• Published 23rd Sep 2011
  • 11,134 Views, 77 Comments

Raiders of the Cutie Mark - DJLowrider



The Cutie Mark Crusaders embark on their biggest adventure yet - and possibly their last!

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A Blossoming Apple

Scootaloo was transfixed on the key fragment as she sat between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle who were busily flipping through Zecora's book for clues to the next fragment. She honestly had a hard time believing what she was seeing.

"This is really for real, isn't it?" she asked nopony in particular. "And once we get the other two pieces, we're totally gonna find The Holy Oat Pail! This is the coolest thing in the history of all cool things!"

"We'd probably find it faster if you'd actually do something other than stare at that thing like Fluttershy stared down that cockatrice," Sweetie Belle commented as she nudged Scootaloo with her horn.

"Books and me don't mix," Scootaloo replied matter-of-factly. "If I look at too many words all clumped up together my head starts hurting."

"Wow, try not to sound so proud of yourself for that," Sweetie told her, narrowing her eyes as she spoke.

"If you two're done I could use some help lookin' at this," Apple Bloom told them as she pointed at the book. The page it was open to looked to be nothing more than a list of foodstuff.

"Flour, butter, sugar, milk, cinnamon…" Sweetie Belle said as she began to read the list.

"Did Zecora accidentally leave her shopping list in the book?" Scootaloo asked.

"I don't think so," Apple Bloom said as she thought about the ingredients. "I think it's meant to be another clue, but it don't make much sense."

"I'll say," Sweetie Belle said as she made a face. "Not to mention there's a line missing here," she added, pointing to a blank space between the words "butter" and "sugar".

"I'm telling you, it's probably just a grocery list," Scootaloo said as she flipped to the previous page. She looked even more curiously at this page. "Okay, what gives? There's a bunch of numbers and stuff on the edge of this page. What kind of weirdo book is this?"

"Lemme see," Apple Bloom said, sliding the book over in front of her. "One and one-half cups, two tablespoons, six, one teaspoon…hey, wait a sec!"

Apple Bloom carefully pulled the page back and folded it a bit. Sure enough, the numbers lined up with the items on the list on the next page. The number "six" lined up with the blank line.

"It ain't a grocery list," Apple Bloom said, her eyes widening. "It's a recipe!"

"A recipe for what, though?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well it calls for flour, so…maybe a cake?" Sweetie Belle said as she tried to figure it out. "Or a pie?"

"Pie…" Apple Bloom repeated as she looked over the recipe again. Then it dawned on her. She'd seen a recipe just like this one before at home. "Not just any pie! Apple pie!" she cried.

"So…Sugar Cube Corner then?" Scootaloo asked, which earned her a scathing look from Apple Bloom. "What? Where else are we gonna go for pie?"

"I think that hat may be cutting off circulation to your brain, Scoot," Sweetie Belle told her. "Apple pie? Apples? The next key fragment is at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Oh," Scootaloo said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Yeah. Right. Apples. Lead the way, Apple Bloom!"

The trek to Sweet Apple Acres was considerably longer than the one to Carousel Boutique. The farm truly lived up to the "acres" part of its name in order to accommodate its sprawling apple orchard. It had belonged to the Apple family for countless generations, originally being a gift bestowed upon a family ancestor hundreds of years ago by Princess Celestia for his exceptional service to Equestria. To this day it was a point of contention between the Apple family and the descendants of the founders of Ponyville as to which was older: the town or the farm. One thing was certain, and that was that the Apple family took great pride in their home and had always done their level best to take proper care of the land so graciously given to them by the Princess.

It was a sentiment that Apple Bloom most certainly had in common with her siblings, though secretly her attachment to Sweet Apple Acres wasn't tied primarily to the land itself or even the orchard that dominated its landscape. What she valued most were the tools that were used and buildings that dotted the farm's acreage. After all, to her a farm was only as good as the implements that were used to plant and maintain its crops and the structures that protected their harvests and animals from predators, thieves, or even the elements. Big Macintosh and Applejack didn't completely understand their little sister's preoccupation with things over plants, but they weren't about to tell her she was wrong for it. Besides, in their minds there was always the chance that this was merely a phase for Apple Bloom that she would someday grow out of. In the meantime, it did mean that there was at least one pony on the farm working to make sure things stayed in relatively good working order.

As Apple Bloom led her friends along the road towards the farmhouse, she spotted her older brother in a nearby field struggling with his plow once again. She groaned to herself and hopped the fence to go over and check on him.

"You gals wait here a sec," she called back to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "I'll be right back!"

Apple Bloom heard the two call back to her in acknowledgment and continued running up to Big Macintosh as he strained against the straps connecting his yoke to the plow. His hooves were digging so hard into the ground they were turning up almost as much soil as the plow itself.

"What in tarnation are you doin', Big Macintosh?" she asked as she stopped alongside her massive brother.

"Plowin' th' field, what's it look like?" Big Macintosh replied through gritted teeth.

"Did ya at least sharpen and oil up the plow like I showed you before you started?"

"I've done this job since b'fore y'all were born, Bloom. I don't need no fancy tricks to get it done."

"It's not a trick, it's common sense! A well-kept plow works way better than one that's all dull and crusted with dirt 'n mud."

"My way works, I know that for sure. If it ain't broke, don't fix it I say."

"So you'd rather end up a sweaty, tired mess of sore muscles after a long day's work instead of doin' it in a way that'd be easier and take less time."

"Eeyup."

"I will never understand boys," Apple Bloom said, putting a forehoof to her head. "You go ahead an' finish however you want, but next time you're lettin' me prep the plow for ya, got it?"

"I ain't makin' no promises."

"Got it?" Apple Bloom said it more insistently this time, glaring up at her brother. Big Macintosh had to admit that for being such a small filly, Bloom had at least as much spirit as Applejack did. He cringed to think what she'd be like when she was her sister's age.

"If it'll get ya to leave me alone to finish this, then alright," he told her, which got her to back down enough that he could continue his trudging forward.

"And you make sure you take a good, long bath tonight too," Apple Bloom said as she began making her way back to her friends. "I don't wanna hear Granny Smith goin' on and on 'bout how you smell worse than Winona does after she goes out playin' in the rain."

"By the way," he called out after her, catching her attention before she was out of earshot. "Applejack was lookin' fer ya earlier. Said somethin' 'bout wantin' yer help in the barn."

"I'm a might busy at the moment, ya know," Apple Bloom said, an irritated look on her face now.

Big Macintosh snorted in her direction. "Yeah, well, I don't wanna hear AJ goin' on an' on' 'bout you shirkin' yer duties on the farm again to go runnin' around gallivantin' with yer filly friends."

"Alright, alright, I'll go check with her."

Once reunited with her friends, Apple Bloom continued leading them along towards the farmhouse, which wasn't much further along. Upon arriving, she heard the sounds of her sister cursing up a storm from inside the barn. This didn't bode well, she thought.

"I gotta go check with Applejack here," Apple Bloom said to her friends. "You two can start lookin' around, but try not to make too big a mess 'o things."

"Hey, we're professionals," Scootaloo told her confidently.

"Right," Apple Bloom said skeptically, not entirely believing her Pegasus friend. "And Sweetie Belle? Don't fall down the well again."

"Hey, I resent that!" Sweetie Belle said defensively. "It's not like I fall in there every time I come over!"

"Yeah, only every other time," Scootaloo added with a chuckle. "And you're about due."

Apple Bloom left the two to their bickering and headed to the barn to see what Applejack was having such a fit over. She entered to see her sister struggling to stack numerous bales of hay against one of the walls. So far she had six bales stacked but was clearly already getting winded, not to mention having a difficult time stacking more than three on top of each other.

"There ya are, Apple Bloom," Applejack said, sounding relieved. "I need yer help to get these hay bales stacked up properly so's we've got room for the next harvest."

"I don't mind helpin' sis, but why aren't you usin' the pulley system I rigged up last week?" Apple Bloom asked as she looked up into the barn's rafters. Above them hung a series of ropes and pulleys that Apple Bloom had spent quite some time getting into place and set. She'd intended for them to be used for just such a job as this.

"Shoot, ya know I ain't no good with machines lil' sis," Applejack told her.

"It's not like I'm askin' ya to learn how to use a cash register," Apple Bloom said flatly. "It's a pulley. It's one o' the simplest machines there is. Look, just watch."

Apple Bloom grabbed one end of the rope that was hanging nearby and tied it to a nearby hay bale. She then ran over and grabbed another rope in her teeth, pulling back on it. The heavy bale rose into the air effortlessly. Bloom then secured her current rope to a hook in a nearby post and grabbed another rope. This one moved the bale across the barn and over so it hung above the current stack of bales. Finally, Bloom went back to the rope that was holding the bale in the air and set it free from its hook. The bale dropped squarely on top of the stack without so much as a little wavering from the now four-bale-high tower.

"See?" Apple Bloom said as she walked back over to Applejack, whose jaw was slack in amazement. "There's nothin' to it at all. If I can get a hay bale up there lickety split like that, anypony can."

"I gotta hand it to ya, lil' sis," Applejack said, giving her sister an affectionate nudge on the shoulder. "You got a knack fer figgerin' stuff out like this. Not to mention fixin' stuff up 'round the farm. I reckon we've saved a buncha bits just from you bein' so dang handy."

"It's nothin' special, really," Apple Bloom said, feeling a bit embarrassed by her sister's praise. "Anypony with a lick 'o sense could do this sorta stuff easy."

"Apple Bloom, you've got more sense in one hoof than most ponyfolk got in their whole body," Applejack told her. "You ain't nothin' like me or Big Macintosh. All we know is how things used to get done here on the farm. Down the line, we're gonna need somepony with the smarts and skills to make things better 'round here. I reckon I'd rather it be my own lil' sister than some yahoo we hire from in town."

"Well…maybe…" Apple Bloom said, now even more embarrassed. "I still don't think it's all that big a deal, though."

"Give it some thought at least," Applejack said with a smile as she tussled her sister's mane a bit. "Now lemme take a look at this here pulley thing."

"You want me to show you how to do it one more time?"

"Naw, I reckon I gotta figger it out for mah- now what in the hay is this doin' in the hay?"

Applejack dug into the hay bale in front of her and pulled something out of it. Apple Bloom immediately recognized it as another fragment of the key to the temple of The Colts Templar. She struggled to contain her elation as Applejack set the piece down on the ground between them.

"Looks like one 'o Granny Smith's cast iron trivets," Applejack said, looking curiously at the piece. "Only looks like it's broken."

"Why don'tcha let me take it an' I'll see if I can fix it or somethin'?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Fine by me, just get it on outta the barn," Applejack told her.

"Will do. Do ya need me for anythin' else, big sis?"

"Nah, I reckon I can do this just fine thanks to yer pulley system. Thanks a ton, lil' sis."

Apple Bloom blushed once more from the praise from her sister and rushed back to find her friends with the second piece. She found Scootaloo sitting on the front porch of the house and put the key fragment down next to her.

"That makes two pieces," Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"Oh my gosh this is so cool!" Scootaloo said giddily as she looked at the new key fragment.

"Where's Sweetie Belle? She'll wanna see this too."

"Oh…yeah, about that…" Scootaloo was obviously trying to contain her laughter.

"I'm down here…" the two fillies heard Sweetie Belle call out from the nearby water well.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and hung her head as she walked over to the well's crank to heft Sweetie Belle out of the well. Scootaloo proceeded to roll around on the porch laughing raucously at how the unicorn managed to get herself into the same predicament yet again despite Apple Bloom's earlier warning. Some things would never change.


Next Chapter Preview: Two down and only one more key fragment to go! But the last fragment poses a challenge to get it that the Crusaders aren't sure they can overcome...