//------------------------------// // We Hate U // Story: The Crusaders // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// "GET THE BUCK OUT OF MY RESTAURANT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR BLOODY FACE IN HERE EVER AGAIN!" The party of Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Guard Upper Class Lycaon assume a stiff politeness in their pose as the tempermental owner of the Kitchen of Tartarus restaurant, Chef Ramspeaks, passes by them. He had just finished ejecting another employee that hadn't worked up to his standard, and it took some time before the quiet buzz of conversation resumed once the earth pony and his strapped on pair of ram's horns had returned to the kitchen. "Goodness, I didn't think there was anything wrong with the crème brûlée..." Rarity comments, using her unicorn magic to push away the last remnants of the fancy desert as she speaks. "I thought the cream broo-lee was fab-u-lous myself!" Applejack replies, following up her comment with a belch that prompted Rarity to slap hoof over her eyes and Rainbow Dash to break out in uncontrolled snickering. "Check please. And compliments to the chef." Guard Upper Class Lycaon nervously calls out to a nearby waiter. "Much appreciated, sir. Are you on the royal account?" the waiter replies as he carefully makes his way over to the table. "Yes, indeed. And where do you lovely and heroic young mares want to go next?" Lycaon replies. "Hey, what are you tryin' to pull here? I don't want to be called anything like 'lovely'!" Rainbow Dash spits out with a suspicious glare as the waiter places the check for the meal on the table in front of Lycaon. "Easy Rainbow, it's all a part of the training I'm sure." Rarity cuts in as Lycaon deposits the appropriate amount of bits to pay the check. "As much as we'd like to see the shopping district, we really do have to pick up the Crusaders for the afternoon..." "Are you absolutely sure? I'm sure a pony like you would want to spend the whole day just window shopping there, if nothing else..." Lycaon hopefully asks. "You're absolutely right, sir, but myself and the others have commitments back in Ponyville. I'm afraid you'll have to tell the princess to take a raincheck on the offer." Rarity graciously answers, prompting the Guard stallion's ears to visibly droop afterward. "Of course, shouldn't keep the heroines of Equestria from their business. We'll start on the way to the castle now." Lycaon replies, the dishes on the table in front of them being cleared by the waiter. "Very good, sir. Of course, we wouldn't mind the scenic route to the castle - there's so much to this city, and who knows when we'll be back here outside of that Gala..." Rarity suggests. Lycaon's mood is immediately improved by the suggestion just offered by Rarity, and he immediately jumps on it: "Of course we'll take the scenic route - I don't get off my shift for another hour yet..." "Oh marvelous, so much to see and so many display windows to look in..." Rarity exclaims, her expression taking on a sparkly-eyed look that prompt Rainbow Dash and Applejack to exchange concerned glances. "Rarity, we can't go gettin' carried away here! I'm sure Apple Bloom and her friends are finished getting out of their costumes and makeup by now, and we can't keep 'em waitin' too much longer." Applejack speaks up. "Aww, but what if we only stick to window-shopping?" Rarity pleads, starting to form a "puppy dog" expression on her face. "We'll take you down the main shopping street once, just so that you can see what's there. No going into stores though." Lycaon offers as a compromise. "...Deal." Rarity and Applejack exclaim simultaneously, prompting a suspicious look from Rainbow Dash in Lycaon's direction. "What are we waiting for then, let's get going!" Lycaon replies, the excitement of Rarity and irritation of Applejack preventing them from seeing a knife-like glare flashed in Rainbow Dash's direction as he speaks... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEANWHILE, IN CANTERLOT CASTLE... "Sir, with all due respect, it's just an owl. It doesn't even seem to be awake. I don't know why you're..." a unicorn Guard Lower Class begins objecting, pointing toward the owl perched in a small, open circular window facing him, eyes closed as if in sleep - not a surprise considering the late morning time of day. "I don't want it facing me! It gives me the creeps! I want it gone, and that's a direct order!" Lieutenant Troilus, beside the Lower Class Guard and now in a rather irritated mood, spits out in high volume. "Y...yes, sir." the Lower Class finally begins to comply, raising his pike weapon with unicorn magic and moving it so that the not-sharp bottom was both higher and closer to the owl in the window than the sharp end - Troilus only wanted the owl gone, not skewered after all. The Lower Class begins nervously sweating under Troilus' impatient glare as the owl was poked several times by the pike's bottom. The first time, nothing happens. The second time, there is an irritated hoot with the owl's eyes opening in a glare. And then with the third poke, the owl flies away with a series of irritated hoots. "That's better. Back to your post. We're done here for right now." Troilus states, and the Lower Class Guard shows an obvious sigh of relief as he lowers his pike back to the position it was normally used in Guard duty, then shortly afterward taking off down the hallway to leave Troilus alone once again. A knocking is heard coming from the other side of Troilus' post at the door to the VIP suite, which draws him back to that point and makes him unaware that the owl that was just chased away has returned to where he was previously, now fully awake and raptly paying attention to what Troilus was doing. The unicorn Lieutenant braces himself against the door as he hears the voice of Scootaloo from the other side: "Alright, we're all ready in here." "Sure, just... give me a minute..." Troilus replies, using his unicorn magic to wedge the tip of his pike into the lock, jamming the mechanism shut in the process. "Hey, what's going on out there?" Apple Bloom shouts through the door, on hearing all the noise Troilus was making. "Nothing, I can assure you fillies. You three just stay right there and I'll be right back to fetch your sisters to pick you up." Troilus replies, continuing to push the tip of the pike further into the mechanism. "But we're still locked in here!" Sweetie Belle adds, also speaking through the door. "That's the point, you three! I don't want your despicable little trio causing me trouble." Troilus explains, unaware he was being listened to by the spying owl nearby. "I have a reputation to maintain - it's bad enough I have to deal with grown-up pegasi on a regular basis, but a filly makes it ten times worse! So I want you three to be good little subjects and just stay in the room until I come back." "What? What do you mean 'subjects'?" Apple Bloom asks through the door, but the clomping of hoofsteps means Troilus' plan - to abandon his post and keep the Crusaders locked in the room as long as possible - was already being executed... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Give me a boost, Apple Bloom, try to get that door open." Scootaloo replies to the earth pony filly beside her, already sensing something was wrong. Apple Bloom obliged, providing a living platform for Scootaloo to reach the door handle and try to yank it open. The crunching sounds not only told of the failure of the attempt, but the deliberate sabotage of the mechanism. "We're trapped in here, what are we gonna do?!" Sweetie Belle exclaims, indulging in dramatic gesturing roughly mimicing that of her older sister's. "What do you think we're going to do?" Scootaloo answers, hopping back off Apple Bloom as she does so. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we're going to try to get cutie marks in ramming our way out!" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RAMMING RAMMERS!" the three fillies exclaim simultaneously in practiced synchrony. "Does that title even work though?" Apple Bloom comments to the other Crusaders afterward. "The words start with the same first letter, and we can say it in one breath. Now come on, let's get ramming that door!" Scootaloo answers, already pawing to take a run at the door. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchange looks, and then shrugs, before also starting on the ramming effort to bust open the jammed-shut door...