rebuilding a crusade

by LavendarRegards

Prelude - The book.

In mere moments the sun would rise ending a lovely and clear night for Ponyville. It was the sort of lovely night that helped ponies forget the nightmare that had occurred but one week ago... the nightmare that had been Tirek. Yes, there wasn’t anything going on in Ponyville, unless one counted the ponies moving books into the new giant Crystal Castle and its unrevealed mysteries, or the chase that had occurred mere hours ago.

The chase was understandably easily forgotten. Even so, Ponyville was under frequent monster attacks and experiencing other paranormal activities. It had left the average citizen at least a little hardened against all of the excitement. So no pony took a great deal of notice of the robed stallion the princess had been chasing, or how he had managed to lose her in a series of teleportation spells.

The streets were silent as a pegasus trotted confidently out from behind an alley. His purple mane was slicked back, and his coat and wings looked professionally maintained. Ponies that glanced at him, as he trotted along the streets, gave him no second glance. He looked like he belonged there, like he could have been Filthy Rich’s brother from Canterlot. His only blemish was a faint layer of sweat on his orange coat, which was hardly noticeable in the early dawn.

Well, that could have gone better, the stallion grumbled to himself as he looked back at his ruffled saddlebags, with their now broken latch. And, without hesitation, he unceremoniously dumped the runic stones from his left saddle bag onto the streets with a bitter huff. With that, the stallion took several, deep sighs, before he continued to walk into the mostly empty market district.

The things I do to protect my family’s way of life. The stallion continued to think and scowl as he passed a couple of stands where eager vendors had already begun to set up for the day. This is our family’s last hope, the stallion thought bitterly as he looked back at his right saddlebag. It’s all the chicken’s fault that our power and prestige are slipping, the stallion mentally whined, like a child in tantrum, behind his award winning smile and swagger.

A voice shouted to him from a nearby flower stand. “Southern Cross? I didn't expect I'd see one of the most important ponies in all of Equestria here in Ponyville. And oh my! you seem chipper this morning, going to see your wife?” Southern Cross couldn’t help but flinch a little at the new voice, interrupting his internal tantrum.

Slowly Southern Cross turned around to face the source of the voice, the mare who ran the flower stand. Carefully, and with much diligence, he gave the mare his most impressive smile and wave, as if he really cared about her... But internally, he was sizing her up. It was important to be able to know everything about a pony at a glance, at least once somepony had reached the level of prestige and power that his parents had gifted him with.

She most likely wants to sell me flowers. Well, I'm not going to waste my money on her, he thought bitterly. Despite the murderous glare he was shooting her internally, externally he gave her a well performed blush, a faint smile, and a subtle nod of his head. Even his words were charmingly scripted, “Why thank you – Rose. But, I am saving my money for a very large surprise for the misses, and simply cannot stop to buy one of your most beautiful roses today.”

“Oh, well if it is for love... Here have a free one.” She gave him a large smile.

“Why, how generous of you. Thank you.” The words sounding soft, but passing them through his throat felt like he had just coughed up a massive spiked ball from his stomach.

The sun was fully up by the time the stallion very casually trotted over to the train station. Nonchalantly he took a quick glance around the station. What he saw, though, made his heart sink. Guards everywhere, they were swarming the station, stopping and searching every pony that went past.

I should have known that Equestria's filly princess of friendship wouldn't be slow to put Ponyville on lockdown. He swallowed hard. I have two choices. I could try to throw my weight around, and bypass the checkpoint... But, that would raise eyebrows. The stallion let out a long sigh, his breath coming out heavy in a thick cloud. I guess I'm going to have to go home to my beautiful wife and that blasted chicken for a day or two, he grumbled to himself. His once sunny smile turning into a cloudy day of disappointment.

***

A white mare stormed up the stairs in a huff, her fuchsia mane flowing around her withers and brushing against her sterling white horn as it flailed about in the winds of her fury. Her hooves fell hard on the stairwell as she scaled its steps. She was angry, and rightfully so. Her good-for-nothing daughter was going to be here when her important guests arrived. She couldn't afford to have the chicken anywhere near her or her guests. The orange dodo had already cost her and her husband their life in Canterlot. And now with Blueblood launching a “special news article”, she stood to lose any power she and her family held.

That dunce couldn't figure out how to treat the bearer of the Element of Generosity, but he somehow managed to figure out that the chicken was ours? She huffed, and shook her head as she lamented how poorly her day was starting. With each stomp she managed to cool her frustration a little. She had to keep control, she could not afford to lose it. After the laborious climb, she finally arrived at her daughter's bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it was average. They had moved here for the same reason they had bought it. No pony gave the unassuming house a second glance. No pony would look here for her, and no pony would find out her secret. The secret that she was the mother of a flightless bird.

She prepared to kick the door off its hinges, and drag the filly down the stairs, only to stop herself. She took a deep breath. Regal Sunbird, don't mistreat the animals! Don't forget the guards take a rather dim view of abusive parents, she reminded herself. Instead, she opened the door, and scanned the room. It was clean, with no toys on the carpet or scooter marks on the walls. Of course it’s clean, she knows better than to make a mess, she reminded herself. Besides, she doesn't have a lot with which to mess up the room. We only gave her a couple of simple paintings, a basketball, a teddy bear, and that scooter. The rest of this clutter is from that Rainbow Dash or those friends of hers, she thought with a sigh.

She passed the homey greens on the walls, and the two paintings filled with pink hearts, and gently shook the filly in the bed. Once the filly began to open her eyes, the matriarch retreated to a safe distance from the filly. “Time to wake up dear, it’s the crack of dawn, and I need you out of the house by five. Why don't you hang out with your friends, or play with your scooter, or even pester that Rainbow Dash.” She said with a soft voice, and the most love she could fabricate, even though she would rather be chewing the filly out.

“Yes mom.” She said dutifully. The filly sported her dad’s orange coat and purple eyes, and her mom’s fuchsia mane. She paused for a moment. She held her forelegs, with a bit of need in her eyes... clearly the filly wanted a hug. But, those days were over, and gone. As far back as any pony could tell, love in both the Sunbird, and the Cross family had always been conditional. And the filly was not meeting the mark. She couldn’t fly, she didn’t excel in school, and she was devoid of charisma. She just didn’t fill the role that was expected of her.

Regal Sunbird heaved a long sigh. When her daughter had been born she and her husband had payed for a display case to hold all of the trophies for flying their daughter was sure to earn. It would have looked so nice between the display case that Southern Cross had filled and Regal Sunbird’s trophy case in magic. It wasn’t any different from how Southern Cross and Regal Sunbird’s complemented their parents’ and grandparents’ overfilled cases. For as many generations as anypony could remember, the two families had impressed the common pony with their superior breeding, as well as their social and economic power. But now twelve doctors in a row were saying that Regal Sunbird’s daughter would be unable to get more than five inches off of the ground.

To make matters worse, the filly had grown to be a bigger and bigger problem as the years went on. With each passing day, she seemed to be trying more and more reckless stunts, often in the direct vision of Regal Sunbird, or Southern Cross. Perhaps Rainbow Dash is a bad influence? Regal Sunbird considered.

Last year, they had more or less given up on her ever growing into her wings. But, that had left them at an impasse. They couldn't pawn the filly off on friends or relatives. Mostly because they had no actual friends, and their family wouldn't even talk to them.

Then came the suggestion of sneaking the filly into an orphanage, but that particular gamble was too risky. If somepony had figured out the filly was theirs, it would have lead to some nasty questions. And of course Blueblood would have used it as a tool to bludgeon their reputations into a smear on the proverbial floor.

She could already hear the campaign Blueblood would have run, “Blueblood a noble pony, and nephew to Princess Celestia herself, he knows family and friendship. But, Southern Cross and Regal Sunbird hate family and friendship… they callously discarded their own daughter without any care or hesitation.”

Shipping her off to a distant boarding school was out the question for much the same reason. The filly would be less likely to be discovered in a distant boarding school. But, if she was, it would have been just about as disastrous for them as the orphanage plan would have been. Blueblood had a large number of friends in the Academic circle. He was, after all, from one of the oldest regal families in Equestria. And, that meant that just about any dean, from just about any school, would be sure to tell him if Regal Sunbird’s daughter ended up living there.

And of course kicking the filly out to the street, or hurting her in general, really, were just plain out of the question. If they got caught doing that, they would be facing a lifetime in Celestia's dungeon, if they were lucky. And for once in their lives, their power, wealth, and prestige would not be able to save them.

And what did all this mean? It meant that she still had to keep the ‘filly’ happy, or at least happy enough, as it would look bad to be neglectful of her daughter. So, she swallowed hard, and gave the filly a platonic pat on the head and filled her voice to the brim with ‘love’, as much love as she could fake. “Well princess, I made you and I some breakfast. So go eat some before it gets cold,” she cooed, before gracing the filly with the biggest fake smile she could muster. The very same faux smile she had given that ponce Blueblood the day before, when she had described him as “the closest thing to a brother I have”. The filly smiled a little, yet Regal Sunbird could see the doubt in her eyes. Did the filly know it was fake? Not possible… that smile had fooled far more studied politicians, there was no way she could see through her smile.

As the filly walked down the stairs, Regal Sunbird took a moment to ponder how long her guests might be staying. She had to make sure the ‘filly’ didn't come back too soon, lest her daughter would manage to humiliate her in front of her guests. She thought quickly for an excuse before an obvious one came to her.

“Scootaloo, isn't today Twilight Time?” She cooed, as kindly as she was able.

“Yes it is mom. I might be staying a bit late. I'll probably be back by dinner, though.” Scootaloo affirmed.

“Well no hurry, my guests will be staying till six, so I plan to have dinner at seven tonight. Please feel free to enjoy your lessons until then. And remember, I don't want you to come back before my guests leave at seven, ok?” She said with her sappiest voice.

“Ok.” Scootaloo said as she looked down. Regal Sunbird swore she could make out a bit of disappointment in the orange pegasus' face.

Regal Sunbird carefully entered the kitchen, followed closely by Scootaloo, who climbed onto one of the stools so that she could sit at the table. Not that Regal Sunbird was paying that much attention, because she was carefully spooning a serving of oatmeal into each of the bowls.

After that was completed, she joined Scootaloo at the dinner table. However, Regal Sunbird’s mind wasn’t in it today, and instead she allowed it to wander, just for a second, over the previous days events with Prince Blueblood. In truth, it was all a careful attempt to avoid a conversation with the Campbell Teal.

Yes, the papers would be hitting the store shelves any day now, she was sure. And with them, everypony would know their family’s terrible dark secret… That their daughter was a failure who would never fly and a black spot on their family’s record of excellence… But, she’d not admitted defeat yet! No, she’d taken advantage of a spat that the bearer of generosity had with the ‘ridiculous clown prince’ the day before. Now, every pony was sure to talk about what the prince had “done” to the fair and innocent Rarity.

***

Scootaloo sat at the table, and carefully lifted her spoon up to her muzzle, and ate her oatmeal dutifully. It was so quiet, like eating breakfast in the morgue. Throughout the whole meal her mother never once looked up at her. She never asked how she slept, or what she dreamt of. No -- her mother had avoided eye contact at all costs, even using her fancy unicorn horn to grab any utensils or food items she needed. Where had the love gone? And when would it ever return? Perhaps she just wasn’t impressive enough? Rainbow Dash was bound to get around to some serious flight training any day now.

Scootaloo labored through the meal, and with each bite she found her spoon grew ever heavier. Till finally, she somehow managed to choke down the very last spoonful of the icky white food, despite how it heavy it felt, and its texture akin to that of mud.

She allowed her spoon to fall into the bowl with a clink, and looked up, part of her hoping that would wake her mother up. Maybe the love had been simply asleep for the last few years. But no, if anything, she watched Regal Sunbird dropping her muzzle even lower into the paper she was reading. A paper that had been delivered an hour earlier, mostly because of the importance of Regal Sunbird and her husband... At least they tipped their papercolt well.

At some point Scootaloo saw her mother slowly raised an eyebrow. This small motion usually indicated something had just gone wrong, and no doubt she would not be seeing her room for a few days. Scootaloo allowed herself to frown, her face practically sagging with disappointment.

“Well Scootaloo, it seems something came up during your father's last trip, and I'm going to need you to stay with a sitter for a few days…” Regal Sunbird said with a calm demeanor and straight muzzle. “Cheerilee? No, she just watched her. Rainbow Dash? Nah, she’s too big of a bad influence. Perhaps Applejack? Nah, she’s started to ask too many questions. Hmm -- Maybe Rarity?” The mare mused, a forced smile forming on her face. “I know how much you like staying with your friends. Oh, and if you are lucky, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom might come to visit, wouldn't that be fun.” She gave Scootaloo an even bigger grin, doubtless something other than her daughter’s enjoyment on her mind. “You can think of it as a ‘sleep over’, dear!”

Scootaloo gave a silent groan. She wasn't allowed to have her friends over, with the exception of that one time when her parents let Rainbow Dash come and convince her to try out for the Equestria Games flag waving. But as her parents had seemed to have important guests over at least once a month. She found herself frequently staying with either Cheerilee, Applejack, Rarity, or even Twilight, on occasion, depending upon who she’d stayed with recently. It was so bad that some months she spent a whole week away, sometimes more. She wasn't homeless, at least, thank goodness for small blessings.

“I hope you are done with your Oatmeal, dear, because we simply must hurry off! I'm afraid it is already quarter to five, and there simply isn't time to let you finish. We'll just have to explain things to Miss. Rarity when we see her,” Regal Sunbird explained as she straightened her face. Now, she was all business.

The walk there had been an extremely boring one. The most exciting thing she could hear was the quiet clop of their hooves as the two ponies walked along the cobblestone streets of Ponyville towards The Carousel Boutique. At this early hour nopony had even gotten up, except for the guards busy patrolling around Ponyville. Scootaloo couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Perhaps there was a Changeling invasion going on? After all, nopony had seen the Changelings since the royal wedding, and it was only a matter of time before those monsters tried a counter attack.

Despite the guards, though, they had met no other creatures during the walk, and the only smile had been devoid of any kind of character, really, and the only smile that ever graced her mother’s face was when Regal Sunbird smiled to some of the ponies that she met on the road. Otherwise, she didn't show a smile... especially not to Scootaloo. This left Scootaloo wondering, as she angrily kicked a pebble off to the side of the road, why can't I have a mother that loves me? Even Rainbow Dash shows me more love than my own mother does. And, Rainbow Dash and I barely hang out, at all. Scootaloo lamented to herself in her own thoughts.

***

Applejack shifted her jaw so that the spoon would make another lap around the pot of oatmeal. Stirring, like a lot of other mouth centered tasks, took a while to learn. But, it was effective, at least until a pony learned how to hold things by pinching them in their pastern, or even better, the highly advanced skill of “hoof grip”, which was a talent that took quite a bit of hard work to learn. And, it was even harder to explain how a pony could magically hold anything with their rigid hooves… unless, of course, one actually studied magic.

However, there was one fatal flaw with holding tools in one’s mouth, anything from sneezes to yawns would cause the pony in question to drop the tool. And Applejack was fighting hard to avoid the latter. She hadn’t slept very well the night before, even though she couldn’t really explain why. Just a bad feeling… Not that Applejack was superstitious enough to believe that instincts were the same as clairvoyance.

Then again, it hadn’t helped that she’d been contemplating Apple Bloom’s punishment. A thermodynamics Cutie Mark? Where did Apple Bloom get such a dumb idea from? Applejack contemplated, as she slapped her forehead with one of her hooves. Applejack probably would have let it go, except that Apple Bloom had single handedly blown up a good portion of the clubhouse, and set the rest on fire. It seems that certain chemicals tend to explode IN FIRE when you mix them together. Applejack wasn’t about to let Apple Bloom do anymore “home study” on chemistry without Twilight’s supervision, that was for sure.

She’s got to learn to be careful with her crusading. Applejack thought, decisively, or she’s gonna get herself killed. The problem was how to best do that. It had taken a herculean effort for Applejack to not spank Apple Bloom as soon as they’d dragged her out of the burning clubhouse. After all, one thing Granny Smith had taught her over the years, despite Granny Smith’s own temper, is that punishments needed to be decided on, and carried out with a calm mind.

Instead, Applejack had sent Apple Bloom straight to bed, with the threat of punishment in the morning. However, despite having all night to think about it, Applejack still wasn’t sure if the punishment she came up was a good one or not. What she wanted was a good way to impress upon Apple Bloom the importance of thinking thoroughly before she did something.

I wish Granny Smith was going to be home before tonight. Applejack thought with a long haggard sigh. Granny Smith’s punishments are always fair. Applejack thought as she began to stir the oatmeal faster, her frustration pushing into her cooking. The spoon whisked around the bowl at high speed, as if the spoon was trying to chase itself.

A sudden slamming of the door to the kitchen took Applejack by surprise, her mouth dropping the spoon. The slamming door was followed by another sound. “Applejack, ah got my chores done!” Apple Bloom shouted as she eagerly entered the barn. Applejack would have been impressed to see Apple Bloom so dedicated, her saddle bags full of various tools and produce that she had probably used or obtained during the course of her chores. “So you don’t need to punish me, ‘cause ah punished myself,” Apple Bloom added, with an eager smile.

Applejack took another couple of deep breaths. “Sugercube, ah wish it were that easy, but the point ain’t to wrangle more work out’a you. Ah need you to think before you act. You and your friends have been gettin’ in a heap of trouble,” Applejack pointed out as she walked over to look Apple Bloom in her eyes.

“Am Ah grounded?” Apple Bloom asked, as her ears and tail noticeably drooped. Apple Bloom’s disappointment only seemed to grow as Applejack gave a firm nod. “Can ah at least show my friends this nifty book ah found while ah was out in the fields?”

“Maybe if you see them.” Applejack pointed out calmly.

“If ah see them?” Apple Bloom asked, her eyebrow lifting up in surprise. “‘Cause ah thought you were gunna ground me.”

“Yeah, except ah gotta drop you off at a foalsitter while Mac and ah run some pie deliveries. Which means ah can’t be sure your friends won’t be there, but ah’m certainly gonna try to find a place where you won’t see them,” Applejack pointed out, with a slight scowl. Gonna be hard... what with this being the last minute, and all, Applejack thought, a vague frustration returning to the back of her mind.

“But we all agreed ah could be trusted to stay home alone!” Apple Bloom objected, a definite look of betrayal crossing her face.

“Ah did, but that was before you blew up the clubhouse.” Applejack pointed out cooly, her scowl growing larger. “This is your punishment. You gotta prove you can be trusted to be by yourself, all over again.” Applejack explained, as she ignored the look of anger growing on Apple Bloom’s face.

“But that ain’t fair!” Apple Bloom whined, “You’re gonna treat me like a foal over one mistake?”

“It ain’t just a tiny mistake. You could’a been killed.” Applejack said sternly, a growing anger in her chest demanding release… an anger she wasn’t going to let out. “And it ain’t just this time. You and your friends have been doin’ all kinds of reckless things. Don’t think ah didn’t hear about that ‘skydiving’ cutie mark you were going to try to earn by jumping off of a bridge, neither.” Applejack half-whispered, her voice dangerously close to a low growl.

“But, ah’m seven years old. Aren’t ah old enough to, at least, be grounded like an adult, not babied?” Apple Bloom growled quietly, her voice taking on all the warning signs of an impending fight.

“If’n you act like a foal, ah’m gonna treat you like a foal.” Applejack pointed out sternly. “And if’n you act like a baby, ah’m gonna treat you like a baby.” Applejack snarled, her low tone slowly getting louder. “It’s what mah and pah would have done to you, if it were them.”

“But you ain’t my mah!” Apple Bloom shouted, her Apple family temper finally controlling her actions, leaving all niceties and pretenses behind in a maelstrom of frustration.

“When Granny ain’t here to fill in for our mah. Ah gotta be your mah.” Applejack shouted her temper finally overcoming her. “Now this here conversation is over!” Applejack shouted as she stormed over, and lifted Apple Bloom by the scruff of her neck, using her mouth. “Ah’m gonna drop you off at the foalsitter now.” Applejack mumbled as she pulled Apple Bloom out the door.

***

Sweetie Belle slowly awoke, her eyes creaking open. Is it morning already? She asked herself as she slowly rolled out of bed. She loved mornings, because it meant that there was a wonderful sunny day ahead of her. A day that might possibly yield her cutie mark. She diligently made her way across the hall and to the bathroom. She couldn't hear her mother or father just yet. Sounds like I woke up before mom and dad. She giddily giggled to herself, as she opened the bathroom door and went inside, closing the door behind her.

She moved over to the bathroom mirror, she pulled out a mane brush, and began to curl her two tone pink and purple hair. Her green eyes looked at her mane in the mirror, the slight curls in her mane definitely looked nice, she decided.

She had already began to think about cutie mark earning ideas when a soft, loving voice interrupted her. “Sweetie Belle, are you already awake?” The voice asked.

A pink mare with the blue and light blue mane slowly creaked open the door, taking a quick glance inside, her blue eyes staring down at her daughter with a deep love, and a profound sadness, as she reached out and gave her little girl a huge hug, holding her daughter tight.

“Yes mom. I didn't hear you or dad, where were you?” Sweetie Belle asked with curiosity.

“Packing. We have another emergency at work, so your dad and I have to leave you at your sister's for about three months.” There was a definite sadness hidden in her normally bubbly tone.

“Is it really that bad?” Sweetie Belle looked down at the floor, her voice filled disappointment. She loved her sister, and it was nice to stay with once and awhile. But one thing she had learned during her frequent stays there, was that her older sister was boring. Especially when she got caught up in her work, which happened frequently. Besides, she was hoping to spend time with her parents.

“Well, it’s an ugly mess, don'tcha yah know. We won't even be reachable during the whole time. So, remember your emergency contacts: your sister, Rarity; or Princess Twilight Sparkle... And, if you can't find them, Fluttershy or Miss. Cheerilee. And don't forget if that doesn't work, you can always go to the Apple Family,” she said, her motherly tone holding a fair amount of concern. After a few precious moments, the pink mare swallowed hard, and allowed herself to relax a little.

”But, you'll enjoy your time with your sister. And, your father and I will be counting the days till we see you again, “ she said with a strong smile. “So hold your head up high, and remember to have fun,” she continued, giving a forced smile.

“Can't I come with you?” Sweetie Belle said, her mind filled with an unlikely hope.

“I'm sorry, but it isn't a safe place for fillies,” her replied, shaking her head. “But, We'll get you a postcard. Don'tcha know. Let's see if your father is done packing for you?” Cookie Crumbles gave Sweetie Belle a quick hug, and began to walk back towards Sweetie Belle's room.

“Hondo, are you done in there?” Cookie Crumbles asked, her voice showing a bit of impatience over how long things seemed to be taking.

“We're all set,” a male voice replied. “ Just let me get these in the cart, and we can be on our way,” The white stallion with the brown mane continued, as he looked quite pleased with himself for how fast he had managed to pack this time. “Sweetie come here, and give your dad a good morning hug,” he said, his forelegs beckoning for her.

Sweetie Belle walked over, she smiled a little. At least I have this, she thought to herself, giving her dad a nice long hug. After the two had finished, the stallion began to carry the luggage out to the cart.

With that, things once again became quiet. And that quiet allowed Sweetie Belle some time to ponder the profundities of the universe. It's too bad mom and dad are so busy. I was looking forward to some time with them. I seem to be at Rarity's more than mom and dads. I swear, I'm at Rarity's home so much, I practically live there. At this rate, Rarity will have raised me and not my mom. Would that make Rarity more my mother, than my own mother?

***

Rarity rolled over in her bed for the fifth time, trying to sleep despite the rude, and rather loud knocking on her door... The very same knocking that threatened to tear apart the sanctity of her home. It had to be practically five in the morning. At first she tried to ignore the knocking, as she needed to get her beauty sleep, after all. But after it persisted, she gave a loud groan, finally deciding to silence the racket the old fashioned way. She stormed down the stairs and threw open the door. Her mouth opened wide and drew a large amount of oxygen in her lungs, with which to chew out the pony at the door. However, when she got a good look at the pony at the door, the words in her mouth faltered.

“Uhh. Mrs. Sunbird,” she said, with a polite chuckle. “What brings you here to my boutique,” Rarity said politely, before her ears and voice drooped, “so early in the morning?” Rarity whispered, her voice as polite as she could make it. Regal Sunbird might live in Ponyville, but she and her husband were very important ponies in Canterlot, and so Rarity didn't want to offend.

“Oh I am terribly sorry to wake you miss. Rarity,” the unicorn mare replied, apologetically. “But, I got word that my husband will be visiting from Canterlot, and I expect that he will be bringing some very important ponies with him, and I don't want Scootaloo to be underhoof. So, I would humbly request that you foalsit Scootaloo for a week.” She requested, with a polite bow. “I know it's short notice, but I would be extremely grateful to you.” She added, her face held high with a certain confidence that comes with being important. But her voice still sounding courteous.

“Well, I do have a lot of work to do.” Rarity said, hesitantly, her left hoof brushing a bit of her mane that had fallen out of place. “But for you, I suppose, I can make some room for Scootaloo.” Rarity said, with a smile, as she tried to let as little of her frustration show in her voice as she could.

“Thank you miss. Rarity. I will be sending a pony down later with some of Scootaloo's belongings. Don't worry though, it won't be more than a couple of things.” Regal Sunbird said, her voice sounding like a mother trying to reassure their foal.

“Yes, thank you.” Rarity said, her face still bearing a forced smile.

“Well Scootaloo, we simply must be getting inside.” Rarity said calmly to Scootaloo, as her hoof applied a light pressure to the filly’s withers. “I'm sure your mother is very busy,” Rarity continued, her voice sounding a bit hurried.

“Thanks again Rarity,” Regal Sunbird said gracefully. Next, her gaze quickly turned to Scootaloo. “And good-bye my little princess.” Regal Sunbird said. Her words sounded sincere for Rarity. But, Scootaloo could hear the forced nature of the words aimed at her.

As Rarity walked back into the boutique she carefully closed the door, with a dear wish to, simply, go back to sleep. But, she knew full well from experience that Scootaloo, like the rest of the Crusaders, was a highly energetic filly and would probably be bouncing around the room till Rarity forced her to go to bed. Rarity sighed silently, she would clearly not be getting enough sleep today.

“Miss. Rarity? May I go to bed please?” Scootaloo asked, her muzzle staring at the floor, and her body trembling almost imperceptibly. Something was clearly wrong, Rarity could see it. This was certainly not Scootaloo's usual style. No! Normally she and the Crusaders always said “Rarity”, and were anything but polite. What could have possibly got into the filly?

“What's the matter dear? Are you feeling ok?” Rarity asked, her voice filled with concern. It was obvious to Rarity that something was wrong. After all, Scootaloo’s behaviour was very out of the ordinary.

“I'm not feeling well. And, I was hoping to go to bed for a minute.” Scootaloo admitted, her eyes seemed to be reflecting a little extra light off them.

“Of course, I think you can sleep in Sweetie Belle’s room. It’s the --” Rarity didn't get to finish her sentence, as Scootaloo slowly walked past her and up the stairs.

“You know where it is?” Rarity asked the orange pegasus with curiosity.

Scootaloo simply nodded, her hooves coming down sluggishly as she walked up the stairs. Not until after Scootaloo was completely up the stairs, and out of earshot, did Rarity let out a relieved sigh. Well it looks like I shall be getting that sleep after all, she thought to herself, her face curling into a big grin.

Unfortunately, Rarity's sleep did not last, because after perhaps two hours she heard banging on her front door again. “Can't this wait till later?” Rarity grumbled to herself, as she got back up out of bed, and shuffled down the stairs, and went to the front door.

“Can I help you?” She asked, her eye twitching a little. She had to put a large amount of focus on not exploding at the pony that was rudely knocking on her door.

“Well good morning Rarity.” Applejack smiled with one hoof on Apple Bloom’s wither as she held the filly right in front of her. Rarity couldn’t help but notice that Applejack kept looking down at the filly, as if she was bound to disappear at a moment’s notice.

“Applejack? What brings you by this early in the morning?” Rarity struggled hard to not chew out her friend.

“Well, ah kinda have a bit of a foalsitting issue.” Applejack said with a nervous chuckle, her flaming cheeks further showing her embarrassment at asking someone else for foalsitting help. “Ah need somepony to watch Apple Bloom while Granny is out, and Mac and ah are each running a very important pie run. And, ah’ve been having a hard time finding any of our friends that can do it.” Applejack added, her hind leg nervously scratching her other hind leg, her head looking downwards.

“Ah yes, Fluttershy is out of town for the day, as is Pinkie Pie. And, I believe Twilight has been extremely busy grabbing books from that old castle.” Rarity pondered. ”But, why would you even need me to foalsit her? Surely Apple Bloom is responsible enough to watch herself.” Rarity pointed out.

“Except that she’s grounded.” Applejack grumbled, her eyes migrating over to look at Apple Bloom, who sat on the ground -- her bow drooping, and her face pouting. “She decided to try for her ‘thermodynamics’ Cutie Mark, and blew up the clubhouse, very nearly burning herself alive.” Applejack said sternly, her eyes not straying from Apple Bloom for several tense moments, before she looked back to Rarity.

“Oh yes, I see.” Rarity grimaced, this sounded very familiar, except the Sweetie Belle had only been slightly burned from the explosion that took out Rarity’s old bedroom. “Well, I do suppose I could see why you might want to punish her. But, I’m afraid, I’m not really good with foals.” Rarity insisted. Why did anypony ask her to foalsit anymore?

“Ok Rarity, ah’ll see who else ah can find.” Applejack said with a long sigh, as she turned around. “Come on Apple Bloom. We gotta go.”

Rarity could hear the desperation in Applejack’s words. Rarity felt a pinch of guilt at turning her desperate friend away so thoughtlessly. And while Applejack could surely make do without this pie run, Rarity had been in her position before. It had happened to her on more than one occasion where her parents had dropped Sweetie Belle into her lap, despite her having an important order to create.

Rarity took a long hard sigh. “I suppose I could watch Apple Bloom.” Rarity said somberly, as she raised one foreleg in a gesture that suggested she was trying to stop her friend from leaving. “I am watching Scootaloo, after all.”

Applejack paused. If she left Apple Bloom with Scootaloo, it wouldn’t be much of a punishment. Then again, she wasn’t going to make this pie run if she dallied much more looking for foalsitters.

Applejack’s face exploded into a large smile. “Thank you Rarity, ah owe you one.” Applejack exclaimed, as she gestured for Apple Bloom to come back towards the door. “And don’t you worry about Apple Bloom, she’s grounded, so she shouldn’t be playing around, anyway.” Applejack pointed out, as she reached out and shook Rarity’s foreleg, gratefully.

“Yes of course.” Rarity said with a forced smile, as she pulled Apple Bloom into the boutique. “But, I really need to get back to work.” Rarity said as she slowly closed the door. Applejack giving them both one final wave, as the door finally shut.

Now that the door was finally shut, Rarity turned to face Apple Bloom. “Ok. I'm supposed to make sure you don't leave the boutique. But, I really want to sleep a bit. So I'll give you two choices. One, you can go upstairs to Sweetie Belle's room, and take a nap -- Scootaloo is already there, so please be sure not to wake her, though. Your second choice is to do something quiet, but not terribly risky -- I’ll let you decide what, so long as it’s safe enough that I do not get chewed out by Applejack for letting you go do something stupid. Am I clear?” Rarity asked, giving Apple Bloom a stern look.

“Yes ma’am,” Apple Bloom replied, looking down at the floor, still looking visibly upset, her voice coming out monotone.

“Great! Then I shall be returning to my bed,” Rarity remarked, turning around to walk up to her chambers, only to be interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Rarity grumbled silently as she turned around to open the front door.

With a deep frown, Rarity threw the door open, only to see her sister and parents on the other side. “Hello mother, and hello father, “ Rarity said, patiently. “ I am guessing that Sweetie Belle is here to stay the night.” Rarity said, her voice coming out sweet, despite her frustration. Please say no. Rarity silently begged them.

“Why yes, your father and I have another emergency at work, and we will have to leave her here for three months. So, It'll be fun for you two.” Cookie Crumbles said cheerfully, followed by a nervous laugh.

“Three months! That's the longest yet!” Rarity remarked mouth falling wide open, and her eyes bulging a little.

“This emergency is a doozy. It requires us to go to practically the middle of nowhere, so we won't be reachable, don'tcha know.” Cookie Crumbles added. The pink mare still held her smile, but there was a definite disappointment in her eyes.

“Are you sure you can't take her with you?” Rarity begged.

“I'm afraid not… Foals don’t tend to survive where we are going.” Cookie Crumbles pointed out. The smile then faded from her face, and was replaced by a sullen demeanor.

“Well, I suppose it was inevitable,” Rarity said with a sigh. “I already have Apple Bloom and Scootaloo staying the night. I guess it can be like a cutie mark crusader sleepover, or something.” Rarity continued, becoming further resigned to foalsitting.

“Well that's great. You know the emergency contacts.” Cookie responded, her smile bouncing back, but not as big as it had been. Finally, she looked down at Sweetie Belle. “Be good for your sister Sweetie. And, see you soon,” Cookie said, with a reluctant smile, as she looked down at the filly.

“Don't forget your father and I love both of you,” she continued, this time to both Sweetie Belle and Rarity in unison. Her husband confirming his agreement to the statement.

With that she and Hondo Flanks left the way they had come, leaving Rarity standing next to Sweetie Belle. Rarity looked down at Sweetie Belle, and gave a faint smile. “Ok. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo is sleeping upstairs in your room -- please don't wake her. Apple Bloom is grounded, and can't crusade, but, you two can do anything else you want as long as it is safe, quiet, clean, and is confined to the boutique,” she said, counting something with her hoof. “I shall obviously not be getting any sleep, so I'll be working in my inspiration room. Please do not disturb me,” she asked, giving the final rule.

With the final statement Rarity walked towards the back of her house, where her inspiration room was situated, and closed the door behind her, as she entered.

Once Rarity was gone, Apple Bloom sat on the floor, and sulked. After a few moments, her face brightened, a mischievous expression enveloping it. “We cain still crusade!” Apple Bloom cheered out, her good mood returning with a vengeance.

“But Rarity said you aren't allowed to crusade.” Sweetie Belle pointed out with concern.

“Nope…” Apple Bloom said, putting a hoof on one of the chairs in the room. “She said we could do anything we want inside of the boutique as long as it’s safe, quiet, and clean!” Apple Bloom pointed out eagerly.

Sweetie Belle stood there a bit confused, her face looking at the yellow filly like she'd lost her mind. “But what sort of cutie marks can we get done doing nothing?” she asked curiously. “When Rarity says clean and safe, she means bland and boring.” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

Apple Bloom pulled out a massive tome out of her saddle bag.

“This.” Apple Bloom said with a massive grin.

“Celeris The Massive Winged?” Sweetie Belle asked, in utter perplexion, as she started at the cover of the book.

“He's the stallion that wrote this book, I think. But that don't matter,” Apple Bloom continued, confidently. “I think we can read this!” Apple Bloom said, her grin not faltering.

“We're going to get book reading cutie marks?” Sweetie Belle looked back with complete confusion, or perhaps more likely, disappointment.

“Not book reading cutie marks, silly! This book has spells in it. Ah saw it hit my window last night… Ah think a strong wind knocked it up into the air.” Apple Bloom pointed out eagerly. ”Ah guess Twilight must’ve dropped it when she was visitin’ the farm yesterday. An’ ah was going to give it back to her today anyways, but ah bet we could get our spell casting cutie marks, in the meantime!” Apple Bloom said, looked up eagerly, her master plan now laid out for all to see.

“That won't work. Most spells are dangerous when cast by novices. And, I'm still struggling to master telekinesis, the most basic spell.” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Well, maybe we could find one that is safe? One that we all can cast?” Apple Bloom looked up hopefully.

“I suppose it's worth a shot,” Sweetie said, with a nod. “Let’s start at the beginning. I wonder which one we could do?” Sweetie Belle pondered, looking through the endless lists of incomprehensible gibberish that filled the pages of the tome.

“What's worth a shot?” Both fillies turned around to see that their orange friend, Scootaloo, had come out of Sweetie Belle's bedroom.

“Apple Bloom thinks we can get spell casting cutie marks.” Sweetie Belle re-iterated.

“But, I thought only unicorns could cast spells?” Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Ah think there are some in here we could cast. As ah was lookin’ through earlier, ah thought ah saw one that said all the tribes could use it,” she said flipping through the pages. “But ah just couldn't understand most of it, because of that fancy ancient writin'.” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“Why don't we go outside and crusade, instead?” Scootaloo inquired, curiously.

“'cause Applejack grounded me.” Apple Bloom huffed, her face squinting, and her cheeks growing red.

“Oh.” Scootaloo shuffled her hoof in embarrassment.

Scootaloo's embarrassment quickly evaporated, as Apple Bloom's words finally sunk in.

“Wait! You saw one we could all cast!? Well, let's see it,” she said, pushing her way in between the two other fillies to get a closer look. “I bet Rainbow Dash would be impressed with me flinging magic.” Scootaloo's eyes grew to the size of saucers, as she imagined herself impressing Rainbow Dash with a impressive display of magic.

The three crusaders then began to flip through the pages at a fevered pace. Their eyes flying down the pages, as they skimmed each one for the specific spell Apple Bloom had mentioned.

“Ah found it!” Apple Bloom said, the air electric with her excitement, as her hoof pointed at the page, her face still bearing a larger than life grin.

“Well, let me see.” Sweetie Belle said, pulling the book closer to herself, and out of Apple Bloom's hooves.

“Ok, so Twilight just taught me how to read Unicornian,” she said, her eyes travelling up and down. “now my translation might not be perfect, but, I think it reads: I will reveal destiny,” Sweetie Belle said, her eyes squinting, as she struggled to put the words together.

“Destiny! Like our cutie marks!” Scootaloo cheered. Their eternal quest to find out who they were was about to be over.

“And we can all cast it!” Apple Bloom's face exploding with joy as the realization of what Scootaloo was getting at became clear.

“But it's probably some super duper advanced spell.” Apple Bloom said, her big dreams being crushed under the oversized hoof of reality. “Twilight keeps telling us there isn't a spell to reveal our marks, so, this is probably some ancient secret hidden spell, that takes like 1,000,000 unicorns to cast.” Apple Bloom said as she turned around to trot away at the realization at just how unlikely this plan was. She and her friends had been struggling for so long to find out their special talents. And then there was all the constant teasing from Diamond Tiara. So it was only natural that they had all shouldered secret fears that they simply didn't have a talent.

Sweetie Belle frowned, but continued to read down the page. With each word, she seemed to smile wider and wider. Until finally her grin became massive.

“It’s a super easy spell!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, with a small green spark shooting out of her small horn, hyperactively.

“It is?!” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom said in unison, their grins now massive, and their eyes big as saucers. They began to stare at Sweetie Belle expectantly.

“It says here: I will reveal destiny. All three tribes can cast this spell. In fact, this spell cannot be cast without a member of each tribe to cast it. But be warned the price of this spell is _____.” Sweetie Belle stopped, as she tried to read the missing letters. She tried and tried again, but simply could not divine what letters had once graced that page.

“Uhh, the next part is missing. I wonder what the price was.” Sweetie pointed out.

“If it’s a simple spell, the price can't be that steep,” Apple Bloom said, waving her hoof nonchalantly. “After all, remember what Twilight said: the more advanced the spell the higher the price. So ah figure, the simpler the spell, the lower the price.” Apple Bloom reasoned.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Scootaloo said from where she sat on the floor, her body curled up a bit in a thinking position.

“Well ok...” Sweetie Belle said with a hint of hesitation.

“The rest is: I warn you, once the spell starts it absolutely cannot be stopped. Have all three casters draw a spell circle, that looks like this.” Sweetie Belle said, pointing at the diagram on the page, a rather bland and simple looking, circle with a few random looking glyphs in the center.

“And then, have all three casters think of the destiny that they wish to reveal and chant the following incantation.” Sweetie Belle continued, she then began to say a bunch of incomprehensible words.

“And then the spell is cast.” Sweetie Belle finished.

“Uh, I thought you said it was a simple spell. Those words were complete and total gibberish.” Scootaloo complained.

“Well, it takes a bit of practice to say them correctly, but I think if we practice we can probably cast it by the time we see Twilight! Won't Twilight be impressed with us for finding our cutie marks by magic?” Sweetie Belle's attitude changed from apprehension to happiness. A part of her always wanted to impress her teacher.

“Ah don't have much else to do. I'm grounded IN the boutique until our lesson from Twilight.” Apple Bloom sulked.

“Yeah, and I can focus long enough to get my cutie mark.” Scootaloo agreed.

“Okay, the first word is 'aperio'.” Sweetie Belle started.

Author's Note:

Special thanks to ItIsASillyLittleGame for editing this chapter.
As well as mintgreenconspiracy for providing some suggestions.

For those who wish to see the original chapter, it can still be found at http://www.fimfiction.net/chapter/894338 (password : Rose Petals)

Comments

[Dragon of Shadows]

[Editted] should be [Edited]

[Jet Storm]

Looking good so far! I can't wait to read more!

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

well the cmcs are gonna get regressed, it is a regression story, dun dun dun! *pipe organ music*