//------------------------------// // What a Twist! // Story: The Cutie Mark Crusaders Do Manehattan // by Diablomuerte2 //------------------------------// What a Twist! Applebloom had set off to go find Babs Seed, she knew where the filly lived but the map wasn't as easy to read as she predicted it would be. She was taking Twist with her because the rules were you can't run off on your own the entire trip. There were special circumstances when it came to using the little fillies room and other obvious personal boundary issues. Twist was just excited to be spending time with her friend. She had no cares as to their destination. "So Applebloom want one of my specialty candy?" She asked her while pulling one from her saddlebag. She didn't know what to say to a filly who was forced to separate from her friends to explore new friendships, it wasn't something that was taught in class. "Nah that's okay, I jus' want to hang out with ya and Babs... I don't need any gifts." She said with a soft smile. She wasn't trying to be rude but she wasn't a candy kinda filly; she loved apples and apple products. She had been raised on an apple farm and was constantly fed apples her whole life. She had packed some snacks for herself and felt they would suffice. She looked at the other filly and noticed the sad look of rejection on her face. "Actually I think I'll take one and try it out." She said with an honest tone. The Apple family is known for their honesty, well most of the time at least. "Alright here you go." Twist said with a smile. She handed over the candy that granted her a cutie mark and watched her friend take a bite into it. She waited for a reaction as time seemingly stood still. "It's kinda tasty." Appleblom replied while chewing the rest of the candy and smiling. "It's a bit mintier than I expected though." She made a face to express the mild discontent of the after taste. "Still, it's really good." She admitted while finishing the candy and hoping she wasn't offered another. She was going to stick to fritters and pies for sweets. Twist was smiling, she was able to not only spend time with a friend, but her friend liked her candy as well. It was a good feeling when something a filly makes gets appreciated. She was a bit more cheerful and had an extra bounce in her step. Twist had always been known to try and look at the bright side of thing. Regardless of how awkward she appeared to be both physically and verbally, she was always being bright and sunny. Which is why most fillies and colts were kind towards her. Applebloom was feeling even more sorry for having seemingly abandoned the filly for her other friends. She was hoping that there would be a way for everypony to hang out, maybe the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't just have to be about getting cutie marks. She was thinking of many things and didn't realize she was heading off course. "I'm sure she lives over here somewhere." The farm filly convinced herself, even as the buildings didn't become recognizable. Twist didn't care if they were lost, she was having fun traveling. She could easily take the map and find the house herself but why ruin Applebloom’s moment of leading. She felt if her friend wanted to lead, then let her it wasn't causing anypony harm. They had an entire day to spend and it wasn't like Babs was just going to pop out of the blue and question them. ____________________________________________________________ Babs Seed had been roaming the streets of Manehattan because she had requested a day off to see her cousin, who was supposed to have arrived at her house an hour ago. She was looking for any blank flanks with similar colored features as her cousin. She was searching almost aimlessly until she spotted some filly who looked like her cousin with another filly who looked awkward following her. "Hey Cuz, is that you?" She said in her usual thick tone. She had a voice that was passable for a colt. It wasn't feminine and her accent drove the point. "Babs!" Applebloom excitedly screamed out before tackling her cousin and hugging her. Babs Seed enjoyed bonding with her cousin since they hardly saw each other since the last Apple Family Reunion, which was almost ruined by Applejack. The Apple family was widespread and from all parts of Equestria. Yet, they always came together for an Apple Family Reunion. It was almost a sacred tradition to attend it. Not all the time can all Apples make it but most of the time they try their hardest to attend. "How you doin’ Cuz, and is that a new friend of yours?" She motioned to the gawky filly while getting off the floor. Twist got closer when she noticed she was being addressed. "Hi I'm Twist, it's nice to meet you." She said with a smile as she extended a hoof to Babs. Babs slowly shook it almost unsure. She didn't remember a Twist from before, it was a bit off putting not knowing any of Applebloom's new friends. "Well Twist ain't a new friend Babs, she's an old one that ya never met. I mean ya was jus' around long enough ta meet the other crusaders." She said with a pout. "Yeah well hopefully I can go by some other time and hang out again. This time with no drama from those other two fillies. What are their names again? Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon right?" She said unsure. "Well... about that Cuz' ya might want ta keep an open mind as we travel cause I've some bad news." Applebloom stated with a fake grin. ____________________________________________________________ Babs Seed was not a happy filly. She had just been informed that the bullies had been teamed up with the other crusaders. She wasn't glad they would have the chance to pick on her friends some more. "It's time we do something about this Applebloom. Those fillies will never learn their lesson and telling their parents won't do anything. I think it's time we handled them ourselves." She suggested while walking ahead of them leading the group. "Ummm' Babs... do we gotta? I mean I came ta hang out with ya, not fight Silver or Diamond." Applebloom replied with a pout. "Yeah... I mean if you beat them up then Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle will be in trouble." Twist added hoping to help calm the recently met Babs Seed. "So what? We just going to let them bully our friends? I mean, you know they aren't going to be nice to them?" Babs asked while snorting in anger. " Well ta be fair... it’s only been Diamond Tiara who's done the worst of it all, Silver Spoon jus' kinda followed her around." Applebloom stated in defense. "So Silver Spoon won't be picking on Sweetie, but I doubt Diamond Tiara will be nice to Scootaloo. I mean she absolutely despises blank flanks, like us." Babs said while pounding her hoof on the floor. She was ready to teach that snob a lesson. "Why do you want to hurt her so bad? I mean she never bullied you did she?" Twist asked inquisitively. She wasn't sure why Babs was so upset with the bullies if she wasn't their target. "Oh I don't want to hurt her physically, I just want to make sure she isn't picking on your friends... but I guess we can deal with it when we cross that bridge." Babs said in a softer tone. She realized that she was sounding like a bully to her cousin and friend. She wasn't trying to be a mean filly, but she was worried about leaving Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in the hooves of those fillies. "I don't think we have to worry about Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon hasn't been mean to her since they got partnered. I still worry about Scootaloo though, she seemed so down when we met before coming here." Applebloom stated with a pout. This caused the group to stop and realize they hadn't been paying attention to where they were going. Babs decided to take them on a tour of Manehattan. She was hoping they could visit many of the sites Manehattan had to offer before they had to leave. What Babs didn't know and, the others forgot was they had to meet Ms. Cheerilee and Big Mac around noon to do a check in. ____________________________________________________________ Cheerilee and Big Mac were with most of the colts and fillies in the meeting spot that was supposed to have lead to the Museum entrance. Cheerilee started counting off all the fillies and checking names from the list. She was missing six little fillies and that got her worried. Big Mac noticed Cheerilee was in a tizzy and decided to see what the hullabaloo was about. "Ms. Cheerilee, what seems ta be the problem?" He asked in a low tone as to not alert the other students that some were missing. "Well it seems your little sister and her friends haven't checked in yet and, I am just worried about them forgetting to show up." She said with a bit of hesitation. Big Mac was a gentle stallion and she knew that, but his little sister is missing and that could aggravate the usually calm stallion. "Well... I trust my little sister, I know she’ll remember and is just runnin' late. If she doesn't show up in the next five minutes then we can begin to worry." He said in a somewhat distressed tone. He was trying to keep his cool, but he had heard some crazy things about his little sister and her friends doing random and dangerous activities all for the sake of their unearned cutie marks that haven't appeared yet. All but one filly and colt had been unnerved by the fact they were being delayed, Dinky wasn't noticing her friend Twist around and decided to look through the crowd of ponies. She managed to see Cheerilee and Big Mac talking to each other in a somewhat hushed tone. She sneaked up to them and waited to hear what was going on. Big Mac noticed the little filly and nudged Cheerilee softly and pointed to the little filly who thought she was unseen. "I think she's lookin' ta eavesdrop on us." He said with a chuckle. "Oh I see... she must be worried too. I do hope you’re right and your sister and her friends will be here shortly... I would hate to lose students in a big city like this." She said in a whisper making sure Dinky couldn't hear them. ____________________________________________________________ Applebloom, Twist, and Babs Seed were prowling the streets in search of landmarks and signs to take pictures in front of. They were so entranced by site seeing they had completely missed the deadline and were considered missing. They didn't have a care in the world as they were having fun. Twist thought she would feel like a third wheel when Babs came along but the exact opposite became true. She was given plenty attention by both fillies and that made her smile. After they ate some lunch she remembered something about having to meet with Cheerilee at one point but couldn't pinpoint why the thought was hitting her brain. She just ignored it for the sake of hanging out. "So where are we going next?" She asked the other fillies while beaming. "Well I think we should hit the park up. I mean, only other place is the mall... I don't think any of us wants to go there do ya's?" She asked. "Well... I'm sure I don’t want ta go ta a fancy mall." Applebloom said. Being a humble farm filly meant she wasn't into fancy things and diamond rings. Plus she had a sneaking suspicion they would run into Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo and she didn't want to give Babs a reason to get angry for nothing. "Alright then the park it is." Babs replied with a smile. They headed off to the park all the while avoiding the impromptu search party that was looking for them. They had no idea just how much of a panic they caused and wouldn't find out unless they were caught but it seems at each turn they just narrowly missed the frantic teacher running all over Manehattan. ____________________________________________________________ When they arrived at the park they noticed that there was something very wrong with the picture. It seemed most ponies were enjoying their day and just sitting side by side or snuggling one another in a tame display of affection. They didn't mind all that since picnics usually lead to snuggling or some form of pda. The big problem at hand was that Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon were openly snuggling without a care in the world. To most other ponies they wouldn't see the issue with it since they would assume they are friends. To the group of ponies that just arrived it was a nightmare. They were flabbergasted since Silver Spoon, until recently, was an enemy of theirs. They didn't know what was going on, but they were going to investigate.