Noble's Ends
The train from Canterlot steamed towards Ponyville as the sun began it's journey through the sky. The train compartments were a little empty today, which suited the contents of one such compartment perfectly fine.
A pair of pegasai sat opposite each other, one reading the morning paper, the other looking out the window. The pony reading the paper was mustard yellow, with a dark pink mane and tail, her cutie-mark five flowers arranged in a circle. The other was light pink, with a deep blue mane and tail, her cutie-mark a pair of blue lightning bolts.
She rested her chin on a hoof as she idly stared out the window, her wings occasionally flicking with nervous energy. Her light purple eyes roamed around the compartment, searching for something to hold her attention.
“You know we could have flown to Ponyville by now, Posey.”
Posey lowered her paper slightly, smirking at her friend.
“We were in Canterlot already, Firefly. What's wrong with a nice, relaxing train ride in the morning? I even paid extra to get us breakfast service.”
Firefly smirked. “Well...far be it for me to turn down a free meal. But this ride is so boooring! I wanna get out and stretch my wings! I can feel my muscles withering away as we speak.”
“Oh, hush. One morning of taking it easy won't ruin your figure.”
Firefly smirked as she shifted in place. “So, when's this breakfast cart come through anyway?”
“Soon enough.” Posey responded as she folded up the paper and dropped it on the seat next to her. “So, let's go over the plan again.”
“It's not much of a plan, Posey. We go, talk with our daughters about Skitch-Sketch, then talk to her. Maybe get a look at the inside of her place. Find out if these rumors are true, which, personally, I think they aren't. The Canterlot crowd is so dependent on feeling like they have the ear of the princess that new arrivals freak them out. They pulled the exact same scare fest when Luna came back, after all.”
“Normally, I'd agree with you Firefly, but you remember what the sky looked like that night.” Posey sighed. “I just...I'll feel a lot better if I could see her for myself. Just to make sure that she doesn't mean us any harm.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean...” Firefly trailed off, blinking. “...Is that Nouveau Riche?”
Posey twisted around, looking down the corridor to where the breakfast cart was rolling along, a familiar looking pony having intercepted it and grabbed a bagel. He turned, his eyes locking with Posey's before he smiled and began to walk their direction.
Both pegasai frowned as he slid into their compartment, taking a seat next to Posey. “Well, fancy meeting a pair of Cloudsdale's weather magnates on the train to Ponyville. What brings you two out this way?”
“That's private business, Nouveau.”
“Really? You sure that it's nothing in particular? Not a certain human turned pony that's living in the town?”
“You're as subtle as a run away minotaur.” Firefly growled. “I don't remember inviting you into our compartment, by the way.”
“It's a free train.”
“Fine. Same question to you.” Posey responded. “What is the head of the First Canterlot Bank doing heading out to Ponyville?”
“I'm going to visit my granddaughter, if you must know. It's been a while since I've been able to make the trip.”
Posey snorted. “Right. And I'm sure that you're not here to check up on the ex-human either.”
“And if I am? Perhaps we'd be able to work together on this?”
“I'd rather work with Discord than you.” Firefly grumbled. “I'd get screwed over all the same, and I might actually get a laugh out of the experience.”
Riche frowned. “Still bitter over that loan, Firefly? It's not my fault you didn't read the contract closely enough. Besides, you paid me back in the end and now your weather supplying business can serve the southern griffon kingdoms too.”
“Go jump off a cliff, Riche. Preferably a tall one.”
Riche shook his head. “Fine. You do what you need to do, and I'll do what I need to do.”
He got to his hooves and headed out of the compartment before heading further down the train.
Posey sighed and shook her head. “He is everything wrong with the nobility and business ponies in one package.”
“Well, forget him. Let's just worry about our own goals here.”
“Agreed.”
- - - -
A few hours later, Rainbow Dash stepped out the door of her house taking a deep breath as she looked out over Ponyville. She was up earlier than usual today- the clock on her wall reading nine in the morning- which was a sign that something strange was going on weather wise. She scanned the horizon, looking for whatever might have tripped her sixth sense and awoken her early.
There it was! Rolling out of the Everfree were a series of black storm clouds that were sweeping towards the town. Leaping off her cloud home, she winged her way over to the weather station to check in.
Thunderlane and Raindrops were currently standing on the roof, looking at the storm as it was sweeping in.
“Hey!” Rainbow shouted. “Why aren't we shutting that storm down already?”
Thunderlane glanced down at Rainbow Dash, a very wide grin on his face.
“Oh, we were asked not to. She wanted to make sure you got off your tail.”
Rainbow blinked. “She?”
The next moment, Rainbow was tackled from behind, scooped into a headlock and given a light noogie.
“Yeah! She!” Came the voice that had Rainbow in a headlock.
Rainbow Dash thrashed for a moment, before she was let go. She spun around to find herself looking right at an older pink pegasus with a blue mane and tail, and two blue lightning bolts for a cutie-mark. Rainbow's annoyed expression turned to a cheerful one almost at once.
“Mom!”
Firefly gave her daughter a proper hug this time, complete with a friendly ruffle of her mane.
“How's my little girl now that she's the best young flier in the land?”
“I'm awesome, of course!”
“Really now?” Firefly grinned as her eyes glanced towards the approaching storm clouds. “How about we put you to the test on how awesome you are?”
Rainbow grinned, her wings twitching with anticipation. “You're on mom!”
Firefly smiled as she crouched down. “First one to clear the most clouds wins! See if you can keep up with your mother!”
With a flap of her wings, Rainbow's mother launched herself into the sky, Rainbow Dash behind her a moment later. Thunderlane and Raindrops watched the pair begin to tear into the stormclouds, the mare glancing over at her friend.
“So, who's your money on?”
“Well,” Thunderlane said rubbing his chin with a hoof. “Rainbow's faster, I think. But Firefly is somewhat of a legend among weather ponies. So I'll say five bits on age over youth this time.”
Raindrops smirked. “You're on!”
Up above, Rainbow pulled ahead of her mother, her natural speed propelling her with ease. She hit the first storm cloud, dispersing it with a simple buck before launching herself at the next one with a quick flap of her wings.
Firefly took a different tactic, swooping down on one of her clouds and flying around it at top speed to get it spinning. Using a slightly softer kick than her daughter, she sent the cloud shooting off at an angle, towards two others that were floating near each other. The resulting crash of the spinning cloud into the two stationary ones caused all three to dissipate.
Rainbow flapped her wings harder as she picked up the pace, not slowing down to kick with her hind legs and instead just punching the storm clouds into submission as she zipped from one to another. Firefly, by contrast, controlled the clouds like an expert billiards player; sending clouds bouncing into and off each other to help break them up or corral them into tight clusters that let her destroy them easier.
For all their differences in approach, however, mother and daughter were about evenly matched. Rainbow Dash's speed kept her closely matched with her mother's skill and soon enough the two were facing down one last very large black cloud.
A glance was exchanged. Wide and full smiles, almost daring each other, playing across their faces. They threw themselves forward, diving into the massive cloud. Thunderlane and Raindrops gasped as they watched the cloud almost seem to bulge and stretch before it exploded away into water vapor, leaving the Firefly and Rainbow Dash hovering in the middle of a clear sky.
The pair lazily glided back down to the roof of the weather station. Thunderlane shook his head as the pair landed.
“Well, I guess my whole bet is a wash then. Wasn't expecting you two to clear the sky almost in synch.”
Raindrops was beaming at Firefly.
“What you did with the clouds was amazing! I've never seen a weather pony use them that way. How do you do it?”
Firefly grinned, holding out a hoof.
“My hooves have always been a little more sensitive than other pegasai. When I touch a cloud and get it moving, I can get a feel for how the winds are flowing. Mix that in with some top notch grades from Cloudsdale's weather school and it just kind of comes naturally.”
“She's also a shark when it comes to billiards, so don't let her drag you into a game of that.” Rainbow added in with a smirk.
Firefly rolled her eyes.
“Anyway! I'd like to speak with my daughter alone for a little bit. Can you two give us some privacy?”
Nodding, Thunderlane and Raindrops took to the air, leaving Firefly and Rainbow Dash alone on the roof. Dash frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side.
“What's up mom?” A look of horror crossed her face. “Did something happen to dad? Is that why he's not here?!”
Firefly held up a hoof to stop her daughter's panic.
“Chroma is fine, Rainbow. He's actually dealing with some weather issues near the griffon border right now. I just wanted to talk to you about what happened in Canterlot and this new pony in town.”
Rainbow blinked.
“Well, I can tell ya all about how I kicked that Collector's sorry flank, but Skitch-Sketch? What about her?”
“Well, give me your thoughts on her. What's she like?”
“Well, she's pretty cool for the most part. A little weird making references to things I don't get, but if I can get used to Pinkie Pie and her madness, Skitch should be easy. But I trust her well enough.”
“Can I ask why?”
Rainbow blinked at the question.
“Okay mom, what's your angle.”
“Angle?”
“Come on! You've never asked me about any of my other friends like this. ...Did Posey put you up to this?”
“Okay, first of all, Posey doesn't put me up to anything. Second of all, none of your other friends are creatures from...well, where ever she came from.”
“So you don't trust my judgement? I'm an adult, mom! That's my cloud house and working for the weather patrol here is my job. I can make these decisions myself!”
Firefly rubbed the sides of her head with her hooves before responding.
“I'm not saying you can't! I'm not even saying that she's necessarily bad! This is why I'm coming to talk to you about your relationship with her, rather than just taking the chatter from Canterlot at face value!”
“Canterlot chatter?”
Firefly sighed as she paced over to the edge of the roof and looked out over Ponyville.
“Posey didn't put me up to anything, but she did tell me about some of the rumbling she's heard from the Canterlot self important brigade. More than a few are convinced that she's dangerous and has some kind of magical hold on the princesses. So, the two of us came here to look into the situation, and her.”
She turned to face her daughter again.
“So, Rainbow, please tell me what you think of her.”
Rainbow sighed as she sat on her haunches.
“Well, I don't think she has a magical hold on anypony and I don't think she wants to hurt anypony.”
She looked right in her mother's eyes.
“When The Collector had control over me, he ordered me to kill her and I couldn't stop myself. And I came real close. She could have run. She could have tried to save herself. Instead she fought past me and fought The Collector. And when she was given the chance to save us and let Equestria burn, she refused and fought back.”
She shook her head.
“You didn't see her immediately after the battle. She really was on death's doorstep. And if there's one thing I know better than flying really fast, it's loyalty. And that was loyalty.”
Firefly regarded her daughter carefully for a moment.
“All right then. That's what I needed to hear.”
Firefly stretched her wings wide.
“I'm going to go check in at the inn. That's where I'll be if you wanna meet up with me after your shift today.”
“Okay mom. Say hi to Posey for me.”
“Can do!”
- - - -
Meanwhile across town, Fluttershy perked up as she heard the sound of a knock on the door. Trotting over to it, she pulled the door open a crack, peering out to see who was there. Once she saw the pony on the other side of the door, however, her eyes lit up and she threw the door open.
“Hello dear.” Posey said with a warm smile as she pulled her daughter into a hug.
“Mom! I'm so glad to see you!” Fluttershy said, her voice full of genuine joy.
The pegasai embraced, Posey nuzzling her daughter before they broke apart.
“How's my little lump of sunshine?
“Oh, I'm fine. I've just been taking care of my animal friends...mostly.”
Posey clicked her tongue.
“So, the dragon and your role in helping defeat Nightmare Moon?”
“Oh mom...please.” Fluttershy squirmed.
Posey smiled, letting the matter drop for now, pulling a bag out of her saddlebags. “I figured that I'd drop off next months allowance a little bit early, as I wanted to speak with you about some things anyway.”
Fluttershy sighed, nervously shifting from hoof to hoof. “Mother. We have this conversation every time. I don't need your money. I make enough of a living being the town vet.”
“And I know that you can never turn down an animal in need, even if there's no one to pay.” She held out the bag, balanced on the end of her hoof. “Now, take the bits.”
Fluttershy sighed. “Oh. Okay, I suppose.”
Grabbing the bag with her mouth, she trotted upstairs to her bedroom, pulling a large chest out from under her bed. Flipping it open, she looked down at the bag after bag of bits that mother had been giving her for an “allowance”. She dropped the new one in with all the others, sighing softly before closing it again.
She really needed to put a stop to this. At this rate she'd need to get a biggest chest to hold all these bits.
I should really do something with it...
She sighed again and headed back downstairs. Her mother had already walked right into the kitchen and was beginning to cook, chopping up some vegetables for a soup.
“So! Tell me about your new friend while your mother makes you something nice to eat.”
“Oh...but, I ate breakfast already.”
“Call it an early lunch then.”
Fluttershy flicked her ears back in annoyance as she took a seat at the table.
Just let her get it out of her system.
A little while later, two hot and fresh bowls of soup were placed on the table, and Posey had taken her seat.
“So, like I said. Tell me about your new friend.”
“Well...she's nice, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Well...she can be a little intense. And she likes scary movies. But...she's nice enough.”
“That's hardly a ringing endorsement.”
“Mom...you're doing it again.”
Posey blinked, a nervous smile crossing her face.
“Whatever do you mean, dear?”
Fluttershy sighed. “You're hovering again.”
Posey frowned. “I'm just worried...”
“I know you are mother. But you're still hovering. Let me handle myself...if you don't mind, that is...”
“But I just want to make sure you're okay.”
“Mom, you're always like this.” Fluttershy said softly as she lightly tapped her hooves together. “Please. Let me handle myself.”
Posey stared at her daughter for a bit, before shaking her head.
“Have your soup dear.”
- - - -
As was the case on any given weekday, the Ponyville schoolhouse was full of young ponies engaged in the act of learning. And like most days, there was some back and forth sniping going on over recess.
“Get off mah back!” Apple Bloom snapped. “If I hear blank flank one more time...”
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were locked in a stare down with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
“You'll do what? I mean, you can't deny it. You three are blank flanks. Even that alien creature made pony got her cutie-mark before you!”
The Cuite-Mark Crusaders all frowned at that fact. It was bad enough that they seemed stuck behind everyone else in their class, but the fact that the pony that hadn't even been born a pony had beaten them to that point made their fur bristle.
The three seemed to be ready to pounce on Diamond Tiara over that comment, but thankfully Cheerilee was watching like a hawk today.
“Girls! That's enough. Now go play and stop antagonizing each other.”
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stalked off, leaving the Cutie-Mark Crusaders to wander towards the other side of the school yard.
“Ah hate her so much! She just neva shuts up about that blank flank thing!”
Sweetie Belle frowned. “I can't believe that Skitch-Sketch just got her cutie-mark. It's just not fair.”
“Hey!” Scootaloo said as she clapped her hooves together. “Maybe she can help us get our cutie-marks! She's gotta know something!”
“Yeah! That's a great idea! We can go see her after school!” Sweetie almost squeed as she hopped in place.
Back at her place, Skitch involuntarily shuddered in her dreams.
- - - -
It was almost three in the afternoon by the time Skitch woke up and rolled out of bed. Trotting over to the bedroom mirror, she got another good look at herself in the mirror. The cutie-mark was even more faded than the day before, now resembling a poster that was left out in the sun for weeks.
She wasn't an expert on these things, admittedly, but by her guess she had another day or two before she became a blank flank and would have to start the cutie-mark search process all over again.
Sighing, she trotted downstairs, looking over all the work she had done the night before. At least she wouldn't have to worry about that for now.
“Breakfast-though I suppose that it would be lunch now.”
Grabbing a carrot for a quick lunch she headed back into the main room just as the knock came on the door. Figuring it was somepony coming for their painting, she opened the door.
Three little fillies pushed their way into the shop, staring up at her with wide eyes. For a fan of the show, it was easy to recognize the Cutie-Mark Crusaders.
“Uhh...hey girls! What do you want?”
“Well,” Apple Bloom started. “we wanted ta talk to ya about how ya got yer cutie-mark.”
Sweetie Belle nodded as she continued. “Yeah. You just woke up with it, right?”
Skitch nodded slightly. “Well, yeah. I did. I don't think I can help you though.”
“Why not?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, for one, I don't know how the crazy human behind it did it. And two...” She pointed to her own flank.
The CMC's followed her gesture and gasped as one.
“Yer cutie-mark! What's happenin to it!”
“Fading away. Twilight took a look at it and she said that it was kind of falling away. It's all technical and magicy.”
Skitch observed the fillies and their shocked expressions. Their antics searching for their cutie-marks were well known to any fan of the show. But their reactions to the idea that someone could use their cutie-mark once getting it looked even more devastated.
“Girls, don't...”
“Hey!” Apple Bloom perked up. “What if we could help ya get yer cutie-mark back ta normal! Then maybe we'd get ours!”
“That sounds awesome!” Scootaloo grinned, her wings buzzing like a humming bird's. “We'd be like...cutie-mark counselors! Ponies would come far and wide for our advice on how to ger their cutie-marks!”
“I don't...”
“CUTIE-MARK CRUSADERS CUTIE-MARK COUNSELORS!”
Damn they recover quickly...
They were also circling her like sharks now, a look in their eyes that sent shivers down her spine and that any fan knew full well to be wary of. The Cutie-Mark Crusaders were getting an idea.
Laughing nervously she inched for the door. “Anyway! I should really go and let the the clients who hired me know that their work is done...”
“GIT HER!”
Skitch bolted, even as Sweetie Belle landed on her back wrapping her fore-arms around her neck. Apple Bloom manged to latch onto her tail as Skitch went flying out the door, dragging the young ponies along with her as she ran.
“Hey!” Scootaloo shouted as she hopped on her scooter. “Wait for me!”
- - - -
Fluttershy sighed as her mother followed her through the streets of Ponyville. They had been together for most of the day, Posey...hovering, the way that she did. The topic of discussion hadn't changed much. She did love her mother, but sometimes Posey could almost be smothering.
“...and you're absolutely sure that she hasn't done anything strange or dangerous since coming back?”
“Yes mother.” Fluttershy sighed. “You keep asking me the same question. She hasn't done anything dangerous. She's a little eccentric but I'd expect that...”
The pair stepped onto the street where Ponyville's Inn was situated, just in time for a startled shout to echo through the assorted ponies on the street. A split second later Skitch-Sketch barreled past, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom still latched on like lampreys.
“We're just tryin ta help ya get yer cutie-mark back!”
“I don't need your help! Get offa me!”
“Oh, come on! Give us a chance!”
“Let GO! No moleste! No moleste!”
“Yer fancy talk won't confuse us!”
Scootaloo zipped along after them waving at Fluttershy as she passed.
“Hi Fluttershy! Bye Fluttershy!”
The strange procession vanished around a street corner. Leaving a gaggle of ponies shaking their heads and Posey staring at her daughter with a raised eyebrow.
Fluttershy just laughed nervously, unable to offer an explanation.
- - - -
Skitch ran like the wind, somewhat amazed that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had managed to hang on with the way she was running. She hadn't even really been paying attention to which way she had run out of town, but the rolling farmland was now evident.
In that moment of distraction, Scootaloo jumped from her scooter, tackling Skitch around the midsection. Skitch's legs buckled from the sudden impact of additional weight and the four of them went tumbling end over end in a confusing tangle of legs, tails and Scoots' wings.
The resulting pile of ponies crashed up against a low rail fence a somewhat dazed looking Skitch barrel down, snout half buried in dirt, Apple Bloom and the others sprawled out on top of her.
“What on equis?”
Rolling her eyes up to see who's farm they had crashed into, Skitch found herself staring into the olive eyes of Carrot Top...or was it Golden Harvest?
Stupid conflicting names. Least I can ask her directly now.
Or at least she would have if Carrot Top didn't start to get smaller in her field of view as she felt a tugging sensation on her tail. Glancing behind her, she could see that the Cutie-Mark Crusaders had recovered and were dragging her off, all three of them pulling her by her tail.
Looking back towards Carrot Top she gave her a look of resignation.
“If I don't make it, tell my friends that I died with dignity.”
A moment later the carrot farmer dropped out of view as Skitch got dragged over the next hill.
- - - -
A few minutes later Skitch was walking behind the CMCs, having decided to follow them, resigned to whatever it was they wanted to try. Best to try and have it fail rather than have the three young fillies chase her around town for the rest of the day.
The four approached Sweet Apple Acres, which remained the young trio's de facto base of operations. Made sense enough to Skitch. A farm of this size had plenty of room for their antics, even before they got their clubhouse.
Skitch tilted her head as she thought.
Do they even have that clubhouse yet? Rainbow Dash got her best young flier award a little more than a week ago, and the episode where they got it was two episodes after that. But I have no frame of reference for how time passed...Well, I can just ask at least.
“Heya Skitch! What brings ya out ta the Acres today?”
Applejack's twang brought her out of her mental wandering. The Crusaders were out of sight, leaving Skitch alone on the edge of the farm.
“...Where'd your sister and her friends go?” She asked nervously.
“Ahh. They headed on over to the barn. Said something about helpin ya with something?”
“Yeah...about that.” Skitch muttered as she pointed to her cutie-mark. “That's what they want to try and help me with, with their...usual enthusiasm.”
Applejack winced at Skitch's faded mark.
“Yeah. Rarity stopped by last night ta fill me in. Ah am sorry about that Skitch. Adaptin' to a new life's probably hard enough as it is.”
“Well,” Skitch said, diverting attention from that line of thought. “I was going to kind of play along. Keep an eye on them and direct them away from anything really dangerous. Which I do have a thought on.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow opening her mouth to say something. She was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash coming from the inside of the barn.
“...Whatcha have in mind?”
“Did you ever give them your old clubhouse?”
Applejack frowned slightly. “Ya know, it still kind of creeps me out when ya do that.”
Skitch winced, her ears flicking back. “I'm sorry AJ.”
Applejack sighed shaking her head.
“Honestly, ah do prefer ya being more truthful like this. Still just weird when ya reference somethin ah haven't done yet.”
Another loud crash came from the barn, followed by Sweetie Belle's voice. “Be careful Scootaloo! We don't want to break that!”
Skitch and Applejack just exchanged glances.
“But, that being said, it is probably best we give them somethin' else ta focus on right now.”
“Oh please yes.”
- - - -
A few minutes later Applejack and Skitch-Sketch were leading Apple Bloom and her friends through the trees of Sweet Apple Acres, Skitch pulling a cart of wood, tools and other building supplies.
“Ah still can't believe ya wouldn't let us try our cutie-mark repairer. It totally would have worked!”
Skitch winced. The contraption that the girls had tried to create in the barn had seemed half obstacle course, half medieval torture device. The idea was simple enough in the girl's minds. Force Skitch to try a whole mess of things at once and surely one of them would stabilize her cutie-mark.
“No offence girls, but I think that I'd rather go another round with The Collector than try that thing.” She dropped her voice so that only Applejack heard the next bit. “Slightly better chance of coming out alive.”
Applejack suppressed a laugh as she pushed the branches of a bush aside.
“There ya are girls. Welcome to yer new clubhouse!”
The battered and run down tree house was balanced on a large apple tree, hole in the roof, broken front door and all. Skitch thought that it looked even scruffier in real life than it did in the show, if anything. The girls seemed to think the same, judging by their silence.
“Well, don't thank me all at once.” Applejack said as she walked towards it. “This was my club house when I was your age. Sure, it hasn't been used in a while, but it's empty and on a secluded part of the farm. Just needs a little TLC.”
“Tender love and care, or totally lost cause?” Scootaloo asked.
“Ahh, come on.” Skitch interjected as she swept a hoof towards the clubhouse. “You are the Cutie-Mark Crusaders after all. And proper crusaders need a grand castle to sally forth from.”
“Ain't much of a castle from the looks of it.” Apple Bloom said as she gave the ramp up a poke with her hoof.
“...Well, we are on a budget here. So wooden tree fort will have to do. Come on. I finished my work for the day, so I'll help you get it pulled together.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other for a moment before looking back to Skitch.
“Ahll right.” Apple Bloom said. “Let's get ta work.”
- - - -
“Nah hold that board straight!” Apple Bloom shouted down from position on the ridge of the clubhouse's roof.
“I am holding it straight!” Skitch called back as she held the board in her magic aura.
“No, yer draggin it to the right! Move it back this way.”
“You sure about that? It looks straight from here.”
“That's cause yer standin' on the ground! If ya were up here ya could see it!”
“Are you implying that I need glasses?”
Sweetie and Scootaloo just rolled their eyes.
- - - -
“All right, nah we need ta remove this old busted door frame...”
“I got it!” Scootaloo shouted as she jammed a crowbar in between the wall and door frame before giving it a sharp kick.
The door frame tore loose with a mighty crack, pitching over the edge of the club house and colliding with Skitch who was sanding the entrance ramp. The collision sent her and the sander crashing to the ground.
“Sorry Skitch!”
Skitch sat up with a bit of a cross-eyed look on her face and a goofy grin.
“I don't wanna go to school today mommy....”
KA-THUD
“Ooops.”
- - - -
“Well, at least we got the windows in okay.” Skitch commented, very glad that nothing had gone wrong with that particular installation.
“Yeah! Nah we just gotta rebuild the railin and then paint it and we'll be good ta go.”
“Now where did we put the wood for the railing...”
“I got it!” Scootaloo shouted as she dragged the pile of wood up the ramp with her scooter.
“Scootalo! You're coming in too hot!” Skitch shouted.
CRASH!
“Ooops.”
- - - -
Outside of Skitch-Sketch's house, Firefly sat waiting. She had Posey had split up after they originally arrived in town, each heading off to meet their respective children. After finishing her conversation with Rainbow Dash, Firefly had decided to fly around Ponyville and get a general scope of the area.
The results of her fly by search had been completely inconclusive. Everything looked normal. Ponies were going about their business, while the sun was shining now that the storm had been broken up. Everything was almost aggressively normal. Of course, things had looked aggressively normal that night in Cloudsdale before the giant energy ribbons appeared.
So, with her searches inconclusive she had come to Skitch's to wait for Posey. She assumed that she was still talking with her daughter before coming to meet up with her to speak to this Skitch directly. Firefly was just about to consider go looking for her, when Posey came walking around the corner and up to her.
“I was wondering what was keeping you.”
Posey sighed. “My daughter felt the need to apologize upon Skitch's behalf when I saw her running through town, being chased by three young fillies.”
“Wait...they were chasing her?”
“According to Fluttershy they've dubbed themselves the 'Cutie-Mark Crusaders' and tend towards over the top methods to earn their cutie-marks. And now they're trying to help her because she's loosing her's.”
Firefly blinked as she mulled that information over.
“Well, I suppose we can't talk to her now. So! We'll improvise. Cover me.”
Firefly quickly darted down the alley, sliding the house's side window open and jumping inside. A moment later the front door swung open. Posey trotted inside, quickly closing the door behind her with a push of her hoof.
Looking about the main room, it struck Posey as being almost boring, if not for the strange silvery-gray machine that was resting in the corner.
I suppose that's the movie projector thing Fluttershy mentioned. She thought as she inspected it closely.
“I'm gonna check her bedroom.” Firefly said as she trotted upstairs.
Posey nodded, heading into the kitchen to take a look at what was there. The fridge contained rather normal fare for a unicorn. No meat or chopped up pony bits like some of the Canterlot nobles had been speculating.
They do love their rumors in Canterlot.
“Hey! Posey! Check this out!” Firefly called from upstairs.
Heading upstairs Posey quickly located Firefly in the houses' bedroom. Firefly was staring at Skitch's master chart and map collection, an expression of concern and confusion marring her features.
“That's a big chart.” Firefly muttered. “We're both on there.”
Poesy blinked in confusion and followed Firefly's outstretched hoof to a section of the massive collection of notes that had been blocked off slightly by Skitch-Sketch. Inside the drawn box were the names of each of the element bearer and underneath each name were a collection of other names, always paired off with each other.
Poesy noticed her husband's name paired next to her's, the connection suddenly clicking in her head.
“Parents. She's trying to work out who their parents are. You think she'd just ask that...” Squinting, she took in the rest of the massive chart. “Not sure on the rest of this though. Why would she scribble through “Cupcakes”? Who doesn't like sweets?”
“I'm more curious as to what the “Lunaverse” is supposed to be. Think she's referring to Princess Luna?”
“Know any other Lunas?” Posey ribbed as she turned her attention the desk, beginning to pull open drawers.
The large collection of files caught their attention right away. Poesy poked through the collection, reading the titles with a slight frown on her face. “Looks like she has a file on each of the element bearers...and the princesses."
“Let me see Rainbow's, please.”
She passed her friend the file, while she pulled out the one on Fluttershy. Posey frowned and began to read. The files were thick, but not as thorough as they could have been. The summary of her daughter's personality was spot on, Poesy admitted. But the file had no less than five possible backgrounds for the family; not one of them one hundred percent correct.
And then came the pages that were marked “contingency plans”. She read the first entry, her frown deepening as she scanned the page.
...Fluttershy's chief advantage is her famous stare. In a combat situation, I'll have to focus on crippling her ability to utilize it, or protect myself from it somehow. Goggles, maybe? If non-lethal means of subduing her can not be achieved, a single shot to the head would be the most humane...
Poesy snapped the file shut at that point, unable to read any more. The look on Firefly's face, and the way her wings were shaking, indicated that she had hit the same point.
“She...” Firefly muttered. “she has a plan in here on how to kill my daughter! Is she insane? After all my daughter said about her being loyal?”
Posey opened her mouth to respond, only to freeze as the sound of the front door opening reached their ears.
“Out the window!” She hissed at her friend. “Go! Go!”
Firefly hopped up on the bed, sliding the window open and flying out. Poesy zipped out right behind her, the pair flying over Ponyville and back towards the inn.
Firefly looked towards Posey. “We should warn our daughters and their friends.”
- - - -
Nouveau Riche couldn't believe his luck as he crept into Skitch-Sketch's studio; his grand daughter Diamond Tiara right behind him. With the human turned unicorn occupied by Tiara's classmates, he had a golden opportunity to apply the screws to her some more. He could see the series of art projects that Skitch had worked on all night, all lined up and ready to go for pick up.
The sound of movement upstairs caused both of them to freeze in place. Then came the sound of a window being opened and then nothing. Nouveau glanced out the front window, catching a glimpse of Posey and Firefly as they winged away.
“Well...that'll be useful.” He smiled.
Diamond Tiara looked up at her grand dad. “What will grandpa?”
Nouveau grinned down at his grand daughter. “Remember what the first rule of noble dealings Diamond.”
She paused, thinking for a moment before responding. “Never do something unless you have a patsy to deflect blame to.”
Nouveau beamed with pride. His little princess was already grasping the basic principles of how to be a true wheeler and dealer in the courts of Equestria.
“And that was the target of our blame flying away. So,” He turned to the paintings, picking up a pot of paint as he did, “Now we apply some more leverage to our target.”
Diamond Tiara smiled as she grabbed her own jar of paint.
- - - -
Back at Sweet Apple Acres Skitch and the girls had just finished putting a coat of paint on the roof and were standing back to admire their work.
“It's good.” Sweetie Belle commented. “A real place we can work to find our cutie-marks in!”
“It is good...” Skitch commented. “But it needs a little something....right over the door.”
Smiling to herself she grabbed the paint and began to work. The emblem of the crusaders was quickly painted in above the door, a flowing scroll painted in underneath before she finished it off with a simple phrase.
Nosce te ipsum.
The crusaders looked ready to ask what that meant when the sound of Applejack's voice called out across the farm.
“Hey girls! Looks like ya got it fixed up in record time.” She rolled her eyes up at the phrase that Skitch had just finished writing. “What's that mean?”
“It's a phrase from an old language from back home. It means 'Know thyself.'. Seems appropriate for a bunch of girls hunting for their cutie-marks.”
“What does knowing one's self have to do with finding a cutie-mark?” Sweetie Belle frowned.
“Right about when you figure that out...” Skitch commented, throwing the paintbrush she used back into the can with a simple flick of her magic, “Is when you'll be close to working out what your cutie-marks are.”
A frustrated groan escaped the crusaders mouths as Applejack chuckled. “Ahll right girls. Run along back to the farm house. Granny Smith has some dinner set aside for ya all, and then Big Mac will walk the rest of ya home. I gotta go into town.”
“Mind if I follow you back?” Skitch asked. “I should get back to my house and get my bits for all the art I did.”
“Sure thing Skitch.”
- - - -
Skitch was achy by the time she got home, the sun beginning to drop below the horizon. It had been a hard and sometimes painful bit of work to get the clubhouse ready, but by her estimation, it had been worth it. The girls had seemed quite pleased with the end results, even if no cutie-marks had been gained, and it had kept Skitch's mind off her own problems in the process.
Smiling happily to herself, she pushed the door open and froze.
The devastation of her art shop was almost complete. Every painting that she had done had been ripped to pieces. Every blank canvas she had was smashed and then all her pieces of drawing charcoal had been ground into the remains.
The great banner that she had made for Berry Punch had been spread out in the middle of the floor, and every jar of paint she owned had been poured out on it. Even her paintbrushes and pencils had been snapped and dumped into a pile.
And the final insult, on top of it all, was what had been done to the backup sign fabric that Rarity had given her. It had been stretched across the stairs, right where Skitch wouldn't be able to avoid seeing it. Painted on it in flowing cursive script, in bright red paint, were the words “Go Home Human.”
Skitch stood there for quite a while, a severe tick having developed in her right eye.
“FUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!”
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Wow. If that were me, I'd be crying.
3301998
*Bane Voice* Now's not the time for tears. That comes later!
FUCK YOU DIAMOND TIARA!
Please tell me the computer has some form of independent video capture for use as a component of a home security system just to fuck over those two bullies...
Seriously. What kind of super advanced voice operated computer wouldn't have some kind of video capture?
3302226
Would this be a bad time to mention that she was the one who told her granddad that Skitch was back in the first place?
3302701
Oh, of course it has that technology! It's just a question if Skitch left that particular feature on, and didn't fall into the mental trap of "It's Equestria! Ponies don't break into other people's houses.".
3302939IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE A BAD TIME!
3302955 Its funny you mention that being a trap. I'm currently working on my own story where one of the internal group conflicts is going to boil down to "Aren't you being a little paranoid?"
Of course, when one of your characters literally interprets their purpose in life to be 'be a hero' to the point where the general lack of actual villainy to fight against for the first week or so is driving her crazy...constantly monitoring things seems almost harmless. Cutie mark failure insanity syndrome is not a pretty thing when the character in question is a superhero.
3303013
*chuckles*
In slight defence of Diamond Tiara, she's getting some very bad life lessons from a pony with a very warped view of the world.
Like take Carter Pewterschmidt from Family Guy and make him a pony and that's what we're dealing with here.
Not that it sucks any less for Skitch, mind you.
3303145At least Carter has some redeeming qualities to him. This douche is just being that. A douche.
3303116
I can't really say that the lack of villanry to fight is what's driving Skitch crazy. If you're referring to her nightmare in the first chapter, that was more caused by fear. Fear of the twisted versions of these characters that we've all read in fanfiction finding their way to her Equestria.
I don't think that constant monitoring of Ponyville is in her mind right now. At least not from things like "people breaking into my house and ruining my art supplies".
3303160
Carter...redeeming qualities?
Oh wait, you're serious. Let me laugh a little harder.
In all seriousness though, the only redeeming qualities that I'd be willing to give the man who withheld the cure for cancer, is the fact that he loves his daughter and grandkids.
And Nouveau Riche does love his granddaughter. A lot. That's why he's teaching her how to be a noble.
I think they're completely the same, really. :
3303219Hmmm.... yeah I remember that episode. I don't remember how it ended. Though I guess I can't be too serious about him having redeeming qualities. Yeah, he's been a douche to Peter. Least he does love his family. But still, Diamond Tiara and her grandfather (I'm not bothering to remember how to spell his name) took it too far with that stunt. I really hope they get their comeuppance when this is all through.
Seriously, I've always hated Diamond Tiara. With a passion. I'm convinced the only reason Silver Spoon acts the way she does in the show is because DT is her only friend, for whatever reason. But now she's getting into a bunch of trouble with her prickjob of a grandfather? UGH! I JUST WANT TO RIP THEM BOTH TO SHREDS! AND THEN HAVE THE PRINCESSES OF EQUESTRIA BANISH EVERY INDIVIDUAL PIECE OF THEM INTO THE SUN AND MOON RESPECTIVELY!
Okay, done got that out of my system. Really praying things look up towards poor Skitch soon.
3303205 I was kinda talking about my fic there. Sorry for the lack of clarity.
You see this chapter kids? Read it all? Things like this is why we can't have nice things. Sure, the story itself is nice but, the characters(we all know who I speak of)are why we can't have nice things.
3257930
Well, the elk chapter was marked "bonus," and when you really look at it, it doesn't actually affect the rest of the story (although it was nice reading). I feel like it was intended to be there if we want to read it- like to sort of explain how we got to where we currently are- but that it's not required for understanding.
Maybe it's set-up for a future story? It feels like it could be, but doesn't feel like it should really be it's own story. I don't know; that's what I think.
3305410
I suppose that my disconnect on this issue comes down to the fact that I have labelled them bonus content. The whole story can be read without needing to touch them.
Yes, they are not directly relevant to the events that are happening in the main story, for the most part. But I feel that when you read the whole story that it is very much both Skitch's and how the world has reacted to her.
But, I do feel that the chapters fit in the larger, thematic sense of the "kingdoms" half of the title, and the larger background theme of both this piece and my blog posts where the world is becoming a fuller and more defined setting.
And really, in the end, I view Skitch as becoming part of the ensemble cast that is the Mane Six. ...Though I suppose it'd be the Mane Seven in this universe now.
Anyway, my apologies if I'm coming across a little defensive here, as I do appreciate all the positive comments you have given me. But I feel that the story does still hold up.
3307755
Thank you Lab, on both counts.
You're good at spotting these typos. Don't suppose you'd be interested in being a pre/proof reader for me?
Man, that Diamond Tiara. Kid needs herself a damn role model.
3308066 She has a role model, just a REALLY bad one!
3309922
Kid needs herself a damn role model.
Someone who has an eye for pretty things, but knows just what and where the lines ought to be to really bring it all together. Someone who knows how to care for those around her while still making sure she's able to keep herself ahead of the pack with a combination of smarts and skills. Someone who knows how to analyze a situation, identify the variables and points of conflict, and plan accordingly to deal with them.
Someone... like Skitch-Sketch.
3310055
Dude, what you just said has given me an idea:
Skitch-Sketch/Filthy Rich
3310323
I dunno, man. I'm not sure that FilthySkitch is going to convey the meaning you're looking for....
Rich-Sketch might work, though....
3310323
Skitch-Sketch...and Filthy Rich.
He is *married* you know.
Also, completely and utterly not her type.
3310476
Marriage? Not her type? Never stopped computer geeks from shipping in the past.
3310515
i.imgur.com/iEcl6q3.jpg
3310552
3311189
Well, if you're looking at it from the lens of them wanting to drive her away, making sure that she fails to make her grace payment is an efficient way to make sure she doesn't have a home.
It's mostly about pushing her away and separating her from the element bearers and the princesses, and if they can get her to leave the world entirely, even better.
That's the logic I was working from when I wrote that scene at least. Especially since I can't picture that lot doing something more severe like trying to kill her or something.
3311696
Ahh. Fair point, that.
Embarrassingly so, I actually had a scene earlier in the fic that set it up a little bit better, but it wound up on the cutting room floor when I decided to cut down on the number of scenes in the fic that didn't feature Skitch.
Ahh well. Hindsight and all that, right?
3311727
It's a fair cop.
Just gotta work harder on the next chapter!
so they dont understand the fandom right???
3302955
Ponyville reminds me a lot of Holliston where I grew up for the first 30 years. We lived on a quiet street in the tiny town, never locked the doors or cars. Heck, we'd go on vacation for 2 weeks at a time and just let the neighbors know we're gonna be gone. Nothing locked up.
I really miss that kind of town.
Well, I guess all the drama that got fixed in the previous arc had created a giant void in Skitch's life so fate (the universe, Discord, etc) had to whip something new up. And don't think we all didn't see that huge pile of bits at Fluttershy's place and it's obvious use in paying off all of Skitch Sketch's debts. Yeah, we're watching you...
Now it's just a matter of Fluttershy getting over the "how to take them out" files on all the Elements that Posey will have frantically waved in the pony's face. Still, a major crime has been committed in Ponyville against Skitch. I don't think there's ever been a recorded incident of such a grand scale of vandalism in the show. Should be interesting, like an oncoming train wreck, to see how the girls deal with the files and the violation of Skitch's home and the financial dilemma.
And for future reference, Skitch needs to invest in a locked file cabinet or start writing in a different language nopony will know.
Filthy Riche, your father is an S class Douche bag
.
If that were me I'd be turning around, going straight for the police station, and dragging them over if I had to in order to take identifiable hoof prints. With all that paint there's no way they didn't leave any evidence. Then when he inevitably accuses Firefly and Posey we can point out that one of the prints was that of a foal. If Equestria is anything like our world, lawsuits against high profile moguls can end with settlements far greater than 300 bits.
The important thing is to get the evidence quickly before he can pull strings to cover it up. And hopefully get Tiara some help did he actually have her memorize a code of evil? 
She will need to explain that she prepares files about how to deal with evil alternate counterparts. It seems that FlutterShy can loan her the bits. I do not get this mystery about why Skitch Sketch returned:
In our universe, a magical talking unicorn sticks out like a sore thumb. If she stays in our universe, she will end up in a governmental laboratory. Plus, before becoming a UnicornMare, she was a PegaSister trapped in the body of a Brony. She gets to live in an universe she loves.
Fortunately this will go over well if the other parties stay calm and intelligent about it.
That's how it went for Batman at least.
5377956
That never happens in fanfics. Ever.
There's always going to be a cringeworthy misunderstanding making any tiny problem solvable in 3 minutes into something that'll either cause huge drama or take ages to work through.
At least nobody found her super alien gun things.
Wow and now we know why tiara is such a cunt. Can't wait to read how these "Nobles" get a reality check.
I just realised, you called what the crusaders marks would be 2 years before it actually happened
Sync, not synch.
humm re reading the and then this
......wate a minute! -_- you called it 2 years and 6 days befor it happend
8631241
I swear to god that I'm not actually psychic, just lucky. :P
She's also a pegasus, so she could be literally doing that too.