//------------------------------// // The Chase! // Story: Cutie Mark Crusaders: Test of Friendship // by JXWheeler //------------------------------// To my most faithful student Twilight Sparkle, By the time this letter reaches you, I am sure you will have already seen what transpired between Duo and the fillies Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. I have sent this letter to assure you, and your friends, that there is nothing to worry about. This is a test to see how strong the bonds of friendship really are between those three fillies. The spell can only be broken if their willpower is strong enough, or if the caster undoes it. If they are unable to overcome the spell, then I will undo it myself. Sincerely, Princess Celestia "Well... Princess Celestia knows best after all." Twilight stated as she rolled her eyes. Applejack and Rarity looked unsure of the situation while Rainbow Dash was just laughing happily at what happened. "Oh, oh! Can I go help Duo?" Pinkie was bouncing up and down, waving her hooves this way and that, while asking this. "Pinkie, I don't think-" Twilight was stopped from talking due to a sudden rush of wind going past her, "You should interfere?" She looked behind her, only to see the end of Pinkie's tail disappear outside the barn doors, "Oh brother..." "Uh, should we be stopping her?" Applejack asked while looking towards the barn doors. "Relax Applejack, I am sure things will be fine." Rainbow Dash waved her hoof dismissively in the air as she said this. Twilight just shook her head in response. "I hope you're right..." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duo was panting heavily as he ran towards the apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres. He stopped for a few brief moments to catch his breath, and to let his injured hoof rest, only to freeze when he heard the voices of the fillies chasing him. "Oh Duo~ Quit running and acknowledge your love for me!" Sweetie Belle said, earning a shove from Scootaloo. "He loves me Sweetie Belle, don't you Duo?" Scootaloo said in an almost seductive-like tone. Apple Bloom scowled as she bumped Scootaloo to the side, "No he loves me! Ah'm sure and he's sure!" She then started to gallop faster, prompting Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to do the same. "Leave me alone!" Duo yelled before he ran deeper into the orchard, hoping to lose the girls among the many apple trees that covered that area. Farther and farther Duo ran, making turns left and right as he bobbed and weaved around the various apples trees that came in his path. He was making sure to move in an unpredictable of a pattern as he possibly could. Once he figured he was far enough, Duo sat down against a tree and took a few deep breaths. He may have been used to running from danger back in Manehattan but, the various turns and maneuvers he pulled this time made it more taxing on his body. Of course it also did not help that his injured hoof was actively protesting against the whole ordeal. "All this running is not doing my sprained hoof any favors." Duo said with a sigh as he looked down at his injured leg. "What has gotten into those girls though? I've heard that saving the life of somepony can sometimes lead to them developing feelings for their savior. However, there is no way that me saving them the other day is the reason they are behaving like this now. Something else has to be going on but, I don't have any idea as to what it may be." He then shook his head as he stood up, now starting to limp towards the exit gate in the distance. Only for Pinkie Pie to drop down in front of him from the tree above. "Ahhhh!" Duo yelled in panic as he backpedaled into a tree. Once the initial panic was gone, he glared at the pink pony whom was currently giggling at his reaction. "Pinkie Pie? I thought you were still at the barn? What are you doing here?" "Well I was in the barn, but then I figured it would be fun to help you hide from the girls!" Pinkie Pie smiled as she said this. "Fun?" Duo asked in shock. "I am running away with a sprained left hind hoof in order to save my innocence. You consider that fun?" Pinkie Pie thought for a few seconds before replying. "Well... when you put it that way then no, it isn't fun. However, the running and hiding part is fun!" Duo's right eye began to twitch. "How is that- you know what? Fine! You can help me." He finally relented, choosing to not try and make sense of what she said. "Duo, why are you running away? You can't hide our love for each other forever. Come back!" The voice of Sweetie Belle called out from only a few feet away. "Your love for each other?" Scootaloo asked in response. "As if! He obviously loves me, I am clearly the best mare for him." "Ya'll must be dreaming if ya think he loves either of you. It's obvious ah'm the one he cares the most about." Apple Bloom said with a happy grin. "No way, I am the one he cares the most about! He blushed when he first saw me!" Sweetie Belle countered. "Talk time is over, running time is now!" Duo said quickly before dashing off towards the exit gate. Pinkie simply giggled once more as she hopped alongside Duo as he ran. "Follow me! I know a great place in Sugarcube Corner where you can hide!" "As long as it gets me away from the girls, that's fine by me!" Duo replied as they both reached the exit gate and ran through it to head into Ponyville, leaving the arguing fillies behind in the process. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duo ran as fast he could through the streets of Ponyville, hiding behind trash cans and buildings as he tried to shake his pursuers. Once he hid behind a cardboard box, he peeked his head out and surveyed the area. "Hmm, I don't see them anywhere. I guess the coast is clear." He said with a smile as he began to limp away from his hiding spot. Letting out a sigh of relief, he continued his trot through the back alleys of Ponyville as he turned a corner to see Sugarcube Corner across the street. "There it is Duo, we're almost home free!" Pinkie Pie stated happily as she began to hop towards her home. Duo just rolled his eyes as he followed her, only to come to a realization. "Wait... why aren't you affected by whatever it is that's causing the crusaders to act like this?" "That's because the author of this fanfiction doesn't want it to be just another 'Need it, want it' spell." Pinkie Pie casually said. He just blinked in confusion at this response. "Uh... what?" "Besides, if it did affect more than just the crusaders then it would be really hard for the author to continue the story because it would have become too big of a mess to sort through, and it would defeat one of the purposes of this story!" If Duo hadn't regretted anything before, he was doing so now by regretting he ever asked the question in the first place. "I am just going to nod my head and pretend I did not hear any of that." "Okie dokie loki!" Pinkie Pie replied as they reached the doors of Sugarcube Corner. That was when Duo looked behind him and saw the three lovestruck crusaders in the street. "Duo, come back!' Scootaloo called out. "Oh no..." Duo whispered. Apple Bloom was the next to call out. "Ya can't hide forever!" "I know you love me, Duo. Stop denying it!" Sweetie Belle stated. The ponies that were currently in the street watched the crusaders as they said this, although it was not for long. After all, this was hardly the weirdest thing they ever saw happen in this town. As soon as Pinkie Pie opened the door, Duo bolted inside. This caused the pink mare to giggle as she walked in to find him cowering under a table. "Come on Duo, that's not the hiding spot I am talking about silly." She said with a giggle. Duo for his part just peeked his head out from under the table to look at the pink mare. "Okay, so where is the hiding spot then?" "It's upstairs, come on!" Pinkie Pie reached under the table and pulled out Duo before placing him on her back and walking up the stairs. Duo sighed as he thought about everything that was happening to him right now. He desperately wanted to know what happened to the girls to make them the way they are now. Was there a way to get them back to normal? Did he actually love them? That was the question that stood out the most to Duo. Sure he loved them as friends but, was there more to it than that? He thought back to their first meeting and how happy they were to see him. Each of them were quick to accept him into their group, each of them equally happy that he was there. However, there was one filly that kept coming to mind when he thought more about which of them he'd be willing to ask out in the future. Before he could think any further though, Pinkie Pie stopped moving. "Here we are!" Pinkie Pie said as she opened the door to her room and walked inside before placing Duo on her bed. "Nopony ever comes into my room unless I give them permission, or it is an emergency." Duo looked around the room before spotting the alligator on the bed next to him. That caused him to yelp a bit as he hopped off the bed. "Why is there an alligator here?!" Pinkie Pie looked over at the alligator and just giggled. "Don't worry Duo, that's just my pet baby alligator Gummy. He can't hurt you because he has no teeth!" As if to prove her point, Gummy leaped at Pinkie Pie and began to chomp at various parts of her body, much to the pink mare's amusement. Duo just shook his head before sighing and hopping back on the bed. "So what happens now? Do I just stay here and wait, hoping the spell wears off on it's own?" Pinkie Pie walked over to the bed and sat next to Duo, pulling him into a hug. "Relax Duo, things will work out for the best. I am sure of it." She assured him with the biggest smile she could make. Duo leaned into the hug before looking up at Pinkie Pie. "What if things don't work out though? What if they stay like that forever?" Pinkie Pie gently placed a hoof on Duo's muzzle to silence him. "Please trust me on this Duo, everything will turn out for the best. In the meantime, just think of this as a big game of hide-n-seek!' She said with a happy giggle. "I Pinkie Promise that everything will be okay. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." While reciting the Pinkie Promise, she made the proper motions with her hooves before placing one of them over her eye at the end. Duo simply chuckled at the display. "Okay then, I trust you Pinkie." That's when he heard knocking on Pinkie Pie's door. "Pinkie Pie, is Duo in there?" Sweetie Belle's voice called out. Pinkie Pie walked over to the door and opened it slightly. "Nope, Duo isn't in here. Maybe he is hiding under a table downstairs?" "We already checked under the tables though and this was the last place to look." Scootaloo replied. "Yeah! Maybe he is hiding in your room and you don't know... about... it..." Apple Bloom's speech slowed down as she saw Duo sitting on the bed from underneath Pinkie's legs. "I found you Duo!" Duo's pupils shrunk when Apple Bloom pointed him out. Since he didn't want to risk further injury by jumping out the window, he did the only option left his panicked mind could think of. He closed his eyes and made his horn light up with magic. He didn't know if he had enough magical power to teleport, he didn't even have a destination in mind aside from wanting be somewhere else away from there. However, it did not matter now. He only hoped that wherever he ended up, it would be somewhere safe and close by. After only a few seconds passed, he vanished from the room.