The Crusade is Over

by WingedInferno

Rating: everyone
Tags: Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rarity, Adventure
Length: 1374

When your fate is revealed: does it shape you or do you shape it? When the the crusade for their cutie marks ends, the three little fillies find out what their friendship is really about.

On day of destiny, two of the Cutie Mark Crusaders wake up to find that their day has finally come. What happens when one of them gets left out? When your fate is revealed: does it shape you or do you shape it? When the crusade for their cutie marks ends, the three little fillies find out what their friendship is really about.

Published 2013-03-03 21:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-03 21:50:02 UTC

Morning: Sweetie Belle

Today would be the day, Sweetie Belle was certain. The world was a brand new place and before the sun could even warm her face, she was awake. The little filly was buzzing with excitement for all the ideas that had been bouncing around her head during the night. The foal was a whirlwind as she dashed out of bed, eager to get the first part of the day over with so that she could spill all her ideas before she burst. Leaving her room a mess as per usual, she bounced down the stairs to find her sister had already laid out breakfast on the table. Rarity was tending to something on the stove, the familiar glow of her magic was at work as she hummed some unfamiliar tune to herself. There was no patience on a day like today. The filly snatched up a bit of the toast set out on the table before trying to drag her way out of the room stealthily,

"Ah, ah, ah Sweetie Belle!" Rarity's voice was silk in its correction. The older sister turned to scold the younger on the etiquette of waiting for everyone before starting a meal. Sweetie Belle groaned and rolled her eyes, a pout on her face as she took a seat at the table; making her displeasure evident with the thud of her hindquarters finding the chair. Rarity paid it no mind as she went back to her stirring.

Time went by so slow as Rarity finished preparing the meal; making sure to tend to every little detail. Sweetie Belle convinced that she could have counted all of the blades of grass in Equestria by the time her sister finished with the ritualistic nature of making a meal. Each thing had to be just so. Every napkin tucked just this way. Sweetie Belle thought she was just about to lose all hope when Rarity finally said,

"There." A smile on her face, "I think that's just about everything."

It did look wonderful. Everything was mendaciously placed, but the detail in the work paid off. It was easy to see why her sister had become so popular during her time in Canterlot. Rarity put so much thought into everything she did and while it strained Sweetie Belle's patience; it was an admirable quality. A warm glow of sapphire magic placed a delicious looking plate of food in front of the filly. It seemed a bit squishy and Sweetie Belle wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at,

“It’s a quiche!”

Rarity said, seeing the look of confusion her younger sister wore. Sweetie Belle pursed her lips and tilted her head, poking the thing with a fork. It did smell wonderful. The foal’s rumbling stomach reminded her that the sooner that she ate, the sooner she’d be able to join her friends. Today was going to be a special day. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to gobble the thing hole, but a squeal from Rarity stopped her mid bite,

“How could I forget!”

Before Sweetie Belle could object, her sister was already gone. A blur of movement dashing off to find something else to add to the table. Sweetie Belle groaned, her voice cracking as her face hit the table with a resounding smack.

Morning: Scootaloo

Morning: Scootaloo

The sun was starting to peak its face over the horizon, but Scootaloo had been awake for a while. Looking over the edge of the tree house, she measured the distance to the ground. It was a starring match she'd been having for a while now. More and more often, she found herself losing the nerve to take the small leap down. It didn't hurt much when she hit, but it was the reminder that she hit the ground at all. A near by family of birds had already complained once about the noise in a fit of chattering, but Scootaloo had managed to wave them off with her hoof. The familiar buzz of her little wings moving a mile a minute flashed behind her, the wind felt cool on her fur, but nothing happened. The filly closed her eyes and strained, groaning loudly as she tried to propel herself forward. Still nothing. The buzzing stopped and a sigh filled her as she collapsed, resting her chin on her crossed forelegs.

Looking out towards the horizon, she could see a few rogue clouds ambling their way across the sky. There was an unexpected flash of color. Scootaloo perked up at the familiar sight, a grin forming on her face. Those clouds were history. Scrambling to her feet, she stood tall; craning her neck to see as Rainbow Dash burst into view. In a poof, without a sound, one of the clouds was already gone. Might as well have been frightened away. Scootaloo almost burst out laughing with excitement. The few remaining nimbus' seemed to scrambling in every direction, worried at the destruction of their comrade. In no time though, Rainbow made quick work of the rebellious clouds till only one remained. Scootaloo glanced this way and that, having lost sight of Dash in all the commotion,

"Enjoying the show?"

The raspy, confident voice caught Scootaloo completely off guard. Spinning around, there she was in all her glory. Rainbow Dash hovered over the filly, her wings elegantly keeping her aloft. Scootaloo could only manage a small squeal of excitement Rainbow Dash chuckled and examined her hoof, brushing off a bit of dust,

"You ain't seen nothin' yet."

With a grin, she was gone in a burst of light and air. So quick, Scootaloo barely had time to realize what happened. The steak of color the only way to follow Rainbow's movement. The filly watched in awe, her eyes wide and sparkling as her heroine collided with the remaining cloud. The one that thought it had gotten away. In a solid poof, the cloud was gone; spread in every direction. A shower of moisture filled the horizon with a glittery spectrum of colors that set Scootaloo a flutter.

The filly had already forgotten about her own problems. Could this day get any better?

Morning: Apple Bloom

As the rays of the sun touched Sweet Apple Acres, it found a family already hard at work. It was a pretty typical sight really. Apple Bloom needed to be dragged out of her bed, but once awake; was ready to join her siblings in her portion of the chores for the morning. There were three large plots of land on the farm used for orchards: two of which were in their off seasons. For now, they worked the plot of land that was producing apples. It had been a bit of a fight for the past few months, but today looked like a good day. The fruit in the orchard was looking mighty heavy this morning, ready for a good buck.
The baskets were already laid out, waiting to collect the falling apples. The youngest took her station on the perimeter of their first tree, ready to weed out the bad apples that fell to the ground: as was her regular duty. Big Macintosh approached his sisters, a thin piece of grass between his teeth. Applejack shot him a smile,

“Ready, Big Mac?”

Her voice flowed like honey out of a jar,

“Ee’yup.”

The confidence of a stallion that had been bucking apples for a decade; he turned quarter and gave the tree a swift and mighty kick with one powerful leg. The tree shook as though caught up in a hurricane; its heavily laden branches easily letting go their fruit. Applejack easily rounded up the apples as they fell, avoiding the rotten ones as they came. With a little bat of her hoof, she would knock the bad apples towards her younger sister who collected them without complaint.
The work continued like this till they’d cleared a goodly portion of the trees in the blossomed section of the orchard. The entire time, Apple Bloom did her portion of the chores; even though her mind had wandered off to her friends. Sweetie Bell had promised a whole list of ideas for them to try today. The little filly could hardly wait for their meeting to begin.