"Good morning everypony..."

Another bright and shining morning shone over Ponyville; and, once more, Pinkie was already up and at 'em, hard at work with breakfast. Octavia had awoken earlier than usual, and had a newspaper in her hooves, scanning it over. Vinyl Scratch groggily trotted into the room and took a seat, a massive yawn escaping her.

"Mmh... what's for breakfast..." muttered the DJ, surprising herself that the words came together in a semi-intelligible manner.

"Pinkamena found the recipe for making waffles and decided she wanted to make some of those, so we're having waffles with a side of toast."

Pinkie turned around, wearing an apron with a big pink heart on it, grinning. "Yup! And this time, I didn't have to borrow anything from the neighbors!"

Octavia chuckled. "Yesterday she tried waffles for the very first time and demanded I help her make her own... so, we found a recipe, bought the necessary materials, and here we are."

Vinyl had, admittedly, tuned most everything out once she learned what she was eating. Her head hurt way too much to care about much of anything else right now. In fact, she felt like there was something important she was forgetting... her pill? No, she took that a few minutes before her company came over... chores? ... No, she rarely did those... what was...

Just then, her eyes snapped open and she beamed.

"HOLY COW TODAY I DJ!"

Pinkie almost dropped the knife she was using to butter the toast.

"Oh man yeah! Today's gonna rock SO hard you girls! I'm gonna get to DJ for the club, and my career's gonna skyrocket, just you wait and see! Aw, it's gonna be SO bitchin', I'm gonna fill that room with so many wubs and epic beats that ear drums will bleed, stomachs will burst, mares will get pregnant, and then stallions will become mares just so they can get pregnant!"

Octavia stared at Vinyl with a look of half confusion, half disgust on her face. "That.... is one of the most disturbing proclamations of the effects one's success would have on the world that I think I've ever heard..."

Pinkie put everypony's plates in front of them. "Soup's on!"

Octavia eyed the waffles carefully. She already knew her sister could make toast, but this was the absolute first time Pinkie had ever made waffles. Sure, they LOOKED okay, but just beneath their waffley exterior could lie any number of horrors; especially if Pinkie got creative with the recipe! Why, she could have filled it with hot sauce for extra flavor, or put soda into the mix, or cut a pony up and add them to the recipe-- no, wait, what? Where did that last one come from...?

She looked over to Pinkie, who was staring at her expectantly, grinning. She turned to face Vinyl, who seemed to be waiting for her to take the first bite; of course Vinyl would expect her to take the first bite. Octavia sighed and looked back to her sister, smiling as she took up a fork and knife, cut a single square off her waffle (how ponies could do this with their hooves, even the greatest minds of a generation could not determine, simply opting for the explanation of 'It's magic, I don't have to explain shit') and, slowly, painfully, clutched her eyes together as she pushed the little square into her mouth.

She chewed a few times.

She opened her eyes a little.

And chewed a bit more.

Then her eyes became wide.

And she swallowed.

Octavia blinked, still wide-eyed, as she stared down at the waffle, clearly in disbelief. She let her expression shift to gaze at her sister.

"... P-Pinkamena.... this has to be the single most delicious waffle I have ever eaten..."

Pinkie Pie's grin, somehow, seemed to brighten even more.

With a shrug, Octavia simply took her waffle onto her fork and took bites out of the entire thing, as opposed to cutting it up. Pinkie, without hesitation, took each waffle and ate them whole, one by one. Octavia, still pleasantly surprised by her sister's successful waffle endeavor, continued cutting pieces off and enjoying the savory delights.

****************

"Now, Pinkamena, are you sure you want to go into these stores? I mean, if you go into both of them on the same day, you might start a fight between their proprietors..."

Pinkie giggle-snorted as she turned to face her sister. "Of course, silly! If these two ponies fight so much, I bet they make really good food! I wanna try a cupcake from both shops to compare and contract!"

"That's contrast, Pinkie..."

"What? At this time of day? What would the neighbors think!? Anyway, I figure if baking is an art, and art is the window to the soul, then just by tasting each of their cupcakes I can get an idea of what kinda ponies they are deep deep down inside!"

"Pinkamena, I know that sounds reasonable to you, but I don't think--"

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

The two ponies stopped a distance away to see that, once again, the stallion and the mare were barking at each other outside their shops.

"What's wrong with me!? What's wrong with you!?"

The stallion growled and pointed at some graffiti that had been sprayed on his shop that said 'Karot Kake Suks'. "I KNOW you had something to do with this!"

"What!? Do you think I'd stoop so low on YOUR behalf? Sure, maybe that up and coming Donut Joe in Canterlot, but YOU wouldn't be worth the time it took to step outside, let alone get close to the wall of your horrid little store!"

"I know you had something to do with this, and I'm gonna prove it! And when I do, you mark my words, there will be hell to pay!"

"Yeah? Well best of luck to you, you imbecile!"

"Bitch!"

"Moron!"

The two ponies immediately slammed their doors shut as they retreated back into their respective shops. Pinkie and Octavia stared, jaws agape, at the scene that had just unfurled before them. "Those two... have a lot of anger in them don't they?"

Octavia's eye twitched. "You only know the half of it. It gets worse during big events... bake offs, festivals... one year they actually started a food fight because somepony actually mistook one of the two bakers for the other..."

Pinkie shrugged. "Well, the path to happiness starts with a single step! Let's go inside!"

"Wha- Pinkie!"

Without another word, Pinkie bounced towards one of the two shops - the one the stallion had been in.

There was a jingle as the door opened. Pinkie took a moment to analyze the shop. It was brightly colored with white, yellow, and light blue colors befitting of a bakery. It wasn't very decorative, seeming like any other shop, really.

"Oh! Welcome to Carrot Cakes' Bakery, what'll ya have?"

Pinkie's attention diverted to the yellow-coated stallion. He smiled warmly at her, waiting for a response. The bell over the door jingled as Octavia entered, not particularly eager to follow her sister on this doomed endeavor.

Pinkie hummed. "Well, do you have... cupcakes?"

Carrot Cakes' eye twitched a bit at the word, but he shook his head and the sincere smile returned. "Why, yes! The best cupcakes in the town in fact! Why, I doubt you'd find a better cupcake within miles of here! Heck, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find anything named cupcake that's as good as my cupcakes!"

Pinkie smiled. "Right! Well, I'd like one cupcake, please?"

Carrot Cake blinked, obvious confusion on his face. "Wh... one? Just one cupcake?"

Pinkie nodded furiously. Carrot Cake could swear he heard a bell jingling as she did.

"... You... don't want a dozen?"

"Nope!"

"... Half a dozen?"

"Uh-uh!"

"... Four?"

"Nosiree!"

Carrot Cake hummed a bit, before shrugging. He reached into the counter, pulling a single cupcake out, and setting it on the counter. "Here you go. That'll be one bit, please."

Pinkie took the cupcake and, without another word, threw it into the air and caught it in her mouth, chewing happily. Octavia blinked a few times before remembering Pinkie didn't have any money. A sigh of defeat, she produced her bag and put a single bit on the counter.

"Mmm! That was tasty! Thanks Mr. Cake!"

"You're welcome, kid! Anything else I can get you?"

"Nope! I'm good! Bye now!"

With that, Pinkie left, and Octavia, still resigned to her defeat, trailed along behind her. The two ponies made their way directly towards the next shop over; Octavia silently hoping nopony would see and tell either of the stores' owners of the transfer.

Once more, a jingle as a door opened.

This store was considerably different from the previous. The walls were yellow, pink, and purple in color, with a lot of pastry themed decorations. It was no surprise, on retrospect, that the store's owner's hair itself looked like icing.

"Oh! Hello dears! How can I help you this fine day?"

Pinkie trotted to the counter. "Oh! Uhh... how about... one cupcake!"

Cup Cake stared, her mouth seeming to move wordlessly before she found her voice. "One Cupcake?"

Pinkie nodded furiously. Cup Cake was certain that she heard a rattling sound as she did.

"... You... don't want a dozen?"

"Nope!"

"... Half a dozen?"

"Uh-uh!"

"... Four?"

"Nosiree!"

Cup Cake stared for a few minutes before shrugging. "One Cupcake it is then!" Reaching into the counter, she pulled from it a single cupcake and handed it to Pinkie, who tossed it into the air and let it fall into her mouth, chewing happily. Octavia put a bit on the counter.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, girls?"

Pinkie hummed. "Oh! Do you sell carrot cakes!?"

Cup Cake's eye twitched a bit, but then she reasserted her sincerity. "Oh yes! Best Carrot Cakes in Ponyville! Probably better than most carrots! Or most cakes! Or ponies with those names!"

"... What...?"

Everypony turned their attention to a yellow-coated mare with an orange mane as she frowned. Cup Cake gasped and smiled nervously. "Oh! No no no, not you, Carrot Top!"

Carrot's lip trembled a bit and she ran out of the store sobbing. Cup Cake stared at the door. "Oh... oh dear... that's going to hurt business..."

Pinkie pursed her lips together. "Maybe if you give her free cupcakes she'll feel better? I know that'd cheer me up if you said you had the best pies in town that beat anything with pie in their name! Well, thank you, Mrs. Cake!"

Cup Cake giggled. "Oh, sweety, I'm not married."

Pinkie hummed. "Oh! ... Huh, sorry, I do that sometimes!"

With that, the sisters Pie left the bakery, leaving it's proprietress to sigh and pray that the damage caused by the distressed Carrot Top would be minimal.

The two ponies trotted down the street, Octavia averting her gaze to her sister. "Well... you annoyed two bakers and sent a carrot farmer home crying for this. I hope you got what you wanted?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yup! Both cupcakes taste equally tasty! I bet they could make really good cupcakes if they worked together, or at the VERY least stopped fighting each other all the time!"

Octavia rubbed her forehead. "Wait... you... had me buy you cupcakes just to come to that conclusion? No grand scheme?"

Pinkie smiled. "Nope!"

Octavia muttered some colorful and off-character phrases under her breath. Just then, the two ponies caught sight of two other ponies - what are the odds? Pinkie squinted her eyes as the familiar figures approached, then grinned wide.

"OH! Applejack! Big McIntosh!"

The two ponies stopped, a smile spreading on Applejack's face as she trotted towards the two. "Oh! Hi there ahh.... uhm.... " She brought a hoof to the back of her head and rubbed nervously. "Well this is embarrassin', Ah forgot yer name!"

Pinkie smiled. "That's okay! My name's Pinkie Pie!"

Applejack blinked, quirking a brow. "Pinkie Pie? ... That's an unusual name..."

"Says th' mare named Applejack Apple..."

"Says th' pony named Big McIntosh Apple... okay, yeah, that sounds slightly better, but you get mah point!"

Pinkie giggled. "Well, I AM an unusual pony! I think! I'm pretty sure!" She tapped her hoof to her chin. "Are there other Pinkie Pies? What if there's an entire heard of Pinkie Pies somewhere I don't know about?" She let out a loud gasp. "What if they try to conquer Ponyville and spread mayhem and make fingers on their hooves and make weird faces resembling ponies of generations past!?"

Everypony fell silent. Octavia smiled nervously. "Don't mind her... she does that sometimes..."

Applejack chuckled. "Salright, we got strange ponies in Ponyville... don't hurt t' have another one! So, what're y'all up to this fine day?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I'm trying to figure out why the bakers hate each other!"

Big Mac rolled his eyes. "Yer guess is as good as anypony else's at this point.

Pinkie nodded. "So yeah! What are you apples up to?"

Applejack shrugged. "Me n' Big McIntosh was just roamin' about town, lookin' fer some more stuff fer our upcomin' family reunion. It's at th' end of th' week, an' Ah'm plum excited!"

Octavia stepped forward. "Wait... you mean the Apple Family reunion? Where Apples and Apple relatives come from every corner of Equestria?"

Big Mac nodded. "Th' very one?"

Octavia tried to bite back a smile. "Y-you wouldn't happen to be able to use a cello player for entertainment... could you? I-I'll play for free!"

Big Mac and Applejack looked to each other, then back to Octavia, and Big Mac spoke up. "Nnnope."

Octavia deflated. "What...? Just... 'nope?'"

Applejack smiled nervously. "Aint nothin' personal, sugarcube, 'sjust that our family tends t' lean more towards its roots when it comes t' music, an' we've got plenty-a relatives who can play any instrument... so... it's not that we don' think yer good 'nuff, we don't even know how well you play, it's just that it's kinda redundant..."

Pinkie blinked. "Hey! Applejack! You're about my age, so why is it you do most of the talking? Why doesn't Big Mac talk much?"

Applejack smirked. "He aint much of a talker. You can get 'em goin' sometimes, but he don' like t' say more n' needs t' be said most times."

"Eeyup."

"Applejack! Big McIntosh!"

The four ponies turned around in time to see a familiar face rushing up to them.

One Carrot Top.

She reached the group, panting and heaving. Big Mac looked to his sister with concern etched on his features as Applejack trotted towards the mare. "Calm down Carrot Top, what's th' big hurry? Y'all look like somepony's been hurt!"

Carrot Top gulped a bit and looked into Applejack's eyes.

"I-it's your dad..."

Applejack and Big Mac looked to each other before taking off. Pinkie immediately gave chase, along with Carrot Top.

"P-Pinkie! This doesn't-- wait!"

The five ponies galloped through town, dodging and passing several ponies along the way. Thankfully, Sweet Apple Acres was not a great distance away from where they had been, so it wasn't too much in between them and their goal. Pinkie wanted to turn her attention to the various apple trees, but something was pulling her attention to the farm.

Eventually, they neared the farmhouse. Several guards were surrounding and patrolling the place. What drew everypony's attention, however, was two guards standing next to a red coated stallion with a blonde mane, wearing a stetson hat, as well as a green mare standing next to him, staring down at him with sadness in her eyes.

"PA!"

The voice shrieked as the orange mare rushed past everypony else to the stallion's side, with her brother tagging along behind her. Octavia put her hooves over her mouth, staring in horror at the sight before her, Pinkie's own expression blank as her mind tried to process what was going on.

"Search the area! We've got a suspect on the loose, and he is dangerous! Search everywhere, don't let him get away!"

As Pinkie focused more on the stallion, she noticed a massive injury in his chest, and some ponies frantically trying to put pressure on the injury. Applejack was weeping as she neared her father, getting close to him.

"Pa! Oh Pa, what happened!? How did--"

The stallion coughed a bit, his eyes obviously tired, weak... and his voice showed those same traits as he spoke.

"Applejack... sugar cube... h... how're Ma n' Applebloom...? What about that nice friend-a yours who came here... they okay?"

Applejack looked to Carrot Top, who frowned in response and was visibly fighting tears. She turned back to her father, unsure of anything, when the elder green mare spoke up.

"Me n' Applebloom're fine, Alex... don't y'all worry, that hooligan didn' lay a hoof on the lil' un..."

The stallion smiled weakly and coughed a bit to the side, a bit of blood splattering on the dirt before him. He turned back to Applejack and Big Mac, seeming to try to focus on them.

"... Ah.... Ah don' think Ah'm gonna make it..."

Applejack furrowed her brow. "Pa! Don't talk like that, yer gonna be okay! We already lost ma, we can't lose you! The paramedics'll be here soon-- Where the hay are the paramedics!?"

One of the guards looked to her. "We've already sent somepony to retrieve them but they're--"

Applejack shouted. "What the hell is wrong with y'all!? Don’t ya have some unicorns who can use some fancy healin' or blinkin' powers t' help mah pa!?"

Big Mac placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. She looked back to her brother to see his stoic expression betrayed by tears in his eyes.

"... Big McIntosh...?"

Pinkie had just noticed that Big McIntosh was actually larger than his father physically. "Yes pa?"

"... Ah.... Ah'm afraid yer th' stallion of th' house now... n'... Ah know you can do it... yer strong.... reliable... take care 'a yer sisters n' granny fer me...."

Big Mac nodded solemnly, his voice raspy as he spoke. "Ah will, pa..."

Alexander looked to Applejack and smiled still. "Applejack... Ah'm sorry... Ah know this mus' be hard fer ya... but..... Ah need ya t' help yer brother fer me... you two... Granny... Applebloom... y'all gotta watch each others' backs....... be there for each other...."

Applejack sniffled and shook her head, brushing her eyes with her hoof. She spoke with a voice mixed with a desire to deny what was happening, but trying to accept it. "... Ah will pa...."

He smiled a bit, and he gently reached a hoof up to her, brushing her face. He chuckled a bit, slowly closing his orange eyes. "... ya..... ya have her spirit..... an'.... Ah want you t' have her hat...." The stallion tilted his head, as if gesturing to the hat on his head. Applejack's jaw fell, and she gently took the hat from his head, slowly pulling it towards herself, staring at it like it was the single most important thing in her world.

For all Pinkie knew, it was.

Applejack sniffled more, and stared at her father with tear-drenched eyes and a trembling lip. The stallion frowned a bit at his daughter. "... Applejack...?" She didn't respond, just nodded to show she was listening. The stallion gave a weak grin. ".... Who's a silly pony...?"

Applejack tried not to, but she couldn't help but smile a bit and choke out a laugh - one of the saddest laughs Pinkie had heard in her life. "Ah am.."

The stallion smiled genuinely. "... There's my girl.... y'all......" He seemed to close his eyes more, his hoof drifting downward as gravity won its fight. ".... y'all.... 've made me...... so...... proud....."

His hoof hit the floor, and he gave a soft sigh.

"Dammit, we're losing him! Where the hell are those paramedics!?"

Applejack's jaw hung open, forming words that did not come out as she tried to speak. She slowly turned to her brother and hugged him tightly with one foreleg. Big McIntosh wrapped a foreleg around her, closing his overflowing eyes as his sister began to wail into his chest.

The elder mare simply bowed her head and closed her eyes, tears pouring down her aged face. The guards simply bowed their heads; one of them turned and walked away, swearing to himself, obviously disappointed in what he had likely interpreted as his own personal failure.

Pinkie slowly averted her gaze towards Octavia, who was hiding her mouth, but her eyes were pouring. The pink mare turned her gaze back at the family before her when she noticed something on her cheek, and that it was becoming harder to see. She put a hoof up to see what it was, and as she pulled it away, noticed that her hoof was wet.

Pinkie Pie was crying.

She looked at everypony again, as if trying to figure out what was going on. She had heard of ponies dying before, but she had never seen it happen. Nopony close to her had ever died before. Was that what was happening?

And why did her chest hurt so much?

Pinkie turned to her sister once more, and this time, Octavia looked back. The elder sister's own expression of sorrow deepened, and she moved towards Pinkie and wrapped her hooves around her sister. Pinkie didn't know why, but without even sending the command to her limbs, she returned the gesture.

And before she knew it, she was sobbing into her sister's shoulder.

She turned her attention once more to the family, to the orange mare hugging tightly against her brother with one foreleg, the other one keeping the stetson clutched tightly against her body.

--------------------------------------------------------------
TO BE CONTINUED...