Back at the clubhouse, Apple Bloom is announcing the final day of their crusading with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hanging their heads with sadness.
"I hereby that this will be our last day for the Cutie Mark Crusaders." Apple Bloom said sadly. "If it weren't for our ex-friend Cozy Glow, we would've put everypony else in danger."
"Ugh! It's not fair!" Scootaloo groaned. "Why didn't we thought about her working with Tirek when she nearly drain all the magic of Equestria?!"
"And why did she use us when we tried to get enroll with Twilight's school?! I guess we never should've thought about coming to the School of Friendship in the first place!" Sweetie Belle yelled.
"We would've been heroes of Equestria like our sisters!" Apple Bloom said. "But now it's not worth it we are just young fillies who don't have the experience to be heroes at all!"
Just then, they notice a rock came through the window with a note tied up in a string.
"What's that?" Scootaloo asked.
"I'll take a look." Sweetie Belle said as she untied the knot and reads letter out loud to as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo listen.
Dear Cutie Mark Crusaders,
I have captured all of your friends that you loved. If you ever wanted to see them again, come to the Appaloosan Mountains at nighttime.
Rover
The young fillies were a little confused about the name Rover was unfamiliar to them.
"Rover? Who's Rover?" Apple Bloom asked in curiousity.
Sweetie Belle did remember something about that name that Rarity mentioned to her when she out gem hunting with Spike as she turn to her friends and asked.
"Wait, remember Rarity told me about she was captured by the Diamond Dogs?"
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo suddenly realize that they remember hearing something that Applejack and Rainbow Dash told them about their encounter with the Diamond Dogs.
"Oh yeah, Spike and Rainbow Dash did say something about that!" Scootaloo said remembering that story.
Apple Bloom still confused about the note.
"Yeah, But what kind of friends we loved he's talking about?" she said.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are in a deep thought. Until suddenly, Apple Bloom opened her wide eyes with realization.
"Applejack!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle gasped as well.
"And that means Princess Twilight and the rest of her friends are trouble too!" Apple Bloom cried.
"So, what do we do?!" Scootaloo cried.
The crusaders have no idea what to do about it they try to think of some easier way but all that fear from the Cozy Glow incident is still in their heads but Apple Bloom shrugs it off and turns to her friends about her decision.
"Girls, I can't believe that I'm saying this. But we gotta go Appleloosa! And save them!"
"WHAT?!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shouted in shock when they hear what Apple Bloom said.
"We can't!" Scootaloo yelled.
"But Apple Bloom, we're so small!" Sweetie Belle protested. "Shouldn't we get Princess Celestia and Princees Luna and tell them about this?"
But Apple Bloom denied and said to her friends. "Look I know we're scared but there isn't much time to get to Canterlot! Rover wants us there tonight! So we got to do this!"
"We got to?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yes, Scootaloo, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders and we solved a lot tough situations for other ponies!" Apple Bloom answered with determination. "And besides our sisters Princess Twilight and the rest of her friends are our family! And we don't turn our backs on family even when they make mistakes or make the wrong choices and decisions!"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other in concern, but they knew that Apple Bloom was right.
"You're right, Apple Bloom. Our friends need us." Scootaloo determined.
"And there's no reason for giving up." Sweetie Belle agreed.
Apple Bloom smiled. "Then come on girls! we got a train to catch!"
"Go, Crusaders!" they cheered together.
they put their hooves together and Apple Bloom leaves Granny Smith and Big Mac a note that she and her friends will be out for a while and they rushed to the Ponyville Train Station to catch the train to the Appleloosan Mountains tonight.
Somewhere inside the cave of the Appaloosan Mountains, Twilight Sparkle and her friends are tied up in a rope.
"Why you dog-gone Diamond Dogs!" Applejack shouted all tied up in the rope.
Twilight shouted at Rover. "What's the meaning of this Rover? !Why did you kidnap us?! What do you want?!"
"You better give us the answers right now! Or you'll face the consequences!" Rainbow Dash screamed.
Fluttershy is too afraid to speak up to Rover.
"If you want us to dig up more of your gems it won't work!" Rarity said.
"Oh no, it's not the gems that we want." Rover grinned.
"Then what is it that you want?" Twilight Sparkle asked in confusion.
"You'll soon see." Rover laughed.
"Then why us?" Sandbar added. "We never done anything to you!"
"Yeah so why not leave Sandbar and his friends out of this!" Spike shouted.
"Quiet dragon! Unless you wanted to get eaten by the giant roc!" Fido.
Spike gulped remember that memory only too well.
"Aww... Lookie here, fellas." Spot called out as he reads the newspaper. "Equestria's magic is nearly drained by one of Twilight Sparkle's students. It says here, "Cozy Glow, one of Twilight's students thought friendship is power and she sent her and her friends to Tartarus to get them out of the way, so she can take over Equestria"."
"A little filly who's evil?" Fido laughed maniacally. "This has got interesting."
"So I guess you already heard about that." Starlight said.
"Yes we sure do." Fido laughed. "Must've been awful for the Princess of Friendship to have one of her students betraying her."
Twilight Sparkle glares at them for their mocking. Then Rover started to imitate as Cozy Glow.
"Hello, I'm Cozy Glow. It's very nice to meet you, and I wanted to learn all about true friendship." he said as he show off his sweet innocent face, and then he turned it into an evil grinned face. "But I lied all the time! I wanted to be the Empress of Friendship, so I can make a lot of friends! So I'll use the artifacts to drain all the magic from Equestria, and no one will stop me!"
Rover laughed manically as Twilight and the others find it very annoying.
"And those so-called Cutie Mark Crusaders." Fido imitate as Cozy Glow. "After I did to for them to let Twilight come to my school, but at least they get to be my tutors but Ha! what a bunch of brats! Trying to distract me while the other creatures free Starlight and save Equestria. Well too bad for the Cutie Mark Crusaders they don't deserve to be heroes! Thanks to them I know all about friendship I can put my plan into action!"
The Diamond Dogs laugh manically thinking that this is too interesting for them but Twilight and the others had about enough of it.
"ENOUGH!!!" Twilight shouted. "What you said about them is not true!"
Fido, Spot and Rover stopped laughing as they turned to Twilight Sparkle.
"Oh and why's that?" Rover asked.
"Yeah, why's that, huh?" Fido asked.
As the Cutie Mark Crusaders got to the cave they hear Twilight and the others give her speech to the Diamond Dogs.
"Because they help out a lot of ponies before we open up the school of friendship. Like the time Zecora first came to Ponyville. Apple Bloom showed us that she wasn't an evil enchantress." Twilight said.
Spot crossed his arms and said. "Helping out a lot of ponies? How sweet."
"That's right! Silver Spoon and I became mean bullies to them because of my selfish mother was hard on me." Diamond Tiara added. "But they help me and earn Silver Spoon's friendship back and help me become a much better pony that I am today."
"And during they're trip here in Appleloosa they helped an outlaw named Trouble Shoes realize that his cutie mark didn't mean he was bad luck, but that he was a meant to be rodeo clown which they show me and the other ponies that he wasn't a bad guy after all." Applejack said.
"They helped a hippogriff named Terramar realize that he didn't have to choose whether to live on land or the sea!" Rarity said.
"Which by the way, was their friendship mission!" Rainbow Dash added.
"And they did help Big Mac win the heart of a mare from my village that he liked." Starlight said.
Applejack look at her in shock at Starlight notice.
"Sugar Belle did told me about it when they came to my old village." She said to her.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were behind the rock, overhearing their friends' speech. They were surprised.
"I can't believe for what I just heard." Scootaloo whispered
"Me too." Apple Bloom whispered.
"Me three." Sweetie Belle whispered.
"And when we open up the School of Friendship they wanted to come there more than anything in Equestria." Fluttershy said.
"Especially when they wanted to make some friends there!" Pinkie Pie said.
"So they helped Cozy Glow with her test before she turned evil and they were honorary graduates and became tutors." Spike added.
"Yona like Cutie Mar Crusaders!" Yona added.
"Me too!" Ocellus agreed.
"Me three!" Silverstream said.
"Well they may have help Gabby but I like them too!" Gallus said.
"Well when I learn about their history I guess I like them too they did free us so we can stop Cozy Glow." Smolder agreed.
"Seeing them feeling hurt made us feel so bad for them." Sandbar said. "But if I haven't asked them for their help and discovered Cozy Glow's true colors then they wouldn't be in this mess but we couldn't get all the magic back in Equestria without them and that makes them true heroes."
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle can't believe their own ears right after hearing Sandbar's confident words. And then something has changed within them. Their sadness begins to disappear, their confidences are coming back right after what Cozy Glow has done to them. This time for what Sweetie Belle said before, they're not going to give up ever again.
"Sandbar's right girls! They never stop Cozy Glow if it wasn't for us!" Apple Bloom said to them in a whisper.
"If we free them and save them from the Diamond Dogs and that's what we're going to do." Scootaloo said.
"Yeah, so what's the plan?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Gather round Crusaders." Apple Bloom said "Here's what we're going to do.
Apple Bloom strategies with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about their rescue misssion.
"A very touching story." said Fido. "But who's going to save you all?"
"Yeah! Now's the time to put all of you to work." said Spot.
"Find the diamonds for us, and then we'll let you go!" ordered Rover.
"Hey, Rover!" Apple Bloom's voice called out as they drawn their attention behind them and see Apple Bloom and his friends have arrived. "Are you expecting us?"
"Apple Bloom?" Applejack gasped.
"Sweetie Belle" Rarity gasped.
"Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Well, well, well. So you're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, eh?" Fido asked.
"You bet we are!" Sweetie Belle said.
"How about you let our sisters and our friends go!" Scootaloo said.
The Diamond Dogs laughed at their bravery and as Rover walk up to them.
"You think 3 little ponies like you can stop us?" he asked.
"That's right so we're warning you!" Scootaloo said.
"Or what?" Spot asked.
"Or we'll do this!" Apple Bloom said and throws the apple at Rover's face as she and Scootaloo ran from their lives to keep them distracted.
Now Rover is furious and commanded Fido and Spot to catch them.
"Don't just stand there, get them!"
The Diamond Dogs chase after Apple Bloom and Scootaloo while their distracted Sweetie Belle uses her magic to free Twilight and others from the ropes.
"There, you're free!" she said.
"Thank you so much Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said as she give her a hug.
"But how did you find us?" Spike asked.
"Rover send us a note and we came here on our own." Sweetie Belle explained.
"All the way from Ponyville?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah, look yell at us or be mad at us if you want! Right now I gotta go help Apple Bloom and Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said as she ran of to go help her friends.
"If those dog-gone dogs get their paws on our--" Applejack was cut off by Starlight.
"Wait!" she said as she interrupt Applejack. "If they plan on saving us from the Diamond Dogs and taking care of them why don't we watch and see what happens."
"You're right Starlight." Rainbow Dash agreed.
"Come on let's find them and see if they need out help." Twilight said.
The Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, and The Young Six ran to Sweetie Belle's location to where Rover and his friends try to catch Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
Meanwhile, Rover, Fido and Spot were searching for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
"Where did those two little fillies go?" Fido wondered.
"We're over here!" Scootaloo called out. "Come and get us!"
Rover, Fido, and Spot ran towards to the deeper side of the cave where they heard Scootaloo's voice they looked around but couldn't see them but suddenly all three jump on Rover. Scootaloo clings to his head while Apple Bloom clings to his arm and Sweetie Belle clings to his legs.
"What the..." Rover said. "Get off!"
"Nope we're just enjoyin' the view from up here!" Apple Bloom said.
"That's right!" said Scootaloo.
"Why you little...." Rover tries to hit Scootaloo, but she dodges and he ends up hitting himself in the head. He takes one of his clubs and tries to do the same with the other two, but they too dodge and he just attacks himself.
"Missed me!" Sweetie Belle called.
"Grrr, get them!" Rover commanded Fido and Spot as they try to hit them with their clubs.
But the young fillies keep dodging their their attacks.
"Hey!" Fido called out. "Hold... still! So I can clobber yah!"
All three fillies collectively blow a raspberry at them Rover growls angrily losing his patience.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!!!" he shouted. "I'm gonna get those brats once and for all!"
"Yikes!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"Please let me take those for a while!" Sweetie Belle uses her magic and levitate the clubs out of the Diamond Dogs' paws.
"Hey! Give those back!" Spot shouted.
"You want them? Come and get'em!" Scootaloo called out.
The dogs chase the fillies deeper and deeper in the cave but it got too dark for them see but they can smell their sent but it leads them to three different tunnels leaving them confused.
"Uh, where they go?" Fido wondered.
"They must've split up into one of these." Spot thought.
"Then we'll do it so we can catch each one of them." Rover said.
"Oh Rover!" Apple Bloom sing fully called out her voice came from the middle.
"This way!" Rover pointed out.
"Here they come!" Sweetie Belle whispered.
The CMCs hidden themselves as The Diamond Dogs arrived and searched high and low and all around them.
"Alright little fillies." Rover called out. "Come on out, we won't hurt you. We just wanted to play."
"How about a game of tag?" Scootaloo's voice called out.
The called out and The Cutie Mark Crusaders swing down and knock each of the diamond dogs on the head with their own clubs. Making them get a headache and knocked down. Apple Bloom made a lasso of the rope and caught all three of them and Sweetie Belle tied them up real tight making sure that they don't escape.
"So ready to give up or do you want more?" Scootaloo asked.
"Alright! Alright! you win! you win!" Rover gave up.
"We surrender! We surrender!" Fido said.
"No more! No more!" Spot agreed.
"Well, looks like we did it!" Apple Bloom said feeling very proud.
"Yeah, we sure did!" Sweetie Belle said.
The Crusaders cheer high-hoof, until they hear Twilight and her friends call out to them.
"Girls, where are you?" Her voice called out.
"Over here!" The three fillies shouted back.
The Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, and The Young Six came to their destination they were relief to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders are safe and unharmed.
"There you three are!" Applejack said as she hugged her sister.
"We've been looking all over for you three!" Rainbow Dash said as she hugged her #1 fan.
"Are you three alright?" Rarity asked after giving her sister a hug.
"We're fine!" Sweetie Belle replied. "But look at what we did."
The Mane Six, Spike, The Young Six, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are surprised that the Diamond Dogs are tied up in a rope.
"Oh my." Fluttershy said as she was speechless.
"You three did all that?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"By yourselves?" Silver Spoon finished.
"Yep!" The fillies said in unison.
"No way!" Sandbar said couldn't believe either but he was impressed. "How did you three come up with a plan like that to save us and catch those Diamond Dogs?"
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo explains everything to everypony. They mention that they overheard about their conversation that gave them the support of heroism that they needed and the plan they had to rescue them. Twilight and the others were shock when they told them.
"Wow." Twilight said speechless. "I can't believe you did all that to save us from the Diamond Dogs."
"Yes, well like Apple Bloom said. You don't turn your back on family." Scootaloo blushed.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded with agreement as Starlight Glimmer approaches to them.
"Well from what you three explain to us all I can say..." Starlight grabbed the fillies and embrace them into a hug. "Thank you for saving us."
"Yona owes you for being brave ponies!" Yona said to them.
"I don't know about that." Apple Bloom blushed.
"Sure you did what you three did was awesome!" Spike said.
"Well my whining did let me go last time." Rarity added. "Although, we were a bit worried that you could've been hurt by those Diamond Dogs."
"But the way you three fought them." Applejack said. "We were mighty impressed."
"Thanks, guys. That's very thoughtful of you." Scootaloo said.
"And when you talked about the good stuff about us to the Diamond Dogs, it made us snap out of it." Sweetie Belle said.
"And even after all of our mistakes." said Apple Bloom. "I guess we've forgotten about the good things we've accomplished in the past, huh?"
"Yeah, like we've get to be in the Equestria Games." Scootaloo nodded.
"And helping out Trouble Shoes." Sweetie Belle agreed.
"And discovered our true talent, helping other ponies earn their cutie marks. And of course, helping out Sandbar and his friends to stop Cozy Glow from taking over the school." Apple Bloom finished.
Twilight walk up to them and said to them.
"Yes, and I know you all resigned from my school because of you three were hurt and left out after what happened with Cozy Glow. But let's all go home. and I want you all come to the School of Friendship tomorrow morning we have a special surprise for you three."
Everyone agreed and they left the cave and take the train back to Ponyville for a good night sleep and Spike began to wonder what Twilight said to them and asked.
"Twilight, what sort of surprise you had in mind for the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
She turn to Spike and answered.
"You'll see Spike. We know these three better than every creature. I'm gonna do something what I've should've done in the first place."