The Cutie Mark Crusaders tore through the halls of Twilight's castle, an excitable bounce with every step they took. The sounds of their hooves impacting against the ground echoed throughout the corridor, disrupting the natural ambiance.
"Starlight?..." Scootaloo called out for the lilac unicorn.
"Ya here?..." Carried on Applebloom.
"We need your help!..." Finished Sweetie Belle.
The three fillies moved on through the crystal structure, navigating its mazelike halls in search of the mare. They were on a mission, and they were determined to see it through as they checked room after room for their quarry.
After exploring probably half the castle at this point, they soon found themselves in the library. Looking inside, they cheered in success when they found Starlight amongst the shelves of books. She was sitting at the table, a spellbook open in front of her as she poured over its teachings.
"Starlight! Starlight!" The CMCs called out in delight as they rushed at the unicorn, causing her to look up from the book.
"Oh, hey girls," Starlight said to the approaching fillies. "Can I help you with something?"
"Ya sure can!" Applebloom nodded vigorously.
"Can you help us make a kite? It's super important!" Asked Scootaloo with enthusiasm.
Starlight sighed. "I'm sorry, girls, I'd love to help, but I'm busy right now," she said, gesturing to the book. At this, the three fillies visibly deflated as their enthusiasm faded away. "Why's this so important?" she asked after seeing them become so disappointed.
"The Annual Kiddie Kite Flying Competition is coming to Ponyville," said Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah, we've been entering for years," said Scootaloo. "The first time was us trying to get our Cutie Marks, and we've been joining the contest ever since."
"We've competed lots of times, but we've never won a prize. This is the last time we'll be able to enter, 'cause next year we'll be too old to qualify!" Stressed Applebloom.
"This is the last chance we have to win, to finally make all the times we've entered the contest mean something," Sweetie told Starlight.
"That's why we want yer help, we heard how much of a kite enthusiast you were, and we figured if anypony could help us it would be you," said Applebloom.
Starlight bit her lip. "...I...don't know. I do really love kites, but like I said I'm busy."
"Please..." The Crusaders begged, putting on big puppy dog eyes.
"This is our last chance," Sweetie asked, her lips trembling. "Please help us make a kite."
Starlight sighed, a small smile forming on her lips. "Okay," she said, making the fillies jump with joy. "Let's make a kite."
The first thing they did was go to the store to pick up all the supplies they would need. They got fabric of multiple colors, glue, spool and thread, ribbon, and wood for the frame - they got a lot of it too.
Next, after making sure that Twilight wouldn't have a use for it, they then secured the castle library for their space.
Over the course of the next couple of days, the group spent their every waking moment assembling the kite. They worked diligently, constantly getting glue in their manes, tails, and fur. They cut the fabric into desired sizes, tied together the frame with string, and made sure to attach the ribbons and spool and thread.
As they progressed, the kite steadily grew larger and larger, threatening to overtake the library. Fortunately, they were able to fold it in places, freeing up space, as well as making it easier to transport.
Finally, after days of hard work, the contest had at last arrived, leaving the group with packing up their kite and showing it off at the competition.
Mayor Mare walked around the gathering of colts and fillies, watching as the kites they made soared in the wind. She smiled as she took in the wide variety of designs on display for this year's contest: from dragons to abstract shapes and designs, to even the princesses - choosing a winner was not going to be easy.
She greeted the foals who were participating with a smile as she passed them. Moving through the crowds, she stepped up to the judges and gave them a nod.
"So, do you think you've made your decisions?"
One of them, a stallion, nodded back. "Yes, ma'am, we were just getting ready to announce the results and..." he trailed off, his eyes growing wide as he stared at something in the distance.
Turning to look, the Mayor was shocked to see a massive kite take flight near Twilight's castle. It was huge, probably the size of a hoofball field, if not bigger. It was shaped like a pegasus, the Cutie Marks of the CMC emblazoned upon it, leaving no doubt as to who was flying it.
Everypony watched in amazement as it was slowly flown over, gathering onlookers from all over Ponyville.
"Sorry we're late," Sweetie Belle said when they arrived. "We had trouble getting it outside."
"Girls, this is amazing," said the Mayor.
"Thanks, but we can't take all the credit, we couldn't have done it without Starlight," said Scootaloo, smiling at the unicorn.
Starlight smiled back. "It was my pleasure girls."
The Mayor stepped back to speak with the judges, and after a few moments, she turned to address the crowd. "After some deliberating amongst the judges, we declare the first-place winners to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
The CMC erupted into cheers, bouncing around in glee as they received applause from those around them.
"We won! We won!" They cried happily. "We finally won!"
As Starlight watched them with a smile, she was caught off guard when they suddenly rushed up and hugged her.
"Oh, thank ya Starlight," said Applebloom. "Thank ya, thank ya so much, ya helped us win at last!"
"Yeah. we could never have done it without you," said Sweetie Belle.
Starlight smiled again as she returned the hug with the fillies. "Like I said girls, it was my pleasure."
