Streaks of Fire

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were expanding again. This time, all the way to Las Pegasus.

Or at least, that’s what they told Applejack.

“I see. I reckon y’all remember what happened with Babs? Ain’t gonna have none of those shenanigans like last time, are we?”

“No, Applejack.” Three young fillies responded in unison.  Fireball giggled at the group of ponies lying in front of her.  It felt good to be around ponies her age.

“So, Fireball, was it? You’re from Las Pegasus?”

“Actually, Ms. Applejack, I live in Applewood. It’s next to Las Pegasus.” Fireball tried her best to be respectful, conscious of what Cinnamon had told her when talking to adult ponies.

The orange mare chuckled. “Just Applejack is fine. We don’t do no fancy titles here. “

“Sorry, Applejack. My brother always said be on your best behavior when adults talk to you. He said first impressions only get made once.”

“That’s true, I reckon. He was the tan one at the pool, right? With the reddish-brown mane?”

“Yup!” the yellow pegasus beamed at the back of Applejack’s head as she pulled the cart.

The creaks and moans of the cart as the wheels turned unevenly on the path was the only sound heard in the quiet evening. The sun was just beginning to set, and the auburn glow shone through the trees.

It was still a little early for the crickets and frogs, Applejack surmised, but with the heat of the day, she knew everypony was in for one noisy night.

“Wasn’t he talking with Rarity?” asked Scootaloo, turning to the white unicorn next to her.

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the yellow Earth pony on her other side. “I thought I saw her run off. She seemed mighty upset. Looked like she was cryin’.”

“What’s this about Rarity bein’ upset?” Applejack looked back at the fillies inside the cart. She stopped pulling and was looking at the young ponies with an eyebrow raised.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “It’s Rarity! I’m sure it was nothing. She spent half an hour yesterday going on about how some static messed up her mane, and she said she couldn't go out looking less than perfect.”

Shaking her head with a grin, Applejack turned back towards the farm. The young fillies in the back had resumed their conversation.

Probably Rarity being Rarity. Still, somepony should go check up on her. Maybe I’ll stop by real quick after dinner. Granny Smith can watch the girls, and I shouldn’t be gone too long. Or if my brother makes it home at a decent time, I can ask him to keep an eye on the girls. Of course, knowing my brother, there’s no way Big M-

“Macintosh? Yeah, I’ve met him. He’s supposed to meet my brother tonight at 9 in some bar. He’s really big! I thought Cinnamon was tall, but your brother, Applebloom, makes mine look like a pipsqueak!”

“Other than that, there’s just me, Applejack, and Granny Smith. She helped start Ponyville, y’know.”

“Applejack?” The young pegasus gave a questioning look towards the mare pulling the cart.

“No, not my sister; Granny Smith, my grandma.  She’s the oldest pony in Ponyville. Also, we got tons and tons of Apples spread throughout Equestria. What about you, Fireball? Any other family ‘cept your brother?”

“I don’t really know. Grandpa adopted me when I was very little. He never mentioned anything about knowing my family. Cinnamon moved in when I was three. Mostly, though, Two-Tones and the other ponies at the Mill helped raise me. They’re like family to me.”

“No sisters?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Nope, just me and Cinnamon. “

“I know! We could get you an adopted sister! Like Rainbow Dash and me!” Scootaloo stood up, her wings buzzing at the prospect.

“Yeah! And we can even make sure that you get a nice big sister! Somepony you can do all the fun things with, like gettin’ ice cream!” Applebloom stood with a big smile on her face.

“And makeovers! And dressing up!”  Sweetie Belle bounced excitedly in the cart as it rolled further down the path.

“Girls…” Applejack said in a low voice.

“And campin’!”

“Picnics!”

“Tea parties!”

“GIRLS!” Applejack stopped again, turning towards the now silent fillies still trembling with excitement in the back of the cart.

“While I’m sure y’all are just tryin’ to help, not everypony is gonna have a sister. Sometimes they ain’t got any siblings, or sometimes just a brother.  Me and Big Mac got along just fine before you came along, Apple Bloom.  ‘Course, not to say we didn’t fight. Got into a mighty fine scrap once.  We didn’t talk to each other for a week. I remember Granny Smith got so fed up, she made us do all our chores tied together, like in one of those seven legged pony races. Got over our spat real quick.”

“Um, Applejack? What has that got to do with findin’ Fireball a big sister?” Apple Bloom looked up at her older sister, her head tilted to one side.

“The point is,” Applejack said, trudging once more down the road. “Every family is unique. Each one works in its own way. Ain’t one better than the other.  So just ‘cause Fireball don’t have an older sister, or Sweetie Belle don’t have an older brother, don’t mean that there’s anythin’ that needs fixin’. All that matters is that y’all got family to look out for ya, and y’all help them when the time comes. Right?”

The silence that greeted Applejack gave her some concern. She quickly glanced back, and was shocked to find all four occupants of the cart lost in thought. The usually frenzied and jovial trio of troublemakers known as the Crusaders were uncharacteristically somber, and this disturbed Applejack more than she cared to admit.

The front gate of Sweet Apple Acres peeked above the trees as the cart moved steadily forward.  The crickets chirped their nightly chorus, growing in intensity the closer the five ponies came to the farm house. The frogs joined in, and soon, all manner of croaks and chirps could be heard throughout the homestead. Noise filled the evening air, and Fireball was struck by how surreal it was.

Without warning, the sky lit up; a thousand embers, as if from a dying fire, suddenly sprang to life, each one dancing in the dusk light. They weaved back and forth, to and fro, each tiny light disappearing and suddenly reappearing in different spots.  Fireball’s jaw nearly dragged on the bottom of the cart; her eyes darted rapidly between each twinkling, desperately straining to watch the entire dance.  While each individual light moved on its own, they all seemed to follow some unknown pattern. Apple Bloom smiled at the stunned pony beside her.

“Beautiful, ain’t it? Applejack and I sometimes come out here and catch some.  I like to put ‘em in jars and watch ‘em fly around. Plus, they make for a real cool lantern when it gets real dark.”

“What are they? They look like tiny, little star bugs.” Fireball leaned over the side of the cart, straining to catch a closer look at the twinkling lights around her.

“Fireflies? You never seen fireflies before?” Apple Bloom stared openly at the awestruck pegasus beside her.

“Are they dangerous? Cinnamon said I shouldn’t be playing with anything dangerous.”

“They ain’t actually fire, Sugarcube,” came the response from the front of the cart. “Why don’t y’all see if you can catch some? Apple Bloom knows where the jars are. I’ll put the cart away, and I‘ll ring the bell for supper. Alright?”

The four young fillies bounded off the cart, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo discussing the best way to go about catching the tiny insects while Sweetie Belle and Fireball listened intently. Applejack watched them trot along the trees,  a smile escaping her lips each time one of the little ponies jumped up to catch a firefly only to come crashing down empty-hoofed. The yellow pegasus smiled brighter than the others, lost in the joy of their play.

Applejack was happy her sister had decided to include Fireball in their trio. Being new in town couldn’t be easy, and Applejack was proud her sister had become friends with the young pegasus. After all, life was a whole lot easier with friends beside you.

“And I said, ‘Sure, Doc, the caffeine worked, but I doubt Donut Joe’s ever gonna let my wife and I back in his shop ever again.’”

Cinnamon smiled over at Big Macintosh. The pounding of hooves on the table caused the large number of empty mugs next to the red stallion to dance wildly. The unusually loud laughing coming from the shaking red pony caused many patrons in the bar to look at the two stallions curiously, wondering what it was that had caused such a reaction in the normally quiet farmer.

Cinnamon looked around the bar, a grin on his face. The dimly-lit Griffon’s Beak had only a couple other patrons aside from him and Big Mac.

In one corner, a purple Earth pony with a raspberry pink mane was hunched over the antique oak bar, a half-finished bottle of wine next to her.

Several seats down, a grey pegasus with a long blonde mane stared morosely into her drink. She was having a conversation with the bartender, a blue unicorn with a severely short trimmed black mane. He was idly cleaning a glass as he spoke, and pointedly ignoring the obviously intoxicated black pegasus on the other end of the bar.

Several empty tables decked out in tacky, red-and-white checkered tablecloths were scattered throughout the place. There were some groups chatting casually at a few tables; Cinnamon even noticed his landlord, Ms. Star, chatting idly with two other mares: a white pegasus with a lime green and pink mane, and a yellow unicorn with a two-toned blue mane and tail. He raised his glass to the Amethyst, who smiled back at him with a wave.

His eyes scanned the rest of the bar and fell upon an old jukebox sitting in the back corner next to a well-worn patch of open floor. The jukebox was currently blasting some classic rock, and several ponies were bobbing their heads in time with the music. Cinnamon felt he could definitely get used to a place like this. He turned back to the pony in front of him.

“No Fireball tonight?” Big Mac asked, waving his glass towards the bar for a refill.

“Nah, she’s having a sleepover with some new friends she made today. I was gonna have Rainbow watch her, but she said Fireball’d be just fine. I think one of the girl’s names was Scoobadoo? Something like that?”

“Scootaloo?” the smiling Big Mac supplied.

“Yeah, that’s it. You know her?” Cinnamon asked.

“Eeyup. She’s a friend of my sister, Apple Bloom.”

“Really? Small world after all.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac thanked the bartender as he set the stallion’s drink down on the table.

“Shall we get down to business? What I’m offering is a partnership that could guarantee a steady income for Sweet Apple Acres for the next 20 years. It may not be much at first, but the potential for growth is astronomical. Dividends would be expected to be paid out quarterly, depending on equity growth and viability in the marketplace.”

Big Mac’s ears perked at the sound of guaranteed income. However, Cinnamon noticed he was uncomfortably shifting at the mention of potential growth, and looked completely bamboozled once the mention of dividends came into the equation. Apparently Big Mac was not one for fancy business talk. He tried a different approach.

“What that means, Big Mac, is that you’ll be guaranteed an income for five years. We’ll say five bits profit on every hundred you put in. After that, it could grow to be upwards of two hundred and fifty bits for every hundred, and your starting investment wouldn’t even need to be in cash.”

“What would it be in?” the red stallion eyed the tan Earth pony in front of him. Big Mac remembered the Flim Flam brothers well, and he wasn’t about to lose his precious apple trees.

“All I need is some land, preferably about an acre, and the flatter, the better. It doesn’t need to be farmable land, either. All I would need is enough open space to set up a mill.”

“A mill? For grinding flour and the like? We’ve got a mill on the outskirts of town. Not sure it’s being used, though.”

“Exactly. And a windmill would not be able to handle the constant influx of materials for processing. My family has been running the Applewood mill for generations, and our main supplier of wheat and spices in Appleloosa has been sending all their goods out there. If we were to build a mill in Ponyville, however, we could cut down on costs significantly and on the price as well. It benefits everypony involved.”

“Have you talked with the townsfolk?”

“Some of them. The Mayor’s onboard, as well as the city planners. They suggested the Everfree Forest, but nopony would ever come to the mill if it was located in the Everfree. Too dangerous.”

“Makes sense. I’ll talk the matter over with Applejack and see what she says. Might have a bit of land y’all could use way out past the south orchard. We talkin’ rentin’ or buyin’?”

“Whichever would be easiest. My goal is to make this as smooth and painless as possible.”

“I reckon we could work somethin’ out. I’ll let you know when we made a decision. You stayin’ in town?”

“Yes.  Fireball and I’ll be here for several weeks, at least. If things work out, we might make Ponyville our new home.”

“Well then, I’ll see ya around.” Big Mac drained the rest of his drink and slammed the cup down, licking his lips. “Got chores in the mornin’. Take care.” He got up and shook hooves with Cinnamon. He gave the bartender a quick wave as he left.

Cinnamon watched him go with a smile on his face. So far, so good, he thought.

He noticed the bar had filled up during his conversation with the red Earth pony, each table now playing host to all different kinds of ponies. Each table competed with the one next to it for volume, and the Beak was soon full of joviality. Laughing and talking drowned out all other noise in the place.

Feeling the call of nature, Cinnamon finished his drink and made his way towards the back of the building. As he passed by the bar, he noticed a picture hanging on the back wall. He smiled as he looked at a completely smashed Rainbow Dash staring back at him, her eyes almost closed and her mouth hung open in a droopy grin. She stood in front of a table, forehooves raised, as if she had just won a prizefight. Cinnamon looked down at the table in the photograph, smiling as he saw the passed out pony. Whoever it was had knocked over an exceedingly large amount of cups when they fell, and Cinnamon couldn’t help wishing he could have seen Rainbow drink this other orange pony under the table.

At that point, Nature had decided she didn’t want to wait any longer. Cinnamon made a mad dash to the restroom. Arriving just in time, the tan Earth pony relieved himself and made his way back to the table.

Only to find that his table had been cleared off, and another group was being seated. He turned to the bar, hoping to find an open seat. The bar, however, was packed. Each stool was taken, and it seemed at least three ponies stood between each seat, chatting with whoever the occupants were. The bartender rushed back and forth across the bar, mixing all sorts of exotic drinks. The cavalcade of colorful concoctions enamored Cinnamon, and he stood transfixed, watching each drink come to life in the bartender’s magic.

It wasn’t until he felt a tap on his shoulder that Cinnamon realized he had been out in the middle of the room, staring for quite some time. With a blush rising to his cheeks, he turned to look at the pony behind him. He was startled to find his landlord looking up at him with a smile on her face.

“Quite mesmerizing how he does that, isn’t it?” She nodded towards the bar.

“Indeed! I’ve seen drinks made before, but that pony puts on a show!”

She giggled at Cinnamon, who was sneaking peeks back at the bartender. “I saw your table got taken while you were up. Did you wanna come join us? I’ll introduce you to some of the locals.”

Not waiting for a response, she turned and walked towards her table. She weaved expertly through the crowd, and Cinnamon struggled to keep up.

He apologized profusely whenever he bumped another pony or drink, and heaved a sigh of relief when they arrived at the table Amethyst shared with her friends.

“Lemon, Blossomforth, I’d like you to meet Cinnamon. He’s new in town. Cinnamon, this is Blossomforth and Lemon Hearts.”

“A pleasure to meet you ladies.” He shook each of their hooves as they were introduced.

“So, Cinnamon, what do you do for a living?” asked Blossomforth, sipping at her drink.

“I’m a miller by trade. I usually pull the millstones back home, though recently I’ve kind of taken over the company. Been in the family for generations. What about you ladies?”

“Weather team,” said Blossomforth.

“I usually assist whoever needs me that day. It varies.” Lemon Hearts took a long swig from the glass in front of her.

“I’m a veterinary assistant,” replied Amethyst. “I help take care of everypony’s pets.”

“Like cats and dogs?” asked Cinnamon.

“Mostly, though occasionally we get some unusual pets: ferrets, mice, birds, lizards.”

“I always wanted a pet. But taking care of Fireball on my own and running the mill has been more challenging than I thought it would be, so I don’t know how well a dog would fit in.” Cinnamon thanked the bartender as he dropped off a tall mug of cider.

“Raising a filly can be tough. A pet can sometimes help with that, though. Usually it helps teach the young ones about responsibility. They get so focused on taking care of the little critter that they don’t have time to get into any huge troubles. And it doesn’t need to be a dog. Plenty of other pets require little to no effort to care for, and would be easy for a young filly like Fireball to handle. That’s just my experience, though.”

“Fascinating. I never thought about it like that. What do you suggest?”

“Oh Amethyst! I just remembered Lemon and I, uh, have a prior engagement early tomorrow and I’m afraid we won’t be able to stay.” Blossomforth stood quickly, pulling Lemon Hearts up with her.

“We do?” Lemon looked quizzically at the pegasus.

“Yes…” said Blossomforth through clenched teeth. She glared down at Lemon Hearts and jerked her head towards the pair still seated at the table.

Confused, Lemon Hearts looked down Amethyst, then back at Blossomforth. It took several passes between them before the light of understanding shone on Lemon’s face.

“Oh yes! The…um… thing! I totally forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me Blossom. It was nice meeting you, Cinnamon.”

Blossomforth put a hoof to her face. “Yes. Sorry we had to cut this short, Cinnamon. And I’ll talk to you later, Amethyst.” She pushed the yellow unicorn ahead of her as she exited the bar, only stopping to pay her tab.

“I’m really sorry about that Cinnamon,” said Amethyst, a blush rising to her cheeks. “I hope they didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”

“Nah, its fine. At least your friends tried to be somewhat subtle about it. The guys at the mill would usually just start pointing at every single mare who happened by and ask ‘What about her?’  When that didn’t work, they started doing that with everypony. And I mean everypony. Believe me; it gets real awkward trying to explain you’re not into stallions when all your friends are trying to hook you up to anything with legs.”

She laughed warmly at Cinnamon next to her. “I completely understand! I’m glad Blossomforth isn’t that bad yet. I can’t really blame her. She just likes to see other ponies happy. And while whatever’s going on between her and Thunderlane works for her, I don’t think she understands that single ponies can be happy too. After all, I’ve never had this much freedom in my life, and I love it.”

Cinnamon raised his mug. “Well then, to being single and free!”

Amethyst raised her glass in response to the toast. “To being single and free!” She smiled at her companion as they polished off their drinks.

“Thanks again for letting me stay here, Apple Bloom. It’s nice to have ponies my age to talk to.”

“Sure thing, Fireball. Us Crusaders gotta stick together.  I’m just glad you didn’t have to deal with Diamond Tiara. She’s a meanie.”

“And a bully,” muttered Scootaloo.

“Besides, we still gotta figure out what we’re gonna do tomorrow. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, y’all got any ideas?”

“Apple Bloom? I actually have an idea if you girls don’t mind…” Fireball dragged a hoof on the wooden floor nervously.

“Sure, what d’ya got?” The other three fillies turned to Fireball expectantly.

“Um…I kinda like the idea Scootaloo had earlier. About getting me a sister….”

“

We’d love to, Fireball. But my sis put her hoof down pretty firm on us doin’ somethin’ like that.”

“I know, Apple Bloom. It’s just that…well…” The frogs did their best to fill the accompanying silence between the four friends in the clubhouse.

“What’s wrong, Fireball?” Apple Bloom asked, concerned.

“C’mon Fireball, you can tell us.” Scootaloo put a hoof on her fellow pegasus’ shoulder.

Sweetie Belle nodded encouragingly toward Fireball.

Fireball sighed. “The truth is, I don’t know who my real family is. Grandpa told me nothing, and Cinnamon wasn’t even around for the first couple years. And even when he moved back to the mill, he still didn’t want anything to do with me. Grandpa said that Cinnamon had to find himself again, and that eventually he’d come around.

"But he never did. It never really felt like he wanted me as a sister. All he did was treat me like I was another pony at the mill. He taught me how to throw a ball and how to roller-skate, sure, but it felt like he was only doing it because Grandpa couldn’t.”

A slight pause followed the hitch in her voice at the mention of her Grandpa.

“When Grandpa died, I felt all alone. Cinnamon did the best he could, I guess, but I never felt the same as when it was just me and Grandpa.”

Tears streamed openly down Fireball’s cheeks as she recounted her story. Apple Bloom stared morosely at the floor, and Sweetie Belle’s eyes welled up with tears. The only pony moving in the room was Scootaloo: she hugged Fireball tightly, stroking the crying filly’s mane tenderly.

With a deep breath, Fireball continued. “I’m sorry. It’s just hard not having any family. That’s why I want to find a sister. Maybe someone like Applejack; she seems like the perfect sister.”

Apple Bloom smiled at Fireball in front of her. “Yeah, she’s swell. We don’t always get along, but I wouldn’t trade her for nothin’. Would you excuse us one sec, Fireball?”

Fireball watched as Apple Bloom motioned for Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to join her. They huddled over a bull’s-eye painted on the floor of the clubhouse. Fireball strained to hear what they were discussing; the noise of the animals on the farm provided more than ample coverage for the conversation happening in the corner.

After several minutes, the trio broke up their huddle and headed back towards Fireball. She waited patiently for them to speak.

“Alright, Fireball. We’ve decided we’re gonna do it. We’re gonna find you a sister.” Apple Bloom smiled at the yellow pegasus in front of her.

“And maybe we can get our cutie marks too!” said Scootaloo.

Fireball watched as her new friends jumped in the air together, each one raising a hoof and crying out “Cutie Mark Crusader...”

“Wait!” cried Apple Bloom. All three fillies landed with a small thump that shook the clubhouse.  “What do we call this?”

“Adoptive Sister Making?” suggested Scootaloo.

“Sister Finding?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I like Sister Finding. Okay, let’s try this again.”

“Cutie Mark Crusader Sister Finders Go!” The sound of all three hooves connecting echoed inside the clubhouse. All four girls collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggling and laughter.

“On her cheek the rose was born. ‘Twas music when she spake..”

The girls stopped giggling at the sound of a deep voice singing in the orchard. Glancing out the window, they noticed a rather large earth pony staggering through the orchard; his deep voice resonated through the trees.  The moonlight shone down on the path, revealing a grinning Big Mac.

“In her eyes the rays of morn, with sudden splendor break…”

“I didn’t know Big Mac could sing,” said Fireball.

“Yeah, he’s in the Pony Tones with my sister, Rarity. She says he’s really good,” said Sweetie Belle.

The girls watched as the stallion before them disappeared over the hills towards the house, the last few words of the song echoing back to them.

“Sunshine came along with thee, and swallows in the air.”

The giggling returned as soon as Big Mac was out of sight. Apple Bloom, however, buried her head in her hooves.

None of the fillies noticed a butter-yellow pegasus follow Big Mac towards the house, a smile on her lips.