Sweetie Belle kept to the path as she continued to trudge through the unnaturally murky orchard. Every few seconds, she would look up from the ground and strain her eyes in an effort to catch of glimpse of civilization (or at the very least the Apple family’s farmhouse), but so far, she’d seen nothing but barely visible tree trunks, though occasionally she thought she saw weird undulations in the fog’s consistency that almost seemed like shadowy figures moving through the orchard. However, Sweetie Belle was also fairly certain that if those amorphous visions were really humans, they’d be making some sort of noise, and Sweetie Belle couldn’t hear anything other than the steady beat of her hooves against the dirt road. This silence, however, was somehow even more unsettling than the everyday background noise she was used to hearing while visiting Sweet Apple Acres. I need to get out of here, she thought to herself as she increased her pace through the silvery haze.
However, despite her sporadic flirting with delusional paranoia, it seemed as though Sweetie Belle’s idea to follow the path was working out. The first fork in the road she came across didn’t discourage her; in fact it was obvious that one of the three pathways branched out into the other two, and as Sweetie Belle had been on one of those tributary paths, that meant that she had indeed chosen the correct direction. It seemed that, despite all her worries, she really was making an eventual rescue more likely by searching for help instead of staying put.
Those feelings of optimism dissipated when Sweetie Belle turned a corner and found herself not at a fork, but a crossroads. Worse, each road seemed to be approximately the same width, and had apparently seen the same amount of use. It seemed that not all of the paths through the orchard were shaped like the branches of a tree; the larger ones, apparently, were laid out more like a grid, which meant that getting lost was a real possibility. In fact, Sweetie Belle now realized that in the course of her investigation, she had completely forgotten which road she’d traveled to reach this point.
However, before she could settle on a choice between panic and despair, her train of thought was disrupted by the repeated peals of a bell off in the distance. At first, Sweetie Belle took this as evidence that her mind was playing tricks on her; she was almost certain that it was only one o’clock in the afternoon, and even if she had completely lost track of time, the bell was sounding far too many times for it to be noon. Why would they even bother ringing the clock tower bell in the first place? she thought to herself. Isn’t everypony supposed to be inside, where it’s nice and warm and safe from invading humans?
Sweetie Belle shook her head rapidly to try to clear her mind. Right now, she didn’t have time to dwell on such ideas; she needed to keep moving, not only to find help, but also to stave off the numbness in her legs that seemed to keep getting worse the longer she remained in the fog’s bitter chill. Besides, now she at least had a clue to orient herself in the orchard: if that noise had indeed been the clock tower bell, that meant that Ponyville was somewhere in front of her. As she had no reason to favor any of the other pathways, she elected to take the road in front of her.
September 2 – 12:59 PM
“They did what?!”
Applejack winced as she quickly clapped a hoof against the side of her head. She hadn’t really expected Rarity to react to the new situation with any sort of stoicism, but she could have done without the indignant shriek directly into her ear. “Look, Rarity, it’s just a strong possibility. Like Derpy said, there ain’t actually any proof that they did somethin’ wrong, so for all I know there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation that I just can’t think of at the moment. Besides, right now, knowin’ how they got out ain’t all that helpful.” Having thus momentarily quieted the raging unicorn, Applejack turned her attention back to Fluttershy. “I’m plannin’ on sendin’ out search parties as soon as possible. You okay with that?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Of course. The sooner we find the Crusaders, the better.”
“Alright, then,” Applejack replied. “Then I’d best be gettin’ out to the clock tower so I can explain what’s going on to the safety patrol.” With that, the farmpony turned and exited the library. Thus, when Twilight chose to deal with the new information by retreating to a separate room and going over her calculations once again, the only company Fluttershy had was Rarity, who had made her way to the library to check on Fluttershy’s still-untested fog suit. However, with her sister in mortal peril (again), the fashionista’s interest in glaringly ugly safety gear soon reached its nadir.
“This is most disturbing,” Rarity said as she paced nervously around the room with a somewhat bewildered expression on her face. “I feel as though my mind can’t decide whether to be worried or angry.”
Fluttershy seemed to find this statement confusing. “Angry? Why would you be angry? I can understand feeling a little disappointed....”
“Disappointment is how one responds to mere bad judgement. This, however, is clearly a case of moral failure.”
“Moral failure?” Fluttershy repeated.
Rarity let out an exasperated sigh. “If the Crusaders truly believe that there is nothing wrong with drugging a lady simply because she won’t give you something you want, then it would appear that some remediary moral instruction is needed,” Rarity replied stiffly.
Fluttershy sighed. “I suppose I can’t disagree, but right now, don’t you think you should be more concerned with your sister’s safety?”
Rarity looked aghast. “Fluttershy, of course I’m concerned!” she replied, placing a hoof over her chest. “Ensuring the Crusaders’ safety ought to be our first priority. I’m simply... stunned that their usual recklessness has been equaled by their thoughtlessness.”
“Well,” Fluttershy said as she stared absently out the window at the grey mass, “I suppose we’ll have to make sure they’re still around to learn their lesson.”
September 2 – 1:12 PM
One of the disadvantages of trying to address a crowd of ponies who had assembled in the middle of an abnormally-thick fog was that it was rather difficult to get a sense of how many ponies were in the audience. Unfortunately, even though Applejack certainly would have preferred to have everypony gather in the town hall, the clock tower was the one with the bell, and to minimize the chance of safety patrol members stumbling around town, she’d decided to make the clock tower the emergency meetup spot so everypony could simply follow the sound of the bell’s peals. Still, there was at least one advantage to addressing the group outdoors: the fog’s damp, bitter chill underscored the gravity of the situation far more effectively than an oratorical flourish ever could, which was a great boon, since Applejack hated it when she felt pressured to use highfalutin’ fancy talk.
“So that’s basically where we’re at right now,” she said as she ended her explanation of the situation. “Now, y’all are gonna get paired off and assigned to a different part of Ponyville and the surrounding area. Make sure you don’t rush things while you’re searchin’; even though we got limited time, we don’t wanna overlook these fillies. If anypony finds them, try to bring them back to town, unless they’re really badly injured, in which case one of you can head back while the other sticks with them. Keep searchin’ until you hear the clock tower bell again. You hear that, it means I need y’all to regroup here. Got it?”
After a few seconds of affirmative mumbling, Applejack set about organizing the search party. As the pairs of ponies went off to search their designated sections of the Ponyville area, the numbers slowly dwindled down until there were only three ponies left. One of these three ponies was Big Macintosh, and Applejack had saved him for the end because she already knew where she wanted him to search: Sweet Apple Acres (which, not coincidentally, was the only region that had yet to have a search party assigned). What made the matter somewhat more complicated were the other two ponies.
“I just can’t understand why those three would do something like this in the first place. I specifically told them that there were humans in the fog.”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? As sweet, uncorrupted foals, they naturally sensed that there was something majestic about these creatures that compelled them to try and meet one.”
“I’m just going to assume that by ‘uncorrupted,’ you mean ‘painfully idealistic.’ Besides, I’ll have you know that I made sure to outline the dangers posed to ponykind by those bipedal monstrosities.”
“Well, that just proves that they were able to see right through your baseless propaganda!”
It was rather difficult to figure out whether to assign Lyra or Bon-Bon to accompany Big Mac, mostly because of their “interest” in mythological creatures. In retrospect, Applejack probably should have given them an assignment first, so that she would have been left with more reasonable ponies at the end. It wasn’t that Applejack thought that whoever went off to Sweet Apple Acres would prevent Big Macintosh from making an effective search. On the contrary, it was the pony who would have to stay behind that worried her.
“Baseless propaganda?! Lyra, three fillies are lost in this stupid fog of theirs, probably freezing to death, and you think I’m the one who’s baseless?”
“That doesn’t mean anything. They must have been mistaken about how ponies react to cold temperatures.”
“Oh, give me a break. If they’re smart enough to control the weather without magic, they’re smart enough to know about hypothermia.”
“Maybe they just think our natural coats were a lot warmer. They wouldn’t know, since they don’t have any of their own, now would they? Bon-Bon, the humans need our empathy.”
“No, they need to have their kneecaps shattered to set an example.”
Simply put, the odds were fairly good that the odd pony out would go off in search of humans, whether to deliver bear hugs or bear traps. Up until now, of course, they’d been fairly reliable, mostly because each was keen to rein in the other’s more excessive tendencies, but leaving either of them to their own devices seemed quite risky. Sure, there was the option of having the remaining pony stick close to her so they could serve as an “assistant,” but Applejack was in no mood to foalsit a full-grown mare. No, that ain’t right, Applejack silently rebuked herself. These are adults here, and this is an emergency. Surely I can trust them to be responsible without supervision.
“I know! We should go out and find the humans.”
“To pummel them with rocks?”
“No, you bigoted weirdo; we ought to recruit them! They can use their science to find the foals. Plus, once they realize that we aren’t a threat to them, I bet they’ll be more than happy to science this fog away, and then we can finally have that picnic! I can’t wait for them to try my grandmother’s coleslaw recipe.”
“Have you completely lost your mind? If they even have pony-locating science, then they’re probably using it to look for potential hostages in the fog.... Sweet Celestia, that’s what happened to them! Those dastardly excuses for sasquatches foalnapped those fillies. That settles it: we need to find those jerks and beat them into submission.”
Upon hearing this latest exchange, Applejack groaned aloud and beckoned her brother to come closer while the two mares continued their bickering. “Listen, Big Mac, I don’t really wanna risk the chance that one of these two will go off and do somethin’ stupid if she’s left by her lonesome. Do ya think you can keep those two in line if I send both of them with you ta search the orchard?”
Macintosh didn’t answer right away. He spent a few seconds looking at Lyra and Bon-Bon warily before he let out a sigh and gave his answer: “Eeyup.”
"Yay, does this mean that I'm gonna get another Dinky?"
"Um, no Derpy. Also, that's... dark... really dark."
"Awwwww."
nice, ring the bell to get everyone, it being loud and high it carriers further, just optimum would be as soon as Sweetibelle meets up with Big Mac, hopefully on the road, they have the choice, all carry on one way or the other, or Lyra and Bon Bon go back to ring the bell to recall everyone and send All the searchers into the orchards, maybe even in th equivalent of a forensic sweep?
Then again, given how Lyra and Bon Bon are bickering without actual thought here, Im wondering if Mac is goign to have to give them a piece of mind that even larger than his hoof to each head?
5128215
Pahahahaha!
Also, yes, that's really dark.
Good
If Sweetie Belle's having this much trouble finding
thea road back to Ponyville, just imagine how hard it's going to be for her (and presumably a search team) to find their way back to the Crusaders. She'd get impossibly lost. I mean, maybe Big MacIntosh could find them, considering how well he'd know the Apple family orchard, but even then he'd need a decent landmark to know exactly where they are.Wait, where exactly in Sweet Apple Acres are they?
I would imagine that by the end of this, Lyra and Bon Bon would be at the receiving end of a rather nasty speech about enabling the craziness of the CMC.....
Daaamn, don't get on Bon Bon's bad side.
Poor Mac, he really didn't deserve to have to foalsit Lyra and Bon Bon in addition to having to search for his missing sister.
5128282 Not far from the Crusader's Clubhouse if I remember correctly. Shouldn't be hard to find them once she finds some help.
Sweet Celestia Bonnie. That made me instinctively grab my knees.
And now Big Mac has to babysit these two while they go on and on about their theories about humans. Kinda sucks to be him right about now.
Not gonna lie, but that seemed really dark for Fluttershy. I mean, I understand that it's not supposed to be, not at all. But still, it seemed that way for me.
...Kinda liked it, actually.
Am I the only one who wants Bon Bon and Lyra to just shut up? It's gone past delusions and straight into straightjacket territory.
5128946 Maybe Big Mac can talk some sense into them, or he'll steer their delusions into a less hysterical form.
Missing a word or two here.
The "bear hugs or bear traps" line was excellent.
Poor Mac.
I'm going to laugh if, in the end, Scoots and Bloom are found asleep, free of the trap, and with a strange, two armed coat draped over them...
Sweetie Belle stars in, Silent Hill: Equestria.
5128282
Wasn't the human trap at the clubhouse?
5130652 - It wasn't quite at the clubhouse, because the Apples frequently come to that area of the orchard to check up on the Crusaders. But the precise location of the trap is beside the point, because when Scoots got snagged up by the fog, it dragged her and Apple Bloom in random directions away from the trap (with Sweetie Belle following behind to keep from losing them).
Nitpick:
fog's
(Also, can "thickness" really "undulate"? My understanding of the word is that it would apply to going literally up and down instead of increasing and decreasing, but this is a minor point. If you happen to agree, "variations", "changes", "shifting patterns", etc.)
5130820
Technically, you are correct.
Undulate
verb (used with object), undulated, undulating.
4.
to cause to move in waves.
5.
to give a wavy form to.
Source
5129787
Oh jeeze, imagine if they had used the "air raid" siren from Secret Of My Excess instead of the bell...
Especially since the last time they drugged a lady (and Big Mac) to get what they want, I don't think they ended up with any real punishment.
Well, if nothing else, the bickering couple will be just as useful an auditory beacon as the clocktower. In any case, given the shift in focus to the Crusaders, it seems like the fog clearing is going smoothly. Let's just hopes that keeps up, and the disasters don't cascade into a massive catastrophe.
Gee, I wonder if that will happen...
Looking forward to more.
Maybe AJ should ask anypony else to accompany BigMac, and keep Lyra&BonBon at the tower – äää, for special missions.
With all the arguing Lyra and Bonbon are doing, the crusaders should be able to hear them coming and call for help. Big Mac would be a ghost by himself.
5132713
She decided to do exactly that... after having already sent every other pony away in other search parties.
Why is Sweetie Belle experiencing so much trouble in this cold cloud of fog?
I thought computer processors work best when kept cool....
5135420 sweetie bot or dictionary belle?
5135420 Actually in extremely damp weather, processors to the hard drive short out more frequently, often causing fatal errors. I remember taking my Laptop to the sea on a really foggy morning and the thing froze ten or twelve times before I could go back home.
Awesome chapter!
Loving it! Lyra and Bon-Bons' (is that the wrong place for that apostrophe? Heh, apostrophe. A posh trophy. Wait...) bickering had me smiling from ear to ear. As always, looking forward to more!
Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!
I'm going to enjoy when they find the fillies and Lyra and Bon-Bon finally get their comeuppance. I really am. Because these two need a slap from both hands of reality. Hard, cold slaps.
5147083 Good point...
5149752 No, Hammer-To-The-Head Harry would swing by for a visit after Alcohol Al did his magic the night before.
5128215 Rape isn't exactly funny, ya know!
5154981
Ah, here's why it doesn't make any sense to you: You're still thinking of all her feats as purely physical strength when I just suggested that many of them could stem partly from a magical affinity with rocks and other minerals. In this case, being able to crush diamond wouldn't mean she could crush anything because non-mineral objects wouldn't have that same magical affinity allowing her to ignore some of their physical traits.
We don't see her exhibiting anywhere near her impressive feats with anything that isn't a rock (or diamond).
Though, don't get me wrong, as someone who toils physically on a farm, she's probably quite strong as well. Just maybe not as strong as she looks.
5132147 Oh right. I'd forgotten that was a thing that'd happened. It was/will be poison then, too!
Priceless!
Wee, caught up
You have a large vocabulary or access to a thesaurus my friend, I have to look up at least one word almost every chapter.
Rarity has a point about the questionable morality of the crusaders. Even though it was an accidental poisoning and they are misguidedly certain that their cause is just, they are goanna be in so much troooubleeee
Looking forward to more and hoping there actually is something in that fog.
5129181
i wonder if Kwakerjack -1'ed your post, that would be... interesting
You really had to go there?
Also, yeah Lyra and Bon-Bon were fun at first,, they are just getting annoying now.
Powering my way through the story, very good so far, looking forward to seeing how things work out. So far I didn't have much to say other than that but I noticed something this chapter.
How is it untested? She was in the fog with RD a couple of chapters ago with the suit on after all.
6453500 The other suits were tested, yes, but that particular suit hasn't seen duty yet. It could have a flaw and no one would know.
Not the knees!