//------------------------------//
// Exposed Secrets and Shattered Hopes 
// Story: The Final Crusade 
// by Enfield 
//------------------------------//

The next morning James was awoken by movement on the bed, he assumed that Dart had snuck in during the night and had slept on the bed. As he looked up from the pile of sheets covering him he wasn’t expecting to see the Crusaders sitting on his bed.
“You lot are up early,” said James. 
“Happy birthday!” they all said. James sat up, a little confused.
“But my birthday was in January,” said James.
“Your parents suggested that we do this,” said Sweetie Bell.
“And to give you this,” said Apple Bloom handing a rifle case to James, “It’s our thanks to you for you taking care of us.”
James took the rifle case and looked at it, there was something inside of it. He then suddenly noticed that it was the same case that his dad bought yesterday, James slowly undid the zip and opened the case. Inside was a British Enfield jungle carbine. 
“What is this?” James asked.
“A present,” said Sweetie Bell.
“Your dad bought it a while ago and kept it hidden at the store until they were allowed to sell it to you,” said Scootaloo, “Then after you helped us your mother suggested that we give it to you as a birthday present from us.” 
“I don’t know what to say,” said James taking the rifle in hand, “I’ve always wanted one of these.” 
“It’s okay,” said Apple Bloom, “We get it.” 
James looked at each of the girls.
“Thank you all so much,” he said.
“Group hug!” said Scootaloo diving onto James, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell followed, careful to not land on the rifle. After a few minutes they went downstairs where Katherine had made breakfast for James.  
“I hope you’re in the mood for bacon and sausage,” she said.
“Can this day get any better?” said James. Once James had finished his usual morning routine of getting a shower and dressed he went downstairs and saw his mother with the trio about to leave.

“Where are you off to?” asked James.
“I’m going to take the girls out shopping for more clothes,” replied his mother, “They can’t be wearing the same thing everyday.”
“Make sure you get them swimming gear,” said James passing by them, “We are going to North Carolina this summer and the neighbors will probably invite us over to use their pools.”
“Good point James,” said his mother, “What would we do without you?”
“We won’t know, mainly because I’m here right now,” said James. 

As they left James took his rifle into the den and switched on the TV and Xbox 360, as he looked through his collection of games he made a realization that he had to make a code while the crusaders were here, three unspoken rules formed into his mind: Rule one, no cursing in English, and to not translate any curses that he said in Russian or German. Rule two, no violent, gory or “M” rated games while the girls were in the same room while he plays the Xbox. Rule three, no more vulgar TV shows unless he was the only person in the house and he would have to supervise the Crusaders on what they were watching, the reason why James set up these rules was that he didn’t want to corrupt the minds of the Crusaders while they lived at his house. He wanted them to remain the same three fillies for when they finally had to go back to their homes. As he inserted his Battlefield Bad Company game into the console he saw that his friend was online and was spamming invites his way.

“Alright!” James said, “I’ll join if it’ll shut you up.”
James put on his headset on and joined his friends. James joined and saw his old friend William was in the party along with his friends Toby, Alex and Nathan.
“Hello James,” said William. 
“How’s it going?” said James.
“You haven’t been online for the past few days,” said Toby.
“I’ve been a little busy,” said James, “Something happened to me that seems unbelievable.”
“Why, what happened?” Alex asked. 
“You and Toby are still avid fans of that show right?” James said.
“What? My Little Pony? Yeah we still like it,” said Toby.
“Well, what happened to me has to do with that show,” James said.
“You get to star in a future episode or something?” Nathan asked.
“More of a few characters get to star in my life,” replied James.
“I’m still not getting what you are saying James,” said William. 
James took a deep breath and decided to just say it.

“I found the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the gas station I work at, I brought them back home and they are now currently living with me,” James said, he stopped ad bit his lip hoping for some verbal response.
“What?” Alex was the first to say.
“You found Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo, at the gas station you work at?” Toby asked, “The three fillies?”
“Actually they are human, but still have the same personality, same voice, even their clothes match their colors,” said James.
“I don’t believe this for one second,” said Nathan. 
“I’m not even joking about this,” said James, “This is completely serious.” 
“I’m agreeing with Nathan on this,” said William, “I won’t believe this until I see proof.”
“I have a vision camera, I can set it up so you can see them,” said James.
“You do that and we’ll go to William’s house and use his Kinect,” said Toby.
“Wait, my house?” William asked, “Why my house?”
“Because your TV is the biggest,” said Alex.
“He’s got a point,” said Toby.
“You might want to get to Williams house now then,” said James looking at his watch, “They’ll probably be back in a couple of hours.” 

The party was immediately disbanded leaving only James and William to talk with each other.
“So is it true?” William asked.
“About me finding the CMC and fostering them?” James said as he tore apart buildings with a tank, “It’s all a completely true story.” 
“How long have they been living there with you?” asked William.
“Only a couple of days but we already seem to forming a bond,” said James.
“Where are they now?” asked William.
“Out shopping with my mother,” said James.
“Oh, alright then. So what are you playing?” William said trying to change the subject before James got annoyed.
“Bad Company,” James replied, “Still rolling around the golf course looking for more tanks to blow up.”
“Sounds like fun,” said William.
“Always has been, always will be,” said James, “Who Dares Wins.”

After two hours passed Alex, Toby and Nathan were at William’s house waiting for James to set up the camera. Once the camera was set up and an uplink established James stood back to admire his work, he could clearly see the group anxiously sitting on the couch on the other side of the TV.
“Hello there Xbox buddies,” James said waving at them.
“That’s James?” Nathan asked confusedly.
“I was expecting him to be bigger,” said Alex.
“I hope he doesn’t me mind saying that he has the strangest hair color,” said Toby.
James realized what was going on: Alex, Toby and Nathan had never seen James before, this was the first time James has used the vision camera as well. 
“No I don’t mind you commenting on my hair,” said James, “Even I’m still confused about why it’s a sort of dusty blonde color.”
“So where are they?”  William asked. 
“They should be here by now,” said James as he sat down on his couch.
“What’s that next to you?” Alex asked pointing to the TV remote next to James.
“A remote,” James replied sarcastically.
“No I meant the thing next to your foot,” Alex said. James looked at the armrest of the couch and saw his rifle propped up against it.
“My present for the girls for rescuing them,” James said as he picked it up.
“They’ve only been there two days and you already get a gift from them?” William asked.
“Like I said before, we’ve formed a bond,” said James pulling the bolt back.
“Were you making the whole thing up?” Alex asked.
“No I wasn’t,” said James.
“Well where are they then?” Toby asked.
“They should be pulling up on the driveway now,” said James looking out the front window. He could see his mother’s SUV pulling up and the trunk opening.
“They’re here,” said James.
“Outside I’m guessing,” said Nathan.
“Too right,” said James. He watched as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell gather bags being handed to them from Scootaloo.
“They work so well together,” said James. 
“The Crusaders?” asked Alex.
“Okay listen here,” James said turning to the TV, “You cannot reference or even mention anything about the show.”
“They don’t know?” asked William.
“I was going to tell them later tonight but for now, no, they don’t know they already exist,” said James. 
“So don’t mention the show,” said Alex.
“Please don’t,” said James, “Who knows what’ll happen.”
“Okay then James,” said William. 
“Thank you,” said James just as the door to the garage was heard opening, “One more thing, you cannot tell anyone about this, not your friends, not your family, nobody must know.”
“Don’t you mean ‘anypony’?” Alex joked.
“I’m serious, it’s for their safety,” said James, “If the government finds out then only God will know what will happen to me and more importantly, the Crusaders.” 
“You really care about them,” said Nathan.
“I would lay down my life for them,” said James, “They have a home to get to.”
Just as the girls were heard James opened the door to the den.
“Hey Crusaders!” he shouted toward the voices, “Would you mind coming in here?”
“Sure thing James,” said Apple Bloom.
“Was that Apple Bloom?” Alex asked. 
“Wait and see,” said James walking back into view of the camera. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo entered the den, they didn’t see the TV behind them or James' friends watching them who were stunned at the spectacle. 
“How’d it go?” James asked trying to stifle his laughs because Alex and Tony had dropped onto the floor and had shuffled over to the TV to get a better view.
“It was nice,” said Sweetie Bell, “We all got some new stuff.”
“I found this shirt,” said Scootaloo pointing at the shirt she was wearing. The shirt was silver with a P-51 Mustang fighter emblazed on the front which she was wearing over her orange shirt.  
“Looks good on you,” said James, he looked at the TV where Toby had knocked the camera on an angle.
“Oh for God’s sake guys,” he said, “You’re all on an awkward angle now.”
Apple Bloom turned toward the TV and saw Toby and Alex backing away and fixing the camera.
“Who are they?” Apple Bloom asked, Nathan made a squeaking sound.
“Is that really them?” Nathan asked.
“These here are the kids who I rescued from behind the gas station,” said James.
“They’re really cute,” said William. Sweetie Bell blushed a little. 
“One of the reasons I couldn’t leave them at the station,” said James, “I had to take them in.”
“I would have done the same,” said Toby.
“Ditto,” said Alex. 
“Are these your friends?” Scootaloo asked.
“Why don’t you lot introduce yourselves then?” James said to his friends.
“Toby,” said Toby.
“I’m Alex,” said Alex.
“I’m Nathan,” Nathan said.
“And I’m William,” said William, “I’m James oldest friend.”
“Now you girls,” said James.
“My name’s Samantha,” said Sweetie Bell.
“I’m Susie,” said Scootaloo.
“And I’m Abigail,” said Apple Bloom.
James and his friends looked at each one confusedly, James then broke the silence.
“They really have changed my life,” said James. 
“James, we’re going to try on our new clothes upstairs,” said Apple Bloom.
“You do that,” said James, “I’m gonna continue talking with these guys.” 
Sweetie Bell hugged James just before she left to go upstairs with the other two. James looked back at the TV and shrugged.

“What can I say?” he said, “They really have become attached to me.”   
“I’m jealous of you,” said Alex.
James shrugged and picked up the controller. 
“I’m going back to my game,” he said, “I’ll stay in the party.”
“One more thing,” William said, “What’s with the name changes?”
“For their safety,” said James, “I don’t want you spreading the word that I found the CMC and have them living at my house.”

James disconnected the camera and ended the video communication. He sat back down on the couch and continued playing Battlefield Bad Company while he listened to Alex and Toby rambling on about what they had just seen. Four hours later James stopped and went upstairs, slightly satisfied that he had proved that he wasn’t lying. But a pang of sadness hit his when he was halfway upstairs, he was going to have to tell them about the show My Little Pony. It would be better this way rather than some mad fan of the show finding them and mentioning it, at least then there was a possibility that it wouldn’t seem as distressing for them. He opened the door to his room and saw them looking through Netflix on his TV, they were all starting at the TV with looks of confusion. James could only guess they had found the show on his instant queue. 

“Kids,” he said. The three were taken by surprise.
“Did you know about us before we arrived here?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Sadly yes,” said James, but he thought that it was much better if they found out for themselves.
“How long has this been going on?” Scootaloo asked.
“The show? About a year now,” James said sitting between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell, “Truth is, you’re famous.” 
“Why didn’t you tell us?” said Scootaloo, “I’ve always wanted to be famous.”
“I can’t spread the word around that you exist,” said James, “I’m keeping you under the radar for a reason, for your safety.”
“Our safety? What are you talking about?” Sweetie Bell asked.
“Look there are people who like you, but there are others who don’t. The stuff I’ve seen, read and what I’ve heard,” James said the stopped and shuddered.
“Like what?” Apple Bloom asked.
“There are some twisted up people out there,” said James, “If those people get a hold of you then, oh God. Even just thinking about it makes me cringe.”  

James went over to the wall behind his bed and took down his gold AK-47, he sat back down with the girls and looked at each one of them.
“Those responsible for writing the sickening fan fictions, submitting repulsive videos and drawings and who also support the dark side will, if they get a hold of you, recreate the stories. It will probably end in your deaths,” James said.
The girls looked at one another fearfully.
“Will-will you protect us?” Sweetie Bell asked.
“I will sacrifice myself for your safety,” said James gripping the rifle tighter to his chest, “Any harm that comes your way, I will kill everyone who was involved, I made a promise to get you home safely, and I will fulfill it.” 
“You’ll keep us safe?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yes I will,” said James, “Now come on, let’s forget this little conversation. Do you actually want to see the show that was created?”
“We were reading the descriptions, let’s see if the history is accurate,” Apple Bloom said. 

James and the Crusaders ended up watching a few episodes of My Little Pony. James was quite entertained from the reactions of the trio, mainly when one of them shouted, “I never said that!”. James also learned that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell had tried to get their Cutie Marks by trying to find Scootaloo in the Everfree forest among other wacky adventures that hadn’t been made into episodes. After James had switched off the TV he went to take a shower and for the girls to decide on who stays with James for the night. 

“So Scootaloo was with him the first night, Sweetie Bell volunteered the second night,” Apple Bloom said counting with her fingers.
“That you means you stay in his room tonight,” said Sweetie Bell.
“Don’t worry, he won’t move much,” said Scootaloo. A high pitched yelp came from the bathroom followed by banging.
“Stop using the bloody sinks!” James' shouting was heard.
“I really hate the showers for that,” said Scootaloo. Later after James had dressed in night attire in the bathroom he walked into his bedroom and saw Apple Bloom looking out the window.

“So they do exist,” he said.
“Who does?” James asked. 
“My family,” said Apple Bloom, “They exist both here and back home.”
“Like I said earlier, I’ll make sure you get back to them,” James said, “Don’t let the thought get to you, it’s best to not think about it.”
“How would you know?” Apple Bloom asked with a hint of annoyance.
“Because I have a future planned for me,” said James.
“What is it?” Apple Bloom said turning around.
“I’m going to join the Military Enforcers,” James said. Apple Bloom just looked at him, confused about what he had just said.
“It’s a special branch of the National Guard,” said James, “It’s been a dream of mine to join up since I was ten.” 
“Like my sister once said; Just keep following who you are,” said Apple Bloom, she then sighed and looked back outside.
“You should sleep on it,” said James, “It’s what I do and it makes me feel better in the morning.” 
“Ok,” Apple Bloom said and climbed up onto the bed, James noticed that she was wearing a flannel nightshirt with what looked like pants made of the same material. He could only assume that she had got it today.
“New gear?” James asked pointing at Apple Bloom’s new look.
“What? Oh yeah, we got it today,” said Apple Bloom, “I think it reminds me of home.”
“Cute,” James said as he pulled the sheets off the bed, as he did he saw something glinting from under the mattress.
“What’s this here?” he said as he rummaged around for the object.
“You find something?” Apple Bloom asked. James finally pulled out a K-Bar combat knife from under the bed and looked at it, a black blade and hilt.
“I’ve been looking for this for about a month,” said James, he glanced back to the dart board behind him and took the knife by the blade and looked at Apple Bloom.
“Bet I can hit the bulls eye,” he said.
“No way you can,” said Apple Bloom. James span around and threw the knife at the target, the blade made a solid thunk as it landed directly in the red of the bulls eye. 
“Told you I could,” James said. Apple Bloom smiled up at him. 

After James had fallen asleep he kept wondering if there was a way home for the Crusaders, he decided to not think about that while he was trying to sleep. James woke in the middle of the night, as he looked at his clock through blurred eyes he saw that it had just gone one in the morning.
“Cripes,” he said quietly, “This is a first.” 
He rolled over and saw that the mass where Apple Bloom would be was missing, James sat bolt upright expecting the door to his room was forced open but it was shut. He relaxed a little and looked over to the foot of his bed where he saw Apple Bloom sitting on the edge of the bed.
“You alright Apple Bloom?” James asked. Apple Bloom just shook her head.
“Well you are honest about being up at one in the morning,” said James, “What’s wrong?”

Apple Bloom sniffed and turned a little toward him.
“I miss my family,” she said.
“I know, I know,” said James shifting over next to her, “I’ll get you home.”
“I really want to see them again,” Apple Bloom said.
“They’re probably just as upset as you are,” said James, “They might have been searching for you for the past week.”
“Wait, then that means that Ponyville wouldn’t have gotten their supply of apples,” Apple Bloom said, she then lowered her face into her hands, “It’s all my fault.”
“Hey, nothing’s your fault,” said James, “They won’t have taken all their time out of working to search for you. They’ll have set up a timeshare thing so that searching and working is evenly distributed.”
“But what if they have forgotten about me?” Apple Bloom said fearfully, “What if they don’t care about my disappearance? What if they think I’m dead?”
“They don’t think any of that!” James said fiercely, “I thought you made a promise that no matter what you wouldn’t give up hope of finding a way home.”
Apple Bloom looked up at James, he could see that she had been crying earlier. James felt a little guilty for speaking so harshly to Apple Bloom.
“I’m sorry,” she said leaning on his arm, she sniffed a couple of time and wiped her face off.
“Come on now,” James said putting his arm around Apple Bloom, “It’s alright, nothing to be upset about.” 
Apple Bloom then grabbed James around his chest and held on tightly, she was shaking and making small noises. James knew what she had been through before the Crusaders had ended up at James' house, as he hugged her James thought about how he was going to keep the morale of the girls up. James sighed and looked down at Apple Bloom, who was now tightening her grip around him.
“It’s ok, let it out,” he said quietly. Apple Bloom then burst out crying, James could feel her tears seeping through his shirt.
“Why did this happen?” Apple Bloom sobbed.
“We may never know, but that’s not important,” James said, “It’ll all be fine.”
“I never wanted this,” said Apple Bloom, “Never ever ever.”
James kept rocking her back and forth and hushing her, trying to help her go back to sleep, just listening to Apple Bloom cry was making him sad. He had to find something to distract her.
“If we can’t get you, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo home before our summer holidays starts, do you want to come with us to North Carolina and South Dakota?” James said. Apple Bloom stopped crying and looked up at him.
“You’ll take us places?” she asked.
“I know you’ll like South Dakota, not as much as North Carolina but still, you’ll enjoy it,” James said.
“Thank you James,” Apple Bloom said quietly. James saw that she had worn herself out from crying.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“A little but still homesick,” replied Apple Bloom.
“You’ll feel better in the morning,” said James. As Apple Bloom went back to sleep James looked at his shirt. It looked as if he had been sweating, minus the bad smell, he chuckled and shook his head and lay down to try and get some rest before he had school tomorrow. School, the word rattled around his head like a set of keys in a tumble dryer. He had dreaded the final exams but the days were shortened so there was that. As he drifted off he felt something close around his hand, James looked and saw Apple Bloom’s hand around his, James also saw that she was smiling, happy that James had kept her calm and was going to take her Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo to places she had never been before. There was a feeling of trust and hope that surrounded this particular moment, James thought that what he felt was right. He had taken full responsibility for these girls and he was going to see this through to the end.