Cutie Mark Crusaders Detectives
“Hey, Sis! Ya wanna play horseshoes? Bet ya Ah got ya beat this time! Ah ain’t so lil no more.” Apple Bloom said with no small hint of challenge in her voice while she ran around her favorite big sister. Okay it was also her only sister, but that didn’t make it any less true.
“Whoa, hold yer horses, Lil Sis. Ah’ll have plenty a time ta play with ya after Ah get back.” Applejack laughed, pausing just long enough to snatch Apple Bloom into a hold, then messed up her mane with her free hoof.
Apple Bloom struggled to free herself from her sister’s hold. “No ya won’t! Ya won’t be back till morning!” She protested. With a bit of effort, Apple Bloom slipped free. whether she succeeded, or if Applejack had let her go, didn’t matter.
Applejack looked down at Apple Bloom in confusion. “Morning? It’s just a stroll like Ah always do after dinner. Ah’m here before bedtime ya know.”
“Yeah, your bedtime. It ain’t fair. By ta time yer back, Ah have to hit the hay! Yer walks just keep getting longer every time.” Apple Bloom pointed a hoof at the dust road ahead of them, as if accusing it of growing a mile whenever nopony was looking. “What do you even do?”
Ignoring her last question, Applejack avoided eye contact by looking at the road. “Oh, they, err, are? Well Ah tell ya what, Apple Bloom. Ah’ll make sure ta come home at a proper time alright?” She resumed her walk, but paused again when she noticed Apple Bloom walking behind her. “Where do ya think yer going?”
“On a walk? Ah reckon we can do that together too. Oh, hey. If we race, Ah bet ya we can be back way before bedtime, then we can play too. Perfect ain’t it?” Apple Bloom, looked up at her suspicious sister. Like ya’ll let me.
Hesitating, Applejack showed an uncomfortable grin, it was about as convincing as the time she’d told Apple Bloom the dentist wasn’t that bad. “Err, no. Ain’t gonna be no race, just plain old boring walking, hehe. So how bout ya go find yer crusader friends and play with them till Ah get back?”
Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes while she stared at Applejack for a few seconds. “Yeah… Ah reckon Ah’ll do that.” She took two steps backwards, then waved goodbye. “See ya, Sis!” she said, before trotting off into the orchard towards her clubhouse.
With a sigh of relief, Applejack continued down the road.
As soon as Apple Bloom was within range of the first tree, she ducked out of sight.
“Really, Apple Bloom? ‘See ya, Sis!’? Are you trying to tip her off? Better be careful or you’ll be as bad a liar as she is.” Scootaloo laughed, but was quickly silenced by Apple Bloom’s hoof held to her muzzle.
“Shh! What if she heard ya?” Apple Bloom hissed.
Pushing Apple Bloom away, Scootaloo grinned. “I was just saying you should learn to keep your cool more. Hey, you take lessons from me!”
“As if!”
Sweetie Belle peered past the tree serving as their hiding spot while her fellow crusaders argued over each other. “Girls, it’s okay. I think Applejack might be deaf, because she’s not even looked back after all that. Maybe she did after I lost sight of her though.”
“Whadda mean ya lost sight of her?!” Apple Bloom called out alarmed, and rushed out from behind the tree just in time to see the trail of dust settling down over the next hill.
Scootaloo peeked out from behind Sweetie Belle. “Didn’t she say she was just going for a walk? Looks more like galloping to me.”
“If Ah actually thought she was just going for a walk every day Ah wouldn’t have told ya to meet me here would Ah? She is definitely up to something, and we’re gonna find out! Cutie Mark Crusaders, detectives!”
“So are we going back to her room and look for clues?” Scootaloo offered.
Apple Bloom facehooved. “Ugh, yes, I brought you all the way out here so we could walk back to mah house. We’re going spy on her!”
Sweetie Belle chimed in. “So, are we trying to get a cutie mark in detecting or spying?”
“Ya sure ain’t getting a cutie mark in detecting sarcasm, so spying it is. Come on!” Apple Bloom dashed out ahead of her two friends, leading the chase after Applejack.
There were several advantages to the Cutie Mark Crusaders preferred style of crusading, one of them was the mayhem they caused. Not so much the mayhem itself, but the excellent practice they had gotten over time in running faster than most adult ponies. Of course that usually manifested itself in running away, but it translated pretty well into running after somepony too.
However, the downside was that they really were not built for running that fast for very long, as usually it only took them a few streets to get to safety, so cardio was not that high up on the list. By the time they had followed Applejack out of Ponyville the three fillies had run completely out of breath.
Fortunately, Applejack had made a brief stop near some bushes, and had come out a few moments later carrying a saddlebag, which slowed her down significantly. It was only a small break, but it was enough to let them nearly catch up.
All around them was rough terrain. The usual trees and grass were replaced by huge rocks and dirt, half covered in the shadow of the nearby mountain. Several holes were dug all over the place.
“Where tha heck are we? Does Ponyville have a rock quarry? We oughta try crusading here sometime.” Apple Bloom trotted up to one of the holes and glaze down into the darkness.
“Oh! I know! This is where Rarity goes sometimes to find more gems. These are the diamond dog fields.” Sweetie Belle proudly proclaimed. “She let me help once… then banned me from coming after I made a mess.”
Scootaloo blinked and looked around at the savage landscape. “Whoa, so you did this? How on Equestria did you manage that?”
“I didn’t! It wasn’t my fault! There was this really big rock and I thought I could lean on it for a bit but then it fell and then everything else fell. There was yelling and barking, and next thing I know Rarity is paying dogs with gems, then she said I was a big help and we should go home.”
“A big help?” Scootaloo sounded less than convinced.
“Yeah, that’s what she said.”
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom had climbed up on one of the bigger rocks around to get a vantage point. She could spot Applejack a bit further away, trotting towards a small camp. “Found her! Come on girls we’re almost there, and be quiet.”
As they snuck closer, Scootaloo spoke up in a frantic whisper. “Hey, Apple Bloom, what if Applejack is secretly a monster hunter, and she is here to fight with diamond dogs? Should we really be getting in the way?”
Apple Bloom raised a brow. “What the hay? Why ya think that? Applejack’s just Applejack. I’ve never heard of her fighting monsters.”
“But she fights all kinds of creatures! What’s the count at now? Manticore, Chimera, Timberwolf, Changelings, Dragons. Think about it! Those bags could have her gear!”
“Those ain’t monsters, them’s just big critters. Spike’s a dragon, he ain’t a monster. Where do ya get these idea’s Scootaloo? Ah know Rainbow Dash is an egghead now, but Ah didn’t think you were too.”
“That’s true, Spike is nice.” Sweetie Belle chimed in.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Well ‘creature hunter’ doesn’t really have the sam—Hey, Rainbow Dash is not an egghead!”
“Shh! There she is.” Apple Bloom hissed after peering around a rock.
Applejack had paused before the tent and appeared to be speaking with somepony, though Apple Bloom could not make out the voices yet. It was a good thing really, or Applejack would have caught them by now.
Motioning to her friends to indicate they were going forward, she sneaked closer.
Applejack was all smiles while she waited outside the tent. “Ah know, Ah got here a tad early. Apple Bloom says she’s missing me cause ah get home late these days. So Ah figure running was a good idea ta get here and back quick. ‘Sides, ta sooner Ah get my tail over here, ta sooner Ah get to see yers.” She chuckled with a blush, but whoever was inside didn’t seem to get the joke as there wasn’t a peep. Applejack made her way over to a nearby table, which was strewn with all kinds of rocks.
Reaching into her saddlebags, Applejack started to unpack and carefully placed an Apple Pie and two mugs between the rocks. Finally she pulled out a bottle of cider and poured two drinks. “Reckon Ah didn’t count on ya not being ready yet though. But, uh, ya know. Ah don’t mind one bit if ya are a lil dusty. A healthy coat of earth is all it is.”
I knew there was one missing yesterday! Granny almost blamed me for it too! Why did she bring it here? Who is she even talking too? Apple Bloom wanted to run right up there and demand to know who was stealing her sister away from her, if it wasn’t for Sweetie Belle resting a hoof on her shoulder. Am Ah that easy to read? Fine Ah guess it’s best ta watch fer now.
A dull monotone voice caught the attention of all three crusaders, they’d never heard anyone sound so boring, not even Miss Cheerilee during history class. “No. I am finishing some work. I think I found an unusual type of mineral for a rock layer of the depth this was found in. It is so exciting. Normally this type of rock is only found as a secondary mineral in the oxidation zone of copper deposits.”
Even from this distance, and with her back turned to her, Apple Bloom could tell Applejack’s eyes glazed over from that. “Oh… Uh, well Ah guess it is mah fault fer being early. Take yer time then.” Applejack said, disappointed. She took a seat at the table, and rested her head on one hoof.
Apple Bloom grumbled in a hushed tone. “What, who does that? What even is an oxidation, and how is it more important than Applejack?”
“It’s another word for rust.” Sweetie Belle filled in, though she did not have an answer for the rest of it either. “Maybe it’s important?”
Apple Bloom stared at Sweetie wordlessly for a moment, then finally just skipped over the whole dictionary thing. “And mah sister isn’t?”
“yeah, that’s rude.” Scootaloo glared at the tent.
Suddenly the tent moved, and Applejack sprang to attention, smiling brightly as the sunlight shone on gray fur. A large hulking diamond dog stepped out of the tent, and gave Applejack a sharp toothed grin.
All three crusaders shot up and cried out. “What!?” Immediately afterwards, they ducked back down behind the rock, clamping their muzzles shut with their hooves.
“Fido? What tha hay, how long you been in there fer?”
Fido made a wretching sound. “Long enough to hear pony talk about tail. Why pony like tail? No get me tail. ”
Applejack blushed deeply and shouted, “it ain’t yer tail Ah’m interested in! Go on, git! Ya coulda said something!”
Grumbling, Fido slung a bag over his shoulder. “Rock pony much nicer, but weird. Give us gems if no take gems.” He sounded confused by it, but clearly just talking to himself as he took his leave.
Apple Bloom peered over the rock. Fido, as the diamond dog was apparently called, ran off and jumped into one of the holes. At nearly the same time, the tent moved again and another gray shape came into few. This time accompanied by a purple mane, and dressed in a simple blue sweater.
Applejack visibly lit up at the sight. “Definitely worth the wait, Maud. Did ya do something with yer mane? Ya look, uh, shinier.”
Maud gave Applejack an uninterested look. “I washed it,” she deadpanned. She turned her head towards the table and looked over the various things Applejack had set up. “Apples again?”
With a smile, Applejack nodded. “Yup. Well, Ah’ll bet yer as hungry as a diamond dog in Cloudsdale. Come on then, Maud.” Applejack led the way back to the table. Apple Bloom could swear she saw an unusual bounce in her big sister's trot.
Giving a quick glance at her two friends, Apple Bloom whispered, “what’s she acting so happy about? Can’t she tell that Maud pony is being mean ta her?” She crossed her hooves over her chest. “This is what she ditches me for, and all she does is try to be nice to some half diamond dog pony?”
“Oh, I know. maybe she’s trying to make friends with her? You know, like Fluttershy did with Discord. So that Maud will act nicer to other ponies.” Sweetie Belle smiled at the thought.
Scootaloo nodded. “Oh yeah, that could work. Like feeding a stray dog till it’s not scared of ponies anymore. Eh, but she doesn’t look scared. More like she’s really bored by what Applejack’s trying. Bet you a bit that she’ll change her tune when she gets a taste of the cider though.”
“Not everypony is as cider obsessed as Rainbow Dash, Scoots.” Apple Bloom smirked, though she had to agree with the sentiment, nopony could stay unmoved after getting a first taste of a good apple family recipe.
The prediction did not hold up however, as Maud ate and drank the meal provided for her by Applejack, and finished off by picking one of the rocks on the table and chewing that as well. All of that she did without so much as blinking an eye.
“How did ya like it Maud? Ah thought ‘bout putting a few rocks in tha crust, but Ah dun rightly know what kinds are good fer ya to eat.” She motioned at the many rocks strewn about the table. “All looks ta same ta me really, though that one’s a tad shinier, an’ that one’s bigger.”
“It’s the same as before.” Maud stood up from the table and stared at Applejack, giving a slow blink. Her eyes switched between the rocks and Applejack a few times. “True, those are shinier and bigger.”
The unchanging tone in Maud’s voice was driving Apple Bloom mad.
“Aw thanks, Maud, that’s nice of ya. Ah reckon Ah must be getting better at this.” Applejack smiled at Maud, then blinked as Maud turned and started to walk away. She quickly followed. “Hey, where are we headed?”
“To a rock.”
True to her word, Maud led Applejack up to the a large smooth rock jutting up out of the landscape. The setting sun shone down on the flat side angled towards it, warming up the stone. A brief climb later had them both sitting down at the highest point.
It was difficult to find a good spot to hide for the crusaders now, the new vantage point of Applejack and Maud overlooked most of the rock field perfectly.
Applejack smiled at Maud, then turned her head towards the orange glow of the sky while the sun slowly sank. “Ah love ta sunset, this was good idea, Maud… Maud?” She blinked, noticing that Maud was not looking at the sun at all, and in fact was sitting with her back to it. “What in tarnation are ya looking at?”
Deadpanning her line like she’d done before, Maud motioned ahead of her. “Rocks.”
Applejack turned around, sitting down right next to Maud and followed her direction. “Hey, things look a little different today, Maud. Ah don’t recall there being so much shiny rocks before, is that a season thing?” Applejack let her gaze pass over the numerous rocks simmering in the fading sunlight.
“No, rocks don’t have seasons. It’s just what some rocks look like, on the inside, though some of them are minerals…”
There was no hint of change in Maud’s voice, even what she talked about was still as dull as dishwater, but Apple Bloom could see it in her sister's face: this was important somehow. It made no sense to her whatsoever, it was literally backwards.
“When ya say it like that, it almost like yer suggesting somepony went round breaking a bunch a rocks.” Applejack chuckled, then slid one hoof around Maud’s back, pulling her closer while she watched dusty rock. “Maud, this here is one of ta most amazing things ah evah saw. Thank ya fer sharing it with mah.”
Apple Bloom raised a brow, and looked back at her friends. “Mah sister is impressed by rocks? What did that mare do to her? We gotta get her outa there.”
“Uh, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” Scootaloo pointed up at the pair of ponies on the rock. Apple Bloom's eyes widened when she saw it.
Maud had one hoof around Applejack as well now, and rested her head against the mare's neck, but she looked completely uninterested in the whole embrace. “That is nice, Applejack. Oh, I found a mineral today I really liked. It was the one I was working on before.”
“Ya did? What was it like?” Applejack asked, she actually sounded like she was genuinely interested in it, which baffled Apple Bloom. She was going to need help to get her sister back if she was this far gone. “Mhm, ya said it was unusual before, right?”
“Yes, it is created when copper ore is exposed to the air for a while. It’s orange colors weather away and it changes from a transition metal to a carbonate mineral, and adopts new colors in the process. It looks intense and attractive. I feel like I could stare at something like that forever.”
“Getting that rockerate wasn’t hard fer ya was it? Ah dun even know half those words ya used fer it, but I know ta ones ya did were good.”
Looking over at Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom whispered. “So what’s that?”
“How would I know? I’m not an encyclopedia.” Sweetie Belle huffed a little.
“Shh,” Scootaloo hissed. “I think she’s doing something.”
Maud pulled away from Applejack, staring at her calmly. “Yes, they were good. It has always been my favorite mineral. I always have a polished piece with me. Boulder gets a little jealous sometimes. but I would like you to have it. Because I won’t need it anymore.”
“What? Why do ya say that, Maud?”
“I already found two of them that I like much more than this one.” She reached into her sweater, and pulled out a small stone. Even while squinting it was difficult for Apple Bloom to make out from a distance what it was though, but Applejack gasped.
“Is that? Oh, yer smooth as a fresh shaven sheep in spring. Or, uh, a river bed rock maybe?” Applejack blushed and chuckled softly, while Maud stared at her unblinkingly with her eyes half lidded as ever.
Smiling all the while, Applejack took the rock, and tucked it into her hat for safe keeping, then returned her attention to Maud. “Ah reckon Ah oughta give ya something in return, but Ah ain’t got nothing on me. So, what do ya suppose Ah could do?” she said slowly while leaning in closer.
Apple Bloom gasped in shock, next to her she could hear Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle going ‘yuck’ and ‘aww’ respectively. She paid it little mind though, as all of her attention was focused on seeing her big sister silhouetted against the sky, sharing a loving kiss with the boring gray mare.
She jabbed her two fellow Crusaders. “We’re out of here!”
“Here you go girls!” Pinkie Pie chirped cheerfully while she set down three milkshakes for the three shaken up fillies, though Sweetie Belle looked to be doing a lot better than the other two. “After these you girls better go home though, it’s dark out, and I should have closed already.”
“We, uh, didn’t order anything yet?” Scootaloo looked puzzled at Pinkie, but still grabbed the chocolate milkshake with both hooves.
“Oh, I know that silly! I take the orders so I would know if you had. It would just be weird if I didn’t, or wait do I? What if you ordered and I forgot? Or if you forgot you ordered?” She gasped. “Or both!”
The three crusaders stared at each other for a moment, then a quick collective shrug signed the whole thing up to Pinkie Pie being her usual self.
“Ah wish Ah could forget seeing that,” Apple Bloom mumbled.
“Aw, come on Apple Bloom, it was sweet.” Sweetie Belle pulled her own milkshake towards her, licking her lips in anticipation of the vanilla treat.
“It was not sweet! It made no sense! What in tha hay does Applejack even see in that, uh, that rock pony, whatever her name is.”
Scootaloo chimed in, “yeah it was so gross. I think it was Maud, or something? Who just starts making out in the middle of a rock quarry is w—”
They were interrupted, and scared half to death, when Pinkie was suddenly right in between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, gasping loudly. “Hhuuuu! Did you say, Maud?! With Applejack!? No no no no, this is all wrong! We gotta stop em!”
Shaking off her initial surprise, Apple Bloom quickly joined in the sentiment. “Now that there’s tha most sensible thing Ah heard all evening! Let’s go! They are at the D—”
“The Diamond dog fields? Of course! Sabbatical my flank! She’s supposed to be studying rocks, not apples!”
“Oh, she was definitely rocking her studies of apples, err, studying apple rocks? On top of rocks?... I got nothing.” Scootaloo finally signed, and joined in the with the others to dash out the door towards the rock fields for the second time today.
Galloping at full speed, the four of them thundered into the campsite. Three of them skidding to a halt right before a very shocked looking Applejack, and a nonplussed Maud, sitting together by a campfire.
“Oh, hey Pinkie—”
Maud got tackled to the ground by Pinkie Pie, standing over her while Pinkie tried to speak, but had to heave for breath first.
“—Pie, I didn’t expect you till tomorrow.”
Applejack was colored scarlet. “What in tarnation are ya’ll doing here! Apple Bloom, what did ya lot do this time!?”
“We’re spies!” Sweetie Belle beamed.
Before Applejack could react to that, Pinkie Pie had caught her breath. “Stop! You can’t do this! You’re breaking the second rule!”
Applejack looked at Pinkie Pie, then down to Maud, and finally the three fillies, but by the look on their faces nopony had any idea what Pinkie Pie was on about. “Pinkie Pie, Ah get that yer a tad upset, we was gonna tell ya.”
Pinkie Pie shook her head. “No, don’t you get it? You can’t do this!”
“Pinkie, are ya saying Ah ain’t good ‘nuff fer yer sister?” Applejack asked, hurt clear in her voice.
“What? No, I totally like you together! I have never seen Maud look so happy, just look at her!” Pinkie pointed down at Maud, who looked completely stoic as ever while she observed her sister's insanity in full swing. ”But it’s against the second rule!”
“What rule?”
“No foalcon, incest or clop! Maud’s my sister, and I’m an Apple, so that makes her an Apple, and that makes you both Apples!”
“Pinkie, yer an honorary Apple, it ain’t the same thing.”
“Oh. Okay then. Then the story is saved! This calls for a party!”
“If it’s all ta same to ya Pinkie, Ah reckon it’s best if we get these fillies home and party tomorrow.”
Applejack and Apple Bloom trotted down the long dirt road that led back to the farmhouse. The night's events played through Apple Bloom's mind. After Pinkie Pie’s sudden and complete change of heart, it did not seem proper to be the lone voice of dissent in front of so many ponies, but it did leave her with questions for their trip home.
“Hey, Sis? Ah’m sorry Ah spied on ya…”
“Ya better be, but Ah get that ya was just worried. Ah oughta have just told ya the truth.”
“So, you and Maud are really dating? That’s where ya been going on yer walks?”
“That’s right, she got back ta Ponyville a while back ta study the rocklayers. Ah helped her setup camp and talk to the diamond dogs, things just kinda happened Ah guess.”
“Ah don’t rightly get what coulda happened, she don’t look like she likes ya, or anything, that much. She was really rude to ya all evening.”
Applejack gave a patient smile at her little sister. “Sometimes, Lil Sis, ya gotta read between tha lines ta see what somepony really means. Ah don’t blame ya fer not understanding, it took me a while too. But I tell ya, Maud’s a sweet mare, she just ain’t so good at expressing herself. Ya just gotta be patient with her, ‘cause she means well.”
Apple Bloom raised a brow. “What? Then what about, well everything? She hated the food, made you miss the sunset, gave you an old rock cause she had more. She was horrible! Ah should tell her off next time Ah see her.”
Pausing in her step, Applejack came to a halt and rested a hoof on her sister's shoulder. “That’s real good of ya ta look out fer ya big sis like that, but ya really think Ah’d put up with that if it was true? She nevah said she hated the food. She told mah before she really liked it, and was excited to have it again, even said it tasted just as great as before.”
“As fer ta sunset, sure ya right Ah didn’t get ta see it directly, but Ah got to see the sunlight sparkle off all kinds a shiny rocks and crystals Maud prepared fer us to look at from up there. It took her all day to prepare.”
Apple Bloom swallowed, starting to feel bad for doubting her sister's judgment. “But uh, what ‘bout ta stone then? She only gave it to ya cause she dun want it nomore, she’s got tons.”
“Nah, she ain’t got any right now.” Applejack smiled, taking off her hat.
“Huh?”
“Ah got both of em. Or all three Ah guess.” She held out her hat, lowering it down to the filly's eye level.
Apple Bloom peered inside, laying at the bottom of the Stetson hat was a polished stone. Even in the pale moon light it gave of a beautiful simmer, that somehow felt familiar to Apple Bloom.
“That there, is called a malachite.”
Author's Note
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.
Alright there we go. This is my entry for the Daisy Chain project.
fimfic4ever prompted me to write Maud x Applejack.
If you are interested in more crack ships. go check out the previous entry Here.
First of all, let me just say 
the ing word limit.
I guess it forced me out of my comfort zone here and there.
Honestly, I'd like another 2.000 words to for certain parts. 
Still, it was a good experience to have, heh.
I did have a lot of fun writing Maud in the way that I see her.
it took me a bit of thinking to work out how I was going to present her in a short story.
With the way that I wanted to write Maud I could not think of a good way to write the start of their relationship within the word limit.
So I settled on the CMC catching them later on in the relationship, when AJ has figured out Maud.
I'm pretty sure there was no rule stating that the ship fic had to be from the PoV of either ship participant. 
I knew as soon as I got the pairing that I wanted Pinkie Pie to break the fourth wall and comment on the rules.
Now I don't plan on having Pinkie Pie doing that in any other stories, but it felt like an appropriate gag for this one.
Now then, as per the rules:
I prompt UnlicensedBrony
Who said:
I'm kind of hoping I get something really strange when it comes to my turn, though I'll probably regret that later 
And I am happy to oblige.
Applejack x Teddie Safari
Have fun.
