A Fizzling Hope

Chapter 5: Home on the Range

CRACK!!!

Thunka-thunka-thunka-thud!!

The now very familiar sound of apples thudding into buckets was as comforting as ever. Hearing that sound repeatedly on a daily basis gave Fizzle a definite sense of security. After the chaos and randomness of his first few waking days, Fizzle was glad to finally have some sort of regularity in his life. The simple farm work helped him forget about his nagging gut feelings and worries he had about the future. The work just was, and he just did.

Of course, his work had been interrupted quite a few times since his sickness. True to her word, Lilly came out once every hour on the hour to give him a cool glass of water and ask how he was feeling. Even though it was now the third day since his recovery and he knew that he’d been fully recovered for a while now, he still appreciated the gesture. It was nice having a way to keep track of time and the hydration definitely made the work more comfortable.

Poor Lilly was still beside herself with confusion though. Sure enough, Fizzle had bucked his way through another row of apple trees the very day after he collapsed, and this time had still been conscious to put all the apples away. Lilly’s glasses of water were certainly what made the difference, and even though Fizzle would never admit it out loud he hadn’t really been at full strength yet. But his determination outlasted his body’s physical weakness, and the day after his triumphant return he finished his row early, giving him time to do a few extra chores around the house. And now it was the fourth day of work. Fizzle lifted the rim of his hat and wiped his brow as he moved to the next tree.

Oh yeah, Lilly gave him an awesome hat yesterday. It was woven from straw and looked almost exactly like Farmer Greene’s, except newer. Fizzle had been beside himself with glee at the gift and wore it proudly, still fiercely determined to pay off his debt through unrelenting hard work. As his hooves connected with the trunk of the tree in the middle of the row, Fizzle heard a set of approaching hoofsteps. Expecting to see Lilly again with a glass of water, he was surprised when Farmer Greene trotted up instead.

Fizzle hadn’t seen much of Farmer Greene over the last few days. Sure, he saw him at every meal and before bed, but while he worked the west field bordering the dense forest Farmer Greene was out in the south field, doing much of the same work Fizzle assumed. And Farmer Greene almost always seemed exhausted at the end of the day. Fizzle always wondered to himself if he was working too hard, but kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t his place to pry, after all.

“Land’s sake, Fizzle!” he called as he trotted up. “Y’all are gettin’ real fast! Looks like y’all will be done early yet again!”

“Yep!” Fizzle responded happily, placing the last of the stray apples in the buckets. “I should have time for some extra chores today as well.”

Farmer Greene chuckled and shook his head. Oh, the joys of being young and strong… “Fizzle m’boy, it’s jest fine ‘n dandy that y’all wanna help out so much, but ya remember that tomorrow is market day, yes?”

Fizzle looked thoughtful before smiling and nodding, falling into step besides the farmer as they both headed to the farmhouse for lunch. That would certainly explain the amount of baking Lilly’s been doing recently. “Oh yeah! I remember now. Tomorrow’s the day that we get to sell all these apples and treats for tons of money!!” he said excitedly, springing into the air slightly as he finished his sentence. Farmer Greene looked away for a moment, but Fizzle didn’t notice his hesitance.

“Eh… yes we shore will. But tha’s why ah want ya ter take it easy once yer done with that there row today. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long ‘un, an’ ah want ya in tip-top shape, y’hear?”

Fizzle paused to salute smartly. “Yes sir, mister Greene, sir!” The two ponies burst into laughter at Fizzle’s antics, and as they approached the farmhouse they were still chuckling to each other. Lilly looked up from setting the table with an amused glint in her eye.

“An’ jest what’s so funny it’s got all the stallions ‘round here gigglin’ like a gaggle o’ schoolfillies??” she inquired.

Farmer Greene chuckled yet again. “Oh, it’s nothin’ dearest. Fizzle’s jest remindin’ me o’ how wonderful it is ta be young.” Lilly’s gaze softened and the two elder ponies shared a look that spoke more than words ever could. It was a look that contained more than thirty years of memories for the both of them. Fizzle was too busy being excited over market day to notice.

“Oh boy, oh boy! I can’t wait to head into town and see all kinds of different ponies! I haven’t really been to a major population center since I woke up in that field, you know. I can’t wait! And we get to finally sell all those apples and get tons of money! Isn’t that right? Aren’t you excited??”

Farmer Greene and Lilly exchanged a concerned glance before Lilly spoke up. “Er…yes…o’ course dearie, we’re more than ready ta…make some money…” she said cautiously, putting an undue amount of stress on the word “some.” Fizzle finally managed to pick up on their reluctance and gave them a confused look.

“Hmm? Is there something wrong? You don’t seem too excited. But then again, I’ll bet even making a bunch of money gets boring after the hundredth time…hmm perhaps we should try and do something else while we’re in town too? Oh boy, apple pie! My favorite!” Fizzle’s attempts to cheer the elderly couple up ground to a screeching halt as Lilly placed food on the table.

The ponies ate in silence for the most part, except for Fizzle who was busy complimenting Lilly’s cooking every other bite. Finally, when the food was almost gone, Farmer Greene spoke up. “Fizzle, ah think there’s somethin’ we should be tellin’ ya ‘bout market day…” he began slowly. Fizzle looked up from his fourth slice of pie in confusion, but said nothing, opting to chew instead.

“Son, th’ truth is we ain’t done too good with business over th’ past few years.” Fizzle’s eyes widened but Farmer Greene pressed on. “It all began when another farm started up ‘bout ten years past. It used ta be too far away from Baltimare proper ta be an issue, but recent advances in tech…ner…lolgy have made it easier ta transport produce around.” The farmer stumbled a bit over what was obviously an unfamiliar term to him, but continued regardless.

“And so, fer some reason ponies have started ta buy their apples from that farm rather than ours, an’ we’ve been losin’ customers ever since.”

Fizzle’s face was a mix between horror and anger as he replied. “That’s…that’s horrible!! How can they not want to buy these apples! They’re delicious! I can vouch for them myself!”

“Ponies jest don’ appreciate down-ta-earth, hoof-grown apples like they used ter,” Lilly replied sadly. “We’ve even tasted them apples an’ there’s definitely somethin’…off…’bout ‘em. Must be somethin’ they put in th’ soil ta make ‘em taste sweeter. Hmph, if ah ever meet th’ pony who came up with such a ridiculous idea ah’d give ‘em a piece o’ mah mind…” Lilly finished with a hint of anger in her voice.

Farmer Greene’s eyes flashed as well as he spoke up. “Exactly, ah reckon we both would. But anyways Fizzle, we’re tellin’ ya this jest so ya know what our situation is, an’ ta keep ya from accidentally scarin’ off what few customers we’ll git tomorrow. We need ya ta be on yer best behavior, ya understand?”

Fizzle nodded animatedly. “You can count on me sir! I won’t let you down!” The elderly ponies brightened at Fizzle’s enthusiasm.

“Well glad ta hear it! Now, ah think you an’ me both have some apple-buckin’ ta finish. Let’s git to it!” Fizzle nodded his assent and the two stallions trotted off into the fields as Lilly began to clear the table. As Fizzle returned to his trees, his brain was working overtime. How could ponies not want these apples? It didn’t make sense! Fizzle was angry and confused over how some group of dishonest ponies were putting poor Farmer Greene and Lilly out of business with their sleazy, underhanded tactics. But despite his passion, Fizzle couldn’t think of any ideas to help increase sales.

As Fizzle angrily bucked his tree with a loud CRACK!! he felt a familiar feeling return to him. It was like an itchiness in the hooves and a fluttering in the stomach and a restlessness in the brain. It was that feeling that told him to DO something. It was the feeling that he had followed that entire first day after waking up in that field. That feeling that guided him to do things he didn’t understand.

Fizzle forced the feeling to the back of his mind. It wouldn’t go away, he knew that for certain, but Fizzle knew he would have free time later in the day. Right now, he had apples to buck.

And buck apples he most certainly did.

*****

Fizzle grunted with exertion as he heaved the last bucket of apples out of the wagon. It landed on the ground with a dull *THUD*. Fizzle panted slightly from the exertion before dragging the final bucket down into the cellar. As he reemerged, he kicked the door closed with his back hoof and breathed a sigh of relief. He was FINALLY done. Finishing all of his chores while ignoring the feeling was a lot harder than he thought it would be. By now, the feeling was so bad he thought he might tear himself apart.

Fizzle closed his eyes and began to relax. Now it was time to follow, and see what would come of it. Almost immediately, Fizzle’s hooves started moving him towards his wagon, which was now parked under the loft next to the farmhouse. Before he even knew it, Fizzle had a reed basket in his mouth and was heading off to the forest. ‘What in tarnation are you up to, body??’ he questioned. Deciding to do as he did before, Fizzle simply let it happen.

His curiosity only increased as he reached the edge of the forest and set the basket down. Suddenly, without warning, he planted his teeth on the closest tree trunk and, in one fluid motion, ripped a solid chunk of bark clean off. After spitting the bark out into the basket, Fizzle had to pause for a moment to consider what he was doing. First, that bark tasted absolutely awful, and yet the feeling was compelling him to do it again. Secondly, that had actually hurt a bit!! Fizzle really didn’t want to keep ripping bark off of the trees, but the feeling was still there, urging him on…

Fizzle couldn’t resist. The sensation of going along with the feeling was better than the pain and discomfort, and once he had ripped off twenty chunks or so of bark he was so wrapped up in the feeling he hardly even noticed the pain. Setting his basket down by his wagon, his hooves now carried him out to the well, where he filled up a bucket of water. Returning to the wagon, things only got stranger.

Using a bowl he borrowed from indoors, Fizzle smashed the pieces of bark into smaller chunks, going one at a time and carefully adding water as he went. Eventually, the bark/water mixture began to turn into a sort of paste. His confusion mounted as he began to mold the paste into different shapes. If he ran out of paste, he simply smashed up more bark and added more water.

Soon, Fizzle had used up all the bark and his hooves were covered in a light brown paste. He noted with some interest that the substance had already dried, leaving him feeling like he was wearing cardboard boots. Fizzle turned a critical eye to his creations. There were about ten or so tall, narrow cylindrical tubes that flared out at the bottom to make a square base. He noticed that they had a bottom, preventing him from looking through them. ‘What the hay are these for?’ he wondered to himself, before examining the rest of his creations.

There were about a hundred hollow half spheres strewn about the field around him, and about half as many squat cylinders that reminded him of petri dishes. Whatever a petri dish was. He had obviously just haphazardly tossed them a short distance away upon completion.

How long had he been working exactly? Glancing up at the sun, Fizzle guessed that it was about four in the afternoon. Good, he had some time before dinner. Again, Fizzle noted with interest that the spheres and disks could fit easily in the cylindrical tubes. Coincidence? Almost certainly not. Before Fizzle could contemplate the strangeness of his work further, the feeling was back. He wanted to go the wagon, he wanted to go so badly…

Fizzle put his hoof down now. He wasn’t going to descend completely into barbarism because of something his past self was remembering. He had made a mess, and he was going to clean it up. Grabbing the bowl, Fizzle managed to lurch his way to the stream that divided the north and west fields and attempted to wash up, gratefully noticing that the brown muck cleaned easily.

Heartened by his success at resisting the feeling, even if it was just for a little bit, Fizzle returned to the wagon and allowed it to take over again. Now, his hooves were digging through the stuff in his wagon and pulling out various materials he had collected. The green rocks. The yellow crystals. The blue chunks. Several sacks of the black powder. He grabbed almost everything he had, noticing that the gemstones were not included, and laid it out in front of him.

Grabbing the large rock he had scooped up on a whim that first day, he placed the smaller, colored rocks into a basket and started to smash them up into a fine powder. Soon, Fizzle had baskets of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, and black powders arranged neatly around him. Picking up one of the half spheres, Fizzle got to work.

He measured out a very careful amount of the black powder (which he knew from past experience was highly flammable) and poured it into the half sphere. He did the same for the yellow powder, but added a different amount. How he knew exactly how much to add he couldn’t really say, all he knew was that it felt right to do it that way. That excuse was getting pretty lame by now, he dryly noted.

Finally, he added a half hooffull of red powder and a pinch of green powder to the half sphere. Taking another nearby hemisphere, he fitted the two of them together and wet the edges with water, effectively sealing up the sphere. Grabbing one of the disks, he filled it with more of the black powder (fortunately he had a LOT of that) and a hooffull of the yellow powder and attached it to the sphere with some water.

Picking up a sharpened stick, he punched a hole through the disk  and into the sphere before threading a length of rope woven from grass through it. During his isolation in the forest, Fizzle had, out of sheer boredom and with some nudging from the feeling, done almost nothing but weave lengths of grass rope, and so had quite a bit of it.

He tore the rope such that there was about a foot of it sticking out of the sphere and considered what it was he had made. In all honesty, Fizzle had no idea what this thing was supposed to do, but before he had a chance to contemplate it further, the feeling kicked in again. Carefully placing the sphere aside, Fizzle returned to his work.

After making about ten of these spheres, Fizzle began to see patterns in what he was doing. Every sphere received the same amount of black powder and the same amount of yellow powder, but always more black than yellow in any given sphere. As for the other components however, the combinations and amounts seemed totally random. Orange and blue for this one. Red, green, and white in that one. Purple and orange here. Blue, white, and purple there. Once the powders were added, the spheres were sealed up with water, attached to a disk, and a length of grass rope was inserted.

As the sky began to change colors, signaling the eventual approach of dusk, Fizzle completed his work. Strewn about him now were ten cylindrical tubes, about fifty spheres with bases, and various piles of powder, baskets, and other random items from his wagon. An insistent rumble from his stomach reminded him of just how long he had been building these…things. And, Fizzle suddenly noticed with a start, the feeling was totally gone. Just like that. Odd indeed.

Fizzle got to his hooves with a sigh and began to pack up his things, starting with the raw materials. Just as he finished putting all of the random things away, he heard a voice calling his name.

“Fizzle!! Dinner!!!” Lilly’s voice sounded from the porch. Based on the volume of her voice, she clearly didn’t know he was so near. Fizzle’s stomach growled angrily again, so he happily left the tubes and spheres where they were and trotted over to the porch.

“I’m right here, Auntie,” he said as he rounded the corner. Lilly turned her head in surprise but smiled upon seeing him.

“Oh, there ya are dear. C’mon inside, supper’s on! Greenie’s already servin’ up.”

Fizzle eagerly served up his food and joined the elderly ponies at the table. They said a quick grace (which Fizzle didn’t really understand the point of but respectfully went along with it anyways) and then they all tucked in. As usual, the food was delicious. The three of them ate in silence before Lilly spoke up. “So, Fizzle, what have ya been up ter with yore free time? Seems like y’all were close at hoof jest now.”

Fizzle swallowed and considered what to say. He didn’t know? He was following a weird nagging feeling? Tools? What? The two farmers were looking at him curiously over their food, eager to know what he had found to occupy himself. Fizzle finally answered, “I was…working with stuff from my wagon.”

“Oh?” Farmer Greene interjected. “What kind o’ stuff exactly?”

Fizzle swallowed again, but this time not due to a mouthful of food. He considered lying for a moment, but upon looking at the two ponies who had taken him into their care without question, fed him, sheltered him, and cared for him, he instantly pushed the thought from his mind. It was time to come clean.

“I…I don’t really know what all of it is to be honest. And the things that I just did…I don’t really understand that either. I think I’m remembering things that I used to know before I woke up in that field.” The reaction from the elder ponies was not what he was expecting. He was expecting confusion at least, and maybe anger, but instead their faces lit up.

“Why, tha’s wonderful dear! Ah’m happy ta hear that y’all are startin’ ta git yore memories back, ah know from Cousin Juniper that havin’ amnesia is no fun at all, bless ‘er heart,” Lilly trilled excitedly. Farmer Greene looked equally excited.

“How’s ‘bout after supper we all head ‘round back ‘n take a looksee, hm? Maybe Lilly ‘n ah kin give ya some sort o’ idea what ya used ta do an’ where ya mighta come from.” Fizzle nodded happily at that idea.

“Yeah, ok! That seems like a good idea! I’ll give you fair warning though, whatever I made is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” he said dramatically before taking another bite of delicious apple pie.

Farmer Greene and Lilly simply chuckled. “Boy, me an’ Lilly have been all over Equestria in our days. We’ve seen all sorts o’ crazy contraptions ‘n doohickies ‘n whatchamacallits, as well as everythin’ in between! Whatever it is, there’s a good chance that one o’ us will remember it from somewhere.” Fizzle nodded excitedly but said nothing more, his attention now wholly returned to his meal.

Once supper was over, Lilly did the dishes while Fizzle put away the leftover food. Farmer Greene went out to do his nightly check of the farm, making sure that the animals were fed and locked up, the gates and cellar were locked, the hoses were off, and the house was mostly secured for the night. Upon his return he immediately found Fizzle.

“Alrighty, m’boy ah’m done with me rounds. Let’s see these ‘confangled doohickies’ o’ yers. Y’all said they were over by yer wagon?” Fizzle nodded and began to lead the way before a sudden thought struck him. As it is with every sudden thought that strikes him, Fizzle had no idea where it came from or how he knew such things, only that they ALWAYS made perfect sense. Somehow. If that makes any sense.

Noticing Fizzle’s lack of motion, Farmer Greene glanced at him with concern. Before he could voice his thoughts, however, Fizzle spoke up. “You wouldn’t happen to have any matches, would you?” he asked with a totally straight face. Farmer Greene glanced quizzically at Lilly, who matched his expression but wordlessly reentered the house to fetch the aforementioned matches.

Leading Farmer Greene around the corner of the farmhouse, Fizzle stepped forward and started to carefully scoop up some of the spheres and place them in his wagon. “Well? Seen anything like them?” he asked curiously.

Farmer Greene gingerly picked up one of the spheres and studied it intently. He rolled it around in his hooves, sniffed it, and tugged experimentally on the grass rope, but not firmly enough to dislodge it. Upon placing most of the spheres in baskets in his wagon, Fizzle grabbed an armful of the tubes and dumped those in as well.

“Hmm…cain’t say ah’ve ever seen somethin’ like this afore…” Farmer Greene said thoughtfully. “Although somethin’ ‘bout it smells familiar, ah just cain’t quite place it.” The sound of approaching hoofsteps brought the farmer out of his thoughtful reverie. “Ah, there ya are, Lilly. Tell me, does this thing smell familiar ter ya?”

Farmer Greene and Lilly traded objects and Lilly inspected the spherical object, also giving it a curious sniff. “Why, ah do believe it does Greenie pie. As fer what exactly it smells like, ah couldn’t tell ya.”

“Ah hear ya on that one, ah thought th’ same.” Farmer Greene chuckled suddenly at some unknown joke. “It’s been too long, hasn’t it dear?”

Lilly smiled knowingly, but the tired look in her eyes was unmistakable. “It certainly has, dear…” she said so quietly it was almost a whisper. Suddenly snapping her eyes onto Fizzle, she stepped forward and handed him the object. “Well, do ya have any idea what it does?” she inquired.

Fizzle rubbed the back of his head with a hoof before responding. “Um, yeah, I have a general idea…I think…” The quizzical looks he received prompted further explanation. “Here, hand me those matches and let me see if I can figure it out.” Farmer Greene promptly handed over the matches and watched as Fizzle grabbed one of the cardboard tubes as well and started walking away from the house.

When Fizzle was about ten paces from the house, he placed the cardboard tube firmly on the ground, making sure that the square base was flat and steadied. He then gently dropped the sphere into the tube, disk side down, noting with interest that the sphere just barely fit and slid slowly down the length of the tube. Finally, he grabbed the length of grass rope that was hanging out of the tube and readied a match.

Looking back at the two ponies standing near the house he called, “ready??” The two of them nodded, eager to see what exactly these things did. Fizzle lit the match and held it up to the end of the grass rope. The dry grass caught almost immediately, and Fizzle watched as the tiny flare traveled eagerly along the rope, leaving a twisted blackened length in its wake and emitting a faint hissing sound. Something in the back of Fizzle’s mind told him to run, so he shook his head to extinguish the match, tossed it to the side, and ran back to the house.

The three of them stared intently at the tube as the flare reached the top of the tube and then disappeared inside. A few more seconds passed before Lilly spoke up. “Um, dear, is that wha’s s’posed ta…”

FWOOMPH.

Lilly was abruptly cut off by a loud sound as the tube flared and something shot up into the air. The two elder ponies let out involuntary exclamations of alarm but their eyes continued to follow the object as it climbed higher into the sky, and higher still, and higher still…

BOOM!!!

All three ponies screamed as a massive green explosion lit up the night sky above the farmhouse, accompanied by an earth-shattering BOOM that all of them could feel in their chests. As the echo slowly began to die away, and the glittering green stars continued to fall Fizzle let out a cheer of excitement. “All right!! That was AWESOME!! I remember what those things do now, haha yeah woohoo!!!”

Fizzle’s happy shouts started to die off as he noticed the frightened looks the elder ponies were giving him. His smile slowly faded to be replaced with a confused look. “Is there something wrong?” he inquired.

Farmer Greene finally found his voice. “Fizzle…that there smell…ah think ah remember what it is now…” He pointed an accusing hoof at the wagon and said, “Fizzle, them contraptions are filled with gunpowder!”

“But of course they are,” Fizzle said, looking more and more confused. “In two places actually. The initial ignition chamber contains a mix of charcoal laced with nitrates, which can be dug up fairly easily or made from grinding up burnt wood, that’s the black powder, and yellow powdered sulfur, which can be found as yellow crystals and are often mistaken for gemstones and then pitched once anypony takes a good whiff.  The actual shell contains those as well as various powdered metallic minerals to give color and shape to the explosion. How else does one go about making fireworks? I AM a professional pyrotechnic, you know.”

Fizzle paused to wait for an answer, but when none was forthcoming he instead took the time to process what he had actually just said. “And…I have absolutely no idea how I know all of that,” he finished, looking even more confused.

Lilly finally spoke up, and Fizzle was relieved to see that she looked considerably more relaxed. “Well dear, it’s obvious that y’all are remembering things ya once knew. As fer how ya know such things, ah haven’t th’ foggiest. Ah ain’t never seen such a…doohickey…afore, an’ so ah have no idea where other ponies who know these things might live. After all, somepony probably taught ya, right?”

Fizzle considered that for a moment. “Yes, I suppose so…but I don’t remember anything about being taught…” Fizzle finished with a sigh.

“Oh, cheer up dearie,” Lilly said reassuringly. “Ah’m shore yer memories will return ta ya in time. If Cousin Juniper is any example, it takes time ta get back ta normal, but it happens eventually.” Fizzle nodded, but looked quite a bit happier.

“Y’know dear,” Farmer Greene suddenly spoke up. “These firework thingies, they’re kinda…exhilaratin’. Wouldn’cha say so?”

Lilly paused to consider this. “Well…ah s’pose so…ah cain’t rightly remember th’ last time mah heart raced quite that fast…”

“Yeah, mine too…” Farmer Greene said thoughtfully. “Truthfully, it was actually…kinda…fun,” he concluded, giving Fizzle a sudden devious grin that lit up his entire face.

“Fizzle m’boy, pack up as many o’ those firework thingies as ya can in that wagon o’ yers. Tomorrow we’re gonna make a bit o’ a splash fer market day…”

*****

Fizzle couldn’t keep his jaw shut if he tried. Baltimare was amazing! He had never seen anything like it!! From the moment the towering buildings came into view over the horizon, Fizzle had been in awe of the pony metropolis. As he walked along the dusty, dirty road, wagon of fireworks in tow, he gawked at the shiny, glossy monoliths around him. Looking up, it was almost like the ground was reaching up to touch the sky.

And that was just the buildings! There were so many ponies walking around, Fizzle had never in his living memory seen so many in one place! The first few he had seen on the outskirts of the city, heading out of town for some reason or another. Fizzle had cheerily waved and said “hi!” to everypony who walked by, but after Farmer Greene and Lilly looked at him funny he decided that wasn’t quite how normal ponies acted. He was glad he stopped too; he never would have been able to keep up!

There were ponies in the street, ponies in the buildings, ponies entering and exiting doorways, and ponies just sitting around; they were everywhere! Even now, the street was filled with a multicolored mass of ponies and wagons, everypony pushing and bustling to get where they needed to go. Fizzle quickly located Farmer Greene and Lilly with their wagons, confirming that he was still walking in the right direction.

That was another thing, Baltimare was huge! If it weren’t for the elderly couple he was following Fizzle would be way past lost right about now. He still had no idea where they were going, and at this point he had no idea where they’d come from either. Forcing himself to watch the road in front of him, Fizzle plodded on, just managing to keep Farmer Greene’s hat in view.

He yawned slightly as they turned a corner. The three of them had gotten up early that morning, loaded up their wagons, and began the long trek into town. Checking behind him to make sure his wagon of fireworks was still there, he plodded on. Even now, he could smell the fresh apples in Farmer Greene’s wagon and the delicious baked goods Lilly was pulling. His stomach growled slightly. They had set out early and it had taken all morning to arrive, and now they had to set up the fruit stand. Once that was complete, they would all have a quick lunch and market day would begin at around two or so.

Eventually, the three ponies turned off of the main street, walked between a few buildings, and finally arrived in a large grassy clearing. The clearing looked to be some sort of park on the edge of town, with buildings behind them and a large pasture before them, stretching off into the distance. The area was covered in a soft green grass with a few flowers and trees scattered here and there. There were several streets leading into the circular area from the city side, and a short ways away there was a fountain with a statue of a pony spitting water out of his mouth. How very odd.

Fizzle also noticed that there were several other groups of ponies setting up various stalls and displays around the clearing, and that all of them had goods of some sort to sell. Glancing to his right, Fizzle saw a bunch of snooty-looking ponies dressed in top hats and fancy coats setting up an apple stand. The large sign they were hanging up read “Appleton’s.” Fizzle snorted in derision and followed Farmer Greene and Lilly’s wagons away from the city. Picking a spot near the outskirts of the area, their progression halted and Farmer Greene turned around to address him.

“Well, here’s th’ place. It’s where we always set up. Shore it’s a bit outta th’ way but ah think that’ll be workin’ in our favor today. Well what are we all waitin’ fer, winter wrap up? Let’s git unpackin’!” And with that, Fizzle unhitched himself from his wagon and dragged it a little ways away from where Lilly and Farmer Greene were starting to set up.

The plan was simple. As soon as market day began in earnest, Fizzle would use a couple of his new fireworks to grab everypony’s attention, and then the real fun would begin. Fizzle couldn’t wait to put on a show of sorts. It was unfortunate that he had so few fireworks to shoot off over such a long time, so he’d have to be spontaneous and erratic to keep their attention. And all while he’s busy putting on a flashy show, Farmer Greene and Lilly would be keeping the ponies snacking on apples and treats. This was gonna be great! Fizzle rubbed his hooves together gleefully and snickered to himself. He had forgotten how much he loved explosions.

Fizzle chose a patch of bare, firm ground and lined up five tubes on it, checking briefly to make sure that there weren’t any buildings or stray vegetation around. He wasn’t really sure why he knew to do this; he supposed it was another one of those things that just ‘made sense’ for no reason. Boy, was this getting old or what? Checking once again to make sure his fireworks were organized by color (he didn’t understand how he could tell them apart, either), Fizzle went to check on the apple stand and grab a bite to eat.

Fifteen minutes later, one couldn’t even see the grass anymore. The clearing was absolutely PACKED with ponies! Market day was a big deal in Baltimare it seemed. A few minutes before the throngs of ponies showed up, Farmer Greene explained that Baltimare was one of the main agricultural centers of Equestria. With so much locally grown produce around, the residents of Baltimare eagerly attended as many market days as they could. That would certainly explain why half the city seemed to be present.

Half an hour in, business was going slowly for the elderly couple. Fizzle could see what they meant by a lack of customers. Staring across the field, Fizzle frowned upon seeing the long line of ponies in front of the Appleton’s stand. Grinding his teeth in anger, he looked away, busying himself with checking over his equipment one final time. Out of boredom and on a bit of a whim, Fizzle wove himself a cape from the long grass growing nearby, along with some sticks and hay he happened to have in his wagon. Donning it, Fizzle grinned. He had to look good for show time, right?

Another half-hour later, Farmer Greene grinned at Fizzle from across the clearing and gave the go-ahead nod. Oh boy, oh boy this was going to be great!! Grabbing an armful of different shells, Fizzle quickly loaded them up in their respective tubes and lit a match. Lighting up three of the fuses in succession, but with a carefully timed pause in between, Fizzle stood back and started counting eagerly. Three…two…one…

FWOOMPH!! FWOOPMH!! FWOOMPH!!

The few ponies unfortunate enough to be in the nearby vicinity jumped in surprise and began to investigate their immediate surroundings in an attempt to discern the source of that strange noise. A few managed to spot the shells as they climbed higher into the sky, pointing upwards and talking hurriedly to their companions.

BOOM!! BANG!! POW!!

Well, that certainly got their attention. It took the utmost strength of will to not break out in a fit of laughter right then and there. Oh man, but the looks on their faces!! Startled by the brilliant red, blue, and green explosions in the sky, the entire marketplace fell silent, staring in a mix of slack-jawed awe and sheer terror as the multicolored stars slowly drifted down to earth and began to wink out of existence. Suddenly, Fizzle got the powerful urge to say something. Abandoning the original plan, Fizzle forged ahead into unknown territory, some mysterious force compelling him to act.

Leaping up onto his wagon, Fizzle shouted as loudly as he could and addressed the crowd, twirling his makeshift cape mysteriously. “Fillies and gentlecolts!! Feast your eyes on the one and only traveling pyrotechnic, Fizzle!! Be wowed and amazed by the wondrous and mysterious powers of the cutting edge of science! Be thrilled and mystified by the breathtaking colors! Be jarred and excited by the deafening roars! Prepare yourselves for the greatest fireworks show known to Equestria!! Hold your breath…”

At this Fizzle paused for dramatic effect, smirking as he saw how literally every pony in the marketplace had their eyes riveted on him. Perfect. Quickly lighting up a match, Fizzle lit the remaining two fuses and stood back with a flourish of his cape.

FWOOMPH!! FWOOMPH!!

“As I, the amazing Fizzle, LIGHT…UP…THE…SKY!!!” The resulting red and gold explosions left no question about his ability to do so. Everypony gasped as the massive booms sounded yet again, shaking all of them to their cores.

BOOM!! BOOM!!

As the final echoes rolled into the distance, somepony began to clap and cheer. “That was absolutely amazing!!” And at that, the dam broke. The crowd of ponies burst into wild cheering and stomping, thrilled by the spectacle they had just beheld. Soon, Fizzle’s wagon was on the verge of being overrun as a throng of ponies pressed close, barraging him with comments and questions.

“How in Equestria did you do that??”

“These fireworks are absolutely phenomenal!!”

“Do more, do more, do some more!!”

“I wanna see the fireworks, mommy!”

Fizzle simply grinned as he started to milk the crowd. Oh, he had them alright. Hook, line, and sinker. “What’s that? You want more??” The resulting “YES!!” left little room for debate. Chuckling to himself, Fizzle plucked a shell from his wagon and lit it off. A fwoomph and a boom signaled a massive white explosion directly overhead. The crowd went wild. Fizzle spared a glance at Farmer Greene and grinned. The old farmer shook his head ruefully as if to chastise him for abandoning the plan, but launched into his pitch none the less.

“Tha’s right, folks! Enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime show with all yer fav’rite appletastic treats! Our hoof-grown, down-ta-earth apples are guaranteed ta tickle yer tastebuds ‘n satisfy yer cravin’s! Git ‘em now while we still got ‘em, an’ while the show’s still goin’ strong!!”

Oh yes, things were going to go quite nicely.

*****

The past two hours had been an absolute blast. Or rather, twenty or so multicolored blasts. The plan was working absolutely perfectly! The farmers’ business was ‘booming,’ and so was his. At one point it occurred to Fizzle to place an empty basket in front of his wagon, and it was now overflowing with bits. So that’s what bits were! Oooooh, shiny!! Fizzle could see why Flim and Flam had been so fixated on them, they certainly looked nice.

Fizzle now had a permanent crowd camped in front of his wagon, patiently waiting for the next round of fireworks to go off. And, he was delighted to see, many of them were snacking happily on apple-related treats. Further on, ponies continued to mill about the marketplace attending to various items of business, but Fizzle knew everypony turned their heads at the telltale ‘fwoomph.’

Sticking to the plan, Fizzle kept the crowd entertained by answering questions about fireworks while launching off sets of one or two at random intervals. Telling the crowd it was time for another round, Fizzle grabbed the basketful of bits and deposited it in his wagon, placing an empty one in its place. You never know, right? Knowing that the crowd could see what he was doing, Fizzle decided to make this next round a doozy. Grabbing another armful, he loaded a shell into all five of his tubes.

“Don’t blink! This one’s gonna be good!” Fizzle told an enthusiastic crowd. Lighting up two matches at once, Fizzle lit two fuses, then one, then two more. Squinting his eyes and comically pressing his hooves to his ears, the crowd watched eagerly as the spheres launched themselves into the air, and then cheered loudly at the resulting sets of explosions.

“All right!! That was the best one yet!”

“Woohoo! Best! Market! Day! EVER!!”

“Yaaaaaay, fireworks!!”

Fizzle smiled at his crowd’s enjoyment and took a miniature bow, getting a standing ovation in the process. From the corner of his eye he could see more bits being tossed in his basket. Wow, haven’t these ponies ever seen fireworks before?? Giving a salute of thanks, Fizzle glanced over at the apple stand. Farmer Greene and Lilly noticed his glance and smiled back, waving eagerly as they pointed to the line in front of their stand.

And what a line it was. They sure had their customers now! Craning his neck, Fizzle located the Appleton’s stand across the plaza and let out a guffaw of laughter at what he saw. Three very frustrated ponies with disheveled manes and ruffled coattails were desperately trying to hawk their wares, with little success.

Grinning in delight at their misfortune, Fizzle grabbed another pair of fireworks and lit them off, sending the crowd into hysterics once again. Oh yeah, this was the good life.

*****

The sun was starting to set as market day began to draw to a close. Many of the shops that had been initially set up were now packed up and moved off, their owners having sold most of their wares. Farmer Greene and Lilly were now sold out of everything they had brought, and as such were packing up their things as well. Fizzle grinned widely when he saw the cases of bits they had with them.

Appleton’s was gone as well, but Fizzle had noticed the sour glances they had cast towards the Acres o’ Apples stand. He chuckled to himself. Maybe that will teach them to put in an honest day’s work for a change! Truthfully, Fizzle couldn’t imagine ponies dressed that way putting in even half a day of work.

Finally, there was Fizzle’s crowd. And it was still huge. It made sense though, Fizzle had been promising one heck of a grand finale for the last hour or so. After all, fireworks were best in the dark! Checking over what remained of his supplies, Fizzle grinned in anticipation. Eight fireworks left: two red, one green, two blue, one white, one gold, and one purple. Oh, this was going to be good.

The gentle lull of the crowd murmuring to itself grew to a feverish pitch as they noticed Fizzle setting up three more tubes. Eight fireworks at once?? Sweet Celestia, this was going to be awesome! Somepony in the crowd starting chanting “all at once! All at once!” and soon the whole crowd was chanting.

“ALL AT ONCE!! ALL AT ONCE!! ALL AT ONCE!!” Fizzle simply grinned at them as he loaded up all eight of the tubes, his intentions clear. The chanting faded rapidly as Fizzle jumped up onto his wagon, preparing to address them once again. At one point, he had managed to slip off into the marketplace for a minute or so, and picked up an actual black cape from the sheep herder.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!!” he shouted, twirling his shiny black cape as he spoke. “As promised, the time for the grand finale is rapidly drawing near!!” Loud cheers. “In just a few moments, when Celestia’s sun has dipped below the horizon, I, the amazing Fizzle, will give you all a brief taste of what a TRUE fireworks show is like!!” The crowd fell into hushed, excited whispering, eagerly discussing the meaning of his words.

“True fireworks show? What does he mean by that??” Fizzle simply smiled. He didn’t know how, but a sudden memory of nonstop fireworks suddenly sprang into his mind. Now THAT’S what he called a show!

Soon enough, the sun slipped below the distant hills, and the lengthening purple shadows of dusk took over. A hush fell over the crowd as Fizzle dramatically pulled out his box of matches. The tiny spark flared, and Fizzle chuckled as he saw it reflected in hundreds of pairs of wide, staring eyes. With a flourish, Fizzle lit all eight fuses, switching up the spacing between them. Three fwoomphs in rapid succession. One fwoomph. Two more. Another. One final fwoomph.

The crowd eagerly watched the eight spheres climb higher into the sky, and then ‘ooooh’ed and ‘aaaah’ed loudly as the series of explosions lit up the night sky. Fizzle had been right; fireworks were really something else at night! As the resounding echoes died away the crowd fell into a hearty applause. Fizzle jumped up on his wagon and bowed repeatedly.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so very much Baltimare! It’s been a genuine pleasure!! I’ll be sure to let you all know the next time I’m in town!” After about five minutes of applause, the crowd finally began to disperse. A few more ponies stepped up to toss a few bits into the basket, and Fizzle noted happily that it was overflowing again. As the last of the crowd was headed back into town, Farmer Greene and Lilly strode forward.

“Well ah’ll be, Fizzle! That shore was a performance! Ah ain’t never seen a bunch o’ ponies so riled up afore! Ya had ‘em wrapped ‘round yer hoof th’ whole time, din’cha? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!” Farmer Greene enthused, thumping Fizzle heartily on the back.

“Oh dearie, y’all were fantastic! Ah cain’t rightly believe how many ponies lined up fer our apples! Brought back happy memories it did. But even so, ah don’ think we’ve ever made so much! We sold out, didn’t we hon?” Lilly asked.

“Hehe! Shore did! Ah cain’t believe it neither. Y’all jest ‘bout had that crowd goin’ berserk Fizzle. An’ look! Y’all made a killin’ too!”

Fizzle glanced behind him at the pile of glittering gold and smiled broadly. Dumping it into his wagon, Fizzle replied, “Sure did! I can’t believe how well our plan worked, it’s almost as though nopony’s seen fireworks before!” he said grinning. Throwing his cape and tubes into his wagon as well, Fizzle hitched himself up and walked towards the other ones.

“Well, dearie, ah doubt many ponies have. Ah certainly was shocked last night. But th’ way y’all played that crowd, ya had ‘em beggin’ fer more the whole time!” Lilly enthused as she slipped her harness on.

Farmer Greene spoke up with a mischievous glint in his eye as the three ponies started walking, wagons in tow. “But don’ y’all be thinkin’ ya sticked to the plan! What were y’all thinkin’ jumpin’ up there an’ givin’ a speech, like yer all high ‘n mighty? Ah thought fer sure y’all was gonna blow it all the way ter Canterlot!”

Fizzle stared at his hooves, shuffling nervously as he walked. “Yeah, sorry about that sir. I don’t really know what came over me, but it just felt so natural I…I went along with it.” Fizzle looked up sadly, but started when he saw Farmer Greene grinning ear to ear.

“Boy, ah ain’t even th’ slightest bit mad at ya. Y’all made th’ both of us so much money, ah cain’t even fathom questionin’ yer actions. As th’ old sayin’ goes, how do ya like them apples, eh??” The three ponies burst out laughing.

Still chortling, Fizzle managed to force out a response. “I like them quite a bit, thank you very much. But those Appleton’s ponies sure didn’t! You should’ve seen the looks on their faces! Hah!!”

Farmer Greene roared in laughter yet again. “Boy, y’all don’ know th’ half o’ things! Ah was eyein’ those scalawags th’ whole time, an’ ah tell ya runnin’ ‘em inta th’ ground like that had me grinnin’ ear ta ear. We shore showed ‘em a thing or two ‘bout growin’ apples!” Farmer Greene and Lilly laughed some more before calming down and growing serious.

“But in all seriousness Fizzle, me an’ Lilly would like ta thank ya most sincerely fer what ya did today. It means a lot ter us.”

Fizzle looked at them questioningly. “But of course! You said you’ve been losing customers recently and were in a bit of a tight spot, right?”

Farmer Greene looked away for a moment before answering. “Ah…ah shore did Fizzle. An’ y’all have made everythin’ better fer us. We thank ya most kindly.”

Fizzle just beamed at them. “It’s no problem at all. Besides, it was fun!!” And with that, the two farmer ponies were smiling again, and the discussion fell to happier topics as the three ponies trekked home under the stars.

Home. Fizzle was going home, with the only family he had ever known. He hoped it could stay like this forever.

But alas, the breeze stirring the leaves beneath his hooves was only the beginning of the change yet to come…