Equilibrium

It took roughly twenty minutes for Lignite to arrive to the small town. Though this was just a guess purely based on her instincts, as she had no watch with her.

The dead wasteland faded into green clearings, the green clearings then faded into apple trees. It was a whole forest of them behind the wooden fences, a gigantic orchard. A red barn was seen in a distance, standing atop a smaller hill. Lignite has never seen or felt a thing quite like this before. Compared to the concrete jungle she grew up in this was completely strange to her. It's been ages since her hooves last walked a road made of nothing but dirt. It felt so natural, different but in a good way. Strolling down the hill she finally arrived to her destination.

A small stone bridge arced over a stream, leading into the town center. The houses were mostly all the same, yellowish white loam and straw roof, usually with two floors. Exception of that was the enormous Town Hall in the middle, of course. It was a circular shaped building with two floors and a red, bell shaped roof. Pillars made of wood held the platforms in their place. Ponies strolled up and down on the streets, in pairs or small groups mostly, talking and just having their times. The town wasn't all too quiet, albeit not as noisy as Manehatten. It was a mystery how this was named 'Ponyville' and not 'Ponycity' or 'Ponypolis'. It was way too large for a mere village, though too small to be called a city as well.

Finding a general store was Lignite's main aim at that moment. However that was a lot more difficult than what she counted for, and after some time of aimlessly wandering around, she had to admit that she was lost. Eventually, she ended up in what seemed like a marketplace. It was but a simple street filled with stalls on each side of the road, the perfect time to ask somepony. She was not fond of this at all, whenever she could, Lignite preferred to do everything by herself. The other ponies avoided eye contact with her too, and she knew well the reason. The eyes she used to get an edge ahead the competition now backfired.

She sounded a loud groan with her teeth shown in their full glory, just adding fuel to the fire. She kept on stomping down the dirt road in hopes of finding a place, mares and stallions both giving her way or staring at her from a distance behind their booths. A couple moments later did she spot a very different house made of... gingerbread? She turned that way to take a better look. Yes, it indeed was a gingerbread house, how strange.

If this was not something food related she had no clue what it was then. At the least she can get a clue where the yeast is. She had to give it a try, she was given a task after all.

Approaching the building a small sign with large curly letters caught her attention in the window. It read 'Sugar Cube Corner' with a big 'Open' under it. A catchy name, she had to admit. Soon she stepped through the wooden saloon doors, though, she collided with somepony else.

It was a pale yellow pegasus with an pink mane long enough to almost sweep up the floor. She mumbled something that Lignite could hardly hear over the noise of the place. It looked like some kind of restaurant, rather than a store. There were a couple tables here and there filled with the townsfolk discussing things. Sometimes a tall, yellow stallion with a plate of sweets appeared from behind a door, carrying the goods on the tail. Their voice tried to outdo the others', and the whole thing blended into an obnoxious, almost unbearable noise.

Out of the mess, Lignite's ears picked up something from her left. It was the little pegasus again, but Lignite could make no heads or tails what she was trying to say. Her eyes jumped at the mare who flinched back in fright, then back to the crowd. Her breathing became more and more severe, her teeth show itself once again, and her muscles started to itch.

"Shut, up!"

A stomp with the power of an earthquake shook the floor, along with the last word echoing through the building. Products on the shelves jumped collectively from the shock. The busy building went almost completely silent, only some frightened whimpers sounding from time to time. An unmoving body on the floor with eyes wide open would have been oddly fitting.

Clouds of steam erupted from Lignite's noses with a loud huff. Then she turned her attention away from the watching crowd back to who was ahead of her.

"So, what do you wanted to say?" she asked the pegasus, her voice irritated but now much less loud.

"I-I'm sorry, just c-could you please move out the doorway?" she begged with the most awkward smile and a look filled with fright.

"Sure." Lignite replied, taking a gentle step to the side to give way to her.

"Thank you." sounded the reply, as said pegasus snuck away though the path. Then once she felt she was out of the other pony's field of view, she blasted away with a speed that made Lignite's skirt, mane and tail linger like she stood in an autumn wind.

Great, now with that dealt with she could continue. Her eyes targeted the counter, and the pink, poofy maned pony behind it. Poor thing swallowed hard, shaking. Her pupils shrunk smaller and smaller as the gray mare approached. Her stomps were louder and louder with each stepped until she reached the counter.

"Can I help you with anything?" the pink pony mumbled, trying to mask her fear behind a smile but to no avail.

"Do you know where can I get some yeast?" responded Lignite, her question sounding more like an order.

"Yeast? Yes, of course. Just a second." the shocked mare answered, turning around and running into the room on the other side of the door to get some. Lignite's ears started to catch whispers from somewhere in the room, to which they responded to with a twitch. They rotated around trying to find a source, but the sounds ceased to continue.

Just a couple seconds later, but the pink one already returned with a tiny block of yeast covered in a shining, brass colored wrap. She carried it in her mouth before dropping it on the counter. Lignite reached to the back of her mane and took out three coins, placing them on the counter afterwards as well.

"Is this enough?" she asked, receiving a couple quick nods in return.

"Thanks." she said, taking what she came for and - as if nothing would have happened - leaving the place at once. Her steps were shaking the floor like tiny earthquakes as she departed with rageful elegance.

"What a barbarian." noted a white unicorn, Rarity, once the earth pony in question was far away not to hear it. Yet for some reason, she looked extremely familiar. She was sure she have seen this mare somewhere.

Life started to return to normal, as the ponies continued on their talking, just a couple first, then more and more. Though despite the threat being away, they were much quieter than before.

"Are you alright Pinkie?" a second one, Twilight Sparkle shouted over to her friend behind the counter. Pinkie Pie nodded, yet did not speak. She was still traumatized by the event, one could see on her face. Twilight and Rarity stood up from their table on the other side of the room. They walked over to her to avoid the need to shout.

"Did you see her eyes?" Pinkie's menacing whispers flooded their ears, as she pointed towards one of her own irises.

"Her eyes were not my issue, but did you see that dress?"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant," replied Pinkie as she shook her head "Those eyes were full of anger and hatred. This much anger." she gestured by stretching her two legs as far as she was able to. Though in Pinkie's mind that was still an understatement.

"I've never seen somepony so angry before in my entire life." she added, returning back to her fours.

"She possibly was just having a bad day. Who knows, all she might need is just a bit of cheer-up." Twilight said.

No response. Absolute silence filled the little group, awkward and clueless. It took Pinkie Pie a couple seconds to realize what Twilight was implying.

"Uuh, I don't know if I can handle negativity of this caliber Twilight." Pinkie confessed with an anxious look on her face.

The unicorns look at one another in shock. Was Pinkie Pie just giving up before even trying? Such thing was unseen from her, not even Rarity saw this happening before. The town's main party maker whose goal in life is to make everybody smile, leaving somepony with a black look? That was a unexpected.

"Then let us help you with it." Twilight suggested with a heartwarming smile, placing her right hoof on Pinkie's shoulder.

Pinkie, though afraid still, but was ever so grateful inside that she had friends like this. She nodded with a small 'Okay', then left the counter to ask Mr. Cake if it is okay for her to leave for a little. Though Twilight and Rarity could not hear them, the nodding of the tall stallion implied their pink pal is good to go.

"Okay girls, let's find her." Pinkie shouted, determined and joyful once again.

"Good. I wasn't to allow to let anypony roam around in such atrocity anyway." Rarity added with a coy smile, a sign of her mind working on some devious plan.

One after another, they left the Sugarcube Corner in search of the grumpy gray newcomer. The sight of Pinkie hopping after such thing reassured the faith in Twilight. Nothing was better than seeing her friend being her own self. Still, her mind couldn't help but construct one emergency plan after another, in case something goes downhill.

Lignite was not very satisfied. She was most likely late, and she was mad, the whole ordeal took a lot more than what she expected. She could recall passing the little stream when coming, it seemed like a heaven-sent opportunity to wash her face and cool off a bit. The now familiar tower of the Town Hall was her guide towards there. She kept her eyes glued to it, her mind drifting away in the waves of melancholy.

Ponyville was nothing like she imagined. All she hoped for was a tiny, quiet settlement where she doesn't need to worry about the stress. A place where she can live without her 'issues'. Yet all she got was a mini-Manehatten.

She saw the bridge from next to the town hall now, and after a few moments, she saw the water too. She climbed down the steep ditch with great caution until reaching the stream. She was desperate for something like this, something cool and refreshing. Lignite immersed her front hooves into the flow that was just as perfectly cold as she imagined. She took out as much water as her hooves could handle and rubbed it all over her face. The contact, though slow, was still unpleasant, almost hurtful due to temperature differences. She let out a heavy exhale, as after the first inconvenient moments, the sensation was delightful as ever.

"Hi!" a squeal broke her silence from her right. Lignite jumped from fright, her ears slapping against her head for cover.

"Saw that ugly frown on your face before and I thought I might help to turn it into a big, good smile!" she shouted, taking a red balloon into her mouth. She reared up while inhaling, and blew into it as she fell back to the ground.

Mid-way, though, it slipped out of her mouth, resulting in the plastic blob breaking lose. It circled around like a startled fly in the air, until it crashed right into Lignite's forehead with a splat.

The mare flung her head and hooves around, trying to get the sticky thing off her face. The balloon did not hold onto her for long before dropping to the ground, allowing her to wipe off the remaining spit from her forehead.

"Uh, whoopsie." Pinkie mumbled, her mind and body fogged once again by the fear.

Lignite's furious groans and teeth revealed themselves once again. Her throat itching to let those blood-curdling screams of her out once more. Out of nowhere, however, two other ponies shown up.

"Leave her alone!" the mulberry one shouted, descending from atop the crest, rushing to block the path between her friend and the stranger "She wanted no harm."

"Can we talk this over like civilized creatures?" the second, ivory colored added, climbing down with a whole lot more caution than her friend.

"Sure, whatever." came the angered reply, as Lignite turned back to the stream for some more water.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, this is Pinkie and Rarity," Twilight started "What's your name?"

The stranger sat down, wet her hooves and cooled herself off once again, having the others wait a couple seconds for the reply.

"Lignite." she said. She didn't bother to turn towards them, instead, she took a bit more of the stream to drink.

"We haven't seen you before, where are you from?" Twilight carried on the conversation. She was desperate not to awaken the dragon but she knew well she was playing with fire.

A loud exhale later did Lignite respond "Manehatten."

Rarity's eyes shot open from the surprise, she knew she could take this to her advantage. Somepony from Manehatten, the city of fashion, surely could give a few tips on what is the new 'in'. She just prayed it wasn't that thing on Lignite.

"Well, I suppose a big city pony like you definitely has a fine sense of fashion." she complimented, trying to bury her lie under as much sugar as possible.

"Was this some kind of joke?" Lignite said, her volume climbing once more.

Rarity was petrified, her mind trying to come up with something but without success. She considered herself lucky that the mare was not finished there.

"I don't care for fashion. I got this dress a couple years ago and it still does its purpose just fine. Though I got to rip off the skirt because it was a tad to long."

Rarity frowned, but shown a whole lot less signs of her irritation. She could not tolerate such unspeakable crimes against dresses, no matter how simple or extravagant.

"Then allow me to fix it up for you, free of charge." Rarity offered. After all, the only thing that dress needed was a clean cut and some ironing. She could afford that, right?

Lignite raised one of her eyebrows in curiosity "And what's the catch?"

"Oh there is no catch, darling," Rarity replied, gesturing a couple small waves with her right hoof, then placing it on her chest "Trust me it's for the sake of good will."

Lignite's expression did not became any less suspicious, yet she went into the deal regardless.

"Alright." she said, standing up and allowing the unicorn to lead the way.

"Wonderful! This way, please." Rarity shouted with a satisfied and joyful smile. She strolled back up to the road to head to her boutique. Then out of nowhere, the realization hit her. Of course, she knew now, this was the mare she saw on the train last month,  when its engine broke down. She was that angry conductor.

"But make it quick, will you? I should be getting back to the farm already." the mare demanded.

"Don't worry, it won't take more than a minute." Rarity reassured, being prim and proper as a lady, though it was a matter of time for how long.

The bells of the boutique rang up as the door slapped them. Rarity's shop was quite unlike the ones Lignite got used to in Manehatten. It was a round and airy building full of elegant curves, instead of being a chunk of a block stuffed with rows of clothes. It was a lot more distinct and better, almost canterlotian.

"Just hand me over the dress and leave the rest to me." Rarity said, her horn charging up with a beautiful light blue aura as she reached for her tools in a distance.

Meanwhile Lignite slipped out from her black cloth, and folded it together, letting the magic take it away. Twilight took the opportunity to get a look at her cutie mark, only from the corner of her eyes. It appeared to be some kind of dark rock with a couple searing hot veins in it. That noted, she turned back her attention to the other unicorn before Lignite could notice her. Rarity didn't need no table, for she could work with ease by levitating everything.

"Don't worry Lignite, Rarity is the best tailor I've ever met." Twilight reassured the gray mare, seeing her face still wielding that angry scowl. That didn't help, either.

They were running out of ideas and Pinkie's hopelessness started to affect her expression. All they could do was watch the seamstress working. Rarity stretched out the skirt, and with the help of her measure tape and scissors she cut down the torn end. She carefully measured the length of different points again and again, occasional chipping away a bit of fabric until she was pleased with the outcome.

"That is done, now just one more thing left." Rarity narrated, levitating an iron and its desk out of a room on the other side. She set it up, turned the machine on and began ironing out the dress with swift yet precise moves.

"A bit here, a little bit here, and done!" Rarity sung with joy "Here, try it on. I'll bring the mirror for you." she added, hovering the fixed product back to its owner. Lignite slipped into her still warm dress once again, checking its new style at her rear. Now the skirt was only long enough to reach for the top of her tail. Yet aside that minor thing it didn't feel any different for her.

"Well, how is it?" Rarity asked after rolling an enormous mirror in front of Lignite.

"It's good." the other one answered, no change in her voice or emotions whatsoever. She took a peek from the front and the side, but it was anything but a careful, all-around check.

"If you're not satisfied you can tell me and we can figure out something." Rarity offered with her voice trembling from the fear of her work being unsatisfactory.

"I am satisfied, don't you see?!" the reply boomed through the room like a thunderclap, shaking everypony around to the bone.

However, soon as the fear took hold on them, Lignite laid her heavy head into her hoof with a hurtful sigh. She didn't keep it there for long, just allowed herself to take another breath before letting go.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, her voice different, barely even sounding like hers anymore.

"You come up to me, not even knowing me, fixing my dress and I treat you like this. I have no words for this." she confessed, sounding weaker and weaker with each word.

Then, in a blink of an eye a regretful cry blasted through the room as she smashed one of her hooves against the floor. The others retreated once again, approaching her with even more caution as she was volatile.

"Is there anything we can help with?" Twilight asked.

"Just... having a bad day, that's all." Lignite replied, covering her head resting in one of her hooves again, as if she'd had a headache "If you don't mind, I really got to go back to the farm. I'm sure I'm late."

Lignite sighed as she returned onto her fours, making her way towards the exit. The bells rang up once again as she opened it, but she looked back for one last word before leaving.

"Thank you very much, Rarity. Feels good to know there are ponies out there you can trust." she said. She turned around and strolled away, without a word. She looked so hurt, depressed, and on top of all, frustrated. Lignite was quite clearly ashamed of herself, that must have been what angered her.

Twilight and company just watched her go before Pinkie snapped them out of the stasis with her cheerful bouncing.

"You did it, Rarity! You did it!" she shouted "She didn't smile, but you at least made her day better."

"I don't know, it seemed more than just a simple bad day for me." the skeptical Twilight noted as she scratched her jaw.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about that dress anymore." Rarity added with a satisfied grin growing on her face "Reminds me I should clean up the mess back here."

"Yes, I also need to look after something." Twilight added. With Pinkie having to back to the Sugarcube Corner as well, all of them knew it is time to part ways.

"See you girls."

"Ta-ta!"

"Until next time."

Rarity put her right hoof on her chest and allowed the afternoon air to fill her lungs, then leave with a relieved exhale. This was quite a scare. She was most glad she helped out somepony this desperate for some positivity, yet on the other side, she was happy Lignite was gone. Now, to rid the hall of the black scraps of fabric.

"Hey! Rares!" a familiar shout trashed her peace, a voice just too well-known not remember to "Did I just saw Fury Nancy leaving from your shop?" an unicorn with a coat of pale mustard asked, her mane short with two shades of purple.

"Yes, Agate, you did. Her name is Lignite, however." Rarity responded, emitting a slightly irritated aura around her.

"Oh gee, I hope she didn't break havoc in there. I heard she is not working on the trains anymore because she could not take the heat." Agate told her, breaking out in small chuckles afterwards.

"Get it? Heat?" she laughed, poking a bit the side of her friend, who was rather unimpressed by the bad pun.

"Yes, I got it. Though it begs the question what she is doing around here." Rarity wondered, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle. She could only hope that by 'the farm', Lignite didn't mean Applejack's farm. Though for a second thought, she had this sick desire to see that farmer suffering with taming her at work.

"Anyhow, would you like some tea, darling?" she asked, disregarding the topic and turning back to her friend. Agate just shrugged as usual, she had time, and she never refused the company of her friend before. Rarity stepped out of the doorway, and with a gentle wave, she let the smith in first, before following her. The sound of the bells was heard once again, as she closed the door behind them.