“Now let’s see.” Applejack hoofed through the directory. “We got everything from Spark ta Sparklywinklyful, but Ah don’t see no Sparkle.”
“Are you sure that’s her last name?” Rainbow Dash asked. The two were standing on the sidewalk of a narrow little street a few blocks south of restaurant row.
“Now what sort of question is that? You think I don’t know Twilight’s last name?” Applejack huffed, turning another page.
“Well,” replied Rainbow Dash, “Her brother is Shining Armor, so it could be Twilight Sparkle Armor.”
“Sparkle Armor! That’s just silly.” Applejack snorted, growing increasingly irritated.
“It might not be.” Rainbow Dash argued, not wanting to be wrong. “Take your family for instance. You have Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith, but they’re all Apples.”
“Well...Well…” Applejack was at a loss. “Well! Sparkle is Twilight’s last name, just like Pinkie Pie’s last name is Pie and your last name is Dash.” She stated matter-of-factly, not wanting to be wrong either.
“My last name isn’t Dash.” Rainbow Dash protested.
Before Applejack could follow up on that statement, another pony chimed in. “Are you looking for the North Light Apothecary?”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned to face a friendly looking unicorn.
“Yes ma’am,” Applejack answered, relieved.
“I know where their business is.” The unicorn said. “My name is Mint Leaf.”
“That’ll help us just fine.” Applejack said encouragingly. “Could ya tell us more?”
“It’s on Secretariat Avenue between the Star-Bucks and Colts Book Store.” Mint Leaf said. “I hope that helps.”
“Thank you kindly, ma’am.” Applejack tipped her hat in appreciation.
Rainbow Dash gave the unicorn a thankful nod. “Great, now c’mon Applejack!”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake Rainbow, slow down fer once.” The earth pony grunted.
“AJ, you know I could never do that.” Rainbow Dash answered with a grin. “Now, let’s go! We have our directions!”
“Alright,” Applejack answered, rolling her eyes good-naturedly as she turned in the direction of the shop. Typical Rainbow Dash.
***
“Urgh! This has to be the longest street in Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash groaned as they made their way through the crowd bustling through Secretariat Avenue. “Why can’t I just scout the air for the place?”
“Because we don’t need to, that’s why!” Applejack told her firmly. “Ah know exactly where we’re headed.”
“Of course you do,” Rainbow Dash answered sarcastically. Applejack glared at her.
“Look,” Rainbow Dash said, “All I’m saying is that we’ve gone by at least three star-bucks locations and none of them had an apothecary between them. We need help.”
“We don’t.” Applejack answered obstinately.
“AJ, what's wrong? You let that mare earlier help us!"
"She offered."
"Well how 'bout I find some nice pony and offer to have them offer to-"
Applejack shook her head and turned back to the map.
Hey! Hey! Hello?! Hey, you! Yeah, you!” Rainbow Dash shouted a snobbish looking couple standing nearby.
“Rainbow! Stop bothering those nice folks! We don’t need help!”
“You’re too stubborn, Applejack, you know that?” Rainbow Dash whispered. The unicorn couple walked up to them, Rainbow Dash having successfully gotten their attention.
“Excuse me,” Said Rainbow Dash smoothly, ignoring Applejack’s withering look, “Can you help us find the Sparkle’s Apothecary?”
“You don’t want to go there.” The stallion informed them haughtily.
“Such a dull little store.” The mare agreed. “It has nothing of interest for young mares.” She sniffed. “Now I know this other shop on Icelandic Lane, they have a callus remover you could desperately use,” She added, looking at Applejack, “And maybe a shampoo for your friend’s split ends.”
Applejack gritted her teeth. “Actually ma’am, we really do need to go to the Sparkle’s shop. See, we have a delivery-”
“Nonsense, you’re wasting your time.”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash couldn’t take it anymore. “Our FRIEND’S parents own that shop, and WE are bringing them some ingredients," She continued, gesturing to the burlap bag secured around her shoulders, "And what,” She finished, completely worked up, “Do you mean by split ends?!”
The mare blinked, then regained her composure. “I see,” She said, looking down her nose at them. “Well, in that case, it’s another two intersections from here. Keep going straight.”
They walked off.
“I can’t believe her!” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “I don’t have split ends!”
“Do ya even know what those are, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, not knowing herself.
“...No.” Said Rainbow Dash after a moment. “But I bet if I do, they make me look cooler.” She added.
Applejack chuckled, and they walked on in silence.
***
“And it’s as simple as that.” Said Twilight Velvet. “That’ll be fifteen bits.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Velvet, it’s always a pleasure.” Smiled the elderly mare, carefully placing her bottle of rheumatism cream into her bed.
“Same to you, Miss Begonia.” Twilight Velvet smiled back.
As Miss Begonia turned to leave, Velvet’s attention was directed away from her customer and towards the door, where attached bells were jingling open as it was pushed open by a certain orange earth pony and a light blue pegasus.
Her face brightened. “You must be Applejack and Rainbow Dash! Welcome! I was just about to close up. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“Of course, ma’am. It would be an honor.” Applejack answered.
"Can I get this off now?" Rainbow Dash begged.
Applejack laughed. "Poison joke got you antsy, Dash?"
"Maybe," Rainbow Dash answered evasively.
"Shucks, no wonder ya were in such a hurry!"
"Quit it."
Twilight Velvet laughed. "Go on downstairs. My husband will tell you where to place it."
***
“I must say, I’m simply ecstatic you managed to get us some poison joke seeds! We’ve been wanting to experiment with those unique Everfree forest plants for some time.” Night Light exclaimed as he led them to their basement. He had a grin on his face similar to his daughter’s when she was in the middle of research.
“It was no problem at all, sir. As Twilight might have already told you, The Annual Rodeo is bein’ held in Canterlot this year, and Ah’m in it. ” Applejack said as Rainbow Dash carefully placed her burden on a nearby table. “So this a laboratory or a storage or…?”
“Both.” Night Light explained. “We keep all kinds of samples to the right," He indicate the side of the room packed with various herbs and substances- so that they’re close at hand for experimentation,” He waved his hoof at the left side of room, which was full of equipment.
Applejack nodded politely. “That’s real impressive.”
Night Light beamed. “Well, we try. Now how long are you two in Canterlot?”
“A week.” Rainbow Dash answered. “We came early so that Applejack wouldn’t be train lagged. The rodeo starts in four days.”
“That’s right, you’re competing, aren’t you, Applejack? And what about you?” He asked, turning to Rainbow.
“Actually, I’m just here to cheer her on.” Actually, that wasn’t the entire truth. Rainbow Dash had been nominated by her friends to make sure that this would not be a repeat of last year’s rodeo, which had resulted in Applejack running away in shame when she had only managed to score second place.
"Well, that's-WHOA!" Night Light had been setting the bag on a shelf, when said shelf had suddenly given out.
Thinking quickly, Rainbow Dash grabbed a pile of newspapers and Applejack grabbed a stool, and together propped it up.
"Thanks, girls," Night Light gasped gratefully. "I'm going to have to fix this one of these days,"
"That probably means not at all!" Sang Twilight Velvet from the doorway.
Night Light blushed. "Thanks for the insight, honey!"
"Always glad to give it," She said with a smile, making her way through the room to peck him on the cheek. "But seriously, if something isn't done, it could become a hazard!"
"Right," Night Light said with a nod. "First thing tomorrow! For now, how about some dinner, though? How do you two feel about spaghetti?"
"That sounds great!" Rainbow Dash answered enthusiastically. "Uh, and be careful with that poison joke stuff! My friends and I-we had an incident-"
"Duly noted!" Night Light nodded. "Would you like to come up and tell us about your trip over?"
"Sure!"
"Our pleasure."
The four ponies exited, and the door was slammed shut.
Unbeknownst to any of them, the impact from the door blew a single seed of poison joke into the damp rotted wood of the shelves. In the soft, nutrient rich wood-rot, the little seed swiftly began to take root...
***
“And when we were on the way over, we got sort of lost, so we walk up this really snooty pair and ask for directions, and they just turn their noses up and go, ‘it has nothing of interest for young ladies,” Rainbow Dash did her best to mimic Upper Crust’s haughty tone of voice.
Applejack elbowed her sharply. “Dash!” The last thing she wanted was to offend their hosts.
But Twilight and Night Light just laughed, not bothered.
“Beg your pardon, but what’s that about?” Applejack in surprise and a bit of relief.
“Well, I can’t deny our shop doesn’t have much for young ladies, at least not the ones who are in good health.” Night Light explained with a smile.
His wife gave a small chuckle, then continued. “Our store deals exclusively in medicine, and it caters to the elderly. We do alright, but all the other potion makers make a fortune. That’s because they sell youth and beauty products, which tend to be more popular and more pricey.”
“Potions take a very long time to prepare properly.” Night Light explained, “So we have to decide which potions are worth making. Certainly, we can charge absurd prices for youth and beauty products,” He said with a shrug, “But we’d rather spend our time on remedies that help ponies.”
“So you’ve never made any of those youth or beauty potions?”
“Well, actually we did, once.” Night Light replied, swallowing a bit of salad. “It was back when Twilight was first applying to Celestia’s magic academy. She was such a clever girl,” He said with a fond smile on his face, “We had no doubt she’d be accepted, but we never expected her to get a full scholarship, or become Celestia’s own apprentice.”
Velvet nodded. “We were afraid we wouldn’t have enough money to pay the tuition. The scholarship took care of it, but for a while, we worked late nights. We created a whole new line of products, experimental ones. Anything to make sure our little filly could make it. It was always her dream to study under Celestia.”
“Experimental products have to get approved by the licensing board. It’s a big hassle, so when Twi got the scholarship, they ended up sitting on a stack of shelves in our supply room...the most unstable ones are at the back. We forbade anypony from going back there…” Twilight Velvet shuddered.
“What do they do?” Asked Rainbow Dash, wide-eyed.
“That’s the problem. They were very unpredictable, so we shelved them. As time went by, we became more worried that they’d become more potent with age. A rather vicious cycle…”
The conversation went on. Night Light and Velvet, not wanting to worry their guests, deftly changed the subject to Ponyville, and they chatted on, about their adventures, their jobs, Twilight's escapades, etc.
When Applejack and Rainbow Dash accepted the offer to pass the night in the Sparkle's guest bedroom, they'd almost forgotten about the poison joke and the shelved experiments from earlier.
***
“Rainbow Dash, wake up!” the orange earth pony shook the shoulder of the sleeping pegasus. “Wake up…”
Rainbow Dash sat up, looking only half awake and rather annoyed.
“What time is it?”
“They added a new event to the rodeo, and I’m not ready for it!” Applejack whispered urgently.
“So? You don’t have to compete in every event.” Rainbow Dash mumbled, curling back up under her blanket. “Good night, Applejack.”
“The Apple family honor is on the line!” Applejack exclaimed urgently. “Ah-Ah need-”
Rainbow Dash sat back up, a sleepy smirk on her face.
“You need what, Applejack?”
Applejack glared at Rainbow Dah, torn between the Apple Family honor and her own pride.
“Ah-Ah need someone to practice with me for the event.”
“Right now?!” Rainbow Dash yawned. “Are you crazy?”
“This is important, Dash!”
Rainbow sighed. No rest for her. “Fine. What is it?”
“Catchin’ a greased pig.” Applejack explained, shifting from one hoof to the other.
“Don’t you have pigs on the farm?” Rainbow Dash asked, stretching.
“Yes. A very nice family too, though a little snooty for folks who live in a muddy sty. They would never cover themselves with grease and run willy-nilly fer us to chase Dash!”
“So you’ve never caught a greased pig before?” Rainbow Dash sighed, staring at the bed with longing.
“Nope.”
“So what are you planning to do, grease me up?” Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs.
“Hmmm, If ah can catch you, surely ah can catch a pig...” Applejack mused, looking at her with new interest.
“W-what?! No way! Applejack, I was JOKING! You-you-I-”
“We could just play wrestle in the back yard, that ought’a be practice enough...” Applejack rubbed her chin.
“Well...” When put in that light it didn’t seem so bad. Maybe even fun.
“And instead of grease we can use...”
“I’m out.” Forget the fun, it was the middle of the night and Rainbow Dash didn’t want to be covered in any icky, sticky, greasy substitute Applejack had in mind.
Applejack groaned, ready to give up when suddenly an idea hit her. “Well, alright, then,” She said. Rainbow Dash sighed with relief and dove back into her bed. “It’s perfectly fine if you’re afraid Ah’m goin’ ta win.”
Rainbow Dash’s head poked out of her sheets. “What did you say?” She asked in a dangerously low voice.
“Ah said that it’s perfectly fine if you don’t want me ta win.”
Rainbow Dash glowered at her. “Oh, it is on!”
***
“So what do we do?” Asked Rainbow Dash as Applejack led the way into the small plot of ‘land behind the house.
“Well, ah Reckon Ah’ll have to tie your wings down.” Applejack mused.
“What?! No way!” Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“It’s only fair, Dash. Pigs don’t have wings, and neither should you. C’mon. Ah bet there’s some room somewhere ‘round here.”
Careful not to wake Night Light and Velvet, the two quietly made their way outside to the backyard.
Applejack scanned around. “Well, Ah don’t see any rope. Dagnabbit, Ah’d hate to go spendin’ on some brand new rope just fer this. What do we-Dash!"
Rainbow Dash looked up from where she was pulling open the cellar door. “I bet they have some rope in their shed!”
“We can’t just go pokin’ around their things! It ain’t polite!”
“They SAID “Our casa es tu casa.”
“That’s just a sayin’, Dash, and it don’t make this any less wrong! ‘Sides, ain’t that where they kept those potions they was tellin’ us ‘bout earlier, huh?”
“Eh, I’m not scared of some beauty product.” Rainbow Dash scoffed. She trotted inside the little wooden building. “Oooh, is that some rope I see?”
Applejack, skeptical but curious, trotted across the dewy grass to see if Rainbow Dash was right. “Ah don’t see no rope.”
“Well, I got ya in here! Now let's have a look around. The sooner I finish with this, the sooner I can catch some more Z’s.”
Rolling her eyes at being tricked, Applejack slowly made her way into the shed. Maybe there is somethin’ useful in here. Although the sooner we get out the better. Ah swear, if Dash breaks something while we’re lookin…
“Pssst. Applejack.” Rainbow Dash whispered. “I have an idea.”
“Yeah?”
“So I can’t find any rope-”
“Dash, ah don’t appreciate ya lyin-”
“OK, I get it, not cool. I was just trying to hel-”
“What’s yer idea?”
“This roof isn’t very high.” Rainbow Dash said. “If I flew a bit on reflex, you could probably leap up and grab me.”
“Dash, are you sayin’ what ah think yer-”
“We’ll be careful! Come on, it’s perfect. They won’t even notice if we do your greased pig exercise in here!”
“Dash, are you really so sleep deprived that ya think this is gonna work?”
“You’re the one who dragged me out of bed!”
“Ah know, and ah’m regrettin’ it-”
“Since I’m up, we might as well make it worth it! Come on! I won’t put this-” Rainbow Dash grabbed a nearby bottle, playing with it between her hooves.
Applejack jerked up, alarmed. “Crimeny, Dash! Put it down!”
“Catch me first!”
Applejack growled. “Oh, if that’s how ya wanna be...”
Careful not to knock anything over, Applejack bounded towards Rainbow Dash, who flitted away as Applejack came within reach.
“Dang it, Dash! Are ya actually serious ‘bout this?”
“Come on, it’s perfect! Knowin’ you, you won’t let me be until I’ve put this back! And I’ve never dropped anything so…”
“Dash, ya know that’s not true. Yer all silly and sleepy like that time I tried to buck mah family’s entire orchard by mahself. Now git back here an’ put it back. If we’re gonna find a rope and do this, ah’d like ta do it outside where-”
“Relax, AJ! It’s not like I’m gonna drop it or-”
At that point Rainbow Dash fumbled the bottle, causing it to fall from her hooves.
“Buck.” She whimpered.
Instinctively, Applejack lunged for the falling container, putting all her power into averting disaster.
Thud! She overshot and crashed into the back wall.
The wall with the shelves full of potent, untested mixtures…
Which began to tremble upon Applejack’s impact….
“I gotcha!” Cried Rainbow Dash, swooping in to hold up the bottom-most one.
The shelves stood still for a minute but then continued to wobble back and forth, each time looking like they may finally tip. One bottle fell The glass cracking on the floor. Ricochets of glass cut into Applejack’s neck and she felt something chemical seep into the wounds.
Finally, the shelves stopped rocking and began to settle. The two ponies let out a collective sigh of relief.
Then one fateful vial fell and hit Rainbow Dash on the head, scattering bright green liquid.
“GAH!” Rainbow Dash her lost hold, and the dam broke.
The shelves broke at the joints, which seemed to have familiar blue flowers growing between them. Then Rainbow Dash realized where the mysterious laughter had come from The flowers laughed as the shelves broke apart. Both ponies screamed at the onslaught of colorful powders and fumes cascaded over them…
***
Miles away…
Pinkie sat up in bed, her left eye twitching like crazy. She sat stunned for a moment before her tail flip-flopped up and smacked her over the face.
“Twitchy left eye...flip-floppy tail…”
She raised her right hoof. “Tingly right hoof…” Her face paled. “This can’t be good!”
To Be Continued
The first thing the little earth pony saw when she opened her eyes was broken glass.
What happened? She wondered, looking around. The room was dark and crowded with belongings, but what kind, she didn't know.
Where am I? Wh-what’s going on…?
Surrounding her was more broken glass.
Did I do this? She wondered. She tried to think of what role she might have had, but to her horror, she couldn’t even remember what had happened before waking up. She couldn't even remember her own name...
Frightened, she took a step back, only retract her hoof when it made contact with something soft. Something alive…
The thing stirred, and the earth pony carefully maneuvered herself to get a better look at it. To her relief, it was just another filly, a pegasus. In the darkness, she could make out a pale, sea green coat and a mane with various pastel colors.
Maybe she knows what’s going on. The earth pony thought hopefully as she tentatively reached out to shake the other pony.
“Psst….wake up. Come on, wake up.” Despite not recognizing the pegasus, the earth pony could feel her concern rising as her companion was slow to come to.
“Please wake up!”
Finally, though, the pegasus lifted her head groggily.
“Oh, good! I thought you’d never wake up!” She cocked her head. “Now...who are you?”
The pegasus filly blinked up at her uncertainly.
“Do you know?” The earth pony prodded, her heart beginning to sink.
“C-Course I do! I’m...I mean...I can’t…” She stared at the ground, then admitted, “Actually, maybe not... and what about it?” She squeaked defensively. “Who are you?!”
“I was hoping you could tell me.” The earth pony admitted feeling a bit sheepish now.
“Why me? I’ve never seen you before!”
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen you either! But…I feel like I should…”
The pegasus nodded. “Same here. Wanna go find out why?” She asked, gingerly fluttering into the air.
“Yeah! But how?”
“Dunno." Shrugged the pegasus, looking quite unbothered by her lack of a plan. "We should go see.”
The earth pony disagreed. “Or," She began, "We could just stay here and-” She froze.
“What? What’s wrong?” Asked the pegasus.
“Something’s wrong with my voice.”
“I don’t hear anything wrong-”
“It’s not like tha-oh, never mind. So I think we should stay here.”
“Well, I don’t know ‘bout you, but I think I’d recognize my own house, even if I can’t ‘member anything.” She looked around. “And I don’t recognize this place, so it must not be my house.”
“That’s stupid.” The earth pony whispered. “What if you forgot how to recognize stuff?”
“You don’t forget how to do that.” The pegasus scoffed.
“You might.” The earth pony countered.
“Might not! How do you know, anyway?”
“Well, how do you not know?” The earth pony stomped her hoof and immediately cried out.
“What’s wrong?” Forgetting their argument, the pegasus hastily flew over to see.
The earth pony lifted her hoof. A tiny shard of glass was lodged in the center.
“Man, it’s a good thing that you didn’t step on more of them.”
“This doesn’t feel like a good thing!” The earth pony retorted as she pulled it out with her teeth, causing it to bleed. “It hurts!”
“Don’t bleed too much.”
“I can’t help it!”
“Well, we’re lucky nobody else is here too-”
“Do you think it’s a burglar?” A worried, older mare’s voice suddenly sounded above them.
“If it is, they messed with the wrong house.” A confident stallion’s voice reassured her.
“Night, be careful!”
“Let’s get outta here!” Whispered the pegasus. “There’s gotta be a cellar door somewhere!”
The earth pony followed, trying to make her way through the broken glass without cutting herself again.
The pegasus instinctively flew back to help, but the earth pony shrugged her off.
"I got this," She muttered.
"We don't have time for this! I think I can carry you if-"
Creak- The door to the basement began to open.
"Crud! Hurr-" The earth pony slapped her good forehoof over her friend's mouth, and then silently limped towards the opening in the cellar door, splotching blood here and there on the floor.
"You're making a trail right to us," The pegasus complained, careful this time to keep her voice as quiet as possible.
"Once we get outside, we'll be good." The earth pony breathed back.
***
Eventually, they made it to the cellar door, wide open as it had been before. Neither one bothered to question how they knew where the cellar door was, as they were too relieved to have escaped their pursuers. The pegasus, having given up on offering assistance, flew up and waited for the other filly to scramble through.
Then, together, they scrambled behind a bush and lay quietly.
“Well,” They heard the stallion remark, “Whatever they were doing, they’re long gone now. I knew I should have locked that cellar door.”
“What could they possibly have wanted with our potions?”
“Eh, who knows? Probably just some foals on a dare."
"Do you think the potions did something to them?" The mare sounded worried.
If they did, they’ll probably have no choice to return to us.”
“Let’s report it first thing in the morning, just to be safe.” Velvet responded. “I hope we can help them.”
“Eh, that’s what they get for rooting around someone else’s magical substances.”
“Night Light!”
“I never said we wouldn't help them! Do you think they woke up our guests?”
"Maybe, maybe not. Let's go back to bed."
The cellar door closed and the voices faded.
The pegasus poked her head out from the bush. “Thank goodness they’re gone! If I had to be still a second longer, I was gonna-mph!”
“What if they look through the windows?!” Whispered the earth pony filly as she pulled her friend back down.
Slowly, keeping to the shadows, the two crept towards the gate leading out of the yard.
"Well, I dunno about you," Whispered the pegasus, leaning on the gate, "But I don't think we'll learn anything here..."
Though the other filly was uncertain of many things at that moment, one thing she was sure of-she did not want to be separated with the pegasus. And from the way the pegasus was hesitating, it was obvious she felt the same way.
Maybe she's right, The little earth pony thought. I don't recognize this house one bit, and I don't think I recognize those ponies very much easier. Either way...
She nodded. "A-Alright."
The pegasus smiled, unlatched the gate, and together they made their way towards the city beyond.
***
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD Went Pinkie’s hoof on the door of Twilight’s castle.
A second later, an exhausted, bedheaded alicorn pulled the door open.
“We’re not interested in your product…” She mumbled sleepily. Then her eyes widened. “Pinkie?”
“Twilight! Thank goodness! My Pinkie sense was tingling, and flip-flopping and twitching-”
Twilight stood stunned for a moment as Pinkie finished explaining. Then,
“You woke me up because your hoof was tingling?!”
“Twilight, it was more than that! Something happened, like really really really really happened! I can feel it! Literally!” She held up her right hoof in Twilight’s face to demonstrate.
She watched Twilight’s face, which was concerned, but also very sleepy. “You don’t believe me? Not one teensy-weensy itsy bitsy eenie-beenie little bit?”
“Pinkie, you know I’m your friend and I trust you, and, as unfathomable as it is, your pinkie sense as well. But at the same time…” Twilight trailed off with a yawn. “It’s just a bit...OK...what exactly does your Pinkie sense say?”
“Either everybody will transform into a banana in five seconds…” Twilight raised an eyebrow- “Or two of our friends are in an accident of some sort!”
They waited five seconds. Nothing banana-related occurred.
Twilight looked at Pinkie. “So, what kind of accident?”
Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno.” She gasped. “Do you think it’s Applejack and Rainbow Dash? What if their train crashed? What if a giant meteorite hit your parent’s house?! What if-”
“Pinkie,” Twilight answered gently, “I presume you just got this sensation now, didn’t you?”
“Yeah…”
“And Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s train got in hours ago. So if something went wrong with the train, then why would you only have gotten the news just now?”
“Well-”
“And secondly, I’m sure if a meteorite hit any house, we would have noticed. We can see Canterlot from here! And thirdly, uh, would your Pinkie sense if told you if it were a really bad accident? Because if it didn’t-”
“Oh, you’re right Twilight. It would tell me. I’m sorry. I’m just super duper worried for two of my super duper best friends! But an accident’s an accident, even if it’s not a really really super duper ally-uper terrible accident, and I just-”
“First thing in the morning,” Twilight assured her. “I’ll send a line to them first thing in the morning and-”
“Maybe right now?” Asked Pinkie hopefully.
“Pinkie, Spike is asleep, and so are they,” Twilight answered.
“Princess Luna?”
“She’s busy with Dream Duty. Look, Pinkie, I’ve seen first hand how incredibly accurate your Pinkie sense is, but if it’s not life and death-it’s not, is it?”
Pinkie shook her head. “I guess not, but…”
“Whatever it is, we’ll probably have an easier time figuring it out in the morning,” Twilight said confidently.
“Can you at least try to get something to your parents?”
“Pinkie, they’re staying at a hotel tonight, not my parents.”
“Trust me on this. And then we can solve my pinkie sense problem in the morning...as long we can’t do it tonight?”
Twilight shook her head firmly. “Pinkie, you know how Fluttershy’s afraid of the dark! And Rarity’d throw a fit about interrupting her beauty sleep. Now is just not a great time.”
“Gotcha.” Sighed Pinkie.
“But I promise in the morning we’ll do something.” Twilight reassured her. "OK?"
"OK..."
And thus plans were made, but even as both mares went back to their beds with a worried fluttering in their hearts, neither one could know what the next week would bring...
Author's Note
Is Twilight being out of character when she puts off Pinkie's worries 'til morning?
