Cutie Mark Crisscross

by Everyday

Chapter Three

Rarity was wrapped up in the sweet embrace of slumber, and she was more than willing to stay there the entire night. However, there was a small foreign sound poking through into her subconscious until she started to stir in her sleep. The sound persisted and the disruption to her sleep reached the point that Rarity shot upright in her bed. She pushed her sleeping mask up off of her eyes and looked around. She tried to focus on the sound, and although she couldn’t identify it, she quickly realized it was coming from down the hall.

Rarity gingerly scooted herself from underneath her covers and made her way down the hall. As she got closer, it became apparent that the sound was coming from the guest room Sweetie Belle was staying in. She raised a hoof to the door but faltered. Caught between how impolite it would be to look inside and a growing concern for her sister’s well being, she struggled to press her hoof against the door and slowly push it.

She opened the door just enough to peek an eye through.

Sweetie Belle fumed and turned onto her stomach, the springs in the mattress squeaking in protest. She flipped herself over onto her back, only to find her wings making the position awkward and uncomfortable. She groaned and tried to turn to her side, flipping back and forth as she struggled to find a position even remotely conducive to falling asleep. A nearby pillow dampened the sound of her next groan as she pressed it against her face.

Rarity pulled away from the door and bit her lip. The sight of her little sister in such distress troubled her to no end, but she had no experience with this sort of thing. She had no advice to offer. It’s not as if she had ever taken the time to learn the sleeping practices of pegasi.

She stood outside the room, unsure of how she might be able to help, with the sounds of Sweetie Belle’s struggle still leaking through the doorway.

---

Sunlight gently cascaded through Sweetie Belle’s window, its warmth welcoming her to the start of a brand new day.

Sweetie Belle threw a pillow at it in response.

She slowly sat up and heaved a sigh. That was, without a doubt, the worst night of sleep she ever had. Her wings felt stiff and the feathers were a mess. She tried to flex and stretch them a few times, frustration mounting with each failed attempt, until they finally folded against her. The cheerful sound of birds singing outside inspired a scowl from the irritated little filly.

A knock at the front door pulled her glare away from the window. It was far too early for it to be a customer or a friend coming over for a casual visit. Sweetie Belle grumbled as she descended the stairs, the incessant knocking aggravating her more with each passing second. She flung open the door to see her fellow Crusaders leaning against each other for support, their eyes only barely held open from the weight of the bags underneath. Sweetie Belle looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment before speaking.

“You guys, too?” she asked flatly.

“Mmhmm…” they answered, nodding slowly.

“We’ve got to do something.”

“Mmhmm…” They seemed about ready to pass out right there on the doorstep. Stepping apart from each other, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gave their heads a quick shake to help wake themselves up. Sweetie Belle stepped aside to let them in before closing the door behind them.

“So,” Scootaloo said, “what’s the plan?”

“We need somepony who can help us,” Sweetie Belle thought out-loud.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom agreed, “somepony who’s really good at helpin’ other ponies with their problems.”

“Somepony who actually knows Discord.”

“And can make him change us back,” Scootaloo finished.

The Crusaders pondered in silence for a moment, faces scrunched up in thought. Their eyes brightened as their heads all shot up at the same time.

“Twilight!” they said in unison.

The door of the Carousel Boutique burst open as they raced into town, determined smiles driving them forward. Their previous drowsiness was almost entirely forgotten now that they had a plan. They dashed and wove their way through town, past the shops and stands that were starting to open, past the ponies grumbling about their reckless behavior, and past a very confused Granny Smith who hadn’t been paying attention. Nothing could possibly slow them down.

Except perhaps the sight of Pinkie Pie running straight for them.

The Crusaders skidded to a halt to avoid colliding with the panicked pony rapidly approaching.

“Hi, Pinkie Pie—!” Sweetie Belle started.

“Can’t talk!” Pinkie Pie said quickly, “Babies crying!” She zoomed right past them without slowing down.

And then she ran backwards, curiosity replacing the urgency she had a moment ago. Her hooves, however, were moving just as excitedly as before, running in place while she tilted her head at them.

“Y’know,” she said casually, “something’s different about you three. Did you do each other’s manes?” She smiled brightly with her guess.

Apple Bloom pointed to Sweetie Belle’s wings. Sweetie Belle pointed to Scootaloo’s back. Scootaloo pointed to Apple Bloom’s horn.

“Huh,” she said thoughtfully, legs still running impatiently. “I knew it was something.” With that, she once more zoomed off, leaving three confused fillies in her wake.

“O-kay…” Scootaloo said slowly. “…Let’s keep going.” And so the Cutie Mark Crusaders shook off their odd encounter and continued on their journey.

---

Three hooves feverishly knocked on the library door. After a moment, Twilight opened the door with a pleasant smile.

“Good morning—Gah!” Her eyes shot wide at the sight of the Crusaders. “What happened to you three?”

They each drew a long breath in unison. “…Discord.”

Twilight’s expression became as hard as stone. That answer didn’t surprise her in the least. Only Discord would turn his magic on three defenseless little fillies.

“Come inside, girls,” she instructed. “Tell me everything.”

Once they were seated near the center table, the Crusaders began to overlap each other as they told Twilight their story. Twilight’s countenance did not soften a single degree the entire time, with only an occasional nod to prove that she hadn’t spontaneously turned into a statue while they were talking. Their retelling of what happened progressively grew more desperate until they finished, staring at their Princess with pleading eyes.

Twilight seemed somewhere else, though. Her expression had subtly shifted to one of deep consideration; thoughtful and calculating. Her mind was already thinking several steps ahead, trying to account for all of the possible outcomes.

“So?” Sweetie Belle asked gently, breaking Twilight away from her thoughts. “Can you help us?”

Twilight stood up from the table and gave them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, girls—just step back and let me handle this.” Twilight walked herself into the middle of the room while the Crusaders rushed to take a seat near a bookshelf.

Twilight closed her eyes and focused her mind. Immediately, there was a tangible shift in the air, as if a breeze that wasn’t there before had just changed direction. Twilight’s mane and tail began to billow in this magical breeze as it swirled around her, a brilliant light igniting at the tip of her horn. The light suddenly surged and Discord appeared in the center of the room, doubled over in hysterical laughter.

“But they were hidden in her library the entire ti—!” He stopped abruptly as he looked around in confusion, suddenly aware that his setting had changed dramatically. His eyes eventually fell on Twilight, and quickly rolled themselves away. “Again with that summoning spell, Twilight?” he asked in exasperation. “Must I remind you again that you’re supposed to give me a heads-up before you do that? I am putting serious consideration to having a talk with Celestia about your ability to follow simple instructions.” He shook his head slowly. “And while I’m on vacation, no less!”

Discord’s appearance had managed to escape her notice until then. He was wearing a red vacation shirt patterned with tropical flowers. In the grip of his paw he held a sliced-open coconut decorated with a little umbrella and a bendy straw. He leaned forward to look down on her. “I’m sure you got the memo.”

“Discord!” she shot at him. “Did you have something to do with this?” She waved a hoof to the three fillies sitting against a bookshelf.

Discord took a casual sip of his coconut water, smacking his lips before speaking. “I only did it because they asked me to,” he said with a shrug.

“We didn’t ask for this!” Scootaloo said with a sweeping motion.

“Now listen here, Cutie Mark Kerfuffles—”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“—you asked me to make you better ponies, and that is precisely what I did. I might’ve taken a bit of liberty with it, but I’d definitely call this an improvement.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed with growing frustration. “Change them back, Discord,” she said firmly.

Discord turned to face her as he stretched his arm out and let go of his coconut drink. Rather than falling to the ground, however, it simply stayed suspended in the air, as if it had been placed on an invisible shelf.

“You have some nerve, Twilight Sparkle,” he said. “Here I am, trying to enjoy my hard-earned vacation, and you come along out of nowhere to interrupt it, throwing around demands like you’re Celestia herself!” He shook his head in disappointment. “Does that sound like something a friend would do?”

“That isn’t—”

Discord turned away from her and strolled over to the fillies who were exchanging nervous glances. They could see that this wasn’t going the way they had hoped.

“And as for you, Cutie Mark Contaminants—”

“Now you’re just being mean,” Sweetie Belle cut in.

“—I said I’d be back in a week, and that I might change you back then. So far, you’ve given me little reason to do so. Do you realize how much of my vacation time you’ve cost me?” Discord didn’t wait for an answer. He made his way back to the center of the room and indignantly snagged his coconut out of the air. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” With a flash of stars, he was gone.

Twilight and the Crusaders stared at the spot in silence.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Twilight said quickly, reigniting the light in her horn. Another brilliant flash filled the room, but where Twilight expected to see Discord instead floated a small piece of paper. She exchanged a confused glance with the Crusaders.

“What’s it say?” Apple Bloom asked.

Twilight leaned in close and narrowed her eyes at the small print. She read aloud:

Discord is not available.
Please leave a message
after the smoke bomb.

“ ‘Smoke bomb’?” she repeated.

A dull concussive thud resounded throughout the entire library, filling every nook and cranny will thick white smoke. Twilight and the Crusaders shot out through the door, covered in dust and coughing up the white smoke that had invaded their lungs.

“It looks like—” Twilight tried to say before another coughing fit cut her off. “It looks like Discord’s found a way around my summoning spell.” She turned to the little fillies with a heavy heart. “I’m sorry, girls, but I don’t think I can get him to come back unless he wants to.”

The Crusaders hung their heads. With how hopeless their situation was becoming, they couldn’t even bring themselves to look at each other.

---

“Now what do we do?” Scootaloo asked, laying across the floor and staring up at the clubhouse ceiling.

“C’mon, girls, think!” Sweetie Belle said. She was standing in their designated thinking-spot, trying to force inspiration to come. “There’s gotta be something we can do!”

“Oh, what’s the point?” Apple Bloom said, her bow drooping against her head. “We’re gonna be stuck like this ‘til Discord decides to change us back—maybe forever!”

Sweetie Belle seethed. “No, there’s gotta be something else! There’s gotta be somepony out there who can help us.” She squeezed her eyes tight, thinking as hard as she could. Her wings started flapping to punctuate her frustration.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened at the sight. She quickly rolled over and looked at her friends. “What about Fluttershy?”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. “What about her?”

“I don’t know. Aren’t she and Discord, like, penpals or something?”

The idea hung in the air around them.

“…Ya really think she can help?”

“Do you?”

The Crusaders looked at each other in silence. Sweetie Belle was the first to speak.

“I think it’s worth a shot.”

“I’m up for anything at this point,” Scootaloo agreed.

A nod from Apple Bloom set the three running for the door. Sweetie Belle, however, skidded to a stop. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked back at her, confusion written all over their faces.

She gave her two friends a sheepish smile. “Um, how about we don’t use the scooter this time?”

---

Fluttershy was singing quietly to herself as she tended to her flowers. It was such a lovely day, and the rain yesterday made everything seem so fresh and new. The sparse clouds left over from the storm cast the scenery in a soft shade while the sunlight danced around her. A gentle breeze blew through her mane and she leaned into it, savoring the sensation as well as the scent of nature it carried.

It was nice.

Her smile grew a little wider when she saw her three sweet little angels running towards her. They must be so excited.

“Why, hello, girls—” Her lips snapped shut as she was stunned into silence. Her eyes darted back and forth between them as they ran up to her. “What happened to you three?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed through the story of everything they had been through. Fluttershy’s eyes slowly widened as they progressed through their tale. Between the running and their rapid retelling, the Crusaders found themselves panting by the time they were able to finish.

“So, can you help us?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Please?” they all asked together.

Fluttershy’s stiff form relaxed a bit as she looked at the precious little fillies before her. It was clear that they needed her help, and she wasn’t going to let them down. Her eyes were so gentle and affectionate that even the Crusaders were able to regain a bit of faith.

“Of course I’ll help you,” she told them with a nod. “You just leave this to me.”

The Crusaders stepped out of her way as she took a few steps forward. They watched in curious anticipation as she closed her eyes and softly cleared her throat.

“Ahem,” she said gently. “Discord?”

After a moment of nothing, Discord appeared before her with his arms lazily crossed. This time he was wearing navy blue swim trunks that were somehow able to accommodate his tail and a pair of red sunglasses. He lowered his sunglasses and peered over them at her.

“Now, Shutterfly,” he started gently, “you know I’m on vacation, and we agreed that you’d only call on me if it’s an emer—” his gaze shifted from her to the fillies waiting nearby, causing his face to fall in annoyance. “Oh, you three again”—he tossed the sunglasses over his shoulder, where they exploded in midair—“the Cutie Mark Constables.”

Apple Bloom sighed in frustration. “It’s Cutie Mark—!” she stopped abruptly, bringing her hoof to her chin. “Cutie Mark Crusader Constables. Not a bad idea, actually.” She turned back to her friends. “Let’s keep that in mind for later.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.

“Discord,” Fluttershy said, trying to get them back on track, “I want you to change them back, please.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Oh, not you, too. Why is everypony trying to make me change them back?” He walked over to the Crusaders and leaned in close to address each of them in turn, starting with Scootaloo.

“You now possess a level of speed and athleticism that was able to impress even your idol, earning you praise and recognition, right?”

“Um—”

He turned to Apple Bloom. “And you now have the ability to contribute to the farm more than you ever could before and even gain some independence, right?”

“Well, y’see—”

He looked over at Sweetie Belle. “And you were able to help your sister in ways you never could have before, gaining her thanks and approval, right?”

“About that—”

“So…” he said, leaning so far forward he met them at eye-level. “What’s the problem?”

The Crusaders were huddled together, leaning away from Discord’s face that felt a little too close for comfort.

“Havin’ all those things is nice,” Apple Bloom began.

“—But we’re not really ourselves, anymore,” Scootaloo added.

“All we really wanted was to make ourselves better,” Sweetie Belle said.

“—Not change who we are,” Apple Bloom finished.

Discord once more followed the conversation with his eyes, arching an eyebrow at them. “That finish-each-other’s-sentences-thing you do; it’s starting to freak me out.” He brought himself back to his full height, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “So you’re telling me you’d rather struggle with having your old bodies than keep what these new bodies have to offer?”

The Crusaders nodded their heads with apologetic pouts.

“Congratulations, little ponies!” Discord beamed.

“Huh?” they asked together.

“You have just learned a valuable life lesson, courtesy of Discord. No need to thank me—the look on your faces is thanks enough!” He smiled down at three very confused looking fillies.

“Huh?” Scootaloo repeated.

“Ya mean ya did all this,” Apple Bloom said with a sweep of her forelimb, “just to teach us a lesson?”

“Well, I had some fun along the way,” Discord answered.

“Why would you do all that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Discord tented his fingers as he thought about his answer. “It’s my understanding that getting a cutie mark is about finding out who you are, not about trying to be something you’re not.”

Apple Bloom scratched at the back of her head. “Yeah, we’ve been hearin’ that a lot lately.”

“I felt that a more practical illustration would get the point across.”

Fluttershy stepped forward. “That was very nice of you, Discord, but they’ve learned their lesson, haven’t you, girls?” The Crusaders nodded to her. “It’s time to change them back.”

Discord rolled his eyes, but when he looked back down at Fluttershy, her eyes began chipping away at his resolve. “Oh, very well,” he said with a snap of his talons. “There.”

Once more, his eardrums were stabbed by a shriek in three-part harmony. He looked down at the panicked orange unicorn, yellow pegasus, and white earth pony before him.

“Discord!” Fluttershy scolded.

“What?” he asked, not even trying to sound innocent. “Is that not how they were before?”

“Discord…” The Stare was starting to push against the back of her eyes.

“Fine-fine-fine,” he said quickly, snapping his talons once more.

Scootaloo turned to look at her back and broke into an uncontainable grin at the sight of her wings. Her wings returned her excitement by buzzing faster than they ever had before. “Oh, I missed you guys so much!” she said to her wings. “I’m never complaining about you again!”

“My horn!” Sweetie Belle cheered, prompting Scootaloo to look up. Sweetie Belle was curled up tight and holding her horn in her hooves. “My worthless, useless—beautiful horn!”

Apple Bloom tackled both of her friends, rolling the trio into a laughing pile of giddiness. “Oh, I’ve never been so happy to be such a wimpy earth pony.” The Crusaders turned their heads up at the sound of Discord’s slow clapping.

“Yes, ponies restored. Lessons learned. Friendships reinforced,” he said with mock enthusiasm. His face flattened as he turned to Fluttershy. “Can I go now?”

“Yes,” she said with a pleasant smile. “Thank you, Discord. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.”

“Finally,” he said, conjuring a new pair of sunglasses in his paw. “After a thousand years of being trapped in stone I am desperately due for a good tanning session.” He donned his new sunglasses and disappeared into a flash of stars.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed to Fluttershy and hopped around her quickly.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” they kept saying while Fluttershy struggled to keep track of them.

“Girls, girls,” she said with a gentle smile, trying to get them under control. They stopped their bouncing and lined themselves up in front of her. Fluttershy looked down at the bright eyes of her precious little angels, at their smiles filled to the brim with gratitude and admiration, and she found herself blinking more than usual.

“You’re welcome.”

Comments

[PresentPerfect]

Man, you write a good Discord. :3 Smoke bomb!

[Emptybee]

“Huh,” she said thoughtfully, legs still running impatiently. “I knew it was something.” With that, she once more zoomed off, leaving three confused fillies in her wake.

She came, she saw, she shrugged. Now that's how you stick Pinkie in your story without going overboard.

Discord once more followed the conversation with his eyes, arching an eyebrow at them. “That finish-each-other’s-sentences-thing you do; it’s starting to freak me out.

The Crusaders managed to weird out Discord. Good job girlss

[Everyday]

5260343

Pinkie Pie isn't always hyperactive or insanely random. Sometimes, she's just a bit of an oddball. Thank you for the praise.

And if anyone can weird out Discord, it could only be the Crusaders.