The wind was blowing through the Bridlewood was enough cause even the strongest branches in the trees to shake back and forth. It would have seemed like a violent storm was about to start were it not for the brilliant blue azure sky above. There wasn’t even a single cloud to be seen. As the wind was coming from wood this was being taken a bad omen and most of the town had chosen to stay indoors. However, it wasn’t a guaranteed bad omen so Izzy cheerfully walked down the road waving cheerfully to anyone else that she saw. Behind her she was pulling her small wagon and casually making her way out of the town and toward the grasslands.
She hummed to herself as she stopped occasionally to pick up the small pieces of litter and toss them into her wagon, broken bottles, and bottle caps were high up on her list of item to find, but she’d happily take any little bit or bot that she found, tin cans could be turned into cups, and old plastic bottles could be painted to get those harder to find colors in her stained ‘glass’ collages. Any little thing could always be salvaged into something else.
Once she got out of the forest she looked around for possible places to scavenge her new supplies. Normally she'd go into the grass lands, but this time something didn't feel right about that, so instead she started following the edge of the forest going west like she was heading to Maretime Bay. As she walked along she hummed softly. floating up pieces of litter from the forest side.
"Hey you what are you doing out this far?" A filly asked poking there head out of a small tree house.
"I'm collecting things for my unicycling." Izzy smiled and waved. "What are you doing out this far?" She asked. "It's not normally safe to make your tree house in the Bridlewood like this. Do your parents know that you're out here?"
"Yeah mom knows I'm here with my friends, we built this tree fort to meet up at." The pegasus answered. "And what's unicycling."
"Wait is that Izzy? Hi Izzy!" A small olive green unicorn poked their head up and waved.
"Hi Myrtle."
"Izzy! You're an adult right?"
"I think so." She nodded.
A yellow earth pony colt poked their head up. "Then you could help us do the thing!"
"Yeah, yeah! Izzy just stay right there for a second." The two colts and the filly ran down the stairs. "Come on Izzy we found this trail a little while ago and it's really old and spooky and there's bottles all over the trail."
"Oh! Oh! I need bottles, show me, show me!" Izzy bounced up and down.
"It's this way." Myrtle led the way the pegasus filly and yellow earth pony colt following right behind him. They came to a small trail leading into the forest. "See!" He pointed into the woods. There was an ancient cobble path with junk littering all around it. "Dad said we can't go there unless an adult goes in first to make sure it's safe."
"Right. I'll go make sure that it's all good for you foals." Izzy started bouncing down the trail her horn glowing as she picked up the bottles and other litter putting them in her wagon. She followed the trail and paused as she came to the end of it a small tree house with the initials 'C.M.' on the side of it in old moss covered wood letters. "Huh. I wonder who CM or I guess in this case who they were." Izzy walked around to the front of the old tree house. There was a ramp going up it. "Hmmm. Why not." Izzy took off her harness and heading up the ramp to the top. Inside the room was littered with picture frames. In each one was a yellowed picture of fillies or colt, always three of them and always smiling, some were earth ponies, others pegasi, or unicorns. Each one looked happy until she came to the very of the long line of photos, it showed three very sad colts. Underneath it was a small note. 'The Last meeting of the CUE MK CUSRS. I'll ms you g, n I dn't ar wt mom s w'l awys be bffs, evn I'm nevr owd to se u gan.' Izzy smiled sadly at the luminescence that came off of the picture and the barely legible not just underneath it in the frame. She looked around before her eyes fell on a small box that still somehow managed to look pristine. It most have been enchanted. She pulled it out and opening it she gasped stepping back in awe. Inside were three child sized red capes but they glowed with dozens of different luminescences. She carefully took the capes out. Underneath them were dozens of items Each one had the a small note attached to it. She floated up the closest note. The only one that wasn't attached to an item. and started reading it.
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders Vault, Each Crusade is to put in something that's special too them as a gift to all the future Crusaders as per the tradition started by our founders and ancestors. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom. P.S. if this is Izzy Pinkie Pie says convinced Scoots that you can have the book." She looked around before looking back in to the chest. A second later she pulled out a book. It looked exactly the same as the one that Zipp had showed her. Except this one had several clouds with rainbow lightning bolts coming out of it. "Thanks Scootaloo. Don't worry I'll take very very very good care of your book I promise." She took off one of her friendship bracelets into the box. It felt wrong to not putting something back. Then she looked back to the door Before taking all the photo frames, the box, and the three capes, and heading back down the path.
"Izzy! is it safe?" Myrtle asked as he saw her walking back down the path.
"It's safe but, I'm bringing the stuff to you. I think it'll help decorate you new treehouse. Oh and here are some capes they make you Cutie Mark Crusaders, but you have to be best friends forever if you put them on."
"We will!"
"Yeah Always!"
"And forever!" They said. Izzy smiled and with a nod put the capes on each one of them before heading back to their tree house to set up all the photo frames."
