//------------------------------// // xxxvi - Prometheus the Accursed // Story: The Path of Absolution - Punishment // by Morningstar1337 //------------------------------// The Cutie Mark Crusaders woke up in the schoolyard again. They grew tired of the loops. “Ugh,” Sweetie Belle groaned. The fillies saw Featherweight fly away, one of few constants they knew in the loops. Apple Bloom sighed. She wanted just one more chance to meet Applejack again. She wanted to be able to apologize to her sister. Scootaloo just wanted to escape this loop. She knew another constant. She knew that Rainbow Dash would not appear on the first day. Sweetie Belle wondered what would’ve happened if she and her friends weren’t part of the school paper to begin with. She wondered if they would have any chance to make amends to their sisters. Elsewhere in the school, Silver Spoon woke up. She looked around and saw that it was recess. She didn’t see Diamond Tiara anywhere in the school though. She saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders sulking on a table. Silver Spoon knew they were connected to Diamond Dust, but she also wondered why they weren’t acting like their usual selves. The bell rang. Recess was over. The fillies went back to class. Silver Spoon decided to approach them after class and find out what was going on. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie woke up inside Twilight’s library. Twilight wondered, ‘What happened?’ before everyone remembered the ritual. Rarity and Applejack felt some relief. Rainbow Dash flew up and checked the clock. “It’s 1:15 right now.” “1:15?” Applejack said. “Apple Bloom’ll be home in a hour.” She knew that she had to find her sister soon. “Luna said something about four loops, right?” Pinkie Pie said. Twilight nodded. The ponies noticed an issue of the Foal Free Press on the ground. Rarity took a look at the paper. She saw a picture of Sweetie Belle in one of her dresses. She remembered that she forced her sister into that outfit a few days ago. Rarity wondered who took that picture. “Come on y’all,” Applejack said. She opened the doorway to find a forcefield outside. “Um, Twi?” Twilight remembered she cast an forcefield over her library a few weeks back, before the whole mess started. She lowered the barrier and the group went to find the Crusaders. In Canterlot, Lyra, Bon-Bon, Thunderlane, Star Song, Flitter, and Cloudchaser took some time to have fun. Cloudchaser was still worried about Gale force, or rather, what would happen if Gale Force saw the windigos again. A few hours later, They decided to talk inside the donut shop. “...So,” Bon-Bon said. “You’re part of Cloudsdale’s weather team?” “Yeah,” Flitter said. “Though, because of the windigos, we haven’t been round Cloudsdale much.” “I’m not surprised,” Lyra said. She knew she saw Thunderlane, Flitter, and Cloudchaser around Ponyville before. “So, who’s your leader?” Bon-Bon said. “A revenge obsessed pegasus in the hospital,” Cloudchaser whispered so softly nopony but Thunderlane noticed. She said, “Our leader is at the hospital now. He got badly hurt.” They recalled the last few days, then looked outside and saw some pegasi helping to defrost the city. “We gotta go,” Thunderlane said. The pegasi paid for their food and left. Flitter said, “See you soon.” Lyra and Bon-Bon paid for their food and left as well. The ponies noticed that the sky was overcast in parts of the city. When school was over, the fillies went home. Silver Spoon trailed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She wanted to find out how they associated with Diamond Dust. The Crusaders, meanwhile, went around town for several hours. They gave up on finding their sisters. The Crusaders saw that same mare ranting on the phone again and avoided her. What she was yelling about was of no interest to them anymore. After a while, Sweetie Belle noticed some sounds. She said, “Did you hear anything?” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shrugged. The Crusaders looked back. Silver Spoon saw this head movement and tried to hide. “Silver Spoon?” Apple Bloom said. The three fillies were confused. Silver Spoon stopped after hearing Apple Bloom’s voice. She knew she was caught. Sweetie Belle said, “What are you doing here?” Never in any of the iterations of their loop had they seen Silver Spoon. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom wondered if Diamond Tiara was with her. The fillies then noticed something else was off. Silver Spoon decided to talk in private. The fillies decided to go to the Crusaders’ tree house. Twilight and her friends decided to search Sweet Apple Acres for the fillies. They searched the main field, they searched the north, east, and south fields, and they searched near the barn, but they couldn't find any trace of her. Applejack saw another issue of the Foal Free Press. The paper that catalyzed the Crusader’s exile and everything that came after. Applejack saw the sky grow darker as night approached. The group saw that it was getting late. Applejack led her friends to the gates of the farmland. There they saw three familiar shapes. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo took Silver Spoon to the farm to ask her if she knew about the loops. The four fillies noticed Applejack and her friends were at Sweet Apple Acres. The Crusaders were both overjoyed and confused. Applejack saw the fillies and went towards them. Rarity and Rainbow dash were surprised by this. ‘Well, finding them was easier than we thought,’ Rainbow Dash thought. Apple Bloom said, “Applejack, you’re here! I’m so sorry about the gossip. I promise not to do anything like that ever again.” Applejack said, “Yeah, but I overreacted. I’m sorry about how harsh I was back then.” The group noticed a slight change in the air. They felt somehow unsafe at the farm. They decided to go to the library to discuss the loops and what happened to them.