//------------------------------// // XII - A date in the desert // Story: A New Kind Of Party // by Wolfie 03 //------------------------------// End of March, 1005 A.D. (After Discord) The sun beat down the small desert town. There were few clouds in the sky, though this didn't stop any of the ponies in town from going about their business. The townsfolk of Dodge Junction were proud of the local cherry orchard, it was what gave the little community its start. Cherry Jubilee even owned some of the other businesses that complimented the orchard. It was from these very fields that a small group of friends exited, pleased with their work they've accomplished. They made their way up the dusty path, hoofs making quiet thumps on the ground while they wore pleased smirks. Twilight turned the the mare beside of her and beamed her appreciation. “You did great Pinkie! That was well focused and now we'll finally find out why Applejack doesn't want to come home.” The lavender mare nudged the pink one with the other three staring on, smirks bright at the behavior of the couple. “Shucks Twilight, it was easy! The best way to get through thick skulls is constantly repeating the same thing over and over, makes a drill of sounds straight through their noggin.” Pinkie blushed at the praise, glancing away for a moment before hopping back to her mare's side. Giving a swift nuzzle under Twilight's chin, Pinkie reached out and grabbed her hoof to pull her forward, hopping the entire way. “Come on Twilight! Applejack said she'd tell us at breakfast and that's 20 hours from now! We have WAY too much time on our hooves, so what better way to spend it all then a TOUR! I totally know where everything is, you'll be a native in no time!” Glancing to the other mares, Twilight raised a questioning brow. Finding that they didn't mind the sudden date like atmosphere, the lavender unicorn allowed herself to be dragged away, hooves almost tripping as they tried to match the hyper pace. The remaining mares smirked at the doting couple and waved an almost sarcastic hoof goodbye before continuing their slower pace back into town. The two mares almost ran back into the desert town, wide smiles on their muzzles. Twilight watched the hyper mare as she began to animatedly talk about each of the buildings that they were starting to pass. The cotton candy mane bounced with every step even as Pinkie kept a tight grip on the unicorn's hoof. They quickly made their way through town, each building having a minute's worth of details before Twilight was dragged off once again. She didn't mind this however, since she could see how much Pinkie cared about making sure she had a good time. “... And over here is the Sweet Spot Bakery! It's where I came up with the idea for the chimmycherrychanga when I first came here! They have really good cherries, but that makes sense since they're right next to a cherry farm! And over HERE is the performance center, where they hold all sorts of plays and music stuff that's totally cool to watch! Like this one time, in A Cappella -” Pinkie peeked from the corner of her eye and did a rapid double take at the bemused smirk on the unicorn's muzzle. Drawing to a sudden halt, pausing in the air mid-hop while staring at the librarian beside her. Twilight tilted her head at this sudden lack of movement but kept the smile, which only grew when the pink baker floated down to the ground with a sheepish grin. She scuffed her hoof along the ground even as she kept a hold on the mare beside her. “Something the matter Pinkie Sweetheart?” The lavender mare leaned towards the pink earth pony, not letting go but trying to catch sky-blue eyes that were glued to the ground. Pinkie wore a blush but pressed against the other mare before looking her straight in the eye once more. “Nope! Would you want to go find a nice place to eat? They got some really neat meals here... There's this place called the Oasis, which is odd because it's more than just water and grass there, but it's pretty good!” The baker beamed when she saw the agreeing nod and stayed close to the ground as the two continued forward. She hummed a little tune that came to mind suddenly and bounced her head in time with it, mane springing back and forth as they walked. Twilight tried to identify the tune but couldn't place it, soon coming to assume that it was one the pink earth pony made up on the spot. It was an upbeat tune, with rapid notes that rose and fell just as suddenly, skipping every other at times before running through them once more. Flicking an ear to capture more of the sound, Twilight tried to hum along only to find that as soon as she caught it, the song would shift and pick up or slow down, losing her in its notes and rhythm. With a short chuckle, the lavender unicorn pressed into a pink side and nosed the part of Pinkie's skull right behind her ears. “You always seem to make all this music and change it however you want... How do you do it?” Twilight peered with interest to her marefriend, eyes lighting up at finding out more of the mysterious mare. The baker waved a bashful hoof while she grinned, knowing that the answer wouldn't help but having no other explanation. “I've always been able to do that. It's like, I'll hear something and that would remind me of something else and then after being reminded by like, five other things, then I'll just have to hum about it!” Pinkie beamed at the mare beside her who sighed resignedly. Giving her head a bemused shake, Twilight waved a hoof forward as she smiled to the baker. “Alright Pinkie, why don't we go for that lunch now?” A pink hoof recaptured lavender as the two mares set off once more. The main road had little traffic as the middle of the day drew closer, as well as the harsher heat that would accompany it. Finding themselves in need of cool shade, Pinkie pulled Twilight to the restaurant, a two storied building with large sign on the front, depicting two dancing ponies. Stepping inside with grateful sighs at the cooler air, Pinkie made the unicorn sit at a table near the wall. Twilight watched with a single amused brow raised and half-smirk at the hyper motions. Pinkie took a single leap to sit in the chair across from her and grinned while a waiter came for their order. Willing to try some of the local delicacies, the two mares ordered the house special. In moments two bowls of cherry yogurt and fried hay-strips were set before them. Sharing a quick grin, the two started to eat, saving most of the yogurt for the end to fight off the growing heat. Twilight was happy to find that Pinkie seemed content to have lunch, her thoughts elsewhere. After another five minutes of quiet humming from the pink baker, Twilight looked at her with a pensive frown. “Pinkie Pie? Is everything alright?” “Hmmm? Oh you betcha! Just trying to think of the next awesome thing for us to do! There's no movies, plays, not a lot a lot of stores, we're already eating, and we've seen a lot of the cherry stuff around here...” The pink mare tapped her chin while the lavender one smirked as she relaxed in place. With a shake of her head, Twilight took a peek of their surroundings and noticed the mountains and hills just outside. Brightening as the idea came to her, the librarian smiled to the mare in front of her who continued to muse about activities they could do. “What about a nice little hike? We can stay to the shade and take lots of water, perhaps even a picnic-” “That's a great idea Twilight! I'll get all the food and you plan the hike! We're going all day long!!” Pinkie leapt up from her seat and landed in front of the waiter, pulling out the exact number of bits and flipping her nose to have them land perfectly in the only pocket on his apron. Without another word, the pink earth pony rushed out the door. Twilight blinked in a daze after the speeding pony before waving shyly to the other customers who stared wide-eyed to the lavender unicorn. Standing up with a small blush, the unicorn quickly trotted out with flattened ears, amused and bemused in equal parts. She glanced around the town and found the general store Rainbow had used to get all the candy for their 'torture-Applejack-into-talking' plan. Shaking her head at how much candy Pinkie had eaten and somehow burned off within only two hours, Twilight bought several canisters of water for their trip. Teleporting her bit bag from her motel room, she pulled out the required amount and gave a brief smile to the mare at the register before taking the bags of water and leaving, turning her head to each side as she tried to locate the pink mare. Just after she finished casting her gaze around the town, she looked directly in front of her to find Pinkie wait there with a large smile and a giant wicker basket on her back with red and white table cloth covering the opening. Giving a startled jump backwards, Twilight smirked as she held a hoof to her chest, not having expected to find her marefriend so close by. “Hey Twilight! You got the water? Let's go go go!” Pinkie wasted no time as she high stepped next to the lavender mare. They quickly traveled down the main street until they came to the point closest to the mountains, on the edge of town between the train station and first few houses. “I think we have everything we'd need... Perhaps we should leave a message with someone in case they need to find us?” Twilight peeked back to town where no one seemed to notice or care about the two mares who were about to embark on an adventurous hike. Pinkie tilted her head before straightening with a wide smile. Zipping off only to arrive back with hooffuls of stones (with the basket still on her back), Pinkie started to lay out the rocks in a message. Finding that she didn't have enough, she zoomed back out for more, leaving Twilight to stare in mystification at the actions. She watched as the 'message' continued to grow without disturbing the meal on the pink back and shook her head indulgently when Pinkie stood back to examine her hoofwork. Stepping up beside the hyperactive mare, Twilight glanced down and snorted back her laughter at the message. Please don't disturb because we're off to have a romantic picnic and lots of cuddles! You wouldn't want YOUR cuddle time interrupted right? Okie dokie lokie, if you need us leave a message, I'm sure there's more rocks around for you to use! -Pinkie Pie and her Little Star “Whaddya think Twilight? Did I run out of characters?” Pinkie tilted her head as she pensively stared at her message, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she peeked at the giggly unicorn beside her. “Oh, uhm, no, you should be fine. Come on, we should get an early start on those cuddles.” Twilight could barely hold back the laughter in her voice at the very straight forward wants of the earth pony and smirked as a very hastily made plan began to form in her mind. (So she wants to cuddle huh? I think it's finally time to try out advise from 'Spicing up your date night'... Let's see, keep eyes at half-mast and speak in lower voice... Move slowly with smooth movements... What else did it say...?) The lavender unicorn was so focused on her planning that she didn't fully watch where they were going and stayed silent as they traveled up the slope of the nearest mountain. Pinkie would point with one hoof to a feature, sight, plant, rock and anything with color in excitement, hopping around her marefriend with a large grin. She tried any and all distractions to get the studious mare to come back from her inner mind and furrowed her brows when it didn't seem to work. Glancing about them, the pink baker brightened, her colors shining further as she saw the one thing that was sure to gain Twilight's attention. Leading the way once more, she bounced the basket off her back and watched with barely controlled glee as it tipped forward, spilling its contents to land precisely in place; the blanket unfurled and floated to the ground, soon to have the picnic basket land with a soft thump on top. Glancing back to the unicorn, Pinkie dramatically sighed and pulled her marefriend forward towards the edge of the plateau she had found for the two of them. Trying to find the perfect position for the unicorn to stand in, the earth pony poked, prodded, shifted and constantly checked to be sure that Twilight would have the full view of the land below them. It was as she kept finding more and more ticklish spots on Twilight's body that the librarian came back from her list and plan making, swatting at the prodding hooves that threatened giggles. Starting to smile as she came back from her thoughts, the unicorn paused as she realized the change in scenery. Blinking in surprise, Twilight stared as her mouth opened in awe. Ears forward to catch the sounds of wind and other natural noises around her, she turned her head slowly to take in the sight as her mind berated her for losing track of her surroundings as they hiked. The valley opened up before them, mountains encircling the one side of the little town. The train tracks wove in between mountains to trail up to the settlement, almost as though someone took a pencil and drew a line through the landscape. The vast sea of sand stretched for miles with a forest of small cherry trees merged into a larger regular woods to the right of the mountain range. Parallel to the mountains, far in the distance, ran a sliver of blue; a river that came from one set of forests to the far west to disappear into the one that lay behind the small town to the east. They were so high up that the citizens of Dodge Junction looked no bigger than ants, traveling around the toy sized buildings. The mountains, when Twilight started to turn in spot to look, were mostly bare of greenery until it got closer to either forest on its sides. Trailing her eyes further down the rocky peaks, the unicorn could barely make out the red dots of apples on the forest that sprung up to the far west, at the end of the mountains. The sky was clear all the way around, with only small bits of cloud here and there to break the monotony of pale-blue. The sun was almost directly overhead, time slowly moving on as it started to edge past the middle of the day. Looking behind her, Twilight found that Pinkie had already set up the picnic as well; laying the cloth onto the ground and having the basket be on the corner so they could rest in the middle. Glancing at the anxious pink form beside her, the unicorn decided to make up for her distraction on their hike. (I'm sorry for being so distracted Pinkie, but I'll make it up to you. Time to start 'more than cuddling'!) Pinkie tried to keep a grin as she watched Twilight soak in the sights, staying in place while the unicorn turned to look at their picnic. When the lavender mare stood still for a second more after viewing the scenery, she began to edge forward only to pause when she heard the soft velvety voice of her mare. “I'm sorry that I missed the view coming up here Pinkie...” Twilight slowly turned her head, trying to keep her eyes half-closed even as she peeked to see Pinkie's reaction. “But at least I get to see an even greater view everyday...” The pink baker tilted her head to the left, trying to understand what was causing the slow-motion motion from the unicorn. Tapping a hoof to her chin, she tried to think of anything they had for lunch that would cause her to be so sleepy. Twilight blinked when the earth pony showed no reaction to her first attempt and tried again, moving her hooves slowly to bring her closer while keeping her head slightly lowered. “We could find a different kind of fun way to spend the afternoon...” The unicorn stopped a foot away from the other mare, unsure if she should move on to rubbing against Pinkie to show what she meant. The pink mare continued to frown thoughtfully at the other, mind trying to understand the hidden meaning she could sense was there. “You mean like playing games? What kind of games? Did you make up your own instead?” Twilight froze at her marefriend's words, mentally face-hoofing herself as her attempts of subtlety went misunderstood. Rapidly thinking of a different tactic, the lavender mare slid up to stand closely to the pink pony, muzzle near Pinkie's ear as she tried to keep her voice low. “We could always go for some new kind of cuddling...” Staring with a shaky grin, Twilight hoped that Pinkie would start to understand. This more straightforward tactic did work, for the party mare now understood what was happening and held back a giggle at the first few attempts. Finding that she had Pinkie's full attention, Twilight pulled at her leg with a hoof wrapped around it, drawing her to the center of their picnic. Pinkie watched in fascination as Twilight swatted at the earth pony with her tail and walked away only to freeze in confusion before turning back around and slowly trying to walk 'seductively' to her marefriend. “I'm sure you taste as sweet as any baked treat... Uh, wh-why don't we find out for sure?” Twilight tried to think of any of the 'sexy' lines she memorized only to have her mind go blank at the warm blue eyes gazing back at her. Blinking rapidly to free herself from the hypnotizing stare, she tried to turn it into a saucy eye fluttering only to rear back when the wind picked up and actually sent some dirt and sand into her eyes. Pinkie held back more laughter as she took a step forward, reaching a comforting hoof up to help rub the invading force out of purple eyes. When Twilight was able to see again, she found herself nose to nose with the pink earth pony and could only stare into sky-blue eyes with her mouth open slightly in a daze. The gears in her mind tried to function once more but could only turn in spot, making it hard for the unicorn to restart her thinking process. Pinkie saw this with a twinkling giggle, moving forward speedily to place a small kiss on the purple muzzle. Pulling back, she saw that this helped restart Twilight's thoughts and watched with great amusement as a blush settled across the purple snout. “Thanks Pinkie... I, uh, should reward you for the help.” Twilight leaned forward with eyes at half-mast only to find that Pinkie sat up straighter with a large grin. “There's no need to thank me Twilight! I love making friends smile and that goes super triple double for my one and only special somepony!” Pinkie nodded solemnly for a moment before opening both eyes to stare at the deadpan from the unicorn with amusement in her eyes. Twilight closed her eyes as she took a steadying breath before clenching them tighter as she propelled forward, pushing the pink mare backwards onto the blanket. Twilight stood over the earth pony and tried to smile in a seductive manner before bending her neck to nose at the mare below her. Starting from behind pink ears and traveling south, pausing every so often to press her nose into the sweet smelling fur, Twilight smiled as she felt her marefriend shiver beneath her. Focusing on her task of trying to be sensual, she didn't see the hoof that reached up to cover a pink muzzle to stifle the giggles Pinkie was suffering from. Reaching further down the pink form, Twilight nuzzled Pinkie's chest only to find that the pink mare shook even worse. Pulling her nose upwards as she stared curiously to the party mare's face, Pinkie couldn't hold back any more and burst into laughter. Turning on to her side under the lavender mare, Pinkie laughed so hard tears started to appear at the corner of her tightly closed eyes. Staring with a bewildered frown, Twilight remained over top of the earth pony, unsure of the reaction. She watched with a tiny frown, not moving an inch as she tried to understand why the baker was laughing like that. Pinkie slowly managed to control the laughter and turned to face her marefriend with mirth in her eyes. Reaching hoof up to the purple mane, she gave it a good mussing as she explained. “Oh Twilight, that really tickled!” Pecking the unicorn on the nose before leaning back into the ground once again, Pinkie smiled contently while keeping an eye out for the reaction. “Tickled...? I was trying to...” Twilight couldn't move from her spot as she tried to figure out how it came across as ticklish. When her mind could come up with no explanation, she gazed pleadingly to the pink mare who smiled widely before reaching up and showing just what she meant. The unicorn could barely stand upright when faced with such a teasing torture. The pink nose seemed to find all the spots that caused various forms of laughter and it shook her frame as she tried to stay silent. After another moment of nosing her way through different tickle spots though, Pinkie smirked in triumph when Twilight fell over in giggles. “Oh-hahaha-kay! Okay-ha-heheheh...! So maybe, that plan didn't work so well...” Twilight held both fore-hooves over her chest to stop the barrage of tickling as she tried to regain her breath after the attack. Pinkie smirked as she leaned over the lavender form, resting fore-hooves on either side of Twilight while her hind parts laid on the ground beside the unicorn. “It was a good try though, my little star! You just need a little more practice and the right timing! Sometimes it needs the right build up and setting.” Pinkie smiled at the unicorn, taking in the rosy cheeks and laughing eyes below her. The smile lessened as darkness started to over come the laughter in purple eyes. Tilting her head in concern, the pink mare pressed closer to the lavender unicorn, worry building when purple hooves uncurled from their place and wrapped around a pink barrel. “Twilight? Twilight, what's wrong? It was a good try! You just need to find the other spots that aren't so ticklish!” “It's not that Sweetheart... I just... I was trying something like this when our friends need us to help get our circle back together...” Twilight brought her face to rest against the comforting form, eyes tightly closed as her heart clenched. Pinkie laid down and wrapped her own hooves around the uneasy mare, nuzzling the top of her head. Not fully understanding why Twilight got so worried suddenly but wanting to cheer up the saddened mare, the pink earth pony rubbed the purple back while keeping her voice light. “It'll be ok Twilight, you'll see! Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise and then we'll be back home with everything just like before! Besides, we'll always have our friends, no one just stops being friends with others unless they're fighting and I know the perfect way to stop fighting!” Pinkie paused in her borderline hyperactive speech and glanced at the mare in her hooves, finding a small smile working its way across her muzzle. Taking it to be a good sign, the pink pony continued while keeping her words at a normal pace. “And you'll always have me. I'll never ever ever ever ever leave you my little star. That's four 'ever's. You best count them, cause I'll be with you forever.” The lavender unicorn couldn't hold back her pleased smile, knowing that the party mare's heart was in the right place. The assurances did help, especially knowing that it was unlikely that they would break up. Rubbing her nose into the pink chest, Twilight gave a content sigh before pecking the fur before her, only to have a giggle escape at the touch from the target. Sighing once more at her lack of seductive powers, the librarian pulled back and smiled at the earth pony. “Yes. We'll always have our friends and each other. Now let's get started on that picnic.” Twilight's smirk grew at the chipper 'yay' from the party mare who hopped up to pull the basket over and displayed all the baked goods she brought for them. The two mares were soon having an early supper, watching the scene before them while sharing food. There were times when Twilight would levitate a cupcake for the two of them to share, and then there were times that Pinkie would take something and hold it out on a hoof, making it so they would have to be close to one another to enjoy the treat. With such tactics to make the meal all the more romantic, it was soon edging towards evening when it was finally finished. Sharing one last nose rub, the two mares laid side by side, watching the sun slowly sink into the west. When the moon slowly edged it's way into the foreground, they turned to watching the stars as they came into view. It was when Twilight shivered as the night air dropped to cooler temperatures that they decided to call it a night. Keeping close to the chilled unicorn, Pinkie watched with wide eyes as Twilight cleaned the area with a small spell, ending when the basket with blanket came to a rest on her back. With a warm grin to the earth pony, the lavender mare nudged her along. The return trip took just as little of time as when they first set out, and found that nopony left them a message below the one Pinkie made. Twilight watched with a bemused smirk as Pinkie rapidly replaced the rocks she had used before standing close to the unicorn once more. With a shake of her head and peck to a pink cheek, Twilight started to walk once more to the hotel they were using to stay at while trying to get Applejack to confess. They walked up to the large red building on the edge of town. Inside was pale-cream themed walls with bright red-brown furniture that helped to give it a country feel that only orchard-folk could make, yet it had its own style of elegance. Trotting confidently past the mare at the reception desk, they returned to the room they shared and settled into one of the two beds inside. Placing the basket over into a corner, Twilight glanced over to find Pinkie was already on the bed with a wide grin. She could see how much control that it was taking the hyper mare not to test out the bed's bounce-ability and quickly joined her before the impulse became too much. Pulling the covers up to their necks, Twilight turned in place to wrap her hooves around the other mare and pulled her close. Pinkie continued to grin as she watched the lavender mare fall asleep slowly and ran a single hoof through the purple mane. “Don't you worry Twilight, I'll always always be here for you. And I'd do anything to make you smile...” Pinkie drifted off into her own slumber as she made her vow, hooves tightening over the mare beside her. At the sound of the baker's voice, Twilight smiled in her sleep, body and mind reacting even without her conscious input. The next morning, Twilight woke up slowly, stretching her limbs to the head and bottom of the bed with a satisfied smirk on her face. A light giggle drew her attention and she opened a single eye blearily to find two sky-blue ones looking back with adoration shining in them. “Goooood morning my little star! You look really cute with bedhead sleepyhead!” Pinkie chirped quietly, leaning forward to nuzzle noses with her mare who smiled back sleepily as she closed her eyes. “Hmmm, yes, it is morning... But it can't be that late, I would have noticed the time...” Twilight's mind slowly came back from the land of dreams. Even as she rested in place with eyes closed, her mind started processing all the various information coming from her other senses; the smell of cherries and of baked goods, the sound of birds chirping, the warmth of the mare beside her and the blanket on them. It was as she gave a sigh of contentment that Pinkie felt the need to giggle as she hugged the unicorn. “Nope! Not very late at all because we have to go and get breakfast!!!” With this declaration hanging in the air, she bounced into the bed to rebound into the air, pulling both sources of warmth from the lavender mare. Twilight groaned at this action before swinging tiredly from the bed and watched with sleep-gummed up eyes as the pink earth pony hopped around the room, cheering about the positive aspects of breakfast. The unicorn smirked while she stepped over to the dresser, levitating the hair brush resting there and proceeded to clean up before facing the day. “... and we'll need lots and lots of energy food because of all the fun we had yesterday and make sure everyone is wide awake for when Applejack tells us what's going on!!!” At this last statement, the lavender pony turned her focus to the hyper mare, who stopped jumping around the room to land in front of the door, anxious to start the day. “That's right, Applejack has to explain herself at breakfast this morning. We better get going, wouldn't want to be late.” With a final brush of her mane, Twilight exited the room with Pinkie close behind, coming across Rarity and Fluttershy who exited from their shared room across the hall. Giving the others a brief good morning, they found Rainbow Dash had come from her cloud bed outside. Finding no reason to keep the suspense going for any longer, Twilight led the way to the cherry orchard on the eastern edge of town. They had found that Applejack was staying in the cherry-themed barn while she was working for Cherry Jubilee and wasted no time in heading inside. Smirking at Pinkie's attempt at assuring Rainbow Dash of the power of Pinkie Promises, Twilight knocked on the door that held their missing friend. Becoming too excited to wait for the lavender mare to head inside completely, Pinkie hopped to the front and pushed forward with a large grin. Twilight was bemused by this action only for a second before a frown started to make its way across her muzzle. “Good morning Applejack, you ready for break-” The hyper mare froze for a moment, shock flashing across her face as her eyes took in the empty room before her. Pupils shrinking as she gasped loudly, Pinkie bit her lip to try and hold back for a moment, causing the others to share anxious glances and edge back. The pink mare leaned forward, anger building up like boiled water as she continued to hold back her frustration while her entire frame seemed to turn apple red. With an almost audible snap, she stood straighter once more as steam poured out of her ears, eyes glowing in fury while her mane floated upwards. “OOOOOOHHHH! Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise!” The rest of the friends couldn't move as the furious earth pony hovered off the ground as she shouted. After she zipped off, the others shared concerned glances at the actions before running out as well. No one had seen what happened when someone actually broke a Pinkie Promise and the drastic reaction of Pinkie's wasn't assuring them of a positive kind of party. Quickly chasing the raging mare, the group couldn't help but think of how serious the promise actually was. Twilight ran ahead of the others, the only one willing to be close to the extremely furious mare, frowning in worry. She had never seen Pinkie get this mad before and didn't like it. The issue with the missing farm mare aside, her thoughts focused almost entirely on her marefriend. (I've never seen her this mad... Actually, I don't think I've ever seen her mad before! This is definitely not a good sign and I have to fix it somehow... It's just not natural.) They followed the earth pony as she raced outside, instinct guiding her to where the orange farmer was. They raced down the main road, trying to find their missing friend when Pinkie zeroed in on the apple farmer and shouted across the street, reaching her red face forward with a deep frown and eyes blazing with anger. “APPLEJACK! YOU PINKIE PROMISED!” The four mares tried not to flinch when the raging party mare shouted at the blonde mare waiting at the train station. The usually-apple farmer panicked and dashed to a nearby stagecoach. “Applejack, come back here!” Pinkie Pie started to pull away from the others, anger at a broken promise prompting her to tap into her full speed. Watching with wide eyes, Twilight realized the pink earth pony would soon leave them in the dust and shouted for the group to stick together. The furious mare barely kept the request in mind (even if it was from the mare of her heart) and stayed just barely ahead of the others who tried to run full tilt after her. Spotting the blonde farm pony grabbing a ride with four stallions, the cyan pegasus also started to pull away while Pinkie glanced back to her marefriend. “She's gonna get away!” The usually chipper mare whined to the lavender unicorn as they ran, dust flying from their hooves as they sped onward. Pulling to a stop in order to get a proper glance about them, Twilight spied their one hope to catch up. “Oh no she won't, look girls!” Pointing with a lavender hoof, they found a small two harness cart with large empty back, the perfect vehicle for a desert chase. The two pegasi leapt to hook themselves on to the two harnesses available while the others jumped into the cart. Twilight tried to keep half an eye on the furious pink mare beside her and the other on the runaway orange one ahead of them. With a concerned frown, the librarian braced herself for the ride. (Pinkie... I know friends are important and we would really miss Applejack if she did go away... But I don't like this 'new' Pinkie we have instead. Do I get my old Pinkie back when we get Applejack back...?) Any attempt at questioning the angry baker was lost as a dust cloud formed behind the five friends. All eyes were focused on a light brown stagecoach that raced ahead of them, and it was with great determination that Rainbow Dash led the way to get along side of it. The cart bounced as they went, the senery blurring behind them due to their speed. Wind pressed their ears against their heads and blocked most sounds, though some shouts were able to make it through. Once they were able to maintain their place right next to the coach, Pinkie jumped with barely a thought, to the dismay of the lavender unicorn left behind. Twilight watched with worried eyes as Pinkie leaned closer to the farmer with a frown, a sight so unusual and unnatural that it truly rammed home just how bad the situation had gotten. “Applejack, you broke your Pinkie Promise! Apologize.” Applejack jumped in place when she heard the furious tone beside her and frowned. She was unwilling to let Pinkie to dominate the conversation and guilt her into explaining, leaning back towards the baker as she too shouted to be heard over the raging winds. Due to the loudness each mare was willing to reach, the pursuing group were barely able to make out what was said; not that they liked how the conversation was going anyways. “Pinkie, Ah did NOT break my promise!” The orange earth pony frowned while her short denial threw the party mare for a loop. Those back in the cart shared confused glances before turning their attention back to the two earth ponies on the stagecoach, where Pinkie was losing her edge at the confusing turn of events. “Wha-?” “If y'all recon back, Ah told ya that Ah'd tell ya everythin' AT breakfast. But Ah didn't come to breakfast; Ah couldn't come to breakfast. Not if it meant telling y'all what happened.” The others frowned in wonder while they stayed close to the large coach. While Applejack had found a loophole in her promise, it didn't sit right with any of them since she usually acted with straight integrity. Twilight's eyes twitched between the two, not liking the utter confusion her marefriend now tried to contend with. “Well, I- I'd-I'd...” The hyper baker was flustered as she rode the large coach, eyes searching to find some kind of reasonable comment. In all her years of a friend-maker and partier, no one had managed to not really but kind of did break a promise before; this fact shook her to the core, leaving her unsure of any previous promises she or others made. “Ah'm sorry Pinkie but Ah can't tell y'all the truth; Ah just can't!” Applejack clenched her eyes, unable to withstand seeing the dejected face of the usually chipper mare. It tore at her heart to do this to her close friends, but she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. Pinkie watched this with a pensive frown, tilting her head as her mind ran at a mile a minute (though faster since she only had a few seconds). Flashing on to the two unicorns who were waiting below, she smiled for barely a second before sticking her nose in the air. “I heard a sorry in there, so that'll have to do for now. I'll get a real apology later. Rarity catch me!” The pink earth pony dropped from the coach and aimed specifically for the gray-white unicorn. She peeked from under her eyelids and saw with a triumphant burst of joy as Applejack watched with a wide-eyed stare, concern for the two falling off the cart. Twilight's heart stopped at the sight of the falling pink form. Eyes widened in fear as time slowed down, her mind unable to process what the pink baker had shouted before both her and Rarity were missing from the cart. Turning around, the remaining unicorn leaned forward with desperation lacing her voice. “Rainbow, go back!” A single cyan ear flicked back to the shout while Dash continued to run, shaking her head briefly. Twilight's heart sank at the motion and she could only stare open-mouthed at the pegasus. “No time! They knew what they were getting into!” Rainbow shouted before leaning down, pulling forward as she kept a close watch on the stagecoach ahead of them. Twilight gulped nervously before frowning in concentration, wanting to get this 'adventure' over with and be with her marefriend once again. “Applejack... We can always find a way to fix the hole in the roof. But if you never come back, we'll never find a way to fix the hole in our hearts.” Fluttershy quietly stated as she nuzzled the orange farmer. She closed her eyes as she tried to assure the stetson wearing mare, while Twilight joined in with a warm smile. It was nice to finally get to the bottom of things and know that their adventure was over. Hearing a sniffle from above, the three ponies looked up to find Rainbow with both hooves crossed as she tried to subtly wipe away a tear. “Darn it, now you got me acting all sappy!” Smiling indulgently to the cyan mare's excuse, the three friends resumed their hug only to find that Rainbow dropped down to join them. Twilight tried to keep the frown from her face as she felt her heart pinch, missing the scent of vanilla and frosting that usually came with hugs. Breaking apart once more, the four friends shared pleased grins while Applejack's turned more sheepish than the others. Twilight tried to focus on the farm pony and noticed when green eyes shifted to the side to find the wooden cart they had been using to chase her with. Giving a light sniff to clear her nose, Applejack jerked her head to the vehicle as the others stared curiously. “Why don't y'all hop in an' Ah take us home?” The three other mares shared unsure glances before turning back to the earth pony, unsure of the what she meant by 'home'. “All the way back to Ponyville? Isn't that really far? Why don't we head back to Doge Junction and catch the next train instead?” Twilight pointed to the east, where Dodge Junction was. She tried not to sound too desperate, wanting to find her marefriend and their newly missing friend. It was with a pleased sigh that Twilight saw Applejack's acceptance to the suggestion. “Ah guess that works too. Hop in!” The orange mare didn't wait for any further comment and hooked herself to the harness, barely struggling with the buckles that held it in place. Twilight and Fluttershy were quick to step inside, wanting to head towards any kind of civilization after such a race through the desert. While they settled in place, they glanced upward to find the cyan mare still in the air. Tilting their heads in curiosity, they managed to convey their question silently. “What? I had enough running and staying on the ground, I need to stretch my wings properly. I'll follow along easily.” Accepting Rainbow's excuse, Applejack nodded briskly before tugging on the leather straps, digging into the ground solidly to be able to pull without effort after a few steps. The two mares who sat in the cart remained silent, seeing no reason to argue with the brash mare and watched the landscape slowly reverse as they returned to the town. Once they arrived, the group wasted no time in getting a train ticket back home; now that everything was resolved, Applejack felt the pinch of homesickness. The others said nothing and merely smiled as the apple farmer stuck her head out of the train to watch the scenery change from yellow of sand to the green of growing grass. Twilight briefly smirked at the sight before drawing into a frown once more, her thoughts on another mare who would stick her head playfully out the window. “Twilight, what about Rarity and Pinkie Pie?” The quiet question drew the attention of two sets of ears; while Rainbow seemed to frown out the window, Applejack and Twilight turned in their seats to face the canary mare. The lavender mare shifted in place, trying to keep neutral and not over fret. “I'm sure they'll be fine. They were close to the train tracks and we hadn't gotten too far from the town... And Pinkie does have her ways, they will manage to get back just fine...” The others could hear the unease in the unicorn's voice and nodded rapidly to help assure her. Finding that Twilight was barely holding it together and she soon found herself the target of a group hug, Dash having come back from her thoughts to join in with a hesitant pat at the end. Feeling the pat and warm hug, the lavender mare tried to take in the warmth she felt and took a deep steadying breath. Giving one last squeeze to those giving the hug, Twilight pulled back with a small smirk. The four mares resettled in the train car, each lost in their thoughts. The studious unicorn began to make excessive lists, acting as though nothing was wrong and cataloging everything that they would have to do once they were back in Ponyville. Starting with a short letter sent magically back home. It was easier to teleport a tiny scroll than full grown mares, and Twilight nodded briskly once it was sent to her awaiting assistant. (I suppose it was a good thing Spike stayed behind; he should be able to send the letter on to the Apples so they won't worry as much about us... We'll need a different way to pay for the roof... Perhaps a donation drive. We'd need a location for the event, music, collection bowls... I'm sure Pinkie would be willing to help... Why did she ask Rarity to catch her? I would have caught her, my magic is strong enough for something like that. As a matter of fact, why didn't I use my magic?! I had it, she was right there... I could have prevented this from even happening... What a 'great' marefriend I am.) It was with this somber thought that Twilight spent the rest of the trip in a daze, eyes unfocused as they looked out the window. When the train pulled into the small town station, she couldn't help smile at the excited greeting that awaited Applejack. The farmer's family bounced on her and left her under a large pony-pile of Apples. Deftly walking around the farming family, Twilight took a seat on the edge of the platform, face turned to the east where the set of tracks raced to while her mind turned blank, unable to form any other plans without her number one party planner at her side. A shrill question sounded from behind her, pulling the mare from her thoughts as she looked to its source. “Where's Rarity? And where's Pinkie Pie?” Sweetie Belle stared up to the orange mare's face, concern and worry etched in her face. The mares shared uneasy glances, the weight of the missing friends resting on their shoulders and making them slump in place. Giving a gentle sigh, Applejack was the one to step closer to the young unicorn and place a comforting hoof on her pale-gray shoulder. “Rarity and Pinkie got separated when they were... followin' after me. They're comin' too, but it'll just be ah bit longer. Don't ya worry none, Ah'm gonnah be right here waitin' fer them. Did-did ya want tah wait with me?” Applejack gazed uncertainly to the young filly, watching for the response with a tense frame. Upon seeing Sweetie Belle's nod, the farm pony relaxed and gave her a swift pat, holding back her strength to make it a reassuring kind. Together they turned in place to join Twilight on the edge of the platform, gazing out to the east. The two other Cutie Mark Crusaders soon joined them, remaining silent as they sat near the other member. Once Twilight turned her attention back to waiting for her marefriend and the last member of their little group, she barely noticed when the two pegasi joined those waiting as well, her mind and focus almost solely on searching for another train to arrive or some kind of sign. When two small specks came slowly into sight, Twilight frantically thought for a moment before remembering the binoculars she had at home. Standing briefly with a glance to the center of town, she noticed a spot of purple and green that had came and joined the waiting group. With a small smile, Spike passed over the binoculars. Giving a grateful smile to the drake, Twilight gave him a half hug before taking the viewing tool to turn back to the two slowly growing spots. Focusing the glasses with magic, a lump rose in her throat when she was able to make out pink and gray-white. The lavender unicorn was barely able to stay still, feet tapping impatiently as the two pony cart pulled up. Pinkie wore a wide grin while her back was covered in dust, turning it to a light sandy color while little green spots showed where cacti rested. Beside her was Rarity, hair beragged with bits of cacti sticking from it and almost as sand covered, eyes twitching slightly. The two mares were soon swamped as they stepped on to the platform. When Twilight came near the pink mare, she was soon the receiver of a strong full body tackle hug. Falling back on to her haunches with a hoof around the pink barrel, Twilight chuckled at the enthusiasm and buried her face into the fluffy mane, body releasing its tension as the scent of the baker wafted through the air. Breaking apart enough to gaze at one another with smitten eyes, Pinkie reached forward and pecked at Twilight's lips, a joyous grin on her face. “Honey, I'm home!” Blue eyes sparkled at the bemused smirk that greeted her words. The unicorn met these words by resting her forehead against the other's, eyes closing briefly. “Yes... I'm sorry we couldn't go back for you. Rainbow was insistent about you knowing -” “Knowing what we were getting into, yepperonie! I knew that Applejack wouldn't really want to talk about why she couldn't come back unless Rarity wasn't there.” Pinkie pulled on the lavender hoof, meeting no resistance as her words confused the unicorn. Twilight stared after the earth pony who seemed to lose her 'dirty' appearance with every step, shedding layers of dust and cacti dropping off without any influence of a cleaning hoof. Glancing to the side, the librarian found the same could not be said for Rarity. Applejack chuckled while she and Spike tried to help, with Sweetie Belle latching on to one of her hooves in a tight hug. Twilight blinked a few times before looking back to the mare pulling her hoof, confusion tilting her head to the left. “What do you mean 'unless Rarity wasn't there'?” The scenery changed as the two mares walked, leading a procession to Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie in the lead. The others seemed to just follow along, knowing there would be celebrations to account for as the whole group was home once more. Twilight took no note of this however, her mind and eyes were for the pink fuzz that seemed to ever be a mystery for her. “Well DUH! I mean, since we're marefriends, I'd want to talk about what's wrong but they're not a couple yet and so Applejack doesn't want Rarity to know yet.” Pinkie seemed to not care if her voice reached others but it didn't matter as all the others were busy talking with the returned Applejack or laughing at Rarity's annoyance at being dirty (and annoyance with Rainbow Dash), leaving the couple to talk amongst themselves. “Wha-?” Twilight didn't turn from watching the earth pony even as she was seated at a table in the corner, cupcake in hoof and punch in front of her seat. Pinkie smiled consipiratorly and shook her head with a hoof wave. “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight... It's so obvious that even the readers are getting annoyed with them. I was trying to help Rarity while you talked with Applejack. You were able to convince her about how Rarity totally needs her and she'd be really sad if Applejack left right?” The pink baker frowned curiously to her marefriend, one eye almost closed as she leaned towards her. The lavender mare leaned back at the same time, an unsure smile on her face. “Uhm, yes?” The short answer pleased the party pony. Pulling back, the two mares were about to dig into the food when a tight grip made them pause, glancing downward with raised brows only to find a pair of purple arms holding them both. “Spike? Is everything ok? You didn't have trouble with the library did you?” Twilight tried to figure out what was causing the unusual silence from her assistant and almost didn't hear the response as it was muffled into her fur. “...I'm glad you're back.” The two mares shared smiles before reaching with a hoof each to return the embrace, leaning their necks down to help with the hug. “We're glad to be back too. Now everything is back to normal.” The lavender mare smirked as she glanced out at the room, taking in the sight of relieved friends and happy family members. Giving one last pat to the drake, the librarian pulled out of the hug to levitate a plate of treats for the three of them to share.