Ambrosia Apple stretched, popping the bones in her leg as she stood in her room. Like the rest of her family, her room was simplistic, just a bed with a closet and family photos. The sun was barely even above the horizon, and any pony other than an Apple was probably still sleeping.

Or in other words, any sensible pony was probably still asleep.

But knowing Applejack and Apple Bloom or even Granny Smith, sensible wasn't part of their vocabulary.

Anyway, the young farmer rubbed her eyes as she headed downstairs for breakfast. The floors creaked softly under her hooves, and when she reached the dining room she paused for a second. Just for a moment, almost a millisecond, she could see Honey Crisp and her Great-Granny Smith murmuring to each other, before their heads shot around, so fast they might've gotten whiplash and they started whistling.

Suspiciously whistling.

Ambrosia raised an eyebrow as she sat own at the table, picking up a pancake in the process. "So... How is y'all mornin'?"

Applejack smiled. "Perfectly perfect, pardner. 'Cept Honey Crisp and Granny over there were whisperin' somethin' awful!"

The two gained a guilty expression on their face, and the Apple glared at the two. "Yeah, Momma, and they stopped right as Ah entered the room. Ah bet it was somethin' 'bout me."

Big Macintosh raised an eyebrow from his seat. "Eeyup. Was it, Honey?"

The soft red, nearly pink mare shuffled uncomfortably in her chair. "Well..."

Granny Smith sighed. "Oh alright sonny, it was. We were talkin' 'bout a rumor goin' round."

"What rumor?" Ambrosia said, tensing up.

"Well..." The old mare said. "You do go visit that Tune boy late at night too often for ponies not to notice, dear..."

Ambrosia turned red. "GR-GRANNY! It is not like that!"

Honey grinned. "You're blushin' face says otherwise."

The young farmer stood up. "Y'all know what, Ah'm full, Ah'm gonna go start bucking the apple trees." She left the farmhouse in a hurry, sweeping past her Uncle Caramel as he entered the building, to his confused expression, but she just kept going.

Ah probably shouldn't have overreacted, she thought, but Ah can't believe even my own family's whisperin' 'bout me behind my back.

She turned around and kicked out as she neared a tree, and heard the satisfying thumps of the apples falling into the buckets set there last night. They know Ah'm not like that, Ah'm not that kind of gal!

Kick. Thump, thump, thump. And my cousin of all ponies! Ah've trusted here with some of my biggest secrets!

Kick! Thump, thump, thump. And she had the nerve to go behind my back and talk about me like some kind of whore!? Ugh, that's it, Ah just wanna-

SLAM. Crack! Ambrosia turned, huffing, and stared at the fallen tree. "Damn it."

"Wow, what did that tree ever do to you?" Ambrosia looked up to see Quick Draw's dark blue coat, saddlebags also adorned, and the mare flew down to greet her.

The farmer sighed. "Nothin', Ah'm just upset."

Quick laughed a little. "Yeah, I could tell. It's called sarcasm."

The blonde-maned singer sighed softly. "Look, Draw, Ah have to buck the apple trees, can y'all bother me later?"

The other mare gestured to the tattered tree. "I don't think that's a good idea. C'mon, I'm sure you can take a break. Your mother did it all the time with her friends. And it was just her and Big Macintosh!"

Ambrosia chuckled. "You're right. Ah think Ah can take a small break."

The two started leaving Apple Acres, the sun now shining brightly a bit over the horizon. "Ah gotta ask though, why are you up so early?"

Quick Draw gestured to her saddlebags. "I've got a hot new scoop I've been dying to share, so I took over Derpy's mail run this morning on the agreement they still pay her for this."

The mare tensed, smiling nervously. "What is that scoop?"

The white, light-gray, and darker shade of light-gray maned mare kept on walking. "'Hometown Ponies Smooth Tune and Ambrosia: Secretly Music Sensation The Scarecrow?'"

Ambrosia's nervous smile fell. "Q-Quick Draw, where did you hear that!?"

The mare's eyes narrowed. "I'm not really supposed to say that Strings tol- OH MY CELESTIA AMBER I FORGOT I WAS TALKING TO YOU!"

The farmer turned and ran. She was angry. Very angry. So angry that her vision clouded and she didn't notice anyone in front of her.

Slam. "OW!" Ambrosia shook her head and looked up to see Smooth Tune. "Smooth!? What are you doing awake this early!"

The stallion jumped up and helped the fallen mare stand. "I have to get to Quick's house before Strings gets there and tells her about The Scarecrow!"

Ambrosia shook her head. "It's too late, Smooth. Quick Draw's already told most of Ponyville at this point."

"This is all my fault!" Tune said, stamping a hoof.

"Your fault?" The farmer asked.

"Strings told me she'd tell all of Ponyville we were The Scarecrow unless... Well the unless isn't important." The musician cast his eyes to the side.

Quick Draw appeared, looking very guilty. "I'm so sorry! By this time, everypony's already read the paper!"

Tune rubbed his forehead. "It's alright. I guess. Actually it's not but whatever."

The mare frowned. "Look, I'm really sorry!"

"It's alright," Ambrosia mumbled. "You go find Strings and bring her to Sugar Cube Corner later. We're gonna go see if Aunt Pinkie will let us hide in her Party Cave!"

"We are?" Smooth Tune asked.

"Yes, Smooth, we are." She grabbed his hoof and pulled him along as she ran to Sugar Cube Corner, crashing through just as Pumpkin Cake opened and unlocked the front door.

"Geez, Amber, you want your morning coffee already?" She laughed.

She shook her head. "No. Y'all see-"

"Strings told Quick Draw about you two being The Scarecrow, and she sent out the paper's already?" Pound Cake asked, leaning his head out the kitchen window.

"How'd you know!?" Smooth asked.

"We told them," came a voice, and the two whirled around to see White Snow and Hot Chocolate sitting at a booth, having the 'Couple's Breakfast Special', which is the same as the normal special except it's two for one and the pancakes are heart-shaped. Hot Chocolate had a large coffee gripped in his magic aura, and White Snow gave them a little wave.

"Chocolate, Snow, what are you doing here so early? And even before the shop opens?" Tune asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They're always here right when we get downstairs," Pumpkin laughed. "Luckily, they've assured me it's impossible for anyone but them to get in."

The brown-coated stallion took a bite of his pancakes, coated in syrup . "So, you guys are looking on how to get into the party cave?"

The farmer raised an eyebrow. "You guys know how to get in?"

The two looked at her for a moment. "Of course we do. There are entrances all over the place. Snow, if you would."

The jewelry maker laughed and nodded, walking over to the counter. "I'm kind of shocked more ponies don't accidentally stumble in." He poked a cherry on one of the cakes, and the floor beneath Snow, Ambrosia, and Smooth opened up, the coffee guzzling stallion leaping in after them.

It was pure darkness for a moment as Smooth and Ambrosia yelled, until they landed in a pile with a loud, "OOMPH!"

Except for the Pegasus of the group, who started helping them up. "Too bad none of you have wings."

"Suck it, Snow," The unicorn said, rolling his eyes.

The white stallion smirked. "Isn't that what you do, babe?"

Smooth Tune and Ambrosia busted out laughing as Hot Chocolate went red, and after Snow flipped a light switch, the mare and stallion gasped.

"Woah..." Tune said softly. "This is awesome..."

It was chaos, yet a beautiful chaos, controlled chaos. There were giant pieces of candy, cabinets filled with files, a slide, pink lanterns, and a general collection of all things Pinkie Pie.

Ambrosia went over to a cabinet and pulled out a few files, looking through them. "Each of these has all the things anyone wants for their birthday! Even some fears, too. Wait... Aunty Twilight is afraid of... Quesadillas?"

The chocolate-coated stallion grabbed one of the files. "Snow, even you have a file! Let's see..."

The pegasus swooped in and grabbed the file, coughing and blushing as his boyfriend raised an eyebrow. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" the pure white stallion stuttered, hiding it behind his back.

Hot Chocolate chuckled. "You forgot that I'm a unicorn, love." He grabbed the file, and opened it, reading it silently.

As he read it his eyes slowly widened from their half-asleep state to fully open, a are thing at that, as his smile grew wider. Meanwhile, White Snow rubbed his arm, embarrassed, as a nervous smile adorned his face.

Chocolate finished reading and gently closed the file, a soft smile and loving gaze on his face. "I'll wait," he said softly to the Pegasus.

The two kissed, while the other two ponies in the room glanced at each other in confusion, thinking the same thing. 'What just happened?'

Author's Note

I'll let you think about what the file said.