Outlet.

by Reptilicus

Nous allons en fin nous regaler.

It was a bright sunny day in Ponyville. A town, which unsurprisingly, consisted mainly of ponies. It was small, it was poor, and it's population was low enough to have some attribute it to being more of a village than a proper town. These small irritations didn't put a damper on the colorful charm of the place. There were quite a few landmarks and even famous folks who had chosen to live there. There was an air of happiness that just seemed to flow through the town, hanging in the air, resting delicately on every surface before the wind kicked up and sent it around some more. It was moderately difficult to make your way through the streets without smiling. Besides a few sour apples, everyone was happy, friendly, and kind. And those who weren't generally tried to keep it to themselves.

Speaking of apples, they were one of the main exports of the town, along with many other edible goods. The rich soil surrounding the Everfree Forest that surrounded the city was incredibly fertile, making it a great choice for any earth pony wishing to eek out a living providing vittles to anyone with a sweet tooth. But the apples were king, in more ways than one. Ponyville itself had been founded by the Apples themselves, a small tribe of southern earth ponies almost all of whom were remarkably talented at growing plants. Sweet Apple Acres had been their main land and center of operation since the founding of Ponyville nearly a century ago. Plague, famine, war, the farms of Sweet Apple Acres had seen it all. But as the town grew and resources became more scarce, most of the Apple Family had moved back south to the arid lands of Appleloosa. Sweet Apple Acres was now run almost entirely by the mare who had founded it originally, whom folks simply called Granny Smith. She was old and dusty and getting somewhat senile in her old age, but she was bright, clever, and knew more than a thing or two about agriculture. The farm was hers, and she made the decisions, but most of the hard work was done by her grandchildren. Big Mac, the eldest, a red stallion who towered over most of the other horses in the town. A quiet and shrewd, very private guy. Applejack, the eldest of the two sisters, an orange freckled young mare who was second-in-command to Granny. Honest and wise, she had been chosen specifically to be trusted by the Princess of Equestria to help guard the land against evil, on the rare occasions it showed its ugly head. And finally, Applebloom, the adorable and tiny youngest sibling and member of the Apple Family. Light yellow hair and a shocking fluff of red mane made her very recognizable as she romped and played throughout the farm and the town, eagerly trying to discover her special talent.

At this very moment in time, Applejack herself was outside of the main barn of the facility shouting at her friend who was insistent to enter the cellar, a place that for anyone but Applejack herself, was entirely off limits. There was even a large sign on the door to the cellar that read "keep the buck out" in thick black print, just to drive home the message. Apparently it was not enough.

"I said NO!" Applejack shouted, slamming the cellar door shut with a hind leg and using a foreleg to stop the pink curly-topped assailant who was trying to get inside.

"But I just want some sugar, AJ! Pretty please! Please please please!" Pinkie flailed wildly to try to get to the cellar. In reality, the pink mare didn't need sugar at all. But her childish curiosity had flourished under the protective gaze of Applejack and now she desperately wanted to know what secrets lay in the cellar.

"I will get ya some MAHSELF, Pinkie. Y'all just sit right here and don't touch anything." Applejack leaned close, glaring at her hyperactive friend. "Anything."

Pinkie sat still watching the door closed. Her plan to get into the cellar had failed but it wasn't enough to dampen her spirits. She smiled as she looked around the beautiful farm, and it's acres and acres of apple trees, all with various species and subspecies of apple dangling from their boughs. She licked her lips hungrily. It had been almost ten minutes since she had eaten something sweet. Her biological clock was informing her that indeed, it WAS mealtime. The pink mare rose to her hooves and skipped happily to the nearest apple tree, feasting noisily on the bright red fruits before finding herself distracted by a suave voice from a ways away.

"Pinkie! Oh, Pinkie over here!"

Pinkie turned to see Rarity standing by the fence, waving one of her delicately manicured cloven hooves in the air. A pearly white unicorn with a gorgeous coif of curled purple hair for a mane, Rarity was perhaps the most fashionable pony in Equestria, though bad luck had hampered her from ever becoming too famous for her own clothing and uniform designs. She was generous, cheeky, and refined. And at the moment was trying to climb over the fence without letting the dirty wood touch her belly, each hoof straining to keep her as high above the fence as possible. She galloped over to Pinkie, her purple coiled tale bouncing delicately with each step.

"You told me you were going to meet me for lunch, Pinkie. Now here you are spoiling your appetite with apples right before noon!" Rarity looked somewhat hurt, her lower lip pouting.

"It's fine, Rarity! I'm not filling up on apples! I'm just protecting them from germs by keeping them in my mouth!"

Pinkie returned to feasting as Rarity sighed and shook her head, casting a glance at the cellar as it's doors creaked open and a familiar orange mare came stomping out of it. Talking to Applejack was rather difficult. She and Rarity shared very little in common and seemed to bicker a bit too much for either taste. Even describing the two as 'friends' seemed a bit of a long shot at times. However any Applejack conversation would be a welcome change from listening to the slosh noises coming from Pinkie who was still eating apples as if they were going out of style.

"Salutations, Applejack. You may have noticed Pinkie is eating your orchard." Rarity grinned.

"Yeh, not surprisin' but at least she ain't in mah cellar." Applejack dragged a large sack of cane sugar and dumped it next to the pink pony. "So what are y'all up to today?"

"Well, I was supposed to be having lunch right now but....well you see what's happened." Rarity waved a hoof dismissively in Pinkie's direction. "So I suppose I'll just go and get some rosebud soup down at the carry-out place. So, what are you up to today, Applejack?"

"Wellp, I was trying to clean all the wheelbarrows and I was going down to the cellar to get some soap and Pinkie suddenly decided she wanted some sugar."

"I didn't really need sugar, Applejack!" Pinkie suddenly interrupted, spitting out a core that landed in the grass. "I just wanted to see what you have down there! It's so spooky and mysterious!"

"I keep supplies in there, Pinkie. Nothin' else."

"It does strike me as rather odd..." Rarity began. "That I've seen pretty much the entire farm but that one room Applejack. It's also strange that you'd have a sign on the door telling ponies to keep out. Nothing quite like that anywhere else around here. Makes me think you're hiding something."

Applejack stood, her face displaying no emotion as she backed up towards the cellar doors, flipped the padlock, turned the key, and then placed the key around her neck. She raised a hoof, pointing it at the sign on the doors, grabbed the nearby wheelbarrow and hauled it off around to the other end of the barn. Leaving Rarity and Pinkie standing awkwardly by themselves. Rarity tossed her mane and glanced at Pinkie.

"Well that was certainly....odd. I was just having a bit of fun."

"We neeeeeeeeeeed to find out what's in there, Rarity!"

"No, we do not. Whatever is down there is clearly a sensitive matter for Applejack and I'm not going to damage her trust in me by breaking into her property! Besides it's against the law....probably."

"I bet you could unlock it with your magical powers, Raaaaaarity." Pinkie squealed, smiling widely and fluttering her eyes.

It was true, Rarity could open the lock with ease. Her ability to levitate and manipulate small pieces of metal was important for her efficiency at dress-making. And truth be told, she was dying to know what was in the cellar as well. Applejack was a pony of very few secrets. She wasn't vain in any way, wasn't self-conscious, and would gladly go to a fancy gala covered in mud and dirt from working all day if she could. The very idea she had a secret that she kept locked away was quite enticing. Especially for Rarity who loved to snoop and gossip. Whatever was down there could be juicy.

"Alright, fine. We will take a quick peek. Then we shall never mention this again to ANYPONY, Pinkie. You understand? And we must be fast. I have no idea how long it takes to clean the filth off a wheelbarrow and I would not like to find out by having Applejack catching us perusing through whatever is in the cellar."

Pinkie nodded happily. She was going to get her wish after all.

"Besides," Rarity continued. "It's most likely just hard cider or apple whiskey. I know they make that here, I just don't know where they keep it all. So don't be surprised if it's just a bunch of smelly barrels."

With a small shower of light blue sparks and a few rays of light, Rarity's magical unicorn horn had expertly unlocked the door and opened the padlock that kept it shut. Another small beam of light shot out and the two red wooden doors swung open, delicately resting against the concrete foundations of the barn. The two ponies quietly tiptoed into the entrance, closing the doors behind them. With a spark, a small orb of light gleamed from the tip of Rarity's horn as she and Pinkie delicately walked down the stairs into the darkness. A few oil lamps were placed around but the majority of them were doused, giving the basement a very dark and eerie feel. Eventually the two turned the corner right into......a stack of barrels.

"Awwww! You were right, Rarity. It's just drinks n' stuff. I wanted it to be treasure!" Pinkie pouted and sat on her haunches, looking as if the whole world has betrayed her.

"Wait a moment. There's something behind this." Rarity walked around the stack to find a small hallway with a room at the end. It was brightly illuminated with an orange light beaming through the hall. "There's another part to the basement, Pinkie."

The two walked down the hallway towards the light, their hooves clicking quietly against the stone floor. They soon found themselves inside the room seeing something that they'd never have expected. Canvases of various sizes lay everywhere. Some leaning against the wood beams that held up the ceiling. Some sitting on homemade easels made of twigs and branches and tape. Almost every canvas was blessed with some sort of unique albeit somewhat ungainly painting. They were sloppy yet, there was something about them. A sort of rugged skill to the form, the contours. Like a sort of impressionism made by a pony who didn't know what the word quite meant. Apples, fruits, ponies, and some scenery from the town were all various subjects of the pieces. Some minutely detailed and scarily accurate. Others simpler and stylized. It was quite a wide range of subjects. The paintings that were of ponies consisted mainly of people Applejack had known. Some of her friends, others she knew from town. Rarity silently walked through the room admiring each piece. As she got farther into the room, the age of some of the paintings became quite clear. Dust and film and bits of fungus were growing on some of the older pieces. In particular a painting that leaned against the wall featuring a happy couple of straw-colored ponies, one of which wore a stetson. Rarity frowned a bit, guessing who these two were meant to be.

Pinkie was eagerly scuttling to each painting eyeballing it eagerly, then quickly finding herself entranced by a different piece. All over the basement she ran from canvas to canvas, making small happy gasps as she continued to recognize many of the locales and citizens that were being depicted in the art. She had long since knocked over a can of red paint and had been tracking red hoofprints across the floor as she skipped.

"Rarity! Ooh look! This one is of Twilight! And this one has you in it! Oh oh! This one is of the Town Hall! Oh my gosh this one is of me, Rarity! Somepony painted me!"

Pinkie was hopping up and down in front of the splotchy pink art piece depicting a stylized pink pony with wild curls for hair and massive cerulean eyes. The silence caused Pinkie to turn and observe Rarity who was quietly nosing her way through the older dusty paintings that sat in the dark corners of the room. She trotted over and joined her in the silence, seeing the pieces featuring ponies whom neither of them knew.

"Who are these ponies, Rarity?"

"Probably relatives, old friends and such, Pinkie. These are all quite a bit older than the others. The skill in the colors and form is alot more....amateur. Yet still beautiful. I wonder if Applejack painted all of these? So many are simply divine."

She stopped at a somewhat less dusty piece that sat leaning against the dew-covered wall. Small mushrooms were growing on it, obscuring its appearance. But it was clear what the subject was. It was Rarity herself, painted elegantly, her purple curls becoming a series of violet and blue coils that swirled across the painting becoming a whirlpool of indigo colors that vaguely depicted her pet cat, Opal. Rarity sat in awe, shocked she had inspired a painting so beautiful. There was no doubt anymore that Applejack had painted these.

"WHAT DO Y'ALL THINK YER DOING IN HERE!?" came a angry labored shout from back at the hallway.

Rarity and Pinkie both turned to see Applejack standing at the end of the hall, sweating heavily in her panicked run to the basement, a look of anger and betrayal on her freckled features. She gritted her teeth and galloped forward, coming around Rarity and Pinkie and began shoving them out of the room.

"Applejack, there's no need to be so upset." Rarity chided as the orange pony started pushing her back up the stairs.

"NO NEED? NO NEED!? I TOLD Y'ALL TO KEEP OUT. I TOLD Y'ALL TO STAY OUT OF HERE BUT YOU JUST BROKE IN LIKE YA OWNED THIS PLACE. ITS MY CELLAR AND I SAID TO KEEP OUT." Applejack's voice was beginning to crack slightly as she screamed, her emotions beginning to tip over the boiling point.

"The paintings are all so pretty, Jackie! Why are you hiding them away from everypony?" Pinkie whined sadly as she was tossed out onto the grass outside the cellar doors. "You should show them off!"

Applejack said nothing, slamming the cellar door shut, locking the padlock yet again before turning to her companions. Pinkie and Rarity both frowned when they noticed Applejack blinking rapidly, trying to keep the quickly forming tears from falling down her cheeks.

"I said no." she grunted. "I want you both off my property. You've overstayed your welcome for today."

"Applejack don't you think you're overreacting just tiny bit?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow.

Applejack glared at Rarity, then turned her gaze to Pinkie, before she turned and sat angrily against the cellar doors, her back to her friends.

"Y'all should be ashamed of yerselves. I thought I could trust ya. Can't leave ya alone for a minute before yer both goin' through all my private stuff like a buncha goons."

"I just wanted to see what was in there, Aj! I'm sorry! But you were being so spooky about it!" Pinkie frowned, trotting forward to nuzzle Applejack's shoulder.

"Why on earth would you hide such things away from us, Applejack? Your pieces down there are beautiful. You've made such exquisite works of art, and you hide them away like they're nothing!" Rarity said, tossing back her made and sitting at Applejack's side so she could read her expression.

"They ARE nothin', Rare. It's just a hobby. An embarassin' hobby that I don't want to talk about. And I would appreciate it if you would both never bring it up again." With a small wave, Applejack wiped the angry tears out of her eyes.

"I always wondered who it was who painted all those lovely little vines all over the barns here." Rarity replied. "It seems like an awful shame hiding your special talent from the world."

"Mah special talent....is apples." Applejack said, adjusting her floppy old cowboy hat. "And I said I wanted y'all off my property. So go on."

Pinkie frowned and slinked away, hopping over the fence and galloping down the road toward town. Rarity let out a long sigh and shook her head at her friend, massaging her temple with one of her cloven hooves.

"Ugh. Fine, be that way Applejack." Rarity said as she stood to leave. "But we aren't finished talking about this."

"I am."

"We will see about that."

And with another toss of her mane, Rarity was off, delicately trotting across the field next to the orchard like a purebred showpony. With a small vault she had leaped over the fence and was making her way back into town leaving Applejack alone near the cellar. The orange earth pony stood quietly, took another forlorn glance at the padlocked doors before letting out a sad sigh and going back to work. There was a lot to do today and having to protect her secret from even MORE nosy ponies would have to wait til later.