//------------------------------// // Movie Magic Chapter 3: Sabotage and Suspects // Story: Magical Movie Night: Another Story // by ArcanaMaverick7 //------------------------------// After checking out everything they wanted to, the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter regrouped back at the volcano set where Canter Zoom and the other people involved with the Daring Do movie were about ready to shoot the next scene. While everything was getting set up for the take, Rainbow Dash talked to everyone about the relics she saw with Twilight and Slate. "You guys should've seen the relics," Rainbow whispered to her friends before her excitement got the better of her. "They were amazing!" "Ugh! Quiet on set, please," Canter Zoom exclaimed as he turned around to look at Rainbow Dash. The athletic girl nervously smiled as she apologized. "Sorry! Maybe I'll just go take one more peek at them," she said before running off to the other set where the relics were kept for the moment. "I better go keep an eye on her," Slate told everyone. "Make sure she doesn't get too excited about something we haven't seen yet." As Canter Zoom saw Slate and Rainbow Dash leaving the set, he turned back and signaled for the take to start. As the actor who played Mojo/Stalwart Stallion approached the volcano, Momo's foot began to twitch as the false landmark began to break apart. As the Rainbooms gasped in shock at what they saw, Terracotta sprang into action. "Everyone, move," the Bull Faunus shouted as he rushed onto the set and prevented the rubble from harming anyone by supporting it with his arms and back. When Ventus and Fragment Hunter made sure that everyone else was out of the way, Terracotta threw the set aside and it crashed on the ground while Canter Zoom kept yelling 'Cut'. "Anybody hurt," Terracotta asked. After the cast and crew said they were okay, Canter Zoom was getting stressed over the incident. "What is going on around here? We just filmed on this volcano, and it was fine! This could set us back weeks," the director stated as he started to get exhausted with everything happening lately. "They're gone! They're all gone," Rainbow Dash yelled as she and Slate came running back. "What's gone," Canter Zoom asked as his eye twitched. "The relics," Juniper Montage said as she came up next to Slate and Rainbow Dash. Everyone gasped in shock as they heard the news of the important props for the movie being taken. The group made their way over to the village set for the film and Rainbow Dash explained what she saw with Slate. "I wanted to check them out again up close, and they weren't there," Rainbow Dash said as she showed where the relics were missing from. "They were here just earlier," Slate said as he removed his hat and scratched his head. "Why did somebody take them?" "This can't be happening," Canter Zoom exclaimed as he was getting stressed even further. "What are we gonna do?!" "Couldn't you just get the prop department to make new ones," asked Sunset Shimmer. However, Canter Zoom dismissed the idea with his answer. "The missing relics were personally approved by A. K. Yearling! We could have new ones made, but we can't use them until Miss Yearling has given them her official stamp of approval! You think it'd be easy to reach someone who is always holed up in her office writing, but Miss Yearling is a very difficult woman to track down." "Maybe because she doesn't hide away in an office writing all the time," Terracotta asked as he looked at the Daring Do novel that Slate was reading before. "The descriptions of these places in the book seem like she visited them herself. Even reminds me of places like Vacuo or Menagerie. She might be exploring other areas to get inspiration for her stories." "Oh, who knows when we could ever get a hold of her if that's the case," Canter bemoaned. "I-It'll be okay, though, right," Rainbow Dash asked. "You can still go on when the props are approved?" "Chestnut's contract with us is almost up, and with Mount Vehoovius collapsing, and now this, I fear we'll have to stop production altogether," Canter Zoom explained as he became more and more frantic. Hearing that the movie could be cancelled with all the setbacks, Rainbow Dash was getting worried as well. "But-but you have to finish this movie! Think of all the Daring Do fans who'll be so disappointed if you don't!" Twilight was concerned as well as she started to speak to the director. "Are you sure there's nothing you can do to—" Suddenly, another crash was heard back at the Mount Vehoovius set and everyone looked in that direction. "Sounds like the rest of the volcano fell over," Silver remarked. "I'm so sorry. Please excuse me," Canter said with a voice that sounded like he was about to break down as he excused himself. As the director left, Juniper smiled awkwardly as she went on her own, likely to help her uncle out. "Poor guy," Sunset Blaze said as she saw the look on the director's face over everything that was happening. As everyone was concerned about everything, Twilight began to think. "Hmm... There was trouble with one of the costumes when we first arrived. A set that was fine yesterday just collapsed. And now, the most important props in the movie have been stolen. I don't think these are just coincidences," Twilight listed as she gave her opinion on the situation. "Me, neither," Sunset Shimmer agreed. "All the things that have gone wrong on set have put production on hold. It seems to me like someone is going to a lot of trouble to make sure this movie doesn't get made." "Everything's pointing toward sabotage. Unless Qrow Branwen somehow followed us. His Misfortune Semblance causes bad luck to anyone and anything around him, but he has no control of it outside of battle. It surges out," Terracotta stated before mentioning an old friend from Beacon Academy. "Like my own Semblance," Momo said as she added to Terra's remark. "I felt it happen when the set was falling." Getting back on track, Spike began to ask who would want to sabotage the movie before Fluttershy gasped, interrupting him as she looked at Rarity and Celadon. "Oh, dear! You don't think..." "Oh, no-no-no-no. Certainly not," Rarity exclaimed as she knew what Fluttershy was implying. "Well, we did overhear her," Celadon remarked as Bianca and everyone who was with Rarity and Fluttershy earlier nodded in agreement. While the others looked at them, Sunset Blaze was the first to ask a question. "You all want to tell us or what?" Fluttershy was the first one to explain everything as she looked at the others. "When Rarity, Celadon, Cereza, Silver, Sunset Blaze, Bianca, and I followed Chestnut Magnifico to her trailer, we overheard her saying something about shutting down the movie..." "Yes, but she said she wanted something shut down," Rarity reminded. "We don't know that she was talking about the movie." "True," Bianca said. "It could have been something else entirely." "Even if we knew, there had to be a valid reason as to why she wants to," Sunset Blaze told everyone as they tried to figure out what they could. "Maybe she's just really mad that they're always running out of her imported butter praline crunch bars," Pinkie Pie suggested with a shrug of her shoulders. Hearing about the candy, Sunset Shimmer pulled the wrapper she and Applejack found earlier. "Bon Mot butter praline crunch bars," she questioned as she showed the wrapper to everyone. "Those are the ones," Pinkie exclaimed. "We, uh... may have tried a few ourselves. Heh," Spike admitted as he was held in Fluttershy's arms. "We found this on the Mount Vehoovius set right before it collapsed," Shimmer told everyone. With the new information, Twilight said what everyone was thinking. "It sure seems like all signs are pointing to Chestnut Magnifico as the one causing all the problems around here." "I don't think so," Azalea voiced as she brought something up. "Earlier when me, Momo, Vixen, Pinkie, and Spike were at the craft service area, I saw Tremor with some of those peanut butter bars. If he's here, then I'm sure that we know a familiar Faunus and his gang are around too." "Smoke Shadow," Vinyl said as she lowered her sunglasses, remembering all the previous encounters with the Raccoon Faunus thief from Remnant. "I don't know who's behind this or what's going on, but the first thing we need to do is find those relics," Rainbow Dash stated. "I agree," Twilight said. "The relics were here earlier, and if Chestnut is behind this, then they must still be around here somewhere. If it was Smoke Shadow like you think, then they could be somewhere else." "Chestnut Magnifico is an acclaimed actress! She'd never do something so dramatic," Rarity exclaimed as she refused to believe Chestnut was the guilty party. "An actress? Dramatic? Never," Sunset Shimmer, Lapis, and Rua all sarcastically said at the same time with smirks on their faces. "Well, she might do somethin' like this if she was tryin' to get out of workin' on a movie she didn't want to do," Applejack said as she gave her opinion on the possibility of Chestnut being the thief. After Applejack gave her thoughts, Ivy stated her own. "Refusing to work, sure. But not sabotage. Something doesn't seem right. I think this might be a red herring." "Besides, the popularity of the books and how everything's been following along with them means that this movie would be a success," Slate remarked as he held the Daring Do novel. "Why don't Fluttershy, Pinkie, Spike, and I follow Chestnut Magnifico and see if we can find anything out," Sunset Shimmer suggested. "Oh, I wanna go too," Momo exclaimed as she jumped onto Shimmer's back. Sunset Blaze removed the girls from each other and spoke to everyone. "Okay. Momo will go with Lapis, Celadon, Bianca, Silver, Rebecca, Vinyl, Terracotta, and Ivy. With this many people, I'm sure that we can find Chestnut faster." "Let's do it," Pinkie exclaimed after the plan was figured out and the group separated. "In the meantime, the rest of us should look for the relics," Twilight told Ventus and other teenagers.