"Okay girls, what did y'all find out 'bout Dash?" Apple Bloom asked.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shared a look of hopefulness before turning to their apple-grown leader. Several seconds of silence passed. A cricket took advantage of the silence to express its own masterpiece version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Violin Concerto No. 5 in A, 2nd Movement.
"I... got nothin'. How 'bout you Belle?"
"Nope," said Sweetie smiling obliviously.
"Nut'in'? Nut'in' at all?"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shook their heads in unison.
"Prickly pears!" cursed Apple Bloom.
The others winced.
"Sorry. Big Macintosh was givin' me some 'mportant talk yesterday. Somethin' 'bout trains and tunnels, er somethin'. Anyway it took way too long an' I didn't sleep much. 'N I kept have'n weird dreams 'bout Spike."
Sweetie Belle pulled Apple Bloom into a friendly hug. "Aww, group hug."
"No no, I'm good."
"Threesome!" yelled Scootaloo dive tackling her two best friends and sharing one of their better best friend hugs.
After several seconds, Apple Bloom broke the hug. "Okay, yer startin' ta make me feel like I'm at a family reunion er somethin'."
"But we are a family." Scootaloo said with a perfectly normal smile.
"Yeah," Sweetie Belle added, "oh wait, no. We already have families, Scoot-a-lootie patootie. That's why we were trying to get Dash to love you and adopt you. Remember?"
"Yeah... adopt, right."
"What happened between you two anyway?" asked Apple Bloom, "I mean, you two were becoming all sister-like and then ya'all stopped hanging out altogether.”
"Oh, uh, she... ended up being too busy with her practice for the Wonderbolts. After she came back from that camp she has had less and less time for me."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom shared a look before both put a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulders.
Scootaloo managed a weak smile. "By the way, thanks again for helping me with that magic ritual, girls; even if it didn't work."
"Absolutely," said Apple Bloom.
"Of course," added Sweetie Belle, "I was so happy we could use my new foal's first laboratoory that Rarity got me for my birthday.
"By th' way, Belle. When are ya' gonna be unpackin' that alchemists lab?"
"Oh, I don't know. I mean I can't really unpack everything without adding another pocket dimension. But they only gave me two to work with. I think I'm only suppose to set up the things that interest cause otherwise they would've packed more.
"Awww. I was hopin' ta try and make some potions."
"Oh, well then I guess we could set up a cauldron and some supplies. I mean I'm not using the space in the Southwest corner."
Apple Bloom looked around the cramped, circular underground layer, "The where now?"
"Behind the computer mainframe."
"Ya mean that big metal box with the cables and blinking lights?"
"Yup."
"Cool."
Scootaloo's eyes rolled. "Anyway. We need to find out what happened to Dash. If it's something bad, we gotta try and fix it. I can't stand not knowing, it's worse than waiting for the next part of a story to come out."
"Yeah," said Sweetie Belle, "I mean we don't want to be responsible for doing something like ruining her career."
"Maybe..." added Apple Bloom tentatively, "maybe... we should tell someone."
"What! No!" cried Scootaloo. "I mean we all agreed that this was supposed to be a secret. You promised."
"Whoa there, girl," said Apple Bloom reassuringly, "We aren't saying that we'd break a promise. But maybe we should think about Dash before ourselves. Ah mean we did cast a ritual on her, 'n until yesterday nopony had seen hide nor hair o' her."
"Yeah," added Sweetie Belle, "if you want her to be like family then you need to put her first, even if it would get you in trouble."
Scootaloo sighed. "Yeah, maybe you’re right. Even if we get in trouble, it's better than something bad happening to Dash."
"Sounds like somepony has a letter to write," said Sweetie Bell in a sing song voice.
Scootaloo groaned. "I hate those letters, it feels like homework."
"But it's like homework from the Princess," added Apple Bloom with a mocking smile.
"Whatever."
"Hey!" shouted Sweetie Belle, "I know how we can find Rainbow Dash."
"How?" asked the others.
"We can ask Zecora for something to help us track her down. Maybe a super sense of smell potion, or-or-or... maybe something that lets us see through walls."
"That's silly," said Scootaloo, "stuff like that only exists in bad stories to cover up weak plot points."
"Nu uh," countered Apple Bloom. "I remember her telling me about a potion that she uses to help her find rare urbs."
"You mean rare herbs?" asked Sweetie.
"What in the hay is a herb?" asked Apple Bloom.
"It's like a special plant that you eat."
"Yeah, a urb."
"Herb."
"Urb!"
"Girls!" yelled Scootaloo. "Herbs or uerbs. It doesn't matter. We need to get to Zecora's and back before dark and I don't want to wander around the Everfree alone if I can help it. I mean we all know how stupid that is."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a parting look before turning back and nodding at Scootaloo.
"All right, now get on my wagon, girls. And put your helmets on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."
Flying. Not something Apple Bloom was use to, or was she? The wind was whipping through her mane and tail just like it did on Scootaloo's scooter, the scooter being somewhere below her she guessed. The feeling of weightlessness that had always been described to her was somehow absent. It was more of a absence of earth. Gravity still existed, it still pulled at her, but the lack of resistance to the effects of gravity was similar to one being in the air when bouncing on a bed... right before one would bounce off and bump their head.
Either way, the wind rushing by, the lack of any solid contact/resistance to gravity and the forward momentum—all common occurrences to a little filly in their own right—managed to create a wonder to behold: flying.
It was truly a wonder to experience. And only one word could come close to describing what Apple Bloom was feeling at the experience.
"Ahhhhhh!"
The sentiment was echoed by her fellow crusaders.
Scootaloo had accidently driven the three off of a cliff in a desperate attempt to escape a very big and very hungry hydra.
The flight lasted less than half a minute. They crested the hill at near Scootaloo's max speed and then looked down, far below the brown, rock-strewn, bubbling waters of froggy bottom rushed to greet the helpless fillies. As they plummeted, three large bubbles grew and met the fillies several hooflengths above placid waters. After salvation, however, the fillies soon found themselves airborne again, launched by the strange physics that permeated this section of the Everfree. They soon found themselves at nearly the same height as their drop, but their forward momentum had carried them over the rocky crags that lined Froggy Bottom Bog.
This time they would plummet to their certain doom amongst jagged rocks and scraggly pointed pines. As they began to fall for the second time, a flash of light blinded the three helpless fillies. By the time their vision had cleared and the sound of an explosion had rocked their ears, strong legs were setting them gently on the ground.
"Rainbow Dash! You have no idea how glad we are to see you!" said Scootaloo as she hugged her guardian hero.
"Yeah well, you keep falling off cliffs, seriously what's up with that?" asked Dash in his now deep voice.
"Oh, you know..." Scootaloo responded before looking up from her hug. "Oh my goddess! What happened to your face?"
"My... oh, yeah, I got turned into a colt," said Rainbow nonchalantly.
Three sets of blank eyes stared directly into Dash's soul.
"What?"
"Uh, h-how—what I mean to s-say is… h-h-how?" Apple Bloom stuttered.
"No clue," said Rainbow simply.
"This is terrible. Rainbow Dash, I am so, SO, sorry," cried Scootaloo as she hugged Dash's leg.
"It's not so bad. There are some perks to being a colt, you know. Just like there are perks to being a mare... just different perks," said Rainbow with a grin.
"Like what?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Oh you know, stronger flight instead of agility, I don't have to sit when I pee, and well, you know," said Rainbow with a broadening grin.
"Know what?" came the chorused response.
"Um, how should I put this? Some things are different between mares and stallions. And, well, ya know, I'm not so sure I should be the one to tell you about such things. I'm kinda new to all this myself," said Dash.
"Just pretend that we have a vested int'rest in your condition," said Apple Bloom with a serious voice.
"Why would you have a vested interest?" asked Rainbow. "For that matter, why do you girls even care? I’m still the best flyer in Equestria."
"Oh, uh," stammered Sweetie, "you’re just—"
"The most awesome mare in Equestria," Scootaloo broke in, "I mean you make all us girls look good."
"Yeah!" smiled Dash, "I am pretty awesome, so I guess that makes sense."
"So, uh, why don't you tell us what happened to ya?"
"Well that’s simple. One night I had a weird dream where I was shot with a neon green laser with a swirling pink and cobalt blue tint. The next day I woke up, went to do some laps, and nearly crashed into the ground. I saw my reflection in some water and realized my face was square, so I went to Applejack for help." Rainbow finished to the nervous looks of the three crusaders. "You girls okay?"
Apple Bloom was the first to recover her confidence. "Oh, uh, yeah. The idea that you had a dream about magic zapping ya and then turning into a colt is just kind a’, I guess freaky."
"Yeah, freaky, hehe," said Scootaloo in an attempt to back up her compatriot.
"Freaky, hehe," added Sweetie Belle 'helpfully'.
The other two crusaders glared at her to be quiet.
"I guess," said Dash with some confusion.
"Uh, well, besides your face, what else changed?" asked Scootaloo both trying to distract Rainbow and somewhat curious.
Dash thought for a moment about how much to tell the crusaders. "Well, Twilight said I was changed at the generic level, so... everything. My voice is deeper, my face is square, and I have more muscle; which has really messed with my balance—"
"Sorry," mumbled Scootaloo quietly.
"What?" asked Rainbow.
"Oh, uh, sorry. That's gotta suck."
"Yeah, almost killed Derpy, or was it Ditzy... Aww I can never tell them apart. I need to remember to bring them one of Pinkie's special limeade apology muffins.
"Ohh," squealed Sweetie Belle, "The ones that start off pleasantly tart and become sweet as you eat!"
"The very same."
Again, the other crusaders scowled at Sweetie, this time for wandering off topic.
"Anyway," said Scootaloo turning back to Dash. "Does anypony know how this happened?"
"Nope," said Rainbow, "Twilight is at a loss, which kind of worries me a bit. I mean I'm not scared or anything, I just don't want this kind of thing happening to anypony else. It's been a real hassle."
"What do ya mean a hassle?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Everypony is overreacting in my opinion. But worst of all I got a reputation I need to protect," said Rainbow as she began to rant, "The Wonderbolts know me as a mare. If I turned into a stallion, questions would have to be answered, questions I don't know the answer to. Some ponies might think I had the princess turn me into a colt or something to get an edge, which would be completely off base. This square face is clearly not aerodynamic."
"Don't colts also have an outie?" asked Scootaloo with a hoof to her chin in thought.
"A what now?" asked Apple Bloom.
“You mean that stick thing?” asked Sweetie Belle now also curious.
“Ohhh,” said Apple Bloom, “you mean a [censored].”
“Yeah,” said Dash nonchalantly, “I got one of those too. It replaced my innie.”
“That,” said Scootaloo with a raised eyebrow, “has to be weird.”
“It is. But Zecora used her magic on me, so it shouldn’t be a problem for a while.”
“Why would it be a problem?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Rainbow collected her thoughts for a moment. “Well you see—“
“Wait!” interrupted Apple Bloom. “Are ya sure you should be giving us the talk? I mean isn’t that something families normally s’plain to their own foals?”
“Does it matter?” asked Scootaloo with surprising fervor. “Dash is like a big sister to me, and we both know that my mother is too busy to explain anything serious.”
“No.” said Rainbow. “She’s right. This is supposed to be something that families explain to their kids. But I know my parents didn’t explain any of this to me, and until this all happened I didn’t even know anything really. So if you want, I’ll explain what I know to ya, Scoots. But I think you two should ask your families to explain the differences to you. Apparently this is some big deal for some reason, so everypony feels they have to share their own feelings on the matter.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “I know my brother and sister said they wanted to tell me, but they never got around to it.”
Dash nodded. “Yeah, your sister couldn’t even talk to me about it, and we’re best friends. Maybe you should ask your brother.”
“That’s a good idea. I’m sure Big Macintosh knows everything about this sort’ah thing.”
“I’m sure I could ask Rarity,” added Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah,” said Rainbow, “She seemed to know about this. How about we get out of this forest and you can all go talk to your families. I can talk with you, Scoots, since I have taken you under my wing n’all.” Dash punctuated this by putting a wing over the now blushing filly.
“What were you doing here anyway?”
“Visiting Zecora,” declared Sweetie Belle.
The other two CMC winced, hoping Dash didn’t keep asking questions.
“Oh, well. I don’t think there is time for that today. It’s getting dark and we’re a bit off the path.”
“Yeah, that hydra sure did a number on us,” said Scootaloo with a heavy chuckle.
“Well then, let’s get you three home. You must be tired after being chased all the way out here.”
A collective sigh from the fillies signaled the end of the day’s adventure.
And somewhere, deep underground, a forlorn cricket continued to play.