Author's Note

And now we come to a notable deviation from the original, in that the episodes aren't in the same order.

The Club Meeting

Walking alongside each other down the sidewalk, Heartling and Babar approached the old, abandoned house.

"Did you bake those cookies?" Heartling asked, approaching the door.

"Yep." Babar opened his bag. The familiar, alluring scent wafted out after he did so, and Babar's willpower was low. Soon, one of the scones was in his hoof.

"Babar, those are for our meeting!" Heartling said.

"Not to worry, Heartling," Babar dismissed. "I baked plenty for everybody."

Heartling waited by the old, rotting wooden door for Babar to enter through the large gap with broken shards of glass jutting from the sides. Babar precariously made his way through, managing to enter the house unscathed, and Heartling followed him.

It was dark inside, with the doors and windows (or at least the gaps where those would be) serving as illumination.

Once they'd gotten to the largest room, where the red and grey wallpaper had been stripped away in several places, they found their friends were already inside, gathered around the table. "Heartling! Babar!" Stargleam called, waving at them while Sharp Eyes lit some candles. "Come on over, we're ready to start."

The two of them took their seats around the table. "You know, Patch, if we could get some electricity in here, we could plug in a minifridge to keep our snacks in," Sharp Eyes pointed out.

"I'm working on it," Patch replied while Babar set the basket of cookies down onto the table.

"Hey, Trefoil, pour me a glass of soda, would ya?" Babar requested.

Trefoil grabbed Sharp Eyes' reading glasses, set them down in front of Babar, and poured soda onto them.

"Hey! Stop that!" Sharp Eyes ordered, grabbing his glasses.

"Well, that is what he said…" Trefoil explained.

Stargleam tapped his hoof on the table. "May I have your attention, please?" he asked. "The topic for today's meeting is whether or not to allow girls into our club."

"Hey, you know the rules, Stargleam! No girls allowed," Rhapsody pointed out.

"Right! Only boys!" Trefoil agreed, emphasizing his point by slamming his hoof down onto the table rather hard, causing cookies to spill out of the basket. One in particular went flying into the air.

"I'LL SAVE YOU!" Babar yelled, getting up immediately. He dived over the table and caught the falling cookie just before he landed. Unfortunately for him, owing to his sizable weight, this caused the floor to break underneath him, and down he fell.

"Babar!" Heartling shouted in worry. He and Stargleam rushed over and looked down through the hole Babar had created. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me!" Babar called up. "Just continue the meeting without me, okay? There's a lost cookie that needs my help."

The two shrugged it off and returned to the table. "Ahem. Sorry about that," Stargleam told the others, sitting back in his chair. "Anyway, back to letting girls into our club."

"Why exactly are you guys so against it?" Sharp Eyes questioned.

"Those are the rules! What do we want with girls? You can't just go changing tradition like that. It only makes for unnecessary drama. Guys only is a surefire way to keep drama at a minimum," Patch argued. "And I can go without blood all over the seats, thank you."

"Why would there be blood all over the seats?" Trefoil asked.

"...Never mind. And besides, do any of you know any girls you'd want to invite?"

"Surely some are nice to have about," Stargleam added.

"Maybe Tessa?" Heartling suggested.

"Absolutely not," Rhapsody bluntly stated. "If she finds out where our meeting place is, she'll just come and be a nuisance as usual. You know, break our stuff and yell names at us. And you wouldn't be able to focus on anything else with her around, either."

"Wh… what do you mean by that?"

"Come on, Heartling," Rhapsody said. "It's obvious you're into her."

"I… I am not!" Heartling denied, his face flushing red.

"Then why is it that every Valentine's Day, she gets an anonymous card with heart symbols drawn in it?" Sharp Eyes challenged him.

"It's normal for Valentine's Day cards to have those!"

Sharp Eyes pulled out a Valentine's Day card addressed to Tessa from a few years ago and opened it up. On the left, there was a heart symbol with three smaller ones, two of them above the bigger one and the third to the side of it. On the right page, the picture was mirrored. He then compared them to the symbols on Heartling's flanks.

"Eep," was all Heartling could say.

"Well, Tessa's out, from the looks of things," Stargleam decided. "What about Whiz? Surely you'd be open to having a fellow soccer player in the club, right, Patch? Her flank symbol is a soccer ball, for pony's sake."

Patch began to reconsider his stance on the issue. "Well… maybe?" He was apprehensive about letting girls join the club because they might not want to do the same activities as the boys, but Whiz was an exception to this, given her prowess at the sport. Though he was loathe to admit it, she could even give him a run for his money.

"The only remaining member of the girl posse is Prancer," Rhapsody noted. "And now that I think about it, maybe she could come? Since, you know, she's super rich. It would give us a huge boost in sprucing up this place. Or better yet, we could have our club meetings at her mansion."

"Come on, Rhapsody, that's unethical," Heartling said disapprovingly. "Inviting someone to our club for their money."

"Hey, if Whiz and Tessa get to enjoy it there, why shouldn't we?" Rhapsody continued.

"Let's just play it by ear, shall we?" Stargleam spoke. "If we find a girl we like and can trust not to derail our meetings, we can vote her in or not at the next meeting."

"I second that motion," Sharp Eyes agreed.

"Some of them are awfully cute," Rhapsody admitted.

"All those in favor, say ‘aye'!" Stargleam instructed.

"Aye!" the other five agreed, raising their hooves.

Babar's hoof rose out from the hole he had created in the floor. "Aye!"

"Okay, after school tomorrow, we vote!"

After school the next day, Sharp Eyes and Patch were walking alongside each other to the abandoned house. Sharp Eyes saw a van parked next to it, with two ponies carrying what looked just like the boys' table. "Look!" he whispered, nudging Patch. They watched as the two ponies carried the table into the van.

"We're being robbed!" Patch grabbed Sharp Eyes, who blabbered out some brief protests as he was yanked into the adjacent bush where the two could stay hidden while observing what was taking place.

"We'll come back for the rest later," one of the older ponies said before they both got back into the van, which then drove away.

"They're coming back! We gotta protect our clubhouse," Patch decided. "We're gonna have one heck of a meeting when everyone else gets here."

When the other boys arrived, they were not particularly pleased to find many of their possessions missing (except Trefoil, who hadn't noticed anything amiss until it had been pointed out to him).

"As chairpony of our club, I hereby table our vote on the girls," Stargleam announced.

"What table? It's gone!" Trefoil said, much to the amusement of many of his friends, who snickered.

"This is no laughing matter, guys," Patch reminded them. "Our secret meeting place has been invaded by a ring of thieves!"

"At least two," Sharp Eyes specified.

"What can we do? We're just little ponies…" Heartling said.

"Well, I'll tell you what we can't do," Stargleam said, stepping into the center of the circle of ponies. "We can't ignore the problem! We can't sweep it under the carpet! We can't allow somebody to come in here and take our things! Because if we do, where will it stop? Where will it go next? Maybe your house, Heartling!"

"No, not mine!" Heartling protested, frightened.

"Maybe yours, Rhapsody!" Stargleam continued, at which Rhapsody gasped. "Or yours, Babar!"

Babar just stood there, failing to react.

"They might steal all your snacks out the fridge," Stargleam added.

"NOOOOO! THE INHUMANITY!" Babar cried.

"And before we know it, all of Ponyland will be picked clean of everything we own! We can't let that happen! We have to stop them now!" Exhausted after his long speech, Stargleam exhaled loudly.

"But… how?" Trefoil asked.

Patch smirked. "I'll show ya. You guys know the movie Stable Alone, right?"

"Yeah?" Sharp Eyes replied. "I never liked that title. It doesn't have a great ring to it. Can't imagine why… but what does it have to do with the thieves?"

Patch's smirk did not falter.

Sharp Eyes groaned when he realized. "Well, I'll just leave you idiots to your monkey business. Come along, Heartling. Unless you want to be liable for the thieves' stitches."

Having come to the same conclusion, Heartling looked at the door. "Um… good luck." He and Sharp Eyes took their leave.

"Well," Patch remarked. "Those two aren't much for fun."

"I mean, I was going to say we should just call the police, but your idea does sound fun," Stargleam said. "Just as long as it doesn't go too far."

Patch was walking Babar through the process of making a slingshot. "Tie each end of the elastic to each of the two top parts of the handle like this… and you've got a slingshot!" He deposited several Y-shaped sticks in front of him. "You make the rest of the slingshots, I'll go help the others."

When he turned around, Trefoil came over to him, walking on three hooves and holding his red-looking remaining front hoof above the ground. "I gave myself a boo-boo with the hammer…"

"Again?" Patch sighed. "Look, let's find you a different job. You can… uh… I know! We'll sellotape you to the ceiling and you can warn the thieves to run away if they don't want to end up like you."

Patch approached Stargleam, who was rigging a sack of flour to empty all over the thieves. "How's the flour trap coming along, Stargleam?"

Stargleam finished pulling some ropes. "All done."

Finally, Patch went to check on Rhapsody. He opened the door to the small room Rhapsody was inside, revealing Rhapsody was wearing a black cloak. "It's good, but you need to remember to have the hood over you when the thieves come in," Patch said. "Also, I built a little something you can use." He grabbed a long box resting on the wall and opened it up. Inside was a scythe, with a wooden handle and a sharp, narrow blade. "Took me ages to finish sharpening it. Just be careful not to hurt the thieves with it, okay? Just give ‘em a good scare."

"Gotcha," Rhapsody affirmed, holding the scythe.

"Good. Now come on out for a bit, I need you to help sellotape Trefoil to the ceiling."

That evening, Patch, Stargleam, Rhapsody, and Babar peered outside through the gaps between the planks that barricaded the door from the inside. "It's getting dark…" Babar commented.

"Maybe we should go home before our parents start to worry about us," Trefoil suggested from the ceiling.

"Wait! They're back," Patch whispered, watching as a van pulled up. "I recognize that van."

"All ponies to your battle stations!" Stargleam instructed. The four of them spread apart, running to their respective positions.

Patch and Trefoil watched and listened as someone tried to open the door from the outside, not knowing about the barricade on the other side. "That's funny. It must be stuck," they heard him say from outside. "Stand back."

"That must mean he's got company again," Patch said from the top of the staircase.

The door was subjected to repeated kicks, each more forceful than the last, until the door broke down, destroying the wooden planks. Patch and Trefoil could now get a good look at the ponies. They all had white coats with yellow, orange, green and pink manes and tails. There were two adults, one stallion and one mare, and the third one was much younger, a girl about their age. It appeared they were a family.

"Beware, beware, all ye who enter here!" Trefoil spoke to them.

"What the… who are you and what are you doing in here?!" the mother asked.

"I'm here to warn you… don't do any crimes like I did! Especially thievery! Or else you shall forevermore be cursed to hang from the ceiling for your… uh…" He called over to Patch. "Line?"

"Sins," Patch called.

"Or else you shall forevermore be cursed to hang from the ceiling for your sins!"

"You kids stop this nonsense right now and get out!" the father demanded.

"Don't say we didn't warn you," Patch said. He pulled a rope, and a sack of flour emptied all over the family.

They all coughed, keeping their eyes closed and protected from the white powder. "What's happening?!" the mother exclaimed.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." The father stormed forward, approaching the staircase, which had wet white paint slathered over it.

"Don't come any closer," Patch warned. "If you do, it will be painful for you."

"Who are you?!" the father snapped, unwisely traveling up the stairs.

"Who are you?" Patch countered.

Sure enough, the older pony ended up slipping on the paint, falling back down the stairs, his yelling jittered as a result of hitting each step.

"Commence firing!" Patch yelled.

Babar and Stargleam revealed themselves, using their slingshots to launch jelly-filled bombs at the father's face. Some of the jelly flew off and splattered onto the family's daughter.

"Mmm…" the girl said, tasting the projectile. "That's some good jelly."

"Bullseye!" Stargleam cheered.

"Alright, that's enough of that!" the mother yelled, chasing Stargleam. He ran away, pleased that he was leading her right into a trap.

She followed him into a dark room. It didn't stay dark for long, because a flashlight was turned on, revealing a figure in a dark grey cloak with a pointy hood. The figure was holding a sharp scythe, one that gave off a grim, otherworldly aura. The sight was enough to send her screaming and fleeing.

"Way to go!" Stargleam congratulated Rhapsody as the latter removed his robe. The two of them intertwined their tails as a gesture of camaraderie.

The father was still dealing with Patch. "I don't know who you are, but you'd better stop right now!"

"And you'd better get out," Patch retorted, pulling back a piece of elastic attached to the staircase, preparing to launch another jelly bomb.

"You don't belong here!"

"Neither do you!" Patch launched the jelly bomb downward and right at the older pony's face.

"THE GRIM REAPER IS AFTER ME! HEEEEELLLLLP!" the mother wailed as she came running into the house's central room. She then slipped on a puddle of jelly and slid across the floor until her husband and daughter grabbed her.

"You give up?" Patch threatened, preparing to fire a plunger.

"Yes! We surrender!"

"Cease fire!" Patch called out to his friends. "Sir, your surrender is accepted. Now I'll just show you out and—" Unfortunately for him, he made the mistake of stepping onto the staircase, forgetting about the slippery wet paint still there. He fell down, his butt hitting every step until he ended up on the ground, where he slid on the jelly on the ground until he ended up in front of the doorway.

"I demand to know the meaning of this!" the outraged father snapped. "We're the Barringtons! We own this house!"

"You own it?" Patch asked. "We thought you came here to rob it."

"We move in next week. We just wanted to clear out all the junk," the mother explained.

"But all the junk is ours," Trefoil said from the ceiling.

"Yeah, this is our secret clubhouse where we have our club meetings," Babar added.

The father's anger faded. "Well, I see now why you did this… I think you're all very brave little ponies, but it looks like we have a problem."

"And it looks like we owe you a big apology," Stargleam admitted. "And some help."

"Stargleam, you can't just volunteer me for manual labor!" Rhapsody protested.

"Come on, guys, it's the least we can do," Stargleam told them. "Now let's get Trefoil down from there and go home."

"Let me help," the girl offered. So she and Patch both clambered onto the twin stepladder and set to work peeling away the layers of tape from Trefoil one by one.

"Guys?" Trefoil said, looking and sounding worried. "I don't think this tape is gonna hold me much longer…"

The last few pieces of tape gave way while the girl was in the middle of peeling them off. Trefoil fell to the ground, and ended up pulling the girl down with him. They hit the ground, and while they weren't injured, it was still a bit painful.

Collecting themselves, they opened their eyes, and found themselves facing each other with their muzzles brushing up against one another. "Oh, uh, sorry about that!" he apologized, quickly getting up. "Sorry, miss, um…"

"It's Lauren," the girl replied, picking herself up once Trefoil wasn't on top of her anymore. "And it's alright."

Rhapsody gave a whistle. "Awkward."

Babar and Stargleam were wiping down the windows while Patch replaced the old, battered window panels with new ones. Rhapsody and Trefoil were painting the walls with a fresh coat of blue paint.

"We're very sorry for what the complete and utter imbeciles we call our friends did, Mr. and Mrs. Barrington," Sharp Eyes said on the ground.

"So what can me and Sharp Eyes do to help?" Heartling asked.

"It's ‘Sharp Eyes and I'."

"Well, perhaps you can rake the leaves," Mr. Barrington said to Heartling. He then spoke to Sharp Eyes. "While you give me some assistance on the roof."

From high up, Trefoil's tail knocked a can of paint off the scaffolding. It plummeted to the ground, set to land near Heartling. "Look out below!" Trefoil called.

Fortunately, it was spotted by Lauren, who ran over and grabbed the falling can before it could splatter paint all over Heartling. "Got it!"

"Thank you, Lauren," Heartling said appreciatively.

It was hard work, but after just a few days, the combined efforts of the ten ponies had resulted in a refurbished house that was as good as new. It stood tall and proud, with its new coat of blue paint indicative of all the improvements that had been made on the inside. The seven boys were grouped together in front of the house.

"I want to thank you all for helping us fix up our house," Mrs. Barrington told them. "Especially little Parker's room!" Lauren's baby brother giggled and gurgled in the cot besides his mother. "Say chestnut, everybody!"

"Chestnut!" the seven friends said in unison before the picture was taken.

Lauren appeared from the side of the house. "It's ready, it's ready!" she called over to them.

"What's ready?" Trefoil asked.

"Just a little surprise," Mrs. Barrington said, escorting the boys over to an area behind the house.

Mr. Barrington was standing next to something tall that had a large red sheet of tarpaulin draped over it. The seven friends' anticipation grew as they itched to know what was under it.

Mr. Barrington pulled away the tarpaulin to reveal what appeared to be a rather small house. It could only have two rooms inside at most. "You like it? It's your new clubhouse," Mr. Barrington said.

"It's magnificent!" Stargleam said. "See, guys? Bet you're glad we helped out now."

"Wow, thanks!" Patch exclaimed.

"Far out… let's have a club meeting!" Rhapsody suggested.

"Can I maybe join your club?" Lauren asked hopefully.

The boys all looked at her. "Oh, yeah, we never did decide if girls can join our club, did we?" Stargleam realized. "What do you guys think?"

"Well, we can't exactly thank the Barringtons by not letting her in, can we?" Heartling pointed out.

"I'd say Lauren's a lot of fun," Patch said. "I'm up for letting her in if you guys are."

The seven of them murmured and nodded. Stargleam turned to Lauren. "Come inside with us."

Stargleam tapped his hoof on the table. "Quiet! Quiet! Come to order," he declared, prompting everyone else to stop talking. "On behalf of all of us, I'd like to welcome Lauren Barrington into our club."

Everyone cheered, and clinked their glasses together. Stargleam looked at Lauren, smiling, indicating for her to join in, which she did, blushing.

"You deserve it!" Heartling said. "You saved my life!"

"She only saved you from getting paint all over you," Patch reminded him.

"Same difference."

"Would you like to say something, Lauren?" Stargleam asked, smiling warmly.

"Yeah, sure! Send the scones over here, please?" Lauren requested.

Patch picked up a basket of scones and passed it left to Rhapsody, who passed it to Babar, who passed it to Sharp Eyes, who passed it to Lauren. Licking her lips, Lauren looked down… only to see the basket was empty. "Uh… what happened to the scones?"

"It was full when I passed them over…" Patch said. Everyone then took note of Babar wiping his mouth clean, then patting his belly.

"What the… how?! There's no possible way!" Sharp Eyes sputtered.

"Babar's appetite doesn't care about logic, Sharp Eyes," Stargleam reminded him. "Pass Lauren the other basket, Patch, but this time to your right."

Patch picked up the other basket and passed it right to Heartling, who passed it to Trefoil, who passed it to Stargleam, who passed it to Lauren.

Finally, without the basket having been intercepted (spitting on the laws of physics in the process), Lauren was able to tuck in. "Thanks a lot!" she said through a mouthful of scone.