Chapter 8
“Gossip and Excitement”
The band ran through their rehearsal the next day. They woke up early to get it out of the way since everypony had plans that day. Whiplash and Slide were planning to assist Rarity with their new outfits at The Carrousel Boutique, Rush wanted to spend the day working on getting the stage ready (despite it being ready enough), and Thrash was planning meet up with Applejack.
After running through the whole concert they packed up their instruments for the rehearsal the next morning.
“Why isn’t the zip-line hooked up yet?” Snap observed.
“Yea, I was curious about that. What gives Rush?” Thrash asked.
“We couldn’t get it up,” Rush explained. “It was too heavy for the clouds to handle, and it was too short to reach the stage.”
“Thank Celestia we have a backup plan.”
“I don’t know Thrash. The device for the alternate stage entrance broke when we tried hooking it up yesterday. Maybe you should stand on the stage with us, we can use the lighting to make you blend into the darkness…”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got It all under control. If Pegasus ponies have the strength to move heavy equipment around the stage, then they shouldn’t have a problem holding me.”
“He’s got a point there,” said Whiplash. “So when are you leaving for Ponyville?”
“In another hour.”
“Well I’m about to leave with Slide in a few minutes, so how about hitching a ride with us?”
“No, thank you. I need to shower before leaving anyway. All that practicing left me smelling worse then a sweat sock.”
Slide butted in. “Is it really because you just want to smell nice to get the attention of that mare you’re meeting again?”
“That has nothing to do with it,” Thrash remarked. He didn’t want them to get on his case about being friends with a mare, nor did he want Applejack involved (which is why he didn’t say her name).
“You know I can tell that there is another reason why you don’t want to go with us. It’s written all over your face. Is it because you don’t want us to meet her for some reason?”
“Kind of. She’s a little shy and has a hard time making friends with other pony’s.”
“She sure made friends with you easily.”
“Hey get off my back, frenchy! Technically I was the one that made friends with her.”
“Now THAT I believe,” Whiplash said.
The whole band looked at her.
“Well, I’m glad somepony understands,” Thrash said. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
He trotted off stage and out the exit door.
“What makes you believe he was the one that made friends with her?” Snap asked Whiplash.
“Because that’s how we became friends,” she said.
“Either way, it’s not like him to hide things from us,” Rush said.
“That’s true.”
“Ah, leave him alone,” Snap said. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I mean it’s not like he’s turning on the band or skipping out on practice.”
“He has a point,” Slide said.
The rest of the band agreed.
Whiplash was still unsure.
Applejack wiped the sweat from her forehead after bucking one last tree in the apple orchard. She then went to the cellar to store the apples with the others that would be sold in the marketplace, thus completing her work for the day. She moved quickly because she was excited to meet up with Thrash Again.
“Leaving already?” Big Macintosh asked his sister as she closed the cellar doors.
“Well yea,” she said. “I just wanted to clean myself up before meeting my friend again.”
“Just remember that you have to work tomorrow. We are running a little behind on the harvest for the marketplace so we need to put ourselves in gear.”
“You know I won’t forget,” she said as she ran into the house.
“You better not,” Big Macintosh said to himself
“I hope she makes it,” Thrash thought to himself. Like yesterday, he took a cab to get to Ponyville. He remembered Applejack saying that she would only come if she could get off work. He figured that if she didn’t show up then she wasn’t able to get off. If that was the case he’d have nothing to do the rest of the day (aside from going to the museum again).
The driver dropped him off at a large circular building in the middle of Ponyville. He paid the driver and stood by the steps to wait for Applejack to show up. He looked up at the clock on the building, which read 11:57am.
“She should be here soon,” he thought to himself.
Applejack galloped as fast as her hooves could carry her. She didn’t want to be late. She decided to take a shortcut to get there faster.
She was almost there when she bumped face first into another pony she could not see around the corner, causing both of them to fall. Applejack pulled herself together and looked up to see that she had bumped into Twilight Sparkle.
“Twilight!?” she said. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you, I was in a bit of a rush…”
“No problem,” Twilight said as she got up. “ I was actually on my way to your place to ask you something. All of us are going to go over to Fluttershy’s place tomorrow night to go stargazing. You want to come? The night is supposed to nice and clear.”
Applejack was in a hurry so she swiftly agreed.
“Sure, sounds like fun. I’ll be there by dusk. Sorry to cut this short, I need to go.”
Applejack continued towards town hall. Twilight just shrugged and started her way back to the library.
“Well, at least she said yes.”
Thrash looked at the clock again. 12:07pm; He was beginning to think she had to work and wasn’t going to show up. He then looked in the distance and saw the mare galloping right towards him and stopping abruptly.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said taking a breath.
“No Problem,” Thrash said. “You made it and that’s all that matters.”
Applejack smiled.
“You best stick close. I’ve got a lot to show you.”
Thrash nodded as he followed Applejack.
They started on the south side, home to the marketplace that Thrash remembered flying over in the cab yesterday. There were many fruit and vegetable stands scattered around the area with plenty of room to move around. Some stands were busy with lines of customers and others were having bad business days. Applejack even took the liberty to show Thrash where her apple stand was usually stationed. When it came to sales the Apple family would spend one-week selling apples and spend the next week harvesting the apples, moving in a pattern.
Beyond the Marketplace was the open park. They walked around the area and got some time away from the crowd. There wasn’t much to show other then the dark Everfree Forest (which they avoided).
As they made their way east, she showed him where Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie worked. She really wanted to show him to her friends but they knew what he looked like and would most likely be able to see through his disguise. She kind of figured this was best after Thrash talked her to move swiftly the moment they arrived at Carousel Boutique. They got hungry along the way so she got some cupcakes at Sugercube Corner while he waited outside.
The sun started setting as they trailed through the north side. There wasn’t much to show. Homes of all sorts of shapes and sizes filled the area. They made their way to the schoolhouse where Applebloom went to school with her friends. As they continued onward Applejack led Thrash off the trail. They crept through the bushes where they could see Sweetie Belle, Skootaloo, and Applebloom playing ball around their clubhouse. She told him about the Cutie Mark Crusaders and all the things they’ve done to try getting their marks. They stayed out of sight so they wouldn’t see them.
On the west side they found themselves near Sweet Apple Acres. They didn’t get close since there wasn’t really much there but fields of apple trees. She just wanted to show him where she lived.
They were both exhausted as they ended their tour at a bridge near the center of town. The sun had set and the full moon had brought another night. The streetlights lit the town and everypony was at home and off the streets.
“I never knew how big this place was,” he said, “It looked smaller from the sky.”
“Well it ain’t that big of a town,” she replied. “Then again I’ve lived here my whole life. Soooo...well you know how it goes. It seems smaller and it’s easy to get around.”
“Not where I come from.”
“What’s it like in Fillydelphia anyway?”
“It’s kind of like Manehatten, only filled with all kinds of ponies from far and near. The locals are nice to one another, and I can imagine that you’ve learned about the history.”
She nodded.
“I did in school.”
“You and me both my friend. I could never have asked for a better place to grow up in. I mean it’s the city of brotherly love, what more can be said?”
“So I’m guessing you’ve been to all the local museums?”
“All 33 of them. I’ve even covered all the historic sites.”
“Honestly, I’m not surprised.”
“I didn’t think you would be. You should come by sometime. I could show you around some of them. We could also checkout some of the local shopping areas. They have this shopping mall that sells practically everything.”
“So is that where you got those from?”
“What?”
“Those things that you’re always wearing. Are they sold in that shopping mall you were talking about? They look pretty.”
She was pointing at the two gold bracelets on his foreleg.
Thrash removed his sunglasses and stared at the two polished pieces of jewelry.
“No, these are...something else,” he said in a moody tone. He turned and looked as his reflection in the creek beneath the bridge.
“Are you alright there, sugercube?” she asked.
He tried to maintain himself.
“What? Oh. Yea I’m fine…just...Oh dear sweet CELESTIA!” He grunted as he buried has head in his hooves.
Applejack trotted forward and put a hoof on his back.
“What’s wrong, was it something that I said?”
He perked his head up and tried to keep himself calm enough to speak.
“No it’s fine. It’s just whenever I think about it the memories just flow back into my head.”
“Huh?”
Thrash stared at their reflections in the creek realizing that he never did tell her anything about his past.
“You’re a lucky mare Applejack, you know that?” he said calmly.
She was still confused.
“I guess I’d better start from the beginning.”
