Apple Bloom was currently in a bit of a predicament. Since getting her cutie mark alongside her friends (they had opted to keep calling themselves The Cutie Mark Crusaders, at least for now) she'd been struggling to figure out what to do in her spare time. Now that she didn't have to spend time searching for a cutie mark she needed to find something she could enjoy. The only problem was that she wasn't used to being on her own for this, but none of the activities her friends were interested in sounded like something she wanted to do. So all had agreed to reluctantly split up, at least for the time being.
"Don't worry, Apple Bloom. Even if we're all doing different hobbies, we'll still be here for each other if we really need it." Sweetie Belle had insisted.
"Yeah, but in the mean time I don't think we really need to keep the club going all that much. Not if we're the only members." Scootaloo had added.
So the three fillies had split up, leaving Apple Bloom to spend her days trying any activities she felt like trying. But she'd never given much thought to doing much of anything by herself, and even just doing her chores around the farm or listening to her granny's stories got boring very quickly.
But one day, as the farm filly was strolling along through town, she happened to overhear instructions being barked out in a thick accent. "Alright, everypony, from the top," A female voice instructed. "And one, two, three, four, two, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, two, two, three, four."
Apple Bloom entered the building from which she heard the voices, discovering that it was a dance studio. The instructor was an earth pony mare with a light purplish gray coat. She had moderate fuchsia eyes, a pale light grayish gold and amber mane and tail, and wore a dark purple dress with light purple sleeves. Her cutie mark was obscured by a purplish white tutu. Apple Bloom immediately said to the instructor. "Whatever kind of dancin' y'all are doin', you're doin' it together, and I want in!" When all the colts and fillies in the dance studio stopped to look at her, she realized that she'd drawn a lot of unwanted attention to herself and blushed. "I-I mean, would it be okay if I enrolled in this here dance class?"
The mare trotted forward and nodded. "So, you wish to be part of my dancing troupe? We offer lessons for single and partner performances, and we go from beginner all the way up to expert. When you sign up for dance lessons from the great Hoofer Steps, you'd best be ready to work hard and impress me."
"Sounds good to me," Apple Bloom said to Hoofer Steps. "When I do start?"
"Well, you're in luck," Hoofer Steps declared with a smile. "We are currently rehearsing for a big recital at town hall later this month, and a spot just opened up," With a whisper, she gestured a hoof to a shy looking earth pony colt over in the corner. Said colt had a brilliant orange coat, moderate purple eyes that were staring at the walls, and a grayish and moderate mullberry mane and tail. He didn't have a cutie mark, which Apple Bloom found quite odd considering everypony else in the class seemed to have theirs. "Tender Taps is a little too shy to perform for crowds. But if you're ready to step into a partnered routine..."
The farm filly's ears perked up! "That sounds an awful lot like friendship! And I'm ready for anythin' I don't have to do by myself right now!"
Hoofer Steps' smile grew wider. "Excellent! Dancing with partner shall be perfect. Just one question: Have you ever danced before?"
"Maybe a little," Apple Bloom commented. "Scootaloo showed me a few moves back when we..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence due to the memory associated with it. "...Never mind."
Hoofer Steps was unconcerned. "Very well. But let us see how much skill you retained before we decide on your partner," She clapped her hooves. "Places, everypony!" All the colts and fillies obeyed, except for Tender Taps. "And, music!"
A tango score began to play out across the studio, and Apple Bloom started trying to tap her hooves and move them in time to the music. Her coordination wasn't too good, though, and it only got worse when the music started to increase in tempo and she struggled to keep up. It didn't matter who she was paired up with, she knocked every one of her partners to the floor and even caused other dancing pairs to be disrupted.
The music came to an abrupt stop as Apple Bloom exclaimed! "Whew! I feel like that went pretty good for my first try, but let's give it one more whirl, because it's important that I do a good job partnerin' with my new group of friends," Then she looked around, realizing that all the other colts and fillies had left the dance floor. "Uh, is the lesson over already?" She nervously asked.
Hoofer Steps looked down at Apple Bloom, having observed the farm filly's clumsy dance moves. With a frown she declared. "Eh... Now I'm think of it, you might be better as soloist. Partnering is a little too advanced for you right now. But there's still lots you can do on your own."
Those words only caused Apple Bloom to lose any enthusiasm she might have had for dancing. She was not ready to try a solo activity just yet. "Sorry, but doin' stuff on my own is exactly what I don't want right now," She commented and trotted to the door. "Thanks for the lesson, though."
Tender Taps happened to eye Apple Bloom from afar as this was unfolding. He didn't know it yet, but he was going to play a big role in snapping her out of her funk. And in a way he was going to be responsible for getting the Cutie Mark Crusaders back together at a time when they were unknowingly drifting apart.
Apple Bloom hadn't gotten very far when Tender Taps caught up to her. "Hey, wait!" He called out to her. "Sorry it didn't work out the way you hoped, but don't feel bad. Nopony's an expert right off the bat."
"That's not what my problem is," Apple Bloom unhappily sighed. "When I was with my friends tryin' different things was still fun, even if I wasn't good at 'em. It's just not fun knowin' that you're the only one who ain't good and that you gotta do it on your own."
"Hey, you weren't that bad, I've seen way worse," Tender Taps suggested as he put a hoof to Apple Bloom's chin. "You can't do much worse than I did when I was starting out. If my aunt wasn't the dance coach, I probably never would've even tried to stick around."
The farm filly blinked. "Wait, your aunt is Ms. Hoofer Steps?"
The shy little colt nodded his head. "Yeah, and she enrolled me in her class because she said it would help me come out of my shell and make some friends. I didn't really want to, but when your aunt's the best dance coach in all of Ponyville you can't really say no," Then he added. "So maybe you're not ready for a partner just yet, so what? Everypony's got to be able to be a solo act at least once in their lives. You just need to learn a few things on your own and I'm sure you'll make a fine dancer. Take it from me, practice makes perfect and being a soloist can be even more fun than dancing with a partner. You just have to do it with feeling, like this!" He began to tap dance around a little, and then ran up and flipped off of a wall before landing right back on his hooves.
Apple Bloom was almost rendered speechless as her mouth dropped open in surprise! "Hey, you're a lot better at this dancin' then I thought you'd be. If you're that good at it, how come you don't wanna perform at the recital?"
Tender Taps' smile faded as he gulped and suddenly seemed to break out into a nervous sweat. "Well, I want to, but I just can't, not in front of other ponies. I don't mind performing for my classmates or for my aunt, but doing it in front of a crowd of strangers just makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel like they're watching me, judging me, waiting for me to slip up. Whenever I try to do anything on stage, I look out at the crowds and I freeze. I can't do anything!"
The farm filly sighed again. "Kind of reminds me of Sweetie Belle, though she was afraid of singin' for a crowd, not dancin'. But now, singin' is what she likes to do more than anythin'. Wouldn't surprise me if she becomes the next Songbird Serenade or somethin'," She then began to trot away. "Look, I appreciate ya tryin' to cheer me up and all, but I need to find somethin' I'm either good at it or don't have to do on my own. Maybe both if I'm lucky."
"Well if you like, I could teach you a few moves on the side," Tender Taps suggested. "It'd be a secret partnering routine, just the two of us. How's that sound?"
Apple Bloom commented quite slowly. "I'll... I'll think about it, I guess. Nice meetin' you."
"Yeah, you too. Hope I'll see you around." Tender Taps called as he started to tap dance again.
The next day, Apple Bloom was moping around in the clubhouse that had once served as the headquarters for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Now she wasn't even sure if it would still be around, maybe it would fall into decay and neglect again, and it would have to take a new generation of foals to fix it up.
But she hadn't been alone in the clubhouse for long when there came a knock at the door. Now the farm filly remembered that she had invited some guests to come over, largely because she was desperate for any kind of company at this time. She went over to the door and opened it.
In trotted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the latter of which had never been inside the clubhouse before. "Wow! So this is where you and your friends were always hanging out after school!" The glasses wearing filly commented in amazement. "Makes me wish I'd have thought to build my own clubhouse, except we don't have any trees around my house."
"Well, at least coming here beats having to hang out all day around the mansion and trying to avoid Mother," Diamond Tiara commented. "Now that she's been kicked off the school board she really doesn't have anything better to do. So she and I spend our days just trying not to bump into each other so we don't have to say a word."
"Thanks again for comin' over, girls," Apple Bloom commented to her two former rivals. "Glad to see you two are friends again. At least you two are together."
Silver Spoon just looked across to Diamond Tiara as she replied. "Well, I couldn't stay mad at Di for long. Eventually I realized her change of heart was sincere."
Diamond responded. "Yeah, but I had to spend a month apologizing to you up and down before you'd accept me again. You can drive a hard bargain when you want to, Silvy."
Silver winked, adjusting her glasses. "All part of the family business, at least on Mother's side," Then she turned to Apple Bloom. "So, why did you call us here again? Don't you have your Cutie Mark Crusader friends?"
The farm filly unhappily sighed and hung her head. "Well, not at the moment. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are both out of town for the weekend, and even if they weren't they've got their own interests to keep 'em occupied. As for me, I don't really have much of anythin' to do. At least, not anythin' that I can do with a partner or two. Seems like everythin' I try is a solo activity," She glumly remarked as her bow drooped. "I'm not even sure if we're gonna be the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore. Can we even call ourselves that now that we've gotten our cutie marks?"
"Well, what else would you call yourselves?" The headgear wearing filly questioned. "I still call you the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and so does everypony I know. In fact, ever since I turned over a new leaf it seems like there's not a pony in town who doesn't know about you three fillies."
Apple Bloom sighed again. "Well, they may not know us for much longer. At the rate things are goin', I'm not sure we'll be together for much longer. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo seem to have moved on, probably 'cause they knew each other long before they met me. But the only friend I had before them was Twist, and we ain't spoken much since she got her cutie mark."
"But you three seemed so inseparable!" Silver Spoon remarked in a shocked tone of voice. "You even got matching cutie marks and got them at the same time! Even Princess Twilight says she's never seen anything like it before, so that must mean something. No way could you three just split up so easily!"
"That's what I thought too, but it happened," Apple Bloom glumly answered as she looked longingly out of the clubhouse window. "I can still remember when we first decided to start tryin' things we liked to without havin' to worry about gettin' cutie marks." And her mind began to flashback to that day as if it were yesterday, even though in fact it had been several weeks (probably more than a month).
It had been only a week since the Cutie Mark Crusaders had earned their cutie marks, but already they had gotten bored and had started to wonder just what they were supposed to do with their lives. They'd quickly realized that helping others was not something they could all the time, especially not when they were already so good at solving whatever problems came their way.
So the three fillies had decided to just do whatever they wanted to do, but for fun. Each had a particular activity that they were eager to share with the others, and all decided to take turns trying out each others' favorite activities.
Scootaloo's activity was up first, scootering. Or more specifically, an extreme variety of it that involved high speeds and mid air tricks. "Okay, you remembered your helmets, right?" Scootaloo asked her friends. "Rule number one about scootering: Always wear a helmet. Trust me, helmets are a life saver."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded as they stood by on their scooters, nervously eyeing the long ramp that Scootaloo had set up. It went out over a hill, went through a loop, and ended with a jump that would carry the rider into the barn of Sweet Apple Acres through a window that seemed way too small!
"You sure this is safe, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle nervously asked.
The tomboyish pegasus nodded in reply. "Absolutely! I always test every trick ramp myself. It'll hold," Then she cleared her throat. "Just remember – stomp, kick, and roll! Trust me, after this, you two are gonna love scootering as much as I do!"
"Uh if you say so, Scoot," Apple Bloom replied while trying to keep herself from shaking. "But uh, you go first."
The pegasus filly nodded. "Ready? Stomp, kick, and roll!" She did exactly as she had instructed her fellow fillies to do, her scooter soon making its way down the ramp! "Whooo!" She cheered!
In a matter of seconds it was over, Scootaloo effortlessly zipped through the course and landed safely inside the barn. "Ta-da!" She boasted. "See, girls? It's that easy! Now, which of you wants to give it a try?"
But Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged nervous glances and shook their heads. Despite seeing Scootaloo's performance they were still not convinced the ramp was safe. "Er, can we maybe do somethin' a little less... extreme?" Apple Bloom suggested.
That something less extreme turned out to be Sweetie Belle's desired activity, singing. She set up some music sheets and stands inside the guest bedroom at Carousel Boutique and then blew into a pitch pipe. "Do... Mi... So..." She sang in a fittingly sweet tone of voice. "It's just a simple harmony. Just follow the notes and repeat after me."
"Harmony, huh?" Scootaloo commented. "I'm more of a rock pony, but harmony sounds good."
Apple Bloom nodded as Sweetie Belle used her magic to pick up a conductor's baton and instructed her friends. "Okay, ready? And a-one, and a-two, and a-one two three!"
Unfortunately, while Apple Bloom's singing was far from perfect it was at least somewhat passable. Scootaloo's singing, on the other hoof, was way off key and sounded horrible.
Scootaloo didn't seem to think so as she just commented. "Wow, that was easy." Sweetie Belle promptly snapped the baton in frustration.
Apple Bloom quickly intervened before tensions could get worse. "Come on, now. Y'all are gonna love potion makin'. Let's go see Zecora and get all set up. It'll be just like those Twilight Time sessions we used to attend."
So the three fillies made their way over to Zecora's hut, their first time being inside it since it had been rebuilt from the ground up (her old hut had been destroyed during Tirek's fiery rampage). The zebra enchantress was more than happy to let the Crusaders borrow some vials and ingredients. "Just be careful what you put into what," She cautioned them. "And please try not to destroy my hut."
"Will do, Zecora!" Apple Bloom nodded as she helped her friends get their potions kits set up properly. "Let's try my old growth formula, that seems simple enough," She then instructed. "It's just a dash, and a drop, and a drip!"
But when Sweetie Belle made her attempt she ended up using too much, which resulted in an out of control plant and a bit of damage to Zecora's hut. The zebra wasn't too upset, but she still decided to confiscate the potion kits. "Perhaps you three should find something safer to do. Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare a new brew."
The Crusaders returned to their clubhouse later that day, checking off various activities that they'd tried over the past several hours. Apple Bloom was currently marking off bungee jumping as she remarked. "...And even though Scootaloo thinks bungee jumpin' is the bee's knees, Sweetie Belle would much rather keep bees. Unfortunately, I'm allergic. Who'd've thought it'd be so hard to find somethin' for us all to do together?"
Sweetie and Scootaloo exchanged nervous glances before Scootaloo proposed. "Well, I know this might sound crazy, but what if we didn't?"
"Didn't what?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Do things together," Scootaloo explained. "Or at least everything together."
Apple Bloom blinked in surprise. "But we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
Scootaloo nodded. "And we still will be, at least for now. But I really wanna bungee jump! The speed, the height, the fall! I can't get enough of it! I know you two don't think it's safe, so you don't have to try. Though if you change your mind that's great too."
"No thanks, I'd rather do something where my hooves stay on solid ground," Sweetie Belle protested. "I know you two aren't interested, but I wanna try crochet. I'm sure Rarity will teach me, even if it's not the same thing as sewing."
Then Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom. "What about you though, Apple Bloom? I mean, I know you've got your chores and your potions, but isn't there something you'd like to do by yourself that you've always wanted to do on your own?"
The farm filly gulped, she'd been dreading such a conversation. "I don't know... I guess I kinda figured we'd always do stuff together. But bungee jumpin' sounds just as scary as crochet sounds borin'. If y'all really wanna do those things, I guess I can't stop ya."
"Hey, that's okay," Scootaloo insisted as she put a hoof around Apple Bloom. "I'm sure you'll think of something. The Cutie Mark Crusaders was your idea after all."
"Don't forget about the decision to be journalists for the Foal Free Press," Sweetie added. "And we can still meet back here to talk about our new hobbies."
Scootaloo nodded and then suggested. "Why don't you take another look over that chart? I'm sure you'll find something that interested you that we didn't want to do."
The flashback ended as Apple Bloom sighed anew. "And that was pretty much that. I ain't seen Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo since then, largely 'cause I'm too ashamed to tell 'em I haven't found anythin' to do on my own. I don't want them to feel like I'm draggin' them down. If they wanna do whatever hobbies they like to do best, they can do 'em, even if it means it brings about the end of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"Now now, don't go getting any crazy ideas," Diamond Tiara protested. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to survive even if I have to see to it personally! What you three did for me was amazing, and if you could get a pony like me to change my ways then the possibilities are endless for what you can do now that you've got your cutie marks."
Silver Spoon added. "Yeah, Di's right! You still keep in touch with Babs Seed even though she doesn't run the Manehattan branch of the CMC anymore, right?"
"Yeah, so what's your point?" Apple Bloom pondered.
Diamond suggested. "Well, you once said 'Once a Cutie Mark Crusader, always a Cutie Mark Crusader'. And you three were willing to add me and Silver Spoon to the list of honorary members."
"Well, still gotta wait and talk it over with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle before it's official." Apple Bloom cautioned.
The headgear wearing filly just smiled. "So, why not turn your club into a business? You could sell your services to anypony and everypony in town. I bet there's lots of ponies who could use some cutie mark counseling. Just get word of mouth out there and you'd be up to your necks in customers!"
Silver smiled. "That's a great idea, Di!" Then she said to Apple Bloom. "And we can both help you get it set up. We could probably even run an ad in the Foal Free Press, or maybe even the Ponyville Express!"
The farm filly replied. "Well, maybe that's somethin' to suggest to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle durin' the next meetin', if I decide to go to it. That still leaves me with the problem of tryin' to find somethin' I can do that I'll be able to talk about."
"My big sis gives cello lessons," Silver suggested to Apple Bloom. "I'm sure I could put in a good word and convince her to take you on as a student."
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Musical instruments and I don't get along, I tried playin' all kinds of instruments on my own over the past few weeks and every one of 'em ended badly."
Diamond Tiara then proposed. "Well, didn't you say something about that tap dancing colt who has the best dancing coach in all of Ponyville for an aunt?"
"Yeah, and he offered to give me lessons on the side," Apple Bloom commented and then blinked in realization. "Wait a minute, you sayin' I should take 'em him up on his offer?"
"Why not?" Tiara encouraged. "You can probably teach you enough to get Hoofer Steps to let you try a partnered routine again. And then you wouldn't have to do it on your own. That would be something to tell Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about at your next meeting."
Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin, deep in thought. "I suppose that's about as good a suggestion as I can think of at the moment," She pondered. "Plus, maybe I can help him get over his stage fright somehow," So with her mind made up she trotted out the clubhouse door, though not before turning to Diamond Tiara and telling her. "Thanks for the tips. I knew I made the right decision to make you and Silver Spoon honorary Crusaders."
Diamond tried not to blush. "Hey, you did something nice for me and I just thought I'd return the favor. Just make sure you remember my suggestion about the business, I really think it'll be a big hit."
Tender Taps was surprised to run into Apple Bloom again the next day. "Oh, hello again. Have you decided to take up my offer?"
"I guess so," Apple Bloom commented. "You really think you can teach me how to dance good enough to get a partner?"
"Maybe eventually, but probably not in time for that big recital later this month," Tender Taps explained. "It'll be hard to get up to that level of good in such a short amount of time."
The farm filly just replied in an unconcerned tone. "As long as I don't have to do it alone I don't mind," Then she got an idea. "But only if you promise me you'll work on your stage fright. If you're good enough to teach me then you're more than good enough to perform at the recital."
The colt swallowed hard. "Uh, you sure about that?"
Apple Bloom nodded toward her fellow earth pony. "You're really good at it, probably good enough to get a cutie mark in it. Not that I mean to brag but I kind of an expert when it comes to cutie marks and special talents."
Tender Taps shrugged his hooves. "If you say so. But let's focus on your dancing first, good thing there's nopony around but us. This whole street's our dance studio," His mood quickly changed as he instructed. "Now, let's start with the basics. Watch what I do, then you try it."
"No music?" Apple Bloom questioned.
"We'll work on that once you're a little bit better," Tender Taps explained. "Now watch closely!" With the greatest of ease he let his hooves began to tap and soon he was tap dancing up a storm. It was like he was in his own little world, letting his hooves move about in a rhythm that only he could hear and feel.
The earth pony filly couldn't help but feel not only amazed but also slightly jealous. "I can't possibly get up to that kind of level of skill, can I?" She thought to herself but wisely decided not to say it out loud.
When it was finished, Tender Taps smiled as he stood briefly in a pose before returning his stance to normal. "It's easy once you get the hang of it. Now let's see you try it, okay?"
"Alright. Here goes." The farm filly declared while taking a deep breath. She began to move her hooves very slowly, trying to mimic the graceful moves she'd just seen demonstrated to her.
"That's it, you're getting it!" Tender Taps encouraged as he watched Apple Bloom start to dance. "Now try to go a little faster. Pick up the pace."
Apple Bloom tried, but unfortunately going faster caused her to lose her coordination. She started spinning all about and ended up tripping over her hooves as she stumbled to the ground.
"Er, not bad," Tender Taps commented as he helped the filly up. "Obviously we need to work on that. But that's okay, everypony struggles with something at some point."
Days flew by as Apple Bloom and Tender Taps spent whatever free time they could find working on Apple Bloom's dancing. Tender Taps seemed to be in his element whenever he was teaching the farm filly, and it helped that doing so allowed both to take their minds off their respective troubles.
Unfortunately, Apple Bloom didn't seem to improve all that much as the month progressed. She seemed to keep messing up on the same part of the lesson over and over again, even as she tried to do something different each time.
"Somehow I don't think I'm makin' that much more progress in all of this," Apple Bloom said one day after practice had ended. "I don't know if I'll ever be good enough to have a partner."
"Come on, you're not that bad! Don't sell yourself so short!" Tender Taps encouraged! "You are improving, even if it seems like you aren't. You're not making as many mistakes as you used to make, so that's a good sign."
The farm filly just sighed. "But I keep makin' too many of 'em."
"Well you're only going to stop doing them if you keep practicing," Tender strongly declared. "If you just give up then you'll never improve, you'll stay the same or maybe even get worse!"
Apple Bloom replied in uncertainty. "Well, one thing's for sure, I ain't gonna be ready to take on a partner before the recital. And I ain't ready to be a soloist. I sure hope you've been workin' on overcomin' that stage fright, Tender Taps. Because you're probably gonna have to perform at that recital."
But the colt gulped. "I've been trying to! I keep trying to perform for ponies I don't know! But I keep freezing up and forgetting what to do! If I go out there on the stage during that recital and mess up like that, I don't think I'll ever be able to get over the humiliation!"
That caused Apple Bloom to pause and put a hoof to her chin. "Sounds like I'm gonna need back up on this one," She said to herself. "And I think I know just the ponies for the job."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hadn't been expecting to be called back to the clubhouse at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, the next planned meeting wasn't supposed to be for another week. But Apple Bloom had passed word along to both of them to show up, vaguely mentioning that she had something very important to share with them.
Both fillies didn't mind, though, this gave them a chance to catch up and chat. They hadn't really seen each other much since they'd gone off to pursue their own interests. Scootaloo still wore her helmet and safety goggles from a recent bungee jumping attempt. "Sweetie Belle! You are not gonna believe this, but I think I like bungee jumping even more than scootering! Maybe even more than flying! I can't get enough of the adrenaline rush!"
Sweetie Belle fondly exclaimed! "Seriously?! That's amazing!" She then brandished a rather tacky looking scarf that was draped around her neck. "Look what I did! I just finished it this morning!"
Scootaloo was unsure of what to say as she eyed the poorly made scarf. "Wow, Sweetie Belle. Uh, that's, um..."
Sweetie didn't wait for her friend to finish. "'Horrible?', I know. But who cares? It was so much fun!" She twirled it around while fondly declaring. "Rarity was more than happy to show me how, even though she says and I quote:" She briefly threw her voice to try and mimic her big sister's voice. "'Crochet is knitting's poorer cousin.'," Then she let her normal voice return. "But I loved it! I'm sure I'll get better with practice, I already think I know where I went wrong with this one."
"Sounds awesome!" Scootaloo commented, before her thoughts turned to other things. "What do you suppose Apple Bloom's been up to all this time? Feels like we haven't seen her in ages now."
"Don't know," The unicorn filly innocently replied. "But I'm sure we'll find out soon." Then she and her pegasus friend trotted inside the clubhouse.
Apple Bloom was already waiting for her fellow Crusaders when they entered the clubhouse. "Hey, girls, sorry if I was interruptin' ya in the middle of pursuin' your own interests," Her tone of voice briefly sounded bitter before she coughed into a hoof. "Sorry, I'm tryin' not to be mad. I know you said we don't have to do things together anymore. That's kind of why I've been avoidin' ya both for so long, I've been tryin' to find somethin' I could do that I'd like doin' on my own," She unhappily sighed. "Unfortunately, I looked all over Ponyville for things to do, but every single activity I tried just made me feel more alone than the one before it. Didn't help that I wasn't any good at 'em."
"Well, you don't have to be good at something to have fun!" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Just look at this crocheted scarf, it turned out horribly but I had a blast making it!"
Scootaloo added. "And being good at something doesn't always mean you'll find it fun. My dad's a fantastic hockey player, but he quickly got bored of playing it all the time. That's why he stepped back and became a manager."
"I know what you mean, girls," Apple Bloom commented. "That's kind of why I called ya both here today. Though there is somethin' else I wanted to discuss with you two first. Remember how it was thanks to us that Diamond Tiara became a better pony?"
The other fillies nodded. "Yeah, and I remember we made her and Silver Spoon both honorary Crusaders," Scootaloo pointed out. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Apple Bloom cleared her throat. "Well, they suggested we turn our club into a business, assumin' we're still gonna keep runnin' it now that we've got our cutie marks."
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both blinked. "A business? What would we even do with it?" Sweetie questioned.
"The way Diamond phrased it, she made it sound like we could be Cutie Mark Counselors," The farm filly explained. "It'd be a way for us to put our unique talents to good use. After all, even Twilight seems to think we're special. She says what happened to us is somethin' that's never happened before in the entire history of Equestria. And it just so happens I know who our first client could be, which is the main reason why I asked you both to meet me here," She explained. "I met the best dancer in the whole wide world, but he was so shy, he couldn't bring himself to perform, even though he really, really wanted to."
Sweetie pondered. "I don't suppose this dancing pony had a cutie mark, did he?"
"Actually, no," Apple Bloom replied. "But I bet he could if he had the right encouragement. This is somethin' we can only do as a group. Believe me, I tried to do it on my own. It only kind of worked."
The sun was just beginning to set as Apple Bloom led her fellow Crusaders in a mad dash across Ponyville to town hall. She was just in time, the dancing recital had yet to start. "Good, there's still time!" She happily exclaimed, before a pony in the audience shushed her.
Tender Taps was quite surprised to see Apple Bloom so close to the recital, especially with two fillies he didn't recognize. "Hey, what's going on? You're not part of the recital!"
"I am now!" Apple Bloom explained. "You probably didn't know I'm part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And what we do is help ponies with problems when it comes to cutie marks and special talents. Ponies like you. You're the best dancer I've ever seen. And this is your chance to show that to everypony!"
The colt with an orange coat gulped. "Yeah, but did you forget what I told you about my stage fright? I know my aunt dragged me to this and wanted me to come out of my shell, but I don't think this is the right way to do it!"
"Hey, a wise pony once told me that if you just give up then you'll never get better at somethin'," Apple Bloom said with a glare. "And I came back specifically to help that pony. Besides, I've got the perfect remedy. We can go on together. No matter what, you'll look good dancin' next to me."
Tender Taps looked out towards the crowd, and something deep inside him told him that this was his chance. It was all or nothing! "A-alright, I'll do it," He declared, before he realized something. "But I don't have my costume, and the backdrop is all wrong, and we don't have time to change it!"
"Don't worry, that's why I brought Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with me," Apple Bloom gestured to the unicorn and the pegasus fillies beside her. "Leave everythin' to us."
A short time later, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom were dressed in hastily crocheted but matching costumes: Tender's was green and Apple Bloom's was purple.
"You sure this is gonna work?" Tender Taps asked.
Apple Bloom nodded as Sweetie Belle gestured to Scootaloo. "Relax, you'll do just fine! Just get out there and show 'em your stuff!" The unicorn told the still somewhat shy colt.
Just then, the piano music stopped playing, a cue that that the next dance act was about to start. "Here goes nothin'..." Apple Bloom told Tender Taps as the two watched Scootaloo swing down to change the backdrop to a crudely drawn image of a city.
Jazzy music began to play as Apple Bloom trotted out first. Tender Taps still couldn't bring himself to do anything, he remained frozen in place. Apple Bloom just tap danced about in a clumsy fashion, which ended with her falling off the stage while several ponies in the audience laughed at her. She whispered in encouragement to her dance partner. "Can't be any worse than I was! Come on!"
So Tender Taps swallowed a lump in his throat and started tapping his hooves in time to the music. He started out slow and unsure of himself, but it wasn't long before he began to tap dance with more confidence. He kept dancing, and dancing, and dancing, until any thought of doing bad and the consequence associated with it had left him completely!
Apple Bloom watched with amazement and satisfaction as Tender Taps started dancing up a storm on the stage! Her hunch had turned out to be right.
The audience burst into thunderous applause at the performance unfolding before their very eyes. And when it had ended, Tender Taps had earned his cutie mark: A top hat and a spotlight.
After the performance, Tender Taps could barely contain his excitement over his new cutie mark! "I can't believe it! It's just what I always imagined it would be! And if it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't even have it. I can't believe I'd never heard of you girls before."
"Hey, don't mention it. It was no problem!" Scootaloo waved a hoof.
"Helping other is what we do," Sweetie Belle commented and turned to Apple Bloom. "You know, I think there might be something to this Cutie Mark Counseling business."
Apple Bloom nodded. "Yup," Then she remorsefully added. "Though I feel kind of ashamed that I was mopin' around for so long when I could've been helpin' Tender Taps much sooner."
"Hey, it's alright. I just hope you'll keep dancing," Tender Taps commented as he offered a hoof to Apple Bloom. "I'd be honored to have you as a friend and a partner."
Apple Bloom accepted Tender Taps' offer as she did a little tap dance of her own. "You know, I think I just might! It sure is a lot of fun, and I'm pretty confident I can only get better."
"And even if we do set up our own business, it doesn't have to mean the three of us will have to completely stop doing things on our own," Sweetie Belle commented. "After all, with each of us going out and trying things on our own, we'll be three times as likely to find ponies to help!"
"And trying new stuff might even make us better at helping them," Scootaloo suggested. "Like how I used my bungee jumping to change the sets!"
"Or how I used my crochet to make the costumes!" Sweetie added.
"Well, one thing is for sure. The Cutie Mark Crusaders will never be the same," Apple Bloom declared, much to the shock of her fellow Crusaders. "We'll be even better! The Cutie Mark Crusades are officially in business!"
And then all three Crusaders high hoofed each other as they shouted together! "Yeah!"