Chapters Granny Smith gestured to the filly and young stallion next to her. “This here’ll be the newest part of our Sweet Apple Acres,” she said proudly, pointing out at the expanse of land littered with rocks.
Applejack looked up. “We won’t have to grow apple trees on this ground, will we? ‘Cause ah remember ya told me that trees couldn’t grow on them rocks,” she replied.
Granny Smith smiled. “Sugarcube, ah know that. Ah got a rock clearing team coming this way. Heard they’d got a young filly your age. Maybe you two should play together?” she continued. Then she turned to the red stallion next to her. “Big Macintosh, are ya excited?”
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh answered solemnly.
Within minutes, the rock clearing team arrived. Applejack looked around for her supposed playmate. She saw two gray fillies, with hair as flat as their expressions. They wore frowns as they began moving some small rocks to piles. Oh no! Applejack thought. Surely Granny Smith doesn’t want me to play with them! However, her thoughts were interrupted by a blast of a party horn and a shower of confetti.
“SURPRISE!!!” exclaimed a pink pony with a pink mane just as poofy as her sisters’ were flat. Her cutie mark was three balloons, two blue and one yellow. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! My Pinkie Sense told me I’d be making a new friend today! So I looked around, and then I found you!” she continued, bouncing up and down.
Applejack smiled. “Howdy! Ah’m Applejack!” she greeted.
Pinkie Pie immediately grabbed her hoof and rapidly shook it. “Hey there, Applejack! I’m so happy you want to be friends with me!” Then she grabbed Applejack in a bone-crushing hug.
Applejack smiled even more. “Ah’m sure as sugar glad ah got to meet ya!” she replied. “Ya know, I’ve got a fun game we can play. Just follow me!” Applejack continued, walking towards the part of Sweet Apple Acres already covered in apple trees.
“Ooh! Follow the leader! I love that game!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, trotting behind Applejack.
Eventually, the two ponies arrived at a clearing surrounded by apple trees, bearing delicious, ripe fruit.
“Alright, now all ya gotta do is bounce the apple back when ah throw it to ya. Mah friend Rarity never wants ta play this game, so ah might as well play it with ya!” Applejack explained. Then deftly, she picked an apple up on her nose and tossed it towards Pinkie Pie. Quickly, Pinkie Pie bounced the apple back. They continued for a while, with Pinkie Pie occasionally eating the apples Applejack threw at her. As Pinkie Pie reached up to bounce an apple back, it splatted out on her head with the impact.
“Oops! That was a bruised apple!” Applejack said, grinning awkwardly. On the inside, her emotions were racing. She remembered that when she and Rarity first tried to play this game, this also happened and Rarity screamed at her, calling Applejack some words she was surprised a young filly would know.
In her head, she could hear Rarity yelling “How dare you, you b---h! You piece of farmer sh-t! I’ve just been f--king groomed!” just as clearly as if it was happening right now. What if Pinkie Pie did the same thing? Wow. Good job, Applejack. You make a friend and now she’s probably going to dump you. Applejack thought to herself. However, to her surprise, Pinkie Pie licked the bruised apple off her face.
“That tastes just like your apple cider! I come here every year during cider season. Hey, how come I’ve never seen you before?” Pinkie Pie asked, confused.
Applejack smiled. “Oh, Granny Smith just has me help in the house! She won’t let me work in the fields until ah’m a big pony!” she responded.
“Well, that makes sense!” replied Pinkie Pie. The two shared more stories and laughter within each other.
“So, their faces looked all funny. I actually thought they didn’t like the party! And then they SMILED! So they did like it!” Pinkie Pie said, explaining how she threw her first party.
The two fillies’ laughter was interrupted by an “AAAAAAPPLEJAAAAAAAAACK!!!!! Git’ yer hinny here and make yerself useful with the weeds!” from Granny Smith.
“Pinkie Pie, ah gotta go help pull the weeds. Maybe you could come?” Applejack asked.
Pinkie Pie nodded. Just as she was about to leave with Applejack, she heard a familiar voice.
“We still have to move the rocks from the south field to the east field!” called her father.
“Applejack, I’ve gotta go too. Why don’t we meet again tomorrow? You know where I live, don’t you?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Ah think so,” replied Applejack.
“You know that big silo?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Ah think I do,” answered Applejack.
“Meet me there tomorrow. Same time! Be cool, or be mule!” Pinkie Pie said, just as a mule walked up to her. Then she turned to the mule and smiled. “No offense,”
“None taken,” replied the mule.
“Ya mind if ah bring Rarity?” Applejack asked.
“Sure! Why not? You know what they all say. The more, the merrier!” Pinkie Pie replied with a smile.
Then the two fillies parted ways, Applejack to the newly cleared field, Pinkie Pie to the rock farm.
3: Friends From the Skies
The three ponies turned around and looked for the source of the crash. Part of the roof of the silo was obliterated, and a large pile of debris stood in the corner of the silo. On top of the debris lay a tiny blue pegasus pony, with a shaggy mane and tail in the colors of the rainbow. Pinkie Pie gasped.
“She’s dead! DEAD!!!! AAAAHHH!!!!!!” Then she turned to Rarity and Applejack, whose mouths were wide in shock. “You guys wanna panic with me?” she asked. “That’s okay. AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” Pinkie Pie kept on screaming after seeing Rarity and Applejack’s dumbfounded looks. Just then, a gentle knock came on the door of the silo. Applejack went to answer the door.
“Howdy do, sugarcube. Ah’m Applejack. And who might ya be?” Applejack greeted, as she let the unknown visitor in. A gawky, skinny yellow pegasus with a flowy pink mane stepped in. Her blue-green eyes darted around the scene. Then she burst into tears.
Applejack stepped forwards and put a hoof around the pegasus. “Aw, sugar, what’s wrong?” she asked.
The yellow pegasus looked up. “I’m really sorry…about your party…I bet you were having such a wonderful time…and then I had to go ruin it for you. Oh, Fluttershy. Why can’t you do anything right?” she sobbed.
Rarity stepped forwards. “What in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you talking about? You didn’t cause any harm. Unlike this one!” Rarity said, gesturing at the blue pegasus, who was starting to regain consciousness, and stepped towards the rest of the party.
“Hey, I have a name, you know! I’m surprised all of you haven’t heard of me. I’m Rainbow Dash, the one and only!” yelled the blue pegasus in a bold, brash voice.
Fluttershy stopped crying. “No, you don’t understand. I encouraged Rainbow Dash to do this. I was cheering for her. You know, like this?” Fluttershy then proceeded to take a deep breath and let out a tiny yay. “I’m sure she didn’t meant to ruin your party. It was all an accident. Please don’t hurt me,” Fluttershy continued.
Rainbow Dash stepped forwards. “She’s right. I didn’t mean to wreck your barn. But it’s not her fault. It’s mine, and I’m sorry. I’ll do anything to repay you. Just under one condition. You guys don’t stay mad at us, and become our friends. Fluttershy and I just moved here from Cloudsdale,” Rainbow Dash apologized, gesturing at Fluttershy.
Immediately, Pinkie Pie embraced the two pegasi in a hug. Applejack patted Rainbow Dash on the back.
“Well, as long as ya’ll help fix the silo, ah’m sure it’ll be alright. Ya’ll seem nice,” Applejack said. However, Rarity was hesitant.
“GIRLS! Get some sense in your head! She wrecks the silo, a part of Pinkie Pie’s very own house, and you HUG her?” Rarity asked, aghast. “I mean, I’m all for welcoming Buttercup, but not this house-wrecking filly!”
Applejack pulled Rarity over. “First of all, it’s FLUTTERSHY. And ya know, Rainbow Dash didn’t mean to wreck the silo! Hay, ya’ve been in her shoes. Remember when ya were practicing magic in front of me and ya accidentally teleported all the apples off our trees and into Princess Celestia's carriage? Ah still accept you as a friend! Why can’t ya accept Rainbow Dash? Come on, Rarity. Give 'er a chance. I bet ya’ll get to like her,” Applejack encouraged.
Rarity looked over at Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, who were sharing some funny jokes. “Well, I guess it never hurt to give it a try. A lady always gives others a second chance,” admitted Rarity.
Applejack pulled Rarity into a hug. “That’s the spirit,”
Then, Rarity pulled Rainbow Dash over. Rainbow Dash looked up at Rarity with her cerise eyes.
“If you’re just going to trash me even more, I don’t want to hear it,” said Rainbow Dash .
“Oh no, darling. Just the opposite. I’m very sorry I treated you so lowly and horribly. I’m sure you didn’t mean to do it. In fact, I admire your courage, and the way you get up so easily after you fell so hard, literally!” Rarity said with a smile. “Please forgive me,”
Rainbow Dash smiled back. “You got it, buddy.” Then Rainbow Dash extended her hoof. “Hoof-bump?” she asked.
Rarity eagerly put her hoof to Rainbow Dash’s with a smile.
“Ah knew ya had it in ya,” whispered Applejack in Rarity’s ear.
4: Fixing to be Great Friends
Applejack stared at the blueprint of the silo. “Ah think ah can make some sense outta this. We’ve had barn raisin’s, and the silo’s like a barn, ain’t that right?”
Pinkie Pie bounced forwards. “You got it! I mean it is like a barn. Well, yet it’s not. Because duh! I mean, if it was like a barn, then it would be called a barn, wouldn’t it? But no! It’s called a silo! I mean, that’s like the funniest word ever! I love that word! Along with kumquat! And pickle barrel! I know pickle barrel is two words but nopony cares! And I make up words too! Like chimicherry, or cherrychanga! It’s a mixture of a chimichanga and a cherry! I’ve always wanted to eat one! Silo, silo silo! Silo pickle barrel! Kumquat! Chimicherry, cherrychanga, chimicherry, cherrychanga, chimicherry, cherrychanga, pickle barrel, pickle barrel, pickle barrel, kumquat! Kumquat, silo! Silo, silo, silo, pickle-“ Pinkie Pie’s rapid talking was cut off by Rarity placing her hoof over Pinkie Pie’s mouth. Then, the elegant white unicorn stepped forwards.
“Of course, Applejack. I figure you can guide us through the process,” she said calmly, all while trying to keep Pinkie Pie under control.
“Ah just hope ah know what ta do,” Applejack said, still reading the blueprint.
“Um…excuse me?” asked a small voice. Everypony turned to look at Fluttershy, who blushed, turning a deep shade of red. “I mean, I really hate to interrupt, but…where are we going to get all the materials? I’m sorry. Was that a stupid question?” she continued.
“I got you covered,” replied Rainbow Dash smugly. Deftly, she flew towards a couple bare trees and neatly sliced them with her own speed, creating a set of boards.
“Yay!” cheered Fluttershy quietly.
“Alright, everypony. All we need ta do is replace that framework for the roof and put them boards over it. Should be a mighty easy job,” Applejack said.
Rarity looked up. “But how are we going to get up there?” she asked.
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings. “That’s what I’m here for!” she exclaimed. She easily lifted a board, and brought it up to the hole in the roof. As she laid it in place, she had a sudden realization.
“Girls! I don’t have any nails!” she exclaimed.
Immediately, Rarity used her magic to levitate a couple of nails and a hammer up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash deftly plucked the nails and the hammer out of the light blue magic aura, and quickly nailed the board down.
“Just make sure nuthin’ ends up in them transportation means of royals!” Applejack whispered to Rarity. This earned Applejack a sharp smack on the side of the face. “What in the hay did ya do that for?” Applejack asked, confused.
“Will you quit bringing up that subject!” Rarity said, infuriated.
“Sorry, pardner,” Applejack apologized, grinning.
Rarity turned away in a huff, and kept on levitating boards and nails to Rainbow Dash.
“Aw come on, girls! We’re all friends here!” Pinkie Pie squealed, appearing between Applejack and Rarity, giving both of them quite a scare.
“Pinkie Pie? Where in the hay did ya come from? Ah thought you were just over there!” Applejack exclaimed, once again confused.
Pinkie Pie winked. “My portals!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down.
“Your what?” Applejack asked.
“Portals! Portals portals portals!!!!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing up and down. “Oh! I even made up a song about portals! Wanna hear it?” Pinkie Pie continued.
“Sure,” Applejack replied.
“When you are in a hurry,
You know you need not worry,
Cause’ all you need to do is jump right through a portal!
It’s super super easy
And it’s definitely not cheesy
So stand up tall and get set to jump through a portal!” Pinkie Pie sang. She ended her little demonstration with a gleeful bounce across the silo.
Fluttershy was the first to speak after Pinkie Pie finished singing. “Umm…no offense…but your rhythm is a teeny tiny bit off,” she commented.
Pinkie Pie winked at Fluttershy. “It’s a work in progress!” she said confidently.
Applejack smiled. “It’s mighty great, sugarcube,” she said encouragingly. “But ah don’t know that much about music mahself. Ah was never one fer singin’,” she continued.
“Girls!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “I finished fixing the roof!” Four pairs of eyes turned to look at what was once a gaping hole, now fixed as if nothing ever happened.
Pinkie Pie immediately bounced over and hugged Rainbow Dash. “Thank you thank you thank you sooooo much!!! You don’t know how happy I am! I love love love you so much for this! You’re such a great friend and I love having great friends because they appreciate me and that inspires me to become and even greater friend of all friends!” she squealed, giving Rainbow Dash a deathly tight squeeze.
“No…problem…Pinkie…you can let go now!” Rainbow Dash managed to say through the hug.
“Just one more!” squealed Pinkie Pie, giving Rainbow Dash a final hug before setting her back down on the ground.
5: Twilight Sparkle the Census Officer
Twilight Sparkle glanced at the baby dragon contently reading a foal book. What should I name him, she thought to herself. She put “Intermediate Magic for Unicorns” aside and picked up a book titled “Names For Your Pet Dragon”. She was straining less and less with telekinesis. This pleased her. She flipped through the book with magic. Some of the names were really long, and came from important dragons in history. Even though Twilight Sparkle was a proficient student of all subjects, she still had trouble pronouncing those names. She flipped towards the S’s.
“Spartan?” she asked herself. Then she looked over at the baby dragon, still reading the foal book and now sucking his tail. “No,” she said, with a smile.
“Spencer?” she thought out loud. Then she turned to the baby dragon once more. “Well, you don’t really look like a Spencer either,” she said.
“Spike?” she again asked herself. The baby dragon looked up. “Spike?” she asked again. The baby dragon smiled. “Spike it is, then!” Twilight Sparkle said excitedly, hugging her baby dragon. Suddenly, Spike’s face started puffing up. When he couldn’t hold it in any longer, he belched and a small green flame shot out of his mouth. A letter lay at his feet. Intrigued, Twilight Sparkle picked it up.
“I wonder if this is more reliable than Derpy delivery,” she thought. She opened the letter, seeing it was from her mentor and heroine, Princess Celestia. Twilight Sparkle gasped.
“I always love hearing the nice things Princess Celestia has to say about me!” she exclaimed. “My faithful student Twilight Sparkle, I have another task ahead for you. I know how much you look up to me, and I understand that. So I’ve decided to let you help me with some of my tasks. You need to travel to Ponyville to help me conduct the census,” Twilight Sparkle read aloud. “The census?” Twilight Sparkle asked herself. “Well, that’s kind of random! Might as well just get it over with. I want to get back as soon as possible so I can try some defense magic.”
Two days later, Twilight Sparkle and Spike were riding in a chariot pulled by Royal Guards. The Royal Guards landed.
“Thank you, sirs,” Twilight Sparkle thanked as she and Spike climbed off the chariot. “All right, Spike, let’s get to business,” said Twilight Sparkle, as she levitated Spike with her magic and placed him on her back. “A census,” Twilight Sparkle thought aloud. “I’m supposed to count all the ponies here, right? Well, that shouldn’t be too hard! One!” Twilight exclaimed, pointing at Cherry Berry.
“Two!” she exclaimed, pointing at Doctor Whooves.
“Three!” she exclaimed, pointing at Granny Smith.
“Four! Five! Six! Seven!” she exclaimed, as more ponies passed her.
Two hours later, Twilight Sparkle was resting under a tree. “Ah, I think I counted everypony on the streets. But wait. What about everypony that’s not on the streets? Maybe I should check the houses.” Twilight Sparkle noticed a tall silo ahead of her. “Ah! I should check there first.” She knocked on the door of the silo. A pink pony with a poofy mane answered the door.
“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight Sparkle greeted. “Under Princess Celestia’s orders, I am here to take the census of Ponyville. How many ponies currently reside here?”
The pink pony’s eyes lit up. “WOOHOO!!!! A new friend! My name is Pinkie Pie and I’ve never seen you before! And I would know, because I know everypony in Ponyville! And now I know you! We are going to be the best of friends!”
“Actually-“ Twilight Sparkle began.
“Yes! I know you’re overwhelmed, but we’re all nice here! Because if I wasn’t nice, I wouldn’t be making friends with you! Because isn’t that what nice people do? Make friends all the time?” Pinkie Pie continued.
“CAN YOU JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION????” Twilight Sparkle screamed, annoyed, frustrated, and impatient.
“Well duh! I haven’t forgotten about that at all! Friends always remember each other’s questions!” Pinkie Pie replied with a smile. “So, this here’s Applejack,” she introduced, gesturing at the orange filly with freckles and hair tied back. “Rarity,” gesturing at the white unicorn with a lovely curly purple mane similar to those of the rich spoiled fillies in Twilight Sparkle’s classes. “Rainbow Dash,” gesturing at a small blue pegasus, who, as her name suggested, had a rainbow mane. “And last but not least, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie concluded, gesturing at a tall yellow filly trying to hide her face behind her pink mane. “Only I actually live here, but they’re here, so I guess you can count them! I mean we’re probably going to all be like sisters! So, make it 5.” Pinkie Pie said at top speed.
“Well, thank you. Um, have a nice day,” Twilight Sparkle said, turning to leave.
“Aww, Twily, aren’t you going to stay for a bit?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“No, I’m sorry, I have lots of ponies to count,” Twilight Sparkle apologized.
Pinkie Pie’s eyes lit up again. “Ooh! Ooh! I know! We’ll all help you count ponies! It’ll be like a pony counting party! Don’t you agree, girls?” The rest of the ponies nodded their heads in agreement. “This’ll be really fun! So what do you think?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.
“Well, I guess it’ll speed up the process,” Twilight Sparkle replied.
“YESS!” Pinkie Pie cheered, jumping into the air. “Come on girls, let’s get to it!”
Rarity looked in her mirror at the outfit she picked out. “Ugh! Too tacky!” she exclaimed to herself. Then she proceeded to try on more outfits.
“Too sparkly!”
“Not sparkly enough!”
“Too poofy!”
“Too green!”
“Too white!”
“Too formal!”
“Too…touristy!”
“Too plain!”
“Too loud!”
Finally she settled with a nice, pastel colored dress she designed herself. Then she proceeded to do her mane. As she did so, she heard a sharp knock on her door.
“Rarity? Ya done yet? It’s been an hour,” asked a familiar voice.
“Applejack, darling, I’ll be right with you!” Rarity reassured.
“Ya said that an hour ago, ya know,” Applejack said, slightly irritated.
“This time it’s for real, sweetheart. Just some finishing touches,” Rarity answered.
Applejack leaned back against the wall of Carousel Boutique, where Rarity resided, and began counting in her head. Just as she got to thirty, the door swung open.
“Alrighty, Applejack! I’m ready to go! Let’s meet this Pinkie Pie you speak of,” Rarity said in a singsongy voice.
The farmer and the fashionista approached the silo on the rock farm.
“Ugh. She lives here?” Rarity asked, wrinkling her nose. Just then, a peppy polka melody resonated from the silo.
“That’s Pinkie Pie. Come,” Applejack answered, leading Rarity towards the silo. As they opened the door of the silo, they saw that the silo had been decorated with balloons, streamers, and confetti. A large cake was set up on a table, along with many other treats.
Applejack walked over to a phonograph, which was playing the polka. “The Parasprite Polka,” she read out loud.
Pinkie Pie jumped out from behind the table and blew a party horn in Rarity and Applejack’s faces.
“HEY THERE AJ! And this must be Rarity!” Pinkie Pie greeted.
“Greetings, darling. I am Rarity. And you are Pinkie Pie?” Rarity answered with a smile.
“Yuppie! Of course I’m Pinkie Pie! See how pink I am?” Pinkie Pie replied, bouncing up and down.
“Of course, dear. In fact, I have a nice dress that will complement the pink in your coat. And you too, Applejack. Hopefully this time I’ll find something that you’ll actually like. Come, darling. Let us walk to Carousel Boutique,” Rarity beckoned, motioning for both Pinkie Pie and Applejack to follow her. Just then, a loud crash echoed through the silo.