Applebloom held the scroll firmly in her jaws as she climbed into the bright purple balloon. Already inside was Sweetie Belle, gazing solemnly at a small piece of parchment. Scootaloo flitted around the balloon, anxious to be on her way. All three of them had one thing on their mind.
There to send the balloon on its way was Spike. The dragon had grown over the past years, and was just too large to stand on the balcony where the balloon sat. So he managed to convince Princess Sparkle to let him out of his den. “It’s a risk you’re willing to take, isn’t it?” he had asked her. She agreed, and Spike was free to stretch his wings since the first year he got them.
“Are we all ready, Crusaders?” Applebloom called through the scroll. Sweetie Belle absently nodded her head, still staring at the parchment, and Scootaloo gave a salute. “Light ‘er up, Spike!” The purple beast lowered his head and a small spark of fire flew from his nostrils. It hit the bottom of the balloon, and it began to rise into the sky.
“Oh, wait!” Spike cried, grabbing the basket of the balloon with two clawed fingers. “Twilight wanted you three to have this.” He placed in the basket a simple brown box. The lid was sealed with some type of magic that prevented it from being open. The trio stared at their newest burden.
“What’s that?” Scootaloo asked.
Spike shrugged. “Don’t know. Good luck guys.” The dragon was gone in a puff of purple smoke. The Princess’s doing.
The Crusaders stared at the box for a little while longer, and the balloon continued the float into the sky. Sweetie Belle was the first to turn away, returning her stony stare to the parchment. Scootaloo was second, as she zipped up above the others’ veiw. Applebloom then managed to pull her eyes away from the strange thing and watched as Canterlot Castle began to grow smaller and smaller the more they edged toward the Foal Mountains. To the south Applebloom could see Ponyville, and next to it Sweet Apple Acres. She wondered what Applejack could be doing at the moment. Probably mashing up apples for the upcoming Cider Season.
“Watch out, Applebloom!” Scootaloo called from above. “We’re getting kind of close to Canterlot Mountain!” These words pulled Applebloom from her thoughts and she began to steer the balloon away from the towering rock.
Applebloom rolled the scroll she carried out, revealing a map of Equestria. There was a red A marked on the corner of the paper. “...Our first stop is Manehattan! Babs is there!” She began to steer the balloon northeast. The Crystal Mountains shone in the distance. They were off to a good start.
“Sweetie Belle, is everything okay? You haven’t said a word all day.” Sweetie Belle managed to tear away from the parchment and gave Applebloom a forced smile.
“Nothing you need to worry about, AB,” Sweetie sighed, at last stowing the paper away in the dark purple saddlebags that hung on her back. “So, Manehattan, huh? Are you excited to see Babs again?”
Applebloom grinned widely. “After all these years? Of course!” She stared down at the expanse of land below them. “Ever since we got our cutie marks, Babs hasn’t really communicated with me. The last time I saw her was Granny Smith’s funeral, and we barely spoke three words to each other.”
Scootaloo landed in the basket gracefully and pulled her goggles up above her eyes. “Okay, once we clear the Foal Mountains, we should be able to reach Manehattan in about a day and a half. Unless we get hit with a storm, which would slow us down by a day or two. But it’s not supposed to storm for another week, so we should be good.”
Applebloom snorted. “You know how unreliable the weather ponies can be these days. Without Rainbow Dash to help them-” She was cut short by a glare from Sweetie Belle. They both glanced at Scootaloo, who was now looking down at the floor of the basket, her eyes closed.
“Oh, Scoots, I didn’t-”
“I’ll fly ahead to, um… check the… um…” Scootaloo unfurled her wings and took to the sky in a flash of orange. And she was gone.
“Ah! Already?!” Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof on the edge of the basket as she began searching for their friend. “We haven’t even been in the air for an hour and Scootaloo has already left! This is going to be a disaster!”
“She’ll come back, Sweetie Belle. She said she’s just flying ahead. Besides, she knows how important this mission is to Princess Sparkle,” Applebloom reassured the white unicorn. “At least I hope she does…”