None of the Crusaders was anxious to go home. They were in a heap of trouble for sneaking out. And with so many unanswered questions, they needed a place where they could work on getting answers far away from any lecturing sisters.

Their homes were no good, and Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were sure to check the clubhouse. So finally, the friends settled on going to the Moon family greenhouse.

Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but notice how upset Lilymoon looked as they crept up Horseshoe Hill. It’s all my fault, Sweetie Belle thought. Until she’d stepped in, Lilymoon had thought she could control the peryton. Sweetie Belle had made a pony doubt her cutie mark: the exact opposite of what a good Crusader should do.

Ambermoon carefully opened the greenhouse door so it wouldn’t make any noise. They sneaked inside and headed toward the back of the cavernous glass building. Sweetie Belle saw Scootaloo carefully avoid a potted plant and assumed that must be the fear fern she’d accidentally bumped into before.

“Nopony touch that thing,” Scootaloo whispered, confirming Sweetie Belle’s suspicion.

“Nopony touch anything,” Ambermoon added. “The fear fern isn’t the only plant in here that could cause trouble.”

“Seems like y’all got a lotta stuff that causes trouble,” Apple Bloom observed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lilymoon asked defensively.

“Well…” Apple Bloom struggled to find the right words. Scootaloo, however, had no such issue.

“What’s the deal with your family?” she blurted out. “The strange potions, the ancient books, the creepy plants. Your crazy aunt, and the way your dad smiles funny and your mom glares at everypony she sees.” The sisters both looked shocked, then hurt, but Ambermoon’s expression quickly became cold and unreadable.

“I thought you wanted to talk about the peryton, not attack our family,” Ambermoon said quietly. “If we’re so upsetting, maybe you should go home.”

“Now, hold on,” Apple Bloom said firmly. “It ain’t like that! We’re your friends! But you gotta admit things have been pretty crazy in Ponyville since y’all moved here. We just have some questions is all.”

“What kind of questions?” Lilymoon asked. The Crusaders all glanced at one another. Where to begin?

“Well,” Sweetie Belle spoke up, “what about the candy cane?”

“What are you talking about?” Ambermoon looked lost. Sweetie Belle sighed—there was no turning back now.

“Lilymoon took a candy cane from your room. She brought it to the Schoolhouse and Twist ate it. That’s why she turned into a Timberwolf.” Sweetie Belle watched the sisters process the information. They both looked completely baffled.

“But… why didn’t you say anything?” Lilymoon asked as she worked things through in her head. She looked at them accusingly. “You… you thought… that we made Twist a Timberwolf on purpose?”

“Well, at that point we thought that Ambermoon did,” Scootaloo corrected her. Ambermoon’s eyes widened. “That was before you helped with the fear fern!” Scootaloo added quickly.

“Still… a candy cane that curses the pony who eats it. That’s somethin’ most ponies don’t have lyin’ around.” Apple Bloom glanced at the multitude of plants surrounding them. “Same goes for a greenhouse full of plants that do Celestia knows what.”

“And then there’s everything that just happened,” Scootaloo added. “You said you got your cutie mark when you were studying perytons, but tonight—”

“I already told you I don’t know what went wrong,” Lilymoon blurted, on the verge of tears. “I thought it had something to do with supernatural creatures, but now you probably think I’m lying about that, too!” Lilymoon hid her face so nopony could see her crying. Ambermoon rushed over to comfort her sister. She glared at the Crusaders.

“Is this how friendship works? Accusing us of being… what… evil?”

Sweetie Belle felt terrible. She could tell Apple Bloom and Scootaloo did, too. Yes, something strange was going on in Ponyville. But Lilymoon and Ambermoon had been by their side through all of it. They had more than proven themselves… hadn’t they?

“We asked ’cause we wanna figure it out with you,” Apple Bloom tried to explain. “That’s what friends do.”

“Perhaps we don’t need your kind of friendship here,” a crisp voice called from the front of the greenhouse. The ponies turned to see Lilymoon and Ambermoon’s mother, Lumi Nation, striding toward them. “After the way the Princess of ‘Friendship’ and her associates treated us, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that their younger counterparts are the same. You’ve all been bad influences from the start.”

“Now, wait just a minute—” Scootaloo began, but Lumi cut her off.

“No, you wait!” The Unicorn got angrier as she spoke. “From the moment you three barged into this house, you’ve been causing trouble. You dare put the blame on us? You force us to answer to a princess for things that you have done?”

“Us?” Apple Bloom was as angry as Lumi. “All we’ve been doin’ is tryin’ to help your daughters!”

“By accusing us of some kind of evil plot? Parading us around town as malicious when it was you three who couldn’t keep your hooves to yourselves? Well, my family has had quite enough of your help. You can see yourselves out.” Lumi turned and strode out of the greenhouse. “Girls!” she called without looking. Ambermoon and Lilymoon looked from their friends back to their mother, then they turned and glumly followed after her.

“Come on.” Apple Bloom stormed out of the greenhouse. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hurried after her. As they stepped into the cool night air, Sweetie Belle saw Blue Moon standing in the yard, grinning.

“You all have a pleasant evening, now,” he said through his too-forced-to-be-real smile. Sweetie Belle huddled a little closer to her friends. She believed Lilymoon and Ambermoon when they said they didn’t know what was going on. But she sure didn’t feel the same way about their parents.