Chapter 34
“Just… two hundred bits…” Applejack stammered out, dragging her hat over half her face.
“Ugh!” Clearly annoyed by the amount of money she had to spend today already, Twilight opened up her saddlebag and brought out a check book and quill. “I don’t even care anymore why you needed so much money from a loan shark anyway. Just take it and let me go!” She scribbled down some words and numbers on the check, signed it, and ripped it out before giving it to Applejack.
The farmer took it with deep gratefulness drawn onto her face. She fell onto Twilight, embracing her into a forceful hug. “Thank you, Twi! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. Just…” She gasped for air. Applejack understood the message, and let her go. “I need to move on to Rarity now, though. Good luck with your loan shark… whoever that is.”
She darted off, and Applejack waved after her. The less you know about that, Twi, the better.
The door to Rarity’s boutique was already wide open when Twilight saw the building emerging from the distance—an unusual sight. It didn’t take long before she realized why that was the case though.
“Rarity?” Twilight asked as she arrived at the dress shop. “Why are you carrying around… wrapped presents?”
The white unicorn, exhausted and legs shaking from the dozens of presents she decided to carry all at once, walked over from a table with remainings of wrapping paper and ribbon to a huge pile of gifts. She dropped the load off, the noise of colliding paper boxes was heard throughout the room.
Rarity looked up. “Oh, hello, Twilight. I…” She took a deep breath, trying to cool down from the unlady job she was forced to do. “I was asked by the mayor to wrap up some small presents for the foal games later tonight. Little, silly things as prizes.”
“And why are you carrying them around like that, instead of using your magic?”
“Ugh, because for some reason my magic doesn’t work around these packages!” complained Rarity. “It’s like there’s something in there that just nullifies it.”
Twilight facehoofed. “Oh for Celestia’s sake, please no…”
“Whatever do you mean, Twilight?”
“That key the squirrel gave you, it has anti-magic spells on it,” she explained hopelessly. “Please don’t tell me you put it into one of these packages…”
Rarity kept her lips firmly shut.
“Thought so.”
Rarity sighed in an apologizing manner. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t know that was your key. I just thought it was some nice little thing some filly could be happy about.”
There was an awkward moment of silence.
“Well…” Rarity continued, “I don’t want to sound like a party pooper here, but I think there really is no other option than you buying them all, and unpacking them.”
So close, yet so far. What to do?
→ Buy all the presents and open them? Go to Chapter 17!
→ No more expenditures? Go to Chapter 7!