//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 // Story: Sweet Pea // by CartoonNerd12 //------------------------------// Scootaloo was staring off into space with a dopey look on her face while at breakfast the next morning. Her sisters and their friends noticed her strange look. "Yoo-hoo, Scootaloo…" AB waved her hoof in front of her, "You okay?" "I'm…" she sighed dreamily, "…wonderful…" she swooned and giggled. Around her, the group exchanged weird glances. Meanwhile in the gym, Rumble was staring off with a dreamy look. "Rumble?" Pip questioned, "You alright?" He kept staring off. Button came up to him, "Uh, Rumble?" The other guys surrounded him. "Think he's sick?" said Featherweight. "Ooh, if he is, think he's contagious?" Snips pointed. "No!" Pip shook his head, "But something is up with him… Rumble, you okay there?" "Okay?" Rumble said in a daze, "I'm more than okay!" He jumped in excitement and his wings began to flap slowly. He moved in a circle, not having a care in the world. "Okay…" Button moved slowly towards Pip, "In the meantime, you can tell us where you've been in the last three days." "Oh, that…" he took a breath and told his tale of finding a treasure on the island. "You actually found the Lost Treasure of Marendelle?!" "You know what it is?" "Duh!" gestured Featherweight, "Any pony who grew up on this island knows the legend of the lost treasure, but no pony has been able to find it… until now…" "Well, unfortunately, it's gone now." "How come?" Snails questioned. "It was like this…" and he finished explaining his whole story. Button asked, "…And you haven't seen these Flim Flam brothers since after the temple was crumbling?" Pip nodded. "Would you like me to have my guards be on the lookout of them?" "No, I rather not see them again so I could forget what I almost lost with Apple Bloom…" Button grinned and patted his back, "I get it…" "You know, you seem different, Button." "Yeah…" Featherweight noted, "He's right. Lately, you've been acting more regal than when we were kids. What gives?" "Well, for one, my parents are going to be retiring soon and I'll have to take their place as king." "Whoa!" they all said, including Rumble after the news snapped him back to normal. "You're going to be king soon?!" he gaped. "Welcome back, and yes." "Wow… sure you're up to it?" asked Featherweight, "I know you were hesitant when it came to living up to your parents…" "Trust me, F. I'm more than ready…" "Hey, if you're going to be king, we need to give you a big party!" Snips gestured. "Yeah!" cheered Snails. "Like what kind of party?" Pip questioned. "Uh… a beach party!" Snails said. "Yeah!" Snips hoofed bump with him. "Hey… that's not bad…" Button pondered, "We can invite the girls, too!" "Sweet!" Rumble flew up and then daydreamed about his wife again. "A beach party?!" the princesses said when they were alone in the kitchens with the guys. "We got it all figured out." explained Button, "Truffle will handle the food, Snips and Snails will get the games, Featherweight will provide music…" "When does this take place exactly?" Sweetie asked. "This afternoon. Meet us at the cove after lunch." Sweetie looked at the girls, who nodded, "Okay, we'll see you there." When everyone else took their leave, Sweetie stopped Button. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, but your mother's last test got me thinking…" Button felt panic rising inside him, thinking, Oh no… she's change her mind! She doesn't want to marry me anymore because Mother scared her with those tests! What if she…" "I need to know all about Marendelle and how to be a proper queen to you." "Huh?" he blinked. "I want to learn how to be a queen… If that's alright…?" "Alright?!" he relieved a huge sigh, "I thought for a second there you changed your mind about the…" "What? No! Oh, Button…" "Well, it seemed like it was…" "Let's get one thing straight: nothing is going to change my mind about your proposal, because I am deeply in love with you and I don't plan on stopping." she beamed. He smiled in return as they leaned in for a kiss. "So… you want to know what it takes to be a queen of Marendelle?" She nodded, "Hm-mm." "It won't be easy, I'll tell you this much." "I'm prepared as long as I have you by my side…" "Same goes for me, Sweetie…" he grinned, "Follow me, and I'll teach you everything you need to know." he offered his hoof. She giggled and took it. They started making their way around the castle and stopped at a line of portraits hanging on the wall of Marendelle's past rulers. "…and here are my parents." he pointed to the last painting at the end of the line. "Where are you?" "I won't be up there until I have my coronation and a queen." he smirked at her. "Then it'll be us up there." he wrapped his hoof around her. She blushed, and then he had them move on. They were in the library as Sweetie Belle sat at a table while Button was looking for something. He finally found it and staggered to carry a literally giant book! He set it on the table with a thump and said, "Here it is the history of Marendelle!" She looked at it with wide eyes, "I have to read all of that?!" He laughed, "Nah, just the important stuff." he flipped pages, "Here's a good place to start." She kissed his cheek, "Thanks…" "No, thank you… You're going all out just to show you can be the best queen you can be… Which you will be…" he smirked. She smirked back, "Well, I'll have a king to help me out whenever something goes wrong…" "You, my love, have a keen insight on things…" "That's what your mother told me." "And she's right. Wow…" "What?" "That's the first time I actually admitted my mom was right. I still don't like how she still has this contest going when there's no need for it anymore, especially since I've already made my choice about who my wife should be…" "And you should, but we're doing this to convince her that I am good enough for you…" "Am I good enough for you, Sweetie?" "What do you mean?" "You're forced to prove that you're better than the other princesses when I should be the one who has to prove myself…" "Button, you don't have to prove anything… Since the day we met, I have seen the kind of prince you are. You don't need a title to show that you are a good pony. I would have loved you even without the crown or the status, because I don't need those… I had to embrace being a princess when I was adopted. I wasn't unhappy since I had a new family that would care for me, but being a princess in general wasn't something I needed. I don't want to be queen for the sake of being queen, but I just want to be your queen…" They embraced for the longest time. He pointed, "So, ready for your first queen lesson?" With a look of determination, she replied, "Ready." They started going over the book as Button was teaching. The afternoon came and the fairly large group started playing on the beach. Featherweight had a DJ stand and was playing the music while Babs was helping him. Truffle was making hay burgers on a barbeque. Dinky and Twist with Snips and Snails were playing catch with a frisbee. The Canterlot sisters were splashing each other in the ocean. Their special someponies saw this and decided to join in for some fun. They dived deep into the water and swam underneath them. The girls suddenly felt a shift and were being lifted up. "What the…? Guys!" Apple Bloom saw Pip holding her on his shoulders. "Rumble! Put me down!" Scootaloo demanded. "Why should I?" he smirked. "Argh!" she wiggled out of his grip and they both splashed into the water. Once they resurfaced, she glared at him, "Okay, lover boy, how about another challenge?" "Name it." he said with determination in his eyes. "I challenge you…" she saw how the waves were forming, "…to a surfing contest!" His eyes were wide for a bit before he grinned, "Oh, it is on…" "Sure you can handle it? Because I have been whooping your hide ever since we came here." "As much as you had a lucky streak going, everypony's is going to have to end somewhere." "Oh, we'll see about that! Let's get some boards and do this!" "But wait, don't we usually have stakes?" "Hm… good point, but I know what they should be… Winner gets to have the choice of…" she whispers the rest in his ear and his eyes widened. "Whoa, getting anxious are we?" "It's your own fault, you know." "Hey, you're just as much at blame, too." "So, do we have a bet?" "We have a bet." they hoof-bumped before getting out to find a couple of surf boards. On the other side of the island back in his tavern hideout, Caballeron was fuming. "That little…" he mumbled as he clutched to his mug. The hench-ponies were hesitant to go near him until one said, "Uh, boss? You ok?" Caballeron shot a look that scared his henchies, "Do I look all right?! That little crook did it to me again, tricking me with what I thought was the amulet! But it was nothing but a kumquat, and now I lost all chance of ever having the amulet!" "Well, that's what you get for locking them in a sea cavern!" Trixie shouted with her eyes glowing red by the alicorn amulet. "You do not speak back to me!" She slightly chuckled, "Need I remind you that I hold the alicorn amulet and only I can tap into its source of power…?" "You wouldn't have that amulet if it weren't for me! You will do well to remember that, Ms. Trixie…" he threatened. "Well, I suppose, but I don't need you anymore to get by. As long as I have the amulet, you can't do anything to me!" she laughed. "Nothing?" he smirked, "I wouldn't count on it…" She stopped laughing and looked at him with confusion, "What are you talking about?" "Have you forgotten? Tsk, tsk. The only reason I recruited you to begin with was because you were using your performances for dirty deeds… Stealing from the audience…For shame…" Trixie bit her lip and stammered, "I didn't know what else to do! I was brought up by a magician and his magic act and he stole from his audiences! It wasn't until I joined you that I was doing it all wrong!" "But did I turn you over to the authorities when I found out your secret?" She lowered her head, "No…" "And who decided to take you in and look after you like a true friend?" She sighed, "You did…" "And you will do well to remember that…" "Well, what else we can do? You said so yourself that the Amulet of Amethyst is gone because Rumble can't tell us where it is now." "Yes, unfortunate as that is… Seems we best get back to our original plans of finding the treasure that's here on this island…" "How, boss? The map was stolen, remember?" "Indeed, but we will find it again for as long as it takes." Just as Caballeron and his gang were plotting, the Flim Flam brothers walked in and ordered a couple of apple ciders. "What rotten luck, eh, brother?" said Flim. "Quite right, dear brother," said Flam, "So much for being rich beyond our wildest dreams." "At least we knew now the map was real. Too bad that warning was real, as well." Upon hearing the word 'map', Caballeron turned his ears over to hear the brothers' conversation. "Alas, it was. Seems the young ones were right along, but they had managed to get a couple of bags full of gold. It seemed like it was no big deal and we could have gotten some of the treasure for ourselves." Caballeron turned over to face them, "Did you say 'treasure'?" After a long time going over events, Caballeron gave a small smile, "It's a shame I couldn't have met you boys sooner. We could have made some sort of agreement of splitting the treasure." "You got that right, but you would have a tough time getting it, anyway. That's why we hired a pawn to do all the hard work and searching, but the treasure was protected with a trap that if you were too greedy, then you couldn't have any of it." Flim pointed out. "Looks like we struck out again." said a hench-pony. "Perhaps, but fortune smiled down upon us when the map was taken and that we didn't have to go through what they did." "Does this mean we'll leave Marendelle?" ask Trixie. "Since there is no need to be here anymore, we leave first thing in the morning." "Mind if we join you?" said Flam. "Oh? And why is that?" "It'd be best we skip town since we ran into a princess and her escort… and we don't want to take any chances of running into them again." "I see… this wouldn't happen to be the pawn and the girl that came to you to get the map, would it?" They nervously chuckled and Flam said, "Something like that…" "You seem to be shrewd businessmen like myself, so why not?" "Oh, thank you! Oh, thank you!" they both cheered and shook his hoof. "Remember, we leave first thing in the morning. Be on time." "Right! Let's go, brother. We have lots of merchandise to pack!" said Flim. "You got it, brother!" They trotted out of there. "In the meantime, we'll get supplies for our trip back to the mainland. Trixie, you are with me." "Yes, sir…" They started walking around the village when Trixie froze. "What is it?" She dived into a bush and Caballeron rolled his eyes to join her, "What do you think you are doing?" "They… they've come back to haunt me!" "What are you muttering about?!" "It's them! They've come back as ghosts to haunt me for getting rid of them!" "What?!" he turned his head to see what Trixie was getting at, but his eyes widened and he gave an evil grin, "Well… Well… What do you know…?" Rumble and Scootaloo were laughing as they came out of a sports equipment store and carried two surf boards. "Race you back to the beach!" he said and flew off. "Hey, no fair! You know I can't fly as fast as you!" she flew after him. Caballeron slowly came out of the bush and chuckled, "Oh, this is a most fortunate turn of events…" He turned back to see Trixie was shaking, "Get a hold of yourself! They're not ghosts!" "What…? They're alive…?" "For now… Once I get the amulet for good, then they'll go back to being ghosts…" "Caballeron…" He glared at her. "Doctor… why do we have to get rid of them? They're just kids!" "Alas, my dear Trixie, they know too much and that's why they have to go. Come, we shall see where they are going and then we will decide on what to do with them." He went on while she moped behind. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were in Tiara's guest room. "Do you think this next test is the last one?" Silver said. "It better be. I'm getting tired of proving I am the best. The queen should have just declared me the winner from the first test since she was impressed by my answer." Suddenly she heard noises coming from outside, "What is that hideous racket?" She went to her balcony and saw from a far distance a party going on at the beach. "What do you think it is?" her cousin questioned. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out," she went out of the room. Back on the beach, Apple Bloom and Pip were laying on beach towels. "Need some suntan lotion, love?" Pip asked, holding a bottle of lotion. "Thanks. I burn easily." "Me, too. After I'm done, you can do me." "Deal." she beamed as he started rubbing on her back. Nearby, Button and Sweetie were building a sandcastle. "The towers need to go higher." Sweetie pointed. "Good thinking. The crown jewels inside need all the security they can get!" They laughed as they continued to build. On the ocean, Rumble and Scoots were riding the waves. "Whoever stays on their board the longest wins!" Rumble shouted out. "Got it!" she shouted back and concentrated on keeping her balance, which was hard to do. She had managed a skateboard on dry land. However, the water around her was constantly in motion, making her wobble a little. They kept surfing for bit until Scootaloo couldn't control her board anymore and fell off. Rumble rode on his board as Scoots resurfaced and spit the water up. She looked up to him to see he was smirking. She sighed, "Okay, you got this one." He chuckled as he lifted her up and set her next to him, "Yes… I do…" they leaned in for a kiss. Apple Bloom saw them and shouted to them, "Hey, lovebirds! Get a room!" They turned to her and Rumble said to Scoots, "You know… that's not a bad idea…" She stopped him, "Ah, ah, ah! Later…" "Right…" he gave a small smile. Truffle called out, "Burgers are ready! Come and get it!" The group rushed in to pick a burger and a comfortable spot to eat. "Mmm!" Button finished chewing, "You've outdone yourself, Truffle!" Truffle blushed, "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without Twist's special sauce. She really knows how to mix ingredients…" he gave her a loving glance. It was her turn to blush, "Oh, it's nothing… we had to do something while you were at the resort." They chattered for a while until Dinky asked, "Hey, anybody up for a game of volleyball afterwards?" "Great idea! We can have boys versus girls!" said Featherweight. "Yeah!" both Snips and Snails cheered. "Hey, wait!" gestured Babs, "There's, like, more boys than girls." "So? We'll just try our hardest and prove that numbers don't win a battle!" said Scootaloo. "Yeah!" cheered Apple Bloom. "Alright, then, let's win this thing!" Babs had her hoof up and the girls put their hooves together. The guys were doing the same. "Go team!" both teams cheered as they headed to the net. Featherweight started off as the server and the game began. While they were playing, Dr. Caballeron and Trixie, both hidden from the players, were conversing. "So… from what I can tell… those girls with the girl that Rumble is with are friends of sorts…" said Caballeron. "And he certainly has been reaching high places since we last saw him." "How so?" "See that colt next to him with the dark tan coat?" "Yes?" "He's the prince of Marendelle." "Really…? Well, this is interesting… Why would Rumble be highnobbing with royalty?" Trixie shrugged. "Unless, of course, his marefriend has anything to do with it." "Makes sense, since we don't know anything about her other than Rumble found her or she found him… I can't remember." "Well, whichever it is, he's got a ticket to a good life while we're forced to make it on our own and-" "What are you doing here?" a voice demanded. They turned to see a pink mare with a long purple and white mane and dressed in regal gown. Caballeron started as he made a gentlecolt bow, "My apologies, miss…" "That's princess to you." "Princess, eh?" "I am Princess Diamond Tiara, and you will address me as such. I am here by personal invitation of the king and queen of Marendelle." she kept her head high. "Your Majesty, forgive me for not seeing your regal splendor sooner for I am not from here. I don't have the pleasure of meeting beautiful princesses such as you. Tell me: are you the prince's betrothed?" "Ha! I should be, but the queen wanted to test other princesses from across Equestria to make sure if any will be the perfect queen for her son." "And have you passed the tests?" "So far, but I've yet to pass the last one and I don't know when the queen will give it." "Aw…" Caballeron tsked, "Such a waste of time, if you ask me…" "You're telling me! We even have these pretend princesses and one of them has passed the tests like I have!" "Pretend princesses?" "They were really adopted into a royal family… They don't deserve to be here and try to earn a queen's spot. It's a disgrace and an embarrassment to those who inherited their birthright of being royalty like me." "I'm sure…" Caballeron wickedly grinned, "And you're absolutely right. You are every inch a princess and deserve to be queen, maybe even empress." Diamond smirked, "Of course…" "My dear princess, I'm curious, but… those wouldn't happen to be the pretend princesses, are they?" he pointed down to the volleyball game going on. Diamond looked and her eyes slit, "That's them, alright, and the one with the white coat is the one who's passed all the tests so far, too. How I would love to see her fail so I would win…" "Your Highness, it would seem that our meeting is just what we both needed…" Diamond raised her brow, "What are you saying?" "Princess, I need of your assistance…" She chuckled out of spite, "And why should I help you? What would you give me in return?" Caballeron smiled and uttered the words, "To be the prince's bride…" This actually intrigued her and she said, "Keep talking." The volleyball game was just over when the girls scored the winning point. The girls cheered and huddled in a huge group squealing. The boys slumped to the ground in defeat and rested from overworking. "Dudes," said Rumble, "did we just get beat by a bunch of girls?" "Yeah," said Pip, "but cute girls…" They muttered in agreement. The girls came back over and offered good sportsmanship. Then they went to sit on the beach in the embrace of their special some ponies. Dinky, Snips, and Snails went back to the castle to leave the sweethearts alone to watch the setting sun lowering on the horizon of the ocean. "We better head back soon." said Featherweight. "I wish we could stay here forever." said Babs. The other girls nodded or made small agreements. "Unfortunately, my parents will want to know why I was late for dinner if I don't get going…" Button got up as he kept glancing at Sweetie Belle. "Go…" she nodded. He whispered in her ear, "After the contest, everything will change and we will have all the time in the world…" "I can't wait…" she beamed. He kissed her hoof and slowly went. Diamond Tiara saw the whole thing and was boiling red, "That… That… little sneak! Stealing her way into the prince's heart and try to secure the role of queen even if she does fails the next test!" "My, my, what a conniving plan. I couldn't have done it better myself." Caballeron gestured. Trixie, however, wasn't convinced. She saw the way the girl was looking at the prince just as he was looking at her. To her, it really did seem like it was love… "Okay, what do I have to do to keep that little faker off the throne?" "Just leave it all up to me, but first, we must see if you can win all the tests, then you won't have anything to worry about." "Yes… I will win, because I am a true princess while she's nothing more than a commoner…" "Precisely. But if she does win, then come straight to me and we will both get what we deserve…" She nodded, "Fine." She started to go, "Here's to hoping I never have to see you again…" She trotted back to the castle.