Chapter 19: A Second Homecoming

Gearhead was not surprised when Prism’s flight found him as he was on his way out the next morning. He was, after all, following the flight plan he had asked Uncle Windwalker to forward to Princess Celestia. Gearhead was even flying at part-power even though he had removed the limiter prior to takeoff. What did surprise Gearhead was that many of yesterday’s racers had turned out, with a few exceptions, like Winter’s and Spring’s flights.

“Are you surprised?” Prism asked, flying in close. “You’re surprised, aren’t you?”

“I was not expecting this sort of turn-out, true.”

“It’d be poor form of us not to provide a proper honour guard,” Windwalker said.

“And to such a good friend, too,” Rook said.

“Ah, you are making me blush,”

“Not that we can tell very well from that suit of yours,” Prism said. “But in any case, we wanted to thank you for the competition yesterday. You did awesome.”

“Thank you,”

“Still, I coulda sworn you had better in you,” Contrail said.

“Radar had you flying much faster and higher before we caught up to you,” Rook said. Radar was one of Contrail’s cousins, and she seemed to have the ability to sense other ponies long before she saw them. Gearhead supposed that was part of her personal magic, the way Fluttershy had higher empathy with animals, or Big Sister Ivy had her calming effect. She flew with Spring, which explained her absence here.

“I did have full power unlocked for that trip, but because of that I felt safer locking it up a bit once I landed, so I would not overload the core. I did not know I would be participating in a race, though.”

“What in the..? You were racing on part-power and you still came in right behind us?” Contrail asked.

“Exactly how much faster could you have gone?” Prism asked.

“About a third,”

The others were stunned into silence. “Bwa-ha-ha! You’d have beaten them sorely,” Windwalker laughed uproariously.

“You’d best be careful to bring your full A-game next time, Gear, or you aren’t going to get away with it so easily, you hear?”

“And just who do you think I am? My little gadgets never stay the same for long,”

“True, you were always tinkering with something,” Prism said. “So be sure to bring whatever you have, so you stand a chance.”

“You can be sure that I shall do just that,”

“Speaking of ‘that,’ do you want to give it a shot?” Prism asked Contrail.

“You kidding? ‘Course I do!”

“Then give it a go,” Windwalker said. “The rest of us will clear your path.” And the rest of the Pegasi moved off to ensure nothing was flying up ahead. They effectively created a tunnel of completely clear airspace that pointed toward Ponyville.

“What are we giving a go?” Gearhead asked.

“We’re going to see if you can use Contrail’s Contrail Booster,” Rook said.

“That is mighty generous of you,”

“It’s thanks for the race,” Contrail said. “Now get yourself behind Rook!” Contrail came in to fly in the lead, with Rook a couple meters behind him. Gearhead fell in on Rook’s tail, and felt Prism float into position behind him. Although Gearhead picked up his speed to try to avoid Prism bumping him along, she still came up and pushed him. He realized that Rook was likewise accelerating, as they did not even bump. Prism came up, her forelegs coiled and her hooves resting against his rear hooves.

“Fly straight,” Prism said, the traditional farewell of the Azure Wing.

“Until landing,” Gearhead said, and then Prism kicked firmly with both legs. Rook peeled away just before Gearhead had to decelerate to avoid colliding with the larger Pegasus, and then he felt the flow of Contrail’s tail pulling him along, still increasing his speed. Somehow the other Pegasus bobbed down slightly, allowing Gearhead to pass over him, and as he did so Contrail’s acceleration strip extended ten meters ahead and launched Gearhead as though from a canon. Gearhead had to put up a thin particle field to shield himself from the wind and small debris. He put his hooves up in front of his head, and felt them press up against a wave of pressure – and then he broke through with a blast.

Gearhead looked back to see the parting Pegasi behind the expanding shockwave of his particle sonic boom. And then, looking forward, he accelerated to full power, and broke the barrier again.

Using his original speeds, it should have taken until the following morning to get to Ponyville, but with the speed boosts from the Azure’s Pegasi, and with favourable winds the entire way, Gearhead easily stretched the Alicorn Engine’s capacity without putting a high amount of strain on it. He carried Contrail’s original boost with him for two hours, cutting four hours from his journey right there. Then, continuing at full power for the rest of the way, he cut another hour and forty minutes. The winds made up the other twenty minutes, which meant that it was evening when Gearhead returned to Ponyville, and he was tired so he went to bed as soon as he had put his traveling gear away.

The next morning, Gearhead went through his usual training routine before opening up shop for business, and was surprised to find that nopony was coming to the door after days of his absence. In fact, looking around he did not see anypony in sight! Hoping nothing was wrong, he strapped on his Alicorn Engine and daggers and went out to investigate.

Gearhead was surprised not to find more than the usual assortment of animal friends at Fluttershy’s cottage, and when he went into town even Town Square was empty. Neither Twilight nor Spike was at the Golden Oak Library, and even Carousel Boutique and Sugar Cube Corner were closed. Gearhead started to wonder whether there was some event elsewhere about which he had forgotten.

Event? On a hunch, Gearhead made his way to Sweet Apple Acres. The closer he drew, the more certain he was that his memory was on-track: at the same time Gearhead had been preparing for his flight to Verdant Fields, Applejack had been training for the Equestria Rodeo Competition in Canterlot. The Rodeo had many events, each with a number of brackets, so it was to take place over much of a week. That was time in which everypony else in Ponyville would be conducting their business as usual, so they had most probably simply sent Applejack off with some good vibes and wishes, but now was the time when she was expected to return.

Even though Gearhead had gone to Verdant Fields to take care of some Herd business, he felt foolish for accepting the mayor’s taunts and participating in a race of his own, and then not winning. He had renewed his friendships with the Azure and the Conclave, and had nothing material to show to Ponyville to explain his lack of support for Applejack. With how many ribbons was she going to return?

Gearhead approached a barn, where his HUD was showing many warm bodies. When nopony responded to his knocking, he opened the door and let himself in.

“Surprise!” Everypony jumped out and shouted, with Pinkie joining in a couple of seconds too late. Despite knowing there were ponies in the barn, Gearhead did jump a little in surprise, not having expected such a thing.

But it did make sense as something Pinkie and the others might set up to welcome Applejack back to Ponyville. “This is for Applejack, is it not? Then we had better reset.” Gearhead closed the barn door and moved forward to lend the others a helping hoof.

“He’s right,” Twilight said. “Lets reset.”

“I’ll get the confetti!” Pinkie got her Party Canon out and turned the barrel up, toward the roof. Then she started inhaling into the air around her, and the confetti around her started swirling in like she was some sort of cleaner. Pinkie turned to the canon, and blew the confetti into its barrel.

“Aww, all that effort?” Dash turned back to Gearhead. “No offense, of course.”

“None taken. To tell the truth, I lost track of what day it was.”

“Welcome back, by the way,” Rarity said.

“Yes,” Fluttershy said. “So, how did it go?”

“I think I presented my case well enough, however the Council representatives are not yet done. It will be weeks yet before they inform me of anything.”

“Weren’t you just going to talk to your family?” Pinkie asked.

“The Council is family. Besides, if I am going to support Father’s bid in support of me, the toughest opponent to convince of my worth will be Big Brother Vines.”

“What’ll that take?” Dash asked. “A miracle?”

“It seems likely,” Rarity said. “From the impression he gave me at the Gala, he doesn’t seem to like you at all.”

“Regardless of whether or not he ‘likes’ me, Vines understands how important we family are to each other. He would never do anything that would endanger any of us, assuming he has control over the consequences. But to him, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. If a single member of the Herd was to endanger the rest, Vines would cut him loose.”

“That sounds horrible,” Fluttershy said.

“It depends,” Gearhead said. “If I had not gained as much control over my knack as I have now, I do not doubt Vines would see me as a burden on the family, being completely unable to contribute. But I do have better control now, and I am contributing to the Herd as a whole through my profits and my innovations. This is exactly what the Council is trying to prove. They should find me worthy to remain a Verdant, at least, however I doubt it will be enough to remove the Black Sheep title from my name.”

“They wouldn’t really kick you out of the Herd, would they?” Twilight asked.

“I doubt they would, seeing as how profitable my business is. Not that my father, the Patriarch, would allow it to happen. No, such a motion would never go through the Council. But I still need to prove myself enough to rise beyond my station.”

“Hey, somepony’s coming,” Dash hissed.

“To your positions!” Twilight called, and everypony dove for cover, Gearhead falling into place beside Pinkie, who muttered “this time for sure.”

This time when the door opened, Pinkie was only one second late, and it may have been just as well, since this time the newcomer was a postal pony. He optimistically thought his birthday was somehow being celebrated. Twilight apologized and closed the door on him, obviously miffed that they had failed twice. Pinkie went back to the door with a plate with a slice of cake on it, and gave it to the stallion, smoothing over some hurt feelings all in one move.

“My nerves can’t take much more of this,” Fluttershy said.

“Don’t worry: third time’s the charm,” Twilight said, opening the letter. She started to read it as she walked back toward her hiding spot, but whatever it said, that letter stopped her cold in her tracks.

“What is it?” Rarity asked.

“It’s a letter from Applejack. It says she’s sorry for not coming back right away, and not to come looking for her.”

Pinkie gasped. “She’s not coming back?!”

“Why?” Dash asked.

“The letter doesn’t say,” Twilight said.

“Oh no!”

“Does she really expect us not to come looking for her, this most honest and dependable of ponies?” Gearhead said.

“Yeah, who does she think we are?!” Dash said. “We gotta go and track her down,”

“I just hope it doesn’t upset her too much, going against her request,” Fluttershy said.

“At the very least, we have to find out what happened and why she’s decided not to come back,” Rarity said.

“She could be in trouble,” Pinkie said.

“What if she’s hurt?” Fluttershy said.

“That settles it: we’re going to go find Applejack, find out what happened, and bring her back safely to Ponyville!”Twilight exclaimed. The other partygoers cheered.

The plan was simple, at least in everypony’s heads and on paper: they would go to the rodeo venue in Canterlot and canvas the place, asking if anypony remembered seeing a mare of Applejack’s description, and move out from there. Most of them hoped it would be as straightforward as spotting AJ at the venue, but Twilight doubted it would be that simple: Applejack should have known her frends would come looking for her, or at least send a letter to Princess Celestia asking about her whereabouts, so the first place they would look was the arena.

Even as the Friendship Express pulled in at Canterlot Station, the six friends knew that Applejack had at least a full day’s march on them, and they did not know in which direction to look. Only asking around at the arena, Applejack’s starting point, would help them to narrow down the possibilities, because as fast as Dash, Fluttershy, or Gearhead could fly, they could not possibly cover all of the territory AJ could have traveled in a day! The one thing they had determined beforehand was that they would at least remain within sight of each other throughout their search. Gearhead thought he saw ponies looking at him strangely, and heard them whispering, but then he was wearing a large cone on his back, and even without his full suit on and active, he did not look normal. He ignored them.

It was already afternoon when the friends arrived at the arena and started canvassing the ponies working to clean up, while others practiced their stunts. The friends were each armed either with a drawing or a photograph of Applejack. Frustratingly, every answer for hours came up negative. It was only much later when a mare pointed them in the direction of a canyon in the desert: Dodge Junction.

Fortunately for Twilight and the others, there was a sleeper train traveling to Dodge Junction that was scheduled to depart from Canterlot in only an hour and a half. The friends bought their tickets and waited, nervous but glad to finally have a lead.

Nervous as they were, the ponies recognized the need to get some sleep so they could keep an alert eye out for their errant friend when they arrived in the morning. While the five mares shared a cabin between themselves, Gearhead fell in with three roommates of his own. Again, he heard he muttering, this time distinguishing the phrase ‘Mister Forth’ Again, he ignored the stallions’ comments as being unrelated to him, his group, or their search for Applejack.

In the morning, Gearhead double-checked the safeguards on his Alicorn Engine to ensure that nopony had tried to tamper with it, or steal it. The device had remained untouched beside his bunk. In fact, he got the sense that none of his roommates had even stepped near the thing, keeping a distance that could practically be called ‘reverential.’ That would only make any sense if they had some idea of what it could do, but Gearhead had not used it since he had flown back to his house after the failed ‘welcome back’ party.

Gearhead strapped his gear on and joined the mares for a light breakfast. He noticed Pinkie drinking more juice than anypony else, but did not think much of it: knowing her, she could pack away more food or drink than anypony else, with the other ways in which she defied all logic. After breakfast the ponies sat in a normal car to wait for the train to pull into the station. Soon Pinkie began to defy his earlier expectations. Gearhead guessed that even she had her limits.

No sooner had the train stopped and the doors opened did Pinkie zip out, making a beeline for a nearby lavatory. Gearhead left the train with the others in a more stately manner. Twilight was just starting to outline how the group should break down the search through the city when Pinkie zipped back into view. “I found her!”

Twilight and the others immediately followed Pinkie, who pointed to Applejack still standing near an outhouse. “I told you I found… hold on a sec,” and Pinkie zipped off again, for the outhouse, shutting Applejack out of it.

“What’re y’all doin’ out here?”

“We were just about to ask you the same thing, AJ,” Dash said.

“That’s none of your concern,”

“But Applejack, everypony’s worried,” Twilight said.

“Yes,” Fluttershy said, “we were so worried you had gotten into trouble or hurt.”

“Well, as you can clearly see I’m perfectly fine,”

“Then why not come back to Ponyville?” Rarity asked.

“I just wanted a change of scenery,”

“’Change of scenery?’ Sorry, AJ, but I don’t buy it!” Dash said.

“That’s right: you love Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville,” Fluttershy said.

“And your family,” Gearhead said.

“So what would make you want to leave it all behind for even this long?” Twilight asked.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I just wanted a change. Now if’n you’ll excuse me…”

“Oh my, are these your friends?” It was a white-coated Earth Pony mare with a bright red mane and a cherry cutie mark. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“They were just leaving,” AJ said, hurrying off.

“Oh my, that’s a shame,”

“I don’t understand,” Twilight said. “Didn’t she do well at the rodeo?”

“Oh my, yes. Why, I’ve never seen anypony win so many ribbons in my life! I couldn’t just pass up such a great opportunity to have such a hard worker on the ranch either.”

“Ranch?” The mares all said together.

“Yes, I’m Cherry Jubilee, boss of Cherry Hill Ranch. Miss Applejack agreed to work with me, and I couldn’t say no.”

The friends exchanged several significant glances. “Miss Jubilee, do you mind if we come to help out as well?” Twilight asked, after everypony had introduced themselves.

“Of course not! Why, the more the merrier, and I’m sure Applejack’s mood will lighten once she has her friends around to help.”

There it is again, Gearhead thought as the group headed to Cherry Hill Ranch together: ponies were whispering, murmuring, and muttering something about ‘Mister Fourth.’ Gearhead thought it could not be coincidental that it was happening now, but then again he could not accurately gauge whether or not this was a normal subject of gossip in the region, especially when he was not around. He was about to ask Miss Jubilee about it when he spotted the poster, and stopped dead in his tracks.

‘First Hoofington F1,’ the poster proclaimed. It featured a wave of Pegasi flying toward the viewer’s vantage point from slightly above. Gearhead recognized three Pegasi who were residents of Hoofington featured front-and-center, with other influential Pegasi like Prism and Radar scattered about behind them. And below and slightly to the right of the central racer was the unmistakable form of a wingless pony in dark flying gear. Gearhead could well imagine what the unit strapped to his back to enable to him to fly looked like, because that was Gearhead. ‘Recording on sale,’ the poster said along the bottom.

That sly mayor, Gearhead thought. Creating a record of the race for sale across the other parts of Equestria would lead to a greater spotlight on Hoofington, not to mention the increase in tourism. So this was his angle when he invited me to participate in the race. If that was true, it had not been about an Earth Pony flying against Pegasi. Gearhead decided to take some comfort in that.

If it was the case that ponies would be talking about the race, and that they inevitably recognized Gearhead while he was wearing the Alicorn Engine, it being the only device of its kind, then the ponies were talking about ‘Mister Fourth,’ not ‘Mister Forth.’ It was about Gearhead coming in at fourth place in the race itself!

Which begged the question of how such news could travel so far so quickly. An Earth Pony courier would barely have had the time to get to Canterlot with a fairly light load. To have carried enough copies of the recording to sell them would take either a number of such couriers, or the speed and endurance of Pegasi. Or maybe some coordinated teleportion, since a number of Unicorns had to have been involved in the recording process. To think I never saw a single one, unless they were blending in with the Conclave members helping to run the show. I doubt the Conclave itself would participate directly in the recording, as secretive as they are.

“Gearhead?” At Fluttershy’s soft voice, Gearhead got moving again, but Dash and Rarity came back far enough to look at the object that had captured his attention.

“You interested in a race?” Dash asked.

“Or maybe it’s these records,” Rarity said, “since they’re likely magic.”

“Oh, I think they are,” Gearhead said, “but we have other business to which to attend.”

“Right!” Dash said, “lets go find out what AJ’s up to.” She withered a bit under Miss Jubilee’s curious stare. “And sort some cherries.” The glare vanished.

“What’re y’all doin’ here?” Applejack asked when she walked into the Sorting Room to see the rest of her friends gathered there. Gearhead had stashed his Engine safely away, and like the mares he was wearing a clean coat and little booties to cover his horsehoes.

“We’re your cherry sorters,” Twilight said.

“Yes, you made it sound like so much fun we thought we’d give it a try,” Rarity said.

“Well then, as long as you’re all here, we might as well get this done. But no questions about Ponyville!”

“Fine,” Dash said. “Time to stop with the squaking and get with the walking.”

“I’ll let you get to it, then,” Miss Jubilee left the room, and Applejack started walking on the wooden wheel to get the conveyer belt moving. The others lined up along the conveyer belt and started pushing the red and yellow cherries into their respective bins.

After a couple of moments of sorting in silence, a nodding signal passed between the six sorters. Twilight and Rarity left their posts to go talk to Applejack. With a slight adjustment to their speed, the rest kept up with the cherries just fine. Six ponies was... excessive.

From beside the conveyer belt, it was difficult for Gearhead to hear what Applejack, Twilight, or Rarity were saying, but according to the plan all they would be trying to do was to get some sort of reaction from Applejack. It quickly became apparent that they were having some effect: the distracted Applejack kept slowly speeding up – especially when Dash joined in the questioning.

Applejack sped up so much that Gearhead stopped being able to divide his attention between the cherries and the questioners. The rumbling from the wheel and the belt became a full roar, and Fluttershy was becoming visibly distressed as she, Pinkie, and Gearhead started to fall behind. The stallion might have gotten onto the table to sort with all four hooves, but not without a place to step where he would not squash cherries!

“Please stop!” Fluttershy cried in distress. Pinkie started gathering up legfulls of cherries and depositing them on top of the others’ hats, then she went to the end of the belt and started to catch them in her mouth!

“Quattuor Magnae Spiritus invoco. Ventus transmutare alas.” The Geargem Gagger shuddered in its scabbard as Gearhead became desperate enough to resort to using his magic. He summoned two small whorls or wind and moved them into place above the conveyer belt so they would strike the cherries just so and knock them into their bins. Unfortunately the focus required to keep the whirlwinds in place was enough that Gearhead could not do anything else while he continued to also use his hooves to sort through the mass of cherries that were still coming. Fluttershy and Pinkie still lacked any method for sorting any of the cherries Pinkie had already shunted away.

“Stop!” Fluttershy called out more urgently, and somehow hearing her, Applejack stopped immediately. Unfortunately the belt was spinning so quickly by then that the momentum it imparted onto the cherries was sufficient to propel them through the air. And Applejack’s wheel was directly in the path of the cherries. Gearhead moved his whirlwinds as fast as he could, but he only managed to deflect some of the splattering cherries that pelted the poor Earth Pony mare. He could only imagine the bruising.

“I’m sorry, Applejack,” Rarity said as they cleaned up. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be better to simply tell us why you don’t want to come back?”

“Absolutely sure,” Applejack said. “There ain’t no way I can do that, so leave it alone already!” She stormed from the room.

“We’re so close to getting her to crack and talk,” Twilight said.

“Yeah,” Dash said. “I think it’s time we used our secret weapon.”

“Do you mean that that was not it?” Gearhead asked.

Dash and Twlight nodded in Pinkie’s direction, and Gearhead understood: if anypony could break through, it was the logic-breaking Earth Pony. “You may not want to be around for this,” Dash said.

“I cringe in anticipation of what that could mean.” Regardless of his deadpan delivery, Gearhead would not neglect to take advice from one of his friends, as they would never give it needlessly.

It was fortunate, in Gearhead’s case, that there was much to do in the wake of the cherry sorting debacle. First, he and Fluttershy finished cleaning the Sorting Room, then when Fluttershy left to back-up the others, leaving Gearhead alone in the room, he inspected the sorting apparatus.

“Oh my,” Cherry Jubilee said, coming in. “Your mare friends haven’t left you all on your lonesome, have they?”

“I doubt they would have much interest in this,” Gearhead said.

“What is it you’re doing to my machine anway?”

“Oh, I thought there might be a few ways for me to tune it and make it more efficient.”

“That sounds fantastic, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“I believe that shoe is on my hoof, Miss Jubilee.”

“Just ‘Cherry’ is fine,”

“Very well, Miss Cherry...”

The mare gave the stallion a curious expression.

“That is as far as I go. In any case, I wanted to ask your permission.”

“Yes?”

Gearhead took a small wrench out of one of his pockets with his tail, and tapped the wheel next to where he was standing.

“Oh, that. Yes, of course. I mean, you can. Tune it.”

Ignoring Miss Jubilee’s poise in this stuation, Gearhead flipped the wrench into the air and got to work. Compacting the mechanism and adding gearbox mechanisms would help control the belt’s speed more accurately with less effort. A spongelike barrier with a basket below it would also prevent a repeat of what had happened earlier, especially as whoever was running the wheel worked to find her or his speed under the different gears. There was also a trick for ponies not on the wheel to switch to lower gears so the runner could cut loose and not have the belt move quickly.

“Smart. Very smart,” Miss Jubilee said.

“This is why I am called ‘Gearhead.’”

“I can appreciate that. Now, would you mind doing me another small favour?”

“Okay?”

“The materials you used... do you think you could go into town and get some replacements?”

“Oh, of course.”

While the others activated Pinkie as their secret weapon against Applejack’s refusal to sink the ship, Cherry Jubilee lent one of her wagons to Gearhead. He went into Dodge Canyon to make the purchases on Miss Jubilee’s list, using money she had lent him for this purpose.

Gearhead could not have afforded it on his own, given the fact he had just given most of his profits over to Father. On top of that, he had not expected this trip to be quite so expensive, so he had not brought a lot of money along with him – not that he could not find what he needed, if he could have afforded to leave the wagon alone for long enough to go looking for gemstones. But Miss Jubilee had refused to let Gearhead go without paying for his favour right away. He guessed that was just the sort of thing Cherry Hill Ranch’s boss did.

On top of materials like the lumber and nails, cogs and sprockets that Gearhead had used to upgrade the cherry sorting machine, the list included a number of essentials and foodstuff that Miss Jubilee had taken the opportunity to add, since Gearhead was going into town anyway. This meant that he took longer to hunt down the best prices and make his purchases than he would have if he had just been looking for building supplies. That, on its own, was not a problem for the young pony.

It was the curious stares that his presence seemed to bring, wherever we went, that bothered Gearhead, combined with the shopkeepers' jittery variations on “yes, sir. Right away, sir!” as they served him. And it was not as though coming in fourth place in an impromptu race was that big a deal. It did not come with a trophy or a prize of any sort. It was mere fact that it had happened.

Gearhead was regretting ever participating in that fool race for every moment another pair of eyes burned into the back or side of his head. Although he was not wearing his core for this shopping trip, ponies were probably recognizing him by his build, colouring, and perhaps most telling, that streak of greenish hair that stuck out so much in his rust-cloured mane. It was not as though Gearhead could cut or colour it out, since it was an expression of the particle energy he had absorbed when his core overloaded during his fight against Discord. It was a badge of honour, although he and the Elemental Six were the only ones who knew the story behind it. Only now was it attracting attention.

Having finally purchased the last of the produce on the list, Gearhead trotted to the wagon and quickly secured the load before securing himself in the harness. With one last look at his own onlookers, he beat a hasty retreat back to Cherry Hill Ranch, feeling apprehensive until he was out of sight of the last townspony.

Gearhead was begininng to appreciate Fluttershy’s discomfort at having all eyes on her. Hopefully he would leave Dodge Canyon quickly enough that it would not become a phobia. It would be difficult to sell his wares if he suddenly became more socially-awkward than he already was. But first, they had to find out what was going on with Applejack.

While Gearhead was unloading the wagon, Fluttershy and Dash came into the barn. Dash started helping with the heavier stuff, while Fluttershy lent a hoof with the food and cookwear that was to go into the kitchen and pantry. “Looks like you got more than enough stuff here,” Dash said. “Which begs the question: how long does Cherry Jubilee think we’re staying?”

“I confess I do not know what she is thinking,” Gearhead said.

“She probably just wants to be prepared,” Fluttershy said. “After all, six new ponies means six more mouths to feed, even if we are working for her at the same time.”

“Trust the pony who always has more mouths to feed to come up with that one,” Dash said. “But we can’t stay.”

“Speaking of which, how did it go with Applejack?”

“She is one stubborn farmpony,” Dash said, “but we have Pinkie Pie.”

“She said she’ll tell us everything at breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“I know Applejack represents the Element of Honesty, but are you all certain we can let her be until then?” Gearhead asked.

“She made a Pinkie Promise,” Dash said. “Nopony would cut and run after that.”

“I do not understand. How is such a promise supposed to keep a strong pony like Applejack in one place?”

“Because Pinkie Pie’s scarier than a dragon when she’s angry,” Fluttershy trembled visibly. Evidentally just the thought scared her.

“Yeah. AJ knows there isn’t a faster way to get Pinkie angry than to break a Pinkie Promise. She won’t dare not to be there.”

After a hard day’s work, everypony was predictably tired and hungry. The seven friends joined the ranch’s other workers in the mess hall, and could barely stuff the food down fast enough, it was so good. Apparently, although she had hired an entire cooking team, Cherry Jubilee took an interest in preparing a part of each meal herself. Looking around, Gearhead had the sense that this motivated the stallions and the younger staff more than anypony else. For the friends and other new arrivals, it was a novel sense of accomplishment about what they had done over the course of the day that propelled them forward. Miss Jubilee understood how to motivate her ponies.

Applejack looked moody, but resigned as she ate. She cleared her plate, and then stood up. “If’n you’ll excuse me, I’ve had a long day. I’m gonna hit the hay now so I can be fresh tomorrow.”

“Great idea, AJ,” Pinkie said. “See ya bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow!”

“Yeah, Pinkie. See ya,” Applejack nodded and walked away, headed toward the staff dormitories.

“Oh my. She doesn’t look very happy,” Fluttershy said.

“It’s probably just nerves, dear,” Rarity said. “She’ll feel better once she’s had the truth out.”

“I hope so,” Twilight said. “Ponyville isn’t the same without her.”

“Don’t worry! Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise,” Pinkie said.

“NOPONY BREAKS A PINKIE PROMISE!” Pinkie’s rage was so shocking that Gearhead instinctively took a couple steps back. Apprehension was a more natural response, in his opinion, given Applejack’s empty bed and the complete lack of saddlebags in her room the following morning. Now, as the friends found that Applejack had absconded, Dash’s and Fluttershy’s comments the previous day were starting to make sense.

When Pinkie Pie was angry, she was like a force of nature. The best thing to do was to get under cover, and hope you were not the target of her ire. That sunny morning, it was Applejack who was filling that role. Everypony else followed Pinkie as she steamed ahead (literally, with steam coming from her ears) hunting for the one who dared to break one of her promises. Gearhead doubled back to grab his Alicorn Engine, but did not have the time to put it on if he hoped to catch up to the others. He slung it across his back and hoped he did not jostle enough as he ran to have it fall off his back.

Gearhead left the dormitory only to slam right into a group of ponies that had not been there before – or if they had been there, they had hung back enough that he had failed to notice them until now. The harness with the Engine went flying off his back and got lost in the crowd, even as they latched onto him from every angle and bore him to the ground.

“I would really appreciate it if you would let me up?” Gearhead said. The only reply was a squeal of delight, and the other ponies bunching in still closer. They started shouting “Mr. Fourth” and “Gearhead” practically in his ears. It only took a few moments before they started to paw at him and to start looking into his pockets. “That is not for touching,” Gearhead said, and tried to muscle his way free without hurting anyone. Unfortunately, regardless of how he struggled, he could not break free from the horde even after he managed somehow to regain his hooves.

Completely surrounded, Gearhead lost track of himself and who was in his face, or behind him, or even in some cases underneath him. Time and again he recovered enough of his strength that he thought he might have a chance of breaking free, and time and again he was unable to do so. He knew that if nopony had doubled back for him, he was on his own. But at least, regardless of all the poking, the horde had not become too personal.

Suddenly Gearhead could swear that somepony in there was licking him, and then another pulled at the hair of his tail. He let out an indignant whinny. “Enough – Great Wind!” The ponies behind him held their breath, but that was not what they should have been wary of. Just as it had done when the Witch had gained control over the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a cyclical wind system rose up around Gearhead, throwing the ponies off of him.

Even with a few tail hairs pulled, Gearhead dove for the Engine once he spotted it. He wiggled into the harness as quickly as he could. He did not have the time to mess with the leggings, if he was going to get away from the horde of rabid race fans. “Emergency start-up. Now.”

“[Emergency start-up command confirmed. Powering up. Exiting Standby Mode].” The computer’s voice eminating from a speaker in the hood was a comforting sign. Gearhead had enough time to double-check the harness to make sure he was secure, and then he leaped into the air. The core kicked in just as he was coming back down, and he soared upward, to safety.

Having gained some space, Gearhead pulled the hood and goggles on, and then started searching for Applejack and the others. With help from his magnifying lenses, he found them. They were in a wagon chase, and heading toward a set of train tracks, the train itself bearing down on their running course. Gearhead put power to the thrust, and headed in the same direction.

Gearhead saw Applejack’s wagon cross the train tracks just ahead of the train itself. The stallions who had been pulling Applejack took off as soon as she dropped out of the stage coach she had been using. Gearhead, who had passed over the train while the stallions started to pull away, came about and took up a position where he could intercept Applejack regardless of which direction she chose to run – not that she could outrun the Alicorn Engine anyway.

Dash and Fluttershy flew their wagon over the train even as Applejack continued to gloat in her victory. Applejack’s grin quickly turned to a frown, and she turned to run. “This ends,” Gearhead said, hovering in front of her to make her break her own momentum. “What is the big deal?”

“I ain’t tellin!’”

“You’d better,” Dash got out of her harness and tackled Applejack, bearing her down and making her lose her hold on her bags. Ribbons of all colours spilled out. Seeing this, Applejack deflated.

“So now you know,”

“Know what?” Twilight asked.

“I got ribbons for everything from second place to fourth place, and even fifth place... but nothing for first place, and I got none of the prize money I promised I’d get.”

“Is that why you didn’t come back?” Dash asked.

“Uh-huh. I was too ashamed to show my face in Ponyville again after being so cocksure I’d win. I couldn’t come back without the money either, and that’s why I took the job with Miss Jubilee. If I couldn’t win the money, I’d earn it.”

“You didn’t have to do all that, Applejack. Everypony in Ponyville loves you the way you are, and we all know we can depend on you,” Twilight said.

“Besides,” Gearhead said, “winning ribbons for honours from second to fifth is a great feat,”

“Miss Jubilee was right: I’ve never seen so many ribbons!” Twilight said.

“Recently I participated in a race myself, and I did not medal, so I did not collect even one ribbon. But I did my best under the circumstances, and I know that. If I can be proud of my performance, despite being apprehensive about the motives behind the race, you can be proud of your accomplishments at the Rodeo.” Gearhead wiggled his left ear. “Just a little bit proud, right?”

“Right,” Applejack said. “Okay, I’ll come back. With some of the money I promised thanks to this job. I just hope the others’re as understanding as y’all.”

“Speaking of the others, where are Pinkie and Miss Rarity?” Gearhead asked.

“Oh, that. Pinkie sorta jumped and knocked Rarity off the wagon during the chase.”

“Do you not think we should go back and get them?”

“They’ll be fine,” Dash said. “Now lets get a move on so we don’t miss the next... hey, wait a minute, you were in a race? And you didn’t tell me?!”

“Yes, although it was not my first choice of activities. You could say I was given an invitation I could not easily refuse.”

“This race of yours,” Dash said with a sly expression, “it wouldn’t happen to be a certain ‘Hoofington F1’ we’ve seen advertised everywhere, would it?”

“It is,”

“That’s why you were so interested in those posters,” Dash said.

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed so suddenly the others turned toward her and stared. “It’s not ‘F-O-R-T-H,’ it’s ‘fourth’ like ‘fourth place.’ This whole time everypony we pass has been talking about you, Gearhead. You’re Mr. Fourth because you won fourth place!”

“That is most probably it. I was uncomfortable about the race to begin with, knowing that the mayor was probably holding it to get more publicity for Hoofington by leveraging my image as some local hero flying against the odds despite being an Earth Pony. Now I know he was setting up a recording.”

“I’m sure you’ll see some royalties for it,” Twilight said.

“I was an amateur competitor, and I did not sign a contract because I did not think I needed to for such a short event. I got completely taken in, and now I do not have to see a single bit for my efforts. I wonder if the other competitors got tricked the same way?”

“Probably,” Dash said. “Most athletes only profit from sponsorships and winnings. Now, when’re you gonna race me?”

“Who can say? Perhaps when we both have some free time back in Ponyville.”

“You know I’m up for the challenge any place and any time,” Dash said.

“But first,” Twilight said, “lets get back to Ponyville.”

“Should we wait for Pinkie and Rarity?” Fluttershy asked.

“Nah, they’ll be fine,” Dash said.

“Oh, okay. If you’re sure.”

“Maybe we’d better get back to Ponyville as fast as we can anyway. I’m sure everypony’s wondering if we’re doing okay. Especially you, Applejack.”

“Well then lets get on back home so they can stop worrying!”

Before the friends could leave Dodge Junction, they decided to go back to Cherry Hill Ranch to explain themselves in full to Cherry Jubilee. At first she was put off by the fact that they had not been honest with her, and that the end result of their stay was that they would be taking Applejack, one of Miss Jubilee’s hardest workers, away. But knowing that Applejack would be returning to her hometown and her family seemed to sooth whatever thoughts of betrayal Miss Jubilee had. She paid their wages, and even gave them a boxed lunch they could eat on the train home.

While Applejack, Pinkie, and Dash took turns explaining everything to Miss Jubilee, Gearhead saw Twilight sneak off for a short bit. She returned empty-hooved, but then Gearhead had a feeling that they would only see the fruits of her actions in Ponyville.

Hours later, when the Friendship Express pulled into Ponyville Station, Applejack exited to the cheers of what seemed to be all of Ponyville. Apple Bloom cantered up and hugged her, saying “my Big Sis is back!” to which Big Mac added a characteristic, but tear-filled “Eiyup!”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring back all the blue ribbons I promised I would,” Applejack said.

“Why, that’s okay,” Granny Smith said. “We’re just glad to have you back safe and sound.”

“I should apologize to you,” Mayor Mare said. “I feel terrible about putting all that pressure on you to bring back more money and accolades for the town, when the only good reason to compete is to see how well you measure against other competitors, and to have fun. I’m sorry, Applejack.” The others added their agreement and apologies, which Applejack accepted.

“Now that we’re back, we can have a party for real!” Pinkie said.

“Oh yeah,” Twilight said. “Almost everything should still be set up.”

“We’ll rush home and get a fresh cake,” Carrot Cake said.

“Sounds delicious,” Pinkie said. “I’ll help.”

“Say, how did they know we were coming back?” Applejack asked, as the group made their way (slowly so the Cakes and Pinkie could get ahead of them) to Sweet Apple Acres.

“I sent a telegram ahead of us by Pony Air Mail,” Twilight said.

“I knew it,” Gearhead said.

“It’s hard to get anything past you,” Twilight said.

“Speaking of,” Dash said, “about this race..?” To Gearhead’s horror, she was holding a record crystal between the feathers of her left wing.

“When did you get that?”

“Oh, this? I nabbed it on our way out of Dodge. They’re really popular, but I’m fast enough that it wasn’t hard.”

“Do you happen to have a player for it?” Gearhead asked.

“Oh. Knew I forgot something.” She looked around, grabbed Fluttershy, and made her stare Gearhead down until he agreed to make a player for her – after which Fluttershy apologized.

“I had a feeling I was going to end up making it anyway, so please do not worry,” Gearhead said.

“Oh, okay then,” Fluttershy looked relieved.

“Great, then we can watch the race together!” Dash said.

“Do you really want to do that? I mean, it is not as though you can change anything watching it.”

“Yeah, I wanna see how you did,” Dash said.

“I’m also curious about it,” Twilight said.

“If you dont mind...” Fluttershy added.

“Then I guess we have our next social event,” Gearhead sighed. “I’m just glad Ponyville is not all ‘Mister Fourth’ crazy, the way Dodge Junction is.”

“Was it bad?” Fluttershy asked.

“You do not want to know,” Gearhead said.

“Yeah, race fans can get pretty rabid. That’s what these babies are for,” Dash flapped her wings.

“Ah, too bad I do not have ‘these babies,’ then,” Gearhead said.

“I could give you wings, but it takes awhile to cast, and I don’t know how much good they’d be in getting you away from a mob,” Twilight said.

“I guess I shall have to work on it with my own magic,” Gearhead said.

“Sounds like you’ve already got your next project,” Dash said.

“Actually, one of my little brothers mentioned something related to something I am already working on for my Engine prototype. It still has some work, of course, but I will be able to start trials on it fairly soon.”

“Maybe once it’s done we should do that race. What d’ya say?”

“That may be doable,” Gearhead said.

“Awesome!” Next Chapter: 20. Snow That Blooms In Autumn Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 59 Minutes