The Life of Golden Jollybakerby JollybakerChaptersChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 9Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 1Chapter 4Chapter 8Chapter 10Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 17EpilogueChapter 2Ten years later, Golden Jollybaker was making his last delivery for the day. He arrived at a small house and knocked on the door. No answer. "Hello? Miss Cloudflurry?" "Hold on. I'm coming," said an old voice from somewhere inside. She opened the door. Jollybaker was looking in the other direction. "Well? Are you going to give me my dang cookies or not?" He turned around with a start. "Oh. Sorry ma'am. I'm just a little excited." She looked in the direction he kept looking in. There were Pegasi flying into town. "I don't see anything exciting enough to deprive me of my cookies!" "Well, my sister is supposed to be back today," he said distractedly. "Oh. You know, she was always nice. When Harmony Flavorcake made deliveries, she would always be on time with her beautiful violet wings," she said in a dreamy voice before adding, in a nonpleasant voice, "And she never kept anypony WAITING FOR HER CAKES!" The sudden outburst made Jollybaker jump and almost dump the box of cookies because he was staring at the arriving ponies again. "Oh, sorry. Here you go. Have a wonderful day." He gave her the cookies, and started to fly off. He ended up flying into a sign, face first. He shook his head and moved on, trying to look like nothing happened. As he went, he heard Miss Cloudflurry say, "Whatever" before closing her door. As soon as he got home, he went inside and looked around. Everything was the same as when he was little, except for his many books strung out everywhere and the dishes piled up from the day of baking. He was so excited about his sister coming home for the first time in three years, he forgot to clean up before he made his last deliveries. "I should really clean up," he said to himself. But before he got a chance to, there was a knock on the door. He rushed to answer it. "Big si...." he started to say, but it wasn't her waiting at the door. It was a gray mailpony with a satchel around her neck. "You're not Harmony," he said, rather disappointed, and relieved at the same time. He still had time to clean up before she showed up. The mailpony looked up at him. "Are you Golden Jollybaker?" she asked. "Yes I am. Glad to meet you," he said, reaching out a hoof. She ignored him and said, "Here. Special delivery from Harmony Flavorcake." She handed him an envelope. He took it, and she flew off. He opened it up and read the letter inside. Dear brother, I am inviting you to join me here in Equestria. Sorry for not showing up to give you the good news in person. I have recently opened up a new bakery and want you to help run it because there have been a few ponies that need some of your special cookies. The magical map on the back of this letter will tell you exactly where you are and how to get to where you want to go. I can't wait to see you in two months. Your big sis, Harmony Flavorcake As soon as he got done reading, Jollybaker went to get everything gathered up that he would need for his month-long journey. He then set off for Equestria, feeling happier than ever to be able to work with his sister again. Chapter 3Golden Jollybaker was flying above a dirt path with bare trees on either side. His wings were getting tired so he landed on it and started to walk. He decided to take out the map and look at it again to see if he was going the right way. "Okay, let's see. According to the map, I'm here on the..... Forbidden Path? That's a weird name for the only path into Equestria. And over there is Equestria. I believe I should be there in no time. All I have to do is cross the Bridge of......No Return? Wow. They must really hate strangers coming to visit." He looked up from the map. There was a long rickety bridge in front of him. "That doesn't look safe to cross. Lucky for me, though, I can just fly across." He started to take off. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a voice from behind. Jollybaker stopped just at the edge of the cliff. "Who said that?" he asked. He looked around to see who could've talked. No one was there. "Hello?" "Hey! Up here!" shouted the strange voice. He looked up, and seen who had been talking. It was a pony up on the branch of a tree. He was bright green with a long yellow tail and a backwards hat on his head. He had a horn sticking out of the hole of the hat. "Hey. You're a unicorn! I've never seen one before! Hi! I'm Golden Jollybaker! Nice to meet you," he said, while landing back down onto the path. The unicorn jumped down from the tree onto the path in front of him, and looked at him. "I'm Honest Appleworm. You're not from around here, are you?" "No. How did you know?" Appleworm picked an apple up and looked at it before eating it. "Because you almost tried to fly across the bridge." "Yeah. So?" Appleworm picked up another apple, again inspecting it before eating. "If anypony tries to magic them self across or fly across, they fall to their doom. Over there is Equestria's borders and magic of any kind doesn't work there." He picked up a third apple and looked at it. But instead of eating it, he tossed it. It splattered against a tree and worms fell to the ground from it. "I don't believe that. Magic can't just disappear," said Jollybaker. He was starting to get annoyed. "Okay, go ahead and try. But like my great-great-great-many more greats- grandmare, Applejack, I never tell a lie." "Uh-huh. Okay." Jollybaker couldn't waste any more time. His sister was expecting him any time now. He started to fly across. Appleworm sighed. "They never listen." Then he bit into an apple without inspecting it first. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out. "Blech." He spit out a mouth full of worms on the ground. Jollybaker couldn't stand him. He started mocking him as he flew across. "You can't fly across. Yeah right. I..." His wings started to get harder to flap. "...can fly...." He started to lose altitude. "...juuuust..." He was really struggling to stay in the air now. "....FIIIIIIIIINE!" As soon as Jollybaker got half way across, he started falling like a rock. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....." He was going to fall to his doom, just like Appleworm said he would. But right before he hit the bottom, there was a flash. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" "Hey! You can stop screaming now!" Jollybaker stopped screaming and opened his eyes. Appleworm was looking down at him with yet another apple. He sat up. "What happened? How am I back up here?" he asked. "You're welcome, by the way. You're lucky I know how to do that," Appleworm said sarcastically. "What happened to my wings, just now?" Jolly didn't understand at all what just happened to him. Appleworm looked at him, and calmly said, "I told you. You can't use magic in Equestria." Jollybaker stood up, and looked at him. "But my wings aren't magic. Are they?" "Without a proper wind draft, your wings fly by magic." "But why doesn't magic work in Equestria?" Appleworm was looking at another apple. "Don't know. Been like that for years. Ever since the ponies started to not get along with each other. They have me here to keep any dumb Pegasi from falling to their doom. I always tell them not to cross it but no pony ever listens. Here. Eat this." He tossed an apple over to Jollybaker. Jollybaker wasn't sure if he should. "Don't worry. It's worm-free," said Appleworm, when he noticed Jolly wasn't eating. Jollybaker ate it. He just realized how hungry he was. "So how do I get across?" He asked. "You walk across the bridge." Appleworm saw him give a scared look at the bridge. "Trust me. The bridge is sturdy. Bye now!" He used his horn and disappeared with a flash. Jollybaker knew by now that this pony could be trusted, so he started to cross the bridge. When he got to the point where he fell before, he felt his wings stiffen up a little. This was going to be hard to get used to. Why his sister would want to live like this, he didn't know. He finished crossing the bridge and realized that Appleworm had called Pegasi dumb. Why would he say that? Jolly continued on through the dirt path into Equestria. He hoped that his sister could explain things. Chapter 5Jollybaker looked around. He could see baking things everywhere. "Hello? Big sis?" he called out but there was no answer but the lonely silence. He headed upstairs. "Hello?" he called out again. He looked around the room he just entered. There were books lying around everywhere. He saw a bed in the corner by the only window in the room with a nightstand beside it. There was a picture of him on top of it when he was little with his sister. He picked it up and looked at it. "Where did you go sis?" he asked sadly. He sat the picture back on the nightstand and opened the drawer. There was a book inside. He opened it up and realized it was a diary that was written in his sister's writing. He started reading the first entry, hoping it would explain something. Dear Diary, I have just arrived at Equestria. I went straight to the first pony I seen. She was sitting there, eating muffins by herself. "Excuse me. Hi! I'm Harmony Flavorcake." "Sandstone." She said in a flat tone. "Sorry?" "Sandstone. My name is Sandstone Pie. But my friends usually call me Sand." "Oh! Can I join you, Sand Pie?" I asked her. She looked at me and said, "Sure" in the same boring tone. I sat down beside her and she offered me one of her muffins. "Oh. Thanks. I am rather hungry after that long journey." I ate it, and it was the best muffin I ever tasted. "So what brings you to Equestria, Harmony?" "I am planning on opening up a bakery here. Do you know where I can open one?" She finished up her muffin, and got up. "Sure. There's one that's just closed down. This way." I followed her down the street to a red building. I looked at it and knew instantly that this was the perfect place to start my bakery. Jollybaker couldn't believe it. The pony in this entry sounded a lot like the pony he just met. But why would she say she didn't know his sister if she did? He read the next entry. Dear Diary, Today is the day I open my bakery. Sand has been a big help in helping me get started. We have been hard at work getting everything ready for the last couple months. We've really been getting along great together. Sand is still very puzzling though. She hardly ever shows any emotions. I think she said it was mostly common in her family. She says my bakery is going to be a great success, like one of her ancestor's bakery was. I can't wait to go visit my brother and tell him the good news soon, during the holidays. Jollybaker turned the pages to the last entry. Dear Diary, I decided to send my brother a letter instead of going to visit. I can't leave knowing that there are ponies really needing help here. I will do what I can until my brother gets here. I just hope he doesn't take too long to get here. Jollybaker put the diary back in the nightstand. He didn't understand it. If his sister sent him the letter a couple years ago, then why did he just get it a month ago? And how was he supposed to help the other ponies? He didn't know what could've happened to his sister but he couldn't leave. He didn't want to let his sister down. He immediately got started getting everything ready for the grand opening of his new bakery. Chapter 6The first thing Jollybaker did was go downstairs and clean up the bakery. Then, he immediately started to bake some cookies for the pony he thought was Sandstone Pie. While he was making the finishing touches, a pony with a hood over their head entered from the darkness outside. "Hi! Wow. Your timing is incredible. I was just making the final touches of your cookies. Make yourself comfortable, Sandstone." As soon as he said this, she pulled her hood off. "I take it that you've read your sister's diary?" she asked. Jollybaker realized he let slip that he knew her name, and seized the opportunity to ask her about his sister. "Why did you lie about knowing my sister?" "Well, technically, I didn't lie. I'm not Sandstone. I'm her slightly younger twin sister, Siltstone. As you already know, our sisters knew each other two and a half years ago. But what you read in your sister's diary was only part of the story. Back then, the earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi were indeed starting to fight amongst each other. You're sister, Harmony, my sister, Sandstone, and a unicorn, I'm sure you met, called Appleworm tried to keep them from falling apart because they knew that the continued arguing would cause the magic of friendship to fail and with it every other kind of magic in Equestria." Siltstone sat there, waiting for Jollybaker to say something. "But what happened to Harmony and Sandstone?" he finally asked. "And If you didn't know my sister, then how do you know all this?" This made Siltstone look sad as she answered. "I arrived two years ago after our sisters were gone. Appleworm told me the story since he knew who I was. He was supposed to get married to my sister, which is why I came, but there was no wedding to be had. He said that all magic has failed and that Sandstone had just left with a friend to look for help. He gave me a letter from my sister that said they'll be back in a couple hours. They never showed up. I had already bought a muffin for my sister and each day that passed, I would sit there with it, hoping one day she would show up." She waited again for Jollybaker to say something, but since he didn't, she continued. "I told you, when we first met earlier today, that I haven't seen her in years. That's because I have been pretending to be my sister around others because I didn't want them to know my sister left. And as for that letter, I sent it. I read your sister's diary and found out about you about two months ago. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to your sister's real letter but you obviously didn't get it." As soon as she finished, she grabbed her cookies and put her hood back over her head. Right before she opened the door, she looked at Jollybaker. "You best get some rest. You're going to need it. All ponies, including the pegasi, here in Equestria are different than where you come from, wherever that may be. This time, I leave you for good until you can find a way to get the ponies to trust each other again, and restore magic to Equestria. And I have to tell you, Appleworm will not enter this place anymore. It is too painful for him since my sister left. I hope you do our sisters proud." And with her last words, she left. Jollybaker went to bed with Siltstone's story on his mind. He dreamt of when he was little, baking cookies with his sister. Chapter 7"Do you have to go?" said a young Jollybaker. His sister looked at him. "Of course I do! If I want to expand my bakery, I have to go." "But why can't I go with you?" His sister sighed and said, "Don't worry. I'll be back to visit soon. With possibly some good news, okay?" "But I can't do this without you." Jollybaker grabbed his sister's hoof. "Of course you can. Stay jolly and you can spread love to any pony that comes in. Promise me you will always keep baking, okay?" His sister gave him a hug and started flying away. Jollybaker started running after her. He got to a cliff and tried to fly after her but his wings weren't working. He started falling into darkness. He started screaming at the top of his lungs. "No! Big sis! Heeelp!" Jollybaker woke up screaming. He looked around to figure out where he was. He was back in his sister's bakery. He got up and looked out the window. The warm sun shone down on him. He looked down at the streets below. He could see ponies wondering around. Just then, he got an idea. He was going to go to the Pegasi and see if he could get any of them to join him to spread happiness and forgiveness. He got ready and set out for Cloudsdale. If he was going to get them together, what better place to start than among the other pegasi. Chapter 9When Jollybaker got back to Ponyville and went across the bridge, he called out to Appleworm. "Hey, Appleworm! Are you here?" No answer. He looked around. He saw a letter pinned to a tree. To whoever comes here. Please walk across the bridge and don't try to fly or use magic to cross. If you don't heed this warning, you will fall to your death. - Honest Appleworm P.S. If your name is Jollybaker or Siltstone, leave a note. I will see you in 2 days when I get back. Went to the Apple Farm to check on my apple trees. "Well, I guess tomorrow I will have to try the earth ponies." He went to the bakery and started to bake some cookies for the customers the next day. Chapter 11The next morning came sooner than expected and Jollybaker was still half asleep when Appleworm came walking in the door. "Are you ready to go?" Appleworm asked as soon as he entered. "Yeah." "Then let's go. We have a ten hour journey ahead of us to get to Canterlot." They headed out the door and followed the road to the right of the bakery. Three hours into their journey, Jollybaker started to ask questions. "Why don't you like Ponyville?" At first, he thought Appleworm didn't hear him or just didn't want to answer. But then he started to talk. "Isn't it obvious? I don't like it because it's where I found the only pony that really liked me. She left and never came back." "Then why did you stay? You said they had you there to keep ponies from falling to their death but they could have found anypony to do it." "I know I did but that wasn't the whole truth. I actually asked to do it because I believe she will one day make it back and I want to be the first one to greet her back." As Jollybaker thought about this, Appleworm stopped and Jollybaker ran into him. "What was that?" He asked. Jollybaker didn't know what he was talking about. "What was what?" As he said this, he noticed a white blur coming back towards them. "Stay here while I go check it out." Jollybaker did as he was told. Then he started to hear a familiar voice but it wasn't Appleworm. Chapter 12"Hey, I don't want any trouble!"said the voice. "Go away!" hollered Appleworm. Jollybaker ran to see who it was. He immediately recognized Sonic's big wings. He got between the two. "It's okay Appleworm. He's my friend, Sonic Boom. He's fine. He's the one that taught me how to fly without magic." Appleworm looked at one, then the other. "Fine. Find out what he wants." Jollybaker turned toward Sonic, who was still ready to attack Appleworm if he came towards him. "It's okay Sonic. What are you doing here?" Sonic landed and sat down in front of Jollybaker. "Well, I heard you was going to Canterlot and I wanted to go with you." Appleworm didn't like this. "Excuse us,"he told Sonic before whispering to Jollybaker. "No way. It's bad enough I'm taking one pegasus with me. If too many of them found out that unicorns can't use magic on them, then they will come and steal everything we have." "He wouldn't do that. I trust him. From what I seen yesterday, I believe he's loyal enough to be trusted." Appleworm sighed and turned back towards Sonic. "Fine. You can come with us. But no flying around. You have to walk in front of me so I can keep a close eye on you." "Okay. I understand. I'm so spectacular that you want to keep your eyes on me." This pegasus obviously irritated Appleworm but he didn't say another word as the three ponies continued on their journey to Canterlot. Chapter 15They followed her into the room and it was so shiny, it looked as if it was made of gold. There was a red velvet rug leading from the front door, all the way to the throne. Jollybaker couldn't believe his eyes. "Where is everyone?" He asked. "Oh. This room hasn't been used for years. There are no alicorns left to rule since the magic went oohoo." Diamond made a crazy look when she said this, and laughed. They followed her to the front door and heard guards outside. "Wait. We go outside. We'll be spotted," said Jollybaker. "Oh. That's right. You'll be locked up again if you're spotted. I'll go outside and distract the guards so you can sneak past." She heads outside. "Hello, guards." They look at her with a big smile while Jollybaker and Sonic sneak past. "Oh. Hey Blue Diamond. What were you doing in there? You wasn't talking with the prisoners, were you?" One asks suspiciously. "Who? Me? Of course not. I learned my lesson last time." "Uh-huh. Sure you did. You know, as your brother and leader of the guards, I have to look after you. If you were caught talking with the prisoners again, I would be held personally responsible. Do you understand?" He says sternly. "Uh-huh. Yup." She distractedly says. She is too busy watching her new friends sneak away. "What are you staring at?" He says and starts to turn around. This made Blue Diamond focused on what she was supposed to be doing and makes her brother, Keyward, look back at her. "Nothing! Well, I've gotta run. Lot of diamonds to make into jewelry. Byeee!" She waves and goes to meet her friends. Keyward sighs and says, "My sister and her strange hobbies. Am I right, Locker?" He looks over at the other guard, who is sleeping, and sighs again while shaking his head. Meanwhile, Jollybaker and Sonic has managed to find a good hiding place when Blue Diamond comes to meet them. "So how are you going to get us to Appleworm and get us all out of here?" asks Jollybaker. "Appleworm is right behind you. But I don't know how we're going to get Applehorse." The two pegasi looks behind them and sees their friend Appleworm standing there. "For the last time, there is no Applehorse!" He says. "Are you sure about that?" She says strangely. Appleworm sighs and looks at his pegasi friends. "I'm sorry for what I said before. I really am." Sonic gives him a hug and says, "Hey. It's okay. I understand that it's probably hard for you." Jollybaker looks at them and says, "That's great. Now let's get out of here before someone finds us! Blue Diamond. You do know a way to get out of here, right?" She laughs nervously. "Of course I do." They all stare at her. "Kind of." She looks down at the ground to avoid their stares. "Okay, I don't. Sorry." Jollybaker feels extremely annoyed by her so he let's out a sigh while shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Appleworm gets in front of them. "Come on. I think this is the way out of town. But Jollybaker. Are you sure you want to leave? You never accomplished anything you set out to do." "I'm sure. There's no hope to help these unicorns. Let's just go." He says and nudges Appleworm to lead the way. "Okay. If you want to. Just follow me," says Appleworm and starts leading them out of town. Sneaking around in the alleys and backroads, they manage to find their way out of town and on their way back to Ponyville. Chapter 16When he started to remember the way, Jollybaker started to leave the others behind. Appleworm, who was the one to keep up the best, shouted out to him. "Hey, Jolly! What's the rush? I think we're safe now!" Him and the others were getting tired trying to keep up. Jollybaker stopped and flipped around to face Appleworm. Jollybaker had a very frustrated look on his face. "It was a total waste of time! All of it!" Appleworm sighed. "Look, Jolly. I know what it feels like to not accomplish what you want to accomplish. It's okay if you don't succeed at first. You just have to keep trying." "NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! None of you do. I was never supposed to be doing this. I was supposed to be running a bakery with my sister." He started walking away again. Sonic managed to get right in front of him with his wings. "That's no way to talk to the friends trying to help, you know. Now apologize." Sonic had a look none had seen him with before. Jollybaker looked at him with the same look. "Don't get in my way. I'm done. Just go home to your untrusting mom." Jollybaker went around him and continued on his way, leaving his friends with hurt faces. All but Blue Diamond. She continued to follow him. "Hey! Wait for me!" Jollybaker shrugged and looked at her. "What? Why don't you go back to Canterlot? Your brother will be looking for you." She didn't listen and continued to follow him with a confused look. "But why? You're my new friend." They had just entered Ponyville and were heading to the bakery. "No you're not. I don't know you. I have to go find my sister. Goodbye forever." He entered the bakery and closed the door in her face. "Well that was rude." She started knocking on the door. "Hey! Open up! Maybe I can help you? Hello?" She sat there at the door and waited for him to open it until dark. He never did, so she left with a disappointed look on her face. Chapter 1Once there was a Pegasus named Golden Jollybaker, and he lived with his sister, Harmony Flavorcake, in the clouds. He loved doing everything with her. One day, she came home feeling sad for some reason. "What's wrong big sis? You seem sad," he said. "Oh nothing I can't handle. Just go read your book, okay?" "But you were supposed to play with me. You promised." He looked up at her with disappointed eyes, hoping she would change her mind. "Sorry, maybe later." He hated seeing her like this. He then had an idea that maybe if he baked her some cookies, she would cheer up. He snuck into the kitchen and started to bake. He put ingredients together that normally didn't go in cookies. He didn't know how to use a mixer, so instead he mixed the batter up with his hooves. He then put it in the microwave because he wasn't allowed to use the oven without his sister's permission. Half an hour later, he took them out. He scooped one up and offered it to his sister. "What's this?" she asked before trying it. "Wow, you made this?" She then ate the rest and said, "Thanks. I feel much happier n..." Just then, she noticed something on her brother's flank. It was a cutie mark. It appeared without him even noticing. It was a book with a cookie on it with hearts and musical notes above it. He looked back to see what she was staring at. He gasped and said, "No way! I got my cutie mark!" This made him so happy that he made cookies for her every day that they were together. Chapter 4As soon as he entered town, Jollybaker looked around to see if he could see his sister out anywhere. He seen earth ponies everywhere but no pegasi. He approached one sitting at a table, staring at a muffin. "Hi! I'm Golden Jollybaker! Do you know where the new bakery is?" The pony looked up from her muffin. She was gray with a long straight black mane and short black tail. Her cutie mark was being hidden by her tail. "There are no new bakeries," she said flatly. "Do you know where Harmony Flavorcake is?" "I don't know any pony by that name." Jolly found this odd, so he decided to try to describe his sister to her."Well, she's a Pegasus. She is pink with big purple wings and-" "I haven't seen any pony like that for years," the strange pony interrupted. Jollybaker pulled out the letter he received. "But she wrote me this letter. She said she opened up a new bakery and wanted me to work with her," he said desperately. "Well, I'm sorry but I can't help you. There are no new bakeries. The last new bakery that was opened has been deserted for two and a half years." Jollybaker couldn't believe it. Was this pony just messing with him? He decided to just go check this bakery out to see if it was the place he was looking for. "Could you show me where it was?" he asked, hoping it wasn't his sister's. The pony got up from her seat and started to walk away. "Sure. Follow me." Jolly looked at the single muffin on the table. "Hey. What about your muffin?" She stopped and looked at him. "That's not my muffin." "Oh. Can I have it?"he asked. He still felt hungry. "Sure." Jollybaker picked it up and stuffed it all in his mouth. He immediately spit it back out. "Yuck! What kind of muffin is that?" "Old." "Old?" he asked, while trying to scrape the taste out of his mouth. "It has been there for quite awhile." "Eww. Why would you say I could have it then?" "Because you wanted it." "Yes. But why didn't you say it was old before I ate it?" he could still taste it. "Because you didn't ask. Now please. Follow me." She started walking down the street. He followed. He looked at all the ponies as he went. They all looked scared and acted like they didn't like him for some reason. The two ponies arrived at a small, red building with a sign on it that had a picture that looked just like his sister's cutie mark. This was definitely the place he was looking for but why was it closed? The pony looked at him and said, "Here is the place. I will leave you here, as the other ponies don't like me talking to other types of ponies. They think you can't be trusted. I will be back later to get some cookies." She walked away. "How did she know I made cookies?" he wondered before going inside his sister's old bakery. Chapter 8He arrived at an open field and looked up. "Okay. I can do this." He breathed in and out before jumping up off the ground. He began flapping his wings. "I'm doing it. I'm doing it!" He then started to fall back towards the ground. He ended up falling face first into the ground. "Ouch." He tried it again and again. Each time he did, he would end up with the same result. He sighed and said, "It's okay. I'll just have to keep trying until I can get it right." Then he heard somepony laughing at him. "You know. You're not going anywhere like that!" Jollybaker looked up. A pegasus was hovering above him. He was white with giant white wings, a cool fiery mane and long fiery tail."Name's Sonic Boom. I know what you're thinking and yes, I am spectacular." "Hi, Sonic. I'm Golden Jollybaker! How are you...." "Flying? Simple. I spread my wings out big and wide to make them more...uh.. ..breezy." "Ohh. Okay." Jollybaker tried to fly up off the ground using this technique. This time, he stayed in the air. "Wow. It feels great to use my wings again. Thanks, Sonic." Then there was a voice from behind him that made Sonic look frightened. "What are you doing, Sonic?" Jollybaker looked around to see who it was. She was a white pegasus just like Sonic but with a long white mane and tail. "You know you're not supposed to show outsiders how to fly, especially when they come from Ponyville. Do you not remember what happened last time you did that? We ended up with a certain pegasus trying to trick us into trusting those ridiculous earth ponies." "But mom! There's nothing wrong with them!" said Sonic. "Go to your cloud and think of what you've done!" she said sternly. "But..." "Now!" she said angrily. Sonic did what he was told and flew away. Then Sonic's mom looked at Jollybaker. "And as for you, go back to where you came from. You're not welcome in Cloudsdale. I will not hesitate to lock you up if you so much as enter one wing into my town." She then flew off before he had a chance to say a single word. "Well that went badly. I thought for sure they would like me, but other than Sonic, they seem to not trust anypony but the citizens of Cloudsdale. At least I know how to fly without magic now. It wasn't a complete waste of time. Maybe I'll have more luck with the unicorns." Jollybaker had no choice but to head back to Ponyville. He will have to go see Appleworm and ask him where the unicorns live. Chapter 10By the next morning, Jollybaker had made so many cookies that he could give every pony in Equestria a free sample. He grabbed a plate of them and headed out the door. He looked around and started to get really excited. There were ponies out everywhere this morning. "Good morning everypony! Would you like to have a free cookie sample this fine morning?" He looked around and none of them came walking up. He decided to head around town to advertise. He walked to a pony that was sitting at a table. "Excuse me. Would you like to have a free cookie sample?" No sooner had he said this, the pony got up and ran away screaming. He thought this behavior was kind of weird. He went into a coffee shop next. He then spoke to everypony in there. "Can I interest any of you to try one of my delicious, happy-making cookies?" Again, everypony went running out of the place. Just then, the owner came out. "Hey! No pegasi allowed! I can't have you scaring my customers away! It's bad for business! Now get out and don't come back!" Jollybaker took off out the door. He immediately ran back to the bakery and shut the door. "Why are they all scared of me? I did nothing wrong." "It's because you're a pegasus." He turned around and seen Appleworm sitting there. "Appleworm? You're early. I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow." "I got back early." "How were your apples?" Appleworm looked right at him and said, "There were no apples. A group of earth ponies went and swiped them all before I got there." "That's terrible. Why would they do that?" "You seriously haven't figured it out yet? Well let me spell it out for you. Here in Equestria, earth ponies hate unicorns, unicorns hate pegasus, and pegasus hate earth ponies. That's why most earth ponies are scared of pegasus, pegasus are scared of unicorns, and most unicorns are scared of earth ponies." "Speaking of unicorns, can you show me where they live?" "And why would I do that?" "Well, I am trying to get every pony together but I haven't had any luck with the pegasus and earth ponies." "Well, I think it'll be a waste of time, but I guess I can. We leave in the morning. Don't be late. I have to go tell them that the earth ponies have taken all the apples, anyway. It's a long way to Canterlot so you better rest up." He started out the door. "Where are you going? You could spend the night here." Appleworm looked at him. "I hate this place. You're lucky I even came here to see you." After he left, Jollybaker went straight to bed. He definitely didn't want to be late. He looked at the picture before turning off the lights. "Well, I'm trying, sis. Maybe when I get to Canterlot, things will go better with the unicorns." Chapter 13The three ponies were just an hour away before any of them spoke another word. Sonic was the first. "So, why exactly are you going to Canterlot?" "Well, I'm going to be trying to make peace with them, and Appleworm..." "Thinks it's a waste of time because the earth ponies stole all of my apples," interrupted Appleworm. Sonic found this confusing. "But aren't you related to an earth pony?" "Yes, but I don't have any earth pony left that actually cares about me or my ancestors. You know they actually believe that I had something to do with the disappearance of Sandstone? That's one reason why I don't want anything to do with them. At least until she comes back, which I am starting to think is never going to happen." Jollybaker, who was just listening to these two talk, suddenly heard talking among the trees. "But why did she leave in the first place?" asked Sonic. "Because she wouldn't mind her own business and ended up leaving. And to help a pegasus, of all things!" "You're helping a pegasus though." Just then, Jollybaker spoke up. "Hey. I think we're being watched." They didn't hear him. They started to get louder. "Yeah. I'm only helping enough to not let her down!" Jollybaker tried to get their attention again. "I think we should be a little quieter. Something isn't right," he said. The voices in the trees started to get more concerning for him. They again didn't hear him. "If you actually wanted to not let her down, you would help more." "I have helped more! It did no good! SHE IS STILL GONE! WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE? I HATE PEGASI!" That's when Jollybaker got between them. "Stop fighting! There's..." The rest of Jollybaker's words were drowned out. For at that moment, a whole army of unicorns jumped out and attacked them. Everything went dark. Chapter 14Jollybaker woke up on a dark, cold stone floor. He put his hoof up on his head and shook his head. "What happened?" he said. He got up and looked around. He appeared to be in a dungeon of some sort. He saw Sonic sitting at a dungeon door but Appleworm was nowhere to be seen. "Sonic? Where's Appleworm?" Sonic looked over at him. "Oh! Jollybaker! Are you feeling ok?" He looked at himself and said, "Yeah. I'm okay. Are you?" "Yeah, but Appleworm won't be." Jollybaker was confused by this. "What do you mean?" "The other unicorns are going to banish him for bringing pegasi here to Canterlot, and for keeping all of the apples for the earth ponies." "No. They can't do that. We've got to get out of here to help him." Jollybaker looked around for anything that he could use to get out. "Help who?" Jollybaker looked over at him. "Seriously? You forgot who we were just talking about?" "That wasn't me." "Hey! Over here!" They looked at the door. They saw a girl unicorn standing there outside the door. She was blue with a rather poofy mane and long frizzy tail. "Hi! I'm Blue Diamond!" Sonic looked at her, clearly not sure what to say to this rather beautiful unicorn. "Blue Diamond? Can you get the door unlocked for us?" asked Jollybaker. She looked at the lock. "Hmm. Of course. Just give me a minute." She pulled out a diamond and used her hoof to break it into a key shape. Then she unlocked it. The two pegasi just looked at her, surprised. "What?" she asked. "Oh. Nothing. It's just that, you could have just used the key hanging over there on the wall." Jollybaker said as he pointed his hoof towards the opposite wall. She looked at it. "Oh. Sorry. Do you want me to lock it back and unlock it with the key?" Jollybaker was a little annoyed by the question. "No. Let's just go. We need to help Appleworm." "Who's Applehorse?" Jollybaker shrugs. "Appleworm! And he's a unicorn that is about to be banished!" "Ohh. Right. I know where he is! Follow me!" Blue Diamond took off running down the hall. Sonic followed, keeping his eyes glued on her without saying a word. Jollybaker however, just followed her. He knew not to give this unicorn any cookies. If he had, she would probably explode with happiness. The two pegasi followed this strange unicorn all the way to the exit of the long, dark, cold and creepy dungeon. "So glad there weren't any spiders in there. I do not like spiders." said Blue Diamond. Jollybaker started to ask questions. "So, why are you helping us to escape?" "I was bored, and I don't think you should be locked up for something you didn't do." She answered. They continued through the hallway to double giant red doors. "You do know that we're pegasi, right?" asked Sonic. "I have no reason to hate you," she answered while bouncing through the doors into a giant throne room. Chapter 17Weeks passed and Jollybaker stayed inside the bakery alone. One day, he heard a knock on the door. He only ignored it. After a while he got tired of it and started screaming at the door. "Go away!" Siltstone's voice came from the other side. "It's me! Can you open up?" "Are you alone?" After a moment, she finally answered, "Well, there are a few others here that want to see you too." Jollybaker shrugged. "Fine," he said. Then he opened the door. "What?" Appleworm was the first to answer. "We're worried about you, Jolly. You have not left in weeks." "I've been packing. I'm leaving." He showed them a little satchel full of things he needed. They all looked in shock. "But you're the first friend some of us have had in a long time. You can't leave. I really didn't think you was serious about it," said Blue Diamond. "I'm not worthy of being your friend, okay? I failed to do what I was asked." He left the door open for them to come in as he sat down at a table and put his face down on it. It was Sonic's turn to talk next. "Hey. What happened to the pegasus I met in that field? He would never give up on anything, no matter how many times he failed." Jollybaker looked at him, his head still on the table. "He realized it is best to give up, than to keep failing and waste everypony's time." Siltstone was the one that spoke up to this. "And you think this sulking around won't waste time? I've wasted years waiting for my sister to get back. I don't want you to do the same thing." "Which is why I am leaving. Probably for good. I have to find out what happened to my sister." Jollybaker got up and put his sister's diary in his satchel, ready to leave. "You can't just leave. We're your friends, whether you like it or not. Where you go, we go," said Sonic, who was just as loyal as ever. Jollybaker looked at him, actually feeling a little better. "So you all are going with me? After all I put you through?" "Of course we are. And together, we're sure to find out what happened to your sister." "And you all feel this way?" All of them nodded in agreement. Jollybaker gave them all a big group hug. "Thanks. You're all amazing friends. I don't know how long it will take or how dangerous it will be but I am glad you all will be with me. In a way, I didn't fail after all. I did manage to bring all of us together." And with that, they all left Ponyville together, full of hope and determination that they will be reunited one day with their one mutual friend, Harmony Flavorcake. EpilogueHundreds of miles away from Jollybaker and his friends, Harmony Flavorcake was locked up in a cage. "Let me go! Why are you doing this? I told you I am not an alicorn." A mysterious figure in the shadows spoke to her. "Maybe not you, but your brother will soon be. His friends will help him unlock his true power one day. My spy will make sure of that." The mysterious figure leaves Harmony alone, laughing evilly. Harmony sits there crying and looks up at the night sky. "Wherever you are Golden, I really hope you are safe."
Chapter 2Ten years later, Golden Jollybaker was making his last delivery for the day. He arrived at a small house and knocked on the door. No answer. "Hello? Miss Cloudflurry?" "Hold on. I'm coming," said an old voice from somewhere inside. She opened the door. Jollybaker was looking in the other direction. "Well? Are you going to give me my dang cookies or not?" He turned around with a start. "Oh. Sorry ma'am. I'm just a little excited." She looked in the direction he kept looking in. There were Pegasi flying into town. "I don't see anything exciting enough to deprive me of my cookies!" "Well, my sister is supposed to be back today," he said distractedly. "Oh. You know, she was always nice. When Harmony Flavorcake made deliveries, she would always be on time with her beautiful violet wings," she said in a dreamy voice before adding, in a nonpleasant voice, "And she never kept anypony WAITING FOR HER CAKES!" The sudden outburst made Jollybaker jump and almost dump the box of cookies because he was staring at the arriving ponies again. "Oh, sorry. Here you go. Have a wonderful day." He gave her the cookies, and started to fly off. He ended up flying into a sign, face first. He shook his head and moved on, trying to look like nothing happened. As he went, he heard Miss Cloudflurry say, "Whatever" before closing her door. As soon as he got home, he went inside and looked around. Everything was the same as when he was little, except for his many books strung out everywhere and the dishes piled up from the day of baking. He was so excited about his sister coming home for the first time in three years, he forgot to clean up before he made his last deliveries. "I should really clean up," he said to himself. But before he got a chance to, there was a knock on the door. He rushed to answer it. "Big si...." he started to say, but it wasn't her waiting at the door. It was a gray mailpony with a satchel around her neck. "You're not Harmony," he said, rather disappointed, and relieved at the same time. He still had time to clean up before she showed up. The mailpony looked up at him. "Are you Golden Jollybaker?" she asked. "Yes I am. Glad to meet you," he said, reaching out a hoof. She ignored him and said, "Here. Special delivery from Harmony Flavorcake." She handed him an envelope. He took it, and she flew off. He opened it up and read the letter inside. Dear brother, I am inviting you to join me here in Equestria. Sorry for not showing up to give you the good news in person. I have recently opened up a new bakery and want you to help run it because there have been a few ponies that need some of your special cookies. The magical map on the back of this letter will tell you exactly where you are and how to get to where you want to go. I can't wait to see you in two months. Your big sis, Harmony Flavorcake As soon as he got done reading, Jollybaker went to get everything gathered up that he would need for his month-long journey. He then set off for Equestria, feeling happier than ever to be able to work with his sister again.
Chapter 3Golden Jollybaker was flying above a dirt path with bare trees on either side. His wings were getting tired so he landed on it and started to walk. He decided to take out the map and look at it again to see if he was going the right way. "Okay, let's see. According to the map, I'm here on the..... Forbidden Path? That's a weird name for the only path into Equestria. And over there is Equestria. I believe I should be there in no time. All I have to do is cross the Bridge of......No Return? Wow. They must really hate strangers coming to visit." He looked up from the map. There was a long rickety bridge in front of him. "That doesn't look safe to cross. Lucky for me, though, I can just fly across." He started to take off. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a voice from behind. Jollybaker stopped just at the edge of the cliff. "Who said that?" he asked. He looked around to see who could've talked. No one was there. "Hello?" "Hey! Up here!" shouted the strange voice. He looked up, and seen who had been talking. It was a pony up on the branch of a tree. He was bright green with a long yellow tail and a backwards hat on his head. He had a horn sticking out of the hole of the hat. "Hey. You're a unicorn! I've never seen one before! Hi! I'm Golden Jollybaker! Nice to meet you," he said, while landing back down onto the path. The unicorn jumped down from the tree onto the path in front of him, and looked at him. "I'm Honest Appleworm. You're not from around here, are you?" "No. How did you know?" Appleworm picked an apple up and looked at it before eating it. "Because you almost tried to fly across the bridge." "Yeah. So?" Appleworm picked up another apple, again inspecting it before eating. "If anypony tries to magic them self across or fly across, they fall to their doom. Over there is Equestria's borders and magic of any kind doesn't work there." He picked up a third apple and looked at it. But instead of eating it, he tossed it. It splattered against a tree and worms fell to the ground from it. "I don't believe that. Magic can't just disappear," said Jollybaker. He was starting to get annoyed. "Okay, go ahead and try. But like my great-great-great-many more greats- grandmare, Applejack, I never tell a lie." "Uh-huh. Okay." Jollybaker couldn't waste any more time. His sister was expecting him any time now. He started to fly across. Appleworm sighed. "They never listen." Then he bit into an apple without inspecting it first. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out. "Blech." He spit out a mouth full of worms on the ground. Jollybaker couldn't stand him. He started mocking him as he flew across. "You can't fly across. Yeah right. I..." His wings started to get harder to flap. "...can fly...." He started to lose altitude. "...juuuust..." He was really struggling to stay in the air now. "....FIIIIIIIIINE!" As soon as Jollybaker got half way across, he started falling like a rock. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....." He was going to fall to his doom, just like Appleworm said he would. But right before he hit the bottom, there was a flash. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" "Hey! You can stop screaming now!" Jollybaker stopped screaming and opened his eyes. Appleworm was looking down at him with yet another apple. He sat up. "What happened? How am I back up here?" he asked. "You're welcome, by the way. You're lucky I know how to do that," Appleworm said sarcastically. "What happened to my wings, just now?" Jolly didn't understand at all what just happened to him. Appleworm looked at him, and calmly said, "I told you. You can't use magic in Equestria." Jollybaker stood up, and looked at him. "But my wings aren't magic. Are they?" "Without a proper wind draft, your wings fly by magic." "But why doesn't magic work in Equestria?" Appleworm was looking at another apple. "Don't know. Been like that for years. Ever since the ponies started to not get along with each other. They have me here to keep any dumb Pegasi from falling to their doom. I always tell them not to cross it but no pony ever listens. Here. Eat this." He tossed an apple over to Jollybaker. Jollybaker wasn't sure if he should. "Don't worry. It's worm-free," said Appleworm, when he noticed Jolly wasn't eating. Jollybaker ate it. He just realized how hungry he was. "So how do I get across?" He asked. "You walk across the bridge." Appleworm saw him give a scared look at the bridge. "Trust me. The bridge is sturdy. Bye now!" He used his horn and disappeared with a flash. Jollybaker knew by now that this pony could be trusted, so he started to cross the bridge. When he got to the point where he fell before, he felt his wings stiffen up a little. This was going to be hard to get used to. Why his sister would want to live like this, he didn't know. He finished crossing the bridge and realized that Appleworm had called Pegasi dumb. Why would he say that? Jolly continued on through the dirt path into Equestria. He hoped that his sister could explain things.
Chapter 5Jollybaker looked around. He could see baking things everywhere. "Hello? Big sis?" he called out but there was no answer but the lonely silence. He headed upstairs. "Hello?" he called out again. He looked around the room he just entered. There were books lying around everywhere. He saw a bed in the corner by the only window in the room with a nightstand beside it. There was a picture of him on top of it when he was little with his sister. He picked it up and looked at it. "Where did you go sis?" he asked sadly. He sat the picture back on the nightstand and opened the drawer. There was a book inside. He opened it up and realized it was a diary that was written in his sister's writing. He started reading the first entry, hoping it would explain something. Dear Diary, I have just arrived at Equestria. I went straight to the first pony I seen. She was sitting there, eating muffins by herself. "Excuse me. Hi! I'm Harmony Flavorcake." "Sandstone." She said in a flat tone. "Sorry?" "Sandstone. My name is Sandstone Pie. But my friends usually call me Sand." "Oh! Can I join you, Sand Pie?" I asked her. She looked at me and said, "Sure" in the same boring tone. I sat down beside her and she offered me one of her muffins. "Oh. Thanks. I am rather hungry after that long journey." I ate it, and it was the best muffin I ever tasted. "So what brings you to Equestria, Harmony?" "I am planning on opening up a bakery here. Do you know where I can open one?" She finished up her muffin, and got up. "Sure. There's one that's just closed down. This way." I followed her down the street to a red building. I looked at it and knew instantly that this was the perfect place to start my bakery. Jollybaker couldn't believe it. The pony in this entry sounded a lot like the pony he just met. But why would she say she didn't know his sister if she did? He read the next entry. Dear Diary, Today is the day I open my bakery. Sand has been a big help in helping me get started. We have been hard at work getting everything ready for the last couple months. We've really been getting along great together. Sand is still very puzzling though. She hardly ever shows any emotions. I think she said it was mostly common in her family. She says my bakery is going to be a great success, like one of her ancestor's bakery was. I can't wait to go visit my brother and tell him the good news soon, during the holidays. Jollybaker turned the pages to the last entry. Dear Diary, I decided to send my brother a letter instead of going to visit. I can't leave knowing that there are ponies really needing help here. I will do what I can until my brother gets here. I just hope he doesn't take too long to get here. Jollybaker put the diary back in the nightstand. He didn't understand it. If his sister sent him the letter a couple years ago, then why did he just get it a month ago? And how was he supposed to help the other ponies? He didn't know what could've happened to his sister but he couldn't leave. He didn't want to let his sister down. He immediately got started getting everything ready for the grand opening of his new bakery.
Chapter 6The first thing Jollybaker did was go downstairs and clean up the bakery. Then, he immediately started to bake some cookies for the pony he thought was Sandstone Pie. While he was making the finishing touches, a pony with a hood over their head entered from the darkness outside. "Hi! Wow. Your timing is incredible. I was just making the final touches of your cookies. Make yourself comfortable, Sandstone." As soon as he said this, she pulled her hood off. "I take it that you've read your sister's diary?" she asked. Jollybaker realized he let slip that he knew her name, and seized the opportunity to ask her about his sister. "Why did you lie about knowing my sister?" "Well, technically, I didn't lie. I'm not Sandstone. I'm her slightly younger twin sister, Siltstone. As you already know, our sisters knew each other two and a half years ago. But what you read in your sister's diary was only part of the story. Back then, the earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi were indeed starting to fight amongst each other. You're sister, Harmony, my sister, Sandstone, and a unicorn, I'm sure you met, called Appleworm tried to keep them from falling apart because they knew that the continued arguing would cause the magic of friendship to fail and with it every other kind of magic in Equestria." Siltstone sat there, waiting for Jollybaker to say something. "But what happened to Harmony and Sandstone?" he finally asked. "And If you didn't know my sister, then how do you know all this?" This made Siltstone look sad as she answered. "I arrived two years ago after our sisters were gone. Appleworm told me the story since he knew who I was. He was supposed to get married to my sister, which is why I came, but there was no wedding to be had. He said that all magic has failed and that Sandstone had just left with a friend to look for help. He gave me a letter from my sister that said they'll be back in a couple hours. They never showed up. I had already bought a muffin for my sister and each day that passed, I would sit there with it, hoping one day she would show up." She waited again for Jollybaker to say something, but since he didn't, she continued. "I told you, when we first met earlier today, that I haven't seen her in years. That's because I have been pretending to be my sister around others because I didn't want them to know my sister left. And as for that letter, I sent it. I read your sister's diary and found out about you about two months ago. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to your sister's real letter but you obviously didn't get it." As soon as she finished, she grabbed her cookies and put her hood back over her head. Right before she opened the door, she looked at Jollybaker. "You best get some rest. You're going to need it. All ponies, including the pegasi, here in Equestria are different than where you come from, wherever that may be. This time, I leave you for good until you can find a way to get the ponies to trust each other again, and restore magic to Equestria. And I have to tell you, Appleworm will not enter this place anymore. It is too painful for him since my sister left. I hope you do our sisters proud." And with her last words, she left. Jollybaker went to bed with Siltstone's story on his mind. He dreamt of when he was little, baking cookies with his sister.
Chapter 7"Do you have to go?" said a young Jollybaker. His sister looked at him. "Of course I do! If I want to expand my bakery, I have to go." "But why can't I go with you?" His sister sighed and said, "Don't worry. I'll be back to visit soon. With possibly some good news, okay?" "But I can't do this without you." Jollybaker grabbed his sister's hoof. "Of course you can. Stay jolly and you can spread love to any pony that comes in. Promise me you will always keep baking, okay?" His sister gave him a hug and started flying away. Jollybaker started running after her. He got to a cliff and tried to fly after her but his wings weren't working. He started falling into darkness. He started screaming at the top of his lungs. "No! Big sis! Heeelp!" Jollybaker woke up screaming. He looked around to figure out where he was. He was back in his sister's bakery. He got up and looked out the window. The warm sun shone down on him. He looked down at the streets below. He could see ponies wondering around. Just then, he got an idea. He was going to go to the Pegasi and see if he could get any of them to join him to spread happiness and forgiveness. He got ready and set out for Cloudsdale. If he was going to get them together, what better place to start than among the other pegasi.
Chapter 9When Jollybaker got back to Ponyville and went across the bridge, he called out to Appleworm. "Hey, Appleworm! Are you here?" No answer. He looked around. He saw a letter pinned to a tree. To whoever comes here. Please walk across the bridge and don't try to fly or use magic to cross. If you don't heed this warning, you will fall to your death. - Honest Appleworm P.S. If your name is Jollybaker or Siltstone, leave a note. I will see you in 2 days when I get back. Went to the Apple Farm to check on my apple trees. "Well, I guess tomorrow I will have to try the earth ponies." He went to the bakery and started to bake some cookies for the customers the next day.
Chapter 11The next morning came sooner than expected and Jollybaker was still half asleep when Appleworm came walking in the door. "Are you ready to go?" Appleworm asked as soon as he entered. "Yeah." "Then let's go. We have a ten hour journey ahead of us to get to Canterlot." They headed out the door and followed the road to the right of the bakery. Three hours into their journey, Jollybaker started to ask questions. "Why don't you like Ponyville?" At first, he thought Appleworm didn't hear him or just didn't want to answer. But then he started to talk. "Isn't it obvious? I don't like it because it's where I found the only pony that really liked me. She left and never came back." "Then why did you stay? You said they had you there to keep ponies from falling to their death but they could have found anypony to do it." "I know I did but that wasn't the whole truth. I actually asked to do it because I believe she will one day make it back and I want to be the first one to greet her back." As Jollybaker thought about this, Appleworm stopped and Jollybaker ran into him. "What was that?" He asked. Jollybaker didn't know what he was talking about. "What was what?" As he said this, he noticed a white blur coming back towards them. "Stay here while I go check it out." Jollybaker did as he was told. Then he started to hear a familiar voice but it wasn't Appleworm.
Chapter 12"Hey, I don't want any trouble!"said the voice. "Go away!" hollered Appleworm. Jollybaker ran to see who it was. He immediately recognized Sonic's big wings. He got between the two. "It's okay Appleworm. He's my friend, Sonic Boom. He's fine. He's the one that taught me how to fly without magic." Appleworm looked at one, then the other. "Fine. Find out what he wants." Jollybaker turned toward Sonic, who was still ready to attack Appleworm if he came towards him. "It's okay Sonic. What are you doing here?" Sonic landed and sat down in front of Jollybaker. "Well, I heard you was going to Canterlot and I wanted to go with you." Appleworm didn't like this. "Excuse us,"he told Sonic before whispering to Jollybaker. "No way. It's bad enough I'm taking one pegasus with me. If too many of them found out that unicorns can't use magic on them, then they will come and steal everything we have." "He wouldn't do that. I trust him. From what I seen yesterday, I believe he's loyal enough to be trusted." Appleworm sighed and turned back towards Sonic. "Fine. You can come with us. But no flying around. You have to walk in front of me so I can keep a close eye on you." "Okay. I understand. I'm so spectacular that you want to keep your eyes on me." This pegasus obviously irritated Appleworm but he didn't say another word as the three ponies continued on their journey to Canterlot.
Chapter 15They followed her into the room and it was so shiny, it looked as if it was made of gold. There was a red velvet rug leading from the front door, all the way to the throne. Jollybaker couldn't believe his eyes. "Where is everyone?" He asked. "Oh. This room hasn't been used for years. There are no alicorns left to rule since the magic went oohoo." Diamond made a crazy look when she said this, and laughed. They followed her to the front door and heard guards outside. "Wait. We go outside. We'll be spotted," said Jollybaker. "Oh. That's right. You'll be locked up again if you're spotted. I'll go outside and distract the guards so you can sneak past." She heads outside. "Hello, guards." They look at her with a big smile while Jollybaker and Sonic sneak past. "Oh. Hey Blue Diamond. What were you doing in there? You wasn't talking with the prisoners, were you?" One asks suspiciously. "Who? Me? Of course not. I learned my lesson last time." "Uh-huh. Sure you did. You know, as your brother and leader of the guards, I have to look after you. If you were caught talking with the prisoners again, I would be held personally responsible. Do you understand?" He says sternly. "Uh-huh. Yup." She distractedly says. She is too busy watching her new friends sneak away. "What are you staring at?" He says and starts to turn around. This made Blue Diamond focused on what she was supposed to be doing and makes her brother, Keyward, look back at her. "Nothing! Well, I've gotta run. Lot of diamonds to make into jewelry. Byeee!" She waves and goes to meet her friends. Keyward sighs and says, "My sister and her strange hobbies. Am I right, Locker?" He looks over at the other guard, who is sleeping, and sighs again while shaking his head. Meanwhile, Jollybaker and Sonic has managed to find a good hiding place when Blue Diamond comes to meet them. "So how are you going to get us to Appleworm and get us all out of here?" asks Jollybaker. "Appleworm is right behind you. But I don't know how we're going to get Applehorse." The two pegasi looks behind them and sees their friend Appleworm standing there. "For the last time, there is no Applehorse!" He says. "Are you sure about that?" She says strangely. Appleworm sighs and looks at his pegasi friends. "I'm sorry for what I said before. I really am." Sonic gives him a hug and says, "Hey. It's okay. I understand that it's probably hard for you." Jollybaker looks at them and says, "That's great. Now let's get out of here before someone finds us! Blue Diamond. You do know a way to get out of here, right?" She laughs nervously. "Of course I do." They all stare at her. "Kind of." She looks down at the ground to avoid their stares. "Okay, I don't. Sorry." Jollybaker feels extremely annoyed by her so he let's out a sigh while shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Appleworm gets in front of them. "Come on. I think this is the way out of town. But Jollybaker. Are you sure you want to leave? You never accomplished anything you set out to do." "I'm sure. There's no hope to help these unicorns. Let's just go." He says and nudges Appleworm to lead the way. "Okay. If you want to. Just follow me," says Appleworm and starts leading them out of town. Sneaking around in the alleys and backroads, they manage to find their way out of town and on their way back to Ponyville.
Chapter 16When he started to remember the way, Jollybaker started to leave the others behind. Appleworm, who was the one to keep up the best, shouted out to him. "Hey, Jolly! What's the rush? I think we're safe now!" Him and the others were getting tired trying to keep up. Jollybaker stopped and flipped around to face Appleworm. Jollybaker had a very frustrated look on his face. "It was a total waste of time! All of it!" Appleworm sighed. "Look, Jolly. I know what it feels like to not accomplish what you want to accomplish. It's okay if you don't succeed at first. You just have to keep trying." "NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! None of you do. I was never supposed to be doing this. I was supposed to be running a bakery with my sister." He started walking away again. Sonic managed to get right in front of him with his wings. "That's no way to talk to the friends trying to help, you know. Now apologize." Sonic had a look none had seen him with before. Jollybaker looked at him with the same look. "Don't get in my way. I'm done. Just go home to your untrusting mom." Jollybaker went around him and continued on his way, leaving his friends with hurt faces. All but Blue Diamond. She continued to follow him. "Hey! Wait for me!" Jollybaker shrugged and looked at her. "What? Why don't you go back to Canterlot? Your brother will be looking for you." She didn't listen and continued to follow him with a confused look. "But why? You're my new friend." They had just entered Ponyville and were heading to the bakery. "No you're not. I don't know you. I have to go find my sister. Goodbye forever." He entered the bakery and closed the door in her face. "Well that was rude." She started knocking on the door. "Hey! Open up! Maybe I can help you? Hello?" She sat there at the door and waited for him to open it until dark. He never did, so she left with a disappointed look on her face.
Chapter 1Once there was a Pegasus named Golden Jollybaker, and he lived with his sister, Harmony Flavorcake, in the clouds. He loved doing everything with her. One day, she came home feeling sad for some reason. "What's wrong big sis? You seem sad," he said. "Oh nothing I can't handle. Just go read your book, okay?" "But you were supposed to play with me. You promised." He looked up at her with disappointed eyes, hoping she would change her mind. "Sorry, maybe later." He hated seeing her like this. He then had an idea that maybe if he baked her some cookies, she would cheer up. He snuck into the kitchen and started to bake. He put ingredients together that normally didn't go in cookies. He didn't know how to use a mixer, so instead he mixed the batter up with his hooves. He then put it in the microwave because he wasn't allowed to use the oven without his sister's permission. Half an hour later, he took them out. He scooped one up and offered it to his sister. "What's this?" she asked before trying it. "Wow, you made this?" She then ate the rest and said, "Thanks. I feel much happier n..." Just then, she noticed something on her brother's flank. It was a cutie mark. It appeared without him even noticing. It was a book with a cookie on it with hearts and musical notes above it. He looked back to see what she was staring at. He gasped and said, "No way! I got my cutie mark!" This made him so happy that he made cookies for her every day that they were together.
Chapter 4As soon as he entered town, Jollybaker looked around to see if he could see his sister out anywhere. He seen earth ponies everywhere but no pegasi. He approached one sitting at a table, staring at a muffin. "Hi! I'm Golden Jollybaker! Do you know where the new bakery is?" The pony looked up from her muffin. She was gray with a long straight black mane and short black tail. Her cutie mark was being hidden by her tail. "There are no new bakeries," she said flatly. "Do you know where Harmony Flavorcake is?" "I don't know any pony by that name." Jolly found this odd, so he decided to try to describe his sister to her."Well, she's a Pegasus. She is pink with big purple wings and-" "I haven't seen any pony like that for years," the strange pony interrupted. Jollybaker pulled out the letter he received. "But she wrote me this letter. She said she opened up a new bakery and wanted me to work with her," he said desperately. "Well, I'm sorry but I can't help you. There are no new bakeries. The last new bakery that was opened has been deserted for two and a half years." Jollybaker couldn't believe it. Was this pony just messing with him? He decided to just go check this bakery out to see if it was the place he was looking for. "Could you show me where it was?" he asked, hoping it wasn't his sister's. The pony got up from her seat and started to walk away. "Sure. Follow me." Jolly looked at the single muffin on the table. "Hey. What about your muffin?" She stopped and looked at him. "That's not my muffin." "Oh. Can I have it?"he asked. He still felt hungry. "Sure." Jollybaker picked it up and stuffed it all in his mouth. He immediately spit it back out. "Yuck! What kind of muffin is that?" "Old." "Old?" he asked, while trying to scrape the taste out of his mouth. "It has been there for quite awhile." "Eww. Why would you say I could have it then?" "Because you wanted it." "Yes. But why didn't you say it was old before I ate it?" he could still taste it. "Because you didn't ask. Now please. Follow me." She started walking down the street. He followed. He looked at all the ponies as he went. They all looked scared and acted like they didn't like him for some reason. The two ponies arrived at a small, red building with a sign on it that had a picture that looked just like his sister's cutie mark. This was definitely the place he was looking for but why was it closed? The pony looked at him and said, "Here is the place. I will leave you here, as the other ponies don't like me talking to other types of ponies. They think you can't be trusted. I will be back later to get some cookies." She walked away. "How did she know I made cookies?" he wondered before going inside his sister's old bakery.
Chapter 8He arrived at an open field and looked up. "Okay. I can do this." He breathed in and out before jumping up off the ground. He began flapping his wings. "I'm doing it. I'm doing it!" He then started to fall back towards the ground. He ended up falling face first into the ground. "Ouch." He tried it again and again. Each time he did, he would end up with the same result. He sighed and said, "It's okay. I'll just have to keep trying until I can get it right." Then he heard somepony laughing at him. "You know. You're not going anywhere like that!" Jollybaker looked up. A pegasus was hovering above him. He was white with giant white wings, a cool fiery mane and long fiery tail."Name's Sonic Boom. I know what you're thinking and yes, I am spectacular." "Hi, Sonic. I'm Golden Jollybaker! How are you...." "Flying? Simple. I spread my wings out big and wide to make them more...uh.. ..breezy." "Ohh. Okay." Jollybaker tried to fly up off the ground using this technique. This time, he stayed in the air. "Wow. It feels great to use my wings again. Thanks, Sonic." Then there was a voice from behind him that made Sonic look frightened. "What are you doing, Sonic?" Jollybaker looked around to see who it was. She was a white pegasus just like Sonic but with a long white mane and tail. "You know you're not supposed to show outsiders how to fly, especially when they come from Ponyville. Do you not remember what happened last time you did that? We ended up with a certain pegasus trying to trick us into trusting those ridiculous earth ponies." "But mom! There's nothing wrong with them!" said Sonic. "Go to your cloud and think of what you've done!" she said sternly. "But..." "Now!" she said angrily. Sonic did what he was told and flew away. Then Sonic's mom looked at Jollybaker. "And as for you, go back to where you came from. You're not welcome in Cloudsdale. I will not hesitate to lock you up if you so much as enter one wing into my town." She then flew off before he had a chance to say a single word. "Well that went badly. I thought for sure they would like me, but other than Sonic, they seem to not trust anypony but the citizens of Cloudsdale. At least I know how to fly without magic now. It wasn't a complete waste of time. Maybe I'll have more luck with the unicorns." Jollybaker had no choice but to head back to Ponyville. He will have to go see Appleworm and ask him where the unicorns live.
Chapter 10By the next morning, Jollybaker had made so many cookies that he could give every pony in Equestria a free sample. He grabbed a plate of them and headed out the door. He looked around and started to get really excited. There were ponies out everywhere this morning. "Good morning everypony! Would you like to have a free cookie sample this fine morning?" He looked around and none of them came walking up. He decided to head around town to advertise. He walked to a pony that was sitting at a table. "Excuse me. Would you like to have a free cookie sample?" No sooner had he said this, the pony got up and ran away screaming. He thought this behavior was kind of weird. He went into a coffee shop next. He then spoke to everypony in there. "Can I interest any of you to try one of my delicious, happy-making cookies?" Again, everypony went running out of the place. Just then, the owner came out. "Hey! No pegasi allowed! I can't have you scaring my customers away! It's bad for business! Now get out and don't come back!" Jollybaker took off out the door. He immediately ran back to the bakery and shut the door. "Why are they all scared of me? I did nothing wrong." "It's because you're a pegasus." He turned around and seen Appleworm sitting there. "Appleworm? You're early. I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow." "I got back early." "How were your apples?" Appleworm looked right at him and said, "There were no apples. A group of earth ponies went and swiped them all before I got there." "That's terrible. Why would they do that?" "You seriously haven't figured it out yet? Well let me spell it out for you. Here in Equestria, earth ponies hate unicorns, unicorns hate pegasus, and pegasus hate earth ponies. That's why most earth ponies are scared of pegasus, pegasus are scared of unicorns, and most unicorns are scared of earth ponies." "Speaking of unicorns, can you show me where they live?" "And why would I do that?" "Well, I am trying to get every pony together but I haven't had any luck with the pegasus and earth ponies." "Well, I think it'll be a waste of time, but I guess I can. We leave in the morning. Don't be late. I have to go tell them that the earth ponies have taken all the apples, anyway. It's a long way to Canterlot so you better rest up." He started out the door. "Where are you going? You could spend the night here." Appleworm looked at him. "I hate this place. You're lucky I even came here to see you." After he left, Jollybaker went straight to bed. He definitely didn't want to be late. He looked at the picture before turning off the lights. "Well, I'm trying, sis. Maybe when I get to Canterlot, things will go better with the unicorns."
Chapter 13The three ponies were just an hour away before any of them spoke another word. Sonic was the first. "So, why exactly are you going to Canterlot?" "Well, I'm going to be trying to make peace with them, and Appleworm..." "Thinks it's a waste of time because the earth ponies stole all of my apples," interrupted Appleworm. Sonic found this confusing. "But aren't you related to an earth pony?" "Yes, but I don't have any earth pony left that actually cares about me or my ancestors. You know they actually believe that I had something to do with the disappearance of Sandstone? That's one reason why I don't want anything to do with them. At least until she comes back, which I am starting to think is never going to happen." Jollybaker, who was just listening to these two talk, suddenly heard talking among the trees. "But why did she leave in the first place?" asked Sonic. "Because she wouldn't mind her own business and ended up leaving. And to help a pegasus, of all things!" "You're helping a pegasus though." Just then, Jollybaker spoke up. "Hey. I think we're being watched." They didn't hear him. They started to get louder. "Yeah. I'm only helping enough to not let her down!" Jollybaker tried to get their attention again. "I think we should be a little quieter. Something isn't right," he said. The voices in the trees started to get more concerning for him. They again didn't hear him. "If you actually wanted to not let her down, you would help more." "I have helped more! It did no good! SHE IS STILL GONE! WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE? I HATE PEGASI!" That's when Jollybaker got between them. "Stop fighting! There's..." The rest of Jollybaker's words were drowned out. For at that moment, a whole army of unicorns jumped out and attacked them. Everything went dark.
Chapter 14Jollybaker woke up on a dark, cold stone floor. He put his hoof up on his head and shook his head. "What happened?" he said. He got up and looked around. He appeared to be in a dungeon of some sort. He saw Sonic sitting at a dungeon door but Appleworm was nowhere to be seen. "Sonic? Where's Appleworm?" Sonic looked over at him. "Oh! Jollybaker! Are you feeling ok?" He looked at himself and said, "Yeah. I'm okay. Are you?" "Yeah, but Appleworm won't be." Jollybaker was confused by this. "What do you mean?" "The other unicorns are going to banish him for bringing pegasi here to Canterlot, and for keeping all of the apples for the earth ponies." "No. They can't do that. We've got to get out of here to help him." Jollybaker looked around for anything that he could use to get out. "Help who?" Jollybaker looked over at him. "Seriously? You forgot who we were just talking about?" "That wasn't me." "Hey! Over here!" They looked at the door. They saw a girl unicorn standing there outside the door. She was blue with a rather poofy mane and long frizzy tail. "Hi! I'm Blue Diamond!" Sonic looked at her, clearly not sure what to say to this rather beautiful unicorn. "Blue Diamond? Can you get the door unlocked for us?" asked Jollybaker. She looked at the lock. "Hmm. Of course. Just give me a minute." She pulled out a diamond and used her hoof to break it into a key shape. Then she unlocked it. The two pegasi just looked at her, surprised. "What?" she asked. "Oh. Nothing. It's just that, you could have just used the key hanging over there on the wall." Jollybaker said as he pointed his hoof towards the opposite wall. She looked at it. "Oh. Sorry. Do you want me to lock it back and unlock it with the key?" Jollybaker was a little annoyed by the question. "No. Let's just go. We need to help Appleworm." "Who's Applehorse?" Jollybaker shrugs. "Appleworm! And he's a unicorn that is about to be banished!" "Ohh. Right. I know where he is! Follow me!" Blue Diamond took off running down the hall. Sonic followed, keeping his eyes glued on her without saying a word. Jollybaker however, just followed her. He knew not to give this unicorn any cookies. If he had, she would probably explode with happiness. The two pegasi followed this strange unicorn all the way to the exit of the long, dark, cold and creepy dungeon. "So glad there weren't any spiders in there. I do not like spiders." said Blue Diamond. Jollybaker started to ask questions. "So, why are you helping us to escape?" "I was bored, and I don't think you should be locked up for something you didn't do." She answered. They continued through the hallway to double giant red doors. "You do know that we're pegasi, right?" asked Sonic. "I have no reason to hate you," she answered while bouncing through the doors into a giant throne room.
Chapter 17Weeks passed and Jollybaker stayed inside the bakery alone. One day, he heard a knock on the door. He only ignored it. After a while he got tired of it and started screaming at the door. "Go away!" Siltstone's voice came from the other side. "It's me! Can you open up?" "Are you alone?" After a moment, she finally answered, "Well, there are a few others here that want to see you too." Jollybaker shrugged. "Fine," he said. Then he opened the door. "What?" Appleworm was the first to answer. "We're worried about you, Jolly. You have not left in weeks." "I've been packing. I'm leaving." He showed them a little satchel full of things he needed. They all looked in shock. "But you're the first friend some of us have had in a long time. You can't leave. I really didn't think you was serious about it," said Blue Diamond. "I'm not worthy of being your friend, okay? I failed to do what I was asked." He left the door open for them to come in as he sat down at a table and put his face down on it. It was Sonic's turn to talk next. "Hey. What happened to the pegasus I met in that field? He would never give up on anything, no matter how many times he failed." Jollybaker looked at him, his head still on the table. "He realized it is best to give up, than to keep failing and waste everypony's time." Siltstone was the one that spoke up to this. "And you think this sulking around won't waste time? I've wasted years waiting for my sister to get back. I don't want you to do the same thing." "Which is why I am leaving. Probably for good. I have to find out what happened to my sister." Jollybaker got up and put his sister's diary in his satchel, ready to leave. "You can't just leave. We're your friends, whether you like it or not. Where you go, we go," said Sonic, who was just as loyal as ever. Jollybaker looked at him, actually feeling a little better. "So you all are going with me? After all I put you through?" "Of course we are. And together, we're sure to find out what happened to your sister." "And you all feel this way?" All of them nodded in agreement. Jollybaker gave them all a big group hug. "Thanks. You're all amazing friends. I don't know how long it will take or how dangerous it will be but I am glad you all will be with me. In a way, I didn't fail after all. I did manage to bring all of us together." And with that, they all left Ponyville together, full of hope and determination that they will be reunited one day with their one mutual friend, Harmony Flavorcake.
EpilogueHundreds of miles away from Jollybaker and his friends, Harmony Flavorcake was locked up in a cage. "Let me go! Why are you doing this? I told you I am not an alicorn." A mysterious figure in the shadows spoke to her. "Maybe not you, but your brother will soon be. His friends will help him unlock his true power one day. My spy will make sure of that." The mysterious figure leaves Harmony alone, laughing evilly. Harmony sits there crying and looks up at the night sky. "Wherever you are Golden, I really hope you are safe."
