Apple Family Business

Applejack watched with her good eye as the doctor squeezed blood from Rainbow Dash's knee. It poured into the basin Dash held as she sat on the edge of the other bed. The scent of blood and sterile bandages mixed in with the normal wood and apple smell of the farmhouse. She couldn't see or hear her friends in the kitchen, but could practically feel the tension of their concern.

"Well, I do have some good news." the doctor said in his worn voice. His sad smile deepened the lines around his bloodshot eyes. "I don't see any fatty tissue, so I don't think you tore your cartilage. Just don't put a lot of weight on it, and be sure to walk around every now and then to keep it from getting stiff." His horn glowed pale yellow as he grabbed the bandages and antiseptic and tended her wounds.

Afterward, he diagnosed Applejack with cracked ribs and wrapped her midsection. He patiently advised them to avoid anything strenuous, though they all knew there was little chance of his counsel being followed. Once he was all finished, Applejack whistled for Big Mac.

"Take the doc to the office and get get him his pay." she instructed him once he came in. "And slip him a little extra." She turned to the doctor. "For the house call."

The doctor gave his sad smile and scratched his dark brown mane, which wasn't turning grey so much as it was simply loosing its color. "No, Applejack; for buying poppies."

Once the stallions had left, Applejack turned her good eye back to Dash. "Rainbow Dash. Ah distinctly remember telling ya to make a run for it, and get Pinkie and Rarity."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "No way I'd leave you to face them yourself, AJ. I'd never leave a friend like that." She saw Applejack open her mouth to speak, and held up a hoof to stop her. "I know, I know, you're the boss. But I couldn't let you fight them alone any more than I could let you get sent to prison."

Applejack stared at Dash a moment, then nodded and gave a grin of her own. "Reckon ya couldn't."

Rainbow Dash lay back on the bed, being careful not to jostle her leg. "Damn, I hurt all over. Couldn't you have bought some anesthetic from that guy?"

"Shoot, Ah got some right here." Applejack reached down and slid one of the planks in the floor, then pushed it. It popped up to reveal a hidden compartment. From this she pulled out a bottle of dark amber liquid and a couple glasses.

"Whiskey?" Dash asked. "Ain't seen none of that in a while."

Applejack nodded. She set the glasses on the nightstand. "Mah pa's stash. Before this was a spare bedroom, it was mah parent's." She uncapped the bottle and poured them both a double.

They both raised their glasses in toast. "Salute!"

Later, Twilight came into the room to discuss plans with her leader.

"Rarity gave me a good rundown of their place." she explained, keeping her voice down for Dash's benefit. She levitated a hand-drawn map and some graphs that Applejack didn't understand. "And from what she told me, that machine is clearly the key to their production. Destroy it, destroy their advantage."

Applejack nodded. "They still have numbers on their side, what with the muscle the Cherries sent 'em." She looked over at the resting Rainbow Dash. "But if Dash still has that friend in the Beak Syndicate, Ah reckon we can fix that." She smiled, then frowned thoughtfully.

"Wait, ya said Rarity gave ya the rundown. Didn't Pinkie tell ya nuthin'?"

Twilight smiled nervously. "As soon as they brought you two back, she headed back to town. Left a note saying she had something to do there. She slipped out while we were occupied with you two."

The frown remained on Applejack's face. "Wonder what's so important that she's gotta head back while things are so hot..."

Twilight shrugged, trying to look calm and reassuring. "Who knows, with Pinkie. But don't worry; she can take care of herself." She smiled.

Dragon Chaser froze, his ears turning towards the door. He thought he'd heard somepony coming up the steps. A few seconds later, a hoof lightly tapped on his door.

He quickly put his pipe away, then softly walked up to the door and looked out the peephole. He blinked and hesitated a moment before opening the door. "Pinkie Pie?"

The pink pony bit her lip, then lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Can I come in?"

Dragon said nothing, but moved aside so she could enter.

Several minutes later, Pinkie was refilling the oil in Dragon's pipe.

"I grew up on a rock farm. There were no smiles, no laughter." she said quietly. "Then some colts on the next farm over found some happy rocks. The raw stuff, I mean."

"Smile sand." Dragon supplied. He carefully looked over the happy rocks on his white ceramic plate. When he found one too large, he cracked it with his hoof. The sharp sound seemed to fill the sparse room.

Pinkie nodded, then checked the flint. "They gave me some. Made me dizzy and my mouth was all gritty. When I went back, one of them had found out how to cook it. We rigged up a pipe with a fire, a tin cup, and rolled up sheet of paper."

Dragon grinned to himself, remembering the improvised pipes he'd built.

"And when we tried it, it was like..." Pinkie smiled faintly. "Like seeing sunshine for the first time." She looked the pipe over one more time, then sat back. "I went home. Threw a party. Laughed. Played games. Next chance I got, I did it again. And again. Eventually the rock ran out."

Dragon nodded. He put some rocks on a tiny scale, measuring out enough for two doses.

"I just.... I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to go back to living in gray and blah. So I tried to find more." She slid the pipe over to Dragon. "Somepony in town offered me some. I guess the colts I was smoking with told him I was looking. I got what I could, but..." She smiled faintly again. "Its hard to pay for drugs with your allowance."

Dragon was about to fill the pipe with rocks, when Pinkie held out a hoof to stop him. "Take those dirty ones out. With the grit in them. That stuff will build up in your pipe." Dragon nodded and replaced them with clearer ones.

"Anyway... Got a rock here, A rock there... Little bits of happy. Not enough, though. Then he asked me if I wanted to earn a whole ounce." She watched him fill the pipe. It sounded like somepony filling a glass with loose change.

"All I had to do was get some bits from some pony who owed him. I was always good at being sneaky. So I just snuck in his home when he was working and took it. Just like that. And I got enough rock to last me a while."

"And you did more jobs, got more rock?" Dragon slid the pipe back to her.

Pinkie nodded. "I was good at it. So good, somepony in Manehatten wanted me to work for them. Good pay, and plenty of rock. I said yes. Had to leave home." Her voice lowered to just above a whisper. "No big loss." Pinkie took a deep breath. She could smell icy sugar. "I was happy every day. Then the boss told me I'd smoked more than I earned. Like, a lot.

Dragon said nothing. He watched her, and she watched the pipe.

"He said he'd clear my debt if I 'took care' of some stallion." She looked up, a thoughtful look on her face. "Its funny. I never felt guilty about it. I mean, you're supposed to feel guilty the first time, right? But I just felt relief. I could keep getting rock. I could still be happy."

She looked at him. He felt a little shiver. Something about her eyes reminded him of a doll's stare. "It was still bad, though. Gross, I mean. Ever seen a pony who's been strangled? Their tongue comes out and..." She looked back at the pipe. "I've cut ponies up into pieces. Kicked them out of windows. But I've never ever ever forever done another strangling." She reached out to light the pipe.

"Wait." said Dragon. "Are you sure you... I mean, you look like you've been clean a while. Sure you wanna go back to this?"

Pinkie smiled yet again. A bit of sadness softened the edges of her eyes. "I gave it all up when my crew broke up. The rock. The life. All of it. For years. I wasn't a hitpony. I wasn't a rockhead. I wasn't anything. Then my old boss sent me a letter. 'Come back.' I didn't even think about. I just came. Because I wanted to be who I am again." She shook her head. "I haven't even been here a week and I've killed two ponies. What does that say?"

She reached out to light it again. "It says, you can't fight what you are. And it says its always better to be with your friends. Even if your friends are bad." She let the pipe fill with smoke, then put her lips to it and inhaled. When she lifted her head, her mane was a wild mass of curls. She exhaled a cloud of minty sweetness, and giggled at the way the smoke curled. Her mouth was pulled into a wide smile, and her eyes sparkled merrily.

Pinkie was herself again.