//------------------------------// // Prologue: Another Day, Another Try // Story: A Head Full of Clay // by Squinty Mudmane //------------------------------// “You ready for this?” Scootaloo asked, grinning widely in anticipation. Sweetie Belle adjusted her crash helmet a bit. “Ready!” Apple Bloom gripped the unicorn filly’s legs securely and nodded excitedly. “Totally ready!” “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s do this!” Scootaloo held up her left hoof, her right one wrapped around Sweetie Belle’s chest. “On three! One… two… three!” “Cutie Mark Crusader Battering Rams, yay!” the three fillies shouted gleefully in unison as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom charged at the large doors of the Sweet Apple Acres barn, carrying the helmeted Sweetie Belle between them, who for her part wore an expression of grim determination. However, moments before the Crusaders could smash open this last obstacle in a glorious, Cutie Mark-inducing shower of wooden splinters, the doors swung open, revealing a very startled-looking Applejack hauling an empty wooden cart. “What in tarnation?” the farmpony blurted, moments before the three fillies collided with her, sending them all sprawling head over hoof into the barn. Applejack coughed as she picked herself up from the floor, wincing a bit in pain as a broken piece of cart jabbed at her side. “Apple Bloom? What the hay do y’all think you’re doin’?” The Crusaders looked down at the ground shamefully, except for Sweetie Belle, whose eyes were rolling around groggily. “Sorry, sis,” Apple Bloom whimpered from her position across Scootaloo’s back. “We didn’t know you were in the barn. We were jus’—” “Tryin’ ta get yer Cutie Marks?” her older sister finished for her with a sigh. “Lookie here, girls, Ah understand it’s hard waitin’ an’ y’all wanna speed things up a bit, but could ya maybe try doin’ somethin’ that ain’t aimin’ at breakin’ down the farm? We ain’t exactly swimmin’ in bits here, ya know.” “Well, that’s the smart part! See, if this failed, we were gonna try Cutie Mark Crusader Junk Salesponies with the remains of the doors!” Scootaloo chipped in helpfully, flashing her most charming grin at Applejack. The expression deflated quickly under the stern glare the farmpony gave her. “We’re real sorry, big sis, honestly! It’s just, if we don’t try out ev’rythin’ with the same enthusisism—” “Enthusiasm,” Sweetie Belle’s muffled voice said from beneath her two friends. “And could you two move it? I’m getting a little squished here.” “—with the same enthusiasm,” Apple Bloom continued as she and Scootaloo got off the erstwhile battering ram, “we might jus’ miss that one thing which is our special talent.” “Ah know, Ah know, but don’tcha reckon it might be more fun—an’ safe—if y’all tried doin’ somethin’ a bit more, uh, creative an’ not so destructive?” Applejack suggested hopefully as she gave her poor ex-cart a sad look. “Safe?” Scootaloo looked as if the word itself was distasteful to say. “Are you serious?” “Sis, ya went to Manehatten on yer own when ya got yer Cutie Mark!” Apple Bloom protested in support of her friend. “Nothing wrong with being a bit safe…” Sweetie Belle muttered as she slid the crash helmet off and rubbed her aching head, though the other two pretended not to hear her. “Ah had Aunt’n’Uncle Orange to stay with, remember? It wasn’t like Ah was jus’ bein’ happy-go-lucky all on mah own in the big city,” the farmpony replied defensively. Apple Bloom looked about to press the issue, but her sister cut her off. “Anyhow, Ah gotta try an’ see what Ah can salvage from this here wreck if Ah’m gonna fix up a new cart. How ’bout y’all go an’ pick me up a box o’ nails from the market?” She gave the three fillies a wry smile. “Who knows, maybe yer special talents are in deliverin’—” “It’s not. We tried that last time when we accidentally wrecked Fluttershy’s bridge after being Cutie Mark Crusader Bridge Trolls,” Scootaloo grumbled. Applejack opened her mouth for a second to inquire further, but shook her head instead. “Well, would ya kindly hop to it anyway?” The Crusaders grumbled their assent as they shuffled out of the building. “That was a waste of time,” Scootaloo huffed as she sped along the dirt road on her scooter, pulling the cart with her two friends after her. “Why did I have to be the battering ram, again?” Sweetie Belle asked from the back of the cart, grimacing as she rubbed the bump forming on her head. “Because with all those fancy words you know, you’d have the biggest head,” Scootaloo retorted. “Hey! Just because you’re too chi—” “Don’t even think about going there,” the pegasus filly growled. The rest of the trip to Ponyville was spent in a sullen silence, with Scootaloo keeping her eyes fixed on the road, Sweetie Belle shooting the occasional glare at the orange filly, and Apple Bloom staring thoughtfully at nothing in particular. As they entered the town, Scootaloo expertly manoeuvred them past the other residents, weaving around and between the townsponies, deftly compensating for the heavier cart trailing behind her. She pulled to a breakneck stop in the middle of the town, mere hoofsbreadths from one of the market stalls. She gave the handlebars of her scooter an affectionate pat before looking over at her friends with a smirk. “How do you like them scootering skills, eh?” she asked smugly, subconsciously flaring her stubby wings. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes as she dismounted from the cart. “Wow, you didn’t crash us once. That must be a new record,” she replied sardonically. Apple Bloom, apparently still deep in thought, said nothing as she jumped after the unicorn filly. Scootaloo stuck out her tongue as a reply as the three began to go through the market, looking for right stall. It was close to high noon, and the market was at its busiest, with vendors extolling the many virtues of their wares, from manebands and gilded ribbons to daffodils and tomatoes. Ponies bustled back and forth with saddlebags crammed full of various goods, greeting and chatting and laughing. It took the Crusaders a couple of minutes of searching and occasionally dodging past other ponies to find the stall they were looking for. A large sign above the stall spelled out the nature of its wares in case the many tools and boxes full of nails, bolts and screws of all sizes failed to. “There it is!” Sweetie Belle said, somewhat unnecessarily. “Great, let’s get this over with so we can go back to planning our next move.” Scootaloo looked from one filly to the other. “Who’s got the bits?” “You mean you didn’t bring any?” “Does it look like I’m wearing a saddlebag?” Sweetie Belle let out a low groan. “We never remembered to bring any, did we?” They both turned to look at Apple Bloom, who had been following in silence, still wearing the same vacant expression. “Apple Bloom?” they both asked in unison. Apple Bloom blinked and seemed to notice the other two for the first time. “Huh, wha’?” she replied. Scootaloo gestured impatiently at the stall. “Bits! For the nails! You got any?” “Uhh… nope. Ah guess Ah kinda forgot ’bout that,” the farmfilly muttered. “Hide me,” Sweetie Belle said suddenly, diving behind her friends. Coming straight towards the three fillies were two mares, one a yellow pegasus with pink bangs partially obscuring her face, the other a unicorn with an alabaster coat and an elegantly styled mane. Both were carrying saddlebags of similar design, black fabric embroidered with delicate silver stitching. “…Very impressed by your last attempt, darling. He was like pudding in your hands! I told you four bits for a simple bundle of celery stalks was nothing short of highway robbery. Clearly, one bit for two was a much more agreeable price. I’m so proud of you!” Rarity cooed, smiling affectionately at the pegasus walking next to her. Fluttershy, for her part, looked away shyly, hiding one eye behind her mane. “Oh, thank you, but… are you sure it was okay, pressing the poor salespony that much over a celery stalk? I mean, what if he couldn’t really afford to sell the stalks that cheap and just gave me one at that price to be nice?” She let out a nervous gasp. “What if he’s going to go to bed tonight on an empty stomach because I was being a bit-grubber who refused to pay those three extra bits? What if he has foals who will starve because of me? Oh, I better go talk to him!” Fluttershy half-turned to go back the way she had come, but her friend stopped her with a hoof. “Now now, darling, that’s very thoughtful of you, but I have no doubt he will be more than fine without—Oh, hello, girls.” Rarity smiled warmly at the fillies as she noticed them. “I didn’t expect to see you here at the market. Are you done with your crusading alre—Sweetie Belle! Whatever happened to you, dear?” Rarity gasped in horror as she noticed the bruise on her sister’s head. “What? It’s… it’s nothing! Really!” Sweetie Belle squirmed in protest as the older unicorn darted forward and scooped her up to inspect her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo quickly dodged out of the way of the concerned sister to avoid being trampled. “Sweet Celestia, you’re hurt! Whatever have you been doing?!” Rarity cried out, drawing glances from a few nearby ponies. “I told you, it’s no—” “Oh my, are you all right, all three of you? Should we go to Nurse Redheart about this?” Fluttershy asked, concern plain on her face. “We’re fine, Fluttershy, it was just a little accident during our latest attempt. Sweetie Belle is way too tough to be put down by a little bruise. A few minutes and we’ll go right back to crusading again,” Scootaloo replied confidently, stepping towards her friend who was still being subjected to an intense examination by Rarity. Sweetie Belle gave Scootaloo a grateful smile and nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I—” Rarity shook her head fervently. “No, nononono, no more crusading until you have made a full recovery, young filly! Goodness, do you know what your mother would say if she knew I had let you come to serious harm while you were in my care? She might never let you stay with me again!” “But she doesn’t need to know—” “You’re right, she doesn’t, because you’re going to stay within sight of me or another adult until that horrible injury has healed fully. Is that understood?” “What?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked in dismay. Scootaloo took a step forward. “But—” Rarity held up a hoof to forestall any further discussion. “I’m sorry, girls, but this is not up for discussion. Sweetie Belle is under my protection as long as she’s staying with me, and as a responsible big sister, I’m going to have to put my hoof down on this matter.” Sweetie Belle looked as if multiple different sentences were warring to be the first to come out of her mouth, but her sister looked as resolute and adamant as the filly had ever seen her. Fluttershy looked from Rarity to the Crusaders with worry, but said nothing. Scootaloo glanced desperately at Apple Bloom and jabbed her with a hoof. “Say something! Help me out here!” she hissed at her friend. To her growing frustration, Apple Bloom did not seem to have paid attention to a word that had been spoken in the past couple of minutes. “Uh… hiya?” the farmfilly ventured, looking up in confusion. “Nice job,” Scootaloo muttered. “I guess I don’t have a lot of choice here, do I?” Sweetie Belle grumbled, puffing her cheeks and glaring resentfully at Rarity, who simply shook her head. “I’ll carry you back to the Boutique if I have to, but I think we’d both much rather avoid causing more of a scene than we already have, yes?” Sweetie Belle muttered something under her breath that Rarity pointedly chose to ignore. “Uhm, well, I’m sure your friends can still come and visit you, Sweetie Belle,” Fluttershy said softly, looking at the unyielding unicorn mare expectantly. “Right, Rarity?” Rarity hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Well… yes, as long as you all understand that there will be no crusading for a while.” She looked down at her fuming sister. “Now come along, Sweetie. Let’s get you home so we can start treating that ghastly injury of yours. I’ll talk to you later, Fluttershy dear,” she said in passing as she began to walk towards the Carousel Boutique with her sister in tow, leaving Fluttershy with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, who—to Scootaloo’s teeth-gnashing frustration—seemed to have lapsed back into not-quite-there-land. “Uhm…” Fluttershy began. “Yeah,” Scootaloo muttered. “So, uh… what were you girls here for in the first place?” “Well, we were going to buy a box of nails for Applejack so she could fix the cart we may or may not have had a hoof in wrecking, and then go back to our clubhouse to think up a new plan to get our Cutie Marks, but it looks like that idea’s been put on ice.” Scootaloo cast a sullen glare at the vacant Apple Bloom. “Not least because somepony forgot to ask her sister for the bits to buy the stuff in the first place.” Fluttershy shook her head and moved closer to briefly touch the top of Scootaloo’s mane with her muzzle. “Now, Scootaloo, I know you aren’t happy about this, but you really shouldn’t be so angry with your friends. It’s not their fault that things turned out the way they did, nor is it yours.” “I—” Scootaloo began, before sighing, some of the anger seeping out of her. “Yeah, you’re right, Fluttershy. It’s just… nothing ever seems to go the way I hope. Like, never ever, ever. And I’m starting to get a little sick of it. Really sick of it, actually.” Fluttershy nodded, giving the little pegasus a look full of sympathy. “I understand. Well, I can help you out with one of your problems right now, at least. I’ve got some spare bits on me. Wait here, please.” She trotted over to the nearby stall, the Crusaders’ original objective before their ill-fated encounter with a certain fussy big sister. After a moment, she returned with a small brown box. “Oh wow, thanks a lot, Fluttershy! You didn’t have to,” Scootaloo said, surprised and happy as Fluttershy put the box down in front of her. Fluttershy gave the filly a gentle smile. “Oh, don’t worry about that. And you know, Scootaloo, if you ever want to talk, you can always come by my cottage. I’m not the best talker, but I’m always happy to listen. That goes for both of you.” She looked over at Apple Bloom, though unsurprisingly, there seemed to be no reaction there. “Talk?” Scootaloo blinked and hesitated for a moment, then held up a hoof. “Urgh, nah, I don’t do all that namby-pamby sappy talky… stuff.” Fluttershy just continued to smile. “Of course. But if you ever change your mind…” she replied as she began to walk off. “Right. Yeah. Uhm...” Scootaloo scuffed a hoof against the ground for a moment before brightening up. “Hey, have you seen Rainbow Dash around? If Sweetie Belle’s grounded a few days, I guess we aren’t going to be doing any crusading, anyway.” “Rainbow Dash? Oh, I saw her down by the lake with Tank earlier. I think she said something about ‘showing the lake turtles who’s a real hard-shell’ or something along those lines.” Fluttershy giggled softly. “Say hi to her from me if you see her.” “Will do. Bye, Fluttershy!” “Bye, girls.” Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom, who was chewing her own left cheek thoughtfully. She nudged the brown box towards the farmfilly. “Soo, you can take that box back to your sis on your own. Right, Apple Bloom?” “Huh? Uh-huh.” “Riiiiight. Well, I’m gonna go look for Rainbow Dash by the lake. Maybe we should go visit Sweetie Belle later when you’re less… distant?” “M-hm.” “Are you even listening to what I’m saying?” “M-hm.” “Applejack is a big sissy-pony.” “M-hm.” “Oh, the hay with it!” Scootaloo threw her hooves up in frustration and trotted back towards her waiting scooter, bristling with annoyance. Apple Bloom remained where she was for several more minutes, the brown box still on the ground in front of her. Some of the passing ponies were starting to give the vacant filly concerned looks. Suddenly, her face lit up in excitement. “Ah got it! Ah really got it this time!” she shouted in triumph, jumping into the air and startling everyone near her. She glanced around, noticing that her friends were gone moments before her mind caught up with the previous events that had rudely been put on hold while she had been deep in thought. “Oh,” she said to no one in particular. “Darn.”