Vee for Vendetta

by Melon Hunter

Various Vociferous Views

Patience, Granny Smith had often said, was the greatest virtue a farmer could have. After all, if there was one thing you couldn’t rush, it was growing an apple. Well, unless you were a unicorn. Or had certain zebra potions. Or pegasi giving you optimal weather. In fact, the more you thought about it, the more you found ways to hurry it up…

Applejack shook her head and grumbled in irritation. She had been cooped up in a back room of the Town Hall for the past two hours, kept captive with only her thoughts and mountains of old paperwork in storage. Patience she had, but not when her nostrils were filled with the smell of slowly decaying parchment instead of soil and fresh air, and definitely not when her inaction was causing somepony else harm.

Dust fell from the ceiling as a rumble and the sound of splintering wood rang out for the umpteenth time. Applejack felt a shard of ice in her stomach—what in Equestria was Veggie doing to make the Thinking Engine grow so fast? At best, she was showing its functions to every Sugar Watch member who turned up. At worst, Sweetie Belle was suffering in some unspeakable way. The Flim Flam Brothers could have put anything in that machine!

Enough was enough. She hopped up and tried to push the door open, but it may as well have been another part of the wall for all the good it did. Applejack glowered at the wood, before spinning around and bucking as hard as she could.

A spike of pain in her hind legs was enough to tell her that was a bad idea. That and the fact she’d been unceremoniously dumped on the floor by the force of her kick bouncing back. Applejack climbed unsteadily to her hooves and stared at the door. Two faint imprints were the only evidence she’d kicked it. What the hay had Veggie done to keep her locked in here?!

Her ruminating was disturbed by the sounds of more crashing, now coming closer and closer to her location. Applejack gulped and gradually backed away from the door, clutching the edge of her hat. Her eyes flickered upwards, trying to ascertain if the entire building was about to come down.

As it happened, the situation wasn’t quite that bad. Applejack yelped and leapt back as most of the wall in front of her suddenly collapsed inward. Through the dust, a metal object dangling from some cables was visible, alongside a beaming Veggie. As the door fell down too, it revealed Bulk Biceps. He was wearing the remnants of a Sugar Watch jacket as an impromptu cape, the uniform having turned out to be one-size-absolutely-does-not-fit-all.

“Lan’ sakes!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Applejack! How are you doing?” Veggie said, beaming. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve really been putting the Thinking Engine through its paces recently!” She gestured to the dangling device next to her. As the dust settled, it was apparent its segmented cables were attached to a rail running along the surviving wall. “It’s even started building pathways so it can be by my side no matter where I am in the building!”

“Ah noticed,” Applejack deadpanned. She jumped up and began stomping toward Veggie, eyes narrowed. “Now if you’re done horsin’ around with your new toy, Ah want—”

“Ah! Ah!” Veggie raised her forehoof. “‘I want’ doesn’t get.” She put her hoof down on the remnant of the wall and smiled pleasantly. “Now, if you recall, you’ve been detained for attempted resignation. Until we’ve cleared that little misunderstanding up, you won’t be going anywhere. Literally or metaphorically.”

“I think you’re forgettin’ that big ol’ hole right there.” Applejack tensed and leapt straight past Veggie, galloping toward freedom. There was a loud bonk as ‘freedom’ turned out to be a golden bubble of magic centred around her. She rubbed her head and glared at the translucent walls of her new prison.

Veggie sauntered over and leant against the orb. “You do realise I’ve had to deal with countless subordinates trying to run from me to avoid extra paperwork?” She sighed and examined a hoof. “I really thought better of you.”

“The feelin’s mutual.” Applejack crossed her forelegs. “So, what do Ah have to do to get Sweetie Belle freed?”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake!” Veggie snorted and walked in a tight circle in irritation. “What is your obsession with that filly?! She was brought in for detention, and she’ll stay here until I’m done with her.” She rubbed her chin. “Or, until her bedtime or something. Hard to tell.” Her gaze met Applejack’s. “Suffice to say, I am not mistreating her as you seem to think I am. We just had a lovely and… healthy… lunch together.”

“Really.”

“Yes, really!” Vee snapped. “I even had to dig an old copy of Clue out of some store cupboard for her! For some reason, that was the only way she could articulate her improvements to my teaching regime.”

“Uh huh. ‘Board games’,” Applejack said in a low murmur.

“We even braided each other’s manes,” Veggie growled, pressing her nose against the bubble.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ah don’t see any braid.”

“It unwound itself.”

The farmer pursed her lips. Apparently, Veggie was going to just hide her actions behind a list of dubious euphemisms; whatever Sweetie Belle was going through, it must be literally unspeakable. As much as she hated to realise it, Applejack was going to have to co-operate for the time being. Perhaps once she was free, she could find some help… “Look, what am Ah gonna have to do to convince you Ah’m still loyal?”

Veggie’s face instantly brightened up. “So you do want to work with me again! Excellent!” She sucked in a deep breath. “Well, I thought a little more on what you said. And you’re right—you and your family have given me some indispensable help thus far.” She waved a hoof to the now-ruined storeroom. “And really, locking you up is not going to help. Either you want redemption, or you’re already lost to me; the longer you stay in there, the more likely it’s the latter.”

Applejack began to smile in earnest. Finally, Veggie was beginning to think rationally agai—

 “So really, I’m just going to have to assume you’ve turned traitor.” Veggie giggled as Applejack choked and jerked in shock. “Oh, don’t be so surprised, Applejack! What, did you think I’d just let you back into the fold, given the volatile situation? No, the last thing I can let a potential double agent do is undermine me.” She began to stride back and forth in front of the magical bubble. “I can see that you’re willing enough to help when it benefits you, but when we get to the gritty details? You baulk at having to do what needs to be done.”

There was a forceful exhalation as Applejack swallowed her pride and her retort. Aggravating Veggie further was the last thing she wanted. “So, that’s that, then? Ah’m just left here to rot until your revolution’s complete?”

“Ha! No. Not quite. But I think I need to give you the same treatment as I gave Pinkie Pie,” Veggie said quietly. “Namely, force you to do something that’ll make sure the rebels will never want you, no matter how much you wish to defect.” She sat down and crossed her forelegs, smiling slyly at Applejack, staying silent just long enough to make the farmer sweat in discomfort. “I want you to find Rarity.”

“Okay—”

“And I want you to tell her exactly how necessary it was to detain Sweetie Belle.” Veggie flashed an evil, utterly satisfied grin. “Accompanied by no less than three members of the Sugar Watch to corroborate your explanation. Do that for me by nine o’clock this evening, and I’ll consider you fully pardoned.”

Applejack sat quietly, trying to process what Veggie had just said. Not the dirty tactics; that was to be expected. But had she actually—yes, yes she had. Vee’d just unknowingly given her a better exit strategy than she’d ever hoped for, and a way to finally rally all of her friends behind her. Assuming she could just pull in a couple of favours…  

“Of course,” Veggie continued, “should you fail to perform this act, or the Sugar Watch observers feel you have not stuck to the script, I’ll just have to assume you’re an irredeemable traitor and”—she giggled to herself—“I think we both know what that would imply for your long-term prospects, yes?”

Applejack gulped and nodded dumbly. Right. So she was gambling both her freedom and the wellbeing of Sweet Apple Acres on her little stunt going smoothly. No pressure, then. “W-well, Ah guess Ah’m in luck. You’re far too kind, givin’ me of all ponies a second chance.”

A laugh escaped Veggie’s lips. “I cleaned my hooves this morning, Applejack. There’s no need to lick them.” She nodded in satisfaction. “So we have a deal?”

“Ah think we do.” Applejack spat into her hoof, and Veggie did likewise after a little hesitation. They went to press them together in agreement, only to realise the bubble was still in the way. Both ponies awkwardly hovered for a moment, before finally mashing them against roughly the same spot on the magic dome. As the contract was made, the glow around Veggie’s horn faded, freeing AJ from her prison.

“Now, go and collect your uniform. I’ll have your observers meet you shortly,” Veggie said primly. “Please don’t disappoint me, Applejack. I’d hate to have to get the audiobooks of the entire Equestrian tax code to keep you company in detention next time.”

“So would Ah,” Applejack said, before gulping and letting her ears droop.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Veggie towered over her, the console of the Thinking Engine raising itself with a quiet set of clanks over her shoulder. “Run.”

“SHE’S GOH-HOH-HONE! And it’s all my fault!”

Pinkie bit her lip as she looked at the scene she’d been presented with. The trio of her friends had tumbled through the doors of Sugarcube Corner just a moment earlier. Rarity resembled nothing less than a monster from the sort of horror movies that struggled to cover ketchup and strawberry jelly in their special effects budget, with her cheeks stained dark grey by the mascara-tainted tears pouring from her eyes, and her mouth wide in a near constant wail. Her mane had long since lost its luxuriant curls, now-chaotic indigo strands wobbling in time with her sobs.

Fluttershy was standing to her side, a comforting wing placed over Rarity’s shoulder, and a near-endless stream of tissues being supplied to try and soak up the deluge of tears. On the other side was Spike, his face a mixture of pity, concern, and naked fury.

“Oh! Pinkie!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I didn’t know where else to go; I was going to meet Rarity for lunch, but I found her in the Carousel Boutique like this!” She tried giving the unicorn a comforting nuzzle, only to be met with another anguished cry. “I don’t know what’s wrong, let alone how to make it better,” she admitted quietly.

Pinkie nodded. “Don’t worry, I know how to calm her down.” She dashed to the kitchen freezer, returning with an emergency tub of vanilla ice cream and the biggest spoon she could find. She scooped out a griffon’s share and stuck it in Rarity’s mouth as she was mid-wail. The treat had the intended effect as she began to quieten, and then very suddenly an unintended effect as Rarity attempted to swallow the portion all at once to speak, only to cause herself to nearly choke.

After a moment’s frantic coughing and backslaps, Rarity finally took a great intake of breath and shook her head. “Thank you so much for that, Pinkie,” she rasped. “I really prefer my ice cream in manageable doses, for future reference.”

“Yeah, but this was a super-duper mega emergency!” Pinkie exclaimed, wrapping her forelegs around Rarity. “Are you alright? What’s the matter? I’ve never seen you so upset!” She squeezed even tighter as a fresh set of sobs started up. “Hey, don’t worry, we’re all here. You can tell us what’s wrong. As my sister Maud always said, ‘a problem shared is a problem.’”

Rarity snivelled for a moment longer, before clearing her throat and fumbling around for another tissue. In her clumsiness, she instead took hold of Fluttershy’s mane, her quiet protests drowned out by the noise of a nose being blown. “I… she’s gone. Sweetie Belle’s gone.”

“Gone?!” the others chorused.

“Did she get lost?” Fluttershy asked.

“Something take her away?” Spike said.

“Was it a game of hide-and-seek gone horribly wrong?” Pinkie suggested.

“Ye—no! The second one.” Rarity sank to the floor. “It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for those silly sweets I insisted on leaving out…”

Pinkie frowned. “I don’t get why—”

“Veggie Vee took her!” Rarity cried, seizing Pinkie by the shoulders. “They just shoved a note underneath my door to tell me, nothing else. She’s gone because she accidentally took my sweets to school, and now my sister has been ‘detained’!” She teetered on the verge of hyperventilating, pupils dilating. “And the last thing I said to her before she left was ‘don’t come crying to me if Veggie Vee makes an example of you’, and that’s exactly what just happ-eh-eh-ehned!” She broke down into another wave of sobs.

“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy said quietly, doing her best to embrace her grieving friend.

Pinkie let out something between a hiss and a sigh. She turned away from her friends as an ugly expression began to emerge on her face. As much as it hurt to allow it, it was time to let her anger take over fully. No more Miss Nice Pinkie. She was half-surprised not to see her mane collapse from a poofy nebula into a straight cut.

It was one thing for Veggie Vee to come here and lecture Ponyville about healthy eating, and to threaten Sugarcube Corner. And yes, maybe she had brought some of that on herself and her friends by absolutely-accidentally-not-even-for-insurance-fraud blowing up the Apple family’s barn and further provoking Veggie after the Sugar Watch came along. But now, she’d taken away a filly!

Enough was enough. She was going to stop Veggie Vee now, forever, and she’d make sure that nopony from the Civil Service ever darkened their doorways again. She stood up straight, putting on her best serious expression. “Wait right here, Rarity. I can fix this, I promise.” Her normally cheerful voice was sober enough to startle Rarity out of her grieving, instead leaving her nodding dumbly.

Pinkie spun around and scampered up the stairs to her bedroom. She scowled at the sight that greeted her; practically every last possession she had had been opened up, examined, and taken away by the traitors in the PBSC, leaving her room almost bare. A pile of wrapped boiled sweets had been left in the centre of the floor as ‘compensation’, Bon Bon having revelled in reminding Pinkie of her treachery and hostile takeover of the Committee.

Gummy was extracted from the candy hoard by a pink hoof as Pinkie paced the room, wondering how best to present herself. Bon Bon had had the Sweet Tooth costume destroyed the moment Pinkie had been dragged back to Sugarcube Corner the night before, and as far as that no-good traitor was concerned, that was that for the masked mare. What she’d forgotten, of course, that there were not one, but five of those costumes stashed around Ponyville. And thanks to her foresight and quick hooves when she’d talked to Veggie at the library, Pinkie had a spare.

She placed her head against her wardrobe and carefully pushed it to one side, before feeling around for the loose floorboard that was concealed beneath it. Once she had access to her secret stash in the floor, Pinkie extracted the new Sweet Tooth costume, made from Twilight’s old Mare-Do-Well costume. It wasn’t as good as the original; a little careless patchwork from removing the horn pocket on the mask, ribbons and symbol not quite matching the first pattern, and just a little too tight all around thanks to Pinkie’s, um, big bones. Earth ponies just got to be stockier than unicorns, that was all. And besides, it wasn’t like it was going to fit an alicorn without some serious modifications. She quickly clambered into the skin-tight suit, pulling the mask over her head and popping the slightly creased hat on to finish the ensemble. Rarity was going to love this.

Heading back to trot down the stairs, Pinkie began to entertain some scenarios in her mind. She secretly wanted Bon Bon to see her, just to see the look on her face. Not to mention Veggie Vee—or indeed, anypony in the Sugar Watch! Wouldn’t they just hate to have the smug looks wiped off their faces when they saw Sweet Tooth walking again…

She was jerked out of her reverie as she reached the top of the stairs, because it turned out  there actually was a pony from the Sugar Watch at the bottom of the stairs. And they really didn’t look smug at all: in fact, they looked incredibly angry!

This was probably something to do with the fact that Pinkie had destroyed their barn a couple of days ago.

“Oh, hi, Applejack!” Pinkie tried to say in a high-pitched voice, her speech getting caught in a three-way tussle with a nervous giggle and strangled scream in her throat, producing “Ah-ha-haaa-aggghh-hap-lha-ja-ha-ck?!” instead. Her hoof whipped off the mask and hat in a flash, revealing the face of a pony trying so desperately to play it cool she was in danger of causing a new Ice Age.

“Pinkie Pie.” Applejack glared at her from the foot of the stairs, muscles flexing slightly beneath her black uniform jacket. “What a surprise.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper, shot through with menace.

“I-I-I… I know, right?!” Pinkie let out another nervous giggle. “What a time to get into cosplaying, huh?”

Pinkie’s attempt at a grin evaporated and sweat broke out on her brow as Applejack’s scowl grew ever deeper. “You. Have. Lied. Enough. Missy.” The farmer stomped up a step with each word, claps of hooves on wood loud enough to wake a dragon. “What in the hay are you wearing that darned costume for now?”

“Well, uh…” Pinkie bit her lip as she searched for the most diplomatic answer. “You know that mysterious masked vigilante going around town that nopony knows the real identity of? Turns out it’s me! Small world, hu—”

“Of course Ah know you’re Sweet Tooth!” Applejack yelled, slamming a hoof into the floor and climbing another half-dozen steps. “Ah’ve known all along, ever since you first turned up! Ain’t exactly hard to work out which one of us owned a Mare-Do-Well suit and had a whole heap of reasons to go chasin’ Veggie Vee off!”

“Then why did you let me off the other day?”

The question seemed to take the wind out of Applejack’s sails, causing her to sigh and look away. “Ah didn’t want to believe it was you. Ah didn’t want to believe the pony Ah’ve been friends with for years—and welcomed into mah family with open arms, no less—would do a thing like that.” She looked back up at Pinkie. “You’ve never meant to hurt anypony with your plans, Ah know that much. But surely anyone could see how dangerous—how stupid—it was to set off a bunch of fireworks all at once like that. Ah thought it must’ve been done on purpose, that explosion.” She let out a faint snort and shrugged. “So Ah made up some silly lil’ tale in mah head that despite all mah good sense, it wasn’t really you. You’d left the costume to somepony else, and they were the one with the nasty ideas. You’d had it stolen, or been talked into somethin’ you shouldn’t have. Anything, other than admittin’ it was you all along.” The corner of her mouth twitched downward. “Guess Ah let Discord back in mah head with that: ‘When all the truth does makes your heart ache...’”

“‘...sometimes a lie is easier to take,” Pinkie concluded. She nodded morosely and scratched the back of her head. “I get it.” There was a moment’s silence as she stared at the ground. “But, well, I did try to say sorry…”

“Only when you were behind that mask!” Applejack snapped. She walked close enough to press her nose against Pinkie’s. “But when Ah came along and confronted you in person, you just gave me the run around. That ain’t honest in the slightest.”

The accusation made something snap inside Pinkie. All of this coming from a pony wearing the jacket of the Sugar Watch; the very first pony to turn her back on her friends in favour of Veggie. She stomped a hoof and began to push Applejack back down the stairs. “And why do you think I wear it? Remember what I had on me the first time ‘Sweet Tooth’ turned up? The napkin.” Pinkie gave a satisfied grimace as Applejack gulped slightly. “That’s right! I knew all along that Veggie Vee was the meaniest of the meany ponies, and right from the start, she wanted to shut down Sugarcube Corner! You think I’d just ignore that?!”

Applejack cleared her throat. “Well, Ah mean, Ah hardly thought she was actually gonna do that…” She shrugged as she slowly backed away from Pinkie. “She’s just a civil servant! Ah thought the only thing she could do was give us a tax break, not shut anythin’ down!”

“But she still said it,” Pinkie murmured, eyes narrowing. “And you were the first pony to hear it. You knew all along she wanted me and Mr. and Mrs. Cake out of a job, and what did you do? You sided with her!” She coughed and blinked a few times as raw emotion overcame her. “I remember banding together to save Sweet Apple Acres from the Flim Flam Brothers, and I remember thinking that no matter what, we all had each other’s backs if something like that happened again.” A pink hoof reached out and grabbed the lapel of Applejack’s jacket. “And here we are. Some friend you turned out to be.”

Applejack returned to pushing back against her, the two mares locked together in the middle of the stairs. “Pinkie, you dug your own grave with those antics! Ah know Veggie only went lookin’ for the law to make the Sugar Watch the first time you showed up in that costume, and the second time sent her into overdrive!” She gritted her teeth. “So don’t go makin’ it sound like it’s all mah fault we’re in this mess.”

There was the sound of hooves on wood as Mr. Cake squeezed past them. He chuckled a little and said, “I know it’s bad luck to cross on the stairs, but—” His speech died away as he was hit by twin glares from the arguing ponies. “Um, I mean, don’t mind me!” He scampered away.

Pinkie let out a deep breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. In some odd way, that little break in arguing had let her unwind some of her frustration, leaving her just that bit more amiable to her friend. “I… I guess you’re right. Maybe I wasn’t helping anypony by dressing up as Sweet Tooth.” She dropped the hat on the floor, not wanting to imagine how Veggie would have reacted had she been seen another time. “L-look, if it’ll make you feel any better, you can take me to Veggie Vee. That can be me saying ‘sorry’. Maybe that’ll sort things out a little bit; it’s not like I’ve got anything better to do now that Bon Bon’s taken over.”

“Wait, what?” Applejack shook her head, eyes widening. “Ah didn’t hear anythin’ about Bon Bon takin’ over anythin’! You’d think Veggie would’ve been crowin’ about it.”

“Yeah, she was the reason all the posters made me look like the silly one,” Pinkie said, ears drooping. “She gave Veggie all she needed to do that, and then she took over the Sweetmakers’ Committee because it looked like I was trying to get Sugarcube Corner special treatment over everypony else.” She flinched as she realised what she’d said. “Oh, yeah. There is a hush-hush group for bakers. Sorry for lying about that as well.”

Applejack stood silent for a moment, looking more pensive than angry. “Ah see. Guess you’ve really had a rough coupla days, huh?” She pursed her lips as Pinkie nodded. “Um… Look. What’s done is done, Ah suppose. Now don’t get me wrong; you ain’t off the hook. You’ll be helpin’ raise that new barn to replace the one you blew up, y’hear?”

“Sure!”

“But Ah understand why you did the whole Sweet Tooth thing, at least.” Applejack tilted her hat down slightly, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof. “And maybe Ah’ve let mah self-interest get a lil’ bit ahead of our friendship. Ah shoulda told Veggie Vee where she could shove her subsidies an’ tax cuts the moment Ah heard her say she wanted an end to Sugarcube Corner. Not waited for her to start foalnappin’ an’ calling it justified.”

Pinkie nodded happily, content to have found some common ground with Applejack again. “I think we both thought of ourselves too much!” She looked down at her costume and grimaced. “Y’know, only you and the Committee know I’m Sweet Tooth… maybe I could pass this suit onto somepony who’s better at doing this than I am. Either way, I’d better come with you, huh?”

“Eh… you don’t need to worry about that,” Applejack said hesitantly. “Technically, Ah ain’t part of the Sugar Watch any more. In fact, Ah’m probably in more trouble than Ah can imagine just by comin’ here.”

Pinkie’s head recoiled. “What?!” she cried. “You mean you’re a traitor?”

AJ rolled her eyes. “Pinkie, the Sugar Watch has existed for less than forty-eight hours. Ah’m not exactly breaking the oath of the Royal Guards here.” She pulled herself up to her full height and set her chin firmly. “No, Ah gave in mah resignation as soon as Sweetie Belle was taken in. Veggie didn’t take too kindly to that. Ah was detained. Only reason Ah’m free is that she wanted me to make mahself look as evil as her.”

“How would that work?”

“She wanted me to explain to Rarity how… necessary… it was for her to steal away Sweetie Belle.” Applejack crossed her forelegs and snorted. “And she sent three ponies along with me to make sure Ah said exactly what she wanted me to, just to make sure mah friends and the rebels wanted nothin’ to do with me ever again.” She smiled and raised a reassuring hoof as Pinkie jerked in shock. “It’s fine. Ah was able to call in a couple of favours at the market. They lost me while tryin’ to sort out some commotion with Golden Shred.”

“The marmalade pony? Eeesh… they’ll never shake him off.” Pinkie’s ears perked up as she looked over Applejack’s shoulder. The rest of her friends had poked their heads around the corner to observe their row, apparently having been joined by Rainbow Dash sometime after Pinkie went upstairs. Rarity had since quieted down, although the puffiness around her eyes betrayed her recent grieving. “Oh, hey, guys! How long have you been listening?”

“We heard most of it,” Rainbow said. “Kinda helpful; I’ve been napping a lot the past couple of days, so I missed a bunch of things that went on.” She threw up her forelegs in exasperation as the others looked at her. “What?! I’ve been training hard recently! I knew there was something wrong with Veggie, I just couldn’t remember what.”

Rarity rubbed her eyes with a tissue, trying to remove the worst of her smudged mascara. “‘Something wrong’ doesn’t even begin to cut it!” she growled. “She tried to… to justify taking my sister away? And worse, used you as a scapegoat, Applejack? I never!” She began to pace back and forth. “Taking control of the town and abusing that power for foalnapping is bad enough, but now she’s trying to undermine our friendships as well!”

“Exactly why Ah left her,” Applejack said darkly. “Ah don’t know about you, but this lil’ rebellion Pinkie’s set up is lookin’ more and more like our only option. This has gone far enough.”

Pinkie gulped and felt her heart sink as her friends began talking vehemently about their disgust at Veggie’s actions. Sure, it was incredibly mean and evil to take a filly away, but who exactly got her to go and find the law that let her do that in the first place? And who had driven Bon Bon to desperate measures like taking over the Committee? Maybe Vee would have blown herself out if nopony had really opposed her. It was too late for that, but Pinkie could still make amends. She slowly climbed out of her suit, before bundling it up with the hat and mask. “There is no rebellion,” she said morosely.

“Huh?”

“When Bon Bon took over, she made sure she got her way with everything,” Pinkie said. “Seeing as everypony was listening to me until last night, it wasn’t hard for her take control when she made me look like I turned my back on them.” She shrugged in resignation. “Now she’s making everyone leave Veggie alone. If anypony says otherwise, she tells them rebelling just makes it worse.”

“Then we’ll make our own rebellion!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Can’t be that hard, right?”

Pinkie nodded slowly and pushed the bundled costume to Applejack. “If we do, then I want you to take this.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, pawing at the ground as she looked at the roll of fabric. “Why?”

“I… haven’t been a good Sweet Tooth. I think it’ll be best if this is taken away from me.” Pinkie picked up the mask and waggled it. “And besides, it’s just like Mare-Do-Well: it’s a symbol, not a pony! Anypony could wear it. Even if Bon Bon tells Veggie I was Sweet Tooth all along, somepony else can carry it on.” She looked up at Applejack and smiled sincerely. “You stood up to Veggie before it was too late for you; maybe this can be your payback?”

Applejack rubbed her chin in thought for a moment, then nodded, whipping her signature Stetson from her head and replacing it with the Sweet Tooth hat. “Y’all really think so?” she asked to the room at large, receiving a round of nods and affirmations. “Ah… Ah don’t know. Feels like we’re movin’ awful fast, Pinkie.”

“Um.” Fluttershy squeaked in fear as all eyes in the room suddenly fell on her. “N-not that I’ve really been involved so far,” she began, fluffing her wings out and staring at the ground. “But isn’t this going to all look the same to Veggie Vee?”

“How d’ya mean?”

“Well, I don’t think Veggie knows who Sweet Tooth is yet. What will changing the pony wearing her costume do?” Fluttershy murmured, a deep flush growing on her cheeks. “Unless Bon Bon already told her that, but I don’t think Pinkie would still be here if that were the case.”

“Ah… Ah honestly don’t know,” Applejack admitted. Her shoulders slumped and the corners of her mouth dragged down slightly. “Probably shouldn’t have let mah temper get the better of me, ‘cause Veggie’s never gonna trust me now, and Ah won’t get anythin’ useful outta her. We need to know her Sugar Watch inside out, both for the rebellion, and to free Sweetie Belle.”

“Still, it’s an excellent idea,” Rarity mused. “Is there anypony within the organisation we could lean upon? I’m sure you’re not the only pony with misgivings, Applejack.”

AJ stood silent for a moment, thinking on Rarity’s question as she rubbed her chin. Suddenly, her face lit up, and she trotted down the stairs quickly. “Absolutely. Ah think we have just the pony. And if Pinkie and Rainbow’s prankin’ skills are still up to scratch, we can get ‘em in here without anypony else noticin’.” She pulled back the curtain covering the window, and pointed outside.

The others crowded around and followed the line of Applejack’s hoof, all the way outside to the market, where Quango was marshalling his agents.