Chapter 145: One Bad Apple
The next day, Spyro got on the first train back to Ponyville after a night in the castle with Luna while Sombra had a perfect night with Celestia after the entire ordeal with the Mirror Pool and Pinkie's clones causing chaos in Ponyville, thankfully the village wasn't trashed or destroyed this time, though he knew that it might not be the case next time. After boarding the train, Spyro sat back and watched the scenery, though he could easily summon his ship when he wanted, but he enjoyed watching the scenery go by, feeling relaxed after such a chaotic day yesterday, but a wonderful night last night after making Celestia happy. When the train arrived back in Ponyville, Spyro got off and immediately some of the pony's started to bow to him, which he nodded his head as he walked through the town on his way back to Sweet Apple Acres, enjoying a great stroll until he reached the farm, walking in to see no one was up yet, finding it unusual, so he went up to see why nobody was awake, walking up the stairs until he heard some racket, walking towards Apple Bloom's and Scootaloo's room and looking in to see what was up.
"What to wear? What to wear!?" Apple Bloom said, jumping out of the closet wearing a white dress with a blue scarf before zipping out of it right as Applejack approached and looked in, rolling her eyes as she opened the door.
"Scoot yer boot Apple Bloom!" Applejack said, looking to Spyro. "Spyro? When did ya get back?"
"Just a few minutes ago." Spyro replied. "What the heck is Apple Bloom fretting about this time? Diamond Tiara giving her a hard time again?"
"No, we're heading to the train station." Applejack replied. "We got family coming over today and we really need to get going, otherwise we're gonna be late and Ah don't wanna skip out on the chores. Ah'm behind enough as it is?"
"You have family coming over?" Spyro asked.
"Just the one cousin." Applejack replied, both of them watching Apple Bloom switch between outfits. "Her name is Bab's Seed, she's our cousin from Manehatten and the Apple Family Reunion is coming up and she's gonna be stayin' with us for a while."
"And she's making a big deal out of it." Scootaloo said, looking to her roommate. "AB, she's not gonna care about what you wear or not."
"Yeah Apple Bloom, I'm sure she won't care." Spyro said.
"But this is my first time meetin' Bab's Seed and Ah wanna make a good impression!" Apple Bloom replied, dressing up to look like a rich Diva using a towel.
"You know what'll make a good impression?" Applejack asked, walking up to the filly. "Bein' on time to pick her up!" Applejack then grabbed the towel and tied the filly up, dragging her across the floor, but the filly got herself free and put a hat on, trying it on, but then tossed it away, making the mess worse than before. "Besides, ya got nothin' to worry about sugar cube, ya'll are gonna get along great. The two of you have somethin' in common."
"We do?" Apple bloom asked, looking ridiculous with multiple things on her.
"You both don't have your Cutie mark yet." Applejack said.
"What!?" Apple Bloom asked, everything coming off as she ran past them. "Why didn't ya say soon earlier!? This change's everything! Come on Scootaloo, let's get Sweetie Belle! We'll meet ya at the train station!"
"Ya know the three of ya are gonna be sleepin' in here!" Applejack exclaimed, both she and Spyro looking in to see the absolute mess the filly made. "What am Ah gonna do with her Spyro? Just look at this mess. Ah'm never gonna get this cleaned up in time if Ah go with them two troublemakers to the train station."
"I can go for you." Spyro replied.
"Ya mean it?" Applejack asked. "Thank's hun, yer truly a lifesaver."
"It's no issue little apple." Spyro said, the two having a quick kiss. "Now, what does Bab's Seed look like?"
"Well, she's around Apple Bloom's age, dark brown coat, and a reddish-pink mane." Applejack replied.
"Got it." Spyro replied. "I better catch up with them before they end up dragging the wrong filly home thinking she's the cousin. Be back as soon as possible."
Spyro gave Applejack one more peck on the cheek before running after the two fillies before they got too far, Applejack smiling as she shook her head as she entered the fillies room and got to work cleaning it up before they got back. Once the Crusaders were all assembled, they all went down to the train station after hearing there was another blank flank filly coming and who was related to Apple Bloom. The excited fillies waited impatiently with Spyro for the train from Manehatten to arrive, the fillies bouncing all over the place, talking about all the things they had planned.
"You really think she'll join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!?" Scootaloo asked, excitedly.
"Well she doesn't have her Cutie Mark, so of course she'd want to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Apple Bloom replied.
"I'm so excited I could burst!" Sweetie Belle said, a green aura appearing around her horn before it faded.
A moment later, the train's whistle went off, everyone looking to their left as the train was coming in from Manehatten and the Fillies were all excited. Once the train came to a stop, the fillies all ran up to the windows and bounced around as the passengers came off the train, trying to figure out who her cousin was.
"Is that her!?" Apple Bloom asked excitedly. "No that's not her. Oh, there she is! No, that's a stallion."
Spyro rolled his eyes as he used the Force to pull her away from the train, setting her next to him.
"AB, you don't even know what she looks like." Spyro said. "Just be patient. She'll show up when she gets off the train."
The passengers continued to walk out of the cars one by one, slowly filing out until Spyro spotted Babs Seed coming out of the last car carrying a small suitcase in her mouth. And as Applejack described, a dark brown coat with a reddish-pink mane, though a bit darker than he imagined and with bangs over her right eye and, like her cousin, she didn't have a Cutie mark. Before Spyro could approach and call the filly over, the Crusaders rushed over and crowded the poor filly.
"Hi Babs!" Apple Bloom exclaimed as she and her friends got in the poor fillies personal space. "I'm yer cousin Apple Bloom! And this Sweetie Belle and this is Scootaloo! And we are so, so, so glad yer here! We're gonna have the best couple of weeks of yer life!"
A moment later, Spyro used his magic and dragged the fillies away by the tail, hanging them upside down as he looked disappointed with them.
"Girls, chill out." Spyro said, dropping them gently, making them stand on their heads. "Give her some breathing room. She came all the way here and I'm sure she isn't in the mood to be swarmed and bombarded by questions." He then walked over to Babs, seeing how nervous she looked as he approached. "I apologize about that. She's just excited to see you."
"Who are you?" Babs asked, her accent sounding like she was raised more in the big city rather than in the country.
"I'm Spyro." Spyro replied. "Spyro VanVickle."
"Wait, as in the Prince of Light and Darkness!?" Babs asked, her eyes as wide as they can get. "The same prince that saved Equestria many times over the past year!?"
"The very same." Spyro replied, bowing his head.
"Wow, I... I..." Babs said, unable to find any words to say how excited she was. "You saved Equestria from those strange monsters many times over, defeated Discord, Nightmare Moon, you even defeated that strange bug pony thing!"
"You mean Chrysalis?" Spyro asked. "Guess you could say that. I'm guessing my reputation proceeds me in Manehatten?"
"You kidding!?" Babs asked. "You're literally famous! Everypony in Manehatten knows about you! We even heard about how you defeated the tyrant Unicorn king and saved the Crystal Empire!"
"Yeah... let's... not go there, ok?" Spyro asked, still having some feelings about his failure to save an innocent stallion from his darkness. Shaking off the memory, he used his magic to pick her suitcase up. "Anyway, AJ sent us to come pick you up. Come on, let's get ya settled in at the farm house."
"And yer just in time for the Summer Harvest Festival!" Sweetie Belle said. "You get to ride in a float!"
"Really?" Babs asked. "I've never ridden in a float before."
"And we've got a really big surprise for you!" Apple Bloom said.
The crusaders then blindfolded the Apple Relative, helping to guide her after Spyro as they went on their way to Sweet Apple Acres. As soon as they got to the farm, the Crusaders lead Babs away from the farm and towards their club house, probably to initiate her into the Cutie Mark Crusaders, which Spyro was surprised it took them this long to add a new member to the Crusaders since there were a lot of other ponies who didn't have their mark yet either, but he just shrugged it off and went to the house. He walked up the stairs and went to the fillies room to drop off Babs luggage into the recently cleaned room and head out of the house to do his chores for the day.
Most of which just involved cleaning around the farm and Applejack wasn't kidding that she was behind on the chores as the barm was a complete mess, but that was probably due to the fillies as the Summer Harvest Festival was only a few days away and they had made a float for the festival, which was actually shaped like a pumpkin instead of an apple and it looked good, despite who made it. As Spyro was cleaning the barn, he noticed that the float itself was on wheels, wondering where they got the parts to make it mobile and had a bad feeling about where they got the stuff, but brushed it off, knowing they had better sense than to take stuff from his Garage.
After finishing cleaning up the barn of the scattered tools and the cut up pieces of lumber, he decided to move to cleaning up around the farm as they had a nasty storm the other night and the place was littered in broken branches and trash that got blown into the farm. However, as he was leaving, he didn't notice the crusaders coming towards the barn with Babs to show her their float, or Diamond Tiara and her friend Silver Spoon trespassing on the farm itself to cause some trouble. As Spyro was cleaning, he gathered all the pieces of broken branches and wood and put them into a pice, planning on burning them later in a safer location while conjuring up some composters for the organic waste like banana peels and old apple cores to getting some bags and putting some of the other kinds of trash in them from broken objects to shredded paper, putting the garbage into the bags and tying them up.
"There, all done." Spyro said, looking at the fields. "Now onto... the pigs." Spyro then groaned as he hated cleaning the pigs as the swine would dirty themselves up a second later, getting on his nerves, but before he could do anything, he heard what sounded like crashing, looking to the field and saw an out of control pumpkin float, bouncing around and causing some damage, heading straight towards him, which he instinctively used his fire powers and used his Comet Dash attack, hitting the float and destroying it in a single hit, scattering it into multiple burning pieces, which he used his water breath and extinguished the flames, looking at the wreckage in surprise. "Looks like I'll need to make this up to the fillies. But... how did the thing get out? No one was driving it and the float's construction was solid."
His ears then picked up on some laughter, but he knew that the fillies would be laughing about something like this, but the laughter he heard, he knew all too well. He then took off and headed straight for the barn, landing on top of the roof and going through the opening to look inside and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but to his Surprise, Babs Seed was laughing with them, but he could tell from her tone that it wasn't genuine.
"Looks like someponies pumpkin just got squashed." Babs said, the two bullies laughing at the insult.
"Babs, when Ah tell Applejack-" Apple Bloom said, but Babs got in her face.
"You gonna tell her what?" Babs said, getting in the fillies personal space. "Ya gonna snitch like a little baby?"
"Come on Babs, you should be hanging out with the cool ponies!" Diamond Tiara said, she and her friend leading Silver Spoon. "Not these babies."
The two bullies lead Babs Seed out of the barn, but Spyro noticed that as they were making fun of the crusaders, she covered one side of her flank instinctively, giving Spyro an idea of why she was so mean to the crusaders.
"What... just happened?" Apple Bloom asked, the crusaders confused and hurt emotionally.
"I think Babs went to the dark side." Scootaloo replied, looking out.
"Was that a Force joke there Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked.
"We have to tell Applejack!" Sweetie Belle said, making Spyro smile and nod his head. "Or Spyro, either one of them!"
"No, we're not snitches!" Apple Bloom, which made Spyro face smack himself.
"And we're definitely not babies!" Scootaloo said, plopping down and crossing her forelegs.
"Then... why do I feel like crying?" Sweetie Belle asked as tears welled up in her eyes.
Spyro was shocked and surprised by how Babs was acting, looking back at the filly as she walked off with Diamond tiara and Silver Spoon, but could sense some conflict in her, knowing that something was up as she went from being excited to see him to being shy as soon as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon arrived.
"Can't believe Babs did that to the girls float." Spyro said to himself. "Is she a bully where she comes from? No, no I don't think so. She seemed excited when she met me, but she seemed shy when Diamond Tiara started to bully AB and her friends. Could she be doing this to avoid being a target? I hope that's the case, otherwise AJ is going to be having a serious word with her."
Spyro expanded his wings and took off into the sky, flying over the orchard and towards the clubhouse where he knew the fillies would go to as it is the one place they feel safest. As he gently landed on top of the roof, he looked into the club house, finding that Scootaloo was pacing around while the other two seemed angry.
"I can't believe Babs did that to our float!" Scootaloo said, confirming Spyro's suspicions.
"Ah can't believe I'm related to a big, stinkin' bully." Apple Bloom said.
"What'll we do?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Ah'll tell ya what we're gonna do!" Apple Bloom said. "We're gonna build a new float!"
"You sure that's a good idea?" Scootaloo asked. "She'll probably ruin that one as well."
"We really need to tell somepony what happened." Sweetie Belle said. "She seemed really excited to see Spyro, maybe he can talk to her and-"
"No!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exclaimed, shutting her down.
"We're not gonna be a bunch of tattletales!" Apple Bloom said. "Besides, she's only gonna be here for a couple of weeks or so. So we'll just avoid her like the plague until she goes home."
Apple Bloom then started to close the windows and the door, making Spyro shake his head at the filly.
"You certainly like to do things the hard way, don't you girls?" Spyro asked.
A moment later as the sun was starting to set, music started to play as the door opened, Spyro looking over to see the fillies poke their heads out.
[Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo]
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
They snuck out of the clubhouse and made their way into town, Spyro following close behind as he bounced his head up and down, enjoying the beat of the music as they made their way to Sugarcube Corner where they got milkshakes while Spyro was nearby, holding a newspaper while also using the spell Princess Celestia gave him to change his appearance to not be recognized as he watched the fillies a couple of tables away.
[Apple Bloom]
First, we thought that Babs was so really, really sweet,
A new friend to have, and it seemed like such a treat!
A moment later, the door to the bakery slammed open and Babs was there, approaching the crusaders while the town local bullies were right behind her. Babs approached the Crusaders and slammer her hooves on the table, spinning it around and throwing the Crusaders off while she, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon took their shakes.
[Scootaloo]
But then, we found the truth; she's just a bully from the east!
She went from Babs, yeah, to a bully and a beast!
Spyro was in complete shock as he watched the apple relative pick on her own cousin, but was shocked that Silver Spoon was still with Diamond Tiara, even after the letter he left her during Christmas.
[Apple Bloom]
Everywhere we turn, she's just a step ahead
[Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo]
Babs Seed, Babs Seed, what we gonna do?
Got a bully on our tail,
Gotta hide, we gotta bail!
Babs Seed, Babs Seed, if she's after you,
Gotta run, we gotta flee,
Gotta hurry, don't you see?
Babs Seed, Babs Seed, she's just a bad, bad seed!
The fillies finally gave the bullies the slip when they ducked into the cinema, paying for their tickets before rushing in with Spyro close by, taking another disguise as he paid for his ticket. He hated to watch his sister and her friends get bullied, wanting to get involved and end this whole thing, but he wanted the fillies to learn to tell an adult about the bullying problem and not resort to going down to their level or continuing to ignore it as it will not go away on it's own.
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
As they entered the theater, they shifted from row to row to make sure Babs wasn't there while Spyro was in the back, keeping to the shadows and to the back as he watched the Crusaders shift from row to row until they stopped, satisfied that Babs wasn't there.
[Apple Bloom]
Hiding from a bully, we know it isn't right!
But the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we aren't lookin' for a fight!
[Scootaloo]
Oh, she'll go home soon, and then we'll have some peace again,
But for now, we're staying out of her way 'til then!
However, a moment later, Babs Seed popped up from the front row, the fillies a bit too focused n the picture, but Spyro was surprised to see Babs there in the front row, wondering how the heck she got there without him knowing or sensing her. She scared the Crusaders again, harassing them as they fled from the theater with their new bully hot on their trail while Spyro was gritting his teeth and literally pulling his own hair out as he couldn't stand the bullying and wanted to do something, but wanted to let the fillies tell someone about what was going on, especially Applejack.
[Apple Bloom]
Everywhere we turn, she's just a step ahead!
[Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo]
Babs Seed, Babs Seed, what we gonna do?
Got a bully on our tail
Gotta hide, we gotta bail
Babs Seed, Babs Seed, if she's after you
Gotta run, we gotta flee
Gotta hurry, don't you see?
The Crusaders continued to run and ignore the bully, but it didn't make the situation go away, it only made things worse as Babs continued to pick on them, throw fruits and vegetables, pop up and scare them, everything in the book for bullies that was physical, making Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon laugh, which only infuriated Spyro as he slammed his hoof into a rock, turning it into dust upon impact as he wanted to get involved, but wanted to let the fillies handle this by telling an adult.
Why so mean? Why so crude?
Why so angry? Why so rude?
Can't you be nice? Can't we be friends?
Isn't it sad? Is this how it all ends?
The crusaders were unable to have any kind of fun as Babs Seed continued to harass and scare then, literally jumping into a puddle before shaking a tree full of apples at them, making them roll under their hooves and nearly tripping them.
Babs Seed, Babs Seed, she's just a bad, bad-
Babs Seed, Babs Seed, she's just a bad, bad-
Babs Seed, Babs Seed-
[Scootaloo]
She's just a bad, bad seed!
As the fillies reached the safety of the barn house, Babs tossed a banana peel in the doorway, the Crusaders slipping on the peel all at once as, slipping into the house as Babs hoof bumped Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the three of them leaving the farm as Spyro was on the roof, watching everything as his eyes changed color from purple to Sith.
"That does it." Spyro said, his eyes turning back to normal. "This bullying is going to end, now. If the crusaders won't get AJ involved, then I will."
Spyro expanded his wings and flew towards the orchard where AJ was probably bucking apples by now, so he flew overhead until he spotted the farm mare bucking a tree full of Apples, wiping sweat off her brow as Spyro landed.
"Oh, hey hun." Applejack said. "Finished cleaning the farm?"
"The branches and brokers limbs, yes." Spyro replied. "But we have a problem. Well, more like the crusaders have a problem."
"They get in trouble again?" Applejack asked.
"No, they're being bullied again." Spyro replied.
"Ugh, Diamond Tiara again?" Applejack asked. "Ah keep tellin' her to just-"
"No, Babs Seed." Spyro replied, shocking Applejack.
"Excuse me?" Applejack asked
Spyro took in a deep breath, being the voice for the Crusaders as they refuse to get an adult involved, so he had to do it for them.
"Earlier today after finishing up cleaning around the farm of all the broken branches and bramble, the crusaders float come out of nowhere and almost flattened me." Spyro replied. "I had to destroy it and put the flames out before they caused any damage to the farm, so I went to let the crusaders know what had happened, only to hear that it was Babs who caused the damage and also made some hurtful fruit joke."
"Babs did that?" Applejack asked, having seen the destroyed float.
"She did." Spyro replied. "She's also been harassing the Crusaders, throwing fruit at them, scaring them, splashing them with water, stealing their milkshakes..." Spyro then reached behind him and pulled out a massive book that had the word bully on the cover. "Just about everything in the handbook for bullies."
He then tossed the book away, the book going up in flames as he looked at AJ, who seemed to be shocked by what he was telling her, though she knew he was telling the truth, but still couldn't believe him, shaking her head.
"That can't be right." Applejack said.
"Believe me, I wish it weren't true myself." Spyro replied. "But... while I was observing everything, I could sense some conflict in her, almost like she was regretting it."
"Yer Force powers tell ya that?" Applejack asked, which Spyro nodded his head, making the farm mare walk away from the tree and look at the orchard. "Well, yer powers told you right. See, mah relatives in Manehatten told me that Babs was having a bullying problem herself in school."
"She has?" Spyro asked, his suspicions proven right.
"Yeah, she has." Applejack replied. "They thought that sending her here and getting her away from the big city would help her as the foals there picked on her constantly. And believe me Spyro, Ah've been to her city and know how cruel ponies there can be. And Ah also thought it would be a good idea for her to come here and be friends with Apple Bloom, since they have a lot in common."
"Ah, now everything is making sense." Spyro said, walking up next to her. "She was bring picked on in school, probably about not having a cutie mark as she instinctively hid her flank when Diamond Tiara started to make fun of the crusaders, calling them blank flanks and joined them to avoid being the target."
"Babs doesn't have a mean bone in her body Spyro." Applejack said, looking to him. "She's a nice filly, but she's scared of being bullied again. Ah'll have a talk with her, hopefully this will all blow over and they can be friends."
"I hope so AJ." Spyro said, wrapping his wing around her and hugging her. "I hope so."
Spyro took off into the air and went back to the pieces of destroyed float to clean it all up, seeing if any of it could be salvaged and putting them in a small bag for parts that could still be used by the fillies while piling up the wood and damaged items, using his flames to burn them and his water powers to up the flames out to deal with the ash, but a moment later he heard a ear piercing shriek, Spyro's ears perking up and recognizing the scream to be Sweetie Belles, coming in the direction of the Crusaders Clubhouse. Without missing a beat, Spyro took off in the direction of the clubhouse, wondering what happened that could have made Sweetie Belle scream so loudly.
He feared that the Heartless, Nobodies, or anything was attacking the Crusaders, but as he got close to the clubhouse, he saw Sweetie Belle running away with tears bawling out of her eyes with the other crusaders following close behind. He was relieved they were alright physically, but seeing how Sweetie Belle was crying, emotionally they weren't alright, so he looked to the clubhouse to see what it was that made her run away and regretted it as he saw Babs Seed with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, having took control of the clubhouse and hoof bumping while Babs hid her flank.
"That does it!" Spyro exclaimed. "I've had enough of this! I've tolerated all I could, but I will not tolerate any more of this!" Spyro stomped over to the clubhouse as the three bullies were oblivious to his arrival until it was too late, leaping up and landing n the roof, catching them by surprise. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the Three Stooges."
"Oh great, it's prince looser." Diamond Tiara said.
"You know stealing is bad right?" Spyro asked. "What are you doing trespassing and stealing the crusaders clubhouse?"
"We aren't trespassing." Diamond Tiara replied smugly. Babs Seed invited us because she is cooler than those dorks."
Spyro looked over to the filly, which he could see she looked a little spooked as he gave her a disapproving look, almost like she was trembling.
"Well we 'dorks' as you refer to us know the difference between right and wrong." Spyro replied, looking back to Diamond Tiara. "So why don't you make like your conscience Diamond Tiara and get lost!"
Diamond Tiara scoffed, flicking her head away from him as she walked down the ramp, leaving the clubhouse.
"Come girls!" Diamond Tiara said. "This place reeks of looser anyway."
Spyro despised the pink filly, always picking on those she sees as an easy target and getting away with it because the others were scared of her, but he was able to tolerate Silver Spoon as she only follows her around, afraid of loosing her only friend as she looked back, looking like she was full of regret as she followed her, but the pink filly was forever on his list ponies he hated. Babs tried to sneak away, pretending that he meant all three of them, speaking away trying to be sneaky.
"Babs Seed." Spyro said, making her freeze. "Not you." The filly looked back at Spyro as he leapt off the roof and landed on the floor holding up the clubhouse, walking to her. "We need to have a talk."
"A-about what?" Babs asked, feeling her heart stopping as he approached.
"You know what about Babs Seed." Spyro replied. "About your recent actions towards the Crusaders."
"I-I-I didn't do anything!" Babs Replied, trying to play dumb, but was sweating out of nervousness.
"Don't lie to me Babs." Spyro replied, stopping in front of her. "I know you've been bullying your cousin and her friends. I've seen everything."
"E-everything!?" Babs Asked, backing up until she hit the post.
"Everything." Spyro replied. "Stealing their shakes back at Sugarcube corner, throwing fruit, tripping, scaring, even destroying their float back at the barn where it could have hurt somepony if it got out of control." Babs lowered her head, unable to hide what she has done as she couldn't hide her guilt. "If I wasn't around, that thing could have gone into Ponyville and could have seriously injured someone."
"I... I..." Babs tried to say, keeping her eyes glued to the floorboards.
"I'm not mad at you Babs, just... disappointed." Spyro replied, walking over to her and sitting down next to her. "I'm just disappointed in your choice of actions. Tell me, is it because you get bullied a lot back in Manehatten?"
"Y-yeah, I do." Babs replied, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Babs, why would you resort to becoming like your tormentors back home?" Spyro asked, reaching his hoof to her and rubbing her head, the filly trembling t his touch. "You can tell me Babs, I just want to understand. Why would you torment your cousin and her friends, even after they wanted to let you into their circle of friends?"
"I... I just... I was scared! Babs replied, letting her feelings out. "Back home, I'm always being picked on because I don't have a Cutie mark! I hate being called a Blank Flank, the colts saying I'm not good at anything, even their stupid rhyme they made about me! Babs Seed, Babs Seed, Cutie Markless weed!" She then started to cry, breaking down as she said the rhyme, which Spyro could feel how very upset she was as her emotions came pouring out, hugging the filly as she cried in his chest, letting it all out. "And when I saw Diamond Tiara start bullying my cousin and her friends, I got scared, I didn't want to be bullied here too. So I... I..."
"You became a bully to avoid the bully." Spyro said, Babs nodding her head as she cried in his chest, stroking her head as she cried. "Babs, two wrongs don't make a right. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do." Babs replied. "I... I wish I didn't do any of that to Apple Bloom."
"It's never too late to mend the wrongs you've done." Spyro said, patting her head. "Don't let what others say get to you, for they don't know how fortunate you are."
"Fortunate, me?" Babs asked. "But I don't know what my talent is."
"And that's the beauty of it." Spyro replied, ending the hug as he got up. "You know what this clubhouse is dedicated to? Why Apple Bloom and her friends call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
"They actually told me." Babs replied. "They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders to figure out what their talent is."
"And having fun doing it." Spyro added, sitting down. "Provided they don't get hurt doing it."
Babs looked at Spyro and then to the clubhouse, her guilt getting the best of her as she walked up to Spyro.
"I didn't mean to destroy the float." Babs said, looking at Spyro. "I only wanted to knock the front wheel out to avoid getting picked on. It was never my intention to destroy the float. And After taking their clubhouse and destroying their float, even being mean to them, I doubt they'll want to hang with me."
"As I said Babs, it's never too late to mend the bond." Spyro said, putting his hoof on her shoulder. "The best you can do is apologize and explain why you were so mean."
"You sure they'll even forgive me after what I did?" Babs asked. "Won't they hold a grudge?"
"When one holds a grudge, we allow corruption into our hearts." Spyro replied, looking at the confused filly. "True, they may have some crazy antics, but they're good kids, not a bad bone in their bodies. They may also be impatient to discover their talent, they're always kind. I'm positive they'll forgive you."
Babs was unsure of that, looking back at the direction that the crusaders ran off to, wondering if they would forgive her after what she did before looking up to Spyro again.
"Should I go and apologize now?" Babs asked. "After what I did to make Sweetie Belle angry?"
"That is for you to decide." Spyro replied, getting up. "The sooner you apologize, the better. But I would give them some time to cool off a bit. Once you feel like you're ready, you can go and apologize." Spyro then turned and walked down the ramp, leaving Babs alone on the wooden floor to think about what he said, looking down at the floor as she scuffed her hoof against the floorboards as she thought it over. "You coming?"
"Wait, you want to hang out... with me?" Babs asked.
"Why not?" Spyro asked, giving her a smile. "I'd like to hear all about Manehatten from you."
Babs spirits immediately lifted up, smiling as she ran after Spyro, telling him all about what she heard about him and his heroics and about some of the journeys he went on that had spread to Manehatten, looking up to him. Later in the evening, as they were heading back to the barn house, he was surprised to hear that the city itself was selling action figures, posters, even costumes, clothing, and head wear that featured him, surprised to hear the filly was his biggest fan as she had just about everything that was all about him, the two getting some ice cream, playing tag, even having fun flying around as Spyro had her jump on his back, having the filly hold on as she screamed in joy, having fun and forgetting the troubles of the day and having a great time.
That night, when everyone was asleep, Apple Bloom was lying on the floor while Babs was in her bed, Scootaloo right over her and both fillies were wide awake while Babs was asleep, though she wasn't sure if she should apologize to them now or wait until when they were together, not feeling sure about if they'll forgive her or not. Apple Bloom grumbled a bit, feeling uncomfortable laying on the hard wood floor, which Scootaloo noticed and was about o offer she come up in her bunk when they both heard a mooing sound, looking to the window and rushing over to see Sweetie Belle with a few bags full of stuff
The two fillies then snuck out of the house, being sure not to wake anyone up while being especially careful not to wake Spyro up as, though he's sometimes a deep sleeper, he could wake up at any point and come out fighting. Once the two fillies were out of the house, they rushed over to the barn where they had discussed it to be their meeting place for whatever it was they were planning. As they walked in, they looked at the structure of their new float, having gotten it done before nightfall while no one was around, Sweetie Belle unrolling some of the unused fabric from her sisters boutique to use to cover the outside of the float once they were done with the mechanical portions of the float.
"Is that everything we need?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yup, that's everything." Scootaloo replied, blowing some gold dust and coating Sweetie Belle and some of the unrolled fabric, making the filly look like a golden pony.
"Ooh!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, liking how she looked.
"Luster Dust from Sugarcube Corner." Scootaloo said as Sweetie Belle posed. "They use it for decorating their cakes."
"Must be the stuff Rarity uses for her emergency edible boots." Sweetie Belle said, the fillies ignoring the comment their friend made.
"And here are gears and bands for the moving mechanism." Scootaloo said, dropping them on the ground.
"Where'd you get these at?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Spyro's Garage." Scootaloo replied. "He had boxes of unused stuff in the corner and this." She then brought out a small metal container with a blue liquid in it, putting it on the ground. "I've seen Spyro put these in the Crest. He calls it an Accelerator core. From what he told me about ship parts, it makes his ships super fast! It'll be perfect for what we have in store."
"Perfect!" Apple Bloom said. "And I've got Granny Smith's old kitchen timer."
She then presented an apple shaped timer, placing it on the ground.
"What the heck is that for? Sweetie belle asked.
"You'll see." Scootaloo, she and Apple Bloom smiling mischievously at what they had planned. "Come on girls, we've only got a few hours before sunrise and we need to make our new float so good, Babs won't resist wanting to ride in it."
The fillies then got to work building their new float, gathering the wood and crating the skeleton of the float before applying the fabric, pasting it onto the frame of the float while Scootaloo was busy working on attaching the gears and belts to allow the float to move, even attaching the core to the ottom of the float and wiring it up, though it proved to be more of a challenge for the filly, but she then came out of the bottom of the float, standing up and revealing a mark on her flank, looking like a wrench and looking happy about it, but Apple Bloom wiped it off, revealing it was nothing but oil. Sweetie Belle then started to apply the Luster dust, brushing it on while Scootaloo attached the steering wheel on the mobile float, finishing up as the sun was rising.
As the sun was rising, the town was bustling with activity from vendors selling food and trinkets to some of the ponies having brought their floats to the town for the parade. In the town, Babs was wondering alone in the town, looking at all of the decorations and smelling all of the wonderful food, looking for her cousin and her friends to apologize to them.
"Hey Babs." Diamond Tiara said, making Babs flinch and look at her, the two bullies coming o her as she instinctively covered her flank. "Did ya get in trouble from Spyro?"
"Not really." Babs replied.
"Well, I'd stay away from that looser if I were you." Diamond Tiara said, making Babs glare at her. "He's nothing but trouble, a dork, and a looser."
The three of them then walked in a random direction, though Babs didn't want to be with them anymore, wanting to get away from the two bullies as they approached the floats. As they reached the floats, the two bullies started to make fun of them when they saw the Crusaders Floats, they were all shocked and in awe as it was a golden apple, surprising them at how amazing it looked.
"Wow, that float actually looks amazing." Silver Spoon said.
"Yeah, those dorks actually did good." Diamond tiara said.
"They did do good." Babs said, looking at the bullies before looking to the float. "Hey, how about I go and steal the float from the crybabies and you go get a front row seat of me driving it."
"Oooh, that's sounds like a wonderful idea!" Diamond Tiara said. "Come on Silver, let's go."
The two bullies ran off to join the crowd, leaving Babs alone at last as she approached the crusaders, who noticed her approaching, so Apple Bloom motioned for Sweetie Belle to get in and activate their little surprise, grinning as she set the timer.
"Oh, hey Babs!" Apple Bloom said.
"Hey girls." Babs said. "I... I wanted to say... wow, you did great on the new float. How'd ya build it so fast?"
"Oh that's nothing.: Apple Bloom replied. "We're handy with tools."
"I'll say you are." Babs said. "How you didn't get your Cutie marks in float building is beyond me." She then looked back to make sure that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon weren't nearby, returning her attention to her cousin. "Listen, I'm sorry about breaking your old float. I-"
"Ah that's alright Babs." Apple Bloom replied. "It was an accident, that's all. Besides, a pumpkin on an Apple Farm? It was a dumb idea anyway."
"Besides, we got lots of stuff to make a new one." Scootaloo said. "We just had to pull an all nighter to finish it."
"So we decided to make one in the shape of an apple instead!" Apple Bloom said, looking to Sweeite Belle as she winked, letting her know everything was ready. "Hey Babs, Ah think we got off on the wrong hoof, so why don't you drive the float for us instead."
"You mean it!?" Babs asked, shocked to hear that. "Even after everything I did to you?"
"Hey, we're family Babs." Apple, Bloom replied. "The Apples are all about family. Let the past remain in the past and let's have a clean start."
Babs then hugged her cousin, happy to hear her say that as the Crusaders allowed her to hope into the float and allow for Babs to drive the float, the crusaders smiling mischievously as she drove off. A little ways away, Spyro saw the entire thing, smiling as he was proud of the Crusaders for doing that as he walked over with some balloons.
"Hey girls!" Spyro said, the Crusaders looking over to him.
"Oh, hey big bro!" Scootaloo said.
"You allowed Babs to drive your new float?" Spyro asked, looking at it. "Girls, I'm so proud of you."
"Well what can Ah say?" Apple Bloom asked. "She deserves a second chance. And we thought she'd like to be the... center of attention."
The fillies started to giggle, Spyro not noticing as he watched the float drive off.
"Girls, that's the nicest thing you could do for her." Spyro said. "Especially after her bullying problem in Manehatten."
"B-bullying problem!?" Apple Bloom asked, the crusaders eyes wide with surprise.
"Didn't she tell you?" Spyro asked. "She's been bullied in her home, being called blank flank, being teased, and they even made a rhyme about her not having a cutie mark."
"T-Teased?" Apple Bloom asked, her heart dropping into her stomach.
"B-Bullies?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah, Babs also told me all about them." Spyro replied. "And AJ told me her parents sent her here to get away from the city and away from the bullies." He then started to tie the balloons around the fillies forelegs, oblivious to the shock on their faces and how guilty they looked. "It's great for you to feel included and allow her to drive the float. I may not be from a big city, but I know it's hectic and I know the ponies there can be especially mean."
"So that's why she acted like a bully when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon started to give us trouble." Scootaloo said.
"She didn't want to be bullied, so she played the role of a bully!" Apple Bloom said.
"Exactly." Spyro replied. "And didn't you notice how she covers her flank everytime Diamond tiara and Silver Spoon were around, or when Cutie Mark is mentioned? She does that to try and hide the fact she doesn't have a mark. But I'm so proud of you girls for doing this for it makes my heart jump for joy." As soon as he said it, the balloons deflated instantly, surprising Spyro. "Huh, those balloons are some defective balloons. Hold on, I'll go get you new ones." He then started to walk away, leaving the fillies alone before he stopped. "Oh, and Scoots, I have a pile of boxes in the corner of the garage as soon as you enter. I'd avoid those crates if you plan on working on your scooter. Those parts are defective."
"DEFECTIVE!?" Scootaloo asked, the color draining from her face.
"Yeah, defective, old, worn out and damaged." Spyro replied. "I'm going to take them to the smelter today and make new parts out of them. And if you see a small metal container with blue liquid, keep away from it. It's a damaged Accelerator core and it will explode if you go over forty miles an hour."
"Oh no, we're in so much trouble." Sweetie Belle said as soon, Spyro catching what the unicorn filly said.
"Trouble?" Spyro asked. "Why would you be in trouble?"
"Well, we kinda used some of those parts for the float." Scootaloo replied.
"You what!?" Spyro exclaimed, face smacking himself. "I knew I should have put up a sign there. Please tell me you didn't attach the damaged Accelerator core onto the float."
"We... did." Scootaloo replied, making Spyro groan. "We didn't know."
"And we sorta booby trapped the float as well." Apple Bloom added.
"You booby trapped the float!?" Spyro exclaimed, furious with the fillies. "What did you do!?"
"We rigged it to steer out of control after a minute, wanting to get back at Babs for bullying us." Apple Bloom replied.
Spyro looked at the golden apple, just barely noticing the damaged Accelerator core on the bottom being held up by duct tape as it rolled along.
"Girls, what the heck were you thinking!?" Spyro exclaimed. "You basically turned your float into a rolling death machine! Why would you do that!?"
"We just wanted to get back at her for picking on us." Scootaloo replied. "We didn't know about the bullying problem. She never told us about it."
"Ugh, an-i alka-o aranië elwen!" Spyro said, face smacking himself again. "Girls, this is exactly why you go to an adult if you're being bullied, so it doesn't escalate to a point where something like this happens!"
He took off into the air, flying after the float right as the crusaders ran after him as well, running after the float as it made it's way through town with all the ponies cheering and having a wonderful time, even Babs as she waved her hoof at all the on lookers while avoiding Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as she went on her way, glad that Spyro was right and the girls forgave her, even if she didn't get to tell them about why she was so mean to them. Spyro and the fillies were slowly catching up its the float, Spyro surprised the core hadn't gone critical yet as the fillies hoped into another float that Pinkie was driving, speeding after her until they hoped out, running after the float as it made it's way to the turn, but as it was about to turn, there was a timer that went off that spooked her, the wheel going crazy as she tried to regain control as the float started to accelerate.
"What the heck!?" Babs said, unable to keep control.
"Babs!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"Apple Bloom, help!" Babs exclaimed. "The Floats out of control!"
"Hang on, I've got it!" Spyro shouted.
Spyro flew down and landed in front of the float and dug in, lifting himself up and letting the float slam into him as it pushed him to the cliff as it kept on going, shocking the fillies.
"Oh no, it's too fast!" Apple Bloom said. "What'll we do!?"
"Hang on, I got this!" Scootaloo said.
She rushed up and stopped, seeing the thing was about to go over as he lifted her foreleg, reaching out with the Force as she could feel the float, feeling how heavy it was as she lifted it up slightly, just enough to get the wheels off the ground and give Spyro a hand, Babs looking at him with fear.
"Hurry, jump out now!" Spyro exclaimed. "I can't hold it for long!"
Babs did as she was told, jumping out of the float and rushing away right as Scootaloo lost focus, letting go and dropping the float, which went over the edge of the cliff and rolled down, dragging Spyro with it as it hit the bottom, landing directly into some mud were some pigs were at, which one of the pigs started to lick the float. The fillies waited for the float to explode as Spyro dragged himself out of the mud, the mud bubbling as they heard something go off, causing a muddy tsunami that covered all four fillies in mug.
"We kinda deserved that." Scootaloo said.
"Spyro, ya'll ok!?" Apple Bloom asked, looking down.
"Yeah, just a little bruised, but nothing my healing abilities can't fix!" Spyro replied, getting up and shaking the mud off, looking extremely upset with the fillies. "But you girls, you and I are going to have a very serious talk about this, now!"
The four fillies looked a little nervous, Scootaloo and the crusaders already having first hand experience when Spyro was angry with them. After getting back to Sweet Apple Acres, he and Applejack sat the fillies down to finally get this issue resolved, Apple Bloom explaining that they had rigged the float to go out of control as a way of getting back at them, but had no idea that the core they took from Spyro's pile of defective and damaged parts would explode, apologizing to their cousin while Babs seed explained the reason why she was so mean to the Crusaders, not wanting to be bullied while in Ponyville like she was in Manehatten, the cousins making up and becoming friends at last. A while later, at the clubhouse, the Crusaders were preparing to initiate their new member, getting a small ceremony where Scootaloo was banging her hooves on a couple of Tampani drums, though she then went crazy with the drums, causing a small quake that ended as soon as she finished banging the drums, everyone glaring at her and making her give a nervous smile as Sweetie Belle unrolled a scroll.
"We, the Cutie mark Crusaders, have elected to make Babs Seed a sister, friend, alley, confidant, bosom buddy... gal pal... chum of chums..." Sweetie belle said, trying to read it.
"Wow, that's awful." Spyro said. "Who the heck wrote that?"
"Scootaloo did." Sweetie Belle replied, making the Pegasus filly give another nervous smile.
"Definitely not getting a Cutie Mark in writing speeches there Scoots." Spyro said.
"Blah, blah, blah, blah, ah here it is!" Sweetie Belle said. "And a fellow Cutie Mark Crusader! You are solemnly sworn in on this day, in witness of your fellow sisters, friends, confidants..."
"Scoots, did you use a freakin thesaurus to write this?" Spyro asked, making the filly take the speech away from Sweetie Belle.
"Congratulations!" Scootaloo said. "You're an official member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders now!"
"Congrats Babs!" Apple Bloom said.
They then threw confetti and ribbons towards the filly, which she smiled and was on the verge of tears as they tossed a cape over to her, the four fillies cheering as they were pleased to have a new member. For the rest of the couple of weeks Babs was here the fillies had a great time, playing games, trying out different things to try and get their Cutie Marks, even getting to be in Spyro's ship and getting to fly around in it, the four of them enjoying their time during the weeks. But when the time came for them to say good bye, AJ and Spyro escorted the fillies tot he train station where the train for Manehatten was waiting for them.
"So ya promise to start a Manehatten branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, right?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah, and I promise to talk to my big sis and my folks about the bullying back home." Babs replied, a smile on her face.
"That's great to hear Babs." Spyro said. "Don't let their teasing deter you or belittle ya as you have lots of time to find out what your talent is. And if they give you any trouble, tell them you know me and your Uncle Spyro will come and sort things out, alright?" He then reached into his bags, scrounging around for something when he found something that would work perfectly, giving her a Divine Bandana, signing his name on it before using his own magic to tie it around her neck, surprising her. "There. Now they'll know you mean business.
"Wow, thanks Spyro." Babs said, hugging him.
"Ugh terrific!" Diamond Tiara said, everyone looking to her as she and Silver Spoon came around the corner. "I thought you were cool, but you're just like all the other Blank Flanks. At least you're leaving, this way we will have one less Blank Flanks to deal with."
"Hey, that;'s not how you talk to my cousin, or my friends!" Babs said, getting in front and spooking the fillies.
"F-Friends?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Yeah, got a problem with that?" Babs asked, standing up for her friends. "I get enough bullying from back home, coming here to spend some time with my family, but instead of that, I joined you and ended up being the bully! I regretted that decision from day one and now, now I'm no longer that kind of filly."
"W-well what if we do have a problem with it?" Diamond Tiara asked, starting to feel scared. "What are you going to do about it!?"
Babs looked back at her friends, remembering how scared they were of Spyro when he got angry and knew exactly the exact threat that would get them.
"Tell your mothers about your bad attitudes." Babs replied.
The two bullies felt their blood become cold, shaking their heads as they didn't want that, which Babs faked them out, making them fall backwards and into the mud, which made Spyro laugh as Silver Spoon looked up and then a pig wearing Diamond Tiara's tiara, making him laugh harder as the fillies hoof bumped.
"Proud uncle Nuggie patrol!" Spyro said, making the filly look at him as he grabbed her and started to give her a Nuggie on her head. "Nuggie, nuggie, nuggie, nuggie, nuggie, nuggie, nuggie!"
"Hey, come on, cut it out!" Babs said, laughing as she tried to free herself.
The trains whistle went off, prompting Spyro to release the Manehatten filly as she got onto the train, taking her suitcase with her as she boarded.
"I'm sure going to miss that 'bad' seed." Sweetie Belle said.
"No, at first we called her bad seed, as in actually a bad seed, but now she's bad as in good." Sweetie Belle replied. "Get it?"
"Eh, no." Applejack replied.
The fillies and Spyro all started laughing at one, finding the orange farm ponies confusion funny as they walked off from the station and headed back in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres to finish up on some chores that Granny gave them for the day. Meanwhile at Malefor's castle above the volcano, the Dark Master had stirred again, the dark purple mist coming from the statue as Aphara arrived.
"My new friend, I have a task for you." Malefor said.
"About time." Aphara replied. "What is it you need?"
"Do you know of the Prince's library?" Malefor asked, confusing the dragoness. "It's a special collection of tomes, scrolls, and books that every prince adds to the library throughout their lifetime. And as it happens, the prince is reacquired a large majority of his library."
"And how is that good for us?" Aphara asked.
"Well, there's a few special books that he hasn't gotten yet." Malefor said, his dark mist appearing and moving to the ground to reveal a single tome. "But I have one."
"Wow." Aphara replied, approach the book, but stopping as she got close enough. "You can literally feel the darkness coming off of it. Who wrote it?"
"The Thirteenth Prince." Malefor replied. "He wrote thirteen books full of the darkest spells in existence. However, they were lost as soon as the fourteenth came into power, scattering them into the worlds. But one of them came to me and with it, we shall bring an end to that meddlesome prince. Which is where you come in, for I found a ritual that requires some... special ingredients."
"Such as?" Aphara asked.
"Egg shells from an unhatched hatchling." Malefor replied. "Bones of an elder dragon, essence of a dark hearted being, the soul of a hatchling, and the blood of our enemy. Find me these shell and the bones, I'll have another of my minions provide the blood we need. Bring me the ingredients and we shall have our vengeance."
Aphara nodded her head as she turned to leave the castle, the statues dark energy disappearing as Malefor laughed as he returned to his prison.