While the potion sat in the cauldron in Zecora’s Hut and slowly formed a skin over the top, Apple Bloom joined Zecora outside in the bushes. Each had a butterfly net, and were on the watch for Glowasps; the recipe called for the skin to be punctured by a Glowasp’s stinger.
“I cannot help but notice since summer began,” Zecora said quietly to Apple Bloom, “visiting me every day seems to be your plan.”
“I’m kinda lonely,” admitted Apple Bloom. “Remember a few years ago I was all worried about my friends’ hobbies pulling them away from me? Now it’s worse. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are always leaving town. I’ve got even less to do these days. And I ain’t even got work to keep me busy. Applejack doesn't need me much on the farm right now.”
“I find that surprising, considering your brother,” remarked Zecora, “has moved away to be with his significant other.”
“I know,” said Apple Bloom. “You’d think Applejack would need me to pick up the slack… especially since Granny Smith’s mind is…”
*****
Apple Bloom spotted something glowing nearby, and lunged for it with her butterfly net. She missed, but pursued it as it hovered away from the Hut. She wasn’t as small as she used to be, and so couldn’t move as quickly through the overgrown Everfree trees and bushes, but she was catching up to the bright yellow glow. She was careful not to stray too far from the Path Of Least Resistance (as it was now known to Ponyville residents opting to visit Zecora’s Hut or the Castle Of The Two Sisters). She took a running jump off of an old rotting log, and swung her butterfly net.
“Got it!” she exclaimed.
Apple Bloom straightened up, peered into her net, and gasped.
“Well, well, what’s this you’ve caught in the dark?” Zecora asked, walking up to the now rather dirty young earth pony. “Why… I can scarcely believe it… it’s a cutie mark!”
*****
For almost a minute, Apple Bloom and Zecora gazed at the two-dimensional yellow apple sitting in the butterfly net. Apple Bloom didn’t know if she should be excited or glum. As a Cutie Mark Crusader, the discovery of this cutie mark mysteriously floating around the Everfree Forest signaled the beginning of a mission. But Apple Bloom didn’t much fancy tackling this mission on her own. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were both due home soon, though; surely she could wait. The last time her two best friends and fellow CMCs were away, Apple Bloom was approached by an out-of-towner who had a cutie mark conundrum, and couldn’t come up with a solution. This was still eating at her, so the chance to undertake a big task like this alongside Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle was getting her excited. It would of course be several hours from now, so she could still stick around and continue helping Zecora.
Zecora lunged sideways and swung her own net. “Aha! I’ve captured the creature I desire! Thank you Apple Bloom, your assistance I no longer require.”
Given what Apple Bloom had just found, Zecora thought this was just what she’d want to hear. But Apple Bloom’s abrupt retreat towards Ponyville without a farewell greeting suggested otherwise.
*****
“Not that you aren’t welcome here any time,” Starswirl The Bearded said when Apple Bloom showed up at the front doors of Twilight’s Castle, “but why so early in the morning?”
“I was in the Everfree Forest trying to help Zecora catch a Glowasp,” Apple Bloom explained to Starswirl and Stygian, “and instead, I caught this.”
She showed them the flat yellow apple, still glowing in the early morning darkness, sitting in her butterfly net. Starswirl and Stygian were speechless.
“I want to talk to Starlight Glimmer about this,” Apple Bloom went on. “I think this cutie mark might belong to a member of her old cult.”
*****
The sitting room in Twilight’s Castle was well lit, so the cutie mark in Apple Bloom’s butterfly net wasn’t glowing as brightly as it had been outdoors. But upon being woken by Meadowbrook and escorted to the sitting room to meet Apple Bloom, Starlight Glimmer still found it an arresting sight.
“I think you’re right. It might belong to somepony who was in my old cult,” Starlight said, examining the flat yellow apple. “But… I don’t recognise it. It’s been a while since I ran that Village and lorded over the Cutie Mark Vault. I can’t recall anypony who had a cutie mark like this.”
Apple Bloom watched as Starlight continued to gaze at the cutie mark, attempting to remember who might’ve owned it. It was understandable; trying to distinguish ponies who’d been compelled to look alike must be difficult.
“I’ve got an idea,” said Apple Bloom. “Can you swap my cutie mark with this one?”
“Huh?!”
“Let’s see what talent and ability it gives me,” suggested Apple Bloom. “Maybe it’ll jog your memory.”
“Well… okay,” Starlight nodded. “Just… don’t tell Twilight about this. If she finds out I’ve been removing cutie marks again, I’m toast.”
*****
Apple Bloom braced herself; she’d been told that having your cutie mark torn off is painful. It took great effort, but she managed not to yell. The pain was over quickly, but the feeling when the replacement cutie mark was pasted on her flank lingered. It felt weird; partly because when she tried to look at it, the shade of yellow caused it to blend in with her coat. If you were to see her from a distance, you’d think she was a blank flank again.
“Are you alright, Apple Bloom?” asked Starlight.
Apple Bloom considered.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I feel… warm and comfortable.”
Starlight was suspicious at first, but then she had a thought.
“I wonder if that cutie mark belongs to a member of the Apple family.”
“Yeah! Maybe!” Apple Bloom was excited. “I’ll go ask Granny Smith. Maybe her cousin Goldie Delicious will know who’s mark this is.”
She zoomed towards the door.
“Hey! Don’t forget your own cutie mark.”
Apple Bloom halted and looked back to see Starlight magicing her cutie mark into a small glass jar and levitating it towards her.
“Thanks, Starlight,” she smiled, and left the sitting room with the jar.
*****
Hours later, the Sun was up, and a passenger train pulled into Ponyville Station. No sooner had Scootaloo left her coach and stepped onto the platform, she was tackle-hugged.
“I didn’t know you were on this train as well!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “Where were you hiding?”
“Oh, hi Sweetie,” Scootaloo grinned. “Sorry I didn’t see ya. Where’d you get on?”
“Hollow Shades. I went up and down the corridors, but I never saw you,” said Sweetie.
“I might’ve been curled up on my seat,” Scootaloo admitted. “I spent most of the weekend with Bow and Windy, trying to create the ultimate pasta and potato sandwich. We ended up using fried dough instead of sourdough.”
“Wow. I wonder if Rainbow Dash could even get up in the air after eating that,” chuckled Sweetie.
“She still pulled it off. The Wonderbolts Vanhoover Show was great,” Scootaloo smiled. “How about the concert? How’d that go?”
“Not bad,” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “The backstage afterparty was fun. Sapphire Shores give me the ankle bracelet she was wearing on stage.”
Scootaloo glanced down at Sweetie’s hooves; there was no bracelet.
“Yeah, I kinda lost it,” admitted Sweetie Belle. “In the station cafe at Hollow Shades Junction. But oh well. I might be friends with Sapphire Shores, but I’m still not exactly the biggest fan of her music. I’m sure somepony’ll find it; somepony who’s a bigger fan of Sapphire than I am, so can appreciate it better.”
*****
Rarity was taking hers and Sweetie Belle’s luggage to Carousel Boutique, and Scootaloo had been travelling light, so the two of them went straight from the Station to Sweet Apple Acres to see Apple Bloom. When they arrived at the orchard, Sweetie Belle went straight to the CMC clubhouse, while Scootaloo spotted Granny Smith and talked to her.
“Ouch!”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders weren’t too big for this tiny wooden treehouse just yet, but having a horn, Sweetie Belle was always scraping the ceiling lately.
“Maybe we should renovate this old thing this summer,” Sweetie said to herself.
She looked around at the dusty interior, and saw a circle of hoofprints on the floor.
“Oh come on, Apple Bloom,” frowned Sweetie Belle. “Don’t tell me this is all you do when me and Scootaloo aren’t around.”
She heard Scootaloo call her, and stepped outside onto the clubhouse balcony.
“Granny Smith said Apple Bloom hasn’t been home since yesterday evening,” Scootaloo reported. “She went to do some potioneering at Zecora’s.”
*****
So the two of them marched off to the Everfree Forest and followed the Path Of Least Resistance to Zecora’s Hut. Zecora lost no time in informing Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle that Apple Bloom had found a cutie mark floating around the forest last night.
“Somepony’s cutie mark was just flying around?!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “Wow. How could Apple Bloom not have been at Sweet Apple Acres? She must be bursting to tell us about it.”
“I guess she just couldn’t wait,” suggested Scootaloo.
“But where would she be then?” asked Sweetie.
“Starlight’s Village, I bet. That cutie mark she found must belong to somepony from Starlight’s old cult.”
*****
For the second time that day, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were riding the rails. They boarded a stopping train heading north, intending to catch Apple Bloom up at Starlight’s Village. Along the way, the Guard walked along the corridor shouting the name of the train’s next stop.
“Hollow Shades Junction ahead!”
Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin. “Should I look in the Lost & Found at Hollow Shades? See if Sapphire’s ankle bracelet’s there? I know I said I’m not a fan, but that bracelet was still a gift from her.”
“Go ahead,” nodded Scootaloo as the train slowed.
So during the three minute stop at Hollow Shades Junction, Sweetie Belle disembarked for the Lost Property Office. Scootaloo couldn’t see the station building from her window, so when the train started up again, she felt a twinge of panic. It quickly went away when she saw Sweetie Belle racing up the coach corridor towards their seat.
“Did you find the bracelet?” asked Scootaloo.
“No,” replied Sweetie Belle. “I found this.”
And she showed Scootaloo a glass jar containing Apple Bloom’s cutie mark.
In the days when Starlight’s Village was an isolated community, whenever a train called at the halt, it didn’t stick around for long. Nowadays, ponies come and go more often, and the train stops at the end of the line for longer. So when Apple Bloom stepped off the train, she found she had time for a conversation with a passenger boarding.
“Nice to see you again, Apple Bloom,” said Feather Bangs. “I’m taking these apples to my fillyfriend in Las Pegasus. I wouldn’t have met her if it weren’t for you and your friends’ advice. So thanks again.”
Apple Bloom didn’t smile. “I’m just visiting my brother.”
“Great,” smiled Feather Bangs. “You’ve just gotta see the orchard he set up. It’s already huge. And…”
He indicated the baskets of apples he was carrying.
“It produces really tasty apples. Hail Stone’s gonna love these.”
The guard’s whistle blew. Feather Bangs said goodbye to Apple Bloom and climbed aboard the train with his apples. Apple Bloom was leaving the platform before he’d even shut the coach door.
*****
No train would still call directly to Starlight’s Village, as every potential route was too steeply graded and had narrow clearances. So anypony venturing from the halt to the hill overlooking the Village had quite a hike. As Apple Bloom crested the hill, the first thing she saw was a vast sea of apple trees. It was situated alongside one of the rows of cottages making up the entire little town. Since she’d last seen the Village, only one cottage had changed substantially. It now had a barn extension on the back. This was the cottage Apple Bloom headed straight for.
“Apple Bloom!” exclaimed Big Macintosh when his little sister walked into the Cafe. “What a surprise.”
“Can I talk to Sugar Belle?” asked Apple Bloom quickly.
“Oh, uh…” Big Mac was taken aback. “Eeeyup.”
*****
Sugar Belle was putting a tray of gooseberry pies into the oven when her husband came into the kitchen to tell her Apple Bloom was here and wanted a word.
“What happened to you?!” exclaimed Sugar Belle when she saw Apple Bloom. “You’ve got Phlegm’s cutie mark!”
Apple Bloom smiled. “I found it flying around the Everfree Forest. I knew it must belong to someone from Starlight’s old cult.”
“You sure spotted it quick, dear,” said Big Mac, impressed. “I had to squint to see it. I thought she was a blank flank again at first.”
“It was the same with Phlegm,” said Sugar Belle. “He had a yellow coat like Apple Bloom has, and it was hard to see his cutie mark on him as well when he first came to the Village. Probably one of the reasons he wanted to have it taken off in the first place.”
“Since I’ve found it,” said Apple Bloom, “he obviously didn’t get it back when the Cutie Mark Vault was broken open.”
“Yes…” Sugar Belle pondered. “I don’t remember seeing him after everypony got their cutie marks back. I thought he’d just decided to leave the Village after learning that Starlight was a fraud. Several ponies did that; not everypony stayed.”
*****
“What can you tell me about Phlegm?” asked Apple Bloom.
Sugar Belle glanced at the kitchen door, then said to Apple Bloom “He usually hung out with Double Diamond. They’d sometimes read comic books together.”
“Comic books? In a cult village?” asked Big Mac.
“Well, any books we had had to be approved by Starlight, and they usually had titles with words like ‘Alliance’ and ‘Balance Of Power’; anything that encouraged equality,” said Sugar Belle, turning towards the kitchen. “Apple Bloom, maybe you should go talk to Double Diamond about Phlegm. I gotta run. Gotta look after the baking.”
Apple Bloom turned as soon as Sugar Belle left the room. Big Mac followed her out the door.
“Where’s your cutie mark?” he asked.
Apple Bloom didn’t answer. “Where does Double Diamond live?”
Big Mac pointed to a cottage on the other side of the road. “He ain’t home right now, though. He’s gone snowboarding.”
“Okay, I’ll wait,” sighed Apple Bloom.
Big Mac watched as his little sister walked across the road and sat on Double Diamond’s front porch.
“Eeeyup. Still a dedicated Cutie Mark Crusader,” Big Mac grinned to himself, going back into the Cafe.
*****
Although most of the villagers had customized their homes since Starlight was unseated as leader and the equality dogma had been lifted, most cottages retained their narrow windows. So when Apple Bloom, upon sidling around the cottage and checking that the coast was clear, picked up a rock and smashed one of the back windows, she had a tight squeeze infiltrating Double Diamond’s house. Straight away, she spotted a shelf full of books. She pulled several down and rifled through them. If it was an ordinary wordy book, she tossed it aside at once. If it was a comic book, she went straight for the final page and then tossed it aside… until she found a comic book with a blank page. Blank accept for some miniscule writing, which Apple Bloom quickly deciphered.
“Take a closer look,” she recited, “to join the adventure in this book.”
*****
Apple Bloom hadn’t looked at the title of the comic book, but upon being sucked into the story’s environment, it didn’t take her long to figure out its premise. She was wearing a ragged frock and holding a tarnished stuffed animal. She was standing in an airfield. Nearby was a large flying fortress. And from a hatch on the bottom, a mare in a lab coat appeared to be trying to climb down but got stuck halfway.
“I could use a hoof here,” Apple Bloom could hear her saying.
Apple Bloom walked away from the airfield and climbed over a fence. Loitering on the outskirts of the airfield were three giant slugs with machine guns on their eyestalks. They took no notice of Apple Bloom in her dirty clothes. It was clear that the story of the enchanted comic would not commence until somepony helped the scientist out of the flying fortress hatch. Apple Bloom ambled away from the giant slugs, and began her quest to find the pony Sugar Belle had described, and take his place.
*****
The quest was over before it could even begin. All of a sudden, two of the giant slugs charged through the fence and slithered into the airfield. One of them aimed its eyestalks at Apple Bloom, who jumped the fence to avoid the machine gun fire. As she ran, she could hear the scientist’s voice, a lot clearer now, shouting.
“They’re attacking! If only the Sergeant Major had met me here like we’d agreed!”
Somepony’s yanked her out of the hatch and started the mission! thought Apple Bloom, alarmed.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, wearing similar outfits to Apple Bloom, jumped her.
“Bookmark!” they shouted, each clinging to one of Apple Bloom’s hooves.
*****
The three Cutie Mark Crusaders were ejected from the enchanted comic book and tumbled into Double Diamond’s living room. Apple Bloom spied a familiar glass jar sitting on the coffee table.
“You brought by cutie mark back?!” she shrieked as she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle stood up.
“Come on, Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo. “We’ve gotta get that cutie mark off of you. It’s messing with your…”
“Intruders!”
The Crusaders turned to the front hall in time to see a snowboard come flying at them. They ducked. The snowboard flew over their heads and hit the coffee table. The jar fell off and broke apart. Apple Bloom’s cutie mark flew out and began hovering around the room.
“Wait. You’re the CMCs,” Double Diamond blinked. “What are…?”
Apple Bloom leapt up, pushed Double Diamond aside, and ran down the hall toward the front door. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were alarmed to see Apple Bloom’s cutie mark sail out of the broken window.
*****
Apple Bloom burst out into the street and turned to flee the Village. But she bumped into Night Glider and Party Favour, who were sharing a bag of nacho chips.
“Hi, Apple…!”
Apple Bloom turned tail and ran the other way up the street, towards the tree that stood where Starlight’s cottage used to be.
“What’s she doing?” wondered Night Glider.
“I think she’s trying to find her cutie mark,” said Party Favour, looking towards the sky. “Look.”
Night Glider looked up and saw a two-dimensional purple and red shield floating around above the Village rooftops.
“Get that cutie mark!” shouted Scootaloo, storming out of Double Diamond’s front door and taking to the air.
“I’m coming!” shouted Night Glider, taking off. “I’ll catch it!”
She dumped out the nacho bag as she flew upwards, and held it open as she joined Scootaloo’s chase.
*****
Now Sweetie Belle ran out onto the street.
“Apple Bloom, wait!” she shouted a she ran after her. “You’re not right in the head! You need your own cutie mark! Come back!”
Party Favour quickly blew up several long balloons, created a balloon snake, and let go of the tail. Air shot out, launching the balloon snake up the road. It rocketed past Sweetie Belle and scooped up Apple Bloom, then coiled around the tree, pinning her to it.
“Thanks, Party Favour!” Sweetie called.
She ran towards the trapped Apple Bloom. Scootaloo swooped down and joined her.
“But her cutie mark!” Sweetie exclaimed.
“Night Glider’ll get it,” insisted Scootaloo. “She’s way faster than me. Come on. We gotta try to snap Apple Bloom back to her senses.”
*****
It was going to be difficult.
“Let me go!” demanded Apple Bloom. “I’m trapped enough as it is!”
“That’s not you talking,” insisted Scootaloo. “That’s whoever owns that cutie mark you’re wearing talking.”
“We can help you find him,” said Sweetie Belle, “but you need your own cutie mark back first.”
“I’m just as trapped in my own cutie mark as this one!” barked Apple Bloom, squirming and struggling. “I’m fed up with being the only serious Cutie Mark Crusader! I’m sick of you two always abandoning me!”
“You said,” said Scootaloo, “you have plenty to do whenever we’re not around.”
“Yeah. You told us you always go to Zecora’s and mix potions,” said Sweetie.
“I only do potions when I’m bored or depressed!” grunted Apple Bloom, still straining against the balloon snake. “And guess how many times I’ve been to Zecora’s this week! I’m fed up! I want out!”
“If you feel this horrible,” said Sweetie Belle, “imagine how the pony who owns that cutie mark feels.”
Apple Bloom stopped struggling.
“Wouldn’t it be great to find him and help him?” asked Scootaloo. “To try and make that desperation and anxiety go away?”
*****
“I’ve got it!” they heard Night Glider call.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned to see Night Glider flying towards them, holding the chip bag aloft and clamping it shut with her hooves.
“Watch out!” shouted Party Favour, pointing to the tree.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned to see Apple Bloom biting the balloon snake. The punctured balloon uncoiled the snake, which whipped around the tree. Everypony ducked. Night Glider took a whack across the face, and she dropped the chip bag. Sweetie Belle quickly straightened up, and used her magic to grab the chip bag and send it hurtling at Apple Bloom. It collided with her flank. There was a flash of light. The yellow apple was no longer on Apple Bloom’s flank, and in its place was…
“A nacho chip?” Scootaloo chuckled.
Sweetie Belle flicked the chip off, and there was Apple Bloom’s own cutie mark.
*****
Apple Bloom just stood there, her face going red.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” smiled Sweetie Belle.
“This was such a stupid idea,” muttered Apple Bloom, not making eye contact with her fellow Crusaders. “I should’ve known that cutie mark’s owner would be desperate and uncaring.”
She straightened up.
“You two are right. We should find Phlegm and help him…”
“Phlegm? That’s his name?” asked Scootaloo.
“Yeah. Sugar Belle told me about him,” said Apple Bloom. “He…”
“It’s called ‘Slugs With Shells,” said Double Diamond to the Crusaders. “The story is of pony-kind vs giant cyborg mollusks. Me and Phlegm have gone through it quite a few times. You get ejected from it once you fail or complete the story mission, just like any enchanted comic.”
“If he’s done it before, it looks like he’s not gonna lose the game,” Sweetie Belle frowned.
“How long does it take to finish?” asked Scootaloo.
“It depends,” shrugged Double Diamond. “We never really kept time in the cult days. We mostly just did whatever we did outta boredom. We never admitted that, though.”
“Well Phlegm might try and drag out the mission as much as he can,” said Apple Bloom, “but there’s no way he can stay in there forever, now that you two started the mission. In the meantime, we’ve just gotta keep watch over this comic.”
“Go ahead and take it with you, then,” offered Double Diamond. “And don’t worry about the window.”
“Thanks.”
*****
Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle were happy to accommodate the Cutie Mark Crusaders while they waited for the enchanted copy of “Slugs With Shells” to spit out the pony who owned the cutie mark that now sat in a jam jar on the Cafe table next to the comic. Customers came and went while Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle sat and waited for the enchanted comic book to reintroduce Phlegm to reality. One of the customers, Apple Bloom was surprised to see.
“That was a quick visit,” she remarked.
“Yeah, my fillyfriend’s pretty busy,” said Feather Bangs. “I told her about how quiet and slow things are here, and she says she’ll consider leaving Las Pegasus and move in with me.”
“What does she do in Las Pegasus that keeps her so busy?” asked Sugar Belle, as Feather Bangs selected a chocolate glazed donut from the display case.
“She runs an all-you-can-eat buffet,” Feather Bangs answered while he paid for his donut. “She says she’s thinking of selling it, moving here, and opening a smaller buffet. I told her I’d be okay if she wanted to renovate my cottage.”
*****
As Feather Bangs left the Cafe with his snack, Sweetie Belle saw a sour expression cross Sugar Belle’s face.
“You’re not too keen on having competition here in the Village, are you?” Sweetie suggested.
Sugar Belle tried to behave like she wasn’t bothered, but then decided not to try and hide it now that Sweetie had called her out.
“I’ll tell you why I ended up in this Village in the first place. It’s because I felt redundant. Lots of ponies I knew were good at the same thing as me. I did miss it, though, when I gave it up and ran away to here and Starlight removed my cutie mark. Now that I’ve got it back, I’ve had fun baking… but… if there’s another pony in town who can do what I do… I don’t…”
“Well, speaking of being redundant,” Scootaloo interrupted, “does a small town like this need another restaurant?”
Sugar Belle’s frown faded a little. “Good point.”
*****
Nothing more was said for a few hours, apart from exchanges between Sugar Belle and various customers. Big Macintosh came into the Cafe having been working in the Orchard all morning.
“Eeeyup. They’re all still at it,” he observed. “Listen, ladies. Y’all needn't be cooped up in here at once. Why not take shifts?”
“Okay,” said Scootaloo. “I guess I’ll go get some exercise.”
“Me too,” said Sweetie Belle. “I could use some fresh air. Is that alright with you, Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow.
“Uh, we’re not leaving because we’ve lost interest in our quest,” said Sweetie hastily.
“I understand,” Apple Bloom smiled. “It ain’t much of an outing, just staring at a closed comic book.”
Once outside, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle instantly found something to do. Scootaloo saw that Double Diamond was heading for the mountains with his ski gear, and asked if she could go with him and watch. Sweetie Belle saw Night Glider spinning the clouds in the sky like tops, so she climbed the tree at the end of the road to get a good view.
*****
Up on the snowy slope, Double Diamond was soon skiing down, with Scootaloo gliding behind him. She had to beat her wings quite hard to keep up, and she took a fair amount of snow to the face, but she enjoyed watching him race down the mountain.
“Woo! What a ride!” Double Diamond bellowed when he reached the bottom.
Scootaloo agreed. Double Diamond started to climb the slope again, but stopped when he saw Scootaloo wasn’t following him.
“Oh, do you need a rest?” he asked.
“No, I’m fine,” said Scootaloo.
“Uh, are you heading back to town?” asked Double Diamond.
“No, I think this time, I’ll watch you come down,” Scootaloo replied.
Double Diamond turned back.
“Kinda not a good idea,” he told Scootaloo. “I’ll crash into ya.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Do you have confidence issues?”
“I’ve got target fixation,” Double Diamond confided. “If I’m going down a hill and there’s something in my way… or someone… I lock in and run straight into them.”
“Is that why you started wishing you didn’t have your cutie mark?” asked Scootaloo.
Double Diamond nodded. “I always went for hills with no obstructions. Friends and family always asked me why I couldn’t navigate a snowy hill with moguls and flags and stuff when my cutie mark says I can. I was never able to compete, and nopony would let me hear the end of it.”
*****
“Sorry if this is a personal question,” said Scootaloo.
“Nah, don’t worry about it,” insisted Double Diamond. “You are a Cutie Mark Crusader. And ponies in the Village have said they’ve wanted to watch me ski and board and sled and stuff. And I’ve always had to warn them that they’ll get flattened.”
Scootaloo pondered. “What if there were targets on the slope that you’re supposed to hit?”
“Huh?”
“At the Wonderbolts’ last big event,” said Scootaloo, “they flew through an obstacle course. Some of the things on the course, they were supposed to avoid. But some things, they were supposed to fly right through. Large hoops mostly.”
She looked up at the snowy hill.
“Let’s try something. We’ll make some snowmares on the hill,” suggested Scootaloo. “Then once we get to the top, you try and run over as many snowmares on the slope as you can. And I’ll watch from the sidelines.”
Double Diamond groaned.
“Look, if you look like you’re gonna run into me, I’ll just fly out of the way,” Scootaloo insisted.
*****
Sweetie Belle had a good view from the top of the tree at the end of the road. Not just of Night Glider spinning all the clouds in the sky above the Village, but also of Big Mac digging a hole in the yard behind the barn extension to Sugar Belle’s Cafe. But Night Glider’s aerobatics were a far more arresting sight.
“Great job, Night Glider!” she called as she watched Night Glider zoom around the sky, creating a draft to keep every cloud above the Village spinning faster and faster. “You’re Wonderbolt material, you know!”
Night Glider flew straight down to Sweetie Belle’s perch.
“Please don’t,” she grimaced. “I came to this Village to avoid ponies saying that to me. I don’t need to be a Wonderbolt to know I’m a good flyer.”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Okay.”
Night Glider’s face relaxed a little, and she went back to the spinning clouds. Soon, the clouds were creating their own drafts, and so they kept each other spinning around. Night Glider, low on energy by now, returned to the top of the tree and joined Sweetie in watching the show. Sweetie Belle could see other ponies down in the Village street enjoying the spectacle, but said nothing about this audience to Night Glider.
“I wish my old friends in Fillydelphia were as understanding as you,” Night Glider said to Sweetie.
*****
Big Mac deliberately finished his last chore of the day as quickly as possible and returned to the Cafe. He offered to watch over the enchanted comic book Phlegm was hiding in so that Apple Bloom could go outside and break the monotony as well. Apple Bloom didn’t object. Anyone would think snakes were the easiest balloon animals to make, but when Apple Bloom stepped out into the street and spotted Party Favour, he made it look challenging. She happily joined the small group of villagers (the ones who weren’t watching Night Glider’s spinning clouds) watching him make boa constrictors, adders, mambas, cottonmouths, and pythons, using more than one balloon for each snake.
“Really impressive,” said Apple Bloom when Party Favour rounded out his little show with a balloon cobra.
“Thanks,” said Party Favour. “Snakes were the first balloon animals my brother taught me to make.”
“Your brother?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Yeah. It was thanks to him that I got my cutie mark.”
Apple Bloom remembered how Skedaddle taught Kettle Corn how to write haikus, and she got her cutie mark for it, but he never did. She could tell by Party Favour’s slackening smile that his brother might have gone through something similar.
*****
The other villagers who’d been watching were venturing off to go about their own business or to watch the spinning clouds, but Apple Bloom decided to stay and press the issue.
“Did your brother love making balloon animals as much as you do?”
“More. Bend Twist definitely loved it more than me. But for some reason, he never got his cutie mark for it. He said…” Party Favour frowned. “He said I stole his destiny from him.”
“Oh, well he’s wrong,” Apple Boom said abruptly. “I mean, no offense, but the only way to take someone’s destiny is to swap their cutie marks. Trust me, I know. It ain’t your fault you…”
“Actually, it kind of is,” interrupted Party Favour. “It was because of me that my brother ended up getting a cutie mark he hates.”
Apple Bloom gulped; she was starting to regret pressing the subject.
*****
“Our cousin, Teak, and his mom came to Tall Tale to visit us one day. Bend Twist didn’t like Teak; when he was a yearling and came for a visit, he’d flushed Bend Twist’s goldfish down the toilet. But Teak had grown since then and was much better behaved. But Bend Twist was still nervous. Especially since he had another goldfish in a bowl in the living room. Then at one point, Bend heard a toilet flush and came sprinting into the room. He didn’t see the goldfish in its bowl, and he ran shouting down into the basement. He started tampering with the plumbing pipework, frantically trying to get the fish to go into a basin. When he finished, the fish did come out… but it was dead. See, Teak and I had seen that the fish was dead in its bowl, and Teak was scared that Bend Twist might think it was because of something he’d done.”
“So he panicked and took the dead fish from its bowl and flushed it down the toilet?” asked Apple Bloom.
“No,” said Party Favour glumly. “I did. So it’s really my fault, because after me and Teak told him what we’d seen and done, we all realised that Bend Twist had a cutie mark. Bent pipes. And that’s how my brother got into plumbing… which he hated.”
*****
Apple Bloom scratched her head. “So Bend Twist got his cutie mark after fiddling with a bunch of pipes to try and save his pet?”
Party Favour nodded. “I should’ve just let him see it dead in the bowl himself. I could’ve vouched for Teak. Instead, I wrecked his future.”
“Did Bend Twist have any other pets?” asked Apple Bloom.
“He had a grey parrot, but after it died, he never wanted another pet. Or maybe he did. But he lost all his trust. In Teak and me,” frowned Party Favour.
“Oh. That’s too bad,” sighed Apple Bloom. “I’ll bet he’d be happy with a hamster or a gerbil.”
Party Favour’s eyes popped. “That’s it! Apple Bloom, you’re a genius!”
He hugged Apple Bloom in a fit of delight.
“I’m gonna write him a let…”
His excitement faltered. Apple Bloom smiled.
“Come with me to Sugar Belle’s Cafe. I’ll join you while you write your letter to your brother,” she offered.
“I haven’t been in touch with Bend Twist since we were in secondary school,” Party Favour gulped.
“Come on,” Apple Bloom insisted. “I’ll join ya. I want to write a letter too.”
*****
Evening came. Scootaloo and Party Favour were returning home, and Sweetie Belle and Night Glider were climbing down from the tree now that the momentum of the spinning clouds had died.
“What’s Apple Bloom doing?” asked Scootaloo.
“I think she’s helping Party Favour write a letter to somepony he hasn’t seen in years,” answered Sweetie Belle. “Let’s go see.”
They joined Apple Bloom and Party Favour at their table outside Sugar Belle’s Cafe. Party Favour told them he was going to reach out to his brother in Tall Tale, and Apple Bloom said she was writing to her sister and grandma in Ponyville.
“What about?” asked Scootaloo.
“I want to spend the whole summer here,” said Apple Bloom bluntly.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared.
“There are lots of ponies in this Village who are still struggling to understand and connect with their cutie marks and what they mean,” Apple Bloom went on. “There are more ponies here than Phlegm who need Cutie Mark Crusader help. I’ve already asked Big Mac and Sugar Belle if it’s okay if I stay with them all summer, and they don’t mind. Big Mac’s keeping an eye on the comic by the way.”
“That’s good,” said Sweetie.
“Now I just gotta ask Applejack and Granny Smith if they want me back home,” said Apple Bloom.
*****
Scootaloo joined Apple Bloom and Party Favour at their table and helped herself to a blank piece of paper. “I’ll write home and ask if I can join you.”
“Me too,” said Sweetie Belle, sitting down and picking up a quill.
Apple Bloom sighed. “You don’t have to stay here just because I want to, you know. Sure, we still gotta wait for Phlegm to come out so we can help him, but after that…”
Scootaloo told Apple Bloom about Double Diamond, and Sweetie Belle about Night Glider. They were all in agreement about ponies in Starlight’s Village trying to reconnect with their cutie marks.
“Well I guess you two have a better chance of getting permission to stay here all summer,” sighed Apple Bloom. “Applejack’s probably gonna need my help at Sweet Apple Acres soon.”
Applejack heard screaming and ran across Sweet Apple Acres towards the sound.
“It ain’t even been an hour!” she grumbled pessimistically.
She soon found the spot where she’d shown Coco Pommel what to do. It seemed the inexperienced Manehattanite had already come a cropper. Applejack was expecting to find Coco lying on the ground next to an apple tree clutching a bruised leg. She was surprised and concerned to see one of Coco’s hind hooves wedged in the trunk of a Macintosh tree.
“I bucked this tree, and it bit me!” wailed Coco. “And it won’t let go!”
Applejack zipped towards the tree to examine the trunk.
“Granny!” she called. “How did your false teeth end up in this here tree?!”
*****
Granny Smith had no excuse. And after she assisted Applejack in dislodging Coco’s leg and bandaging the injury, she had no helpful suggestions for a substitute applebucking assistant.
“We still have Apple Bloom.”
“No, we don’t,” sighed Applejack. “She’s with her Crusader friends in Starlight’s Village. And I really don’t wanna call her back. It just don’t feel right. She made a good point about them villagers.”
“How about Big Mac, then?”
Applejack finally lost patience, and didn’t bother telling Granny Smith (for the umpteenth time) that Big Mac got married and moved away a year ago.
“Everypony’s so busy these days,” she grumbled. “Twilight and Spike are interviewing prospects for castle guards to back up the Pillars, Starlight’s gone on tour with Trixie, Rarity’s running four shops…”
“With a fifth one the way,” put in Coco, reclining in her seat with her injured leg propped up on a stool.
“Yeah. Then there’s Dash at the Wonderbolts compound,” Applejack went on. “And Fluttershy’s got something going on with Discord.”
She caught Coco’s curious expression.
“I didn’t ask,” she said hastily. “I don’t wanna know.”
Coco nodded. “And Pinkie Pie?”
“Her alligator’s like fifteen feet long by now. And when ya throw in Ponytones concerts and Buckball tournaments, there ain’t no way I’m gonna get any back-up any time soon. Heck, even Grand Pear’s still got family in Vanhoover to visit.”
*****
For the rest of her stay in Ponyville, Coco Pommel would be assisting Granny Smith with inspection and culinary use of apples… ostensibly, anyway.
“Keep her outta trouble, will ya?” pleaded Applejack privately.
Coco promised to do her best. And so, yet again, Applejack was left with most of the applebucking work to do alone. She was already exhausted well before it was time for her midday break. When at last that time came, Applejack dropped where she was and fell asleep. She ended up oversleeping. It was a pity Queen Luna wasn’t often around during the day, as the nightmare fueled by stress and exhaustion would have considered her a welcome visitor. In her nightmare, the Flim Flam brothers had come to take advantage of Applejack's exhaustion and Granny Smith’s senility, and take over Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack could only watch the regime change helplessly, squirming to stand up from a pile of autumn leaves, while Flim and Flam bucked apple trees around her. Applejack woke with a start, sweating, panting, and alarmed to see that Flim and Flam really were in the orchard and bucking apple trees.
*****
“You two ain’t welcome here!”
Unlike in her bad dream, Applejack was able to stand up; albeit not very spryly.
“No need for alarm,” smiled Flim. “We have every intention of paying for these.”
Applejack growled at the sight of the loaded basket of apples Flam was levitating.
“Get off my property!” she snarled. “You two are the last thing I need right now!”
“So you don’t need assistance?” Flam sneered. “You insist on doing all the hard work on this farm in your own?”
Out came the rope.
“I don’t know about you, brother of mine,” Flim said as he and Flam were dragged away from the orchard, “but I had a grand old time bucking apples.”
“Agreement. Makes a nice change,” said Flam, trying to rearrange the noose so it wasn’t squeezing his ribs too tightly. “And I’ll guarantee we wouldn’t be the only ponies who think so.”
“Makes sense to me,” Flim grinned. “City folk would deem it quite a novelty to come up here and make believe they’re farmers.”
“Not to mention how fulfilling they’ll find gathering their own food straight from the source,” went on Flam, who was still levitating the basket of apples they’d procured.
Applejack summoned a burst of energy and tossed the brothers over the fence. She then sat by the front gate to catch her breath. A bag of money was thrown over the fence. Applejack looked back. Flim and Flam were nowhere in sight.
*****
“You want to try an idea the Flim Flam Brothers gave you?” asked Coco Pommel that evening. “I thought they were your mortal enemies.”
“I can’t keep up doing all the work on my own,” admitted Applejack. “And they weren’t wrong about city-slickers wanting to have a crack at farm life. I told y’all about Trender Hoof, right?”
Coco nodded.
“So there’s gotta be others,” said Applejack. “So can y’all help me advertise Buck Your Own Apples?”
“Of course,” smiled Coco. “It’s probably the best I can do on this farm with an injured leg.”
*****
Barely an hour after the first sign advertising Buck Your Own Apples went up, Sweet Apple Acres got its first customer, in the form of Cranky Doodle Donkey.
“I never knew any donkeys who were farmers,” he said as he paid Applejack. “Thought I’d see if I’m any good at it.”
Cranky was the only one who took advantage of Buck Your Own Apples that day, and he did reasonably well, walking away with three baskets of galas. But the next day, there was no question that the idea was catching on. More and more Equestrian citizens paid to venture into the orchard and gather their own produce. Applejack was still going around bucking apple trees, but not nearly as much at this point. Coco Pommel was managing the punters, who were having a fun time experiencing farm pony life. It was a tremendous weight off of Applejack’s shoulders.
*****
But it wasn’t long before the novelty started to wear off. A lot of ponies who’d never even seen apple trees did find it a nice change of pace, but soon came to the conclusion that farm life was only enjoyable to them in short bursts. Others simply wanted to get their food directly from the source and leave. Applejack wouldn’t have minded that the Buck Your Own Apples activity was tapering off, as she’d intended to do her own chores regardless of how many customers she had. But Coco Pommel was due back in Manehattan soon, and without somepony to manage the punters…
“I could do it,” offered Granny Smith.
Without somepony to manage the punters, Applejack knew Buck Your Own Apples couldn’t carry on. And so she stopped advertising the venture on the day Coco left Ponyville.
*****
Days passed, and Applejack was back to doing all the hard work herself. Countless times, she found herself tempted to write to Starlight’s Village calling Apple Bloom back to assist her.
“It just don’t feel right,” she repeatedly told herself. “She’s a Cutie Mark Crusader. That Village is full of ponies who still don’t understand their cutie marks. Heck, she’s probably working just as hard as I am… but she’s got Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle with her. I ain’t got nopony.”
Applejack trudged back to the barn one evening wishing for the end of the busy early summer bucking season so she could catch a break.
“Come on in, Applejack!” Granny called from the window. “We’re having tea in the living room, if you wanna join us.”
Applejack blinked; was it the senility, or were the Flim Flam Brothers back?
*****
Flim and Flam weren’t in the living room, but Granny Smith certainly did have company.
“Big Daddy McColt?” Applejack blinked. “What are y’all doing here?”
“Can I ask a favour?” Big Daddy McColt set his cup of tea down and got up off his seat. “See, me and my family kinda wanna try our hooves at farming. But the HOOFFIELDS are a bit too territorial.”
“I thought y’all weren’t feuding with the Hooffields anymore,” said Applejack.
“We ain’t, but my family’s property’s hardly got fertile soil anymore, so most of the planting’s going on on the HOOFFIELDS’ side of the river. We help em out, course. But any time a McColt tries, or says they want to try, doing a bit of gardening or yardwork on their own, one of them HOOFFIELDS is always like ‘Hey, you’re in my house now! Stick you what you’re good at. We got this.’ Blah, blah, blah.”
“So ya want to help me buck apples?” asked Applejack.
“And, uh, keep it under your hat, will ya?” pleaded Big Daddy McColt. “Them HOOFFIELDS, especially Ma, would bust a blood vessel if they found out my family were secretly picking fruit.”
“Is… your whole family here?” Applejack looked around the room.
“Nah, there’s no way we could all sneak away from the Smokey Mountains without them HOOFFIELDS noticing. We was thinking,” Big Daddy McColt explained, “that we take turns. One of us slips away every other day. And we ain’t gonna want any of the apples we buck, so you’ll get free labour outta us. What do ya say?”
*****
Applejack really couldn’t refuse. The next day, she took Big Daddy McColt out into the orchard, showed him what to do, and they spent the rest of the day bucking apples. There was no question that Big Daddy McColt was an amatuer, but like the ponies who’d taken advantage of Buck Your Own Apples, he seemed to be enjoying simply trying it. He’d collected a satisfying amount of apples by the end of the day, and Applejack had energy to spare that evening.
“I’ll be going home now,” Big Daddy McColt said.
“Thanks for your help,” said Applejack.
“Thanks for letting me try my hoof at apple farming,” smiled Big Daddy McColt.
“So who’s coming next?” asked Applejack.
“Don’t know yet. We’ll have to coordinate who slips away every other day.”
After Big Daddy McColt left, Applejack spent the next day doing all the work herself again. Then along came another member of the McColt family, who did about as well as the head of the McColt household had. And when he left, another arrived two days later. And so it went. Some McColts, it turned out, were better at Applebucking than others, so Applejack found she didn’t have to work all that hard on days when she was on her own in the orchard. Every McColt who popped in to do some farm work, whether or not they turned out to be good at it, enjoyed the experience of applebucking. McColts came and went, and within two weeks, Applejack found her own workload getting lighter. So much so, that when the final member of the McColt family was due to turn up, there wasn’t much work to do at Sweet Apple Acres.
*****
Hacksaw McColt was somewhat disappointed.
“I wish I coulda come sooner,” she sighed at the end of the day. “I coulda gathered so many more apples for ya.”
Applejack smiled. “Y’all did a great job. I guess it was just the luck of the draw.”
“Actually, I had to go last,” said Hacksaw. “That way, none of the Hooffields would get suspicious.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “How’s that?”
“Well I’d already left the Smokey Mountains for a day,” Hacksaw told her, “and was visiting Neighagra Falls. I met these two stallions there, and we got talking, and I told them how me and my family wanted to give fruit and veggie farming a try, but our neighbours were all territorial and stuff. And they suggested we try coming here and asking you. So I told Daddy about the idea when I got back. He liked it, and started to secretly set up a schedule. So yeah, I had to be the last one. Otherwise one or two of the Hooffields mighta started asking me why I was taking another day trip so soon after my last one.”
Applejack had barely heard most of what Hacksaw had said. Only one thing really registered; two stallions had set the wheels in motion to lift more weight off of her shoulders.
*****
Applejack hadn’t had time off in a long time, and was delighted to reconnect with Rarity at the Spa for the first time in ages.
“Care to tell me how Miss Pommel got that limp?” Rarity asked as she and Applejack sat comfortably in the Steam Room.
“Uh… so did y’all get yourself a fifth store in the Crystal Empire?” asked Applejack.
“No, I failed,” sighed Rarity.
“Oh. What happened?”
“There was only one suitable building available, and the Flim Flam Brothers were bidding for it as well,” said Rarity bitterly. “I knew it would be fruitless, maybe even dangerous, to cross paths with those two. So I didn’t even bother scheduling an interview with the building’s owner.”
Applejack scratched her head.
“Oh well,” Rarity sighed. “There’s no rush, and I already have four shops to manage. I dare say if I did open a fifth, I’d never have time to enjoy a nice relaxing spa day like this.”
“I wanna go to the Crystal Empire,” said Applejack abruptly.
*****
On the northbound train ride, Applejack explained to Rarity why she opted to cut their spa day short.
“You mean to tell me that thanks to the Flim Flam Brothers, you got lots of help on the farm?” Rarity’s eyes widened.
“And I wanna find out why they wanted to help me,” said Applejack resolutely.
When they arrived at the Crystal Empire, Rarity led Applejack to the building she’d had her eye on.
“Ah. Rarity,” said the owner brightly. “Changed your mind and want an interview to buy the building off me?”
Rarity blinked. “Didn’t Flim and Flam…?”
“Nope,” said Flim, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. “We opted out right after you did. It just didn’t seem sporting when there was no competition.”
“Never thought a business-savvy pony like Rarity would be one to quit so easily,” said Flam, also popping out of thin air. “A clothing shop in the Crystal Empire is just genius.”
“Still, we’ve got too many good ideas floating around,” said Phlegm, seemingly just materializing as well. “It’s no big loss, really.”
Applejack gave her head a shake. “There’s three of y’all?! Who in the hay is this?!”
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Party Favour had all sent letters off to their families.
“Everything will be fine,” Apple Bloom assured the clearly nervous Party Favour.
“Ever since he got his plumbing cutie mark,” Party Favour groaned, “he made it pretty clear he never wanted anything to do with me again.”
“The worst thing that can happen is he ignores your letter, then,” said Scootaloo.
“No, the worst thing that can happen is he gets so full of anger after reading my letter that he comes along and uses his plumbing skills he hates so much to flood the Village,” frowned Party Favour. “I can hear him now. ‘You gave me this cutie mark! This is your own fault!”
The Crusaders knew his imagination was running away with him, but none of them knew what to say to ease his anxiety.
*****
As soon as the Crusaders entered the Cafe to let Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle know that they’d sent their letters, they knew something was amiss.
“Where’s the comic book?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Where’s the jar with Phlegm’s cutie mark?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Ow!” shouted Scootaloo, hovering above the floor and holding one of her hind hooves. “I think I found it.”
She’d stepped on a shard of glass. There was no sign of Big Mac or Sugar Belle. Apple Bloom called, but there was no reply.
“I’ll look out back,” said Scootaloo, still flapping her wings to avoid stepping on any glass shards.
As Scootaloo flew towards the barn door at the back of the cottage, Sweetie Belle magiced the glass shards off the floor and into the recycling bin. Apple Bloom darted after Scootaloo once the floor was clean. Scootaloo was already there, staring out the barn door with a mixture of excitement and concern in her expression.
“He’s out,” she said when she saw Apple Bloom coming.
*****
Apple Bloom looked out into the yard. Big Macintosh was standing next to a pile of soil, holding a torn comic book. Sugar Belle was standing next to a large Wolf River Tree, holding the lid of the broken jar. And standing next to a large freshly dug hole in the ground was Phlegm. At first, the Crusaders didn’t recognise him; they thought he was either Flim or Flam. But then they spotted (just) the skinless apple cutie mark. Sugar Belle saw the Crusaders in the barn doorway.
“Here he is,” she said.
Big Mac glanced away from Phlegm, and spotted Scootaloo’s injured hoof.
“Sorry about that. I got startled when the comic spat him out and I knocked the jar over,” he said. “He tried to run, but his mark caught up to-”
Taking advantage of their distraction, Phlegm used his magic to hoist Big Mac off his hooves, and flung him into Sugar Belle. Both tumbled into the hole.
“Stop!” shouted Apple Bloom, darting out of the barn extension, followed by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
Phlegm levitated the Wolf River Tree over the hole, casting a large threatening shadow over Big Mac and Sugar Belle trapped inside.
“I’m gonna squash these two like grapes if you don’t take my cutie mark off and destroy it!” he growled.
*****
Sweetie Belle felt awkward; Phlegm was looking squarely at her when he made his threat.
“I… I don’t know how to take somepony’s cutie mark off,” she said. “I’m only a…”
“These two were just telling me about you, Cutie Mark Crusaders!” snapped Phlegm. “Go on! Go on a crusade against my cutie mark! Get it off and destroy it!”
“You can’t destroy a cutie…”
Phlegm let the giant apple tree drop a few feet. Big Mac and Sugar Belle yelped.
Apple Bloom thought quickly. “You’re related to Flim and Flam, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Let me guess. They cheated you out of a home and job,” Phlegm frowned. “Or they tried to.”
Apple Bloom decided not to mince words. “Yeah.”
“Well guess what. I made them that way. Do you want somepony like me running around? No.” Phlegm looked back at Sweetie Belle. “Get it off, or those two are mulch!”
*****
“I know…” Apple Bloom began.
“You know how I feel?!” Phlegm interrupted. “Yeah, sure, that old platitude! I don’t…!”
“I wore that cutie mark for a day,” Apple Bloom said.
Phlegm was alarmed.
“I felt trapped. I felt desperate. So I know how we can help you,” insisted Apple Bloom.
Phlegm shifted the tree away from the hole and let it drop gently, before slumping to the ground with a grimace.
“I knew my cutie mark could never get me while I was in that enchanted comic book,” he gurgled as Big Mac and Sugar Belle climbed out of the hole, “but I never thought it might latch onto somepony else’s flank and ruin their life!”
He buried his face in his forehooves. Apple Bloom walked up to him.
“It ain’t quite like that,” she said. “I found it floating around, and asked a friend to swap it with mine to try and find out who it might belong to.”
Phlegm relaxed a little. “Oh, well that’s a bit of a relief. Imagine if it latched onto a blank flank during the night. He might not have known it wasn’t his. Everypony might’ve thought he just got it. And then what would happen to that poor foal?”
Apple Bloom wasn’t sure it would’ve worked that way, but opted to get straight to the point.
“Like I said, since I wore your mark for a day, I know how we can help you.”
*****
Phlegm stood up. “Alright, arlight. If it means nopony else has to be burdened with this awful thing, then I’m completely at your mercy.”
“I think the best place to start,” said Apple Bloom, “is to reunite you with Flim and Flam.”
“Those sinful con artists,” Phlegm growled. “I should never have created them.”
He looked around at everypony’s confused faces.
“When I was a colt,” Phlegm explained, “I went to Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns. I had my cutie mark at the time, but at first, everypony thought I was a blank flank. This skinless apple is so hard to see on my yellow coat. Ponies thought it made me look shady. But I was convinced it symbolised coming up with good ideas. I certainly had a lot of those in my head. The trouble was each of them needed my full attention and dedication, and I was working towards graduating. So I decided to try and clone myself.”
“With a spell?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“No. By making a potion that would temporarily turn me into a Parasprite,” said Phlegm. “It worked pretty well. I transformed, then I ate a brick of cheddar, and then I spat out two more Parasprites. Then I turned back into a pony, and the two parasprites I’d spat out also turned into ponies. I sent them out into Equestria to put my, or our, ideas into action, while I returned to my schoolwork. As time went by, news reached me about two business pony partners, the Flim Flam Brothers, leapfrogging from town to town setting up enterprises. But then, halfway through my final year of school, I learned how many hooves those two had trampled in order to build our businesses. So I left school and retreated to this Village out of shame.”
*****
Apple Bloom wasn’t quite so put off by Phlegm’s story as the others were.
“Now hear me out,” she said. “I don’t mind wearing your cutie mark again for a little while.”
Phlegm winced.
“I’ll need to be supervised, sure,” went on Apple Bloom. “But it might help you face your brothers if you’ve got a different outlook. My cutie mark can help you with that.”
Phlegm continued to pull uncomfortable faces.
“Come on. You can’t tell me you wanna turn down an excuse to not wear your own cutie mark,” Apple Bloom insisted.
“Oh, alright,” sighed Phlegm.
Apple Bloom smiled. “You’re clearly good at levitating ponies without breaking a sweat, so you can keep me under control if I go wild again.”
“Okay,” said the reluctant Phlegm, turning to Sweetie Belle. “Make it happen.”
*****
“Uh, like I said,” said Sweetie awkwardly, “I’m not good enough at magic to tamper with ponies cutie marks.”
“Oh, give it a try,” insisted Scootaloo. “If your sister’s brand of magic relates to her cutie mark, surely yours does too. And she discovered her unique magic before she got her cutie mark. Maybe yours is developing. Go on. Try it.”
So Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, and her horn lit up. She concentrated on the cutie marks of Apple Bloom and Phlegm, trying to will them to swap places. A minute passed, and it was clear to everypony that the spell they wanted was not coming.
“Well, it was a good theory,” sighed Sugar Belle.
“Eeeyup,” agreed Big Mac. “Looks like ya need a new plan, Apple Bloom.”
“No, I’ll just write to Starlight,” said Apple Bloom. “And while I’m at it, Phlegm can write to Flim and Flam, and ask them to come to this Village.”
*****
Two things hampered this plan. Phlegm could not bring himself to write a letter to the ruthless con artists he’d brought into being. Apple Bloom and the others tried to encourage him, and even mentioned Party Favour and how he mustered up the courage to write to his brother. Phlegm still refused, but when Apple Bloom ended up penning a message to Flim and Flam, he neither said nor did anything to disrupt her.
The sooner he can wear my cutie mark, the better, Apple Bloom thought as she sent off the two letters.
As it transpired, Apple Bloom’s letter to Starlight Glimmer was practically undeliverable. Starlight had gone on tour with Trixie, and Trixie hadn’t exactly drawn up a schedule or planned a route. Getting the letter to Starlight was going to be tricky and time-consuming. The letter to Flim and Flam, on the other hoof, reached them quite promptly, and a reply soon arrived in Starlight’s Village, announcing their imminent arrival.
*****
Phlegm paced around the Wolf River Tree, which had now been placed in its hole.
“I’m getting itchy hooves here,” he admitted to Apple Bloom, who was sitting next to the tree trunk. “The idea of Starlight coming back is bad enough, but…”
“We told you, Starlight reformed after leaving the Village,” said Apple Bloom.
“I’ll take your word for it. But if she doesn’t come before Flim and Flam do, I’ll never be able to face them,” Phlegm said through gritted teeth.
“Want me to try again?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Yes, please,” smiled Phlegm.
“Just don’t strain yourself,” said Apple Bloom, shuffling over a bit.
She couldn’t move much; her tail was anchored to the ground by the roots of the Wolf River Tree. This was arranged by her and Big Mac so as to keep her in check when and if her cutie mark was swapped with Phlegm’s.
“Okay,” said Sweetie. “Here I go.”
Her horn lit up, her eyes fixed on the flanks of Apple Bloom and Phlegm, her breathing became harsh, her head started to hurt; it looked like another fruitless attempt.
“Need a boost?” came a pair of familiar voices.
*****
Phlegm nearly screamed at the sight of his brothers standing in the barn doorway.
“Ready, Flim?”
“Ready, Flam.”
“Let’s bing bang bam!”
The Flim Flam brothers shot magic beams from their horns right at Sweetie Belle, who’d been concentrating so hard, she was unaware the two stallions were even there. She could suddenly feel potent magic energy surging through her. Next second, Apple Bloom’s and Phlegm’s cutie marks shot off their flanks and replaced each other.
“How wonderful it is to be reunited with our triplet,” Flim announced. “How we’ve struggled without your guidance.”
“Very true. Ever since you disappeared, our various enterprises crumbled one by one,” said Flam. “How attractive the prospect of drumming up a business prospect that has a chance of sticking is.”
Phlegm might have cringed at this idea, but now that he was wearing Apple Bloom’s cutie mark, he wanted nothing more than to be with his brothers.
“I’m sorry I abandoned you,” he said. “I should have sucked up my shame and tried to clean up the messes I’d made.”
*****
That afternoon, Phlegm offered to show Flim and Flam around the town. It was a little tricky, as he’d technically not lived in the Village since the regime change. But the three brothers were so happy to be together again that it wasn’t so much a tour of the Village as a reminiscent conversation while wandering up and down the street. “You proposed a rapid swap from steam to diesel traction?!” Phlegm uncharacteristically burst out laughing. “What were you two thinking?”
“Like we said, we were lost without you,” Flim grinned.
“We jumped from town to town running through every business idea we could muster,” said Flam, “while you sensibly hunkered down in a cult village.”
“Oh wow, I can only imagine what would’ve happened if you two stumbled upon this old hive of suckers,” chuckled Phlegm, wondering if his brothers might have been a match for Starlight Glimmer. “Anyway, now that I’m back, I can show you how to be successful entrepreneurs without trampling on any small businesses.”
But off hoof, Phlegm couldn’t muster any ideas how. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who were following the triplets at a distance and supervising their walk around town, began to grow concerned when the happy conversation suddenly subsided.
*****
Sugar Belle brought food and drink to Apple Bloom, who was sitting stone-faced by the tree her tail was anchored to.
“Sweetie and Scootaloo told me Phlegm is doing well so far,” Sugar Belle said. “He’s been talking and laughing with Flim and Flam since lunch.”
Apple Bloom heaved a heavy sigh.
“How do you feel?” asked Sugar Belle.
“Maybe letting Phlegm borrow my cutie mark was a bad idea,” grunted Apple Bloom. “If he gets used to bonding with his brothers with my mark, when we give him his own mark back, he’ll probably just go right back to being all ashamed of Flim and Flam. And of himself. What’s there to stop him from hating his life all over again with this cutie mark?”
Sugar Belle found this encouraging; not for what Apple Bloom was suggesting might happen, but rather how different she was acting than the last time she had that skinless apple on her flank.
“I think I know what’s there,” Sugar Belle said.
*****
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were pleased when the conversation they were supervising started up again, but grew concerned when Flim and Flam started telling Phlegm how a few of their failed business exploits nearly resulted in the eviction of the Apple family from Sweet Apple Acres, and in the death of Granny Smith.
“How touching,” said Phlegm. “Even after all the trouble you two have caused her family, Apple Bloom still wanted to help me.”
“Oh you’re only saying that because you’ve got her cutie mark on,” chuckled Flim.
“I hate to think how he’d act if he had Applejack’s cutie mark,” Flam put on a mock fretful tone.
*****
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle saw Sugar Belle coming.
“How’s Apple Bloom?” asked Sweetie.
“She’s just fine,” Sugar Belle answered.
She grinned at the dubious looks on Sweetie’s and Scootaloo’s.
“And I think,” she went on, “there’s a good chance she’d be very happy to see you two right now.”
“Really?” asked Scootaloo, tilting her head a bit. “Are you sure she won’t want to try and get away from us?”
“She’s not acting like she did last time. Go on and see her,” insisted Sugar Belle. “I’ll keep an eye on the triplets.”
*****
When Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle walked through the Cafe and looked out the barn door, the sight of Apple Bloom sitting sulkily next to the Wolf River Tree wasn’t encouraging.
“Maybe she’s just lonely,” suggested Sweetie Belle. “Maybe she’s not just wallowing in Phlegm’s self-loathing.”
So the two of them walked out into the yard. Apple Bloom saw them coming and smiled broadly.
“You’re back,” she said with delight. “I really missed you two.”
Sweetie and Scootaloo were shocked, but pleased. They joined Apple Bloom under the shade of the Wolf River Tree, and they all sat talking for about an hour. Then their little picnic was interrupted by the three brothers.
“Can Phlegm have his own cutie mark back now?” asked Flam.
“He’s all soppy now,” chuckled Flim. “It just ain’t him.”
“I think I’m ready,” insisted Phlegm. “How about it, Sweetie?”
Sweetie Belle thought it might be a bit too early, but when she considered Apple Bloom’s current demeanour, she decided to give it a go.
“Okay, but I’ll need a boost again,” she said to Flim and Flam.
*****
Phlegm stood next to Apple Bloom.
“Sorry you had to spend another day with my mark,” he said.
“It’s alright. I had a good time,” replied Apple Bloom. “Well, for the last hour, anyway.”
Sweetie Belle stood in front of the two, with Flim and Flam on either side of her.
“One, two, three!”
Sweetie’s horn lit up. So did Flim’s and Flam’s. Their green beams of magic mixed with hers, and she shot a long jet of energy at Apple Bloom and Phlegm. Now they both had their own cutie marks.
“Still pleased to have us back?” asked Flim.
Phlegm nodded. “But remember my conditions for us joining forces.”
“Right, right,” grinned Flam. “We avoid trodding on others as much as possible.”
“But you know we can never avoid competition, no matter what we do, right?” asked Flim.
“Yeah, I know. That’s business,” nodded Phlegm. “But when we do have competitors…”
“Nothing underhooved,” and Flam. “We know.”
“We won’t have to with you leading us,” insisted Flim.
“Good,” Phlegm smiled. “Thanks for understanding, brothers. And thank you, Cutie Mark Crusaders. Thank you for convincing me to reunite with my family. How can I repay you?”
“Maybe you can get my tail unhitched from this tree?” suggested Apple Bloom. “It’s getting super uncomfortable now.”
*****
Applejack and Rarity were extremely satisfied with what the Flim Flam Brothers, along with their long-lost triplet, had told them on that Crystal Empire street.
“Sounds like our sisters are doing well in Starlight’s Village,” smiled Rarity.
“Yeah,” agreed Applejack. “I’m so glad I decided not to call Apple Bloom back to help me on the farm.”
“So, is anypony gonna bid for this shop?” asked the Owner of the building they were sitting outside. “I was planning to move away next month.”
“What do you say, Rarity?” asked Phlegm. “Up for some healthy competition?”
“Three against one?” Rarity spluttered. “Of course I’m game!”
Apple Bloom stepped out of Sugar Belle’s Cafe one morning to find an old mare sitting on a rocking chair near one of the tables.
“Hi, there,” she said. “I’m Apple Bloom.”
“Oh, hi,” croaked the old mare. “They call me Old Lady Cooper.”
“Nice to meet ya,” Apple Bloom smiled. “Um, are you here for breakfast?”
“No,” Old Lady Cooper shook her head. “I came here to live out my retirement in shame.”
As was usual whenever she encountered a pony with a cutie mark problem, Apple Bloom was torn between excitement and concern.
“What did you used to do?” she asked.
“Nothing, really,” frowned Old Lady Cooper. “I could never do what my cutie mark told me.”
She stopped rocking in her chair for a moment and shuffled over a bit. Apple Bloom could see a sideways cow symbol on the old mare’s flank.
*****
“In my young days,” Old Lady Cooper began, recommencing rocking in her chair, “I was intrigued by a myth. I was told that cows stand up when they sleep, and that hoodlums would sneak into fields during the night and push them over. Of course, I was curious, so I snuck into a field of cows one night, but I found them all lying down.”
“Oh, cows only stand up while they sleep when they’re spending the night in a barn,” said Apple Bloom, remembering the countless occasions when Sweet Apple Acres would stable livestock in transit.
“Yeah, I found that out later,” nodded Old Lady Cooper. “In my local farm, the barn was too cramped for the cows to lie down. And to me, that meant very little space for a cow to be tipped over. But I was so obsessed with giving it a try. So I made a plan. I hung around in the barn before the farmhooves locked it up, and then I refilled the food troughs on the outside perimeter of the cow pen. All the cows ate a second helping, and then went to sleep, standing up, all lined up along the fence.”
Apple Bloom couldn’t help but chuckle. “You played dominoes with a herd of cows?”
“And after I escaped from the barn before the farmers could catch me, my cutie mark appeared.” Old Lady Cooper stopped rocking and allowed Apple Bloom another look at the sideways cow on her flank. “Ever since that night, nopony in a rural town or area trusted me. Ranchers and drovers would watch me like a hawk. When I grew up, I was forced to move to a big city. I never had an outlet for my hobby again.”
*****
Apple Bloom sighed. “This is strange. Surely a pony couldn’t get a cutie mark for being a hoodlum.”
“Speaking of hoodlums,” Old Lady Cooper raised on eyebrow, “what were you doing in my cottage?”
“Uh…”
Big Macintosh came out of the Cafe.
“Oh,” grunted Old Lady Cooper. “I’m in front of the wrong cottage again, aren’t I?”
“Eeeyup,” nodded Big Mac. “Uh, breakfast’s on the table, Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom was about to ask if Old Lady Cooper could join them, but something about Big Mac’s expression suggested he wasn’t keen on that.
“The thing about Old Lady Cooper,” he said when he and Apple Bloom were inside the Cafe and the door shut, “is she’s kinda like this Village’s version of Granny Smith. Her mind’s gone, and she’s got no strength left.”
“So? She’s still got a cutie mark problem,” insisted Apple Bloom.
*****
Undeterred, Apple Bloom told Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle about Old Lady Cooper during breakfast.
“A sideways cow?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom nodded.
“I can’t see what else that could mean,” Scootaloo scratched her head. “Old Lady Cooper’s unique talent probably is cow tipping.”
After they finished breakfast, they sat at that table thinking and discussing Old Lady Cooper’s cutie mark conundrum for hours.
“Any requests for lunch?” Sugar Belle asked them.
The Crusaders hadn’t even realised it was nearly lunchtime.
“How about chocolate feathers and gingerbread mares?” Scootaloo suggested.
*****
When Sugar Belle brought lunch to the table, instead of eating them, the Crusaders made a miniature pen using the chocolate feathers as a fence, and stood the gingerbread mares in it.
“What are you doing?” Sugar Belle.
“We’re trying to find a way cow tipping could be beneficial,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Oh,” blinked Sugar Belle. “Well if you come up with anything, let me know, and I’ll pass the word along.”
The Crusaders spent several minutes toying with their little cattle pen set-up, recreating to the best of their ability the domino effect Old Lady Cooper had told Apple Bloom about, and trying to spot a way it could benefit livestock and caretakers. As the minutes ticked by, chunks of the fence disappeared, and most of the gingerbread mares heads were bitten off.
“I think,” Sweetie Belle said at last, “that after Old Lady Cooper was done with them, the cows were able to lie down and sleep, just like they would have done outside in a field.”
*****
It was the best they could come up with before the fence and herd were all eaten, so they left the table at last to have a word with Old Lady Cooper. They could see through the window that she’d sine left.
“Where does Old Lady Cooper live?” Apple Bloom asked.
Sugar Belle told them. “But you probably won’t find her there. She’s always turning up in front of somepony’s cottage, but hardly ever her own.”
Sure enough, when the Crusaders walked out into the street, they spotted Old Lady Cooper rocking in her chair on the porch in front of Double Diamond’s cottage.
“Hi, Old Lady Cooper. We’ve figured out how your unique talent isn’t a bad thing,” smiled Apple Bloom when she and her friends approached her. “When you played dominoes with those cows, they were able to lie down in that cramped pen instead of spending the whole night on their hooves.”
“Yeah. Your cutie mark doesn’t make you a troublemaker,” said Scootaloo. “It means you’ve discovered an efficient and comfortable way of stabling cows.”
*****
Old Lady Cooper didn’t look pleased at all.
“What’s the matter?” asked Apple Bloom. “You’re not a hoodlum afterall.”
“Thanks all the same,” Old Lady Cooper cracked a half-hearted smile, “but this doesn’t help me now. Just look at me. My old aching bones couldn’t move a moth. And it ain’t just my bones that aren’t as quick as they were in my youth. My mind’s slipping in my old age. I mean I don’t even remember who you are, but apparently you know me.”
Apple Bloom hadn’t really processed how elderly Old Lady Cooper was that morning.
“I didn’t realise,” she faltered, “what you meant by shameful retirement.”
“Well,” Sweetie tried to bring some positivity back to the conversation, “we could always pass this information on to farmers and ranchers. That’d be a benefit to Equestria.”
“That’s fine,” sighed Old Lady Cooper sullenly.
Apple Bloom shook her head. “That’s not good enough, Sweetie. She’d still not be involved with it.”
“But what can be done about that?” asked Scootaloo. “In her frail and senile age, it’ll be impossible for her to do the work.”
“She’s been obsessed with cow tipping all her life,” said Apple Bloom resolutely. “We’ve got to come up with some way she can finally do duty by her cutie mark.”
*****
Their chance came sooner than expected. The Crusaders ventured back to the Cafe, expecting another long hard think. They arrived to find Big Mac carrying a box of nails to the barn door out back.
“Sugar Belle told me you three were playing with your food during lunch and it gave her an idea,” he told them, “for how to boost our revenue.”
“What’s that?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I’m gonna build a pen,” said Big Mac, “and we’re gonna rent it to ranchers and drovers who might want a place to stable their livestock for a night or two. Just like we did at Sweet Apple Acres.”
The Crusaders were excited.
*****
At first, Big Mac was starting to have second thoughts. There wasn’t room for a large pen in the barn. The only decent space was in the backyard.
“It’ll be fine,” Apple Bloom insisted.
A week had passed before a customer approached Big Mac asking him to stable a herd of cattle for a night. Apple Bloom helped Big Mac drive the cows to the pen; it was an unusual sight for Sugar Belle’s customers to see cows walking single file through the Cafe. Big Mac spotted Old Lady Cooper in her rocking chair outside the barn door along the way, but kept his concentration of herding the cattle into the pen.
“That’s funny,” he said. “I thought I left the food troughs in the center of the pen.”
Apple Bloom glanced at Old Lady Cooper and grinned.
“Well they’re just as well beside the fences, right?” she asked her big brother.
“I guess,” Big Mac shrugged.
And he closed the gate, walked past the old unicorn rocking in her chair, and fetched the hay to fill the troughs.
*****
When the Sun was setting, and the loaded troughs were emptied by the now-sleepy cows, Big Mac was slightly concerned to see Old Lady Cooper was still rocking back and forth in the yard. Then, when the cows were all sound asleep, and still standing, Old Lady Cooper’s horn lit up.
“Uh, what are you…?” Big Mac yelped.
Big Mac had never noticed Old Lady Cooper’s cutie mark before now; the light from her horn brought it into sharp focus through the rocking chair’s foreleg rest rungs. Big Mac was on the verge of shooing Old Lady Cooper away, but the sight of Apple Bloom standing in the barn doorway and gesturing to him halted him.
“Let her do what her cutie mark says,” she said quietly to him, as she and her fellow Crusaders watched from the doorway.
Old Lady Cooper’s old aching bones and joints might have hindered her in her winter years, but her magic was still sufficient. She levitated one of the troughs, and let it hover next to one of the sleeping standing cows. Then she used the floating trough to shove it over.
*****
Big Mac and the Crusaders watched, torn between amusement and concern, as one cow knocked over another, who knocked over another, and so on, until they all fell like dominoes. Most of the cows sturred and unleashed a bemused “Moo”, but it wasn’t long before they were all fast asleep again, all lying comfortably down this time. Before Old Lady Cooper’s horn stopped glowing, Apple Bloom could see her broad satisfied smile illuminated in the nighttime darkness.
“I want you all to promise,” she said to Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Big Macintosh, “that for the rest of Old Lady Cooper’s life, the art of stable cow tipping will be a secret. It’ll only be done by her here in this Village.”
As the summer went on, it grew more and more humid. At this point, it was actually cooler outside than indoors; even at night.
“Okay, everypony,” Big Macintosh announced one muggy morning when a package arrived at the Cafe. “The label says ‘S Belle’. Place your bets. Is it for Sugar Belle or Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie and Sugar opened the parcel. Inside were flasks.
“Icing, maybe?” ventured Apple Bloom.
There was a note tucked into one side of the cardboard box.
“Anytime you need a boost,” Sugar Belle read, “open one of these up. We’ve put an orb of our power-boosting magic into each flask. Happy rehabilitating. Signed Flim, Flam, and Phlegm.”
“So it’s for me.” Sweetie peered into the parcel and contemplated the gift.
“Let’s try one out,” said Scootaloo. “Go ahead, Sweetie. Open one up, and try to swap my cutie mark with Apple Bloom’s.”
*****
Apple Bloom nodded, and Sweetie Belle agreed. She unscrewed one of the flasks. A green orb hovered out and connected sharply with her horn. As energy surged through her, she aimed her focus on her fellow Crusader’s flanks. In seconds, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had each other’s cutie marks.
“Perfect!” exclaimed Apple Bloom. “Now we’ll have no trouble helping the villagers with cutie mark problems.”
“I didn’t see you having much trouble helping Old Lady Cooper with her problem,” said Big Mac with a raised eyebrow. “Ya didn’t need magic for that. Well not your own, that is.”
“Good point,” Sweetie Belle nodded. “And if I’m honest, this almost feels like cheating. If we’re really Cutie Mark Crusaders, we should be able to get by without…”
*****
Night Glider entered the Cafe.
“Town meeting,” she announced.
And off she went. Sweetie Belle headed out at once.
“Hey, swap our cutie marks back first!” shouted Scootaloo.
“Calm down. There’s no rush,” said Big Mac.
“Yeah. Come on. There’s an important meeting going on,” insisted Sugar Belle. “Sweetie can swap your marks back afterwards. Nopony will notice the difference in the meantime.”
Neither Apple Bloom nor Scootaloo were convinced, but joined Big Mac and Sugar Belle as they left the Cafe regardless.
*****
Although Night Glider was moderating this meeting, she wasn’t exactly an authority figure in the Village. There hadn’t really been a leader in the Village since Starlight left. Any time a meeting is held, the one holding or even calling it usually held the most relevance to the issue at hoof, or simply noticed an issue that needed to be addressed.
“As you’ve all noticed,” Night Glider said when it looked like all the villagers were present at the end of the road, “the humidity is getting worse. We need to brainstorm ways of dealing with it. Anypony got any ideas.”
Some villagers raised their hooves.
“Um…” Night Glider scanned the crowd. “Yes. You. B Rainy.”
“Why don’t we contact Cloudsdale’s Weather Factory?” suggested a blueish-grey stallion. “Commission a team of their pegasi to regulate our weather?”
Night Glider frowned. “This Village is too small and out of the way to justify regulating our weather on a frequent basis.”
Murmurs of agreement wafted over the crowd.
“Besides, the weather itself isn’t the problem,” Night Glider went on, “so much as conditions indoors.”
*****
Big Mac was the tallest pony in the Village, so when Sweetie Belle jumped onto his back and raised her hoof, she was easily spotted by Night Glider.
“Yes, Sweetie?”
“The Flim Flam Brothers sent me a package of flasks containing orbs of their magic,” Sweetie said. “But we don’t really need them. So what if we used that energy to power fans in all the cottages?”
Agreeable chatter broke out.
“I like it,” Night Glider nodded. “That’ll definitely cool our bedrooms and living rooms down. All in favour?”
An overwhelming majority of the villagers raised their hooves. Sweetie Belle felt quite good to have participated in a Village meeting for the first time. But as the meeting adjourned and enthusiastic chatter started, she saw the stallion who’d suggested contacting the Weather Factory fly off down the road. She managed to spot his cutie mark; a brain with bolts of lightning coming from it. At once, she ran after him.
“Hey, where are you going?!” shouted Scootaloo. “You gotta swap our cutie marks back before everypony takes the flasks away!”
“Calm down,” said Big Mac sharply. “You heard Night Glider. They’re not going to collect the flasks until each cottage has been issued with fans. There’s plenty of time.”
*****
B Rainy had flown into his cottage and slammed the door almost a minute before Sweetie Belle got to his front yard. Between casting a complicated spell and the dense humidity, she couldn’t run very fast. She was about to knock on the door when a creaking noise caught her attention. She turned to see Old Lady Cooper rocking in her chair in the middle of the road.
“Well,” said the old mare when she was Sweetie walking up to her, “looks like we’re the only ones attending this town meeting.”
“Uh, the meeting was over there.” Sweetie pointed to the end of the road. “It just finished.”
“Oh,” Old Lady Cooper grunted.
“Cooper, did you see a stallion run into that cottage a minute ago?” asked Sweetie.
Old Lady Cooper shook her head.
“He’s a blueish-grey stallion,” Sweetie described, “and his cutie mark looked like a brain shooting lightning.”
“Oh, that’s B Rainy,” nodded Old Lady Cooper. “He says he got his cutie mark for brainstorming, after a pre-production meeting for a pageant his primary school was putting on. But for some reason, ever since he got it, every idea he’s offered has been rejected by every pony he’s pitched one to.”
“I thought so,” said Sweetie Belle.
*****
Sweetie Belle ran back to the Cafe to tell Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. When she entered, a sweet scent filled her nostrils. There was nothing baking though.
“There you are!” barked Scootaloo.
“Oh, good,” sighed Sugar Belle. “I tried swapping their cutie marks myself. I even used one of the flasks.”
Sweetie Belle sniffed. “I think all you’ve managed to do is make their cutie marks smell like fondant.”
“Come on, Sweetie! We gotta get our own cutie marks restored before the Villagers get their fans!” Scootaloo barked.
Sweetie Belle grabbed a flask from the box; she was relieved to see there were still plenty left for the Villagers to keep their cottages cool. She opened the flask, let the green orb that emerged from it connect with her horn and feed her power, and seconds later, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had their cutie marks back.
Apple Bloom blinked. I’m not as impatient as she was acting, am I?
“Now that that’s done,” Sweetie Belle said quickly, “I’ve found us another cutie mark problem to solve.”
“Ooh! What is it?! What is it?!” Apple Bloom bounced intently.
*****
After Sweetie Belle told Apple Bloom and Scootaloo about B Rainy’s situation, they left the Cafe and made for his cottage. They arrived just in time to see B Rainy step out of his front door; he was carrying a bindle.
“Wait, B Rainy!” called Sweetie. “You don’t have to leave town!”
“Oh, you’re those Cutie Mark Crusaders,” frowned B Rainy. “Let me guess. You think you can help me with my cutie mark problem?”
“We can help you with your cutie mark problem,” said Apple Bloom confidently.
“No, you can’t. Because I haven’t got a cutie mark problem,” said B Rainy.
“We know nopony likes any idea you come up with and it’s really frustrating you,” said Scootaloo.
“So you know I don’t have problems with my cutie mark,” B Rainy grimaced. “It’s everypony else who has a problem with my cutie mark. Ponies see my cutie mark, they know my talent is coming up with good ideas, and they think that makes them useless by comparison, so they ignore everything I say.”
“I’m sure that’s not the reason why your ideas sometimes get rejected,” insisted Sweetie Belle.
“It was all thanks to me that the school pageant was a success! After I spotted a flaw in the teacher’s plan and told her how to fix it, we used my idea right away in rehearsal, we all agreed it was the perfect way to go, and my cutie mark appeared! But then, all of a sudden, every idea I come up with is dismissed!”
In a fit of temper, B Rainy tossed his bindle aside.
“How can nopony like my good ideas when good ideas are what my cutie mark is for?!”
*****
He calmed down a little bit when he saw the thoughtful look on Scootaloo’s face.
“The thing about brainstorming,” Scootaloo said, “is it’s a team effort. Somepony suggests an idea, and then the group discusses it and finds ways to improve on it.”
B Rainy blinked. “That’s… true. I did… more or less expand on my teacher’s idea.”
“Maybe your cutie mark doesn’t mean you’re great at coming up with ideas on your own,” ventured Apple Bloom.
B Rainy relaxed a little.
“This makes sense,” he said. “Actually, looking back… some of the ideas I’d thought of and suggested were… pretty lousy. This one time, there was a flu going around, and I suggested setting up soap dispensers and avoiding shaking hooves and canceling social events. Now that I think of it, my classmates were right when they said the immune system needs practise.”
“So how about this? Next time there’s a town meeting, instead of throwing out an idea of your own, try expanding on somepony else’s idea,” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“Well… alright then,” B Rainy managed a slight grin. “I’ll just be going back into my home then. Thanks, fillies.”
*****
Each cottage was issued with fans the following day, and a flask of Flim Flam Brothers magic along with them. Ponies were sleeping better and sweating a lot less in their now cooler cottages. Best of all, the fans didn’t need much power to rotate fast enough to waft the air about; theoretically, one flask of Flim Flam Brothers magic could power one fan for eight weeks.
“Should we write to them? Tell them they could sell flasks of their magic?” Apple Bloom asked. “They’d make a fortune.”
*****
A week passed, and nopony was suffering from the humidity. But there was no word or suggestion of another town meeting being held any time soon. Eventually, the Crusaders thought it might be a good idea to check up on B Rainy. They went to his cottage and knocked on his door. They were pleased to see the door open seconds later; they were worried he might have gotten impatient, had a self-doubt relapse, and left town anyway. As the door opened, sheets of paper billowed out into the front yard.
“Remember when you said I should see if I spot any flaws in somepony’s idea next time there’s a town meeting?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle nodded.
“Well I think I spotted a flaw with your idea from the last one,” B Rainy frowned.
“What is all this?” asked Scootaloo, looking past B Rainy through the doorway to see scores of papers flying about the cottage.
“Over the years, whenever an idea popped into my head,” explained B Rainy, “I jotted it down. I always filed my proposals and blueprints and diagrams neatly on my desk; just in case I want to revisit any one of them. But now that I’ve got a fan, my ideas are quite literally floating around my head.”
A sheet of paper flew into Apple Bloom’s face.
“A school of friendship?” she read. “That’d be kind of an insult, wouldn’t it? It’d just undermine everything Twilight Sparkle went through to learn about friendship.”
*****
B Rainy hastily grabbed the paper from off Apple Bloom’s face and crumpled it in his hoof.
“So, any town meetings coming up?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“It looks like there aren’t any problems that need to be addressed,” said Sweetie Belle. “So… maybe you should hold one.”
“Me?”
“Yeah,” nodded Sweetie. “Ask the villagers if they have any suggestions for what you should do with all these useless sheets of paper that you don’t need anymore.”
B Rainy was trying not to scowl.
“No need to bother the rest of the Village with my problem,” he said. “I’ll just use the paper to stoke my fireplace when winter comes…”
“That’s your own idea,” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “Your cutie mark is for expanding on ideas by other ponies, remember?”
*****
B Rainy did so the next morning. It wasn’t a humid day, but it was still pretty hot. Still, almost all the other Villagers answered his call to the end of the road.
“So…” he said when it looked like everyone was ready to hear about the issue at hoof, “I’ve got a lot of waste paper in my cottage. It’s a bit wasteful to leave it there, or to burn it. I’d like to hear any suggestions any of you may have.”
There were a few mutterings in the crowd. B Rainy quickly felt a little awkward for calling upon the entire population of the Village for such a personal problem.
Party Favour raised his hoof. “I’ll take it.”
He blew up some balloons and twisted them into a fox.
“I can use the paper to papier mache some of my balloon art,” he said.
“Ooh! Can I paint it?” asked a Villager with a paint roller cutie mark.
“Sure, Undercoat,” grinned Party Favour.
Agreeable muttering wafted through the crowd.
“Well, I’m sure you could make good use of my scrap paper,” said B Rainy. “But there’s a lot of it. If you keep it in your cottage, you’ll have the same problem I’ve been having. Especially with a fan blowing.”
“Good point,” said Party Favour.
“It’s not too hot and humid anymore, though,” put in Undercoat. “He probably won’t need to run his fan as much. I think we’re past the worst of it.”
“Hmm, you’re right… it is a pleasant day right now,” B Rainy stroked his chin. “So… why don’t we make a day of it? How about we take advantage of the nice summer weather and have ourselves a papier mache street party?”
*****
Right away, B Rainy thought the idea didn’t sound as good out loud as it had done in his head. But in seconds, Villagers were jumping at the idea. He was being asked to go fetch as much of his scrap paper as he could, and Party Favour was being bombarded with requests for balloon animals. The Cutie Mark Crusaders went with B Rainy to collect stacks of paper, and by the time they’d returned to the street, Villagers had already collected many buckets of water and tubes of glue, and Party Favour was already blowing up balloons and shaping them into animals and objects. B Rainy and the Crusaders passed sheets of paper to the Villagers, who in no time were tearing them into strips, dunking them into buckets to make them soggy and sticky, and pasting them onto their balloon animals.
“Looks like everypony’s having a fun time,” smiled B Rainy later that day.
“All thanks to the idea you got from Party Favour’s suggestion,” grinned Apple Bloom.
“Thanks, Crusaders,” B Rainy beamed. “I haven’t felt this helpful and useful since my school days.”
*****
B Rainy and the Crusaders walked among the crowd. Everypony was having fun at the papier mache street fair, but some Villagers had complaints; and they weren’t about the summer heat.
“Is somepony making a papier mache dead fish?” Featherbangs groaned. “What’s that smell?”
Sweetie Belle sniffed. There was a faint trace of rotten food in the air. Then she remembered that B Rainy had angrily thrown his bindle aside over a week ago. He must have forgotten it after he changed his mind and didn’t leave the Village. Sweetie Belle made her way to B Rainy’s front yard. She couldn’t see the bindle, but the bad smell was stronger here. She looked in some of the bushes, and there was the bindle, no doubt full of some food that had clearly gone off big time in the summer heat.
“Better get rid of this before it stinks up the whole street and ruins the party,” said Sweetie, trying not to breathe through her nose as she magiced the foul bindle out of the bush.
*****
Sweetie Belle took the bindle to the composter in the backyard of Sugar Belle’s Cafe, and dumped the rotten food into it. A sheet of paper slid out of the bindle as well. Sweetie Belle took one look at it and gasped. On this paper was written a plan to find where Zecora had stashed the Alicorn Amulet, so as to pave the way for him to take over the Village and “finally be able to implement his brilliant ideas”. Sweetie quickly stuffed the paper into the composter along with the rotten food, and shut the lid.
“Well… it looks like we got to him just in time to prevent another dictatorship in this Village,” she breathed. “I don’t know if the Alicorn Amulet would work on a pegasus, but…”
As Scootaloo went up and down the road passing out drinks to the Villagers, she was pleased to see they were all enjoying the Papier Mache Street Fair; all except two ponies who were sculpting a sofa out of soggy paper.
“Hi, there,” said Scootaloo, stopping to admire the stallion’s and mare’s handiwork. “Having fun?”
“Sure,” said the Stallion. “We’re having fun. We only wish our son could be here.”
“We begged him to come out and take part,” sighed the Mare. “He always refuses us when we try to get him up off his bed and out of his room.”
“He only leaves the bedroom to use the privy,” said the Stallion, “and for meals, and that’s only because we refuse to serve him breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed.”
Scootaloo stepped down off her scooter.
“Is this because he’s scared of earning his cutie mark, Mr and Mrs…” she looked at the signature on the papier mache sofa. “Silk?”
“You can call me Muga.”
“And I’m Coan.”
*****
“Our son, Mussel, was born back when Starlight Glimmer was running this Village. So we had drummed anti-cutie mark dogma into him from a young age. We’re not making excuses, but all the parents in this town were doing it at that time. Starlight had had us all convinced that trying to discover a talent was bad, and that the best thing those of us who had foals could do is stamp that desire out of them as quickly as possible. Then when we all discovered that she was a fraud, we owned up to our son. We showed him our cutie marks as soon as we got them back, and we told him we were wrong. We told him that trying to find a talent or ability isn’t a bad thing at all. But the damage was done. Mussel was so steeped in anti-cutie mark stricture, his brain won’t let him try anything. We’ve tried to get him involved with activities; swimming, kite flying, lawn bowling, cooking, stuff like that. But no matter how much we encourage him, his weak but persistent yearling memories tell him that striving for individual talent is bad. All he does these days is lie around in his room. No toys, no books, no paper and pencil. It’s the only thing he feels safe doing.”
*****
“Does he even come out for school?” Scootaloo asked.
She looked around for some sign of a schoolhouse in the Village.
“There isn’t a school in this town,” Muga told her. “We all send our foals to boarding school when summer’s over.”
Scootaloo frowned.
“Mussel spends entire summers shut up in his room, but he does go to school for the rest of the year. And he does do the work,” siad Coan. “His grades are good. No cutie mark for it, though. So it’s the only productive thing he feels safe doing.”
“We’ve apologised countless times for misleading him,” Muga sighed. “We’ve owned up to how wrong we were when Starlight was in charge. It’s just no use. All that anti-cutie mark rot we drummed into his young head won’t leave.”
“Can you and your Crusader friends help?” asked Coan. “If you can convince him to at least try something, we’ll be sure to nurture him and let him know we’re pleased with him.”
“Hey Scoots!” they heard Double Diamond call from down the road. “Refill?!”
Scootaloo hastily remounted her scooter, and told the Silks that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would come to their cottage tomorrow.
*****
The next day, the heat and humidity was back.
“I can’t imagine being stuck in a bedroom around the clock in weather like this,” Sweetie Belle panted as she and Apple Bloom followed Scootaloo down the road to the Silks’ cottage.
“Good thing you came up with that fan idea,” Apple Bloom remarked. “Or Mussel might not have survived before we could get to him.”
Scootaloo knocked on the Silks’ door. Muga and Coan invited the Crusaders in and showed them where Mussel’s bedroom was at once.
“Mussel,” Coan said softly into the dark room. “You have visitors. This is Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. They are the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
The Crusaders could make out a lump in the darkness rolling over on the bed.
“Well… I’ll just leave you to it,” said Coan.
*****
Coan had left the door open, but the Crusaders were still struggling to see anything. Sweetie Belle lit her horn, and Mussel came into sharper focus sprawled on his bed.
“Hi, Mussel,” said Apple Bloom. “Whatcha doing cooped up in your room? Aren’t ya bored?”
“Aren’t you boiling?” put in Sweetie Belle.
Now that they could see where the window was, Apple Bloom drew the blinds and opened the window to let a breeze come in. Scootaloo looked around; in the window light, the room looked dirty. There was a thin layer of dust on almost every surface, and most of the corners had spider webs in them.
“Don’t you ever clean up in here?” she asked Mussel.
“I can’t do that,” said Mussel sharply. “What if I’m good at it?”
Scootaloo sat on the foot of Mussel’s bed. “If you’re good at something, then a lot of ponies could benefit from your efforts. If you do nothing but lie in bed, you’re no use to anypony. Lying in bed all day, you’re just a freeloader.”
Mussel sat up. “Oh, no. I don’t like the sound of that. Maybe… I guess… I could do some chores around the house…”
“I think that’s a great idea,” smiled Scootaloo. “Why don’t we start by doing some dusting in this room?”
*****
Mussel stretched, cracked his neck, and stood up.
“I, uh… I don’t know where to get a broom or a dust pan,” he admitted.
“Why not ask your parents?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Mussel cringed.
“They won’t be mad at you,” insisted Scootaloo.
“Hey, no need to ask them,” interjected Apple Bloom. “There’s a duster out in the hall.”
She slid out of the room, and returned seconds later with a feather duster. She held it out to Mussel.
“But what if… I’m good at cleaning my room?” he shuddered.
“If you get a cutie mark for doing chores,” said Scootaloo, “then your parents won’t have to do all the housework themselves anymore.”
Mussel calmed down, and took the feather duster from Apple Bloom.
*****
The Crusaders watched as Mussel began to sweep the dust from his bed, his side table, his empty shelves, and then the floor. Gradually, he became less tense. It was challenging work; it was still warm in the room despite the breeze from the window, and they couldn’t turn the ceiling fan on because it would just blow the dust around. Clearing away the spider webs was taking a while as well. Spiders would crawl onto the duster and even onto Mussel’s hoof. He wasn’t disturbed; he was used to spiders. He simply flung each one out of the window and into the small but very tidy and nicely landscaped back garden. It wasn’t long before the Crusaders realised that the room didn’t look so dark now that Mussel had given it a good cleaning.
*****
“Good grief, that was quick!”
Mussel and the Crusaders jumped; they hadn’t seen Muga and Coan look in on them through the door.
“Uh…” Mussel shivered a little.
“Well done, Mussel,” Coan gave her son her warmest smile.
“We’re very pleased, son,” said Muga. “You did a great job cleaning your room.”
“You… like it?” asked Mussel. “Thanks. I… I could clean other rooms in the house, if you like.”
Muga and Coan were delighted, and made a point of letting Mussel know it. Mussel’s tension dropped as he ventured out of his room for something other than food, school, or nature’s call for the first time in his life.
“Thank you, Crusaders,” Muga said.
“Well, we’re probably not done yet,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, we just got him outta bed and doing stuff,” said Apple Bloom.
“But it’s a start,” said Scootaloo.
And they offered to check up on the Silks later that week.
*****
It was a good thing they did.
“Well we gave him a fair amount of chores to do, we think,” Muga said, showing the Crusaders a copy of Mussel’s list of chores.
The Crusaders glanced over it. “Just one or two things a day? That’s not bad.”
“He’s pretty good at tidying up around the house,” Coan put in. “Doesn’t look like he’ll be getting a cutie mark for it though.”
“Oh, that’ll come in time,” insisted Apple Bloom. “And whether or not it’s for housework…”
“That’s not what’s bothering us,” interrupted Muga, scratching his neck. “The trouble is whenever he finishes a chore, he asks us if we want him to do another one.”
“Whenever we tell him there’s nothing else we’d like him to do that day, he goes back to his room,” said Coan. “But not to lie around like he used to. He just cleans his room. It would be nice, but he does it so often, there’s nothing left to clean.”
“Well as he puts it,” Coan told them, “for not earning his keep until now. For being a freeloader for his whole life.”
Scootaloo gulped.
“What does he have to apologize for?” asked Muga, frowning at nopony in particular. “It’s our fault he was so lazy to begin with. He doesn’t need to do this to make amends to us.”
*****
Scootaloo groaned. “I didn’t mean to make him feel bad. I was just trying to motivate him outta bed.”
“It’s okay, Scootaloo. It was a good start,” insisted Apple Bloom, scratching her ear. “Tomorrow, let’s just try inviting Mussel out to… I dunno, play buckball or something.”
“Do you think he’ll leave the house?” asked Scootaloo. “Or will he just want to not leave his parents to do all the work while he enjoys himself.”
“Look, stop beating yourself up,” Sweetie Belle grunted, scratching her chin. “We’ll see how it goes, okay? A Crusader’s work is never really done.”
The summer weather had brought with it another problem; mosquitoes. It was worse than ever this year, according to the Villagers. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad indoors. All the same, Scootaloo had trouble sleeping that night; she was too keen to continue motivating Mussel to enjoy himself and try to find out what he was good at. And she especially wanted to make up for her misleading comment about him being a layabout.
*****
The next morning, Scootaloo got up, recovered from a flashback/nightmare she’d just had, scratched a mosquito bite on her leg, and left Sugar Belle’s Cafe to go see Mussel.
“I’ve just got to try and convince him to leave his house and do something other than clean up for his parents,” she said with determination.
As soon as she reached the Silks’ cottage, the front door burst open, and Mussel came scrambling out into the front yard. He was covered in mosquito bites.
“I need those spiders back!” he wailed, scratching himself vigorously.
“Okay, okay, calm down!” said Scootaloo sharply. “And stop scratching. Just take it easy, and let’s go into the back yard.”
They walked around the cottage and started combing the back garden for spiders.
“Sorry for making a mess, Mom and Dad,” Mussel said as though Muga and Coan were there with them, “but I need these little guys back.”
And he began depositing every spider he found into his bedroom through the open window. He and Scootaloo spent half an hour scanning the hedges and lawn furniture for spiders. Then they both crawled through the window and into Mussel’s bedroom. Mussel was pleased to see that the spiders had promptly started to build webs.
“I just hope my parents won’t be disappointed,” he groaned, scratching his back.
Scootalo shut the window. “I’m sure they’ll understand.”
*****
There was a knock on the door. Muga entered, also covered in mosquito bites.
“Mussel, I’ve made some revisions to your list of chores,” he said, trying to keep a straight face. “From now on, any spider you find, leave it be.”
“I’m sorry, dad,” said Mussel.
“It’s alright, son,” said Muga. “I didn’t think of this either, and neither did your mother.”
“I’ll go look for more spiders in the garden and bring them in the rest of the cottage,” Mussel said sharply.
*****
So once again, Scootaloo helped Mussel scour the garden for spiders; and also kept him from scratching so much. Mussel at least had something to distract himself; he was hard at work looking for spiders. Every one he found, he let them crawl all over him.
“This way I don’t have to make so many trips,” he said to Scootaloo.
“I’ll bet it feels nice to have them crawl all over your mosquito bites too,” said Scootaloo.
“A bit,” Mussel admitted.
Eventually, Mussel was satisfied with the amount they’d collected. They went back into the cottage, and Mussel visited each room and gave a little shake. Spiders fell off of him, and started scuttling around looking for places to build a web.
“When you’ve got all the spiders off of you,” said Coan, who was also covered in mosquito bites, “I’ve drawn you a cold bath to help ease the stinging.”
“Thanks, Mom,” said Mussel as he deposited a tiny spider behind a cupboard.
Soon, Scootaloo was looking Mussel all over to see if there were still any spiders on him.
“I think it’s safe for you to have your bath now,” she said.
So Mussel clambered into the basin.
“Ah, that’s better,” she sighed.
*****
Scootaloo was about to tell Mussel she was sorry for insinuating he was a lazy freeloader when there was a knock on the front door. Muga answered it.
“Yep. She’s here,” huffed Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo’s cheeks went red when she saw that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle too were covered in mosquito bites.
“I left the front door open when I left, didn’t I?” she muttered.
“Now the Cafe’s full of mosquitoes,” Sweetie Belle frowned.
“Oh don’t worry,” said Mussel. “There’s probably still some spiders left in the backyard. I’ll go and fetch some for you.”
And he stepped out of the basin and headed for the backyard, trailing water on the floor as he walked.
*****
Scootaloo told Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about how getting rid of the spiders in the Silks’ cottage had given them a big mosquito problem, and how Mussel was now trying to get the spiders back.
“We spent almost an hour looking for spiders in the garden,” she said. “He must be running out by now.”
They found otherwise when they entered the backyard to find Mussel almost covered in spiders once again.
“How are you still finding spiders?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“It’s easy,” grinned Mussel. “They’re everywhere. I found that out after cleaning the house all week.”
It looked like it was getting easier the more he did it. This time, when he was satisfied, his coat was almost black with spiders. He looked much as he’d done the first time the Crusaders had met him in his dark bedroom.
“So,” he said, “could you show me the way to the Cafe?”
*****
“What in Equestria is this?!” shrieked Sugar Belle. “All these mosquitoes are bad enough! We don’t need more bugs in here!”
“These aren’t bugs, Mrs Belle,” said Mussel politely. “These are spiders.”
Sugar Belle blinked. “Oh. Well thanks. But I don’t think we’ll need that many.”
“Okay then,” said Mussel as he stood in the middle of the Cafe and spiders started to crawl off of him. “I won’t leave all of them here. I’ll leave before they’ve all crawled off of me. Maybe there are more cottages in town who’d like some spiders to deal with these mosquitoes.”
Sugar Belle and the Crusaders watched as spiders left the surface of Mussel’s body and the whiteness of his coat gained clarity.
Scootaloo gasped. “You got it!”
As the number of spiders on his body dropped, Mussel’s flank came into focus, and there was his cutie mark; a spider web with an insect on it.
*****
Muga and Coan showed up at the Cafe, and for the first time, they were not looking pleased with their son.
“Mussel, you’ve left a trail of water all over the…”
Then they noticed his cutie mark and forgot all about the mess he’d made.
“Oh, son! We are so proud of you!”
Muga and Coan scrambled forward to hug Mussel; but it didn’t last long as they were disturbed by all the spiders.
“Don’t worry, Mom and Dad,” smiled Mussel. “I’ll get them all off. I’m gonna visit every cottage in town and ask them if they have a big mosquito problem they’d like me and my little friends to deal with.”
Muga and Coan told him they were happy with this, and Mussel left the Cafe with many spiders still crawling all over him.
“You were right, Crusaders. Now that I know what my unique talent is, a lot of ponies can benefit from it,” he said on his way out. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” said Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo sighed. “Well, we got him out of bed and out of the house, he’s found a unique talent, and he’s enjoying himself… but I feel like he’s gone from being a couch potato to a workaholic.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle chuckled. “It’s a start.”
As the Orchard expanded, Villagers would often volunteer to assist Big Macintosh with farm work. Now that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were spending their summer in the Village, they also offered to pitch in with farm work here and there.
“I just can’t believe how much ground you’ve covered in just a few years,” Apple Bloom said during breakfast one day.
“Well, them Vampire Fruit Bats sure came in handy,” said Big Mac.
Right when apples began to ripen on the first trees Big Mac had planted, they were attracting Vampire Fruit Bats. But his experiences with these bothersome creatures in Sweet Apple Acres had well prepared him. He’d planned from the start to allocate one cluster of apple trees to them. He vigilantly shooed the Vampire Fruit Bats away from every apple tree cluster except that one. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the Bats to catch on, and ever since, they’ve only targeted apples in that section of the Orchard, which was now fenced off from the rest.
*****
“Think you three could do the bucking for me today?” Big Mac asked the Crusaders. “I gotta go into the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone to collect seeds.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were about to agree, but Apple Bloom said “I always go into the Bat Zone to fetch the seeds they spit out. I’ve done it back at Sweet Apple Acres for as long as I can remember.”
“You’ve grown quite a lot since then,” Big Mac pointed out. “You ain’t at small as you used to be.”
“Well you’re as big as you’ve always been,” said Apple Bloom. “It’s a jungle in that Bat Zone. You’re okay with all that ducking and leaning and crawling in that mess?”
“Eeeyup. ‘Cause when you’re my size, you can avoid all that,” Big Mac grinned. “You can just shove obstacles outta the way.”
*****
Big Mac showed the Crusaders on a map of the orchard which trees he wanted them to buck. Then he picked up some buckets he’d left by the door to the Barn Extension. He smiled when he looked inside one of them and saw a chocolate glazed gooseberry pie.
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he said to his wife.
Sugar Belle blew him a kiss as he picked up his buckets and left the Cafe.
“Do you ever help Big Mac with farm work?” asked Apple Bloom. “Just outta curiosity.”
“I did when we were first establishing an Orchard out here,” Sugar Belle replied. “But now, I mostly stick to running this Cafe. The most I do when it comes to pitching in with farm work is providing sustenance. Hard work brings an appetite, you know.”
“And does Big Mac ever help you here in the Cafe?” Apple Bloom went on.
“Well he did build me that new display case. Remember?”
“Yeah, sure. But that was way before you two were married or were even dating.”
“Well I’m sure if a table or shelf or something broke, Big Mac would have no trouble fixing it or building a replacement,” Sugar Belle insisted.
Apple Bloom thought for a moment.
“Well… okay,” she said at last. “Come on, you two. Let’s get to work.”
*****
It was quite true that hard work brought an appetite. Well before it was even lunchtime, the Crusaders were starving. They were happy at midday when they returned to the Cafe to find that Sugar Belle had spent the morning making picture perfect confections.
“Help yourselves, everypony,” she said, indicating the table loaded with baked goods.
The Crusaders did so.
“Where’s Big Mac?” asked Sugar Belle.
“Don’t know,” said Scootaloo with a mouthful of cherry chip cake.
“Haven’t seen him since this morning,” said Sweetie Belle, unintentionally firing macadamia cookie crumbs across the table.
“If he’s still in the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone,” said Sugar Belle, “either it must have grown a lot since last year, or there are more seeds than ever for him to collect.”
“If that were it, wouldn’t he have come back for more buckets?” asked Apple Bloom, custard dripping down her chin.
*****
Lunch finished, the Crusaders returned to the Orchard. Apple Bloom was working the Empire trees. About two hours after midday, Sugar Belle walked up.
“Still no sign of Big Mac?” she asked.
“Nope,” shrugged Apple Bloom.
“He’s never missed lunch before,” said Sugar Belle with a frown.
“If you’re worried about him, don’t be. Like I said this morning,” said Apple Bloom, “I used to go into our Vampire Fruit Bat Zone all the time back in Ponyville. I may have been small, but I knew as long as I didn’t get in any Bat’s way, they wouldn’t attack me. All I had to do was keep my head down and focus on the seeds on the ground. It was Big Mac who taught me that.”
And she kicked an Empire tree, which yielded a bucketful of bright red apples.
*****
Apple Bloom might have been convinced that Big Mac was having no trouble in the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone, but Sugar Belle was concerned. She returned to her Cafe, but not to carry on baking. She decided to close up shop for the time being, and go look for her husband. Fortunately, the Cafe was empty at the time, so she didn’t have to awkwardly tell any customers to leave. So she hung the Closed sign in the Cafe window, and went back out into the Orchard toward the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone.
“Wow. Apple Bloom was right. It is a jungle in there.”
Sugar Belle hadn’t seen this section of the Orchard since the Bats had first been diverted there from the rest of the trees with their ripening apples. The trees were much younger, smaller, and neater at that time. It was only about two years later, and now Sugar Belle could swear that someone had moved the Everfree Forest here.
*****
“Big Mac?!”
No reply. Sugar Belle took one step into the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone. It was clear why the farm ponies insisted on sparing everypony else from working here. The trees looked dead and spooky, the Bats were swift and snappy, an unpleasant smell hung in the air, and it took lots of concentration not to trip on a root or scrape a hoof on a fallen branch.
“Big Mac, are you still in here?!”
Sugar Belle heard nothing but some distant chirping from some Bats. She walked further in. It grew darker almost instantly.
“Oh, I hope Discord didn’t decide to have an impromptu Ogres & Oubliettes game and teleported Big Mac to Twilight’s Castle,” Sugar Belle grunted.
She turned around and started to head back the way she came in… or at least, that’s what she intended. She could have sworn she’d done an about-face to walk out the same way she came in, but somehow, she found herself walking deeper and deeper into the forest of wild apple trees.
“How did this happen?”
She looked around. She couldn’t see the Sun. The chirping and screeching from the Bats was growing more prominent. Sugar Belle could swear she was hearing growling and purring in some overgrown bushes.
*****
There was no path to follow. Sugar Belle distinctly remembered the trees in this section were planted in straight rows. Yet the trees she was looking at now seemed to have grown in random spots. Some were growing close to each other and were coiling around each other. Clumps of tall grass and piles of rotten broken branches lay everywhere. Sugar Belle maneuvered her way along, calling for Big Mac along her unclear way. She did her best to ignore the discoloured mud she was stepping as she ventured on.
“Ooh.” She spotted a large tree with thick branches. “I can climb up that and maybe see where Big Mac is.”
She made her way to the large tree trunk.
“Or maybe a way out,” she went on.
She started to climb the tree. But the higher she got, the more agitated the nearby Vampire Fruit Bats grew. Sugar Belle saw some ripe apples were growing on this big tree, and then she remembered what Apple Bloom had said.
Keep low, and the Vampire Fruit Bats won’t attack.
One Bat swooped. Sugar Belle was almost knocked out of the tree. She steadied herself, and started to quickly but carefully clamber back down. It wasn’t quite quick enough to the Bats. Another took a snap at her. She tried to shoo it away, but when she made a grab for a branch to hold herself up, it snapped, and she fell off the limb she’d been standing on. Fortunately, the mud at the base of the tree broke her fall. She wiped the discoloured goo from her eyes and looked up at the large tree. The Vampire Fruit Bats had stopped squawking, and were now feasting on the ripe apples. One spat the seeds out down into Sugar Belle’s face.
*****
The ground grew muddier and muddier as Sugar Belle continued on through the jungle.
“I’ll bet this stuff makes great fertilizer,” she muttered as she struggled through the swamp.
She kept calling Big Mac’s name along her journey through the twigs, roots, boughs, bushes, and tall grass. Then suddenly, Sugar Belle abruptly found herself sinking. Before she could even yell, she was up to her flank in mud.
“Oh, no! I’m stuck!”
She squirmed, she struggled, she tugged; it was no use. She was stuck fast.
“Big Mac! Big Mac, help! I’m stuck!”
Still no reply from her husband. Sugar Belle kept trying to pull her legs out of the mud, and she carried on calling for help. But after a while, she gave it up. Her legs couldn’t move, and her throat was getting sore. She spotted a long stick poking out of a large shrub. She used her magic to pick it up, and started poking around the mud. She was trying to find a solid piece of ground she could try to get to and climb onto. It was impossible to tell any solid ground from mud; they were both the same unpleasant grey colour. Sugar Belle was starting to panic; she couldn’t find any solid ground… not even right behind her.
*****
To her left, about twenty feet away, Sugar Belle could see a fallen tree lying horizontally along the “ground”.
“If I could only reach that tree,” she frowned, “I could climb out of this mud.”
She looked down at the grey mud and sniffed.
“…This isn’t mud.”
Sugar Belle realised this swamp was made up of apples that had had all the juice sucked out of them by the Vampire Fruit Bats.
“Well… I guess this means I’ll have to eat my way out,” sighed Sugar Belle.
She craned her neck to the left, and took a bite out of a clump of grey goo, and spat it out to her right. The taste was awful. But Sugar Belle repeated the process. After what felt like an hour, she was able to move her left foreleg. She hoisted it out of the muck and started digging her way towards the fallen tree. Soon her right foreleg budged as well, and she tried to spread her forelegs out as she dug, so as not to put too much weight on the surface of the swamp and sink further. At last, she could pull her hind legs up, and she began to dig/swim her way to the tree trunk.
*****
With a sigh of relief, Sugar Belle climbed onto the fallen tree and out of the rotten apple swamp. Once she was standing on the horizontal trunk, she could see a bucket lying in the mud on the other side of it. Her heart stopped.
“Big Mac sank! I was standing on top of him!” she shrieked.
Her horn lit up, she picked up the bucket, and started digging. Fortunately, the imprint she’d left was still pronounced. Sugar Belle scooped up bucketful after bucketful of mud. A red and cream hoof popped out of the mud like a groundhog.
“Big Mac!”
Sugar Belle picked up the pace. Then out of the mud shot another bucket. And there was Big Macintosh’s head.
“Oh! Thank you!” he gasped. “I was running out of air.”
“How did you manage to breathe down there?” Sugar Belle panted, continuing to dig.
“Before I went down, I managed to get that bucket over my head,” replied Big Mac. “Gave me enough air for a while there.”
Sugar Belle used her magic to dig with the other bucket as well. Big Mac pitched in with his forelegs, but he was a lot heavier than Sugar Belle, and there was a risk that he might sink again.
*****
Apple Bloom was heading back to the Barn Extension with her baskets of Empire apples. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle joined her with their collection of Cameos and Red Deliciouses.
“Did Sugar Belle close up?” asked Sweetie Belle when she saw the empty Cafe.
Apple Bloom called out. There was no reply from Sugar Belle or Big Mac.
“Big Mac must still have not come back from the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone,” suggested Scootaloo. “Sugar Belle must have gone to look for him.”
The Crusaders left the Barn Extension and started to run towards the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone.
“There they are!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
Staggering towards them, filthy and exhausted, carrying no cargo, were Sugar Belle and Big Macintosh.
*****
“What happened?” asked the Crusaders.
Big Mac told them about the rotten apple swamp and how Sugar Belle saved him from drowning.
“Wow. We never had that kinda problem back at Sweet Apple Acres,” said Apple Bloom.
“Nnnnope,” Big Mac said. “So from now on, Sugar Belle will be doing our seed collecting in that Zone.”
Sugar Belle nodded. “I can use my magic to carry a walking stick with me so I can test the ground as I walk along.”
“You two must be worn out,” said Apple Bloom. “How about the three of us make dinner tonight.”
Sugar Belle groaned. “Thanks, but after what I’ve been through today, I don’t have much of an appetite right now.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Feather Bangs’ fillyfriend moved to this Village,” Sugar Belle said one day at lunch time.
The Crusaders looked up from their quiches with interest.
“What makes ya say that?” asked Big Macintosh.
“I could hire her to wait on the customers sitting outside,” said Sugar Belle. “I always forget to check if there’s anypony out there. I hate to imagine how long I’ve kept those two waiting.”
As Sugar Belle stepped out of the Cafe, Big Mac and the Crusaders looked out of the window to see who was waiting for some service.
“Hey, it’s Marble and Limestone Pie!” exclaimed Apple Bloom in surprise.
“Eeeyup, sure is. Wonder what they’re doing here,” said Big Mac.
*****
“Oh, so you’re Big Mac’s probable relatives.” Sugar Belle had gotten talking to the visitors while taking their orders.
Curiosity had driven Apple Bloom and Big Mac out of the Cafe to visit the two Pie sisters.
“Hey, Limestone. Hey, Marble,” smiled Apple Bloom. “Whatcha doing here?”
“We’re spending our PSSSD in this town this year,” said Limestone.
Sugar Belle blinked.
“Pie Sister Surprise Swap Day,” Big Mac clarified in an undertone.
“Oh.”
“We opted for this town because it seemed small, low-key, and out of the way,” said Marble. “It’s great to meet you, Sugar Belle. I guess we’re probably kinda sisters-in-law. And Big Mac, congratulations on your success. Me and Limestone heard all about your marriage and your new apple orchard from… Pinkie.”
Apple Bloom had never known Marble to be so talkative.
*****
Marble turned to Apple Bloom. “So you’ve set up shop in this Village, eh?”
“Uh, well not really,” said Apple Bloom. “We’re only spending the summer here.”
“Oh. Well hey, after we’re done lunch, do you think you could give us a tour?” Marble asked.
Apple Bloom turned to look out at the street. She was tempted to say “This is it.” But she wanted to make a real effort at it. The trouble was she’d only been staying in this Village for about a month. Surely a Village resident would have a better chance at giving a proper tour. Then she remembered what Scootaloo had told her when she’d asked Sugar Belle for a tour that one time when she was masquerading as Shimmering Spectacles.
“Well, Sugar Belle’s still got customers, and Big Mac’s still got a lot of apple trees to buck,” said Apple Bloom. “So okay.”
*****
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle could see the conversation going on outside.
“Looks like Apple Bloom’s gonna show Limestone and Marble around,” said Sweetie Belle. “Should we join them?”
Scootaloo considered. “I was kinda hoping to talk to Sugar Belle about what she said earlier. Remember a month ago when she was worried about having competition in this town?”
“Yeah. Now she’s not against the idea of having some help,” nodded Sweetie. “I mean, maybe she was just joking when she said she’d like to hire Hail Stone, but it couldn’t hurt to see if she’d seriously consider it.”
“Okay. We’ll leave Apple Bloom to show the Pie sisters around,” Scootaloo agreed. “She knows them better anyway. She’s spent entire Hearth's Warming Eves with them.”
*****
After Marble and Limestone were done lunch, Apple Bloom began to lead them up the street.
“Well, this Village used to be a cult colony,” Apple Bloom told them. “In those days, every cottage in town looked the same. After the cult fell apart, the Villagers started altering and accessorizing their cottages.”
“Ooh, I love spot-the-difference games,” beamed Marble, scratching her hoof.
She and Limestone looked around at the cottages, taking in the differences between each one, ranging from front or back gardens, lawn ornaments, weathervanes, drapes, awnings, and paint jobs of various colours to the door and window frames.
“Say,” said Limestone, “do some Villagers decorate their front porches with old mares in rocking chairs? I can see one over there, and I swear I saw another one when we first came to town.”
“Uh, no, it’s the same one,” sighed Apple Bloom. “That’s Old Lady Cooper. She’s always turning up rocking in front of somepony’s house.”
*****
Marble bounced away from the “tour group” to say hi to Old Lady Cooper.
“Uh, sorry, I didn’t order any pizza,” said the old mare as soon as Marble approached her. “You must have been prank called by some hoodlum.”
Marble chuckled. “I’m not related with any pizza ponies. I’m just visiting this Village with my sister and wanted to say hi.”
Apple Bloom glanced at Limestone, who appeared happier than she’d ever seen her.
“It’s great,” Limestone said, catching Apple Bloom’s eye, “to see her so content and talkative. ...I only get to see her like this once a year.”
“Isn’t she like this at home?” asked Apple Bloom. “It’s mostly just the two of you working, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but what’s there for us to talk about when we’re quarrying rocks?” Limestone shrugged. “But when we’re out and about, it’s a whole other story.”
*****
When Marble rejoined them, Apple Bloom took them to the end of the road, and showed them the tree that had been planted in place of Starlight Glimmer’s old cottage.
“Oh, is this where you’re gonna build your new CMC clubhouse?” asked Limestone.
“Uh, well like I said, we’re only spending the summer here,” said Apple Bloom. “We’re still in school, you know.”
Limestone seemed puzzled. “I’d have thought moving here would be the logical next step for the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
“Yeah. So what if you’re still young?” put in Marble, scratching her hoof. “Lots of ponies start work as soon as they know what their lot in life is. Look at… Pinkie.”
“Okay, let’s move on,” said Limestone hastily.
*****
As they turned and went along the road in the other direction, Apple Bloom and Limestone noticed that Marble was scratching her hooves every few seconds.
“Have you got itchy hooves?” asked Limestone.
“Yeah,” Marble admitted.
“Uh, oh. There might have been some mosquitoes under that table,” frowned Apple Bloom. “This town does have a bit of a bug problem during the summer. But I know who can help with that.”
She veered away from the Pie sisters, and knocked on the door of a cottage with a neat back garden.
Mussel answered the door. “Hi, Apple Bloom. What’s up?”
“Hi, Mussel. I think there are some mosquitoes under the tables outside Sugar Belle’s Cafe,” said Apple Bloom. “Do you think you could plant a spider or two under them?”
Mussel raised his hoof, which Apple Bloom only now noticed had several spiders crawling all over it.
“No problem,” he said confidently.
*****
Marble was intrigued by Mussel’s little friends crawling all over his leg, and followed him to the Cafe.
“I’m Marble,” she said. “Apple Bloom’s showing me and my sister Limestone around town. Who are you? And why do you have spiders on your leg?”
“I’m Mussel,” said the colt. “I plant spiders wherever there’s a mosquito problem. Apple Bloom and her friends helped me. I used to have trouble with these memories from when I was a yearling and being told that trying to earn a cutie mark was bad.”
“Oh, I know what that’s like,” said Marble as Mussel reached the Cafe and started depositing spiders under the outside tables. “When I was a filly, I felt like I was living in the shadow of my four-minute-older sister. I’m a grown mare now, but I still struggle with this. I know full well that… Pinkie has no qualms with me speaking for myself, but my foalhood memories always seem to stop me from saying much whenever she’s around. But it’s no big deal. I still love her.”
“And I love collecting spiders and dealing with mosquitoes,” smiled Mussel.
The two shook hooves (Marble didn’t even flinch when a spider crawled from Mussel’s hoof to hers), and Mussel went to work while Marble returned to Limestone and Apple Bloom.
“So,” said Limestone, “how about we see the Cave next?”
*****
Apple Bloom hesitated. She’d never actually been to the Cave herself.
“Okay,” she nodded, and began to lead the way.
Along the way, she recalled what Applejack had told her Starlight had said when she showed her and her friends the Cave.
“Well, half of that sounds like a good idea,” said Limestone.
Apple Bloom stared.
“I mean ponies all over Equestria could make a pilgrimage here,” Limestone went on, “but not to have their cutie marks taken off. Rather to get help from the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
*****
The Cave was dark. The Cutie Mark Vault was still there, and the grid was still in place, but the vault was empty, and the grid was not emitting any light. Glass shards littered the cave floor. Lying amongst them in front of the Vault, still in tact, was the so-called Staff Of Sameness.
Marble chuckled when she saw it. “Look at that. It’s like a hoofball goal.”
“Careful!” Limestone exclaimed as Marble started to walk further into the cave. “There’s glass everywhere.”
“Exactly,” grinned Marble as she negotiated the glass shard minefield.
She stood the Staff Of Sameness on its end, and took some cautious steps away from it. She found a large shard of glass, and flung it off the ground towards the Staff. It sailed through the prongs.
“Goal!” Marble’s voice echoed around the Cave.
She looked around the ground for more large pieces of glass.
“That does look like fun,” said Apple Bloom as she watched Marble gleefully fling glass shards at the “goal post”.
She started to walk forward, watching her step to avoid any pieces of glass.
*****
“Ow!”
“On second thought,” Apple Bloom frowned, making a retreat.
Marble limped away from the Vault.
“How bad is it?” asked Limestone.
Marble showed them the wound. It was only a sliver, but it was bright red and throbbing. Apple Bloom gaped as Limestone gave the wound a kiss.
“Thanks, Limestone,” smiled Marble. “Sorry about that.”
“Well, I know we don’t get many chances to play at home,” sighed Limestone.
“We’ve got horseshoes in our backyard,” said Apple Bloom.
“Ooh, yay!” exclaimed Marble, and she quickly bounced out of the Cave as though there was nothing wrong with her slit hoof.
“Our backyard? I thought you said you weren’t living here,” grinned Limestone.
*****
“How did you get this cut?” Sugar Belle asked as she bandaged the wound on Marble’s hoof.
Marble told her about her attempt at a hoofball game.
“So we thought we should try playing a less dangerous game,” she said. “Can we throw heavy rusty metal objects in your backyard?”
*****
During the game of horseshoes, whenever Limestone’s turn came, Marble would saunter off to talk to Big Mac, or Sugar Belle, or Apple Bloom. At one point, she even popped in on Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
“She sure is good at bouncing between conversations,” Sweetie said to Apple Bloom.
“I know,” grinned Apple Bloom. “So how was your day?”
Sweetie and Scootaloo told her about the conversation they’d had with Sugar Belle.
“Sorry we left you to put up with Limestone,” said Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom chuckled. She had invited Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to her brother’s wedding, and the Pie family had been invited as well. She’d noticed that her Crusader friends hadn’t gotten on well with Limestone.
“I may be closer to her than either of you,” she said, “but really, she’s a lot sweeter than even I thought. I guess it’s easy to misread her cutie mark.”
*****
Limestone had heard everything.
“Are you certain you’re not going to set up shop in this Village?” she asked, her sudden appearance making the Crusaders jump. “You three are the only ponies I know outside my family who picked up on what mine and Marble’s cutie marks are about. I mean, we never doubted what they’re for, and I can’t really blame anypony for thinking I’m a stresscase and Marble’s quiet and shy, but you three picked our marks’ meanings up in a flash.”
“Oh,” said Apple Bloom modestly, “anypony could figure all that out if they got to know you two better.”
But the more Limestone suggested it, the more Apple Bloom found the idea of staying in the Village and having ponies come from all over Equestria to get cutie mark help from the Cutie Mark Crusaders attractive.
*****
“♪It’s the Pie Sister Swap Day Song!♪”
“Hey.”
That evening, Marble and Limestone set up a picnic blanket beneath the tree at the end of the road. It was time to exchange presents. Limestone went first.
“Ooh,” said Marble when she took that lid off the little box Limestone gave her. “A bracelet.”
She picked it up and examined it. It was decorated with little black stones that looked almost like washers and nuts, which had been threaded through the holes with red ribbon.
“When me and Maud had our PSSSD earlier this year,” Limestone explained, “we went to the Changeling Hive.”
Marble grinned. “So you made this out of fragments of Chrysalis’ destroyed throne?”
“Yeah. King Thorax didn’t mind,” said Limestone. “I tell ya, Maud was awfully interested in that throne. It had been made of a powerful stone, I suppose.”
Marble tried on the bracelet. “I love it.”
*****
Limestone unwrapped the present Marble gave her.
“A photo album? Hm. What’s…?”
She opened the album and gasped. Inside were photographs of Limestone and Pinkie. Limestone flipped through the pages for a minute, then looked to Marble.
“I know you’re not happy it’s because of Pinkie that I don’t talk much, but never forget,” said Marble, “that she loves everypony, and that it was all thanks to her that we all cracked a smile for the first time.”
Limestone looked back at the album. There was a photo of herself and Pinkie as fillies at the first party they ever had.
Limestone was overwhelmed. “Thanks, Marble. I swear, I’ll let Pinkie Pie know how much I love her when my next PSSSD with her comes up.”
*****
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle could see the two Pie sisters from the table they were sitting at in front of Sugar Belle’s Cafe. It was hard to write letters home to ask permission to remain in the Village indefinitely when there was such a touching site up the road.
“Hey!” shouted Sweetie Belle when she saw a spider crawl onto the table. “Get back under there. There are no mosquitoes up here.”
The Crusaders were anxiously awaiting replies from home regarding whether or not they’d be allowed to stay in Starlight’s Village after summer came to an end. Scootaloo in particular was having a hard time dealing with her impatience. For a couple days now, she’d spent most of her energy driving her scooter up and down the road.
“Hey, watch out!” shouted Party Favour.
Scootaloo braked, but too late; her scooter’s front tire hit the balloon basset hound/german shepherd mix Party Favour was walking, bursting it.
“Sorry,” Scootaloo grimaced as she and Party Favour looked down at the red rubber roadkill.
Party Favour sighed. “Don’t you and your friends think you could use your time more productively? Like, doing what you came to this Village for in the first place?”
“I can’t help it,” Scootaloo said, unable to keep still. “The suspense is killing me.”
“Well…” Party Favour scratched his head. “Why not go see the town psychic?”
*****
Party Favour pointed the way to Mancy’s cottage. Scootaloo scooted straight there and knocked on the door.
“Oh, hello,” said the purple earth pony upon answering the door. “Dreading having to return to school?”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo grinned. “Wow, Party Favour wasn’t kidding.”
Impressed, Scootaloo went on to explain why she was dreading going back to school.
“Me and my two friends want to carry on helping Villagers with cutie mark crises. We’re waiting to hear back from home to see if they’ll let us stay.”
Mancy stared into space for a moment.
“I see…” he said, his eyes still unfocused, “A sheet of paper… with a stamp on it.”
Scootaloo blinked. “...Huh.”
Mancy looked at Scootaloo as if to say “Why are you still here?” Scootaloo, starting to feel a little awkward, turned away. Mancy went back into his cottage. Scootaloo scooted back to the Cafe, not nearly as impressed as earlier.
*****
The Crusaders hovered around Sugar Belle’s mailbox the next morning.
“I dreamed I got a letter from Rarity last night,” sighed Sweetie Belle.
“Funny. So did I,” said Apple Bloom.
The Crusaders chuckled.
“Do you think we’re getting obsessed?” asked Apple Bloom.
“If we were,” said Sweetie Belle, “Queen Luna would have showed up in our dreams to give us a pep talk. And maybe show us bits of what the future would be like if we get too impatient.”
“That reminds me,” siad Scootaloo. “Yesterday, Party Favour introduced me to the town psychic.”
“Mancy?” came Night Glider’s voice.
The Crusaders turned and were delighted to see Night Glider fly up to the mailbox with a mail bag.
“Don’t bother with him, you three,” she chuckled. “Psychics are all frauds. They use parlor tricks and cold reading to fool simpletons into believing everything they say.”
*****
The Crusaders weren’t really listening.
“Any letters for us?”
Night Glider reached into her mail bag.
“Just one,” she said.
She placed a rolled up scroll into the mailbox and flew off down the street.
“Only one of us got a reply?” Apple Bloom frowned.
She opened the mailbox and took the scroll out.
“Who’s it for?” bounced Sweetie.
“Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo yanked the scroll out of Apple Bloom’s hooves, unrolled it, and read it. Her face fell. She threw the letter to the ground and stomped on it. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gulped.
“So…” said Sweetie hastily, “what did that psychic pony say when you talked to him?”
Scootaloo’s face relaxed a little, but she still didn’t look up.
“He said he could see a sheet of paper with a stamp on it,” she recalled. “I guess he wasn’t wrong.”
*****
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Sounds like Night Glider’s right,” Sweetie grinned. “I mean, that does sound like a pretty vague prediction.”
“I remember Granny Smith telling me that ponies who believe everything a psychic predicts end up superstitious and become putty in the psychic’s hooves,” said Apple Bloom.
Having never met Mancy themselves, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle didn’t know that the purple stallion standing close by at the grocery stall was him.
Scootaloo looked up, and grinned. “Well, he did say he saw one sheet of paper. And I’m the only one who’s got a letter from home.”
“Oh, that doesn’t mean anything,” scoffed Apple Bloom. “Me and Sweetie’ll get letters from home too… eventually.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle turned and jumped in surprise. There, entering the threshold to the Village, were their sisters Applejack and Rarity.
*****
“We decided to come and tell y’all in person,” Applejack said after greetings were exchanged, “that we both want you to come back home and back to school.”
Apple Bloom’s and Sweetie Belle’s faces were as downcast as Scootaloo’s had been when she’d read her letter from home.
“But we want to clarify,” said Rarity, “that we have no objections if you want to move here after you’ve graduated. From what we’ve heard about your stay here, you’ve done a marvelous job helping former cultists.”
“And guess who their next customer is.” Mancy trotted up to the outdoor Cafe table the Crusaders and their sisters were sitting at.
*****
Sugar Belle came out to take brunch orders, and Mancy began to tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders about his problem.
“I got my cutie mark…” he showed them the image of three crystal balls on his flank, “after finding my talent for cold reading and predicting some upcoming events by starting with something vague or small.”
Scootaloo nodded. “So what went wrong? What drove you to this Village?”
“Smart-alecs,” scowled Mancy. “One day, about a year after I got my cutie mark, I broke my leg. And one of my old friends says ‘How did you not see that coming? You’re supposed to be psychic.”
He spat on the ground.
“What a stupid thing to say,” he went on. “Think about it. If psychic abilities really existed, what makes you think somepony would spend all his time predicting the future? That’d be insane.”
“Why?” asked Applejack. “That’s all I’d do.”
“You’d be in for a miserable existence then,” Mancy frowned. “If I had predicted that I’d break my leg, then why would I try to prevent it? If I saw the future, I’d know there’s nothing I can do about it. Some psychics are stupid and claim that visions of the futrue just come to them. A sensible psychic has a process. Some use cards, others read frogs, and for some, the process can be as simple as staring into space.”
*****
“But…” said Rarity, trying to force back a grin, “psychic abilities are not real, right? It is only a parlour trick.”
“Oh, yes, predicting the future and speaking to the dead is a parlour trick,” Mancy nodded. “But it’s a good parlour trick, is it not?”
He smiled a little at the murmurs of agreement from the Crusaders and their sisters.
“But nopony has any respect for psychics. For years, I had customers who were condescending and clueless. Some punk colt kicked me once and then called me a fraud and walked away. This one customer I had later had her house burn down, and she hunted me down and demanded to know why I never told her. And some of the idiots I’ve done readings on have zero imagination. They’re not like you, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo gave a start. “Wait a minute, I never told you my name.”
“We live in a society of nominative determinism,” said Mancy flatly. “You showed up at my cottage riding a scooter.”
Impressed murmurs wafted over the table.
“I don’t know if she’s told you about our little meeting yesterday…” Mancy said.
“Don’t you?” chuckled Night Glider as she passed by delivering mail along the other side of the street. “And you’re supposed to be…”
“I can see you in goggles and a blue and cream one-piece uniform!” barked Mancy.
Night Glider glared and carried on with her deliveries.
*****
“So what did y’all tell Scootaloo yesterday?” pressed Applejack.
“I could tell as soon as I saw her that she was dreading the prospect of going back to school,” Mancy said. “And let’s face it; anypony could tell that. Summer’s nearly over. Every youngster dreads going back to school. Especially in this town.”
“Because there’s no schoolhouse here in the Village and they have to leave their families to go to boarding school?” asked Scootaloo.
Mancy nodded. At that moment, Sugar Belle came back out with most of their brunch orders.
“Sorry Rarity, but I haven’t got any butter tarts ready to go right now,” she said. “I’ve got some in the oven. It’ll be a little while.”
“That’s quite alright, darling,” Rarity insisted.
*****
“What my psychic parlour trick is supposed to do,” Mancy went on, “is to set ponies imaginations to work. Lots of ponies' imaginations run wild when they’re excited…”
The Crusaders tried not to make eye contact with Applejack and Rarity.
“So if I were to start with something vague, or to expand on a tiny detail, I can satisfy a broad range of imaginative minds. I’ll give you an example.”
Mancy looked at Scootaloo, then stared off into space.
“I see… you are festooned with unwarranted wounds.”
Scootaloo shuffled in her seat.
“You did just say she had her scooter with her yesterday,” said Sweetie in an unimpressed tone. “Live by the sword, die by the sword. It… kind of is only a matter of time before you have some kind of accident on your scooter.”
Scootaloo shrugged; she’d always been aware of this.
“But what about the ‘unwarranted’ part?” asked Apple Bloom. “I mean, does somepony sabotage her?”
“I don’t know,” said Sweetie. “But if I were Scootaloo, and somepony told me this, I’d try to be more careful on my scooter. And if one day I have an accident and get injured… it’d likely not be my fault, as I was being careful.”
“Hey, maybe it doesn’t even have anything to do with her scooter,” suggested Apple Bloom. “Like you said; live by the sword, die by the sword. No matter what a pony does, no matter what a pony gets a cutie mark for, there’s always a risk of harm and damage and hardship…”
“I think you can see my point,” said Mancy. “I make a small observation and I say something vague yet stimulating to give a small amount of focus to an otherwise anxious mind.”
*****
Applejack and Rarity were getting into this whole cold-reading thing.
“I can quite agree, it is a good parlour trick,” said Rarity.
“Could y’all do one on us?” asked Applejack.
Mancy stared off into space for a moment.
“I see two containers…” he said, as Sugar Belle came back out with a fresh butter tart for Rarity. “One empty, one full.”
Applejack and Rarity pondered this.
“That might be about the work you’ve left behind to come here,” Sugar Belle interjected. “The empty container is an apple basket at Sweet Apple Acres, and the full on is the in-tray at Carousel Boutique.”
“If you like,” shrugged Mancy. “I just pulled that out of thin air.”
*****
“You’re lazy!” snapped Night Glider, trotting back to her cottage having finished her mail rounds. “Other ponies do all the work for you.”
Mancy said nothing until Night Glider had gone into her house.
“We got on quite well when Starlight was in charge,” he sighed. “Can you three help me?”
Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, each hoping one of the other two would say something.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Rarity, “if the Cutie Map back in Twilight's Castle were to deem this a friendship problem rather than a cutie mark problem.”
“We’ll have to wait and see,” shrugged Applejack. “Unless y’all can see anything that’ll tell us.”
Mancy glanced at Night Glider’s cottage and scowled. “I’ve had enough for now. Take your time, Crusaders. If you don’t come up with anything before summer ends, you can always send me a letter.”
With that, he stood up from the table, left some money for his share of the bill, and walked back home.
*****
Despite the tricky problem hanging over them, the Cutie Mark Crusaders still had an enjoyable rest of their day, talking and playing with Applejack and Rarity. The next day, after their sisters had left, the Crusaders consulted together on how to try and help Mancy overcome smart-alec remarks and accusations of fraud. It didn’t take long for them to agree on what their biggest obstacle; or rather, who was their biggest obstacle.
*****
They invited Night Glider to the Cafe that afternoon.
“You came to this Village to get away from ponies who were always telling you that you’re talented enough to be a Wonderbolt, right?” Sweetie Belle asked her.
“Yeah,” said Night Glider.
“Well Mancy came to this Village to get away from ponies who take his parlour trick too seriously,” said Apple Bloom.
Night Glider sniffed. “These so-called psychics feed on ponies’ fear and uncertainty.”
“Mancy doesn’t,” insisted Scootaloo. “He doesn’t seek out ponies who are dying to know something. He only does readings on anypony, anypony at all, who goes up to him. He’s not a show-off. He just wants to entertain. Just like you.”
Night Glider scowled. “I don’t do aerial acrobatics to entertain. It’s my exercise. That’s all. I wish I could do it where nopony could see me. But… well it’s too cold for me up in the mountains.”
“Oh,” frowned Scootaloo. “But when ponies watch you flying around, it makes them happy. And Mancy makes ponies happy by…”
“By giving them false hope and a belief in something that isn’t there,” interrupted Night Glider. “That’s not happiness. That’s delusion. And we've had enough delusions in our cult days. I may not intend to entertain ponies with my aerial acrobatics, but at least there are no falsehoods in my… performances. Ponies see me fly around and think ‘Oh, she’s got strong wings and is athletic’. And they’re right. Ponies listen to the garbage that Mancy pulls out of nowhere and think ‘Oh, he’s got some supernatural power, I’d better hang on his every word’. And they’re wrong.”
*****
“Well that’s on them,” said Scootaloo bluntly. “Not on Mancy. Just like with any performance. He’s just doing what he knows he’s good at; like any pony would. Your cutie mark tells you you’re good at flying, and his tells him he’s good at predicting the future.”
“Without trying,” Night Glider pressed. “Anypony could do what he does.”
“Yes,” said Scootaloo impatiently, “but not just anypony gets a cutie mark for it.”
There was silence for a little while.
*****
“It’s dinner time,” Sugar Belle announced. “Are you staying, Night Glider?”
Night Glider shook her head. “I’m going home.”
Scootaloo sighed. So did Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle when they saw what was for dinner that night; left-over baked goods that nopony had ordered or purchased at the Cafe that day.
“It feels like it’s left-overs for dinner every night,” sighed Apple Bloom.
“I just don’t want it all to go to waste,” insisted Sugar Belle. “I’m sorry, but I can’t predict what customers will order and not order. Even in a tightly-knit community like this, it’s impossible to know who will order what and how much of it.”
“Oh!” exclaimed Night Glider as she was about to exit the Cafe. “There you go, fillies!”
And she left without elaborating. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were puzzled, but Scootaloo quickly realised what she meant.
*****
Early the next morning, Scootaloo invited Mancy to the Cafe. Sugar Belle was about to start baking. Scootaloo asked Mancy to instruct Sugar Belle on what to make and how much of it. At first, Mancy didn’t say much. But within an hour, he had told Sugar Belle not to bother making any chocolate-glazed donuts.
“But those always sell well,” Sugar Belle said.
“Don’t bother with them,” insisted Mancy.
So Sugar Belle didn’t, and moved on to making cherry-chip cupcakes.
“No need to fill that last hole,” Mancy said as she was loading the cupcake tray.
“Oh… okay,” said Sugar Belle.
She went on to mix up a batch of macadamia cookies.
“Better make more of those,” Mancy said.
So Sugar Belle made another batch.
“Still more,” Mancy said.
*****
At first, Sugar Belle was nervous about Mancy’s predictions. As the day went on, however, she found she was able to satisfy every customer’s order, and towards the end of the day, the amount of left-over baked goods was dropping by the minute.
“It looks like I’ll be able to make a fresh dinner tonight,” Sugar Belle smiled to Mancy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders when closing time was a few minutes away. “All that’s left is…”
The Cafe door opened. Night Glider staggered in; she was covering her eyes with one of her wings.
“Okay Mancy, here’s the deal,” she said, walking blindly into the Cafe. “I’m gonna order some stuff, and if it’s all there, and there’s nothing left over, then I promise to never call you a fraud or lazy again. I’ll have…”
She thought about what she’d like to snack on.
“Two yeast rings, one peanut butter brownie, and a toasted all-grain bagel with cream cheese.”
She uncovered her eyes. There on the counter were two yeast rings, one peanut butter brownie, and a toasted all-grain bagel, which Sugar Belle was spreading the last of her day’s supply of cream cheese on.
*****
Night Glider paid for her food and walked up to Mancy and the Crusaders.
“You were right, kids,” she said. “He is good at what his cutie mark tells him.”
She held her hoof out to Mancy.
“You came to this Village to escape from irritating comments, just like me,” she said apologetically. “I should have respected that.”
Satisfied, Mancy shook Night Glider’s hoof, and Night Glider left with her food.
“Okay, I’ll just get dinner started,” smiled Sugar Belle. “I’m thinking fresh cream cake and cheddar biscuits.”
The Crusaders were excited.
“Thanks for your help today, Mancy,” said Sugar Belle. “Want to stay for dinner?”
“No thanks, Sugar Belle,” said Mancy. “I think I need to get to sleep. I’ve never worked a full day before. Maybe Night Glider was right. Maybe I was lazy.”
Everypony chuckled.
“Bye. And thanks,” Mancy said to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “This was a great start.”
“You’re welcome,” smiled Scootaloo. “We’ll let you know if we think of anything else.”
Mancy stared off into space. “I see… a setting sun… and a rising sun of a smaller size than the one that set.”
As summer was approaching its end, Sweetie Belle was meandering about the Village looking for any signs of potential cutie mark problems. She encountered Mussel and Old Lady Cooper; the former was collecting some spiders from the latter’s rocking chair.
“Still looking for spiders, huh?” remarked Sweetie.
“Yep,” Mussel nodded. “This’ll be my last round before I leave for Boarding School.”
“Already? It’s a bit early, isn’t it?” asked Sweetie. “There’s still a week of summer left.”
“I’m not leaving until the weekend,” said Mussel. “It’s just that the mosquito problem isn’t as bad as it was last month.”
“Oh, okay,” said Sweetie.
“He may not be leaving yet,” Old Lady Cooper remarked, “but a lot of the Village foals are going to head out this week.”
Sweetie said nothing to this. She was just happy that Mussel was looking forward to school, was striving for his potential, and was being social.
*****
But when she returned to the Cafe to tell Apple Bloom and Scootaloo about Mussel, she was discouraged to find that her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders were already packing up.
“Aren’t you two jumping the gun a little?” she asked.
“Not really. It’s not like we’d packed much to begin with,” said Scootaloo. “Our stay here did kinda come outta nowhere.”
“Good point,” Sweetie said, glancing over at what she’d brought to the Village from home; a toothbrush and a bag of Bullseyes.
“It is too bad we have to leave,” said Apple Bloom, “but at least we did do a lot of good while we were here.”
Sweetie Belle thought about Mussel and Old Lady Cooper, and Phlegm, and B Rainy, and Mancy, and Marble and Limestone. It did seem like a good count.
“And it’s not like we can’t go on crusading for cutie marks after we’ve gone back home,” put in Scootaloo.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Sweetie with a slight smile. “But… I still don’t feel like packing up yet.”
*****
Instead, Sweetie went into the orchard to see if Big Macintosh needed any help. She found him bucking some gala trees.
“Need any help?” she asked.
“Nnnnope,” answered Big Mac. “I already got me a volunteer for today. She’s spreading compost on the golden delicious saplings while I handle these galas.”
Sweetie Belle glanced over at the field of recently planted golden delicious trees. There was a unicorn filly she’d never seen before using her magic on a spade to scoop top soil out of the bottom of a composter and spreading it over the field.
*****
“Hi there,” said Sweetie, ambling up to the golden delicious field. “I’m Sweetie Belle.”
“Hi,” said the unicorn filly. “I’m Evensong Glisten. I’ve heard about you. You and your friends came here from Ponyville to help the Villagers reconnect with their cutie marks.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” smiled Sweetie.
“You three helped Double Diamond with his hobby, right?” Evensong went on. “And you got Night Glider to relax a bit while she’s exercising with everypony watching her. And is it true that it was you three who encouraged Party Favour to reconcile with his brother?”
“Well… we did convince him to reach out to Bend Twist,” Sweetie faltered. It occurred to her that they hadn’t really followed up on that, and hadn’t heard anything from Party Favour about getting a reply in the mail.
“You’ve helped lots of ponies in this town, haven’t you? Do you think you could help my parents?” asked Evensong. “Nopony understands their cutie marks.”
Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened. “Ooh. What are their cutie marks?
“Well my dad, Day Star, is a big fan of Queen Celestia. His cutie mark is a sun with a ribbon hanging from it,” said Evensong. “And my mom, Selenic, is a Luna fan. She’s got a crescent moon shaped like a smile for a cutie mark.”
“They got their cutie marks for being fans?” asked Sweetie.
“I know. Sounds like a weird destiny, doesn’t it?” said Evensong with a slight chuckle.
*****
Evensong told Sweetie where her parents’ cottage was. Sweetie Belle, excited, started to leave, but stopped.
“Aren’t you going to come?” she asked Evensong.
“I’m still working here. I volunteer to help Big Mac sometimes, like a lot of Villagers do,” replied Evensong, continuing to spread topsoil on the field.
So off Sweetie Belle went. She was so excited about the prospect of one final cutie mark problem to solve that summer, that she went straight to Evensong’s cottage without stopping to tell Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
“They’re busy packing anyway,” she said to herself as she approached the front door of Evensong’s parents’ house.
*****
Sweetie Belle introduced herself to Day Star.
“Oh, yes. Evensong’s told us about you,” he said. “Alright, come on in.”
Day Star started to lead Sweetie into the house and to the sitting room, when suddenly…
“Watch out!”
Day Star used his magic to halt Sweetie’s hoof mid-step… or rather he tried to. His magical grip was rather weak, and Sweetie’s hoof barely slowed before touching the floor.
“What’s the matter?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Day Star pointed to the spider, two of which’s legs were trapped under Sweetie’s hoof.
“Sorry about that,” Day Star said as Sweetie lifted her hoof to let the spider scuttle away, “but ever since that Mussel colt came by offering to help us with our mosquito problem, my wife and I have been having to watch our steps.”
*****
Day Star pointed Sweetie Belle to a sofa, and as she parked herself, she looked around the sitting room. On a shelf in a cabinet with glass doors were what Sweetie recognised as Queen Celestia commemorative plates. The curtains hanging over the windows had moon patterns on them; full, crescent, and so on.
Selenic entered the room. “Ah, you’re a CMC."
“Yes. I hear you have a bit of a problem,” said Sweetie, taking another quick glance around the room full of Celestia and Luna memorabilia.
“Yeah, we do,” said Selenic with a frown. “We’ve lost our daughter’s respect.”
Sweetie Belle was taken aback.
“You see,” said Day Star, taking a seat along with his wife, “We met in this Village after running away from our respective homes. We gravitated towards each other, as we had similar problems with our cutie marks.”
“Starlight had no qualms when we asked for permission to get married,” said Selenic, “as we’d bonded over common ground. We had Evensong not long after we got married, and under the anti-cutie mark laws at the time…”
“You told your daughter right from the start that cutie marks are bad and that it’s wrong to strive for potential?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Day Star and Selenic nodded glumly.
“And now that Starlight’s left and everypony’s free to embrace their cutie marks, Evensong…”
Sweetie Belle stopped. She remembered Evensong had a cutie mark; a purple sun.
*****
“Evensong never believed us when we told her cutie marks are bad,” said Selenic.
“She was a bright young thing,” Day Star sighed. “She defied us…”
“And rightly so,” put in Selenic.
Day Star nodded. “We realise this now, Sweetie. Evensong resisted our attempts to break her spirit and pressure her to give up.”
“We made things so difficult for her,” frowned Selenic. “At any given moment, at least one of us was keeping an eye on her. We knew she was interested in casting spells, and that she wanted to sneak in as much unstructured time as possible."
“Your sister and her friends really couldn’t have come soon enough,” said Day Star. “After they exposed and unseated Starlight, and everypony got their cutie marks back, Evensong was not the least bit shy in rubbing it in our faces how wrong and horrible we were.”
*****
“We barely see her anymore,” Day Star went on. “Even during the summer, she deliberately arranges to stay with school friends.”
“We sent her to Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns, you see,” Selenic told Sweetie Belle. “We hoped it would make up for our mistakes if we let her go to a school where she could learn about magic. But it did no good. She still hates us.”
“We have it on good authority that she’s doing well, though,” Day Star seemed to be trying to force a smile.
“Do you know…” Sweetie said, “that Evensong’s here in the Village? And that she has her cutie mark?”
“Yes, we did find out last month that she earned her cutie mark,” said Selenic. “But it seems she’s had it for months.”
“And we know she’s come back to town. Seems there was no one from school she could stay with this week. But she’s still doing her best to avoid us,” sighed Day Star. “She’ll probably spend the whole week volunteering on the orchard.”
*****
Sweetie Belle soon returned to the Cafe. She intended to go out back and to the Orchard to speak to Evensong Glisten, but she soon found there was no need.
“That sounds kinda hazardous,” she heard Evensong say as she entered.
“I kind of is,” said Apple Bloom. “Marble Pie cut her hoof pretty bad on a shard of…”
Sweetie Belle interrupted. “Evensong, you never mentioned that you hated your parents.”
“Why does it matter?” Evensong shrugged. “I’m doing well in school, and I have plenty of supportive friends.”
“Your parents want to be supportive to you too,” insisted Sweetie.
Evensong scowled. “So now I’m supposed to respect them because they finally realised they were as stupid and horrible as I told them they were for falling in with a brainwashing evil cult in the first place?! I’m going back to Canterlot! Maybe I can check into my dorm early.”
And Evensong Glisten stomped out of the Cafe.
Sweetie Belle slumped into a vacant chair. “Maybe it was a bad idea to try and find one last problem in this town. I never expected to find such a big one.”
*****
Sweetie Belle slept badly that night. She couldn’t help but toss and turn in her bed.
“Too bad Big Mac and Sugar Belle don’t have a cat or a dog,” she muttered to herself. “Maybe it won’t be so bad going back home. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I kinda miss Opal.”
Sweetie’s lack of sleep put her in a rotten mood the next morning, and it didn’t help when Sugar Belle suggested she start packing for home like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had done. She grabbed her bag of Bullseyes and started snacking. Then her mood lightened when, to her surprise, Evensong entered the Cafe.
*****
“You’re still in town?” asked Scootaloo.
Evensong nodded.
“Did you spend the night at your parents’ cottage?” asked Sweetie Belle, perking up a little.
Evensong nodded again.
“Did you…?”
“No,” said Evensong with a frown. “I doubt they even knew I was there.”
The Crusaders made no effort to hide their disappointment.
“I was going to leave town to go back to Celestia’s school,” Evensong told them, “but on the train ride there, I realised I’d forgotten about what you two were telling me about the Cave and the broken Cutie Mark Vault. So I got off at the next station and got on the last train to here. It was late by the time I got back, so I spent the night at my parents cottage.”
“And they have no idea you were there?” groaned Sweetie.
Evensong ignored this, and turned to Apple Bloom. “That Cave’s not really being used for anything anymore, is it?”
“Well, no,” said Apple Bloom uncomfortably. “Since the cult’s been disbanded and the Vault’s been broken open, there’s nothing in there but glass shards and the Staff Of Sameness.”
“Well like I was saying, that sounds pretty hazardous, just leaving that stuff lying around,” said Evensong. “Tell you what. I know the head of the Canterlot Community Center. If you like, I could ask him to gather some volunteers to have that cave blocked off or something.”
*****
Sweetie Belle interrupted. “If you hate your parents so much, why did you ask me if we could help them with their cutie mark problems?”
Evensong chuckled. “It just always seemed so bizzare; ponies getting cutie marks for being fans. How can a pony’s lot in life be nothing more than living in others’ shadows?”
Sweetie Belle thought about Day Star’s and Selenic’s cutie marks, and about the Celestia and Luna memorabilia they’d decorated the interior of their cottage with. It did look as though their marks really did signify nothing more than admiration… but Sweetie didn’t dare admit this to Evensong.
*****
The Cutie Mark Crusaders felt a little awkward as Villagers gathered at the end of the road for a Town Meeting they’d just called. They never imagined they’d be calling a meeting; they who weren’t even Village residents. And they never would have predicted that their reason for calling a meeting would have nothing to do with cutie marks.
“So, um,” Apple Bloom began when it looked like everyone was there, “you know what Cave on the outskirts of town?”
There were nods and murmurs of “yes” among the crowd.
“Nopony really uses it for anything anymore, do they?” asked Scootaloo.
“And all that’s in there is broken glass and that stupid Staff Of Sameness, right?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Well,” said Sweetie, “Evensong Glisten here…”
Evensong gave a little wave to the crowd. Sweetie could see that Evensong was doing her best not to look at her parents, whose longing faces stood out quite vividly in the crowd, but she pressed on.
“...Says that she has a contact at Canterlot’s community center,” she continued. “She’s offered to have a word with him about getting some volunteers together to block that Cave off, so that nothing in there causes any harm.”
“Does that sound okay to everypony?” Apple Bloom asked.
Villagers nodded and agreeable chatter broke out among the crowd.
“Okay then,” said Evensong. “I’ll be off to Canterlot now.”
And off she went, along the side of the road, and straight by the crowd; she ran right by her parents without so much as a glance. Sweetie Belle’s face fell at the sight of Day Star’s and Selenic’s shameful and self-pitying expressions.
*****
As the crowd began to disperse, the Crusaders weren’t sure how to feel. Their meeting had gone quite well and yielded a fruitful result, but it appeared that they had no hope of helping Evensong’s parents. Sweetie Belle watched them as they walked home, holding hooves and staring at the hill beyond the end of the road where the tiny figure of their young daughter was disappearing over the horizon.
“So does Day Star really have Queen Celestia commemorative plates in his house?” asked Scootaloo.
“Yeah,” said Sweetie. “Probably the same ones Windy Whistles has, but I didn’t get a good look at them.”
“Kinda funny, that,” said Scootaloo. “Windy’s kind of a fan pony too. Only of Rainbow Dash.”
“Are there any Queen Luna commemorative plates?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Probably,” shrugged Sweetie Belle.
Then a thought occurred to her. Uplifted, she dashed off after Day Star and Selenic.
“Where are you going?!” called Apple Bloom.
Sweetie didn’t answer.
*****
Day Star and Selenic had already gone into their cottage when Sweetie Belle got to their door and knocked.
“Come on in, Sweetie,” said Day Star.
“Have you thought of something that might help us make up for the bad things we’ve done?” asked Selenic.
“I just want you to know,” Sweetie Belle said as she entered the cottage, “that even though there might not be much more to the two of you than being fans of other ponies, but your fanaticism doesn’t make you bad ponies.”
Day Star and Selenic were baffled.
“It was because we were so confused by our cutie marks that we both ran off and joined that cult in the first place,” said Selenic.
“You may have been confused about not seeming to have any talents of your own,” said Sweetie, “but when you met, you were still attracted to each other. Even though you’re fans of different ponies. Think about it. How often do you hear about fans of Celestia fighting with Luna fans?”
Right away, Sweetie Belle thought this didn’t sound as good out loud as it did in her head.
“You’re right,” said Day Star. “I always considered myself close-minded. But if that were the case, I’d never have fallen in love with a pony like Selenic.”
He and Selenic embraced.
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
*****
Sweetie Belle felt a little awkward standing there watching Day Star and Selenic kiss. It may not have seemed like much at first, but clearly, the two were more than satisfied with her observation. She felt she might as well slip out.
“Watch out!” shouted Day Star as Sweetie turned to leave.
He used his magic to stop Sweetie’s hoof mid-step. Sweetie looked down to see a spider crawl out from under her hoof’s shadow.
“Thanks,” she said. “Well, bye now.”
“Bye, Sweetie. And thank you,” said Day Star.
“Yes, thank you very much for helping us feel better about ourselves,” said Selenic.
“I only wish me and my friends could do more,” sighed Sweetie. “If we think of anything, we’ll let you know.”
And with that, Sweetie Belle left the cottage. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were there.
“What happened?” asked Apple Bloom.
“What did you say to them?” asked Scootaloo.
Sweetie Belle didn’t answer. A puzzling thought occurred to her.
Day Star had no trouble stopping my hoof today… but yesterday…
“Thanks for putting us up, big bro,” Apple Bloom smiled.
“It was nice to have you three here,” said Big Mac warmly.
“We really appreciate all the help you’ve given us here in the Village,” said Sugar Belle, who was glancing out the Cafe window.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle turned around to see several Villagers standing outside; they were all Villagers who had been helped by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Double Diamond and Night Glider were there, Old Lady Cooper was there, Mussel, Muga, and Coan were there, and so were B Rainy and Mancy, and even Party Favour, Day Star, and Selenic were there to see the Crusaders off. The Crusaders felt a little awkward as they stepped out of the Cafe, seeing ponies there who they hadn’t quite managed to finish up helping, but all three of them were still very happy with the fond farewell the Villagers gave them.
“You’re not leaving now, are you?” asked Mussel.
“It’s time for us to get back to school,” said Apple Bloom with a sigh. “And I thought you were leaving as well.”
“You can’t leave now,” Party Favour.
“We’re sorry your brother never wrote back to you…” Apple Bloom began.
“It’s not that,” interrupted Party Favour with a chuckle. “It’s just that the volunteers have come to block the Cave outside of town. Look.”
*****
In the distance, over the hill, the Crusaders could see pegasi flying about.
“You’ll have to wait,” said Day Star. “They plan to roll a large rock into the Cave mouth.”
“Evensong was as good as her word,” said Selenic.
Maybe it was Sweetie Belle’s imagination, or maybe there was a deep longing in Selenic’s voice.
“Well maybe we could watch,” suggested B Rainy. “Who’s in?”
Some of the Villagers were interested, and the Crusaders needed to go over the hill anyway, so off they went.
*****
“Don’t come any closer.”
Soarin forestalled the Crusaders and Villagers at the top of the hill. Scootaloo bubbled with excitement.
“It’s the Wonderbolts!” she cried.
“Yeah,” said Soarin with a yawn. “Canterlot’s head of community projects reached out to us. Now, if you want to watch, stand over there. If anything goes wrong, the boulder we’re gonna try to move will roll down this hill.”
Soarin ushered the Villagers and Crusaders off the main path to the Village and further from the Cave entrance. Everypony still had a clear view. Most of the Wonderbolts, including Spitfire and Fleetfoot, were hovering around the large boulder, taking measurements, inspecting the temporary buttresses holding it in place, and making sure its path to the mouth of the Cave was clear. The rest of the Wonderbolts, including Rainbow Dash, were just flying out of the Cave.
“So can you confirm that there’s nothing of any value or interest in there?” asked Spitfire.
“Yes, Ma’am,” said Rainbow Dash. “That big grid thingy’s defunct, and all we could find on the cave floor were glass shards and that stupid staff thing.”
She spotted the crowd.
“Hey, Scoots! Just in time!” she called. “Enjoy the show, everypony!”
*****
The Wonderbolts got into position to start moving the boulder. Soarin stayed with the crowd to make sure nopony interloped.
“You look terrible,” Apple Bloom said to him unashamedly.
Scootaloo hissed. “He’s an insomniac. I told you this before.”
Soarin said nothing. He just yawned and kept a lookout to keep the onlookers in check.
“Do you have a pet?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Nope,” Soarin.
“Well, whenever I can’t sleep and end up tossing and turning in bed,” said Sweetie, “if my sister’s cat is sleeping in my bed with me, I’m not tempted to move and roll around. I can lie still and get to sleep better.”
“How often has that happened?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Uh… twice,” Sweetie admitted. “Rarity’s cat isn’t exactly friendly. All the more reason to keep still if she does decide to climb onto your bed.”
“Thanks for the suggestion,” yawned Soarin, “but I live in Cloudsdale. Almost nopony has a pet in that city. Hardly any domestic animals can walk on clouds. And the Wonderbolt Compound’s no better. There’s no checking any pets won’t go wandering off the cliff.”
“Well you’ve got to do something,” said Scootaloo. “How can you expect to be good at crowd control when you can hardly keep your eyes open?”
“Look, this isn’t a cutie mark problem,” said Soarin, starting to get annoyed, “so leave me alone and just watch the show.”
Spitfire blew her whistle. Soarin woke back up.
*****
It was almost like launching a ship. The Wonderbolts knocked the temporary buttresses out from under the boulder, and it rolled towards the Cave; slowly at first, then it gathered speed, and then it slowed again before it collided with the mouth of the Cave. With a loud but brief crunching noise, the Cave was blocked. The crowd applauded.
“Alright Wonderbolts,” said Spitfire. “Let’s get these wood planks cleaned up and then back to the Compound.”
“Permission to accompany my friends to the station halt?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, okay Crash,” nodded Spitfire.
The Villagers said their last goodbye’s to the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they headed back to town.
“Jeez, you foals are getting big,” Rainbow remarked when she flew up to them. “Remember the days when I could drag all three of you across the country? We’ll never see the like of those days again.”
“It’s not that we’re getting bigger. You’re just getting old,” grinned Apple Bloom.
Soarin began to stagger away.
“Bye Soarin,” said Scootaloo.
“You might see me again pretty soon,” Soarin grinned as he left.
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Guess what. We’ve got a show in Ponyville Tuesday afternoon. All the school foals can see us perform after school’s out.”
The Crusaders were excited.
*****
The train ride to Ponyville was an enjoyable one; the CMCs relished in telling Rainbow Dash about their exploits in Starlight’s Village.
“If you really were my sister,” Scootaloo asked Rainbow, “would you have let me stay there?”
Rainbow considered. “Well I do want to make sure you’ve been getting enough exercise.”
“I have,” insisted Scootaloo.
“Well then,” said Rainbow with an air of mock-disbelief, “how about we have a race when we get to Ponyville?”
“Sure. No problem,” Scootaloo nodded.
*****
So when the train stopped at Ponyville Station, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo took straight to the sky. It was an overcast day, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle quickly lost sight of the two pegasi as they flew away.
“I guess I better head for the farm,” said Apple Bloom. “I’ll bet Applejack’s got a list of chores for me as long as Pinkie Pie’s genealogy record.”
So Sweetie Belle headed for Carousel Boutique. Rarity gave her a warm welcome back, but Opalescence just meandered out of the room with a cold look. If Sweetie was to have trouble sleeping tonight, it seemed she was out of luck.
“I’m sorry you never discovered any special connection between your magic and your cutie mark,” said Rarity. “But do not despair. There’s nothing to stop you from finding your unique brand of magic after graduation.”
“I’m a lot older than you were when you found your special brand of magic,” sighed Sweetie Belle. “I probably don’t even have one. I’ll bet it’s because my cutie mark’s pretty much the same as my friends’, and we all got ours at the same time.”
*****
Eventually, Apple Bloom arrived at the Boutique.
“Hey Sweetie, Applejack doesn’t have any work for me on the farm,” she said. “So I’m gonna go see Zecora. I wanna tell her about that cutie mark we found in the Forest. Wanna come?”
“Sure,” said Sweetie.
So off they went to the Everfree Forest. They encountered Pinkie Pie and her sister Limestone heading the same way with a picnic basket.
“We’re spending our PSSSD at the Castle Of The Two Sisters this year,” squeaked Pinkie, bouncing into the forest.
“Is the Castle open today?” asked Apple Bloom.
“No, but Pinkie said she’s got permission from the castle curator,” said Limestone with a frown.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced at Pinkie Pie as she carried on bouncing into the Everfree Forest, then back at Limestone.
“Everything okay?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Limestone sighed. “Remember that gift I gave Marble for our PSSSD in the Village?”
“Yeah,” said Apple Bloom and Sweetie.
“Marble lost it,” said Limestone. “She’s really upset about it.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” frowned Sweetie.
“I’m not mad at her or anything, but she won’t stop apologising to me,” Limestone groaned. “I’m so glad I get to spend the day with Pinkie.”
“So no problems with Pinkie then?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Nope,” smiled Limestone. “I think she’ll really like the gift I got her this year.”
And she followed Pinkie into the Forest, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle right behind her.
*****
The two CMCs parted with the two Pie sisters at a fork in the Path Of Least Resistance, and headed for Zecora’s Hut. Apple Bloom knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again. Still no answer.
“Maybe she’s out picking herbs or something,” Apple Bloom shrugged.
Sweetie Belle looked at one of the windows. “Looks like there’s a light on in there.”
They sidled over to the window and looked through it.
“What the…? Is she doing that weird meditation thing?” asked Sweetie when she spotted Zecora.
“Oh, no,” Apple Bloom said with a start. “She got stuck in one of her cauldrons again.”
She ran back to the door. Sweetie Belle turned to follow her, but then she looked through the window again. Zecora did appear to have fallen into a cauldron, but something was terribly wrong. The cauldron wasn’t very big, and its rim was closed tightly around her ribs. And the end of her tail was tied in a knot to one of the cauldron’s handles, forcing her hind legs to stick straight up and her back into what must have been an uncomfortable, if not painful, position.
“The… the door’s locked!” shouted Apple Bloom.
“Someone trapped her in there!” cried Sweetie Belle.
*****
After the two Crusaders hurriedly tried to break the locked door down, Sweetie picked up a rock with her magic and smashed the window. She and Apple Bloom climbed into the hut and ran to Zecora, who was squirming in her involuntary headstand and uttering shouts that were muffled in the heavy stone cauldron. At once, Apple Bloom undid the knot anchoring Zecora’s tail to the cauldron handle. Zecora’s hind legs hit the floor with a thump. They could hear what sounded like a shaky sigh of relief from within the cauldron, but Zecora did not stop squirming and shaking. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle frantically tried to pull her free, but it wasn’t working.
“Over there!” shouted Sweetie. “We’ll wedge the cauldron under that counter!”
They dragged the heavy stone cauldron to the counter and with a clunk, jammed it. Then they each grabbed a leg and heaved. At last, Zecora’s head and forelegs came out. Zecora took several deep breaths.
“Oh thank you, you two! What a relief!” she gasped. “My spine was killing me and I could not breathe.”
*****
“What happened?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I was cleaning out that cauldron. It was messy and it stank,” Zecora told them, showing them a damp washcloth sitting in the cauldron. “And then, for some reason, the cauldron’s rim shrank. And then…”
She rubbed her back.
“As I tried to get out, someone gave my tail a yank.”
Apple Bloom looked around the hut. “Did somepony rob you?”
“We’ll soon find out,” said Zecora, standing up sharply. “Please, help me look about.”
Zecora and Apple Bloom began to search the hut to see if it looked like anything was missing. Sweetie Belle didn’t really know her way around this hut like they did, so the best she could do was clean up the glass from the window they broke.
“So you didn’t see anypony around before you got trapped?” she asked.
“No. They must have crept in, the snoops,” Zecora growled as she sifted through a shelf of various bottles of potions. “If I ever find out who it was, I’ll-- oops!”
In her haste, Zecora had knocked over a familiar bottle of white potion; it was the one that showed glimpses of the distant past to the drinker. With a clunk and a smash, it slid from the shelf and smashed on the floor, splashing Sweetie’s hooves and surrounding her with more broken glass.
*****
After hastily cleaning up the mess, the three continued their search of the hut.
“It had to have been a unicorn,” said Apple Bloom as they looked. “Only a spell could’ve made that rim shrink. Do you think they were after the Alicorn Amulet?”
Sweetie Belle froze. She remembered the plan B Rainy had drawn up to find and steal that Amulet, and hoped it wasn’t him. But then she remembered; B Rainy’s a pegasus and so couldn’t cast a spell… unless he’d already found the Amulet and had tried it out on Zecora to see if it worked and to make sure she didn’t catch him in the act.
“If they were, they’ll have found it quite a hassle,” grunted Zecora. “That Amulet is not here. It is stowed in the Castle.”
*****
Soon, they abandoned their search and decided to head for the Castle Of The Two Sisters.
“I hope Pinkie and Limestone are safe,” said Apple Bloom as they ran along the Path Of Least Resistance.
Zecora was lagging. It was evident that her back was aching and she had so little strength left after her struggle in the cauldron.
“Don’t strain yourself,” warned Sweetie.
“I am shaken and weary, I will admit,” Zecora panted. “But when lives could be at stake, I do not quit.”
*****
Soon they crossed the rope bridge to the Castle and entered through the big front door.
“Pinkie?! Limestone?!” Apple Bloom called.
“Careful,” hissed Sweetie Belle. “The thieves might be here already.”
“Up here!” they heard Limestone call.
They followed the sound to a stairwell and climbed it. They quickly found Limestone standing in the middle of a corridor.
“Where’s Pinkie?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Down there.” Limestone pointed to an open trap door.
Almost at once, a dusty cloud popped out of the trap door.
“How do I keep forgetting where stuff is in a castle I helped restore?” said a familiar voice.
“You fell in?” asked Sweetie. “Didn’t your tail twitch?”
Limestone chuckled. “Yeah, but she was looking up instead of down. I told her to look down, but she was like ‘Stuff doesn’t fall up’. And then down she went.”
Pinkie Pie gave herself a shake to get the dust off of her.
“Well it doesn’t,” she said huffily.
*****
Pinkie realised Limestone, Zecora, and the two CMCs were staring wide-eyed at her.
“It doesn’t!” she insisted.
“The reason we are staring,” said Zecora, “is… well, look what you’re wearing.”
Pinkie Pie realised she had the Alicorn Amulet around her neck.
“Oh, yeah,” she said casually. “This thing.”
She promptly took it off.
“Whoa, what?!” exclaimed Limestone. “I heard once you have that Amulet on, it warps your mind and makes you not want to take it off.”
“Maybe she hasn’t had it on long enough to become consumed,” suggested Zecora. “Or perhaps it doesn’t work on earth ponies as we’d assumed.”
“So it wouldn’t work on a pegasus either?” asked Sweetie. “Oh, good. That rules out B Rainy.”
“Huh?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Well we know that evil artifact is still here and intact,” said Zecora. “So Pinkie, if you wouldn’t mind putting it back?”
Pinkie did so; she dropped the Alicorn Amulet into the trap door, which slammed itself shut straight after.
“As nothing is missing, perhaps this proves,” said Zecora, “that Sweetie, I must examine your hooves.”
*****
After a quick check, Zecora, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom ran all the way back to Zecora’s Hut.
“I take it you have a way to find out if somepony poisoned any of your potions?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yes, fortunately, there’s a simple way to tell,” said Zecora. “I only hope it hasn’t been tampered with as well.”
She went to one of her unusual-looking houseplants, and plucked a large leaf from it.
“The slightest contact with poisonous matter,” she explained, “will make this fat leaf grow even fatter.”
She placed the leaf on one of Sweetie’s hooves. The leaf remained the same size.
“No change to the leaf. Well, that’s a relief,” said Zecora. “That potion I spilled will not get you killed.”
She then rolled up the leaf, and proceeded to uncork several bottles of potion and dip the rolled up leaf into each one. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle each plucked a leaf from the same plant and assisted Zecora in searching her potion stores for poison. Each time a leaf made contact with a potion in a bottle, it remained unchanged, apart from getting wet.
*****
Eventually, Pinkie and Limestone turned up.
“Well, our Pie Sister Surprise Swap Day’s over, so would you mind telling us why you showed up earlier?” asked Limestone.
They told the Pie sisters about how Zecora had been found suffocating in a cauldron.
“By now, it seems there was no contamination or thievery,” said Zecora. “So I’m at a loss as to why the cauldron ensnared me.”
“Probably the same way that trap door caught me,” suggested Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie,” said Apple Bloom, ignoring her comment, “Limestone said you got Zecora’s permission to spend a day in the Castle. When was this?”
“Yesterday afternoon,” said Pinkie.
“Ah, so that’s how long I was stuck tight,” said Zecora. “I’d started cleaning my cauldrons late last night.”
Apple Bloom was about to ask Pinkie Pie if she’d seen anypony in the Forest when she’d come to the Hut, but she only let out a loud yawn; as did Sweetie Belle.
“It is getting late, so off home with you two,” Zecora recommended. “Thank you again for coming to my rescue.”
“You ain’t gonna stay here, are ya?” asked Apple Bloom. “Whoever trapped you might come back.”
“Well in that case, I’ll join you, Apple Bloom,” said Zecora. “Perhaps Princess Twilight could put me up in a castle room.”
*****
It was dark when the group exited the Everfree Forest. Limestone bade everypony goodbye, clutching the PSSSD gift Pinkie Pie had given her, and headed for the station. Zecora got permission from Mist Mane and Rock Hoof to enter Twilight’s Castle and request to spend the night there. Apple Bloom headed for Sweet Apple Acres, and Sweetie Belle returned to Carousel Boutique. With so much on her mind, Sweetie found it hard to sleep. After several hours of rolling around in bed, mulling over the day’s events, her bedroom door creaked open, and she froze.
Has the pony who attacked Zecora come for me now? she thought.
She raised her head. She saw that it was only Opalescence. The cat jumped up onto Sweetie’s bed, lied down, and rested her head on one of Sweetie’s hooves.
“Great timing,” Sweetie murmured.
Opal had never rested her head on Sweetie’s hoof before. This was a perfect deterrent from tossing and turning, and before long, Sweetie fell asleep. When she next woke, it was light outside. And Opal was still there in the bed, asleep, and still using Sweetie’s hoof as a pillow. She’d never done that before either. Sweetie Belle was pleased that Opal was in such a cuddly mood… but not so much when it got lighter and lighter outside and Opal still didn’t leave the bed or even move; not even to go eat.
*****
Zecora had told Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer about the shrinking cauldron lid the previous evening. That morning, Twilight and Starlight escorted Zecora back to her home, and conducted their own examination of the hut. Nothing came of it by the time the sun had started to set.
“We have arrangements for tonight, Zecora,” Twilight said. “The Wonderbolts are going to stay at the Castle tonight. They have a show in Ponyville tomorrow afternoon.”
“We’ll send Starswirl and Stygian to guard you and your Hut,” said Starlight.
*****
It was the last day of summer vacation. School was to restart the next day. The plan was the Cutie Mark Crusaders were to have Twilight Time that evening, spend the night at her Castle, and head straight to school the next morning. When they arrived at the Castle and were beckoned in by Meadowbrook and Somnambula, they were pleasantly surprised to see the Wonderbolts in the main hall; all were not in any uniform, although Spitfire had an Equestria Games championship medal on.
“So you’re staying here for the night before your show tomorrow,” Scootaloo beamed.
“Yep,” said Rainbow Dash. “So you get to spend Twilight Time with us.”
Apple Bloom was about to ask what they would be doing for today’s Twilight Time, when the aroma of boiled potatoes and baked peppers entered her nose.
“Smells good in here,” she remarked.
“For this Twilight Time,” Twilight said, “I thought I’d set up a dinner in your honour.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders blushed.
“I think you deserve it,” Twilight went on. “I’ve heard so much about your services in Starlight’s Village…”
*****
There was a flash of white light, and Spike appeared out of nowhere. Twilight yelped, and Spike, Rainbow, Apple Bloom, and some of the Wonderbolts burst out laughing.
“Spike!” Twilight yelled, picking up the enchanted comic book Spike had just popped out of, “you’re supposed to be looking after the deviled eggs.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” chuckled Spike, heading for the kitchen.
Twilight groaned, brandishing the enchanted comic. “He’s been pranking me with these stupid things all weekend.”
“That’s weird,” said Fleetfoot. “I saw Spike go into the kitchen five minutes ago. I never saw him go into that comic.”
“It’s a two-parter,” huffed Twilight. “You can get sucked into one book and come out of the other.”
“Oh, that is so cool!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
Twilight slapped her forehead. “Why did I have to say that in front of the biggest prankster I know?”
*****
Spike refrained from his prank for the rest of the night, and carried on helping Twilight and Starlight preparing the dinner in the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ honour. Before long, it was time to eat.
“I’ve heard,” Spitfire said to the Crusaders, “that there’s a really good flyer in Starlight’s Village.”
Scootaloo promptly spoke up. “She went on record saying she doesn’t want to try and become a Wonderbolt.”
The Wonderbolts were curious. Sweetie Belle was about to expand on what Scootaloo had said by telling them what Night Glider had told her, when she felt something soft brush against her leg. She looked down under the long dining room table, and there was a calico cat rubbing against her.
“Who’s cat is this?” she asked.
“Mine,” said Soarin.
“Oh, you took my advice,” smiled Sweetie.
“Yeah. When I came to Ponyville, I asked Fluttershy to hook me up,” said Soarin. “I named him Sed.”
Sweetie Belle went on to explain why Night Glider didn’t want anything to do with the Wonderbolts, and Spitfire promised to respect the Crusaders’ wishes not to approach her.
*****
“Do the Villagers still not have a mayor or any kind of leader?” Starlight asked during dessert.
“Nope,” said Apple Bloom. “Whenever anything important happens, they have a town meeting. The pony who’s spotted a problem is usually the one who calls and holds it.”
“So anypony can call a meeting and take charge when something’s up?” asked Starlight.
The Crusaders nodded.
“Well, looks like they’ve found a better kind of equality than I’d forced on them,” Starlight grinned.
“You three called a meeting once, didn’t you?” Spitfire asked the Crusaders. “The guy from Canterlot told me you three asked the Villagers if they wanted that Cave blocked up.”
“Yeah, we did hold that meeting,” said Scootaloo.
“Nice. Your first step,” said Starlight.
She got some funny looks.
“Oh, come on. After you graduate, you’re going back there right?” she asked. “When that day comes, it’s only a matter of time before you three are leading that Village.”
*****
This was a comforting thought to leave the Cutie Mark Crusaders with when dinner was over and it was time for bed. Apple Bloom quickly fell asleep and dreamed about when that blessed day came. Scootaloo took longer to fall asleep, as she’d been the last Crusader to reach their room for the night; she’d been chatting with Rainbow Dash and the other Wonderbolts after dinner. Sweetie Belle found it hard to get to sleep. Not so much because the exciting prospects for the CMCs’ future or the unfinished business with Party Favour, Day Star, and Selenic was still weighing on her mind; she had found the baked peppers rather spicy, and it seemed she’d not had enough to drink during dinner. She got up around midnight feeling thirsty. She stepped out of the room. Flash Magnus was out patrolling the corridor, and after Sweetie told him what she wanted, he escorted her down to the kitchen.
*****
As Sweetie Belle opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of water, the sound of meowing filled the kitchen. Sweetie and Flash saw Sed dash across the room towards the open fridge. Sweetie quickly shooed Sed away and closed the fridge door.
“Well, this is embarrassing,” Flash Magnus said as Sweetie downed her drink. “I hate to think how I’d manage if the Castle was invaded by cats.”
Soarin staggered into the room. “Somepony opened the fridge, didn’t they?”
He saw Sed rubbing his head on one of Sweetie Belle’s legs.
“Yep,” Soarin nodded. “He knows the fridge is where the milk is. He’s nuts for that stuff. But Fluttershy warned me not to give milk to an adult cat.”
“Oh, dear. It looks like getting a cat to help you sleep isn’t working,” groaned Sweetie.
“Actually, it did work,” smiled Soarin. “I did fall asleep with Sed lying next to me. I even had a dream.”
He sighed.
“For the first time in years, I had a dream.”
Sweetie Belle smiled. “What was it about?”
“I… don’t remember,” said Soarin.
*****
“But I do remember that Queen Luna visited me in my dream.”
“Queen Luna entered your dream? Did she have an urgent message to give?” asked Flash Magnus.
“No, no. She said she’d never seen me in the dreamscape before and wanted to say hello,” said Soarin.
“I remember when Luna visited my dream once,” said Sweetie. “She showed me what the future would be like if I carried on holding a grudge against my sister, and when I woke up, I was able to put things right thanks to her.”
“The reason I woke up,” Soarin went on, “was because suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, Luna disappeared.”
Sed meowed again. Sweetie Belle looked down at the cat, who was rubbing against her legs which the day before had gotten splashed with potion. Something clicked in her mind. She gasped.
“I know who robbed Zecora and Marble,” she gasped, “and why. I need you two to fly me to Canterlot!”
Despite being imprisoned in the Moon, Nightmare Moon was still able to use magic to look in on ponies’ dreams. And she could still infiltrate dreams as well. So for a while, her banishment fixed nothing. Nightmare Moon continued to give Equestrian citizens bad dreams in an attempt to keep them awake at night and change their sleeping patterns. This worked a few times, and Queen Celestia began to catch on to the possibility that her actions had been for nought. But just when she was about to investigate the matter of haunted dreams, Nightmare Moon discovered that in a thousand years, the stars would be arranged in the sky in such a way that she could cast a spell that would allow her to escape the Moon. So she stopped haunting ponies’ dreams. For generations, bad dreams were scarce and not too disturbing. However, in the months leading up to the thousand year mark, Nightmare Moon found that she’d conserved more than enough magical energy to cast her spell enabling her escape. And in her excitement, she began infecting ponies’ dreams again.
*****
Soarin was one of those ponies who’d been given a nightmare not long before Nightmare Moon’s return and subsequent reformation. This is what caused him to become an insomniac. So tonight, as Queen Luna was monitoring dreams as usual, when she spotted Soarin’s dream bubble, she realised she’d never seen him in the dream realm before. Then she realised he’d been one of the ponies she’d spooked in his sleep before returning for the Summer Sun Celebration. She decided to drop in on his dream to apologise.
*****
Soarin didn’t question why the rabbits he was flying with were orange, had nose rings, and were toting paintball guns, but when Queen Luna appeared alongside him, the absurdity seemed to hit him like a stone.
“I bid you goodnight, Soarin,” Luna said.
“Oh, hello your highness,” said Soarin. “Welcome to…”
He glanced around at the circus tent they were flying in.
“Whatever this is.”
“I have never seen you in the dreamscape before,” said Luna.
“Oh. I haven’t slept in years,” Soarin frowned. “Not since I had a nightmare about getting strangled by an Equestrian flag. I couldn’t help but feel like my bed sheets would do the same from then on.”
*****
Soarin and Luna touched down on a very large step ladder, the top of which was big enough for the both of them to stand on.
“I must apologise, Soarin. For it was I who gave you that nightmare,” said Luna solemnly. And she explained about her actions in the Moon.
Soarin wasn’t sure what to say. Eventually, he settled on “Well, I have a cat now, so I can lie still and sleep.”
“I am happy to hear that,” said Luna, “and I shall do my utmost to help ensure your dreams are undisturbed from this point on.”
“Thanks,” Soarin smiled.
“It was a smart move getting a cat to join you in your bed,” Luna went on, her face brightening a bit now that she knew she had Soarin’s forgiveness. “By nature, cats are hunters, and they know that they are at their most vulnerable while sleeping. They quite like to sleep with companions so that if they are attacked, they can likely face the danger together. I dare say if someone or something does try to strangle you in your sleep, your cat will…”
And then, instantly and without warning, Queen Luna disappeared from Soarin’s dream.
*****
If Soarin found this puzzling (and given that he’d woken up after it happened, he must have done), it was nothing to how Luna felt. One moment, she was speaking to Soarin in his dream, the next moment, she seemed to lose all her senses. She couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t hear anything, she couldn’t speak, and she couldn’t even move her forelegs or wings. Then the next moment, she found herself in a field of cornstalks and sunflowers. She gave her head a shake and looked around. She wondered if Soarin’s dream abruptly changed.
“Soarin?!” she called. “Are you still around?!”
There was no reply. Luna had raised her forehoof to the side of her mouth as she called, and was shocked to find that it wasn’t a hoof at all. It was talons. She looked at herself; she couldn’t see her own face, but her body sported kite down on her neck and a deer tail at her rear.
“I’m a peryton?!”
Luna tried to process what was happening. She was visited by the idea that someone had captured her on the balcony she always stood on while perusing the dreamscape by magic. It seemed plausible, as her conscious mind was always subverted when she did this, and she relied on her guards to keep any potential trespassers away, and to snap her back to reality if a situation arose in the waking world that required her attention. This didn’t explain the location or change of species, but Luna had no ideas for that. If her guards had been subdued, then the best she could hope for was a soldier patrolling the corridors would spot the problem and raise the alarm.
*****
If any castle guards did notice that Luna was no longer standing on her usual balcony, word hadn’t reached Queen Celestia yet. She was about to retire for the night. She was enjoying her pre-bedtime snack; she’d just finished a plate of cookies, and was now washing it down with a glass of milk.
She gagged and coughed. “I think the milk’s gone b…”
Her eyes glowed white.
*****
Celestia blinked. She was no longer in her bedroom. She was standing in a greengage orchard.
“Hello?!” she called.
She spotted some unfamiliar earth ponies. They were staring at the dark blue and purple sky. They were looking towards the horizon to the west. There was a sliver of bright golden light running across the horizon.
“Maybe it’s already up,” one of the earth ponies said. “Maybe we just can’t see it because those lazy pegasi didn’t bother to move the clouds. That’s why it still looks so dark out. I never trusted them pegasi. Honestly, if ponies were meant to be in the air, instead of clouds, there’d be waffles in the sky.”
“Don’t be stupid,” grunted the other impatiently. “Look at all those stars in the sky. You can’t see stars through cloud cover.”
“Then why hasn’t the Sun come up yet?!” snapped the first. “It’s well past 7 o’clock. It is the pegasi, I’ll bet ya! They want to alter the deal so they can get more produce out of us.”
Celestia heard hoofsteps, and turned to see an unfamiliar unicorn approaching the two earth ponies.
“It’s not the pegasi,” he announced.
The earth ponies jumped and turned to face the unicorn.
“It’s us,” the unicorn continued. “We’d like to negotiate a deal for some of the food you grow.”
“Don’t tell me…” one earth pony stared, “you horned lot are holding the Sun hostage!”
He and his colleague turned back to the western horizon. The Sun had still not risen. They looked back at the unicorn, who was smirking.
*****
Celestia recalled the story Twilight had told her about how she’d taken a potion brewed by Zecora that had given her glimpses of the distant past, and how that was the way she’d learned about the Tree Of Harmony. As she watched this scene taking place, clearly before the earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi had united to form Equestria, she had no doubt in her mind that the bad-tasting milk she’d just drank had not been milk. Another flash of white light obscured her vision. Now she was standing on a cliff overlooking the horizon. The sky was brighter, and the golden streak across the horizon was more pronounced. Celestia could see the Moon in the distance on the other end of the sky. There was a small group of unicorns standing alongside Celestia.
“Tampering with the rise and fall of the Sun and Moon could have disastrous consequences,” one said.
“If my calculations are right,” said the one standing on the edge of the cliff, “the abilities I’m about to bestow upon my daughter will be passed down her family line.”
The third unicorn, a filly, said nothing; she just stood nearby looking nervous. Moments later, the Sun dipped below the horizon, and the full Moon became more pronounced. The unicorn standing on the edge of the cliff rubbed her forehead, then lit her horn. At once, she began sweating. Celestia watched as small orbs hovered out of the sky; one came directly from the Sun, the other directly from the Moon. The unicorn casting the spell was perspiring profusely as the two orbs latched onto her daughter’s flank. The filly didn’t yell or wince or even move. She just looked at her newly acquired cutie mark, a moon emitting sunbeams. If Celestia wasn’t so concerned about who had slipped her Past Glimpse Potion and what was happening in the conscious reality, she would have found it fascinating to witness the first pony to wield the ability to raise and lower the Sun and Moon.
*****
Another flash of white light obscured Celestia’s vision. Then she could see nothing but blackness. She felt constricted; much like when the Plunder Plants had captured her that very night when Twilight had taken Past Glimpse Potion. Only this time, it wasn’t thorny vines binding, gagging, and blindfolding her; it was her own mane and tail. She could tell because when she tried to turn her head to the right, the top of her head hurt. She struggled for a few seconds, and then tried to cast a spell to free herself. Nothing happened. She tried again. Her spell did nothing. She tried harder. A sharp pain at the base of her horn prompted her to stop trying.
*****
Celestia felt herself lift, and then all of a sudden, she could move again. She blinked and looked around.
“Is this… still a glimpse of the past?” she wondered, rubbing her eyes with her hoof. “Have the earth ponies conceded to the unicorns? Are they growing more crops to feed three tribes of ponies?”
Celestia remained where she was, expecting to see more history unfold before her eyes. But for several minutes, nothing happened. There was not a sound to be heard. So Celestia ventured through the field of sunflowers and corn stalks. Eventually, she heard a loud noise coming from the area she’d left, and she thought she could see a flash of white light through the thicket of crops and flowers. She was about to backtrack to see what it was, when she heard a familiar voice.
“What was that?! Is someone there?!”
Celestia turned away from where the faint white flash had come from.
“Luna?!”
“Celestia, is that you?!”
Celestia saw movement ahead of her, but while the creature who appeared from amongst a row of corn stalks sounded exactly like Luna, she looked nothing like her.
“Luna? Why are you a peryton?” Celestia asked.
Luna blinked. “Perhaps for the same reason you are a hippalectryon.”
Celestia looked at her body and gasped. She still had the head, chest, and forelegs of a pony, but behind her wing joints were tail feathers and talons. Before the realisation that she was a different species had sunk in though, an enfield jumped out from a cluster of sunflowers. Celestia didn’t know any fox-bird hybrids personally, but she thought she recognised this one. The identity of this interloper clicked as she called in a clear, resolute voice “Bookmark!”
*****
It was pitch dark in the cave outside Starlight’s Village, until an enchanted comic book titled “The Hologramatic Scarecrow Part 2” (though the front cover had been obscured by black paint) opened up and spewed out three ponies. The white light went out, and the Cave was dark again. Then a golden light filled the Cave as Evensong Glisten’s horn lit up. She looked around the Cave. The enchanted comic with the cover painted in black was only just visible on the ledge of the broken Cutie Mark Vault, right where she’d left it. She looked at the ground. There were shards of glass from the broken Vault lying all over the place. The Staff Of Sameness was standing upright next to her. And in front of her, wriggling and straining, were Celestia and Luna, tied up, gagged, blindfolded, and ears covered by their own manes and tails, with small black stones strung tightly around the bases of their horns. Neither of them could cast magic with chunks of Queen Chrysalis' old throne absorbing the energy from any spell they tried to cast to break free. Evensong watched the two Empresses of Equestria struggle and utter muffled shouts and grunts for several minutes.
“I only wish Mom and Dad could see their heroes now,” she grinned.
*****
Evensong negotiated her way through the glass-strewn ground to reach the Cave wall. She picked up two glass jars which, like the comic book cover, had been painted; these jars blended in with the rocks in the Cave corners and had gone unnoticed by the Wonderbolts before they’d sealed the entrance. Evensong unscrewed the lids from the jars, picked up the Staff Of Sameness with her magic, and pointed it at Celestia’s flank. Nothing happened. Evensong’s eyes narrowed. She gave the Staff a little shake. Celestia’s cutie mark still didn’t come off.
“What?” grunted Evensong.
She pointed the Staff at Luna, whose cutie mark also stayed where it was. Evensong prodded Luna’s flank with the wooden stick. Luna’s hind legs recoiled and she uttered a muffled yelp, but she kept her cutie mark as she trembled, not knowing who or what had touched her.
“I think I might be missing some information,” groaned Evensong, looking at the Staff Of Sameness. “Starlight must have used an incantation to activate this thing. Just great.”
Celestia gave a stifled exclamation and arched her body jerkily. It seemed she was lying on a large shard of glass. Chuckling, Evensong magiced the glass shards off of the Cave floor; she didn't want to risk the Queens managing to cut themselves free while she ventured off to fill the gap in her knowledge of the Staff. She turned back to the Vault.
“I hope I can get that information from her before dawn,” she said as she reached for the enchanted comic book.
*****
Before she opened the book, it opened and glowed white. Evensong jumped, dropped the glass shards, and tossed the book aside. A second later, it spewed out three other ponies; Sweetie Belle, Soarin, and Flash Magnus. They blinked in the gold light of Evensong’s horn, and looked quickly around the Cave.
“Cripes! She was right!” exclaimed Soarin when they spotted Celestia and Luna struggling in their mane/tail cocoons.
Sweetie Belle glared at Evensong Glisten. “You stole Marble’s Changeling Throne bracelet, swapped Zecora’s Past Glimpse potion with milk, and captured the Queens… just to spite your parents!”
Evensong was quite unabashed as she jumped over Luna’s writhing body, careful to avoid any glass shards, and looked at Flash Magnus.
“You’re Meadowbrook’s friend. You can tell me how to use this,” she said, brandishing the Staff Of Sameness.
“What is that?” Flash frowned.
“You know what this is,” said Evensong. “It’s one of Mage Meadowbrook’s Nine Enchanted Items.”
“Eight,” Flash said automatically.
“Huh?”
“Meadowbrook only has eight enchanted items,” said Flash, scowling. “Seven, actually. Everypony thinks her healer’s mask was one, but…”
*****
Evensong’s horn glowed brighter as some glass shards lifted from the ground and shot at Flash, who received a cut on his foreleg.
“No more bluffing,” Evensong snarled. “Tell me how I use this to take the Queens’ cutie marks off, or you’ll get more.”
She levitated more glass shards in a threatening manner.
“This is stupid, kid!” Soarin spluttered. “If the Queens lose their cutie marks, there’ll be no one to raise and lower the Sun and Moon.”
“There’ll be the Sun and the Moon themselves,” said Evensong impatiently. “I’m gonna release their cutie marks into the atmosphere. They’ll return to the Sun and Moon, and both orbs will rise and set of their own accord, just like they did thousands of years ago.”
“Well you can’t do that now,” said Sweetie Belle, taking a step forward. “There are castle guards waiting in Celestia’s bedroom. We found Part 1 of that comic book in there, so you can’t get away.”
Evensong glanced at the enchanted comic lying nearby. Undaunted, she turned her attention back to Flash.
“How does this Staff work?” she demanded.
“It doesn’t!” Flash Magnus snapped. “It’s just a stick. It doesn’t take…”
Evensong fired the glass shards she was levitating at Flash.
*****
Sweetie Belle quickly jumped in the line of fire, shielding Flash Magnus from the flying shards of glass. The shards vapourised as soon as they touched her.
“What?” Evensong’s eyes widened.
“Get behind me, Soarin,” said Sweetie Belle.
Soarin did so, but he and Flash knew it was going to be difficult for a teenage filly to shield two adult stallions.
“Oh, yeah? Take this!” Evensong snapped, levitating more glass shards and firing them at Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle got on her hind legs, and stood, forelegs outstretched, as the shards of glass made contact with her and evaporated instantly. Evensong watched, confused, as vapour from the vanished shards drifted up towards the Cave ceiling. She tried again.
“Your magic can’t touch me, Evensong Glisten,” said Sweetie Belle. “Do you know why?”
Even when a shard got into Sweetie Belle’s mouth, it was vapourized; for a moment, it looked like she’d been smoking a tobacco pipe.
“It’s because you don’t know what your cutie mark means,” Sweetie went on. “I can’t be magiced into submission by somepony who doesn’t know what to do with their talents.”
More glass was lifted and fired at Sweetie Belle. More smoke plumed from the evaporated shards.
“You’re using your talents and abilities for evil,” Sweetie told the frustrated Evensong. “Why don’t you let me and my friends help you find good ways to use your magic? We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we can help you.”
*****
Evensong snarled as she watched yet another barrage of broken glass turn to smoke upon hitting Sweetie Belle.
“You think you can outdo my magic?!” Evensong snarled.
She charged her horn. Sweetie Belle watched as her adversary’s horn glowed brighter and started to emit sparks. She charged her own horn; she wasn’t really sure what sort of spell to cast, but she knew whatever it was, it was likely to best anypony who was having a cutie mark conundrum. She fired a beam at Evensong. Evensong dodged, her horn ceasing to spark. Sweetie Belle’s beam of magic hit the broken Cutie Mark Vault. Some of the gridlines began to glow white. Evensong turned and watched the white glowing lines criss-cross along the rows and columns. Soarin and Flash Magnus gazed in amazement as the glowing white lines formed a maze. Sweetie Belle looked as her spell caused the four center squares of the Vault to merge. A symbol glowed magenta; it looked like a star. The Equal sign sitting atop the newly formed maze changed to a shield.
“What the?!” Evensong exclaimed.
Her cutie mark started to glow and vibrate. It split. The purple sun floated towards the maze where the broken Vault used to be. It entered a square and began to slide up, down, and from side to side along the maze. Evensong watched, mesmerised, as her cutie mark navigated its way through the maze, avoiding the center square with the star.
*****
Sweetie Belle marvelled at what her spell had done.
“I’ve done it,” she said softly. “I’ve tapped into my special brand of magic. I’ve created a kind of… reverse Cutie Map.”
“Take a closer look to join the adventure in this book!” Evensong suddenly shouted.
Before Sweetie, Soarin, or Flash Magnus could react, the enchanted copy of “The Hologramatic Scarecrow Part 2” glowed white and swallowed Evensong Glisten up.
“Oh, well,” shrugged Sweetie. “She only has two options, so she’ll get stopped either way.”
The light from Evensong’s horn was gone, but the Cave was still illuminated by the glowing white lines of the Grid Sweetie Belle had created, so Soarin and Flash Magnus went to free Celestia and Luna. Soarin removed the Changeling Throne necklace half from Celestia’s horn, Flash from Luna’s. At once, both Queens horns glowed, and one spell later, they’d disentangled themselves from their manes and tails.
“Thank you,” breathed Celestia.
“What happened?” Luna panted.
Before Sweetie, Soarin, or Flash could answer, a rumbling noise filled the Cave. They all looked up. Evensong’s evaporated magic had formed a cloud under the Cave ceiling, which was making threatening rumbling noises and emitting sparks. Celestia cast a forcefield spell over herself, Luna, Sweetie, Soarin, and Flash. Seconds later, a bolt of lightning shot down at them. It recoched off of Celestia’s forcefield and hit the boulder blocking the Cave entrance, reducing it to dust with a loud burst.
*****
The five ponies waited as the dust settled and a faint glow of early morning purple filled the Cave. They looked up through the forcefield. The cloud of failed magic was gone. It was safe for Celestia to remove the forcefield.
“What happened?!” they heard voices call.
Villagers were approaching the scene. Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but grin with amusement at the sight of shocked and puzzled faces. Ponies from the Village hadn’t expected at all to find the rulers of Equestria in the Cave, and they had no idea what to make of the modifications to the Cutie Mark Vault, in which Evensong Glisten’s cutie mark was still maneuvering.
“Hey, ‘The Hologramatic Scarecrow,” said Double Diamond, spotting the comic book lying open on the Cave ground.
He flipped the book closed with his hoof, and saw that the cover had been smothered with paint.
“Is this Part 1, 2, or 3?” he asked.
Sweetie Belle, Soarin, and Flash Magnus gave a start. They had no idea “The Hologramatic Scarecrow” was a three-parter.
Tree Hugger had arrived in Ponyville to visit Fluttershy’s Animal Sanctuary. She was meandering around observing the unusual species occupying the property.
“Pretty gnarly creatures here,” she mused. “Kinda primitive. Evolution totally gave these guys a skip. So basic and…”
“Tree Hugger,” Spike interrupted, “those are Princess Twilight’s castle guards.”
Tree Hugger blinked at Starswirl and Stygeon.
“Oh, I was wondering what was with that armour they were wearing,” she chuckled.
“Yeah, Fluttershy’s Animal Sanctuary’s that way,” Spike pointed to the other end of town.
“Sweet. See ya,” said Tree Hugger, leaving the front steps of Twilight’s Castle.
Starswirl the Bearded looked to Stygeon. “Surely the pony genome hasn’t changed that much since our time?”
*****
Tree Hugger eventually found her way to the sanctuary. Fluttershy was pleased to see her.
“I want you to meet Tirry,” she said.
Tree Hugger blinked. “Whoa, trippy. Did your buddy Discord mix a goat, a lion, and a snake into one or something?”
“Tirry’s a chimera,” said Fluttershy.
“Far out,” grinned Tree Hugger, reaching out a hoof to shake the chimera’s paw.
The lion’s head didn’t seem to notice Tree Hugger extending her hoof, and neither did the snake that formed the creature’s tail. The goat head protruding from the creature’s back however clearly did spot her, and gave a small bow.
“How’s it hanging, dude?” Tree Hugger smiled.
The goat head said nothing. Neither did the lion’s head. The snake-head tail tilted over a bit, as if to say “Not much.”
“So how long have you…?”
The lion’s head interrupted Tree Hugger. “So when’s that pony from the Equestrian Society For The Protection Of Rare Creatures coming?”
“Tirry,” Fluttershy explained, “is blind and deaf in one head, blind and mute in another head, and deaf and mute in the third head.”
*****
“So does he, like, live here permanently?” asked Tree Hugger.
The snake head frowned.
“He wants to, but he also wants to find a way to make himself useful,” said Fluttershy. “He knows he can’t survive in the wild…”
She saw Tirry’s goat head look behind the two ponies, and turned to find a giraffe walking sluggishly towards them. She could see from the look in his eyes that he was unwell.
As the giraffe approached, Tirry’s snake head showed concern in the face. Fluttershy and Tree Hugger knew why. The rumbling sound coming from the giraffe told them he had upset stomach.
“I hope it’s not a bad batch of food,” said Fluttershy. “We get donations, and most ponies are very generous, but sometimes, unscrupulous ponies just want to unload expired food on us.”
“Well, there ya go,” smiled Tree Hugger. “That’s how Tirry can earn his keep.”
“What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy.
“He can inspect the food parcels,” said Tree Hugger. “The goat head can look for sell-by dates and mould, the snake can shake tins and bags to hear for defects, and the lion head can report any bad batches they find to you.”
The snake head smiled, and began tapping the goat’s forehead. After several beats, the goat looked at the ponies with a smile and a nod. The snake head reached over to the lion head and tapped on his head as well.
“Ooh, I’d love to help look over the food donations!” the lion head exclaimed with a smile.
“Then it’s settled,” smiled Fluttershy.
*****
It only took a few days to determine what a good idea this was. Tirry didn’t move about much, but he was now quite content to sit around sifting through food parcels ponies had donated, spotting problems, and sorting which food parcels would go to which animals.
“Pretty sweet animal pad you got here, Flutters,” said Tree Hugger as she was about to take her leave.
“Thank you for coming,” Fluttershy said. “You’re so bright and perceptive when it comes to animals.”
Tree Hugger brushed this compliment off. “It’s what I’m best at, man… even if my cutie mark's like ‘Nahhh.”
Suddenly, the red tree on Tree Hugger’s flank began to glow.
“Whoa… it knows I’m talking about it,” she said.
Fluttershy’s mouth fell open in surprise. “The Cutie Map is calling Tree Hugger? I’d never have guessed that would happen.”
No sooner had she spoken when Tree Hugger’s cutie mark split and began to drift away.
“Run! Run, cutie mark! You’re free!” shouted Tree Hugger.
“Come on, Tree Hugger,” said Fluttershy. “You’re needed at Twilight’s Castle.”
*****
Stygeon frowned. “Not you again.”
“Tree Hugger’s here on official business,” Fluttershy told Stygeon and Starswirl. “She’s being summoned by the Cutie Map.”
“Then why is her cutie mark bypassing the Castle?” asked Starswirl.
Fluttershy, Stygeon, and Tree Hugger looked up. Starswirl the Bearded was right. The split cutie mark was heading north.
“Wait a minute... it’s not Twilight’s Map that’s calling you, Tree Hugger,” said Fluttershy with a jolt of interest and excitement.
“What a relief,” sighed Stygeon.
“It’s Sweetie Belle’s Grid,” Fluttershy went on.
“Do you reckon?” asked Starswirl.
“So I’m not the only one seeing this, right?” asked Tree Hugger. “My cutie mark is flying away, isn’t it?”
“It is,” said Fluttershy. “It’s leading you to Starlight’s old Village. Go follow it, Tree Hugger. Catch the next train north.”
*****
Tree Hugger made a beeline for the train station. There was a passenger train at the platform. Tree Hugger jumped into the cab of the locomotive, and flashed her Equestrian Society For The Protection Of Rare Creatures badge at the driver.
“Follow that cutie mark!” she said to the Driver.
The Driver pointed her to the Station booking office.
*****
Tree Hugger spent most of her train journey north looking out of her coach window, monitoring her cutie mark’s progress as it streaked across the sky. Eventually, she saw her cutie mark veer to the east. The train was carrying on northbound. Tree Hugger pulled the communication cord.
“Turn this train right!” she called.
The emergency brake was applied. Most of Tree Hugger’s fellow passengers began to grumble. The Guard walked up.
“Trains don’t steer themselves, miss,” she said. “They follow the rails. Get off at the next junction and you can board the next eastbound train from there.”
“Righteous,” Tree Hugger grinned contently.
The passengers continued to grumble about the delay as the Guard made her way back to the brake coach.
“Don’t be mad,” one said. “That pony’s just having an existential crisis. Look out the window.”
Some passengers looked out and were surprised to see a little red tree that looked exactly like Tree Hugger’s cutie mark floating away from the train towards the mountains.
“So she really was following her cutie mark,” said another passenger. “I thought she was just hallucinating.”
*****
Before long, Tree Hugger made her way to the Village Halt. She detrained and could see her cutie mark floating in the direction of Starlight’s Village.
“I’m gonna getcha!” she called, following it.
Tree Hugger barely registered the cliff faces, the bridge, and the Village itself as she chased her cutie mark. She watched it intently as it finally reached the Cave. She entered. The Cave seemed dark from the outside, but as Tree Hugger entered, a warm glow seemed to illuminate it. At the end of the Cave, she could see a large stone Grid. She watched, stunned, as her cutie mark entered the Grid, and began to criss-cross along the Maze, joining another cutie mark; the purple sun of Evensong Glisten’s.
“Cool,” said Tree Hugger, standing mesmerised at the two cutie marks chasing each other through the Maze, but avoiding the large star in the center of the Grid.
*****
“I told you!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
She, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo entered the Cave. They’re cutie marks were glowing like Tree Hugger’s had, but as soon as they’d reached the Grid and saw Tree Hugger had come, their marks stopped glowing.
“It really is a Reverse Cutie Map!” Apple Bloom burst with excitement.
“And we have our first client!” bubbled Scootaloo.
“Second, technically,” said Sweetie Belle. “Don’t forget, Evensong ran off…”
“I mean,” Scootaloo interrupted, “our first client from outside the Village. Oh, I can’t wait to write home!”
“Me too! They’re bound to let us stay in the Village now!” Sweetie Belle squeaked excitedly.
“Wait, wait. We still have a duty, remember,” said Apple Bloom, trying to compose herself but still plainly as happy as her fellow CMCs were. “Let’s solve the problem the Cutie Mark Grid called us for. Evensong might be avoiding our help, but Tree Hugger here seems keen to find her calling.”
Tree Hugger certainly was staring intently at her cutie mark negotiating its way through the Maze. In fact, the Crusaders weren’t sure she’d even noticed they’d entered the Cave.
*****
Eventually, they managed to snap Tree Hugger out of her trance.
“Oh yeah, I remember you three,” she said. “Fluttershy told me at the Grand Galloping Gala that you live in a treehouse in Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Well, not quite,” Sweetie Belle corrected her. “That treehouse was just our base of operations.”
“Yeah, we don’t actually live there,” said Scootaloo.
“We don’t really do anything with it anymore,” said Apple Bloom.
“I think I saw a tree in the Village on my way here,” Tree Hugger said. “It was blocking the road.”
“No, it’s just at the end of the road,” Scootaloo told her.
“Oh, well it looked like it could support a clubhouse,” Tree Hugger went on. “If your treehouse in the orchard is too small for you three now, why not build a bigger one here in the Village?”
The excitement rushed back into the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
*****
There was a town meeting the next morning, but instead of being held at the end of the road, the Villagers gathered in the Cave (as many as could fit, anyway). The ones that stood outside could still make out the Cutie Mark Grid’s brightness, and could still hear the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they made their speech about they’re new calling.
“So, as we have such important business in your Village,” Apple Bloom concluded, “we would like to set up a base of operations. Would anypony object if we built a clubhouse in the tree at the end of the road?”
The Villagers looked around at each other.
“Or is that tree important to you all?” asked Scootaloo.
Again, the Villagers glanced from side to side, as though waiting for somepony to speak up.
“Uh, who planted that tree in the first place?” asked Sweetie Belle.
After more glances and head-turns, some of the Villagers shrugged.
“I don’t remember seeing anypony plant that tree after we’d torn down Starlight’s cottage,” said Double Diamond.
“Me neither,” said Feather Bangs.
“Anypony at the back know who planted that tree?!” Night Glider called to the outside of the Cave.
There were faint murmurs, but nopony spoke up.
“I guess,” said Sugar Belle, “since we don’t really know how that tree got there in the first place, nopony will mind if there’s a clubhouse in it.”
The Crusaders’ faces brightened like the Grid as murmurs of agreement filled the Cave.
*****
It only took a few days for the Treehouse to be built. Apple Bloom spearheaded the plans and construction, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle assisted her all throughout the process, and Villagers volunteered their services, measuring, sawing, hammering, and painting.
“You know,” Apple Bloom said to her fellow CMCs as the project was nearing completion, “I remember Limestone asking me if we were gonna build a treehouse in this Village. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that…”
“Wait,” Sweetie Belle interrupted, “where’s Tree Hugger.
“Still in the Cave, I’ll bet,” smirked Scootaloo.
*****
Sure enough, when the Crusaders took a construction break and went to the Cave, there was Tree Hugger, still watching hers and Evensong’s cutie marks chasing each other around the Maze.
“Tree Hugger?!” called Scootaloo.
Tree Hugger turned. “What’s good, guys?”
“Sorry we left you here,” said Apple Bloom, a little red in the face. “We just… got a little excited when you said we should build a treehouse in the Village.”
“Thank you, by the way,” put in Scootaloo. “You’ve been a big help to us. Now we’re going to do our duty and help you find out why you have a tree for a cutie mark when your unique talent is for caring for animals. So…”
“So that’s what my cutie mark means,” Tree Hugger interrupted.
The Crusaders watched as Tree Hugger’s cutie mark slid into the center square of the Grid, flashed like a firework, and slowly vanished.
“What I’m best at is finding the right place for the right creatures,” Tree Hugger went on, not seeming to notice that her mark on her flank was glowing, or that her mark in the Grid had found the Star.
The Crusaders weren’t sure whether or not to be upset at being called creatures.
“I found the right home for Tirry, and I found the right base of operations for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Far out!”
As she’d realised that her cutie mark denoted her talent for matching creatures to ideal living conditions, the CMCs avoided mentioning to Tree Hugger that Limestone had had the same idea she gave them.
“I really don’t know how to feel,” said Scootaloo, folding a letter from home into a paper airplane.
“Happy, of course,” said Sweetie Belle. “They’re letting you stay in the Village.”
“Yeah, but…” Scootaloo toyed with the paper airplane, “why didn’t they come and give me their blessing in the flesh like your sisters are?”
She gestured to Applejack and Rarity, who were sitting with the Crusaders at a table outside the Cafe.
“Maybe they figured since you asked them if you could stay by mail,” Apple Bloom suggested, “they’d send you their blessing by mail as well.”
“Now while we agree that it is a good idea for you three to remain in the Village after all,” Rarity interjected, “we would very much like for you to carry on with your education.”
Applejack nodded in agreement. “Y’all are still young’uns.”
“I gotta admit, I’ll miss Mr Sticker,” said Apple Bloom. “Just as much as I missed Miss Cheerilee when we finished Primary School.”
“But there’s no schoolhouse in this Village,” said Scootaloo, still showing no sign of throwing her paper airplane. “And there aren’t any teachers here either.”
“And we, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, must be on call at all times,” said Sweetie Belle, gesturing towards the Cave outside of town. “So what can be done about it?”
Applejack and Rarity said nothing more on the subject for the rest of their day-trip to Starlight’s Village.
*****
The next day, the Crusaders were going to put the finishing touches on their new Treehouse. The first thing they saw when they left the Cafe was Big Macintosh hauling a heavy load of timber to the end of the road.
“Whoa, that’s a lot,” observed Sweetie Belle.
“We ain’t gonna need nearly that much,” said Apple Bloom with a frown.
Big Mac dropped off the timber near the tree and turned back towards the Cafe.
“Gonna be a big construction day,” he told the Crusaders. “Well, have fun finishing your treehouse.”
The Crusaders looked at the large quantity of wood.
“Do we want to add extensions?” asked Scootaloo.
A pause.
“Nah,” all three said together.
“We’ll worry about it after we’re done,” grinned Apple Bloom. “Come on, let’s finish this thing up.”
*****
While it was bigger than the one back on Sweet Apple Acres, this Treehouse was still modest, and that was all anypony wanted it to be. The work left over to do was menial but still had to be done. The Crusaders didn’t have any volunteers helping them that day, but they didn’t really need any assistance to install windows, lamp brackets, calendar and chart pegs, and to assemble furnishings. As the sun was setting, there was only one task left. The Crusaders had set up a chute that led to a trash bin that sat next to the tree’s trunk.
“So, what are we gonna do with all that extra wood?” asked Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom turned her head. “Uh… what extra wood?”
*****
Almost all of the wood Big Mac had dragged into town was gone.
“Wait a minute,” said Sweetie Belle, “is that what Big Mac meant when he said it was a big construction day?”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to where Sweetie was looking, and saw at once why no Villagers had volunteered to help them finish up their Treehouse. They found themselves staring at the foundations and frames of a new cottage sitting on the other side of the Tree.
Sugar Belle arrived hauling a trolley of refreshments. “I haven’t forgotten you three, don’t worry. I know you’ve been hard at work all day too.”
“Who’s that cottage for, Sugar Belle?” asked Scootaloo.
“That’s not going to be a cottage,” Sugar Belle told them. “This is the new schoolhouse.”
Apple Bloom burst out laughing.
*****
On Monday the following week, Apple Bloom didn’t even so much as smile. She was awoken by a school bell. She’d been told there would be school that morning, but it just didn’t sink into her head. She was still dumbfounded as she found herself lining up in front of the now-completed schoolhouse along with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
“But who’s gonna be the teacher?” she wondered.
“Maybe it’ll be a different Villager every day,” suggested Sweetie Belle. “Maybe they’ll teach us something they each know a lot about.”
“Oh, like how they hold Town Meetings,” said Scootaloo. “The Villager with the most knowledge on the subject takes the reins.”
The door opened.
“Very good,” gurgled an old unicorn stallion none of the Crusaders recognised. “File in.”
*****
“I am Professor Glomgold,” the teacher said once his three students had taken their seats at their desks. “I’m an old colleague of Twilight Sparkle. I used to teach at Queen Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns. I retired at the start of summer, and Twilight reached out to me suggesting a home and hobby for me to spend the rest of my days. So here I am.”
The Crusaders tried not to groan. They tried to distract themselves by admiring the interior of the brand new schoolhouse; it wasn’t too far off from the one they were used to back in Ponyville. But it seemed there was no time for distractions, as Glomgold picked up a stick of chalk and began writing on the blackboard. As he wrote, he launched into a lecture about the origins of the land which was currently occupied by Starlight’s Village.
“I’ll wager you’ve been wondering why there is an unofficial train station halt outside this Village.”
He stopped writing on the blackboard and paused his speech.
“I don’t hear pencils scratching.”
The Crusaders realised he wanted them to be taking notes.
*****
Glomgold made no effort to mask his disappointment as he turned and watched his students hastily pull out pencils and paper.
“If you want to live in this Village,” he said, “you must learn how it came to be here in the first place.”
“We know why this Village is here,” Apple Bloom blurted out. “It used to be a cult colony.”
“That is true,” said Professor Glomgold with a frown, “but there is history of this area before Starlight Glimmer came along. Starlight was not around at the time of King Grover of Griffonstone.”
“She might have been,” shrugged Apple Bloom. “You know the whole time travel thing.”
“As you find no value in this lecture,” Glomgold said, “you may do an in-class assignment to be turned in at the end of today’s class.”
He produced a textbook; “Bygone Griffons Of Greatness.”
“You shall read about King Grover’s plans for a rail extension to Griffonstone,” he instructed. “And you shall each write a paper describing it. You may share the textbook and you may confer, but no copying the text word-for-word, and your submissions must not be identical.”
*****
At lunchtime, the Crusaders went to Sugar Belle’s Cafe; Professor Glomgold didn’t object, but he told them he would punish them if they were late returning.
“He’s boring,” groaned Scootaloo.
“He’s tough,” sighed Sweetie Belle.
“He treats us like idiots,” scowled Apple Bloom.
Big Mac took no notice of the Crusaders’ complaints about their new teacher. He distinctly remembered Apple Bloom and her friends grumbling about Sticker when they’d entered Secondary School; they’ve even complained about Cheerilee in their first few Primary School days.
“What do we need school for anyway?” Apple Bloom moaned. “So we can be ready for the future? We know what our future is. We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We have a destiny set in stone. Literally.”
She looked out of the window towards the Cave wherein stood the Cutie Mark Grid.
*****
The Crusaders lined up outside the Schoolhouse before the end-of-lunch bell rang, and Professor Glomgold beckoned them in with a nod of approval.
“I understand,” he scowled as his students returned to their desks, “that one of you was responsible for the exile of my star student.”
Sweetie Belle gave a start. “I had no choice! She’d abducted the Queens, Professor. Don’t you know?”
“I do know. I’m not blaming you,” clarified Glomgold. “I’d had misgivings about Evensong Glisten for a while. She was the only student I ever had who never complained about or struggled with the workload I give out on a daily basis.”
He stared at the ceiling, seemingly unconcerned about the dread that was now gripping the Crusaders’ souls.
“She was hungry for knowledge,” he said. “Knowledge is power, but without a sense of responsibility, it can be an evil power.”
*****
The Crusaders turned in their papers as class was drawing to a close. Professor Glomgold rifled through them very quickly.
“B- work overall,” he said. “Good, good.”
The Crusaders were quite disarmed.
“Now for tonight’s homework,” the Professor went on. “You shall research what kind of crops were grown on this land before this town gained an apple orchard.”
The end-of-day bell ringing drowned out the groans from the students.
“A word of warning, Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Professor Glomgold said as Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle began to file out. “If you happen to be called by the Cutie Mark Grid to help somepony with a cutie mark problem, this will not excuse you from turning in your homework tomorrow.”
And with that, he yawned and climbed the ladder to the Schoolhouse loft.
*****
It was the worst time Apple Bloom in particular ever had doing homework. The prospect of being summoned by the Cutie Mark Grid had been an exciting one up to this point. Now that she and her friends had to read and write about ancient pumpkin patches and beat plantations at the risk of strict detentions, the idea of being called away by a magical giant rock seemed more like a threat now. The three Crusaders spent the entire evening in their Treehouse; none of them were happy that the first serious business they would undertake in there was homework. Conversation was scarce; Apple Bloom never even spoke. She was too anxious about the possibility of being called away to the Cave. It didn’t happen, but by the time they’d finished their papers and returned to the Cafe, Apple Bloom was a bundle of nerves.
*****
Apple Bloom slept badly that night, and she felt awful when the school bell rang the next morning. Fortunately, when she and her fellow Crusaders arrived at the Schoolhouse, there was something to distract them temporarily from the tough day they were about to endure.
“Cooper,” said Apple Bloom, “we’re supposed to line up here. You’re kind of in our way.”
Old Lady Cooper sighed through her nose as she rocked back and forth in her chair. “That’s not my house behind me again, is it?”
“No, it’s the Village’s new Schoolhouse,” said Sweetie Belle kindly.
“I struggled a lot in my school days,” said Old Lady Cooper absently. “Because of my cutie mark, I was always treated with suspicion by staff and students.”
The Crusaders thought Old Lady Cooper seemed strangely undaunted by this. Then they heard mooing and turned to see a herd of cattle being driven into town towards the orchard, and understood why.
*****
When the start-of-class bell rang, the Crusaders were surprised to find themselves waiting for over a minute for the door to open.
“Please pass me your homework as you enter,” Professor Glomgold said when he opened the door at last.
The Crusaders did so, and as they took their seats, Glomgold walked to his desk while rifling through their papers.
“B work, most of you,” he said as he parked himself behind his desk. “C work on your part, Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom’s hooves clenched.
“Alright,” said the Professor. “Free period.”
*****
For the rest of the morning, the Crusaders flipped through books, doodled, and chatted. They left for the Cafe at lunchtime again, and after they came back, Professor Glomgold allowed them to carry on with their free period. Before the end-of-day bell rang, the Crusaders had played a few card games, and they’d made paper airplanes and threw them around the classroom. All the while, Glomgold sat at his desk glancing over a book. When school began the next morning, the Professor declared another free period.
“I met Old Lady Cooper outside yesterday morning,” he said, seeming to have read the curiosity and concern on his students’ faces. “She told me about how she’d struggled with the meaning of her cutie mark all her life, and how it wasn’t until her winter years that she came to understand it.”
He sat lazily at his desk.
“It occurred to me that I am the opposite of that,” he went on. “I’ve always understood my cutie mark.”
The Crusaders peered around the teacher’s desk to see the book spewing out pages on the Professor’s flank.
“I’ve made my contribution. Now that I’m entering my winter years, it’s time I took it easy.”
He sat up straighter as his students took their seats.
“I also know,” he went on, “that it was thanks to you three that Old Lady Cooper had her epiphone. I understand you three have a vital public service to perform. And while it may be on an on-call basis, I do not wish to jeopardise your important duties by assigning you too much school work.”
*****
For the rest of the week, the Crusaders’ workload was easy, with Professor Glomgold only occasionally giving a half-hearted lecture and assigning them menial homework with flexible deadlines. And during all this time, the Cutie Mark Grid had not called upon the Crusaders.
“When the Grid eventually does call us,” said Scootaloo confidently, “do you think it’ll be the Professor it wants us to help?”
“Maybe. Unless he’s right about getting his life’s work behind him,” said Sweetie Belle. “Otherwise, he’s just abandoning what his cutie mark dictates.”
“Let’s not rock the boat,” insisted Apple Bloom. “If the Grid calls us to help somepony, we don’t want him to be giving us too much homework.”
“But if the Grid calls us to help him?” asked Sweetie.
“Then… I guess we’ll have to encourage him to pour it on,” sighed Apple Bloom. “But surely the Grid wants us to be ready and able, right?!”
*****
After the weekend, Monday morning class saw Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle playing cards, while Professor Glomgold napped at his desk. There was a knock at the door.
“Professor?” Apple Bloom piped up.
Glomgold slept on. There was another knock.
“Eh, I’ll get it,” shrugged Apple Bloom, abandoning the card game and heading to the door. She was pleasantly surprised to see Muga and Coan had arrived.
“Hi, Mr and Mrs Silk!” called Scootaloo.
Professor Glomgold woke up.
“Uh, hello Professor,” said Muga, looking around the classroom at the card game and the drowsy teacher. “Sorry if we’re interrupting.”
“It’s alright,” said Glomgold, sitting up straight. “It’s only a free period.”
“This is Muga Silk and his wife Coan,” Apple Bloom told the teacher. “They live here in the Village with their son Mussel.”
“Well Mussel lives with us during the summer, anyway,” said Coan with a frown. “The rest of the year, we don’t see him. He’s away in boarding school.”
“So we wanted to ask you, Professor,” said Muga, “if you would consider taking on the role of Primary School teacher in this Village as well as Secondary.”
*****
Professor Glomgold blinked, and gave a nervous glance at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who still had their playing cards in their hooves and spread across Apple Bloom’s desk.
“We would love to pull our son out of boarding school and attend one right here in the Village,” Coan told him. “Then he wouldn’t have to be so far from home almost all year.”
“And we’re sure there are other parents in town who would like it if their foals could go to Primary School here,” put in Muga.
Glomgold glanced at Apple Bloom, who managed to muster an encouraging smile.
“Not all spiders make webs to catch prey,” Profesor Glomgold told his teenage students one day. “Some simply hide in dark spaces waiting to pounce, others dig holes, and some even go hunting.”
I hope Glomgold teaches this same lesson to his Primary School students as well, thought Scootaloo. Mussel would like that.
Suddenly, her cutie mark started glowing and vibrating; Apple Bloom’s and Sweetie Belle’s too.
“Well then, class dismissed,” said the Professor, who had noticed this.
The whole class started to leave their seats.
“Uh, Professor,” said Sweetie Belle, “remember, there are non-CMCs in class now.”
“Oh thanks, Sweetie,” groaned Puck, one of the other teenage students.
*****
The Crusaders could see a dark shape hovering in the sky towards them as they reached the mouth of the Cave. They couldn’t tell what the shape was from down on the ground.
“I think,” said Sweetie Belle, “that whoever’s cutie mark’s going off, it must go off earlier than ours, so they can get a head start. Ours only go off when the visitor’s getting close to the Village.”
“Makes sense,” nodded Apple Bloom, not taking her eyes off the approaching dark shape.
Closer and closer the floating image came, but still, Apple Bloom couldn’t tell what the symbol was.
“Are you coming?” Scootaloo asked as she and Sweetie entered the Cave.
Apple Bloom didn’t answer. The floating cutie mark was nearly above her head, but it was pitch black, blurry, and almost transparent.
“Come on, Apple Bloom!” called Sweetie as the indistinguishable mark hovered into the Cave. “We want all three of us to be in here when the visitor comes.”
But Apple Bloom could already see some strangers flying towards her; a mare and a colt. She gave a start when she noticed that the colt was a blank flank.
*****
“Hello,” said the Mare. “We’re following something that shot from my son’s flank.”
“Come on in,” Apple Bloom beckoned the two visitors into the Cave.
They entered.
“Wow,” said the Colt when he saw the Cutie Mark Grid.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were watching the dark shape enter the Grid and join Evensong Glisten’s cutie mark in navigating the Maze.
“I don’t believe it!” Sweetie exclaimed when she saw the Colt. “My Grid can even summon blank flanks!”
*****
“So you three are the Cutie Mark Crusaders we’ve heard about,” said the Mare with a grin.
“Yep. I’m Apple Bloom, that’s Scootaloo, and that’s Sweetie Belle.”
“I’m Powder,” said the Mare.
“And my name’s Oop,” said the Colt.
“So let me guess,” said Apple Bloom. “You don’t know what you want to do with your life?”
“Kind of,” Oop frowned.
“No need to be upset about it,” said Scootaloo kindly. “We’ve all been there.”
Oop went quiet.
“It’s not so much that he doesn’t know what he wants,” Powder spoke up. “He’s just prone to bad luck. He does try a lot of new things, but they always seem to go wrong.”
“Even when I try things again,” Oop found his voice again, “I fail. I’m a failure. I fail at everything. No matter what my cutie mark might be for when I get it, I’ll be terrible at whatever it tells me.”
*****
“Mind if I ask what you were doing when you were called to this Cave?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Oh. Well Mom had surprised me with my favourite snack,” said Oop with the merest trace of a smile. “Chocolate milk with ice cream in it.”
Inside, the Crusader’s felt uncomfortable. There was a time when they were younger that they also enjoyed sugary food like that, but by now, they were growing out of it.
“But I spilled it again,” groaned Oop.
“Oh, I thought I heard something after I’d gone into the living room,” said Powder. “And when I came into the kitchen to have a look, there was… wait, did you say again?”
Oop looked miserable. “I spill it every time.”
“I never knew that,” said Powder with wide eyes.
“I was always embarrassed about it and disappointed with myself,” Oop confessed, “so I always clean up the mess and put the glass away so no one would know. I just didn’t this time because I was distracted by that weird shape that came from my flank.”
He looked at the nondescript blob playing hide-and-seek with Evensong’s cutie mark, and his expression became more miserable.
*****
The Crusaders promised to help Oop discover what he can do, but Oop was still certain that whatever his cutie mark will be, he’ll never be able to live up to it.
“Everything I try, I louse up,” he said morosely.
“This might take a while,” sighed Scootaloo.
“How long do you think it’ll take?” asked Powder. “Will I have to pull Oop out of school until you’ve found a way to help him?”
Sweetie Belle grinned. “Not necessarily.”
*****
The Crusaders led Powder and Oop out of the Cave to show them around Starlight’s Village. Oop did not protest, but he maintained his pessimistic disposition as he followed the procession up the road.
“So,” said Powder when they reached the end of the road where the Tree and Schoolhouse was, “where will we be staying while you three help Oop find his cutie mark?”
None of the Crusaders answered. This sort of issue had never occurred to them. When Tree Hugger came to town, she pretty much just stayed in the Cave and watched hers and Evensong’s cutie marks chase each other around the Maze. There was no inn in town. Apple Bloom decided to ask Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle if they could put Powder and Oop up for a bit.
“Sure, we can let them stay with us,” said Sugar Belle.
“Eeeeyup,” Big Mac agreed, “but it might be worth holding a Town Meeting about this.”
“Yeah, maybe we should call for volunteers to build a hostel in this Village,” Sugar Belle nodded.
Apple Bloom informed the other Crusaders and the visitors about this.
“If the other Villagers approve and we start building a hostel,” Apple Bloom said to Oop, “will you pitch in?
Oop gulped. “Sure. If I can help, I will.”
*****
All went well when a Town Meeting was held the next morning, and soon plans were drawn up and materials were acquired. Work began on the hostel. Oop was on the volunteer roster for every day of construction. He was tasked with jobs ranging from arranging boxes of nails, to mixing cement, to hauling away wheelbarrows of excavated earth. Oop was by no means reckless or clueless, yet every time he attempted a job, things went wrong. First, a box of nails bottomed out and everypony within two meters had to stay still until Party Favour, the nearest unicorn, could magic all the nails back into their container. Next, while he was mixing cement for the hostel foundations, he tripped on something and fell into the mixer. Fortunately, Undercoat spotted this and was able to pull him out, but it took the rest of the day to clean him up. Then, while he was carting away some dirt, the wheelbarrow bounced, and some dust flew up and got into his eyes. He knew the load of dirt had spilled well before he was able to open his eyes again. Each time something went wrong for him, he was racked with embarrassment, and refused to continue on with the task at hoof, no matter how encouraging the Crusaders, his Mom, and the Villagers tried to be.
*****
On the final day of construction, after a mishap with a stack of roof slate, Oop ran off, red-faced and discouraged, to the Cave. He was surprised to find Apple Bloom there. She was looking at the black blurry blob criss-crossing it’s way along the Grid.
“Trying to figure out what it might be?” asked Oop.
Apple Bloom jumped. “Uh… well, yeah.”
Oop joined her.
“It doesn’t look like a nail, or a cement mixer, or a wheelbarrow,” he huffed.
“Any ideas what it could be?” Apple Bloom knew it was futile to ask, but couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Well, whatever that object is,” he said, “it feels like I’m looking straight through it.”
Apple Bloom looked harder. “Or maybe it’s more than one object.”
The two youngsters spent a few more minutes trying to decipher what the symbol was.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Apple Bloom conceded.
Oop did not look happy.
“Come on. The hostel should be almost finished now,” said Apple Bloom. “Let’s help with the bed sheets and drapes. Or maybe we could finish painting the door and window frames.”
*****
When Powder set hoof into the hostel for the first time, it was to find unpainted door and window frames.
“I take it Oop’s cleaned up whatever mess he’s made?”
“Uh, Oop wouldn’t actually try to help with the frames,” Apple Bloom frowned.
“There’s not much of a difference,” sighed Powder. “After Oop told me about how he always spills his chocolate milk with ice cream, I realised he’s always been trying to get rid of any evidence. Only last month, he tried to take up painting. When I left him in his bedroom, he’d set up an easel and canvas, and loaded a pallet with paint. But when I went back later that day, it was all gone. You’d never have guessed that there’d been anything in his room remotely related to painting.”
Apple Bloom’s face fell.
“I just wish I knew what happened,” Powder went on. “I don’t know if he spilled some paint on the floor, or if his painting didn’t turn out how he’d hoped, or if he broke the easel… I don’t even know where the easel went.”
She noticed Apple Bloom was looking downcast.
“I guess I shouldn’t complain. He does clean up after himself,” said Powder optimistically.
“But he’s so ashamed about making one little mistake, he tries to cover it up and pretend it never happened,” frowned Apple Bloom. “No one can move on with their lives when they whitewash their mistakes.”
*****
Summer was over, but mosquitoes were still a problem in the Village. Oop and Powder had enjoyed their overnight stay in the new Village Hostel, but when Oop attended Primary School class the next morning, he found it hard to concentrate on Professor Glomgold’s lesson on how dew is formed. He spent most of his time in that class scratching several mosquito bites.
“It’s too bad Mussel’s sick in bed today,” said Hawk Head, one of Mussel’s classmates.
“Who’s Mussel?” Oop asked quietly while the Professor went on talking.
“He’s pretty much the Village’s pest pony,” Hawk Head whispered. “He collects spiders and leaves them in people’s rooms so they can catch the mosquitoes. If he was feeling well, there’d be no mosquitoes in that new Hostel.”
*****
When Primary School class was over for the day, the students filed out. Oop saw the Secondary School students lined up; including the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He told them about what he’d heard about Mussel, and when they confirmed this, Oop’s face seemed to brighten a little bit for the first time since they’d met him.
“I want to try that,” he said. “I want to collect spiders and leave them in the Hostel.”
None of the Crusaders objected to this, as they were so pleased to see Oop taking initiative and showing enthusiasm. But after he scampered off, Scootaloo had concerns to voice.
“How would Mussel feel if somepony else has the same talent as him?” she wondered. “Or even the same cutie mark?”
“Oop doesn’t live in this Village,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “If he pulls this off, he can be a pest pony back in his hometown. Mussel will still be the top pest pony in Starlight’s Village.”
*****
When Secondary School class was dismissed for the day, the CMCs were greeted outside the Schoolhouse by Powder.
“Oop has been scrounging for spiders all afternoon,” she said. “And he’s dropping them off in the hostel to catch mosquitoes.”
“And… nothing’s gone wrong so far?” asked Apple Bloom.
“No,” said Powder, “but let’s have a look.”
She walked towards the Hostel, which was on the other side of the “road” from the Schoolhouse (both buildings were on the other side of the Tree), but instead of going through the front door, she went around the building and looked through the window of the room she and Oop were staying in.
“I don’t see him,” he said, “but there are still quite a lot of spiders in the room.”
“That was fun,” a voice piped up.
Powder jumped. Oop had come around the other side of the building.
“I think I might have solved the Hostel’s mosquito problem,” Oop smiled.
“Great,” said Scootaloo. “So, it’ll take a while for the spiders to make webs, so why don’t we hang out in the CMC Treehouse while we wait?”
*****
It was an enjoyable evening for the five of them. They mostly lounged about in the Treehouse, chatting, joking, and playing games. The Crusaders and Powder were pleased to see Oop relaxed and not stressed out; he didn’t even seem to mind when he didn’t do well playing their card game. Eventually, a game of hide-and-seek broke out. Oop, along with Powder, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, went to hide somewhere in the Village street, while Apple Bloom counted to 100 in the Treehouse. But while he was in his hiding spot, he was stricken by curiosity. After checking to see that Apple Bloom couldn’t see him, he went back to the Hostel to see how the spiders he’d collected were getting on with the mosquitoes. He entered the Hostel and opened the door to the room he and his Mom were renting. He could see a few spider webs, but there weren’t nearly as many spiders as he’d collected. Instead, there was just one spider, and it was much larger than average.
*****
After the CMCs had left class a few days ago, Professor Glomgold had gone on to explain that spiders were cannibalistic. Mussel was aware of this, and always made sure to deposit each spider in a different corner of the room he was in. Oop had simply released them into one spot. The sight of the large spider now standing before him might have frightened him, but he was more alarmed by the mistake he’d made. He quickly scooped up the large spider, and threw it out of the room through the window. Then he hastily cleaned away the few spider webs that had been constructed.
*****
Oop stood in the room for some time, lamenting his failed activity. Soon the door opened, and in came Apple Bloom and Powder.
“What… I could’ve sworn I saw spider webs in this room!” exclaimed Apple Bloom. “I saw some when I looked in here earlier.”
“Yeah. I got rid of them,” said Oop in a defeated tone. “The spiders…”
“Gosh, it’s like they were never even here to begin with,” said Apple Bloom, examining the corner where she knew a spider web had resided merely an hour ago; there wasn’t a trace of spider silk in sight.
“What did I tell you?” asked Powder. “He’s great at cleaning up after himself.”
There was a flash of light that illuminated the Hostel room. It was coming from Oop’s flank.
“You’ve got it!” cried Apple Bloom.
Oop turned to look at his cutie mark; a broom and a rug. It glowed some more and vibrated. Apple Bloom’s cutie mark glowed and vibrated too.
*****
They bounded outside and ran towards the Cave. Sweetie Belle forestalled them; her mark was glowing and vibrating too.
“I was hiding in the Cave, and just a minute ago, I saw the dark blur go into the center of the Grid!” she exclaimed. “And it turned into a…”
She spotted Oop’s cutie mark.
“A broom and rug!”
“You did it, Crusaders!” Oop called joyfully. “You helped me find out what I’m good at!”
He hugged Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and his Mom, and when he saw Scootaloo emerge out of hiding from behind a chimney, he flew up to the roof to hug her too.
“Thanks, Crusaders. You’ve helped him find his unique talent,” said Powder, looking and sounding torn between delighted and concerned. “Destroying the evidence.”
Sweetie Belle gulped, but Apple Bloom was not put off at all.
“This class seems to be getting smaller and smaller as time goes by,” said Sticker, Ponyville’s Secondary School teacher. “Diamond Tiara’s always away doing work for her dad’s company, True Ring got himself a part-time job, and Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle just transferred. And now you want to leave.?”
“It’s my cutie mark, Mr Sticker,” Silver Spoon explained. “Look. It’s glowing and vibrating.”
At that moment, Silver Spoon’s cutie mark split, and the other half sailed out of one of the Schoolhouse windows.
“Alright, you’re dismissed,” said Sticker. “When you get to Starlight’s Village, say hi to the Cutie Mark Crusaders for me.”
*****
At Ponyville Station, some of Sticker’s other students happened to be having a heated conversation.
“Come on, DT. We’re both teenage ponies working jobs instead of going to school,” smirked True Ring.
“You only come to work whenever I’m chartering a produce train,” said Diamond Tiara shrewdly. “Do you even know how to use that hammer?”
“Of course I do,” said True Ring smugly.
He walked over to the train that was due out soon, and tapped the wheels one by one with his long thin hammer.
“Yeah, yeah, but do you know why the railway hires ponies to tap the wheels?” demanded Diamond Tiara.
True Ring’s smug grin stayed where it was, but the rest of his face sagged like a wet shirt on a clothesline.
*****
He was spared from having to admit he had no idea what exactly the Wheeltapper was meant to be looking for by the Stationmaster coming to inform Diamond Tiara that there was a problem with the train she was chartering.
“Both the Driver and the Stoker are sick?!” Diamond spluttered.
“I’m afraid so,” said the Stationmaster. “The Driver’s had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, and the Stoker’s back’s out. Now I’ve heard you passed your driving exam this past summer.”
“Yeah, I can drive a steam engine,” Diamond nodded.
“But it may take time to get a relief Stoker,” said the Stationmaster. “Oh, wait. There’s one. He’s qualified. Passed his examination just last week.”
Diamond Tiara could see where the Stationmaster was pointed, but didn’t turn around; she didn’t want to see the inane grin on True Ring’s face.
“One for Starlight’s Village Halt,” she heard a familiar voice say.
She turned to see Silver Spoon at the Booking Office window.
“There’s my relief Stoker!” Diamond burst out.
She ran to Silver Spoon, grabbed her, and threw her into the steam engine’s cab. Before the Stationmaster could voice his doubts and suspicions, the Guard blew her whistle, and Diamond Tiara drove the train out of the Station.
“Well,” said True Ring, still grinning, “looks like the dish ran away with the spoon.”
*****
“If I were paranoid,” said Diamond Tiara as she passed Silver Spoon a shovel, “I’d say he planned this. I’ll bet he set that bee on the Driver and snuck up on the Stoker and karate chopped his back.”
“Uh, what do I do with this?” asked Silver Spoon, holding the dirty shovel.
“Just scoop up coal from the tender and throw it into the furnace,” said Diamond Tiara. “Leave the rest to me.”
Silver Spoon looked around the cab. She could see a pile of coal at the rear, but had no idea where the furnace was. Diamond showed her the firehole door, and gave her a set of gloves to wear so she wouldn’t burn herself or get splinters from the shovel handle.
“I just hope none of the wheels fall off this train,” Diamond groaned. “That useless brainless zero couldn’t find a cracked wheel if it burped in his face.”
As the train left city limits and steamed into the countryside, Diamond Tiara peered out of the cab to look for any sign of faulty wheels.
“Okay, it looks like we’re safe,” she said at last.
*****
“So where were you going?” Diamond Tiara asked Silver Spoon, who was heaving a shovelful of coal from the tender.
“Starlight’s Village,” Silver Spoon grunted.
“Really? Me too,” said Diamond. “Does this mean…?”
She leaned out of the cab and gasped; hovering in the sky, seeming to lead the train North, was a bright grey spoon.
“Looks like the Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to help you just like that helped me once,” she smiled.
Silver Spoon didn’t return the smile; she was already getting sore from shovelling coal.
*****
“What’s the problem you’re having with your cutie mark?” asked Diamond.
“I don’t really know,” grunted Silver. “I didn’t think I was having one until now. I was just sitting in class and suddenly, my mark goes off.”
“What was Mr Sticker teaching?” asked Diamond.
“I wasn’t really listening,” Silver Spoon sighed. “I remember he said something about a sense of tradition leading to inertia, but that’s about it.”
Diamond Tiara leaned out of the cab again. “There’s a road crossing. Look out your side.”
Silver Spoon did so, and as the two teenage fillies looked to see if there was any road traffic about, Diamond Tiara yanked the whistle chain. A stallion hauling a cartload of goose feathers stopped and waited as the produce train went by.
*****
Diamond Tiara went about adjusting some controls to make the job as easy for her inexperienced friend as possible. But as the train headed further North, guided (sort of) by the hovering cutie mark, Diamond could see that the strain on Silver Spoon was increasing.
“Could you tell me again how you got your cutie mark?” Diamond asked, hoping to take Silver’s mind of the arduous task bestowed upon her.
“Again? I never even told you once,” said Silver Spoon.
“You didn’t? Oh. I thought I’d just forgotten,” blinked Diamond Tiara. “Are you sure you never told me?”
“I couldn’t possibly have told you how I got my cutie mark, Dia,” said Silver Spoon. “How could I? I don’t even know.”
Diamond couldn’t help but snort with laughter. “Well, I guess it didn’t matter to either of us how we got our cutie marks at the time. We were young and foolish in those days. Still, don’t worry. Apple Bloom and her friends will help you straighten that out.”
*****
“I do remember when I got my mark though,” Silver Spoon said after a pause. “It was my first Hearth’s Warming Eve party at my uncle’s place, Napkin Manor.”
Diamond Tiara was glad Silver Spoon found something to keep talking about; this was sure to ease her burden.
“I never got along with my uncles and aunts and cousins before then,” said Silver Spoon as she carried on stoking. “Things were always stilted whenever we got together. But not that night. Nopony was stand-offish or grumpy or argumentative or too serious, everypony was having fun talking and playing and eating and joking with each other.”
Diamond Tiara smiled. “You did tell me about that night. I remember now. You wouldn’t shut up about that dirty joke your uncle whispered to you, or that card trick your cousin taught you.”
Silver Spoon giggled, remembering the joke about the pheasant and the bulldozer.
“The thing is,” she went on, “I have no idea when exactly my cutie mark appeared, or what I was doing at the time it appeared. Nopony else noticed it appear either. We were all having too much fun to notice, I guess.”
*****
In Starlight’s Village, Apple Bloom was sleeping in class. She was woken up by her cutie mark. She yelped when she felt it, and hastily tried to sit up straight and look attentive.
“I- I wasn’t sleeping, Professor!” she said quickly.
She blinked to regain focus, and realised that Professor Glomgold was asleep at his desk. Most of the other students were making origami. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were on their hooves, no doubt having responded to their cutie marks going off as well. Apple Bloom stretched and stood up from her desk, and the three CMCs walked quietly out of the classroom.
*****
“We’re almost there,” Diamond Tiara said to her weary friend.
“Good,” said Silver Spoon, setting down the shovel. “Finally, I’ll get some clarification.”
She leaned out of the cab to watch her cutie mark lead the way.
“Finally, I’ll learn why I got that mark on the first time I was happy to be spending time with my extended family.”
Diamond Tiara glanced at the shovel; the blade had a lot of coal dust on it, but she could still see her reflection in it.
“Silver,” she said, “you know how when you look at your reflection in a spoon, it’s different depending on how you’re holding it?”
Silver Spoon froze. Moments later, her cutie mark started glowing and vibrating for the second time that day, and the mark hovering in the sky ahead of them vanished.
*****
As the train pulled into the Halt, Silver Spoon, coated in smut and bones aching, hugged Diamond Tiara. She was grateful to her best friend for opening her eyes.
“Glad I could help,” chuckled Diamond. “Least I could do, I guess. You helped me out of what could have been a disaster this morning.”
“This was a fun trip,” smiled Silver Spoon. “And hey, you still need a Stoker for the trip back to Ponyville, right?”
“Well, yeah,” said Diamond Tiara, “but don’t you want to rest now?”
Silver Spoon was in too good spirits to care much about her aching bones or filthy condition, and Diamond Tiara had been worried that she’d not be able to find another relief Stoker. So as their cargo was unloaded, they drove their steam engine back to the nearest turntable to begin their return trip under the bright evening sky.
*****
At the entrance to the Cave, Scootaloo swore she saw something glowing in the sky. But none of the Crusaders could see anything now. Eventually, they saw several ponies walking towards the Village.
“Whoa!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “How many ponies are having cutie mark problems…?!”
But she quickly realised that they were only Villagers returning with goods from the produce train. She walked over to the procession as it passed the Cave.
“Any of you having a cutie mark problem?” she asked.
The Villagers all shook their heads.
“Anypony on the train?” asked Apple Bloom.
“It’s not a passenger train,” said Double Diamond, laden with panniers of calleries. “There’s only the Guard, the Driver, and the Stoker on that train.”
Disappointed, Apple Bloom returned to the Cave entrance with her fellow Crusaders.
“Somepony must be coming,” she said as the Sun set. “Our cutie marks did call us to the Cave… or did I just dream that?”
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all woke with a start just outside the mouth of the Cave.
“Oh, hi Sugar Belle,” said Apple Bloom with a stretch and a yawn. “We were waiting for… somepony.”
All three of the CMCs swore their cutie marks had glowed and vibrated, calling them to a mission.
“Maybe it was a false alarm,” grunted Scootaloo, giving her neck a bit of a crack.
“Or whoever was called to the Village is just being a no-show,” suggested Sweetie Belle, rubbing her eyes.
As her vision cleared, she saw the silhouette of a pegasus in the sky flying towards them.
“Oh! Maybe not,” she said, pointing.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo leapt to their hooves with excitement.
“I guess our next customer was just slow,” grinned Apple Bloom.
The pegasus came nearer and nearer to the Cave mouth.
Scootaloo blinked. “I’d never have guessed Lightning Dust would be slow.”
*****
Lightning Dust landed. “So, you’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders I’ve heard so much about.”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo nodded. “And you’re the Wonderbolt exile I’ve heard so much about.”
“Yep. And I’m ready for a new life,” said Lightning Dust.
She glanced at Sugar Belle.
“Who’s this?”
“I’m Sugar Belle. And I’m going to be giving these fillies breakfast before they can help you. They’ve been out here all…”
“Hey, there’s somepony else coming!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
Everyone looked. In the distance, making his way towards the Village with a slight stagger, was a unicorn stallion. He stopped when he saw the small crowd outside the Cave, then quickly trotted up towards them.
“Looks like we’ve got more than one straggler,” said Sweetie Belle before she could stop herself.
Lightning Dust said nothing.
*****
None of them recognised the unicorn stallion; a dark blue complexion with a cutie mark resembling a bent tube.
“You ponies live in that Village over there?” he asked.
“They do, I don’t,” said Lightning Dust quickly.
“We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” bubbled Apple Bloom. “And this is my brother’s wife, Sugar Belle.”
The stranger gave a brief smile and nod, then said “So I take it you know… Party Favour?”
Apple Bloom took a second look at the bent tube cutie mark.
“You’re Bend Twist!” she exclaimed.
“Keep it down!” hissed Bend Twist. “Look, it wasn’t an easy decision… I’ve been pondering it ever since I got a letter from Party Favour in July… but I’ve decided I want to make peace with my brother. But I’m… I’m…”
He kept repeating “I’m” as though trying to decide what he was.
“Scared,” he settled on. “He ruined my life. I’m scared that I’ll fly into a rage at him. Despite everything he did to me, I don’t… want to hurt him.”
*****
The Crusaders and Sugar Belle did their best to reassure Bend Twist that he was doing the right thing - Lightning Dust didn’t contribute much; she was a little annoyed that her desire for a new life was taking a back seat - and to make him feel welcome as they started to head towards the Village. But by the time they reached the Road, Bend Twist was crumpled up on the ground. There were several Villagers about, and most of them had seen Bend collapse. Luckily, Party Favour wasn’t among them, and Bend Twist managed to stop shaking when Sugar Belle told him this.
“Maybe you’re not ready to reconcile,” Sugar Belle suggested.
“No. I want to,” insisted Bend Twist. But he was unable to stand or look up.
“Let’s just go to the Hostel,” said Apple Bloom. “You can relax there and maybe soon, you’ll work up the courage you need.”
Bend Twist smiled and started to stand.
“We can get Lightning Dust settled there too,” added Scootaloo.
“Okay,” said Lightning. “Uh, who runs that Hostel?”
A pause.
“Nopony yet,” said Sweetie. “I guess it’s fend-for-yourself staying there.”
*****
Lightning Dust wanted to zip straight to the Hostel the moment Scootaloo pointed out where it was, but Bend Twist asked for them all to surround him as they walked to it. Clearly, he wanted to be obscured as he walked down the Road, lest Party Favour should see him. So she trotted along with the rest of them down the Road, past the Treehouse, and into the Hostel; they made it all the way there without giving Bend Twist shellshock.
“I call this room!” barked Lightning Dust, darting towards her chosen bed.
Apple Bloom watched her lie down, looked at Bend Twist, whose stiff frightened body was being helped into a chair by Sugar Belle, and said to her fellow Crusaders “Which one of them should take priority? Lightning Dust was called by the Grid, but Party Favour’s been hoping to make up with his brother forever, and Bend Twist is a bundle of nerves.”
In the end, they decided Bend Twist needed more of their attention. Scootaloo broke this news to Lightning Dust after she’d woken up from an impromptu nap.
Lightning sighed. “I guess there’s no rush. I’ve got literally nothing going on in my life now that I’ve had to stop aiming for a career with the Wonderbolts.”
Scootaloo was sure they’d have no trouble helping Lightning Dust anyway; she knew just the pony to talk to about being a fast pegasus and having nothing to do with the Wonderbolts.
*****
That evening, Lightning Dust offered to do a grocery run. After she left, the Crusaders sat with Bend Twist by the fireplace.
“So how have things been going with you?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Crummy,” muttered Bend Twist. “Punch in, punch out, grab a wrench, drip some glue, grab a towel… boring… unfulfilling… that brother of mine took away my life and…!”
“How do you think Party Favour’s life was after he grew up?!” spluttered Apple Bloom. “He was full of guilt, he felt undeserving of a cutie mark he thought you ought to have gotten, and he ran off and joined a cult!”
Bend Twist sighed. “I know in my heart he didn’t mean to curse me to a dull life. And I’m aware that he was part of a cult that stripped ponies of their individuality…”
He jumped at the sound of the Hostel door opening.
“It’s just Lightning Dust,” said Sweetie Belle. “Wow, that was fast.”
“Did you go out of town too?” asked Scootaloo as Lightning Dust set the loaded grocery bags on the dining room table.
“Yeah, I know a little grocery store in Manehattan,” said Lightning Dust.
*****
In the morning, Lightning Dust intended to sleep in for as long as he felt like. But from the sounds and smells she was picking up in her sleepy haze, Bend Twist was either not much of a cook or was letting his nerves get the better of him and was going about making breakfast haphazardly. So she crawled out of bed and pitched in, leaping from task to task with ease.
“Thanks, Lightning,” said Bend Twist as he sat in the chair by the fireplace and ate grilled cheese sandwiches. “These are really good.”
Lightning Dust saw Bend look out of a window the moment he stopped speaking, plainly trying to see if Party Favour was out and about. Party Favour was nowhere in sight, but they did see the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking to Night Glider.
*****
“Why’d they kick her out?” Night Glider asked.
“She kept trying to push her limits, and she abused her Lead Pony powers to get Rainbow Dash to do as she said,” said Scootaloo. “She ended up causing a lot of mayhem.”
Night Glider stared at the sky and thought for a moment.
“Okay, sure,” she said at last. “I’ll have a talk with her.”
So they turned towards the Hostel. They found the door was open. They entered.
“Oh, good,” said Bend Twist, still in his chair. “Could you close the door please?”
Night Glider did so. “So you’re Party Favour’s brother.”
Bend nodded.
“Where’s Lightning Dust,” Night Glider asked.
“She went to fetch some kindling,” said Bend Twist, pointing to the empty fireplace and small firewood pile in a corner of the room.
“Oh wow, I didn’t even see her leave,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Me neither,” said Apple Bloom and Scootaloo together.
*****
The door opened and in came Lightning Dust carrying lots of logs.
“Would you please stop leaving the door open?” groaned Bend Twist.
Night Glider was about to shut the door, but hesitated.
“I’m no expert on cutie mark problems or anything,” she said in an undertone to the Crusaders, “but maybe Lightning doesn’t need me to talk to her. Maybe she’s already found something else to do with her life.”
They looked to see Lightning Dust had already rebuilt the firewood pile and was now getting lunch started.
“Who wants lasagna?” she asked the room at large.
The Crusaders thought Night Glider had a point; perhaps Lightning Dust would settle in and run the Village Hostel, given the ease with which she was keeping house.
“Not for me, thanks,” Night Glider smiled. “I’m having lunch with… his brother. Don’t worry,” she said quickly, turning to the frightened figure in the chair by the fire, “I won’t mention you.”
Bend Twist smiled his appreciation.
*****
A few days went by, and after a number of talks and questions, the best Bend Twist could do by now was sit by the window looking out at the Villagers as they went about their business. Whenever he saw Party Favour out in the Street, he’d stare longingly at him. But a sudden movement or slight turn of the head from Party Favour, and Bend Twist would either duck or move away from the window. Lightning Dust on the other hoof was managing well with the upkeep of the Hostel. She’d already mastered grocery runs and cooking, and found no trouble with cleaning the floors and bed sheets. And it wasn’t just Bend Twist she could take care of; whenever the Crusaders or other Villagers who’d been told that Party Favour’s brother was there came to visit, Lightning Dust was always able to provide snacks, and when Double Diamond decided he wanted a nap after lunch, he paid a compliment to Lightning afterwards on the state of the bed.
*****
“I think I might stay there,” Lightning Dust said to the Crusaders one morning as Professor Glomgold was leading his Secondary school class out of the Schoolhouse for a field trip.
And as she zipped back to the Hostel, the Crusaders’ cutie marks started glowing and vibrating.
“Great,” smiled Apple Bloom. “Mission accomplished.”
And feeling pleased with themselves, they carried on following Professor Glomgold as he took his class on a field trip to the ski slopes in the mountains outside the Village. But as they made their way, the Crusaders found their cutie marks wouldn’t stop glowing and vibrating.
“Looks like we’ve already got another mission,” said Sweetie Belle.
So the CMCs turned around and headed back to the Village; they didn’t bother to say anything to the Professor.
*****
As the Crusaders re-entered the Village, they saw something fly out of the Hostel chimney.
“A cutie mark!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“Is it…” Scootaloo glanced around the Street, “Bend Twists?”
“It’s Lightning’s,” Sweetie Belle gaped.
No sooner had she spoken when Lightning Dust burst out through the Hostel door.
“My cutie mark came off!” she cried, not seeing where she was going in her panic.
Sweetie Belle lit her horn and grabbed Lightning Dust by her tail, just in time to prevent her from crashing into the Tree at the End of the Road.
Lightning Dust gave her head a shake and gaped at Sweetie. “Whoa! You stopped me dead! And you’re so young!”
“It’s nothing really,” said Sweetie Belle, releasing Lightning from her magical grip. “I just have a power over ponies who don’t understand their cutie marks.”
“But I do understand it now,” insisted Lightning Dust.
Scootaloo pointed towards the Cave. “Your mark’s saying otherwise.”
*****
Lightning and the Crusaders watched the white lightning bolt with three gold stars float through the sky towards the Cave.
“It just split? Oh, that’s a relief,” sighed Lightning Dust, seeing that she still had her cutie mark.
“Why the panic?” asked Apple Bloom. “This must’ve happened the last time you were called to…”
Apple Bloom trailed off, beginning to comprehend.
“The Grid didn’t call you here in the first place, did it?”
“What Grid?” asked Lightning Dust.
The Crusaders led Lighting to the Cave, and this time, they entered it. Lighting Dust stared intently at her cutie mark chasing Evensong’s around the Maze.
“So… you only heard about us and the Village, and decided to come here to try and get away from letting go of your ambitions and start a new life,” said Sweetie Belle.
Lightning Dust bowed her head. “I never knew ponies had to be summoned here. I just thought anypony doubting their cutie marks could come here.”
“Well you’ve been summoned now,” said Scootaloo. “Now that you’ve veered away from your ambition.”
*****
“But I had to abandon my ambition!” snapped Lightning Dust, her voice echoing around the Cave. “Becoming a Wonderbolt isn’t an option anymore! I’ve been miserable since I got kicked out of the Academy! I made the decision to up sticks and leave my worthless life and start fresh! Now this Grid thing tells me I’m supposed to be a bitter lowlife?! Thanks, Grid! Thanks a feathering bunch!”
“No, no, you don’t have to try to become a Wonderbolt to adhere to your mark!” said Sweetie hastily.
Lightning wasn’t listening. “I guess I’ll just go back to striving for an impossible goal now!”
“Night Glider’s fast, but she knows she doesn’t need to be a Wonderbolt either!” shouted Scootaloo, trying desperately to get Lightning’s attention. “You can talk to her!”
“Or maybe you want me to be a villain to make my dreams a reality, just like Evensong!” Lightning Dust spat at the Grid, pointing to Evensong’s cutie mark.
“The Grid doesn’t want you to do bad things!” Apple Bloom loudly insisted. “Please, Lightning, just calm down and we’ll help you!”
“If you so insist on me trying to get into the Wonderbolts,” Lightning Dust continued to yell at the Grid, “I’ll just kidnap Spitfire and take her place as Captain! Just like Evensong Glisten kidnaped the Queens and tried to remove their sun and moon powers and stick it to her fanatic parents! How do you like that, huh Grid?!”
*****
“Oh!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “I never checked up on Day Star and Selenic!”
She raced out of the Cave. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, realising they hadn’t really followed up on Evensong’s parents, wanted to follow her, but were also concerned with the ranting frustrated pegasus before them.
“Does this stupid thing even have any idea what my life’s been like since the Academy?!”
The remaining Crusaders stopped trying to interrupt her.
“I hit rock bottom, and I’m supposed to stay there?! Why can’t I be the Hostel Keeper?! I’m good at it! Everypony says so! ...Even though it’s not very challenging.”
Lightning Dust finally stopped shouting. She sat down on the Cave floor, tears welling up in her eyes. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were glad they stayed; they stepped forward and put a hoof on her shoulder each.
“Thanks for putting up with my stupid venting,” Lightning Dust sniffed after a few minutes.
“It’s not stupid,” insisted Scootaloo. “Sorry we thought we were on to a good thing with you. We just thought Bend Twist needed more of our attention. Now that the Grid’s told us otherwise, we’ll help you readjust your life and your goals.”
*****
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was relieved to find that Day Star and Selenic were faring well despite the looming threat of their magically gifted daughter coming to attack them.
“Soarin gave us these,” Day Star said, holding half of Marble’s changeling-throne bracelet.
Selenic showed Sweetie the other half she was carrying.
“Still, I’m sorry I never checked up on you after Evensong escaped,” said Sweetie Belle. “I just got all caught up in creating the Cutie Mark Grid. I should have made sure you two were safe.”
Sweetie began to feel a little overwhelmed; there was a frightened Bend Twist in the Village Hostel, a spluttering Lightning Dust in the Cave, and now there were some pretty vulnerable unicorns in this cottage.
*****
“So the Hostel Keeper thing didn’t pan out?” asked Night Glider when Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had brought Lightning Dust back to the Village. “That’s too bad.”
Lightning Dust was still a little teary-eyed, but perked up a little as she shook Night Glider’s hoof.
“They tell me you never wanted to join the Wonderbolts,” she said.
“That’s right. But I’ll admit, sometimes I did try to find ways to put my speed to good use,” said Night Glider. “For a while, I tried out for the Royal Guard. They’re always looking for fast pegasi...”
Lightning Dust frowned.
“You’ve tried that too, haven’t you?” asked Night Glider.
“Yeah. About a month after I got kicked outta the Academy,” sighed Lightning Dust, showing signs of breaking down again. “I didn’t get kicked out of the training program. I just didn’t pass all the qualifying tests. I aced the dodging test, but that’s it.”
“Dodging test?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Yeah, it’s where the pegasus tries to avoid getting snared by a unicorn’s magic,” said Lightning. “If you can fly fast enough, you should be a match for any unicorn trying to subdue you with spells.”
*****
Sweetie Belle rejoined the group at that moment.
“Did you just say you got a passing grade in dodging unicorn spells?” she asked Lightning.
“Yeah. None of the unicorn soldiers could get a hold of me,” grinned Lightning Dust, perking up again. “I was just a blur to them in that courtyard. I even managed to grab one of their helmets. Got full marks. But… every other examination…”
“Perfect!” exclaimed Sweetie. “I’ve got the perfect role for you here!”
She told the group her concerns over the vulnerable Day Star and Selenic in their cottage.
“They may have changeling-throne bracelets, but they might not be fast enough to get them on Evensong’s horn if she comes and gives them a surprise attack. But you could be,” she said to Lightning. “You’re fast enough to…”
She trailed off.
“Oh, but… I caught you with my magic pretty easily, didn’t I? Maybe I was too hasty.”
Lightning Dust shot into the air. “How about now?!”
*****
Sweetie Belle watched as Lightning Dust zig-zagged through the air.
“Come on! Try and stop me!” she called to Sweetie. “See if I’m any match for Evensong Gisten’s magic!”
Sweetie Belle lit her horn and tried to follow Lightning Dust’s progress. It was trickier than before; Lightning wasn’t flying in a straight line this time. She cast a spell to snag Lightning’s tail. It held, but it didn’t stop her dead. It only slowed her down for a few seconds before stopping her in midair.
“Try again!” Lightning called.
Sweetie released Lightning’s tail, watched her zoom around the sky above the Village, and relit her horn. Her second spell missed. She cast a third. It held, but not for long. Lightning pumped her wings vigorously and managed to break free. At the moment she shot away from Sweetie Belle’s magical grasp, her cutie mark glowed and vibrated; the Crusaders’ marks did likewise. Sweetie Belle went on trying to catch Lightning Dust with magic, but now she could barely even see the green streak as it pinballed through the sky. Minutes went by, and then Lightning Dust came in for a landing looking happier than she’d seemed all throughout her time in the Village.
“Thanks, Crusaders,” she smiled. “This is just the kind of challenge I like.”
*****
So Lightning Dust did take up residence in Starlight’s Village, but not as the Hostel Keeper. That role went to Day Star and Selenic; they moved into the Hostel to cook and clean for the visiting and long-term (Bend Twist) tennants. Lightning moved into their cottage to be on the alert for Evensong Glisten should she return to town and try to ambush her parents.
Babs Seed was running as fast as she could down the Canterlot street. The Mane-Iac was catching up to her; not because she had longer legs, but because her long strands of hair were acting as spider-like legs, allowing her to zoom down the road while she bobbed up and down upside-down watching Babs’ pitiful progress. The shadow looming over Babs told her she couldn’t outrun the monster. Then she spotted Daring Do swinging on a liana above the street towards the Mane-Iac. She attempted to kick the attacking wacko over, but was grabbed by the throat by a strand of the Mane-Iac’s unnaturally long hair. Babs Seed didn’t stick around to watch Daring’s demise. She kept on running, knowing the looming threat was still towering over her. As she reached a fountain in the center of town, she heard someone call her name and jerked her head right. It was Shadow Spade. But before the private eye could get another word out, she too was snared by a fist of hair. She tossed something to Babs before the fist of hair encased her. It was a large pair of scissors. The fist slammed on the ground. Babs looked up. Long, green, hairy claws were reaching out for her. She grabbed the large scissors and sliced the arm of hair. The Mane-Iac shrieked as the long strand of hair parted and flopped down into the fountain. Babs heaved a sigh of relief when the Mane-Iac receded. She got a thrill of horror a split-second later when the floating strand of hair raised snake-like up out of the fountain. Before she could draw breath, the hairy snake grabbed her by the middle and pulled her into the fountain. The hairy snake squeezed, and all of Babs’ remaining breath burst out in a bubble as she was pulled down into the dark and strangely deep water.
*****
“I wonder what the weather’s going to be like,” said Mancy as he and Night Glider sat in Sugar Belle’s Cafe eating warm pies.
“Try looking outside and sticking your hoof in the air,” Night Glider frowned.
“I said going to be like, smart-alec!” snapped Mancy.
Apple Bloom witnessed this and felt strange. On one hoof, Mancy and Night Glider were still not getting along despite having attempted to set aside their differences last summer. On the other, Apple Bloom wasn’t used to ponies not knowing the weather schedule; but of course, Starlight’s Village didn’t have a weather team. Winter had hit the town pretty hard. Snowfalls, icy winds, and bright sunshine came and went at random, and the Villagers, along with the Crusaders, had all donned jackets, earmuffs, hats, scarves, boots, etc. Bend Twist was the only pony in town who hadn’t gotten into winter clothing. He’d never left the Hostel since he’d first arrived in the Village eager to but terrified of reconciling with Party Favour.
*****
One cold but not very snowy day, the Crusaders were in the Hostel making their umpteenth attempt to talk Bend into going out and talking to his brother. Bend still seemed repulsed by the idea, yet continued to agonise over wanting to.
“We’re just going in circles,” groaned Scootaloo after she, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had given up and left the Hostel. “All he’s done is sit by the fire and flip-flop for weeks.”
“Maybe this isn’t a problem for us to solve,” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Don’t forget, he wasn’t called here by the Cutie Mark Grid. Maybe this is more of a friendship problem, so maybe one day, he’ll be summoned to Ponyville by Twilight’s Map.”
They heard excited shouting. They turned to see Double Diamond skiing into town having run non-stop from the top of the nearby mountain, so heavy was the snow up there.
“Hey, Crusaders!” he called as he ground to a halt. “While I was up there, I think I spotted some ponies headed towards town.”
Sure enough, the CMCs’ cutie marks went off, and so they headed for the Cave.
*****
As soon as the three teenage fillies arrived at the mouth of Cave, a cutie mark flew past them and entered.
“Hey I recognise that!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “That mark belongs to Fluttershy’s brother.”
They looked into the sky beyond the Village, and could see an oddly shaped silhouette. It did look like a pegasus, but what was all that stuff on him?
“Maybe he’s overdressed for winter,” said Sweetie, squinting up at the silhouette.
Suddenly, a second cutie mark hovered swiftly towards them from out of the sky. Apple Bloom recognised it at once.
“Babs!” she exclaimed. “Zephyr Breeze is carrying Babs on his back!”
*****
A gust of cold wind blew as Zephyr Breeze landed with his passenger, but Apple Bloom hadn’t even noticed as she excitedly bounced towards the visitors to hug her cousin. Babs gave a yelp and ducked behind Zephyr’s head, giving his neck a squeeze.
Apple Bloom, her mane billowing in the cold gust, stopped in her tracks. “Babs? What’s the matter?”
She looked to Zephyr for an answer, but he was struggling to speak.
“When was the last time you’ve had a trim?” he managed to grunt.
Like many teenagers, Apple Bloom had avoided going to the barbers lately.
“Seedy here’s got a phobia of long manes and tails going,” Zephyr explained horsley. “Not a good thing when working at a barber shop.”
“I know,” Babs piped up, leaning out and releasing her grip on Zephyr’s neck. “I heard about how you all rescued the Queens.”
“Well that was mostly her,” Apple Bloom admitted, pointing to Sweetie Belle.
“And,” Babs Seed continued, “I’d heard that when Celestia and Luna had been captured, they were tied up in their own manes and tails.”
“She’s been terrified of long ones ever since,” Zephyr Breeze huffed. “She only agreed to ride here on my back if I agreed to ruin my well-done mane and wear a hat.”
“I really appreciate it,” said Babs, dismounting. “Thanks, Zeph.”
She walked towards her cousin and they hugged; Apple Bloom could feel her flinching, but it was a happy reunion nonetheless.
*****
“So you’re both working together in a hair salon in Manehattan?” asked Scootaloo as the party entered the Cave.
“Since summer began,” grinned Zephyr, delicately taking his hat off so as not to wreck his already-ruffled mane-do. “And things were going just fine until the school year began.”
“Clearly,” said Sweetie when they reached the large stone Maze. “The Cutie Mark Grid has called both boss and trainee at once.”
Zephyr Breeze and Babs Seed stared as they watched their cutie marks navigate the Maze at the end of the Cave.
“I think I’ve already made it clear why Seedy’s here,” said Zephyr as he managed to remove his hat at last. “As for yours truly…”
But Apple Bloom was still quite interested in her cousin’s troubles. “If you’ve got a fear of long hair, isn’t it a good thing you’re working at a barber shop?”
“Not really,” Babs frowned. “Every time I get a customer with a long mane and tail, I’m either too uncomfortable to get near it, or I overdo the cutting and trimming.”
“Then come the complaints,” grimaced Zephyr. “And in the end, I always have to take over.”
Babs Seed shivered; not just from cold - an icy gust was filling the cavern - but from fright. In the Cave, she could vividly picture Queens Celestia and Luna writhing on the ground fighting their own manes and tails in a futile attempt to escape.
Sweetie Belle shivered too. “Why don’t we get to the Village Hostel and out of this cold?”
“Oh, come on! I just got my hat off!” Zephyr Breeze complained.
*****
After about a quarter of an hour mincing about with the hat, the party was in the warmth of the Hostel, and now it was Zephyr’s turn to tell the Crusaders his cutie mark struggles.
“I have a pretty well-rounded education… albeit without any degrees or diplomas. In the end, I graduated from a program for hair styling after my sister and my better half convinced me to deviate from my own vision and strive to meet the requirements to see the program through to the end. Well lately, I’ve been pondering what might have happened if Flutters and Rainbows happened to give me such a boost during one of my previous college courses. Before hair styling, I’d taken classes in canaries, tattoos, cloud seeding, and hot air balloons.”
Bend Twist squirmed in a nearby rocking chair, but nopony took any notice.
“Now I can’t help but imagine if I’d seen one of those courses to the end and had chased a career involving that,” finished Zephyr.
*****
Apple Bloom didn’t know where to start with either boss or trainee, but found herself gravitating towards Babs, she being her cousin and the first member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders since the club was formed.
“So Babs, how have your fellow Manehattan CMCs been?”
Babs gave a feeble smile. “I’m so proud of you Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom was taken aback.
“Just look at you,” Babs Seed grinned, trying not to look at Apple Bloom’s longer mane. “You and your friends have moved on up and are helping ponies across Equestria with their cutie mark problems.”
Apple Bloom suspected Babs was avoiding her question, but didn’t press the subject. “How would you like a tour of the Village?”
The two cousins passed by Bend Twist on their way out. He’d been staring out at the cold Village street, and when Apple Bloom opened their Hostel door, he promptly jerked away from the window. Apple Bloom quickly informed Babs Seed of Bend’s situation as they left the building.
*****
Sweetie Belle was about to tell Zephyr Breeze what Apple Bloom had just confided in Babs, but Scootaloo spoke to him first.
“So you got your degree in Hair Therapy right?”
“Oh that’s just a euphemism for hair styling,” said Zephyr airily. “Like how body art studio is a euphemism for tattoo parlour, or how soul food is a euphemism for fast food, or how life ceremony is a euphemism for funeral, or…”
“I get it!” Scootaloo interrupted impatiently.
“Don’t get mad, Scootaloo,” coaxed Sweetie Belle. “Can you think of any barber who didn’t try to strike up a conversation?”
Scootaloo took the reins back. “Well I think Bend Twist over there could use some hair therapy.”
Zephyr could only agree when he really looked at Bend for the first time; Bend Twist hadn’t exactly been keeping up with personal hygiene since he’d come to Starlight’s Village.
“Front!” Zephyr barked to Day Star and Sereta. “Fetch me a chair, a blanket, and a mirror.”
Sweetie Belle cringed. “If he orders Babs Seed around like that, I’m surprised she’s not as much a bundle of nerves as Bend is.”
*****
It was freezing in the new CMCs Treehouse. Babs Seed was impressed regardless, but still looked glum.
“I remember me, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon invading the old Crusaders Treehouse in Sweet Apple Acres,” she frowned.
“Oh, enough of that,” Apple Bloom said with a dismissive smile. “I know you’ve regretted your bullying behaviour since we first met. Since you realised you were making us feel as awful as those bullies at your school used to make you feel…”
She faltered when she saw Babs’ face fall even more.
“You’re still having bully problems, aren’t you?”
“A lot of the foals who picked on me in Primary School are in my Secondary class now. They haven’t bothered me for years, but when the school year began, they found out about my new phobia. They’ve started letting their manes and tails grow really long just to freak me out. And there’s nopony I can complain to because everyone says they’re not really doing anything remotely wrong. Those bullies say they're just growing their hair long to fight off the cold weather, but they’re always tossing their heads and flicking their tails at me. There’s one colt with dreadlocks who…” Babs shuddered. “Cracks them like a whip. I yelp every time. I can’t help it. It’s so embarrassing.”
Apple Bloom was determined to help her cousin but still couldn’t think of a way to do so.
“Let’s go for a walk down the Street to keep our blood pumping,” she suggested. “Maybe I could introduce you to some of the Villagers.”
*****
By the Hostel fireplace, Zephyr Breeze was doing Bend Twist’s mane and tail up, and to Scootaloo’s and Sweetie Belle’s delight, they were chatting away.
“You’re lucky you’ve got a job doing something you enjoy,” said Bend calmly but glumly. “I’m a plumber in Tall Tale. It’s so dull.”
“D’you think you’d have more fun being a plumber in Fillydelphia?” Zephyr joked. “Sometimes a change of location is just what you need. That’s why I avoid my hometown Cloudsdale, or my sister’s new home in Ponyville. Whenever I go to those cities, I run the risk of being constantly hit on by Rainbow Dash.”
“Hit on?” asked the nearby Sweetie Belle.
“Well, he’s half right,” smirked Scootaloo.
Then the two CMS watched with satisfied smiles as Bend Twist began to talk about balloon art, seeming to become more relaxed as time went on and Zephyr continued to snip, comb, and spray.
*****
Party Favour was sipping hot cocoa when Apple Bloom and Babs Seed arrived at Sugar Belle’s Cafe. Babs, remembering not to mention Bend Twist, struck up a conversation with Party Favour very quickly after Apple Bloom introduced the two to each other.
“I don’t mind when the snow comes,” Party Favour said. “I have this fun little joke I like to play on the other Villagers. I’ll make a snowmare, and I’ll blow up a balloon, cover it in snow, and put it on the top. Then I’ll ask a pony taller than me to put the carrot nose in.”
Babs chuckled, picturing the startled pony recoiling at the exploding head of the snowmare. Apple Bloom was glad Babs was cheering up, but still regretted diving into this endeavour alone too hastily. She was still drawing a blank as to how to help Babs get over her newfound fear of long hair. Wondering if Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were making any progress with Zephyr Breeze, she slipped away to visit the Hostel. Neither Babs nor Party Favour noticed.
*****
The wind had died down when Apple Bloom returned to the Hostel. When she entered, she saw an unfamiliar pony.
“Oh, hi,” she said politely. “I’m Apple Bloom.”
“Hi,” said the stranger. “I’m Bend Twist.”
Apple Bloom double-took. Bend Twist was calm and smiling. He was standing steadily and spryly in the middle of the room. And his mane and tail were entirely unrecognisable; not only were they styled entirely differently, not only were they dyed and their original colours lost, but they were somehow longer than before. In fact, his mane was draped so far along his back, it obscured his cutie mark.
“How did you do that?!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“It’s college-level stuff,” smirked Zephyr Breeze. “Besides, it’ll make it easier for him to face what awaits outside.”
“Uh, Zephyr,” said Scootaloo, “it’s not the cold that makes him afraid to leave the Hostel.”
“It’s because he’s scared to face his brother,” put in Sweetie. “It was kind of because of him that he got stuck as a plumber.”
Bend Twist gave no reaction to the mention of Party Favour. He was too busy admiring his reflection to pay attention to the conversation.
“I love this new do,” he smiled. “I feel like an entirely different pony. Why my own family wouldn’t recognise me.”
*****
The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ eye widened when Bend Twist began to divulge a plan to leave the Hostel.
“I’ll masquerade as an utter stranger. Knot, I’ll call myself. Then I can start fresh with Party Favour.”
The Crusaders huddled.
“Is this really the best way for Party Favour to reunite with his brother?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Sweetie, look at him,” said Scootaloo. “He just said Party Favour’s name without so much as a twitch of his cheek. He practically is a whole new pony right now. We might not get another chance. His doubts could come flooding back at any moment.”
“It’s a start,” Apple Bloom agreed.
“And if this works,” Scootaloo continued, “Zephyr may have his cutie mark epiphone and stop regretting leaving every other education program he’d taken.”
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle nodded.
The huddle parted.
“Well if you’re sure you’re ready,” Apple Bloom said to Bend Twist, “Party Favour is at Sugar Belle’s Cafe. Let’s go, Knot.”
The Crusaders’ faces lit up when Bend Twist strided to the Hostel door with no hesitation or faltering expression. And although the wind had died down outside, a draught entered the building, causing Bend’s hair to billow behind him. With a jolt, Apple Bloom remembered that Babs Seed was also at the Cafe.
*****
Babs and Party Favour had left the Cafe and were sitting outside sipping hot chocolate. Then they were abruptly approached by Bend Twist in all his mane-styled glory. Babs tensed up and pointed a shaky hoof at Bend.
“Th-th-that’s Ben-!”
She spotted Apple Bloom standing behind the long-maned stallion. Apple Bloom stared intently at her panicking cousin and made a slashing motion across her neck.
Party Favour, having not noticed Apple Bloom, stared with concern at his new friend. “Who’s Ben?”
Babs Seed’s mind was racing; she knew the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn’t want her to let Party Favour know that this long-maned stranger was his estranged brother.
She mustered herself. “Oh, Ben’s just another pony who was called here by the Cutie Mark Grid.”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Bend Twist. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders have helped me overcome my conundrum, and now I’m thinking maybe I’d like to move to this Village. What’s your name?”
“I’m Party Favour,” said Party Favour with a smile.
“Nice you meet ya,” grinned Bend Twist. “Can I buy you a hot drink?”
“Ah, thanks,” smiled Party Favour. “Hey Sugar Belle! Another round, please!”
He began to walk back into the Cafe with “Ben”.
“Maybe you should get another hot chocolate as well, Babs,” said Party Favour. “You look frozen to the bone.”
Reluctantly, Babs followed the two stallions into the Cafe, determined to take the first step towards getting over her fear of long hair.
*****
As the three ponies sat in the Cafe sipping chocolate tea, Babs Seed didn’t say much as she watched Party Favour and “Ben” begin to bond. Bend Twist, having always been intently interested in balloon art, positively relished hearing about Party Favour’s craft and even seeing some demonstrations. Maybe Zephyr did such a good job, or maybe the two brothers hadn’t seen each other for so long, or maybe it was a combination of both, but Party Favour didn’t recognise his brother at all. Yet the two of them became closer and closer as the hours went by. Eventually, Babs noticed that part of Bend Twist’s mane had coiled around Party Favour. Babs wasn’t disturbed by the sight. It looked to her like a loving embrace; a warm hug. It brought a warm feeling to her heart; though she wished she could get a warm hug herself.
*****
The three of them finally left the Cafe. Zephyr Breeze and the Crusaders were waiting for them.
“Wow,” Party Favour said when Babs told him who Zephyr was, “how many ponies did the Cutie Mark Grid call here today?”
“Just the three of us,” said Zephyr. “Me, Seedy, and Knot.”
“Knot?” asked Party Favour. “I thought his name was Ben?”
“Knot’s his last name,” Babs said without missing a beat.
To everypony’s relief, Party Favour remained unsuspicious.
“Well,” he said, “my new cottage mate…”
The Crusaders’ faces lit up.
“...says he’s not confused about his cutie mark anymore. How about you two?”
Right on cue, the cutie marks of Babs Seed and Zephyr Breeze glowed and vibrated, along with those of the CMCs. Babs Seed immediately tackle-hugged Apple Bloom.
“I can’t thank you enough, Cous,” she beamed.
Smiling, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked to Zephyr Breeze, expecting him to thank them for their help. They were a little annoyed to see that he only looked pleased with himself.
*****
“Well Ben,” Babs said when she released Apple Bloom, “you may have decided to stay here, but me and my trainee need to get back to work. Come on, Zeph. Back to Manehattan.”
“Alright. Hop aboard, boss,” Zephyr Breeze smiled, kneeling forward.
As Babs Seed climbed onto Zephyr’s back, the Crusaders mugged their amusement that Babs was Zephyr’s boss when they’d assumed it was the other way around. Soon the parties parted ways; Zephyr Breeze had flown away carrying Babs Seed, Party Favour had taken “Ben Knot” to his cottage, and the CMCs had gone to their Treehouse. Although they were pleased with their days’ work, they knew Party Favour may discover the truth about his brother any time. But as they found themselves constantly saying, it was a start.
Starlight’s Village was among the few settlements in Equestria where nopony could say for certain that the worst of the winter was over. The snow was melting, and no more was coming down. It was still cold and windy out. Needless to say no one was using the fans they’d acquired during the Summer. Sleeping conditions were getting better. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle for example were sleeping peacefully and comfortably in Sugar Bell’s guest room. This is until they were awoken by their glowing and vibrating cutie marks.
“I guess these are just our alarm call now,” yawned Scootaloo.
After a stretch, the three Crusaders left the Cafe, each helping themselves to a toasted bagel on their way out. They ventured outside to see several ponies out for - what they hoped was - a final snow shovelling. Several villagers called greetings to the Crusaders as they walked down the road. Party Favour and Bend Twist - alias Ben Knot - were amongst them. Pleased though they were of their services in the Village to date, the three teenage fillies were very concerned about Party Favour’s brother showing no signs of revealing his true identity any time soon. But they knew they could only be on one mission at a time, and so carried on towards the Cave without hesitation.
*****
However, hours after they reached it, they began to wonder if they did have time to confront Bend Twist. As soon as they’d arrived at the Cave mouth, they saw a cutie mark hover past them. It had two slanted designs; one was a green pointy pine tree, the other was a blue squiggly river. It drifted into the Cave and entered the Cutie Mark Grid to play tag with Evensong’s mark. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle looked to the crest of the hill before the Village, expecting to see a visitor approaching. There was no one there. They looked to the sky; perhaps it was a pegasus who owned that cutie mark. No one was there. Hours passed, and nopony came.
“Not another no-show!” groaned Apple Bloom. “And first thing in the morning, too! I was so comfy!”
Sweetie Belle’s teeth were chattering. “Let’s get outta this wind and wait in the Cave.”
So they went and sat, watching the purple sun and the green-and-blue slants chase each other around the Maze; both resolutely avoiding the Star in the center.
*****
Evening came. Sugar Belle arrived in the Cave.
“What's keeping you fillies?” she asked.
“Looks like we’ve got another no-show,” yawned Apple Bloom.
Sugar Belle looked at the Grid.
“Gaffe!” she exclaimed. “I know that mark. That’s Gaffe’s.”
For the first time in hours, the Crusaders’ senses were perked.
“He was one of us. Part of Starlight’s old cult.”
Sugar Belle looked more intently at the newly arrived cutie mark.
“I never knew what his talent was,” she went on, “but he obviously missed indulging in it. After Starlight was unseated and we all got our marks back, he decided not to stay in the Village. We all started fresh, while he went back to… whatever he used to do.”
“No doubt he’s having trouble with it,” said Apple Bloom, wearing her first pleased expression in hours. “Looks like he’s gotta come back.”
“I don’t think he will,” frowned Sugar Belle. “He swore he’d never come back to the Village. He must be refusing to answer the call.”
She shivered.
“You three shouldn’t stay in here much longer. You’ll freeze.”
So the Crusaders followed her to the Village to turn in for the night.
*****
First thing the next morning, the Crusaders’ marks went off again; albeit briefly.
“Should we go?” croaked Scootaloo.
“Yeah, lets go,” said Apple Bloom. “But if he doesn’t show up in an hour, we’ll come back and get some breakfast.”
This is exactly what happened. There was no sign of a visitor in the distance, so the Crusaders returned to the Cafe for scrambled eggs and brown toast. Party Favour saw them heading back to the Cave, and accompanied them. He’d heard that Gaffe’s mark was in the Cutie Mark Grid, and he wanted to see it.
“Yeah, that’s Gaffe’s cutie mark alright,” he said when he saw it criss-crossing the Maze. “He was pretty quick to leave as soon as the Vault was broken open.”
He stared at an empty space in the Cave; he could picture Gaffe being reunited with his cutie mark and telling everyone present that he was outta there.
“He must’ve loved whatever it was his cutie mark told him he was good at,” he said. “I’ll bet it’s just as hard for him to come back to the Village as it was for Bend Twist to come here and reconcile with me.”
He chuckled at the bulging eyes of the CMCs.
“I found out a week ago,” he told them. “But I’ll let him keep up the whole Ben Knot guise for as long as it gives him confidence.”
“Do you want us to be there with you when you finally spill the beans?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Party Favour looked thoughtful.
“Well if Gaffe’s refusing to come back,” he said at last, “you may be on this mission for a while. I won’t bug you with it if you’re busy.”
*****
The next day was a school day. Again, the Crusaders’ marks glowed and vibrated first thing in the morning. And again, it was brief.
“It’s just a reminder by now,” grunted Apple Bloom. “If Gaffe does show up, our marks’ll be more persistent.”
So they didn’t bother going to the Cave, and went about their school work. This went on for a week. First thing in the morning, the Crusaders’ marks would glow and vibrate for a moment. Sometimes, one of the Crusaders would visit the Cave to see if Gaffe was coming. Sometimes, a villager would offer to go to the Cave and see if there was any development. There was never any sign of him. The same sight met the eyes of anypony who ventured to the Cave. The cutie marks of Gaffe and Evensong Glisten spent the whole week chasing each other around the Grid.
*****
One day the following week, Double Diamond went with Scootaloo to check on the Cave. When it appeared that no one was coming, Double Diamond looked at the Grid. He watched Gaffe’s cutie mark, trying to guess what it meant.
“A pine and a river,” he muttered to himself. “Hmm… the snow and ice is melting… he must be a log driver!”
“Log Driver? What’s that?” asked Scootaloo.
“In Winter, trees are chopped down, sawn into logs, and piled onto frozen lakes. When the Spring thaw comes, the logs float down the river to the sawmills and paper mills,” Double Diamond explained. “The log drivers’ job is to keep the logs from snagging on the river banks and causing jams. It’s a tough job. Life-threatening, really.”
“And Gaffe doesn’t want to take a break from it?!” spluttered Scootaloo. “He’s got a pretty good excuse if you ask me.”
“I think he must’ve wanted to quit in the first place because the stress or the fear was getting to him. Or maybe he almost had a fatal accident,” pondered Double Diamond. “And now that he’s left the Village and gone back to his normal life, the fear and stress has been mounting. That’s why the Grid’s trying to call him back.”
“Then I hope he does decide to stop ignoring the call,” said Scootaloo. “Before it’s too late.”
*****
The hide-and-seek game between Gaffe’s and Evensong’s cutie marks entered its third week.
“I’ll go find him,” Night Glider offered one day.
The Crusaders were very appreciative of this. The morning after Night Glider left, the three CMCs’ cutie marks went off on schedule. For the first time in two weeks, all three of them went to the Cave, hoping that Night Glider was successful in finding Gaffe. Upon arrival, it appeared to be so.
“There she is!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
Night Glider flew towards them. She was soaking wet and very angry.
“He threw a lit bundle of dynamite at me!” she barked.
*****
While helping to clear up a log jam on a river bend just before Neighagra Falls, Gaffe, who was doing his utmost to ignore his glowing and vibrating cutie mark, spotted Night Glider flying towards him. He recognised her from their cult days, and knew at once what she wanted. He was having none of it. He grabbed a bundle of dynamite sticks, lit the fuse, and threw it at Night Glider, shouting at her to leave him alone. Caught by surprise, Night Glider just managed to dodge the bundle, but the straps got caught in her tail. She dived into the river to extinguish the wick. The water was freezing. And it did no good. The wick had been smothered in soap, and wouldn’t go out in the water. Panicking, Night Glider flew in and out of the ice cold water. It took six attempts, but at last, the flame was put out. She flew away at once, not wanting another explosive to be thrown at her.
*****
In the Cave, the Crusaders were helping to untangle the dynamite bundle from Night Glider’s tail. As soon as it was free, Night Glider kicked it to a corner of the Cave.
“I hope he gets a limb pinched off!” she growled in a shaky voice.
The Crusaders took her to the Village Hostel to get dried off and warmed up. She calmed down after a hot shower and a mug of chocolate tea.
“I’ll go back to the river tomorrow,” she said as she and the CMCs sat by the fireplace. “But I’ll need to take you with me, Sweetie.”
*****
The following morning, the log drive still hadn’t reached the Falls. Another jam was holding up the flow, and Gaffe and his co-workers were working hard to try and shift it. Gaffe saw Night Glider flying towards him.
“I told you to get lost!” he roared.
He reached for a bundle of dynamite and a match. Then he noticed that Glider had a passenger. Sweetie Belle, riding on Night Glider’s back, lit her horn. Just as Gaffe had struck the match on the trunk of a nearby tree, it was extinguished. The dynamite was whisked from his other hoof. He made a grab for another, but was lifted off his hooves in a magical grip. It was no strain on Sweetie Belle’s horn, and there was no extra weight for Night Glider to carry. None of the other log drivers batted an eyelid as Night Glider turned and flew away with Sweetie Belle.
“Guys! Help!” shrieked Gaffe as he was levitated away from the river. “They’re foalnapping me!”
“It’s probably for your own good, Gaffe!” called an old stallion standing on the bank.
“You banana skin!” Gaffe yelled as he was carried out of sight.
“Don’t drop him, whatever ya do!” one of the other drivers called to Night Glider and Sweetie Belle. “We don’t want this to become a salt water river!”
*****
At last, when Sweetie Belle’s, Scootaloo’s, and Apple Bloom’s cutie marks went off, the glowing and vibrating was more persistent. Their quarry had finally arrived. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo raced to the Cave entrance to find Sweetie Belle and Night Glider dragging a very reluctant Gaffe back to his former colony.
“I swore I’d never come back!” he hissed, trying in vain to break free of Sweetie Belle’s magic.
“Gaffe!” Apple Bloom shouted over the unwilling stallion’s attempts to escape. “Starlight’s Village isn’t the same place it used to be!”
Gaffe went on trying to claw away.
“Maybe don’t call it Starlight’s Village,” suggested Scootaloo. “It can’t be helping.”
Sweetie Belle, who showed no sign of strain from lifting the burly log driver, turned Gaffe around so he was facing the Village. Gaffe stopped struggling. He could see that the little town certainly had changed.
“Apple trees,” he remarked. “I never would’ve guessed. Now the town looks like an equal sign with an afro.”
Everyone chuckled.
*****
They managed to congregate in the CMC Clubhouse. Gaffe had calmed down, but Sweetie Belle did not release her magical grip on him, just in case he made any sudden attempts to get away. It was no strain on her horn what-so-ever.
“So Gaffe,” said Apple Bloom, “three weeks ago, when your cutie mark glowed, vibrated, and split… did you not think maybe you should follow it?!”
“It was heading for this Village,” said Gaffe flatly. “No way did I think I should follow it.”
“But it must’ve been driving you crazy all this time,” insisted Apple Bloom.
“Everything drives me crazy,” sighed Gaffe. “My mark pestering me, my job trying to kill me, a cult trying to zombify me… I can’t win.”
“Tell us about your job,” said Scootaloo.
“Sure. It’s horrifying,” said Gaffe, his cheek pulling his mouth into a toothy smile. “Every single solitary aspect of it scares me to death. The heavy logs, the tools, the machinery, the river currents, the hungry wildlife, the freezing conditions, the big rocks, the burling, the timber thieves…”
“The explosives?” scowled Night Glider.
“Well I did tell you to go away,” said the unabashed Gaffe. “You and me put on a big smile like everypony else in the Cult of Equality, but when it all came tumbling down, I decided to suck up my fear and return to the normality I had foolishly abandoned.”
“And just look at what it’s done to you,” said Night Glider contemptuously.
*****
“How did you get your cutie mark?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Well I grew up on a cranberry farm,” said Gaffe. “It was pretty far from the river, so for a long time, I never saw or even knew about the log drive.”
“Did you like cranberry farming?” asked Apple Bloom.
“It was okay… but…” Gaffe gave a noncommittal shrug and tilt of his head. “One day, at the start of summer, I was walking along the irrigation canal, following an unripe cranberry that had blown away and was floating along. I got to the river, and I saw two logs stuck on the other bank. Just as I was wondering how they got there, an old stallion came along on a rowboat. He wasn’t using a paddle to move his boat, but a long wooden stick with a metal hook on the end. I watched him free the two logs from the bank and send them floating away. He saw me, we waved to each other, and then off he went. The next year, I went back to the river at the start of summer, hoping to see him. He was there, shifting some trapped logs. We waved, we introduced ourselves… his name’s Cant Dog. The next year, we met up, and he invited me on a trip on his rowboat. He even offered me a shot at moving some stranded logs with his pole. He told me about his life on the log drive. I thought it sounded cool. Then when we got back to the canal, I got my cutie mark.”
*****
“Then when I grew up and got a job on the log drive…”
Gaffe’s face seemed to become more lined. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Night Glider glanced at Sweetie Belle to make sure her horn was still glowing.
“I tried going back to work on the farm, but it didn’t do anything for me, and it soon became clear that my family were managing just fine without me,” said Gaffe. “But log driving turned me into a wound-up bundle of nerves.”
“Have you…?” Scootaloo piped up.
“I quickly found out I was no more suited to on-the-side work,” Gaffe said sharply. “I tried making deliveries, and working in the food tents, and contacting riverside communities to let them know we were coming. But I was no good at any of those. I make… everyone says I make a good log driver… but it’s a great big pile of yikes!”
“Okay, let me get this straight,” said Apple Bloom, standing up and slowly pacing the Treehouse. “As a colt, you’d never seen the main log drive go down the river. And yet you chased that career after you got your cutie mark for cleaning up just a few logs after the main drive had gone by.”
Gaffe’s face fell.
*****
“Cleaning up the leftover logs after the main drive gets to the mills…” he breathed. “That’s been Cant Dog’s job for ages. If I were meant to do that… I’d be taking his job away from him.”
“You don’t have to take it from him,” said Scootaloo. “I’ll bet he could use some help in his old age.”
“You’re right there,” said Gaffe, perking up a bit. “Come to think of it, it has been taking him longer. I think last year, he was still cleaning up well into the Fall. That’s what I can do. I can join him. Just like I did on my first upriver adventure.”
His cutie mark glowed and vibrated. As did Apple Bloom’s, Scootaloo’s, and Sweetie Belle’s.
“Three weeks,” muttered Apple Bloom. “It took three weeks to solve a problem that could’ve been solved in minutes.”
*****
“I’m sorry, Crusaders,” said Gaffe. “I never believed that the answer to my problem really was in this town after all.”
Night Glider tapped her hoof.
“Sorry to you too, Night Glider,” said Gaffe sheepishly. “I’m happy you and the other villagers are leading a good life here.”
Night Glider nodded, but said nothing. Gaffe stood up. Sweetie realised her magic wasn’t holding him anymore, and so put out her horn.
“I guess there’s no need to go back to the river,” said Gaffe. “Maybe I’ll just stay here for a few days and try to relax. Then I’ll go to my old home on the cranberry farm and wait for Summer to come.”
He pursed his lips, trying not to look at Night Glider.
“I’ll go tell them you’re not coming back,” sighed Glider.
“Thank you,” smiled Gaffe.
*****
Night Glider returned to the Hostel quite soon.
“We’ve got a problem,” she said to Gaffe and the Crusaders. “On my way out of town, I remembered the dynamite was in the Cave, so I thought I’d go grab it and bring it back to the log drivers. But it’s not there. I can’t find it.”
Winter wasn’t quite done with Starlight’s Village. It hadn’t snowed in weeks, but it rained quite a lot, and it was still very cold. But some of the villagers didn’t have the luxury of remaining indoors, keeping toasty by the fireplace with a bowl of stew. Gaffe, Night Glider, and the Crusaders were running around the area trying to find the bundle of dynamite they’d left in the Cave.
“What’s up?” asked Lightning Dust when she saw them all rushing about.
Scootaloo told her about the dynamite.
“Ooh. Maybe Evensong’s back,” hissed Lightning Dust. “I’ll be on my guard.”
And she took off to inform the rest of the Village of the problem, leaving Scootaloo the shiver from more than cold; it never occurred to her that Evensong Glisten might be responsible.
“I can’t take this anymore,” said Apple Bloom, her teeth chattering.
Her fellow Crusaders agreed, and told Gaffe and Night Glider that they wanted to turn in. Gaffe, who was used to freezing conditions, and Night Glider, who’d recently had six tastes of such conditions, were quite understanding, and told the three CMCs that they’d carry on searching. So off the Crusaders went to the Cafe, lamenting the lack of a weather team in this northern Village.
*****
It began to rain in the evening, so Gaffe and Night Glider stopped their search and headed indoors. It rained all night, and as the Sun rose the next morning, the temperature seemed to get lower and lower. The road that ran along the middle of the Village was practically a long wide sheet of ice. Villagers were slipping and sliding as they made their haphazard progress going about their business. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in particular were struggling to remain upright as they fled from the Cafe and down the road. They were in a hurry; not because they were continuing their search for the dynamite, but because their cutie marks told them they had a mission. But as they skidded towards the cave…
BANG
Some panicked voices joined the reverb. The Crusaders looked around, wide-eyed and fretful.
“It’s okay, everypony!” came a voice.
Heads turned to see Bend Twist’s head poking out from a window in Party Favour’s cottage.
“Just one of my brother’s balloon animals burst, that’s all.”
*****
Stunned and delighted at Bend Twist’s turnaround though they were, the Crusaders continued their sluggish progress towards the Cave.
“This better not be another no-show,” groaned Apple Bloom.
It wasn’t. Far from it.
“How many cutie marks are there?!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
One by one, 2-dimensional symbols drifted past the teenage fillies and into the Cave.
“One… two… three… four!”
“I think…” said Scootaloo, “I recognise two of them.”
She looked to the sky.
“Yep! They belong to Sky Stinger and Vapour Trail! But I don’t know who those other two pegasi are… unless…”
*****
Sky Stinger and Vapour Trail landed, followed by their two companions. They’d met Scootaloo before, so introductions were short on that front.
“These are my fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders. That’s Apple Bloom, and that’s Sweetie Belle,” said Scootaloo. “And are these two your WingPonies from the Wonderbolt Academy?”
“Yep,” said Sky Stinger. “This is Updraft. She’s my WingPony.”
“Hi,” said Updraft.
“Hi,” said Apple Bloom.
“And this is my WingPony,” said Vapour Trail. “B Line.”
“Hi,” beamed B Line
“Hi,” said Sweetie Belle. “You look happy.”
“I super am!” B Line exclaimed. “I passed my Wonderbolts History Exam yesterday!”
“Oh! Congratulations,” smiled Scootaloo. “Does this mean…? Are all four of you in the Wonderbolts Reserves now?”
“I just got my papers confirming I’m in the Reserves this morning,” grinned B Line.
“That was when all of our marks started acting up and wafted over here,” said Sky Stinger.
*****
The Crusaders showed the four Wonderbolt Reserves the Cutie Mark Grid. For a while, they just watched as the five cutie marks (including Evensong’s) chased each other around the Maze. Vapour Trail turned to the Crusaders, about to ask what their problem might be. But she could see the three fillies were shivering.
“Shall we head to the Village and talk about things?” she suggested.
Apple Bloom had a thought. “Is this really the best time for us to have a mission?”
And she told the visitors that the Village was on high alert because a bundle of dynamite went missing.
“What was it for?” asked B Line sharply.
“Well, nothing in particular,” said Sweetie Belle. “Our last client was a log driver, and he wasn’t exactly happy about the idea of coming here. Our friend Night Glider went to find him and ended up getting a lit bundle of dynamite caught in her tail.”
“Oh,” said B Line. “I thought maybe you wanted to blow a hole in this Cave.”
“What for?” asked Scootaloo with a raised eyebrow.
“I dunno. It seems like a bit of a hike between here and the Village,” shrugged B Line. “Just a thought.”
“Say, B Line,” said Sweetie Belle, “you wouldn’t be related to B Rainy, would you?”
“B Rainy? Doesn’t ring a bell,” B Line shrugged.
“Oh.”
*****
The party left the Cave, and when they reached the end of the road, there was B Rainy. He gave no indication that he recognised B Line as he approached them.
“No offence, but this might not be the best time for you three to have a mission,” he said.
“I thought that too,” said Apple Bloom. “But it’s not up to us. It’s up to Sweetie’s Grid.”
“Oh sure, when it’s an inconvenience, it’s my Grid,” muttered Sweetie Belle.
“Anyway,” said B Rainy, “we’re having a Town Meeting in an hour to discuss the missing dynamite. Did they…”
“They told us about it,” said Updraft.
“Good,” nodded B Rainy. “I guess there’s no harm in talking things out in the meantime. But keep a sharp eye out for trouble.”
*****
If this meeting were taking place back at Sweet Apple Acres, there would’ve been no way all seven of these ponies would fit into the tiny Clubhouse.
“You two have always wanted to become Wonderbolts together, right?” Scootaloo asked Sky Stinger and Vapour Trail.
“Ever since we were foals growing up together in Stratusburg,” smiled Vapour Trail.
“And after Rainbow and Twilight helped us get over our little… speedbump at the Academy,” said Sky Stinger, “we were both made LeadPonies.”
“And we were each assigned a WingPony. I got B Line, and Sky got Updraft,” said Vapour. “We’ve all become good friends since our time in the Academy. So now… I guess we all want to try and become Wonderbolts.”
“Yeah. All four of us,” said Sky.
“And why not?” asked B Line. “We’ve all passed our Exams. All four of us are on the Reserves. Our path is pretty clear.”
“Me and Vapour passed our Exams on the first go,” said Updraft. “Sky needed two tries. Guess how many B…”
“It doesn’t matter!” snapped B Line. “We’re all in now. It’s only a matter of time before we are each inducted into the Wonderbolts.”
“The problem,” said Updraft, “is that the likelihood that all four of us will be members of the Wonderbolts at the same time is rather slim. Scores of pegasi become Reserves, but not one of them is guaranteed a high spot in the cue. And let’s face it, we’ve all got different levels of experience. It’s not too unlikely that two best friends can become wonderbolts together, but when you add to that, you dampen the chances. In short, Crusaders, me and B Line might have jeopardised Sky’s and Vapour’s lifelong goal.”
“No,” said Sky automatically. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re our best friends. There’s no point in becoming Wonderbolts without you two.”
“Would you feel that way if they promoted you two and left us in the cue?” asked Updraft.
*****
Inwardly, Apple Bloom was recalling what she’d heard about Starlight’s reign.
When she created the cult of equality, she was trying to avoid the reality that there are thousands of ponies with similar talents and abilities, and inevitably, some will be better than others. And since the Wonderbolts only recruit the best flyers, it does kinda seem like a longshot that all four of these pegasi will make the cut.
Then she remembered that despite having the same talent, each of the four Wonderbolt Reserve’s cutie marks was different; one was an upside-down lightning bolt, one was a rising star, one was a springy cyclone, and one was a cloud with an arrow through it. Regaining confidence in potentially finding a solution, Apple Bloom put Starlight’s old dogma out of her mind.
*****
“What do you four do outside the Wonderbolts?” she asked. “What jobs or hobbies do you have?”
“I work on Stratusburg’s weather team with Sky,” said Vapour Trail. “And B and Updraft moved in with us. Updraft’s a construction worker, and…”
“And B Line’s a freeloader,” chuckled Updraft.
“Don’t start!” snapped B Line. “Just because I’m unemployed, doesn’t mean I’m a freeloader.”
“I’m joking. You know I don’t mean that,” said Updraft with a smile. “You do most of the cleaning and laundry around the house. And you make the best roast potatoes and carrots in existence.”
“Thanks,” said B Line, placing a hoof on Updraft’s shoulder. “Still, I know I ought to find work. It’s just… I only ever had one goal in life, and that was to be a Wonderbolt.”
*****
Scootaloo glanced out of a window.
“The Villagers are gathering for the Town Meeting,” she said.
So the party filed out of the Treehouse. As they did so, Vapour Trail quietly confided in Apple Bloom.
“I really do treasure B Line and Updraft. But all my life, I’ve wanted to become a Wonderbolt with Sky Stinger. It seemed plausible all that time, but with B and Updraft with us… I just… I just don’t…”
“The road’s kinda slippery,” Apple Bloom interrupted. “Think you could give me a lift?”
Vapour Trail was happy to oblige. As she flew down to join the crowd with Apple Bloom riding on her back, Apple Bloom’s doubts began to redouble.
Are we sure this isn’t a friendship problem? she wondered. Couldn’t the Friendship Council help these four better than the Cutie Mark Crusaders could?”
*****
B Rainy and Gaffe were about to call the meeting to order.
“Hey!” shouted Sky Stinger as a gust of wind made everypony shiver. “Maybe the dynamite’s in that guy’s hair!”
He had spotted Bend Twist; hair by Zephyr Breeze of Manehattan. He started feeling around his long mane and tail.
“I’ve never been in the Cave, dude!” snapped Bend Twist. “Get off! You’re messing up my mane!”
Party Favour, not displaying the slightest hint of surprise at Bend Twist’s explosed cutie mark, shooed Sky Stinger away from his brother.
“Sorry,” said Sky. “I get carried a--”
“Quiet! Quiet!” came a voice.
It was Mancy. He stood in the middle of the crowd, holding his hoof up for silence.
“Silence, everyone,” said Undercoat’s brother in a flat tone. “The psychic’s getting a vision.”
“Shut up, Scumble!” snapped Night Glider.
“It’s not what I’m seeing,” said Mancy impatiently; but not without an appreciative smile towards Night Glider. “It’s what I’m hearing.”
*****
The gust of wind had died down. Everyone perked up their ears. A faint clunking sound could be heard. Heads turned towards Old Lady Cooper, who was rocking back and forth in her chair as usual.
“Look!” exclaimed Hawk Head, pointing to the icy ground next to the rocking chair. “A fuse!”
“That daft old coot picked up the dynamite in her rockers while she was making her rounds!” spluttered Professor Glomgold, struggling to remain upright as he turned to look.
Old Lady Cooper made no comment as everypony in the Village looked at her rocking in her chair, the bundle of dynamite sliding back and forth, bumping on the seat supports. Muga and Coan, who were nearest to her, went to go take the dynamite bundle out of her chair. Then the wind picked up again. Old Lady Cooper slid down the icy road in her chair.
“Get her!” shouted Gaffe.
Several ponies tried to give chase, but only ended up slipping and falling on the ice.
“I got this!” called Lightning Dust.
She flew swiftly towards Old Lady Cooper. But her wings only made a draft, causing Old Lady Cooper to slide off course. Lightning nearly collided with a picket fence. Big Mac made a grab for the fuse, hoping to reel in Old Lady Cooper. He caught it, but as the wind changed direction, he found himself being swept off his hooves and dragged along the icy road after the old mare in the rocking chair. Sugar Belle and the Crusaders dived on top of him. He slid to a stop, but the fuse popped out of the dynamite bundle. Old Lady Cooper skidded on, knocking Double Diamond over along her way. Even Professor Glomgold’s magic wasn’t working. He had to lean forward to focus on his target, and this caused him to overbalance and nearly fall over himself.
*****
“Alright, enough slapstick!” shouted Lightning Dust after another minute of failed attempts to stop Old Lady Cooper from sliding around with the dynamite. “Night Glider, B Rainy, come here! And you four!”
She pointed to Sky, Vapour, B Line, and Updraft.
“You’re all Wonderbolt Reserves, aren’t you?! You can help! If all seven of us fly at her at the same time, our drafts will cancel each other out!”
She watched as Old Lady Cooper’s rocking chair skated towards the middle of the road.
“3, 2, 1, charge!”
She, Glider, Sky, Vapour, Updraft, and the two Bs came at Cooper from all sides. She spun like a top in their conflicting drafts. At last, the chair was stopped and the bundle of dynamite was secured. The villagers applauded.
“Yes! Got it!” Lightning Dust held the explosives up in her hoof. “Great work, you guys. You four are totally gonna be Wonderbolts one day. You’re great flyers.”
Apple Bloom saw Vapour Trail’s face go red. They caught each other’s eye, and Apple Bloom did her best to convey to Vapour that there was no need to feel ashamed.
*****
“So,” said Lightning Dust, “what do we do with it?”
“B Line suggested,” said Updraft, “that you could blow a hole in the side of the Cave and move the Cutie Mark Grid into the Village.”
Concerned muttering broke out among the villagers.
“It’s Gaffe’s dynamite,” Night Glider pointed out.
“Yeah, but I quit my job,” said Gaffe.
“Okay, then I’ll just take it back to the log drivers,” said Night Glider.
She held her hoof out, but Lightning Dust held onto the bundle.
“Why not move the Grid?” she asked. “Why not try and help make things easier for our Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
“You don’t have to do this for us,” said Sweetie Belle sheepishly.
“But we want to,” said Day Star. “Right everypony?”
Chatter broke out; some approving, some still concerned.
*****
“All we need is a plan,” said Lightning Dust. “B Rainy, let’s put our heads together. What do ya say?”
“I’d be glad to,” said B Rainy. “The thing is, it might be plausible to do it right here, right now. The road is icy. We could probably slide the Grid onto town and just in front of the Crusaders’ Treehouse. It doesn’t leave much time for planning, though. And without a weather team, there’s no telling if this ice will hold out.”
“You don’t have a weather team here?!” piped up Sky Stinger. “We can help! We can keep it cold in this town so the road stays icy and slippery!”
Some complaints wafted over the crowd.
“Oh, come on! Suck it up, everypony!” called Lightning Dust. “We won’t have another chance for almost a year!”
*****
“It’ll be a big job,” said Night Glider. “We’d need five big task forces of pegasi. One to waft the Grid up the road, one to get it to stop in the right place, one to be on hoof in case something goes wrong at the Cave, and two to keep the Grid from hitting any cottages.”
“Whoa,” said Lightning Dust, the enthusiasm draining from her face for the first time.
“Don’t forget one to keep the weather at the right temperature,” put in Gaffe.
“Six task forces of pegasi!” burst out Night Glider. “In this tiny Village? Is it worth it?”
“You know, the Wonderbolts did a good job of blocking that Cave up last year,” said B Rainy. “Could you Reserves talk to them and ask them to help?”
“Yeah!” said Sky Stinger.
“No problem,” said Vapour Trail.
“There are only so many Wonderbolts,” said Updraft. “That might not be enough for a big job like this.”
“Maybe,” said Night Glider. “It’s not like last year, where there was only one spot to be worried about. But what if…?”
She trailed off, but B Line seemed to read her mind.
“Let’s try,” he said to his three best friends, “to convince them to wrangle in all hooves. The Wonderbolts, the Reserves, maybe even some Cadets.”
*****
“What if the dynamite damages the Grid?” asked Sweetie Belle four days later.
“You could probably fix it,” said Scootaloo.
“How? I don’t even know what spell I used to turn the Vault into a Grid in the first place,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Maybe you don’t have to know,” suggested Apple Bloom. “The same way you don’t even have to cast a spell to make you invincible.”
“To ponies who don’t understand their cutie marks, you mean. Right?”
*****
It was still cold in northern Equestria, but most of the northern cities had undergone Winter Wrap-Up by now, and the Sun could be seen shining down. Not over Starlight’s Village, though. B Line had led the town pegasi on a mission to gather clouds in the area to create overcast. They were now flying above the town trying to keep the clouds from drifting away so as to maintain the ice sheet on the road. It was a tricky job. Clouds were rarely interfered with in this area, thus were harder to control. The task force was struggling to keep the clouds from sidling away; apart from Night Glider and B Line, that is.
*****
The construction company Updraft worked for sometimes undertook demolition contracts, and it seemed she’d learned just enough about setting explosive charges to work out where to place each stick of dynamite. The Crusaders watched as she moved along the Cave floor, adjusting the length of each fuse so that each stick would go off at the right time. Lightning Dust entered the Cave, grinning broadly.
“I thought the Wonderbolts wanted you to stay out of this plan,” said Scootaloo.
“Yeah, that’s the only reason they agreed to it, but get this,” said Lightning, holding up a match book. “Spitfire said I can light the wick.”
*****
Outside the Cave, Spitfire was giving the Wonderbolts a final briefing.
“When that wall is blown open and the big rock slides out, our goal is just to slow it down! We’re not trying to stop it! We’re just trying to keep it on that path!”
She indicated a sheet of ice that led from the side of the Cave to the start of the Village road. The natural elements had not caused this; it was made by the town pegasi manipulating some rain clouds. Standing by at the start of the road were a squadron of Wonderbolt Reserves and Cadets, led by a well-rested Soarin. A similar squadron, overseen by Fleetfoot, were standing by at the end of the road, while on each rooftop sat one Wonderbolt representative. Everything was in place. Eyes turned to the Crusaders.
“All ready,” said Spitfire.
“Well, okay,” said Apple Bloom, resigned to being the one to call the shots. “Lightning! Light the fuse!”
*****
The operation had a few hiccups. Lightning Dust exited the Cave as soon as the wick was lit. After several seconds, the bangs echoed around the Cave. As the reverb continued, Lightning could see that the charges had blown a decent sized hole in the side of the Cave, but had not quite been enough to dislodge the Cutie Mark Grid and send it sliding away. There was a large crack in the ground beside it. Lightning looked around. The desert stick - the so-called Staff Of Sameness - was still there. Lightning darted into the Cave, grabbed the staff, wedged it into the crack, and heaved. The crack lengthened. The Staff snapped in two, but not before the Grid shifted. With a crunch, it listed, slithered, and exited the Cave through the fresh hole.
*****
All went well on the Cutie Mark Grid’s journey down the slope. The Wonderbolts kept it from going too fast, and Soarin’s squadron had already begun creating a draft to blow it down the road. The Crusaders watched the Grid’s progress with apprehension.
“It’s spinning around,” said Sweetie Belle. “I hope it doesn’t end up facing the wrong way.”
The Grid had been rotating all along its journey, but not fast, and not enough to hinder the task forces. Soarin’s squadron was now sending it on its journey down the road. But the draft was a little too strong. High above, some clouds abruptly got away from B Rainy. Before he could reign them in, a sunny spotlight touched the icy path ahead of the Grid. A large crack formed. The Grid hit it with a frightful crunch and veered off course. Rainbow Dash charged into action to keep it from hitting Sugar Belle’s Cafe. Some other pegasi on her side of the Village pitched it to help, but their combined efforts, while successfully guiding the Grid back to the middle of the road, had caused it to go too fast.
“Now!” shouted Fleetfoot in alarm.
Her squadron tried to slow the Grid to a stand just before the Treehouse. But it was going too fast to stop in time, and Fleetfoot’s squadron had to flee to avoid anypony getting squashed between rock and Tree.
*****
A collective gasp punctuated the loud crunching as the Tree at the end of the road was knocked flat. The large stone Cutie Mark Grid had taken its place. And perched on top of it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ Clubhouse. There was a final crunching noise as the Grid broke the ice beneath it and settled.
“All clear!” called Spitfire.
Everypony went to survey the results of their work.
“Oh, that’s good,” said Scootaloo. “It’s facing the right way. Anypony who gets called to the Village will see it right away.”
Sweetie Belle was pleased. Apple Bloom was staring up at the small wooden building. It appeared to have remained structurally intact. Apple Bloom walked around the Grid to look at the Tree that had been uprooted. It was lying on the other side of the road between the Schoolhouse and the Hostel. Apple Bloom turned to look at the gathered villagers. None of them seemed the slightest bit concerned about the Tree. Then Apple Bloom remembered; none of them even knew who’d planted that Tree there in the first place.
*****
A cheer broke out. Ponies were congratulating each other on an overall success.
“Thanks for your help, Wonderbolts,” said Scootaloo, snapping a salute to Spitfire.
“Happy to serve,” said Spitfire, returning the salute.
She turned to Sky Stinger, Vapour Trail, Updraft, and B Line.
“You four were right. Recruiting Reserves to join Wonderbolts for volunteer work is a great idea. I can see us doing this more often in future.”
The four Reserves smiled, but Vapour Trail’s was the broadest of all. The unlikelihood of all four of them becoming Wonderbolts together suddenly seemed like nothing.
*****
“I enjoyed being a weather pony,” said B Line.
“You did great,” said B Rainy. “You had no trouble with those clouds at all.”
They looked up at the sky. The pegasi had all flown down to the town, and the clouds had all scattered, casting an uneven sunshower upon the Village.
Lightning Dust ambled up. “This town could do with a weather captain, you know.”
B Line’s eyes widened. He turned to look at his three best friends. He couldn’t speak for a moment.
“Only if I can be your second in command,” smirked Updraft.
“You want to stay here?” asked Sky Stinger. “That’s a great idea.”
Vapour Trail agreed. “We’ll miss you, but if you think you’ll be happy here, we’re all for it.”
“We’ll hold a Town Meeting tomorrow to get everypony’s approval,” said Lightning Dust.
And with that, the four Wonderbolt Reserves’ cutie marks went off; as did those of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.
“Hey, guys!” called Apple Bloom. “This Grid makes a good ladder.”
And as she climbed up the new steps to the CMC’s Clubhouse, four of the five cutie marks navigating the Maze found the Star in the center of the Grid, sparkled, and disappeared.
Spring had finally arrived in Starlight’s Village. Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle were ready to go out planting new apple trees. It was nearly time to begin construction on a new cottage, which would serve as the headquarters of the Village’s Weather Team. On the morning the project was to start, the recently relocated Cutie Mark Grid had summoned Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. They’d been looking forward to having their first mission since the Grid had been moved to the middle of the Village. They’d spent a lot of their time since it was moved fantasizing about an Equestrian citizen with a cutie mark conundrum being lead to the little town by his/her own cutie mark, and arriving to find that same mark navigating the Maze, to meet the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, and being able to start their journey to rediscovery almost immediately.
*****
Soon after the Crusaders took up position alongside the Grid facing the entrance to the Village, it became apparent that this fantasy was exactly that.
“Wrong way, fillies,” came B Line’s voice from behind them. “Your visitor’s coming from the mountains.”
The Crusaders turned and saw two silhouettes in the sky. One was tiny; the cutie mark. The other was large; the client. For a moment, it looked to them like it was a pegasus. But as a long thin tail and a beak came into focus, and the Crusaders’ excitement shot up.
“It’s Gabby!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
No sooner had she spoken when she was tackle-hugged by Griffonstone’s representative of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“You called me! You’re Reverse Cutie Mark Map called me!” she squealed.
Sweetie Belle beamed. “My Grid called someone who’s not a pony!”
Then they realised that in their excitement, they hadn’t seen what the floating cutie mark looked like. The four Crusaders zoomed around the large stone to look at the Grid. They were expecting to see the cutie mark the CMCs had designed for Gabby. It wasn’t there. It was blurry, and there was a distinctive gap in the middle; it looked like whatever it was, it consisted of two objects.
“Huh. That doesn’t look like my cutie mark,” said Gabby. “That’s a purple sun.”
Sweetie Belle hastily told Gabby about Evensong.
“That’s supposed to be your cutie mark,” she said, pointing to the blur. “It hasn’t formed yet.”
*****
Gabby was wearing her mailbag. She looked at the large button that was pinned to it; it depicted the red, white, and purple shield with the star and the trophy on it that was bestowed upon her by the Crusaders a few years ago.
“But this is my cutie mark,” she insisted. “You three designed it for me. And you’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This Grid thing’s made a mistake.”
“Or maybe we got it wrong,” admitted Scootaloo with a bowed head.
“Oh. Well if at first you don’t succeed,” smiled Gabby. “But seriously, how can this not be my cutie mark? I’ve been feeling great ever since you gave it to me. I felt so much better about myself whenever I offered help to any griffon in need. I used to think there was something wrong with me. You three showed me there wasn’t. This can’t not be my cutie mark. Hey, what’s going on over there?”
She saw there was a great deal of activity on the other side of the Grid.
“We’re building a cottage,” said B Rainy.
“Ooh! How can I help?” asked Gabby eagerly.
*****
Before the Crusaders could blink, their Griffonstone representative had grabbed a hardhat and was looking over a blueprint with B Rainy and Updraft.
“She’s trying to prove the Grid wrong, isn’t she?” groaned Apple Bloom, marveling at the speed with which Gabby jumped into the construction project.
“Well, she could be right. Maybe we weren’t all that far off,” said Scootaloo. “I mean look at her. She’s already got cement in her down and she’s got a huge smile on her face.”
Sweetie Belle looked at the dark blue blur criss-crossing the Maze, trying to imagine what the object might be. Or objects; she remembered that Oop’s cutie mark was two separate objects as well.
“But what are they?” she wondered aloud.
*****
Well into the afternoon, it was clear to the Crusaders that Gabby was in the Weather Team Base project for the duration. She’d gotten friendly with Updraft and B Line, who were happy to teach her how to do things like dig foundations and take measurements.
“Let’s just leave her to it,” said Sweetie Belle. “If the mission isn’t done by the time the cottage is, we’ll get more involved.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo agreed, and the three of them watched the construction from their Clubhouse.
“You know, Griffonstone doesn’t have a weather team either,” said Scootaloo. “Maybe Gabby will learn enough about Updraft’s and B Line’s job to…”
She trailed off, remembering that Updraft and B Line were rather new to weather control themselves. Her friends still thought the idea had merit, but a quick look at the blurry shape chasing the purple sun didn’t give them any clues as to what sort of weather cutie mark Gabby might be destined for.
*****
The three Crusaders did have a role in the project to build the Village’s Weather Base. They were to help with catering. They ventured to the Cafe. There was a tray table laden with food and drink prepared by Sugar Belle. Big Mac was there too, slumped over several buckets of seeds.
“What happened, Big Mac?!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“Well Apple Bloom, it seems we’ve got more seeds from the Vampire Fruit Bat Zone than we can plant in our orchard.”
“No, I mean to your forelegs,” said Apple Bloom curtly, indicating the large bruises Big Mac was sporting. “Did you trip over a root or something?”
“Eeeeyup. But it doesn’t hurt,” insisted Big Mac.
*****
But Big Mac didn’t feel that way the next morning. He woke up with quite intense pain in his forelegs.
“I’ve heard about injuries not hurting at the time, but feeling a lot worse in the morning,” said Sugar Belle. “You should take it easy today, Big Mac. I’ll--”
“I’ll do your chores for you!” piped up Gabby, who was having breakfast with the Crusaders in the Cafe.
The Crusaders wanted to object; they intended to start a conversation with Gabby about why her supposed cutie mark might have been causing her difficulties in Griffonstone. But Gabby was clearly bursting to pitch in, so they said nothing as Big Mac and Sugar Belle gave her instructions and a map of the Orchard. Within a minute, Gabby was off to plant hundreds of apple seeds.
*****
Periodic checks on Gabby told the Crusaders that she was doing just fine. She didn’t even need a spade to dig small holes to plant the seeds in; her talons were just the right tool for the job. At the end of the day, Big Mac and Sugar Belle thanked her for her help. There was no change in her or the blur in the Reverse Cutie Map. And the next morning, Big Mac felt much better and quite fit to do the chores himself.
“Alright, Gabby,” said Sweetie Belle. “It’s time we talked about your cutie mark difficulties.”
Gabby gave an agreeable nod, and sat at the Cafe table with the Crusaders. They were pleased that she didn’t seem to be looking for an excuse to keep herself busy. But unluckily, an excuse presented itself.
“What’s keeping you, Sweetie?” asked Lightning Dust, zipping into the Cafe.
She saw Gabby sitting with the Crusaders.
“Oh, I didn’t know you had a mission,” she said.
“Is it Sunday already?” asked Sweetie Belle. “I didn’t realise.”
*****
“What’s on Sunday?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Didn’t you know? I take Lightning’s place in Day Star’s and Sereta’s cottage on Sunday,” said Sweetie, “so Lightning can go fly around the mountains and get some exercise.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had been completely unaware of this.
“That sounds cool!” squeaked Gabby. “Can I join you?”
“Sure,” said Lightning Dust.
And off went Gabby again, much to the annoyance of the Crusaders.
*****
“You can help me make cloud sculptures,” said Lightning Dust as she and Gabby flew towards the Mountains.
“Cloud sculptures?” asked Gabby.
“Yeah, I like to use them as practise, in case I ever have to tackle a foe,” explained Lightning. “But sometimes making a decent sculpture takes up too much of my energy. Especially around here. So I can’t always give them a decent beating. I’m too worn out to charge.”
“Hey, look!” Gabby pointed to a snowy slope. “Someone’s already made some cloud sculptures.”
“Those are snowmares,” said Lightning Dust. “I think Double Diamond left some behind last time he was up here. I guess we can smash these.”
“Won’t Double Diamond be upset?” asked Gabby.
“Nah,” said Lightning dismissively.
*****
For about half an hour, Lightning Dust and Gabby flew down the slope charging at the snowmares. Lightning Dust was pretty good at it, while Gabby had never done it before; some she hit, some he grazed, some she missed. One, she hit, but it didn’t break apart, and she ended up impaling it and stopping dead in its middle. But as she struggled to get unstuck, Lightning Dust could see that she was thoroughly enjoying herself. She flew behind Gabby, took aim, and charged. She gave the stuck griffon a good bump and dislodged her from the hole in the snowmare. She flew through the hole herself, leaving the snowmare still standing.
“I kinda like these,” said Lightning as she and Gabby took to the air. “Wanna help me make more?”
“Sure, but can we still make cloud sculptures?” asked Gabby. “That sounds like fun too.”
Lightning agreed. So they trudged back up the slope, stopping every few dozen yards or so to build a snowmare each. And once they were at the top, off the flew. Gabby managed to demolish more of them this time. And when she saw the one with the hole in the middle, she aimed for its head. She hit it and managed to knock the whole thing down.
*****
After a rest, Lightning Dust took Gabby into the air and demonstrated how to make a cloud sculpture. Gabby copied her as best she could.
“Well, you’re a lot better at this than I am,” admitted Lightning. “I almost don’t want to smash that.”
“Go on,” encouraged Gabby, flying several meters away from her sculpture. “Smash it!”
So Lightning Dust did so. One by one, each of Gabby’s masterpieces were pulverised by the Wonderbolt Academy flunky.
“Do you want a go now?” asked Lightning after about two hours.
She made a cloud sculpture; it wasn’t nearly as artistic as Gabby’s had been. Gabby was keen to try tackling it, but she was running low on energy. She backed up, took aim, and charged. The sculpture broke apart, but it stopped Gabby dead and she had to beat her wings hard to stop herself from falling. She sat on a mountain ledge to get her breath back. After a while, Lightning Dust called to her. She looked up to see Lightning had made another sculpture.
“Better get it, Gabby!” she called. “It’s gonna attack your city!”
Gabby stood up and launched herself off the ledge. She hit the sculpture with such force, the cloud matter dispersed like flies.
*****
As the Sun was setting, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went to visit Sweetie Belle at Day Star’s and Serata’s house. She’d been patrolling the rooms all day, and was quite tired out.
“Lightning Dust definitely needs a break from this,” she said.
“Sure, but did she have to take Gabby with her,” groaned Apple Bloom.
“They’re not back yet?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“I’ll go check on them,” said Scootaloo.
But as she left the cottage and flew towards the Mountains, she saw the returning figures of Gabby and Lightning Dust silhouetted in the evening sky.
“Exercise achieved,” grinned Lightning Dust as she passed Scootaloo.
Gabby said nothing. She collapsed, dead tired, on the roof of the CMC Clubhouse.
*****
In the morning, Gabby woke up on the rooftop to see Scootaloo hovering nearby.
“Gabby, it’s time to talk about any problems you might be having that are keeping you from your potential,” Scootaloo said firmly.
Gabby had no objections. She joined Scootaloo as she flew into the Clubhouse. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were there.
“I already told you,” Gabby said. “I’m not having any problems in Griffonstone. Although… Griffonstone itself is kinda having problems.”
“What with?” asked Apple Bloom.
Gabby sighed. “Gilda’s having trouble with the mission Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie gave her.”
“Still?!” exclaimed Scootaloo.
“Still,” nodded Gabby. “She has made progress since that day. And I’ve been pitching in all the time. But things are sluggish. For one thing, we don’t have access to fresh fruit or vegetables. Nobirdy’s offered to plant any seeds. And like I was telling Updraft and B Line when I first got here, no one in Griffonstone has manufactured the weather since King Guto’s reign. So the weather’s been doing a number on a lot of the town’s buildings. Most of them are really dilapidated.
*****
In the Crusaders’ minds, the jigsaw was starting to fall into place.
“What were you doing at the time you were called to this Village?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I was fetching some fresh water. There’s no well in town. And I was carrying so many buckets, Gilda didn’t recognise me when she saw me flying into town,” Gabby explained. “She thought I might be some kind of invading creature looking to take advantage of Griffonstone’s lackluster community spirit. Luckily, she realised what I was before she could attack me. And at that moment, I realised that if Griffonstone was invaded, we’d all be pretty vulnerable. But I forgot all about that when I got a funny feeling and turned to see something dark and blurry leading me away from home.”
“So…” said Apple Bloom, “now that you’ve gotten some experience with building construction, planting seeds, and target practise…?”
She never finished the question. Her cutie mark went off, as did those of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
*****
Squeeing with excitement, Gabby dashed out of the Clubhouse. The Crusaders followed. They went down to the ground and looked at the Cutie Mark Grid. Gone was the dark blue blur. In its place was two objects. One was a shield, the other was a shovel.
“I knew it!” exclaimed Gabby with gusto. “I knew you weren’t wrong! There is a shield in my cutie mark!”
The Crusaders all looked at Gabby. There was no cutie mark there. But this did nothing to dampen Gabby’s happiness.
“Thanks to you,” she beamed, “I can use my new skills to really make some inroads. I can help Gilda rebuild Griffonstone’s community spirit by tackling the city’s biggest problems. I can repair buildings, I can dig wells, I can plant fruit and veggies, I can get a start on regulating weather, and I can train to fight off invaders. And I can show other griffons how to do all those things.”
*****
Gabby shot off to ask Big Mac if she could have all the leftover apple seeds he didn’t have room for in the Orchard.
“Thanks, Cutie Mark Crusaders!” she called as she soared away with as many buckets of seeds as she could carry.
“Did we even do anything?” asked Scootaloo as they watched Gabby leave.
“Maybe we didn’t have to,” said Apple Bloom. “Maybe all Gabby needed was a change.”
“Yeah. Maybe sometimes all it takes is a change of venue to gain a new perspective on your goals and abilities,” agreed Sweetie Belle. “It worked for us, didn’t it?”
By now, Professor Glomgold’s students, secondary and primary, were sure he was quarter-baking his lessons.
“I have here a list of names of Equestrian citizens from days gone by,” he said one day to his secondary school class, having just explained the concept of nominative determinism. “I’m going to read some one by one, and what I’d like you to do is tell me what this pony went on to do after being named that by his parents. First, we have a colt named Salad Tosser.”
The class pitched ideas that this pony might have gotten a job at a restaurant, or spent much of his life on a greens farm, or might have invented a kind of dressing. The Professor said he was pleased with the ideas his class put forward, but he never told them what the pony Salad Tosser really had gone on to do. He just moved on to the next name; Scrump. Some of the students suspected he didn’t even know the answer, but none of them said so. They just went right on with their little guessing game, never to know that Salad Tosser had been given that name by his vegan parents and went on to work in a delicatessen with his eventual husband. Apple Bloom was wondering if the Cutie Mark Grid might soon summon her, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and their teacher. Her cutie mark went off. So did Scootaloo’s and Sweetie Belle’s. Professor Glomgold’s didn’t, though.
“Ah, I see you three have a mission,” remarked the teacher. “You’re excused.”
*****
The Village’s Weather Team hadn’t begun its operations to regulate the town’s weather yet. A strong breeze was blowing along the road as the Crusaders left the schoolhouse.
“Windy!” exclaimed Scootaloo.
“It sure is,” said Apple Bloom.
“Bow!” Scootaloo called.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle turned to where Scootaloo was looking. There were Rainbow Dash’s parents flying into town. As Scootaloo took to the air to welcome the couple to the Village, some heads poked out of some cottage windows to see what all the noise was.
*****
“I cannot believe we get the honour of being summoned to this Village and getting cutie mark help from the best Cutie Mark Crusader ever!” roared Bow Hothoof.
“Well now, that’s not totally fair,” said Windy Whistles. “Apple Bloom over there is the founder of the best cutie mark discovery and rediscovery club ever! And Sweetie Belle here is the one who created this spectacular Grid!”
She stood marvelling at the shapes criss-crossing the Maze.
“Best Cutie Mark Grid ever!” she proclaimed loudly. “You’ve got to be one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria to have created this!”
“It was nothing,” said Sweetie Belle modestly. “I don’t even know how I did it.”
But it seemed modesty didn’t register with Rainbow Dash’s parents. Windy Whistles was still looking at Sweetie Belle as though she were a war hero. Feeling uncomfortable, Sweetie turned to look at the Grid. So did the other two Crusaders. They were surprised to find that a pair of blue blurs had joined Evensong Glisten’s cutie mark.
“That can’t be right,” remarked Scootaloo. “You two have…”
She gasped when she looked at Bow’s and Windy’s flanks. Both of their cutie marks had faded a little.
*****
“The last time I saw you, your cutie marks were fine!” cried Scootaloo. “What happened?!”
“We don’t know,” shrugged Bow. “Not much changed for us since Summer started, did they Windy?”
“Not really,” Windy nodded. “We’ve just been going about our usual business.”
“What’s that?” asked Apple Bloom.
Bow was about to answer when a deep howling sound distracted him and his wife. They all turned towards the Cave.
“It’s the wind blowing through the hole in that Cave,” observed Windy. “What happened there?”
The Crusaders told them about how the Cutie Mark Grid used to be in the Cave, until they got help from the Wonderbolts to use dynamite and ice to move it. Bow and Windy were blatantly impressed, and their exclamations of appraisal drowned out the wind and the howling.
*****
Some villagers stepped out of their cottages to see what all the noise was. Updraft was one of them. She scowled when she saw Bow and Windy.
“Not you two again!” she groaned.
Remembering that Updraft was a member of the Wonderbolts Reserves, Apple Bloom tentatively asked her what the matter was.
“Those two were barred from the Wonderbolts Compound,” Updraft scowled. “And all Wonderbolts events and undertakings.”
“Why?!” burst out Scootaloo crossly.
“We’ve had no end of complaints,” said Updraft. “From spectators, organizers, and from members of the organisation themselves. Vapour Trail told me that the final straw was at a rally held early last Summer, where they polluted the air with vuvuzelas they’d brought along.”
“I was at that rally!” Scootaloo spluttered. “That was one of the most fun Wonderbolts events I’d ever been to!”
“What, are you sadistic?” asked Updraft. “You think everypony around them going deaf is fun?”
Scootaloo took to the air to look Updraft in the face. “Well guess what?! Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles are perfectly welcome here in Starlight’s Village!”
Updraft glanced down at the Grid. “Then it’s up to you to keep them from causing trouble. If they get out of hoof…”
She punched her hoof in a threatening manner, then turned and went back into the nearly finished Weather Team Base.
*****
Scootaloo had half a mind to go after Updraft, but Apple Bloom’s voice calling to her made her turn around. She was surprised to see Apple Bloom was calling her from one of the CMC Clubhouse windows.
“Can we have a word with you before we start?” she asked.
Scootaloo flew into the Clubhouse.
“I heard that at the first Wonderbolts event you took Bow and Windy to, they shot fireworks into the stadium,” said Apple Bloom. “Is that right?”
“Yeah,” said Scootaloo as though there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Apple Bloom huffed. “Scootaloo, if we’re gonna have any kinda shot at helping those two, you’re gonna have to face it. They’re not good role models.”
Scootaloo scowled at Apple Bloom. “Rainbow Dash turned out great--”
“When Rainbow Dash was just a filly,” Apple Bloom interrupted, “she realised everything her parents said and did was meaningless.”
Scootaloo’s teeth were bared.
“Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles,” she said, shuddering with anger, “are two of the greatest ponies I know.”
Apple Bloom was trying not to imagine how Scootaloo might have turned out if Bow and Windy had been her parents.
“How many parents have we helped since we came to this Village?” she asked Sweetie Belle.
“Just Muga and Coan,” shrugged Sweetie Belle. “We’re still kind of working on helping Day Star and Sereta.”
“Right. And look at what all their constant praise and encouragement did to their foals,” Apple Bloom said to the twitching Scootaloo. “Mussel and Evensong both had backwards upbringings. They were both at risk of going astray if they were exposed to bad influences.”
Scootaloo calmed down. She remembered how she managed to get through to Mussel, and how Evensong wanted to punish her parents even though they’d realised they were wrong and apologised endlessly for it.
“Okay,” she acquiesced. “I’ll try to look past how happy and positive Bow and Windy make me feel.”
*****
“So,” Scootaloo said when she and her fellow Crusaders returned to join their clients, “why don’t you two tell my friends here how you got your cutie marks?”
Bow went first.
“I got mine when I found out I liked cloudscaping. But I got a little discouraged when I found out there were lots of other pegasi who could do that. And they all had similar cutie marks to mine.”
He stared for a moment at his fading shoe and rainbow.
“So eventually, I stopped doing my own cloudscaping, and started supporting and encouraging others who got into cloudscaping. It seemed to give them a boost, which made me feel pretty good.”
“Even though you weren’t taking part yourself?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Bow shrugged.
*****
“I got mine at Flight Camp,” said Windy. “We were trying to create breezes that would blow cloud cover evenly across the sky so that sunlight and shadow were evened out on the land below.”
This pretty much described the weather as it was in the Village at the time, which seemed to account for the broad smile on Windy’s face as she told her backstory.
“But I was nowhere near the only one who got a cutie mark for it in Camp. I saw there were lots of other pegasus foals who could make even cloud cover. And they were all really good at it. I made a point of letting them know I felt that way.”
“But you didn’t make a point of pursuing it yourself after your Flight Camp days were over?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Windy nodded.
*****
The school bell rang to dismiss the secondary class students. The Crusaders turned to see Professor Glomgold was the first to exit the Schoolhouse. He glanced at the party standing by the Cutie Mark Grid, and did a double-take. He looked at the faded cutie marks on the two adult ponies.
“So it’s true,” he remarked. “If ponies veer away from what their marks tell them for too long, their marks fade.”
Why did he never bring that up in class? thought an irritated Scootaloo.
“Good thing that doesn’t apply to me,” the Professor said, aloud but to himself. “I’ve made my contribution. If my cutie mark fades, it won’t matter much.”
I’ll take that as a confession, thought Apple Bloom as she watched the teacher walk away and his students file out.
*****
The Crusaders turned back to Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles; the two had faraway looks in their eyes.
“We met in secondary school,” said Windy.
Bow nodded. So did Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They could vividly imagine Bow and Windy as teenagers bonding over their similar aptitude for encouragement and wasted aspirations. Scootaloo could picture this too.
“I’ll bet,” she said, “that after you two fell in love, you vowed that if you had a foal, you’d support her non-stop; even if she ended up with a pretty common interest. Or hobby. Or cutie mark.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle grew concerned at the reverant expression on Scootaloo’s face. Scootaloo seemed to sense their concern; she gave her head a little shake and said to Bow and Windy “I’d like you to meet some other parents in this Village.”
*****
Scootaloo led the party to the Silks’ cottage. She was pleased to find that Muga and Coan were tending their backyard garden. Scootaloo wasted no time in introducing the two sets of parents. Quickly, they struck up a conversation about gardening. Bow was looking around the garden with keen interest; particularly at all the gardening tools. He expressed interest in having a go with helping Muga and Coan out. Muga and Coan were happy to accept his help and to help him get acquainted with the various tools. The Crusaders were happy with this progress.
“What do you say we leave them to it?” asked Scootaloo. “It worked pretty well with Gabby.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were concerned, but agreed. Before they parted, they let Bow and Windy know where the Village Hostel was, and who the Innkeepers were. The rest of the afternoon went by and there were no more noisy disturbances. Scootaloo had perched herself on the Clubhouse roof. She wanted to be at the ready in case Bow and Windy did start to get boisterous again, so she could square off with Updraft if she tried anything forceful. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle decided not to object to this. Come nightfall, all seemed perfectly fine.
*****
The next day, the Crusaders realised that unlike with Gabby, they would have to take a much more personal approach with Bow and Windy. The two had met Mussel, and had been encouraging him to try and collect lots of spiders; even though it was only Spring and there were barely any mosquitoes about.
“No need to overwork yourself,” Scootaloo said as Mussel started to look around the street. “You may have a cutie mark for taking care of mosquito problems, but if there is no mosquito problem…”
“That’s what I said,” said Mussel. “But Bow and Windy said if I get a move on, I could get a head start before the mosquito problem gets bad.”
Scootaloo didn’t know what to say to this. She turned to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
“Okay, but then what?” asked Apple Bloom. “You’ll be bored all Summer. And you’ve got schoolwork, don’t you? Wouldn’t it be better to go around collecting spiders when you’ve got nothing else to do?”
“Oh, good point,” said Mussel.
*****
“I guess you two were right,” Scootaloo said to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “Praising somepony for every single little thing can be a problem. But I think there’s someone Bow and Windy should be encouraging.”
“Who?” asked Apple Bloom.
But Sweetie Belle knew the answer. “Each other?”
“Bingo,” smiled Scootaloo.
*****
When the Crusaders revisited Bow, Windy, Muga, and Coan, they discovered that Bow didn’t get much done yesterday. He hadn’t caused any damage, and the Silks weren’t opposed to having him around still. So Scootaloo insisted, with approval from the Silks, the Bow keep at it. Bow was clearly not confident.
“Landscaping is very different to cloudscaping,” he said.
“But Updraft won’t let you anywhere near the Weather Team’s territory,” grimaced Scootaloo. “A garden on land is your next best shot.”
She gave Windy a little nudge.
“Go on, honey,” Windy said to her husband. “Give it another try. You could be the best scaper ever!”
“Okay,” said Bow with a broad grin. “Where can I start?”
And Muga and Coan put him to work on watering and weeding.
*****
As Bow and the Silks went about their work in the back garden, Windy kept up the encouragement. Her voice was loud, but not as loud as whenever it was joined by her husband’s. Scootaloo took to the air to have a look in the Village. There were no windows opening, and no villagers were poking their heads out with curiosity and concern on their faces. And there was no sign of Updraft. She flew over to the Clubhouse for a minute. She could hear Windy egging Bow on, but it didn’t seem to be disturbing anypony. When Scootaloo returned to the garden, she found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were looking very pleased. They pointed to Bow’s flank. Scootaloo was delighted to see that his cutie mark was coming back into sharper focus. She was about to give a congratulatory yell, but stopped herself; her loud voice mingled with Windy’s might give Updraft an excuse to start trouble.
*****
That evening, the Silks remarked that Bow had done a good job. Windy of course would not stop praising him. His cutie mark was as clear as anypony could remember it being. The Crusaders led them to the Cutie Mark Grid. They all looked at it. Bow Hothoof’s cutie mark was no longer a blue blur. Windy gave a whoop and tackle-hugged her husband. Scootaloo looked at the Weather Base. No one came out.
“Well, it’s late,” said Scootaloo. “But we’ve still got work to do. Tomorrow it’ll be your turn, Windy.”
Windy nodded. “Thanks, Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
And she and Bow went to the Hostel.
“Do you think they’ve already gotten friendly with Day Star and Sereta?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” said Scootaloo. “If not, we’ll see if we can get them to help Windy. Then she can get some encouragement from Bow and get her cutie mark to come back to normal.”
“Well don’t forget,” said Sweetie. “Lightning Dust is going to get her weekly exercise tomorrow, so I’ll be spending the day in Day Star’s and Sereta’s cottage.”
*****
Right on cue, Lightning Dust showed up to make sure Sweetie Belle hadn’t forgotten. She looked at the Grid to see if the Crusaders had a mission.
“Who is it this time?” she asked. “The Royal Canterlot Choir?”
“No. It’s the proud parents of Rainbow Dash,” grinned Scootaloo.
Lightning raised an eyebrow. “How come they’re so loud? Yesterday, I thought the cottage was under attack. The windows were rattling and dust was fluttering off the shelves.”
“They’re just big cheerleaders, that’s all,” said Scootaloo. “It was… largely thanks to their constant support and encouragement that Rainbow Dash grew up to be the great flyer she is.”
To Scootaloo's surprise, Lightning Dust burst into laughter.
“What kind of empty ponies need to validate themselves through their foal’s achievements?!” she cackled.
“Let’s see how much good your weekly exercise has done for you,” growled Scootaloo, advancing on the laughing Lightning Dust.
Apple Bloom held her back, and Sweetie Belle hastily told Lightning that there was no problem with her taking over her post tomorrow.
*****
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went to the Hostel the next morning. Bow and Windy had of course met Day Star and Sereta by now, but they hadn’t had any lengthy conversations yet. So Apple Bloom and Scootaloo set the wheels in motion.
“Why don’t you tell each other about your daughters?” suggested Scootaloo.
“Well,” said Day Star, “this used to be a cult colony. Any parents living in this Village were instructed to discourage their foals from striving for anything. But that all went away after we all found out our leader was a fraud.”
“From then on,” said Sereta, “we gave our daughter all the support she need-- well, we thought she needed. But Evensong became spiteful towards us. And whenever she did something good or impressive with her magic, we congratulated her for it. She ignored us. All our praise meant nothing to her.”
The Crusaders looked at Bow and Windy. They seemed uncomfortable, and reluctant to talk to Day Star and Serata about how they’d raised their daughter.
“It’s alright,” said Scootaloo kindly to Bow and Windy. “Go ahead.”
“Well, our Rainbow Dash always loved racing,” said Windy. “And no matter what place she came in, we cheered her on…”
*****
Sweetie Belle didn’t have much to do in Day Star’s and Sereta’s cottage; or she didn’t think there was anything for her to do. Then she remembered what Lightning had said yesterday about dust being shaken from the shelves. She looked at a wooden shelf mounted on the wall behind a glass-fronted cabinet. There were some Queen Celestia commemorative plates mounted on it. They were very dusty.
“That’s what I’ll do while I’m here,” said Sweetie Belle. “I’ll do some dusting.”
After she’d found a dustrag, everything seemed to happen at once. As she magiced one of the dusty plates down from the shelf, she heard the front door open. She heard Lightning Dust’s voice shouting something, and turned towards the door. There was a thump, and a beam of magic shot across the room and hit Sweetie. The beam of magic did nothing - it instantly vanished upon impact - but it startled Sweetie Belle, and the Queen Celestia commemorative plate she’d been levitating ended up crashing into the glass doors of the cabinet. The plate and the doors smashed, and some of the commemorative plates in the cabinet cracked. Sweetie looked at the damage for a second, then at the front doorway. There, lying on the floor, pinned down by a very proud Lightning Dust, a Changeling Throne bracelet wrapped tightly around her horn, was Evensong Glisten. Sweetie Belle’s cutie mark went off.
*****
Back at the Hostel, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were pleased with the direction the conversation was going in. The two pairs of parents were quite understanding of each other's status as fans of other ponies. Day Star and Windy Whistles were bonding over their collections of Queen Celestia commemorative plates. Day Star was just offering to show Windy his collection when Apple Bloom’s and Scootaloo’s cutie marks went off.
“That’s funny,” said Scootaloo, looking at Bow and Windy’s cutie marks, which were not glowing and vibrating. “We can’t be done yet.”
“It means we’ve got another mission,” said Apple Bloom, a note of excitement in her voice.
Sweetie Belle came bursting in at that moment. “No. It’s not a new mission. It’s an old one. The oldest one, in fact.”
All eyes in the Hostel turned to Sweetie.
“I’ve got some bad news, Day Star,” she said.
Her horn glowed, and she levitated the shattered remains of a commemorative plate through the doorway.
“What happened?” asked Day Star and Windy Whistles together.
Their question was answered when Lightning Dust walked triumphantly into the hostel. In her mouth, she was holding a submissive and unhappy Evensong Glisten by the scruff of her neck.
She took not the slightest notice of her parents, who were staring longingly but fretfully at her alongside Bow and Windy.
“So why did you come back to the Village?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Why do you think?!” barked Evensong. She indicated her cutie mark, which was glowing and vibrating. “My cutie mark’s been driving me insane ever since you made that stupid Grid thing! I can’t take it anymore. I decided to answer the call.”
Briefly, Apple Bloom thought of Gaffe.
“Oh, really?” asked a skeptical Sweetie Belle. “You intended to answer the call and accept help from us Crusaders? Then why did you go straight to your old house?”
“Well when I got here, I saw that the Grid wasn’t in the Cave anymore,” Evensong explained. “I didn’t know you’d moved it. I looked through that big hole in the side of the Cave… and the first thing I saw was… the house I grew up in. I couldn’t help but want to go back there. It’s only natural. Everyone has a deep-seeded desire to return to where they grew up. It’ll happen to you Crusaders one day. You’ll find yourselves wanting to go back to Ponyville soon enough.”
*****
Evensong looked around at everypony’s skeptical faces. Even her parents appeared not to believe she genuinely wanted to atone for her misdeeds. But the two ponies in the room she didn’t recognise seemed to be utterly thrilled with her story.
“Good for you, finally deciding to follow your conscience!” beamed Windy.
Scootaloo sidled towards Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof, and led them to a corner of the room away from the front door.
“This is your ultimate test,” she said in an undertone to Rainbow’s parents. “You can’t be too encouraging to Evensong Glisten. She tried to dethrone the Queens just to spite her parents. She can’t get any praise for her magical accomplishments, or we’ll never be able to rehabilitate her. Even with that bracelet stopping her from using her magic, she might get a big head and think of other ways to make her parents suffer.”
“Just a minute,” Windy said with a shocked expression. “That little filly was the one who captured Queens Celestia and Luna?”
“You didn’t know about that?” asked Bow.
“Well I’d heard that they’d been captured of course, but I hadn’t heard who’d done it,” spluttered Windy. “If you knew, why didn’t you say?”
“I never would’ve guessed you didn’t know. There’s not a pony in Equestria who’s a bigger Sun worshiper than you,” reasoned Bow.
Windy smiled. “I guess I am. Why else would I have loved making sure cloud cover doesn’t spoil anypony’s sunshine?”
*****
Windy Whistles cutie mark was no longer faded. She, Bow Hothoof, and Scootaloo were happy to see that it had returned to its opaque glory. But no one’s cutie marks were going off; the mission was not yet complete, and another rather important one needed to be undertaken.
“Me and the other Crusaders need to rehabilitate Evensong now,” Scootaloo said to her two favourite adult ponies. “And I’d like you two to be with us while we try. Your challenge is not to encourage her or cheer her on.”
By now, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were expecting their cutie marks to wake them up in the morning by glowing and vibrating, letting them know they had a mission. They certainly didn’t expect to be awoken at 7 in the morning by a piercing scream.
“That came from the Hostel!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
The Crusaders fled Sugar Belle’s Cafe and dashed to the Village Inn. They entered to find Bow Hothoof, Windy Whistles, Day Star, and Sereta gathered around one of the chairs by the fireplace. Evensong Glisten was sitting in it; he was holding the side of her face with tears in her eyes.
“It’s alright, Crusaders,” said Day Star. “She just bit her cheek.”
He pointed to a peach muffin on a side table with a big bite taken out of it.
“You ought to be careful not to take such big mouthfuls,” Windy said to Evensong.
Bow nodded. “Our Rainbow Dash took a massive chunk out of the inside of her cheek stuffing her face with a pasta and potato sandwich. I’ll bet she’s still got the scar.”
Scootaloo had witnessed that. Bow and Windy had congratulated her on the size of the deep cut she’d made. Scootaloo could see that her two favourite parents were making progress.
*****
The Crusaders had not confided in Evensong what their plan to help Bow and Windy was; all they said was they needed her horn to remain incapacitated, and once the two had satisfied the Cutie Mark Grid, they would start to make inroads on Evensong herself. It didn’t look promising. Evensong was still giving the impression that she wanted nothing but the worst for everypony around her.
“It’ll be fine,” Sweetie Belle told her fellow Crusaders. “Lightning Dust twisted that bracelet on really tight. And when the time comes that we can finally take it off, her magic won’t be able to overcome mine until she’s cured. And by then, she won’t want to overcome my magic or anyone’s magic.”
*****
There were long periods of off-time for the Crusaders as a result of this arrangement. Scootaloo took to doing laps up and down the Road on her scooter. Old Lady Cooper had been known to appear in front of various cottages in her rocking chair at random times, but this time, she appeared right in front of Scootaloo as she circled the Cutie Mark Grid. Scootaloo swerved to avoid her, and ran right into Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as they were exiting the Clubhouse. Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle came running when they heard the commotion, and took the three teenage fillies to the Cafe to give them first aid. Bow and Windy came along as well. As they helped Scootaloo, who’d taken the worst of the collision, up on her hooves, she was surprised to hear them tell her to be more attentive to the traffic around her. Before they were even at the Cafe, Bow Hothoof’s and Windy Whistle’s cutie marks went off. They looked at the Grid. The horseshoe and the cloud found the center of the Maze, glowed and crackled like fireworks, and vanished.
*****
Having satisfied the Cutie Mark Grid, Bow and Windy took their leave after Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle were bandaged up.
“I guess we can start helping Evensong tomorrow then,” said Sweetie Belle.
“If we don’t feel all sore in the morning,” remarked Apple Bloom, remembering what happened to Big Mac when he bruised both his forelegs.
At that moment, Mussel entered the Cafe. There were several spiders crawling on him.
“The mosquitoes are coming back,” he said, showing them a mosquito bite he’d gotten. “Thought I’d make sure you’ve got enough spiders in here to catch them.”
With a nod of approval from Sugar Belle and Big Mac, Mussel ambled through the Cafe, depositing spiders here and there in every room.
*****
If you were to see Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo the following morning, you wouldn’t have thought Mussel had been in their bedroom at all. They were covered in mosquito bites. On top of that, their injuries were aching worse than yesterday, as Apple Bloom predicted.
“Where did all the spiders go?” asked Scootaloo, looking around the room while vigorously scratching herself. “I saw like twelve webs in here before we went to bed.”
They heard a tapping on the window. Outside their bedroom was Evensong Glisten and Lightning Dust; the latter had a lead and collar on the former.
“Is it time to start getting Evensong rehabilitated yet?” asked Lightning.
“Come on, Lightning. There’s no need for that,” groaned Sweetie Belle, pointing to the lead and collar.
Evensong just wore her usual dirty look. But Apple Bloom could swear she was trying not to smile; at their mosquito bite covered bodies, she expected.
“We’ll be out in front,” said Lightning.
And she floated away, taking an obedient Evensong with her.
*****
Mussel and his parents were taking breakfast at Sugar Belle’s Cafe that morning. Mussel was stunned when he saw his Crusader friends walk into the dining room.
“I don’t get it!” he exclaimed. “I saw five or six spiders in your room yesterday, and I must’ve left you eight more! They haven’t turned on each other, have they?”
“We didn’t see a big fat spider in the room,” replied Apple Bloom.
“But no small ones either,” put in Sweetie Belle.
Mussel said no more. He was quite puzzled. Apple Bloom looked out the front window and saw that Party Favour and Bend Twist had joined Lightning Dust and Evensong at their outside table.
*****
“We heard you three have been having a rough week,” Bend Twist said to the Crusaders as they stepped outside.
“Well on one hoof, we were able to help Bow and Windy with their cutie mark problem,” said Sweetie Belle. “On the other…”
She scratched her cheek.
“Maybe my brother can help cheer you up with some balloon art,” suggested Bend, nudging Party Favour in the ribs. “What about it?”
Party Favour grinned contently. “Just watch me.”
Before anyone could blink, Party Favour had blown up fifteen balloons and constructed a model of the Crystal Empire Castle. This and the balloon objects and animals following this did wonders to distract the Crusaders from their pain and itching. Bend Twist was enjoying the show too, and even Lightning Dust had a smile on her face. Evensong just watched Party Favour work his craft with no enthusiasm.
*****
Sweetie Belle, who was sitting next to Bend Twist, glanced over at Party Favour’s brother and chuckled.
“What are you laughing at, Sweetie? The shows over here,” said Apple Bloom, pointing to Party Favour’s balloon poison joke bouquet.
“Someone put a banana sticker on your forehead,” Sweetie said to Bend.
Bend Twist attempted to look at his own forehead. “Gee, I wonder who did that.”
“Wasn’t me,” insisted Party Favour.
Bend tried to pry the sticker off with his magic; it was proving tricky because he couldn’t see it.
“I got it,” said Sweetie Belle.
She ignited her horn, and peeled the banana sticker off of Bend Twist’s forehead with her magic. As soon as her magic touched Bend Twist’s head, he gave a violent twitch.
“Careful, Sweetie!” exclaimed Lightning.
“I was being gentle!” insisted Sweetie.
“You okay, Bend?” asked Party Favour.
Bend Twist blinked, and looked at Party Favour. He scowled.
“You took my life!” he roared.
*****
Party Favour was too shocked to say or do anything as Bend Twist bolted from the outdoor table and fled the Village. Lightning Dust started to give chase.
“Dust, the leash!” cried Apple Bloom.
Too late, Evensong was jerked out of her seat by her neck, and flopped onto the ground with a choke and a wheeze. Lightning turned around to help her up. The Crusaders got up to give chase instead. But Scootaloo found she couldn’t run without paining herself; her injuries were still aching.
“Where’s he going?” Lightning asked.
“I don’t know,” groaned Scootaloo, getting back into her seat. “Party Favour said they grew up in Tall Tale.”
They looked at Party Favour. He was still dumbfounded by his brother’s abrupt 180, and didn’t say anything. Evensong was massaging her neck and scowling at Lightning Dust, who apologised, but still didn’t take the lead and collar off of her.
*****
Scootaloo watched the hilltop beyond the Village. Bend Twist, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had long since disappeared over the crest of it. She massaged her injuries and stood up slowly.
“You’re not gonna go after them, are you?” asked Lightning Dust.
Scootaloo didn’t answer. She just limped towards the Cutie Mark Grid. She was sure it would call her, and her fellow Crusaders and Bend Twist back to the Village. And it seemed she was right. When she was halfway there, her cutie mark went off. She looked at the Village entrance. There was a shape hovering in the sky towards the Grid, but it wasn’t a cutie mark; it was two. Puzzled, Scootaloo watched the shapes as they drifted over her head towards the Maze. One wasn’t formed; just a dark blue blur. The other she recognised as Zecora’s mark. She turned to see Zecora entering the Village, accompanied by Cranky Doodle Donkey.
*****
“Hi, Zecora. Hi, Cranky,” Scootaloo smiled as they approached.
“You look like you’ve been through the ringer,” remarked Cranky.
“Had a bit of a scooter accident,” grimaced Scootaloo.
“We saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at the station halt,” said Zecora. “They were chasing a stallion who was shouting ‘It’s all his fault!”
“One of the villagers is having some family issues,” explained Scootaloo. “But obviously this Grid wants us to help you two with an issue. But I don’t know if we should wait for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. I mean, this Grid’s never called just one of us for a cutie mark mission.”
She, Zecora, and Cranky Doodle looked at the Maze and the cutie marks criss-crossing it.
*****
“Stay where I can see you!” they heard Lightning Dust shout. “Don’t make me give you another yank!”
Scootaloo, Zecora, and Cranky turned to see Evensong had sauntered towards them,
“I’m just curious,” she insisted. “I didn’t think donkeys could get cutie marks.”
As expected, Cranky looked annoyed. Scootaloo expected Zecora to look no better, and sure enough, the zebra was scowling at Evensong.
“So this is the malicious unicorn filly,” she growled, “who scorpioned and nearly suffocated me.”
“Don’t worry. She can’t cast any spells with that Changeling Throne Bracelet around her horn,” said Scootaloo.
Cranky looked at the Grid and realised that Evensong’s mark was also in the Maze.
“Do you Crusaders already have a mission?” he asked Scootaloo. “To deal with her?”
“Yeah, but we already helped two other ponies while trying to deal with her,” said Scootaloo. “I’m sure when Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle get back, we can keep that up.”
“I dunno,” said Lightning Dust. “You really should try to get somewhere with this little troublemaker. She’s been mumbling in her sleep at night. All this pent up energy can’t be good for her. Or anypony else.”
Cranky looked at Evensong again; she was still eyeing him curiously. Cranky glanced at Zecora; she was no longer looking resentfully at Evensong, but guiltily at Cranky.
“I suppose our problem stems from the country we came from,” she said weakly. “For generations… my kind treated his kind like scum.”
*****
An enticing thought abruptly occurred to Scootaloo. She shot up into the Clubhouse and returned seconds later with her scooter.
“I’m gonna see if Sweetie and Apple Bloom are still at the halt!” she burst out.
All pain seemingly forgotten, she zoomed out of the Village. She rocketed over the hill, across the bridge, and arrived at the station halt. There was no sign of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Bend Twist, or a train. Keen to put her out-of-nowhere idea into action, Scootaloo waited for the next train… without bothering to inform Zecora, Cranky, and Lightning Dust.
*****
The train journey to Tall Tale was unpleasant. At first, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn’t locate Bend Twist as they walked briskly up and down the coach corridors. At last, Apple Bloom spotted a ball of hair up in a luggage rack. She and Sweetie Belle attempted to talk to him, but he immediately shouted at them to leave him alone. The Guard came up to tell them off for making a lot of noise. So the Crusaders decided to wait until they got to Tall Tale to try and get through to Bend Twist. Bend made it difficult for them. He tried to give them the slip when the train stopped at Canterlot Base Station. He slipped away and transferred to another train headed west. To his anger, the Crusaders had spotted him and boarded the same train. Bend Twist tried transferring trains again at Unicorn Range Junction. This time, the Crusaders didn’t see him, but by this point, they were near enough to Tall Tale that it didn’t matter. When Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle arrived in Bend Twist’s hometown, they waited around, trying not to be seen as the next train pulled in. Sure enough, Bend Twist detrained and marched away from the station. Apple Bloom and Sweetie followed at a distance. Bend Twist looked over his shoulder a few times as he made his way across town, but he didn’t see the two fillies. He walked all the way to the other side of town before the two Crusaders saw him enter a house at the foot of a long steep hill.
*****
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked slowly and quietly towards Bend Twist’s house. They intended on taking a bold approach. They were determined to find out why he had such an abrupt change of heart. But as they neared the front door, Bend Twist burst out spluttering.
“Why are there peach pits in my trash?!” he cried. “I’m allergic!”
The Crusaders gasped. Bend Twist had broken out in hives. He had as many red welts on his body as the Crusaders had mosquito bites.
“I’ll go find a doctor!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, rushing off.
Sweetie Belle stayed there. Bend Twist didn’t object as she eased him into a sitting position on the roadside.
“Someone’s been squatting in my house!” he growled, trying not to scratch his hives. “Why did I leave?! Why?! What demon from the depths of Tartarus compelled me to leave my home and acknowledge the disease who took my mark?!”
*****
Soon, Sweetie Belle saw Apple Bloom running towards her with a doctor. Then she looked along the other end of the road. There was Scootaloo on her scooter. She was going so fast, Sweetie Belle was sure she was going to hit Bend Twist’s backyard fence. She started to use her magic to slow Scootaloo to a halt, but stopped because at that moment, her cutie mark started glowing and vibrating. Apple Bloom and the Doctor reached the house, and the Doctor promptly examined Bend Twist’s red and bumpy coat. Sweetie Belle could see that Apple Bloom’s mark was going off also, but Bend Twist’s was not.
“Will he be alright?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I’ll escort him to the clinic,” said the Doctor. “It’s best he avoids his house for a little while if there are allergens in it.”
“We’ll make sure there are no peaches or peach pits in there,” said Apple Bloom.
“Thanks,” said Bend Twist feebly.
The Doctor led him away.
“Let’s make this quick,” said Sweetie Belle. “We’ve got another mission. Scootaloo came to fetch us. Our next clients must already be in the Village.”
Apple Bloom looked at her flank and nodded. Then she looked around.
“Where is Scootaloo? Where’d she go?”
*****
Unnoticed by Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo had beat her wings, hoisted herself and her scooter over the fence, and began climbing the hill beyond Bend Twist’s house at a rate of speed she’d never reached before. But as the top of the hill came into sight, Scootaloo slowed.
“Wait… this is a stupid idea,” she said to herself.
She ground to a halt and looked back.
“What came over me?” she wondered.
She looked towards the top of the hill again. The crest of the hill was long and wide. Scootaloo could make out short stone structures dotted along it. They looked like turrets.
“Why did I want to go to Zecora’s and Cranky’s home country?” she asked herself. “I never even knew where it was before now. Zecora never mentioned where--”
She spotted figures in the distance walking along the top of the hill between turrets. They stopped walking and turned their heads. Scootaloo suspected they’d spotted her. She was just about to turn tail and run down the hill, when the ground opened up beneath her and swallowed her and her scooter up.
*****
After several seconds sliding, swaying, and yelling along a chute, Scootaloo tumbled into a ball pit. She stood up, gave her head a shake, and looked around. The ball pit was in a stone room. There were no windows, but several flaming torches lit the room so well, there might have been sunlight illuminating it. There was a badminton net - or something like that - stretched across half of the room, separating the ball pit from the door. Scootaloo’s scooter tumbled out of the chute and into the ball pit. Scootaloo flapped her wings, but too late. The chute door slammed shut. Scootaloo turned, quickly located a door, and made towards it. A head popped up in front of her. She looked like a yellow filly with black stripes.
“Yay! My new playmate is here!” she squeaked.
She leapt up in the air in delight, and stayed there for several seconds; she had wings.
“A pegasus zebra!” exclaimed Scootaloo in surprise.
*****
“Come get me!” called the striped pegasus.
And before Scootaloo could speak, the filly had dived into the ball pit. Scootaloo looked around. Seconds later, the filly resurfaced.
“Just wait a minute!” Scootaloo called. “Where am I?”
“This is the Royal Burromingham Castle,” smiled the zebra filly.
She disappeared into the ball pit again. Scootaloo froze.
“I’m where Zecora and Cranky came from,” she breathed. “I’m in Zebrasska. Just like I wanted to be… for some reason.”
The foal shot out of the ball pit again.
“And what’s your name?” asked Scootaloo.
“You can call me ZigZag,” answered the zebra filly. “But most of the zebras and donkeys in this castle call me Princess. I’m the heir to the royal throne.”
Again, she disappeared into the ball pit.
*****
A minute went by, and ZigZag didn’t reemerge. Scootaloo sighed and dived into the ball pit herself. She eventually spotted ZigZag in the sea of blue, green, red, and yellow.
“I’m Scootaloo,” she said.
“I know,” smiled ZigZag.
She swam - if you can call it that - away from a very puzzled Scootaloo. Then Scootaloo spotted her scooter lying at the bottom of the pit.
“Maybe she’s like Mancy. She knows about that nominative determinism stuff,” she muttered.
She heard ZigZag giggling to her left, and gave chase.
*****
Scootaloo began to enjoy herself as she chased the playful pegasus zebra around and through the ball pit. After fifteen minutes, as Scootaloo was swimming below the surface of the pit, she heard what sounded like clarinet music. She swam up to the surface and found herself face to face with another zebra. This was a stallion. He was white with maroon stripes. He was wearing a crown and a cape. He was standing just outside of the ball pit near the door to the room.
“I am King Zorran,” he said. “And your name is?”
“Scootaloo, your Highness,” said Scootaloo politely.
Zorran’s horn lit up. He drew a sword. Scootaloo flinched.
“Then I dub you,” he said, “Scootaloo the Royal Playmate.”
Scootaloo stood there in disbelief as she was knighted by the ruler of Zebrasska.
*****
She was still in a state of incredulity as she was invited to the zebra king’s table for dinner.
“The Queen and Prince of the donkeys have conjured a lovely meal for the five of us,” Zorran told her, turning to leave the room.
ZigZag shot out of the ball pit and followed her father. Scootaloo stepped out of the pit and left the room. The corridor outside did have windows, but only on one side. The hallway was very long; Scootaloo couldn’t see the end of either side. There were no guards escorting the three of them to the dining room. Zorran did not look around as he led the way. Scootaloo glanced around as she followed Zorran and ZigZag. There were torch brackets along the wall with no windows. Along either side of the corridor were floral arrangements in tall thin vases that roughly came up to Scootaloo’s shoulders. A zebra in a long red cloak nodded to the King as they passed the door he was guarding. Because of the cloak, Scootaloo couldn’t see her legs or her tail, but she had long wings that protruded from a wing hole on either side.
That must be guard, thought Scootaloo.
Another red cloaked zebra came running from the other side of the corridor. He didn’t stop to address the King; he just kept running. He was going so fast, Scootaloo thought for a second he had two unicorn horns. Zorran made no comment.
*****
They reached the dining room. It was another windowless room, and was not much bigger than the ball pit room. Scootaloo tried not to convey her surprise at the sight of two donkeys unlike any she’d seen before. One was a mare with wings; a pegasus donkey. The other was a colt; older than ZigZag, but younger than Scootaloo. He was a unicorn donkey.
“Queen Hamper, Prince Martyr, this is Scootaloo the Royal Playmate,” said Zorran.
Hamper smiled broadly. “Wonderful. An Equestrian Royal Playmate.”
Scootaloo gave a bow. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“And the same to you,” smiled Hamper. “Please take a seat. My son and I have made catfish goujons and succotash.”
*****
Despite the warm welcome she received, Scootaloo found dinner with Zebrasskan royalty to be a little intimidating. Conversation was a little stilted, but Scootaloo was cautiously optimistic.
“Do any of you,” she asked, “know a zebra named Zecora, or a donkey named Cranky Doodle?”
All four of the Zebrasskan royals looked thoughtful.
“Can’t say that I do,” answered Zorran.
“Neither can I. Do they live in Equestria?” asked Hamper.
Scootaloo nodded.
“Well, that could be why,” grinned Hamper. “I’ve heard of earth donkeys emigrating to Equestria, but I’m surprised to hear a zebra has done so. Martyr, fetch the dessert, will you?”
Martyr promptly stood up and made for the kitchen.
*****
Scootaloo remembered what Zecora had said before getting that sudden and inexplicable desire to visit the land she hailed from, and decided not to push her luck further.
If it’s true that donkeys are oppressed by zebras here, she wondered, why is one a queen and one a prince?
Martyr returned swiftly, levitating a tray of five sundaes onto the table.
“Yay! Ice cream sundaes!” squeaked ZigZag.
She trotted along the dining table towards the tray.
“ZigZag!” barked Zorran. “No walking on the dinner table!”
ZigZag backtracked to her seat at once. “Sorry, Dad.”
“Martyr,” snapped Hamper.
Martyr promptly used his magic to whisk one of the sundaes away. Then he passed them around the table. Scootaloo didn't get one. She didn’t complain. She figured the Royal Playmate wasn’t entitled to desert, and that Martyr had miscounted.
*****
“Now then, ZigZag,” said Zorran when he’d finished his sundae, “you are to study for your final two school tests before summer break. Scootaloo, you shall help her study.”
“Yes, sir,” nodded Scootaloo, not surprised that being a royal playmate entailed more than play. “Thanks for dinner, Queen Hamper and Prince Martyr.”
“You may call us Hamper and Martyr,” smiled the pegasus donkey mare.
Scootaloo nodded. “So what test will we be studying for?”
“Tomorrow is ZigZag’s maths exam,” said Hamper, her smile weining. “You will find ZigZag of average intelligence. It should give you no great headache to help her study.”
*****
This turned out to be apt. Hamper showed Scootaloo to ZigZag's bedroom; another windowless room, the same size as the ball pit room. There were bunk cubicles in recesses in the stone walls. By the more-than-adequate torchlight, Scootaloo took ZigZag’s research material and skimmed over it.
“Okay ZigZag,” she said. “You have three objects. The second is 10% lighter than the first, and the third is 17% lighter than the second. So how do you calculate the percentage object 3 is lighter than object 1?”
ZigZag took a blank sheet of paper and began drawing labeled diagrams. The first shape she drew was labeled Object 1 - 68 tons. Object 2 - 10% lighter than Object 1. Object 3 - 17% lighter than Object 2. Then she wrote out the calculation to find what 90% of 68 tons was, followed by the calculation to find what 83% of that was. It took a long time, but eventually, ZigZag worked out that Object 3 was 25% lighter than Object 1.
*****
Scootaloo was halfway through reciting ZigZag’s next math problem when Martyr entered the room.
“Hi, Marty!” squeaked ZigZag. “What do you got there?”
“I found this in the ball pit,” Martyr said softly. “Is it yours, Scootaloo?”
He was levitating Scootaloo’s scooter.
“Yeah, that’s mine. Thanks,” said Scootaloo, standing up and taking it.
“Mom asked- er, the Queen asked that I let you know that every hour of study, ZigZag gets a half-hour break,” said Martyr, avoiding eye contact with Scootaloo. “I noticed your scooter has an adjustable handle. Maybe you could teach ZigZag to ride it.”
“Ooh! Can you, Scootaloo?!” asked ZigZag.
“Yeah, no problem,” said Scootaloo. “Come on.”
*****
The three youngsters left the bedroom. Martyr walked away down the corridor. Scootaloo made no remark as he left. A voice in her head told her it wasn’t safe to make waves. She shortened the handle of her scooter so ZigZag could mount it with ease. A mosquito buzzed past her face.
“Oh, no! Not mosquitoes,” she groaned.
“Don’t worry,” said ZigZag. “We’ve got mosquito nets around our beds.”
She eyed Scootaloo up and down.
“You don’t have mosquito nets in Equestria, do you?” she asked.
“No,” answered Scootaloo. “In the Village I live in, we have a colt about your age who collects spiders, and leaves them in ponies’ rooms so they can make webs and catch the mosquitoes.”
“My dad doesn’t like spiders. But he rolls around in his bed in his sleep, and he always pulls down his mosquito net,” giggled ZigZag. “If he didn’t have his crown on, you’d see a huge mosquito bite on his bald spot.”
Scootaloo laughed, and proceeded to teach ZigZag how to ride her scooter.
*****
The study sessions and break times continued into the evening, and then Hamper announced that it was time for bed. Scootaloo found that she was to share the bedroom with ZigZag. Her mind was still processing everything that was happening. She was still nervous to ask more questions than she already had, but she was bursting to find out more about Zebrasskan culture, and to make inroads into helping Zecora and Cranky with the problem the Cutie Mark Grid had called them to Starlight’s Village for.
I wonder what Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are up to. I don’t think they know I’m even here. ...Why did I want to come here? What was going through my mind? she wondered.
*****
The next morning, for the second time that week, Scootaloo was awoken by a blood-curdling scream. She burst out of ZigZag’s bedroom and out into the corridor. Pinkish-gold sunlight was pouring in through the windows.
“There’s a spider in my ear! There’s a spider in my ear!” Scootaloo heard Zorran scream.
The King’s bedroom was two doors away from ZigZag’s. Zorran’s bedroom door opened. A small brown object sailed out of the room, across the corridor, smashed through a window, and out of sight.
“Yikes!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “That was a huge spider.”
She heard several hoofsteps, but when she turned to see who was coming, there was just one cloaked guard; an earth donkey. Scootaloo supposed it must’ve been an echo. Zorran stomped out of his bedroom as the guard arrived on the scene.
“ZigZag!” the King roared.
Scootaloo stared with fright at the enraged King of Zebrasska, and then glanced at ZigZag’s open bedroom door. No one stirred for a few moments. Then Zorran’s horn lit up, and ZigZag appeared in the middle of the hall. She was wide-eyed and shaking from head to hoof.
*****
“Why was there a spider in my bedroom?” Zorran growled at his daughter.
Now it was Scootaloo who was trembling, as ZigZag told Zorran about Mussel and the spiders he collected to deal with mosquitoes.
“I’ve told you again and again, you silly little filly! You must ask before you do anything to or in my private quarters or anyone else’s private quarters!” barked Zorran, without so much as a glance at Scootaloo.
Hamper came walking up. When she saw that ZigZag was being admonished by her father, she seemed to slow her pace. Or was it Scootaloo’s imagination? Zorran ranted at ZigZag for several uncomfortable minutes. Then he turned to Hamper.
“ZigZag planted a spider in my bedroom,” he said.
“So I and the rest of the castle have heard,” said Hamper with her usual content grin. “You know, it’s nearly time for ZigZag’s maths exam. She’ll be late if she doesn’t hurry, and that will mean more punishment.”
ZigZag gulped and looked at Scootaloo.
“Maybe you should take my scooter,” said Scootaloo hastily. “Then you’ll make it to your exam on time.”
*****
While Scootaloo hastily grabbed her scooter from ZigZag’s bedroom, she heard Zorran bark some instructions to the guard who had come to see what all the shouting was about. When she zipped out of the room with the scooter, the guard was marching away. ZigZag quickly mounted the scooter and scooted off down the corridor after the guard. Scootaloo was still trembling as she turned to the King and Queen.
“I don’t blame you, Scootaloo,” said Zorran with a smile. “You didn’t tell her to put a spider in my room. I’ve had to tell her many times not to do everything she hears about. I only hope she can learn from her mistake.”
And he retired to his bedroom, leaving Scootaloo to breathe a sigh of relief, and to contemplate pressing one of the many subjects she was bursting to bring up the next time they met.
*****
“Follow me, Scootaloo,” said Hamper. “Martyr is studying for his own test today, so you can help me prepare brunch.”
She turned, kicked off from the floor, and flew down the corridor. Scootaloo beat her wings and followed. She wasn’t sore from her scooter accident anymore. They soon reached a stairwell and flew up it to the next corridor up. A short flight later, they were at a cupboard. Hamper took out two pairs of panniers.
“These have potatoes in them. We’ll chop them up and make home fries,” she said, passing one pair to Scootaloo. “You take one and I’ll take one.”
Scootaloo grunted. The panniers were heavy. And when she put them on, they covered her wings. Hamper’s panniers did the same to her. So they had to walk along the corridor and to another flight of stairs.
“Every floor has a kitchen and dining room,” Hamper said. “This is the top floor, where the dungeon is. And it’s nearly time for the King to visit some prisoners. After he's done that, we’ll have brunch.”
Up they climbed. This corridor had a high ceiling. The first thing Scootaloo saw when they reached this hallway was a large, long object suspended by two chains. It looked like a giant clarinet.
“This is what we use to make royal announcements,” Hamper told Scootaloo. “Why don’t you do the honours of blowing Zorran a herald? Just a few notes will do.”
Scootaloo nodded, and walked over to the giant clarinet. There was a set of horseshoes embedded in the floor in front of the mouthpiece. Scootaloo placed a forehoof on each horseshoe, and put her lips to the mouthpiece.
*****
The mouthpiece was metallic and ice cold. Scootaloo’s lips instantly stuck to the mouthpiece. As she frantically tried to pull her mouth free, Hamper side-stepped over to the side of the hallway and pressed a stone in the wall. There was a clacking sound. One of the chains holding the giant clarinet was being hoisted up. When the funnel end was sticking straight up and Scootaloo’s neck was forced into a bent-back position, the second set of chains was winched up too. Scootaloo was lifted from the floor by her lips. The horseshoes stuck to her hooves and went up with her. They were heavy, and stopped her from reaching up with her forelegs. The weight of the panniers strapped to her also caused her body to sag. She tried to look down at Hamper, but tears were welling up in her eyes and she couldn’t see the Queen properly. For the next two hours, Hamper didn’t move.
*****
Scootaloo was trying to keep still, but she kept shuddering as the minutes snailed by. Her lips twitched, trying to free themselves from the ice-cold metal mouthpiece. Her wings vibrated, trying to dislodge the panniers. Her forelegs trembled, unable to shake off the horseshoes. She tried her best not to move and cause herself more pain. Eventually, she heard the sound of her scooter’s wheels spinning. She looked down and could make out ZigZag zooming along the corridor towards her and Hamper.
“What’s going on?!” cried ZigZag.
“You knew his Highness is terrified of spiders, and you put one in his room, you foolish foal,” croaked Hamper. “And on top of that, it seems you took two hours to write your maths exam.”
“There’s no time limit!” ZigZag spluttered. “And I got there on time!”
Hamper unzipped her own panniers. Scootaloo saw no potatoes in them. Instead, there was a large corked jug in each pack. Hamper took the two jugs and flew up to the funnel end of the giant clarinet.
“W-what’s in those?!” squeaked ZigZag fretfully.
“A special mixture,” said Hamper, “of eggnog, bacon grease, and buccalokia.”
Scootaloo whimpered into the mouthpiece as Hamper uncorked the jugs.
*****
Queen Hamper poured the mixtures into the giant clarinet funnel. Twenty liters of spicy greasy custard surged down Scootaloo’s throat. She felt her tongue burn and her belly stretch and bulge. Her lips stretched as her limp body sagged further. But in the midst of her pain, she could swear ZigZag was crying more than she was.
“I’m sorry, Scootaloo!” wailed the little zebra pegasus. “I’m sorry I’m a bad filly!”
“I’m happy to hear that,” came Zorran’s voice.
Scootaloo could barely make out the shape of the King as he entered the corridor.
“Perhaps you can demonstrate how sorry you are to our new friend by getting a start on studying for your history exam in two days,” he said.
“Yes! Yes I will!” squealed ZigZag. “I’ll work hard and I’ll write my next test in a timely manner!”
She raced out of the corridor on Scootaloo’s scooter. Hamper flew down to the floor, and she and Zorran exited the corridor, leaving a conspicuously rotund Scootaloo to dangle by her lips from the giant ice-cold clarinet.
Scootaloo was certain her mouth was going to get ripped clean off of her face any second. Wisps of steam had been issuing from her nose all day. Her tongue, gums, and throat were still burning. Nothing else had been poured into the clarinet funnel, but Scootaloo could swear she was putting on more weight; she seemed to be getting fatter as the hours crawled by. Guards would walk along the corridor every so often, and Scootaloo’s presence went unremarked by them.
*****
The Sun was setting. The light from the windows was fading. Scootaloo heard footsteps. It wasn’t a guard. It was Martyr. He looked mournfully up at Scootaloo; he looked just as guilty as ZigZag had done that morning.
“Young donkeys used to be appointed whipping foals to zebra royalty. And clearly, those days are over,” he croaked. “Just like my family planned.”
Scootaloo blinked.
“Donkeys had always been oppressed by zebras,” Martyr went on. “Donkey families would offer up their young as whipping foals to try and get close to royalty and get preferential treatment living in this castle. I guess by now, King Zorran’s content with donkeys being unable to get cutie marks. Now it seems he’s making some inroads into causing the ponies of Equestria to end up the same way.”
At last, Scootaloo was distracted from her pain. Her mind began racing. Could Zorran have cast a spell over Equestria to attract some ponies to his Castle? Could this be why the Cutie Mark Grid summoned Zecora and Cranky Doodle Donkey when it did?
*****
“But please, don’t panic,” said Martyr sharply.
Scootaloo attempted to say she wasn’t panicking, but failed.
“The Equestrians aren’t really in any danger from the King anymore. This is all part of a plan my family’s been working on for generations,” Martyr went on. “Zebras have ordered donkeys around and forced them to do their bidding for so long that they’ve gotten lazy. My Mom’s decided that now is the time to begin striking back. She married Zorran back in Autumn. The first donkey-zebra marriage in history, I think. She convinced him to not use me as a whipping foal, so Zorran set his sights elsewhere. She’s conspiring to reclaim the sovereignty from zebra control. She’s not interested in enslaving ponies or taking over Equestria. It looks like you’ll be the only Equestrian casualty of Zorran’s grand plan.”
Martyr began to sob a little bit.
“I don’t expect this to make you feel any better,” he said. “I just never knew my Mom was so cruel. Yesterday, you just didn’t get dessert. I didn’t expect something this… creative… and beastly.”
*****
Martyr stopped talking abruptly. Someone was climbing the stairwell to the top floor. It was Hamper. She was holding a coffee mug.
“Now aren’t you glad that’s not you up there, Martyr my son?” she asked her colt reverently.
Scootaloo thought Martyr didn’t look glad at all.
“Alright, Scootaloo. ZigZag’s punishment is up,” Hamper said.
She flew up to Scootaloo and poured the contents of her mug (lukewarm water) over the freezing mouthpiece. Scootaloo dropped to the floor like a ship’s anchor. The horseshoes fell into their grooves and Scootaloo’s hooves popped off of them. Her panniers fell off of her. One of the packs burst open, revealing dumbbells. She couldn’t see her hindlegs as she sat in the middle of the corridor.
“You’ll be needing this, I expect,” said Hamper tonelessly.
She passed the scooter to Scootaloo, who shakily stood up. Her belly was mere centimeters from the floor. She gave her wings a flap, and her eyes teared up. There was no way her wings could give her any lift in her state. She mounted her scooter with only her two left legs, rested her chin on the adjustable handlebar, and rolled slowly towards the stairwell, making disturbing sloshing and gurgling noises as she went. Hamper and Martyr followed and watched as Scootaloo dismounted and plodded down the stairs.
*****
When they eventually reached the third floor, Scootaloo was surprised to see that the window across the hall from Zorran’s bedroom was still broken. ZigZag came bursting from her room and did her best to give Scootaloo a hug. It was a challenge; her forelegs couldn’t even get around Scootaloo’s neck.
“I hope you’ve learned your lesson, young mare,” hissed Hamper.
ZigZag nodded vigorously.
“ZigZag will need help studying for her final exam, so that will be your assignment tomorrow,” Hamper said when Scootaloo finally reached ZigZag’s bedroom.
Scootaloo nodded and joined ZigZag in her bedroom to retire for the night.
*****
Scootaloo’s lips, gums, and tongue were still in pain when she next woke. She didn’t join the royals for breakfast that morning, and got no protests from anyone. When ZigZag returned, they began their study session. After an hour, they went out into the corridor for a half hour break. Still, the broken window had not been fixed or replaced or boarded up. Scootaloo just sat around while ZigZag rode her scooter up and down the corridor. At this point, she only used her scooter to move around from place to place. And so the study sessions and breaks went on throughout the day. During one break, Scootaloo saw a guard (the long-winged pegasus zebra she’d seen yesterday) fly into the corridor through the broken window. She gave Scootaloo a nod and marched into Zorran’s quarters. Scootaloo perked up her ears. She couldn’t hear anything the guard might have been saying, but soon she picked up a bellow from Zorran.
“That’s two of the rotten things I’ve lost now!”
*****
Scootaloo picked herself up and wobbled over to the broken window. She gasped. The view was amazing. The castle seemed to be a retaining wall built along the half-formed hill that rose away from Equestria. The long tall stone building overlooked the entire country of Zebrasska. Dotted along the land below was an assortment of cities and hamlets, hills and mountains, fortresses and transportation hubs, fields and forests, lakes and rivers, some in a foggy haze. Hovering in various areas of the sky were some cloud cities. And in the distance was a sparkling blue ocean.
“Magnificent, my kingdom, isn’t it?”
Scootaloo jumped… and jiggled. Zorran was standing next to her looking out of the window.
“That, way over there,” Zorran said, pointing towards the ocean, “is Stripezig Beach. The Royal Family will be going for a week-long holiday there after ZigZag’s final exam is over. I suggest you start trying to get back in shape, as you shall be coming with us.”
“Yes, you highness,” gurgled Scootaloo nervously.
*****
The next morning, Hamper came to the bedroom to wake up Scootaloo and ZigZag.
“Scootaloo, come with me,” she said.
Scootaloo’s pupils shrank.
Hamper chuckled. “ZigZag’s not done anything wrong. ...Not that I know of, anyway.”
The donkey Queen cast a critical eye on the zebra Princess.
“I thought I saw a messy flower arrangement in the corridor yesterday,” she said. “You’ve not had an accident on Scootaloo’s scooter, knocked over a vase, and tried to cover up your mistake, have you?”
“No, Mom!” squeaked ZigZag.
Hamper scowled.
“I was very careful on that scooter!” ZigZag insisted.
Hamper relaxed her face. “I tell a lie. Just a test, that’s all. And speaking of tests, Scootaloo, follow me.”
*****
“We’re off to the Royal Zebrasskan Library,” Hamper said as Scootaloo nervously followed her, rolling slowly on her scooter.
Hamper passed Scootaloo a sheet of paper. It had a book title on it; ‘Getting To Grips With The Noble Art Of Cephaleonomancy’.
“I need you to fetch that book to help ZigZag study for her exam this afternoon,” Hamper said. “The Library is vast. So you’ll need one of these.”
She passed a small object to Scootaloo. It was brown and white, and looked like a seashell.
“With that, you can talk to me while I’m at breakfast,” the Queen explained. “I expect you’re still in no mood for a meal?”
Scootaloo shook her head. The two pegasi went down a stairwell.
“Let’s just test our Hear Shells, shall we? I’ll stay here, you head down the corridor. You can’t miss the entrance to the Library,” said Hamper. “When you reach it, talk into your shell.”
*****
Scootaloo rolled sluggishly along the fourth floor. She could see two guards in the distance. They were standing outside a large half-circular door. Scootaloo figured this would be the Library. She looked back, and was just able to make out a small brown/grey blur that was Hamper back at the stairwell.
“Testing, testing,” Scootaloo said into her Hear Shell. “Do you read me, your Highness?”
“Queen Hamper to Scootaloo,” came Hamper’s voice from the shell. “I am receiving you clear as crystal. Well, on your way now, and do inform me when you’ve found the book. Over and out.”
Scootaloo turned to the two robed zebras guarding the Library entrance. One smiled and nodded politely. The one nearer to Scootaloo looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t be rude, Zinc,” said his partner. “Open the door for the Royal Playmate.”
“It just seems strange,” said Zinc. “The Library’s always been off limits to donkeys, and now, all of a sudden, a pony is allowed to enter?”
“There’s nothing in law that says a pony can’t go in there,” reminded his partner.
*****
Scootaloo stepped into the Library and turned her head. She expected the door to shut on her. She was sure this was a trick, and that this was some sort of punishment for some misdemeanor ZigZag had committed. But she could still see the backs of the two guards and the corridor outside, and felt better. She walked towards the shelves upon shelves of books. She heard a faint clunk behind her and turned, sure that the door had been shut. But the outside hallway and guards were still perfectly visible. Scootaloo gave her head a shake, decided she was being paranoid, and ventured further into the Library. The books on the shelves looked old, but also like they were in very good condition. Scootaloo looked at the book title again, and searched for the G section. She could hear a soft whirring sound. It sounded like a fan. Maybe it was air conditioning or something. She had to pass the D section on her way, and the cover of a book on one of its shelves caught her eye. It was titled “Donkaster: Mighty and Unconquerable”. The cover illustration depicted brightly coloured donkeys. They were each sporting a cutie mark.
*****
A voice made Scootaloo jump. She looked towards the door. She could see that it was still open, but the guards didn’t seem to be looking at her or trying to address her.
“Let’s see if you can get through this exam in an hour's time,” came the voice. It was Hamper’s. “About the time it takes for all the oxygen to be emptied out of the Library.”
Something Twilight Sparkle had once said flashed across Scootaloo’s memory. “Paper keeps well in a vacuum.” Scootaloo’s heart pounded in her flabby chest. She took out her Hear Shell and yelled into it.
“What am I being punished for now?!” she called. “You said ZigZag hadn’t done anything wrong!”
“Calm down, Scootaloo,” came Hamper’s voice from the shell. “You’ll be fine as long as ZigZag can finish her exam in a timely manner this time. ZigZag, turn your paper over and start. The exam begins now.”
*****
Scootaloo, still on her scooter, made for the open doorway. She kicked hard and gathered speed. There was a bump, and Scootaloo flopped sideways onto the floor. She realized that the door was see-through on the inside, and had been closed the whole time she’d been in there. She could still see the guards, who continued to stand facing away from her. Scootaloo pounded on the door. The guards didn’t move. Scootaloo heard fretful noises, and stopped struggling. She knew she would make ZigZag panic if she made a fuss and it was picked up on their Hear Shells. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm down and not panic herself. It wasn’t easy. The faint whirring sound was getting louder. Scootaloo looked around the vast Library. Surely one pony couldn’t use up so much oxygen in an hour. Her heart was racing, but she knew that any worried utterances she made would carry to ZigZag, who would only take longer to write her exam if she was worried.
*****
Scootaloo sat by the doorway, doing her best to remain calm. She heard ZigZag’s voice asking how many spells had Queen Zelda invented and what they were.
“No asking the Whipping Foal for answers!” barked Hamper’s voice.
“I wasn’t!” squeaked ZigZag. “I was just talking to myself!”
And Scootaloo heard a pencil scratching. She redoubled her efforts to not fret. She looked around the Library again. Perhaps she could distract herself from her predicament by taking advantage of the opportunity to learn about Zebrasskan history. She abandoned her scooter and waddled towards some bookshelves, ignoring the whirring sound that surrounded her. Quickly, one book cover leapt out at her. It was titled “The Expansion Of The Dominion Of Zebraska Volume 1”. It had an illustration of a familiar-looking flower. She cracked it open and skimmed over it’s information. She soon learned about how Queen Zinnia’s legionnaires had conquered Donkaster and the two kingdoms merged. Zebraska barely even had to change its name; all it needed was an extra S. There was also a chapter explaining the devious method by which the zebras robbed the donkeys of their ability to earn cutie marks. Scootaloo took a look at the back cover. It said “Volume 2 due out upon the conquering of Equestria”. Scootaloo fainted. Not from shock, but from the depleting oxygen.
*****
The next thing Scootaloo knew, she was coughing and spluttering on the floor outside the Library. She sat up and saw Martyr backing away from her and looking at the floor, very red in the face. He’d just given her CPR.
“Thanks, Martyr,” wheezed Scootaloo.
She reached out a hoof to the embarrassed donkey colt. Martyr looked up at her, leaned forward, and they hugged. Scootaloo looked around the hallway when they broke apart. The two guards weren’t standing outside the Library door anymore.
“The guards are on their next shift,” said Martyr, whose eyes were fixed to the floor again. “Their replacements will be along soon, I expect. Your scooter’s over there.”
He pointed to a flower arrangement. Scootaloo’s scooter was lying on the wall next to it.
“Your mom gave me a Hear Shell,” Scootaloo said. “Did you--”
“I didn’t get you outta there,” breathed Martyr. “Donkeys aren’t allowed. The guards did. If they saw a Hear Shell, they didn’t mention it.”
*****
Martyr stood up, his eyes raised to the ceiling.
“Why did my Mom try and push ZigZag to work harder on her exam?” he grunted. “She hates that filly. She told me she would sabotage her. She said part of her plan was to make sure ZigZag could never become an effective ruler of the kingdom by tainting her education. But she’s not doing that. She keeps criticizing her for not doing well. Not even for not doing well, just for not getting super high marks. She said herself, ZigZag’s intelligence is about average. Do you know what I think?”
He looked Scootaloo in the eyes, his cheeks glowing more.
“What?” asked Scootaloo.
“I think my Mom is just overcritical of foals,” said Martyr. “That’s the big flaw in her plan. And if that’s the case, then…”
He looked away again. He shuddered and gulped, but didn’t say anything. Scootaloo thought she knew what he was thinking. If Hamper wanted to admonish ZigZag for not meeting a standard she could brag about, then Scootaloo’s punishments were liable to get worse and worse.
Scootaloo learned forward. “Hey, be glad it’s not you. Trust me, you don’t want any of what I’ve had to go through. And not just what your Mom’s been doing to me. I’ve had…”
*****
They heard hoofsteps and turned to look towards the stairwell. Two guards were coming, and so were Zorran, Hamper, and ZigZag. Martyr stood up and wiped his eyes.
“Mom told me to tell you not to tell Zorran about the Hear Shell,” he said quietly.
Scootaloo nodded and struggled to her hooves; Martyr helped her stand up. As the other Royals approached, something Zorran said yesterday echoed in Scootaloo’s memory. He’d lost two small objects recently. She began to suspect it wasn’t a large spider Zorran had thrown out of his bedroom.
*****
ZigZag ran up to Scootaloo and hugged her.
“I thought I’d killed you!” she choked.
“I’m fine,” assured Scootaloo. “You’re fine.”
She turned to Zorran.
“Your Highness, do you think it was fair of the Queen to pressure your daughter like that?” she asked boldly. “She hadn’t done anything wrong and there was no time limit for her to write her exams.”
“That much is up to Hamper. She is ZigZag’s educator,” said Zorran. “And she says she is satisfied with the time it took her to write the history test, and that she got a good grade on it.”
Hamper tilted her head, as if to say “She did okay”. Zorran held out a hoof and shook Scootaloo’s.
“Well done, Scootaloo. You are an excellent motivator for ZigZag to behave and do well in her schoolwork,” he smiled. “The two of you may spend the rest of the day playing. And tomorrow, the five of us are off to Stripezig!”
Scootaloo knew it would be futile to object, so said nothing.
ZigZag gave a whoop of excitement. “You’ll love that town, Scootaloo! They named it after me!”
Martyr gulped. Scootaloo wondered why, and perspired slightly. But then she remembered what she’d read in that book before she’d keeled over.
If I can get her alone, she thought, I could give her that information. It’d help with her plan, and it’d help every donkey in the country. Maybe then, she won’t want to be so cruel to me.
*****
There were large circular balconies protruding from the roof of the Castle at intervals. As the Sun was rising the next morning, Zorran and Hamper were ushering ZigZag and Martyr out onto one of these balconies. There waiting for them was a floating chariot, with two pegasus zebras attached to its front. Servants were carrying their luggage for them and tossing it up in the luggage racks on the chariot’s roof. A porter opened the chariot door for the Royals.
“But there’s only room for the four of us in here,” ZigZag said, looking at the seats. “There’s no room for Scootaloo.”
She looked around.
“Where is Scootaloo? How’s Scootaloo getting to Stripezig, Mom?”
Hamper, her eye twitching a bit, pointed to the balcony to their left. A catapult had been wheeled onto it by a robed guard. And in its bucket was Scootaloo and her scooter. Scootaloo had been muzzled and her legs had been stuffed into an empty tall vase, which was standing upright. She looked like a muffin with a very thin wrapper.
“Perhaps this might teach you,” said Hamper to the shocked ZigZag, “not to make such stupid remarks.”
ZigZag watched as Scootaloo’s wings were flapping helplessly.
“But there’s no way she’ll survive the landing!” she bleated.
“It would serve you right for thinking Stripezig, an ancient Zebraskan city, was named after you,” grunted Hamper.
“I… I thought it--”
“Not another word,” snapped Hamper. “Into the chariot. All of us. Zodiac, Zylo, drive on! Zider, launch!”
*****
Scootaloo never got the chance to talk with Hamper alone. While the royal family were having breakfast, she’d been dragged out of bed by guards on the Queen’s orders. She watched as the chariot door slammed shut and the drivers took off from the balcony, towing the loaded chariot behind them. The guard next to her walked towards the catapult lever. She struggled to free herself, to no avail. She couldn’t even make herself overbalance. The vase was very heavy and sturdy. She tried to dislodge the muzzle with her wings, but it was strapped onto her head too tight. The guard’s robes lengthened at the rear. It seemed he was going to pull the lever with his tail. Scootaloo looked at the departing chariot. She could see Martyr’s face. His forehooves were pressed against the window. Scootaloo thought she saw Martyr’s horn light up. Then there was a lurch. The catapult swiftly turned around to face the other way, a split second before Zider pulled the trigger.
*****
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were having an argument. They’d not seen Scootaloo since the day Bend Twist had fled Starlight’s Village.
“We’ve got to go back to Tall Tale and look for Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom insisted.
“But we don’t even know if she’s still in Tall Tale!” protested Sweetie Belle. “Why would she be? She came to get us in the first place. She knew we had a new mission. And we still have yet to start helping Zecora and Cranky.”
She gestured to the zebra and donkey she’d just mentioned, who were standing by the Cutie Mark Grid, along with Evensong. Evensong was giving her usual dirty look, while Zecora and Cranky appeared to be torn between impatience and concern.
“She might have stayed in Tall Tail to try and get through to Party Favour’s brother!” barked Apple Bloom. “We should’ve stayed too!”
“But Apple Bloom, Bend Twist is laid up in hospital getting over his allergic reaction. Party Favour told us himself. If Scootaloo went there, he would have told her the same thing. So why would she stay there when she came to get us in the first place?” asked Sweetie Belle tensely.
“If Scootaloo’s not there, then where is she?!” asked Apple Bloom.
BANG
Something fell out of the sky, hit Evensong on the horn, and clattered to the ground. Evensong passed out at once, blood oozing from her wounded horn, the Changeling Throne Bracelet unwinding from the impact. Apple Bloom gave her head a shake and blinked, a bewildered expression on her face. She, Sweetie Belle, Zecora, and Cranky looked at what had stricken Evensong. It was Scootaloo’s scooter.
*****
Lightning Dust came bursting out of the Village Hostel.
“Hey guys! I feel much better all of a sudden!” she called. “My ribs aren’t… Scoots!”
Lightning shot into the air. Apple Bloom, Sweetie, Zecora, and Cranky turned and gasped. There was a fat Scootaloo, legs crammed into a tall vase, falling out of the sky. Lightning Dust caught her, but had to beat her wings furiously to stop the two of them from plummeting to the ground. Scootaloo beat her wings as well, and the two of them descended swiftly but gently down to the Village Road. Lightning Dust ripped the muzzle from Scootaloo’s face.
“What in Colonel Purpledart’s soiled nightgown happened to you?!” Lightning exclaimed as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Zecora ran up to them.
“Well,” breathed Scootaloo. “I had a brief stint as a Whipping Foal in Zebrasska.”
*****
Lightning Dust gave the vase a karate chop with her wing. The vase shattered, but Lightning bruised her wing in the process. Scootaloo’s flab wobbled down nearly to the Road. She looked past the stunned faces of Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Zecora to see Cranky standing next to an unconscious Evensong. The scooter was lying next to the unicorn filly’s bleeding horn.
Scootaloo gave a smile and said “I think I know why you two left Zebrasska. Cranky, you left out of oppression, and Zecora, you left out of guilt.”
Zecora bowed her head and nodded.
“Yeah,” said Cranky. “We were just telling your friends yesterday that somewhere along the way, Equestrians just forgot that donkeys used to be able to get cutie marks. No doubt it has something to do with some curse cast by a zebra king or queen.”
“Well now that we know,” said Scootaloo, “Zecora, as a potioneer, as the one who taught Apple Bloom everything she knows about chemistry, you can help Cranky get a cutie mark.”
*****
Zecora raised her head. “I would like nothing better than to rewind some of the damage caused by my kind.”
“Remember when Apple Bloom got the Cutie Pox?” asked Scootaloo. “You can use those Seeds of Truth you planted to grow the flower that Cranky needs to eat to get a cutie mark. I read about it in the Royal Zebrasskan Library. Donkeys were secretly fed that flower for generations, and the entire race gradually lost the ability to gain cutie marks altogether. But the book said those seeds can work in reverse as well.”
Zecora blinked, reached into the saddlebag she was carrying, and pulled out the very seeds Scootaloo was referring to. Pausing barely a moment, she dug a shallow hole in the ground, dropped the seeds into it, and covered them with soil.
“Now,” said Scootaloo, “let’s see if we can wake up Evensong. We need a confession if those seeds are gonna grow.”
*****
When Evensong was roused from her impromptu nap, she let out a yelp of pain. Her horn was still bleeding; there was a long deep gash all along it. Her eyes bulged when she saw Scootaloo. She let out an involuntary snort of laughter. Scootaloo took no notice.
“So Evensong,” she asked, “why did Bend Twist have a sudden change of heart the second Sweetie Belle’s magic touched his head?”
Evensong said nothing. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom began to breathe faster.
“Why did he want to leave his house in Tall Tale in the first place?” Scootaloo asked Evensong. “Which, by the way, is as near to the Zebrasskan border as Equestrian land gets?”
Evensong’s breathing was getting fast now.
“Why did Old Lady Cooper appear so suddenly in front of me?” Scootaloo pressed. “Why did all the spiders Mussel left in our bedroom leave overnight? Why did I get that weird and out-of-nowhere desire to go to Zebrasska?”
Sweetie Belle chimed in. “Why is Lightning Dust suddenly not sick anymore after three days?”
“Since we got back to town,” Apple Bloom added, “I suddenly wanted us to go to Zebrasska. A country I’d never heard of. I wanted to drag Sweetie back to Tall Tale so I could trick her into crossing the border with me.”
Sweetie’s mouth was agape.
“And now, I totally don’t,” said Apple Bloom, her eyes narrowing. “Why’s that, Evensong?”
Evensong looked from one accusing face to another, but remained silent.
*****
“You think Evensong’s behind all this?” asked Lightning Dust. “We’ve been watching her like a hawk since she got here. She couldn’t have cast any spells during that time. This bracelet was coiled around her horn the whole time.”
She held up the unwound Changeling Throne Bracelet.
“Wait,” she said suddenly. “That’s not a chunk of Chrysalis' old throne.”
She took one of the stones off of the bracelet. They all looked at it for a moment. Then Lightning squeezed it in her hoof. There was a faint crunching, and some shards of it fluttered to the ground. Some shards were black, others were brown and white.
“Did you hear a loud scream two mornings ago, Evensong?” asked Scootaloo.
Evensong’s eyes popped.
“That’s a Hear Shell,” Scootaloo told her friends. “Evensong’s been using it to communicate with the King of Zebrasska. Is that how you hurt yourself when you, what was it, bit your cheek? Did you really just scrape your horn, fiddling with your bracelet so the Hear Shell was at the base of your horn?”
*****
Evensong’s horn glowed for a second. Then she collapsed screaming and holding her horn.
“Good,” sneered Scootaloo. “She can’t cast any of her evil magic with that injury.”
She picked up her scooter and held it up in the air in a threatening manner.
“Now spill it!” she barked. “Or I’ll give you another whack over the head!”
“I brainwashed Bend Twist into leaving his house so I could live there for a while and go strike up a deal with King Zorran to find him some Equestrian whipping foals for his daughter!” wailed Evensong Glisten. “I still don’t give a dime about my parents and I tried to get you Cutie Mark Crusaders outta the way so I could get them back!”
The Seeds of Truth Zecora had planted germinated. A stem shot slowly but surely upwards. And as Evensong’s confession went on, pedicels poked out from the top of the stem and began sprouting flowers. By the time Evensong was finished, the plant in the middle of the Road looked sort of like a miniature tree.
*****
Scootaloo put her scooter down, took a flower from the little tree, and gave it to Cranky Doodle Donkey.
“So you’re saying,” he said with a tremble in his voice, “that if I eat this…?”
Scootaloo nodded. Everyone watched. Cranky took a deep breath and stuffed the flower into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it. There was a flash of light. Cranky’s coat became more saturated. It turned a striking shade of golden-tan. His nose became pinkish. His tail hair turned a deep dark red. Even his wig changed colour. A symbol appeared on his flank. They all looked excitedly at it. It depicted a walking stick and a folded map. They looked at the Cutie Mark Grid. There was Evensong Glisten’s purple sun and Zecora’s pointy spiral. The dark blue blur was there for a moment, and then it morphed into the very same walking stick and folded map that had just appeared on Cranky’s flank.
“You traveled all over Equestria for years to try and find Matilda, didn’t you?” asked Apple Bloom.
Cranky smiled. “Yeah. This cutie mark really suits me. But wait… does that mean…? I mean, I’ve settled down now. Does this mean I should still go traveling?”
“There are quite a few donkeys living in Equestria,” said Scootaloo. “And Zecora, you’re the only zebra I know of in this country. You made the right start by leaving Zebrasska. Now you can use your herbalist skills, and Cranky can use his traveling skills, to go around Equestria helping all the donkeys who live here get their cutie marks.”
In the Grid, Zecora’s and Cranky’s cutie marks entered the center of the Maze, sparkled like fireworks, and vanished.
*****
“What about all the donkeys in Zebrasska?” asked Apple Bloom, rubbing her head.
“Yeah. You were just there. Do you think Zecora and Cranky should go help them too?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo thought about what Martyr had told her about Hamper’s plan to overthrow the zebra royals. She decided to trust him.
“Right now,” she told her friends, “half of the Zebrasskan Royal Family are donkeys.”
“A zebra king or queen marrying a donkey?!” spluttered Zecora. “If I were pessimistic, I’d say your mind was wonky!”
“I wouldn’t worry about the Zebrasskan donkeys just yet,” said Scootaloo. “Give it some time. And the ponies of Equestria aren’t in any danger from Zebrasskan royals either.”
Scootaloo picked up her scooter again.
“Thanks for breaking my scooter’s fall,” she hissed at the cowed Evensong. “I’m gonna need it to work off all this weight your pal’s wife put on me.”
