Shadows from the pastby chil304ChaptersTwilight SparkleApple JackRarityeiP eikniPTwilight SparkleTwilight sparkle sighed as she sat at her desk. She had a small drop of ink in her mouth which she swirled around to help her concentrate. She knew having ink in your mouth was generally a bad idea but she didn't care. doing her work was more important than her oral hygiene. Especially in times like this. the entire desk was lit nicely with a candle on one side of the table which, while might present a small fire hazard, had been fine up until now. The purple pony stopped writing for a second to quickly read through what she had done, skimming through to some of the more important bits: I don't want us to end our friendship if I can help it... inadequate behavior... the recent events of... we all have said things we now regret... please consider meeting up to discuss... yours truly, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, that seemed good, at least for now. She opened the drawer, searching for her checklist. She smiled when it was found. At the bottom of the list her hoof scrawled on: "post letter number two hundred and seventeen." Twilight read through the letter one more time to make sure she was perfectly happy with it and then decided to go to bed: tomorrow was going to be a hectic day. ***** The morning sun slowly drifted above ponyville, almost like clockwork. Just how Twilight liked it. "Spike, get my my checklist" Twilight commanded, barely out of her bed. A small, reluctant murmuring was heard from the next room, followed by a small, scaly, purple dragon slowly trudging into her bedroom. This was followed by even more reluctant murmuring and then finally Twilight being passed a large wad of paper, with what appeared to be chicken scratchings scrawled over it. Soon, item number 2716: "try to reason with 'friends'", was added to the check-list. Twilight started getting ready to go out. She started by going downstairs and making breakfast. It was, as usual, hay pancakes with maple syrup. Next she had a bath and started combing her hair. soon enough she was ready and had her saddle bags on. At this rate she would be about three minutes early to Sugar Cube Corner. "Hey Spike, i'm going to Sugar Cube Corner now, do you want a cake?" A murmur that vaguely sounded like a "yes" drifted it's way downstairs, and with that Twilight left for Sugar Cube Corner. ***** The walk over to Sugar Cube Corner was mostly uneventful, the most interesting that happened being somepony wanting the new princess's autograph. Maybe they were a bit slow to get an autograph after her crowning ceremony or maybe they were just new around this area of Equestria. Not that Twilight had much time to think that one over because she had just arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, exactly 3 minutes early. As she opened the door, the gentle smell of candy and cake wafted over to her. It was kind of relaxing in a way. In the main room there was two main tables. One of them already had a large pile of cupcake ingredients on though, so it soon became apparent that the purple mare's choice was going to be limited to one table. Soon enough, Twilight was sat at the table with some chocolate cake, waiting for her 'friends' to show up. About twenty seconds later, applejack showed up. Winoa was told calmly to wait outside and was given a treat to tide her over. Soon the slightly muddy mare was sat opposite Twilight with an extremely generic looking apple pastry. Neither pony felt like talking so they just started to wait for some more of their 'friends' to show up. Next to show up was Flutter shy, with a phoenix feather in her hair. She insisted she would have arrived earlier if it hadn't have been for Angel demanding she give her a fifth breakfast. Cautiously but quickly, she found a seat next to Twilight and was soon united with a cupcake topped with a fondant flower. Rarity arrived just on time. No words were spoken as she promptly took a seat next to Applejack and made a fuss of ordering the fanciest pastry the bakery made. This turned out to be a tiramisu made with ingredients none of the girls could pronounce properly. Rainbow dash could have been early but had decided it would have been cooler to wait until she was roughly a minute late before entering. Trying slightly too hard to look as cool as possible, she sat on the opposite side of applejack, and proceeded to ask the waiter for a ridiculously large coffee. Around four minutes passed before anyone decided to wonder where pinkie was. How could the pony that lives at the meeting point be late? somehow pinkie had managed it. Twilight casually walked up to the bottom of the stairs. "Pinkie, get down here!" "Just a second!" some excited murmuring was heard, followed by a loud bang, several loud crashing sounds and some metallic clanging sounds rung out around the bakery. eventually, Pinkie appeared with a pot on her head, gummy hanging onto her tail, candy all over her mane and punch dripping off her coat. What had she been doing...? Twilight estimated that around four minutes past before anyone spoke at the table. The first pony to speak was Apple Jack. "ah assume you know why were here." There was a collective nodding around the room, followed by Flutter Shy muttering "a-actually I don't r-really kno-" not that anypony paid attention to her. rainbow had drunk about half her coffee by now. "yeah, yeah, get to the point apple b*cker" Twilight Sparkle looked slightly concerned by the way rainbow said this. "Rainbow, how is this going to help our-" "and you can shut it egg-head." by this time, pinkie pie had decided she hadn't spoken in a while so said "Well maybe if little Mrs. crash hadn't ignored our feelings, all this might not have happened." "oh you can zip it pinkie." this remark rewarded Rainbow with a party cannon to the face. "Pinkie, that was most uncalled for!" Rarity remarked. "says you, I remember what you did last night!" "well it was your fault." "nu-uh it was applejack." "Now how in the hay am I now being dragged into this?" "uhhhh my head..." "rainbow, nopony asked you what you were feeling." the group said collectively. Twilight soon realized after this that nothing was going to happen at this meeting and left, feeling defeated. ***** Twilight pushed the door to her house open, a warm cloud of air invited her inside and the smell of soup eased the stress the mare was having. The purple mare followed the enchanting smell of soup and ended up next to spike. "Hey twi! how did it go?" the dragon said, optimistically. "Spike, it didn't work." "Oh, how come?" "They just wouldn't listen to reason!" Spike stopped stirring so he could concentrate more on talking. "Ah well, who needs them anyway?" "but- but they were my friends" "Look Twi, i know it must be tough but you need to move on. Oh, by the way, a letter arrived for you. I put it in your room." "Th-thanks spike" Twilight said before hugging him. "It's ok Twi." The moment would have been sad if it hadn't had been for the soup starting to burn. "I should probably deal with that." spike mentioned, worried. ***** The violet alicorn flopped onto her bed, exhausted. The scroll on her bed jumped up slightly as she landed on the bed. I should probably get round to reading that scroll thought Twilight. A purple aura enveloped a checklist and the quill Owlowiscious gave her and soon item 2719 was added to the checklist: Read letter number four hundred and twelve. wearily, Twilight pulled the covers over herself, feeling safe and warm as the blankets hugged her. The letter started to gain a purple aura around it, and it proceeded to float over to Twilight sparkle. This was the first time she had got a close look at the letter. Specifically, it was the first time she had seen the stamp. The stamp showed two wings, crossed to form a sort of "X" shape, with a royal guard helmet on top. plus, the wax was blue and not the standard red. This meant only one thing: The letter was from her brother. Twilight opened the letter and started to read it. Dear Twilight, I am writing to you over an issue of Equestrian security. For the past few years now, we have been relying on you and your friends defeating threats for us. I know, it sounds lazy. Because of this reliance on the elements of harmony, guards have become mostly ceremonial. Heck, even the wonder-bolts, the flying regiment meant solely as elite GUARDS and SOLDIERS have become literally a circus act. and so we have decided to tell you that if you don't make up and become friends again, we will force you to become friends again. In the Equestrian dungeons. Over the next three years. Good luck! sincerely, Shining Armour. soon enough, item 2720: exact revenge against my brother was added to Twilight's checklist. The alicorn was completely overwhelmed by this letter: They were going to throw her in the DUNGEON if she didn't make friends? Seriously? It wasn't fair. Not that complaining would make it fair though, she would just have to try making all her friends forgive each other. ***** The sun rose over Ponyville. The light scattered around Twilight's room, illuminating it with rainbow colors. This sounds like a wonderful way to start the day in your crystal castle but in all honesty, it was a huge distraction when walking around and normally ended in somepony walking into some sort of furniture. While she was eating breakfast, Twilight came up with a plan for getting her friends back: 1) befriend Apple Jack first 2) both ponies go round Rarity's boutique and convince her to forgive them 3) get annoyed at Spike for no reason 4) find Pinkie and get her to be friends again 5) get Pinkie and Rainbow to solve whatever was bothering them 6) intimidate Flutter Shy into being friends again. ***** Twilight grabbed her saddlebags and trotted off to Sweet Apple Acres. The air was clean and fresh over there. Two barns stood in the middle off the fields. The smaller one had been crudely refurbished into some sort of house. It wasn't exactly where Twilight would have chosen to stay but hey, if they're happy, why not? Twilight knocked on the door three times and then stood back because the door opened outwards. Apple Jack responded quickly to this and, in her classic way of saying things, told her to "buck off" Twilight bit her lip. this might be harder than expected. Author's Note My first fan fiction. Will try to make some of the chapters slightly longer. Still trying to think of what split up the mane 6. Maybe something to do with a shared love interest? Apple JackApple Jack sighed. She was half-way through washing off all the apples they had harvested when someone had come knocking. Probably somepony advertising something they didn't want or need. The orange pony was tired and more focused on finishing her work than chatting so decided quickly just to tell the pony knocking to "buck off." Twilight wasn't really surprised by this response as she replied "Apple jack, please come out for a second I need to talk to you." Apple Jack was surprised to find out it was Twilight who had been knocking. She was worrying that she might anger some big corporation by swearing at one of their representatives but it was just Twilight Sparkle which, in her mind at least, made her reactions even more justified than they already were. Never the less, she decided to show courtesy and respect towards her former friend and try reasoning with her to reach a conclusion they could both agree on. "Twi, ah said BUCK OFF!" Well, it was courtesy according to Apple Jack at least. "Apple Jack! listen to reason!" " Ah don't need any oh that fancy-schmancy froo-froo reasoning! no means no!" and soon, Apple Jack was back inside washing apples off. The silence that followed lingered like a bad smell, wafting around as a reminder to Apple Jack that she had just told her former friend to buck off. To Apple Jack it felt surprisingly good, similar to the feeling after you complete a long exam, but without the lingering boredom portion. "Fine then, I guess you don't want this book on apples." "wait, what did y'all say?" "I think you heard me the first time." "Yah think ah am that obsessed with apples?" "well... I... er..." "well y'all are correct. Ah'm listenin." "I think it would be better for all of us if we all made up and were friends again." "Ah'm not listenin." and that was the end of the conversation. ***** Apple Jack sighed as she washed the apples off. It seemed like only yesterday her friends broke up. she could remember it so clearly too: Pinkie Pie had recently got a special somepony at the time, by the name of Treacle Toffee. A candy maker and the only real rival to the bon family. Well, at least the only real rival in ponyville. The two had naturally started to sing a song about their love for each other because gosh darnit this was ponyville and they were going to have at least one song a week. Mid-song the couple were cut off by none other than Rainbow Dash: "Treacle! I thought we were going to do some more flight practice today!" pinkie had then proceeded to chime in before Treacle Toffee could speak. "nu-uh he's my baking buddy!" Rainbow Dash paused mid-flight. "Baking Buddy?" "yeah! my baking buddy!" "please... help..." Treacle Toffee managed to stammer to someone walking past before Pinkie Pie interrupted again. "well maybe if someone wasn't so stressy, we might be baking hot dogs right now." "I-i'm vegetarian." Pinkie Pie just glared at him. "ohhh... never mind." Then Rarity joined in. "Why doesn't Treacle Toffee decide what he want's to do?" At that point, Apple Jack had decided that not enough fighting was happening so decided to join into the argument. "Well ah think we should all 'ave a good competition to decide." Rarity just stood there, slightly surprised. "Does... does no-one care about free-will here?" That was as far as Apple Jack could remember of the argument. The rest was just a haze of drunken punch ups and swearing. It was surprisingly fun, they had to do that more often. ***** The sun had started to set on sweet apple acres when Apple Jack finally finished her chores. The sunset was absolutely stunning from the barn windows - you could see the harmony between the greens of the fields and the oranges of the sunset wonderfully. If Rarity was living here, she probably would never leave the window whenever the sun set but because of the fact it was Apple Jack... she didn't really care that much. Apple Jack had soon tucked herself into her bed, the blanket providing a gentle warmth that lulled her softly to sleep, like a lullaby. ***** CRASH Apple Jack was abruptly woken to the sound of metal hitting metal. It echoed around the barn-house for a bit, serving as a crude reminder that her dreams about apples were interrupted again. POOF From all her experience at the farm, Apple Jack had learnt that allot of problems can be solved by giving them a good kick. It worked on cart wheels that wouldn't stay on; apple trees with stubborn fruit; your sister's homework and now, apparently, Alicorns that teleport into your house in the dead of night. WHAM That didn't sound good. Twilight began to stand up wearily, a mild concussion starting to make itself at home with her. "owww...." "Well y'all know better than to sneak up on me! now tell me what ya'll are doing here before ah kick you into next week. "Can we just try being friends again?" "No!" "please?" "No!" Twilight Sparkle, now pretty frustrated, decided it would be much easier if she used for magic to keep Apple Jack from talking. "Look, the royal guards have said we need to." "mmphfrnafnalptv" "now, if I let you go, will you try being friends again?" Apple Jack nodded and was released. Her element of harmony was thrust onto her neck. "Why do I need this again?" "I'm not really sure, but it helped in the past." Apple Jack sighed and just decided to accept it. It was clear she wasn't going to get a clearer answer from her. "well, what do we do now then?" "My original plan was to go to rarity's and get her to come and become friends again." "Ah think that we should do that too." and so, in a slightly convenient to the plot twist because I was too lazy to end this properly... the two mares walked off for rarity's boutique, to hopefully make friends with her again. Author's Note Ok, I was a bit lazy over to the end but getting a proper conflict going is hard when you are focusing on the characters that are really meant to be background characters until you re-unite them again. On the bright side however... new chapter! RarityThe walk back to Ponyville was long and boring. To pass the time, Twilight started to talk about books. Much to Apple Jack's dissmay. "So I recently read a book on the life cycle of a house fly." Apple Jack rolled her eyes. "uh-huh." "Apparently house flies don't just come in plain black coloring but also green, blue and wow that really looks like black but we want to call it something other than black grey!" "that's wonderful." "In fact, house flies can-" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS HIGHWAYMEN!" "wait wha-" WHUMP two balls of orange and white fur proceeded to jump at the two girls. The white ball of fluff managed to tackle Twilight Sparkle no problem but the orange one just seemed to bounce off Apple Jack, harmlessly. Then Apple Bloom jumped out of the bushes with a paper sword. Apple Jack looked around for a second. Scootaloo was now holding on to her leg for dear life. "Y'all can't be serious." "Give us all yer money!" chimed Apple Bloom "AH MY EYE!" Sweetie Bell had managed to put her horn into Twilight's eye while tackling her. "Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Scootaloo was now trying way too hard to pull Apple Jack over."hnnnngh" Apple Bloom's jaw dropped almost as fast as her sword. "er... I um... we..." Apple Jack looked her sister dead in the eye. "Y'all can't be serious." "MY EYE HAS ENTERED NEW DIMENSIONS OF PAIN!" Scootaloo was now flapping her wings as hard as she could, desperate to do something to Apple Jack's leg. Apple Bloom started to back off. "I CAN ONLY SEE BLOOD, PAIN AND SADNESS!" Scootaloo then managed to move Apple Jacks leg by about a centimeter and had declared this a victory. "I have you now!" Apple Bloom started backing off quickly now. "er girls... ah think we need to RUNNN!!!" Just like that, the cutie mark crusaders started to run as fast as they could into some nearby bushes. Applejack considered chasing after them but decided that they had learned their lesson. "MY EYE FEELS LIKE CELESTIA HERSELF HAS SMITTEN IT!" Apple Jack sighed. "oh stop being such a wuss Twi." "EASY FOR YOU TO SAY, YOU STILL HAVE TWO EYES!" "it's not as bad as all that." ***** One hour later, two mares eventually arrived at the carousel boutique. They would have been there sooner but Twilight insisted they stop her eye from bleeding first. The doors and windows of the boutique had been boarded up and when Twilight knocked on the door, a wail was heard from inside "go away! my life is RUINED! RUINED I tell you bwaaaaa!" Twilight took a deep breath before responding. "Rarity, your being like Apple Jack was." "Don't compare me to that slut!" Apple Jack reached into her saddle bag and brought out a baseball bat. "how about this slut gives yah a new makeover?" Twilight stared at Apple Jack, stunned. "Why the hell do you have a baseball bat in you saddle bag?" "I use it to hit apples out of trees." Apple Jack Hissed in response. "It makes you look like a psychopath!" Twilight Sparkle hissed in response. Apple Jack held the bat slightly closer to Twilight. "How about ah show you personally how much of a psychopath having a bat makes me?" "d-did I say psychopath? i meant... er... perfectly sane pony?" "That's what ah thought. Now, where was ah?" "Threatening to pound Rarity's face in?" "Yeah, that sounds right." Apple Jack stood taller and prouder now, clutching the bat in her teeth. "gmmph truhl laht vahcah tu" The sobbing from the house stopped for a second. "What was that dear?" Turning around and spitting out the bat, Apple Jack exclaimed: "Ah said ah'm coming into get y'all." Then she bucked rarity's door as hard as she could and by that I mean kicked, not the other thing. Rarity's door no longer existed. In it's place stood some splintered door frame, chunks of wood thrown around a terrified Sweetie Bell. Twilight stood in disbelief. "Apple Jack! That was a bit extreme!" Apple Jack picked up the bat again. "Really? Y'all really want to push that?" "Ok! Ok! let's just get this over with." Apple Jack dropped the bat. "Rarity! get your froo-froo ass down here before I do it for you!" Stomping was heard from upstairs, and a slightly annoyed Rarity appeared at the bottom of the stairs shortly after. "Darling, just because I am not a Pony who rolls around in dirt like a pig doesn't mean I am froo-froo" Twilight started to form a protective spell. "Well ah think yah are the most froo-froo gal ah ever met." Twilight's protective spell was now fully formed. "Darling, if you want to go there then I say BRING. IT. ON." THWACK Twilight was stunned. "Apple Jack! Were trying to be friends! remember?" "What? she said to bring it on." Rarity stumbled and fell onto the floor, face first. "Gmmphtrrb." "What was that, sugarcube?" "Gmmphtrrb." Twilight tilted her head slightly. "I think she's hurt." "Gmmphtrrb." Sweetie bell stared at the mares. "I bucking hate all of you." "OH BUCK SHE'S STILL HERE" Apple Jack screamed. "Gmmphtrrb." Twilight started to think before speaking. "I think Rarity is saying 'yes'" "Gmmphtrrb." "See? she agrees with me. Rarity peeled herself off the floor. "I think my face just imploded." Sweetie bell just stared, shocked. Twilight started to lose her cool at this point. "I think she needs a hospital." "All I can see is blood, pain and tears." Apple Jack's bat started to rise again. "Sugarcube, no-one cares about how you feel." "WHAT DID YOU BUCKING DO!?" "Sweetie bell, shut up. Ah don't care how shattered yah conscience is right now." "My face has entered a new dimension of pain. I would scream and cry but the pain is too great to do either." "Y'all can shut up too." Twilight tapped Apple Jack's shoulder. "Can you please try to be kind?" "Ah thought that was flutter-shy's deal." "Just do it." "Once apon a time I had a face. A face that was unbroken and I could see out of. That wonderful face is now just pain." Twilight Sparkle started to look worried. "We really should take her to a doctor..." "YES YOU SHOULD YOU BUCKING SHIT HEADS!" "and we should really teach Sweetie Bell some appropriate language." "I WILL HAVE NIGHTMARES ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS AFTERWARDS!" "Dear Princess Celestia, today my friends taught me, through the power of friendship, that having a face is optional in this world." Twilight sighed a depressed sigh. "Rarity, i'm sorry about Apple Jack pulverizing your face. please can you try being friends though? I would really appreciate it." "no." "Ah'll hit your face again if yah don't." "Fine." "GET OUT OF OUR BUCKING HOUSE OR CELESTIA DAMMIT I'M CALLING THE POLICE!" "We're planning on going right now." Author's Note Another Chapter. Rarity was surprisingly fun to write. eiP eikniPOk... there is no way to put this lightly so I will put it very bluntly. Pinkie Pie is a pony who likes fun and seeming as she wasn't with her friends and thus had some time to kill... we kind of come back into the story to Pinkie... clopping? I think clopping is the way to describe this. Anyway, so Pinkie was doing... that... and well, because of this it's understandable that she got annoyed when her friends started knocking on the door, demanding to see her. "Pinkie, open up! We have a dying Rarity and have allowed Apple Jack to use her bat!" Well, pinkie thought, she was in deep shit now. Whatever it was, it must be pretty serious if anypony allowed Apple Jack near a bat for it. "Tell me what it is that's so important before I open the door." "We want you to be friends again." "I'm going to be difficult for the sake of the plot and say 'no' even though with around 600 or so words I will say yes for nearly no reason whatsoever." "What?" "Never mind." Twilight slumped herself against the wall and sighed. "Well, what are we going to do girls? she said no..." Apple Jack held her bat higher than before. "Sunshine, with all due respect... you teleported into mah house to get me to be friends again and we broke Rarity's face as well." "don't think i've forgotten that." "Don't worry girls, I have a spell prepared for these sort of situations." "what then? spit it out already!" "I, too, would be very interested in what this spell is." everpony paused as Rarity said this. "Oh, almost forgot, my face still hurts." Twilight stood up slightly and began speaking. "I think we should use a spell to teleport Spike over here and then he can use fire to burn the door down." "Do you have any plans that don't involve arson?" "Sorry! I am not used to being pushed into situations like this!" "Ah for one think it was a brilliant idea." "You would think that." "And what in tarnation is that supposed to mean? Twilight Sparkle stood promptly in-between the two mares. "Girls! We are trying to fix a friendship problem! Not create a new one!" "Ah know that were trying to fix our friendship and the best way to do that is to burn someone's door down. Trust me." "Oh for the love of Celestia..." "See? even Rarity wants to burn Pinkie's door down." "I said no you fucking idiot." "That sounded like a yes to me! Twilight looked slightly skeptical at first but eventually warmed up to the idea. "Ok then, lets try it." "Why the buck do I hang around with you two..." POOF Spike appeared in a puff of smoke. Twilight ran over to him and practically shouted into his ear. "Spike, we need your help." Spike answered promptly: "What with?" "Burning down Pinkie Pie's door so we can trap her in a corner, act out of character for a second and then transfer to the next of our friends." "WHAT!? NO!" "Even the fucking dragon agrees with me, you half-wits." "pleasepleasepleaseplease!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed while jumping up and down. "You are my #1 assistant after all." "I am not burning down someponies door, I have principles." "I will give you a ruby." "Ok, fuck my principles, what do you need burning?" "That door." Twilight Sparkle pointed for greater emphasis as she said this. FWOSH "I give up." Apple jack smiled and raised a hoof into the air. "THAT'S THE SPIRIT RARITY!" "on the bright side, my face is getting better." Then spike started to hold his stomach and proceeded to throw up a letter. My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. I'm glad to see that your expanding your knowledge to the magic of doors but please just stick to friendship for now. Sincerely, princess molestia ;) Apple Jack charged into the house with her bat raised. "Pinkie, your coming out and there whether you want to or not!" "I really, really, really think you shouldn't do that." replied a slightly desperate Pinkie Pie. "too bad, i'm coming in anwa- OH SWEET CELESTIA WHAT WERE YOU DOING!?" "I-I... can explain!" Twilight stood at the bottom of the stairs impatiently. "Apple Jack! What's wrong? Do you want me to come up there?" Apple Jack's bat was now rolling around the floor, next her jaw. "I need brain bleach." "Apple Jack! Were coming up right now if you don't reply!" Pinkie Pie just sat there, mortified. "H-How many ponies are here?" Apple Jack replied after thinking for a second. "Well the cakes have came back home and are wondering what all the fuss is about... Twi and rares are also here... ah'm preety sure the foal-free press is nearby as well and-" "The papers are here!?" Rarity was the first to walk through the door. "I am going to walk straight back out and gouge out my eyeballs, see you in a bit." Twilight soon followed her. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF LUNA WHAT THE BUCK! YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME!" Pinkie was going the deepest shade of red possible. "Please don't tell the cakes about this..." SNAP "I think the foal-free press are going to be taking of that... how about this though: we will make sure this doesn't reach your parents if you decide to help us." "When I thought it couldn't get any worse, you decided to introduce blackmail." Pinkie Pie started to get up as slowly as possible. "Fine..." Twilight jumped into the air and yelled yay as loud as she could. "Now we only have two ponies left to get to be our friends again!" Author's Note Ok, pinkie is actually kind of hard/boring to write when you only have Twi, Apple Jack and Rares. Hopefully Rainbow Dash will make writing this a tad easier.
Twilight SparkleTwilight sparkle sighed as she sat at her desk. She had a small drop of ink in her mouth which she swirled around to help her concentrate. She knew having ink in your mouth was generally a bad idea but she didn't care. doing her work was more important than her oral hygiene. Especially in times like this. the entire desk was lit nicely with a candle on one side of the table which, while might present a small fire hazard, had been fine up until now. The purple pony stopped writing for a second to quickly read through what she had done, skimming through to some of the more important bits: I don't want us to end our friendship if I can help it... inadequate behavior... the recent events of... we all have said things we now regret... please consider meeting up to discuss... yours truly, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, that seemed good, at least for now. She opened the drawer, searching for her checklist. She smiled when it was found. At the bottom of the list her hoof scrawled on: "post letter number two hundred and seventeen." Twilight read through the letter one more time to make sure she was perfectly happy with it and then decided to go to bed: tomorrow was going to be a hectic day. ***** The morning sun slowly drifted above ponyville, almost like clockwork. Just how Twilight liked it. "Spike, get my my checklist" Twilight commanded, barely out of her bed. A small, reluctant murmuring was heard from the next room, followed by a small, scaly, purple dragon slowly trudging into her bedroom. This was followed by even more reluctant murmuring and then finally Twilight being passed a large wad of paper, with what appeared to be chicken scratchings scrawled over it. Soon, item number 2716: "try to reason with 'friends'", was added to the check-list. Twilight started getting ready to go out. She started by going downstairs and making breakfast. It was, as usual, hay pancakes with maple syrup. Next she had a bath and started combing her hair. soon enough she was ready and had her saddle bags on. At this rate she would be about three minutes early to Sugar Cube Corner. "Hey Spike, i'm going to Sugar Cube Corner now, do you want a cake?" A murmur that vaguely sounded like a "yes" drifted it's way downstairs, and with that Twilight left for Sugar Cube Corner. ***** The walk over to Sugar Cube Corner was mostly uneventful, the most interesting that happened being somepony wanting the new princess's autograph. Maybe they were a bit slow to get an autograph after her crowning ceremony or maybe they were just new around this area of Equestria. Not that Twilight had much time to think that one over because she had just arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, exactly 3 minutes early. As she opened the door, the gentle smell of candy and cake wafted over to her. It was kind of relaxing in a way. In the main room there was two main tables. One of them already had a large pile of cupcake ingredients on though, so it soon became apparent that the purple mare's choice was going to be limited to one table. Soon enough, Twilight was sat at the table with some chocolate cake, waiting for her 'friends' to show up. About twenty seconds later, applejack showed up. Winoa was told calmly to wait outside and was given a treat to tide her over. Soon the slightly muddy mare was sat opposite Twilight with an extremely generic looking apple pastry. Neither pony felt like talking so they just started to wait for some more of their 'friends' to show up. Next to show up was Flutter shy, with a phoenix feather in her hair. She insisted she would have arrived earlier if it hadn't have been for Angel demanding she give her a fifth breakfast. Cautiously but quickly, she found a seat next to Twilight and was soon united with a cupcake topped with a fondant flower. Rarity arrived just on time. No words were spoken as she promptly took a seat next to Applejack and made a fuss of ordering the fanciest pastry the bakery made. This turned out to be a tiramisu made with ingredients none of the girls could pronounce properly. Rainbow dash could have been early but had decided it would have been cooler to wait until she was roughly a minute late before entering. Trying slightly too hard to look as cool as possible, she sat on the opposite side of applejack, and proceeded to ask the waiter for a ridiculously large coffee. Around four minutes passed before anyone decided to wonder where pinkie was. How could the pony that lives at the meeting point be late? somehow pinkie had managed it. Twilight casually walked up to the bottom of the stairs. "Pinkie, get down here!" "Just a second!" some excited murmuring was heard, followed by a loud bang, several loud crashing sounds and some metallic clanging sounds rung out around the bakery. eventually, Pinkie appeared with a pot on her head, gummy hanging onto her tail, candy all over her mane and punch dripping off her coat. What had she been doing...? Twilight estimated that around four minutes past before anyone spoke at the table. The first pony to speak was Apple Jack. "ah assume you know why were here." There was a collective nodding around the room, followed by Flutter Shy muttering "a-actually I don't r-really kno-" not that anypony paid attention to her. rainbow had drunk about half her coffee by now. "yeah, yeah, get to the point apple b*cker" Twilight Sparkle looked slightly concerned by the way rainbow said this. "Rainbow, how is this going to help our-" "and you can shut it egg-head." by this time, pinkie pie had decided she hadn't spoken in a while so said "Well maybe if little Mrs. crash hadn't ignored our feelings, all this might not have happened." "oh you can zip it pinkie." this remark rewarded Rainbow with a party cannon to the face. "Pinkie, that was most uncalled for!" Rarity remarked. "says you, I remember what you did last night!" "well it was your fault." "nu-uh it was applejack." "Now how in the hay am I now being dragged into this?" "uhhhh my head..." "rainbow, nopony asked you what you were feeling." the group said collectively. Twilight soon realized after this that nothing was going to happen at this meeting and left, feeling defeated. ***** Twilight pushed the door to her house open, a warm cloud of air invited her inside and the smell of soup eased the stress the mare was having. The purple mare followed the enchanting smell of soup and ended up next to spike. "Hey twi! how did it go?" the dragon said, optimistically. "Spike, it didn't work." "Oh, how come?" "They just wouldn't listen to reason!" Spike stopped stirring so he could concentrate more on talking. "Ah well, who needs them anyway?" "but- but they were my friends" "Look Twi, i know it must be tough but you need to move on. Oh, by the way, a letter arrived for you. I put it in your room." "Th-thanks spike" Twilight said before hugging him. "It's ok Twi." The moment would have been sad if it hadn't had been for the soup starting to burn. "I should probably deal with that." spike mentioned, worried. ***** The violet alicorn flopped onto her bed, exhausted. The scroll on her bed jumped up slightly as she landed on the bed. I should probably get round to reading that scroll thought Twilight. A purple aura enveloped a checklist and the quill Owlowiscious gave her and soon item 2719 was added to the checklist: Read letter number four hundred and twelve. wearily, Twilight pulled the covers over herself, feeling safe and warm as the blankets hugged her. The letter started to gain a purple aura around it, and it proceeded to float over to Twilight sparkle. This was the first time she had got a close look at the letter. Specifically, it was the first time she had seen the stamp. The stamp showed two wings, crossed to form a sort of "X" shape, with a royal guard helmet on top. plus, the wax was blue and not the standard red. This meant only one thing: The letter was from her brother. Twilight opened the letter and started to read it. Dear Twilight, I am writing to you over an issue of Equestrian security. For the past few years now, we have been relying on you and your friends defeating threats for us. I know, it sounds lazy. Because of this reliance on the elements of harmony, guards have become mostly ceremonial. Heck, even the wonder-bolts, the flying regiment meant solely as elite GUARDS and SOLDIERS have become literally a circus act. and so we have decided to tell you that if you don't make up and become friends again, we will force you to become friends again. In the Equestrian dungeons. Over the next three years. Good luck! sincerely, Shining Armour. soon enough, item 2720: exact revenge against my brother was added to Twilight's checklist. The alicorn was completely overwhelmed by this letter: They were going to throw her in the DUNGEON if she didn't make friends? Seriously? It wasn't fair. Not that complaining would make it fair though, she would just have to try making all her friends forgive each other. ***** The sun rose over Ponyville. The light scattered around Twilight's room, illuminating it with rainbow colors. This sounds like a wonderful way to start the day in your crystal castle but in all honesty, it was a huge distraction when walking around and normally ended in somepony walking into some sort of furniture. While she was eating breakfast, Twilight came up with a plan for getting her friends back: 1) befriend Apple Jack first 2) both ponies go round Rarity's boutique and convince her to forgive them 3) get annoyed at Spike for no reason 4) find Pinkie and get her to be friends again 5) get Pinkie and Rainbow to solve whatever was bothering them 6) intimidate Flutter Shy into being friends again. ***** Twilight grabbed her saddlebags and trotted off to Sweet Apple Acres. The air was clean and fresh over there. Two barns stood in the middle off the fields. The smaller one had been crudely refurbished into some sort of house. It wasn't exactly where Twilight would have chosen to stay but hey, if they're happy, why not? Twilight knocked on the door three times and then stood back because the door opened outwards. Apple Jack responded quickly to this and, in her classic way of saying things, told her to "buck off" Twilight bit her lip. this might be harder than expected. Author's Note My first fan fiction. Will try to make some of the chapters slightly longer. Still trying to think of what split up the mane 6. Maybe something to do with a shared love interest?
Apple JackApple Jack sighed. She was half-way through washing off all the apples they had harvested when someone had come knocking. Probably somepony advertising something they didn't want or need. The orange pony was tired and more focused on finishing her work than chatting so decided quickly just to tell the pony knocking to "buck off." Twilight wasn't really surprised by this response as she replied "Apple jack, please come out for a second I need to talk to you." Apple Jack was surprised to find out it was Twilight who had been knocking. She was worrying that she might anger some big corporation by swearing at one of their representatives but it was just Twilight Sparkle which, in her mind at least, made her reactions even more justified than they already were. Never the less, she decided to show courtesy and respect towards her former friend and try reasoning with her to reach a conclusion they could both agree on. "Twi, ah said BUCK OFF!" Well, it was courtesy according to Apple Jack at least. "Apple Jack! listen to reason!" " Ah don't need any oh that fancy-schmancy froo-froo reasoning! no means no!" and soon, Apple Jack was back inside washing apples off. The silence that followed lingered like a bad smell, wafting around as a reminder to Apple Jack that she had just told her former friend to buck off. To Apple Jack it felt surprisingly good, similar to the feeling after you complete a long exam, but without the lingering boredom portion. "Fine then, I guess you don't want this book on apples." "wait, what did y'all say?" "I think you heard me the first time." "Yah think ah am that obsessed with apples?" "well... I... er..." "well y'all are correct. Ah'm listenin." "I think it would be better for all of us if we all made up and were friends again." "Ah'm not listenin." and that was the end of the conversation. ***** Apple Jack sighed as she washed the apples off. It seemed like only yesterday her friends broke up. she could remember it so clearly too: Pinkie Pie had recently got a special somepony at the time, by the name of Treacle Toffee. A candy maker and the only real rival to the bon family. Well, at least the only real rival in ponyville. The two had naturally started to sing a song about their love for each other because gosh darnit this was ponyville and they were going to have at least one song a week. Mid-song the couple were cut off by none other than Rainbow Dash: "Treacle! I thought we were going to do some more flight practice today!" pinkie had then proceeded to chime in before Treacle Toffee could speak. "nu-uh he's my baking buddy!" Rainbow Dash paused mid-flight. "Baking Buddy?" "yeah! my baking buddy!" "please... help..." Treacle Toffee managed to stammer to someone walking past before Pinkie Pie interrupted again. "well maybe if someone wasn't so stressy, we might be baking hot dogs right now." "I-i'm vegetarian." Pinkie Pie just glared at him. "ohhh... never mind." Then Rarity joined in. "Why doesn't Treacle Toffee decide what he want's to do?" At that point, Apple Jack had decided that not enough fighting was happening so decided to join into the argument. "Well ah think we should all 'ave a good competition to decide." Rarity just stood there, slightly surprised. "Does... does no-one care about free-will here?" That was as far as Apple Jack could remember of the argument. The rest was just a haze of drunken punch ups and swearing. It was surprisingly fun, they had to do that more often. ***** The sun had started to set on sweet apple acres when Apple Jack finally finished her chores. The sunset was absolutely stunning from the barn windows - you could see the harmony between the greens of the fields and the oranges of the sunset wonderfully. If Rarity was living here, she probably would never leave the window whenever the sun set but because of the fact it was Apple Jack... she didn't really care that much. Apple Jack had soon tucked herself into her bed, the blanket providing a gentle warmth that lulled her softly to sleep, like a lullaby. ***** CRASH Apple Jack was abruptly woken to the sound of metal hitting metal. It echoed around the barn-house for a bit, serving as a crude reminder that her dreams about apples were interrupted again. POOF From all her experience at the farm, Apple Jack had learnt that allot of problems can be solved by giving them a good kick. It worked on cart wheels that wouldn't stay on; apple trees with stubborn fruit; your sister's homework and now, apparently, Alicorns that teleport into your house in the dead of night. WHAM That didn't sound good. Twilight began to stand up wearily, a mild concussion starting to make itself at home with her. "owww...." "Well y'all know better than to sneak up on me! now tell me what ya'll are doing here before ah kick you into next week. "Can we just try being friends again?" "No!" "please?" "No!" Twilight Sparkle, now pretty frustrated, decided it would be much easier if she used for magic to keep Apple Jack from talking. "Look, the royal guards have said we need to." "mmphfrnafnalptv" "now, if I let you go, will you try being friends again?" Apple Jack nodded and was released. Her element of harmony was thrust onto her neck. "Why do I need this again?" "I'm not really sure, but it helped in the past." Apple Jack sighed and just decided to accept it. It was clear she wasn't going to get a clearer answer from her. "well, what do we do now then?" "My original plan was to go to rarity's and get her to come and become friends again." "Ah think that we should do that too." and so, in a slightly convenient to the plot twist because I was too lazy to end this properly... the two mares walked off for rarity's boutique, to hopefully make friends with her again. Author's Note Ok, I was a bit lazy over to the end but getting a proper conflict going is hard when you are focusing on the characters that are really meant to be background characters until you re-unite them again. On the bright side however... new chapter!
RarityThe walk back to Ponyville was long and boring. To pass the time, Twilight started to talk about books. Much to Apple Jack's dissmay. "So I recently read a book on the life cycle of a house fly." Apple Jack rolled her eyes. "uh-huh." "Apparently house flies don't just come in plain black coloring but also green, blue and wow that really looks like black but we want to call it something other than black grey!" "that's wonderful." "In fact, house flies can-" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS HIGHWAYMEN!" "wait wha-" WHUMP two balls of orange and white fur proceeded to jump at the two girls. The white ball of fluff managed to tackle Twilight Sparkle no problem but the orange one just seemed to bounce off Apple Jack, harmlessly. Then Apple Bloom jumped out of the bushes with a paper sword. Apple Jack looked around for a second. Scootaloo was now holding on to her leg for dear life. "Y'all can't be serious." "Give us all yer money!" chimed Apple Bloom "AH MY EYE!" Sweetie Bell had managed to put her horn into Twilight's eye while tackling her. "Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Scootaloo was now trying way too hard to pull Apple Jack over."hnnnngh" Apple Bloom's jaw dropped almost as fast as her sword. "er... I um... we..." Apple Jack looked her sister dead in the eye. "Y'all can't be serious." "MY EYE HAS ENTERED NEW DIMENSIONS OF PAIN!" Scootaloo was now flapping her wings as hard as she could, desperate to do something to Apple Jack's leg. Apple Bloom started to back off. "I CAN ONLY SEE BLOOD, PAIN AND SADNESS!" Scootaloo then managed to move Apple Jacks leg by about a centimeter and had declared this a victory. "I have you now!" Apple Bloom started backing off quickly now. "er girls... ah think we need to RUNNN!!!" Just like that, the cutie mark crusaders started to run as fast as they could into some nearby bushes. Applejack considered chasing after them but decided that they had learned their lesson. "MY EYE FEELS LIKE CELESTIA HERSELF HAS SMITTEN IT!" Apple Jack sighed. "oh stop being such a wuss Twi." "EASY FOR YOU TO SAY, YOU STILL HAVE TWO EYES!" "it's not as bad as all that." ***** One hour later, two mares eventually arrived at the carousel boutique. They would have been there sooner but Twilight insisted they stop her eye from bleeding first. The doors and windows of the boutique had been boarded up and when Twilight knocked on the door, a wail was heard from inside "go away! my life is RUINED! RUINED I tell you bwaaaaa!" Twilight took a deep breath before responding. "Rarity, your being like Apple Jack was." "Don't compare me to that slut!" Apple Jack reached into her saddle bag and brought out a baseball bat. "how about this slut gives yah a new makeover?" Twilight stared at Apple Jack, stunned. "Why the hell do you have a baseball bat in you saddle bag?" "I use it to hit apples out of trees." Apple Jack Hissed in response. "It makes you look like a psychopath!" Twilight Sparkle hissed in response. Apple Jack held the bat slightly closer to Twilight. "How about ah show you personally how much of a psychopath having a bat makes me?" "d-did I say psychopath? i meant... er... perfectly sane pony?" "That's what ah thought. Now, where was ah?" "Threatening to pound Rarity's face in?" "Yeah, that sounds right." Apple Jack stood taller and prouder now, clutching the bat in her teeth. "gmmph truhl laht vahcah tu" The sobbing from the house stopped for a second. "What was that dear?" Turning around and spitting out the bat, Apple Jack exclaimed: "Ah said ah'm coming into get y'all." Then she bucked rarity's door as hard as she could and by that I mean kicked, not the other thing. Rarity's door no longer existed. In it's place stood some splintered door frame, chunks of wood thrown around a terrified Sweetie Bell. Twilight stood in disbelief. "Apple Jack! That was a bit extreme!" Apple Jack picked up the bat again. "Really? Y'all really want to push that?" "Ok! Ok! let's just get this over with." Apple Jack dropped the bat. "Rarity! get your froo-froo ass down here before I do it for you!" Stomping was heard from upstairs, and a slightly annoyed Rarity appeared at the bottom of the stairs shortly after. "Darling, just because I am not a Pony who rolls around in dirt like a pig doesn't mean I am froo-froo" Twilight started to form a protective spell. "Well ah think yah are the most froo-froo gal ah ever met." Twilight's protective spell was now fully formed. "Darling, if you want to go there then I say BRING. IT. ON." THWACK Twilight was stunned. "Apple Jack! Were trying to be friends! remember?" "What? she said to bring it on." Rarity stumbled and fell onto the floor, face first. "Gmmphtrrb." "What was that, sugarcube?" "Gmmphtrrb." Twilight tilted her head slightly. "I think she's hurt." "Gmmphtrrb." Sweetie bell stared at the mares. "I bucking hate all of you." "OH BUCK SHE'S STILL HERE" Apple Jack screamed. "Gmmphtrrb." Twilight started to think before speaking. "I think Rarity is saying 'yes'" "Gmmphtrrb." "See? she agrees with me. Rarity peeled herself off the floor. "I think my face just imploded." Sweetie bell just stared, shocked. Twilight started to lose her cool at this point. "I think she needs a hospital." "All I can see is blood, pain and tears." Apple Jack's bat started to rise again. "Sugarcube, no-one cares about how you feel." "WHAT DID YOU BUCKING DO!?" "Sweetie bell, shut up. Ah don't care how shattered yah conscience is right now." "My face has entered a new dimension of pain. I would scream and cry but the pain is too great to do either." "Y'all can shut up too." Twilight tapped Apple Jack's shoulder. "Can you please try to be kind?" "Ah thought that was flutter-shy's deal." "Just do it." "Once apon a time I had a face. A face that was unbroken and I could see out of. That wonderful face is now just pain." Twilight Sparkle started to look worried. "We really should take her to a doctor..." "YES YOU SHOULD YOU BUCKING SHIT HEADS!" "and we should really teach Sweetie Bell some appropriate language." "I WILL HAVE NIGHTMARES ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS AFTERWARDS!" "Dear Princess Celestia, today my friends taught me, through the power of friendship, that having a face is optional in this world." Twilight sighed a depressed sigh. "Rarity, i'm sorry about Apple Jack pulverizing your face. please can you try being friends though? I would really appreciate it." "no." "Ah'll hit your face again if yah don't." "Fine." "GET OUT OF OUR BUCKING HOUSE OR CELESTIA DAMMIT I'M CALLING THE POLICE!" "We're planning on going right now." Author's Note Another Chapter. Rarity was surprisingly fun to write.
eiP eikniPOk... there is no way to put this lightly so I will put it very bluntly. Pinkie Pie is a pony who likes fun and seeming as she wasn't with her friends and thus had some time to kill... we kind of come back into the story to Pinkie... clopping? I think clopping is the way to describe this. Anyway, so Pinkie was doing... that... and well, because of this it's understandable that she got annoyed when her friends started knocking on the door, demanding to see her. "Pinkie, open up! We have a dying Rarity and have allowed Apple Jack to use her bat!" Well, pinkie thought, she was in deep shit now. Whatever it was, it must be pretty serious if anypony allowed Apple Jack near a bat for it. "Tell me what it is that's so important before I open the door." "We want you to be friends again." "I'm going to be difficult for the sake of the plot and say 'no' even though with around 600 or so words I will say yes for nearly no reason whatsoever." "What?" "Never mind." Twilight slumped herself against the wall and sighed. "Well, what are we going to do girls? she said no..." Apple Jack held her bat higher than before. "Sunshine, with all due respect... you teleported into mah house to get me to be friends again and we broke Rarity's face as well." "don't think i've forgotten that." "Don't worry girls, I have a spell prepared for these sort of situations." "what then? spit it out already!" "I, too, would be very interested in what this spell is." everpony paused as Rarity said this. "Oh, almost forgot, my face still hurts." Twilight stood up slightly and began speaking. "I think we should use a spell to teleport Spike over here and then he can use fire to burn the door down." "Do you have any plans that don't involve arson?" "Sorry! I am not used to being pushed into situations like this!" "Ah for one think it was a brilliant idea." "You would think that." "And what in tarnation is that supposed to mean? Twilight Sparkle stood promptly in-between the two mares. "Girls! We are trying to fix a friendship problem! Not create a new one!" "Ah know that were trying to fix our friendship and the best way to do that is to burn someone's door down. Trust me." "Oh for the love of Celestia..." "See? even Rarity wants to burn Pinkie's door down." "I said no you fucking idiot." "That sounded like a yes to me! Twilight looked slightly skeptical at first but eventually warmed up to the idea. "Ok then, lets try it." "Why the buck do I hang around with you two..." POOF Spike appeared in a puff of smoke. Twilight ran over to him and practically shouted into his ear. "Spike, we need your help." Spike answered promptly: "What with?" "Burning down Pinkie Pie's door so we can trap her in a corner, act out of character for a second and then transfer to the next of our friends." "WHAT!? NO!" "Even the fucking dragon agrees with me, you half-wits." "pleasepleasepleaseplease!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed while jumping up and down. "You are my #1 assistant after all." "I am not burning down someponies door, I have principles." "I will give you a ruby." "Ok, fuck my principles, what do you need burning?" "That door." Twilight Sparkle pointed for greater emphasis as she said this. FWOSH "I give up." Apple jack smiled and raised a hoof into the air. "THAT'S THE SPIRIT RARITY!" "on the bright side, my face is getting better." Then spike started to hold his stomach and proceeded to throw up a letter. My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. I'm glad to see that your expanding your knowledge to the magic of doors but please just stick to friendship for now. Sincerely, princess molestia ;) Apple Jack charged into the house with her bat raised. "Pinkie, your coming out and there whether you want to or not!" "I really, really, really think you shouldn't do that." replied a slightly desperate Pinkie Pie. "too bad, i'm coming in anwa- OH SWEET CELESTIA WHAT WERE YOU DOING!?" "I-I... can explain!" Twilight stood at the bottom of the stairs impatiently. "Apple Jack! What's wrong? Do you want me to come up there?" Apple Jack's bat was now rolling around the floor, next her jaw. "I need brain bleach." "Apple Jack! Were coming up right now if you don't reply!" Pinkie Pie just sat there, mortified. "H-How many ponies are here?" Apple Jack replied after thinking for a second. "Well the cakes have came back home and are wondering what all the fuss is about... Twi and rares are also here... ah'm preety sure the foal-free press is nearby as well and-" "The papers are here!?" Rarity was the first to walk through the door. "I am going to walk straight back out and gouge out my eyeballs, see you in a bit." Twilight soon followed her. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF LUNA WHAT THE BUCK! YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME!" Pinkie was going the deepest shade of red possible. "Please don't tell the cakes about this..." SNAP "I think the foal-free press are going to be taking of that... how about this though: we will make sure this doesn't reach your parents if you decide to help us." "When I thought it couldn't get any worse, you decided to introduce blackmail." Pinkie Pie started to get up as slowly as possible. "Fine..." Twilight jumped into the air and yelled yay as loud as she could. "Now we only have two ponies left to get to be our friends again!" Author's Note Ok, pinkie is actually kind of hard/boring to write when you only have Twi, Apple Jack and Rares. Hopefully Rainbow Dash will make writing this a tad easier.
