Cutie Mark Crusaders United! Chapter One: Electric Aspect
by Princess Amazing Pony
It was a shining day in Ponyville. Sunlight shimmers from the afternoon sun reflected across the quaint, peaceful village. All of the pony villagers were out in the bright outside, going about their usual business as they did everyday. Twilight Sparkle was outside on her balcony, reading a good book. Or Rainbow Dash would be zooming through the sky, trying to attempt some moves to impress the Wonderbolts with. Pinkie Pie, of course, would be having fun making everypony's day.
Everyday seemed to be the same with Ponyville. Especially with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were a three-pony group of small fillies, about seven years old, and they crusaded to discover their Cutie Marks, a mark of their destinies and talents. Everyday it was the same, they kept crusading for their Cutie Marks. They always thought it was gonna stay that way.
They sometimes stopped and thought about it. If they did get their Cutie Marks, they worried they would end up getting stuck up like their school bullies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They had never gotten close to getting their Cutie Marks. Every morning, when they woke up, they always thought the same thing: I am definitely not gonna get my Cutie Mark today. What's the chance?
Today, they hoped they would earn their Cutie Marks. They did not want it to be like this: They try to crusade. They fail. They give up and decide not to be a Cutie Mark Crusader anymore. They never see each other again and they never earn their Cutie Marks.
Well, there was a small chance of that happening. The Crusaders were loyal, and they never gave up. They knew giving up was not gonna help at all. If they gave up, well, they would never get their Cutie Marks. But they knew everypony got them eventually, but they wanted their Cutie Marks N-O-W. Now. To avoid getting bullied by those stuck ups in school *cough*Diamond Tiara*cough*, they had to get their Cutie Marks no matter what.
"The official daily meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders shall come to order!" Scootaloo said while the three Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the Crusaders' clubhouse. Scootaloo opened a drawer and took out three red capes with their Crusaders special patch sewn on the end. The three put them on while Scootaloo ran to the front of the room.
"We should really get some new capes," said Sweetie Belle as she and Apple Bloom held up their capes. They were all torn up and scratched and were covered in dirt, dust, and other filth. Scootaloo looked at her own cape and nodded in agreement.
"So, Crusaders," Scootaloo started, "what crusades should we try today?" The three tossed their capes into the garbage can across the room.
"Snorkeling!" Sweetie started.
"Juggling!" Apple Bloom added.
"Parachuters!" Sweetie continued.
"Snow boarding!"
"Um, I was thinking more of... Well, fun things," Scootaloo replied. Sweetie and Apple Bloom exchanged looks and then back at Scootaloo. "I mean, something we like to do."
"Parachuting is fun," Sweetie Belle said. "Snorkeling is fun, too."
"Juggling and snow boarding are also fun," Apple Bloom added. "What kind of fun things were you thinking we should do?" Scootaloo thought for what seemed like an eternity to Apple Bloom and Sweetie. Scootaloo put her hoof to her chin and then grinned with a, "I just got an idea" face.
"Parachuting?" Sweetie Belle asked hopefully.
"Snow boarding?" Apple Bloom asked, also hopefully.
"No," answered Scootaloo. "How about we do both at the same time?" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom grinned wide. "If you like the idea, let's go!"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SNOW-CHUTES, YAY!" the three cheered loudly. Applejack and Big Mac happened to be near and they heard the Crusaders' racket. Applejack and Big Mac exchanged looks.
"Ah'll go check on them, Big Mac," Applejack said. "Go tend to the corn." Applejack ran up the Crusader's clubhouse stairs and appeared at the open window.
"Oh, hello, sis!" said Apple Bloom. "What brings you here?" Applejack sighed.
"Well, me and Big Macintosh heard you guys yell, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SNOW-CHUTES, YAY!" and Ah decided to ask what you guys are doin'. Ya' know Granny Smith is taking her morning nap, and me and Big Mac are trying to work. We can't work with all that noise. What was that all about?"
"Oh, us the Crusaders were planning our next crusade. We finally came up with an idea, and we got a bit too excited. Sorry about that, Applejack," explained Scootaloo.
"Yeah, sorry," Sweetie added.
"Oh, it's alright," AJ said. "Just... Next time, don't make a loud racket 'bout it. So, what is your next crusade, anyway?"
"Oh! Well, I suggested we should go snowboarding," Apple Bloom answered. Sweetie broke in.
"And then I suggested we should go parachuting!" Sweetie Belle added. Applejack winced at that idea. Apple Bloom then looked at Scootaloo.
"And I decided we should do both at the same time!" Scootaloo finished. "This is the plan: We borrow some snowboards from Mr. Boardsmith, that colt in town who sells every snowboard in Ponyville. We'll borrow some from him, then we arrive at Ms. Parachute's shop next door to Mr. Boardsmith's shop. We borrow some parachutes from Ms. Parachute's, then we head over to Snowboarding Heaven Hill to go snowboarding. We snowboard down the cliff, jump off, and activate the parachute. Then we see if we get our Cutie Marks."
"Well, Ah don't know," Applejack said unsure. "Ah mean, that sounds a bit might dangerous, don't ya' think?"
"Well, she has a point," Apple Bloom said to Scootaloo. "Snowboarding off a giant hill and then activating a parachute doesn't sound safe at all. We've never been snowboarding or parachuting. Doing both will probably break a few bones."
"Hmm, you're right," Scootaloo replied. "But I have been snowboarding before. It's awesome! It's fast..." Apple Bloom and Sweetie shivered. "It's fearsome..." Apple Bloom and Sweetie's pupils grew small. "It's scary..." Apple Bloom and Sweetie moved closer to each other, as close as they could. "I don't know anything about parachuting, but if we just give it a chance--"
"Alright," Applejack broke in. "Well, Ah'm gonna get back to work. You three just go on with your crusades. But, if you get hurt, don't blame me, got it?"
"Mm hmm," said the three crusaders.
Applejack waved goodbye and then trotted down the stairs. She walked over to Big Mac. The Crusaders shrugged and zoomed over to a chest at a corner of the room. They opened it and rummaged through it looking for spare money to rent the snowboards and parachutes with. Random things from the chest flew across the room. A football, a framed picture of Rainbow Dash, an old scrapbook of Apple Bloom at the age of two...
"Aw, horseapples. I thought I threw that away!" Apple Bloom protested. "Well, I doubt Granny Smith would let me." More things flew across the room. Teddy bear, music disk, an old chocolate bar...
"OOH, ooh, mine mine mine!!" Scootaloo said, running after the chocolate bar. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched as Scootaloo hungrily bit into the chocolate bar. The orange pegasus filly made a face and spit out the chocolate. "Ugghh, so bitter!"
"No wonder!" Apple Bloom said, half laughing. "Scoots, do you know how old that chocolate bar is?!"
"Um, really old?" Scootaloo replied as she ran to get a cup of Gatorade. "Ugh, do you know how awful that aftertaste is?"
"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," Sweetie said. She bit off the other end of the chocolate bar and made a face. She spit it out. She, too, ran for a glass of Gatorade. "Oh, oh! That... That was rotten!"
"Told you it was awful," said Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom shrugged, and rummaged through the chest more. More things came flying across the room. Another old chocolate bar (seriously?), a toy microphone, a book about herbalism, and a book about magic. Then, at the very bottom of the chest, there was a box. A small, wooden box. Apple Bloom blew the dust off it while Sweetie and Scootaloo came over to see. Bloom opened it, and there, right in that small box, was 50 bits.
"JACKPOT!" the three cheered.
"Yes! We have the money to rent snowboards and parachutes," said Apple Bloom. "Now Scoots, you have the map to the shops and Snowboarding Heaven Hill, right?"
"Sure do!" Scootaloo pulled a map from her saddle bag she had just put on. She tossed it to Bloom. Apple Bloom looked at it.
"It looks like a pretty short walk from here to the stores, but seems like miles away from Snowboarding Heaven Hill. We should hitch a ride after renting our gear."
"Well, do we have any money left over for a taxi?" Sweetie asked. "We have fifty bits. I think after we spend the bits renting our things, we'll have about two bits left. Should be enough for a ride 5 miles."
"Alright," Scootaloo said. "Apple Bloom, you carry the map in your saddle bag. I'll take the box of bits and keep it in my saddle bag. Sweetie, you go get the wagon to carry our things in after we rent them." The three nodded and packed up. Sweetie went into the next room and came out with a black and red wagon.
"Well, come on, guys!" Apple Bloom urged. "Let's go. It's noon already, if we want to get going on our crusades, we should start now."
"Can't we eat lunch first?" asked Sweetie Belle as she felt her stomach growl. Scootaloo nodded in agreement. Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Nope. We don't have any extra bits, remember?"
"Can't we just beg Applejack to feed us something?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean, you guys are practically rich with apples! And corn and things."
"Well, okay. But do you know what I would give for a banana or an orange once in a while? All my family seems to eat these days are apples and corn. Occasionally, beans."
Scootaloo and Sweetie exchanged looks. "You mean all you eat are apples and corn?"
"Yes."
"Ooh-kay. Well, let's go see if we can get some lunch before we go," Scootalo said, calmly exiting the clubhouse, followed out by Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.
The sun crawled up to the middle of the sky above the three as they ate lunch of apple fritters, apple fries, apples, apple salad (what the heck?!), apple pie, and apple cider. Scootaloo commented, "Wow, you were right. You really do have a lot of apples." She then whispered, "And you've proven that this really is all you eat."
"How come you always eat apples, anyway?" Sweetie asked as she bit into an apple fritter. "And corn and beans."
"Well," Apple Bloom started. "It's actually a story back. You see, when my Granny Smith was a filly, her family was poor and starving. After she discovered the zap apples for the very first time in the history of Equestria... Well, you know that story. Anyway, after she discovered the zap apples, her family fed on them for about three months after. Then they discovered that regular apple trees had grown nearby."
"Go on," Scootaloo said, waving her hoof in the air about two inches above the table. "This is getting interesting... Sorta." Apple Bloom and Sweetie giggled.
"So anyway, they had discovered regular apple trees had grown nearby. They went to go see them, and maybe take an apple from it to get the seeds and grow their very own trees. They took an apple from the tree and cut it open, and carefully took the seeds out. They planted them in their small yard where the zap apple trees used to be before they grew dead." Apple Bloom took a bite of apple salad. "So they waited awhile, hoping the apple trees would grow in time before they starved.
"Eventually, the apple trees grew, which sprung joy into the whole family. They bucked all the apple trees, one by one, buckets to the fifties piled up around their small house. They had soon found corn and decided to grow corn themselves. They did. Beans, well, the beans are from the Everfree forest. That's why we only have them once in a while." Scootaloo and Sweetie shivered. "But then they could not grow any more food besides those. And they could not buy any other foods, either, because they were very very low on bits and could not afford buying food for the whole family.
"To today, we still eat nothing but apples and corn. We can afford other foods once in a while, but Applejack and Big Mac say that, quote, 'we don't need to waste our bits for food if we have the largest supply of apples and corn than the whole rest of Equestria.', unquote. I totally hate this rule, but it's there."
"Wow!" Scootaloo said.
"Next time we can have lunch at my place, if you want, Bloom," Sweetie offered. "We don't just eat apples and corn. We have awesome food like lasagne, real salad..." Apple Bloom poked at her apple salad. "Pizza..."
"PIZZA!" yelled Scootaloo. Sweetie shot the pegasus filly a glare. Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. "Heh, sorry."
"What is this, 'pizza'?" Bloom asked. The other two fillies stared blankly at her. "What? I've never had pizza before, and probably never will."
"I'll show you maybe tomorrow, if you want," offered Sweetie. "Well, if I can convince Rarity to let my two bestest friends have lunch with me."
"Sounds fine to me," said Scootaloo. "Now, come on! We don't want to be late for our crusade, do we?"
"Of course not!" Bloom said.
"Well, come on!"
The three exited the apple farm. Walking out of the entrance, Scootaloo hopped out instead, singing "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" over and over again. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sighed.
"What is so great about this 'pizza', anyway?" asked Apple Bloom. "'Cause Scoot's sure making it sound so good."
"Oh, well, pizza IS good!" Sweetie answered, while Scootaloo kept chanting, "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" Sweetie shot Scootaloo another glare. Scootaloo stopped and frowned, then smiled again while Sweetie continued. "Anyway, pizza is better than you think it is. It's cheesy, crispy, mouth-watering..."
"She's right," Scootaloo said when Sweetie finished. "Pizza is the best thing you'll ever eat by FAR! Rarity's is the BEST!"
"Ha, I have to agree with Scootaloo," Sweetie continued. "Pizza is our favorite food, and I'm sure you'll like it. Especially Rarity's."
"Uh huh," replied Apple Bloom. "Hey Scootaloo, you did bring your scooter to the clubhouse, didn't you?" Scootaloo nodded and ran over to her shiny new red scooter parked in front of the Crusaders' clubhouse. "Ya didn't tell us ya got a new scooter!"
"Oh, well... I, uh, just got it yesterday."
"Sure... Anyway, Sweetie, help me attach the item wagon to the scooter. Then go get the other wagon and help me attach that to this wagon."
"On it!" Sweetie replied. She and Apple Bloom jiggled a chain and attached it to Scootaloo's scooter. They pulled it so that it held onto the scooter tightly. They asked Scootaloo to drive her scooter to see if it worked. It did, so then Sweetie was asked to get the other wagon.
"Sweetie, go get the other wagon please!" Apple Bloom said. Sweetie nodded and ran into the clubhouse. She rummaged through a big closet and found a wagon that looked just like the other one, so she pulled it out of the clubhouse and brought it over to Bloom. They attached it to the other wagon, and asked Scootaloo to drive the scooter the wagons were holding on to. Then Scootaloo was asked to drive it again with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in it, to their surprise the scooter was not held back and she drove around the farm for a minute before arriving back at the clubhouse.
"This scooter cost 80 bits," said Scootaloo. "My whole allowance. Would be a shame if anything happened to it."
"Why did it cost so much?" asked Sweetie.
"This scooter is not the average scooter you see in Equestria. This is the Scooter Deluxe Extra-Horsepower. It is more faster than any other scooter you have seen in your seven year old life, even though there are more powerful scooters. This can also pull heavier objects and more things than the average scooter would. Plus, it will never rust! Or break down that easily. It's my most prized possession, and I would hate if anything happened to it."
"No wonder it pulled the wagons that easily!" Apple Bloom said. "No scooter I know besides yours could pull two or three wagons with objects or ponies in them."
"Actually, two or three is just the tip or the iceberg. It can pull an average of forty wagons with items or ponies in each. The best scooter in Ponyville!"
"Wow!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle and Bloom.
"Now come on, we gotta go, right?" Sweetie said. "Everypony got their things?"
"Yup!"
"Let's get going on the road!"
At Snowboarding Heaven Hill...
"Wow, I never realized it costs so much to rent three snowboards and parachutes," Apple Bloom said as they climbed up the steep hill.
"Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "We only have one bit left. Cost forty-nine bits total for the three parachutes, three snowboards, and the five-mile taxi ride."
"Good thing they actually let you take your scooter into the taxi," Sweetie commented. "I mean, Mr. Taxihood said he's let ponies take worse things onto the taxi. Like, um, giant boxes in the twenties, and some priceless things like ancient paintings and things that were probably gonna get stolen."
"Well, come ON, guys! We ain't got all day!" Scootaloo urged and readied her snowboard as she reached the top of the hill, and then readied the parachute. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did the same. "One... Two... Three... GO!!!"
The three raced down, going at about 3 miles per hour, wind blowing in their face. It had felt good, the adrenaline kicking in as they went faster. Once they saw the ground near, they let go of the snowboards and activated the parachutes. But the thing is, they didn't know HOW to use parachutes. So they ended up crashing straight into the snow on the ground, face first. The three moaned in pain, but instantly forgot about it when they remembered why they were here. They shook the snow off of themselves, and they eagerly checked their flanks.
BLANK. BLANK. BLANK.
The three groaned as if to tell the world they had just struck out on the opportunity to get their Cutie Marks. Not again! The Cutie Mark Crusaders were SURE this was gonna get their Cutie Marks, but it didn't. They had struck out again. they felt like... Like...
Like the Striking Out Crusaders. They always seemed to be striking out on every Crusade they had tried for their Cutie Marks. It never, ever worked. Never.
At Carousel Boutique the following day...
"Why, of course you can ask your friends over for lunch!" said Rarity after Sweetie had asked her if the Crusaders could come over.
"YAY!" Sweetie shouted. She ran outside where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were waiting. "She said yes, guys!"
"HOORAY!" shouted the three. They ran inside.
"Sis?" Sweetie asked. "Can we have pizza for lunch today?"
"Um, why pizza?" Rarity responded, very baffled.
"Because Apple Bloom here is only allowed to eat apples and corn. Occasionally other things, but rare. So we could show her some of the things us ponies like to eat that aren't fruits and vegetables. Er... You do have pizza, do you?"
"Well, I don't think so. I probably have some pizza dough in the refrigerator that I can bake into pizza." Rarity walked over to the refrigerator and levitated the door open. She let out an, "Aha!" which sprung hope into the Crusaders. Rarity levitated a plastic box full of pizza dough. "We can have pizza, if you'd let me make it for thirty minutes."
"Okay!" said the three. All of a sudden, Twilight Sparkle came bursting through the door. "Twilight?"
"Twilight?" Rarity said. "Whatever are you here for? Carousel Boutique is not open for another--"
"Never mind that, Rarity," Twilight replied. "Princess Celestia needs our help. She sent me a letter, saying she needs us in Canterlot Castle for an important emergency." Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were right behind Twilight.
"Ohh, well, sorry Crusaders. Lunch cannot be here today," Rarity told the Crusaders. The three "aww"ed and climbed back into the wagon while Scootaloo drove away. The Mane Six watched as they drove away in the distance.
"We need to get to Canterlot," Twilight said strongly. "Come on, girls."
They ran over to the train station to catch the Canterlot Express. They caught the train and quickly got on it. Twilight quaked in fear as she thought of the possibilities Princess Celestia wanted the Elements of Harmony there for. Had old foes come back? Had the vamponies taken over Equestria? (Yeah, right.) Had the Flame Ponies returned? Twilight knew SOMETHING had returned.
Twilight sighed and looked out the window at the mountains. Rainbow Dash happened to see Twilight in gloom, so she stopped by and asked, "What's wrong, Twi?"
"Oh..." Twilight started. "Well, suppose some other villains have taken over Equestria again. I mean, it sounds weird, though, because we deafeated all those. If old foes like Discord or Nightmare Moon came back, well, that actually wouldn't be possible. Discord walks free, reformed, using his magic for the good instead of the evil. Nightmare Moon has transformed into a nicer being as well, the Princess of the Night. Princess Luna. Maybe the vamponies have come to haunt Equestria. Not possible, but if it was, Princess Luna would command them to stop. And the Flame Ponies certainly aren't back. If they were, Fireflight would be able to take care of that herself. What would be wrong now?"
"Hmm..."
The train arrived in Canterlot. The ponies got off, Twilight still in fear, stomach getting all excited. She calmly walked up to the Canterlot Castle entrance, followed by her friends. They got past the guards and made their way through the halls and into Princess Celestia's stained glass room. The Princess looked at them with a worried look on her face.
"You said you wanted us here, Princess?" Twilight asked with a worried look on her face, too.
"Yes," said Princess Celestia. "And it's very important. A foe has returned."
"I knew it..." Twilight said.
"Not a foe any of you know, I'm sure. As you know, Nightmare Moon has transformed into a nicer being, my sister, Princess Luna. Also, Discord is free, reformed. Ready to use his magic for good of the ponies instead of evil. The Changelings and their Queen have been blasted FAR, far, from Equestria. And, or course, King Sombra is shadowed and banished to the Arctic after trying to rule the Crystal Empire. But this is a new foe."
"A... Another one?" Twilight mumbled. The ponies listened.
"A pegasus named Electric Aspect. You see, he is King Sombra's brother. A thousand years ago, when King Sombra was banished to the Arctic, he cast a spell on the Crystal Empire that vanished it for a thousand years. Electric Aspect earned the ponies of the rest of Equestria as servants. It was a dark time. He even banished me and Luna to another dimension with no way out. We were trapped! Of course, an Alicorn filly named Princess Silver Wings created a new spell to get us out."
"What happened next?"
"She cast it to see if it worked. It teleported me and Luna back to home, and not only that, but turned Aspect to lightning and thunder and banished him to the Arctic along with Sombra. The spell has been lost for a very long time, we can't seem to find it in the Canterlot Archives. To today, Aspect is named as "King Aspect", for that was what the ponies of Equestria had had to call him while he ruled Equestria."
"Wait, so... So he has... Returned?" Twilight gulped.
"Yes."
Princess Celestia gasped and rushed to the window. Out there she saw yellow and blackish skies, brown and ugly grass, strong wind blowing all sorts of things across the landscape, and lightning and thunder.
Uh oh.
The Elements of Harmony came over to see what was wrong. They had realized that Celestia knew what was happening, and now in the lightning, they could see the face of a male pegasus that looked a lot like a twin of Sombra. Ohh no...
"This is a surprise," said the face of the lightning pony. "So we meet again, Celestia."
"Electric Aspect," Princess Celestia growled back. "You know you won't gain Equestria as yours again, right? This Equestria is not the Equestria you remember, it has changed. We have more powerful ponies that could banish you back to the Arctic whenever they wanted to. A lot. Don't even think--"
"I know!" said Aspect. A bolt of lightning shot through a stained glass picture of Princess Silver Wings defeating Electric Aspect. The stained glass bits flew all over the floor. The ponies gasped. The burnt area where the bolt had hit last fogged up into storm cloud, and grew into a bright light. The light grew dead, revealing a pegasus that looked just like King Sombra, except wings instead of a horn, and also metalic green and steel silver than red, black, and gray. Small bolts of electricity always seemed to dance around his legs, hooves, and shadowy hair.
"I definately know you have more powerful ponies than when I was here last," Aspect continued. "I understand that. But you see, Sombra's job and my job is to rule Equestria. And we won't stop until we do. So of course, we have to. No way any measly tiny pack of ponies are gonna stop big-time kings!"
"And just how are you gonna do that?!" Celestia snapped back.
"Well, I have to banish you from Equestria first. And that means off into the dimension of nothing!"
Green magic engulfed all seven ponies, with touches of red joining in. That must be Sombra's magic kicking in, too! Symbols of the ponies' elements appeared above them, along with a picture of the sun, and they fell to pieces as the light grew brighter around the ponies. The light exploded into the ground. Sparks fell onto the floor.
"Job well done," Aspect muttered to himself as he grinned. Sombra appeared in the spot the ponies had vanished in, also grinning. They ran out of the Canterlot Castle to start ruling Equestria.
No way this is gonna fail! thought Aspect and Sombra. No way.
Back in Ponyville...
"Hey, wait a minute! Why is the sky so dark like that?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"Yeah, that is weird!" Scootaloo joined in. "It's not supposed to storm until Friday."
"We need to figure this out!" Sweetie Belle chimed it. "Maybe this will get us our Cutie Marks! Problem solving!"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS UNITED!"