//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Beyond the Forest // by SparkofLightning //------------------------------// Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were fascinated by everything that Pinkie showed them. There was so much life and color in one home! And the whole town was lively! The different styles of homes and shops were just so overwhelming! I mean, the people of Ponyville had way more things than what they needed. There were tables and chairs, refrigerators, pictures, sweets, and so many more things to offer! There were even these things called 'arcade games' and 'playgrounds' that are just two out of a lot of examples of having fun! Of course, the pegasi had fun, too. They trained for fun since there wasn't much else to do, and it always took their mind off of the strict rules of Pegasopolis. Not to mention that they get more experience, but this place -Ponyville- has so much more! How did no one know of this before? How has no one found this place? It's amazing! Although, Rarity didn't seem like the type of person that Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo would hang around. They'd be at the horrible risk of getting put into a frilly dress at any given moment. The tour ended at Sugarcube Corner, where the trio of pegasi were offered three free cupcakes. They each took one and studied them. It didn't make much sense for there to be such a variety of food when all you need are the basics. What category did the treat fall under? Was it safe? Or would it kill them as soon as they bit into it? Pinkie looked at them quizzically. "Do you not like vanilla?" she asked. "Vanilla..." Scootaloo whispered. "Um, it's not that. We just, uh, aren't...hungry?" Fluttershy attempted to lie. "Yeah, that's it..." Rainbow Dash said. "Okie dokie lokie! I could wrap it up for later, then!" Pinkie Pie ran into the kitchen and came back with one large box. She then put the cupcakes in it and handed the package to Fluttershy. "Hope you had fun on the tour! I have to get back to work now, so I'll see ya around!" The trio left and ended up in a park. They sat on the grass and examined the cupcakes again. "This place is so weird," Dash said. "I think that it's fascinating. There are so many wonderful colors and things to see!" Fluttershy stated. "Yeah, but why?" Scootaloo licked the pink frosting off of the cupcake. "Blegh! This has way to much of...something! It tastes too sweet." "It probably has a lot of sugar. We don't normally consume as much as the people of Ponyville do, but it actually is in the meals that we...normally..." It had just occurred to Fluttershy that they had skipped their breakfast, and everyone back home would know that they're missing. "Oh my gosh...Oh my gosh...Oh my gosh..." Fluttershy started hyperventilating and darting her eyes back and forth. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash dragged her by her hand to a more private area (which was behind a tree) as Scootaloo picked up their food and followed. She set Fluttershy down so that her back was on the tree. "Hey, Fluttershy! Snap out of it!" Rainbow shook her until she snapped out of her thoughts. Fluttershy hugged Rainbow Dash and started crying. "What happened?" Scootaloo asked. "Was it another panic attack?" "W-We d-didn't...s-sign o-o-our...our n-names a-and n-now th-they're gonna k-know...that w-we didn't g-get our m-meal. And they'll ch-check our h-house a-and s-see that w-we weren't th-there!" Fluttershy kept crying on Dash's shoulder. "Shit...She's right. We've been here too long. They'll know that we ran away and probably search everywhere. If we go back they'll punish us, but if we don't..." Dash kept trying to think while still trying to get Fluttershy to calm down. "Maybe we shouldn't go back then," Scootaloo suggested. "They'll never go past the forest like we did since it's forbidden, and there's nothing there that I'd want to return to after seeing this place. Besides, we don't necessarily have to stay here. We can go wherever we want!" "Yeah, but they'll eventually find us. Plus, they'll just destroy everything..." Rainbow Dash said, but Scootaloo knew better than to think that Dash actually believed that they couldn't do anything. "Rainbow Dash, you, Fluttershy, and I all know that we can fight them back. I get how you want us to be safe, but nobody wants to live like that again. We've been kept in the dark for way too long, don't you think that we finally stop being loyal to them?" Scootaloo explained. Is it worth it? What do you mean? Rainbow Dash asked the voice in her head. She figured that it was her subconscious or something. Is the 'safety' of living in Pegasopolis really worth suffering? Fluttershy's miserable by the mere thought of going back! To go and put her through that would be the most un-loyal, un-cool, and just downright despicable thing that you could do. Here you all could have a new start! New friends, new rules, and a new experience! And you get to keep your only family! Will you really go back to Pegasopolis? Will it really be worth it? "...You know what? You're right, Scoots. We're going to stay here." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran around Ponyville in search of Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Of course, they've had no such luck in finding them, but they did finally find Pinkie Pie hopping around cheering a few people up. The crusaders decided that it'd be a good idea to ask Pinkie Pie what she knows about the 3 mysterious girls. "Hiya, Pinkie Pie!" Apple Bloom greeted as she waved at the hopping girl. "Hey, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle! How's it goin'?" Pinkie asked as she hopped over to the two crusaders. "We were doing some investigating and we needed to know what you know about Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash," Sweetie Belle explained. "Oh well, I would tell you, but wouldn't that be kinda...weird? Like, spying weird?" Pinkie Pie questioned. "Well, not really since if you know that information, that means that they probably didn't mind sharing it with everyone else, right?" Sweetie Belle reasoned. "I'm not so sure that that's how it's supposed to work..." "Well," Apple Bloom started, "You never Pinkie Promised to keep it a secret, nor did you promise at all, right?" "I guess not," Pinkie Pie thoughtfully said. "Well, in that case, I guess I can tell you a little bit of information." YES! the crusaders both thought. "Well, during the beginning of the tour, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo seemed like they were planning something until, hehehe, we got to Rarity's and they never wanted to go back!" Pinkie laughed at the thought of dread on the two girls' face when Rarity pulled out a whole rack of dresses. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced at each other, but turned back to the laughing girl after she started to catch her breath. "Hahaha! Whew.... Anyway, after that, we walked around the rest of Ponyville and they were so fascinated! I've never seen someone so interested in the town! They were also whispering about something like 'more color' but I didn't catch what they were saying before the tour was over." "Fascinated? By what?" Apple Bloom asked. "No idea. They were staring at every single building with just as much awe as someone who first sees the Royal Palace in Canterlot." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Whelp! I've got to go talk to Rarity about some ribbon for the fundraiser! Bye!" Pinkie Pie hopped off as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said their goodbyes to her. "Why in tarnation would they be interested in a plain old building?" Apple Bloom wondered as the pair walked around looking for said girls. "Hmm...In any random situation, it would just be that the girls either grew up in a poor town, have never seen a building before, or are just super interested in architecture," Sweetie Belle brought up. "Well, Ah guess it's possible for them to have come from a poor town somewhere, but they don't look poor. Their clothes look normal and they didn't smell like dirt or anything, really. Ah've never heard of anyone who has never seen a building before, and none of the buildings in Ponyville are very extrava...extra...extrav..." "Extravagant," Sweetie Belle finished. "Right, that. Anyway, Ah don't think that it'd be any of those reasons," Apple Bloom stated. Sweetie Belle pondered on the topic more until she thought she found the answer. "Well, maybe Twilight actually was right," Sweetie Belle suggested. "What do you mean, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked. "I mean that they could be pegasi. Just think about it." Apple Bloom thought about it, but couldn't seem to add everything up the way Sweetie Belle did. "Ah have no idea how that makes sense." "Well..." Sweetie Belle was about to explain, but then realized that someone overhearing her explanation could cause them to wonder if pegasi were real and that would just make everything even more complicated. "Let's go to the clubhouse first, then I'll explain."