Part 3- A Pony Named Trilby

Her friend’s giggles brought Rainbow Dash back into the real world. Rainbow Dash caught herself wrestling with the air as her friends looked on. She quickly snapped herself back up.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Rainbow dash demanded.

Giggling, Pinkie Pie responded.

“Oh, nothing! It’s just that with all that bouncing and kicking, it looked like you were taking on all of those meanie Sand Bogie thingies!”

“You know, Rainbow Dash, you had I quite enticed there for a moment. Poor young Marco Poni, what exactly happened to him?” Rarity asked.

A mild summer wind visited the camp as Applejack put some more sticks from the pile into the firewood.

“Um… hmm… You know Twilight; this storytelling thing is harder than I thought…” Rainbow Dash said, scratching her mane. “Maybe you ‘oughta take the seat back?”

Taking her spot around the campfire, Rainbow Dash sat back down. Twilight smiled.

“Don’t worry Rainbow, storytelling can be difficult sometimes, especially when you try to make a story on the spot.” Twilight said, reassuring her friend.

“Those poor Sand Bogies… It would be horrible to have to live out in the desert all of your life…” Fluttershy said.

Standing up, Applejack takes the soap box.

“Twilight, you wouldn’t mind if I gave a try at storytelling? I just might have a tale we’d appreciate,” Applejack said.

“I wouldn’t mind at all, Applejack! So, what kind of story is this going to be?” Twilight asked.

“Well, it’s not much of a grand one, but I’ll give it my best, girls. It’s based off a letter I received from my cousin, Annie Elizabeth Apple, and her visit from this one stallion…”

~

The day was renewed as a trickle of sunlight hit Trilby’s nose. The sudden spot of warmth gradually woke the young colt up. The carriage was still in motion and the loyal driver was still there, conducting the work force onward to Hoofington.

It was just another dream.

It was the second day of travelling. Outside the modest carriage’s windows, the morning dew could be seen reflecting the sunlight into a rainbow of colors everywhere. The early morning mist sat on top of a lake in the distance. The dirt road wandered around the different hills that seemed to sway and move as the light reflected off of them, creating a mirage of sorts.

Trilby opened his eyes halfway and shielded them further from the bright sun that loomed ahead. The glare from the sun refracted when it hit the modest carriage’s glass window. Looking outside, Trilby saw a carefully drawn painting. Red clouds met a dark hue of blue as at the horizon line where the sun slowly rose, almost as to say a quick hello to Trilby.

Rubbing his eyes, Trilby restructured his knapsack he used as a pillow as it had been disfigured overnight when he was tossing and turning.

“Had a good sleep, Mr. Ingram?” The driver was looking at Trilby and say dutifully on his work post. He was an old colt. His mane was already graying and he had a stylish handlebar moustache that seemed to reflect his age. The top hat and specs completed the image.

“Good morning, Mr. Darrow,” Trilby said to his driver. “Where exactly are we right now?”

The driver looked for a post along the side of the dirt road to get an exact bearing. Seeing one pass by, he relayed the information back to Trilby.

“Well, overnight I took a bit of a nap and let Johnny and Bucker take over for a bit. They’re getting tired though.”

Poking his head outside the carriage window, Trilby could see two Earth ponies pulling the modest carriage. The one on the left, a red pony with orange hair was Johnny; the other, the smaller one, was Bucker. He had a gray color to him with blonde hair. Both were sons to Mr. Darrow and helped him with his carriage rental business.

“Good morning, Johnny! Good morning, Bucker!” Trilby hollered to the two ponies pulling the carriage. “How are you two managing?”

A chuckle came from the loyal driver. “They’re not really perky right now. Remember, they pulled the carriage the entire night, Mr. Ingram. Don’t worry, after a good meal at a tavern and a day’s rest, they’ll be back to normal.”

The party of four stopped alongside the Applebuck Tavern. It was a wooden tavern with two stories. The roof had four chimneys on it and several windows in the similar theme of the entire place. A sign hung above the doorway depicting a pony hitting an apple tree to harvest all of the bright ripe fruits.

Having secured the carriage to a wooden post outside, the two brothers unhitched and joined their father and Trilby waiting by the door of the tavern. Walking inside, a little bell above the door rang. The sweet sound of the bell was echoed by the sweet voice of a mare who called down from above, “Just a second, I’ll be right down there! Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable at one of the tables!”

Shrugging to one another, the troupe sat at a table closest to the fireplace and next to a window. The sound of hooves galloping down the stairs could be heard. Soon, the mare came into view. She was dressed in a flowing dress of light green colors. She was a yellow cream mare with red hair. The smooth silk of her dress seemed to glide as she walked up to the table. With an eloquent and educated voice, she introduced herself.

“Hello there, my name is Annie Elizabeth Apple. I’m the manager of Applebuck Tavern. So, how can I help you fine gentlecolts?” she asked as she walked up next to the table with a piece of paper and pencil to take their order.

Trilby had ordered a daffodil sandwich, his favorite. A platter of good old hay was brought for Mr. Darrow. Johnny and Bucker both ordered a plate of dandelion salad with a nice applesauce glaze.

As they ate their breakfast, Trilby noticed something. For a tavern along a major road from Canterlot to Hoofington, there were very few ponies. Actually, Trilby noticed they were the only customers present.

Taking a glance over his shoulder, he saw Annie Elizabeth cleaning the bar counter with a rag. The silence was only broken by the sounds of chewing, the clinking of utensils, and the occasional small conversation. Annie Elizabeth met Trilby’s eyes.

“Something I can help you with, mister?” she asked in a warm voice.

Shaken, Trilby jolted up by the surprise that she saw him. “Um… I… I was just wondering why there aren’t exactly as many ponies here as I thought there would be, especially at these hours. But of course, it’s none of my business…”

Annie Elizabeth walked over to their table and sat down at a table adjacent to their table, seeing theirs was full. The young mare looked at the group and smiled.

“Business has been slow these couple of weeks. We’d usually get a lot of ponies coming up here for a good breakfast before working in the woods but now, I don’t know where every pony went. It’s as if they had just disappeared somewhere… It’s really nice to get to talk to some pony after these long times out here all by myself” Annie Elizabeth said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Trilby stopped chewing for a bit and said, “Hold on now, you’re here running this place all on your own?”

“You bet,” Annie Elizabeth replied. “I did used to live over at Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville with my family. But times got bad, and we didn’t make too much money off apples. So I decided to volunteer myself to come out here and run a tavern to make a little extra money…”

Mr. Darrow swallowed a mouthful of hay and joined in on the exchange.

“Ponyville you say, my dear? You mention Sweet Apple Acres. You must be a relative of Applejack and her little sister Applebloom?”

“That I am, sir. Applejack and Applebloom are my cousins,” Annie Elizabeth said. She then looked at the two colts Johnny and Bucker. “How do you like your salads?”

“Oh they’re delicious!”

“It’s amazing! I’ve never had anything like it!”

“Come on now boys, you should learn to address a fine lady properly. Surely you haven’t forgotten your manners?” Mr. Darrow said to his sons kiddingly.

Annie Elizabeth Apple couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Oh no it’s fine, sir. I think it’s very flattering! You know, I wasn’t all Ms. Manners back on the farm, but when I ran the inn I had to start to act like one. Expectations, you know?”

Trilby took several bites from his sandwich.

“I am from Hoofington originally, but we’ve actually came down from Canterlot. I have some business that I need to settle down at home and after that we’re headed for Ponyville. Do you know of a Ms. Twilight Sparkle who resides at the Twigs and Branches Library maybe?” Trilby inquired.

Annie Elizabeth turned to face Trilby. Her sparkling red mane glistened when the rays of sunlight caressed her.

“I’ve heard of a Twigs and Branches library and before the letters from home stopped, Applejack did write to me about a new pony from Canterlot a couple of weeks back. Here’s a photo of Applejack and her friends…” Annie Elizabeth pulled out a photo from one of the pockets on her apron to show to Trilby.

In the picture were six ponies. They were all in a friendly embrace as they smiled out from the photo.

“See the orange mare with the cowgirl hat? That’s Applejack; my cousin. And see the purple unicorn? That’s Twilight. Applejack says she’s of great character. A bit of a bookworm, but she loves her friends and would do anything for them, she wrote.”

Pointing to the others ponies in the pictures, Annie Elizabeth explained who they were.

Bucker let out a loud belch and it broke Trilby away from the photo.

“Bucker, that’s no way to act around a lady!” Mr. Darrow said.

Annie Elizabeth could not help but laugh. “Not a bad one! But it could never compete with the one my cousin Applejack pulled. I see all of you have finished your meals. Seems like you ponies have been travelling all day and night, might a bit of a nap upstairs help?”

And so, Annie Elizabeth Apple showed the tired brothers and their father to their rooms and took a small accommodation fee.

Trilby was downstairs looking out of the window. Annie Elizabeth sat down adjacent to him.

“Hope you don’t mind,” she said with a gentle voice as she folded her dress across her seat.

“No, no, not at all,” Trilby turned away from the window to face Annie Elizabeth.

Annie Elizabeth looked into Trilby’s eyes. She brought her hooves up on the table and held Trilby’s hooves.

“I’ve only met you for about an hour and a half now, Mr. Ingram. I can tell you’re in some kind of trouble. Now, don’t look at me like that, all of my friends and family say I’m a good judge of character. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know you’ll settle whatever it is. I want you to take this.”

Annie Elizabeth took out a small brass apple.

“A family heirloom meant to keep those of the Apple family out of danger. I want you to take it with you,” Annie Elizabeth said as she held it out on her hoof for Trilby.

“But I can’t, it’s a family heirloom and besides…”

“It’s just a loan, Mr. Trilby Ingram,” Annie Elizabeth interrupted. “After you finish, you have to come back here to the Applebuck Tavern and give it back to me, okay? Promise me that one little thing.”

Annie Elizabeth looked at Trilby as she put it in his hooves.

With a small smile and a huff, Trilby Ingram of Hoofington with the quarter star accepted the tiny brass apple from Annie Elizabeth Apple.

“Don’t worry. I promise.”

~

“Wow Applejack, that was quite a story!” Twilight said, admiring her friend’s words.

“Thanks Twi’. I just thought of it when it seemed we were gonna do a bit of a round robin telling stories and whatnot,” Applejack said, taking apples out to distribute to her friends.

“Wait, wait, wait hold on,” Rainbow Dash said. “Twilight, do you ever remember this Trilby guy?”

“Not really, although I do remember this one pony from out of town about two weeks ago who did come in to borrow some books…” Twilight said, looking back in time. “As a matter of fact, I don’t recall him returning them!”

“Well, whatever the case, he sounded like a very handsome gentlecolt to me,” Rarity said, taking a nibble out of her apple. “Whatever happened to this Trilby fellow?”

Applejack let out a sigh. “Thing is though, after that letter, I never heard from Annie Elizabeth again. She never wrote. Me an’ Applebloom, we stopped by the Applebuck Tavern for a little visit. The place was deserted. Kinda’ spooky, huh?”

“Wait, what?! Your relative cousin pony just disappeared? Wowie, I could never imagine that ever happening to my family,” Pinkie Pie said, hugging herself.

Fluttershy peered up. “Do you think maybe then ran off together?” she said in her usual gentle voice.

“What in the world for?” Rainbow Dash asked. “They’ve no real reason to.”

“My guess is, that Trilby was probably an outlaw or some kind of brigand,” Applejack said. “I think maybe they did run off together Fluttershy, and I hope they’re living mighty happy together…”

“Yeah, I hope so too.”

I hope so too.

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