Truth or Magic?

As Sunny and Banana Bonanza were wrapping things up, Hitch and Zipp both arrived at the smoothie stand at the same time.

“Hey, guys!” Sunny waved.

“Sunny! There’s something you should check out,” said Hitch. “Zipp & I made a surprising discovery which…may or may not raise any red flags.”

“Oh, really? Hmm, I wonder what it is…,”

“Uh, mind if I come along? I’m rather curious myself,” Banana volunteered, nervously smiling.

“Sure, Banana!” Sunny nodded.

Zipp mischievously grinned as that moment gave her an idea. “Of course you can. After all, some ponies like you may know a thing or two about certain…anomalies.”

“What…?” Banana asked, genuinely confused.

“Come! You gotta see this!” hurried Hitch, running off first. The others followed him & Zipp to the location of said discovery.

As they arrived on the spot, the sheriff and the detective revealed a 6-inch thorn with three little red dots in the middle thereof. There was even a little red kindling flame on top of the thorn. Zipp tried to blow it, but the flame was not extinguished.

“While we were patrolling, we happened to find this little sucker in this poor mare’s front yard,” explained Hitch. “The weird part is that the flame wouldn’t stop kindling!”

“Do you know how many times I tried to blow it? It’s becoming a thorn on my side!” Zipp added, trying not to giggle. “Get it?”

“That was so corny,” Hitch muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Wow, I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said Sunny, gazing at the thorn. “I wasn’t aware earth ponies can conjure such a thing.”

“Me neither. Say, Banana, did something like this ever happen to you? Would you know anything about a strange unnatural phenomenon existing at a time like this?” asked Zipp, narrowing her eyes on her.

“How should I know? This is the first time I’m ever seeing this,” replied Banana.

Hitch pulled Zipp by her tail and whispered in her ear, “Zipp, we literally talked about this. Interrogating ponies randomly will get us nowhere.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll try my best to make her feel comfortable,” sighed Zipp.

“Good,” Hitch nodded, releasing her tail.

Banana took another good look at the thorn and suddenly felt a cold touch of darkness emitting from the thorn. Fully realizing who created it, she started to panic. Thus, she had to think of an idea that can serve as a distraction.

“It’s getting a little late, and my shift is about to start. Say, why don’t you all come with me and see the Banana Factory?”

“The Banana Factory? Never heard of it before. Is there actually such a thing?” Zipp doubted, arching an eyebrow.

“I literally work there. I make banana-based food,” Bonanza replied, annoyed by her skepticism. “Plus, rarely anypony has heard about it because my boss has a thing for secrecy for some reason.”

“Ah, so he’s a pony who likes to surprise folks with his special banana treats? I can respect that,” approved Hitch.

“So do you want to come and see?”

“Actually, Banana, we would love to. I’m eager to see what it looks like,” accepted Sunny.

“So am I. The fact that there’s actually a fruit factory is quite remarkable even if we haven’t seen one before,” added Hitch.

“I don’t know about that,” Zipp still doubted.

“Hey, Zipp, would you mind taking charge of the town for a while? This is something I wouldn’t want to miss either. We’ll be back. Lead the way, Banana!”

Zipp groaned as they watched them leave Maretime Bay.

Hitch smirked as he heard her murmur to herself. “That will keep her busy for a while,” he thought.

The trio then walked across a narrow path that lasted for about five miles. Eventually, they crossed over a nearly-hidden bridge which led to the entrance of the Banana Factory.

“Here it is: the place named after a fruit that handles the only fruit I’m named after,” Banana revealed. Then she got close to Sunny and Hitch’s ears, “Seriously, that’s what my father said to me verbatim. That’s literally how I was raised into this business.”

“Huh, that’s no surprise. But I actually am surprised that a fruit factory actually exists! Especially one for bananas,” said Hitch.

“Wow! Mind if you give us a tour? I’d love to see how all this operates!” requested Sunny.

“It would be an honor,” smiled Bonanza. “Follow me.”

As they entered the building, several of Bonanza’s coworkers saw them approaching. The stallions greeted them warmly and tossed banana-based confetti into the air.

“Welcome, friends! Nice to see you as well, Bonanza!” said one of them. “You’re just in time!”

“I wasn’t expecting you to bring some new friends here, but hey, we’re always glad to see visitors here!” another added.

“Izzy would love to live in a place like this,” whispered Hitch.

“Thank you, Endocarp, but is this really necessary? All this extra—,”

“Confetti? Balloons? Nah, we just love welcoming ponies with open hooves into our factory. Besides, today is a special day for all of us,” informed Endocarp.

“What special day?” Bonanza asked.

“Today, we process all the remaining pairs of bananas into warp cannons. The boss wants it done by tomorrow morning.”

“Epicarp’s right. It’s for a special occasion he’s planning for us as a way to thank us for all the hard work we’ve been doing.”

“Really? Mr. Pulp didn’t tell me about that the last time we’ve had our meeting,” said Bonanza, scratching her head.

“Well…uh, last minute decisions do happen, y’know,” Endocarp noted.

“Hmmm, alright then. Well, I’m just gonna give my friends a quick tour before I begin my shift. Try not to spill any substances…again,” said Bonanza.

“Say less, ma’am! Hope you folks learn something!” smiled Epicarp, waving at Sunny & Hitch.

After the trio left, the two associates then looked at each other with grins on their faces. “Let him know they’re here.”

During the tour, Bonanza trotted to every section of the factory where all the other workers manufactured bananas into so many different ways: banana chips, banana bread, banana donuts, banana cereal, banana pudding, banana milk, and much more.

Sunny couldn’t help but feast her eyes on all the banana-based foods with a look of awe. Hitch however looked concerned while he resisted the urge to vomit.

“Hitch, seriously?! Come on, look at all this! Can you imagine having everything based on one of the best fruits ever? I would love it!”

“Actually, Sunny, I don’t even want to imagine this because it’s insanely unhealthy!”

“What?? How exactly is that unhealthy? You do know all the healthy benefits that come from bananas, right?”

“Bananas if they’re eaten as they are? Yes. But consuming every single food product based on one fruit is just…weird. You need to have a variety of flavors so that it can be more enriching. You should already know this by now,” Hitch argued.

“I’m well aware of that fact, Hitch. But think about the results that can come if we use all this stuff to replace junk food. Everypony’s well-being will be improved!”

“I may not be an expert on healthful living, but even I can tell that eating fruit-based foods all the time can get boring. You know there are some ponies are allergic to this stuff, don’t you?”

“Alright, look, I just—,”

“Uh, guys? Shall I continue this tour? I want to introduce you to my boss if that’s okay with you both,” interrupted Bonanza.

Sunny and Hitch then nodded and ceased their argument. At the end of the tour, Banana Bonanza led them to a locked door behind the blue pipe which made her scratch her head.

“Why is the door all chained up? Is Mr. Pulp doing alright?” she asked herself.

She tried to buck the door open, but the chains were too strong. Sunny activated her alicorn power through her horn & wings and cast a spell on the chains that made them turn into dust.

“Thank you, Sunny,” Bonanza smiled.

“No problem!”

As they opened the door, they discovered that Mr. Pulp was surprisingly not in the office. Instead, they found an open letter on his desk filled with an unusual handwriting.

“To all my faithful servants,

I am pleased to announce the second phase of my master plan. We shall override the sour and glorify the sweet. In due time, this whole town will be greeted with a delicious treat they’ll never forget.

Yours truly,

Your One True Master!”

Bonanza shook her head in utter disbelief and confusion after she read the letter out loud. Sunny and Hitch were rather arching their eyebrows at the select use of words within the letter.

“Overriding the sour? Glorifying the sweet? What the heck does that even mean?” Hitch wondered.

“And why did he call himself ‘master’?” Sunny added, tapping her chin.

“That’s the thing! Mr. Pulp never talked or wrote like this! He’s not the kind of pony to call any of us ‘servants’, and if he wanted to make this strange announcement, he would’ve done so publicly,” Bonanza stated.

“Wait, you’re not saying that—,”

“Something terrible is happening. I just know it. Why would he leave this open note behind a locked door? Why isn’t he here today?! None of this is making any sense!”

Hitch then started to get somewhat worried. “Yeeeeeaaah…maybe leaving Zipp behind was a bad idea…now that I think about it…”

“He’s in trouble. You have to help me look for him!” Bonanza pleaded.

“Don’t worry, Banana. I, Hitch, and our friends will do everything we can to look for your boss. You have our word.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Hitch concurred.

Bonanza hugged them and took the letter with her. “Thank you so much! I gotta notify my associates. Hopefully, they can help too!”

After she left, Sunny and Hitch exited the office and idly stared at the blue pipe. “Zipp is gonna have the time of her life figuring this out.”

“I know she will. She has been pretty uptight lately, and now I’m starting to see why. Honestly, I’m a little worried she may be right,” admitted Hitch.

“Right about what?” Sunny asked.

“About…y’know…that maybe…Banana may have something to do with this…?”

“Hitch, come on, she is just as worried as we are. If she was as suspicious as Zipp thinks she is, she wouldn’t be trying to help us directly, would she?”

“Hmm, I see your point,” Hitch nodded.

“Whoever is out there messing with us won’t know what will hit them. Together, we will solve this mystery! No matter what it takes!” declared Sunny.

Hitch chuckled and shook her hoof. “Well put, Sunny. Well put.”

The duo were, unfortunately, unaware of yet another little black thorn just imbedded right on the spot where the letter was initially seen. The red flame kindled the moment they closed the door shut.

Crimson sat on his bed while his heart was rapidly beating. He couldn’t even blink or move an inch as his mind was vastly overloaded with anxious thoughts.

After about twenty minutes of intense silence, he finally got out of his bed and walked into the kitchen. He poured some apple juice into his cup before he drank it.

“No need to worry. Whoever that guy is—I’m sure he will be pleasant to work with,” he assured himself.

Then as he trotted back to his bedroom, he spotted Toffee casually reading a newspaper on his bed.

“What the—?!”

“You have a nice home, Crimson. Well-organized too. Seems like you are as efficient as he said you are,” Toffee stated without looking at him.

“What…? How do you—? Wait a minute, you’re the one who—?”

“…was summoned by your master? That is correct,” Toffee confirmed, taking a sip of his coffee. “He told me everything about his plan and how the two of us will play an important part in it. Today is your lucky day, my friend.”

“Getting rid of the magic? Yes, of course. Then Lord Axor must’ve told you of the reason why I hate it.”

“Funny enough, he wanted you to tell me your story,” replied Toffee, ripping out a piece of the newspaper that showed the picture of Sunny in her alicorn form. “I like stories.”

“Twilight Sparkle, the late Ruler of ancient Equestria, enforced friendship on everypony with the magic of friendship itself. She was an evil tyrant who showed no tolerance for a free spirit,” Crimson explained.

“Thankfully, Providence saw it fit to put an end to her prevaricating machinations. All magic was wiped out and—,”

“Then a pony called Sunny Starscout restored all the magic many years later, didn’t she?” Toffee finished.

Crimson looked at him with a surprised look. “You know that?”

“Again, your master told me. And believe me, it didn’t sit well with me either because magic…” Toffee took another sip of his coffee and threw away his newspaper. “…is problematic.”

That made Crimson crack a smile. “Glad we can agree on that. But Lord Axor would want us to be subtle about this. We have to make sure none of them figure out what’s going to happen.”

Toffee finally stood up and straightened his necktie. “Fortunately for you, I have an idea where we can start first.” He raised his left fist where two of his fingers glowed green. “An utterly…nasty idea,” he added, slightly grinning.