“One year, girls.”

The yellow filly slumped at the table dejectedly, her face in her hooves muffling her voice.

“It’s been a whole year since we started crusading, and we still don’t have our Cutie Marks!”

“Awww. Cheer up, Apple Bloom. I’m sure if we keep trying, we’ll get there eventually. We can’t just give up.”

Apple Bloom turned to glare at the white unicorn sitting beside her. “Try what, Sweetie Belle? We’ve tried everything already. We’ve tried running, diving, bowling, and ballooning. We’ve climbed to the highest places in Ponyville, explored the deepest, darkest hollows in the Everfree Forest, and braved the most bizarre baked goods to ever come out of Pinkie Pie’s oven. We’ve skied, skated, surfed, zip-lined, and hang-glided. What more could there possibly be for us to try?!”

“I still think that last one should have worked.” commented the orange pegasus who was pacing on the other side of the table. “How awesome would a hang-gliding Cutie Mark have been?”

“I’m glad I didn’t get my Cutie Mark in hang-gliding, actually. It took me forever to get the mud and grass stains out of my coat after that landing, Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle absently brushed at her sides, picking imaginary blades of grass from between the fine hairs. “Anyway, I was thinking maybe we should stop trying to find our Cutie Marks….”

“What?!”

“No way! We can’t give up that easy, Sweetie!”

Sweetie pouted at the other two as they interrupted her, and they quickly settled down. “As I was saying, we should stop trying to find our Cutie Marks, and maybe let our Cutie Marks find us for a change. Rarity is always trying to tell me that my Cutie Mark will come when the time is right. Maybe we just have to let it happen.” Sweetie smiled nervously at her two fellow crusaders, waiting to see how they took her idea. Scootaloo was the first to break the silence, and far too quickly for Sweetie’s liking.

“But that’s the same thing as giving up! No, we need to be out there trying new things, exploring new horizons, earning the most amazing Cutie Marks Equestria has ever seen! Rainbow Dash wouldn’t just roll over and let a challenge beat her like that.”

“I gotta agree with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle. I just don’t see how doin’ nothing is gonna help us get our Cutie Marks any quicker.”, Apple Bloom added.

“But we won’t be doing nothing. We can run around like we have been, trying to think of new things to do and then doing them, but there are thousands of Cutie Marks we could try before we find the right ones for us. *Or* we could go out and see what Ponyville has to offer, and maybe try a whole bunch of different things which are just waiting to find us.”

“I… guess that’s an idea, but where do we start? We can’t just walk through town and expect our Cutie Marks to jump out at us. I’ve been down the main street a hundred times, and I still don’t have mine.”

Sweetie Belle started to grin as Apple Bloom started to give her idea the consideration she thought it deserved. “Simple. We go to everypony and see if they have anything we can help them do. Maybe we’ll find our special talent helping our friends, or family, or neighbours, or maybe we’ll find something new from somepony we’ve never even met before.”

“But that sounds sooo boring, Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo interrupted again. “If we go around town asking people for things to do, all we’ll end up getting is a whole bunch of household chores. We need to find exciting things; things nopony has done before or will ever be able to do again, if we ever hope to get a Cutie Mark as awesome as Rainbow Dash’s!”

“Well, at least Sweetie has an idea, Scoot. And it kinda makes sense. What do *you* think we should do today? Which doesn’t involve possible injury or home destruction?”

Scootaloo snapped her mouth shut, all her carefully constructed plans for the day unfortunately stuck down early. Apple Bloom smirked knowingly at her friend, before turning back to Sweetie Belle, finally starting to cheer up as their plans for the day started to come together.

“So, where should we start?”

---

“Hey sis, you got anything we can help with?”

Applejack looked up at the self-proclaimed Cutie Mark Crusaders, proudly wearing their maroon cloaks with the hastily sewn club patches, as they approached with grins which were simultaneously optimistic and slightly scary. Apple Bloom trotted up and sat down in front of her, looking up with expectation as the other two settled in behind her with their own wide eyes and hopeful smiles.

“I don’t recall y’all bein too eager to do yer chores after breakfast this mornin’” she replied teasingly.

“But this is different! This is Crusader business. I do those chores every day and I don’t have my Cutie Mark yet. C’mon sis, there must be something different we can all help with?”

“Well, I suppose…” Applejack pondered the fillies, then turned back to a wooden structure beside the barn where they’d found her. “See this here small storage shed? I’ve been meanin’ to take it down fer weeks now, but never really got the chance. Think you gals might be up to the challenge?” She looked back and grinned at the two gleeful (and one slightly doubtful) faces below her.

“Really, sis? We get to knock down a whole building?”

“Ha! I told you we could get our Cutie Marks in destruction.”

“I don’t know about this. Isn’t this kind of dangerous? I don’t think Rarity would like me doing something so destructive…”

Applejack chuckled at the excited chatter. “Now hold up, young ‘uns. I don’t want it all smashed up. I’ve already taken the roof off myself, so I just need the walls taken down and set aside. There’s some good timber here, and we can always use that around the farm. And Sweetie Belle, I’m sure if yer all careful, Rarity won’t have anything to complain about. It’s not like I’m not askin’ ya to do it.”

“Oh, well, that’s OK then, I guess. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, shall we?”

“Yeah!”

As Applejack cantered off to deal with some other chores around the farm, she chuckled at the sound of three hooves meet in mid-air to a rousing cheer of “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER DEMOLITION WORKERS!”, before the fillies filed into the partially dismantled shed, already discussing the best way to take it down…



Applejack walked around the corner of the barn half an hour later, and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Oh, the shed was down, no doubt about that, but she just… wasn’t prepared for the devastation she’d discovered.

The most obviously wrong piece of the scene before her was the large hole knocked in the wall of the nearby barn. The walls of the shed were scattered around the yard in far more than the 4 parts she’d been expecting, and the roof she’d carefully removed and set aside beneath the eave of the barn had a large dent in the top and several shingles missing. To their credit, the Crusaders had not just left the mess behind, but were sitting glumly in front of the wreckage with guilty looks on their three faces.

“What… what happened?”

“Well sis, we started out well enough. I figured we could remove the timbers on the walls before we pulled the frames down, but…”

“But that was taking forever, and those walls are really well put together.” Scootaloo interrupted. “We couldn’t pull each panel off by itself, so we decided we’d just remove the nails in the corners and knock each wall out. But when we did that…”

“When we tried that,” Sweetie Belle continued, “we all had to buck hard against the first wall to get it to budge, and when it finally went down, it crashed into the barn. And when that happened, the gutter came off the barn and landed on the roof. So then we thought that was too dangerous, so…”

“So since we couldn’t take the walls apart, and we couldn’t knock them intact, we realised we’d have to cut the walls apart. So I got a saw from the barn and we cut the walls into too many pieces even though you said you just wanted the walls in one piece and we’re really sorry and can you forgive us, sis?”

Applejack surveyed the scene one more time, assessing the damage to the barn and shed. The three crusaders stared up at her with artful tears in their wide eyes, waiting for her to pronounce judgement for their failed attempt to help. Applejack’s mouth opened, and…

Luckily, a reprieve arrived in the form of a blue blur screeching to a halt in front of Applejack, kicking up a cloud of dust at her landing. Scootaloo gave a squeal of excitement as her idol, Rainbow Dash, cantered up to Applejack, a cocky grin on her muzzle as she surveyed the wreckage around her.

“Hey there AJ, sorry I’m late. I was about to ask if you still needed help with that job, but by the looks of things,” Rainbow Dash looked around and the smirk widened, “I’m guessing you’ve got it covered.”

“Uh, yeah Rainbow. I think I’ve jus’ about gotten all the help I’ll need today.” Applejack looked aside at the three fillies attempting to look inconspicuous. “Although, I’m sure you’ve got a lot of work to do today, and I know some ponies who I’m sure would be willin’ to give ya a hoof, if ya understan’ me.”

“Oh, um, really? I mean, definitely! I could totally use some help with the… stuff I need to do today.” Rainbow scratched her ear with her hoof, before turning to face the three condemned crusaders. “That is, if they think they can keep up with somepony as awesome as me!” The grin was back in full force.

“Ummm, but we were jus..mmmph!”

“What Sweetie Belle was about to say is that we’d be thrilled to help with anything you need today, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo quickly stammered out, removing her hoof from her friend’s mouth. “Isn’t that right, gals?”

“Definitely. We’re always glad to help a friend of my sister’s!”

“You didn’t have to shove your hoof in my mouth like that Scoot…”

“So, do you need to grab anything before we go, girls? Time’s a-wasting, and I don’t like to wait on anypony!”

---

“So, what amazing thing will we be helping you with today, Rainbow Dash? Will we be timing you for speed? Setting up obstacles for a new stunt? Can you carry us up high to show off your incredible wing-power?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled at the excitable pegasus following in her wake, her tiny wings buzzing as she piloted her trademark scooter, and the other two fillies riding in the bright red wagon trailing behind. She had to admit, Scootaloo was definitely no slouch when it came to riding her scooter. Rainbow wasn’t exactly flying at top speed, but even towing a wagon and two friends, the young pegasus was having no trouble keeping up.

“Actually, it’s not so much what I need done, as what I promised a friend I’d help them do. See, I told Twilight I’d help with reshelving books in the library, but that’s just too slow for my tastes. I can’t waste time in a dusty old library when I could be working on my flying some more. That’s where you three come in.” Rainbow grinned widely, not noticing the smiles falling off the crusaders’ faces. “With you helping Twi, I can go do my own stuff, guilt free!”

“That’s it?” came the response from Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know. It might be nice to visit in the library for a while. We’ll sit indoors and put a few books away. How hard could that be?”

“Have you ever seen Twilight’s library after one of her study sessions, Sweetie Belle? And I don’t know about you, but I’m not too thrilled at the idea of having a book for my Cutie Mark.”

“Are you sure we can’t help you some more, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked longingly as the library came around the corner. “Maybe, I dunno…”

“Too late girls, we’re here. Hey Twilight!” Rainbow rapped sharply on the door to the Golden Oaks Library. “Twilight, I brought you some help!”

The door to the tree house opened a crack to reveal the violet eyes of Ponyville’s resident unicorn egghead. Opening it a touch wider, she took in the broad grin of her friend, and the three reluctant fillies behind her. “I thought you said *you* were going to help me, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow’s smile drooped a little. “Well, yeah, I did. But you know I’ve still got a lot of stuff to do today, and these three are my official replacements.”

“But I… I thought… How am I supposed to finish my project if I have to keep an eye on these three? Not that I’m not happy to see you, girls,” Twilight addressed the crusaders more kindly, “But I’m kind of in the middle of something important.”

“Oh, well, that’s OK, Twilight. I’m sure we can find something else to…”

Rainbow interrupted Scootaloo in mid-excuse. “Well Twi, I’m sure you’re smart enough to keep them busy for a few hours and still find a way to do your work. Applejack sent them with me to help.”

“Applejack sent them to…?”

“Yeah. I guess she couldn’t stand to keep them on the farm for some reason.”

Twilight Sparkle looked from the fillies to Rainbow Dash, a thoughtful glint in her eyes. Finally reaching a decision, she suddenly smiled widely and opened the door wide.

“Well, I suppose I *could* use their help for a while. Come on in, girls. We’ve got a lot of work to do!”

The crusaders reluctantly trudged into the library, looks of betrayal cast in Rainbow’s direction, which she shrugged off with a toss of her prismatic mane and a self-satisfied grin.
“Have fun, girls!”



Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo paused in the entranceway, shocked by the state of the normally orderly library. Stacks of books filled every corner and flat surface in the room, and what little desk space was not covered by books contained a messy mix of parchment, quills, glue, and scissors. The floor was at least mercifully clear, although somehow it did not help to make the room feel any less cluttered.

“OK. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, as you can see I’ve got a few books which need to be put away…”

“This is a few?” muttered Apple Bloom to Scootaloo, who snickered in response.

“…and I just need to clear out the clutter a little bit. Fiction is on the left side of the room, non-fiction on the right, and please try to keep them close to alphabetical order. There’s no need to be too troubled by it though, because I have a re-shelving day scheduled for next Wednesday anyway. Any questions?”

“I have a question, Twilight.” Sweetie Belle piped up. “Where’s Spike today? Doesn’t he usually help with this sort of thing?”

“Spike has gone out to do a bit of shopping for me today. I’m not sure when he’ll be back, because his route does take him perilously close to your sister’s shop. Until then, you’re on your own.”

“Wait, where will you be?”
“I’ll be working on a project I really need to have completed by tonight.” Twilight lit her horn, telekinetically grabbing a folder which was sitting on the desk and hovering it over to herself as she started walking away. ”Feel free to start with any pile you’d like, If you need me for anything, I’ll just be upstairs.”

And with that, Twilight trotted up the stairs, leaving three very confused young ponies to gaze at the piles of work surrounding them.

“Well, horseapples!”

---

“This is sooooo boring!”

“That’s what you said ten minutes ago, Scoot.”

“And guess what, Apple Bloom. It hasn’t gotten any more exciting in the last 10 minutes.”

“I don’t know, girls. Some of these books look kind of interesting.” Sweetie Belle paused in the act of putting away a copy of ‘Cutie Marks Throughout History: An Illustrated Guide’. “I might have to read this one myself later.”

“Well, I’m glad somepony is enjoying themselves. As for me, I’d rather be doing just about anything else.” Scootaloo grabbed another book off the dwindling pile beside the stairs: ‘Alicorn’s Ageless Almanac’. “Let’s see, A… I guess that goes on the top shelf? Pity I can’t fly up there yet.”

“There’s a ladder on wheels over there, Scoot. Just roll it around and use that.”

Scootaloo looked at the ladder, the shelves, and the book, and a small grin started to form on her muzzle as her wings buzzed experimentally behind her. “Hey girls, I’ve got an idea to make this more interesting.”



Twilight jerked upright as a loud crash echoed up from downstairs. Quickly marking her place in the book she was slowly filling, she rushed out of her bedroom and down the stairs two at a time. Coming to a screeching halt at the lower landing, she clinically observed the toppled ladder, dazed pegasus, worried unicorn, and a surprisingly sticky earth pony amidst a scattered pile of books.

“What… what happened in here? You were supposed to be putting the books on the shelves, not the floor!”

Scootaloo slowly stood up and shook herself, looking up at the worried librarian. “I’m sorry, Twilight, it… it was my fault. I wanted to speed things up, s-so I had Sweetie Belle sorting the books and Apple Bloom tossing them up to me while I raced around on the ladder shelving them. It was working fine… until I hit the end of the rails too hard.”

Twilight’s eye twitched, but her voice remained deceptively calm. “And then what happened?”

“Well, then the ladder came off the rails and started falling towards me.” Apple Bloom picked up the tale. “So I went to dodge it, and I ran into the desk. Books and things kinda went flying everywhere, including the glue.” Apple Bloom looked mournfully at the glue which coated her precious Crusader cloak and a number of books. “And then you came downstairs and found us like this.”

“I… see. Do you have anything you’d like to add, Sweetie Belle?”

“No, Twilight. It all happened pretty much like Scootaloo and Apple Bloom said.”

Apple Bloom started to extricate herself from the pile of books, when they all heard a loud ripping sound. Sweetie Belle cringed as a few of Twilight’s mane hairs sprung out of place. Looking down, they all saw the Cutie Mark Crusader logo from Apple Bloom’s cloak stuck to the cover of an old leather book.

“I… think you’ve given me enough help for today, girls.”

“But, if you’ll just give us a chance to…”

“No, no, I think I can take it from here, Sweetie Belle.”

“I promise I won’t ride on the ladder anymore!”

“That’s quite alright, Scootaloo. I’ve been meaning to have the wheels on that checked anyway.”

“We’re reeeeally sorry, Twilight.”

“I just… I think you should just go and find somepony else to help for a while, Apple Bloom.”

---

“Well, that could have gone better.”

“Look, I said I was sorry, Apple Bloom. Can’t we just move on and find something else to do?”

“I really hope I’m not banned from the library over this.” Sweetie Belle sniffled. “I really wanted to take a closer look at that Cutie Mark book.”

The three of them walked slowly along the main street, Scootaloo pushing her scooter and wagon as the other two walked beside her for a change. Looking up, she smiled as a familiar colourful store appeared ahead.

“How about we stop in at Sugarcube Corner? We’ve been working hard all day, and we could use a break.”

“That does sound mighty nice.” agreed Apple Bloom. “I could definitely go for a milkshake right about now”

“And we can take some time to figure out what we keep doing wrong.” added Sweetie, a small smile finally appearing on her face.
The three fillies picked up the pace, a spring appearing in their step for the first time since leaving the library. However, when they got there, it was to discover the door locked and the shades drawn.

“But… Sugarcube Corner is never closed in the middle of the day. There’s gotta be someone here!” Scootaloo knocked on the door, then again louder, but still no response came from inside the bakery.

“Maybe we can try around the back door? The Cakes might be in the kitchen, working on something.”

Apple Bloom led the way around to the back of the shop. The back door was locked as well, but a sliver of light shone through a back window with the blinds drawn. Nervously, she walked up and knocked, then started backwards as the door opened a crack to reveal a bright blue eye and a tuft of pink mane.

“What’s the password?” a voice whispered from beyond the crack.
“Uhhhhm”

“I can’t let you in without the password, silly!”

Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo in confusion, only to find the same expression mirrored back at her. Glancing over at Sweetie, she was glad to see that at least one of them wasn’t too surprised to think about the question of a password.

“Is it... ‘Applejack sent us’?”

The door slammed shut, before opening wide enough for a pair of pink hooves to dart out and scoop all three of them into the kitchen.

“That’s right! Or at least I think it’s right. We never really settled on a real password, but that certainly sounds like the sort of password I’d want to use, so it’ll do for now. What can I do for you fine frolicking fillies this super-duper special afternoon?”

“Well, we’ve been helping ponies out all day, and we were hoping we could…”

“But that’s perfect. I really need somepony’s help today. Oh, but I can’t let just anypony help. I’m making the food for a super special surprise party this evening. Anypony I get to help me would have to be sworn to secrecy!”

“Ooooh!” exclaimed Sweetie. “We can definitely help with that. I help Rarity in the kitchen all the time.”

“We can?” Scootaloo asked Apple Bloom, who shrugged in reply.

“But you have to swear not to tell anypony what we’re doing!”

“We swear!”

“Pinkie Promise?”

“We cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eye!”

“Okey dokey lokey! You fillies can work on the cake, and I’ll make the cupcakes and muffins and pies. Here’s your baker hats,” three tall white hats appeared on all their heads, “Here’s your cooking station,” three fillies were quickly scooted into position next to a counter and oven, “And here’s your recipe book!” And with that, Pinkie bounced over to the other end of the kitchen, leaving the crusaders in various states of shock and excitement.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle, who was bouncing happily in place as she flicked through the recipe book.

“Are you sure about this Sweetie? I mean, I’ve seen Granny Smith bake plenty of apple pies, but I don’t think I’m ready to try making a cake.”

“Sure! Look, we’ve got the recipe right here, we’ve got all the ingredients in the cupboard, so all we have to do is follow the instructions and everything will turn out fine. What could go wrong?”



“But, what went wrong?”

Pinkie Pie was examining the, for lack of a better word, cake. Sweetie Belle drooped in place as she took in the bubbly texture, the collapsed side, and the burnt top, but not bottom.

“I… I thought I followed the instructions.”

“Well, maybe it was the extra sugar you put in, Sweetie.” offered Apple Bloom.

“But I wanted it to be sweeter.”
“Maybe it was when you used the wrong flour?” supplied Scootaloo.

“But flour is flour, right? How can there be different kinds of flour?”

“Well, I don’t see anything at all wrong with this cake, so you can all stop picking on Sweetie, you big meanie pants!”

“…Huh?”

“I mean sure, it’s a little off centre, but that’s what the frosting is for, sillies! I can fix this in no time flat. Oh, that reminds me, it’s really time for you three to get going. I still have a lot of work to do, but you were all really really extra helpful and I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“But…”

“Thanks for the help, you guys! I’ll seeya real soon, but not too soon, because then I’d be early, and you wouldn’t be ready for me!”

“But…”

“And remember… You Pinkie Promised!”

And with that, the Cutie Mark Crusaders found themselves unceremoniously shoved out the back door of Sugarcube Corner. Apple Bloom looked at a stunned Scootaloo, and a shocked Sweetie Belle.

“What just happened?”

---

Once again, the fillies found themselves riding down main street without a firm destination in mind. One thing could be said for their trip to Sugarcube Corner, though: it had certainly taken their minds off their troubles. They were nearing Carousel Boutique when, for the second time that day, a blue blur interrupted their travels.

“Hey girls! Finally escaped from Twilight, I see.”

“Yeah, we had to find… other things to do” responded Apple Bloom carefully.

“But we can totally help you more if you want, Rainbow Dash!”

Sweetie glanced at Apple Bloom and facehoofed as Scootaloo once again fell back into idol mode.

“Yeah, that’s actually why I came to see you guys. I can really use your help with something Scoot.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, I was wondering… could I borrow your wagon?”

“My… wagon?”

“Yeah. See, I’ve got some stuff I need to move this afternoon, and I could really use a wagon to help me shift it.”

“But… I can come help, right?”

“Sorry, Scoot. I can move things faster on my own, and I’m really in kind of a hurry.”

Scootaloo shuffled her hooves in disappointment. “Sure, I guess you can borrow it…”

“Hey, thanks Scootaloo. You’re a real life-saver, you know that?”

“Yeah, sure…”

“If I don’t seeya later today, I’ll leave it at your clubhouse, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Okay, gotta get moving. Catch you all later!”

And Rainbow Dash sprinted off, the little red wagon in tow, leaving a dejected pegasus filly and her two best friends to cheer her up.

“C’mon, Scoot. I’m sure she didn’t mean it personally. She’s just in a hurry, is all.”

“Yeah, we can, ummm, we can rest in my sister’s place for a little bit.”

“I guess…” Scootaloo half-heartedly followed the other two to Rarity’s Boutique, the bell jingling as they walked in the front door, and a stylish white unicorn pranced into the show floor.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, were… oh, Sweetie Belle, how nice to see you darling. Is there anything I can do to help you and your friends today.”

“Not really, Rarity. We’ve just, kind of been having a rough day. We tried helping Applejack, but that just caused a big mess. Then we helped Twilight, but we caused an even bigger mess. And then we helped Pinkie Pie, and she was actually really nice and understanding, but I think I ruined the cake anyway, and now Scootaloo is feeling down because Rainbow Dash snubbed her, and we just kind of want to relax for a little bit.”

“Oh, that’s quite alright, dear. Come along, let’s head back into my workroom and we can relax in there.”

Rarity guided the crusaders into her back room, which, in contrast to her neat and well appointed showroom, looked like a tornado had blown through it. Rolls of fabric lay draped over dress forms, sequins lay scattered across the floor, and ribbons were strewn haphazardly around the room and even, mysteriously, from the light fixtures.

“Now, can I get you girls anything? Maybe a small snack, or a cool drink?”

“Actually ma’am, I could really go for drink right now, if it’s not too much trouble. That’s what we were going to Sugarcube Corner for, but Pinkie Pie was too busy to help us.”

“Why of course, Apple Bloom. It’s no trouble at all. I’ll be right back.”

As Rarity left the room, the crusaders looked around the room with interest.

“Ummm, Sweetie Belle… we’re not going to end up cleaning this place, are we? I think I had enough of this sort of thing at Twilight’s.”

“No, I don’t think so, Scootaloo. Rarity doesn’t really like it when I clean up in the middle of one of her creative moods.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Rarity trotted back into the room, levitating three glasses of apple juice behind her and calmly giving them to the tired fillies. As she passed the glass to Apple Bloom, she noticed the poor condition of her clothing.

“Oh, Apple Bloom dear, whatever happened to your lovely cloak? It looks as though you spilled something on it, and the patch is missing completely.”

“Oh, yeah, I… kinda rolled around in some glue at Twilight’s place, and the patch got torn off in the confusion.” Apple Bloom looked sadly at her denuded, sticky cloak, then around at the mess. “So, if you don’t mind me askin’, what were you working on when we came in?”

“Oh, It’s just the best idea we had for the mayor." Rarity gushed. "You see, every time we have a festival, we have to make up a new banner to hang from the town hall. But I thought to myself, what if we had a re-usable banner? We could have a blank banner, and separate letters which we could attach and detach at will. Granted it wouldn’t have the individual flair of a custom-made banner, but the mayor was most pleased with the prospective long-term savings.”

“That’s actually a pretty neat idea.” Apple Bloom looked around again, a thoughtful expression passing across her face. “Is there anything we could do to help?”

“Well I suppose, now you mention it… I was just working on hemming the banner when you arrived, but I haven’t yet gotten around to cutting out the letters. If you girls could cut, maybe, five copies of each letter out of that roll of fabric behind you, it would really help speed this project of mine up.”



OUT OF TIME

Planned ending: Rarity is called out of the room by Spike arriving. The crusaders decide to cut corners by cutting through multiple layers of fabric of different colours at a time, thus making the banner more versatile by supplying different coloured letters for different occasions. They make a mess while cutting, including wasting fabric and cutting malformed letters, like an E with four spokes and an R with the leg pointing inwards. Rarity is not impressed by the waste and resolves to do it herself, prompting the crusaders to leave.

Apple Bloom wants to go see Zecora, so they head to the Everfree Forest, but are stopped by Flutter shy before they can enter, who persuades them that it will be getting too dark soon and they can come and help her feed her animals.
Apple Bloom offers to feed the farmyard animals (chickens, pigs...), Scootaloo the scary ones (bears, bats...), and Sweetie the cute ones (bunnies, cats...). But Apple Bloom ends up chasing after her charges, Scootaloo fleeing from hers, and Sweetie accidentally releases a tank of fireflies while trying to work out what they eat. Decides to finish the feeding herself, telling the fillies they need to get home soon, as it's almost dark.

The three set off back through town. Scootaloo remembers she still needs to pick up her wagon from the clubhouse, so they decide to head there first. Upon arriving, they're shocked by the mane six, who are holding a surprise one-year anniversary party for the CMCs.

Applejack has reconstructed the storage shed under the clubhouse, so they have somewhere to store their crusading equipment. Twilight has constructed a scrapbook of the crusaders' activities, and transplanted the damaged book cover onto it, complete with Apple Bloom's CMC patch on the cover. Rarity was in charge of decorations, with a multicoloured banner over the party, complete with malformed E's and R's. She also makes new cloaks for the fillies, to replace Apple Bloom's damaged one. Pinkie Pie handled refreshments, complete with lopsided cake (which she promptly replaces with the backup cake, but she never bakes just one cake, in case she eats the first one). Fluttershy has brought the firefly swarm to light up the party area under the apple trees. And Rainbow Dash has been flying between them all, delivering decorations, food, and generally organising everything, using the wagon.

The crusaders are thrilled to discover they have been helping all this time, just not necessarily in the way they intended. And everyone enjoys the party.