Episode 22: Crusaders Meet Halloween
The episode starts off at the Castle of Friendship. Twilight was talking with Applejack's family. Now that Bright Mac and Pear Butter were back in Ponyville, they had a lot to catch up on.
"And basically, that's all that happened," Twilight said.
"Ah still can't believe we missed so much," Pear Butter said.
"Our little McIntosh has found himself a wife," Bright Mac said.
"And we missed our little Apple Bloom get her Cutie Mark," Pear Butter said. "And how long ago have you been the new High Princess?"
"Not too long before we all transformed into... well... these..." Twilight said, showing the Apple parents her new body.
"Well, at least nopony is missing out on this," said Pear Butter.
Just then, MC came in through the doors with Nurse Redheart following and convincing him.
"All I'm saying is that you might not be 100% healthy," Nurse Redheart said, trying to convince MC. "Just come back to the hospital to see if the Swamp Fever isn't inside of you."
"I was immune to the Swamp Fever, just like the flash bees were," MC said. "My healing factor kept me safe from all of that. Now, will you excuse me, I gotta set up a haunted house for Halloween back in Green Hills."
"Halloween?" Twilight asked. "Wait, that's this world's version of Nightmare Night. Is it that time already?" She then used her magic to bring in a calendar. "Oh, wow. I didn't know it'd be here this soon."
"You know, you're always welcome to come and attend it," MC said.
Then, the mare who's assistant to the high princess, Raven Inkwell, came into the room, saying, "Excuse me, Princess Twilight. But we got a lot of paperwork to do. This is one of the most busiest times for us."
"Oh, right," Twilight said. She then sighed. "Guess I can't enjoy Nightmare Night this year with my friends." She then sighed.
Applejack walked up to Twilight and said, "It'll be okay, Twi. We'll come by after the festivities ta catch up."
"What about the Crusaders?" MC asked. "We could show them all the things we do on Halloween."
"Can we?" Apple Bloom asked, looking at her parents.
"We might as well let you and your friends enjoy it," Pear Butter said. "We missed a lot of holidays together. One more can't hurt."
"Ah guess so," Bright Mac said.
"Just make sure it's alright with the families of the other Crusaders," Twilight said.
"Nicole, print up some permission slips," MC said.
"Yes, sir, Michael," came Nicole's voice.
"What was that?!" Pear Butter asked, looking around.
"That was Nicole," MC said. "She's an artificial intelligence designed to help the Freedom Fighters. "I gotta go." MC then jumped into the portal just as the printer next to the portal was printing some permission slips. Twilight then used her magic to bring over the permission slips.
"Apple Bloom, Babs, and the rest of the Crusaders are in Nyx and Joshua's room," Twilight said. "Bring them in here, please." Apple Bloom and Babs nodded and headed out of the throne room.
At Knothole, Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor were loading stuff onto a truck, which MC was in the driver's seat. He looked back to see how it was going.
"You guys almost done?!" MC asked.
"Almost done, sugah," Bunnie said. "Looks like we won't have enough room fer the rest of the decorations and the apple cider that the Apples are bringing here, along with the Crusaders."
"Zis is going to be one of the best parties we're going to throw," Antoine said.
"Ant, this isn't just a party," MC said. "It's gonna be one of the biggest, bashes we all have ever thrown. Thanks to Sheriff Tom Wachowski. I'll head on over to the Community Center with this stuff, unload, and come back."
"Alright, sugah," Bunnie said.
"We'll wait here," Rotor said. "We might as well wait for the Crusaders."
"Oh, the Crusaders showed up last night," MC said. "Sparkles made them stay up all night in Equestria so they'd be up and at 'em in the morning. They're in the guest bungalow."
"Ah'll go wake 'em up if they ain't up yet," Bunnie said. MC then drove off with the stuff. Bunnie then headed into the guest bungalow, seeing the Crusaders asleep in four bunk beds. On one, Apple Bloom was on the top bunk and Babs Seed on the other. On the second bunk bed, there were Sweetie Belle on the top bunk and Dinky on the bottom. On the third bunk, Nyx was on the top bunk and Joshua on the bottom bunk. And on the last bunk, Scootaloo was on the top bunk and Twist on the bottom bunk. Bunnie then smiled at the group and then said, "Oh, Ah really don't wanna wake 'em up like this, but they should get up." She then put her two organic fingers into her mouth, and whistled, waking up the Crusaders. "Up 'n' at 'em, sugahs."
"Is it morning already?" Joshua asked.
"That's right, Josh," Bunnie said. "Ya'll should head on into the mess hall before they stop makin' breakfast."
"Let us get dressed first," Sweetie Belle said as Nyx and Scootaloo glided from the top bunks.
"Alright, kiddos," Bunnie said. "By the way, Apple Bloom, when will yer family send that apple cider?"
"Oh, Nicole will let them know when we wake up," Apple Bloom said. "That's yer cue, Nicole!"
"I have already sent word to Princess Twilight," came Nicole's voice.
"All right, kids," Bunnie said. "Let's get some grub in yer stomachs when ya'll get done changing." She then headed out.
Meanwhile, in her own bungalow, Maria was watching something on the TV. Her room was set up in a mixture of her old time with the current time. Then there was a knocking on the door.
"Come in," Maria said.
Coming into the bungalow was Rotor. He then asked, "How you doing, Maria? You interested in joining us for the Halloween bash tonight?"
"No, I'm good," Maria said. "I've... never really celebrated Halloween."
"Never?" Rotor asked. "Why haven't...?" Rotor then stopped himself and said, "Oh, right. You were raised most of your life on a Space Colony with no other children to show you the basics of Halloween."
"And times have changed for me," Maria said. "Here I am, stuck in the future as a Hedgehog, and have a lot of power that I barely have any control of."
"Yeah, I saw that power on Space Colony ARK when you took out all of those Artificial Chaos all by yourself," Rotor said. "I'd like to study that power you have."
"I don't know how to let it all out," Maria said. "All I know how to do freely is Super Speed and my healing factor."
"I'm sure you'll be able to let it out," Rotor said. "Why not come to the party tonight? You should enjoy yourself there. Make new friends, play games, wear fun costumes, and get plenty of candy."
"I... haven't... had candy before," Maria said.
"So, what did you get for snacks on our road trip to DC?" Rotor asked.
"Protein bars," Maria said. "And bottles of water."
"Okay, you are going to the party, tonight," Rotor said. "You should enjoy something fun that you missed out on about... fifty to sixty years."
"I almost feel like Captain America," Maria said. "Sure, foods a lot better."
"C'mon," Rotor said. "We got a lot to show you how Halloween works." He then grabbed Maria's arm and pulled her off the couch.
"Oh, c'mon," Maria said. "I'm gonna miss the "I Love Lucy" marathon!"
"We got the entire series on DVD for you," Rotor said. "Maybe I can get Joshua to show you all about Halloween, since he's the one who had the most experience from his time on his world before he came to Equestria." The two of them headed out of the bungalow.
Later, MC came back with the truck backing up towards the bungalow with the portal. Coming out of the bungalow were Big Mac and Bright Mac, along with Sugar Belle with trays of baked apple sweets.
"Hey, you guys made it," MC said. "Sugar Belle, I presume?"
"You presume correctly, your highness," Sugar Belle said, before bowing.
"In my kingdom, we don't do that," MC said. "We move past that about twenty years before I was born."
"Oh," Sugar Belle said. "Well, I'd just thought you might enjoy some sweets."
"Thank you, Sugar Belle," MC said. He then got a good whiff of them. "Wow. These smell delicious. We could serve these for the baked goods eating contest."
"That could work," said Sugar Belle. "Of course, there would have to be a big prize."
"Of course," MC said. "A hundred dollar gift card to Olive Garden. Sheriff Wachowski and his wife, Maddie, are no doubt gonna compete in that competition. Now, let's get these barrels loaded up."
"Eeyup," Big Mac said. Then he, MC and Bright Mac lifted the barrels into the bed of the truck after MC opened up the back. Big Mac notice MC lifting three barrels, one with his left hand, one with his right, and one with his tail. Big Mac then said, "Boy, ya are stronger than ya look."
"You should've seen me arm arm wrestle Rockhoof," MC said. "Our strengths were so equal, we started the volcano on the island where Rockhoof was from. Luckily, I used my super speed to get there, and we evacuated everypony there and diverted the lava into the sea."
"Ya hoof wrestled Rockhoof and tied?" Big Mac asked.
"They had ta," Bright Mac said. "When MC realized that the two started the volcano, they booked it out of there like a stampeding heard of cattle."
Five barrels of Apple Cider were loaded into the truck, then MC put the trays of apple sweets on, which were contained in a couple of carts with covers. Then it was all covered in a tarp, and strapped down.
MC then called out, "Rotor, Ant, Bunnie! Time to go!" Then Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor and Maria came towards the truck. MC then asked, "Whoa, Maria? You're coming?"
"Rotor talked me into it," Maria said. "Joshua basically gave me the basics on what to expect on Halloween."
"That was actually mah idea, sugah," Bunnie said, wrapping her non-metallic arm around Maria's shoulders. "We're gonna have some fun." Then they all got into the truck. MC was in the driver's seat, Rotor in the passenger seat, and in the back, from left to right were Antoine, Bunnie, and Maria.
"Alright, everyone," MC said. "Buckle up. Time to head to the community center." Then the truck headed out. From the mess hall, the Crusaders were just standing there, all of them in their costumes.
"Did they just leave us all alone?" Joshua asked.
"Of course they didn't," came the voice of Sugar Belle. The group turned around and saw her standing there. "I wanted to spend some quality time with my little sister-in-law and her friends. I was also told to bring this." She then held out a Nicole Handheld device.
"Oh, that's a handheld device for Nicole," Nyx said. "MC, Bunnie, Rotor and Mutt brought it when we were going up to Space Colony ARK to get Maria."
"That's right, Nyx," came Nicole's voice from the device. "I'll show you the places around town, tell you where to go and where not to go. We'll meet the rest of the Freedom Fighters at the Community Center."
"Alright!!" shouted the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Well, let's get going," Sugar Belle said. She then looked at Joshua and asked, "Are you sure that this "Halloween" is similar to Nightmare Night?"
"It sure is," Joshua said as the nine ponies were leaving Knothole.
Later that night, at the Community Center, a lot of people were there, dancing to the music playing there, playing a bunch of games, tons of food, and everyone was in costume. On the stage, playing music for the party, there was Sonic on Electric Guitar, Sonia on the electric keyboard, Manic on the drums, Sally was on Bass Guitar, and Tails was in charge of the soundboard.
MC, who was dressed up as Sherlock Holmes, looking around the place. He was smiling that everything was in place. Just then, Mutt, who was dressed up as Doctor Watson, came up to him.
"Everything is awesome, MC," Mutt said. "I can't believe this is happening."
"Yeah, it is," MC said. "All of the games are set up, the music is on point. Let's see how the maze is going." Then they headed outside to see Amy, dressed as the devil, and Cream and Cheese, who were dressed up as angels. "Good evening, Amy. How's the maze doing?"
"Pretty amazing!" Amy said. "All of the surprise jump scares got all of the kids going in freaked out and then go excited."
"All of the kids there are enjoying them," Cream said.
"Chao," Cheese replied.
"Alright," MC said. "See you all later." Then MC and Mutt headed back inside. There, he saw Rotor looking around for someone. MC walked up to him and asked, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Trying to find Maria," Rotor said. "I haven't seen her ever since she had her first taste of candy."
"Wait, first taste of candy?" MC asked. "That doesn't sound good."
"What do you mean?" Rotor asked.
"Usually when someone tries candy for the first time, that person tends to have a lot more," MC said. "And when they have a certain amount of candy..."
Just then, Maria came zooming in, and she was dressed up as a Disney Princess. Her eyes were getting bigger and smaller very quickly. She then quickly said, "Hey guys! All that candy was so good, I couldn't help myself! I can't get enough of it! I'm going out to try that maze! See ya!" She then zoomed outside, making MC and Rotor go wide eyed through her entire talk.
"What... have I... done?" Rotor asked.
"Super Speed and a sugar rush should never mix," MC said. "Don't let Maria near the left over candy."
"You know what, we're just gonna limit her candy to one bar a day," Rotor said.
"Good call," MC said. He then headed towards somewhere, Mutt following.
Mutt looked up at MC and asked, "Should we be worried about Maria?"
"She's never had candy before," MC said. "Eventually, she'll end up..." Just then a crashing noise came from somewhere, making people scream in fright. MC and Mutt looked towards the crash and saw Maria passed out on the table where Bunnie had the face painting booth. MC then looked at Mutt and said, "In a sugar crash. Better take her into the back room and get her an ice pack."
"You got it, MC," Mutt said, walking towards Maria. Then Sheriff Tom Wachowski walked up to MC.
"What happened here?" Tom asked.
"Maria had her first experience with candy," MC said. "Didn't go too well." Then a woman came up to them, that woman being Tom's wife, Maddie.
"I'll help out with her," Maddie said. "I am a certified vet, but Mobians are a little different than both humans and animals. I'll go help her recover." Maddie then headed towards the back room, helping Mutt with taking Maria there.
"So, you here for the baked sweets eating contest?" MC asked.
"Well, originally I was, but recently, I found Carl caught up in one of his own traps," Tom said.
MC sighed, and looked towards the stage as the group were finishing up the song. Sonic then called out, "Thank you, people of Green Hills! We're gonna take a quick break! We'll be right back!" Then the group got off the stage.
MC and Tom walked up to Sonic and MC asked, "Sonic? Did you mess with Crazy Carl again?"
"What can I say? We have fun," Sonic replied. Just then MC and Tom started waving their arms in front of their faces.
"Did you get into the chili dogs again?" MC asked. Sonic just laughed and zoomed off.
Just then, Sugar Belle and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came in, and the Crusaders had their sacks full of candy. They were all amazed by the decorations. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were dressed as Royal Equestrian Guards, Nyx was dressed up as Nightmare Moon, Joshua was dressed as Mario, Dinky was dressed as Princess Peach, Twist was dressed up in a suit similar to Willy Wonka's suit, and Babs Seed was dressed as Somnambula. Even had fake wings on her back. And Sugar Belle was dressed up as a big muffin.
MC walked up to them and said, "Hey, guys. You made it."
"This is awesome!" Scootaloo said, looking around.
"Go on," MC said. "Enjoy yourselves. I'll take your candy bags and put them into the truck I drove here."
"Are ya sure?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I can handle it," MC said. "As long as nothing bad unexpectedly shows up."
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Give it up for our surprise singer, who was also a surprise for us all, "Weird Al" Yankovic!" came the voice of someone on the microphone.
Everyone cheered for Weird Al's performance. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were all surprised at that. MC then looked at them and asked, "What is it?"
"That guy looks and sounds like Cheese Sandwich!" Sweetie Belle said.
"I didn't even know that was possible," Dinky said.
"Who is that?" Nyx asked.
"Al Yankovic, also known as "Weird Al" Yankovic," MC said. "He's a famous comedic artist who makes parodies of many songs. I have no idea why he's here."
"Twilight would be surprised at this," Nyx said. "Where's Maria?"
"She was just taken into the back room," MC said. "Let's just say she had candy for the first time."
"Sugar crash?" Nyx asked.
"Big time," MC said. "She was taken into the back room." Nyx nodded and headed to the back room. She walked in and saw Maddie putting an ice pack on Maria's head.
"Just remember, a little sugar is okay, but too much can be a problem," Maddie said.
"Thanks," Maria said. She then sighed. "I hope that they put a limit on how much candy I can have."
"Hey, Maria," Nyx said, coming in.
Maria looked towards Nyx, smiled and said, "Hey, Nyx. How was trick or treating?"
"Not much different than how we did things on Nightmare Night," Nyx said.
"Just rest here," Maddie said. "You need to rest until the sugar crash is out of you." Maddie then left the room.
Nyx walked up to Maria and said, "You've really have adjusted well to being here."
"Yeah," Maria said. "Although, there are a lot of things I miss about the past." She then sighed and covered her face with her arm.
Nyx then thought of something. Then she said, "Lately, Princess Luna has been teaching me how to dream walk. And there's something I have to ask. Who's Shadow?"
Maria looked at Nyx. She then sighed and said, "Shadow was my best friend when I was still human. I was always there for me whenever I needed company. Sure, he was supposed to be a government project, but he would always be there for me whenever I feel down. Especially during the holidays."
"When was the last time you saw him?" Nyx asked.
"When I was shot," Maria said. "I sent him down to Earth somewhere. I don't know where the capsule he was in landed, but I hope he's alright."
"I'm sure he's fine," Nyx said. "He is a tough guy, right?"
"He is," Maria said. "Although, every time I look at Sonic, I almost see a bit of Shadow within him. Since the two of them look almost exactly alike."
Then there was an explosion coming from out of the room. The two of them looked at each other, and the two of them saw something hovering over the middle of the gym of the room. It was Bokkun.
Bokkun laughed and said, "I hope you're having a good Halloween, because I'm about to ruin it! Here! Have a message!" Bokkun then pulled out an exploding TV and threw it at the stage.
The exploding TV was about to hit the stage, but Sonic rushed in, kicked the TV, and it headed back towards Bokkun, but it exploded when it was half way there.
"Not gonna happen!" Sonic said.
MC looked at Bokkun, then got a whiff. MC then said, "This guy's a bot. He has no organic life."
"Prepare to have your fun times ruined!" Bokkun shouted.
MC then jumped on Bokkun and pulled him down to the ground. MC then shouted, "Where's Robotnik?!"
"I'll never tell ya!" Bokkun said, giving MC a bomb. He then got out of MC's grip, and the bomb exploded. MC was left there, covered in black soot, and his costume ruined.
"Oh, great," MC said, looking at his costume. "There goes the deposit."
Bokkun was laughing at MC's trouble. Then he was grabbed by Bunnie's robotic arm. Bokkun was struggling to get out.
"Ya ain't goin' anywhere!" Bunnie said.
"Oh, yes I am!" Bokkun said. He then pulled out another bomb and threw it towards Bunnie, but Sonic used his super speed to get the bomb, put it back in Bokkun's pouch, then rushed Bokkun outside and came back in. There was an explosion from outside. Then Bokkun came back in, angry at Sonic. "You're gonna regret that! Besides, I already placed bombs all over the place, so nobody's going anywhere!"
Everyone looked all around the place, seeing bombs across the ceiling. Everyone, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders, were getting scared.
"Now where are ya gonna go?!" Bokkun asked before laughing. Just then, something fast took all of the bombs from where they were. Bokkun just noticed and shouted, "Wait, what?!" He was then hit hard and thrown outside. He looked at who threw him and he saw Maria standing there. Her eyes were red and she was giving off a huge orange aura. "Who are you?!"
"Someone you don't want to mess with!" Maria responded. She then held her arms out and shouted when a huge aura came from her, and that aura became the shape of a phoenix. It even screeched.
Bokkun shouted and Maria charged at the bot, sending Bokkun flying off somewhere. The aura dissipated, and Maria's eyes went back to normal. She then fell onto her back. The Freedom Fighters, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sugar Belle ran up to Maria.
"That... was... AWESOME!!" Scootaloo shouted.
"What was that?!" Babs asked.
"That... was the Phoenix Flare," MC said. "It's part of her real power. Although, there is something that bother's me."
"What's that?" Sonic asked.
"Whenever Maria uses the flare, she always goes out cold right after she uses it," MC said. "Is there a way of sustaining that much power?"
"There might be," Tails said. "Although, we're gonna need to run some tests on her to make sure of it."
"Wow," Twist said. "That was intense."
"You think she'll be okay?" Dinky asked.
Sonic and MC picked Maria up and MC said, "I don't know, Dinks. But, what I do know is that the Phoenix Flare will come in handy, if she chooses to use it against a real threat to our world."
"Not just her Phoenix Flare," Sonic said. "There's also your Dragoon Force."
MC chuckled and said, "Oh, please. I'm saving that for the Storm King."
"You want to go up against the Storm King?!" Nyx asked. "He's a powerful creature."
"Not as powerful as me," MC said. "Besides, I hope that day never comes. We have all the Chaos Emeralds. There's no way that Eggman's gonna get the Emeralds from us."
"I hope you're right," Sonic said. Then they all headed out of there."
The next day at Twilight's castle, Twilight was working on some important documents and was finishing up.
"And... done," Twilight said. Just then, Sugar Belle and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came in through the portal. Twilight turned to them and said, "Hey, everypony. How was the festivities?"
"Pretty good," Nyx said. "Although, something really weird happened."
"What happened?" Twilight asked.
"Hey, Twilight!" came Pinkie's voice. The group saw Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich walking towards them. "Guess who came to visit?!"
"Hiya, everypony!" Cheese Sandwich said. "How's it going?"
"What's this?!" came another voice, that sounded just like Cheese Sandwich. Everyone looked towards the portal and saw "Weird Al" Yankovic standing there. Then "Weird Al" and Cheese Sandwich looked towards each other. The two of them walked towards each other and "Weird Al" said, "Who is this handsome stallion?"
"I was just about to ask the same thing," Cheese Sandwich replied. Then the two of them danced together.
Twilight leaned her head towards Nyx and asked, "The weird thing?" That made Nyx nod.