Chapter 2
“My dad’s Arctic Silversky. You ever hear of him?”
Aurora Belle shook her head and Silver Dart told her, “Count yourself lucky,” before lapsing into gloomy silence.
School had let out some time ago and after telling the Pegasus she would see him later, the Unicorn filly had headed for her aunt’s cottage. When she found Sweetie Belle still was not home, it was no great surprise. Unsure what to do, but not wanting to stick around an empty house, Aurora had checked her bags before taking to wandering aimlessly.
She wasn’t exactly sure where she wanted to go. She toyed with the idea of going to look for her aunt, but did not have the slightest clue where to start, much less what Sweetie Belle looked like. It was by sheer happenstance she had run into Silver Dart. And after stopping at his house he invited her to meet the only other Pony he was friends with.
As the two ambled toward a place called Sweet Apple Acres, they had begun talking about random things before settling on the subject of families. Aurora Belle had only finished explaining how she’d been sent to live with an aunt she really did not know when the Pegasus colt had inquired if she had ever heard of his father. Thinking about all of this, the Unicorn filly eventually asked, “So who is Arctic Silversky?”
The cerulean Pegasus did not reply at first, which left Aurora Belle to wonder if this was a subject he did not want to talk about. About to ask if it was, Silver Dart suddenly explained, “My dad’s one of those high adventure, sports nuts. He’s flown in the Haytonna 500 a number of times and won every single time. So, it’s not like he is home a lot. He is either racing or off on some tour or something.
“If and when he’s home, he’s always insisting I try things him and mom like. It’s even gotten to the point were every time he see me, the first thing he says is, ‘Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let’s get you a cutie mark.’ And it’s worse if he’s has his pit crew with him.”
Again, he lapsed into silence whilst next to him, Aurora Belle tried to picture Silver Dart’s father and found she couldn’t. Curious to know more about him, and what a pit crew was, she was about to inquire when the colt suddenly exclaimed, “And my mom’s even worse than he is,” as a mixture of emotions crossed his young face.
A rapid flap of his wings and then he spat, “She’s this great Wonderbolt. And has done all these great things, including saving Equestria. When she’s home, she’s always encouraging me to try things she’s interested in. Stuff like flying fast. Or reading some old series of books called Daring Do. To top it all off, she’s always telling me how awesome I am, and can be, and that, whatever I am doing, I either need to be twenty percent cooler or it needs to be twenty percent cooler. Or some such like that.”
In the short time she had known him, this was the most animated Aurora had seen Silver Dart. Weaving through the crowd, she waited to see if he had anything more to say. Around them, the amount of Yaks, Hippogriffs, Dragons, Griffons, Ponies, and Zebras began to thin out as the two approached the edge of Ponyville. Noticing this, the young Unicorn briefly wondered how far outside of town their destination was, then turned her attention back to the subject at hoof.
Certain Silver Dart was not going to say anything more, she began by reiterating, “My mom sent me to Ponyville to live with my aunt Sweetie Belle,” then hastily added, “And she is not even my aunt. She’s like my cousin or second cousin or something like that. She’s only called aunt Sweetie Belle because I supposedly met her when I was a yearling. And unable to grasp how we were related, I was told that I kept calling her aunt Sweetie Belle. From there, the title stuck. And whenever we talk about her, she’s always called aunt Sweetie Belle,” and taking a deep breath, she waited to see if the cerulean Pegasus would say anything.
When it was clear he wouldn’t, the Unicorn filly took another deep breath and switching the subject, she stated, “As for my dad, I never really knew him. He disappeared some time before I was born. When I asked about him, my mom told me how he was studying stuff like Equestria’s history, a place called Equerry, and some supposed ruler named Catrina. After he vanished, the University or library or museum or whomever was sponsoring him sent mom all his stuff. According to mom, his diary had only three words, Beware the Others, written on the last page.
“Nopony knows what happened to him. Or, at least that’s what my mom is always telling me,” Aurora Belle finished and listening to their hooves strike the ground, she let her mind wander for a minute or so.
There was other things she could talk about, including the stories she had heard about the death threats sent to her father’s sponsors and her mother, all demanding specific items and information in regard to her dad, and the cultists, who had been supposedly led by a Griffon named Ivo Saddler, who had harassed her mother. Yet, she did not feel comfortable telling the colt these things yet. Figuring she might some day, she instead began talking about her mother.
“My mom has always struggled to make ends meet. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad had it only been my dad disappearing. But, shortly after I was born, these two shyster Ponies by the name of Hood and Wink, promising to help find my father, took my mother for nearly everything she had. And they would have. Except they were chased out of town by a mob demanding their bits back.
“Whether they could or could not do what they said, mom never found out. Mostly because she had other things to deal with, like finding a place she could afford, coping with two jobs, and raising me,” and looking away, the Unicorn filly sniffed sadly as she thought about her mom and how much she missed her. Wishing she could go home, no matter how bad it might be, she heaved a sigh and tried to find something good about having to leave home and live with a relation she did not really know.
Lost in her melancholy, Aurora noted that at some point the town had given way to trees. Not interested in what she was seeing, she looked ahead and noticed a large red barn and apple orchard dominated the landscape. Next to her, as if he could sense her feelings, Silver Dart said, “That right there is Sweet Apple Acres. Best apples in all of Equestria,” and making a motion with his wing, he commented, “Come on. I want to introduce you to Apple Pip,” as a way to not only distract her, but also himself, as talking about his family had bothered him a smidge and starting to gallop, the two raced the rest of the way.
From the moment she met Silver Dart’s friend, Aurora Belle got the sense she and the Earth Pony would get on splendidly and that Apple Pip felt the same way. Hanging out with the Pegasus colt and the Earth filly, the young Unicorn learned that the farm was run by Apple Pip’s mom, two aunts and her uncle. She also came to understand, as she helped fix up an old tree house that had belonged to the Earth Pony’s mom and her two friends, that Apple Pip was in Pipsqueak’s class and sometimes, like today, she was excused from school, as particular tasks sometimes required all five of the family.
“Which is why I ain’t gonna be in school tomorrow either,” Apple Pip explained as they put away the tools they had borrowed and trotted back to the tree house.
Following Silver Dart and Apple Pip inside, Aurora Belle asked, “Isn’t your mom afraid you will fall behind,” before adding, “I know my mom would be,” in a such a quiet tone it was almost missed by the other two.
“I make it up as I can,” Apple Pip answered easily. “Mostly in summer. Or, when they have the time, either my aunt Sugar Belle or my uncle Big Mac help me to make up what I missed.”
“Also aunt Scootaloo, if and when she’s around,” Silver Dart said, to which Apple Pip nodded.
A silence fell between the three and Aurora Belle found herself wondering if she would get to meet the Ponies the other two had mentioned. Finding such a notion to be pleasant, she considered the possibility that living in Ponyville might not be so bad. Looking at the pictures that had been hung on the walls as she thought this, aware the Apple Pip had walked over to an old podium they had found in the attic part of the tree house, Aurora was on the verge of inquiring who was in the pictures when the Earth filly banged her hoof a number of times on the podium’s top, then intoned, “I hereby announce out club come together. Out main goal is to get out cutie marks. As current members, we recognise Silver Dart, Aurora Belle, and me, Apple Pip. And from here on out, we shall be know as.”
Abruptly she faltered in her in her speech. A look of uncertainty and curiosity on her young face, the Earth Pony said, “Say. I reckon we should be deciding what out group is to be called.”
Both Aurora and Silver Dart in agreement, the three foals began tossing out ideas until the Pegasus colt called out, “Point of order.”
The other two looking at him, Apple Pip asked, “What in the hay does the mean?”
A twitch on his shoulders mixed with a flick of his wings to indicate a shrug and Silver Dart replied, “I dunno. Something I read or heard somewhere,” and clearing his throat, he quickly explained, “What I’m trying to drive at is that we should call ourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders in honour of aunt Scootaloo, Apple Pip’s mom, Apple Bloom, and Aurora Belle’s aunt Sweetie Belle.”
“Ah second that, “ Apple Pip squeaked and, after thinking about it, Aurora Belle nodded and said she was in agreement.
Afterward, as the young Unicorn tried to imagine her aunt as a filly and forming a club to get her cutie mark, Apple Pip again knocked her hoof against the top of the podium. Getting both of her friend’s attention, the Earth Pony stated, “It’s official. From here on out, we’ll be the Cutie Mark Crusaders and out goal will be finding ways to get our cutie mark.
“The first thing I reckon we should do is to figure out what things we’ve tried so that we don’t end up doing the same thing again,” and looking expectantly at her friends, the Earth filly waited.
It was Silver Dart who finally spoke up. Stating, “I really haven’t done anything to get my cutie mark,” in the same quiet tone he usually spoke in. Seeing the looks on his friend’s faces, he clarified, “Well, I suppose I have. But it was all the things my mom and dad made me do,” before going on to explain some of the trips him and his father made to Haytonna, how he learned a lot of the ins and outs of racing, the Junior Wonderbolts Camp his mom enrolled him in, and all the other stuff his parents did with him when they were home at the same time.
As she listened to the colt tell of the ways his parents attempted to help him get his cutie mark, Aurora thought of all of her attempts. Since she had first learned what a cutie mark was, how a Pony got one, and why it was they had them, the young Unicorn had wanted hers and was determined to get one any way that she could. This had led her to a number of accidents, failures, annoyances of other creatures, bans from certain places, and her mother calling her precocious, but risky. Usually in a frustrated tone with her eyes pinched near shut and a tired look on her face.
When it came time for her to talk, Aurora Belle found herself conflicted on how much she should tell. Starting slowly, she began explaining in a hesitant voice. Finding that neither Apple Pip nor Silver Dart appeared to want to stop her, she slid into an easy groove of explanation. Finishing with her aborted attempt to raise bees, she said, “How was I to know at the time you should not keep a beehive in the janitor’s closet at school? Or that the bees would eventually get into the duct works, make another nest and, in the end, cause the school to be shut down for two weeks not only get the bees out, but also clean up all the honey they had been making?”
Looks of astonishment greeted her when she stopped her narrative and nervously, the young Unicorn fidgeted as she wondered if maybe she said something wrong. To her surprise, Apple Pip commented, “Wow. I’d never think to try half what you’ve done,” and ticking off the things she had tried, most which entailed activities involving farm and orchard work, she ended with, “So, what should we try first? Something new? Or something that’s been already tried before?”
“Nearly everything I have attempted ended before I could finish. Sometimes before I even started,” Aurora Belle volunteered, than, as an afterthought, suggested, “Why don’t we draw straws? Whoever wins has to come up with an idea.”
Apple Pip nodded enthusiastically at this as Silver Dart said, “Okay,” and waving a hoof, the Earth Pony exclaimed, “Follow me,” before dashing out of the tree house.
A shared look of inquisitiveness passed between the colt and the filly before they hurried after their friend. The three racing through the orchard and toward the largest of the couple barns dotting the property and following her friends inside, Aurora wondered what Apple Pip was up to. Catching a brief flash of the Earth Pony’s strawberry red mane and tail disappearing up into the hay loft and curious to know if what her friend was up to had something to with her suggestion she once again shared a look with Silver Dart as they waited for their friend to come back down.
Moments later and the light-banana-yellow filly was back with three pieces of hay clamped firmly in her mouth. Spitting them out, she asked, “Aurora. Do you think you could cut these into three different lengths,” to which the young Unicorn said she could try.
After she had done this came the issue of how to blindly choose one of the pieces. Silver Dart, nimbly picking up the pieces with one of his wings, said, “I think I might be able to help,” as he made a series of complex motions with his wing that mixed the three pieces. Extending his wing out in front of him, the three pieces of hay slightly fanned, he offered, “You two pick. Whatever piece is left will be mine.”
Both fillies moved at the same time and each stopping, they looked at each other and laughed. Stepping back, Aurora Belle told Apple Pip, “You go ahead. I was going to use my magick anyway.”
The Earth Pony nodded at this, stepped forward, and gingerly took one of the stalks in her mouth. Next, the Unicorn filly levitated a piece toward herself. Each looking at the bit of hay they had chosen, they glanced at the Pegasus colt and then compared lengths.
Outside the barn, a female voice called out, “Come and get it y’all,” as the Cutie Mark Crusaders compared their individual pieces of hay. Determining that Silver Dart would decide what their first task would be, it was Apple Pip who asked, “Any ideas?”
The Pegasus, who looked like he might be sick, let his wings droop as he said, “No,” in his usual quiet, gloomy tone.
“I’m sure you will come up with something,” Aurora Belle reassured him, then stated, “In the meantime, I should probably get going. If she has finally gotten home, my aunt is probably wondering where I am,” as she thought, “Though I doubt she has gotten home.”
“Are ya’ kiddin’?” Apple Pip squeaked out. “My mom, aunts, and uncle would have no problem if you stayed for dinner. In fact, I reckon you’re already invited. I know Silver Dart is.”
Worried for a moment that her aunt would be upset, Aurora Belle almost insisted that she probably should go, but then decided it was not, at the moment, something to get worked up over. Nodding, she told the other filly, “Okay,” then, remembering how her mom always stressed the importance of manners, added, “Thank you.”
The three racing from the barn, they headed toward the house. Breathing in the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen, Aurora Belle momentarily forgot her troubles as her stomach grumbled hungrily. Inside the house, she was immediately introduced to Apple Pip’s mom, Apple Bloom, the Earth Pony’s aunts Apple Jack and Sugar Belle, and her uncle Big Mac as they sat down to what she thought, afterward, was the best meal she had ever eaten.
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I was a bit surprised to see that Human tag since it wasn't there before.
Well, dis gun be interesting. I wonder how many other people know who that is.
Wel, well, I didn't expect this to turn into an HiE story, but you managed to pull it off quite well. Looking forward to the next chapter.
4579748
Is that person Merlin?
4579803
An HiE story involving two alternate/other universes at the same time reaching Equestria. And I wonder if there will be a third...
I still like the story, and I applaud the inclusion of Myrddin.
The 'Evil slaving humans' is just a bit
for me though.
4579748 Oh, I know, alright. I've seen enough documentaries on him. It's Merlin the Enchanter, wizard and advisor to King Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King of England.
I don't know how I feel about you throwing a Human tag on the fic ... throwing humans into the fic felt a tad breaking on my suspension of disbelief. But I will try to give this fic a few more chapters of a go before I decide whether I'm going to ditch this fic, or keep following it.
i KNOW YOU GET THIS LOT IN THIS chapter but I was surpise about the HUmans being part of this story but i liked it
4587299 Yeah, but I don't let it bother me. I just wrote the story. If you like, cool. If you don't like, also cool. Somethings people like and something people don't like. I just type the story and hope that at least one person enjoys it. Also, what I honestly thought people would complain about was the fact that I wrote Celestia and Luna as a couple of Earth ponies who became Alicorns.
4590734
I am not saying I disliking it i JUST DIDN'T see it coming at all.Amazing world you've built you build so far ( i kind of like Luna and Celestia were earth ponies was a nice twist)
4590788 I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you disliked it, if that is how my response came off. I was just attempting to state a view I have on writing and publishing.
4591927
No it ok, I should have worded my comment better
So we have to wait a week for each chapter?
4593585 It's cool and everything worked out.
4595861 Aye. I'm sorry if this is an issue, but this allows me not only to type the chapter, which takes me about a day or two (depending on how distracted I am) but also allows me time to self edit.