The Cutie Mark Crusaders - Operation : May the Best Win!

Chapter 6 :

A Glimmer of Hope.

Spike opens the door and sees something that leaves him very bewildered. “Zecora, what the hell?”

“Spike, I know you have many questions but all in good time all will be answered. Take a seat and listen to this story because this happened many moons ago. Only you will know the secret that you just saw. You must know its past and in the end, you can decide whether or not you shall keep it to yourself or reveal it to others.”

“Mom, that will not be necessary,” Zecora's daughter called out from the darkness of the room, her glowing azure eyes visible in the darkness.

“Stay silent because your curiosity brought us an unwanted guest and he's seen what we've been keeping secret. You've caused enough trouble and never took my words of consideration about being discreet,” Zecora said to her.

“I'm… I-I'm sorry,” Zecora's daughter said.

“Now, where do I begin?” she tapped her hoof to her chin. “Close your eyes for a moment and let your imagination picture everything within…”

Seven years ago…

In the small Ponyville festival of Nightmare Night, all the sporting of trick-or-treat was going great for many young colts and fillies. After several hours, the local townsfolk began to begin the party in Ponyville's central plaza but during this celebration, far away, deep in the Everfree Forest two dragons, one being an adult and the other being a young hatchling who slept soundly, celebrated Nightmare Night inside a cave. However, everything was about to change quickly for they did not expect the visit of certain diamond dogs.

Rover, the alpha hound of the pack sniffed the air. “We're here. I'm sure of it,” his ancient, gruff voice rang throughout the still air.

“I hope you're right because we've been walking for several hours and have not found them yet,” a beta hound with the name of Spot said.

“And tell us if it is better than what we were previously seeking,” protested Fido, another beta hound of the pack and the smallest, yet, quickest.

Rover grabs both beta hounds' maws and clamps his claws down on them, keeping both of them quiet. “Silence! The reason we are here is for a gem,” he whispers.

“Gem? You came here just a stupid gem?” Fido asked once his maw wasn't clenched shut.

“It isn't like all the other gems. This gem comes from the very dragon itself!”

“Wow! Wait a minute, are you saying that we will fight a dragon?” Fido asked with fear.

“So?” Rover snapped. “Today will be the day you prove to every hound that you are better than any other hound in the den. Your gems will be regained.

After that ambush, that pony and that stupid dragon came to steal the gems that we had collected for so long! I felt like a failure, having lost against those stupid ponies and one night, while being in the Everfree Forest, I came across a cave. It was not just any cave because in it, were two dragons. At first, all I could do was run away from fear but before I ran out of sight, I noticed that the youngest dragon, a dark blue one, had a glowing gem on her chest. The elder dragon must have one that is HUGE! If I remember correctly, I've seen it in the books of our ancestors. It mentioned of a dragon that possessed the most valuable gem: a glowing gem! It also mentioned that whoever managed to get it, would be a recognized leader of all the diamond dogs.”

“Uh, I don't like being a party pooper but you are not our leader,” Fido pointed out.

Rover slaps him. “Shut up,” he growls. “When I have that gem, I will prove to be a better leader and I will not be laughed at by many, especially those stupid ponies!”

“And how the hell do you think we will be defeating a dragon five times bigger than us?” Spot asked.

“We might die trying or be devoured,” Fido said sadly.

Rover laughs evilly. “To start off, we have claws,” he extends his palm and let bares out his claws. “Fangs,” he opens his mouth and shows his canine teeth. “And of course,” he pulls out a bottle from his vest. “Manticore venom. A little of this and the little hatchling will be in our grasp. We will make a small wound on the dragon, we pour the venom, which will travel into his bloodstream and he will begin to die. In a matter of time, the gem will be ours. The little hatchling will be easy prey and I may make her into my dragon pet.”

The three laugh evilly, continuing its path guided by the smell of their new leader.

At Ponyville's Town Square…

Twilight Sparkle was trembling under the stern glare of the ruler of the night. “We demand to know what kind of humiliation is this that thou is pretending to dost to us!” Luna demanded an answer from the purple alicorn.

“This isn't humiliation, Princess Luna. It's just that the little colts and fillies want to take a picture with you,” the lavender alicorn replied.

"Exactly!" Pinkie Pie said. "And there is still many houses left me to go pick up free candy!"

"Pinkie, don't you think you're too old to go trick or treating?" Princess Twilight asked. Not to mention that you live in a separate house that just happens to be a bakery."

Pinkie Pie gasps, amazed that her friend did not get her point of view. "Twilight, sweets are not given free every day. Ponies only give it out for free during this celebration and I will not waste any more minutes to lose an entire amount of free sweets that can easily be mine! Aside from that, how can you compare sweets from Sugar Cube Corner with free candy? You should know that sweets are rich and delicious, while the candy is free candy that is rich, delicious and more than anything in the world!" the pink earth pony mare jumps around excitedly. "Free candy! So, who's next to take the picture? I have no time and I have many sweets to pick up."

Once again, Twilight Sparkle did not understand the logic of her friend Pinkie. Meanwhile, a certain zebra continued telling stories to children passing on their attraction.

"Let me tell you the story of the headless horse," Zecora said behind a cauldron that contained a green substance that emanated green and red fog. "A being who haunts the Everfree Forest during the full moon in search of ponies who takes away their head while seeking on his course. Legend has it that his head was buried under a tree and so far, his head is still out there but others say that he was beheaded for stealing. Nobody knows what is the real reason, but be careful because he can suddenly appear and when you least expect it, he will be behind you, hearing," the zebra then hides behind her cloak, covering her head and making a figure of the headless horse. "Beware of the headless horse!"

All ponies who were listening to Zecora's story, applauded. Others, such as the little colts and fillies, were frightened and some hid themselves behind others. The night was quite good but a strong breeze from the forest caught the attention of Zecora.

Zecora feels the breeze and mumbles to herself, "A night full of happiness and joy seems to be clouded with tears and pain. I'd better see what happens because I have a bad feeling of sadness," she then rushes out into the forest.

Meanwhile, three diamond dogs were heading out of an empty cave.

"Hey, boss, are you sure this is the place? This is now the third cave we've found and no gem! Plus, one of them had poison ivy," Fido complained while scratching his body.

Rover also had poison ivy and was furiously scratching at himself. "Shut up and go check if there is someone inside," he points at another cave.

"Oh, no. I wouldn't even enter there. Spot can do the job," Fido pushes his fellow comrade forward.

"What?" he outbursts with fear. "If I go in there and the dragons are there, I will be swallowed easily."

"Oh for crying out loud," Rover groaned. "You can dig because you're a diamond dog! You should have no problems with something like that."

"But I thought you were the one who wants to prove that you are the best leader of all diamond dogs," Spot pointed out.

Rover takes him by the ears. "Listen, you little mutt, you are one of my faithful helpers and as your leader, I command you to go and see whether they are in the cave. I'll give you two options: I'll take a look and if I see them, I will slowly torture you until you ask for death. Or, you could be a nice dog and follow my orders. Your choice," he let's go of the beta hound.

Spot lies on the ground, trembling with fear. "I'll go... don't you worry."

Upon seeing the reaction of their "leader," both beta hounds rushed to go as fast as they could to the cave but when they stood in front of it, they were immediately thrown out by the tail of the elder dragon, who apparently was more than ready to confront them.

Fido trembles with fear. "W-what sh-should we d-do?"

"You go with Spot and I want you to get that gem and to bring the little dragon. I'll keep it as my pet. We'll soon be known as great leaders," Rover said.

"Uh, n-no. Bye," Fido runs towards Spot and they both hide.

Rover growls in irritation. "I guess this means I'm working solo," he muses to himself. He steels himself and enters the dragon's cave, feeling the beast's presence. "I guess it will be me and you, dragon."

Rover hears a deep and ancient voice laugh at him. "Please, scum like you are no match for me, which is why I will give you the opportunity to go with your other friends before I regret my decision and have you as my next meal."

"I won't go anywhere without that gem," Rover points to the gem on the dragon's chest. "And I will have it," he then jumps in the air, performs a frontflip before impacting the ground and digging quickly with ease.

"What a bad decision," he commented while he threw a fireball in the hole Rover created. "How does it feel like to be roasted alive?"

Rover dug to the back of the fifteen foot tall dragon. "Well first you will have to do better if you want to burn me with your flames!" he irritates him by leaving little scratches along his scales. He then digs another hole again.

The dragon hisses from the scratch. "Argh!" he grunts as his tail whips on the ground. "Come out of your hole so you can see what a real scratch looks like," he sees around and sees another hole in the distance. "And I saw you," he launches a big fireball.

Rover quickly dives under the dragon, where his claws slowly sink through the soft, thin scales of his stomach. "You may be too big but a big size pays a big disadvantage. While you move slowly, I can move faster," he then digs another hole.

The massive beast lets out a roar in an attempt to scare him and from rage. "We'll see who is slow," the drake snarled as he places his maw over a hole and blows a big flame in the depths of the underground passages.

In every hole, fire came out of them and then, a diamond dog runs off with some burns and a burning tail.

"I got you!" he then roughly grabbed him and slowly started squeezing him to death. "What's the purpose for you trying to kill me?" he glares at him.

Rover begins to try to loosen himself from his grasp and attempts to regain valuable oxygen. "If you think... that I will die... in your claws... you are wrong! It is... YOU who... will be killed!" the alpha diamond dog begins to choke.

"Such meaningless words used by a meaningless hound. How pathetic before dying," the cobalt dragon said.

Rover manages to let out a small chuckle. "Then you die with me," he said in a dark tone before gathering as much air as he could before whistling a really high pitched note.

Suddenly, Spot and Fido reveal themselves behind a few trees and dig their claws into the azure dragon. The hounds began doing multiple wounds that began to leak out Bleoozk, the golden draconic blood.

The pain was so bad that the dragon began to try to claw off the diamond dogs and started shake as he threw several fireballs around without any direction. The dogs tried to get to the back of the dragon to make more wounds.

Unbeknownst to the fighting dragon and diamond dogs, a small female hatchling looked around, crying of fright as she observed the scene. With her father being hurt before her very eyes and witnessing the blood being poured into the ground, she couldn't help but to be paralyzed where she was.

The dark azure hatchling cried out to her father. "Dad? DAAAAD!"

Her father looks at his little daughter. "RUN INSIDE THE CAVE AND DON'T COME OUT!" He receives another scratch to his hind leg. 'Damn! I have to do something or these mutts will hurt my daughter!' He opens his wings and takes flight. 'If they want my gem, they will have to catch me.'

Rover sees the dragon's attempt and fears that he will get away. "He's getting away!" he shouts to Spot and Fido. "GET HIM!" he yells.

"At your service," Fido and Spot reply as they sprint towards the dragon and latch onto him, sinking their claws as far as they could in him while Fido creates a huge gash on the dragon's back and pours the manticore venom into his wound, causing for the toxic venom to travel through his bloodstream.

The father of the azure hatchling suffered more and more as he soon began to feel a burning sensation everywhere in his body. A few seconds later, the venom managed to disable his ability to fly and soon, his wings did not respond to him, thus, making him fall.

Rover laughs evilly. "It was about time that the poison began to take effect," he muses to himself. "You two hang on very strong because the landing won't be smooth!" he yells to the other two hounds.

The venom then began to seep away the dragon's strength to continue with his plan to save her daughter. In a matter of seconds, he forcefully falls to the ground, making the whole forest tremble. The trembling did not go unnoticed by a nearby zebra.

Zecora scurries towards the cave. 'That sound is not to my liking and the movement of the earth is a sign that my hunch is increasingly accurate,' she thinks

The dragon stayed on the ground, unable to move but still breathing. The three dogs saw this and decided to end his life and then take their soon-to-be gem.

"If for a moment you had accomplished what you had planned, maybe your daughter would have been saved, but unfortunately, you were once again very slow," he stands over his snout and walks towards his right eye. "Now watch as I take your little daughter and then take my reward."

Agitated and suffering from the poison in the wounds, he growls at them. "I'm warning you... if you touch a scale on my daughter... I-I'll kill y-you."

Spot walks to where the little hatchling was hidden and tried to coax her into coming out. "Come here, little hatchling. Let Uncle Spot take care of you."

The frightened dark azure hatchling keeps crying and starts to walk away from Spot. "Don't touch me! Get away from me!" she tried to not look intimidated but failed as Spot realized that she didn't cause harm. The hound suddenly takes her by her curved horn on her head. "I told you to come here, stupid dragon!" he shouts at her. He then roughly drags her over to Rover. "The boss does not like to be kept waiting."

"Exactly. If I want something, I get it and speaking about getting stuff, I do believe it is time to take my reward," he walks to the massive drake's chest and gazes at the gem. "Look how beautiful the gem is!" he then smirks evilly. "After all, it is MINE." Without warning, Rover pulls on the dragon's gem, unknowingly taking the dragon's main source of energy.

The drake roars of agony as he feels his energy source pulled away from him, blood trickling down between his chest and gem. "GRAAAHH!" he roars as he sees his gem beginning to shine less brightly.

Suddenly, a silhouette came out from the bushes and draws the attention of the three dogs. The silhouette throws three darts that directly hit the dogs. As soon as it pierces their skin, it causes them to fall asleep. The little hatchling observed the approaching silhouette and runs to her father while he wrapped his child in his talons.

"Be calm," Zecora said in a calm voice. "I did not come here for misconduct. The Winds called out to me and told me to come to this area. I thought it was just my instinct who played with me but my sense of hearing, touch and sight helped me see that it was not a joke."

"If you... come to... kill me... those dogs b-beat... you to it," the dragon struggled to say as his golden blood was still pouring out from his wounds, making him vulnerable and weak every passing second.

Zecora pulls out a herb from her black cape that she wore. She then places it near his mouth. "Chew on this while I help you recuperate from your wounds," she then walks to the dragon's chest and sees that the gem was not shining very much but enough to tell that there was still light.

The cobalt drake begins to eat the plants and in a few moments, he begins to feel some strength return to him. "Why are you helping me?" the drake asked. "You know I could kill you right now, right?"

Zecora does not look at the dragon but still cleans his wounds. "I know the possibility of you slaying me on the spot. However, a slaying a beast without a reason only delays yours. Besides, the plant that I gave you only helps in making you feel better and to soothe the pain."

"Are you coming to kill us too?" she asks in a sad tone while being on the verge of crying.

The zebra observes the little hatchling. "No danger shall befall you. I will do my best to help your father get cured."

The massive dragon sighs. "I do not have any salvation for those dogs infected me with a poison of some animal," he observes the dogs. "They seem to have put poison in their claws and that is why I was filled with many wounds all over my body. I cannot be saved anyways, I have lost too much Bleoozk."

The hatchling begins to mourn for her father and hugs him. "No... you won't die, dad," she looks at Zecora wistfully. "You can save my dad, right?" the hatchling asked with hope.

Zecora looks away, knowing that the older dragon was dying. "I'm sorry," Zecora laments as she walks towards the wounds in the drake's stomach. "If I would have known of this before, I would have brought all of my herbs and medicines." She puts her hoof in a wound. "But even I did try, I wouldn't have saved your father anyways. His wounds are too deep, the blood loss is very severe and the poison spread throughout his body," Zecora then lowers her head. "I'm afraid to say that your father does not have long to live," a lone teardrop falls to the floor. "I'm sorry."

The little hatchling loses all hope and begins to mourn for her father. "Please, n-no. D-Don't leave m-me," she begged as her voice cracked.

The hatchling's father lifts the head of his daughter with a claw and comfortingly dries her tears with his fingers. "Listen, you should not mourn my duty as a parent. It is my job to protect my offspring regardless of the price paid and if it weren't for her," he points at Zecora. "I would not have been here to say my final goodbye," he cracks a sad smile.

"B-But, dad... I don't want you t-to die," his daughter pleaded.

"And I wouldn't leave you alone," he starts to tear up. "Wh-When you w-were born, your mother knew that you would grow up to be a beautiful dragoness," he caresses her. "Now I see why your mother made you such a beautiful name. Your scales are of the color of the night sky and are much more beautiful than the moonlight. Whenever I see your gem, I can see the past memories that make me feel peaceful and have happy time," he begins to slowly close his eyes as his gem dims a bit more.

The little hatchling begins to tear up again while watching his father slowly close his eyes. "Dad... p-please, d-don't leave m-me!"

"You, zebra," he referred to Zecora. "I need to ask you a favor: no matter how much I want you to watch my daughter, she is all that I have left and I do not wish for any beast to hurt her. Do you understand?"

"To ask me something with that attitude, I would have presumably declined with such degree. However, out of my good heart, I do not want you to suffer anymore, and so, I agree," Zecora said.

"I cannot thank you enough. By the way, my name is Galaxius. I will not leave her alone with the dangers there and therefore, I ask you to help her."

Zecora lightly chuckles. "Do not worry about your daughter. I will care for her regardless of never letting any pony hurt her," the zebra promised.

"You better hope nothing will happen to her," he grumbles as the cobalt drake closes his eyes. "And forgive me for not having protected you properly, my daughter."

The little dragoness hugs his father, placing her head on his snout. "No, dad. You protected me of what you could do. You do not have to die, thinking that you did not achieve your goal," she cries over his snout while looking up at his father. "You protected me far beyond of what you could."

Galaxius caresses her face with a claw. "My... dear... Shining Star," she saw that her father's end was very near."A-Always r-remember that... I love you," he exhaled his last breath. Then, the gem on his chest stopped glowing, signaling that Galaxius was dead.

Star cried out into the heavens, mourning for his father who she will never see alive ever again.

That night, Star rested in peace and under the care of Zecora. However, Star remained crying incessantly in her sleep. Zecora knew that the death of her father devastated her and that she would be emotionally unstable. While Star slept crying, Zecora simply came to her and hugged the dragoness, ensuring that she had company and knowing that her suffering and pain would soon eroded away throughout time.

End of Flashback...

"...And that's the story," Zecora concluded as she sipped some tea.

Star was quietly crying, remembering the sad memories.

Spike looks down at the floor, lamenting Star's suffering. "I see that she has suffered a lot and having to live with that memory for so many years must be torture!"

The dark azure colored dragoness wipes her  tears away. "You have no idea what I've had to endure every year when that tragic event leads to a nightmare."

"Now, you've heard the story," Zecora said to Spike. "You'll tell me if you will keep it a secret or tell every pony the existence of a dragon in my care."

The six foot, four inch drake gets up and walks in front of Star, putting his hands on her's, unintentionally making her blush. "You do not have to worry, I shall keep your secret and I'll make sure no one sees you. You can count on me, Star," he smiles.

Star smiles and hugs him tightly by surprise. "Oh, Spike! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Spike blushes. "No problem but could you please let me go? I'm losing air!"

Star lets go of him and blushes. "I... I'm sorry! Sometimes I do not know what I am doing," Star looks down at the floor.

"Don't worry, I've also had one of those moments," Spike reassured her.

"Well, if nothing more will be said," Zecora opens the door and signals for Spike to get out. "Spike, I'm not trying  to be mean or to be rude but the night is cold and dark. These paths are dangerous and besides, did you not have something to do?"

Spike thinks for a moment, trying to remember what he was originally going to do. "Oh, yeah!" Spike remembered. "I need some pet food to feed Owlowicious and Peewee. Oh, and before I forget," he looks at the dragoness. "What did you do to Fluttershy? Why were you near her fence?"

Star's face becomes beet red as she blushes a lot. "W-well, y-you see, my mom always visits this place called Ponyville. Sometimes, when she returns home, I sense your smell on her and when you went to visit the pegasus, I wanted to get your scent," she took a deep breath before continuing. Not only t-that, I... I-I wanted to get close to see you but w-when I looked in the window, the pegasus saw me and fainted, falling into the basement."

"That would explain why it took so long," he sighs. "After so many years being around with me, she still is not used to other dragons. Typical Fluttershy," he walks out the door and faces Zecora and Star before heading back towards Ponyville. "Well, I'd better go see if she's okay."

"Of course and Spike, return back carefully. Feel free to return anytime," Zecora said.

Spike flashed a toothy grin. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Anyways, it's been a pleasure being here. We should hang out one day, Star. Well, goodbye Zecora. Bye, Star." He then takes off into the sky.

Star's face became flushed. "Uh... okay. Be safe," she squeaks out.

Spike is then seen flying away from Zecora's house in a hurry.

Zecora gazes out the starry, night sky. "He'll arrive to his home safely, so stop worrying about him. He is able to protect himself," Zecora said to the worried dragoness.

"I know mommy, I know but..." she sighs. "My heart tells me I had to accompany him through the forest, yet, I don't know why.

"He can fly through this forest unharmed. Besides, he's been through this forest many times. Cease your worries, my dear Star. Though, something tells me you are not worried about him," she smirks at Star. "Do you have feelings for Spike?"

Star blushes, yet, acts as if she was confused and neglects her feelings. "I-I do not really like Spike," she lies. "I just want him to be safe. Besides, he's the only dragon I've met," she crosses her arms.

Zecora lightly chuckles. "Well, fine. Perhaps I was wrong," Zecora smirked to herself as she turned around from the dragoness and began to head to her room. "Love and affection will be for another day. The most important thing is for you to head back to your cave," Zecora said.

"Okay, mom," she hugs her and runs very happily outside Zecora's hut, heading towards her cave. 'Until tomorrow... I'll see him," she sighs. 'He's *MUCH** more attractive than I thought. B-but... do I love Spike?*'

Zecora peeks through the window of her room as she walks away happily. "I don't think I have seen her any more happy than she is right now," she muses to herself as she prepares to go to bed.

Meanwhile at the clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders...

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are in shock as they learned Scootaloo's feelings. "WHAT!?" both Crusaders outburst towards their pegasus friend.

"You heard me. I love Spike and I do not care if you resent me for it or hate me. I love that dragon with all my heart," Scootaloo defended boldly.

"No... no, that's not possible!" she paced around before facing her. "Ya must be jokin'."

"True," Sweetie Belle agreed. "It must be a joke because I am the one who is in love with Spike and to prove it, before coming here, I was preparing a rich soup of gems just for him."

This news further shocked the other two Crusaders.

"You... you... what!?" was Scootaloo's only response.

'Ya both must be kiddin'," Applebloom stated. "Ah assumed that Ah was the one who was feeling something for him and now, Ah find that my two best friends, and Cutie Mark Crusaders, are also in love with the same dragon as me!"

"By Celestia! This is awkward. All three of us having a crush on Spike," Scootaloo said. "Well, I know he has feelings for me too. Besides, we are perfect for each other! Just look at us! We are both athletic, strong, and not to mention, we both have wings," she flares out her own wings in demonstration.

"That does not mean that he's all yours. He is perfect for ME," Sweetie Belle stated. "He has good manners like that of a gentlecolt. Not only that, he is the most kindest, honest, brave and most handsome gentledrake I've met. We would be perfect together!" she squealed with joy.

"You two are wrong," Applebloom countered against her friends. "You two wouldn't stand a chance with him! Spike is MY coltfriend... err, dragonfriend! He is a loyal drake who would help any pony. Not only that, he is a strong, hardworkin' dragon. He'd be a good addition to work at Sweet Apple Acres. So, back off! Spike is MINE! We'd be a perfect match."

"You two should back off!" Scootaloo points at Applebloom and Sweetie Belle "You two are crazy and besides, me and Spike have shared a secret in which neither of you will!"

"Well, guess what?" Sweetie Belle said to Scootaloo. "Me too."

"And so have Ah," Applebloom confessed.

The three Crusaders collide heads with each other, knowing that only one of them would be able to obtain Spike's heart and making him theirs.

Apple Bloom realizes what she is doing and removes her head from the other two. "Wait a minute, what are we doing?"

"Well I was watching you and this prissy bitch in the eye," Scootaloo scoffed.

Sweetie Belle grinds her teeth together in anger. "And who are you calling a dog, you filly-fooler!"

Scootaloo gasps and pounces on her. "I'm NOT a filly-fooler!" she tries to hit Sweetie Belle.

"STOP NOW AND LISTEN TO ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She takes a deep breath. "Don't you see that we are breaking our friendship without knowing first whether Spike feels the same for us?"

Scootaloo releases Sweetie Belle. "What are you talking about?"

Sweetie Belle wipes the dust off her alabaster coat and mane. "Yeah, what's your point?"

"What Ah am tryin' to say is that every pony knows that Spike is caring, friendly and always cares about everyone and that leads me to think that Spike will see us in the same way that we see him," Applebloom said.

A moment of awkward silence filled the room. Applebloom was right, Spike has always been kind and helpful to all ponies. So, it was hard to tell if he had feelings for someone but that did not stop the Cutie Mark Crusaders to each plan something to have Spike as theirs.

You're right. I had not thought of that," Sweetie Belle said.

"I think we should go to Spike and ask him to know if he loves any of us," Scootaloo suggested.

"Well, Ah propose that we each make our own move to try to win the heart of Spike, but without interfering with the intentions of the other Crusader," Applebloom looks the other two.

"Sounds like an excellent idea! I just hope the filly-fooler doesn't cheat," Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo accusingly.

Scootaloo becomes annoyed. "Says the delicate and fragile pony who leaves all colts drooling in school, and crushes their hearts just like her sister!"

"Why you..." Sweetie Belle growled.

"Girls! Please, stop insulting each other. We are friends and we have to be mature about this," Applebloom tried to stop the fighting.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo cease their fighting but still held light resentment towards each other.

"Alright, so look where Ah am standing," she points to the floor where the light bulb insignia is marked. "Remember that being in this area means that the pony standing on it has an idea, and Ah thought of makin' this into our next Cutie Mark Crusader Operation!" Applebloom exclaimed, joyous that after many years, they thought of a new Operation.

"Just so you know, that's the most childish idea I've heard, but it also sounds like a game. Not only that, it is a challenge, which makes this more interesting," Scootaloo voiced her thoughts.

Well, it seems to me like the right thing to do, so if all three of us agree, then there's no going back," Sweetie Belle spoke up.

‘If necessary, I’ll cheat to get Spike,’ Scootaloo thought. “I’d like to see them try…’

‘If I’ve learned something from my sister all these years, is that I know how to move and play dirty to get to the heart of a male,’ Sweetie Belle thought.

‘I pity them. They are mentally slow, and do not have anything planned, and it’ll be just be a matter of playing dirty, and trickery to win Spike’s heart,’ Applebloom thought.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nod their heads in agreement and clash their hooves together. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS : MAY THE BEST WIN!"

'Spike will be all mine and I will not let any of them put a hoof over him,' Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo thought.

All three mares look at each other, instantly giving each other a slight smile. Soon, they leave the clubhouse, each going to their prospective homes.