Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo couldn't have possibly felt more downtrodden as they trudged off of the stage. They had spent so very long putting this act together, practicing it, and making sure everything was perfect. This was supposed to be their crowning moment, the moment that made everypony stand up and cheer as they earned their cutie marks in front of a live crowd. Instead, they'd been shamed, laughed mercilessly off stage. The mere concept of a bunch of grownups laughing a group of fillies off stage was inconceivable to them, but it sure had happened, and they couldn't possibly feel worse.
"Wow," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "That did not go as well as I expected." It might have been the understatement of the century, and that sentiment was rather evident on the faces of the three.
"I can't believe they're laughin' at us," Bloom said dejectedly.
"Was it that bad?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo closed her eyes and shook her head as Bloom stared at Sweetie, wondering if it was possible to ask a question with a more obvious answer. She couldn't blame Sweetie, though. She was in a state of disbelief, just like the rest of them were.
"Back on stage, girls," Miss Cheerilee said as she and Spike walked up to the group. "It's time for the awards."
"Back on stage? No!" Sweetie replied defiantly.
"They'll just laugh some more," Bloom insisted, her eyes glistening and looking ready to leak at any moment.
"Yeah, what's the point?" Scootaloo asked, not even able to make eye contact with Cheerilee.
"Now girls..." Cheerilee began, but she stopped when she saw Sugarcoat suddenly step into view.
"I've got this," Sugarcoat said. She walked right between Cheerilee and Spike, stepping up to the Crusaders.
"Who is that?" Cheerilee whispered. "And how did she get backstage?"
"Just let her do her thing," Spike said. "She's got this crazy way of giving good advice." The two stared at Sugarcoat as she gave the fillies a look.
"You should really stick to what you're good at," Sugarcoat told the three. They looked at each other, confused.
"What do you mean?" Bloom asked.
"Seriously?" Sugarcoat asked. "You had all your silly little reasons to not do what you're actually pretty good at. Maybe if Sweetie Belle was the lead singer, your song wouldn't have sounded so gravely."
"Hey!" Scootaloo said. "My voice isn't gravely!"
"And maybe you should have done the choreography so it wouldn't have been a bunch of awkward kicking," Sugarcoat said, pointing to Scootaloo.
"What was so awkward about my choreography?" Bloom said, frowning.
"It was a lot worse than how your set design would have been," Sugarcoat said. "But maybe better than what Sweetie did with it."
"Hey..." Sweetie said, looking a little down. Sugarcoat rolled her eyes.
"This all could have been avoided," Sugarcoat said. "Who cares if ponies always expect you to sing? Maybe there's a reason for that, huh?"
"Well...maybe..." Sweetie said softly.
"And you're really good on your scooter, yet you didn't want to do the dance moves because why, exactly?" Sugarcoat asked.
"Uh..." Scootaloo began.
"Rhetorical question," Sugarcoat interrupted before looking to Bloom. "And you can build stuff, but of course you let Sweetie do that instead."
"I just thought..." Bloom said.
"Just stick with what you like," Sugarcoat said. "Now go out on stage. Your teacher probably wouldn't be this insistent on you being out there if you didn't win something." The three looked at Cheerilee, who smiled awkwardly.
"Well...alright," Bloom said, before leading her friends out onto the stage. Cheerilee breathed a sigh of relief as she walked up to Sugarcoat.
"That was a little more harsh than I would have gone with," Cheerilee said. "But thanks for taking care of that. I'm sure they'll remember this lesson for years to come."
"Doubt it," Sugarcoat said before exiting the backstage area.
If you tell kids to do something, they're not gonna do it.
Wasn't Twilight back stage in the show?
6528511
Twilight's probably still a rock, considering how last chapter went. Sooner or later, someone will realize she's missing...
6528511
She was at one point! But in that particular snippet, she wasn't there.
I would've figured Sugarcoat would tell them they were actually pretty good, at least singing wise. I liked that silly hair metal song they did, even if a LOT went wrong during the performance.
6528511 Well, we now know who's still a statue in the Everfree...
6528577 So, if Twilight was still a rock last snippet, will she ever get free?
6528600
Oh nono, I mean that particular part of the episode itself didn't have her standing there.
Don't you worry about Twilight
I love how Spike is already Sugar-savvy by now. "Just let her do her thing" indeed.
Exactly
I wonder if there is a limit to how long a cockatrice can unstone a pony? I mean what if that stoner chicken manages to die somehow? Then how would you reverse the statue?
6528608 so are you planning on doing all or most of the episodes?
Sugarcoat is what Spike was supposed to be.
Is Twilight STILL in stone!?
I'm still waiting for Hearts and Hooves Day! Sugarcoat vs. Cheerilee...the battle of the century!
6529006
Hey Derrick.
So, how's it going in Canada, the one true superior nation.
Eh.
6528876
Sugarcoat meets Sugarcoat: The Sugercoatening.
6530125 Sour Sweet will be overwhelmed by sweet, sweet bluntness! Sunset Shimmer is reduced to an emotional wreck without friendship lasers! The Dazzlings will tear themselves apart with infighting only to regroup years later on a comeback tour not half as good as their original work! Sci-Twi will follow the scientific method and Dean Cadence will realize that she's actually Cinch's boss! And in the end... we end up with a world in which every character is an emotionally unstable hermit with no friends and no self confidence and the Dazzlings take over the world during their comeback tour feeding off all that negative energy. Then everyday will be Taco Tuesday!
I blame my inner Pinkie for this comment.
I hope Twilight Sparkle is free now. Because if she's still a statue...
...that would mean Sugarcoat is taking care of Spike right now
Rather surprised Sugarcoat didn't make any mentions of the CMC's costumes, which I thought were funny.
6529088 It's never been stated (at least on the show, no idea about comics) that only a cockatrice can undo a petrifaction, and that only the cockatrice that petrified something can undo that statue. Maybe in actual mythology, sure, but Stare Master never says a thing to that effect.
6577412 Twilight can't just disappear. Ponies would look for her and Twilight would have written down where she was going. So she isn't a statue forever. Just for longer because of Sugarcoat.
6529088
Gold Needle