The Cutie Mark Crusaders Reborn

Lightning Rod was in Ponyville park, practicing his keepie uppies, when he spotted Apple Crumble watching him from behind a tree. Smiling he waved at Apple Crumble who backed away into the trees. What is with that foal? Wondered Lightning Rod, stomping over to the tree. "Do you want something?" he snapped.

Apple Crumble looked at him "what was that thing that you were doing?" he asked looking up at the taller colt.

Lightning Rod frowned "I was practicing for hoofball." Apple Crumble looked just as blank. "Don't you know what hoofball is" asked Lightning Rod incredulously. Crumble shook his head slowly.

"No, what is it?"

"Apple Crumble" said Lightning Rod, like he was speaking to a newborn foal "hoofball is where you kick a ball with your hooves and try and get it into the net on the other side. Have you ever played sport before?"

Lightning had meant it to be a rhetorical question,but Apple Crumble scuffed the ground with one hoof and admitted "no"

"What! How could you not of have played sport before!" demanded Lightning Rod, then froze remembering his back leg. "Well that doesn't matter, you don't need a hind leg to play hoofball,you use your front hooves. I can show you if you want."

Apple Crumbles eyes lit up "yes please!"he said, beaming.

  * * * * *

Lightning Rod spent two hours teaching Apple Crumble passes, tackles, kicks and the basic rules of hoofball. He was surprisingly good, almost as quick as he or Pecan Pie [who had gained her mothers speed, and Celestia knows where teleportation.] Because his back left hoof was twisted, his other three legs were strong beyond comparison. Lightning Rod wondered if Rainbow Dash, the strongest mare alive, could win in a hoof wrestling against Apple Crumble.

His weakness was actually obvious, jumping. If Crumble so much as hopped, he would be in unbearable pain in a second. Other than that, he caught onto the game pretty quickly, even managing to keep up with Lightning Rod, who noticed that some colts and fillies were looking at Apple Crumble in awe. Lightning Rod felt a brief spark of jealousy but he pushed it down. I should be happy for Apple Crumble, he thought, he can't do other sports, as most of them, like hoofball include jumping.

As it were, Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash were walking through that very same park. The had just reached the hoofball pitch and they saw fillies and colts gathered around "Hey squirt, what's this all this here whispering about?" Apple Jack asked. The filly pointed at the hoofball field.

Lightning Rod was galloping towards the goal, eyes squinting slightly. Just as he was about to score, Apple Crumble tackled him and took control of the ball. Turning it around, he gave it a good solid kick. It flew into Lightning Rods goals.

"Looks like your son might have some competition there R.D" teased Apple Jack nudging her friends shoulder.

Rainbow Dash frowned. She knew Apple Jack was just teasing, but still. She opened her mouth but was refrained for coming up with a witty comeback when her son shouted "oh look, there's my mom! Bye Crumble!"

Apple Crumble,looking slightly bewildered at his new nickname, waved back and yelled "bye! Hey maybe we can try out for the hoofball training tomorrow together!"

Lightning Rod frowned. I have been training my whole life for this, and he thinks that he can just walk in and instantly get accepted. But aloud he said "okay!Great!" The two mares dragged their colts in separate directions.

* * * * *

"Okay sport! A thousand wing up now!" commanded Rainbow Dash marching forwards and back in front of Lightning Rod. Lightning Rod did it without complaint. It was his big day, and even if he were getting double the usual excersises, it was worth it. "Eighty laps! Lets go!" Lightning Rod ran the eighty laps no problem. "Catch!" his mother yelled throwing a beanie ball high into the air.

There were two types of hoofball. One earth pony hoofball, which is what Lightning Rod played, was on the ground,which was just fine for Lightning, and perfect for unicorns and earth ponies. The other type was where there were ninteen beanie balls thrown up eighteen to ninteen miles straight up into the air. Four ponies had to get as much as they could then pass it to another four ponies, whose job it was to score through hoops. Rainbow Dash believed that Lightning Rod would be able to join the pegasi hoofball once he was older.

Lightning Rod flew as fast as he could, so he could catch it before it went to high and he had a panic attack. "Oh ,and Lightning Rod. One last thing" Lightning turned to look into his mother red eyes "do you want to be on this hoofball team?" Lightning Rod nodded. "Then don't let your friendship with Apple Crumble get in the way of that."

Lightning Rods jaws gaped and he sat up straight. His mother! The element of loyalty, telling him to not let friendship get in the way of his wishes. "But why?" he asked, bewildered.

Rainbow Dash sighed "when me and my friends were saving the crystal empire, we had to entertain the crystal ponies. Me and Fluttershy did jousting. I couldn't go hard on her, but I couldn't go easy or else ponies might think that is my weak spot, or something. In hoofball, the second they see the advantage they use it. Remember what happened to Silver Stone?"

Lightning Rod winced. Crystal Stone was disliked by his school's bullies, but as he was incredibly strong, they could not do a thing to him. So instead they picked a fight with Silver Stone, Crystals younger and a whole lot weaker brother. Silver Stone had a black eye, a concussion and three broken legs before somepony stepped in. Crystal Stone. The bullies went to jail, one of them completely paralysed from the neck down.

Lightning swallowed "you think somepony would do that to Apple Crumble?"

Rainbow sighed "I know they would.Just try to act to him like the others would okay? You can explain everything to him later."

* * * * *

"Okay" Coach Snails looked at his clipboard "Lightning Rod, Silver Moon, Cracked Marble and Night Fury, team A. Team B, Apple Crumble, Silver Bearing,Bread Loaf and Sun Stream.Ready?Okay, go!"

Lightning Rod got the ball first and was making his way down to the other opponents goal, when Apple Crumble stole the ball from him. Spinning on his one good backhoof, he turned the ball around and gave it a quick kick, sending it straight into the goal.

Lightning Rod twisted his face. He could not let that happen again. Team A got the ball first, since Team B scored. Again Apple Crumble tried to steal the ball, but this time Lightning Rod put his hoof down on his tail,causing him to stumble. Ligthning Rod scored. In revenge, Apple Crumble nipped him on the ear to make him lose his concentration.

It went back and forth like this, until the last few minutes, where all of Lightning Rods pent of rage unleashed and he hit one of his legs to knock Apple Crumble over. The back right leg. In seconds, Apple Crumble was on the grass, howling in agony. Lightning Rod backed up, ears flat against his head in horror. He stared at his screaming friend with dilated pupils. He had gone to far.

Coach Snails galloped over and talked into a microphone on his ear. In seconds, Nurse Redheart and her assistant were loading Apple Crumble up into an ambulance carriage. Lightning Rod sat still in shock and horror. He became aware of his mother, whispering comforting words in his ear. Lightning Rod wasn't listening. He didn't care anymore about his mother. He only cared about his friend

* * * * *

Lightning Rod was sitting in the waiting area dejected,listening to Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash talking.

"It's my fault, I told him not to go easy on Apple Crumble."

"It's not your fault Sugarcube, Apple Crumble could of have just ignored it or asked what he was doing."

"He had no idea! Oh A.J I am so sorry...."

The other Cutie Mark Crusaders burst through. "We heard the news. Is Apple Crumble alright?" asked Sunbeam concerned. Lightning Rod hung his head.

"He's fine" Rainbow Dash answered for her son, shooting him a sympathetic glance. "He's not hurt just in shock."

Nurse Redheart walked through into the waiting room. "Apple Crumble is going to be alight" she said. The others started talking, so she held up a hoof for silence. "He would like to talk to Lightning Rod alone please."

* * * * *

"Hey, Crumble" said Lightning Rod softly, closing the door behind him.

"You don't need to talk to me like I'm made of glass ya know" Apple Crumble responded, flicking through a magazine. "So how did tryouts go after I left?"

"I was chosen" admitted Lightning, thinking how happy he should of have been, instead of guilty.

"That's great! Or-" Crumble frowned "isn't it? Why so sad?"

"Because I cheated!" yelled Lightning Rod, tears brimming his eyes.

"And so did I. I could of just said something in half time but I didn't. This is my fault just as much as it is yours."

"I-Its just that my mother told me that if I wanted to join, I couldn't show weakness, and I was jealous and-"

"Ah so that's were you learned to kick so hard. Jeez if that's your mother, whats your father like?" joked Crumble.

Lightning laughed. "So ou forgive me?" he asked.

Apple Crumble shrugged "nothing to forgive."

Nurse Redheart poked her head out the door. "Lightning Rod, Apple Crumbles family would like to talk to him in private please."

"Okay. Bye, Crumble."

Apple Crumble WAS kind of cool. And since we are the only colts in the CMC, it's best we stick together, thought Lightning Rod

"Bye Lighting" Lightning Rod smiled at the nickname and walked out to join the other CMC. He couldn't wait to tell