//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: The Lone Crusader // Story: Cutie Fixation // by WondersparkOfHope //------------------------------// Scootaloo paced around the Crusader clubhouse, fraught with anxiety. It'd been about a month since the incident at Carousel Boutique, and Applebloom was nowhere to be found. The policemares had all but dismissed Sweetie Belle's case by that point and if Applebloom wasn't soon found, then her case would be dropped as well. Now she was the only crusader left standing and felt conflicted on her next move. She wanted to go to Sweet Apple Acres, but she knew that it would be too dangerous to go alone. After all, even with Twilight they were still ambushed at the Boutique, and she was afraid to take that chance. "Grrr....we shouldn't have left the clubhouse to begin with!" she sighed. "I feel so stupid!" Then again, Scootaloo had been the one to tell Applebloom to just leave it be. "But where did that get us? Another missing pony!" How many more foals were going to go missing before other ponies began to care? And why had none of their families been in an uproar? She heard nothing from Applejack, Big Mac, or Granny Smith on Applebloom; not a peep from Rarity about Sweetiebelle. It was as if they never even existed. "This isn't fair!" she cried out in frustration before bucking the clubhouse wall. "Something needs to be done!" Yes....something. And that soon solidified her decision. There was no way she would be able to just sit by until another went lost. She had to go looking by herself, consequences be damned. "Cutie Mark Crusaders--er, Crusader--Detective, action go!" she cried out, before cantering down the ramp. By the time she closed in on Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo has used up all of her stamina. Her heart was banging on her chest and her blood was racing. Sweat was invading her face from the hot sun, but she still pushed on to the farm where she was met with a surprise, a horrific one. All of the apple trees were withered or currently withering away. Their produce had all but turned brown or even black. Moving in closer, Scootaloo could see little insects crawling around the apples; what sort of insects they were she didn't know, and she didn't want to know. The leaves were just barely hanging on or had dropped to the ground completely, having given up on trying to survive. The ground around them had turned dry and bitter, giving off the impression that this was some sort of graveyard. To Scootaloo, knowing the Apples, this wasn't just odd; it was alarming. And that made the fact that the rest of the town was doing nothing about it exceptionally terrifying. Had no one bothered to check the place for anything? Clues? DNA? Even a newborn foal could do a better job than anyone else had been! All of a sudden, she felt a drop of water on her before a waterfall doused her. "Hey!" she snapped before looking up at the perpetrator. "Oh, hey Scoots!" Rainbow Dash called out. "You here to help water the place for the Apples?" "What do you mean?" "I was told to water the farm while they were away on a long business trip. Something about an Equestria world tour or whatever." Hearing this, Scootaloo blinked. "Who told you--?" "By the way I was also asked to clean inside, but that's not really my thing, well at least not by myself; can you get it started?" Rolling her eyes, the filly approached the farmhouse when suddenly an overwhelming sense of dread took hold of her. Attempting to push through, she pushed on the door inside. Or rather tapped it. CRASH! The door fell right off of its hinges, hitting the ground. Dust flew around, causing Scootaloo to cough. The sense of dread inside her grew even more, but she had to push on. Heading inside she was greeted by a horrific sight. All of the furniture was either turned over, broken, or both. Glass littered the carpet. Pictures and trinkets had been seemingly flung off of their shelves. Even the lights were shattered. A cry escaped Scootaloo's throat. She found herself rooted to the spot, trembling, as various horrific scenarios spun inside her mind. "You okay, squirt?" Rainbow Dash called. Her heart was practically begging to escape her body and soon a cry of fright escaped her throat. "....No! No, I'm not!" She cantered back over to Rainbow, who was finishing up with the cloud. "You need to see the inside, Rainbow! Please! It's urgent!" Hearing this, Rainbow looked down at her and shrugged. She knew that fillies had overactive imaginations, like she did at their ages, but she also knew never to push them aside. "Okay, sure." Flapping her wings at a leisurely pace, she took her sweet time to flutter down into the doorway's view. "You know, if you wanted us to start the cleaning together, you could've just asked me instead of---SWEET CELESTIA!" The weather pony's eyes were bulging from her skull. "You should've just told me that it'd been turned into a crime scene!" "P-probably," the filly squeaked. "Rainbow Dash? Scootaloo?" The two whirled around to see Twilight heading their way. "I didn't know you both were asked to take care of the farm." It took her a moment to register the fear on their faces. "Is something wrong?" she asked. There was still one question that had been bouncing about Scootaloo's mind for a month, and now she had the question for both Rainbow Dash and Twilight. "Um....Twilight?" she asked meekly, afraid of the answer. "How did you find out that Rarity and her family went on a vacation?" "Miss Cheerilee told me when I visited the schoolhouse to pick up Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." "For how long?" "Umm.....she didn't give me that info." The dread was enveloping Scootaloo as she turned to Rainbow Dash. "And who....asked you to take care of the farm?" "That was also Miss Cheerilee." "And....how long?" "I never got told about any specific time either. Just something like when they feel the time's right." Dots were beginning to connect in Scootaloo's mind. "First Sweetie Belle goes missing," she thought aloud. "Then Miss Cheerilee tells Twilight that her family went on vacation. We get ambushed. Applebloom goes missing. Then Miss Cheerilee tells Rainbow Dash that her family went on some tour or whatever---Oh Celestia...." "What is it, kid?" Rainbow asked. Scootaloo looked between the two. They were likely her only hope. "I need you two to come with me....I need backup..." "Scootaloo, are you saying--?" Twilight began. The filly nodded in determination. "We need to go visit Miss Cheerilee. Now."