Cutie Mark Crusaders

The Cutie Mark Crusaders (CMC) is a club consisting of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, formed in Call of the Cutie. Their unity is based on being "blank flanks", ponies who have not yet gotten their cutie marks. Each filly represents a different race, with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle being an Earth pony, Pegasus pony, and a unicorn respectively.

The exploits of the Cutie Mark Crusaders are featured in several episodes in the series.

Founding
Although the three fillies only introduce themselves to each other in Call of the Cutie, the three make an appearance together in Friendship is Magic, part 1 huddling under a table in fear of Nightmare Moon. According to a layout artist, the scene was originally story boarded with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, but he was sent different characters for the shot. The artist assumed the different characters were sent by mistake, and used the Cutie Mark Crusaders instead.

The three fillies meet at Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera and form a bond, as all three don't have their cutie marks yet. Sweetie Belle suggests they found a "secret society". They each propose a name for it and Apple Bloom`s suggestion–Cutie Mark Crusaders–is approved by everyone. The term Crusade refers to any military expedition undertaken by the Christians of Europe in the 11th to the 13th century to reclaim the Levant, though it is commonly used as a metaphor meaning a vigorous movement for or against something.

Development
The society is not kept a secret, as the Crusaders later come to sing about it at a talent contest and often shout out the name of their group. The club's purpose is to "work together to find out who we are, and what we're supposed to be", and the Crusaders are often seen engaging in activities in pursuit of their cutie marks.

In The Show Stoppers, Applejack passed on her old clubhouse for the Crusaders to use. Initially the clubhouse is dilapidated, but Apple Bloom fully repairs it and the clubhouse becomes their headquarters. A watchtower with a telescope is added by Family Appreciation Day. In following episodes, the watchtower disappears and reappears between scenes.

Activities
The Crusaders pursue various activities to discover their special talents. They briefly try carpentry and chicken-herding in Stare Master, and feature in a montage of pig farming, taffy making, hairdressing, mind-reading, mountain climbing, and underwater exploring in The Show Stoppers. Right after the montage, the three make a mess in Twilight Sparkle's library in pursuit of a librarian cutie mark. Twilight enters with Cheerilee, who suggests the Crusaders appear in a talent show. The fillies excitedly suggest juggling, acting, magic tricks, square dancing, tightrope-walking, and tiger-taming, but Twilight advises them to try things they're already good at. They concur, but throughout the series they seem oblivious to their innate talents. The Crusaders' insistence on pursuing different activities seems to comes from Rainbow Dash in Call of the Cutie, who suggests "[trying] as many things as possible as quickly as possible", however this view is not shared by Applejack, Cheerilee, or Twilight.

Innate talents

 * Apple Bloom: Whoa! Hi, Scootaloo! Back already? You're amazin' on that scooter.
 * Scootaloo: Thanks! Wow, Apple Bloom. You did all of this?
 * Apple Bloom: Yep! I've fixed the broken shutters, sanded off the splinters, rebuilt the roof, painted...
 * Scootaloo: That's so cool. What's Sweetie Belle up to?


 * Sweetie Belle: [humming a song]
 * Apple Bloom: There you are, Sweetie Belle! See? I told you we could find her by following her totally awesome voice.

The Crusaders demonstrate their talents very clearly in The Show Stoppers. Apple Bloom quickly and masterfully repairs the broken-down tree house that Applejack passes on to the Crusaders, Sweetie Belle effortlessly composes rhymes and music for their "theme song", and Scootaloo performs spectacular maneuvers on her scooter. Later, Apple Bloom asks Sweetie Belle to be the singer in their act, but she opts for making the costumes and scenery; she asks Scootaloo to do the choreography, but she opts for singing; and Apple Bloom herself is left with the choreography. They each find their chosen task difficult, and get help from the other Crusader who is skilled at the task.

Sweetie Belle tries her hand at sewing in Stare Master. She makes capes for the Crusaders, complete with a patch of the club's emblem. However the results are somewhat patchy and ragged. In the same episode, she breaks into song in a very theatrical and professional manner. In Friendship is Magic, part 1, when Twilight and Spike are looking for their copy of Predictions and Prophecies, one of the books Twilight pulls out has an emblem similar to the Crusaders' emblem.

Near the end of The Show Stoppers, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash visit the Crusaders backstage. While Applejack and Rarity are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's older sisters, respectively, Rainbow Dash is not related to Scootaloo. However, Scootaloo idolizes and looks up to her, as seen in The Cutie Mark Chronicles.

Appearances
There are five episodes centered around the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Stare Master, The Show Stoppers, The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Hearts and Hooves Day and Ponyville Confidential. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are also featured together in Friendship is Magic, part 1, Call of the Cutie, The Return of Harmony Part 1, Lesson Zero, Luna Eclipsed, The Cutie Pox, Secret of My Excess, Hearth's Warming Eve, Family Appreciation Day, It's About Time, and A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, and separately in A Friend in Deed. They also appear in the remastered opening sequence in the last car of the train that passes by after Twilight Sparkle hops off her hot air balloon.

In the cold open of The Return of Harmony Part 1, they argue over what the "statue" of Discord represents. Apple Bloom says it represents confusion, Sweetie Belle says it represents evil, and Scootaloo says it represents chaos. After a brief scrap between the Crusaders, Cheerilee assigns them to each write an essay explaining the meaning of "discord".

They are the initial victims of Twilight Sparkle's shenanigans in Lesson Zero when she gives them a doll in hopes that they will fight over it, allowing her to stop them and get in her friendship report on time. She casts a "want it need it" spell on the doll and shows it to the girls. The girls' pupils turn to hearts and they begin fighting over it. Twilight, unable to break up the fight, gets Big Macintosh to take the doll away from them, but the spell affects him too, and subsequently causes dozens of ponies to fight over the doll. Princess Celestia eventually undoes the spell.

They appear briefly in Luna Eclipsed, dressed up as the three classic Universal Studios horror movie monsters: Sweetie Belle as Dracula, Scootaloo as the Wolf Man, and Apple Bloom is the Bride of Frankenstein rather than the monster.

In Hearts and Hooves Day, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are trying to find a stallion in Ponyville that would be perfect for their teacher, Cheerilee, for Hearts and Hooves Day. They are also featured in the song The Perfect Stallion in this episode, where they choose Big Macintosh as Cheerilee's "special somepony".

In Ponyville Confidential, the Cutie Mark Crusaders become reporters for their school newspaper, under the group name, "Gabby Gums." They print several scandalous stories, but when they discover how harmful the stories are, they reveal themselves in an open letter, apologizing to the town.

In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, the Cutie Mark Crusaders serve as flower fillies for the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders appear together in the fourth episode of season three.

Other depictions
Two toy sets focus on the three Cutie Mark Crusaders. The set Pony School Pals & Cheerilee features them and Cheerilee similarly to The Show Stoppers, with the description "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo really want to earn their cutie marks, and they're not afraid of getting on stage to perform at the school talent show! Their teacher, Cheerilee, is there to cheer them on!" The Pony Wedding set Wedding Flower Fillies features them similarly to their appearance in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, with the description "Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo have never been to a wedding before. They can’t wait to dress up and wear flowers in their hair!"

Apple Blooms großes Abenteuer, one of the comics in the German magazine, is about the first meetup of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, evidently taking place at some point after the club's founding. In the comic, the three fillies go to the lake and subsequently try riding a banana boat towed by four Pegasus ponies. Afterward, the Crusaders get muddy, and the comic ends with the three of them taking a bath together as Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle watch. The Crusaders also appear on a poster in the same issue, as well as on the issue's cover. In Einfach rufus, a comic in another issue of the same magazine, a portrait of the three Crusaders is shown on the wall of Sweetie Belle's room.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are featured on the Comic Con 2011 promotional poster and on several merchandise designs carried by WeLoveFine, Zazzle, and FashionPlaytes.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are shown together in My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Discover the Difference, appearing in the Call of the Cutie and The Show Stoppers images. All three of the Crusaders are available characters in the Hasbro version of Castle Creator, the Valentine's Day version of Card Creator, and both versions of Twilight Sparkle's Royal Invitation Designer.

A promotional image from the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Facebook page shows the Cutie Mark Crusaders along with seven other characters from the show, and a promotional image from Hasbro's My Little Pony Facebook page shows the trio dressed in their flower filly outfits from A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2.

Galleries

 * Apple Bloom image gallery
 * Scootaloo image gallery
 * Sweetie Belle image gallery