The Last Crusade (Ending #2)
Author's Foreword: There will be links to musical tracks to go with sections of this chapter. You are welcome to listen to them as you read for the full effect here.
The Everfree Forest always seemed to be dark, even in the middle of the afternoon. Combined with the usual cacophony of strange sounds that emanated from the forest, it was enough to fill the three fillies who were now making their way through it with more than a bit of trepidation. The fortunate part was that the Temple of The Colts Templar wasn't very deep inside the forest according to Zecora's notes, but having to enter the forest at all was still a daunting ordeal. Before any of them could wonder how far they would have to trek to find their destination, it came into view.
The temple was in ruins and ivy crept over seemingly every stone that still stood. A massive stone door greeted them with a circular indentation in the middle of it.
"I reckon that's where the key's s'posed to go," Apple Bloom said.
"You guys ready?" Scootaloo asked as she grabbed her key fragment from under her wing with her teeth. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both fished their pieces out of their saddle bags and nodded to their Pegasus friend.
All three of them approached the door and placed their key fragments in the indentation. With all the pieces reunited in their home, the door shuddered and slowly slid to one side. As soon as it was open enough for them, the trio of fillies hurried inside to see what awaited them. A narrow hallway led them to a vast room devoid of anything of interest except for a tall stone statue of a pony that stood atop a pedestal near the opposite wall. As the fillies neared the statue, a stone slab slid over the entrance they'd just come through.
"Well that can't be good," Sweetie Belle said nervously as she began looking around for another way out of the room.
"Welcome, seekers of the Holy Oat Pail," said a deep voice emanating from the statue. The girls looked up to see the statue's eyes were now glowing. They wanted to run and hide, but with the room lacking anything other than the statue they could only cower before it.
"I mean you no harm, adventurers," the statue told them. "If you wish to leave now you are welcome to do so and I will reopen the passage. However, if you seek the Oat Pail, you may not proceed until you have passed the first trial."
"Is it dangerous?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Is it difficult?" Scootaloo asked.
"Is it delicious?" Sweetie Belle asked. Her two companions looked at her oddly. "What? I'm a little munchy. And I needed a word that began with 'd'."
"My trial is one of grace," the statue told them. "I have guarded this hall for centuries, but once my favorite thing was to watch the most skillful dancers in all Equestria. Perform a suitably graceful dance for me, and I shall allow you passage to the next room."
"I guess I could try my kung fu dancin' again," Apple Bloom said as she considered taking a shot at the trail. "I've figured out some new moves, an' I think I've gotten a lot better! So here goes nothin'!"
"Hold it, Bloom," Scootaloo said just as Apple Bloom was about to get started. "The last time you danced you brought the house down. Literally. I think you'd better sit this one out."
"Well don't look at me, I'm no dancer," Sweetie Belle said.
"I've got this one, guys," Scootaloo told them as she walked slowly out to the center of the room.
"You sure about this, Scoot?" Apple Bloom asked.
"To be honest, no I'm not," Scootaloo told her. "But somepony told me very recently that I have a gift for this kind of thing. And that I should be embracing it, not trying to hide it or act like it's dumb or wrong."
"So what're you gonna do?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'm gonna embrace it," Scootaloo said as she looked back at her friends with a smile. Then she looked back up at the statue. "Hey, if I'm gonna dance can you at least gimme some music to work with?"
The statue's eyes glowed a little more brightly and classical music filled the room. Scootaloo sighed and shook her head.
"Something from after I was born, maybe?" she complained.
"Very well then," the statue replied, its eyes flashing once again.
The classical music faded away, replaced with a beat that Scootaloo found all too familiar.
It was the song that went with the dance routine she had shown part of to Rainbow Dash earlier that day. She grinned and licked her lips in anticipation as she waited for the right point in the music, and as soon as it came she sprang into action.
Scootaloo threw herself into her dance routine with total abandon. She spun and flipped, popped and locked, moved and grooved; all as the music thumped in the air. She knew she was being watched by her friends and by the statue, but at that moment in time she didn't care if she was being watched by every pony in Ponyville. She let herself revel in the freedom she felt through her dancing. It was a feeling unlike anything she'd ever felt before; and the further into her routine she progressed the more she realized she liked it.
As she neared the halfway point of the routine, Scootaloo noticed that a fogbank had rolled into the room somehow. She didn't know or care about the particulars of it, though. All she did know was that fog was technically a cloud, and she knew exactly what to do next. One large backflip brought her up from the floor onto the cloud and from that point on Scootaloo's dance went from great to amazing. Just like in Rainbow Dash's cloud home, her moves caused changes in the cloud beneath her. Turns and partial spins whipped up spikes of cloud as if it were dessert topping, while stomps and landings from big jumps sent rumbles of thunder through the room that meshed with the heavy bass line of the music.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were awestruck by the spectacle of it all, and at the center was Scootaloo who was having the time of her life. As the song neared its finale, she dropped down onto her back and started into a windmill with legs and wings extended. The cloud around her swirled into a vortex around her and lifted her further into the air. She kicked out of the windmill into a final backflip and landed on her hind legs with her fore legs extended into the air, a tremendous clap of thunder erupting from the cloud as she landed. She panted and gasped for air, but the surging adrenaline in her veins had her more exhilarated than she'd ever been in her entire life. One coherent thought made it through her head as she caught her breath: She absolutely loved dancing.
"In all my years, never have I seen such a performance," the statue said in a tone of amazement. "Truly you are worthy to continue. The Trial of Grace has been passed. The way forward shall now open."
Scootaloo let herself sink back through the cloud of fog to the floor and rejoined her friends as they watched the stone door slowly slide open in front of them.
"Alright, we did it!" Scootaloo said in celebration.
"We?" Sweetie Belle said. "More like you! That was unbelievable, Scoot!"
"No foolin'!" Apple Bloom added. "I ain't never seen moves like that before!"
Scootaloo nodded and smiled at her friends. "Thanks guys. It means a lot to hear it from you. And I have to admit, that was fun. Like, really fun."
"Well you can dance some more later," Bloom told her. "Let's get goin'. We still have two more trials to face."
The three fillies quickly took off down the hall, though Scootaloo stopped for a moment to look back into the room where she'd just danced. The fog had all but dissipated and the statue had gone dormant once again. She quietly thanked the statue for letting them pass. She also thanked Rainbow Dash for giving her the confidence she needed earlier. As she turned and headed down the hall after her friends, she never noticed a small, brief flash come from her flanks.
After only a couple of minutes walking down the hall from the first trial, the faint sound of sobbing started to become audible from further ahead. Cautiously, the three fillies continued their trek until they came to another actual room. This one wasn't nearly as large as the first one, and it was filled with all manner of tools and construction materials. In the center stood another statue almost identical to the first, and the sobbing was emanating from it. On the floor at the base of the statue's podium sat something that had clearly spent a long time in pieces.
"I, uh…" Sweetie Belle said with trepidation. "I didn't think statues could get emotional."
"Oh goodness," the statue said in surprise, its voice unmistakably feminine. "I do apologize; it has been so long since I've had visitors. I was lamenting the loss of my precious birdhouse once again."
"How long has it been broken?" Scootaloo asked, looking over the pieces of the birdhouse.
"I lost track after the first hundred years," the statue admitted. "It used to hang on the wall just opposite of me so I would have something to enjoy watching. There is a hole in the ceiling just above me that birds would come through and make their nest in that house. One year a particularly large bird tried to settle in it and it was too much for the birdhouse to bear. It fell from the wall and shattered into all those pieces. I have been terribly lonesome ever since."
"How awful!" Sweetie Belle said as she felt for the poor statue. "I wish there was something we could do for you."
"Perhaps there is," the statue replied. "I assume you are here seeking the Holy Oat Pail, correct?"
"That's right," Scootaloo said. "Are you gonna give us the next trial?"
"That is indeed why I was placed here," the statue said. "My trial is one of diligence. Originally I was to only allow those pass who presented a suitably expert craft to me, hence why there are so many tools and supplies in this room. However, I believe we can be of service to each other. Build for me a new birdhouse - one as perfect as my old one – and I shall let you pass on to the final trial."
"Time to apply my artistic sensibilities again, then," Sweetie Belle said as she began rifling through tools. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up to see Apple Bloom shaking her head at her.
"No offense, Sweetie, but I'm still pickin' splinters outta my hair from the last time you tried buildin' somethin'," Apple Bloom told her. "Lemme take a whack at this one."
"Are you sure, Bloom?" Sweetie asked her.
"I put the clubhouse back together, didn't I? You just hang back with Scoot. This might take a bit."
Sweetie Belle hesitantly walked away from the tools and watched as Apple Bloom first walked over to gather up the pieces of the broken birdhouse.
"Is this all the pieces of your old birdhouse, ma'am?" Bloom asked the statue.
"Yes it is, but what do you need them for?" the statue asked.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle engaged themselves in a series of games of tic-tac-toe as Apple Bloom threw herself into her work. It didn't take terribly long for her to roughly piece the old birdhouse back together enough that she knew what it had looked like. In the process she also realized what had been the real problem with the birdhouse: the wood on the back had simply rotted around the nail that had been keeping it up on the wall. Any bird's weight would've been enough to send it crashing to the floor. She decided that she needed to ensure her birdhouse wouldn't meet the same fate.
As she began to go about the business of making a new birdhouse, Apple Bloom felt a familiar feeling once again in the back of her head. She'd felt it earlier that day when she took time to explain her new pulley system in the barn to her sister. There was something comforting to her about working with tools and materials. When she was making something, she was left alone. She wasn't mocked, laughed at, or made fun of. There was just her, her tools and her supplies. Some ponies would think it was a lonely hobby, but Bloom took a great deal of comfort in it.
The more she worked on the birdhouse, though, the more she realized that "comfort" didn't really describe how she felt. Certainly it was relaxing to have something to work on that wasn't zip lining or cupcake baking or any of the other interesting, if not inane, activities she'd undertaken trying to acquire her cutie mark. There was something else about it, though. There was certainty in her as she worked. Every swing of a hammer or sweep of a paintbrush felt right. She also had a sense of pride in her work. Everything she either made or fixed had a flair to it that was uniquely hers. Most of all, though, when she was making something or fixing something or improving something, she felt happy.
She couldn't count the number of times Applejack or Big Macintosh or even her fellow Crusaders had come across her working on something and commented on the smile that had been on her face. She'd always just written it off before or played down its importance. After all, what she was doing wasn't anything anypony else couldn't do. But Applejack's words to her earlier that day had stuck in her head. What she did might seem like common sense to her, but maybe common sense wasn't all that common to begin with. Even if building and fixing things was somewhat of an ordinary thing, that didn't mean she had to be ashamed of liking it. And she did like it quite a lot.
Every so often, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle would look up from their games and see Apple Bloom working away on the birdhouse. They kept quiet as they watched her, partly because they didn't want to break her concentration but also because they had never seen her so happy as she was while working. Finally, after over an hour of work, Apple Bloom carried her finished work over in front of the statue to present it.
"I hope it's to your likin'," Bloom said, wiping some sweat from her brow with one of her fore hooves. "I based the design on the old birdhouse, but I sloped the roof more and added a piece of metal on top of it so any rainwater that falls on it won't just sit 'n warp the wood. I also reinforced it at the base so even if it does fall down again, it ain't likely to break. I painted it usin' colors to make it look more like a tree, figurin' that birds would rather nest in somethin' that looks like a tree after all."
"It's…absolutely splendid," the statue said in a quivering voice. The birdhouse slowly levitated over to its spot on the wall and sat securely in its place, awaiting new tenants. "Your skill and dedication are second to none, and I can tell that you put much love into this creation. I have met few who would be more worth of proceeding to the final trial."
Just as before, the way ahead opened slowly on the other side of the room. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo darted down the hall immediately, but Apple Bloom stopped and looked up at the statue again before leaving.
"Do you mind if I ask ya somethin' before I go?" she asked the statue.
"By all means, young one."
"I've had a lotta trouble findin' my true talent, but I was just wonderin'…even if I never find it, is it okay if I just stick to doin' somethin' I like?"
"For most, life is too short to be stuck not doing something you love."
"I reckon that makes a whole lotta sense. Thank ya kindly, ma'am."
Apple Bloom took off down the hall after her friends with a whole new perspective on her knack for building and fixing things. Even if she never did get her cutie mark, she at least had something she knew she would always enjoy doing. No amount of teasing or ridicule could ever take that away from her.
If only she'd seen the brilliant flash that came from her flanks as she raced to rejoin her friends.
The girls could tell they were now in a part of the temple few, if any, had ever reached. Dust and cobwebs covered everything and the air was very stale. A series of stairs took them down to the floor of a round room that had several rows of stadium-style seats all facing what looked like a small stage in the center. In the middle of the stage stood yet another statue like the previous two they'd encountered. Its eyes glowed as the trio approached it wondering what trial awaited them this time.
"For you to have come this far, you must possess some remarkable talent," the statue told them in an incredibly melodic voice. "I assure you, however, my trial will not be as simple as what you have faced so far."
"Bring it on!" Scootaloo announced. "We're getting that oat pail no matter what we have to do to get it!"
"Unless it's somethin' dangerous, 'o course," Apple Bloom added.
"Or icky," Sweetie Belle added.
"Guys, you're not helping our case here," Scootaloo told them in frustration.
"My trial is not dire, but it is nonetheless daunting," the statue told them. "Mine is the trial of melody. Before my interment here, I listened to the most beautiful of singers sing the most remarkable songs ever heard by ponykind. Only a suitably amazing song will satisfy me and convince me to allow you passage to the resting place of the Holy Oat Pail."
"A song? That's it?" Scootaloo asked as she cockily began walking up to the stage.
"Did I neglect to mention the spirits of my fellow Crusaders who also wish for a concert?" the statue said. Suddenly the seats in the stadium became occupied with dozens of spectral ponies of all kinds, all eagerly awaiting a performance.
"Heh, no problem," Scootaloo added with a smirk. "I've sung in front of way more ponies than this before. You all just sit back and-"
Scootaloo stopped mid-boast as she saw Sweetie Belle walk past her up onto the stage. The unicorn filly looked about ready to panic, but nonetheless stood her ground as she looked out at the spectral audience.
"Bloom, what's she doing?" Scootaloo asked as she turned to look back at her earth pony friend. "I thought Sweetie hated singing, not to mention singing in front of crowds?"
"I think she figgers it's her turn is all," Apple Bloom told her. "I, for one, ain't gonna tell her no. Are you?"
"I guess not, but will she be okay?"
"That's what we're here for, right?"
Scootaloo nodded emphatically and joined Apple Bloom just off of the stage to watch their friend. Sweetie Belle stood before the statue fidgeting nervously.
"Do you mean to sing for us, little one?" the statue asked her.
"Y-yeah…I mean, yes. I'll try, at least," Sweetie Belle replied.
"A 'try' will not appease me, child. I require a truly magnificent performance."
"I don't know if I can give a magnificent performance, but I'll do my best. It's just…I'm really not used to singing in front of so many ponies. Even if they are ghosts…well, especially since they're ghosts."
"I suppose I can appreciate your misgivings, but nonetheless this is the trial. Will you rise to the challenge, or leave in defeat?"
Feeling like her heart might explode twice, Sweetie Belle forced herself to look out at the audience again. Each of the ghosts looked down at her patiently, all of them hopeful for a beautiful performance. She then looked down at her friends, who smiled as best they could at her. She sighed and looked back over the crowd, but did a double-take this time. For a fleeting moment she swore she'd seen Rarity sitting among those in attendance. She shook her head, knowing there was no way her sister could actually be there, but that one moment of thought about her sister reminded her of what Rarity had told her that morning.
"You have an incredible gift in your voice," she had said, her words echoing in Sweetie Belle's head. "Don't be afraid to share it someday. I would hate to think I'm the only one in the world who gets to enjoy your songs."
"My sister prides herself on her generosity," Sweetie Belle said to the audience. "She really is one of the nicest ponies you could ever meet. I sing songs for her all the time at home and she tells me that I should share my songs with everypony else as well. I've always been afraid that I would be laughed off stage or something, but I guess the worst that could happen here is my friends and I might go home empty-hooved.
"We want to reach the Holy Oat Pail for our own reasons, that much is true, but we also want to share its wonders with all of Equestria. For that goal…and for the sake of our dreams… I'll do my very best here and sing for all of you."
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and took several deep breaths as she sought out a song in her memory to go with. It came to her in an instant; another song bestowed upon her by her and Rarity's late Grandma Aubrieta. It was a traditional lament from Emerald Isle, and it was perfect for the moment.
"Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide."
As Sweetie Belle sang, her horn began to glow of its own accord. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked on in surprise as they'd never seen their unicorn friend even so much as attempt a spell before. The magic permeated the room and an illusionary landscape came into view, one of rolling hills coated in many shades of green. Atop one hill, underneath a massive tree, stood Sweetie Belle as she continued to sing.
"But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow…"
As soon as she sang of snow, the illusory landscape changed to meet the lyrics, now being a series of rolling hills blanketed in white. The tree Sweetie Belle stood underneath was barren of leaves and coated with snow on all of its branches.
"'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so."
For her part, Sweetie didn't know where the magic was coming from and she almost didn't care. She was lost in the song, which had long been a favorite of hers that she had begged Grandma Aubrieta to teach her. She reveled in the feeling that singing gave her. The audience didn't matter, nor did her friends who were so dear to her. All that mattered was the song and she intended to do it justice.
"And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an 'Ave' there for me."
The scene had changed to an Autumnal one on the prior verse, the hills now covered with multi-colored leaves and the sky a cold, slate gray. The tree above Sweetie Belle was mostly barren save a few leaves that clung to their branches desperately. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo swore they could feel a chill in the air of the room just from seeing the scene. They were completely entranced by the song, eager to hear more.
"And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be
If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me
I'll simply sleep in peace… until you come to me."
Sweetie Belle drew out the final notes of the song, letting her voice fade gradually away to silence as her horn's glow dissipated and the illusionary scene vanished. Silently she thanked her grandmother once again for teaching her the song and said a silent prayer that she had at least sung it decently. It was then that a new sound began to fill the room. All around the stage, the spectral pony audience rose to their feet and began stomping their applause. Sweetie suddenly realized she was being given a standing ovation and she quickly and graciously bowed to the audience. She tried to contain her emotions, but the smile on her face showed her utter joy at the whole scene.
"Never have I heard such a stirring rendition of that song," the statue told her, its voice quivering with emotion. "That was simply beautiful, child. I could not be more pleased. You have all earned the right to your ultimate reward. The way to the Holy Oat Pail shall open to you."
"Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh guys!" Scootaloo said ecstatically. "We did it! We totally did it!"
"Thanks to Sweetie Belle an' her crazy awesome singin' voice!" Apple Bloom added.
"Guys, c'mon," Sweetie Belle said bashfully. "You're gonna embarrass me here. But thanks."
"Time's a'wastin' Crusaders!" Apple Bloom said triumphantly. "We got a Holy Oat Pail to claim!"
Sweetie Belle immediately fell in running behind her two friends, though truth be told her excitement over her singing performance easily eclipsed her excitement over their imminent success. She had sung for a crowd and they had liked it. More importantly, she had sung for a crowd and she had liked it. She even found herself daring to hope that she'd have another such opportunity sometime soon as she now began to crave the feeling that singing gave her.
As she raced on behind her two friends, just as had happened twice earlier a brief and bright flash from Sweetie Belle's flanks went completely unnoticed by the trio of Cutie Mark Crusaders who now bore down on their final goal and the end of their crusade.
Three pony fillies stood side-by-side as they looked across the final room of the Temple of the Colts Templar. As soon as they'd entered, torches lining the walls magically lit up and shone light into the once darkened room. Several suits of pony armor lined a walkway that led towards an altar. Atop the altar sat a golden pail encrusted with gems of all shapes, sizes and colors. Finally, behind the altar sat a cloaked pony who huddled behind the pail continuously muttering to themselves.
"This is it, guys," Scootaloo said, swallowing hard as she tried to control her nerves. "We've come this far. No turning back."
"You're right, Scoot," Sweetie Belle said, also fighting her own nerves as they began slowly approaching the altar. "I just want to say, though, that no matter what happens after this you girls will always be my best friends."
"And how," Apple Bloom added in a wavering voice. "If it weren't fer y'all, I mighta just up an' died of embarrassment way back at Diamond Tiara's cute ceañera. You gals are the best friends a filly could ask for."
"That all goes double for me too, guys," Scootaloo added. "I'll never forget either of you…not ever."
The trio stopped just short of the altar as the cloaked pony rose to their feet and slowly walked around to meet them. None of the girls could see much of the mysterious pony, but they all assumed that they were in the presence of a truly ancient and powerful being. As such, they decided silence was their best option for the moment.
"I've been waiting for ones such as yourselves to arrive," the mystery pony said in a soft, raspy voice. "To have come this far, you must have proven yourselves to the guardians. Step forward, then, and claim your reward. Eat from the pail and your heart's desire will be granted to you."
All three fillies looked at each other and then approached the pail, which was filled with simple looking oats. They all looked at it with great apprehension and then, one by one, they each took a mouthful of oats from it and ate. They were all fairly hungry by now, after all, having skimped on lunch because they'd been so preoccupied with gathering the key fragments.
"This tastes good and all," Scootaloo said with her mouth still full of oats, "but I don't feel any different."
"Me either," Apple Bloom said, though only after swallowing her oats. "I thought I'd have some kinda amazin' realization or somethin'."
"Maybe we ate too fast?" Sweetie Belle said, likewise as confused as her friends. "Excuse me, mysterious figure, but um…how's this supposed to work anyway? Does it even still work, for that matter?"
"Oh girls…" the pony said in a much clearer yet still soft tone. "I don't know about magical oat pails, but I think you all found your heart's desires all the same."
"Wait, I know that voice…" Apple Bloom said, suddenly recognizing the voice. The pony reached a pale yellow hoof up and pulled her hood back, revealing a magnificent pink mane and sky blue eyes.
"Fluttershy?" all three fillies said in unison.
"What're you doing in the Temple of the Colts Templar?" Scootaloo asked.
"Oh, well it's a bit of a long story girls," Fluttershy told them as she shed the cloak entirely now. "But I'm not terribly good at explaining this sort of thing. Maybe you should ask the one who was behind it all along."
Fluttershy and the three fillies looked across the hall as Twilight Sparkle made her way into the room now, a proud smile on her face as she looked at them.
"You played your part perfectly, Fluttershy," Twilight told her.
"Oh, it wasn't much of a part," Fluttershy admitted. "But I was certainly happy to be of help."
"I'm still confused," Sweetie Belle said, shaking her head. "What's all this about?"
"Girls, there is no Holy Oat Pail," Twilight told them. "The Colts Templar really did exist, but they never had a secret treasure like this."
"But…where'd all the information come from?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah, and the key fragments!" Scootaloo added.
"Not to mention this whole temple," Sweetie Belle said, looking around the place again.
"Well I did have a lot of help," Twilight said as she figured it was time to explain everything. "I came up with the idea for all of this with Zecora one day over tea. She gladly lent a hoof to me coming up with the whole mythology. Pinkie Pie then agreed to help try and guide you three to Zecora for more information when the book I made with Booker's help didn't give you enough to go on.
"Rarity helped make both the key fragments and the Holy Oat Pail itself, which is really just an ordinary oat pail done up with some gold paint and a few of her gems. Then she, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, agreed to help give each of you some encouragement as you sought out the pieces of the key.
"As for the temple, it is actually an old ruin but the Colts Templar never used this place. We had a lot of help from others around Ponyville to make the place up, and between my magic and Vinyl Scratch's, plus some of Scratch's sound equipment, we were able to make it all seem authentic. Scratch even lent her voice to the statues using her voice modulation magic."
"So this was all one big prank y'all played on us, then?" Apple Bloom asked, suddenly feeling very worried.
"Girls, this was no joke," Twilight told them. "We all did this because we wanted to help you."
"Help us?" Scootaloo asked. "With what?"
"Finding your true talents," Twilight said. "We've all known how important it's been to you girls, and we know how hard it is to be patient and wait for your talent to come to light. So we all decided to try and help you out. And if I may be so bold, it looks like it paid off."
"How? We still don't have our cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle said in frustration.
"Girls, take another look," Fluttershy told them gently.
All three fillies looked over and were suddenly shocked. Scootaloo's flank was adorned with a pair of winged dancing shoes sitting atop a cloud. Apple Bloom had a picture of an unrolled blueprint with a heart-shaped design on it on her flank. As for Sweetie Belle, a spotlight shining on a heart-shaped musical note decorated her flank.
"We…we did it…" Apple Bloom said in disbelief.
"We found our talents…" Scootaloo added similarly.
"And we…we got our…our…" Sweetie Belle said, tears welling in her eyes.
The emotion of the moment overcame the trio and all three of them embraced each other as they began crying tears of joy. After all their failures and all the ridicule they'd endured, they finally had accomplished their goal. Fluttershy found herself weeping slightly for them as well, though she kept her composure and smiled warmly at the trio who continued their joyous sobbing for some time before finally calming down.
"Thank you, Twilight," Sweetie Belle said, rubbing her eyes to try and wipe away her tears. "This means more to us than we can tell you."
"Don't just thank me, Sweetie," Twilight told her. "Rarity will be delighted to see you and your cutie mark at the party."
"What party?" Scootaloo asked after she sniffled a little.
"That would be the cute ceañera Pinkie Pie has been working on for most of the day," Fluttershy told her. "We wanted to give you girls a real reward after all was said and done, and Pinkie insisted on throwing you all a party."
"A cute ceañera?" Apple Bloom repeated. "For…for us?"
"Rainbow Dash and Applejack will be there waiting to see you as well," Twilight told them. "As will most of Ponyville, I think. Pinkie was pretty indiscriminate about who she invited."
The three fillies now bore wide smiles on their faces. They looked between each other, nodded to one another, and inhaled a deep breath. Twilight and Fluttershy just managed to cover their ears as the trio cried out,
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CUTE CEAÑERA! YAAAAAAAAAY!"
With a speed that could possibly have set off a sonic rainboom, the three fillies sped out of the room and back through the ruins towards the exit. Twilight and Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh as they gave the girls chase en route to a party no pony in Ponyville was likely to ever forget.
Author's Note: The chapter that follows this ending is "Pay It Forward". Please proceed to that chapter for the appropriate epilogue.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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This chapter was beautiful. Never have I cried so many times in a row.....
Awww what an adorable ending. I love each cutie mark Scoots is really my favourite of the three
Great,
I happen to be playing this while i was reading scoots part, seemed to work well too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33VHV0SJxps
General Mumble - Mayhem Invades Equestria
I've read both endings and both epilogues. I have to say that THIS ending and it's epilogue are far better.... and not just because of the happier ending. It's actually written far better, with far more emotion and depth too.
I must say that my thoughts echo the sentiment expressed by RealityCheck.
Also, I have read stories such as Past Sins without actually crying, but this chapter, specifically the section where Sweetie Belle sings...brought a tear to my eye.
Bravo!
It's funny:
Had I read this story back when it first came out, or even when I became a part of the fandom, which was either late 2012 or early 2013 (I forget now), I'd probably have said that the first ending was the more likely one to be part of the show.
And yet reading this now, a little under 3 weeks before season 5 resumes, and I have to say that with the growth that the CMC have shown throughout the course of the show, I feel like this is the more likely ending.
Either way, though, I think I prefer this ending, mainly due to the happiness and the fact that it actually felt more complete.