Stories of the Teenage Cutie Mark Crusaders

Stories of the Teenage Cutie Mark Crusaders is a series-like fanfic written by Prince Luna. It is currently not complete. Chapters are published in episodic style on a random basis.

The fanfic follows the Cutie Mark Crusaders 8 years after the original Friendship is Magic series; none of the three have their cutie marks yet at the age of 15. The series starts with the trio visiting the Grand Galloping Gala and introduces Shiner, a love interest for Scootaloo. From there, the story follows the Crusaders and Shiner in their exploits to discover what their special talents really are, but now they've got high school and other ponies on their mind and getting in their way.

Style
The fic follows the light setting of the original show. It is not written from the perspective of any particular character. Chapters usually have a focus on a particular pony and one of their problems, the series starts with a lot of character development to establish the changes to older characters through the timeskip and to introduce new characters, then as it goes on, the quest for cutie marks becomes more central.

Chapters

 * The Night They've Been Waiting For

The Crusaders go to the Grand Galloping Gala for the first time, but the boredom of the event and Scootaloo's time spent with Shiner begins to break the ponies' friendship.


 * Cousin Applebrown Comes to Visit

Apple Bloom is excited for her cousin Applebrown, who she hasn't seen since she was just a foal, to come and visit. Her friends aren't exactly as enthusiastic as she is and soon she discovers that Applebrown is a huge troublemaker.


 * Made by the Hoof, Horn to Horn

Sweetie Belle has no idea what to do for her textiles project and turns to Rarity for help; but when Quick Quilt, another pony in her class who is much too competitive, mocks her for getting the assistance, Sweetie Belle must choose whether to stand up to Quick Quilt or continue her project without her sister.


 * Pony Work Experience Day

The Crusaders are off school for the day to volunteer in the workplace. Apple Bloom is helping out at Sugarcube Corner, Shiner is assisting Rarity at Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle is looking after the kids at the pre-school and Scootaloo has to deliver the mail for the day. It turns out that the jobs they picked just aren't right for them.


 * Start the Presses

Making a start on their quest for cutie marks, the crusaders decide to become a part of their high school's paper; but things take an unexpected turn when they find out that the leader of the newspaper team is Diamond Tiara. After hearing that Regal Crown, the prince son of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, is missing the crusaders decide to investigate the case. Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara begins to take advantage of Shiner's good will, getting him to do all his work for her.


 * Love with a Twist

Just as Diamond Tiara's use of Shiner is becoming evident, Snails approaches Scootaloo and Shiner with a request; he wants to ask out his crush, but he's much too scared and wants advice. After falling out with Snips, the future of his love life depends on the advice of the young couple; but Snails' friendship with Snips also concerns him.


 * An Interview with Royalty

At last, the Crusaders make their way to Crystal Courtyard in Canterlot to question Shining Armor and Princess Cadence about the dissapearance of their son. What they learn and how it relates to future events for them changes their perspective on the case to a more personal aspect.


 * The Residential: Day 1 (Not yet published)

The residential talked about in previous chapters finally begins. In the first part of this story arc, we meet Shiner's chaotic dormmates, learn more about Buckingham Manor and the mystery as to where Regal Crown has dissapeared to begins to unfold.

Major Original Characters
Shiner - a grey pegasus with a brown mane and silver platter cutie mark. He is a new main character, Scootaloo's boyfriend, and the fourth cutie mark crusader. Even though he already has a cutie mark, the others trust his intelligence to assist them in finding theirs. He's kind, smart and can't say no to anypony.

Scribble Dibble - a dark blue pegasus with a black mane and scroll cutie mark. Hyperactive, creative and loud; Scribble Dibble is truly the creative mind. Though he has pegasus wings, his flying ability is worse than even Scootaloo's. He enjoys english class at school and has written several novel-sized stories as his special talent is writing. He is best friends with Heavy Metal and Stellar Spike.

Heavy Metal - a grey unicorn with white mane and a microphone cutie mark. Heavy Metal is righteous, smart and argumentative. With a thick Emerald Isle accent, it's hard not to listen to him; especially when his special talent is singing. He can go for any genre with his musical ability. He is best friends with Scribble Dibble and Stellar Spike.

Stellar Spike - a brown pegasus with a darker brown mane and telecope cutie mark. Stellar is a bit slow witted but hillarious, daring and talkative. He loves astronomy and once he gets going about the stars, he can't stop. He's often ready to take on the dangers of life just for fun, even if his friends are unsure of it. He is best friends with Scribble Dibble and Heavy Metal.

Origin
At first, the whole fanfic was a one-shot consiting of only the first chapter; there was nothing different about it to how it is now. Over time, Prince Luna decided he wanted to write another Crusader one-shot about Apple Bloom (Cousin Applebrown Comes to Visit), then thought it could work better if it linked to his other story and so Stories of the Teenage Cutie Mark Cruasders was formed.

Spin-Offs
The series has spawned one spin-off written by Prince Luna. It focuses on the lives of the older ponies as if they went to Canterlot High, the school the crusaders attend. It is currently on hiatus however after four stories (Vinyl Scratch, Rainbow Dash, Lyra Heartstrings and Fluttershy). The story is considered by Prince Luna to be non-canon to Stories of the Teenage Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Stories from Canterlot High

Another spin-off that is canon is in the works. It will be started by Prince Luna after The Residential Arc.