When Applejack pushed the final branch aside, the others gasped. Before them was a waterfall, pouring a rainbow of colors into the lake below. The colors fell beside each other so evenly that it was as if a rainbow had melted atop the cliff.
"Welcome to Rainbow Falls," Applejack announced.
"Incredible," Rarity muttered.
"Amazing," Fluttershy whispered.
"Cool!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.
"I've always heard of this place," Shining Armor grinned, "but I've never seen it myself."
Applejack's smile disappeared when she looked around. "Not as amazin' as it used to be."
The lake was surrounded by charred wood and run-down buildings that appeared to have once been stalls.
"This used to be a trader's exchange," Applejack explained. "Ponies would come from all over the Land of Sweets to trade all kinds of things. When Discord took over, they started sellin' stuff on the black market. That's how we got all our weapons and supplies. Discord must've found out and had the Diamond Dogs ransack the place."
"So much for supplies," Rarity sighed.
"Let's look around," Shining Armor declared. "Maybe the Diamond Dogs left some things behind."
Applejack shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."
Fluttershy put her hoof to her grumbling tummy. "Any chance there might be food here?"
"Nibble on a tree branch if you're hungry."
"I don't want candy. I want real food."
Applejack took off her hat and withdrew an orange apple with blue polka dots.
"Here," she said, tossing Fluttershy the apple. "I always keep a few, just in case. I hope ya like pepperscotch."
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Pepperscotch?"
"Tastes better than it sounds."
The pegasus cautiously took a bite and wrinkled her nose at the peculiar taste. It seemed to be a blend of peppermint and butterscotch. It wasn't the best thing she had ever tasted, but it wasn't the worst either, so she continued munching.
"How does rainbow water taste?" Sweetie Belle asked, leaning over the lake and making a ripple in it with her hoof.
"Wouldn't recommend it," the Resistance leader warned. "Liquefied rainbow is real spicy."
"That's okay. Dolls don't eat anyway, let alone taste."
Rarity suddenly flinched and glanced over her shoulder. "Did one of you tap me?"
"No," Applejack replied.
Fluttershy spun around. "Did you want something, Shining Armor?"
The nutcracker tilted his head. "No."
Applejack shrieked and pulled out her whip. "Who pinched me?!"
Rarity screamed. "Some pony pulled on my dress! Sweetie Belle, are you doing this?"
"I'm all the way over here!" the young doll insisted. "How could I have possibly…?"
She was cut off as a pony head popped out of the lake and cried, "BOO!"
Sweetie Belle yelped and fell backwards. The figure emerged fully from the water, completely drenched in rainbow. Rarity grabbed her sister while Shining Armor and Applejack made their weapons ready.
"What is it?!" Rarity gasped. "A swamp creature?"
The figure shook off the rainbow water, revealing nothing there.
"No!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "It's a ghost!"
They heard a laugh where the rainbow creature once was. Slowly, a cyan pegasus with a multi-colored mane and bodysuit appeared, clutching her stomach as she floated in midair.
"You all should've seen the looks on your faces!" she mocked, wiping away a tear. "Oh, I haven't had this much fun in months!"
"Who are you?" Shining Armor demanded, raising his sword.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there!" the joking pegasus exclaimed, holding up her hooves. "I was just fooling, Shining! No need to get hasty!"
He raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know my name?"
She hesitated for a second. "Every pony knows who you are. You were engaged to the Sugar Plum Princess before Discord banished you and turned you into a nutcracker."
Applejack scrutinized her. "How'd ya know all that?"
The rainbow pegasus shrugged. "News travels fast. Now, as to who I am, the name's Rainbow Dash."
"How'd you do that?" Sweetie Belle asked in wonder. "Turn invisible, I mean."
"That wasn't invisibility. That was camouflage. All rainbow ponies have chameleon powers. Anyway, I couldn't help but overhear that you folks were looking for food."
She turned around to reveal a rainbow sack on her back. She slipped it off, opened it and Fluttershy gasped when she saw a variety of sandwiches.
"Go on, take your pick," Rainbow beckoned. "Daisy? Sunflower? Hay? Grass? Cucumber?"
"Hold on!" Applejack shouted, slapping Fluttershy's hoof before she could reach the sack. "We shouldn't be takin' food from strangers! Especially this one!"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play innocent! Thought I wouldn't recognize ya, huh? You're that spy we caught last week!"
"Oh, right," Rainbow said, smiling nervously as she put her bag back on. "Forgot about that."
Shining Armor pulled Fluttershy back and moved his sword closer to the hovering pegasus. "Does she work for Discord?"
"I'm not a spy!" Rainbow insisted.
"You were snoopin' around the orchard!" Applejack declared. "No doubt tryin' to find our hideout! Ya know what her excuse was? She was lookin' for her sister!"
"I was looking for my sister!"
"Likely story! If that's all ya wanted, why'd ya run away? Had to tell yerr boss what ya found out, eh?"
"Of course I ran away! You punks were about to skewer me with a caramel apple stick! I really was looking for my sister!" She sighed sadly. "She was captured by the Chaos King."
Fluttershy looked at the rainbow pony sympathetically. "What's your sister's name?"
"Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash replied with a sniff. "When the Diamond Dogs invaded Rainbow Falls, we got separated. When I couldn't find her, I could only assume the Diamond Dogs had taken her."
"That's so sad," Sweetie Belle said with a frown.
"It's a bunch of lies!" Applejack said, cracking her whip. "Tell the truth, or you're gonna have to answer to Betsy here!"
"Wait!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I think she is telling the truth!"
"How would you know?"
She looked at the Resistance leader solemnly. "If my little brother was ever in trouble, I would be just as upset."
Applejack glanced between the two pegasi, unsure of how to respond. Shining Armor was just as wary.
"Can you prove that you're not a spy?" he asked Rainbow.
"I'm offering you food, aren't I?" she replied, taking a sandwich out of her pack and biting into it. "See? No poison or anything. Now, you guys hungry or what?"
Applejack scowled. "I know that trick! Eatin' the only sandwich that isn't poisoned to make us eat the ones that are! You're gonna have to do a lot better than that!"
"How about this?" hollered a voice from above.
The looked up to see Fluttershy at the top of the waterfall. Shining Armor glanced back at his side to verify that she was no longer there and then back up to where she was now.
"Fluttershy, what are you doing?!"
The yellow pegasus closed her eyes, folded her wings and let herself fall. Every pony gasped and shrieked.
"Fluttershy, are you crazy?!" Applejack shouted, rushing with the others to the bottom of the waterfall.
But before they could even get under her, Rainbow Dash caught her in her hooves, a panicked look on her face. Fluttershy opened her eyes and smiled.
"Like the cowgirl said," Rainbow huffed. "Are you crazy?!"
"Maybe," she shrugged, "but I've just proved that you're on our side."
Applejack's and Shining Armor's mouths fell open as Rainbow Dash lowered Fluttershy to the ground.
"Well, uh…" Applejack stammered.
"I…I guess you're in the clear," the nutcracker said. "Any pony working for Discord would've let her fall."
Rainbow sighed in relief. "Well, now that that's settled…" She opened her backpack. "Who wants some lunch?"
"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Discord hollered, slamming a fist next to the bowl of water in front of Twilight.
"It's just as I said," the unicorn said calmly, "as I had said when you first asked me about the Chaos Amulet: This amulet will undoubtedly corrupt the soul, but will show an alternative path beyond control."
Discord folded his arms. "And that means what, exactly?!"
She rolled her eyes, her patience wearing as thin as his. "Magical amulets tend to have minds of their own, especially the Chaos Amulet. It's connected to the randomness of the universe and is drawn to random events, such as those that often lead to one's destiny."
The Chaos King glanced down at the amulet. "So what you're saying is that when this thing glowed, it was pointing to my destiny?"
Twilight shrugged. "Most likely."
He blinked as he stared off into space. "Then Fluttershy…"
It was the unicorn's turn to blink. "Excuse me?"
He lifted the amulet. "Her necklace. It was glowing too. Hers and mine…they connected."
Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh dear."
"What do you mean 'oh dear?' What do you know?"
She gulped. "Well…it is possible that Fluttershy's amulet isn't that different from yours. I mean kindness is often associated with…"
She trailed off and glanced down at her hooves. Discord narrowed his eyes at her.
"What?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. "It's just a silly hunch."
He grabbed the front of her dress. "TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!"
"Alright, alright! I think her necklace connected with yours because kindness is often associated with…caring for some pony."
He raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
"You know." She winced, afraid of what she was about to say. "Love."
He dropped her. "LOVE?! With that…her…me…her and me…are you messing with me?!"
"It's just a theory! Forget I said anything!"
"Good!"
He huffed as he stomped out of her cell. "Me! Master of Chaos! Love! The very idea!"
Yet as he slammed the door, the sweet mare's face came to mind again. The way she had looked at him… No pony had ever looked at him that way before. So sympathetically, so caring, so…
He looked down at his paw and claw. He could still feel the tingle from her soft hooves running over his burns. He closed his eyes and sighed at the memory of her touch. Soon he imagined those hooves touching his face, her beautiful eyes gazing into his as she leaned forward and…
"Um, sir?"
He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see a Diamond Dog standing awkwardly at the cell door. Discord blushed for a second and then scowled.
"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!"
The Diamond Dog stood upright and didn't say anything further.
"That's what I thought," Discord huffed, stomping away.
He reached the throne room and began pacing, thinking about what had passed between him and the young pegasus. Was Twilight telling the truth? Was the Chaos Amulet really leading him to his destiny? Was the Jewel of Kindness doing the same for Fluttershy? If their necklaces were pulling them towards each other, did that mean…?
Discord shook his head. "Absurd! I'm the King of Chaos! Love and chaos don't mix! Neither do kindness and chaos!"
He paused and tapped his chin. "Then again, that necklace's power did seem awfully violent for a Jewel of Kindness. Chaotic, even. And the mare wearing it…"
No mare had ever been able to get the best of him like that. Twice now, she had done so. Sure, she had that Jewel of Kindness protecting her, but no doubt she was channeling its power. After all, it only seemed to really do its job when she got upset. He still wasn't quite sure how her necklace could repel him yet be drawn to him at the same time. It didn't make sense.
"Then again," he said, grinning slightly, "what fun is there in making sense?"
Seeing his telescope perched on the windowsill, he looked through it and scouted the land. He spotted the nutcracker's party at Rainbow Falls, having a picnic lunch with Rainbow Dash. He chuckled as he watched his minion making splendid progress in his plan already. Then his eye fell upon the yellow pegasus and everything else was forgotten. He focused in on her face, glowing as she smiled. He couldn't help but smile too as her flowing, pink mane shimmered in the sunlight and her teal eyes sparkled.
She was like an angel: so innocent, so pure, so beautiful, so perfect…
The list went on forever, and he found he could not take his eye off her. Warmth welled up inside his chest with every second he watched her. All he could think about was what it would be like to have her here, in his arms, to be allowed to run his fingers through her mane…
He shook himself back to his senses. Why was he thinking like this? So what if the mare was pretty? So what if the mere sight of her made him feel warm and giddy inside? That didn't mean he…
He shook his head again. No, it wasn't like that. He just…had an inexplicable need to have her near. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how much he wanted her right then and there.
Then he wondered what he would do with her once she was here and the necklace had been removed from her. He could make her his own personal maid, so that she would always be near and he could look at her whenever he wanted. Heck, as his slave, he could do whatever he wanted with her, even hold her close and…
For the hundredth time that day, he shook his head wildly. What had put that thought into his head?
The whole matter was making his head spin in confusion. All he knew was that he couldn't wait any longer to have the mare. He looked back through the telescope and saw that the group had packed up their picnic and started on their way again. He focused in on Rainbow Dash, who was looking very nervous.
"You better not fail me," Discord muttered as he turned his attention back to Fluttershy. "I want her now."
Rainbow Dash tried her best to hide her guilt from the others. So far, things had been going smoothly. She hadn't expected Fluttershy to jump off a cliff, but catching her had been enough to gain the group's trust. The young doll seemed particularly enraptured by Rainbow's stories and kept asking her to demonstrate her camouflage powers, which wowed Rarity and Fluttershy as well. Even the nutcracker seemed to be won over by her.
It was Applejack that still had her suspicions. Rainbow cursed herself for forgetting her run-in with the Resistance leader last week. She kept giving her wary looks, thinking the rainbow pony was going to stab them in the backs at any second.
What bothered Rainbow most about the rebel was that she was right.
She glanced at the butterfly pendant around Fluttershy's neck. The sooner she got this over with, the better.
"Say," Rainbow said casually. "That's a nice jewel you've got there. Where'd you get it?"
She reached out to touch it, only for Fluttershy to swat her hoof away.
"Sorry," the yellow pegasus said apologetically. "It's just…I don't want you to get hurt."
Rainbow blinked. "Why?"
"What's it to ya?" Applejack demanded, sticking her nose in the rainbow pony's face.
"Just curious. That's all."
"Aw, go ahead and tell her," Sweetie Belle said brightly. "It's not like she can steal it anyway."
Rarity shrugged. "My sister has a point."
"Well," Fluttershy sighed, "I don't know why it does this, but every time some pony touches it, they get hurt."
"It has some kind of magic," Shining Armor explained, "magic that Discord wants. That's why he's been trying to kidnap Fluttershy. She's the only one who can take if off."
Rainbow pretended to be surprised. "Whoa! You're telling me the Chaos King is after you because of that necklace? Gee, that must be tough. You sure you want to keep it?"
"I can't just throw it away," Fluttershy said, gently touching the pendant. "Whatever Discord wants it for, it must be for something awful. I can't let him have it."
"But to have the Chaos King after ya all the time…you sure you can handle something like that?" Rainbow perked up. "Hey, here's an idea! How about ya let some pony else wear it? Some pony tough, some pony fearless, some pony who can handle an evil overlord? Some pony like…I don't know. Me?"
She reached for the necklace again. This time, Applejack came between them.
"Why would you wanna wear the necklace?" she asked cautiously. "Don't tell me you want the Chaos King chasin' ya!"
"Hey, I'm just saying I can handle him," Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly. "I don't know why you wanna put this pony in danger like this."
"The necklace protects her! She won't stand a chance against Discord if she takes it off!"
"But he won't want her anymore if she doesn't have the necklace."
Rainbow bit her lip as she said this, knowing that wasn't true.
"She's keepin' it on!" Applejack exclaimed. "End of discussion!"
"Okay, okay!" Rainbow replied. "Chill!"
She turned away and groaned. So much for that tactic.
Fluttershy, anxious to break the tension, gently pushed Applejack aside.
"So why don't you tell us about your sister?"
Rainbow looked up in surprise. Then she figured "opening up" would get them more on her side.
"Scoots?" she said, smiling softly. "Well, she's not really my sister…"
"I knew it!" Applejack grunted.
"Let me finish! See, I found her a few years ago in the woods. Neither of us had families, so I took her under my wing. Since then, we've considered ourselves sisters."
Fluttershy grinned. "How old is she?"
"Eight."
"So is my brother!"
Rainbow looked at her with wide eyes. "You have siblings?"
"Just my little brother, Button." Fluttershy giggled. "Let me tell you. He's as cute as one." She frowned suddenly. "I miss him."
"Did Discord take your brother too?"
"Oh no. He's just back home, though," Fluttershy scoffed, "I guess he's my big brother now that he's a hundred times my size."
Rainbow stopped in her tracks. "Say what?"
"Discord shrank her," Shining Armor explained.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You mean to tell me you're from the Land of Giants?"
She genuinely wanted to know, as Discord had not told her where the young mare was from.
"Um, I guess," Fluttershy uttered. "Is that what you call it?"
Rainbow snickered. "So…so you used to be…?" She flew upward about fifty feet. "This high?!"
"Uh…I think?"
"Oh…oh, boy!" the multi-colored pegasus laughed, returning to the ground. "No wonder the Chaos King shrank ya! Why, you could've just stepped on him," she brought her hoof firmly down on a twig, "and he would've snapped like a twig!"
The dolls giggled while Shining Armor smiled.
"I mean just imagine him writhing in agony and going: 'Help me, help me!' in a teeny little voice!"
"That's horrible!" Fluttershy insisted, though she couldn't help but laugh along with her.
"Well, it would've served him right!" Rarity nodded. "We probably wouldn't even be on this quest if you had squashed him."
"Yeah," said Rainbow, "and me and Scootaloo would be…"
She trailed off, not out of sadness, but at a whispering in her ear.
"Pssst!"
Confused, Rainbow stuck her hoof in her ear and twisted it.
"Rainbow Dash!"
She jumped at the voice she knew all too well.
"A word, if you don't mind?"
"Uh…" Rainbow uttered, glancing around at the others. "I have to uh…go over there!"
"Why?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Um…nature call! Yeah, that's it!"
The rebel groaned. "Okay, but hurry up!"
Rainbow flashed a smile before diving into the bushes. She searched around for her master.
"Sir?" she called.
She squealed when a tiny Discord popped out of her ear.
"What's taking so long?" he demanded.
"Get out of there!" Rainbow exclaimed, hitting the other side of her head to shake him out.
Discord fell to the ground and grew to Rainbow's height so he could be intimidating but remain undetected by the others.
"I'll ask again," he growled. "What is taking so long?!"
"You can't expect them to just give me the necklace after knowing me for an hour!" Rainbow insisted. "Besides, she won't take it off."
Discord grunted. "Should've guessed. Oh, by the way, what was that about squishing me into oblivion?"
Rainbow shrank under his glare. "Hey, hey! I didn't mean it! I have to make them think I'm on their side, right? And…well, they're not so hot about you."
The Chaos King groaned as he took a step back. Then he got a hopeful look on his face.
"Tell me. Did she…like the sandwiches I gave you?"
"She?" Rainbow asked, tilting her head.
"Fluttershy. Did she like my sandwiches?"
"Um, sure. They all did. Except that rebel leader, though I'm sure she was just being cranky. I tell ya she's on to me, sir. I don't know if…"
"Which one did she eat?"
"The apple butter one, though that's not a surprise…"
"Not her! Fluttershy!"
"Oh. She had the cucumber one. Anyway, I don't think the dolls are suspicious…"
"When she had the first bite, did she…close her eyes in bliss, or did she blurt out how delicious it was even though her mouth was full?"
"She, uh…what?"
Discord grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. "Just tell me!"
"Hey, Rainbow!" Applejack's voice called. "What are ya doin' in there?!"
"I'm not sharing that!" Rainbow shouted before turning back to her boss. "Look, it'll take a while before they can fully trust me. Just give me some time and…"
"I can't wait that long!" Discord growled between his teeth. "I need her now!"
"But I…what?"
He groaned as he slowly released her. "Well, you're just going to have to wait until they're all asleep."
"But night isn't for a while and…"
"Not for long," the Chaos King grinned.
"Oh."
"But I know a way you can get them to trust you more. There's a gingerbread house not far from here where you can all take shelter."
"Gingerbread house?" Rainbow said in surprise. "But I thought you would've…"
"Oh, I've known about it for weeks. I haven't dismantled it yet because it's too fun to watch."
"Fun to watch?"
"Oh, right. When you get in," he whispered, bringing her close, "beware the pies."
"Pies?"
"Okay, have fun!" Discord waved cheerfully.
"Wait. What do you mean by…?"
But the Chaos King had vanished before she could finish.
"Rainbow Dash!" hollered Applejack's voice.
Remembering her mission, the pegasus popped out of the bush. "Yeah, what you want?"
"See!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "I told you she didn't abandon us!"
Applejack snorted, not taking her glare off the rainbow pony.
"Sorry about that," Rainbow said, stretching her legs. "I really had to go."
"Any pony else?" Shining Armor asked, glancing at the others.
Applejack and Fluttershy shook their heads.
"Dolls don't need to go!" Sweetie Belle piped.
"Then let's press forward while it's still daylight," the nutcracker ordered.
As soon as he said that, everything went dark.
"What?" Fluttershy uttered. "But the sun wasn't…"
"It's Discord's work," Applejack said with a sigh. "He likes to turn the lights on and off whenever he pleases. Ya can never tell what time it is anymore."
"Well, we can't travel in the dark," Shining Armor observed. "We should find shelter."
"That might be what Discord wants us to do! He knows we're comin' for him, so he made it night so we can't travel!"
Fluttershy yawned. "We have been walking a while."
Rainbow saw this as her cue to step in. "Ooh! I know a place we can stay!"
"Really?" Applejack said, raising her eyebrow in suspicion.
"Yeah. There's a house around here somewhere. I, err, stumbled upon it the other day."
"A house? I don't remember any house around here."
"There is! Just, um, give me a second to remember where."
Fortunately, Rainbow was a fast flyer, so she was able to sweep their surroundings in a matter of seconds. Sure enough, just down the hill was a tiny gingerbread house. She signaled the others and they gasped at the sight.
"Well, I'll be…" Applejack murmured.
"An actual gingerbread house…" Fluttershy whispered, sniffing the air. "Oh, it smells delicious!"
"I wonder who lives here," said Shining Armor.
"Who cares?" Rainbow said, flying ahead. "It's a place to sleep, isn't it?"
When they got closer, they realized that the house was falling apart. The frosting was dripping from the roof, the sugared windows were cracked and the chocolate door was hanging loosely off the hinges. One knock and it toppled over.
Shining Armor took the lead, his sword ready, as the six companions entered the house.
"Hello?" he called. "Any pony home?"
Sweetie Belle looked up and could've sworn she saw a pair of bright blue eyes, which vanished immediately.
"Uh, guys?" she whispered, clutching her sister's gown. "I don't like this."
"Beware the pies," Rainbow muttered.
"What you say?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, um…just something I heard about this place."
"It looks abandoned to me," Rarity said. "I mean who would leave their house in such a state unless no pony lived here?"
"I never thought a gingerbread house could be so dark," Fluttershy shivered.
"I don't think it's abandoned," Applejack declared.
"How can you tell?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Take it from someone who's been livin' on an 'abandoned' farm for months. In these times, any pony livin' here wouldn't make themselves known unless…"
"NOW!"
While every pony looked up to find the source of the cry, Rainbow Dash was knocked in the head with a…
"Cupcake?"
The others ducked as more cupcakes came raining down on them.
"What'd I tell ya?" Applejack cried. "It's an ambush!"
"Who are you?" Shining Armor shouted, waving his sword. "Show yourselves!"
"He's got a sword!" a high-pitched voice screeched.
"Never bring a sword to a cupcake fight!" another voice sounding similar to the first yelled.
"Blue!" a third voice shouted. "I'm low on ammo here!"
"Then use the secret weapon!"
"Blue, that's supposed to be a secret!" said the first voice.
"Not anymore!"
"Do those voices sound like…fillies to you?" Rarity asked.
"No way!" Rainbow cried as a cookie whizzed past her tail. "There's no way a bunch of fillies would be able to…"
"CHERRY BOMB!"
"Huh? Gah!"
Every pony gasped as a giant ball of cherries came hurdling towards them. Rainbow picked up Applejack and used her as a shield. When Rainbow opened her eyes, she was met with a very angry rebel, splattered in cherry juice.
"Why, you…" she grumbled, reaching for her whip.
"Wait!" Fluttershy called out, waving her hooves. "We mean you no harm! We just need a place to stay for the night!"
"Likely story!" cried the third voice that had unleashed the Cherry Bomb.
"No, really! We're victims of the Chaos King! We're on your side!"
"Think we should listen to them, Blue?" said the first voice. "That one there's too pretty to be a spy."
"Appearances can be deceiving, Rasp," said the second voice, supposedly Blue. "But that wooden boy there looks awfully familiar."
"Hey, isn't that the Sugar Plum Princess' old boyfriend?" said the Cherry Bomber. "I thought he was dead!"
"No, it's me!" the nutcracker insisted. "I'm Captain Shining Armor!"
"And I'm the leader of the Resistance!" Applejack declared.
"That would explain the black," said the voice called Rasp.
"Nevertheless," said Blue, "Mommy told us not to let any strangers into the house!"
"It's okay, girls!"
The six travelers turned to the doorway to see a pink mare standing there with brown paper bags in her hooves. Her mane was puffed up like cotton candy, her smile was big and bright, her big blue eyes were filled with cheer, and the brown cookie suit made her look like a gingerbread mare. Everything about the mare's appearance made Fluttershy want to smile.
"You can come out now!" the cookie mare exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Blue hollered.
"Yup!" she replied, tapping her head. "My Pinkie Sense tells me these ponies are okie dokie lokie!"
"Oh boy!" the three voices chirped.
Three heads popped out of the rafters, looking similar to the mare's head, only smaller and each a different color. The owners of the three heads tumbled down and landed on their hooves with ease. The travelers looked down at them in shock.
As Rarity had guessed, they were fillies, hardly bigger than Sweetie Belle. They resembled the cookie mare, having the same mane styles and wearing the same cookie suits, but instead of being pink, they were blue, magenta and red. The pink mare popped up behind them and gave them a hug.
"Hi!" she said to the travelers. "I'm Pinkie Pie, and these are my little girls! As you can see, they're triplets, but I call them the Tri-Pies, because it's cuter!"
"Hi!" the triplets said with as much enthusiasm as their mother.
"I'm Blueberry Pancake Pie!" said the blue one.
"I'm Raspberry Strudel Pie!" said the magenta.
"And I'm Cherry Changa Pie!" said the red.
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "Cherry Changa?"
"No thanks! I just ate!"
Rainbow smacked herself in the forehead. "Oh! Beware the Pies!"
"You betcha!" Blueberry piped. "You cross our path, face our wrath!"
"So sorry about our little welcome," Pinkie giggled, "but as you can see, we get a lot of trouble around here."
"Specifically Diamond Dogs!" Raspberry huffed. "Those big meanies!"
"But they're nothing against my Cherry Bomb!" Cherry chimed.
"Yeah," Applejack said, wiping the last bit of cherry off her suit. "I can see that."
"So who are you, strangers?" Pinkie asked.
"Hold on, I got this!" Blueberry said.
She stepped forth and studied the travelers carefully.
"Okay, I've got it!" She pointed at Shining Armor. "This nutcracker here is really Captain Shining Armor, cursed by the Chaos King. He was banished to the Land of Giants, where he met this girl," she pointed at Fluttershy, "who Discord tried to kidnap, because she's wearing the Jewel of Kindness, but he couldn't, because the necklace protects her, so he shrank her instead. And these two," she pointed at Rarity and Sweetie Belle, "are her dolls who tagged along for the ride and this," she pointed at Applejack, "is the leader of the Resistance, but her followers were all captured by the Chaos King, and this one here," Rainbow Dash got very nervous when the filly indicated her, "is trying to get her sister back from Discord in whatever way she can. All in all, they're all off to the Sugar Plum Palace to rescue Princess Cadence and every pony else by defeating the Chaos King."
Every pony was silent for a while.
"How'd you know all that?" Applejack finally asked.
"Just a hunch," Blueberry shrugged.
"That's why she's the smart one," Pinkie said proudly, patting her daughter on the head.
"You wouldn't mind letting us stay for the night, would you?" Shining Armor asked.
"Of course not! We can have a slumber party!" Pinkie gasped. "In fact, I just got a whole new batch of marshmallows!" She pulled said marshmallows out of one of her paper bags. "Who wants s'mores?!"