Although Ponyville in the late afternoon had been a peaceful and quiet time, that tranquillity was suddenly interrupted by the inevitable sound of what always occurred at this time of day. And that unmistakeable sound was that of the bells ringing at Ponyville Elementary, signalling the end of the school day. It was mere moments afterwards that the doors of this school burst open, it's many students charging out with screams of joy, as was expected at their age. Cheerilee, the teacher for many of them, quietly smiled as she watched her young students rush off home, before closing the door behind them in readiness for closing up the school for the day. On the outskirts of the school ground, just beyond the school sign, was a quartet of young fillies, all standing alongside one another and chatting. Three of these were local residents of Ponyville, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, better known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Beside them stood Apple Bloom's cousin, Babs Seed, visiting from the much larger city of Manehattan. During their discussions, Apple Bloom smiled to her cousin.
"It’s so great y'all get to visit again, Babs!"
The larger filly smiled back at her.
"I'll say! Coming back to Ponyville does wonders for me, I tell ya!"
The other two joined in on the discussion soon afterwards.
"So, what's been happening in the big city, Babs?" Scootaloo asked.
Babs shrugged her shoulders.
"Usual stuff. Those bullies don't really bother me all that much these days, so there's that."
The Crusaders nodded to each other, showing clear relief that their fourth member was having an easier time in her hometown after everything she'd been through. However, as the moments passed, they began to notice her expression changing somewhat. It was rather like what she used to look like when she was embarrassed about her lack of a cutie mark, complete with an unwillingness to look them in the eye. Eventually though, she began to speak up.
"But...you know...there's also...new friends...kinda."
The Crusaders looked to each other, showing clear confusion over why having more friends would cause Babs to behave this way. Apple Bloom, being family, elected to come forward first about it.
"Um...are y'all okay, cousin?"
Seeing the way the other fillies were looking at her, Babs cleared her throat a little before trying to assume a more aloof pose.
"What? Oh...sure! Yeah, no problem! It's just a colt back home, one of my new friends. He's, well...he's okay, that's all."
If there was one trait all Apples shared, it was the fact that they were all terrible liars, and right now, Babs was showing all of the tell-tale signs of it. Raising an eyebrow at her, Apple Bloom stared intently at her cousin, with the latter looking more and more nervous as time went by. However, the silence between them was broken by Sweetie Belle, who let out a near ear-piercing squeak.
"Oh my gosh! You have a special somepony!"
Babs gained a look of utter mortification as all three of her friends turned to her with excitement in their eyes. And it was not hard to understand why. After all, while she had not been present for it, she'd heard tales of their exploits when it came to "special someponies", especially when magic potions were involved. So, if there was anypony whom she did not want to get involved with on this matter, it was these three. Nevertheless, and so she let out a sigh before speaking up.
"Okay...maybe I kind of like the guy, but it's nothing serious, okay!"
Although still somewhat excited, the initial "wow" factor of the moment had faded somewhat, with Sweetie Belle in particular looking quite down.
"Aw, that's too bad. I'd love to have a special somepony in my life!"
Babs let out a chuckle at that.
"Well then, why don't you just ask one of the guys in your class?"
This time, it was the Crusaders' turn to look taken aback, a look that gave Babs no end of amusement. In time, Scootaloo began to give Babs her response.
"Seriously? I mean, we don't hate any of the guys exactly, but I don't think any of them are coltfriend material."
Another chuckle escaped Babs before she spoke up again.
"I'm sure there's plenty of guys you could ask. I mean...what about that little one? You know, the one with the brown mane? Kind of a weird accent?"
The Crusaders looked to each other, trying to figure out who it was that their friend could have been talking about. Realisation soon dawned on them however, and their heads snapped back in her direction, with Apple Bloom giving her answer.
"Ya mean...Pipsqueak? Ain't he a little, ya know, young fer us?"
Scootaloo nodded at that.
"Yeah, I mean, he's half our age or something. It's just be weird!"
Babs considered that for a moment before nodding, conceding their point. When next a voice was heard, it was Sweetie's, who was talking in a more upbeat manner than her two closest friends were being right now.
"How about Button Mash? He's cute...right?"
Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to her as if she'd just said the sky was purple, a sentiment expressed in the latter's words.
"Button? Seriously? How can you even notice when he's busy playing that joyboy of his?"
Sweetie frowned at that.
"Hey, he's nice. At the very least he's nowhere near as bad as a certain pair of colts we all know."
And that, perhaps, was the one thing they all agreed on. As bad as some of the colts could get, at least they weren't Snips and Snails. Not that those colts ever seemed to mind. It was something the Crusaders silently smiled to each other about, how they'd recall the times when those two had tried flirting with some of the fillies in their class, Diamond and Silver in particular. Needless to say, their attempts had never succeeded, but still, it was always nice to see their two rivals being annoyed to no end by the coltish pair, which was a point in the latter's favour at the very least. With that amusing group memory over and done with, it was then Apple Bloom's turn to speak up.
"Rumble's not too bad, right?"
At the sound of that name, Scootaloo's face became as red as a tomato, and it wasn't long before she began imitating Babs' earlier attempt to hide her discomfort.
"Well...I guess he's okay...a little."
All three of the other fillies began smirking at their pegasi companion, recognising a crush when they saw one. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, did not take kindly to how they were looking at her.
"What?! It's not as if I like him or anything!"
Apple Bloom, Babs and Sweetie all began to try holding back their chuckles, but it was to no avail, as they started laughing out loud, much to Scootaloo's chagrin. It took a few minutes, but the laughter, thankfully for Scootaloo, began to die down. When it finally finished, Babs looked at the three of them while considering her options. She'd already talked about, and heard of, all of the colts in their class that she thought might have a chance at catching the Crusaders’ interest. All the others were either uninteresting or Snips and Snails. She tried thinking of other colts that might be worth talking about, and it was here that the silence was interrupted by the sound of somepony approaching. Turning, Babs looked to see that there was a trio walking very near them. Two of them were some of the very colts they'd been talking about, Rumble and Button. But leading them was none other than Ponyville's resident young dragon, Spike. The three seemed to be having a chat of some sort, oblivious to the four fillies. But as they passed, a smirk formed on Babs' face as she turned to face the others.
"What about Spike?"
The other Crusaders looked at her with surprise, almost as if they didn't recognise the name she'd spoken. But, when they began to think on her suggestion more carefully, they began to turn towards each other, each with something to say.
"Well...he's certainly nice an friendly," Apple Bloom commented.
"And he's probably got lots to say about all those adventures he's been on with Twilight and the others," Scootaloo added.
"Plus, he's kinda cute...in a dragony sort of way," Sweetie concluded.
The fillies all looked to each other for a bit before turning to Babs, after which they joined her in developing a smirk on their faces. In an almost devilish manner, they began to turn in unison towards the nearby dragon, their eyes focused on him. Meanwhile, Spike was walking alongside Button Mash and Rumble, oblivious to the eyes that were now on him. All three of them kept on walking for a while, until suddenly, and without warning, a chill began to creep down the young dragon's spine. He didn't understand why, but as he looked around, he began to notice the Crusaders, all of whom were giving him a look that, frankly, made him very nervous. In an instant, he started speaking to his two cohorts, making sure to keep his voice hushed.
"Er, guys? I think we should make tracks."
Rumble and Button looked at each other with some confusion before turning to look at Spike again.
"Why?" Button asked.
Spike turned his head around as much as he could after hearing that.
"Because if we don't, we're probably going to have a group of very interested fillies bearing down on us!"
The two colts looked to the right, spotting the four fillies for the first time. Seeing the looks on their faces gave them all the information they needed to take their friend's advice and start galloping as fast as they could, with Spike right alongside them. As the fillies watched the three males get further and further away, Apple Bloom spoke up.
"So...should we chase em yet?"
Babs shook her head with a smirk.
"Nah, let's give em a head start. Helps to make their defeat all the sweeter if they think they have a chance at the start."
Apple Bloom chuckled in response to that.
"Ah like the way y'all think, cousin."
