The three fillies waited with energetic eagerness at the train platform, which taxed their custodian no end.
“Now, will y'all settle down?” Applejack shouted. “I'm sure Babs will be here any minute. Y'all kin get as rambunctious as ya want then.”
The three fillies stood on the edge of the track as ordered, but their fidgetiness belied the boundless energy within, like the hiss of a burning bomb fuse. They had been waiting for this day since school let out; since all four of them were out of school for three months and none of them had much going on otherwise, they agreed that Babs should come to town for a few weeks; now that the day was upon them, their excitement was uncontrollable.
The train came a few minutes later and the fillies darted here and there looking for their caramel-colored compatriot to no avail. As the train left a few minutes later and the dust cleared, Babs appeared out of the mist and was instantly bombarded by a mob of crusader.
“Babs! Babs! It's so great to see you,” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she hugged her cousin.
“We've been looking forward to your visit for weeks,” Scootaloo added.
“Yeh, it's great to see you guys, too,” Babs replied, trying to back out of the pile for a little breathing room.
Applejack chuckled. “Why don't y'all give Babs a few minutes to collect herself before you pile on her?” she suggested.
“Oh, right,” Apple Bloom said, and the crowd dispersed. As the CMC turned around, Babs silently mouthed a, “Thank-you” to Applejack, who nodded in kind.
“So, how've you been?” Apple Bloom asked as they walked away from the platform.
“Been doin' good,” Babs replied. “Those bullies ain't been pickin' on me as much, and I even got a couple new recruits for the Manehattan branch.”
“Cool!” Scootaloo replied. “We can meet them when we come up.”
“Yeah, that'll be great!” Sweetie Belle added. “We can even induct them!”
“Yeah,” Babs replied. “So how things been goin' here?”
“Things are great!” Apple Bloom responded. “We got so many Crusading missions planned!”
“Girls, maybe it'd be a good idea if y'all gave Babs a chance to get settled 'fore ya get started crusadin',” Applejack interjected.
“Yeah,” Babs agreed, “I'm real tired from the train ride.”
“All righty, then,” Apple Bloom said. “We can start crusadin' tomorrow.”
•••
It was a beautiful summer morning: the sun was shining, the birds were singing a lithe tune, Babs had arrived yesterday, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in their clubhouse, contemplating the day's adventures.
...Or, rather, they would be, were it not for the fact that they were suffering from a group case of “crusader's block.”
“I don't get it,” Scoots pondered. “How can we have gone through every mission we had planned for the summer?”
“And it only took us five fays!” Sweetie added, her voice squeaking on the last word.
“Come on, girls!” Apple Bloom interjected. “We won't never get our cutie marks just sittin' here!”
“Uhh,” Babs ventured, “what about the thinkin' spot?”
“Great idea!” Sweetie said as her voice squeaked again. She plopped her haunches down on the bullseye on the floor under the lantern and put her hoof to her muzzle in a thoughtful pose. After a few minutes, she noted that she wasn't feeling inspired and looked up to find the lantern dark. She indicated to Scootaloo to check it out. The pegasus tentatively hit the lantern, which opened the window, allowing her a look inside.
“Huh,” she remarked. “The candle's burnt out.”
“Well, maybe there's somethin' fer us to do around the farm,” Apple Bloom suggested.
“Apple Bloom, we've been all over the farm,” Scootaloo rebuffed. You would think if there was something we could do, we would have found it already.”
“Well,” Apple Bloom began, trepidation in her voice, “there is one part of the farm ah've been avoidin'...”
“What's wrong with it?” Babs asked.
“It's the west orchard,” Apple Bloom replied. “Ya remember back at the family reunion, the hayride‒”
“Oh yeah,” Babs recalled with a chuckle, “All those fruit bats.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom continued, “and it's also the part of the farm closest to the Everfree Forest. Ah ain't even sure Applejack's seen all of it.”
“Cool!” Scootaloo said in a hushed tone. “So there's a part of the farm that's never been explored?”
“Maybe,” Apple Bloom replied, “I don't know.”
“But isn't running the farm Applejack's job?” Sweetie put in, “meaning she should know every inch of the property?”
“Well, it's not real clear as to where our property ends and the Forest begins, “so there's no way 'a knowin'.”
“But what about the bats?” Babs reminded them. “Won't they attack us?”
“Ah think we shooed 'em off during the family reunion,” Apple Bloom said, and she and her cousin shared a laugh.
“I'm in,” Scootaloo said.
“Me, too,” chimed Babs.
“Wait,” Sweetie Belle cautioned, “is it safe?”
“No less'n any o' the other stuff we got into,” and the four fillies shared a laugh.
•••
The CMC made their way to the West Orchard and as they walked there was an almost palpable change in environment; whereas the farm proper was very well kept and maintained, this area had much more of a “growing wild” feel to it. Branches grew at very odd angles, and they felt as though something was watching them.
Decidedly not the sort of place they would naturally be predispositioned to go to.
“Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said, some fear fading into her voice despite her best efforts, “are you sure we should be going this way?”
“Yeah,” Babs put in, “I ain't sure we're supposed to be here.”
“I want to go back!” Sweetie screamed, fear overcoming her pride. “I'm scared.”
“I'm startin' to agree with ya, girls,” Apple Bloom said, but before they turned around and went back, they saw a cleared hill off to the side that looked better maintained than the path they had been on, but not so well as the rest of the farm; a buffer between the familiar and the unknown. What really got the fillies' attention, however, was the barn atop the hill. It looked as though it hadn't ever been painted, and parts of the side had rotted away, revealing the frame within.
“Whoa!” the girls exclaimed in unison. As Scootaloo prepared to fly off to investigate, Apple Bloom grabbed Scoots's tail with her mouth.
“Hang on, there,” she said to Scootaloo, “after the way this path has been, you're just going to fly into a barn that has Celestia-knows-what inside?”
“Ooh, good point,” Scootaloo remarked. “Hey, why don't we ask Applejack about it?”
“Yeah,” Babs added, “she runs the farm, she oughta know about this barn, right?”
“Great idea, girls,” she said. “Now, let's get out of here; this place is creeping me out.”
“Me, too,” the other three said in unison.
And so they left the West orchard, taking care to properly retrace their steps.
