//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 
// Story: Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay! 
// by DrakeyC 
//------------------------------//


Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 11




The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned and sprinted away. Behind them, the ursa minor rose and stomped after them, its paws barely missing the cart of magic supplies. The three headed into the trees lining the bottom of the valley.
 
Apple Bloom looked behind her. “Think we can outrun it?”
 
“Yeah, right!” Scootaloo replied as she pulled to the front.
 
Trailing at the back, Sweetie Belle looked to the side as she ran. She quickly grabbed the biggest tree branch she could find and hurled it at the ursa with her magic. The ursa barely flinched as the branch hit it in the face, and kept coming. Trees were pushed aside and snapped under its claws, the ground shaking with each step.
 
Apple Bloom shook her head. “Split up! It can’t chase all of us!”
 
Scootaloo veered off to the left, and Apple Bloom went right. Sweetie Belle kept running forward and glanced behind. The ursa paused, momentarily confused by its prey diverging. It looked at Sweetie Belle and then turned to head after Scootaloo.
 
Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. “Apple Bloom!” She looked the way Apple Bloom had run. “We’ve gotta help Scootaloo!”
 
It was only a few seconds before Apple Bloom came running back. “Go, go!” The two turned and followed the ursa, its massive blue body leaving a large wake in the trees. Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth and ran faster.
 
“Got a plan?” Apple Bloom asked.
 
“We can’t let it catch Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle’s head snapped around, looking for anything that might serve as a distraction. She saw a beehive hanging from a tree branch, and stopped. A green aura surrounded the beehive and flung it forward. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom watched as it sailed forward and smashed into the ursa’s rear paw.
 
The ursa stopped and turned its head. Its eyes zeroed in on Sweetie Belle and her still-glowing horn.
 
“And now we have to run again,” Apple Bloom deadpanned.
 
The ursa began to turn, and the two Crusaders did the same. Sweetie Belle shook her head. “We can’t run from it forever, we’ve gotta escape!”
 
“Ah’m open to ideas!”
 
The two kept running, the sound of the ursa behind them coming closer every second. Ahead of them the trees thinned and a sheer cliff came into view. They hit it and turned, running along the bottom. The ursa kept after them, roaring and growling.
 
“Girls!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked to the side as Scootaloo ran out from the trees. “I came to sav – uh oh.” The ursa barely interrupted its stride at the intrusion, and Scootaloo turned to keep pace with the others.
 
Apple Bloom groaned. “You were supposed to escape while we distracted it!”
 
“I came back to distract it so you could escape!”
 
“Yeah, we’ve tried that twice. It’s not working well,” Sweetie Belle said.
 
The three faced forward, and began to slow down. Ahead of them, several trees had fallen down and piled up, creating a barrier too high to climb. They skidded into the bark, and turned around. The ursa minor slowed down, its prey trapped. It gnashed its teeth at them and pawed the ground.
 
Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around Sweetie Belle. “Girls. I want you to know that if I died helping you escape, it would have been worth it.”
 
“Same here.” Sweetie Belle patted Scootaloo’s hooves and put her other over Apple Bloom.
 
Apple Bloom looked up at the ursa. “It’s been fun…”
 
The ursa came closer, the stink of its breath washing over them as it opened its mouth.
 
Light flashed overhead.
 
The ursa paused and looked up. The Cutie Mark Crusaders tilted their heads. A streak of silver light curved through the air, the sound of crackling and popping growing louder as it descended. The silver light hit the ursa minor on the back of the head and exploded in a burst of sparks and color. The ursa flinched and turned its head away.
 
A cracking of bark and the whoosh of clothing were the next sounds heard before a pair of blue hooves landed on the ground in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
 
The three stared, their jaws hanging open.
 
“Trixie!”
 
Standing on her hind hooves, Trixie snapped a hoof out to the side, her cape billowing behind her, her horn glowing bright pink beneath the brim of her hat. Her eyes blazed with fierce determination.
 
“You will not. Harm. MY APPRENTICES!”
 
The ursa recovered from the fireworks attack and turned its attention back to the intruder. It let out a roar, and Trixie thrust her head forward. Another firework spell launched into the ursa’s mouth and exploded. The roar turned into a garbled groan and the ursa stumbled back, rubbing its paws at its mouth. Trixie fired again, and again. A storm of silver and blue magic bursts filled the air, striking the ursa across its face and paws. The beast turned its head away and swiped its paws in the air.
 
Trixie snapped her head to the side to look at the foals. “Run!”
 
The three nodded and ran away down the length of the trees, into the forest. Trixie looked back at the ursa and fired another volley of fireworks, then dropped on all fours and followed them. Behind her, the ursa roared angrily, but the thunder of its paws didn’t come for several more seconds. Trixie reached out her magic to the foals ahead of her, and she lifted them in her telekinesis to pull them to the side with her. She ducked behind the other end of the blockade of trees and pulled them behind her.
 
Apple Bloom looked up at her. “Tri—”
 
Trixie put a hoof to Apple Bloom’s mouth to silence her, and closed her eyes. A shimmering field of pink magic rose from the ground, forming a dome over them. Trixie lowered her hoof but kept her eyes looking out at the forest. “A bubble of silence,” she whispered. “I can’t make it totally soundproof though, so stay quiet.” The three nodded.
 
Eventually the ground shook again, and they tensed. Trixie leaned over the blockade to watch the forest. The sound of breaking trees and heavy paws thuds came and went, growing further away. “It lost us, but it’s still looking,” Trixie said. “Wait until we can be sure it’s not coming back.” More time passed, and the shaking of the ground was so faint as to be undetectable.
 
Trixie let out a long breath and turned to face the Crusaders. “Okay. Let’s take it from the top. One – it’s gone for now, but it’s still awake and angry and looking for us. Two – you three fell down into the valley and the only way up is by the Tree of Harmony, which isn’t exactly a short jog away. Three, and most importantly.” Trixie seized the three in her magic again and lifted them into the air.
 
“You three are the most reckless, irresponsible, foolish, brash, brave-to-the-point-of-stupid ponies I have ever met!”
 
“We know!” Apple Bloom interrupted Trixie before she could continue. “We know it was dumb!”
 
Sweetie Belle nodded. “You’re right, it’s really dangerous in these woods!”
 
“And…” Scootaloo slowly raised her head to look Trixie in the eye. “I’m… I should have listened more. You’ve spent so much time training us and explaining things to us. I didn’t really care about the lessons, but I should have been nicer about it. I’m sorry.”
 
Trixie’s expression softened and she set the trio on the ground. “Trixie is sorry, as well.” She took off her hat and shook her head. “I know you haven’t much liked the lessons. You’re wonderful showmares, you really are. But this isn’t exactly your cup of tea, is it?” The three shook their heads. Trixie sighed. “I blame myself. I wanted to try and show you something instead of just telling you, with the way you three seem to operate I thought it might sink in better that way. But it’s just made bad blood between us.”
 
“Tell us what?” Apple Bloom tilted her head.
 
“I’ll tell you if we survive the night.” Trixie looked back out over the forest. “I can find the way out of the valley, but not while that ursa is around. It could rampage around the forest, it could attack Ponyville or some other town. Ursas can be very territorial against aggressors, and the fact you woke it up is not going to help.”
 
Scootaloo frowned. “What makes you think we woke it up?”
 
“Trixie knows you three.”
 
“…Oh. Right.”
 
Trixie brushed her cape out of the way and sat down. She rubbed her chin, staring at the ground. “We’d best get it back to its home, in case any other ponies come out this way. And we have to subdue it somehow so it can’t follow us out.”
 
“Here!” Apple Bloom shrugged off her saddlebags and nudged them towards Trixie. “Sweetie Belle, show her your stuff.” Sweetie Belle nodded and floated her bags next to Apple Bloom’s.
 
Trixie brought the two bags close and flipped the covers over. She looked between them, and frowned. “This is it? Where’s the rest of my stuff?”
 
“Sorry.” Scootaloo shrugged. “We left it behind when we found the ursa minor. It’s outside its cave.”
 
Trixie raised her eyes to her. “Was it intact?”
 
“Maybe?”
 
“Hm…” Trixie looked between the two bags. She withdrew the small glass vials of ingredients and other magical props, and examined them. She looked out in the forest, then back at the supplies. “Okay… I have a plan. Maybe. Possibly.” She looked up at the Cutie Mark Crusader. “But I can’t do it alone. Who’s the fastest among you three?”
 
“Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle answered in unison.
 
“Yeah, probably.” Scootaloo shrugged.
 
Trixie nodded. “Good. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, you’re coming with me. Sweetie Belle, I’ll need your magic, too.”
 
Scootaloo frowned. “What about me?”
 
“You are going to find the ursa minor.”
 
Scootaloo paled. “T-then what?”
 
Trixie leaned toward her, her face stern.
 
“It is going to chase you.”
 



 
Scootaloo slowly crept forward. Her eyes darted around, her wings fluttering at her sides. A large gap was carved through the forest, snapped branches and fallen trees marking the ursa’s path. She gulped. “O-okay… just remember the plan, and you’ll be fine. Trixie knows what she’s doing.” She breathed deep. “Remember the plan. Remember the plan. Remem—”
 
The ground shook.
 
Scootaloo squeaked and shot behind the nearest tree, pressing against her back.
 
The shaking came in steady rhythm, and Scootaloo leaned her head out. She saw a large blue mass moving through the trees and the sound of cracking bark that came with it. Scootaloo inhaled deeply, gathered her courage, and leapt out of the trees. “Hey!”
 
The cracking stopped, and she saw a part of the blue mass move to bring a pair of yellow eyes into view.
 
“Uh… you stink!” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out, and then turned and ran.
 
A roar and more breaking trees signalled the ursa had heard and seen her.
 
Scootaloo jumped over fallen trees as she ran, her wings beating rapidly to lengthen her jumps. She chanced a look behind her; the ursa had moved into the massive path it had already broken down, and was quickly gaining on her. Scootaloo looked forward and scanned the ground. Where is it? She saw a glint of light coming from a pile of leaves, and grinned. Fire one! She reached the glint and jumped over it.
 
Behind her, the ursa kept coming, the beast’s paws stomping the ground. It reached the area where the glint of light was, and its paw came down on a mass of leaves. The rope stretched across the path under the leaves snapped, and a glass vial tied in the middle flung into the air, smashing into the bottom of the ursa’s jaw. A blinding flash of light filled the air, and the ursa roared, stopping and shaking its head to dispel the light. It growled, regained its senses, and resumed the chase.
 
Ahead, Scootaloo jumped over another concealed trap. Two. One more and I’m on my own. Her strength was beginning to give out, but she kept pushing. She dodged between fallen trees and jumped over bushes, the shaking reminding her that the ursa was still coming. Another snap and a flash of light from behind her signalled the ursa had triggered the second flash powder vial. The thuds from its paws resumed a few seconds later.
 
Scootaloo kept running. Her hooves were tired, her wings had stopped moving from strain, and sweat beaded down her face. Come on. A bit more, a bit more! She saw the third and last trap hidden and dodged it. Ahead of her, the forest had started to thin. The third trap went off and the ursa let out an angry roar. Scootaloo looked back. The beast was almost on top of her, and looked angrier than ever. She kept pushing and turned forward. The forest ended, and the ursa minor’s cave loomed in the valley wall ahead.
 
“Sweetie Beeeeeeeelle!” Scootaloo screamed out the signal as she finally began to slow down. She passed into the cave and limped to the back, panting. She turned her head. The ursa came into the cave, slowing down as it realized its prey was cornered in its own home. It stopped and glared down at her. The beast was so massive it filled her field of vision, and Scootaloo gulped.
 
A whistle echoed through the cave. “Behind you!”
 
Scootaloo thought she saw the ursa roll its eyes, before it turned its head.
 
Behind the ursa, outside the entrance to the cave, Sweetie Belle stood with a small smile on her face. In the air next to her hovered a transporter box. “Heads up!”
 
The ursa had a second to wonder what she had meant before the curtain on the box was drawn back. A vial of pale yellow powder came out of the box and arced towards the ursa. It smashed on the ground and a cloud of thick black smoke filled the cave. The ursa growled and coughed, the smell of sulfur filling its nostrils. Behind it, Scootaloo ducked around its paws and ran. She passed the entrance to the cave, the sulfur burning her eyes. “I’m clear!”
 
“An’ here it comes!”
 
The magic of the transporter box flashed rapidly. Packets and clumps of blue powder rained down on the ursa, bursting around it. The clouds of smoke and dust obscured it, its roars and growls echoing from the cave. Sweetie Belle stepped back and kept the transporter box pointed at the cave.
 
Scootaloo reached the trees again and looked around. Hidden behind a larger tree, Apple Bloom and Trixie sat on either side of the second transporter box. Beside it was a large stack of glass vials and jars, along with one of the pairs of saddlebags. The two rapidly shoved more of the vials and jars in, the box lighting up each time. Scootaloo ran up to them and joined in the bombardment.
 
When the stack was done, Trixie held up the saddlebags. “Here comes the big one!” she called out. She shoved the bags through the box, and the three looked out at the cave. As the bags came out of the other box and sailed into the cave, Sweetie Belle dropped the box and ran up to them. She coughed, sneezing twice.
 
Apple Bloom looked at the cave, now filled with blue smoke. “Did it work?”
 
Trixie scanned the smoke. “We mixed up enough sleeping powder to knock out half of Ponyville. In that confined space…”
 
The smoke began to settle, and the form of the ursa minor became visible. Its eyes were drooping, and it was staggering to the side, banging against the side of the cave as it struggled to stay standing. It slumped to the right and slid down, its paws spraying out in front of it. At last, its eyes slowly closed.
 
The four ponies waited with bated breath.
 
The ursa slowly inhaled, and let out a loud snore.
 
The Cutie Mark Crusader whooped and jumped up, their hooves drawn back. “We did it! Cutie Mark—”

A pink aura surrounded their hooves before they could connect.
 
“Perhaps you can save the loud celebrations for after we leave the dangerous sleeping monster’s lair?” Trixie hissed, glaring. She set them down.
 
Apple Bloom chuckled. “Yeah, good thinkin’.”
 
Trixie looked at the cave and pulled the second transporter box towards her. Behind another tree, the wagon came forward, and Trixie piled what was left of her supplies into it. She pulled her hat on, slipped the harness for the cart under her cloak, and looked down at the Crusaders. “Well then, my young apprentices. The Great and Powerful Trixie believes we are done here. Shall we be off?”
 
They nodded, and Trixie started forward. “We’d best hurry. It’s quite a walk, and Trixie believes you’ve all earned a warm dinner after vanquishing the beast.” Under her breath she added, “and I’ve earned a hard cider in a deep mug.”
 
“Trixie, what does that mean?”
 
“Ask your sisters when you’re older.”