Cutie Mark Crusaders
Scootaloo sat at a table outside a small cafe, idly fidgeting with the salt shaker. It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon, and her first day off since coming to Canterlot. The wooden table was shaded by a large umbrella, and the light breeze made the day just perfect.
"Excuse me, ma'am," a young waiter asked, approaching her table. "Are you ready to order?"
Scootaloo glanced at the empty seat across from her and frowned, thinking, He's late.
"Or would you rather wait?" the waiter asked, noticing the look.
Scootaloo shook her head. "He'll be here soon. I'll have a daisy sandwich. Large order of hay fries for him, extra crispy. And two lemonades, please."
"Coming right up," the waiter answered with a polite smile.
Scootaloo went back to fidgeting with the salt shaker, but didn't have to wait much longer. "Hey, Scootaloo!" A purple dragon circled around into view.
"Hi Spike," she answered.
Spike had grown some since the last time she'd seen him, and was now a bit taller than most ponies. He was less awkward than she would have expected, having seen him go through a magical growth spurt when they were young. This time around he'd grown at a natural pace, and had avoided the gangly limbs.
"Sorry I'm late," Spike said after taking the seat opposite her.
"It's fine. Good to see you again."
"Yeah. It's been a while," Spike agreed.
"How have things been since the move?" Scootaloo asked. A year or so earlier, Spike and Twilight had moved to Canterlot. Twilight, being part of the court not only through her brother's marriage, but as a princess by her own merit, had been taking on more responsibility in the past few years.
They weren't the only one's who had moved to Canterlot. Rainbow Dash had her own place there, though she usually prefered Ponyville in the off season. Rarity had set up a new boutique and made a name for herself with the help of some of her associates, particularly Fancypants. Sweetie Belle had gone too, eager for the chance to see more of Canterlot. Of course they still made time to visit their friends and family in Ponyville when they could.
Spike happily talked about the work he'd helped with and the ponies he'd met since moving to Canterlot. After the food arrived, he asked about Scootaloo's first week at the school, laughing and wincing in all the appropriate places as she talked about Coach Thunderhead and her new friends.
"So, have you heard anything from..." Spike struggled to find the right words. "them?" he finished lamely.
Scootaloo knew who he meant. He'd been part of the group that had sided with Discord. The five of them hadn't been very good friends, but she could understand his curiosity.
"I haven't heard from Gilda for a while. I think Trixie is in Las Pegasus, putting on shows. They're both doing fine, as far as I know. Diamond Tiara is still in Ponyville. She has a new coltfriend, somepony named Nimbus."
"Good for her," Spike said half heartedly. "How are Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, AJ, and Applebloom doing?"
"Same as usual. Pinkie's planning some kind of partnership with the Flim Flam brothers. Some kind of automated, traveling party machine."
"Scary," Spike said seriously.
Scootaloo nodded before sighing. "Applebloom still doesn't talk to me much." As she said it she imagined a tingling itch on her flanks. "Guess I can't blame her."
Spike frowned. "It's not your—" he cut off at a glare from Scootaloo. "Okay, okay. It's your fault, but still. They didn't do anything to help, and two years is a long time to hold a grudge. Maybe the three of you should sit down and talk about it?"
Scootaloo's glare faded and she sighed. "Maybe."
"Oh," Spike said, eyes brightening. "I just remembered. Speaking of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, have you heard about the new group popping up in Canterlot?"
"Uh, no. Why? What does it have to do with them?"
"Nothing, really. It's just, they call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
Scootaloo arched an eyebrow before giggling. "Really? What, is it, Canterlot's own group of blank flanks?"
Spike shook his head, "They're mostly older ponies, between our age and Twilight's."
"So why do they call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
"I dunno. They're pretty new, I've only heard them mentioned here and there. The princess asked Twilight to look into them, but she hasn't found anything yet."
Scootaloo giggled again, and on that lighter note they continued their lunch.
*****
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Thistleroot asked, levitating a book onto a nearby shelf and picking up another. "Yeah, I've heard of them. A couple students talk about it, it's some kind of activist group." The stood in the campus library. Thistleroot had volunteered to help organize and shelf an order of new books.
"Activist group?" Scootaloo had been thinking of the Crusaders as a club. Activists sounded more serious. Or maybe he meant like hippies, holding peace rallies and braiding flowers together to wear.
"Yeah," Thistleroot said, checking the spine of another book. He paused, blinking once. "At least, I think they're activists. They might have been progressivists. Or were they cultists? Eh, it was one of those ists words." He slid the book into position and levitated a new one from the pile. "Why do you ask?"
"A friend told me about them the other day. I used to be in a club called the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"You were a cultist?"
"What? No, it was just a club. We had a tree house and everything, where we tried to find our special talents."
Thistleroot glanced back at her, eyes darting toward her flank for a moment. "Out of curiosity, what is your special talent?"
Scootaloo gave a mental groan. She'd been expecting the question sooner or later. "I was a real heartbreaker back in school," she said with a playful wink, mentally wincing at how forced it sounded.
Thistleroot tilted his head forward, eyebrow raised skeptically. "And you discovered that talent in a treehouse with your friends?"
"Huh?" Scootaloo blinked.
"Okay," Thistleroot said, drawing the word out as he turned back to the books.
"Well what about you?" Scootaloo asked, pointing to a single vine curved into a long S on his flank.
"I've always been good with plant based magic. Making them grow and stuff." He worked in silence for a minute before saying, “If you’re curious about them, why not go to a meeting?”
“Do you think I can? Just go uninvited?”
Thistleroot shrugged. “Sure. They’re a public group, not some kind of secret organization. Unless they’re a cult, then it might be a problem.”
“They aren’t a cult,” Scootaloo assured him, rolling her eyes.
“I’ll ask around, see if I can’t find out where they’re meeting.”
*****
“So, why exactly am I here?” Thistleroot asked as they trotted down the street.
“Because we’re curious about the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
“No, you’re curious. I’d rather be at home asleep.”
“Toughen up. It’s barely ten.”
Thistleroot turned off the street and onto a paved path surrounded by trees.
“This is where they’re meeting? It looks like somepony’s house,” Scootaloo said, looking up at the three story building ahead of them. The yard it stood on was just as big, and sloped up to the house from the main road. The word manor came to mind.
“Yeah,” Thistleroot agreed, checking his notes again. “I’m pretty sure this is it, though. Unless they gave me the wrong address. Does this look like a one, or a seven to you? Or maybe it’s a two.”
“Ugh,” Scootaloo groaned in frustration. “Maybe we should head back.”
“Oh, or we can ask them for directions,” Thistleroot said, pointing a hoof. Scootaloo looked up to see two Stallions walking along the path ahead. Without thinking she shoved him hard, pushing them both off the path and into the cover of the trees.
“Oww!” Thistleroot complained, landing on his side. “What the hay?”
Scootaloo shushed him and whispered, “This house obviously belongs to some rich bigshot. I don’t want anypony to catch us trespassing or thinking we’re thieves.”
Thistleroot dropped his voice into a whisper of his own, “I don’t think hiding in the bushes will convince anypony of our good intentions.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll just wait till the pass and then sneak out,” Scootaloo said. They fell silent as the two stallions drew closer. Scootaloo couldn’t make out any details in the shadows, except that one was a unicorn and the other a pegasus.
“That should be the last of the Crusaders,” one of them said in a deep, smooth voice. “Keep somepony at the front gate to turn away any late arrivals.”
“Yes sir,” the other answered. “Do you wish me to tell them anything else.”
One of the shadows shook his head. “Only that we have to reschedule.”
“Yes sir,” the second stallion said again as they drew even with Scootaloo and Thistleroot.
The first muttered almost inaudibly, “Why must they make things so difficult, Silver Shield?”
“To keep you in your place, I daresay,” the one called Silver Shield answered.
The first sighed, “Maybe I should have held the meeting anyway, just to see how they handled it.”
Silver Shield laughed and said something more, but they’d drawn too far away for Scootaloo to make out all the words.
“Ha, I was right, it was a seven,” Thistleroot whispered. Scootaloo nodded. They’d clearly come to the right place.
“I guess we should come back another time,” Scootaloo said. With a nod of agreement, Thistleroot took the lead through the dark trees and bushes.
They traveled silently for a few moments as Scootaloo thought over the conversation they’d heard. It sounded like the unicorn’s boss had called him in for overtime, or something like that. She frowned. Something didn’t feel quite right.
“They’re coming back.”
Scootaloo froze as the two stallions came into view ahead. She shook her head, they weren’t the same. The pegasus had stayed behind, and another unicorn had taken his place.
“With all due respect,” the deep voiced unicorn from before said, “these meetings are very important.”
The new unicorn made a dismissive noise, and Scootaloo realized it was a mare. “Not as important as you seem to think, Mr. Shine. Tell me, how have things been progressing with your little princess?”
“Bah,” he spat. “Twilight is a lost cause. We’re better off forgetting about her, or better, getting her out of the way early.”
“No,” the mare said. “Something that overt this early would ruin everything.”
Scootaloo blinked slowly as the ponies once again passed.
“Scootaloo? Where are you going?” Thistleroot hissed as she started toward the house. She kept walking. A few seconds later she heard Thistleroot clumsily rushing through the trees to keep up.
“Scootaloo?”
“Princess Celestia wanted Twilight to look into the Crusaders. If they were some harmless group, the princess wouldn’t waste the resources. With the school expanding, she can’t afford to go investigating every club that pops up.”
“Twilight?” He blinked, looking up to the house. “Wait, were they talking about Twilight Sparkle? Like, the saved the world, Element of Magic, Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle? You actually know her?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo whispered. “And it sounds like she’s in danger.”
“Then that’s even more reason for us to not be here.” Scootaloo ignored him and kept walking. “If we leave now, we can tell Princess Twilight and the Princess Celestia what we heard.”
Scootaloo frowned. It was a good point. “You go back, I just want to take a look around. If anypony sees me I’ll bolt.” She gave her wings a little stretch as she said it.
The house seemed bigger up close, looming over her like a creature from the Everfree forest, waiting to pounce. She crept closer, bent low to the ground, eyes scanning the grounds around her.
“There’s a window over there.”
She bucked at the source of the voice behind her, wings coming up on instinct. Her back hoof connected with something soft and a weight hit the ground. She realized the voice had been Thistleroot’s and turned back to glare. “Don’t scare me like that!”
“Won’t happen again,” he said weakly, clutching his snout.
“I thought you were going back.”
“And try to get past that Silver Shield guy by myself? No thanks.”
“Why not just teleport out?” Scootaloo whispered as she started toward the house again.
“Ha, good one,” Thistleroot laughed quietly. She glanced back at him and he frowned. “Wow, you’re serious. What do I look like, the pony god of magic? Teleporting is hard stuff.”
Scootaloo shook her head as they reached the wall of the house and skirted around to the window Thistleroot had pointed out. The room beyond was dimly lit and empty, a spare bedroom.
They continued circling the house, looking into several empty rooms to no avail.
“What’s that down there?” Thistleroot asked, pointing to a bar of light at ground level ahead of them.
“A basement window, I think.” The two ponies crept stealthily toward it. The window was only a few inches high and looked down into a room full of ponies. The light was coming from a circle of candles around the group. All the ponies wore similar blue robes, and stood in a perfect circle. At the center was a unicorn mare, wearing Silver robes. She was talking, but they couldn’t make out any words through the glass.
“Huh,” Thistleroot mused. “Look at that. They really are a cult.”
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First. I hate myself now.
A sequel to Discordant? Why was I not informed!!!
Uh oh. Cults are never a good sign. First it's the chanting and incense, and next thing you know they're trying to take over Equestria and destroy all cutieness anywhere.
Nice chapter!
Dang, just like Dash for Scootaloo to leap into danger like this.
Still I found it interesting that Apple Bloom isn't talking to Scootaloo anymore, I guess she got the Apple Family stubborness.
Once again nice update and great sense of danger for Scootaloo to be involved in and it was just after her first week as a Teacher assistant.
Please do keep up the good work upon such a great storyline like tis one.
Oh so now we get conflict. Hope Scoots isn't dumb enough to join, she already did the whole betraying everypony thing.
Also nice that Rainbow gave her a happy childhood.
Will the original Crusaders be appearing at any point? It'd be great if they all make up, considering it was kind of Sweetie's fault Scootaloo went off her rocker.
1170698
Didn't Spike say AppleBloom had had a grudge for two years? Sounds like something else happened in the ten year time jump.
1170577
Well, clearly, you have been, otherwise you couldn't get to the story.
shot in the dark:
this is a cult dedicated to the downfall of Celestia, possibly trying to raise discord or one of the other villains. They also worship scootaloo for freeing discord, and turning Celestia to stone for a brief period of time.
how much of that made me seem like a complete dumbass?
1170733
Still, Apple Bloom got the Apple family stubborness in her, if she isn't talking talking to Scootaloo after all this time.
Prediction: the Cult hates Cutie Marks and will anything to get rid of them. This'll give scoots mixed feelings. Because, you know... I think we can all agree that Discord raised a good point and Scootaloo especially now has reasons to still agree with the no Cutie Mark idea. Good plot idea, and I have a feeling that this sequel will do a great job of wrapping up that thread, whichever way it panders out.
Also, is that Dusk Shine, like male version of Twilight Dusk shine? Strange things be abrewin' in Equestria. Can't wait to read more.
1170688
the plot chickens
10 theoretical dollars say Silver Spoon is related to this ordeal, and it's related to Diamond Tiara's actions from Discordant.
Yup a cult. every good story needs one, GET ONE TODAY FOR 10% OFF! JUST FOR TODAY!
GOD! THIS IS SO....awesome!
1172172 that picture of yours goes well with your comment
So this is the plot of this story. Hmm. I like it. Do go on
Sequel...a freaking sequel? Yes. Yes! YES! Time to read the sequel to possibly my favorite fimfiction ever!
Edit: Read it, and this is looking good so far. Discordant started a little slow, but this seems faster. Can't wait to see if any old characters sew themselves into the story. And I really like Thistleroot so far!
Woah...... CMC a cult?! MOAR!
But I wanted to see what happened
1: what happened when Scootaloo saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom again after she helped Discord
2: what happened with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom
3: What's Apple Bloom's cutie mark.
Pwease tell me? Pwease? Pwetty Pwease?
1181459
I suspect that the CMC never forgave Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom never got her cutie mark and is in charge of the New Crusaders.
For the element of betrayal, Scootaloo is sure trying hard to do the right thing here. Hooray for guilt and redemption!
SO ummm.... That Spike and Scootaloo huh?.... Uuuuh, Shipping?
.
I kid, I kid Okay not really. anyway, yeah awesomesauce I can't wait to see what happens. Best wishes!
Where is moar? I need most of this!
Great story so far, anyway.
I hope someone picks up that phone,
because I f*cking called it. I have been dying to use that one.
1170946Clearly you haven't dealt with cultists, that's pretty much exactly there usual motivations.
Oooh! Interesting
Is this going to end in Romance with Thistleroot and Scootaloo???
1181459 Read Discordant over again, for some of the answers. As for Apple Bloom's cutie mark, I have my own suspicions, but we'll have to see whether esra decides to take it in that particular direction....
I'm liking the story so far. There's a good amount of material here; I think you've got three different plot routes that you can possibly explore. I'll keep reading!
Also, those Cutie Mark Crusaders are all old enough to have cutie marks, so they must be discontent with them. I can see Scootaloo being unhappy with her cutie mark, but forming a possible rebellion group? Crazy.
Again...........capitalization.........Ponyville not ponyville..........Also "They weren't the only one's that had moved to Canterlot" should be "They aren't the only ones that had moved to Canterlot." There's no need for an apostrophe because there's no possession going on.
I think I know where this might be going...are they rejecting their cutie marks or something?
their friends and family in ponyville when they could
to find our special talents
Do you wish me to tell them
1. Forgot to capitalise.
2. Extra spacing here.
3. Extra spacing here.
5387628
Sadly no Glim-Glam. Although we do get ponies almost as good at Super Villainy. Just none that can tank gods, or bend reality to their whims.