The bell atop the school rang out signaling the end of the day and releasing a tide of foals from the building below. After the initial rush cleared a group of three young fillies were left as the gathered around a scooter attached to a wagon. Two of them were loading things into the wagon while the third on, the pegasus, was waiting impatiently atop her scooter. “Come on you two, hurry up. My sister finally let me invite you two for a sleepover and I want to get home so we can get started.”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle roll their eyes at Scootaloo's impatience as they toss the last bag in to the wagon before hopping in themselves. “Yeah, yeah. Ah would have thought that ya had enough exercise after what your sister had you doing. Ya sure liked to complain enough about it ta us whenever ya had the chance.”
The orange pegasus just brushed her words off as she started to rev her wings up. “Psh, you'd complain too if you had to carry one of those vest while running her obstacle course. She even had me wearing two of them during the last few days of my punishment. Now hang on, I've been waiting to do this again since she said that torture was over.”
The two fillies in the wagon looked at each other in amusement at their friends exuberance though they understood it a bit since the pegasus had the energy to do more than complain. Their crusades had been passive lately because of it but they were expecting things to pick up a bit more now. They were about to say something to their friend but they were thrown back as the wagon and scooter took off at speeds much greater than they were used to.
“WOOHOO!” While the pegasus was cheering at her new-found freedom on her scooter, the other two were screaming in terror as they traveled at speeds higher than any they had gone before. The citizens of Ponyville, hearing the familiar sound of the orange filly's wings, cleared the rounds as the three passed though many were still almost hit due to the increased speed of the trio.
Scootaloo was so caught up in her recovery of her ability to use her scooter that she forgot about her passengers as she aimed for a ramp near the trio's destination. Throughout their trip the two fillies in the wagon had been trying to get their friend to slow down but it quickly became obvious that she couldn't hear them which left them with no other option but to hang on for dear life.
Unfortunately this did not prepare them for when the pegasus filly hit the ramp sending the trio flying through the air towards the home of the scooter-rider. Their screams rang out as the two passengers flew off of the wagon and careened over their friends head towards the building ahead of them. Their screams cut off when they are caught in an orange and yellow aura while the pegasus filly lands in front of an older orange mare.
“Really, Scootaloo? After all those cheers about being done with your punishment you want to start it up again?” The orange filly sheepishly rubs a hoof over the back of her head as she looks apologetically at her friends. The other two fillies shoot a glare at her from their upside-down positions in the older mare's magic as they struggle to reach the ground through all their bags that had landed with them.
With a shake of her head and a sigh Aegis Flare sets the two down before opening the door for the three. “We'll talk about it later, but for now everything is ready for tonight except for the food. I was just waiting for you three to get here before I stop by that new pizza place.” The eyes of the three light up at hearing this as she continues. “Now Scootaloo knows the rules, but I thought of one other before I leave. If you break something, just leave it there and back away until I get back, this especially goes for anything that was supposed to be locked.”
The three put on innocent looks as the unicorn looks over the three until she lets out another sigh. “Just be careful you three. There shouldn't be anything dangerous in them but if what happened at the spa that one day accidents can happen around you. Now behave until I get back, and keep your antics above-ground since I have some things I'm working on in the basement.”
The three watched as the orange filly's older sister walked off and when she was out of sight they turned towards the open door. “Come on girls. No reason to just stand around out here.”
Leading them inside, Scootaloo tossed her school bag onto a hook just inside the doorway while the other two looked around curiously. Sweetie Belle's eyes lit upon a glass cabinet with a variety of items in it, though her gaze was primarily on a shelf containing a book and jeweled crown. “Ooh, pretty. Where did your family get that from, Scootaloo?”
Following her friend's gaze to the indicated object, Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she looked over the displays. “Oh that. My sister started clearing things out of her room saying she had too many things in there and has been decorating the house with the stuff. If some of it wasn't so cool I'd say she was taking lessons from your sister.” The comment earned an annoyed look and eye roll from the unicorn filly. “She says the she got that along with the book from some mare named Yearly or something because she helped her somehow. She never talks about it much though.”
The earth pony and unicorn look over some of the other displayed items with interest while their friend waits impatiently for them to finish. As they were told most of the items were locked away and the few that weren't were too high for them to reach, not that it didn't stop them from trying. “Come on you two, don't touch that. I don't want to get in trouble with my sister again.”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both ignored the pegasus as they used her as a step to try and reach a wooden mask that was high on the wall. “Ah just want to look at it Scootaloo. Your sister didn't lock it up so it can't be dangerous and it looks different from what Zecora has around her home.”
The orange filly shook her head in annoyance at her friend and the excess movement was enough to destabilize the stack of fillies. They tottered for a moment before the three collapsed to the ground, taking the mask with them. While the three recovered on the floor the mask landed perfectly on the face of one of them, activating it and causing it to shrink down and wrap around the shocked filly's head. “Ahh! It's got me, get it off! Get it off!”
Looking in shock for a moment, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo weren't sure what to do at first as the young unicorn ran around in panic. At one point when Sweetie Belle tripped and fell in front of them they tried to help pull the mask off of her head forcefully. Their panic began to escalate when they found that the mask was well and truly stuck and that there was no longer a visible seam. They were prevented from trying anything drastic though when a voice rang out behind them. “Now what are you three up to?”
The three freeze as they slowly turn to see Aegis Flare standing behind them. Seeing the older unicorn the three started babbling at her trying to explain what happened though she couldn't understand them given how they were talking over each other. “Slow down you three. I can't understand you three when you talk over each other like that. Though I'm guessing it's because of that.”
When she points at the mask the three nod as the orange unicorn looks over it curiously as a small prank came to mind. “You know, I never did figure out how that thing works. Supposedly it was made by some deity of productivity or something. I don't know why anypony would make a mask to turn a filly into a colt though, it seems kind of pointless.”
The three fillies freeze up and slowly turn to look at the masked unicorn in horror before she lets out a shriek that is muffled by the mask. “But I don't want to be a colt! Get it off! Get it off! Get it- Oof!”
Sweetie Belle ran around in panic until she crashed into her two friends, ending up in a pile in front of the older unicorn who watched in amusement. Reaching out with a hoof she taps it on the nose area of the mask while the unicorn filly starts breathing heavily. “Boop.” With her touch the mask unfolded from around the stunned unicorn's head and fell to the ground in front of the trio. “Well that would be a good story at least, but unfortunately it's just a mask used by some ancient group of guards or something. The only interesting thing about it are the enchantments on it.”
The three fillies just glare at the older unicorn as she sets the mask back in its place again before she floats in a few boxes of pizza. “Now here's dinner for whenever you get hungry. If you need anything I'll be downstairs putting the final touches on the potions I was brewing. Just be sure to not destroy the place.”
While the mare heads down to the basement, the three fillies gather up their things and head up towards Scootaloo's room. While the orange pegasus dove under her bed in search of something Applebloom looked around the room while Sweetie Belle took a seat on the bed. “Huh, Ah've been wondering what your room would be like. It's about what ah expected though.”
Scootaloo looked over at Applebloom as she got out from under the bed with the notebook that she was looking for. “Well it's not like my sister tells me what I can't put up in here. She lets me do anything I want really as long as I don't tear down any walls or make a mess of the rest of the house. And what are you looking at over there Sweetie Belle?”
The two look over to see the unicorn filly looking over something she had picked up from the end table next to the bed. She turns one of the items so the others could see it, revealing a picture of Spike with Scootaloo's head in his lap as they were reading a comic. The orange filly's face took on a slightly red tinge as she saw this while Sweetie Belle looked a bit annoyed and it showed in her voice. “I didn't know you two were getting to be so close.”
The ears of the pegasus filly fell at the unicorn's words and she got defensive at her friend's tone. “What? We just hang out sometimes when you two and my sister are busy doing stuff. He always has the newest comic books when they come out and he lets me read them with him. What's it to you anyways?”
With a frown Sweetie Belle turned her nose up a bit. “So you're just using him just like my sister? You, Rarity, Twilight, all everypony does is use him without any thought for his feelings.”
Scootaloo looks confused at her friend's reaction and her temper flares up a bit. “What the hay are you talking about, Sweetie Belle? My sister had me help him one day and he ended up showing me his collection and he's let me know when he gets a new one now. Why are you acting like this anyways?”
The unicorn just crossed her front hooves and got a grumpy look on her face. When Scootaloo tried to move closer to her Sweetie Belle just shoved her away causing her to retaliate with a shove of her own. Applebloom watched as the two alternated back and forth until Sweetie Belle eventually let out a yell and tackled Scootaloo, starting a small brawl between them. The farm filly just brought a hoof up to her face and started shaking her head.
“Break it up ya two. Ya can argue about who is gonna to be Spike's fillyfriend later. We have ta figure out what we are going to do next for our cutie marks before the night is over.” The two fighting fillies pause mid-swing at her words before they turned to each other and blushed. Disentangling themselves they move to opposite sides of the bed while Applebloom sat in between them to prevent any further fighting. “So what do ya think we should try next?”
The three discussed various ideas for a while before Scootaloo brought a hoof up to rub her chin. “My sister has a ton of stuff that she keeps around to take into the Everfree with her when she needs it. I think we can find a whole bunch of stuff we can do with it all. Ooh, like zip-lining! That sounds like a great idea!”
Neither of the others had any ideas so they just nodded and tried to make a list of what they needed for her idea. While they tried to gather everything up though they were caught be Aegis Flare as they were digging through the storage shed. “What are you three up to now?”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders freeze as they hear her voice call out to the from the open door as they were trying to untangle themselves from the rope they were trying to pull out. The orange mare picked up the notebook that the three had left at the entrance and looked at the latest entries. The three fillies looked worried as the orange unicorn brings a hoof up to her face and shakes her head in exasperation. “I'd tell you three no, but somehow I doubt it'll help much. You'll want the metal cable hanging up in the back and not the rope for zip-lining. There's less chance of that breaking than a rope breaking.”
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The next day found the three limping their way back into the orange pony's home again after a failed attempt at zip-lining. Aegis Flare looked over the three and she let out a sigh. “What happened to you all this time?”
The Crusaders were covered in mud and through some of the bare spots she could see a few welts that looked remarkably like bee stings. “Ya don't want to know. Ah think ah'd rather have had the rope break instead of use crashing into that bee hive.”
Lifting the three up with her magic, so that they don't track mud through the house, Aegis Flare carried them to the bathroom to wash up while she digs out some salve for their injuries. After they finished washing up and she started spreading the salve on their stings she noticed Applebloom looking at her curiously. “Hey, Ms. Flare, how did you get your cutie mark?”
The elder unicorn froze in shock at her question while Scootaloo made a slashing gesture across her throat at the farm filly. A moment later Aegis Flare shook her head and sighed as she collected her thoughts while glancing over at her sister. “I guess Scootaloo never told you about what happened back then. It really was one of the worst and best days of my life though.”
The two fillies that didn't know of her past looked at her curiously as they had never heard of anypony considering the day they got their cutie mark on of the worst days. “I never did regain my memories from before that time so my first memories are still of waking up to the sound of an explosion and a wave of colors spreading across the sky. The next thing I know I was surrounded by a pack of timberwolves forcing me to back away into a rock when another one jumped onto me from above.”
The three were a bit creeped out at her monotone tone of voice but were still caught up in her story. The orange mare brushed away some of the fur around her throat and front leg to show them her scars. “After three of them got their jaws into me my magic flared up and burned them away as a wave of fire spread out from my horn. I earned my cutie mark from that but I was left injured and bleeding from it, making it one of the worst days ever.”
Looking at each other, the Crusaders were wide-eyed as they took in the implications of what happened to the elder unicorn. Aegis Flare reached out and grabbed her sister and pulled her against her side, to the young filly's annoyance, before she continued. “I passed out not long after that, but by that point our parents had found me and brought me to the hospital. When I woke up I was still in a panic and was able to put up a regular shield around me but mom and dad eventually calmed me down. That was also the day they adopted me which made it the best day of my life.”
Not knowing what to say, the Cutie Mark Crusaders just gather around and bring the older mare into a group hug. The for sit there for a moment before the orange unicorn shakes her head and finishes off medicating the three. “Well that should do it for now. Try not to get into too much trouble today, at least until you at heal up.”
With a nod of understanding the three fillies rush off towards their next adventure for the day leaving the unicorn shaking her head. “One of these days those three will realize that their talents are staring them in the face. I just hope they don't go through something like I did back then.”
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Later that day the seven older mares were gathered at Sugarcube Corner along with the three younger fillies as they finish up listening to Rainbow Dash's cutie mark story. After the cyan pegasus finished her story the others realized that if it wasn't for Rainbow Dash they might never have gotten their cutie marks. As they each mentioned how the rainboom had helped them they eventually turned to Aegis Flare who still hadn't answered and was looking at her hooves thoughtfully.
“I suspected that it might have been you back during the Best Young Fliers competition. I still don't like thinking back to then but if it wasn't for you I don't think I would even be here today. Not only did I get my cutie mark and parents that day but I'm pretty sure that you also saved my life.” The entire room froze in shock as they slowly looked between Rainbow Dash and Aegis Flare. Even Rainbow Dash was a bit shocked until she got a cocky grin on her face again and rubbed a hoof over her chest.
“Hah! Didn't I tell you all how awesome I was? Even when I was a filly I was saving lives and I didn't even know it. Bet nopony in Equestria can say something like that.” With a round of groans the others in the room started pelting the bragging mare with cupcakes as she started laughing at their reaction.