The Fall

by TheStoryMaker

Chapter 1 - The Fall (Revised)

The season of fall or autumn occurred in a relatively smooth transition as the summer was over in the land of Equestria. It has only been a few days since the holiday of Nightmare Night. The weather outside started to become crisp and cool as winter would soon begin to approach.

During this season, Sugarcube Corner saw a boost in sales of pumpkin pie and apples as they were used for apple cider but that only came during cider season somewhat close after the fall began. Lots of things happened during this season, animals started to hibernate, and most importantly the season stood out because of the colors of red, orange, and yellow colors that would appear on the leaves.

The leaves would fall from their prospective trees and 'paint' the ground in a beautiful color. Some would be picked up by ponies who would rake them to keep their yards clean or from colts and fillies who would collect them in large piles to jump in them and create the biggest 'cannonball' yet to come.

Clearly, as for everypony, nothing was going to go wrong... But this, in particular, there were three fillies working hard to earn something they chased all their lives for.

Those group of fillies was called the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

In Ponyville, there were establishments like Sweet Apple Acres, that belonged to the Apple Family. But in one part of Sweet Apple Acres, there was the clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In there they would discuss what to do to get their cutie marks - mostly.

"Well, I dunno. Do you see a way doing it?" Scootaloo asked. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in their treehouse, discussing other ideas to receive their cutie marks.

Scootaloo was the only pegasus who didn't have the ability to fly, but she was strong on the ground like she would be in the air.

"No, I don't but we could try!" Sweetie Belle said as she pointed a hoof at Scootaloo who then thought about the idea.

Sweetie Belle was the only unicorn in the clubhouse, she wasn't good with magic to start with. She has never been, but she would learn in the future, for now, she was no good as much as she'd try.

Then came an excited Apple Bloom. The only Earth Pony in the clubhouse, she was (obviously because of the name) a part of the Apple family with a country accent.

"Don't worry girls! I'll get the To-Do List, so we'll get every idea we have!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, rushing to get the list underneath the podium, grabbing it, and setting it down near the 'great idea spot'. "Great, now here we did-" Apple Bloom suddenly felt a small, dry, sharp, pointy object on her back. Out of shock, she then jumped out followed by a short scream. "SPIDER!" She dashed quickly leaving behind a silhouette of clouds outlining where she was standing. She went to the corner of the clubhouse, in fear of almost getting bitten.

Out of curiosity Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both looked back to her and saw no spider, but however, saw a leaf slowly fall toward the floor where Apple Bloom once stood.

"There's no spider, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said, moving closer to the leaf.

"Don't be scared!" Scootaloo said assuring her friend. "It's just a leaf,"

Sweetie Belle then picked up the leaf from the floor. "Yeah, Scootaloo is right! It's just a leaf."

"Yeah! But it scared the apples outta me!" She exclaimed back to Sweetie Belle.

"I know, but-" She was cut off by how the leaf looked. "It's so shiny and yellow. I bet Rarity would love this!" She took the time to inspect it closer on her hoof discovering its own beauty.

Rarity always loved these types of colors, it was the fashion of them that would bring her dresses together during this time of the year. Sweetie Belle was right about this leaf being shiny, it had the color of gold, reflecting any type of light almost like a mirror.

"It looks like it's made of gold!" Scootaloo said amazed by the leaf's perplexity.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had joy in their hearts as they saw this. Apple Bloom soon joined and all three circled around Sweetie's hoof as they were amazed by the texture and brightness of the leaf they had just seen.

More leaves began to fill the room, the fillies took notice as they came from the window beside them.

They all thought of the same question at once. 'Where were they coming from?'

Scootaloo walked toward the small area where the leaves were landing. "Where are they coming from?" She picked up a hoof-full of leaves and inspected them as any detective would.

"Here, I'll take a look outside," Sweetie Belle ran out onto the porch only seeing the endless forest of apple trees.

That didn't help.

She ran around the porch and up the ramp to the upper floor containing a telescope and a blue flag. Once she made it to the top she looked around hoping she could see where the source of the leaves was coming from.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo soon followed in hopes of having a better chance of finding the strange leaves, "All I see is nothing but apple trees," Sweetie Belle said to the others.

"Try looking through the telescope that'll help, I think," Scootaloo suggested.

Sweetie Belle listened, she shut one eye as she used the other to look through the telescope seeing Ponyville at first. Sweetie Belle moved the telescope toward and above the endless horizon of apple trees. "Wow, is it just me or are there more apple trees than I remembered?" She said, "I mean it must take forever just to buck all of these trees of apple cider season!"

"Yeah, I know it just takes a few days that's all," Apple Bloom replied.

"Ugh! Enough talking about apples!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Look toward where the window was and find-"

"THERE IT IS!" Sweetie Belle yelled in excitement, surprising Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. "It's a tree!"

"Wait, what?" Apple Bloom asked. "I don't remember planting a tree here in Sweet Apple Acres!"

Sweetie Belle moved to make room for Apple Bloom to see it. She looked through the telescope seeing a tree's branches with golden leaves, strangely higher and behind all of the apple trees. "It's higher than the height of AppleJack's hay stacking," Apple Bloom said shocked and confused as she looked at Sweetie Belle.

"Wait! Let me see!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Apple Bloom moved so she can view it and as she did she looked into the telescope. "Woah! It looks so beautiful, and so..." Scootaloo stopped to think of a new word to describe it.

"Amazing?" Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah!"

"Do you know how tall it is?" Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom.

"I dunno I have never seen a tree like that before!" Apple Bloom exclaimed before Scootaloo can get an answer.

"Well, there is only one way to find out!" Scootaloo eagerly ran down the ramp and entered the clubhouse with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle soon following. Scootaloo grabbed their blue with yellow outlined Cutie Mark Crusader capes hanging on the wall next to the door. "We're going to that tree!"

---

The Cutie Mark Crusaders took their saddlebags and stuffed them with supplies they thought they might need. They also wore their capes as well in hopes to receive a cutie mark during their mini journey.

It had taken them a while to reach this tree, they got somewhat lost as Apple Bloom strangely didn't know this place as best as she should have. The journey was rough and took longer than it should have.

"Girls! I think I see the tree!" Sweetie Belle said seeing an open view behind many apple trees as it cast a shadow over them. It was a dense forest of apple trees, a place Apple Bloom didn't even know.

"I don't remember this part of Sweet Apple Acres here!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

As Sweetie Belle ran toward the tree, she jumped through a large bush blocking her way to see it. "Woah!"

"Sweetie Belle, wait up!" Apple Bloom called out as she ran toward her to catch up.

"Yeah! Don't hurry so much!" Scootaloo followed.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom agreed. "we could just- what the?" She looked at her surroundings.

"What is it?" Scootaloo said as she walked next to Apple Bloom. Her eyes widened at the view of the astonishing tree.

The tree that they laid their eyes upon was floating. The roots spread out and hovered over the beige grass dropping a shadow underneath the tree. Behind the tree was a dark blue horizon with scattered trees in the distance.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked toward the left and right seeing a straight border of apple trees as far as the eye can see.

Apple Bloom couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"That's really high, how are we going to get there?" Sweetie Belle said with confusion.

"I brought some sticks and string in my saddlebag, I bet we could make a ladder," Apple Bloom suggested, it was an okay idea to make but it seemed like it was a good one. "Let's just do it really fast so, Applejack wouldn't notice we were gone for so long,"

"Apple Bloom, how long were we gone?" Scootaloo asked her, to their surprise it was a long time. By this time it was late noon and Apple Bloom was afraid that being gone for so long would indeed raise some questions.

"Um, I dunno an hour?" Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Maybe, so but that doesn't explain all of this!" Apple Bloom pointed her hooves toward the plain field of grass that have appeared. "I bet that even Applejack or even Granny Smith don't know about this!" She exclaimed.

"Maybe, we could get our Cutie Marks for exploring?" Scootaloo suggested. All three of them looked at their Cutie Marks still to no surprise, no Cutie Marks appeared.

"Nope," They all said.

"Well, let's just build a ladder. The sooner we do it, the sooner we get it done!" Apple Bloom said as she bit the strings and sticks materials from her saddlebag, all to make a ladder.

"Yeah, Apple Bloom is right," Sweetie said. "The sooner we get it done, the sooner we get home!"

"Well, alright," agreed Scootaloo.

They all placed their hooves together, "Cutie Mark Crusaders go!" They said as they all raised their hooves in inspiration to complete the journey for their Cutie Marks.

After some time, all three of them made the hoof-made ladder. "Do you think it's safe?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Of course, it is just look at it!" Scootaloo said in excitement.

What showed was a worn down, low-quality ladder that seemed it couldn't hold ten pounds.

"Uh, maybe, it doesn't look right. At least we did something that we didn't know we could make!" Apple Bloom insisted.

"Yeah, of course, we did!" Sweetie Belle said, "Now, come on let's get to this tree!" They all used their muzzles to raise the ladder against the tree.

"Well, who's gonna go first?!" Apple Bloom asked.

"I will!" Scootaloo exclaimed in excitement, as she began to climb it.

"Be careful!"

"It's okay the ladder won't breeeaaaak!" The ladder started to break and collapse under her. "Nononononono!"

The ladder basically broke itself the sticks that were connected by the strings seemed to be unable to hold her weight.

Scootaloo jumped onto the central trunk of the tree, looking down she saw nothing but sticks and string.

"Are you okay?!" Sweetie Belle shouted above.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'll try to find a way to bring you up here!"

"All right just be careful!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Woah," Scootaloo said in amazement, looking at the central trunk.

The center of the tree was hollow and contained little light that filled in the darkness from the outside. As she took a closer look at the hollow tree it began to slowly descend to the ground.

---

"See it was all a part of my plan!" Scootaloo said, relieved. She saw as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed the tree as it made it's way toward the ground. 'See told ya!" She winked at them.

"Right, it was apart of your 'plan'," Teased Apple Bloom.

In the other hand, Sweetie Belle was amazed by how she did that. "Good job Scootaloo!" She said.

"Thanks!" Cheered Scootaloo proud she did something good.

When Scootaloo helped Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to onto the roots of the tree it started to float up to its 'normal spot' the same spot and altitude the Cutie Mark Crusader discovered it as it was before. But it floated a little high like, 'It did it for 30 more seconds 'high'.

"We're higher than usual," Scootaloo said remembering how high she was "I was lower than this height!"

"It doesn't matter how high we are at least we got each we will be okay!" Sweetie Belle said cheerfully but a little lightheaded from how high they were.

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders just watched the view as it showed most of Ponyville on a beautiful view. Scootaloo was the first to look back once they stopped raising altitude.

"Look at the staircase I've found!" Scootaloo said, pointing toward the staircase making the two others to look behind and into her direction.

"Looks like some kind of staircase," Scootaloo examined it "Come on, nothing bad would happen, it's just a staircase!"

"Oh really?" Apple Bloom asked as a rhetorical question. "Scootaloo this ain't normal somethin' weird is going on!" Exclaimed Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, let's just take our time and go slow on this," Sweetie Belle said agreeing with Apple Bloom.

"Well, alright. I don't to rush things so..." Scootaloo said sadly.

"It'll be alright, just like Sweetie Belle said, it don't matter what the challenge is as long as we got each other we'll be find," Apple Bloom hugged Scootaloo to her Scoot's suprise.

"Yeah, let's go," They broke up from their hug and continued toward the staircase with, of course, Scootaloo first.

"Just look for any things that might kill us! I don't like this!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"We know just looked behind once in a while so we wouldn't get ponynapped." Apple Bloom was inbetween behind of Scootaloo and ahead of Sweetie Belle. That statement made Sweeite Belle to turn behind her for any suspicious actions. She shivered in fear due to that, remember they were in a dark shadwo and none of that helped.

"Look!" Apple Bloom pointed. Scootaloo was watching her step so she wouldn't trip again. As for Sweetie Belle she looked back and saw a light.

"Wow,!" Scootaloo ran up the stairs onto a smaller platform than the previous and was probably at the tallest point of the tree. "That is the most beautiful view of Ponyville ever!" She cheered as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom ran up to see the view.

"Wow, you're right Scootaloo, I don't think I've ever saw this!" Sweetie said as she smiled feeling the nice breeze from the side.

"Wow, I'm impressed if ah do say so mah-sel," Apple Bloom looked at Ponyville spotting the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse and the Apple Farm. Sweetie was focusing on the Carousel Boutique. Scootaloo was fousing on trying to find Rainbow Dash.

"Wow, this is awesom-,"She was cut off by a trapdoor was swung open below them makign them fall into a black dark hole. They all realized that the tree was hollow , then slowly the trap door closed. They all called out for help and tried for somepony to get them but they were alone and tired for all of the yelling. They drifted off to sleep.

---

Sleeping like babies Apple Bloom woke up on a bed.

"Where am Ah?" She said as she woke up to find herself in a dome.

The dome she saw showed a "fake" sky and a moon, but it did look realistic.

But the moon was a bit off, the light illuminated by the moon was much more brighter than that of Luna's. So much so, that, she casted a clear shadow like the Sun but enough bright that she can see the Moon without covering her eyes, unless like Luna's Moon where it's a bit dimmer and not as big. But somehow by memory, she can tell the position of the Moon was the same's as Luna's.

Amazed, she yawned and went back to sleep.

It has been a few hours of rest and now the Cutie Mark Crusaders were waking up around eight o' clock they got up, and rubbed their eyes due to how bright the Sun is (Even though its the same brightness as Celestia's Sun) they trampled to the ground then started to stand.

"Where am I?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I- Wha?" Scootaloo looked around as well as Sweetie Belle.

"We are in some kind of dome," Apple Bloom said trying to explain the plot to them.

Scootaloo looked up seeing the Sun and some clouds.

"Well, this is... cheery". It was so hard to tell real life and a fake, the Sun looked like a big spotlight with the clouds looking hyper-realistic or just some kind of advanced technology.

Sweetie Belle started to investigate the non-ceiling room, the walls looked like they had moss on it. The room was very different it looked like a dungeon with moss and vines coming over the wall in their room. The architecture looked like it was centuries old and the place was humid and hot. She looked around seeign their beds that were the colors of a white pillow and a red blanket, as she was doing this she spotted a chest.

"What's this?" She said out of curiosity opened it, then heard a loudspeaker with a ringing sound before it can even speak.

"Welcome to the 'Game Show' the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' say hello to your host, here call me: 'Unknown' anyway, to start this off you are in a dome with the only way to escape is to complete a 32 perimeter mile journey with each chamber being a different theme. The first one is a jungle with ruins and a fortress in it. The second one is a snow the a large building ready to collapse. While all trying to complete obstacles in your way. The third one is a desert with a 'ghost town' in it. And now the fourth one is a mystery to you, you three have to complete all of the three chambers to get to the fourth then escape, the chest one of you have opened has the supplies to go the next chamber. Good Luck!"

"Oh, great now what?" Apple Bloom said to both of them confused and scared.

"I guess we have to do what the 'Unknown' says," Scootaloo said with a worried expression.

"Girls! Look!" Sweetie Belle said finding five loaves of bread and two fish, with some survival gear in the chest, that survival gear was made for a jungle-like survival.

Sweetie Belle gave the gear and the four and a half loaves of bread to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo with the two fish. They put in their items in their saddlebag next on top of their own bed, which had a white pillow and a red blanket.

After they placed everything into their saddlebags they looked and headed toward the door which looked like it had some moss attached to it making looked like Mother Nature took over it.A lot of years about 800 give or take it was a metal bar door that was rusty making it easy to break down.

Scootaloo tried to break down the door by bucking it down.

"Here, I got this," Apple Bloom insisted.

"No, no don't," Scootaloo said stopping Apple Bloom dead in her tracks. "Sweetie Belle give me your axe," Sweetie Belle 'hoofed' the axe to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo hit the lock on the bar-door which then broke it down. Scootaloo bucked it again making it turn 180 degrees to the left then falling down showing the backside of the door which looked much worse than the side they saw into the room it looked like it rotted and had moss on it for years.

"Now, Now our adventure starts here," Scootaloo said with inspiration.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked into the jungle what felt like what they were being blinded by was green.

Author's Note:

Revised on Thu, Feb 2, 2018