//------------------------------//
// Chapter #3 - Of Family and Mail 
// Story: The Great Crusade 
// by TheGJ90 
//------------------------------//






Scootaloo







Scootaloo's bedroom. The next day after school.


The Canterlot Movie Club had no club activities planned out, so I found myself relaxing in my room after a busy day at school. This was not a total bummer for me, honestly. I mean, yeah, not having any awesome club stuff to do was pretty lame. But, this meant that I could enjoy one of my favorite pastimes: reading a cool book! No, I was not a total egghead, so I wasn't gonna read textbooks for fun or anything like that. Yeah, I kinda had to read the school textbooks to keep my grades up, but I did that to study. This time, I was gonna read for fun. In front of my bed was a large wooden bookshelf that held a whole bunch of books on its shelves. Most of them were comic books and novelizations of movies old and new. But, standing neatly together between two stacks of comics on the middle shelf were seven books that represented my favorite series of stories. Why was this series my favorite, even when compared to book versions of films? That's simple: they featured the coolest, bravest, most awesome adventurer to have ever been created by a writer. A character so incredible, so amazingly amazing, that I felt happiness just by being exposed to her natural awesomeness:


Daring Do!


Created by A.K. Yearling, Daring Do's incredible adventures and death-defying heroics could brighten up my day every time I read them. Don't even get me started on the movies! Each film was cooler than the last and they all did Daring justice without losing a step! Oh, but which book in her fantastic series to read? The decision was difficult to make, because every Daring Do book was awesome! I agonized over the choice while glaring at each wonderful book;

"The Quest for the Sapphire Stone? No, I read that one yesterday! I need to switch things up... The Ring of Destiny? Great twist near the end, but I can read it tomorrow... Riddle of the Sphinx? Somnambula is awesome in that one, but I'm not in the mood for riddles right now..."

It took me several minutes of silent thought, but I finally figured out what book to read. It wasn't on the shelf. With excitement growing in my body, I rushed over to my nightstand and pulled open its drawer. Inside it was a single book that rested to the left of the little box that held the little paper pony that Sunset gave me. I quickly took the book out with both hands. Unlike the other Daring Do tales, this one had nothing written or drawn on the front, back, or spine. Heck, it didn't even have any cool artwork in its cover sleeve! Even so, I knew exactly which story it was, for I had read it more than any other in the series by far:


Daring Do and the Statue of Peace!


It wasn't the very first Daring Do book I had ever read, but it was one of my most precious possessions. So, of course, it would have a place of honor in my nightstand's drawer! Whenever I was feeling blue, I could just pull the book out and suddenly my otherwise lame and gloomy day was filled with adventure and excitement. With my selection in my hands, I got up on my bed, sat down with crossed legs, and placed the book on my lap. After giggling and wobbling a little out of excitement, I opened up the book and began to read it out loud with the biggest smile on my face and my best dramatic reading voice;





It was extremely rare for Daring Do, the most respected and beloved adventurer of all time, to be nervous. No villain could scare her and no obstacle could stop her. Even so, on this occasion, she felt terribly nervous. To anyone who didn't know her, her nervousness would be perplexing to say the least. After all, she was walking through the halls of her lavish island home, one of the many parting gifts left behind by her dearly departed parents. A home that she had personally taken off of any known records and maps she could find to ward off her enemies. Surely, she had no reason at all to feel so uneasy? Ah, but to anyone who did know Daring Do, her uneasiness would be understandable, for she was doing more than just taking a stroll through her house.

After a minute of walking, she found herself standing in front of what appeared to be a dead-end wall in the hall that was covered by fancy wallpaper, with a single metal unlit candlestick hanging on the wall. This moment is reason enough to remind you, dear readers, of one of the first rules of adventuring: appearances can be deceiving.

After doing three deliberately aimed knocks on specific spots on the wall and pulling the candlestick as if it were a lever, Daring Do caused the wall to slowly move back a few inches while the stick sank into it. After that, it slid into the wall to the right, revealing a secret passage that had a set of stairs that went downwards. With a slightly shaky sigh that hinted at her lingering concern, she began her trek down the stairs. This passage, in start contrast to the trappings of the hall from before, had gray concrete walls and a matching ceiling with a single LED drop ceiling light built into it. The white light illuminated the area as Do ventured deeper and deeper down in silence. The rattled state of her nerves kept on trying to grow in severity. But, her self-control, cultivated by years of experience, rose to keep them reigned in. Eventually, she reached the end of the stairs to find a large steel door waiting for her. It had no windows to look through and no knobs to twist, for this door was locked via three technological security measures that she had to deal with to get through. A trick to this process was that she had to deal with the entire set in a specific order, or else the door would go into a lockdown that not even she could override, one that she herself had set to last for twenty-four hours. Daring Do did not want to have to wait a whole day to try this again!

The first measure that she tackled was a fingerprint scanner that was built into the wall to the right of the door. It was configured to only approve the fingerprints owned by a select few people, herself included. She moved over to the scanner, firmly pressed on it with her right thumb, and held the thumb in place as the device did its work. She waited for three seconds before it played an approving beep as well as a robotic vocal notification that could be heard throughout the room;

"Fingerprint Owner: Daring Do."

The loud sound of gears turning echoed from within the wall the door was constructed into for a second before silence crept into the area once more.

One down, two the go.

The veteran adventurer walked over to the second security measure: an eyeball scanner situated to the left of the door. As she was one of those trusted few who the device would accept, getting through this hurdle was a simple matter. She aimed her opened right eye at it and kept it open long enough for it to perform its function. Once the scan was complete,  a second notification played out from the device;

"Eyeball Owner: Daring Do."

The gears in the wall turned once more, signaling Daring to move back to stand in front of the door.

One more to go.

As soon as she got into position, a security camera situated above the door aimed its lens directly at her and called out to her with that same robotic voice from before;

"Please answer this question correctly: Why does Daring Do go on adventures?"

This was the third and final security measure, complete with questions tailor-made for each of the few people who could be allowed to get this far. The question asked was as easy to answer as breathing for the heroic woman. With a smirk that cut through her nerves like butter, she looked up at the camera and declared with calm pride;

"To safeguard history, whether it be ancient or personal."

Two seconds of silence and the robotic voice spoke once more;

"Voice and correct answer confirmed. Welcome, Daring Do."

The gears turned again, this time for much longer than a second as the steel door slowly opened up, granting her access to the room beyond. The gears went silent right when the door stopped moving, which gave Daring a moment to think to herself while letting out a sigh;

"I know everything's safe, but when my instincts start talking, I start listening..."

With that in mind, she walked through the doorway and into what was, to her, the most important room in the house.





Oh man, A.K. Yearling could make any scene interesting and cool! I giggled while bouncing my legs on my bed out of pure excitement over what was coming up. Yeah, I knew the story by heart, but that didn't make reading it any less fun. Before I could continue to immerse myself in the awesomeness that was Daring Do, however, my Auntie Lofty called out from the hallway beyond my closed bedroom door;

"Scootaloo! Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!"

Ah, man! Just when it was getting really cool! Still, whenever family called for me, I knew better than to ignore them. But, there was something I wanted to do before running to the kitchen. After stashing my beloved Daring Do book into the nightstand drawer, I took my paper pony box out from it with my left hand and opened it up. Gazing at the little amber unicorn with the red and yellow mane, I felt hope grow from within my gut and heart just like it did before. Smiling, I gently grabbed the paper pony and held it in my right hand with absolute care. Once its box was returned to the drawer, I closed it with a quick push and ran to the kitchen. By this time, I considered taking Sunset's awesome gift with me to be good luck. Something in my head told me that I would need that luck really soon.





There I was, stuffing my face with my aunts' delicious cooking at the kitchen table. Aunt Holiday sat to my left and Auntie Lofty sat to my right. My paper pony was placed to the right of my plate and aimed right at the door. As I chowed down on my spaghetti and meatballs, Aunt Holiday noted to me sweetly;

"We're proud of you and your two pals for talking things out with Sunset."

I looked over at her and expressed and big grin before Auntie Lofty chimed in with a loving chuckle;

"Yeah, that pony you got there is a fine gift. Adorable too."

My grin grew into a teeth-baring smile that I showed to my Auntie while responding happily;

"This pony is not just adorable, she's awesome, and so is Sunset!"

Both of my aunts laughed before Holiday told me with a smirk;

"She's grown a lot ever since those old cold days."

Her smirk became loving along with Lofty's as the latter added softly;

"You and your friends have grown too, you little rascals."

She reached over with her right hand and ruffled my hair, which made me giggle like usual. Holiday took this moment to elaborate on her partner's point;

"Tell me about it. I mean, making peace with Sunset is one thing. But, crusading against all of the pain you kids had caused? That's wild, kid!"

Feeling more sheepish than the Genie was in Aladdin (the animated movie, not the live-action cash crab), I scratched the back of my neck with my right hand and responded with a bit of nervousness;

"Yeah, the three of us like to go big."

Right then and there, Lofty announced to the table with excitement brewing in her voice;

"Speaking of big, we've got a big addition to tonight's dinner."

I looked over at her to find that she was giving me a huge smile full of love. Checking on Holiday, I saw that her smile was just as large and loving. I wondered what kind of addition they had in mind. My first few ideas all revolved around extra food. Like, a huge chicken or a plate of double cheeseburgers. Those ideas were launched into orbit by the large black tablet that I saw Holiday pull out from her lap. Said lap was under the table, so I didn't see that device until now.

One good look at it was all I needed to figure out exactly what was going to happen.

I gasped while holding my mouth with both hands out of pure shock. Something like this had happened before, I didn't expect it to happen today! My breathing became short and frequent as I watched Holiday mess with the tablet via her right index finger. After a few presses and swipes, she held the tablet's touch-screen to have it face me while she got its stand set up from its back. What, or rather, who I saw on that screen was enough to make me have to sniff back happy tears. Once the stand was prepared, Holiday placed the tablet on the center of the table. After taking several deep breaths to recollect myself, I exclaimed with absolute love and joy;

"Mom! Dad!"

Looking back at me with faces full of love were my parents: Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood. Although they were real life adventurers who braved all sorts of dangers on the regular, they never forgot about their family. I mean, come on, my mom and dad were way too awesome to abandon us! I could see that fact in their eyes as I reached out, yanked the tablet with both hands, and hugged it tightly without it touching my food. I could hear mom and dad laughing happily as I held the device in my arms for three seconds before placing it back on the table. It was a good thing that I didn't accidentally end the video call with my chest! After that, we talked about all sorts of things: how we were doing that day, how much we missed each other, some of the cool little stuff my mom had carved out of wood (including a small soccer ball she held in her hand), my aunts' latest quilts, and so much more. The conversation turned even better when mom and dad started talking about one of their most recent adventures. My attention was locked on them as dad took the lead in enthusiastic and dramatic fashion;

"There we were, standing on our boat as it floated in the murky swamp that played host to all sorts of wildlife. Ah, we weren't looking for just any old creature though. Oh no, we were looking for a fearsome crocodile that made a home in the Fillyppines: Crocodylus mindorensis!"

Oh, Snap Shutter had me at 'fearsome'! I was already sitting at the edge of my seat and dad had barely started telling the tale. When there was a slight pause in Dad's storytelling, mom decided to step in with a grin;

"We like to call crocs like him Mindors."

Mindors... such an awesome name for an awesome animal! Dad jumped back in to keep the story going after chuckling slightly;

"Your mom and I knew that fiendish criminal hunters were hot on the mighty creature's trail, looking to make a profit from killing him! Mindors, you see, are critically endangered and can't be hunted legally. That's where we came in."

The stakes were high to say the least! I knew Fluttershy would have been terribly worried for the crocodile if she were with me that day. Dad paused to let Mom continue the tale;

"Our job was simple: get that crocodile to safety and stop the hunters."

With a nervous laugh, she added;

"Easier said than done."

Snap Shutter saw his chance to jump back in and he took it while giving Mane Allgood a quick sweet smile;

"Yeah, but we were up for the job!"

He then gave me a calm serious look that silently told me to really listen up, which I did as he explained;

"Now Scoots, a crocodile's teeth are the most dangerous weapons it has, with its tail being right up there! So, trying to fight it the old fashioned way is basically you asking to lose an arm or a leg. "

I made sure to commit Dad's warning to memory, if nothing else so that I don't decide to punch a crocodile on its nose or something wildly stupid like that. Mom nodded her head while giving me a similar look before noting;

"Luckily, there are ways to catch such a creature safely. "

After clearing her throat, she began her explanation;

"We watched the muddy water around us for any sign of the Mindor's movements. As we did this, I held in my hands a long thick pole with a barb attached to its sharp end. Connected to the barb was a line of guide rope that, if I could get a solid hit on the croc, would allow us to bring him close enough for the next step of our plan. All was silent for a whole minute, and then..."

They paused for dramatic effect. I waited with bated breath and then...

"BANG!", yelled out my dad with enough volume to make my aunts and me jump back a bit in surprise! Without skipping a beat, he went on with a slightly lower tone;

"We felt our boat bounce up with enough sudden force to nearly knock the both of us overboard! Once we regained our footing, we knew there was no other explanation: the feisty croc had bumped the bottom of the boat as it swam underneath us!"

"Woah!", I exclaimed with a gaping mouth before asking excitedly;

"But, how did you two catch him?!"

Dad laughed with pride before answering;

"Well, it took him another minute, but he showed himself via little ripples that moved in the murky water. Your mom caught this with her keen eyes and, without hesitation, she threw the pole right at him! Good thing I was holding the guide rope, because the croc starting thrashing around in the drink. I kept my grip strong and my balance steady as I fought to pull him closer to the side of the boat."

Mom stepped in to clarify;

"Now, the barb was not meant to hurt him, only to connect the rope with a weak spot on the back of his neck. So, the fight between him and Snap did not cause him any pain. As they fought, I quickly grabbed the nose rope and made ready. Once the croc was close enough to the boat and his head was poking out, I threw the rope at him and pulled hard to tighten its grip on his nose!"

The mental image of my parents doing something as dangerous and awesome as this made me want to shout with joy, but I had to keep quiet to catch the rest of the story! So, I held myself back as Dad continued the tale;

"Oh, that made the beast angry! He thrashed, rolled, and splashed as we worked together to keep him from destroying our boat or worse! We had to work quickly at that point, for the longer a crocodile is allowed to fight, the more dangerous it becomes. Luckily, we weren't fighting this creature by ourselves: we had a friend with us who also knew a thing or two about facing danger."

Oh, this was getting more exciting by the secon-wait, what did he just say?!

"You have a friend?!", I yelled out in shock. That shock quickly gave way to joy as I cried out;

"Oh my gosh! My mom and dad got to rescue a crocodile from lame hunters alongside an adventuring buddy!"

I looked over at my aunts and asked him with a big smile;

"Isn't that cool or what?"

They gave me those sweet smiles that always showed me their approval, which prompted me to return my attention to my parents and their tale. They gave me warm loving grins before dad continued on;

"Yeah, that one's a right keeper! Anyway, when the barb had struck, our friend was helping me with the guide rope, which gave Mane the time to grab the nose rope and get it latched onto the beast. With our combined efforts, we were able to get the croc to the side of the boat. Seeing the opportunity, our friend released her grip on the guide rope to help us shut his jaws tight with additional rope and tape. Right when we were able to get him safely secured onto the side of our boat, however, the hunters came roaring towards us on their motorboat!"

Uh oh, the bad guys had come! But, since my parents were right there on the tablet's screen, I knew exactly what was gonna happen next. My smile grew a little wider as I listened to mom speak again;

"I revved up the motor on our boat and got her moving in a hurry."

Dad belted out a hearty laugh before declaring with pride;

"Your mom was outmaneuvering those crooks within a minute and they lost us within two! After that, we made sure that the croc was safe and sound in the local animal sanctuary."

"Another job well done.", declared a confident mom, who gave dad a fist bump to celebrate their success. I was about ready to celebrate by hugging the tablet again! Instead, I hopped  out of my seat and raised my right fist to the sky with the widest smile I could muster;

"My parents are so cool!", I yelled out with pride and familial love. Once I sat back down, I looked at each of my aunts and told them happily;

"They save endangered wildlife, travel to dangerous places to find ways to improve science and medicine, and protect ancient places from destruction! All while making time for our family!"

Oh, if mom and dad were in that kitchen, I would hug them tight and never let them go! My aunts and parents laughed out of happiness before Auntie Lofty noted while giving mom and dad a friendly smirk;

"Yeah, you two got Scoots' love."

"We'll never waste your love.", said mom with the resoluteness of a movie hero. Dad was clearly in agreement;

"Not even for the greatest adventure ever.", he said while giving me a loving glare. Aunt Holiday decided to chime in with a smirk of her own;

"Now if only your line of work would let you live with us. That would make Scootaloo's day."

Just the thought of my parents living in our house made me want to jump all over the kitchen with delight! For the sake of keeping the conversation going, however, I settled for exclaiming;

"Oh, that would be the best thing ever! I'm talking one-hundred and twenty-percent awesome!"

Once I recovered from my awesomeness high, which took about a minute of laughter and foot stomping, dad responded with a smile that looked... sad;

"Oh, Scootaloo... I know that it's thanks to our line of work that we can support you three. Even so..."

"The moment we get a chance to live with you and support the family, you better believe we'll take it.", said mom, who also had that sad smile on her face. I never liked seeing my parents look so sad and I never will. Like a hero stepping up to face the bad guys, I rose to the occasion and reminded them;

"I know you two will find a way! You always do!"

"And don't think for a moment that you haven't been there for our little lightning bolt.", noted Auntie Lofty. Our words seemed to help ease my parents' sadness, for their smiles became brighter and cooler. I made sure to add for good measure;

"Yeah! You were there for every holiday and every single one of my birthdays! Granted, you had to use video chat for most of them, but still!"

That got a good laugh from the both of them, with dad saying with honest love;

"Don't forget about all those late-night talks we had whenever you were feeling bluer than a kangaroo's joey."

"We're always happy to talk with you whenever you need us and we're able.", said mom, who accidentally helped dad make me feel several levels of embarrassment. I blushed heavily and looked away from the screen while exclaiming;

"Mom! Dad!"

As embarrassed as I was, I couldn't help but feel happy that my parents cared so much about me. Speaking of caring, my aunts ruffled my hair together at the same time, which got me to laugh the embarrassment away. After that, we talked some more, this time about future plans. I made it a point to tell them about the Great Crusade as well Sunset. Oh, they were so proud of me and were not afraid to say so;

"You and your friends did a fine thing by befriending that Sunset girl.", said mom while dad nodded in agreement before noting;

"Sounds to us like you three got a mission of your own. We know you'll do a bang-up job!"

"Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it, okay?", requested mom. I nodded at them both with a smile as warm as they made my heart. It wasn't long after that that mom and dad had to leave to get ready to work again. But, before they left the call, Snap Shutter told me with a smirk;

"Now, you better keep being good to your Aunt and Auntie, okay Scoots?"

I gave him a salute and a smile, which prompted Mane Allgood to say something that moved me deeply;

"You and your movie club friends are so much more than your mistakes. Never forget that."

That's some cool advice, mom! With that settled, I gently placed my right hand on the webcam, as if I was trying to hold their hands. Mom and dad did the same thing from their end before we told each other in cool as ice unison;

"I love you!"

I knew in my heart that I would see them again, that I would be able to hug them both one day. It was just a matter of time.






The next day, in the Apple Family House's kitchen after school.


One of the benefits of being a friend to Apple Bloom was being able to enjoy the delicious home-cooked meals that only the Apples could make. Despite what many would tell you, not all of their recipes were apple-based. It was just that most of them were apple-based! Our food consisted of apple crisps, apple cinnamon toast, apple pie as desert, ham sandwiches, and cottage cheese on the side. For drinks, we had a choice between milk, soda, water, and fizzy apple cider. Needless to say, when the Apple Family fed you, they went all out! I was chowing down on my meal alongside Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who all sat beside me. AB's big brother Big Mac sat to her left, while her big sister Applejack sat to Sweetie Belle's right. Sitting opposite of me was the oldest living Apple and family leader Granny Smith. We were all in good spirits that day, with Apple Bloom telling everyone else how well school went for us with the excitement that I enjoyed seeing her express. We all made sure to pay attention to her as we ate, which I think fueled her excitement;

"For History class, Mr. Doodle told us the story of the Christmas Truce!", she declared out loud. I noticed that the other Apples had put their forks down to give AB even more attention, Granny Smith especially. Without skipping a beat, my pal went on;

"Long ago, there was this huge and terrible war that many nations were wagin'!"

Sadness covered her face while her bow drooped like a puppy's ears for added effect before continued with a more somber tone of voice;

"It was a dern violent mess, that war, and Ah don't like it none."

The rest of us smiled and nodded in agreement. Anyone who had sense knew that wars were lame. Within moments, AB's bow perked back up along with her happiness as she explained further;

"The war was gonna go right through Christmas! But when that holiday came around, somethin' amazin' happened..."

She paused for dramatic effect and then declared with a smile as wide as her family's farm, her hands raised to the roof;

"The soldiers who were fightin' and killin' at the front decided to put their guns down and celebrate the holiday! Ah'm talkin' soldiers on both sides of the war 'ere! They were singin', playin', talkin', and just havin' a good ol' time!"

Granny let out a hearty well-meaning laugh while holding her awesomely large belly before telling her granddaughter with a smile;

"It was a dern miracle that truce happened at all, Ah tells ya'! Shoot, it was such a wonderful moment in history that people are still talkin' about it to this day."

"Eeyup.", said Big Mac, as was expected from the big guy. Applejack tipped her trusty Stetson hat at her little sister before noting with a proud grin;

"Ah'm mighty proud of ya' for showin' appreciation for history, sugarcube. It should please ya' to know that some songs were made in honor of the Christmas Truce."

The story alone had gotten mine and Sweets attention. Apple Bloom knew how to tell a tale, after all. But, finding out that songs were involved was enough to get our attention locked in! Sweetie Belle yelled out in joy while I leaned towards AJ;

"Songs?! I love songs!"

All three of us looked at a chuckling Applejack while I asked her excitedly;

"Can you play any of them?"

With a wink as sly as her smirk, she replied;

"Ya'll will have to wait until Christmas to find out."

"Ahhhhhh!", we cried out of shared disappointment. Why did AJ have to be such a song tease anyway?

Just then, a loud crash erupted from beyond the house's front door, making us all bounce out of her seats in shock! We all rushed over to the door, with Applejack leading the charge. Once we went outside, it didn't take long to notice the source of the commotion. It consisted of the now considerably lopsided mailbox that somehow kept its contents from spilling out, a yellow mail delivery motorbike laying on its side on the sidewalk, the piles of sealed packages scattered about on the on the sidewalk, a toppled over wagon near one of the piles, and a clearly dazed mailbag-carrying Derpy Hooves sitting on the ground between the bike and the mailbox. Amazingly, neither the bike nor Derpy appeared to be harmed as she softly said to herself in a somewhat wobbly voice;

"I just don't know what went wrong..."

None of us hesitated to help her out. Sweets, AB, and I went right to work on helping Derpy get back on her feet while Big Mac got the bike back on its wheels before inspecting it for damage. As for AJ and Granny Smith, they made sure to help tend to our unexpected visitor, who was quickly regaining her balance and composure. Now that I had gotten a closer look at her, it was clear that Derpy made sure to wear some safety gear before riding that bike of hers. She wore a yellow sports helmet that had a black outline, yellow wrist guards, matching elbow and knee pads, and white sports shoes. Once she resettled herself, she looked at each us with gratitude in her smile and crossed eyes before saying sweetly;

"Thank you for the help."

Apple Bloom was the first of us to respond, with goodwill and pride filling her voice;

"It was our pleasure, missy!"

Applejack chimed in with a question loaded with concern;

"Are ya' hurtin' anywhere, Derpy?"

She responded by placing her hands on her head, arms, chest, and legs before shaking her head. Good, her vital parts were okay, at least. Satisfied, I looked over at the numerous parcels that laid on the ground and commented out of curiosity;

"I didn't know you were a mail delivery girl, Derps."

With a giggle that got my attention, she explained;

"I've been delivering school mail to the students and staff since last week. It's been loads of fun."

Applejack, having overheard what Derpy had said, took a moment away from inspecting her bike to walk up to her and respond with a smile;

"That's a mighty important role for ya' to take on, Ah reckon."

Her smile weakened a bit as she noted with a slight hint of nervousness;

"Although..."

She looked over at the piles of mail while finishing;

"Ah think ya' might have bitten off more than ya' can chew."

With an annoyed groan, Derpy explained herself;

"I know! Normally, I would have Bulk Biceps help me out, but..."

Worry grew on her face as she went on;

"He's got a really bad stomach ache today and I didn't know anyone else who can fill in for him. So, I was delivering mail on my own when I crashed."

I felt the paper pony box in my right pants pocket, as if it was reminding me of its presence. In my heart and mind, I knew exactly what I wanted to do about this situation. I looked over at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who looked at me right back with understanding in their eyes. Without saying a word, we agreed on the same exact idea. That was just a part of how our awesome bond worked. We nodded at each other, turned to face the concerned and saddened Derpy, and gave her our best smiles while Apple Bloom spoke for us;

"Don't ya' worry none, we can fill in for the big guy!"

Sweetie Belle, with happy squeaks, gave our now surprised fellow student more details;

"We can help you carry the mail to where they need to go! That way, you won't have to carry so much stuff on your own!"

Derpy's bright eyes sparkled with joy as she gave us big hugs while saying with glee;

"Thank you so much!"

Granny Smith chuckled along with Applejack and Big Mac before she chimed in;

"Good on ya' youngin's for steppin' in to help!"

Just then, right when Derpy finished with her hugs, she gave us a confused look while asking;

"But, how are you going to help carry the mail?"

It was my turn to laugh. With a confident smirk added in for fun, I told her;

"You're not the only one with a sweet ride!"

Like a bullet, I zoomed back through the front door of the Apple Family house, made a beeline for the back door that led to the farm, and rushed across Sweet Apple Acres itself without so much as breaking a sweat! My two pals were right behind me, as I knew they would be. It didn't take long for us to find a large wooden shed that we were quick to enter. Well, to most Apples and visitors, it was a simple farming shed. But, to the Canterlot Movie Club, it was the garage for our official club vehicles! We had a whole trio of spare scooters as well as two wagons safely stashed out of the way of the farming tools. Those scooters were normally pulled out whenever I was helping my friends learn how to ride as awesomely as I could, although they did prefer to keep up with me on foot. But, this time, we had a different purpose in mind for those beauties and the larger wagon of the two. Soon enough, we were pulling our scooters from the shed all the way to the front lawn, with the wagon being pulled behind them via expertly secured rope. Applejack and Big Mac managed to catch up to us in time to help us get the vehicles over to Derpy, who was almost dancing in place out of excitement. Next, came the task of placing the packages into the wagon, which took everyone's combined efforts to pull off, since there was so many of them all over the place. As we worked, Apple Bloom decided to have a little fun, starting by calling out at a loud and proud volume;

"Today, we're helpin' a Wondercolt!"

Sensing what she was getting at, Sweetie and I yelled out together;

"WONDERCOLT!"

Apple Bloom continued by yelling;

"Today, we're helpin' Derpy Hooves!"

Sweets and I kept up the performance without missing a step;

"DERPY HOOVES!"

AB was being just as skillful as she announced;

"Today, we're helpin' her deliver school mail!"

Just like before, the two of us kept up the act. Only this time, we were joined by Derpy herself;

"SCHOOL MAIL!"

All three of us turned our heads to find her giggling sheepishly while holding a rather large package. We couldn't help but laugh with her. Once we calmed down, I heard Derpy ask Applejack;

"What made them want to do that fun little thing?"

I managed to get a glimpse of AJ shaking her head when she answered;

"Mad Max: Fury Road."

"The youngin's watched that flick with expressed permission from me as well as a heapin' helpin' of adult supervision! Yes, we made sure to help 'em get through the mighty graphic parts safely. Even then, they only watched it once.", Granny Smith clarified. Looking to make the situation less awkward, I added after placing a package in the wagon;

"We learned our lesson from the Predator Incident."

Upon the uttering of that name, all three of us movie buffs shuddered a little at the same time. Before Derpy could even ask about it, Applejack told her calmly;

"Ya' don't wanna know."

The topic was, thankfully, dropped from there.





With the mail tucked away in the wagon and fashioned to it via extra rope by AJ and Big Mac, my club members and I checked to make sure the scooters were securely connected to the wagon, grabbed our riding gear, and helped Derpy get ready to ride her motorbike. Thankfully, it was still in good riding condition, despite the earlier crash. We were about ready to ride in style when Granny Smith called out to us;

"Hold on, ya'll!"

We looked over at her when she explained;

"There's one last thing to account for; Derpy's eyes."

Oh crud! How could we forget about that super-important detail?! It was Apple Bloom who made the issue very clear to the rest of us;

"Of course! Derpy's crossed eyes are gonna make it mighty hard for her to see where she's goin'!", she exclaimed before giving the muffin-loving girl a worried look. She then told her in a softer voice;

"Ah mean no offense, sugarcube. Ah just don't want ya' to get hurt, is all."

Derpy gave her a smile that was filled with undying innocence and told her frankly;

"I understand, Apple Bloom. We do need to do something about my vision."

Her smile turned into a sad frown as she added;

"Bulky was usually my spotter..."

I didn't like seeing sadness on that girl's face and neither did my friends. We were about ready to comfort her when Applejack offered with a thoughtful chuckle;

"That won't be a problem this time, 'cause Ah'll be your spotter."

Derpy's sadness got its butt kicked by her renewed happiness, much to my relief. She gave Applejack a hug before telling her;

"You're so nice to me!"

She then looked over at the rest of us and added;

"All of you are being so nice to me and I love that!"

Her happiness filled us all up as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom got on their scooters. Once I saw the bass player get on the backseat of the now upright motorbike, I got on my own scooter while Derpy took her place on the driver's seat of her bike. Once we heard the roar of the bike's engine, Applejack announced to the makeshift motorcade that we had become;

"Listen up. ya'll! Derpy and Ah will take the lead, while ya youngin's follow from behind. Let's keep pace with each other and no wild stuff."

She gave me a piercing narrow glare from her seat that made me feel more than a little sheepish. It's like she knew I was thinking of tricks I could pull off during our drive! They would have been safe tricks, I swear to the stars above! Derpy made sure to let us know a key detail in a voice loud enough for the rest of us to hear over her engine;

"I have the addresses written on a note in my pants pocket!"

She reached into her right pants pocket and pulled a folded piece of paper that she handed to Applejack while finishing;

"I don't want to lose this, so keep it safe for me, okay?"

A tip of the farmer's Stetson was the confirmation Derpy needed to rev up the bike's engine, which was our cue to make ready on our scooters. Once she and AJ started moving on to the street, we followed suit while making sure to keep in formation to avoid losing the wagon. We then stopped for a moment to look over at Granny Smith and Big Mac, who kept their eyes on us as we prepared. Applejack waved at them both while yelling out;

"We'll be careful, ya'll!"

"Ya' whippersnappers better be!", Granny Smith called out in response with Big Mac saying with a nod and a smile;

"Eeyup!"

I gave those two a thumbs up before returning my focus to the road ahead of me. With another rev of the engine, Derpy got her bike to move again, with the rest of us following her and AJ's lead. As we rode together like bosses, I declared with hope and pride as we drove up a steep hill;

"We are the ones who heal the scars..."

A giant smirk formed on my face before I practically screamed both out loud and from within while we zoomed down the hill;

"RIDING TO REDEMPTION!!!"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle cheered and laughed right along with me. What can I say? Our crusade had only just begun and it was already awesome!





Our first stop was the house of Flash Sentry. A chill dude who, like the ever-awesome Rainbow Dash, played the electric guitar. He even ran his own band: the Flash Drives. They rocked, but not as hard as the Rainbooms, if you asked me. Once we parked just beyond Flash's front door, I got off of my scooter and ran to the wagon to check on the packages. They were all present and accounted for, so I looked around for the one that had his name on it. I could hear Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle running up to me and figured they wanted to help. Sure enough, they were rummaging through the pile along with me. It was Sweetie Belle who found Flash's package. Once she got a hold on it, she took a closer look, only to catch something odd about the box;

"I see Flash's name on here, but not the address.", she noted to us with a curious eyebrow. That got me confused, so I turned to face Derpy, who was walking up to us alongside Applejack, and asked her;

"Why doesn't this box have an address on it?"

Derpy smiled while trying her best to glare at the three of us with her crossed eyes and explained;

"School mail delivery rules. Mail sent through our service can't have addresses on them. The names of people getting school mail are fine though."

Applejack chimed in before any of us kids could comment on that detail;

"Mail deliverers like ya' have access to them addresses, but ya' don't want just anyone to find them, right?"

Derpy looked over at her and gave her a quick nod before asking Sweetie Belle;

"May I have Flash's mail, please?"

Sweets, with one of her friendlier grins, handed the box over to her. With that done, we all followed her over to Flash's door. As we walked, Apple Bloom told Derpy;

"Your service has a wise policy, Ah reckon. Don't want no random strangers findin' out where ya' live, know what Ah mean?"

That policy made sense to me too, honestly. I mean, A.K. Yearling always kept her actual address hidden from the public too and for good reason. Some Daring Do fans were best kept away from the author. With a really long pole. Anyway, once we arrived at our destination, Derpy tried to ring the door bell without dropping the package. Well, 'tried' being the keyword here. She almost dropped the darn thing before Applejack stepped in to hold it for her while she successfully rang the bell. After that, she reclaimed the box and waited. It took a few seconds for Flash himself to open the door. With a friendly smile, he greeted us;

"Hey girls!"

He then eyed the package and said;

"Thanks for the mail, Derps."

Derpy responded with a giggle;

"You're welcome! I was hoping to get it to you..."

Her giggles intensified, which I wish I had seen as a warning sign, before finishing;

"In a flash!"

I tried my absolute best to not groan. Why? Why did Flash Sentry love using bad puns so much? Why did they spread over to poor innocent Derpy? Were they infectious or something? Well, at least the two of them had a good laugh before we said our goodbyes. Just before we left, however, Flash called out to the three of us;

"Good of you to help her out, movie club! Keep it up!"

My annoyance over bad puns gave way to awesome appreciation. My pals and I turned back around to face him, waved at him happily, and told him at the same time;

"You bet we will!"

A great thing about Flash Sentry was that he was always up for cheering on our fellow students, especially when things got tough. The makings of a fine Wondercolt.





Next person we visited was someone who we started talking about as soon as we pulled up at her house. Applejack was the first one to bring her up;

"Okay, ya'll. This next one is Tree Hugger."

She held her chin with her left hand while she placed the address list on the bike seat with her right hand After pondering for a bit, she added;

"Frankly, Ah don't know much about this 'ere lady, other than her bein' Fluttershy's friend. Ah probably bumped into her once or twice when goin' between classes."

As it happened, us movie buffs knew a few things about her, most of which Apple Bloom pointed out with a giant smile and that brand of enthusiasm that made her so cool to me;

"Number Twelve: Tree Hugger. Said to be the biggest eco kid in all of CHS! Has never shown anger to anyone ever, or so people say."

Applejack belted out some hearty laughter before responding with a smile of her own;

"Ah'll bet she'll love our farm then, Little Seed."

As we walked over to Tree Hugger's door, Derpy asked AB while AJ carried the mail for her;

"Number Twelve?"

With a chuckle, the young Apple told her;

"We'll explain later, sugarcube."

The house itself appeared to be quite normal for someone who seriously liked the environment. Here I thought it was gonna be covered with flowers and stuff! Derpy knocked on the door once we got to it, only for the lady herself to speak to us from the other side;

"I have unlocked the door, sweet souls. You may open it up."

Her voice was filled with one hundred and twenty-percent peace, the kind of voice that, honestly, I had never heard before. Feeling a bit weirded out, confused, but not at all afraid, I looked over at Apple Bloom, who was clearly perplexed when she looked back at me and asked in a whisper;

"How did she know there was more than one person 'ere?"

All I could give her was a shrug before I turned my attention at Sweetie Belle, who was just as confused as we were. At that moment, Derpy opened the door, revealing a sight I would not have bet on seeing: Tree Hugger herself sitting on the floor of her house while barefooted with her legs crossed. Her eyes were closed and her hands rested on her lap. Her breathing was slow, steady, and practically silent. Her entire posture was somehow straight, but not stiff, if that makes any sense. As for the room she was sitting quietly in, it was dimly lit in a way that was easy on our eyes. We all just stood there in silence while trying to think of the best way to let the lady know about her mail without disturbing her. She just looked so chill, so we didn't want to be rude! Thankfully, she solved that problem for us by opening up her eyes about half-way and greeting us with that peaceful voice of hers;

"Blessings to you all."

She even showed us the peace sign with her right hand for good measure. She then glared at Sweets, AB, and me for about half of a second each before looking up at Derpy and saying with a smile;

"Ah, my package is here. You may place it on my lap."

Derpy did exactly that after getting the box from AJ, albeit with extra care to avoid dropping it. With that done, I decided to ask Tree Hugger what everyone else was thinking;

"What are you doing?"

She replied with a calm smile;

"Meditating, adventurous one. I would ask you and your two friends to join me for a session, but you are clearly busy with a noble endeavor..."

She winked right at the three of us before finishing;

"Or two, to be exact."

Okay, now this was getting really weird!

"Hold on, did anyone tell you about-?", I tried to ask her, only for her to interrupt me with an answer;

"No one told me."

Tree Hugger leaned forward just a bit before elaborating while gazing at each of us;

"I can see it in your eyes, Canterlot Movie Club... the drive to fulfill a duty you have charged to yourselves."

She leaned back and declared with a slow bow of her head;

"May the universe smile upon you all."

With that, she straightened her head, closed her eyes, and went back to breathing. Sensing that the conversation was over, I made sure to slowly close the door. While we walked back to the bike and scooters, I couldn't help but think to myself;

"That girl's got sharp eyes!"

Thank goodness, I learned from my parents and aunts to never judge a book by its cover! Even if the cover looked bizarre.





For those first two houses, the mail run went by swimmingly. It was during the trip to the third house that things turned wild faster that a flying Rainbow Dash!

"To the right, Derps! We gotta stay away from oncomin' traffic!", cried a worried Applejack as I watched Derpy swerve left and right so widely that I seriously hoping she wouldn't crash into something again. I slowed the pace of scooter riding down to compensate for the swerving, with AB and Sweets following suit. Not enough to lose her and AJ, but just enough to avoid getting bumped by a wild motorbike. Just then, I saw a sharp left hand turn coming up and Derpy was not ready for it! With some hasty instructions from Applejack, she was just barely able to make the turn while making the bike heavily lean sideways. We made the turn as well, only for us hear the far from subtle banging of wheels from behind us. Apple Bloom made the situation abundantly clear to us;

"We gotta keep the wagon steady ya'll!", she yelled out with worry in her country voice. I kept my eyes on the still swerving Derpy and replied;

"Someone's gotta keep her steady!"

Upon hearing my words, Derpy yelled out in fear;

"I wish I could keep my eyes steady!"

Before we knew it, we were faced with good news and bad news. The good news: the road graced us with a straightaway! The bad news: there was a vehicle heading in Derpy's direction and she was on the wrong side of the road.

"CAR!!!", Applejack cried for dear life, which drove the mail lady to quickly veer right. Just in time too, which did our rapidly beating hearts wonders. Poor Apple Bloom could barely keep her eyes on the road without checking on her sister! It was a very good thing us club members were already on the safe side of the road when the car zoomed passed us all. It took Applejack an additional fifteen terrifying seconds, but she was able to help Derpy re-stabilize her bike, allowing us clearance to move in closer to form our tight formation again. A close call that reminded me of action movies for the wrong reasons! I breathed a sigh a relief as Applejack consoled Derpy after she apologized for nearly getting the older Apple hurt;

"There there, sugarcube. Everyone's okay and that's what matters."

I could almost feel how much Apple Bloom was gushing over her big sister in her head as we continued our run.





After we arrived at the third house, Sweetie Belle told AJ and Derpy;

"We'll be at the door soon, I just gotta talk with my friends real quick."

They nodded before making their way to the door, which prompted her to tell us in a hushed voice;

"Movie Club Huddle."

We all came together and talked things out amongst ourselves, with Sweets noting out of concern;

"I'm gonna be honest: this is getting dangerous!"

"Ain't no one said that the Great Crusade was gonna be easy.", Apple Bloom said in response, her voice laced with understanding. Sweetie shook her head before speaking again;

"I know! But, I'm worried! What if Derpy accidentally hurts one of us. Oh, she'd be so upset!"

It was just like her to care about other people. All three of us were like that, yes, but she was the most caring girl of us all. I decided, right then and there, to give our worried friend a pep talk;

"Hey now, none of us are gonna let that happen. We got Applejack on the case and if she needs help, she's got us to back them both up!", I told her with a smirk and confidence in my voice. Truthfully, I was worried too, but I knew Sweets needed encouragement and I was proud to give it to her. That's what Rainbow Dash would do, after all! My friends' smiles was all the proof I needed that I did a good job. So, with fist bumps all around, we ran over to catch up with Derpy and Applejack. The house, to our delight, belonged to one of our newest friends: Octavia Melody! We were wanting to pay her a visit, which only added to the awesomeness of the situation. Derpy rang the doorbell and we waited with bated breath. I wondered if we could have a quick cup of tea with Octavia before continuing our work when the door opened. It revealed not the string player, but a much older woman who bore hair that was the same color as hers, albeit with a different style. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was Octavia's mom. She looked right at Derpy and Applejack before giving them a warm smile as well as a greeting that was polite and classy;

"A fine good afternoon to you both! I trust the trip was without incident?"

Yep, that was definitely the mom!

"Nothin' we couldn't handle, ma'am.", Applejack responded with a polite tip of her hat. Well, she was being honest, technically. The woman looked over at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and me, her face replacing the warmth she had shown before with a look of pure silent judgement. Oh, I could feel her disappointment with us creep into my heart as my guilt tried to cause me grief! Before I could come up with an apology, however, a much more familiar voice rang from behind her;

"Now, who could that be, mother dearest?"

The mom took a step off to the side to make room for Octavia herself, who looked at the three of us with warm friendship in her eyes and grin before greeting us;

"A pleasure to see you three again!"

My guilt got smacked in its face by my happiness, which made it easier for me to grin right back at her as she turned her head to face Derpy. With a chuckle, she took the package and told her sweetly;

"My thanks to you. I've been waiting for this item for some time now."

She gazed at Applejack and us before asking;

"I take it you four have been helping dear Derpy?"

We nodded our heads, which prompted her to declare;

"Splendid work so far! Wish you all good fortune. Ta-ta for now, loves."

She then walked deeper into the house and out of sight, leaving her mother behind. With a slight cough, the older woman looked at my friends and I again, this time with a polite glare, and said with the restrained voice of a mother trying her best to not pounce;

"My daughter gave you kids a fair chance and I will respect her choice."

Her glare became narrow and her voice gained a hint of anger as she finished in a slow pace;

"Do not waste it."

We could think of no better response than this;

"Yes, ma'am!", we said to her unison. With a quick nod, she went into the house and closed the door behind her. By the hat of Daring Do, that sucked! But, we got through it.

It was like what Apple Bloom said: no one ever said that the Great Crusade was gonna be easy.





After multiple close calls, some of which involved oncoming traffic, we were able to deliver all of the school mail for the day! We were on our way back to Sweet Apple Acres when I noticed that Derpy's bike was slowing down all of a sudden. Applejack noticed this too as my friends and I slowed down to keep pace. It took her two seconds to find and reveal the problem;

"Heads-up! Looks like the ol' girl's run out of gas!"

We moved our scooters away while making sure to get the wagon out of the bike's way as it slowed down to a standstill. Needless to say, Derpy was sad;

"I know I had it filled up earlier today...", she said with her head tilted down to her right side to face the concrete below. I felt bad for the girl. Of all the things to stop her, who would have thought it would be a lack of fuel? I looked back at the now box-less wagon and thought to myself;

"At least we got the job done..."

I looked around to take stalk of our surroundings when I caught sight of Derpy staring at a house to her right with the biggest smile on her face. I looked over at it while asking;

"What's up with that house?"

Just then, it all clicked in my head. This wasn't just any old house: it was Derpy's! I was starting to think that the universe had heard Tree Hugger's words as we all followed the happy girl to her home. Turns out, her folks weren't home, so it was just Derpy, Applejack, myself, and my pals all chilling out around the kitchen table together. AJ was enjoying a swig of some fizzy apple cider when she told our lovable host;

"Hair-raisn' moments aside, Ah'm glad we helped ya' out."

"Ah'm glad too!", exclaimed a happy Apple Bloom, who raised her cup of milk at Derpy while Sweetie Belle added with a happy squeak;

"Yeah, we got to see so many people today and we made them happy!"

She then asked the rest of us;

"Did you see the look on Principal Celestia's face when she saw the new sweater in her package? She was so thrilled!"

We all chuckled happily over that before I announced to the girls;

"I'll drink to that awesomeness!"

I then took chugged some of my soda like a boss. I saw that Derpy was looking around the table with this big smile on her face, her eyes sparkling with joy. Suddenly, she got up out of her seat, ran to the nearby cupboard, and opened it up. After taking a moment to grab something that we couldn't see, she turned around, returned to the table, and placed that something on it with a thump. It was another delivery package, this one being smaller than the others and square-shaped too. The strangest thing about it was the name that was written on the white paper that was taped to the top of it:


Canterlot Movie Club


The three of us look right at Derpy, who's smile was now laced with friendliness. Before we could think to pounce her with a hug, Applejack told us with a chuckle;

"Hold on now! Let me get a knife."

We watched with anticipation as she grabbed the nearest kitchen knifed and cut the top of the box open. With that done, we opened up the box while filling the room with our laughter. It only took us three seconds to discover what was inside. At that moment, we knew exactly what was coming and so, we waited until Derpy gave us the offer that she was known to give;

"Muffins?"

Knowing precisely what that meant, we wrapped her up in a movie club hug. She responded by wrapping us up in her arms with the gentleness of a parent. A part of me wondered if we deserved this cool girl's friendship after what we did to her last Winter. But, when I remembered all of the good we did for her today, I realized something cool;

"We earned this!"

With a relaxed sigh, I closed my eyes and sank into Derpy's sweet embrace. For the record, the muffins were totally delicious!