Chapter 5 - Goin’ out ta the Frontier
“Hey, quit it! It’s not my fault! How was I supposed to know you’d be down here?!” Rainbow Dash said, trying—and failing—to avoid a noogie from Applejack.
“Ah know Rainbow Dash, Ah don’t blame ya none. Ah just have ta get the frustration out somehow, and you’re such an easy target,” Applejack said, keeping a firm grasp of the headlock she had the pegasus in. “Anyway, Twilight. What’s the plan?”
“Well,” Twilight said, looking down both in annoyance and thought. “We’ll need to keep somepony here to help the guards search the area. Just in case the fillies are still around here. Zecora? I would hope that you would be up to it.”
“That is not a problem for me,” the zebra said giving a sullen expression, “I still feel a bit guilty. I wish I had known of her condition, or I would not have helped of my own volition.”
“Thanks Zecora, and know that none of us blame you,” Twilight said, the other ponies agreed. “As for the rest of us, I’ll explain the plan on the way back to Ponyville. There’s nothing more we can do here … although I imagine I’ll be back. I’ll need to do more than just research that metal cave …” Twilight trailed off as she looked quizzically at the Tree of Harmony. ‘How much do we really know about the Elements … ?’
“So let me get this straight, darling,” Rarity said, still unsure of the rationale behind the plan, “you are going to stay behind? I understand why Fluttershy couldn’t come along, we have nopony who could take care of the animals if she were gone, but why you too? I know being a princess-”
“No Rarity,” Twilight said, cutting her off. “It isn’t princessly duties—not completely anyway. If it was only that it would be fine. I could delegate the tasks to somepony else and get updates via mail. However, I can only trust myself to oversee the research of the potential dark magic involved with the metal cave … and now even the Elements of Harmony.”
“Oh right, I had forgotten all about the research darling; I guess that makes sense. Sorry for the interruption. You were saying … ?”
It was nearly dinner time as the five of them sat around a table in Twilight’s castle library. Fluttershy was absent as she would not be coming along—and only she could keep Discord as far removed from the situation as possible. Spike sat slightly further away and was sulking. He had been organizing the library as punishment for sleeping in and not cleaning up earlier today. Despite his work, books were still scattered all around or in boxes. A map lay on the table before them, a mechanical compass had drawn a large circle centered at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.
“So as I was saying,” Twilight continued, “I was able to get a rough estimate on the amount of magic used in that teleportation. Assuming that they are unable to do it again, this circle on the map represents the maximum distance they could have reached. As you can see, it reaches Canterlot in the north and the towns of Appleloosa and Dodge Junction in the south and east respectively.”
All the mares frowned at the thought of such a large search area—except for Pinkie who was still thinking what party decorations to use for the fillies' ‘Welcome-back-after-teleporting-with-a-meany-evil-spirit’ party.
“Should we use red streamers? But what if the evil spirit had red eyes and it scares the fillies!” Pinkie Pie gasped.
Ignoring Pinkie, Twilight continued, “Obviously that is far too much for us—or any amount of ponies—to cover. I imagine, though, that there must have been some goal the fillies—and by extension the Influence—must have had to go through the Everfree just to do the teleportation. Obviously they might not be in a town or city but those are the best places to start. We’ll let the guard and residents look out for them if we can’t find them in towns. The problem is that getting word out takes time. Therefore, tomorrow is a vitally important day. The trains are mostly done for today, but if they depart on one tomorrow, they could reach anywhere in Equestria. We can’t give the Influence that opportunity.”
“Well, y'all know we Apples have a big Influence in Appleloosa,” Applejack said with a prideful tip of her Stetson. “Ah’ve already got Big Mac and Granny Smith writin’ letters to all our relatives so you can be sure they’ve got that area covered.”
“Yes,” Twilight agreed, “and you can be sure that I’ve already sent a letter to the Princess and the guards to put up wanted posters in every town and city in Equestria. Unlike other places, word has already reached there. If they’re in Canterlot, they would have likely been captured—or at least sighted—by the Royal guard by now. So the plan should be to go by train to Appleloosa, stay for the day, then head to Dodge Junction.”
“I’m faster then the train,” Rainbow Dash said in a level-headed manner, without the hint of boasting. Ever since she learned that Scootaloo had disappeared she had been intently focused. “If I hurry, I could make it to Dodge Junction in the time it takes for you to get to Appleloosa. That way, we’ll have both towns covered tomorrow.”
“That’s mighty straight thinkin’ there Dash,” Applejack said with a hint of pride. “If’n that’s your plan, Ah’d recommend you go as soon as possible.”
“Right,” the pegasus responded, “so is there anything I should know before I head out?”
Twilight nodded and headed to a drawer where she picked up two small lavender and pink crests and handed it to both parties. “We’ll need some way to communicate if we find them. If you see the fillies, whether you ‘secure’ them or not, send us a message as soon as you can. This is my Royal Seal, I have another one for myself. If you hit it, all my other seals will glow and will magically point to each other and myself. Normally, this is so that any guards I have would be immediately alerted if I’m ever in trouble—not that I have any. I guess I’m glad my brother insisted I take them. I’ll give one to each group. Now, note that using them will drain me of some magic to power the spell, so be sure to only use- oww!”
Rainbow Dash had hit the seal on the table and Twilight almost fell the the floor as surprise pain shot through her head. “Oh wow, it really does work,” Rainbow Dash noted as the seals glowed the same magenta hue as Twilight’s magic.
Twilight quickly reset the spell. “Don’t do that!” Twilight levitated the seal back to herself and went nose-to-nose with the—now sheepish—pegasus. “Suddenly draining magic like that hurts! Only use it when you have found the fillies understand?!”
Rainbow Dash silently and enthusiastically nodded her head. “R-r-right. I didn’t know. Anyway, I’ll just be going then.” She didn’t hesitate to take off but Twilight caught her in her magic. “I didn’t mean it Twi …” Rainbow Dash said, “I was only-”
“You forgot the seal,” Twilight deadpanned.
“Oh … right … “ The cyan pegasus picked up the metal disk with her wing and put it in her saddlebag. “I’ll … umm … be sure to keep it … safe.” Rainbow then jumped up and left the castle in a dash.
“Hehe, Ah’ve never seen Dash run away quite like that before,” Applejack said with a smirk.
“Not that she doesn’t deserve it from time-to-time, darling, but-” Rarity said, a mixture of impressed and cautious.
“Well,” Twilight said, a bit embarrassed, “sorry about that, that was a bit much. I guess I’ve been more than a little stressed lately. Also, you don’t appreciate just how much that hurts tho-oww!!” Twilight felt another shot of pain and she gripped the table. “Rainbow Dash!!!”
Faintly in the distance, a giggle could be heard. A not so faint one could be heard from Pinkie Pie as well, although she was quickly silenced by a vengeful stare from Twilight.
It was around this time that Rainbow Dash made it into Dodge both figuratively and literally.
“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have seen three fillies around here?” Rainbow Dash asked a pale cream-colored mare with a pink mane candy cutie mark and top hat—the top hat seemed out of place in a town like this.
“No Ah ain’t seen-,” the mare said before spitting out a piece of straw she had been chewing on. “Well Ah’ll be, are you Rainbow Dash?” she asked.
“What? Yeah, you know me?” Rainbow Dash asked, a small smirk forming. She had just landed in the middle of the town and asked the first mare she saw. Who would have guessed she had fans out here? “I guess it makes sense that you know me. I don’t like to brag but-”
“Ah wouldn’t be braggin’ neither for what ya did ta me.” The mare stepped forwards, causing Rainbow to slowly step back.
“What would that be?” The pegasus asked nervously.
“Yer one of them ponies that stole ma wagon! Hey Star! Is this one of the mares that stole our wagon?” she cried, calling over a dark colored mare with a purple mane and a large top hat—seriously, what is with the top hats?
“Oh yeah, that’s one of them alright,” the mare named ‘Star’ said vehemently, “That there is one of the five mares that stopped your candy shipment last year Apricot.”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash retorted, “I don’t want any of you ponies ruining my awesome name with these lies! I’ve never stolen anything in my life!” She stopped walking backwards, standing her ground against the advancing mares.
“Oh?” Star said, the two mares now cornering Rainbow Dash into a wall, “Then it was my imagination when you girls took a two-horse drawn wagon and followed a mare on a stage coach out of town and then just ditched the wagon behind the train station?”
Rainbow Dash, then was reminded of the last time she and the other girls had come into town. “Oh right!” Rainbow said, tapping one hoof into another in realization. “Hehe, yeah. The train just passed us not a minute before we finally caught up to Applejack and we had to rush back to Dodge Junction to catch it before it left. We even accidently left Pinkie and Rarity in- But hey! I didn’t steal it … just borrowed and didn’t put it back in the same place, that’s all … .“
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” ‘Apricot’ growled. She hoofed the ground angrily. “Ah looked for that wagon for six hours, six hours! Thanks ta that, Ah missed loading ma shipment of Cherry Burst Candy™ on the train ta Manehatten. Ah was late and they’d charged me a fine fer that! Now, Ah think me and ma friend Belle Star here are gonna find some way for ya ta make it up ta us … .” The two mares slammed their forelegs to either side of the pegasus’ head. The cyan mare crouched down and gulped.
Luckily for Rainbow Dash she noticed a familiar older red-maned mare in the distance. “Cherry Jubilee!” she called out. Rainbow Dash escaped around the two mares and wrapped a foreleg around her, pointing to Apricot and Star. “Oh Miss Jubilee thank goodness you’re here! Could you help me out? I’m was trying to search for three missing fillies when these mares confronted me about some wagon I borrowed to catch Applejack when she tried to run away. I just want to find these fillies and I’ll be out of your manes for good, I promise.”
Cherry smiled warmly at Rainbow Dash. “Well of course! Finding those poor fillies is far more important than some grudge, right girls?”
Apricot and Star were still angry but they had calmed down a bit with Cherry now there. “Then what do you propose we do then Miss Jubilee, forget about it?” Apricot asked vehemently.
“Well, how about this. I will use my influence in town to go out searching for the fillies and I’ll have Miss umm …“
“Rainbow Dash,” the eponymous pony stated.
“... Right, Rainbow Dash here work on the farm and I’ll give you two a bucket of red and yellow cherries as payback.”
“Well, that sounds fair but-” Rainbow Dash started.
“Deal,” Star and Apricot stated immediately and simultaneously. Two buckets—or 40 litres—of Jubilee cherries could easily come up to over two hundred bits and Apricot often used them in her candy. The fee they had to pay for being late wasn’t that bad and they were more annoyed of the Rainbow’s indifferent attitude more than anything.
“Wait! I don’t think-” Rainbow Dash started before being cut off again.
“Sounds like a plan then!” Jubilee arranged. Apricot and Star left content.
“What did you do that for Miss Jubilee? My friends might need me and if I’m working on your farm then-” Rainbow stopped as she came nose-to-nose with the other mare.
“Now you listen here Rainbow Dash,” the older mare said sternly, “I may have forgotten your name over the past year but I sure as cherry pie didn’t forget about what you did. Do you know how much effort was wasted with all those cherries you ruined were when you went to work for me last time? Hundreds of bits.”
“Uh, well … I thought Applejack said something about forgiving us for-”
“I forgave her since she had done so much work for me already and told me she had to leave on such short notice. I figured that the next time I would see the rest of you I would at least have a day of picking and sorting for you to make it up to me. That was, until you left without saying a word!”
“W-w-well see, we were in such a hurry when Applejack-”
“That’s all in the past though,” Jubilee said smiling as she stepped back. “Now that you are here now, you can spend the next few days making it up to me and Apricot Bow.”
“As nice as that sounds, I should really-”
“And if you were to happen to run away a second time, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you. You owe us for the cherries, both to me and Apricot, and my influence in getting this town searching for these fillies of yours—although that is a worthy cause. If you have an ounce of integrity, you would-”
“Fine,” the Element of Loyalty sighed, “I agree. I don’t think I could forgive myself knowing someone doesn’t like me that much for something I did.” Cherry owned the largest farm in a hundred miles and probably was the wealthiest resident to boot. Not the type of enemy anypony wanted to make. Besides, she and her friends did do all that. Normally, Miss Jubilee was the kindest mare you’d meet—she hadn’t pursued them until Rainbow came into town after all. “But you have to search for those fillies as hard as you can and let me know the moment you find them.”
Cherry nodded happily, “Then we have ourselves a deal. You can tell me all about these fillies on the way back to the farm.”
Rainbow groaned but followed her back. The exchange made Rainbow stop to think, ‘With all the crazy stuff we’ve done, are these ponies the only ones to feel this way about us?’
“Are we there yet?” Pinkie Pie asked as she jittered in her seat. It may come as a surprise, but Pinkie had a hard time staying in one place for a long period of time … she also had a problem not talking.
The three mares: Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie; were sitting in the same booth, taking the morning train from Ponyville to Appleloosa. It had been too late to get a train the previous night—Appleloosa wasn’t precisely a tourist destination. The frontier “Go South!” mentality wasn’t for everypony.
“No, for the thousandth time Pinkie we aren’t there yet!” Rarity put her hooves on her head.
“Oh Rarity, stop bein’ overdramatic,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes to stare out at the rolling landscape outside the train car window. There wasn’t anything to see but it was preferable to the alternative.
“Yeah, I mean it was only the four-hundred and twenty-fourth time,” Pinkie replied unironically.
“Well excuse me for trying to keep sane in this stressful situation.” Rarity harumphed and crossed her forelegs.
“Ah get ya Rarity,” Applejack assured. “This is the longest Ah’ve ever been without seein’ Applebloom—when Ah haven’t been off deliverin’ somethin’ that is. Ah’m worried sick just like you but we can’t find our sisters if we are at each other's throats.”
“Oh, I know darling,” Rarity said, turning to her pink companion, “they are all okay, aren’t they? You don’t think-”
“Rarity.” Applejack turned and faced Rarity with her full attention. “Ya can’t think like that. Ya assume they’re hurt or worried or injured and ya might do somethin’ stupid. Those fillies deserve ya ta act smart. Ah’ve had enough trouble with my bullheadedness that Ah don’t need ya copyin’ me.”
Rarity thought about that and settled down. “You’re right, Sweetie Belle does deserve me to think calmly and rationally. But please Pinkie, could you stop asking, please?”
“Why would I ask, silly? We’re here!” Pinkie hopped off her seat as—sure enough—they had reached the Appleloosan Station. The sound of steam and the train grinding to a halt emphasized the arrival.
Rarity gritted her teeth and put her hoof to the bridge of her nose, making an audible groan but did not pursue the issue further. ‘Thinking rationally and calmly is going to be harder then I thought,’ she thought.
The three stepped off the platform and braced themselves for the inevitable.
“Hello cuz, welcome back to AAAAAAA-pple-LOO-”
Braeburn was silenced instantly by a hoof-to-the-mouth by his cousin.
“Do ya really have to do that every time we come by?” Applejack asked, not mincing her words like she had done the first time. Unlike the rest of her friends, Applejack came by Appleloosa regularly and—as such—knew that the best way to get the point across was to be as upfront as possible.
Braeburn took the hoof out of his mouth and continued, somewhat dejected. “Right, of course. Ya must be looking fer Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, right? And if Ah’m not mistaken you must be Rarity, am Ah right?” he asked while discreetly spitting out the dirt in his mouth from the hoof—they use those hooves for walking you know.
“Oh you got the letter dear?” Rarity asked, “I would have thought it would have taken longer to get here.”
“Ah yes, the letter, of course.” Braeburn said while winking at Rarity.
“Did you just … ,” Rarity asked trailing off, flustered. She stopped to wonder if maybe Applejack put something in the letter she didn’t tell her about.
“Aaaa-nyway,” Braeburn said, shifting back onto topic, “Ah’ve already got the search well underway. Ah’ve … um, got ponies looking out around the town so there’s no reason fer us ta be there. Since that’s the case—and Ah figured that you’d want ta search for the fillies all day—Ah brought lunch ta go.” He pointed a few steps away to a picnic basket to emphasise the point.
“That’s smart thinkin’. So where should we start first?” Applejack asked.
“Oh Ah’ll leave that up to Rarity, Ah think she’d know how to handle the situation,” he said with a wink to Rarity again.
“W-well I- Alright,” Rarity got out. ‘He really is winking at me!’ she thought to herself. ‘And ‘handle the situation’. I don’t even know the area! Is he implying-? Of course. Well, I should just let him down gently and tell him I’m just not into-’ She gave Braeburn a once-over. ‘Well I suppose it would be unladylike to simply turn down his affections. After all, one mustn't be hasty when it comes to love …’
“Well I guess it doesn’t matter where we start. I definitely approve of the effort I’ve seen thus far. We’ll just try all over and see what turns up,” Rarity said, hinting at her approval of his affections. ‘Hopefully he’s not a stereotypical dense farm pony,’ she thought, ‘but if he is, I guess that’s as far as it will go.’
Pinkie was being absent-minded like usual but something Braeburn said got her Pinkie Sense going. ‘Eye-flutter, ear-flop, twitchy-tail. Somepony’s keeping a secret! Ooooh, of all my Pinkie Sense, I like that the least! What if it’s an important secret?! Maybe Braeburn is keeping a secret for a friend? Or maybe about a friend? Oh, I hope it isn’t about me. I’m his friend, right? Oh, I should make sure to ask if I’m his friend first. But even if it is about me, I can’t just ask him! What if he tells me and feels all awful waffle about it after because he wasn’t supposed to? Oh, I couldn’t do that to him, he’s such a nice pony! Darn, of all the Pinkie Sense …’
After few hours of searching the country-side, it was noon and there was still no sign of the fillies. The entire time, Braeburn snuck glances at Rarity, occasionally mentioning ‘plans’ but Applejack and Pinkie were distracting her too much for her to make everything out. It also looked like Braeburn wasn’t trying as hard to search, although Rarity had a good idea why.
‘But how did he end up falling for me?’ Rarity thought. She too had been distracted, thinking about the tough, hard-working stallion all morning. ‘Did I really make such a lasting impression on him when I visited last time? That was over a year ago! Had he- No Rarity! Get ahold of yourself, this isn’t the time to entertain such thoughts. I mean, it’s not like he would give up working the Apple Orchard and whisk you off into the sunset … oh, but what if he would! Maybe-’
“Alright here we are,” Braeburn said, putting the picnic basket down. It was finally lunch and everypony was hungry after their tireless search. He took the group to a glade near the edge of the Apple Orchard where one of the town’s three wells were located. Unlike the rest of the unforgiving region, this area was more hospitable, with soft dirt and dry grass rather than the usual cracked, dry earth and tumbleweeds elsewhere. Braeburn began to unpack.
“Hey Braeburn, let yer cuz-” Applejack began.
“Cousin Applejack,” Braeburn chided. He only used ‘cousin’ when he was serious. “You and yer compadres are guests! It just wouldn’t be the Apple Family way to let the guests do the work. Don’t ya worry none, Ah got the situation handled,” Braeburn said. Although he had been speaking to Applejack, he looked over and winked at Rarity again giving the last sentence an entirely different meaning to the mare.
Rarity was practically swooning at this point. She was alway a mare for intrigue, these confident—yet covert—displays of affection in front of her friends—and his cousin no less—was exactly her type of romance. ‘Wait,’ Rarity thought, ‘what if he planned this all along? Meet us at the train station, show how dependable he is by searching tirelessly for the fillies, then a picnic in a secluded glade. Discrete overtures under the eyes of my friends, then … maybe dinner? A confession under a moonlit night?!’ she gulped at the prospects. ‘I thought these cowponies were supposed to be straightforward about love! This pony ...’’ She half-lidded her eyes. ‘I can’t let a farm-town pony beat me at my own game. If he’ll wants intrigue, I’ll give him intrigue!’
Braeburn had finished the picnic and he offered the mares to sit down. Applejack and Braeburn were talking for a bit at first but it was obvious he was trying to end the conversation and talk to Rarity. So Rarity decided to help him out.
“Hey Applejack, would you mind if me and Braeburn could talk?” Rarity asked innocently.
“Ah, sure. Don’t know what’ch-ya’d want ta talk about though. Ah don’t reckon you’d have much in common,” Applejack said.
“Oh, I think Braeburn knows what I mean,” Rarity said as she winked at the stallion.
Braeburn gave a knowing smile and Applejack took the cue and decided to talk to Pinkie instead.
“So Braeburn, what do you have planned tonight?” Rarity said winking again.
“Well, as Ah said while we were out searching, Ah’ve made sure that the plans are handled for later tonight,” Braeburn said, winking back.
“Oh Braeburn, darling,” Rarity said. She put up a facade by slightly blushing, “I didn’t think you would be so forward, in front of your cousin no less!”
Braeburn shushes her. “Careful Rarity, not so loud,” he whispered. “We don’t want Applejack to find out about this, right?”
Rarity smirked. ‘Looks like the cowpony does have limits.’ “No, of course not,” Rarity whispered back innocently, “but we’d have to tell her some time. We’re leaving town in the morning after all.”
“Oh that’s why-” he stopped himself when he realized he wasn't whispering. “Well, I suppose we can surprise her in the morning, sticking to the plan. After the plans Ah’ve set up tonight, it doubt it would be a occasion she nor Pinkie Pie’ll ever forget.” He winked again, emphasising the double-meaning. Then he gulped and looked away like he said something perhaps he shouldn’t have.
This time Rarity blushed for real. ‘Of all the times for him to be forward-’
“Hey you two!” Applejack said, breaking the two from their whispering. “What’ch-ya doin’ whisperin’ over there? Ya hidin’ somethin’?”
“No!” Rarity and Braeburn both cried simultaneously.
Applejack looked on incredulously but decided that whatever plans they have cooking couldn’t concern the task at hoof. ‘Ah told that Rarity ta think with her head and here she is doin’ some silly thing again.’
Pinkie—who hadn’t heard a word of the conversation—had a very different kind of Pinkie twitch now. ‘Somepony is planning a party! But what kind of party? If I don’t know about it, it must be a secret surprise party! Oh if it’s a surprise I can’t just go and spoil it! I know what happens when you do that.’ Pinkie thought, being reminded of a not-so-fun party she had with inanimate objects.
They finished the rest of the picnic. Rarity and Braeburn didn’t bring up the topic for the rest of the day. Applejack was concerned about them but decided to stay focused on the more important task of finding her sister. Pinkie was deeply troubled about this unknown party and kept to herself.
For the next four-and-a-half hours, they searched, but came up empty. They finally decided to call it quits and head to the Appleloosa Apple family house for dinner. The house could have been almost a carbon-copy of Sweet Apple Acres, had it not been for the more wattle and daub architecture endemic of the rest of Appleloosa. There was a porch out front, the beams were a bit thicker, and the roof was triangular. It had an even more ‘ranch-like’ feel than even the house and barn in Ponyville. As they entered, the ponies noticed the house was eerily quiet nothing like they expected from a large family of Apples.
“Hey Braeburn,” Applejack asked, “where are the rest of the Apple kin? Ah don’t see yer ma or pa anywhere and they are usually as energetic as you are about ma visits.”
“Ah, well,” Braeburn sweated a bit but then thought of something and stopped. “Well, they’ve been out searching for the fillies all day just like us and were plum tuckered out Ah’d imagine.”
Applejack looked at her cousin incredulously, “Are ya sure?” she asked.
“Of course!” he said, “In fact, after supper, why don’t Ah go get them with Rarity. Ah’ve been meaning ta tell her somethin’ all day anyway.”
“Well, alright, if ya insist … ,” Applejack conceded. She figured there was something up but she was too tired and hungry at this point to care.
The four ponies ate a short, quick meal. Despite that, it was coming to about a quarter-after-five by the time they had finished and washed up. Braeburn and Rarity excused themselves and told the other two they would head out to the barn and fetch the rest of the family.
As the stallion and mare walked under the twilight, Rarity could feel her chest pounding. ‘What are these surprising plans he has in store? Ooooh, I can’t wait!’
They continued in silence until they got to the front of the barn door. Braeburn breathed a sigh of relief and opened it revealing a flurry of activity. Banners and streamers were hung every which-way and ponies were setting tables and cleaning out the corners of the barn.
“Well here it is,” Braeburn said proudly, “Ah wasn’t sure exactly how ya wanted it but those three fillies were a great help. We cleaned out the barn, baked a bunch of fresh apple stuff and got everything set up. Thankfully ya had everything planned out so well or Ah’d imagine ma cousin or that Pinkie Pie would have figured everything out already!”
Rarity stood there, completely and utterly confused. Then, something the stallion said brought her back into focus. “Three fillies, which ones would that be exactly?”
“Oh, ya don’t have to be all secretive now, Rarity,” Braeburn laughed. “We all know that those three fillies we’ve been searching for all day have actually been sent here to plan this surprise birthday party for Pinkie Pie. Ya’know, Ah wouldn’t have thought that Pinkie was as difficult to fool as you made it out to be but she was suspicious the whole time. Like she knew Ah had been plannin’ this surprise party the whole time!”
“Wha-a …” Rarity grasped for words, but they wouldn’t come out. “The fillies … and a party … but what about the winking, the subtle hints at a plan, the-” Then it clicked in her mind. “N-n-no, they’re just fillies, they couldn’t …”
Then Rarity got angry. “You need to explain everything that happened here Braeburn!”
“Well, alright, if ya insist,” he said, still not seeing the problem. “Ah’ll try ta keep it short.”
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YAY!!! I get to use my brain-thing to read!!!!!!-!!!!
Excited to read chapter.
I understand that they need to search for them, but a full chapter of them searching and not even a single line about how is going for them?
Oh good lord...that must have been Sweetie who came up with that plan!
And bad Rainbow, doing that to Twilight.
Well, that was... unexpected.
*goes back to sleep*
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Well, if it's any consolation, the next chapter is strictly about Sweetie Belle (I didn't want to spoil anything in this chapter by giving away that the fillies were there the whole time). I should even be able to get it up about this time tomorrow.
Honestly ah hope the next chapter isn't short. But "Ah'll try ta keep it long" would probably be too innuendo-ish. Ah guess... pleasure can come in tight packages. And makin' it short can keep things less messy. If ya squeeze that plot too much, it might just explode from within.
Har Har Har.
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The feels. The Author enjoys the flavor of our tears.
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Tears? no, I don't cry... I only hit my head with the wall thinking "What is going to happen?"
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ok thanks
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Kays.
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great
Talk about a Grade-A plan by those three fillies.
Oho! That is priceless. The CMC outwitted them and cock blocked Rarity? Marshmallow Pony is going to have nuclear level meltdown.
Sweetie, you devious little thing.
Eventually, Twilight is going to nickname the Influence, as Asprin. Why?
Its just what you need for that headache.
Oh dear, Suprise Party instead of Suprise Wedding? At least Rarity doesnt have to worry about suprising Breaburn being naked.
Oh, wait, theyre Ponies.
o wow I love this! sweetie plus strategy tablet suggestion equals epic plans to pull off with the miracle help of two talented fillies there quite the team!
4928426 This time tomorrow? Shoot... I will be busy tomorrow night either watching The Price is Right or sleeping.
And trust me, I do not want to miss The Price is Right. Not every day the cast gets to come to your hometown to do the show live. They already have the stage set up and everything.
Rainbow, I think you need to get the heck out of Dodge.
And poor Rarity, getting misled like that, but I saw she was jumping to conclusions pretty early on.
Oddly enough about half way through Braeburn giving off hints I thought, "He's talking about a party . . ." but I didn't think that would make sense- thus leading me to be confused. Of course the moment Pinkie said she sensed someone planning a surprise party I knew I had been right, but still kudos for confusing me; normally I can easily figure out what is being planned.
At first, I was loading up my torpedoes to sink another ship. But then I lol'd.
Seriously though, I kind of figured there was going to be some kind of subversion. You're a good writer, and something good writers don't do is force a sudden plot change, especially for shipping purposes.
fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/259/d/7/braeburn_by_amy30535-d6mjw3e.jpg
Damnit Braeburn, stop being so hot!
4928447 That was terrible and you should feel ashamed. I say as I giggle.
Finally, Rainbow Dash starts being put in her place.
4929976
*joins in giggling*
I blame Sweetie Belle! It's totally all her brainy-plan-thing's fault.
4929980
Rainbow Dash was a cherry all along! Dun dun dun!
4928426
Buh! Ah'm not in it?! Pffffft. Cmon, Scoots. We know when we ain't wanted.
This entire chapter made NO sense at all, and it was awesome !!
4930007 ...
I don't get it.
I am completely lost...
4930177
*rubs head* Bad joke was bad. Eheheh :
:
Damn! Rarity almost got lucky.
Gah how could you end this without Braeburn realizing he is an idiot? That was the freakin payoff. Ugh. You cocktease.
y'know, I was looking forward to seeing the crusaders get closer to their goal but i suppose that this works as on ok interlude.
4930426 crusaders teleported towards their goal, the bearers are searching for them. RD got put to work and rarity thought that Braeburn had some sort of affection for her.
It's Bonbon, don't miss me off.
4930673 Not that part, I get that part. The part the confuses me is this party the "three fillies" supposedly help set up. Is this a mistake on Braeburns part or are they, for some reason, really there? Or, is this something no one knows and I am not missing anything anyone else is?
4930764 last option. whatever he is talking about is new information.
4930764 I'm sure he's just so daft that he believed them and is now unknowingly stalling them
4930853 That... is a good hypothesis. Seems too obvious though... maybe that is what author wants us to think
4930860 Come on, it's Braeburn!
Sweetie: "We wanted to Really surprise Pinkie Pie for her birthday this year and we remembered that she loved it down here in Appleloosa, so Applejack and my big sis sent us down here to pretend that we ran away while setting up the party for her! Could you help us?"
Braeburn: "Ah party! That's mighty kind of ya fillies but ya really shouldn't be teasin' miss Pinkie like that. She must be worryin' 'bout ya all!"
Sweetie: "We're sorry... but it's the only thing we could come up with that she wouldn't see coming. So could you please help us?"
Braeburn: "Well darn it, I'll round up the rest o' the family and we'll get Pinkie the best party she's ever seen!"
Yeah, uh, winking 20 times a conversation is not how people flirt...
4932581
*wink*
4932627 *winking intensifies*
4932659
Yer a buckin' Genius!!!
what
_____________
Oh poor Rares. She never gets any luck with stallions.
Good chapter!
Nitpicks:
"only myself oversee", or
"only trust myself to oversee", or whatever.
fillies'
I imagine, though, that
is a
writin'
from Pinkie?
The colon should instead be a comma.
discreetly
hidin'
4937645
, fixed.
Thanks for the editing