Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Applejack must do everything they can to get their cutie marks. Even if it get's them into trouble.
New in town, Twilight joins a club with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. In their great search to discover who they are the newly founded Cutie Mark Crusaders have many strange adventures. From bullies to babysitting, pets to parties, hang gliding to hanging out, grand schemes to groundings these three will do anything to get their cutie marks. No matter what the risks are.
Twilight took a deep breath as she stared at the red building in front of her. Her first day of school was today, and it wasn’t just her first day in Ponyville either- she had been home schooled ever since she went to live with Spike, so she hadn’t been schooled with others since kindergarten. However, she wouldn’t let her nerves get to her, instead walking in with her head high.
It was a pretty small school so it was easy to find the only classroom in it. Twilight poked her head in the classroom.. “He...hello?” The class immediately quieted down and all heads turned to look at Twilight. There were only about twenty foals in the classroom and Twilight sighed in relief as she recognized five of them.
“‘Ello there, who are you?” A pinto colored stallion with a strange accent greeted her. He was standing at the front of the class so Twilight assumed he was the teacher.
“I’m Twilight, I’m new to Ponyville.” said Twilight, introducing herself.
The stallion nodded, “I’ve heard that we’d be gettin’ a new student soon. Word is you’ve come all the way from Canterlot.”
“Yes, sir.” Twilight confirmed, stepping into the room.
The pinto stallion waved his hoof dismissively, “There’s no need for that. This isn’t a military school. The name’s Mr. Pip.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pip.” Twilight was right beside him now and turned to face the class. They were all staring at her. She swallowed a lump that was starting to form in her throat.
“Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?” Mr. Pip asked Twilight.
Twilight nodded and took a deep breath. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle and I’m from Canterlot. I’m currently living in the local library with my mentor, Spike- he’s a dragon, as well as Princess Luna’s personal student.”
There was silence for a few moments before a voice spoke up out of the crowd. “You live with a dragon?” Twilight couldn’t see who said it but she could hear the snark in their voice.
Twilight’s cheeks went red, “Yes, I- I do live with a dragon.”
“She sure does.” A new voice called and Twilight locked eyes with who said it, Applejack. “I’ve seen ‘im.”
“I’m sure Twilight’s story is a completely true.” said Mr. Pip, stopping the argument. “Twilight, why don’t you go sit next to Applejack? Then we can start the lesson again.”
Twilight nodded and sat in the desk he had indicated. She leaned over to Applejack and whispered a quick thank you.
Applejack shrugged, “I don’t like bein’ accused of lyin’, and ah doubt you would.”
“Now,” Mr. Pip said excitedly. “Who knows anything about pirates?”
The lunch bell rang much quicker than Twilight would have liked. She had enjoyed hearing Mr. Pip give his lecture on pirates and the times when they still existed. Now she was sitting alone at a picnic table, quietly eating her lunch and trying not to attract attention to herself.
“Hello, Blank Flank.”
No, no, no! Twilight did not want this. She had hoped no one had noticed, or no one would care. Apparently, this wasn’t the case- everywhere she went, someone would tease her. Against Twilight’s better judgment, she looked up to see who was talking to her.
A light blue unicorn with white hair glared down at Twilight, and a mint green Pegasus with yellow windswept hair hovered beside the unicorn, looking smug.
“We don’t need any more lying Blank Flanks in this school. Trixie hopes you know that nopony believes your silly story about the dragon.”
Twilight’s blood ran cold as she recognized the voice that had called her out earlier today. “I’m sorry,” Twilight tried to keep her voice steady. “Who’s Trixie?”
The blue unicorn seemed to get angry, “Who is Trixie? Who is Trixie?!? Trixie is the greatest pony ever! Trixie is the most powerful unicorn to ever walk the earth! Trixie is the most popular filly in this school! Trixie is-”
“Trix,” The pegasus face hoofed, “She meant she didn’t know Trixie was you.”
“You’re Trixie?” Twilight asked, baffled. “Why did you speak in third pony?”
“Do not question the way the Great and Powerful Trixie talks!” Trixie shot at Twilight.
“It’s just her thing, but that isn’t the point. The point is-” Lightning Dust leaned closer to Twilight until their snouts were almost touching. “This is Trixie. I’m Lightning Dust, and we’re the top fillies around here. We don’t like it when no good Blank Flanks move in, so you better just stay out of our way.”
“Just leave her alone, Lightning. She’s not cramping your style, even if you had one.”
Lightning Dust whirled around, ready to face who had insulted her. A cerulean blue Pegasus was waiting for her, and she looked very irritated.
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked in wonder. Why was the filly standing up for her?
“Aww, that’s so cute.” Lightning Dust said sarcastically. “The little Blank Flank is looking out for the new one. I guess losers have to stick together.”
Rainbow was hardly fazed by the bully’s insults. “Beat it, Dust. No one wants you here.”
Lightning Dust glared at Rainbow for a couple of seconds before smirking. “Fine, you have fun with your loser friends. Come on, Trix.”
Both of them left with an air of importance, not giving any mind to the death glare Rainbow Dash was giving them.
“You didn’t need to do that, Rainbow.” Twilight said quickly, feeling embarrassed.
“‘Course I did,” Rainbow Dash said, sliding next to Twilight. “Us ‘losers’ need to stick together.”
Twilight gave a small laugh at Rainbow’s joke.
“Besides,” Rainbow continued, “I stop those two from bullying lots of ponies. It’s just habit for me now.”
“They bully ponies?” Twilight tried not to sound scared as she asked the question.
“Oh yeah, they’re real jerks.” Rainbow said calmly, “They bully Fluttershy ‘cause she can’t really fly, Rarity ‘cause she’s a drama queen, Pinkie for being crazy and A.J.-” Rainbow Dash giggled slightly. “They bully Applejack for everything. She’s a farm pony, she has an accent, she has those goofy looking freckles...”
“No one’s ever bullied me for ma freckles.”
Rainbow jumped at Applejack’s voice. The earth pony was standing two feet away, glaring at Rainbow Dash.
“Hehe, sorry A.J. They are goofy though.” Rainbow laughed nervously.
Applejack just rolled her eyes and slid in next to Rainbow. “Twilight, don’t let ‘em get to ya. They just latch onto anythin’ they can find wrong with ya.”
“Yeah, and not having a cutie mark is like a sin to them.” Rainbow’s eyes widened and she quickly turned to Applejack, grabbing the orange pony’s face. “She doesn’t have a cutie mark!”
“Jeez, don’t rub it in.” Twilight grumbled.
Rainbow Dash ignored her and continued grinning at Applejack. “We can start our club again!”
“Your what?” Twilight asked.
Applejack sighed, as Rainbow released her face, “Before Rarity got her cutie mark, we had a club where we all tried to get ours.”
Rainbow turned to Twilight, beaming. “When Rarity got her mark we had to stop ‘cause it didn’t work with just two. But now that you’re here we can do it again!”
Applejack folded her arms, “Ah’m only goin’ to do it if we change our name.”
“Why? We had a great name!”
Applejack cocked an eyebrow at her blue friend, “The Dashing Rainbow Rangers is not a good name.”
“Fine, we’ll change it. How about Rainbow and Friends?”
“That’s got the same problem as the last one! What about Friendship Explosion?”
“Ew, no. That sounds too sappy. We should do Cutie Mark Acquisition Program.”
“Ya sound like a robot. How ‘bout The Appletastic Fillies?”
“You just want the word apple in it.”
“Better than wantin’ ma name in it.”
“My name is awesome!”
“Ah thought it was Rainbow Dash.”
“You know what I meant!”
“How about the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
The two arguing fillies turned to Twilight, who blushed as she realized they had heard her.
“Crusading means to go out and change things for the better, and that’s what we’re doing, sort of. I just thought it would be a good name. You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.” Twilight said quickly. She was surprised when the other two beamed at her.
“That sounds awesome, Twi! Eggheadish, but awesome.” Rainbow exclaimed.
“Does that mean yer gonna join?” Applejack asked hopefully.
Twilight hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Yeah, it sounds like fun. I’ll join.”
“YES!” Rainbow Dash tackled Twilight into a hug. “This is going to be the greatest club EVER!”
The three newly dubbed Crusaders met after school. Rainbow had insisted she give them a ride home but now that Twilight looked at her mode of transport she was having second doubts.
“Rainbow Dash, what is that?”
They were looking at wagon that looked like it had gone through a train wreck. The paint was peeling, one of the wheels looked ready to fall off and Twilight was sure she would fall ill if she even touched the rust that coated it.
“This is our ride!” Rainbow hooked herself up to a harness that was projecting out the front. “Powered by the fastest filly alive.”
“What the hay happened to it?” Applejack exclaimed, looking just as surprised as Twilight was.
“Well I tried to do tricks while I was hooked on and...” She giggled nervously. “Anyway, it still works like a charm so hop in!”
Applejack and Twilight cautiously stepped into the wagon. It creaked under them but held firm.
“You ready?” Rainbow asked, buzzing her wings.
Applejack shook her head and Twilight squeaked out a no.
Rainbow flapped her wings harder and took off. Twilight found herself grabbing onto Applejack as they accelerated.
“How does she move so fast!” Twilight shouted over the wind.
Applejack just shrugged as best she could as she gripped Twilight.
In seemingly seconds they were outside of Twilight’s new tree house. Rainbow was panting as she waved Twilight off.
“Here we are, hope it wasn’t too bumpy.”
Twilight shakily climbed out of the wagon, “N-no it was fine, thank you Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow saluted and buzzed away, with Applejack bouncing along behind her.
Twilight entered the tree house and immediately called for her guardian. “Spike! I’m home!”
“Hey Twilight!” Spike called from under a pile of books. “How was the first day of school?”
“Great! I met some new friends!”
“That’s amazing!” Spike said happily. “I told you you shouldn’t be afraid of making friends.”
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Spike, you were the one afraid of making friends. I was excited.”
Spike blushed slightly, “Yes, well, can you help me? I need to organize the books. They were alphabetized and I need to put them in the Dew Decibel.”
They accelerated up a hill until Rainbow came to a screeching stop. “Here we are!”
“Rainbow,” Twilight asked slowly, “What are hang gliders doing up here?”
There were three identical hang gliders on top of the cliff and Rainbow immediately walked up to one. “They're here to help us get our cutie marks. Our hang gliding cutie marks!”
Applejack face hoofed. “How would that even work for you? You can fly.”
Twilight stared in shock- this is what she had roped herself into.
“We can still hang glide! I promise not to use my wings.” Rainbow insisted.
“No Rainbow, no.” Applejack said. “We should at least start with somethin’ simple. Don’t just jump into crazy things like before.”
“Guh! Fine get back in the wagon, I have another idea.” Rainbow snorted as she rehooked herself up.
Twilight gulped, “Did all your searching involve probably dying?”
Applejack shook her head. “Only Dash’s ideas where dangerous.”
“Here we go. Boring, safe, cutie mark searching.” Rainbow huffed, unhooking herself again.
Twilight blinked at the building they were parked at. “Why are we at Sugarcube Corner?”
“Boring stuff.” Rainbow grumbled as she walked into the bakery. “Maybe we can get our cutie marks in it though.”
The other two fillies followed Rainbow inside, albeit cautiously.
“HI, TWILIGHT!”
Twilight gently pushed the pink fuzz out of her face. “Hi, Pinkie Pie.”
“Hi!” The pink pony said again. “I didn’t know you were hanging out with Dashie and A.J. now. Oh! Are they doing the Dashing Rainbow Rangers again!? I really, really, really wanted to join but I already had my cutie mark and Rarity said that it was really scary and she’s glad that they stopped when she got her cutie mark but I think it sounded like so much fun and...” Pinkie continued talking as Twilight slowly backed away.
“Applejack,” Twilight called out, “How do I get her to stop?”
Applejack walked up to the blabbing pony and calmly put her hoof over Pinkie’s mouth. “Pinkie Pie, that’s enough.”
Pinkie nodded her head and Applejack removed her hoof.
“Why are you guys here anyway?” Pinkie asked.
“We want help getting our cutie marks.” Rainbow said by the counter. “Those two want to do something boring so we’re going to bake.”
Applejack stared at her. “Are ya feelin’ alright Sugarcube? Ya don’t have a fever or anything?”
“Haha, A.J.” Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “This was the boringest thing I could think of.”
Applejack just rolled her eyes. “We just don’t want to do anything dangerous.”
“Can I help you bake? Pound and Pumpkin went shopping anyway. Please?” Pinkie Pie asked, going into begging overdrive. “Oh please oh please oh please!”
Rainbow grimaced, “I sort of wanted Pound or Pumpkin to help us...” Pinkie gave her puppy dog eyes and she caved. “I guess if you want to, then-” She was interrupted by Pinkie Pie giving her a bone crushing hug.
“Oh thank you Dashie! Thank you so much!” Pinkie squealed.
“You’re welcome,” Rainbow tried to push Pinkie Pie off of her. “can you just help us now?”
“Sure! Just come on back to the kitchen!”
“Pinkie,” Twilight hesitated, “Are you allowed to bake things without supervision?”
Pinkie Pie didn’t answer, but just hopped into the kitchen, giggling like a maniac.
“Wow...” Was all that Pinkie could utter as the last batch of cupcakes were pulled out of the oven. She didn’t know what went wrong. She had shown them how to make her favorite treats and then let the three blank flanks start cooking.
She had been watching the whole time, but even with her help Twilight somehow managed to set the stove on fire and Rainbow Dash had smeared batter everywhere. Well, they did get into a cupcake fight but it shouldn’t have been this messy. Applejack’s had turned out alright...except somehow worms had crawled their way into her batter. And she had used soda instead of baking soda.
“Did we get our cutie marks?” Rainbow asked, checking her flank. Her face falling when she saw that it was still blank.
“How could we?” Applejack demanded, prodding her worm infested pastries. “Not one of us made a decent batch. Ya didn’ even make one, RD!”
“Spike will probably eat your cupcakes, AJ.” Twilight tried to reassure her new friend, “He sometimes eats worms.”
“That’s gross!” Rainbow explained, sticking out her tongue. She licked her lips and sighed, “I need to get home and take a bath now. Come on girls, I told you boring stuff was a waste of time.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked out of the bakery, saying their goodbyes to Pinkie.
As soon Pinkie heard the bell ring to signify their departure she took a bite of Twilight’s cupcakes. They weren’t so bad once you got past the burnt taste.
The bell on the door rang again, and a cheery male voice called out, “Pinkie! We’re back! Did you destroy the store?”
Pound and Pumpkin had come home.
Pinkie looked around the batter covered, slightly burnt kitchen.
Apple Bloom bucked another apple tree and stepped back to admire her work. It was almost the end of the Applebuck season and Apple Bloom was ready to rest after a long day of farming.
“Ah! Tree! Another tree! Applebushles! Tree!”
Apple Bloom perked her ears as the slightly familiar voice grew increasingly louder.
“Stop back seat driving! Unless you want to pull!”
The other voice was much less panicked and a lot more annoyed than the first. Apple Bloom tilted her head, trying to pinpoint where the cries were coming from.
“Tree! Apples! APPLE BLOOM!”
Apple Bloom whirled around at the sound of her name just in time to see a rainbow and a wagon crash into her.
“See, I told you to slow down.” A voice growled. Apple Bloom’s dizziness made it hard to tell if it was said or yelled. As she slowly untangled herself from the wagon, she saw Twilight Sparkle standing next to Rainbow Dash, who was still hooked onto the wagon, hanging upside down by her harness.
“You were distracting me.” Rainbow huffed, crossing her forelegs over her chest.
“What in the hay do you two think you’re doing?” Apple Bloom grumbled, righting the wagon and getting Rainbow’s hooves back on the ground.
“We came to find Applejack!” the little pegasus explained, “Do you know where she is?”
Apple Bloom arched an eyebrow, “And what do ya need her for?”
“Crusading for cutie marks, of course!” Twilight answered, “She said she had something to show us that would help.”
Apple Bloom opened her mouth to reply but her little sister came bounding up at that moment, a bright smile plastered to her face.
“Yer here!” Applejack cried, “What took ya so long?”
“Twilight kept telling me to slow down.” Rainbow Dash said, sticking her tongue out at the unicorn. Twilight just rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the other crusader.
“What did you want to show us, Applejack?”
Applejack’s eyes widened in wild excitement. “It’s somethin’ great!” She darted across the grass towards the barn and called back over her shoulder, “Come on! And bring the wagon!”
The two other fillies looked inquisitively at each other before Rainbow shrugged and slipped back into the harness. She waited for Twilight to hop in the wagon before flying after the rapidly disappearing Applejack.
Apple Bloom sighed and returned to her work. Applejack sure picked some odd friends.
The two crusaders arrived at the barn with a screech and Rainbow slowly pulled the beaten up wagon into the dark interior.
“Applejack?” she called, “What did you want to show us again?”
“No, no!” Applejack called out from the dark, “Ya got ta close yer eyes.”
Rainbow Dash and Twilight glanced nervously at each other before squeezing their eyes shut.
“Shesh,” Applejack’s voice sounded again, this time much closer and a hoof was laid over each blinded filly’s back, guiding the forward, “You two are more tense than Fluttershy on Nightmare Night. Relax, it ain’t a prank or nothin’.”
“You never know,” Rainbow Dash muttered, “Why did you want us to close our eyes then?”
Applejack giggled, “‘Cause it’s a surprise, goofball!” Applejack stopped them a couple steps later and unhitched the cart from Rainbow’s back. “Alright, you can open em now.” she said with excitement.
What entered into their sight was a bright red wagon. The fresh coat of paint still looked wet, and the polished bronze wheels had bright rubber on them. The leather harness, unlike the hard metal one of the old wagon, curled back so whoever was attached to it could also sit in the wagon.
Rainbow Dash let out an almost inaudible squeal.
“It’s awesome!” The pegasus flew over and gently pushed the gleaming wagon with her hoof. “It doesn’t even squeak! Where did you get this?”
“Apple Bloom made it.” Applejack said proudly.
“Now I almost feel bad about crashing into her.” Rainbow Dash giggled.
“Almost?” Twilight asked before examining the wagon’s inside. “It even has shock absorbers.”
“Well, it took her this long to build it.” Rainbow defended herself.
They lightly chuckled at the joke before Applejack poked Rainbow in the ribs. “Apple Bloom says that she ain’t gonna make another for a long time, so we gotta make this one last. No crazy stunts and stuff.”
Rainbow’s grin faded slightly. “But I wanted to try for a wagon derby cutie mark.”
Applejack rolled her eyes, “We already tried that. That’s how the old one lost the wheel, remember?”
Rainbow glanced back and forth from wagon to wagon. “Fine,” she eventually relented, “But where are we going to keep this one?”
Twilight cocked an eyebrow at Rainbow, “You kept the old one at your place, shouldn’t you keep the new one?”
“Nah, Fluttershy’s animals will probably ruin it,” Rainbow Dash said, “Can you keep it in the barn, Applejack?”
The farmpony gave a quick nod. “Sure. So, what do ya want ta do with the old one?”
Rainbow gave the old wagon a long look before shaking her head and waving a dismissive hoof, “Oh Fluttershy can use it as a bird house or Scootaloo can make a scooter out of it or something.”
Applejack nodded, “Alright then, y’all ready to take this thing for a spin?”
“I can’t,” Twilight confessed, “Spike needed me to reshelve the library today.”
“Oh,” Applejack’s ears dropped a little at this news, “That’s alright. Me and Da-”
“Can’t.” Dash interrupted, “I promised Fluttershy I’d help her with the pets today. Sorry, AJ.”
“That’s alright, the paint still needs ta dry anyway.” Applejack reassured her friends, a twinge of disappointment in her voice.
“You sure?” Rainbow asked skeptically. “‘Cause I wanted to give Twi a ride home in it, but we can use the old one.”
“It’s dry enough!” Twilight exclaimed, frantically jumping in the new wagon.
Rainbow Dash let out a laugh as she hooked herself up to the new harness, watching Applejack climbing in next to Twilight.
Rainbow Dash winked at her passengers, “Don’t worry, I’ll go slow this time.”
New record. Rainbow thought proudly as she trotted into her sister’s animal garden, the old wagon squeaking along behind her.
“Oh, hi Rainbow.” Fluttershy greeted from her perch in a tree, inspecting birdhouses. Rainbow waved at Fluttershy as she unhooked herself and flew up to sit beside the other filly.
“What did Applejack want to show you?” Fluttershy asked.
“The most awesomest thing ever!” Rainbow exclaimed, throwing her hooves up and almost falling from her perch. “Apple Bloom built us a new wagon and it’s got everything! Fresh paint, shock absorbers, everything!”
Fluttershy smiled at her sister’s excitement, “That’s wonderful Rainbow.” She glanced downward at the wagon Rainbow Dash had brought with her, “What are you going to do with the old one?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged, “I dunno, I thought maybe you’d want it for some animal thing or something.”
Fluttershy furrowed her brow. “But, Rainbow, you’ve had that wagon forever. Are you sure you just want to give it up?”
Dash bit her lip and glanced back down. “I don’t know how’d we keep it.”
“I’m sure Scootaloo can find someway to preserve it,” Fluttershy suggested.
Rainbow shook her head. “It’s not that. I don’t know how to keep it without ruining my style. I can’t be seen being so attached to something like a clingy foal.”
Fluttershy just smiled gently. “Nopony would think less of you.”
“You don’t understand.” Rainbow muttered before clapping her hooves together. “Enough about that, weren’t we going to do some sappy sister-bonding stuff?”
“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said happily as she flew from the tree to a little shed on the ground, “Thank you again for agreeing to feed the animals with me today.”
“No problem,” Rainbow said, flying after Fluttershy, “after all, I haven’t been spending enough time with you and I sort of feel guilty about that.”
Fluttershy smiled at her sister as she dragged a bag of feed in front of Rainbow Dash. “Just take this and sprinkle it around the garden; it’s all purpose food so all the animals can eat it.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and hoisted the bag in the air. She flew around the little zoo, letting the food fall and watching the animals scurry out from everywhere to come eat.
The pegasus chuckled at the eagerness of Fluttershy’s pets. She started flying to the other end of the miniature zoo when a tugging at her tail made her stop. She looked down to see a tortoise clamped on her tail. It was huge- probably big enough for Dash to ride, and looking at her weirdly.
“You’re really hungry, aren’t you?” Rainbow reached into the bag and pulled out a hoofful of feed, sprinkling it over the tortoise's head.
It didn’t let go of her tail.
“Um...OK?” Rainbow said uneasily, reaching into the bag again, “This is getting a little creepy.” This hoofful she held directly under the tortoise’s noes. To her relief it released her captive tail and started licking the food. Rainbow Dash let out a giggle as the tongue tickled her. Her hoof was soon empty of food but the tortoise kept licking her until she pulled away.
“No, no,” Rainbow scolded, “Didn’t Flutters teach you to share? You can’t have anymore.”
The tortoise blinked at her slowly. Then out of nowhere he snapped for her tail. Rainbow yanked it out of the way before he could close his mouth on it though and hovered out of reach.
“I’m not food.” She told the tortoise before flying off, dumping food from a non tail grabbing height.
The tortoise watched her go; his face full of wonder and excitement.
After the chores were done Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy played for the rest of the morning until Scootaloo called them in for a lunch of daisy sandwiches.
“So Rainbow,” Scootaloo asked after a couple minutes of eating, “What did Applejack want?”
“Uh osht awshom shng eher!” Rainbow cheered.
Scootaloo chuckled and rubbed the filly’s head, “Swallow before you choke kiddo.”
Rainbow quickly swallowed her food and continued, “Apple Bloom made us the most amazing wagon! It’s all red and shiny and everything!”
“Wow, that great!” Scootaloo said. “Have you test ridden it yet?”
Rainbow nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, and it works really well we were practically flying across town.”
Scootaloo smiled, “That’s good; after all, your ride can make you or break you.” She paused to take a drink and glanced at the ground. “You brought the old one back though. Why? Is there something you want to do with it?”
Rainbow shrugged, glancing to the side she said, “Just whatever.”
Fluttershy gave her sister a confused look but said nothing.
Scootaloo nodded and tossed the last of her sandwich into her mouth before standing up. “Okay, guys. I promised to spend the rest of the day with you, so…” She paused and turned to smile at the fillies. “Who wants to go to Rainbow Falls?”
The day had been long and fun. When the three got home, it was late and the fillies went straight to bed without any complaint.
As they laid in their beds Rainbow Dash almost drifted off to sleep when she heard her name being quietly spoken.
She sat up bleary eyed and look at the bed across from hers. “What is it Fluttershy?”
For a couple minutes, the other filly didn’t move or make a sound, and Rainbow wondered if she had been hearing things. When she decided just to go back to sleep Fluttershy answered.
“Do you really not care about what happens to the wagon?”
Rainbow sighed and flopped on her bed. “I...I don’t know. Its been with us for forever hasn’t it? Even before we met Scootaloo. Do you even remember where we got it?”
There was a couple seconds of silence before Fluttershy let out a small, “No.”
“I want to keep it.” Rainbow insisted, “But I can’t look like a cry baby holding on to their toy for no reason. It will mess with my image you know?”
When Fluttershy didn’t say anything else Rainbow Dash rolled over and closed her eyes, “Look, I’m tired right now. I’ll figure it out tomorrow alright?”
Fluttershy’s small acceptance was the last thing Rainbow heard before drifting off to sleep.
Rainbow woke up early the next morning. She was looking forward to a long day of crusading in the new wagon but there were things that she needed to get done before she left. After her morning ritual of brushing her teeth and not combing her hair, Rainbow flew out of the house and down to where she left her old wagon.
She gently touched its side and sighed, “What am I going to do?” She muttered, her hoof tracing its edge. She stopped when her hoof hit something foren on the well known wagon. She reached down and picked it up. Holding it close to her face she wrinkled her nose. “Straw?”
She looked into the wagon and her eyes shrunk when she saw that it was littered with straw and twigs and leaves. “Wha...what?”
Rainbow jumped back when the mound of twigs shifted. A green head peeked over the wagon’s side and blinked slowly at Rainbow.
“You.” Rainbow growled, she flew towards the tortoise and poked his nose, “Get out. Get out get outgetout!” She whined, shoving the tortoise out of her wagon. “This isn’t your home!”
The tortoise blinked slowly at her before standing up and climbing into the wagon again.
Rainbow Dash growled and flew back inside.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow yelled once she burst into her room.
Fluttershy jumped from where she had been sitting combing her mane, “Rainbow? What’s wrong? Did something…”
Her sentence died as her sister picked her up and flew her outside.
“Look! Look at what your turtle did!” Rainbow yelled, pointing at the wagon.
“Um...actually he’s a tortoise…” Fluttershy muttered looked at her pet.
“Whatever, just get him out of the wagon!” Rainbow demanded.
Fluttershy shifted on her hooves and glanced down at the ground, “That would...um...actually be illegal.” She muttered.
Rainbow Dash scrunched up her nose in confusion, “What? Who said that you can’t remove turtles…”
“Tortoise.”
“Who said you can’t remove tortoises from wagons?” She let out a sudden gasp and glanced around, “Are the animal police ninjas lurking in the shadows?”
Fluttershy ignored that last comment, “You see Rainbow, Mr. Tortoise here is an endangered species. Endangered means it the whole species might die out.” She quickly explained when Rainbow pulled her confused face again. “That means that wherever he wants to make his home no pony can do anything about it. And...well, he made his nest in the wagon.”
“That’s just...that’s that’s…” Rainbow Dash bared her teeth and let out an angry huff. “I don’t care! I’m getting him out of my wagon!” She grabbed the tortoise in her arms. Grunting and wheezing she hoisted him out of the wagon and onto the ground again, “Now stay out!” She bellowed before turning around and flying off.
Fluttershy bit her lip and she watched the fading rainbow streak before turning back to the tortoise. “I’m so sorry about this. I’m sure she’ll warm up to you eventually.”
Mr. Tortoise just blinked slowly at her.
“Rainbow Dash we’re going the wrong way.” Twilight said from the back of the new wagon which was gliding along the roads of Ponyville. “Sugarcube Corner’s that way.”
“What?” Rainbow Dash snapped. She stopped and looked around before huffing and turning in the right direction. “I knew that.”
Applejack and Twilight looked at each other.
“You OK there sugarcube?” Applejack asked, “Ya seem a bit mad ‘bout something.”
“I’m not mad.” Rainbow growled. She was silent for a few minutes before letting out a long sigh. “Sorry guys, I’m just...never mind.” She flew a little faster and flashed her passenger’s a smile. “Let’s just get some treats OK?”
“Rainbow,” Twilight said hesitantly, “Are you sure you’re OK?”
“I’m fine, honest.” Rainbow persisted, “I just had a rough morning. Let’s just drop it and get crusading.”
Applejack and Twilight didn’t seem convinced but they didn’t question their friend until they were walking in the doors of Sugarcube Corner.
“Are you sure nothing’s bothering you?” Twilight asked again.
Rainbow Dash grunted as she pushed the door to the bakery open. “Yes, I’m sure. Look, you want to know why I’m grumpy? It’s cause Fluttershy’s pet turtle kept bugging me. That’s it I swear.”
Twilight was about to say something else when she was cut off from Pinkie Pie waving to them from across the bakery.
The pink filly had a couple dirty plates stacked on her head that somehow weren’t falling over from her bouncing around and shouting, “Hi guys! Hi!”
“Hi Pinkie.” The crusaders greeted in union.
Pinkie Pie bounced over to them, the plates on her head threatening to topple over. “Hi guys, you here for some cupcakes?”
They all nodded.
“Okie Dokie Lokie! You go sit down I’ll get some from Pound.” Pinkie turned around and bounced into the kitchen.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat down at one of the booths, anxiously awaiting their treats.
“Rainbow…” Twilight started again.
“Twilight stop it.” Rainbow sighed, “I’m fine really. I know you don’t get out much but everyone has a bad day once in awhile so just drop it.”
Twilight opened her mouth to retort but was again interrupted by Pinkie Pie. She bounced out of the kitchen, dirty dishes replaced for a tray of cupcakes, and happily handed the other fillies their treats.
“You guys should have been here earlier.” Pinkie said, sliding in next to Twilight. “There were some lumbering stallions in here!”
“Lumbering?” Twilight asked.
Pinkie nodded, “They said they were lumbering jacks but I didn’t see any jacks and none of them were even named Jack!”
Applejack cocked her head, “What were lumberjacks doin’ here?”
Pinkie shrugged, “Donno, said something about picking up spare wood from a pegasus or something. They actually sounded like they were heading towards your place Rainbow Da…”
Rainbow Dash was already gone by then. Her half eaten cupcake abandoned as she raced towards her house.
“What was that about?” Pinkie asked the other two fillies.
Applejack and Twilight offered no explanation as they glanced at each other before running towards the door.
“Hey!” Pinkie called after them, “You forgot to…”
The door slammed shut behind the retreating fillies.
“...pay.” Pinkie finished lamely. She glanced at the half eaten pastries around her and let out a sigh, “Guess I’m not getting an allowance this week.”
Rainbow Dash pushed her wings harder than she ever did before. They ached and screamed at her to slow down but she didn’t care. She needed to get home. Why had she told Scootaloo she could do anything with the wagon? Why was she so stupid? Why?
After seemingly hours her house finally came into view. She put on a burst of speed when she caught sight of the lumberjack ponies and Scootaloo talking.
“WAIT!” She cried, coming to a stop in front of Scootaloo.
“Rainbow?” Scootaloo asked, surprised by her sudden entrance. “Weren't you out crusading today?”
Rainbow Dash didn’t answer. Her gaze swept the ground until she found her target. “You can’t take it!” She yelled, clinging to the wagon.
The adult ponies stared at her. “Rainbow,” Scootaloo said slowly, “I thought you didn’t care what happened to the wagon?”
Rainbow Dash gulped. This was the tricky part. She couldn’t sound like an obsessive kid, but she couldn’t let them take something that had been with her forever. She needed a distraction. She needed a miracle. She needed a plan. She needed a…
“Gah!” Rainbow cried as a wet tongue brushed against her cheek. She wiped her head around to glare at the tortoise sitting in her wagon. “You.” She growled. “What are you doing…” Rainbow’s eyes widened as a light bulb light up in her head. She whirled around to face the adults. “You can’t take this wagon because this turtle…”
“Tortoise.” Fluttershy corrected her somewhere to Rainbow’s right.
“This tortoise is end...endan...enderd…”
“Endangered.”
“Right, that.” Rainbow ignored her misshape and plowed ahead, “It made its home in the wagon and if you take it away the animal ninjas will come and lock you up!”
The adults stood silent for a few minutes before Scootaloo turned to the yellow filly, “Fluttershy, is this true?”
Fluttershy nodded meekly, “Yes, you can get in really big trouble for taking away an endangered animal’s home.”
Scootaloo sighed and turned back to the lumberjack ponies with a sheepish grin, “Sorry guys, the kid knows her animals and I’m not about to get fined for not listening to her.”
The lumberjack’s grumbled among themselves. One of them stepped forward and asked Scootaloo, “So you don’t want us to take it?”
“‘Fraid not boys.” Scootaloo declared.
The lumberjacks looked upset but left without any fuss.
Rainbow watched their tails until they disappeared out of sight. She let out a thankful sigh and glanced at the tortoise sitting in the wagon. “Hey, thanks for that. You can stay in the wagon for as long as you need alright?”
The tortoise smile and licked her face again.
Dash let out a giggle and gently pushed his head away. “I’m sorry I called you creepy and stuff. You’re actually really cool. You stuck by me the whole time and even helped me out in the end. Thanks.”
“Rainbow, does this mean...” Rainbow backed up as Fluttershy suddenly pushed her snout into the rainbow filly’s face. “Does this mean you want to take Mr. Tortoise as a pet?”
Rainbow glanced from her sister’s pleading eyes to the reptiles loving ones. “Uhg, fine. You've wanted me to have a pet since forever and this little guy will do pretty well. Mr. Tortoise is a dumb name though; I’m going to call him Tank.”
If Fluttershy cared about the name change she didn't show it. The little filly started flying around Rainbow’s head, rambling on about something that sounded like ‘pet play date’.
Scootaloo ruffled Rainbow’s mane. “That was a really nice thing to do squirt; I’m proud of you.”
Rainbow smiled up at her. “Thanks Scootaloo.”
“RAINBOW DASH!” A cry came from down the road. The three pegasi looked to see Twilight and Applejack running towards them.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called again, “Why were the Lumberjack’s here? What were they going to cut down? Is this why you were so upset?”
Scootaloo glanced down at Rainbow, “You’re gonna have some explaining to do aren't you?”
It was that day of the year. That horrible and wonderful day. That special day of sunshine and rainclouds all in one. That day treasured by some and feared by others. That day of pain and happiness. That day of love and heartbreak. That day of-
“Rarity! If you keep daydreaming we’re never going to get there!”
Rarity humphed and shot a look at her pink friend. “I’m simply going over some details of my plan darling.”
Basicly, it was Hearts and Hooves Day and Rarity had come up with the greatest matchmaking scheme of the year. The decade. The century! The milleni-
“Does she often stop to dramatically pose?” Twilight, one of Applejack’s friends they had recruited for the plan, asked Pinkie. Interrupting Rarity’s internal monologue again.
Fluttershy nodded to Twilight. “Yes. I think she said it added dramatic flair.”
“It looks silly.” Pinkie giggled.
Rarity humphed and again and continued walking. Choosing to ignore her friends’ comments.
The Plan (Rarity decided that, yes, it should be capitalized) started to form this morning as, just like every other Hearts and Hooves Day, Rarity’s mailbox had been overflowing with cards, chocolate, and flowers all of various shapes and sizes. And all for Sweetie Belle.
Rarity wasn’t jealous of her sister’s ability to attract every stallion she came across of course. Nope. Not a bit. She was happy for her. So happy. Brimming with happiness.
“Rarity…” Fluttershy spoke softly, “You’re grinding your teeth again.”
“Thank you darling.” Rarity replied, trying to unclench her jaw.
The Plan, unlike other years, was not really about Rarity getting a date at all but about helping her sister find her special somepony.
Or somebody.
For you see, as Sweetie Belle was sorting through her many cards, a certain dragon was writing something very important of his own.
***
“No no no!” What started as a mutter rose into a scream as Spike crumpled the 32nd paper of the hour and lit it on fire. He ruffly took a fresh sheet from a prepared stack and took a deep breath. He was stressed, yes, but he could easily write a simple letter. Couldn’t he?
He started again:
“What are you doing?” A young voice asked, causing Spike to jump and send a big ink stain scratching against the parchment.
Spike growled as he lit that paper up too.
Twilight blinked at the new ash pile. “Was that a letter?”
The thought of lying to Twilight briefly flashed in Spike’s mind. But he quickly banished that away. Even if it was something really worth lying about Twilight would find out eventually.
“Yeah,” Spike sighed, grabbing a new paper. “It’s a...special letter I’m writing.”
“For Hearts and Hooves Day?” Twilight asked innocently.
Spike blushed but nodded, “Yep...for Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“Who’s it for?” Apparently Twilight could not take Spike’s subtle gestures to drop the subject.
“Sweetie Belle.” Spike mumbled, barely loud enough for Twilight to hear.
Twilight nodded understandably. “That makes sense. She’s gotten one from almost everyone in town. Statistically, it’s very likely you’d be writing one too.”
“What?” Spike stared at the filly. “Did you just say she’s gotten a letter from everyone in town?”
Twilight nodded happily. “Just about.”
Spike groaned and, even though he hadn’t written anything yet, burned his current paper.
***
Later, Twilight had told Applejack about the whole experience, who then told Rarity, who then decided that it was her duty to get the young drake and her sister together before the day was through!
“You know,” Twilight spoke up again, “I don’t think you’ve ever actually told me what the plan is, Rarity.”
Suddenly, Rarity found two pairs of bright blue eyes staring at her and giving the same message: please don’t.
But Rarity did.
For the sixth time.
“I’m so glad you asked, darling! Pinkie, chalkboard.” Pinkie sighed but did as her friend requested and pulled out a chalkboard from nowhere in particular. Rarity took it gleefully and started scribbling The Plan all over it.
“First off,” Rarity started, “You convince Spike to finish that love letter.” She drew a note and something that looked like it could be a dragon. “Then, Fluttershy and I will lure Sweetie away from all the cards she has now.” She drew a basic interpretation of that. “Then, we get the two to meet in the park for a romantic picnic and when they fall madly in love we feast on the discarded chocolate!” The last drawing was of four happy fillies stuffing their faces.
Twilight frowned, “That doesn’t seem like a very solid plan. I can see a lot of things going wrong.”
Rarity stuck up her nose and handed the chalkboard back to Pinkie. “Well, nothing’s going to go wrong. My plan is flawless. Spike and Sweetie will be happy together and we get to eat chocolate. It’s perfect!”
Twilight frowned harder, “Well, the end goal is perfect but how are we suppose to get there? For example: How am I going to get Spike to finish the letter?”
Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. “You know him best, you’ll figure something out.”
Twilight’s face was almost falling off from how hard she was frowning. “But how…”
“No time!” Rarity interrupted. “We must begin phase one immediately! Now go!”
Twilight let out a weak grumble as she was ushered away, unsure of everything at this point.
***
“Spike?” Twilight called out as she entered the library that was also her home. The only thing that greeted her was muffled sounds coming from the kitchen.
When she walked into the cooking area she saw Spike leaning over the table, stuffing ice cream into his mouth.
“Spike!” She cried, rushing over. “You can’t have that much ice cream.”
Spike waved a claw in the air. “It’s fine. Dragons don’t get brain freezes.”
“But you can still get stomach aches.” She protested, prying the tub of deliciousness from him.
Spike just grumbled and put his head on the table.
“Soooo…” Twilight asked, her eyes darting around, “Did you happen to finish that letter you were writing?”
Spike gave her and ‘are you kidding’ look, “Of course I didn’t finish it. There’s no point if Sweetie’s already gotten so many.”
Twilight bit her lip, “Well, maybe if you just right down your feelings it will make you feel better. At least better than this ice cream can.”
“But ice cream tastes better!” Spike whined, feebly reaching for the tub of frozen goodness.
Twilight yanked it away with her magic and stomped her hoof. “Spike, I demand you write that letter right now!”
Spike recoiled from the shouting filly and blinked rapidly, “Why do you care so much about this anyway?”
Twilight lost her fierce face and replaced it by a sputtering one, “I...I’m just concerned about you. You can’t beat yourself up over this and I think actually writing the thing will help.
The dragon rested his head in his claw, giving Twilight an odd look. “You really think writing to someone I have no chance with will make me feel better?”
Twilight shuffled her hooves. “Well, I’ve read some books that said the best way to deal with your feelings is to express them.”
Spike sighed but gave Twilight a small smile. “Well if you really think it will help me feel better who am I to argue? Get me some parchment, maybe you can help this time.”
***
Rarity nonchalantly entered her sister’s house. A smile of pure innocence adorned her face as she carefully approached the kitchen table where stacks upon stacks of candies and cards rested. The Prize.
Fluttershy followed directly behind Rarity, looking more pensive than innocent, unfortunately, but she did look pensive most of the time so Rarity presumed it wouldn’t be that big of a hinder to her plan.
The two, totally innocently, walked directly up to Sweetie Belle. The older Unicorn was currently staring at the card pile with distaste, munching on some leftover pizza as she read one of the hundreds of cards.
“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity called sweetly, trying to look as lovely as possible. Sweetie glanced at her over her pizza and gave a half smile.
“Hi, Rarity, did you have fun with your friends?”
Rarity nodded and glanced at Fluttershy, “Oh yes, we certainly did. We aren’t done yet but it’s just…” Rarity stuck out her lip in a faux pout, “There’s just this commotion happening at the park and we can’t play there anymore. We were wondering if you would do something about it?”
Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity for a few moments before squinting suspiciously, “The park where all the couples are at? The park that, if anything happened to it today, someone would probably get fired? Or possibly mobbed? That park?”
Rarity started to get uncomfortable. Had her sister figured out what they were up to? How could she? They had been so clever so cunning! Nothing could have possibly hinted at what they were doing. Rarity, trying to save the situation, gave the most intelligent answer she could, “Uh hu. That’s the one alright.”
Nailed it.
Sweetie Belle let out a sigh and a soft chuckle. “Alright, I’ll come with you to see what this commotion is. Whatever you have cooked up is probably more interesting than this anyway.”
Rarity grinned, it seemed her cunny was impenetrable as always, “Oh thank you Sweetie, you wont regret this. I promise.”
Sweetie sighed as she stood up. “I certainly hope not.”
***
“So what do you think?” Spike asked his assistant, pushing the finished letter towards her. “Is it bad enough to be good? Or good enough to be bad?”
Twilight giggled and looked over his handy work, “I think a few more hearts in the margins would really hit the point home.”
Spike rolled his eyes and gave a good natured laugh, “You know I think it’s done.” He held out his hand towards Twilight. “I think I can burn it now.”
“NO!” Twilight screamed, clutching the paper to her chest and catching Spike off guard, “I mean...don’t you want to save it? It’s good, why would you burn it?”
Spike shot her a suspicious look, “Because I only wrote it to get my feelings off my chest. I don’t want anyone to actually read it.”
“Well...maybe you should let them.”
Spike was almost to a full on glare, “No. I’m not going to let anyone read it. Hand it over Twilight.”
Twilight stared at him for a few tense seconds before she suddenly screamed, “LIGHT SCREEN!” And flashed a brilliant bright light out of her horn.
“GAH!” Spike yelled as he was suddenly blinded and could hear the clip clop of little hooves running away, “Twilight Sparkle, you get back here now!”
***
Rarity noted to herself as she and Fluttershy lead Sweetie Belle to the assigned picnic spot. A plush, checkered blanket was laid out under some beautiful apple trees. A small picnic of sandwiches, fruit, and cupcakes was arranged in a deliberate pattern with a vase full of flowers resting in the middle. Candle’s would have made it perfect but considering it was still day Rarity decided to let that one slide.
Rarity was very impressed with her hyperactive friend’s understanding of ‘romantic’. The cupcakes even had little hearts on them.
“Is this the commotion you were talking about?” Sweetie asked, looking a the display with amusement. “You’re right, it’s very distracting to your play time.”
“Oh no, this isn’t it.” Rarity said quickly. Where was Twilight? She should have been here already. “It seemed to have left. But I know it will come back. Maybe you should stay until it does?”
Sweetie let out a sigh but nodded, “I guess I have nothing better to do than go along with,” She gestured towards the picnic, “whatever it is your planning.” She took a sandwich from the stack and popped it into her mouth, “Mhmmm. This is really good. Who made these?”
“I did!” A high pitched voice called out as Pinkie exploded from the bushes. Rarity facehoofed. Sweetie just waved.
“Hi Pinkie Pie. Are you in on this little scheme too?”
Pinkie nodded and hopped out of the bush, “Yep! I set up the whole picnic and made all the food and picked the flowers and arranged the plates and a whole bunch of other stuff!”
“I have no idea what she’s talking about.” Rarity’s voice was shrill, “We aren’t planning anything, are we Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy blinked, startled that she was being spoken to, “Um...no? I don’t think we are.”
Sweetie frowned playfully, “So I can’t eat these sandwiches?”
Rarity back peddled, “Oh no, of course you can. That was for us but you can eat it, if you’d like, while we wait for the como-”
“RARITY!”
Rarity whirled around at the sound of her name just in time to see Twilight Sparkle rushing at her, a piece of parchment clasped firmly in her magic.
“Twilight!” Rarity called, waving, “I’m so glad you’re here. What took so-”
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!” A very enraged dragon ran right up behind Twilight, literal smoke coming out of his ears.
Twilight yelped and ran faster but was no match for Spike’s longer, two legged stride. He quickly caught up and tackled the filly to the ground. The letter she had been carrying flying out of her grip to land softly in front of a watching Sweetie Belle.
“Twilight, what do you think you’re doing?” Spike demanded, releasing his grip on the filly, “Why did you run away with that le…” His sentence died as he finally witnessed the romantic picnic sitting before them, the three other fillies, and Sweetie Bell, reading his letter. “Sweetie, I didn’t...I....that’s.”
Sweetie got up and walk towards Spike, coming so close that she was nose to nose with him, “Did you write this Spike?” She asked calmly, her expression blank.
Spike’s face was beat red and he stuttered out an affirmative, “I-I did but it’s...it’s not what it looks like! Twilight was just helping me...uh...I don’t really-”
The young drake was interrupted by white lips pressing against his own.
Rarity squealed, Pinkie dawwed, Twilight blushed and Fluttershy hid behind her wings at the sign of affection.
After a few seconds the two’s lips parted. Both were blushing profusely but Spike looked like he might faint at any moment.
“I um...uh…” Sweetie stuttered, fighting her hooves. “That was uh...I have to go now.” And with that she took off in a full sprint away from the park and its occupants.
“Wait. What?” Rarity exclaimed as the words sunk in, “Sweetie Belle! Spike, aren’t you going to go after her?”
“...Cotton Candy…”
“I really don’t think he’ll be going anywhere for awhile.” Twilight remarked, tapping on Spike’s side.
Rarity groaned, “Well now I can’t tell if this was a success or a disaster.”
“Look on the bright side,” Pinkie said, biting into a sandwich, “They probably wont be eating the rest of this picnic. So it’s all for us!”
