//------------------------------// // Under A Shining Star // Story: The Crusader Crisis // by AstroStar //------------------------------// The Crusader Crisis By: Astrobrony Rarity was near her breaking point that night. It was bad enough that she had to have been dragged out to the middle of nowhere once again for another camping trip. But now, much like the events of the first camping trip, she, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were being subjected to another round of campfire songs by her little sister, Sweetie Belle. "49 buckets of oats on the wall! 49 buckets of oats! Take one down, pass it around, 48 buckets of oats on the wall!!!" Rarity could barely take it anymore. She was exhausted and stressed out from the long trek to the campsite, and Sweetie's campfire song was only making her growing headache worse. If it were up to her, she would have been back in her nice, comfortable bed back at Carousel Boutique. However, she had let herself to be convinced to go on another camping trip, this time to celebrate Apple Bloom's birthday. She resisted at first, as everypony had expected, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash convinced her that it would be a great opportunity to get away and relax during the hiatus which, thus far had been anything but relaxing. Everypony had successfully managed to dodge not one but two major show crises in the past few months. Rarity remembered the chaos that was the season three finale which needed an emergency rewrite thanks to Twilight's accident that turned her into an alicorn. That was followed by all the hoopla that was Lyra's movie, Equestria Girls. Thankfully, both situations resolved themselves fairly neatly all things considered. Yes, it had been a very interesting few months for everypony, and after everything quieted down after Equestria Girls, Pinkie Pie decided to give everypony a few months off to unwind from the show for a while before they begun season four later that fall. With no show to worry about, everypony was able to make the most of the downtime. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, meanwhile, were busier than ever with their seemingly never-ending ideas to get their cutie marks. Apple Bloom had tried to push her fellow Crusaders a bit harder in an attempt to get her cutie mark before her birthday. Of course, none of their plans worked and all three of them were nowhere closer to getting their cutie marks. Apple Bloom felt a bit down going another year without a cutie mark, so Applejack decided to cheer her up with another camping trip, like the one they had based the episode "Sleepless in Ponyville" on. The only difference between the episode and the actual first trip was that Rainbow Dash was the one who went through bouts of insomnia by nightmares brought about from Scootaloo's scary stories. So for this camping trip, Scootaloo tried again to tell a scary campfire story, in part to see if Rainbow Dash could handle a scary campfire story. Unfortunately once again, the story made Rainbow Dash delay everypony's bedtime as she tried desperately to stay awake. This meant, like last time, Sweetie Belle took center stage by singing campfire songs. "43 buckets of oats on the wall! 43 buckets of oats! Take one down, pass it around! 42 buckets of oats on the wall!" As the song continued, Applejack, Rarity, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were all looking worn out from having to listen to the song. Applejack was on the verge of dozing off and Rarity held her hooves to her head, trying to massage away the migraine that had grown over the past 25 or so buckets of oats. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, kept smiling and moving her head to the music. Apple Bloom looked over to Scootaloo. "Did we get our cutie marks in being-annoyed-to-death yet?" Scootaloo checked her flank. "Nope." "Pleeease make it stop," Rarity whined. She covered her ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise. "What are you guys talking about? This song is awesome!" Rainbow Dash grinned nervously, bobbing her head back and forth to the song. Applejack sighed. "That’s it, Scootaloo. No more scary stories. I don’t think Dash can take anymore." Scootaloo groaned. "But I wanted to tell the one with Fluttershy and her shed." Rainbow Dash's eye twitched. "Sh-sh-sh-shed?" she stammered. During all this, Sweetie Belle continued happily singing, oblivious to her audience's apathetic reception to her performance. "39 Buckets of oats on the wall! 39 buckets of oooaaatsss..." Enough was enough. Rarity had to stop this headache. "All right, Sweetie Belle! I think that's more than enough!" she shouted, bringing an abrupt end to her sister's song. "Aww, But I had a great encore!" Sweetie Belle pouted. Rarity frowned. "No more encores, Sweetie Belle. It's getting late, and everypony needs to get their sleep." "All right," Sweetie Belle sulked for a moment before perking right back up with a suggestion. "Well, can I pick up where I left off tomorrow then? Or I can take requests for another song I can sing while we travel back to Ponyville!" Rarity cringed. The headache she got from Sweetie Belle's little sing-along was bad enough, but the thought of being subjected to it on the long trek back to town would simply drive her insane. "You know Sweetie Belle, I'm sorry. But I would prefer if you stayed quiet for the rest of the trip. Your singing is giving me a headache." The other five campers' did a double take at Rarity's blunt statement. Sweetie Belle, in particular, was stunned beyond belief. "A headache? Was my singing really that bad, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked in a small voice. Rarity nodded. Maybe it was her own exhausted state or her own desire to get back to Ponyville as fast and painlessly as possible, but Rarity decided to be more direct with Sweetie Belle's singing talents, or lack thereof. Sweetie Belle couldn't understand. "But... I thought everypony liked it when I sing. What's so different now?" "We can talk about this tomorrow. Let's get some sleep ok?" Rarity replied, turning back towards her ornate camping tent. Sweetie Belle nearly complied with her older sister. However, a different feeling began to well up in her. Singing made her happy and it seemed like everypony enjoyed it when she sung. And now, the most important pony in her life was telling her that her singing was actually a pain? No way, she thought. She didn't need to go to bed right now. She needed answers. "No! I'm not going to bed. I want to talk about this now, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle frowned. Watching from the other side of the campfire, the other four ponies cringed as the argument started to escalate. They tried to speak up, but the two unicorns were so lost in their debate that they were certain they wouldn't be heard. They continued to watch helplessly. Rarity groaned. "Sweetie Belle, I don't want to argue this right now." "Well can you at least tell me why everypony thinks I'm not a good singer?" The unicorn filly suddenly glared at her older sister. "Or is it just you who thinks that?" Rarity stammered as the tables suddenly turned against her. "Wait! I'm not the one on trial here!" "Tell me Rarity!" Sweetie Belle shouted. Rarity frowned. "Well, you haven't made a memorable impression when I've heard you sing. Honestly, do you have to sing so loud, anyway? They probably heard you all the way out in Canterlot!" "Well, excuse me for trying to impress you!" "I can't say there was much to be impressed about," Rarity muttered under her breath. She went back to answer her younger sister. "Why do you insist on 'impressing' me, anyway? Can't you go impress Twilight, or Pinkie, or the bronies instead?" Tears started to streak down from Sweetie Belle's eyes. "Because none of them are my sister! That's why!" "Oh, you're not using that excuse on me again, young filly! This isn't the Sisterhooves Social. In fact, if you really want to go there, I should mention how rude it is for you not to consider my feelings. Your singing is a nuisance, and I would prefer if you stayed quiet for once so I can get some sleep!" Everypony was shocked as Rarity put her sister's talents down like that. Rarity was too tired to think about what she was saying. The only thing on her mind was she wanted sleep, and she wanted it now. Sweetie Belle glared at her sister for a few tense moments. She wanted to counter Rarity's last point but, with tears flowing down her face, she shut her eyes, lowered her head in defeat, and began to slowly walk away from the campsite. "Ok, Rarity. Whatever makes you happy." she said sadly. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other in concern. "Hey, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked, "We're coming with you." Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Sorry girls. I want to be alone right now. I... I don't want to bother anypony." Sweetie Belle choked back her oncoming tears. Before her fellow Crusaders could respond, Sweetie Belle ran off away from the others, towards the nearby lake. "Ugh, finally!" Rarity groaned. She didn't notice the tears from her sister. The only thing that mattered was that she now had peace and quiet, meaning she could finally get a good night's rest for the first time on this accursed camping trip. "I'm going to bed. Good night everypony." She started making her way to her camping tent. "A-HEM!!!" Rarity heard the sound of Applejack clearing her throat loudly towards her. She turned around to see the disapproving frowns from the other four campers. "Why is everypony looking at me like that? What did I do?" Rarity asked. "Seriously?" Apple Bloom deadpanned. "Don’t you think you were a little hard on Sweetie Belle back there, Rarity?" Applejack asked. Rarity groaned again. "I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood right now. I'm tired and I'm sore from walking all over this stupid forest!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "We get it, you're not an outdoors pony. But still, what you said to Sweetie Belle wasn't cool at all." "Well, she always wanted to know what I thought of her singing, so I simply told her," Rarity explained. "But Sweetie Belle is a fantastic singer!" Scootaloo objected. "She really is!" Apple Bloom added. "She helped me and Scootaloo through the 'Babs Seed' song this past year, and she also helped me get through my part of 'Raise This Barn' too! Remember how nervous Ah was Applejack?" "Ah sure do, sugarcube." Applejack chuckled a bit as she remembered how much Apple Bloom was fretting over the possibility of ruining her big sister's big musical solo debut during her own part, and how Sweetie Belle helped her get over her nerves. "Besides," Rainbow Dash added, "You have to admit that Sweetie Belle did do a good job with the 'Perfect Stallion' song." Rarity hesitated to respond for a second. "I wouldn’t know… I never saw it." "WHAT?!?" everypony shouted in disbelief. "I just couldn’t bear to see her embarrass herself, so I always skip over that part of the episode," Rarity explained. "So you mean to say that you’ve never heard Sweetie Belle sing, Rarity?" Applejack asked in disbelief. "I’ve heard her sing plenty of times!" Rarity answered defiantly. "And every time I try to listen to her sing, loudly I might add, I end up with a headache." "That's not how she really sings!" Apple Bloom protested. "She just really wants to impress you!" "Yeah, I think that Sweetie Belle's the best singer in Ponyville!" Scootaloo added. Rarity scoffed at that notion. "Best singer in Ponyville? Do I need to bring up 'Art of the Dress' or 'Becoming Popular' once more? I think it's plainly obvious that I am one of, if not the best singer in Ponyville." "Says the pony who didn't get an episode in season three," Scootaloo muttered under her breath. Rarity's ear twitched as she caught the snide remark. Her face grew red with rage. "Why you little..." Before the situation escalated any further, Applejack and Rainbow Dash broke the two sides up, Applejack restrained Rarity at lunging at the two fillies while Rainbow Dash held Scootaloo and Apple Bloom from retaliating. "Ok, I think this is the part of the show where everypony apologizes now," Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. "Yes. I believe it is." Rarity glared at the two crusaders. "Starting with you apologizing to Sweetie Belle," Applejack said, nudging the unicorn towards where her little sister went off. "What?" Rarity shouted. "At the very least, you broke her feelings," Applejack pointed out. "You should at least apologize for that." "Yeah. She didn't do anything wrong, after all," Rainbow Dash added. "She was just having fun." "Couldn't it wait until morning?" Rarity asked sheepishly. The angry frowns from the four campers answered her question. She sighed in defeat and turned towards the lake. "All right, fine! I'll go apologize," she said, dragging her hooves away from the campsite. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get some sleep, she thought. It didn't take her very long to notice the others following her. "I can apologize by myself, you know," she told them. "We know," Rainbow Dash said. "But we're still coming with you anyway." "Fine," Rarity groaned. She barely had any energy to whine anymore. She should just let them monitor her apology. Anything that would get her to sleep as quickly as possible. As far as Rarity was concerned, this camping trip could not end fast enough. ~~~~~ Meanwhile, at the lake, Sweetie Belle wiped the last tears from her eyes. Truth be told, she was already afraid that her sister viewed her as a nuisance. But to have that fear confirmed like that was too much for the young filly to take. All she wanted was to spend time with her big sister, the same way Apple Bloom does with Applejack, or Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash. The latter was particularly troubling for Sweetie Belle since for as little time the two pegasi had been 'sisters', they seemed to be engaging in more sisterly activities then she and Rarity did over the past three years. While her two best friends had big sisters whom they can share their lives with, she was stuck with a sister who would rather distance herself from her apparently uncouth little sister, especially over the one activity she enjoyed the most. It wasn't fair. Maybe that was why she always tries so hard (perhaps too hard at times) to impress Rarity with her singing. One of her first memories as a foal, after all, was hearing Rarity's beautiful voice singing her to sleep and she'd been trying to emulate it ever since she first began to speak. She had always been impressed with Rarity's singing talents and she had wished that she could one day sing with her big sister. She longed for that one special moment with her sister. Yes, the Sisterhooves Social was fun, but she wanted a moment with Rarity that was profoundly special. Now it looked like she would never get that chance. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes after she finished sobbing and she looked up to the sky. Usually, Luna's night sky would be decorated by the moon and all the stars. That particular night, unfortunately, turned out to be cloudy, blocking most of the stars in the sky. It figured that she didn't even have Luna's beautiful night to cheer her up tonight, she thought. The cloudy sky only enhance the young unicorn's already depressed state. In the dark, however, she noticed a noticeable twinkling in one corner of the sky. Peaking through the clouds was one single star, seemingly alone in the vast, infinite sky. "Looks like I'm not the only one alone tonight," Sweetie Belle remarked. As she continued looking up at the star, a memory popped into her head. It was a lullaby. One of the lullabies Rarity sung to her when she was a foal. It was a song that had stuck with her all these years. She began to softly hum the song to herself. It seemed a bit silly for her to sing after Rarity had said her singing was not good. However, this particular song wasn't going to be for Rarity. It was for herself. Herself and the one little star. The humming Sweetie Belle's tune caught Rarity's ears as she and the others arrived at the lake. They were too far away for her to notice them arriving, but they could all hear Sweetie Belle's humming. They all stopped for a moment to listen. The humming was soft and a little sullen, but most of all, as Rarity suddenly realized, it was beautiful. Rarity's heart nearly stopped as she heard the melody. This was the first time she had ever heard her little sister sing like this. And it sounded wonderful! "What's she humming?" Apple Bloom whispered, not wanting to interrupt the beautiful melody. "That's my lullaby," Rarity said in awe. "What was that about Sweetie Belle not being a good singer?" Scootaloo smirked. "Shhh!" Rarity hushed everypony. She had to hear this for herself. She wanted to hear her little sister sing. She didn't have to wait long as she heard Sweetie Belle start to sing to the sky. "One little star, all alone in the sky, Do you ever get lonely, as the twilight drifts by?" Tears welled up in Rarity's eyes. She remembered this song. She had sung it herself when she was Sweetie Belle's age when she felt lonely thanks to her parents frequent trips out of town. After Sweetie Belle was born, she used the song as a lullaby to her then-baby sister. She couldn't believe that Sweetie Belle had remembered it all these years later. As Sweetie Belle continued to sing, Rarity finally realized the true talents of her little sister. She also realized how much of a fool she herself had been to her. Rarity covered her mouth with one hoof as she tried to stop herself from crying. "Oh Sweetie Belle..." "One little star, in the darkening blue, Do you long for another, just the way that I do?" Rarity took a couple of steps towards her sister as she sung. Before she knew it, Rarity found herself singing along as well. "Sky begins to fill, darkness ends the day, Someone who I love is far away." Sweetie Belle trailed off into stunned silence as she heard a second voice singing alongside her. She turned around to see her big sister walking towards her as she finished singing the last line. Her fellow crusaders and their big sisters stayed behind, watching everything in silence. Through soft tear-filled eyes, Rarity smiled at her sister, silently nodding her approval. Sweetie Belle didn't know what caused this change of heart. She didn't know how long she was listening or if she was being followed the whole time. However, all that didn't matter anymore. Rarity was here, and she now wanted to hear her sing. Sweetie Belle smiled back at her big sister. This was what she wanted. To share an experience with her sister from deep in their hearts. She had always dreamed of this moment, and now it was really happening. And it felt... right. The two sisters closed their eyes and sang the rest of the song together. It seemed like the star flashed brighter for a split second as well as they sung their duet. "One little star, reaching far through the night, Do you shine on my someone? Are we sharing your light? Oh, one little star, shine on us both tonight." With the song finished, Rarity and Sweetie Belle hugged. "I was wrong, Sweetie Belle. I was so terribly, terribly wrong," she confessed. "Could you find it in your heart to forgive your stupid sister?" Sweetie Belle giggled. "I already have." "I love you, Sweetie Belle." "I love you too, Rarity." After the nice loving embrace, Rarity looked up to see where the others were. The four of them all had matching shocked expressions. Their jaws were dropped wide open and their eyes were shrunken down into pinpricks. Rarity found this reaction odd. "Why is everypony looking at us like that?" Rarity asked. "This isn't the first time two sisters fought and made up." "Uh.. uh... uh..." For some unknown reason, Applejack was at a loss for words, in of itself a rarity of its own. She couldn't understand what she and everypony else was reacting to. "Is everything all right?" Rarity asked. "Sweetie Belle! LOOK!!!" Scootaloo pointed at the young unicorn. "What?" Sweetie Belle asked. She didn't know why Scootaloo was pointing at her specifically. She gave herself a quick inspection. Her mane. Her hooves. Her tail. Her blank flank... ...with a symbol of a musical note inside a star on a three colored shield? Sweetie Belle blinked several times. She touched her flank to see if it was just an elaborate prank. The symbol didn't change. It wasn't an illusion. It was real. It was her cutie mark. Apple Bloom couldn't contain her smile.  "You did it, Sweetie Belle!  You did it!" Rarity gasped as she noticed the symbol for herself. "Sweetie Belle! You... you got your cutie mark!" she shouted in delight. Sweetie Belle's brain froze for a few moments. When did this happen? HOW did this happen? She replayed the last few minutes in her mind. The fight. The song. The duet. The hug. The flash from the star. Wait a minute. Maybe that flash wasn't from the star. Maybe the flash was from her! But how come she never felt anything? She had always imagined that she would definitely feel it when it finally appeared. She had often wondered if it would be painful. But she didn't feel anything. Now that she thought about it, the moment was kind of underwhelming all things considered. She had always figured that there would be some sort of ceremony accompanying her cutie mark's appearance, or a transformation sequence, or... Wait, why was she even thinking about all that? None of that nonsense mattered anymore. She got her cutie mark! "I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!!!!" Sweetie Belle let out an over exuberant scream. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo quickly joined Rarity in mobbing Sweetie Belle in a boisterous, celebratory group hug. As the four ponies celebrated Sweetie Belle's accomplishment, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked on, still shocked at what they had witnessed. "We have a Cutie Mark Crusader… with a cutie mark," Rainbow Dash remarked. "This is a good thing, right?" Applejack wondered. "For Sweetie Belle, yes. For the show, however..." Rainbow trailed off. She couldn't even began to comprehend the consequences this turn of events would have. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think this could be for the show?" Applejack asked. "Over 9,000," Rainbow snarked semi-seriously. "Ah was afraid you’d say that." Applejack sighed. The two ponies looked on at the celebration nervously. They wanted to be excited for Sweetie Belle. Heck, they were thrilled for her! But they both knew that the joy and jubilation wouldn't last. They all still had a show to go back to. And in that show, a cutie mark crusader with a cutie mark simply could not work. Several questions swam in their heads, about the show, about Sweetie Belle and how things could end up for both. But the most pressing question of the moment struck both Rainbow Dash and Applejack hard. How in the world were they going to break this to Pinkie Pie?