a minute, mister.  Braeburn was-” “Oh no!  Were you a friend of his?!” Nevermore asked in an overly dramatic and patronizing tone, turning to look at her for the first time since the mares had entered his office. “Cousin...” Applejack corrected sharply, firing a glare at him. “And what could you possibly have to gain from my autopsy on - Do not touch my patients!” he shouted, looking past the orange mare at Fluttershy who had begun to wipe the sweat off the forehead of a feverish colt, fast asleep on a cot.   “Oh my gosh!  I’m so sorry!  I didn’t mean-!  I was just trying to-!  I’ll wait outside...” Fluttershy stumbled over her own words as she darted out of the cabin on the verge of tears, the heavy door slamming behind her.  Applejack was absolutely livid. “You know what?  Your wife was right about you!” “That I’m a wonderful husband, an incredibly skilled doctor and an even better lover?” Nevermore mocked, not affected by her anger in the slightest. “No!  That you’re a real ass!”  “I knew she only liked me for my body,” the doctor pouted with an exaggerated expression of false anguish.  The orange pony sighed and slumped forward, realizing that her anger was getting her nowhere.  Nevermore acknowledged her resignation and spared her further sarcasm.  “Why do you care about your cousin’s autopsy?” he questioned bluntly.  Applejack looked at the ground dejectedly, digging her hoof into the floor.  She swallowed her pride and decided to just get the whole encounter over with as fast as possible.   “It’s just that Braeburn was always so good on his hooves, even when he was... on that stuff.  Seems a bit fishy to me is all..." “You mean to suggest that he was m-m-murdered?!” Nevermore gasped, employing dramatic emphasis and faux shock to mock the earth pony further.  He simply couldn’t help himself.  Rather than take offense, Applejack blushed and looked away, embarrassed. “I didn’t say ‘murder’ or anything of the like!  I only wanted to make certain that his wounds were seen to after he died.  Rule out foul play an all,” she asserted without looking up at him. “Foul play is murder,” the doctor informed, sighing.  “Listen.  I did perform an autopsy and the body had no stab wounds, he wasn’t strangled, and everything that I saw would point to a death from impact.  How your cousin came to fall from the ridge, I can’t say for sure, but there’s an obvious answer.  He was a junkie and an idiot.  He got dehydrated and wasn’t looking where he was going.  It’s as simple as that." Nevermore turned back to his desk and continued his silently. He jotted a few things down on a large scroll before pouring the new concoction into a vial. “Thank you kindly for your time, doc.” Applejack knew that the conversation was over.  She headed for the door, careful not to make too much noise as she exited. “You’re welcome,” Nevermore responded after a long pause.  She turned around, taken completely by surprised that he had offered her any courtesy at all.  “You sure chose a hell of a time to come to Appleloosa.  Pretty soon, ‘foul play’ will be the least of your worries,” he added ominously with a shake of his head and grave but knowing grimace.  Applejack didn’t even have an inkling of what the doctor could possibly mean, but she was not about to begin deciphering riddles. The mare simply nodded and left.  As the earth pony stepped back out into the sunlight, she glanced over at Fluttershy who was moping about the entrance.   “Y’okay, sugarcube?” she asked, reassuringly nuzzling the pegasus’ neck.   “Yes... It was my fault....  I shouldn’t have interfered with the doctor’s practice.  I just felt so bad for the sick little colt,” Fluttershy answered, looking up at Applejack morosely. “You meant well and that’s all that matters as far as I’m concerned.  I don’t care how busy the doc is, there ain’t no excuse for him bein’ such a sore ass.”  The earth pony laughed, trying to at least slightly comfort her wife. “Maybe...” Fluttershy conceded, the hint of a smile sneaking to her lips.  “Did you find out what you wanted to know?” She eagerly changed the subject, hoping that the doctor had helped Applejack make peace with her cousin’s death. “Yep.  I s’pose Braeburn just hit rock bottom and he let it kill him...”  the earth pony answered bluntly.  “At least I know for certain...” she added, somewhat satisfied.  “Well, we should be gettin’ to the mayor’s." The couple made their way back down the alley out onto main street.  As they turned the corner, it took all of Applejack’s resolve to crane her head towards the The Pearl.  She let out a deep sigh of relief upon discovering that the balcony was vacant.  The mare was grateful that she could continue her trip through the crowded streets with at least a little more peace of mind. ----------------------- “I love it!  Let’s buy it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing around a vacant lot on the other side of town.   “You said that about the last seven...” Rainbow Dash commented wearily, carefully inspecting every inch of the lot as well as meticulously calculating all of the pros and cons of its location.  “And they all had severe flaws...  Like being across the street from the town dump... Or being at a dead end on the edge of town... Or being right next to direct competition...”  she continued monotonously, barely paying attention to the skipping pink pony.   “Pfffft!  A restaurant isn’t direct competition, silly!  It’s more like... indirect competition!”  Pinkie retorted playfully. “Even if it isn’t another bakery, somplace that serves food right next door will hurt business.  You need to think about these things, Pinkie!” The pegasus turned to her wife with a look of desperation. “That’s why I have you, Dashie!  Because of your clevery cleverness, I don’t have to think about those things!  I don’t have to think at all!  Yay!” The earth pony giggled as she slung a foreleg around Dash’s shoulder.  The pegasus quickly shook her off and sighed. “So... I’m an enabler?  I enable your... Pinkieness?”  she asked, arching an eyebrow as she began to lighten up, her usual gloomy disposition slowly fading. “Yup, yup, yup!  Didn’t you know that’s the only reason I married you?”  Pinkie teased with a devious smirk. “Thank Celestia I have at least one use...” Rainbow Dash deadpanned.  "And for your information, you wouldn't have such an awesome enabler at your beck and call if you didn't have such a fine flank.  Just keep that in mind," she added with a grin before the couple broke out into laughter.   "In that case, I'll make sure to take extra good care of it!" Pinkie assured as the giggling subsided.  "So what is your judgement on this plot, oh so wise enabler?" Pinkie asked, getting back to the task at hand.  Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her chin as she attempted to appraise the lot's value.   "It's a corner location so there will be a lot of traffic, there appears to be no competitors in the area, and it's right by the orchards for faster and easier resupply..." "Soooooo?" Pinkie Pie was almost falling over in anticipation. "I say we buy it.  We'll be well bought at five thousand and we don't go over seven," Rainbow Dash judged resolutely.   "Hooray!  We finally did it!  We have our bakery!" The earth pony exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air in the middle of the barren plot.   "Don't get ahead of yourself, Pinkie.  We don't even own the lot yet.  Come on, it's almost noon.  We can ask the mayor about the it once we meet up with Applejack and Fluttershy." She sighed and started for West Dragon Boulevard with a bouncing pink pony in tow. A deafening clang erupted from the tilting decrepit clocktower that loomed over Appleloosa.  While the apathetic townsfolk went about their business without so much as batting an eye, a certain yellow pegasus in the crowd squeaked in terror and leapt several feet into the air, taken completely by surprise.  This repeated eleven more times as the bell tolled twelve o'clock.  Conveniently for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy's nervous fit was the perfect beacon to locate her friends in the crowded square. "There they are!  Looks like we can add clocks to the list of things Fluttershy is afraid of." The blue pegasus sighed and shook her head as Pinkie Pie fell into stride beside her, walking on her hind legs with wide exaggerated steps.  The earth pony's front hooves hovered inches from her hips, apparently ready to whip out a pair of invisible pistols. "Why are you walking like that?" Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow upon noticing her wife's ridiculous posture. "Reach for the sky, partner!  It's high noon!" Pinkie Pie ordered in her best outlaw voice.  Rainbow Dash could only gape at her with a blank expression. "Really? Really? Is it going to be like this every day?" She groaned and brought a hoof up to rub her temple.   "We don't take kindly to Gloomy Gusses 'round here!" Pinkie responded, apparently ignoring the question as she drew an imaginary gun on her wife. "Bang! Bang!" was all she could get out before breaking down into a fit of giggles with a few snorts peppered in. "Gloomy Gus? I'm not a Gloomy Gus!" Rainbow Dash scoffed angrily before feeling stupid for using Pinkie's... unique terminology.  "You know what? Nevermind," she resigned with a sigh. "Cause that's totally not the shmillionth time you've sighed today!  Not gloomy at all!  Or Gussy!  Not one bit!" the pink pony teased sarcastically.   "Whatever." Rainbow Dash threw up a dismissive hoof as she passed Pinkie and approached the other couple.  "How'd your visit with the doc go?  Is he as much of an ass as Atlantis said he was?" she asked after greeting them with a small nod. "Swell.  And yes." Applejack confirmed curtly, not quite in the mood to recant the tale of her embarrassment at the hooves of the snide doctor. "He wasn't so bad," Fluttershy meekly defended after quelling her bell induced trembling. "You jokin' sugarcube?  He made you flee his office!" The orange pony scoffed in disbelief. "No way! For real?!" Rainbow Dash snorted as she failed to suppress her amusement. "He sounds awesome!  Wish I met him!" Applejack rolled her eyes.  She knew that the blue pegasus would get a kick out of their awkward encounter, much to the earth pony's frustration.  "Ya'll would be like two peas in a pod..." she drawled before turning to Fluttershy. "And I know kindness is in your nature and all, sugarcube, but ya don't have to defend him!" "He was just doing his job, really," the yellow pegasus retorted after wincing at Applejack's scolding.  "What if the foal had some horrible condition that makes him die if he's touched on the forehead?" She whimpered as terrifying and ridiculous scenarios flooded her head and caused her eyes to widen in mild panic. "I could have killed him!" "Don't be silly!" Applejack groaned before realizing she would not be able to convince her overly forgiving wife.  Deciding to changed the subject, she turned to Pinke Pie.  "How'd lot shoppin' go?" "Greatmazing! I would be all like, 'This is perfect!' then Rainbow Dash would be like 'No, I hate it!' over and over again until I was all like 'This is perfect!' and Rainbow Dash was all like "I guess I don't hate it too much! Let's buy it!' and then I was like 'Yipee!'" the earth pony explained enthusiastically with an an exaggerated deep voice for Dash's lines in the story. "Well I'll be!  That's wonderful!  Do ya know who owns the lot?" Applejack smiled at her friends unwavering chipperness which she was envious of.  If only everypony could tap into Pinkie's eternally good mood. "Nope.  It didn't say on the sign.  I figured we might as well ask the mayor about the lot while we're here.  The town probably owns it anyways," Rainbow Dash answered after firing Pinkie a glare for the terrible imitation of her voice. "Guess there's only one way to find out," Applejack said before the group turned to the building before them.  It was large, green and adorned with two gaudy, golden dragons.  In between the gaping jaws of the statues rested glittering letters that spelled out ‘MAYOR.’   Upon entering, the four ponies took in the elaborately decorated lobby with faces of disbelief.  The room, lit by bright paper lanterns and draped in fine silk, had carefully painted murals elaborately sprawled on the walls.  Not only did it appear much more extravagant than the rest of the town, it also seemed foreign.  As the group admired the extravagent decor, the door to the inner office shot open. "-into an absolute mockery!" shouted a voice within the room before a white pegasus stallion with a neat gray mane adorned with a large top hat stormed out with a bitter scowl on his face.  Muttering to himself, he made his leave so quickly the group barely caught a glimpse of the star shaped badge that gleamed on his chest.   “Was that... the sheriff?” Fluttershy meekly asked, disturbed by the stranger’s tumultuous exit. Before anyone could answer, a dark orange unicorn stallion also wearing a top hat appeared at the doorway, his head, still turned to the inner office. "Terribly sorry about that... I know... Still on for tea tomorrow?... Excellent!  See you then!" He finished his conversation and quickly departed, his face twisted in embarrassment. "And I 'spose that was the deputy. I wonder what all that fuss was about," Applejack mused. “Mr. Oolong will see you now,” the attractive young mare at the front desk called to them before anyone could guess.  The group simply looked at each other and without further conversation, rose from their seats and entered the office.