Beat It

by Spirit Guide

Friends on the Rooftops

Apple Bloom was getting worried. Her sister and her friends were still intent on striking back at the bronies and, to make matters worse, their attack force had grown . She hadn't been expecting Trixie Lulamoon and Cheese Sandwich to be in town, but they were here and things just got more difficult. She and Gryph had split up to resume tailing after their respective groups. Apple Bloom had stopped to rest atop a three-story supermarket, having caught up to the Mane 6 and was now waiting for them to cover a significant amount of ground before continuing her pursuit. It looks kinda hopeless, since it's just me an' Gryph. She stared up at the moon, its bright surface reflecting the rays of the sun beyond the horizon, bathing the city in moonlight. It was a beautiful sight, especially from the rooftops, but tonight Apple Bloom wasn't parkouring to study the night sky. Her mission was one of importance. But how could she, a single filly with no cutie mark, get two groups of provoked ponies and distraught bronies to forgive and forget?

The sound of a door slamming brought Apple Bloom out of her stupor. She whirled around towards the skylight which had opened, expecting to see a security pony or night guard, but instead found two fillies climbing onto the roof, an orange pegasus with a purple mane and a white unicorn with a mane of pink and purple .

Apple Bloom couldn't believe her eyes. "Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle?"

"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie cried, leaping from the opening and landing on her friend.

"See, I told you she wasn't at Zecora's," Scootaloo said smugly.

Apple Bloom returned Sweetie Belle's embrace. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, we went over to your place, but Granny Smith said you'd gone out. Something about 'meeting the music'. I dunno, it was hard to understand her. So we ran over to Town Hall, but Mayor Mare told us that the last pony she'd seen was Zecora, even though she's a zebra. Then we hurried to her hut and asked if she'd seen you but all she said was 'To the mixed city went Apple Bloom, to find a solution to the unresolved gloom' or something like that. What was she talking about?"

The yellow filly swallowed. Should she tell her friends about what she and Gryph were planning? Would they tell on her? Could they help even? Course they can, they're your friends, you silly filly. "You know about the big fight goin' on between us an' the bronies, right?"

Scootaloo scowled. "Of course I do. They ruined that Wonderbolts Derby that Rainbow Dash took me too! It was supposed to be just the two of us, watching the Wonderbolts do their stuff, and they had to go and blow up the cloud track!"

They did that? Apple Bloom couldn't believe it. "Are ya sure it was the bronies?"

"Rainbow Dash asked Spitfire if she saw anypony. She said she noticed a grey pegasus with a double-colored mane flying away from the track. His cutie mark was some music note."

Apple Bloom was shocked. Gryph?! It couldn't have been! And indeed it couldn't have, for on that same day she was with Gryph, working on their new song. "What about you, Sweetie Belle?"

"Well, they did blow out all the windows in the Manehatten plaza. Rarity told me about it. There was glass everywhere and the street cleaners had to work overtime while every doctor in the city was helping the ponies who got glass in their hooves. It was quite horrible."

Something fishy's going on here, thought Apple Bloom, and ah'm gonna find out what. "Do you really think the bronies did all that?" she asked the other Crusaders. "Honestly?"

Scootaloo opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then closed it. "No. Of course not."

"That's right." Sweetie nodded in agreement. "There's no way the bronies could've done all those thing. It's gotta be somepony else framing them."

"That's exactly what I think!" cried Apple Bloom happily, grabbing her two best friends in a hug. "All we have to do now is make all the big ponies realize that."

"But how?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom looked down. Twilight and the others had turned the corner and were now trotting down the Mane Street that cut through the entire town. "We're gonna go find Gryph. Hopefully, he also found some bronies who think the same way we do."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Works for me."

"Yeah, let's go!"

"Follow me, girls!" Apple Bloom leapt from the roof they were on to the next building over, Sweetie and Scootaloo jumping after her. Together, the Cutie Mark Crusader quickly made their way across the tops of the houses and shops, trying to once again find the grey pegasus Apple Bloom had met with minutes before.

While they searched, Scootaloo said to Apple Bloom, "I just wanted to ask: what's with the sparkly jacket?"

The Apple Family filly smiled. "You'll see."

"I like it," Sweetie Belle declared. "Sequins look good on you."

*

Like Apple Bloom, Gryph was having a hard time. The bronies had stopped for a drink in the bar below so the pegasus had time for a rest. Having been joined by Mic the Microphone and AC Racebest, they were even more invigorated than before. There's gotta be another explanation aside from the ponies being responsible for all these attacks. He thought and he thought, but nothing surfaced in his mind. He lifted his foreleg and looked at his bracer, the gryphon's bright orange eye looking back at him. ARGH! I can't do this alone! I need help!

His train of thought was derailed when he heard the sound of hooves clopping behind him. He looked over his shoulder to find an unexpected duo approaching him: two earth ponies, one with a mustard yellow coat, black mane and tail of black and orange, the other was a grey color, with a mane and tail of blue with red highlights, his head adorned with a pair of headphones. The yellow pony's cutie mark was a pair of shovels and the grey pony's cutie mark was a gravestone.

"Good evening, Black Gryphon," the yellow stallion addressed, using Gryph's full name.

"Hey Dusty," he replied. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Me and Tombstone were in the neighborhood and heard the commotion below. We decided to take cover inside, rather than get drafted into this mess."

Gryph nodded. Drafted was certainly how he would've put it. "So, what do you guys think of this whole uproar anyways?"

"It's ridiculous," Tombstone spoke up. "I've been listening to the ponies and they say we've been sabotaging their sites and events. This contradicts what I just heard the other bronies say that the ponies are the ones causing trouble for us. All in all, it just seems like one big misunderstanding."

"You know that Tombstone," Gryph agreed. "Dusty knows that and I know that, but everypony else doesn't. And now they're going to fight it out once and for all."

"This goes against what we stand for," muttered Dustykatt.

The Living Tombstone looked down at the bar where their friends were resting. "The minute they're done, they're going to hit the road. What can we do to make them understand, Gryph?"

"I don't know!" Gryph moaned, putting his head in his hooves. "I can't think of anything and, worst of all, I'm scared! Scared of what might happen if this all goes unchecked."

Dustykatt put a hoof around the pegasus' shoulder. "Well, show them that you're not scared."

"How?"

"This is a game of life, Gryph. It's not something to be taken lightly. The truth is sometimes hard to take, almost as if it's taunting you knowing you can't do anything, but there's always, always something you can do, no matter what. They can take you, kick you and beat you, but that won't change anything."

Gryph lifted his head, his eyes staring off into space. He weighed Dusty's words, thinking hard about what his friend had just told him. "You're right, Dusty. We do have a choice. Even when it seems like the outcome is decided, we should never just give in, especially if it's unfair and unjust."

Tombstone clapped his fellow musician on the back. "Alright, Gryph. That's using your head."

"You mean I wasn't before?"

The three of them started laughing and rolling around on the roof. Thankfully, Rina-chan and the other bronies didn't hear them. They had just finished their rest stop and were heading out again. The only reason Gryph, Tombstone and Dusty didn't lose them was because Tombstone almost fell off when he tumbled halfway over the low wall ringing the roof. This gave him a bird's-eye view of the bronies leaving the bar. "Hey guys," he called over to the others, "they're moving out."

This brought Dusty and Gryph to their senses. "Just now?"

"Yep. We can still catch them if we hurry. Let's go."

"No." Gryph's response was an unexpected one. When he saw the questioning looks the two earth bronies were giving him, he explained. "We don't have a plan so there's no point in following them."

Dusty nodded. "That makes sense, but what do we do now?"

"We go find Apple Bloom. Me and she, we've been friends since forever and I'm sure that together we can come up with something."

"Works for me," Tombstone said.

"Let's do it."

Gryph smiled. "I knew I can count on you guys. Now let's see if you can keep up." He jumped over to the next building, using his wings to lengthen his glide. Dusty and Tombstone leapt after the pegasus in the sequined jacket, the three of them going in the opposite direction of the bronies, their minds set on discovering a solution to this unfortunate struggle.

Comments

[rocketpen]

TOUMBSTONE!!!!!!!!!