Chapter 28: Hoofington Confidential

After taking part in hurricane duty, Gearhead did not have time to celebrate with the others. He informed them of his father’s summons, then left Snowbelle with them and returned to the Laboratory to finish the modified stabilizer. Together with Snowbelle, Gearhead took off for Verdant Fields at sunrise the next day. It might have looked curious to those who were awake and aware, with a turquoise streak arcing skyward just before the sun peeked over the horizon behind it.

The way Gearhead made the new stabilizer, it was slightly bigger, giving Snowbelle enough room in the cockpit built just ahead of the Engine’s cone for her to sit at her smallest size. Since the whole unit was larger, the wings were more pronounced. The overall effect was even more illuminating when Gearhead tapped into his Pegasus magic again.

The previous day’s efforts had put a major strain on Gearhead’s manapool, but he had recovered most of it overnight. Since he was running late to start, he decided to pour on all the power he could, breaking several magi-sound barriers in the process. The whole way, Snowbelle gazed cheerfully at the sky and the ground beneath them, since everything was new to her, and she was, after all, a child. That irreplaceable awe reminded Gearhead of how he should have always been looking at the world, because nothing would ever be boring that way.

Gearhead guessed that if they could have, Prism Flight would have intercepted him on the way in, however his speed was much higher than it had been on any of his previous flights, including during the restricted race in Canterlot. By the time the suit’s sensors detected the three expected blips, Gearhead was already beyond them. He would, however, have to slow down soon so he would not risk hitting Verdant Fields with his sonic boom.

Snowbelle chirped in surprise and glee, sending a mental image of a firework going off in the Pegasus Flight’s direction. A signal?

<Can we check it out?>

<I guess we had better,> Gearhead said. He slowed down so the G-forces from their turn could not make him or Snowbelle black out, then he decided to slow the rest of the way down to a more standard speed for Pegasi, as well as descending to a more normal altitude.

“Finally! We thought we’d completely miss you,” Contrail said.

“You are not so lucky as that,” Gearhead said. “But why the signal? You could have just caught up to us at Verdant Fields after we landed.”

“’We?’ You have your dragon-daughter with you?” Rook asked.

“I could not very well leave her behind.” Snowbelle, meanwhile, popped her canopy open and chirruped.

“Why does it sound like she’s laughing at me?” Rook asked.

“Because she is,”

“Ha! I like her more all the time,” Contrail said.

“Sorry to spoil all the fun, but there’s a reason we had to flag you down,” Prism said.

“Trouble at the farm?”

“Thankfully not. Your father wanted to move the meeting place to the Council Caverns. If you stop in at their place in Hoofington, the Shadows can teleport you there directly.”

“I guess this could not have been a last-minute change, given the location.”

“Right, but your father didn’t have a good way to contact you, especially not knowing when you’d be flying through. Or that you’d be so fast.”

“Then you are lucky you caught us,”

“’Lucky’ nothing!” Contrail said. “We’ve been either on patrol or standby almost exclusively for the past three days, just waiting for you.”

“It’s true,” Rook said. “We were off-duty, too. If Radar hadn’t detected you and told us when she did, you’d have bypassed us completely.”

“I could have asked Mother about the meeting,”

“You could have, but I don’t think your father told her about the shortcut,” Prism said.

“And now that we’ve told you, you’d better get going,” Contrail said.

“We’d escort you, but it’s not even really our rotation. Our job’s done, so we have to get back ASAP.”

“Thank you,” Gearhead said as Snowbelle curled back down, closing the canopy with one claw.

“Hey, it’s our pleasure,” Prism said.

“Right,” Gearhead and Contrail both said. The former was just saying something for the sake of acknowledgement, but the latter was skeptical. Obviously Contrail had not had such a pleasant experience coming out here. Maybe Gearhead would have a chance to ask him about it later. Just at that moment, however, he had to get to Hoofington.

Shadow Estates was located in the second-most inner ring of the trade city, Hoofington. It was large not because the Conclave was wealthy enough to afford the land and buildings built on it, but in order to accommodate all of the various facilities that were there. Of course there was the manor, which could accommodate most of the Conclave’s family members at once. There were also whole buildings dedicated to the research and development of various magicks and their spells, the academy, and the Hidden Library.

To avoid spooking anypony, Gearhead flew in along the routes that Pegasi normally used, although he flew marginally faster than they would. When he arrived at the manor, it was obvious that somepony had already sent word of his arrival, because Dawn was waiting for him just outside the main door.

“It has been awhile,” Gearhead said, landing.

“Yes, and while I would love to catch up, I have to get you and all your precious cargo to the Caverns right away!”

“Just make sure we do not leave my daughter behind,”

“Daughter?!”

Snowbelle popped her hatch again, and made a trill. “’Snowbelle, pleased to meet you,’ she says.”

“She’s a Dragon,”

“I guess I forgot to mention she is adopted,”

“Yes, you left that part out. Oh, but we need to catch up later! Now that I know you have someone with you, I can include her in the teleportation. Now, this may be slightly disorienting.”

“We have actually teleported with Twilight Sparkle before.”

“Oh, so this must be old hat by now.”

“No, not quite.” But Gearhead did not get to say any more, because all three of them were surrounded by a flash.

When the flash cleared, they were standing in a large chamber that was magically lit. As the walls and ceiling were carved out of stone, it was fairly obvious that they were inside a mountain. By the runes set into the floor, it was just as obvious to those who studied magic that this room was specially designed to receive those who teleported into the area. At the same time, the receiver had a specific key that was included in the casting, so one could not get here by accident, or by teleporting in its general direction.

“So, are you feeling okay?” Dawn asked.

“Yes,” Gearhead said, and Snowbelle chirped as she moved from her cockpit to Gearhead’s shoulders, finally releasing her shrinking spell to return to her normal size. "She says it is nice to be able to stretch.”

“That’s good. Follow me,” Dawn said, leading the way out of the room and into the cavern system. As they left, Gearhead noticed more dignitaries ‘porting in, even though he was late.

Gearhead had never been to the Council Caverns before, so without Dawn’s guidance he would have been completely lost. The maze was set up so that any intruders that came through would do exactly that. The passages were enchanted, so that no being who did not mean to harm the Herd would get trapped. Marauders, on the other hoof, would be lost long enough to be weakened during their struggle to escape the maze, and then apprehended.

“So, this little cutie’s name is ‘Snowbelle?”

“That is correct,”

“And you adopted her,” Dawn sidled up closer to Gearhead as they walked, letting them speak more softly. Dawn either did not like her voice echoing around, or she was flirting with him. Or both. “I’m sure you had a very good reason for feeling like you had to adopt a Dragon.”

“Because her mother asked me to, and because I could.”

“And because you feel responsible for her,” Dawn said. “So far she seems to be flourishing. Actually, far more than that: she has a strong magical aura.”

Gearhead turned toward Dawn, and noticed that her eyes were swirling with glowing amber, emerald, and sapphire lights. Was this how he looked when he used Shift Focus? Probably. “What do you feed her?”

In answer, Snowbelle flipped one of her Ice Crystals into the air. Turning her head, she lef Dawn see that she was sucking the magic out of the gemstone. “I’ll leave the wisdom of teaching a Dragon how to eat magic to you.”

“Better than what Dragons normally eat,”

“Agreed. Moreover, I’m impressed with both your use of magic and your flight.”

“Nice of you to be so straightforward,”

“Don’t forget that the last time I saw you, your hair was entirely red and you didn’t have a clue about your greater magical potential. Now you glow brightly with it.”

“I did not realize I glowed, or that you knew I had such potential,”

“Because it’s hardest to look at yourself and see the truth. But I also didn’t want to spoil that modesty that you have.”

“I like to think that that does not have anything to do with the power I have, and everything to do with the power I lack.”

“Perhaps, although if you know where and how to look...”

“I have already been looking at myself differently from how I used to,”

“So then, perhaps not differently enough. You are, after all, a Verdant.”

“I am,” Gearhead gave Dawn a look that said ‘so what?’

“And Verdants value farming ability above all else. Even the miners, teachers, and craftsponies can farm to some extent. The Azure prize flight speed, agility, and prowess, while the Shadows seek innovation, invention, and creative casting. If you could leave the Verdant, if you were that kind of pony, you would not have to struggle so by joining either Prism or myself.”

“If I was that kind,” Gearhead said. He sighed. “I am glad you understand me so well.”

“I don’t mean to insult you or your Herd: they’re your family, the only one you have.”

“Which is why I would never leave them, so long as I have the choice.”

“What choice? I didn’t think that was a factor here.”

“My brother has a method by which he could force me out, but I think he is too cunning to use it, and not ruthless enough to do it, besides.”

“If a pony is greedy enough, you never know what she or he might do.”

“And how greedy are you, Dawn of the Shadows.”

She bumped up against him. “Very,” she said. “And you?”

“I do not know,” Gearhead admitted.

“I think you have an intermediate amount of greed, but not for yourself. For your family.”

Dawn had given Gearhead much about which to think, however he soon had other matters in his head. Like why he was standing in the Council Chambers when only representatives of each family were usually present. Not to mention the representatives from the Azure and the Shadows filling out the seats intended for future generations of the Verdant. Dawn herself strode up the amphitheatre-style rows to sit with her father and Dusk.

Now Gearhead noticed that there was a higher number of Unicorns coming in and going back out. It seemed the Conclave had taken up the responsibility for teleporting everypony here. It was a good thing their teleportation spell was such a utility spell, otherwise there might have been a lesser amount of ponies able to use it.

Father greeted Gearhead, and had him take a seat between himself and the Speaker. It still took a half an hour longer before all of the attendants were seated, and the Speaker signaled the start of the meeting with his gavel.

“I call this Council of the Alliance to order,” he said. “It has been nearly a year since our last meeting. This time we call those assembled together in order to discuss an enterprise that may prove both profitable and beneficial in terms of defending the realm against threats of darkness. I assume you have all read the proposed contract?”

Gearhead raised an eyebrow: Father had shown his drafted contract to members of the Alliance, the most powerful organization in Western Equestria? The Patriarch could only grin wryly, even as pony after pony indicated that they had indeed read the draft.

“In that case, on to questioning and clarification. Patriarch Redwood, if you would be so kind?”

“Gladly, Mister Speaker. Mares and gentle-stallions, I am not only Patriarch of the Verdant, I am also employer to the young stallion who developed the program and proposal that will, with our support and ratification, hopefully become central to the defence of many a town and city in Equestria. I would therefore move to ask for clarification on some issues within the contract, on behalf of the Alliance.”

“Seconded,” Midnight, Matriarch of the Shadows, said.

“On behalf of the Azure, I wholly support this motion,” Wing Commander Windwalker said.

“Please proceed, Patriarch.”

“Thank you, Mister Speaker. Thirdson Gearhead,”

“Yes, Patriarch,”

“My first question is, how do you intend on preventing industrial espionage from taking place once the turbines are deployed, out in the open?”

“Naturally I cannot prevent anyone from making the attempt, however the systems have anti-tampering measures in place to prevent success, and the safeguards for each turbine include having critical information completely hidden from prying eyes, as well as from other senses. I cannot for certain say it is impossible to copy my designs, however it would be incredibly difficult without using somepony who thinks very similarly to the way I do.”

“What if somepony decides to try to steal a whole unit?”

“Then the culprits will find themselves with their movement restricted until the authorities arrive.”

“What happens if a turbine stops working or is destroyed?”

“I will perform regular maintenance on each unit to ensure their continuing functionality. The turbines themselves will be made from extremely robust material, namely dragonfired adamantine and gemstone alloys, as well as being able to deploy particle fields to protect themselves from attacks. I will not claim that they are indestructible, merely highly resistant to it. If one unit does go down, the others can take over for a time, at least until I can get a replacement unit in. The only difference is that deploying the defensive shield will take longer.”

“Next question: how do you expect the Crown to be able to keep up with the expenses of building an array, knowing the amount of material that can go into deploying a single one?”

“I will leave it to the Principality and its cities and towns to determine how much they can contribute to each build, however I do believe that defence will be an extremely high priority. Naturally, what the Crown contributes it will always own.”

“And if the Verdant contributes material, does the Herd also gain partial ownership?”

“That is a complicated issue, or at least it would seem that way – however the Herd, as well as the other two constituents to the Alliance, are a part of Equestria. For the sake of mutual defence, I hope that all the beings of the land can band together to make our security possible.”

“I am glad that you said as much, because now everyone assembled can see how important this endeavour is to the entire Alliance. Are there any other questions for the Thirdson?”

“I have a question,” Dusk said.

“Go ahead, Dusk Shadow.”

“The array system seems to defend most effectively against Dark Users. What does this mean for those of our allies who use Dark and Shadow Magic already?”

“I can and will enter exceptions into the system, to allow allies and friends unfettered access. I will, of course, have already done so for known allies, such as yourself and Princess Luna.”

“Any other questions?”

There was silence as Father looked around. “I have a question for you, Patriarch,”

“Go ahead, Thirdson,”

“You mentioned a large quantity of resources in the Verdant’s possession. When and how did the Herd obtain them?”

“Through the ages, the many millennia, we have been mining and processing precious gemstones, metals, and other valuables. We do not always sell or spend it all, and so we have a significant stockpile ready for use.”

“Might I be able to look at some of the stockpiles, to judge their usability?”

“Yes,”

“Since there do not appear to be any further questions for the Thirdson, I close the matter of the contract. The Secretaries are to make a record and create a new draft for the Patriarch and the Thirdson to approve. Is there any other new business to discuss?”

“Mister Speaker, I move that we alter the Alliance to include provisions for the defence contract,” Windwalker said.

“Seconded,” Midnight said.

“And supported,” Father said, while Gearhead wondered what this was about.

“Wing Commander Windwalker, would you like to speak to your motion?”

“Indeed I would, Mister Speaker. The Alliance was originally formed to assist ponies in times of need, and to help to defend them against threats. Thirdson Gearhead’s contract changes the way Equestria is defended on a fundamental level, which also will change how the Alliance works.

“I believe it is time for the Alliance to evolve with the changing times. We were formed mostly to help in defence, so including the contract only makes sense. At the same time, I believe we should include Thirdson Gearhead as an employee under the protection of our overall organization. If we are all going to contribute resources that will set up defensive arrays all over Equestria, it only makes sense that we give him equal access to those resources from the start. That way, with our approval, he can set how and where they get deployed.”

“Well, if we are going to go so far, we may as well change the name while we are at it,” Midnight said.

“It was on the bland side anyway,” Dusk said.

“Suggestions?”

“The Equestrian Defense Alliance?”

“Pony Protection League?”

“We don’t want to sound like a racket, or exclude friendly non-ponies.”

“Everything-Under-the-Sun-and-Moon Defense Association?”

“Umbrella Defence?”

“Now you’re getting ridiculous,”

“Sentient Defense Force?”

“Too broad, and forceful.”

“Triad?”

“What are we, mobsters?”

“Kind of, yeah,”

“But we wouldn’t want the Princesses to think so,”

“You know, the current name doesn’t sound so bad now.”

“It’s certainly not on any high horse,”

“Defence Alliance?”

“Simple, straightforward, and far from almighty. All in favour?”

“AYE!”

“All opposed?”

“... nay...”

“Well, the Secretaries will have to draw up the contract to reflect the new reality of the Defence Alliance. Thirdson Gearhead, welcome to our employ.”

“Thank you, sirs. I shall do my best not to disappoint.”

“Considering how much we are about to give you, I am certain you will do your absolute best, young stallion. Now, go and invent us a new way to fulfill our millennia-long purpose.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the Defence Alliance Council meeting concluded, Dawn was more than happy to teleport Gearhead and Snowbelle to Verdant Field to visit with his family while he was in town. Dawn stayed to catch up with Gearhead, and while they talked about events that had transpired since the Gala, she played with Snowbelle, quickly learning the small Dragon’s likes and dislikes.

After the initial surprise at how Snowbelle liked to be doted upon, Dawn started to treat her very closely to how she might treat a Pony foal, even though Snowbelle could very easily cover her in ice or bite her. By the way the Dragon giggled and rolled playfully, however, it seemed obvious that the Dragon did not hold any intention of threatening the light-coloured Unicorn mare.

Mother also took to Snowbelle immediately. “I miss being able to do this sort of thing,” she said, holding the Dragon close as she cuddled with her. “None of my own children will let me do so anymore!”

“We are your children, but grown all the same,” Big Sister Ivy said.

“And family all the same,” Gearhead said. “Hey, that tickles!”

“I didn’t do anything,” Dawn, who was sitting beside him, said.

“Snowbelle is something of a prankster. Sometimes she sends me an unexpected thought or sensation through our psychic link. Still getting back at me, eh?”

Snowbelle chirped in a way that could only mean ‘yes!’

Mother laughed. “That means I still get to cuddle with at least one of my sons after all,” she said happily.

“Please do not be silly, Mother. You only have to ask,”

“But won’t that embarrass you?”

“I already do a good job of that on my own, thank you. Besides, how often am I here?”

“True,”

After the mares got all of the cuddling out of their systems, they let Snowbelle play some games with Roselle, Bean, and Cori while Big Sister Ivy and Mother talked with Gearhead and Dawn.

“No doubt since you’re now part of an organization that numbers in the thousands, Father and the rest of the leaders will want you to take on some employees, at least part time,” Big Sister Ivy said.

“I know that a hoof every now and again can be very helpful, but I can still do everything myself, Big Sister – at least if and until I win a contract with the Princesses. At that point, I believe I really would need the D.A.’s help and resources.”

“In that case, why not send some representatives from each of the great houses?” Dawn asked. “Dusk is deep in research at the moment, so he cannot go, but I can.”

“Are you not Dusk’s second? What would he do without you?” Gearhead asked.

“He’ll manage, of course, but if he asks I will probably stay.”

“It’s hard to tell what he would do,” Big Sister Ivy said. “He’s very protective and loving of you, but he’s also under a lot of pressure to succeed your mother.”

“I call it being ‘overprotective,’ but looking back I don’t think I ever minded all the attention. But I’m older now, and would like to be able to do some things for myself, at least for a little while.”

“Then how about a temporary, part-time position?” Mother suggested. “Gearhead could offer you something for a fixed term, like six months, and then you could return home afterwards. That is, unless you got good enough with your magic to move between the Manor and Ponyville quickly enough.”

“I’m not that good yet,” Dawn said, blushing.

“That’s fine,” Mother said. “You can work your way up to it.”

“And you don’t need to accept if you don’t want to,” Big Sister Ivy added.

“Hold on, did I put an offer on the table yet?” Gearhead asked. “I am confused.”

“Of course you’ll offer her a position,” Mother said.

Gearhead chuckled helplessly. “You are correct as usual, Mother.”

“That’s funny: your father says that I’m always right. Is he lying?” Mother asked coquettishly.

“No one’s right all of the time,” Vines said, coming into the room. “Good work in the Chamber, little brother.”

“Thank you, Big Brother.”

“That’s the first time you’ve called me that in a long time,”

“Right back at you,”

“It’s also the first time I’ve thrown my support all the way behind you since we were little. But I honestly believe in your program this time. Keep it up.”

“Thank you,”

“And do try to keep your little dragon away from the crops,”

Ah, there it is. “Do not worry, Big Brother: Snowbelle is a good girl.”

“Oh, so she always listens to you?”

“Well, not always,”

“Ah,”

“But when it matters she does,”

“Oh,” Vines paused. “You know, you’re a lot more fun to be around than you used to be. It must be the influence from those Ponyville friends of yours.” From Vines’s expression, he expected some sort of outburst from Dawn. She did not give him the satisfaction, merely smiling for all to see.

“I admit I did not make any new friends for awhile, but I am glad that I did. I am also glad for my old, childhood friends, and that they remembered me after all this time.”

“Well, I hope nopony gets hurt fighting for your favour. After all, you are the Black Sheep, and when your powers first came out they had the worst fallout recorded. In all seriousness, we don’t know what that could mean for any future foals you might have.”

“In that case, I had better put in some more effort in learning about my powers, and then I can teach what I learn to my foals.”

“Even though the power has always come out different?”

“Everypony is a little different, so there is nothing unusual there, Big Brother.”

Vines nodded. “Good. Like I said, keep it up.”

Father came in at that point, also leading Midnight and Windwalker – the Three Family Heads, all in one place. “Congratulations, Gearhead,” Father said, “you now officially represent the Defence Alliance’s interests to the Principality of Equestria.”

“Thank you, Father. Wing Commander Windwalker. Midnight.”

“’Uncle Windwalker,’ please. We’re not at the Chambers anymore.”

“Of course, Uncle.”

“Then feel free to call me ‘Auntie Midnight’ from now on, after all you studied from us too.”

“That has an awkward feel to it, Aunt Midnight,” Gearhead said, wincing.

“Well, whatever. We’ll be discussing who we should sent to represent the different houses within the D.A. to help you out at your shop. We hope you don’t mind,” Windwalker said.

“If they will be staying in Ponyville, you may not want to send too many, otherwise we will have to expand for their sake.”

“What’s wrong with a little remodeling? Or if not, we can make a small house for them all. But yes, a small group makes sense, until you expand your operations.” Midnight said.

“Oh, can I continue to ask my Ponyville friends to keep helping out?”

“That’s great: a local contingency that contributes to the D.A.’s efforts. And it’s not like we had to set it up, since it’s already in place,” Windwalker said.

“In that case, lets set the finer details so we can add them to the contract. We want it to be ready for the next time Gearhead gets to see the Princesses,” Father said.

“There is one thing,” Gearhead said. The others turned back to face him. “The Array itself is still in the pre-testing phase. Without knowing that it works the way it is supposed to, there is practically no point at all in presenting the contract to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

“In that case, why not take a little more time fine-tuning the contract draft?” Mother asked.

“Yes, take your time to polish it,” Big Sister Ivy said.

“Good idea,” Midnight said, “after all Gearhead will be presenting it to the Princesses as a representation of our own intention. It may as well be as clear and strong as it can be, rather than rushing it.”

“Agreed,” Father said, and Windwalker nodded. They all went into the next room to continued their discussion in a less formal setting.

When Father had told Gearhead that he wanted to show him something, all Gearhead could think was, I wonder what it is this time. This time it was Midnight who teleported them into a cavern in a location at which Gearhead could not begin to guess. In the first place, the only thing he could focus on were the pallets of refined gemstones, gold, silver, and rarer precious metals stacked several stories high on pallets. There were rows of them, like a warehouse, and looking down the aisles, they seemed unending.

“How... when..?”

“You know how old our Herd is,” Father said, and although what he was talking about at that moment was common knowledge, even he was using hushed tones.

“For millennia we mine, refine, and store what we find,” Vines said, equally awed. Gearhead realized that this was his first time seeing it too, although Father had probably told him about this storehouse before, perhaps even when they discussed the initial contract’s draft. “We are simple farmers and craftsponies, so we do not spend most of what we mine.”

“Which means that most of this wealth is sitting in storehouses just like this one, throughout Equestria,” Midnight said. “Vast, unused...”

“And meaningless,” Gearhead said. The others turned to stare at him. “What use is all this wealth if it does not get used? Think of all the infrastructure we could have improved across Equestria by this time? And on what fraction of what is sitting here?”

“Part of this is here in case we need to bail Equestria out of bankruptcy,” Father said, “and now another portion is here to subsidize the materiel you’ll need to build your defensive arrays. To deploy them to every town and city that agrees to sign on to your program.”

“The Array is unfinished. Untested. Meanwhile, this is still sitting here, and I doubt we would use it all even then.”

“You’re that kind, after all,” Vines said. “You can’t stand idle wealth, probably because you’re so used to sending most of your earnings to us. I wonder how you’ll feel after a couple more months, when you go from barely sustaining your own means of living to be able to afford the greatest amount of luxury in Ponyville.”

“Why? I know what to do with excess wealth.”

“Unless you intend on sending it to us on the sly,”

“Enough,” Father said. “You’ve seen the stockpile, so now you know what you’ll be working with. That was the purpose of coming here, not for you two to bicker over how to use all this.”

“My apologies, Father,”

“Whatever,” Vines snorted.

“Midnight, take us out of here.”

“Good idea,” the mare said, rolling her eyes as though to say ‘children.’ Then they were gone from the cavern.

With all the games and introductions Snowbelle went through that day, it was not surprising when she fell asleep as soon as her cool scales touched the pillow Mother had set out for her. Since it was late, and so much had happened, the family had agreed to let Gearhead and Snowbelle stay the night, and Gearhead could not disagree with this plan, although he wanted to get back to the shop as soon as possible.

In his own exhaustion, he barely registered Luna’s presence as she brushed up against his mind. She recognized that he was not in any shape mentally for a lesson, and only stayed long enough to see that he would be sleeping deeply and dreamlessly. Then she left, perhaps to visit the dreams or nightmares of somepony who was much more restless.

As for other presences that night, Windwalker went back to Las Pegasus under ‘escort’ by Prism Flight, while Midnight and Dusk took Dawn home with them. The day’s excitement made it harder for Roselle, Bean, and Cori to get to sleep, however Big Sister Ivy worked her magic, and they were soon deeply asleep in their own beds. Tomorrow would be another day, and Gearhead would be back in Ponyville.

Upon their return, Gearhead and Snowbelle were genuinely surprised to see that the whole town had apparently decided to turn against the Crusaders. “What in the name of the pursuit of your cutie marks could you have done to upset so many ponies?” Gearhead asked, landing. “It is not a loathe poison this time, is it?”

“Nothing like that!” Apple Bloom said, sobbing.

“We started the gossip column to try to get our cutie marks in journalism,” Scootaloo said.

“But now if we stop the worst possible thing will happen!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Even though we wanna stop because everypony’s so mad at us,” Apple Bloom said.

“We pushed all our friends away,” Scootaloo said. “There’s no way we can be happy like this!”

“It sounds like somepony has something terribly powerful on you to hold all three of you in check, but would it be so horrible if you outed yourselves and pre-empted the blackmail?”

“That might be better,” Apple Bloom said.

“We can’t possibly get anypony any madder at us than they already are,” Sweetie Belle said. “I was already starting to lean in that direction, but I didn’t want to say anything if anypony else had a better idea.”

“No, I think it’s our best plan too,” Apple Bloom said.

“Lets finish what we started,” Scootaloo said.

“And we’ll do it like we started,” Apple Bloom said.

“Just... one more time,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, Journalists – go!”

Even as the Crusaders headed off toward the school, Gearhead took off. He did not have to wait for very long before copies of the Foal Free Press started to print carrying the Crusaders’ open letter of apology to the residents of Ponyville that they had wronged. Obviously the chief editor who had been taking advantage of them had not taken the time to look over their column before printing it. Gearhead would not blame Cheerilee for removing the offender from her position of power. Maybe then the bully of a filly would learn something and begin to change.

The biggest change, however, was something Gearhead and Snowbelle quickly felt as they walked around the town: once the Crusaders had been somewhere to apologize, the oppressive atmosphere was lifted. The heaviness and distrust that had settled in around town became less so, although things were not immediately back to normal: the Crusaders would have to earn back the trust they had lost, and they would have to do it the hard way. But it would be worth it to have all their friends and family back on their side again. Gearhead felt like he knew something about that, thanks to the support his family was starting to give him in his endeavours over the past year or so.

It was, he had to admit to no one but himself, Snowbelle, and Luna, a good feeling Next Chapter: 29. An Invitation Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 7 Minutes