Chapters Meeting The Cutie Mark Crusaders
Hardy was nervous, it was his first day of school. His mother, Chilly understood, when Red Velvet and her were starting school, their mother, Pear Blossom was a teacher at the Ponyville Schoolhouse. She was a scarlet unicorn with orange mane, her cutie mark was a pear tree. Apple Pie was a cream colored pegasus with purple mane, his cutie mark was an apple pie. He was Pear Blossom’s teaching assistant. Both of them were kind, patient and determined to help their students’ morals. They were also reasonably strict and disciplinary.
“Mom, were Grandma and Grandaddy great teachers?” Hardy asked his mother, she looked the same as Red Velvet, except she was a pegasus and her cutie mark was a purple marble.
“They were amazing teachers, Hardy. If they were here, they’d be so proud that their grandcolt is going to the same school they worked at.” She said as she got his backpack. She put it on him and smiled. Then, his aunt, Red Velvet came in to the kitchen.
“Aw, Hardy you look so cute.” She said like he was a baby. Hardy blushed and smiled. Her husband, Frostblaze came in. He couldn’t help but join in with his wife.
“You look so handsome, champ.” Frostblaze said as he ruffled his nephew’s brown mane. His mother then walked him to Ponyville Schoolhouse, kissed his cheek and left. Sparkling walked inside the school house and approached the front of the class, where Miss Cheerilee was waiting for him.
“Alright everypony, this is Hardy, he’s from the outskirts of Ponyville.” Miss Cheerilee said looking at the students with a smile. The other students looked at him, some even murmured that he was an alicorn. He waved awkwardly and smiled, he then sat down in an empty desk and Miss Cheerilee began to teach. At the end of school when Hardy was heading out. A young unicorn filly approached him, she seemed like a nice pony.
“Hello, my name is Sweetie Belle. What’s your name?” The little filly asked. Hardy told her that his name was Hardy. They both shook hooves. The filly’s cutie mark was a tri-colored shield with a musical note in the center. He guessed that she was a good singer.
“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, I’d like to introduce you to my new friend.” Sweetie Belle said as two more fillies approached him, he noticed that their cutie marks were almost the same, execpt the pegasus had a lightning bolt and the earth pony’s was an apple.
“Howdy there, mah name’s Apple Bloom, and this here’s Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom said beckoning a hoof towards the orange pegasus. The orange filly walked over to him and smiled.
“What’s up, new student? Name’s Scootaloo, and what’s your name?” Scootaloo said shaking his hoof with her own. He then shook Apple Bloom’s hoof.
“My name is Hardy, it’s nice to meet you three.” Hardy said as he smiled at the three fillies.
“We’ve got to go now, but we’ll see you around, Hardy. You should stop by our clubhouse sometime, it’s close to Sweet Apple Acres where Apple Bloom lives.” Sweetie Belle said as she waved goodbye to Hardy. Then, his mother arrived to take him home.
“How was your first day of school, Hardy?” Chilly asked after she hugged him. He was smiling.
“It was great, mom. I made three friends already, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle said they have a clubhouse close to Sweet Apple Acres.” Hardy replied enthusiastically as he and his mother walked home. As soon as he entered his home, Red Velvet embraced him in a hug.
“Welcome home, Smudger. You seem to have had a great first day of school.” His aunt said noticing his smile after she hugged him.
“He told me that he made three friends on the first day, they said something about a clubhouse near Sweet Apple Acres to him.” Chilly said smiling at her younger sister.
“I see you’ve met Apple Bloom, she works on the farm with her older siblings. Chilly sometimes lends a helping hoof there.” Velvet explained as she smiled at her big sister. She nodded in agreement.
“What are their names, mom?” The colt asked, he was curious to know more about Apple Bloom’s older siblings.
“Their names are Big McIntosh and Applejack.” His mother replied. From what he could tell, Apple Bloom’s older siblings seemed nice. He wanted to see Apple Bloom’s clubhouse, because having a clubhouse seemed fun to him.
“Could I maybe visit Apple Bloom’s clubhouse, mom?” Hardy asked. Sweetie Belle had told him that he should stop by sometime.
“Sure, Smudger. I don’t know much about it but you could tell me about it once you visit.” His mother replied, Hardy embraced his mother in a hug. She returned the hug with a kiss on the cheek.
“Aw, that’s sweet of you, Hardy.” His aunt said, she was touched by her nephew’s act of kindness. Hardy then smiled at his aunt and embraced her in a hug. Red Velvet was delighted to recieve a hug from her nephew, she hugged him back.
“Do you know where Rose is, Velvet?” Asked her older sister, it had been hours since she saw her niece. Then, the door opened and Quarry entered the house.
“Hey mom, Aunt Chilly, and Hardy.” Quarry said before she embraced her younger cousin in a hug.
“I was helping out at the Pie Rock Farm, apparently Bellamena is starting help out. I told her that I’ve helped out there because I knew it would mean the world to them.”
Hardy had remembered the pathway to the clubhouse, it was away from the farm, but not too far away from Sweet Apple Acres. He spotted the clubhouse it was pretty easy to find because of how colorful it looked. The colt found the base of the walkway to the clubhouse and walked up to the door. It had a heart carved into the wood normally where a window would be, the shutters on the side had hearts carved into them, too. It also had a small window on close to the roof, possibly indicating multiple floors. Sparkling knocked on the door and Apple Bloom had answered, when she saw it was Sparkling she gave a smile.
“Ya made it, Hardy. Come in and make yerself at home. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are here as well.” Apple Bloom said cheerfully. Hardy entered the clubhouse and closed the door behind him. The clubhouse had a wide open space and a staircase leading to a second floor. There was a map of Ponyville on the wall, a podium at the end of the room, a lamp that hung low over a target, a few tables, a rug, a singular hemispherical drum, even a balloon animal shaped like a pegasus.
“What do you think about our clubhouse, Hardy? We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we help other ponies get their cutie marks. We formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders before we got our cutie marks, this clubhouse actually belonged to Applejack when she was our age, we thought the clubhouse had seen better days when we first saw it, but we restored it and here it is today.” Sweetie Belle explained, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded in agreement. Hardy was amazed, he thought they put a lot of hard work into restoring the clubhouse.
“You three sure are proud of it, and take pride in your group. I’m kinda curious if there are anymore members.” Hardy asked. He admired their clubhouse and thought that before they’ve got their cutie marks they started this club, even after receiving their cutie marks, they still keep the club going.
“Well, not exactly, Apple Bloom’s cousin Babs Seed who lives in Manehattan already gotten her cutie mark before us, but she founded the Manehattan branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Gabbriella or Gabby for short is a griffon, she just wanted to help others, but we made her an honorary Cutie Mark Crusader.” Scootaloo said, the two other fillies nodded in agreement.
“I’ve got news for you three I was born with my cutie mark.” Hardy said. The three fillies gasped in awe, they were at a loss for words.
“How is that possible?, You aren’t born with a cutie mark, you find out your special talent then you get your cutie mark, blank flank is an insult to those who lack theirs” Sweetie Belle explained, dumb founded, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nodded.
“You’re not the only ones who are speechless, everypony at the hospital was speechless when I was born, my mother had the same reaction.” Hardy explained even he was speechless about this.
“Well, that is weird, but I guess it’s just unique” Sweetie commented.
“It’s what makes you stand out.” Scootaloo agreed.
Meeting the Princess of Friendship
“Mom, today was fun." Hardy said as his mother stroked his mane. He was very tired yet happy to have an exiting adventure. His mane getting stroked cause him to yawn, he had gotten comfortable in his bed.
“I’m glad, dear. You told Rose about your day and she went on about helping Bellamena at the rock farm. Goodnight, Hardy I’ll see you in the morning.” His mother said as she kissed his cheek.
“Goodnight, mom.” Hardy replied as his mother turned off the light to his room, he then fell asleep. He thought about taking a stroll around Ponyville, tommorrow.
The next day after breakfast, Hardy asked his mother if he could take a stroll around Ponyville. She agreed and he went outside. It was a beautiful day, the birds were singing, the flowers were blooming, perfect for a stroll. Smudger noticed a huge castle standing out in Ponyville. He decided to make his way towards the castle, it seemed to be made of crystals which gleamed in the sunshine. Before he knew it, Smudger was at the castle’s front door. He pondered about knocking as he was worried about disrupting the owner from their duties. The door opened and a purple alicorn mare, with a well kept purple mane and a cutie mark of six small white sparkles around a bigger pink and white sparkle in the middle. She smiled and looked at the small colt with friendly eyes.
“Hello, my name is Hardy, an alicorn colt from the outskirts of Ponyville.” He said with a smile, and held out his hoof for the purple mare to shake.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, this is the Castle of Friendship. I grew up in Canterlot and moved to Ponyville by request of Princess Celestia to make some friends.” Twilight replied shaking his hoof. She smiled and told him about her niece, Flurry Heart. Flurry Heart is a crystal pony and an alicorn. She was his age and had earned her cutie mark, Sparkling hadn’t met Flurry Heart or the rest of her family.
“Come on in, Hardy. I’ve got a few friends that you should meet.” Twilight said. Hardy went inside and Twilight closed the door and went down one of the many hallways. Hardy followed her, they went to the throne room where a three dimensional map of Equestria on display in the center of six thrones with six cutie marks on them. Sparkling recognized Pinkie’s and Applejack’s cutie marks but there were other cutie marks he never saw before. One of the chairs sat a pale lilac mare with purple aquamarine mane in a long side twist Her cutie mark was a purple and white star with two-toned blue glimmering streams. She noticed Twilight and walked over to her.
“Hardy, this is Starlight Glimmer, she’s a principal at the School of Friendship. Starlight this Smudger, an alicorn from the outskirts of Ponyville.” Twilight explained as Starlight held out her hoof for Sparkling to shake, Hardy shook her hoof.
“It’s nice to meet you, Starlight Glimmer, it was a nice day to take a walk around Ponyville.” Hardy said as Starlight listened and nodded.
"It sure is, Hardy. I hope it stays like this" Starlight with a smile.
“Hey Twilight and Starlight. Who’s the visitor?” A baby dragon asked, he had wings and green scales. Starlight explained everything and the dragon walked over to the visitor.
“I’m Spike, the number one assistiant to Twilight.” The dragon said as he shook Hardy’s hoof. The alicorn said his name was Hardy an alicorn from the outskirts of Ponyville.
“I’m aware about being born with a cutie mark, everypony at the hospital was suprised, too.” Hardy explained, as they talked about their special talents and how they saved Equestria many times.
They both waved good bye, as Smudger headed home. On the way home, he stopped by Sugar Cube Corner, where his aunt, Red was waiting. It was night already, it felt like the day went by fast. Everypony else hadn’t realized the day was gone and the moon came out. She hugged her nephew tightly, she had been busy with work, her husband and sister were also very busy with work. His cousin was busy helping Bellamena on the rock farm. As soon as Smudger went into the house, he was tired yet amazed at how beautiful the stars were. The starlight seemed to glimmer beautifully and the moon was amazingly beautiful from the sun reflecting off of it. He was too tired to do anything else but to get into bed and sleep.
His mother came in his room to check on him and found him asleep but happy. His mother kissed him goodnight and stroked his mane.
“Goodnight, Hardy. I love you very much, sweetheart.” She whispered before leaving him to rest. It had been a very busy day for everypony.
Going To Sweet Apple Acres
The next day, as Sparkling was helping his mother clean the dishes from breakfast. Frostblaze had gone to work as well as Quarry. His aunt was helping out at SugarCube Corner, the cake twins were Sparkling's age, and attended Ponyville Schoolhouse, but Sparkling hadn't met them yet.
"Mom, is it alright if I go see the clubhouse, Sweetie Belle was talking about?" Asked Sparkling after he finished with the dishes, he didn't have many chores, but he wondered what Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were up to. It had been a few days since he met them, he probably guessed that Scootaloo was on her scooter, he noticed when they left the school house, he also wondered if Apple Bloom helped out on Sweet Apple Acres like her older siblings.
"Sure, Sparkling. I've got to help out today anyways, I bet Apple Bloom's at the clubhouse or helping out on the farm. You can show them that you can change your cutie mark, they'll be amazed." Replied his mother and they made their way out towards Sweet Apple Acres. It was a beautiful day oustide, the birds sang and the flowers bloomed.
"Mom, do you know what aunt Red does?" Asked Sparkling, he was curious to know what his aunt did. Sparkling knew by the clear sky his uncle had done his job well.
"She often runs errands and is sometimes behind the register, Mr. and Mrs. Cake's children often help her out on weekends, their names are Pound and Pumpkin. They're about your age, their son is a pegasus, while their daughter is a unicorn. They also have their cutie marks." His mother told him when they approached the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres.
Chilly and her son reached Sweet Apple Acres, Smudger saw a mare resting presumably from farm work. She was an orange earth pony with blonde mane and tail tied into a ponytail. She wore a brown stetson hat on top of her head. Her cutie mark was 3 apples, beside the earth pony was a dog, it had brown and white fur with a red collar and a golden name tag. The dog looked at the young colt and started barking, alerting the orange mare she had a visitor.
“What in tarnation are you goin’ on about, Winona?” Asked the orange mare, she turned to look at what Winona was barking at. What she was barking at was a light-gray alicorn colt. Winona barked at the orange mare to signal her over.
“Howdy, partner. Ah see Winona was letting me know that there was somepony here, she’s a smart and faithful working partner. Ah’m Applejack, a pround farmer at Sweet Apple Acres, along with Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith.” Said the orange mare in a friendly tone.
“I’m Smudger, my mother works here is that true?” He asked
“Yep, Chilly, helps out buckin’ apples and often takes Winona out for her daily exersize, she gets wild if she doesn’t get her exersize, but she’s a smart and reliable pet. Speakin’ of which Chilly and Ah have to get to work, run along and find Apple Bloom, she’s probably in her clubhouse with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Big Mac’s over there plowing the fields, Ah’ll tell him we’ve got a helpin’ hoof. He’ll be glad to hear that.” Said Applejack as she pointed to the field where a big red stallion was working hard. He had short orange mane, a brown work horse collar, and a big green half apple for his cutie mark. Smudger went on his way to find Apple Bloom.
