The Cutie Mark Crusaders' New Lives

“So, did he say what kind of cutie mark problem his son has?” Scootaloo asked the friend walking to her right. Apple Bloom shrugged slightly.

“Yeah, kind of. He said something about a cutie mark for making ponies happy, but he was really vague about it. Makes sense I guess, if he knew what it was, he wouldn’t need us after all.”

“Well whatever it is, I’m sure we can handle it.” Scootaloo’s head swiveled left to respond to her other friend.

“Of course,” Scootaloo said beaming, “We haven’t failed yet.” They walked for a bit longer before a thought occurred to Scootaloo. “Hey, why haven’t we met this Chip yet? There aren’t any other schools for miles.”

“Apparently, they just moved to town. I hadn’t really seen the stallion before either.” Apple Bloom responded. Scootaloo nodded.

“Ah, ok.” Looking up she saw a house at the end of the block that looked right. “Hey is that it?” It was a fairly unassuming place with a soft white paint job, the yard was well taken care of compared to the neighboring houses, and childrens’ toys were scattered on the lawn. The was a cart out front with a bundle of blankets piled in the back.

“Yup, looks like it.” Apple Bloom confirmed. The three of them strode up to the front door and did their best to look professional as Scootaloo knocked on the door. The neighborhood was oddly empty for this time of day, but given that there were only a few other houses the girls doubted it ever got very lively here. There was a short pause before the girls heard hoofsteps approach the door. It was answered by a gentle looking white earth pony.

“Oh, you must be the crusaders. Wonderful! My name is Tinker and my little one is with his mother buying groceries at the moment, but you are welcome to come in for a snack while you wait for him.” He looked nice enough, and he gave them a warm smile.

“Oh, don’t mind if we do.” Scootaloo said with a grin. She’d skipped breakfast to go on a morning job with Rainbow Dash. Tinker gestured for the to follow him into the house, and led them down a long entry hallway past a door that seemed to lead into the ground floor bedroom. He stopped by the dinner table in the house’s small dining room, and pulled out a chair for Sweetie Belle who politely smiled in thanks.

The other girls all took their seats. Their host stepped into the next room to grab them a bite to eat, and the girls made themselves comfortable. As they waited for Tinker to come back with their snacks a thought crossed Scootaloo’s mind. She leaned in to whisper to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

“Does anything seem odd to you about the walk over here?”

“What do you mean?” Sweetie asked.

“We didn’t see anypony for the last few blocks. I thought maybe everyone was just inside, but thinking back, I don’t think the yards were taken care of. If you have a foal, why would you move to a mostly empty part of town.” Scootaloo’s brow scrunched up in thought. “Come to think of it, how did he even hear about us if he just moved into town?” What had started with her just being curious about some odd things she’d noticed was actually starting to scare Scootaloo. Did anypony even know they were here? She’d told her parents she was going to go help a colt, but she suddenly couldn’t remember if she’d mentioned where.

“Maybe he specifically asked if there was somepony in town that could help him.” Sweetie Belle suggested, snapping Scootaloo’s attention back to her own question. “If his son has been having trouble for a while then it makes sense that he’d be looking for a solution.”

“My little Dip is going to be so pleased to meet the three of you.” Tinker said as he laid out some juice and a bowl of chips onto the table, the same kind smile on his face. The girls jumped, they’d been caught up in their whispered conversation and hadn’t heard him reenter the room.

“Dip? I thought your son’s name was Chip?” Sweetie asked, suddenly sharing Scootaloo’s discomfort. There was a slight pause before he responded.

“That’s what I said little filly. Now you three drink your juice, he’ll be home soon.” The stallion’s soft smile never left his face, but to the girls it was beginning to look wrong, artificial.

Apple Blooms heart was racing by this point. She looked to either side of her to fine the other girls shared her same uncomfortable expression. Something was not right here. “Hey listen Mr. Tinker, we really didn’t mean to pop in on you when you were home alone. We can come back later if we’re bothering you.”

“Oh, it’s no bother they’ll be back in around a half an hour, now drink up.” He responded, his eyes flicking between the girls and the drinks he’s poured them. Apple Bloom pushed her drink towards the middle of the table and stood.

“Well see about that, I forgot that I was supposed to do chores with my sister Applejack in about an hour, and my friends promised to help me. So, we won’t have time to help your son by the time he gets back.” Tinker’s eyebrows furrowed briefly, but his expression popped back into place as he nodded.

“I understand, another day then. Let me walk you three to the door.” Tinker turned towards the hallway leading back outside, and gestured for the girls to follow.

“Thank you for the snacks and everything. We’re sorry we have to up and leave like this, but sis’ll be mad that I forgot my chores.” Apple Bloom chuckled nervously as she led the group back to the front door.

“Oh, it’s alright. I understand how older siblings can be.” Tinker responded, his now familiar smile seeming just a bit strained.

As they walked down the hallway and crossed by the door to the bedroom two figures leapt out from inside the door, a brown stallion tackling Sweetie Belle and a black one pinning down Scootaloo. Before Apple Bloom had a chance to respond, Tinker had crossed the gap of the hallway and knocked her to the ground.

“Get off me! Help! Helmmphf!” Sweetie’s attempts to scream were cut off as the stallion holding her covered her mouth with his hoof. Sweetie Belle tried to bite down on the hoof but it did nothing but make her teeth hurt. Apple Bloom had her face shoved into the floor, and her forehooves yanked uncomfortably behind her. She attempted to pull them back in front of her, but the stallion was too strong, and soon her hooves were tied together. She opened her mouth to scream like Sweetie Belle had, but as she did so a white cloth was stuffed over her nose and mouth, with a strong smell to it. Immediately her head and eyesight went hazy. The same thing was happening to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle thrashed around, trying to throw the stallion on top of her of, but his grip was too strong. Her efforts slowly weakened as her vision began to darken. Just as she was losing consciousness, her attacker leaned down to her ear.

“Just go to sleep, that’s it. We’re going to have so much fun when you wake up.”