//------------------------------// // Coming up Empty // Story: Breaking Cute // by GoldenState3 //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle stared at Rainbow Dash. "Why did you pull me out of there? I was starting to get her to listen to me." Twilight said. Rainbow Dash was looking at her with an annoyed face. "I live two blocks away, and that music is so loud that I can't even get in my daily pleasure studying." Twilight replied. Dash shrugged. "Is there like some blue stuff that makes ponies act all crazy?" Dash asked. "'Cause Derpy said that Flitter had some blue stuff, and she was acting all crazy, and I noticed that Vinyl Scratch had blue powder stuck on her fur around her nostrils. What if it's poison joke?" "Why would Vinyl Scratch be holding poison joke up to her nostrils?" Twilight asked. Dash didn't have an answer to this, and she just shuffled her hooves nervously. Twilight ignored the panicky Pegasus. Maybe one of the books in the library had a sound deadening spell. She'd just been reading about such spells the other day, but they were difficult magic, and some of them had nasty side effects, like trapping ponies inside of them. That wasn't going to be appropriate for here, so she was going to have to continue her research. Twilight took her leave of Dash, and headed back towards the library. The Pegasus just stood there for a few seconds before following her. "Something is going on here, and I'm not going to rest till I figure out what it is." Rainbow Dash said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap." Twilight didn't feel like pointing out the flaws in her friend's logic. The confrontation in Vinyl's house had drained her of her desire to correct everypony temporarily. Besides, she had to study sound deadening spells. That is, if she ever wanted to get an real studying done. She was certain that the princess was in the process of testing her studies of friendship, and she had to be ready to tackle anything that the princess could send at her. When she got to the library, Applejack was waiting for her outside. Applejack was standing there nervously. "Hey Twi, have Apple Bloom and her friends been spending lots of time at the library studying?" Applejack asked. "Err, they were here the other day, and they spent some time here, but they weren't doing any studying." Twilight responded. "That's odd. Apple Bloom said that they'd been studying at the library every day this week." Applejack said. "You don't think they're doing that party powder stuff?" "Party Powder?" Twilight asked. "They say it makes ponies party all day. I don't put much stock in them rumors, 'Specially since everypony is blamin' Zecora fer it." "Why would they blame Zecora?" Twilight asked. "They say that it looks like Zebra magic." Applejack said. Twilight couldn't believe that the townsponies were still being so speciesist a year after Twilight and her friends had befriended Zecora. Twilight felt a public lecture series on non pony Equines, was needed, and she was just the pony to do it. "You know, I've been preparing a lecture on how Zebras are just like us. Maybe I should present it." Twilight said. Applejack just blinked at her. Well, it had been a good idea. Giving a lecture on the subject was of course Twilight's solution to every problem. Not that most ponies like that solution. "Do you think that Apple Bloom is on the party powder?" Applejack asked. "I think you need to calm down. I haven't seen any evidence that this party powder even exists." Twilight said, without any sense of irony. "Well Sugar, now I know how hollow it feels when we all tell you to calm down." Applejack replied. Twilight ignored her. Applejack looked like she was thinking hard about something. If Applejack was thinking hard, that meant that she was really concerned about what was going on with Apple Bloom and her friends. "Maybe Apple Bloom and I could go on a camping trip. You know, I bet I can get Rarity and Sweetie Belle to go as well. That'll let us get to the bottom of this whole thing with Apple Bloom." Applejack said. Twilight just stood there. She wasn't sure of how to convince her friend that there wasn't anything wrong with Apple Bloom. She just didn't know what to do. She wasn't very good at persuading other ponies. Applejack was still staring at the ground now, obviously embarrassed at suspecting Apple Bloom of using mind altering substances. Well, a camping trip wouldn't be that bad. That was as long as Applejack wasn't too pushy. The Crusaders had finished their party powder deliveries early. They were relaxing in their club house, counting the few bits that they'd managed to earn. Sweetie Belle had divided up their earnings, and they'd managed to earn a bit and a half each. That still put them at less than five bits each for three days of hard work. This wasn't the life of glamour that Trixie had implied that they'd be living. There was a knock as Applejack appeared at the top of the ladder to the club house. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hastily hid the bits, while Sweetie Belle blocked Applejack's view. "Hey y'all, whats going on?" Applejack asked. "Uhm nothing. Absolutely nothing." Sweetie Belle replied. "Yeah, nothing happenin' here." Apple Bloom added. Apple Bloom looked at them, with what Sweetie Belle could have sworn was a suspicious gaze. There was no way that Applejack was suspicious of them. Sure, they'd used the insecticide from the Apple family barn, but Apple Bloom had reassured them repeatedly that they'd taken so little that there was no way that Applejack was suspicious. "What brings you out here?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, I was thinkin' that with these unpleasant things goin' on around here, I ain't been spendin' much time with Apple Bloom." Applejack said. "We've spent plenty of time together." Apple Bloom replied. So they'd gotten panicked over nothing. Applejack just wanted to take a camping trip with them on the weekend. It sounded totally cool! Rarity and Rainbow Dash were going to go too, and it was going to be the coolest camping trip ever.