//------------------------------// // 7: Varmints in the fog // Story: Growth // by Squinty Mudmane //------------------------------// “And they have to be pink?” Marble asked in amazement. Applejack nodded. “Yup, an’ not just any pink, either. It’s gotta be this one particular shade o’ pink or else it don’t work.” Marble tried to wrap her head around it all. Sure, the transmutation techniques they used back on the farm were sometimes rather elaborate, but seriously, pink polka dots? “And… the bunny suit?” “Hey, zap apples are zap apples,” Applejack said with a little grin. “Maybe it’s the fluffy little tail they like, I don’t know. It works, so I don’t question it. Jumpin’ ’round those waterin’ cans is good exercise, if nothin’ else, even if it’s a bit of a tight fit.” Marble smiled. “I’d like to see that,” she said, then felt the clammy hoof of panic seize her by the throat. “I-I mean, not you specifically in a bunny suit, j-just, uh, it—it just sounds, uhm—” Applejack chuckled. “I know what ya mean. It really is a sight for sore eyes sometimes.” A grin spread across her face. “You should see Mac doin’ it; his suit looks like it’s about to burst at the seams every time he jumps,” she said, her chuckling bubbling over into full-blown laughter. “I swear I heard a rippin’ sound last time we did it, but Mac claimed it was the onions he had last night.” Marble giggled as well, her anxiety quelled by Applejack’s mirth. She pictured the lumbering stallion bouncing around in a bright blue bunny suit that was far too tight-fitting, complete with bendy ears and a little fluffy tail tuft. She tried very hard to keep that amusing image in her head and not think about how the mare next to her would look in the same costume. They continued on at a sedate pace once the laughter died down, with Applejack explaining the subtle differences between the various sorts of apples they grew—of which there were apparently hundreds—and Marble listening attentively while trying to keep track of all the different varieties and their characteristics. The whole process of growing apple was fascinating; how the trees would, with a little care and attention, sprout from seeds to tiny saplings to the fully grown versions that surrounded them; how, year after year, the same trees would bear new fruit; how they would shed their leaves for winter, and then bloom green once again come the spring. Even more amazing was how old the trees could become; some of the trees Applejack showed her had been fully grown by the time the very first settlers came here, making them more than a hundred years old. Marble knew most rocks were ancient, but rocks were not living, breathing things. As interesting as it was, however, she couldn’t help but feel it all sounded… easy. “So… is that all there is to it?” she asked during a lull in the conversation. Applejack gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean ‘all there is to it’?” “Well, it’s just…” Marble searched for the words for a moment. “It sounds like you just plant the apple trees, and then they pretty much just do their own thing.” “Now hold on a second,” Applejack said, furrowing her brow and giving Marble an indignant look. “Just what are you implyin’ here? It ain’t nearly as easy as that! You gotta prune ’em, help ’em fight off parasites an’ fungi, make sure they get enough nutrients…” As it turned out, apple farming was not anywhere near as simple as Marble’s father had always made it out to be. In the past, the few times she had asked him about other types of farming, he had snorted derisively and proclaimed that such ‘farmers’ were layabouts and lazy ponies who simply lounged around and let nature do all the work for them. There were also similarities to the type of farming she was familiar with back home; the necessity of following preset cycles; the importance of making sure the trees received enough water, just as obsidian transmutations needed enough shade; and not least, the patience required to wait for the optimal time before harvesting, so as to let the rocks transmute fully or, in the case of apples, ‘ripen’, as Applejack called it. “An’ that’s when the real hard work begins,” Applejack explained. “When the apples are good an’ ready, you gotta buck ’em from the trees. It’s exhaustin’, but it’s also the most rewardin’ part, if you ask me.” Marble tilted her head a bit. “Buck? As in… kick them off the trees?” Applejack nodded and smiled. “Darn tootin’. You give the tree a solid thwack with yer hooves, an’ those red beauties come right off, sure as sugar. See that one over there?” She nodded towards one of the trees around which were scattered several baskets. “We put baskets ’round the trees we’re gonna buck so the apples plop right into ’em when they fall. Makes gatherin’ up the harvest a cinch.” “Huh. That’s clever.” Marble studied the setup for a moment. Through the fog, she could make out other trees nearby that were similarly outfitted. “Doesn’t it take a lot of time to set up all those baskets, though?” Applejack grinned at her. “I did say it was hard work, didn’t I? Still…” She walked over to the tree and turned her back to it, raising her hindquarters and giving it a solid kick with both of her hind legs. Apples fell from the tree almost instantly, most landing in the strategically placed baskets. Applejack picked up the few that missed and deposited them with the rest. “Haven’t found a better way to do it yet,” she said with a triumphant little smirk. “It sure seems, uh, effective,” Marble said with a slightly shaky smile. She had tried very hard not to focus too closely on the way her cousin’s muscles had played over her body during the process, but without much luck. “You wanna give it a go as well?” Applejack asked. Marble blinked. “Oh, uh… s-sure. Yeah, I’d like to.” Applejack nodded approvingly, looking around the nearest trees for a moment before nodding towards one of them. “Great. Try that one over there.” Marble smiled to herself as she walked over to the designated tree; finally something she could show her cousin she was good at. She knew she was no weakling herself, and it seemed like kicking something real hard was impossible to mess up. She turned her back to the tree, raised her rear and kicked the tree as hard as she could. Her hooves impacted against the tree with a loud crack. Chips of bark and splinters flew. Two apples dislodged themselves from the branches, with a third following after a moment’s hesitation. It bounced off Marble’s head and landed in the grass, while the rest of the apples remained stubbornly in place. “Not bad for a first try,” Applejack said encouragingly. “Although yer approach is a bit off. It ain’t ’bout raw force so much as it’s about hittin’ the sweet spot. Otherwise you just end up bustin’ down the poor tree.” Marble pinned her ears against her skull as she noticed the sizeable dent she had left in the tree’s bark. “Sorry, she mumbled. Applejack walked over to her and patted her encouragingly on the shoulder. “Aw, don’t fret. Bark grows back. Learnin’ how to buck properly takes a long time, just like anythin’ worth doin’.” Marble could not help but smile a little. If that had been her father here, she would have received a stern reprimand to do better, not kind words. A speck of something multicoloured in the whiteness that surrounded them on all sides caught Marble’s eyes. It dangled from the crown of one of the trees and almost looked like a rainbow. “Oh! Applejack, is that a zap apple hanging from that tree?” she asked, excitement bubbling in her stomach. Applejack had said the zap apples only sprouted at very specific times during a year. Could she really have been lucky enough to happen by during one of those times? “Hm? Shouldn’t be. It ain’t season yet…” Applejack followed the direction of Marble’s gaze curiously, then her lips curled in a smirk. “Ah, nah, that ain’t an apple, that’s one of them varmints we sometimes get ’round the orchard.” “A varmint?” Marble echoed, following Applejack towards the tree. The strange colourful object swayed gently back and forth, and, on closer inspection, seemed to be made of hair. Applejack nodded. “Pegasus varmint,” she explained in a hushed voice, creeping forward stealthily. “Darn nuisance is what they are. They’ll go Infest a tree to make a nest an’ eat a buncha apples while they’re at it. They startle real easy if ya get the drop on ’em, though.” When they were right next to the tree, Applejack spun around and, without warning, kicked the tree with her powerful hind legs so forcefully that the entire thing shook and a small shower of apples, along with a bunch of brown leaves, drizzled from the crown. That was not the only thing dislodged from the tree, though. With a yelp, something large and blue fell from one of the branches, flapping its wings in a frantic but fruitless attempt to get airborne. It landed in the grass with a soft thud. “Ow! Not cool, AJ!” the ‘varmint’ complained in a raspy, yet undeniably feminine voice. “If you don’t like it, you should stick to yer cloud beds,” Applejack replied flatly. “Yeah, well, cloud beds don’t come with snacks within hoof’s reach,” the pegasus said as she picked herself up from the ground and dusted herself off. The tuft of hair Marble had seen dangling from the tree was her tail, which had the same remarkable colouration as her mane. The pegasus blew a rasp at Applejack, then seemed to notice Marble for the first time. “Who’s that?” she asked. Applejack took a step forward. “This is mah cousin Marble. She’s Pinkie’s sister.” She looked at Marble and indicated the pegasus with a hoof. “Marble, this feathered freeloader here is Rainbow Dash. I guess I gotta ’fess that she’s a friend of mine.” The pegasus’ eyes turned from curious to strangely concerned. “You’re… Pinkie’s sister? You, uh… feeling all right? You’re not gonna hit me, are you?” she asked warily. The strange question left Marble flabbergasted for a moment. “Wh-what?” she managed to sputter. “Why would I want to hit you?” Applejack furrowed her brow at Rainbow. “What kinda question is that, Dash?” The pegasus held up a hoof in a warding gesture. “Hey, don’t get mad. It’s just…” She glanced at Applejack. “Well, you remember what happened last time Pinkie had a straight mane?” Applejack gave the pegasus a flat look. “She ain’t Pinkie,” she retorted. “Besides, Twilight’s got a straight mane too, an’ she hasn’t gone crazy-scary before.” Rainbow Dash let out a snort. “Uhh, hello? Remember the Smarty Pants doll?” “...Fair point,” Applejack admitted after a moment’s thought. Marble looked from one pony to the other with increasing frustration and worry at the mention of the strangely ominous-sounding incident. “What are you two going on about? Has Pinkie hit somepony? And who’s Twilight?” “Oh, Twilight’s one of our friends. Really nice and smart, but she can be kinda geeky at times,” the pegasus replied casually. “And, well, there was that one spell with the parasprites, or the time she turned Fluttershy into a fruitbat—” “Gee, Dash, I bet Twi would be mighty pleased to hear how well ya speak of her,” Applejack said with a snort and a roll of her eyes. Rainbow Dash paused mid-sentence and looked at her hooves guiltily for a moment. “Oh. Right... sorry.” “Don’t apologise to me; Twilight’s the one you’re foulmouthin’.” Applejack turned towards Marble. “What Dash means to say is that while Twilight can be kinda… eccentric, she’s one of the nicest ponies yer ever gonna find.” Marble looked from one to the other, still feeling somewhat uncertain. From the mention of spellcasting, she had to assume this ‘Twilight’ was a unicorn, and the descriptions of what she had done made her sound very much like the type of dangerous and reckless pony her dad had always said unicorns were. Then again, Rarity was a unicorn as well, and she had been nothing but friendly and charming. Unless that was some kind of spell she had cast, too… “So what was that about Pinkie?” she asked instead, the other glaring issue at hoof. Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanged looks before the latter spoke up. “Well… I’m guessin’ you know firsthoof how much Pinkie likes throwin’ parties, right?” Marble nodded. “Sure. That was how she got her cutie mark.” A little smile tugged at her lips at the memory of that first party. The smile was quickly replaced by a concerned frown when the obvious question arose. “What does that have to do with Pinkie hitting other ponies?” “Well, she never hit anypony, but…” Applejack paused, seemingly unsure how to proceed. “This one time, she’d just thrown a party for Gummy,” Rainbow Dash said. “He’s Pinkie’s pet alligator. Toothless little—” “She knows,” Applejack interjected. “She already met him. Or heard him, rather.” Marble nodded in confirmation. “Right. So, Pinkie wanted to throw an after-party for Gummy the next day,” the pegasus explained, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof. “Thing is, she’d completely forgotten it was her own birthday, and we wanted to surprise her with a party as well. That meant we had to explain why we couldn’t go to Gummy’s so we'd have time to set everything up. Pinkie got suspicious, even though our excuses were all rock solid—” Applejack rolled her eyes, but said nothing “—but she got it into her head that we were avoiding her because we didn’t like her parties or something.” Marble felt a growing unease in her stomach; Pinkie had never seemed more alive than when she was hosting a party. When their dad had told her that she was ‘wasting’ too much time trying to celebrate irrelevant little things and that parties were only to be held for special occasions like birthdays, Pinkie had been despondent for weeks. “She kinda went off her rocker—” “Rainbow!” Applejack shot the pegasus a reproachful look. “Well, she did! You saw her!” Rainbow Dash replied defensively. Applejack’s lips pressed into a tight frown, but she said nothing further. “Anyway,” the pegasus continued, turning her attention back to Marble. “I went to get her to come over to the farm here where we’d prepared everything. I went to her room and—” She flicked her tail nervously and let out a little shudder. “Well, she was sitting there around the table with a bucket of turnips, a clump of lint, a bag of flour and a pile of rocks. She had this creepy look in her eyes and her mane was all straight and limp like yours.” Marble self-consciously touched the tips of her mane with a hoof for a moment before something clicked in her head. “Wait, did those things she was with have names?” she asked, the question sounding silly even as it left her lips. Rainbow Dash nodded, which did little to reassure her. “Yeah, something like Madame le Flour and Rocky. Why?” “Something similar happened back home once…” Marble said carefully. “What happened then?” The pegasus began to pace back and forth. “She said something about how those were her real friends and she did voices for them and all… I had to drag her over to Sweet Apple Acres by her tail. My jaw hurt the rest of the day.” “Turns out she’d misunderstood us bein’ all secretive as us wantin’ to boot her outta Ponyville,” Applejack said with a little shake of her head. “She even tried to claim the birthday party we’d prepared for her was her own farewell party. Luckily, she came ’round right quick after we explained how things really were.” “And she’s been all right since then?” Marble asked. “Pretty much, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said with a nod. “Although we’ve kinda learned that a straight mane means something’s seriously messed up with her.” She gave Marble another hesitant look. “So… you’re absolutely sure you—” “Yes!” Marble snapped, more harshly than she had intended and she immediately regretted it. “Sorry. Uhm, yes, I’m fine. We might look alike, but I’m not all that much like my sister.” That simple admission, truthful though it was, brought a little stab of sadness to her heart. She did her best not to let it show, though. If either of the two other mares noticed anything, they seemed disinclined to press the issue. “So, uh, I heard something about a ‘festival’ that Pinkie is planning. What’s that all about?” Marble asked in an attempt to switch topics to something less personal. “That’s a bit of a longer story,” Applejack said, picking up a couple of the apples that had fallen down along with Dash and depositing them in a nearby basket. “Y’see, every fall, Dash an’ I have this little competition between us, doin’ all kinds of athletic contests an’ whatnot. Usually draws a pretty sizeable audience.” “But this year, we decided to make it waaay bigger and open it up to everypony!” Rainbow interjected, snatching one of the apples before Applejack could get to it. “To try and get others to join in on the fun.” “So Twilight gets her head together with Ponyville’s mayor an’ works out the idea of havin’ a festival together with the competitions, an’ Pinkie gets put in charge of it, seein’ as parties are kinda like her thing. Plan is to put it up on an open field near the farm.” Applejack nodded her head towards the pegasus. “Dash here’s been workin’ with some of her cronies from the weather patrol team to get things set up. Speakin’ of which…” Rainbow looked at Applejack warily as the latter narrowed her eyes slightly. “What?” Applejack made a sweep of her hoof to encompass the fog surrounding them. “What’s up with all the foul weather lately? You got a misplaced cloud shipment from the weather factory again or somethin’?” “Weather factory?” Marble asked, unable to contain her curiosity. She knew pegasi had something to do with the weather, but the idea that it was produced in some kind of industry was new to her. Rainbow glanced at her and nodded. “The one in Cloudsdale, yeah. We get all our stuff from there.” She turned her attention back to Applejack and gave her a slightly sour glare. “And don’t get a lemon under your tail. I’m just getting all the bad weather out of the way so it’ll be clear for the competition.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ain’t that against the rules or somethin’? Changin’ around the schedule like that?” “I got a few favours to cash in on,” Rainbow replied with a shrug. “Besides, it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve ever done something like this. Nopony ever checks up on it, anyway.” “Huh… Fair enough, then.” Applejack gave the pegasus a little smile. “Sorry I snapped at ya. That’s actually pretty smart thinkin’.” “I know, right?” Rainbow said with a smug smirk, then looked over at Marble. “Anyway, I don’t really know what Pinks is planning, other than it’s big. My gang and I just do the heavy lifting.” Marble nodded, storing away the dozen questions she had about the so-called weather factory for later. “You said it was going to be near here?” “Yup, on a field over yonder, back the way we came,” Applejack said, pointing. Marble had no idea if that was the way they had actually come, but she assumed Applejack knew her own farm well enough to find her way around even in conditions like this. “If it’s not too much of a bother… could we take a look?” Marble asked, looking at her cousin hopefully. “I’d like to see what it is Pinkie is planning. I-if you have other plans, I won’t mind, though,” she hurriedly added. To her relief, Applejack simply smiled. “Sure thing. It ain’t too much of a walk gettin’ there. Afraid there probably ain’t too much to look at yet. We only just got started settin’ it up.” Marble nodded. “That’s okay. I’d still like to see it anyway.” “Well, all right, then.” Applejack glanced at Rainbow. “You reckon you can get rid of the fog ’round here, RD? Ain’t much point goin’ for a look if it ain’t possible to see squat.” Rainbow shrugged lightly. “Sure. It’s almost time to get rid of it, anyway.” The smug expression from before slid back onto her face. “Watch and be amazed.” Without waiting for a reply, the pegasus took off from the ground and disappeared before either Marble or Applejack could point out that it was rather hard to watch her through the fog. Applejack began to walk back the way she had indicated. “Shouldn’t we wait for her?” Marble asked uncertainly even as she fell in step with her cousin. Applejack shook her head. “Nah, she’ll catch up to us in no time. Dash can be quick as lightning when the mood takes her.” As they walked, the fog began to drift as if buffeted by wind. Marble faltered in her step and watched in amazement as the haze began to swirl and rise from the ground. As it lifted, trees upon trees came into view, the orchard stretching in seemingly every direction. Her mouth went slack as she looked up and saw the vortex in the sky above them, sucking up the fog into an ever-expanding white cloud. It was orbited by a speeding projectile that left behind a rainbow-coloured contrail. “’Kay, now she’s just showin’ off,” Applejack commented next to her. Marble glanced at her and self-consciously closed her mouth when she noticed that her cousin was largely unaffected by the display, save for an expression of mild amusement. Suddenly, the blur that Marble assumed was Rainbow Dash took off in one direction faster than any creature had the right to move. The humongous low-hanging cloud drifted after her for a moment, then stopped. “Keep yer eyes peeled now. Looks like it’s time for the finale,” Applejack said. Marble was about to ask what she meant when Rainbow Dash can speeding past overhead just above the treetops, whipping up a small storm of dead leaves in her wake. Once she was underneath the cloud, she pulled up sharply, punching through the centre of the cloud. It came apart and exploded into a hundred small clouds that drifted every which way. Marble’s eyes felt as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. She had never seen anything like this before. She looked around the sky frantically, trying to catch sight of the pegasus. Then she saw her, a small dot that grew as it rapidly approached, turning into a grinning Rainbow Dash who landed elegantly on the ground in front of them. “Aaand done. Pretty good time, huh?” Rainbow said with a grin, tossing her mane. Marble’s father had often said that getting unduly excited about something was the hallmark of impressionable foals, but right now, there was absolutely nothing she could do to help herself. “That was amazing!” she whooped. Rainbow’s grin grew even wider. “Told ya.” “Not too shabby,” Applejack said, looking up at the sky appreciatively with a little smile. “But you weren’t as fast as usual, so I’mma have to give it a three, maybe four out of five.” Rainbow stuck her tongue out at Applejack. “As if! That was at least a four-and-a-half!” Applejack chuckled and shook her head a little. Her smile grew even wider as she looked at Marble. “Well, look at that; if that don’t prove you an’ Pinkie are related, I don’t know what does.” Marble belatedly realised she was bouncing in place much like her sister always did and immediately stopped as her excitement was engulfed by the familiar feeling of embarrassment. “Aw, I didn’t say ya had to stop, sugarcube,” Applejack said, her smile turning into a playful grin. Marble fought the urge to groan as the heat on her cheeks intensified, accompanied by a strange but not altogether unpleasant flutter in her stomach. She suddenly found herself quite unable to meet those warm green eyes. She almost felt a little frustrated; it was as if Applejack was intentionally trying to wrongfoot her. “Ha ha, very funny,” she muttered, shooting a glare down at her treacherous hooves. Applejack nodded sagely. “I thought so too. That’s why I had to point it out.” Marble tried to give Applejack her best withering stare, but her cousin just grinned in an infuriatingly disarming manner that made it impossible to put as much venom into the glare as Marble wanted. “Hey, what else could I do when ya gave me an openin’ like that on a silver platter?” Applejack nudged her shoulder playfully against Marble, which did not help in the slightest. “I’ll knock it off if it bothers ya too much, though. It’s all just in good fun.” “Please?” Marble asked. It almost sounded a little pathetic. Not for the first time, she wished she had Blinkie’s sharp tongue; then she would have been able to nail Applejack with a biting retort. “I’ll do mah best, although I can’t promise nothin’ if ya go an’ surprise me like that again,” Applejack said, though Marble could not tell whether she was joking or not. “Still no poofy mane, though,” Rainbow commented. “I think we gotta try harder next time.” Marble was starting to feel a little offended; sure, at times she might wish she was more like Pinkie, but she did not actually want to be her. “I happen to like my mane the way it is,” she said defensively, even as she had to stop herself from subconsciously reaching up to touch it. The pegasus shrugged lightly. “Suit yourself. Fussing over hairstyles is really more Rarity’s thing, anyway. I’m just saying, when Pinkie’s mane is like that, it’s—” She paused mid-sentence as Applejack looked at her pointedly. “Forget it, let’s just move on,” she finished, “Let’s,” Marble agreed, careful not to let the simmering anger slip into her voice and doing her best to swallow it. They lapsed into silence as they walked through the orchard, Applejack in the middle between Marble and Rainbow Dash. You’re just stellar at making good first impressions, aren’t you, Marb? she thought sourly. Her propensity for curling up like a hedgehog seemed to be doing a great job at spoiling what she felt certain Applejack had intended as a nice little introduction to one of her friends. The two of them certainly seemed to be close, though in a different way than Applejack and Rarity seemed to be. The former two acted more like Marble and Blinkie might do on a good day, bantering in a joking manner, while the latter two were more… The only word she could think of was ‘flirtatious’, but nothing Applejack had said about the unicorn had implied they were close the same way Blinkie and Flint were. Maybe it was just her imagination? Perhaps that easy and carefree behaviour was simply how normal ponies interacted. Pinkie had certainly been very physical when she met them again, much more so than Marble could recall any of them ever being back home. Maybe that was something her sister had picked up from the city ponies? “You hear that?” Applejack asked suddenly as they neared the farmhouse. It took Marble a moment to figure out what her cousin meant, but then she heard it too; an unmistakable high-pitched energetic voice. “Sounds like Pinkie,” Rainbow said, somewhat unnecessarily. She listened for a moment. “And sounds like she’s putting on her tour-guide routine.” Applejack’s face contorted into a grimace. “Shoot, already?” Marble glanced at her. “You were expecting her to show up?” Applejack nodded. “I told her I’d give you an’ yer kin a tour of the farm, but I didn’t expect her to just show up outta the blue.” She flashed a little grin at Marble. “Guess I kinda spoiled it for ya already, though.” “I can pretend to forget what you said if you want to tell it again,” Marble offered helpfully. The prospect of hearing Applejack say the same things she had already told once was not all that unappealing; she had a very pleasant voice, and there was great passion in it when she spoke about matters she seemed to enjoy. “I’ll keep yer offer in mind,” Applejack said with a little chuckle, causing an involuntary smile to form on Marble’s lips. “Let’s go find ’em, in any case. Sounds like Pinkie’s in a chipper mood, at least.” They found her in front of the barn with her parents, gesturing vividly with her hooves as she spoke. “...And they got this neat pulley system to lift the loads up to the attic! It’s really cool! I got Applejack to give me a lift on it this one time, and you get a great view of the whole orchard up there! And there’s so much stuff in the attic, too! They’ve got everything a real farm needs!” Her mother was at least making an effort to seem interested. Mr Pie, however, studied the barn with a scowl on his face. “So this is your idea of a ‘real farm’ then, is it?” he demanded, turning his attention to Pinkie after a few moments of looking around. As Marble got closer, she could see the strain written across Pinkie’s face; her eyes flickered before the steady gaze of her father, her smile wavering. Her whole posture seemed frail and brittle, as if it might crack and crumble at any moment. “I-I didn’t mean it like that! I just—” “I can see how simple rock farming isn’t good enough for you anymore,” Mr Pie went on, heedless of Pinkie’s words. “No, you’re moving up in the world. Related to fruit farmers now.” He snorted derisively. “Fruit farmers who haven’t seen fit to grace us commoners with their presence, either.” “Lookin’ fer me, Mister?” Applejack asked, walking ahead of the other two towards Mr Pie in a casual manner, though her mouth was set in a thin frown. Rainbow Dash looked far less restrained; her tail swished back and forth aggressively, her ears laid back against her skull, and she was… stalking forward, for lack of a better word. Mr Pie turned to face them, looking thoroughly unenthused. “If I gotta speak with somepony here, I’d rather it be the head of the household. Kindly go fetch him,” he said coolly. “I’m the best yer gonna get. You wanna talk, you can talk to me,” Applejack replied evenly. They glared at each other for a moment, and Marble felt the same tense atmosphere from last evening again. “I’m not interested in bandying words with a belligerent fruit-farming filly,” he spat. “Get your father. Now.” A small but noticeable change washed over Applejack. Her body tensed, her eyes narrowed, and the very air around her seemed to grow frosty. “Uhm, Dad?” Pinkie said carefully. “Applejack is—” “Be silent, Pinkie!” Mr Pie snapped, not even bothering to look at his daughter, who visibly shrank back at his words. “Hey, who the heck do you think you are, talking to Pinkie like that?!” Rainbow all but yelled, flaring her wings and stomping towards the old stallion. Mr Pie shot her an unimpressed look. “I’m her father, and unless you are somehow related to her or this filly here—” he nodded towards Applejack “—kindly stay out of this; it doesn’t concern you, pegasus.” “The hell it does!” Rainbow barked. “You talk to Pinkie like that again, you’ll be picking up your teeth off the ground for a week!” “Please! Don’t fight!” Pinkie pleaded, looking to be on the verge of tears. Neither Rainbow or Mr Pie seemed to pay her any attention. Marble wanted to intervene, but she found herself tongue-tied and her hooves rooted to the spot by a lifetime of ingrained deference to her parents. She looked urgently at her mother, silently willing her to step in and try to rein Mr Pie in, but she simply remained silent behind the stallion, as useless as— As useless as me. The thought filled her with shame and self-loathing. Her father spat—spat!—on the ground right between Rainbow’s front hooves and shot her a contemptuous look. “I didn’t come here to be insulted by ruffians and dirt farmers,” he growled, “and I’m sure you’ve got excrements to dish out to your precious trees. So how about—” “They’re not dirt farmers!” It was not until she felt her father’s piercing gaze boring into her eyes that Marble realised she was the one who had spoken up. Her mouth seemed to move on its own accord, words spilling from her lips. “They’re not dirt farmers,” she repeated. “And you’re wrong about fruit farming!” Marble felt a heady rush of emotions; it was as if liquid strength coursed through her veins. Confidence washed away fear. She felt angry, she felt powerful, and she would make her father hear her! “Applejack told me about—” “Shut up, Marble,” her father said sharply, anger warring with disappointment on his face. Her mother looked at her as well, though she seemed more surprised than anything else. “Nopony asked for your input.” And just like that, the spell was broken, crushed. All the fire and strength drained from Marble in an instant, and all she was left with was a mouth still open, waiting to utter words that would not come. “Sir,” she heard Applejack say. There was a faint tremor in her cousin’s normally so steady voice. “I’m only gonna say this once: Either apologise an’ change yer tone, or get the heck offa mah property. Now.” Marble forced her head to the side to look at Applejack. Unlike Rainbow, who was so livid that she was shaking and her teeth were bared at Mr Pie, Applejack stood tall and stoic, but her eyes were utterly bereft of warmth, which somehow looked even more frightening. Mr Pie regarded them for a moment, then snorted and turned around without another word. Mrs Pie followed him silently, casting one more glance at Marble as she passed by, but Marble could not meet her eye. “Really? You’d rather just walk off than say you’re sorry?!” Rainbow called after Mr Pie, but there was no response. The only thing that kept her from chasing after him was the fact that her tail was gripped firmly by Applejack’s teeth. Not that it kept her from trying. “Dashie, please…” Pinkie said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. It trembled, threatening to break. “Dad doesn’t—Dad doesn’t mean—” Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked from Rainbow to Applejack, then to Marble. “I-I didn’t mean for it to be like this…” It was Applejack who moved first, putting a foreleg around Pinkie in an awkward hug. “We know, Pinkie,” she said gently with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. “It wasn’t yer fault.” Marble looked at them for a moment. She was the sister; she should have been the one to comfort Pinkie first. Why, then, had it been so hard to force her body into motion? “Yeah, don’t worry about it,” she said lamely, still unable to close the distance between herself and Pinkie. Rainbow shot a dark look after the parents. “I swear, if that old wretch talks to you like that again, I’ll kick his—” Pinkie rounded on the pegasus and shook her head frantically. “No! Please! Don’t! No fighting! Dad is just a bit grumpy because I woke them up with confetti and cake!” Rainbow furrowed her brow in puzzlement. “How’s that a bad thing?” Pinkie wrung her hooves anxiously. “Uhm… I kinda maybe used the Party Cannon for the confetti, and Dad said Mom nearly had a stroke…” “Oh.” Marble wanted to ask what a ‘Party Cannon’ was, but words were being as slippery as soap. Applejack was being a further distraction; something seemed to have gone out of her during that conversation, left her just a little diminished in vitality. It seemed to have happened when Marble’s father had mentioned— Something clicked in Marble’s head, a connection that was painfully obvious in hindsight: Applejack had mentioned four of them living at the farm; herself, her two siblings and their grandmother, but hadn’t made any mention of her parents. Marble bit her lower lip. Perhaps she was jumping to conclusions, assuming too much, but that strained look on Applejack’s face… “Uhm, you two have time later, right?” Pinkie asked carefully. It took Marble a moment to realise her sister was talking to her as well as Applejack. “I, uh… I think so?” Marble ventured, glancing at Applejack for confirmation. Her cousin nodded. “Should have, yeah. What’s on yer mind, Pinkie?” “Well, uhm, the thing is…” Pinkie awkwardly tapped her front hooves together, sitting on her haunches. “I had planned this dinner for the whole family; the three of us, Blinkie, Flint, Mr and Mrs Cake and Mom and Dad.” She looked guiltily at Rainbow. “Uh, s-sorry, Dashie, do you want to come too? You could be honorary family, if you’d like to…” Rainbow shook her head firmly. “Yeah, no thanks, Pinks. I don’t really think that’d be a good idea. It’s, erhm, nice of you to ask, though, but I think I’d just end up doing something we’d all regret.” “Oh, okay. That’s… good, I think? I just didn’t want you to feel left out. You don’t feel left out, do you?” she asked urgently, to which the pegasus shook her head. “Okay, good… So, uh—” she turned her attention back to Marble and Applejack “—it’s gonna be really nice, I think. I mean, I hope. I mean, I know! We’ll eat and talk and have a tasty dessert and talk some more, and then everypony can be good friends. Right?” Her head swiveled from one to the other, an almost pleading look in her eyes. Marble exchanged glances with Applejack. Her cousin looked as uncertain as Marble felt. “Pinkie, I… think I gotta echo Dash here; I don’t think this is a good idea,” Applejack said slowly, evidently picking her words carefully. “Yer pa an’ I don’t really see eye to eye. I don’t want to cause ya problems.” “That’s just because you two don’t know each other well enough yet! If you’d just get a chance to sit down and talk, really talk, I’m sure you’d get along perfectly!” Pinkie said with a desperate tinge in her voice. To Marble, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Applejack. It did not seem to be working in the latter’s case. “Pinkie—” “And if talking doesn’t work, then maybe a game of pin the tail on the pony! Or a seven-legged race! Or you can make friendship cupcakes with each other’s cutie mark as decoration! I’ve never met anypony where the friendship cupcakes didn’t work!” Applejack took a half-step away from Pinkie. “I really don’t think—” “Please, Applejack!” Pinkie got down on her knees in front of Applejack, gripping her right front hoof with both her own. Applejack almost shied away, but did not seem to have the heart to simply pull her hoof from Pinkie’s grasp. “Please say yes! For me! Please?” Applejack glanced back over her shoulder, and Marble realised her cousin was looking for her opinion. Perhaps she thought Marble knew of a way to convince Pinkie of the sheer hopelessness of her plan? Marble wanted to agree with Applejack; her sister’s idea was so detached from reality that it might as well be a fanciful dream. Sticking their father and Applejack in the same room was probably the last thing they should do, and that was before adding the volatile Blinkie into the mix; there was still the unresolved matter of the letters. Despite all that, she could not bring herself to crush her sister’s hopes, however unreal they were. Pinkie was clinging to Applejack’s hoof like a drowning pony to a raft. It… it would be too much to say no. Still, was that not simply cruel mercy? Humouring Pinkie’s flights of fancy even when Marble knew full well that there was no conceivable way it could end well? She… She was being weak again. Damn it all, she was being weak again. She could not say no. Applejack looked back at Pinkie with a torn expression. “I’m sorry, Pinkie,” she said, gently trying to pry her hoof loose. Pinkie’s ears fell, her front legs dropping limply to the ground as Applejack’s hoof slipped from her grasp, her expression utterly forlorn. It was too much. “I just don’t see—” “Wait!” Marble said quickly, stepping up to her sister. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her. No backing out now. “We’ll be there,” she said with all the firmness she could muster. Pinkie’s eyes lit up with hope, perfect to be snuffed out like a candle, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “R-really?” Marble smiled back at her, even though it felt tainted by falsehood. “Really.” Applejack looked anything but pleased, though she nodded slowly when Pinkie looked at her again. “If it makes ya happy,” she said in a defeated voice. Pinkie swept them both into a crushing hug, one leg around each neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’ve no idea how happy this makes me! Oh, I know I can make this work, I just know it!” The embrace was almost painful, but in Marble’s mind, that discomfort was the least of what she deserved. The brighter the spark that had ignited in Pinkie glowed, the more Marble felt convinced she had just made a terrible mistake. “I’ve got to go and get everything set up!” Pinkie said, letting go of them and taking a step back. The tentative smile she had worn had bloomed into a happy grin. “Lots to do, lots to prepare! Can you try to be at Sugarcube Corner at around… six-ish sharp-ish? That’d be great!” “Y-yeah. We’ll do that…” Marble mumbled, rubbing her aching neck. “Super! I’ll see you then!” Pinkie gave all three of them another hug individually before turning around and heading the way her parents had gone. The bouncy spring was back in her step. Silence hung in the air for a bit in the wake of Pinkie’s departure, though Marble was sure they all thought the same thing. “This ain’t gonna go well,” Applejack said eventually. Marble had never heard a statement that rang more forebodingly in her ears. She swallowed. “I know.” Applejack looked at her. “Then why’d ya say yes?” Neither her voice nor her eyes were accusatory, only questioning. Marble hesitated. Because I’m not as strong as you are. Because I hope Father is a better pony than that. Because… “Because…” she said slowly, “because there was no right answer, but at least this way, she knows we’re on her side.” “I don’t know,” Rainbow said dubiously. “You sure it isn’t just giving her support to make a mistake?” Applejack turned to look after Pinkie as the revitalised mare disappeared down the road after her parents. “Bein’ a good friend means ya gotta know when to say ‘no’ at times.” A little sigh escaped her lips. “But ya gotta stand by yer family through thick an’ thin, too.” She shook her head sadly. “Either way is gonna cause her pain. I guess the best we can do is try an’ be there for her.” “Yeah…” Marble said softly, doubt gnawing at her like a festering wound.