//------------------------------// // The Crusader Changers // Story: Cutie Mark Sentai Crusader! // by RaisingShad0ws //------------------------------// Chapter 7 -The Crusader Changers- The following morning, just as Celestia’s sun had started its ascent into the heavens, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were already tearing up the streets in Ponyville in their Crusader mobile. “So what was it like? Fighting that zombie thing?” Sweetie Belle asked over the hum of both Scootaloo and Wonderwing’s wings. “Well, I knew that it was really dangerous, but...” Wonderwing paused, searching for the right words to say. “But what?” Applebloom asked. “Well I just knew that if I didn’t do something, we all would have been dead.” Wonderwing replied. “Where are we going anyways?” Dinky asked, watching as several buildings and homes that she didn’t recognize flew by. “I have something for you guys. You gave me something cool, and I’m giving you something cool.” Wonderwing replied, as he and Scootaloo made another left turn onto Cherry Street. After a few minutes passed, the crusaders arrived at Wonderwing’s home, and watched as the pegasus got of the scooter excitedly. “Whoa, I didn’t know that anypony lived here.” Scootaloo commented, looking nervous in front of the two story house. “Hey, thith ith clothe to where I live!” Twist exclaimed. The foals all dismounted from the Crusader Mobile, and calmly moved it out of the way from other ponies that were walking in the street as Wonderwing galloped to the door. After following the foal up to the door and watching it open, they were met with the smiling face of Wonderwing’s mother. “Mommy!” Wonderwing shouted, leaping into the unicorn’s hooves. “Hey there my little Wonderwing. Are you done with your sleep over all ready?” She asked, watching as Wonderwing shook his head. “No, we’re just here because I wanna show my friends here my cool watches!” He said happily. “Watches? Is that what you wanted to show us?” Scootaloo said, not believing her ears. “How do you think I beat the zombie pony?” Wonderwing asked, flashing the bronze colored watch around his hoof. The other crusaders made an, “o,” with Scootaloo rolling her eyes a little before following him inside. “Zombie Pony?” Flower Petal said incredulously, looking down at her little foal. “Yeah, it was big and mean and had decaying flesh and red eyes and sharp teeth and-” “Ah think she gets it Scootaloo.” Applebloom said, calming the pegasus foal down. “Well, my little stallion is all growing up! I think that he and his friends deserve a nice glass of milk and some cookies for being so brave in the face of that scary pony!” Wonderwing’s mother said, smiling as the foals faces all lit up. “Really Mrs. Petal?” Sweetie Belle asked, before getting nudged in the side by Scootaloo. “Of course. Now you all run along while I get those cookies made.” She said, trotting back to the kitchen as the seven foals ran upstairs to Wonderwing’s room. There, sitting on the dresser was the black case that held his other watches. The other foals watched carefully as Wonderwing grabbed a small chair from his closet and dragged it to his dresser before climbing on it and grabbing the case. “You guys are going to love this.” Wonderwing said, opening the case to reveal the other six watches. “Oh wow.” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes a little. “They’re really pretty.” Dinky complimented. “Boy, these sure ahr fancy-lookin.” Applebloom commented. “Is this what you used to transform?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking down on the watches curiously. “These look like things you’d see at a jewelry store.” Pipsqueak commented. As the foals all gathered around, the seven watches began to resonate with brightly colored lights. As each light and watch began to glow brighter, the foals shielded their eyes, but also tried to see what was going on. Scootaloo was the first, as one of the watches that had a bright red aura descended on her and landed neatly on her right hoof. She blinked for a couple of moments at the sight of the watch as several of the cracks were in the glass began to fix themselves, and the lights behind the panel began to glow red. Sweetie Belle eagerly took the watch that floated near her, blinking as the blue light that glowed from it seemed to fix its casing and reattach it to the band it had. She watched as one of the displays that reactivated displayed her own name in blue, and began to blink a little. Applebloom also caught hers, nearly dousing out the yellow light that came with it. She held onto the watch as though it were a tiny egg or something special, as a pleasant warmth radiated from it as the second hand began moving again. Dinky nearly dropped the watch that came to her, a very bubbly pink light began to radiate from the wristwatch as the sides of the watch appeared to be polished up before her eyes. She blinked once, watching as the logo for the Cutie Mark Crusaders appeared from the center of the watch from out of thin air and shone just like the colors of her own watch. Twist smiled, something that she couldn’t help but doing, as she caught her watch in her hooves. The white light that came with the watch didn’t seem to diminish, but grow stronger as she held in her hooves which made her more confident about herself. The last of the watches descended into the hooves of Pipsqueak, a bright brown glow emanating from it just like the other watches on the other sides. He, like the other crusaders, could feel a sudden warmth as he held it and calmly put the watch around his wrist, grinning at the sight. Wonderwing looked around, watching the expressions of the other crusaders change as one by one they put on their watches. When the last watch was placed around Scootaloo’s hoof, seven beams of white light struck at a central point and began to fill the room with a bright aura of colors. Amongst those colors was the most intimidating, but at the same time gentlest pony that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had ever laid eyes on. The pony was tall, almost as tall as Princess Celestia, and wore armor that seemed to radiate just like her sun. None of the foals could see the pony’s mane or tail, but could see a pair of stern-looking black eyes look down on them all. The pony’s coat appeared to be a bright white, almost like fresh snow, which contrasted with the black wing-like cape he wore. “W-W-Who is th-th-that?” Dinky asked, looking up at the pony standing before them. “I don’t know. But who ever he is, he reminds me of Princess Celestia.” Scootaloo whispered. The pony looked around at the seven foals, staring at their dumbstruck faces. He smiled a little before beginning to speak. “Ponies of unparalleled innocence, Wielders of the emblems of the Crusade, you are the only ones who can save Equis from danger.” The foals looked at each other before giving the pony a nervous look. “I’m sorry sir, but who are you? And why us?” Sweetie Belle asked. “In life I was The Greatest Crusader. I had fallen in my last battle defending the Griffin Temple of their god Grimclaw the Terrible due to a betrayal in one of my own ranks.” The pony answered. “I call upon you now because the Temple is in great danger again.” “The Temple of whosy-whatie now?” Scootaloo asked. “He said the Temple of Grimclaw the Terrible.” Sweetie Belle repeated. “So what’s so special about this Temple thingy?” Scootaloo asked. “Inside lies a dangerous power. The power of the Sphinx itself. It took everything that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and the four Griffon Kings had to seal it away, and I was tasked in help defending it. It has been several centuries, but a group of ponies that would hope to gain access and control the power are close to unlocking its secrets. You are the only ones who can prevent this threat from happening.” The Greatest Crusader answered. “An’ why us? Why cain’t the Elements of Harmony stop this here power from being released.” Applebloom asked. “The power of the Temple recognizes the Elements of Harmony that sealed it away. That power will not be enough to reseal the temple. Only you seven are capable of such a task.” The Greatest Crusader replied. “Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute.” Scootaloo began. “You’re asking a bunch of foals to help you save the world?” She asked. The Greatest Crusader said nothing, remaining silent as the pegasus’s face immediately lit up like a candle. “Uh Scootaloo... Ah don’ think that this is a good idea.” Applebloom said, taking note of the glint in her eyes. “Yeah, maybe this is something left over from somepony else who left the watches behind. You know, maybe like a prank spell or something.” Sweetie Belle commented. “Bethideth that, our parenth wouldn’t want uth to get into thith kind of danger.” Twist said. Scootaloo shook her head, glaring at the other Crusaders. “But you guys realize what this means?” She asked, watching the other foals shake their heads. “What?” Pipsqueak asked. “It means maybe we can get Cutie Marks in being Super Heroes!” She said excitedly. “But isn’t being a Super Hero really, really dangerous?” Dinky asked. “Yeah, but you saw what Wonderwing did last night didn’t you?” Scootaloo asked. “He beat that zombie pony like it was a fresh record!” Everypony gave her a weird look. “What, I listen to DJ PON-3 on the radio when I get back from crusading. Is that a problem?” “No... It’s just...” Sweetie Belle began, looking away a little. “It didn’t sound right.” Applebloom answered. “Well, I didn’t have the time to practice it since yesterday morning.” Scootaloo confessed before turning to Wonderwing. “What about you? What do you want to do?” She asked. The pegasus blinked, staring at the other crusaders who were eagerly waiting on him to say something. “What, you mean me?” Wonderwing asked. “Yeah, they ahr your watches after ahll.” Applebloom said. Wonderwing stopped, looking down on his watch for a moment. Being a Super Hero did sound fun, and getting their cutie marks did sound like a lot of fun but he didn’t want any of his new friends to get hurt. With a somber shake of his head, Wonderwing looked back up to the other crusaders. “Getting our Super Hero Cutie Marks sounds fun and all, but...” “But what?” Scootaloo asked, sounding impatient. “I don’t think that any of our older siblings or parents would want us to get hurt.” Wonderwing continued, looking at each of the foals, and hearing a groan from Scootaloo. “I figured that you would say that.” Scootaloo moaned. “I’m not done yet.” Wonderwing said, surprising the crusaders. “I made a promise to help other ponies when I joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Just like everypony here, now that doesn’t mean we need to run off and go to this Temple ourselves, but we can still help out here and figure out what’s going on so we can tell everypony else what’s happening.” “Meaning?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Meaning that while we can still try and get our Super Hero Cutie Marks this way, we won’t be able to get hurt unless we really try and do something that gets us hurt.” Wonderwing finished, seeing smiles on the other foals faces. “You mean we can be super heroes just like Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, her face brightening up even more. “Yeah, but we won’t get hurt-” “ALL RIGHT!” Scootaloo shouted, leaping into the air. Even the other crusaders were liking the sound of Wonderwing’s idea, and after a few moments of understanding what he was trying to say they all had smiles on their faces. Before long they had all scampered out of Wonderwing’s room and out of the house, completely forgetting The Greatest Crusader. “Umm... Excuse me? Is anypony going to explain what just happened?” He asked before vanishing a few moments later. -Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location between Ponyville and Canterlot- “What do you mean we have been faced with a minor setback?” Utopian snarled, glaring at a team of unicorn engineers from behind a very fancy looking writing desk. “We are st-st-still unable to achieve maximum firing capacity with the seventeen inch cannons like you requested.” The head engineer, a bright blue unicorn reported, cringing as Utopian continued to glare at him. “And tell me why you have be unable to achieve maximum firing capacity. This isn’t rocket science you know. It’s Technomagicks, and simple ones at that.” Utopian snarled. “I-I-I’ve d-d-done all of the m-m-math b-but something is just keeping us from getting the cannons to f-fire properly. W-We calibrated the firing sights, tested and retested the safety mechanisms, and-” The head engineer was unable to finish his sentence. A blast of green energy had erupted from Utopian’s horn and vaporized him on the spot. “You,” Utopian looked down on another one of the engineers, a dull yellow unicorn, and glared. “You are the new Head Engineer. I want no excuses, I just want this airship completed. Is that clear?” He asked. “Y-Y-Yes sir.” The unicorn pony answered, keeping his head low. Utopian smiled and waved one of his hooves in the group of engineers’ direction. “Take them away. I have more important things to do than listen to groveling.” He snarled watching as two of his soldiers, clad in dull green and black full body jumpsuits saluted with their hooves before lighting up their horns and marching the engineers out of sight. “It’s so hard to capture competent ponies these days.” Utopian thought miserably, sliding out of a throne-like chair that he was sitting on and trotting over to the only window in the small office that he now occupied. Down, far below where he stood was a monster of an airship, glimmering like a dangerous looking jewel and as fierce as it could have been. The beast had to be at least two hundred to three hundred yards from end to end lengthwise, and sported the biggest pair of gun barrels that could have been normally seen on Equestrian sailing ships. Tuff Stuff had told him that Celestial Class Airships were capable of knocking anything out of the sky, as it was loaded with at least a set of eight inch Gatling guns in the front and rear of the body of the balloon’s armored hull, and had enough firepower that protected the basket of the airship to level a city the size of Canterlot twice. The airship wasn’t enough for Utopian though, he knew it. The Princesses rendered the weapons that were forged by mortal hands ineffective against themselves as did all of the rulers of the respective kingdoms of Equis. But that wasn’t the only thing. The gigantic warship would have to contend with the Equestrian Royal Air Force, which included the Wonderbolts, and needed the extra protection that it provided. This was his vessel. The thing that would ferry him on to his rise to power. No being in all the land was capable of conceiving a weapon of this magnitude. The hangar that it was currently housed in was at one point a prison that housed some of Equestria’s biggest criminals, but due to Celestia’s change of heart when Princess Luna’s return to her former self the place was shut down and the main facilities were bulldozed. It didn’t take Utopian long, or any effort to... Convince the builders to help him reopen and utilize the prison as a hangar, and it wasn’t long until he had enough space for his weapon of massed terror to be realized. “It’s all coming together smoothly...” Utopian thought, watching and listening to the sounds of workers welding, cutting and putting together his masterpiece. “Soon all of Equestria will be mine. And then the world!” He thought, letting himself chuckle a little. The unicorn turned away from the window, hearing the sounds of knocking on the other side and said with a firm voice, “Enter.” On the other side of the door, two ponies were thrust into the room. The first one appeared to be a soldier in the Equestrian Military, his golden armor glinting in the florescent light. The other pony, a scared looking bright green pegasus, looked around nervously as Tuff Stuff entered the room behind them before closing the door. “Tuff Stuff, who are these ponies?” Utopian asked, glaring at the earth pony. “They are members of the Equestrian Military, who just got a little too curious for their own good milord.” Tuff Stuff answered, watching as the armored soldier stood proud in Utopian’s presence while the pegasus huddled close to him. “I see...” Utopian said, looking down on both trespassers. “Do you know who I am?” He asked, watching as the pegasus shook her head. “I know that this is an illegal construction site, and that you are forcing ponies to work against their will. I also know that what you’re doing is against the law.” The soldier pony replied, watching as Utopian scoffed. “Law? Law? You mean the laws that were set up so that the weak may flourish while the strong feed on that weakness?” Utopian smiled. “No my dear friend, your laws have no effect on me or the great work that I’m doing. Eventually you will all bow down to me.” “The Elements of Harmony and The Princesses will stop you!” The Soldier challenged. “Stop me?” Utopian scoffed, glaring at the soldier. “It is amazing how confident you are about how the Elements of Harmony or your precious Princesses will stop me, when in turn they will help me rise to power!” He smiled, shaking his head before turning to Tuff Stuff. “But alas, you two won’t live to tell about it. Kill them both, and dispose of the bodies so they won’t be found.” Utopian ordered, watching Tuff Stuff nod. “All right you two, you heard the boss. Let’s go.” Tuff Stuff said, hoisting the soldier onto his shoulders before grabbing the now frantic pegasus. “Wait, please! I won’t tell anypony! I swear!” The pegasus begged, getting down on her back legs and placing her hooves together. “Please, I have a family! I have a foal! Please no, Please! Please no!” Utopian said nothing, watching as Tuff Stuff picked up the absolutely frantic pegasus. He smiled, the pegasus was trying everything in her power to escape from the earth pony, even flapping her wings. Before too long she too was grabbed and slung onto his shoulder, not before bucking Tuff Stuff in the face with a wild hoof. As Tuff Stuff and both ponies left, the pegasus still screaming to be let go, Crimson Heart entered from another door off to Utopian’s left. “I see that you had the prisoner unicorns cast an anti flight spell milord.” Crimson Heart said, trotting calmly into the room. “It makes the pegasi under our employ able to work to the fullest. Does this discomfort you Crimson Heart?” Utopian asked as the sounds of the pegasus mare’s screams could be heard from deeper in the airship hangar. “Of course not milord.” Crimson Heart replied. “I have news.” He said, bowing low before placing a small file on Utopian’s desk. “Ah.” Utopian said coolly. “And what sort of news is it?” He asked, picking up the case file with his magic before sitting down and opening it. “We have heard reports that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be attending the Ponyville Summer Fair. There will be a heavily armed contingent of guards at the festival, both marked and unmarked, and there are few points of entrance into where we will be able to make our strike.” Crimson Heart reported. “And this bothers you, Crimson Heart?” Utopian asked, looking over the case file. “No milord. In fact it excites me.” Crimson Heart replied. “With your permission milord, I have two suitable subjects for the sacrifice for the ritual. They are in the dossier that has been supplied.” He said confidently. “Hmm... And you are certain that these foals will attend the Summer Fair? They both do look like they have better things to do than appear at a children’s festival.” Utopian asked. “They are at the top of the city’s society. If there is anything that I have learned from my past experiences, is that one needs to trust the over privileged. They’ll show up when they can and will use their reputation to their advantage.” Crimson Heart reported. Utopian nodded. “And have you heard from Serene Grace?” He asked, closing the file and setting it on his desk. “Yes milord.” Crimson Heart reported. “She has been monitoring the situation in Ponyville the whole time. I have heard from her that one of our soldiers fell in battle with a masked assailant.” “A masked assailant?” “Yes milord.” Crimson Heart answered. “According to Serene Grace, a pony roughly the size of a foal all in black single-hoofedly defeated one of the soldiers assigned to Sweet Apple Acres. I asked her to elaborate on how, but even she was unable to explain it milord.” “I see.” Utopian said, placing his hooves together. “Serene Grace told me that she has replaced the soldier, and is keeping a closer eye on that particular area of the city. None of the town watch had been alerted about the incident, and none of citizens were alerted to the attack.” Crimson Heart added. Utopian remained silent, studying the pegasus closely. He could tell that something was off about Crimson Heart, but it was hidden so well that not even Princess Celestia could have seen it without having to double check. “Is everything set for your arrival at the fair tomorrow?” Utopian asked carefully. “Yes milord. All preparations on my end have been made, and I am ready to move out when you say it is time.” The pegasus reported. “Good.” Utopian commented. “Then I have no further need of you at the moment. Return to your post, and wait there until it is time to act.” “Yes milord.” The Pegasus replied before leaving the same way he came in. Utopian processed the news that he was given from his top Lieutenant. “A pony the size of a foal defeats one of my soldiers? That is impossible.” Utopian thought, looking through the window and out over the airship below. “I can’t rule out the possibility that Task Force is with ponies he shouldn’t be with, but I also can’t rule out that it could be any other foal.” He thought, looking back down on the folder. “It shouldn’t matter, especially when I have hundreds of thousands of soldiers that are at my disposal. What’s one soldier when I will have my own nation bowing at my hooves. What’s one soldier to control of a planet?” -Back in Ponyville- It didn’t take the crusaders too long for them to figure out how to make their own suits. Sweetie Belle decided that a raid of her sister’s unused fabric was in order, and after literally charging down the front door and running through the elder unicorn’s room to grab several rolls of fabric, they were all ready back at the club house in less than an hour. “Well first we need to see what Wonderwing’s suit looks like.” Sweetie Belle began, staring at Wonderwing. “Huh?” Wonderwing asked, yawning. “She means that ya’ll need ta transform like ya did last night.” Applebloom said, watching as Wonderwing nodded. “OH! Okay.” Wonderwing replied, taking several steps back from the other crusaders and smiling. “Well, here goes.” Wonderwing said, gently tapping the glass on his watch with his right hoof before shouting, “Change me now!” The other six foals shielded their eyes as the bright purple light from last night consumed their vision for a few moments before disappearing as fast as it came. Wonderwing now stood on the other side of the clubhouse, wearing a full black jumpsuit and a matching cape that appeared to be cut from the night itself. He also wore a pair of black boots and a belt that looked like polished stone while his helmet, which also was black, had a visor and a small section underneath the visor that appeared to be where they could hear him speak. “So, do you need me to take this off?” Wonderwing asked, reaching to the back of his helmet and preparing to undo the buckles that protruded from either side. “You can if you want. I’d imagine it’s pretty hot wearing that thing.” Scootaloo commented, watching as Wonderwing undid the buckles and removed the helmet from his head. “So how are we going to make the suits look?” Dinky began. “I mean, Wonderwing’s does look really good.” She said as Wonderwing set his helmet down on the floor next to the table. “I think that we need to make the thuitth match hith.” Twist answered. “But why though? Not all Super Heroes have matching costumes.” Scootaloo asked. “They do in Nippony.” Dinky replied. “My daddy got me this comic from Nippony, and it told the story of six ponies that would get together and fight monsters and stuff. Their suits were similar to each others, but their colors were different.” “Don’t you mean Neighpan?” Sweetie Belle asked. “No, I’m pretty sure it was Nippony.” Dinky said. “Anyways, I think we should make our costumes similar to Wonderwing’s but make them different at the same time.” “You mean like the Pony Rangers?” Pipsqueak asked. “The Pony Rangers?” Everypony repeated. “Yeah, it’s this really great show that my older sister got me into. A bunch of teenage ponies with attitude fight evil together and have these giant robot battles and everything! And their costumes match the colors that they wear all the time!” Pipsqueak said happily. “I can’t believe that I didn’t even think about that...” Scootaloo said. “Yeah, that show is awesome...” Sweetie Belle replied. As five of the crusaders were all lost in thought, Wonderwing and Applebloom exchanged glances. It wasn’t until Applebloom coughed that they all snapped out of their thoughts. “Who’re these here Pony Rangers?” Applebloom asked. “I’ve never even heard of them before.” Wonderwing added. The other five foals facehoofed. “The Pony Rangers are some of the bestest Super Heroes in all of the world!” Dinky exclaimed. “Tell me that you guys have at least seen the Green and Mean saga parts one through four.” Scootaloo asked, watching as both foals shook their heads. “We don’ have a T.V. because Granny Smith smashed the first one because she thought it was possessed.” Applebloom replied. “My daddy told me that T.V.’s are a bad influence on foals, and that if he were the pony in charge, they’d be all banned.” Wonderwing replied, hearing audible gasps from the other crusaders. “You poor, poor, foals.” Scootaloo said, shaking her head somberly. “You two are really missing out on a lot. Especially when the Pony Rangers get their awesomely cool ninja powers to beat the evil Dr. Viletrot.” Sweetie Belle said smiling. “Eww, you like season three?” Scootaloo asked. “Yeah, that’s the best season.” Sweetie Belle countered. “Why? Which season do you like Scootaloo?” “The very first season is the best. And you can’t deny that.” Scootaloo said proudly. “No it isn’t! How can you say the first season is best when Spring Starling and Full Suplex don’t even meet until the Green and Mean saga?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Their relationship doesn’t begin to bloom until late into season two!” “You don’t need relationships in a show with nuthin’ but flank kicking.” Scootaloo said, beginning to glare at Sweetie Belle. “Besides, all of that lovey dovey stuff just slows it down.” She snapped. “It does not.” Sweetie Belle countered. “It enhances the story!” “What story?” Scootaloo asked. “All the story needs is, “There’s the monster terrorizing the city, go get it.” That’s all they really are.” “No they’re not.” Sweetie Belle snapped. “Yes they are.” Scootaloo shot back. “No they aren’t!” The Unicorn said, getting in Scootaloo’s face. “Yes they are!” Scootaloo said, her voice rising. “No they-” “Girls!” Applebloom snapped, causing both foals to look up. “It doesn’t matter what kinda stuff that show needs or doesn’t need.” She scolded. “We need to make our suits just like Wonderwing’s here, but different. Like Dinky said.” Both foals calmed down a little as Wonderwing smiled. “You two are friends, aren’t you?” He asked, watching them both nod. “Well then why don’t you stop fighting, and let’s get to work on making the costumes.” He asked, watching as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo turned back to each other and extended their hooves as an agreement to stop fighting. Each of the crusaders spent the better half of the day working on designing and making their costumes. And just like they had said, each one was similar to Wonderwing’s, but different at the same time. Scootaloo’s was a bright red, almost like an apple. Her back hooves were covered with a pair of boots that had a set of flames that came to the top of the boots before stopping, and her belt was almost like a ruby. Her cape looked almost like the Crusader cape that she and the rest of the crusaders wore, but it didn’t have any of the gold trim because Wonderwing didn’t have any on his. Sweetie Belle, who apparently got really lucky according to Scootaloo, wore an all blue suit that matched the colors of the Wonderbolts flying suits. Her boots were a brighter color than the rest of the suit, and had a white trim around the base that made them look like sneakers that some ponies would wear in Canterlot. Her cape also was a brighter blue than her suit, and seemed to shimmer in some places in the light that still filled the room from sundown. Applebloom’s suit was different, to say the least. Her suit itself was a bright and sunny yellow, which almost blended in with her coat as she wore it. Her boots looked more like a pair of cowpony boots, complete with spurs and all. Her cape was also slightly different, as they had run out of the yellow used in making her cape, but had managed to grab a different color from inside the house. It was duller in color, but at least they could tell where her neckline was they needed to. Dinky’s was a bright bubbly pink, and seemed to mesmerize the other crusaders as she happily hopped around in it. Her boots were pink as well, but looked like muffins came and over took the pair as they covered a good portion of them. Her cape was also pink, and as the foal hopped around, it had a sort of dizzying effect on Pipsqueak, who was unfortunate enough to watch the whole time that Dinky moved around. Twist’s was a bright an solid white. Sweetie Belle apologized to her as she couldn’t find a way to make the red and white swirl go together at all for her suit, but made up for it in the boots. Twist’s boots looked more like candy canes than boots, with varying rows of red and white that went up along the boot. Her cape was also a solid white, which seemed a little more gentle than compared to Dinky’s, and as Twist admired it she could see that looked, as she put it, “Very cool.” Pipsqueak’s suit, though it did have the same design as Wonderwing’s suit, looked and felt more like it was made for a pirate that lived on the high seas than a foal. The brown fabric that his suit was made from was just as shiny as everypony else’s, but at the same time it had that essence that made it look ten times cooler than what it was. His boots also were reminiscent of a pirate’s, as they had a pointed end and a simple buckle down on the end where his hoof was. His cape was also brown, but had the same feeling that the rest of his suit had, and hung in such a nonchalant manner that it really impressed everypony there. “Great job Sweetie Belle, these look awesome!” Scootaloo complimented, walking in circles as she tried to get a better look at herself. “Yeah, you did a really good job!” Dinky said, continuing to bounce around the room. “Ahr you sure yer sister’s gonna be okay with this though?” Applebloom asked. “Ah mean this is nice and all, but-” “But nuthin’!” Scootaloo said. “We’ll let her know that we, “Borrowed,” some of her fabric when she asks anyways, so it’s not stealing. Besides, this is really cool!” She said, striking a pose. “But what about the helmetth?” Twist asked. Wonderwing shrugged. “We can worry about those tomorrow before the Summer Fair.” “Let’s just hope that it doesn’t take too long.” Sweetie Belle said, yawning a little. “Hey, maybe if these costumes are really good, do you think we could wear them to Nightmare Night?” Dinky asked. “Yeah! And we can win first prize in the costume contest!” Scootaloo said excitedly. “You guys celebrate Nightmare Night?” Wonderwing asked. “You haven’t celebrated Nightmare Night?” The other crusaders asked all at once. “Well, no.” Wonderwing replied. “My dad thinks that it’s a useless holiday. Along with the Summer Sun Celebration and Winter Wrap Up.” “Well yer dad’s no fun.” Applebloom said. “We gotta get you away from him and get you to live here.” Scootaloo said, sounding concerned. “Nopony can truly say they lived unless they went out on a Nightmare Night Candy run.” “Or watched Princess Celestia raise the sun.” Dinky added. “Or helped Wrap Up Winter.” Sweetie Belle said, yawning again. “Are those things really that important?” Wonderwing asked. “Well of course they are!” Pipsqueak exclaimed. “Your dad’s opinions on Nightmare Night is a load of rubbish. Complete nonsense.” “Yeah, and you can tell your dad that whatever he thinks about us is a load of hay too.” Scootaloo said. “There’s nothing better than having friends, especially on the holidays. Your dad doesn’t understand that.” Sweetie Belle said calmly. “You’re right... I don’t think that I ever want to leave here. Not without you guys.” Wonderwing said calmly, a small set of tears streaking from his eyes. “Hey... Don’t be thad Wonderwing.” Twist said, smiling at the crying pegasus. “What’s wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I-I-I j-just never kn-knew that ha-having friends could be so much fun.” Wonderwing said between sobs. “There there, it’s all right. You don’t need to be sad Wonderwing.” Sweetie Belle said, trotting over to the crying pegasus and giving him a hug. “We’ll always be here. Okay?” She asked, looking from the pegasus to the other foals before beckoning them over to join them both. “Yeah, I’ve always got your back.” Scootaloo said proudly. “Yer not goin’ ta be lonely anymore.” Applebloom added. “I’ll be there when you need me Wonderwing.” Dinky said. “You can thtop by any time you need to talk Wonderwing.” Twist said. “We’ll all be here, all of us will be here together.” Pipsqueak said happily. Wonderwing looked up, seeing the other crusaders and smiled as his tears slowly went away. Quietly and calmly he returned the hug, and said, “Thanks you guys.” They remained together in silence for a few moments before releasing the hug, watching as Wonderwing wiped his eyes with a free hoof. He smiled before taking several steps back and putting his helmet back on his head. “What’re you doin?” Applebloom asked. “I need to change back.” Wonderwing answered, turning back to the other crusaders. “I mean, your parents would look at us funny if we went in there wearing our super suits right?” He asked, receiving nods from the other foals. “That makes sense actually.” Scootaloo said, looking herself over. Wonderwing nodded, before holding the hoof with his watch in front of him. He then shouted, “Power Down,” and after several flashes of colorful light, his full suit was gone, but that wasn’t the only thing that had changed. “My suit’s gone!” Scootaloo shouted, looking down at herself to see that she wasn’t wearing anything except the crusader cape that she had on her back. The other foals looked themselves over to find that they were in the same predicament until they stared at Wonderwing. “That’s the command word that I used when I wanted to change back to what I was wearing before.” He said, watching as the other foals nodded. “You sure that you never saw an episode of Pony Rangers?” Dinky asked. “No, I’m positive. Why?” Wonderwing replied. “Well, it’s just that’s what the Pony Rangers say when they want to demorph.” Sweetie Belle replied. “Well I didn’t know that. Honestly, I didn’t know about the Pony Rangers until today.” Wonderwing replied. After a few moments of silence their ears were met with the sounds of rumbling stomachs, which caused a chorus of giggles between the foals. “Ah think it’s time for some supper.” Applebloom said, grinning. “Yeah, let’s go crusaders!” Scootaloo said, racing out of the clubhouse with Dinky, Sweetie Belle, Twist, Pipsqueak, and Applebloom in tow. Wonderwing smiled a moment before chasing after them, feeling glad that he had good friends. It was the best feeling in the world.