Runaway Crusaders: Part 2
----
Back in Ponyville, everypony had gathered inside the Golden Oak Library to discuss what should be done about the missing Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Twilight, and Spike had gotten Pinkie Pie to come along with almost no difficulty. After having that story printed about her being an out of control party animal, the pink earth pony hadn't really felt like talking to anypony. However, once she'd learned that the Crusaders had run away, Pinkie could hardly be restrained.
Upon arriving back at the library, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike found Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith already waiting for them.
On the other hoof, it had taken some time for Rarity, and Rainbow Dash to get Fluttershy to come out of her cottage, as she'd been bawling her eyes out ever since she'd had that story printed of her having tail extensions. But after some consoling from Rarity, and some rather forceful "coaxing" from Rainbow Dash, the yellow pegasus finally calmed down, and agreed to come once she'd heard about the Crusaders being missing.
"Alright.", Twilight said once everypony was present, "Just to be sure, are you absolutely certain that you've looked everywhere?"
"Yes!", Applejack nodded sadly, "Big Mac searched every square inch o' Sweet Apple Acres, an' found nothin'! Granny Smith even contacted all th' relatives, an' none of 'em have seen Apple Bloom anywhere!"
"They never even went to school today.", Rarity cried, "And they weren't even at their clubhouse!"
"What about Scootaloo's aunts Holiday, and Lofty?", Twilight asked, turning toward Rainbow Dash, "Do they know anything about this?"
"They weren't at home either, Twilight...", Rainbow Dash said, "They're probably out frantically searching for Scootaloo themselves..." The sky blue pegasus suddenly trailed off, as her own words made her think about how worried Scootaloo's family had to be. Then, to the surprise of her friends, Rainbow Dash let out a loud groan of self-loathing, and burst out, "Oh, this is all my fault! They ran away because of me!"
"What... What are you talking about, Rainbow Dash?" asked Twilight.
"Yesterday...", the sky blue pegasus confessed, "The Crusaders approached me to ask for another story, so I got a raincloud and dumped rainwater all over them without even giving them a chance to explain..."
"What?", Fluttershy gasped in shock, "That was...that was so mean! Why would you do such a thing?"
"I don't know!", moaned Rainbow Dash. "I...I was just so mad that I... I didn't even realize that I brought this on myself for asking for a story in the first place!"
"Don't take all the credit, Dashie...", Rarity said sadly, "First, I set a terrible example for my little sister by shamelessly snooping through her bag, then I scold her for something that I gave her the idea for, and fully supported until the joke was on me. How could I be such a hypocrite?"
"It's mah fault to, Rarity..." sighed Big Mac, his eyes downcast. "They came by yesterday afternoon ta try an' reason with me an' Applejack, but she just outright refused ta talk ta them, an' I yelled at them ta go away."
"I yelled at them too...", Spike said regretfully, "And Twilight..."
The little dragon hesitated and looked up at Twilight, who bowed her head in remorse when she recalled how she'd shut out the CMC by putting up that force field.
"I didn't want to talk to them either...", the lavender unicorn sighed. "So I... I put up that forcefield around the library in order to keep them out..." The stunned silence that followed Twilight's confession only served to make her feel worse. "Stupid... It was so stupid..."
"It was stupid of me not to talk to them to...", said Fluttershy, sadly, "If only I'd stopped crying, and not let Angel slam the door in their faces..."
"We were all a bunch of big fat meanies..." sniffed Pinkie Pie, her hair beginning to deflate as she recalled how she and the Cakes had ignored the CMC yesterday when they'd knocked on the door of Sugarcube Corner.
From across the room, Granny Smith let out an audible sigh, causing everypony to look over at her.
"What y'all did was wrong, an' especially uncalled fer in Rainbow Dash, an' Twilight's cases.", the elderly earth pony said sternly, "But what's done is done. Right now, th' important thing is that we find 'em before somethin' bad happens!"
"Granny's right!", Applejack agreed, "We gotta tell everypony in Ponyville about what's goin' on, an' get the whole town out lookin' for 'em!"
"All right.", Twilight said, "We'll need to go to town hall to inform Mayor Mare of what's happened, and have her call for an emergency town meeting. Once we tell everypony what's going on, we'll put together a search party."
With their next move now clear to them, the ponies all rushed out of library, and headed in the direction of town hall, hoping against hope that the three fillies would be found before it was too late.
----
Once the situation had been fully explained to her, Mayor Mare was just as shocked as Twilight had been to hear that the CMC were missing. Despite having also been a target of the Gabby Gums gossip, the Mayor simply couldn't bear the thought of those three little fillies being lost out there somewhere, and had immediately agreed to help. She had then promptly set about putting the emergency town meeting together, and before long, the majority of the ponies in town had been gathered at town hall.
Calling the town meeting to order, Mayor Mare then called Twilight to the podium, deciding to let her explain to the townsponies about what was going on. The lavender unicorn had quickly gotten straight to the point: the Cutie Mark Crusaders had run away from home, and they needed everyponies' help to put together a search party in order to find the three missing fillies.
However, as soon as Twilight had finished, the entire crowd of ponies almost immediately began to grumble with confused, and indifferent looks on their faces at what they'd just been told.
"And just why should we care if those three are gone?", Cherry Berry asked. "I'd say that they've caused us enough trouble already!"
"Yeah! That's right! Why should we care?!", the crowd of ponies yelled.
"What?!", a shocked Twilight exclaimed.
"How can you say that?!", Rarity gasped, "This is an emergency! We've got to find them!"
Caramel snorted, "Why should we? After everything they've done to us?"
"Yeah!", Berry Punch added, "After those little brats exposed our personal secrets, and wrote those disgusting stories about us, I say good riddance!"
As the rest of the crowd angrily voiced their agreement about what the CMC had done, an outraged Mayor Mare decided that she'd had enough of this, and began to step forward again with a full intention of putting an end to it, when suddenly, Granny Smith furiously pushed past both her, and Twilight to take her place at the podium.
"Ah' can't believe what Ah'm hearin'!", the elderly earth pony scolded, "Y'all should be ashamed of yerselves! Passin' judgement on three little fillies for somethin' as ridiculous as a gossip column! An' ya want ta know somethin' else? Ah' seem ta remember hearin' that y'all loved Gabby Gums, an' wanted ta see more of their stories despite th' fact that y'all knew that they were spreadin' hurtful gossip!"
"Exactly!", Twilight said, taking her place next to Granny Smith, "I knew that liking Gabby Gums was a bad idea from the start, but did anypony listen to me? Noooo... Everypony said that I was full of it, and that I needed to lighten up. Nopony would listen until the joke was on them!"
Then, Mayor Mare stepped forward to stand on the other side of Granny Smith, "Granny Smith, and Twilight are right! The whole reason Gabby Gums even got this far in the first place was because of how popular it was with everypony in town! It wasn't until you yourselves were gossiped about that you all suddenly realized how bad it was! And even then, instead of actually doing something about it, all anypony did was shut themselves away, or verbal and physically abuse those involved! Why I have never seen such hypocrisy in my life!"
The crowd was stunned, and for a long moment they struggled to come up with a response. Finally, Carrot Top stepped forward.
"But Mayor Mare, weren't you and Twilight also gossiped about?", she asked, "I mean, they wrote that story about your mane actually being pink instead of gray, and that story about Twilight being a Canterlot snob. Why aren't the two of you mad at them?"
Twilight and Mayor Mare exchanged a look of guilt before turning back to the crowd, their eyes downcast. "We were...", Twilight admitted, "And we are ashamed to admit that we also shunned the Crusaders instead of just talking with them like we should have. However, we have since realized our mistake, and are now trying to make up for it, which is certainly more than can be said about all of you!"
"Ya know...", Granny Smith said, "When Ah' first helped in th' foundin' of Ponyville, it was one of th' proudest moments of mah life! But Ah' never thought Ah'd see th' day that this town drove away three little fillies for makin' a simple mistake. An' now, thanks ta y'all, mah little grandaughter, an' her friends are somewhere out there sufferin'. An' why? Because y'all only seem ta care 'bout yerselves an' yer own feelin's!"
As Granny Smith, Twilight, and Mayor Mare's words sunk in, the whole crowd slowly, but surely began to hang their heads in shame, for they'd finally realized that everything that they'd said was the truth. However, it was the words of Granny Smith that has hit everypony the hardest. As one of the founders of the town, she was very well respected amongst the townsponies, and the fact that one of the fillies who'd run away because of their treatment was her GRANDAUGHTER only made it worse.
It was then that Mr. Cake, and Amethyst Star came forward.
"Granny Smith is right...", Mr. Cake said sadly, "Our behavior has been absolutely disgusting. Just what kind of monsters have we become?"
Amethyst Star looked imploringly at those onstage, "You've made us so ashamed of what we've done. What can we do? How can we make up for it?"
The entire crowd began to speak at once, voicing their regrets, and their desires to make things right.
"We need to find the Crusaders, and bring them home.", Mayor Mare said, "Once we've found them, we'll straighten this whole Gabby Gums problem out, and then put this whole thing behind us. However, we'll need everypony's help to get this done..."
"Never fear, Miss Mayor!", Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped in between Mayor Mare and Twilight, while wearing a detective's hat, and holding a magnifying glass. "Private Eye Pinkie Pie is on the job!"
"In any case...", Twilight said, rolling her eyes at Pinkie's antics, "We'll search in teams because we have a lot of ground to cover. Applejack, and Big Mac's team will cover uptown. Rarity, and Pinkie Pie's team will take downtown. Spike and I will lead the team that will search the outskirts. And the last team will follow Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy to search the surrounding areas. Any questions?"
After a long moment of silence, Derpy Hooves raised her hoof, and asked, "Can I be on Rainbow Dash's team?"
"Yes, Derpy...", sighed an exasperated Rainbow Dash, "You can be on my team."
"Yeah! WOO HOO!!!", Derpy shouted.
"All right, enough foolin' around!", Applejack asserted, "Mah little sis, an' her friends are lost out there somewhere, an' we gotta find 'em before somethin' awful happens to 'em! So let's get to it!"
The entire crowd yelled out in agreement, and with that, everypony rushed out to begin the search.
----
But as the crowd of ponies headed out, nopony noticed a certain young pegasus colt who had been watching everything that had been transpiring from behind a nearby building. Featherweight had been making his way home when Mayor Mare had called for the emergency town meeting, and before long, a large number of townsponies had started heading in the direction of town hall.
The pegasus colt wasn't exactly sure just what had made him follow the crowd. Perhaps he'd just been curious, or perhaps, something deep down inside had just told him that the subject of the town meeting had something to do with the CMC or the Gabby Gums column. But whatever the case, Twilight Sparkle's announcement that the CMC had run away from home had shocked Featherweight to his very core.
Even after the crowd of ponies had left, Featherweight had remained rooted to the spot for a very long moment as his mind struggled to process what he'd just heard. The CMC were gone... They'd run away from home because of all the flak that they'd received from the town for the Gabby Gums gossip... And probably also because they were afraid of what would happen when those embarrassing pictures of them were printed in the next edition of the paper...
And as the reality of that fact fully sank in, Featherweight felt his body go numb as another realization washed over him.
It had been HE, Featherweight himself, who had taken those pictures, which in turn was what had allowed Diamond Tiara to blackmail them into getting her more stories when they had tried to stop before things could get worse... And things HAD gotten worse. Much worse than Featherweight had ever imagined.
And as much as the pegasus colt tried to tell himself that it had been Diamond Tiara who had refused to stop the hurtful gossip, that it was HER who had blackmailed the CMC into continuing, and that SHE was the one who'd printed those embarrassing photos in the new edition of their paper, Featherweight knew in his young heart that she'd only been able to do all of that, because HE had taken those pictures of the CMC in the first place. Just as he had taken ALL of the embarrassing, and hurtful pictures.
This was his fault; it was just as much his fault as it was Diamond Tiara's. Just like how this whole Gabby Gums mess was just as much his fault as the CMC's. And yet, it had been the CMC, and the CMC alone who'd paid the price. And now... they were gone...
Featherweight's eyes flooded with tears, and all he could say was, "What have I done?"
----
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had been wandering about for hours in the Everfree Forest, trying to find a way out. But by now, they were well, and truly lost.
"We're going in circles!", Sweetie Belle said, pointing her hoof at a fallen mossy log that lay at the bottom of a small bank off the side of the beaten path they were on. "I've seen that same log five times!"
"That's not th' same log...", Apple Bloom insisted, but she was clearly trying to convince herself just as much as her friend.
"It is, Apple Bloom! Open your eyes!", Scootaloo cried.
"It's not th' same...", Apple Bloom started to say again, before finally cracking under the pressure, "Oh, who am Ah' kiddin'?! It IS th' same log!"
Disheartened at her failed efforts, the yellow earth filly could only plop her flank down on the ground, and bury her face in her hooves in despair. "Oh, it's no use! Ah'm so sorry, girls. Ah' don't know where we are, or where we ain't! An' Ah haven't known fer hours!"
"You did your best, Apple Bloom...", Sweetie Belle said, trying to reassure her friend, "That's all you could do."
Scootaloo nodded glumly, "Yeah. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't known where we've been or where we haven't been ever since we left town."
"Well, what're we gonna do now?", Apple Bloom asked miserably, "It's already almost sundown, an' we're gonna be stuck in this spooky forest all night!"
For a moment, the three fillies just stood there, lost in thought. But then, Sweetie Belle suddenly looked up, cocking her head at a distance sound coming from somewhere down the path. It sounded like...
Some kind of loud, and very heavy hoof steps…
"I... I think we should get off the path...", the unicorn filly said uneasily.
"What? Why?", Scootaloo asked.
Sweetie Belle froze; there it was again, and distinctly more clear this time. The sound of massive steps crashing through the underbrush, like something big was moving through the forest, and the sound was getting louder. Whatever it was, it was getting closer, coming straight towards them...
"Get off the path! Quick!" Sweetie Belle cried, as she all but shoved her friends off the beaten path, away from whatever was coming.
The next few moments were a panicked blur for the three little fillies as they scrambled down the small bank, and took cover underneath the fallen mossy log. For a long moment they just sat there, huddled together, and listening intently, but they could hear nothing but an eerie silence.
But then, the massive footfalls came again, and once again, they were getting closer. Not only that, but this time, the three fillies could also hear what sounded like a deep, low growling...
"Wha-What is it?", Scootaloo squeaked, prompting Apple Bloom to put her hoof over the pegasus filly's mouth to keep her quiet.
Then, to the horror of the three fillies, the massive footfalls came to a stop right behind the very log that they were hiding under. Then, the Crusaders noticed that there was also a rather bad odor in air. It reminded them about that story Granny Smith had told them, and their class on Family Appreciation Day, namely about her encounter with the Timberwolves, and how you could tell when they were near due to how bad their breath smelled...
A Timberwolf...
Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, & Scootaloo could only freeze up in complete, and utter terror as the realization washed over them. It was a TIMBERWOLF. And it was standing DIRECTLY ABOVE THEM. Then, the sound of the huge creature's sniffing filled the air. It was sniffing for them.
The three terrified fillies huddled closer, trembling uncontrollably, and desperately trying not to make a sound.
Please, please, please don't see us, they silently prayed, Don't find us. We're not here...
Then, after several long, nerve-wracking moments, the Timberwolf's sniffing stopped, and it's massive footsteps began again, gradually sounding more and more distant. It was moving away from them...
At last, the creature's footsteps faded away into the forest, and all was silent again. It was gone. And they were safe.
An almost overwhelming sense of relief washed over the three fillies. As Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom let out shuddering breaths they hadn't even realized they'd been holding, Scootaloo began to cry. She'd been so scared...
At last, Sweetie Belle found her voice, "G-Girls... Are-Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah...", Apple Bloom managed to reply, "A-Ah think s-so..."
"S-Scootaloo?", Sweetie Belle asked.
The pegasus filly only nodded tearfully.
Once they'd taken some time to collect themselves, Apple Bloom got back to her hooves, and said, "C'mon, girls. We can't stay here."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo didn't argue. They knew that they had to find somewhere safe. Or somewhere as safe as could be in the Everfree Forest. And as the Crusaders set out again, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, & Scootaloo began to wonder, not for the first time, if this whole venture had indeed been the best idea...
----
The search for the Crusaders had begun in earnest as soon as the search teams were formed, and before long, nearly everypony in Ponyville was scouring the town, and beyond. They left no stone unturned, called out the names of the missing fillies, and even put up missing posters.
But after several hours of hard, non-stop searching, Celestia's sun was beginning to set, and darkness was rapidly falling, so the decision was made to regroup back at town hall for a full status report. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that everypony had returned empty hooved.
They had turned over every spot in Ponyville, and the surrounding areas, but there was no sign of the Crusaders anywhere.
Didn't anypony find ANYTHING?", Rarity asked.
"Not a sign of them, Rarity.", said Shoeshine, "The uptown, and downtown teams turned all of Ponyville upside down, and found nothing."
"Yeah...", confirmed Pinkie Pie, who was still wearing her detective garb, "Maybe we should've turned all of Ponyville sideways instead..."
"What about yer team, Twilight?", Big Mac asked, turning toward the lavender unicorn.
Twilight shook her head. "Nada. There was no sign of them on the outskirts of town."
"And what about you guys?", Spike asked, looking toward Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, who'd been in charge of the team searching the surrounding areas.
"We came up zip to.", a glum Rainbow Dash said.
Fluttershy nodded sadly. "We even went to look at Mount Dragonshy. Nothing."
"Well then, we're just gonna have to look harder!", Applejack declared, "We gotta double our efforts!"
"Applejack...", an exhausted Lemon Hearts groaned, "We've been at this for hours! And the sun is setting as we speak! I think maybe we oughta call it a night!"
"What are you saying?!", Rarity exclaimed, "Our little sisters are still out there somewhere!"
"We understand that, Rarity.", Bon Bon said sympathetically, "But what else can we do? We've looked everywhere!"
"Obviously we haven't! Because we haven't found them yet!", Rainbow Dash retorted.
"Come on, Rainbow Dash! We want to find them as much as you do, but everypony is exhausted!", Lyra protested.
"Yer exhausted?!", Applejack exclaimed, "How do ya think me, an' Big Mac feel? We've been searchin' fer twice as long as any of y'all!"
"We know, we know…", Mrs. Cake conceded, "But think about the children! I want to help. We all do. But my twins need to be taken care of to!"
Millie nodded, "Just give us a little time to get our acts together, and we'll pick back up where we left off tomorrow."
"No! It's because of all of us that mah little sis an' her friends are gone." Applejack snapped, sounding increasingly aggressive, "And it's everypony's responsibility ta find 'em! So nopony sleeps 'til they're home safe n' sound!"
"Slow down, Applejack!", a concerned Twilight stepped in.
"Slow down? Slow down?!", Applejack cried, "Apple Bloom is out there somewhere! She could be lost, cold, hungry, itchy, stuffed up, an' needin' ta go ta th’ bathroom! She can't survive out there in th’ cold, cruel world!"
Now, Twilight was really getting concerned. As much as she herself wanted to continue the search, she couldn't deny that the other ponies had a point. And the lavender unicorn was starting to fear that Applejack, between her worry about her sister, her mounting desperation in the search, and lack of sleep, was starting to lose her mind.
"AJ, calm down!", Twilight said more forcefully, before continuing in a gentler tone, "I know you're worried. We're all worried. But we're getting nowhere fast. Maybe we should take some time to regroup, and reevaluate the situation."
Then, Mayor Mare came forward, and placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder, "Twilight's right, Applejack. Maybe we should change our tactics. Let me contact some associates out of town. Maybe somepony can help us. But in the meantime, you should really try to get some rest. There's nothing more you can do tonight, and you won't do Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, or Scootaloo any good if you collapse."
For a long moment, Applejack just stood there pondering what Twilight, and Mayor Mare had said, as their words seemed to have finally struck a cord with her. At last, the cowpony took a deep breath, and slowly nodded.
"Okay... You're right... I'm sorry...", the orange earth pony said wearily, as the townsponies all nodded in understanding, and sympathy.
"It's all right...", Mayor Mare assured, before turning to address the crowd, "Okay, everypony who wishes to go home for the time being may do so. We will meet back here in the morning to discuss our next move..."
----
On the first floor of the Golden Oak Library, Twilight was pacing back and forth. After Mayor Mare had dismissed the search party for the night, the lavender unicorn, and her friends had headed back to the library to rest, and regroup. By now, night had completely fallen on Ponyville, and despite Applejack's previous determination, she was completely exhausted from searching all day, so Spike, Big Mac, and Granny Smith had taken the cowpony upstairs to try to get some sleep.
Twilight had offered the same opportunity to Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, but they found that they simply had too much on their minds to even try and get any rest. Ultimately, the lavender unicorn couldn't really blame them, as she was just as worried, and frustrated at the whole situation as everypony else. Not only had they not found any sign of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but nopony had turned up a single clue, or even the whiff of lead. To put it simply, the search party wasn't getting them anywhere. Anywhere at all...
"This whole thing has got me baffled!", Twilight said, "We've searched everywhere we could think of, and what do we find? A lot of nothing! Just what are we overlooking?"
Fluttershy only shook her head, "It's beats me to, Twilight. Where ever could those poor little fillies be?"
"Wait! I think I've got it!", Pinkie Pie (or Private Eye Pinkie Pie) suddenly declared.
"What?", Twilight, and Fluttershy both said at once.
"The greatest detective who ever lived once said...", Pinkie began, "...that 'once you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'"
"So what you're saying is...?", Twilight inquired.
"We haven't been able to find the Crusaders anywhere, so therefore, they must have turned themselves invisible! Maybe they're here in this room right now!"
After a moment of blankly staring at Pinkie Pie, the only thing Fluttershy could do was facehoof, and the only thing Twilight could say, in a completely deadpan voice was, "That's not helping, Pinkie..."
Suddenly, a low groan of frustration caught Twilight, Fluttershy, & Pinkie's attention, and they turned to see a distraught Rainbow Dash sitting at the bottom of the stairs. The sky blue pegasus was holding a photograph in her hoof, the same photograph that Rainbow Dash had found in Scootaloo's bedroom, the one of her, and the pegasus filly at Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow Dash was busy trying to rub off the marker that had been scribbled over the photo, but it was no easy task as marker didn't come off easily.
Twilight walked up to her friend, "Rainbow, are you all right? Do you want some help?"
"No, I'm not all right, Twilight!", the sky blue pegasus said angrily, "And if I wanted some help, I would've ASKED for it!"
Twilight flinched, and even backed up a step at her friend's anger. But upon seeing this, Rainbow Dash immediately felt bad about it, and forced herself to calm down.
"I...I'm sorry, Twilight. I-I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that... Scootaloo..."
"It's okay, Rainbow.", Twilight assured her, "I know you're worried, and I know that you're mad at yourself. I am to..."
Rainbow Dash nodded miserably. She was about to say something else, when the sound of someone else's sniffling caused her to stop.
Turning to look, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie saw Rarity sitting at one of Twilight's desks. The despondent white unicorn was busy writing in her diary, the very same diary that she'd scolded Sweetie Belle over for publishing in the gossip column.
"Dear diary...", Rarity read aloud as she wrote, "My sister is still missing, and I just can't stop thinking about how this is my fault because of my own selfish actions. I miss her so much, and I don't...know..."
The white unicorn trailed off as she found herself unable to finish, and she broke down in tears as she laid her head down on the desk.
Twilight headed over to where Rarity was sitting, and placed her hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Rarity..."
"Please, Twilight...", the white unicorn breathed, "I just can't talk right now..."
Twilight helplessly lowered her gaze until she was staring at the floor. Rarity was right; what else could she say that hadn't already been said? She'd already promised her friends that they would find the Crusaders, but that promise had yet to be fulfilled.
Twilight knew how much Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack blamed themselves for this, but the hard truth was, they were all responsible in some way or another, and that train of thought made Twilight once again think about her own actions towards the CMC. Why hadn't she just let them in, and let them explain themselves? Why hadn't she just talked to them? If only she had, and they might still be here...
"Oh, girls...", the lavender unicorn thought, "Where are you? Where have you gone..?"
----
Meanwhile, deep inside the Everfree Forest, after aimlessly stumbling around for what had felt like an eternity, the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally happened upon a small cave, or more accurately, a shallow recess situated inside of a small rock face. With no better options, it was as good a place as any to take shelter.
Apple Bloom pulled out her foal blanket, having brought it along with her, and the three fillies wrapped themselves in it in order to keep warm. As they huddled together inside of their makeshift shelter, the Crusaders ultimately decided that they should probably just stay where they were until...
Until what?
Until something to improve their situation just happened to turn up? Until somepony else just happened to find them? Who would ever think to look for them out here? And more to the point, who would even WANT to look for them after all that had happened?
It was hopeless. They were trapped inside the Everfree Forest, and they were on their own...
Suddenly, the three fillies looked up in alarm as they heard a rustling sound off in the distance, and frantically looked around for the source.
"Look there!", Apple Bloom gasped, pointing at something moving off in the distance.
However, the three fillies quickly relaxed when the moonlight revealed it to be just a group of branches moving in the wind.
But then, Sweetie Belle sat straight back up in alarm, and pointed at something else. "What's that?!"
For a moment, the fillies froze in terror as they saw something big standing off in the darkness, and for a moment, they feared that the Timberwolf from earlier had returned. But then, the moonlight revealed it to be only a fallen, strangely-shaped log resting on a pile of rocks.
They were safe; it was just their imagination playing tricks on them.
Letting out a collective sigh of relief, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo tried to settle back down, but ultimately realized that they didn't feel any better about their situation.
"I wanna go home...", Scootaloo said.
"We can never go home, Scoot.", Apple Bloom replied, "Even if we found a way outta here, ya know that we ain't wanted in town no more."
Scootaloo nodded sadly, and shivered a little, "I know... I just... I just miss home, and my safe, warm bed..."
Sweetie Belle looked down at her unicorn filly doll, which she now held in her hooves, and it made her once again wish that she could've at least seen her parents one more time before leaving. She hugged the doll again, but this time, it wasn't enough, and she knew that it couldn't be helped.
"I want my mommy, and daddy...", the unicorn filly sniffed, the words coming out so softly that she probably hadn't even meant to say them out loud.
Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo said nothing, but they knew exactly what their friend was feeling. Scootaloo wished that she could be with her own parents, or at least her aunts, and while Apple Bloom's parents were long gone, Granny Smith would be just as welcome to her.
These were ponies that were always there. Ponies that the CMC could count on to comfort them. Always there... Like a safe, warm place they could come home to... Always there...
But would they be now? After all that had happened? The Crusaders didn't know. And somehow, not knowing made them feel worse...
It was too much. Thinking about their loved ones made the three fillies ache inside, and ultimately, they did the only thing they could think of to make it stop. Since leaving home, sleep had become the only real solace the CMC had been able to find for themselves. As stated before, being asleep meant that they didn't have to think about the painful things that had happened, nor did they have to worry about what they were going to do.
And so, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, & Scootaloo nestled together, and once again laid their heads down to rest, hoping for at least a few moments of forgetfulness. As they lay there together in their makeshift shelter, the three fillies were grateful to at least have each other's company; it was the one thing they could still be thankful for in all of this.
Before long, the three fillies had fallen into a peaceful sleep. However, just before Apple Bloom drifted off, she almost thought that she could hear the tune of a lullaby, the very same lullaby sung to her by her parents, and by Granny Smith...
----
Granny Smith stood alone on the outside balcony of the Golden Oak Library. And the elderly earth pony was indeed humming the tune of her granddaughter's favorite lullaby, hoping that the night's wind would carry the soothing melody to Apple Bloom, and her friends, wherever they were...
After she, Big Mac, and Spike had put Applejack to bed, Granny Smith had come out here so she could have a quiet moment to herself. Since the beginning of this crisis, she'd kept her emotions in check as there'd been things that needed doing, and she had to take charge. But now that there was a lull in the search, she finally allowed herself some time to reflect on everything that had happened.
As Granny Smith stood there, staring out into the darkness, and allowing herself to feel genuine worry for Apple Bloom, a single tear fell down her face. For the first time since this whole thing began, the elderly earth pony started to fear the possibility that she may never see her granddaughter again.
"Don't think like that, ya idiot!", she scolded herself, "OF COURSE ya will! If ya dare give up on Apple Bloom now, then what right do ya have to even call yerself her granny?!"
Granny Smith firmly nodded to herself. She had made a promise to herself years ago that she would care for, and protect her grandchildren as well as their parents had, if not better. Her family had been put through many hardships over the years, but they had never given up. SHE had never given up. And as Celestia as her witness, Granny Smith was NOT gonna give up now!
Not now, not ever.
They were going find Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, & Scootaloo, and bring them home no matter what it took. The elderly earth pony only wished that she could remove all doubts of that from her mind...
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream shocked Granny Smith out of her thoughts, causing her look up in alarm. The scream had come from back inside the library. It was Applejack...
----
Applejack suddenly found herself standing just outside of Ponyville. But something was wrong. It was in the middle of the day, and she had no idea how she'd gotten here. What was going on? The last thing she remembered was heading back to the Golden Oak Library with the others after Mayor Mare had dismissed the townsponies. And why was it light out? Hadn't the sun set just a few minutes ago?
Confused, Applejack took a few steps forward, trying to make sense of the situation, when suddenly, she saw somepony off in the distance. No, THREE someponies. There were three little fillies walking along a path heading into town. And Applejack's heart leapt in excitement when she realized who it was. It was Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and...
"Apple Bloom!", Applejack joyfully cried, and ran towards her little sister, intending to give her the biggest hug ever.
But to Applejack's shock, and confusion, her hooves went right through Apple Bloom's body. It was as if she wasn't even there. And that wasn't all. Apple Bloom hadn't even responded to her big sister's call or her movements; she just stared ahead without any indication that she even realized that Applejack was there. It was then that Applejack finally noticed that while Apple Bloom was looking directly at her, she didn't seem to actually see her.
"Apple Bloom! It's me, little sis! It's Applejack!", Applejack said desperately.
The yellow earth filly still made no response, and that's when the cowpony realized to her dismay that no, Apple Bloom really couldn't see her, and she couldn't hear her either.
The three little fillies began to head into town, and before long, Applejack finally realized just what she was seeing. Somehow, she was being shown exactly what had happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders the day before they'd run away. The orange earth pony could only watch as the three little fillies made their way through the town, only to be rejected by everypony they tried to approach.
Applejack saw everything that had happened to the Crusaders:
Rainbow Dash grabbing a cloud and dumping rainwater on the fillies. Fluttershy's bunny Angel slamming the door in their faces as his owner bawled her eyes out. Pinkie Pie and Rarity giving them the silent treatment. Twilight shutting them out by putting up a forcefield around the library, and Spike angrily yelling at them to get lost. The entire town coldly shunning them, and treating them like pariahs...
It was only then, that Applejack fully began to understand just what her little sister, and her friends had gone through, and the realization made the cowpony's heart break as she recalled her own harsh behavior towards her little sister, and her friends.
But it wasn't over yet, for then, Applejack suddenly found herself at Sweet Apple Acres. Then, the orange earth pony saw herself, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and her friends all standing before her, and she realized at once what she was seeing: it was the very moment that she and Big Mac turned their little sister away...
"Aw c'mon, Applejack!", Apple Bloom pleaded, "Yer not mad at us too, are ya?"
"Eeyup...", the other Applejack said, stubbornly refusing to look at her sister.
"Yer not even gonna talk ta us?", Apple Bloom asked.
"Nnnope...", the other Applejack coldly responded.
"No!", Applejack cried, "Listen ta them! Let them explain!"
"You should be ashamed of yerself! Humiliatin' yer sister an' me like that!", Big Mac scolded, fixing the fillies with a cold, hard glare.
"Stop it, Big Mac! They didn't mean it like that!", Applejack screamed.
Then, Big Mac walked up to the fillies to where he towered over them and poked a hoof near Apple Bloom's head before gesturing back in the direction they came.
"We don't wanna talk ta any y'all right now, so take yer little gossip column an' yer embarrassing photographs an' just GO AWAY!"
With that, the Crusaders slowly, and sadly began trotting away, as the real Applejack frantically ran after them.
"No! Apple Bloom! Please wait! Don't go!"
When she caught up to them, Applejack desperately tried again to throw her hooves around her little sister, wanting nothing more than to hold her, and let her know that she loved her, but it was futile, as her hooves kept going straight through her little sister's body.
It was one of the cruelest ironies imaginable. In her selfish, petty anger, Applejack had done nothing to help her little sister in her time of need. And now, she desperately wanted more than anything to help her little sister, but she COULDN'T. Then, the orange earth pony's heart sank when she saw Apple Bloom begin to cry as she left Sweet Apple Acres with her friends.
"No, Apple Bloom. Don't cry... Please don't cry... Ah'm sorry... ", Applejack choked out as she herself broke down in tears as her guilt overwhelmed her.
"Mah family hates me..." Apple Bloom cried softly.
"No, Apple Bloom! Ah don't hate you! Ah could NEVER hate you! Ah'm sorry... Ah'm so sorry... Ah love you..."
Then, through tear-filled eyes, Applejack saw two more figures standing before her. A mare and a stallion, one wearing a Stelson hat like Applejack's, and the other with orange frizzy hair.
Applejack couldn't believe her eyes... "M...Ma? Pa?"
Buttercup and Bright Mac said nothing. They only stared remorsefully at their daughter with a look of complete, and utter disappointment on their faces.
Then, they began to fade away into nothingness, and before Applejack knew it, they were gone. They were all gone. Buttercup, Bright Mac, Apple Bloom, and even Sweetie Belle & Scootaloo.
Applejack was left alone...
"No..! NO! NOOOOOO!"
----
"Applejack!" Big Mac shouted to his sister. "Applejack!"
"Wake up!" cried Spike. "You're having a bad dream!"
With that, the orange earth pony finally woke up and began to scream. "No! No! Apple Bloom! Come back! COME BACK!"
Then, Granny Smith pushed past Big Mac, and Spike, and gave her granddaughter a hard smack across the face. "SNAP OUT OF IT, APPLEJACK! GET A HOLD O' YERSELF!"
Applejack blinked, and then slowly began to calm down.
"Th-Thanks, Granny...", Applejack said, breathing deeply, "Ah' needed that..."
As Applejack's senses fully returned, she suddenly remembered where she was, and she realized that she must have fallen asleep. But her dreams had been anything but sweet.
It was then that Applejack noticed Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash coming up the stairs, having heard their friend's screams.
"Applejack, are you okay?", a concerned Twilight asked.
"Y-Yeah... Just a...a bad dream.", Applejack said shakily, and then she noticed the dark circles under Rarity, and Rainbow Dash's eyes, "Did-did you two have nightmares to?"
"No...", Rainbow Dash slowly shook her head, "We couldn't sleep..."
"I tried... I really did...", Rarity sniffed, "But how can I sleep when...when..."
Unable to finish, Rarity burst into tears, and everypony had to take a step back to avoid getting drenched, except for Spike, who couldn't bear seeing his crush like this.
"Rarity, please...", Spike said as he stepped up and hugged her, "It will be okay..."
"No, it won't!", Rarity sobbed, hugging the baby dragon back, "Don't you remember? It was me who gave Sweetie Belle the idea to start the gossip column in the first place! I basically told her it was okay, that everypony would love it! I loved it! I supported it! And then, when I got gossiped about, I turned my back on her when she needed me the most! I might as well have thrown my little sister to the timberwolves!"
"It wasn't all your fault, Rarity.", Twilight said as tears welled in her own eyes, "We all played a part in this."
"Oh, Big Mac...", Applejack wept, burying her face into her brother's chest, "How could we be so cruel ta our little sis? Why, if somethin' happens ta her, Ah'll never forgive mahself!
"Neither will Ah...", the stallion shamefully agreed.
"You think you were cruel?!", Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "I took my anger out on Scootaloo for something that I brought on myself! After the way I treated her, she's probably found somepony else to look up to by now."
"All right, that's enough.", Granny Smith said sternly, "It's high time y'all stopped beatin' yerselves up like this."
"Wh-why, Granny?", Applejack sniffed, "It's our fault."
"Ah know, but y'all are not gonna make things right by layin' there, feelin' sorry fer yerselves.", the elderly earth pony asserted.
After a long moment of silence, Fluttershy stepped forward, "Granny Smith is right.", the yellow pegasus said, "Punishing ourselves won't get us anywhere, and it certainly won't get us any closer to finding the Crusaders."
"Then what will?", Pinkie Pie asked.
"One thing is certain.", Fluttershy continued, "The search party has been unsuccessful so far. So I think Mayor Mare is right. We need to try something different."
"What exactly have ya got in mind?", asked Big Mac.
Fluttershy thought for a moment. "Well, maybe I could send some of my animals out to look for the Crusaders. They could probably search in ways, and places that we can't."
"Not a bad idea...", Rainbow Dash mused.
Then, Spike spoke up as an idea suddenly came to him, "Hey Twilight, maybe we could also ask Princess Celestia for help."
However, the mere mention of her mentor made Twilight's stomach turn itself over, as she remembered how disappointed Princess Celestia had been the time she went nuts because she hadn't written a letter to Celestia for a week. And the lavender unicorn could only imagine how disappointed Princess Celestia would be in her if she got involved in this, and found out what Twilight, and everypony else had done by shunning the Crusaders, and refusing to help them in their time of need.
"Well... I...", Twilight hesitantly started to say, but she was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the front door of the library. "Who could that be?"
Upon opening the door, everypony was somewhat surprised to see Mayor Mare standing there.
"Mayor Mare?, Twilight inquired, "What are you doing here?"
"Has there been any word on our sisters?", Applejack quickly asked.
"Has there been any sign of them?!", Rarity jumped in.
Mayor Mare shook her head. "I'm afraid not.", she said, stepping inside, "But... There HAS been a new development."
Rainbow Dash blinked. "What KIND of development?"
"Well... I have something here that you all might want to see...", Mayor Mare said, holding up what everypony immediately recognized as a newspaper.
"What's this?", Twilight asked as she took the newspaper with her magic, and read the title of the front page aloud, "Foal Free Press: Gabby Gums--GOLD EDITION?"
"When I went back to town hall to try and contact my associates out of town, this paper was lying on my desk.", Mayor Mare explained.
Confused, everypony gathered around as Twilight opened the paper, and everypony gasped in shock when they saw what had been printed in it:
The most embarrassing moments of the Cutie Mark Crusaders...
----
Featherweight had finally given up on trying to get some sleep. There were just too many things swirling around in his head. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were gone, the whole town was frantically searching for them, he was being blackmailed into taking more hurtful photographs by Diamond Tiara, and on top of all this, he was at least partially to blame for this whole mess.
Feeling very guilty, the pegasus colt sat on the edge of his bed, and held his head in his hooves. What was he going to do? For a while, he thought that maybe he could just forget about all this, and maybe nopony would ever find out about his involvement. But who was he kidding? No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get it out of his mind. And even if he could, Diamond Tiara would never let him forget that he worked for her, not as long as she had dirt on him.
And what if the Cutie Mark Crusaders never came home? What if they were never found? Featherweight didn't even want to think about that...
And even if they did come home, what then? Would ponies still be mad them? Would they still face humiliation due to the embarrassing pictures that had just been printed about them? And regardless of what happened, Featherweight himself would still be under Diamond Tiara's hoof, forced to take more embarrassing and hurtful pictures of other ponies.
Featherweight sighed. When he joined the "Foal Free Press", he'd never counted on this. It was all supposed to be fun, but instead, it had turned into a nightmare.
"You think this is a nightmare?", the pegasus colt's inner voice said, "What about the Crusaders' friends and families? How do you think they feel?"
Featherweight knew that this was true. The Crusaders' friends, and family had to be worried sick about them. Featherweight himself had seen how they'd treated the CMC when the fillies had been exposed as Gabby Gums. They probably blamed themselves for this, and if the Crusaders stayed lost, it would break all of their hearts.
Thinking about that made Featherweight's stomach hurt, and he felt like he was going to cry, as he was once again reminded of the fact that this was all just as much his fault as the CMC's and Diamond Tiara's. He felt so bad...
And finally, Featherweight couldn't take it anymore. He knew that he had to do something. More than anything else, the pegasus colt wanted to do the right thing, but for awhile he hadn't been entirely sure just what that was. Now, however, there was only one thing that made any sense to him anymore. There was only one way out of this nightmare.
Featherweight had to tell the truth...
But as soon as the thought went through his mind, Featherweight immediately faltered as his previous fears once again made themselves known.
"Are you nuts?!", the pegasus colt said to himself, "You'll be dead meat if you tattle on Diamond Tiara! And who knows what everypony else will do if you admit that you were the one who took all those pictures! You'll be in big, big, BIG trouble!"
Yes, Featherweight knew that. But what other alternative was there? Keep doing Diamond Tiara's dirty work, and live in guilt-ridden misery for the rest of his life? Could he possibly do that? After a long moment of thought, Featherweight ultimately realized that no, he couldn't. The very thought of it was horrible.
Taking a look out of his bedroom window, Featherweight could just make out the Golden Oak Library off in the distance, and could see that the lights were on inside. He had to do this, regardless of what may happen next. He owed it to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and to their friends, & families. It was the only way...
At last, the pegasus colt took a deep breath, got up from his bed, and began to make his way to front door of his house.
----
Back inside the library, everypony could only stare in shock at the humiliating photos that had been printed of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the new edition of the school paper.
"Look... Look at Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, pointing at the first picture, "She can't get out of the mud, and those birdbrains are just standing there laughing at her!"
"Well...", a disgusted Fluttershy said, "They're not going to be laughing very much once I get through with them...".
"An' this is one of Apple Bloom's foal pictures!", Granny Smith pointed to the picture of Apple Bloom as a foal with a diaper on her head.
"How in th' wide, wide world of Equestria did that get in here?", Applejack asked, "She made us swear ta never let anypony see those or she'd never live it down."
"And this picture of Sweetie Belle!", Rarity said at last, "I remember that outfit. I totally messed that one up! It didn't even look good on Sweetie Belle, let alone on Sapphire Shores! Maybe if I'd just added more feathers to it..."
Twilight shook her head in confusion. "Okay, something is definitely not right here. If the Crusaders were the ones behind Gabby Gums, and they've run away, then why is the gossip column still running?"
"That's a very good question, Twilight...", Mayor Mare said, "And there's only one answer that I've been able to come up with. There must be somepony else running the Gabby Gums column in the Crusaders absence. It's the only explanation."
"But who? And why?", Fluttershy asked.
"And why didn't we see this paper 'til just now?", Big Mac demanded.
"Most of the town has been out searching for the Crusaders.", Mayor Mare pointed out, "So it's likely that very few ponies actually saw the paper until they went home."
"Yes...", Rarity said, "But who could possibly have taken these pictures, and printed this story?"
Twilight held up the paper again, and began to closely examine it. "Just hold on a sec. Maybe there's something in here that will give us some kind of clue..."
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie jumped right in front of Twilight, still wearing her detective's hat, and held her magnifying glass up to the paper. "That's a job for a professional, Twilight!", the pink earth pony said as the lavender unicorn again rolled her eyes at Pinkie's antics.
Pinkie Pie examined the newspaper for several moments, until finally, something caught her eye. "Hey, look at this!"
Everypony gathered around and could just make out through Pinkie's magnifying glass that there was something printed underneath the pictures of the Crusaders.
"It says, 'All photos provided by our staff photographer, Featherweight.'", Pinkie Pie read aloud.
Twilight blinked. "Featherweight?"
"Hey, isn't he that colt who recently got his cutie mark?", Big Mac asked.
"Yeah!", Applejack confirmed, "Apple Bloom was talkin' 'bout that th' other day."
"So he's the one who's been taking all those embarrassing photos of us!", Rainbow Dash said.
"That little sneak!", Rarity growled.
"I can't believe it!", Fluttershy gasped, "How could a little colt like him do such a thing?"
"Ah don't know...", Granny Smith said, "But it seems ta me that Featherweight's got some mighty explainin' ta do. Ah think we oughta go have a little talk with him."
"I second the notion, Granny Smith.", Mayor Mare agreed.
"Well, why are we all just standing here?!", Rainbow Dash asked, unfolding her wings, "Let's find that little punk, and give him a piece of our minds!"
"Rainbow Dash, wait...", Twilight said as the sky blue pegasus headed for the front door, "Let's not be hasty. He's just a little colt, and besides, we don't even know where he is."
But Rainbow Dash wasn't in a listening mood. "Well, I'm gonna find out, and then, one way or another, I'm gonna get some answers out of him! In any case, we're not gonna find him just standing around in here, and it's not like he's just gonna show up at the front-"
But even as Rainbow Dash spoke, she opened the front door to the library, and then froze in mid-sentence, as there, standing right in front of her, was none other than Featherweight...
----
END OF PART 2
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This is really getting good! Keep it up!
Keep things up. I'm still enjoying this.
I pretty sure you don't do any. But, I do have one small request for this story: See that our little pink "precious princess" gets what's coming to her.
Other than that, so far so good. Can't wait till part 3.
10109930
Oh, Diamond Tiara will get hers. Just wait.
10109940
I'll be sure to have extra butter-flavored popcorn ready.
10109949
Two words: Tanned Hide.
Oh boy. I think it's safe to say that Diamond Tiara is royally FUCKED
10109951
Can I get a pair of shoes with my pretty pink princess purse?
...what? You said tanned hide.
Was that, no it couldn't be, but it looks like a line borrowed from Winnie The Pooh's Grand Adventure.
10110018
You don't what it means to tan someone's hide?
10110295
Actually, it was. I'm glad you caught that.
10110699
Oh, I do. I was simply making an attempt at dark humor by commenting as though you were speaking literally rather than figuratively.
10110823
I can't help it.
Great chapter! Can't wait for part 3.
Diamond Tiara PREPARE YOUR ANUS
Not bad, Monty! Although, I do see a few similarities from my story but they’re mostly small details that aren’t too important. Keep up the good work and can’t wait to see more!
10111230
Why haven't you finished part 6?
10111240
You got to understand, I have a life outside of Fimfiction and have other things I have to focus on, both important and off to the side, (school, work, other projects with friends, as well as my passion project) besides that, I’m currently in a roadblock when it comes to piecing together the next chapter. I have someone helping me on this but I have yet to hear back from them. It will be ready when it is.
10111230
Thanks. Ever since that first mishap with my story, I've been trying really hard to remove as many similarities to yours as possible. It's just that the story that I wanted to tell required a few similar scenes, but I've been hoping to write them in my own way, and not copy yours by accident. The thing is, I was inspired by your story "Ponyville Runaways", and the problem with writing your own version of the same idea is that you have to write it differently enough that you're version is not just a copy of someone else! I hope that I've at been doing at least a decent job of doing so.
10111408
I know how to start part 3, the mane 6. Spike, big Mac, Mayor Mare and Granny Smith go out to look for Featherweight, only to see he is looking for them. They interrogate to colt and he wonders how they found out, and the mayor shows him the paper. Finally he confesses about Diamond Tiara and blackmail and they go rich manor and chastise the spoiled filly and reveal her to everyone.
10114221
I've already got that part planned. But you weren't too far off.
10114409
What do you mean?
10114439
You weren't too far off on what I was writing.
Uh how's part 3?
This part is great.
I loved how in scene four where the CMC's hid from the timberwolf. It was a reference to this scene from the first Lord of the Rings movie.
As soon as I read Sweetie Belle's lines "I... I think we should get off the path..." and "Get off the path! Quick!", along with the CMC's hiding just under the timberwolf sniffing for them, I knew instantly that it was from Lord of the Rings. I've seen that movie lots of times to remember that scene.
10122424
I was hoping someone would catch that! Glad you're enjoying it!
10121558
Part 3 might take a bit longer than my last two parts. I'd already had half of Part 2 finished when I posted Part 1, and I just started on Part 3 after I posted Part 2. It'll be done eventually. Remember, patience is a virtue.
10123859
How's part 3 now?
10136897
Getting there. Unfortunately, it's been slower going than the first two chapters as some things have come up for me, especially in the light of the crisis with the coronavirus. But don't worry, it'll get here in due time. Remember, patience is a virtue.
10138682
Is Cheerlie gonna be involved in this, how far are you?
10154314
Yes, Cheerlie will have a part to play. I'm about halfway. Unfortunately, I've missed writing time due several things coming up, especially with the coronavirus crisis. But it's coming.
10156739
I so hope that Diamond Tiara will be revealed as the true Gabby Gums, was blackmailing the CMC with embarrassing photos of them, and will be punished while they find the CMC and bring them home.
10164938
Oh, don't worry. I've got something special planned for her.
10164994
Okay.
10164994
I have some ideas for part 3, like after Diamond is punished, Fluttershy's critters would come and report they found the CMC in the everfree forest. The others would wonder what if the fillies are still afraid and they'll never forgive their family, thinking they're still jerks to them. And Twilight would say they have to try. Rarity would say we know still little fillies and you don't know any better.
Thank you! Although it's not finished I already love this fimfic. "Ponyville Confidential" is one of my least favourite epissodes mostly because of the towns treatment torwards the CMC. When they found out, who wrote the stories, they reacted in the worst possible way! In my opinion it was hypocrytical, childish and malicious! Yes, I understand, they were mad but no one can tell me that they were doing this to make a point, they were doing it out of spite! I completely understand the moral of the episode, if I would get gossiped like this I would be angry too but it doesn't make the rejection scene any more pleasent to watch. They are still kids!!! I know, that doesn't excuse, what they did to the town. I know that the townsfolk didn't know that the CMC eventually got blackmailed into continiuing but it wouldn't have gotten out of hand if they didn't keep on buying these newspapers! If you ask me, the best way to deal with this would be a serious talk with the CMC, I also wouldn't blame them for scolding the CMC but shunning them out like this just goes too far! No two ways around it.
(I saw Joshcorcher defending and trying to justify the towns horrible behavior and it didn't convince me at all.)
10167884
Thanks for your advice. I'll see if I can work something like that into the story. But I do have an idea of where I'm going, so we'll see.
10169178
I'm glad you're liking the story. Stay tuned.
10169178
Yea, even Nostalgia Teen Critic tries to justify Ponyville's bad behavior as well.
10170317
I must say, I am a fan of your work. Your alternate version of "Owl's well that Ends Well", I like it so much more than the actual episode.
Especially the emotional scenes between Twilight and Spike, my absolute favorite characters of the show!
Are you almost done with part 3?
10171153
What did you think of my alternate "Putting Your Hoof Down"?
10177170
It's been taking longer than I thought it would. Several things have come up for, partially due to the situation Coronavirus. I also had the VERY bad luck of losing half the chapter when a virus crashed my laptop, forcing me to write it again. I also wasn't entirely satisfied with parts of what I'd written, so I might be doing a rewrite of those parts. It will come, I promise. I'm just not sure when.
10179912
It was okay. I don't love it but it's okay.
10185835
What do you think I could've done better? I'm open to suggestions.
10194992
It's okay as it is. I just don't have the same personal bond to it like the alternative Owl's well that ends well.
10202457
Oh, okay. I'm glad you like my alternate "Owl's Well That Ends Well".
10202898
Are you at the part where Diamond gets busted?
10203592
Yes. She will get what's coming to her.