The Pony Store

by Wonderbolt Writer

A Sunny Disposition

The Sunny Store had been practically dead ever since Big Macintosh had left the building. Scootaloo and Applebloom had been their only customers in the agonizingly slow two and a half hours that had passed since then. They had stopped by to chat a bit with their fellow Crusader Sweetie Belle and to buy some candy before heading home to commence pigging out.

Thankfully Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been there to witness the two young fillies struggle fruitlessly to push a cart loaded with a twelve foot tall stack of sweets in it. After a brisk but stern discussion on the importance of a healthy and balanced diet, the two little ponies ended up leaving, somewhat disappointed with only having fruit and peanut butter to sate their appetites.

Now that they had just left, Spike was bored out of his scaly little mind again and found entertainment in reading the packaging of various products. They weren't particularly interesting but they were better than nothing.

"Aha! Kidney beans, so we meet again...for the twenty-seventh time today, apparently." Spike breathed out, bobbing his head to and fro. "This is getting ridiculous. I need another nap or I'm not gonna make it."

Twilight was nearby pulling items forward to the edge and utilizing a ruler to maintain even spacing. "Well maybe you would like to help me organize the pet food next?" Her ear perked, waiting for a response. "Uh, Spike?"

"ZzzzzzZzzz..." was her answer.

She gazed over to find that her dragon assistant had fallen asleep standing straight up, clutching the can of kidney beans. She admired his cute, puffy cheeks and twitching eyelids for a few seconds until the can snapped out of his grasp and hit the floor, breaking her focus.

"Well, I guess I'll take you to the manager's office, Spike. Nopony will bother you in there." Twilight noticed his form beginning to lilt backwards.

"I got you." Twilight closed her eyes and smiled as she trotted over behind him, slightly bending her legs to catch his fall. "Now just lean back and..."

Whuump!

His rock-hard head collided roughly with the shelving in front of him, denting it slightly.

"Oooh, I'm sorry Spike but damage to company property is five bits out of your salary." Twilight chuckled as she levitated his slack body onto her back.

"We're getting paid?!" Pinkie's voice appeared from nowhere as she parted the cans on the shelf to reveal herself.

Twilight froze, squinting her eyes. "Pinkie how'd you get in there? And who's running the bakery for that matter?"

"Relax Twilight, I left Gummy in charge! Besides we haven't had a customer in hours!" Pinkie sprang from her hidey-hole simultaneously closing the gap in the beans she left. "So how much dough are we making? And I don't mean the baking kind! Though I really wouldn't mind getting paid in dough, especially if it's cookie dough!"

"Twelve bits per hour." said Twilight as she made her way to the door beside Rarity's service booth. "That's what you are all making. According to Celestia's wishes that is. Now if you'll please excuse me, I need to put Spike down for a nap." She popped open the door and walked into the darkly lit room.

"So why's it so dark in he-"

The door slammed behind her.

"Twilight, is that you?" A voice called out.

Twilight recognized it instantly. She bathed the room in the brilliant glow of her magic. "P-Princess Celestia?" She stood wide-eyed beholding her mentor, the ruler of Equestria.

"What's going on here?" Celestia asked. "What is this Sunny Store? And why are you all a part of it?"

"I-I don't understand, what do you mean?" Twilight shifted nervously from hoof to hoof as she scanned the recesses of her mind trying to find an answer.

"It's okay, just start from the beginning." Celestia reassured her former student. Though the voice the Princess gave was soothing her demeanor was not. She paced back and forth wildly. "I just want to get to the bottom of this."

"Well..." Twilight pulled a piece of parchment from a stack on the nearby table. "It started this morning when I received this letter from you. I thought it strange but-"

Celestia magically grasped the paper herself. "So did this come through Spike?" She scanned over it's contents.

"Of course." Twilight gasped, realizing what Celestia's train of thought was. "You didn't send this note, did you? And it must be bad if-"

"If a secure magical connection like Spike has been compromised." Celestia finished, nodding. "That is the state of things. Whoever built this store...I'm sure they must have another motive other than tarnishing my reputation. Or gaining from it."

"What's happened? Something I don't know about?" Twilight stood up onto a chair in an attempt to make herself more or less at eye level with her fellow Alicorn.

"No, not much yet." Celestia placed the bit of paper back where it was procured from. "I had received a complaint from Ms. Cake about this establishment. It was then that I came here and saw all of this. I wasn't sure what to make of it all, so I took to asking somepony I trust...which is you."

"A complaint?" Twilight erased the horrid managerial thought from her head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking like the head of a store. "Well, who could be capable of doing all of this? Who would have a reason to..."

Twilight and Celestia each narrowed their beady little eyes in agreement. "It's Discord..."

Celestia charged up her horn and unleashed a mass teleportation wave upon the Sunny Store, transporting all of it's staff to Fluttershy's cottage.

---

"Come on out Discord! I must know if it is you who is responsible!' Celestia stamped the ground beneath her hooves, snapping Tabitha the Twig in two.

"Um, he doesn't...live with me anymore." Flutteshy said barely above a whisper. "Also what's going on?"

Her tiny squeaks were drowned out in no time by Applejack. "What in tarnation is going on here, Twilight?!" She turned briefly to Rarity who was a shaky mess of crossed hooves and dribbling sweat. "Cuz' I think maybe somepony was in the middle of doing their business before all this happened."

"Oh, my! Would you please excuse me?" Rarity made a mad dash over to a giant bush in the forest nearby. "I'll just be over here doing something! Nopony come over!"

"Sorry, Rarity!" Twilight called out after her running friend. "Now as for everypony else, I think you should all know something. Celestia never did send a letter to me asking us all to run a store for her. We believe it all to be Discord's doing."

"Really, Celestia?" Discord materialized before them. "I expect this kind of behavior from Twilight, not you."

"Let me get this straight." He inhaled a deep breath. "So someone hijacks your dragon network and erects a pony Princess themed grocery outlet in Ponyville with your precious Element bearers as the employees and the first one you think to blame is ME?!"

"That's a mouthful!" chimed in Pinkie.

"So you mean to say that it wasn't you?" Celestia asked, looking away from his gaze.

"Correct, my dear!" He blew confetti out both his nostrils. "I may be quite the rapscallion but a mock store is beneath my talents. You figured that out though and that is why you are the pony in charge. Why with wits like yours, it's no wonder you're the one chosen to wear the big wig in Canterlot."

He leaned passed her to address the ponies behind her in a whisper. "Seriously, it's a big wig." With his hands he motioned outward from his noggin to emphasize the hairpiece's enormity.

Celestia tapped the back of his shoulder to get his attention. "So if you didn't do any of this, who did?" Furthermore, can I count on your he-" she stopped suddenly, eyeing Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle who both stood transfixed by the top of her head. "What?" The stares continued even as their eyes grew, filled with undeniable wonder.

"Seriously? I guarantee I do not wear a wig! This magically flowing mane of mine is one-hundred percent real!"

"Oh, is that so?" Discord poofed a skin-tight steel shell around Celestia's body, immobilizing her. "Then you wouldn't mind if we just see for ourselves then would you?"

---

Rarity parted the branches of her makeshift wilderness latrine and trotted out to once again join the others. "Ah, much better. Now to see what all this fuss is about."

Using her magic she popped in her brush and began cleansing her mane and tail of the forest's debris. "Who knew that one could get so dirty just from-"

She dropped her brush when she came upon the sight of Pinkie, Discord and even her own sister Sweetie Belle all poking and prodding gleefully at Celestia's multi-colored hairline. "Good heavens, Sweetie! What are you doing to Celestia?"

"Relax." With a simple snap, Discord released his captive. "Sweetie Belle was merely helping me with some valuable research. I think we all owe it to the ponies of Equestria to explore the possibility of Celestia's hair being just as fake as your's."

Rarity gasped at the flagrant accusation. "Why of all the silly-" She gently smacked Sweetie Belles hoof away as it crept closer to touch her mane. "Don't even think about it, Sweetie. Just don't..."

Rainbow Dash swooped over and gathered up the young Crusader, taking her over to Applejack's side. Probably for the best given that the little filly still eager to test the authenticity of her sister's mane.

"Soon..." Sweetie's eyes widened at her thought.

Applejack moved out in front of the group to stand side by side with Celestia. "Okay now, we're all getting distracted. We still gotta figure out who is behind this here mess."

All at once it got dark. As all the ponies gazed up at the skies, confirming the sun's disappearance, Twilight looked to her mentor for answers.

"That wasn't me, Twilight. Luna must be up now, I left a note explaining I'd be gone for a bit. I must have lost track of the time and she got impatient with me. Or something else, because isn't it still too early for this? "

Soon light returned to the land, as the moon rose above the horizon to fill the night sky.

Discord wrapped his arm around Celestia. "Well I for one have an idea of who to look to next for answers."

"Luna would never, Discord."

"We'll see, Princess. We will see..."