Marks for Effort
Springer the jakhowl was currently enjoying a rather uneventful day of patrol, which was something he liked to happen on occasion. "Ahh..." he sighed as he sat down on a town bench. He had just been in Sugarcube Corner and gotten a milkshake order from Mrs. Cake, the jakhowl now slurping the liquid out of the plastic cup. "Mmmm," he sighed, "Raspberry and white chocolate. Whoever invented this flavor was a freaking genius." He continued to happily drink it and stare forward, doing another of his favorite down time activities: Pony watching.
He saw Bon-Bon carrying a bunch of boxes on her back, the tower looking around eight boxes high with the mare appearing to have little trouble balancing them. Springer always felt she was more skilled than a simple candy marker ought to be. But as he saw this, he saw a trio run by: The Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"What are those three up too?" He whispered, finishing the last of his drink as the girls were running through the town looking like they were on a mission. Throwing the cup away, quickly taking to the rooftops as he began to follow them. And as he trailed them, he soon saw they were going for a location he didn't think they would go to: The School of Friendship.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Springer muttered as he saw the three try to go into sneak mode as they got closer to the building. And as soon as they were sure nobody was looking, they zipped inside despite Springer seeing the whole thing. He shook his head before closing his eyes, sending his aura out as he tracked them going to the courtyard. The jakhowl leapt off the roof next, slowly walking up to the building before hopping onto the school's roof and went over to the courtyard's roof.
He watched them all look around at all the windows, raising an eyebrow at the sight before somepony else arrived and the girls leapt into a nearby bush. It was Starlight, who appeared to have a frown on her face as she glanced around, "Anypony here in need of guidance counselling?" She asked to the apparently empty courtyard, Springer blinking at the sight.
And as silence filled the air, Starlight sighed and left. He probably should go ask what was wrong, but then the girls staggered out of the bushes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!!" Scootaloo cried as she stood on top of Sweetie's shoulder, the young unicorn in turn standing on Applebloom's shoulders. The trio stumbled around at this, clearly trying to get to one of the high up windows on the second floor. "Almost...there..." She then grabbed onto the windowsill, pulling herself up while taking off some of the weight of the other two.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Applebloom exclaimed, "Twilight's school is supposed to be amazin' inside!"
Sweetie nodded, "Rarity says there's never been a school like it!"
Scootaloo grunted as she tried to pull herself up onto the window, "I heard the students get to do tons of awesome stuff!"
"Do yah see anything yet?" Applebloom asked, Scootaloo finally pulling herself high enough to see within.
"Uh, yeah. It looks like a broom! And a dustpan and some buckets."
"That sounds like a closet," Sweetie deadpanned.
"Try another window," Applebloom pulled them away and the girls all cried out as they did their best to keep their balance, only to reach another window.
"Woah," was all Scootaloo could say, Springer chuckling up a storm at the sight. And as he squinted his eyes to see what she was staring at, only for a tray of cupcakes to come flying out and Scootaloo pushed herself away from the window to avoid getting hit.
As she did this, they all lost their balance and fell into a bush that was apparently filled with butterflies. And as they tried to recover, they saw the many butterflies flutter above them. "Wow..." they all whispered in amazement.
"All right, students!" They then heard Fluttershy's voice and Springer saw her step out onto a balcony, "It's time to meet some new friends!" The butterflies flew into the classroom and Springer saw the students beginning to play with them, Silverstream even flying through a heart shape the insects had made.
"Incomin'!" The impressed CMC heard and rushed off to a barn-like section of the school.
"Wow!" Sweetie cheered, "And I thought our school was fun!"
"Yeah!" Scootaloo nodded, "Miss Cheerilee never lets us play buckball in class. I know. I've tried."
"Hey!" Applebloom added, "Why don't we go here instead? It's still school, right?" The other two nodded and they all high-hoofed, Springer frowning as he felt this was gonna become a recipe for disaster. "What could be better than learnin' friendship with your best friends?" Applebloom asked as they stepped into the center of the courtyard, only for Pinkie to suddenly shoot out of a nearby bush.
"Learning friendship with your best friends," she then took out the tray of cupcakes that had gone flying earlier. "AND CAKE!" She shoved them all in her mouth and the girls laughed, Pinkie disappearing off while the CMC headed to Twilight's class.
"Come on. I bet if we hurry we can make it to Twilight's lesson before it starts and get the best seats." Scootaloo and Sweetie nodded, but Springer chose this moment to jump down. "Whoa!"
"Hang on girls." He told the fillies, the trio flinching as he flashed a paw at them. "I don't think that's a good idea. Twilight's not gonna let you just leave your old school so you can go to this one."
"Why not?" Scootaloo asked, recovering from her surprise.
"Because you don't need this school," Springer replied, "If Flash and Twilight thought you needed to be taught friendship, they would have had you enter the school when it first opened like Heart, Soul and the others."
"Well...why do they get to go here?"
"Because they need it," Springer responded, "Heart and Soul come from two thousand years in the past. Ace and Mira are barely over a year old. They haven't had the chance to learn as much as you kids have learned throughout your entire lives. You don't need this school."
"Ya'll don't know that!" Applebloom barked back, "Ah'm sure when Twilight sees how eager we are ta learn, she'll be more than happy to let us in!"
"You can't be my students," Twilight instantly said after finding the girls in her classroom and bringing them outside to talk.
"Why not?" Sweetie moaned.
"Isn't this place for everycreature?" Scootaloo added.
"Yes, it is." Twilight nodded, "But we teach friendship lessons here. You already know all about helping ponies in need and being there for each other." The girls all shared a glance, having heard the exact same thing from Springer.
"Can't you just give us a chance?" Sweetie asked before all showing her the cutest faces they could make and saying in unison, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaase?"
"You need Cheerilee's classes, not mine." She spun around a this, "Hurry up. You don't want late marks on your permanent record." As she opened the door, they all heard the students inside speaking.
"OH DRAGON! MY DRAGON!"
"Spike?!" Twilight cried, "What did you do?!" She shut the door and the girls all headed for the exit with their heads down.
"Well, I'm not giving up!" Scootaloo declared, "I know we can prove we belong in this school!"
"Yeah!" Sweetie cheered, only to frown, "Um...how?"
"By showin' Twilight we've still got lots to learn about friendship!" Applebloom chimed in, "And I know just where to start." She gave a grin that was almost sinister in appearance, Scootaloo and Sweetie wondering what she had in mind.
The next day...
Flash sighed as he relaxed in the teacher's lounge, having just completed a rather difficult Courage Class with another one set to begin in an hour's time. He began to close his eyes, just about to fall asleep, only for two ponies to storm in, one yelling, "I swear, I'm gonna have to call her Repeatie Belle! She would not leave me alone!"
"At least ya'll don't have yer sister shirkin' on her chores to try and trick yah into lettin' her come here," Applejack moaned before her and Rarity turned to Flash. "So what's your sister been doing?!"
"Come again?" Flash asked while yawning, "Wait...is this about what Springer and Twilight told me yesterday? About the girls wanting to come here?"
"Yes," Rarity nodded as they sat on an opposite sofa. "Sweetie spent the entire day yesterday begging me to enroll her."
"And Applebloom tried to make me think she should come here by not doin' her chores. Too bad for her, ah had a bunch more chores to do that she could help out with! So, Scootaloo try anythin' with yah?"
"Nope," Flash shook his head, "Probably knew she couldn't plead, trick or pester me into letting her in." He put his hoof to his chin, "She might try it with Rainbow though."
As if on que, the door was slammed open as Rainbow flew in. "Can you please do something about your sister?!" she exclaimed at Flash, "She snuck into my class in a ridiculous disguise, trying to take part in it!"
"And how much of the story did you get through before realizing she was there?" Flash asked, raising an eyebrow. Rainbow blushed at this, only to growl at him. The defender just waved his hoof, "Look, the girls are just feeling left out. I'm sure there's a way we can get them to show they don't need to come here." He then scratched the side of his head before getting up, "And I think I have an idea. I gotta go talk to Twilight."
Later that afternoon...
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were all in the school, sitting at a desk and writing on pieces of paper they had been given. Twilight was sitting at the front desk staring at an hourglass, Flash leaning against the wall behind her. The girls didn't stop for a second, completely focused on their work. Then, seconds before the sand completely emptied from the top half, they plopped their pencils down.
"Time's up," she noticed they had already stopped and the alicorn picked their papers up in her magic. "Let's take a look."
The girls each watched her mark their tests, nodding as she went over question after question. She then stopped and looked up at them. "Well?" Applebloom asked, "Did we pass?"
"Yes, you did," Twilight replied, "Almost a perfect score from each of you."
The girls all cheered at this, "We did it!" Sweetie exclaiming as they high hoofed.
"We're gonna get ta go here!" Applebloom added.
"Not exactly," Twilight chimed in, making them all spin around as she gave them back their tests.
Scootaloo frowned as she took hers, seeing a large ninety four on it. "What do you mean? You said if we passed, we could attend!"
Twilight shook her head, "No. We said the scores you get on this test would determine whether or not you'll be allowed into the school. And sure enough, you girls have passed with scores I wouldn't expect most graduates of the school to get. This is unequivocal proof you girls don't need to attend the school."
"What?! You could have told us this was a thing!" Applebloom cried.
Flash laughed at this, "If we had, you girls would have just bombed the test on purpose to try and get in." The girl's jaws dropped at this, only to see Flash shake his head, "Sorry girls, looks like you're all stuck with Cheerilee. But don't worry, it's not like you'll have to go there forever." They all grumbled as they left, not listening as the door closed before Flash glanced back at Twilight. "You think this might have been a bit much?"
"It was your idea," Twilight responded, "And no, I think it's gotten the point across perfectly. The girls don't need to come here. If they did, I would have gladly made them one of our first pupils. But attending this school won't help them in the real world. Most of the students here have already been through the normal school system. If they came here, they might not develop the skills needed to live their lives after school."
"True," Flash shrugged, "Though I'm not even sure what they wanna do when they leave school. Scootaloo's only ever talked about being in the Wonderbolts...but..." They both grimaced as he stopped talking.
"I'm sure the girls will figure out what they want to do with their lives," Twilight spoke back up, "But I doubt those lives will have anything to do with this school."
Flash nodded as they heard a knock at the door, the pair turning to see Starlight step inside. "Hey you two. I just saw Scootaloo and her friends looking all gloomy as they left. Are they okay?"
"They will be," Twilight sighed, "They just...really wanna go here and...well, they didn't take me saying no too well."
"Oh," Starlight grabbed a chair and put it in front of Twilight's desk before sitting on it, "Do you need to talk so somepony about it? Maybe looking for some help figuring out whether or not what you did was right?"
"No," Twilight then raised an eyebrow, "But do you need to talk to somepony? I've noticed you've been acting kinda weird lately."
Starlight let out a huff, "I'm bored. Nopony ever comes to talk to me. I'm starting to think there's no point of having a guidance counselor at a school of friendship. I've probably re-alphabetized my office eighteen times already."
"Wow?" Flash whistled, "Six more and you'll beat Twilight's record."
Twilight glared at him before looking back at Starlight, "Don't worry," she patted her shoulder, "I'm sure somepony will need your help. And even if we don't need a counselor, I'd rather have one and not need it then need it and not have one." Starlight huffed again, Flash shrugging as they all soon left the room.
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Rogue was flying around before reaching a tree and wrapped his tail around a branch, allowing him to hang from it as he took a golden apple out of his bag. And as he began to munch on it, his ears twitched as he heard something: Crying.
"Huh?" He quickly finished off the fruit before flying toward the sound. And as it got louder, he noticed he was close to the CMC clubhouse, only to see somepony sitting under a tree opposite the clubhouse. It was a small pink pegasus filly with blue curly hair.
He was about to ask what was wrong, only to notice movement at the clubhouse and saw the girls step out and walk over to the filly. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Oh," the filly sniffled, "Thank you for asking. But no. I'm having real trouble with..." she sniffled again, "...the School of Friendship."
"Twilight won't let you go either, huh?" Scootaloo asked, then stopped and stared at her. "Hey, don't I know you? Yeah, you're that filly Heart's been hanging out with. Cibble...Cuby-"
"Cozy," the filly interrupted, "And yes, I'm in the school. I'm in Twilight's class, but..." She sniffled again, "...it's too hard!" Once again, she started bawling her eyes out.
"Really?" Sweetie asked, "Aren't Heart and the rest of them back at school helping you?"
"Heart's been helping me occasionally, but he's just so busy. I don't want to take up too much of his time. If I do, he could fall behind in his own studies or fail his knight training. I don't want that to happen." She let out a long sigh, "The only friends I have are all at the school. I don't know anypony else in town."
The girls all shared a look before smiling, Applebloom turning to her, "Well, now you do. I'm Applebloom! This is Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
Cozy sniffed again, "I'm Cozy Glow. It's very nice to meet you, but I don't know if I'll stay long. I'll probably flunk out. I'm having so much trouble with my friendship lessons." This caused the girls to all gasp, a joyful look appearing on their lips next.
"We can help with those!" Sweetie told her as the other two nodded.
"We know all about friendship!"
"And studyin' with you would be almost as good as bein' in class!" Applebloom finished, only for Cozy to raise an eyebrow.
"But why would you help me? What's in it for you?"
"That's how friendship works," Sweetie stepped over to pat her on the shoulder. "When you give from your heart, you don't expect anything back."
"Well, golly, if you really mean it..." The girls nodded excitedly, Cozy going into her bag and taking out three photographs. "I could use some help with my homework." She showed them the pictures, Rogue squinting and finding he couldn't tell what the pictures were of. "I have to do something nice for each of these ponies, but I don't know anything about 'em. And it's so hard to talk to ponies you've never met."
"Well, you're in luck," Applebloom exclaimed. "'Cause we know all of those ponies!"
"Get ready for a friendship A-plus!" Scootaloo cheered before grabbing the pegasus filly and pulling her away from the club house, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle following behind. Rogue remained where he was and smirked, turning to walk away.
"Good work girls." He let out a yawn as he headed for the barn, only for somepony to shoot out of the tree above him. "Whoa!"
"Hello!" Rogue leapt back at this, about to unleash his sonic scream as the pony then said, "I'm Silverstream!" She held up a photograph, "This is you, right?" Rogue squinted and saw it was a photo of him, then remembered Cozy having photos of others. "I need to do something nice for you for my homework. Need any help with anything?"
"Errr..." Rogue blinked at her before glancing back at his bag. "Well...in the middle of the orchard are a bunch of apple trees with golden apples on them." He gave her the bag as he added, "Can you pick five of those apples and put them in this bag, then take the bag to the barn and leave it there?"
"YAY!" Silverstream cheered before flying off, Rogue chuckling as he let out a yawn and headed for the barn. But as he did this, a smile appeared on his face...only for it to fade twenty minutes later when Silverstream slammed into the barn, calling out for him and waking the bat pony from a rather nice dream.
Back in town...
Fire Heart was not in a particularly good mood. "Argh!" He moaned as his wings almost gave out, the pegasus falling to the ground as he was being dragged by the large sack he was attempting to carry. He barely managed to regain the strength and stopped the sack from hitting the ground, now only inches off the ground.
As this was happening, Soul walked up and saw her brother, "What are you doing?" She asked while using her magic to lift the heavy sack up for him.
"Thanks," Heart sighed, "When I got Time Turner as my homework, I figured doing something nice for him would involve helping with a cool invention. Not...picking up his laundry!"
"Oh?" Soul nodded, "So this is your homework?" She let the sack go and Heart was almost pulled down again.
"HEY!" He yelped as he went down again, "What is wrong with you?!"
"You wouldn't be completing your homework if somepony else did it for you." Heart glared at her before going to an unoccupied table, quickly flying over and placing the bag down on it before falling into a chair.
"Ahhh," he sighed, "This homework sucks. And I've still gotta do something nice for Lyra and Iron Core after this." He turned to his sister, "Who did you get for your homework?"
"Rose, Aloe and Derpy," Soul replied, "I was just on my way to get some muffins for her to have on her breaks."
"Derpy loves her muffins..." Heart moaned, only to turn and see two ponies move through the town, "Since when were Scootaloo and Cozy friends?" Soul turned to see the two pegasi in question as they jumped behind a bucket of pears, apparently spying on somepony: Bon-Bon, who was talking to the flower ponies.
"Huh," Soul raised an eyebrow, "I don't know. But...is Scootaloo helping with Cozy's homework?" She remembered spotting the pictures Fluttershy had given Cozy and it had Bon-Bon on it. And as this happened, Cozy and Scootaloo saw Bon-Bon getting pricked by her newly bought cactus before the orange pegasus said something and Cozy grabbed her helmet.
She flew over to Bon-Bon with the helmet in hoof, catching the earth pony's attention. "It looks like you need help carrying your cactus, so here's a safe way to take it home." She placed the helmet on the cactus, covering the thorny plant as she gave a nervous laugh.
"Thank you!" Bon-Bon smiled as she picked the bag up, the helmet now acting as a barrier between the plant and her. "That's so thoughtful."
She walked away at this, Cozy returning to Scootaloo. "I did it!" She cheered, Scootaloo nodding.
"Good job! But, uh, next time, maybe don't give away my helmet."
Cozy blushed at this, "Oh...oops." The girls laughed as they then left, Heart and Soul staring at the sight.
"Why's Scootaloo helping with Cozy's homework?" Heart asked, "Is that even allowed?"
"Well, I guess as long as it's Cozy who comes up with the idea to help the pony, I don't see any problems with her helping out. At least she gets to be involved with the School of Friendship."
"Yeah," Heart nodded, remembering how much she and the rest of the CMC wanted to go but couldn't. "You think she's gonna help with the other two ponies she has to help?"
When the day of the homework turn in arrived, Cozy smiled as she handed in the essay explaining who and how she helped. Fluttershy seemed rather impressed as she read Cozy's report while the rest of the class had fun looking after the baby animals she had brought it to help them learn about responsibility. When she returned it to Cozy at the end of the lesson, the filly was shocked to see a large A drawn on top of it.
"Wow!" Heart commented as they left the classroom, "That's the best grade in the whole class. Nice work Cozy."
Soul nodded, "Not bad. But just so I'm clear, did Scootaloo help you with the other two as well?" Cozy turned to her with wide eyes while Heart frowned at his sister. "What? I'm not saying she didn't deserve the grade. I was just asking."
"Well," Cozy rubbed her hooves together, "Applebloom and Sweetie Belle helped me a little, but they didn't do it for me. They just helped me figure out what would make the ponies happy."
"Oh. That's fine then. Hard to believe how good those three are at friendship."
Heart nodded at that. "With them helping, maybe one day you'll get to go on a friendship mission with the map." He huffed, "I guess everypony gets to go on one except me."
"Friendship map?" Cozy responded, only for Soul to just shake her head.
"Eh, don't worry about it."
Heart then left the two as Soul and Cozy arrived at Twilight's class, the alicorn and her dragon assistant both waiting. "Good to see you're all here," the princess stated, "Now, I'm sure you've all been working hard on your Friendship Lesson, and I'd like to see just how well you're all doing. For that reason, we're going to have a test at the end of the week." This reply got a bunch of moans from the students, Twilight rolling her eyes at this. "Now, now, this is important. It won't affect your yearly grade, but rather to help me see which of the lessons are being learned easier than others. So study up and good luck to the lot of you." With that, she began her lesson while the ponies started dreading to horrifying test she was gonna throw at them.
"There goes my free time," Soul whispered.
Cozy also looked terrified, but then looked down at the homework she had just gotten back...and a bulb went off in her head.
That evening...
Flash was in the kitchen, as it was his turn to make dinner. With Heart, Soul, Ace and Mira now living in the school and getting their meals there, the amount he had to make had almost halved. As such, he only had to take out one shepherd's pie out of the oven. It was piping hot, but the long trek up to the dining room gave it enough time to cool down.
"Dinner is served!" He announced when he flew in. Twilight, Spike, Springer, Scootaloo and Starlight licked their lips at the smell. Flash might have been an amazing royal knight, but his cooking skills were pretty good too. "So?" Flash sat down as Twilight began serving the food, "How's everypony's day been?"
"Mine was great," Scootaloo cheered, "Cozy Glow got an A on the homework we helped her with!"
That statement made them wide-eyed, Twilight asking, "What homework? Have you girls been sneaking into the school again?"
"No!" Scootaloo shook her head vigorously. She then told them about what had happened when they met Cozy Glow, about her problems with school and how they helped her figure out how to properly do her homework.
"Are you serious?!" Starlight yelped, letting out a groan and putting her head on the table. "She should have come to me for help! I'm the guidance counselor, so guiding ponies is what I'm supposed to do!"
"Sorry Starlight," Scootaloo replied, "But it was really fun to help Cozy out like that, and she even asked us to help her study for a big test at the end of the week."
"Oh..." Twilight blinked at this, only to nod, "Well, I'm glad you girls found a way to be a part of the school without actually being there. Who knows, if things work out with Cozy, I might let you all help out more of my students." This statement got a loud gasp from Scootaloo, who looked like somepony had just told her she was gonna become the alicorn princess of being awesome.
"Alright!" Scootaloo cheered before she started wolfing down Flash's homemade food, "Just watch Twilight! The CMC will help Cozy ace your test!" The others smiled at this, Starlight shaking her head before they started eating as well.
Later...
Flash and Twilight were now getting ready for bed, Twilight combing her hair and Flash brushing his teeth, the pegasus thinking back on what Scootaloo and Starlight had said during dinner. "You think it's a good idea to let Scootaloo and her friends help Cozy with her friendship lessons?" He asked after spitting in the sink. "I know they want to be involved with the school, but what if something goes wrong?"
"We need to trust in the girls," Twilight replied, "I know you defenders have...protocols for those three, but they haven't done anything chaotic in some time. Besides, Cozy really needs the help. I've actually been worrying about her for a while."
"Yeah," Flash sighed, "She's not exactly the best when it comes to my classes. Last week, we were doing a lesson on combining generosity with loyalty by having the students sow a pretend field using certain seeds they needed to share. Cozy was falling behind with the number of seeds planted, so she started replacing the names of students who had planted a bunch with her own when she thought nopony was looking."
Twilight frowned at this. She knew Cozy was a little shy and had trouble opening up to others. In a way, she was a lot like she was before coming to Ponyville. "Hopefully the girls will help her understand why these lessons are so important." Flash took this moment to spit out the rest of the toothpaste and wash his mouth out, "I don't want to flunk anypony if I can avoid it."
"Yeah..." Flash finished, "The EEA would jump at the chance to badmouth the school just because we failed one student. Though how many students have flunked out of their EEA approved schools is probably more than anypony could count." Twilight nodded as the pair got into bed. "I guess you're right. We do need to trust the girls. Hopefully, they can help Cozy understand the lessons we're trying to teach better than we could."
"I guess..." Twilight muttered, "Maybe then we can focus on Starlight and her little issue."
"I wouldn't really call it an issue. Isn't it a good thing that the students don't need to talk to a councilor?"
"Or if you need to talk to somepony and just can't get up the courage to ask for help."
"Huh," Flash blinked at that, "Maybe I need to make that a lesson. Finding the courage to ask for help when you really need it..." His put his hooves behind his head, his brain started filling with an idea about the students at a hill and a very very big rock. "That could work."
Over the next few days, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo began helping Cozy has much as they could with every aspect of Friendship she was failing at.
One day they were having a picnic and the CMC had baskets of food ready, but Cozy's was sneakily devoured by a rogue rabbit when she wasn't looking. The pegasus thought she was gonna have to go without until the other three handed over a portion of their lunch. Cozy wondered why they would do this until Sweetie held up a card they had made that had her sister's cutie mark on it.
Cozy stared at the card for a second, only to answer, "Um...intelligence?" The girls frowned and shook their heads, seeing they still had a long way to go.
The next day, Cozy was helping the girls repaint Sweet Apple Acres' barn.
As Applebloom brought some more paint out, she, Sweetie and Cozy high-hoofed. Unfortunately, Cozy accidently kicked the ladder Scootaloo was on, causing her paint can to fall off. The girls were then completely paint covered, Cozy looking horrified and expecting the other two to be mad.
Instead, Applebloom and Sweetie started laughing their heads off. Cozy just blinked at this and turned to Scootaloo, who held up a card with Pinkie's Cutie Mark. Cozy seemed to recognize that one and started to laugh with them.
Later, Cozy and the CMC were helping Fluttershy with her animals.
Cozy was sweeping the floor, only to accidently knock over a bag of seed. The filly grew scared of being yelled out and tried to hide the seed under a rug, only for Applebloom to walk up show her a card with Applejack's Cutie Mark.
Cozy smiled at this and pushed the rug back for all to see, allowing a bunch of birds to fly down and start pecking at the seed while the pair laughed.
In their clubhouse, the CMC had a chart with the Seven Elements of Harmony drawn on it, Sweetie pointing to one. Cozy squinted at this before saying, "Laughter?"
"Yes!" Sweetie nodded before pointing to the one shaped like a star, Cozy tilting her head at this.
"Is it...control?" Sweetie shook her head, the three frowning.
In the park, the girls spotted Pipsqueak staring up at a tree. They then saw a kite stuck in its bushes, the earth pony attempting to leap up and get it with little success. They turned to Cozy and asked her what she should do, Cozy staring at the tree before taking flight. She flew up and grabbed the kite, happily returning it to Pipsqueak.
He happily took it, but before he could get a good grip on it, a strong gust blew it out of his hoof. Cozy shot after it, following the kite even after it was pushed through a bush. When she followed it inside, the others watched with a grimace until a scruffed up Cozy Glow walked out with the kite in her mouth, twigs in her mane and a ripped-up head ribbon.
The others just cheered at this, Cozy blushing as she gave the kite back.
Sweetie pointed at another element on their chart, Cozy staring at it before making her answer. "Bravery?"
"Close," Sweetie smiled, "Courage."
"What's the difference?" The CMC opened their mouths to respond...only to close them.
"Uh...that's a good question." Scootaloo admitted.
Springer was walking down the street when he saw somepony doing some DIY to their house. A bunch of piping leaning against the side of the building hadn't been properly secured, so when some kids ran past, they accidently knocked them loose and they began to fall. The jakhowl quickly leapt under the pipes, managing to grab them before they fell.
As he did this, he found the weight too much, about to go to Mega Mode, only for Cozy to run up with some rope and tied it around the ends of the pipe, then flew up to give it to the pony of the house's roof. Together, they managed to lift some of the weight off Springer, allowing him to push the pipes back up. Once they were secured, he smirked at the filly and gave her a thumbs up.
"Kindness!" Cozy answered as Sweetie pointed at the Element on the chart, "Loyalty! Honesty! Courage! Generosity! Laughter! Magic!" The girls all cheered at Cozy getting a perfect score. She was ready.
Friday...
Flash was walking into the teacher's lounge, only to find Twilight looking rather horrified. "Hey babe," he raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
Twilight's reply was to hold up a piece of paper and float it over to Flash. "Look at this!" He grabbed the paper and read it over, only to raise an eyebrow, "Look at the answers?"
Flash read the questions, then saw the answers were completely wrong. And by completely wrong, they were the worst answers anypony had likely put on a test in the world. "What are the six Elements of Harmony?" He checked the answer, "Five turtlenecks and a cheese grater?" He tilted his head, "Who is the Princess of Friendship? Your mom." He looked back up at Twilight, "Whose test is this?"
"Cozy Glow's!"
"The girl Scoots' been tutoring?" Twilight nodded, "How the heck did she get such a bad grade?"
"Obviously, Scootaloo and her friends haven't been teaching her the right things," she took the test back with a yank, "I know they were upset about me not letting them in, but to go so far as to sabotage somepony else's education...that's unforgivable!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Flash held up a hoof, "Let's calm down a second. We don't have any proof that that's what happened. And think about it. Do you really think these girls, one of which you're helping to raise, would actually be vindictive enough to make somepony fail just because they didn't get their way?"
Twilight sat back in her chair, taking several deep breaths, "You're right," she nodded. "They wouldn't do this. At least not on purpose. If they hadn't passed that test we gave them so well, I would have figured they weren't as good at friendship as we thought."
"But they practically aced it," Flash sat on an armchair. "So what the heck happened with Cozy?" He looked back at the test, "I mean, come on. Nopony does this badly on a test. Even I've gotten better results...and I didn't go to school. The only way you could get answers this bad is if you're trying to fail." As soon as those words left his lips, Flash glanced back up at Twilight, "You don't think..."
"There's only one way to find out," Twilight replied.
Later that day, the CMC were waiting outside the school. Sweetie was reading a book while Scootaloo was staring at her reflection in the water and Applebloom was staring at the entrance. The doors then burst open and the students rushed out, all cheering and celebrating a test well passed. The girls got up and looked through the crowd, eventually spotting a very upset Cozy walking out of the building.
"How'd the test go?" Applebloom asked.
"Were there essay questions?" Sweetie Belle continued.
"Did you remember what we taught you?" Scootaloo's question made the pony flinch as she finally replied.
"I...FAILED!" She burst out crying, making the trio go wide-eyed before Cozy ran past them.
"But how could Cozy Glow fail her friendship test?" Applebloom asked, only for a cough to make them look up and see a glaring Twilight.
"I'd like to see you three in my office!" She turned to walk off and the girls all shared a glance, gulping before they followed. And when they arrived, they saw Flash was waiting for them as well. Twilight got behind her desk next, the girls waiting for her to talk, only to pick up a piece of paper.
Applebloom then turned to the others. "I know we wanted to be invited inside, but it kinda went different in my head."
"Girls," they went as straight as a board as they turned back to Twilight. "I'm guessing you know why you're here."
"We're guessing it has something to do with Cozy's test," Sweetie replied, Twilight giving her the paper, the unicorn filly reading it first as she took it in her magic, "What?"
"Your mom?" Scootaloo read.
"Cheese grater?" Applebloom looked up at Twilight, "Ah swear this isn't what we taught her."
"I know," Twilight nodded, "You're lucky Flash was able to talk some sense into me, or I would have likely banned you from being anywhere near the school." The girls sighed in relief, giving Flash a thankful look as he nodded. "It's clear Cozy failed her test on purpose. The question is, why?"
The CMC turned to one another, all shrugging before Sweetie guessed, "Was she trying to get us in trouble?"
"Why?" Applebloom asked, "We've done nothing but help her. What reason would she have to wanna get us in trouble?"
"I have a theory," Flash chimed in, "But I'd rather hear Cozy tell us herself. If I'm right, then I think I know how to get her to tell us the truth." He turned to the girls, "But it's gonna need a little acting from you three." They all raised their eyebrows, only to go wide-eyed at Flash's next words.
Cozy was returning to her dorm, a smile on her lips as she made her way there. But as she turned a corner, she heard a door slam open before Twilight's voice filled the air. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to stay away from my school! And my students!" She then poked her head around the corner, now seeing Twilight showing the CMC out.
Flash was with them, looking just as angry as Twilight, "I hope you're proud of yourselves. You might have ruined a young pony's future because you were so petty!"
The girls looked ready to start crying and gave no excuse, simply heading towards the exit with their heads down low. "Oh no," Cozy whispered, now grimacing as she slowly walked backwards before running away.
And as she disappeared down the corridor, Flash and Twilight looked back inside the room where Springer was waiting. "Yup," the jakhowl nodded, "She heard every word. I think she's upset."
"You think?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
Springer shook his head, "Her aura is...weird. It's in some form of flux, but I can't figure out whether it's good or bad. I've never felt anything like it before."
Twilight and Flash shared a glance, only for Twilight to ask, "So...what do we do now?"
"I say we give her three days," Flash replied, "If she doesn't come forward by then to admit what she did, we'll talk to her ourselves and get the answers out of her."
Twilight nodded back, "Here's hoping. She's become close to a lot of students...I'd hate to expel her."
Heart and Soul were in the courtyard, playing a game of cards against one another. "I add one Sky Energy to my Windranoid," Soul smirked as she placed a card on another, "That gives it enough power to attack your Heatrix." Heart frowned as he moved the card over to a small pile on the far side of the box. "Then, my Thundora will attack you."
Heart looked down at his card, "I can block that with...um..."
"You don't have anything with enough shield power to block," Soul giggled, "That's why I destroyed your Heatrix. No shields and no monsters able to block with. That means one thing."
Heart let out a groan, "I lost." Soul shined a big grin as she picked up her cards, Heart doing the same. "One more game."
"Isn't losing three times in a row enough?" Soul laughed, only to see something behind Heart, "Hey, look."
Heart spun around and saw Cozy walking into the courtyard, the pegasus filly looking down at the ground. "Cozy!" The colt picked up his cards and ran over to her, "What's wrong? Did somepony say something to upset you?"
"No," Cozy shook her head, "I think I did something bad."
"What did you do?" Soul asked, Cozy glancing away. The alicorn then put a hoof on the filly's shoulder, "Come on, you can tell us. If you didn't mean to do something bad, we promise we won't get upset with you."
"It's...it's hard to explain," Cozy muttered as she spun around, "I don't think you'd understand."
"Well, whatever the problem is, moping about it won't fix the issue." Heart added, but Cozy wouldn't reply. As she did this, Heart then said, "Why don't you go talk to Starlight about it? If the problem is that you did something bad while trying to do something good, then she can totally relate."
"Yeah," Soul nodded, "Did you know she once swapped Celestia and Luna's cutie marks to stop them from fighting?"
"Really?" Cozy asked, the twins nodding back. "Still...I don't know. What if I get kicked out for what I did?"
The twins shared a glance at this, only for Soul to reply, "Telling the truth is hard. It takes a lot of courage to admit you did something bad. But it's always better than hiding it. Every day you keep this secret, it'll only make it harder and harder to eventually confess." Heart nodded at this.
Cozy stared at the two, her frown getting bigger as they both smiled back at her. Seeing this, she let out a long sigh, "Okay...I'll tell Starlight." With that, she turned to leave and the twins watched her go.
"I wonder what she did that she's so upset about?" Heart asked, Soul shrugging back.
"Who knows. It could have been something that's actually not that bad, or the worst thing imaginable. Guess it's up to Starlight to decide."
"Oh, I hope it wasn't too bad..." Heart gulped. "I don't want her to leave."
Luckily, Starlight understood Cozy's decision to do what she did and quickly convinced the pegasus filly to admit her actions. This led to the filly to Twilight's classroom, the alicorn now glaring at the pegasus. "So..." Twilight frowned, "You failed your test on purpose?"
"Yes," Cozy looked down at the floor, "I wanted to help the Cuter Mark Crusaders go here and I thought that if I failed, you'd think they needed friendship lessons more than anypony."
"I see," Twilight sighed and nodded. "So...you sacrificed your own grade to try and help a friend get what they wanted." Cozy slowly nodded back, "I understand. But you shouldn't trick others, even if it's to try and help a friend get what they want. But I understand what you were thinking when you did it."
"So the Cutie Mark Crusaders aren't in trouble anymore?" Cozy asked.
"They never were," Flash replied with crossed hooves, Cozy going wide-eyed as she saw he was standing to the side of the room, "We knew you bombed your test on purpose, but we didn't know why. So, we and the girls did a little bit of theater when we knew you were there, hoping you'd admit your wrongdoings."
"So...you tricked me?" Cozy asked, "Didn't you just say tricking ponies was wrong?"
Flash and Twilight glanced at one another, Twilight grimacing before Flash glanced back at her, "Well...it depends on the trick. This one wasn't malicious, and it was to make you learn a lesson. Did it help you learn a lesson?" Cozy nodded again, "Then we're good. Learning how to do these kind of things is important."
"And something we hope you will learn during the rest of your time here," Twilight added as Cozy looked back at her, "But I think you owe the Cutie Mark Crusaders an apology. I almost blew up in their faces when I saw your test."
Cozy gulped at this, only for Starlight to chime in, "Actually, Cozy gave me an idea for the girls."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders had expected to have to wait a while before hearing back from Twilight, only to be called to the school the very next day, and even got out of cleaning the classroom. They were soon brought to Twilight's classroom as she, Flash and Spike were waiting for them. A few moments later, the rest of the Mane Seven arrived in the room with Starlight and Cozy Glow.
"What's going on?" Sweetie asked.
Twilight smiled before Starlight and Cozy stepped up, "Cozy Glow, is there something you'd like to say?" Starlight asked, the girl nodding.
"This is all my fault," she slowly said, "I messed up my test on purpose so we could all go to school together. I'm sorry."
The CMC went wide-eyed at this, only for Twilight to chime in, "Thank you, Cozy Glow." She then hopped off her chair and went around her desk, "Honesty is one of the pillars of friendship." She pointed to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, "But you already know that. Which is why I'd like to give you these." She gestured to Spike, who took out a cushion with three rolled up scrolls on it.
He walked up to them, only to trop and send the scrolls flying. Twilight flinched at this, only for Spike to quickly stand up while slightly blushing. She then turned back to the CMC as they picked up the scrolls, all blinking at the papers.
"They're honorary diplomas," Applejack added, "Makin' y'all official graduates of this here school."
"You've more than earned them," Rarity continued.
"Without even having to study!" Rainbow laughed as she and Scootaloo high-hoofed, Flash moving over to ruffle his sister's mane.
The girls then turned to each other with giant grins as Fluttershy got some birds to fly over and drop graduation caps onto their heads. Pinkie fired some confetti cannons next as the girls started cheering. "We're graduates! We're graduates! We're graduates!"
They threw their caps into the air with a cheer, as Twilight smiled. "And if you're interested, I think Starlight has a place for you at my school after all." Their eyes went wide as they zipped up to Starlight, staring at her with stars in their eyes.
"We could use some friendship tutors on staff," Starlight responded, "And I hear you're the best out there." They gasped and looked ready to explode in excitement, Applebloom turning to the others.
"Then what are we waitin' for? Let's get tutorin'!" They all rushed for the door, "Come on, Cozy!" The pegasus laughed as she flew out the door with them as Twilight glanced over to Starlight.
"And that's why this school needs you as our guidance counselor." Starlight couldn't help but smile as well, nodding back as they heard the girls cheering all the way out the door of the school. Yes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't need the School of Friendship, but the School of Friendship definitely needed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. As well as Starlight and so many others that made it the amazing place it was.
That night...
Cozy Glow was in her room writing in her diary by torchlight.
My plan is coming along perfectly. I've fully integrated myself in with the most important ponies that make up this school. I've made bonds with the Cutie Mark Crusaders as well as Fire Heart while the teachers have started noticing me more as a standout. Now I can slowly start to improve my grades, eventually becoming the top student of the school. Once Twilight acknowledges me, I'll start focusing on earning her and the other important pony's trust. Once that occurs, I'll be ready to take my rightful place.
She finished writing and closed the book, looking out of a nearby window next. All she needed was a little patience, allowing her to slowly work her way into the hearts and minds of everypony that might become a hindrance to her plan. She had seen what a powerful weapon friendship was, and she intended to weaponize it like never before.
"Soon I'll be the Princess of Friendship," she giggled before shaking her head. "No, the queen-no...empress! The Empress of Friendship!" She laughed a bit before hearing her roommates beginning to stir, only to shut her mouth and quickly went to sleep. "The Empress of Friendship..." she whispered, "That's my destiny. And nopony's gonna stop me from achieving it."
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Thank you, Banshee! I am so glad you change that cause that scene where Twilight banning Crusaders from the school was garbage and very Out of Character for her! So glad Flash was there to prevent her from banning them.
You succeed it! Thumb up! 👍
Here's highlights
That tame compare what Twilight about to do with Crusaders, Flash.
They wouldn't take it well more when you banned them, Twilight!
Goddamnit, Heart.
Yeah, sure.
Flash save the day! Thank you, Flash! A point for you, Banshee!
Once again, thank Flash for preventing that awful scene to happen and we end up getting a better scene. (The one they pretend to act in order to Cozy to confess) Another point for you, Banshee!
Sound like Springer unintentionally foreshadowing Cozy's true color.
I like this story doesn't hide her true color as a villain and letting us know she's definitely a villain.
And for that, I thank you for changing that scene.
I really hate Cozy, I really do. I feel like I want to be a psychopath and bite her ear off.
Nice job with this. I am in the minority when I think the original episode is over-hated, but I really like how you handled it here.
Flash and Twilight giving the Crusaders a written test to show them they don't need to attend the school was pretty clever. I'm also glad you had Flash calm Twilight down when she was planning to punish them after Cozy failed her test, since that is the one thing everyone criticizes the episode about. Though I will admit, her not snapping at the CMC makes things a lot better, or at least happier.
The ending scene with Cozy writing her plans in her journal and declaring her future title to herself was also interesting. It is kind of fun how we clearly see early on, as early as Cozy's first appearance, that she is a villain hiding her true nature, instead of only being outright confirmed during the finale. It is a fun case of dramatic irony, since we already know she is meant to be a "twist villain" we see her true colors much earlier on, while the characters are all clueless of her true self. The past examples were a bit more subtle about it, but this one basically throws subtly out the window.
Heart and his big mouth! Though I guess we shouldn't be too hard on him in this case since the map isn't really a big secret or anything, and he is telling it to someone he sees as a friend (and possibly a crush), so pretty much any other time it wouldn't be a big deal. If he starts blabbing to her about every little secret he knows though then we might have a problem.
That line is going to be pretty painful in hindsight. Looking back, Cozy is the only student that's confirmed to be expelled from the school in canon, and really you can't blame them after what she did.
Seems like a fun card game. Did you base it on any real life ones? The talk of shields and blockers brings a few possible ones to mind.
Huh, so it's not just Heart blabbing to Cozy, it's Soul too.
You fixed the main problem the original had, with Twilight berating the CMC without giving them a chance to explain. That alone made the chapter better, not to mention we got to see Cozy's schemes coming together!
Oh here's my friendship assignment.....going though these Highlights! :
There there Glimmy!
Sorry girls, you have been punked!
*sigh* gonna be a long day for Rogue isn't it?
Ixnay on the map ay Heart!
Thank goodness Flash was there to shot down overreacting bookhorse!
Oooh boy, that's gonna bite you in the flank later Twilight!
And BOOM there it is, little spawn's true colors!
Great chapter Banshee, till the next one rolls around!
11340228
It would be even worse when he finds out about Cozy's true colors and she was possibly taking an advantage of him which he would not take it well.
11340258
Oh yeah definitely. Nobody likes being used, especially by someone they considered a friend or had feelings for. I have a bad feeling Heart is going to be left in a heartbroken state (no pun intended) after finding out Cozy's true colors and chances are due to his young age it might last for a while. Hopefully he'll be able to at least keep it together long enough to help stop Cozy in the finale.
So, what exactly is your theory on Cozy Glow? Let me put it this way. The girl is clearly a sociopath. Based on my admittedly cursory internet research of the disorder, it appears that modern medicine and psychology has since relabeled the condition as antisocial personality disorder, and current treatment options include psych meds and cognitive behavioral therapy. I think the prevailing opinion regarding mental illness of any kind is that mental illness is no excuse for being a horrible person. Soooooooo, according to you, why is Cozy a horrible person?
11340272 Honestly, I don't have a theory about why Cozy's bad. I've just been trying to add bits in to explain it. In the last story, I wrote about her lack of parents (Which explains why she can be thrown in Tartarus and turned to stone without anyone batting an eye) and that she was constantly shuffled around different foster homes. I think something like that would affect someone's mental state and when she started hearing about Twilight, who went from a relative unknown to alicorn princess, she assumed she could do the same.
Probably dreaming about Applejack
11340284
I know some people think she’s actually not a child but an adult with some kind of dwarfism like Esther.
Glad Flash was able to talk Twilight down and glad the cmc gradurated and glad starlight ok now
Pretty good episode, i like the changes you make, and all we know Cozy is evil, so this episode doesnt bother in hiding until the season finale like in the original show.
Oh my, poor Heart, he will be devastated when he discovers Cozy, hope others will help him in season 9, Spike can help him too in heal his heart.
Duel Masters reference???
YOU LITTLE PIECE OF-
Why do I feel like this is a reference to something?
Also, did you mean Applebloom instead of Applejack?