//------------------------------// // Something's clogging up the pipes! // Story: Applejack Through the Ages // by Paradise Oasis //------------------------------// Good gracious! That really must have hurt your plans for putting your old group back together! Yeah, Apple Blossom, I did kinda have my hopes dashed by that one. But I was still really happy for the friends I made in Ponyville. I just had to accept that my new friends weren't exactly my old friends! What happened in Ponyville after that? Well, this was about the time, that we found out something nasty outside of Ponyville, and just started gumming up the pipes... "Wow Applejack, you sure threw up back there really good! I've never seen anybody ever make a mess like that, even me!" "I know, Minty." "And I just couldn't believe it when you told me you got sick because Pinkie and Twilight reminded you of two of your old friends, and one of them was a girl! I mean, I've never even heard of a mare and another mare getting together like that, is it even possible?!" "No it's not, Minty. But I threw up because of the under cooked smoores, not because of that." "And isn't it so totally weird that the space ponies took me away on the same day that you had your crazy party that blew up in your face? I mean, what's up with that!?" "MINTY!" The frustrated AJ snapped, spinning around to face the other mare. "Don't you have anything better to do than follow me around today?" "Nope, Pinkie's off talking and hanging around with Twilight today," The mint green pony explained. "so she told me to come and keep you company. You know, so you won't be lonely!" "Oh, lucky me!" The other mare replied, rolling her eyes. The two ponies were trotting down the streets of Ponyville, talking about the failures of the previous evening's disaster, when they started to notice a surprising lack of other ponies on the streets of the town. The usual mix of mares roller skating, playing hopscotch, and dashing from one shop to the next were absent. "Hey, Minty?" The red mare asked, looking around. "Is there some kind of Ponyville holiday going on today, that nobody bothered to tell me about?" "No, not that I'm aware of." Minty said with a giggle. "Though that's not a bad idea, fill out that nasty old blank spot today leaves on the calendar!" The two ponies looked around for answer, when suddenly a foul stench reached their sensitive female noses. "Ewww, gross!" Applejack covered her nose with her hoof. "What in the world is that icky disgusting smell!?" "I dunno AJ, but I think it's coming from over here!" The green mare trotted over to a large iron storm drain on the side of the road. "Why don't we just go down there, and see where this awful stinky stink is coming from!" Aj was about to say something about the wisdom of going down an icky and dark hole, but the mint-green mare already had the grate lifted halfway off. With a sigh, she helped her goofball friend move the grate the rest of the way off of the hole, and the two ponies descended the ladder into the tunnels beneath Ponyville. AJ lit a small flashlight she kept in her saddlebag, and the two mares trotted down the darkened tunnel way with a small river flowing through the side. Looking around at the gray walls and dingy appearance, the mare couldn't believe how colorful and alive the town and countryside above looked by comparison. So many green trees and colorful flowers, so many sweet animals and gentle creatures that made the town and the surrounding countryside home. The town might even be more full of beauty and life than it had been in her day, and modern Ponyville might be one of the most pleasant places she had ever lived. "Huh, this is weird, I've never been down here before," Minty noted, looking around at the slimy walls. "and I've lived in this town my whole life!" "This must be the town's sewer system, or it's water supply, considering how clean that water looks." Applejack peered down into the river. "Hey, wait a minute... what the heck is that gunk?" So it was quite a shock to see a trail of icky green sludge come pouring down through the water, turning in an extremely nasty color. The foul smell filling the air only seemed to worsen, indicating that this poison was the source of the stench. "Ewww, where is this disgusting goo coming from?" Minty asked, looking at the gunk in horror. "This stuff can't be any good for all the ponies and plants and animals!" "No, it's not Minty." A voice came out of the darkness, as a blue mare with a flame over water cutie mark came trotting towards them. "This stuff is a vile poison, that could threaten all of Ponyville, and all ponies and animals that live there." "Ahhh!" Minty yelled in a panic, before seeing the other pony. "Oh, Waterfire... it's only you! What a relief!" "Wait, Minty... you know this pony?" Applejack asked in surprise. "Yeah, she takes care of Ponyville's water supply, and fixes all the pipes under the town and stuff!" Minty explained, as AJ looked the blue mare with an orange mane over. "I'm sure she'll be able to get to the bottom of this!" The older mare noticed Waterfire had a... certain air about her, carrying a smell almost as strong as the foul poison in the water. patches of icky brown gunk were smeared all through the mare's coat and mane. And considering the pony was a sewer worker, it wasn't to hard for AJ to figure out exactly was those brown stains were. "This green pollutant has been pouring into the Ponyville water reserves for the past few weeks." The mare grumbled, turning on the light attached to her yellow sewer hard hat. "My breezie work crews and I have been noticing a buildup of in in the tunnels over the past few weeks." "Wait, you have breezies working for you down here?" AJ asked incredulously. "Isn't that kind of dangerous for such a delicate creature?" "Hey, who're you calling 'delicate'?" An annoyed little pony with wings called out, her glowing body coming out of the darkness as she flapped up towards the three normal-sized ponies. "We can take care of ourselves, thank you very much!" "Oh, I-I'm sorry..." Applejack replied apologetically, shocked to see a creature twice as large as the breezies she was used to. It was obviously from the genetically modified breed she and the other harmony bearers had encountered at Tambelon- a much stronger and sturdier subspecies that looked more like miniature versions of regular ponies, but with antennae and wings. "I didn't mean to offend you." "It's all right, Miss Applejack, Knick-Nack is just a little sensitive to his size!" Waterfire said with a laugh, as several other breezies in miniature hard hats came buzzing out of the other pipes. "I think if we're going to get to the bottom of this mess, we're going to have to follow the gunk trail back to it's source!" The blue mare tossed each of them a helmet painted with girly flowers like hers. "You two up for a little tunnel spelunking?" "Sounds good to me!" Minty called out, slapping the helmet on her head. "Lead the way, Waterfire!" "Wait a minute, you two!" Applejack wailed, galloping after the others as they quickly disappeared down the tunnel. "Are you really sure this is such a good idea!?" ... That was quite the adventure, wasn't it, Applejack? I believe we should both tell it from here on out! I do think you're right, Spike. Y'all were there for this part, after all. So did you guys find out who was responsible for the toxic goop? Was it some evil wizard out to destroy Ponyville? No, apple blossom, it wasn't like one of our problems we have here in Dream Valley. the pollution was actually coming from OUTSIDE the dome. See, more than just Ponyville had changed in the years I had been away. All of Equestria had gone through it's own changes, as economic growth and profit margins had become more important that the land ponies had once lived in harmony with. Industry and business had grown outside the insular bubble of Ponyville, and we were all about to find out just how horrible Equestrian greed and love of bits could be....