The End of the Crusade

by playnwin

Chapter 1 - What Came Before

Chapter 1 - What Came Before

It was the middle of the summer, the peak of the daily temperatures, when anypony with a tiniest bit of sanity stayed inside. Sweet Apple Acres’ cider sales were way up, Sugar Cube Corner’s ice cream sales were through the roof, and conspiracies of the weather being a cruel propaganda campaign by Princess Luna to raise appreciation for the night were spreading like wildfires, along with various wildfires spreading like rumors. Only the foolish or the desperate left the coolness of their homes, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders fit into both categories. They were out crusading, though not on a quest, but for a celebration.

One of the CMC’s founding members had just gotten her cutie mark that day. Bits had been exchanged over this, as this was the event of the decade for Ponyville. The CMC had been so close friends that the entire town couldn’t help but get hyped for the first to happen. Though an unnamed rainbow-hued mare had instigated the betting, many had participated, though the winners had been far fewer than the losers; the Apple family was looking at few more years of their current, ragged barn, and the same polychromatic mare was looking for some side jobs alongside her weather control. That day, Sweetie Belle had received her cutie mark.

She had discovered her propensity for music many years before, during the advent of the Crusaders. She sung during her free time, too shy to do it in front of anyone else, fearing their criticisms. It was only with the help of her friends that she had overcome that, and begun her slow trek towards her destiny.

She had first gone to Fluttershy, who she had learned held a great number of skills, singing being high upon the list. After a bit of convincing, Fluttershy acquiesced, and their lessons began. She went to Fluttershy’s daily, enraptured by the new art form she was learning. She learned plenty from Fluttershy, but she yearned for more; so she went to enlist Twilight Sparkle’s help in the more technical side of music.

Twilight, being the librarian of the town, was ecstatic to help, and brought a cart of books on music theory, resonance, air compression, and various other books related to music, sound, or other various complex physics. Grasping them in her magic, which Rarity had quickly taught her between dress orders, she started a quick orbit around her head, the better to read quickly with. Starting at this complex display of magic, Twilight cast a quick magical aptitude analysis spell, and was surprised to find that Sweetie was extraordinarily talented in magic. A quick discussion later, and Sweetie was attending sessions with both Fluttershy, for music, and Twilight, for magic, ecstatic to the end.

Sweetie enjoyed her tutoring sessions, far more than she had ever school. She began practicing outside of her sessions, often late into the night, going without food, drink, or sleep. She often awoke in her bed with a note from her sister, gently chiding her on her self-care. After months of learning, she had become adept at both fields, with Twilight and Fluttershy beginning to prompt her to let her studies take her on a journey, towards her destiny, and her cutie mark. She had never stopped crusading with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, but they had each come to the realization that their cutie marks were along their own path, and thus they hosted fewer, but more profound crusades.

It was only after months of pushing herself beyond reasonable limits that she discovered what made her special. Late at night, after two straight days of study on classical music and a separate study on the idiosyncrasies of telekinesis, nodding off despite her best efforts, she had swapped a force sigil and a treble clef. Right before she collapsed, she was startled awake by the screeching of a bassoon in her ear. Searching for the offending instrument, the mistake escaped her notice, and she left the room to fall asleep in a comfortable bed, for the first time in months.

The next morning she awoke, earlier than Twilight on one of her study binges, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and began anew. She began casting at the sight of the sigil, and was briefly confused on its position upon her music sheet, but was cut off from her confusion by the blaring of a bassoon.

Quickly amused by this feat of musical magic, Sweetie went on to attempt to play the bassoon through sheer magic alone, failing miserably, waking the entirety of Ponyville, and breaking a not-inconsiderable amount of windows throughout the small town. Rarity burst through the door, expecting some form of disaster, and finding it in the form of a small filly with a wide grin on her face. Scowling, Rarity attempted to right the mess that the musical explosion had left in its wake, before deciding to leave it for another time, then turned to look at Sweetie Belle, who was still beaming at her accomplishment of magic.

Later that day, during lunch at Sugarcube Corner between Rarity and Twilight, the fashionista brought up her displeasure at Sweetie’s magical outburst, surprising the unicorn, who had naturally assumed that it was just another everyday occurrence in Ponyville. Twilight made a note to bring it up during their next session, before returning to her meal.

After their meal, Twilight returned to the library, finding the filly within, eagerly awaiting her mentor. The older unicorn began interrogating Sweetie, about the magic involved, the sigils written, the sheet music, and numerous other aspects, trying her best to recall any precedent., and failing. Sweetie Belle, in all her wonder, had stumbled upon a new field of magic, previously undiscovered by any musician or magician. Briefly she considered the implications of this, then seized the chance to be the first mage to study this. She would need some time to observe, compile statistics, then write her thesis paper. With this in mind, Twilight suggested to the filly that she focus her combined music and magical talents on this.

As time went by, Sweetie learned, conquered, and mastered this art form, astounding even Twilight. Soon, her talents had surpassed the mere magical aspect, and she began to study among various musical legends around Equestria. She learned how to play many instruments, and in the process, learned to form them from pure magic. The lyre from Lyra in her resident Ponyville, the cello from Octavia in Canterlot, even “wubs” from Vinyl Scratch, who came through Canterlot on one of her many tours. Learning each instrument, adding them to her rapidly growing rank of masteries. After numerous months, Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy quietly set up a performance for her in the Canterlot Castle.

Nervous, but determined to prove herself, Sweetie Belle walked upon the stage, trembling and eyes firmly shut. She opened her eyes cautiously once she was in the center, and almost fainted at the sight of so many ponies. It was only the sight of her two friends in the front row that steeled her resolve. Sighing, she shut her eyes again, drew her magic, and began to play. Initially, most of the spectators were confused, a musician with no instrument? Most started visibly once sound began to flow from the air surrounding them, first, a lone instrument, then two, then twenty. An entire orchestra flowed from Sweetie’s horn, surrounding the audience, and enthralling it. Numerous times Sweetie began to doubt herself, her skills, her lack of experience. The she would open her eyes, glance upon her friends once again, then continue, doubts reassured, for the moment at least.

Once she had come to the end of her song, she opened her eyes, panting, and saw her friends cheering for her. Her spirits soared, all self-doubt banished by the mere presence of her true friends. She almost missed their jaws dropping as a light glow appeared briefly behind her, and spun around to find that her destiny had been revealed. At long last, she had her cutie mark, a tri-pointed star eclipsed by an eighth note.

The rest of the day was a blur, whether from excitement or a mild heat stroke. This was why the Cutie Mark Crusaders braved the heat and elements, to celebrate the day that they had all waited so long for, and plan for the days when they could each celebrate a similar achievement.

Author's Note:

Greetings! This is my first swing at a multi-part story, and one that might inspire the feels, and one about the CMC! So, big milestone. I do have a few requests for anyone that might read this.

1. Please pretend I have any idea what music or an instrument is. (I don't.)

2. Please, Please, PLEASE comment below! I would love any critiques, as I want to become a better writer, and that is the best way for me to learn what I did right or what I did wrong.

Comments

[ssssssssssssss]

This is great! But may I ask...is it completed?

[playnwin]

3949111

Thanks for responding! No, it isn't, actually. The prompt is what happens to the CMC after they grow up. Originally, this was just gonna be a small bit of backstory to my main backstory, where all three get cutie marks. But this ended up a bit long, and I felt it deserved its own chapter. Next chapter will be the rest of the backstory, then I plan to get to the "Sad" bits, after they grow up.

[ssssssssssssss]

3949182
It was no problem at all...I'm looking forward to the next chapter!