The original cover
Two familiar stallions strode confidently through Ponyville, an aquamarine mare trotting happily behind them. A few of the town's residents recognized the two males, but became puzzled at the sight of their friend. It was a year since they last went to Ponyville, and they'd been humiliated beyond belief then. Determined to rebuild an occupation in humble Ponyville, they had brainstormed and planned. Cider was out of the question, but maybe not apples. And there they found their solution. They needed the of the mare, however, to do it. One of the stallions, Flam, took the lead, walking slightly in front of his brother. Flim did not mind. After all, Flam was the one who knew where this place was.
Pinkie Pie bounced leisurely down a sandy path that was coming from the opposite direction, but wasn't so far away. Her destination was Sugarcube Corner, which was just east of the middle of town. Humming a light-hearted tune, her blue eyes were closed, and she navigated with her hooves. This sometimes took its toll on her, the occasional rock piercing one of her hooves, but Pinkie didn't mind. It was something she enjoyed. Turning slightly to the right, she kept hopping until something warm crashed into her. Her eyes shot open, only to see one of the despicable Flim Flam Brothers knocked to the ground, groaning and rubbing his head.
Pinkie gasped and stood on her hind legs, flailing her front legs.
"Oh my gosh! What are YOU doing here?" She asked, eyes wide and jaw dropped. "I thought you were totally gone for good!"
The standing brother, who Pinkie identified as Flim, spoke up, his words dripping with arrogance.
"You thought we would stay away? No way, no how! It's too easy to make business," Flim said with a smirk.
Pinkie huffed and opened her mouth to state what meany pantses they were, when something caught her eye. Or, somepony, rather.
"Ooh, who's this?"
She curiously leaned forward and gestured towards a silent mare standing behind Flim, who was awkwardly looking around and moving her left hoof against the dusty ground.
"Oh, her? She's a friend of ours."
"And also a co-leader for our new career!" Flam chimed in, standing again and looking smug.
"New career?" Pinkie echoed with a gulp, afraid of the answer.
After all, the last time they started a business in Ponyville they almost ran completely over Applejack's cider sales!
"Yep! And you'll be glad to hear that we'll be pursuing your own field: Baking!" Flam exclaimed, a devilish grin spreading itself across his face.
Gasping, thoughts of only the worst possible outcomes came to Pinkie's head, her reaction something that would make Rarity proud. Before she had a chance to display her displeasure, however, the other mare piped up. She flipped a loose strand of her almost-platinum blonde mane back and looked at Pinkie, smiling genuinely.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I don't think you caught my name. I'm Jangles."
Pinkie's eyes flicked from Flam to Jangles, looking her over, and she decided to think well of her. She practically glowed with friendliness, and there was a certain musicality of her voice that added to the pleasance.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"
Pushing through the protesting brothers, Pinkie stood in front of Jangles and vigorously shook her hoof, her ear-to-ear smile bright as the sun. The magenta-eyed mare softly returned this.
"Nice to meet you, Pinkie!"
Remembering what Flam said, Pinkie looked back at the brothers, and stared hard.
"Now wait a super small minute, you better not be thinking about-"
Flim cleared his throat and nudged his brother, who remembered their duty.
"Well, we better be on our way, many important things to do! Goodbye Pinkie Pie, we'll certainly see you again," Flam said.
"If she's not already out of Ponyville and looking for a job," Flim whispered to Jangles, who only returned a puzzled look.
He snickered and Flam continued walking, his companions following. Pinkie narrowed her eyes and peered at them as they trotted down the winding path, not quick to move herself.
"I smell something fishy... And it's not just the aftermath of that Rainbow Trout I fed Gummi!" The pink mare exclaimed, earning several questioning glances from the ponies around her.
Pinkie didn't quite know what was going to happen, but she thought she had a clue. If they were still the same stallions from before, then no trust was to be given. But if they just want a fresh start as changed ponies, then perhaps she would befriend them. But the more she thought about that clue, the more distressed she became. There was no certainty, but Pinkie knew one thing she could do.
"So, they want to be bakers? Well, I know one pony besides me who might want to know about that..."
The burning white light of the sun melted into orange as it began to set, the baby blue of Equestria's sky swirling within deep purple, yellow, pink, red, and orange. The stars began to peep out, getting ready for their twinkling show, but they were still very dim. Pinkie Pie was heading to Sweet Apple Acres with a vivacious trot. Less than her normal bounding, but still very energetic. Upon reaching her destination, she saw Applejack bucking one of the last trees for the day. It wasn't harvesting season, but apples were always in demand.
"Hey, Applejack!" Pinkie exclaimed, eagerly waving a hoof towards her friend.
Applejack stopped and looked over, a bit surprised somepony was visiting her at this hour. She smiled when she saw it was Pinkie, though.
"Howdy, Pinkie! What brings you here?"
The mare had trotted all the way up to Applejack, and her warm expression showed a tad of worry.
"Well, I was just on my way to Sugarcube Corner, and you'll never ever guess in a million years who I saw!"
Her face showed more anxiety now, but Pinkie didn't refrain from using her silly talking quirks. Applejack chuckled softly at that, but remained concerned for whatever was bothering her friend.
"Who was it, sugarcube?"
"It was the Flim Flam Brothers, those meany-bo-beanies who almost ruined your cider business! And they had this friend whose name is Jingles, and she was actually really nice, but that's not the point! They're back in town, and they want to do baking! I mean, I'm happy they want to do something other than cider, but I'm afraid they might run Mr. and Mrs. Cake's bakery to bankruptcy! And that would make me really really sad, because I love the Cakes, and I work for them too!"
Pinkie was clearly stressed about this, but it took Applejack a while to process all of what she said. The orange mare shook her head and tried her best to reply.
"Well, I didn't quite get all of that, but you said those Flim Flam Brothers were back?"
Puzzled at why they would come back, Applejack thought about it. They were run out of business here once, so why would they come back? Maybe they couldn't find a job anywhere else, she thought. After all, news of their defeat quickly spread through Equestria. They couldn't have even tried to sell a mug of cider anywhere without getting laughed at! But still, they were intelligent stallions. Surely they didn't think nopony would remember them.
"YES! And like I said, they're going to open a bakery! You bake, I bake. This could be really bad!"
Pinkie wasn't in total distress, but she was worried, and Applejack understood that. This could indeed be bad. If they do the same thing they did before, it would mean every other bakery in town would come to wreckage. But, if by the slightest chance they were changed, then things might turn out alright.
"That is a mighty problem, but Ah reckon we don't know what ta do 'til somethin' happens. While Ah'll say something's definitely up with this, we ain't got any proof. So Ah guess we should just wait and see."
Applejack offered a smile, and Pinkie nodded vigorously. She knew her southern friend was right.
"Thanks, AJ. I really hope everything turns out alright!"
"Me too, sugarcube. Me too."
