End of the Crusades

by TimeBomb0

Chapter 1: CMC Book-Finders

Apple Bloom dug through the pile of various crusade-related objects, giving little care as to what she flung about in her search. Scootaloo merely looked at her friend from a small distance, knowing better than to try and get in the filly’s way when she was in the middle of an important Crusader task. She also knew better than to stand still while so many objects were being haphazardly tossed about.

“Hey, watch it!” Scootaloo jerked her head away from one of Apple Bloom’s airborne hammers at just the right time.

“Sorry,” replied Apple Bloom, not even turning to look at her friend, “but I just know that box o' coins is around here somewhere.”

“I’ve been saying our clubhouse needed some cleaning up,” said Sweetie Belle. Unlike Scootaloo, she was on the other side of the room, sitting on the floor and keeping herself occupied by brushing the sawdust out of her tail. She paused to lift her tail up to her face and examine it, letting it fall back down when she couldn’t see or feel any more pieces of the itchy pet bedding. Sweetie quietly thanked the fact that her sister probably wouldn’t force her to take a second bath today now that she wasn’t in such a “filthy” manner.

“I know, Sweetie. I've been meanin' to build a shelf or somethin' to put all this stuff. Ah, here it is!” Apple Bloom’s eyes lit up as she recognized her goal: a small featureless case poking out from under a pile of other items.

“Just need t’ get it out from under here.” Apple Bloom gave a tug at a handle, but the case didn’t move an inch. “Hey Scootaloo, can ya lend a hoof?” She looked over at her nearby friend.

“I’m on it,” said Scootaloo. Collecting herself, Apple Bloom bit down on the handle. Scootaloo did the same on Apple Bloom’s tail, doubling their pulling pony power.

“’un, too, ’ree, ’ull!”

The combined effort of the two fillies’ strength was more than a match for the box. The jerk sent the case flying, landing just short of Sweetie and making her jump a little. However, with nothing to bear the load, the pile of innumerable crusade relics came toppling down with a mighty Crash! upon the fillies beneath.

“Oh my gosh!” Sweetie bolted up on her hooves and ran up to the edge of the pile, unable to see her friends through the mess. “Are you okay?”

A red bow poked up out of a mix of golf clubs and hang-gliding equipment, with the rest of Apple Bloom following shortly after. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that.”

Scootaloo popped out on the other side of the pile. She shook the dizziness out of her head. “I’m fine too, don’t sweat it. It’s not the worst thing I’ve been buried under.” She took a moment to smack herself in the side of the head a few times, dislodging a crayon that had found itself wedged in her ear. “So did we get the coin box loose?” she asked as she looked about for the telltale case.

“Yup,” replied Apple Bloom while she maneuvered through the sea of junk, “Now I just need to add up all the coins an’ see if we have enough to cover the entry fee.”

“Sounds great,” said Sweetie once her friends made their way out of the pile. With her friends okay, she turned her attention to the sizable mess now taking up over half the floor space of the clubhouse. “I guess I’ll work on cleaning this up while you count up the money.”

As Sweetie walked off to get started on her cleaning duties, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo crouched down to where the small case was and carefully opened it. The box was filled to the brim with coins of all sizes, colors, and shapes. The CMC had spared no effort in gathering as many coins as possible when they undertook this particular crusade.

“Alright, let’s see here,” Apple Bloom said as she started to sift through the veritable treasure chest. “Board game money, bit, carnival token, bit, chocolate coin—”

“I’ll take that!” Before Apple Bloom could react, Scootaloo snatched up the chocolate coin. In the blink of an eye, she unwrapped the outer foil and flicked the treat into her mouth. She closed her eyes and gave the treat a couple chews when her eyes shot open and she stopped in mid-bite, immediately proceeding to spit out the coin.

“Ugh, that was super-stale! I’m gonna be tasting that all day now!” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out.

“What’d ya expect? It’s been there since the last Nightmare Night,” said Apple Bloom. “Now let’s keep searchin’ for good bits. It might help ya forget about the aftertaste.”

Once Scootaloo recovered from the shock of the spoiled sweet, she rejoined her friend in their quest to find legal currency. The conversation between them for the following couple of minutes consisted of them muttering out loud the kind of coin they had between their hooves to let the other know if they had struck tiny paydirt.

“There!” Apple Bloom declared with a smile when they finished going through all the different coins. “Seven bits! More than enough t’ cover the entry fee.”

“Uh, not quite." Scootaloo frowned. “The flier said five bits per pony, remember? That means we can’t all enter with this much money.”

“No, but we don’t need all three of us t’ enter,” said Apple Bloom without missing a beat. “We just need to pick one of us to go on the contest and win the prize.”

“Okay, that could work,” Scootaloo glanced off into space for a second, “but which one of us should enter?”

Apple Bloom put her hoof on her chin and thought for a moment. “Well, it should be whichever one of us is the best singer, so we have the best chance of winnin’ the money.”

“If that’s the case, then we can count me out.” Scootaloo shook her head. “I already know that singing’s not my thing after that talent show.” She cringed a little as her mind flashed back to their disastrous rock ballad, followed by an equally disastrous attempt at a comedy act.

“Hmm, I guess I’m... okay at singin’,” said Apple Bloom while rubbing her chin, “But I don’t think I’m good enough to win any contests.”

“Well, if I’m not going to do it, and you won’t, then that just leaves—”

“We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders…”

Scootaloo’s response trailed off when she heard a soft singing voice coming from the other side of the clubhouse. Both she and Apple Bloom slowly turned to see Sweetie, still happily working at putting away all the various trinkets. In her work, she had begun to hum a tune she had started making up during the Crusader’s early adventures. It was still a work in progress after all this time, as evidenced by her switching from singing the lyrics to just humming the tune when she reached a part she hadn’t quite worked out all the way.

However, it wasn’t the lyrics that caught the attention of Sweetie’s friends, but rather the seemingly effortless way she sang. Though it was a tune she made up, every note smoothly flowed from one to the next, the pitches beautifully complemented by her normally sweet voice.

As they watched, Sweetie’s friends began to smile. They had their answer.

“Sweetie!”

“Huh?” Sweetie snapped her head up, bringing the song to an abrupt end. She turned to find her friends galloping up to her, carrying the same smiles they normally had whenever they had a plan. Due to past experiences, it was enough cause for Sweetie to either feel nervous or excited, or sometimes even both.

“Did you find enough money in the box?” she asked.

“Sure did!” said Apple Bloom, “Just enough for one of us t’ enter the show.”

“That’s great!” replied Sweetie, “I bet you could win it easy for us, Apple Bloom.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Oh, I’m not the one enterin’ the contest.”

“Oh, okay,” said Sweetie, her smile fading a little bit then quickly coming back. “I’m sure Scootaloo would do great if she practiced hard enough, too.”

“I’m not entering it, either,” replied Scootaloo.

Sweetie dropped her smile and looked back and forth between her friends. “But if you’re not entering, and neither is Apple Bloom…”

“Isn’t it obvious?” said Scootaloo.

“We want you to enter the contest for us!” said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie’s pupils shrank. Her eyes darted about as she unconsciously took a step away from her friends. “You... want me to sing?”

“If any one of us stands a chance at winnin’ that contest, it’s you,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, you’ve got an awesome singing voice, way better than either of us,” chimed in Scootaloo.

Sweetie took another step back and looked between her friends. She forced herself to crack a smile. “Ha, ha, that’s a good one! You almost had me for a second there!” Sweetie continued to force a chuckle until she saw her friend’s smiles had faded into concerned looks. “You were joking, right? About me entering?”

“We’re serious,” said Scootaloo. “We just heard you singing right now. You’re terrific!”

“Uh, I guess so.” Sweetie took another step back. “But you know, I bet a lot of ponies in town are really gonna work hard to win the prize money. They probably know a whole bunch of things on how to sing and stuff.”

“So?”

“So, maybe we could find another way to raise money for crusades?” Sweetie faked a smile.

Scootaloo glared at her friend. “Oh come on, Sweetie. You wanted to keep going on crusades as much as we do.”

“Hold on, Scootaloo,” interrupted Apple Bloom. “She has a point. The other singers are probably gonna have advantages of their own.”

Scootaloo looked at her friend in shock. “You too? So what are we supposed to do?”

“There’s only one thing we can do,” said Apple Bloom.

Unknown to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, Sweetie let out a sigh and allowed her body to relax a little. She could always count on her friends to understand her plight.

“We’re gonna learn all we can about singin’ to give Sweetie the best shot at winnin’ the prize!”

“What!?” said Sweetie. Her panic returned in a flash, even more so when her outburst attracted the attention of her friends. “Um, I mean how are we going to do that? I-I don’t even know where to start on what to learn about.”

“That’s easy,” said a smiling Apple Bloom. “We’ll head on down to the Ponyville Library an’ see if Twilight Sparkle has any books on singin’ we can check out.” Apple Bloom glanced at the clock on the wall. Only a few hours remained before the sun would set and they would all have to go back to their homes. “In fact, we should probably get goin’ now before she closes up for the day.”

“We can take my scooter and wagon down there,” said Scootaloo.

“Great! Then let’s get the hay down there while we still can,” said Apple Bloom.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” replied an energetic Scootaloo.

“B-but I…”

Before Sweetie could get another word in, her friends had raced out of the clubhouse. Apple Bloom stopped only to grab and throw on her saddlebags before running out the door. In just a few seconds, Sweetie was left standing by herself. Her friends had taken all the enthusiasm for their idea with them when they ran outside, leaving her with nothing but worry on her mind. Her friends really weren’t going to make her get up on that big stage and sing all by herself, were they?

Sweetie crept up to the doorway, her mind struggling to find a way to get her out of this mess. Maybe her friends had already taken off without her, she quietly hoped. That would give her plenty of time to come up with a good excuse, or at least a good hole to hide in for a week.

“Hey, you comin’ along?”

No such luck. No sooner had she reached the doorway, Sweetie came face to face with the yellow face of Apple Bloom once more.

Sweetie’s eyes darted about again while she took another couple unconscious steps away. “Oh, you know, I just remembered that my sister wanted me to help her… give Opal a bath, yeah! So, um, maybe we could just wait until tomorrow to look for singing tips?”

Sweetie cracked a nervous smile at the end of her excuse, one accompanied by the squeak of a small chew toy. She knew Opal didn’t need and certainly didn’t want a bath tonight, but as long as her friends bought it, then maybe they would put this plan on hold for a little while. Permanently would work, too.

“No time like the present, Sweetie!” came Apple Bloom’s reply, unknowingly dashing her friend’s hopes. “We can just drop ya off after we go to the Library. I’m sure Rarity won’t mind a whole lot.”

“But I—”

Whatever Sweetie’s next excuse was never came to be, as her sentence was cut short when she felt her helmet shoved onto her head.

“Now come on, shake a leg, Sweetie!” said Apple Bloom. Despite her suggestion, Apple Bloom turned around and wrapped her tail around Sweetie’s neck and gave it a tug, uprooting the filly’s hooves from the floor and forcing her along. Sweetie gave a quick yelp, and soon found herself walking down the steps to the clubhouse and into the wagon.

*************************

“A book on how to sing?”

Twilight Sparkle blinked at the mostly cheery faces of the fillies now standing before her in the foyer of the Ponyville Public Library. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo beamed straight at her while Sweetie glanced off to the side with a frown.

“Yeah, yeah,” replied a nodding Scootaloo, “So do you have anything like that here?”

Twilight looked about her library. Books lined every shelf in the hollowed tree, spilling out and forming stacks on many of the desks and tables scattered about, even taking up a few spots of the floor itself.

“Well, most of my books are about academic subjects, but it’s possible I have something like that lying around here.” Twilight turned back to the crusaders with a smile. “So what’s the book for? Going to try earning your cutie marks in singing?”

“Not exactly,” said Apple Bloom, “There’s this singin’ contest comin’ up in a few days an’ we need the prize money so we can go on more crusades.”

“So it’s a money thing? Are you sure you don’t have any other ways to earn a few bits? Have you tried a lemonade stand or something like that?” asked Twilight.

“We already tried being Cutie Mark Crusader Lemonade Tycoons,” said Scootaloo.

“Really? So how did that go?”

“We don’t like to talk about it.” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shook their heads at the thought. Even Sweetie’s grimace grew a little deeper.

“Oh... Kay.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. She wondered if she should inquire about it, but decided that some things were better left forgotten. “Well, I’ll see if I can find anything to help you girls out. Spike's out running a couple errands for me, so just give me a couple seconds to look through my collection archive.”

“Thanks, Twilight,” said Apple Bloom as the librarian trotted to the other side of the room. Channeling her magic, Twilight lifted up a humongous book and slammed it on a nearby table, creating a small cloud of dust and causing the crusaders to jump from the impact.

“Now, let’s see here,” Twilight said to herself while she magically thumbed through the door-stopper of a book. “Where would a book on singing be? Let’s try the ‘Expressive Talents’ section first.”

With Twilight lost in her search, Scootaloo turned her attention to her friends. “Do you think she’ll find anything?”

“I’m sure she will,” said Apple Bloom, “With all the books she has here, there’s gotta be somethin’ we can use to help out Sweetie.”

“I hope not.” Sweetie muttered under her breath.

Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie. “Huh? Ya say somethin’?”

“Oh! No, not really.” Sweetie shook her head, then immediately put on another squeaky smile. “I just, um, had another idea for a crusade, yeah!”

“A crusade idea?” Apple Bloom perked up, “Well, let’s hear it.”

“Um, yeah, it’s just maybe we could try getting our homework done for tomorrow like Miss Cheerilee asked. We could be the Cutie Mark Crusader, uh, Homework-Doers?” Sweetie stretched her forced smile out as far as it would go.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “You okay there? You haven’t said a word since we left the clubhouse.”

“Yeah, sure, I’m fine,” Sweetie quickly said, “Why wouldn’t I be okay about learning how not to screw up in front of a big crowd?”

“Ya sure? Ya have been actin’ kinda strange for a while,” asked Apple Bloom.

“Uh, I’m okay, really!” Sweetie took a step back, her eyes once again trying to find anything to look at that wasn’t her friends.

To her dismay, the other fillies stepped forward, both with looks of concern on their faces. She took another step away, but they followed her still. Sweetie could feel the muscles holding her smile up beginning to struggle; it was only a matter of time before they gave out completely. If only something, anything, would offer a nice distraction for her.

“Ugh, what a dump!”

The distraction Sweetie craved came at just the right time. All as one, the Crusaders looked to the door where the young voice expressed her distaste in the library’s interior. Two fillies around the Crusader’s age stood in front of the doorway, one gray and wearing large glasses, the other pink and sporting a very expensive tiara upon her head. Both fillies scowled as they stepped further inside the library, taking in more of the offending décor and all the books scattered about.

“I guess I shouldn’t expect so much out of a ‘public’ library,” said Diamond Tiara, “but who lives here, a pony or a pig?

“I know,” replied Silver Spoon. “I mean, a building made out of an ugly tree? What next, a house built out of mud?”

“I don’t even want to think of the kinds of dirty ponies that would live in a place like that.” Diamond Tiara’s remark came to a sudden stop as she finally noticed her other classmates in the same room. “Oh, it’s you three,” she greeted them with lowered eyes.

“Yeah, an’ what y’all were just sayin’ wasn’t very nice,” responded Apple Bloom, “besides, Snips and Snails made a house outta mud just the other day. It was actually mighty cozy.” Her gaze dropped to the floor for a moment. “At least until it rained and made it fall apart while they were still inside.”

Diamond Tiara scoffed. “Like I care what those losers get up to.”

“If you don’t like this place so much, then what are you doing here, anyway?” asked Scootaloo with an annoyed tone. She could already feel the beginnings of her lunch trying to fight its way out after subjecting herself to hearing her classmate’s vitriol.

“To check out a book, duh!” said Silver Spoon. “Why else would anyone come to a library? To have a slumber party?”

“What kinda book?” Apple Bloom asked with genuine curiosity. She had never suspected the likes of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to read like an “egghead,” as they would no doubt put it.

“Well, if you must know, it’s a book on singing techniques,” explained Diamond Tiara, her muzzle turned upwards. “Silver Spoon and I are planning on entering and winning the singing contest next week, and we want to make sure none of the competition stands a chance at beating our totally amazing singing voices. Right, Silver?”

“It’s true!” responded her friend with a sneer, “Our singing voices are so good, we made a mirror crack with them alone.” Her smirk faded as she looked away from everypony else for a second. “I just wish my parents could appreciate our mirror-cracking skills.”

Sweetie stepped forward, a confused look on her face. “But… why do you want to win the contest? You’re both super-rich already. You don’t need the money prize.”

Diamond Tiara gasped and formed a look of faux-shock. “You think we would enter a contest for such a shallow reason as making money?”

“Yeah, who do you think we are, a couple rich snobs?” said Silver Spoon, also pretending to appear offended.

“Well then, why are ya enterin’?” asked Apple Bloom.

“It’s simple,” started Diamond Tiara, “This contest is the first step in my plan to achieve worldwide recognition for my special talents!”

Diamond Tiara struck a triumphant pose as she finished, her chest puffed out and her mind lost in another smirk of self-satisfaction.

“Don’t you mean ‘our’ special talents?” asked Silver Spoon.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Diamond Tiara broke her pose for a moment, then continued to explain. “As I was saying, the singing contest is just the beginning so I can—”

“Don’t you mean ‘we’?” asked Silver Spoon again.

“Whatever!” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “So that we can get our names out to the public at large. Once we win and everypony sees how amazing we are, word will get out and spread to other towns. Soon, we’ll be getting offers to show up and perform in other shows outside of Ponyville. The shows will turn into product endorsements, then photo shoots, movie roles, our own line of perfumes, and magazine articles galore!”

Diamond Tiara let out a dreamy sigh and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they both contained a large star. “I can see it now: Diamond Tiara, Filly Singer Extraordinaire! Everypony falling over themselves in sheer adoration. All of Equestria in the palm of my hooves, all just from winning a small singing contest!”

The Crusaders stood with mouths agape as Diamond finished explaining her plans. Without realizing it, Diamond had wrapped a hoof around Sweetie Belle’s neck, her other hoof pointing straight ahead while her mind was still lost in her fantasy.

“But it’s just a fundraising event for Ponyville,” Sweetie broke the silence. “I don’t think anypony from out of town will be there.”

Diamond popped out of her trance, her starry gaze dropping into a scowl as she broke away from Sweetie. “Oh, what do you know? Come on, Silver Spoon, I think we’ve entertained our ‘friends’ here long enough. Let’s just get our book and get out of here.”

“Sure thing, DT,” replied Silver Spoon as she looked around the room. “But how are we supposed to find a book on singing with all these other books lying around?”

“Here you go: A book on singing!”

A mid-sized paperback book floated within the vision of the five fillies standing around, surrounded by a purple aura of magic. Twilight Sparkle soon followed, a smile of triumph upon her face.

“I finally found it in the ‘Non-Magical Recreation’ section,” she said with pride.

“Uh, thank you?” said Diamond Tiara.

“Wow, DT, I think that librarian read our minds or something,” said Silver Spoon, taking her normal place right at Diamond’s side. She looked up at Twilight and gave an excited grin. “Oh, what am I thinking of right now?”

Twilight blinked twice at the filly with a blank face. “Um, this book is for Apple Bloom and her friends.”

“What? You’re joking!” said Diamond Tiara. “We want that book, too!”

“Sorry, but library books are first-come first-serve, and they were here first.” As she spoke, the hovering book lowered itself to within grabbing range of the Crusaders.

“The Egghead’s Guide to Singing: 101 Tips and Techniques to Become a Singing Superstar.” Scootaloo read the book’s title out loud. The cover itself had a plain design, with large bolded text and a faded musical score in the background.

“Will that work for you? It’s the only book I have on the subject,” asked Twilight. She made a mental note to herself to stock up on more books related to music.

“It’s just what we needed!” said Apple Bloom with a wide smile. “Thank you so much, Twilight!”

“Oh, don’t mention it." Twilight gave a couple chuckles, then quickly added, "Just make sure to bring it back in one piece, okay?"

“Wait, why do you even need a book on singing?” said Diamond Tiara, her eyebrow raised.

“Yeah,” joined in Silver Spoon, “I mean, it’s not like you’re going to be entering the contest, too.”

A moment of silence passed, and then both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s eyes opened wide, this time in real shock. “Wait, you’re entering the contest, too?” Diamond asked, pointing a hoof straight at the trio.

“We sure are!” replied Scootaloo, sticking her chest out and lifting her head up.

“Actually, Sweetie’s the one enterin’,” said Apple Bloom, deflating Scootaloo’s pose. “We’re just makin’ sure she’ll sing the best she can, ain’t that right, Sweetie?”

“Oh!” Sweetie perked up. While her friends had been distracted, she had turned to look off the side with the same frown she had when she entered the library. “Um, you know, Diamond Tiara, you can go ahead and take the book if you want—umf!”

Sweetie was unable to continue her offer any further, as she felt Apple Bloom’s large, unwashed hoof jammed into her mouth.

“Wait, what was that?” asked Diamond Tiara.

“Uh, what she means t’ say is, y’all can have the book when we’re done usin’ it,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, and not a moment sooner,” added Scootaloo with a smirk.

“Okay, I guess that’s fair enough.” Silver Spoon started to speak.

“Forget it!” Diamond Tiara interrupted her friend, carrying her trademark scowl. “I don’t need that book, anyway. I have more singing talent in one hoof than you all have in your entire bodies combined.” She emphasized her point by lifting a well-manicured hoof and pointing it at herself.

“But ya don’t use your hoof t’ sing,” said Apple Bloom.

“I, uh, well,” Diamond stammered, her hoof returning to the ground and her eyes looking about. “Ugh, forget it!” She shook her head. “Come on, Silver Spoon, let’s get out of here. We have better things to do than waste our time entertaining the competition.”

With a snort, Diamond Tiara turned and walked out of the library, her nose turned upward and her eyes shut. Silver Spoon quickly followed behind her friend, not wanting to face down three rival fillies and a mystic mind-reading unicorn by herself.

“Well, then,” Twilight spoke up, taking a look at a clock on the wall. “It’s getting a bit late, so I think I’ll close the library for today.”

“Thank ya so much for your help, Twilight!” said Apple Bloom, giving a smile.

“No problem, Apple Bloom.” Twilight turned to smile at the filly, but her smile turned into a look of concern. “Um, Apple Bloom?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“You think Sweetie would like her mouth back?” Twilight pointed a hoof down at her.

“Huh?” Apple Bloom looked and immediately understood; her hoof was still in Sweetie’s mouth. The poor filly had been tugging desperately at the hoof to get it out.

“Oh, sorry!” Apple Bloom yanked her hoof out of Sweetie’s mouth. Her friend fell down and gasped, breathing in the fresh air she badly needed and spitting out some of the lingering taste of Apple Bloom’s hoof.

“You gonna be okay, Sweetie?” asked Twilight.

“Y-yeah.” replied Sweetie “I just need something.”

“Sure thing. What do you need?”

Sweetie looked up at Twilight and gave a sheepish smile.

“Do you have any mouthwash?”

*************************

The orange rays of the setting sun illuminated Ponyville as the Crusaders stepped out of the library, two-thirds of them in high spirits. Like Twilight, the rest of the town had begun winding down, packing up shops and bidding farewell to friends for the evening.

“You know, sometimes I wonder if Diamond Tiara has a few screws loose or something,” said Scootaloo as she trotted alongside Apple Bloom. “I mean, going from a fundraiser to her own perfume line? Where’d she get that from?”

“I don’t know.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “At least we got what we came lookin’ for.” She looked behind her at the book sticking out of her saddlebag, too large for the bag to properly close but still somewhat secure in its position. It was enough to make her smile.

Scootaloo grinned right along with her friend. “Yeah, Diamond doesn’t stand a chance against Sweetie now that we have this, right, Sweetie?”

Scootaloo looked behind at Sweetie, hoping to see her friend matching her enthusiasm. Her grin dropped into a look of confusion when she saw just the opposite: Sweetie slinking a good distance behind them, looking straight at the ground while she quietly sucked on a breath mint.

“Uh, Sweetie?” asked Scootaloo.

Sweetie came out of her thoughts and looked up at her friend. “Hmm?”

“You okay there? You’re acting weird again.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Sweetie nodded, putting on another fragile smile.

“Ya sure?” Apple Bloom stepped toward her friend. “Ya ain’t comin’ down with somethin’, are ya?”

Sweetie shook her head. “Mmm-mmm.”

“You’re not worried about what Tiara said in there, are you?” said Scootaloo.

Sweetie shook her head once more.

“Well, that’s a relief.” Scootaloo walked up to Sweetie’s side with a smile. “You could out-sing her on that stage easy.”

Sweetie’s pupils shrank to the size of a pea upon mention of the stage. She unconsciously swallowed a little, a move that proved unwise as her saliva took the breath mint with it. She felt the mint burn all the way down her throat, forcing her to cough twice. “Well, I, uh…” she tried to speak, her voice a little strained from her uncleared throat.

“And you’d beat her right in front of the whole town!” continued Scootaloo, “If we’re lucky, it’ll shut her up for a few days.”

“I, uh—”

“An’ not only that, but ya’d look super-cool on the stage with all those ponies watching,” said Apple Bloom as she joined Sweetie’s other side

“I… I…” Sweetie began to shake.

“You know, I’m actually looking forward to watching you sing now,” said Scootaloo, wrapping a hoof around the white filly. “By the time you’re finished, that audience will be speechless!”

“I—”

“You’ll be the talk o’ the town!” said Apple Bloom.

“I can’t do it.”

“You can’t do... wait, what!?”

The smiling faces of Scootaloo and Apple Bloom dropped away in an instant. Scootaloo removed her hoof from her friend and stared with her mouth agape. Apple Bloom mirrored her friend’s expression.

“What do ya mean ya can’t do it?” asked Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle let out a sigh. “I-I can’t sing for the contest.” She stared straight ahead as she spoke, not brave enough to dare looking her friends in the eye.

“But why?” asked Scootaloo, “You’re a great singer.”

“I know, but I just can’t do it. Not in front of the whole town.”

“But ya sang with us in the talent show,” said Apple Bloom. “The whole town was watching then, and we stunk!”

“But that was different,” said Sweetie, “You guys did most of the singing for that show. I was just in charge of the stage. Not only that, but all three of us were on stage. I felt better about it when I knew you two would be there.”

“But we’ll be there at the contest with you,” said Scootaloo.

“But you won’t be on stage with me,” said Sweetie, finally turning her head to face her orange friend. “I’ll be all alone. Everypony there will be looking right at me and hear everything I sing. They’ll know every mistake I make and be staring the whole time! If I mess up, I could never show my face again! I-I can’t take that!”

As she spoke, images of her being in that very scenario flooded Sweetie’s mind. Though it wasn’t real, she could feel the audience’s piercing gaze upon her, some laughing, others booing, every last part of her being scrutinized. She shrank to the ground and buried her head under her hooves, praying that they, or maybe even she, would just go away and leave her be.

When she dared open her eyes again, the audience was gone, and she found herself staring at a pair of yellow hooves.

“Are ya really that worried about singin’ in front of others?” asked Apple Bloom tenderly.

“Y-yeah… I’m sorry.” Sweetie closed her eyes again. She once more felt eyes staring through her, but much worse. These were real eyes, and they were truly disappointed in her…

“But ya don’t have t’ worry with us around.”

“Huh?” Sweetie glanced up and looked right into Apple Bloom’s face. If she was disappointed at all, her smile hid it well.

“We might not be on stage with ya, but ya won’t be alone. We’ll be helpin’ ya every step of the way, right, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah,” said Scootaloo, “We’ll teach you every single tip in that book so by the time the show comes, you’ll be amazing!”

“A-amazing?” asked Sweetie, “So, nopony will laugh at me?”

“Ponyville ponies are too nice t’ laugh at you, Sweetie,” said Apple Bloom.

“And even if they did, I’ll be there to put my hoof right in their stomach.” Scootaloo punched her fore-hooves together.

“Are you really sure?” Sweetie asked.

“Positive,” replied Apple Bloom. "Well, maybe not so much about punchin' ponies in the gut, but we know ya can do it, Sweetie. We have faith in ya.”

“I...” Sweetie looked back and forth between her friends, each looking down and smiling at her. As she stared into their comforting smiles, she felt her worried mind growing more at ease with the idea. Her own friends wouldn’t lie to her, she thought, as least not for something as embarrassing as this. If they were this sure of her ability, then maybe, just maybe…

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Ya will?” Apple Bloom asked.

Sweetie Belle climbed up from the ground and met her friends at eye-level. “If you think I can, then I’ll do my best.”

Scootaloo wrapped her hoof around Sweetie’s neck, making it a little harder for the white filly to breathe. “I knew we could count on you!”

“But I really need you two to be there for me. I need to know as much about singing as I can.”

“Of course we’ll be there, Sweetie,” said Scootaloo, “The prize money is for all of us, so we’ll work our tails off right with you.”

“An’ besides, we could never let ya go on stage without knowin’ what to do,” said Apple Bloom, “We’re yer friends, and friends help each other out, no matter what.”

The barrage of reassurance finally got to Sweetie as her mouth slowly moved from a frown to soft smile. “Thanks, girls.” As she mulled over her friend’s words, Sweetie’s eyes drifted over to the book sticking out of Apple Bloom’s saddle bags. She read the parts of the title she could see, and felt herself growing more confident.

“Maybe,” she thought out loud, “maybe I can do this after all.”

Comments

[Stryker12324]

“At least we got we came lookin’ for.” Needs a 'what' after the got.

I'm liking this very much. Well done with keeping this in line with the show.

[TimeBomb0]

851148
Fixed now, thanks for pointing that out.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Diamond Tiara do I have to tell your father what you've been getting up to again, I don't think he'll be happy to hear you insulting other fillies again.

[Zaphod]

You never fail to impress me with your writing style Timebomb. Really looking forward to the rest of this story!

Though I am prone to wearing my heart on my sleeve, so don't be shocked if some of those impending sad scenes get to me

At least I can hope that they'll all keep that friendship going no matter what!

[Princess Cadenza]

i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/134/453/7-rainbowdash.png?1308091056

SO. AWESOME.

[Dan50]

Yay Sweetie Belle! Sing your heart out!

[statoose]

This story is definitely lookin' good! It captures the feeling of FiM very, very well.

Also,
–“We already tried being Cutie Mark Crusader Lemonade Tycoons,” said Scootaloo.
“Really? So how did that go?”
“We don’t like to talk about it.” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shook their heads at the thought. Even Sweetie’s grimace grew a little deeper.
This made me laugh. Like I said, you write our little ponies well.