//------------------------------// // The Spying Crusaders // Story: A Diamond For Your Trouble // by Cadiefly //------------------------------// The Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse was not an exceptionally spacious abode, but it reasonably served its purpose to act as meeting arrangements for three young fillies. It has seen its fair share of use over the past year by the fillies as cool hangout sessions and professional, at least to some degree, meetings directed to the acquisition of their cutie marks. It was currently, it was being occupied by said fillies. In front of them was a notably long list, depicted in crayon doodles, which covered various activities, potential candidates for cutie marks. Several of the drawings were already crossed out, either having been done already or having simply been written off as being unfeasible. Slaying a grown dragon, much to Scootaloo's chagrin, just wasn't going to happen. Presently, not a single drawing was left to cross off their list. The group sat there in a state of silent anguish. The list of potentially successful ventures to achieving cutie mark status seemed to be growing slimmer by the day, something that did not go unnoticed by the three young fillies. Given there predicament, their meeting consisted of grunts and 'hmms' as they pondered over their next adventure. After eliciting one noise of concentration and a rub of hoof on chin, Scootaloo raised her hoof in indication to an idea, but promptly retracting her submission, mumbling a quick, "no that would never work..." Another moment of silence dragged on. One could hear the chirping of birds in the background, a pretty collection of noises, adding to the serenity of their environment. A moment in which eventually led to Apple Bloom saying "We could go zip-lining!" "But we already tried that ... Twice." Said Sweetie Belle in a diminutive murmur. She shuffled her hooves back and forth nervously as she glanced down. Her shoulders seemed to sag, almost as if she hated being the bearer of bad news to Apple Bloom's suggestion. After all, zip-lining was fun, even for her. "Oh right, Ah must've forgot." Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. She walked over to the podium and picked up a set of papers no larger than ten and wrapped them against the surface. Not that they needed organizing; it was just that they had been silently trying to think of an idea for nearly thirty minutes now, and so far their best idea was fighting a dragon. They might have to call it a day here and reconvene in the morn. That was when they collectively heard a gasp from Sweetie as she exclaimed, "I've got it. We should get our marks in spying!" With a bright smile, she looked to each of her friends for their reactions. Scootaloo was quick to jump on board with the idea, as was Bloom. It was easily the best idea they had all day. Each of them could just picture their cutie marks. Apple Bloom, sporting a gadget on her flank, flipping a switch on a controller that sent out radio waves that mind controlled a conglomerate of animals and ponies alike into doing her bidding. Sweetie Belle wearing high-tech glasses and a business suit as she walked into a heavily secured facility. And for some reason, Scootaloo pictured herself with a ninja cutie mark. Ninjas were cool and stealthy. "What are we waiting for, let's do it!" Scootaloo cried as she eagerly made a break for the door, flapping her little wings as hard as she could. The other two fillies were right behind her, smiling all the way. They stumbled into the town square, tiptoeing in boxes to small too be concealed in, and then attempted to situate themselves in such a way to make the box appear to have naturally been there the whole time. There were small holes poked through the boxes for peeking eyes. Three sets of eyes blinked behind those slits as the crusaders chose their target. There were several people to choose from. With so many people around, they simply chose the first one they laid their eyes on. It was an elderly mare, holding crutches to help her walk. There was little caution in their approach, creeping much too close. The elderly pony turned around to look at the boxes, which from her perspective seemingly materialized out of nowhere, and in her own senile away she smacked the boxes with her crutch until the crusaders screamed and ran off with newly formed bruises. Their next attempt was as fruitless as the first. They monitored their next target whilst hanging off the side of the building. Bloom and Sweetie both flailed as they tried to get a better angle while Scootaloo, with all her might, tried to hold them all up via a rope. When her hooves gave out, all three of them tumbled boisterously onto the ground. Their target in question turned to face them with a confused expression on his face. Their third target simply flew away, whilst their fourth was a large pony who spotted them immediately and tried to give them a tight and disturbing hug, to which they promptly scurried away from whilst yelling in fright. After their attempt at spying on a neighborhood cat had ended in several newly adorned scratch marks, The three crusaders were lying on the ground and huffing and puffing. This lasted for some time as they regrouped. "Did we get our cutie marks yet?" Apple Bloom asked. They each looked at their flanks and, upon seeing that they hadn't, sighed unhappily. "We're never going to get them." the farm pony said impatiently. A spring could heard in the distance, steadily getting closer to them as they caught their breath. When it reached its peak magnitude, they were greeted with a friendly pink party pony. "What are you doing all down in the dumps for?" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, spinning her extremities around each other in an impossible manner. "We stink at spying." Scootaloo said. "Oooh, spying!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, leaping into the sky to pop into countless pieces before reforming into a single entity once more. With a big smile planted on her face, she yelled, "I love spying! Who are we spying on?" "No one. We couldn't even spy on a cat." the little pegasus said dejectedly. "Aww, don't be like that!" Pinkie said gleefully. "Come with me!" With a hop and a skip, she proceeded to bounce off towards...somewhere. The crusaders looked to each other and shrugged. It wasn't quite clear where she was headed, but they followed the party pony, hoping that wherever they were headed would provide more fruitful adventure than their current location. They journeyed to a small forested area on the outskirts of the village. Within this wooded area was a clearing sporting a small pond. The fauna of the forest were plentiful here. Deer sidled through a copse of bushes to drink, and Squirrels were rustling through the trees. Birds were chirping as they soared overhead, and anteaters feasted on grubs. But nopony was in sight. It was the perfect place to take a private dip. "We're here!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, indicating that this was their destination. The scenery was quite a sight to behold, but there was one critical thing missing from their adventure. There was no pony here to spy on, at least none that were visible. "Great.." Scootaloo murmured. "There's just one problem. There's no pony here to spy on." Ignoring the comment, Pinkie Pie walked up to one of the trees, where she dug her hoof into an unsuspecting hiding spot and procured a bouncy ball. "I store these all over Ponyville for all sorts of occasions!" She rambled excitedly as she returned to the group, where she began to bounce the ball off the ground. The ball gave off a high pitched squeal as it thudded against the ground, much higher than one would expect from a toy such as this. The three crusaders stared at Pinky Pie with a blank expression. In moments, Scootaloo exclaimed,"How exactly is this going to help us spy? A ball doesn't exactly strike me as something a spy would use." "Wait for it..." Pinkie said as she leaned into the ball, one eye as wide as could be. Slamming the ball onto the ground with immense force, it suddenly burst with a resounding popping sound, which in turn caused Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle to all cover their ears. As the next few seconds passed them by, they could could feel the sensation of ears ringing, deafening them. When equilibrium was reestablished, they slowly turned their attention to what Pinkie Pie was now holding in her hoof. In place of the bouncy ball, which showed no outward properties other than having a rubbery material, was a collection of brilliant shards of crystal. They sparkled as the sun's rays beamed down on them, the shine easily perceived by all those present as the twinkled beautifully a mirage of colors[1] of the rainbow. "What the hay are these crystals for?" Apple Bloom asked. "These aren't just any crystals." Pinkie said excitedly. "These are scrying crystals! With these, we can spy on any pony! I think." "What do ya mean ya think?" "Well... , when I use them I usually see something that happens before it actually happens. Crazy, right?" Pinkie said. "Watch. Scootaloo, do a dance for us." "Uh, Okay." Scootaloo replied skeptically. "Here goes nothing, I guess." She began rapping her hoofs on the ground in a beat, creating an alluring rhythm of moves. Almost immediately her dance number appeared vividly through the crystals. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle could see Scootaloo's moves a full twenty seconds ahead in time. The two fillies stared through the crystals in awe. Unbelievable! To think something like this would exist right before their very eyes that could shake the foundation of everything they believe in. Pinkie had found a way to bend time to her will. Seeing the crusader's reactions, Pinkie couldn't stifle the beam that grew on her face. She couldn't contain her excitement any longer, and jumped up and down rapidly. "I know right? I can't wait! Let's do some spying!" She waved her fore hoof over the crystals, and the image of Scootaloo dancing vanished among ripples akin to a current of traveling water. "Can I stop now?" Scootaloo asked. "Yes Indeedily!" Pinkie said as she pondered for a moment. "Now... who should we spy on...? Ooh! I know!" With another wave of her fore hoof along the surface of the crystals, a picture of Rainbow Dash appeared within the crystals. "Who wants popcorn?" Pinkie asked as she produced a bag of popcorn seemingly out of thin air. "What the..How..? Oh never mind, I'll have some." Scootaloo said as she tried, and failed, to figure out just where Pinkie Pie got the popcorn from. "I know I'm the one who came up with the idea of trying to get our cutie marks in spying, but don't you think this is a bit too invasive?" Sweetie Belle asked as she watched Rainbow Dash through the crystals. Rainbow Dash was currently snoring on top of a cloud in the sky, hovering just over somewhere in the middle of Ponyville. "Awe, come on! Where's your sense of adventure?" Pinkie Pie asked with an innocent, if somewhat fictitiously bashful expression on her face. "Besides, if I think something sensitive is about to happen I will turn it off. I'd like to give ponies some privacy at least." She said as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, loosen up a little why don't you." Scootaloo responded candidly. She was intently focused on the picture as she absentmindedly grabbed some popcorn as she intently watched her idol. In the picture on the crystals, Rainbow Dash promptly woke up from her afternoon nap when she she sneezed, and she was sent sprawling through the cloud. She tumbled towards the ground at an alarming angle, but thanks to the blue pegasus' quick thinking, she recovered in near record times and landed gracefully on the ground. The passersby who saw this transpire immediately applauded Rainbow Dash's performance. In sync with the other audience, Scootaloo bellowed with excitement. "Woo-hoo! That was awesome!" Seeing that the excitement was drawing to a close, Pinkie Pie chose this time to end the broadcast, and she waved her hoof over the crystals once more. The picture of Rainbow Dash vanished, and once more there was a normal reflection in the shining crystals. "Would any of you like to try it?" she asked as she held out her hoof and offered the crystals to the three fillies. As she stared at the crystals, Her mind immediately jumped to all the possibilities. She could discover one's secrets hidden away from the world, guarded closely as if to eradicate it from existence. To know those secrets would bring her to a place of power. Knowledge is power. She could potentially find out why any pony was acting the way they acted. Thoughts of Diamond Tiara suddenly crept back up to the forefront of her mind. The last few encounters with her left more questions than answers. What was she doing right now, she wondered almost absentmindedly, as if she was an old colleague or something worth worrying over. 'No,' she thought to herself, 'There is nothing different about her after all. She is the same Diamond Tiara she's always been, so stop thinkin' 'bout her.' Determined to think of anypony besides Daimond Tiara, she took this as an opportunity for returning to normalcy that is a day of crusading. Without taking her eyes of the crystals, she swiped them away from Pinkie. "You betcha!" Apple Bloom cried, "Now all Ah gotta do is find out who Ah wanna spy on. Any ideas?" Anypony would do, anypony at all, as long as it wasn't Diamond Tiara. She shuddered again as a mental picture of her popped into her mind. "Oh, oh." Sweetie Belle exclaimed as she eagerly raised her hoof, "I know! How about Rarity?" "Okay." With unwavering concentration, Apple Bloom flung her arms wildly. When nothing happened, Apple Bloom tried again. Still nothing. "What am Ah doin' wrong?" Pinkie giggled at Apple Bloom's failure. "Silly, you have to maintain a clear image of the pony you wish to see. The hoof movement is just for effect." "Ah think Ah get it now." Apple Bloom said in understanding. Again, she stood there trying to picture the pony in mind. A vague image of the pony appeared in her mind, shrouded by a mental cloud. 'Concentrate,' she thought, 'Think of Rarity.' She strained as she squinted her eyes shut. Instead of the unicorn she tried to mentally picture, Diamond Tiara sprouted up in her mind again. "I think it's working." Scootaloo remarked suddenly, nearly breaking her concentration. Apple Bloom slowly opened her eyes to see the one pony she didn't want to see through the crystals. "Hey, this isn't Rarity." Sweetie Belle said as Diamond Tiara came into focus on the crystals in Apple Bloom's hooves. "Heh, Ah guess my mind latched onto Diamond Tiara by mistake. Ah'll, try again." With a wave of her hoof, she tried to distill the image so that she could try once more, but the image was as clear as ever, refusing to dissipate. In the scene being played out, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were in Diamond's room, where they were hanging out and talking. Not much action seemed to be going on, so Scootaloo instantly zoned out. "This is boring. Apple Bloom isn't there somepony else we can spy on?" "Ah'm tryin' but I don't really know how this thing works." Apple Bloom replied, shaking the crystals at this point out of frustration. Could it be that she was still thinking about that frown? It had made Diamond Tiara seem almost...equine. Pinkie Pie intervened, pulling forward to halt Apple Blooms actions with a tentative pat to her shoulders. "Ooh, don't change the channel yet. This is starting to look really juicy." Pinkie Pie stated. "Di, can't we just enjoy our company this one last time? Who knows how long it'll be before we hang out next." Silver Spoon asked as she snuggled comfortably into one of Diamond Tiara's pillows. She claimed a cup of tea, which she sipped out of from time and again. Diamond Tiara was situated on a similar looking pillow across from her. A tray had been set out before them, harboring a kettle of tea, a few tea cups, a few lumps of sugar, and silverware appropriate for the occasion. Although most of the tray had been left largely underused on Diamond Tiara's side. The pony in question was pouting, which wasn't something the crusaders normally saw her directing at her best friend. Diamond broke eye contact to stare dejectedly at the carpet. "What's the point. Come tomorrow it'll just be me, myself, and I. How do you expect me to deal with those wacky crusaders all by myself?" Stifling a giggle, Silver Spoon responded, "I'm sure you'll manage. Who knows, you may even be able to pull off that." She didn't expand on what that was, but Apple Bloom had a feeling that it was pretty significant judging by the pony's tone and by Diamond Tiara's reaction. Thoroughly flustered, Diamond Tiara murmured, "Yeah right...not in a million years would that ever happen." There was a longing in her eyes that Apple Bloom couldn't quite make out, but the pony looked heartbroken. Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "You never even tried. How would you know?" "I just know, okay? Look, can we just drop it?" "Fine." Taking another sip from her tea, Silver Spoon set her teacup down and gave a long, worn out sigh. Changing the subject, she said, "I've finished packing today. Who knew there was so much stuff one pony could have. Father says it will-" Diamond interjected with an exasperated cry, "Enough! I can't stand this anymore!" Diamond Tiara jumped up, knocking over the tray. Its contents spilled out all over the carpet. "I ... I think I need to be alone." Tears were welling up in her eyes, despite her best efforts to keep her emotions in check. "Alright, I understand Di." Silver Spoon said, "I'll leave you alone. For what it's worth, I really enjoyed our friendship." She walked up to Diamond and gave her a parting hug. After a long moment, she pulled away and made for the door. Stopping at the door, she gave a quick look behind her to see Diamond Tiara stiff as a board. The poor pony was taking this so rough. "Di?" Diamond Tiara glanced up at Silver Spoon for the first time. Silver Spoon said, "Don't be afraid to make new friends. Being alone painful. Even more so for somepony like you." Silver Spoon bid her farewell and walked out of Diamond Tiara's life, at least for the foreseeable future. At long last, the scene died away and the crystals reverted back to their initial state. Everypony was silent as they processed what they just saw. After what seemed like forever, Scootaloo, wide-eyed, finally said, "Wow. Didn't expect that one." Shaking her head, Apple Bloom stared at the crystals disbelievingly. "Ah don't believe it. So there was something bugging Diamond Tiara after all! Ah knew Ah wasn't just imaginin' things!" A not so pleasant feeling settled in her stomach. To Scootaloo, this had been the best news she had heard all week. "Woo! Sounds like we'll have one less bully on our hoves come tomorrow girls. Now if only we can send Diamond Tiara away too... Then everything would be perfect." "Gee, I don't know. Diamond Tiara looked like she felt pretty awful back there." Sweetie Belle responded, "Maybe we should go console her." A worried look was plastered on her face as she stared at the blank crystals in Apple Bloom's hooves. She seemed as if she was going to dash off any second now. "After all the things she did to us? No way." Scootaloo said. With a sigh, Apple Bloom returned the crystals back to Pinkie Pie. "Ah don't think we'll need these anymore. Ah don't think spying is really our thing anyways." Turning to Scootaloo, she said, "Ah feel the same way, but can you imagine what it'd be like if Sweetie Belle and Ma-self went away forever?" "Well...When you put it that way..." The excitement Scootaloo held earlier was no longer present in her voice as she reflected on the other pony's developing circumstances. "Ah think we should go see her too. Let her know that somepony's thinkin' 'bout her." Apple Bloom added, knowing full well that her friend was still on the fence about this. Finally conceeding that they should go talk to her, Scootaloo grumbled, "Fine..." She stared at the ground and kicked a pebble away harmlessly. "But I don't have to like it..." Taking that for an acceptable answer, Apple Bloom turned back to Pinkie Pie and said, "Thanks for all of the help. This adventure was...definitely somethin'. But Ah think we gotta get goin' now." "Alrighty then! Take care and say hi to Diamond for me." Pinkie Pie said, her cheerful nature unwavering for a single moment. Each one of them nodded and thanked Pinkie Pie before heading off with a new destination in mind. Diamond Tiara's estate.