On the morning of Spike's trial, while all of the grownups were at the local courthouse, on the other side of town, at the local train station, stood five fillies – the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon, each waiting to board the train to take them to Starlight's village. Being quite wealthy, Diamond Tiara paid for each of their tickets despite Apple Bloom insisting that she and the other Crusaders could easily pay for their own, thanks to their sisters being quite wealthy themselves. Tiara, however, would hear none of it and paid for their tickets. Oddly enough, the train that was scheduled to take them to Starlight's village just so happened to arrive precisely at ten o' clock, the same exact time that Spike's trial was set to begin. So, while the grownups busied themselves with battling in court, the Crusaders and their friends boarded their train to their desired destination, each sitting comfortably on a berth and gazing out the window.
"Where are the others?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking around.
"They must already be there," Apple Bloom said. "Dinky told me that she and the others were going to board another train."
"Well, while we're here," Diamond said, "we might as well get something off the trolley. It's going to be a long trip, after all. Why not make it as comfortable as possible?"
The others agreed. This time, rather than pay for all of the expenses, Diamond instead allowed the Crusaders to pay for their own treats, though did graciously agree to pay for Silver's food and drink, seeing as how the bespectacled filly hadn't seen any need to bring any money along with her, seeing as how they were merely going to Starlight's village for what amounted to little more than a business meeting. While the Crusaders remained skeptical as to whether or not they would get anything valuable out of this trip, Diamond and Silver themselves seemed quite eager about going, Diamond in particular since she had, as of late, been struggling to understand how exactly economics worked.
Of particular note, Apple Bloom found it quite odd that Starlight Glimmer had not only invited Diamond along to this so-called "meeting," but the mare had specifically requested that she bring as many of her friends as she wanted. While she had her suspicions, the little filly speculated that this was merely a means of evening out the ratio between children and adults, even if children their age didn't find the finer points of economics, much less anything having to do with the economy in general, particularly interesting. Even so, she maintained a positive attitude regarding the whole ordeal, confident that not only would she benefit greatly from this meet-up, but her friends would as well. Besides which, from what she'd observed from Starlight living in Ponyville under Twilight Sparkle's tutelage, Starlight Glimmer herself seemed like a nice enough pony, so Apple Bloom had nothing but the utmost trust in the former villain.
In just over two hours, right around lunchtime, the train came to a stop, and the Crusaders and their former tormentors got off. Despite having arrived fairly close to Starlight's village, a great deal of walking was still required to reach their destination. The group came to a sudden halt thanks to Diamond Tiara, who had, up until that point, been leading the group, naturally, given that Starlight had told her where the meeting was set to take place, only for her to come to a sudden stop upon reaching a hill. As the group reached the hill's peak, what beheld them down below was what couldn't even be called a village, for there were only twelve houses, six in one row with another six right across from each other. There was a thirteenth house, though this one was separate from the others, It rested a few feet away from the others between them, facing the aisle that was created thanks to the houses being directly across from one another. The landscape that surrounded this so-called "village" was pathetic, as the area surrounding it was made up of nothing but rocks, trees, and dirt. However, on any other ordinary day, all of the inhabitants of these houses would have more than likely been inside relaxing, yet on this day in particular it seemed all of them were outside, gathered around a podium that sat just outside the house that was separate from the others. Squinting, the girls could just barely make out the bodies and faces of their classmates, all of whom seemed to have arrived earlier than they had. The Crusaders guessed that Tiara must've told their friends how to get to Starlight's village, given that the filly wouldn't be present with them when they arrived, as she had insisted on arriving with not only Silver Spoon, but the Crusaders as well.
"Well, girls," Apple Bloom said, stepping forward, "let's go down and make some new friends."
Thus, the group started moving downhill towards the pathetic little village, quickly blending in with the crowd standing in front of the podium, greeting their classmates and other friends. It seemed as if the meeting was yet to get underway, as the grownups that made up this village were happily chatting with one another, because Starlight Glimmer was nowhere to be seen. The new arrivals to the group squinted and looked in all directions for any sign of the pony, only to come up short.
"Where is she?" Sweetie asked, using her hoof as a visor to see more clearly. She looked over at Apple Bloom. "Do you see her anywhere?"
"Nope," Apple Bloom replied, shaking her head. "She must still be getting ready."
A hush suddenly fell over the crowd, every single pony falling silent, as the front door to the house in front of them opened up and out stepped Starlight Glimmer herself, the door closing behind her while she made her way up to the podium. Gripping either side of the podium, she cleared her throat and spoke. "Greetings," she said. "Welcome to our humble abode. It may not look like much, but it's what we call home." She beamed at all of the faces of the little children gathered around. "I'm so glad all of you could make it. I see lots of new faces in the crowd here today. I'm really looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you. But there will be plenty of time for that later. For the time being, I see that many of you have already made friends with quite a few of our new recruits. Who would like to go first?" She pointed and said, "Sugar Belle?"
Sugar Belle smiled down at Apple Bloom as she began to lovingly stroke the filly's mane. "My new friend is Apple Bloom. She's a smart, bright little filly with a natural talent for carpentry. Thanks to her older brother, I've had the pleasure of getting to know little Apple Bloom very well over these past several months."
"Wonderful," Starlight cried, beaming. "Who's next?" She nodded towards Double Diamond.
"My new friend," the stallion said, "is Silver Spoon. She's an adorable little filly with a knack for chess."
"Party Favor, what about you?" Starlight asked, nodding towards the pony in question.
"Well, I think I may have just found the pick of the litter," Party Favor replied. "This little guy is Pipsqueak. He's a bright little colt who's cute as a button."
"Speaking of button," Night Glider said, "my new friend is called Button Mash and . . ."
"Ugh, this is so boring," Scootaloo grumbled to Apple Bloom.
"You said it," Apple Bloom replied, then, cupping her hooves over her mouth, shouted, "Hey! When are we going to get to some action, huh!?" Her comment was met with several murmurs of approval from the grownups gathered around her.
"Goodness me," Starlight cried. "It's so great to see so many young fillies and colts who are so eager to get to know their new grownup friends! This is surely a blessing from above! Praise Celestia!"
"Praise Celestia," the grownups cried in unison in such a loud manner that many of the children gathered around were forced to cover their ears.
"Now," Starlight continued, "I know we're all eager to get to the festivities, but first I'd like to give each of us a chance to get to know our partners a little better. Everypony, pair up with your partners and let the dance begin!"
"Wait, what?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Music began to blare from seemingly nowhere and the grownups, lovingly wrapping their hooves around the fillies and colts of their choice, began to sway back and forth in time with the music. Apple Bloom was suddenly swept off her hooves by none other than Sugar Belle, the mare happily stepping in rhythm with the filly wrapped in her hooves, the filly's face tightly pressed against the mare's chest, leaving the filly with little to no room to breathe. Apple Bloom forced her face away, taking in a big gulp of air while her hooves dragged along the ground.
"Come on, Apple Bloom, you can do better than that," Sugar Belle said. "I've seen you dance before. You can really move. Stop dragging your feet and show these ponies how it's done."
"Um, well . . . okay," Apple Bloom replied. Suddenly, she found herself the center of attention, standing in a circle that had formed, made up of her classmates and the grownups that surrounded them. With no other options left to her, she had no choice but to do as requested, and began moving her body along with the music, seeming to have a natural talent for dancing, her body moving as if it had a mind of its own to the rhythm of the music. For reasons unbeknownst to her, she became lost in the music and got caught up in the attention she was getting. She bent down, bringing her face level with the ground, leaving her bottom sticking up in the air, and she gave her rump a good shake, resulting in several cheers and catcalls from her captive audience.
Diamond Tiara laughed. "What do you call that?" She stepped forward, gently nudging Apple Bloom aside as she said, "Step back and take notes. This is how you do it." With that, she assumed the same position that Apple Bloom had been in earlier, shaking her bottom from side to side, the chubbiness of her buttocks resulting in her flesh slapping together, creating ripples that ran from one side of her rump to the other. She was quickly joined by Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Silver Spoon, and soon all five fillies were shaking their derrieres, seeing which one could do better. It seemed that both she and Sweetie Belle were receiving the most attention, their body fat resulting in their chubby buttocks and bellies swaying from side to side, creating several ripples in their wake as they moved their bodies in time with the music, resulting in an uproar of approval from the audience.
"Yeah, now we're having fun," Apple Bloom said with a grin, thrusting her hips forward and back.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout," Sugar Belle cried. "Move those hips! Show 'em how it's done, Apple Bloom! Whoo!"
"Out of the way," Diamond Tiara demanded, using her tail to slap at Apple Bloom's face. "I'm wanted on the dance floor!"
"Hmph!" Apple Bloom stood on her hind legs and reared back a hoof, landing a hard smack right across Diamond's behind.
"Ow! That hurt, Apple Bloom!" Diamond Tiara looked over her shoulder to glare at the filly.
"No, Tiara, listen to 'em," Apple Bloom replied. "They love it!"
It was true. The applause that Apple Bloom's spanking Diamond had received was so loud that it was deafening to the point where it completely drowned out the music. Diamond couldn't help herself. Grinning, she looked over her shoulder at Apple Bloom and said, "Well, in that case, what say we give 'em a show? Put on a performance they'll never forget?"
"You got it!" Apple Bloom grabbed Diamond's tail, jerked it up, fully exposing the entirety of Diamond's chubby posterior to all those present, then, rearing back a hoof, once again spanked Diamond across the hindquarters. This time, rather than cry out in pain, Diamond moaned in pleasure and shook her rear, begging for Apple Bloom to do it again, and Apple Bloom fulfilled her request immediately.
Elsewhere, not too far from the pair, Sweetie Belle was in between both Silver Spoon and Scootaloo, all three thrusting their hips forward and pushing their rumps back against each other. It seemed that Sweetie Belle, being in the middle, was getting the best of both worlds, as Scootaloo's rump brushed up against her crotch, while Silver Spoon's crotch was rubbing up against her rump.
It wasn't just the Crusaders and their friends who were getting some attention. Dinky was busy dancing with not only Rumble, Pipsqueak, and Featherweight, but the foursome were quickly joined by two stallions on either side of them, the two grownups happily gyrating their hips and behinds along with the foursome between them. Meanwhile, Twist, Coconut Cream, and Toola Roola were all three being doted on by a couple of mares as they danced to their heart's content.
"See?" Diamond said to Apple Bloom. "This isn't so bad, is it?"
"Shoot, no," Apple Bloom replied. "It's a heck of a lot of fun. But there's still one thing I'm not getting."
"What's that?" Silver Spoon asked.
"What in the wide, wide world of Equestira does dancing have to do with economics?" Apple Bloom inquired.
"Who cares?" Sweetie Belle asked, shaking her rear.
"Probably just as a means of relaxing us," Diamond replied. "Helping us get more comfortable with the adults, you know? Besides, there's a few kids over there." She pointed to a group of fillies that weren't part of the group of kids from Ponyville.
"Besides, I haven't cut loose like this since that time we were practicing for the talent show," Scootaloo said, giving her derriere a hard smack while she swayed her tail back and forth in time to the music.
"I suppose you're right," Apple Bloom said, thrusting her hips to the side. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm sure we'll get to the business side of things once we're all comfortable with each other."
The dance lasted for over a half-hour, after which refreshments were passed out, and the fillies and colts excitedly talked with the grownups while they snacked and sipped lemonade. This lasted for quite a few minutes until Starlight cleared her throat, making them cease what they were doing and turn their attention towards her.
"Okay," she said, wiping her brow with a handkerchief, "I think that's enough dancing for a while. Now then, grownups, we all have our keys. I say we get to know our new friends a little more intimately, if you know what I mean." This comment was met with another round of murmurs of approval from the adults.
"Huh?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Hey, Scootaloo," she whispered, "what's she talking about?"
Scootaloo merely shrugged. "Beats me."
"So, having said that," Starlight continued, "let's all take our keys and invite our friends inside our houses for a little playtime." Beaming, she took Diamond Tiara by the hoof and led her inside to her own house while the adults followed her suit with their respective partners.
Less than a minute later, several screams were heard from the houses and the front doors flew open out of all thirteen, and several fillies and colts poured out of them, meeting up in the middle of the aisle.
"I think these guys intend to have sex with us," Dinky cried.
"Wait, what?" Sweetie Belle asked, tilting her head in confusion. "What's sex?"
"Never mind that right now," Diamond hollered. "Let's just get the hell out of here – now!"
"You said it," Apple Bloom agreed, nodding her head.
Like a set of pool balls, the fillies and colts scattered, running in every which way, soon joined by the adults as they too exited their homes and began searching wildly for their partners. At one point, Starlight managed to grab hold of Diamond Tiara and pin her down to the ground, towering over her, until Scootaloo delivered a powerful kick to the mare's eye, giving Diamond Tiara enough time to escape along with Scootaloo while Starlight, howling in pain, clutched her eye and screamed, "Ahh! You little brat! You'll pay for that!"
Apple Bloom reared back her hind legs and bucked Double Diamond square in the crotch, and the stallion went down like a sack of potatoes, tightly clutching his groin and groaning in pain, while Sweetie Belle managed to get her horn stuck in one of Sugar Belle's eyes. While the mare screamed in pain, Sweetie pressed her hooves against her face, pushing, trying to dislodge her horn from the mare's eye. It seemed Silver Spoon felt that the filly was taking too long because she roughly pushed Sweetie, resulting in Sugar Belle's eye coming clean out of her socket, landing in Chowder's mane. The colt screamed, batting at his hair in a desperate attempt to get what he mistakenly thought was a spider out of his hair. Once the offending object landed in front of him within his line of vision, he screamed and began running in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him.
In the ensuing chaos of screams and panic, Snips looked around for any means of escape. Looking up, he spotted several caverns within the snowy mountains that surrounded the area. Putting a hoof to his lips, he whistled, signaling the others to follow him. The others did so without question, Snails falling in line alongside him as the two led the group into Starlight's house and down a secret passageway that resided underneath her bed, coming back outside from a cave not too far off, immediately taking a sharp left and down a path along the mountain, one that led away from the village and towards the caves up above. It seemed Starlight had anticipated this move, however, because, with a flash of turquoise magic, she suddenly appeared in front of them, grinning.
"This is battery acid, you cunt," Pipsqueak screamed, seizing Twist's inhaler and spraying a healthy doze of the medication directly into Starlight's eyes.
"My eye!" Starlight screamed. "Why is it always the fucking eye!? While the mare screamed and writhed in pain, loudly swearing profusely all the while, Pipsqueak and the others ran past her, going higher and higher until they were running along the passageways that ran along the mountains. They came to a stop when they came across a bridge made up of various colored balloons.
"Well, there's something that you don't see everyday," Rumble said.
The group started to move forward, only to be halted by Starlight Glimmer when she appeared before them yet again. Grinning, she took a step forward. "Going somewhere?"
"No," Silver Spoon said, adjusting her glasses. "But you are!" So saying, she turned, reared back her legs, and delivered a powerful kick to Starlight's chest, sending the mare falling backwards over the cliff's edge and down below, then immediately joined her friends in crossing the makeshift bridge to the other side. Once they had made it safely across, Dinky used her horn to completely obliterate the bridge, sending it flying in all directions as the gas was let out of the balloons that had made up it.
For a third time, Starlight appeared just as the group was turning to continue their trek to the caves. "Did you really think that would work on me? Pfft. You lot are even dumber than I thought."
"Oh, for the love of . . ." Button Mash groaned. With Rumble, he grabbed onto Starlight's head and flung her behind the group, sending her once again falling to the chasm below. "Let's go! We're nearly there."
Just as they were about to enter the caves, Starlight appeared before them yet again. "I can do this all day," she told them.
"Too bad for you we can't," Rumble said. He grunted, thrusting his hoof forward in an attempt to punch Starlight in the face. His hoof struck, but it seemed this punch had no impact as Starlight didn't even so much as flinch.
"You call that a punch?" she asked with a smirk. She chuckled. "Nice try. Now let me show you how it's really done." She reared back a hoof and slammed it into Rumble's midsection. Immediately the pegasus doubled over, groaning in pain as he tightly clutched his stomach. She grinned in satisfaction. "Now that's how you do it."
"And this is how you use your horn," Sweetie Belle yelled, leaping forward and, dipping her head down, thrusting her horn straight into Starlight's windpipe. The mare dropped, wheezing, her eyes watering, while the group leaped over her writhing body and safely made it inside the caves.
They didn't stop running until the voices of the villagers died away. They made sure not to run in any direction except forward for fear of ending up getting lost within the caves themselves. After running for a good ten to fifteen minutes, they finally came to a halt.
"Okay, we should be safe here," Diamond Tiara said, panting. She turned to see several eyes glaring at her. "What?"
"Well, Diamond?" Apple Bloom asked, her hooves folded across her chest and a scowl on her face.
Diamond blinked in confusion. "Well what?"
"Don't you think you owe everypony here an apology?" Apple Bloom asked.
Diamond rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry I almost got you all raped. There. Happy?"
"Hardly," Scootaloo said, continuing to glare. "Now we're completely lost."
"And cold," Sweetie added, wrapping her hooves around herself and shivering.
"Let's keep walking," Silver Spoon suggested. "Maybe there's a way that leads out of here."
"Screw that," Scootaloo said. "I say we stay here and go back out when night falls. They'll all be asleep by then. We can make our escape then."
"Only one problem, you dodo," Sweetie said. "The train doesn't run at night. How are we supposed to get home?"
"I've told you before, don't call me things I don't know the meaning of," Scootaloo said, shooting daggers at Sweetie. "If you call me one more word I don't understand, you won't have to worry about getting your butt raped because I'm going to be too busy kicking it!"
"You guys, stop it, this isn't helping," Apple Bloom growled, getting in between the two. "Now we just have to ask ourselves: what would Daring Do do?"
"Yeah, what would Daring Do do?" Scootaloo agreed, beginning to think.
Several of the boys started to snicker.
"They said doo-doo," Snails said to Snips.
"I know, right?" Snips agreed as he cackled.
"Oh, grow up," Diamond Tiara said, rolling her eyes. "We can worry about getting home later. Right now, we need to concern ourselves with getting warm."
"Tough luck," Rumble said. "There aren't any trees around here. Everything's completely dead, and there's no way I'm going back out there by myself."
"Yeah, you can forget about that," Apple Bloom agreed.
"Well, we could always . . . cuddle for warmth," Button Mash suggested.
"Ew," Rumble grimaced. "Button, you're gay!"
"Oh, grow up," Diamond Tiara said again. "Does anypony have any bright ideas?"
The ponies within the group looked at one another and shook their heads.
"Sweetie Belle," Silver Spoon said, "you're well versed in magic. Is there a spell to get us home and if not, then at least to keep us warm?"
"I'm still learning," Sweetie Belle replied. "I'm still not all that great with magic."
"That's not surprising," Dinky replied.
"Let's see you do better," Sweetie said, sticking her tongue out.
"So our best bet is to just wait it out," Rumble said. "How long should that last?"
"I'd say a few hours at least," Chowder said. "Unfortunately, there's no way of telling what time it is."
"Wonderful," Apple Bloom groaned.
"But," Sweetie said, "there is one spell that I've been practicing that might help. Though, it requires a lot of energy and concentration."
"What spell?" Silver Spoon asked.
Sweetie didn't answer, instead choosing to close her eyes and flare her horn.
"Hmm?" Apple Bloom asked. "Sweetie Belle, what are you doing?"
"Shh, don't talk," Silver Spoon suggested. "It looks like she's concentrating on something."
Sweetie Belle sat still, her eyes closed, her horn glowing a faint green. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated hard before her facial features relaxed. Within her mind, she thought, [i]Princess Cadence, are you there? Can you hear me?[/i]
[hr]
Miles away, in the Crystal Empire, Cadence was busy preparing lunch for Flurry Heart. She stood at the stove, patiently waiting for the baby's bottle to get heated up, when she suddenly heard a voice from within the confines of her mind, the voice of a small filly who apparently wanted to know if she could be heard by the princess. She closed her eyes and, flaring her horn and concentrated hard, replied back.
[hr]
Back within the caves, a small smile came to Sweetie's lips when she heard a voice within her own head, her question having apparently been answered. [i]Sweetie Belle,[/i] it said, [i]is that you?[/i] She immediately replied: [i]Yes, it's me. I'm using my magic to communicate with you telepathically.[/i]
[i]Sweetie Belle, this is amazing,[/i] Cadence's voice said. [i]Not even the most advanced unicorns know this spell! I'm impressed! Those tutoring sessions with Twilight must be really paying off![/i]
Sweetie couldn't stop her smile from widening. [i]You could say that.[/i]
[i]Sweet Celestia, to think that you, a mere child, are capable of a feat such as this! This is truly remarkable![/i]
[i]I hate to cut this short, princess, but this spell takes a lot out of you, so I need to make this as brief as possible. Me and my friends are trapped within the caves outside of Starlight's old village. Could you please come here and teleport us all back home, like, right now!?[/i]
[i]Yes, I could, certainly, but what in Equestria are you doing there?[/i]
Sweetie shook her head. [i]It's a long story that I'd rather not get into right now. I just need you to please come get us.[/i]
[i]Yes, I can most certainly do that, but it would require some time. I've never been to Starlight's old village before. It would take me some time to find you.[/i]
[i]That's not a problem. You should be able to locate us through your magic. Concentrate hard.[/i]
[i]Yes, you're right. I can sense you as if you were here right next to me. My goodness, you certainly are a far way from home, aren't you? Right, then, I'm on my way.[/i]
Sweetie smiled. [i]Great! How long until you ––[/i]
"Hello, everypony," a much older female voice said.
Scootaloo screamed. "Princess Cadence, where did you come from all of a sudden!?"
Sweetie's eyes snapped open and turned her head to see Princess Cadence standing right next to her. The princess didn't bother answering Scootaloo's question, instead choosing to say, "Never mind that. We've got to get you little ones home right now before your parents notice you're missing." Her horn glowed and, with a flash, the group was gone, only to reappear again outside Sugarcube Corner. Cadence turned and gave Sweetie Belle a concerned look. "Just what in Equestria were you lot thinking going to a place like that?"
"It's my fault, Princess," Diamond Tiara said. "We thought . . . we thought she was our friend. She lured me and the others there by telling us she was our friend, that she just wanted to get to know us better. It's my fault. I shouldn't have listened to her. The reason they were all there was because of me. I'm sorry."
Cadence shook her head. "Listen to me, all of you, because this is very important. I don't want any of you going back there ever again." She looked around at the group and said, "Do you all understand me? None of you are to go back there ever again! Understood!?"
"Yes, ma'am," the fillies and colts said in unison.
"Good," Cadence said. "Right, then. What say you guys go in and get yourselves something to eat? It's on me." With cheers, the group happily made their way inside the store.
"Don't worry, y'all," Apple Bloom said with a smirk. "The next time that Starlight Glimmer shows up 'round these parts, we'll be ready."
Scootaloo smirked. "I know that look. You've got a plan, don't you?"
Apple Bloom grinned. "You bet I do!" she said as she popped the cherry of her milkshake into her mouth.