//------------------------------// // Silly Superstitions // Story: Excess // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle had never seen a sunnier day. Or at least she couldn't remember having seen a sunnier day. It was quite possible that she had; applying a quantitative value to the degree of sunniness was difficult without the proper tools. Had she the forethought to bring such tools along, she could at least take a step towards finding such a thing out. Spike would certainly have reminded her about them, had he not been away in Canterlot for the day. Even if she had brought them, she didn't have very much data from previous sunny days to compare it against. Without the information needed to definitively declare it as the sunniest day, she was relegated to simply referring to it as "quite sunny." Twilight paged through the book resting on the grass in front of her. It was an interesting read; she wasn't much of a writer, but she still found it exciting to read about the mechanics and trends of the written word. She had just finished a paragraph on the strange tendency of many stories to begin with a paragraph describing the weather, and vowed to herself that she would never do such a thing if she were to become a writer. If she were to take up that profession, she wanted to be above such things. Twilight hummed to herself as she glanced at the clock she'd set next to her book. It was still five minutes until the meeting time that she and her friends had agreed upon, which meant that it was still about twenty minutes before they would all arrive. Applejack would likely arrive right on time, or at least close to it. Fluttershy would arrive shortly after, apologizing profusely for being late. Rarity would be about ten minutes late, most likely delayed by indecision on which outfit to wear. Rainbow Dash, despite being the fastest flier in all of Equestria, always came about fifteen minutes late. And Pinkie Pie...well, it was entirely possible that she was already here, waiting for the right moment to emerge from the least-likely place. Twilight pondered that last bit for a moment, then opened the picnic basket with a knowing smile. She had packed the picnic basket herself, and there certainly was not a Pinkie in there when she did. There was also no way for Pinkie to fit into the basket. Neither one of these things, however, had ever stopped Pinkie before. "Hello, Pinkie Pie," Twilight said to the basket. "Hi Twilight!" Pinkie shouted as she burst out from under the book that Twilight had set down moments earlier, causing the startled alicorn to topple over. The tickled pink pony burst into laughter as Twilight shook her head out. She thought it best not to question Pinkie's ways; no answer she would ever get could possibly be satisfactory. As Twilight pulled herself to her hooves, she noticed a blue streak burst through the sky. She checked her clock, just to make sure it wasn't on the fritz. It was working fine, so the surprised unicorn had no possible explanation for Rainbow Dash actually being on time for once. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said as her friend settled next to her. "You're early! What happened?" "Oh, ha ha," Rainbow responded, her voice a bit strained from the tight hug that Pinkie had just locked onto her. "I promised you last time that I'd be on time next time we did this, and Rainbow Dash doesn't break promises!" "Of course not," Twilight responded with a smile. She had nearly forgotten about that promise; her arrival predictions would have reflected it if she'd remembered. Twilight watched Rainbow attempt to pry herself from Pinkie's grasp as she reassessed her predicted order of arrival. With Pinkie and Rainbow already here, Applejack was sure to be the next to arrive right around the meeting time, and Rarity had taken Rainbow's position as the most likely to arrive last. "Good afternoon, everypony!" Rarity sang as she arrived on the scene. Twilight decided that she must have fallen into an alternate dimension. This was the only possible explanation for the two friends who were usually the latest to arrive this early. "I do apologize for being so early," Rarity said, setting her basket down. "I was simply too excited to waste any more time at home. You must see what I made for you girls! I'm positive you'll find them delectable." A light of her horn removed the blanket from atop her basket, revealing a bevy of blondies. "Ouh! Thanks, Rarity!" Pinkie bubbled as she bounced around the basket. "A big bountiful basket of breathtaking blondies! Beautiful!" The happy pink mare giggled at her own wordplay. "Yes, they're very nice, Rarity, and we appreciate it," Twilight said. "But you really didn't have to do that. Pinkie usually brings the desserts." "Oh, but I wanted to!" Rarity answered. "The joy on my friends' faces makes the time and effort put into these completely worthwhile." Twilight smirked as she took a blondie from the basket. Rarity wouldn't be Rarity if she weren't doing things like this. Twilight raised a brow as the blondie she had chosen seemed to be putting up a resistance to being chosen. It wasn't like any desserts she knew to resist being eaten, although upon consideration, she could understand why they would do so. Being chewed couldn't possibly be a pleasant experience, and she wasn't sure she could live with the knowledge that she existed simply for the sustenance of another. Then a thought occurred to her: how, exactly, did Rarity manage to bake a sentient blondie? She would have to bring both Rarity and the treat home for questioning, testing... "Oh...I'm sorry..." Fluttershy said quietly. Twilight looked towards the basket and noticed a yellow hoof holding onto the blondie she'd believed to have ascended to sentience. Yes, this made far more sense. "Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed. "I didn't even hear you arrive!" "Oh...should I have been louder?" Fluttershy asked. "I'll try to be louder next time..." "No no, that's not necessary," Twilight said. The two stared at the blondie for a moment, both Twilight's magic and Fluttershy's hoof still upon it. All of the blondies in the basket looked delicious, but this one had the largest peanut butter chips in it. It was clearly the fluffiest of the treats, and if such a thing as an awards ceremony for desserts had existed, it would have swept the majority of the categories that it qualified for. "You can have that one," Fluttershy said quietly, letting go of the delicious delight. "Oh no, it's alright," Twilight said, going to set it down. Fluttershy shook her head, nudging it back towards Twilight. "I insist," Fluttershy insisted. "You were eyeing it so hungrily...I couldn't possibly take it from you." Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled, taking the treat. She knew better than to get into a back-and-forth like this. Fluttershy wasn't usually particularly willful, but when it came to a situation like this, she would never allow herself to take from a friend who seemed to want so badly. Twilight chewed on the delicious treat while her other friends conversed. It baffled her that everypony but Applejack had already arrived. It wasn't like Applejack to be late to anything. She always made a point of showing up right on time, and would even playfully poke fun at Rainbow for her usual tardiness. Being late was simply not something that she did, unless... Something had happened to Applejack. That had to be it. She had gotten lost, or injured, or worse. Twilight could barely concentrate on eating her blondie, too wracked with worry to even chew. How could she and the others sit here, eat treats, and enjoy themselves with cheerful conversation when Applejack was possibly trapped under a fallen tree, or caught up in a patch of bramble or something? Or maybe she was sick at home? Maybe they could relocate the whole picnic to Sweet Apple Acres? Sure, that would make the picnic begin even later, and it might be a pain to cart the whole setup across town, but it would all be worth it to know that Applejack was present and okay. "Howdy girls," Applejack said as she trotted hurriedly up to the group. "Sorry I'm late." Twilight took a brief moment to consider that perhaps the world was doing this to her on purpose. Maybe it had taken note of her good fortune in becoming Princess Celestia's student, finding the best friends she could ask for, and becoming a princess herself, and decided that a little bit of dressing down via shooting all of her predictions and thoughts down was in order. She would have worried about this longer, but she was still curious over what had kept her usually-punctual pal. "Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed. "Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Did you get lost?" "Uh...no, everything's fine," Applejack said, raising a brow. "Are you sure?" Twilight asked, studying her friend's expression carefully. "It's just not like you to be late. You can tell us if something's wrong." "I appreciate y'all worrying," Applejack said with a smile. "But I'm fine, honest. I just kinda overslept." Twilight nodded with a relieved sigh. That was just how Applejack was. Twilight had given her a good excuse to use for why she was late, but she wouldn't take it. "So what are we having this whole picnic for anyway?" Rainbow asked, nomming away on a blondie. "Who needs a reason for a picnic?" Pinkie answered, bouncing in circles around the blanket. "It is a lovely day," Rarity said, adjusting her sun hat. "Is that not reason enough?" "Works for me!" Applejack said with a grin, snatching up a blondie for herself. Fluttershy just nodded, content to let the others speak. "Well, it is partially because of the nice weather," Twilight told the group as she removed the blanket from her own basket, which housed a number of daisy sandwiches. "But more importantly, it's been a month since we gave up our Elements, and so far Equestria has been problem-free! Now that's a reason for a picnic!" Twilight smiled proudly, certain that her friends would share in her elation. She did not expect the stone silence that she received; the only sound that permeated it was the slap of Rainbow's hoof against her own face. "You've got to be kidding me," Rainbow said with a groan. "Why would you say that?" "Say what?" Twilight asked, confusion coloring her expression. "What's wrong with what I said?" "A lot of ponies think that it's bad luck to point out that nothing's gone wrong," Fluttershy spoke up. "And if you say that nothing bad has happened, then everything bad is gonna happen!" Pinkie chimed in. "But if you say bad things are happening, then it doesn't make good things happen, even though it should! It's a pair of ducks!" "I think you mean a paradox, darling," Rarity corrected her. "Although I'm still not sure that's the proper term for this situation. And other than that bit, Pinkie is correct, Twilight. As odd as it seems, that is the way it tends to work out." Twilight stared at her friends, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that she was having this conversation. "That's ridiculous," Twilight said, shaking her head. "That sounds like a silly superstition. Haven't we been over this kind of thing back with Zecora?" "That was different!" Rainbow insisted. "How?" Twilight asked. Rainbow opened her mouth, then stopped. She clearly had not thought that far ahead in her previous statement. "Exactly," Twilight said proudly. "You girls are all smart. You should know that silly superstitions like that aren't real." The others all looked at each other sheepishly. Only Applejack spoke up on the subject. "I don't know, Twi," Applejack said. "It just has a way of being the case is all. But never mind that. Ain't it time to eat?" It was true; all six ponies were far too hungry to keep such a line of conversation going. Sandwiches were passed around, drinks were served, and it was indeed time to eat. ~~~~~~~~~~ Applejack was the first to leave after the day's events were over. This wasn't much of a surprise; she was typically the first to arrive and the first to leave. She was a very diligent worker, after all, and with the busiest harvesting season of the year fast approaching, there was certainly no shortage of work to do on the farm. She wouldn't eschew time with her friends in order to work more, but as soon as their activities were done, it was straight home. Friends and family always came first, but work was a close second. The farmer sighed quietly to herself as she spotted two fillies in the distance. She hadn't dealt with Diamond Tiara and Sliver Spoon too much herself, but she'd heard enough stories from her sister to put together what was probably a fair assessment of the two. They were two bullies, the types of young ponies who would act all sweet to grownups, but then tease and insult their classmates when they were alone. She knew the type all too well. Applejack saw them turn their gazes in her direction, and she knew exactly what was going to happen. The two were in the same Filly Scout troop as Apple Bloom and her friends, and with cookie season in full swing, she knew that a sales pitch was coming her way. She loved Filly Scout cookies, but had no intentions of purchasing from the two fillies who always messed with her sister when she could just buy them from Apple Bloom instead. She quickly devised a plan as she neared them. Since she didn't want to be mean to children even if they were bullies, she would simply tell them that she didn't have any money on hand. She wasn't normally a fan of lying, but this was a special case. Those two didn't need to know about the ten bits in her saddlebags. "Hello, Applejack!" Diamond Tiara said, putting on her best "make the adults think I'm a sweetheart" voice. "Howdy there, girls," Applejack responded, putting on a smile. "What are y'all up to today?" "Oh, we're just selling Filly Scout cookies," Silver Spoon responded. "I'm sure your sister's told you about the contest to sell the most cookies, right? The winner gets free tickets to the amusement park!" "Yup, she's been talking all about it," Applejack said. "Well, good luck with that." "Thank you so much!" Diamond Tiara said. "But you see, we haven't been selling too many, so somepony else is probably going to win. I know you can always buy them from your sister, but she's already sold a lot from what I've heard. It would mean so much to us if you just bought a couple of boxes to help us look better to our scoutmaster? If you have any money on you..." Applejack had her answer all set in her head. She opened her mouth, preparing to tell them as politely as possible that she didn't have any money on her. "I've got ten bits in my bag," Applejack said. Wait, that wasn't right. "Great! Each box is four bits, so you can afford two!" Silver Spoon said with a smile. Applejack stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. That was not the answer she'd meant to give at all. The other words just seemed to vanish out of her head, and she had absolutely no explanation for it. The confused pony looked down at the faces of the two fillies. Even though she wasn't a big fan of them, she couldn't just leave without buying any after telling them she had the money. That would be flat-out mean. "Two boxes, then," Applejack said awkwardly. This was going to be difficult to explain to Apple Bloom when she got home, partially because she didn't even have an explanation for herself. ~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity strode home, trying her best to not look too excited. Showing excessive excitement was improper and unladylike, and with so many ponies roaming the streets of Ponyville, she couldn't afford to look improper. Her excitement was difficult to contain, though, given the circumstances behind it. As usual, she had made sure to not eat too much at the picnic. The last thing she wanted to be known as (alongside improper) was gluttonous, and a lady had to watch her figure anyway. When leaving, however, she had made sure to procure a single apple tart from Applejack's basket. Applejack's tarts were quite possibly the most delicious, delectable treats she had ever had the extreme pleasure of tasting. She had already eaten enough at the picnic, though, and to down another sugary morsel would lay waste to her image. No, the scrumptious delight had to be preserved until she was safely in her house, where nopony could witness her voracity. After a walk that seemed to stretch on for miles, made worse by the irresistible scent emanating from her forbidden delight, Rarity reached the front door of Carousel Boutique. She looked left and right, making sure that nopony was watching her. Once she was confident that the coast was clear, she threw the door open and galloped inside. Slowly, deliberately, she floated the succulent morsel out of her bag. She let it drift under her nose, taking in every bit of its aroma. Yes, it was hers. All hers. Her mouth watered as she imagined its texture and flavor on her tongue. The time for waiting had ended; now was the time for action. Rarity opened her mouth, preparing for the consummation of this forbidden tryst. "Hi Rarity!" Sweetie Belle's voice rang out. Rarity froze in place and turned her gaze to her approaching sister. She stared at her, looking quite undignified as her mouth hung open in front of the treat. "Ahem...good afternoon, Sweetie," Rarity said, offering her sister a warm, albeit slightly impatient, smile. "Ooh, is that an apple tart?" Sweetie asked excitedly. Yes, it was an apple tart, Rarity thought. An apple tart whose time was running out. The seamstress simply nodded, unwilling to speak so rudely to her sister. "Can I have it please?" Sweetie asked, her eyes having transitioned into full-on begging mode. "I love apple tarts! And I haven't eaten all day!" Rarity frowned. She knew that there was plenty else for Sweetie to eat in the house. Maybe nothing as delightful as an apple tart, but certainly plenty nonetheless. There was no way that she was giving this tart up. If there was nothing else for Sweetie to eat, then it would be a different story, but with a stocked cabinet, she had no reason to give up the treat that she wanted so badly. "Here you go, darling," Rarity said, setting the tart down in Sweeite's hooves. The filly's eyes lit up. "Thank you so much, Rarity!" Sweetie swooned. "You're the best sister ever!" Rarity stared blankly at her sister, wondering what had just happened. She was positive that she had prepared to say no to Sweetie, but that was certainly not what had happened. She watched, practically traumatized, as Sweetie devoured the apple tart, barely even taking a moment to savor its ambrosial flavor. Rarity sighed lightly at the loss of her snack. At least Sweetie was happy. ~~~~~~~~~~ Fluttershy was in a terrible rush to get home. She was admittedly not the fastest of pegasi; she didn't even come close. Her typical speed could be generously described as "leisurely." Right now, though, she was doing her best to escape that reputation. Her wings flapped with unbridled determination, her mind focused on nothing but her goal. Nothing was more important than arriving home on time, especially since the picnic had gone a little longer than planned. She was already running slightly late; any later would be a problem. Fluttershy knew very well the importance of keeping her animal friends on a steady, consistent diet. The menu could be slightly altered here and there, but not too much or it would throw their metabolism off kilter. Even worse than that was straying from a set meal schedule. They had to be fed right at the same time each day, or they would end up tired, hungry, and cranky. "Cranky" was especially true in the case of Angel. She loved Angel with all of her heart, but the little scamp had quite a temper when he wasn't fed on time. "On time" was the issue, though. At the rate Fluttershy was going, "on time" was looking to be a bit of a lofty goal. If she kept up this pace and didn't stop for anything, she could make it with a minute or so to spare. Her wings, though, were already feeling overtaxed, not quite used to working at this level for a sustained period of time. Her typically sedentary lifestyle didn't exactly call for bouts of speed like this one on a regular basis, and yet here she was, pumping her wings as fast as her muscles would allow. Nothing short of her muscles rebelling against this use could stop her. "Excuse me, Miss Fluttershy!" a small voice called out as the pegasus flew past the park. Fluttershy slowed her pace enough to turn and look towards the source of the voice. A number of fillies were gathered around a tree. Most of them were staring up at the tree's leaves, but one, whom Fluttershy recognized as Ruby Pinch, was staring right at her. Ruby was a sweetheart, and her mom, Berry Punch, was always kind to her when they talked. Fluttershy sighed lightly to herself and slowed down, changing directions to head towards the group. She couldn't just ignore a little filly who was calling her, and she had a minute or two to spare anyway. "Yes, Ruby?" Fluttershy asked, settling near the group. "Is there something I could help you with?" "Our ball got caught up in this tree!" Ruby said, frowning. "And none of us can fly, and my magic isn't working well..." "Oh, I'd be happy to get it for you," Fluttershy said with a smile, relieved that what they needed her for would only take a moment. One quick flight into the tree's branches, and the ball was freed from its leafy prison. "Thanks, Miss Fluttershy!" Ruby said, beaming. "You're welcome, girls," the pegasus responded, already beginning to turn so she could continue on her way. ""Hey, do you wanna stick around for a bit?" Ruby asked. "We could use a referee!" Fluttershy smiled awkwardly. She never liked saying no to anypony, especially not a group of little fillies. This time, though, she didn't really have a choice. She was on a tight schedule, and that schedule unfortunately didn't allow for time to referee a ball game. "I'd be happy to," Fluttershy responded. She blinked, uncertain of what had just happened. "Great!" Ruby said. "It shouldn't be too long! It's still the first quarter but we play fast!" Fluttershy hummed quietly to herself. She couldn't just say no after saying yes, even though she had no idea why she'd said yes in the first place. She was sure about one thing, though: she wasn't looking forward to the frown on Angel's face when she did get home. ~~~~~~~~~~ Rainbow Dash, in a rare moment of responsibility, had decided to spend the rest of her day training. Her recent time at the Wonderbolt Academy had ended with assurance that they would consider her if she kept up her training, and that was exactly what she planned to do. Every single maneuver in her book of tricks had to be crisp, clean, and utterly perfect if they were going to fall under the scrutiny of Spitfire. She knew she was awesome; she just needed to be sure that she made Spitfire know it too. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, had none of these concerns. Not to say that she didn't want Rainbow to wow the Wonderbolts; she definitely did. For some reason, though, she didn't feel too concerned with anything at the moment. She had woken up giggling today, which wasn't exactly a strange occurrence for her. What was strange was that she couldn't remember having a particularly funny dream, and that was what usually caused the waking-up giggling. It didn't bother her too much, though; laughing was almost never a bad thing. She had giggled lightly through breakfast, planning her little surprise for Twilight for when she arrived at the picnic site. She had giggled through a fair amount through the picnic itself, though it was usually in response to one of her friends saying something funny. And here she was, giggling now. "What's so funny, Pinks?" Rainbow asked, swooping down to her friend. "I have no idea!" Pinkie answered cheerfully. "Then...why are you..." Rainbow began. Then she thought better than to question Pinkie. "You know what...never mind." Rainbow knew her marefriend well enough to know that it was sometimes much easier not to ask. Besides, a slightly excessive amount of laughter wasn't really that big an issue. "Ouh! Dashie!" Pinkie suddenly exclaimed, bouncing around in front of her. "You...said...we...could...go...pranking...soon...remember?" Rainbow tried her best to keep eye contact as Pinkie bounced in front of her, speaking one word each time they came face-to-face. "Yeah, I remember," Rainbow replied. "How...about...right...now?" Pinkie asked, giggling with excitement. Rainbow hated saying no to Pinkie, but the next Wonderbolt audition was fast-approaching, and she needed every bit of practice she could squeeze in. Pranking with Pinkie was fun, but it would just have to wait. "Yeah, sure," Rainbow blurted out. She stopped in midair, trying to figure out exactly why she had just done the opposite of what she'd intended. "Woo...hoo!" Pinkie shouted, giggling. "Let's...go!" Rainbow furrowed her brow, but decided not to worry too much about it. She guessed she could spare a little time for pranking. ~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight, in one of the few things today that did go as predicted, was the last one to leave the picnic site. She rarely asked for much help in cleaning up after their festivities; she had her own very specific ways of packing her supplies up, and her friends knew better than to mess with her order. Their part in cleaning up was simply throwing their own garbage out. That was all Twilight asked of them, and they were more than happy to oblige. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle a bit to herself as she thought over the things she and her friends were discussing. The idea of them entertaining any superstitions after their situation with Zecora was ridiculous to her. There were plenty of times where she'd expressed how nice a day it was or how things were all going well, and not all of them ended disastrously. Some of them certainly had; the mixed-up cutie mark debacle came to mind. As she stretched her wings, though, she figured that it all ended up good in the end. No, there was no way that such a thing could be true. It was all a silly superstition, not even worth devoting an iota of time to worrying about it. And considering how many iotas of downtime she had before she had to go pick Spike up from the train station, that was saying something. Those iotas would likely go towards studying, as her time away from the library had taken away from her usual studying time. Not that she complained; it was always great to spend time with the girls. Twilight approached the door to the library, only to find that it was already open. She cleared her throat, beginning to worry. Who would break into a library? Her worry faded slightly when she noticed the purple aura of her magic around the door. The alicorn crossed her eyes to look up at her horn, which was also glowing. She didn't remember casting a spell to open the door, though she certainly had intended to do so at some point so as to not walk face-first into it. She hummed lightly to herself, supposing that it wasn't much to worry about. It was entirely possible that the act had become so autonomous that she'd done it unconsciously. She entered the library and turned around to shut the door, only to find that she had apparently already done that too. "Huh," Twilight said. She was actually quite impressed; she'd never unconsciously cast a spell before. It was certainly something to read up on. She smiled to herself as she sat down with one of her favorite books on magic. An opportunity to try and gain new knowledge about herself? Wonderful! If she wasn't already certain that there was no truth behind her friends' superstition, than she certainly was now. Nothing was wrong at all.