*knockknock*

Twilight looks up at the entrance from where she had been sitting since Celestia left, lost in thought over the revelations that had been shared with her. She waits. Nothing happens.

"SPIKE!!!" Twilight shouts, annoyed.

Why is he still asleep? He went right back to bed after Caramel and I left.

She soon hears the telltale sound of claws on wood, Spike himself entering her view soon after as he descends the stairs.

"You called?" the purple dragon asks, yawning.

"Yes," Twilight responds, "can you get the door?"

Spike looks at the door, "This door?"

"Yep."

"The one you're sitting 10 feet away from?"

"Mhm."

"The one you could have opened with your magic?"

"The very same."

Spike gives her a flat look before finishing his descent and walking to the door. Opening it, he sees three familiar filly faces looking back at him.

"Hi Spike!" they greet in unison.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Spike replies, a smile starting to creep onto his face as the fillies' boundless enthusiasm eats away at his sleep-grumpiness.

"Pretty good." Scootaloo answers, "Can we talk to Twilight? Sweetie Belle wants to ask her something before we start crusading today."

"Yeah, sure." Spike opens the door fully and walks towards the kitchen, "You guys want anything?"

"Nah."

"No thanks."

"No thank you."

Spike shrugs indifferently, vanishing into the kitchen as the Cutie Mark Crusaders enter the library.

Meanwhile, Twilight stands, walking over to meet the fillies as they cross the threshold, "Hello girls; I'm guessing you're looking for a book regarding your newest crusade?"

Sweetie Belle shakes her head, "Actually I was just wondering if you'd seen Rarity around anywhere. She wasn't in Carousel Boutique, and nopony we've talked to has seen her since last night."

"Well, the last time I saw her was in… the… " Twilight pauses, confusion taking hold as her memories begin to conflict with themselves. It was just me and Fluttershy in the hospital room and in the hallway. I could have sworn Rarity entered with me though…

Twilight looks around inside her memory of that instance through her mind's eye, however with Rarity nowhere to be found, she continues to backtrack through her memories of the previous night, So she apparently didn't enter the hospital… but I know she was outside with me.

Yet as she examines that memory, she once again finds Rarity to be missing, Wait, if she's not there, then that means…

Going back further to the moment of teleportation, Twilight feels herself surrounded by the warm glow of her magic combined with the enhanced spatial awareness granted by the spell to avoid teleporting inside of other solid objects. And with that awareness, she feels nopony but herself.

…I teleported Rarity to Cloudsdale with me and then left her there. Shoot.

Twilight? Twiliiiight~ Equestria to Twilight!

How can I make this up to her? I just forgot about one of my best friends! Well, I should start by apologizing to her when she gets back. Wait, can she get back? Ugh, now I have to adjust my schedule to make time to find her and teleport her back… though admittedly it's already in shambles anyway…

Nothing. She's just standing there.

Ah hope we didn't break her. It seemed like such a simple question…

Twilight's eyes refocus on reality as her mind returns to the present. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are looking up at her worriedly, the latter waving a hoof in front of her face. Twilight blinks.

Wait where's-

"TWILIGHT!!!" Scootaloo screams in her ear through a megaphone, having apparently procured one from somewhere nearby.

"GAH!"

Twilight jumps several feet in the air, falling back to the floor in an adrenaline infused heap of hooves and wings.

After a moment, Applebloom nudges the purple pile, "…are you alright Twilight?"

Twilight just groans and mutters something under her breath as she clutches her ringing head with her hooves. Several minutes pass as the Crusaders stand fidgeting nervously while Twilight lays on the floor, waiting for the ringing to slowly fade from her ears. After having recovered sufficiently, she looks up to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders watching her anxiously.

"Why did you do that?" Twilight demands, more than a touch of anger in her voice.

"Uhh… "

"Well… "

"Umm… "

Twilight watches the three fillies from her spot on the floor, switching her gaze between each of them as she waits for an explanation.

"Well, you were just kind of sitting there, and you weren't reacting to anything we said, so we thought that maybe we should… try to snap you out of it?" Sweetie Belle ventures.

"And the solution you came up with was to try and make me deaf?" Twilight deadpans.

"Yeah… uh… maybe not one of our brightest ideas," Scootaloo admits, rubbing the back of her head.

"We're sorry… " they apologize in unison, looking up at her with wide, shimmering eyes.

Twilight tries as best she can to hold her ground against the cuteness overload attack, but despite her efforts she feels her anger draining away, "I forgive you."

The fillies highhoof each other at this.

"But! On the condition you stop and take the time to think through what you're planning to do before actually doing it," she adds pointedly.

"We will!" they promise together.

Twilight nods, "Good. Now, regarding Rarity's whereabouts, she is currently in Cloudsdale."

"Wait, she is?" Sweetie Belle asks, "But she told me yesterday she was going to be working all day on a big order."

"Yes, well, I would say she was rather surprised that she ended up in Cloudsdale too," Twilight replies sheepishly, fidgeting a bit. Her guests fail to notice this though, having already moved on to their next topic.

"Alright, now that we know where Rarity is, it's time to start our next Crusade!" Scootaloo declares as she and her friends walk towards the library entrance.

"Bye Twilight!"

"Bye!"

"See ya!"

Once they're outside, Twilight closes the door with her magic as her headache continues to throb.

I really need to talk with Pinkie about her emergency stashing habits. She's like a manic pink squirrel. First though, I'm going to need some more tea.

Rather than shouting for Spike and making her headache worse, she turns to the kitchen intending to make some tea herself. Spike, however, is already standing there holding a cup. He raises an eyebrow, "Sooo, I see you closed the door with your magic."

Twilight groans, "Please, not now Spike."

Spike chuckles, "Some tea then?"

"That would be wonderful," Twilight replies gratefully, levitating the cup from Spike's claws over to herself. "Thanks Spike."

Spike waves it off as he returns to the kitchen, "Don't mention it. I made some sandwiches too if you want any."

Twilight trots over to join him, And this is why you'll always be my #1 assistant.

Now outside, the Cutie Mark Crusaders turn to face each other, forming a small circle.

"Y'all ready?" Applebloom asks. The two other fillies nod excitedly.

"Alright then. Cutie Mark Crusaders: Vampony Hunters is a go!" Applebloom announces, with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle contributing a 'yay!' at the end.

"And Ah think we'd better work out some sorta plan first, seein' as how we promised Twilight and all," Applebloom adds. She and Scootaloo look over at Sweetie Belle expectantly.

Sweetie Belle stares back at them, "What?"

"Well, we kind of thought that you'd know the most about vamponies since your sister is so obsessed with them," Scootaloo explains.

"She's not obsessed!" Sweetie Belle exclaims exasperatedly, stamping her hoof, "She just really likes those types of stories."

Applebloom and Scootaloo look at each other, an understanding passing between them, then back at Sweetie Belle. After a moment of awkward silence Applebloom speaks up, "You… haven't seen the ceiling in Rarity's room have you?"

Sweetie Belle looks at them confusedly, "No. What would I be looking at her ceiling for?"

Applebloom places a comforting hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder, "Next time yer in her room, look at the ceiling. If you can still tell me she's not obsessed with vamponies after that, then Ah'll believe you."

Sweetie Belle opens her mouth to retort, however Applebloom continues before she can get the chance, "But enough about Rarity, we're getting distracted! Do ya know anything about huntin' vamponies?"

"I know a little," Sweetie Belle admits, somewhat miffed at the sudden change in topic. "They get burned in sunlight or with solar water, they don't like the smell of garlic for some reason, and the only way to kill them is with a wooden stake through the heart."

Scootaloo facehoofs with a groan, "That's it? I could have told you that."

Sweetie Belle frowns, "Hey, it's not my fault. Rarity won't even let me see most of her vampony stuff. Apparently it's for 'Adults Only', whatever that's supposed to mean."

The other two shrug, equally unsure as to what Rarity could want to keep hidden.

"We can investigate that tomorrow, Cutie Mark Crusaders Secrets Finders or somethin'. Anyway, it's not like we can actually get any of that besides the stake." Applebloom taps her chin with her hoof thoughtfully, "Although… solar water burns them right? So we could just use acid instead! That burns everything! Though Ah don't know where we'd get any of that either… "

"What about some really hot, hot sauce?" Scootaloo suggests, "That stuff can burn, and Pinkie's always got plenty of it around for her cupcakes."

"I guess that could work," Sweetie Belle concedes, though clearly not very convinced of the potential efficacy of hot sauce on vamponies. "We're going to have to make up for not using solar water though, so we'll need something a lot smellier than garlic."

Applebloom's eyes light up, "What about manure? We got plenty of that back at the farm, and it's one of the smelliest things Ah know of. We can pick up one of the old pieces of wood lyin' around there for a stake too!"

Scootaloo jumps over to her scooter and revs up her wings, "Sounds like a plan! Hop on girls, let's go get that hot sauce!"

Wonderbolt Scootaloo speeds past her competition, weaving around them with practiced ease.

"Hey!"

"Watch it!"

A grin spreads across her face at their helpless squawks as she accelerates towards the finish line, the wind streaming through her mane and caressing her heaving sides as she quickly approaches the only flier still in front of her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Putting on a final burst of speed, she closes the remaining distance to cross the finish line an instant before the other pegasus, beating her by a mere nose.

Scootaloo and Co crash through the front door of Sugarcube Corner, which had just been nudged opened by a mint green unicorn who had been about to enter as well. The Cutie Mark Crusaders fly off the scooter and attached wagon on impacting the door, skidding along the floor until encountering the counter with a solid 'whump'. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle lay on the floor groaning while Scootaloo immediately leaps back to her hooves and takes a victory pose.

And the crowd goes wild! She continues on a victory lap, even as sweat drips from her face and barrel. Upon reaching the finish line again, she sees Rainbow Dash hovering in front of her. "That was amazing!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, "You might even be as awesome as me now!"

Sweetie Belle bops Scootaloo on the nose, breaking her out of her fantasy. Looking to her left, she sees both her friends glaring at her.

"Don't do that!"

"How're we supposed to be huntin' vamponies if we end up in the hospital?"

Scootaloo taps her hooves while looking back at them guiltily, "Err… sorry about that. I guess I got a bit carried away."

The glaring pair just roll their eyes at this.

"Is it safe to come in?" a nervous voice asks from the doorway.

The fillies look over to see Lyra Heartstrings peeking around the doorframe at them.

"Of course it's safe in here!" a cheerful voice behind them giggles, "Why wouldn't it be?"

Lyra takes another look around before entering, making sure that the Crusaders aren't about to cause any more chaos. Pinkie Pie bounces happily next to the register as Lyra walks over to place her order.

"Hi Pinkie, I'd like a mint-vanilla-swirl cupcake and a slice of double chocolate fudge brownie cake."

Pinkie Pie hops away to retrieve the desired confections, "Coming right up!"

She returns several seconds later, a bag containing the treats bouncing on her back. With a gentle buck, she sends them flying to land on the counter right in front of Lyra, "That'll be 3 bits."

Lyra levitates the bits over to Pinkie and the bag over to herself, "Thanks Pinkie."

"You're welcome!"

Having gotten what she came for, Lyra leaves the shop; the ringing of the doorbell marking her departure.

"So what can I getcha?" Pinkie inquires as she leans over the counter to look at the fillies, "I had an idea for a new type of cupcake if you want to taste test a few for me. I haven't decided what to call them yet though… Do you girls think Volcanic Cupcake or Volcanicake sounds better?"

"Umm… Volcanicakes?" Sweetie Belle offers.

Applebloom looks at Sweetie Belle, then back at Pinkie, "Ah dunno, Ah like Volcanic Cupcakes. It's more straightforward."

All eyes now turn to Scootaloo, awaiting the tie-breaking vote. She puts a hoof to her chin, considering her choices carefully. After a full minute she finally makes up her mind, "I have to go with Volcanicakes. It sounds way cooler."

"Al~right! Volcanicakes it is!" Pinkie declares, hopping high enough in her excitement for her mane to dust the ceiling, "Wait right there, I'll go get some for you to try!"

The Crusaders place their forehooves on the front of the counter, looking over just in time to see Pinkie vanish into the kitchen. A brief cacophony of noise emanates from behind the closed doors, terminated by an ominous rumble. The doors then open very slowly as Pinkie exits the kitchen, doing her best to not disturb the two plates on her back as well as a third balanced precariously on her head. Eventually making her way over to the nearest empty table, she deposits the experimental cupcakes delicately. As soon as the third plate makes its way off her head though, she returns to her happy hopping self.

"Three fresh-baked Volcanicakes ready for testing!"

Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle take a seat around the table, each in front of what may have been the most misshapen cupcake ever purposely made, appearing to have more in common with a mound of cooked dirt than anything particularly edible. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo eye their demented pastry hesitantly, while Applebloom shrugs and leans in to take a bite.

Pinkie Pie instantly tackles Applebloom, a frantic look on her face, "WAIT!!! They're not ready yet!"

"They're not?" comes the muffled question from beneath Pinkie.

"Nope! I said ready for testing, not for eating, silly," Pinkie Pie pops back up off of Applebloom and kicks the table, causing the plates to clatter. The cupcakes respond instantly with a gurgle as the top of the mounds start to crack open, releasing wisps of steam. Streams of molten caramel emerge from the cracks, making their way down the sides and pooling at the base of the sweet volcano.

The fillies watch the display raptly, "Cool~"

Pinkie giggles at their reaction, "Now they're ready. Well maybe not now now. You should probably wait for them to cool off first. So they'll be ready more of a now later."

Hearing the door bell ring, Pinkie leaves the fillies to greet her next customer. Said fillies quickly start blowing on the hot oozing mounds in front of them, eager to be able to dig into Pinkie's amazing treat.

Pinkie Pie hums happily as she trots over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' table, her smile widening when she sees that their plates have quite literally been licked clean, "Sooo~ anypony want seconds?"

"Can't. Too full," Scootaloo moans. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom groan in agreement, their heads lying face down on the table.

"Alright, but you don't know what you're missing~" Pinkie giggles, "Oh wait, yes you do."

Applebloom raises her head slightly, adjusting her position so that her chin is resting on the table rather than her face before speaking, "We would like a bottle or two of hot sauce though."

"Sure!" Pinkie replies cheerily, "I've got hundreds of them."

Sweetie Belle mumbles something into the table, though the obstructing wood prevents her words from making sense.

Applebloom pokes her, "What'd you say Sweetie Belle?"

"I said, 'What could you possibly need that much hot sauce for?'" Sweetie Belle replies, this time rolling her head to the side before talking.

"For the hot sauce cupcakes of course! Or as I call them, Hotcakes! I had the idea a few years ago after Cheerilee said that my newest creations were 'selling like hotcakes'. But I had no idea what a hotcake even was! So I started thinking 'What is a hotcake?'. Well obviously it has to be a cake and it has to be hot and hot sauce is hot and cupcakes are a type of cake so if you put them together you get: Hotcakes!" Pinkie frowns a bit at this, her mane deflating slightly, "The hotcakes didn't sell like hotcakes though. I still don't know why, I mean they tasted great… "

She looks at the floor forlornly, remembering all the delicious pastries spit out amid cries for water. An awkward silence falls as the Crusaders glance at each other, unsure how to respond.

Eventually Applebloom speaks up, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Ah thought the Volcanicake was amazin'."

She looks over at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo who quickly agree.

"Yeah!"

"They were awesome!"

Pinkie Pie looks up at the three of them, her normally cheerful demeanor quickly returning. Dashing around the table in a blur, she gathers her filly friends in a tight hug, "Oh thank you thank you!"

"Pinkie… can't breath… gonna puke… " Applebloom gasps out.

Pinkie immediately releases them, her smile not diminished in the slightest, "Oops, my bad."

While the Crusaders are still recovering from her surprise hug, Pinkie picks up their dirty yet sparkling plates. After depositing the dishes in the kitchen to be washed at an undetermined date in the near future she returns, now bearing their bottle of hot sauce.

"Here you go!"

"Thanks Pinkie," Scootaloo replies. "We're going to stay for a bit longer and… digest. We're heading out to Sweet Apple Acres next, and I don't want to get cramps halfway there, you know?"

Pinkie shrugs, "Not really, but feel free to stay as long as you like!"

With that, Pinkie Pie takes her place behind the counter once again. The Cutie Mark Crusaders meanwhile slump onto the table and begin to doze…