//------------------------------// // S8 E12: Marks for Effort (What If?) // Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 8 // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// It seemed like a day just like every other day at the School of Friendship. But unknown to the occupants, three fillies were currently on the premise. They weren't supposed to be there, but ever since word had reached their ears about this new school and the creatures that frequented it, they'd become determined to see it for themselves. And that was just what the Cutie Mark Crusaders were currently doing. The trio of fillies poked their way out from a nearby bush, forming a make-shift stack with Scootaloo on the top, Sweetie Belle in the middle, and Apple Bloom on the bottom. It wasn't a very strong formation, it wobbled easily. Scootaloo in particular struggled not to fall off. Even with her wings to potentially keep her afloat for a second or two, a fall from this high a height would hurt. "Careful now!" Apple Bloom grunted. "You know we're not supposed to be here, right? If we get caught, we're in big trouble." "Oh relax, Apple Bloom. We all agreed to this," Scootaloo replied without concern. "Don't tell me you're not the least bit curious about this school. It's all anyone in our school ever talks about these days." Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, was trying to encourage Scootaloo. "Less talking, more looking. Rarity says there's never been a school quite like this one!" As Scootaloo grunted and tried to hoist herself up to a window to peer into, she whispered back. "I heard the students get to do tons of awesome stuff! Can't believe we're not allowed to attend. No offense to Miss. Cheerilee, but a school like this blows any of her lesson plans right out of the water!" "Quiet, Scootaloo, you're gonna give us away!" Sweetie Belle shushed. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom asked her pegasus friend. "Do ya see anythin' yet?" Scootaloo's light purple eyes peered into the room she was currently facing. "Uh, yeah. Hold on. It looks like a broom! And I think a dustpan and some buckets." Sweetie Belle wanted to shake her head but she didn't dare in case doing so would disrupt the make-shift totem pole. "Sounds like a broom closet." "Try another window! There's gotta be some classrooms around here somewhere!" Apple Bloom encouraged. The fillies moved around with a great deal of wobbling, but Scootaloo managed to pull herself up to a ledge and look in through another window. "Here we go! This looks like a classroom!" She called down to her friends. And indeed it was. In fact, it was the classroom Pinkie Pie was using. She bounced into the room with a tray of delicious looking cupcakes in a variety of different frostings. "Whooooo's ready for cupcakes?!" She called in a singsong tone of voice. Gallus licked his lips as he eyed the cupcakes. Treats like cupcakes were a rarity back in Griffonstone (and Gilda's scones were a poor substitute). He picked one up and slurped it down, hoping no one noticed the frosting that got on his face. Pinkie giggled. "Oh Gallus, you silly griffon. They're not for you. They're for sharing!" When the students all looked at her she explained. "It's simple, if you want a treat you have to say something nice about someone else first. It's what friendship is all about. Here, Ocellus, we'll start with you. Ocellus, you are a great listener!" She tossed a cupcake with green frosting towards the changeling. "Now you get to keep one cupcake and share one with another creature of your choosing. And we'll do this until all the cupcakes are gone." Ocellus turned to Yona, tossing a cupcake at the yak. "Yona, you're really strong! I wish I was as strong as you!" Yona snatched up the cupcake and then tackled Pinkie Pie, giggling. "Yona put strength to good use! Free cupcakes for everyone!" "H-hey!" Pinkie giggled back. "That's not how the lesson's supposed to work." But she was pinned down by Yona and couldn't get up. Scootaloo let out a gasp, forgetting for a moment that she was still on a window ledge. Her fellow Crusaders barely had time to react before they ended up falling down and into a heap. Fortunately, it didn't seem like anyone had heard them. Sweetie Belle took advantage of the opportunity to gaze into one of the other classroom windows. This classroom was being used by Fluttershy, who had brought some animals from her sanctuary. Silverstream and Smolder were among the attending students. "All right, students! It's time to meet some new friends!" She instructed as she allowed for various exotic birds to fly out and interact with the students. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom's attention was drawn to a window that seemed to be part of what looked like a gym. Applejack was there, clad in her green buckball jacket, surrounded by several bouncing balls. "Incomin' y'all!" She shouted as she gave some of the balls a swift kick! Sandbar kicked the ball right back. "How's that, Professor Applejack?" But as he spoke several more balls came whizzing past, one of them striking the colt at the knees. Applejack just laughed. "Lesson number one, students, keep your eye on the ball at all times. And lesson number two, don't get cocky. There's always somethin' new to learn." Several of the other students joined in as Sandbar recovered, shaking himself off. "Now that's friendship in action, y'all!" Applejack smiled. "Always remember that friendship and teamwork go hoof in hoof, or claw in claw as the case may be." "Wow! And I thought our school was fun!" Sweetie Belle commented. "Even with the new playground equipment Diamond got her dad to donate, school was never this much fun." Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah! Miss Cheerilee never lets us play buckball in class. I know. I've tried. 'Too dangerous' she says. Why's she always gotta be such a wet blanket? Seems like the only really fun thing she let us do was the Applewood Derby." "Yeah, and that was a lot of fun aside from the part where Diamond Tiara's mother kept tryin' to sabotage the other racers," Apple Bloom recalled. "Can't believe Princess Twilight won't let even Diamond attend here. Would certainly get her away from her mother, and probably get us away from her as well." "But we already asked, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle shook her head. "She said no. And I don't think she's ever gonna change her mind." At that very moment, however, who should appear in the CMC's vision but Twilight herself? She didn't seem to be at all troubled or annoyed by the fact that they were on the grounds of her school. She just looked them firmly in the eyes and told them. "Girls, I'd like to see you all in my office." "Now?" All three Crusaders asked at once. "Yes," Twilight nodded. "I have something very important I need to discuss with you." The Crusaders collectively gulped, each wondering what they could've possibly done to get on Twilight's bad side. As they were led through the winding hallways of the School of Friendship and down to Twilight's office, all three fillies spoke not a word. They were too afraid to say anything out of fear of what Twilight might say to them in reply. At last they were led into Twilight's office and the door was closed behind them. It was only then that they saw several familiar faces were already in the office as well. They recognized all of them: Starlight Glimmer, Spike (who had recently undergone a noticeable change in height and appearance), and Diamond Tiara. They even recognized a pegasus filly that only a few ponies had seen before. Said filly had a pinkish gray coat, eyes an moderate scarlet in color, a beautifully curly mane and tail that was a pale, light grayish arctic blue and light arctic bluish gray in color, and a cutie mark depicting a rook (though she had refused to elaborate on what her cutie mark meant, giving only the vague answer of "convincing"). They could remember said filly had come to them a few weeks ago for help but at the time they'd thought nothing of her. All they'd gotten from her was a name: Cozy Glow. Had they somehow done something wrong by helping her? Was she all part of some secret "test" organized by Twilight to catch them in the act of something? Twilight's expression wasn't giving them any clues either, it was incredibly hard to judge. It didn't look like the face of disapproval but at the same time it didn't seem like the kind of face one would give to convey satisfaction. Sweetie Belle was the first member of the trio to speak up. "Twilight, whatever it is we did wrong, we're sorry! We didn't mean to cause any trouble, honest!" "Please," Apple Bloom gulped. "We know we're not allowed to attend this school, and we didn't mean to take your place as a teacher at it. It's just that Cozy Glow came to us for help and we couldn't say no." Scootaloo was the last one to speak up. "Just don't tell our families about this, okay? We promise we won't ever cause you or your new students any trouble ever again. We'll go back to the regular school and we won't give this one another thought as long as we live. Crusaders' honor!" But to the surprise of the CMC, Twilight's response was to break into laughter. Laughter that only stopped once she had pressed a hoof up to her snout. And it seemed like everyone else in the room was laughing too. "What? What's so funny?" Apple Bloom asked. "Is it somethin' we said?" Diamond Tiara spoke up in response. "Boy are you girls slow up on the uptake today. Don't you get it yet? You're in not any trouble at all." "We're not?!" All three Crusaders gasped all at once! Diamond nodded. "Duh, of course you're not. Why would you be after you once again succeeded in helping a pony your age understand friendship?" "It's true, Cozy Glow here made a surprising turn around," Spike explained to the fillies. "Her grades were sliding downhill fast and it seemed like she was going to flunk out. Then all of a sudden she started doing better and better, and now she's at the top of her class. Twilight's even entrusting her with helping out in the school library, which is not a responsibility she gives away lightly." "When I asked her how she got so good at friendship in such a short span of time, she mentioned that it was you girls who helped to teach her," Twilight added. "So that got me thinking. I already told you girls that you couldn't attend my school. Not because you were too old, but because you already knew just about everything there was to know about the basics of friendship. There was little I could teach you that you wouldn't already know. So I started thinking 'If I can't enroll them here at my school. What can I do for them?' Then it came to me!" Starlight spoke next, and she spoke with a bright grin on her face. "Currently I don't have much to do besides adjust the plague on my desk, warm up empathy coco, or read books on guidance counseling. So this is a welcome change," Lighting up her horn, she declared. "So on behalf of Princess and Headmare Twilight, I'm proud to present you all with honorary friendship diplomas!" She proceeded to give each of them a small scroll, as well as put them into the caps and gowns you'd traditionally see on graduating students. "Uh, this is great and all. But why exactly did you have to call us into your office to do this, Twilight?" Scootaloo questioned. "This all seems a little much for helping one filly. After all, helping others is what we Crusaders do best!" Diamond Tiara smiled. "I know. I still haven't forgotten that I owe my new outlook on life to you three! And that's why I suggested Princess Twilight should hire you all as friendship counselors here at the school, on a part time basis of course." "Us?! Friendship counselors?! Somepony pinch me, this has to be a dream!" Sweetie Belle commented as all three Crusaders' mouths dropped open in collective shock. "Oh it's no dream," Twilight laughed a little bit more. "I've already made all the arrangements necessary, but I wanted to run this by you three first. Wouldn't be right to give you the job if you didn't want it," Scootaloo looked like she was about to say something in protest, so the princess added. "And before you ask, Scootaloo, yes. I talked to your parents and your aunts. They all said they were fine with it just as long as it doesn't interfere with your curfew or your grades at school. The same is true for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle too." Cozy Glow (who had been silent up to this point) finally spoke up. "Golly, you three are the luckiest fillies in the whole entire world of Equestria! Maybe even beyond! Bet you all can't wait to start serving as friendship counselors here, I know you'll all do a fantastic job. Probably even better than Counselor Starlight." Starlight gave a nervous laugh. "L-let's not get ahead of ourselves there, Cozy. They haven't even given a response yet." "You three should totally say yes!" Spike encouraged. "Having you here will improve the staff to student ratio, which'll go a long way towards convincing Chancellor Neighsay that he's wrong about this school." "Not to mention I'll get to see you three here as well as at school!" Diamond declared. "I'm thinking I might even try to plead with Father to let me become a friendship counselor too." Cozy Glow added with a bright smile. "What are you all waiting for?! This is practically gift wrapped for the three of you! Take it already!" But Twilight gestured a hoof to Cozy. "Now now, Cozy. Even when you're doing something nice for somepony else, you always have to give them the final say in the matter. Because sometimes they may not want what you're offering them," She then told the CMC. "Your honorary friendship diplomas will hold regardless of what you choose, so don't feel like you're being pressured to decide one way or the other." The Crusaders promptly huddled together for a bit, discussing the incredible and unprecedented offer they'd just been given! All the while, everyone else in the room fell silent and waited for an answer. At last, the fillies broke off the huddle and Apple Bloom told Twilight. "We... need some time to think about this. There's a lot of things we need to consider." Cozy Glow could hardly believe her ears! "What?! Are you crazy?! After all you've done the only answer should be yes!" However, Twilight calmly replied. "We can't force them to choose one way or the other," And to the Crusaders she told them. "Take as much time as you need to to think about my offer. But if possible, I would like an answer by the end of the day today." "Thanks, Twilight. You'll definitely know by sundown how we feel," Scootaloo declared. "Now we should probably get out of here. I'm sure you've already got lots of students with lots of other problems to worry about." The Crusaders departed without fanfare, though Diamond couldn't help but notice how beyond shocked Cozy Glow seemed to be at seeing the three fillies go. "I know we weren't expecting things to turn out that way, but she's acting like her dreams were just crushed to bits," The pink coated filly thought to herself. "Something doesn't feel quite right about Cozy." But she didn't dare to express such thoughts out loud. That's what the old her would've done. The new Diamond Tiara knew better than to throw random speculations out there for all to hear. Since today wasn't a school day, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo didn't need to worry about being late for class. Which meant they'd have plenty of time to discuss the proposal that none of them had been expecting when they'd decided to sneak onto the grounds of Twilight's school. And they already knew the perfect place to go whenever they needed to think. The clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres that also doubled as their headquarters. Even though there hadn't been as many clients as of lately (cutie mark or otherwise) the clubhouse itself had been kept in tip top shape, making it the perfect retreat for the Crusaders as they pondered the important decision they were now faced with. "It's funny how much things have changed," Apple Bloom commented as the fillies entered the clubhouse. "If ya'd told me when we started this here club that we'd one day be offered a job as friendship counselors at an actual school, I'd have thought you were crazy!" "Yeah, and to think it all started just because we wanted to do something nice for one of Twilight's students," Scootaloo commented. "Although at one point I think we were kind of her students." Sweetie Belle nodded. "Those 'Twilight Time' sessions were a lot of fun and we really learned a lot. It's just too bad that after Starlight moved in, Twilight had to devote all her time to Starlight's lessons and ours kind of fell by the wayside." "Hey now, we all agreed it was for the best," Apple Bloom declared. "If Diamond Tiara was any indication, we'd learned far more than anypony might have ever suspected." "Yeah, and now we can add Cozy Glow to the long list of ponies and other creatures that we've helped," Sweetie Belle added as she hung up a framed picture of the filly. "Seems like only yesterday we'd just met her and agreed to help her." But in fact it had been almost a month since that fateful meeting. Yet the vivid details of that first encounter were still fresh in the minds of all three of the Crusaders. Twilight's School of Friendship had been open for the better half of almost four months, but it was already the talk of town throughout Ponyville. Nowhere was this more true than the only "competition" Twilight's school had, the lone schoolhouse that Cheerilee oversaw (alongside the school board members who rotated out. Even Spoiled Rich never longer served with them, having been forced to resign due to "irreconcilable differences" after the new playground equipment was installed). And often ponies were asking the CMC in no uncertain terms. "How come you're not attending Princess Twilight's school? Weren't you friends with her?" The CMC knew the answer. They had tried to get into the school on the very first day, but Twilight had told them no. "You make better friendship teachers then you do students." Was the answer she had given. So it was that on this particular day, the young trio were sitting in their clubhouse and mulling over what they should do. Their most recent adventure had been when they'd tagged along with Silverstream when she went back to Mt. Aris. And there they'd learned about her family being half hippogriff/half seapony and had helped Terramar (Silverstream's brother) sort out his problem of deciding who to stay with. Twilight hadn't exactly been thrilled to learn about the fillies' stowing away, and neither had their families who all made it clear in no uncertain terms that "travelling outside the boundries of Equestria is too dangerous for fillies like yourself" or something to that regard. Without an adult accompanying them, they wouldn't be able to do such a thing again (unless they wanted to be severely punished). All of a sudden, the fillies heard crying coming from outside. The crying didn't sound like it was coming from anyone they knew but they were still determined to at least understand a potential problem, and see if there was anything they could do to help. The crying was coming from a pegasus filly that none of them had ever seen before. Said filly had a pinkish gray coat, eyes an moderate scarlet in color, a beautifully curly mane and tail that was a pale, light grayish arctic blue and light arctic bluish gray in color, and a cutie mark depicting a rook. "Hey. You okay?" Apple Bloom spoke up, the first one of the trio to say a word to the stranger. The pegasus filly paused briefly in her crying to respond. "Oh. Thank you for asking. But no. I'm having real trouble with..." She sniffled a bit before choking out. "...the School of Friendship." "You mean Twilight won't let you attend either, huh?" Scootaloo remarked. "We get that a lot. Seems like nopony we know is allowed to go there." The filly shook her head. "Oh, no, it's not like that at all. I attend the school. In fact I'm in her class, but..." She sniffled again. "It's too hard! I don't know anything about friendship, and I'm too ashamed to tell Headmare Twilight that." "Really? How could you not know anything about friendship?" Sweetie Belle questioned. "Even the worst of ponies know something about it." The filly sighed and hung her head. "I guess I'm worse than the worse then. I just moved here to go to school, but everything's so new and different compared to my old school. I don't know anypony at all." "Well, now you do," Apple Bloom proudly declared as she gestured a hoof to herself and then to her friends. "I'm Apple Bloom. This is Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. And together, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Maybe you've heard of us?" The filly shook her head again. "Can't I say have. Are you famous or something?" "Sort of," Scootaloo answered. "Though we didn't start this club to become famous, it's actually a long story. We're here to help you though, whoever you are." The filly momentarily stopped crying, blushing as she realized she'd forgotten to introduce herself. "Oh, I'm sorry. The name's Cozy Glow. It's very nice to meet you all, but I don't know if I'll stay long. I'll probably flunk out and have to move somewhere else. I'm having so much trouble with my friendship lessons, and my grades are about to fall right into the toilet with no way out." All three Crusaders collectively gasped all at once! It wasn't something they did often (though the last time they'd done it had actually been while they were at Mt. Aris with Terramar and Silverstream). And it was Sweetie Belle who told Cozy. "We can you help with those lessons!" "Yeah! We know all about friendship!" Scootaloo boasted. "We even had one on one sessions with Princess Twilight years before she ever started her own school!" "And studyin' with you would be almost as good as bein' in friendship class ourselves!" Apple Bloom added. "It's a win win!" Cozy seemed to be skeptical of the Crusaders' offer, her light grayish arctic blue looked at the three fillies as if they were about to add in some sort of catch. "But why would you all help me? What's in it for you?" "Nothing. And that's how friendship works," Sweetie Belle explained, adopting the best teaching voice she could conjure up on short notice. "When you give from your heart, you don't expect anything back. Unless you count that warm, fuzzy feeling inside. That costs you nothing, yet it's worth everything. Trust us on that." "Well, golly, if you really mean it..." Cozy began as she adopted the most innocent face anyone had ever seen on a filly. The Crusaders all nodded together. "Uh-huh!" Cozy Glow proceeded to dig into her saddle bag as she explained. "Well then, I could use some help on my friendship homework," She laid out pictures depicting three ponies the CMC recognized as Bon-Bon, Mrs. Cake, and Big Macintosh. Cozy pointed to each of them in order and told the Crusaders. "For my homework, Headmare Twilight says I have to do something nice for each of these three ponies. But I don't know anything about them. And it's so hard to talk to ponies you've never met. I feel like they're always judging me." Apple Bloom smiled at Cozy. "Well, you're in luck, 'cause we know all of those ponies! One of 'em even happens to be my big brother, but we'll get to him a little later." "Cozy Glow," Scootaloo firmly added. "Get ready for a friendship A-plus!" Bon-Bon was first. Scootaloo oversaw this leg of Cozy Glow's homework assignment. She took Cozy into town on her scooter, then hid with the filly as they watched the cream colored earth pony mare from afar. "Bon-Bon runs a sweet shop here in town, whenever she's not away on 'top secret business'. She's also really close to a mare named Lyra, but that's not important. What is important is figuring out what she needs. Once you know that, you'll know what the nice thing is you'll have to do for her." "And how am I supposed to do that from here?" Cozy questioned. "This doesn't seem like it helps." Scootaloo simply replied. "Patience, Cozy. Friendship is about listening to others and observing them. Look, here she comes now! Watch her closely!" Bon-Bon had picked up a cactus to take home with her. But unfortunately it was not stored properly and had ripped in a hole in the blue bag it had come in. The spines weren't very sharp but they still hurt as they poked at the mare's sides. Every step she took was punctuated with a wince and a cry of "Ow." "See the problem yet?" Scootaloo told Cozy. "That cactus keeps pricking her with every step she takes. Hmm, if only there was something to protect her from those spines. I don't think she'll want to come home with cuts all over her body." But when she turned to look Cozy had already taken off. Cozy zoomed up to Bon-Bon, holding the same helmet Scootaloo had been wearing earlier. She offered it to Bon-Bon. "It looks like you need help carrying your cactus, so here's a safe way to take it home, Miss. Bon Bon." As she spoke a nervous laugh creeped into her tone of voice. Bon Bon smiled as she placed the helmet over the top of the cactus. "Why thank you! That's so thoughtful of you, young filly." And then she trotted off, feeling much better without the constant prodding and pricking of the cactus' spines. Cozy rushed back to Scootaloo, her voice swelled with pride! "I did it! That was easy." "Great job, Cozy!" Scootaloo encouraged before she adopted a slightly more stern look and eyed her fellow pegasus. "But, uh, next time, maybe don't give away my helmet. I actually need it, it's not just a fashion statement." "Oh, oopsie." Cozy sheepishly apologized. Scootaloo just sighed. "It's alright, I'll get it back later. Next time though, don't take things that aren't yours without asking. Didn't you learn that in Fluttershy's kindness classes?" "Guess I sort of forgot." Cozy admitted. A short time later, Cozy met Sweetie Belle at Sugarcube Corner. Cozy already knew that this is where Professor Pinkie Pie lived (and worked when school wasn't in session and there were no parties that needed to be thrown). Still, she seemed to be surprised to learn that was where Mrs. Cake and her husband lived, alongside their two children. "They all live in the same place that they work?" "Well, the twins don't work here yet, they're not old enough," Sweetie Belle explained. "But we're not here to foalsit them. We're here to help sort out Mrs. Cake's sprinkle shakers, they tend to get all mixed up." To that end the two fillies worked for several minutes, emptying out the different sprinkle shakers and putting the individual sprinklers back into their respective containers one by one based on color. At long last the work was done, and Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew. Sorting all those took longer than I thought. Guess maybe this wasn't the best example of a nice thing to do. But I figured it'd be easier than watching Pound and Pumpkin Cake, they're a slippery little duo." "You really think Mrs. Cake will like the new sprinkle shakers I made?" Cozy asked Sweetie. "We both made them, Cozy," Sweetie Belle corrected. "And I'm sure she will. Now she won't have to use rainbow sprinkles all the time. She can just pick the color that she wants!" Just then, the bell above the front door rang and Mrs. Cake came rushing in. "Ooh! I'm sorry, I was out to lunch," The plump baker apologized as she resumed her usual position behind the counter. "Were you fillies waiting for me long?" "O-oh, no," Cozy quickly answered and presented the new shakers to Mrs. Cake. "Um, these are for you! Hope you like 'em!" Mrs. Cake smiled as she observed the brand new sprinkle shakers. Her old ones were starting to show their age. "Oh, well, what a lovely surprise! I can't wait to try them out! In fact, how about I do that right now?!" She turned her back to the fillies and shook the shakers, then presented a small cupcake to them filled with sprinkles from the new shakers! "Look! I made rainbow sprinkles!" She excitedly told the two. "Aren't they wonderful?" Then she trotted away. A flabbergasted Cozy found herself at a loss for words! "Seriously?! After all that?! But... she... I..." She let out a groan, unable to think of anything else to say. "W-well, at least she likes her present?" Sweetie commented. "They say it's the thought that counts." In her mind, however, Cozy was thinking to herself. "That makes no sense! They never told me friendship could be so complicated!" Big Macintosh proved to be the easiest to do something nice for. At least, that's what Apple Bloom had told Cozy Glow when she brought the filly to Sweet Apple Acres. "I've got a plan," She whispered to Cozy. "Here's what we're gonna do." Sometime later, when Big Macintosh came out to buck the trees and collect the apples he found that the trees didn't respond to any of his kicks. Only when he looked up into the trees did he see why. The trees had already been stripped clean of their apples, said apples resting in buckets at the edge of the orchard. Apple Bloom gave a whistle to let her brother know. Big Macintosh was overjoyed! With his heart all a flutter he ran off, soon disappearing from view! If he noticed Cozy Glow at all he didn't acknowledge it, he was in too much of a hurry. Cozy Glow was both impressed and confused. "Golly, Apple Bloom. Just how did you know that would make him so happy, even if he is your brother?" Apple Bloom gladly explained. "Simple, friendship means pitchin' in to help others' chores go faster," With a cheeky grin on her face she then added. "'Specially when their special somepony's waitin' for 'em. But don't tell Big Mac I told you, he still likes to act like it's a big secret even though everypony knows about it." "I guess love can make you predictable. Good to know." Cozy thought to herself. Had anyone been watching, they might have seen her face briefly contort itself into something akin to a sinister grin. "Ding dong!" Rang the school bell, singling the end of another day of class for the students. Cheerilee smiled. "Alright, everypony, that's it for today. The school board will be here soon for their weekly meeting." In her mind she thought. "Meetings are so much more enjoyable now that Spoiled Rich isn't there to yack my ear off about her daughter's behavior. You'd think she would want her daughter to be nice instead of nasty." Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were the last ones to leave the school. As soon as they did, they heard a familiar buzzing sound. And before they had a chance to react they were knocked into a tackle by none other than Cozy Glow! "Guess what, Crusaders! I got an A on my homework!" Cozy proudly boasted. Scootaloo cheered, and Apple Bloom smiled. "Nice goin', Cozy!" "Well, I couldn't have done it without your help! So thank you so much!" Cozy exclaimed as she hugged all three Crusaders. Sweetie Belle smiled. "It was nothing, really. Helping others is what we Crusaders do best, our cutie marks say so." Cozy eyed the marks with noticeable suspicion. "But they all look the same, aside from the little things inside the shields. How can they mean helping others?" "Cutie marks are always open to interpretation. We got ours when we realized getting our cutie marks wasn't as important as helping others find the true meaning of their cutie marks," Scootaloo told Cozy. "By the way, you never told us what your cutie mark means. Are you just really good at chess?" Cozy quickly covered up her cutie mark with her tail and sheepishly answered. "No, that'd be silly. I actually don't like telling others what my cutie mark means, it's not important. I mean, I suppose it has to do with 'convincing' but that's all you need to know." "If you're havin' cutie mark problems, we'd be glad to help ya with 'em," Apple Bloom offered. "That's why we have our little club." But Cozy shook her head. "I'm not having problems with my cutie mark. Besides, I could use your help on something much more important," And she cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject. "Headmare Twilight is giving us a big test at the end of the week, and I could really use your help studying." "We'd be happy to help, Cozy!" Apple Bloom quickly replied. "We've wanted to go to Twilight's school more than anythin'. But helpin' you has been even more fun! You can count on us!" "Great! Let's get to studying!" Cozy encouraged and sped away, though not before shouting. "I'll meet you at your clubhouse!" "Never met such an eager pony before. You think maybe we could make her an honorary member of our club?" Scootaloo suggested to the others. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "We can worry about that later, like once Twilight's school gets done and Cozy needs something else to do. For now though, we're gonna help her study. She's gonna ace that test if it's the last thing we do!" The Crusaders spent all of their free time over the next several days teaching Cozy all the ins and outs of friendship, and the six "values" (it was the best way to describe the Elements of Harmony) associated with it. Whenever they demonstrated an example of a particular value, the Crusaders would hold up a card that depicted the cutie mark of the pony attached to the element that had just been displayed. For example, when Apple Bloom offered Cozy Glow an extra apple during a picnic, Sweetie Belle held up the card depicting Rarity's cutie mark. Cozy appeared stumped though. "Um... intelligence?" It took a few tries before Cozy could recite the names of the different Elements of Harmony without difficulty. Though there was one moment that the Crusaders found odd. During an initial run through of the different elements, when Sweetie Belle had pointed to the Element of Magic, Cozy had answered. "Is it... control?" "Friendship may be magic, but to have magic is not to have control. Try again!" Sweetie scolded with a shake of her head. And thus a pattern was established for those several days. When it came to teaching sometimes it was done through a quick lecture, but more often it was done through in the field examples. These included things like cleaning Fluttershy's cottage, or giving a balloon to a little colt who seemed unhappy. Finally, on the day before the test, Cozy was able to name all of the Elements of Harmony on her first try. One by one, as each element was pointed to, she called out. "Kindness! Loyalty! Honesty! Generosity! Laughter! Magic!" Cozy met up with the Crusaders again just before classes began on the day of the test. "I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all you've done for me. I'm gonna ace that test, all thanks to you three!" "It's what friends do, Cozy. And you're our friend now." Sweetie Belle smiled. Buzzing her wings in excitement, Scootaloo encouraged. "You've totally got this!" Apple Bloom, however, added. "Just one thing before ya go, Cozy. Don't mention what we've done for you to Twilight. And I mean it." Cozy stopped in her tracks. "Whyever not?" The pegasus filly asked. "You taught me that honesty is a big part of friendship." "Well yes, but sometimes it's good not to tell the whole truth right away," Apple Bloom explained. "If Twilight finds out we've been helpin' ya study, she might get the wrong idea." Sweetie nervously nodded. "Yeah, she might think we're doing it so she'll let us join her school or something like that." Scootaloo also nodded. "It might be seen as some kind of reverse psychology or something. Like what the grown-ups like to do all the time." Sweetie eyed Scootaloo. "Actually, I think it's just your aunts that like to do that," And then she turned back to Cozy Glow. "We don't want Twilight to think badly of us. If she asks how you got so good, just say you had help. And if she asks for more details, tell her you promised not to tell. She knows all about promises and why you can't just break them." "If you say so. But it just doesn't seem right to not tell her." Cozy shrugged, and then entered the School of Friendship with the most confused look on her face. "Alright, Crusaders, let's get out of here before anyone sees us!" Scootaloo encouraged. "Besides, if we're late to class again Miss. Cheerilee's gonna make us stay after to clean all the chalkboard erasers." And the trio left the school grounds without fanfare. The flashbacks ended as Sweetie Belle came to a sudden realization! "Cozy Glow must've told Twilight about us anyway, even after we told her not to!" "Well, at least Twilight proved to be understanding about it." Scootaloo replied. "Probably because we have such a good track record of helping others just out of the kindness of our hearts," Apple Bloom boasted as they looked around the clubhouse. "Babs Seed, Troubleshoes, Diamond Tiara, Tender Taps, Petunia, Gabby, Chip Cutter, Zipporwhill, Rumble, and Terramar. And those are just the ones we've helped individually. There's probably at least twice as many we've helped through helpin' all of those individuals." Sweetie smiled. "Not bad for a couple of fillies who were just trying to find their cutie marks. Heck, we even fixed up this clubhouse specifically so we could use it as our headquarters. And the skills we learned there came in handy when we helped Fluttershy build her sanctuary." "And now, we might have to leave it all behind." The farm filly glumly noted. Sweetie and Scootaloo both turned to Apple Bloom. "What do you mean?" They both asked at the same time. "It's simple. We can't really keep this club goin' while at the same time servin' as friendship counselors at Twilight's school," Apple Bloom explained to the others. "Even if it's only a part time thing, we'd have to juggle our new responsibilities alongside this club, school, and our friends and families. We may have some honorary members here and there, but they're not gonna be enough to pick up the slack for us. So we're gonna need to choose, girls. Do we take up Twilight's offer and leave our Crusadin' days behind us for the time bein'? Or do we turn her down and keep runnin' this here club like we always have?" But before any of them could stop to think about the situation, a familiar voice could be heard laughing. "You're seriously going to choose one over the other? You can still do both you know." At that moment, who should enter the clubhouse but Diamond Tiara herself? Despite the rich filly being an honorary member, the CMC were still more than a little surprised to see her. "What the hay are you talkin' about, Diamond Tiara?" Apple Bloom questioned the headgear wearing filly. "If we become friendship counselors that'll be a huge undertakin'." "We can't keep the club running while we're at Twilight's school," Scootaloo added in a rather glum tone. "Even you have to know that, Diamond. It's not like we're coming to this decision lightly. This club means everything to us, but perhaps it wasn't meant to last forever? Maybe the time has come for us to move on from being just 'The Cutie Mark Crusaders'." "I really wish we could do both, but the fact is that we can't," Sweetie Belle was the last to speak. "We wanted to go to Twilight's school more than anything and now we finally have the chance to do that in a way. It's not like we'd be closing our club down forever, it'd still be open whenever Twilight's school isn't in session. It can't operate year round." But Diamond shook her head in protest. "You three can't close up shop! Not after all the lives you've changed, all the creatures you've helped! I won't let it end like this!" Apple Bloom eyed the filly with an odd mix of surprise and confusion. "Are you suggestin' you'll take over while we're at the school?" Tiara grinned as she boasted. "Did you forget who you're talking to? It was practically my idea for you girls to turn your club into a business to help others. And my family's all about business. Besides, it'll give me another reason to not be home all the time. Mother hasn't been in the best mood since she got kicked off the school boar and Father just seems to be giving her a wide berth, so I'm going to do the same." "But you're just one pony. You can't run a business all by yourself!" Sweetie protested. Diamond grinned again. "Good thing I won't be running it all by myself then. Let's just say I've learned how to make the right connections," And with that she gave a whistle. "Okay, everypony, that's your cue!" The Crusaders happened to look out the window, and almost immediately they could not believe what they were seeing! Cheerilee, Thunderlane, Gabby, Silver Spoon, Pipsqueak, Rumble, and Featherweight had all gathered outside. "You're welcome, by the way." Diamond told the Crusaders as she led them outside. "When Di told us about the offer Princess Twilight made you, we all signed on to help her take over your business while you're away," Silver Spoon explained. "You've really gotta hoof it to Diamond Tiara! When she gets a good idea, she really gets a good idea!" "You'd really be okay with this, all of you?" Scootaloo asked, and the assembled group members nodded their heads. Cheerilee spoke up. "While I am a bit dismayed to see some of my brightest students go to the competition, I understand that this is a big step forward for you all. And the goal of any teacher is first and foremost to help her students become masters in their own right," And she then added. "At the same time, your club has done wonders for so many of my students. I daresay, Ponyville wouldn't be the same without it. And since it's not a school club, there are no rules that keep me from being just a limited overseer with emergency powers as the situation calls for it." "But Diamond Tiara's going to be the one leading us," Rumble was quick to point out. "Never imagined a day would come when I'd be able to say that with a smile and mean it." "So you all go ahead and tell Princess Twilight you'll be glad to serve as friendship counselors at her school!" Cheerilee encouraged. "We'll keep things running smoothly here while you're away. We'll also report to you often, so it'll be like you've never left." After several minutes of silence needed to compose themselves, the CMC rushed up and hugged all their friends! "Thank you all so much!" Apple Bloom happily replied! "How can we ever repay you?!" "Nonsense, this is just friends doing a favor for other friends. It won't cost you a thing." Pipsqueak responded. "And we know you'll be the best friendship counselors Twilight's school has ever had!" Thunderlane added. "The students will be lucky to have ponies like you to talk to!" When Twilight learned that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had accepted her offer to be friendship counselors, she was practically beside herself with joy! A huge ceremony was held to make the appointment official, and everyone at the school showed up to it. Twilight took the podium. "Fillies and gentlecolts, creatures of all ages. It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you your new friendship counselors: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo!" "Oh my gosh!" Silverstream excitedly exclaimed! "Friendship counselors! This school has everything! And I thought it couldn't get any better than when it had stairs!" Smolder was a bit more skeptical. "How can they be 'counselors' when they're our age? I mean, that's like if we decided to become our own teachers, isn't it?" Sandbar laughed. "Well you never know, Smolder. Someday soon we might become the big hotshots at this school." Gallus sarcastically replied. "Good one, Sandbar. I'm sure that'll totally happen someday. Like when pigs fly!" Rarity (who was standing alongside Rainbow Dash and Applejack) just happily commented while wiping a tear from her eyes. "Oh, they grow up so fast! Seems like only yesterday Mother and Father were bringing Sweetie Belle home from the hospital. Now look at her, old enough to take on big pony responsibilities." "Hey, quit making me feel old, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash protested. "That's supposed to be my job!" Then on a more sentimental note the brash speedster added. "Still, if you'd told me that this is what would become of Scoot after I took her under my wing all those years ago, I wouldn't have believed it myself." "Look on the bright side, y'all," Applejack chuckled. "Now they won't be naggin' us about why they can't go to this school even though their big sisters teach there." All the while, Cozy Glow was observing the whole thing silently from afar. "They don't even know that I was the one who suggested the idea of friendship counselors," She thought with a snicker. "I'll bet they all believe my cutie mark just means 'convincing' and nothing more. Well I intend to keep it that way, for now." But later that night, long after the celebration had ended and everyone else had gone home (or back to their dorm rooms in the case of the students), Cozy Glow was still wide awake. The pegasus filly was scanning the hallways to make sure no one else was around. There wasn't a waking soul anywhere in sight, the cost was clear. "Good," Cozy commented as her voice seemed to fade away from a cute, bubbly, innocent tone. In its place, a much more sinister and echoy tone could be heard. A faint, sickly green glow could be seen in the filly's eyes as she chuckled to herself. "The pieces are slowly falling into place. I've already infiltrated the school and gained the trust of those pathetic ponies. And the best part is, everyone still thinks I'm just a sweet, innocent little filly from far away," Then she growled. "But just you wait, ponies. Especially you, Starlight Glimmer. When you least expect it, Chrysalis will strike!" And then she cleared her throat, returning her voice to its original, bubbly state. "Until then, Cozy Glow will keep you all in the dark."