//------------------------------// // Ponyville Confidential // Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S2 // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// It was another peaceful day in Ponyville. Flash and Springer were on their midday patrol. They had just finished checking out the village's outside canyon and were on their way back to town, when the two of them spotted something floating along the creak. When Flash saw what it was, he raised an eyebrow in confusion before landing. "Is that...Scootaloo?" Indeed, it was his sister along with Sweetie Belle, floating down the river in a boat that looked to be made out of newspaper. "Oh...this can only end badly." And his prediction came true, as the ship soon became so water logged that it began to sink with the fillies inside. "Shouldn't we do something?" Springer asked him. Flash just shrugged. "That stream's not deep or strong. They'll be able to swim out of it." A second later, the two young pony's heads broke the water's surface. Flash and Springer chuckled at the sight, only for Flash to see two ponies in the corner of her eye. It was Pinkie and Wild Smile walking up to them. "Hi Flash!" Pinkie waved. "What's up?" Wild added. "What's up, what's up?" his puppets repeated. "Eh, nothing much. Just the sky. Say, how's the move coming along?" Flash asked the unicorn as Wild walked up and shook Flash's hoof. "Not bad," Wild shrugged, shining a smile. "I got myself a nice little two bedroom apartment, so now all I need is move some of my Canterlot effects into it." "And I already agreed to help!" Pinkie cheered. "Hooray!" "Cool. If you need any pegassistance, don't hesitate to ask." "Thanks." Wild replied before pointing at the lake. "Now, you mind explaining why your sister and her friend wanted Pinkie and me to help them Origami a bunch of newspapers into a boat?" "Not sure," Flash answered as he turned to the two fillies that were making their way to them. "But I get the feeling that it has something to do with them getting their cutie marks." As he said this, the duo walked up to them, covered in mud and paper as they collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "Oh boy, this should be good. Hey sis." "Hey..." Scootaloo replied, though her voice was muffled by the grass her face was currently rubbing. "You okay?" Springer asked as he started pulling pieces of paper from her mane. "We're fine," Scootaloo mumbled as she lifted her head. "but I think Applebloom's plan to get our cutie marks is a bust." "What's it this time?" Flash asked, smirking as he helped clean his sister up. "Cutie Mark Crusader Pirates?" "No..." Scootaloo told him while rubbing her head. "She said we could use the paper to get our cutie marks, but it didn't work." "We've tried everything," Sweetie added. "From paper mache to making bird houses, but none of it worked." This caused the older ponies to chuckle under their breaths, obviously understanding something they did not. "What's so funny?" Scootaloo asked. "Well," Flash replied, a smirk now on his face. "When Applebloom said you girls should get your cutie marks with the paper, I think she meant by writing for it. You know...journalism." The two little fillies stared at them, blinked twice, then stared at each other before releasing a loud groan and collapsing again. The three ponies and jakhowl all chuckled. "Come on," Flash told them as he helped them back up. "Let's get you two cleaned up before you accept your first Ponyitzer." The two fillies slowly got up and the group started making their way towards town, soon making a beeline towards the spa. It took almost an hour of washing to get the mud and slime out of their manes, only to then rush out of the spa and back to Applebloom. The sight alone made Flash and the others chuckle before making their way to Wild's new house. "Here it is," Wild said as they arrived outside one of the large houses in Ponyville. It was an apartment-style building, complete with several other ponies living just next door. "Let me show you the inside." He opened the front door and headed inside, passing Caramel as they arrived at the third floor. "This is it." "This is it, this is it!" The puppets repeated. What followed was a blank set of rooms, mainly a kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. There was literally nothing else, as nopony had lived there for some time. The others blinked at the sight before Flash spoke up, "Not bad. Could use some sprucing up though." "I don't know," Springer said as he looked around. "It's kinda- "Dulls-vile!" Pinkie interrupted before pulling a paint brush and can of paint out of her hair. "We need to get this place looking fun as soon as possible!" The two stallions and jakhowl laughed at this, watching Pinkie already make her way of painting a nearby wall. As she did, Flash turned to Wild. "Any idea what you're gonna use the spare room for?" Wild just shrugged. "I'll probably just put a bed in it and sleep in it whenever I've got company. Script and Gorgenia said they'd come visit sometimes." "Oh!" Pinkie perked up, suddenly appearing between the stallions. "I can throw them a party!" They all laughed at her enthusiasm. As she got back to her painting job, Flash and Wild started to talk about the plans for the apartment. Flash told him he could help with the heavy lifting, and suspected he could get Iron in on it too if he convinced him it would be a good workout. Flash and Springer stayed in the building for a few hours, watching as Pinkie painted different parts of the wall with different colours to see what worked. It took about five coats before Wild told her he liked the last one she did. It was here that Flash noticed the sun was beginning to set. "We'd better get our evening patrol done before it get's to dark," he told his partner before turning to the others. "See you all later." "Bye!" Pinkie muffled out, as her paint brush was still in her mouth. "Catch ya later Sentry," Wild said, sticking his tongue out. "Later, later!" the puppets repeated. Flash and Springer headed out of the building and did their evening patrol, finding nothing out of the ordinary as they did. After checking the edge of the Everfree Forest, they headed back to the library. When he opened the door, he was treated to the sight of Scootaloo and Twilight at a table. They had the school's newspaper, The Foal Free Press, open and Twilight was explaining to the filly the different types of newspaper columns. "So what kind of story do you think I should write first?" Scootaloo asked her with hopeful eyes, a pencil just barely in her mouth. Twilight shook her head. "Hold on Scootaloo, that's not really how journalism works. You can't just make something up. You have to keep your eyes open for a situation that you think will make a compelling story." "Right..." Scootaloo spat the writing tool out and slumped in her chair. "But...how do I know if something's worth writing about?" "That depends on you," Twilight said with a shrug. "You have to ask yourself if you think the story is something other ponies will want to know about." "She's got a point," Flash added as he and Springer sat down at the table. "And when you write your story, you gotta make sure you've got all the facts right. Don't just write what you think is going on, research it." Scootaloo raised her eyebrow. "That sounds...kinda boring." Twilight shook her head again. "Don't think of it like that," Twilight then tapped her chin, only for an idea to pop in her head. "You see...being a journalist is like....its like being a detective. You're searching for the facts and exposing the hidden truths to the world." They all watched as Scootaloo's eyes began to grow wide in wonder. Flash smirked seeing this, deciding to chime in. "And getting all those facts means that when you reveal the truth, nopony can say you're wrong." "Huh..." Scootaloo mumbled, blinking at what they had just said. "I guess you gotta point. So...I should just look all over town for something noteworthy?" "Pretty much," Twilight nodded. "Alright!" Scootaloo almost yelled as she jumped up from the table. "Then I better get some sleep so I can be ready to write The Foal Free Presses next best...what are they called again?" "Articles." Twilight corrected her. "Right!" Scootaloo clapped as she rushed upstairs. As they watched her go to her room, Springer tugged his partner. "You really think she'll get a cutie mark this time?" Flash shrugged. "Can't be sure. But if she does, she'll have our support." "Agreed." Twilight chimed as she opened the school paper again. Flash then leaned back in his chair, letting out a yawn. "Besides, out of all their schemes to get a cutie mark, this one is at least both realistic and safe. That alone is enough for me." Twilight giggled at that, glad to see Flash was taking his role as caretaker so seriously. As she stopped giggling, Flash began to stretch out his body before hopping out of his chair. "Welp, I better get some sleep too. I'm Theta training again tomorrow." "How's that going by the way?" Twilight asked him in curiosity. "Better." Flash grumbled, scratching the side of his head. "Its my concentration that's the problem. When I'm relaxed, I can kinda do it...but when I'm in an action situation, I still have trouble with it." "You just need to learn to relax when doing it." Twilight told him, remembering what she had learned from reading the book Soarin had given him. "Let your mind be open so it can process the information." "I know, I know..." Flash whined, crossing his hooves. "Its just hard to relax when I'm trying to keep myself from being beaten to a pulp." Seeing this, Springer decided to chime in. "Maybe you should go somewhere more relaxing, like the spa. Maybe you can't relax because you're too tense in your usual situations." Flash thought about what Springer had just said. It was true he hadn't really relaxed and let himself unwind in a while, so it was worth a shot. "The girls and I were planning to go to the spa in a few days," Twilight told him as she put the paper down. "Feel free to join us." "Hmmm...maybe I will." Flash shrugged as he headed upstairs to bed. The Next Day... "Iron Force!" Flash leapt into the air, barely dodging the metal tornado. "Aura Blast!" He then stopped flapping his wings, dropping down in time for a ball of concentrated aura to fly over his head. Flash then opened his wings again to glide back up into the air, while closing his eyes and trying to clear his head. "Come on, you can do this. Relax, clear your mind." "Iron Lance Fury!" Flash's eyes shot open as he saw the flurry of projectiles flying towards him, causing his brain to go into overdrive as he tried to dodge every single one. His body flung around the sky, barely skimming by the rampage of metal and iron. As he dodged the last bit, his body felt like it had ran ten marathons. His mind felt like mush as he slowed down his flight, not noticing that he had flown close to a ledge that a certain jakhowl was running along. "Bone Breaker!" Springer cried as he created the energy bone and leapt at Flash, ready to conk him on the head. Flash however, saw the attack coming, kicking off the nearby ledge to help him back into the sky. As he did this, Springer's attack quickly missed, causing the jakhowl to curl up and front spin to land safely on the ground below. When his paws hit the ground, Iron walked up to Flash's partner, a smirk on his face. "Looks like he's tiring. You ready to give him another beating mutt?" Iron asked as he looked up at a now heavily panting pegasus. "Can you blame him?" Springer replied as he created another Aura Blast and threw it at Flash. "We're able to tag out and catch our breath. He can't do that." Flash dodged the attack and flew towards the ground, trying to find some cover. That is, till he turned and saw Iron point Piecemaker at him while Springer formed another Aura Blast. The Jakhowl launched the ball of energy, Iron unleashing his Iron Force attack at the same time. The new metal tornado struck the Aura Blast and caused it to become a spinning ball of metallic energy, which flew towards Flash at mach speed. Flash quickly spread his wings again, only for his back to let out. "Aw shoot." was all Flash could say before the attack smashed into him, his body spinning into a nearby rock wall. "AAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!" Iron and Springer moved over to Flash, whose eyes were spinning around their sockets. "Wanna call it a day?" Iron asked, a cheeky smirk on his face. "Or do you want more beatings, ya wimp? Please say yes." "I'm good...." Flash grumbled as he grabbed his head to stop his eyes from spinning. "Here, let me help you." Springer said as he helped him up and moved him over to his saddlebag and Lightbringer. "Thanks..." Flash mumbled as he strapped the two to his side. With that, the three of them headed out of the canyon and back towards town. As he did, Flash let out a long sigh. "Darn it...I still can't focus. I know Soarin said it took years to learn how to enter the Theta State, but I thought I'd be able to get it sooner or later..." "Guess you're not the prodigy you think you are, ya wimp." Iron guffawed, Piecemaker rattling on his side. Flash just glared at him, only to sigh yet again. "I guess you're right. I haven't had this much trouble learning something since I started sword training." "But you're great with a sword," Springer told him as they arrived at the edge of town. "Lightbringer's a sword and you said Celestic Gears take the form of the weapon the wielder's most comfortable." "It does...but that doesn't mean I was ever naturally good with a sword." Flash rubbed his head in frustration. "In fact, I was once terrible with swords. It took Shining showing me a few tips and weeks of practice for me to actually get any good." "Whatever. I honestly think you should quit while you're ahead." Iron told him, turning towards a different part of town. "Or don't. I can't say I don't like kicking your flank more than usual because of your stupid training." "Oh shut up!" Flash barked as he watched Iron head off to do whatever he had planned to do. Seeing this, he turned and started to think. His mind began creating strategies, formulas to beat the Theta State. He continued to struggle, only to feel a little nudge from Springer. "What?" Springer did not reply, and instead pointed over at a tree. Looking at it, Flash almost burst out laughing when he saw the sight Springer was pointing at. It was Scootaloo, who was up in a tree while wearing a journalism hat. Scootaloo was trying to get herself a story. Doing what Twilight had suggested, she had chosen to write about the new birds' nest that had 'appeared' in the local park. That meant she had to climb up to it and hold onto the branch, while also keeping hold of her notepad and pencil. Then, she started to chirp to the brothers. "So, anything to say about your new home?" The birds replied with loud chirping. "I see...how do you spell that?" She really wished she had asked Fluttershy to be her translator as she simultaneously tried to write and keep a grip on the branch. That did not go as planned, as her notepad soon fell out of her hooves. As she tried to catch it, she soon found herself letting go of the branch. This in turn, meant she began to fall down to earth, though she did try and stop herself with her wings, only to slam into a muddy puddle. "You okay sis?" Scootaloo looked up to see her brother and Springer standing over to her. "I'm fine," she said as she pulled herself out of the mud. "You sure?" Springer asked as he picked up her muddy hat. "That fall looked painful." "I'll live," Scootaloo grumbled. "So...is this your big story?" Flash asked as he looked up at the nest. "Yep," Scootaloo said as she looked down at the mud soaked notepad. "What do you think?" "I think whoever made that birds' nest needs an arts and crafts lesson," Springer said as he looked up at the nest. "Who uses newspaper to build something that needs to stand up to the rain?" "Yeah..." Scootaloo laughed nervously as she walked away. "Well, I better get back to school. Diamond Tiara'll have a fit if she doesn't get any news stories." "Diamond Tiara is running the school newspaper?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't she the-" "Yeah, she is." Scootaloo interrupted, turning her back to Flash. "But I can handle her." With that, she rushed off. As she did, Flash glanced at his partner. "I think we should keep an eye on the school news paper bud." Springer nodded. "If she's running it, I agree." Meanwhile... Scootaloo had just arrived outside the school's underground newspaper room, where she also saw Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. "Hey girls, how'd it go?" Applebloom gives her a shrug. "Okay I guess. Granny Smith didn't have as many stories as I thought she would." "I spent more time acting like a mannequin then I did a reporter," Sweetie mumbled, letting out a sigh. "Well, I ended up taking a mud bath," Scootaloo told them as they descended into the cellar like room. There, they saw Diamond Tiara sitting at the far desk with a writer to her left and Shady Daze to her right, printing several papers. The pink earth pony filly looked up at the three as they headed towards her. "I hope you've got something," she said with her usual angry voice. "Because everything so far is unusable." The Crusaders placed the stories they had written on her desk, allowing her to look through it. However, by the look on her face, she did not like them. That and the yelling that followed. "Baby birds born? Rarity's hot new hat? Ponyville, the early years!?" She tossed the papers onto the floor, jumping down in front of her desk to get into the crusaders' faces. "I don't know what you call this, but it sure isn't news!" The three soon found themselves backed up into the far wall. Sweetie gulped as she tried to say, "We just thought-" "Get something else on my desk by the end of the day, and it better be juicy!" Diamond Tiara interrupted, grabbing the trio with her hooves. The next thing the three fillies knew, they were being thrown out of the room with a thud. Following them was their notepads, pencils and hats, which all hit the floor in series of clangs. Scootaloo moaned as she picked herself up. "Now what'd we do? Do you know what I had to do to get that story?!" "Oh, you don't even wanna know what I had to sit through," Applebloom moaned, scratching her sore flank. "This is-" Before they could say anything else, a sound caught their attention. "Oh! Get it off me, Snails!" "Eh?! You get it off me, Snips!" The trio looked at each, wondering what was going on. They gave each other a nod before deciding to investigate, walking slowly around the school house as they followed the voices. "Aah! Stop it!" They heard the first voice cry out. "You're making it worse!" They looked around the corner, only to then see Snips and Snails. The two had somehow gotten a single piece of gum stuck to their flanks, sticking them together like glue. They watched as Snips karate chopped the gum, only to get his hoof stuck in the gum. "Oh, great!" "I'll get it," Snails said before he used his back legs to kick Snips away. However, the gum remained intact and Snips was soon catapulted back into Snails, causing the gum to spread even more over their bodies. "Get it off! Get it off!" Sweetie giggled at this, only for an idea to pop into her head. "Hey Featherweight," she called out to the pegasus photographer who was currently taking pictures of a squirrel nearby. "C'mere." The skinny pegasus turned towards her and was soon at her side. "Take a few pictures of this," she told him as she pointed to the two struggling unicorns. "Then, meet me during lunch." With that, she turned back to her friends. "Girls, I have our story." Later That Day... Back at the Golden Oaks Library, Flash was sitting in the center of the room with his eyes closed. Behind him was Springer, who was currently drinking a soda while reading a comic book, looking up every once in a while to see if Flash was doing okay. That is, till the front door opened with a loud thunk. The jakhowl turned and saw Twilight and Spike step inside, both carrying shopping bags in their claws and magic. Springer then put one of his paws up to his mouth, shushing them as he pointed towards Flash. "Shhh! He's trying to relax and clear his head." Twilight replied by staring at Flash for a second, only to roll her eyes in response. "I think he's a little too relaxed." "Huh? What do you mean?" Springer asked as he looked back at Flash, only for his ears to suddenly catch the sound of a snore. Flash had fallen asleep while meditating. "Oh..." Springer mumbled while Spike started laughing at the sight. A grin on her face, Twilight went up to pegasi as her horn started to light up. Her magic then engulfed Flash's ear, quickly twisting it. "AAAAAHHHH! OW!" Flash yelped as his eyes went wide, waking up as he started rubbing his ear. "Hey! What the heck Twilight?!" Twilight just rolled her eyes again. "How's that clearing your head thing going?" she asked sarcastically, her eyebrows hopping up and down. Flash let out a growl before blushing, a nervous smile on his face. "Yeah yeah...you've made your point." "You bet I have." Twilight replied as she swatted his shoulder. "Come on, I need your help with the gro-" SLAM! That was the sound of the front door slamming open, as one orange pegasus filly walked inside. Her face wasn't exactly anything happy-looking, but there wasn't any depression on it either. Spike blinked at the sight before saying, "Hey Scootaloo, welcome home. How'd the paper thing go?" She let out a small sigh. "Not bad...but my bird story didn't get picked to be printed." Twilight's ears folded as she added, "Oh, that's too bad. I'm sorry Scootaloo." "So what did get printed?" Springer asked her. Scootaloo didn't reply, and instead took a copy of the Foal Free Press out of her bag. Twilight took the paper and levitated it closer, the three boys gathering around her to see the picture on the front page. "Snips and Snails in Bubblegum Fails?" Twilight read the headline as they looked at picture of the two unicorn colts stuck together. Flash snickered at this. "I know those two are attached at the hip, but this is pushing it." Spike and Springer let out a laugh while Twilight rolled her eyes again. However, Flash could tell she was fighting not to laugh this time. Flash then turned back to the page and read the name at the bottom. "Who's Gabby Gums?" "You don't know?" Spike asked in surprise. "I don't. And I've made sure to know who everypony in town is. It helps me do my job better, but I've never heard of Gabby Gums." He turned to his sister. "Did they just move into town or something?" "If this pony has, Pinkie's gonna have a heck of a time making her a party." Twilight cut in. Scootaloo lifted her hoof, a frown still on her face. "Actually, I think its supposed to be a pen name." "Makes sense," Twilight said as she continued to read the article. It was that she started to realize what kind of writing Gabby did. Gabby was a gossip writer, something that Twilight had not always liked reading back in Canterlot. "I hope this Gabby Gums pony doesn't take this to far." Scootaloo titled her head, surprised at her statement. "What do you mean? I mean, isn't it just a bit of harmless fun?" Twilight shook her head. "It might look harmless now, but this kind of thing can get out of hoof really easily." Flash nodded in agreement as he read the article, seeing where Twilight was going. "She's right. I mean, having your most embarrassing moment shown for all the world to see? I certainly wouldn't want that." "Snips and Snails didn't seem to mind," Scootaloo replied, still tilting. "In fact, they really like all the attention." "Maybe they did, but that doesn't mean a different pony will want that." Flash told her as he took the paper and pointed at the picture. "Think about it sis. If instead of Snips and Snails, you and...Sweetie Belle were the ones this happened to. Would you want a picture of it for all the world to see?" Scootaloo thought about what he said for a moment, quickly realizing he was right. It might have been funny to her and the others, and Snips and Snails were to stupid to be embarrassed, but that didn't mean it was right to do it. "Oh...I think I get it. I understand." Twilight shined a small smile as she took the paper back and folded it. "That's good Scootaloo. In fact, why don't you talk to whoever this Gabby Gums character is and tell them that. I think it would help them greatly Scootaloo." "I will," Scootaloo said with a nod. "WHAT?!" Sweetie Belle screamed the next morning. "You want to quit writing Gabby Gums?!" "I do," Scootaloo nodded, a determined look on her face. "But....why?" Applebloom asked, blinking at her friend. "I mean, didn't we all agree to try and do this for our cutie marks?" The pegasi filly took a deep breath, knowing what she had to do next. With that in mind, Scootaloo told them everything Flash and Twilight had told her. "So...I've decided I don't wanna do it any more. I'm gonna write about real things, not gossip." The two other crusaders took what Scootaloo, and by extension Flash and Twilight, had said to heart. Both gave each other a glance before nodding. Applebloom then said, "You're right Scootaloo. I don't wanna get my cutie mark by writing mean stuff about out friends and neighbors." The two then turned to Sweetie Belle, who sighed. "I guess you're right...but Diamond Tiara won't like this." Scootaloo just shrugged. "So what? Its not like she can force us to keep writing." One transition to the Diamond Tiara later... "I WON'T LET YOU TO QUIT!" Diamond Tiara screamed after hearing the crusader's plan to stop being Gabby Gums. "Gabby Gums is the glue that holds this newspaper together!" "Actually," Shady spoke up from his spot next to the printing press, "we don't use glue. We just fold the paper...over and..." Shady stopped when he saw Diamond Tiara glaring at him. "Shutting up now." Diamond Tiara turned back to the crusaders, daggers in her stare. "Without Gabby Gums, this paper will return to being the monotone piece of drudge that I set out to replace. I'm not letting this gold mine shut down!" "But if we keep writing stuff like this, we might end up hurting somepony's feelings." "FEELINGS?!?!" Diamond Tiara screamed as she slammed her hooves into the table. "I don't care about feelings! Gabby Gums is my bread and butter, and I'm not gonna let you goody-two-horseshoes take that away from me!" The trio all glanced at each other, nodding. Sweetie then stepped forward. "We're sorry Diamond Tiara, but we've made our decision." "Yeah!" Scootaloo also stepped forward. "You can't force us to keep gossiping!" Diamond let out a snort, only to then start chuckling. They gulped at this, as they knew this meant trouble as Diamond started speaking again. "Oh yeah? If that's the case, I'll just have to make sure you stay." She leaned down, a sneaky grin now gracing her face. "After all, when you see this, you may not want to quit after all." She spun around and threw a folder on the floor, which opened to reveal the three of them in very embarrassing positions. "I told Featherweight to document everything," she explained as she jumped down off her chair and picked the pictures back up. "And that's exactly what he did." "Gimme those!" Scootaloo cried as she reached for the folder, but Diamond Tiara held them out of reach. "Sorry girls, but this is property of the Foal Free Press," she jumped back into her chair. "And if Gabby Gums really does go into retirement, I'll need something to fill that empty column space. Now get out there and bring me more Gabby Gums!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders all turned towards each other in horror, realizing the think they had become most afraid of was actually gonna happen. That is, till Diamond slammed her hooves down again. "What are you three still doing here?! The clocks ticking, so GO!" The three sighed, turning to leave the press room. Once they were outside, they looked at each other and shared a look of fear. "Now what do we do?" Applebloom asked first. "What she wants us to do I guess..." Scootaloo mumbled, her head almost touching the ground as she drooped down. "Well, at least until we find a way out of this." Sweetie told them, crossing her hooves. "Until then, we'll just have to look for gossip that won't hurt ponies feelings." "Is there even such a thing?" Scootaloo asked as she looked back up. Sweetie just gulped. "I hope so." A Few Days Later... Flash sighed as he felt his tensions be washed away by the perfectly heated water of the Ponyville Day Spa's hot tub. He could not remember the last time he felt so relaxed. As he continued to twitch, trying to make sure his body was in the right relaxing position, he looked over at Pinkie and Fluttershy who were also in the large tub. They both looked like they were about to fall asleep in pure relaxing bliss. Springer on the other hoof, had gone off to have a steam with Iron. Flash and Springer had learned that Iron didn't care for the spa, but Skybreaker had made Iron uses steams in town spas before. Iron said he had found a certain 'addiction' to them, and enjoyed how they felt. That and they were 'a stallion's place in a spa'. At the same time, Flash looked out of the bath and saw his other friends on massage tables. Rarity was giggling as she felt her hoof being worked on. "Oh, this is the life, isn't it? The best hooficure I've ever had!" "You said it," Applejack agreed while being massaged by one of the spa ponies. Spike, who was wearing cucumbers over his eyes, nodded. "I don't know if I've ever been so relaxed. I feel like-" "YOU GUYS!" "Aaah!" Spike cried as he shot up, the cucumbers going flying as he watched Rainbow enter the room. "The new Gabby Gums just came out," Rainbow explained, acting completely unaware that Spike's cucumbers had landed on her face. "Gorgenia's fake eyelashes revealed!" "We already read that one Rainbow Dash," Rarity told the pegasus who was now eating one of the cucumbers from her eyes. "Come on, relax. Have a hooficure, it feels amazing. Rainbow Dash looked almost insulted by the suggestion. "Did you forget who you're talking to?! The day I get a hooficure is the day I turn in my daredevil license!" "You have a licence?" Flash asked with a cheeky grin. "Figure of speech," Rainbow replied before looking down at the paper. "Besides, I haven't read this Gabby Gums yet." But before she could start reading, Spike took the last cucumber off her eye. That, and he then literally reached into her mouth and pulled the other one out. "Well do it quietly, will ya?!" Spike told her as he put them on his eyes. "Some of us are trying to unwind!" "I like Gabby Gums too," Twilight said as she read her own copy of the paper. "But don't you think she can be a little mean?" Applejack just waver her hoof at the unicorn. "She's not mean Twilight, she's a hoot!" "I'm gonna tell you what I told Scootaloo," Flash butted in. "Imagine the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you, then imagine that thing being printed in a newspaper for the whole world to see." "Oh, it wouldn't be that bad," Rarity chuckled, also waving her hoof dismissively. Flash just turned to gave her a raised eyebrow. "Remember when Rainbow's stunt caused a gust so powerful it blew your mane into windswept mess?" Rarity's face turned from white to bright red. "We agreed never to speak of that again." "Well, what if this Gabby Gums character managed to get a picture of it and put it in the newspaper?" Twilight told her with a glare. "Then everypony would be laughing at you." "That doesn't sound very nice," Fluttershy added. "And look at this one," Twilight said as she showed them a picture of Princess Celestia eating a piece of cake. "Celestia just like us. is the headline. It just shows you that Gabby Gums doesn't value anypony's privacy." "Oh, lighten up Twilight," Rarity said as she turned back to white. "It's nothing but harmless gossip!" Flash rolled his eyes as he spoke up, "Again I say, mane disaster." Before Rarity could reply to that, Pinkie shot out of the tub with a newspaper. "Yeah, I mean listen to this one:Mayor, Not Naturally Gray!" She showed them all a picture of the mayor with pink hair and a bottle of dye. "The Mayor in a mane dyeing scandal? Who wouldn't wanna read that?" "The Mayor," Flash deadpanned. "Exactly," Twilight agreed, crossing her hooves. "The ponies being featured might not like how they're being represented." "Agreed. I mean, can you imagine if Gabby Gums did an article about somepony like Spoiled Rich?" Flash asked, shuddering at the thought. Spoiled Rich was Diamond Tiara's mother and a total snob who looked down at almost anypony. "The school might end up getting sued or something." "I doubt that would happen darling," Rarity huffed, laying back down in the massage chair. Rainbow nodded in agreement. "Even if it did, it'd just show she can't take a joke." "Exactly," Rarity said, looking at the pegasus. "Rainbow, why don't you join me in one of these delicious hooficures?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, turning to Twilight who just nodded at her. "It's that good, huh?" The others all nodded in agreement. "Well, maybe just one little hoof." She sat down as Lotus moved over to her with a hoof file. The spa pony tried to get to work, but Rainbow kept fidgeting, making it impossible to work. Finally, before Lotus even got close, Rainbow leapt into the air. "Forget it! I don't like ponies touching my hooves." She flew over to where her paper had landed and opened it up. "Man...I'd love it if Gabby Gums did a story on me." "She did one on me," Spike replied. "WHAT?!" Spike suddenly found himself surrounded by everypony accept Flash. "When were you gonna tell us about this?!" "Uh...just now?" Spike said as he chuckled nervously. Flash just chuckled as he watched Spike be questioned by the girls, picking up the one of the papers and flickering through it. He frowned as he saw that once again, Scootaloo's name was not on any of the articles. He had been checking the paper everyday, trying to find a story written by either her or her friends, only to come up empty. Were they getting pushed aside to make way for Gabby Gums? "Should I talk to her?" He wondered, not wanting to sound nosy but still wanting to make sure she was okay with not getting published. In the end, he decided he should stay out of his sister's business. If she was feeling upset, she would come talk to him...or at least he hoped. Meanwhile... Scootaloo needed somepony to talk to. The crusaders had just tried to get their Spike story published, only for Diamond Tiara reject it once again. This followed with another threat to publish the blackmail material if they did not get a 'real Gabby Gums story' on her desk before the day was out. There was just one small problem. They didn't have any gossip to write about. "You got anything?" Sweetie asked her. "Nothing," Scootaloo slumped to the ground, whimpering. "Well, nothing that Diamond Tiara would like anyway." "What are we gonna do?" Applebloom asked, her body shivering in panic. "I mean, we gotta-" SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! "Hey girls!" said the sudden Featherweight, who had just taken pictures of trio. "I've got another patch of pictures for you!" He placed the photos down in front of them, ignoring their glares from him taking pics of them. He quickly turned and flew off, making the trio now look at the new pictures. Their eyes shrunk as they saw the ponies on them. "I don't like where this is going," Applebloom gulped before looking back up at her friends. "We've got no choice," Sweetie whimpered, shaking in place. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." The Next Day... "APPLEJACK ASLEEP ON THE JOB?!" Flash covered his ears to protect his eardrums from bursting, as cowgirl pony screamed next to him. Flash was his six main friends, along with Spike and Springer in a back booth of Sugarcube Corner. They were mainly back here to hide from the laughing they had all received earlier today. "Can y'all believe this?!" Applejack cried before turning another page. "And this one too! Big Macintosh, What's He Hiding? Who the hay does this Gabby Gums think she is?!" "Not so nice when the horseshoe's on the other hoof huh?" Flash said with a smirk. "I warned you." As Applejack glared at the Pegasus, Twilight took the initiative by showing them the next article. It was showing a picture of Twilight sneezing that made her look like she was turning her nose up at something. "Listen to this one,Twilight Sparkle, I Was a Canterlot Snob.A well-placed scaly source close to the prissy pony says Twilight Sparkle thinks Ponyville is nothing but muddy roads and low-class rubes." She turned to said scaly source. "Spike!" The little dragon cried out as he unleashed a burst of fire which charbroiled the paper he was holding. "How could you say such a thing?" She asked him, looking hurt. "Well I didn't!" Spike defended himself as he picked up the burnt paper. "Gabby Gums made that up! I never said anything like that!" "Look at this," Springer yelled as he held up a paper with a picture of him scratching his back with a Bone Breaker. "Springer's Flea Folly.I DON'T HAVE FLEAS!" "Everypony, please!" Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. "She's just a harmless school pony engaged in a little harmless gossip. You're really making too big of a deal out of this." Twilight slammed her hooves down on the table. "But it's all lies! Gabby Gums prints whatever she wants! She doesn't care whose reputation she destroys!" She showed them another article, which had a picture of Fluttershy. "Fluttershy Has Tail Extensions?!" They all turned to the yellow mare, who suddenly hid herself from their gaze. Twilight then showed a picture with Pinkie dancing in a fruit dish. "Pinkie Pie is an Out-of-Control Party Animal!" "Well, to be fair, she's kinda got a point with that one." Flash commented as he took the paper away from the purple unicorn. That is, till he saw a long glare from her. "Hey, I'm not saying what she's doing isn't bad." Twilight continued to glare at him as grabbed the paper back and flipped through some more. "Oh look. According to this one, the Cakes are breaking up!" Suddenly, Mr. and Mrs. Cake shot out the kitchen into the store. "We are?" Mrs Cake asked. "Wouldn't you be the first to know that?" Flash barked back, his left eyebrow raised. Before anypony could reply to that, the door of the bakery was literally ripped open and in came a floating pile of papers. "Well, my life is officially over!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she dropped a pile of papers on the table. "Gabby Gums has made it to Cloudsdale." She showed them all an image of her at the spa, about to get a hooficure. That, and she looked like she was enjoying it. "Rainbow Dash, Speed Demon or Super Softie?" Twilight read. "I grabbed as many copies as I could, but it was too late!" Rainbow collapsed into the pile. "I'm a laughing stock!" Twilight turned to Rarity. "See, Rarity? Your so-called 'harmless gossip' can be very hurtful!" Rarity just rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you ponies have no sense of humor. So she tweaks a few ponies every now and then, maybe they deser–" She did not finish her sentence. In that moment, she flipped to a picture of her on her 'woe is me' couch. "I'LL DESTROY HER!" She screamed. "The Drama-Queen Diaries...She's reprinted my diary! How could Gabby Gums possibly get access to my private diary?!" As she started to rant, Flash blinked at the article. That was a good question. The only way this Gabby Gums could have gotten Rarity's diary would be if she had access to Rarity's room and only two ponies had that access. As that thought hopped into his head, another idea came by. Scootaloo. His sister had kept writing...her and her friends always quit after one to two attempts. That, and Gabby Gums somehow got her hooves on Rarity's diary. Somepony he didn't know, so it was probably a pen name. A pen name like Gabby Gums. That last thought made his eyes go wide as he put the paper down, folding his wings. "No way..." Flash mumbled despite it being loud enough for the others to hear. "What's up?" Twilight asked as they turned towards him. Flash could instantly feel the stares around him. He opened his mouth, only to shut it a second later. Unfortunately, Twilight knew that look. It was the look he had when he figured something out, mainly when it came to flying or fighting techniques. The unicorn leaned over and stared at him straight in the face. "You think you might have figured out something, don't you?" A small gulp went down his throat. "Yeah....I think I did. But I'm not sure if I want to say it." Applejack slammed her hoof right by Flash. "Whatever it is, tell us. Now." "Yeah! Spill it!" Pinkie added, imitating a dog's growl. Flash's nerves flared up, but knew he had to tell. A second gulp happening, he told them everything he had just figured out. However, as soon as he named the culprits, two certain ponies slammed their hooves into the table again. "Are you accusing my darling little sister of being this beastly Gabby Gums?!" Rarity cried as she got up in his face. "And mine?!" Applejack asked as she did the same. Flash tried to backpedal, taking a second to collect himself. Then, he spoke back, "You do realize I'm also accusing my sister of it as well, right? And I'm sorry if that upsets you, but can you think of some other way Gabby Gums could have gotten your diary?!" Rarity was about to reply, only for her mouth to almost close. "Oh my..." "And can any of you girls remember seeing anything those three have written in this paper?" Flash asked. "No," Applejack said, shaking her head. "No," Rainbow added. "No..." Twilight mumbled, drooping down. "Yes!" Pinkie said, until the others looked at her with deadpan stares. "I mean no...sorry." "And have you heard any of them complaining about not being published?" "No," they all said in unison. "And why do you think that is?" Flash finished as he tapped the paper in front of him with his hoof. "Because they have been getting published..." Twilight caught on, gulping at her next words. "And they've been using a pen name." The ponies all thought about that and realized he had a point. That, a long moment of silence followed. That is, till a certain jakhowl spoke up, "So...what do we do?" Flash slumped down and put his wing around his partner. "I...don't want to accuse them without proof. I don't know if I'm right." "So let's get some proof!" Rainbow declared, standing up. "We go up to them and make them tell us!" "And if we're wrong just like Flash said?" Twilight asked, crossing her hooves. "The girls will think we don't trust them. I suspect none of us want that." "I know I don't want that," Fluttershy said, barely raising her hoof. Flash then clapped his hooves, getting their attention. "If that's the case, we should keep an eye on them until we know for sure. Sound good?" The others nodded. They might not like the idea of spying on the girls, but if it proved whether they were Gabby Gums or not, then it would be worth it. Later that day... The crusaders were back in the schoolyard, trying to come up with their next big story. All three of them having a look of utter defeat on their faces. Scootaloo's head was flat on the table, slowly muttering through the cracks of the wood. "Anything?" Sweetie was looking through the pictures they had left, trying to come up with something. "Nothing, not even something to use to make something up with." "We're in trouble," Applebloom cried, her lips quivering. "What'll we do now?" Scootaloo groaned as she looked up. "I don't know. Ever since we started making things up, ponies have been keeping out of the spotlight." Unknown to them, Springer was sitting silently in a tree branch not too far away. He was watching them while connecting his sight to Flash. "Well?" Rarity asked impatiently as they stood outside the schoolyard. "Anything?!" Flash had his eyes closed, putting himself in a meditative stance. "They're talking about something...but Springer's too far away to hear them." "Well that doesn't help us," Rainbow growled. "Come on Flash, we need to-" "Wait!" Flash interrupted, flashing his hoof at blue pegasi. "Sweetie Belle's pulling something out of her saddlebag. It's...a book." "A book? What does it look like?" "Um...It's cover is purple...with a heart on it." Rarity let out a mighty gasp. "That's my diary!" "That settles it! Let's go give those three a piece of our minds!" Rainbow yelled as she flared her wings, only to feel a certain magic aura cover her body. "Let's give them a chance to explain," Twilight growled as she kept Rainbow pinned. "We owe them that much." "Grrrr...fine!" Rainbow growled, knowing she wasn't going to get out of her grasp. The others all nodded as they headed towards the schoolyard, where they saw the three fillies still sitting around the picnic table. The trio noticed them heading their way, quickly hiding all the photos and Rarity's diary. Unfortunately for the crusaders, each and every one of incoming ponies, even Pinkie and Fluttershy, had a stern look on their faces. "Is there something you girls want to tell us?" Twilight asked, crossing her hooves they came to a stop in front of them. The three glanced at each other nervously, before looking back at them. "Um...no," Sweetie gulped. "Nothing at all," Scootaloo added, shaking her head. "Everything's good," Applebloom nodded. "Everything's-" "Oh really?" Flash interrupted, leaning down and glaring at his sister's face. "Nothing you wish to...gossip, about?" The three looked like they were about to faint. That is, till Rarity stepped forward, her eye twitching in anger. "Enough of this! We know you three are Gabby Gums and you better tell us why!" Their eyes shrunk at the outburst, causing Sweetie to stutter out, "Y-y-you know? How?" She quickly got her answer as Rarity used her magic to lift her saddlebag and pull out her diary. "Oh look at this, its the gilded pages of your betrayal!" Rarity screamed. "Oh...yeah. Right..." Sweetie whimpered, twiddling her hooves. "How could you do this to me?!" Rarity yelled at sister, grabbing her with her hooves. "You stole my secret diary and published it for all the world to read! Gossip can be a very hurtful thing. It is an invasion of privacy, just like when I snooped through your saddlebag. You didn't like that much, did you?" "No," Sweetie and the others replied in unison. "What is important is that you understand how your column makes the ponies that you're writing about feel!" Flash nodded in agreement. "Seriously, and this coming from the mare who had defended Gabby Gums the most!" "And then there's what ya'll did to us!" Applejack added. "Yah made me look like a lazy bum!" "You made me look like a girly girl!" Rainbow yelled. "You made me look like a snob!" Twilight barked. "I don't have tail extensions," Fluttershy said, trying her best to glare at them. "And I don't have fleas," Springer finished after jumping down from the tree. "I...We're sorry. We didn't-" Scootaloo tried to say, only for her brother to step forward, glaring at her. "Are you? Are you really?!" Flash hissed as he crossed his hooves at his sister. "Even after I told you how bad gossip was, you still went ahead and did it." "But....we didn't want too," Applebloom added, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "Ah promise, we didn't-" "Oh, don't go trying to make us feel sorry with ya'h water works!" Applejack leaned down and snorted in front of her face. "Yah'll not getting any sympathy from us." Now all three girls started to cry, making the older ponies grow uneasy. "We're really sorry," Scootaloo said as she wiped away her tears and looked up at Flash. "Please don't be mad." Flash let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "I'm not mad. I'm just...disappointed. I told you not to do this and-" "We really didn't want to write those articles," Scootaloo told him as she rushed over and started hugging him. "But we had too." "What are you talking about?" Twilight asked her, her horn about to spark as she was about to grab Scootaloo with her magic. "Diamond Tiara!" Applebloom interrupted her, tear now dropping off her face. "She's threatening to publish embarrassing photos of us if we don't get new Gabby Gums stories!" "She's blackmailing you!?" Rarity asked as she turned to Sweetie, who in turn nodded. "Oh, my poor little sister." She used her magic tp pull the filly into a hug, as Applejack did the same. All the anger was almost completely forgotten. "Why didn't you tell anypony about this?" Twilight asked as she and the others gathered around them. "Who knows what she might do if we blabbed," Sweetie said, sniffing. "But I don't care anymore," Scootaloo cried as she made Flash's chest wet with her tears. "It's can't be any worse then you lot hating us." Flash shook his head again, patting his sister's head as he continued the hug. "Scootaloo, you should have just come and told somepony when she first threatened you. Blackmail isn't just something wrong, it's a literal crime and she had no right to force you to do that." "We're sorry," Applebloom repeated, only for Applejack to put her hoof in her mouth. "Well, it doesn't matter now," Applejack said. "Now we gotta solve this mess." "She's right," Rarity agreed with a nod. "What matters now is putting an end to this whole situation." This made Sweetie Belle's eyes light up. "So...you'll tell Ms. Cheerilee about Diamond?" Flash shook his head again. "No. You girls are gonna tell Cheerilee." "US?!" The three yelled. Flash nodded. "If we fix this, Diamond Tiara will just try and do this again when we aren't around. She needs to learn that you won't be bullied." He could see how nervous the three of them were now. He then flashed his wings, giving them one of his signature smirks. "You can do it. You told us, so now you tell her." The three glanced at each other, soon nodding and turning towards the schoolhouse. The eleven of them slowly headed inside and found Ms. Cheerilee, who noticed how crowded her classroom suddenly was. "Oh, hello. Is something the matter?" The three glanced back at their older siblings, seeing their reassuring smiles. With that look alone, they turned back to their teacher. In the underground news room, Diamond Tiara was waiting for Gabby Gums to arrive with their next big scoop. The only problem was, it was almost time to print the paper and they were nowhere to be found. "Where are they?" She asked as she pulled the folder with her blackmail material out. "If they don't show-" She did not finish her sentence, as in that moment she heard the door opened. "It's about time!" she yelled as she spun her chair around. But as she did, she came face to face with a very angry looking Ms. Cheerilee. "Diamond Tiara!" She called out as she and the rest of the group walked into the room. "What's this I hear about you blackmailing your classmates into writing hurtful gossip?!" Diamond Tiara was dumbfounded, her eyes shrinking at the sight. Her mind stopped as she started to stutter. "Um...well, you see...I...um." Cheerilee saw the folder in her hoof and quickly took it from her, opening it up to see the pictures. As soon as she saw them, she glared at the filly. "I am very disappointed in you Diamond Tiara. You are off the news staff." "WHAT?!" Diamond Tiara cried as she jumped off her chair in a panic. "But the newspaper's never been this popular!" "But this isn't news," Cheerilee told her as she handed to folder to Twilight. "And just know that for very single one of these articles you forced your classmates to write, you'll be serving a week's detention." "WHAT?!" Diamond Tiara did the math in her head and realized how long that was. "That's not fair!" "Hopefully this'll teach you that blackmail is a serious crime." The teacher then leaned down, staring daggers into the filly's eyes. "Now please leave. This room is for news staff only." Diamond Tiara growled as she walked out the door, glaring at the Crusaders as she did. "I wish you'd have come to me sooner girls," Cheerilee told them, flipping through the folder with a sigh of disappointment. "What a mess..." "So do we," Sweetie said, letting out a small sigh. Scootaloo nodded. "In the future, I'm not gonna keep my problems bottled up." "Same here," Applebloom added. "Good to hear," Twilight told them as the others nodded in agreement. As they did, Cheerilee closed the folder and stared at the trio. "Well girls, I'm afraid Gabby Gums is going to have to retire from journalism." "That's alright," Sweetie nodded before turning to her friends. They also gave her a nod, causing her to then ask, "But if it's okay, can Gabby write one more column? To say sorry to everypony she hurt?" Cheerilee and the other ponies quickly agrred, happy that they were taking responsibility for their actions. "Of course." By evening that day, every single house in Ponyville was given a copy of the Foal Free Press. The front page had the headline,An Open Letter to Ponyville by Gabby Gumsand inside was a letter. To the citizens of Ponyville, For some time now, you've been reading this column to get the latest dirt and the hottest buzz. But this will be my final piece. We want to apologize for the pain and embarrassment we've caused. Y'see, I'm actually three little fillies, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo As the popularity of our column grew, we got swept up in the hype. We knew that what we were doing didn't feel quite right, but we ignored the guilt because everypony seemed to want to read what we were writing. From now on, we promise to respect everypony else's privacy, and we won't engage in hurtful gossip any more. All we can do is ask for your forgiveness, Ponyville Signing off for the very last time, XOXO, Gabby Gums That night... It was safe to say that everything was back to normal, or as normal as Ponyville gets. Everypony forgave the three fillies and Gabby Gums had hung up her journalism hat for good. This alone was enough, as they had spent the whole day going around town, apologizing to everypony in town. And that, was the day. Right now, Flash was tucking Scootaloo into bed. "Thanks bro," she said once she was snug in his bed. "Don't worry about it," Flash finished as he went to turn out the light. When he put his hoof on the lamp, he heard a certain ruffle in his sister's bed. "Hey Flash?" "Yeah?" Flash looked back to her. "Um...thanks for today." Scootaloo whimpered, her mouth slowly going under the covers as she tried to hide under the bed. "And...for not turning your back on me when you found out I was Gabby Gums." Flash shook his head, smiling. "I'll never turn my back on you Scootaloo. I just wish I had talked to you when I first suspected something. Then maybe, I could have stopped this before it got out of hoof." Flash scratched the back of his head, his eyes looking slightly away. "Guess I've still got a lot to learn about being a caregiver...and a big brother." Scootaloo hid her smile. "Well, I think you're doing a heck of a job." "Thanks," Flash switched off the light and headed out. "Night...sis." "Night bro."