3. Cutie Mark Crusader: Adventurers!
"Why does it have to be 'epic'?" Sweetie Belle repeated the crude word, though it sounded weird on her lips, "It's a kidnapping, Scootaloo, it's going to be exciting no matter what."
"But if you just say that somepony grabbed me and ran into the woods, Rainbow Dash isn't going to be half as determined to save me!" Scootaloo made her case, stomping her hooves about as they hid her scooter behind the Crusader clubhouse, "You have to make it more daring, more rushed, more, like, scary!"
"I dunno if I like where this is goin'." Applebloom muttered and shook her head, knowing how well their daring plans usually ended up: with the three of them covered in sap.
"Just trust me you guys, this is going to be awesome." Scootaloo confirmed with a stern nod, already knowing exactly how she was going to go about making it just that more irresistible, "There's no way Rainbow could resist it, it's like a direct challenge to her strength, her agility, her awesomeness!"
"You're usin' that word too much." Applebloom commented while they made their way through the orchard to approach the farm from another angle.
"Now wait a moment, are you sure that this will get her attention? It just seems so, so far fetched, and so drastic." Sweetie Belle asked again, uncertain how something like this would hold up to scrutiny. After all, it was not the most believable plan, though she had to admit is was quite thrilling.
"Trust me, if I know anything, it's that Rainbow Dash could never turn down an adventure." Scootaloo grinned, knowing that finally her trivial knowledge of her hero's personality would finally be used for a worthy cause.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were still relaxing on the patio as the sun began to set, their stomachs filling with cider and their moods content. There were few things more beautiful than a sunset on Sweet Apple Acres, notably a sonic rainboom or a meteor shower. They were so intent on watching in, in fact, that though they saw the two young fillies racing towards them, they did not notice any urgency until their little voices could be heard.
"Applejack! Applejack! Help, hurry!" Applebloom's voice distracted Applejack from the blinding sun, which she had been laying in as she finished her cider. She sat up in her chair and noticed the terrified look on her face. Leaping from her seat like any concerned family member she hurried to her sister's side and began rapidly circling her.
"What's goin' on litle sis, you're not hurt are you?" Applejack picked up her sister's two front hooves and looked at them, before hurrying around her to check her back and heels, "You didn't get caught in a thorn bush, or fall out of a tree, or wake Granny from her nap, did you?"
"Quit inspectin' me, this is important!" Applebloom picked the words roughly out of her teeth as she smacked her sister's prying hooves away and stared at her straight in the eye, though she was no good at the whole lying thing.
"Where's Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash asked seriously as she came up to the frantic fillies, her intimidating stance casting a shadow to close the distance between them. For once, Rainbow Dash was not in a playful or sporting mood, she just stood there waiting for the response. The two girls swallowed hard and carried on with the story.
"That's just it! She's gone!" Sweetie Belle cried out, grabbing Rainbow Dash's front leg with an embrace, crying into her fur as to hide the guilt on her face, "This horrible creature came out of nowhere and attacked us! It was like a lion, but with wings and this long pointy tail," Scootaloo had told them about such a creature that Rainbow Dash had faced before, she would never forget a story like that, "It had these long claws and sharp teeth, it's going to gobble her up and we gotta go save her!"
"Right!" Rainbow Dash stomped her free hoof as Sweetie Belle let her go. She unfurled her great, strong wings and beat them hard to lift her off the ground, with one direct motion she charged in some direction. She was stopped mid-charge though, and fell hard onto the ground as Applejack yanked on her tail in her teeth.
"Hold your hooves there Dash," Applejack spoke quite clearly despite having her friend's rainbow coloured tail in her mouth. She spat it out and looked back at the two fillies seriously, "Now which way did they go?"
"That way!" They both pointed in one direction as they had planned, a dangerous and exciting direction. Rainbow Dash grinned sheepishly as she realized she would have been going in the wrong direction.
"South East, she could be anywhere from here to Baltimare." Applejack frowned, noticing that in that direction was also Ponyville, and then the Everfree forest. She furrowed her brow as she considered it, "Now why would a Manticore come out here, kidnap a filly, then fly back over Ponyville to get away?"
"We ain't tryna reason with it, sis!" Applebloom shook her sister rapidly, shaking the suspicion out of her as best she could. Applejack got a hold of herself and nodded, rushing towards the barn.
"Right, I'll grab a couple of saddlebags and tell Mac to watch the farm." Applejack called back as she ran to knock open the door and grab her things.
"We don't have time for that, come on! I bet I can still catch him if I fly fast enough!" Rainbow Dash got to her feet and argued, storming after Applejack aggressively.
"It's called bein' responsible. And what may I ask happens if you do race up catch 'em? You'll fight a Manticore all by your lonesome after drinkin' that much cider?" Rainbow Dash growled as Applejack pointed out the flaws in that plan, and surely there were a few. "Not while I have a say in it, Rainbow."
"Well—well then move your flank already!" Rainbow Dash ushered Applejack along, still annoyed by the delay.
Applejack just nodded and did as she was told, hurriedly grabbing her saddle bags and tossing them onto her back, rushing out immediately after. She kept her bags packed in case of times like this, complete with some medical equipment in case of injury, two canteens and a jar of apple jam. As she raced back outside the four ponies ran towards Ponyville, Applejack merely shouting at Big Mac along the way to hold down the fort. There was no sign of any other troubles in the town, but they kept on anyway towards the forest where they already knew one Manticore lived. Rainbow Dash flew ahead, trying desperately to keep straight while her head spun with anger and mild intoxication. The two young fillies had a hard time keeping up with their older company, but they did their best anyway. They came upon the forest quickly, still finding no signs of any struggle.
"You kids really shouldn't be comin' with us, this is dangerous." Applejack told the girls as she looked back at them while they slowed before the forest, "You should get on home, maybe stay with Rarity."
"No way!" Applebloom shouted, and Applejack stopped in her chase to hear such a passionate excuse, "Scootaloo is my friend! She is part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we are comin' whether you let us or not!"
"You'd do the same for each other, wouldn't you?" Sweetie Belle asked, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked over at each other with resolve. They sort of smiled a bit and nodded, accepting the conditions.
"Well all right, but you stick on close to us, y'hear?" Applejack warned them as she watched their eyes for truth. They both nodded at once and followed Rainbow Dash towards the tree line, disappearing into the dark flora.
The Everfree forest did not scare the Crusaders while Rainbow Dash and Applejack were around, there was little to fear with two girls as strong and brave as they were. Now, they only had to get ahead of the game, make certain that their damsel in distress was fine. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle let Applejack and Rainbow Dash get something of a lead while they glanced around in the bushes, looking for that fuchsia mane. At a mere few yards in, a rustle from beside them told them they were in the right place, and the third of their group held her bright orange hoof to her lips to keep quiet. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom gestured for Scootaloo to hurry after them, and delved deeper into the Everfree forest.
This strange place, this oddity, this absence of reason, this clump of shrubbery and foliage, sustained no life that the ponies knew. The plants grew wildly, and so many different kinds and colours, cruel, cannibal, jesting, any magic that could not be comprehended fell through the leaves like dew slipping about until it hit the black soil floor. It was soft on hooves, moist in the darkness and the rain, which fell without the consent of any native pegasi. Creatures of the forest were known to devour one another without mercy, clemency, or guilt nor rue, and since they have been seen to come in various different sizes, most ponies were deterred from venturing within.
The sunlight was tangled in the canopy, barely a beam was let to squeak through onto the journeying few below. They slowed as the trees encircled them, yawning and swaying in each direction, casting shadows on any trails or routes one might think to dare. Rainbow Dash descended and stepped onto the lush forest floor, looking around curiously as if the answer would swing down from the branches.
"Hey Rainbow, think you can fly above all them trees and make yourself useful?" Applejack trotted past her, keeping her eyes in the bushes. Rainbow Dash accepted the challenging terms and leapt into the air and through the trees in one swift jump, breaking leaves and branches onto the ponies below. "See anythin' up there?"
"It all looks the same!" Rainbow Dash called back down, turning around and around to try and measure some distance or find some possible clue. "What do we do now?"
"Come on back down," Applejack told her, waiting until she broke through the trees again and fluttered close above her to go on, "We gotta keep walkin', and hope we find somethin' soon."
"But what if we're going the wrong way? That kid could be in danger, A.J., and we're just wandering around with no idea!" Rainbow Dash argued, making a devilishly angry face. Applejack just reached up and grabbed her hoof, pulling her down to Earth again.
"We ain't doin' no pony no good standin' around. We'll find her, Rainbow." Applejack gave her friend a supportive smile, nudging her and walking just a little bit closer as she did, "I promise you that."
Sweetie Belle roughly shoved Applebloom, pointing to the little bits of progress that shone out before them in the darkness. Her lively and excited grin was apparent even inside the forest, and she anticipated more to come. Scootaloo got the hint too, and hurriedly rushed in front of them quite a ways. Determined to do as Sweetie Belle asked and keep them moving forwards, she skidded into the dirt and left all kind of hoof prints, leading them deeper into the woods. She jumped then and landed on a fallen tree, kicking the mud off her hooves and hiding into the brush, leaving her tracks to disappear.
Though the darkness had her somewhat uncomfortable, she knew that Rainbow Dash was not far behind, and used the plan as a means to keep her mind from wandering deeper into the forest. She could hear their hooves on the squishy moss and soil, trotting along towards her through the overgrown vines. Ducking her head under some creepy greyish lichen runs, which was what the little fillies called Old Gelding's Beard, Scootaloo watched on in silence.
Rainbow Dash was first to breach the foliage, and she shook her mane about to get the pine needles and stray leaves off of her. Applejack was not far behind, and kept checking her pace and over her shoulder to be certain her sister and Sweetie Belle were following close enough. Rainbow Dash looked around the clearing quickly and spotted the mess in the dirt, which halted her mid sprint. She raced towards the dirt, kicking up a bit of dust as her hooves hit the ground hard and she peered down at the odd designs. Applejack hurried to her side and peeked over her shoulder, making out the erratic steps of a seemingly frightened filly. Steam could have blow out from Rainbow's nose with the frustration and rage that seeped from her low stance.
"Rainbow, relax now. These hoof prints tell us that she's still runnin' fine, I don't see any other prints, nor any disturbance in the trees, so it looks like she may be alone." Applejack tried to explain to her, putting a hoof on her friends shoulder. Her attempts at consolation fell flat as Rainbow brushed her off and followed the dead-end trail furiously.
"She's alone, Applejack. Alone out here in the woods with a scary lion-thing chasing her," Rainbow Dash growled as she started on again, her eyes never faltering from the unmarked path ahead, "I can't take any chances. I gotta keep moving."
Scootaloo wanted to jump out of the bushes and hug Rainbow Dash, such determination in the face of danger was awe inspiring. No pony had ever cared so much about her as this pony who was not even technically related to her, and she could feel tears welling up because of it. Her two friends, however, seemed to see her in the bush and hurriedly gestured for her to stay put. They were right after all, if she came out now Rainbow Dash would never forgive her for making her worry like that.
"Lead the way, sugar cube." Applejack gestured ahead with her hoof, ready to follow the sky-blue pony, even if she was just chasing the falling feathers of her breakneck charging.
It was difficult for any of the fillies to keep up, but Scootaloo had to do so without being spotted or getting herself into any danger. She hurried after the group, their rough brushes with the bushes and heavy hoof prints leading the way all too well. The forest was dark at any time of day, but through the breaks in the leaves any pony could tell that the night was rising quickly, and their daylight would be spent in vain.
Rainbow Dash ground her teeth as she charged through the air and dodged some more branches, just imagining the rear kicking she would be dishing out to a certain Manticore if she ever got her hooves on him. They came to a clearing, made a phthalo green by the looming eve and the deep hue of the forest. Rainbow Dash had been pretending she could not hear them calling after her, but finally she found herself landing and trotted to a stop.
"Rainbow, ain't you listenin' to me?" Applejack groaned as she hurried into the clearing after Rainbow, "The fillies can't go on any longer, and it's gettin' dark out. We ain't gonna find squat in the forest after nightfall, you know that."
"I know, I know," Rainbow repeated until her voice went quieter, stomping about on the much too soft moss, hating how nice it must have felt to lay in, "I haven't known where I'm going for a while now. I'm probably just getting us more lost."
"Nah, you're doin' the best you can. Scootaloo's a fighter y'know, just like you are, I'm sure she's safe. We can't do anythin' all blind and disoriented. We'll start fresh after some rest, okay?" Applejack tried to convince her, gesturing at the fillies who stumbled into the clearing heaving and panting loudly.
"I know you're right, but," Rainbow nearly screamed in frustration, stomping a few more times around the clearing, "I'm just so angry! I don't like her being out there, A.J., I don't like it."
"Nothin' to like about it, but we gotta try to keep our heads on straight." Applejack ushered the younger girls towards Rainbow Dash and sat them down by a thick tree in the clearing. "Once it's light out you can try checkin' the skies again."
"Mhmm." Rainbow Dash didn't even want to respond, she just wanted to run off and spend all night searching, but she couldn't leave Applejack and the fillies alone in the forest either, that wasn't right. Besides, perhaps she was a bit tired herself.
"Lay your heads on down there, girls," Applejack gently placed her saddle bags on the ground by the tree and let the girls relax against them, using the bags as pillows.
Their eyelids were heavy, and their bodies still rose and fell with laboured breathing. Applejack stared particularly long at her sister. She was quite the nuisance sometimes, but she loved her sister so much, it killed her to even imagine such a thing happening to her that happened to Scootaloo. If Rainbow felt even a fraction of this pain, she should not be left alone. Applejack waited another moment or so to be certain that the young fillies were either asleep or too tired to move.
Applejack carefully and quietly slipped around the tree as to not disturb the girls, and cleared her throat gingerly before speaking, "Hey, uh, Rainbow?"
"What?" Rainbow Dash replied, though it didn't sound half as snippy as she meant it to.
"You doin' okay?" Applejack inquired as she stepped up beside the mare, whose cyan fur became some moonlit grey under such little light. "You should lay down for a bit."
"I don't want to." Rainbow denied the request, her chest puffing out as if she was staring something down. She sighed though, feeling that the answer was not accepted by Applejack as sufficient, "I just feel like, if I lay down, I'm like giving up or something."
"Sugar cube, you put far too much pressure on yourself." Applejack nudged her, but still there was no physical response, "If you won't do it for you, how's about you keep me some good company?"
"Well," Rainbow Dash felt her will giving in, the idea of laying next to her best friend and being consoled sounded better than standing out in the brisk evening air. She chewed at her lip a bit as she tried to get the words to come out right, "I guess I can do that."
Applejack guided her friend around to another near side of the tree from where the little fillies were to sleep, and sat down in the nook of a protruding root. Rainbow Dash hesitated, but found herself sitting down a few feet from her farm pony friend. She didn't look over to her or anything, she just stared out into the sky some more as if Scootaloo might be up there. That was ridiculous, the young pony could hardly get herself off the ground much less fly over the tree tops. She frowned deeply, feeling her lips curl down her chin.
"Honey," Was a rare term of endearment to breach Applejack's lips, and Rainbow Dash knew that, "Tomorrow will be a better day, I'm sure of it. But you ain't gonna be able to do much if you keep yourself up all night worryin'. Let yourself catch a blink or two."
"For a working pony, you sure talk a lot." Rainbow muttered grouchily, and Applejack smiled, taking it as something of a compliment and a means for Rainbow to express her awful mood.
"I s'pose I do." Applejack chuckled a bit as she turned away from her friend and curled herself up next to the tree, "I'll hush up now."
Applejack closer her eyes and laid her head on her hooves, squirming a bit until she was completely comfortable. Her breath came out in one long, easy sigh, and Rainbow Dash could hardly resist the urge to look over at her. She watched the farm pony's slow and rhythmic breathing for some time, as if the sight of her could bring some peace. Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched Applejack shiver though, and despite her better judgement she moved a few inches closer, strictly to better observe her. Another, smaller shiver escaped her despite her resistance to it, and Rainbow Dash felt a tug at her chest. She frowned and looked around, making certain no pony was still awake. In the quiet night, any pony could have heard the unfurling of Rainbow's bright wings, but only Applejack got to feel the gentle warmth they provided as one was wrapped over her. Rainbow Dash couldn't look at her then, afraid she would wake up and question her intentions. But finally, she realized that for the moment she was safe, and decided to close her own eyes for a wink. Feeling a chill all her own, she even went so far as to move another few inches closer, sneaking some heat from her good friend.
Sweetie Belle peeked one eye open, watching the shadowed silhouettes of the older mares as they laid still. She nudged Applebloom, but no response came. She elbowed her more roughly and earned an irritated groan, which was promptly silenced by Sweetie's hoof. Applebloom growled into her friend's hoof until she removed it, then found herself being pulled to her feet and directed away from the surprisingly comfortable saddle bags. She wiped her eyes a bit as they approached the edge of the clearing, the oddly shaped brush forming some dark fringe. Sweetie hurried into the bushes and dragged Applebloom after her, not that she did not want to go just that she was too exhausted to try and move freely. Beyond the first layer of foliage they found what they were looking for, an annoyed little orange filly sitting on the moss with a firmly set frown across her face.
"Scootaloo, how are you doing?" Sweetie Belle asked as Applebloom yawned and tried to focus on the situation again.
"I've been better, actually." She grumbled as she flipped her bright hair, "How much longer do I have to do this? I don't really want to sleep alone in the woods, you know."
"It won't be much longer I promise," Sweetie Belle nodded furiously as she directed their attention over the pastel ridges of the bushy fringe, "Look! They're practically cuddling!"
"I dunno if that's what—" Applebloom didn't get to finish her though as Sweetie went on.
"All we need is one more day, Rainbow Dash should slow down now that there are no leads, so she will probably stay back with Applejack. That's exactly what we want." Sweetie Belle's grin seeped across her features as her two friends exchanged nervous glances.
"Is it?" Applebloom scratched her head a bit as Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes at the lack of enthusiasm.
"Look, we're out here already, might as well have fun with it. It's an adventure, girls! An adventure!" Sweetie Belle shoved them until they smiled and nodded.
"Cutie Mark Crusader Adventurers!" They all squealed in unison, before they all shoved their hooves into their mouths to silence the volume. The Crusaders leaned out and looked at the pair of mares not too far off, noticing only a shuffle or two from them.