MLP: The Puzzle of Puzzle: pt2

The Puzzle of Puzzle: Pt 2
"Piecing It Together"


(Establishing shot: The Apple ranch on a clear blue day. The sun is getting low on the horizon, and the few ponies amidst the apple trees seem headed back to the ranch buildings.)
(Scene: Amidst the apple trees of the orchard, the greens and browns swimming about in a gentle late-summer haze, a bug buzzes on by as light puffs of dirt are sent up from the hooves of the walking ponies.)

"I sure do appreciate all the help, but you sure you can keep goin' like this? You've been pulling double shifts for a while now…  Not that I'm complainin'".
The blue pony shook her head sending her deep indigo, almost black, mane fluttering about, "Not at all. I said I'd help, and I managed to slip past Old Lady Patch to get here."
"She's gonna give ya'll an earful when you get back I reckon." Applejack answered, blonde tail flicking. Both ponies were pulling a wagon loaded down with apples, the axles squeaking a little as they walked.
"No worse then normal. Carrot Patch tends to be more bark then bite." Puzzle answered.
"I still can't figure why ya'll moved outta the ranch to hang out with Old Lady Patch an' Carrot Top. You get your own room in exchange for what? Gettin' yelled at all the time and havin' Carrot Top skip out and leave you with all the work. Just ain't right."
"Not that Carrot Top was that good in the garden anyway. I had to spend more time fixing her mistakes then actually gardening at first. Now that I've got the carrots on a rotation, we're able to supply all the shops in town just fine. Plus it gives me a day or so a week I can sit down with Cheerilee and get some tutoring."
"Still can't believe you haven't remembered a bloomin' thing since that storm. It's been months now!"
"I'm done trying honestly." Puzzle noted, her voice sounding slightly sad, "Maybe I'll never know. Twilight Sparkle keeps me coming around to try various spells, but I'm starting to think she's wasting her time. She says she's even in contact with Princess Celestia about me. Not sure what, but something about me keeps Twilight interested."
"Aww, that's just her way of tryin' to be neighborly."
"Well, between you and her, you're the only real friends I've got here in Ponyville."
"Surely you've met a few others."
"Sure, I've MET them. Carrot Top seems to spend more time avoiding me the anything else. Rainbow Dash is usually too busy, or I'm too busy, to be friends. Fluttershy doesn't care for me I think, especially after I chased her pet bunny out of the carrots."
"Just don't ask about Pinky Pie….  Last I heard of her she was tryin' to come up with a rhyme for "Evil Witch" in a song she's working on about you." Applejack chuckled, rolling her eyes, "Last time she went on a kick like that, it was about Zecora."
"Zecora…  the Zebra, right? I think I met her briefly, she bought some carrots from Lady Patch."
"Yeah, that's her. She's nice enough, but prefers to live out in Everfree Forest."
"And then of course there the crusaders…"
"Rambunctious trio, ain't they?"
"That's… a nice way to put it. To keep them from tearing up the carrot patch I ended up putting them to work. Scootaloo makes a fantastic courier for rush orders, and Apple Bloom did excellent work helping me fix the fence last week."
"So THAT'S where she went!! She wouldn't tell me, just sulked away that she didn't get her cutie-mark again."
"I think it'd take more then just a fence repair to get a mark. If that was all it took, I would have one by now. Every time that bunny comes to visit I end up replacing a part of the fence he breaks in through. Then Fluttershy gets mad at me for picking on her precious rabbit."
"Don't get yer apples in a bunch about that, that's just Fluttershy. She's a bit protective of her animals."
"So long as she keeps them out of the carrots, I'm happy."
The pair pulled the wagons into the barn and paused, each one shrugging out of the yokes. Puzzle spent a moment to stretch and gave a slight groan as Applejack made sure everything was secure before the pair trotted out of the barn.
"Thanks again for your help Puzzle. Ya'll go get some sleep."
"I have to swing by Twilight's first, she's got ANOTHER spell to try. Let me know if you need a hand again. You helped me get settled here in Ponyville, so I owe you."
"Aww shucks, you don't owe me nothin'. Now get goin', or Old Lady Patch is gonna chew you out."
"I'm going, I'm going. Later Applejack." The pony noted, and went trotting off in the evening air. Applejack watched for a few moments, then shook her head, "That old mare is gonna drive that poor girl into an early grave." The blonde pony shook her head slightly and gave a sigh, turning around to head home herself.


(Establishing shot: The outside of the library/home of Twilight Sparkle. The sky is alight with the colors of sundown, with reds chasing purples and pinks across the night sky, and the first few stars starting to peek out from the darker areas of velvet blue.
(Scene change: Inside the library/home. Books are scattered about and piled on the table, most of them left open to various pages. Somewhere in the middle of all that a pony resided, but we can only barely see her from behind the pile of books she seems to be working at studiously.)

The bell for her door jangled, followed quickly by the call of the resident of the house, "Spike!! Get that will you?"
The young dragon made his way to the door, nimbly avoiding the clutter of books to get to the door and opening it.
"Oh hey Puzzle." He smiled when he saw who was there, "C'mon in. Twilight is up to her neck in books right now…"
"As usual."
"No kidding. I think she found the spell she was looking for last time."
"Oh? Is she going to try and set me on fire again?"
"At least you didn't have to clean up the mess afterwards."
"Oh yes I did. I had scorch marks in my mane for a week."
"Oh, hey Puzzle." Twilight called as she finally looked up from her book.
"Evening, Twilight. Spike said you found another spell to try on me?"
"That's right. I think I found a spell that will help us look at your past. It should show us what your cutie-mark looked like." The unicorn noted excitedly.
"Still on that?" Puzzle teased affectionately, "Go ahead, what've I got to loose?"
"One moment, let me finish reading over these few lines…." and Twilight went back to her book as Puzzle and Spike exchanged glances.
"Okay, ready!" the lavender pony called triumphantly as she trotted over to join the pair.
"Do I need to do something special?" Puzzle asked, glancing as Spike headed for a nearby chair, out of the way but wanting to see the results for himself.
Twilight consulted her book for a moment, "Just close your eyes and try to focus on that empty spot in your memories."
"So think about nothing then?" Puzzle teased, but Twilight wasn't listening, the horn on her forehead beginning to glow. Puzzle closed her eyes as she started to feel the slight warmth of the magic flowing over her body, sending little shivers running through her as she struggled to stay relatively still. She pawed slightly at the floor with a hoof, feeling antsy, and found it steadily more difficult to focus.
"What in th—" Spike started, which caused one of Puzzle's eyes to pop open. Then her other eye popped open, staring at a point just above them. Before her eyes, glowing in a weird blue light, seemed to be a unicorn horn. It was long and spiraled and longer then the usual horn a unicorn has. But judging from the look Spike was giving her, there was more then just a horn. Glancing back carefully to see what possible mark her flank might hold gave her another surprise. A wing. That shouldn't even be possible, should it?
"This can't be right." Puzzle noted in a nervous tone.
"That can't be right." Twilight agreed in a hesitant voice. Spike slowly moved from his chair to walk slowly around Puzzle even as the blue pony looked back at him nervously.
"I… can't say why, but this feels VERY wrong." Puzzle noted, her voice trembling.
"You look like a miniature of Princess Celestia…." Spike answered
"Or Princess Luna." Twilight noted, causing Puzzle to shudder.
"O-okay, just turn this one off, eh? Before they decide to arrest me as a royal imposter." Puzzle noted quickly, trying to sound more confident then she felt.
Spike giggled, "Maybe you were cast out of Canterlot in that storm."
"N-not funny Spike." Puzzle noted, as the unicorn focused again, the phantasmal wings and horn vanishing.
"Well that didn't work." Twilight grumped slightly, "It gave you wings and a horn, but no Cutie-Mark."
"Maybe I never had one." Puzzle noted softly, feeling more relaxed with the phantasms gone, "Maybe something happened, and I was prevented from finding my special talent somehow."
"Not sure how they'd do that." Spike noted and patted Puzzle's side, "Besides, you looked good 'Princess Puzzle'."
"Not funny Spike." Both ponies said at once.


(Establishing shot: A small white home with green slate roof sits off in the distance, a field of carefully tilled ground extending from it in even rows. From most of those rows poked the green tufts of carrots that were growing. The entire scene is bathed in a warm, earthy embrace as the late day sun shines down in slightly reddish rays.)
(scene change: Close in on some of the rows of unpicked carrots, about 1/3 of the way from the fence-line is a pony picking up a carrot by the green tuft and tugging it out of the ground, accompanied by slightly comical sound effect and cartoonish stretching of the vegetable.)

"Hey there sugar!" Applejack called, getting the blue pony's attention. Puzzle looked up from what she was doing and nodded her way, plopping the carrot she had between her teeth into the basket nearby. The blonde pony hopped the fence and came trotting lightly up, smiling broadly as her head swiveled about under her cowboy hat, admiring the rows of unpicked carrots. "You weren't kiddin' when you said you got this carrot patch in shape. I haven't seen it look this good since Old Lady Patch stopped doing all the work herself."
"No offense to Carrot Top, but she's really not all that savvy in the garden." Puzzle noted, stretching slightly as she smiled to the other pony. "I'm surprised to see you out this way. Heading to town?"
"I'm on my way to visit Twilight Sparkle. Why don't you come along?"
"Love to, but I can't. I have to get these two rows picked before dusk tonight." She notes, motioning back over her shoulder.
"That shouldn't take no time at all. Here, I'll even give you a hand…."
"YOU will not!!" the scratchy voice of the elderly matron floated to the pair from inside the house. Puzzle sighed and looked back over her shoulder.
"I swear she could hear a fly drone from across the patch." She notes dryly.
"An' why the heck not?!?" Applejack calls back.
"Because I said so!! Now geddoff my patch you little claim-jumper!!" the older mare calls back, her head sticking out of one of the windows. Applejack gritted her teeth, her head dipping as she was tempted to give that old lady what-for, but a light nudge from Puzzle reigned her in a little.
"I can handle this. I still have to clean and strip off the roots before we can send them to the buyers in the morning, so I couldn't have made it tonight anyway."
"Why I oughtta…  grrrr…  Alright Puzzle. But I'll be back by tomarra. I think we need to talk about this."
"I think you're right. Now get going… or she'll just make you even angrier." Puzzle noted with a thin smile.
Applejack grumbled, but headed off the property, even as "Old Lady" Carrot Patch came out of the door. The blonde pony shot an angry look to the old matron, who much like her daughter had bright orange hair, even if it was streaked with grey from her age. Her fur was a pale green and interrupted only by the orange stack of carrots on her flank. Deep set eyes stared out angrily at the retreating figure of Applejack before turning to Puzzle.
"And you, what're you doing loafing around like that. You slacked off last night to help that filly on her farm and go traipsing along with your friends, and now you think I'm going to just let this slide?!? You still have your chores to do, and you've barely made a dent in picking those rows."
"Which chores did I not do up to your standards THIS time?" Puzzle asked pointedly.
"DON'T take that tone with ME!!" The carrot matron shrieked, "You know full well what chores I mean. You still have to get the shed repaired…"
"The parts are ordered. I'm just waiting on delivery."
"…and painted…"
"I already have the paint standing by. I'm waiting for the repairs first."
"…the storage bin cleaned…"
"Washed out before I started picking the carrots."
"…weeds plucked…"
"Been doing that as I go with the carrots."
"…walk swept off…"
"Scootaloo must've tracked dirt on it. I'll get her to sweep it up when she comes back."
"…deliveries to be made…"
"Handled. Scootaloo is finishing them up in town."
"…and dinner to be made!!"
"It's Carrot Top's turn to cook tonight. I made dinner last night."
"And no back-talk!!!" the matron all but screamed and slammed the stall door shut. Puzzle shook her head and sighed, going back to plucking the carrots as Applejack watched from the edge of the property, still seething.



(Scene change: No establishing shot. Directly to the inside of a cozy little café with light shining in from the wide bay windows. Several ponies sit around, some chatting amongst themselves and enjoying their various drinks while a chocolate brown unicorn delivers various drink orders.)

"I'm tellin' ya'll, you HAVE to stand up to her!!"
Puzzle sighed a bit and took a sip of her drink. She found the taste soothing, relaxing her frayed nerves. Lady Patch had driven her hard to keep her from going out again, but she managed to slip off while Scootaloo made deliveries. She had to admit that little filly was a lifesaver, the sheer speed she got those orders about town saved her incredible amounts of time. She always made sure to pay the little pony well too, even if it did take a chunk out of her own pay.
"Well if you won't stand up to her…." Applejack started when Puzzle cut in.
"I want to stand up to her. The problem is, I'm not sure how. She's fairly old… getting mad at her feels like if I tried to get mad at your Granny Smith…  I just end up feeling like I'm somehow the one at fault."
"Well…  I suppose I can see that, but Granny Smith never was so bossy either."
"She must've done something right to raise you and Big Macintosh. By the way, tell your brother thanks again for his help and teaching me how to sharpen our plow."
"Oh sure. I know he was happy to help out. But you're changing the subject…"
"No, I'm not because you're right. Which is why I agreed yesterday we needed to talk." She notes, seeing the slight surprise in Applejack's expression. "Basically, I need to ask if you'd put me up again on the farm. If this goes as I think it will, Lady Patch is going to throw me out, and I'll have nowhere to go. I took the job to get some privacy and get away from the farm. No offense but all those ponies in the stable were driving me crazy. Hard to be alone when you're surrounded by so many ponies. But I'm starting to think that this job isn't worth it. What good is privacy if you're working all the time with no chance of getting the old lady off your tail? It's been over three months, I thought she'd mellow out some if she saw me doing good work, but she just keeps getting worse."
"So you're finally fed up."
"Precisely."
"Shoot girl, we'd LOVE to have ya'll back on the farm. Granny Smith really liked you, and you KNOW Apple Bloom would like to have ya'll around again for her Crusader friends."
"Sure, give me the good with the bad." Puzzle smirked.
Applejack just laughed, then took another sip of her drink, "C'mon, let's go do this now before ya'll loose your nerve."
Puzzle nodded mutely and went to pay for their tab, but Applejack was quicker and nudged the filly out the door, leaving the partially finished drinks on the table, along with a tip for the chocolate colored pony that ran the café.


(Establishing shot: The front side of the Carrot residence, white front and dark green shingles standing out versus the reddish tinge of the sun. A small stall for selling carrots is set up to one side of the main door, currently untended.)
(Scene change: Zoom in closer on the front walk, and one can see the orange mane of Carrot Top slipping out the front door, while a glimpse of orange and green on the second floor hints at Lady Patch's location.)

"Where IS that worthless girl!?!" the matron of the Carrot house demanded, rampaging about the small home as her daughter, Carrot Top, tried to make good her own escape. Her pale orange pelt showing clearly, along with the carrots on her own flank, and capped by a curly mane and tail of bright orange. To her surprise she found a pair of ponies coming up the walk themselves, Puzzle standing side by side with Applejack.
"Momma Patch is in a foul mood right now." She hissed to Puzzle, "I'm not sure you want to quit right now."
Puzzle blinked slightly, "Wait, why would you care if I quit?"
It was Carrot Top's turn to look surprised, "You're hundreds of times better then I was in the garden. Everything I tried to do just backfired. Thanks to you, we're actually making money again and almost caught up with our debt. But… well Momma Patch has been harder on you then she ever was with me, and I was a failure. If you're going to quit, I wouldn't stand in your way. I just hope we can be friends after all this, without Momma getting in the way."
Puzzle blinked in surprise, then her expression softened, "I'd love to."
Before she could say more, however, the front door slammed open and the matron they were just speaking of came storming out of the opening, "THERE you are!! Where in the world have you been filly??!? Never mind, get your tail in gear; you've got chores to do."
"No, I don't." Puzzle stated.
"Did you forget whose house you're staying in?!?"
"No ma'am, I didn't forget. But I'm finished being yelled at and treated less like a pony, and more like a mule…  No offense." She offered sheepishly to the nearby mule sauntering past the scene.
"None taken…  Happens a lot." The mule noted amiably, and continued to trot on past.
"So you're refusing to work?" Carrot Patch demanded, her voice dipping down to a hiss.
"I never refused to work. I've been working, and working hard, for the months I've been here. What I am refusing to do is to take your yelling, your ordering, your constant badgering and yelling and cajoling and whining and complaining and hissy fits." Puzzle stated, her own voice rising with her long suppressed anger.
"Is THAT what you call making this carrot patch run smoothly?!?"
"No ma'am, it's what I call what you did just now, thundering about like the storm that dropped me in this town. Where you spend more time yelling about things I've either already handled, or have plans in motion to handle then even offering a single word of encouragement or compliment to what I am doing or have done. Your own daughter just confirmed that my work in your patch has brought you back to a level of profitability. If you can't manage a single compliment for that, then I'll simply leave you to your anger. You won't have me to yell at anymore."
For several long moments, not a sound was heard, only the soft whistling of the wind as the 4 members of this pageant eyed each other. On one side, "Old Lady" Carrot Patch, eyes furrowed and expression so angry it seemed bordering on hateful. Near her, and trying to remain inconspicuous, stood her daughter Carrot Top, her bright orange hair fluttering in the wind. On the other side was Puzzle, deep purple mane fluttering like the night sky behind her. Visually her opposite, but standing shoulder to shoulder with her friend, was the proud form of Applejack.
The sound of laughter was a shock to all present it seemed. Puzzle looked… puzzled. Applejack cast about for who might be laughing. Even Carrot Top looked confused. Only "Old Lady" Carrot Patch seemed nonplussed, but that was because the laughter was hers. Not cold and harsh, but warm and hearty.
"Finally!!" she crowed, her voice still scratchy, but having gained sudden warmth to it, "Finally you show your backbone. You got some support, you argued your case, and you stood up to me. Well done girl!!" the old mare crowed, clapping her front hooves together, as the other 3 ponies offered a collective "HUH?!?"
Carrot Patch came towards Puzzle, smiling the whole way in a manner that made her seem like a completely different pony, "I'm sorry I had to push you like that, but frankly, I'm getting old and want to retire. I wanted to hand off the family business to Carrot Top there, but she doesn't have the work savvy. So I needed to find some-pony who could work the patch without breaking under the strain and who wouldn't just run it into the ground. I tried being nice to other hires, and they always turned out lazy or just put things off too long. In short, filly, I needed to make sure you could do everything that needed to be done and not break under the strain."
"So with that, here's what I'm going to do fillies." She notes with a smile, and motions to her daughter, who comes up with a careful slowness. "I'm going to officially retire, as of today. Carrot Top, Puzzle, you both are going to run my patch now."
"Wait, you mean…" Carrot Top started.
"…as partners?" Puzzle finished.
"Precisely." Carrot Patch answered simply. "You both know your roles in it. Carrot Top, you've never had the knack in the garden, but you've got the business sense. You've been a wheeler and dealer since you were little; it's why I always took you to market with me. You would outsell me every time. As such, Carrot Top, you're going to be in charge of the selling and money side of things. Puzzle? In the past few months, you've practically replanted the entire patch, got the crop of carrots working in a smooth rhythm that keeps all our buyers happy, and even managed to rebuild most of the fencing. You found your own rhythm that allows you enough free time that you've been able to see your friends between work. That puts you in charge of the garden itself. I don't care if you never get your cutie-mark, as far as I'm concerned you're a natural in the field and part of the Carrot family. I assume your friendship with Applejack helped with your work ethic." The blonde pony puffed proudly as the elder pony continued, "And as for Old Lady Patch, she's goin' on VACATION. I always wanted to visit Fillydelphia…." and she wandered back into the house, leaving the trio alone in the sudden silence.
"Well that was…" Puzzle started.
"…unexpected." Carrot Top finished.
The two looked at each other, and then began to laugh, bumping hooves.


(Establishing shot: A bright clear day in Ponyville, the green trees reaching for the sky and the earthy browns enveloping all in a warm rich glow under the eye of a watchful sun. Blue water reflects the bright colors of the various fillies and ponies lazing about in the late-day sun.)
(Scene change: Moving slowly through the center of town, the passing bandstand to the right, and the fountain off to the left.)

"So it's all settled then?" Twilight asked her friend as they ambled casually down the road.
"Yup, that's it." The blonde filly answered, "The old lady was trying to push Puzzle into fighting back."
"Can't say I much care for her methods…"
"Me neither Sugar-cube, me neither. But things have been runnin' smoothly since Old Lady Patch left and headed to the big city."
"And Puzzle found her own home now. Only a few months and she's already part owner, she must be happy!"
"Ya'll ain't kiddin'. She's been busy, but workin' with Carrot Top those two are makin' that lil' business boom! Everyone seems to be warming up to her, too. Well, everyone except…"
"Oh no…" Twilight groaned, "Pinky finished her song?"
"She said it's a 'work in progress' right now, but she's been singin' it to any-pony who will listen."
"Maybe we should remind her who provides the carrots for Mrs. Cake's carrot cake?"
"Now you know why I let Scootaloo do the deliveries there." Came a new voice, and the pair of ponies turned to see the pale blue pony approaching them.
"Hello Puzzle." Twilight answered.
"That's probably smart." Applejack chuckled.
"So what's going on?"
"I've got another spell to try on you, Puzzle." Twilight noted with a happy smile.
"Uh oh…" the remaining two ponies noted, glancing worriedly at each other, which Twilight either missed or completely ignored.

(Fade out; End part 2)