The Reason I Can't Find My Love

Chapters

Chapter 1: Pinkie Pining
Chapter 2: My, What A Guy, That Braeburn!
Chapter 3: Mistaken Actions
Chapter 4: Off to Appleloosa
Chapter 5: On the (Rail)Road to Chaos
Chapter 6: Absent Friends
Chapter 7: Depression and Discovery
Chapter 8: Homeward Bound
Chapter 9: Tour de Ponyville
Chapter 10: Race Against Time
Chapter 11: Reunited At Last
Epilogue

Chapter 1: Pinkie Pining

It was a bright, sunny August morning in Ponyville. The Summer Sun Celebration and Summer Harvest Parade had come and gone, and planning was already well underway for the Foal and Filly Festival the following month. All around town, little fillies and colts frolicked and scampered in the fields and parks while their parents and many other adult ponies went about their daily business.

Over in Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville's local bakery, Mrs Cake had just finished placing a batch of freshly baked cream puffs in the display case beneath the counter, and was now awaiting a fresh wave of customers. As she stood at the cash till, the sound of the store bell caught her attention as a heavily pregnant Rainbow Dash entered.

“Morning, Mrs Cake,” she said cheerfully.

“Hullo, Rainbow Dash,” greeted Mrs Cake with a smile. “How was your air display in Baltimare?”

“Pretty much as good as it can get for a mare who's been with foal for the last nine months,” replied Rainbow Dash. “It's a wonder Spitfire even bothered to let me take part, really; even Soarin was worried about me hurting the baby or busting my water in mid-flight or whatever.”

Mrs Cake chuckled wryly. Having already had two foals herself (both at the same time), she could only sympathise with Spitfire and Soarin. “So how has your little one been coming along?” she asked curiously.

“Ah, it's been okay. It sure is quite the kicker, I tell you that much – kept me awake half the night after Soarin and I got home.”

“So you haven't discovered whether it's a filly or a colt yet?”

“No,” answered Rainbow Dash, “but I'm hoping it's a colt, personally. Anyway, do you know if Pinkie Pie's in?”

“Well, actually, I don't even know if she's awake,” admitted Mrs Cake, visibly worried and perplexed. “She's been behaving rather oddly for the last few weeks; we even found her sleeping in a couple of days ago.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in confusion. That didn't sound at all like Pinkie Pie. “Any idea why?” she inquired.

“None whatsoever. We've tried getting her to talk to us, but she won't tell us what's wrong.”

“Hmm.” Rainbow Dash pondered the matter for a few moments before coming to a decision; “Ah well, maybe a visit from a friend ought to cheer her up. Worth a try, anyway.”

“Okay, deary,” conceded Mrs Cake. “I hope everything goes well for you – oh, and say hello to Soarin and Scootaloo when you get home.”

“Will do,” promised Rainbow Dash, and trotted briskly up the stairs.

Pinkie Pie lay sprawled out on the couch in her bedroom, a sad, distant, lonesome expression adorning her face as she stared lethargically down at the cushions. Normally she was so bright and bouncy and bubbly that she would have willingly joined the Cakes in making all sorts of tasty treats, including their namesakes; but today she felt so low and so horribly drained that she didn't feel up to anything of the sort. Rainbow Dash easily noticed this, but tried to pretend not to as she entered the room.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie,” she said casually. “How's tricks?”

Pinkie Pie didn't answer. She just sighed morosely.

Rainbow Dash tried again; “Um...Pinkie? It's me, Rainbow Dash. I'm back from Baltimare.”

But still Pinkie Pie didn't seem to acknowledge her presence. The gravid Pegasus mare tried waving a hoof just in front of her face.

“Pinkie? Hello?!”

That didn't do any good either. Pinkie Pie's right hoof slid off the couch and dangled next to it, but otherwise she neither moved nor spoke. At last, Rainbow Dash lost her patience and leaned in as close as she could. “PINKIE PIE!!!” she yelled out loud.

This had perhaps the most baffling effect on the pink-furred pony that Rainbow Dash had ever seen in her life. The moment she had bellowed out her name, Pinkie Pie leaped up with a startled yelp and began bouncing randomly around the room like a rugby ball out of a howitzer, in turn causing Rainbow Dash to assume a defensive position for fear of being struck. This went on for about ten seconds, until finally Pinkie Pie landed on all fours right in front of her rainbow-maned friend, staring blankly at her as if nothing had happened. “Yes, Dashie?” she answered.

Rainbow Dash lowered her front hooves, relieved that the danger of being flattened was now over, but still flabbergasted by what she had just seen. “Whoa, girl!” she exclaimed. “What in the hay has gotten into you all of a sudden?!”

“Breakfast,” responded Pinkie Pie, raising an eyebrow. “What else?”

“No, Pinkie, that's not what I'm talking about!” retorted Rainbow Dash. “You're acting way jumpier than Fluttershy after she's just seen a dragon! What gives?!”

At first, Pinkie Pie seemed even more confused – but after a while, her face fell, and she stared gloomily down at the floorboards, visibly embarrassed. “Sorry about that, Dashie,” she apologised unhappily. “Yeah, I guess I am getting a bit too jumpy for my own good – that and my Pinkie Sense seems to be playing up a bit.”

“A bit?!” repeated Rainbow Dash, directing a strange look at the pink-furred party pony. “Normally you're the one jumping out at me when I come to visit, not the other way round! I'd say it's playing up big time!”

“Well...okay, yeah, maybe it is playing up big time,” Pinkie Pie corrected herself meekly. “I don't know why, but I do know I'm feeling pretty low at the moment,” and as if to make herself quite clear, she stooped down as low as she could go, frowning glumly as she did so.

Rainbow Dash's expression immediately changed from confusion to utter dismay. She had rarely known Pinkie Pie to be anything other than bright and cheerful, but to see her normally happy-go-lucky friend in a state of depression made the pregnant mare's heart bleed. “How come?” she asked anxiously.

“Because...well......” Pinkie Pie looked away again, blushing heavily. “...You know Applejack's cousin from Appleloosa?”

“As in Braeburn?”

“Yeah, that's the one,” affirmed Pinkie Pie. “Well......long story short, Dash, I've kinda had this thing for him since we gave him Bloomberg nearly five years ago.”

“What 'thing'?” quizzed Rainbow Dash, not quite understanding what Pinkie Pie was getting at.

“Um...well...you see...” stammered Pinkie Pie uneasily; but before she could explain properly, it finally hit home to Rainbow Dash exactly what she was talking about.

“Wait just a minute!” she exclaimed. “Are you saying you...have a crush on him?”

Pinkie Pie responded with little more than a slow, shy nod.

“Wow,” mused Rainbow Dash thoughtfully. “That explains a lot.”

“I didn't get to spend that much time with him before we went home, what with all the buffalo trouble we had to sort out, but I totally loved every second of it. I wouldn't have even minded if I'd been trapped in Appleloosa forever, far away from my friends and family, because it'd mean I get to spend way more time with him than I can ever hope to do now – and I would never have regretted it either,” went on Pinkie Pie, raising her voice emphatically, “because I like him, Dashie – LIKE HIM, I TELL YOU!” She paused, taking deep breaths to calm herself down before continuing. “As it is, I don't even have his name and address, so I can't even write to him. I would have asked Applejack, but I'm worried she might get all suspicious and ask me all sorts of embarrassing questions.”

“Actually, speaking of Applejack,” remarked Rainbow Dash, cutting her pink-furred friend off, “didn't you once discover you might be related to her? Because by extension you might be related to Braeburn too.”

“Well, yeah, I did,” affirmed Pinkie Pie pathetically, “but we never actually managed to confirm that, even after we went to check with Goldie Delicious. Besides, what difference would it make if I were? I found out about my feelings for Braeburn long before I found out I might be related to him.” A deep, wistful sigh followed; “I miss him so much, Dashie. I'd give anything to see him again – and I don't even care if we're related.”

Rainbow Dash frowned sympathetically. What Pinkie Pie had been telling her about how much she liked Braeburn may not have sounded quite the same as her own inner turmoil over Soarin, but she could still sense the pain and distress the downtrodden pink mare was experiencing. “So what got you thinking about Braeburn in the first place? You still seemed pretty carefree when I came to see you last week.”

Pinkie Pie sighed heavily as she remembered when it had all started. “Well...you know when you and Soarin got married?”

“Um...what's that got to do with anything?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You know that party we had afterwards?”

“Yeah?”

“And you know that moment where you went out to the chariot?”

“Sure do.”

“The moment where you threw those flowers out and I caught them by mistake?”

Rainbow Dash stifled an amused chuckle. “How could I forget?” she remarked. “I'm still surprised Rarity didn't try to grab them for herself like she did at Cadance and Shining Armour's wedding!”

“Yeah, but when I caught that bouquet, I was thinking 'Wait a minute, who'd wanna marry some wild party animal like me' – and that was when I remembered that there was somepony who might – just might – wanna at least hit it off with me,” explained Pinkie Pie. “So yeah, after you and Soarin and Scoot left for your honeymoon, I started getting all these vivid dreams about me and Braeburn together. You know the rest.”

At this point, Rainbow Dash could only smile sympathetically upon her hyperactive pink-furred friend. “You really do like him, don't you?”

“Oh, Dashie,” sighed Pinkie Pie in a breathy, dreamy, wistful tone, “you can't even begin to realise how much I do. I so wanna run into that guy's arms and nuzzle him and hug him and kiss him and stroke his mane until the cows come home...” but almost as if she had completely forgotten about Braeburn, she suddenly clapped both her front hooves to her temples and let out a horrified gasp. “Oh my gosh! What if the cows do come home?! What if Applejack gets all mad at me for letting them out in the first place?! AAGH! WHAT IF THEY NEVER LET ME SEE BRAEBURN AGAIN?!?”

“COOL IT, PINKIE!!!” interrupted Rainbow Dash, a little more sharply than she intended.

Pinkie Pie promptly subsided. “Sorry, Dashie,” she grinned meekly, pulling a giant key out of nowhere and started turning it in her left ear. “You're probably right; I'm probably just getting myself all wound up over nothing – except perhaps for a new Pinkie Sense sign or......or something,” she added uncertainly.

This took the rainbow-maned Pegasus quite aback. “But...I thought you said your Pinkie Sense wasn't working as well as it used to.”

“It isn't, but every so often I get this weird ache in my chest for no reason,” Pinkie Pie clarified. “My legs all seem to wobble whenever that happens, and then my face gets all hot too. I dunno why.”

“I do,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “I went through the exact same thing when I realised my feelings for Soarin – as did Rarity when she realised she had fallen for Spike, and Spitfire when she began crushing on Fire Streak, and Scootaloo when she discovered her own feelings for Rumble, and...well...you get the idea anyway. But yeah, that's not Pinkie Sense; that's just being in love.”

“And not being able to do anything about it in my case,” added Pinkie Pie gloomily, staring down at the floor again.

Rainbow Dash nodded in solemn understanding, placing a hoof to her chin as she pondered over Pinkie Pie's situation. If only there was some way in which she could help, she thought...

Almost at once, her face lit up again as she realised that there was a way in which she could help. “Tell you what, Pinks,” she suggested brightly, “Soarin's got a bit of time off after that air show in Baltimare, and I'm on maternity leave for the next two months until Junior comes out. How about we take a vacation in Appleloosa with Scootaloo, and then you can come along too?”

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened with anticipation. “Really?” she asked hopefully.

“Sure,” replied Rainbow Dash cordially. “I'll have to run it past Soarin and Scoot first, but I'm sure they'll be more than happy.”

That was more than enough to improve Pinkie Pie's mood. With a joyous squeal, she bounded around her room again for a few seconds shouting “YES, YES, YES, YES, YE-E-E-ES!” before pulling Rainbow Dash into a tight hug and thanking her over and over again.

Rainbow Dash smiled modestly. “Hey – no problem, Pinks,” she replied as her pink-furred friend's happy episode drew to a climax. “It's what friends do for each other, after all.”

“Yeah – and you're the best, Dashie!” gushed Pinkie Pie ecstatically. “I so can't wait to see Braeburn again! Somepony, speed up time, please! I'm gonna burst if I don't see him soon!”

“Whoa there, Pinkie!” laughed Rainbow Dash heartily. “I still haven't run it past Soarin or Scootaloo yet, let alone made the travel arrangements, so hold – your – horses!”

“But you will be taking me to see Braeburn, won't you?”

“Of course I will,” replied Rainbow Dash, turning to head back downstairs, “but first things first; I need to go speak with my hubby and our little filly about this – starting now.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” chirped Pinkie Pie. “See you round, Dashie!”

“So long,” and Rainbow Dash trotted cheerfully downstairs and out of the bakery towards home.

Back at the magnificent cloud mansion in which Rainbow Dash and her family lived, everything seemed rather quiet. Soarin was in the living room, busily leafing through the various leaflets and holiday brochures spread out over the coffee table while Scootaloo, their adopted daughter, lay on the floor and worked on a rather scrawly drawing of her favourite aircraft. In front of the orange-coated filly stood a small model which she was using as a template for her drawing, and Tank, the family's pet tortoise, was hovering sedately nearby.

It was Soarin who broke the silence first; “Anywhere you can think of, Scoot?” he asked resignedly.

But Scootaloo was too absorbed in her handiwork to pay him much attention. She simply looked up, shrugged in reply and went straight back to her drawing.

Soarin slouched against the armrest with a deep sigh. “Gee, I sure hope Dashie can give us a few ideas when she gets back.”

The pale blue stallion's remark couldn't have been better timed – at that precise moment, he heard the front door open, and a few seconds later, Rainbow Dash stepped into the living room. “Hey, Soar,” she said casually, “how's it going?”

“Okay, I guess,” replied Soarin absent-mindedly, leafing through another brochure as he spoke. “Still haven't had any luck trying to find a good place to spend our vacation, but I'm sure we'll work something out soon.”

“Maybe sooner than you think, Soarin. I'd been to see Pinkie Pie about half an hour ago, and......well...she seems to be having problems of her own,” said Rainbow Dash gravely. “She's actually been feeling pretty down lately, and I...”

“Wait, what?!” Soarin was so taken aback by what his wife had just told him that the brochure dropped out of his front hooves and onto the floor. Pinkie Pie – depressed?! How in the hay was that even possible

Needless to say, Scootaloo was equally flabbergasted by Rainbow Dash's update on Pinkie Pie, and in the inevitable double-take, she accidentally created a rip in her sheet of paper. “What, Pinkie Pie?!” she blurted out in disbelief. “But...but...but Pinkie's always so cheerful! Why so sad?”

“She's been missing Braeburn an awful lot since our wedding, and it's even beginning to affect her Pinkie Sense,” the rainbow-maned mare explained. “Normally when I go and visit, she's always acting as if she knew I'd be coming all along, even if I never gave her a heads-up. Heck, she even manages to jump out at me a few times!” She paused impressively. “But not today – no, sir! She was so unresponsive that I had to shout in order to get her attention......and I may have given her a bit of a jump-scare in the process,” she finished sheepishly.

“Wow,” murmured Scootaloo. “What are the chances of that?”

Soarin raised an eyebrow. “I don't get it, Dashie – who exactly is this Braeburn you're talking about?”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to explain further; but at that very moment, she was suddenly overcome by an inexplicable attack of hysteria, which caused her to collapse onto the floor with laughter. Soarin and Scootaloo could only roll their eyes in amusement as the gravid Pegasus mare struggled to contain her laughter; it wasn't the first time she had been experiencing such spontaneous mood swings since she had announced her pregnancy, not by a long shot – and they knew all too well that it could hardly be the last.

After nearly a minute of rolling about on the floor and trying to contain her giggling, Rainbow Dash finally staggered to her hooves. “Oh, Soarin, what a memory you have!!” she spluttered heartily. “Braeburn is one of Applejack's cousins, remember? The one from Appleloosa who helped us try and smooth things over with the buffalo?”

“Oh, that Braeburn!” exclaimed Soarin, finally catching onto what Rainbow Dash was talking about. “Yeah, I remember now – you and Applejack had been talking about him when we were invited to lunch at Sweet Apple Acres last month. And you say Pinkie Pie misses that pony?”

“Yeah, she's had this crush on him ever since we went up there with Applejack to deliver one of our trees to his orchard.” By now, Rainbow Dash had managed to calm herself down enough to avoid bursting into laughter again, and her grave expression had returned along with her composure. “She doesn't know his address, so she certainly can't become pen-pals with Braeburn; but even worse, she hardly ever seems to get the chance to go and see him in person, and that's what's really bugging her right now.”

“Is there anything we can do to cheer her up?” asked Scootaloo hopefully.

“Already thought of that, squirt,” chuckled Rainbow Dash with a broad smirk. “Since we're gonna be taking our vacation soon anyway, I thought maybe all five of us could go spend it in Appleloosa – just you, me, Soarin, Pinkie and he or she who has yet to be born.”

A look of ecstasy quickly spread its way across Scootaloo's face. “No way!” she squeaked in delight. “We get to go visit a real live Western?!”

“If you and Soarin are okay with it.”

“Need you ask?” beamed Soarin. “I've heard a lot about these Wild West towns, but I've never actually seen one for myself before. It'll be a trip of a lifetime!”

“I'll say!” agreed Scootaloo eagerly. “Buffalo herds...”

“Rodeo competitions...”

“...Wild West dances...”

“...old-time wagon trains...”

“So that's a yes, then?” assumed Rainbow Dash.

“You bet it is, Dashie,” affirmed Soarin emphatically, and Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

“Alrighty then! I'll go book us a place on the train to Appleloosa,” and Rainbow Dash zoomed out of the house like a bullet out of a gun.

Soarin watched with a broad smile – even now that she was with foal, that mare never seemed to lose her speed and agility. “Ah well,” he mused at last, turning towards the other door, “we'd better get started with our packing, Scoot. You never know – could be that the next Appleloosa-bound train is due to leave tomorrow morning!”

“Yeah, could be,” chuckled Scootaloo. “Boy, I'm sure looking forward to seeing what Appleloosa's really like, though!” With that, she too turned to head off to her room and prepare a few belongings for their vacation – but before she was over the threshold of the door, a thought occurred to her that caused the orange-coated filly to pause in her tracks. “Hang on a second – what do you take on a Wild West vacation anyway?”

Chapter 2: My, What A Guy, That Braeburn!

Nearly two-thousand miles away, in the arid and almost barren San Palomino Desert, the vast orchard that formed the backbone of Appleloosa's economy was bustling with activity as the town's residents began harvesting the first apple crop of the season. The town had thrived enormously in the five years since its foundation, steadily growing in size until it was almost big enough to rival Dodge City, and the orchard itself had become almost as dependable as its Ponyville counterpart of Sweet Apple Acres.

The apple harvest was normally something that Braeburn would approach with great pride and enthusiasm; but today, much to everypony else's surprise and concern, he wasn't exhibiting quite the same gusto that he normally did at this time of year. Far from the eager and highly sociable stallion he tended to be, he seemed more than a little distracted, and the prospect of a hard day's graft in the orchard seemed to be the last thing on his mind. Instead, he was busying himself with shuttling the fruits of the town's labour to the storehouse near the Town Hall, each time bringing back a fresh cart to be loaded up again.

As he made his way through the many groves of trees, across the main avenue they had laid through the orchard to maintain the buffalo's sacred stampeding trail, he heaved a deep sigh and stared across the desert towards Celestia knew where. To say he didn't enjoy living here would be wholly untrue, but for some time now, he couldn't help feeling an empty space in his heart – something that Appleloosa would never quite be able to fill very easily, if at all.

“Somethin' up, Braeburn?” said a voice from somewhere behind him.

Braeburn looked over his shoulder to see a terracotta Earth pony with a blond mane and tail and a ukulele Cutie Mark standing next to his empty cart. “Not a lot, thanks, Meadow Song,” he replied unhappily, and continued across the orchard.

“You sure? You don't exactly sound with it right now.”

“Ah'll be fine,” muttered Braeburn half-heartedly, trying to worm his way out of the long conversation he could feel coming his way.

But Meadow Song wasn't about to let his friend and fellow worker off the hook that easily; “Not the way yo' goin at the moment,” he retorted. “Come on now, ol' buddy, what is it that's buggin' ya?”

With another heavy sigh, Braeburn halted his cart and unhitched himself from its traces. “Well, if you must know, Ah'm actually in a bit of a bind because...well, Ah think Ah might have gone and broken mah heart.”

Meadow Song was taken aback. “How so?”

“You remember when Cousin Applejack an' her pals came over here with Bloomberg an' helped us make peace with the buffalo?”

“As if I'd ever forget that!” scoffed Meadow Song. “I thought we'd never see the end of a' that – 'specially not after that pink mare nearly ruined everything with that there Share an' Care song o' hers.”

“Well, brush it off if you must,” huffed Braeburn, noticeably offended, “but speaking for myself, Ah rather la'ked that performance of hers, an' Ah don't care that it nearly led to the town bein' flattened! She's a great singer is Pinkie Pie, and an all-round great pony too.”

Meadow Song chortled in disbelief. “Yeah, right!”

“No, really, Meadow, Ah mean it!” insisted Braeburn firmly. “That mare did at least try to calm the rift between us an' the buffalo – an' in her defence, Ah've seen ballets worse than what she did back then!”

“Ballets?! What in the hay is that supposed ta mean? Ya never liked ballets anyway.”

“Well......yeah, maybe Ah don't – but that's besides the point! The point Ah'm trying to make here...”

“Okay, okay, cool it, Mr Cultural Agnostic,” soothed Meadow Song. “If ya really think this Pinkie Pie is a great performer, then that's fine; I'm not gonna challenge y'all about it. But what I don't understand is why ya brought it up in the first place.”

Braeburn paused for a moment, trying to muster up the courage to explain himself. “Because it's Pinkie Pie who's been occupying mah thoughts lately. She's kinda grown on me since that li'l spat with the buffalo, an' Ah think Ah may have started gettin'...well, feelings fo' her.”

“Started?!” laughed another stallion who happened to be nearby. “Shucks, Ah must be clairvoyant or somethin' then!”

Braeburn glared daggers at the pony who had just butted into his and Meadow Song's conversation. “Well, ya don' 'ave ta make such a joke out of it, stupid!” he ordered sharply.

“He does have a point, though,” observed Meadow Song. “If I didn't know better, I'd say the whole Pinkie Pie thing 'ad been plaguing y'all fo' years, so ya can hardly say you've only just started gettin' feelings fo' that mare. Remember how y'all felt after she an' 'er friends left?”

“Ah guess Ah do,” mused Braeburn thoughtfully. “Ah felt kinda sorry to have ta say goodbye to that lot, but Ah only really thought it was because of Applejack. It never once hit me that it'd have anythin' ta do with Pinkie.”

“Yeah, I can kinda see where yo' comin' from,” remarked Meadow Song. Applejack had always been Braeburn's favourite cousin, but with such heavy workloads on their plates, it was difficult for either of them to find time to visit the other, so it was only natural that Braeburn should have misinterpreted his own emotions the way he did. “But yeah, we could all see what was goin' on under that skull o' yours, even if y'all couldn't. Speakin' fo' myself, I'm surprised ya din' just turn around there an' then an' tell us y'all 'ad decided ta move outta town an' live on Sweet Apple Acres!”

“It's not that simple, Meadow,” protested Braeburn pathetically. “Appleloosa's been a huge part o' mah life since we firs' laid foundations here. There's no way Ah would'a just left it behind in a heartbeat – that's la'k...well, abandonin' yo' own parents!” Head hanging, the golden stallion sat himself down on his haunches. “Matter o' fact, Ah'm still havin' trouble tryin' ta decide as much right now. Ah la'k Pinkie, that much is obvious, but...Ah still dunno.”

Meadow Song gave an understanding nod in reply. It didn't take a genius to realise just how lost Braeburn was at the moment, and naturally he felt compelled to try and help him out of his dilemma in any way he could. “Surely it can't be all bad,” he encouraged. “After all, yo' cousins do live on an orchard of their own – an' besides, what's stoppin' y'all from comin' back ta visit us ever' once in a while?”

“Every summer an' autumn at least, if our yearly apple crop is anythin' ta go by,” muttered Braeburn.

“Wrong again, buddy,” Meadow Song pointed out. “This 'ere orchard may be almost as big as the one in Ponyville, but Sweet Apple Acres is only a family business if I 'member correctly. Ours, in case y'all done forgotten, is community property; anypony an' everypony is allowed to help out here – even the local buffalo tribes, I might add – so yeah, if ya wanna move on, we won't hold it against ya.”

Braeburn didn't answer. He just stared up at the heavens with a plaintive look in his eyes, almost as if he was pleading for a sign from the powers that be.

“Do ya care fo' this Pinkie Pie?”

Without averting his gaze, Braeburn slowly nodded. “Mo' than anythin' else in the world.”

“Do ya wanna be with her fo' as long as ya both live?”

“Wouldn't be a bad thing,” conceded Braeburn.

“Do ya wanna be the one who fathers her foals in the long run?”

This brought a heavy blush to Braeburn's face, and he couldn't help but cringe slightly. “Well...it's a bit early to be thinkin' about that,” he stammered.

“An' do ya wanna stick around in yo' home town feelin' guilty that ya never got the chance ta tell 'er how ya really feel about her?” finished Meadow Song in deadpan.

“No, of course not!”

“Well then, in that case, the sensible choice would be to go after yo' mare,” stated Meadow Song firmly.

Braeburn paused. He knew Meadow Song was right, but he wasn't sure he had the guts. “Ah still don't know, Meadow,” he sighed unhappily. “What if she doesn't feel the same way about me? What if...”

“No ifs, no buts,” interrupted his friend with a smirk. “If ya don't take that risk now, ya never will – an' ya know we wouldn't want that. Heck, there's no way we'd be able to get by if we ever thought y'all were anythin' but yo' usual cheerful self.” And as if to emphasise his point even further, he began living up to the second half of his name:

“Gosh, it's depressin' ta see Braeburn,
Lookin' so down in the dumps;
Contagious yo' feelings can be, Braeburn,
Even if we lose Top Trumps.
There's nopony here as admired as you.
Yo' everyone's favourite guy!
All of us here are inspired by you,
And it's not very hard to see why...”

These encouraging lyrics quickly caught the attention of everypony else on the orchard, and they all turned to watch and listen as Meadow Song continued...

“No...one's...slick like Braeburn,
Nor can kick like Braeburn,
Or perform such a swell farmyard trick like Braeburn.
Yo' peacekeepin' is worth a medallion,
For maintainin' our 'Buffalo Bond';
That's why yo' such a memorable stallion
From Equestria to Pegagypt an' beyond...”

...before joining in with him on the next verse;

“No...one's...been, like Braeburn,
A lynch-pin like Braeburn;
No-one has such a wonderful kin like Braeburn...”

Braeburn felt so much better for hearing this that he couldn't help but contribute to the song himself;

“There's nopony who's quite so exhilaratin'!”

...to which all the others proclaimed,

“My, what a guy, that Braeburn!
Give five hurrahs, give twelve hip-hips...”

“Braeburn's a role model from hooves to wing-tips...”

The moment that lyric came out of Meadow Song's mouth, all the other ponies in the orchard stared at him in confusion. Meadow Song gave an awkward grin in response; but Braeburn, already feeling somewhat rejuvenated by all this musical praise, was reduced to stitches by Meadow Song's humour, and had to buck a nearby apple tree in order to pull himself together. Plenty of the other ponies saw that coming, of course, and promptly continued:

“No...one...bucks like Braeburn,
Brings good luck like Braeburn,
And nopony gives hay-rides in trucks like Braeburn.
And because he's so agile and brawny,
Appleloosa has apples to spare;
So nopony here ever goes scrawny...”

At this point, one of the other ponies promptly added a lyric more comical than the one Meadow Song had contributed just a few seconds ago;

“And every last inch of him's covered with hair!”

Meadow Song directed an odd look at the stallion, who simply replied with a cheesy look that seemed to say, “Well, duh – I'm just telling the truth here!” Instead of making a big deal out of it, however, both ponies, and everyone else around them, went right back to the song;

“No...one...strikes like Braeburn,
Booms the mikes like Braeburn,
Or excels at amusing the tykes like Braeburn.”

“Ah fin' none o' their antics exasperatin'!”

“Top marks all round for Braeburn!”

“When Ah was a colt, Ah ate four apple pies
Every mornin' to help me get large;
An' now Ah'm grown up, Ah eat five apple pies,
An' can harvest enough for a barge!”

“No...one...frowns on Braeburn,
Nor looks down on Braeburn,
'Cause there's no better guide to this town than Braeburn.”

“Ah use apples in all o' mah decoratin'!”

“My, what a guy – Braeburn!”

“Ya see, Braeburn?” said Meadow Song once the song had drawn to a close. “We're all real proud o' y'all, an' we wouldn't want y'all ta be anythin' other than content with the way yo' life's goin' right now. We don't even mind if we never see y'all again as long as ya get the girl yo' after.”

Braeburn smiled softly in reply. “Ya know what, Meadow,” he decided, “yo' right. Ah guess it really is time fo' me ta move on with mah life – an' Ah know exactly where Ah'm gonna be movin' to.”

“Ponyville?”

“You bet!”

Meadow Song chuckled, and patted his friend's withers in encouragement. “Go get 'em, buddy!”

“But first,” pointed out Braeburn promptly, “there's a few things Ah need ta do before Ah leave mah ol' roots behind – namely, get mah ticket an' run the whole she-bang past Applejack an' mah Pop.”

“An' the boss, I take it?” added Meadow Song.

Braeburn chuckled. “Well, of course Ah am! Ain't y'all forgotten that Pop is 'the boss'?!”

The terracotta Earth stallion looked away sheepishly, and Braeburn cantered off to find a loaded apple cart, still laughing at Meadow Song's blunder. Just like him to forget who was in charge here, he thought!

Chapter 3: Mistaken Actions

Applejack was feeling very pleased with herself as she made her way back to the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres with her coltfriend Caramel and her brother Big Macintosh. As was the case with practically the whole of Appleloosa, the three of them had been busy gathering the orchard's first apple crop of the year, and already they had managed to harvest nearly a tenth of the orchard in the space of a single morning.

“Not a bad start to the apple season, huh guys?” she mused. “At this rate, we should have this first crop done an' dusted by the end of the month.”

“Eeyup,” agreed Big Macintosh, succinct as ever.

“Yeah, we've been doing pretty well to get this far on our own,” put in Caramel with a smile. “If that had been any heavier, we'd have needed outside help in order to prevent a repeat of that one time when you overworked yourself, Applejack.”

The orange-coated mare looked away, feigning hurt feelings. “Well, at least Ah don't trip over mah own hooves mo' often than a moose on a sugar rush!” she scoffed.

Caramel stared in shock and stopped in his tracks. “No, Applejack, I didn't mean...” he began hastily; but he was instantly cut off as Applejack began to laugh.

“Cool it, Caramel, Ah was only foolin'!” she soothed heartily. “Ah knew you were only showin' concern fo' this mare.”

Caramel breathed a sigh of relief. “And there was I thinking I'd gone and upset you over the whole thing.”

“Ah pretty much had it comin' mah way anyway,” went on Applejack wryly. “If Twilight hadn't kept pesterin' me into lettin' others help with the harvest, some other pony would'a done so.”

“Freely translated: Ah would'a done so,” smirked Big Macintosh knowingly as he opened the front door. He had been the first to raise the issue of the harvest being too big for Applejack to manage alone, and was always quick to remind her if she became too big for her horseshoes.

“Yeah, whatever,” grunted Applejack, mildly annoyed by her brother's smugness. Caramel simply chuckled and followed the two farm ponies into the house.

Granny Smith had just finished baking some fresh apple turnovers for their lunch, and was in the middle of laying the table as the three ponies entered. “Howdy, y'all,” she announced. “Anypony hungry?”

“You bet!” smiled Caramel, eagerly taking his seat.

“Darn tootin'!” chipped in Applejack; but before she could even begin to follow Caramel's lead, something on the counter caught her attention. “Uh...were any o' us expectin' mail, Granny?”

“No,” the elderly mare replied, eyeing the unopened envelope that Applejack was referring to, “but that there Derpy mare did come over with a telegram fo' y'all shortly after ya went ta start work.”

Curious as to what the telegram was about, Applejack immediately opened it up and started reading. “Well Ah'll be...!”

“What's up, Applejack?” asked Caramel.

The orange-coated mare looked up. “It's from Braeburn. Says he's plannin' on movin' outta Appleloosa an' onto Sweet Apple Acres.”

Caramel and Big Macintosh exchanged bewildered glances. Both stallions knew Braeburn well enough to know how much Appleloosa had meant to him, ranking among its founding fathers as he did – and yet, after all the effort he had put into building this town, he was thinking of leaving it behind for good? “Seriously?” they blurted out in unison.

“So it seems,” replied Applejack.

“But why would Braeburn want to leave Appleloosa after all it's ever meant to him? That's what I don't understand,” objected Caramel, bemused.

“Y'all left Manehattan about five or six year ago,” Granny Smith pointed out.

“That's different, Mrs Smith,” argued Caramel. “Manehattan barely meant anything to me, especially after what happened with those suspended walkways and Brooklyn Dodger's death.”

“Well, Granny Smith does have a point,” countered Applejack. “After ya left Manehattan, y'all stumbled upon somethin'...or somepony, rather, who meant far mo' to ya than yo' old home ever could – an' if this telegram's anythin' ta go by, then Ah'd say Braeburn's...pretty much after the same thing.”

“What 'same thing'? I don't follow.”

“Wait just a minute!” exclaimed Big Macintosh. “This is about Miss Pinkie Pie, isn't it?

“Got it in one!” affirmed Applejack with a grin.

Only then did everything start to fall into place in Caramel's mind. Though he didn't know Braeburn as well as Applejack and Big Macintosh did, he knew from what few conversations the two had had, mostly during Apple Family reunions, that the golden-furred stallion had been holding a torch for Pinkie Pie for quite some time. It stood to reason, then, that the pink party animal would mean more to him than an Appleloosa the size of Canterlot.

“So...he's moving into Ponyville so he can be with Pinkie Pie?” he asked.

“Boy howdy he is, Caramel!”

“Ah – well that makes all the difference,” mused Caramel. “I tell you what, though, I bet Pinkie'll be delighted when she finds out. When do you plan on telling her?”

“Uh...probably not until shortly before he's due to arrive, Ah'm thinkin',” decided Applejack.

Caramel was taken aback. “Why not?”

“Well, it says in his telegram, an' Ah quote – 'Estimate arrival Ponyville three days from now, stop. Tell Pinkie Pie that Apple Family member is comin', but not who, stop,'” explained Applejack. “That leaves us plenty o' time ta let 'er know, even with all these apples that need harvestin'.”

The tan-furred stallion raised a concerned eyebrow. “Does it?” he asked uncertainly, trying to sound reasonable. “Because for all we know, Pinkie could be away dealing with some really important gig in...say, Delamare by the time Braeburn actually gets here.”

“Probably,” replied Applejack, unconvinced, “but Ah think it'd be mo' of a surprise if Ah leave it until just before he arrives. 'Sides, Ah doubt Pinkie's gonna be goin' anywhere within that kinda time frame.”

“Well......if you say so,” conceded Caramel doubtfully.

“But what Ah do need ta do before Braeburn gets here,” added Applejack, “is wire a reply an' tell 'im he's mo' than welcome ta move in with us – after we've eaten, that is.”

“And yo' sure y'all can get away with not tellin' Miss Pinkie about this until just before Braeburn gets 'ere?”

“Ah, stop worryin', Big Mac,” insisted Applejack. “Pinkie ain't goin' nowhere any time soon – we'll be fine!”

Naturally, neither Caramel nor Big Macintosh were quite so sure; but they were none too keen on getting into an argument with Applejack, so they simply kept it to themselves.

True to her word, once she and her family and coltfriend had finished lunch, Applejack headed straight off to the telegraph office to wire her reply to Braeburn. The message she sent off was short but simple:

BRAEBURN,

MORE THAN HAPPY TO HAVE YOU. WILL EXPECT YOU IN TWO DAYS.
APPLEJACK

That done, she rejoined Caramel and Big Macintosh at the orchard, and the three of them carried on harvesting apples for the rest of the day. But what the orange-coated mare couldn't know, even as they returned the carts and baskets to the barn and went to turn in for the night, was that a major setback to her and Braeburn's plans was already beginning to rear its ugly head...

The morning sun peeked over the horizon as yet another of Luna's star-speckled nights gave way to a brand new day. Its soft light seeped through the windows of Soarin and Rainbow Dash's bedroom and brushed gently against their faces, slowly lifting the two sleepy Pegasi out of the realms of the subconscious and into the real world once again.

As he gingerly came to, Soarin directed a warm, passionate yet bleary-eyed smile towards his loved one. “Morning, Dashie,” he murmured. “Sleep well?”

Rainbow Dash fondly returned the gesture. “Like a foal, babe,” she replied, softly nuzzling the side of her husband's head and wrapping her forelegs around his shoulders.

Soarin chuckled inwardly. Though he would never wish for his wife to change her ways, he still found it rather cute when she became so unusually cuddly – something which seemed to have become more and more frequent as her pregnancy had progressed. “Glad to hear it, honey,” he whispered, “glad to hear it.”

“And so you should be, Soar, seeing as how you actually gave me one!” joked Rainbow Dash heartily, this time causing Soarin to chuckle for real. She then gazed down at her bulging midsection, gingerly rubbing a hoof against it as her unborn foal gently shifted around in its sleep. Her smile faded at this point, and she let out a soft sigh.

“You okay?” asked Soarin.

Rainbow Dash paused. “Yeah, fine,” she mumbled; but Soarin could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't. After another brief silence, she glumly continued; “I just feel so fat and...ugly with this baby bump, that's all.”

Soarin frowned in dismay at the thought of his normally boastful wife putting herself down so strongly. “That's just silly, Dashie,” he retorted, placing a gentle, soothing hoof against her muzzle. “Just because you're with foal doesn't make you ugly – matter of fact, I still think it makes you look...well, kinda sexy.”

“What, me looking like I've swallowed a beach ball?! Yeah, right!” scoffed Rainbow Dash in disbelief.

“No, really,” insisted Soarin, softening his expression in an attempt to diffuse the pregnant mare's frustration as much as he could, “even when you started showing, I never found you any less attractive than you were before. Besides, unless I'm very much mistaken, I don't recall Scootaloo ever calling you...'fat', as you so strongly put it, so is there really any need for you to bully yourself over all this?”

“No......I guess not.” Rainbow Dash let out another sigh, much deeper than the last. “Yeah, maybe I am being a bit too harsh on myself. It's just...I just feel so...awkward, having to carry a foal inside of me wherever I go.”

“Take it easy, Dash,” comforted Soarin. “It'll all be worth it in the end. Just think – two more months, and we get to hold our foal for the first time!”

This was more than enough to change Rainbow Dash's tune. The notion of seeing her foal sleeping peacefully in her forelegs warmed her heart to such a degree that the soft smile returned to her face. She slowly leaned forward towards Soarin, and the two Pegasi engaged in a deep, passionate kiss that seemed to last for eternity. Even as they pulled away for air, the rainbow-maned mare continued to nuzzle against her husband with fond gratitude. “Thanks, Soarin. I guess I really needed that.”

“It's what I'm here for, love,” Soarin warmly reminded her. He then looked over her shoulder towards the clock on the far side of the bedroom; “You still feeling up to that Appleloosa trip?”

“With you around?” Rainbow Dash smirked. “I feel up to anything!”

“Then we'd better get a move on,” advised Soarin. “It's nearly half past nine; the train leaves in an hour.”

Rainbow Dash looked at the clock – and goggled when she noticed just how right Soarin was. “Sweet Celestia, you're right!” she exclaimed. “You'd better wake up Scootaloo and fly off to the train station; I'll go fetch Pinkie from the bakery!” and before Soarin could even think of anything else to say, the rainbow-maned Pegasus mare scooped up the saddlebag she had packed the night before and shot out of the window like a rocket. The two-tone blue stallion could only stare in amusement as he got out of bed and placed his own saddlebag over his withers.

“I don't know,” he thought aloud. “The way that mare seems to be acting right now, you'd think she couldn't decide whether to be exuberant or exhausted!” He paused for a few seconds, allowing himself a light chuckle before heading down the hallway towards Scootaloo's room.

Scootaloo was still slumbering away peacefully underneath her bed-covers as Soarin quietly opened the door and poked his head into the room. For almost the whole of the previous evening, she had been eagerly speculating what they would see and do when they arrived in Appleloosa, so it seemed a wonder to the older blue Pegasus that she had managed to get any sleep at all!

“Scootaloo,” he whispered, “it's time to get up.”

The orange-furred Pegasus filly yawned and cracked a sleepy eye open. “Morning, Soarin,” she mumbled, gingerly rubbing her eyes.

“Hullo, sport,” smiled Soarin. “You ready to go see some buffalo?”

Scootaloo sat up with a broad grin, immediately forgetting that she had only just woken up. “Are you kidding?! I can hardly wait!”

“Just as I thought,” chortled Soarin. “Well, if you're all set, we might as well go and catch our train. Rainbow Dash has already gone to fetch Pinkie Pie, and we're due to leave at 10:35.”

“Then let's go!” declared Scootaloo, jumping out of bed and slipping on her saddlebag. With that, the two Pegasi trotted enthusiastically downstairs and through the front door before taking off for Ponyville Central Station.

Chapter 4: Off to Appleloosa

In spite of the extra weight she was carrying, Rainbow Dash arrived at Sugarcube Corner within only a few minutes of leaving her house. Pinkie Pie's window was open, so she decided to go straight in and see how she was doing.

“Pinkie?” she called softly as she drifted into the room. “You awake?”

There was no reply. A quick scan of her surroundings revealed that Pinkie Pie's bed was unoccupied, and the only other presence in the room was her pet alligator Gummy. Clearly, then, she was awake – probably taste testing and doing odd jobs around the bakery, Rainbow Dash decided. But before she could even begin to head downstairs...

“Hi!!” squeaked a chirpy voice from immediately in front of her. Startled, Rainbow Dash staggered backwards and fell flat on her haunches, clutching a hoof to her chest as Pinkie Pie hung from what the gravid mare could only assume must be some sort of invisible trapeze bar.

“Jeez, you really got me there, Pinks!” she exclaimed.

Pinkie Pie giggled heartily as she set herself down on the floor. “Sorry about that, Dashie!” she chirped. “I guess I'm just so over the moon to be seeing Braeburn again – or at least over where the Cakes are working, anyway.”

At this point, Rainbow Dash could only smile. “Ah well – at least you've got your old spark back,” she mused. “You all ready to go?”

“Ready since last night,” the pink party pony affirmed, stretching out an arm over an impossible length and reaching for her saddlebag. “I've got my brush, my alarm clock, my face paints, my funny masks, my party cannon, my welcome wagon...”

Rainbow Dash stifled a chuckle as she watched Pinkie Pie pull the aforementioned items out of her saddlebag briefly before stuffing them back in again. Some of the belongings she had packed, most notable of which was her trademark “party cannon”, were so big that they shouldn't have fitted inside a relatively small saddlebag – but this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about!

“Yep – I'm just about ready to go,” finished Pinkie Pie at last. “I'm just gonna go say goodbye to the Cakes, and then we can get going.”

“Okay then, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash paused to allow Pinkie Pie to slip on her saddlebag (which actually seemed surprisingly light, given all the stuff she had crammed into it), and the two of them headed downstairs. As usual, Mr and Mrs Cake were busy baking fresh goods and placing it on the display shelf ready for sale, and their twin foals Pound and Pumpkin were playing happily on the far side of the lobby, Pound with a toy dragon while Pumpkin was playing dress-up with her favourite doll.

As chance would have it, Fluttershy was at the bakery too. She had arrived only a few minutes ahead of Rainbow Dash, and was now waiting patiently by the counter with a picnic basket perched on her back.

“Hey there, Fluttershy,” called Rainbow Dash cheerfully.

“Hi, Flutters', how ya doin'?” chipped in Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy looked up with a soft smile. “Hullo, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash,” she replied.

“Good morning, Pinkie Pie. Good to see you up and about again.” This came from Mrs Cake, who was just bringing a batch of cupcakes over to the counter. “You asked for two of each, Fluttershy dear?”

“Yes, that's right,” affirmed Fluttershy with a slow nod.

Rainbow Dash smirked knowingly as she watched Mrs Cake set a total of six cupcakes aside for Fluttershy. She didn't need to guess what the canary-yellow Pegasus mare was up to that day. “This another of your picnic dates with Big Mac?”

Fluttershy blushed madly, but smiled and nodded all the same. “Um...yes, you could say that.”

“Don't worry, 'Shy,” chuckled Rainbow Dash, “I'm not gonna joke about it, and neither is Pinkie – not least because she's joining me and Soarin and Scootaloo for our vacation,” she added, trying not to laugh at the memory of how Pinkie Pie had once intruded on the timid mare's time with the red draft stallion when they had only been dating for a year. Although they had been taking their relationship slowly as per both their wishes, some ponies, Rarity and Pinkie Pie in particular, had been disappointed to find that they hadn't yet locked lips with each other; and one day, as Fluttershy and Big Macintosh were taking a quiet walk around the park, the latter had lain in wait beneath a bush until she caught them staring into each other's eyes. Then, before they knew what was going on, she had leaped up and yelled out “NOW KISS!!!” at the top of her voice, causing them both to stare in flustered confusion.

“Vacation, huh?” remarked Fluttershy, interested. “Where are you headed?”

“AAAAPPLELOOSA!” proclaimed Pinkie Pie, joyously echoing the way Braeburn often pronounced the name. “We're gonna go see the buffalo, take part in a Wild West dance – and that's not all...” she took a deep breath and paused dramatically, “...we're gonna be seeing Applejack's cousin Braeburn too!”

“Um...what about Braeburn?” Fluttershy looked perplexed.

Mr Cake promptly joined in at this point, having just left the kitchen with some strawberry tarts; “Pinkie was telling me yesterday evening that she...correct me if I'm wrong, Pinkie, but didn't you say you were developing feelings for him?”

“I sure am, Mr Cake!” replied Pinkie Pie emphatically. “True, I don't know that guy as well as Applejack might, but I like him – LIKE HIM, I TELL YOU!!!”

“That's why Soarin and I decided to take our vacation in Appleloosa and bring Pinkie along with us,” chipped in Rainbow Dash. “That way, we can get our time off, and Pinkie can get her time with Braeburn.”

“Oh? When are you leaving then?” inquired Fluttershy.

“Right now,” answered Pinkie Pie, “which is why I thought I'd come and say goodbye before we go.”

Mrs Cake smiled warmly and wrapped a motherly hoof around the mare who, over the years, she and her husband had come to love as a surrogate daughter. “Goodbye, Pinkie dear,” she said softly. “I hope you enjoy yourselves.”

“Thanks, Mrs Cake,” smiled Pinkie Pie, returning the hug. “I'll see you in two weeks.”

“Pound? Pumpkin?”

“Yes, Mommy?” called Pumpkin from across the lobby. Pound didn't say anything, but turned to look at his mother.

“Pinkie's just leaving now. You want to say goodbye?”

Neither of the two youngsters needed to be asked twice. “Bye, Pinkie!” they chimed. “Have a good time!”

“Bye, kids!” replied Pinkie Pie, waving as she neared the front door. “I'll see you when I come back!”

“Take care, Pinkie,” added Fluttershy with a soft smile.

“I will, Fluttershy. So long!” and with Rainbow Dash by her side, the pink-furred party pony skipped merrily down the road.

By this time, Soarin and Scootaloo had arrived at Ponyville Central, and were now waiting patiently for Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to join them. As Soarin stood under the awning in front of the main station building, keeping his eyes open for the two mares, Scootaloo decided to have a wander around the platform.

The train on which they would be travelling was the Appleloosan, a transcontinental express that linked Manehattan, on the Eastern Seaboard, with San Franciscolt on the West Coast. As with most other expresses, this train generally stops here for fresh provisions and a change of engines and crew, occasionally picking up extra coaches or dropping off any surplus should the need arise, and today was no exception; the engine that had been pulling the express had gone over to the shed for a rest, and two extra sleeping cars had just been added.

In order to add extra coaches, head-end vehicles such as luggage vans and travelling post offices have to be removed from the train first since, as their collective classification suggests, they must always travel at the front of the train. The two sleeping cars having been attached, the shunting engine was now moving the two luggage vans back onto the front of the train. Scootaloo watched with interest as the shunting engine, under the guidance of the railway's youngest employee Locomotion, gently buffered the vans up to the front sleeping car.

The red-furred unicorn colt noticed the orange-furred filly out of the corner of his eye, and as soon as he had coupled the vans to the rest of the train (which, even with a levitation spell, isn't an easy job for a pre-teen colt!), he promptly turned his full attention to her. “Hullo, Scootaloo,” he called cheerfully.

“Hey, Loco,” smiled Scootaloo. “How's it going?”

“Not too bad,” answered Locomotion. “Extra trains here, crippled engine there – it's all good. How about you? How's the whole Cutie Mark Crusader business?”

Scootaloo grinned sheepishly. “Uh...no new ones turned up yet,” she admitted, “but we're working on it.”

Locomotion chuckled in reply, shifting his attention to the saddlebag she was carrying. “So...you off somewhere then?”

“Aw, you bet I am!” replied Scootaloo eagerly. “Me and Soarin and Rainbow Dash are off to Appleloosa today – and we're taking Pinkie Pie with us too!”

“Oh right? Any special reason?”

“Yeah – Braeburn!”

This caught the young railway enthusiast completely by surprise. “What?” he exclaimed in disbelief. “As in...Applejack's cousin?”

“Well, duh!” retorted Scootaloo. “Who else could it be?”

Locomotion paused, still staring incredulously at the younger Pegasus filly. “But...why Pinkie Pie? I mean...if it's one of Applejack's kin, then surely she would be the one making this visit.”

“Wrong again, Loco,” smirked Scootaloo. “Did nopony ever...” she paused momentarily as another train came roaring through the station at full speed, and promptly resumed as soon as it had gone, “...ever tell tell you that Pinkie has a crush on him?”

“Not really, but......oh!” exclaimed Locomotion, finally beginning to understand. “That makes loads more sense. How long has this been going on, then?”

“Since that fallout with the buffalo five years ago,” Scootaloo clarified. “She hasn't had that many chances to see him since then, and it's really getting to her now – matter of fact, Rainbow Dash was saying just yesterday how gloomy she was when she went to see her.”

“Wow,” mused Locomotion. “Not every day you hear of Pinkie feeling anything other than chirpy or bouncy or whatever.”

“That's partly why we're taking this trip,” explained Scootaloo. “We were already due for a vacation, so we offered to take it in Appleloosa; that way, Pinkie could come with us and get her time with Braeburn.”

Locomotion smiled appreciatively. “That's very thoughtful of you guys,” he observed. “I hope you enjoy yourselves out there.”

Scootaloo returned the smile in kind; but before she could reply, they heard the driver of the shunting engine call out to Locomotion. “Come on, Loco, we've got them reefers to shunt for Applejack!”

“Ah – duty calls,” remarked Locomotion. “Sorry I can't stop and chat, Scoot – must keep the trains running, after all. Have a nice vacation.”

“So long, Loco,” Scootaloo called back. Locomotion replied with a succinct nod, and trotted briskly along the platform.

With a shrill whistle, the little tank engine clanked away towards the goods yard taking Locomotion with it. Scootaloo watched until it was out of sight before turning back towards the station building, where she saw Soarin trotting into view with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash close behind.

“Hey there, Scoot!” said Rainbow Dash. “Still looking forward to seeing a real live Western?”

“I sure am!” replied Scootaloo eagerly.

“Me too!” added Pinkie Pie ecstatically. “I can't wait to see Braeburn again – in fact, scratch that; I've been waiting alright – waiting for far too long!!”

Rainbow Dash laughed heartily. “Well, you won't need to wait much longer, Pinks – train should be leaving soon enough.”

With that, the four ponies plus one unborn foal entered the first coach and began searching for their reserved compartments...

Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Caramel and Applejack were preparing to head down to the station themselves, this time with several cartloads of apples. As Ponyville's main source of income, the orchard generated a significant amount of agricultural traffic on the main railway route between Canterlot and Manehattan; and at least once a week during the apple harvest, Applejack, Big Macintosh and Caramel would each bring a consignment of their produce to the goods yard at Ponyville Central, where it would be loaded into special “reefer vans” for transportation to all corners of Equestria. Today, as Big Macintosh would shortly be heading off for his date with Fluttershy, Applejack and Caramel had to manage the apple shipment alone, but neither pony minded too much; all it meant was that they would each have to make a second trip later on.

“Right, that ought to do it,” said Caramel, hoisting the last crate of apples onto the rearmost of the three carts he would be pulling. “So how many is that? One, two, three...”

“Eighty-six, Ah make it,” cut in Big Macintosh.

Caramel paused, checking to make sure the red-furred draft pony had counted correctly. “Yep, eighty-six definitely,” he confirmed, visibly impressed. “I tell you what though, Mac, your arithmetic skills never fail to amaze me.”

Big Macintosh grinned modestly. “Just a knack, Ah guess,” he replied. “Then again, Ah did put a hay of a load o' focus into mah maths lessons at school – not that mah li'l sis would understand...”

This prompted an indignant glare from Applejack. “Yo' a fine one ta talk, Big Mac!” she shot back sourly. “Who was it that overloaded our cart when we took Pinkie to see Goldie Delicious?!”

“Well, at least Ah don't willingly overwork mahself if one o' y'all is unavailable,” Big Macintosh pointed out with a broad smirk.

Applejack opened her mouth in an attempt to make a snide comeback, but nothing came to her. In the end, she simply narrowed her eyes and muttered, “Did Ah ever tell ya how much Ah hate y'all?”

“Nope,” chortled Big Macintosh, pretending not to notice. Caramel, on the other hoof, was trying his level best not to laugh as he hitched up to his front cart's traces.

Applejack merely brushed the two stallions off with a light snort as she continued to load her own carts; but at that moment, she noticed none other than Ponyville's resident animal caretaker trotting blissfully up to them carrying a picnic hamper between her teeth. Forgetting to be annoyed, she set down the crate she had in her front hooves and turned to greet the canary-yellow Pegasus.

“Hey there, Fluttershy,” she called.

“Morning, Applejack,” replied Fluttershy, setting her hamper down and smiling fondly upon her red-furred coltfriend. “Hullo, Mackie.”

“Howdy, sugarcube,” said Big Macintosh, warmly returning the smile.

“Good morning, Fluttershy,” said Caramel politely. “How's the animal care business going?”

“Um...not too bad. One of the mice in my cottage has just had a new litter, but I've also had to treat an owl for a broken wing.”

Caramel winced uncomfortably. “Ouch,” he remarked, “that sounds pretty painful.”

“Not Owlowiscious, Ah hope,” muttered Applejack, referring to Twilight Sparkle's pet bird.

“Oh no, he's absolutely fine,” Fluttershy hastily reassured her. “This one was a barn owl that had nested in my cottage roof. Besides, it's only a hairline fracture; it should be healed in a few days.”

“Well...if you say so,” murmured Caramel doubtfully.

“How about the rest of you?” went on Fluttershy. “Has everything been okay at Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Yeah, it's been good,” replied Applejack with a smile. “We've managed ta get nearly a quarter o' this first apple harvest done so far, an' not a single slip-up on Caramel's part – yet. Seems we've managed ta defeat that there clumsy streak o' his once an' fo' all!”

Fluttershy was most impressed. She didn't know Caramel as well as Applejack or Big Macintosh did, but as with most other ponies who knew him, she was all too aware of how unfortunate he could be. “Goodness,” she mused, “that sounds like a huge achievement, Caramel.”

“Sure does,” chuckled Caramel. “I just hope it doesn't turn out to be in vain, what with Applejack's cousin coming over from Appleloosa.”

“Nah, don't y'all worry none, Caramel – Ah ain't gonna let that happen,” soothed Applejack, giving the tan-coated stallion a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Braeburn may be a better apple farmer, but there's no way in heck that Ah'd wanna let ya go, 'specially not after what ya went through back in Manehattan. Speakin' o' whom,” she went on, “did ya happen ta meet Pinkie on yo' way up here, 'Shy? There's somethin' Ah wanna speak to her about later today.”

At the mention of Braeburn, Fluttershy's expression changed from cheery to perturbed. “Um...well...I did see her,” she affirmed uneasily, “but...I'm afraid she won't be available at any time today......”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “How come?”

Fluttershy looked away nervously and started pawing at the ground. “Well...please don't be mad at me for saying this, but...um......” she paused, fearing the worst, “...she's off to Appleloosa with Soarin and Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh, well that's nice to......WHAT?!?!” blurted out Applejack in alarm. “When are they goin'?!”

“This morning,” explained Fluttershy meekly. “She and Rainbow Dash were just leaving Sugarcube Corner as I was buying cupcakes for Mackie and me.”

“Well, Applejack,” said Big Macintosh in a stern voice, raising a dubious eyebrow at his sister, “what was that y'all were sayin' about 'Pinkie Pie ain't goin' anywhere any time soon'?”

Only then did Applejack fully realise the dreadful mistake she had made; by procrastinating over her news to Pinkie Pie about Braeburn's impending arrival, she had inadvertently jeopardised their long overdue reunion. “Dang nab it,” she exclaimed loudly, “Ah gotta stop 'em!” and before anypony else could even think of anything to say, she bolted away from the barn and darted across the fields, leaving Fluttershy, Caramel and Big Macintosh staring in confusion and suspense.

As Applejack streaked through the farm gate and into the streets of Ponyville, she glanced anxiously up at the town clock. To say she was perturbed to see what time it was would be putting it rather mildly; the minute hand had only just overtaken the half-hour mark, leaving her less than five minutes to reach the station.

“Okay,” she thought aloud, trying in vain to calm herself down, “so maybe Ah've gone an' messed up – big time – an' the train's due out any minute, but there's still time ta get there an' tell Dash an' Pinkie not ta go to Appleloosa after all. But dang it, Applejack,” she added severely, “whatever ya do, don't y'all dare stop fo' anythin'!”

But no matter how fast Applejack ran, her chances of reaching the train in time had already fallen through. Just as she was approaching the station, she could hear the train announcement over the speakers;

“The train about to depart from Platform One is the 10:35 Appleloosan service for San Franciscolt, calling at Trottingham, Lancanter Central, Dodge Junction, Appleloosa, Wyomane, Blenheim, Neighvada City, Applewood and San Franciscolt. Will passengers for the Appleloosan please join the train.”

Applejack's eyes widened in horror. “No!” she blustered, quickening her pace still further. “Don't leave, please! Not now!”

But no matter how hard she ran, she knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before the train did leave, and time – and top-link express passenger trains – wait for nopony. At the far end of the platform, she could just about make out Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie boarding the train, with Soarin and Scootaloo close behind. Gritting her teeth, she summoned up her strength again and made a final, desperate dash towards the express.

“C'mon!” she muttered breathlessly. “Get off of that train! Stay in Ponyville, fo' ponies' sake!”

The station building came closer and closer, and for a while, it seemed as though Applejack was going to make it. But then came the sounds that she least wanted to hear – the call of “ALL ABOARD!” followed by the guard blowing his whistle. To further the farm pony's horror, the express engine responded with a cheery, booming whistle of its own, and steam burst forth from its drain-cocks as the train began to move out of the station.

Applejack darted up the steps, through the station building and onto the platform. “STOP! STOP!!” she yelled frantically, but it was no use; the loud hissing of the engine and the rumbling of the wheels drowned out the sound of her voice, and by the time she or anypony else could hear a word of what she was saying, the last coach of the express had already cleared the station throat. The orange-coated mare watched forlornly as the train rounded the bend and disappeared from view.

“How am Ah gonna tell Braeburn about this?” she groaned.

Chapter 5: On the (Rail)Road to Chaos

Unaware of the chaos they had just gotten into, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie had found their compartments, and were now settling back in the one that Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Soarin would be sharing to enjoy the ride. Rainbow Dash was glad they had a sofa-bed on which she could rest; she had been on her hooves for well over half an hour since leaving Sugarcube Corner, and whereas flying hadn't been too much of an issue in her condition, all this walking and standing about had left her feeling sore and tired.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was so excited that she could hardly sit still. “Ooh – I can't wait to see Braeburn again!” she squealed, bouncing joyously around the compartment. “This is gonna be so awesome!”

“I bet it will,” chuckled Soarin. “First time I've ever been there myself...”

“...and me!” chipped in Scootaloo eagerly.

“...so yeah, I can see your point, Pinkie.”

“And just think – tomorrow, we're gonna be hanging out with buffalo and doing all sorts of Wild West stuff!” beamed Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash smiled faintly. “Yeah, that'll be something to look forward to,” she mused lazily. “Moving on, you guys want any breakfast?”

“Uh...isn't it a bit late for that?” asked Soarin uncertainly. “They're not serving anything aboard this train until twelve.”

“Maybe not, but I am,” retorted Rainbow Dash with a grin. “Anypony want muffins?”

The three other ponies all responded at once.

“Me! Me!”

“You bet, Dash!”

“Muffins? Where?”

“In my saddlebag,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

In an instant, Pinkie Pie dived into the bag and procured a freshly baked strawberry muffin for each of them before taking huge bites out of hers. “Mm – delish!” she beamed, earning a slight chuckle from Rainbow Dash as she finished her mouthful. “Where d'you get them from, Dashie? These taste even better than the ones we make at Sugarcube Corner!”

“And so they should,” agreed Rainbow Dash heartily, “'cause I didn't get them from there in the first place.”

“So where did you get them?”

Rainbow Dash paused impressively. “Do you know the muffin mare?”

“The muffin mare...” murmured Pinkie Pie, placing a hoof to her chin as she tried to work out whom Rainbow Dash was talking about.

“The muffin mare?!” repeated Soarin, noticeably taken aback.

“Oh yes, I know the muffin mare...whose name is Derpy Doo?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Yep,” affirmed Rainbow Dash. “I got these from the muffin mare.”

“The muffin mare?”

“The muffin mare.”

“You got these fro...wait just a minute!” Pinkie Pie promptly interrupted herself. “We're getting into that Shrek gag, aren't we?”

Rainbow Dash gave the pink-furred mare an odd look. “Uh...what are you talking about?” she quizzed.

“Honestly, Dashie, you need to get out more,” chided Pinkie Pie, directing a deadpan expression at her rainbow-maned Pegasus friend.

“As if!” scoffed Rainbow Dash smugly. “Soarin and I have been out at shows all the time since I became a full-time Wonderbolt; what more do you want?”

“Another muffin, that's what.”

Rainbow Dash smirked in amusement. “Yeah, sure, help yourself, Little Miss Random,” she teased; but promptly spoilt the effect by wincing and rubbing her front hooves together with a light groan. “Ugh, my hooves are killing me!”

“What's that gotta do with muffins?” inquired Pinkie Pie, withdrawing another one from Rainbow Dash's saddlebag.

“Nothing – I just said it afterwards, that's all.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head in disapproval; “Dashie, you shouldn't say things like that so close together. It could confuse a stupid pony.”

Soarin stifled a laugh and walked over to his heavily pregnant wife. “Never mind, Dashie; I'll soon sort that out,” he smiled, taking one of her rear hooves in both his front ones and gently rubbing the soreness away.

As she felt the tension in her aching hoof begin to fade, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and lay back against the soft cushions, moaning and purring with pleasure. She may not have been a great fan of spa treatment, but as she became more and more prone to muscle cramps, she found her husband's massages so relaxing and refreshing that she almost welcomed any aches and cramps that she might have sustained. There were indeed times when Soarin wondered if she was inflicting them on herself just to get one, but he didn't mind a bit; to him, it was a very sensual and enjoyable way of giving pleasure to his beloved.

Within about half an hour, Soarin had finished on all four of Rainbow Dash's hooves and was now in the process of massaging her swollen belly. “How do you feel now, honey?” he asked.

Rainbow Dash smiled fondly in reply; “Like a million bits, Soar. Thanks for that hoof massage you just gave me.”

“That's okay, Dashie – just glad I could be of help,” said Soarin modestly.

“Me too,” agreed Rainbow Dash. “You sure have a way with making me feel relaxed – and just as well too, considering the extra effort I have to put into carrying this little fella around.”

“Ah well, could be a lot worse,” mused Soarin brightly. Deep down, he was rather unsettled about all the pain that Rainbow Dash would have to go through once it was time for their foal to be born, but was trying his best to hide his fears behind a more optimistic façade.

But strangely enough, on this occasion, it somehow seemed to rub the rainbow-maned mare up the wrong way a bit, for no sooner had he finished than she directed a dubious stare at him. “What are you talking about?”

Confused, Soarin abruptly stopped massaging. “Well, uh...obviously I wouldn't know, since I'm only a stallion,” he stammered, “but I thought that...well, other than you worrying about your body image...”

“SOARIN!!!!” bellowed Rainbow Dash suddenly, in an aggressive, threatening tone. Both Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo jumped at the sound of her voice and accidentally knocked over the chess game they were playing, while Soarin recoiled slightly.

“Yes, Rainbow Dash?” he whimpered, fearing for his life.

“PREGNANCY,” growled Rainbow Dash fiercely, “DOES NOT GET LOUSIER THAN THIS!!” She then paused for a second before adding, “Which is a good thing,” in a cheery voice, almost as if an afterthought for comical effect.

With a sigh of relief, Scootaloo set about placing the board back on the table and returning the pieces to their original positions, ignoring a giggling Pinkie Pie as she rolled about on the floor. Soarin, meanwhile, simply rolled his eyes in amusement – not only did his wife always manage to get him with the pretence of being angry at him, but the way she had just spoken to him, it was as if she, Rainbow Dash of all ponies, actually enjoyed being pregnant!

“The things that mare gets up to sometimes,” he thought mirthfully to himself.

Back in Ponyville, Caramel was just pulling into the station with his first string of apple carts, hoping to goodness that Applejack had managed to stop Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie leaving for Appleloosa. As he halted his carts next to the reefer vans, he noticed the orange-furred mare pacing back and forth next to the station building, muttering to herself in an agitated tone. Realising that all was clearly not well, he left his carts and trotted over.

“Any luck?” he asked anxiously.

Applejack looked up, but still continued to pace. “None,” she replied unhappily. “The train left just as Ah arrived – an' Pinkie an' Rainbow Dash were already on board before Ah even got there!”

“So...you didn't even have a chance to tell them about Braeburn?” The tan-coated stallion thought quickly, trying to come up with a quick and easy way out of their dilemma. “Hadn't you tried telegraphing for him to wait a further twenty-four hours?”

“No chance,” said Applejack gravely. “His train's gonna be leavin' any minute; even if Ah do send a telegram, it'll never reach him in time.” She then collapsed onto her haunches and buried her face in her hooves. “Ah can't believe Ah had ta let this happen! Big Mac was right; Ah should'a told Pinkie the first chance Ah got!”

Caramel cringed and continued to wrack his brain for a solution. He hated seeing Applejack lose her nerve like this, but of more immediate concern to them both was the notion of Braeburn arriving in two days' time only to find Ponyville devoid of its favourite party pony. “Couldn't we just tell him that Pinkie's gone off to Appleloosa?” he suggested anxiously.

“No!” burst out Applejack in horror. “We can't do that; this is Braeburn we're talkin' about 'ere!”

“What's wrong with that?” objected Caramel, perplexed.

“Ain't y'all done forgotten how...clueless that guy can be?!” snapped Applejack, a little more sharply than she had intended. “If he finds out that Pinkie Pie's gone off to Appleloosa, he's just gonna go straight back there himself – an' fo' all we know, soon as Pinkie an' Dash find out that Braeburn's in Ponyville an' not Appleloosa, they might come a runnin' only ta fin' he's gone home! Then it'll probably be the same thing over an' over again!” She paused, taking a few deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm herself down; then, in a quiet, despairing tone, she added, “Caramel, what am Ah gonna do?”

Again, Caramel took a few moments to ponder the situation. Part of him felt sure that Applejack, in the heat of the moment, was merely exaggerating; but he also knew that Braeburn could be far quicker on his hooves than he was in the head. For all he knew, he decided, she could indeed be right. “Hmm...I suppose we could always have Twilight's dragon assistant send a letter,” he said at last.

“We can't!” protested Applejack. “Spike's away at a fashion show with Rarity in Fillydelphia; they won't be back fo' another week yet!”

“Oh......okay then.” Caramel paused for the umpteenth time. “Seems there's only three things we can do, in that case.”

“What three things?”

“Thing the first: we go ahead and send a telegram to Appleloosa, but make it out to...say Rainbow Dash instead of Braeburn,” stated Caramel. “Thing the second: we let Braeburn know that Pinkie has been detained, but that she will return in due course – and whatever we do, we must keep him from finding out she's in Appleloosa.”

“Easier said than done,” frowned Applejack. “Y'all know how useless Ah am at lyin'.”

“Well yes, but that doesn't mean you can't twist the truth,” Caramel pointed out. “If you managed it with me when I first arrived here, then I'm sure you can manage it with your own cousin. Besides, we only really need to keep it up long enough for Pinkie Pie to come home.”

“Hmm...Ah suppose so,” conceded Applejack doubtfully. “An' the third thing?”

“What the Apple Family does best, next to farming.”

“Hospitality?”

“Exactly!” replied Caramel triumphantly. “As long as we make Braeburn feel welcome here, chances are that he won't even begin to worry about Pinkie – and if we play our cards right, by the time he finds out where she's gone, both mares will probably be home and dry already.”

Applejack considered this. “Well...Ah suppose we do have a good chance,” she decided at last. “Alright then, Caramel, Ah'll go get that telegram sent off.”

“And I'll go let Granny Smith in on our, er......'emergency plan', let's call it.” With that, Caramel galloped away towards the orchard while Applejack headed for the nearby telegraph office.

Meanwhile, at Appleloosa Station, Braeburn was waiting anxiously for his own train to arrive. Word of his departure from Appleloosa had gone round very quickly, and on this, his final day here, many of his fellow townsponies and even some of the local buffalo had come to offer their support and say their final goodbyes before he left.

As the golden-furred stallion gazed out along the main line towards Ponyville, deep in thought, his father and former boss, Apple Bushel, came up next to him and rested a hoof on his shoulder. “You okay, Braeburn?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, Ah'm fine, Pop,” said Braeburn absent-mindedly. “Just a li'l nervous is all.”

“Ah know how it feels, son,” smiled Apple Bushel kindly. “Yo' Ma an' Ah found it mighty tough ourselves, movin' outta El Bronco an' into Jockeysonville just after we'd married – an' that was way before an Appleloosa ever existed.”

Meadow Song was the next to speak up; “Take it easy, Braeburn,” he soothed. “Same time tomorrow mornin', you'll be back with Pinkie again. Ain't that what ya wanted in the first place?”

“Ah never said it weren't,” objected Braeburn. “It's just such a big change in mah life, movin' on from somewhere Ah put mah heart an' soul into.” He paused, hanging his head ruefully. “Ah just hope Ah'm doin' the right thing, leavin a' this behind.”

“Well, that a' depends on what that right there is sayin'.” This came from Braeburn's mother, Gala Appleby, who pointed towards his chest as she spoke. “What does it tell ya, Braeburn?”

The golden-furred Earth pony paused, placing a hoof over his chest and feeling his heartbeat intensifying the more he thought about the prospect of leaving Appleloosa, about the friends and family he would leave behind – but most of all, about Pinkie Pie. “Well...it says go after her......Ah guess.”

“Then you are doin' the right thing, Braeburn,” Gala Appleby replied gently. “Y'all can always return to Appleloosa if ya so wish; but a second chance at gettin' the one ya care fo' don't come too easy.”

Braeburn smiled softly in reply, and gave his mother a grateful nuzzle. “Thanks, Ma,” he whispered. “Ya sure know how ta reassure me in times la'k these.”

“It's what Ah'm here fo', son,” replied Gala Appleby, returning the nuzzle.

At this point, Little Strongheart stepped forward. “Braeburn,” she said, holding out what looked like a colourful spider's web, “before you go, here's a little something my tribe made for you to remember us by.”

“Oh right?” Braeburn looked the object over with interest. It turned out to be a dream-catcher, lovingly hoof-crafted by some of the other squaws in Little Strongheart's tribe. “Wow! You did this for me?”

The young buffalo nodded in reply. “You and your fellow settlers have done so much for us over the years; it's only fair that we offer this to you as a token of our appreciation.”

Braeburn was so deeply touched and humbled by Little Strongheart's generosity that he could barely hold back tears. “Aw...thanks, Li'l Strongheart,” he faltered. “Ah'm really gonna miss you guys, ya know that?”

“We'll miss you too, Braeburn,” agreed Little Strongheart, drawing him into a friendly hug. “I do hope you and Pinkie are happy together.”

“So do Ah, Li'l Strongheart,” observed Braeburn, as his train finally pulled up alongside the platform. “So do Ah.”

And so, after a final, somewhat poignant farewell, the golden Earth pony stallion stepped aboard the rearmost carriage of the train and made his way back to the observation lounge. Once there, he watched and waved to all on the platform as the mighty express engine upfront heaved the sixteen coaches out of the station, carrying him away from his friends, his mother and father, and the town he had grown to love so dearly. Everyone on the platform waved back, crowing out their goodbyes and singing a final salute to Braeburn which lasted until he was out of sight;

“No...one's...bright as Braeburn,
Brings delight like Braeburn,
And there'll never be nopony quite like Braeburn.
That he's leaving is sad yet by far elating...
My, what a guy – Braeburn!”

As the town of Appleloosa gradually receded into the distance, Braeburn heaved a wistful sigh and headed back to his reserved compartment. Moving away from his old home had truly been the toughest choice he had ever had to make, and while he knew Applejack and her siblings would be more than happy to help him adapt to his new life in Ponyville, he also knew that it would take him a long time to get over it.

But at least, he told himself, he would still have Pinkie Pie to help him move on from all the heartbreak he had inevitably suffered from leaving Appleloosa behind. With that in mind, he sat back on one of the armchairs in his compartment to enjoy the journey.

Chapter 6: Absent Friends

Time passed swiftly, and by early evening two days later, Braeburn's train was just a few minutes away from Ponyville. As the golden-furred stallion looked out of the window in his compartment, he could just make out the outline of the Sweet Apple Acres homestead amid the sea of brown, green, red, orange and yellow that constituted Ponyville's highly famed orchard.

"Not long now,” he thought eagerly. “Boy, will Ah be glad ta see Pinkie again!”

Braeburn wasn't normally the sort of pony to travel heavy, so it only took a few seconds for him to gather up his belongings. By the time he had finished, the vast countryside had given way to a sprawl of buildings and sidings as his train slowed down for its final approach. Finally, with a gentle squeak from its brakes, the train came to a halt alongside the platform, and Braeburn promptly trotted out of his carriage to find Applejack and Caramel awaiting him.

“Hey there, cuz!” he called cheerfully.

“Howdy, Braeburn,” replied Applejack, trying her hardest not to sound nervous. “How was yo' journey?”

“Not bad, thanks, A.J.,” replied Braeburn, failing to notice the anxiety in her voice, “but mo' on that later – 'cause Ah understood that Pinkie was gonna throw me a li'l welcome party, right?”

Applejack looked away, trying to think of an excuse. “Uh......well, about that...Ah'd been meanin' ta tell her,” she stuttered, “but she...well...”

“She's hosting a cute-ceañera in another town,” interrupted Caramel, quickly coming to his marefriend's rescue. “You know how it is with party ponies, being called out to all these swell gigs at short notice.”

“Yeah, Ah suppose so,” agreed Braeburn thoughtfully. “Oh well, Ah suppose Ah'll just have ta go an' see her some other time. Any idea when she's comin' back?”

“Um...she didn't say?” Deep down, Applejack was hoping that it wouldn't be very long.

“Ah, she'll come back when she comes back,” mused Caramel in a casual tone. “Anyway, Braeburn, shall we head back to the orchard? If I remember correctly, I believe Granny Smith's got your favourite hay fries recipe on the menu for the five of us tonight.”

“Five?” Braeburn was taken aback. “Shouldn't there be six of us?”

“Not tonight – Apple Bloom's having a sleepover with Sweetie-Belle and Twist over the weekend, so it's just us three with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh,” Caramel clarified.

“Oh...fair enough!” chuckled Braeburn. “Yeah, let's get going then.”

Neither Applejack nor Caramel needed any second bidding on that score. Even though night was slowly setting in, the two Earth ponies were understandably anxious to get back home before Braeburn found out about their blunder. Swiftly, they made their way through the now silent streets of Ponyville with Braeburn close behind, taking care not to come too close to Sugarcube Corner for fear of curiosity getting the better of him...

Over in the San Palomino desert, in a different time zone to that of faraway Ponyville, the late afternoon sun still hung just above the western horizon as the Appleloosan came close to its namesake town. Through their compartment window near the back of the train, Pinkie Pie gazed out across the arid landscape, barely able to contain her excitement for much longer. Soarin and Rainbow Dash had already finished packing their belongings and were now discussing their plan of action for when they arrived.

“I think as soon as we're off the train, me and Pinkie ought to go look for Braeburn,” decided Rainbow Dash. “You and Scoot can go book into the guest house and then do what you want for the rest of today.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” conceded Soarin. “You okay with that, tiger?”

“Uh...yeah, I guess so,” replied Scootaloo doubtfully. She then turned her attention to her pregnant adoptive mother; “You sure you don't wanna come with us, Dash?”

“Thanks, Scoot, but Pinkie's gonna need that extra eye in the sky if she's gonna find Braeburn.”

“And on the back of my head and everywhere else I can fit one!” chimed in Pinkie Pie in a slightly agitated tone. “I've been away from that stallion for far too long, and if I don't find him by tonight, I'm gonna go crazy!!”

Soarin placed a thoughtful hoof to his chin. “You might have a point there, Pinkie,” he mused, and Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

“Don't worry, Pinkie,” soothed Rainbow Dash. “I'm sure we'll find him – it's not as if he's decided to leave Appleloosa all of a sudden.”

Pinkie Pie shuddered inwardly at the thought, but tried not to show her fear. “I hope not,” she muttered anxiously.

As the express began to slow down for Appleloosa Station, the four ponies headed over to the carriage door, ready to disembark. At last, the train came to a complete stop next to the platform, to the sound of the stationmaster crowing out the name of the station.

“Right,” said Rainbow Dash, leading the group off the coach and onto the platform, “I guess we'll see you this evening, Soar.”

“So long, Dashie,” replied Soarin, sharing a quick kiss with his wife before heading off with Scootaloo to explore the town.

The rainbow-maned mare then turned to Pinkie Pie; “C'mon, Pinks, we've got an Apple to seek. Let's split up and try to find him.”

“Okey-dokey-lokey!” and Pinkie Pie bounded away in a completely random direction, while Rainbow Dash took off for where she thought would be the most obvious place to find Braeburn – specifically, the orchard.

Rainbow Dash had only very rarely visited Appleloosa herself in the past, but the orchard's countless apple trees stood out very noticeably against the sandy, arid backdrop, so it didn't take her long to locate it. But as she began searching among the many groves, it quickly dawned on her that their search for Braeburn wasn't going to be anywhere near as easy as she had first thought – plenty of other ponies and even a few buffalo were busy harvesting apples, but none of them seemed to match the golden-furred stallion's description. Even when she checked from the air, she couldn't seem to find him.

“That's funny,” she remarked, touching down on a ledge overlooking the orchard. “Shouldn't he be out working the orchard himself?”

“He's not here.”

Rainbow Dash nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the voice that had just spoken to her. “What in the hay was that for, Pinkie?!” she exclaimed indignantly, clutching her chest to try and slow her racing heart.

“Well, duh!” retorted Pinkie Pie. “Just looking for Braeburn is all.”

“Well you don't need to startle me like that,” huffed Rainbow Dash. She paused for a few seconds before adding, “So you haven't seen him.”

“Nope.”

“Okay, then let's try this again – I'll go uptown, and you go check the station, just in case,” and before Pinkie Pie could reply, Rainbow Dash leaped into the air and headed back towards the town.

The two mares spent the best part of a few hours looking for Braeburn. Each time, Rainbow Dash would leave Pinkie Pie to search a certain area while she went to check another; but no matter where they looked, they couldn't seem to find him anywhere. To make matters worse, wherever Rainbow Dash looked, Pinkie Pie always seemed to jump out at her, saying “Nothing,” “No sign of him here,” or “Can't find him” among other variations.

At last, Rainbow Dash lost her temper. “WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT, PINKIE?!?!” she burst out angrily, wincing as she felt her unborn foal kicking hysterically. “THIS IS GETTING BEYOND A JOKE!!!”

“I can't help it, Dashie!” whined Pinkie Pie pathetically. “I haven't seen Braeburn all day – and I want to see him! I can't stand being away from him any longer, 'cause I like him – LIKE HIM, I TELL YOU!!”

“Yes, yes, I get it!!” growled Rainbow Dash, frustrated. “Look, I know you're anxious to see him, but you jumping out at me when I least expect it is not gonna help! If anything, it's gonna send me into early labour if you keep it up!”

“But what else am I supposed to do?! We've looked everywhere, and still no sign of him!”

Rainbow Dash paused, gently rubbing her belly to try and soothe her foal. “Then I guess we're just gonna have to ask around – and don't you jump out at me again, you hear?”

“Is there anything I can help you with, miss?” The two mares looked back to see a young buffalo bullock standing just behind them with a curious look on his face.

“Uh...yeah, actually, there is,” Rainbow Dash spoke up at last. “My friend here is looking for a stallion from this area named Braeburn. You familiar with him?”

“Yeah, I know him,” affirmed the bullock. “One of those who held all those peace talks with my tribe after he and his fellow townsponies planted all those apple trees on our stampeding trail. Quite a fun guy he is too – matter of fact, the only two I can name who've ever matched his enthusiasm are a guy named Cheese Sandwich and a mare named Pinkie Pie.”

“You called?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at Pinkie Pie's randomness and returned her attention to the bullock; “Yeah, we...kinda guessed that,” she replied, “but what we want to know is where is he?”

The bullock opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it again as his face fell. “Ah yes...about that...” he stammered, almost afraid of what he was about to say.

“Yeah, what?”

“I'm...sorry to have to disappoint you both,” explained the bullock apologetically, “but I'm afraid Braeburn's...” but he broke off when he saw the look of anxiety on Pinkie Pie's face. Somehow, he seemed to have difficulty with his own.

“Out with it, mister!” urged Rainbow Dash impatiently. “We haven't got all evening, you know!”

The bullock gulped and looked away. “He's not here,” he mumbled meekly.

“Yeah, we kinda got the impression from the lack of......hang on!” Rainbow Dash promptly interrupted herself. “You're saying Braeburn has moved out of Appleloosa?!”

“I'm afraid so, miss.”

Pinkie Pie let out a huge gasp, a look of horror spreading across her face like a plague of rats across a small village. Strangely enough, in her own disappointment, Rainbow Dash didn't seem to notice. “Well...thanks anyway,” she said to the bullock, giving him a small, understanding nod.

“I'm only sorry I couldn't be of any real help,” answered the bullock, sheepishly turning to leave.

“Nah, it's okay, mister,” sighed Rainbow Dash half-heartedly. “If he's gone, he's gone. C'mon, Pinks, let's get back to the guest house.”

But Pinkie Pie didn't move. She didn't even give the faintest squeak in reply. She just sat there with the same thunderstruck look that she had taken on when she had heard what the bullock had had to say.

Confused, Rainbow Dash nudged her friend's shoulder. “Pinkie?” she asked. “Pinkie, did you get that?”

Still no response.

“Equestria calling Pinkie Pie!” called Rainbow Dash, nudging her even harder. “Pinkie, do you...” but she was cut off by what sounded like a sudden rush of air. The gravid Pegasus mare jumped back in shock, unable to comprehend what was going on at that moment – but when she had gathered her awareness, she wished she hadn't.

Pinkie Pie's mane and tail were as flat as a beach ball that had just been deflated, their bounciness completely gone, and her vibrant colours had dulled considerably. Her eyes bore an expression of pure despair as her jaw quivered, struggling hard to form a few words but failing badly. After nearly half a minute of sitting there like she had been attacked by a cockatrice, she finally managed to stammer, “...h-h-he's gone?”

There was a very awkward pause.

“Um...yeah, so it seems,” replied Rainbow Dash unhappily, mentally bracing herself for the inevitable. And she was quite right to do so – barely five seconds after she had uttered those solemn words, Pinkie Pie almost literally collapsed into tears, bawling her heart and soul out into the San Palomino desert sand while her heavily pregnant best friend sat and watched in dismay...

Soarin and Scootaloo had enjoyed their day together, when they returned later that evening, the two of them were quite agreed that Appleloosa was one of the most delightful holiday destinations they had ever been to. In fact, such was their joy that the last thing they expected to find was Rainbow Dash sitting glumly in the front room with her head in her hooves.

Instantly forgetting to be all cheerful and carefree, Soarin walked over to the rainbow-maned mare, a look of concern on his face. “What's the matter, Dashie?” he asked anxiously.

“You know we said we'd bring Pinkie here to see Braeburn?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah?”

“Not happening.”

“Why not?” quizzed Soarin, taken aback.

Rainbow Dash told them all about their fruitless search for Braeburn, and how Pinkie Pie had reacted to the news that he had left Appleloosa altogether. By the time she had finished, neither Scootaloo nor Soarin could help but share her dismay for the heartbroken pink-furred mare.

“Oh, Dashie, that's terrible,” gasped Soarin. “I can't even begin to imagine how Pinkie must feel about the whole thing.”

“I know what you mean, Soar,” sighed Rainbow Dash sadly. “Soon as we got here, the first thing she did was charge on up to her room and start crying her eyes out, poor thing. I've been trying my best to cheer that mare up, but she just doesn't seem to wanna know.”

Soarin heaved a sigh of his own and sat down next to her. “What a thing to come back to,” he mused unhappily.

“You said it, Soarin,” agreed Scootaloo, gloomily looking at her front hooves. There was a long silence as the three of them sat and brooded over all that had happened that day, and how a simple act of generosity on their part had only led to grief and despair for their pink-furred party pony friend. Somehow, the prospect of a vacation in Appleloosa didn't seem quite so inviting after all.

At last, Rainbow Dash spoke up; “I'm gonna try again, Soarin. We can't just leave Pinkie to drown herself in her own emotions – you never know what she might do to herself.”

“Point taken, Dashie,” conceded Soarin. “I just hope she's not too far gone by now.”

Rainbow Dash merely nodded in reply before making her way into the kitchen.

“Uh...Dash? I thought all the bedrooms were up there,” called Scootaloo, pointing up the stairs in confusion.

“I know, squirt; I'm just getting something which might perk her up a bit,” came the reply. Soarin and Scootaloo exchanged glances, unsure of what Rainbow Dash was talking about; but as soon as she came out again, they immediately understood...

Chapter 7: Depression and Discovery

Pinkie Pie lay forlornly across her bed, the fur below her eyes matted together from the tears she had been letting loose. She still couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Braeburn couldn't possibly have left Appleloosa, she kept telling herself; that bullock was just having a game with her! Give it until tomorrow, and her golden-furred stallion might yet come back. There was no way he would just leave his home town, at least not without writing to Applejack about it.

But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, the cruel, harsh truth remained – Braeburn was gone, and the chances of him returning to Appleloosa being slim to none, she would probably never see him again. The pink-furred mare stared longingly out of the window, silently pleading for him to come back to her and not even bothering to answer to the knock on her door as Rainbow Dash entered.

“Hey again, Pinkie Pie,” she said softly. “How are you feeling?”

Pinkie Pie didn't respond. She just gazed down at her front hooves.

“Do you...want somepony with you?”

Still no response – just the occasional sniff.

“Listen, Pinkie,” began Rainbow Dash cautiously, “I know you're upset about Braeburn, but...”

“Upset?!” burst out Pinkie Pie, tears spilling from her eyes again. “I'm way worse than upset, Dashie! All I wanted was to see Braeburn again, and he just left me – LEFT ME, I TELL YOU!!!” She buried her face in her forelegs, too ashamed and distraught to even look upon her friend; “This is like Gummy's after-birthday party all over again,” she wept.

Rainbow Dash winced uncomfortably, remembering all too well how she had returned to Sugarcube Corner to find a deranged Pinkie Pie and a bunch of inanimate objects sat around a table, having what she could only describe as the creepiest party she had ever seen. And all because she had thought her friends didn't like her anymore! “Uh...yeah, pity that,” she mused awkwardly. “Still, I'm sure there's a simple explanation for all this – just gotta find out what.”

“He's forgotten about me! I know he has!” hollered Pinkie Pie, losing control over herself. “He's probably in some other town thinking 'Who is this Pinkie Pie anyway? I've never heard of such a pony!' Let's face it, I'm gonna be a one-pony party forever!”

“That'll be the day,” muttered Rainbow Dash sceptically. “Anyway, I brought you something that's sure to cheer you up,” and she laid down a small plate on her bedside table.

Pinkie Pie lifted her head and looked at what Rainbow Dash had just given her – but to the pregnant mare's bewilderment, she burst into tears again after only a few seconds. “What? Pinkie, that's a slice of your favourite chocolate cake; why won't you even look at it?”

“I can't, Dashie!” wailed Pinkie Pie. “I just can't!”

“Why not?”

“BECAUSE IT'S NOTHING BUT A LIE!!” bawled Pinkie Pie hysterically. “THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!”

Rainbow Dash groaned and slapped a hoof to her face. “Okay, you're just being ridiculous now, Pinkie Pie.”

“Oh, I'm being ridiculous now, am I?!” the distraught mare shot back, her voice heavy with irony. “Well, there's a big surprise(!); somehow I seem to be ridiculous all the time! No wonder nopony can stand some OTT party animal like me!”

“Now, hang on, Pinkie,” objected Rainbow Dash firmly, “that's not necessarily true. Sure, I may think...”

“Yeah?” interrupted Pinkie Pie. “Well you think too much – for a Wonderbolt, anyway! Just get out and leave me alone!”

“Alright then, if you really want to depress yourself even further, then be my guest!” snapped Rainbow Dash, frustrated; and without even bothering to say anything else, she turned and stormed out of the room. Only when she was out on the landing, from where Soarin and Scootaloo had been listening in on the two mares, did she allow herself a few deep breaths to calm herself and her startled foal.

Soarin was the first to speak up; “No luck, Dashie?”

“None whatsoever,” affirmed Rainbow Dash wearily. “I tell you what, Soar, I'm at my wits' end with that pony, I really am!”

“Poor mare,” sympathised Scootaloo. “She must be really upset about Braeburn to be putting herself down like this. If only there was something we could do to cheer her up.”

“Me too,” agreed Soarin solemnly, “but I doubt if anything here in Appleloosa's gonna make the cut. The way she's going, it's gonna take a miracle to bring her out of this.”

Rainbow Dash nodded her agreement. “I'm gonna go take a walk outside, see if I can clear my head. Soarin, be a good hubby and telegraph Applejack, will you?”

“What for?”

“See if she knows where Braeburn might be.”

“Oh, yeah!” remarked Soarin. “Yeah, good thinking, Dashie – I suppose if anypony knows where Braeburn's gone, it'll be her. I'll get right on that.”

“You mind holding the fort while we're gone, Scoot?”

“Yeah, I'm fine with that,” replied Scootaloo.

“Good,” said Rainbow Dash, giving her adopted daughter the best attempt at an appreciative smile she could manage – under the circumstances, anyway. “I shouldn't be much longer than five minutes.”

“Okay, see you, Dash.”

With that, the two adult ponies left the house and set off in opposite directions, Rainbow Dash for her stroll around the block while Soarin went to find the telegraph office. Rainbow Dash hadn't gone very far, however, before she came across a familiar face just around the corner.

“Why, if it isn't Rainbow Dash!”

The rainbow-maned Pegasus blinked – and then she broke out into a broad smile for the first time in several hours. “Hullo, Strongheart!” she remarked. “Long time no see!”

“Yes, it certainly has been a long time,” Little Strongheart smiled back. “How have you and your friends been keeping back in Ponyville?”

“We've been doing pretty well so far,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Rarity's doing some really good business with Sapphire Shores at the moment, Twilight's gone and gotten herself a coltfriend...” She broke off, noticing that Little Strongheart wasn't paying her full attention. By following her gaze, she noticed that the young buffalo cow was staring curiously upon her baby bump, to which the gravid mare could only blush. “Oh, that's Soarin's. He and I married last year, and I'm only two months away from giving birth to our first foal.”

“Oh, really? Well, congratulations, Rainbow Dash,” praised Little Strongheart.

“Thanks,” said Rainbow Dash, smiling proudly upon her swollen midsection. Her expression then turned serious, and she returned her attention to Little Strongheart; “Actually, I'm glad I, er...bumped into you. See, we're in a bit of a tight spot at the moment regarding Pinkie Pie.”

Little Strongheart's smile faded. “Oh? What's the matter?”

“You know Braeburn like the back of your hoof, am I right?”

“Been friends with him ever since you brought Bloomberg to Appleloosa,” affirmed Little Strongheart.

“Yeah, well...Pinkie's had this crush on him since they first met that day,” explained Rainbow Dash, “but she never told anypony else until just a few days ago. Soarin and I thought we'd spend our vacation here and bring her along too; but we only just found out earlier that he's moved away from Appleloosa. You any idea where he's gone?”

Much to the pregnant Pegasus mare's confusion, Little Strongheart started to laugh. “You mean to say you've come all this way to see a pony who's already moved into your home-town?”

“I don't see anything funny about......wait, WHAT?!?” Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped in disbelief. “He...h-h-he's moved to Ponyville?!”

“Yes,” giggled Little Strongheart, trying to keep a straight face. “He's been harbouring feelings for Pinkie too, so he's moved to Ponyville so he can be with her.”

Only then did Rainbow Dash realise the muddle in which they had ended up. “Well that explains a lot,” she mused. “Does Applejack know?”

“He didn't say; but I wouldn't think it unlikely.”

“Right, then in that case, I'd better go tell Soarin.” Rainbow Dash turned to leave, but quickly remembered her manners and stopped; “Nice talking with you, by the way,” she added. “Thanks, Strongheart; I'll see you when I see you.”

“You too, Rainbow Dash.”

At that very same moment, Soarin had found the telegraph office and was now speaking to the clerk; “Good evening, miss. My name is Soarin Starr, and I wish to send a message to Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville.”

The clerk was most bemused when she heard his name. “Sorry, can y'all repeat yo' name please?”

“Uh...Soarin Starr. I'm a Wing Commander in the Wonderbolts,” he replied, almost on automatic. Years of having to sign posters and other merchandise had taught him to give his full name and title should anypony give the slightest hint that they recognised him.

“Well, what a coincidence!” exclaimed the clerk. “There's a telegram for y'all an' a Mrs Rainbow Dash from the very place ya wanted ta contact.”

“What?!” exclaimed Soarin, bewildered. “When did that turn up?”

“Two days ago. Ah'll go get it fo' ya.”

Soarin could only stare in confusion as the clerk headed over to the other side of the office. Why would anypony at Sweet Apple Acres be telegraphing him or Rainbow Dash midway through their vacation? Was there some sort of emergency that needed the Wonderbolts' assistance? Or did they just want to wish them a good time?

“Ah, there we go.” The clerk soon returned with an unopened envelope. “There's yo' telegram, sir.”

“Thanks, miss,” and Soarin trotted over to a nearby desk to see what the sender had to say. He ripped open the envelope, laid the telegram out on the desk and nearly fell over backwards in surprise. “Well, of all the...”

“Soarin!”

The blue-coated Pegasus stallion quickly came to his senses to find Rainbow Dash trotting into the office. “What's up, Dashie?”

“I just ran into a friend of mine a few minutes ago,” said Rainbow Dash. “She says Braeburn was headed for Ponyville all along!”

“Well, funny you should mention it, Dashie,” Soarin pointed out, trying not to laugh, “because it seems Applejack realised as much long before we did. She sent this off minutes after we had left,” and he passed her the telegram he had just been reading. Rainbow Dash looked it over, and was most exasperated by what she read;

SOARIN AND RAINBOW DASH

COME HOME AT ONCE. BRAEBURN IN PONYVILLE.

APPLEJACK

As those brief, succinct words sank in, the already flustered Pegasus mare let out a growl of frustration. “Darn that Applejack! She could have told us sooner!”

“I'll say,” frowned Soarin, “but we've got more important things to worry about right now. What's the game plan?”

“You reply to Applejack's telegram and meet me back at the guest house as soon as you can. I'm gonna round up Scootaloo and Pinkie and get us ready to go; but look sharp,” advised Rainbow Dash. “With the state Pinkie's in, she's bound to give us trouble, so Scoot and I might need all the help we can get.”

“Okay, Dashie, I'll do my best.”

“See you later then, Soarin,” and Rainbow Dash streaked away towards the guest house.

By now, Caramel and Applejack had already made it back to Sweet Apple Acres without the slightest inkling to Braeburn about Pinkie Pie. The golden-furred stallion was currently chatting away with Granny Smith as she and Big Macintosh helped him unpack and settle in, while Applejack paced anxiously in the front room, hoping to goodness that Soarin or Rainbow Dash would reply to her telegram – and soon.

“C'mon, c'mon!” she muttered. “How much longer is this gonna take?!”

Caramel frowned and shook his head. This had been going on for nearly half an hour, and admittedly he was growing rather irritated by Applejack's constant pacing; but he tried not to show it for fear of rubbing her up the wrong way by mistake. “They'll get back to us soon enough,” he said, trying his best to quell her paranoia. “With all due respect, though, you might want to slow your pacing down, or you'll wear yourself out.”

“That's rich comin' from y'all, Caramel!” retorted Applejack crossly; though the nervous tone of her voice spoilt the effect with ease. “Surely ya must 'ave done the same over yo' feelings fo' this mare!”

“Well...not exactly,” replied Caramel calmly. “Sure, I may have lost a lot of sleep over you, but I never once resorted to pacing in my front room to ease the tension. Generally I'd just stand on my balcony for some fresh air, and even if I did want to pace, I'd just take a walk through the streets.”

“What, even at night? How come ya never...”

Caramel grinned sheepishly. “My front room wasn't big enough...” but before he could explain further, the two Earth ponies were startled by a knock at the front door. Almost immediately, Applejack bolted towards the door and flung it open to find a messenger standing outside.

“Telegram for Miss Applejack,” announced the messenger, holding out an envelope. Her hopes restored at long last, Applejack snatched it out of his hoof and ripped it open – and breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw the message it contained;

APPLEJACK

HAVE RECEIVED YOUR TELEGRAM STOP WILL RETURN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE STOP KEEP BRAEBURN AT ORCHARD STOP

WG CDR SOARIN STARR

“What's it say, Applejack?” asked Caramel, trotting across to the orange-coated farm pony.

“It's from Soarin,” replied Applejack. “They've got our message.”

“So...they're on their way?”

“First train outta Appleloosa for Ponyville, they're gonna take it,” affirmed Applejack. “We just gotta keep up this act fo' another two days an' all's gonna be fine.”

“Oh, good,” mused Caramel, noticeably relieved. “Well in that case, I'd better head off home for the night – but remember,” he added, “not a word to Braeburn, or we're stuffed.”

“Don't worry, Caramel – he won't know if Ah can help it,” promised Applejack. “Cross mah heart an' hope ta fly.”

“Okay then,” said Caramel, and gave Applejack an affectionate nuzzle before turning to leave. “Goodnight, Applejack; have a good sleep.”

“Thanks, Caramel. Ah'll see ya tomorrow.”

“She said what?!” Scootaloo was just as taken aback as her adoptive parents when she heard the news.

“That's about the size of it, Scoot,” affirmed Rainbow Dash gravely. “I don't know why she never told us until now, but it turns out Braeburn kinda had the same idea as us – with one small difference...”

“Which is...?”

“He's planning on staying in Ponyville for good,” her legal guardian specified. “The whole reason he moved there was so that he could be with Pinkie Pie.”

“So he does like her back!”

“Yep – and that's why we need to get back to Ponyville ourselves,,” stated Rainbow Dash. “I know it's kinda ruining our vacation, and I'm awful sorry to have to do this, but...well, that's the way things are, I'm afraid.”

To say Scootaloo wasn't disappointed would be untrue; but she tried to remain positive all the same. “Ah well,” she replied brightly, “I suppose we can always come back some other time. Besides, if it's the only way we're gonna put Pinkie outta her misery, then I'm game.”

“Good girl,” said Rainbow Dash, giving the orange-coated filly a pat on the back. “You run along and pack your things then, squirt; I'm gonna go tell Pinkie.”

“Yes, ma'am!” Scootaloo gave her adoptive mother a quick salute before darting upstairs and into her room to start packing. Rainbow Dash followed at a slightly slower pace and knocked on Pinkie Pie's door.

Needless to say, Pinkie Pie's sadness hadn't waned in the slightest since Rainbow Dash and Soarin had left the house. Her tears had begun to dry up, but she still hadn't moved from her bed, let alone touched the cake that had been left for her. As Rainbow Dash entered the room, she could only hope that the pink-furred mare wouldn't be anywhere near as difficult as that one birthday she had forgotten about.

“Hey, Pinkie,” she called, trying to sound cheerful, “guess what.”

“The world's about to end?” groused Pinkie Pie obstinately.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but pretended not to hear. “There's a certain pony from Appleloosa who's just arrived in Ponyville,” she replied coyly. “Soarin and I only just got the news from Applejack this evening; she wants us back home as soon as possible, so...”

“Yeah, that's nice,” mumbled Pinkie Pie sarcastically. “Tell her I said hi, and that I'll probably write to her someday.”

“Oh no you don't!” retorted Rainbow Dash. “You're coming with us.”

“Don't count on it,” argued Pinkie Pie. “I'm staying here until Braeburn comes back.”

“But he isn't coming back!” insisted Rainbow Dash. “Did none of us tell you...”

“Oh, isn't he?!” snapped Pinkie Pie. “Well, in that case, I'm staying here for the rest of my days!”

“What, you stay here and never see your best friends ever again?! Fat chance of that, Pinkie!” snorted Rainbow Dash, starting to lose her temper. “You're coming with us, and you're coming now!”

“I most certainly am not!”

“You are!”

“I NO WANNA!!”

“Well, no-one's asking you, are they?!” Rainbow Dash stubbornly turned and started shoving Pinkie Pie's belongings into her seemingly bottomless saddlebag, ignoring the angry scowl that the pink-furred mare was directing at her. That done, she marched off to pack her and Soarin's bags, leaving Pinkie Pie alone to sulk once again – but not for long.

Only a few minutes later, the heavily pregnant rainbow-maned Pegasus mare returned with her and her husband's saddlebags draped across her back. “Right, come on, Pinkie!” she ordered sharply. “Grab up your saddlebag and let's get moving!”

“I won't go!” snarled Pinkie Pie defiantly.

“You will!” urged Rainbow Dash.

“I WILL NOT!”

“Fine!” growled Rainbow Dash angrily. “If you won't come along, I'm just gonna have to drag you along!” and she tried to haul Pinkie Pie off the bed by her tail. But no matter how hard she pulled, Pinkie Pie refused to move, and she ultimately had to resort to airlifting the pink-furred mare in order to move her at all.

By this time, Scootaloo was already waiting anxiously in the living room, and Soarin had just returned from sending his reply.

“Hey, Soarin,” grunted Rainbow Dash, straining to keep Pinkie Pie aloft, “lend me a wing up here.”

“Coming, Dash!” Soarin immediately took to the air and grabbed Pinkie Pie by her hind legs. The angry pink mare struggled and bayed, but between them the two older Pegasi just managed to restrain her. “Right, let's get you back to Ponyville.”

Chapter 8: Homeward Bound

The four ponies made it to Appleloosa Station in good time. Upon arrival, they brought Pinkie Pie into the waiting room and Soarin headed over to the ticket office to book their return journey, leaving Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to stand guard over the unwilling Earth pony. As he passed through the doorway, Pinkie Pie attempted to follow; but Rainbow Dash barred her way.

“And just where do you think you're going, Pinkie Pie?” she demanded bluntly.

“You're not dragging me back to Ponyville!” growled Pinkie Pie, giving Rainbow Dash a threatening leer. “I'm not going anywhere until I see Braeburn again, and that's final!”

“But Pinkie,” began Scootaloo, “Braeburn's already in Ponyville...”

“LIES!!” bellowed Pinkie Pie furiously. “That's all you're ever telling me – a whole bunch of lies!! You never wanted me to be with Braeburn! You're all jealous that I can give the best parties in Equestria, and now you're trying to make me all miserable so you can outdo me – Rarity with her snobby fashion sense, Twilight with her 'wisdom' – you with your stupid little imitation chariot...”

But Pinkie Pie had crossed the line by offending Scootaloo in front of Rainbow Dash. Maternal instinct and yet another mood swing quickly overtook her, and she stomped her hoof down so sharply that it startled not only Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo, but all the other passengers. “ALRIGHT, PINKIE PIE, THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH!!!” she thundered, her wings flaring and her eyes blazing.

Scootaloo jumped nervously to one side, while Pinkie Pie cowered under Rainbow Dash's death glare.

“You were the one who fell for Braeburn in the first place!” ranted Rainbow Dash furiously. “You were the one who wanted to see him; you were the one who dragged us all the way out here; you were the one I offered to help out with this whole malarkey – and all of a sudden, you're giving up on him and turning your back on me, and Soarin, and Scootaloo, and Rumble, and Sweetie-Belle, and Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh, and Applejack, and Fluttershy, and Twilight, and Spike, and Rarity, and Featherweight, and Pipsqueak, and Dinky, and Derpy...”

The passengers all watched as the disgruntled Pegasus listed off all the ponies Pinkie Pie knew best. Scootaloo tried to play it off with an awkward smile, but could barely hide her own shock; even though Rainbow Dash could be highly temperamental, even before she had become pregnant, she had never known her to be this angry before.

“...and Vinyl, and Octavia, and Maud, and Zecora, and Lyra, and Bonbon, and Mr and Mrs Cake, and everypony in Ponyville who made you who you are today?!” barked Rainbow Dash, aggressively raising her voice all the while. “I don't think so – not right now! Like it or not, Pinkie Pie, you're getting your precious coltfriend, and you're getting him back in Ponyville, so SIT DOWN!!!”

With a terrified whimper, Pinkie Pie shakily complied.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, stood her ground and took several more deep breaths to calm herself down again; but only when she had fully composed herself did she notice the odd stares that she had elicited. In response, she placed a hoof against the back of her neck and grinned sheepishly; “Sorry – hormones.”

To her relief, the other passengers simply shrugged it off and went back to their own business. Thankful for them allowing her outburst to slide, but feeling slightly drained, Rainbow Dash sat back against the wall, still keeping her eye on Pinkie Pie just in case. But at that moment, Soarin came in looking worried.

“Everything okay, Dash?” he asked anxiously.

“Just about, Soarin,” replied Rainbow Dash. “I may have lost the teeniest bit of my temper with Pinkie just a few moments ago, but at least she's behaving herself now.”

“Well that's something,” remarked Soarin. “I've checked the timetable, and...well......it's not good news, I'm afraid.”

“What's wrong?”

“The earliest train we can get is headed via Canterlot, and won't get into Ponyville until three days later at noon,” explained Soarin gravely. “We can wait for the returning Appleloosan, but that's not timed to arrive here until tomorrow, and even then it'll be late in the evening by the time it gets us home.”

Rainbow Dash groaned with frustration. As if tonight couldn't get any worse! “Seems we've no choice then,” she decided. “We're gonna have to get that earlier train.”

Soarin nodded in agreement. “It'll be a bit pricier than the other one, but it's our best hope.”

“How much do we need to pay for it?”

“Well, I checked the ticket prices; the Appleloosan was two-hundred and sixty-seven bits in total, and that other train's gonna cost in at something like...forty...”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “That doesn't sound...”

“...thousand.”

“How much?!” spluttered Rainbow Dash, appalled.

“Uh...cents!” Soarin hastily corrected himself.

“I was gonna say,” remarked Rainbow Dash, “forty-thousand bits seems a bit steep even for this length of journey. So anyway, we're talking...four-hundred bits?”

“Right,” affirmed Soarin.

“And what time does that train arrive here?”

Soarin looked up at the clock. “Forty minutes,” he replied. “I better get a move on.”

“Yeah, you do that, Soar; I'll keep watch over Pinkie Pie,” instructed Rainbow Dash.

“Okay, Dashie – but don't let her out of your sight, not for one second,” warned Soarin. “If she decides to run off when you're not looking, we'll really be in trouble.”

“You can count on me, babe,” asserted Rainbow Dash, and turned back towards Pinkie Pie while Soarin headed back to the ticket office.

Within three quarters of an hour, all was set for the return journey. The train glided into the station, and Soarin having obtained their vital rights of passage back to Ponyville, the three Pegasi and one Earth pony plus unborn foal boarded the nearest coach they could get to and hurried down the corridor to find some empty compartments. Luckily, they didn't need to look very far; the next carriage along was almost wholly unoccupied, so Soarin and Rainbow Dash settled Pinkie Pie down in one while Scootaloo stowed her luggage in another.

“Well,” mused Soarin as the train resumed its long journey back to Ponyville, “so far, so good. What now, Dashie?”

“We keep watch over Pinkie – make sure she doesn't try anything funny,” replied Rainbow Dash, lowering her voice so that Pinkie Pie wouldn't overhear. “I'll take the first watch; you go keep Scootaloo company.”

“Okay, Dashie,” said Soarin. “Give me a shout if you need help.”

Rainbow Dash promised that she would; but as Soarin turned to leave, she could already see that watching over Pinkie Pie would no longer be half as difficult as it had been previously. The pink-furred mare was now fast asleep on the lower bunk, having worn herself out from all her crying and struggling. With a deep sense of relief, Rainbow Dash sat back in one of the chairs and began reading through her favourite Daring Do book to pass the time.

Chapter 9: Tour de Ponyville

The next few days, Applejack decided, were the most stressful she had had to put up with that year. She hadn't heard a peep from Soarin or Rainbow Dash since their last telegram, and without any further updates as to where they were and what they were doing, she was finding it increasingly difficult to distract Braeburn much longer – not least because he was growing rather restless. Time after time, she and Caramel and Granny Smith had to come up with a different excuse so as to prevent him from finding out where Pinkie Pie had gone. Big Macintosh, on the other hoof, didn't even need to try; whenever Braeburn asked him any leading questions, he simply feigned ignorance.

On the morning of the second day, Applejack awoke feeling exhausted. She had been up half the night brooding and trying to work out a few schemes for keeping Braeburn occupied until Rainbow Dash and Soarin arrived home with Pinkie Pie; but since she didn't know when that would happen, none of these plans seemed all that viable. In the end, she simply gave in to her lack of sleep in the hope that she might have worked something out by sunrise – but still nothing came to her.

The orange-coated farm pony stared out of the window, still bleary-eyed and disoriented. “How much longer are those two gonna be?” she asked herself in a weary slur. “Ah can't keep the truth from this guy forever!”

At that moment, her ears perked up to a knocking sound at her door. “Applejack? You awake?” asked a familiar deep voice.

“Yeah, come on in,” mumbled Applejack drowsily. In response, the door slowly swung open to reveal Big Macintosh standing just outside.

“Just been gettin' breakfast read...” but the red-furred stallion suddenly broke off and gave his sister an odd look. “Y'all okay, Applejack? Ya look la'k you've been awake a' night.”

Applejack groaned and looked down at the bed-covers. “Yeah, well...Ah couldn't sleep,” she confessed. “Ah'm kinda runnin' outta ideas ta keep Braeburn entertained, an' Soarin an' Dash still ain't got back to us.”

“They'll be back,” replied Big Macintosh stolidly. “Maybe not today, but soon.”

“Ah know, but how soon?!” protested Applejack. “If it goes on fo' too long, Ah'll never hear the end of it from Pinkie Pie!”

“Well it's yo' own fault, ya know,” chided Big Macintosh bluntly. “If y'all hadn't chosen ta leave it till the last minute, this wouldn't 'ave happened.”

“Oh, sure, pin it on me, why not!!” retorted Applejack indignantly. “Ah mean, how was Ah ta know what Pinkie was up to? An' another thing, how is yo' fancy blame game supposed ta...” but she cut herself off with an annoyed growl when she noticed that Big Macintosh, none too bothered to argue, had already left the room. Grumbling loudly, the orange-coated mare reluctantly followed suit.

But just as Applejack reached the foot of the stairs, her attention was distracted by another knock, this time at the front door. She went to answer, hoping that it was another telegram from Soarin or Rainbow Dash; but to her disappointment, she only found Caramel standing outside. “Oh...howdy, partner,” she muttered unhappily.

Caramel goggled at the weary, unkempt state of his marefriend. “Good grief, Applejack, you look terrible!”

“Yeah, an' Ah don't feel much better either,” admitted Applejack ruefully. “Ya wouldn't believe how much sleep Ah lost over...” she paused, looking over her shoulder in case Braeburn should be listening, “...over you-know-what.”

Caramel nodded sympathetically. “Yes, I've been losing a fair bit of sleep over it myself,” he said. “I take it they still haven't told us what's going on right now?”

“Not a thing,” sighed Applejack wearily. “Ah sure wish they would – Ah'm almost at mah wits' end 'ere!”

“Well I think I might have an idea to buy us a little more time,” replied Caramel, and whispered something into Applejack's ear. The orange-furred farmer listened carefully, and once her tan-coated coltfriend had finished, she took a moment to consider.

“Well, Caramel,” she decided at last, “it may seem a li'l risky, but Ah think it might just work. C'mon in an' let's run it past Braeburn – an' whatever ya do, don't let 'im anywhere near Sugarcube Corner, ya hear, or we're sunk!”

“Oh, I don't intend to; you can count on it.” Caramel followed Applejack inside the house and over to the dining room, where Braeburn was enjoying a delicious breakfast of porridge and apple slices with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh.

As the two ponies entered, Braeburn happened to glance their way. “Mornin', cuz!” he said cheerfully. “How's it goin'?”

“Uh...not bad,” answered Applejack, fighting off a yawn. “Just been plannin' out the...thing at the place.”

“Fair enough,” chuckled Braeburn with a light shrug. “But ya really ought ta lay off the late-night pacin', Applejack – Ah wouldn't want mah favourite cousin wearin' herself out la'k that!”

“Yeah, whatever,” grunted Applejack, taking a seat.

At the same time, Granny Smith noticed Caramel standing nearby. “Howdy, Caramel,” she greeted. “Come fo' some breakfast with yo' marefriend, have we?”

Caramel blushed heavily. “Uh, thanks, Mrs Smith, but I've already eaten,” he politely refused. “Anyway, Braeburn, I've been hearing from Applejack that you've been wanting to take a proper look around Ponyville, is that right?”

“Yeah?” affirmed Braeburn curiously.

“Well, seeing as today's my day off, I thought I'd give you one myself,” offered Caramel. “Okay, so perhaps I haven't lived here for half as long as certain others I could mention, but...well, how does that sound?”

Braeburn hesitated. “Um...yeah, Ah guess so,” he agreed at last. “Ah would'a preferred ta have Pinkie as mah tour guide, but Ah can make do with a family friend, Ah suppose. Speakin' o' whom,” he added, “how's she doin'?”

Caramel, Granny Smith and Applejack exchanged anxious glances. Secretly, they were all wondering the same thing.

“Well...we haven't heard back from her in a while,” mused Caramel, breaking the awkward silence. “Could be that she's been hired in for some other party at the last minute. There's been an awful lot of that stuff lately, it being summertime and all, and we all know how much demand that generates for mares like Pinkie Pie, don't we?”

Braeburn nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, Ah think Ah understand.”

Applejack gulped hard and hoped he didn't.

“So,” went on Caramel, “you up for a spin around Ponyville?”

“Yeah, sure,” conceded Braeburn. “Ah'll be with ya as soon as Ah'm done here.”

“Good. I'll just hang around and chat with Applejack until you're ready to go.”

Once Caramel and Braeburn were out and about, however, the tan-coated stallion's confidence began to waver as they wandered aimlessly through the streets of Ponyville. He had intended to draw out his “guided tour” as long as he could, but he soon found it an uphill struggle to show and tell about the various points of interest without boring Braeburn to death. They were only halfway round town by now, and already Caramel was starting to lose Braeburn's interest.

“...so this here is the Castle of Friendship,” he continued, pointing out the obvious. “It wasn't previously a feature of Ponyville, but...well...it just kinda cropped up after the rampage of Lord Tirek...uh, during which he actually destroyed the library that used to stand here...”

“The Golden Oak Library?” muttered Braeburn, giving off a loud, uninterested yawn.

“Yes, that!” announced Caramel abruptly. “I wondered when you were gonna spot that one! So anyway,” he went on, “this...kinda replaced the library as Princess Twilight Sparkle's home...”

Braeburn groaned and shook his head wearily as Caramel continued to ramble. He knew about Lord Tirek's attack on Equestria just as much as the next pony – heck, he had actually fallen victim to that psychopath back in Appleloosa – but to hear about it in detail from another pony made it sound far more dull than horrific somehow.

“Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled at last. “Can we move on now?”

“Right now?! But we've only just got here!” objected Caramel.

“And now Ah'd rather just be leavin',” replied Braeburn bluntly.

“Oh...” Caramel's face took on a mask of disappointment. “...well, if you're sure – but I was rather hoping you'd be able to meet the Royal Consort.”

Braeburn's eyes lit up. “What Royal Consort?”

“One of the Royal Guards assigned to this very castle,” explained Caramel, relieved to have regained Braeburn's curiosity. “I don't know all that much about him yet, but Applejack says he was formerly stationed up in the Crystal Empire. Flash Sentry, I think she said his name was.”

“Oh right? What rank?”

Caramel paused, trying to remember what Applejack had told him. “Um...Lieutenant, I think. He'd only just been promoted by the time he left the Empire and came down here to Ponyville, so Applejack says.”

“Well, Ah'd sure la'k ta meet 'im later on,” decided Braeburn.

“Why not now?” offered Caramel. “There's no time like the present, after all.”

But Braeburn shook his head in response. “If y'all were ta check the time, Caramel,” he said, “Ah think you'll find that the present ain't such a good time after all.”

Perplexed, Caramel looked towards the clock tower, and was rather taken aback when he saw that it was well past midday. “Wow!” he remarked. “Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?”

“For you, maybe,” muttered Braeburn under his breath, “but Ah thought it went by la'k a snail!”

“Anyway,” said Caramel, ignoring Braeburn's snide remark, “what say we go find somewhere to have lunch?”

“Yeah, let's do that,” agreed Braeburn. “Ah could eat a whole apple tree right now.”

Caramel suppressed a laugh and shook his head in amusement. “There's more to life than apples, you know, Braeburn,” he pointed out. “Okay, so perhaps I can't get enough of them myself – I blame Applejack and her family for that – but variety is the spice of life, I always say.”

“You would, seein' as how y'all spent the best part o' yo' life dodgin' around Equestria!” joked Braeburn.

“Oh yeah?!” smirked Caramel cheekily. “Well at least I had the courage to give up my old way of life!”

Their hearty banter continued all the way into the Ponyville plaza, by which time both ponies had worked up quite an appetite. Caramel was now beginning to feel better pleased with himself; at this rate, he thought, Pinkie Pie would already be home by the time Braeburn's suspicions had a chance to resurface. With a coy, thankful smile, he slowed to a stop and began scanning for somewhere that might appeal to the golden-furred stallion – the Clover Café, the Golden Dragon Chineighse Takeaway, Matilda's Tea Room, Sugarcube Corner...

Sugarcube Corner?! Caramel shot an alarmed double-take towards the bakery, on sight of which he suddenly remembered that this was the last place he wanted to take Braeburn – and even worse, neither he nor Applejack had told Mr or Mrs Cake about their mix-up with Pinkie Pie. If Braeburn were to go in there and find she was absent...

Caramel thought quickly. He had to get himself and Braeburn to another eatery before he started getting any ideas. “Say, Braeburn,” he decided hastily, “how about we go in the Sunflower Café to eat? They've got some real nice food in there.”

“Uh...sure, whatever you want,” replied Braeburn, mildly perplexed by Caramel's somewhat abrupt demeanour.

Without waiting for another word, Caramel dashed across the street towards the café, with a confused Braeburn following as closely as he could. Only when he was inside the building did he finally calm down, breathing a huge sigh of relief as he looked for an empty table.

“Well, well, well!” called a voice. “Fancy meeting you here, Caramel!”

The tan-furred stallion looked to his right, and was elated to find a familiar two-tone grey stallion sitting in a booth nearby. “Hullo, Lucky,” he remarked. “I must say, this is a pleasant surprise.”

“What'cha been up to then, buddy? Showing visitors around Ponyville, eh?” joked Lucky.

“Well, as a matter of fact, yes I have,” said Caramel. “This here is Braeburn; he's Applejack's cousin. Braeburn, this is my best friend Lucky Clover.”

“Howdy, Lucky, glad ta know ya,” greeted Braeburn, shaking Lucky's hoof.

“Likewise, Braeburn,” replied Lucky graciously. “So what brings you to Ponyville then, anything special?”

Braeburn smiled wryly. “Yeah, it's special alright – it's Pinkie Pie.”

“Oh yeah? What about her?”

But before Braeburn could reply, Caramel interjected in as tactful a manner as possible; “Here, Braeburn, why don't I hold the fort while you go get some food?” he suggested. “I mean you did say you were starving earlier, and...well......I don't really wanna deprive you of your lunch.”

“But Ah don't know what ta order,” objected Braeburn.

Caramel shoved a copy of the menu into Braeburn's hoof. “Maybe this ought to help.”

“Hmm...” Braeburn fell silent for a moment as he scanned through the menu for something he might like. “Tell ya what,” he offered at last, “how about Ah order fo' both of us, an' y'all can pay me back. How's that sound?”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” agreed Caramel, taking a look through the menu himself. “Um...yeah, I'll go for the hay bacon, lettuce and tomato roll and some coffee.”

“Any particular kind?”

“I don't mind as long as it's not got chilli in it,” muttered Caramel absent-mindedly, taking a seat next to Lucky.

“Okay then,” chuckled Braeburn. “Ah'll just go an' order. Be back in a tick.”

Caramel watched as the golden-furred stallion trotted off to join the queue, mentally chiding himself for having nearly given the game away. His train of thought was disturbed, however, when he noticed that Lucky's usual enthusiasm seemed to have been replaced by an air of confusion.

“What in the hay was that for, Caramel?” he quizzed.

“Ah, yes...about that...” Caramel cringed awkwardly as he realised that he might have been a little antisocial with Braeburn. “...we've actually got a bit of a problem, Lucky, and Braeburn's in the thick of it,” he said, lowering his voice.

“How do you mean?”

“Well, it's like this; the whole reason he came here was so that he could be with Pinkie Pie,” explained Caramel quietly. “Trouble is she'd already gone to see him in Appleloosa at the same time as he was travelling down here to Ponyville, so we need to try and keep him from finding out the truth in case he decides to reverse his decision and return to Appleloosa – until Pinkie returns, of course,” he added.

“And where is she now?” asked Lucky.

“Somewhere between here and Appleloosa – we don't know where exactly.”

Lucky frowned. “Yeah, that's a tight spot you're in and no mistake,” he mused.

“I know,” sighed Caramel wearily. “We've tried all sorts of tricks to distract his attention away from Pinkie, but I doubt we're going to be able to keep his curiosity at bay much longer. Even I'm running out of ideas, and I'm the one who's best at making excuses!”

“Well, better than Applejack, that's for sure,” quipped Lucky gravely. “Best I can suggest is just keep trying and hope everything turns out okay.”

Caramel sighed again and rested his chin on one hoof. “I sure hope it does,” he mumbled.

At that moment, Braeburn came trotting back towards their table. “Hey again, Caramel,” he chirped, sitting himself down on the opposite end of the booth to the tan-coated stallion. “What were y'all an' Lucky talkin' about just now?”

“Oh...not much,” stuttered Caramel. “Just talking about a guy who rolled into town last month – somepony by the name of...Horsham Trotter Cattermole...Friedrich Sibley McBoing Boing...von......Livingspace?” He gave a nervous grin, hoping that Braeburn would buy such a long and ridiculous name.

But sadly it only served to send Braeburn into a fit of laughter. “Ah, don't go on, Caramel!” he guffawed loudly. “That's the stupidest name Ah've ever heard!”

But no sooner had he finished than the three Earth ponies heard somepony else sobbing from across the café. Confused, Braeburn stopped laughing and looked up to see a hot-pink stallion with green mane and tail galloping outside with tears streaking down his face. The golden-furred stallion stared in disbelief. “O...kay, what do you suppose that was all about?”

Lucky rolled his eyes and shook his head in disapproval. “I think you just upset our newest kiddies' entertainer, Braeburn,” he replied.

“How come?” quizzed Braeburn.

“That was Horsham Trotter Cattermole Friedrich Sibley McBoing Boing von Livingspace – but we call him Horsey for short.”

Caramel groaned loudly and slapped a hoof to his face. “Oh, crud!” he hissed to himself, palpably frustrated. “I'd forgotten that was a real pony!”

“Never mind that, Caramel,” interrupted Lucky promptly. “He'll get over it, I'm sure. Anyway, Braeburn,” he went on, “you were saying about Pinkie Pie?”

That was more than enough to take Braeburn's mind off the pony he had accidentally offended – perhaps a bit more so than Lucky had been hoping for. The golden-furred stallion immediately began chattering about Pinkie Pie as if there was no tomorrow, never once stopping to let them get a word in edgeways even when his and Caramel's orders arrived. Laid back though Lucky usually was, even he had to admit that to say that Braeburn was boring him to tears would be putting it mildly!

Author's Note

Horsham Trotter Cattermole Freidrich Sibley McBoing Boing von Livingspace is a homage to the Monty Python character Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel, who represented the Silly Party in the sketch "Election Night Special".

Chapter 10: Race Against Time

Lucky was glad when at last they finished their lunch and Caramel managed to drag Braeburn away. His ears still echoing to the sound of the golden-furred stallion's ceaseless ramblings, he watched with a deep sense of relief as the two ponies went to continue their tour of Ponyville, making a mental note to be careful about ever asking anything of Braeburn again.

But predictably, what with Caramel's feeble attempts at being the cheery, knowledgeable tour guide, the horseshoe soon found itself on the other hoof – the longer the two of them spent walking around town, the more bored Braeburn became, and by the end of the day, he had had enough.

“Look, Caramel,” he spoke up, “Ah know yo' tryin' ta be helpful an' all, but can't we carry on with this whole 'guided tour' stuff some other time? Ah'm beat!”

“You're sure you don't want to see around the park?” offered Caramel anxiously. “It's pretty interesting at night, Applejack and I can both attest to that.”

“Nah, Ah'll save it fo' when Pinkie Pie comes home,” insisted Braeburn. “Right now Ah just wanna get back to the farm an' put mah hooves up.”

“Oh...well, alright then,” said Caramel, disappointed; and with that, he led the way back to the orchard.

What Caramel couldn't know, however, was that instead of quelling Braeburn's suspicions, his attempt at a guided tour had only succeeded in arousing them. As they made their way back to Sweet Apple Acres, the golden-furred stallion kept his distance from Caramel as he thought about everything that had been happening over the past few days, feigning tiredness in order to avoid worrying the other stallion.

“Well – this has been pretty weird,” he murmured. “First Applejack an' the others are sayin' that Pinkie's away in some other town, but they won't say where; then they start actin' all nervous whenever Ah mention 'er name; an' now Caramel drags me out on some...less than interestin' tour o' Ponyville?” He paused, his brow furrowing. “Sure, it's been real helpful an' all, but did 'e really 'ave ta make it so dull?!”

At that moment, he noticed that he and Caramel were nearly at the farm gate, with a noticeably worried Applejack headed their way.

“There ya are, Caramel!” she called. “Ah was wonderin' where y'all 'ad got to.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, Applejack,” apologised Caramel profusely. “We intended to get back here at around quarter after three, but...I must have gotten a bit carried away.” He looked back over his shoulder, whereupon Braeburn pretended not to notice. “Actually, A.J., there's something else I want to talk to you about – and it's...a bit intimate, I'm afraid.”

Braeburn raised an eyebrow, silently wondering why Caramel and Applejack would be discussing private matters out in the street so late in the day. What he didn't notice was a coy wink from Caramel.

“Yeah, what is it then?” asked Applejack, shooting a quick glance at her cousin to make sure he wasn't listening.

“Well, it's like this...” Caramel leaned forward and whispered into her ear. Braeburn strained his ears as much as he could, but their voices were too low for him to hear what they were saying – but from the look on Applejack's face, there didn't seem anything “intimate” about their conversation at all. If anything, it seemed rather disconcerting to the orange-coated mare.

The golden-furred stallion's eyes narrowed as his cousin and her coltfriend continued to whisper. “Hmm...there's somethin' real strange goin' on 'round 'ere,” he muttered warily...

The atmosphere at the dinner table was unusually quiet that evening. Far from his usual, chatty manner, Braeburn hardly spoke throughout the course of their meal; and even when he did, his responses were surprisingly brief and monosyllabic, something that his Ponyville relatives would normally have expected about Big Macintosh! Granny Smith wasn't sure what to make of this at first, but Big Macintosh quietly assured himself that his golden-furred cousin was just tired after looking around town with Caramel for so long.

Applejack, on the other hoof, couldn't shake a feeling of unease. Never in all her life had she known Braeburn to be so quiet, but there was something about it that made her feel as though he had been carrying a chip on his withers all this time. Even after they had finished eating and had gone to bed, there was still a lingering fear in the back of her mind that, soon enough, the truth would out...

Applejack awoke the following morning to the sound of somepony knocking on her bedroom door. As she stirred herself from her sleep, she could just about make out Caramel's voice from outside on the landing;

“Hey, Applejack, you awake?”

“Yeah, sure,” called Applejack, climbing out of bed and making for the door. “What did ya want?”

“It's about Braeburn and you-know-who.”

Applejack opened the door and furtively checked left and right before beckoning Caramel into the room. “So what's the trouble then?”

“Nothing, thankfully,” replied Caramel, shutting the door behind him. “I'd just been checking the timetable at the station, and I think I might have worked out when Pinkie Pie should be getting back here with Soarin and Rainbow Dash.”

His marefriend's face lit up. “When?!” she all but blurted out.

“Any time within the next hour, as far as I can remember. If we're really lucky, Braeburn probably won't be any the wiser.”

“Ah'm not so sure, Caramel,” said Applejack uneasily. “Fo' all Ah know, he might be onto us by now.”

Caramel's face fell. “How come?” he asked anxiously.

“Well...he's been givin' me this wary look since y'all got back from yo' tour o' Ponyville,” explained Applejack, “an' he'd been awful quiet at dinner too.”

“I see.” Caramel furrowed his brow grimly. “In that case, we're going to have to play it really cool from here on in – and hope he doesn't start questioning us,” he finished.

Applejack nodded in agreement and made for the door again. “Ah well,” she tried to reassure herself as she turned the handle, “Ah suppose things can't get much worse than they are now.”

“Applejack? A word, please!”

The two Earth ponies jumped back in shock. Right on the other side of the doorway stood a rather surly Braeburn, who seemed to be staring them down coldly as he entered the room.

It was Caramel who broke the silence first; “I...think they just did,” he said meekly.

“Uh...Ah don't get what yo' talkin' about, Braeburn,” stammered Applejack nervously.

“The hay ya don't!” snapped Braeburn sharply. “Y'all an' the rest o' yo' family – an' yo' coltfriend 'ere – y'all 'ave been hidin' somethin' from me ever since Ah arrived 'ere!”

“W...what do ya mean?”

Braeburn leaned threateningly into his cousin's face. “Where's Pinkie Pie?!” he demanded.

“Ah keep tellin' ya, we don't know!” insisted Applejack. “A' we know is that she's away on v...Ah mean, she's away hostin' a party someplace an' didn't say when she was gonna be back!”

“Not good enough, cuz!”

“But...how are we supposed ta know where she is if...”

“If this is yo' best attempt at lyin', Applejack, then it needs some serious work!” interrupted Braeburn. “In fact, ya know what – if a' yo' gonna do is lie to me about it, then don't even bother tellin' me anything! Ah'm goin' ta Sugarcube Corner ta find out what's goin' on!”

Applejack goggled in horror as her cousin turned on his fetlock and stomped off downstairs, alarm bells ringing with every thud of his hooves. “No! Braeburn, wait!” she blustered. “Ya can't go there now!”

“Oh, can't Ah?!” bellowed Braeburn, not even bothering to stop and listen.

“They're...they're redecorating the place! It's off limits to all customers!” chimed in Caramel.

“Only customers, huh?! Well, that changes everything then!”

“But Braeburn, hang on a second...”

“No!” snarled Braeburn. “Ah'm goin', an' that's final!”

Panicking, Caramel raced after Braeburn in a bid to stop him from leaving the house. Applejack made to follow, but just as she was crossing the threshold, she heard an even harder thud from within the front room. The orange-coated mare picked up her pace, anxiously hoping her cousin hadn't done what she thought he had just done – but when she reached the foot of the stairs, she realised to her horror that he had.

Caramel lay slumped against the front door, his face slightly contorted with pain and his left hoof clutching his right shoulder. He had tried to bar Braeburn's way, only to be knocked forcefully sideways into the door frame. “It's no use, Applejack!” he grunted, staggering to his hooves. “This guy's on the warpath right now – even if we do catch him, he's still gonna put up a heck of a fight!”

Applejack gripped her temples in desperation. “Now what are we gonna do?! There's no way Pinkie's gonna get back in the time!”

“In other words,” groaned Caramel as he attempted to massage the pain away from his bruised shoulder, “we've had it.”

But they hadn't. Just as Applejack was about to give up altogether, she was greeted with an unexpected bounty in the form of a yellow-furred, red-headed filly wearing a pink bow. In that very instant, she suddenly remembered – “O' course! This could be our last hope!”

“What could?” asked Caramel; but Applejack ignored him and galloped across the farmyard towards her younger sister.

“Apple Bloom! Aw, thank Celestia yo' back?!”

“Why?” Apple Bloom was confused. “What's goin' on?”

“No time to explain!” said Applejack hurriedly. “Cousin Braeburn's come ta visit, but we need ta keep 'im outta Sugarcube Corner long enough fo' Pinkie Pie ta get back. Can ya do that fo' me?”

Apple Bloom considered this. “Well...Ah can get ta Sugarcube Corner ahead o' Braeburn,” she answered doubtfully, “but how do Ah keep 'im out?”

“Any way ya la'k! Just do it!” urged Applejack. “Ah gotta go warn Rainbow Dash!”

“Right, Ah'm on it!” and Apple Bloom scurried away.

Luckily, the yellow-furred filly didn't have to think too hard about how she would go about her task. Barely had she reached the farm gate when an idea occurred to her – unicorns! If she could rally some of her unicorn friends together, she could easily hold Braeburn back for long enough! With this in mind, she redirected her course towards Carousel Boutique, taking advantage of every short-cut she and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders had discovered during their many adventures together...

Half an hour went by, and Braeburn was still dodging through the streets of Ponyville, trying to find his way. In his determination to reach Sugarcube Corner, he had completely forgotten that his sense of direction left much to be desired, and by now, he was almost starting to regret having been so impetuous.

“Well that's just great!” he grumbled. “How am Ah gonna find mah way now?!”

Unbeknownst to him, Apple Bloom was also racing through the streets with Sweetie-Belle, Dinky Doo and Tootsie Flute close behind, checking all the while for any sign of her golden-furred cousin. Though the yellow-coated farm filly was all too aware of Braeburn's lacking sense of direction, they couldn't afford to take any chances, even now.

“There it is, Apple Bloom!” squeaked Dinky at last, pointing towards the rapidly approaching Sugarcube Corner.

“Any sign of Braeburn?” asked Sweetie-Belle anxiously.

Apple Bloom quickly scanned the surrounding area. “Nope – not as far as Ah can see,” she replied. “Let's get inside before he sees us!”

After a final quick check to make sure nopony else was looking, the four fillies stampeded into the bakery and began bolting all windows shut. The front door swiftly followed suit, courtesy of Sweetie-Belle, and Apple Bloom gazed out into the street.

Two minutes went by – six – ten – fifteen......until finally their quarry appeared in the distance.

“Here he comes,” hissed Apple Bloom. “Right – ya know what ta do. Ya ready?”

“As ready as we'll ever be,” affirmed Tootsie Flute grimly.

“An' remember,” warned Apple Bloom, “we can't afford no mistakes. On the count o' three – one, two...THREE!”

Right on cue, the three unicorns' horns began glowing with ever-increasing intensity, and an almost invisible silver dome began to form around them...

Braeburn checked his bearings once again, wondering if he was ever going to reach Sugarcube Corner – but then, just a few yards away, he noticed what looked like a huge gingerbread house with a cupcake standing on top of it.

“Well, finally!” he remarked in an exasperated tone. “Now perhaps Ah can get to the bottom of a' this!” and picking up his pace, he galloped towards the bakery......

BUMP!!

Without warning, Braeburn ran into something that wasn't there and was thrown backwards. Dazed by the sudden impact, he scrambled to his hooves and rubbed his forehead. “What in the hay was that?”

The golden-furred stallion looked around, trying to find the practical joker who had knocked him over – but to further his confusion, there was nopony close enough to have done so. Slowly advancing towards the door, he reached out with his hoof, only to meet resistance when he was nearly twenty yards away. His eyes widened in realisation...

“Forcefield!”

Braeburn darted round to the back of the bakery in the hopes that whoever owned the place would let him in through there – but what he didn't see was that Apple Bloom was lying in wait for him. As soon as he had passed the window, she whispered a warning to Sweetie-Belle, Tootsie Flute and Dinky, who all charged towards the back door.

They were just in time; before Braeburn could get anywhere near the door, they managed to create another forcefield and hold him back.

“Shucks, that was way too close!” remarked Apple Bloom as the pained grunt from her cousin met their ears.

“What do we do now?” asked Dinky.

“Keep it up, girls,” ordered Apple Bloom. “We can't let our guard down fo' one second, or we're stuffed – back to the front door!”

The three unicorns hurriedly obeyed, and recast their forcefield spell just as Braeburn raced past the window.

“We can't keep running back and forth forever,” called Tootsie Flute. “One slip-up, and Braeburn might still get in through an unguarded door.”

“Then we've no choice,” said Apple Bloom decisively. “Dinky can go back an' forth between the doors; Sweetie-Belle, you stand by the front door, an' Tootsie, you guard the back. If Braeburn reaches yo' door before Dinky does, hold the handle tight.”

“Okay, Apple Bloom, will do,” and Tootsie Flute galloped over to the back door with Dinky hot on her hooves...

Chapter 11: Reunited At Last

By now, the train on which Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo were travelling was slowing down for its next station stop. As the two adult Pegasi looked out of the window, they noticed the scenery slowly changing from countryside to town as their train slowed for its next station stop. Trees and bushes gave way to huts and sheds, multicoloured flowers among lush green grass were replaced with steel rails on wooden sleepers, and an unmistakeable cloud mansion loomed in the distance.

“This is it, Rainbow Dash,” said Soarin. “We're nearly home.”

“Good – now when we get into that station, we won't have a moment to lose,” instructed Rainbow Dash. “As soon as we get out, it's up to us to get Pinkie back to Sugarcube Corner, find Applejack and tell her that everything's okay; but we can't stop for anything! Got it?”

“Already had done since before we left Appleloosa,” affirmed Soarin. “I'm ready, Dashie.”

“You want me to use my scooter and cart to carry Pinkie Pie home?”

“I think Soarin and I can manage okay, Scootaloo,” replied Rainbow Dash, “but if you could use it to get you up to Sweet Apple Acres, then that'd be a great help.”

“Okay, Dash.”

Pinkie Pie sighed heavily and looked down at the floor. Her mood hadn't changed in the slightest since she and Rainbow Dash had received that bombshell from that buffalo bullock in Appleloosa; her mane and tail remained dull and deflated, and her coat only appeared to have darkened with the passing of time. “What's the use?” she mourned. “Braeburn's gone, and I'm never gonna see him again.”

“Stop it, Pinkie!” scolded Rainbow Dash severely. “Braeburn may not be in Appleloosa, but that doesn't mean you're never gonna see him – in fact, you're closer to seeing him than you might think!” She turned to Soarin; “You all packed up and ready?”

“Very much so. You ready, Scoot?”

“All set, Soarin,” replied Scootaloo, brandishing her trusty scooter.

“Great!” said Rainbow Dash. “Then let's go,” and she led them towards the nearest door.

The train's pace slackened further and further as it pulled into the station, and soon it came to a complete stop. Without a moment's hesitation, the four ponies burst out onto the platform and made for the exit – but as soon as they reached it, they noticed a flash of orange rapidly approaching them.

“Rainbow Dash!” crowed Applejack with relief. “Am Ah ever glad ta see y'all! Braeburn's about ta turn Sugarcube Corner upside down!”

“He's WHAT?!” exclaimed Soarin, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, all at the same time.

“Ah did try ta stop 'im, but he wouldn't listen to me – he's a' hay-bent on findin' out where Pinkie is!” blustered Applejack frantically. “We gotta get 'er back to the bakery, an' fast!”

“Leave it to us, Applejack!” stated Rainbow Dash grimly, as she and Soarin scooped up the unwilling Pinkie Pie. With that, all five of them took off towards the bakery.

Back at Sugarcube Corner, Apple Bloom, Dinky, Tootsie Flute and Sweetie-Belle were doing all in their power to hold Braeburn back for as long as they could. Each time, Braeburn would try a different trick to sneak past them, catch them off guard or overcome their forcefields, from turning back halfway round and trying the doorway he had attempted previously to ducking past the window. But no matter what he did, the same thing happened – if the inexplicable forcefield didn't hold him back, a seemingly jammed door handle did. Even when he tried battering into the front door, he only succeeded in knocking himself over onto his back again!

Frustrated, Braeburn shook the stars from his vision and stood himself up again. “Alright, y'all in there!” he yelled angrily. “Ah dunno what yo' game is, but it ain't funny! Now fo' the love of Celestia cut that out, or else!”

“Nope!”

Braeburn's eye twitched. He knew that voice all too well. “Okay then, you win!” he bellowed. “Ah guess Ah'll just have ta come back later!” and he turned to head back down the road.

Inside the bakery, Apple Bloom turned back to her friends with a triumphant grin. “Mission accomplished, girls!” she announced. “We can relax now.”

Dinky, Sweetie-Belle and Tootsie Flute all breathed a sigh of relief as they reconvened in the lobby. Perhaps now they could treat themselves to some cupcakes or something as a victory snack – or so they thought. Suddenly, the front door slammed open, and the four fillies froze over in shock.

“How's this fo' later?!” barked Braeburn sharply.

Apple Bloom cringed as she realised that they had let their guard down far too soon.

“Ah might'a known you'd be behind this, Apple Bloom!” snarled Braeburn, slowly advancing on her. “What in the hay are y'all up to?”

“Ah can explain, Braeburn,” began Apple Bloom nervously. “Ya see, Dinky an' Toot...”

“Ah'll tell ya what yo' up to!” interrupted Braeburn, without waiting for Apple Bloom's full response. “Yo' in league with Applejack an' Caramel, ain't ya?”

“What are you talking about?!” protested Sweetie-Belle. “We didn't even know you were in Ponyville up till now!”

“Oh, didn't ya?! Then how come y'all were tryin' ta block me outta this bakery, huh?!”

“What in heaven's name is going on around here?!” The five ponies looked back to see a startled Mrs Cake standing close to the foot of the stairs.

Braeburn marched across the lobby. “Y'all run this place?”

“Yes, what of it?”

“Then do ya know a pony by the name of...”

“BRAEBURN, LOOK!!” squeaked Apple Bloom suddenly, pointing towards the doorway. Mrs Cake looked, and was most surprised by what she saw.

“Now look here, Apple Bloom,” snapped Braeburn, “if ya think Ah'm gonna fall fo' any more o' yo' tricks, you got another thing comin'...”

“I don't know who you think you are, sir,” Mrs Cake spoke up severely, “but I'll have you know that that's no joke! If you'd care to look at where Apple Bloom is talking about...”

Grudgingly, Braeburn did as he was told – and in that instant, his anger vanished altogether as he saw what Apple Bloom and Mrs Cake were referring to. There, standing just outside, were his cousin Applejack and four other ponies, one of them visibly pregnant while another seemed almost familiar to him. Her mane and tail were flat and lifeless, and her colours seemed rather faded, but her Cutie Mark and other features told him that this must be...

“P-P-Pinkie Pie?” stammered Braeburn.

There was a long, dramatic pause as the two ponies stared disbelievingly into each other's eyes. Soarin, Rainbow Dash and Applejack all looked on with bated breath, while the expression of disapproval that Mrs Cake had been directing at Braeburn slowly gave way to one of stunned realisation.

“BRAEBURN!!!” Before anypony knew it, Pinkie Pie had all but leapt the distance between herself and the golden-furred stallion, and was now hugging him tightly as she bawled into his chest. “Oh, Braeburn, I thought I'd never see you again!” she wailed, her voice muffled by his chest fur.

“Ah...Ah don't understand,” stuttered Braeburn, confused. “What's this all about?!”

Applejack stepped forward with a rueful frown. “It's mah fault, Braeburn,” she confessed. “Ah meant ta tell Pinkie Pie about yo' visit, but Ah left it way too late 'cause Ah din' realise she an' Rainbow Dash...kinda had the same idea as y'all did – not until Fluttershy told me all about it the same day they were leavin'.”

“Wait a minute – ya mean she was headed fo' Appleloosa? But why din' ya tell me?!” burst out Braeburn indignantly.

“Because ya don't always look before ya leap,” explained Applejack. “If Ah told ya where Pinkie was, who's ta say ya wouldn't 'ave beaten it straight back to the train station an' got on the next train back t' Appleloosa?”

Braeburn opened his mouth to reply, but the annoyance in his expression quickly retreated in favour of a more amused look. “That's yo' reason fo' keepin' the truth from me?!” he chortled. “C'mon, Applejack, even Ah wouldn't go that far.”

“Ah couldn't be too sure,” said Applejack meekly.

“Well, it still doesn't excuse you trying to hide the truth from us as well, you know!” chided Rainbow Dash. “You could have saved us a lot of trouble by at least dropping us a hint, Applejack! As it is, our vacation's been ruined and Pinkie's in a right state – all because you wouldn't let us in on Braeburn's visit until the last minute!”

Applejack cringed and stared at the floorboards, brushing a hoof against them. “There was a reason fo' that.”

“What reason?”

“Well...Ah think Braeburn 'ad better explain.” Applejack nodded to her cousin, who placed an uncharacteristically shy hoof against the back of his neck.

“Yeah, maybe Ah should,” he conceded. “See, Ah'm pretty much done with Appleloosa now...”

Pinkie Pie lifted her head from his chest and gazed up at him, her eyes still filled with tears. “You're moving out of Appleloosa? After all it's ever meant to you?”

“Well...yeah, it does mean a lot ta me, Pinkie,” admitted Braeburn, “but not as much as a certain pink mare here in Ponyville. That's why Ah moved outta Appleloosa – so Ah can be with that mare fo' as long as Ah live. That's why Ah din' want Applejack ta give away too much before Ah got 'ere; Ah was hopin' ta surprise...that certain mare at mah Welcome party.”

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened. “You...I...meaning me?” she stammered hopefully, her fur starting to lighten up again.

“Ah sure do. Ah'm only sorry Ah never told ya this before, Pinkie, but Ah really, really la'k y'all, an' always had done.”

Another long silence hung over the bakery as those meaningful words sank in. Again, Pinkie Pie gazed into Braeburn's eyes, and noticed a sincere, loving glimmer in his expression that spoke volumes for itself. With a loud, squeaky PLOOMPF, her mane and tail literally sprang back to their normal bouncy state, and she let out a joyous squeal that could be heard for miles around as she leaped for joy again and again.

“YAY! BRAEBURN'S STAYING IN PONYVILLE! BRAEBURN'S STAYING IN PONYVILLE!”

Only then did Mrs Cake finally find her voice. “You...really care for Pinkie that much?”

Braeburn nodded. “Well...given that Ah don't know her too well, yes Ah do. Ah'm awful sorry about a' the hullabaloo earlier, by the way.”

At this point, Mrs Cake could only smile kindly in response. “That's quite alright, Braeburn,” she counselled. “You obviously had good intentions. Besides, I can hardly hold it against the one pony who managed to make our Pinkie Pie so happy now, can I?”

“Neither can any of us,” chipped in Rainbow Dash. “There's only one of us to blame for this misunderstanding, and it certainly isn't you either – you just caught up in the middle of the whole thing, that's all.” She then grinned broadly and gave the golden-furred stallion a friendly punch on the shoulder. “You're okay, Braeburn.”

Braeburn chuckled heartily as Pinkie Pie, having finally calmed down after her ecstatic episode, bounced up to him and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Braeburn,” she gushed, “you've just made this the best day in my whole life! All the parties in the world can't get any better than how I feel now that you've told me how you feel about me and that you're gonna be living in Ponyville forever and ever...and ever...and ever – I just......I'm really, really, really, really, really, really happy that you feel about me the way you do, because I like you – LIKE YOU, I TELL YOU!!!”

With a warm smile, Braeburn fondly returned the embrace. “An' there was Ah thinkin' Ah'd never get the chance ta hear ya say that,” he murmured, nuzzling the side of her head affectionately.

“Me too,” added Pinkie Pie. She then looked back to the others; “You know what this calls for?”

“As if I didn't know already!” quipped Scootaloo.

“A PARTY!!”

Rainbow Dash nodded her wholehearted agreement. “That's probably the most sensible suggestion anypony's made all week.”

“You said it, Dashie!” laughed Soarin.

“Did somepony say 'party'?” Everypony else looked back towards the doorway, and were delighted to see a familiar brown-orange Earth pony stallion with chocolate-brown mane and tail. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie in particular could only smile when she saw the orange-furred interloper – they knew this particular pony all too well.

“Well, well, well,” remarked Rainbow Dash, “if it isn't our old friend Cheese Sandwich!”

“Got it in one!” replied the stallion. “Been a while since I last visited this place, hasn't it?”

“You bet,” laughed Rainbow Dash. “I still haven't forgotten that epic birthday party you and Pinkie Pie put on for me a few years ago.”

“You and me both, Rainbow Dash,” smiled Cheese Sandwich. “So, Pinkie Pie, do I take it you're gonna be throwing yet another of your swell parties?”

“Yes indeed-y!” beamed Pinkie Pie broadly. “Braeburn here has just moved into Ponyville, and...well...” The pink-furred party animal paused, a light blush spreading across her cheeks. “...we've kinda got a thing for one another.”

Cheese Sandwich smiled again and nodded his acknowledgement. He knew exactly what Pinkie Pie was talking about.

“Hang on!” exclaimed Braeburn, suddenly remembering. “Yo' that stallion who threw us that Wild West disco party once!”

“The very same!” proclaimed Cheese Sandwich proudly. “So how about it then, Braeburn – you up for another party at the hooves of one of the finest party planners in Equestria?”

“Are y'all kiddin' me?!” retorted Braeburn in delight. “With y'all an' Pinkie Pie hostin' mah party, this'll be a night to remember! How can Ah say no ta that?!”

“Well, I'm glad that settles it,” remarked Cheese Sandwich with a hearty grin. “Any excuse to repay Pinkie for helping me realise my true calling in life.”

“And I know how another pony can repay the rest of us for messing us about like this,” added Rainbow Dash, a sly grin of her own starting to creep its way onto her face. “As I understand it, Braeburn's always fond of a good apple fritter every now and again – am I right?”

Applejack's face lit up. “Yeah...so he does...so do we all,” she remarked. “Yeah, Ah guess we could have some o' those at the party.”

“My point exactly – Pinkie and Cheese can plan the party, Mr and Mrs Cake can do the catering and provide the venue...you don't mind, do you, Mrs Cake?”

“Of course not,” smiled Mrs Cake graciously.

“So yeah, they can do all that, and you, Applejack, can fry us some of your delicious apple fritters...”

“Sounds la'k a good...”

“...alone!”

Applejack was mortified at this suggestion. “What?! Now hang on, Rainbow Dash, that's takin' it a bit too...”

“Tough luck, Applejack,” interrupted Rainbow Dash smugly. “You were the one who got us into this whole mess in the first place, so you're gonna have to work your flanks off if you wanna make up for it.”

“So...not even Apple Bloom or Caramel?”

“Sorry, sis,” said Apple Bloom cheerfully. “Ah got a lot o' catchin' up ta do with cousin Braeburn.”

“And don't count on us asking Caramel to...”

“Ah, let it go, Dashie,” chuckled Soarin. “If Caramel wants to help, that's his lookout. Still, even he's going to have his work cut out for him if your palette is anything to go by at the moment," he added with a broad smirk.

Everypony else in the bakery laughed heartily; but Applejack's feelings were beyond words!

That evening, Sugarcube Corner was filled with the cheery sounds of light-hearted chatter as Braeburn's Welcome Party went into full swing. Braeburn himself was enjoying the attention enormously, along with all the new friendships he had made thus far; all of his Ponyville cousins were present along with some of Pinkie Pie's other friends, there was no shortage of food and entertainment to keep them amused. But best of all, he considered, he was finally reunited with Pinkie Pie – and nothing, as far as he was concerned, would ever come between them again.

Applejack wiped the sweat away from her brow for what seemed like the hundredth time as she fished yet another batch of apple fritters out of the pan. It had been hot, tiring work, and just as Soarin had predicted, matters hadn't been helped by the fierce cravings Rainbow Dash had been getting for apple fritters.

“Oh well,” sighed Applejack wearily as she placed the fritters into a bowl with all the others, “Ah suppose Ah did bring this on mahself.”

“How's it going, A.J.?”

Applejack looked over her shoulder to see Caramel entering the kitchen. “Not bad, seein' as Ah've been left ta provide enough fritters fo' seventy-three ponies and a mare who's eatin' fo' two,” she grunted.

“Just seventy-four ponies?” Caramel eyed the vast amounts of fritters in utter disbelief. “Applejack, that's enough fritters to feed an army! How do you expect a mere seventy-four ponies to eat all that lot in one evening?!”

“Yeah...maybe Ah have gone a li'l overboard with them fritters,” murmured Applejack ruefully. “It's just that...well, Rainbow Dash just won't leave 'em alone – every time Ah bring out a fresh batch, she goes an' nabs most of 'em before anypony else has a chance to grab one themselves! Ah mean, Ah can understand Pinkie Pie bein' able to wolf down so many fritters, but Rainbow Dash?! how's that even possible?”

Caramel nodded sympathetically, trying not to laugh. “Ah, that's probably just the sort of thing most mares go through when pregnant,” he observed thoughtfully. “You know when I went to see my Dad in Manehattan last year?”

“What about it?”

“He confided in me that, when Mom was carrying me, she used to get through six jars of olives, three apple pies and twenty mangoes a day!” explained Caramel, finally letting loose his laughter. In spite of her annoyance with Rainbow Dash, Applejack couldn't help but join in. “Anyway, I think you've done way more than enough for tonight. Why don't you come and join in on all the fun?”

“Yeah, why not?” conceded Applejack heartily.

“And by the way, Applejack...”

“Yeah?”

“...I think you did wonders in keeping Braeburn here in Ponyville for as long as you did,” praised Caramel. “I'm sure Pinkie and Dash feel the same way, even if they won't show it.”

Applejack blushed. “Ah couldn't 'ave done it without yo' help, though,” she said softly, and gave her tan-coated coltfriend a light peck on the side of his muzzle. “Thanks, Caramel.”

“That's okay, Applejack. Just glad I could help,” smiled Caramel kindly.

With that, the two Earth ponies left the kitchen and headed into the lobby to join their friends, Applejack taking extra care not to be spotted by Rainbow Dash in case she should be chastised for bunking off work. She didn't quite succeed, however; the heavily pregnant mare caught a glimpse of her while enjoying some happy gossip with Braeburn, but luckily for Applejack, she simply assured herself that justice had been dealt and turned a blind eye on the orange-coated farm pony. Besides, she told herself, at least they were well-stocked for fritters!

“So, Braeburn,” she continued, “no more thoughts about leaving Ponyville just so you can be with Pinkie Pie?”

“Not a chance, Dash!” Braeburn assured her. “As long as Pinkie's still 'ere, so am Ah.”

“Good for you, Braeburn,” chuckled Rainbow Dash. “Just make sure you don't upset that mare on purpose, or else...”

Braeburn's smile faded. “Or else what?”

Rainbow Dash leaned in towards him with narrow eyes. “...or else I'll be seeing how many times I can wrap you round a single apple tree,” she warned in a low, fierce tone.

“Ah won't – y'all can bet on it,” stammered Braeburn uneasily.

“Oh, I know you won't!” Rainbow Dash promptly dropped her threatening façade and resumed her previous cheery expression. “I was just messing with your head, Braeburn; I know you'd never wanna hurt our Pinkie Pie – not that she does upset very easily, anyway.”

Braeburn breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Well, am Ah darn well glad ta hear that,” he mused thankfully. “It was bad enough that Ah'd done so just by leavin' Appleloosa behind, but...oh, an' by the way,” he added apologetically, “Ah'm real sorry yo' vacation was ruined...”

“Nah, it's okay, Braeburn,” smiled Rainbow Dash. “I think we've all had enough of Appleloosa for now, me and Soarin and Scoot. As soon as this party's over, it's off to Manehattan with us – a nice, relaxing seaside setting, that's what we need.”

“Fair enough,” chuckled Braeburn.

Just then, they heard an ear-splitting squeal of delight as Pinkie Pie bounced joyously across the lobby, beaming from ear to ear. “They said yes! THEY SAID YES!!!” she cheered loudly. “I so can't believe this! Me and Braeburn together under the same roof – this...is the GREATEST DAY EVER!”

Soarin, who was just rejoining his wife after filling himself a glass of punch at the buffet table, raised an eyebrow. “What in Celestia's name has gotten into her now?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged; but Braeburn smiled broadly. He knew exactly why Pinkie Pie was so far over the moon right now.

“Oh, Dashie, you're so not gonna believe this!” the pink-furred party pony gushed ecstatically. “Braeburn and I wanted to be in the same place under the same roof at the same time, so I went and asked Mr and Mrs Cake if they'd be okay with him moving in and becoming my room-mate, and guess what – THEY SAID YEEEES!!”

“No! Really?!” Rainbow Dash was astounded. “That's really awesome, Pinkie!”

“I know, right? Now I'll never have to worry about being away from Braeburn ever again, 'cause I'll be waking up in the same room as him, and maybe in the same bed too!”

“Y'all said it, Pinkie!” agreed Braeburn.

“Uh...isn't that a bit forward for you both?” Soarin looked slightly perturbed.

“Ah, c'mon, Soarin,” scoffed Rainbow Dash. “You and I sometimes shared a bed before we were married. Anyway, aren't you forgetting that this is Pinkie Pie we're looking at here? The only pony I know other than myself who likes to take things fast?”

Soarin opened his mouth to object – but immediately thought better of it. “Yeah, I guess you're right,” he decided.

Epilogue

It wasn't until almost midnight that the party finally drew to a close, by which time Soarin, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were well on their way to Manehattan for the remainder of their vacation. As the last of the other guests filed out of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie and Braeburn thanked Cheese Sandwich for giving them one of the best parties they had ever had.

“No trouble at all, guys,” the brown-orange stallion replied modestly. “Just glad to be of service. No doubt we'll meet again?”

“You bet, Cheese!” conceded Braeburn emphatically. “Thanks again!”

With that, Cheese Sandwich turned and made his way down the road, leaving an exhausted but wholly satisfied Pinkie Pie and Braeburn to head upstairs and settle down for the night. This last week had truly been an eventful one – and admittedly rather trying too – but even though one small mistake had nearly ruined everything for the two Earth ponies, neither of them could be any happier with the way it had all turned out in the end.

As Braeburn hung up his hat and vest before climbing into bed with Pinkie Pie, he couldn't help but smile as he reflected on how well he had been taking all these huge changes in his life. It was still so hard to believe that, previously to this, he had been having such severe doubts about leaving Appleloosa behind – but now, he could think of nowhere he would rather live than in Sugarcube Corner with his beloved party animal.

Pinkie Pie let out a soft, contented sigh as she and Braeburn snuggled up to each other. “This really is the greatest day ever,” she said. “I'm so glad I have you here in my life, Braeburn.”

“Ah owe it all to you, Pinkie,” replied Braeburn. “There's no Ponyville without y'all around,” and he planted a tender kiss on her lips.

“Oh, Braesy,” murmured Pinkie Pie softly, “that's so sweet of you to say so. I love you so much.”

“An' Ah love y'all too,” said Braeburn fondly.

Pinkie Pie said no more, but smiled happily and snuggled even closer to Braeburn as the two of them finally drifted off to sleep. Gone were her days of lying awake in bed until the early hours, sorely wishing for the one she loved to find her, to tell her how he felt, to promise that he would stay by her side for the rest of their lives; Braeburn was here to stay, and nothing was going to change that any time soon.

For the first time in months, the pink-furred mare felt as though her life was officially complete.