//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: CMC Weekend Warriors // Story: End of the Crusades // by TimeBomb0 //------------------------------// “…So we’ll try rollerblading right after school, then we’ll move on to professional hopscotch.” “I dunno about that.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “That sounds like a lotta work fer one day. Maybe if we just did one an’ left the other for tomorrow.” “But our weekend’s already full with other crusades.” Scootaloo put down her juice and planted a hoof on the table. “Pushing one crusade back means we gotta reorganize the whole schedule.” As she stared at the pile of plans at her table, Scootaloo rubbed her chin. “Good thing we have Monday off,” she muttered. “Lucky for us, huh?” replied Apple Bloom in voice that was wearier than she wanted it to be. It was weary enough to make Scootaloo look up from the table and stare at her in concern. Just like on Monday morning, red cracks had formed in the whites of her eyes while a pair of lines ran underneath. Even her normally symmetrical bow was on crooked, like she hadn’t been paying too much attention when she put it on. “Are you okay? You sound like you had another bad night’s sleep.” Scootaloo got her answer in the form of a long yawn from Apple Bloom. “I guess you could say that,” replied Apple Bloom as soon as she regained control of her mouth. “Bummer. Did you at least come up with any more good plans?” “I wasn’t tryin’.” To this, Scootaloo stared in confusion. “Wait, you weren’t working on any plans? Then why you’d stay up so late?” Apple Bloom took a second to think up what she wanted to say. “Well, I tried t’ get some sleep, but that crusade we did last night really did a number on me.” “You mean the training we did to be decathletes?” Upon finishing her question, Scootaloo rubbed one of her sore hocks. It seemed like her body just couldn’t keep up with her inner drive some days, and yesterday was one of them. “It kinda wore me out too, now that you mention it, but what we did wasn’t even close to what the official Equestria Games athletes do.” “It was more than enough t’ keep me up most of the night,” said Apple Bloom. “Every time I fell asleep, I’d turn and hurt my muscles an’ just wake up again. I thought I’d never get any rest.” “Eh, I’m sure we’ll get over it in time for rollerblading. We’re tough fillies, right?” Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom with a grin. There was silence for a moment before Apple Bloom found the strength to match her friend’s grin. “Cutie marks or bust.” “That’s what I like to hear,” said Scootaloo as she gave a friendly punch to Apple Bloom’s shoulder. The sore muscles in Apple Bloom’s arm flared from the hit, causing her to wince from the surprise pain. She gingerly dabbed at the sore spot with her own hoof and quietly groaned. “Oops, sorry,” said a sheepish Scootaloo. “I’ll bet Sweetie’s glad she didn’t have to try getting a cutie mark for athletics. Isn’t that right, Sweetie?” No one responded. “Uh, right, Sweetie?” Scootaloo turned to look at her unicorn friend. Her smile dropped immediately after her brain had finished processing the sight before her. Sweetie wasn’t there. Not even her lunch bag was there, leaving the opposite side of the table bare. “Huh? Where’s Sweetie?” Scootaloo asked. “Ya haven’t noticed?” Apple Bloom’s eyes lowered. Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t know. Did she get up to go to the bathroom or something?” “She hasn’t been at our table for the last three days now.” “She–what?” Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom as if expecting her statement to be followed up with “Nah, I’m just jokin’.” Those words never came. Instead, Apple Bloom pointed a hoof at another table. “She’s been over there with all the choir ponies.” Scootaloo glanced over to the table and almost couldn’t believe the sight before her. Sure enough, there was Sweetie sitting at the choir table with her food in front of her. She wore a carefree smile while she chatted and giggled with the rest of the ponies sitting there, just like she would have if she were with... Her friends… Scootaloo couldn’t explain what was happening, but as she stared at Sweetie speaking so casually with the other ponies, something stirred inside her. Her body grew tense, her teeth gritted together, and she soon found herself giving a glare in Sweetie’s direction that she thought she was only capable of giving to Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. Her glare only grew deeper with each second she looked at the happy scene. “Uh, Scootaloo?” Scootaloo shook her head upon hearing Apple Bloom’s voice. The glare disappeared, but only on the outside. Inside her, the feelings were settling down, but still present. “Huh, what?” replied Scootaloo. “Are ya okay? Ya looked like you just ate somethin’ Big Macintosh tried t’ cook.” “Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Scootaloo looked down at the papers on the table. “Let’s just get back to our plans. So what do we have planned for Tuesday?” Apple Bloom found her attention divided between the blueprints, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Even in her sleep-deprived mind, she could feel an idea coming to her. “Hey,” she began, “maybe we could ask Sweetie t’ look over our plans and help us out on a few things?” “Forget about it.” Apple Bloom stared confusedly. Scootaloo’s reply came instantly in a no-nonsense tone, as if Apple Bloom had just suggested they try being Diamond Tiara’s personal servants to earn their cutie marks. “But why not? It’d give us a chance t’ talk to her.” “How can Sweetie help us out?” Scootaloo looked straight at her friend. Traces of her glare from before still remained in her eyes. “She’s too busy talking and singing with her choir buddies, and even if she wasn’t, she’d be practicing or working on her voice.” Apple Bloom found herself unable to reply, at least not until Scootaloo moved out of her face and back to hoofing through the plans. “I don’t understand why that doesn’t mean we could just at least talk t’ her after school or somethin’.” “Sweetie has her own things to worry about, and we have ours.” Scootaloo waved a hoof dismissively. “Once we get our cutie marks, we can all hang out and talk again. Now let’s get back to our plans before lunch is over.” Just as she had finished talking, the sound of a small bell ringing came through the lunch area loud and clear, the very last noise Scootaloo wanted to hear. “Lunch is over, everypony! It’s time for class again!” Called out Cheerilee while she rang a bell on a post near the school’s back door. “Nevermind,” said Scootaloo, not even attempting to disguise the disappointment in her voice. “We’ll talk about this after school. Let’s go get this class over with.” With another groan, she slid Apple Bloom’s blueprints back over to her and gathered up her barely-touched lunch. The next half of class was going to be a long one for her. Apple Bloom, on the other hand, was too busy looking over at the choir table to notice Scootaloo speaking to her. She watched as Sweetie Belle and the rest of the choir got their things together and trotted off together back to the classroom, smiling and trying to get in as much of their conversation as possible before they had to focus on their lessons. Apple Bloom’s mind became addled with questions. She wondered if Sweetie was enjoying her new-found popularity. She wondered if the fillies and colts at the choir table genuinely wanted to be her friends. Most importantly, she wondered just what they were talking about all this time she and Scootaloo had their noses in their plans. ***** “…And then she says, ‘Toothpaste? I thought it was glue!’” The table erupted into laughter, and Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but giggle right along with everyone else. It wasn’t even that good of a joke, but it was nice to be able to laugh with others. “That was a good one, Rumble!” said Dinky as soon as her giggle fit stopped. “Where do you get all your jokes?” “My brother tells me a lot of them. He’s full of jokes like that,” said Rumble. “Really? You gotta tell us another!” Archer said just before taking a bite out of her apple. Rumble rubbed the back of his head. “Uh, actually I’m out of jokes now. Anyone else got any good stories?” A medley of shaking heads and grumbles gave Rumble his answer. “Come on, one of you has to know something.” Rumble looked around the table when his eyes fell on the pony sitting across from him. He lifted a hoof and pointed to that pony. “What about you, Sweetie?” “Huh?” Sweetie perked up. Once her mind finished processing what Rumble was asking of her, she glanced down to her half-eaten lunch. “Well, I don’t really know any good jokes. My sister doesn’t really tell a lot of jokes. Nothing that isn’t about clothes or fashion, anyway.” “Bummer,” said Rumble. “Sorry. I bet Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would know all kinds of funny jokes or stories. Maybe I could…” Sweetie trailed off as she glanced over to her friend’s table with a smile. The smile did not last long, for Sweetie saw Apple Bloom and Scootaloo doing the same thing they had been doing the entire week. They were huddled together over a mess of blueprints, talking and pausing to point at them. Their barely-touched lunches lay to the sides. Had they even noticed she was gone? As silly as it sounded, Sweetie couldn’t help but wonder. What was she thinking? Of course they had to! They couldn’t be that absorbed into finding their cutie marks… could they? “Nevermind,” Sweetie said, turning back to the choir with a frown. Dinky was quick to respond with, “Aw, don’t worry about it. We know it’s hard to come up with stuff on the spot. Good thing Miss Cheerilee lets us read music sheets before we sing at the concert!” “Hey, there’s another joke!” said Truffle Shuffle, the group’s bass singer. His mouth was full of a double-decker daisy sandwich. Sweetie gave a complimentary giggle, then looked around the table. “Still, I wish I had more stuff to share with all of you. The only stories I have are about all the crusades I’ve done, but I don’t know if you want to hear all that.” “Of course we do,” said Archer. “I’ll bet you’ve been on tons of cool adventures that we’d love to hear.” “Yeah, tell us some!” Rumble said as he leaned in, as did the rest of the table. “Okay.” Sweetie beamed at the faces all focused on her. She briefly wondered why she was now elated instead of afraid to see the same sets of eyes from her impromptu-audition on Monday focused on her now. “I think I know the perfect story. There was this one time where Scootaloo came up with the idea of getting our cutie marks in…” Sweetie’s story came to a stop. She couldn’t finish telling it if she tried. The emptiness in her stomach grew within her again. It forced her lungs to close, her vocal cords to stop, her mouth to dry up, and her smile to droop to an open frown. She could not see the choir in front of her. All she could see was Apple Bloom and Scootaloo as they were about to embark on a crusade from the past. A second passed, and another crusade flashed before her mind, and another, and another. Each memory further deepened the hole in her belly, and no amount of lunch food or candy could fill it. “Um, Sweetie?” A wave of Twist’s hoof brought Sweetie back to reality. She shook her head, keeping her frown. “Actually, I don’t feel like sharing any stories right now.” Sweetie looked down to avoid the disappointing gazes she knew were coming. Dinky shrugged at the edge of Sweetie’s vision. “It’s okay, you can tell us some other time. Like maybe after today’s rehearsal, even.” “Yeah, I get the feeling we’re all gonna need something to cheer us up after the rehearsal,” said Rumble. “I don’t know how we’re gonna be good enough to sing in time for the choir.” “Huh, why?” Sweetie perked up. “I thought we’ve been singing pretty well.” “You’ve been singing great. I can’t say the same for the rest of us,” said Rumble. “Rumble!” Dinky glared at the colt. “Well, he does kind of have a point,” said Archer. “I mean, before Sweetie came along, we were okay at best. It was a miracle if we could make it through a song without falling apart.” “But isn’t Diamond Tiara a good singer?” asked Sweetie. Rumble scoffed. “Like that helps. If Miss Cheerilee didn’t get on her, she’d be stopping the songs and yelling at us for every single missed note.” “Yeah, it’s like she thinks we’re all her backup singers or something,” continued Archer. Her comment earned a few nods and grumbles of approval from the rest of the choir. As much as Sweetie was reluctant to admit, Rumble and Archer weren’t exactly wrong. Though she couldn’t see Diamond from her spot on the risers, she could certainly hear her grumbling and groaning whenever Cheerilee stopped the choir in the middle of a song. There were times were she could feel Diamond’s eyes boring into her on the occasions where she slipped up. It wasn’t the best thing to think about when rehearsing. “But that’s why we’re so glad you’re in the choir now, Sweetie!” said Dinky. “Wait, you are?” Sweetie stared at the choir in surprise. It seemed she’s learned more things at the lunch table than at her desk this week. Archer responded first with a nod and, “Yeah, with you in the choir, we’re sounding better than we’ve ever been. We’re sure to be a hit at the concert!” “Well, I don’t know if I’m that good.” Sweetie found it particularly difficult to look at the other ponies again. “Good? You’re the best thing that’s happened to the choir in months!” said Dinky. “Really? But I only found my cutie mark for singing this weekend. I haven’t even had my cute-ceñera yet.” “You mean the party on Sunday?” asked Rumble. “Yeah, that…” Confusion lit up Sweetie’s face. “Wait, how did you know about it?” “We’ve been getting invitations in the mail,” said Dinky. “I think everyone in our class knows about it now.” “Huh? But I didn’t send out any–” Pinkie. Sweetie sighed. “Oh, right. Well, I told Pinkie not to go too crazy with the party. I don’t want to make too big a deal out of my cutie mark.” “That’s weird,” said a curious-looking Rumble. “The invitation said it was gonna be full of games and food and toys. It sounded pretty big to me.” “Yeah, especially the food stuff. I could almost taste those cupcakes now,” Truffle remarked. He gave a dreamy sigh and had a faraway look in his eyes. Sweetie stared at Truffle for a moment, then looked back to the rest of the group. “Okay. I guess you all could come if you wanted to.” “Wanted to? We’ll be there for sure!” exclaimed Dinky. “I’ll be there. I’m helping make the sweets,” said Twist. “I’ll help clean up the sweets if no one else wants them,” said Truffle. “I’ll make sure to get you something cool for your cute-ceñera,” said Rumble. Archer responded with a nod and, “Yeah, me too. Besides, what’s the point of having a party without friends?” Friends? The last word of Archer’s question rang in Sweetie’s head. Her stomach didn’t know whether to feel light as a feather or full from her lunch. For the last few days, she had felt like an outsider to the choir, listening to them chat to each other about their own adventures, and only speaking when directly spoken to. Sure, they had been nothing but nice to her, but to actually consider her a friend after only a few days together? Enough of a friend for them to visit her cute-ceñera without her even having to ask them? Sweetie opened her mouth to say something, but found that words failed her. Even if she could have said anything, she didn’t get the chance to. The sound of a ringing bell hit everyone’s ears, diverting their attention to their teacher. “Lunch is over, everypony! It’s time for class again,” said Cheerilee over the ringing bell. “Darn. Guess we’ll talk more after choir practice,” said Rumble. Without another word, the choir table gathered up its uneaten food and got up, leaving the table completely bare. Some of the choir paired up in groups and started another conversation as they threw their food away and walked back to the classroom. Sweetie walked by herself, her mind lost in thought. The only thing she paid attention to was Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who were walking up ahead with blueprints hanging in their teeth. Sweetie wondered if they were any closer to gaining their cutie marks now than they were last week. She wondered if they would meet and talk again if they ever found their cutie marks. Most of all, she wondered if they had thought of her at all during this break. ***** Apple Bloom trotted up the steps to the clubhouse, her saddlebags loosely swaying with each step. A mess of blueprints hung out of the cover of the bags, threatening to spill out. The weekend sun warmed her back as it steadily climbed to the middle of the sky. A small breeze, the first of many for the new season, kept her body cool without making her chilly. That all changed when she stepped inside the clubhouse doorway. The temperature inside the house was hardly any different from the temperature outside. The walls kept the cooling breeze off Apple Bloom’s coat. Still, she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, but as she looked inside, the room felt… cold to her. Maybe it was just the fact that the clubhouse had gone unused for a week, she figured. The last time anypony used this room was on Sunday morning, when the crusaders were giving Sweetie one last practice session before the contest. Scootaloo’s toy piano and Sweetie’s music stand were exactly where the trio left them when they headed to the plaza. The pile of junk threatening to overtake the entire room was already collecting a small layer of dust. Apple Bloom couldn’t help but sigh. The last time the clubhouse went unoccupied for so long was during the last Winter. For some reason, the pegasi weather schedule called for some rough snowstorms that year. The blowing snow and freezing temperatures turned the clubhouse into an icebox, and the crusaders wisely relocated their base of operations to the Apple family house for the time being. Apple Bloom shook her head. It wasn’t anything to worry about, she told herself. They might not have been here for a while, but at least this time it was because they were busy actually crusading instead of planning. In fact, they had been crusading harder than ever to get their cutie marks these last few days. Maybe just a little too hard. “Ugh,” groaned Apple Bloom as the soreness in her legs and back reminded her of every crusade she undertook this week. Last night’s sleep did little to make her aches and pains feel any better. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve sworn they felt worse this morning. Apple Bloom threw her saddlebags onto the ground to rid herself of the weight. With the weight gone, she soon found the comfort of the carpet on her feet too much to resist. She plopped down on her side and sighed. Who knew that finding a cutie mark would take so much out of her? At least this way, she could get a little rest before– “Apple Bloom?” No such luck. No sooner had Apple Bloom closed her eyes that she heard the trotting of hooves up steps and a voice she didn’t want to hear. “Oh, there you are,” said Scootaloo as she stepped inside the clubhouse, still wearing her scooter helmet. “I thought we were supposed to meet at your house today?” “Yeah, that was the plan, wasn’t it?” said Apple Bloom. She kept her body on the ground and her back turned to the door. Scootaloo looked quizzically at Apple Bloom for just a moment when realization struck. “Wait a minute.” Her eyes lowered. “I know what you’re trying to do.” Apple Bloom gulped. “Ya do?” Scootaloo carried a frown as she walked up to her friend. “Seriously, you’re just as bad at hiding secrets as your sister.” “I guess so,” muttered Apple Bloom. She closed her eyes in defeat. “I’m sorry, Scootaloo.” “Sorry? For what?” asked Scootaloo, looking curious. Apple Bloom stood back up and replied, “I guess I shoulda told you sooner.” “Why would you do that? This was a pretty cool surprise.” It was Apple Bloom’s turn to have a puzzled look on her face. “Er, cool surprise?” Scootaloo grinned. “Yeah, this is great! Not only are you brainstorming new ideas for crusades, but we can dig through our old stuff and see if we can save some money. Now that’s thinking ahead!” A blink was all Apple Bloom could respond with at first. “How on earth did ya figure all that out?” “Easy.” Scootaloo puffed out her chest. “Why else would you come out here with your saddlebag full of blueprints? To try and hide them?” Apple Bloom’s pupils shrank. Her eyes darted away from Scootaloo as she unconsciously took a step back. “A-ha-ha, that’s a good one, Scootaloo!” said Apple Bloom through a strained smile. For some reason, she thought of Sweetie Belle for an instant. Her chuckles continued until she realized that Scootaloo wasn’t laughing along with her, but giving her the face they gave when Sweetie said something strange. “O-kay,” said Scootaloo, “so have you thought of any new crusades already?” “Crusades?” There was the soreness in Apple Bloom’s body again. She fought the urge to groan in pain and kept her focus on her friend. At this point, Scootaloo was walking past her to admire the pile of junk in the room. “Yeah, in case our other crusades don’t work out.” Scootaloo eyed a pair of water skis. A part of her wanted to give that crusade another try, but a large crack in one of the skis discouraged her from going through with it. While Scootaloo looked at the damaged skis, Apple Bloom glanced to her side with a frown. Her eyes fell upon a garden spade and watering can, leftovers from their adventures as Cutie Mark Crusader Prize-Winning Gardeners. As it turned out, the only prize their garden won was a ribbon for participation at the annual Ponyville Farmer’s Market Fair. She could remember all of them being disappointed after all the work they put into their garden, but at least it wasn’t as hard on their bodies as last week was. Apple Bloom’s face lit up. She had a new idea after all. “Say, Scootaloo,” she began, “I think I do have a plan for us.” “You do?” Scootaloo immediately turned around and leaned forward, her ears perked straight up. “Then let’s hear it.” Apple Bloom looked from side to side, then put on her best grin. “Okay, you know how we’ve been workin’ really, really hard on earnin’ our cutie marks this week?” “Well yeah, nobody said getting a cutie mark would be easy work.” “That’s just it.” Apple Bloom found it tougher to keep a smooth face as she spoke. “I was just thinkin’ maybe we’ve been goin’ about this all wrong.” Scootaloo lifted an eyebrow. “How?” “Well, instead of pushin’ ourselves all the time with crusades like trampoline jumpin’ and kite-boardin’, maybe we could try doing some… easier stuff?” Apple Bloom’s smile grew so wide that the sound of a squeak toy could be heard in the room. “Easier stuff?” Scootaloo’s eyes lowered. Apple Bloom said nothing, instead choosing to stretch her smile as far as it could go. “Apple Bloom, we’ve been trying easy stuff ever since we started going on crusades together, and none of them have ever worked. Why should we bother now?” said a frowning Scootaloo. “Ya never know. Our special talent could be anythin’. I mean, none of us ever thought Sweetie would get her cutie mark from singin’, but look at her now.” Despite the cold air, Apple Bloom could feel her forehead growing sweaty under Scootaloo’s piercing gaze. Scootaloo shook her head and scoffed. “We don’t have time to sit around and hope we get our cutie marks by accident. Winter Set-Up is only a couple months away, and there’s no way we’ll get anything done once all the homework and holidays hit.” “But I–" “The only way we’re earning our cutie marks is by grabbing the bull by the horns and pushing ourselves as hard as we can. It’s cutie marks or bust!” Scootaloo punched her forehooves together. So much for that, thought Apple Bloom. She was reminded of their attempts at earning a cutie mark in diplomacy, and how all their attempts led to was more chores and less allowance. She sighed into the fact of her determined friend. “I guess you’re right there.” “Great!” In an instant, Scootaloo’s smile returned. “Now come on, let’s get going.” “Er, goin’ where?” There was the “What was that, Sweetie?” face again looking right into Apple Bloom’s face. She made a note not to give that face to Sweetie so much the next time they talked. “You already forgot? Today’s the day we decided to try being Cutie Mark Crusader Jousters!” “Wait… that was today?” asked Apple Bloom. Truthfully, she knew it was today. How could she forget about an event that promised to give her twice as many sore body parts than all of this week’s other crusades combined? Now if only Scootaloo had forgotten… “Yeah, and I’m excited.” Scootaloo proved her excitement by hopping into the air and fluttering down with her wings. “I’ve been dying to use those shopping carts ever since we found them in that ditch. I don’t know who would bring those all the way from Canter-Mart, but I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth.” “Talk about a stroke of luck, huh?” said Apple Bloom, her voice containing no excitement of its own. “You could say that again. Now let’s shake a leg. We need to get moving if we’re gonna get all our crusades in today.” Before Apple Bloom could make another attempt at persuading Scootaloo otherwise, her friend turned and darted towards the door. To Apple Bloom’s surprise, Scootaloo stopped when she reached the doorway and turned her head towards her friend. “Hey, Apple Bloom?” “Yeah?” “The whole ‘grabbing by the horns’ thing got me thinking. Maybe we could try being Cutie Mark Crusader Matadors someday?” Apple Bloom carried a flat expression. “Where are we gonna find a bull in Ponyville t’ even try that?” “Good point.” Scootaloo lowered her head in disappointment, then just as quickly lifted it back up in determination. “We’ll worry about it later. Right now, it’s jousting time!” And just like that, Scootaloo was gone, already racing down the steps to her waiting scooter and wagon. Apple Bloom stared glumly at the open doorway for a few seconds. Maybe this crusade won’t be that bad, she tried to reason with herself. After all, what was the worst that could happen with two fillies repeatedly charging at each other on shopping carts with bendy play spears? Just the thought alone was enough to make the aches in Apple Bloom’s body cry out a little more. With a groan, she shook her head and slung the saddlebags around her barrel again. Standing around thinking about a crusade wasn’t gonna get her cutie mark. If it turned out her special talent was jousting, she would just have to grin and bear some extra pain to discover it. With one last moment to compose herself, Apple Bloom slowly walked out of the clubhouse. Once more, the crusader’s second home was empty, with only one new addition to the many objects within: a single blueprint. A blueprint that had slipped out of Apple Bloom’s saddlebags when she had dropped them on the floor. A blueprint with the details of a certain party for a certain friend hastily scribbled on its corner.