The Cutie Mark Crusaders In: The Quest for the Cutie Crystal

by SunshineSprite

Part 8

Luna waited outside for her sister until everypony and Celestia had come out. They figured out that Aria had made a tunnel under the Everfree Forest. “Is everypony okay?” There was a shaky voice. And it came from the mayor of Ponyville. Celestia nodded her head. Shining Armor and Big Mac had gently set each of the Mane Six down on the ground. Shining Armor nudged his little sister. Spike, her assistant, came to her and Rarity’s sides. “Twilight? Rarity, my sweet?” That earned him a confused look from Shining Armor. Twilight just slept peacefully. “Let them sleep,” Shining Armor said. He and Spike began a round to check on everypony, making sure that they were okay. Celestia and Luna looked at each other.

“Well?” Luna asked.

“Let’s go and find out if everypony is alright,” Celestia said.

The next day…

It was a cloudy day, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were well on their way to the Hills of the Lost. They had a nice berry breakfast, a great rest, and were ready to take off. Shortly after they left their cave and cliff view, they encountered a serious fog. “Whoa, this is one thick fog,” Scootaloo pointed out. Sweetie Belle nodded. Apple Bloom looked horrified. But they knew that they had to go on. So they began their trek through the fog. At one point, Sweetie Belle shrieked when she stepped in mud, even though she thought that it was something like slime or acid. “It’s ahright y’all,” Apple Bloom assured. “We’ll be jist fine.” Then she touched a tree and got startled, screaming and running straight into Scootaloo. “Ow, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo yelled. Sweetie Belle turned and tripped into a lake. “Aah!” she screamed. The other two looked to see what was wrong. “Sweetie Belle!” they both screamed. They ran to her aid. Apple Bloom pulled her out of the lake, and Scootaloo looked at the map. “Uh, girls? I think that we’re in the wrong place. Unless… Wait! It’s no wonder that we’re lost. We must be in the middle of the Hills of the Lost! And we’re lost!” Sweetie and Apple Bloom both said, “Ooh,” and nodded. It made so much sense. That’s why Sweetie Belle tripped into the lake. She tripped and fell down a hill. At least they knew where they were and that they were one step closer to the Cutie Crystal. “Ahright, y’all. Why don’t we try an’ git outta here, huh?” Apple Bloom was eager to get to the next spot. Scoot and Sweetie nodded. They began again to escape the grasp of the fog. It was cold and damp, and the grass was getting dewier by the minute. Thankfully, it started to get mistier and lighter, so they knew that the way out was near. To help them out, Sweetie Belle used her magic to make a light so that they could see where they were going. They soon came to a strange platform with strange markings on it. There were circles with arrows and triangles with stars in them. There were squiggles and swirls and many other weird designs. “Hey,” Scootaloo said, “what’s that?” Apple Bloom looked carefully over it. “Ye know, I think that this is one of Aria’s doings, or maybe somepony else’s. Wait! You don’t think…” Sweetie Belle thought terribly of something that she thought was not possible. “There is no way that Aria could do this alone. Ponyville is really huge for a small town. I think that she has an accomplice.” Then they heard the one voice that they didn’t’ want to hear. “Why very good, my dear. You guessed our little secret. Surprise!!”Discord smacked Sweetie Belle to the ground. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom screamed. He smiled viciously and grabbed the three of them by the tails as they continued to scream. He walked out into the clear of the world. They had reached the end of the Hills of the Lost, but unfortunately they were stuck with Discord. “Alright ladies, where to next? Hmm?” He looked down at the terrified filly trio.

“Wh-what’d y’all plan ta do ta us?” Apple Bloom said shakily.

Discord said, “I have quite a thing in mind.” He walked over to a dark portal on the ground. He threw them in. “Have fun on the way down! Mwahahahahahaha!!!!!!!” Discord said laughing. The Crusaders screamed as they fell through a pit of pure darkness…

Applejack was lying next to Twilight and Fluttershy, making sure that they were okay. Shining Armor was talking to Cadence. Derpy was pacing forth and back, for she always did things in a very unique way. Cheerilee was shivering next to Dr. Whooves. Then they heard some cries of terror. It was coming from Rainbow Dash. There were dark clouds and lightning storming their way through. Everypony took cover. Then it started to rain severely and wind blew so hard that the mountains in the distance were close to being torn from the ground. Pinkie Pie looked up to see Aria. She was causing it, just for her amusement. Celestia formed a barrier around everypony so that the storm wouldn’t harm them. Pinkie just laid down, her drooping river of a mane with her. Her eyes were filled to the rim with tears. “Oh, I hope that the Cake family is okay,” she said sadly. She then curled up into a little ball and cried silently to herself…

“Oooh, my head,” Scootaloo moaned as she sat up. She looked around and spotted Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom lying unconscious. “Ah! Girls! Are you alright!?” she asked. She hurried over to them to make sure that they were okay. Sweetie Belle slowly opened her eyes. “Uh, what happened?” She sat up and looked down to see the map. She gasped and said, “Ah! Girls! Look at this! I think that this is the next location.” On the map was a dark swirl with mist around it. Just as Apple Bloom sat up, the map was shoved in her face, right in her mouth. “Gah! Yuck! Sweetie, watch it—oh boy.” She stopped in mid sentence as she saw what Sweetie Belle was talking about. They had reached landmark five of six. This one: The Despair of Darkness’ Will.

“Only one more to go after this,” Scootaloo said.

“Definitely not ready,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Eeyup,” Apple Bloom said. Sweetie and Scoot just cocked their heads and then Scoot said, “Guess it runs in the family,” followed by Sweetie stating, “Eeyup.” Scoot turned and said, “Oh no, not you too!” Scoot just continued to complain while Apple Bloom looked off into the distance. They were surrounded by a dark fog. The ground was a dark dull grey. There were craters in the ground, as well as it looked like the ground had aged about three thousand years. The ground was really dry and crusty, the air foul with the stench of skunks and bones. “Eew, it smells like something died in here.” Sweetie pinched her nose. “Come on, y’all. We got ourselves a Cutie Crystal ta cetch.” The Crusaders gave high hooves and yelled, “Yeah!” and then took off into the darkness. Then Sweetie got an idea and used her hoof to make light again. “Alright girls, let’s go.” They huddled close together and took off into the fog. But, they went really slowly, as to not get separated or something. “Hey, this kinda reminds me of the time when we were in the Everfree Forest, we were lookin’ fer Fluttershy’s chicken. Ye know, Elizabeak.” Scootaloo laughed. Sweetie Belle giggled. Apple Bloom smiled. Then her smile faded. She hoped that Fluttershy was okay. That poor Pegasus pony couldn’t even stand still without trembling on flat ground. But no matter what, they were determined to save Ponyville.

The mountains of the deserted lands stood chillingly still as awfully spooky whispers and moans echoed throughout the fog. The wind had gotten so cold that Sweetie could’ve sworn that her tail had become frozen solid. Apple Bloom’s big pink bow had lost volume and was just sitting on her head like a dead leaf. Scootaloo’s spiky do had also lost volume. It wasn’t as wavy and spunky as it used to be. “Ugh, are we there yet? I’m getting tired—and hungry,” Scootaloo complained. Her mane was drooping in front of her eyes. She blew them away with frustration. “Don’t worry, Scootaloo. We’ll be there soon… I hope.” Apple Bloom wasn’t so sure about this. But they didn’t come this far just to give up and go home. No way were the Cutie Mark Crusaders going to give up something so important, and that is saving Ponyville, their home, with all of their friends and family. Applejack, Big Macintosh, Rarity, Rainbow Dash… Oh how they loved them so. Even Derpy, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Celestia, Luna, and their new friend Aliceria. The girls just looked down at the ground and grimaced about the possible outcome of Ponyville being destroyed. They were just about to say what they felt when all of a sudden, a bright light shown in the fog. There was some sort of force field that appeared. A figure approached them intently. The Crusaders huddled in fear. A horn popped out along with a pair of wings. “Aliceria!” the Crusaders yelled with joy. Aliceria smiled and leaped toward them with embracing wings. “Oh my dear Crusaders! I’m so glad to see you!” She jumped up and down with joy, her wings whipping and swinging excitedly.

“How did ye know where ta find us?” Apple Bloom asked.

“By feeling, and listening my dear one,” she said cryptically.

“Wow! Thank goodness Aliceria came to our aid,” Scootaloo cheered.

“But that doesn’t help the fact that we’re still stuck here,” Sweetie Belle said sadly.

“Don’t you know what my special talent is?” Aliceria asked.

“No,” the Crusaders said in unison and confusion.

Aliceria smiled and said, “Well then, let me show you.” She took out a blue crystal and held it on her hoof. She used magic on it to make it glow. Then within seconds, the force field cleared the fog and darkness away. The Crusaders watched in amazement as the darkness disappeared. She was able to make darkness break and become nothing as well as clear paths for help. The Crusaders cheered as they saw the lightning bolt that had been leading them along their journey. Aliceria pointed to a bright light in the distance. “Look! The Cutie Crystal is just ahead!” Apple Bloom looked down at the map and gasped. There it was, the last landmark: the Cutie Crystal. “Quick Crusaders! We’ve gotta hurry or Discord and Aria are gonna destroy Ponyville!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Aliceria raced off to get to the Cutie Crystal before their enemies did. They had no time to waste.