Having lived the last couple years or so on Sweet Apple Acres had conditioned him to rise with the sun, but still Twinken always managed to sneak in a few extra winks of sleep. He didn't worry so much about Applejack coming in to boot his rump out of bed, since his mom, Faerie Tail, had moved in as well. She insisted Twinken and Apple Bloom needed just a little more sleep, which meant now he and his adoptive sister got to sleep past the crack of dawn.

But even as his mind was adrift in slumber, he was teetering closer to wakefulness, which allowed for a particular aroma to tickle his nose and he snapped out of it, bolting right up in bed as he smelled, "Waffles...!!"

Groaning and stretching, Twinken hopped out of bed, went to the bathroom to relieve himself, brush his teeth and mane, and then stopped by Apple Bloom's door. He knocked and called, "Apple Bloom, you awake?"

He heard her sleepy groaning inside and though he considered letting her sleep in (and help himself to a bigger helping of waffles) he knew she'd be ornery if she wasn't woken for breakfast. He opened the door, walked in, and smiled deviously to see her all snug and tight under her covers. His horn lighting up red, he levitated Apple Bloom up off her bed and unceremoniously whipped off her blankets, starling her awake!
"T-Twinkennnn!!!"

Apple Bloom rubbed her eyes and stretched her forelegs out before giving her adoptive brother the stink eye, which made him chuckle, "Sorry, Bloom, but you don't wanna be late for my mom's waffles, right?"

"...Waffles?" Apple Bloom's mouth already began to water at the mention of Faerie Tail's waffles. She took a deep sniff but looked confused, "Ah don' smell waffles, did yer mom tell you she was makin'em?"

"No, I smelled them in bed, is what to me to wake up. C'mon!" Twinken gently set Apple Bloom on her hooves on the floor, and now that she'd taken another look at him, Apple Bloom gasped.

"Twinken, your- Your eyes! And- And..."

"What about my eyes?" Twinken raised a confused brow.

"Look fer yerself," Apple Bloom pointed to her mirror and Twinken gave himself a look and gasped to see what Apple Bloom was saying!

His eyes were the same bright red as they'd always been, but his pupils... They were narrow, darker, like the eyes of a predator. Then he began to notice other things. When he'd gasped, he couldn't help but notice his teeth now had fangs, and the tips of his ears had longer tufts of hair. He ran his tongue along his fangs, which were sharp and felt slightly bladed in the back. He reached up with his hoof to touch the tufts of hair on his ear tips and was surprised by how sensitive they were.

"...Princess Luna said this might happen," he whispered.

"Wha' was that, Twink?"Apple Bloom walked up to her brother's side, concern in her bright orange eyes, "Are y'okay?"

"I'm... alright, Bloom," Twinken was a little disturbed, if he was being honest with himself, "Remember how I told you Princess Luna gave me the power of Dream Walking? She said it was only possible because I have lunar pony blood. She said other traits or lunar powers I might get would come on their own or never at all. I guess... my lunar pony side is finally coming out a little more."

"But yer okay, right?" Apple Bloom pressed, "Feel like anything's wrong or...?"

"No, I'm okay, just... a little surprised," Twinken felt a little dense, "I guess I didn't notice the changes because I was so excited to get- !!"

He gasped as he remembered, "Waffles!

"C'mon, Apple Bloom!"

Although she herself was a tad put off by these new changes in her brother, Apple Bloom followed Twinken downstairs. As they descended downstairs, Twinken was certain he heard Granny Smith, Applejack, and his mom, Faerie Tail.

Oh, Mac an' Fluttershy are jus' lookin' sweeter than candy on a apple. Won' be long before they're growin' their branch o' th' Apple Family an' Ah'll be hearin' tiny hooves in th' house again.

Ah gotta talk t' Mac about tha' part o' the southern orchard. Thunder said it looked mighty rotten an' them wormy apples were proof enough when Ah checked.

I wonder if there are any jobs in town that involve books... I'm grateful to the Mayor for giving me work in Town Hall, but...

As they stepped into the living room, Twinken saw Granny Smith setting out copious helpings of waffles, hay-bacon, apple sauce, and juice to every plate and cup at the dining table while Applejack had already started eating and Faerie Tail was looking in the morning newspaper.

"Mornin', sugarcubes, come n' get it while th' gettin's goo-," Granny invited the foals only to drop her spatula as her eyes fell upon Twinken.

"Uh, good morning, everypony," Twinken responded with a forced smile as Applejack and Faerie Tail also took notice of Twinken's... changes. "Okay, nopony freak out! Lemme explain!"

The mares were relieved to hear Twinken wasn't ill or under some strange spell but were admittedly a tad put off by his new features.

"So then... this happened because Princess Luna gave you the power of Dream Walking?" asked Faerie Tail.

"Yes and no," Twinken elaborated, "See, Princess Luna said it's because I have lunar pony blood that I had the dormant potential for Dream Walking, but because of how distant it is I prob'ly would never have developed it. So she... woke it up? Something like that, sorta... bringing that part of me to the surface. Later on, she said other lunar pony traits might appear in time or not at all."

"Ah s'pose after all this time, wha' wit' you learnin' from Princess Luna," guessed Applejack, "yer lunar pony side is... startin' t' kick in fully."

"Well... as long as you're okay," Faerie Tail still looked a little troubled, "though I am going to read up on lunar ponies."

"Oh don' fret too much over it, honey," Granny Smith reached over and ruffled her adoptive grandson's mane, making him laugh in protest, "Jus' means th' boy's growin' up in another way, is all. Now scoot yer cabooses an' get t' stuffin'!"

They all enjoyed their breakfast in silence, but as they ate, Twinken felt a funny feeling at the base of his horn.

Wait, if Twinken is of lunar pony descent, who does he get it from?

Twinken looked up at his mother but her mouth was busy chewing on some hay-bacon. Weird... Maybe she just said that before she popped it into her mouth?

Ah wonder if Thunder would lend a hoof dealin' wit' them rottin' trees.

Twinken looked to Applejack but realized she was drinking her apple juice. Shaking his head, he just kept eating.

Ugh, darn tha' itches, gonna need some extra cream pretty soon.

Twinken suddenly sucked too hard while his mouth was full- "ACK!!!" He began coughing as he felt a bit of his mouthful go down the wrong tube while the rest he accidentally coughed out onto the table, alarming everypony! Faerie Tail quickly patted Twinken's back as he cleared his throat and began to pant, relieved to breathe again.

"Twinken, wha' in th' hay?!" Applejack grabbed a dish towel and began cleaning up the table.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Faerie Tail held Twinken's face and the colt nodded.

"Yeah...! Yeah, I'm good, Mom, I, uh... " Glancing at the clock, Twinken quickly said, "I just... realized the time! Apple Bloom, let's go!"

He hopped off his chair and made for the door, "We're gonna be late for school!"

"But Ah'm not fini-" Apple Bloom protested only for Twinken's red aura to enshroud her and levitate her out the door.

But just before he closed it behind him, he gave Granny Smith a look and said, "Granny? ...Too much information!"

SLAM.

The three mares all sat there at the table, confused, Faerie Tail and Applejack looking over to Granny Smith for answers and she shrugged, as much at a loss as they.

"Didja hav' t' drag me out before Ah finished eatin'?" Apple Bloom complained as they neared the schoolhouse.

"Sorry, Bloom, it's..." Twinken then shuddered in disgust when he had a picture in his head, "I promise to make it up to you. Howza milkshake or cupcake over at Sugarcube Corner after school sound?"

"Mmm, Ah guess, it'll gimme sumpin' t' look forward to t'day," Apple Bloom compromised.

"Hey guys!"

They looked ahead to see the rest of their fellow Crusaders coming their way, I can't wait to share my ideas with them!

"Hi everypony," Twinken greeted them, "Got something for, Sweetie Belle?"

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Sweetie Belle beamed, "I've been looking over our charts, and even though we've tried a lot of different things I did a lot of thinking last night before bed and came up with some more ideas to get our cutie-marks!"

"Tha' sounds dandy, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom's funk quickly vanished as she smile,d "After all..."

*BRRRRRRRRINNNNNNGGGG*

"Alright, my little ponies!" called out the voice of Miss Cheerilee, "It's time for class, everypony inside!"

Everypony hurried in and once everypony had taken their seats, Cheerilee raised her voice over the colts & fillies, "Settle down, my little ponies, big day today!"

The excited chatter finally ceased and all eyes and ears were turned to Cheerilee, who announced, "It's now the second term of the school year, so it's time once again to elect a new Student Pony President! Like always, we-"

"Miss Cheerilee! I'd like to run for president!" declared (and interrupted) Diamond Tiara, who'd raised her hoof as high as she could.

"Oh, well, very well, Diamond Tiar-"

"Miss Cheerilee, I'm running too!" yelled Hotshot as he zipped up with his hoof in the air, earning a glare from Diamond Tiara.

"Uh- Okay, Hotshot, goodness!" Cheerilee hadn't expected candidates so quickly.

"Oh great!" Twinken whispered to Button Mash beside him. "You know if either Diamond Tiara or Hotshot win they're gonna milk it for all it's worth."

"Well then... why don't you run for president, Twinken?" whispered Button back.

"Me?!" Twinken flabbergasted and his friends joined in.

"Yeah, you're the little brother of a prince," Rumble pointed out.
"Everypony in class knows you and likes you," added Sweetie Belle.
"Yer a hard worker an' always so helpful," Apple Bloom praised.
"You'd cream those two!" Scootaloo softly punched her hooves together.

Well, at the very least I could prevent them from taking advantage of becoming president... Twinken thought before he furrowed his brows and raised his hoof.
"Count me in too, Miss Cheerilee!"

"Well... Alrighty then!" Cheerilee wrote Diamond Tiara's, Hotshot's, and Twinken's names onto the blackboard and then invited, "Anypony else? Hmm?"

When nopony else spoke up or raised their hoof, Cheerilee nodded, "Very well then, Diamond Tiara, Hotshot, Twinken, the three of you are this semester's candidates for Student Pony President. Today, I want the three of you to brainstorm on your campaign and tomorrow you'll each take a turn to speak to the class as to why you believe you should be voted for and elected Student Pony President."

The three students all nodded, but then they shared glaring looks at each other...
Blank flank...
Loser!

Twinken softly gasped in alarm as he heard what were unmistakably his competitions' voices, except, They didn't move their mouths!

Later, the class had been excused for recess, and now Twinken was sitting with his friends as they discussed his campaign with him.

"Yer gonna need a real good pitch f'yer speech tomorrow, Twinken," Apple Bloom stated.
"I wonder what Diamond Tiara's gonna say in her speech," Button Mash brought up.
"Probably go on and on about how she alone deserves to be president because she's soooo much better than everypony else," Sweetie Belle remarked with a huff.
"What about Hotshot?" Rumble wondered.
"Yeah, why does he even wanna be Student Pony President?" Scootaloo pointed out, "He's a showoff!"

As they continued to talk, Twinken wasn't really paying attention to his friends as his eyes wandered around the schoolyard. He saw Carrot Crunch playing with First Base, Cotton Cloudy talking with Piña Colada, Pipsqueak was on the merry-go-round with Featherweight, and Shady Daze was discussing a Bronco Busters comic book with Chip Mint, to name a few of the other foals' activities.

Except... Twinken wasn't so much watching his fellow students hanging out, at least... not so much as he was listening.

He's crazy, Elasti-Colt could totally kick the Mane-iac's butt! I hope Piña's big sis will make those awesome fruit smoothies for our slumber party next week. I wish Dad would get back out there... I think he'd be happy, especially if I got a new mom out of it. Ooh... Gotta get off, getting really dizzy...! I hope Twinken wins, or at least Hotshot. Diamond Tiara's such a meanie. I bet Hotshot will do something awesome if he wins! Ugh, I hate these teeth, but I'm still scared of getting my braces!Twinken for president! Hee-hee, he'll do great!Why are they all...I wish Diamond Tiara would listen to me more. Who said that? I-I can't... Heh, dumb losers, they'll both be eating my dust after I win this election! Stop it, I can't hear- I need- Why ain't Twinken sayin' nothin'? Apple Bloom...? Help me... please!

As so many different voices filled his head, Twinken was quickly becoming overwhelmed, unable to think, all the while the base of his horn tingled and vibrated uncomfortably as he began to feel as though a vice was pinching the inside of his brain! He became more and more lost inside his own head as all these voices were echoing inside his skull like a cacophony of instruments out of tune.

Those stupid blank flanks are not going to get the better of me! Hey, Twinken's not looking good. Stop it... I hope the candidates remember what's important about this election. Stop it! Bladerunner's such a dummy head! STOP IT!!!!!

An agonizing spike in his head caused everything to turn black as Twinken fell over, and the last thing he heard was somepony shouting his name.

This takes the place of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark"

In case you haven't read my blogs or don't remember, I'm going a different route with the Crusaders getting their cutie-marks. Instead of getting their cutie-marks together and at the same time, in my story-canon they're going to get their marks one by one and their marks won't be so closely connected as they are in the show-canon, which admittedly annoyed me. Cutie-Marks should represent more than just a talent but also individuality, especially in more complicated characters

So you'll probably guess that this arc will have Twinken getting his cutie-mark first; I made this decision not because I'm favoring Twinken but because what I have in mind for his mark and talent apply appropriately to what's going on in this arc; also, I've gone ahead in emphasizing Twinken's unlocked lunar pony heritage and revealing his new power