"Scootaloo! I need you to pay attention; this will be on next week's test!"
Scootaloo, unlike the rest of the class, wasn't very engaged in Cheerilee's lessons. Sure, she was a great teacher, but when words started coming out of her teacher's mouth, sometimes Scootaloo just couldn't stay lucid. Luckily for her, it was time for lunch break and, of course, recess. Scootaloo loved recess. It was the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel." Well, for the first half of class, anyways.
After finishing off her apple and her daisy sandwich, Scootaloo went out onto the playground. She was always the first one out. As Rainbow Dash always said, there are only two places; first and last. Scootaloo was determined to secure first place for herself, just like her idol.
Much to her surprise, somebody was out there before her. Also much to her surprise, he hadn't taken the swing. In fact, he didn't seem to be playing at all. As much as she hated to admit it, Scootaloo knew what 'sadness' is. Her parents were always on business trips, so they always had her aunt come down from Cloudsdale to babysit. Due to this understanding of what 'sadness' is, she could tell just by looking at him that this colt was feeling that same enigmatic emotion.
Naturally, as any normal, empathetic being would do, she got down close to him, and looked him in the eyes.
"Hiya!" exclaimed Scootaloo.
The poor boy, having been jolted out of his thoughts, jumped about four feet into the air; an impressive feat, for an earth pony with a name other than Pinkie Pie.
"Um, hi?" greeted/asked the colt.
"Hi, I'm Scootaloo! How did you get out here before me, and why didn't you take the swing? - Not that I'm complaining, of course."
"I'm Phoenix Quill. I... Skipped lunch. I'm not feeling very hungry. I just want to... sit here."
"Huh. Phoenix Quill... Oh, are you named that because your hair looks kinda like a porcupine?"
"Er... No, not to my knowledge. It seems to be linked to my Cutie Mark..."
"Oh, oh, can I see it? When did you get it? How did you get it?"
Quill shows his Cutie Mark, a flaming red quill, to Scootaloo.
"I got it a few months ago, when I got 100% on the short story writing project that Cheerilee assigned. It's supposed to mean that I'm good at writing..."
"What do you mean 'supposed to?' You got your Cutie Mark, you must be an amazing writer!"
"One would think that, right? Well, I wrote this story after getting my Cutie Mark, but no publisher would accept it. They said that their time is better spent publishing the stories of 'real authors.' They never even read it!"
"Those jerks! How are you supposed to become a 'real author' if they won't even consider your work for publishing! You need to get your name out there somehow!"
"Yeah... Now I don't know what to do..."
"... I know! The Cutie Mark Crusaders can help you!"
"Did Ah hear 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'?" asked Apple Bloom as she entered the playground.
"I think we did," said Sweetie Belle, following Apple Bloom.
"The... Cutie Mark Crusaders? How are you supposed to help me?" asked Quill.
"We can help your story get the attention it deserves!" exclaimed Scootaloo, excitedly.
"I don't know what you were talking about before we came, but yeah!" yelled Sweetie, squeaking on the "yeah."
"Ah bet we could get this story to be the most famous one ever! ...What is it about, anyways?" Applebloom chimed in.
So then, the four got to discussing the story. After school, they all went over to the Crusaders' Clubhouse to actually read through the story.
"You forgot to add an apostrophe in 'it's' right here, and in this situation, you should use 'their,' not 'there.'" corrected Sweetie.
"What are you, a dictionary?" queried Scootaloo in an accusatory tone.
"Scootaloo, wait. Ah think she may be on to somethin'" said Applebloom. "If we are gonna get this story famous, we might as well make sure it's ready for presentin'"
"And... Who would make a better editor than Sweetie Belle!" Quill caught on.
"Hey, yeah! And I could make sure your story sounds awesome!" Scootaloo suggested.
"Yeah, although this story is good, it isn't very descriptive sometimes" Sweetie admitted.
"Okay, now that we have that decided, how are we going to get people to read it?" asked Quill.
"Hmm... I know! Ah could write a review of it, and get it published in the Foalfree Press!" suggested Applebloom.
"That's a great idea!" said Sweetie, "But wouldn't it be a bit... biased?"
"Applejack has been teaching me to be more honest, this would be good practice. Once we're done talkin' about this, I can leave while y'all do your work. Then, after y'all finish, Ah can write my review in as unbiased a way as Ah can, considerin' that Ah haven't read it yet."
"Alright, makes sense to me. Is everypony else ready?" asked Scootaloo.
"Ready." said Applebloom.
"Ready." added Sweetie.
"... Ready." finished Quill.
"Cutie Mark Crusader: Authors' Advocates!"
The operation was a success. Sweetie and Scootaloo helped make the story grammatically correct and "awesome," and Applebloom got her unbiased review not only into the Foalfree Press, but with the support of her fellow classmates, who also wanted to see Quill become famous against all odds, she managed to get it onto the front page, where everypony in Ponyville could see it. Many "Ponyvillians" immediately went out to read the story, which the Foalfree Press was also printing for anypony who wanted to read it. Most readers loved it, and had only positive things to say about it. If one were to read the credits section of the story, there they would find,
"This story was only featured as a result of help from the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
Now, Applebloom did, indeed, manage to get her review in the paper. However, Featherweight hadn't actually "approved" it, and it was slipped into the press under his nose with the help of the other 'employees'. Once he noticed, he immediately shut down the operation.
"The front page isn't something for you to abuse! Just because everypony but myself is okay with what you did, doesn't make it right!" yelled Featherweight.
"But... We just wanted to help our friend get noticed. With all the big authors out there, it's hard for the little ones to get any attention..." said Sweetie.
"We're sorry that we had to go behind your back to do this, but if the publishers would fix their methods, we wouldn't have had to do this the begin with!" yelled Scootaloo, angrily.
"Now Scootaloo... We shouldn't be pointing hooves at people. We did abuse the front page, I suppose..."
"No! Your story was good, and it deserves to be seen!" yells Scootaloo again.
"That's it! The Cutie Mark Crusader Authors' Advocates are no longer allowed in the Foalfree Press!" declared Featherweight.
The three fillies looked back at their flanks. They hadn't gotten their Cutie Marks.
