"THUMP! THUMP! THUMPITY-THUMP!" Spike could hear the racket from upstairs. "Oh Pinkie Pie!" he called upstairs. The din continued and the hyperactive pony did not answer him. "Pinkie!" he shouted a little louder. Hearing no answer, the purple dragon moved closer to the stairs, breathed in deep and yelled, "PIN-KIE!!!"
"Yes Spikey!" she responded after a loud crash.
"Is everything okay up there? said Spike.
"Of course, silly. I'm just getting my gear together." replied Pinkie.
"Well we need to hurry up and get our attack plan together. We don't want to be running back and forth through Ponyville and miss the deadline."
"Okey dokey lokey!" squealed Pinkie. "I'll be down in a minute." A few minutes later, she came bounding down the stairs, with a saddle full of gear. The two friends then sat back down at their table to plan.
First, they read the letter again to make sure they did not forget a necessary item. Most of the items could be retrieved in obvious places; such as the red apple (Sweet Apple Acres, blue bird feather (Everfree Forest), abacus (library), pink ribbon (Carousel Boutique), and rainbow water (Cloudsdale), Pinkie Pie and Spike agonized over a few difficulties, like how to get the feather and how to get to Cloudsdale. After some deep thought, discussion, and Pinkie spontaneously breaking into song about it all, they decided to head for Sweet Apple Acres first and then stop by Fluttershy's to see if she could help with the bird and getting to Cloudsdale. Because the clock was about to strike ten, they decided to figure everything else out while eating a picnic lunch later.
As Spike was getting up to start preparing the picnic, a knock was heard at the door. "I'll get it!" cried Pinkie and she opened the door. Outside stood three young fillies with red capes. When the door opened, they shouted "Happy Birthday, Pinkie Pie!" while hugging her all at once!
The three fillies, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, were more commonly known as the "Cutie Mark Crusaders." The fillies became friends because each of them had not earned their cutie marks yet and were being teased by their classmates. for having "blank flanks." Cutie marks are pictures that appear on a pony's flank once he/she figured out what their special talent is. When a pony's cutie mark appears it is hailed as a coming-of-age. Tired of being bullied, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo formed their own secret club, called "The Cutie Mark Crusaders." Their goal is to to find out what their special talents are together.
After hugging Pinkie, the Crusaders huddled together and whispered to each other. Seconds later, they broke the huddle and came out holding a gift, wrapped in pink and tied with yellow and blue ribbon. Then Apple Bloom cleared her throat and began to speak.
"On behalf of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, ahm proud to present you with this token of our friendship." the yellow earth pony said in her southern accent. Pinkie Pie tore apart the wrapping paper in a blur and opened the box. A mallet sat inside. A white unicorn continued,
"Your such a great friend to us crusaders; baking us treats and showing us support at our meetings." said Sweetie Belle.
"We just bought a new mallet with bits we saved up, so we thought you would like to have the old one because you loved to play with it." said Scootaloo, an orange Pegasus filly.
"Thank you so much, crusaders! I am very honored. It's very lucky you came by with your gift." said Pinkie Pie thankfully. She then described the events of this morning, the mysterious letter, and the scavenger hunt. The Crusaders huddled again. Another chance to earn their cutie marks had presented itself and they agreed to ask if they could come along.
"Of course you can come along you silly fillies" said Pinkie Pie as if she had heard their conversation of whispers.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SCAVENGER HUNTERS, YAY!!" the fillies cried.
"Do we have enough sandwiches, Spikey?" Asked Pinkie.
"I just finished packing the picnic and there's enough for everypony." said the purple dragon. The bakery filled with cheers.
Everything being in perfect order, Spike grabbed the picnic basket, Pinkie turned off the lights and locked the door of Sugarcube Corner, and the group started off on their scavenger hunt adventure. They started towards Sweet Apple Acres at a trot. A few minutes down the road the group stopped after hearing a loud whistle above them in the sky.
"Hey Pinkie Pie!" shouted a light blue Pegasus, "Happy Birthday!"
"It's Rainbow Dash!" cheered Scootaloo, the president of her fan club.
The light blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane now had their full attention and sped through the sky. Clouds bristled by in seconds as she dove rapidly with a wide grin, ready to perform a Sonic Rainboom (her signature move). With perfect precision Dash accelerated and a multicolored ring flashed in the sky. A sonic boom followed the flash. Rainbow Dash leveled off and sped away leaving the most beautiful rainbow high above Ponyville. No wonder many consider her one of the best fliers in Equestria! The move elicited wild cheering from the scavenger hunters, especially from Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie jumped for joy and shouted multiple "Thank you's" to her Pegasus friend. Then, the scavenger hunters continued their journey to Sweet Apple Acres. Meanwhile, another group of ponies descended on Sugarcube Corner.