"Cutie Mark Crusaders Explorers!" cheered the three fillies as they dashed dangerously fast through the dark, forbidden forest. They weren't frightened; the forest was much less foreboding during the day, and, inspired by an energetic reading of Daring Do by Rainbow Dash to the fillies, were galloping fearlessly through the woods.
Inevitably so, one of their flying hooves struck a stray root, sending all three tumbling off the path and into a bush. They spilled out on the other side, rolling around on the grass with shrieks of laughter. After their boundless energy had finally subsided, they stretched out on the forest floor, catching their breath.
Apple Bloom, having spent her life on a farm and well accustomed to long periods of exertion, was the first to recover, leaping to her hooves and urging her friends to come along. "C'mon, girls! We won't get our cutie marks laying around!"
Sweetie Belle waved her hoof airily, "Yeah, yeah, in a minute. My hoof still hurts!"
"Your hoof?" Scootaloo repeated indignantly, "It was my head that cushioned your fall!"
As the two squabbled, Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and hopped along, exploring further and baiting her friends to follow. She trotted a ways away, looking for the path that she lost sight of in her tumble. Rounding a tree, she discovered a strange, unshapely lump decorated with foreign bits and baubles. "Girls, come quick!" she called urgently, instantly wishing to share her find.
Her friends, hearing the urgency in her voice, quit arguing over who had experienced the most pain and leapt to their hooves, rounding the tree where Apple Bloom's voice was heard.
"What the hay is that?" exclaimed Scootaloo upon seeing the lump. Sweetie Belle tilted her head at the strange sight, nodding her agreement.
Apple Bloom suddenly leapt from the opposite side of the lump, wearing a scary mask. "Rawr!" she called, startling her two friends and immediately dissolving in fits of laughter.
Sweetie Belle let out a squeal of surprise and leapt atop the lump herself, playfully pushing Apple Bloom away and inspecting the lump further.
Scootaloo, however, hung back, rephrasing her earlier question, "What is that?" A rustling in the leaves nearby momentarily distracted her, and she looked off to the side with a, "Huh?"
"It's a bag full of masks!" Apple Bloom explained happily, retrieving Scootaloo's attention. Sweetie Belle punctuated her statement by showing her another mask she had found herself.
Scootaloo looked side to side worriedly, "Hey, w-we shouldn't mess with this stuff; it could belong to somepony!" she objected weakly.
"What's th' matter, ya scared?" Apple Bloom teased, not looking up from the bag. Several ropes were wrapped around it to provide support, and there were various masks tucked under the ropes.
"N-no!" Scootaloo lied, "It's just, we might get in trouble!"
"Hey, what's this?" Sweetie Belle interjected. She had been investigating the inside of the bag, and was now prodding a rather large something that was tucked under the massive bag.
Apple Bloom leapt down next to her friend and took a look for herself. It was an oddly shaped something that lay still on the ground, unresponsive to Sweetie Belle's pokes and prods. It looked almost like an animal, though no kind of animal any of the three had ever seen before. "Is it...is it a pony?" Apple Bloom observed carefully.
"C'mon, let's get out of here! Before we get in trouble," Scootaloo reiterated.
Sweetie Belle, put off by the strange, unmoving animal beneath the bag, nodded her agreement, "Okay, let's go," she agreed, making her way around the bag, suddenly careful not to touch it.
"Hang on!" Apple Bloom bargained, head stuffed deep in the bag, "Ah found one ah really like!" she withdrew herself and the mask in question and held it high. "Look, it's got a heart shape!" she observed.
And it did; it was a purple, heart shaped mask, with ten spikes decorated the sides; four on each lower side, and two extra long spikes on top. It had an unnaturally large pair of orange eyes on a red face, and various patterns decorating the surface.
Apple Bloom flicked one of the spikes experimentally, smiling at her newfound prize.
"Okay, fine!" Scootaloo conceded, not objecting her taking of it-it was just one mask out of dozens-and turned back the way they had come, ":Let's go now!"
"Yeah, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle agreed, following Scootaloo.
"Alright," Apple Bloom nodded, leaping down from the bag and following her friends, not taking her eyes off of her new possession.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders, suddenly not all that into exploring the Everfree anymore, headed back to their clubhouse. For a while, they said nothing, reflecting on what they should do next. Apple Bloom laid on her back, holding her mask up in the light.
Scootaloo, unafraid now that she was out of the forest, was able to take a closer look at the prize. "That's a really weird mask," she observed, absorbing its details.
"What do you think it's supposed to be?" Sweetie Belle thought aloud.
An idea suddenly struck Apple Bloom, "Why don't we go find out?" she proposed, "Cutie Mark Crusaders...um, Mask Studiers?"
Her two friends, unable to think of anything more productive, shrugged and nodded, "But where do we go?" Scootaloo asked.
"Let's go ask Twilight!" Sweetie Belle suggested, "She know everything!"
Her idea was met with a resounding, "yeah!" of agreement, and so the three leapt to their hooves and dashed out of the clubhouse, towards the Golden Oaks Library.
