My Brave Pony Starfleet Magic: Season V

by DakariKingMykan

Episode 9: Crusading Confidence

EPISODE NINE

On the day Pinkie became infected by D-Bug, was the first day of the Cutiemark Crusader’s punishment; Up at dawn, and then off to New Sweet Apple Acres to do Big Mac’s chores until his broken leg healed.

Applebloom and DD were used to early rising, but Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo defiantly had problems with it. It was very hard for them to stay awake, and even harder to do all the heavy farm chores due to not being fully awake.

Loading the hay-wagons, fetching water, picking apples and bringing back the bushels, and even caring for the animals—milking the cows, herding the sheep, feeding the chickens and getting their eggs.

Easily, the dirtiest job was feeding the hogs and getting so messy it finally shook them all awake.

Applejack allowed the girls to shower, and did make breakfast for them all.

Then, despite their exhaustion, it was off to school, under the escort of Buddy Rose.

The girls were so wiped from their morning work that they didn’t feel much like playing in the playground.

“And you do this sort of stuff every day?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Eeyup.” replied Applebloom “Only it’s not always this tough when everyone pitches in. Usually Big Mac handles all the super heavy work.”

“And we still have to work after school too.” said DD.

“Don’t remind me.” groaned Scootaloo.

Still, it wasn’t all that. The girls had been feeling a bit downhearted lately, since their trap didn’t actually succeed in catching the Black Dragon Knight, even though Spike promised not to leave New Ponyville.

Applebloom, Sweetie and Scootaloo felt more downhearted; fearing they would never get their cutiemarks, after all the things they had been through together, still nothing happened.

“We’re gonna be Blank-Flanks, forever.” groaned Sweetie.

“I’ve been telling you that for how long now?” asked Diamond Tiara as she and Silver Spoon came along. “Took you geeks long enough to admit It.” teased Silver.

“We’re not admitting anything!” snapped Scootaloo.

“Funny, then why did you say you’ll never get your cutiemarks…” said Diamond “I know the truth hurts.”

The girls were getting angry, but the bell rang and it was time for class.

“Later, Blank-Flanks...” chuckled Silver as she and Diamond walked off laughing at the girls.

The girls decided not to let it bother them, and felt they would get back at those two with their report, which was due today.

They had collected a lot of signatures from their census, and really felt that they had the best report in class.

“All right Colts and Fillies…” said Cheerilee “I hope you all remember, today we present our reports on how you feel the best way to learn about things about someone. Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon, you’re up first.”

The girls walked with pride to the front of the class room, and Diamond cleared her throat. “The best way, and possibly the only way to really get to know someone is asking questions.”

The crusader’s winced softly.

“Silver Spoon and I went around town asking questions to other ponies. For example, did you know that Queen Celestia’s favorite color is white?”

This awed the class, but shocked the crusaders. “She’s stealin’ our report.” Applebloom cried softly.

“And did you know that Grand Ruler’s favorite word is “Stars.” said Silver Spoon.

On and on they went, telling the exact same things the crusaders had taken with their census, word-for-word.

The girls could not believe their ears, while the rest of the class, even Cheerilee applauded the seemingly honest work Diamond and Silver had used. “That’s very impressive, ladies. Defiantly worth and A…”

The crusaders just sat at their desks with their mouths opened wide, and Diamond silently glared at the girls naughtily.

Finally, Sweetie Belle bolted upright and shouted “YOU STOLE OUR REPORT!!”

The entire room went silence.

Cheerilee’s features hardened “Really, Sweetie Belle. Is that the tone of voice we use when in class?”

“But Ms. Cheerilee, it’s true.” said DD.

Diamond acted insulted “We didn’t steal anything.” she said “I’d never steal anything, especially another student’s project.”

“But we can prove it…” said Scootaloo, and she and the others handed Cheerilee their notes and all their census sheets complete with signatures. All the papers looked exactly the same; even the signatures were identical.

The only difference was, Diamond and Silver had marked theirs with dates on them, from a week ago, something to crusaders neglected to do.

“So, you’re trying to steal from us.” said Silver, and she pretended to get all sad moody “How could you girls?! All we wanted to do was give a nice report to the class.”

Cheerilee wasn’t sure what to believe, but since the crusaders could not really prove Diamond and Silver cheated, she had no choice. “I’m sorry girls, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to fail you on this report for cheating.”

“WHAT?!” the girls cried in shock.

All the other students laughed at them.

“And furthermore…” said Cheerilee “All four of you will stay after school and wash the blackboards.”

The girls simply could not believe this.

“Great, more work…” groaned DD.

At lunch, the girls didn’t feel too hungry to eat their lunches; too embarrassed and too angry and outraged…

They caught a glimpse of Diamond Tiara and Silver sitting atop the jungle-gym, and they stared back, and stuck their tongues out at them.

As angry as the girls were, they didn’t want to get into even more trouble than they were already in.

“How in the hayfield did they get a hold of our census results?” Applebloom wondered aloud.

“However they did it, I doubt we can prove It.” said Scootaloo.

“Yeah, just like when we blew it with our trap.” said DD.

“Well at least some of us didn’t tattle.” scoffed Sweetie.

“Are we going to start that again?” DD said gruffly.

The girls broke into a soft squabble.

*Mykan’s POV*

I was going to be teaching the second half of class that day, educating the ponies about the human world where I came from.

I had just arrived on the school grounds and saw them arguing.

“Hey, hey, hey…” I said “What’s with you girls? Just yesterday you were a close club, and now you’re playing who can shout the loudest?”

The girls felt more embarrassed than ever, and apologized to me.

“Sorry, Mr. Stevens…”

I sat down near them “I think you should be apologizing more to each other than to me.”

I was well aware of the little stunt they tried to pull with their trap, and I was just as shocked as anyone when I found out, and I didn’t approve at all of their actions, even with their good intentions.

“I knew I should’ve told, but I didn’t want to be a tattletale.” said DD.

I put my hand on her shoulder and told her “Well, it is true, no one likes a tattletale, but of course if you see or know someone’s doing something really dangerous, you should always tell a grown-up straight away. That’s not being a tattletale. That’s being sensible.”

The girls agreed, but still they didn’t feel any better. “Now our report is ruined.” said Sweetie “And we can’t prove Diamond and Silver cheated.”

“Hmm, sounds to me like you girls are lacking your confidence. That’s not a good thing.”

The girls looked up at me. “Well, can you blame us?” asked Applebloom “Nothin’’s been goin’ right with us.”

I could see this needed a little extra boost, so I decided to tell the girls a story of when I was about their ages. Long before I came to United Equestria…

When I was eight years old, I was already doing work at a high school level. My grades were very outstanding because I was fascinated by arts and sciences that I just couldn’t get enough.

I would spend all my free time studying my books, and doing extra-credit assignments, even though I was content with this, deep down, I did feel rather lonesome.

I was transferred to High School before I even knew it, and it was pretty awkward, a boy my age at a school with kids who were much older and taller than I was, and believe me, I did get taunted and teased a lot for it.

“Who let the baby in here?”

“Daycare is that way, squirt.”

“Oh, look at these books. Shouldn’t you be reading mother goose instead?”

It became obvious to me that I wouldn’t be making friends with people like that, and then again, I wouldn’t want them as friends anyway.

I soon found out how boorish and demeaning these teens really were. Most preferred to slack in their studies and pull pranks on people rather than focus on their education.

Very few students were like me, and they got picked on a lot; getting hit with spitballs, and paper-planes, and whenever they tried to stand up to themselves, it just got them in deeper trouble.

I tried to befriend those kids like me, but they too wouldn’t give me the chance; saying I was too small, or that they didn’t want some little kid helping them.

How do you like that? Even among misfits I was misfit.

Still, I tried my best not to let it get to me. Sometimes, I even sang a song of how I preferred to be myself instead of living up to other people’s expectation.

(Just the music: 0:20)

I don’t mind much, being nerdy as such
When I don’t fit in well with the crowd
Being like the rest, it’s really not the best
When I like who I am, I feel proud.
Some tease and taunt, but it’s not what I want
Cuz I know that I’m right and they're wrong
Studying in school is what I judge as cool
That’s why I’m singing this song.

Humans are the same creatures
But it’s just physical in most features
We’re not all the same, and sometimes that’s a shame
Acting cool may bring some smiles
But studying’s better in a while
Oh different peeps have different styles.

Then, things went from bad to worse…

As I went to school one day, I went to my first class and saw someone had drawn on the blackboard a poorly drawn stick figure that was supposed to resemble me, with my finger up my nose.

Everyone laughed at me, but I didn’t find it funny at all. So I went up to the board and erased it, not knowing that I had been set up again.

When it came time to hand in our assignments, I handed mine in without even looking at it, and at the end of class I was told to stay behind. The teacher was very cross me, and then she showed me why.

The assignment that I handed in was a photograph of her, in the school shower--some of the staff liked to take their showers at school instead of at home, feeling it was cheaper.

“Can you explain yourself?!” she sneered at me.

I couldn’t understand it myself, and then I realized that obviously one of the bullies in the class had switched my book when I was erasing the blackboard, and I was betting it was a Gary, who picked on me more than most did.

He was a below average student with failing grades, and he didn’t seem to care much about that, but I couldn’t really prove it was him. To make matters worse, I found my real folder containing my report in my desk with my real assignment. So at least I got to turn it in, but still, for the photograph, even if it were meant as a joke did not get me off the hook.

I tried to vouch for myself, but I had no proof, I couldn’t even be sure that it was Gary who did it. Lots of bullies in class had it for me, and I couldn’t explain how I got the photograph or the other folder that it was presented in.

Despite the teacher wanting to believe I was telling the truth, until I could come up with any proof, I was sentenced to a month of detention.

I told my folks about what had happened, and they… actually believed me. They knew that I had always been a good boy and would never stoop so low, but still, with no proof to back up my story, they couldn’t really help me.

They tried to talking with my teacher, and it was the same story. Unless I could get proof, I was guilty.

My confidence was really hitting an all-time low, and worse, every day at school I was bullied mercilessly by Gary and others.

Some would take pictures of me and post them online the internet labeling me a peeping tom for the picture, and others would call me names like…

“Picture Peeper”

“Hey dude, I didn’t know you had the hots for older women.”

“Hey let’s call the cops on him.”

I was growing so outraged that I wanred them that I would tell if they didn’t stop. This only made them mock me more.

“What, you wanna be a tattletale?”

“Didn’t they teach you manners, or we going to have to.”

That last one of course was a threat of getting beaten up if I told, and of course there was no way a kid like me could stand up to such big teens like them.

Everywhere I went I was laughed at, pushed, and teased… I just wanted to curl up in the corner and cry, and I did…

…I felt so alone, and I began to feel it was time to face facts that I just didn’t belong in high-school. I wanted to drop out.

Then, one night, I had a strange dream…

There I was in a strange world, it was just like Earth, only it was a horrible sight to behold. “What is all this?” I asked.

Then, mysteriously, I was approached by… myself, or rather the last bit of my confidence that wasn’t ready to give up. “Take a good look…” he told me “You want to stop trying? Well imagine what others would be like if they just gave up the way you wanted to.”

He led me to all sorts of places.

A dilapidated hospital; “Why would this place close?” I asked.

“Why else…?” said my confidence “The doctors and nurses tried their hardest, but some patients they just couldn’t save, and they grew tired of trying to find ways to help them and just gave up not wanting to see any more of them die.”

As if I already didn’t find that crazy enough.

The town library was all closed down, and books were being used by hobos and homeless people… to light their fires.

My confidence told me “People didn’t care much for reading, or for education. So they just stopped reading and the library wasn’t needed anymore. That goes double for schools, colleges, all of it.”

Everywhere I looked, more and more places were falling into decline and horrible messes, and it was all because people stopped trying and gave up on the things they loved.

…that’s when I woke up, and said to myself “No, I’m not going to quit. I’ll find a way.”

I thought and I thought, but I couldn’t come up with a clue.

But the very next day in school, the teacher handed us all back our graded assignments. Of course I got a perfect score, but mysteriously, Gary got a perfect score too, which stunned us all, even the teacher.

Gary wasn’t the kind who liked to study. He could barely keep his eyes focussed on the pages. The teacher however, again, couldn’t see any evidence for cheating. “Very impressive, Gary.” She said to him, and Gary acted all smug.

I was not convinced, and then suddenly, she dropped the paper as she handed it to Gary, and the paper landed near me. “I’ll get it…” I said, and I picked up while looking at the answers “Wait a minute… something’s wrong.”

“Wrong…?” asked the teacher.

I made up a lie saying that “Gary you put in this equation wrong. X isn’t the equal to 45.”

“Back off, squirt, it is so.” he protested.

“How is it?”

“I don’t have to answer you, I already passed the test.”

The teacher was growing impatient with us both. “Both of you, enough!” she snapped.

“With all due respect, ma’am…” I said “I just don’t see how Gary got 45 as the factor of X.”

“Shut up!” snapped Gary “It’s 45 because it was on your paper when I took it and…” he stopped right there, but it was already too late. The teacher looked grimly at him and took what he said as a confession that he had in fact taken my test assignment and copied off it.

“So, you studied for once, did you, Gary?” she asked in a mocking tone.

Gary began to stutter and stammer as he tried to make up an excuse, but in his fidgeting, his digital camera fell out of his jacket pocket, and was flicked on revealing that he had the original image of the teacher in the shower.

“I am very disappointed.” the teacher said. She confiscated his camera, gave him a failing grade, and instantly issued him two whole months of detention.

As for me, I was cleared entirely.

From that moment, on, I used my own wit to my advantage on anyone who tried to bully me again.

When they tried to throw paper planes or spitballs at me, I would move slightly out of the way so they would miss and hit the teacher instead.

Those who tried to steal my study notes again ended up stealing fake paper I had made with all the wrong answers to each question, resulting in them failing miserably.

Even bullies who tried to chase me, usually ended up not looking where they were going and would trip over their own feet, or run into each other, which I found very humorous. “Why outrun someone when you can outwit them.”

I also told about the students who took pictures of me to grownups and posted them online, resulting not only in the bullies getting suspended from school for both bullying and cyberbullying, but they also had to answer to criminal charges from the police.

I became one of the toughest kids on campus, and all because I did better things than fight or make a scene. I was just too smart to be outwitted, and soon, no one dared to pick on me again.

The girls thought that was an amazing story.

“You really are clever, Mr. Stevens.” said DD.

I smiled at her, and then reminded her and the others “Those who lie usually get found out about, but sometimes, you have to give a lie a little nudge to expose it.”

“You mean we should trick Diamond and Silver like how you tricked Gary?” asked Applebloom.

“Well, almost…” I replied as I got up “But sometimes, the best kind of trick is when someone tricks their own self.”

Then I walked off.

*POV Ends*

Mykan’s idea really inspired the girls, and at once they began to formulate a plan to bust Diamond and Silver.

*Mykan’s POV*

By the end of the day, I wrapped things up.

“So, I’d like your definitions of how Christopher Columbus discovered America handed in on Monday morning. That’ll be all.”

Most of the students got up to get their knapsacks and leave, but Cheerilee gave the crusaders the look to remain seated as she filled up buckets with soapy water for their washing the blackboards.

“Later, girls…” Diamond teased.

“Try not to get soapy fingers.” added Silver.

That’s when Scootaloo noticed something stick out from Silver’s pants pocket. “What’s that…?” she said as she reached for it.

“Hey, no!” cried Silver, but out from her pocket dropped a few cards with the answers from the census, all over the floor.

“What are those?” asked Cheerilee.

“Oh, they’re nothing, really.” Silver said as she frantically tried to gather them all up, but Cheerile had already grabbed one of them and examined all the answers from the census without the questions on the actual papers, and they were written rather poorly as if Sliver was in a hurry.

I took a look at one of the other cards, and then I noticed something else sticking out from Silver’s other pocket. “And what’s this…” I said as I pulled out what appeared to be a mini tape-recorder, but it obviously wasn’t Silver’s as it had a picture of Diamond’s cutiemark on it.

Diamond nervously tried to tiptoe out.

“Hold it right there, young filly.” said Cheerilee “I thought I told you enough times never to bring your tape-recorder to school.”

“I can explain…” Diamond said nervously.

“Oh?” I said “And I also suppose you can explain this…” I took out the tape which was labeled “Census Answers.”

Both Silver and Diamond were both sweating like crazy, and they were finally ultimately busted when I played the tape and we all heard the voices of the crusaders interviewing others and getting their answers to the census.

“So you were spying on us!” sneered Scootaloo.

“You hid nearby and recorded us, and then stole our report and claimed it as your own.” added Sweetie.

Diamond and Silver tried to make their excuses.

“We did not!” cried Daimond.

“We were, just recording... nature sounds… yeah.” added Silver, but Cheerilee and I didn’t buy it at all.

“It seems I owe you and apology, girls.” Cheerilee said to the crusaders “You get an A-plus for your good efforts and providing a good example of how to get to know someone.”

The crusaders leapt with joy and slapped high fives.

“And as for you two…” said Cheerilee “It’s one thing to spy on others, it’s something else entirely different and just as bad to cheat on assignment, and worse to lie to your teacher.”

She put Diamond and Silver to work cleaning the blackboard, and also gave them a week of after-school detention for cheating and lying.

“This is all your fault!” Diamond spat.

“You told me you wanted them back.” protested Silver.

“After… school… not bring them to school!”

As they continued to bicker, I escorted the girls out of the school, and gave them kudos. “Good job, girls. You handled that very well.”

The girls couldn’t help but smile at me.

Then, Buddy Rose and applejack arrived to escort them all back to the farm “Ready for your afternoon chores, girls.” asked Applejack. “There’s a lot that needs to be done.” added Buddy Rose.

The girls’ happiness faded into sulking.

I couldn’t help but chuckle softly, but then the alarms sounded from in town, in the direction of the hospital; due to Pinkie Pie going on a rampage because her brain was out of control.

We all ran back into the school for shelter while Applejack and Buddy Rose went off to help protect the other civilians nearby.

(Promo)

In our next episode: Princess Phoebe decides to run away in hopes of becoming stronger, which badly worries and aggravates Pinsar.

To make matters worse, Pinsar decides to ultimately capture Lightning and use him for a dastardly plot to unleash a great power.

Will Lightning be able to avoid Pinsar’s plot, and will Pinsar ever see his daughter again?

Don’t miss the next exciting episode of “Starfleet Magic!”

(Next Episode: “Webs of Danger”)