//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Consulting a Guide // Story: Adventures In Text // by Glimglam //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Consulting a Guide “…And then I said, ‘Oatmeal, was that really how Equestria was made?’ I mean, really, can you beli—” “PINKIE!” “Yes Dashie?” Rainbow Dash’s eye twitched as she tried to piece together her thought process over again. As appealing as it was to do horrible, horrible things to Pinkie and bury her body under the floorboards, Edger Allen Poal-style, there had to have been an easier way of dealing with her annoyances. “Could you… I dunno… stop being you for a minute? I’m trying to focus, here!” “…Oh.” Pinkie put a hoof to her chin in thought. “But, if I can’t be me… then who should I be? Of all the ponies I can see, there aren’t any as fun as me!” “Oh Celestia… why is Pinkie so random?” Rainbow groaned out loud, slamming her head on the keyboard once again. >EVGSL43R8FWF_ What’s a ‘EVGSL43R8FWF’? Ignoring the computer for the moment, the cyan pegasus turned to give Pinkie a not-so-subtle glare. “Don’t. Even. Start,” she warned, jabbing a hoof into the pink pony’s muzzle with each word spoken. “Start what?” “The rhyming. Which, in turn, is almost always followed up by completely random singing.” Pinkie looked rather surprised. “What?! But… those are always supposed to be a surprise! How could you have found out?” “They’re not that hard to see coming, Pinks,” RD candidly informed her. “Listen, I can already hear the music starting to pick up in the background!” It was true, of course. Seemingly from nowhere, an oddly upbeat instrumental backing was playing at a slightly-higher-than audible level. Its source, much like the logic behind Pinkie Sense, was unknown. Rainbow Dash coughed pointedly, and the music quickly scratched to a halt. “Awwww…” Pinkie hung her head low and made a pouty-looking face. “I had a really good one this time, too…” “Maybe some other time,” the pegasus growled, grinding her teeth with annoyance. “Look, Pinkie, it’s been nice that you’re visiting and all… but I really think you should go now.” “…Go where?” “Gee, I dunno… maybe… someplace not here!” Pinkie blinked twice, and then burst out in laughter. “Oh Dashie, you know I can’t do that!” “And why not?” “Because…” She leaned in closer, her expression becoming oddly serious. “…The story says I’m supposed to stay here. At least, just for the next two chapters or so. And then I’ll probably be gone for a while to prepare for a plot twist that nopony will expect.” Rainbow Dash stared at her blankly. “…Pinkie Pie. What the hay are you talking about?!” “The story, duh! You know, the one where…” She paused, and gasped loudly. “Oh no! Spoilers! The story says I can’t give anything away relating to what will happen in the immediate future or later! Sorry Dashie, I can’t say any more!” “…” The pegasus furrowed her brow at Pinkie’s odd delusions. “Ooookay… While you take a trip through ‘creepy town’, I’m just gonna keep playing now…” And play she did. Pinkie had quieted down somewhat—she seemed oddly concerned about these ‘spoilers’ or whatever she was going on about—and that suited Rainbow Dash just fine. Now she could carry on where she left off… When she had finally made it into the city, everything seemed rather… unspectacular. There was a west side, an east side, a north side, and a south side of the city ruins. It didn’t seem all that big, really. Or was there really not much there to see? Rainbow had discovered what appeared to be an unlit torch of some variety, and took it in the event that it would prove useful. Right before Pinkie had started to become a problem, Rainbow Dash had just discovered the main temple in the northern side of the city. This had to have been the place! But before she could get excited, the party pony had started going on a tirade about… whatever it was, which resulted in the earlier argument. And we all know where that went, so let’s move on. You are standing in the Temple Entrance Chamber. For a room designed to greet ponies upon entering, it sure is barren. Most temples you have explored usually had a death trap or complicated puzzle of some kind right off the bat, and usually in plain sight. To the west, you can see a narrow corridor that continues on into pitch darkness. To the east is a closed door. Straight ahead looks to be another corridor, only this passage appears lit. You can see a jar of oil here. >_ The first room of the first dungeon. Well this should be easy, Rainbow figured. First thing’s first… “Ooh! Ooh!” Well, so much for Pinkie being quiet. “Look at the oil jar! It reeks of suspicious-ous-ness! And… other things! Like olives!” “…Pinkie, what else would I possibly do?” “Umm… Ignore it, in case it’s a trap?” Rainbow Dash briefly considered this, but then shrugged it off without reflection. It was just a jar, what could it do? >LOOK AT JAR It’s a sealed, transparent glass jar that seems to contain oil. Olive oil that is, not that other gunky, black stuff. Rainbow Dash made a face. ‘Olive oil?’ she thought, sticking out her tongue. ‘Yuck. Oh well, it must be useful somehow. Maybe.’ “Hey Dashie, is it pronounced ‘olive oil’ or ‘I love oil’?” Pinkie inquired. “Because ‘I love oil’ sounds so much nicer! Oooh, I bet I could make ‘I Love’ Tarts with that stuff! I gotta add it to my grocery list!” “…Sure.” >TAKE OIL Taken. “IT’S A TRAP!” Pinkie suddenly screamed, startling RD for the nth time. There was a brief pause, but as could be gathered from that single word on the screen, nothing bad had happened. “…Never mind. Teehee.” “…Pinkie, just let me do this on my own. And please… for the love of all things awesome… just shut up.” “…Okie-doki! I’ll just cheer you on, then!” “Whatever…” What was next? Seeing as how the only other things in the room were the other exits, she decided to try them. Starting with that door… >EAST_ A door stands defiantly in your way. Such audacity. “Alright then, I’ll have to fix that!” she said with determination. Pinkie hoofpumped the air and cheered, “Show it whose boss, Dashie!” >OPEN DOOR_ You can’t open it. Must be locked. Oh well. “…Or not. Heehee.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “…That’s it? ‘Oh well’?!?” She groaned loudly, and nearly slammed the keyboard again. But she didn’t. Rather, she instead chose to demonstrate her anger in-game. >STOMP GROUND_ You demonstrate your mild frustration by violently assaulting the ground underhoof. That’ll teach it. “Dashie, why are you being so mean to the ground? It never did anything to you!” “…Oh, just shush…” She supposed that helped her sanity a bit. Oh well, there’s still the other exits. That door could go buck itself (at least until she found the key). >WEST_ The passage is far too dark to proceed safely. Rainbow sighed. “Darn… If only that torch I had wasn’t all burnt out.” “I don’t like dark places, they’re really scary! But at the same time, being scared is fun! So that must mean… that I love dark places! Yay!” “Yeah, whatever you say…” Well, this game sure knew how to narrow your options, huh? At least it won’t be easy to get lost in this temple… >NORTH_ You are in the Endless Corridor. The stone-walled corridor continues as far as your perception can make out, which is surprisingly far. Back to the south is the Entrance Hall. “……” >NORTH The passage seems to go on forever. You walk for at least three minutes, but when you turn back around to check behind you, the Entrance Hall is right there, as if you have never moved. …But if that were the case, then of course it would be a cinch to get stuck. Again. “Oh. Poo. Oh well Dashie, I’m sure you can think of something!” “…” Just as Rainbow Dash was taking the ‘Stomp Ground’ and ‘Shout’ commands to a new dimension of purpose in the real world, there was the gentlest sound of knocking at the doorway for the second time in just under half-an-hour. Knock knock knock! “I’ll get it~!” Pinkie sang, zipping to the library’s front door at a speed that should’ve broken a few laws of physics or something. In a flash, she threw open the door and gasped with happy surprise. “Ohmigosh! Helloooo! Whatcha three doin’ here?” The ones who knocked were, as it happened, three young fillies whom all lacked a cutie mark to their name. Who else could it be but the Cutie Mark Crusaders, in all of their three-trot tall glory? “Oh… hello Pinkie,” the unofficial ‘leader’ of the group, Apple Bloom, said. “We was jus’ wonderin’ if—” “Sorry, Twilight’s not here,” Pinkie Pie interrupted, smiling broadly. “It’s just me and Dashie. Twilight had to do book-y stuff and… other-y stuff.” “Actually,” the pegasus filly—Scootaloo—cut in, “we were looking for Rainbow Dash.” Sweetie Belle, the unicorn filly who also happened to be Rarity’s little sister, sighed. “Well, Scootaloo is looking for her, anyway. I was at the spa with my sister a little while ago, until Scoot came running in and begged me to come with her…” “Hey, I didn’t ‘beg’ you! And besides, you told us before that you didn’t even like the spa!” “Yeah, but… um… er…” Sweetie Belle shrugged, nervously chuckling. “Hey, at least I got to spend some time with my sister…” “Ah don’t even know why Ah came back here,” Apple Bloom muttered under her breath. The others either didn’t hear her, or chose to ignore it. “…So anyway,” the orange crusader continued, urging the conversation forward, “we… er, I wanted to know if Rainbow Dash could… I dunno… try and help us get our cutie marks today? You know, for… stuff?” “Oooh, I bet she’d love to!” Pinkie squealed, giggling. “She loves helping everypony out, after all!” Her smile faded slightly. “…But she can’t, sorry. She’s playing a game-thing right now.” The crusaders’ briefly crestfallen looks were quickly replaced by curiosity. “Game-thing?” Apple Bloom echoed, processing the word in her mind. “What kind of… ‘game-thing’?” “Hasn’t Dashie told you? Twilight got her this really neat-o game! She gets really frustrated sometimes, ‘cause it’s so hard, but that’s why it’s fun, right?!” “Uh… sure?” “Hey! Wanna come in?” Pinkie offered, holding the door open wider. “I bet having a lot of friends around will help Dashie out a lot!” “NO IT WON’T!” the voice of Rainbow Dash was heard shouting from within the library. Pinkie Pie just playfully rolled her eyes and gave the CMC a surreptitious little wink, followed by her mouthing the words, ‘Oh yes it will!’ The pink pony waved the three fillies inside the library, quiet as can be, and shut the door behind them just as stealthily. As Pinkie led the three silently towards the pegasus, coming up from behind her, she made a hoof motion to the CMC to ‘standby’. The trio of crusaders shared a wondering look with each other, unsure of what Pinkie had planned. Nothing good, as it turned out… …At least, not from Rainbow Dash’s perspective. “SURPRIIIIIIIISE!!” “AAAAAAAAAHHH!!” With a yell of fright, Rainbow Dash flailed her limbs about in shock while her chair tipped over backwards. The landing wasn’t necessarily comfortable. “OW! P-Pinkie! What the hay was that for?!” she shouted at the party pony from the floor’s viewpoint. “You looked all tired and stressed out! And you know that Doctor Pinkie always prescribes a surprise!” the pink mare chimed, looking down at Rainbow Dash and fluttering her eyelids. The pegasus glared at Pinkie. “In that case, Doc,” she growled, “what would you prescribe for a buck to the face?” The party pony seemed flummoxed. “Well, depending on how hard the kick is,” she mused, placing a hoof on her chin, “I’d say either one of my Equestria-famous ‘Feel-Gooder-Now Cupcakes’… or a powerful analgesic. But I don’t see why…” Her face fell as the implication dawned on her. “…Ohhhhhh.” Rainbow Dash reinforced the thinly-veiled threat with her ever-present glare, and Pinkie seemed to get the message. Getting a ‘surprise’ that nearly caused her to have a heart attack clearly hadn’t done anything good for her mood. Pinkie Pie, ever the pony to dislike unhappiness, quickly managed to divert the conversation elsewhere. “…Oh! Looky, looky! Guess who’s here, Dashie~! Apple Bloom and her friends are here!” Pinkie bounced over to the three fillies and gave them each a tender pat on the head (eliciting a slight groan of annoyance or grimace from each). “Say hello, you three!” “…Hello Rainbow Dash,” Apple Bloom greeted as unenthusiastically as possible. Sweetie Belle managed a wave and a small smile. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, was more than happy to see her idol. “Hi Rainbow Dash! What’s up? Eh-heh, Pinkie’s pretty random, huh?” Her grin faltered slightly, looking more and more apologetic. “Sorry if we came at a bad time…” The multi-hued pegasus lifted herself, plus the chair, back into their rightful position. “Nah, it’s all good, squirt,” she muttered absently, not paying a whole lot of attention to Pinkie or the CMC. “Just… I’m trying to play this game, okay? I don’t really wanna be disturbed.” “A game?” the yellow earth filly asked again, looking intrigued. “What kinda game, Rainbow?” “Just some text game,” Rainbow Dash replied, waving a hoof dismissively. “It has Daring Do in it, before you ask, so I thought it would be an awesome challenge and stuff. Twilight found it in the basement, along with this piece of junk.” She slapped the side of the Mareintosh. “Can you believe that this thing costs 20,000 bits? I kid you not!” “TWENTY THOUSAND BITS!?!” the pink party pony suddenly exclaimed, and gasped a mighty gasp. “That’s… that’s like… a buhmillion-billion cupcakes! With frosting and sprinkles, even!” “That’s… an awful lot,” Sweetie Belle said quietly, wondering exactly how many dresses and saddles that kind of money would buy. Apple Bloom’s jaw fell slack. “Woah… Fergit gettin’ Granny Smith that hip-replacement, we could jus’ get a new Granny Smith! Plus a dozen extras!” Rainbow Dash paid no mind to the completely flabbergasted reactions of the others to the cost of the Mareintosh. She was preparing to start playing the game again when she asked, “What’s it to you, anyway? Why are you here?” “…Well, uh…” All three fillies began stammering nervously, shrinking under Rainbow’s cold gaze. Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a sharp jab in the side, which helped speed along the brainstorming process. “Uh… we wanted to know if you could help us out with getting our cutie marks… You see, we came up with this awesome plan and everything, but we, well… sort of need your help to do it.” The pegasus let out a small, barely audible groan. “Uh, yeah, I’m sure you do,” she muttered irritably, not even turning to face them. “But can it wait? I’m trying to beat this game here, and it’s giving me such… a hard… time!” Rainbow Dash emphasized those last few words by slamming her hooves onto the desk in-between each word. “O-oh… well…” Scootaloo’s look of hope deflated, as did Sweetie Belle’s. Darn it, they were really hoping to get to go skydiving. Now how would they reach a safe altitude of at least 8000 feet? Sweetie Belle already made the parachute and everything! “I guess… I guess we’ll just come back later then.” Though the two dejected-looking CMC were already trotting towards the door, Apple Bloom didn’t budge. If anything, she was rather intrigued. “Say… yer havin’ a hard time on that game?” “Pretty much,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. “These puzzles are so hard…” “Well, Ah can help ya out, Rainbow!” “…What?” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Why not? Ah love a good brain teaser! We could help ya with that there puzzle that’s givin’ ya such a hard time!” “…Ha.” The pegasus threw a coy, condescending look towards the red-maned filly, and started to laugh. “Yeah… no offense Apple Bloom, but if I’m having a hard time with this, then you’ll totally have no chance. None whatsoever.” “Hey, Ah’m not stupid!” Apple Bloom whined. “Ah bet that me, Sweetie Belle and Scoots could finish that puzzle faster than ya’ll can say, ‘None whatsoever!’” The other two CMC stopped as they were about to leave, and turned back around with confusion on their faces. “Wait, we’re doing what?” Scootaloo asked out loud, exchanging a look with Sweetie Belle. The unicorn filly shrugged with uncertainty. Rainbow Dash chuckled again, and put a hoof over her face with both exasperation and mirth. “Ha ha ha… Okay then, fine! You got a deal. Let’s see if you can do it, heh heh…” As the smug-looking pegasus surrendered the chair to Apple Bloom, she took the opportunity to stretch her wings and hover around the other end of the library while maintaining a confident smirk. The rest of the crusader trio rushed to the desk area as well, and before long the three were talking and discussing what must’ve been juvenile strategies at how to fail spectacularly at the game. At least, that’s how Rainbow Dash’s mind put it. “There’s no way they’ll be able to get it,” she said as she laughed again, turning to face Pinkie Pie. “Can you believe those three, Pinkie? They think that they can actually beat that thing? What a laugh!” Pinkie looked somewhat unsure. “I dunno Dashie, those three can be reeeeally smart sometimes.” A deadpan glare from Rainbow Dash was the response. “…Okay, biiiiiiiiiig emphasis on sometimes,” Pinkie admitted. She shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “But they still aren’t dumb. And besides, it’s a game! Kids are always better at games than adults, by default.” “How would you know that, Pinks? I bet you’ve never played a game yourself!” “Of course, duuuh! That’s because nopony in Ponyville has ever played video games before! I know that ‘cause I know everypony in Ponyville, and nopony’s ever played video games before. Those were sooooo two decades ago. Now it’s all about good clean fun in the sun, with a toasted bun!” “Well, they’re missing out. Come on, it’s Daring Do! How can anypony not love it?” “Um, somepony who doesn’t like games or Daring Do? Oooh, or somepony that doesn’t like games and Daring Do at the same time?” “…” “…What?” Rolling her eyes at Pinkie’s cluelessness, Rainbow Dash flew back down to the ground and trotted up beside the CMC at the computer. “Sooooo… how goes it, you three? Stuck yet?” “Well… er…” Apple Bloom nervously shuffled around in the chair. “We… did manage it, but… uh… we sorta…” Scootaloo seemed very interested in the floor for some reason. “Yeah, we totally… got it, but… there was a…” “Ummm… we didn’t really… I mean, we did, but, um…” Sweetie Belle smiled timidly, and scuffed a hoof on the floor. “Well…” RD looked at the Mareintosh’s screen. Surely, judging from their indecisive response, they could not have possibly figured it out, right? As the text from all their previous actions was still onscreen, the pegasus could deduce how their train of thought traveled along. What she found was… well, she didn’t expect it. >HELP_ Quick Help - Objects: Try LOOK AT..., SPEAK TO..., TAKE..., DROP..., OPEN..., GIVE... TO..., USE... ON/WITH... - Inventory: See which items you are carrying by typing I, INV or INVENTORY. - Moving around: Type GO NORTH, SOUTH, E, GO TO... - Shortcuts: Press the up arrow and down arrow to scroll through commands you have already typed in. Try X... as a shortcut for LOOK AT... Rainbow chuckled internally upon reading that. Of course these fillies would need some help. (Although, to be perfectly honest, the pegasus had to admit that she didn’t know about the shortcut keys…) >SOUTH_ You are in the Ruined City (North). To your left and right of the road, the crumbling ruins of old Coltec architecture stands. The northern district seems the most well-preserved, and with the least amount of overgrown vegetation, but all of the buildings appear to be empty. To the north, you can see the imposing pyramid-shape of the Temple. The entrance is open, as it beckoning explorers and curious patrons alike to enter. >INVENTORY_ You are carrying a rope w/ binoculars, a map, a torch and a jar of oil. >LOOK AT TORCH_ It’s basically an ornamental wooden stick, with some pitch (flammable oil-like substance) smeared on the end of it. It is not lit. It would be a lot more useful if it was lit. >LIGHT TORCH_ What can you light it with? -OIL_ That won’t work. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but laugh again. Since when did olive oil light up a torch? Unless it spontaneously combusts upon realizing that it’s being applied to the end of a torch, then it would be pointless. “That one was Apple Bloom’s idea,” Scootaloo hurriedly pointed out. “H-hey! At least Ah didn’t mess up near as bad as you did!” >LIGHT TORCH_ What can you light it with? -BINOCULARS_ You remove the binoculars from the rope and, using the lens, amplify the sunlight from above into a focused point. Moments later, the end of the torch comes alive with flame. It is now lit. “Wha…?” The pegasus could hardly believe it. They actually figured out how to light up the torch? But… how could they know?! How could they even know that it’s possible to use a lens to light a fire…? And… how come Rainbow Dash herself couldn’t figure that out? “How did you light that torch…?” Apple Bloom shrugged as nonchalantly as she could, but she still seemed pretty apprehensive about something. “Well… Ah know that it’s possible to light fires with glass, an’ binoculars have glass an’ all… so Ah jus’ kinda figured that, ‘hey, let’s give it a try’, and whaddaya know, it worked.” “Oh, come on!” Sweetie Belle complained. “That was my idea, and you stole it!” “It was not! You said ‘use the sun’, but how? Ah was the one that found out ta use the binocular lens!” “That’s what I meant! It was so my idea!” “Was not!” “Was too!” “Was not!” “Was too!” “Was too!” “Was not!” “Was too!” “Was not!” “…Well, if ya say so,” Apple Bloom conceded, shrugging. “Ah guess it were mah idea.” Sweetie Belle smiled triumphantly. “That’s right!” she proclaimed, beaming. She frowned after a moment. Something didn’t seem right. “…HEY! Wait a minute—!” “Will you two pipe down?” Rainbow Dash snapped. “I’m trying to read the rest of this!” >NORTH_ You are standing in the Temple Entrance Chamber. For a room designed to greet ponies upon entering, it sure is barren. Most temples you have explored usually had a death trap or complicated puzzle of some kind right off the bat, and usually in plain sight. To the west, you can see a narrow corridor that continues on into pitch darkness. To the east is a closed door. Straight ahead looks to be another corridor, only this passage appears lit. >WEST_ You are standing in the Temple West Corridor. Your torch, lit with orange fire, banishes the darkness of this area as you proceed. The passage splits into two different directions here: One going to your left (south), and another to the right (north). On the wall, directly in the middle of the intersection, is a tablet with the following letters inscribed: “BEWARE THE XYZZY. IT LIKES DARKNESS.” You are not sure what to make of its meaning. You can see a stake here. Rainbow Dash threw the crusaders a critical look. “I thought you said that you’d only get past the puzzle that was giving me trouble,” she said slowly, narrowing her eyes. “That, and no further.” “U-uh… huh? You mean… that torch thing… that was the only thing you needed help with?” Scootaloo asked, and Rainbow Dash slowly nodded. “Oh… then you probably don’t need to read any further than that.” The pegasus’s ear twitched, and her eyes narrowed into slits. “What. Did. You. Do.” “N-nuttin’,” Apple Bloom replied hastily, and looked away. Her look of suppressed guilt was becoming evermore obvious. >TAKE STAKE You can’t carry any more things. Make some room first by DROPPING something you don’t need. >DROP TORCH Dropped. >TAKE STAKE Taken. “You… you dropped the torch. WHY would you drop the torch?” “B-because we needed room for the stake!” Sweetie Belle defended, but she was silenced by a harsh glare from Rainbow Dash. “Then why didn’t you drop the map if you needed to drop something?!” “B-b-but isn’t a map important? We thought you needed that!” “I don’t! It’s only a map for the jungle, which I’ve already passed! It’s worthless now!” “…Ohhhh…” >NORTH_ You have moved into a dark place. You can barely see anything. Rainbow Dash groaned. “Great. Stuck in a dark place. Again, why did you just drop the torch?!” “A-Ah’m sorry, okay?! We was jus’ tryin’ to figure out what all we was supposed to do! We didn’t think that we’d need it!” “I tried to talk her out of it Rainbow Dash, but she wouldn’t listen!” Scootaloo insisted, which earned herself a glare from Apple Bloom. “Hey, I’m sorry, but my status as Rainbow Dash’s Number One Admirer is at stake here!” The pegasus then, at last, looked at the most recent entry on the command parser; the one last entered by the CMC before she had returned to check on them. As she read, the three fillies that were watching slowly began to backpedal towards the door… >NORTH_ Oh no! You have walked blindly through the darkness and straight into the waiting jaws of a fearsome Xyzzy! As you are swallowed whole and slowly digested, you can’t help but wonder out loud why you bothered getting out of bed today. -- GAME OVER -- You have earned a total of 20 points out of a possible 350, which earns you the rank of: BEGINNER Would you like to try again? (RESTART/RESTORE/QUIT) >_ “…What.” Pinkie Pie let out a groan. “Aww, Dashieeeee! I told you to be careful not to get eaten!” she complained, facehoofing. “Darn it, you’ll have to try it all over again! Jeeeeez!” “…” Rainbow Dash’s eye twitched. “…WHAT.” By now, the CMC had chosen to forgo subtlety, instead deciding to turn tail and run as fast as they could out of the Library before Pinkie or Rainbow Dash was able to stop them. And it was a darn good thing that they did, too. “…WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!?!?” Pinkie giggled. “Oooh, sounds like somepony needs one of my world-famous ‘Feel-Gooder-Now Cupcakes’~!” ======O====== Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle galloped away, huffing and puffing as they went, and after running for a couple of blocks they finally stopped to take a rest. Each of them began to question the validity of a ‘text adventuring’ cutie mark. “Ugh, we’re clearly not cut out fer adventurin’ in text games,” Apple Bloom muttered. “Who’d want a buncha words on their flank, anyhow?” “I dunno…” Sweetie Belle replied, shrugging. “I guess it is kind of silly… But, what are we gonna do next? What about our plans to do skydiving?” “Well, if Rainbow Dash is… eh… busy, then we could always just ask Twilight if we can borrow the hot-air balloon!” “Hey, that’s a great idea!” Sweetie Belle said, grinning ear-to-ear. Her smile then began to falter after a moment of thought. “…But, where could she be? She wasn’t at the Library…” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Let’s just look for her then!” she suggested. “Ah think Ah know just the place she’d be at, too!” “Well, what are we waiting for then?!” Scootaloo exclaimed, raising a triumphant hoof to the air. “Let’s go!” Before setting off on their most recent escapade, the small band of fillies each took a deep breath, and proceeded to holler at the top of their tiny little lungs… “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SKYDIVERS, YAY!”