Daring Do and the Order of the Eagle

by Arkansandragon

Small Talk

"Sorry I'm late, Sugar Cubes!" called Applejack as she entered the room a half-hour later. "It was the strangest darn thing ya ever did see... "

The palomino earth pony shook her head in confusion, adjusting her Stetson hat. "A couple of them royal contractors from the railroad company came up to the house, wantin' to know if they could run new train tracks through our western orchards. They even brought along the paperwork! Granny Smith told 'em straight to rights that we just weren't gonna sell 'em that plot. But they sure seemed mighty keen on layin' down those tracks. So finally, after a bit 'a hagglin', we got a lease out of 'em! With all that money they're willin' ta pay, why we can finally fix Granny's hip, and the roof and plow to boot!"

She beamed proudly at the thought, then continued.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't seem to mind either. It's far enough away from their clubhouse not to be a nuisance, and they can still watch the trains go by. ‘Seem ta think 'Train Watching' might be a good way to get their cutie marks."

"Our little sisters and Scootaloo are still doing their 'crusading' then?" asked Rarity. "But they already have wonderful talents! Sweetie Belle's singing voice is simply marvelous! And from what you've told me of Apple Bloom's work on their clubhouse, it seems clear that she has a flair for carpentry and decoration. As for Scootaloo..." the white unicorn trailed off, twisting a hoof through her wavy indigo mane, unsure of how to describe the pegasus filly.

Rainbow Dash would've answered instantly, but her mouth was too full of popcorn.

Surprisingly, it was soft-spoken Fluttershy who answered Rarity's unvoiced question. "Well, she's very good at doing tricks on her scooter," the yellow pegasus said quietly, "and I bet she'll be even better at those tricks once she learns how to fly properly. But not too high I hope! It can get pretty scary..." she shivered at the thought, ducking her head into her long rose-pink mane.

Spike gave her a sympathetic look and a comforting pat on the shoulder, before heading to the kitchen for more snacks. Unlike most dragons, he was wingless, and just as nervous around heights as Fluttershy.

Twilight Sparkle merely shook her head with a smile as the others continued to discuss the CMCs' latest exploits. It seemed their most recent one had been something involving a cannon, several wheels of cheese, a mini swimming pool, and a bungee cord. Luckily the girls hadn't caused any property damage this time, and so far nopony had needed to worry about injuries.

She sighed, thinking back to the stories of how she and her friends had earned their cutie marks, looking at each in turn. Rainbow Dash's tri-colored lightning bolt, representing her talent for daredevil speed flying. Rarity's three blue diamonds, showcasing her skills at gem finding and artistic design. Applejack's three red apples, taking after the rest of her family in apple farming. Fluttershy's three pink butterflies, matching her gentle nature in the understanding and care of animals. Pinkie Pie's three pastel balloons, which were pretty self-explanatory given how frequent and successful her parties were; and finally Twilight's own mark: a pink-purple six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller white stars that symbolized her powerful talent for using magic.

That train of thought ended with the discussion circling back to just how the Cutie Mark Crusaders expected to earn their namesakes by watching trains go through the orchards all day. But this brought another, more puzzling question to the mare's brain, which she quickly voiced.

"Hey, Applejack? You said those contractors wanted to run tracks through your western fields, right? Didn't you say those orchards were infested with fruit bats? Why would they want to put tracks through there?"

“Huh... Well, I don’t rightly know, Twilight,” said the farm-mare thoughtfully. “I guess I was so excited that I forgot to ask. If I had ta guess though, I’d say it was for them city folk who like takin’ the scenic route when they travel. Most city ponies never see real fruit bats. And they are kinda cute critters, what with them being different fruit colors and all.”

“Not that I don’t mind all the small talk,” interrupted Rainbow as she accepted another bowl of popcorn from Spike, “but shouldn’t we be getting to the story right about now?”

The others turned to stare at her, blinking in surprise. They’d all but forgotten about it!

Twilight quickly pulled out a checklist and quill from under her pillow and called out, “Let’s get started then! Everypony here?”

“Check!” called the girls, and Spike.

“Comfortable pillows?”

“Check!”

“Snacks and refreshments?”

“Check!”

“Extra lights and blankets in case we’re still here after dark?”

“Double check!” said Spike, doing a quick count of the blankets.

“Storybook?”

“Check!”

“Then here we go!” and with that, Twilight opened the the book and began to read.