The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ Woodland Adventures

by TheIrisianPrincess

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Romance, Adventure
Length: 7519

Cheerilee takes her class camping in the EverFree Forest!

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo are excited to go camping with the rest of Cheerilee's class and Princess Twilight Sparkle in the EverFree Forest. To make it better, they're also able to bring their sisters, Apple Jack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, along with them. Unfortunately, due to a mishap with the map, they got lost and can't seem to find their way out. What follows is a heartwarming tale of love and sacrifice as the various members of Cheerilee's class must band together to survive out in the wild.

Loosely inspired by: Cutie Mark Crusaders Camping Trip

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-07 03:53:24 UTC

Cutie Mark Crusader Woodland Campers! Yay!

Chapter 1

“How did this happen?” Cheerilee sighed as she placed her bag down, signaling to all the fillies and colts that now was a time for rest. Cheerilee needed time to think, so she told everypony the obvious and they began to talk to each other.

Cheerilee, her class, and some other family members were camping out in the woods. She got the idea a couple of months ago and planned out all the different activities they could do together. After getting permission from the class’s respective families, she gathered them all up to enter a safer part of the EverFree Forest.

Unfortunately, something went a little wrong. After a while, Cheerilee got tired of reading the map, so she gave it to her good friend Twilight Sparkle, who got tired of it and gave it to Apple Jack, who gave it to Rainbow Dash who couldn’t read it, so she just gave it to one of the foals, telling them to give it to their teacher, and it somehow ended up in the hooves of Derpy. The gray Pegasus had led the entire troop far off from their predetermined trail. It was getting late and they needed to camp out for the night before continuing on tomorrow. Maybe Cheerilee will have a clearer head then and finally come to grips with their location.

“Alright, class!” The class stood at attention. “It seems that we’re running a bit late, so we’ll be camping out in that clearing over there.”

The class wearily cheered in excitement. They were getting exhausted from all the hiking they did. As they were unpacking their things and setting up their tents, Cheerilee remembered when she first told her class about the trip.

“Alright, that’s it for the lesson.” Cheerilee smiled at her class.

The students were somewhat confused. They still had a good fifteen minutes left of class and Miss Cheerilee always has something for them to do.

“I have some wonderful news for you all!” Cheerilee said. The class seemed intrigued about what she had to say. A few of them were worried it was going to be another pop quiz or some other insane thing teachers like to call ‘wonderful news’, like essays.

“Well, what’s the news, Miss Cheerilee?” Dinky Doo asked. The other fillies silently prayed to Celestia to bless Dinky for her bravery.

“Well, Dinky. What do you think about camping?”

Many eyes in the room lit up. All past anxiety gone with one simple question. Applebloom looked like she was going to bounce off her seat with excitement. Scootaloo leaned forward and Sweetie Belle had a big foolish grin.

“Groan.” Diamond Tiara sounded out the onomatopoeia. “Do you really expect me to roll around in dirt all the time? It’s very unbecoming of a young and beautiful filly such as myself. Right Silverspoon?”

Silverspoon nodded and smiled in agreement.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Diamond Tiara. For the rest of you that want to go, pick up the permission slip on my desk before leaving today. If you’d like, you can invite a family member to come, too.”

Button Mash raised his hoof obnoxiously.

“Yes, Button?”

“Are you bringing anypony along with you?” Button squealed in a high-pitched voice that made everypony around him cringe.

“Actually, Button. Thanks for reminding me. I am bringing along a friend. How many of you heard of Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Cheerilee put in extra emphasis in ‘princess’ as she looked in the general direction of Diamond Tiara.

The members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ already peaked interests became much more focused than before. Applebloom could hardly contain her excitement and fell out of her chair. Diamond Tiara actually looked somewhat interested in this new information.

“Silverspoon,” she whispered. “If there’s going to be a princess there, then maybe this trip won’t be such a bad idea.”

Silverspoon secretly disagreed for she knew that Twilight Sparkle didn’t act anything at all like a princess, but nodded and smiled as if they thought in tandem.

Cheerilee smiled at that memory, and then remembered she still had to take roll call.

“Can I have everypony’s attention?” Cheerilee said cheerfully. “I need to make sure everyone’s present.”

The foals and some of their family members gave Cheerilee their attention. Twilight trotted right next to the teacher and gave a giddy smile.

“When I call your name, please answer and indicate the adult, if you brought one, that came with you. Okay? Applebloom.”

“Howdy, Miss Cheerilee. Ah’m here with mah sister Apple Jack.”

“Aura.”

“Here. I came alone.” Aura is a light purple earth pony with a turquoise mane.

“Berry Pinch.”

“Here! I came with the best sister ever: Berry Punch!” the magenta unicorn smiled at her sister who suspiciously smelled of alcohol.

“Button Mash.”

“I’m here. My mom got sick, so she couldn’t come with me.” Button looked like he was about to cry, until a Pegasus named Rumble put a hoof on his shoulder and told him everything was going to be alright and that he was going to see his mother by the end of the week.

“Diamond Tiara.”

“I have come to grace you all with my presence. I also have daddy here, so none of you morons can touch me.” She stuck out her tongue at everypony. Her father put a hoof on her shoulder and told her to be a bit more polite.

“Diamond Tiara, you actually have to say his name.”

“But you didn’t ask about Button’s mom!” Diamond Tiara protested.

“That’s because she’s not coming with us.” Cheerilee answered.

“Ugh, some ponies are just picky.” Diamond Tiara answered dejectedly.

“Sweetheart,” her father stepped in. “Maybe I should answer. My name is Filthy Rich, but you already know that, Cheerilee.”

“Nice to meet you, Filthy.” Filthy Rich glared at her. “Umm, anyway, is Dinky Doo here?”

“I’m here!” she shouted happily. “And my mother, Derpy Hooves, is here, too!”

“How can she refer to her own mother by first name?” Diamond Tiara asked Silverspoon. “It makes no logical sense to me.”

Silverspoon nodded in agreement.

“Featherweight?”

“Yes, I’m here, but I’m alone.”

“Noi?”

The light orange earth pony smiled at Cheerilee and spoke, “Present. I’m here with my sister, Golden Harvest.”

“Piña Colada?”

“Here. I actually came with Noi and Golden Harvest.” The light pink pony smiled at Cheerilee, and then glanced at Aura, who suddenly became very interested in her hooves.

“Princess Erroria.” Cheerilee always found it odd that her parents named their foal ‘Princess’ and a word that was unbelievably similar to the word ‘error’. It seemed like an oxymoron to her.

“What? Oh, I’m here, uh, Cheerilee… and I… came alone.” Princess stuttered, as she kept glancing at Diamond Tiara, her face red at seeing the beautiful filly.

“Rumble?”

“I’m here with my brother, Thunderlane.” Rumble said in a small voice.

“Scoota…”

Scootaloo interrupted her teacher. “I’m here! And I brought the coolest Pegasus ever: Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest triumphantly while some of the former members of the currently disbanded Rainbow Dash Fan Club, Noi and Piña Colada, stared in awe at the cyan Pegasus. Aura, another fan, looked away from Rainbow Dash, as if to avert her eyes.

“How in the name of Celestia did Scootaloo get so close to Rainbow Dash?” Piña Colada whispered to Noi.

“I really don’t know. I am a bit curious, though. We should check that out.” Noi answered.

“That’s nice and all, Scootaloo, but we need to finish the roll call.” Cheerilee told the Pegasus filly. “Is Silverspoon here?”

“Does Cheerilee really think that I would come without Silverspoon?” Diamond Tiara asked, annoyed. Princess Erroria savored the appealing sounds of the filly’s voice.

“I’m here, Miss Cheerilee. I came with Diamond and Filthy.” Silverspoon answered in a sweet voice. Filthy Rich looked annoyed, while Diamond Tiara put her hoof around Silverspoon. Princess Erroria looked away.

“Sweetie Belle?” Cheerilee asked.

“What?” Sweetie Belle looked confused.

“Sweetie Belle?” Cheerilee asked again.

“Sweetie Belle, she’s taking roll call.” Applebloom whispered.

“Oh! I’m here!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

“Did you bring anyone with you?” Cheerilee asked.

“No, but Rarity brought me.” Sweetie Belle answered.

Cheerilee’s ears flattened in annoyance. She ultimately decided to ignore that comment.

“And finally, Tornado Bolt.”

Tornado Bolt is a new student that recently moved from Canterlot. She’s a gray Pegasus with a purple mane. At first, she was shy, but after being treated with mostly positive attention, she became friendlier with the other students.

“I’m here,” she said confidently, with a grin that rivals the sun. “And I’m not alone, as long as I’m with you guys!”

Most of the class couldn’t help but smile at Tornado's absolute cheesiness. Only Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo were unimpressed.

“Well, since everypony’s here, finish setting everything up.” Cheerilee moved towards the purple mare next to her. “Come on, Twilight. Let’s set up our tent.”

“Right behind you, Cheerilee.” Twilight answered.

Cutie Mark Crusader Friendship Builders! Yay!

Chapter 2

Everypony trotted over to their tents, ready and willing to go to sleep that night. Almost all of them looked exactly the same, except for Rarity’s pointlessly extravagant two-story tent. Each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders slept with their respective sisters. Berry Pinch was with Berry Punch. Diamond Tiara slept with Silverspoon. Filthy Rich brought his own tent. Derpy and Dinky shared theirs and cuddled all night. Rumble decided to sleep with Button Mash (who started to cry) and left Thunderlane alone. Cheerilee and Twilight Sparkle shared a tent. Many of the remaining students had their own tents and almost everypony were on the fast track to sleep. Everypony, save for two earth pony fillies, named Noi and Piña Colada.

“Noi, are you still awake?” Piña asked her friend.

“Yes. Do you think anypony else can hear us?” Noi responded.

“No. I think they’re all falling asleep by now.”

“Their game is weak.” Noi laughed. Piña Colada gave a slight chuckle at her joke, but then remembered what they needed to talk about.

“Quiet, Noi.” Piña Colada hissed and Noi went silent. “I still need to talk to you about Scootaloo.”

“Oh. Scootaloo? Are you talking about her being so close to Rainbow Dash?” Noi asked.

“No, I’m talking about her mane.” Piña answered coldly. “Of course I’m talking about her relationship with Rainbow Dash!”

Noi flinched at Piña Colada submissively.

“Even though the Rainbow Dash Fan Club recently disbanded, we will always be honorary members. Scootaloo created the Fan Club, but she had abandoned us. She had taken the easy route, subverted every single member of this club, and unfairly monopolized Rainbow Dash all to herself! And we all know what happened to the last pony who tried to do that, don’t we Noi?”

“Yes, I do remember.”

“But her actions were small potatoes compared to the atrocities that Scootaloo had already done. We need to teach that egotistical brownnoser a lesson about sharing, don’t we Noi?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Piña.”

“Starting tomorrow, we need to learn all there is to know about that no-good piece of airspace and I know just the pony who will tell us everything that we need to know.”

“Piña, who are you talking about?”

“Tomorrow,” Piña answered her friend. “We’re going to have a chat with Sweetie Belle.” Piña smiled at her friend and fell into her sleeping bag, indicating that it was time to go to sleep.

“Hey, Cheerilee!” Button Mash complained. “What’s for breakfast?”

“There are granola bars in the saddle bag. Why don’t you go get one?”

“Thanks!” Button ungraciously galloped away.

“Only take one!”

“I will!”

Twilight Sparkle trotted over to Cheerilee with a look of worry in her face. She could hardly get any sleep last night, because she kept thinking about how they could possibly be lost in the EverFree Forest. She knew that this forest was a dangerous place filled with predatory animals and other life-threatening dangers. Since she couldn’t fall asleep, she tried to distract herself by listening to the incessant chatting from Noi and Piña Colada’s tent. She couldn’t understand what they were saying and it only lasted for about ten minutes.

“Hey, Cheerilee.” Twilight tried to hide her nervousness.

“Hi, Twilight.”

“Do you have any idea where we are?”

“No.” Cheerilee sighed.

“Then, what should we do?” Twilight asked in a sympathetic voice.

“I’m guessing if we could find some sort of landmark, like a river or something, we could use that to help us find our bearings.”

Twilight put her hoof to her chin and fell into a state of thought. An epiphany shot into her mind.

“What if we get Rainbow Dash to fly up into the sky and look for any landmarks on the map?”

“Good work, Twilight!” Twilight stared at her. “Sorry. I’m just used to saying that to my students. I hope you’re didn’t think I was being condescending.”

“I wouldn’t mind being your student,” Twilight whispered. “Well, anyway, I’m going to go get Rainbow Dash. I think she still might be asleep.”

“Okay, Twilight. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

Twilight trotted over to Rainbow Dash’s and Scootaloo’s tent. She used a spell to open up the zipper, only to see Dashie sitting there. She was reading the fifth book of the Daring Do series for what could possibly be the twenty-seventh time.

“Rainbow Dash.”

“Twilight! I was just about to get to a really good part! Daring Do is about to play one of the Puppet Master’s sadistic games to get the Orb of Atonement!”

“Yes, that is a particularly good scene. But, you’re the only pony who can do this.”

“Alright. I’ll do it. Besides, Daring Do will be here when I get back. So, what is it you want me to do?”

Sweetie Belle woke up much later than most of the other students. She got out and saw the large EverFree trees that surrounded her. She smelled the fresh woodland scent that enveloped and stimulated her senses. Sweetie Belle was a happy camper.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle, mind if I talk to you for a moment?” Noi walked out of the shadows.

“Sure, um, is your name Nope?” Sweetie Belle asked innocently.

“No, my name is Noi.”

“Oh. My mistake.” Sweetie Belle smiled awkwardly. “So, what is it that you need to talk about?”

“Something important. Come follow me.”

Sweetie Belle followed the light orange filly to a secluded area away from the other campers.

“I’m curious about your friend.”

“Who? Applebloom or Scootaloo?”

“Scootaloo. You see… I’m a huge fan of Rainbow Dash, and I want to congratulate Scootaloo for being able to get so close to her.” Noi tried her best not to sound as if she’s jealous.

“I see,” Sweetie Belle commented.

“But… I want to know the details. How exactly did they get so close?”

“Oh! So, it went like this...”

Noi gave a slight smile, when she realized that Sweetie Belle was too innocent to suspect any form of ulterior motive.

“That’s what you want me to do?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Hah! That’s easy! Don’t worry, I’ll find a landmark as soon as possible.”

“Rainbow Dash, wait! Don’t forget the map. You’ll need to see if anything matches up to it.”

“I wasn’t going to forget the map, Twilight.”

“Then, why was it on a rock over there?” Twilight pointed towards a peculiar rock, with a map balancing itself on it.

“Oh, right.” Rainbow Dash took the map in her hooves and flew higher and higher passed the tops of the trees. As she came to the halfway mark, she could see nests of Phoenixes perched in the trees. They looked at her quizzically and then looked up. Rainbow Dash continued to fly up. She could’ve flown faster, but that would increase the chances of hitting a tree, then falling, and hitting something much harder. The Phoenixes looked up to Rainbow Dash. Some of them looked fidgety. As Dashie flew upwards, she noticed a lot more Phoenix nests. Almost of them were staring at her.

She continued to fly closer and closer to the canopy and one of the Phoenixes flew from her perch. Soon, the others followed suit. The Alpha Phoenix flew headfirst into Rainbow Dash’s wing.

“Hey! What’s going on?!” She looked up to see a horde of territorial Phoenixes coming right for her. They attacked her wings, giving her slight burns in the process. Rainbow Dash tried to protect herself with the map, but that proved to be useless when the map burned. She flew down as the Phoenixes continued to attack her. One Phoenix took Rainbow Dash by surprise and burnt most of her wing, causing the cyan Pegasus to plummet to the ground.

Fortunately, before she could break her neck, Twilight had used a spell to slow down Dashie’s descent.

“Rainbow Dash! What happened?!” Twilight asked with a sense of fear in her voice.

“Phoenixes,” she answered.

“I see.” Twilight commented. “I’m going to have to tell Cheerilee about this, don’t I?”

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I’ll be there with you to explain everything.”

The two mares slowly trotted their way to Cheerilee. Twilight had her head down, while Rainbow looked completely forward. For a split-second, Rainbow saw Twilight looking defeated, so she put her hoof below her chin and raised Twilight’s head in an attempt to cheer her up. Twilight pushed Rainbow’s hoof away, and looked back to the ground.

“Cheerilee?” Rainbow Dash called out to the teacher, who had been placing a bandage on Button’s hoof after he fell.

“What is it, Rainbow Dash?”

“Something went terribly wrong.” Rainbow answered.

“Well, it’s not her fault,” Twilight interjected. “I should’ve told her about Phoenixes being territorial.”

Cheerilee said nothing as she continued to administer the bandage to Button’s hoof.

“No, it’s my fault,” Rainbow Dash countered. “I shouldn’t have gotten so close to the Phoenix nests.”

“But that’s only because I told you to.” Twilight objected.

Cheerilee told Button Mash that he can go now, and sent him on his merry way. She turned to the two other mares trying to get her attention.

“What’s all this about Phoenix nests?” Cheerilee asked.

“Well, when Rainbow Dash was out looking for a landmark, she… got attacked by Phoenixes.”

“Oh! Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?” Cheerilee asked sympathetically.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Rainbow Dash answered. “I just can’t fly for a while, that’s all.”

“Well, we can always just get Thunderlane to do it. I’ve heard he’s a good flyer. So, where’s the map?”

“Umm… the map…” Twilight took a charred piece of paper from her saddlebag. “The Phoenixes got to it.”

For a while, Cheerilee said nothing. She just stared at what used to be a readable map of the EverFree Forest.

“Cheerilee? Are you okay?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah… I’m okay,” Cheerilee answered. “We… we need to get some water… and some food. We might be here for a while.”

Applebloom and Apple Jack were about to do some fun sister activities together, but then Twilight came up to AJ and explained the situation to her.

“Rainbow Dash hurt her wing? Ah’m awfully sorry,” said Apple Jack. “Is there anything Ah can do to help?”

“Actually, there is. Would you mind trying to find water around here? If you don’t find any, that’s fine. We have plenty of water bottles. It’s just… we might be here for a while.”

“Anything for you, Twilight,” Apple Jack turned to face her sister. “I’m sorry, sugarcube. It seems I got my hoof wrapped up at the moment. Hey, maybe you should play with some of your Crusader friends.”

“But, Apple Jack! Scootaloo’s hanging out with Rainbow Dash and I think Sweetie Belle’s still asleep.”

“Well, there’s plenty of other fillies you could talk to,” said the orange mare. “Maybe you can play with one of them.”

Applebloom looked to the ground, muttered ‘okay’, and trotted away.

Apple Jack sighed. “Come on, Twilight.”

“Right behind you, AJ.”

Applebloom was muttering to herself. She had been excited to spend more time with her sister, but now she had to do something ‘more important’ as if anything was more important than spending time with your sister. She wouldn’t be too ticked off, if it weren’t for the fact that both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were indisposed. Applebloom looked around for any signs of someone to talk to, but nopony was around.

Then, a light yellow Pegasus with a purple mane and a pink flower cutie mark trotted passed Applebloom.

“Hey, where ya goin’?” Applebloom asked.

“It’s none of your concern.” Princess Erroria answered coldly.

“Yer name is Princess Erroria, right?”

“No. Ponies just started calling me that when I kept mispronouncing my name.”

Applebloom didn’t remember Erroria having any other name, but she did remember when she had a lisp that made her almost impossible to understand. Realizing they were treading on uncertain grounds, the farmfilly decided to change their conversation.

“Well, where ya goin’?” Applebloom asked again.

Princess groaned. “You already asked me that. And, I already told you. It’s none of your concern!” she yelled. “Besides, I can’t be seen talking to a… a blank flank like yourself.”

The young filly looked away.

“What does me bein’ a blank flank have to do with anything? Does it have to do with the fact that you’re walking over to Diamond Tiara’s tent?”

Princess Erroria blushed. “That is none of your concern, blank flank!”

Applebloom, noticing Erroria’s flustered face, began to tease her.

“Princess, do you… I dunno… have feelings for a certain pink filly?”

“No…” Princess Erroria answered as the redness in her face intensified.

That did it. Applebloom giggled to herself.

“Well, Ah’ll be. I never would’ve expected you of all ponies to have a crush on Diamond Tiara.”

“Shut up.”

“Actually, I can see it now. You and Diamond Tiara are sittin’ together at Sugarcube Corner, sharing a milkshake and holding hooves. Then, you find there’s only one cherry. You two share that cherry, and your lips barely touches hers…”

Princess Erroria punched Applebloom square in the nose.

“How many times do I have to tell you to shut up? You annoying blank flank!” she screamed.

Holding her nose, Applebloom galloped away. She realized she had gone too far, but she felt she didn’t deserve to be punched. Maybe she wanted to be with her friends so much, that she begun to treat Erroria like they were the best of friends since they were foals.

“Look, Twilight! Runnin’ water!” said Apple Jack. “And it’s not too far from camp.”

“It’s a good thing we found it so quickly. But, I wish that it was a full-fledged river, rather than a creek.”

“Why, Twilight?”

“Rivers have names. If we found the river, we could follow it and make our way back to civilization.”

“Oh, so that’s why yer disappointed.” Apple Jack commented. “Well, at least we have water.”

“At least we have water.” Twilight echoed.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo raced to see Applebloom. When they heard she got hurt, they wanted to help her feel better.

“What happened, Applebloom?” asked Scootaloo.

“Ah fell and hit mah nose.”

“I’m so sorry, Applebloom,” said Sweetie Belle. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Ah can’t think of anything. But… thanks, Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle was apparently lost in thought. She put her hoof to her chin, then brightened up and said something loud enough for almost everypony around them to hear.

“Idea!” she sang.

At first, everypony else stared at the three, but they went back doing their usual business. Sweetie Belle laughed nervously.

“What’s your idea?” asked Scootaloo.

“I know something that’ll make you feel better,” Sweetie Belle told Applebloom.

“What?” the farmfilly asked.

“Tonight, we’re going to play Truth-or-Dare. And everypony’s invited.”

Cutie Mark Crusader Latenight Gamers! Yay!

Chapter 3

“Truth-or-dare?” asked Applebloom.

“Yeah! Truth-or-dare!” Sweetie Belle answered. “I’ve never played before and it sounds like fun. What do you think Scootaloo?”

“Eh, that game doesn’t sound all that fun, but I guess I see no harm.”

“Then it’s settled! Let’s go tell everypony about it!” squeaked Sweetie Belle.

“But Ah never agreed to it!” protested Applebloom.

“Two ponies versus one, Applebloom,” replied Scootaloo.

“Besides, it’s going to be so much fun, that you’ll thank me for this, Applebloom. You’ll see.”

Sweetie Belle ran off in excitement. Scootaloo smiled, and then stopped when she realized it could be misinterpreted as a genuine emotion, and went to look for others. Meanwhile, Applebloom muttered ‘fine’ and went off to do the same.

Twilight Sparkle was just telling Cheerilee about the creek nearby, when they were interrupted by a certain pink filly and that filly with the glasses.

“Hello, Diamond Tiara,” Cheerilee waved to them. “And Silverspoon.”

Twilight eyed them suspiciously. She’s seen them only once before, during Diamond’s cute-ceañera and they didn’t exactly make a good impression. To make matters worse, she’s often heard complaints from her friends about how horribly they treated Applebloom and the rest of the Crusaders.

“Can we speak to Twilight?” asked Diamond Tiara. “Alone, if possible.”

Twilight almost had a heart attack right then and there. Why would the most despicable filly here want to talk to her? She’s a princess of friendship, for Celestia’s sake! She felt blood rushing to her head and begun to think of theories as to what Diamond wanted to talk about. A grand total of zero of them made any sense and that made her all the more curious.

“Is Twilight okay?” asked Silverspoon.

“Yes,” replied Cheerilee. “She sometimes zones out.”

Silverspoon glanced at Twilight, nodded, and looked back to Cheerilee.

“Well, Twilight Sparkle. These two fillies would like to talk to you. I’ll be taking my leave.”

Just like that, Cheerilee walked away, leaving the confused princess with the two most spoiled fillies in the forest.

“So, Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon, what do you want to…”

“How did you become a Princess?” asked Diamond Tiara.

Oh, so it’s about that.

“Well, I accidently swapped my friends’ cutie marks.”

“I don’t know about you, Diamond, but I don’t think that’s princess material,” joked Silverspoon.

Diamond Tiara wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Actually, she was starting to fear Twilight and her magic. If she could switch ponies’ cutie marks, she might lose hers to those Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“So, I used the magic of friendship to give them the cutie marks they’re supposed to have, fixed a spell, created new magic, and for my efforts I was promoted to princess.”

Diamond’s fear went away just like that. Twilight was too much of a goody-four horseshoes to actually threaten taking away her cutie mark.

“That doesn’t seem like a whole lot,” said Silverspoon.

“Hey, don’t underestimate what I did. Not even Starswirl the Bearded could fix that spell. I did what he couldn’t do.”

Diamond Tiara spoke up. “If a bookworm like you can become a princess, then it must be easy for someone as perfect as me to become one.”

“I don’t think that’s the way you should interpret my story.”

“Come on, Silverspoon,” said Diamond Tiara. “Let’s bother the blank flanks.”

“You probably shouldn’t… and they left,” Twilight sighed.

Button Mash was trailing behind Cheerilee. He hurt himself again and she needed to administer another bandage.

“Seriously, Button,” sighed Cheerilee. “Why did you think it was a good idea trying to climb a tree? You’re a pony… with hooves.”

“But… but in one of my video games…” protested Button.

“You know, you can’t do everything that you see in your games.”

“Yeah I can!” screamed Button. “I’ll prove it to you!” Button immediately tried to do a double jump, but was caught mid-air by Cheerilee.

“Why’d you stop me?!”

“You were going to hit your nose… again,” answered Cheerilee. “Now hold still and let me put on your bandage.”

Button reluctantly accepted. Rumble trotted over to them.

“Hey, Button,” Rumble noticed the scene. “Oh, you hurt yourself again?”

“Yes,” Button sniffed.

“Well, I know what would make you feel better!”

“What?” asked Button.

“Sweetie Belle invited us to play Truth-or-Dare tonight.”

“Really?” asked Cheerilee.

“Yes,” answered Rumble. “I don’t think adults can play though.”

Cheerilee’s ears flattened. Did Rumble really think she wanted to play with them? Well, it did seem fun to participate, but there were other reasons why she asked.

“You misinterpret,” commented Cheerilee as she pushes Button off to the side, indicating he was free to go. “I just need somepony to watch over you guys. We need to make sure that no fights break out and nopony gives a dare or a question that’s inappropriate.”

“Well, you should probably ask Sweetie Belle about that. It was her idea.”

Just then, there was a loud clank, like metal on rock, followed by bouts of incessant crying.

“Oh, did Button hurt himself, again?” Cheerilee already knew the answer.

“I’ll go ask Sweetie Belle. You go put Button on a leash,” Rumble joked.

Cheerilee was beginning to actually consider that, but she didn’t bring a leash to the trip.

Applebloom had just finished inviting Berry Pinch, when she literally ran into Princess Erroria.

“Ow! Watch where you’re going, blank flank!” screamed the Princess.

“Oh, hey Princess Erroria,” said Applebloom. “Sorry ‘bout earlier. Look, to make it up to ya, we’ll invite ya…”

“Pass.”

“Well, Ah hadn’t even told ya what it is, yet!”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not going.”

“We’ll be playin’ Truth-or-Dare. And everypony is invited.”

Princess Erroria paused for a moment and pondered about whether or not she would go. If Diamond Tiara went, that would make the experience all the more thrilling. But, Diamond Tiara attending one of the Cutie Mark Crusader’s childish games is unthinkable. However, if Diamond Tiara were to attend, she could get all sorts of secrets out of her. But, more importantly, was the prospect of Silverspoon. Erroria knew that to get to Diamond Tiara, she would have to make it passed her. She had to make sure that Silver didn’t share her feelings towards Diamond. It seems to her that they should attend the game, but how to convince those two to attend an event with ponies they despise?

“Hey, uh, Princess? You okay?”

The answer to Erroria’s problem became obvious at that moment. She knew exactly what to say to convince the two to attend.

“I’m fine, blank flank,” she retorted. “I think I might accept your offer.”

Applebloom smiled, and then she held her nose in pain, because the sudden movement made her nose hurt worse.

“I said I might,” Erroria said coldly. “I’m not making any guarantees.”

“Thanks! Ah knew ya come around!” Applebloom had no idea why she was so cheery. The pain in her nose didn’t bother her anymore, so she continued to smile. She thought she would’ve preferred her not to attend, but she was glad when she did.

Perhaps she was happy that Princess Erroria was kind enough to forgive her and accept her invitation. Yeah, that must be it.

That evening, the fillies and colts all went into Rarity and Sweetie Belle’s tent to play Truth-or-Dare. It was large enough to house all the students and the adults. Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon accepted Princess Erroria’s invitation, based solely on the opportunity to humiliate the CMC. Button Mash had a little cough, so he and Rumble had to go to bed together. Featherweight walked in, and when he saw the game consisted of entirely fillies, he walked right out. Rarity was asked by Miss Cheerilee to watch the fillies and make sure they’re playing fair and safe.

Cheerilee and the rest of the adults shared some of Berry Punch’s wine in another tent.

“Okay, everypony!” spoke Sweetie Belle. “We’re going to play Truth-or-Dare. Everypony write their names on a slip of paper, fold it, and put it in this bowl. Once that’s done, I’ll take a piece of paper and ask that pony ‘Truth or Dare?’ and we play the game like that. Any questions?”

“Why are we putting our names on paper?” asked Applebloom.

“That’s to make sure nopony has more than one turn.”

“Who’ll be going first?” asked Noi.

“I will,” answered Sweetie Belle. “Besides, whoever is last will get to ask me ‘Truth-or-Dare’, so it’s not like I’m skipping a turn or anything.”

The students agreed that this was reasonable. They wrote their names on paper and placed them in a bowl. Sweetie Belle put her hoof in and called out.

“Dinky Doo. Truth or dare?”

“Oh, truth please.”

“Have you ever stayed up all night?” Sweetie Belle asked innocently.

“No,” she answered. Dinky put her hoof into the bowl.

“Princess Erroria?” she called out. “Truth or dare?”

“Hmm… dare.”

“I dare you to read a passage from your diary.”

The princess felt a pang of worry in the back of her neck. Her diary consisted mostly of fantasies of her and Diamond Tiara, most of which were in a sexual nature. Fortunately, she put her hoof to a passage that didn’t involve Diamond in any way.

“Dear Diary, Today’s my cute-ceañera! I’m so excited getting my cutie mark. It’s a pink flower and it looks really cool.”

Oh no. This was about Diamond Tiara.

“You know, I really couldn’t have gotten my cutie mark if it weren’t for that really nice pink filly I met today. She was so nice! I can only hope she gets her cutie mark soon, so we can be friends. Oh, but she’s friends with that other filly and I don’t want to get in the way.”

I hope that I didn’t mention Diamond Tiara by name.

“Anyway, I remember when she went up to me and asked me for my name. I was so happy, seeing somepony with her grace asking me for my name. I tell her it’s Alula and she calls me Erroria and a princess and then starts laughing with her friend! I was so happy that they treated me so well, especially with everypony else being needlessly cruel, saying how weird I sounded, just because I found it hard to speak well.”

Alula looked around at her classmates. They seemed to have faces of bewilderment. She figured it was because they didn’t know her name was Alula.

In reality, they knew the filly in question was Diamond Tiara and they were shocked that Alula would misinterpret her bullying as a gesture of friendship. She decided to continue.

“Anyway, mommy’s calling me, so I have to go now. Kittens.”

Alula sighed. She saw more of those looks from earlier.

“Stop staring at me like that,” she said with disdain. “It makes me feel uncomfortable.”

The ponies continued to stare at her.

“I actually explain more in detail about how I got my cutie mark in the next entry.”

The ponies continued to stare at her.

“Whatever.”

She wandered over to the bowl and pulled out a slip of paper.

Silverspoon.

She silently cheered for herself. What were the possibilities of her pulling Silverspoon out?

“Silverspoon, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

A drop of sweat displaced itself on Alula’s neck. She thought for a bit, and then came to a conclusion. There’d be no possible way for her to ask if she has a crush on Diamond Tiara, especially with Applebloom knowing her secret and all. They’d be suspicious of her. So, she decided to go for a more general question.

“Do you have a crush on any of the fillies in the room?”

The question took Silverspoon by surprise. For a few minutes, she was silent. Then, she glanced at Rarity, who was interested in what she had to say. She mumbled for a bit, before confirming Alula’s suspicion.

“Yes,” she spoke. “I… I’m not telling you who it is, though.”

Diamond Tiara looked at her friend with a bewildered look. She didn’t know her best friend had crushes at all, let alone one for a filly. Once Alula looked at Diamond’s face, she realized what she actually did. Silverspoon didn’t tell her best friend her secret and she had forced her to come out in front of the entire class. They all seemed pretty shocked, though. Except Sweetie Belle, she’s too busy hugging Rarity.

Wait, when did she start hugging Rarity? Alula must not have noticed.

The silence was broken by an orange Pegasus filly.

“So, you’re a fillyfooler?” asked Scootaloo with no regard to Silverspoon’s mental state.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Alula asked.

“I never said there was anything wrong with it,” Scootaloo retorted. “I’m just confirming that’s all. Anyway, Silverspoon has to draw out somepony’s name.”

Silverspoon already dipped her hoof into the bowl and brought out a piece of paper that read “Applebloom”.

“Applebloom, truth or dare?”

“Uh, dare.”

“I dare you to act like an idiot.”

Applebloom was just about to do her best impression of Diamond Tiara, but she was interrupted by Silverspoon.

“Congratulations! Not only did you do exactly what I told you to do, but you went above and beyond! I think you might give Snips and Snails a run for their money,” Silverspoon laughed.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders glared at Silverspoon. Rarity spoke up, telling Silverspoon that was uncalled for. Applebloom pulled out a slip of paper, which read…

“Diamond Tiara. Truth or dare?” she smiled.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to compliment me.”

Diamond Tiara sighed.

“Sometimes, you aren’t as annoying as you usually are.”

Figures Diamond would weave an insult into a compliment, but Applebloom still smiled at the situation.

“I’ll get you for this,” said Diamond Tiara. She pulled out a slip of paper. “Scootaloo.”

“Umm… dare?”

“I dare you to do the chicken dance.”

Reluctantly, Scootaloo accepts the dare, but she continued to glare at Diamond Tiara the whole time.

“Noi, truth or dare?”

“I would like you to dare me.”

“Good. Kick Diamond Tiara in her face.”

Rarity spoke up, “Scootaloo, you can’t dare someone into doing anything violent. Sorry, but you’ve just forfeited your turn.”

Scootaloo looked dejected, while Noi pulled out a slip of paper that read “Berry Pinch”.

“You have a choice, Berry Pinch, either pick truth… or dare. Which one?” asked Noi.

“Truth, please,” she answered.

Noi asked, “Have you ever consumed any amount of alcohol before?”

“What’s alcohol?” answered Berry Pinch.

“Figures,” said Noi. “You’re turn, Berry.”

She pulled out a slip of paper. Tornado Bolt looked excited. It was going to be her turn soon! Berry Pinch spoke up.

“I got Piña Colada.”

“Dare,” she smiled.

“I dare you to make a bad pun.”

Piña Colada looked around with an awkward grin. She didn’t know what she was going to do. Then, she genuinely smiled for a bit, until returning to her awkward state of mind.

“Silly filly, I can’t make a bad pun on the spot, so please stop horsing around.” She smiled at the other classmates, who only stared at her. Only three classmates weren’t staring. Tornado Bolt was getting far too excited for her turn to really care about bad puns. Sweetie Belle was too far in the zone to really care that something awkward just happened. And Aura always felt awkward, so this wasn’t anything special, instead, she spent an awful long time looking at the ground.

“Get it? Horsing around?”

“We get it,” answered Applebloom. “I think we all get it.”

Piña Colada drew out a paper that read:

“Aura. Truth or dare?”

The young filly started to hyperventilate and drops of sweat formed on her face. Out of all the fillies in the room, why did it have to be Piña Colada? Mustering up all her courage, she chose dare.

Aura’s pink tormenter stood unnaturally close to her face, gave a smile the devil would hide from, and told her one simple request.

“I dare you to smile.”

“What…”

“Smile, filly.”

Aura’s eyes began to twitch and streams of tears appeared on her cheeks.

“Hey, is she crying?” asked Dinky Doo.

“Smile, filly.” Piña Colada smiled again.

“Ah think she is cryin’,” answered Applebloom.

“Smile, filly.” Aura put her hooves on her head.

“Is something the matter, honey?” asked Rarity.

“Smile, filly.”

To everypony’s surprise, Aura screamed. It wasn’t a particularly loud or thunderous scream, more like a scream filled with desperation. She viciously attacked Piña Colada, kicking her with all four hooves. She even tried to bite her at some point or another.

“Stop it, you two!” yelled Rarity. She pulled them apart. “What’s gotten into you? I’m sure Cheerilee would like to have a nice chat with you, filly. Game over, everypony. Go to bed.”

Rarity dragged Aura out the tent, leaving a slightly bruised Piña Colada left in her wake.

“Come on, everypony,” said Noi. “Let’s go to bed.” She held Piña Colada in her arms and helped her walk out of the tent. The other fillies followed her, save for Sweetie Belle and Tornado Bolt.

After a short delay, Tornado came to a realization that she never got a turn.

3.5: Button's Night

Chapter 3.5

“I’m not feeling very good,” I told my friend Rumble. “Maybe playing Truth-or-Dare isn’t such a good idea…”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Rumble answered. “But, there’s nothing you can do about it. Hey, how about we just go to bed and sleep it off, okay?”

Rumble’s proposition made complete sense to me. I was just about to roll out my sleeping bag, when he stopped me and told me he would do that for me. He’s nice like that.

After Rumble set up my sleeping bag, I snuggled my way into a comfortable position. I coughed. The night of the game was not a good time to get a head cold. It was going to be so much fun and I knew I was going to regret being sick later.

“Hey, Button,” Rumble whispered to me. “I’m sure you’ll be better by tomorrow, and then you can play a game tomorrow night.”

I really like it when Rumble makes sense.

Anyway, I just couldn’t get to sleep. Every time I tried, another cough will jolt me awake. I tried to talk to Rumble, but he was fast asleep. How could he be asleep when I’m coughing so much? Well, it’s not like we could have any sort of conversation with me coughing every two words. The outside was particularly dark and all the other ponies were snug in their tents. Quite possibly, I was the only pony awake.

He did remember when they all went to bed. Sweetie Belle’s sister was dragging some earth pony, I think her name started with an ‘A’, she was dragged to Cheerilee’s tent and it looked like she was being scolded about something. I really don’t know.

Soon, the other fillies followed them out of the tent and went into their own. Last but not least, Tornado Bolt trotted out slowly. Wow, I never would’ve expected her of all ponies looking disappointed about anything.

That was probably a few hours ago. The only light source was Luna’s moon, looking down on me. I felt a strange, yet familiar, sensation. I had to use the little colt’s room.

Not wishing to wake anypony up, I stepped out of my tent, coughed, and trotted my way to the outside of the clearing.

I heard a wolf howl.

It’s probably nothing. I’ll just do my business and walk back. That’s all.

I heard another wolf howl, this time it sounded closer.

I found a particular tree that wouldn’t mind a little extra water. I answered nature’s call and started to walk back.

I heard a wolf howl.

Okay, did I really go that far away from the campsite? It’s not like I wanted to be this far away. Then, I sniffed the wind and it smelled awful. I couldn’t believe such a horrible smell existed anywhere in this forest or in Equestria in general.

Then, I heard a wolf howl not far from where I was standing. I looked to the direction of the sound and saw a pack of large wooden wolves. What were they called again?

Yes, Timberwolves.

Wait… Timberwolves?

These things were huge. I started a mad dash to the camp, hoping I’ll be safe there, but one of the wolves caught my back hoof.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. Every time I tried, I kept getting a taste of that awful breath. Add that to my already weak lungs from coughing all night, and I couldn’t even get passed a whisper.

No one was coming to save me. I tried, with no success, to scream for help.

“He… help…” I stuttered weakly.

The Timberwolves let go of me and I tried to run towards the camp, but I found it difficult to get very far with only three legs. I tripped on myself and my tears mixed with the blood splattered all over the ground. One of the Timberwolves dug its claws into my back and ripped it open. The world around me began to fade.

Then, I never saw light again.