A My Little Pony/Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt Crossover
Twilight has been living in Ponyville for some time now, and she's not only made five great friends, but she's also gotten to know everypony living there quite well.
Well, almost everypony.
One day, Twilight meets two pegasi named Panty and Stocking Anarchy, who apparently have built up something of a bad reputation in Ponyville. After a bit of research, she discovers that they, too, were sent to Ponyville by Princess Celestia, though under completely different circumstances.
Why hadn't she been told about them before? What got them sent to Ponyville in the first place? Twilight seeks not only to get to the root of these questions, but to also help the two ponies change the town's opinion of them, and help them get along with the citizens. Will she be succesful? And do the Anarchy sisters even want her help?
Author's Note: This is just an old story of mine that I happened across, figured I might as well post it. No guarantees that I'll continue it in the near future, as I'm currently focused on Mario and Luigi: Of Ponies and Plumbers
Ponyville. A town where friendship and harmony fly freely. Well, for most of its residents.
Some time ago, I sent my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, down to this quiet little town to make new friends, and learn important lessons about life, friendship, and harmony. Over the passing months, she's gained valuable experience, and made friends with almost all the residents of Ponyville.
However, she wasn't the first pony that I had sent to Ponyville, and for the first while, I grew concerned that she would meet these ponies. I really didn't want Twilight to associate with them. As time passed, however, I grew certain that their paths wouldn't cross in any meaningful way.
Of course, things don't always work out as expected, not even in Equestria...
Twilight Sparkle trotted through the town square in a cheerful mood. She had finished her studies for the day ahead of schedule, and she had just sent Princess Celestia her latest Friendship Report the previous day, meaning that she wouldn't be expecting another for a whole week. She had the whole day to herself, and she planned on spending it with her friends. The weather seemed just perfect for a picnic.
Of course, she had her friend Rainbow Dash to thank for that, she thought, and as the thought crossed her mind, the bold, blue pegasus swooped down beside the unicorn.
"Hey Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, trotting along beside her friend. "Didn't expect to see you out and about. I thought you were studying or something?"
"Oh, I finished all my studies early," Twilight explained. "I was thinking of having an impromptu picnic, the weather seemed perfect for it. I was just on my way to Sugarcube Corner to pick up some treats, and see if Pinkie could come."
"Really? You're going to Sugarcube Corner?" Dash asked.
"Yeah, why?" Twilight said. "Is something wrong?"
"I dunno," Dash replied. "I was just passing overhead a few minutes ago and there was some big commotion going on, shouting and stuff."
"Really?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe I should check it out. Why don't you go fetch the others and let them know about the picnic."
"Can do!" Dash said, taking flight. "I'll see you later, Twi!" With that, Rainbow Dash took off, leaving a streak of rainbow in her wake.
Twilight arrived at Sugarcube Corner a few minutes later, and, just like Rainbow Dash had said, there was quite a bit of shouting coming from inside. She could hear Mrs. Cake's voice, who seemed to be trying to calm things down, but Twilight wasn't sure who the other voice belonged to. She slowly entered, to see what was going on.
"It's alright, dear, just calm down, your order shouldn't be too much longer." Mrs. Cake said to whomever it was she was with, as Twilight opened the door. "In the meantime, why don't you try one of these cupcakes that Pinkie Pie made not too long ago? No charge!"
Mrs. Cake, looking somewhat nervous, pushed a plate of cupcakes across the counter, each decorated with pink frosting and an abundance of sprinkles. It was here that Twilight got a glimpse of the unfamiliar pony. She was a brilliantly white pegasus, though she had a dark purple mane that fell flat all around her. The few pink streaks showing through near the bottom reminded her of her own hairstyle somewhat. A quick glance at her flank told her that the pony's Cutie Mark was a purple and dark blue striped stocking, though what it represented Twilight had no idea. The pony at the counter took a cupcake from the dish, and, after carefully examining it, she took a bite out of it, before promptly gagging on it.
"Ugh, Celestia, it tastes like I'm chewing on somepony's flank!" The pony said, dropping the cupcake on the floor. "Tell that hyperactive pink spaz that she needs to learn to bake!"
Mrs. Cake looked a bit more nervous now, and began looking around for some sort of distraction. A chime sounded out from the kitchen, and Mrs. Cake said "Oh! That's your order! Let me just go get that, one moment!" Mrs. Cake hurried out, leaving Twilight alone with the pony, who was currently smearing the dropped cupcake on the store floor. Part of Twilight felt that she should speak up and defend her friend, though this pony didn't really seem like the type to get into it with. The pony stopped smearing the cupcake after a moment, and looked back at Twilight. The purple unicorn nervously forced out a short "Hi," but the other pony said nothing, simply looking her up and down quickly before turning back to the counter.
Mrs. Cake returned after a moment, and placed a few boxes on the counter. "There you are, dear," Mrs. Cake said. "That'll be twenty two bits."
"Finally," the pony said, tossing several coins on the counter. Mrs. Cake placed the boxes into a cloth bag, which the white pony draped around her neck. She turned and left, leaving a few frosting hoofprints behind on her path to the door. She shot another glance at Twilight before exiting, flying off with the bag around her neck.
Twilight watched the pony leave, before she turned to Mrs. Cake. The shopkeeper called upstairs. "Pinkie, you can come down now, she's left!"
The pink pony trotted down the stairs, huffing and looking somewhat upset. "Ooooh, I hate it when she comes here!" Pinkie said, looking at the trail of frosting. "She's always so rude, and mean, and nasty, and she has no taste when it comes to sweets, and- oh, hi Twilight!" The pony perked up almost immediately as she saw her friend.
"Who was that pony that was just in here?" Twilight asked, looking between Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie.
"Oh, that was Stocking Anarchy," Pinkie said, returning to her sour disposition. "She always comes in here and acts all rude and nasty to everyone, and she always insults my baking, and if I had my way, she wouldn't be allowed to come here and be mean and nasty at all-"
"But, despite all that," Mrs. Cake said, getting a broom and cleaning up the sugary mess. "She happens to be one of my best customers. Banning her from the store would be an unwise move for business."
"But Mrs. Cake, she always comes in and bullies you!" Pinkie said. "You can't put up with it, even if she gets you that much profit!"
"Well, let's just forget about her for now," Twilight said. "Pinkie, I was putting together a picnic, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"
"Sure, that sounds like fun!" Pinkie said.
"Great, I'll meet you later this afternoon," Twilight said, before turning to Mrs. Cake. "Mrs. Cake, can I get some cupcakes for later?"
"Of course, dear," Mrs. Cake said. "I'll prepare them right away."
"Thanks," Twilight said. Pinkie Pie raced upstairs to go get ready, and Twilight left the shop to go prepare herself. As she walked out, though, she began to think about that Stocking character. Why had she never seen her before? she thought. And why did she look at Twilight the way she did? Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she headed back for the library and prepared for the afternoon.
Later that day, Twilight and her friends were enjoying their little picnic. It was a little short notice, so the food was sort of basic, but nobody really minded. There was, however, something missing that made Twilight feel a little anxious.
"You're sure Applejack said she was coming?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash, after about half an hour had passed with no sign of their friend.
"Positive," Dash explained. "She just said she had a few chores to finish up, and then she'd be here."
"You don't suppose something happened to her?" Fluttershy, the meek yellow pegasus, wondered aloud.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Rarity, the posh unicorn, said reassuringly. "Applejack is a strong pony, I'm sure she can handle anything that comes her way."
"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be along any minute now," Twilight said. As if on cue, the aforementioned orange earth pony came trotting over the hill the others had set up the picnic on.
"Hey everypony!" Applejack said. "Sorry I'm late, somethin' just came up back at the farm." For some reason, her mane and tail were all fussed up and dirty, and her hat was slightly torn and sat crooked on her head, obscuring one of her eyes. She even seemed to walk with a slight limp.
"Applejack, you look simply awful!" Rarity exclaimed. "Whatever happened to you?"
"Oh, t'aint nothin' to worry about," Applejack explained. "I just caught 'you-know-who' hangin' 'round the barn, makin' googly eyes at Big Macintosh again. Told her to clear off on account o' she was distractin' everypony from workin', and we got into it." She righted her hat with a quick nod backward, revealing a big, puffy black eye.
Applejack smirked. "You oughtta see her! Gave'r a matchin' set, an' told her if I caught her trespassin' again, I'd give it to her twice as hard."
"Hold on, Applejack, I'll fix your eye for you," Twilight said. Her horn started to glow, and Applejack's wound faded and eventually disappeared, leaving her eye back in its normal, uninjured state. "Now," Twilight said as she stepped back from Applejack. "Who exactly are you talking about?"
"That Panty mare, o'course," Applejack explained. "She comes 'round Sweet Apple Acres every now 'n' again tryin' to sweet talk Big Macintosh. Reckon she's bored with all the other guys an' she's tryin' to lasso the last fella in Ponyville."
"Who's Panty?" Twilight asked, confused.
"Remember Stocking, the one you bumped into earlier at Sugarcube Corner?" Pinkie chimed in. "Well, Panty's her sister."
"Really? Why haven't I met these two before?" Twilight asked. "I thought I'd met pretty much everypony in Ponyville."
"Well. as far as I know, they don't exactly hang around town all that often," Dash explained. "They probably just spend a lot of time hanging around their place."
"Just as well," Rarity said. "They aren't exactly the most civil of ponies."
"And they're lazy, too," Applejack added. "I ain't never seen them lift a finger to help somepony other than themselves."
"I don't know how much time they actually spend at their house, Rainbow," Fluttershy said quietly. "Sometimes I see the two of them running off into the forest. I just hope they aren't being mean to the animals in there..."
"I wouldn't be suprised if they were, to tell you the truth, Fluttershy," Pinkie said. "Seeing the way they treat other ponies around here. They're just a couple of mean, nasty, icky-"
"Uh, Pinkie," Dash said, trying to get the pink pony's attention.
"-rude, smelly-"
"Pinkie..."
"-lazy, rotten-"
"Pinkie Pie!"
"-dummy dumb jerks!" Pinkie finished, panting a bit. She then looked over to Rainbow Dash with a cheerful smile. "Yes, Dashie?"
Rainbow Dash gestured behind Pinkie, and the others all seemed to be looking at the spot behind Pinkie as well. She turned, and standing behind her were the two ponies she had just been talking about.
"Jerks?" The white pegasus, Stocking, as Twilight recalled, repeated. "Panty and I may be a lot of things, but we are not jerks. It's called being honest."
"Yeah," the other one, a light peach pegasus with a blonde mane and several bruises (among which were a pair of black eyes concealed by shades, as Applejack had boasted), said. "If anyone's a jerk, it's that high-and-mighty farmgirl over there. I was just minding my own business when you came over and attacked me!"
"Listen you," Applejack said, stomping over toward the pair. "I told y'all before Big Macintosh ain't interested in what you're offerin', and that you're keepin' us from workin' with your constant sneakin' around our property!"
"Hey, I'm trying to do your brother a favor, alright?" Panty said, stomping over and getting in Applejack's face. "The guy needs to have a little fun once in a while! Of course, a stick-in-the-mud like you wouldn't know what fun is."
"I'll show you a stick-in-the-mud you no-account-"
"Girls! Please!" Twilight said, forcing the two apart. "You two already fought once today, isn't that enough?"
"Wouldn't matter if we did," Applejack said. "Can't knock sense into a skull that thick."
Panty, however, was ignoring Applejack now, and instead focused on Twilight, lowering her shades to get a better look at the unicorn. "...Hey, Stockin', is this the one you said you saw earlier?"
"Yeah, that's right," Stocking said. "Over at Sugarcube Corner." Twilight looked between the two, confused.
"Huh," Panty said. She turned to Twilight, and looked her up and down. "You wouldn't happen to have been one of Celestia's students, would you?"
"Yeeeaaahhh..." Twilight said, still confused.
Panty snorted. "Wow, and we thought we were the only ones. So what'd she kick you out for?"
"What do you mean 'kick me out?'" Twilight said indignantly. "If you mean 'what am I doing here?', Princess Celestia sent me here to make friends and learn about friendship! And how did you know I was one of Celestai's students?"
"Whatever, it's not important," Panty said. She turned and began to trot away. "Come on Stockin', let's get out of here."
"Whatever," Stocking replied, and turned to follow her sister. The two of them walked away from the six ponies, and left them to puzzle over what had just transpired.
"Do you know those two, Twilight?" Rarity asked, looking confused.
"I don't think so..." Twilight said. "I've never seen them before in my life. How did they know I was one of Celestia's students? I've never even met them."
"Maybe somepony told them?" Fluttershy offered.
"Nah, that can't be it," Applejack said. "They ain't got nopony that likes 'em around here, can't imagine why somepony'd tell 'em somethin' like that."
"They asked me if I'd been 'kicked out'..." Twilight pondered. She suddenly began hurrying away.
"Where are you going, Twilight?" Pinkie asked.
"To the library. I've got a hunch, I just need to see if I'm right," Twilight said. Her friends watched her gallop away, and decided to pack up their picnic and follow after her.
Twilight didn't stop to wait for her friends. If what she thought was right, then that would open up a lot more questions about what those two ponies were doing in Ponyville, and why she didn't know about them.
Spike was fast asleep in the library. He’d spent the better part of the day cleaning up after Twilight’s power study session. There were still a few odd books lying around, but he’d get to them later, Twilight would be out with her friends all day.
Or, so he thought.
Twilight came bursting in through the library door, and looked with a sense of urgency. Spike shot up as if he had been electrocuted.
“Twilight, you’re back early!” The baby dragon said. “Uh, sorry about the library, I was just-“
“Spike, where do we keep the old newspapers?” Twilight interrupted.
“Uh… over there, I think,” Spike replied as he pointed off into the corner of the library. He was secretly relieved that she wasn’t giving him the third degree for not finishing the cleaning.
Twilight hurried to the corner and pulled out a large stack of newspapers, dating back as far as the first years of Ponyville. Of course, the one she was after was dated much more recently than that, about six months before her arrival. Once she located the paper, she read the headline aloud.
“’ROYAL GUARDS BANISHED FROM CANTERLOT’.”
“What’re you reading that old thing for Twi?” Spiked asked, wandering over to Twilight’s side.
“Just listen, Spike,” Twilight said, before continuing with article. “’Citizens lined the streets of Canterlot yesterday afternoon to watch as Private Panty Anarchy and Private Stocking Anarchy were escorted by members of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard to Canterlot’s border. They were met by her Royal Highness herself at the border, whereupon she officially decreed that they were not to enter the city limits from that day forward. These events were a shock to many citizens, as this had been the first time anypony had been banished from the city for nearly four hundred and thirty years (the pony banished then being the infamous Diane Rosabella Pie, who’s current surviving descendants, if any, remain unknown.
“’The circumstances surrounding this scandal remain unknown to the press at this time, as both the Anarchy sisters and the Captain of the Royal Guard were unwilling to give comment. However, some ponies suspect that it may have something to do with a commotion at the castle that took place two nights before, when the sisters were said to have been on night guard duty.’”
Twilight lowered the paper. “So that’s what happened!” She began looking through the papers following that, to see if there was anything else on the subject, but she came up with nothing.
“Why are you suddenly so interested in that?” Spike asked. “I remember when that actually happened, you were holed up in the royal library, studying something like you always did.”
“I actually met them today! Here in Ponyville!” Twilight said.
“Who, the Anarchy sisters?” Spike said.
“That’s right!” Twilight said. “Apparently, they’ve been living in Ponyville all this time! They still seem bitter about the whole banishment thing, though. They don’t seem to be on good terms with anypony in Ponyville…” Twilight seemed to be deep in thought.
Suddenly, she was struck by inspiration. “Hey, what if I made friends with them?”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Why would you want to do that? And do you really think Princess Celestia would want you hanging out with the ponies she banished from Canterlot?”
“I could show them it’s not all bad living in Ponyville!” Twilight said, ignoring her assistant. “I could get them to start being nicer to everypony! The princess will be so proud of me for reaching out to a couple of ponies like them and trying to help them!”
Twilight seemed to be lost in fantasies of helping these down-and-out ponies and astonishing the Princess with her remarkable kindness and compassion. Spike, however, wasn’t so sure.
“Twilight, I’m not so sure this is a good idea-“ Spike began, but he was interrupted by Twilight magically lifting him away from the door.
“Look out Spike; I’ve got some friends to make!” Twilight said, rushing out the door.
After a bit of asking around, Twilight finally determined where the Anarchy sisters lived. She stood outside the building that stood in a somewhat secluded area of Ponyville (which consisted of a large main building, with a tower behind it connected by some sort of bridge), and after admiring the structure for a moment, she rapped her hoof on the door.
At the sound of the knocking, quite a bit of shouting came from within, two voices she recognised and Panty and Stocking’s, though the third, a deep, masculine voice, she didn’t. Finally, someone came to the door. It was a statuesque colt with a dark brown coat, with its mane done up in a ridiculously large afro. He definitely wasn’t a pegasus, though whether he was a unicorn or an earth pony, the afro made it unclear. He looked down sternly at Twilight, and she felt as though she was back in Magic Kindergarten, with the teacher looking down at her.
“Can I help you?” the colt asked, with its deep, rumbling voice.
Twilight nervously cleared her throat. “*Ahem*, uhm, hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “I was wondering if Panty and Stocking were in.”
The colt groaned. “Ugh, what did they do this time? I suppose Panty was sneaking around the Apple property again?”
“No, no no no!” Twilight said, hastily. “…Well, actually, yes, but that’s not why I’m-“
Twilight was cut off by shouting from within the house. “Oy! Garter! Who’s at the door?!”
The pony turned around to shout back inside, giving Twilight a glimpse of his Cutie Mark. It appeared to be a piece of lingerie, though the colt turned back around before she could get a better look.
“Sorry for that. My name is Garterbelt.” The pony introduced himself. “So, what was it you wanted with Panty and Stocking, Miss Sparkle?”
“Well, I just thought-“ Twilight began. However, she was cut off again as the aforementioned pegasi flew out of a pair of windows and landed on either side of Twilight.
“Aren’t you the one we saw earlier? At that picnic?” Stocking asked. “Hanging out with that Pie mare?”
“And Applejack…” Panty added, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “So why’re you here, did you come to start something?”
“I’m trying to explain,” Twilight said, starting to get frustrated. “But every time I try, I get interrup-“
“Chuck.”
Twilight gave a frustrated groan and looked around for the one responsible for the latest interruption. It was then that she spotted a lumpy green baby dragon sprawled on the stoop of the front door, a large puddle of drool forming underneath it.
“Uh… is he gonna be…” Twilight began.
“Nevermind Chuck,” Garterbelt said, kicking the dragon back inside. “You were saying?”
Twilight hesitated to begin, expecting another interruption. When none made itself apparent, she hurriedly said her piece.
“IwaswonderingifPantyandStockingwouldliketospendthedaywithmetomorowsoIcouldshowthemaroundPonyville!” Twilight gasped and collapsed onto the ground. Panty and Stocking merely stared at her.
“Why?” Panty said plainly.
“We’ve been here longer than you have,” Stocking added. “We already know the town.”
“That may be true,” Twilight said, catching her breath and standing. “But I get the feeling you don’t really know the ponies that live her like I do.”
“Yeah… we’re gonna pass on that-“ Panty began, but she was cut off by Garterbelt.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Garter said. “You two slackers spend too much time lazing around anyway, you need to get out and socialize.”
“Hey, I socialize plenty!” Panty said.
“That isn’t socializing,” Garter said. “You two are going tomorrow, and that’s final!”
Both the Anarchy sisters groaned, and Twilight smiled nervously at their reaction. “Uh, that’s great! I’ll meet you both in front of the library at 9:30, okay?”
Panty and Stocking said nothing, simply looking sour. Garter answered in their stead. “They’ll be there.”
“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow then!” Twilight said. She departed as Panty and Stocking re-entered their abode. Twilight felt proud of herself for getting them to agree to join her tomorrow (sort of). She hurried home to go prepare for the next day.
Twilight paced about outside the library’s entrance, slowly getting more and more frustrated. Looking into the library window, she caught a view of the clock, which declared that the time was approaching 10:30. She groaned in frustration, and continued pacing. Spike peeked out of the window Twilight had just looked into, and upon noticing the unicorn’s expression, went to the door to see what the matter was.
“Twilight?” Spike asked. “Something wrong?”
“They’re an hour late!” Twilight shouted. “An hour! Can you believe that!? It’s ridiculous! I try to be nice to them and they just blow me off!”
“Who are you talking about?” Spike asked again, stepping outside.
“Who else? Panty and Stocking!” Twilight returned to her pacing, then sighed, collecting herself. “I’m getting too worked up over this,” she admitted. “I should have expected something like this to happen, they aren’t exactly the friendliest of ponies. Oh well, it was a nice idea, but in hindsight, it was doomed to fail.” Twilight’s head drooped with disappointment, and she trotted slowly inside. “Come on, Spike, no sense wasting this newfound free time. I’ve got some studying to catch up on.”
Spike sighed, and turned to follow Twilight. However, he stopped as he saw a pair of figures approaching the library.
“Hey, Twilight, come out here a second,” Spike said.
“What is it Spike?” Twilight asked, looking out the door. Her mood suddenly brightened when she saw Panty and Stocking touch down in front of the library.
“We’re here,” Panty said, looking somewhat bored. “Now what do you want?”
“We kind of had to,” Stocking said. “Garter wouldn’t stop hounding us about it all morning.”
“Well, what’s important is that you’re here,” Twilight said, her horn glowed, and she magically retrieved a scroll from inside, and unfurled it. “Now, I’ve got a whole schedule planned for today, but we may have to cut a few things out, seeing as you showed up late-“
“Hey, hold on a second,” Stocking said. “Late?”
“Uh, yeah,” Twilight said, looking up from her list. “I mean, it’s no big deal, but you did show up about an hour late-“
“There’s no way we can be late,” Panty said. “You said 9:30. Garter had notes plastered all over the place, and he pretty much bucked us out the door twenty minutes early!” Panty shook her head. “No, you better check your clock again, lady, because we are definitely not late!”
“Alright, I will,” Twilight said, getting somewhat defensive. She led the two pegasi inside, and pointed a hoof at the grandfather clock she had looked at earlier. “See? It’s now ten thirty… six!”
“Then how come this clock over here says otherwise?” Stocking said, pointing a hoof at a small clock sitting on a table. Twilight trotted over to see what she was talking about, and saw that this clock read 9:36.
“What? But how- Spike!” Twilight called.
“I’m right here Twilight,” Spike said, standing just beside her.
“Spike, I thought I told you to put all the clocks one hour back for Daylight Savings?”
“Well, I got most of ‘em, but I couldn’t reach the grandfather clock to change it!” Spike said. “You always do that one, remember?”
“Oh…” Twilight said, blushing lightly. “Right…” Her horn glowed, and the hands on the clock spun backwards until they were in their proper place. She grinned sheepishly at Panty and Stocking, who merely smirked.
“See? Not late,” Panty said smugly.
“Okay, well, now that that’s settled…” Twilight said hastily, trotting out of the library. “Why don’t we get started? I’ve got a lot of stuff planned for today, and I’d hate for us to miss out on any of it!”
The smirks slid from the pegasi’s faces, and they followed her outside, with expressions that showed that they just wanted to get the day over with.
“First stop: Sweet Apple Acres!”
Applejack was out in the orchard, bucking apple trees and harvesting apples, as usual. The Apple family had fallen behind on their harvesting somewhat, due to a recent injury Big Macintosh had suffered. He’d recovered by now, but his absence from the field had slowed their work substantially. Hopefully, she’d have a day free from distraction, so she could get caught up.
Applejack went back to the barn for a moment, to get something to drink, when she saw three ponies approaching the gate. She went over to greet them, smiling as she recognized the lead pony.
“Well howdy, Twilight! Fancy seein’ y’all over he-“ Applejack stopped as she saw the two pegasi following her. “An’ jus’ what d’you two think yer doin’ here?”
Panty looked ready to go at it with the farm pony, but Twilight promptly intervened. “Applejack, I’m showing the Anarchy sisters around Ponyville, and helping them get to know everypony better. I figured that Sweet Apple Acres would be the best place to start, seeing as this is where the town started.”
Applejack looked between Twilight and Panty, unsure of how exactly she should proceed. Eventually, she decided that turning them away would be unfair to Twilight. “Well, I suppose y’all can visit fer a while, but y’ain’t gonna just be lazin’ around, understand? I could use some help harvestin’ the southern orchard, we’ve fallen a bit behind.”
“Seriously?” Stocking said. “You’re making us work? As if we’re gonna-“
“Yeah, sure, I guess we can kick some trees for a bit,” Panty cut across. Stocking (as well as Twilight and Applejack) looked at her incredulously.
“You feeling alright, Panty?” Stocking said.
“I didn’t kick y’all in the head too hard yesterday, right?” Applejack said. “Yer actually agreein’ t’help me out?”
“Sure. Maybe Big Mac’ll see me working, and he’ll finally agree to go behind the barn and-“
“Okay! So, it’s settled!” Twilight interrupted. “We’ll help you out for a couple hours, Applejack. And we can all talk and get to know each other better while we work!”
“Sounds like a mighty fine idea, Twi,” Applejack said. “Come on everypony, we need t’take some buckets out with us.”
About an hour later, the ponies were out in the south orchard, working and talking away. Panty had found an old straw hat in the barn, and she had decided to do her hair up in a pair of braided pig tails (with Twilight’s help, of course). She, Twilight, and Applejack were steadily working away, knocking the apples from the trees.
“Gotta say, Panty, the farm girl look suits ya,” Applejack said. “and yer workin’ real hard, t’boot, which I really appreciate.”
“Thanks, and no problem,” Panty said, as she bucked another tree and let the apples drop neatly into the buckets beneath. “It just felt right, for some reason, y’know? And it kinda feels good to let off some steam like this. ‘Course, I can think of better ways…”
“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Twilight said. She paused for a moment, as she levitated a few bushels over to where they had put all the apples they had harvested. “Say, has anyone seen Stocking?”
The three stopped for a moment, and looked around. When they couldn’t find her, Panty flew up to the tops of the trees, and called out.
“Hey! Stockin’! Get out here!”
For a moment, there wasn’t much movement, save for Panty’s hovering and the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees. Then, one of the trees’ branches rustled a bit, as if there was something hiding inside.
“Aha!” Panty suddenly shouted, before she dove into the tree, the straw hat flying from her head. Twilight and Applejack watched as the tree exploded with movement, apples and leaves being shaken from the tree. After a moment, two pegasi fell from the tree, though the colours that accompanied the light peach and yellow weren’t the white and purple they had been expecting. Rather, the other pegasi wore a sky blue coat, with a rainbow-streaked mane.
“What’s the big idea?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she managed to separate herself from the other pegasus. “I take one little nap in one of AJ’s trees and suddenly I get attacked?”
“Look, it was a mistake, alright?” Panty retorted. Her mane had lost its braids in the scuffle. “I thought you were Stocking, trying to hide and skip out on helping AJ! And besides, who sleeps in a tree, anyway?”
“It’s comfortable, alright?” Rainbow Dash shouted back. “And sleeping in a tree’s a whole lot better than sleeping on every stallion in town!”
“What’re you gonna do, fight me?” Dash said, her own wings spreading. “You’ll have to catch me first!”
“Girls, please, just settle-“ Twilight started, finally stepping forward to intervene, but it was too little too late as a rainbow streak whizzed past her, followed by a golden-blonde blur.
The two pegasi weaved and twisted all over the orchard, with Rainbow taking complicated routes through the trees in an effort to throw Panty off. They barrelled through the leaves of one tree, where Rainbow knocked Stocking loose from one of its branches. The white pegasi looked around to locate what hit her, and saw Panty streaking overhead. With an angry expression, she took off after her sister, a dark purple contrail joining the dogfight.
Rainbow eventually curved back toward their starting point, whizzing right between Twilight and Applejack. The two ground-bound ponies took cover as Panty and Stocking soared past close behind, and turned to see Rainbow headed for the stack of apple buckets they had collected. Rainbow looked back to Panty with a smirk, and mere inches before impact, Rainbow Dash pulled up at a near-impossible ninety degree angle. Panty, though close to Dash in speed, had nowhere near the manoeuvrability of the rainbow mare, and as a result, crashed right into the stack. The damage wasn’t done, however, as Stocking dove right into the midst of the apple-based wreckage, and began scuffling with her sister, kicking up a cloud of dust. Dash merely hovered in the air a bit of a distance away, laughing.
“Stop! STOP!” Applejack shouted, galloping towards the pair. Immediately, the two did as they were told, and the dust settled, revealing the full extent of the damage.
Ruined and squished apples were strewn all about, with Panty and Stocking dripping with their juices. Splinters of wood joined the mushy mess, the remains of the buckets that had stored the previously intact apples. Twilight ran forward as Applejack stood speechless.
“Applejack, I am soooo sorry-“ Twilight began, but she was cut off. This seemed to be a recurring theme in these past couple of days, Twilight thought.
“Twi, you don’t need to apologize fer nothin’. They do!” The farmpony said, pointing her hoof at the Anarchy sisters.
“Us?!” Panty said incredulously.
“That’s right, you. All three of you.” Applejack said, looking up toward Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus looked down incredulously.
“Me?” Dash said. “What did I do?”
“Yer th’one that goaded Panty into chasin’ you!” Applejack shouted.
“But she attacked me for no reason!”
“Which she admitted was a mistake! Now you apologize!”
“…Alright, I’m sorry, AJ.” Rainbow Dash said, touching down to the ground with her head hanging.
“Thank you. Now, as fer you two,” Applejack said. “I don’t want to see y’all within a hundred feet of my property ever again, understand? Any time you two are here there’s nothin’ but trouble!”
“Applejack, don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh?” Twilight said, stepping forward. “I mean, this wasn’t entirely their-“
“No, no, it’s fine,” Panty said. “I wasn’t planning on coming around here again anyway. I’ll just have to find Big Mac while he’s in town. That way, I won’t have AJ constantly chasing me away.” She turned to leave, with Stocking behind, before she turned to Twilight. “Come on, what’s next on that list of yours?”
“Well,” Twilight said, taking out the schedule. “I was planning on us going to Sugarcube Corner next, but we might want to get you two cleaned up first.” She turned back to Applejack. “Again, I’m really sorry about what happened here.”
“It’s okay, Twi, it’s not yer fault,” Applejack said. “I’ll just get Rainbow Dash to help me harvest what’s left of the field.”
Nodding, Twilight turned and left Sweet Apple Acres, with Panty and Stocking following behind her.
Some distance away, near the edge of the Everfree Forest, a pair of red figures watched from the shade the tall trees cast on the ground below.
“Did you see them, dear sister? They positively destroyed the hayseed’s apples!”
“Of course. Those two always were a pair of fools.”
“It would seem that unicorn is going to be dragging them all over town today, as well.”
“I see. Well, do you think it’s time we put our plan into action?”