The Next Crusade
A dead silence fell among the three Apple family members, their stunned expressions easy to see as Trader remained quiet, allowing what he had said to sink in. His own face was almost an utter blank, save for the hint of sadness in his weary eyes, constantly drifting down to the ground as he sat there before them.
“You're leavin'?” Applebloom finally said, breaking the silence as she questioned what the pegasus had just said.
Trader nodded solemnly. “Yeah...” he murmured, confirming it to them. “It was great staying here... but I've realized that it just isn't for me.”
“Trader...” Granny Smith said, concern mixed with her confused expression. “Are ya sure this is what you want?”
Again Trader nodded, refusing to meet her gaze. “I know that it's sudden, but it's something that I need to do.”
Approaching the elderly mare, the pegasus wrapped her forelegs around her in a brief hug before pulling away. “I... I want to thank you... for everything, I mean,” he murmured, a slight tremble in his voice. “You took me in and gave me a home, despite having no reason to, something that I'm just not used to... Ever since my parents died, I've pretty much been by myself. I don't have any other family, and what few friends I had I never got to see because I was too busy with my debt. Staying here, with all of you... it was nice...”
“Where will you go?” she then asked, laying a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
Having given it much thought, Trader was able to readily say, “To the Crystal Empire. I've never been there before. A new place, a fresh start. It's exactly what I need right now.” Almost forgetting the last thing that needed to be said, his gaze locked onto Granny Smith's “A-and don't think that I'm abandoning all that I've done here either. I swear that I'll keep in touch and pay back what I owe you. Even if it has to be bit by bit.”
Wearing a soft smile to mask her worry, Granny Smith leaned down and grabbed the stallion in a hug. “Just do what you can,” she murmured before relinquishing him. “And don't fret none about Applejack. Ah'll make sure she understands why you've left so suddenly.”
A slight look of surprised crosses the pegasus then. Seeing the knowing look the old mare gave him, he felt as though she could suddenly read his innermost thoughts. Shaking the sensation away, he managed simple nod of his head before looking to the rest of the family as a whole. “I should get going,” he said as an act of finality. “The train doesn't leave until tomorrow, but I don't want to waste anymore of your time. I'll just stay at the motel until then. Thanks again, to all of you, and... good-bye.”
Without another word, not waiting a moment longer to hear them say anything in objection, Trader headed toward the front door. There, waiting for him, his saddlebag was where he had left it. Already filled with his meager belongings, he was able to strap it to himself easily and head out the door, ignoring the pangs of regret that stabbed into his chest.
The sky outside was still a beautiful shade of blue, the sun shining as brightly as it could. Trader payed it little mind as his own gaze drifted downward, following the short grass as it extended outward. As he walked away, he spared no moment to look back, he couldn't look back. All he did was continue moving forward, trying as best he could to keep his thoughts on what was set in front of him, and not on what was at his back.
It wasn't until he heard his name being called did he stop. The frantic, sad voice grew until Applebloom rushed toward him. The little filly's face was a contrasting expression of frustration and sadness, eyes continuously shifting from a furrowed glare to a desperate plea.
“Please, Trader, don't go!” Applebloom begged, grabbed onto his foreleg as if to pull him back toward her home.
The stallion pulled his leg away from her. “Applebloom, don't,” he murmured. “I've already made up my mind. You were just fine before I ever came here, and you'll be better off after I've left.” This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid.
But now, the filly only shook her head stubbornly, furious tears building in the corners of her eyes. “No, no, no!” she said. “Ah thought you liked it here? And we liked havin' ya! You just don't up and leave ponies who are like family to ya! If it's 'cause of Applejack bein' mad at ya, w-we can go and see her, make her know that-”
“It's not just about Applejack,” Trader quickly said. “It's- You just... You just wouldn't understand, Applebloom. I can't stay here, it's for the best.”
“Well Ah won't let you leave!” Applebloom shouted. “Ah'll follow ya if Ah have to, and keep you here!”
Heaving a light sigh, Trader looked the filly in the eyes and shook his head. “No, Applebloom, you won't.” Wings unfurling, the pegasus took off into the air, leaving her alone to watch as he disappeared within a blanket of clouds.
Deep within the more secluded parts of Sweet Apple Acres, a small tree holding up a smaller building stood alone in a clearing. Inside, a determined Applebloom paced back and forth as her friends watched her expectantly. Several minutes passed with the yellow-coated filly holding the same look, barely noticing who was with her.
“Okay, so... why did you call us here, Applebloom?” Scootaloo asked, looking about as bored and annoyed as one would expect.
“Yeah, I was busy working on my stitching,” Sweetie Belle said, reminding her friend of her previous task before being ushered away.
“Crusaders, we have an emergency!” Applebloom finally said, stopping in her tracks to eye the two. “Trader is leavin' Ponyville!”
Looks of excitement soon appeared as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle smiled. “Oh, where is he going?” the young unicorn questioned.
Scootaloo nodded her head, understanding where her friend was going.“Yeah, we can ask him to bring us back something cool!” she cheered.
“No, he ain't goin' on a trip,” Applebloom snapped. “He's leavin' and not comin' back!”
At that, the two fillies gaped at the bow-wearing filly wordlessly, it taking a few moments for the shock to fully register.
“He's leaving?” Sweetie Belle asked aloud. “But why? He tells such fun stories.”
“I like him too!” Scootaloo added in. “He's like the third greatest pegasus ever!”
Sweetie Belle paused for a moment and turned to her friend questioningly. “I thought he was the fifth?”
“Well, I... moved him up.”
“Girls, that's not the point!” Applebloom shouted. “Ah think somethin' happened between him and Applejack. Now she's mad at him and he thinks he has to leave. We need to figure out a plan to stop him before he goes away forever.”
The clubhouse fell silent as the three fillies sat still and tried to think of a plan. Hooves were raised to their chins, eyes distant in expressions of deep thought. Scootaloo's small wings buzzed and flapped in irritation, while Sweetie Belle absently nibbled on her lower lip. The sound of tapping soon filled the room as Applebloom struck her other hoof against the floor repeatedly, getting a simple rhythm down.
“I've got it!” Scootaloo shouted, startling the other two fillies as she jumped into the air giddily. “What if we take one of Applejack's ropes, tie up Trader, and leave him here in the clubhouse? That way we'll have plenty of time to think of a better plan!”
For a brief moment, the other two fillies were silent, considering the idea. It was quickly broken as Sweetie Belle murmured, “Um... I think we'd get in a lot of trouble for that...”
“She's right,” Applebloom said with a nod. “But we should save that plan anyway. Just so we have somethin' to fall back on in case we can't think of anything else.”
With a prideful smile, Scootaloo returned to her previous demeanor. Soon after, the others joined her as they continued to think. But more time was wasted as it ticked by ceaselessly. Mind a complete blank, Applebloom fell down onto her back, staring up at the ceiling as she slowly began grinding her teeth in aggravation.
“Ooo, I think I have an idea,” Sweetie Belle chimed. All eyes were soon on her as the little filly sat there ready to explain. “Well, he's leaving because Applejack is mad at him, right? So, if we made it where she's not mad at him anymore, then that'll fix everything.”
“But how do we not make her mad?” Scootaloo pointed out. “We can't just ask her. She'd ruin it.”
“We can ask Rarity,” Sweetie Belle continued. “She's a big sister, so she knows a whole lot. I bet she could find a way.”
Having listened to the idea intently, Applebloom slowly nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah... Ah bet that could work!” Jumping up onto her four hooves, the little filly bolted toward the door. “Come on, Cutie Mark Crusaders! Let's go find Rarity!”
With just a few more taps of her hammer, Applejack stepped back and examined her work. The satisfaction of a job well done coursed through her for a brief moment, the tool in her mouth being dropped alongside the others. Around her, the absent clucking of their chickens continued unabated, the feathery creatures none the wiser of what their owner had done for them.
Thanks to the farmpony, the door to the chicken coop was no longer broken, allowing the poultry to come and go as they pleased. It made the accomplishment all the sweeter for her as she understood her own ability. Fixing things wasn't her strong suit, it being what Big Mac usually did. But with him still recovering, it was up to her to get such things done. Not that she complained, finding a bit of joy from doing the simple task, as well as wanting as much work in order to keep her mind off of things.
But the task was done, leaving the mare to pick up the tools around her and put them back in their proper place. Gathering them up, she took the toolbox back toward the barn. As she walked by, her eyes couldn't help but drift toward the front door of her home, brow furrowing once again. Grunting in annoyance, the mare shook her head, nearly tossing the tools aside, and continued what she was doing.
Not a few seconds after Applejack had put the tools away did the orange-coated earth pony hear the tell-tale swooshing sounds of a fast-flying pegasus. A frown formed on her face as she heard them coming closer toward her, having an idea as to who it was. As she turned to spot the source of it, she was surprised as she saw her cyan friend.
“Rainbow Dash? What are you doin' here?” she asked as the weathermare flew into the barn.
“Hey, Applejack,” the mare greeted. “Do you know where Trader is? I flew a lap around the farm but I didn't spot him.”
Applejack felt her muscles in her jaw tense as she looked directly at the pegasus. “Trader? What do you want with him?” she replied, her tone rather curt.
The reaction didn't go unnoticed by Rainbow Dash either. “Um... no reason,” she murmured. “I just thought up of a new flying technique I want to try out. It takes two ponies and I'm already sure that Fluttershy wouldn't be able to handle it.” Nervously scratching the side of her face, the mare continued. “Is... something wrong? You seem a little... angry.”
With a sigh, Applejack merely shook her head, saying, “It's nothin'... And no, Ah don't know where Trader is. If ya haven't seen him around the farm, he might just be inside.”
“Oh, yeah... alright,” the pegasus murmured, looking back toward the house.
Looking ready to head toward that direction, the pony was stopped as Applejack said her name. “Rainbow, Ah wana know somethin'. Do you like Trader?” she asked bluntly, causing the mare to blink in a lapse of surprise.
“W-what?” the cyan-coated mare stammered out. “Like, as in... like? Or...” It took only a single look at Applejack's expression to see what she meant by it. “N-no. I mean, he is a really great guy, and he's a lot of fun sometimes, but we aren't really great for each other that way...” A grin quickly spread across the mare's face. “Besides, I happen to know that he likes somepony else.”
Rainbow Dash nearly burst into a fit of laughter at the look Applejack held as she heard that. “What? Who?” she demanded, only causing her friend to snicker lightly.
“Sorry, can't tell you that,” she replied. “That's his business, you know?”
Applejack huffed indignantly to herself before trotted outside the barn toward her home. “Fine,” she murmured, “keep it to yourself. But if you're lookin' for Trader, then come on to the house.”
“Alright,” the pegasus said as she hovered through the air in the direction her friend was going. Though she didn't say anything, Rainbow Dash's eyes stayed trained onto her friend. Just looking at her, she could see a strange kind of tension. From the way she reacted when she asked about their white-coated friend, she could guess what might be the cause of it.
Stepping into the house, one noticed just how quiet it was. Applebloom and Trader where nowhere to be seen, while Granny Smith and Big Macintosh sat in the living room quietly. The two ponies looked up as they noticed the mares coming in, the silence around them somehow deepening.
“Have you seen Trader anywhere, Granny Smith?” Applejack asked, seemingly unaware of the strange air hovering throughout the room.
The old mare exchanged glances with her grandson before they looked toward Applejack. “Trader's gone...” she murmured. “He's decided to leave Ponyville and find work elsewhere.”
“W-what?” Applejack breathed, her expression an exact replica of what her relatives wore when they had heard the news. Slowly, she began to shake her head, as though in disbelief.
“What do you mean, he's gone?” Rainbow Dash blurted out, her own reaction being a fierce glare. “He just up and left?”
Applejack continued to shake her head, even as she stared at her grandmother. “Ah just saw him the other day!” she shouted. “Now you're tellin' me he's wantin' to leave? When did this happen?!”
There was little in the way of a reaction from the elderly pony. Nothing but a strange look of saddened understanding in her expression. “Ah suppose it was a quick choice,” she replied. “We can't think to know his reasons, but he seemed to have made up his mind about it...”
“You don't even know why he left?!” Rainbow Dash continued to shout. Her jaw was clenched tight as her wings flapped furiously. “Where is that little- I'll get answers out of him!” Before anypony could say a word, the multicolored-manned pegasus bolted out of he house at high speeds, gone within seconds.
Applejack barely noticed her friend's departure. Her eyes were completely empty as she sat on the floor motionless. Mind racing a mile a minute, all she could think of was why her foalhood friend would do such a thing. All she could think of was an old memory she didn't visit often, of the first time she had heard such news. It had been so heart-wrenching for her to hear that her friend was moving away. She realized that things didn't change, even after so many years.
“He's still in Ponyville,” Granny Smith added. “You can see him if you'd like.”
Again, Applejack's eyes blanked as she stared at her grandmother. A long, cruelly silent moment passed before the mare's eyes quickly twisted into a glare. “No,” she said angrily with a defiant shake of her head. “If he doesn't want anythin' to do with us, then Ah won't trouble him any longer! The feelin' might as well be mutual!”
“Applejack, dear, it's not-” Granny Smith tried to say, but Applejack was already leaving. Her anger getting the better of her, the farmpony stormed out of the home.
It didn't take very long for the crusaders to reach Rarity's boutique. Inside, the alabaster unicorn was already tirelessly doing what she did best, making outfits.
Rolls of colorful fabrics floated through the air around her, a pair of scissors cutting specific shapes out of them before being placed on a ponnequin in front of her. A spool of thread hovered nearby her as well, kept aloft by her magic, the needle with her constantly weaved through the pieces of cloth, combining them together to bring her creation to life.
It was clear how driven by inspiration she was, not even noticing as the three fillies entered her shop. They simply sat there and watched her work, trying not to be caught in the path of the oncoming supplies. After several minutes, the makings of a beautiful dress could already be seen on the ponnequin.
Then, the floating fabrics and other dressmaking essentials all slowly fell to the ground. Rarity gave a refreshed breath as she wiped a drop of sweat from her brow. Nearby, a tray with a steaming cup of tea lifted into the air, brought toward the mare as she gingerly took a sip of it.
“Oh yes,” she mumbled to herself. “It's turning out exactly as I've envisioned it. This will certainly be one of my greatest!” Turning around, the mare yelped aloud as she spotted her sister and two friends there, nearly spilling her tea all over the place. “Sweetie Belle? When did all of you get here?”
“Not too long ago,” the little unicorn replied. “But, we were wondering if we could ask you about something.”
Rarity's gaze drifted toward her work for a moment before she returned to her little sister with a smile. “Well, of course, Sweetie Belle. I'm busy with any orders at the moment... Yes, I'd be happy to help with any inquiries you and your friends have.” Giving them her undivided attention, the mare sat in front of them with an expectant look. “Now, what is it that you want to ask?”
“We want to know something about stallions and mares,” Scootaloo said. For some time, the unicorn simply stared at the three fillies. Suddenly, a pinkish tinge appeared on her cheeks as she smiled nervously at them.
“Oh, uh... you want to know things like that?” she murmured. “Well, um... You see...” The crusaders all remained silent themselves as they watched the unicorn's reaction, finding it rather peculiar themselves. But Rarity continued, even if it was slightly flustered. “There comes a time when- No no, that won't do... Well, do you know how, when the seasons change, and summer begins to come, and then we get those days with dreadfully unbearable warmth?”
“What?” Sweetie Belle questioned, giving her sister a strange look. “We just want to know what a stallion could do if you were mad at him, to not make you mad at him anymore.”
Rarity's cheeks turned even darker. “O-oh,” she mumbled meekly. “Uh... well, an apology would go a long way. Though, it is surprising how few ponies think of that these days. Showing their affection with a little gift never hurt.”
Embarrassment having completely left her, the unicorn's eyes batted for a moment as she stared off into nothingness. “Perhaps some chocolates, or even a few sparkling gemstones,” she went on. “Even a lovely bouquet of flowers wouldn't go unnoticed. They'd have it delivered straight to my door... A large vase filled with the most beautiful colors you've ever seen...”
Applebloom gasped as she looked to her friends excitedly. “Flowers, that'd be perfect,” she said. “There are flowers all over Ponyville. And Ah bet Applejack would like 'em.”
“Then we give them to her and say they're from Trader!” Scootaloo added, already on board with the idea.
“We should split up then,” Sweetie Belle said. “Then we can meet up later with what we have.” The three fillies nodded their heads in agreement, hardly noticing that Rarity hadn't stopped, just as she didn't notice them.
“And hidden inside, there would be a little card,” the unicorn rambled on. “It would say, 'to the loveliest mare in Equestria, from your secret admirer...' Of course, we'd both know who it was... But our love would have to remain a secret, him being a prince from a faraway land and all... Sweetie Belle?” Rarity then finally took notice that her sister and friends were long gone.
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Don't know about you, but I happen to think the CMC would make great kidnappers.
Sweetie Belle would distract them with her adorableness, Applebloom would get the rope ready, and Scootaloo would come in with a rag of chloroform.
That moment when Rarity realises she almost gave the Crusaders 'The Talk' prematurely.
4138729 I agree that Sweetie Belle would be the distraction element, but perhaps Applebloom could buck the subject to the ground and Scoots uses the scooter with a rope attached to lasso their subject.
I mean, Sweetie Belle and the rope are constants, but Applebloom and Scootaloo are variables when it comes to kidnapping.
In other news...
YOU JUST HAD TO HAVE ANOTHER CLIFFHANGING CHAPTER BEFORE THE RESOLUTION??? COME ON!!!
4138729
Your theory has a fatal flaw. Their quarry would always escape due to hearing CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: FOALNAPPERS at 200 decibels immediately prior to the attack.
But seriously, are you addicted to cliffhangers? I'm sure there's a support group around here somewhere.
Edit: When did this become featured? How did I miss that?
Applejack and Trader are so stubborn as a mule.
No offense to all mules.
I like it.
Is Trader a mare or a stallion?
the
but all in all it was a great chapter
Shove Trixe and Flim and Glam down the throat of the Aeon Worm.
Never doubt the worm