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// Skip to The Moon 
// Story: The Bottom Shelf 
// by JakeAndDollars 
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Skip To The Moon


Usually I’ll stick something funny up here to help flesh these out, but, it’s three in the morning so… Yeah…  ~Dollars.





“Anyway, that’s why all the cabinets have foal proof locks on them now,” Sweetie Bell mumbled, pawing through the pebbles in search of her next rock. “It’s not fair, all I wanted to do was surprise Rarity with breakfast for her birthday,” she complained
“Right,” Scootaloo agreed, choosing a stone of her own and holding it up to the fading light for a better look, appraising both its aerodynamics and hydroplaning properties. “I mean, it was just a little fire, and Opal needed a haircut anyway. Win, win,” she said as she began squinting out across the lake. The little Pegasus cocked her hoof back and let the pebble fly, the rock bounding its way across the water, distorting the image of the sun as it set.
“I guess, just wish that burning dish towel hadn’t ended up on the neighbor’s roof,” Sweetie replied with a sigh, watching Scoot’s rock skip into the sun, disappearing from view in the light of the sinking orb. “Probably could have put it out ourselves if that extinguisher hadn’t turned out to be one of Pinkie’s patented purple parasprite propulsifiers.”
“Say that one three times fast,” Scootaloo muttered dryly, glancing over at the little unicorn. “It’ll take your mind off those horrible noises, besides, thatch is super easy to repair, it’s no big deal and by next week nopony will even remember,” she rubbed a hoof against her temple as she searched out another rock. “Seriously, what is up with the ponies in this town?”
“Wasn’t that the same neighbor whose house Big Macintosh pulled around last year?” Applebloom mused, rolling onto her side to get a better look at her friends, a rock of her own held at the ready for her turn.
“Oh yeah,” Sweetie said, winding up a throw and unleashing her stone out across the water. “Gee, come to think of it, they’re also the ones I set on fire a few months before that drawing with chalk behind their house.”
“How?” Applebloom asked halfheartedly after a considerable pause. She took a moment to peer into the deep blackness crawling across the water. She lined up and hurled her own rock, the miniscule stone rocketing away into the night. The trio ignoring the frantic duck calls that rose a moment later.
“Not sure,” Sweetie Bell replied, picking out another fine example of the least desirable skipping rock available from nature. “Although, my favorite color seems to be flame red.”
“Huh, go figure,” Applebloom said, watching as Scootaloo whispered conspiratorially to a recently discovered super perfect rock that was certain to win her the tournament, something that could not be allowed. “An here ah figured your favorite color was brown,” she finished with a snicker. 
“Yeah, well, as much fun as it would be to sit around teasing Sweetie about Button, and keep kicking your flanks at rock skipping,” Scootaloo said with a haughty smirk, hurling her perfect rock across the placid lake surface. The piece of polished basalt skipped an even dozen times before it slipped from view. “I’m thinking it’s high time we got back to crusading! There’s this old mine shaft I found out on the edge of the Everfree, and it’s just begging to give little fillies their mining cutie marks! So what do you say girls? We gonna go do this thing?”
Sweetie Belle sighed as she climbed to her hooves, giving the lake a longing look before hanging her head and turning to follow her daring friend. “Well, I guess we might as well, the moons coming up so the skipping’s out and I haven’t scared the color out of my sister’s hair for awhile. You coming AB?”     
“No I ain't,” Applebloom said crossly, planting her flank on the rocky shore, a scowl crossing her face. “Seems every week we come up with some darn fool idea ta git our cutie marks. But no matter what it is things always wind up the same. Bruises, tree sap, and me gitten grounded. Well, not this week gals. This week, I’ma stay right here on this beach and skip rocks, no crusading, and no ridiculous scenarios that’ll end up breaking Equestria or freein’ some horrid end ah the world spirit of mischief or some other whatsit,” with a mighty heave she flung her chosen stone, the tiny chunk of polished detritus flying straight and true, impacting the water’s surface with but a gentle kiss, not losing the slightest amount of momentum. It continued on, two skips, three, four. “I’m just goin’ ta sit here and enjoy mahself, and do nothing to cause trouble.”
The stone skipped again, five, its path carrying it to the far side of the lake, the point where the horizon met the skies above and a gigantic fresh full new moon was slowly beginning its ascent into the sky. “For once the week’s problem won’t be in any way related to us.”
Gliding silently through the still night air the rock began to lose altitude, coming down for another skip. Six, it hit perfectly once more, bouncing and continuing on its way. Seven, eight, nine, ten. The rock slammed into the moon as it rose from the horizon, striking the yellow glowing orb dead center, shattering it into thousands of pieces.
Releasing another sigh Applebloom rose to her hooves and made to follow her friends. “Really shoulda seen that one coming,” she muttered.