Equestria Threadfall

by David Silver

14 - Collecting Pies

There sat Twilight and Spike. Across from Twilight, past Spike, was Luna by the window as they sped towards Ponyville. The princess of the night inclined her head. "Why do we not teleport? You are surely talented enough, and I've made that specific jump before."

Twilight's ears lifted from their bored state. "Wait, you have?"

"Have you forgotten?" A little smirk spread on her face. "When we were dealing with 'my problem'?"

Twilight hopped off her chair. "Well, if you're sure?"

Spike began to glow, Luna taking him and depositing him on her back as she stepped down as Twilight had. "Time is a resource we have in limited supply. If we can get there faster, we should."

That settled, they all vanished.

---

"Hey, here's one." Pinkie lifted a glittering gem between her forehooves. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Maud looked over her shoulder at what Pinkie was holding. "That one is cracked." She reached and tapped it with a soft ringing. The gem fell into powder, running between Pinkie's hooves to the ground. "We need one that is perfect." She turned her head back to the wall and picked up her pickaxe in her mouth, resuming her slow mining.

"Perfect, right." Pinkie shook her head, her own pickaxe, held in her mane, bobbing about. "I'll find a perfect gem for you, have no fear!"

Applejack was there, revealed as she poked her head out from around a corner of stone. "Ah appreciate you takin' up the cause of protectin' the orchard an' all, but what's this got to do with it? How will any one gem, even if just right, protect all those apples?"

Maud pried free a new gem, studying it in silence despite Applejack sitting there, staring at her.

"Sugarcube?"

"Technically, she's a pony, subclass: earth," noted her boyfriend, looking away from his own mining efforts. "She's examining that gemstone for imperfections."

"Almost." Maud set that one aside instead of powdering it. Her eyes went to Applejack. "The right gem will allow me to create an anti-thread weapon that will allow us to keep everything around Ponyville safe from this threat."

Applejack's expression brightened. "Seriously?! Why didn't ya tell me that?" She grabbed up her pick in her firm grip. "Let's get back to it!"

"You didn't ask." Maud picked up her own mining tool, resuming tapping at the wall. "Bring me any gems for examination."

"How 'bout this one?!" Pinkie had a new gem, bright purple in color.

Maud didn't even seem to look at it. "Deep blue," she noted without pausing in her own digging.

Pinkie sagged with defeat, but bounced back towards her mining position, only to notice more ponies coming. "Hey Twilight! It's been forever! And Oooo, hey Luna!"

"Luna?" Applejack peeked out to see Twilight and Luna entering. "Look at that, uh, hey, Princess."

"Greetings, Applejack." Luna dipped her head under a rock formation to enter the portion of the cave that held most of the miners. "It would seem we have arrived to find you all already engaged. What is it you are doing?"

Pinkie suddenly leaned in from the side. "We need to find the perfect gem so Maud can use it to make an thread blaster!"

"Technically, she never said it would blast anything," noted Mudbriar.

"It's a guess." Pinkie shrugged, looking to Maud. "Was I right?"

Maud was working her pick in slow circles, slowly extracting a new gem and not responding.

Twilight stepped forward. "Maud, we need you, for the good of Equestria and the world beyond it."

Maud's motion stopped. She slowly set her pick aside and turned towards Twilight, looking at her silently.

"We've discovered the source of the thread," explained Twilight as she raised a hoof to point into the sky they couldn't see past the stone.

Maud softly nodded. "That is why I'm building this."

Twilight blinked rapidly, a bit of her mane twanging out of place. "You know about it?!"

"Of course." She inclined her head as if everypony in Equestria knew the problem. "Isn't it obvious?"

Mudbriar came over from where he had been working. "Not everyone is as talented in matters of mineralogy as you are, Maud."

Maud seemed to consider that a moment before nodding. "I plan to assemble a weapon to--"

"Ah ha!," came Pinkie's shrill and joyful cry. "I knew there'd be blasting involved!"

"--destroy the source," completed Maud as if Pinkie hadn't spoken.

Twilight's brows fell. "Assuming that went according to plan, wouldn't that result in the planet being peppered with thread?"

"It would be widely distributed," countered Maud. "Compared to the damage caused currently, an acceptable price."

Luna frowned at that. "'Tis easy to say, unless you were the lucky one to be struck by falling thread caused by this reckless adventure."

"Besides, we have another idea," noted Spike, still atop Luna. "We're going to go up there, and we were hoping you could come."

Maud inclined her head faintly. "Okay."

Applejack blinked softly. "Just like that, okay? Won't this be dangerous?"

Mudbriar put an arm around Maud. "She is a very brave pony, but I must lodge a formal complaint." He took his arm back and sat down. "As your boyfriend, it is my job to object to the danger you are accepting so casually."

"I accept your objection and will take it under advisement," allowed Maud.

"Thank you." They shared a nod at one another, as if that had, somehow, settled the entire thing.

Maud approached Twilight and Luna. "When do we go?"

Pinkie tossed her pick aside, embedding in a wall in just the right way that a pile of gems poured out. "You're not going into space without your resident space case, Pinkie!"

Spike raised a finger, only to allow it to fall an inch. "Not gonna touch that."

Twilight shook her head at her eager pink friend. "This is not a vacation, Pinkie. This can and almost certainly will be very dangerous."

Pinkie leaned in, touching noses with Twilight as one brow went high. "Oh, and I've never done anything dangerous with you before." She broke into a snorting giggle. "You're so silly, Twilight. Let's go!"

Applejack's shoulders raised softly. "Eh, good on ya, Pinkie, but I'll stay here. This earth pony prefers her hooves on solid ground."

"Agreed," spoke Mudbriar with a soft nod. They clopped hooves in a moment of rare solidarity.

Twilight let out a soft sigh. "Alright, well, we certainly have enough for the mission. Come on." She led Luna, Spike, and the Pie sisters from the cave. "We have a balloon operator to visit next."

"Oh!" Pinkie smiled widely enough to squeak. "Let me talk to her! I'm already on her frequent flier program."

Luna peered to the side where Pinkie pronked alongside her. "Verily? You fly so commonly?"

"Flying is fun!" She jumped and clopped her hooves mid-air. "Sometimes I feel like I coulda been born a pegasus. That woulda been weird. Nope, earth pony Pinkie, that's me."

Maud softly bonked Pinkie on the head. "That would make me a pegasus too."

Pinkie blinked softly. "Oh yeah... Well, I coulda been the odd one out. You can't say it's impossible, 'cause it isn't."

Maud did not continue the argument. Spike was scratching at his cheek softly. "It's probably better you're usually limited to two dimensions at any time."

"You're just showing off those wings of yours." She was suddenly behind him, on Luna's back, her hooves on his wings, spreading them wide. "Lucky dragon."

Luna looked over her shoulder at her new rider. "Since you have volunteered, stay there and behave yourself. Can you fight thread?"

Pinkie inclined her head softly. "Have you asked Rarity? She fights thread basically every day! She has to be, like, a super mega duper expert!"

Spike folded his wings back where they belonged as he rolled her eyes at Pinkie's answer. "Wrong thread, Pinkie. We're talking about the stuff that rains from the sky and will eat you."

"Wow, harsh thread." Pinkie nodded softly. "But think of the dresses she could make with it. I bet she'd make something great if you gave her half a chance. This is Rarity we're talking about."

Twilight pointed as they emerged from the mines. "Let's focus on the task at hoof. Now, the balloon is typically..."

"There!" Pinkie was pointing to where it peeked up between other buildings in town. "I'll go ask her." And she was gone, dashing off to do her part for the mission.

"This was a dream of hers," suddenly noted Maud. "She really wants to go to space."

Twilight sighed as they headed in Pinkie's last direction. "I remember the last time she tried. It didn't work out so well, but that was also Spike's fault."

Spike's cheeks warmed. "Hey... It wasn't anything personal. Besides, I won't do that this time, promise." He crossed his heart and mimed stuffing a cupcake in his eye before a thumbs up was offered.

Luna swiveled an ear. "Good. This is more important than sibling rivalry." She held up a hoof, whispering back to Spike, "Even if it was delightful watching ours get their comeuppance."

The two shared a vindicated grin.

Up ahead, they could see Pinkie speaking animatedly with Cherry Berry. "So, not only am I one flight away from my freebie, but we're doing it to save Equestria! Could you let me have my free ride one early? Please!"

Cherry Berry looked past Pinkie towards the royalty approaching. "Princess Twilight, Princess Luna, what an honor." She dipped her head softly. "Were you--"

"You didn't answer," grumped Pinkie, sticking out her bottom lip in a mighty pout.

"One moment, the princesses are here." Berry held up a hoof in a shushing motion. "Were you looking for a ride?"

Twilight inclined her horn towards Pinkie. "She's with us. We all need to borrow that balloon for a trip of utmost importance."

Cherry Berry blinked softly. "Wait, she was telling the truth?!"

"I always tell the truth!" squeaked Pinkie with indignant rage.

Cherry's brows fell, eyes half-lidded in a gaze at Pinkie.

"Usually," she admitted with less fire in her tone. "C'mon! It was one time!"

Cherry pointed up to balloon she was perched in the basket of. "Well, I can't rightly deny two princesses, now can I?"

Luna's horn began to glow as bits came into view. "We will pay fairly for the service."

Pinkie reached into her chest fluff and produced a card full of stamps, except one spot. "I still have this!"

Cherry leaned in, examining the card intently a moment. "Well... you are a good customer, usually, when you aren't damaging the balloon... Do you promise you'll bring it back safely?"

Pinkie began the sacred motions of the Pinkie Swear, and the card was taken. "She's all yours," exclaimed Cherry with a nod. "Do you need me to pilot?"

Twilight hopped up and fell into the basket gracelessly before popping right back up again. "I've flown this model of balloon before. Remember, Spike?"

"How could I forget? Do we have everything we need?" He hiked a thumb at their castle/tower. "It's going to be hard to come back for anything once we're up there."

Maud pat her frock. "I have everything I need."

Pinkie made a similar gesture despite not wearing anything. "All set!"

Luna nodded gently. "I have nothing further to bring."

Spike gave a soft shrug. "I have my awesome steed, what more could I need?"

Twilight hiked a brow. "More awesome than your first?"

"Well, uh..."

"Nevermind. One moment." She vanished, only to re-appear a moment later with a satchel of scientific gizmos. "Ready!"

Cherry climbed out of the basket. "Alright then. Have fun doing... whatever you're doing? I don't think the balloon ever had so much royalty in it at one time." She clopped her hooves with growing excitement. "Tell me all about it when you get back!"

Pinkie offered a hoof to Cherry. "I will! It'll be great, and hopefully get rid of that stuff ponies are scared of."

Cherry tensed. "You're dealing with that, in my balloon?!"

Twilight applied her hoof to her face. "We'll be back, safely." She hoped, silently. "Let's get going!"

Author's Note:

Let's take a balloon ride, into space, because that works in this universe.

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Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Pern never had it so good. On the other hand, they had something a bit more nimble than a hot air balloon to make the approach, so I suppose it balances out. And Cherry's not going to space? Missed opportunity mate.

[Booster Spice]

Luna is going to use Teleport to move the balloon rapidly, Telekineses, or is Dash going to end up towing them again?

[Chrome Masquerade]

Pinkie inclined her head softly. "Have you asked Rarity? She fights thread basically every day!"

[Frustration in Excelsis]

"More awesome then your first?"