Chapters Applebloom paced around, waiting for her friends in the treehouse, and finally sat down. "Oh, those gals, where're they at now?" She wondered. Suddenly her ears perked up: hooves. She stood up excitedly, and, as expected, came the knock. She marched over to the door impatiently and opened it, seeing the faces of her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle.
"Where've ya been gals!?" Applebloom complained as she waved her hooves around. "Come in here!" Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle walked in, their faces excited. When they were all in, Applebloom marched towards the rug and plumped down. "So...." Scootaloo started. "Why did you want us to meet you here?" Her eyes sparked with excitement. "Did you think about that newspaper cutie mark?" Applebloom shook her head. "No, Scootaloo. Ah wanted ya two to come here today because ah got ah letter from Princess Celestia in the mailbox. It said to all us three!" Sweetiebelles' eyes widened. "Huuuh?" She said, her voice cracking. It was, quite unbeleivable. "Yup." Applebloom replied, lifting her head. "Ah letter from the Princess to us! Can ya believe that, gals?" Scootaloo fluttered her wings, lifting up a few feet high in confirmation. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's open it!" Scootaloo said. Sweetiebelle nodded her head agreeably. "Come on, Applebloom! I want to see what's inside!" But Applebloom wouldn't act so silly. "It's just ah letter." She said matter-of-factly. But there was a twinkle in her eyes. "Ya can do the honour, Sweetie." Applebloom decided. "Here."
Sweetiebelle frisked the scroll towards herself with the help of her magic, horn sparking. As she grabbed the scroll, she hesitated. "Come on, open it, Sweetie!" Scootaloo demanded, glaring at Sweetiebelle. "Of course." Sweetiebelle replied nervously. "It's just, I...." "Well what is it, Sweetie?" Applebloom butted in. "Yeah!" Added Scootaloo quickly. "What's wrong, Sweets?" Sweetiebelle swished up the scroll with her magic, but just dropped it again. "Well, I... I kind of, um, I think I detect some magical power in this.... I mean, I COULD be wrong...." Sweetiebelle added quickly. "It's just.... um... the magic doesn't... FEEL, that stable, and, there, there's something about it that just makes me.... um...." Applebloom shook her head, cutting her off. "No no, Sweetie. It's from Princess Celestia! Ah mean, what could go wrong, right?" But Applebloom thought she saw her friend unsure, just quickly. Then Sweetiebelle started to open up the scroll.
Scoots and Applebloom peered in closer, trying to peek at the letter, but Sweetie held up her hoof and lifted it up in her magic a bit. Applebloom leaned back and sighed, wishing she could just take a peek... but she waited. Applebloom glanced at Scoots questioningly but Scootaloo just shook her head a bit. Finally Applebloom sensed someone staring at her. She looked up into Sweeties' eyes, and jumped. "Hey, what gives-" But Sweetiebelle covered Applebloom's ' mouth with her hoof, and slowly levitated the scroll towards her.
Applebloom's ' eyes scanned over the scroll, wondering what could be so alarming. She felt Scootaloo's ' breath on her ear, and it twitched. "Wha..." Applebloom started, but then stopped reading. She looked up at her friends, Sweetie and Scoots, slowly. "Oh no..." She breathed. "Ah, ah'm afraid ah can't undastand this.... this... um.... magical, writin', but it sounds bad. Sweetie?" Sweetiebelle just shook her head, and took the scroll from her, translating the written language of the unicorns. At first she mumbled quickly, but then as she neared the end of the paper, she started speaking so Scootaloo and Applebloom could hear. ".... and so, I thought you needed to learn a lesson, because still, it needs improvement...." Sweetiebelle trailed off, but Applebloom was impatient. "Sweets, WHAT does it say?" Sweetiebelle dropped the paper with her magic, staring both her and Scootaloo in the eye. "It's a spell." She answered simply, matter-of-factly. "Ah... Ah spell?" Applebloom asked. She looked at Scootaloo and coudn't be more confused. "I think I'm supposed to activate it.... it also says here that the spell will disappear once I have used it. Do you think I, we, should...." Applebloom and Scootaloo nodded in unision. "Activate it." Scootaloo said slowly.
"Okay, um, here goes.... Oh, this is quite a spell, I don't know if I'm strong enough...." Applebloom and Scootaloo watched Sweeties' horn spark with energy, and then the horn started glowing. Applebloom dropped her ears against her head. "A- are y alright, Sweetie?" Applebloom asked worriedly. She glanced at Scootaloo again. "Con...cen....trat...ing..." Applebloom made out. Then Sweetie's ' eyes flung open. They were white. As her horn glowed brighter and brighter, her body slowly rose into the air. "Ahhhh!" Applebloom yelled, hopping from hoof to hoof and staring at Scootaloo in pure horror. "What's... Happenin'....?" She asked loudly. And then, everything went white.
Sweetiebelle woke up suddenly, looking around, but her vision was blurry. She was laying on something unusually hard. "What the...." She groaned. She raised her hooves to her eyes and blinked a couple of times, rubbing them. Something was wrong. She rubbed her eyes again, trying desperately to see. Finally she got the cloud out of her vision and looked around. She was in the treehouse. That was when she saw Scootaloo and Applebloom, lying on the floor, unconscious. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She screamed, jumping up. But she fell down on her rump again, long legs splayed out.... Sweetiebelle looked herself up and down, then she noticed her hooves. They were.... five... long..... bending sticks. Sweetiebelle screamed again, trying to slap the worm-like things off. But they were part of her.
Just then, Scootaloo and Applebloom woke up. "Now, just what the hay are ya doin' , Sweetie...." Applebloom widened her eyes and whipped around to stare at Scootaloo. They stared for a long time at each other, then, all at once, everyone in the clubhouse was screaming. Finally, they recovered themselves, and they looked around, panting. But mostly they just looked at each other. Nopony had any idea what they were. Had they been turned into another creature or was this some kind of cruel joke? A dream? No. It coudn't be a dream if they had thought about dreams. Besides, they could all feel blood coursing through their bodies lividly. Sweetiebelle was the first to stand up. (Well, to try) But she just fell down again. After about 15 minutes of grunting, panting, and sweat, they were all balancing precariously on their spindly, skinny, creepy little legs. "Now, I want to know just what they HAY you did, Sweetie! Was this a new spell you learned from Twilight? Because this was a stupid, stupid idea!" Sweetiebelle was genuinly hurt, emotionally and physically. "This wasn't ME!" she gasped. "Truth! This was from the Princess!"
Suddenly Scootaloo yelled. "Sweetie! AHHH! Your HORN!" Sweetiebelle was shocked. "What, what?" She cried frantically, rubbing the whole of her head. That's when she realized: her horn was GONE. "Ahhhhh! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHH-" Scootaloo covered her mouth with her bending sticks. "Sweetie, it's okay. This is Princess CELESTIA we're talking about, for ponies sake! It's probably... um... just a lesson, a TEST! I mean... RIGHT, Applebloom?" "Uh... yeah" Applebloom chuckled, glancing at Scootaloo. "This was all a test - I knew it all along." But Sweetiebelle wouldn't take it. She argued and argued, but her two friends just wouldn't give up. Finally she had had enough, and her face turned red in anger. "Well - Well - if you don't believe me, look at your WINGS, Scootaloo! They're GONE! Not much of a test NOW, is it?!" Sweetiebelle bursted out, pointing her five-sticked hoof at Scootaloo. That was when Scootaloo just totally started FREAKING OUT. She actually managed to run around the room once before she collapsed in desparation. "No..... OH!" She gasped, out of breath. Her leg-looking things must have been in pain. "They... can't be.... gone...." Scootaloo sobbed, falling onto the floor. "Calm down, gals! First we can forget about the wings-and-horn thing. SECOND, we can figure out what the ponies will think when they see us like this and we can't learn to walk!" Sweetiebelle was shocked. Applebloom had just.... Applebloom didn't even CARE! Sweetiebelle was very hurt, and also very confused at just how she would... walk away from Applebloom. "Come on, Scootaloo!" Sweetiebelle said angrily. "Applebloom OBVIOUSLY doesn't care about our wings and... horn... come on! We're going! Right? Applebloom isn't acting like she cares about us anymore!" Then Sweetiebelle struggled to get up. But she couldn't manage to bring herself to her hooves.... well at least two of them.
"Now, wait there, hold on!" Applebloom cried. "I really DO care 'bout yer both of ya wings 'n horn 'n all, but what will all of the other ponies say!? Ahm just worried we'll be kicked out of Ponyville, like Trixie... an' we'll be outcasts an' we'll have no food an' we'll die an'....." Sweetiebelle sighed. Applebloom had a point, and she had made an apologizement.... that would do, for now. She could obviously tell Scootaloo was torn half at just who to choose. Applebloom was genuinely sorry about saying tall that, she was obviously just worried. "Fine...." Sweetiebelle finally said. "Let's try to, uhm.... learn to walk now! We've got work to do!"
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Scootaloo ran out of the treehouse with her friends, ready to go. Although her new, spindly legs weren't doing much help... She wondered where her scooter had gone.She could've sworn she'd left it behind the treehouse before she had come in to Applebloom's ' news of the letter.... She shook her head. There was so much to think about, and so much to do. Scootaloo glanced at her friends, Sweetiebelle and Applebloom, running determinedly beside her. Sometimes she wished they would never leave her side. After all, they were just about the best friends anypony could have in this world. As a few minutes passed the three Cutie Mark Crusaders passed out of the Apple family's ' forest and slowed down a bit. Already Scootaloo's ' legs were burning, and her friends didn't look much better. As they all made their way slowly towards the Apple family's home, panting, they stared.
There was Big Mac, picking trees, on a ladder. And he was.... the creature, too! He wasn't a pony either! Scootaloo exchanged glances with Applebloom, but both of them were speechless. Then Sweetie cleared her throat and said, "Umm, how about we go talk to Big Mac?" All Applebloom and Scootaloo could do was agree. As they all made their way towards Big Mac, he stopped and smiled at them, then looked back to his work and carefully picked the apples, setting them in a basket on his front leg. Finally they reached him and looked at each other nervously. Then Scootaloo said slowly. "Uhm, Big Mac.... I... Uhm.... Uh.... Why aren't you pony?!" She finally blurted out. Big Mac looked at her strangely, then he said in his deep voice, "Whhhat?" In a "yup" kind of tone. Scootaloo looked to Sweetie and she nodded. "Well, um, why are you... we... a creature? Do you know what we are? What happened to our pony bodies?" Sweetiebelle asked nervously, looking at him. Big Mac looked at them sternly and said, "Now ah dunno what just you three'r up to, but Applejack an' Granny Smith were kind enough to let you all sleepover here, so ya better be kind back 'n git ready fer school!" Then Big Mac turned away, and continued picking apples steadily.
So the crusaders made their way towards the Apple familys ' household, and as they came through the door all of them smelled a sweet, strong, and tasty smell of fresh apple pie. "Woah, you get to eat pie for breakfast everyday, Applebloom? Your family is AWESOME!" Scootaloo said with excitment as she turned towards Applebloom. "I should come here EVERY day for pie!" Applebloom rolled her eyes at her friend. "Now, scoots, ya might think that we have pie for breakfast everyday, but ya should look at what we have for DINNER!" The three friends all burst out laughing. Everypony knew what the APPLE family had for dinner. It was so funny that Scootaloos ' classmates had made a joke about it, and whenever someone said the... the FOOD name, you would have bad luck for a week.
As Scootaloo thought about school and who their classmates would be, she was interrupted from her thoughts when Granny Smith hobbled into the room. "Now, kids, it's time to eat! So get your butts a-hoppety-hoppin and plop down at the breakfast table!" Scootaloo shook her head. Sometimes, she thought, Granny was just a little too crazy. "Wait..." Sweetiebelle said slowly. "What are "kids'?" Granny scoffed. "Ohh, pfft, what are kids! You people are getting crazier by the minute!" "Uh... people?" Scootaloo asked. "Yes, people!" Granny Smith replied happily. Then she opened her left eye wide. "You ARE a person, aren't you? Not some creepy old man in disguise?" Scootaloo stared. "Uh - Oooof course not! Me? NO, I'm no, old, man..." Scootaloo stared at Granny Smith and chuckled nervously. Scootaloo hoped that Granny wouldn't find out she was really a PONY.
To Scootaloo it seemed like they were in a different world and there were just all the same... "people', and...." Scootaloos ' eyes opened wide, showing the whites. "Crusaders!" She exclaimed. "We need to-" Granny Smith was staring at her curiously. "What was that, youngun'?" She asked. "Uh- uh, nothing! I... I mean, we need to eat girls! Now! I'm STARVING!" And with that, she grabbed glanced at her friends to follow and rushed to the breakfast table. Luckily, Applejack nor Big Mac were either there yet. Sweetiebelle and Applebloom slowly followed Scootaloo into the room and sat down. "Uh, Scootaloo, what was that all about?" Sweetiebelle asked, cocking her head. Scootaloo fidgeted in her chair excitedly, and told them all about her thoughts and finally - how she realized they had crossed into a different world.
By then, the rest of the Apple family was slowly filing into the kitchen, and they hadn't heard a word that had been said - and hopefully never would.
Sweetiebelle and Applebloom were still staring at Scootaloo with wide eyes, pondering this decision that had been placed before their eyes. "Ya know," Applebloom finally whispered, as Applejack was coming towards them, "Ah think your right. Ah think maybe we crossed into another world." Sweetiebelle nodded gravely, just speechless with horror. And right then, there and then, Scootaloo wished that she could droop her ears. But she couldn't. She couldn't move her ears at all. And right then and there, she finally realized the truth. They really HAD crossed into a different dimension, and it was a world of... what did Granny say... It was the world of people.
Applebloom tied on her tennis shoes, and tromped down the stairs. As Applebloom and her friends got down the stairs, the crusaders headed out the door, ready to walk to school.
"Now where the hay are you goin', gals? Come back here!" Applebloom heard Applejack say. They all jumped, and Applebloom turned around, looking into the kitchen where her sister was, holding these weird cloth things. "Git in here!" Applejack snapped. "Ya can't just go tah school with no backpacks!" Applebloom looked at Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle, confused.
"Uh... what are backpacks ? Ya gals got any idea?" Sweetiebelle shook her head.
"Nope." Said Scootaloo. Applebloom sighed and headed back into the house.
"What is it, Applejack?" She asked. "Ya fergot yer backpacks! Golly, can ya'll be feather-brained apples sometimes, just like the li'l kids ya'll are." "What?" Applebloom muttered, walking towards Applejack and grabbing the "backpacks" handles nervously. "Uh, sorry, Applejack, but what the hay're these for? We gotta git tah school, an' now!" Applejack rolled her eyes, and put the "backpack" on Applebloom's ' back. She tried to shake it off. "What the hay IS this!?" She cried annoyedly.
Finally, after some tustling and explaining, they were all wearing the "backpacks" and ready to go. Applebloom sighed. Now she understood what these were for, but she didn't really need it. She rolled her eyes as she walked out the door, Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo close behind her. "Whatchya doin'?!" Applejack shouted after them. Scootaloo gave an exasperated groan and turned around, answering for Applebloom. "We're walking to school! Or did we forget something ELSE?" Applejack shook her head, marching towards them, and said, "Look, gals, ah dunno what you 'r doin', but ya need tah git in the car!" Suddenly Applebloom sensed a growing anger in the group: Sweetiebelle. "First of all what is a car, and second of all why are you trying to make us late!? I just wanna go to school!" Sweetiebelle bursted out, her face growing red as a rasberry. "Your going to make us late!" Applejack stared at her in shock and Sweetiebelle took a menacing step forward. "I don't know what a car is!" she screamed.
Finally they all saw the so-called car. Applebloom looked at her friends and, she saw Sweetiebelle's ' anger melt away. The crusaders climbed excitedly into the car. They all had trouble strapping in their seatbelts with their bending sticks, but eventually they were ready. They all sat, and started whispering. "What they hay is this thing?" Applebloom asked.
"It's so COOL!" Sweetiebelle breathed. Scootaloo nodded, yawning.
"Don't know how we're going to get to school in THIS," she said. "but it's comfortable and...." Applebloom nodded, also yawning.
"Ah think..." She started. But suddenly she sat up in her seat. Something was wrong. She looked out the window, and saw the dirt road moving at a very fast pace. Her eyes widened. "GALS, the sidewalks ' movin'!" She whispered fearfully. Scootaloo looked out her side of the window, gasping, while Sweetiebelle, in the middle, just gaped in horror at the seat in front of her.
The sidewalk was MOVING. "Gals, what are we gonna do? We gotta get outta this thing!"
Sweetiebelle shivered. "I'm scared...." She mumbled.
Scootaloo stiffened and looked up at Applebloom. "I don't know if, well, jumping out is such a good idea Applebloom.... I mean..." Applebloom glanced out the window again, very quickly, and shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Uh." She said. "Maybe yer right.... it would probably hurt...."
Scootaloo sighed. "A lot." But then, suddenly - the road stopped. "What the hay..." Applebloom muttered.
"We're here!" Big Macintosh called from the drivers seat. Sweetiebelle breathed with releif. "That was, certainly, quite a ride." She breathed, fumbling with her seatbelt strap. As all the crusaders jumped out, Applebloom looked back at Big Macintosh, who was driving away and waving his rough, weathered hand at them.
"I sure hope he's gonna be okay..." She muttered, turning back to the school. Scootaloo nudged her. "Hey, what's the worst that could happen?" Applebloom rolled her eyes. "Don't SAY that, Scootaloo. It only brings bad luck. NEVER say that out loud, PLEASE." But Sweetiebelle just giggled, and Applebloom glanced over at her sharply.
"Are you superstitious, Applebloom? Come on, Big Mac is obviously a good driver. I mean, I think.... I've never really seen a car before, and I'm not an expert, but I think he is pretty experienced.... Hey, you know, Applebloom, he really is...." Applebloom shut out Sweetie. Looking over at Scootaloo, they shared a look. Sometimes Sweetiebelle talked a little too much. Applebloom suddenly stopped in front of the school, gaping. It was huge. "Um...." Scootaloo murmured, craning her neck up so as to see the top of the school.
"How are we supposed to find our way through the school in THAT....?"
Applebloom gasped, covering her mouth quickly. "Gals!" She said anxiously, "How are we suppose to even know where our classroom is...? This school is huge ! I can't imagine why a classroom would need to be so, well, BIG...." Scootaloo squinted at the window, and after a minute, she looked back at them nervously.
"Whatever is the matter, Scoots?" Sweetiebelle asked anxiously. Scootaloo looked away.
"Um, guys..." she started. "I don't think that this place is one room...."
Applebloom gasped, and Sweetiebelle stared.
Applebloom gulped, craning her neck and gazing up at the school. CherryBlossom Elementary. Applebloom read the words out loud.
"CherryBlossom Elementary? What does that mean?" Scootaloo just shrugged her shoulders and SweetieBelle gaped up at the school. Applebloom prodded SweetieBelle.
"Come on now, SweetieBelle. We'll find our classroom somehow." SweetieBelle snapped her gaze away and nodded, looking at the doubledoors. Scootaloo clapped her brittle sticks and, surprisingly, the soft skin made a loud click. Applebloom shared a look with her friends and, simultaneously, they walked towards the doors.
Applebloom and her friends were shuffling down the hallways. Applebloom glanced nervously from door to door. Suddenly Scootaloo gasped, prodding her shoulder and pointing. It was Miss Cheerilee! They were so lucky. Applebloom bounced over to Miss Cheerilee,
her friends following excitedly.
"Boy, are we glad we ran into ya, Miss Cheerilee! We wanted ta, uh, walk with ya to the classroom
today! We all wanted ta tell ya what a special teacher yer to us, and-" Applebloom broke off, seeing the confused expression on Miss Cheerilees' face.
"Well I am very flattered that you think I am a special teacher, Applebloom, but what are you talking about? I'm not your teacher." Applebloom widened her eyes.
"What- Whaddya mean yer not our teacher?!" Miss Cheerilee looked at her lovingly.
"I am very glad that you would like me to be your teacher, but sadly, you have to stay in Mrs. Tantens' class." Miss Cheerilee looked at me sadly. Suddenly she stopped in front of a classroom.
"Have a nice day, Applebloom! You too, Scootaloo, SweetieBelle." She nodded as she walked into the classroom. Applebloom looked at her friends, horrified.
"Mrs. Tanten?! Who in da hay is that? "
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Scootaloo wandered the halls with her two best friends, worried. They were going to have a different teacher than Miss Cheerilee. "Do you
think she's.... mean?" SweetieBelle squeaked, voicing Scootaloos' thoughts out loud. Suddenly a heavy weight landed on Scootaloos' shoulder, and she whipped around, staring into the face of another person. She had a big, silly grin plastered on her face. Blue skin and vibrant pink eyes, and a kind of mohawk-ish hairstyle, one side of her hair hanging down and the other side in a mohawk. She took her hand off Scootaloos' shoulder. "Hi, Scoots!
Hows it been gooooing? Awesome to see ya! Wanna walk to class with me?" Scootaloo stared at her. Finally Scootaloo managed to open
her mouth. "Wha.... what?" The girl rolled her eyes. "Do ya wanna walk to class? Hey, what's wrong? You look surprised. Did I scare ya?"
Scootaloo blinked. "Uh.... yeah. Who are you?" The girl laughed. "Scoots, it's me- your best friend, Strider?" She just looked at her with a blank expression. "Uh.... yeah." She finally managed to utter. "Yeah.... Yeah let's go then." Strider smiled that silly grin again and put her
arm around Scootaloos' shoulder, starting to walk through the crowd of people in the other direction down the hall. Scootaloos' friends
started to follow, but Strider turned around and stared at them. "What are you doing?" She asked. "You should be going to class." Then
Strider smiled. "You will see Scootaloo after school." SweetieBelle looked at Stider, confused.
"Aren't we going to Mrs. Tantens class?" She asked. Strider just looked at her in disgust. "Yes, go to your class." She replied. Then she looked at Applebloom. "Do you have memory loss or something? Scootaloo goes to Mrs. Mards." SweetieBelle and Applebloom stared in confusion at Scootaloo as she was dragged away by Strider. I'm in a different class than my friends. She realized. First my friends and I find out that we are not in Miss Cheerilees' class, then we are separated into different teachers? Scootaloo sighed.
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SweetieBelle and her friend, Applebloom, walked into Mrs. Tantens classroom. They had finally found it, Mrs. Tantens' name written on her door. SweetieBelle backed nervously away, nodding her head for Applebloom to go first. Applebloom looked back at her then slowly, nervously..... Knocked on the hard wooden door.
A tall, pink-skinned figure opened the door. She had sharp square glasses, a sensible, long blue skirt, and a clean white shirt with a taut bow at her neck. The tall lady looked down at them in surprise. "SweetieBelle, Applebloom! There you are! We just started, come on in." The tall figure, which SweetieBelle assumed was the teacher, Mrs. Tanten, creaked the door open a little more and stepped aside.
SweetieBelle followed Applebloom in, and some of the students looked their way. One of them waved at SweetieBelle, smiling.
"Hi, SweetieBelle!" The person said. She had the same, creamy white skin as SweetieBelle, and her hair was a soft red, straight then curled at the end.
SweetieBelle slowly walked towards her, and glanced at the empty seat next to red-hair. It had her nametag on it. Red-hair cocked her head and patted the seat next to her. SweetieBelle sat down and Applebloom went to find her seat, as she read red-hairs nametag on her desk. Her name was Cream.
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Applebloom sat down. On the desk in front of her, her nametag was pinned on the wood. Thank goodness for nametags.
She glanced at the person to the right of her. He was a boy, and when he noticed her staring, he turned his head to glare at her and stuck his tongue out. Applebloom crinkled her eyebrows down and looked to the left. There was a purple-skinned girl and she looked at Applebloom. She smiled and waved a small wave, her blunt teeth gleaming white. "Meet me after class in the hall." She whispered. Then she looked back to the teacher, who was motioning for everyone to stand up for the pledge. I wonder if she's my friend. Applebloom thought.
