> The Crusaders of Unity > by Green-Venom > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom Scootaloo Sweetie Belle A young alicorn flew between the tall skyscrapers of Maretropolis, narrowly avoiding buildings, but mainly the magic bolts that were being sent toward her. Despite her best efforts, she was incapable of shortening the distance towards the sky carriage she was chasing. “You’ll never catch me Unity! Now that I got the Desert Diamond, I can build the super-laser, and take over the city.“ Dark Diamond mocked them with an evil laugh, as she looked back at her. “Nobody will dare to oppose me anymore.“ “Is she seriously monologing in the middle of a high-speed chase?“ One of the 3 voices in the alicorn‘s mind asked in disbelief. The voice was known by the name Apple Bloom and was one of the 3 minds that made up Unity, the newest superhero of Maretropolis. The other two voices were Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle respectively, and together they fought against crime, sharing the body of a powerful alicorn they summoned by fusing together into a single body. Well, they only started a few days ago, but those were details. At the moment they were chasing an earthpony by the name of Dark Diamond, who was properly the richest villain of the city, despite her young age, and used her money and status to become even richer or take over the city. Today she was trying to take over the city, having stolen a valuable diamond from a local millionaire in an attempt to use it in one of her many machines. “It appears so, you know how much villains love talking.“ Scootaloo grumbled annoyed. “Can you just blast her already Sweetie Belle? We should be close enough by now…“ “I need a clear line of sight…“ Sweetie Belle replied. “If there were fewer sharp turns, I could take a shot without the risk of hitting a building…“ “We‘re approaching a marketplace. That should be enough space there.“ The Alicorn‘s horn started glowing in a blue magic aura, as the chase transitioned from the tight buildings into a more open area. “Scoot? Fly steady for a moment, I need to aim…“ As the alicorn went into a glide, a magic bolt was sent from the horn, hitting the side of the sky carriage and sending it off course. “What? No!“ Dark Diamond shrieked in rage as the now damaged carriage was sent spinning towards the ground. “My expensive sky carriage! My magic drones!“ She quickly grabbed the Desert Diamond and jumped off, opening her parachute as the carriage crashed into the ground below her, exploding spectacularly. She didn’t get far, however, as the parachute got stuck on a flagpole, preventing her from continuing the chase on hoof. “So… I assume you know how to proceed from here?“ Unity asked with a smirk, hovering in front of the stuck villain, extending her hoof. Dark Diamond proceeded to pout, before handing over the diamond. “Once my lawyers get me out of prison, I’m going to get my revenge and… Are you even listening?!“ She wasn’t. 1 arrested Dark Diamant later… Unity sighted as she landed in a tucked away backstreet, away from any curious eyes. One flash later, the alicorn was replaced by three fillies, all of them looking tired. The first one of them was an orange pegasus, with a purple mane and tail. She was homeless, ever since being separated from her parents, and had lived on the streets until recently. Any attempts to reunite with them had yet to be successful, but she refused to give up. The second filly was a yellow earth pony with a red mane and tail. She used to live with her brother and grandmother on a farm but had moved to the city recently, so she could go to school. At the moment she lived with her sister, who was a busy, but kind mare. The final member of the trio was a white unicorn with a pink and purple mane and tail. She came from a family of nobles, and her sister Rarity owned a successful chain of fashion boutiques all across the city. Despite the differences in social status, the three got along surprisingly well, and after getting their power, this relationship only increased, making them practically inseparable. Happily chatting together, the trio soon arrived at their destination. A tall chainlink fence was located next to a fancy-looking clothes boutique. Scootaloo proceeded to quickly climb over the obstacle with practiced ease, gaining an eye-roll from Apple Bloom. “You know that we could’ve just waited for Sweetie Belle to unlock the gate right?“ “What would be the fun in that?“ The pegasus filly looked back at her friends with a smug grin, as Sweetie Belle retrieved a key from her saddlebag, allowing herself and Apple Bloom inside. Closing the gate to the private alleyway behind them, they proceeded deeper inside, until they reached a closed-off area behind the boutique. Not much could be found here, the area being surprisingly clean, with a trash can standing to one side, and a seemingly abandoned carriage towards the other. It was this carriage that the fillies aimed for, quickly climbing inside. What at first looked like an old transport somepony had left behind, was actually their clubhouse, fitted with everything young fillies needed and more. Additionally, the place also served as Scootaloo‘s temporary place of residence, however long that may be. Sweetie Belle sighed as she dropped into a beanbag. “Good thing that the exhaustion of Unity’s body is split between the three of us… I don’t know how else I would get through the day…“ “You simply sit around too much.“ Scootaloo teased. “If all of us had your condition, Unity would be fat.“ She quickly caught the apple Sweetie Belle threw at her, taking a smug bite. Apple Bloom decided to finally speak up. “Are you really going to fight right now? We finally defeated our first supervillain tonight. That’s a reason to celebrate, not to fight!“ The other fillies looked at each other, before nodding in agreement, copying her grin. Without a further word, the trio bumped hoofs. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Mission Evil Diamond Successful! YAAAY!“ Power Pony Headquarters a few hours later “Did you hear the news?“ The doors of the HQ were slammed open, as Fili-Second stormed inside, coming to a stop in front of her teammates, before tossing the daily newspapers onto the table, revealing the title page to everyone. A good alicorn? New hero, or just another supervillain? Multiple criminals and one supervillain were subdued and handed over to the authorities by a mysterious alicorn who calls herself Unity. An interview with the supervillain Dark Diamond reveals that there has been a standing rivalry between her and this mysterious alicorn. Read more on page 6. “An alicorn!“ Radiance asked in shock. “That usually means bad news…“ “What if they’re good through?“ Saddle Rager suggested carefully. “After Nightmare Moon, Daybreaker, and that other bitch whose name I forgot?“ Mistress Mare-velous shook her head. “Unlikely. For the last thousands of years, alicorns have meant nothing but trouble.“ Masked Matter-Horn didn’t say anything, silently staring at the newspaper in shock, before leaving the room as the rest of the team continued arguing, silently shuffling the wings hidden beneath her suit. > Chapter 1: First meeting > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -6 months earlier- Apple Bloom walked along the sidewalk, her eyes scanning her surroundings, looking in awe at the tall buildings around her. Despite having moved to the city for a good month now, the sight of the urban complex still managed to impress her all over again. As she continued her journey, she noticed a white unicorn filly, wearing an expensive-looking saddlebag. The way she walked had a certain elegance to it, suggesting she was most likely a noble, or at the very least from a rich family. This surprised her, as nobles mostly remained in their own part of the city, rarely leaving. Nevertheless, she ended up ignoring it since it wasn’t her problem. A rumbling of rapidly approaching wheels regained her attention, however, causing her to look up once more. An orange pegasus filly was speeding down the road on her scooter, aiming straight for the unicorn filly. By the time Apple Bloom realized what was going on it was already too late for a warning. The scooter dashed past the unicorn filly, the pegasus ripping the saddlebag from the filly’s back, causing her to stumble in surprise. “Thief!“ she screamed once she realized what was going on. Thinking quickly, Apple Bloom dashed forward, kicking the scooter as it drove past, sending it out of control, the pegasus being sent flying with a multitude of angry curses. Getting back onto her hooves, the orange filly quickly grabbed the saddlebag she’d stolen and went to retrieve her scooter, but reconsidered upon noticing the approach of the other two fillies. The result was a chase down the road, and while the pegasus managed to quickly lose the unicorn filly, Apple Bloom remained hot on her tail, the fitness acquired from working on a farm playing in her favor. In the end, the orange filly still managed to push through, using her natural pegasus speed to leave the apple filly behind, rounding a corner to disappear from sigh. As Apple Bloom caught her breath, trying to think of a plan, the unicorn filly finally caught up. “D-did you get her?“ Apple Bloom shook her head. “Sorry, she was too fast…“ “Well I still appreciate the attempt.“ the other filly finally said after a moment to catch her breath, before offering a hoof shake. “I’m Sweetie Belle, it’s an honor to meet you.“ “Apple Bloom.“ the earth filly replied, with a smile. “Also, it’s not over yet. I think there’s one more chance to catch your mugger.“ Scootaloo carefully peaked around the corner, looking around. Her scooter was still lying on the ground where it had crashed, but nopony else was present. Sneaking over to it, she inspected her most prized possession, when she made a horrifying discovery. One of the wheels was missing, and by the looks of it, it was intended sabotage, and not damage from the crash earlier. Something clattered behind her, and while her brain was still putting two and two together somepony crashed into her, pinning her down, as one of her hoves was forcefully twisted behind her back. “We got you now!“ A second later the saddlebag she had stolen earlier was taken from her, presumably returned to its rightful owner. Scootaloo rested her head on the pavement in misery. “I knew this would happen eventually…“ “What getting caught?“ her captor retorted, while the unicorn filly checked through her saddlebag. “Crime doesn’t pay you know…“ Scootaloo chuckled. “It pays enough to keep your belly filled…“ “She took my sandwich!“ “Anything else?“ The unicorn filly shook her head, looking at Scootaloo. “No, the rest is here… I’m honestly not sure how to proceed from here Apple Bloom, should we call the police?“ “WHAT!?“ Scootaloo suddenly started struggling, and Apple Bloom had to double down on keeping the pegasus filly pinned. “You can’t do that, they’ll send me back! You got your stuff, just leave!“ After a while her struggling calmed down. “I don’t want to go back…“ “Go back? Go back where?“ Scootaloo bit her lip, but choose to remain silent. “Alright then, we’re calling the police!“ “Wait!“ Apple Bloom froze, before looking at the white filly questioningly, waiting for her to continue. “Let me talk to her first.“ Scootaloo lifted her head at that, unsure about the sudden twist in development. The unicorn filly noticed and approached her. “Why did you steal from me?“ Scootaloo continued to remain quiet, looking away. “Okay, this might be the wrong approach. Hey there, I’m Sweetie Belle, may I know your name?“ Scootaloo studied Sweetie Belle‘s face, trying to figure out where she was going with this, but remained quiet. After a while, Sweetie Belle sighed and went to stand up, when Scootaloo finally came to a decision. “Scootaloo… I’m Scootaloo.“ Sweetie Belle smiled. “There we go. It’s nice to meet you Scootaloo.“ Scootaloo merely raised an eyebrow at that, glancing at the earth pony sitting on her back. “Ok, I admit that nice might be pushing it but…“ All of a sudden a carriage came to a slithering halt next to them, and multiple ponies wearing sky-masks to hide their faces jumped out. “That’s her!“ one of them said, pointing at Scootaloo. “Grab her and her friends and load them up!“ Before any of the fillies could react, they were seized by multiple strong hooves and tossed into the back of the carriage. “W-what’s going on? What do they want from us?“ Sweetie Belle was a nervous wreck, huddled up in a ball, silently rocking back and forth. “The Red Viper gang.“ Scootaloo replied with an expressionless face. “They probably want money, I’m late in my pay…“ “You own a gang money?“ Apple Bloom asked, taking a nervous step away from Scootaloo. “For what?“ Scootaloo merely chuckled upon noticing her wariness. “Don‘t worry, I’m not involved in some kind of black market or anything. It’s purely protection money…“ “Protection money?“ “I’m a homeless kid living in the streets without parents or guardians. That usually ends badly, so I made a deal with the local gangster boss. I pay him every month and he ensures that his henchmen leave me alone. That way I can sleep at night without needing to worry about getting mugged or worse.“ “So I’m going to assume that you failed to pay this month?“ Scootaloo nodded. “Pretty much. I usually job for my money, but it wasn’t enough this time. That’s kinda the reason why I tried to mug Sweetie Belle… No offense… That reminds me, you do have cash in there don’t you? I still need to pay off those debts…“ Sweetie Belle frowned. “Why should we help you? “Are you a virgin?“ Sweetie Belle carefully nodded. “Do you wish to remain one?“ Sweetie Belle paled upon understanding the implications and handed her the money. > Chapter 2: The Accident > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom Scootaloo Sweetie Belle “So, who do we got here? Our favorite street filly finally decided to pay us a visit…“ Scootaloo put on her best poker face as she was escorted to the Red Viper’s boss, a muscular stallion whose face and cutie mark were hidden beneath a mask and clothes. Nopony knew his real name and everypony simply called him Crimson after the color of his fur. “I got the money. It hasn’t even been a 24-hour delay, no need to send the entire squad for this, especially for a first-timer… I always paid you on time so far.“ “I don’t make exemptions. If you’re late you get the rough treatment. You’re already privileged, cause normally we beat you into a bloody pulp to drive the point home, but since you have always been following the rules until now I decided to be merciful. Now hoof over the money before I change my mind.“ Scootaloo reached into her pouch and handed over the required bits, hoof shaking slightly. “You get off easy this time… now get out of my sight.“ As she and her friends turn around to leave, Crimson spoke up once more. “No, the unicorn filly one stays here.“ “What? Why?“ “I recognize a noble when I see one. She’ll make for a good ransom.“ “You said you would let us go!“ Apple Bloom protested. “We paid you!“ “The deal only protects miss homeless. Now leave!“ “No!“ Apple Bloom replied stubbornly. “I won’t leave without her!“ “You’re a bucking idiot!“ Scootaloo angrily glared at Apple Bloom, as the door slammed shut behind them, locking them into a small room. Apple Bloom didn’t say anything and an awkward silence quickly formed. Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom looked away, choosing to instead look around the room. Sweetie Belle looked at her two friends, contemplating if she could call them that, considering they only knew each other for an hour or two. In the end, she choose to stick with friends, and spoke the words everypony was thinking. “What now?“ Scootaloo sighed. “There are no windows, so the only way out is the door. The problem is it’s locked and we don’t have any key and busting it open would make too much noise. Good news, they only installed one guard, since we’re fillies, bad news, they found my lockpick.“ She picked up the two broken halves of her lockpick, the tugs having snapped the tool in two earlier. “This thing was expensive…“ she quietly whined, mostly to herself. “Can we fix it somehow?“ Apple Bloom finally spoke up. “Maybe using something in this room or…“ she paused looking around the empty room. “…I don’t know, magic?“ She shot a questioning glance at Sweetie Belle, who bit her lip. “I can try a fusion spell, but I’ve never done it before. Not sure if I even properly remembered the spell honestly…“ The unicorn filly nevertheless picked up the broken lockpick, her magic aura unsurely enveloping the broken pieces. “Well it won’t hurt to try.“ Scootaloo reluctantly agreed. “Even if it‘s unlikely to work, it’s unlikely to have any repercussions either.“ “Come on Sweetie Belle! You got this!“ Apple Bloom silently cheered. Her magic suddenly sparked out, before ignoring the intended target, instead enveloping everything else in the room, which just happened to be the trio of fillies. “Uh… does she still got it?“ “Nope…“ *FLASH!* “What is all this commotion- What in the name of Faust’s beard!?“ *Whack!* The tug didn’t get a chance to continue, as a hoof collided with his face, sending him flying into the opposite wall, where he remained unconscious and probably with a concussion or two. Apple Bloom blinked, slowly lowering her hoof in shock. She had mostly reacted out of shock, never intending to knock someone out cold. Now that she thought about it, how did she even manage to muster the required strength for such a feat? “Alright, who drove that carriage? I feel like a wet macaroni…“ “Scootaloo? Why does your voice sound all weird?“ “Both of your voices sound weird girls.“ Sweetie Belle added, before pausing. “Same can be said about me trough…“ Apple Bloom’s decided to check out the thug who was still lying unconscious at the opposite wall, walking closer and gaining surprised exclamations from both of her friends. “Hey! I’m not doing that!“ “What‘s going on? This is creepy!“ It was then that her eyes fell upon a golden pocket watch, which had fallen out of the tug's pocket. The golden surface of the watch was carefully polished, giving it a highly reflective surface, and could be used as a mirror despite its small size. Apple Bloom frowned as she picked it up, studying both her face and body. “Hey Scootaloo? I think you were wrong about both the spell‘s success and the repercussions…“ The high-crime neighborhood of Maretropolis was a dark place, that even the police avoided. A place where supervillains resided and gangs made the laws. Nopony ever ventures in here... except for the mail, cause the mail has to be delivered, no matter what. Derpy nervously gulped as she approached the worn-down building, once again confirming the address. She was at the right place. *Knock-Knock!* "D-delivery!" The mailmare sad down to calm her trembling hooves down. No reply came. She contemplated knocking again when the door suddenly slammed open and she was dragged inside. The package was forcefully ripped from her hooves, the stallion who had taken it from her frowning as he inspected it. Without a further word, he handed it over to a different stallion who looked at it himself. “Alright, who of you ordered these? This location is supposed to be secret!“ “Moron did.“ one of the henchmen replied. “Yes, I know that they’re a moron, but what is their name?“ “No sir, their name is Moron.“ “Who the buck calls their child Moron?“ The henchmen pointed at an older stallion. “He did sir. Moron Senior.“ The stallion facehoofed. “I knew it! I’m surrounded by Morons!“ He took a deep breath, before looking at Derpy again. “Lock her up with the fillies until we figure out what to do with her.“ The henchmen nodded before she was flanked by two mean-looking stallions, who dragged her off toward the back of the building. Derpy had no choice but to follow. *CRASH!* "What the buck was that?!" One of the stallions pulled a knife upon hearing the sound, cautiously approaching the source. Derpy on the other hoof felt like hiding in a corner, but the second stallion forced her to continue. He too had pulled a weapon. Walking around the corner, they arrived at a broken-down door. An unconscious form lay on the opposite wall, blood staining his body from multiple cuts across his body. One stallion immediately ran over, checking him up. "He's alive." he finally said after a moment of inspecting the injured thug. "He took quite a blow trough, no way the fillies did this. Warn the others we got an intrud-AAARGH!" *CRASH!* Derpy flinched as the thug was suddenly picked up in a magic blue aura, before getting violently slammed into the wall, knocked out cold. The stallion behind her managed a startled scream, before meeting the same fate. Derpy by now had curled up in a ball, hiding in a corner, praying she would make it back home alive. "Hey, are you alright?" Derpy flinched upon hearing the unknown voice, before slowly lifting her head. She flinched again upon coming face to face with an alicorn who was standing over her. "We're Unity and here to help... hold up I know you, aren't you that mailmare? Derpy, correct?" Derpy managed a weak nod before her eyes straightened out and she fainted. > Chapter 3: Power of the mark > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom Scootaloo Sweetie Belle "Seriously Unity? Is that the best you could come up with?" An argument had erupted within the mental space of the freshly named alicorn, and it was heated. "You think of something better on such short notice..." Apple Bloom shot back. "Was a name even necessary in the first place?" "Yes it was!" "Just asking..." Sweetie Belle squeaked, backing down from the subject. The argument was about to continue but got interrupted by the sound of commotion coming closer. "Look, let's just get Derpy out of here and leave for now." "Alright, but this isn't over!" The unconscious pegasus mare was grabbed in the alicorn blue magic, before they smashed out of the nearest window, making a fly for it. "Say Sweetie Belle, how long does this spell last exactly?" The alicorn had delivered the gray pegasus to the nearest post office and was now heading to a location where they would attract less attention. Sweetie Belle turned quiet, but a flash of fear suddenly radiated from her, clearly felt by the other fillies. "Sweetie Belle? You okay?" "I don't think any of us will be girls..." she started carefully, the fear spiking once more. "What do you mean? If you got bad news, spit it!" "I didn't really use a fusion spell in the traditional sense... You see, a fusion spell was designed to put two things together, using magic to hold them together. If the magic is canceled or removed, everything will return to its original state. What I used was more along the lines of a welding, or glue spell, fixing the molecules of things together and altering them using magic. The result doesn't require magic to hold together, and it's a far stronger hold..." "Hold up! Did you just explain to us that we're permanently fused together in fancier words?!" The silence that followed was an answer in itself. "Well, so what? There has to be some kind of reverse spell right?" Scootaloo's voice sounded brave, but the fear radiating from her spoke otherwise. "Well yes, but it was never intended to be used on ponies. There's a high possibility that I fused together our magic cores, so it might be more complicated than that..." "How bad would that scenario be?" Apple Bloom's voice was starting to sound strained, and Unity was gritting her teeth in stress as a result. "Well... if we were to be separated again it would rip apart our magic core and we... die? But hey! On the other hoof, our strength has tripled, which allowed us to kick flank earlier." "Please tell me there's also good news." "Sorry, I got no-" "Girls! I think we got a cutie mark!" "Wait what?!" Unity excitedly swiveled her head around, and indeed there was a flashy mark on her flank, depicting a winged and horned shield, separated into 3 colors, red, purple, and pink respectively. Each color housed its own symbol showcasing a musical note, a lightning bolt, and an apple. "How does that even work?" "No idea, but we got a cutie mark!" "You think we'll keep them once we're ourselves again?" "..." "..." "Maybe? I don't think you can lose a cutie mark right?" "True, but you gotta admit that our circumstances are pretty unique..." "Well if we keep our mark what would it even mean? That we're good at fusing?" "Well if it means we're good at fusing, we're probably also good at defusing right? Hey, cutie mark! Separate us!" *FLASH!* In the luckiest guess since the creation of the superglue, the alicorn was separated back into the three fillies she was created from. Three very miserable fillies, all of them rubbing their heads and groaning in agony and disorientation due to the sudden shift of both body and perspective. "Alright Scootaloo, with this much luck you should invest in the lottery." Sweetie Belle groaned, rubbing her head. "I rather invest in painkillers, my head is killing me." Scootaloo shot back. "Did, did it actually work?" Apple Bloom carefully stood up, looking herself over. The other two fillies did the same. "Wait, our magic cores! Are we going to die!?" Sweetie Belle quickly twisted into panic, before her horn flared up, carefully picking up a nearby rock, spinning it around a few times. Eventually, she calmed down. "No, no I think we're good. My magic is still intact..." "How did that even work? I thought this spell was irreversible?" Apple Bloom finally voiced the question everyone was thinking. "Maybe it's our cutie marks? After all, cutie mark magic is a lot more powerful when compared with traditional magic. In fact, I'm pretty sure we could fuse again without the help of Sweetie Belle's magic." Scootaloo theorized. "You think we're destined to fuse or something?" Apple Bloom asked clear doubt in her voice. "I think it's more likely that the fusion spell was absorbed by our cutie marks, and has become part of it by accident. Our real destiny probably lies somewhere else." Sweetie Belle explained, checking her flank again. The others did the same. Now that they were separated, their cutie marks looked somewhat different. The wings and horn were gone, leaving only the shield. Additionally, every filly had a different colored shield as well as a different symbol. A lighting bolt for Scootaloo, a music note for Sweetie Belle, and an apple for Apple Bloom. "So you're saying we got our marks for something different and the fusing into an alicorn just happens to be a handy power we got alongside it?" Apple Bloom summarized. "Pretty much." "Derpy!" Scootaloo suddenly exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure we got our marks when we saved Derpy!" "So we're good at saving ponies?" Sweetie Belle asked unsurely. "I dare to say we're good at protecting ponies." Scootaloo's excitement was unstoppable now. "After all our marks are shields! Maybe we're even destined to become superheroes like the power ponies. After all, we can turn into an alicorn, doesn't that count as a superpower in a way?" "That's a pretty drastic conclusion Scoot..." Sweetie Belle replied, a thoughtful expression plastered on her face. "But I could see it working out..." "I know right!" the pegasus replied enthusiastically, before pausing. "Did you just call me Scoot?" "Yes? I tend to give my friends nicknames... is that a bad thing?" Scootaloo simply stared at her. "You consider me a friend? I tried to mug you!" "After everything, we just went through? Yes, I would like to see you two as friends..." Sweetie Belle replied with a smile, before pointing at their cutie marks. "Plus, if Unity is destined to become a superhero, then we have to take that step don't you think?" With that, she extended her hoof. "What do you say girls, friends?" The other two fillies unsurely looked at one another, before nodding, extending their own hooves. "Friends!" The trio shared a hoof bump. "Alright, but seriously, are we really going to continue calling ourselves Unity?"