Nighttime on Windfall Island
"Fluttershy!" The group called in unison as they saw their friend walk in.
Fluttershy shyly waved to her friends as she took a seat at the bar with them. She order herself a glass of water and began to tell her friends about her day.
It was all part of their nightly ritual. After a long day, the girls would all get together and have a few drinks at the town bar: THE SONIC RAINBOOM; run by their friend Rainbow Dash. It was THE place to be at all hours of the day. With the fastest serve time, highest quality cider, and 20% tips encouraged, it was not only the best (and only) bar on the islands, but it was one that still managed to rake in the most business.
Fluttershy finished telling what little of her day that she could before her friends took over, filling in the same predictable gaps she did every day.
"Seriously Fluttershy, your life's story could fit on a flier for one of our shops." Rainbow Dash told her timid friend, drying an empty glass at the same time.
"Honestly darling, you should get out more and mingle. That's how I get my daily dose of gossip for all of you to enjoy." Rarity added on, brushing her hair in a small mirror she levitated with her magic.
"Well...I did hear..." Fluttershy began to speak, before Twilight cut her off.
"I don't think eavesdropping on other people's conversations can really be considered as 'getting gossip' Rarity." Twilight told Rarity, making quotation marks with her hands for emphasis.
"Oh...then I guess I don't have..." Fluttershy mumbled to herself.
"Well how else am I supposed to know what's going on around town?" Rarity replied to Twilight. "As small as this island is, there's only so much going on that doesn't have to do with fish or the weather."
"Well...it was about another missing..." Fluttershy mumbled once more, before being interrupted again.
"What about the missing girls recently? Maybe you could ask about them?" Twilight asked Rarity.
"There's...actually been one more that's..." Fluttershy spoke.
"I heard that another girl got captured recently on some island to the south." Pinkie Pie interrupted Fluttershy, before drinking through the crazy straw in her glass again.
"Another one!?" Rarity and Twilight said in unison.
"That's actually what...I've been trying to..." Fluttershy tried to speak in.
"Yeah! My sister Maud told me!" Pinkie responded to the girls. "She said she overheard Ms. Cake talking to Bon Bon outside her shooting gallery; saying that she had received a letter from a friend of hers on the island that her neighbor's niece was kidnapped and that her nephew left with a bunch of pirates to go find her."
"Pirates huh? Kid must have some guts to get a bunch of pirates to help him." Rainbow Dash replied, drying another glass.
"That makes three girls gone now. I wonder why this is happening." Twilight spoke.
The girls all thought in silence for a moment. Thinking about what possible motive the abductor could have and if any of the other children in the town could be next.
Before they could reach a conclusion however, the door opened and girl with a strange brown hat walked inside. She had her blonde hair tucked in a ponytail, with freckles on her face and was wearing an odd assortment of leather clothing.
"HOWDY Y'ALL!" The strange girl called out to everyone in the bar, tipping her hat in the process.
She approached the bar, while continuing to talk.
"Ah just got in town earlier today and finished settin up my shop downstairs bout an hour ago. Ah heard this was the best watering hole in the ocean and thought Ah'd stop by and try ah glass." The girl finished speaking, resting her arms on the end of the counter.
"Oh, so you're the one running that quaint little...shack...beneath the bar?" Rarity asked, a slight cringe on her face.
"Darn tootin! Ah'm a trader by craft and Ah've come to Windfall to start up some business." The girl replied, a smile on her face.
"Well that's fine and all, but don't expect me to lose any of my customers to you. I'M the number one business around here!" Rainbow Dash said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"We'll see about that." The girl replied confidently. "So what do y'all have to wet the whistle round here? And do ya carry any apples?"
"If you're looking for drinks we've got the best cider in town!" Rainbow Dash replied.
"Apple cider!?" The girl asked, eyes wide.
"No. Pear cider. Hyoi pear actually. And we don't carry apples, just pears." Rainbow Dash answered, looking away to pick up another glass to dry.
The girl's head hit the counter, demoralized.
"Ah'll take a stiff drink of whatever else you got then." The girl lifted her head up to speak, a defeated look on her face.
Rainbow Dash whipped up a drink in a flash and slid it across the counter to the girl.
"That'll be seven rupees." Rainbow Dash told the girl.
The girl reached into her pocket and flipped a yellow rupee on the counter.
"Keep the change." The girl replied, before downing the drink in one go.
"With pleasure!" Rainbow Dash replied, swiping the rupee up and putting it in her drawer.
The girl put her head back on the counter and the other girls waited a moment before speaking up.
"So, what's your name?" Twilight asked.
The girl lifted her head up before answering; seeming to be in better spirits now that the drink had kicked in.
"Name's Applejack! Y'all can call me AJ for short if'n ya like." The girl replied.
"Nice to meet you Applejack. I'm Twilight." Twilight greeted.
"Rainbow Dash! Hope you liked the drink." Rainbow Dash greeted.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance darling. I'm Rarity." Rarity greeted.
"Um...I'm Fluttershy...Nice to meet you." Fluttershy greeted quietly.
"HI! I'm Pinkie Pie! Don't ask me why, but I feel like throwing you a HUGE party!" Pinkie Pie greeted Applejack excitedly.
"Thanks, but shucks, ya don't have to do nothin like that." Applejack replied.
"So what made you choose Windfall Island?" Twilight asked.
"Ah heard that there was a stall openin on the island so Ah reserved it as soon as Ah could. Ah also brought some of my kin with me for work and for schoolin." Applejack replied.
"Oh! Who will be attending the school!? I'm the teacher there." Twilight asked excitedly.
"That'd be mah little sister Apple Bloom and her cousin Babs Seed." Applejack answered.
"Are they ready and excited to start learning!?" Twilight asked, now leaning towards Applejack.
"Nah. They ain't much fer learning. Ah promised mah granny and big brother that Ah'd put'em through school while we're here." Applejack told Twilight. "Ah prefer to learn on the fly. Its how Ah learned to trade."
Twilight slouched back in her chair, resting her head on her hand.
"Great. Another couple of students not interested in learning." Twilight said aloud, giving a deep sigh afterwards. "I just wish I could get my students to listen."
Applejack blinked at Twilight, confused, before turning to the other girls.
"So what do the rest of y'all do here?" Applejack asked.
"I run the bomb shop at the end of the island." Rarity told Applejack.
"Which totally doesn't make sense, since you're SO obsessed with staying clean." Rainbow Dash added in.
Rarity's eyes narrowed as an irritated look appeared on her face.
"It may be a DIRTY job, but if those bombs can help bring my customers and I closer to glorious, GLORIOUS rupees, then it's worth the hassle." Rarity replied, regaining her composure towards the end.
"Except that she hasn't had a sale in FOR~EV~ER!" Pinkie Pie sung, before snacking on some almonds from the bar.
"How can you expect me to lower my prices!? Do you have any idea how hard it is to make those bombs!?" Rarity exclaimed, before composing herself once more. "Besides, those aren't toys for children. Only adults with deep wallets can afford them. That's just the way things are."
"Still think you should've made dresses." Rainbow Dash replied, looking slyly to the side.
"Ironic as it may seem. It's easier to find materials for bombs than it is for clothing." Rarity replied. "Why do you think I keep the clothes I do have so pristine?"
"Maybe because you lost a pair when that sailor came to town." Twilight added on, grinning.
"HOW DARE YOU! THAT WAS PRIVATE!" Rarity exclaimed.
Rarity and Twilight then began going back at forth at each other with a wide variety of statements. Ultimately leading to no further communication with them for the next few minutes.
"So what do you do sugar ‘cube?" Applejack asked Fluttershy.
"Oh, um...I'm currently unemployed at the moment." Fluttershy responded.
"There nothing ya feel like doing?" Applejack asked.
"Well, Rarity and Rainbow Dash did suggest that I help Trouble shoes wrangle his sausages or help Bulk Biceps raise his sails on his boat for some money, but I'm not sure how you wrangle a sausage or how much help I could be raising boat sails." Fluttershy replied.
Applejack closed her eyes and let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank the gods that ya still have a pure mind sugar." Applejack replied, patting Fluttershy on the head.
"What about you Pinkie Pie?" Applejack asked the girl at the end of the bar.
Pinkie Pie turned to Applejack, having just stuffed her face with more almonds.
"Eh vrn teh putin ship!" Pinkie Pie responded, mouth still full of almonds.
"Uh, come again?" Applejack asked.
Pinkie Pie finally swallowed her food before speaking.
"I said I run the potion shop!" Pinkie Pie answered gleefully.
"That sounds like fun." Applejack replied.
"It is!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, before her hair deflated and a sad look came over her. "Except that I ran out of ingredients for potions and I've been in a slump with business."
"Well that doesn't sound good." Applejack told the clearly depressed girl.
Pinkie Pie then suddenly popped back to her normal cheerful self.
"But it's alright! I'm sure to hit inspiration sooner or later. AND! It also lets me spend more time with my sister Maud! She runs the shooting gallery across from the school and she knows EVERYTHING about giant squids!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly.
/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\
Scene cut to Maud telling Pinkie Pie squid poetry.
/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\
Squid. You are a squid.
White. You are white. Like a squid. Which you are.
Ink. Makes me think. About ink. Which you have.
Squid.
/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\
Scene cuts back to present.
/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\
The arguing between Rarity and Twilight continued, neither of them able to stop the other.
Rainbow Dash took a look at the clock on the wall and realized that it was that time of the night once again. She reached across the counter and pushed the two arguing girls away from one another.
"Alright ladies, break up who's the bigger B fest. It's closing time." Rainbow Dash told the two of them.
"What!? Already!? But we haven't even played pin the tail on the seagull!" Rarity said aloud.
"That's what we play after Rarity's had one too many ciders." Pinkie Pie appeared next to Applejack and spoke quietly into her ear, like a schoolgirl hiding a secret.
"Well I suppose it’s for the best. After all, I'll have two new...students...coming into class tomorrow." Twilight agreed with Rainbow Dash, while shooting a glare at Applejack.
"Aww well. Same time tomorrow then ladies?" Rarity asked the group.
"You bet!" Pinkie Pie replied.
"You know I'll be here." Rainbow Dash answered.
"I suppose." Twilight replied, smiling.
"Sure." Fluttershy said happily.
The group then turned to Applejack, who found herself confused by the sudden attention.
"You'll be joining us too, won't you darling?" Rarity asked Applejack.
"Me? Uh, Ah don't know about that. Ah'll probably be pretty busy." Applejack replied, trying to look embarrassed.
"Nonsense. You've stayed with us this long, you should come again." Rarity told Applejack.
"Anyone that can put up with Rarity this long is welcome in my bar anytime." Rainbow Dash told Applejack, while receiving a glare from Rarity.
"We'd really like to think of you as a new friend." Twilight told Applejack.
"Please say you'll come back." Fluttershy asked Applejack.
"Well Ah'm sure Ah'll still see y'all round durin the day and..." Applejack responded, before taking another look at the faces of the girls asking her to be their new friend. Their expressions sincere and genuine. "Aww shucks. Ah guess Ah can stop by from time to time."
The group then piled in for a group hug with their new-found friend.
"Yay new friend!" Pinkie Pie screamed excitedly.