//------------------------------// // 26. Your pumpkin's upside down. // Story: The Tale of Lord Barleycorn // by Blue Cultist //------------------------------// The Tale of Lord Barleycorn - - - - - - Chapter 26: Your pumpkin's upside down. --- The shadows cast by the sun were beginning to lengthen as the afternoon wore on. The shadow cast by the rotting water tower that stood in the heart of the town was especially long in these autumn months. In this very shadow sat the stage that Lord Barleycorn was building. The foals continued to work on the pumpkins that the scarecrow had brought, carefully cutting while they talked. Others who were already done with their carving were content to watch the funny-looking forest spirit hammer nails with its noodly forelegs. Thistle Bloom set her knife down next to her pumpkin and stretched her jaw, "There, done!" Wedge came up next to her and tilted his head. "Um..." "If you don't like it, just say so!" Thistle Bloom growled. "It's not that, you did a good job carving it... it's just..." Wedge motioned to the pumpkin with his hoof. Thistle Bloom glanced at the newly carved Jack o'lantern, "Just what?" Wedge winced, but he continued to point, "Your pumpkin's upside down." "It is not! Look, if it was upside then the stem would be..." Wanting to shame Wedge with physical evidence, Thistle Bloom flipped her Jack o'Lantern over... only for the carved lid to fall out the bottom. "... right there." Thistle Bloom looked over at Wedge's pumpkin, "Um... you wouldn't want to trade, would you?" Wedge shook his head, a safe smirk forming on his muzzle. "No thanks, I'm good." Not willing to accept defeat so easily, Thistle Bloom looked over to another pumpkin... "Corn Crib, would you be interested in a trade?" Without a word or even a turn of her head, Corn Crib pushed her pumpkin over to Thistle Bloom. "Wow. That was easy." Thistle Bloom grinned as she pulled the pumpkin over to her side. "You sure she's one of your cousins from the Apple family?" Corn Crib’s ears folded back against her skull, "Her name is Applejack. I think it's safe to say that my dad's not going to welcome her in the house for a warm dinner." Wedge rolled his eyes, "No offense Corn Crib, I don't think you were convincing enough to get her to think you aren't related." Thistle Bloom nodded in agreement, "If Wedge could see through it, it's not gonna fool two old mares like them." Wedge shot Thistle Bloom a harsh look, but it went unacknowledged. The two mares stood in front of the stage, whispering to each other as they watched Lord Barleycorn continue to work on the stage. Corn Crib hadn't stopped watching either of them since they had first spotted Lord Barleycorn. "Why do you think they came here?" Thistle Bloom whispered, "Most ponies don't wanna come here." Wedge shrugged, "You don't think she's the Jack from the story, do you? That she's here for Halloween?" "Don't be silly. One, she's clearly not dead. Two, the Jack in the story carried a lantern like these." Thistle Bloom patted her upside down Jack o'lantern, "Three, Lord Barleycorn said Jack was a stallion." Corn Crib looked to her friends, an uneasy quiver on her lip, "Do you think I could stay with one of you until they leave town?" "Maybe she's not going to be here long." Wedge looked to Applejack with a tilt of his head, "Maybe if you told her everypony at your home is too busy with the fields she'd probably leave them alone." Thistle Bloom nodded, "That might work." "Alright, alright." Corn Crib lifted her head to look at Lord Barleycorn. "Just... give me a minute." --- Applejack had seen all manner of creatures since meeting Twilight Sparkle. Monsters, animals she had only seen in books, even ghost stories that she had a hoof in putting to rest. She had begun to feel that she couldn't be surprised anymore. When Fluttershy had told her about the scarecrow eating rabbits, she was ready to battle some twisted freak of nature, or to discover the story was just a fabrication by a few smarter-than-average rabbits so they could get away with eating half the apple crop. To find such a gangly, misshapen scarecrow building a stage in the middle of town with nopony seeming to care was not what she expected at all. If this were Ponyville, there'd be pandemonium and utter panic. Looking over her shoulder to the locals watching from the corner, Applejack had to wonder what it would take for something to be considered strange in this town. "It... doesn't seem to be dangerous." Applejack whispered to Fluttershy, "Unless you're a nail." After hearing what the rabbits had told Fluttershy, Applejack thought her yellow friend would be terrified of the creature. Fluttershy wasn't exactly puffing her chest out and staring the creature down, but she wasn't scared of it. She looked more confused than frightened as she watched the scarecrow. "Should we go get Twilight? She might know what to do." Fluttershy answered in a whisper that Applejack almost missed over the pounding of the scarecrow's hammer. Applejack shook her head, "We might lose him, and besides he don't look like he's some violent critter." "The foals do seem to like him." Fluttershy admitted as she looked around, "Nopony seems scared of him at all, but I know what those rabbits told me." A filly, known to the foals as Spring Mist, drew the two mares' attention when she walked around the stage to nudge the scarecrow's long leg with her hoof. "Lord Barleycorn?" Spring Mist squeaked. The scarecrow set his hammer aside and knelt down, his head still visible from behind the stage. "Something wrong, dear treasure?" The filly's head was kept low, drawing circles in the dirt with her hoof as worried children are oft to do. "I don't think I'm very good at this." "And what makes you think that?" The scarecrow reared up to its full height, "Why don't you lead me over to it and let me be the judge of that." Applejack felt that same twinge of uneasiness when she saw Spring Mist accept the scarecrow's slithery sleeve on her back. The foal didn't mind it, but from the way she tried to hide behind its long legs the filly didn't enjoy being watched by the rest of the children as she led the scarecrow around to the front of the stage. "Look, here it is." Spring Mist said as she gestured to the pumpkin in front of her. "I've never used a knife before..." Applejack was still new to this whole 'Jack O'lantern' business, but she could see from the other pumpkins that the point was to carve a face into it. The 'why' of this activity still escaped her, and she wondered what connection the lanterns had to this scarecrow. The foal's orange pumpkin looked like it had been attacked by one of the lunatics from the horror books Twilight showcased for Nightmare Night. A large hole was in the center, and to Applejack it looked like somepony had caved it inwards with one good kick. "I made the mouth too big, then when I cut the eyes I cut into the mouth and the rest of it fell apart." The filly's ears splayed back against her head, "I-I'm sorry I ruined this one... can I have another pumpkin?" "My dear, you're quite mistaken." Lord Barleycorn said in a gentle voice, "This pumpkin isn't ruined." The filly's ears perked up, but a second look at the pumpkin didn't fill her with any newfound confidence, "But there's nothing to make a face on." "Haven't you heard the sayin, 'When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade?'" Lord Barleycorn lifted the pumpkin to look at the gaping hole more closely, "Hm, I can think of a few suggestions, if you would be interested in hearing my humble opinion." Spring Mist wordlessly nodded her head. "Well, you can't make a face here..." Lord Barleycorn set the pumpkin down on its side, the hole that the foal has made was now facing the sky, "Now you have a second chance." "But now the lid won't stay on." Spring Mist pointed to the circle of carved pumpkin resting beside the main gourd. The scarecrow cocked his head as he gave the filly a knowing look, "What lid? That hole can be one of its eyes. I'll help you cut it if you like." Spring Mist shook her head, "No, I wanna do it on my own." "Then so it shall be." Lord Barleycorn stood, "But, one word of advice, don't give up so easily next time you get stuck. There's always a way to fix things." The filly gave the scarecrow an understanding nod as she reached down for the knife again, looking much more confident than she had been before. While the scarecrow returned to the stage to continue his work, Applejack nibbled on her cheek as she thought about what she had just witnessed. They had come to investigate talk of a monster, and this scarecrow acted more like Cheerilee than Sombra or Nightmare Moon. "Fluttershy," Applejack whispered to get her friend's attention, "Ah'm gonna go talk to it." Fluttershy's eyes widened, "But the rabbits said-" Applejack raised a hoof to stop Fluttershy, "Look, Ah know what ya said about the rabbits, an' I ain't callin' you a liar. But... did that look like some dangerous critter to you?" Fluttershy looked back to the ponies on the corner, then back to the foals. "It does look like everypony's very relaxed around it. But-" "But we ain't gonna accomplish nothin' sittin' around an' starin' at it." Applejack's determination was quickly undercut by her next question; "Er, how exactly do ya talk to a scarecrow?" Fluttershy thought for a moment, but all she could come up with was an empty shrug. "Excuse me," The scarecrow said, grabbing the attention of the Ponyville mares, "Could the two of you tell me if this looks plum to you?" Fluttershy blinked, not understanding what he was talking about. "Like... the fruit?" "He means do the boards look straight n' level." Applejack explained, getting a few exaggerated 'Oh's from the foals. It seemed some of them had just learned a new word. Applejack stepped up to the stage and ran her experienced hoof across the edge of the boards, then across the top. The light scrape of her hooves across the grain called her back the many hours of carpentry needed to raise a barn. Measuring the wood and getting it nailed exactly in place could spell the difference between a strong barn and a wobbly shack that would come apart with the next storm. "The third board's a little high on this side, but it seems fine." Applejack said, pressing on the board in question and winced at the sensation of moisture in the wood. "Ah'd use some better wood if Ah were you, it looks a lil-" Applejack shook her head. She was supposed to finding out about this scarecrow, not giving advice on proper woodworking. The determined glare she shot at the creature was ignored as it focused on placing the next board across the timber. "Excellent! I would have liked it better if the lumberjacks had left me a bubble gauge, but much like the quality of the wood, I work with what I'm given." Fluttershy hovered at a respectful distance and watched as the scarecrow gathered a few nails from a bucket behind the stage. "Um, if you don't mind me asking... what are you doing here?" "Why, isn't it obvious? I'm building a stage." Lord Barleycorn laughed as he finished hammering another board in place. Fluttershy looked to Applejack, silently pleading for help. "Er, Ah think mah friend meant 'what are you?'" Applejack offered, deciding to move onto another question. Lord Barleycorn tapped on the stage with his hammer, taking a moment to compose his response. "A lot of things. A king, a scarecrow, a spirit, a lord, a vagabond, a musician, a helper of those in need... But right now I think amatuer carpenter is the only title that fits." Lord Barleycorn gently tapped a few nails into the wood to hold them upright before hammering them all in place with quick blows from his hammer. "I don't suppose the two of you know where to get a good fog machine, or some moth-eaten sheets, do you?" Both Applejack and Fluttershy shook their heads. Lord Barleycorn snapped his fingers, "Darn, they would have been good for the show." "Show?" Fluttershy parroted, "You mean their Harvest Festival?" "Well, that's something that's going to to occur, what I'm talking about is the festival of spirits, Halloween, which will be coming to Hollow Shades." Lord Barleycorn brushed the neck of his sweater off in a very courtly manner. "The spirits of the forest will be coming out, and I have a wonderful group of volunteers helping me get the town looking presentable." That brought a few proud smiles out of the foals. Cherry Nova only snorted. "I don't suppose either of you have any acting experience? Singing?" Lord Barleycorn asked "Well..." Applejack thought back to Fluttershy's excellent singing voice, but she couldn't just throw her friend under the carriage without knowing what the consequences were. "No more than the average pony, Ah suppose." "Then I'll have to comb through Hollow Shades for somepony who does." Lord Barleycorn set the hammer aside and sat down on the edge of the stage. "Will you be staying in town long?" Applejack blinked, "How did ya figure that?" "You just now admitted you knew nothing about my proposal to the town, so you either just crawled out from under a rock, or you're from out of town." Lord Barleycorn shrugged, "But now that I know that, your first question makes more sense, oh inquizzitive ones." "So... will you answer it?" Fluttershy asked as she tried to show a polite smile while pushing the awful things the rabbits told her out of mind. "I am Lord Barleycorn, Sovereign of all Autumn, King of Scarecrows, and player of one mean fiddle." The scarecrow tipped his hat, "And it's a pleasure to meet you both, Miss... oh. You wouldn't be Miss Applejack and Miss Fluttershy would you?" Applejack's eyes went wide. "How do you know our names?" "Spirits cling to the Everfree, and they love to gossip. You and your friends have been having plenty of adventures from what I hear. I'm very impressed." Lord Barleycorn chuckled, "Hydras, evil princesses from the moon, bug-ponies... I thought Carrot Top was making it all up but hey, one of these talking magic equines apparently controls the sun!" Fluttershy blinked, "They told you all that?" "Oh I don't know all the details but then again I'm always moving, always busy. Leaves to paint, mushrooms to sow, fruit to sweeten, grain to dry..." Lord Barleycorn shook his head, "I'm sorry, I tend to ramble when I have too much on my mind. So much to do..." Fluttershy tilted her head as she watched the scarecrow stretch its arms over its head. She didn't want to call the rabbits liars, but this creature didn't seem like the vicious, long-toothed demon of the forest the rabbits had described. The foals around it seemed almost eager for something to happen, and she had a feeling it had something to do with the old and worn violin case that was resting on the ground. This was not a monster, and when she got back to Ponyville she would have to have another talk with the rabbits about their story... "Um, what kind of play will it be?" Fluttershy perked up a little. "Nothing too complicated, a trio of foals, fillies, colts, whomever can fit the roles, are costumed and ready to go to house and house for candy. A passing witch then..." The scarecrow sagged his shoulders, as if he just realized he'd said something he shouldn't have. "Darn, here I went and blew the surprise. That's so unlike me..." All at once the foals surrounded the stage where Lord Barleycorn was sitting, each of them raising a hoof as they cried out to be in the play. "Now now, please!" Lord Barleycorn shouted over the din, silencing the foals, "We'll be having auditions and script readings tomorrow, so if you wish for a chance you'll have to come then. I still need to finish writing it, and of course then there's the stage, costumes, props..." "We can help with that!" Wedge offered as he smiled up at Lord Barleycorn. Applejack felt a tap at her shoulder, and glanced over to see Fluttershy leaning in to whisper in her ear, "I think he wants to talk to us." "Who-" Applejack stopped herself when she looked back to the crowd, the red stallion who was sitting with the foals kept glancing toward the sidewalk of the main road. The scarecrow was still talking to the foals, and it didn't seem like he was going to get back to them. She nodded in his direction and the stallion stood, heading off in the direction he had indicated. Not knowing what else to do, Applejack and Fluttershy followed him. An exasperated groan welled up from Corn Crib’s lungs, which drowned out by the other foal’s excited clamor over the mention of the play. She had just figured out what she was going to say to her cousin and now Applejack was walking away! "Just my luck." Corn Crib thought, "Then again, maybe Dr. Nova will be his usual plot-head self and cousin Applejack will leave because he was super rude to her." The scarecrow let out a tired sigh, too focused on the excited foals to notice the chaperone and the mares were leaving, or Corn Crib’s contemplation. "Children, I can't ask you to do everything. You've already made the lanterns, and some of you will be in the play." "And you can't do everything." Corn Crib said firmly, stamping a hoof in the dirt. "If you're doing this to help everypony then we gotta help you do it." "Little Princess, I..." Lord Barleycorn stopped to consider the hard-as-iron stare Corn Crib had leveled at him. "You aren't going to take no for an answer, are you?" "No." Corn Crib didn't move an inch. Lord Barleycorn lifted his chin to stare up at the sky. His sleeved hand tapped his knee as he leaned back on the creaking wood of his stage. "Well, if you're going to be in on this, why don't we make this an all-inclusive festival? Why don't you come up with something to add? While I'm taking a short break, why don't you show what ideas can come from Hollow Shades." "You want us to come up with ideas for the Spirit Festival?" A small filly asked, her eyes growing wide. "A light correction my dear, you've already been helping by making the lanterns. If any of you still wish to do more, how can I refuse?" Lord Barleycorn leaned forward, resting his chin on his elbow. "Tell me, if you were going to put on a festival, what fun things would you want to see?" "Anything we want?" Another foal squeaked, an excited grin across his young face. "Within reason, since you'll be helping me make it." The scarecrow winked his eye. "Oh! How about a haunted house?" "A hay maze!" "A dance contest!" "Doll making!" The entire gathering of foals cast a strange look over at the young filly who stood oblivious to what she did wrong. "Those are all excellent ideas." Lord Barleycorn replied with an encouraging clap of his sleeved hands, "I want you all to think about those tonight, think how we can build them with whatever we have at hand. All my servants are taking care of Autumn for me so I can't call on their aid to help us. Plus we have to make the main road as spooky as possible, mere Jack O'lanterns won't be enough." The scarecrow then sat up, "Oh yes, I forgot to ask, Wind Row?" The green colt lifted his hoof, "Right here!" "Ah there you are. I need you to go get your camera. If I'm going to be the face of the article, I'll need something a bit more flattering than what you already have." Jack said, resisting the urge to rub his discolored ankle. "Go get it, and we'll start making the fliers we'll be sending to Ponyville." "But we didn't bring any paper," Wedge frowned, "Is there some in the cart?" "There isn't, I was thinking of making one of you my page for the day, and I would give you some money I have in my possession to pay for what we'll need." Lord Barleycorn then stuck his sleeve in his pants pocket. From his pocket, Lord Barleycorn produced a small burlap sack. He opened it up and let a few bits fall on the newly built stage floor. "I procured these meager funds by selling the lantern's pulp to a local establishment. Also got a little extra teaching her how to cook the seeds. Let's see..." The scarecrow quickly counted the foals in attendance. "Okay, twenty three little ponies, plus myself. Now, who can I trust to be my page today and go to the store for us?" Each foal raised their hooves and begged to get the honor. Lord Barleycorn tilted his head, looking from child to child as he considered who to send. The foals went silent as Lord Barleycorn reached his sleeve out and rustled Corn Crib's mane. The filly grunted at the treatment, but she grinned nevertheless at being chosen over the rest of her class. That never happened at recess! Lord Barleycorn scooped the coins back into the bag and tied it shut with a length of twine. He then tossed it in front of Corn Crib. "You're it for today, little Princess. As my page, you're responsible for buying what we need with that money. Remember, two dozen candles for the pumpkins, paper for the posters, and something to write with. We'll need a lot of fliers, so let's work on making these as wonderful as we can." --- The door to the clinic creaked as Cherry Nova pushed it open. The creak of the floorboards greeted Cherry as he lingered in the doorframe, but when the noise died away all that was left was empty, hollow silence. Pushing aside his feelings, the doctor moved inside to allow his guests to enter. A frown formed as he suddenly wished he had actually swept anytime in the past week. "Welcome to my clinic, for what it's worth." Cherry said halfheartedly as he moved inside to allow his guests to enter, "Sorry about dragging you away like that but you seemed curious about the... 'thing' that was with the foals and it didn't look like you were getting anywhere." Applejack frowned when she heard this dusty, repurposed market was supposed to be a clinic. She was never a fussy neat-freak like Rarity, nor was she as organized as Twilight, but weren't medical facilities supposed to at least look clean? "Yes, do you know where it came from?" Fluttershy asked, timidly moving one of the scattered floor tiles back into its proper place. Cherry Nova's eat twitched but he didn't turn around, "I've been wondering that myself. We had one pony come into town rambling about a monster scarecrow, next thing I knew one of the foals kept trying to hang pictures of some magic scarecrow everywhere, then it showed up last night atop the water tower playing a violin. The foals wouldn't shut up about it." The doctor walked behind the counter and tossed a photo of the same scarecrow hanging from a tree. "It claims to be from the Everfree, I think. It likes to talk in circles." Fluttershy looked back at the door, suddenly thinking maybe it would have been a better idea if one of them had remained with the foals. "You don't mean it's dangerous, do you?" "Not... dangerous per se." Cherry wrinkled his nose, "I just don't buy what it's selling." Applejack looked down at the photo that was resting on the counter. "Why does it look like it's upside down?" Cherry rolled his eyes and reached for something underneath the counter, "Get this, the foal who took this said he caught him in a snare. Better yet, the scarecrow admitted it the other night in front of the whole town. They still bought into its story despite the unlikelihood of a 'spirit' falling prey to a simple loop of rope." "If it's not a spirit, then what ya reckon it is?" Applejack asked. Cherry snorted, leaving the bottle of whiskey where it was hidden. "All I know is that it isn't a pony, and that it has hands. Beyond that I think it's safe to say its no benevolent spirit. It's arrival is far too convenient." Applejack raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean? "Pfft, come on." Cherry groaned, "A financially desperate town, ponies willing to believe anything? If somepony drove a cart up to your door and offered to solve all your problems, wouldn't you be suspicious?" Although the doctor hadn't intended to remind Applejack of the Flim Flam brothers, the the memory of the twins and their cider machine left a sour taste in her mouth. Their snake oil salesmanship had nearly cost Applejack her family farm. But just as quickly another memory leapt to the forefront of Applejack’s mind, Zecora. Everypony had let rumors run wild about her, and Applejack had foolishly believed them without any evidence. "He's really tryin' to take advantage of ya? How?" Applejack asked. The doctor's resolve buckled at the question, "Well, I... don't have a lot of evidence to show that's what it's planning, but I know it's not what it claims to be. That's more than enough not to trust it." "Ah'm gettin' the impression that we're walkin' in on the middle of somethin'..." Applejack thought. The door creaked as it was opened and closed with an awkward 'clack' when it fell back against the doorframe. Fluttershy stepped aside as a kind-faced old stallion stepped up to the counter. He smiled to the mares and nodded his 'hello' to them. Applejack didn't know who this pony was but he looked like he was better company than the doctor. "Good afternoon Cherry, am I interrupting?" Silver Lining inquired politely. "No, just... informing some visitors about 'Lord Barleycorn.'" Cherry Nova air quoted with his hooves, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. To Applejack's bewilderment, the old gray stallion let out a hearty laugh at the doctor's sour demeanor. "Never you mind him, ladies. 'Crimson' here has always a little cranky." Cherry's mouth dropped open a little, almost looking like the older pony had bucked him in the ribs. The older stallion ignored the doctor, instead turning to fully address the two mares in the room. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Silver Lining, the mayor of Hollow Shades. Are you here for the show?" "We just heard about it a few minutes ago," Fluttershy said, "From the scarecrow." Silver Lining smiled and shrugged his weary shoulders, "He's an odd duck for sure, but he's polite. He actually called me 'Lord' earlier. 'Said something about how it used to be impolite to address a mayor by anything less." Silver grinned, "First time I've ever been called that." "Um, could you please tell us where the Harvest Family farm is? We have a letter, but we don't know our way around." Fluttershy asked with a small but genuine smile. The old stallion nodded, "Of course, just head down the road toward the schoolhouse, then make a left past it. You just keep going down the road and you'll run right into it. Are you visiting Summer and Harvest Moon?" "Yessir, Ah sent them a letter sayin' I was comin' fer a short family visit." Applejack said, already liking this friendly old codger more than the doctor. "Ah ain't seen any of 'em in so long Ah doubt Ah'd recognize 'em." "Well, you have yourself a good time while you're here." Silver Lining tried to straighten his wrinkled collar, "But er, I'm here on some official business, could you excuse us ladies?" Having lived in a house with a pony like Granny Smith, Applejack believed she really knew why the older stallion was here. He was here for some medicine, ointment, or something else that Applejack really didn't want to think about. "Sure, thank ya kindly fer the directions." Applejack smiled as she held the door open for Fluttershy. Before the door closed, Silver Lining turned his head to find Cherry staring at the orange mare's flank. He grimaced, holding his tongue until the door was completely shut. "I know you're a bachelor, but it's very rude to stare." A tremor ran through Cherry's body as he seemed to be trying to contain himself, but then suddenly the dam burst and he exploded into hard, spiteful laughter. He had to throw himself on the counter to keep from falling on the floor. All Silver Lining could do was glare and sit on the unswept floor as he waited for Cherry to regain some level of composure. "Are we done?" Cherry let out a few more sputtering guffaws before he wiped his eyes. His stomach hurt, but he couldn't remember laughing so hard all year. "Yeah, yeah sorry... best joke I've heard in years." Silver Lining blinked, "I don't follow." "You didn't see the cutie mark on her flank? A couple of large, red apples. She's visiting Summer Harvest, and she's related to them?" Cherry had to hold back around wave of laughter, this time he succeeded. "Oh... if only I could be there when Summer blows his stack at the sight of an Apple on his farm..." "But you won't be." Silver frowned, "I had a long talk with Lord Barleycorn and he mentioned to me about making fliers. So, I volunteered you for the job." The doctor dropped back onto his hooves, his familiar scowl having returned to his face. "You seem to enjoy volunteering me to do things for you lately." "We both know you have experience with fliers, don't we?" Silver remarked bluntly. Cherry snorted, "I don't see why I should go along with this. You did promise to never bring that up again and you did in front of those two." "And I haven't this whole time Cherry, and I've been very patient with you. You drink, you rarely leave this clinic, and you seem to get more surly with each passing year." Silver kicked a patch of dust, throwing up a small brown cloud that quickly settled back on the floor. The old stallion's eyes narrowed, "Despite that, I've never tried to interfere with your life. You're a grown stallion and I'm not your father. I kept your little secret all these years, but now it's time for you to actually do something to be worth my silence. If I hear you spreading rumors or hurting our chances with this festival, I think a few ponies might hear a few things... like 'Blur.'" Cherry's eyes widened, "You wouldn't." Silver Lining closed his eyes, then took a long, centering breath. "Normally I wouldn't make threats to anypony Cherry, I really wouldn't. I know you don't like this thing popping up and truthfully, I think I understand why you feel the way you feel." "And blackmailing me to stay quiet is the right answer?" Cherry sneered. "No, but the alternative is letting you willingly antagonize somepony that's willing to try to help our town." Silver said sharply, "I'm not asking you to be his best buddy, just help make the fliers, and we'll call this even. If you need more incentive to play nice, I'll see your tab at the Rusty Nail is torn up." Cherry's mouth shut with a tight 'click.' He wanted to argue, this whole situation went against everything he felt was right but this old fart had him by the nose. And the more he thought about it, the bartender had been threatening to not let him back in until he paid off that tab... Cherry glared back at the mayor, "Fine. I'll play ball but after I make a few posters that's it, don't ask any more of me." Silver Lining rolled his eyes, this was probably as good as this was going to get. "Fair enough. By the way, you're supposed to be chaperoning the foals, not hiding away in here." Muttered curses were lobbed at Silver Lining as the gray stallion walked to the clinic door. Cherry didn't care if Silver could hear them or not, he wasn't happy. This ad-libed agreement was bad enough, but to have the mayor dredge up that old business of theirs for any reason was enough reason for him to reach beneath the counter for the bottle. He'd go back out, but not before he had a shot of liquid confidence. --- To be continued... --- Big thanks to Courage Fire, dartagnan401 and Jack Kellar for helping me.