My Little Black Ops

by Kaelzoroden

Prelude 2/4

“And then you guys were all like 'AHH!' and I was all 'WAHAH!'” Scootaloo bounced happily along the path back to the acres, a weary Apple Bloom and a freshly-conscious Sweetie Belle in tow.

“Yeah, we know. We were there, remember?” Apple Bloom was getting a little tired of hearing the story. They weren't even back to the hideout yet, and Scoots was already on her second retelling of it; already she was starting to embellish it. Sweetie Belle paused a moment to clunk a hoof against the side of her head, dislodging a piece of dirt from her ear on the side of her face that was now caked in grit from being dragged by Apple Bloom. Smiling, she turned to Scootaloo.

“Sorry, can you say that again? I couldn't hear any of that.”
Apple Bloom just groaned in frustration.

------------------------

By the time they reached the hideout, the sun was starting to set over the horizon and Scootaloo was regretting not taking her scooter. As she started to walk up the ramp, Apple Bloom stopped her.

“Remember how we were havin' a hard time gettin' that piano up when we were been Cutie Mark Crusader lounge musicians?” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded an affirmative. “Well, I got to thinkin' that there had to be a better way. So I built...” Turning, she grabbed a piece of shrub and pulled the hastily placed foliage away. “An elevator!”
It was really more of a pile of scrap wood that had been collected from around the farm, with some similarly scavenged rope rising up and disappearing into the branches above. A smile quickly appeared on Scootaloo's face.

“Awesome! Can we try it out?” She hopped up onto the platform.

“Sure can! Come on Sweetie Belle!” The other two jumped up, and Apple Bloom went to work on where a rope was tied off to the tree from the branches above them. “Now just hang on, I haven't actually tested it for ponies yet, I was using Tom when I was doin' the setup.” Sweetie Belle suddenly looked rather frightened.

“Wait, Tom as in-”
She never got a chance to finish as the platform, calibrated for a certain sedimentary somebody, sprang into the air.
The floor of the observation tower thumped loudly three times, and a small white horn punched through the wood.
“Ow.”

------------------------

Covered in sap and tree leaves (again), the Crusaders sat in the hideout.

“Hey Apple Bloom, think it's cool if we stay over tonight? It's not like we have school tomorrow.” Apple Bloom pondered for a moment, before smiling.

“Yeah, AJ said she was gonna be makin' some apple jam tonight. She gets pretty focused on that; she probably won't notice we're still out here.”

“Awesome! What about you, Sweetie Belle?”

“Rarity has a big order from Canterlot that she needs to have ready soon.” The other crusaders knew by know that Rarity having a big order generally meant that Sweetie Belle could get up to just about whatever she wanted, as long as it didn't interrupt her big sister.

“Then it's settled. CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SLEEPOVER! Do we still have the stuff from last time?” Apple Bloom was already opening a worn looking chest.

“Sleepin' bags, stuff for smores, and that book of scary stories we got from Twilight!” Sweetie Belle cocked an eyebrow at that last one.

“We still have that? How long has that been overdue?” At the blank stares of her friends, she was compelled to explain. “...When were we supposed to bring that book back?”

“...Yer supposed ta bring books back?”

------------------------

In short order, Apple Bloom had a merry fire going in the little ring of stones they had set up as a fire pit a short ways outside the hideout. Scootaloo was already holding a marshmallow on a stick out over the flames, while Sweetie Belle was staring at the marshmallow in front of her with a look that was cow a cockatrice.

“Come... on... stupid... marsh... mallow!” Her horn began to glow, bathing the marshmallow in a matching light. A grin crossing her determined expression, she began to force the marshmallow off the ground and over the fire. For a moment, it actually seemed to be working.
Until the marshmallow began to deform.
“Oh no, not again!” The marshmallow was beginning to spin rapidly in place, and in its semi-solid form was starting to flatten out into a disc. “Scootaloo, open your mouth!” Unsure of her plan but having a decent guess, Scoot opened her mouth wide. A moment later, she flinched as her face was splattered with a white pancake of semi-molten marshmallow. Sweetie Belle smiled sheepishly.
“Well, at least not all of it missed your mouth.”

“Settle down ya'll, I found a good story!” Scootaloo wiped the cooling white glop from her eyes and looked over at Apple Bloom, who had the book open in front of her. “This here's the story of... the Seed Eater!” Sweetie Belle gave her a funny look.

“That doesn't sound scary. What's so bad about eating seeds?”

“Oh, nothin', nothin' at all. It's not even dangerous, as long as you aren't talking about him!” She was starting to get into her stride. “They say he wears a mask made of old cloth and branches, and that he smells like vultures.” Apple Bloom started creeping forward, head kept low to the ground. “You can't even notice him until the leaves are off the trees, and then there he is, sittin' in the branches! His arms and legs are all too long, and they say he just lays there in the branches, slowly wavin' back and forth, acting like he's part of the tree...” Apple Bloom tried to suppress her grin as she leaned back on her hind legs, looking up and slowly waving back and forth, her front hooves held over her head. “And then... he sees ya!” With a quick twitch of her head, she went from looking up to staring at her now quaking friends. Arms held aloft, she began to shuffle forward. “And when he sees you, and hears you talking about him...” All of a sudden Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who had begun clinging to each other partway through, were aware of the fact that somepony or something was breathing on the back of their necks.

“Then he's gonna getcha!”

The two fillies screamed while Apple Bloom burst into a peal of laughter. Stepping towards the campfire and into the flickering light, Applejack smiled at her little sister.
“Shoot, I remember tellin' you that story last summer; you didn't sleep for a week!” Apple Bloom gathered herself up some, wiping her eyes.

“Yeah, good story though. I didn't think I was gonna be able to pull it off without hidin' a scarecrow in a tree like you did, though! Lucky thing you came along!” Applejack grinned.

“I was figurin' on scarin' you too, though. I can't seem to sneak up on you anymore.” She ruffled her sisters mane with a hoof. “Anyway, just came out here to see where the light was comin' from; don't want the trees catchin' fire now. Make sure ya'll get to sleep in decent time. I gotta get back to the jam.” With that she trotted off back towards the house, chuckling to herself. Apple Bloom smiled before turning back to her friends.

“So, does anyone else have a-”
Her friends bedrolls were empty, and she heard the door to the hideout slam shut.
“Wimps.”

------------------------

The next morning saw Pegasi ponies busily covering the sky. Today was scheduled for the almost universally disliked "overcast with periodic showers." To the three little fillies waking up to the sound of rain though, it was downright disappointing.

“How're we gonna get our cutie marks when it's like this! We already tried just about everything with mud, and the things we had planned for today don't work so well in the rain!” Sweetie Belle looked up from where she was drawing a big red X over a crayoned picture of a pony clinging to the underside of a kite, soaring through the clouds. She looked entirely too happy about it.

“Well, what about Cutie Mark Crusader calligraphers?”

“Calligra-what-now?”

“You know, calligraphy! Writing really pretty!” Sweetie grabbed the crayon she had been using and quickly made some lines with broad strokes on the back of the paper. She held it up to the others, grinning around the paper. They squinted as they tried to decipher the lines of loose swirls.

“Uh... yeah. I got nothing. Apple Bloom?” Apple Bloom was looking a little shocked, with a light blush across her features.

“Sweetie, I'm flattered, but I just don't... I'm not... eh... Igottagetadrinkberightback!” Apple Bloom bolted past her friends, and hopped outside. Sweetie Belle spat out the paper, looking a little disappointed.

“Well what were you trying to write?”

“It said 'if you can read this, I got my cutie mark.'” She turned and frowned at her still blank flank. “Nothing.” At that point, the door was thrown open by a now soaked and relieved looking Apple Bloom.

“Is THAT what it said? All right then, never mind!” She trotted back in happily, not seeming to notice that she was soaked. Meanwhile, Scootaloo was staring at one of the remaining maps of Ponyville, and one of her "we're-probably-not-going-to-escape-this-without-being-covered-in-tree-sap" smiles was creeping across her face.

“Well if we can't do something OUTside... We'll just have to do something INside!” She slapped down the map and pointed a hoof at Sugarcube Corner. “It's raining, and everytime it rains Pinkie Pie makes those caramel-filled chocolates!” At the thought of Pinkie's cara-fills, the others licked their lips.

“Great idea! I haven't had those in... well, since the last time we had rain!” Scootaloo grinned at Apple Bloom.

“No no no... you see, we're finally going to figure out Ponyville's greatest secret!” Sweetie Belle gasped.

“You don't mean...”

“I DO mean! Crusaders, today is the day...” Scootaloo reared up, striking a dramatic pose, “The day where we learn how Pinkie Pie gets the caramel into the cara-fills! We're going to figure out the Cara-fill secret!” Settling back down onto her haunches, she looked around at her excited friends. “Now I'm not gonna pretend it's not dangerous. Sugarcube Corner will be swarming with ponies, and Pinkie Pie moves crazy fast. She's been keeping this recipe secret for years! If we can sneak in there and get it, we'll get out cutie marks for sure!” They crusaders looked at each other, before breaking out into a cheer.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS-” they paused as they suddenly realized they didn't know what term to use.

“Spies?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Naw, spies aren't awesome enough.”

“Sneaks?” Apple Bloom volunteered.

“No, something cooler.” Scootaloo suddenly gasped. “I've got it!” She whispered something to the others, before standing back and starting the cheer again.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BLACK OPS!”

Comments

[Kaelzoroden]

Part the second up! Only one more of these setup-type posts before we can start getting into the thick of it.
I have a chunk of 3d modeling and some scripting I need to get done tomorrow, but I'm going to aim for getting the third chunk written and posted sometime tomorrow evening.

[Chuck Norris]

Scootaloo would think of Cutie Mark Crusaders Black Ops. XD

[Kaelzoroden]

Well, the last chunk of the prelude is shaping up to be a bit longer than I was expecting. This ain't going up tonight, I'll work on it more tomorrow.