//------------------------------// // Pt. 2 - From the Mouths of Foals // Story: Touch the Sky // by Witching Hour //------------------------------// “Are you sure Miss Fluttershy said it was okay for me to go with you guys after school?” Trick Step’s eyes flick among the three fillies that had greeted him at the train station, and are now cornering him after school. The trio smiles brightly at him. “Yeah!” Scootaloo replies cheerfully. “‘Sides, our clubhouse ain’t all that far from Fluttershy’s anyway,” Applebloom adds, practically jumping in place. “If she’s not still at the farm,” Sweetie Belle chimes in, smiling teasingly and bumping her shoulder against Applebloom’s. Tricks looks between Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, confusion evident in his golden eyes. “Why would Miss Fluttershy be at the farm?” he asks. “Applebloom’s brother is Fluttershy’s special somepony,” Sweetie Belle responds, smiling gleefully while Scootaloo makes a gagging noise and Applebloom shifts her hooves in uncomfortable awkwardness. “Well… If you’re sure Miss Fluttershy said it was okay…” Tricks has no more time to respond as he’s pushed towards a small wagon tied behind a scooter. “C’mon c’mon c’mon! Time’s a-wastin’!” Scootaloo urges as he collides with Sweetie Belle, and they run into Applebloom in turn. The three non-pegasi foals wind up tumbling into the wagon, and Scootaloo quickly dons a purple helmet with two white strips. Sighing, Applebloom pulls out her own blue helmet and a green one for Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo reappears with a golden yellow helmet and enthusiastically puts it on Tricks’ head, leaving him to buckle it himself before immediately hopping to the scooter and she starts flapping her wings so fast, they made a humming noise in Tricks’ ears. “Hold on,” Sweetie Bell says, making Tricks even more confused. “Wha-WHOA!!!” Tricks’ question gets cut off as Scootaloo starts speeding along the paths of Ponyville, sending him flailing backwards. Sweetie Belle grabs his shoulder, keeping him from tumbling out the back. “Told ya,” Sweetie Belle comments with a half-smile. “Don’t worry… You’ll get used to it…” “Yikes!” Tricks yelps as they make a sharp turn, flinging him sideways into the unicorn filly. Tricks quickly rights himself as they straighten out, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry about that, Miss Belle,” he apologizes, offering her a hoof to help her sit up again. A light pink blush paints Sweetie Belle’s cheeks as she accepts Tricks’ assistance, his auburn coat hiding his own blush. Applebloom’s giggle makes them jump apart as much as the wagon would allow. “That’s almost as adorable as Big Mac and Fluttershy,” the earth pony filly says, continuing to giggle. “Applebloom!” Sweetie Belle cries, scandalized. Before Applebloom can do more than smirk, Scootaloo makes another gagging noise. “Geez guys! You’re all worse than Rarity!” The path arcs gently this time, sweeping towards Sweet Apple Acres and then banking west and away from the main buildings of the farm. “This is a really awesome way to get around!” Tricks says, smiling towards Scootaloo. “Of course it’s awesome!” Scootaloo replies over her shoulder, practically glowing with self-confidence. “It’s me!” “Y’know, Scoots… Rainbow Dash is only your adopted sister… You don’t have to go actin’ like her all the time…” Applebloom comments dryly, though with a small amount of irritation as the clearing near the west orchard comes into view. “Why should an adoption matter?” Tricks asks in plain and abundant confusion. “Witch Doctor is a better mother than my real mother…” Applebloom’s jaw drops, and she quickly averts her eyes, mortified. “No one’s saying that adoption matters, Trick Step… You’d have to meet Rainbow Dash to understand why it’s a little annoying to have Scoots imitating her…” Sweetie Belle explains, stepping in to help Applebloom escape the proverbial hoof-in-mouth situation. Applebloom quickly nods in agreement, her expression sheepish. Scootaloo saves them all from the topic going further by skidding to a stop before a treehouse. Almost immediately, Scootaloo’s removed her helmet and half-ran/half-flown up the ramp, chanting, “Hurry up hurry up hurry up!” at volume. Grinning, Tricks shoves his helmet off into the wagon bed, and darts after the pegasi, closely followed by Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. As soon as they’re all in the house, Applebloom heads directly to a podium. “I hereby call this meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to order. First order of business, I motion that the Crusaders accept Trick Step as an honorary member during his stay in Ponyville. Do I have a second?” Sweetie Belle beats Scootaloo by a breath, with her hoof in the air and a shouted “Second!” “All those in favor, say aye,” Applebloom continues with a nod. Immediately, all three shout out a chorus of ‘aye!’s. With a firm nod, Applebloom hops down from behind the podium, her business-like demeanor broken by her smile. “The Ayes have it. Your continued membership will be contingent upon a review of the Cutie Mark Crusader rules, but there ain’t no reason why we shouldn’ get started with business as usual!” she states cheerfully. “I think we should try river rafting!” Scootaloo declares adamantly. “I even know where we can get the raft!” Tricks looks from Scootaloo to the other two fillies, baffled. “Do you guys always do outrageous stuff like that?” he asks, his voice cracking as his voice hits the rising tone. “Well we gotta find our cutie marks doing somethin’…” Applebloom replies, as though it were a simple fact of life. “But… I mean… Miss Scootaloo aside, since it seems she likes exciting things…” Tricks responds, still confused, “do you enjoy all these sorts of things?” “We do have fun…” Sweetie Belle chimes in, but Tricks only shakes his head. “I mean… Cutie marks define something we’re supposed to be passionate about… Something that we’ll never get bored with…” Tricks stammers, fumbling to explain. “Can any of you say that you have excitement to keep doing anything you’ve done so far?” “Well Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-Cutie-Marks, why don’t you pick something for us to do?” Scootaloo retorts, full of snark. Trick ducks his head down, hunching his shoulders. “I don’t know everything, Miss Scootaloo… If you enjoy river rafting, then that’s what you should do…” He pulls a notebook out of his bag and opens it to a written list a few pages from the front cover. Several of the lines are already crossed out. “Witch Doctor gave me this journal two months ago and told me to make a list of things I liked doing and explore those subjects more to help me get my cutie mark. I… I haven’t had much luck with most of them. They were things I wanted to do to make… other ponies… happy…” He trails off, looking sadly to one side at an array of pictures that shows the three fillies with their sisters or each other, having fun or celebrating. “Crap… Um…” Scootaloo stammers before quickly moving to sit next to Tricks and putting her arms around him in an awkward hug. “I’m sorry, Trickster…” In short order, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle join her in hugging Tricks, less awkward than their pegasi friend. “I tried a lot of things to try to make Rarity happy… But it only wound up making her mad at me…” Sweetie Belle says in an attempt to cheer Tricks up. “My parents ain’t around no more… But least I’ve got AJ and Mac and Granny with me… You ain’t got a family…” Applebloom adds, clearly trying to relate with the colt. Tricks shakes his head, making the fillies retreat to form a close circle around his journal. “Miss Applebloom, I do have a family. I have Witch Doctor, and Nana Brew, and Pappy Sweep, and Monkey. They’re not blood, but they’re family all the same… Like Miss Scootaloo and her sister, Rainbow Dash…” “Can you stop calling all of us ‘Miss’? Seriously… We’re all friends now, y’know?” Scootaloo asks, her irritation gentled by the teasing glint in her eyes as she playfully jabs a hoof at Tricks’ shoulder. Tricks laughs, a little ruefully, as he rubs at his shoulder as though nursing a sore spot. “Alright Mi-... Er… Okay, Scootaloo…” “So what’s on this list of yours that all of us might like?” Sweetie Belle asks, picking the book up with her magic. “Oooh! Music?! You like singing?” she exclaims excitedly. Applebloom looks uncertain and Scootaloo is outright frustrated by the suggestion, so Tricks quickly takes the book back from Sweetie Belle. “Maybe you and I can do something relating to music when Scootaloo and Applebloom are busy…” he suggests quickly, smiling sheepishly to the pegasi and earth pony fillies. “But for all of us…” His gold eyes rove down the list, looking for something that all of them might enjoy. “Hey! What about this?” he suggests, putting the book back down and pointing to an item that had yet to be crossed out. “YES! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ARE GO!!!”