//------------------------------//
// Lost Crusaders 
// Story: My Little Pony: Beyond Life and Death 
// by MetroXLR99 
//------------------------------//

A half hour passed, and Twilight, Alex, and Spike exited the Sugar Cube Corner bakery.

"Okay...those...were the absolute best cupcakes that I have EVER tasted," said Alex with a smile.

Twilight smiled right back at him. "I knew you would like them."

Alex looked at Twilight. "I must say, Twilight, this has been a great day so far," he began. "You've taken me to nearly every important place in town, and I've gotten to meet a lot of your friends."

"Not all of them, you haven't," said Twilight. You still haven't met Rainbow Dash, yet. Fortunately, I am due to meet her at a Daring Do Book Signing, which should be starting right now."

Alex smiled. "Well, I may not know much of any 'Daring Do.' But, if that's where I have to go to meet this Rainbow Dash, then lead the way."

"GREAT!" exclaimed Twilight, happily. "I know a the perfect shortcut to get us there in record time!" Twilight began to trot away at a quick, but steady pace. Alex began to follow her, but then noticed Spike was trailing behind.

"Hey, little guy. You doing okay back there?" said Alex, pausing for a moment.

Spike was hunched over, his arms hanging as he took heavy steps towards Alex. "I...I'm fine, just…tired, is all," began the dragon. "We've been running all over town, and that kind of thing is hard for a dragon who walks on two legs instead of four."

"Can't you walk on four legs?" asked Alex, calmly.

Spike looked up at the stallion. "Sure, but it's hard work. Ponies are clearly much better at running than dragons."

Alex grinned as he glanced away. "Well, to be fair, most dragons have wings, and spend more time in the air than on the ground."

Spike grumbled as he looked away. "Yeah, don't remind me," he muttered.

Alex finally approached the small, purple dragon. "You know, if you're feeling tired of walking, I can carry you."

Spike looked up at Alex with wide eyes. "What?"

"Shortcut or not, it could be a long way from here and this 'book signing place.' You probably should rest your little legs, and ride on my back for a while."

Spike stared at Alex, dumbfounded. "You'd let me do that?"

Alex had a warm, bright smile on his face. "SURE!, What are friends for?"

"YIPPEEEEEEE!" exclaimed Spike, jumping up. The dragon then leapt up onto Alex's back, holding onto the back of his neck. "I'll try not to hurt you with my claws."

Alex chuckled. "I appreciate that." Alex then trotted off, but when he noticed how far Twilight had gotten, began to gallop after her. When he finally caught up with her, Twilight looked back at Alex and Spike.

"Where'd you boys head off to?" asked Twilight.

Alex and Spike looked at one another. "Uh…" 

"Well…"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter," said Twilight, cutting them off. "Let's just keep going. If we move fast, we'll make it to the book signing in up to thirty minutes tops."

"Twenty Minutes?"

"Yep, which is pretty good time, all things considered," said Twilight with a smile. "If we went the long way, it'd take us thirty-two minutes."

Spike scowled. "Wow. Two. Whole. Minutes. That really does make a difference," said the dragon with sarcasm.

"Oh, relax, Spike," began Alex. "It's like my mother always says: "It isn't the destination, it's the journey."

"Well said!" exclaimed Twilight. "Let's all try and have a great time, instead of making time. Take in the beautiful scenery, breathe that fresh, clean air! Enjoy life and all its wonders."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother…"





Over an hour had passed, and the trio of ponies and dragon were still meandering through a woodland of some sort.

Spike was lounging upon Alex's back by now, a long look on his scaly face.

"Are we there, yet?" grumbled Spike.

Twilight paused to look around. she placed the tip of her hoof on her chin, tapping nervously. "Umm…ohh…I-I'm not sure." Twilight was prancing in place, getting antsy. While she looked in every direction, she began to grind her teeth, as nothing looked familiar to her.

"AAAAARRGH!!" exclaimed Twilight, her hooves over her head. "I give up. We're LOST!"

Spike chose this time to hop off of Alex's back. "So much for shortcuts."

Alex approached Twilight, looking down at her with warm eyes. "Twilight, calm down," he began, softly. "We'll get to the book signing soon."

Twilight looked up at Alex. "At this point, I'll be happy just to get back to town. I can't believe I got us lost in the woods!"

"Everypony loses their way, sometimes."

"Not ME!" exclaimed Twilight, practically shouting. "I've lived here for over a YEAR! How can I get lost in the town where I live?" Twilight lowered her head, looking down and frowning. "Some guide I turned out to be."

"Alright, That's enough!" said Alex, starting to get annoyed. "Depression never solved anything. What we need to do is stop, remain calm, and think of a good plan."

Twilight looked up at Alex. "Umm…o-okay."

Alex smiled. He then exhaled, and began to think. "Okay, so we're lost in the woods, and have no idea how far from the town we've gotten. What we need to do is find somepony to point us in the right direction."

"Easier said than done," said Twilight. "There are so many trees, I can't see what's a mile ahead in front of us!"

"Then let's look where there aren't any, like above them." Alex then turned and looked at Spike. "Spike, think you can climb up one of these trees, and find some sign of civilization?"

Spike looked and found a large and presumably tall tree nearby. "Can do." With that, the dragon ran over to the tree, and  using his claws, scaled up the trunk with speed and agility that'd make a squirrel jealous.

Once at the very tip-top of the tree, Spike began to scan the area like a sailor at sea.

"SEE ANYTHING?" called Twilight.

"NOT YET!" replied Spike "JUST A WHOLE LOT OF TRE- wait a minute- YES, I THINK I DO SEE SOMETHING!"

"WHAT IS IT?" called Alex.

"A BARN! A BIG RED BARN, ON A FAR OFF HILL!"

Twilight and Alex quickly looked at one another simultaneously. "'Big Red Barn?' That can only be Sweet Apple Acres!" exclaimed Twilight.

Alex nodded. "Which means your friend Applejack isn't far away, and can point us in the right direction."

Twilight smiled, squealing with joy as she pranced around in place. "THANK CELESTIA!"

Alex looked back up the tree. "SPIKE, WHICH WAY IS THE BARN?"

"THAT WAY!" answered Spike, pointing Northwest.

"UH, SPIKE? WE CAN'T REALLY SEE YOU," said Twilight "WHY DON'T YOU JUST MOVE FROM TREE-TO-TREE, AND WE'LL FOLLOW THE SOUND OF YOUR VOICE."

"OKAY!" Spike proceeded to leap from treetop- o treetop, rustling leaves, and whooping and hollering with each jump. Needless to say, Twilight and Alex had an easy time following Spike, and Twilight finally calmed down, content that things would turn out alright real soon.

As they trotted along, Twilight looked at Alex and spoke. "Alex, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For freaking out like I did back there." replied Twilight. "I…have this problem. I like things to be neat and orderly, and when things go wrong…I lose my mind, and overreact."

Alex gave Twilight a warm smile. "It's okay. None of us are perfect."

"Yes, but that's just it: I WANT to be perfect!" exclaimed Twilight. "Perfection is at the top of my list of priorities - which is a real list, by the way."

Alex exhaled sharply. "Twilight, nopony is perfect. Why, I bet even Princess Celestia has made a few mistakes in her lifetime."

Twilight pondered this. "I want to argue that fact…but the Princess has expressed regret and shame over having to banish her sister to the moon one thousand years ago."

"See? Not even Celestia is omniscient. We can all TRY and be perfect ponies with perfect lives, but we would have an easier time catching all the stars in Luna's sky than being perfect." Alex then sighed sharply, a frown on his face. "Least…that's what my mom keeps telling me: "Be the best you can be, even if your best isn't the Best."

Twilight looked forward, thinking about what Alex had just said. "What you say makes sense, but I'm not sure if I can be that way. I've been such an overachiever for so long, I don't think I can behave any other way."

"Are you willing to try?"

Twilight looked back at Alex. "Yeah…"

"Then, I'd say you are doing okay," said Alex with a smile.

Twilight looked away, blushing slightly. "thanks. Oh, and by the way, where did you learn to be so good with directions?"

Alex smirked. "I lived in Manehattan, which is a concrete jungle. If I can navigate in a metropolis, and learn not to get lost, then I'm not going to get lost in a woodland."

Twilight blushed again. "Right. I should have guessed."

It was about this time that the woods became less dense. lesser trees were present, and a clearing was beginning to come into view. Spike at last leapt down to the ground, joining up with the two ponies. 

"Applejack's farm is only a few miles away, now."

"Yes. I can see the barn from here," said Twilight.

"Then let's head on over there," said Alex. "The sooner we get to Applejack, the sooner we can be on our way to that book signing place."

The three began to walk at a steady pace down the clearing towards the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Halfway down the path, something caught Alex's eye: a tree with a wooden structure built into it. "Hey, what's that?" said Alex

Twilight looked in the direction Alex was motioning to. "Oh, that's the Crusaders Treehouse. It's where they hang out, and plan their next activities."

Alex eyes lit up. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders? You mean Sweetie Belle, and her friends?"

"Mmm-Hmm."

Alex paused for a moment. remembering just how mortified Sweetie Belle was at discovering that he lacked his own mark. and, upon Twilight explaining the CMC's plight, fully understood why she felt that way. He also figured that by now, Sweetie Belle had told her friends Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. And if they were anything like Sweetie Belle, would be just as upset at learning that a full grown pony like himself was a "blank flank."

Alex narrowed his eyes. Then, approached the treehouse.

"Ale-" Alex ignored Twilight for the moment and faced the treehouse, looking up at it. Exhaling sharply, Alex spoke up loudly.

"SWEETIE BELLE?" called Alex at high volume. "IT'S ME, ALEX. ALEX COSMOS? WE MET AT THE CAROUSEL BOUTIQUE."

Alex got no response. In all likelihood, he might be talking to empty air, or, the fillies were ignoring him on purpose. He assumed the worst, and that the Crusaders were giving him the Silent Treatment. So, he continued to speak.

"LOOK, I KNOW WHY YOU RAN AWAY. TWILIGHT TOLD ME. YOU ARE A 'BLANK FLANK', AND SEEING ME WITH NO MARK TERRIFIES YOU. I ASSUME YOUR FRIENDS FEEL THE SAME WAY, SO ALLOW ME TO APOLOGIZE IF I SCARED YOU THREE."

There was still silence, so Alex sighed and continued to speak. "LOOK, I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE DIFFERENT, FOR PONIES TO TEASE, MOCK AND EVEN ABUSE YOU."

Alex brought his voice to a much softer tone. "Maybe…maybe if I was still a colt, we could have been friends. But if you ever feel lonely, and need somepony to talk to about all this, I'm here."

When Alex got only more silence, he exhaled sharply. Defeated, he hung his head low. "I'm sorry, kids. I really am." Alex turned, and began to leave. That's when a small voice spoke up.

"Do you REALLY mean it?"

Alex looked up, and saw that Sweetie Belle was now outside the clubhouse and standing at a guard rail. With her were two other fillies, a golden and yellow earth pony with a cherry red mane, and an orange pegasi with tiny wings and a pink mane. Alex turned back around and looked up at them. Staring right into their eyes, he answered, "Yes."

The three fillies looked at each other. Finally, they each made their way down to the ground, single filed. Once the three were at ground level, they each approached Alex and faced him.

Sweetie Belle was the first to approach the stallion. "I'm sorry for running away from you," said Sweetie Belle, looking down.

Alex smiled. "It's alright, kid. I know why you did."

"I shouldn't have. I mean…you are right, we are the same. And after all the times we've been judged for not having marks, I should have known better." The young unicorn lowered to the ground, her tail covering her legs. "I feel so ashamed."

Twilight and Spike watched as Alex knelt down to the filly, and nuzzled her gently. "It's okay, I forgive you."

Sweetie Belle smiled. Relaxing, she rose back up onto her hooves. Apple Bloom then approached Alex. "Ah' know yer' older an' all…but can we still be friends?"

Alex smiled. "SURE. Why don't you tell me about yourselves. I already know Sweetie Belle likes to sing. How about you?"

Apple Bloom was all too happy to tell her new friend all about herself. "Well, mah' name is Apple Bloom, an' Ah' like to build and fix things!" Apple Bloom pointed at the treehouse. "See that clubhouse? She was a shabby ol' thang before ah' fixed 'er up."

Alex looked at the treehouse again, and smiled, whistling. "You did all that?!"

Apple Bloom looked down. "Well, not really. Mah' friends helped, but ah' did supervise."

Alex looked down at Scootaloo. "What about you?"

Scootaloo looked down, feeling a bit shy. Eventually, she spoke up. "Um…m-my name is Scootaloo, and I do extreme sports. Skateboards and Scooters being a specialty of mine."

"How good are you?"

"Won Best Junior Athlete Four Years in a Row! I'm going for Five!" exclaimed Scootaloo with pride. She then started to frown. "But…what I Really want to do is fly."

Alex eyed the filly. "You…can't fly?"

Scootaloo looked at her wings, which were the tiniest Alex had ever seen. She began flapping them rapidly, which resembled a hummingbird, but only got a few inches off the ground before collapsing from exhaustion. 

Scootaloo huffed, her eyes getting moist. "Even baby pegasi can fly. I'm TEN, and I still can't fly!"

Scootaloo started to cry, prompting her friends to gather near her and comfort her. Alex then walked over, and laid down beside the filly like a parent would do with its foal. "I assume you've been mocked for more than just your markless flank, then?"

Scootaloo nodded sadly, tears still dripping from her face. forming a small puddle. "They call me. "Chickenloo."

"Who does?"

"Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon," said Apple Bloom, venom in her voice.

"Both their parents are rich, and they think that gives them an excuse to bully other ponies at school!" added Sweetie Belle.

"They pick on us the most." finished Scootaloo.

Alex stared off, frowning. "Well, at least you all have each other. Apart from my mom, I never had anypony to depend on growing up. I was alone, in an cruel, unforgiving world." The three fillies looked right up at Alex, Twilight and Spike also staring. Alex spoke again as he stood up. "I have to go. But, anytime you need to talk to me about anything, my door is always open."

As Alex returned to Twilight and Spike, the Crusaders called out, "Oh, WE WILL!! IT WAS NICE TALKING TO YOU!"

"Say, where do ya' live?" asked Apple Bloom.

"In the new cottage near the Everfree Forest," said Alex. "Just a few miles away from Fluttershy's."

"Oh, okay. Bye!"

"GOODBYE! BYE!" called Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in unison.

Alex, Twilight, and Spike soon departed and resumed their journey towards Applejack's farm. After a few minutes of silence, Twilight spoke up. "That was real sweet of you to talk things out with the Crusaders back there, Alex."

"Yeah, well I know what they're going through."

Twilight frowned. "You were bullied as a foal?"

Alex grimaced as unpleasant memories flashed in his mind. "yeah, I was."

Twilight moved a bit closer to Alex. "Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore. Ponyville is far from perfect, but it's better than most cities in Equestria."

Alex stared off ahead of him. "I hope so, Twilight. That's the whole reason me and my mother came here."

Spike decided to get into the conversation. "So, you used to live in Manehattan?"

"And, Appleloosa. AND, Trottingham. AND, Baltimare. AND, Fillydelphia. AND, Las Pegasu-"

"Celestia Sol! You've lived in every major city in Equestria!" exclaimed Twilight.

Alex cast a glance at Twilight. "Yep."

"So, why'd you leave?" asked Spike, again.

Alex looked nervous at the dragon's question, but answered, nevertheless. "I-we, have had numerous reasons."

Twilight eyed her friend. "Like...?"

Alex exhaled sharply as he began thinking. "M-Manehattan is a nice city, but it was too big, and its pristine image masked a cesspool just riddled with crime, corruption and death. We had to leave."

"What about Trottingham?" said Twilight. "I hear it's a nice place, second to Canterlot itself."

"It's second for a good reason, Twily." said Alex, sternly. "As a living history community, it was nice for me and my mother to live a simple life as if it were 1600 years ago. That is, until the new ruler came along, and made life unbearable. A majority of Trottingham's citizens left in droves, us included."

"Who was this new ruler that made things so bad?" asked Twilight.

"Oh, some stuck-up prince called "Blueblood." Claims to be Celestia's nephew, but I don't see any resemblance."

Both Twilight and Spike grimaced upon hearing that name, which Alex quickly noted. "What's with the goofy faces?"

"We, uhh…know Prince Blueblood," began Twilight. "Well, technically Rarity knows him. He was her date during the last Galloping Gala at Canterlot, and she absolutely hates his guts."

"I'm not surprised. Blueblood was such 'stick-in-the-plot', that the townsponies of Trottingham sang a song about him."

Now, Twilight and Spike's curiosity was piqued. "Do you remember how it goes?" asked Spike.

"Word for word," replied Alex.

"Then, could you maybe sing it to us?" asked Twilight, timidly. "You know, just for laughs."

Alex grinned. "Sure." Alex then clear his throat, and began to sing.

♫Oh, the world will sing of an Equestrian king one thousand years from now. but not because he passed a law, or had a lofty brow.♪

♫While Celestia raises the sun every single Morn. We'll all have to suffer that good-for-nothing Unicorn.♪

♫Incredible as he is inept, whenever the history books are kept, They'll call him: "The Phony King of Equestria."♪

Twilight and Spike made snorting sounds as they tried to contain their laughter.

♫a POX on the PHONY King of Equestria,♪ continued Alex.

Finally, the unicorn and dragon couldn't take it. They burst out in gales of laughter. After several minutes of chuckling and guffawing, Alex continued with his song.

♫He sits alone on that giant throne, pretending he's a King. but, he's a little tyke, whose rather like: a puppet on a string.♪

♫And, he throws an angry tantrum if he doesn't get his way. And then he whines for his mom, while sucking his hoof. (that means: he doesn't want to play.)♪

♫Too late to be known as "Blueblood the First." but he's sure to be known as "Blueblood the WORST.".♪

♫a POX on that PHONY King of Equestria.♪

Twilight and Spike had to stop walking down the trail, as they were both on the ground, tears in their eyes from all their laughter.

"I am so telling Rarity about this song!" exclaimed Twilight.

"ME TOO!" chimed Spike, pounding his fists against the ground.

Alex was amused that he was able to make his new friends laugh. He then clear his throat, and began to finish his song.

♫While he taxes us to pieces, and robs us of our Bread. Princess Celestia's crown, keeps slipping down off his pointed head.♪

♫But, while there is hope in the hearts of all of us. we'll find a way to kick him out, though he may gripe and fuss.♪

♫If we're lucky, then by this afternoon, Celestia will send him, TO. THE. MOON.♪

"HA!! HA!! HAH!!!"

"HEE!! HEE!! HEE!!

♫The breezy, and uneasy King of Equestria.♪

♫The Sniveling, Groveling. Measly, Weasley. Blathering, Jabbering. Gibbering, Jabbering. Blundering, Plotting. Wheeling, Dealing.♪

♫PRINCE BLUEBLOOD that PHONY King of Equestria!♪

At last finished with his song, Alex saw that Twilight and Spike, still laughing, were hugging each other from the intense laughter. They finally recovered enough to stand, and turned to Alex.

"That, was the absolute funniest song I have ever heard," said Twilight, still chuckling.

"Yeah, well Prince Blueblood didn't find it too funny. When he heard it, he threw half the populous in jail."

"And, the other half?" asked Twilight.

"They all left the kingdom."

"Oh," said Twilight. "So, what went wrong in Baltimare?"

Alex exhaled. "Oh, some blue unicorn mare in a wizard costume showed up one day, and set the whole town on fire during a "magic show" 

Twilight had a pretty good idea on who Alex was referring to, but she decided to keep quiet about it.

"What about Las Pegasus?" asked Spike.

Alex grimaced at this. "I'd…rather not discuss that one. Las Pegasus wasn't one of mom's better ideas."

Twilight raised a brow at Alex. "That bad, huh?"

"Manehattan was safer."

"Hmm...okay, then. How about Fillydelphia?" asked Twilight.

"That was the town where I was born,"  Alex murmured. "Me and mom left it after…" He began to trail off, as if distracted.

"Your dad?" said Twilight, making a guess.

"Ye-YEAH! That's it."

Twilight looked at him. "Okay. I won't bring it up, again. So, what about Appleloosa? I'm surprised you didn't decide to live there for good."

"Me and my mom almost did," began Alex. "But, a certain 'conflict' between the Appleloosan ponies and some buffalo natives, convinced us to move someplace 'quieter.'"

"Oh, that," said Twilight, remembering her last trip to Appleloosa. "Well, don't worry. that conflict was resolved recently."

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, well, I've made my decision: I like it here in Ponyville. So here, is where I am going to stay."

Twilight smiled. "I'm very happy to hear that. I know you'll love it here."

Alex smiled. "Based on all I've seen so far, I have no doubt that I will."

The earth pony then approached Twilight and Spike. "Now, let's quit talking for a while and get on over to Applejack's farm so we can get to that Book Signing, and meet Rainbow Dash."

"Okay. Let's go."

With that, the party of three resumed walking down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, which was now in clear view.