//------------------------------// // Crusade // Story: The Friendship Initiative // by Jatheus //------------------------------// 'Dear Princess Twilight, I'm excited to tell you that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and I have finally found time to hold meetings again as the Cutie Mark Crusaders! We had tried to think of a new name, but we didn't come up with anything good and then Apple Bloom got sentimental, so we just kept it. Since we all have jobs now to pay the bills, this is more of a weekends thing for now, but maybe it can become more than that eventually. Ash Eater is not excited about it, or anything else for that matter. I don't really see any progress with him, but he does seem less on edge than he was at first. I'll take what I can get at this point. XOXO, Scootaloo.' Scootaloo sat quietly as Apple Bloom read over the new meeting opening procedures. The farm pony stood at the other end of the small apartment above Carousel Boutique, which Scootaloo was officially renting. Rarity had been traveling back and forth to Manehattan and Canterlot to keep all of her shops running, and now that she was able to get fabric again, things were going better for her. Even still, it was necessary for the savvy fashionista to utilize all of her assets, one of which being dividing the upstairs house into smaller apartments and renting them out. Rarity had initially been insistent on giving Scootaloo the apartment for free but was eventually persuaded by the orange pegasus that she needed to pay like everypony else. Scootaloo had seen her new neighbors, but they hadn’t formally spoken yet. Sweetie Belle hummed quietly to her left, and Ash Eater seemed bored to her right. Apple Bloom cleared her throat, capturing the attention of the others. “Hear ye, hear ye. We will commence with the first meeting of the Cutie Marked Crusaders, which will hereafter and forever be known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Scootaloo leaned over to Sweetie Belle and whispered, “Nice touch.” The unicorn giggled. Apple Bloom glared, eliciting silence from the pair. Apparently her need to keep Crusader meetings official had not diminished in the slightest. “We declare all old business of the Cutie Mark Crusaders completed. Let the record show that of our original number, three remain as re-founding members.” Scootaloo felt herself frown at the friends that were no longer close to them anymore. Some had moved away, and others had simply drifted apart. Only one parted in anger, and Scootaloo felt that was her own fault. It was a shame to have seen all of them go, but she hoped that she might at least reconcile the damaged friendship some day. “Our first order of new business, we designate our new headquarters as Apartment Two above Carousel Boutique. Is there any discussion?” Sweetie Belle spoke up, “I just want to thank Scootaloo for being willing to host us. I know we were all sad that the old club house had rotted away, and the orchard getting cut down didn’t make it any easier. But the central location here will be perfect for us.” “I just realized something,” Scootaloo added, “this will be our first ever official meeting with all members having our cutie marks.” Sweetie Belle grinned. Ash Eater rolled his eyes in disgust. Apple Bloom continued, “We will now close discussion and vote on this item. All in favor of the new headquarters being Apartment Two above Carrousel Boutique, say ‘aye’.” “Aye!” the other two responded enthusiastically. “Any opposed, say ‘nay’.” There was silence. “The motion passes. That concludes our new business, and we shall now move on to projects. I yield the floor to the Project Coordinator, Sweetie Belle.” The unicorn didn’t bother standing. Scootaloo was glad, as the formality of the language of the proceedings was quite stiff enough for her taste. “Since we have only just begun, nopony really knows we are around. So, I thought we might start with some community service projects as a way to show everypony what we are about. Also, we can have some flyers printed up that we can put around town. That way, ponies can start bringing projects to us.” Sweetie Belle nodded to Apple Bloom. “We are now open for discussion on projects.” Scootaloo was the first to speak, “Did you have anything in mind?” “Where to begin?” Sweetie Belle answered. “There was so much damage to town by the end of the war that it made our typical bi-monthly monster attacks look like somepony forgot to cut the grass.” “That’s the truth,” Scootaloo added. “I was thinking that we could start with Fluttershy’s cottage. The bridge out there got burned down, and everypony has been too busy to build a new one.” Apple Bloom shifted, “Sweetie Belle, I’m pretty handy, but unless you took a construction course when you lived out in the Everfree Forest with Zecora, ain’t none of us know how to build that kind a bridge.” “Actually, I was thinking we could try to find some help, maybe a volunteer who knows how to plan it out, and then they can help us make sure we do the work correctly. That way it wouldn’t cost them much more than a little time.” “Speaking of cost,” Apple Bloom added as she looked at Scootaloo, “Treasurer, how many bits are we actually working with?” Scootaloo felt herself giggle nervously, “Well, from what we had donated to start us off, we only have a little less than a hundred bits altogether. I could collect my EUP severance pay and use that, but I was thinking it would be best to save it for a rainy day.” “Shucks, you don’t have to do all that. We’ll find us a way.” “Actually, I was thinking we could ask Twilight," Sweetie Belle ventured. "If we can get the materials, that puts us basically there." Scootaloo felt the suggestion had merit, "I’ll mention it the next time I see her. And if we can find that builder to show us how, I think it is doable. I've been working on a construction crew, so I'll ask around." “It sounds like we have a plan for our first shindig,” Apple Bloom whooped. Scootaloo felt herself smile. It felt good to be working to help others again. It was like coming home and discovering it was where you really belonged.