• Chapter Seventeen: Joining The Group •
…
The six pelted across the town, being chased by a group of ponies.
"This is too amusing," snickered one of the six. The others grinned, as they continued to run. The charging ponies behind them began to scream, curse and insult the six.
"Give our stuff back!"
"You don't belong here!"
"You don't deserve the food!"
"We don't care if you live or die!"
After six years of tormenting, the six really didn't care about the insults which were thrown at them. At first it was painful to hear all the comments- what others thought of them because of the curse- but they only found it a game now. A dangerous, but thrilling game, with adrenaline pouring through their veins, as they skidded across the town. One of the townsfolk threw fire in front of them, causing them to halt, as the flames picked into an undeniable wall of fire. The six ponies stopped, and turned around, to see the townsfolk coming closer and closer. The two pegasi of the group flapped their wings, and lifted themselves off the ground.
"Give Sleepy and Sneezy all the food- they can fly away with it while we fight," one of the unicorns of the group called.
"Aye aye, Dopey!" Bashful responded, before he tossed the food he had stolen up into the hooves of Sleepy.
Whilst stealing, they decided not to reveal their proper names, in order for no recognition to occur. The dwarf disguises which Chrysalis had ever so 'kindly' blessed them with, were enough to throw the townsfolk off the scent of their true identities. Bashful eyed Grumpy and Happy, as they tossed the last remains of food into the air, for the two pegasi to receive. Bashful grinned broadly, as he watched the townsfolk charge forward.
"Bashful, this is where you come in," Dopey instructed, turning to his pal. Bashful listened intently as the unicorn revealed his plan.
"Right on it!" He obediently nodded, before he went crashing into the townsfolk, taking them by surprise at the strength of his attack.
"Charge!"
Bashful heard Dopey's voice whipping through his ears, as he continued to barge into the townsfolk. The clapping of hooves sounded, before Grumpy, Happy and Dopey all tumbled into the crowds, making their way through, as they escaped.
"Run Bashful- now!"
Bashful gave up on his attack, and swung around, whipping through the streets and perusing his friends. It wasn't always this easy to survive. Bashful grinned, receiving a flashback of what life was like six years ago, when he and the rest of his friends had first lived in the woods as dwarfs.
6 years ago...
Big Macintosh peered through the cracks of the walls of the confined home, in which he and the others had settled in for the night- all it was, were a hollow tree. Bashful knew that although the group didn't get along very well- with all the colliding and suspicious personalities, he knew that they were better to stay together than be divided. They seemed to all seek the same things, and were all here for the same reasons. The ones they loved and they were here because of Chrysalis. Big Macintosh was different from the rest of them however. He was the only one who's loved one wasn't a romantic love, but a love a brother would give to a sister. Sure, Shining Armour had jumped through the same portal as the baby dragon, but he still had Cadance. Big Macintosh made his way out of the hollow tree, careful not to rouse any of the other colts. Once he'd exited the tree, he sat on the outside grass, and peered at the twinkling stars. He thought of Red Applehood, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith. He hoped they'd be alright, but he hadn't seen them since he had been sent here in the first place. He wasn't really one for friends, and all the colts here he didn't know very well... he wouldn't deny, that he was shy. He'd never had friends before. He just hung around his family. His family...
"Missing them, are you?"
Big Macintosh spun around, to see Fancypants... Grumpy wasn't exactly Big Macintosh's favourite of the colts right now... Although Fancypants hadn't been too mean to Big Macintosh yet, Bashful couldn't help but pinpoint him as the not so 'friendly' one of the group. Big Macintosh narrowed his eyes.
"I know what your thinking... I know I have been horrible to all of you..." Fancypants settled besides Big Macintosh and glanced at the sky as well. "You know I wasn't always like this you know?"
Big Macintosh glanced at the unicorn in confusion. "Thanks to Chrysalis?"
"Yes... she made me more Grumpy than she made any of you Sleepy or Dopey or Sneezy or Happy- you get the point."
Big Macintosh's eyes were still clouded with confusion. "Then why are ya bein' nice right now?"
"Because I have worked out how to minimise Chrysalis's magic. You have already been doing it- that is why you are being the least of your personality compared to all of us."
Bashful's eyes widened. "What have ah been doing?"
"You have been thinking about your loved ones- your family." Grumpy peered at the ground. "Since Chrysalis did this to me, I have been trying to forget Raripunzel so that I will not break down... I hate sorrow... I tried to forget her so that I wouldn't have to be dealing with the trauma. But I have been thinking of her a lot now... and I feel less grouchy, and more myself." Fancypants gestured for emphasis.
"That explains a lot..." Big Macintosh hesitated. "But what about sorrow? Don't ya feel depressed by thinkin' of Raripunzel?"
Grumpy shook his head. "She makes me feel hopeful."
Big Macintosh smiled for the first time since... forever. "Thank ya."
"No worries," Fancypants sighed, before exiting into the hollow tree.
…
"Wake up! It's the morning! Wow, you guys sleep a lot!"
Big Macintosh groaned at the same time as five other ponies. He used his hooves to cover his ears.
"Wake up! Ugh! Why aren't any of you listening? Wait a second!"
The sound of clomping hooves faded into the distance. All was silent for a few seconds, before the hooves returned. Almost instantly, Big Macintosh felt a chilling iciness rush down his skin. His eyes shot open and he muttered a curse, peering around to see everypony else drenched wet, and giving annoyed glances to the all-too-dry Cheese Sandwich, who was mischievously grinning.
"What *sneeze* was that for?" Flash Sentry glared at Cheese Sandwich, while he was shivering.
"I think I now have pneumonia," Shining Armour peered at the ground in sorrow. Cheese Sandwich only laughed.
"Hey, not all of us are awake yet!" Fancypants pointed to the light blue pegasi who was still curled up on the floor, snoring. Water was dripping from him, but Soarin still managed to remain in a slumber.
"Soarin? Is that healthy to remain asleep through something like that?" Big Macintosh nudged the pegasi, but Soarin only rolled over slightly.
"Is he even alive?" Fancypants questioned.
"Don't be *sneeze* ridiculous," Flash Sentry muttered.
Cheese Sandwich tilted his head. "How did he fight back my water attack- hey, that rhymed!" The orange earth pony colt burst into laughter.
"This is no time for rhymes. And it must be normal for Soarin to remain asleep during situations like this- he is Sleepy remember?" Shining Armour hesitated. "How do we wake him?"
"Ah think ah know," Big Macintosh raised a hoof to the air, making all the ponies turn to him. "Fancypants knows too." Big Macintosh stepped toward Soarin, who muttered something like 'I want dinner,' in his sleep. Big Macintosh then spoke in a clear voice. "Cinderainbow."
Almost instantly, Soarin stirred, jumping up and peering around. "Cinderainbow? Where?"
"How did you *sneeze* do that?" Flash Sentry gasped.
"The more you think about those you love, the less you express the artificial personalities Chrysalis granted you," Fancypants simply replied.
"That would explain why you're being less annoying and horrible," Cheese Sandwich grinned.
"Shut up now, and you won't get a black eye," Fancypants threatened, making Happy clamp his jaws together.
"Twilaura... Twilaura... Twilaura... Hey! I'm not sneezing anymore!" Flash Sentry grinned.
"So you're saying all I need to is think of Cinderainbow and I won't fall asleep as much?" Soarin questioned. Big Macintosh nodded.
"Pinkariel, Pinkariel, Pinkariel! Oh my Celestia! It's time for breakfast now! That's the most important meal of the day! Pinkariel!" Cheese Sandwich jumped up and down, and the others just glanced at him.
"Why are you still being happy?" Fancypants narrowed his eyes.
"I think he's just naturally a happy pony," Shining Armour hesitated. "I'm not naturally a dopey pony though... how come I still feel sad?"
"Are ya thinkin' of Spike or Cadance?" Big Macintosh questioned.
"Both," Shining Armour glanced at the ground in sorrow, and absent-mindedly began to fiddle with a little purple gem.
"Hey, what's that?" Soarin questioned, angling his wings towards the purple bead.
"Oh... when I saw Cadance for the last time, Chrysalis was stealing all her youth from her... This jewel fell from Cadance's tiara, and I grabbed it before Chrysalis sent me here."
Fancypants was about to nudge the crystal, when Shining Armour protectively slapped his hoof away. Fancypants glanced at him in surprise.
"Sorry. It's just the only thing I have left of Cadance, and I don't want anypony else touching it... sorry." Shining Armour sighed.
"No, it's ok. I shouldn't've been so nosy." Fancypants gave the other unicorn an understanding nod, before stepping back.
Shining Armour glanced at the bead, before a pink aura began to ripple from his horn. It surrounded the bead, before covering it in a pulsing pink shield. Shining Armour knocked the shield, but it only rolled to the side, not breaking at all.
"How did you do that?" Flash Sentry asked in shock.
Shining Armour shrugged. "I studied shield magic. It is my Cutie Mark after all!"
"Is it just me, or does anypony else want breakfast?" Cheese Sandwich began to drool, looking at the sky in desire.
"He's right, it's about time we went and got somethin' to eat," Big Macintosh sighed. "But where do we go?"
"Maybe there's a town nearby?" Fancypants offered.
"Worth a look," Soarin concluded.
…
After the six stallions had trudged through the woods for a while, they eventually encountered a few chanting voices of ponies in the distance.
"Finally somewhere with other life sources other than plants, plants, plants and creepy insect things," Fancypants muttered, before brushing off a freaky-looking bug which had landed on him recently.
"And it only took..." Cheese Sandwich glanced down at his hoof. "Four hours, fourteen minutes, and... fifty-five seconds... fifty-six seconds... fifty-seven..."
"There's not even a watch on your hoof though!" Flash Sentry interrupted.
"Still sounds accurate," Big Macintosh shrugged, before clearing a few of the bushes, to reveal a town. The six ponies curiously peered out, to see a few stalls set up, with ponies gathering around them. The food source was delicious... the scent of freshly-baked pie wafted through their noses, lifting them up off of the air- especially Soarin.
"Pie..!" Soarin wailed, as Cheese Sandwich began to shoo the scent of pie out of the air, causing all the ponies to crash to the ground from their trance. Then Cheese Sandwich began to lift off the ground, taking all the smell to himself.
"Hey you wait a minute," Shining Armour hissed, before picking Cheese Sandwich up with his magic, and forcing him to the ground.
"Ok, group huddle," Flash Sentry ordered. All six ponies came together into a tight circle. "Does anypony *sneeze* have any bits?"
They were all silent; the sounds of crickets chirping could be heard over the glorious, yet, limited sound of activity which stirred in their embarrassingly small brains.
"Ok- scratch the 'paying' idea... maybe we could trade instead... wait... this market says that trading is strictly forbidden, we can only pay." Big Macintosh muttered.
"Maybe we could set up our own stall, and earn bits to pay for food," Soarin offered.
"Great idea Sleepy! Now what in Equestria are we gonna sell?" Shining Armour muttered.
"Watches of course!" Cheese Sandwich cried, before taking a bag out of nowhere, and unzipping it. Almost instantly, watches went pouring out in tremendous amounts, raining heavier than a full out cyclone. The bag didn't at all, seem to be running out of watches, as the ponies (minus Cheese Sandwich) were pelted down with them.
"Close... the... bag!" Big Macintosh gasped, before getting a mouthful of watches, and falling over, as they went knocking him on the head hard.
Shrugging, Cheese Sandwich zipped the bag back up, and all was silent. "Hey, where are you guys?" Cheese Sandwich questioned, looking around for the other stallions. All there was, was a pile of watches. A few minutes passed, before finally, Big Macintosh surfaced, gushing in huge amounts of air.
"Don't just stand there, help meh get the others out before one of them drowns!" Big Macintosh hollered, before he leapt out of the watches, and bucked the whole pile with his back legs. The watches shuffled slightly, but no affect was caused. Cheese Sandwich began digging into the mound like a dog, searching for any ponies which may be buried alive.
Shining Armour managed to independently surface, and join in with helping to save the other three ponies. Eventually, they managed to help Flash Sentry, Soarin and Fancypants out of the pile, and the five ponies glared at Cheese Sandwich, who only mischievously grinned.
"Hey, at least the bag wasn't full of knives or something," Cheese Sandwich grinned.
"At least if there was knives in the bag, I'd die a quick death, other than be slowly suffocated," Soarin spat, but he was grinning whilst saying it, hinting that he'd already forgiven and forgotten the incident.
"Well we now have watches to sell," Flash Sentry grinned, before glancing to Cheese Sandwich. "Now stuff them in an empty bag... and please pack lightly."
"You wouldn't have a lifetime supply of stands, would you?" Fancypants questioned, glancing around for a zipper in the forth wall, in which Cheese Sandwich stored his stuff in.
"Nope. Only a supply of watches!" Cheese Sandwich grinned.
"Why watches?" Big Macintosh tilted his head.
"They're my second favourite type of object," Cheese Sandwich bounced up and down, whilst slapping on a bunch of watches excitedly.
"What's your first favourite?" Soarin questioned, nudging a watch with his hoof.
Cheese Sandwich paused with what he was doing. "Hmm... I don't have one."
Big Macintosh didn't bother to question this- none of them understood Cheese Sandwich anyway. Instead, he began to load the watches together. "Ok, let's sell these now!"
The six ponies stepped out of the bushes, and into the village. Ponies turned heads, and glanced at them in surprise.
"Why are we receiving glances from all the ponies?" Fancypants questioned, as he uncomfortably shuffled on his hooves.
The ponies began to step back from them in fear, some running out the area.
"Where are they *sneeze* going?" Flash Sentry asked in shock. The six kept plodding through the streets, exchanging uncomfortable glances, before they bumped into a pony who was glaring down at them.
"What are you doing here, dwarfs?" The pony gritted her teeth in annoyance.
"Just wanting to sell some watches..?" Cheese Sandwich tried to put up a goofy grin, but he was slightly shivering, as the turquoise pegasi with the yellow mane stepped threateningly forward.
"Nuh uh. You're not ponies. Scat fools, you don't belong here!" The pegasi glared at them viciously.
"Hey, we're ponies, we just want something eat!" Flash Sentry narrowed his eyes, but felt uncomfortable, as the pony was a lot taller than all of them.
"Hey, what's going on Lightning Dust?" A voice was heard, as a male pegasi, with black fur and a light blue mane flew forwards, and stood next to the turquoise pegasi named Lighting Dust.
"Dwarves, Thunderlane. The ones which are always up to no good... help me drive them out." Lightning Dust snickered, as she spread out her wings and began to fly teasingly around the six ponies, who bunched up together in fear. Thunderlane joined in, and before long, the two pegasi had created a whirlwind, around the six trembling dwarves.
"What are you doing? Stop!" Shining Armour attempted to run through the gusts of wind which were bellowing around him, but he was swatted back ferociously. Eventually, the wind grew too strong, and the six dwarves were sent flying into the air.
"Holy Celestia!" Fancypants cursed, as he went pummelling through the sky. Big Macintosh wavered his hooves around, trying to create air resistance but failed. Soarin and Flash Sentry gained balance, and began to flap their wings, before soaring towards the falling ponies. Soarin grabbed ahold of Cheese Sandwich, gently lowering him to the earth, whilst Flash Sentry was helping out Fancypants. Soarin, who was a surprisingly skilled flier, zoomed forward, grabbing ahold of Big Macintosh and lowering the earth pony to the ground. Nopony was there to aid Shining Armour, but it was no problem, as before the unicorn hit the ground, his horn buzzed to life, and he teleported down, his hooves flat on the earth and no damage conflicted.
"Learnt your lesson yet, dwarves?" Lightning Dust spat, with Thunderland glaring at them.
"Dwarves don't belong with other ponies- no ponies should be able to stand even near you. Back off now, or we'll signal for more help," Thunderlane snarled.
"Not that we need any help," Lightning Dust quickly added, glaring at Thunderlane.
"I don't even care anymore," Soarin spat, before he turned tail and fled. Big Macintosh spun around, just to see the dark blue tail of the colt disappear into the bushes.
"Hope you're happy," Fancypants hissed, before turning around too.
"Welcome to Equestria, a place of peace," Flash Sentry muttered.
"A place of peace... a place of peace..." Cheese Sandwich echoed, following the other ponies into the bushes. Right before he disappeared, his whipped around. "A place of peace!"
Big Macintosh and Shining Armour exchanged glance, before following the others into the bushes, with Lightning Dust and Thunderlane snickering behind them.
"That was mean! They seemed nice!" A little pegasi colt appeared besides Thunderlane, tugging at his leg. The pegasi colt was a light grey, with a darker grey-blue mane, and purple-grey eyes.
"They're dwarves Rumble... they can't be trusted," Thunderlane sighed to his brother, before he trotted away. Rumble glanced at the bushes in confusion, before he chased after his older brother.
…
"No use.. no use... no use..." Soarin kept on muttering under his breathe as he paced from side to side, the others glanced at him concernedly.
"What are you talking about?" Flash Sentry asked.
Soarin spun around, facing the orange pegasi on fury. Soarin's pupils went small, and they both glanced in opposing directions, making Flash Sentry crouch to the ground in fear.
"You saw how they acted around us- I have never been rejected in my life... I feel so abandoned!" Soarin dropped to the ground, curling up into a little ball, and swaying side to side. "No use... no use... no use..."
"So this is all about your popularity?" Shining Armour raised an eyebrow.
Soarin peered up. "My popularity? Celestia's sake, I don't care one thing about my popularity- I am thinking of Cinderainbow! She'll never accept me! She'll only want to be with a stallion who is cool enough to be her's- I am an embarrassment to pony-kind now!" Soarin stared at the sky. "Cinderainbow..."
"You know she'll accept you, for whatever you look like," Fancypants stepped forward, patting Soarin on the back.
"Oh really? Ok, do you think that Raripunzel would want to be your marefriend now- this very moment?" Soarin questioned, narrowing his eyes.
Fancypants went silent, glancing at the ground.
"See? We have no hope!" Soarin held his head in his hooves.
"We do though! Remember the prophecy?" Big Macintosh asked, stepping forward.
"Yeah... For she true of fair, she alone, needs the love of a seventh to turn thee back to original selves. Thou personalities return and thou no longer elves. Thou destinies tormented, but thou foal tales shall proceed. Once completed thee break the rule, and thou no longer fantasied." Cheese Sandwich shivered for a second, before grinning.
Soarin glanced up. "But who could be the fairest one?"
"Time can only wait, and it will tell us when we've found the one," Shining Armour sighed.
Back to the future...
Big Macintosh settled with his friends in their home, as they feasted on the food they had stolen for the day.
"Great job everyone! We've had another successful hunt," Shining Armour praised his friends, and they all let out agreeing cries.
"I forgot how hungry I was," Cheese Sandwich sighed, as he gnawed on some bread.
"You ate this morning," Flash Sentry reminded Cheese Sandwich, who only shrugged.
Back then, they would have never stolen, but after a few days of no food, stealing became their only answer. If no pony was going to accept them for being themselves, they'd have to survive the bad way. Despite everything, they were going to survive, and they knew it. The fairest of all hadn't arrived yet... but they'd grown used to being in their elf forms, and didn't mind waiting. To remember those they loved, every night, they had a spiritual ceremony, where they chanted the names of those Chrysalis had bewitched. It helped keep the great memories fresh, and boosted their hopes and strengths for the following day. Everything they did, they did for their loved ones, and they would not let a bunch of insulting townsfolk dishearten them.
…
"Sweetie Belle, you're stepping on my hooves!"
"Sorry! I just want to see!"
"Can ya two be quiet?" Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, before peering out of the bushes to see a bunch of strange ponies disappear into the woods.
Babs Seed came besides Apple Bloom, shaking her head. "Never seen anything like them."
Apple Bloom narrowed her sun-gold eyes, as she watched the towns ponies letting out irritated cries. "Ya heard what the ponies said... they're dwarves.
"Dwarves? What in Equestria are those?" Scootaloo slitted her eyes. "They'd better not steal from us, or they'll get a taste of my mind..."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were now ten, and looked the part of average fillies. Although they were still Blank Flanks, they didn't mind, and they would keep Crusading until day's end.
"Is it just me, or did one of them seem familiar?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head.
"It's not just ya," Apple Bloom nodded. "But we shouldn't investigate. Ah don't wanna see those ponies again!"
"I agree," Babs Seed squinted. "I didn't recognise any of them... but they still gave me the shivers!"
"Come, let's go." Sweetie Belle began to trot off to home, when Scootaloo grabbed her shoulder, shaking her head.
"Just because we're not going to investigate the dwarves themselves, doesn't mean we shouldn't have a word with the ponies of this town," Scootaloo explained.
"Ya sure?" Babs Seed shivered slightly.
"Ah don't see why not," Apple Bloom glanced suspiciously at the town, before beckoning her friends to come. "Follow my lead."
"Hey everyone- halt right there, we got weapons, and we're professional wolf slayers... so stay where you are and you won't get hurt!" Scootaloo went trampling through the bushes, and flipped into the centre of town. She went crouching down into a defensive position, and glared from side to side, at the ponies who began to laugh at her in amusement.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, and muttered to herself, "so much for the element of surprise."
"Come girls," Sweetie Belle beckoned, before leaping out of the bushes, and standing by Scootaloo's side, glaring at passing pedestrians. Apple Bloom and Babs Seed followed, and soon, the whole town was cracking up with laughter.
Apple Bloom flicked her ears. "What's so funny?"
One of the ponies stepped forward- the owner of a shop which sold quills and sofas. "Haha... It's just that you're four, tiny, hopeless, adorable fillies- and you're wolf slayers... Wow... Haha!"
Scootaloo glared at him before charging forward, and flapping her wings so she left the ground, and was eye level with him. "Tiny? Hopeless? Oh you're just asking to be beaten up!" Her wings stopped buzzing, and she drifted to the ground.
"Yep. Sure!" The pony grinned, before stepping back.
Scootaloo returned to her friends, continuing to glare at the surrounding ponies.
"How often have you been stolen from by these... dwarves?" Sweetie Belle stepped forward, glancing at the ponies, her green eyes glimmering hopefully but deviously.
"A few times actually... they never come a few days in a row, but they have stolen from us a lot for the passed six years," one of the townsfolk queried.
"How come ya don't stop em' then?" Apple Bloom spat eyeing a few tipped over barrels and small bits of fire, which had been left from the dwarves' encounter.
"It used to be easy," a turquoise pegasi with golden mane stepped forward. "Haha... I remember when we first met them... me and Thunderlane took them down just like that!"
"But they've gotten better now," Thunderlane muttered. "They are just good for stealing. They don't belong on this world."
"I disagree!" A voice was heard behind Thunderlane, before a little light grey pegasi colt- about the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders stepped forward. He had a dark grey-blue mane and purple-grey eyes- and was a blank flank. "Maybe if we let them sell stuff to us, they could make their own profit. Then they could buy food from us, and everypony would be happy!"
"Can you get your brother to shut up..." Lightning Dust spat to Thunderlane, who glanced guiltily at the ground.
"Rumble... I can't believe you still remember that... just be quiet, your methods are wrong..." Thunderlane muttered, but Rumble shook his head furiously.
"No they're not! On the first day they ever came they actually wanted to-" Rumble's voice was muffled, as Lightning Dust stuffed her hoof into his mouth.
"Nothing to see here! He's only a little colt- he doesn't know any better," Lightning Dust hissed.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders exchanged uncertain glances.
"Maybe we should go... I don't like this town," Babs Seed whispered.
"None of us do," Sweetie Belle mumbled. "Besides... this is pretty useless... even if we do find out everything that is going on here, we'll probably never have any use for this information..."
Apple Bloom hesitated, "we could restore peace to this town..."
"I disagree," Scootaloo muttered. "It's their problem- not ours!"
Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes, unsure what to say, before she turned tail and fled. Babs Seed closely followed, before Sweetie Belle. Finally, Scootaloo came, glaring one last time at the ponies, before she came into the bushes, their original hiding spot.
"Well that was weird," Sweetie Belle mumbled.
"You can say that again," Babs Seed peered at the ground.
"Come," Apple Bloom sighed, before she turned the opposite direction and began to trudge home, her friends closely following.
"Wait!"
The four crusaders stopped, and spun around to see the little colt again.
"What do you want?" Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "Are you a spy?"
Rumble hesitated. "Can I please come with you? Please?"
"Why?" Babs Seed glared at him.
"Because nopony understands me at home! There's no ponies my age there, and they are all wrong! The dwarves are only stealing because they have no other way of getting food! I am sick of being dismissed by my brother and his friend!" He shook his head. "Who are you all anyway... and is it true you murdered wolves?"
"We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Apple Bloom grinned.
"We will stop at nothing, until we receive our Cutie Marks," added Sweetie Belle.
"And it's true we killed wolves- timberwolves actually- when we were four!" Scootaloo boasted.
Rumble's eyes widened. "It was when I was four, when the dwarves first came to our town!"
"Really?" Scootaloo gasped, her eyes glinting.
"Really!" Rumble replied, smiling.
Scootaloo stepped back, changing her expression to bored. "Not that it's cool or anything. I mean, heaps of stuff happened six years ago y'know."
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "So ya really wanna join us? Ya wanna leave behind the ponies you grew up with, and never see them again, to join us?"
"Woah- never?" Rumble glanced at the ground guiltily.
"Yes. Never again," Scootaloo smirked.
"Wait, I thought-" Sweetie Belle began, before she realised what her friends were doing. "Ahem- yes, never again!"
"Well... I..." Rumble began, peering at his hooves in anxiety. Then he glanced up. "Oh, what am I saying- sure."
"Huh. You passed the test," Scootaloo muttered.
"Test?" Rumble stepped back.
"If you joined us, of course you'd see your family and friends every once and a while- we're not forcing you to stay with us or anything," Babs Seed snorted.
"Ok, then ah guess ya can join-" Apple Bloom began, but Scootaloo cut her off.
"Woah, woah! You're actually letting him join us?" Scootaloo narrowed her eyes.
"Well he passed the required test," Sweetie Belle explained. "A test on his loyalty."
"But- but..." Scootaloo glanced frantically around, whilst her friends grinned at her absurdity.
"Ok, let's make Rumble a proper Crusader," Apple Bloom beamed.
Scootaloo suddenly smirked. "This won't hurt too much..." Then she knocked Rumble out with a swipe of her hoof.
"Really Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.
Scootaloo only shrugged. "It needs to be a surprise!"
…
When Rumble awoke, he was in a dark room. He glanced around cautiously, before his eyes rested on some light filtering through some windows. It took his eyes a while to adjust, and once they did, he was able to properly see though the window. He gasped, as he saw trees and trees surrounding him. I must be in the Everfree Forest... He attempted to get up, but he was tied to the ground by ropes.
"Help?" He called.
"There's no need to call for help- the nearest town is miles away!" A voice echoed. Rumble whipped around, to see the silhouettes of four ponies.
Rumble gulped. "What are you going to do to me?"
"We are going to be running your ceremony..."
Rumble blinked. "My ceremony? What ceremony?"
"To become..." The light's flickered on, to reveal the four grinning fillies. "A fellow Cutie Mark Crusader!"
The loudness of their voices made Rumble cringe slightly, but he grinned, knowing that he wasn't taken to the room to be executed.
"Sorry about the ropes, it was Scootaloo's idea," Sweetie Belle muttered, before using her magic to untie the ropes around Rumble.
Rumble glared at the orange pegasi with the purple-pink mane, and she shrugged.
"Anyway, let the ceremony begin!" Apple Bloom called. The four crusaders nodded, before they assembled behind the stuff at the front of the room, which Rumble thought was a treehouse.
Scootaloo began to hit a timpani, over and over again. The sound waves were immense, making Rumble cringe slightly. Scootaloo hesitated, before hitting the timpani one last time, and all was silent. The whole treehouse had somehow rocked at the sound, and the other crusaders regained their balance.
Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. "We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Rumble to join us as a fellow Cutie Mark Crusader."
"Hey! You left out half of what I wrote for the script!" Scootaloo complained, and Sweetie Belle glared at her.
"That is because the script was ridiculously long- you know what happened when we held Babs Seed's ceremony!" Sweetie Belle cleared her throat again. "You are solemnly sworn in, here his day, in witness of your fellow Crusaders."
"Congratulations!" Apple Bloom concluded.
"Wow! That was the creepiest thing that has ever happened to me!" Rumble said, whilst grinning.
"Yay! There's now five of us!" Babs Seed grinned.
Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "I'm still not sure about this Rumble..."
"Come on, let's go home. Rumble can sleep on the couch until we build a proper room for him," Apple Bloom sighed, before she left the treehouse. Sweetie Belle and Babs Seed followed. Rumble was about to go, when Scootaloo stopped him. "Don't you try doing anything- I've got my eye on you."
Rumble hesitated before smiling. "Wow, you're a bliss to be around, aren't you?"
Scootaloo snorted. "Why thank you. B.T.W. I don't care. You'd better be as loyal as the rest of us, or you're going to get a lot more hurt than me just knocking you out."
"Thank you for that, by the way! When I was unconscious, I had a great relax- I've needed that for a while. You're one strange filly, ya know that?"
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, before trotting out of the treehouse. "So are you."
Rumble grinned. "Why thank- wait, a strange filly? Scootaloo I'm going to kill you!" Rumble chased after the orange pegasi, who was already way ahead of him, and laughing whilst she ran.
Yes, I am a Scootaloo and Rumble shipper XD I also ship Sweetie Belle and Button Mash, but I don't ship Apple Bloom with anypony... sorry Apple Bloom :(
And yes, the Crusaders also seem a lot rougher than the ones we've gotten to know in the show. I guess living unsupervised in the woods, may drive you slightly insane! But beware, they may look like innocent creatures, but in this FanFiction... I wouldn't mess with them if I were you!
And I might need some tips writing for Cheese Sandwich... am I making him too much like Pinkie Pie? Because when I watch the episode, there does seem to be some minor differences in the characters... anyway, thanks for reading!