//------------------------------//
// And the adventure begins 
// Story: Adventures in Foalsitting: Ponyville 
// by ApexSixtail 
//------------------------------//

"Scootaloo, what's goin' on?" Apple Bloom said as Scootaloo got behind her and started pushing her out the door.
"Now hold it just one minute!" Apple Bloom said as she put on the brakes. She turned to look at the orange pegasus, and that's when she got a good look at her face. Tears streaks were clearly visible under her panic stricken eyes. Apple Bloom gulped because she knew she wasn't going to like the answers to the questions forming in her mind.
"Now Scoot, just calm down. Tell me what happened."
"Sweetie Bell and I tried to get our cutie marks in acrobatics. We had set up a swing in the upper branches of the club house tree. Sweetie Bell went first. The swing didn't hold and she crashed to the ground. She didn't move and I panicked. The only thing I could think of was to go get help, and you came to mind. Please Apple Bloom, we need to go help her."
Apple Bloom sighed. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. She needed to go help her friend, but she also had the responsibility to watch over Twinkle Star, who had hidden under a table when Scootaloo had burst in. Sighing once again as she made her decision, she turned to Twinkle Star, "Come on Twink, we need ta go help Sweetie Bell."
"But it's my bed time, and shouldn't we get an adult to help her if she's hurt?"
Apple Bloom walked over and knelt down by the filly, "Twink, sometimes gettin' an adult only further complicates a situation. Sometimes it's easier just ta handle it on your own. Adults like ta panic over things whether there's cause for it or not. If we can handle it on our own, then that's one less thing they have ta worry about."
"Ok, but I still think we should get an adult." Twinkle Star said as she started to head toward the door.

After locking up the library, the three fillies headed out to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. As they approached the tree, they herd moaning. Galloping up to the source of the moan, they saw Sweetie Bell curled up holding one of her back legs.
"Sweetie Bell, I brought help." Scootaloo said as she, Apple Bloom, and Twinkle Star neared her.
"Easy Sweetie, just relax and let us take a look at you."
Upon hearing Apple Bloom talk, Sweetie Bell cringed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ditched you like I did."
Apple Bloom knew that this was not the time to discuss what had transpired earlier, but she also knew that it was keeping Sweetie Bell's mind off of any pain she was in. Unfortunately, she was going to have to get Sweetie Bell to talk about her injury so she could find out how bad it was. As Apple Bloom bent down to look at the white unicorn's leg, she saw that Sweetie Bell's hysterics were upsetting little Twinkle Star.
"Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said as calmly as she could while she sat back up and looked over to the orange pegasus, "why don't ya take Twinkle Star and show 'er the clubhouse?" 
Scootaloo hurriedly ushered the young unicorn up the ramps to the clubhouse, "Have you ever been in a real tree house before." She asked, panic still thick in her voice.
"N-no." Replied the upset filly.
"W-well today's you lucky day. Come on in side and I'll show you all the things the crusaders did to..."Scootaloo's voice faded away as she and Twinkle Star disappeared into the clubhouse.
With a sigh, she turned her attention back to the hurt white unicorn in front of her. "Sweetie Bell," the unicorn cringed again like a scolded pet as Apple Bloom said her name. Immediately the movement caused Sweetie Bell to clutch her back leg again and cry out in pain. "Easy Sweetie, I need you ta relax. I'm not here ta yell at ya or nothin'. I just want ta look at that leg of yours ta see what's wrong with it."
Still shaking, Sweetie Bell started to uncurl so her friend could take a look at her leg. Immediately Apple Bloom grimaced at the site. The leg looked fine but the skin on her hock was starting to bruise. 
"How bad is it?" Sweetie said through clenched teeth.
"I think ya just sprained it. Can ya move it at all?" Sweetie Bell grunted in effort and pain as she slowly moved her leg back and forth. Apple Bloom let out a sigh of relief as she saw the leg move like it should, albeit slowly.
"That's good Sweetie, you can stop trying ta move it now." Sweetie Bell melted into the grass as the tension left her body when she stopped trying to move her injured leg.
"Where are you going?" Sweetie Bell almost sat up as she heard Apple Bloom start to walk away.
"Relax Sweetie Bell, I'm just going to get Scoots so we can get you into the clubhouse." That said, Apple Bloom proceeded up the ramp and opened the clubhouse door to find Scootaloo and Twinkle Star drinking out of juice boxes and coloring a picture that the crusaders had drawn earlier in the week.
"Twinkle Star, I need ta borrow Scootaloo for a moment ta help me move Sweetie Bell inta the clubhouse, OK?"
"OK." the filly answered her in a small, still shaky voice. Scootaloo immediately got up and followed her fellow crusader out the door and down the ramp to where the third member of their group laid.
"How is she?" Scootaloo asked the standard question as it came to her.
"It's just a bad sprain."Apple Bloom answered automatically. Sweetie Bell, who had lifted her head after Scootaloo had asked her question, gave a small pained smile before laying her head back onto the grass.
"So, what do you need me to do?"
"We need ta get her offa the ground and inta the club house. Then one of us has to go fetch some ice ta get the swelling down."
"OK, so how are we going to do this?" Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell looked at Apple Bloom, one in curiosity and one in worry.
"Well, I figure that if we get her on my back, than Scoots, you help balance her while I walk her inta that club house." 
After several minutes, and much discomfort for Sweetie Bell, they had her moved into the club house and onto a cushion they had "borrowed" from one of Rarity's couches. Needless to say Sweetie Bell let out a long sigh of relief once she was settled on the cushion.
"So, now what?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well," Apple Bloom huffed, "now we need ta get some ice on her leg."
"From where? The only place in Ponyville that will be open is the bowling alley." Scootaloo questioned.
"Doesn't Alley Way's brother run the Pro-Shop there?" Sweetie Bell chimed in.
"You're right, he dose!" Apple Bloom exclaimed as realization hit her. "Scoot's, could you"
"Oh no! I'm not going anywhere near Alley Way. He's always looking at me when he thinks I'm not looking."
"But someone has ta go." Apple Bloom reasoned, but with a flat look coming from her pegasus friend, she knew who had just been selected to go.
"Alright, I'll go. Just keep Sweetie Bell comfortable and keep Twinkle Star occupied. I'll be back as soon as I can." And with a sigh, Apple Bloom galloped out the door.

When Apple Bloom opened the doors the bowling alley, the sound of bowling balls hitting bowling pins, combined with the chatter of several dozen ponies, all mixed together to make a medium sized roar with the occasional loud crash from the far end of the building to assault the little pony's ears. Now Apple Bloom had been to the bowling alley several times before, but never during Stallion's league night. 
She walked into the establishment and started to head for the Pro-Shop when the sound of a bowling ball hitting the pins for a perfect strike made her heart stop. Well, not so much the sound of the strike, but the sound that followed it, which sounded much like her brother's catch phrase of "Eeyup!". 
Cautiously, she turned her head and looked towards where the sound had come from. Sure enough, she caught enough of a glimpse of red fur to know that the sound had come from none other than Big Macintosh himself. The yellow filly immediately crouched down closer to the floor.
"Apple Bloom?" Apple Bloom's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she heard her name spoken. Slowly, she turned around to face the pony who had called her, coming face to face with none other than Alley Way.
Apple Bloom pulled him down, then peeked over the table that was her cover. After she saw that no pony had seen her or Alley Way, or at least paid them any attention, she slumped back to the floor and let out a sigh.
"So tell me again why we're hiding on the floor, behind a table?" Alley Way asked after a second.
"So Big Mac don't see us." Apple Bloom said automatically.
"And that's a problem for me how?"
"Wha... oh, never mind. I need to see your brother."
"My brother, huh?" Alley Way lowered his head a little, looking at the ground.
Apple Bloom, glancing another peek around the table just to make sure, replied, "Yes, I need him to get me a bag of ice for Sweetie Bell. She fell and injured her leg.
Alley way suddenly perked up, "Oh, then follow me." The colt, careful to stay out of direct sight of the area where the bowlers were, lead Apple Bloom over to a door. Once there, he opened it up and motioned her into the room. 
Once inside the room, Apple Bloom looked around her.  On the walls was all sorts of bowling equipment. From Balls to shoes to other little packets that Apple Bloom didn't have the foggiest idea what they were for. After Alley Way had closed the door, a stallion about Big Mac's age walked out of a back room, "Can I help, oh, it's just you bro. Who's your friend?"
"This is Apple Bloom. She wanted to see you."
"She does, does she?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow at the filly.
"Yes sir, ah need a bag of Ice for my friend Sweetie Bell. She fell 'n sprained her leg."
"Sir, wow you are Big Mac's sister, aren't you? But why not just ask your brother for the Ice?"
"Well, ah'm not supposed ta be here. Ah was tasked with watchin' Twilight Sparkle's daughter, but then Scootaloo came and told me about the accident so ah had to-"
"Let me guess," the stallion cut her off, "You don't want him to know you're hear and not at the library watching Twinkle Star. By the way where is"
"She's with Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell at the clubhouse." It was Apple Bloom's turn to cut the stallion off before he could finish is allegation.
"Alright,  alright. Just wait right here." With that, the stallion exited the room. 
After a few minutes, They heard the stallions voice call out, "Sure Big Mac, just step into my office and we can talk."
Alley way's eyes widened as he realized what that meant. He suddenly pushed a surprised Apple Bloom into the back room and closed the door.
"What is Celestia's name did yo--" Alley Way cut off Apple Bloom's protest with a hoof over her mouth, a shushing sound came from him.
Just then, Alleyway's brother came around the corner of the counter, giving an apologetic look to Apple Bloom for a second before looking over the counter at some pony on the other side."Let me guess, you need a ball for the end of the night when the lanes break down." He said to the mystery pony.
"Eeyup." Apple Bloom solved the mystery as her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"Well, then I suggest the Haymaker 300 by Columpony. It should get through the heads cleanly and read a little earlier on the midlane. That sound like what you need?"
"Eeyup."
"Alright, I have your specs already, so I could have it ready by next week. Sound good?"
"Eeyup." 
" Alright then, anything else?" the stallion said as he took a dark blue and green swirled ball off the display wall and set it on the counter.
"Enope."
"Alright then, good luck with the rest of tonight, and I should have it ready for you by next week." After a second, the clop of large hooves receded out the door. When the hoof steps could no longer be heard, Alleyway's brother reached onto the counter and dropped a small bag into Apple Bloom's lap. It was a bag filled with ice. "Here you go, you can get out of the door in the back of my shop. Now go before any pony else comes in here."
"Thank you kindly." Apple Bloom said before she bolted towards the back room and the door within.

Once outside, she continued at full gallop, not slowing down until she returned to the clubhouse. Taking a second to catch her breath, she proceeded up the ramp to the door. "I'm back!" She announced as she flung the door open, revealing a empty clubhouse. Upon entering the structure, she found a note on the table inside. As she read it, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no!"