//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 Learning Self-Defense and First Aid // Story: The Adventures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Fillies on a Mission! // by Wolfie 03 //------------------------------// “Before we go anywhere else, I say we go and learn some Kung Fu.” Sweetie Belle resolutely stated as she and Apple Bloom sat in middle of their Clubhouse, waiting for their last friend to arrive before starting the day's adventures. “Yeah, Ah guess so. Scootaloo sure won't mind havin' tah learn from Rainbow Dash.” Apple Bloom shrugged just as the peagasus in question walked through the door. “Who wouldn't want to learn from Rainbow Dash? She's awesome!” Her two friends looked over and saw that the orange filly was loaded down with stuffed saddlebags and packs on her back, weighting her down and making her sound a little breathless. It was actually amazing that she had gotten into the Clubhouse at all, barely squeezing through the doorway with all the things she was carrying. “Scootaloo! What's going on?” Sweetie Belle asked as she and Apple Bloom rushed over to help unpack everything. “Yeah, ya look like yer movin'. This gots tah be everythin' ya own.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle picked up the extra packs on the peagasus' back, allowing Scootaloo to stand up straighter and not practically drag along the ground. “This isn't everything. I got the rest in the wagon with my scooter outside.” Scootaloo panted as she took off the remaining packs. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle just had enough time to share a confused and concerned look before Scootaloo slumped onto the ground and asked a question of her own. “Guys, would it be ok if I stayed in the Clubhouse for the rest of the summer?” “Sure it would! That's what it's here fer, in case we need someplace tah stay.” Apple Bloom waved to her friends reassuringly as she looked a little worried for why Scootaloo would suddenly need to use the Clubhouse all summer long. “Let's get the rest o' yer stuff put away first, then yer'll have tah explain what's goin' on.” “Alright.” Scootaloo gave a small sigh, knowing that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were both rather stubborn and wasn't looking forward to having to explain what happened. Scootaloo had been correct in saying there was more in the wagon, all three fillies were weighed down with stuff as they helped move everything to the Clubhouse; though it only took one trip to get everything up, with each girl taking as much as they could in one setting. After putting most of the packs into the attic (which Apple Bloom promised herself to expand in the next few days) the girls all sat down in the main room of the tree house to talk. “Alright, what's goin' on Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom demanded as Sweetie Belle leaned forward to better hear what was going to be said. “Yeah, it looks like you emptied all your hideouts in a hurry. It's amazing you got it all to fit like you did.” Sweetie Belle added as Scootaloo huffed and crossed her hooves. “We should look into Crusading away from Ponyville more often.” Scootaloo stated as she stared at the wall, unwilling to look at her friends who still didn't know everything about her past which was part of her current problems. “Huh? Now, not that Ah'd mind, but why'd we have tah avoid Ponyville?” The earth pony and unicorn tilted their heads to the right in confusion as Scootaloo sighed, feeling as though she might as well get it over with. “Because of the Hudson Orphanage ponies. Hannigan, the 'care-taker' of the orphanage, sent out the older orphan ponies to collect all the runaways. Seems like she's getting a review from the Manehatten Social Workers and she needs to show that she has everything under control, starting with having all the orphans that she's been saying that she has.” The others' eyes widened at this news and they ran to shut the door and windows quickly. “How'd ya know all that Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked as she made sure nopony was nearby before shutting the door. “Yeah, and was the orphanage really all that bad?” Sweetie Belle asked as she sat next to the orange peagasus. “Yeah, it was real bad. It's a hard knocked life, no cares for you a smidge when you're in an orphanage. One of the older orphan ponies is sympathetic towards us younger ones and let me go, though she said if I got caught again she'd have to take me back.” Scootaloo's eyes were unfocused as she remembered what her life had been like before she ran away. The two friends grew concerned once more at the faraway look in the peagasus' eyes and decided to fall back onto what they knew best, crusading for their Cutie Marks. “Well, we can do today's crusadin' inside; like our martial arts cutie marks, we can go visit Rainbow Dash inside the Dojo and we'll find some other inside ones tah do.” Apple Bloom sat on Scootaloo's other side, happy to see her friend come back from her memories at the sound of her hero's name. Once Scootaloo nodded her consent, Sweetie Belle pulled out the three cloaks they had used at the talent show that were stashed in the attic. “We'll all wear disguises, nopony will notice us if we all wear them. And we'll ask Fluttershy to see if she could find Rainbow Dash for us, so we won't be wondering all over town looking for her.” The greenish-yellow and orange fillies perked up at these suggestions, this would help avoid detection for sure! Once they were properly dressed, they snuck out of their Clubhouse and headed into town. Along the way out of the farm, they came across a light orange earth pony with a tool box resting on her back who was also heading into town. The fillies wanted to see how well they could sneak and tried to get past the farm pony without notice, but Applejack caught sight of them within moments and called out to them. “Apple Bloom! What are y'all doin' with black cloaks on in the middle of summer?” Applejack demanded as she stood in front of the trio, concerned as to what they would need to wear cloaks for in the mid-morning heat. “How'd ya know it was us?”Apple Bloom asked as she threw back her hood, the others following along soon after. “Well shoot, Ah knew it was y'all 'cause we don't got another three fillies who travel together around these parts.” Applejack raised a brow at her younger sister, knowing she was dodging her question. After a few minutes of standing there, scuffing their hooves and not looking into piercing green eyes, Applejack gave them one last chance to come clean before she would have to get serious. “Apple Bloom...” “Sneaking!” Sweetie Belle suddenly cried, drawing all eyes to her. “We're trying to earn our Sneaking Cutie Marks on our way to town.” This sounded reasonable (and less likely to get them into trouble) so the others nodded along. Since they were sneaking around, this wasn't technically a lie so Applejack couldn't find fault with them, though she had the feeling that it wasn't everything they were going to do that day. “Alright, but if Ah hear about somepony being scared, teased or what have ya by some ponies in black capes...” Applejack trailed off threateningly as she looked each filly in the eye. “We won't do anything like that...” droned the three fillies as they tried to not roll their eyes. What was the point of sneaking if you went and bother others who would then know that you were there? As they all resumed their walk to town, the Crusaders far enough away that they could try to sneak, Apple Bloom felt the need to ask her sister what she was doing that morning much like the Crusaders had been asked. “So Applejack, what'cha doin' with the tools? Somethin' wrong with 'em?” Apple Bloom asked, slowly becoming concerned that they had noticed the difference in tools from having been replaced. Applejack just sighed, oblivious to her sister's sudden nervousness. “Rarity needs a helping hoof around the boutique and she don't have any tools. Ah've offered tah help fer a short while.” At this, the young unicorn perked up and began to describe what her older sister had been complaining about lately. “Oh, well, there's that painting she's always wanted to hang up, and the kitchen light has been on the blink and the bedroom door squeaks and one of the blinds won't come down straight and...” the gray-white unicorn continued to explain the entire way into town, blowing the girls' cover but at least distracting the older farm pony from what they were really planning and how nervous they were about being in town. Applejack, for her part, just sighed once more with a shake of her head, it sounded like what Rarity would say and complain about. As they were only a block away from the boutique, the other two Crusaders knew they had to go and get Sweetie Belle to stop jabbering on; so they zipped up to either side of the unicorn and put a hoof across her back to get her attention. “Oh, would you look at that. There's the boutique now, and we have to go this way. See ya Applejack.” Scootaloo said as she started to pull the unicorn away as Apple Bloom nodded along. Sweetie Belle looked at her two friends in slight confusion as they both smiled up at the farm pony. “Yeah, we'll leave ya tah yer work and we'll mosey on tah tah... Sugarcube Corner! Yeah, so, ah, bye Sis'!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo directed Sweetie Belle by the hooves they had on her back and trotted away as Applejack watched with a smirk at their odd behavior and waved goodbye to the retreating fillies. Once Applejack was out of sight, the Cutie Mark Crusaders went back to sneaking around, sticking to the shadows and heading out of town towards the notoriously shy pony's cottage. The Crusaders made it through town without indecent, though there was an older (though not yet an adult) pony who was looking closely at all the young foals in town. They had a bad feeling about the gray coated with dark-blue mane earth pony, but it was Scootaloo's hiss of “Pepper!” that made them even more weary of her. They stayed clear of the pony and while most noticed the three cloaked figures, they were gone too quickly before coming under close scrutiny. Just as they were at the edge of town a pony wearing all black with night vision goggles on appeared at their side. “Pssst!” The pony hissed at them with a hoof the side of her mouth to direct the sound. The trio gave small jumps of surprise and were about to dive for cover when the pony lifted her goggles, showing chipper blue eyes in a pink coated face. “Who are we sneaking from? Or are you spies right now? Oh oh, can I be a spy with you?! I learned from the best of the best!”” Pinkie whispered to the cowering fillies, who had lifted their hoods a little to see the party mare better. “Sssssh! We're sneaking, not spying and you'll blow our cover!” Scootaloo whispered back as she looked around to see if anypony noticed the four black dressed ponies talking in whispers. Pinkie glanced around as well and nodded subtly before fading into the shadows behind her with a wink. The Crusaders stared at where she had disappeared and made a promise to themselves to learn how she did that. After a quick check that they were still relatively undiscovered, they continued on their way. They made it to Fluttershy's without a hitch after meeting Pinkie Pie and knocked on her front door. After a minute, the door opened slightly as one teal eye looked out to see who it was; though upon seeing three hooded figures at her door, Fluttershy closed it rapidly with a squeak of fear. The Crusaders shared an eye roll before lowering their hoods and knocking once more. “Go away! Nopony here!” Came a frantic cry from inside the cottage. “Fluttershy, it's only us, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo! We jus' want tah talk with ya!” Apple Bloom yelled back as Scootaloo glanced around nervously, worried that saying her name would bring Hannigan's orphan helpers to them. “Yeah, we just need your help!” Sweetie Belle added as she knocked as well. After a moment longer, the door creaked open slightly and the nervous mare checked that it really was the fillies; once she saw that it was indeed the Crusaders, Fluttershy opened the door completely and smiled down at them. “Oh hello girls, I didn't recognize you. Why are you wearing those cloaks?” Fluttershy asked as she stepped back to allow the girls' entry. Once the cream-yellow peagasus closed the door behind them, Scootaloo gave a small sigh of relief at being inside away from prying eyes and took charge once more. “We need to find Rainbow Dash so she can teach us martial arts!” Scootaloo said as she struck a pose with her friends nodding beside her. Fluttershy was unsure if this was a good idea, or even if Rainbow Dash knew any martial arts aside from what was in the movies, but decided to humor them all the same. Rainbow Dash wouldn't let anything happen to the girls and so long as they were being watched while they practiced, it should be fine. She nodded once and looked at the girls who sat in her living room without taking off their cloaks. “Alright girls, let's go find Rainbow Dash.” As Fluttershy turned to go, she heard a small cough and some shuffling from the trio. “Well, ah, we were hopin' ya could find her fer us and bring her here.” Apple Bloom nervously said as she peered up at the peagasus. “Yeah, see, um, we're trying to earn our...” Sweetie Belle trailed off, unsure how to cover it up. “Spy Cutie Marks but if it doesn't work, we'll try for martial arts ones.” Scootaloo covered for the unicorn, leaping on the excuse given to them by Pinkie Pie of all ponies. Fluttershy gave a small frown, unsure if being spies was such a good idea but so long as nopony got hurt... “Alright. I'll be right back, so please no crusading while I'm out ok?” “Yes Fluttershy.” The trio promised, glad to have a place to hide in while they waited. After the timid flier left to find her oldest friend, the trio of fillies sat down in the middle of Fluttershy's living room. It was getting warm under the cloaks and they figured it was safe enough inside the cottage, so they took off their disguises with relieved sighs. “Whew, mah sister was right; sure is hot in those in th' middle of summer.” Apple Bloom wiped at her brow as the others nodded along. In an attempt to keep from playing or crusading in Fluttershy's house, they discussed the plan of action for the next few days. “Now Scootaloo, ya can stay at the Clubhouse as long as ya need. If ya want, we can all stay there and make it like ah long sleepover.” Apple Bloom added as she saw the orange filly's guilty look at using the Clubhouse for such a personal problem. Scootaloo felt bad about having to rely on her friends for help, she was getting used to being on her own and having to deal with her problems by herself; though it did feel nice to know that there were others who cared about what happened to her and were willing to help. “Yeah! And then we could go take a trip outside of Ponyville with nopony noticing if we come back right away or not. And it's summer vacation, so we don't have to worry about school either.” Sweetie Belle said excitedly as she sat up straighter while looking towards the others. Scootaloo began to smile at the thought of her friends helping her to hide out and their willingness to do some crusading outside of town, making it easier to avoid Hannigan's ponies and stay free of the orphanage. They got through their serious talk and moved on to what kinds of things they could try while on their trips just in time as the older mares arrived shortly at the cottage after that discussion. Rainbow Dash was able to just barely wait for Fluttershy to let her in and zoomed over to hover over the trio once inside. “Hey squirts. I heard somepony wants to learn some awesome Rainbow Dash Martial Arts?” The cyan pony asked with a smirk as she crossed her fore-hooves while Fluttershy settled down nearby to watch. “You bet!” Scootaloo shouted as she hovered for a few seconds with a large grin on her face. Her friends also grinned, happy to see their peagasus friend in high spirits once more. “Alright, come with me and I'll show you the true martial arts master at work! The Dojo is in town, so try to keep up, ok?” Rainbow Dash flew to the door and looked over her shoulder at the trio who hurriedly put their cloaks back on and ran to keep up with the speedster. Rainbow Dash paused outside of the shier mare's cottage at the sight of the three cloaked figures and recalled how Fluttershy said something about that when she found the speedster, who had been taking a nap before then. She flew down and landed in front of them. “Hey, what’s with the black robe-thingies? I'm not cool enough to be seen with?” Rainbow Dash asked with a fore-hoof to her chest as she looked at the crusaders, curious as to what they were doing and why. “Oh, no, that's not it Rainbow Dash! It's uhm, it's -” Scootaloo tried to remember their cover but was worried about upsetting her idol when Sweetie Belle cut in. “We're trying to see if sneaking is our special talent!” All three cloaked heads nodded rapidly while Rainbow Dash scratched at her chin for a moment before shrugging and taking for the open skies once more, she had seen weirder things from the local party pony and sneaking around for a special talent wasn't all that unusual compared to some of the things Pinkie Pie came up with. Though the Crusaders did lose sight of the rainbow-maned peagasus for a moment while they sneaked back into town, Apple Bloom remembered where the Dojo was and was able to get them there in no time. The three fillies managed to avoid being spotted and arrived only a minute or so after the speedster, who was waiting with little patience at the doorway. She was standing up against the wall with her fore-hooves crossed as she tapped her right hoof against the other as she looked around for the girls. Once she noticed the three hooded figures coming from the shadows, she frowned a little as she turned to face them. “What took you guys so long? I was here in ten seconds!” Rainbow Dash asked as she landed back onto all fours once more. “Oh, sorry Rainbow Dash; we were, we were trying to earn our Sneaking Cutie Marks.” Scootaloo said as she fidgeted in place, worried about annoying her hero and getting caught. Rainbow Dash frowned for a little longer before shrugging and heading inside. “Alright, well, let's get started.” The others were ecstatic and as soon as the Dojo's doors closed behind them they threw off their cloaks and lined up in front of the cyan peagasus in single file on the tatami mats. They couldn't keep still nor hide how excited they were to learn martial arts from the heroic pony. Rainbow Dash noticed this and felt a little better about having been kept waiting; she put on her baseball cap and whistle from where she had stashed them after Apple Bloom's first attempt at martial arts. She walked up and down the line of fillies and tried to look intimidating and impressive before starting her speech that she had thought up while waiting for the girls. “So you want to learn the art of self-defense? The way of the Martial Artists? From the most awesome flier in Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at each filly. “YES!” They cried as one, excited to learn. “It WON'T be easy! A martial artist needs to be tougher than tough, willing to go to any lengths to train your body and mind to learn the awesome style of Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow Dash said as she stood resolutely in front of the girls who looked back at her in awe at the description of martial arts they would be learning that day. “That's so cool!” Scootaloo jumped up a little, thrilled to be learning from the peagasus. “Wow!!!” Sweetie Belle was amazed, the older mare made it sound very cool. Apple Bloom was just as excited as the other two, even if she wouldn't be getting a cutie mark since she already tried to learn martial arts, and nodded rapidly with a grin. For the next two hours the girls worked with the older peagasus, learning various kicks, chops and holds of 'Awesome Martial Arts', as taught by the most awesome pony around. While Rainbow Dash may not have actual training, she had watched lots of martial arts films and did lots of practicing on her own, which combined with her natural agility and talent meant that she made the 'Awesome Martial Arts' work pretty well for herself. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, on the other hoof, did not do so well; they may have gained a little balance from some of their previous adventures as well as being in actual combat, but that didn't mean they could suddenly do martial arts. They tried hard and weren't that badly hurt even after their first few failures to do the moves properly; they still continued to practice no matter the pain. Rainbow Dash was actually rather impressed with the girls, they didn't stop trying. Even as Sweetie Belle knocked the sandbag over on top of herself, Apple Bloom toppled the wooden training pole over onto herself and the others who were waiting their turn to try, or Scootaloo flew into the wall after trying to land a hit on the cyan mare in a mock battle, they still tried to keep going. After a while though, Rainbow Dash knew that she had to call it a day. Sure, the fillies weren't badly bloodied and were still standing upright, they now had a collection of bumps and bruises from trying to learn martial arts and Rainbow Dash could almost feel Fluttershy's disapproving eyes on her at the state of the girls' health. “Uhm, alright girls, I guess it didn't really work out... Uh, how about we stop by Fluttershy's real quick before you get to any other plans for the day?” Rainbow Dash asked while trying to appear nonchalant, the girls being so enthusiastic about what they've learned that they didn't notice how Rainbow Dash seemed to look each of them over and flinched at each injury they got during practice. Since the cyan peagasus was indeed a quick mare and couldn't help but try to save others, she had managed to prevent the accidents from getting worse than they were. This did not mean that she was able to prevent them from happening, a lot of the time she was stunned at how badly the Crusaders seemed to do that she only realized they were going to get hurt after the fact had happened. Rainbow Dash knew she would have to make sure absolutely nothing was wrong with the fillies before she would feel at ease about the day's activities and the best way was by going to the one pony who knew her best. “Sure, then how 'bout we git ourselves fixed up afterwards. We don't want anypony to wonder what happened tah us.” Apple Bloom said to the others who nodded at the idea, they wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves when they haven't even done anything yet. “Thanks Rainbow Dash, that was an awesome lesson! I can't wait for next time!” Scootaloo said as the three put their cloaks back on before heading out of the Dojo. “Yeah, that was really cool! Even if we didn't get our cutie marks, it was really interesting.” Sweetie Belle said as she hopped in place for a moment before following the others out. “Wait, next time? You still want to do more martial arts?” Rainbow Dash dropped down from hovering over the fillies to being in front of them, unsure if it was a good idea for them to continue learning Kung Fu. “Yeah, it was amazing! We learned lots!” Scootaloo yelled as she gazed up at her hero who seemed to only get cooler as time went on. “Uh, ok. Well, I am an amazing teacher. But, let's get you guys patched up at Fluttershy's, you have to take care of your bodies if you want to be the best you can be.” Rainbow Dash flew over the girls as they all made their way to the cottage on the outskirts of town. The cyan mare wanted to get there at the same time as the Crusaders so she could try and present the situation in a less shocking way to the timid peagasus, who would most likely feel faint of heart at the sight of the trio and not as forgiving towards the brash pony who allowed them to get that way. Even with the extra 'sneaking' through town they did, which was counteracted by the hovering rainbow maned pony above them, they arrived at Fluttershy's home minutes later without running into anypony else. While the trio waited in front of the doors, Rainbow Dash knocked while calling out at the same time, knowing that the cream yellow mare would want to know who was at the door before opening it at all. “Fluttershy! Open up, it's me, the most awesome of ponies and the squirts!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she knocked soundly on the door. In moments she heard movement and a timid voice calling back to her. “Oh! Uhm, ok. I'm coming...! Hi girls, hello Rainbow Dash. How did the lessons go?” Fluttershy asked as she opened the door and stepped back to allow them space to enter inside. “It went swell! We learned all sorts ah moves!” Apple Bloom attempted to demonstrate but the cloak made her already bad balance worse and she just fell over instead. “Yeah, it was amazingly cool!” Scootaloo agreed as she and Sweetie Belle took off their cloaks while Fluttershy helped Apple Bloom stand back up and removed her cloak as well. As Fluttershy got a clear look at the trio, she uttered a soft gasp of shock before giving a stern look towards the cyan peagasus who was hovering near the doorway. Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head nervously as she tried to smile and shrugged nonchalantly but Fluttershy wouldn't allow for it to be brushed off like it was nothing and continued to stare at the brash pony while she had Angel Bunny get the first aid kit from a nearby closet. “Eh heh... uh, it's not as bad as it looks, promise! The girls were just really excited and went a little overboard at times, they aren't badly hurt! You know I would have help save them before they got really hurt.” Rainbow Dash stated as she landed onto the ground and stepped closer, trying to convey that she wasn't irresponsible while watching little foals to her longtime friend. Fluttershy sighed and stopped sternly looking at her best friend, she knew that Rainbow Dash wouldn't let anything bad to happen to them if she could help it; the timid peagasus also recalled how energetic the trio were during their first sleepover at her cottage and knew that they could get carried away easily. Fluttershy listened to Rainbow Dash's explanation of what happened while she gave some basic first aid to the girls; Dash had one thing right when she said they weren't that badly hurt and wouldn't really need to keep the bandages on for long. After getting the majority of the story from Rainbow Dash, she turned to the girls with another stern look. “Now girls, you have to be careful when doing that kind of thing. Somepony could get really hurt and that kind of thing isn't fixed by some bandages and an ice-pack.” Fluttershy tried to convey the severity of what could have happened, which partially worked; it made the girls realize that they should learn some first aid in case something happened while they were out Crusading. “Yes Fluttershy,” they droned before looking with interest at the first aid kit. “Say Fluttershy, what's in the box?” Sweetie Belle asked as she peered inside. “Yeah, and how did you know what to use for the different hurts?” Scootaloo asked as she looked at the bandages and ointments on the fillies that were placed to minimize and help relieve any pain they had received. “And where could we git some fer ourselves?” Apple Bloom quarried, looking up at the cream yellow peagasus with curiosity. “Oh, uhm....” Fluttershy looked to Rainbow Dash who had sat down next to her while she fixed up the trio before looking back at the curious fillies after the speedster had given a shrug of ignorance at how to respond to such a question. “I went to the general store for the wraps and bandages. I, well, I make the ointment on my own from the herbs in my garden and ones brought to me by my friends who live in the forest,” the timid mare stated as the trio began to tap their hooves to their chins in thought of how to get the same kind of basic kit together for themselves. “Would you want me to make you a first aid kit for yourselves?” Fluttershy offered, hoping that perhaps this way she could tell if they were doing too many dangerous things or if they were using it improperly by constantly coming for refills on the various components. The Crusaders cheered up quickly at the thought of not having to track down and make their own kit and nodded rapidly at the offer. “Thanks Fluttershy!” “Oh, it's nothing girls...” Fluttershy walked over to her closet where she kept her spare kits and gave it to the girls, who then threw their cloaks back on quickly and ran out the door. “Thanks again Fluttershy! We gotta go now, we'll see you later!” “Yeah, thank you Fluttershy! And thanks for the lessons Rainbow Dash, they were awesome, we can't wait for the next one!” “Don't worry, we'll take really good care of ourselves Fluttershy, and we'll see ya later Rainbow Dash fer more lessons. Bye!” The trio ran all the way back to their Clubhouse to practice a bit more on their own before settling in for the extended sleepover; excited at the prospect of all the new things they would see and do outside of Ponyville, with some self-defense training and a first aid kit just in case something went wrong. The two older mares looked on in shock for a moment longer after the rapid departure before laughing at the Crusaders' usual antics. Rainbow Dash was almost as quick in her own departure as she went to resume her nap and Fluttershy began her afternoon rounds of checking her animals.