//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 Foiling the plans of Pirates // Story: The Adventures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Fillies on a Mission! // by Wolfie 03 //------------------------------// It was just after noon when the orange and gray-white mares walked up to a small cottage on the edge of town. The cottage was only one floor but had multiple rooms as well as a spacious front yard with a very large backyard leading into the nearby forest. Without hesitating a moment the orange mare knocked on the front door, bringing the sole-occupant out to greet her two guests. “Howdy Derpy; Rarity an' Ah were jus' comin' by tah see how th' fillies were doin'. Do ya know where they are?” Applejack asked with a smile, hoping that she and Rarity were just being overcautious and that the Crusaders were just fine. “I'm afraid I've been sworn to secrecy.” Derpy said with a serious face before leaning forward with a smirk. “The girls are in the backyard; was there something you wanted to tell them? They want to try and be secret agents along with whatever else they are working on.” The two sisters' smiles grew larger at the explanation as they rolled their eyes at the Crusaders' precaution. “If you would be so kind as to tell them that Applejack and I, along with some of our friends, will be having a pre-Summer Wrap-up picnic tomorrow afternoon? In case they decide to come and have something proper to eat.” Rarity flicked her mane behind her as Derpy smiled and nodded her consent to pass the message along. “Sure will; was there anything else you needed?” At the two short head shakes, Derpy dipped her head in farewell as they all shared farewells before the two sisters returned to town. “Alright, now to find those fillies; a picnic is the perfect time to be with family even if one is looking for their special talent. It shouldn't take me too long to find them, the forest isn't that large.” With a quick check that nopony else needed her attention, the blue-gray pegasus took to the skies as she went in search for the troublesome trio. “Way to go Sweetie Belle! Great idea; have all three of us in this crate and get picked up by the pirates!” Scootaloo hissed at the gray-white unicorn who frowned in return. “It's not my fault they put some heavier box on top of ours! Besides, I didn't hear you come up with any ideas!” Sweetie Belle whispered furiously back while Scootaloo gave her a small glare. “Well, I wouldn't have put all of us into one box that can be easily trapped!” Scootaloo leaned forward as she continued to heatedly whisper to the unicorn who leaned forward in turn. “Well, maybe you should, you should... go and find your own crate to hide in!” Sweetie Belle looked around the confined space for a moment as she searched for a proper comeback to which Scootaloo merely snorted in annoyance. “I would, except that we're stuck in THIS ONE!” Scootaloo's voice began to rise at this point as the two friends started to butt their heads together in anger. “SSSSHHHHH!!! Ya want them pirates tah hear us?!” Apple Bloom shushed her friends who looked surprised at the interruption but sat further apart from one another with both hooves crossed in annoyance. After giving her two arguing friends a shake of her head at their actions, the green-yellow filly put her ear against the wall of the crate they were in to try and hear what was happening around them; the sounds of the pirates and waves changed as they sailed along, suddenly echoing more than if they were on the open seas. “Guys, Ah think we're headin' intah ah cave or somethin'. We may have found their hideout, we could still try an' keep goin' with th' mission.” Apple Bloom turned to face her two friends who were still annoyed at one another but willing to try and get the real cause of all this trouble, the pirates. The trio sat for a moment, waiting for one of the others to suggest the plan of action, looking at each other to see who would go first. As Scootaloo's eyes rested on the unicorn, Sweetie Belle turned away with a small 'humph' of annoyance to which the pegasus scowled before trying to think of a plan in order to prove that she could. “Alright, how about this? We wait for when the pirates pick up this box, jump out, and start knocking them out!” Scootaloo tried to sit up in excitement only to find that there was just enough room to be hunched over due to the crate they were in. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both rolled at their eyes as they thought the same thing; somepony has been hanging out with a certain rainbow-maned pegasus. “Scootaloo, how'd we do tha' if we don't know how many of 'em are there? Yeah, we've gotten better at Martial Arts, but we ain't masters yet. What about waitin' till they've set the crate down an' try openin' the top again? Maybe they'll put our box on top this time.” Apple Bloom suggested as she kept an ear out for any pirates that may be coming to move the cargo. Scootaloo thought about this with a frown; after being stuck in the box she wanted action! “I guess...” Apple Bloom grinned at having convinced one Crusader; now to do the same for the other. “Sweetie Belle? What do ya think of the new plan?” At Apple Blooom's question the gray-white unicorn turned a haughty nose to the pegasus as she replied. “Well, it's better than somepony's plan anyways; so I'm in.” With another soft 'humph' the unicorn turned away from the orange filly and put her ear to the other wall to listen for the right moment for escape. Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the display and put her ear onto a different wall than her two friends as she grumbled silently to herself about wayward plans. Apple Bloom gave them one last check to make sure they wouldn't attract attention with arguing before turning back to her wall to be on the lookout. Not long after the trio implemented their new plan did the pirate ship come to a stop and the sounds of unloading could be heard by all three. They felt their hiding place lifted upwards and placed back onto a conveyer belt; at least they assumed it was a conveyer belt since they could feel themselves moving but without the sound of scrapping along the ground nor the feel of other ponies lifting the crate. Ten minutes later they were picked up once more and placed on top of another crate as the sound of pirates working and moving things became even louder. The Crusaders checked with one another before going to the side of the crate that had the less noise; hoping that there wouldn't be any pirates to see the lid of their hiding place raise up as they looked out. The cave they were in was only barely lit, making it easy for them to check their surroundings before trying to exit their box. Once they saw that they had a moment to exit before anypony came along, the girls took turns leaving their hiding place; Scootaloo went first, followed by Sweetie Belle and then Apple Bloom. They stood on top of another box, hiding behind the crate of high-end clothes as they checked one last time before lowering one another to the ground. The trio found that they had been placed next to the cave wall along with the rest of the cargo; making a shield that hid them from the pirates' eyes, with just enough space between the wall and wall of boxes for the three fillies to stand in single file and creep along the edge undetected. They made it to the middle of the stack of cargo and got a complete view of the cave before them through a crack between some of the boxes; what they saw amazed and worried them greatly. The cave was a story and a half high, growing larger as one headed towards the mouth of the cave where a dock had been made for the pirate ship. They could see that the mountain range extended a little on either side of the small cove, giving the pirates a hidden and more defensible position. Right next to where the dock met the rocky floor was a conveyer belt that was operated by two stallions who had backups waiting for when they got tired that moved all the cargo away from the ship to where it could be piled along the side of the wall. Near this wall of cargo were tables with lights shining directly over top to help the pirates sort out the different loot and placing them in the corresponding piles near an exit on the other side of the cave, opposite from where the pirate ship rested. There were at least a hundred stallions and colts working in the cave, with an earth pony who had a dark blue coat with white mane and tail traveling between the different stations, checking each pony's progress. “Well, Ah guess it was ah good thin' we didn't jump out an' tried tah fight them all off...” Apple Bloom glanced towards Scootaloo who was looking through a crack on the second level of boxes; though when she heard that comment she gave the earth pony and unicorn a scrunched up face of annoyance before sighing in resignation. “Yeah, I guess so... Sorry I thought your plan was stupid Sweetie Belle; at least we got into their hideout.” Scootaloo couldn't bring herself to look at the unicorn in embarrassment. “That's ok, it was pretty annoying being stuck in that crate anyways. But any ideas about how we stop these guys? There's too many to fight off; and look, that pony with the small white beard is here, he was the leader at the Red Dragon Dojo. He probably knows lots of Martial Arts; we wouldn't be able to fight him just yet...” Sweetie Belle pointed to the dark blue earth pony who was inspecting some of the cargo. The others nodded along as they gazed about the cave for ideas and to take stock of what was currently there. “What if we trapped these stallions in here an' got the police? Since we can't fight 'em ourselves.” Apple Bloom suggested as she pointed to the one exit at the back of the cave. “But then we'd be trapped in here as well.” Scootaloo shook her head as she pointed out the flaw in their one idea. “Maybe we can escape on the boat!” Sweetie Belle pointed to the pirate's ship that was now practically empty as the majority of the stallions sorted through their loot. “Sail an entire ship by ourselves?” Scootaloo didn't want to be the downer of their group, but they had to come up with a better plan than what they used to get into the hideout. “Wha' if we used one of them life boats on the pirate ship tah git away? An' we make it so them pirates can't follow us on their ship?” Apple Bloom gazed at the orange pegasus who sat with her hooves crossed as she tried to find any flaws in the ideas so far. “What would we use to make it so they can't use the ship?” Scootaloo looked back at the young farmer when Sweetie Belle sat up straighter upon noticing a feature the pirate ship had; cannons. “We'll blow it up! We can use one cannon to fire at the cave entrance and another to blow up the ship so that nopony can get out!” Sweetie Belle hopped slightly in place, excitement coursing through her veins at all this action. The others glanced at one another before looking back to the unicorn with growing smiles; it was the perfect plan! Now they just had to get to the ship, aim the two cannons and make their getaway! After a shared nod the trio quietly landed back onto the ground and made their way along the edge of the wall. They stayed behind the crates and boxes which proved to be a tricky task since stallions would come by and take another box to be sorted every so often; what made it harder was the fact that the wall of cargo did not go all the way to the ship nor even finished with the cave wall before it became open sea. With a quick silent debate, the girls found a painting held in an exact fit box to creep along with as cover; they had to go slowly and pause every so often when a pirate would glance their way in order to not be spotted. After what felt like half an hour the girls reached the conveyer belt where they left the painting behind and crept along underneath; keeping out of sight of the two ponies who controlled the belt and the workers who were removing the last of the cargo from the ship. By the time they got to the ship itself the pirates had finished unloading and were working overtime to sort through their loot; this meant that they were either too busy or slightly blinded by the lights to notice the trio of fillies climbing up the side of the ship. The pirates, having been at this for a while, were not expecting trouble and didn't leave anyone on the ship as guards; they needed every hoof to get their product along as fast as possible. So when the girls came aboard, they found it completely empty. After a swift grin between the three of them, they split up to gather the supplies they would need to put their plan into action. Using the new seafarer knowledge, they set up their escape first. With the skills still fresh in their minds and a little over half a day's constant practice of these skills, the trio was able to get it done mostly in silence. What little noise they did create went unnoticed in the general hubbub further in the cave. After setting up the life boat for quick release, the girls turned with shining eyes to the row of cannons. The pirate's ship had eight magical cannons that fired specialized ammunition that could break through shields, create fires, explode into shrapnel or contained tightly packed gunpowder and explosives that caused large disruptive explosions to its target. All of the supplies needed for it were within easy reach and in moments the Crusaders had four of the cannons aimed at the cave exit and the rest pointed at some major part of the ship. They remembered the various tips they learned so very long ago to help their aim (while cannon balls weren't marbles, it was similar ideas) and tried to make sure they were well covered. They used some of the longer fuses to be able to wait in the life boat before the second wave of cannon fire went off; which would blast the ship into pieces, or so they hoped. When the cannons were just about to fire, the girls began to drop their little boat into the sea and just in time. Unfortunately, while they had gotten their aim just right, they got the fuses mixed up; so half of each cannon section went off instead of waves for a single purpose. This was both a blessing and a curse for the girls; the mixed cannon fire meant that the pirates were confused and couldn't escape either way but it also meant that the trio was a lot closer to some of the explosions than they had first wanted. Their life boat touched onto the water roughly and they were trying to row away through the explosions when one of the cannons aimed at the ship struck the rest of the ammunition supplies; the pirates had been ready for any kind of returning attack and had a vast range of weapons on board: magic cannon balls as well as hand-held types which were still in prototype stage due to its more sensitive nature, as well as fully stocked gunpowder and explosives. All of which went off with a large blast of sound and shock wave propelling the Crusaders' boat further out of the cave entrance, half of which had collapsed due to the impact of the explosion. The three Crusaders held onto the sides of their ship for dear life until the blast slowed enough for them to sit back upright and gaze at the damages they had managed to cause. Their cannons to the exit were spot on; it would take the pirates two days to dig out the tunnel even with help from the other side (the girls knew this for a fact, having seen other cave-ins). While the shots to the ship were just as effective; they watched in amazement as the mast disappeared under the waves with various supplies from the pirate ship floating from the wreckage. The trio gave whoops of glee before settling down to row their way out of the little cove; hearing shouts from behind them of irate pirates cursing them. Just as they got out of the cove, the Crusaders found themselves face to face with a fleet of brightly colored ships that all had flags of the local coast guard. While the flagship pulled up along their little life boat, the rest of the fleet continued into the cove to start rounding up pirates. The girls were confused; they hadn't gotten the word out about where the pirates where located, so why was the coast guard here? Their confusion and faces cleared as they heard a familiar voice come from the main ship as a rope ladder was thrown over the side for the Crusaders to use to climb aboard. “Ahoy there Crusaders! I should have known you would set off a signal for us to find the scoundrels.” A green filly called as the trio used the rope ladder to reach the deck. “Eripio!” The three fillies engulfed their friend who gave a tight hug in return; she had been worried for the girls' safety, even if they did prove themselves to be capable of great feats. “I just don't know how you three do it; I go to get the coast guard and you not only stow away to find the pirates' lair but cause large explosions!” Eripio reluctantly let go of her friends who grinned proudly back as she wiped at her eyes where she had teared up with relief. “We totally caught those guys! We blew up the exit -” Scootaloo stood on her hind legs as she hoof-pumped when Sweetie Belle cut in with an excited smirk. “-and their ship-” Apple Bloom squished in as the trio finished together, almost shouting their news and amazing feats. “-and trapped them all!” “We planned it all an' now th' ponies of Baltimare can rest in peace; if only we got our Cutie Marks fer something along th' way.” While the girls had nodded sagely to how they protected the city, at the reminder of why they had traveled to the port city in the first place caused them to gaze forlornly at their blank flanks. Eripio couldn't help but smile at the antics and almost completely misguided priorities as she shook her head at the trio. “Well, you guys did a great job anyways! What are you planning to do now?” The trio glanced at one another before sighing; they couldn't stay away from Ponyville for too much longer and would have to go back as soon as possible. “We have to go back to Ponyville; our families will be missing us soon.” Sweetie Belle scuffed a hoof along the deck when a glint of extra color on their friend's flank caught their attention. “Oh, that's a shame; I would have wanted to show you some of the pretty neat sights or talk about what happened in that cave. Why do you guys have to go back so soon? Can you stay to answer the guardsponies' questions about what happened?” Eripio gestured around the four fillies at the ponies on the ship who were giving them a moment of peace before starting to get to the real work. At these questions the girls tensed and momentarily forgot about their friend's new Cutie Mark. “No, no no no no no. We can't, ahm... No time to lose!” Sweetie Belle started to wave her fore-hooves around as she tried to think of reasons why they couldn't as they looked at one another in panic. Eripio raised a brow at these actions and decided to get down to business; if she wanted to help her friends like they have been doing for her, she would have to understand what was wrong. “Alright you guys, what's really going on here? This is the second time you can't stay to give the official story for the grown-ups and had to 'leave quickly'. Are you not supposed to be out or what?” Eripio watched as the trio silently argued before all three sighed in resignation; so long as they kept quiet, it should be ok to tell their friend what was really going on. “I'm a runaway from an orphanage.” Scootaloo stared at the deck with ears flipped back, worried that their rather morally-correct friend would try and bring her in. “An' we're not supposed tah be away from town; but tah try an' find our Cutie Marks -” “-as well as throw off the orphanage ponies-” “-we've been goin' tah other cities tah try.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle explained as they too looked at the deck worriedly, though at the sound of Eripio's pensive 'hmm' they looked up in trepidation. “Hhhmmm, I see. Well then, you best take off when we get back to port; I'll cause a distraction so they won't notice right away.” Eripio held onto her serious face until she was tackled into a hug when she broke out the grin that she was only just barely able to hide away. “Thanks Eripio.” Scootaloo said on behalf of the trio before they pulled away to grin at the filly who looked confusedly back at their growing excitement. “So, when did ya git yer Cutie Mark?” Apple Bloom pointed to the image of a red circle with four red slightly curbed tabs that led off the center as Eripio looked at it in confusion before she realized what they were talking about. “Oh that; it's a rescue symbol, I got it for bringing ponies to the rescue of others. Namely, when I got the coast guard to believe me and send out rescue ships to help you guys; though I can see now that you don't need anypony rescuing you.” Eripio smirked at the Crusaders who proudly grinned back as they congratulated their friend. Once everything important had been settled between the four fillies, they turned to watch the scene before them of guards capturing the Red Dragon Pirates. The pirates had put up a bit of a fight before realizing how outnumbered they were and surrendering; soon ship after ship was filled with prisoners that were to be put in jail and dealt with after a court date had been decided. As promised, once the fleet returned to port Eripio caused a commotion that drew all the grown-ups' attention, giving the Cutie Mark Crusaders a chance to slip away and take the first train back to Ponyville. It was late at night, after 9pm, and the long twelve hour trip would be the perfect time to sleep and prepare for the next day when they would have to explain what happened. Their first stop when they reached home the next day was to Ms. Derpy's to check in before heading back to their families. The girls couldn't help but laugh and giggle to one another as they relived moments of their latest adventure only to trail off at the sight of the annoyed blue-gray pegasus waiting for them; Derpy had heard the girls as they were walking up and stood outside of her doorway with her fore-hooves crossed while trying to keep her eyes from drifting apart in frustration. “Hey Ms. Derpy... We're back!” Scootaloo tried to smile up at the older pegasus only to frown slightly when Derpy didn't smile back. “Where were you? I searched all over that forest; there was no sign of a camp, trail or anything that would be there if a trio of fillies stayed two nights in the wilderness. And why do you smell of smoke and look like a mess?” Derpy demanded only to find the Crusaders tight-lipped of what they had been doing. As she frowned once more at the slightly guilty faces before her, Derpy decided to really go for the guilt trip to convince the girls to fess up. “Your sisters came by yesterday; I didn't tell them where you were or weren't.” Derpy held up a hoof at the sight of three fillies about to ask that very question, wanting to make her point clear. “I told them I couldn't reveal your exact location having been sworn to secrecy; had I known that you wouldn't be anywhere near the forest I would not have promised at all. Don't try to tell me you were in a part I didn't know of; I spent a lot of my foalhood playing in those very woods. AND I didn't see or smell any smoke or fire, so you had to have been somewhere else to get into this state. “Girls, as much as I love working with foals, until you tell me what's going on I won't cover for you again. So, do you have anything you would like to say to me?” Derpy gave the trio an expectant look to which none of them could meet as they stared at the ground, unwilling to explain what they had been doing. As the silence continued, Derpy could only shake her head sadly. “I see; I may not be related to you, but I do care and knowing that you lied to me and your families makes me very sad. The next time I know you aren't where you are supposed to be, I will be telling your families. I suggest you go home now, girls; even though I don't think you deserve such a thing, your families are having a picnic today at noon, you'll need to get cleaned up for it.” The trio couldn't meet the older mare's eyes as they turned together to head back into town; though they paused when they heard the blue-gray mare call out for Scootaloo. “Scootaloo, can I speak with you alone please?” Her two friends gave the orange pegasus concerned looks that she tried to reassure with a confidant grin before shooing them on; they had families to meet with and get cleaned up for. Once the earth pony and unicorn were well on their way back to town, Scootaloo turned to face the pegasus who now wore a half concerned and half disappointed face as she looked at the last filly. They stayed that way for a moment looking at one another before Derpy stepped forward and leaned down so she was closer to the younger pegasus' eye level. “Scootaloo, you know I care about what happens with you and your friends; is crusading for your Cutie Marks as important as your safety? Please, I don't want to see you get hurt-” As Derpy tried to convince the younger pegasus of the importance of staying safe, Scootaloo grew more nervous and annoyed, unused to older ponies trying to care for her or tell her what to do. “Why should you care? You're not my mom! You're just some mare that lives by herself on the edge of town! What I do is none of your business, now leave us alone!” Scootaloo shouted at the older pegasus who could only watch in shock as the orange filly ran off away from town. A cyan pegasus happened to be flying overhead when she heard the sound of shouting and flew down to investigate, wanting to make sure her town stayed safe from danger. What Rainbow Dash found surprised her as instead of a monster she found the blue-gray mare in tears and the normally apathetic mare tried to think of the best way to help. “Derpy? What's wrong? Is somepony bothering you?” Rainbow took a hesitant step forward when Derpy came to her senses enough to realize she had company. “Oh, hi Rainbow Dash. I, I just don't know what went wrong; I was concerned about what Scootaloo and her friends were doing and then she just, just shouted at me and ran off. I have to find her.” Derpy tried to straighten up from her hunched position when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up through blurry ears to find Rainbow Dash staring back in a serious manner. “Don't worry, I'll find the squirt; you just head inside and gets some, ah, -what would Fluttershy suggest?- uhm, tea. Right, get some tea and relax; I'll try to talk to her and we'll be back in ten seconds flat.” Rainbow Dash waited for the nod of consent before speeding high into the skies, searching for a speck of orange and purple-cerise. Derpy slowly went back inside while trying to not crash into anything; all the distress was making her eyes invert badly making her depth perception worse than normal. After a few rocky attempts at making tea, the blue-gray mare was able to make herself a cup and settled into her sofa while trying to not imagine worse-case scenarios. The cyan speedster had searched the town quickly and had begun to look in the nearby areas when she noticed an orange figure huddling under an old oak tree south of the town. Within moments Rainbow landed and heard the sound of crying, making her even more nervous about her task. “Hey squirt; uh, what's up?” The cyan mare slowly walked over as the huddle of orange flinched at the sound of the greatest flier in Equestria finding her in such a situation. When it became apparent that Rainbow Dash was not going to go anywhere until they spoke, Scootaloo sat up swiftly as she scrubbed at her eyes, trying to remove the traces of tears that she feared made her seem 'uncool' to her idol. “Ooh, he-hey Rainbow Dash. What, what are you doing around these parts?” Scootaloo tried to give her idol a smile only to find a concern face looking back; as Rainbow watched concerned, Scootaloo turned to look at the ground instead of trying keep up the smile. “I, uh, I heard some yelling by Derpy's place and come to find out that you two got into a fight? That's almost as unbelievable as Fluttershy picking a fight with somepony, heh heh...” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head as she stared out at the view before her, unsure if she should be watching the younger pony or allow her to talk on her own. “... Yeah. That, that seems real unbelievable.” Scootaloo tried to laugh it off but could tell that the cyan pony wasn't buying it. “What happened squirt? I haven't seen Derpy that upset in years; whatever was said really hurt her.” Rainbow knew she was out of her element and decided to just go for the direct approach; it hadn't let her down yet. Scootaloo could tell that Rainbow Dash had little patience left and sighed before coming clean. “I yelled at her about how she wasn't my mom and that she didn't have to try and care about me.” Scootaloo could feel shocked cerise eyes on her and scuffed a hoof along the grass. “Squirt, just because somepony isn't related doesn't mean they can't care for somepony else. I'd never leave my friends hanging; does that mean I have to stop caring about them because we aren't related by blood?” “No...” “That's right!” Rainbow poked at the filly next to her to emphasize her point. “And just because Derpy isn't your mom doesn't mean she cares any less; was that a nice thing to say?” Rainbow watched the filly become bashful as she saw where the conversation was heading. “No...” “Exactly! So, what are we going to do about it?!” Rainbow tried to get more of a response out of the filly while giving the filly another poke to her shoulder. “Go apologize...” Rainbow raised a brow at this lackluster answer and decided to invite enthusiasm into the conversation. “I can't hear you!” Scootaloo rolled her eyes as the cyan mare demanded the response once more. “Apologize.” By this point Rainbow Dash was standing up and was wearing a smirk at the still rather quiet answer. “Louder!” Scootaloo couldn't help but start to smile at the playful glint in the older mare's eyes and started to put effort into her responses. “Apologize!” “LOUDER!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she leaned towards the younger pony. “APOLOGIZE!” Scootaloo could hardly contain her giggles after shouting the resolution as Rainbow Dash nodded contently to both the volume and what was said. “Right, let's get going squirt.” Without warning Rainbow picked the filly up in her hooves and flew back to Derpy's cottage in record speed; she wanted to get everything settled quickly before anything else happened. “Derpy! We're back!” Rainbow let herself in with hardly a knock as the two pegasus' looked around the living room before spotting the blue-gray mare sitting in a chair with a steamy cup of tea sitting untouched next to her. At the sight of Scootaloo Derpy perked up and was about to rush to the young pegasus before stopping herself; Rainbow sighed at the display and nudged the orange filly into action. “Ms. Derpy? I'm sorry for what I said...” Scootaloo hung her head in regret until she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her as Derpy gave her a hug in gratitude before releasing the filly and hugging the cyan mare as well. “Thanks Rainbow Dash.” Derpy whispered before turning to face the filly once more. “Thank you for coming back and I just want you to know, even if I'm not your mom or if I ever did get foals of my own, I will still care about you Scootaloo; even if you and your friends insist on getting into trouble.” At the last sentence the filly couldn't hold back her smirk at the thought of how much trouble they probably were going to get into. Once Rainbow saw that her work was done there, she turned to leave for the picnic; though she paused as she noticed the hopeful eyes of the young foal behind her. “Well, you coming squirt? You may want to wash up first though; Rarity would throw a fit if somepony came smelling like smoke.” Rainbow smirked at the joyous face of the orange filly who leapt into the air for a moment before setting off for the nearest stream to wash off some of the soot and smoke. As the two older mares watched this Derpy glanced at Rainbow for a moment before turning back to the young pegasus. “Thanks again Rainbow Dash; and for inviting her to the picnic that you and your friends are having. I think she was feeling a little left out when we had our disagreement.” “Yeah well, you let me know if you ever need help Derpy; I never leave my friends hanging.” Derpy smirked at the well-known phrase of the cyan mare before waving the two pegasi goodbye as they headed for the picnic that would be taking place in the local park. On the other side of town, the remaining Crusaders walked slowly through town, concerned for their last friend. “What do you think Ms. Derpy is going to do to her?” Sweetie Belle glanced at Apple Bloom who shrugged in reply. “Ah don't know, but we gottah wash off this here smell or else we might git intah trouble too.” The two friends nodded once at each other before looking about themselves to find the closest water source; before the girls could take a single step they heard a southern accent that made them extremely nervous. “Well hey girls! We was getting' worried tha' y'all couldn't make it tah the picnic... what's tha' smell? Have y'all been in ah fire?” Applejack sternly looked at the fillies who glanced at one another before hesitantly smiled back. “Well, ah, we was makin' camp fires while we was in th' forest.” “Yes, making fires... in the forest...” Sweetie Belle tried to sound convincing as Apple Bloom nodded along. Applejack couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, but she knew that if they didn't hurry up they would be late; and Celestia forbid the girls smelled like smoke and covered in soot anywhere near a certain fashionista. “Alright y'all, let's go git cleaned up. Rarity'll throw ah fit ifin' we're dirty tah her picnic...” Applejack led the way with a roll of her eyes; the girls decided not to press their luck and followed along meekly to get a quick bath at Sweet Apple Acres before joining their friends and family at the park for lunch.