Rise of the Dark Queen

by Black Kyurem

Chapter 4: Adventures in Applewood

"Ah, welcome fillies!" said the unicorn Director Q himself upon the Cutie Mark Crusaders getting to meet him. Q was most handsomely dressed, as he had to look important being an apparently well-known movie director.

"Director Q, sir," said Apple Bloom. "We've come to try out for the three Legendary Marks."

"But of course!" said Director Q with a note of delight in his voice. "There's three of you and three Legendary Marks! What a perfect pair it would be! Pity if you were not fit to be worthy, but not to worry! I will see to it that here at Applewood, we will do all that we can to get you those Legendary Marks! After all, I have a good feeling about you three fillies." This got the three fillies totally excited.

"We're gonna be movie stars!" shrieked Scootaloo.

"And we're finally gonna get our cutie marks!" squealed Sweetie Belle.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, movie stars!" they all cheered. It was not long before the three little fillies were taken to a room for filming. The scene was set to be performed using green screen and all that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had to do was follow the lines in the scripts they were given.

"All right then!" declared Director Q. "Quiet on the set! We're about to start the filming! Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo! You know your lines! Read the script and start performing when you're ready! And... action!!"

For the filming, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were dressed in small tuxedos and wore dark shades. Their parts in the scripts included talking to background ponies and interacting with them, some of them in green suits.

"What's the big secret?" asked Doctor Whooves, portraying a background pony by following lines of the film's script. "Ponies are smart. We can handle it."

"A pony is smart," said Apple Bloom, playing her part. "But ponies as a whole panic easily and y'all know it. Fifteen hundred years ago, ancient civilizations thought this planet was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, it was believed this world was flat and now you're sayin' we're alone on this here planet. Imagine what y'all will know tomorrow." For another scene, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo interacted with Sweetie Drops on the set.

"And... action!!" shouted Director Q. Apple Bloom held up a small, thin, capsule-shaped device for about a second and then put it away.

"All right, Bon Bon, there was no alien. The flash of light you saw in the sky was not a UFO. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus."

"Wait a minute," protested Scootaloo, acting her part of course. "You just flash that thing, it erases her memory and you just make up a new one?"

"A standard issue neuralyzer," answered Apple Bloom.

"And that namby-pamby story's the best you can come up with?"

"On a more personal note, Bon Bon," continued Apple Bloom to Sweetie Drops, now still as a statue. "Lyra ran off with an old friend in Canterlot. You're gonna go stay in Ponyville for a couple o' nights. You're gonna get over it and decide you're better off." And for another scene, Sweetie Belle was addressing a group of background ponies, playing the parts of new recruits for a secret service.

"You'll dress only in attire specially sanctioned by MiB special services. You'll conform to the identity we give you, eat where we tell you, live where we tell you. From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You're a rumor, recognizable only as déjà vu and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist. You were never even born. Anonymity is your name. Silence is your native tongue. You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're 'them'. We're 'they'. We are the Mares in Black." Next up, Scootaloo was confronting Muffins, playing a role known as 'Perpy' for the film.

"What's up, Perpy?" asked Scootaloo.

"He's coming because I just don't know what went wrong," said Muffins. "And now he'll hurt me, too."

"Yeah, well you're just driving everypony crazy today, huh?"

"You don't understand. Equestria's gonna end." Muffins' a-wall eyes, rolled back and forth.

"What the hay are you?" Muffins scrambled to the edge of a building prop with a green mat down below. "Hey, watch that ledge," said Scootaloo. "Watch the ledge. Look, come on down and we'll get those eyes fixed. Don't even worry about it. Let me talk to you. Hey, hey!"

"Fix my eyes?!" shouted Muffins. "This world is so unclean! Aaaaaaaaah!" Muffins fell to the green mat below, landing softly. Another scene had Apple Bloom and Scootaloo confronting Lyra Heartstrings, portraying the main antagonist of the film. Lyra's acting included her making a very creepy and psychotic face.

"You're under arrest for violating sections 4153 of the Tyco Treaty," Apple Bloom said to Lyra.

"So hand over whatever galaxy you might be carrying, step away from the busted flank vehicle, and put your front hooves on your head!" said Scootaloo to Lyra. Soon, the filming was finished.

"Aaaand... cut!" shouted Director Q. "Great work, everypony! This film will be a box office smash success!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders gave each other hoof-bumps and then checked their flanks. To their disappointment, they had not yet acquired these legendary marks. "Be patient, my little ponies," said Director Q. "You'll get your legendary marks in time. After all, they're not legendary for nothing, so they are hard to earn. Come back tomorrow and we'll do more amazing filming!"

"Well, that was fun, at least," said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, I've never felt so free in all my life!" said Sweetie Belle.

"And... we've waited this long for our cutie marks," said Scootaloo. "What's another film day or two?"

"Legendary Mark Crusaders!" they all shouted at once. The three fillies were then escorted to their room. Director Q watched them and smirked.

"Heh heh heh..." He laughed to himself. "Everything is just as I had hoped..."

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