Scootaloo paced around the base of the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. Sunlight shone down through the leaves and cast pools of light on the grass. Wind blew through the trees of Sweet Apple Acres carrying that special scent just-bloomed Golden Delicious had. Bees hummed, birds sang, the wind rustled the leaves, making the pools of light shift and drift, and a dirt-smudged filly stormed out of a hole in the middle of the glade.
Her brows furrowed, she marched over to the orange-coated pegasus and spat the dirt-covered shovel down at Scootaloo’s hooves where it hit a second shovel with a clatter. “You could at least help,” Sweetie Belle said, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Gold Prospectors was your idea!”
“And it’s my best one yet! We’ll get our cutie marks and get rich at the same time! Besides, I am helping.” Scootaloo pointed at the machine she had strapped to her neck. She swung the dangling ring over the head of Sweetie’s shovel and the metal detector beeped loudly. “See?”
“And why don’t you let somepony else use the metal detector for a bit? You’ve had it all morning!”
“Well duh, I’m the inspector over the mine, remember?”
“You don’t even know what that means.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Whatever. It made sense when Pinkie Pie said it this morning while I was borrowing this baby from Twilight.”
“Do I even need to point out just how much is wrong with that statement?” Sweetie asked.
Apple Bloom trudged out of the pit Sweetie had, a bucket in her mouth. She set it down with a snort, and scowled at the fillies.
“It just means that I need to be over the mine – so I’m up here.” Scootaloo made a sweeping motion. “Doing over things.”
“Will y’all two give it a rest already? Arguin’ ain’t gonna get us anywhere. Just what’ve all ya found up here, Scoots?”
“Ahh, um – three bottle caps, a bolt, and a rusty hinge. You?”
Apple Bloom knocked the bucket over with a kick and a stone rolled out. “Just this here rock that looks like a grapefruit. Kinda.”
“Oh, oh!” said Sweetie, remembering. “That’s what I was coming up here to tell you about! I think it’s a geode. Rarity told me about them once and if we can saw it open and polish it up it might be really pretty inside!”
Scratching her mane, Scootaloo trotted over and looked at the rock. “So – is a gee-oh –”
“Geode.”
“That’s what I said. Anyway, does it have gold inside?”
“Ain’t gold s’posta be heavy? This thing’s lighter’n it looks.”
Sweetie Belle shook her head, accidentally showering the other two with dirt. “No, it’ll have some sort of crystal if I remember correctly.”
The fillies took a moment to all glance at their blank flanks and sigh.
“I reckon we oughtta fill this hole back up. Don’t need nopony fallin’ in and gettin’ hurt. And y’all are gonna help this time, ain’t ya, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo grinned innocently and took off the metal detector. Grasping the harness in her jaw, she trotted over and set it down against the side of their clubhouse. That done, she turned back to go pick up a shovel.
The metal detector toppled over into the grass at the base of the tree and beeped incessantly.
Scootaloo froze midstride.
The wide-eyed fillies bolted over and crowded around the metal detector. Its red light was blinking steadily.
“I bet it found gold!” said Scootaloo.
“I bet it found another bottle cap.”
“I just hope y’all didn’t break Twilight’s metal detector.”
Scootaloo stood on her back legs and put the pole of the metal detector in her fetlocks. As she waved it over an exposed root a few times, it beeped with each pass.
“It seems to be working fine, and it also seems that we’ve got a bit more digging to do!”
Scootaloo’s grin deflated as she looked back at her friends. They were both glaring at her and pointing back towards the shovels. With a sigh she set the metal detector back down gently and trotted over to the shovels.
Several minutes of patiently-observed effort later, Scootaloo managed to pry a sealed metal tube out from beneath the root. It hadn’t been too deep but the root had clung around it to the point that she’d had to dig a larger hole just to get leverage. Scootaloo kicked the tube over to her audience and wiped her brow, the hoof leaving a muddy streak in its wake.
“Well, it’s not gold,” Sweetie said, eyeing the tube. “And I hope we didn’t just ruin somepony’s plumbing.”
“Nah, this thing’s closed up on both ends and ‘sides, there ain’t nopony out here to have any plumbing t’fret about.”
Apple Bloom picked up the tube and shook it by her ear. Her eyes widened and she shouted, “Hey! I think there’s somethin’ inside!”
The other fillies were by her in an instant, their lips pursed in silent whistles as they looked at the tube with newfound awe.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Scootaloo asked as her wings flapped with excitement. “Open it! Open it!”
Sweetie Belle nodded her head with an eager grin.
Apple Bloom turned the tube over in her hooves a few times, inspecting it from different angles. After a few moments of humming thoughtfully, she started to twist the end of the tube. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as she struggled to wrench the top open. With a pop the cap finally turned and fell off to reveal a rubber stopper.
After blowing away the dirt that had fallen onto the stopper’s grip, Apple Bloom bit down on it and tugged but the stopper refused to budge. Apple Bloom snorted and yanked repeatedly on the plug but it still held fast. With a grunt she released her teeth from the grip and glared at it.
“Can one’a y’girls hold on to the other end of this thing while I pull?”
Sweetie Belle grasped the tube in her hooves and Apple Bloom got into a wider stance before trying to pull out the stopper again. They pulled for a couple moments without success before Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around Sweetie’s midsection and began to pull as well, her wings fluttering.
With a hollow thoomp the stopper popped out. Sweetie and Scootaloo fell backwards and ended up a twitching pile of limbs while Apple Bloom tumbled the other way, rolling tail over bow.
The contents of the tube fell between the groaning fillies. It was a scroll.
Scootaloo was used to recovering from crashes and was up first, shakily trotting over to pick up the rolled up piece of paper. Carefully she unfurled it and began to read, “Dear little apple– Hey, Apple Bloom, I think this is for you!”
Apple Bloom sat up on her haunches, looking puzzled and offended at the same time. “’Little apple’? Lemme see that.” She hopped up and she strode over to check out the letter.
Dear little apple, we know you’ve been a mite bit worried about not getting your cutie mark yet and all and we thought that a little adventure might brighten up your day. And who knows, you just might get your mark along the way! To get things rolling, here’s your first clue:
Enter into the sundown grove, your next step towards the hidden trove. Cantering in away from the stream you’ll find a tree resting to dream.
Sweetie tapped the tip of her hoof against her chin. “So… is this something your brother and sister set up, then?”
“That sure doesn’t look like Big Mac’s writing to me,” Scootaloo said. “The last time I saw anything he wrote it was pretty ill-egg– ill-leg– illegal?”
Sweetie Belle screwed up her muzzle and cocked her head at Scootaloo. “That doesn’t sound right–”
“Ya ain’t seen my brother’s writin’, then,” Apple Bloom muttered as she stared at the parchment. “It does look like a stallion’s writin’ but… no, I dunno, this just don’t seem like their style.”
“Who cares!” Scootaloo said as she hovered forward. “Adventuring sounds way cooler than digging holes.”
“Not that you did much digging,” said Sweetie.
Ignoring her, Scootaloo thrust her hoof in the air. “Alright, Crusaders, who’s ready to get their cutie marks in adventuring?”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged shrugs and cantered over to bump hooves with their friend.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders Adventurers! Yay!”
“Are you sure this is the right place, Apple Bloom?” Sweetie asked, carefully hopping over another tangle of brambles. “This place looks sort of dangerous.”
“Ain’t nothin’ t’worry ‘bout. It’s just a bit overgrown is all,” Apple Bloom said as she strode beneath the dense canopy of apple trees. “Anyway, the note said ‘sundown’ so that’s gotta be west for the western orchard and this here’s where the stream touches it. Everythin’ fits so it’s gotta be the right spot.”
Scootaloo stepped out of the water and shook off her coat. She glanced around at the thick undergrowth. “What’s with these plants, anyway? Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries– I thought this was an apple farm.”
“O’course it is! Don’t mean that’s the only thing we gotta grow. Granny Smith likes to keep some other fruits around for preservin’ and jellies and the like.”
“And she comes all the way out here?” Scootaloo asked as she climbed up the bank towards them.
Apple Bloom paused and scrunched up her muzzle in thought. “Well, no, this part of the farm ain’t been worked since I can remember.”
“So maybe it is dangerous,” Sweetie said, gasping.
Scootaloo leapt ahead of the others and landed with a grin. “We aren’t afraid of a little danger, are we, Crusaders?”
“Nuh uh!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she pranced forward with a smile.
Sweetie Belle sighed but cantered to catch up to the other two. “Wait for me!”
“Who’d’ve thought danger would be sooo boring,” Scootaloo said and tugged her tail away from a blackberry bush.
“Or so muggy.” Sweetie Belle panted, wiping a hoof across her face. She cast a longing look back at the gap in the trees where the stream gurgled. “We’ve been walking for like an hour now and barely made any progress at all!”
“Just keep your eyes open for the restin’ tree and we’ll be on our way in no time,” Apple Bloom said.
“Actually, resting sounds like a good idea about now.” Scootaloo frowned and shook a squashed strawberry off her hoof. “Oh! This’ll work perfectly!” Wings humming, she bounded over a hedge-like bush into a clearing ahead.
The other two trudged through the bushes and found their friend sitting on a gigantic fallen tree. It was under a hole in the canopy, and so big that the tall grass didn’t even reach halfway up the trunk.
“We can even have something to eat,” Scootaloo continued. “I bet these berries are a lot better to munch on than they are to step on.”
Her fellow Crusaders stood gaping at her.
“Scootaloo! You’re a genius!” Sweetie Belle’s voice squeaked with excitement.
Flipping back onto her hooves, Scootaloo thumped her chest proudly, beaming. “Of course I am!”
For a couple of seconds the only sounds were the drone of insects and a breeze wafting through the leaves above.
“Uh – y’all don’t have any idea what she’s talkin’ about, do you, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo’s grin disappeared and she flopped back down on her haunches.
“The tree,” Sweetie pointed a hoof at Scootaloo’s perch, “it’s got to be the one the note was talking about.”
“Well, uh, sure, I knew that.”
Apple Bloom trotted over to peer into the hollow trunk. “It’s pretty dark in there but I think I see somethin’ down there at t’other end.”
“Leave it to me!” Scootaloo hopped off the log and trotted along it until she came to an opening on the side. It was wide and dark, and there was something white inside. “Is it near here?”
“Yeah, just a tad further down, though, I think.”
Scootaloo twisted around to lie on her side and rooted around inside the trunk with a foreleg. After a few moments her eyes went wide and she craned her neck towards her friends. “I think I’ve got something here!”
Sweetie Belle hopped over to get a closer look as Scootaloo pulled a cobweb-covered hoof and tube out.
“Ewww — eeek!” Sweetie’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks as her look of disgust changed into terror.
Scootaloo’s jaw dropped open as she watched her friend backpedal away. “Oh, come on! It’s just some spider web–” her voice caught as something thin and pointy brushed against her wingtip.
She craned her neck around to watch as a furry brown spider the size of a cantaloupe pulled itself out of the hole she had just had her foreleg in moments before. With a yelp she leapt off the log and careened away from the spider. Her flight was cut short when she crashed into one of the trees that ringed the clearing.
The spider turned around and cast its multi-eyed glare on the last trespassing filly: Apple Bloom.
“Aw shoot, aw shoot, aw shoot –“ Apple Bloom’s teeth chattered. Her eyes darted between the spider and the tube that Scootaloo dropped while retreating that lay between them. She let out a battle cry, squeezed her eyes shut, and charged the tube. “Awww shoooooot!” She stole a look as she ran and kicked the tube over towards Scootaloo before bolting to the tree line.
Turning again to fix the three ponies in its sight, the spider leveled eight accusing eyes at them. With a snap of its fangs in indignation it turned and skittered back into the ruins of its home.
Sweetie Belle was the first to regain her composure and ran over to check on her friend. “Scootaloo! Are you alright?”
“Ugh, I’ll be fine,” Scootaloo groaned and rolled her blueberry-splattered body out of the bush. “This bush broke my fall.”
Sweetie looked at the flattened plant, “I think it’s more like your fall broke the bush.”
Scootaloo just rubbed at the back of her neck and chuckled weakly. Above her, the leaves rustled and a squeak came from them. Both fillies looked up. An azure bat descended from the canopy. It repeated its squeak and fluttered over, circling Scootaloo.
“What’s that?” Sweetie asked.
“It’s awesome is what it is. I’ve never seen a blue bat before.” Scootaloo offered a berry-stained hoof out to it. The bat’s nose twitched and it licked the juice.
From where sat breathing heavily, Apple Bloom’s ears flicked over towards her friends. Her face paled as she looked up at the treetops. “Uh oh.”
The canopy shook violently as a horde of bats, each a different color, darted at Scootaloo, eager to lick the fruit from the filly’s coat.
Scootaloo shrieked as the bats almost blotted out the sky. She backed away before spinning on around and bolting back towards the stream, crashing through a bush as the bats zoomed after her.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders dove into the stream the moment they arrived.
The return trip to the stream had taken considerably less time when they were plowing through the undergrowth instead of trotting through it. For several minutes the three crouched down in the shallow waters of the stream as the cloud of bats wheeled above them. Finally, the swarm clustered back in the trees, resting once again in the canopy.
Sweetie Belle had grabbed the tube before they ran, and dropped it by the stream. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo waded back to the shore to where she had dropped their find before they dove in. Sweetie stayed behind in the water, gargling.
After finishing, Sweetie Belle plodded up the bank towards the two and saw that they were already tugging the rubber stopper out. This one was far easier, popping free after just a few tugs.
Scootaloo hit the other end of the tube and the note slipped out into Apple Bloom’s waiting hooves. The orange filly squinted as she checked both sides of the parchment. “It looks like this one’s just a clue.”
A greying sentinel on a hill, to keep things safe from rain or chill. Where the ground will groan and squeak you will find that which you seek.
Scootaloo peered over Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “Any ideas, Apple Bloom?”
“There’s hills all over the farm, so I have no idea! At least the last clue was more specific,” Apple Bloom grumbled as she let the scroll roll itself back up.
“Well, it says that something is ‘greying’ on top of it. So what around here is ‘grey’?” Sweetie asked.
“Oh, I know!” Scootaloo waved a hoof in the air. “Back at your house, Gran—“
Apple Bloom’s eyes narrowed. “Now, I know y’all aren’t about to suggest we check my granny for buried treasure, now are ya, Scoots?”
Scootaloo snapped her muzzle shut.
Sweetie Belle leaned back and rubbed her growling stomach. “Girls, all this adventure has made me hungry. Maybe we could think this over back at the clubhouse? You know, where we left the lunch I brought for us?”
The other two exchanged a quick, fearful glance.
Sweetie sighed and rolled her eyes, frowning. “Rarity made it.”
The change in their expressions was instant. “Sure! I could totally go for something to eat,” Scootaloo smiled.
Apple Bloom’s bow bobbed as she nodded her approval.
A warm midafternoon breeze blew through the windows of the clubhouse. The fillies chewed their daffodil sandwiches in silence, occasionally looking at the two tubes in their thinking section.
Apple Bloom chugged a bottle of juice and finished with a belch. “Pardon.”
Sweetie giggled as she cleared the plates, “I’ll pass your compliments along to my sister.”
Scootaloo groaned and half-draped herself across the table. “We’re still not any closer to figuring out where to go. What’s a sent-a-whatsits anyway?”
“A sentinel,” Sweetie Belle said, “is somepony that watches over or protects somepony or something.”
“So a guard?”
“Sounds ‘bout right.”
“Or even something like a lighthouse!” Sweetie said.
“Alright, hmm.” Scootaloo stared out the window thoughtfully. “Since there aren’t any guards or lighthouses around here–” she glanced at Apple Bloom who nodded “–then we’re looking for something that protects like they might, right?”
“Right,” the other two said in unison.
“Which still leaves us nowhere.”
The other two sighed. “Right.”
“What about the second part?” Sweetie asked. “About rain and cold, what needs protected from that?”
Apple Bloom bit her bottom lip. “Well, Big Mac got upset at me leaving his tools out in the rain, so that’s somethin’.”
“Oh!” Scootaloo waved a foreleg. “So where does he keep them? In a shed or bunker or something?”
Sweetie cocked her head. “’Bunker’? You’ve been reading too many zompony stories.”
“That just means I’ll be prepared for the coming accomplice,” Scootaloo said smugly.
“Appoc–”
Apple Bloom rubbed her face with a hoof. “Ain’t y’all argued enough for one day?”
Sweetie just shrugged and rested her hooves on the windowsill, looking out.
“But anyway,” Apple Bloom continued, “no, tools’re kept in the barn. But it’s red, not grey.”
“That one’s grey.” Sweetie Belle gestured out at a roof poking above the trees. It was a decent ways away.
Apple Bloom pushed Sweetie aside and poked her head out the window. “Well, yeah, but that one’s where we keep the old’n broke tools. Applejack likes to fix ‘em up durin’ the winter. Says it ‘keeps her hooves busy’.”
Scootaloo propped her head up in her hooves on the table. “So, nothing really to protect there, huh.”
“Nope. AJ keeps sayin’ she’s gonna tear the rickety ol’ place down’n rebuild one’a these days but she keeps puttin’ it off.”
Sweetie bumped her shoulder back against Apple Bloom. “So… it might have a squeaky floor?”
“S’pose it might, yeah.”
“Well, girls,” Scootaloo said, “not like we’ve got anything else to go on. Wanna at least give it a shot?”
A round of shrugs later, the fillies trotted back out into the hot afternoon.
An hour later the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the dilapidated barn. They had propped open the door and wiped a couple of windows to let some sun in. The amber light revealed piles of crates and an assortment of broken farm tools. Every step the fillies took kicked up clouds of dust.
Sweetie Belle sat in the middle of the floor sneezing furiously.
A cart teetered on its remaining wheel in the corner as Scootaloo crawled out from underneath it. “Either of you found anything yet?” she called.
“ACHOO!”
“Okay – how about you, Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom tugged a sheet off one pile and let it drop by her hooves. “A chipped plow. You?”
“Nothing,” Scootaloo said with a frown. “Not unless the squeaking part refers to mice. They’ve certainly left something behind over here.”
“ACHOO! Eww…”
“Y’all sure you’re okay there, Sweetie? Ya can wait outside if ya want.”
“No, I’ll be fine.” Sweetie Belle sniffed. “I’ll just go look over there–” she pointed a hoof towards a corner in the back “–where there’s less dust being kicked up.”
She trotted to the back of the barn while the others kept searching. The light gradually fell away as she moved away from the door and into the vacant half of the barn. Her eyes darted about with a growing look of apprehension. “Um, on second thought, maybe I shou— eek!”
The floorboard she stepped on had creaked and tilted sharply downward. Her hooves flailed desperately for purchase as her front end slid forward towards the darkness below. Her slide stopped as suddenly as it began when the other end of the board went up back towards her and impaled itself on her horn with a loud THWACK, forcing her back onto her haunches.
Her friends were at her side in an instant.
“Ohmygosh, Sweetie Belle! Are ya alright?”
“Nnngh – I think–“ she paused to sneeze out a snoutful of dust “–so.” She looked up at where her horn pierced the wood and moaned.
Scootaloo stepped around and craned her neck down into the crawlspace beneath. “I think you’ve found something, Sweetie!”
“Yay…”
“I’m gonna go down and take a look. Just hold the floor up for a moment.”
“Will do,” the board replied weakly.
Scootaloo, wings flapping, dropped into the opening. The air was filled with the sound of hooves scraping against the packed earth beneath for a couple minutes until a metallic tapping echoed from the hole. “Got it!”
A small toolbox rose out of the hole on top of Scootaloo’s mane. Apple Bloom bit down on the handle and set it aside. Turning back, she wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo’s hooves and heaved her back up.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo managed to free their friend with a little effort and together they trotted back out into the late-afternoon sun.
They sat in a circle and watched as Apple Bloom opened the clips that held the box shut. The lid opened with a final flip, revealing the toolbox’s contents to the fillies. Inside the box was another scroll but a pair of elastic bands held it closed. Each band was studded with the jeweled silhouette of an apple; the ruby fruit and emerald stem inlaid in gold.
Apple Bloom looked at it thoughtfully. “These things kinda look familiar–”
“I told you we’d find gold, Crusaders!”
Sweetie Belle waved dismissively at the pegasus. “What are they, Apple Bloom? They kinda look like hair ornaments.”
Rubbing her chin with a hoof, Apple Bloom stared off into the rolling hills of apple trees. “C’mon, girls, let’s head on back to the clubhouse. I’ll tell ya on the way,” she said finally.
The evening sky was burnt gold, the first stars just beginning to peek out. A crescendo of crickets and frogs accompanied the sound of hoofsteps and creaking cart wheels.
It had been a long, hard weekend getting all the corn fields plowed and planted and now Applejack wanted little more than a hot shower and some ice-cold cider. The upcomin’ week’a tendin’ the stall in town’ll be mighty-fine, too, she thought.
She could see the farmhouse as she trotted over a rise, its red walls burnished copper by the fading daylight. A rumbling in her stomach reminded her that the onion stew Granny had promised that morning should be simmering there as well.
The sound of voices made her ear swivel. She stopped the cart of tools and seed she was pulling and looked down the road that lead to town. She could see her sister parting ways with her little friends under the entrance arch, the three waving to each other before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo walked towards Ponyville.
The young pony started galloping up the road towards her. Apple Bloom must have noticed her.
As the filly got closer Applejack put on her best lecture face. “Apple Bloom, y’all know ya shouldn’t be keepin’ your friends out so late on a school night.”
Apple Bloom skidded to a stop and scrunched her muzzle into a pout. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to protest but finally she just took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, sis, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
Applejack’s brow rose in surprise. She reached over, ruffled her sister’s mane, and smiled. “Did y’all finish all your homework? I don’t wanna be gettin’ any notes from Cheerilee, now.”
Apple Bloom looked up smiled back. “Mhm.”
“Alright then,” Applejack nodded, “no harm done. Just run along and wash up for supper. I’m gonna drop these off in the barn and I’ll be right in.”
“Hold up, I gotta show ya what we found today.”
Applejack smiled wryly. “Lemme guess, another Cutie Mark Crusader Specimen Trip? What’s it today, animal, vegetable, or min–” she cut off as Apple Bloom flipped open her saddlebag and pulled out a small, metal box.
Apple Bloom set the box down and stepped back. “It’s easier to see for yourself.”
Her curiosity piqued, Applejack shifted the cart harness off and let the shafts tip down to hold the weight. She opened the clips and lifted the lid. Sunlight glinted off of the jewels within, filling her eyes with sparkles. “Why, these look like what I had when I was just a little filly. A mite fancier though. Where'd y'all find this?”
Apple Bloom shrunk down a little bit and pawed at the ground. “Well, um, we found that in the old barn–”
“Apple Bloom! I done told ya that place ain’t safe for playi–”
“I know, I know. But there were these clues, ya see, and they led us there.”
“Clues? What in Equestria–”
Applejack looked back down into the box at the rolled up parchment. She grabbed it in her teeth and, with some careful mouth and hoof work, managed to get the jeweled bands off of the scroll. The scroll loosened a bit but stayed rolled-up. Applejack had to hold both ends of it to keep it from snapping back closed as she began to examine the note.
Apple Bloom turned to head to the house. “Well, I’d best be gettin’ ready for dinner.”
Glancing over the top of the parchment, Applejack said, “Hold on there a minute, sugarcube. Did y’all actually read this letter?”
The filly frowned briefly and she glanced back at her big sister. “’Course not. I remembered seein’ you wearin’ those in some of Granny’s ol’ photo albums and knew it wouldn’t be right.” She nodded curtly.
Applejack smiled. “I guess that just means we get to read it together.”
For a moment, Apple Bloom wasn’t sure whether to be confused or curious. “A-are ya sure? It ain’t, like, private?”
“I’m sure. Now c’mon over’n have a seat.”
Applejack waited until her sister sat by her before she cleared her throat and began to read.
Congratulations on beating our little game! We hope you had one fine day. And since no adventure should ever go unrewarded we picked these up for you. While I thought a sensible hat would serve you best, your mother remembered how heartbroken you were when your mane got too thick for the little glass ornaments you wore as a foal. So, seeing as you’re growing into such a responsible young pony, we agreed that you were due a more grown up gift.
That’s right, even though we’ve both had our hooves full with your baby sister don’t think we haven’t taken notice of all the extra help you’ve been around the farm. I’m sure your brother’s mighty glad to not be the only pony picking up our slack these past few months. Still, between school, work around the farm, and worrying about your cutie mark, you can’t forget to just take some time to enjoy life. It’s with this in mind that we came up with this little adventure.
The funny thing with growing up is that it never really stops. There’ll always be something new to learn, see, or do. Your cutie mark is just one small piece of that whole process: another part of a young pony’s life. Don’t go giving it any more concern than it needs. Remember that a cutie mark doesn’t make you special – you’re what makes it special. And no matter what it shows it’ll never be able to show more than a small part of what it is that makes you the amazing filly your mother and I have had the joy of watching grow.
Speaking of your mother, the hoof in my side is her way of reminding me that I’m doing more writing than helping her pack. She says ‘Hi.’ by the way. If you find all this before we get back from our little trip up to show the new foal off to your mother’s sister in Manehattan then I’ll just say it here. We’re mighty proud of you, little apple. Hay, we’re proud of all our children, of course.
Love, Ma and Pa.
Applejack took a deep breath and released a contented sigh. She let the letter to curl back up and set it back into the box. Apple Bloom stared up with wide, curious eyes. Applejack leaned down and nuzzled the side of her sister’s head.
“Well, little sis, did ya have a fine day?”
Apple Bloom leaned into her sister’s nuzzling and hummed happily in response. After a moment she leaned back and cocked an eyebrow at Applejack. “Wait, ya mean that you were worried about your cutie mark back then?”
“Shoot, Apple Bloom, I think ponies have worried about their cutie marks since there were ponies to worry about them. But they ain’t so important ya gotta make yourself sick over it – even if ya are just fakin’ at bein’ sick.”
“Heheh – Granny told ya about that, did she?”
“Eeyup.”
“This doesn’t mean I gotta stop crusadin’, does it?”
“Do ya enjoy it?”
“Well,” Apple Bloom drawled, “I ain’t too fond’a tree sap but other’n that, yeah.”
Applejack chuckled and nudged her sister. “Then y’all are doin’ just fine, I reckon. Now ya might wanna run on in before your brother finishes off all of Granny’s stew and biscuits. And make sure y’all save me some, too.”
Apple Bloom began to trot off towards the farmhouse as Applejack flipped closed the clips on the box. After making a spot between corn seed bags, she placed it in her cart. She was thinking about using the mane ornaments in her outfit for the upcoming Gala when a voice interrupted her train of thought.
“Hey, AJ.”
Applejack finished putting the cart’s harness on and looked up to see Apple Bloom standing just a few paces down the road, staring up at the farmhouse.
“Yes?”
“Will ya tell me what they were like sometime?” Apple Bloom asked, still staring at the farmhouse.
Applejack smiled and nodded. “Sure thing, sugarcube. Like how Pa told me about his takin’ up poetry to woo our mother or how Mama told me that she agreed to marry him to try and get him to stop writin’ the stuff. Tell ya what, if ya get yourself to bed early tonight we’ll have a good talk.” She held up a hoof. “But I can’t let ya stay up late – it’s a school night.”
Apple Bloom hopped gleefully. “Will do!” She reared and pawed at the sky before cantering off towards the farmhouse.
Applejack beamed as she watched the filly. She could just about see her Ma and Pa standing on the porch, gazing with pride at their daughters.
“Why, I think she takes after you more’n any of us, Pa,” Applejack whispered. Tugging the cart, she pulled it down the road towards the barn, the creaking of the wheels joining the music of a fine spring night.
Author's Note
And a special thanks to Mourning Zephyr for editing!
