//------------------------------// // Children Must Be Accompanied by an Adult // Story: Rule of Thumb // by ShortHopLaszer //------------------------------// "You should have seen the look on his face! When I called him "Mini Twilight" he almost changed colors!" Scootaloo laughed. "If I didn't leave when I did, he might've exploded!" "Ha! Mini Twilight. That's classic!" Applebloom smiled. The three fillies walked down a lonely street, oblivious to the lack of ponies. Sweetie Belle grinned "So next time we will just use that and make him so angry that he says something silly." Scootaloo nodded her head in agreement. "Works every time." Applebloom started turning her head and looking in several different directions. "Ah don't remember the town being so messy. Somepony needs to do some cleaning up around here." Scootaloo scoffs "The town always looks like this." "What? Nuh uh!" "Oh yeah? When was the last time you were in town Applebloom?" "The last time was when we did the thing." "Which thing?" "Ya know, the thing." Sweetie Belle gave her a surprised expression. "That was about a week ago." "Besides school, selling apples, and crusading ah spend most of my time on the farm." "See? The town always looks like this." "No, I agree with Applebloom. The town definitely looked cleaner this morning." "Pssh, you guys just don't notice the small stuff." Scootaloo waved a hoof dismissively. "Applebloom pointed at the orange filly. "I bet you did it." "What? How would I make a pot hole this big?" She motioned to a burnt crater still adorned with a black plume "My whole scooter could fit in it." A quick chill ran down Sweetie Belle's. "That's why you're playing the mess off. Cause you did it." "Did not!" "So where were you today?" "I was totally talking to Spike! I just told you!" "Suuuuure. That conversation took more than an hour. Ah believe you." Applebloom had a devious look. Scootaloo flared her wings and flapped them in an aggressive motion. "You know exactly how Spike can be. You're lucky I wasn't there longer." The yellow girl shook her head. "I bet you still had time. I mean, the town almost looks as bad as your desk." "My desk isn't that messy. At least there aren't holes in it." "You're right, if the town looked like your desk it would be covered in drawings of Rainbow Dash fighting monsters." "At least my desk has character. Yours is just a normal boring desk. If your desk had a cutie mark it would have the word boring on it." "Mah desk is clean, cuz I spend my time in class listening to the teacher." "I listen to the teacher. I'm just good at multitasking." "Can you spell multitask?" "M-U-I-L-T-A-S-K!" Sweetie Belle looked over at Scootaloo. "That's not how you spell multitask." "How would you know?" "Cause she listens in class." Applebloom grinned. Scootaloo glared at her. "If I made a mess in the town, do you think I wouldn't tell you? Applebloom shrugged "I guess you have a point. But still..." Sweetie Belle shivered again. "Hey girls, is it just me or is it getting colder?" Both Scootaloo and Applebloom looked at her questioningly. Apple Bloom responds "Of course it is silly. It's almost fall and the sun's going to set soon." "I guess you're right." the white filly laughed. "For a second there I thought something weird was going on." She said while passing a gaping hole in the wall of a local shop. Scootaloo responded "Yeah, cause nothing weird happens in this town ever." The three girls shared a laugh while continuing their walk. Applebloom rubbed her chin "So ah think we should write our friendship report on our Cutie Mark Crusader Sculpture Maker attempt." Sweetie Belle scrunched her face. "Why would the Princess want to know about the disasters we were playing off as art?" "For one, we can say how difficult it was to get the supplies and that hard work pays off." "But it didn't pay off. None of us got cutie marks." the orange filly retorted. "Yeah, but we can say how we will still be persistent even though we failed." Applebloom responded. "How is persisting a payoff?" "It shows a strong character. I bet we could write a report so unique and interesting that it would impress the Princess" Scootaloo exhaled "If the report is going to be interesting, then we can't do it on sculpting. If we can call it that." Applebloom glanced upwards. "Hmm. How about when we got lost last week and used the power of friendship to find our way back?" Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes "We were gone for like twenty minutes. It doesn't sound very exciting." "It was exciting at the time. We can say how we were able to get through it by sticking together and believing in each other!" "I don't know, that sounds a little too mushy." Scootaloo replied while making a gagging face. Sweetie Belle gave her a confused expression. "But they're friendship reports. Aren't they supposed to be mushy?" "Eh, I guess that would work. Then at the end we'll ask how Princess Celestia got her cutie mark!" she throws her foreleg in the air. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle nod their head in agreement. The fillies continue walking, unaware of the magnitude of the dents in the buildings, and the scorch marks that adorn the ground. Applebloom shivers "It's getting colder. Let's hurry up and get to Rarity's for the sleepover." Sweetie Belle stops for a second to stretch her back. "I think I'm getting tired. My back feels heavy." The red ribbon wearing filly responds "It's ok, we can relax at your sister's house." The young girls turn the corner and face town square. If they were paying attention, they would have noticed a drop in temperature. Scootaloo points out towards a small group of ponies conversing amongst themselves. "Hey isn't that your brother and sister?" The yellow filly nods her head. "Yup, let's see what's going on." The three fillies walk up to the sitting Apple siblings. "Hey Sis, whatcha guys doing?" Applejack turned her head, "Hi Applebloom. You don't know what happened?" The three fillies shake their heads no. "Did ya wonder how the town got so damaged?" Sweetie Belle and Applebloom both point at Scootaloo. The orange filly looks back and forth between them before shouting "IT WASN'T ME!" Applejack and Big Mac chuckle. "Of course it wasn't you sugar cube. Look over there." Applejack points towards a glowing barrier. The young girls turn their heads completely sideways to get a look at the spectacle. The creature is sitting against the barrier, with one knee up towards it's chest, a single foreleg hung over it in a lazy fashion. The creature sits motionless, with an occasional movement of its hood as if a small breeze blew through. A glint of unblinking eyes pierces the air. A strong sense of fear overtakes them and they quickly dart behind the older ponies. Applebloom shakes as she grips her sister's leg. "What is that thing?" "We don't know. That thing was so tough, that Big Mac had to come help us out." The little fillies stare in awe and share a collective "Wow." Big Mac nods his head. "Eeyup." The creature then leans its head back into the barrier, creating a fantastic flash and a loud crack. The small group, excluding Big Mac, flinches. Scootaloo glanced at the creature again before returning the safety that is Applejack's back. "If it's so dangerous, then why are all you ponies just watching it." Applejack scratches her head "Ah don't think it'd get out, but we're here just in case we need to back up Big Mac. Plus we're waiting for the rest of the girls to show up. Then we can figure out what to do with it." The small filly looked at her sister with a confused expression "So what made the thing attack the town?" Applejack shrugged her shoulders "Some critters are violent, and some of those are big enough to cause some damage." Applebloom glanced back at it. "It does look pretty scary. Maybe if it wasn't so dark and cold here, it would seem less creepy?" Applejack shuddered "We think the creature is making it cold." The fillies glance at it again. Scootaloo motioned toward the beast "Where do you think it came from?" Applejack shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows. Maybe the Everfree Forest, maybe a deep dungeon underground, we need to wait for Twilight to get here to answer more questions." Applebloom looked over at her siblings "How long are you guys going to sit here?" Applejack looked at Big Mac "How long are you going to be out?" Big Mac just stared at the creature. Not breaking his gaze to respond. "You're going to be here all night aren't you?" "Eeyup." The farm mare sighed. "I'm going to stay here with Big Mac for a while longer. At least until the others show up so we can do something about it." The group watches the creature for a few minutes, no words spoken between them. Sweetie Belle's eyes drift towards Big Mac cutie mark "How did you get your cutie mark?" Both Older Apple siblings turn their heads to look at the little girl. Applejack responds "Ah think that's a story for when you girls are a little older." "Ah come on sis. Why can't you tell us now?" Applebloom whined. Big Mac responded without turning his head to face them again. "That is a story for big ponies." Applebloom crosses her forelegs. "Hmp." The creature then takes its over foreleg and slams it into the barrier, receiving another small reaction from the crowd. Big Mac stares at the beast with an occasional blink. The rest of the ponies talk to each over while nervously glancing over to the monster. The small white filly shivers again. "Why is it just staring at us like that. Its making me really nervous." Scootaloo cocks her head to the side "What else would you do if you were trapped in a small magic prison? Learn to knit?" Sweetie Belle straightened up "Hey, maybe we could get our cutie marks in knitting?" Scootaloo shudders "I don't want a cutie mark in being an old lady." The white pony shook her head "You don't have to be old to learn to knit." "Who do you know that knits?" Applebloom jumped up "Ooh! Granny Smith knits." "Exactly." Scootaloo makes an affirmed expression. Sweetie Belle looks towards Applebloom with a disappointed face. The yellow filly responds "We can try that another time." Scootaloo scoffs while Sweetie Belle perks up. Both older apple siblings roll their eyes. The sun starts to hit the horizon and the temperature drops again. Several lamplights light up in response to the growing shadows. The darkness around the barrier particularly grows several shades darker. A cold wind passes through the town square and the shadows advance to claim more space. A stallion yawns and stands as a few older ponies get up and walk towards their homes. Applejack shivers and motions to the girls. "It's getting kind of late, shouldn't you girls be getting home?" "Yeah. So do you girls want to go back to my sister's house now? It's cold out here." Both girls nod their head in agreement while watching the beast. Applejack chuckles again before patting the two of them on the back. "Alright girls, this is not place for small fillies. Rarity will be home soon." "Alright. Bye sis!" "Good bye Applejack, bye Big Mac!" "See ya tomorrow girls." The young girls walk away from the square occasionally glancing back before they turn the corner. "Those fillies sure are a hooffull." "Eeyup." ===================================================================================== The three crusaders walk towards Rarity's house when the sun finally sets. There is no pony in the streets and the town is silent. As they walk, their shadows move away from the lamplights as if they were hiding behind the young fillies. Scootaloo jumps in front of her friends and grins devilishly. A cool breeze passes through the street. The two girls look at her questioningly. "I know what would make an interesting friendship report."