The Fight For the Flag
CHAPTER 1
“...I’m tellin’ ya girls, it’s a great idea!”
“I dunno Applebloom,” Scootaloo mumbled doubtfully. “What would a cutie mark for making money off of lawsuits even look like?”
“Does it matter?” Applebloom replied.
Scootaloo pondered this for a few moments, then realized the others weren’t waiting, and caught up.
“It just seems a bit...odd to me. Unhonest and all that. You should know, your sister’s Applejack, after all.” said Scootaloo.
“Honesty, shmonesty, it’s a cutie mark, right?” she explained.
“Sure is! Hey, Applebloom, look out!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
Walking backwards, Applebloom couldn’t see where she was going, and naturally didn’t see the three young colts that walked up behind her.
“Oof!” she yelped, as she ran into the lead one. “Sorry about that! I wasn’t lookin’.”
“It’s fine I shoulda moved, I could actually see,” the lead one replied with a chuckle. He was a orange colored earth pony, with a ginger mane. The two that followed were a forest-green pegasus, with almost the same color mane, but slightly darker, and a yellow unicorn, with a light blue mane. Upon further inspection, Applebloom noticed none of them had cutie marks.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you ‘round here before,” she inquired.
“Doesn’t surprise me,” said Orange-Colt. “According to a population count, there should be over 1000 ponies in Ponyville.”
“Woah,” Sweetie Belle said, taken aback.
“Yeah, but that’s not important, we’re new here anyway. We just came over from Manehattan, so you wouldn’t know us anyway. What’re your names?” Green-Colt asked.
“I’m Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie Belle introduced herself with a flourish.
“I’m Scootaloo!” Scootaloo said with a hoof-punch.
“And I’m Applebloom,” Applebloom said, rather normally, “What’re your names?
The lead one went first. “I’m Gavotte”
“My name’s Looby Loo,” said the pegasus.
“And I’m Shenandoah,” the unicorn said.
Sweetie Belle started laughing silently. Scootaloo hit her to shut her up, but she couldn’t stop.
“Hey, now, what’s so funny about our names?!” Gavotte said indignantly.
Sweetie Belle tried to regain herself, coughed, and managed, “I’m sorry, it’s just that, you’re all named after old folk songs,” then burst out laughing again.
“Well excuse me if our names aren’t good enough for you! Come on Cutie Mark Crusaders, let’s get outta here.” Gavotte exclaimed.
They started to trot off, but Scootaloo stopped them. “Wait just a minute, you say you’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders? That’s who we are!”
Suddenly, the three colts stopped, and turned around slowly. Their eyes grew huge with astonishment and awe, and they took a few slow steps back towards them.
“Y-you say, you’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders…?”
~~~~~~~~~~~
“I still can’t believe it.” Shenandoah was sitting on one of the stools in Sugarcube Corner, looking into the distance. “What’re the chances that you three are the first three ponies we meet here?”
After the initial meeting, Shenandoah, Gavotte, and Looby Loo explained to the Cutie Mark Crusaders that they were on a trip from Manehattan to visit Ponyville. Babs was still there running the base of operations while they were away. She had always told the three colts of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, how they were, how she used to bully them, even being a blank flank herself, and how they made her start the Cutie Mark Crusaders in their city. But she had never managed to find any pictures of them, so the three had no idea what they looked like.
“Oh, I don’t know, we would’ve met up eventually.” Sweetie Belle said in between sips of milkshake.
Gavotte shrugged. “So what were you up to before we came along? Being lawyers or something?”
Applebloom smiled. “No, trying to make money off of lawsuits. It’s a great idea, isn’t it?”
“Hey, that sounds familiar. Didn’t we try that once Looby?”
Looby Loo looked up thoughtfully. “Yeah we did. We tried the theater for having wooden benches. Being uncomfortable during the performances, y’know?”
“Yeah, but we lost, AND we didn’t get cutie marks.” Gavotte was laughing.
They were silent for a while; Applebloom thought of ways they could sue Sugarcube Corner, when suddenly Sweetie Belle asked “So why are you guys down here anyway?”
“Nothing really special; we heard the Equestrian Games are being held in the Crystal Empire. Due to some poor engineering, Ponyville is really the only place you can get there from. And also…” Gavotte stopped at this point and smiled at the others, “...we were planning on trying to get the flag carrying job from the team who has it. We’re not sure who it is, but we know we’ll be better.”
This time it was the three fillies whose eyes’ grew wide. They stared at each other blankly and couldn’t manage to get a word out. The colts, more intent on finishing their milkshakes, didn’t see their expressions, or notice when Applebloom managed to mumble softly “C’mon girls, I think we’ve got something to do…”
~~~~~~~~~~~
“BUT DASH!”
“I’m sorry girls, the rules are the rules!” Rainbow Dash had to raise her voice a bit just to talk over them.
“But it’s not fair!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in pieces.
“There’s nothing I can do! Look, you know how it is, Ms. Harshwhinny will not allow the rules to be altered in any way, and the rules say that the position of carrying the flag can be changed at any time if the current team cannot make the event or is out-performed by opinion of the judge, and I have to give my honest opinion.”
“But--” Scootaloo started.
“But nothing! That’s just how it goes!” Rainbow Dash grew sympathetic. “I wish I could do something, but I can’t be swayed by emotion.”
The Crusaders sighed, “Fine…”
“Listen, go tell the new guys that you’re the chosen team.” Rainbow suggested. “Maybe they’ll forfeit so you can still do it.”
“But I don’t wanna win by default!” Applebloom cried.
“Well it’s that or you make your act better than theirs, so I suggest you get to work.”
“Alright…” The Crusaders mumbled in unison, and left to decide what they would do next.
Rainbow Dash looked out the door at them, watching them trot off despondently. “Eeesh. What an episode.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside, the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to put together a plan. It wasn’t going well.
“We should just tell them what’s happening, it’ll be easier. I mean, we already won that job fair and square!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
Applebloom shook her head. “I don’t like it that way! It don’t seem right.”
“Yeah, we need to win it back right, or maybe Gavotte and the guys won’t look up to us anymore,” Scootaloo said.
“Well, we need to tell them anyway. They’ll know at some point. Best now, and from us.”
On this, they agreed, but there was one problem.
“Er, did any of you catch where they were staying..?” Applebloom asked, embarrassed. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shook their heads. No one had thought to ask the three colts where they would be living.
She shrugged. “Let’s check the town hall, they must have gone there for directions or somethin’.”
(Reader’s note: This is the part where my friend asked me to put him in the story)
Before they could get anywhere, a smart looking stallion bumped into Scootaloo from behind.
“Hey, careful there!” Scootaloo looked annoyed.
“Oh! sorry there little filly.” He was a tall pony, with a light-brown coat, long trench coat and red bow-tie. Sadly, completely devoid of a fez, and still not a ginger. “Hey! You guys wouldn’t have happened to have seen three colts around here would you?” He looked around worriedly.
“Depends. Who are they?” Sweetie Belle inquired.
“Gavotte, Looby Loo, and Shenandoah are their names. Heard of ‘em?”
“Hey!” Applebloom perked up. “We’re lookin’ for them too! We met ‘em earlier, but now they’re gone.”
The stallion deflated. “Ah, well, it’ll be good to have someone to search with. Where are my manners? I’m Kamp de Van, I produce flour and wheat.”
“We’re Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.” Scootaloo introduced them all to keep things short.
“So, how do you know these guys?”Applebloom inquired.
“I brought them here,” Kamp said. “And now I’ve lost them. I turn my back for one second and they dash off!” He looked around worriedly. “My wife’ll kill me if she knows about this…”
“Why would your wife care?”
“Oh, I’m Gavotte’s father. He’s a good little foal, but so headstrong. I just can’t keep after him sometimes.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were a little surprised. “Where were you when you last saw them?”
“Just checking in at the Motel Mane 6. Like I said, turned around and they were gone.”
“That means they couldn’t be at the motel, let’s check Sugarcube Corner. That’s where they were when we left ‘em.” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“Great let’s go!” Kamp trotted off quickly, with the three fillies close behind.
