Start of September, 1004 A.D. (After Discord)
It had been a month since the Cutie Mark Crusaders had disappeared; they had been behaving and made sure to check in with their sisters every few days. It helped to put the older sisters at ease and soon it felt like life had continued on; while Applejack had finished the entire upkeep for the Boutique, Rarity made extra excuses to have the farmer around.
The unicorn found furniture that needed extra support, manikins that needed repair, new dress designs that needed a live figure to test them on; Rarity tried to get the chance to see Applejack once a week at the very least, giving the farmer time to do her chores but still help out the shop. Rarity felt better knowing that there was somepony she could always turn to when she was in need of help, something Applejack was more than happy to do.
Just as Applejack thought things were looking up and life was back to normal, she received a letter in the mail. She had just been about to enter the Boutique to help rearrange some furniture for Rarity when Derpy Hooves found her and gave the special delivery letter from Apploosa.
“Hello Applejack! I have a special speedy delivery for you from Braeburn in Apploosa; here you go!” Derpy hoofed over the letter using her dexterous wings before taking to the sky once more, leaving the earth pony and unicorn standing in the door way of the Boutique.
Applejack had just been about to enter the dress shop when Derpy found her, and since Rarity met Braeburn before, she didn't feel the need to read it silently to herself as they walked further into the front lobby. Rarity closed the door with her magic as she sat next to the orange mare who opened the letter with a hoof.
“What's it say darling?” Applejack smirked at the curious tone and nudged the mare next to her with her shoulder.
“Hold yer horses Rarity, Ah haven't opened it yet... There we go! Do ya want me tah read it out loud for ya?” Applejack tried to tease the unicorn who pouted slightly as she tried to plead without as much dramatics, it was a family letter and Applejack didn't have to share if she didn't want to.
“If it's not too much trouble, I would like to hear what it says. Unless you decide that it's a personal family matter of course; it's up to you dear.” Applejack kept her smirk as Rarity tried to down play her curiosity of what the letter contained but failed as she couldn't help but try to peek at it. The earth pony laughed as she held the letter up and away from the other mare, giving it a firm shake before clearing her throat.
“Well, if ya want tah hear all that much... here we go:
“Dear Cousin Applejack, things here in Apploosa are going as great as ever! The buffalo continue their traditional stamped while enjoying traditional Apple Family apple pie and we've just opened up a new salt mine that's sure to bring in more business and workers; our little town isn't going to be so little for long!
“Funny thing happened earlier today; I saw...” Applejack eyes widened at what was written next and she started to wish that she wasn't reading it out loud to the most dramatic mare in Ponyville.
“... I saw Apple Bloom and some of her friends walking around town while there was a big thing going on.” Applejack knew she couldn't pause for a moment, since due to the dead silence from the unicorn beside her, she knew it would start the hysterics before they knew the whole story; so with barely a moment to think of what their sisters had done this time, Applejack continued to read the letter.
“She said that you were in town with her but I couldn't find you; were you in town and didn't even stop by to say hello?
“I lost sight of Apple Bloom however and can't find her right now. I figured I should send you this letter by the post office in case you weren't actually in town; hopefully I find you and Apple Bloom soon and this isn't needed. You have a nice day, alright?
“From your cousin, Braeburn.” Applejack could barely finish reading the letter, finding the continued silence from the other mare disturbing.
The orange earth pony didn't want to look towards the fashionista, but could feel the rising tension and need of reassurance from the mare. Applejack turned to Rarity with an apology on her lips that died at the wide eyed stare of concern on the unicorn's face; she decided that apologizing for something that's already happened would have to wait until after they've found their sisters.
“Ah'll find them.” Applejack stated simply, the already rising hysteria slowly fading away from blue eyes at the firm tone and solid stance of the orange mare.
“Ah'm gonnah search the fields with Big Mac; ya can search the town. We won't panic until after we've search the area and waited to see if they are on their way home. Braeburn said somethin' about the girls havin' gone, right?” At the nod from the unicorn, Applejack continued with a confidant smirk.
“Well, maybe they were on the way home! So we'll wait until tomorrow before we really start worryin'.” Rarity slowly smiled back as the confident mare helped her from worrying and nodded along; both mares turned around and exited the Boutique to start their search, hoping that this would be resolved quickly.
Applejack raced home and quickly got Big Mac on-board for another search of the fields; the results were the same as when they disappeared the last time, no sign of them on the Apple Farm.
Applejack insisted for her brother to continue working while she looked elsewhere; something Big Mac wasn't willing to do but was forced to by his sister's stubbornness. The orange farmer then expanded her search into the Everfree Forest, hoping to be quick and stealthy.
She ran across some Timberwolves but made quick work of them by using her surroundings and kicking power. There were no sign of the girls, not even a hint of their capes they had taken with them; or so Applejack assumed when she checked all over their clubhouse.
She had to call it quits when it started to get darker as the evening slowly descended; as she went to the search the fields once more, Applejack found Rarity looking for her at the house.
Applejack stopped by the unicorn who whipped around at the sound of somepony approaching and threw herself at the farmer's hooves in desperation.
“Applejack! Did you find them?” At the sigh and sad look on the orange mare's face, Rarity's eyes started to fill with tears. The earth pony wrapped a hoof around the now almost hysteric unicorn and tried to sooth her.
“Shhh, shhh... Ah'm sure it's gonnah be ok; we just gottah keep looking. Why don't you go home to wait for them and Ah'll keep looking.” Rarity tightened her grip on the other mare as she shook her head no.
“You did that last time! I shall not let my friends do everything; I'm coming with you!” Applejack sighed as more tears leaked from blue eyes even as Rarity tried to be stronger in spite of her concern.
“Alright sugarcube; let's head for their clubhouse. Last time they came back late is all, so we'll wait up for them.” Applejack led the way with Rarity trying to keep herself together.
Once they reached the still empty clubhouse, Rarity collapsed onto the ground in despair while Applejack merely paced in worry. Catching sight of the weeping mare, Applejack sat down and rubbed Rarity's back in a calming manner; the unicorn responded to this by burying her head into an orange shoulder.
“I-I... I'm soorry... Applejack.. It's just, I'm worried for her... They, they get into mischief so-so easillyy...” Rarity sobbed her explanation as to why she was being more dramatic than usual; as the unicorn tried to excuse her behavior, Applejack rested her chin on Rarity's head as she held her close in a hug.
“Ah know, sugarcube, Ah know. Ah'm worried too... If they aren't back by tomorrow morning we'll get our friends tah help an' go tah Apploosa if we have tah.” Applejack looked to the doorway as she continued to comfort the distressed unicorn; the two mares tried to stay awake the rest of the night, waiting for their sisters to come home.
They spent the night in the clubhouse and when they awoke in each others' hooves with no sisters, Rarity almost broke out in hysterics once more. Applejack got to her hooves and tried to remain strong, even as she fought back a blush at waking up in such a manner.
“Come on Rarity, there's hope yet; with our friends helpin', nothing's impossible.” Rarity nodded as she wiped at her tears and followed the farmer as she gave Sweet Apple Acres one last check before heading into town.
Applejack knew the fastest mare in Ponyville would be a good place to start getting help; Pinkie Pie had previously demonstrated amazing speed and had her Pinkie Sense, both of which would be useful in finding the Crusaders. Just in case, Applejack kept an eye on the skies, since the fastest flier often took naps on the clouds over the town.
After walking through the market place and trying unsuccessfully to get the fashion mare to either eat or search on her own (the result was a tight hug which would then brought a blush to Applejack's face), the two mares found a cloud that sported a rainbow mane and tail.
“There we go, Rainbow Dash will speed up the search!” Applejack assured the gray-white mare before calling up to the cloud.
“Rainbow Dash! Rainbow! We need yer help!” The cyan mare peeked over the side of her cloud before swooping down to hover in front of the two mares with a curious look on her face.
“What's up?” Applejack opened her mouth to respond but Rarity thrust forward to dramatically reply.
“Our sisters are missing!” Applejack deadpanned the unicorn for the interruption and the overly dramatic sentence; once she realized that Rarity was then going for either a dramatic pause or for Applejack to continue, the farmer took over the explanation.
“We can't find any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders anywhere! Ah got ah letter from mah cousin Braeburn sayin' he saw them at Apploosa the other day; we tried tah see if they came back but we haven't found them yet. Can ya help search Ponyville before we check Apploosa?” Rainbow Dash was a little slack jawed at what the trio did this time but shook her head clear before giving the two older siblings a salute.
“Leave it to me; I'll check Ponyville in ten seconds flat!” Seeing Rarity's distress, Applejack grabbed a hold of the rainbow tail before the pegasus took off to start her search; once she had the cyan mare's attention she let go in order to be able to speak clearly.
“We don't want ah fast check; we want ah THOROUGH search.” Rainbow rolled her eyes at the stern look before waving a reassuring hoof to the two mares.
“Yeah, yeah; a fast but thorough search, right.” With another salute, the brash mare flew away at top speeds to start looking for the trio of fillies.
After Rainbow Dash sped off to help search, the two mares continued on to Sugarcube Corner to find Pinkie Pie; it was at their great surprise when they found that she had left early that morning to visit the library. Applejack suggested that they visit Rarity's parents on the off chance that the girls had came back but that was a dead end as well.
They trotted at a steady but faster pace to get to Twilight's and only paused when a blue blur rushed down to say what she found, Fluttershy hovering nearby.
“Did ya find them Rainbow Dash?”
“I've looked all over Ponyville and some of the fields around it; I didn't see heads or tails of them.” As two mares slumped downhearted where they stood, Fluttershy leaned forward slightly to try and reassure them.
“Uh, maybe Twilight knows a way to find them...?” The others shared determined nods and turned as one to take the last few steps to enter the library.
Rarity sagged onto Applejack's supporting shoulder as the farmer tried to keep her spirits up.
“Now look, we're gonnah get Twilight on board and we'll head to Apploosa tah find them.” After seeing the consenting nod, Applejack tried to led the way only to find Rarity rushed forward and threw open the door with her magic.
“Twilight, you simply must hel-” The fashionista paused mid-speech as the four friends found the residential bookworm and party pony cuddling and nuzzling one another on a shared cushion with a book laying out in front of them.
Pinkie Pie had a hoof around Twilight's shoulders and her head on the lavender mare's neck, within easy reach of Twilight's muzzle; something Twilight was taking advantage of and was in the midst of kissing the pink cheek when their friends came inside.
Due to the relaxing nature of their relationship, Twilight was slow to respond or even panic though both mares on the cushion turned as one to face their friends who were staring back in shock at the scene before them.
Rarity was the first to collect herself, and after warring with her romantic needs with the need to focus on the current issue, stepped forward to speak to the two mares on the cushion.
“Ah, yes, uhm, as much as I would want to find out everything, we have an emergency on our hooves.” Twilight blinked slowly as she pushed her worries aside to help her friends.
“What's wrong?” As Twilight and Pinkie got up from their seat they met halfway by the others all silently agreed to worry about the girls first before asking of the two's new relationship.
“Well Twi', the Crusaders have gone missin'. We can't find them... Ah got a letter from mah cousin Braeburn sayin' he saw them in Apploosa but lost sight of them. We then tried tah find 'em here but had no luck; even rainbow couldn't find them.”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward and explained further.
“I've looked all over town and the nearby places; they're not in Ponyville. I even checked the stores they often visit.” Rainbow stated flatly even as Rarity and Applejack flinched at the repeated fact; it was an accurate statement but Applejack watched to be sure they didn't miss a thing before leaving town. Rarity could feel the farmer tense and had a hunch that it was because of how she's acted in the past; she wanted to be strong this time and remained stoic as Twilight turned to the farmer.
“You said you got a letter?” The lavender mare inquired of the orange one who nodded slowly as she kept an eye on the unicorn beside her.
“Yeah, Ah got ah letter from Braeburn sayin' he saw the girls in Apploosah. Here ya go Twi', we may have tah find the fastest train south...” As Twilight grabbed the letter using her magic and Pinkie hovered over her shoulder as they read the letter together.
Applejack couldn't focus on the two of them together since it caused her to blush and feel exactly how close she was standing near Rarity. She tried to shift over as Twilight read the letter from Braeburn, but Rarity shifted with her as she still needed the support. As the mares waited for the bookworm to finish reading, Rainbow Dash was getting impatient at how long it took.
"Come on! We know they aren't here and that they are probably still in Apploosa! What are we waiting for?” As everyone looked to the cyan mare, Fluttershy flinched since she was next to Rainbow even though she wasn't the one they focused on; Twilight managed to remain impassive and answer Dash's almost rhetorical question.
“That would be the next course of action... Let's head to the train station.” As the six friends headed for the door, the librarian paused a moment to call for her assistant.
“SPIIKEEE! Spike, I need you to stay here and watch the library while we're gone, ok?” Spike nodded from the doorway to the kitchen, concerned but pleased to have something he could do to help; he had heard what was wrong, but with the six best friends on the case he knew it wouldn't be an issue for long.
The train ride south was an odd one; they took the express to get there faster but it was still a two hour long trip. At first it was filled with everyone trying to reassure Applejack and Rarity, but soon turned towards the pink and lavender mares' new relationship.
“So darling, have you and Pinkie Pie been going out long?” Pinkie merely looked to the librarian who was nervous about the others' reaction; Applejack, for some reason, almost didn't want to know what it was like for two mares to be dating and stared out the window.
“Well, we've been, been dating for two months now...” Twilight rubbed her hooves together as Pinkie gave her a reassuring nuzzle; Rarity couldn't help but 'awww' at how Twilight wore a slight blush but made no move to stop Pinkie Pie from nuzzling her.
“Why darling, that's wonderful!” Rarity clapped her hooves as the new couple smiled bashfully back.
“Ah hope y'all are happy with one another.” Applejack didn't want to spoil her friends' new relationship with whatever was upsetting her so she made sure to smile in a sincere manner.
It was as Fluttershy was giving her own quiet congratulations that Dash rolled her eyes at the display; sappy wasn't cool at all.
“And you're still an egghead? I'd have thought hanging at with Pinkie would have loosened you up.” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves while sticking a teasing tongue to the lavender mare who had tensed at the short tone of the cyan mare but relaxed at the teasing smirk.
“Silly Dashie! You just gottah find the right spots to make Twilight go all loose; like this!” With that exclamation the pink earth pony thrust forward to nose the lavender unicorn's neck, making her melt under the touch all the while blushing.
“Pinkiieee!” Twilight weakly protested while most of the others chuckled at the sight; Rainbow Dash pretended to gag until catching sight of Fluttershy's disapproving look; as the two pegasi spoke quietly with one another, Applejack turned her attention back to the window, trying not to listen the others' conversation with great care as though it was extremely important or make mental notes of what works to impress a mare.
“So, when did you get together? You've been dating for two months...? Hmmm, what happened two months ago...” Rarity tried to focus on happier thoughts which Twilight and Pinkie were willing to do as it meant that the train ride wasn't filled with tense worry.
Before either mare could state when exactly they got together, the fashionista clapped her hooves once as she realized the likely candidate.
“Oooh! I know, it was after your birthday party Twilight, wasn't it?” At the acknowledgment that she got the right time, the gray-white unicorn turned to the farmer next to her and gave her a nudge.
“Ha! I told you that there was something going on that night! I have a sixth sense about these things after all.” Rarity put her nose into the air proudly as Applejack gave her a rude smile; consenting that she had been right at the party about their two friends' feelings for one another.
“Yeah, Ah guess so...” Rarity was concerned slightly by the slightly less energetic response but decided that it was perhaps nerves finally showing and just turned back to the couple to ask about what kind of dates they had been on or other romantic things they may have done.
It was an impressive list, ranging from simple picnics to movies, dinner, and star gazing as well as quite a few anniversaries hosted by the original party animal. Applejack couldn't help herself as she took note of which ones impressed Rarity more than the others and tried in vain to keep her attention on the changing scenery outside their train.
As the train pulled into the station, the tension returned as they were no longer sure of how easily they would find the trio of fillies. Rarity was glued to Applejack's side once more as the two mares led the way out; it was their mission after all. Just as they started to look for anyone familiar, they heard young voices coming from the side.
All six mares looked and were surprised that they found their quarry so easily; after all the worry and running around, they thought it would take at least another hour or two before finding the Crusaders. While they didn't recognize the fourth filly, the first three were indeed Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo; at the sight of the girls unharmed the worry faded away from the older sisters' faces to be replaced with fury.
As the others hung back, Rarity, Applejack and Dash stepped forward to start demanding answers.
“What in the hay are y'all doin'?”
“What do you have to say for yourself?” The trio froze in place before turning fearfully to face the older mares, the fourth filly seemed curious as to what was happening but as the interrogation continued she soon turned pensive instead.
“Hey, uh, sis'...”
“Hi Rarity...”
“Uh, hi...” Even as the trio stared bashfully back, the older ponies gave no room for it as they pressed on with their questions.
“Do you know the kind of trouble you're in?”
“Ah got ah letter from Braeburn sayin' y'all were running around Apploosa!”
“Running away is not cool squirt; what would your parents think of that?” The trio of older mares wanted to see what the girls had to say in their defense so after this last question they all waited for any kind of response; what came next however was completely unexpected.
“I don't know what either one of them would think of that; they've been dead for over five years now.” All of the older mares were in shock; while they had given the young pegasus little thought, they didn't realize that she was actually on her own. Scootaloo took advantage of this shock to run away to avoid anyone questioning how she was getting by; the older sisters were tempted to try and go after her but after Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow Dash, the cyan mare took off in pursuit with Fluttershy following slowly behind.
Knowing that Scootaloo was taken care of, the two mares remained facing their sisters who had remained silent since the statement from the young pegasus. The two remaining Crusaders would have tried to chase after their friend as well but felt the presence of their sisters and knew that any attempt to leave would be seen as them running from the problem and lead to worse punishment. Before anyone could think of anything else to say, the fourth filly stepped forward. She was a green with purple mane and tail unicorn who wore glasses; something that she adjusted as she spoke with the older mares.
“Please, don't be too mad at them; I asked them to come here. I wanted them to try making some of the pie here and they didn't really want to but I managed to convince them to come out this way.” The purple maned filly tried to look sad and properly ashamed of her actions to sell the bit, unfortunately the older sisters weren't willing to accept that at face value.
“An' how did y'all meet in the first place if ya live here?” Applejack stared sternly back as she kept an eye on her younger sister, looking for signs of trouble or lies.
“We met when I visited Ponyville during summer break, back before I got my Cutie Mark.” The green unicorn firmly replied, sounding rather convincing to the other fillies who knew it to be a lie but tried to look like they knew it to be true.
“That was rather irresponsible of you girls; what if somepony got hurt? We didn't even know you had left Ponyville until this morning; something dreadful could have happened and we wouldn't have known in time to help.” Rarity stomped a hoof as she frowned at the girls who looked properly chastised.
“We're sorry...” The girls droned as one while they hung their heads, secretly hoping that this was the end of it and that they wouldn't dig too much further into the matter.
This hope was dashed as the older siblings merely scowled even more and started to talk over one another.
“'Sorry' wouldn't help if somepony got hurt-”
“Y'all promised tah behave -”
“-and you came out into a desert of all things!-”
“- this isn't how we raised ya tah act like -”
“-you are positively filthy-”
“-ya think that sayin' sorry would fix everything -”
“-and I had to come all the way out here to find you!-
“-an' there are just somethings that don't go away by sayin' 'sorry'-”
“-you were never as bad before you met Scootaloo and Apple Bloom-”
“-an' getting' hurt is one of them -”
“Honestly, one must wonder how the others were raised because you were never as bad before!” Applejack went silent as she heard this complaint and looked towards the unicorn with ears flipped back.
“What was that Rarity?” The orange farmer was tense as she questioned the still furious mare; it was one thing to be mad at siblings for misbehaving, but to claim that it was family upbringing was another thing entirely.
“I said, Applejack, that one has to wonder how the others were raised at home because Sweetie Belle had never been this bad before!” Rarity gave the farmer a glare which was met with a stern look in return.
“We raise our Apples just like our trees; good and strong.” Rarity gave a huff as she turned towards her sister.
“Perhaps not as good as you think, Applejack.... Sweetie Belle, you are grounded; no questions, no pleading, no complaints. We shall see what you have down in this town before adding anything extra to that punishment; and there is to be no contact with the other Crusaders, do you understand!?” Applejack watched in shock for a little longer before scowling and turning to her own sister.
“Yer also grounded Apple Bloom; Ah know we raised ya better'n this. We're gonnah go find Braeburn and find out what else ya did that yer weren't supposed tah.” Before Applejack could turn to Rarity to find out exactly what she meant by what was said, the pegasi walked up in silence.
It was a bit of a surprise to see Rainbow Dash walking instead of flying, but since they all had much more on their plate they didn't wait to talk about it and just left to find Braeburn.
They came across the stallion talking with Little Strongheart in the middle of town; Braeburn had been in the midst of asking the buffalo if she had seen the fillies since the other day when he noticed the group of mares heading their way. After giving a brief greeting to Little Strongheart, they turned to Braeburn in worry.
“Well hey there cousin! And cousin! I'm glad to see you found the girls, were you going to stay for long or did you have to leave so soon?” Braeburn smiled to the group while Applejack just shook her head before getting down to business.
“Not this time Braeburn; we just want tah know what the Crusaders got up to in town.” Braeburn frowned slightly as he thought of what he heard from around town.
“Well, the girls tried to bake pies... Then I found them in the middle of town... I heard they tried mining in the new Salt Mine... Miss, do you know of anything they did?” The stallion turned to the young buffalo who frowned thoughtfully as well.
“They came with me to the village and spoke with the chief, but they weren't any trouble.” Strongheart shrugged towards the stallion who shrugged in return before looking to his cousin once more; Applejack slumped slightly in relief, the girls hadn't done anything too bad this time around.
“Alright, thanks Braeburn; sorry we can't stay longer but we should really get back.” Applejack shook hooves with her cousin before the group left to take the first train home.
The train ride back was four times as worse than the trip out; nearly everyone was so tense that anytime one of the girls twitched all eyes shot to the movement, freezing whoever was shifting at the time. No one spoke and all were thinking of they learned that day about one another and what the girls had just done. Once they reached home, it was to the great relief of everyone.
As a precaution of runaways, the group surrounded the three fillies as they left with Rarity and Applejack in front, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash on the sides with Twilight and Pinkie Pie bringing up the rear. Just as they stepped off the train onto the platform, Scootaloo gave a shout as she made a break towards Fluttershy who flinched back in fright.
“Outtah the way!”
As the young pegasus made her break, Apple Bloom had knocked into Twilight while Sweetie Belle tackled Rarity into Applejack in an attempt to prevent anypony from following; unfortunately they didn't have enough hooves to stop Dash from taking off to try and catch the orange filly.
Within moments Applejack pulled Sweetie Belle off of her and pushed Rarity back upright and reached for her sister.
“Apple Bloom! What in tarnation is goin' on here?!” Applejack started to chastise her sister when Rarity turned to her with a frown.
“Oh, it is quite clear what is going on! It is because of their upbringing and far too much non-supervision while they stayed at Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack froze in place before slowly turning to face the fashion-minded pony with a scowl.
“That ain't it at all! We all gottah work, we can't watch ANY of the fillies at all times!” Applejack glared back while Rarity merely whipped her mane back with a 'hmph' of disdain.
“Oh really?! Is working all that matters to you? Everypony else just falls to the side because work must always come first?!” Applejack felt her jaw go slack for a moment before retorting with a frown.
“Ya never complained when Ah was helpin' YA with all yer repairs an' things! We have tah work extra hard for all the time that Ah'm away helpin' ya! An' what about yer work!? Yer the one that always puts her dressmakin' before yer own sister!” Rarity stood there making various gasps as she lifted a hoof to rest on her chest.
“Uh! Oh! Ooh! Why I never! Come along Sweetie Belle, you are extremely grounded and I shall be telling mother and father about this! Good day girls.” Rarity haughtily turned away and went to her parents' home to explain what had happened; Applejack gave the retreating figure one last glare before looking to her own little sister who shrank back in worry.
“Come on Apple Bloom, we're gonnah be talkin' with Granny Smith about this...” Applejack tried to not dwell on the pain of what Rarity had implied and led the way back to the farmstead with a very disheartened filly following closely behind.