//------------------------------//
// Old Faces 
// Story: Pajama Sam: Friendship's Not Tragic, in Fact it's Like Magic! 
// by Architect Ironturtle 
//------------------------------//

Sam considered using one of the dirt roads to make his way into town, but quickly decided against when he saw how much traffic it was getting. He really didn't want to draw any more attention than he absolutely had to at this point, and a show called Friendship is Magic (gag) meant that if he dealt with one pony, he was probably dealing with all of them, including Princess Crazy.  He stuck to the fields and bushes instead, and ended up pulling a third comic out of a hollowed out tree knot thanks to that choice.

This no interaction policy proved harder and harder to enforce as he drew closer to town, though. Ponies were everywhere. In the sky, on the streets, inside the buildings, running through the fields. Sam thanked his lucky stars he hadn't hit a growth spurt recently, since his small stature made what might have been an impossible task merely difficult. It's much easier to hide when you're invisible while standing upright behind a barrel. Soon, he was staring out onto main street, watching the colorful pedestrians walk by. Now, where would a pony named Carrot Top be? His eyes scanned for some sort of clue (and spotted another comic book wedged between a spittoon and a porch roof support). Honestly, for such direct advice it was surprisingly unhelpful.

Then he looked straight up, and spotted a big sign with an assortment of vegetables (including a few carrots) and arrow painted on it. Well, it was something, so Sam, sticking to the back alleys, followed the sign, snatching the comic during a brief lull along the way. The sign led to an open market the likes of which Sam had only read about that was absolutely swarming with ponies. Sam didn't dare get close, there was no way he wouldn't get spotted. Instead, he climbed a nearby gutter and started slipping along the rooftops, being careful to avoid catching any of the flying ponies's eyes as his own scanned for a bundle of carrots on an orange flank.

It seemed his usual luck was coming back, finally, as he spotted her fairly quickly. The massive sign stating CARROTS in capital letters hanging over her head was a big hint, but still.

Sam dropped back to the ground behind the booth and stealthily approached the oblivious mare. Now, how to separate her from the rest of the group? Sam looked around for useful items, but not before scooping up a fifth comic. Hold up, that pile of empty crates to his left looked unstable, he just need to grab a rock and...

Sam ducked out of sight as the crates toppled over with a clatter, and heard a faint curse followed by some chatter and the clop of a single set of hooves. A orange mare stepped into view and started setting the boxes back up as she grumbled. Sam took a deep breath to collect himself. If this didn't work he was going to have the entire town on his heels, and he needed to be ready to run a moment's notice.

"Psst," he hissed, causing the pony to stiffen and turn around, "Over here."

"Sam?" Said the mare, in an unusually low voice as she walked up and stared down at him, "Well isn't this a surprise."

"Um," Sam said back, "You're Carrot Top, right? Some guy called Discord told me to look for you."

"Ah, him," The mare said, "He's a friend, of sorts. More interested in his chaos than anything productive, but harmless as long as he's distracted. Also, I think I know why he sent you here."

The mare twitched, then let out a series of metallic clicks as her face split open, revealing a small metal cockpit manned by a familiar orange vegetable.

"Carrot!*" Sam said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of his old friend, "Cool suit!

"Thanks, Sam," Carrot said with a smile, "It was a parting gift from the weather factory. I stumbled across a half-dozen different embezzlement schemes all going at the same time and put a stop to them, and they gave the money that built this suit as a reward." He tapped it affectionately.

"That's great!" Sam said with enthusiasm, "but what are you doing here?"

Carrot turned left and right as he checked for eavesdroppers, then leaned in and whispered, "A couple of things, actually. You remember the resistance movement back in the land of darkness?" When Sam nodded, Carrot continued, "You springing all those rebel leaders from Darkness's fridge was a big help, but we haven't been able to make any headway on our objectives. Some of them want out, and I need to find a place for them to settle down in peace. Which brings me to my second reason." 

Another glance left and right, "The Islands of Moptop are threatening to blow up again. The peace you helped forge is still holding, but only barely, and general Beetroot is NOT helping to ease the tension. The sweets are too numerous to be economically stable, and some of the other food groups are looking for an escape. This place is nice, so once I'm done scouting I'll start bringing them over. Speaking of economics..."

Carrot flipped a few switches, causing his robotic suit to pull out a gold coin, "I only found this out after coming here, but these guys use a gold standard. It's the best currency I've ever seen. If all goes well when I get back we might be looking at a global conversion in the next few years. Assuming I don't blow my cover first." He put the coin away as he sent a third glance left and right before crouching down and scooting a bit closer, "This mare had a lot of friends and they're starting to get suspicious. I've got a few more days, tops, before I have to jet."

Sam frowned slightly, "Carrot, um, did you kidnap her?"

"What? No, she's perfectly fine," Carrot said, "Just a little tied up at the moment."


88888888


In the storage cellar of a carrot farm sat an Orange Mare with three carrots on her flank, bound to a chair by a ludicrous amount of rope and surrounded by crates of fresh veggies that she couldn't reach to help silence her grumbling stomach.

Taken out by my own produce, she groaned to herself, If anypony ever finds out what happened I will never live this down.


88888888


"Not worried about her blabbing after the fact either," Carrot said as Sam's frown deepened, "But that's not important right now. You said something about looking for me?"

"Oh, right." Sam explained his problem, detailing Mark's disappearance, followed by his own arrival, Twilight's reaction, and Discord's 'advice,' provoking a oddly fierce glare from Carrot.

"Those Changelings almost exposed me when they invaded Canterlot," he growled, "I had to abandon my current disguise ahead of schedule, not to mention that it set the whole operation back months. I'm more than happy to help based on that alone, but I also owe you three times over."

"Carrot? Are you ok?" Called a female voice from the direction of the market.

"I'm fine Lemon," Carrot called back in a falsetto, "I'll just be another minute."

"Listen Sam, I can't stay much longer," Carrot stated, "I'll get you a map to the badlands and a way onto the train, but you're going to have to get your team yourself. Don't give me that look, I know you prefer to work alone and I can guess what kind of impression this world has left on you, but friendship is magic here, and I don't mean in the sappy moral sense. When ponies work together it warps the fabric of reality itself. I once watched a group hug create a shockwave that cleaned a kitchen. Yeah, I know, it's crazy, but you're going to need that power to take Queen Chrysalis out.

"Since the cuteness meter I had built into this thing to help me stay 'in character' seems to consider you impossibly adorable, you're going to have to stick to the younger ponies or risk getting glomped. Or stuck here in town while they go out and solve it for you, which is almost worse. I know a group of three fillies in particular who used to do stuff like this all the time," He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled some names on it, then gave it to Sam, "but they've calmed down a lot recently, something about getting their cutie marks, so you might have to apply some persuasion.

"After that, I suggest following their advice. You need six people total, including yourself, since that seems to be a powerful number when magic is involved. Don't know why, so don't bother asking. You and them makes four, so you'll need to find two more. Meet me behind the train station when you're done." Carrot turned and walked away before Sam could protest, clicking the face of his robotic suit back into place, and was soon too close to the other ponies to risk another conversation.

Sam looked down at the piece of paper. It seemed to be a rough map leading out of town to an apple orchard just to the southwest, with the names Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo scribbled in one corner.

Sam honestly didn't know what to think of this. On the one hand, they were ponies. Not just any ponies, but kid ponies, which were even more girly. Although Sam was a kid himself, so he couldn't really judge. Not that it stopped him. On the other hand, he trusted Carrot. If Carrot said he needed their help, he needed their help. And that map wouldn't be ready anytime soon, so Sam couldn't just head for the badlands right away, no matter how much he wanted to. Sam sighed, slipped an empty crate into his cape, and started trudging west. Just remember that it's all for Mark, he thought to himself, Keep that in mind and you'll be able to put up with a little discomfort.


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"And you're sure you haven't seen him?" Twilight asked, giving the carrot merchant a hard look over the top of her stall.

"Positive," Carrot Top replied, before reaching under the table and pulling out another box of orange vegetables, "Sorry I can't help."

Twilight groaned as she stepped out of line, prompting a sympathetic pat from Spike, "Where did he go?" she asked herself, "I thought for sure he'd come this way."

"Try that treasure hunter spell again," Spike told her, "Maybe you messed it up the first time?"

Twilight nodded and crossed her eyes in concentration, "It's pointing towards Sweet Apple Acres now," she told him as her face lit up, "Come on, we might be able to catch him!" She took off galloping with Spike struggling to hold on.