Actions, Reactions and...WHOA!
You're absolutely right Smoker, there's always repercussions.
Thanks for the idea!
(I know, I'm awful)
“Ah’m tellin’ ya, I know what I heard and I saw!” Apple Bloom’s face was set in stone, she was adamant about this as she looked at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
Sweetie Belle tapped a hoof on the floor of the clubhouse, “Well, that can’t be right though. I mean he’d never do that...would he?” Her curls bounced as she looked at her friends.
Scootaloo was peering out the window, turning her head to answer Sweetie’s question, “Well, I mean with everything going on, could it have done something?” Her eyes were worried.
The little Unicorn turned her gaze on the Pegasus at the window, “What do you mean? Like hurt or..”
Scootaloo waved a hoof near her head in a circle, “Like make ‘em go nuts or something?” She shrugged as if almost to herself, “I mean everything like the forest monsters, the bad things. Some ponies get a bit weird after stuff like that ya know?”
Apple Bloom pointed at Scootaloo, “Yeah! I remember my Uncle Apple Bushel got whacked in the head with a branch, and all the grown ups kept saying he wasn’t right after that. Ya mean like that?”
Sweetie’s face brightened, “Oh! Like the old Sergeant at the Guard Office, there’s things he won’t talk about too, saying it’s best left alone!” She was referring to the time they’d tried to ask the older pony what fighting monsters had been like. He’d just smiled gently and told them they didn’t need to know that stuff.
“Yeah!” Scootaloo moved away from the window, setting next to her friends, “Like that! Maybe it just made him go a bit loopy after all the fighting?”
Sweetie Belle’s normally smiling face looked worried again, “But he’s so nice, and this is really serious. Are you absolutely sure Apple Bloom?”
The little Earth pony raised a hoof, “I swear by Celestia’s name what I saw and heard was true, ever’ bit of it!” The bow behind her head bobbed as she nodded in affirmation.
The Unicorn bit her lip as she pondered that most solemn statement, ‘cause when ponies said that, you could be pretty sure they wouldn’t lie, especially Apple Bloom. “Well, Miss Cheerilee said we oughta tell somepony when that happens, cause it isn’t good.”
Scootaloo sighed, “You know they’d never believe us without proof.”
“But..but what about Bastion and Granite, they’d listen!” Apple Bloom was trying to think of ponies they knew, “The old Sergeant would! ..wait...no he wouldn’t after we tried to earn our Cutie Marks in Spear Practice.”
Sweetie Belle grinned sheepishly, “I’m really sorry about that, I apologized to him every day for a week, but he could sit down again after it all healed!” She couldn’t help it, slapping her hooves across her mouth and giggling.
Apple Bloom stamped a hoof, “We’re just gonna have to get some proof, then we can tell somepony who’ll take care of it just like Miss Cheerilee says to!” The look on her face was pure determination.
Scootaloo was tapping her front hooves together for a moment, “And you’re sure he was hitting her?”
“Ah saw it Scoots, plain as day!” She sat down, waving her hooves as she told her tale one more time.
“Really?” Sweetie’s face showed great concern, because she liked him, he was always nice.
“Really! He was poundin’ away with his hooves like he was hitting a tree!” She rubbed her chin, “I’m tellin’ ya, it ain’t right hittin’ mares like Big Mac and Miss Cheerilee say! We gotta stop this!”
“I’m in!” Scootaloo pronounced, she was firmly convinced.
Sweetie nodded, hesitant at first, but well, she couldn’t abandon her friends, “Me too!”
Putting their hooves together, Apple Bloom made their mission statement, “We gotta rescue Applejack!”
------
“Okay,” Apple Bloom stalked the clubhouse from wall to wall, back and forth, “First thing is, we gotta get proof. Proof that what I saw is happenin’”
Oh! I know!” Sweetie’s face lit up, “Rarity’s got a spell I can borrow, it can record things on a gem!”
Scootaloo grinned, “That’s great! Can you use it though?”
“I think so, I’ve been practicing lots!” The little filly jutted her chest proudly, “I can lift almost a half bag of gems now!”
“Awesome!” She got hoof bumps from Apple Bloom and Scoots.
The Pegasus thought a moment, “Shouldn’t we tell Twilight or..” She was stopped immediately by Apple Bloom.
“Nope! Cause they’re..they’re..what’d granny say? Oh! Thick as thieves!” She saw the nods, “Everypony knows him so we can’t just go runnin’ around sayin’ anythin’. We got to have that proof.” She looked at her friends, “Ah know he’s nice and everythin’, but if what I heard happenin’ is happenin’, then it don’t matter who it is, they got to be stopped!”
Scootaloo tapped a hoof on the floor for a moment, “Hey! I can get something for disguises from my house! Mom won’t mind!” She smiled, “We can sneak up tonight and record what’s going on so we can tell the Guard!”
“That’s a great idea Scoots!” Sweetie Belle high-hoofed her friend, “We can do this!”
Apple Bloom stamped a fore hoof, “Okay then, I’ll go keep an eye on Crusader, and you two get what we need. Tonight, it’s Operation Applejack!”
“Cutie Mark Crusaders Rescuers! YAY!” Small hooves met in a slap as the three scattered to the winds to get what they needed.
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Scootaloo came rushing into the house, slamming the door behind her with a back hoof before launching herself up the steps to the closet in the hallway.
“Scootaloo is that you?” Her mom’s soft voice echoed through the house.
“Yeah Mom! Just grabbing a couple things! I’ll be with Apple Bloom and Sweetie tonight okay?”
“All right dear, want me to pack a lunch?”
Scootaloo stopped for a second, mom made the best lunches. “Please?”
“Be ready in a minute!”
“Awesome!”
Scootaloo’s mom was one of those mares that absolutely nothing could bother, short of the end of the world, and even then she’d fret about cleaning the house. When her and her husband were asked how could Scootaloo be so rambunctious, they always told the story about how she went into labor after a roller coaster ride.
Everyone figured that was it.
Scootaloo was trying to find a couple things but her darn wings kept getting in the way lately. She never wondered why and never really looked at them or using them unless it was to power her scooter. Oh well, later, she was on a mission!
Finding what she needed, she tucked them under her wing and tore down the stairs, finding her mother waiting with her saddlebags and a smile.
“I packed a good lunch dear, also there’s some juice boxes for your friends.” She helped her fit the bags on, tightening them around her barrel, she took the three pillowcases out from under her wing and put them inside, “Those’ll be safe in there too Scoots.”
“Thanks mom! You’re the best!” She gave her mother a warm hug and ran out of the house.
Her mom stood at the door and watched her filly run down the avenue, shaking her head with a chuckle, wondering where all that energy came from.
Had to have been that darn roller coaster.
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Sweetie Belle heard the bell on the door ring as she entered the Boutique, “It’s just me Rarity! Grabbing some stuff! I’ll be with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom tonight!” She made sure to yell as her sister got caught up in her fashions and tended to ignore things sometimes.
“Alright Sweetie! I have lunch for you on the counter! Eat it before you go!” The voice came from the fitting room. She sounded happy today, must be a new customer thought the little Unicorn.
Looking around to make sure, she rummaged through the stash of books Rarity kept with spells she used. Finding the one she wanted, she made a quick hoofwritten note with it and stuffed it in her saddlebags before putting them on. Snatching a decent gem out of the grab box, she added that in quickly as well.
Trotting into the kitchen, she saw Rarity had made her a ..a..really nice lunch actually. Wow. She sat down with her bags still on and piled in, she had a few minutes to kill.
Looking up from her plate she saw her sister come in, smiling brightly as she hummed to herself, “Sweetie! Glad you’re taking the time to eat, you’re always in such a rush.”
“It’s good!” She said around a mouthful of sandwich.
“You’re quite welcome, wouldn’t do to have you starving now would it?” She grabbed a cup of tea and sat across from Sweetie for a moment. The customer was still inspecting fabrics so she had time for a fresh pot.
Sweetie Belle swallowed a mouth full of food and thought a moment, “Rarity?”
“Yes dear?” Elegant eyes looked at her over the steaming tea cup.
“If..” Sweetie put down her food, tapping her hooves together in front of her, “ If somepony was hitting another pony, that’s bad right?”
“Of course it is dear, violence is never the right way.”
“But..but you do it with all the others..like in Canterlot!” Sweetie’s eyes were wide.
“That was different dear, when you’re defending yourself against miscreants and troublemakers.” She winked at her little sister, smiling gently.
“So..there’s different kinds of hitting then? Right?” The little Unicorn was trying to puzzle it all out.
“Yes Sweetie, when defending yourself sometimes you do have to hit another pony, or even Changelings in Canterlot.” She gave her sister a mischievous look, eliciting a giggle from Sweetie Belle.
“So...” She thought about how to phrase this, “A stallion hitting a mare would be bad right?” She hoped she didn’t sound too curious.
“It’s never right Sweetie, stallions should never treat their mares that way, it’s what a ruffian would do. It’s definitely not proper, nor accepted in polite society, ever.” She leaned over the table, “Unlike some nephews of the Princesses who don’t treat mares well.” She grinned and laughed with Sweetie.
Putting down her cup, she stared at the little Unicorn for a moment, “But why are you asking about this Sweetie, did you see something?”
“Me? No, oh no. Miss Cheerilee told us hitting others was bad, well except when you’re in trouble and somepony’s trying to hurt you.” She really didn’t see anything, just what Apple Bloom had told her.
“Well, if you ever see anything like that, you find me or a Guard, they’ll take care of that pony. Hmph, hitting a mare, that’s truly the lowest any stallion can go.” She returned to her cup of tea as Sweetie finished her lunch.
“I gotta go Rarity, I’ll be back tomorrow okay? We’re staying at the clubhouse so don’t worry!” She slid off her seat, using her magic carefully to put the plate in the sink.
“Have fun dear, and stay away from the forest!” Rarity waved, rejoining her customer who was holding a bolt of cloth. She watched Sweetie trot out of the boutique with a wary eye.
The customer, another Unicorn dropping in from Canterlot, cleared her throat, “I’m so terribly sorry, but I overheard her question. Somepony wouldn’t be doing that here would they?”
Rarity placed a hoof on her chest, “I certainly hope not. I mean our pleasant town has troubles yes, but nothing like that!” She looked absolutely scandalized at the thought.
The customer, who happened to be staying with relatives in town agreed, “Myself as well. Imagine! Somepony doing that, why..why the Princesses would have him jailed forever!”
Rarity huffed, “Well of course we aren’t perfect, nopony is. But doing it deliberately? Yes, they’d deserve the harshest of punishments!”
And so the conversation went as Sweetie Belle trotted down the street unaware that her question caused much concern in her sister.
There is a game that foals play, it’s called ‘Magic Message’. They sit in a circle and one of them starts off by whispering a message in the ear of the filly or colt next to them, and so it goes around the group until it returns to the original sender. By the time it reaches the original sender again, it is quite different from the message first whispered into an ear.
Welcome to Ponyville.
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Apple Bloom had been..well..stealthily tracking Crusader as he went though the town on business, hiding in bushes and behind fences as she tried to carefully follow him on his way. Her narrowed eyes were watching everything he did, who he talked, all of it.
She figured on doing this for a while, then meeting the others and waiting for dark to get the proof they needed. Apple Bloom resolved to stick to that pony like syrup on a pancake! That’s what she was gonna do!
But..he didn’t do nothin’! As the last couple of hours went by he talked with some ponies and then sat a lot just watching the world go by. If he was doin’ what they thought he was doin’ it’s gotta be cause he didn’t do anythin’ else!
She was having doubts though. He was nice, and he did lots to help folks, and always took time to teach her things when she asked about them. But that don’t matter. You don’t do bad things like that no matter who ya are or what ya do!
So steeling her resolve, she kept following through the town when he moved, sneaking from place to place behind him until she just threw up her hooves in frustration and took off for the clubhouse. Maybe Sweetie or Scootaloo had something.
------------
“Nope,” Apple Bloom shook her head, “I didn’t see no suspi...suspic-ci-ous beha..bea.. Stuff at all!” She concluded her report to Scootaloo and Sweetie.
“Well, maybe he waits until night, cause the monsters in the Everfree do that too.” Scootaloo pointed out, “So if he’s a monster in disguise, maybe that’s it?”
Sweetie nodded as well, “Yeah, he’s like another pony at night. All nice during the day, but when the sun goes down WHAM! He’s a bad pony!”
Apple Bloom tapped a hoof on her chin, “Well there was that one time he was gonna beat the stove up...” She saw the blushes on Scootaloo’s and Sweetie’s faces, “Oh..yeah we helped there too didn’t we?”
“Maybe he’s just..I mean he’s been fighting a lot, maybe a monster snuck in and took him over at night?” Sweetie was trying hard to rationalize things.
“It’s somethin’ bad,” She looked at her friends, “But that’s okay, cause we’re gonna stop it!”
It was only a couple more hours until sunset, then they were off on their mission to rescue Applejack from the evil clutches of whatever was making Crusader do bad things!
-------------
Three fillies with eye holes cut into the pillowcases that shrouded their heads snuck up to the farmhouse that night. They’d waited patiently, well at least in Sweetie Belle’s case, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo fidgeted like they had fleas. But at last their crowning moment had come, seeing Crusader and Applejack walk into the house, shutting the door.
They knew Big Mac was out of town that week, he’d had a meeting about something or other with friends in Manehatten, something to do with clubs, they weren’t quite sure. But he seemed pretty happy to be going on the trip.
This gave them the perfect opportunity!
Apple Bloom had oiled the hinges earlier that day on the front door, so it made no sound as they crept into the darkened interior of the farmhouse. They’d seen the light go on upstairs and knew they had to get in place so they could record what was happening.
They cringed each time a board creaked on the stairs, causing them to lose more precious time on their mission. The pillowcases were pretty hot too, so they were sweating heavily by the time they stood outside Applejack’s bedroom door.
They could hear murmuring, and soft voices inside as Sweetie readied the recording gem. Earlier that evening she’d cast the spell on it, it would record up to a minute of voices, or so the instructions said.
Apple Bloom laid an ear against the thick wooden portal, nodding to Sweetie to start whenever she was ready as they heard thumping sounds, like somepony hitting a pillow. Moans came out of the room, causing their eyes to go very wide in fright.
If he could do that to Applejack, one of the strongest ponies they knew, he could wipe them all out if they were caught! They stared at each other, wide eyed as they could hear the thumps and bumps, like a pony getting smacked, the moans and groans that told them Apple Bloom’s sister was suffering so badly!
Sweetie Belle was shaking like a leaf as she held the gem up, tapping it once like the spell said and waiting nervously for a minute to pass by, catching the sounds of pain from the other side, the beating that was surely taking place before their very ears!
This was awful! Her eyes were watching Scootaloo look around like she would jump at the faintest sound along with Apple Bloom. They were all terrified down to their tails, it sounded like Applejack was getting hurt pretty bad in there if they were any judge by the sounds coming from the room!
The three of them were close to fainting from the heat of the pillowcases on their heads and pure fear when Sweetie tapped the gem again and pointed out the door. They tumbled down the stairs and hoofed it as fast as they could possibly go, like Cerberus himself was hot on their tails!
They didn’t catch another breath until they hit the clubhouse, slamming the door shut and holding it closed with their bodies in place like small doorstops.
“Did..did you hear that?” Sweetie Belle was shaking badly.
“I did! Oh that was bad! What was he DOING?” Scootaloo needed a hug from her mom right now!
“Ah told ya! Didn’t I tell ya he was doin’ that?” Apple Bloom looked at them both, “Ah told ya!”
The other two stared back, eyes wide as they held the door closed in case anypony came after them. They stayed that way all night, whispering their fears about what was happening to poor Applejack, how they couldn’t believe Crusader was such a monster.
----------
Rest came hard that morning to three very frightened fillies as they tried their best to stay awake. When the sun rose, it was on four sleeping forms, tired and worn from a night of pure fear from what had happened. They’d planned on going to the Guard offices first thing, but were just too tired to keep their eyes open.
Adrenaline wears off pretty fast, as they crashed from the excitement, their bodies told them it was time to sleep, and sleep they did for most of the day.
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Iron Bars stood at the entryway to the local Guard Office, the atmosphere was heavy and he eyed the ponies passing in the streets. Something was going on, he just couldn’t put a hoof on it, but you could feel the tension in the atmosphere like a cloud about to downpour. It was getting on late in the afternoon and he hoped it would just fade quietly away.
The other Guards stood around the office, discussing what might possibly be wrong, from monsters to a freak storm. They didn’t have a clue, but every guard could feel the tension, so thick you could cut it with a sword. The guards had been around long enough to see the signs, and were waiting for the storm to break.
What they didn’t know, was that yesterday, idle talk got out which turned to idle gossip, which went to speculation, then accusation.
Sweetie Belle’s innocent questioning of Rarity had created a firestorm of thought that turned to anger at the merest hint that somepony would be abusing their spouse/foal/significant other/whomever.
The ‘Magic Message’ game worked wonders.
He retreated to his office, hoping for the best when Bastion walked in.
“Boss,” He hooked a hoof over his shoulder, “I got three fillies looking like they’re terrified, saying they got proof somepony’s abusing their marefriend.” He waited a second as Bars turned to look, “It’s Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.”
He sighed, remembering a few incidents with those names attached, “Bring em in Bast.”
Waking up late, the three had scrambled out of the clubhouse, heading for the guard offices with their proof of wrongdoing. They avoided everypony that they even thought they knew until they clambered into the office looking worn and so very tired. They hadn’t stopped to even listen to make sure the gem recorded everything.
Iron Bars watched Bastion herd the three inside, setting them on a couch in his office, “So, what’s this I hear about abuse?” He leaned on the desk, ready to hear something outrageous.
The three fillies stammered and stuttered, constantly looking out the door as they told their tale, concluding with what they’d heard last night as Sweetie Belle held out the gem for his perusal.
“That’s quite the tale, plus it’s a very serious charge.” His face was stern, “Are you sure you want to do this?” He thought by maybe giving them a chance, they could possibly recant, or at least save embarrassment if they were wrong.
All three nodded their heads.
“You gotta listen to the gem Bars, please!” Sweetie Belle gave her best pleading look that about knocked him over.
“All right, I’ll listen, if only to calm you down. But if it’s nothing, then it’s time to go, okay?” He was a stern Guard Officer, but very fair.
All three nodded.
“You stay right here, let me go get some ponies and we’ll listen.” He motioned for them to stay on the couch as he walked out to where Bastion waited, “Go get Lumpy, I need him to check this gem out.”
Bastion snickered, grabbing a few others and went into the back room, bringing out a Unicorn that had a sizeable goose egg on his head from breaking up a fight last night. He was a bit woozy still.
“Stop calling me Lumpy!” He glared at Bastion as Granite and the others chuckled, “Stupid..” He stopped when he saw Bars, “Sorry boss.”
“No problem, got an accusation of abuse and we’re gonna listen to this recording. I want you to check it Paper Work, when it’s done, tell me if it’s working right.”
“Got it boss!”
Iron tapped it like Sweetie Belle said to, as they all listened to what was on it with growing horror.
Sweetie Belle had fumbled the spell, it being too powerful for her. What had happened was as it recorded, it did so intermittently. What was supposed to be a clean one minute record, was now skipping words and sounds, piecing them together to make an entirely different recording which made everything sound a hundred times worse.
A hit, then a groan, a hit, then another moan, sounding like a pony was using someone else as a punching bag.
Guard ponies looked around at each other, they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Bars ran through it once more, it was what they heard all right.
“Check it Paper.” He held it out, watching the Unicorn light up his horn for a minute, checking it thoroughly. What Paper Work hadn’t realized, is the lump on his head was skewing his magic slightly, reading the gem as clean and in perfect working order with the spell.
“All good boss, it’s real.” He waved off, heading back to lay down for a while, his head throbbing from using magic.
Bastion looked at his brother Granite, standing in utter shock, “No way. No, absolutely no way.”
Granite pointed to where the three Crusaders sat, “Look at them, they’re terrified, and they recorded it.” He sounded doubtful himself, “But we still have to do our duty, no matter who it is.”
“C’mon Granite, no way Crusader would do that, everypony knows he adores her.” Bastion shook his head negatively, “Not a chance!”
Iron Bars had a quandary, a real one; if the recording was good, and magic said so, then he had to go arrest this pony and bring them in for questioning under truth spells. It was the law, laid down long ago by Princess Luna Herself.
One of the other guards raised a hoof, “Boss, we can’t go arrest Crusader.”
The Captain stood firm, “It’s the rules, whether or not we like them, they are the law, we enforce the law.”
The big Pegasus shook his head, “No, you don’t understand, we CAN NOT arrest him. We don’t have enough guards, if he gets mad he’ll wipe us out, and if his sister finds out, she’ll level this town!”
Iron Bars slapped his forehead with a hoof, he’d completely forgotten about that. He’d been so used to seeing them as ponies, never remembering there were two huge war machines under the ground near town that could destroy everything.
Bastion mentioned in a low voice, “Maybe we can contact Twilight..” He was stopped by the Captain.
“No, they’re his friends, we can’t have confusion. I know it’s not a good position we’re in, but we can handle this. Unless it goes beyond this, we do it, everypony knows that.” All the assembled ponies nodded, unless it was matter of country and threats to it, the Guard took care of it.
Closing his eyes he thought furiously, “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do.” He pointed a hoof at the Pegasus who’d spoken, “Send a message to Canterlot, Princess Luna’s Night Court is in session right now, inform her of what we’re going to do but do NOT give names. Let’s keep this sealed until we find out what’s going on out at Sweet Apple Acres.” He looked outside as the moon started rising to start the evening, time was getting late.
The guard nodded, heading back to find Paper Work to teleport the message immediately.
“The rest of you,” He pointed and sighed, “Get in your armor and gear up just in case, we’re gonna walk in nice as you please and knock on the door. We’ll ask him to accompany us back to town and we’ll get our answers, simple.” He smiled at the nervous guards.
“But boss,” An orange Earth pony asked, “What if it’s true and he gets mad?”
“Got your wills filled out?”
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Ten Guards set out from the office, heading to Sweet Apple Acres with a will and a mission. They took along the three fillies, not wanting to leave them behind in an empty office as Paper Work had sent the message and geared up along with the big Pegasus.
As they walked through the streets, ponies looked out from doorways and windows, seeing the set faces and nervous hoofing of short pikes as they trotted off to the farm. They didn’t realize they were drawing a curious crowd until it was too late.
Approaching the house, Captain Bars told a guard to stay back and handle the crowd, keeping them away as they all stared at the farmhouse, seeing a single light in a window on the second story.
Shadows moved in the house as they watched, the guards walking carefully up to the front door while half the squad went to the back entryway.
Apple Bloom gasped, tugging at the Captain’s leg and pointing, “Look!”
They could see the outline of a stallion, hooves rising and falling in the light as Sweetie Belle let out a cry, “Oh no!”
Scootaloo was stopped from running inside by a large hoof as the Captain gave the orders, “Get in there, now!”
----------Farmhouse Bedroom--------
Crusader had turned everything over to Athena, he had nothing but himself tonight, wanting to feel the limitations of just being with Applejack. No data streams, no sensors, just time alone with her. Nothing but time.
It was odd, confined in the avatar like he was, a single commlink to his cores keeping it running. It was..different..and new. He didn’t mind normal sight, normal limits, it was refreshing actually. He’d done this the past few nights and it was working so very well, it was very rare they’d get moments to themselves.
“Oh yeah, this feels great after a long day in the orchard, ya sure ya don’t mind?” Applejack’s voice was dreamy, lying on the bed as Crusader worked the knots out of her body. It’d been a long day applebucking and she was just enjoying being treated like a princess right now. Her mane fell over the covers, undone and loose as she relaxed comfortably.
“Of course not, you know that.” His hooves rose and fell softly, gently pounding at the dense muscles and skin to loosen them up before massaging deeper. “Just please don’t tell Rainbow Dash, she’ll want a massage too.”
The Earth pony laughed, “Oh yeah she would, but nope, we’re keepin’ this a secret! We ain’t gonna tell anypony.” She looked over her shoulder at him and winked, “Well, maybe Twilight, she sure liked that first one.” The laughter was soft.
“Don’t forget, we gotta get dinner out to Apple Bloom and her friends at the clubhouse. They’re staying the night.”
“No problem, it’s already made and covered, we’ll finish here first.” His hooves worked like magic along her tense body, she could feel the warmth from the muscles turning to mush under his hooves.
“You’re a sweetheart, thanks Crusader.” She lay back down, propping her head up on her forelegs.
“Though I would like to ask her why she was following me all day today, very odd.”
“Well she gets things in her head and nothin’ can stop her, we’ll ask later.” She looked back at him once more, “Did ya hear the rumor though? Somepony hitting their marefriend? Ain’t that somethin’ else? You’d think we wouldn’t have them problems.” She shook her head.
“It was just a rumor, though Athena and I will be on the lookout for any signs, if it’s happening we’ll find the pony and deal with it.” His voice was quietly furious, anyone who did such a thing was lower than a Melconian in his book, much, much lower.
“Now you just leave that to the Guard, turn ‘em over. They’ll take care of it, all right?” Her voice was firm, she knew what Crusader would do to a pony like that.
“As you wish Applejack. Though a few minutes alone with Athena and I would change their ways.”
The farm mare laughed, “Oh ah’m sure. You be nice now.”
“Yes Applejack.” He smiled at her sparkling green eyes, “I’m just glad you like this.”
“Oh ah do, ain’t no...OH!..doubt about it..” She gripped the bed cover in her hooves, letting out exclamations that got slightly louder as he worked along her back legs. She sighed happily, not even bothering to keep it down as nopony was around to hear, so she let herself go just this once.
-----------Outside--------
The guards could hear the muffled exclamations outside on the porch as they stood ready, the Captain leaving the three fillies back as he gave the high sign.
Front and back doors were kicked in as the ponies rushed upstairs, hearing a loud voice in what seemed to be pain. They had pikes leveled as they broke down the bedroom door where Apple Bloom had told them where it would be. It took just a few seconds, fast, very fast for being unrehearsed.
“Hooves off that mare you...criminal....oh stars.” The Guards in the door opening stopped as everything went silent in the lit room, short pikes leveled in the room as more ponies rushed up the stairs to help their comrades. The silence chilling them as everything went still, which made them pound up the stairs faster to find a group in the doorway leveling arms.
Captain Bars was the first through the door when it was busted off the hinges, leveling his short pike and rushing the room to stop dead in his tracks, seeing Applejack’s eyes go wide and Crusader looking at them all oddly, the placement of his hooves was more than intimate along the farm mare’s Cutie Mark.
He was covered in glowing sparkles the second they’d hit the doorway, but he hadn’t moved yet, and was making everypony very nervous. He would never hurt anypony that never did harm, but the way things stood right now, a massive fight would break at any second if they weren’t very careful.
The tension was broken by Granite’s gravelly voice, “Sure don’t look like any abuse to me boss.” The snickers traveled on down the line.
“If it looks like what I’m seeing, count me in!” A female Pegasus Guard was heard from the back.
Bars pinched his nose with a sigh and turned, bellowing to the guards in the house, “OUT! Out and set up a perimeter! OUT!”
Crusader’s voice was very even and controlled as he watched the ponies leave, “Captain, what is going on?” He had dropped his screen as soon as he heard the teasing voices.
Applejack didn’t care about controlled, “Yeah, wanna tell me what the hay is happenin’ here?” She’d slid off the bed, tying up her mane and tail quickly, an angry look crossing her face.
Bars sighed, he knew it was going to be bad today, “A very large mistake, could you both come outside?” He motioned for them to lead the way as he shook his head quietly behind them.
They walked through the house, a shambles now that a full compliment of Guards had trampled through it, making Applejack and Crusader even more upset at what was going on.
A guard stopped them inside the door before they exited the farmhouse, “Don’t go out there boss!”
Bars was rapidly getting tired of this, “What now?”
“That whole crowd out there think you’ve got somepony in here’s that’s been..well..yeah.. The torch and pitchfork store is gonna do a brisk business if we ain’t careful.” She was looking out the window with wide violet eyes, pointing out the mass of townsponies which was looking angry.
“Oh for...” He sighed once more, “Go out there and tell them it’s over, there is nothing to..”
He was interrupted by a flash of light, bright and piercing to the eyes as they heard the sound of a mass teleport right in the front yard.
Night Court Royal Guardsponies dropped out of the sky, landing flat-hooved and looking mad enough to tear the place apart. Princess Luna hovered above them, her eyes glowing with righteous fury as the assembled ponies all bowed and became very quiet.
A voice like thunder rolled across the night land, “WHO DARES!”
She turned in the air slowly, looking around at the assembled crowd and guards as her voice echoed across the still land, “WHO DARES ABUSE OUR PONIES? BRING HIM OUT AND JUSTICE SHALL BE SWIFT!”
Bars grabbed the Pegasus who sent the note off the porch and inside the house, “What did you put in that note?”
His eyes got wide, “Just what you said boss, we were going to arrest somepony for possible abuse of a spouse, that’s all.”
He couldn’t blame him, it was exactly what they were going to do, although he wished the wording had been better. Bars pinched his nose and sighed, this was turning into quite the fiasco. “In Celestia’s name this is getting worse by the second..”
“Okay, look, I’m gonna go out there and see if I can’t clear this up.” He pointed at Crusader and Applejack, “You two stay right here!” He pointed at the guards, “Keep the perimeter and hope she’s not too mad to believe me.”
“Careful boss, she’s looks royally..heh..sorry..mad..”
He eyed the big Pegasus, “You and me Wings, we’re gonna have a long talk after this.”
“Yes Captain.”
The long-suffering Captain slowly moved off the porch, bowing before the Princess and speaking softly to her as she hovered in an wreath of glory and magic. She was hot, very much so, and Captain Bars was trying his best to defuse an already tense situation.
“WHAT?...*Ahem*..” Princess Luna’s voice was softer, “What now?” She was no longer glowing with power as she came to a landing in front of the Captain. They were speaking softly as everypony watched.
As he was doing so, three fillies rushed inside the house, grabbing Applejack and pulling her away from Crusader, “Are ya okay? You’re not hurt are you?” Apple Bloom’s voice was worried as all three checked her over.
“What in tarnation are you on about you three? What’s goin’ on here?” She was pushing them away as they lifted her legs and checked her over for bruises or evidence of somepony hitting her.
“We thought you were in trouble!” Sweetie Belle started, “ ‘Cause..’cause we heard him hitting you and we got the guard and everything!” She pointed an accusing hoof at a shocked Crusader.
“Hitting me?” She looked back at Crusader who was wiping his face with a hoof, understanding what was going on as it dawned on Applejack.
“Wait, you thought...?” Applejack sighed, giving each of the three a hug, “There weren’t no hittin' goin’ on you three,” She smiled gently, “It wasn’t anything like that.”
Scootaloo’s voice was nervous, “But.. but we heard you, it sounded like you were in pain!”
Crusader wisely stayed out of the conversation as all three were eyeing him, looking like they would run if he stepped closer.
“Scoots, it was a massage, like they do down at the spa? You’ve seen those.” The farm mare’s voice was very soft, explaining things, “It wasn’t nothin’ bad.”
Apple Bloom piped up, “But..no! It was different! Nopony yelled in pain or anything!”
Applejack laughed, Crusader was looking anywhere but at them, “It..it was different, Crusader does them differently.”
“So..so he wasn’t hitting you?” Sweetie Belle had the cutest look of nervousness on her face.
“No Sweetie, he loves me, he’d never do that.”
The three fillies looked at each other and let out a breath in one long huff, “Oh..oh we’re so sorry!”
Crusader stepped near now, “It’s fine, you didn’t know.” He gave them a warm look, “Your imaginations ran away with you.”
“Well..ah guess so..” Apple Bloom wondered what kind of trouble they were going to be in this time.
Applejack was going to say something more when the Captain walked in, followed by Princess Luna. The guards outside were keeping the curious folks away, not saying anything until they were given the all clear.
The dark mare looked around at the faces, seeing her Princess Pals looking nervous, Applejack and Crusader blushing, the guards grinning, something was definitely up here.
“So, treating an Element of Harmony badly are we Crusader?” Princess Luna’s face bore a wide smirk.
He bowed as always, polite to a fault, “Assuredly not Your Highness. I..” He was stopped by an upraised hoof.
“Captain Bars explained that there seems to be quite the misunderstanding.” She was still looking mischievous. “I admire his bravery for rushing in here, even if it was you, he is to be commended.” She looked at a shocked Guard Captain.
“It..it’s the law Your Highness, we..we don’t..”
“Understood Captain, please tell your ponies they did well after we clear this..hah..mess up.” She looked back at Applejack and Crusader who were studiously avoiding her gaze.
She held up the now infamous gem, containing the recording that the three Crusaders had retrieved, “An admirable attempt at a recording spell Sweetie Belle, but I’m afraid it didn’t quite work right.” The little Unicorn twisted her hooves in front of her as she nodded to the Princess.
“The Guard who checked it was injured, he didn’t get a good read on the spell, I’m afraid it was the cause of the mix-up here. Through nopony’s fault, a collection of circumstance.” Princess Luna gave a benevolent smile to all assembled. A sigh rushed through everypony as they realized it was all going to be fine.
A crashing sound made them turn their heads, a sparkle covered sable blur came ramming through the wall, followed by a hovering cyan one, Athena’s voice was loud as she stood ready to level anything in sight, “What’s going on? We couldn’t contact you Crusader! Who're we killing?” Rainbow Dash was right beside her, hitting her hooves together and ready for action!
“Yeah! We’re gonna kick some flank!”
Crusader had forgotten to re-establish full contact with Athena and was cut off from all coms, he sighed as he looked at the ground, a hoof rubbing his forehead.
Applejack opened her mouth to answer when another teleport spell blinded them, dropping Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy in the middle of the small crowd inside the house, standing tall and looking ready to harmonize the heck out of anything, “We’re here!” Twilight’s horn was powered up and glowing hot. “Sorry it took so long to get every...pony...” She looked around at shocked faces.
“Let’s DO this!” Pinkie was growling menacingly, well..a cute menacingly, she didn’t do menacing very well.
Twilight looked around at all the faces, wide-eyed and surprised as it got very quiet in the house. “What’s...what’s going on?”
Princess Luna’s voice was merry as she turned her eyes on Applejack and Crusader, “Why yes, what exactly is going on? I’m sure Celestia will just love hearing this story later as well.”
The Princess’s laughter rang through the night like the tolling of a bell.
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6406866 And thank you for making me spit my soda on the keyboard, well done sir, well done!
That... that is the best thing I've heard in so long! Oh man, that's going to spring to mind now anytime I see them doing anything dramatic/serious in any context!
6406894 My absolute pleasure in bringing it to you then, thanks!
6406906 well that escalated quickly. O_O
This is ridiculous and I love it
6406927 I'm not sure if you'd be a failure. It was all about doing your best, knowing your own limitations. If you never try you can't fail, and that in itself, is failure. We are not as weak as we seem most days
6406955 Yes, yes it did, when it involves the CMC nothing is out of reach
6406982 Can do then!
6407003 Glad you got some laughs! Thank you!
he really is enjoying his newfound skill ain't he?
poor cmc, too clueless too understand.
6406870 *bows dramaticly* my pleasure
Oh dear
6407020 most inspirational speech since shia labeouf, thanks
6406894 prepare to be harmonized!
set the harmonizer cannons too %110!
my father... he was harmonized when I was ten. *cries*
buy the latest handheld harmonizer in your local gun shop today!
recent events have pushed a ban towards harmonizers as they have been used in many "accidents".
military mounts new, harmonizer onto battle cruiser, the future is now.
I dig it. when do they sell, nfire?
OMG this last chapter has to be one of the funniest I have read yet.
Regrets! Regrets all around!
And
stkeep smothering us with your word Nfire!6407076 Harmonizers don't befriend ponies, ponies befriend ponies.
National Harmonizer Association
(for a Nanoha value of befriend)
What we have here people is a simple psycological effect that we know has " Snowball Effect".
HAHAHHA!!! I'M GRINNING AND LAUGHING LIKE A MANIAC HERE!
OH MY SIDES!! IT HURTS!! HAHAHA!!
This is one heck of a chapter and perfect for what just happened in the last chapter. I can see Crusader going to collect all data of the massage, store it inside a separate data unit, find the nearest volcano and throw it there. Or at least try to without Athena and the rest of the Main 6 trying to stop him.
If that fails, I envision Crusader's avatar getting into his Bolo, shut it close, engage battle screens, retract sensor poles, and have the tech-spiders bury the Bolo hull under large layers of dirt. Hopefully he'll wake up when everyone forget about it.
Now this was quite the thing to see here.
Almost makes me forget that there is a few other things in the background yet unresolved.
6407063 Not sure about that if it's a compliment or not since I'm not a fan of him :) But you're welcome!
6407070 Thank you kindly!
6407076 Not sure, I'm still laughing :P
6407114 So glad you enjoyed it!
6407120 Shall do! :)
6407351 Yes he does, and the other question, well it's nice having a bit of mystery isn't it?
6407404 Absolutely! That's it! Wow..maybe they are just a nexus for things? :)
6407417 Well in every episode there's a lesson right? Sooo... :P And thank you for the compliment, glad I wrote it well enough for you to experience that.
6407431 Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, that's what I would do, gosh the embarrassment! Specially whens crowds are watching :P
6407548 Shot you a PM! :)
I am actually disappointed that Celestia didn't get involved.
How was your night Luna?
What was that third one?
(really wish there was a Luna icon) Oh, the usual, a couple petitions, an attempted assassination, Crusader getting accused of spousal abuse, a quick game of magic message with Ponyville.
6407606 There will be more hijinks, so her time will come. Though not as..'active' as Luna, she'll always play a part :) / That little exchange was good, still laughing
ROTFLMAO!!!!! At least the Crusaders meant well and honestly thought they were trying to stop some abuse. I hope they never get exposed to the real thing. But as everypony keeps showing up at the end... OH MY SIDES ARE KILLING ME!!! I think Luna needs to take Sweetie Bell for some extra magic practice. Twilight is a natural at magic, so she might not be the best teacher for a filly just starting to learn. Luna's got years of experience, so she should be able to walk Sweetie through stuff.
6407629 Let's hope not, I don't think I'll write anything like that, perhaps except in passing like this. / Gotta have the whole crew showing up!:) As for Sweetie, she's learning like normal, just that she's attempting things beyond her reach right now, so it's fine for her level. The spell was simply too much for her.
you know, I sometimes wonder if Luna and Celestia spend their past time looking at a magic mirror showing and recording anything that is happening in Ponyville at large and have it aimed directly at the CMC and watch their general shenanigans or maybe even the general madness and hijinks that seems happen in ponyville all the time.
It would be like Equestria's first reality TV show
. haha, I can see it now; welcome viewers for another exciting episode of "Ponyville Madness!" in today's episode "An Arousing Game of Magic Message". I can totally see Critics saying how "fake" it all is. they would normally be right but in this case, reality is stranger than fiction my friend.
also this little tidbit right here.
aahhh Athena
where Rainbow Dash and Twilight and other ponies would say some one-liners that usually imply just beating them to submission, you go straight to the slaughter!
How adorably ruthless of you!
don't ever change
6407736 I have honestly wondered that myself. Surely two of the most powerful beings probably sit with popcorn and soda, chuckling their tails off at what happens in that sleepy little town
Now that, was funny!
"Adorably ruthless" Now that is a compliment I can handle, thanks! I promise I won't change :)
6407752
your welcome, although this talk of Athena being Adorably ruthless and not changing suddenly give me a funny scene into my head.
hhmm another concept idea for a chapter perhaps? guess I will know in the future, hahaha. though I hope her "adorably ruthless" trait stays with her. Considering all we know about her, it really matches her to a tee if you think about it and its one of the things that really makes Athena "Athena". She did say that Crusader was the "nice one" among the two. I can see heads turning on how the normally sweet and adorable pegasus with a penchant for sweets and cupcakes and a love for flying be considered the "bad cop" among the two.
6407183
perfect!
6407554 I was being partly sarcastic, but it did mean something to me
the short version:
the full thing he did:
an awesome remix:
6406754 nothing is quite the same as orchestral music, sometimes I find it to be a great relief from everything, the boredom and tedium of life
can we get celestia making a remark about having been wanting a massage to crusader?
6407818 Actually, wrote that down, I know I can find a place for that somewhere :) There's always hijinks to be had!
Yep, she has a love of battle and is more ruthless than Crusader, established long ago. It's that happy exterior that's going to fool the bad folks who think she's just a normal gal
6407839 Ah okay! Thanks for clearing that up :)
6407844 I think there's room for something snarky like that, oh yes :)
6407878 welcome
yay!!!! trolestia ftw! *grins maniacally*
*chuckles uncontrollably*
Sweet, I look forward to reading the new chapters!
6407611
I'm rather surprised the Princesses haven't tried getting a "session" in with Crusader... in private, like a sound-proofed Bolo hull. Lord only knows how bad the shenanigans would get if it somehow turned into Crusader being accused of roughing up the princesses.
It's nice to see Applejack is ok with his ultimate relaxation technique since he didn't know how good the mares liked it, but she might get a little annoyed if mares keep asking him wherever he goes. (AJ seems the non-jealous type to me, mostly because she knows he is fully dedicated to her)
p.s. Big Mac went clubbing? Wow, talk about a Dr.Jeckle and Mr.Hyde. Or maybe it's far more innocent and he just loves karaoke?
6407964 Hope you enjoy them!
6408154 Well they might do the whole thing, but definitely teasing. They love a good joke as proven before, so comments and probably a few sly asides:) / I look at her that way as well, she knows he loves her. / Yeahhh, we'll go with Karaoke, yeah
Those darn Crusaders....
6407876
oh I know that in the same situation, Athena would not REALLY kill the criminal. Its just that the fact that the first thing that comes to her mind when it comes to those she perceives as a threat is "kill everything". it's what so amusing about her, where other ponies' thought processes would normally go the normal route of escalation like warning first then showing themselves to be ready for a fight, Athena's is different.
Athena's mind go the complete opposite direction. Her thought processes on anything she perceived as a threat would immediately go to "Kill everything hostile", which would then trickle down to "leg or bone breaking". It would then go down to the rather more acceptable but still undecided decision of "greatest beatdown of your life" or, when she is on a good mood, just a "normal beatdown". this series of de-escalation of violences would keep going down until it reaches the appropriate response of telling the guy to politely "back off"
Totally opposite direction i tells ya
. Being a super A.I., this thought process would go near instantly but I would sometimes wonder how any poor schmuck that manage to get on Athena's bad side would really feel if they knew that just for a one nanosecond, she was legitimately considering slicing his head off.
adorable ruthlessness
thy name is Athena
Right here is where i figured it out, and laughed for about 15 minutes. I say about because around the five minute mark i controlled myself long enough to start a timer, realized what i just did, and then cracked up even harder. You, good sir, deserve a medal. Sadly i do not have one, so have a imaginary medal.
Keep up the awesome work.
Yaay for Crusader becoming an even more requested masseuesesessessesee, massager, than Snowflake.
Sometimes, you just get the wrong end of the stick.
thing is, when he does deep massages, does he use fucused low energy beams, or does he use the Earth Pony style high power phase seismic arrays in his hooves in order to scan and power deep quake massages? Cos with the right detail in high frequency and patterning, he can do fast andextremely accurate surgery as well. Because a lot of body fluds are nonlinear with stress etc, you can use a variation on gravitational lensing to use shallow body parts to alter their behaviour just lng enough to guide and manipulate deeper level penetrating effects. With ehough power and processing, he can use NXT flat panel speaker idea of asymetric transducer actuator to creat complex time dependant 3 dimentional patterns through a body, scanning and manipulating.
Shall we list this under Crusader Vs the Stove 2:Return of the Flue?
For Vinyl, I thought she might have used Music Was My First Love, The Planets, and maybe Invisible Man.
i think he needs to go into the massage business on a permanent basis.
A good point of the chapter (beyond the CMC-commanded trainwreck
) and of the fic in general is that you write the Royal Guard as actually competent and determined to risk themselves to protect the population of Equestria (they knew the threat level of Crusader could be, but they went do their duty the same), what is a great differencial from the bad reputation that they normally got (that I personally think that somewhat unfair - the big crisis in the show (Nightmare Moon, Discord, Tirek, Sombra) and in the fic (The eldritch whatever that is!) could not to be beaten with a army-power level, you need go straight to a Elements-of-Harmony/Alicorn/Bolo
to solve. The only that could be address as a failure was the Changeling Invasion and that time not only them - everypony was suckerpunched by it...).
Waiting for more hijinks!
And I'm all caught up... again. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
This. I can't explain how funny this was. Just imagine if this was a real episode. Just think about it.
Welcome back Nfire. Again your writing is amazing. I find it better than most of the books I read! I 100% mean this when I say this but if you were to write a book on well anything I would get knowing that it will have an amazing author. You really do know how to keep sucking readers into the story even with a month of no updates. Stay well and don't die on us.
Oops...
6408197 Another great chapter. Love how subtle your changes to chapters that follow episodes are, as well as those that are completely original.
Would like to see the episode "Slice of Life" done--the Mane Six are complaining that they're getting too much help from the Bolos and ask Athena and Crusader to stand back when dealing with the Bug-Bear...then the duo help with Cranky Doodle's wedding...almost attacking Steve when he comes out of the Everfree...that'd be cool.
What? My name? What?
Oookay... not sure what that had to do with my comment.
In any case, I'm Sorry if I've been a jerk during commenting. The more I like a story, the more critical I tend to be of it, so me being snippy is just me liking the story, and not wanting to see it flawed.
Good work with the chapter.
6408748 No problem, thanks for taking the time!
6408872 Great point actually, never really thought about that! :)
6408907 I shall do my best! I'm glad you got some laughs from it :)
6409178 Oh crud, you're right, I goofed..dangit. My apologies! Correction done!
6409292 I know, but it is just a story, not personal beliefs, just something out of the ordinary :)
6409309 Wow..uh no just hooves and pressure, though that's one heck of a thought.
That was so out of left field I'm still laughing.
6409474 Maybe a part-time job? :) Although he'd modify it so the..er..effects wouldn't be the same :)
6409535 Let's not get too wild there now :)
6409546 With the CMC in this fic, always expect a trainwreck, I love getting them into scenes, I really do. They're just trying to do good:) I like the reasoning, and you're right, so many portray them as stumblebums, but I think it's just even as professional as they can be, you're going to get blindsided sometimes. Yep, like the Changelings!
6409628 Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed them!
6409655 I really can't say anything other than thank you for the wonderful compliment. I wish I was a pro so I could write books, but alas, you're stuck with my musings and weirdness
I promise, no chance of dying :)
6409894 Fixed! Thanks! And you know...good idea, hmmmm.... And thank you for the kind words, after the first attempt I thought maybe from another point of view. Thanks so much!
6409671
That really says it all doesn't it? (Still laughing) :)
6410929 Your comment about repercussions started me thinking on the latest chapter, so I always give credit:) Please, no worries about comments, I try to read and reply to each and every one:) Though I do warn, I am flawed, it's not a pro job here, and I make plenty of mistakes all over the place. I'm trying, but life does get in the way and sometimes it's rushed, so bear with me
6411551 Fixed that, thanks!
If your going to continue with the classical music bit, why not have Crusader show Luna and Celestia "the dance of the hours" from the Ponchielli's opera "La Gioconda" I think those two would get a laugh out of it