“You only just got my letter now?” Apple Bloom spluttered.
Starlight Glimmer shrugged. “I’ve been mostly on the road all year. I guess the letter carrier only just caught up to me. Speaking of which, I brought your mail from the Station Halt on my way.”
“You mean our way,” Trixie interjected.
“Oh, cool. Zecora sent me those potion recipes,” grinned Apple Bloom, rifling through the papers Starlight gave to her. “So are you two gonna put on a show tonight or something?”
“This town isn’t exactly on our tour route,” said Trixie, “but Starlight was curious about her old domain. The Great And Powerful Trrrrixie shall go park the cart.”
“And maybe,” said Starlight, staring around at the village she once ruled over, “if you’re not busy…”
“I’m not,” smiled Apple Bloom. “I’ll show you around.”
*****
It was instantly obvious that Starlight’s Village had changed in the past year. The first two cottages at the start of the road had For Sale signs in front of them.
“Party Favour moved away,” Apple Bloom told Starlight. “He’s taking care of his sick brother in Tall Tale.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to give him a visit when our tour next gets to Tall Tale,” said Starlight.
She looked across the Road at the other cottage with a For Sale sign. Evensong Glisten was there, standing on a ladder and whitewashing a window awning… by hoof.
“Are the Glistens moving, too?” asked Starlight.
“Nope, they all still live in this Village. Just not in that cottage anymore. Day Star and Selenic are down there,” Apple Bloom pointed down the Road. “They’re our new innkeepers. You’ll see our hostel soon.”
“And if you stick around long enough, you’ll see the sheriff’s office too,” said a voice coming from above.
*****
Starlight looked up. Lightning Dust was parked on the rooftop watching Evensong work.
“Sheriff Lightning Dust at your service,” she said, snapping a salute with one of her wings. “Just supervising our little criminal here while she’s doing some community service. Today she’s sprucing up her old cottage to help it sell better, tomorrow, construction on the Sheriff’s office is starting and she’s pitching in.”
Starlight watched as Evensong’s brush strokes became gradually more aggressive as Lightning Dust went on. For a second, she thought she’d splashed some whitewash on her horn. Then she saw it was a bandage.
“I’m a bit behind here,” she said. “The rumour is she’d rustled the Queens and tried to remove their cutie marks.”
“Yep. I came close to living your dream,” said Evensong, not looking at anypony and brushing the awning more roughly.
“She’s a sneaky devil,” said Lightning. “Gotta keep a sharp eye on her, even if she can’t use magic anymore.”
*****
Starlight was about to ask what happened to Evensong’s horn when something came scooting up the Road. She thought it was a giant orange water balloon for a second, and gasped when she realized it was Scootaloo, who did a U-turn at once. Clearly she hadn’t missed Starlight’s reaction and didn’t want to discuss it.
“Did she do that to her?” Starlight pointed to Evensong.
“Not quite,” said Apple Bloom, “but it was her fault it happened. But Scoots got her revenge. Her scooter fell on Evensong’s head and crippled her horn.”
“Yeah, and now I’ve got mountains of magical energy bottling up inside me,” Evensong grunted, her paintbrush pummeling the awning. “It’ll reach boiling point one day.”
Starlight gulped and glanced at Trixie, who was double-chocking the wheels of her show wagon.
But Apple Bloom took no notice. “She’s been bitter ever since her last plan failed. She’s always spitting insults at us and trying to scare us. Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the Village.”
*****
They soon dropped in on Sugar Belle’s Cafe, and Starlight got to see the Barn Extension and a slice of the Apple Orchard beyond. Sweetie Belle was just leaving the Orchard, having done some chores. Starlight had some mail for her, too; a parcel from the Flim Flam Brothers.
“They’ve sent me more power-up magic for the ceiling fans,” smiled Sweetie Belle. “Great timing. The weather’s getting pretty hot. Better get started. Bye.”
Apple Bloom sighed as she watched Sweetie leave with the crate of jars.
“That’s both the other Cutie Mark Crusaders busy,” she said absently. “Sweetie’s powering everypony’s fans, and Scootaloo’s trying to work off the weight Queen Hamper put on her.”
Then a thought occurred to her.
“Keep that stuff away from Evensong!” she called after Sweetie Belle.
“Roger!” Sweetie called back.
*****
Eventually, Apple Bloom and Starlight Glimmer reached the Cutie Mark Grid at the end of the Road.
“This used to be the Vault,” remarked Starlight, glancing back at the Cave and spying a hole in the side of the mountain.
“Sweetie Belle adapted it on the day she stopped Evensong and rescued the Queens,” Apple Bloom told her. “Now it kinda works like Twilight’s Cutie Map. Only…”
“It calls ponies with cutie mark problems here?!” exclaimed Starlight.
Apple Bloom nodded.
“Wow. It’s not just Evensong living my old dreams,” said Starlight, staring at the Grid.
Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “...yeah.”
Starlight looked at the two-dimensional purple sun criss-crossing its way through the squares on the grid.
“That’s Evensong’s cutie mark,” she said. “Have you…?”
“No,” groaned Apple Bloom. “She was our very first mission when the Grid was created. It’s almost been a year. She’s been sniping at us for the last week saying we’ve failed her. Like I said, she’s bitter. But she’s not wrong. We just can’t help her. That stupid mark will never leave the Grid.”
*****
Apple Bloom climbed the Grid to the CMC Clubhouse perched on the top, and Starlight followed. From the balcony, they had a good view of the few buildings beyond the Road. But Starlight only had eyes for one new building; the Hostel.
“I hate to cut this tour short,” she said as politely as she could, “but I’m dead on my hooves and my head is throbbing. I don’t get much sleep on tour with Trixie.”
She glanced back at where Trixie was parking the cart; she was now triple-chocking the wheels.
“You got a headache?” asked Apple Bloom.
She glanced down at the papers Zecora had sent her and pulled one out.
“I can mix up a cure for ya,” she offered.
Starlight glanced around at the various cauldrons lying around the clubhouse.
“That’d be great,” she smiled weakly. “In the meantime, I’m gonna go rent a room.”
And off she went, leaving Apple Bloom to gather the ingredients she needed.
*****
The potion was nearly finished (according to the instructions) when Apple Bloom heard Evensong’s voice from outside.
“Hey, the Grid says get your flanks in gear!”
Apple Bloom blinked and found that her cutie mark was glowing and vibrating.
“Oh, yay! We’ve got another mission!”
She abandoned her brewing, exited the clubhouse, and clambered down the Grid. Evensong was standing at the bottom. Her cutie mark was glowing and vibrating too. Lightning Dust was standing closeby eying Evensong like a hawk. Apple Bloom looked at the Grid; the purple sun in there was pulsating as it navigated the Maze. Then another symbol entered the Grid. It was a dark blue blur. Apple Bloom looked around, following the direction it had come from. Two figures were flying into town towards them. One was a yellow pegasus stallion in Royal Guard uniform, the other was a light pink alicorn filly clutching a plush snail.
“Princess Flurry Heart!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
*****
Flash Sentry landed alongside Flurry and snapped a salute with one of his wings.
“Bombardier Flash Sentry reporting, here to escort Princess Flurry Heart. We understand you solve cutie mark problems. Well an hour ago, something blue shot from Flurry’s flank, and we followed it here.”
“Well, we can help,” smiled Apple Bloom, taking a step towards Flurry.
“Don’t come any closer!” cried Flurry. “Who knows what I might do to you?!”
“You may not have found your unique talent yet, but that doesn’t make you a mess,” Apple Bloom insisted. “We’ll help you find your calling in life.”
“Or be blown to kingdom come,” whimpered Flurry, sitting down and rocking back and forth, holding Whammy tighter.
“We’ve all been very worried about her at the Crystal Empire,” said Flash. “She’d had Fledgling’s Forbearance cast on her shortly after she was born to curb her magic fluxuations. Sunburst told us it will lift at around the age she is now, and he’s warned us that there’s a possibility that the moment the enchantment breaks, she’ll have a massive surge.”
*****
“Well, well,” smirked Evensong. “That’s two magic fillies primed to burst with magic power you’ve got to deal with.”
Apple Bloom refused to let the challenge intimidate her. “We can do it. We’re the…”
“Stop saying ‘we’, you idiot,” snapped Evensong. “It’s just you the Grid called.”
“Don’t be stupid,” said Apple Bloom. “It can’t have called just me. It always calls all three of us.”
She looked half-heartedly around, trying not to let her face fall as she realized Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had not joined the party.
“Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle!” she called.
She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard Starlight groaning softly from within the Hostel. Sweetie Belle poked her head out of Mancy’s cottage.
“Wow! Apple Bloom! You were called for a mission?! Just you?! That’s new!”
Apple Bloom clung to her confident expression. “Your cutie mark didn’t go off?”
“No. I guess the Grid thinks you’re the only Crusader who can help these ponies,” Sweetie grinned, looking around at the small group.
*****
“I’m here, I’m here,” came Scootaloo’s breathless voice.
She came staggering from behind the Schoolhouse perspiring and clutching a bottle of water.
“I was just taking a break,” she huffed.
“Scootaloo, did your cutie mark go off?” asked Apple Bloom.
“No,” Scootaloo replied. “Did yours?”
Apple Bloom nodded.
“Nice. You’ve got your first solo mission,” said Scootaloo, smiling for the first time in about a week. “Good luck. I gotta get back to my exercise.”
“And I’ve still got FlimFlam magic to deliver,” said Sweetie, taking a moment to gaze lovingly at the Cutie Mark Grid she was so proud of creating. “Happy helping, Apple Bloom.”
“You heard them,” smirked Evensong as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle went about their respective business. “The Cutie Mark Grid has chosen you, the earth pony of the group, to deal with a unicorn and an alicorn who both have potent magical energy bubbling to the surface.”
At last, Apple Bloom’s confident smile vanished.