//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: To Glimpse a Wider World // by Burraku_Pansa //------------------------------// When Sweetie Belle awoke, it was to the sound of thunder. Bitter cold raindrops pelted her face, lightly stinging her slowly opening eyes. Above the filly’s head was a lone storm cloud, only a few hooflengths up. But the moment her eyes met with it, the rain halted, and the cloud disappeared. Groaning, Sweetie looked slowly about herself. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo lay nearby, surrounded, as she was, by puddles of rainwater on the otherwise sun-baked dirt of the mountain path. The two were gulping down air almost feverishly, their breaths punctuated now and again by a rough cough. Sweetie spotted Trixie nearby as well, nodding to herself and looking satisfied, the glow of a recently cast spell fading from her horn. As the mare turned and entered the group’s wagon, Sweetie made to say something, but felt a tickle niggling at the back of her throat. Soon she, too, was coughing, her throat starting to feel raw. A short while later, the filly made another attempt. “What happened?” she wheezed, voice cracking and eyes glistening. Trixie poked her head out of the still-smoking wagon to stare at Sweetie Belle. “A budding unicorn that’s never set off a mana marble before?” she asked. “You must be pulling Trixie’s leg.” Sweetie stared right back, eyebrow raised. “A ma…” She trailed off with a wheeze, before coughing fitfully. Recovered, she began again, “A mana marble? What?” Trixie returned the filly’s look of bewilderment. “Correction: a budding unicorn that has not only never used mana marbles, but has never heard of them?” She almost sounded disgusted. “What sort of backwater town did you… Oh, right, Trixie remembers now.” She disappeared back into the wagon. Apple Bloom, throat cleared up, rolled onto her hooves and stood. She trotted over to and around the hastily wheel-stopped vehicle, surveying the damage. The filly noted—with no small amount of pride—that there was none, aside from the door having been blasted off its old, rusted hinges. “Ah told ‘em they should ‘a let me make some new ones,” she muttered, “but nooo, metalworkin’ is too daaangerous.” Reemerging from the wagon in short order, Trixie carried her books and Canterlotian outfit on her back, levitating the rest of her possessions out behind her. Piling everything up—with the outfit placed on top, almost reverently—the showmare turned back around, horn aglow. There was a rushing of wind from within the wagon, and soon the remaining smoke had been sucked out of it and into the open air. “Back to the matter at hoof,” said Trixie, rounding on Sweetie Belle and glaring hard. “You may very well be as ignorant as you claim, but no matter!” Sweetie scooted away from the mare, eyes wide. “That was half of Trixie’s supply of smoke spells you set off! What do you have to say for yourself?” “S-spells? What?” said Sweetie, voice still cracking. Trixie’s gaze softened somewhat, and she huffed. “Mana marbles are spells. Trixie supposes that if you are to be her apprentices, that may have to be the first lesson when we reach our first stop. Just imagine if you had poked your little horn around in Trixie’s fireworks spells!” Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Um, guys?…” she called. The others turned to see her looking worriedly about herself. Trees and shrubs, open sky and living earth, stark nature with not a sign of civilization surrounded the group in all directions. “Where are we right now?” A gasp, followed by more coughing. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, and managed, “This isn’t Canterlot.” “Well…” said Trixie, her expression blank, “of course it isn’t? Trixie’s company has been heading towards Dappleton for over an hour now.” “What?” the fillies shouted in the same instant. Trixie’s face scrunched up, almost a scowl. “It is as Trixie has said. Her company left Canterlot over an hour ago, and has been travelling down its mountain since.” Silence reigned, and Trixie noted the fillies’ slack-jawed expressions. “Where is the issue?” she said. “Trixie told you before that she was leaving Canterlot. You all made it sound as though you wanted to come along. Really, you should feel honored!” Sweetie Belle found her voice. “You didn’t say you were leaving the very next day!” “Trixie hadn’t thought she'd needed to!” the mare shot back, head held high. “She has her new outfit, so why should she have stayed any longer in that awful place? Rich ponies are far too attached to their bits for Trixie’s liking.” “B-but, wait…” Sweetie looked searchingly at her two friends. “Wasn’t the plan to apprentice in Canterlot for a bit and then go home once we had our cutie marks?” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Plan?” she asked. “Trixie does not recall being asked about any plans. Trixie is a traveling prestidigitator, and you three are, apparently, her apprentices. The implication is that there will be traveling, and that you will be involved, no?” “Um,” said Apple Bloom, “would y’all excuse us fer just a minute, Miss Trixie?” Trixie shrugged and began to load up the wagon once more. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered together some distance away and huddled up. Sweetie spoke first. “This wasn’t what we talked about doing.” “Yeah,” said Apple Bloom, nodding. “Ah might ‘a been fine with spendin’ a few days, maybe a week tryin’ to get our cutie marks in Canterlot. This ain’t the same thing.” Scootaloo bit her lip, but stayed silent. “Exactly,” said Sweetie Belle. “The way I see it, we might have already taken this too far. Everypony back home is sure to be worried about us by now. Maybe we should just go back to Canterlot and take the next train home.” Apple Bloom pondered for a moment, frowning, and then nodded once again. “Ya have a point… We should prob’ly head back. Next time we do somethin’ like this, we’ll have a solid plan—and we’ll have plenty ‘a time to come up with one, knowin’ how long they like ta ground us for this sorta thing.” Scootaloo was biting her lip so hard that she was beginning to draw blood. Apple Bloom left the huddle. “Miss Trixie?” she called. The mare in question looked up from her belongings. “Do you suppose y’all could take us back to Canterlot? We’re thinkin’ it might be best to head home.” “Back to Canterlot?” she asked, with no small amount of incredulity. “Of course Trixie won’t do such a thing.” “What?” asked Sweetie. “Why not?” Trixie pointed a hoof behind the Crusaders. They turned as one, at least a mile of steep, uphill pathways meeting their eyes. “The base of the mountain is not far now,” she said, “but Canterlot might as well be days away. Coming down has taken it out of Trixie—she would not exhaust herself going back up immediately afterwards. Not that Trixie wants to go back up in the first place.” “Okay…” Sweetie Belle said, sighing heavily as she looked back to the mountain. “I suppose we’ll just have to head up on our own.” Trixie’s eyes widened. “You most certainly will not!” she said, authority in her voice. “Whether Trixie likes it or not, she is somewhat responsible for you three now. She can’t have you scaling a mountain only to tire yourselves before you’re even halfway up. Once night falls, the paths are no longer safe.” “Hold up,” said Scootaloo, raising a hoof, “I’m stuck back on ‘responsible for us’. Last time we talked, you didn’t want anything to do with us.” Trixie held her chin high. “The Great and Powerful Trixie does nothing by half measures.” She swept a hoof at the wagon. “You declared and subsequently proved to her your intentions—both quite loudly, she should say—and so you now find yourselves on the road and firmly sheltered beneath her proverbial wing. Simple as that.” “So…” said Apple Bloom, “what’re ya sayin’? That we’re stuck with ya?” Trixie scoffed, but couldn’t quite manage to hide a frown. “Certainly not. If you’ve changed your whimsical little minds about wanting to be Trixie’s apprentices, she does not care to have you accompany her any longer than you have to. Come now, Dappleton is nearby. You can all send your families a letter and have them pick you up.” “Letters!” said Sweetie. “Oh, that would have been smart… We didn’t even say goodbye to anypony—we could have sent them a letter anytime we wanted!” Trixie nodded, chest thrust forward proudly as though she’d been complimented. “Send one when Trixie’s company reaches town. Trixie was planning to stay there for a day or two in any case. She will wait with you until your guardians arrive.” As Trixie made to hitch herself back up to the now-loaded wagon, Sweetie Belle dashed up and hugged one of the mare’s forelegs. “Thank you for your help, Miss Trixie.” Trixie stared down at the filly wrapped around her leg. “Yes, yes. Trixie is the height of benevolence.” She lifted her hoof and waggled it, but Sweetie managed to hold on. The mare struggled to keep herself from smirking. “You have her permission to release her leg now.” Sweetie gave one last squeeze before letting go and walking back over to her friends. Trixie, now properly hitched, began walking down the path once more, the fillies following behind. Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie Belle, and said in a weary voice, “This trip could ‘a gone a whole lot better…” Sweetie nodded. “I thought for sure we’d have our cutie marks after this. It always seemed like everypony in my family had to go someplace else and try new things to get theirs.” “Same fer mine,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah mean, there’s prob’ly somethin’ to it. Ah’m willin’ ta give it another try some other time, if we can just work out a plan.” “No stowing away on trains,” Sweetie declared. “We work out where we’re gonna stay before we leave,” said Apple Bloom. Sweetie continued, “We pick a place to go and we stick to it.” Raising her head, Scootaloo finally saw fit to unbury her teeth from her bottom lip. Apple Bloom started, “We—” “Guys?” Scootaloo’s companions turned their heads to her. “What if… What if I said I wanted to keep going?” “What?” asked Sweetie Belle. “What do you mean ‘keep going’?” Scootaloo’s brows furrowed. “I mean right here, right now. I don’t want to go home yet.” “We already talked about this, Scoots,” said Sweetie, frowning. “Canterlot is already pretty far from Ponyville. We can’t go even further—think how long it would take us to get back.” “Sweetie Belle’s right,” said Apple Bloom. “Everypony back home is prob’ly worried sick about us. And I know AJ’s gonna be mad as hay already. Just think how everypony must be feelin’, Scoots. Think about yer m—” “Look,” Scootaloo cut in, “we have a huge opa— oppera—… Um.” “‘Opportunity’,” said Sweetie. Scootaloo scowled at her friend. “We have a big chance here! We could go on an adventure like Rainbow Dash or your sisters are always doing—there’d be no way we wouldn’t get our cutie marks after having one of those!” The frown on Sweetie’s face deepened. “That doesn’t sound like a good idea, Scoots. My sister’s told me the kinds of things she’s had to do, and it always sounds really dangerous. I don’t think I’d even know what to do in a fight against some raging Tartarusbeast or evil dictator.” “Ferget the danger,” said Apple Bloom. “Ah got responsibilities. Ah can’t just leave the farm fer a month to go fight evil stuff. AJ’s always saying how much trouble ah’d get in fer that sorta thing.” A moment passed, silent but for the sounds of hooffalls on the well-trod path and the chirping of nearby birds and insects. The little pegasus began to bite her lip again. “I hate to do this…” she said, “but I’m invock— invocal—” Sweetie Belle sighed. “‘Invoking’.” “Oh, whatever!” Scootaloo shouted, tossing a hoof up. “I’m using Cutie Mark Commandment Number Three.” Sweetie gasped, her hoof flying up to cover her mouth. Apple Bloom looked between her companions. “An’ that was which, again?” Sweetie Belle answered, “‘Once set upon the crusade, thou shalt not place above the acquisition of thine mark any of life’s everyday trivialities.’ It was one of Scootaloo’s.” Scootaloo nodded vigorously. “Yeah, that one! ‘You can’t just drop crusading right in the middle so you can go do regular stuff.’ You guys have to keep going!” “Now that ain’t fair!” Apple Bloom shot, all but scowling. “Ya can’t just up and say somethin’ like that.” “Yeah,” said Sweetie, “I don’t think you understand the commitment here, Scoots. If we actually go through with this like you want, we would be gone from Ponyville for forever—maybe even a couple of weeks! And that’s only if something doesn’t eat us.” Scootaloo’s little wings flared. “Oh, when I want to use Number Three to have us go do something awesome, I get rejected, but when you”—Scootaloo pointed a hoof at Apple Bloom—“use Number Two to make us do your sister’s job for a week, and you”—the hoof moved to Sweetie Belle—“use Number Six to make us do things that you won’t even let me bring up anymore, everything’s fine?” A guilty frown wormed its way onto Apple Bloom’s face, and Sweetie Belle’s glare threatened to burn holes in the dirt below her. “Guys, seriously,” Scootaloo continued, “you’re making this out to be a much bigger deal than it really is.” “Scootaloo, it is a big deal,” said Apple Bloom, her tone more even than before. “Ponies’ll be worryin’ about us.” Scootaloo groaned. “They always worry about us,” she said. “Look, that letter thing was a good idea, right? Why can’t we just do that? Send letters as we go?” Sweetie Belle lifted her head back up. “I guess that isn’t the worst idea—it would keep everypony from worrying quite so much. But Scootaloo, are you really sure you want us all to do this? ‘Honorbound’ or not, do you really want to be away from home for that lo—” “Yes,” said Scootaloo, voice as firm as the look she was giving. Another weary sigh left Sweetie’s throat. A moment later, “If you’re really this set on it, I guess I’ll give you this one. But when we get back, the Commandments are getting amended.” Apple Bloom’s frown persisted. “Guess ah don’t have much of a choice, huh?” She looked to her friends’ faces, Scootaloo’s expression still hard, but with a glint of eagerness in her eyes, and Sweetie Belle’s looking flat, and perhaps a touch regretful. “Ah can’t believe ah’m sayin’ this, but fine.” Scootaloo’s stern face instantly gave way to an ecstatic grin. “So that’s that!” she affirmed. “We’re going! You two can think up what you want to say in your first letters—I already pretty much have mine in mind—and we’ll write ‘em up and send ‘em off once we get to Dappleville. Or whatever Trixie called it.” “Oh, right,” said Apple Bloom. “Speakin’ ‘a Miss Trixie…” The fillies nodded to one another, heading around to the front of the wagon. Trixie was there, pulling at a steady pace, a bored look on her face. “Miss Trixie?” said Sweetie Belle, tone apprehensive. Trixie shook her head lightly, as if pulling herself from her thoughts, and looked to the fillies. “Mm? What do you require of Trixie?” All but hopping along giddily, Scootaloo answered, “We changed our minds! We’re gonna go along with you.” The mare wore a slight grimace. “Really?” she asked. “And you do mean that? Trixie would prefer that if you’re going to stop, you stop now, lest Trixie’s company arrive at its next destination with all of you even more homesick.” Though Apple Bloom wore a scowl, she said, “We promise. We’ll be goin’ along with ya fer a couple ‘a weeks, or at least till we get our cutie marks. That alright?” Trixie grinned widely. “Ha! That is acceptable, little one—Trixie knew that nopony could resist the prospect of a working relationship with her. She’d thought you’d all gone insane!” The group was passing through the last trees of the mountain’s forest. The dirt path widened and stretched onwards, snaking through a great field of wheat and corn before meeting a town that stood atop a hill. Trixie’s smile shrunk, lip curling up into her more characteristic smirk. “Trixie believes that the time has come for her apprentices to begin earning their keep. Step the first to putting on a successful show: when you reach your destination, keep your eyes peeled for any open, crowded, legal-to-put-on-a-performance-in-looking areas.” The fillies nodded, and the group walked on. - - - - - 1 Sweet Apple Dr. Ponyville, EQS 2403 9/17/1428 Dear AJ, Mac, and Granny I miss you guys already. Sis, I know you always told me that the farm is our home and that we all belong there, but you also told me you had to leave to find that out. I hope you can under stand that I felt like I needed to do what I’m doing. I'm tired of ponies telling me that I'll find out who I am if I have pashence paysh if I wait. What kind of boring self am I ever going to find if I find her by just sitting around doing normal stuff? Big Mac, you're always gabbing on about how much I mean to you since Mom left, so I now know this isn't going to be easy for you. Not a whole bunch I can say to set your mind at eas about that, accept that I promise to be careful. We're even going to be going along with an adult we're going to be aprentices for, and she's not even a stranger. Granny, I don't think I even need to say anything to you. I'm sure you under stand why I'm doing this. I'll see you all again some day. Until then, I promise to keep sending letters. I'll miss the hay out of all of you until I get back! Goodbye. And sorry again. Sincerly, Apple Bloom 44 Longstride Street Ponyville, EQS 2403-367 September the 17th, AM 1428 Dear Big Sis, As I’m sure you’re cognizant, I and my cohorts have absconded without even dispensing a valediction. Hi, Rarity. I’m sorry that Scoots, Apple Bloom, and I left without really saying anything to anypony, and I’m really sorry that we especially didn’t say goodbye. I wanted to, but Scootaloo said that if we did you all would have probably tried to stop us, which is true. Still, that didn’t sit well with me. So now I’m saying goodbye for real: “Goodbye, Sis.” Well, not really permanently, I mean. We’re going to come back to Ponyville sometime, but maybe not for a couple of weeks, or a couple of months. We love Ponyville, of course. It isn’t that we want to leave it, not really. We just want to see more of the world that there is to see. And I know telling you not to worry about us while we’re gone won’t actually get you not to, but please don’t. We have a place to sleep, and a friend to look out for us wherever we go. Even if I think she’s making us pay her. Love, and apologies, and farewells-for-now, Sarah “Sweetie Belle” Bellany Gem P.S. Please give this letter to Mom and Dad after you’re done reading it. Tell them I said goodbye to them too, and I love them. 38 South Fields Road Ponyville, EQS 2403 9/17/1428 Dear Swelling Ze Mom, Don’t flip out when you get home and see this and find out I’m not there. Don’t get all sad or anything either. This isn’t your fault (not everything is, seriously). This was my choice, and I’m making it. I have a good bunch of ponies with me who will be there for me. Almost like a family. So don’t be worried about me. You know I can handle myself. Bye for a while, Mom. From, Scootal Sam “Scoo Your Little Chickadee