Multicultural Crusaders

by niightear

Meeting

Scootaloo looked up at the building, unbeknownst of what would be inside it.
What if they don't want to be friends with me? she wondered. What if they discriminate against me? What if-

"Are you worried, my little firefly?"
The changeling looked up at her mother, Firefly†, nodding.
"You don't have to be," Firefly urged, "look at those two," she pointed at a kirin and zebra filly, talking to one another, "go talk to them, why don't'cha?"

With a gentle push, Scootaloo sighed and walked towards the two fillies.
As her mother had stated, one was a kirin, the other a zebra.
The kirin filly had a pink-and-purple curly mane, much like the hippogriff Scootaloo had seen earlier. Pinkie Pie, or something like that?
She was quiet, which confused the changeling for a couple of seconds, before she remembered that kirins had taken a vow of silence, according to her mother's rant about different creatures earlier.

"Mom?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yes, my little firefly?" the adult changeling asked, hovering a picture into the bag of her, her daughter, and her now deceased husband.
"I was just wondering if you could tell me some stuff about other species..." the filly awkwardly scraped her hoof against the floor.
Firefly hovered the bag onto the "table" they had in the middle of the room, thinking for a second before changing into a pink pegasus with a blue mane.
"Well as you know, ponies come in three species. Earth," she shapeshifted her wings away, "unicorn," she shapeshifted a horn onto her head, "and pegasus," the wings reappeared on her back, and the horn disappeared, "some creatures think that only ponies have the magic of friendship, but that's not true."
Turning back into a changeling, she thought some more. "Ooh, kirin!"
Scootaloo tilted her head, confused. "Kirin?"
Firefly nodded, turning into a pony like creature, with a pink, almost white, coat and a blue mane. There were scales trailing down her snout, and she had a strange horn like appendage, that was also scaly.
"Kirin are sort of like... a deer-pony-dragon, I guess," Scootaloo's mother explained, "they have magic like unicorns, and took a vow of silence due to a fight breaking out."
The filly nodded as her mother turned back into a changeling for a few blink-and-you'll-miss-it seconds, before turning into a zebra.
"Zebras all have speaking ticks," she mused, "whether it's rhymes or accents or something else, they all do."
She turned back into a changeling, before saying, "That's all I can think of, and it's getting late anyways. Goodnight, my little firefly."

"Are ya okay?"
Scootaloo snapped into reality with the zebra's words.
"Oh, uh, yeah!" she exclaimed. "Just zoned out. I'm Scootaloo, you?"
"Ah'm Apple Bloom," she said, "an' this' Sweetie Belle... from what ah can tell, at least."
"Wouldn't you have been born after the kirin took their vow of silence?" Scootaloo asked.

The filly quickly scribbled something on a notepad with her horn, showing it to the changeling.
My parents made me take the vow of silence when I was a newborn. They carefully dipped me into the Stream of Silence, so I never learned to talk. I can read and write though, and know sign language! it read, with a little smiley face next to it.

"Sign language?" Scootaloo asked, turning to Apple Bloom.
"Ah've known Sweetie fer a few months and ah have no idea what in tarnation she means," the zebra said, shrugging.
Scribbling something else, Sweetie showed the two. It's something kirin made in order to communicate with each other and other species. It's a lot of signs that means various things. Look at me, for example!
The zebra and changeling looked at their friend as she circled her tail around once.
"Oh, does that mean one? Like, the number?" Scootaloo asked.
Sweetie Belle nodded, silently squeeing.

"All creatures who haven't headed inside should head inside now!" a voice bellowed. The three looked up, and Scootaloo's eyes glowed as she saw...
"Rainbow Dash!"
The chollima smiled and flew down to Scootaloo, giving her a painless noogie. "Hey Scoots. How are you?"
"Good!" she exclaimed. "Have you met Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle yet? They're awesome!"
"I have, in fact." Rainbow chuckled. "Apple Bloom is Applejack's little sister, and Sweetie Belle is Rarity's."
"But Rarity's a dragon, not a kirin." Scootaloo said, confused.
"Didn't your mom say that kirin are basically deer-pony-dragons?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh, right..." the filly murmured.
Accurate, Sweetie quickly scribbled, showing it to Scootaloo.
"Anyways, you three should get inside." Rainbow said, quickly dashing inside.

---

"Scootaloo, you'll share a dorm with Sweetie and Apple Bloom." Twilight said, hovering a paper over to Scootaloo, along with dorm keys.
"But everybody else only has one roommate!" Scootaloo protested.
Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry Scootaloo, but no one wanted a silent roommate except Apple Bloom, and I didn't want you to have no roommate."
The changeling sighed, hovering the paper and keys into her saddlebag. "Okay..."
She had found a strange attraction to Sweetie anyways, so she didn't mind, she'd be fine with being with just Sweetie, but Apple Bloom too?
Sighing, she headed off to her dorm.

---

💗💗💗

"Ah'm bored." Apple Bloom groaned as she collapsed onto her bed.
Sweetie lay on her bed, simply reading a book about something or other.
Calm down AB, she scribbled on a piece of paper, Scootaloo'll be here soon, and then-

"An' then ya can confess to 'er~"
Tumbling off the bed, Sweetie glared at the zebra, the latter of whom simply giggled.
"Calm yer flank, Sweetie. Ah'm not gonna tell 'er," Apple Bloom quickly added, "yet."
The kirin rolled her eyes, before gasping as the door opened, revealing Scootaloo. Her face suddenly felt hot as she saw the style the changeling's mane was in.

"A ponytail, ay Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Shush it Apple Bloom," Scootaloo grumbled, walking past Apple Bloom and flying up to the free top bunk of Sweetie's bed.
"Somepony woke up on the wrong side o' the bed..." Apple Bloom murmured.
"I heard that!"

Author's Note:

Symbols that mean it's transitioning into a different Crusader's POV:
💗 = Sweetie
⚡ = Scootaloo
🎀 = Apple Bloom

Comments

[Comickook]

REALLY good job on this AU spin on the Crusaders' first meeting at the Friendship School. Have to say, I LOVE the imagination that went into this. I particularly liked Scoots' mom's explanation on some of the other species (though she left out a FOURTH pony species - the alicorn (which is a mix of all three of the other pony species) - And I DID like how Sweetie Belle uses writing and sign language to communicate in lie of talking. And I admit I got a few chuckles out of the "dorm room meeting" scene. And I can see Applejack and Rainbow commenting about Scoots and Bloom reminding them "WAY too much of how WE were when we first met."

So, Rarity is a dragon, Rainbow is something called a chollima (which I'm guessing is a hybrid of a Pegasus and an insect, but without the Changelings' ability to change shape), Pinkie Pie is a hippogriff and Applejack is a zebra. I guess Twilight is still a pony (and probably an alicorn at that) and Fluttershy is either a Breezie or a Griffon (and we'll find out which one in the next chapter), though I will admit that I COULD be wrong.

And, hey one thing about Scoots being a Changeling - if she gets enough love, she MIGHT actually gain the strength to truly fly (which I am hoping DOES happen).

At any rate, I'll DEFINITELY be looking forward to more of this, but I am also mature enough to respect that real world matters need to come first and inspiration CAN be hard to come by sometimes.

[niightear]

10106132
Chomillas are actually mythical winged horses too swift to be mounted by mortal men. I felt like it fit Rainbow Dash.
You're right about Applejack and Pinkie Pie, but Twilight's a dragon-pony hybrid (a longma) and I don't know about Flutters yet.
Glad you enjoy though! ^u^

[Comickook]

10106567
Thanks for the mythological note concerning chomillas (so, essentially, a Pegasus, but MUCH faster). And you're right, it IS an excellent fit for Rainbow Dash.

And thanks for the correction concerning Twilight.