Chapter Two:
Problems in Three
"Mmm, mmm, mmm…," Trinny gently hummed as she cheerfully made her way down the path.
Mr. Robin, who was still sitting on her horn, tweeted along with her sweet tune. On the occasion he would look back at Apple Bloom and give her a glare. She looked down to avoid his stare. She could still feel the angry gaze and it made her feel guiltier by the minute. Trinny looked back to see Apple Bloom hanging her head in shame.
"Come now Mr. Robin," Trinny looked up to the bird, "She and her friends are going to make it right. And you know," she stopped, "it's not good to hold a grudge. Hold it long enough and soon it's the only think you'll feel. You don't want that, now do you?" she asked with innocent eyes.
He thought for a moment then shook his head no.
"Good," Trinny smiled, "and it looks like we're here," they had reached the rock free path.
The robin flew off and landed just behind a nearby tree. The three little fillies looked around the trunk. On the forest floor lay a nest built with twigs and leaves. It lay broken in two with three little baby robins standing around it. They chirped sadly as they tried to jump into the broken nest. The mother Robin flew from place to place, picking up twigs and leaves, desperately trying to repair her family's home.
"Aww," Sweetie Belle felt sorry for the little baby birds.
"Squeak!" the squirrel shook his fist angrily down at the ponies.
"Come now Mr. Squirrel," Trinny shook her head, "Huh?" her mane was suddenly pulled upon, "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit."
In their arms lay a little crying baby bunny. It wailed and shrieked while its parents rocked it back and forth. Nothing they tried could calm the little bunny down.
"I didn't know that I caused this much trouble," Apple Bloom felt really bad about all the trouble she caused.
"Well," Trinny looked down to her with a smile, "What are you going to do to make it better?"
Apple Bloom looked to the Robin's nest, then to the anger Squirrel and down to the still whimpering bunny. What could she possible do to make up to all those woodland creatures? She had disrupted their lives with her innocent little attempt to try to get her Cutie Mark.
"Surely you all can do something that helps each one of these little critters," Trinny prodded them.
"Apple Bloom is good at fixing things," Scootaloo blurted out, "I bet she can fix that nest right up."
"I'm not… I just… Umm," Apple Bloom pawed at the ground.
"Don't be so shy," Trinny nudged her towards the broken nest, "If you've got something special that you can do, then do it."
Apple Bloom looked to the nest then to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and up to Trinny. Both of them gave a hooves up; they knew that she could do it. Trinny only gave a small smile of assurance.
"I guess I can try," she picked up the two halves of the nest.
It was true that she was pretty good at repairing things. She pretty much rebuilt Applejack's old tree house by herself. It wasn't all that hard. A few planks and nails and a little bit of carpenter's glue and the place was like brand new. A bird's nest on the other hand, with its woven twigs was completely different. The Crusaders had tried their hooves at weaving before and it didn't end up too well. They ended up in a tangled mess that took Rarity and Twilight an hour to get them out of. Not to mention the poking and laughing they had to endure from Spike. At least his sides hurt him for a week.
"Hmm," Trinny looked over Apple Bloom's shoulder, "Looks like some twigs are broken and something might be needed to bind the two halves…"
Apple Bloom wrinkled her brow in thought and wiggled her ears. It suddenly hit her.
"I've got!" she smiled, "I just need some twigs… huh?" something poked at her foot.
It was the three baby birds. They started to stack the twigs that their mother had frantically gathered. They looked up to her with big round eyes. They will filled with hope and innocence. Apple Bloom knew then that she couldn't fail.
"Thanks little birdies," she started to arrange and weave the twigs.
Carefully she wove the still pliable twigs into the dry nest. She twisted and pulled, hoping that each move wouldn't unravel the whole thing. Sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, Apple Bloom had nearly pieced the nest back together. She sat down on her hind quarters and looked to see if it would hold. The bottom was back in one piece, but the sides didn't seem to want to stay.
"Hmm," she thought for a moment.
A gentle breeze picked up and started to blow about her mane. Little wisps of her mane blew into her face, along with her ribbon.
It hit her once again, "This will do," she pulled the ribbon from her mane.
With great care, Apple Bloom laced her red ribbon through the sides of the nest. Pulling it just tight enough, she tied it into a big bow.
"That should it," she smiled, "What do you think?" she asked the little baby birds.
They hopped on and into the nest. They inspected the filly's craftsmanship. Cheeping quietly to one another, they finally looked up to her.
"Well?" she grew uneasy.
They started to jump up and down excitedly and chirped happily. The parents flew down to the nest check out their newly improved home.
"I think that fixes your home Mr. and Mrs. Robin," Trinny levitated the nest off the ground, "Everything seems back to normal for you," she gently placed it in the nook of two branches.
The little birds were thrilled with their ride and cheeped uncontrollable. The mother and father Robin flew up to the nest and chirped their approval down to the little filly.
"You're welcome… and sorry about that," Apple Bloom apologized.
"Squeak! Squeak!" the angry squirrel started to stamp his feet.
"Alright, alright," Trinny hushed him, "You're next… hmm…,"she looked about, "Are all these acorns yours?" she noticed that quite a few had been scattered all around.
He peeped and squeaked and pointed in every which direction.
"Oh…," she sighed, "He says that all the acorns are his and he would like them to be picked up and placed back in his home," she indicated to the hole in the tree.
The three Crusaders looked around. There had to be at least twenty or thirty of them lying about. It would take some time to gather all them up. But it must had taken longer for the squirrel gather so many.
"Sorry Mr. Squirrel," Apple Bloom picked some up and started to place them in a pile.
The squirrel was about to squeak something at her, but Trinny gave him a harsh glance. He stopped mid squeak and settled down.
"Picking up all these nuts will take some time," she smiled, "Too bad we don't have some pony around here that is quick and graceful. I'm sure that she would be able to get all these nuts lickity split…"
"Scootaloo is pretty quick on her hooves," Sweetie Belle smiled, "You should see her on her scooter. She the fastest thing on four wheels."
"I'm not as fast as Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo's cheeks started to turn red.
"She may be the fastest on two wings, but," Trinny winked at her, "we need some pony who's lite on their feet."
Scootaloo looked to all the scattered acorns, then smirked, "No problem."
Pawing the ground, Scootaloo ready herself for a race for the acorns. They seemed randomly spread about. Some sat on their sides, others on their tops. There was even one that landed perfectly on its tip. It would definitely take some fancy hoof work to gather all the nuts. She was quick. She had the moves, but could she be as quick as Rainbow Dash? Could she move through all the nuts and not avoid stepping on one and falling flat on to her face? What would her friends think of her if they saw her do that? Would they still think that she's lite on her hooves and got sweet moves? And what if… Rainbow Dash happened to fly by? Uneasy thoughts started to creep into her hooves and made them stick to the ground like they had glue on them.
"What's wrong Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah? Are you sick or something?" Apple Bloom cocked her head.
Trinny came up next to Scootaloo, "Don't let those bad thoughts stop you from doing what you love," she smiled, "You do love speed and doing stunts, right?"
Scootaloo shook her head yes.
"Then let your heart," she lightly poked her on the chest, "guide your hooves. This is no different than when your zooming through Ponyville on your scooter… except you're not on your scooter," she thought out loud, "and this is the forest… not in town…"
Scootaloo smiled, "You're right. This is just like any stunt," she pawed the ground once again.
Fluttering her wings, Scootaloo revved up and was off like a lightning bolt. There was little thought to where she should place her hooves; it was like they already knew where to go. All she had to do was pick up the nuts as the world whizzed by. She twisted and skipped about like it was child's play. Though it was a lot of fun. That's when she saw that one acorn that had landed so perfectly on its tip. It was her final prize.
Scootaloo pumped her wings harder than she had ever done before. She was almost there; it was nearly within reach. She could almost taste it. Not that she really like the taste of acorns in her mouth. That's when she felt it. A root that had begun to poke through the ground caught her hoof. She spun through the air. The ground became the sky and the sky became the ground. She couldn't tell how many times she flipped. She had almost made it. There was only one left. She saw the acorn as she flipped back to the ground. All she had to do was reach out for it and toss it into the pile that she had neatly made. Sure she would probably land on her back, but at least she would have gathered all the nuts in the fast, most amazing way possibly. Barely grabbing it by the dried out stem, she flipped it onto the pile that she had gathered so effortlessly.
She did it. She got every single one. And she was pretty cool doing it too. Of course now all she had to do was wait for the crash.
"Huh?" she opened her eyes, one by one.
She was floating in midair with a reddish glow surrounding her.
"I thought I could at least save you a crash," Trinny winked as she set Scootaloo down.
"That was the most amazing, awesomeness thing I ever saw!" Sweetie Belle bounced up and down excitedly.
"Yeah Scootaloo! I've never seen you move that fast before," Apple Bloom congratulated her.
"Well," Scootaloo tried to hide her redden cheeks, "I wasn't that fast."
"Sure you were," Apple Bloom pointed the noticeable track that she had made.
"What do you think Mr. Squirrel?" Trinny looked up.
The squirrel sat there with his jaw open in amazement. She probably had never seen such a display of speed in his life and probably never would again.
"I think that's all of them," Trinny giggled as she levitated the acorns into the squirrel's home, "Are you satisfied?"
The squirrel looked to his freshly gathered nuts and thought for a moment. He then jumped into his pile of nuts and gave a thumbs up to the ponies.
"I think he's happy now," Trinny smiled.
"Oh," Apple Bloom remembered, "Sorry about knocking them out of your home."
Little squeaks of delight came from the nut pile.
"He's good," Trinny rolled her eyes, "Now for our cutest problem," she bent down to the family of bunnies.
The little baby bunny was wailing like before, but it still was whimpering and whining. Tears flowed from its eyes as it sniffed and sniffled.
"I think this little guy could use a sweet lullaby," Trinny nuzzled the poor little thing.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked to one another and smile, "Sweetie Belle has the sweetest voice around," they both announced proudly.
"I don't know why everyone thinks that," Sweetie Belle frowned, "I'm no better than every other pony."
Trinny only shook her head and continued to smile gently, "If you have something that others think is special, even you don't, let it shine as bright as the sun."
"I'm not saying that it isn't special," she still frowned, "I'm just saying that a lot of other ponies are good at singing. I don't see why or how my voice is any better," she sat down, "I like singing, but I don't see it being something that's going to express who I am."
She looked to the baby bunny. Its parents were trying to soothe it, but to little avail. They patted on its back and rubbed its head. Mother bunny had a sad look in her eyes as she watched her little one eyes whelm with tears. Father grunted and snorted as he grew more frustrated that his little one had been so rudely disturbed.
"My dear little Sweetie Belle," Trinny laid down next to her, "Singing may not be what you were meant to do, but," she pushed her up onto her feet, "You have a wonderful voice that your friends," she motioned to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who gave a hooves up, "love and cherish. Don't hid it away," she smiled, "Share it. That's what makes having a talent any fun."
Sweetie Bell couldn't help but smile, "Okay. I'll try."
"That's the most important thing you can do," Trinny nodded.
Taking a few steps towards the family of bunnies, Sweetie Belle took in a deep breath.
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed
She softly sang
Drifting off to sleep
Exciting day behind you
Drifting off to sleep
Let the joy of dream land find you
Hush no, quiet now
Lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed…
She looked to see if her little lullaby had calmed the baby bunny down. His little eyes slowly closed, but tried ever so hard to stay open. He soon gave up the fight and let his eyes close for good. With some deep breaths, the little bunny was sleeping soundly. Mother bunny let out a sigh of relief as she gently rocked her baby back and forth. Father smiled for the first time as he watched his little one sleep with not worries or fears.
"I think we're good here," Trinny whispered to the young fillies.
They started to walk away, making sure that they didn't make too much noise.
"Oh wait," Apple Bloom tipped toed back to the bunnies, "Sorry about scaring y'all. I didn't mean too."
The bunnies looked up to her and smiled. All was forgiven. They understood it was an accident. They were just happy that their little one was resting peacefully again. Apple Bloom smiled and quietly made her way back to her waiting friends.
They trotted a little bit away to make sure that they wouldn't disturb the forest critters. The Cutie Mark Crusaders could barely contain themselves as they made their way down the dirt path.
"WOW! WE WERE SO COOL!" Scootaloo couldn't hold back any longer.
"I know," Apple Bloom joined her in her excitement, "I didn't think I could do it and I did. Maybe," she peered at her flank.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed suit and looked to their flanks to see if anything appeared. But they didn't look any different than before.
"Aww," they all sat down in disappointment.
"Well…," Apple Bloom snorted, "I didn't want a bird nest repairer Cutie Mark anyway."
"Yeah," Scootaloo sighed, "Who would want a nut gathering Cutie Mark."
"So many ponies have a singing related Cutie Mark anyway," Sweetie Belle was still depressed.
"I think those would have been great Cutie Marks," Trinny was still so cheerful, "Think about it," she smiled to the bird filled skies, "Making nest for birds to come back every spring and being able to watch their families grow over the summer. Goodbyes are sad in the fall, but knowing that they'll come back and seeing old friends is one of the greatest joys in life."
Apple Bloom had to admit that that kind of Cutie Mark would be nice.
"And who doesn't love nuts," Trinny went on, "The faster you gather nuts the quicker they get turned into wonderful things like pecan pie and cookies with nuts and almond brittle. Or maybe," she pondered for a moment, "It could mean that you're meant to go all over Equestria and search the best of nuts and see things that no other has seen," she had noticed that Scootaloo didn't seem to like the idea of bakes goods.
Scootaloo kind of perked up at the thought of daring feats, even if in the name of nuts.
"Just think about it. Singing across Equestria; brightening every pony's day with a sweet melody," she somewhat sang, "to see all those smiling faces. There would never be a gloomy day. Sure being a pop sensation would be nice," she didn't seem to like that idea, "but what about going from place to place and singing… like a Bard. They were true poetic spinners. I think it's about time they made their return."
It was certainly something different than what Sweetie Belle had in mind and it did sound a lot better.
"Those don't sound so bad," all the fillies agreed.
"Who knows," Trinny shrugged her shoulders, "Only the Mare of Destiny…"
"Mare of Destiny?" they questioned excitedly.
"That's a story for another time," Trinny yawned, "Right now, I could really use a little snack," she stomach started to grumble.
Grumble, grumble…
All three of theirs started to whine with hunger as well.
"Maybe we all could use a snack," she laughed, "and maybe since I haven't been in Ponyville for a while, some sweet little fillies could show me the way," she gave them a wink.
They looked to one another and screamed, "Cutie Mark Crusaders Super Helper! Yay!" they ran off.
"Umm… girls?" Trinny called out.
"Oh… right," Apple Bloom blushed as did the others.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders waited for her to catch up to them. Happily they trotted down the dirt path towards Ponyville.