Discord's Trumpet

by aCB

Getting Ready

“Come on, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle squeaked to her older sister, who was preoccupied with securing a topaz to her latest creation.

“Sweetie Belle, I don’t want you spending the night in that dreadful tree house unless Applejack is there to supervise you.”

Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof, “You aren’t listening to me, Rarity! I already told you, Applejack is delivering a load of apples to Canterlot. Can’t you come instead?”

Rarity looked up briefly from her work, “Spend the night out in an apple orchard, without even the most trivial amenities? I don’t think so. Besides, I have a very important order I have to work on tonight. You’ll simply have to do it another time.”

Sweetie Belle stomped over to the couch, pouting. What if Applebloom and Scootaloo went without her? She couldn’t stand the thought of them spending the night without her, only to be told later of all the exciting fun and crusading they had. What was Rarity even afraid of anyway? Nothing bad ever happens on the farm. Even if Applejack were there, she probably would sleep at the farmhouse and only check up on them once in a while. Wait…

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle pleaded in the cutest voice she could muster, “What if we asked some grown pony to come by and check on us every once in a while?”

“Now who would do that, dear? Sweet Apple Acres isn’t exactly a pleasant walk to be had in the middle of the night when one should be getting their beauty sleep.”

“How about Twilight? She can just teleport over every once in a while! It wouldn’t be any trouble at all for her.”

Rarity sighed, “Ok, I suppose if Twilight is willing, then it’ll be ok. But you are not to harass her, you understand? If she says no, then you are to say thank you and leave her be. You promise, Sweetie Belle? Sweetie Belle…?”

But Sweetie Belle was already out the door.

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Applebloom looked up curiously at the ethnic masks lining the walls of Zecora’s hut. One was smiling at her, teeth bared in a devilish way, with a strange vine growing out of its mouth. Next to it was a blank, staring face, with dried gourds hanging off of it like a necklace. A lot of ponies were creeped out by the foreign and off-color decorations of Zecora’s place, but Applebloom found them fascinating. Helping Zecora with her potions and herb gathering was a favorite pastime for Applebloom ever since the day they first met.

“I am back with herbs for my brew. How about you stir them in the stew?”

Applebloom turned around. Zecora had returned from her walk into the deep part of the Everfree forest, her saddlebags stuffed full of rare and magical plants. Applebloom rushed over and took Zecora’s bags. She had to be extra nice to Zecora today. She was here to ask for a favor, for something that Zecora had told her about several weeks ago…

Applebloom added the herbs in the correct amount to the kettle boiling in the middle of the room. Truth be told, she was rather nervous, not only because she had to make sure not to mess up Zecora’s important potion, but because she was worried about how Zecora would react to her request. The last time she took something from her hut, the results weren’t exactly… pretty.

“Hey Zecora?” started Applebloom in her high pitched southern drawl.

“Hmm?” she responded as she checked the potion for consistency.

“Remember how that one time we were makin’ that comfort potion for that one pony?”

“He had eaten two year old hay, so his stomach turned in a very bad way! Of course I remember, little foal; you helped me quickly meet my goal.”

“You said that if somepony takes a comfort potion when they’re feelin’ good, that it makes ‘em happy and have a really good day.”

“The words I spoke were quite true. Comfort potion does just that, through and through.”

“Y’all told me one day you’d let me try some so I could see for myself. I was wonderin’…”

Zecora smiled, “For you to be older was the intention I had…”

Applebloom’s mood started to sink.

“…but I suppose one little try couldn’t be that bad. It is wisdom that you must earn, but it is through experience that you learn.”

Zecora walked over to her potion cabinet, unlocked it and took out a green potion in a small round bottle. Applebloom stopped stirring momentarily to take it.

“This bottle contains one dose, but it will make your day better than most!”

“Thank you, Zecora!” Applebloom cried as she hugged her friend.

Zecora smiled as she walked over to look at her potion book. Her smile faded as she looked quickly back and forth between her book and potion. Then she let out a sudden cry, making Applebloom drop the wooden spoon in to the cauldron.

“I forgot the most important step! A crucial ingredient I must quickly get!”

“Uhm, Zecora? That didn’t really rhyme.”

Zecora neighed with annoyance as she hastily grabbed her cloak. Before Applebloom had time to register what was happening, she was out the door.

Applebloom could understand why Zecora was so upset. She had never seen her skip an ingredient before, and this was a potion for an Equestrian VIP (very important pony). She looked outside and saw the sun starting its long path down in the sky. She needed to get out of the Everfree forest before sundown. Plus, she had a Cutie Mark Crusaders sleepover to get to! This was going to be the best one yet, because she had a little bottle she was planning to share. Speaking of which…

Applebloom walked over to the cabinet Zecora had gotten her comfort potion out of. It would be no fun for just one of the crusaders to have an awesome night, so she needed a little bit more. She was sure Zecora wouldn’t mind. After all, she wasn’t really taking anything without permission. She was just upping the amount so everyone could have some. She set the small bottle of green potion down in the cabinet Zecora had forgotten to lock, and took a large pyramid shaped bottle up from right next to it. Applebloom placed this new bigger bottle of green potion in her saddlebag and whistled as she set off for home.

This was going to be the best night ever…

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“It was really awesome of you to bring me up here to hang out,” Scootaloo said breathlessly, looking at the ground from the edge of Rainbow Dash’s house cloud.

“Ah, don’t mention it, squirt,” Rainbow Dash replied in her usual confident voice, “I figure you might like seeing my new routine from up here. Gives you a different angle to see some pretty cool flying, know what I mean?”

“Absolutely, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, racking her brain to remember what Rainbow had told her earlier about the mechanics of her new moves so as to better impress her.

“Seeing as how it’s your first time up here, I bet you’d like to see my pad,” Rainbow Dash continued, sparing Scootaloo from having to say anything, “Come on, let’s check out Château Rainbow. Hey! That rhymed. Man, I’m awesome even when I’m not trying! You like that, Scootaloo? Château Rainbow…”

“Sure do, Rainbow Dash. What does château mean, anyway?”

Rainbow shrugged, “I don’t have to know the cool phrases - I just come up with them. What am I, a dictionary?”

She led Scootaloo into her towering cloud-home. Scootaloo looked up in wonder at the columns reaching up for the ceiling, and the beautiful (if dusty) marble floors.

“…and over there’s the kitchen, but I don’t usually go in there that much, too much of a hassle to keep it clean, you know? There’s the sitting room, but I don’t have people visit that often, but I bet they wish they could. It’s awesome being a pegasus, huh Scoot?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer. She was entranced by the sheer magnitude of being inside her idol’s home.

“Come on,” Rainbow continued, not waiting for Scootaloo’s reply, “Let me show you the summit, it’s where I jump off to get speed for some of my cooler tricks.”

Scootaloo followed Rainbow Dash up several flights of stairs to the top of her tower-home. She made a small gasp when they came out the trap door leading to the roof of the structure. As beautiful as Rainbow’s home was, it was that much better viewed from the top. Rainbow waterfalls fell all around them, emitting a deafening roar. The true height of both her tower home and the cloud it rested on was truly put in perspective. She could see the mountains refracted through the rainbow waterfalls, and it rendered her speechless.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked, “You want to see me do some tricks? I bet you’d have a pretty good view from up here.”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” said Scootaloo, as she became aware of a sudden personal need, “Could I go to the little filly’s room real quick first?”

“Yeah, I guess,” sighed Rainbow Dash, “Go down the stairs to the second floor and it’s the first door on the right. You better hurry though, cause I’m not gonna wait around for long.”

“You got it Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cried as she scurried off.

She rushed down the stairs, not wanting to miss the private show that Rainbow Dash had promised her.

"Ok, second floor, first door on the right…” Scootaloo murmured to herself and she slowly pushed open the restroom door. The bathroom was as majestic as the rest of the house with marble bathtub and sink, yet still had that Dash-like touch of slight messiness. There were clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor and a stack of old magazines sitting on top of the toilette.

She rushed over and did her business as quick as she could. She flushed the rainbow colored toilet water and hurriedly washed her front hooves, glancing over at the magazines. Huh. Those look kind of weird… She leaned over to look at the top one. On the cover was a young mare in a suggestive position. The title read “Ponyboy”.

“What the heck is a ‘boy’,” she muttered to herself, picking up the magazine. The titles of the articles were things like “Canterlot’s biggest plots” and “Was Queen Chrysalis a fillyfooler?” Scootaloo flipped through the pages of the magazine. Inside were pictures of ponies doing all sorts of things that she had never seen before along with articles that she doubted anyone would ever read. She was old enough to know about sex, of course. She heard enough about it from classmates when Ms. Cheerilee wasn’t around, but she’d never seen any pictures of it. Staring at one of the pictures of large muscular stallion holding down and having his way with a screaming mare, she felt an unfamiliar tingling.

Scootaloo didn’t need any convincing. She grabbed the magazine in her mouth and rushed out to the front hall, where she stuffed it into her saddlebag. She’d just bring it back the next time she came up to Rainbow Dash’s. She would never even know it was missing. Maybe she’d show it to the other fillies tonight – they might like it too.

At that point Rainbow Dash came flying down the stairs to meet Scootaloo in the front hall.

“What’s taking you so long, squirt?” she exclaimed, “I don’t think even Rarity is as full of crap as you must have been to have taken that long!”

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash!” replied Scootaloo nervously, “I uh… just remembered that I have to get back and get ready for my slumber party tonight. I’m so sorry, but I’ll see you again soon, right?”

“But... Fine,” Rainbow sighed, disappointed, “You sure you don’t want to stay? I have to say, you’re missing out. These tricks are pretty awesome.”

“Sorry…” Scootaloo said. She really was sorry, but she wanted to get ready as quick as possible. Plus, she didn’t want to stick around in case Rainbow caught on that she stole from her.

“You need help getting down?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“No, getting down is something I can do.”

With that, Scootaloo rushed out and hovered slowly down to the ground.

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A hoof knocked on the front door to the Golden Oak Library. Twilight Sparkle looked up from the technical manual she was studying.

“I wonder who that is? I’m not expecting anypony. Can you get that, Spike?”

“Sure thing, Twilight,” Spike replied eagerly as he hopped up and answered the door.

“Hey, Spike,” Sweetie Belle said as the dragon opened the front door, “Is Twilight home?”

“Uh, yeah, but she’s kind of busy. What did you need, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie Belle’s heart sank. If Twilight was busy with something, then there’s no way she’d be able to check up on them. When Twilight was working on something, then absolutely nothing could distract her (except maybe Discord).

“You mind if I talk to her?” Sweetie Belle asked if nice as she could, “I won’t be long.”

“Alright, but don’t take too long. She’s working on a new sciency thing she just bought.”

Sweetie Belle rushed past Spike and into the library. There, Twilight sat with a pile of books and blueprints. Next to her was a machine covered in indicator lights, dials and meters that sat in several pieces on the floor.

“Oh, hi, Sweetie Belle,” Twilight greeted pleasantly, briefly looking up, “What brings you here this evening?”

“Hello, Twilight! What are you doing? What’s that machine you’ve got?”

“This is a magic encephalograph. I just ordered it from Uni-Magi Research Supplies. I’m going to be spending all night putting it together. You see, when you connect these piezoelectric probes at certain points on a unicorn’s horn and body, the magic signal will cause the crystals inside to vibrate and bla bla bla blaah. Bla bla blablabla…”

Sweetie Belle could feel herself losing focus. Tonight is going to be so fun! They’d tell stories, and come up with cutie mark ideas, and Applebloom promised that she was going to bring a surprise…

“Focus, Sweetie Belle!” she thought to herself. If there is one thing she’s good at, it’s convincing ponies to do things. Who else could have gotten Rarity to go on a three day long camping trip?

“…so I can get read out data on different ponies casting different spells.”

“Wow, that is so interesting,” enthusiastically exclaimed Sweetie Belle with fake sincerity.

“Isn’t it?” agreed Twilight just as enthusiastically, “Do you want to come by when it’s done? I could use some data on some younger foals who’s magic isn’t fully developed yet. It would be interesting to see what levels of magic appear and proportionality between…”

“Gee, that would be great, Twilight” interrupted Sweetie Belle. There was only so much boredom she could take at a time. “If you’re going to be up all night, could you do me a little favor?”

“I don’t know, I’m going to be really busy all night…”

“It’ll be really quick! I promise! The Cutie Mark Crusaders are having a sleepover at the clubhouse tonight, but Rarity won’t let me go unless you come by and check on us. It’ll only take a second! What if I’m not there and they find out their super special talent and get their cutie marks and I don’t so then they won’t be Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore and I’ll be the only one and I’ll have to have a sleepover alone next time and everyone at school will laugh at me? Please stop by tonight? Please, please, please, please, PLEASE?”

Sweetie Belle gave the biggest, saddest, most pathetic puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

“I don’t know, Sweetie Belle. I don’t see how coming by once is going to be keeping you fillies safe.”

“How about if I go with them, Twilight? I've never been to a sleepover before,” Spike chimed in.

Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof, “Well, I guess that would make me feel a little better. Plus, it’ll give me some alone time to work on my project. Hmm… Ok, you can tell Rarity I’ll do it.”

“Yay!” cried Sweetie Belle and Spike at the same time.

“Oh man, this is going to be so awesome!” Spike elated, “My very first sleepover! We’re going to have so much fun, eating s’mores and telling ghost stories and playing sleepover games like truth or dare and spin the bottle…”

“SPIKE!”

“…as soon as I find out what spin the bottle is. When are we going, Sweetie Belle?”

“Just be at the Cutie Mark Crusaders club house at sunset. Oh, and bring a sleeping bag.”

With that, Sweetie Belle pranced off to tell her sister the good news and get her own things together.

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“All right now, fillies! And Spike.” Applejack added as the four young ones rolled out their sleeping bags in the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse, “Let me start by jus’ puttin’ down some ground rules. First of all, don’ y’all go wanderin’ off. Except in an emergency, I don’t want you fillies leaving the clubhouse. Got it?”

The three fillies and Spike nodded their heads in understanding.

“Next, I don’t want anypony else coming around tonight. It’s just gonna be you four. Twilight’s ok,” she added, anticipating Sweetie Belle’s remark, “Third of all, I want y'all to have fun! Don’t be doin’ nothin’ you wouldn’t do if I were here with ya, and enjoy your first Cutie Mark Crusaders sleepover!”

With that, Applejack left and headed back for the farmhouse. When she got there, she found Big Macintosh hooking up a harness to the wagon full of apples that Applejack was to take to Canterlot that night.

“Thanks, Big Mac,” she said as she walked up to him, “Now I know ya don’t want me going out all by my lonesome at this time of night, but ya have to realize that we’d be saving a lot of money by me takin’ the night train instead of getting there about now and having to pay for a darn hotel. You understand, right?”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh replied with the slightest hint of uncertainty.

Applejack got into the harness and started rolling her wagon down the road toward the Ponyville train station.

“One more thing, Big Mac,” she added as she left, “Applebloom and her little friends are staying overnight at their clubhouse. Jus’… keep an ear out for them, will you? I’m not expecting anything to happen, but ya never know. If there’s some sort of emergency, get in contact with Twilight if ya need help. Good luck now, ya hear?”

“Eeyup,” responded Big Macintosh as he waved goodbye.

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

stack of old magazines sitting on top of the toilette.

That extra t and e do not belong.

Other then that an intresting start.

[DragonflyDreams]

This is so funny :) love it! You're really good at writing Zecura! And Spike is actually pretty interesting in this story, which is a rare thing :p

[DragonflyDreams]

This is so funny :) love it! You're really good at writing Zecura! And Spike is actually pretty interesting in this story, which is a rare thing :p