“Like, the fate of Equestria important,” Scootaloo added.
“I suppose.” Trixie sighed and gestured to her caravan. But as the Crusaders headed for the entrance, she held up a hoof. “After you scrub yourselves off. I don’t want you tracking mud on my magic carpet.”
“If she has a magic carpet, why does she drive a cart?” Apple Bloom grumbled to her friends.
“I think I can clean us up,” Sweetie Belle said. “Rarity taught me a spell for getting stains out of silk!” Her horn glowed, and magic washed over the Crusaders.
Scootaloo immediately knew something had gone wrong. Her mane and tail felt funny. She looked at her friends to see that though they were clean, every hair on their body was standing straight out. They looked as if they’d been blown dry by the wind-force of a hundred Dizzitrons. Trixie nearly fell over laughing.
“Maybe it works better on clothes,” she chortled.
The embarrassed Crusaders climbed aboard the wagon. After their long trek through the Forest and everything that had happened since, Scootaloo was grateful for a rest. She’d just gotten comfortable when the wagon hit a bump.
A box of smoke bombs jarred loose from a high shelf.
The Crusaders barely dodged in time as the box crashed to the floor, setting off every smoke bomb inside with a purple poof!
Scootaloo choked, blindly feeling her way through the colorful cloud toward the wagon’s exit.
As the gasping Crusaders stumbled free, they found a furious Trixie staring at her wagon. One of its wheels had snapped off, probably going over that bump, Scootaloo thought.
“My wagon is broken!” Trixie moaned. “Do you know what this means?”
“We’re walking to Twilight’s castle?” Apple Bloom guessed.
“My show tonight will have to be canceled. You three are bad luck!” She sniffed again.
“But we didn’t do anything,” Scootaloo protested.
There was no reasoning with Trixie.
“Just go!” she demanded, shooing the Crusaders away with her hooves.
Scootaloo shrugged to her friends, and dejectedly, they started off down the road again.
“Do you think Trixie’s right?” Sweetie Belle asked a few moments later. “Nothing’s gone right for us ever since we left the Forest.”
“But why would we get bad luck all of a sudden?” Apple Bloom frowned. “Nothin’ happened to cause it.”
Scootaloo grimaced, the slow realization dawning that in fact something had happened. She’d thought Auntie Eclipse’s spell was a dud, but…
“Let me try something,” Scootaloo said. “Anypony have a bit?”
Sweetie Belle levitated over a coin. Scootaloo held it in her hoof.
“You call manes or tails. If you’re right, there’s nothing wrong with our luck. But if we can’t guess right no matter how many tries… then maybe something’s up. Call it,” she told Sweetie Belle.
“Manes!” Sweetie Belle said. The Crusaders watched the coin as it flipped from Scootaloo’s hoof and arced through the air, end over end. But before it could land, a frog hopped into its path, whipped out its tongue, and caught the bit. With a gulp, the coin was gone.
“Uh, is that manes or tails?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Neither,” Scootaloo said, trying not to panic. The chances of that happening were a bazillion to one. “I think… we’re cursed,” she said.
“Cursed?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“It must have been Auntie Eclipse’s spell! Whatever we try to do, bad things happen to us!” Scootaloo blurted.
“We have to tell Twilight about this.” Apple Bloom gasped. “She’ll be able to help us!”
“Even if we can get to her, I think our bad luck spills onto whoever’s near us,” Scootaloo said, remembering what had happened to Mr. Cake, Matilda, and Trixie. “We’re not safe for anypony!”
A rustling in the bushes nearby startled the Crusaders. They backed up, huddling together. Now that she knew they were cursed, Scootaloo was afraid to see what would happen next. Nopony could predict what was hiding in those leaves. A basilisk? Auntie Eclipse? Queen Chrysalis, back for revenge?
The Crusaders gasped as a figure stepped from the bush.
Starlight Glimmer looked at them in surprise.
“Uh, is something wrong?” she asked.
“Stay back!” Scootaloo warned.
“We’re cursed with bad luck!” Sweetie Belle cried.
Starlight raised one eyebrow as she studied them.
“You seem okay to me.” She shrugged.
“Show her the bit flip,” Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle passed Scootaloo another coin.
“Manes or tails?” Scootaloo asked Starlight.
“Uh… tails,” she said.
Scootaloo flipped the coin. It tumbled end over end through the air… and landed on her hoof, tail-side up. Scootaloo frowned. That was weird. She flipped the coin again. The same thing happened. She flipped it one more time.
“Am I supposed to be seeing something weird?” Starlight asked skeptically.
“We thought Auntie Eclipse cast a bad-luck spell on us,” Scootaloo explained.
“Auntie Eclipse? Isn’t she one of the ponies who just moved into the house on Horseshoe Hill?” Starlight asked.
The Crusaders nodded, explaining in a rush everything that had happened the night before and the Moon family’s evil plans. Starlight blinked in surprise.
“We’d better get you to Twilight. I just saw her in town. Come on!” Starlight trotted off down the road. Relieved to have found help, the Crusaders followed.
“Maybe all the bad luck was just a coincidence,” Scootaloo told her friends hopefully. Suddenly, pounding hoofbeats shook the road. Scootaloo glanced up to see a stampede of cows headed right for the Crusaders.
“Maybe not!” yelped Sweetie Belle.
Starlight looked back to see what was happening and gaped in disbelief. She raced to the Crusaders. As soon as she drew near, the herd of cows parted around them, safely thundering past on either side.
“Okay… that was strange,” Starlight admitted. She looked thoughtful. “I wonder if there’s a curse on you after all. Let’s see… you stay there.” Starlight slowly backed away from the Crusaders. Sure enough, as soon as she was a few pony lengths away, a sinkhole opened beneath Sweetie Belle. She shrieked and started to fall. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Starlight dove for her, pulling her up just before she could plummet into darkness.
“That was more than a coincidence,” Starlight admitted. “It looks as if your bad luck stops only when I’m close by. Must be my warding spell.”
“What’s that?” Scootaloo asked. She didn’t know much about magic. But if it was somehow keeping her safe, she was eager to learn more.
“It’s just a protection bubble against dark magic I keep around myself.” Starlight shrugged. “Former villain. Old habits die hard. Can’t be too careful.” She smiled.
“Can you put one on us?” Sweetie Belle asked hopefully. Starlight nodded.
“I think that’s an excellent idea. At least until we can find you a cure.” But as she started to cast her spell, nothing happened. Starlight frowned and tapped a hoof to her horn. It glowed briefly but quickly fizzled. She sighed. “Oh… the curse on you is so powerful, it’s taking all my magic to block it. As long as you’re in my protection bubble, I can’t do any other spells! Maybe I should just go get Twilight for you—”
“No!” Sweetie Belle blurted. Scootaloo couldn’t blame her friend. That sinkhole had been pretty scary. If Starlight left now, who knew what bad things might happen to them.
“You’re right—too dangerous,” Starlight agreed. “We’d better stick together. But before we find Twilight, we need to get rid of your curse, just in case.”
“In case what?” Scootaloo asked, dread creeping into her voice.
“I’m not sure how long my magic can protect four ponies,” Starlight said, frowning, “and if you’re still curse
d when we get to Twilight and the others…”
Scootaloo didn’t even want to think about what that would mean.
Starlight Glimmer had explained to the Crusaders that to undo their curse, she needed information about the magic of the pony who’d cast it. The Crusaders told Starlight everything they knew about Auntie Eclipse, but they didn’t have the right details to help her unravel the bad-luck spell. Unfortunately, the only place Scootaloo could think of to learn more about Auntie Eclipse was the spooky house perched atop Horseshoe Hill. Sweetie Belle flatly refused to go near it, but Apple Bloom reminded her that they had overheard Auntie Eclipse tell Lilymoon and Ambermoon they wouldn’t be returning home all day. Plus, they didn’t really have any other choice, Scootaloo realized. Which was how the four of them found themselves sneaking down the long, dusty hallway toward Auntie Eclipse’s library.
Starlight nudged open the creaky door, and the musty smell of books and strange herbs wafted from the gloom. Scootaloo peered inside anxiously. Auntie Eclipse’s words rang true—nopony seemed to be home—but Scootaloo kept her ears pricked, listening for any sounds that might mean the Moon family had returned. Not that she could hear anything over the pounding of her heart.
“We need to find something magical that belongs to Auntie Eclipse,” Starlight instructed the Crusaders. “But stay close…” she warned them. “Your curse will kick in the moment you stick one hoof out of my safety bubble.” The Crusaders nodded. Scootaloo searched the library shelves, collecting an armful of books and scrolls, while Apple Bloom rummaged in the drawers of a cobweb-draped desk. Sweetie Belle sniffed a vial of potion and gagged. They all made sure to stay as close to Starlight as possible.
“The only thing I’m learning about Auntie Eclipse is that she doesn’t like cleaning up very much.” Sweetie Belle coughed.
Scootaloo flipped through the books she’d gathered. Most were in Old Ponish, and she couldn’t read them. But one slim volume was in a spidery script. It looked like some sort of journal. Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the words.…
And suddenly, the world shifted.
Scootaloo blinked. She was standing on the cobblestones of an old village, far from Ponyville. She looked around in surprise. In the town square, red-roofed houses flanked a huge fountain of a rearing Alicorn with bat wings. But how had she gotten there? Where was the library? And Starlight and Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom?
A handsome blue Unicorn walked with a smiling Unicorn mare by the town fountain. Scootaloo ran up to them.
“Excuse me,” she said breathlessly. “But what is this place?” The Unicorns didn’t even look up. Instead, they walked through Scootaloo as if she wasn’t even there!
Scootaloo yelped in shock and leaped back. “Ghosts!” she screamed, pointing at the Unicorns. Then her eyes fell on her hoof. It was translucent, and she could see the street cobbles beneath it. Scootaloo gasped. “I’m a ghost!”
As her mind tried to grasp what could possibly be going on, the male Unicorn used his horn to draw the water out of the fountain into a heart in the air. The mare laughed and nuzzled noses with him. It would be kinda cute, Scootaloo thought, if she weren’t freaking out about suddenly being see-through in the middle of a strange town. Then, with a flash, the scene shifted.
The same two Unicorns were now inside a hospital. The male Unicorn was in bed, racked with a fit of coughing. The Unicorn mare anxiously watched over him, her hoof on his. She turned to an Earth pony doctor, but he shook his head. Bursting into tears, the female Unicorn rushed from the room. Despite the oddness of the situation, Scootaloo couldn’t help but be drawn to what was happening.
Another flash, and now she was following the Unicorn mare to a strange cottage on the outskirts of the village. The mare pounded on the door, and it opened slowly to reveal… Auntie Eclipse! Scootaloo gasped and tried to hide behind a rock before she remembered nopony could see or hear her. Auntie looked exactly the same. With her familiar evil smile, she extended a potion to the mare. But before the mare could take it, Auntie held out a scroll and a pen. It must be some kind of contract, Scootaloo thought. Maybe payment for the potion. Auntie’s eyes grew greedy as the desperate mare signed the scroll.
“Don’t do it!” Scootaloo yelled to the mare, forgetting nopony could hear her.
The setting shifted again, and Scootaloo was now back in the town square. It was decorated for a wedding, with garlands of flowers draping the buildings and cheerful swaths of color hung from lamppost to lamppost.
The blue Unicorn had obviously recovered, as he stood next to his bride. Their shared smiles were so full of love, Scootaloo almost missed seeing that Auntie Eclipse was at the wedding, too. She was also smiling, but it was a cold, cruel smile. Scootaloo shuddered as Auntie held up the contract and winked at the Unicorn mare. Whatever that piece of paper said, Scootaloo knew it wasn’t good.
Time seemed to speed by in a rush, and Scootaloo was disoriented to find herself inside a cozy house. The Unicorn couple cuddled two Unicorn foals: one purple with blue-and-black-streaked hair, the other blue with purple-and-white-streaked hair. Suddenly Scootaloo realized why they were all so familiar.…
“It’s Lilymoon and Ambermoon,” she gasped. But that would make the two older Unicorns Blue Moon and Lumi Nation.… They looked so different than when she’d last seen them. Not creepy at all. What had happened to them?
As if in answer to Scootaloo’s question, the door to the house slammed open with a gust of wind. Standing in the doorway was Auntie Eclipse. Lumi Nation shook her head, and Blue Moon moved to stand in front of the small fillies. But Auntie pulled out the scroll and pointed a hoof to it. Defeated, Lumi Nation lowered her head. Grinning hideously, Auntie touched her horn to the adult Unicorns’ flanks. Scootaloo leaned in to watch as a bright moon, smoke, and lightning appeared over their cutie marks.
“Auntie gave them matching marks!” she breathed. But the old sorceress wasn’t finished yet. She blasted Lumi Nation and Blue Moon with a spell so bright, Scootaloo had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, Blue Moon’s gaze was vacant, and his teeth glinted in an eerie grin. Lumi Nation looked at Blue Moon sadly, tears streaming down her face. Auntie pointed, and the Unicorns stepped aside for her to lean over the foals.
“Leave my friends alone!” Scootaloo yelled, rushing over to stop the old Unicorn. But she ran straight through Auntie Eclipse. There was nothing she could do.…
With a loud thump, Scootaloo dropped to the floor. She blinked, surprised to find herself back in Auntie Eclipse’s dusty library. The journal she had opened lay closed on the floor beside her.
“What… just… happened?” Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes huge.
“Lumi Nation made some kinda bargain with Auntie Eclipse! She’s the one who turned ’em into zombie ponies!” Apple Bloom blurted.
“Wait. You saw that, too?” Scootaloo asked. “How? And where were we, anyway?”
“Trotsylvania,” Starlight said, looking just as surprised as Scootaloo felt. “You found Lumi Nation’s mementorial.”
“Her what?” Scootaloo frowned.
“Mementorial. It’s like a magic journal. You write down memories of what happened in your life. But instead of reading it, you feel it, just as it took place,” Starlight explained.
“I wonder if Auntie Eclipse has one, too,” Sweetie Belle mused.
“Yeah! If we find it, maybe we’ll know what her plans are to get into the Livewood! Then we’ll be able to stop her!” Apple Bloom hopped up excitedly and raced toward the library shelves.
“Wait, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo called. But it was too late. In her enthusiasm, Apple Bloom had moved out of Starlight’s protective bubble. The bad-luck curse was back. With an ominous rumble, the shelves of the library quivered.
“Oops,” Apple Bloom whispered. She ran back to her friends, but the damage had been done. The library shelves were collapsing, blocking the doors and trapping them in an avalanche of books.
“You must ha
ve triggered some kind of security spell,” Starlight yelled. “Everypony, under here!” She beckoned them to a sturdy reading table.
Scootaloo dove for the shelter, the other Crusaders and Starlight squeezing in beside her. The library continued to shake around them, books falling in dusty cascades. When they finally stopped, the table was completely buried.
Sweetie Belle shoved at the wall of books entombing them.
“It’ll take us days to dig our way out of here,” she whimpered.
“Well, start digging!” Scootaloo said, pulling a book out of the pile. Another book instantly slid in to replace it. The entire pile rumbled dangerously.
“Maybe that’s not the best idea.” Apple Bloom stared at the books warily. Scootaloo kicked the floor angrily.
“We’re supposed to protect the Livewood? We can’t even make it out of a library!”
“Okay, everypony. Take a breath,” Starlight said, looking pretty nervous herself. “Even when things seem hopeless, there’re always options.”
“What options? We’re trapped, we’re cursed, and you can’t use any magic.” Scootaloo groaned.
“True,” said Starlight, “but when the Changelings took Twilight and the others, none of us could use magic, either. And even though it seemed impossible, we kept trying. Even Discord…” Starlight trailed off mid-sentence.
“Even Discord what?” Apple Bloom asked. Starlight chewed her lip thoughtfully.
“Could that work?” Starlight mumbled to herself. “Not while my wards are up. But if I let them down…” She glanced at the Crusaders.
Scootaloo looked at the others; it was clear none of them had any idea what Starlight was talking about.
Finally, Starlight seemed to make up her mind. “I think I know a way out of here. But I’m going to have to cast a spell,” she explained. “That means I need to release the magic that’s keeping us safe.”
“So we’ll go back to being cursed again?” Apple Bloom asked. Starlight nodded.
Cursed Crusaders Page 2