//------------------------------// // The Cutie Mark Crusaders Reunited // Story: The Cutie Mark Crusaders Do Manehattan // by Diablomuerte2 //------------------------------// The Cutie Mark Crusaders Reunited Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, Twist, Babs Seed, and Applebloom were all talking at the park and figuring out what to do next. They all seemed to have forgotten about the itinerary and were just making plans as they went. While they were all attempting to be civil about their dispute of where they should be heading, they had almost came to an agreement, but with the nominated decider of the group being indecisive, it was just going nowhere. "Well I jus' think we should find Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara before they chew each other's heads off," Applebloom suggested in an annoyed tone. "Well whatever we decide to do let's not split up. Manehattan is a big city and you don't want to be lost with the creeps that sometimes pop up," Babs warned with a grimace. "Creeps?" Silver Spoon asked worriedly. She had no clue if Diamond Tiara was off on her own. Knowing her friend it was possible she had already separated from Scootaloo because of the pegasus filly being a blank flank. Silver Spoon may not like Diamond at times because of her attitude, but she was still a dear friend. "Oh no!" Sweetie Belle chirped in. "We need to find them now... what if something has happened to them already and they can't call for help?" She was starting to get shaky with fear. Silver Spoon nuzzled the worried unicorn filly and tried to be brave for the group. "How about we go searching for them as a group?" She suggested as the voice of reason amongst the arguing crowd. Twist was looking off in the distance because something caught her eye. She had noticed the two fillies that were being mentioned were very close together and walking slowly towards an area of the park. "Umm' girls ... I think I see them," she said in her slight lisp. She noticed that Scootaloo had her wing over Diamond Tiara's body, it seemed they were enjoying one another's company. "Awww' that's precious," she said in endearment. Silver Spoon couldn't believe her eyes. "Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?" She wasn't sure if her glasses somehow broke during her snuggle session with Sweetie Belle. She was seeing something that seemed neigh impossible. "Oh my gosh!" Sweetie Belle chirped in amusement. She had never thought she would see the day; her worst enemy being intimately close to one of her friends. "Let's hide before they see us," she suggested, fearing the moment would be ruined if they had been caught. "Wait... is this really happenin'? Cause I jus' don't believe it." Applebloom stared in complete bewilderment. Surely the sun was beaming too bright and was causing her to hallucinate. "That don't make sense," she said as if clarity had been found in her mind. "Why not cousin?" Babs asked, puzzled. She wasn't sure what was making Applebloom so upset about the scene. "Well... I mean it's Diamond... and Scootaloo, they both hate mushy stuff and look at them," she stated as if they were all blind to the crime at hoof. It went against all she knew to witness such a display. "Well I am going to let them know we are here so they can join us," Twist stated happily. She wasn't understanding why it was so hard to see the two fillies get along. She was positive that they were just being odd, in her mind she was the only sane one there. "Hey girls over here," she yelled out towards the unsuspecting two fillies. ____________________________________________________________ Scootaloo was mindlessly walking with Diamond Tiara, her wing gently gripping her new found friend. She was unsure how the other fillies of her group would feel about the new blossoming relationship and, at that moment, didn't care. She wasn't going to break a promise she made, that would be uncool. She had been wondering how the group dynamic would play out if Diamond Tiara hung out with them. Silver Spoon was still Diamond Tiara's best friend and that made Scootaloo worry about animosity between them. What if being friends with the crowned filly caused other friendships to crumble? She didn't dare ponder on that as she didn't want to accidentally think out loud. "Hey Scootaloo?" Diamond Tiara asked, as if on cue. "Yeah Diamond?" She responded, shortening her name for convenience sake. "Will we go back to being enemies when we go back to Ponyville, or did you mean what you said earlier?" She questioned, a bit hesitant of breaking the spell that the moment they had created. "Well I meant what I said, how about you? Do you still want to be friends when we get back?" She asked with an unsteady heart. She was sure the rejection was coming, otherwise the other filly wouldn't have brought it up. "Well I do... I want to be your friend Scootaloo, I am just scared about Applebloom and Sweetie... what if they don't like me still and tell you not to be friends with me?" She asked, concerned as she tried separating from the wing hug in case she had to look away and cry. "Don't worry, they aren't like that, and if they are then I will let them know I am going to be your friend... if they don't like that, I guess I will have to worry about it when the time comes." Scootaloo kept Diamond Tiara in the hug. She didn't want her friend to think she was just going to give up when the tough time came. "You don't have to run away, I would never break my promise and I don't make empty ones either," she said before nuzzling her. Diamond Tiara nuzzled back gently and she was smiling again. Her mood softened and she stayed by Scootaloo's side, all the while blissfully unaware that they were being watched. "So then wha-" She was going to continue asking her questions, but she heard a familiar filly calling out to them. Scootaloo looked in the direction of the noise and noticed her friends, and Silver Spoon, all waiting for her and Diamond Tiara on top of a hill near a tree. "Oh crap... they spotted us... well it's now or never. You still in?" She asked, giving her one last chance to break off their friendship and retain her status as the evil queen of Ponyville Elementary. "I am in... and nothing will change that," she said, ready to face the barrage of questions or possible angry words from the group that was watching them in awe. She hadn't figured out that they were all somewhat happy with the prospect of Scootaloo and her becoming friends. She was still worried about how Silver Spoon would feel since, in her mind, they only had each other. ____________________________________________________________ When all the fillies met up the awkward silence became pregnant and the mood was sullen. None of the fillies knew what to say, each had their own misconception of what the others were thinking. New friendships blossomed in the absence of one another, and with the notion that things would return to normal being heavy on some minds, it was causing a plight in the lives of the group of friends. "Well... I am going to say it." Diamond tiara began speaking with a confident grin. "I'm friends with Scootaloo now... so do what you wish, but I am sticking by her," she said to the group with a false bravado. She wasn't usually a filly with a need to make declarations of friendship, but loved attention nonetheless. "Well... I am happy for you Diamond, because I became friends with Sweetie Belle, and I was worried you would be upset," Silver Spoon said with a soft smile. She was still unsure about it all, the entire moment was amiable enough, but at any moment anything could happen. "Well that's great news for us all," Twist said excitedly. "Now we can all hang out and no one has to be bullied for not having cutie marks." It was as if on cue, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at their flanks and noticed they had no destiny induced mark. "Hey girls, is it cool if me, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all talk privately for a second?” Applebloom asked the group. She was unsure if she was ruining the somewhat happy mood among them. The other fillies nodded while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle walked away and waited for Applebloom to speak with them. “So what’s going on Applebloom?” Scootaloo asked, confused as to the sudden shift in her demeanor. “Well it’s about us bein’ Cutie Mark Crusaders… I love hangin’ out with ya girls, I really do, but I think we shouldn’t always being hangin’ out together an’ trying ta find our cutie marks,”she said in a sad tone. “What do you mean Applebloom? Do you not like hanging with us anymore?” Sweetie Belle asked in a depressed tone with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “Yeah, what gives Applebloom?” Scootaloo huffed out in anger. “Well it’s just I think we should hang out like friends and crusade sometimes because if we keep crusadin’ all the time we might miss out on the other great things that life has ta offer… I mean look, we got new friends and it was because we weren't focusing on our dang cutie marks,” Applebloom relayed in a somewhat confident tone. “I see what you are saying now… I think we can work a schedule out… because I mean… I kinda made a promise to Diamond Tiara that we would be friends and I kinda maybe hinted I wouldn’t let her feel lonely anymore… so I can dig this,” Scootaloo said with a puffed chest. “Well I guess we can take a break from crusading from time to time… it would be nice to hang out with Silver Spoon some more, but does this mean we will start to drift apart?” Sweetie asked with the tear still waiting to fall from her optical organ. “No… we will never drift apart, sure we may find new friends but… that doesn't mean we hafta drift apart now,” Applebloom said with a soft smile. “Well good, because while I like hanging with Diamond Tiara, nothing will stop me from wanting to hang with you girls,” Scootaloo said with a grin. “Yeah! I am so happy, we don’t have to split up and we can keep our new friends,” Sweetie Belle chirped out happily in a loud way. “So then let’s get back ta our new friends and worry about crusading another time,” Applebloom finished the conversation on a happy note and the friends all rejoined their new friends under the tree where the shadow kept them cool on the warm day. ____________________________________________________________ Cheerilee was running amok, she had been worn out by the time she got to the park. She was about to give up all hope and just accept the fact she had possibly lost the fillies and would face judgement. She was in the park, resting on a bench, looking out at some fillies playing. In her deluded state of mind she could have sworn the fillies in question were the ones she was looking for. She watched them play a bit and wished those fillies would magically turn into the missing group of students. She kept swearing she could hear Sweetie Belle’s high pitched voice in the crowd of young ponies. She didn’t know if it was delirium or a brain wanting to torment her, but she was now watching the group of fillies run towards her shouting her name. She got off the bench, ready for the mirage to fade and her day to be crushed by reality, but instead she felt a bunch of fillies hug her. It was awkward for two seconds while her brain adjusted to the world around her. Not only was she being hugged by the various fillies, it was the students she was running around town looking for. She was finally able to relax and could begin enjoying the trip. She wasn't sure who the extra filly in the group was, she hadn’t seen that filly before, and her lack of a cutie mark couldn't help her identify the seemingly lost pony. “Who are you?” She asked inquisitively with a soft tone. She wasn't sure if the filly was lost or knew one of the students. “My name is Babs Seed,” said the dark orange filly with an odd accent. “I am Applebloom’s cousin.” “Well then Babs Seed, why don’t you come along with us while we go to the museum. I don’t want to leave you here all by yourself,” Cheerilee said with a tender voice. “Really? I can come with ya’s?” Babs asked, excited. “Yes you can and I am sure Big Mac will be happy to see you too,” Cheerilee stated before she lead the group of fillies out of the park, her stress gone and her day brightened.