Chapter 2: Unintentional Heroes

The four members of The Cutie Mark Crusaders woke up the next day and their thoughts were of the massive city of Las Pegasus. While Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon hadn't bragged about their trip, The Cutie Mark Crusaders were still extremely eager to go to the city. They had heard so many good things about Las Pegasus and they wanted to go there so badly. However they knew that even if they were to go to the city ,there wouldn't be much for them to do since Las Pegasus was meant more for adult ponies than it was for fillies. The four young fillies walked through the town of Ponyville as they all imagined what it would be like if they got a chance to go to Las Pegasus. None of the four friends could even begin to describe how exciting a trip to Las Pegasus would be for them.

"Las Pegasus sounds so awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed to her friends excitedly. "I wanna go there right now!"

"Ah know but we ain't gonna get ta go until we're grown." Apple Bloom replied in a sad sort of voice.

"I wish we could go." Sweetie Belle said. "It sounds so amazing."

"Yeah and it'd be fun ta gamble right?" Babs Seed asked her friends eagerly. "Ah want ta try my hoof at blackjack."

The foursome remembered the time when Gilda had taught them a card game called blackjack weeks ago. They had used it as a means of passing the time when they were on their train ride to Canterlot for the talent show. They knew that the card game was one of many ways that ponies in Las Pegasus would gamble in an attempt to make money. Each of the four fillies wanted to see what it was like to really gamble because it sounded like a lot of fun from the few ponies that had told them about it. However they needed to be adults in order to gamble and those days were many years away for the foursome. They kept walking with saddened expressions on their faces until they came to a crowd of ponies that had gathered in the center of town for something that seemed important.

Curious as to what the commotion was about, The Cutie Mark Crusaders squeezed their way through the crowd of ponies and saw that Princess Celestia's chariot was moving through the streets of Ponyville. It seemed like today was a day that The Sun Goddess had chosen to be part of a parade through Ponyville. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in shock at the fact that they had forgotten about this event completely. This was the very month when Princess Celestia would parade through the many towns that were scattered throughout Equestria.

Princess Celestia wasn't the type to flaunt her authority to other ponies. However ponies all across Equestria admired and worshipped her and wanted to see her. So once every five years, Princess Celestia would spend an entire month parading through the many towns of Ponyville so that her subjects could get the chance to see her. She never stayed in one town for very long since there was quite a number of towns and cities in Equestria, but the citizens appreciated the time she spent greatly. The Sun Goddess was well liked and revered throughout her land so a parade like this one was a very special occasion that everypony looked forwards to immensely.

Princess Celestia's golden chariot moved through the streets as the ponies cheered for their princess. The vehicle had no roof on it which allowed the sun to shine down and illuminate the white alicorn's elegant flowing multicolored mane. The townsponies gave their princess words of admiration and worship which caused The Sun Goddess to smile. She might not be one to seek attention and praise but she didn't mind receiving it. The Cutie Mark Crusaders watched the chariot move and then their eyes widened as they saw the vehicle start to rapidly gain speed as the stallion that was driving it started losing control over the vehicle.

Princess Celestia's magnificent chariot was speeding out of control and it was careening towards a cliff! There was no way that any amount of magic or strength would be able to stop it. The townsponies started to panic and fear for the safety of their princess. The Sun Goddess could easily save herself but she was more concerned for the guards that were with her. It might have been their sworn duty to protect her but Princess Celestia didn't want to see them get hurt if she could prevent it. The Sun Goddess used her magic to teleport her guards to the safety of the sides of the streets but she didn't even think about using her magic to save herself.

Quick as a flash, The Cutie Mark Crusaders leapt into action. The four fillies ran to grab a net that had been lying on the side of a nearby building. It was a fairly large net which would require all four of the fillies to carry it. After grabbing the net, they sprinted as fast as they could towards the runaway chariot. It took a lot of effort but soon enough they had managed to catch up to the runaway carriage. They held the net out as they ran alongside the vehicle. Princess Celestia jumped off of the chariot not a moment too soon and she landed in the safety of the net that was carried by The Cutie Mark Crusaders. The four fillies gently lowered The Sun Goddess to the ground and the audience let out deafening cheers for them as they swarmed the scene. Princess Celestia thanked the four fillies from the bottom of her heart for saving her from what would have been a very terrible accident.

"You saved my life." she said gratefully as the four fillies bowed to her once the crowd had walked away. "Is there anything that I could do to repay you?"

The four fillies quickly shook their heads in response to Princess Celestia's offer. While they were tempted to ask for a reward, they didn't want to seem like they were selfish or that they had only saved The Sun Goddess to get a reward.

"We're just doing our part." Scootaloo said.

"We don't save others ta get paid." Apple Bloom agreed.

"It's an honor to have saved you, Your Majesty." Sweetie Belle told her.

"We're more than happy ta help." Babs Seed finished.

"I still think that your resourcefulness deserves to be rewarded." Princess Celestia told the four fillies that stood before her. She wasn't going to take any sort of refusal from the four fillies for an answer. "Please tell me is there anything that you really want?"

The four fillies looked at each other for a moment and their eyes widened as they realized what they could ask to get from Princess Celestia. This could be what they were waiting for. This could be their big chance.

"We want to go to Las Pegasus." Scootaloo exclaimed in an excited tone.

"We've never been there before." Apple Bloom added as she looked at The Sun Goddess.

"The train tickets are so expensive." Sweetie Belle said.

"And we want ta see what the city is like." Babs Seed finished.

"Very well." Princess Celestia told them with a smile on her face. After a few minutes, she pulled out four slips of paper as well as four things that The Cutie Mark Crusaders had never seen before. They looked a lot like cards. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at the cards with curious expressions on their faces and they stared at Princess Celestia in a very confused state.

"Here are your train tickets for a round trip to Las Pegasus." Princess Celestia said. "I have also given you these cards that will allow you to have all the rights of adult ponies for one week. Use them wisely."

With that, Princess Celestia took to the skies and headed back to Canterlot. Her guards quickly followed suit and The Cutie Mark Crusaders were left in awe. This was it. They finally had the chance to go to Las Pegasus. Their cards would last them for a week plus the two days in between this day and the day that the train that would take them to Las Pegasus would arrive. The four fillies grinned broadly at each other and they spoke at once.

"Wait till our sisters hear about this." they said in very excited tones as they quickly ran off to try and find Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack.