Taken for Granite

by Cloudy Skies

The Elusive Corn Stalk

“You play nice now y’hear?” Applejack called, but she might as well not have bothered. Apple Bloom’s bright red tail disappeared around a corner, a spray of snow lingering only slightly longer than the filly herself when released in the general direction of Carousel Boutique. Applejack chuckled and shook her head, turning to head down Sugar Beet Street herself.

She’d barely taken three steps before she heard the sound of familiar wingbeats. While having ears keen enough to pick up the muted sound of a pegasus’ wings wasn’t much of an applicable skill on the farm, certain things came for free with time and friendship. It was easy to pick up Rainbow Dash’s distinct, rapid wingbeats and Fluttershy’s slower, almost hesitant flaps.

“Hey, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack called, holding on to her hat as she looked straight up. She was met with two smiling faces, the pegasi flying at chimney height and apparently heading in the same direction as she herself. Rainbow Dash pulled into a loop and touched down at her side.

“Hello,” Fluttershy said, a little slower in her descent. Applejack nodded by way of greeting.

“Hey AJ. What’s up?” Dash asked.

“Was about to ask you the same thing. Where’re y’all headed?”

Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash didn’t leap at the chance to answer, instead casting a surreptitious glance at her pegasus friend. Fluttershy cleared her throat—a soft sound almost entirely lost in the light breeze and lighter snowfall.

“Oh. Well, all the little animals who usually hibernate are asleep now, and I thought I would give the birds and critters in my cottage a little alone time, so I decided, um—” another glance at an increasingly annoyed Rainbow Dash who tapped her hoof on the ground, looking everywhere but at Applejack. “—maybe—maybe I would go to Sugarcube Corner and have a snack. Oh. And that was entirely my own decision.”

To say that Applejack didn’t buy it would be an understatement the likes of which Equestria hadn’t seen since Granny Smith stated apples tasted better than oranges. Even if Rainbow Dash hadn’t rolled her eyes and groaned, Fluttershy looked entirely too pleased with that very last line.

“Right. So what actually is happening?” asked Applejack, trying not grin.

Rainbow Dash kicked at the snow, giving her a half-hearted glare. “It’s your fault.”

Applejack decided not to even deign that with an answer. She stopped on the spot and turned to face Rainbow Dash, and the pegasus obliged by turning in kind.

“I went to see Pinkie Pie yesterday because it was obvious you thought something was wrong, okay? You made a big deal of Pinkie not showing up at market, so I thought I’d come over, see if she wanted to play a game or pull some pranks on somepony or whatever.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings once, settling them on her back again.

“And?”

“And she didn’t want to see me.”

Applejack made a snort, then a guffaw. The words didn’t even pass her brain by in heading to wherever laughter was made, so little sense did they make. “What in the wide world’s that s’posed to mean?”

Dash didn’t look similarly amused. “I don’t know, okay? I tried her front door—”

“She doesn’t have her own front door. Y’mean her window.”

“Whatever.” Dash waved a hoof. “It was locked. I knocked, but she didn’t open, so of course I tried the main door. You know, Sugarcube Corner? Mr. and Mrs. Cake said she was home, and that she was a little busy.”

“Busy,” Applejack repeated.

“Yeah. Busy. I don’t know what the hay that means either, so I thought maybe I’ve done something to make her mad, and I don’t know what to do because I’m not good with these things, okay?” Rainbow Dash’s cheeks lit up with a faint blush and she indicated Fluttershy with a tilt of her head. ”So I asked Fluttershy to come with. Happy?”

Fluttershy, who had been very quiet up until this point, made a small noise. “Sorry for lying.”

Applejack drew breath, and try as she might to laugh—even just a good-natured giggle at Dash—she couldn’t. She puffed out her cheeks and let it out again without a word. Though she was almost completely sure it was nothing, she was glad she wasn’t the only pony who wondered just what was going on.

“Alright. I didn’t mean to pry, and I guess that ain’t so funny. Sorry.”

Rainbow Dash blew her mane out of her face. “It’s fine. What are you doing anyway?”

“Same thing as you,” Applejack said, indicating Sugar Beet Street’s straight line with a flick of her head.

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Fluttershy said, spreading her wings. “We can all go together!”

“You’re makin’ it out to be some sort of grand adventure,” Applejack laughed. “It’s just down the street.”

Fluttershy made no reply, starting the three off down the street. It was early enough in the morning still that the snow covering the street was almost completely pristine, and few ponies were about. If Applejack doubted Rainbow Dash’s sincerity, if she for a moment didn’t think Dash was half as curious as herself, the fact that the notorious napper was out of bed this soon after sunrise was plenty of proof.

“Hey, speaking of adventure!” Dash said, suddenly cheering up. The pegasus took off to hover backwards in front of her friends. “You guys gotta come to Quarter Hill next weekend. I talked to Rarity, Twilight and Spike already, and they’re in for some winter fun. You’re up, right?”

“Y’mean going sledding?” Applejack asked.

“And snowball fights, and races, yeah!” Dash cheered, pumping her hoof in the air. “It’s gonna be awesome!”

“We should bring some tea and cocoa,” Fluttershy said, an extra spring in her step to go with her smile. “But, well, next weekend?”

“What’s wrong with next weekend?” Dash tilted her head.

Applejack laughed. “If I had to guess, the question is when you started planning stuff a week in advance. I’d half expect you’d want us to head out there right now!”

Dash snorted. “Yeah, this is why I’m the thinker, here. You know what’s more fun than a little snow?” The pegasus landed and kicked out with a foreleg to send a tiny puff of snow towards Applejack and Fluttershy. Fluttershy halted for a moment, but Applejack didn’t so much as blink.

“Sorry, you lost me at the part where you said you’re a thinker—”

“A lot of snow!” Dash yelled, whipping around to flap her wings backwards with all her might. Though there was scarcely more than two or three inches of the white stuff, the blast scoured the cobblestone clean and nearly sent Applejack’s hat flying. Fluttershy eep’ed loudly and shielded herself with her wings, but with no such cover, Applejack’s face and chest were frosted when the wind settled.

“Har har,” Applejack grumbled, wiping her face. She snapped after Rainbow Dash with her tail, but the pegasus hovered up and out of reach.

“In case you missed the point, it’s gonna be way snowier in a week if this keeps up,” Dash said. “I just came from City Hall. We’re gonna go ahead with winter. That means I’m in charge of keeping it snowing. I get to decide if it keeps up.” She grinned. “It’ll keep up.”

“Well, I know I’d love to come,” Fluttershy said, shaking her wings before folding them on her back.

“Count me in as well, of course,” Applejack said, peering past Rainbow as they approached the rather unmistakable and riotously candied facade of Sugarcube Corner. Even as they drew close, she could hear the click and clatter of a latch being undone from the inside of the building, and Carrot Cake stuck his head outside to flip the sign to “open.”

“Right, now let’s go find out what all the fuss is about,” Applejack said.

“Yeah, that,” Dash said, frowning up at the top floor of Sugarcube Corner as though the building itself had offended her. Applejack nudged open the door to the confectionary, their entrance signalled by the chime of a silver bell above. In the space of a breath, the slight chill of the morning and the sting of cold in her nose was replaced with the scents of sugar and yeast.

“Good morning, ladies,” Carrot Cake called from over by the counter. The lanky stallion rubbed bleary eyes, and though Applejack was hardly one to care for such things, it was impossible not to notice that his mane was an even bigger mess than usual.

“Good morning,” Fluttershy said, biting her lower lip as they approached. Evidently she’d noticed the same. “Oh dear. Have the twins been keeping you awake?”

Carrot Cake sighed and nodded an affirmative, though he still smiled. “They just wouldn’t sleep last night, without—ah, you didn’t come here to be bored by me talking about that. Cinnamon bun’s asleep, so it’s just me this morning, and customers’ll be piling in soon as they always do on Saturdays. What can I do for you? Daffodil muffins for you, Fluttershy?”

Applejack shook her head, cutting in. “Actually, we’re here to see Pinkie Pie. She in? Can we head on up?”

Mr. Cake’s gaze flitted between the three mares and the narrow staircase set in the confectionary’s side wall. “Ah. I don’t think now’s a good time. She said she’s a little busy, and to tell them that if anypony came by.”

“Oh come on. We’re her friends!” Dash cried out. Her wings were spread in full, and it looked for all the world like the pegasus was about to make a break for the stairs. She didn’t, though, and when Carrot Cake shook his head, Rainbow Dash deflated and hung her head.

“Is she okay?” Fluttershy asked, pawing at the floor.

“I’m sure she’s fine. If I see her, I’ll tell her you came by,” Carrot Cake said, flashing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He tilted his head to look past the three friends. “Good morning, Blues. The usual?”

The stallion so named gave a quick nod. Behind Applejack and the others, a small queue had formed, more ponies filing in by the second to have their breakfast muffins or whatever else satisfied their sweet tooths.

“Well, thank you kindly for your time,” Applejack said, tipping her hat. Dash made a wordless noise of protest, but Applejack quickly put her head to the pegasus’ flank, pushing her all the way until they were outside and in the middle of the street.

“Come on!” Dash said, glaring. “We could just head up there and see what’s up. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, then she can say it to my face!”

Fluttershy bit her lower lip and rubbed a foreleg with the other. “Well, yes, but maybe if Pinkie Pie is busy, we shouldn’t bother her. I mean, sometimes, ponies—”

“It doesn’t even make sense!” Dash yelled. “Mr. Cake will tell her if he sees her? Pinkie lives right upstairs. She has a room in their house! The only way he won’t see her is if she’s hiding in her closet!”

“—sometimes, ponies need a little time alone,” Fluttershy continued with a slight frown directed Dash’s way. “And sometimes, even asking for a little alone time can be hard if you really don’t, um, want to.”

Applejack let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. “Whatever you’re thinking of saying, barging up there ain’t the best way to go about it. Let’s just leave it for the moment.”

When she opened her eyes again, there was an empty set of hoofprints where Dash stood two seconds prior. It didn’t take a lot of effort to follow her distinct voice; Rainbow Dash was at the top floor window of Sugarcube Corner, balancing on Pinkie Pie’s windowsill.

“Pinkie! Open up! Let’s head out and do something fun, okay? We can put dye in Rarity’s shampoo again!” Dash called, knocking on the window with more force than strictly necessary. “Pinkie Pie? You home at all?”

“Knock it off, you featherbrain!” Applejack yelled. “For cryin’ out loud, get down here!”

Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever. I give up. I’m gonna make sure the rest of the guys are up for the trip next weekend.” A moment later, all that remained of Dash was a rainbow contrail heading away in a straight line. Her passing sent the snow whirling, and got more than a few complaints from the ponies who were out and about now.

Applejack and Fluttershy’s sighs were nearly perfectly in synch. Applejack offered a bemused smile, and Fluttershy shook her head.

“I should really get going,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I talked to Rarity last night, and she said that the trains should be ready to go this afternoon, so Pinkie is probably just busy packing.” She smiled, following with her eyes the rapidly fading rainbow left in Dash’s wake. “Remember last summer when Pinkie Pie went to Canterlot for that music jam, and she forgot to tell us? Rainbow Dash wouldn’t stop complaining.”

Applejack chuckled at the memory. “Yeah. I’m sure it’s something like that, probably nothing to worry about. You go on and get your stuff sorted. I’m gonna go talk to Ironshod about getting the ploughs sharpened before next season.”

“See you,” Fluttershy said, nodding and trotting off down the street. Applejack waited a moment before she set off in the opposite direction, trying to keep her head on task. There was no sense in putting off what could be done today, and she knew Ironshod was an early bird like herself.

Problem was, Pinkie was never “busy.” It didn’t fit. Perhaps some of her friends attributed this to Pinkie being Pinkie, lumped it in with the chaos and randomness of her being, but Applejack recognised when a corn stalk sprouted in a cabbage field. Pinkie Pie could disappear on the most inane of errands without letting anypony know, but she had never been evasive. Part of her wondered if Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had seen that look in Carrot Cake’s eyes; the confusion that so closely mirrored their own.

She hadn’t said anything for fear of making her friends worry more than they did, and perhaps she only noticed because she knew so well how family worked. She’d long ago realised that the Cakes were Pinkie’s second family if anything.

Applejack grunted and shook her head, trying to keep her mind on today’s simple tasks. She needed to set a date for fixing the ploughs up, visit Daisy’s shop to buy some cinnamon, then see if Applebloom wanted to head on home. Fix up lunch, then ask Granny Smith if she needed help with anything. Following that, she could head on over to pay Twilight a visit, or maybe Rarity. It wouldn’t do to sit idle, and there was precious little she could do about Pinkie Pie.

Except maybe realising that she would try again tomorrow, and if that yielded no results, she might just buck Pinkie’s door down herself.

Comments

[tilkau]

and I don’t want know what to do because I’m not good with these things, okay?”
I think that 'want' doesn't belong there.

[Aegis Shield]

Interesting to see a Pinkie Pie that does not want to be social.
Or rather, not see her at all.

[Rose of Nihil]

Only problem I see here is that Rainbow Dash gave up... Element of Loyalty my butt.

[Arcanum -Phantasy]

Except maybe realising that she would try again tomorrow, and if that yielded no results, she might just buck Pinkie’s door down herself.

I think there might be a line for that soon.