A Web of Secrets

by Kec

2 - The Tangled Web

Applejack walked up the blocky wooden stairs in the dark patch of the forest. Though she knew the way to Zecora’s house well, it always creeped her out a little bit going there. She never knew when something was going to leap out at her from the shadows of the woods.

She knocked twice on the door and entered when the zebra opened it. Applejack stepped inside the hollow tree and looked around. Zecora had quite the collection of masks and knick-knacks from... wherever she was from.

“Ah, hello, young Applejack. I assume you are here to help Big Mac?” said Zecora in her spooky rhyming dialect.

“How’d ya know that Ah was here fer Big Mac?” questioned Applejack.

“By looking into my crystal sphere, the intentions of ponies who come are clear,” replied Zecora, motioning to a crystal orb. “Your large amount of sorrow appalls, yet your brother’s sorrow is what made you call.”

“Well, okay,” said Applejack, dismissing Zecora’s explanation. “So d’ya have anything that can make him happy again? It ain’t right to have him so gol-darn sad all the time.”

“I sense that you wish your brother to feel good, but this wish is not one that you should. Emotions are a sacred thing, and if disturbed, then it is sadness they bring,” warned Zecora.

“Well, if Ah can’t use magic to make him feel better, then what can Ah do?”

“Perhaps you could speak to him to find his sorrow’s root. But I have one last option, should he remain mute,” offered the zebra.

“And what would that be?” asked Applejack.

“My crystal sees not only your tears. It would also work to expose Mac’s fears. But I feel this is not a wise thing to do, as such spying would only incriminate you. If you wish to help your brother not feel sad, you should do so in a way that will not make him mad,” suggested Zecora.

“Fine,” agreed Applejack, turning to leave. “Ah’ll talk to him. But if he won’t answer me, then Ah’m comin’ straight on back to look in that fancy crystal ‘a yers. ‘Kay?”

“Though rash, that is an acceptable plan. Come back if you need to see me again,” said Zecora, closing the door behind Applejack as she left.

Applejack walked through the forest, looking in all directions as she went to avoid any pursuers that would be following her. She thought about what Zecora said to her, and vowed to try and get a decent conversation out of Big Mac. She couldn’t bear to think what he might be sad over. The stoic, hard-working, perpetually calm Big Mac, her older brother and friend, was slipping deeper into sadness.

Her brother was sad, and she had no idea why.

Her worries not at all as calmed as she had anticipated, she walked into the sunlight of Ponyville’s surrounding meadows, and went to the home of the pony most likely to calm her down after that revelation: Fluttershy.

Behind her, Pinkie Pie pranced into the forest, waiting to see Zecora for a scheme of her own.

“Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Guess what Ah just saw!” said an excited Apple Bloom.

“What?” the other two Crusaders said in unison.

“Ah saw Big Mac, an’ he was all sad ‘bout somethin’, so he was cryin’ over there under that tree,” said Applebloom, pointing out the window at the tree. “An’ then Rarity comes over to him, an’ they talk about why Big Mac was sad. Ah think she said somethin’ ‘bout his family not lovin’ him fer who he is!”

“Rarity was there? Oh my gosh!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

“But now Ah’m worried!” confessed Apple Bloom. “Ah know Ah love him fer who he is, so who don’t? Ah mean, Ah got a big family, but on the farm it’s only me, Applejack, Granny Smith, Big Mac and Winona! And Ah don’t think Big Mac’d git that upset ‘bout Winona.”

“So he’s upset with either Granny Smith or Applejack,” deduced Scootaloo.

“And Granny Smith is one of the nicest ponies ever!” said Sweetie Belle. “She’s a little bit... old, but she’s real nice!”

“So Big Mac must be angry with Applejack! What do we do?” asked Scootaloo.

“Ah’ve got an idea,” said Apple Bloom. “We wait fer school to end tomorrah. Then, we go talk to Cheerilee.”

“Cheerilee? Are you crazy, Apple Bloom?!” screeched Sweetie Belle. “After that whole Hearts and Hooves Day mishap, Cheerilee would never ever do something with Big Mac that we set up for her!”

“Shush, Sweetie Belle. We’re gonna tell Cheerilee that it ain’t gonna try to git Big Mac to be her coltfriend this time. Cheerilee always works with foals who’re fightin’, to solve their problems, right? So we get Applejack, Big Mac an’ Cheerilee in the same place, so that she can fix the problem!” said Apple Bloom.

“That’s a great plan!” said Scootaloo, while Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.

“So it’s settled. We’re gonna have Miss Cheerilee help mah brother and mah sister stop fightin’! Maybe we’ll even get our cutie marks fer this!” said Apple Bloom.

“What kind of cutie marks do you get for leading three ponies to the same place to fix their problems?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Uh... Cutie Mark Crusaders... uh... group therapist office secretaries?” offered Scootaloo.

“Now Ah hope Ah don’t git mah Cutie Mark for this,” joked Apple Bloom.

The three fillies shared a laugh and scampered off to crusade and play, their plan to save Apple Bloom’s family prepared to be set in motion the next day.

Zecora had just finished polishing the mud that Applejack tracked into her home when another knock came on her door, this one more erratic and powerful. She opened the door to find Pinkie Pie, who darted into Zecora’s house, tracking more mud onto her floor. With a sigh, she put down her cloth and turned to Pinkie.

“Hi Zecora! I was wondering if you can make a quick copying potion for me? I brought water from the Mirror Pond and everything!” said Pinkie Pie.

Zecora was shocked. “I do not know where you got such a thing, but why bring you water from that magical spring? A copying potion is powerful magic, and its misuse can be truly tragic. I witnessed you use the pond, Pinkie Pie, and since you know of its dangers, then why?”

“Oh, silly Zecora! I’m not going to copy myself! I just need to copy these two objects, here!” said Pinkie, holding out the console and monitoring chip.

Zecora looked over the machinery. “I suppose that one draught could not hurt. But since you are smart, I shall be curt. When a copy is made, the function is lost. This cannot be avoided, as such is the cost. The original maintains its original state, but the copy shall be as a clean piece of slate.”

Pinkie Pie didn’t care. “That’s exactly what I need, one working and one that doesn’t! Will you do it?”

Zecora sighed and opened her book, taking the Mirror Water from Pinkie and preparing the Draught of Duplication for the hyperactive mare.

“Whaddya mean, ‘in love’? Rarity has such high standards, an’ Ah don’t mean him any offense, but Big Mac... ain’t exactly the most refined pony,” said Applejack.

“But it’s true! I saw her and Big Mac hugging in the woods, and so did Apple Bloom! We were in her clubhouse,” explained Fluttershy.

“Why in the name of Celestia were ya in mah lil’ sister’s clubhouse spyin’ on mah big brother?! That’s downright double rude an’ nosy of ya! Ah mean, both of mah siblings!” scolded Applejack.

“Well, after Rarity left so angrily at lunch, I wanted to make sure she was okay. But I didn’t want to disturb her, because that might make her angrier because she was followed. So she went into the woods and I hid in Apple Bloom’s clubhouse. Apple Bloom was in there, but she let me spy. She had been watching the whole time. Please don’t be mad,” said Fluttershy quietly.

“Ah ain’t. But it still wasn’t very nice of ya ta go spyin’ like that. Ah’ll have to have a talk later with Apple Bloom,” said Applejack aloud.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder. Big Macintosh was in love? It certainly explained a lot of things. The reaction of Rarity to her inquisitiveness about Big Mac now had fair cause, but why did she also react so harshly to the fireworks Pegasus? Big Mac’s depression could be from hiding his feelings from everypony, but why would he want to do that? It’s not like he would want to hide the fact that he was in such a positive relationship from anypony. Applejack couldn’t think of any ponies that would be jealous of him...

Then it hit her.

Cheerilee.

Big Mac and Cheerilee were originally brought together through her sister’s Crusader group’s stupid love poison ordeal. After the poison wore off, the two had been seen together throughout Ponyville, and were considered quite the item. Applejack realized that Big Mac was hiding his relationship with Rarity so as not to upset Cheerilee.

Applejack thought for a moment about the magnitude of doing so. Cheerilee taught every foal in town, and would undoubtedly pass on her ire at Big Macintosh to the children. They would express that to their parents, and when news gets out to some of the more social mares in Ponyville, it undoubtedly gets around very quickly. The implications of such a double life would shame both Rarity’s and Big Mac’s reputations, rendering them both social outcasts forever.

“Okay, then,” said Applejack. “Fluttershy, we tell the other three, but that’s it. We can’t let rumors go gettin’ ‘round ‘bout mah brother an’ Rarity. Cheerilee would be furious.”

“Cheerilee?” questioned Fluttershy. “Oh... oh my! I forgot that Big Macintosh and Cheerilee were dating! Do you realize what this means, Applejack? Your brother is having an affair!”

“Ah know full well what it means, Fluttershy, an’ Ah ain’t gonna soil mah brother’s reputation,” replied Applejack.

“Well, we need to go and tell them right away! Just in case they’re going to try and help Rarity,” explained Fluttershy.

The two mares raced out of Fluttershy’s tree home to try and meet Twilight and Rainbow at the library. With luck, they could get word out before anything drastic happened to Big Macintosh.

Rarity organized her dresses for the twelfth time, levitating the wooden mannequins to place their clothing in order from warmest main color to coolest. Whenever she was stressed, she organized and reorganized. A sense of order helped her to remain calm about things.

“No, no, no, this is wrong. Let’s try... collar size,” she said, deciding on a new pattern of organization.

She levitated Opalescence off of the train of one of the dresses and set him into his crate. She needed no distractions whatsoever, only the arbitrary shuffling of dresses to help her maintain focus and keep her mind from wandering onto her past.

As she began to organize them by the order she’d purchased the materials in, the door to the boutique opened with the jingle of a bell. Big Mac walked into the store and over to where Rarity was senselessly organizing.

Rarity snapped out of her mindless shuffling once Big Mac walked into the room. She approached the big pony and began crying.

“I’ve thought about it too, Macintosh. It was simply wrong to treat you that way. Just because Whinnysota thinks that Unicorns are any better than Earth Ponies was no reason for you to have to leave,” said Rarity.

“Look, Rarity,” said Big Mac. “Bein’ the only Earth Pony in a family a’ Unicorns is bad enough. Ah mean, even ‘round here, look at all them Pegasi in their fancy cloud houses an’ them Unicorns with their magic. What’s an Earth Pony got? Strength? Ah don’t need strength, Rarity. Ah need skills.”

“But you have to tell Applejack sometime. Being an Earth Pony is genetic, you know, but your cutie mark determines your talent,” said Rarity.

“But that ain’t what Ah wanted mah talent to be!” exclaimed Big Mac. “Ah worked so hard, an’ all Ah get is this stupid apple mark. Ah wish Ah had never gone into that arboretum with them apple trees. Ah had dreams, Rarity. But Ah’m destined ta be an apple farmer. More like doomed ta be an apple farmer.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you haven’t told Applejack,” demanded Rarity.

“Look, Rarity, Ah grew up with her. Ah lived in St. Palomino for what, ‘bout three years?” questioned Big Mac. “Applejack was a newborn filly when Ah ran off here. Ah had the apple mark, Ah was an Earth Pony. The family had no place fer me.”

“Macintosh,” said Rarity forcefully. “I don’t care if you’re a Unicorn or an Earth Pony, or what kind of cutie mark you have. But I will not stand by while you beat up upon yourself for something that was not your fault. Your cutie mark dictates your talent, but that doesn’t force it to be your only talent.”
“But no matter what Ah do, Ah’m always pulled towards workin’ with the apples,” lamented Big Mac. “If Ah stop, it’s like some invisible force is pullin’ me to go back an’ farm the apples. Ah hate it!”

“I’m sorry, Macintosh. I don’t know what else to do,” admitted Rarity.

Big Mac wandered slowly out of her shop. “Thanks anyway,” he said sadly, closing the door.

Rarity wondered why life was so cruel to Big Mac. Ponies were supposed to be proud of their talents, and here was one who was ashamed of his and forced to perform it. The three tribes each had their own virtues, and here was a pony who was alienated from his own family and his personality because of his race. And here she sat idly by, recognizing the problem, yet unable to do anything about it.

Twilight Sparkle ran with Rainbow Dash towards the entrance of the Everfree Forest. The Cakes had said that Pinkie was planning on visiting Zecora, and that she had taken the “odd machinery” with her.

Just as the two mares approached the forest, they intercepted Pinkie Pie walking out of it. As the pink pony realized who was there, she quickly dodged aside and ran out into the open town.

Rainbow Dash called out to her. “Pinkie Pie! Get back here now!”

Rainbow took off into a fast, rocketing flight, chasing after the surprisingly speedy pink mare. She knew that as fast as Pinkie Pie was, she was faster, and she would eventually outpace and restrain her. So she continued on, following the pink blur that whisked on ahead of her.

Pinkie Pie was clever, though. She had anticipated the chase from the beginning, and absolutely did not want to confront Twilight and Rainbow just yet, as she still had both monitoring chips and consoles on her. True to her word, the potion Zecora had made indeed duplicated the machinery, but one set did not work at all, as it had no wiring. Apparently the potion only duplicated what it touched, and the interior of the device was sealed.

It was no matter to her, though. The fake was just going to be used to get Twilight and Rainbow off her trail for a while. She had orchestrated the chase for an opportunity to stash the working machinery. As she passed by Fluttershy’s hen coop, she hurriedly stuffed one set of monitoring chips into the slats beneath the ramp, and quickly ran back into town.

Play it cool, Pinkamena. Act like you’ve learned your lesson, she thought to herself.

Rainbow Dash eventually gave up chasing her and flew high up above Ponyville, watching for her characteristic pink blur. She pinpointed her target, aimed, and dashed down onto Pinkie Pie like a missile, grabbing hold of her with the correct timing.

“Twilight and I need a word with you, Miss Pie,” spat Rainbow Dash. “Spying on ponies’ minds? Not cool.”

Pinkie Pie shrugged and waited for Rainbow to land. They were at the same table as yesterday, their usual hangout spot for important conversations.

“Pinkie, what in the name of Celestia were you thinking?! You stole sensitive magical equipment and invaded Rainbow Dash’s privacy. You can’t just take things like that and run wild with them!” yelled Twilight.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” said Pinkie Pie, feigning remorse. “I was irresponsible, and I did some dangerous things. But I promise not to touch your stuff anymore -- anypony’s stuff.”

Pinkie took care not to make it a Pinkie Promise. Those were unbreakable bonds between ponies. A regular promise was as easily broken as... something that broke easily. And she definitely planned to break it. She would stop at nothing to achieve that one last bit of friendship.

Her plot finally came together in her head. Twilight had said it herself, many times. Friendship is magic. And Pinkie Pie needed to amass as many friends as she could, for the kind of magic she planned to do. She was going to finally ascend to princesshood, not Twilight. The magic of friendship was the way to achieve her lifelong dreams.

Celestia had thought so herself.

Nopony ever said Rainbow Dash was the only pony who she had used the monitoring chip on. And with Celestia’s constant mane-grooming habits, it was only a matter of time before she accidentally knocked the chip loose for Pinkie Pie to reclaim.

“Pinkie, may I have my device back?” asked Twilight menacingly.

“Of course, Twilight,” said Pinkie, handing her the fake console and chip.

“Thanks. Now Rainbow and I have some business to take care of, so--”

Twilight was cut off by Applejack’s worried cries coming from the corner of the square.

“Everypony, Ah have terrible news. Y’all know how Rarity ‘n Big Mac have been all... moody lately?” asked Applejack, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Well, they’ve been havin’ an affair!”

A chorus of gasps echoed across the table as the three unenlightened ponies realized the implications of such a transgression.

“Now girls, don’t bring this up to anypony else, especially not Rarity, Big Macintosh or Cheerilee,” warned Fluttershy.

The ponies nodded in agreement, except for Applejack.

“Wait a minute, there. Ah’m gonna ask Big Mac ‘bout this when Ah next see him. Ah need ta have a conversation with him before Ah use Zecora’s crystal, else Ah’ll just make him mad. It’s better ta risk it after Ah try to talk to him.”

Just then, Scootaloo came up to the table. “Hi, Rainbow Dash!” she said, in awe of her idol’s presence. “Applejack, you’re needed at the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. It’s important that you don’t bring anypony else,” she quoted from memory.

“That’s a lil’ bit odd, but fine. Ah’ll see what’s up,” agreed Applejack. “Buh-bye, girls,” said Applejack.

As the ponies all went their separate ways, Twilight was hit by a flash of inspiration. She threw the chip onto Pinkie Pie’s mane.

“Now we can see why she wanted to use my monitoring chip,” explained Twilight to a watching Rainbow Dash.

However, the console wouldn’t turn on. No matter what Twilight did, the screen remained blank. Opening the inside of the machine, she discovered that it was hollow.

“A fake!” exclaimed an irate Rainbow Dash. “She had the nerve to give you a fake!”

“Pinkie...” growled Twilight.

Sweetie Belle had waited outside the schoolhouse for nearly half an hour. Cheerilee was talking with Twist’s mom about her recent performance and about how she ought to consider skipping a grade. When Twist’s mom finally left, Sweetie Belle seized the opportunity and ran into the classroom.

“Miss Cheerilee! Miss Cheerilee!” she shouted impatiently.

“What is it, Sweetie Belle? What’s wrong?” asked a worried Cheerilee.

“There’s a disagreement at Sweet Apple Acres, at the big barn, and they need you there to solve it, since you’re so good at helping ponies who are arguing,” said Sweetie Belle.

Cheerilee thought for a moment. “Who is arguing?”

“Applejack and Big Mac!” said Sweetie Belle.

This brought worry into Cheerilee’s mind. If those two argued, it could jeopardize the production of the farm. That, and Big Mac was a close friend, and Applejack a... more distant friend. She certainly didn’t want to see any friends arguing.

“Alright, then. Thank you for telling me, Sweetie Belle,” said Cheerilee, leaving the schoolhouse for the barn.

Sweetie Belle smiled, happy that she had pulled off her section of the plan properly.

Apple Bloom approached her big brother’s side at the bottom of the tree where he sat. “Big Mac?”

“Eeeeeyup?”

“Can ya come ‘n help out at the big barn? Yer prob’ly the best pony fer the job,” she complimented.

“Eeeeeyup,” replied Big Mac sorrowfully.

“It’ll be ok, big brother. Ah promise,” she assured him.

Big Mac smiled. At least this family cared about him, regardless of whether or not he belonged. He headed off to see what was wrong at the barn.