"Hey, Scoots!" Scootaloo looks over her shoulder and at Rainbow Dash, who has taken to flying alongside her.
"Oh, hey Rainbow!" Scootaloo answers excitedly. If Rainbow Dash wants to talk with her, it must be important. "What's up?" She asks enthusiastically.
"I just thought I should tell you that... that I have a marefriend." Rainbow says, "it's Applejack," she continues.
"Finall-" Scootaloo catches herself, "I mean, that's great!" Scootaloo smiles nervously at the pegasus giving her a look that seems to say 'really?'
"How long have you known? About my crush..." Rainbow asks, rubbing her neck awkwardly.
"I don't know, how long have you known she was your crush?" Scootaloo asks.
"Well, I guess I found out I liked her about five months ago, why?" Rainbow answers.
"Wow, really? Uh, well, let's go with that." Scootaloo replies, looking anywhere but Rainbow. The odd reaction doesn't go unnoticed.
"Scoots..." she starts, but Scootaloo relents.
"Fine, seven months or so was when I realized what it was, but I guess I noticed the signs before that." Scootaloo throws up her hooves in defeat.
"Wait, wha- Seven months?! How could you know before I did!?" Rainbow drops to the ground in shock.
"Well, whenever you were with AJ, you always gave off some sort of sign. Sometimes your nose did this thing, sometimes you fluttered your eyes a lot, sometimes you'd constantly ruffle your feathers. Other small signs lots of pegasi make when they're nervous, or anxious. I eventually connected the dots. I started watching Applejack a bit more, and she occasionally made some signs too. Just, with less frequency and obviousness." Scootaloo says. Rainbow just continues to look at Scootaloo in shock, eventually she manages to shake it away.
"You know Scoots, you're pretty smart," Scootaloo looks a little anxious at this. "Is something the matter Squirt?" Rainbow asks.
"No, no, nothings the matter!" Scootaloo has this frantic look on her face.
"Doesn't look like nothing. Scoots, you can trust me," Rainbow assures her.
"Rainbow... am I an egghead?" Scootaloo finally asks.
"...What?" Rainbow asks, trying to process the question. "Why would you think you're an egghead?" Rainbow asks in return.
"Well, normally I wouldn't. I don't like to go to school, or learn all that much. I'd rather spend my time trying to find my cutie mark. But lately, I've been remembering things I've read about before. And I do find myself studying more. At first, I just assumed I was just trying to finally be a good student, maybe even a great student. But... I find myself reading more and actually being... interested, in some stuff. I still want to be awesome like you! do sports, and crusade, and... fly. But... I find myself liking things I never thought I'd like, like books, and learning, and... studying. So, am I an egghead?" Scootaloo asks tentatively.
"Hmm... I guess so." Scootaloo looks crestfallen, "but that's not bad."
"But, Twilights an egghead, and you make fun of her for it." Scootaloo points out.
"Yeah, Twilights an egghead. But I don't make fun of her for it. Sure, I tease her, but that's just because it's how she is. It's all in good fun, I don't blame her for how she is. And if you're an egghead, that's fine by me. You're still the cool filly I know you are," Rainbow says, rubbing Scootaloos mame playfully.
"But, I don't wanna be like Twilight. I wanna be like you!" Scootaloo whines.
"Just be like both of us, then you can be the awesomest and the smartest!" Rainbow says proudly, Scootaloo hesitates at this.
"C-can I do that?" Scootaloo asks in surprise.
"Sure, why not?" Rainbow shrugs. Scootaloo thinks on this for a while before breaking out into a wide grin.
"Yeah... I guess you're right!" Scootaloo exclaims excitedly.
~~~~~~~
"What do you want?" Diamond tiara asks condescendingly.
"I wanted to say thank you," I tell her, I had managed to catch up with her before she got too far. She looks shocked at this, her mouth hanging open.
"Thank you, for what?" She asks suspiciously.
"For standing up for me in the classroom," I tell her, she immediately grows snide.
"I didn't do it for you," she says.
"I know... and I don't care, you helped me regardless." I say with conviction.
"Whatever, loser." I watch her walk away, knowing that I at least tried to reconcile with her. Your whole world can be turned upside down and some things will never change.
~~~~~~~
"Hey there Cuz'! And lil Cousin Bloom!" Braeburn calls out while bucking an apple tree.
"Braeburns here?! Why didn't you tell me! We're gonna have less time for fun!" Applebloom says worriedly.
"Braeburn will be staying for a while, there'll be plenty of time for fun." Applejack chuckles at the energy of her little sister. She jumps as she hears the door to the house slam open and close. Everypony turns to find Granny Smith dragging a suitcase out the door.
"Granny? What are you doing?" Applejack asks, dreading the answer.
"I'm leaving till y'all get your sense back! To Appaloosa, where they know what's right and wrong! C'mon Bloom, let's go." Granny says before going back to pulling her luggage.
"I don't wanna go to Appaloosa, I want to stay here. Why are you leaving anyway?" Applebloom asks incredulously.
"Because that one's gone and poisoned this families thoughts. But not me, and I won't let them get you either Bloom." Granny declares, pointing an accusatory hoof at Braeburn.
"Braeburn, what'd he do?" Applebloom asks in confusion.
"He gone and became a homo!" Granny spits.
"You're a coltcuddler?" Applebloom asks, not even waiting for an answer. "Do you have a coltfriend? Can we meet him?" Applebloom asks animatedly, genuinely proud of her cousin.
"Uh, nope... no coltfriend." Braeburn answers.
"So they got you too, Bloom? Does your evil know no bounds?! Corrupting little fillies!" Granny Smith seethes.
"Granny, ain't no corruption happening. Stop this foolishness." Applejack tries to reason.
"Y'all are the foolish ones. Contact me when you've come to your senses," Granny says as she drags her suitcase away.
"Applejack, I didn't want anypony to leave. If I'm too much trouble-" Applejack cuts Braeburn off.
"She made her choice, don't you worry about it," Applejack says simply.
"Applejack!" Everypony looks up to see Rainbow flying towards them quickly, falling into a close hover by Applejack.
"You'll never believe it!" Rainbow Dashes face is pure pride.
"What won't I believe?" Applejack asks.
"It's Scootaloo!" Rainbow gives.
"Did she get her cutie mark!? Can she fly!?" Applebloom asks excitedly.
"She's super smart!" Sweetie Belle says even more excited. Applebloom pauses and looks at Sweetie Belle.
"When did you get here?" Applebloom asks in confusion.
"What?" She stops, then looks at Applebloom, "oh, that! Well you see, I-" Applebloom cuts her off.
"Nevermind, I don't wanna know." Applebloom says, raising a hoof to Sweetie Belles mouth. Sweetie's words die out and Applebloom removes her hoof.
"Sweetie Belles right! Scootaloos an egghead!" Rainbow says ecstatically.
"You, uh, seem real proud Dash." Applejack mentions.
"I am proud! Scoots is growing up!" Rainbow says animatedly. Applejack smiles at the notion. it's great to her to see how even if they aren't blood related, Rainbows still the best big sister to her.
"That's great, Sugar," Applejack moves up and kisses Rainbow on the lips. Rainbow returns the kiss and Braeburn stares at them wide eyed. Applebloom smirks at the display and Sweetie Belle seems to avert her eyes, embarrassed by the display.
"C-Cuz'? I thought you said...?" Braeburn starts.
"Braeburn? Shut up," Applebloom tells him, he snaps to attention.
"Yes, ma'am." He says dumbly. Applejack and Rainbow pull away with goofy smiles on both of their faces, Sweetie Belle returns to her joyous hopping.
"What's with you lately, Sweetie Belle? You're acting a lot like Pink-" Applebloom stops her sentence suddenly, everypony looks at her. Her face contorts to surprise and then fear, taking a final look over Sweetie Belle. "Oh, Celestia, no." Her brain starts to work overtime, pulling together all the memorable times Sweetie's acted this way. She can't believe that she never noticed it before, Sweetie Belle is becoming a lot like Pinkie Pie.
"What's up with Applebloom?" Rainbow Dash asks after a while.
"I'm not sure," Applejack says.
"Applebloom seems to think I'm becoming like Pinkie Pie," Sweetie Belle says casually.
Applejack takes a second to process this before turning to Sweetie Belle cautiously. Applejack looks at her and looks back as well, "oh no," Applejack mutters. Her brain starts to work overtime as well as she tries to process the idea. Rainbow looks at the two and laughs.
"They really are sisters, huh?" Rainbow chuckles as they both worry together.
~~~~~~~
Pinkie Pie is standing at the counter ringing up a sale when she feels it. Or, not so much as a feeling, but an overarching sense of understanding. Pinkie stops and focuses all her thoughts on this intrusion, picking it apart and trying to figure out what this means. Pinkie smiles wide as she figures out what the feeling is.
"My Apprentice is ready! I wonder what she's like?" Pinkie muses, ecstatic at the thought of taking on an apprentice.
~~~~~~~
Twilight looks up from her books at the pony who just entered, "hello, Scootaloo. What can I help you with?" Twilight asks.
"Twilight, can I be your apprentice?" Twilight blinks blankly before putting on a confused face.
"What? You mean like Rainbow Dash did for you? Why?" Twilight asks.
"Because I want to learn!" Scootaloo states, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"What do you want to learn?" Twilight asks curiously.
"Everything!" Scootaloo says excitedly. Twilight's eyes go wide at the proclamation.
"Everything?" She mutters, her eyes immediately gather the familiar glint of eagerness. Suddenly a thought comes to her, "what about Rainbow Dash? I don't want to just take you from her," Twilight says, composing herself a little.
"Rainbow's okay with it, she isn't able to teach me all the time anyways." Scootaloo says, Twilight smiles at this.
"Well then, are you prepared to do whatever it takes?" Twilight asks.
"Whatever it takes," Scootaloo declares with determination.
"Okay then, I'll be sure to find you and Rainbow Dash later to work out a schedule," Scootaloo buzzes her wings excitedly and pumps a hoof. Twilight smiles and turns back to her book, content with herself. Scootaloo leaves to go tell her friends.
~~~~~~~
Sweetie Belle hops down the streets gleefully, humming to herself merrily. She stops as she sees one duckling crossing the street, and another duckling comes out from behind a building following it. One by one more ducklings come out, being pushed along by Fluttershy.
A duckling starts to wander off and Fluttershy seems preoccupied, so Sweetie Belle walks over and nudges it gently back into line.
"Oh, thank you Sweetie Belle. They are very lively, and are getting a bit hard to keep in line." Fluttershy admits.
"No problem Miss Fluttershy, I'm happy to help!" Sweetie Belle continues to hum to herself while gently nudging little ducklings back into line every once in a while. Sweetie belle starts to mumble lines of a song while humming and Fluttershy looks at her curiously. Fluttershy steels her resolve and sings a soft note out loud. Sweetie Belle looks at her in shock, Fluttershy just nods at Sweetie to add to it. Sweetie Belle lets loose a similar note, a note just as, if not more, beautiful than Fluttershy's. Fluttershy sings another note and Sweetie Belle copies it, the ducklings stop to listen. Fluttershy sings more wordless notes and Sweetie Belle sings with her.
"So, many things to do,
With some help from you
I'll be sure to get them done,
Then we can have fun.
All thanks to you, thank you for your time, Sweets.
Your companies sublime, Sweets.
Even though you're growing I hope you never change the pony that you are.
Don't change at all." Fluttershy sings, leaving some of her fear behind her.
"What reason have I got to change for?
I've got all I could want, why would I want for more?
I won't change at all!
I want nothing, cause I have it all.
I know my flank is blank, but I won't let this burden bring me down.
What more can I say?
We try every day, without any new breakthroughs." Sweetie Belle continues, leaving her fear as well.
"You've got to just be you.
Just live life and you'll eventually find what you're meant to.
You'll know just what to do.
You'll know what you need and it'll tell you the type of pony that I know you are.
You'll be a star!
You'll shine bright and you'll shine long.
I Just know that you'll be great at whatever you take on.
You'll shine above us all!
If you had nothing, you'd give your all.
And I know that no matter what, you won't let life's burdens bring you down." Fluttershy sings. Whistling a tune before going back into the lyrics.
"You can't go wrong,
You've been waiting for so long." Fluttershy sings.
"And I wonder if I'm on the right track
But I have to face the facts,
It will be worth it all." Sweetie belle adds.
"We all have to wait for our chance,
The chance to show everypony exactly what we are meant for.
We will face it all!
'Till theres nothing to face anymore,
But until then there will always be something trying to bring us down.
We won't let these burdens bring us-
We won't let these burdens bring us down" the two sing together, smiling widely. After a while of silence, Fluttershy speaks up.
"That was great Sweetie Belle, you should sing more often." Fluttershy compliments.
"Oh, no. I couldn't, I'm not that good... but you, you were amazing!" Sweetie Belle responds ecstatically.
"Oh, no. I couldn't, it's really nothing spectacular." Fluttershy responds sheepishly. She stops and looks at the ducklings surrounding them, then she watches as Sweetie Belle pats one on the head softly. It quacks gleefully at the act, Fluttershy smiles softly at this. "You know, Sweetie Belle. I think you should perform sometime," Fluttershy suggests.
"Like, in front of a bunch of people? Singing? Oh, no, I'm not good enough!" Sweetie Belle declines hastily. Fluttershy smiles as she notices something, it's the same way she acts about performing in front of others.
"Sweetie Belle, you're plenty good. I think you just have stage fright, and I know a thing or two about that. I couldn't help you with stage fright, but I can help you with your singing. That way, maybe you might feel confident about your voice so you can perform. And, maybe we can take care of the critters as well," Fluttershy offers. Sweetie belles eyes go wide at the proposition as she takes it in.
"You'll teach me? Like, make me your apprentice? Like Rainbow Dash does for Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asks, her grin quickly growing.
"I guess it would be like that. Sure Sweetie, you can be my apprentice." A shiver of pleasure goes down Fluttershy's back as she says it. She's never been someones role model as far as she knows, and she never even thought she'd have an apprentice.
"Yay! Wait for Rarity to hear! She'll be so happy!" Sweetie Belle exclaims happily.
~~~~~~~
"What do you mean she just disappeared?" Scootaloo asks irritatedly.
"I mean that me and my sister lost track of time and when we came to our senses, both Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash had left. Without telling us where they were going. So, Scootaloo, they just up and disappeared." Applebloom clarifies for her pegasus friend.
"Well we gotta find her! I have something to tell the two of you!" Scootaloo says eagerly.
"Fine, I assume she'd be at Carousel Boutique. If she's not there we can check Sugarcube corner." Applebloom says, getting up and walking towards the exit to Sweet Apple Acres.
"Why Sugarcube Corner?" Scootaloo asks. "I'd think that if anything, she'd go to the clubhouse." Scootaloo reasons.
"Yeah, well, I have a feeling." Applebloom says, shuddering at the image of Pinkie and Sweetie being similar. Scootaloo doesn't answer and the duo walks to the boutique in silence. The duo enters the door and hear Rarity call out.
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique! I'll be out in a second!" Rarity exclaims loudly.
"It's just us!" Applebloom rolls her eyes, clearly used to the impersonal greeting Rarity gives to her customers.
"Oh, perfect! Could you girls come back here for a second?" Rarity asks loudly. Scootaloo looks at Applebloom questioningly, Applebloom just shrugs before the girls walk back into Rarity's work room. The two enter to find the gaudiest, frilliest dress either of them had ever seen. Scootaloo lets out a stifled gag and Applebloom tries to avert her eyes from the singularity of filly fashion in the middle of the room.
"I don't usually make anything this... pink. I mostly make dresses for older mares, but this commission was for a filly who absolutely adores the color. As fillies, I need your opinion." Rarity says nervously.
"I don't do pink, or dresses. So, I can't help you." Scootaloo insists.
Applebloom keeps her gaze towards the floor, "the customers always right, AJ says. If it's pink she wants, it's pink she gets." Applebloom glances up for a couple of seconds, studying the entire dress. "But, you messed up the stitching around the collar and a couple frills, you might wanna fix those," Applebloom averts her gaze once more, to make sure she doesn't go blind from looking at it too long.
Rarity blinks and then looks over her dress once more, after some searching she finds the mistakes. She looks at Applebloom curiously, "I didn't realize you had such an eye for detail, Applebloom. You looked at this dress for all of five seconds," Rarity says, sounding more than a little surprised.
"I fix the stuff on the farm a lot of the time, including clothes occasionally." Applebloom shrugs, Rarity looks over her almost judgingly. Slowly, Rarity's eyes get peculiar glint in them.
"How would you Iike to further that skill of yours and become my apprentice?" Rarity asks giddily.
"Making dresses? I don't want to make dresses!" Applebloom says.
"You'll be paid handsomely for your efforts. Say, two bits an hour?" Rarity offers, Applebloom stumbles at this. She's never really had a constant income, only a couple bits here and there.
"What about the farm?" Applebloom asks.
"Oh, don't worry. I won't take you away. Just a little bit of work here and there. Probably about ten hours a week. Not consecutively, mind you." Applebloom considers this, it's honestly not that much work. And if she already has a knack for it, she might as well. But, dresses? She's not a tailor! But then again, twenty bits is twenty bits.
"Well, I'd have to ask AJ... but I think I'd like to..." Applebloom answers cautiously.
"Wonderful! You won't regret it!" Rarity says, scooping Applebloom up.
"You're getting paid for your apprenticeship!? I wonder if Twilight will pay me...?" Scootaloo mutters, it doesn't go unnoticed.
"Your Twilight's apprentice?" Applebloom asks in shock, after getting set down by Rarity.
"Agh! You're not supposed to know! I was gonna tell you and Sweetie together! Oh, speaking of, where is she?" Scootaloo looks around as if she would find Sweetie Belle in the room somewhere.
"I haven't the faintest, last I saw she was leaving for the farm. I don't know where she'd go after that. Tell her to be home by five when you see her," Rarity says. "And Applebloom, be sure to tell me what Applejack has to say," with that she turns to fix the gaudy mess she called a dress.
~~~~~~~
Sweetie Belle hops down the streets happily heading towards Carousel Boutique, unaware of the sky blue eyes following her. Sweetie Belle stops suddenly, feeling oddly aware of being watched. She doesn't have long to dwell on this before she feels somepony tackle her into a nearby alley. She would scream if there weren't a hoof covering her mouth.
"Shh, it's me," Sweetie Belle notices Pinkies voice and she stops struggling, puzzling over why Pinkie just kidnapped her. "I'm gonna be quick, so do you want to be my apprentice?" Pinkie asks hurriedly.
"What? Why?" Sweetie Belle whispers, feeling a distinct urge for secrecy.
"I felt that my apprentice was ready, and here you are!" Pinkie exclaims equally as quiet.
"No, why would I be your apprentice, what does that even entail?" Sweetie Belle asks in confusion.
"A select amount of ponies, meaning you, though... it's just you, so I guess it's pony... anyways, a pony is chosen to learn the `way of Pinkie`." Pinkie Pie says ominously.
"The `way of Pinkie`? What's that?" Sweetie Belle asks excitedly.
"An ancient art form dating back to whenever I thought of it, to be honest I wasn't keeping records back then." Pinkie Pie shrugs at the admission.
"Oh... but I'm already Fluttershy's apprentice." Sweetie Belle says.
"It's okay, I can share." Pinkie Pie says.
"Oh, then yes, I'd like to be your apprentice and learn the `way of Pinkie`. But, do I have to keep my training a secret?" Sweetie Belle asks, still whispering.
"No, go ahead and tell anypony you want. I don't even know why we're whispering, I didn't even bring out the secret disguises for a secret meeting of secrecy and secrets." Pinkie Pie pulls out some groucho glasses for emphasis before putting them back. "I'll see you later," Pinkie Pie whispers, hopping out of the alley quietly. Sweetie Belle tries to mimic her, but every hop lets out too much noise. Sweetie Belle sighs at her fifth attempt.
"Looks like I really have a lot to learn!" She exclaims quietly. Before abandoning silence and hopping out of the alley and down the street once more.
~~~~~~~
I walk down a street idly, a little offput by the events of today. It was a great day full of happy surprises, but it just feels empty. Now that I have my cutie mark, I know who I am. Rarity was offering etiquette lessons that I gladly took up, she was also going to help me train my voice. It's real nice of her to help me, I could have sworn Rarity would be among the ponies to hate me at the beginning of this. I trusted Applejack more and look where that led me. But, she did apologize, along with my dad. Those two have always had somewhat of a short fuse anyway, I guess I should have thought about that.
But, not even Diamond Tiara was willing to tease me about it, and that's new. She teases us for anything that might be a sign of weakness, and plenty of people think that. So, why not her? I can't help but feel there's something more to it, but I'd rather not delve into her personal life.
But now after all the excitement, everything seems kinda... boring. Like something bigger should have happened. Like this whole thing was building up, and then it just deflated prematurely instead of exploding. Not to say I'm not glad that the whole ordeal didn't get worse, I'm just confused by it. Usually when someone has a life changing experience, it seems like nothing will ever be the same for them. But here I am, walking the streets, the exact same way I always have. Sure, there were a couple of questions every once in a while about the hair and eyes, but nothing really changed.
We're still the crusaders, and we're still trying to find out who we are. Or, in my case, what it means to me. We're still gonna crusade. We're still friends. We still go to school. Diamond Tiara will still be a bully. My mother still loves me. Everything is still as it was.
Well, maybe some things are different. My father isn't trying to enforce stallioness anymore, he's letting mom feminize me. He still wants to do some of the things we used to, and I do to, so we're not alienated. He just feels a little awkward about the whole situation. He won't tell me why. Mom seems to know, but she won't tell me either. I'm sure I don't have to worry, I'm just concerned for him.
But, all in all, things aren't bad. Their honestly not even that different, as I've said before. And I come back to this feeling of incompleteness. I don't know what it is, but maybe there should be more to this moment in my life. It sure seems like there should be, it's an important part in my life after all. After you get a cutie mark, isn't there some big change in how you live? Aren't you supposed to focus all your efforts on your sole talent?
It may be my talent, but just because it's what I'm best at I'm only supposed to do that? No, that can't be right. Look at Twilight, her talent is magic; yet, she knows so much. And Fluttershy can really sing! And... I guess I never really thought about that. Have we been so focused on finding the one thing we were good at that we assumed it's the only thing we can do? That it's our only destiny?
"Hey, Star!" I look to the side and find Sweetie Belle hopping up.
"Hey, Sweetie." I say, attempting to put a little cheer in my tone. Sweetie Belle notices as I fail tremendously, she stops hopping next to me and looks at me in concern.
"Is something wrong?" Sweetie Belle asks.
"Not really," I say halfheartedly.
"I'm not sure I believe you... c'mon Star, you can tell me anything. You know that," Sweetie Belle nudges my shoulder playfully.
"I know, It's just... slow. I guess I figured that life would just speed up and make sense with a cutie mark, but everything seems about the same." I shrug noncommittally.
"Star, it's not a cutie mark that decides change. The cutie mark just tells you a direction. It's your choice whether to do anything about it. I know a pony personally that is going against what her cutie mark is telling her. A cutie mark may be your destiny, but that doesn't really mean anything other than a path you can follow." Sweetie Belle says.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Applebloom agrees, I look over Sweetie Belles shoulder at Applebloom and Scootaloo. "Where the heck were you Sweetie, we checked the clubhouse, boutique, sugarcube corner..." Applebloom says.
"I was helping Fluttershy! I'm her apprentice now, Pinkies too!" Sweetie Belle exclaims.
"Really? Twilight took me as her apprentice too! Now I'm Twilights and Rainbows apprentice, isn't that cool!?" Scootaloo says excitedly.
"Twilights? As in, studying?" I ask, tilting my head at Scootaloo. Scootaloo absolutely hates school work, why would she study?
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Scootaloo challenges.
"No, no problem here," I wave my hoofs frantically, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Good," Scootaloo says, satisfied.
"I reckon I got a job now, Rarity called it an apprenticeship. A paid apprenticeship," Applebloom grumbles.
"Rarity? As in, making dresses?" I ask in surprise. Applebloom isn't prissy, or into fashion.
"Yeah, AJ said it was alright. We ran into her when we were looking for you," Applebloom points an accusatory hoof at Sweetie Belle.
"And it's a job? That's great Applebloom!" I embrace my friend in a giant hug. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo join in, then we break the hug up.
"Apprenticeships, huh? I guess I'm sorta Rarity's apprentice, huh? She offered to help me with some stuff... you think Fluttershy would take me in as her apprentice too? Her being a former model and all..." I trail off in thought.
"I don't know... let's go ask!" Sweetie Belle says excitedly, I beam at her enthusiasm. We all turn towards the direction of Fluttershy's cottage, but I hang behind. I look at my three friends, all three smiling and moving as a group. They stop and all look back at me, "hurry up, Star!" Sweetie Belle calls back. I shake my head and catch up. After all this, we're still doing things together, some things really haven't changed. Everything is as it should be, you really don't need to change everything when you're making adjustments.