The Looking
Slowly, the young pony’s eyes opened. She squinted at the sunlight that was streaming in through her bedroom window, trying to force her eyes to adjust to this newfound lack of darkness. The light was almost blinding, seeing as it was shining directly on her; the young filly’s bed was right underneath her window, which she’d foolishly forgotten to close the blinds on, the night before.
She knew how she hated to be woken up by the sunrise. It wasn’t the light itself that bothered her, more along the lines of just the abruptness of it.
Now that she was becoming more and more awake, she didn’t mind it as much. Her vision was starting to adjust to the daytime conditions. She sat up in her bed and stretched, letting out a high-pitched squeak as she did so. After this part of the routine was done, she went and opened up the window.
Immediately, the warm air hit her, and she couldn’t help but smile. The warm air felt so good to her, much better than the chilly winter air. It hadn’t been that long since Winter Wrap-Up, and yet already the difference between the two seasons was becoming markedly evident.
Now that she had the window open, she could hear everything that was going on outside. She heard the birds that were chirping, and she looked around to see where that beautiful noise was coming from. When she finally located the source of the melody, she smiled. It was the old tree that was close to her window, the one that she’d begged her parents for days to let her climb.
“Nothing will happen…” she’d wheedled. “I promise… Sis will be close to me the whole time. She wouldn’t let anything happen to me…” She glanced at Applejack. “Would you?”
“That, Ah wouldn’t,” Applejack had replied. “But that still doesn’t take away from the fact that ya ain’t goin’ up in no darned tree. Granny Smith has it right; ya could get hurt, and yer way too important for that to happen to ya.”
She smiled as she remembered how devastated she’d been, and how little time that had lasted. A few days later, she’d been wanting to do some other thing that was potentially dangerous for her health. Obviously she had a bit of a daredevil when she was younger, but now that she’d gotten a few more years of experience under her belt, she’d toned her wild ways down quite a bit.
In fact, she was much like her older sister Applejack, in that she really didn’t actively go out in search of adventure. She was happy just the way she was.
She shook her mane, letting it go all over the place like she liked it in the morning. She’d get it all combed and put her bows in it momentarily, but for the moment she liked it all over the place. Hopping down off the bed, she went over to the door, nudging it open with her hoof.
She went into the bathroom and turned on the light, only to notice something on the sink that was very much out of place. More specifically, there was a small brown box sitting on the sink near her toothbrush.
“What in Equestria is that…?” she wondered aloud as she opened the box. Inside was a simple slip of paper. To Apple Fritter: this is step one of your scavenger hunt, the paper said. Go behind the place where you used to love to go, and there you will find your second clue.
She was thoroughly confused now. “The place where Ah used to love to go…?” Without even realizing it, she was starting to slip back into the country accent that distinguished her sister’s speech patterns, even though she’d developed her own unique accent a few years earlier.
“Where on earth is that…?”
She thought back to all of the places where she used to love to go: the lake on the edge of the Everfree Forest, her old filly’s school, the-
“The candy store!” she exclaimed with a grin. She hastily pulled her mane into her signature ponytails and raced downstairs. “Bye, everyone! I’m going out!” she called out.
No response came, which made her stop in spite of her excitement. Usually, her parents always were nagging her when she went out: who was she going to be with, where was she going, what time would she be back… The typical parent stuff. Nothing now, though, and that was odd. She shrugged it off, though- they were probably just out back and couldn’t hear her- and ran out.
She rocketed full-speed towards the candy store, almost not watching where she was going. In her haste, she ran straight past her older sister and two of her friends. If she’d have been paying attention, she would have seen that they were all carrying party supplies.
---
“Was Ah just seeing things?” Applejack asked, after her younger filly had just sped past them.
“What are you talking about, silly?” Pinkie Pie responded, grinning a bit lopsidedly due to her holding the carrying strings of a bag in her mouth. “There wasn’t anybody-“
“Yes, there was!” Rainbow Dash interjected. She was flying above both of them, carrying more bags though it didn’t slow her down in the least. “Hey, Applejack. Didn’t that look like your sister? Apple Tart, was it?”
Applejack looked at Rainbow with a bemused look. “It’s Apple Fritter, Dash. I’m surprised ya don’t remember that, seeing as she was at yer birthday party. In fact, it was her that gave us the idea- accidentally, I’ll admit- to do this for her to begin with.”
Their conversation continued on as they walked back to Sweet Apple Acres, their voices fading into the distance behind the still-steaming Apple Fritter.
---
She flew down the road until she saw the sign up ahead. Slowing down her momentum, she stopped at the candy store and walked back to the back of the store. Immediately upon rounding the corner, she saw another brown box and grinned.
There was another note inside this one. If you’re reading this, then you found the second clue. Now, for number three. You’ll find this one at the place where everypony goes to send their letters in all different directions at once- and not just because of the mailmare.
She grinned. This one was easy; she was supposed to go to the post office next. She tossed the note back into the box and was about to leave when the back door opened and Bon Bon came out with a plate of cookies.
“Oh!” she said when she saw that she wasn’t alone back there. “Hey there, Apple Fritter. What are you doing all the way down here?”
“Following a scavenger hunt!” she said proudly. “I have no idea what it’s for, but I do know it’s pretty fun so far! I’m supposed to go to the post office next to find my next clue.”
“The post office?” Bon Bon asked, remembering something. “Since you’re going there anyways, can you take something to Derpy for me?” She gave the plate to the purple pony that was waiting for them, and went back inside; a minute later, she came out with a plain white box.
“This is nothing special,” Bon Bon said after she’d made sure the box was strapped securely to Apple’s back. “Just a few muffins I made, that Derpy had said she wanted to try. Can you give those to her when you get there?”
Apple Fritter nodded. “Sure thing! I gotta go now, though! See ya later!” She ran off again, this time taking a bit more care, now that she had a very important task to complete- well, besides finding out what the next clue was.
---
Bon Bon turned back to the purple pony, who had an almost-terrified look on her face. “You weren’t expecting her, were you, Twilight?”
Twilight shook her head. “I had no idea she’d even come up, before you started talking to her. I was so hoping our cover wasn’t blown…”
Bon Bon laughed. “I could have told you that wasn’t going to be the case. Anyways, I’ve got two more plates of cookies to give you, and then you can be on your way.” Twilight nodded, and Bon Bon walked away. As she went back inside, a familiar purple dragon head raised up from the other side of Twilight’s satchel.
“Hmmrgh…” he said, having just woken up. He stretched a bit. “Did we get what we came for?”
“Almost,” Twilight responded. “Bon Bon is getting the other two plates now.”
“Don’t you find it odd that we’re getting cookies from a candy shop?” Spike asked, now that his senses had just about fully come back to him. “I mean, shouldn’t we be going to the bakery for these?”
Twilight smiled. “Bon Bon wanted to make these herself. Besides, they’ve got miniature candies baked inside them, so technically we are getting them from the right place.”
“That’s right!” Bon Bon said as she came back out with the other two plates. “I’ve been getting more adventurous lately… I’m wanting to branch out into more than just plain old candies. Lyra’s been really supportive, too, and not just because she’s the one who gets to taste-test all my creations.” They all shared a laugh.
Bon Bon loaded the cookies into the pocket of Twilight’s bag that wasn’t currently occupied by Spike. “There you guys go! Have fun, now. I’ll try to stop by for a minute, but it won’t be until I can get off for lunch.” Twilight nodded in understanding, and she started her walk back to the Acres.
---
Still running, though now at a somewhat slowed pace, Miss Fritter was still headed to the post office. She heard someone call out her name as she ran along a side path, a shortcut as it was, but she paid no real attention to what it was. She was on a mission.
A while later, she got to the post office and after taking a minute to catch her breath, she walked inside. Immediately, she was greeted by Derpy.
“Good morning, Apple Fritter!” Derpy said with a genuine smile. “What can I do you for today?”
“Well first off, this is for you.” She pointed at the box strapped to her back.
“For me?” Derpy asked, a bit confused.
Apple nodded. “Muffins, from Bon Bon. She said she told you she was going to make them for you-“
Recognition dawned on Derpy’s face, and her smile grew even wider. “Oh yeah! Thanks for bringing them to me!” She went behind her desk, and Apple walked over to it. Derpy helped her get the box off her back and opened it. “Oh…! Hey, there’s two of them in here. I usually only eat one at a time, so do you want to stay and eat the other one with me?”
Apple looked at the time. “Oh, it’s only 10:00?” She thought about it for a second, then smiled. “Sure! I’ve always wanted to taste Bon Bon’s cooking, anyways.” She went around to the back side of the desk and sat down beside Derpy.
Derpy took out two plates from her desk drawer, then placed a muffin on each. She didn’t waste any time, but simply smiled at Apple and took a bite. A look of pure bliss broke out over the mailmare’s face. “It’s delicious!” she said with a mouthful of muffin. “And it’s blueberry- my favorite!”
That sealed the deal for her, and she took a bite out of the muffin. Just like Derpy said, they were delicious. Very fluffy and moist. A tad bit papery, though…
She looked down at the muffin. There was a piece of paper baked into it! “What on earth…?” she said, pulling the piece of paper out. Just then, Derpy heard the door open.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, walking out from behind the desk. “Hey, Fluttershy! Hey, Rarity! What can I help you with?” Derpy did her business with the two ponies, then came back to the desk. “What ya got there?”
“I’ve been on a scavenger hunt all day,” Apple replied. “This is the last clue. It says, Good job getting here. Now, all you have to do is go to the place where your blood and her friends have had the most fun. There, you will find what we have been planning.”
“Ooh!” Derpy said. “That sounds like a lot of fun. Though, don’t you have like a million family members? So who’s the note talking about?”
Apple was about to say she didn’t know, when she remembered something her younger sister Applebloom had told her once. She smiled now. “I think I know.” She finished her muffin, then bid Derpy goodbye and went on her way.
---
It took her about another hour or so to get back to the Sweet Apple Acres property, but when she did, she weaved her way through the woods until she came across what she was looking for. She stopped and smiled as she gazed upon the clubhouse that Applebloom had fixed up for their Cutie Mark Crusaders meetings.
She walked up to the door and nudged it open.
A rousing cry of “Happy birthday!” could be heard from inside the clubhouse. Sure enough, all of her friends and most of her family were in the fort, grinning like madponies. They had decorations all set up around the room.
She walked in. “My birthday…? Is it really that time already…?” She smiled as she took in the scene around her. It was her birthday, she remembered now. And apparently, so did everyone else. She even saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders near the presents table. Applebloom had a particularly mischievous grin on her face, and she realized that she was probably the one that had coordinated the whole “scavenger hunt” deal.
A tear came to her eye. This was the best birthday she’d ever had- and something was telling her, it was only going to get better.