Even after everything they had been through together over the years, and even though they had now turned their club into a business, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were still children at heart. So when an opportunity to just have fun together and not worry about anything presented itself, they were more than happy to take it.

Such was the case when, one day by chance, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came over to Sweet Apple Acres to see Apple Bloom. And they brought with them a fairly large box containing what appeared to be various costumes that'd gone a long time without being used.

Sweetie Belle happily explained the reasoning behind her gift. "Hey, Apple Bloom! Guess what?! Rarity's reorganizing her shop, and look what she found! Old costumes from the talent show! She said we can keep them, because otherwise she was just going to donate them."

Scootaloo then added. "We thought they'd come in handy in case we ever help a pony put on a play or need to make a quick escape. Plus, we could always use some disguises. You never know when we might need to do some undercover work."

Apple Bloom grinned from ear to ear. "I like your thinkin', girls. We should always come prepared for any emergency," Then she turned her attention to something else: Namely a huge wagon loaded with barrels and boxes full of apples. "Excuse me for a moment," She said as she trotted over to the wagon and pushed one last barrel onto it. And just in time, because at that very moment her big brother happened to come trotting out. "Here ya go, Big Mac. Got the wagon all loaded up for ya for another one of your," She delivered the next line with a whisper and a knowing wink. "'Secret deliveries'."

Big Macintosh said nothing as he hitched himself to the wagon. He just maintained an exceptionally bright smile.

"This is another delivery for Starlight's old village, right?" The farm filly questioned. "What was its name again: Cutie Markless?"

"Eeyup!" Big Mac firmly replied.

Sweetie Belle seemed to be surprised by the news. "All by yourself? That's an awfully long way for a pony to go, isn't it?"

Again, Big Mac just said. "Eeyup."

Apple Bloom then pondered. "Come to think of it, you've been makin' an awful lot of delivers there lately. But you never say why," She saw fit to ask. "This is, what, your fifth trip out there this week? Do the ponies out there not have any apple trees or orchards of their own?"

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh said once again, refusing to elaborate any further. Whatever the reason might be for his many trips out to that village, he seemed intent to keep said reason to himself.

Rather than press her big brother further, the bow wearing earth pony filly just replied with a sincere smile. "Okay, well, have fun," And she turned to her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, and to the box that Sweetie Belle had brought. "So, Sweetie Belle, what other costumes did you bring?"

Scootaloo, however, protested. "Are you crazy?! We can't talk about costumes at a time like this!"

"Whaddya mean? What's wrong with now?" Apple Bloom blinked in surprise.

Scootaloo had to resist the urge to groan. "Don't you get it, Apple Bloom? It's so obvious: Your brother's hiding something, something to do with those delivers to Cutie Markless. And for some reason, he doesn't want anypony to know about them."

The farm filly sighed. "I've tried askin' him again and again, but he won't ever tell me what the reason is. The first time I caught him doin' this, he made me promise not to tell anypony else or ask him why. He just said it was a 'Need to know basis' kind of thing, whatever that's supposed to mean."

"Come to think of it," Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her chin. "Have you noticed Miss. Cheerilee acting differently lately? I thought that whole love poison thing was fixed long ago."

"That can't be a coincidence!" The tomboyish pegasus pony protested! "I'll bet you anything that whatever Big Mac's doing out in Cutie Markless, it's related to Miss. Cheerilee," She then questioned. "But how are we going to find out?"

Sweetie then proposed. "There's only one thing I can think of," She gestured to the wagon. "We need to get onboard, and quickly before Big Mac pulls out." And so she and her fellow Crusaders raced to do just that. Little did they anticipate that their unplanned visit to Cutie Markless was going to not only answer the questions they had, but was also going to have them help a pony they never would've suspected needed help.

The three Crusaders hastily scrambled to get into the back of the wagon Big Macintosh was pulling before he could leave Sweet Apple Acres! They only just managed to do so before the wagon wheels started to turn, and the wagon began to move.

The three fillies struggled to stay silent as Big Mac pulled the wagon, heading towards his destination. They didn't want to give themselves away, thus thwarting their attempt to find out what he was up to. It was harder than it sounded not to make a sound, because the wagon was not only filled with apples but there was almost no room to move around within it and it was very dark and dusty.

At last, however, they heard the sound of the wagon wheels screeching and slowing. Sure enough, the wagon came to a stop. That meant Big Macintosh had probably made it all the way out to Cutie Markless.

Indeed, that seemed to be the case as the Cutie Mark Crusaders could hear whistling and the sound of hooves trotting around to the back of the wagon. It also sounded like there were giggles, and the faint sounds of a conversation between two ponies. It sounded like one of them was Big Mac, but the other was a complete mystery to the fillies.

"Big Mac's comin'!" Apple Bloom shrieked in a hushed tone of voice! "Quick, act like apples!"

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were unsure how they would carry out Apple Bloom's request, but nevertheless they tried to do it as best they could.

Suddenly, the wagon was wheeled inside with the CMC still inside it. If the three Crusaders listened closely, they could just hear a faint "Thank you, Big Mac." and hear the stallion reply with his usual "Eeyup.". Then there was the sound of hooves trotting away, followed by a door being shut tight. The next thing the fillies knew, the wagon was being tipped over with them inside of it!

A shocked, startled gasp escaped the lips of somepony, as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo now found themselves inside of what could best be described as some sort of bakery! It had a small, wooden counter and a cash register, but other than that it had no decoration whatsoever aside from its stone walls.

As they slowly got their bearings, the Crusaders looked up and found themselves face to face with an unfamiliar (to them at least) unicorn mare. She had a dazzling pink coat, a bushy mane and tail dark purplish-pink in color and supported by sea green colored beads, reddish-violet eyes, and a cutie mark that depicted a cherry topped cupcake and four jellybeans. Her horn was sparking with a very strong cyan colored glow. "What in Equestria are you girls doing here?!" She exclaimed, sounding more annoyed than genuinely upset or even surprised.

"W-we're sorry, really," Sweetie Belle nervously stammered and profuesly apologized. "Please, don't tell Big Mac we're here! We didn't mean to spy on him, or on you!"

Apple Bloom, meanwhile, blinked slowly as she recalled something she had heard once. "Wait a minute," She commented. "Applejack told me about this old village once," She turned to the unicorn. "You must be Sugar Belle. Applejack told me about how you were the first one to tip off Princess Twilight and her friends about how things weren't so perfect here."

The unicorn mare smiled, relaxing her overall posture slightly. "Yes, I am Sugar Belle. And I know who you are: You're Apple Bloom, one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Big Mac has told me all about you. After all, he's been coming to see me for quite some time now," Her smile grew brighter. "And I really appreciate him doing it."

The farm filly gasped as her eyes went wide and she put her hooves to her face! "Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed in disbelief! "I think my brother has a crush! Now it all makes sense!"

But Sugar Belle giggled for a brief moment, before seeming to shrink back a bit. "Oh, no no no, it's nothing like that. I mean, we were kind of dating for a little while. But it just didn't work out. That hasn't stopped him from coming to see me, though. He always volunteers to deliver wagons full of apples to me," She let out a sigh. "I used to just bake nothing but terrible muffins. But ever since I got my cutie mark back, I've had dreams of becoming something greater. And thanks to Big Mac, I'm really branching out! I'm experimenting with apples in ways I never would've thought possible."

"Oh!" Apple Bloom commented quite slowly as the realization dawned on her. "Then that must mean he and Cheerilee..."

"-Oh no!" Scootaloo cried! "Somepony must've secretly brewed up the love poison and gave it to them!" She leaped to her hooves! "There's no time to waste! We've got to pull them apart and keep them from looking at each other for an hour!"

The baker unicorn corrected. "Don't be silly, there's no love poison. Big Mac and Cheerilee love each other, but they're not head over heels crazy for one another. Everything's under control."

The tomboyish pegasus filly breathed a small sigh of relief. "Whew, thank goodness for that. It was really hard to keep 'em apart last time, and they were only 'pretending' to be so madly in love," She shuddered and gagged. "It was creepy, and kind of gross too."

Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, commented with a bit of a blush. "Well, now I feel really silly. We came all the way out here, and we really didn't need to. Nothing's wrong with anypony. We should've just left everypony alone, like we promised to do the last time we got into trouble for invading other ponies' privacy," When Sugar Belle shot her fellow unicorn a concerned and confused look, the unicorn filly sheepishly replied. "Long story. Big Mac could probably tell you about it."

Sugar Belle opted not to press for any more information. She just flashed a knowing wink at the Crusaders. "Well don't worry, I won't tell anypony about you playing stowaways in Big Mac's wagon. He's probably already headed back to Ponyville by now."

"Then I guess now's as good a time as any to see the sights," Apple Bloom commented as she pressed her face up against one of the bakery windows. "Cutie Markless sure is a nice place, Sugar Belle. I can see why you'd call it home even after Starlight stopped runnnin' it."

"Yeah, lots of peace and quiet," Scootaloo observed. "If you're into that sort of thing, anyway."

The unicorn mare with a pretty pink coat just casually and somewhat glumly replied. "Yeah. It doesn't have much, but we make the most of what we have. But I don't know if I'll be hanging around here for much longer."

That statement struck all three Crusaders as most odd. Sweetie was the first to ask. "What do you mean? It seems like you're doing quite well for yourself. I can't imagine any reason why you'd want to leave."

Sugar Belle, however, pointed a hoof and drew the attention of the three fillies to a unicorn stallion and a pegasus mare sitting at a small table just outside the bakery. A flower vase was placed atop the table, and the two were currently gazing into one another's eyes while talking to each other. The stallion had a bright grayish-blue coat, a curly mane and tail in shades of bright, light blue and cornflower blue, light cobalt blue eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a balloon animal and streamers. And the mare had a coat the same dark blue as the night sky, a wavy mane and tail a dazzling white and grayish-blue, brilliant light blue eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a crescent moon surrounding by two curved feathers. "You can see it for yourself, can't you? Party Favor and Night Glider?"

"I thought you were all friends." Scootaloo shot Sugar Belle a most puzzled look.

The baker unicorn mare nodded. "We were, and we still are. It's just that," She unhappily sighed and hung her head. "It doesn't take a genius to see what's going on. They've been this way for at least a year now." Despite her lowered head, she could still see her friends sitting there together, talking and getting lose in each other's gaze. They even seemed to briefly nuzzle one another on the snouts.

"Aren't you happy for them, though?" Apple Bloom pondered. "I know I would be if it was one of my friends who were that close to somepony else."

Sweetie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'd feel the same way."

"And me too!" Scootaloo chimed in, her wings buzzing ever so faintly.

Sugar Belle sighed anew. "Oh, I'm happy for them. But part of me can't help but feel jealous. For the longest time, I always felt like Party Favor and I were close. Really close. We were the first ponies who ever shared with one another how unhappy we were living under Starlight and her forced equality," Her lips started to curl into a frown. "Looking at him now, though... it seems like he's found somepony else to be really close to. They've never told me directly, probably because they're just trying to spare my feelings. And I wish they'd just come out and say it instead of pretending it's just friendship. It's something more, I'm sure of it."

"Didn't you ever think of tellin' Party Favor how you really felt about him?" Apple Bloom questioned the unicorn mare.

The baker unicorn shook her head from side to side. "I just could never work up the courage. It always sounds so simple in my mind. But whenever I even think about doing it in real life, something always gets in the way."

It was then, however, that Sweetie Belle seemed to get an idea. "Will you excuse us for a moment?" She said to Sugar Belle and hastily huddled in a corner of the bakery with her fellow Crusaders. They whispered to one another in secret for a moment, preventing Sugar Belle from overhearing them. Then, Sweetie turned back to her fellow unicorn and said with a sincere smile. "You're in luck, Sugar Belle! We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, are here to help you!"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo eagerly encouraged! "Operation Woo Party Favor is a go!"

Once the initial enthusiasm and excitement about helping Sugar Belle confess had worn off, the CMC quickly faced the daunting task of deciding how best to help the baker unicorn win her fellow unicorn's heart.

"So, what exactly are we going to do, Crusaders?" Sugar Belle pondered. "I can't think of anything that would really make a big splash with Party Favor."

Sweetie Belle seemed to have an idea, using the sap green glow of her horn to pull up an old yet still fairly pristine book. It had a red and yellow colored spine, and depicted what appeared to be a pegasus stallion with butterfly wings and a crown atop his head holding the hoof of a unicorn mare who wore a tiara atop her head. "Well, when I was younger, I remember really liking these old fairytales Rarity used to read to me." She explained.

"But isn't the prince supposed to be the who charms the princess, not the other way around?" Scootaloo questioned. "And aren't you a little too old to still be believing in fairytales?"

Sweetie blushed. "Okay, so maybe it won't be exactly like the storybooks. But there's nothing that says a fair maiden or damsel can't perform romantic gestures in order to win the heart of a prince. Rarity actually met a prince once and tried to court him. It just... didn't quite work out the way she'd hoped," She quickly reassured Sugar Belle. "Don't worry, you'll have much better luck than Rarity did. If nothing else, at least we can use this for ideas."

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin. "Are we sure this is a good idea, Crusaders? Remember what happened the last time we tried to play matchmaker for somepony?"

Scootaloo waved a hoof, dismissing the concerns. "Nopony got hurt, and it all worked out in the end. Besides, if it wasn't for that little mishap, who knows if Big Mac and Miss. Cheerilee would've ever started dating?" She was quick to add. "As long as we're not mixing up love poisons, we'll be fine. All that matters is that we help Sugar Belle confess to Party Favor. We're here now, so why not give it a shot?"

Sugar Belle was quick to lend her approval to the plan. "Borrowing from fairytales is a lot better than anything I could come up with. Besides," She looked at Party Favor and briefly blushed as a dreamful sigh escaped her lips. "He's such an excellent prince charming, whether he realizes it or not." As she spoke, she briefly seemed to imagine him dressed up not unlike a storybook prince, even down to wearing a fine suit and having a rose held in his mouth.

"Exactly!" The unicorn filly happily nodded. "What have we got to lose? If we could help Big Mac and Miss. Cheerilee realize how perfect they were together, we can surely help Sugar Belle woo Party Favor and win his heart."

"Okay," Apple Bloom agreed. "So, what should we try first?"

Still holding the book firmly with her magic, Sweetie Belle flipped it open and started scanning the pages. "Let's see:" She said to herself as she went from page to page, briefly looking at the images and words contained within them. "We can't do the one where the brave knight slays a fercious dragon. There aren't any dragons we can borrow."

"Except for Spike," Scootaloo pointed out. "And I don't think he'd want to play the part."

Frowning, Sweetie flipped through the pages further. "Well, a lot of these seem to involve monsters or evil creatures that the prince rescues the princess from in order to obtain their 'happily ever after'. There must be something we can use," At last, her sap green eyes spotted something that caught her attention! "Aha! Here we go:" She cleared her throat, holding up an image. "Since the roles are going to be reversed, we just need Party Favor to be put in some kind of danger or just have something bad happen to him. Then you come dashing in to help him, and that's when he's sure to fall in love with you, Sugar Belle."

The tomboyish pegasus filly commented with concern. "How are we going to do that? Party Favor's a unicorn. He can do magic. If he gets into trouble, couldn't he just teleport to safety?"

"Rarity's never been able to pull off a teleportation spell," Sweetie Belle protested. "She says it's something that only high levels unicorns can do: Like Starlight Glimmer, or Princess Twilight before she became a princess."

"Besides," Sugar Belle chimed in. "I know Party Favor. He actually isn't capable of using his horn at all. He's the only unicorn I know who can't, he can't even make it spark."

"I know what that feels like." Scootaloo admitted while briefly looking to her wings. True, her wings still somewhat functioned as intended. But being a pegasus pony who had yet to do anything other than briefly hover above the ground had to be pretty similar to being a unicorn who couldn't do magic of any sort.

Apple Bloom, meanwhile, was looking at Party Favor more closely. Or more specifically, to a small saddlebag that was strapped around his haunches. "Well, I know just what sort of trouble we can make him run into," And a grin spread across her face. "It looks like those old costumes are goin' to come in handy after all."

Only a short time later, Party Favor was unaware that he was being watched from afar. But high on a hill overlooking the village, that was exactly what was happening.

Sugar Belle was standing nearby, waiting for the designated opportunity for her to come swooping in and save the day. She took some deep breaths to try to calm her nerves. The hard part was going to be not losing her cool in front of Party Favor after she helped him out. The CMC seemed to think that their plan was a good one, if only she could share in their optimism and confidence.

"Okay, is everythin' ready?" Apple Bloom asked as she briefly turned a set of binoculars away from the unicorn stallion and pegasus mare who were still sitting at that table.

Sweetie Belle flashed a satisfied smile. "Yup!" Gesturing a hoof, she motioned for the intended "distraction" to come out. "Just do it exactly like we planned, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo grumbled as she came trotting out wearing a rainbow wig and glasses with a goofy looking nose and mustache. "I look ridiculous!" She complained aloud.

"Who cares how you look? As long as nopony recognizes you, that's all that counts," The bow wearing earth pony protested, pointing a hoof down the hill. "Now go on! Do it now, while Party Favor's distracted!"

Sighing deeply, Scootaloo obeyed. "Fine." She raced down the hill as fast as she could and ran straight towards Party Favor, her sights locked completely onto the saddlebag he still had strapped to his haunches.

Party Favor was busy talking to Night Glider, giggling at something she had just said. As a result, he almost didn't notice when he felt a tug on his sides. Looking down, he noticed that the small saddlebag he'd brought with him had gone missing. By chance, his wandering eyes happened to see a strange looking little pegasus running away with it. "Hey! Thief!" He cried and leapt to his hooves, preparing to give chase!

"Now's your chance, Sugar Belle!" Sweetie dramatically encouraged! "Hurry!"

Plucking up what courage she could muster on such short notice, Sugar Belle ran down the hill, all the while cursing under her breath about her inability to teleport.

As for Scootaloo, she just kept running and held on tightly to the saddlebag she'd just snatched.

Unfortunately for Sugar Belle and the CMC, their plan was thwarted when Night Glider just so happened to see what was going on. Without even a second's hesitation, she sprang into action! She unfolded her wings, took to the air, then swiftly swooped back down on the saddlebag thief and effortlessly snatched the aforementioned item away before landing.

Party Favor was nearly out of breath when he saw Night Glider holding his saddlebag. "Here you go, Party Favor." She sweetly told him.

Party Favor, for his part, was greatly relieved to have his saddlebag back (even if it didn't seem to contain much inside of it). "Oh, thanks, Night Glider," He said with a sweet smile. "What would I have done without you?"

Night Glider just replied by waving a hoof, then running it through her mane. "Your guess is as good as mine. But you really should be more careful with it in the future."

The unicorn stallion nodded back. "I'll keep that in mind. I would hate to have to rely on you all the time."

Night Glider chuckled. "Hey, I didn't mind the action. I was getting a little bit bored of sitting around anyway," She then trotted away, though not before saying to the stallion. "Guess I'll see you later, Party Favor. I'm gonna go back to practicing my dives and turns."

Party Favor nodded. "I can't wait until you perfect that new trick. It's sure to be even more spectacular than your last one. I still can't believe you never made it into the Wonderbolts. With flying skills like yours, you should've blown all the other candidates out of the water."

The pegasus mare with a dark blue coat seemed to grin even while shrugging her hooves. "It just wasn't in the cards for me, I guess." And then she and Party Favor went their separate ways.

Only after the two friends had left did Sugar Belle and the CMC (including a still in disguise Scootaloo) meet up themselves. To say that things had not gone the way they had planned them would be an understatement.

Sweetie Belle kicked at the ground in frustration! "That was perfect! And then Night Glider had to ruin everything with her flying! Now Party Favor's going to be even more in love with her!"

Sugar Belle sighed in dismay and disappointment, wiping the sweat from her brows. "If only I could've teleported, then it would have been perfect." She started to hang her head.

Immediately, Sweetie stomped her hooves and growled! "Hey! That's exactly the kind of attitude I don't want to see! We can't give up now!" After taking a moment to compose herself, she added. "We just need to try something that Night Glider can't ruin with her wings."

A little later, Sugar Belle was dressed up in a rather fancy, long and flowing dress. "I look ridiculous." She complained.

"No you don't, you look just like a princess," Scootaloo encouraged. "If you dress up for the part, you'll feel the part. Right?"

The baker unicorn mare didn't appear to be convinced by the argument. Nevertheless, she opted not to protest. "I guess so. But I still don't like this dress: It's so stuffy, and so hard to move around in." Sure enough, the dress made her waddle about in a somewhat clumsy fashion, almost as if she was going to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, was keeping an eye on Party Favor. And as she did so, she explained to Sugar Belle. "Some of the fairytales mention a prince who wakes up a princess who falls under a sleeping spell. It's something to do with true love's kiss."

"Party Favor's not under a sleeping spell, though." Sugar Belle protested.

The unicorn filly just replied in a matter of fact tone. "No, but he is asleep. Look," She pointed a hoof off to a cot in the distance resting between two trees. And sure enough, Party Favor was sound asleep on the cot, snoring quite audibly while the cot rocked gently back and forth. "Just pretend he's under a spell and wake him up. I'm sure he won't mind, much."

The unicorn mare with a pretty pink coat felt her face grow hot as her cheeks turned bright red. "You want me to kiss him?! Just like that?! I don't know if I can do it."

Apple Bloom began to nudge Sugar Belle towards the sleeping stallion. "Come on, you at least have to try," She turned towards Scootaloo. "Any sign of Night Glider?"

Scootaloo peered through the same set of binoculars Sweetie Belle had earlier used to spy on Party Favor and Night Glider when they were together. She scanned one direction, then another, but saw nothing. "Nope. The coast is clear!" She encouraged. "This is gonna work!"

"No turning back now!" Sweetie eagerly encouraged to her fellow unicorn. "Go on! He's waiting for you!"

Slowly and clumsily, Sugar Belle stumbled her way towards the object of her affection. It was just one kiss. No big deal, right? Right?!

Party Favor continued to snore loudily, unaware that Sugar Belle was approaching him. He might as well have been under a spell given how deeply he was sleeping. But with any luck, a single kiss would change all of that.

The finely dressed unicorn mare at last reached her fellow unicorn, still trying to work up the nerve to kiss him and wake him up. The thought of doing it was wreaking havoc on her already fragile nerves. She could do this. She had to do this.

Yet it was at that very moment that Party Favor suddenly woke up! It appeared that he had suffered a nightmare, given how quickly he shot up and his eyes widened in horror! Fortunately, he quickly calmed down once he realized where he was. And as he did so, he noticed Sugar Belle standing almost right in front of him, wearing a large, stuffy dress that made her look absolutely ridiculous. That was his first clue that something was up. "Sugar Belle?" He blinked in confusion.

Sugar Belle's blush deepened as she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. It was as if her whole body had frozen, she couldn't move a muscle. She just stood there in stunned silence, too stiff to say or do anything.

Seconds seemed to tick by in agonizing slowness as Party Favor continued to stare at Sugar Belle, who for her part was too intimidated to even blink. One could've been mistaken for thinking that she was in fact a statue.

At last, the awkward and uncomfortable silence was broken up when who should show up on the scene but Night Glider? In fact, she literally seemed to come swooping down from out of nowhere, and didn't seem to have noticed Sugar Belle at all. "Hey, Party Favor," She greeted with a flick of her mane and a swish of her tail. "Is everything alright?"

The unicorn stallion with a curly mane and tail nodded. "It is now that you've showed up, Night Glider," He then gestured a hoof. "I think something's wrong with Sugar Belle. She's been acting weird all day."

Night Glider shrugged her hooves and turned to her fellow mare. "You feeling okay, Sugar Belle?"

Sugar Belle stammered, forcing out. "Y-yes."

"Really? Then what's with the get-up?" The pegasus mare with a wavy mane and tail questioned. "Nightmare Night's not for at least another couple of months."

"O-oh, I just... wanted to try on a new look," The baker unicorn mare insisted with a nervous laugh. "Obviously it's... not working out." And she slowly started walking backwards, shrinking from Night Glider and Party Favor's gaze. She could thus only watch as the two walked off into the distance together, occasionally looking at each other with smiles on their faces.

"Oh come on!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in disbelief! "Now they're walking off into the sunset together?! Why is nothing working?!"

Scootaloo remarked and had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "It's the dress. I told you it was too fancy!"

"I don't think that was the problem." Apple Bloom blinked in reply.

Sweetie sighed and groaned. "Whatever it was, it wasn't good enough. We're only drawing Party Favor and Night Glider closer together. We need to find a way to stop that, and we need to find it now!"

Sugar Belle gulped. "What else is there to try?"

The unicorn filly put a hoof to her chin and began scanning over the fairy tale book again. "There's only one thing I can think of. I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, because even I have to admit it's cliche. But desperate times call for desperate measures."

The baker unicorn swallowed hard. She didn't like the sound of that suggestion at all.

Compared to the previous two attempts, it took considerably longer for the CMC to get everything ready for Sugar Belle's third try. That's because they were going all out, even going so far as to set up a small stage for Sugar Belle to stand on.

Try as she might, though, the baker unicorn mare was a nervous wreck. Her legs were shaking and wobbling, despite her best efforts to keep them steady. "Do I really have to do this?" She asked the Crusaders as she watched them put the finishing touches on the stage on the outskirts of the village.

Scootaloo firmly nodded. "You want to win Party Favor's heart more than anything, don't you? Well there's no better way to do that than with a rocking musical number! All the storybook princesses are known for their great singing."

Sweetie Belle smiled, chiming in with her own sentiments. "Exactly. So just sing from your heart, and Party Favor's sure to notice you. No way Night Glider can top something like that."

"But, what am I supposed to sing?" Sugar Belle questioned with concern.

Apple Bloom just replied. "Whatever comes to your mind. It just has to come from the heart and sound good," She then looked out into the distance, and leaped up in excitement! "Ooh, here comes Party Favor now! And he's all alone! This is it, this is your big moment, Sugar Belle!"

So it was that the unicorn mare with a pretty pink coat nervously and clumsily made her way onto the stage. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm her nerves. It wouldn't do her any good to be so nervous. She could do this. She had to do this! There would never be a better opportunity than right now. At least, that's what she was thinking to herself, even as another part of her wanted nothing more than to run away.

Party Favor, for his part, came trotting down the path with what appeared to be wide eyed wonder once he saw Sugar Belle on the stage. "Sugar Belle?" He blinked and ran towards her, hoping to get a good look.

"H-hi, Party Favor," Sugar Belle swallowed hard. "I've... got a little song for you." Then she cleared her throat, and sang the first thing that came to mind. It was something she recalled Big Macintosh having sung to her once. It was better than nothing. And it sounded something like this:

Let's take a walk down by the river,

Watch the sunset from the field.

Then we'll plant a seed of love together,

And water it right for a really good yield.

But then, suddenly, the unicorn mare hesitated and seemed to freeze up. "Um... how did it go, again?" She mumbled to herself as her nervousness started to show.

The CMC were watching from afar, and were stricken with a sense of dread. Sugar Belle was blowing it!

Quickly realizing she had to keep singing while she had Party Favor's attention, the baker unicorn mare continued:

Party Favor, when I look into your eyes,

I see the color... blue.

And it reminds me of the sky above,

Which is also... blue.

I'm singing this song for you,

Searching for the perfect rhyme.

For the words I wanna say,

Something... something... something... be mine!

Then, just as abruptly as she had started, Sugar Belle stopped. For a moment or two, she just stood there in silence. Why was this happening?! Why couldn't she bring herself to move?!

Party Favor blinked in surprise. "Is... that it?" He questioned, surprised by the sudden stopping of the singing. It had sounded like it might have been going somewhere.

Sugar Belle then started to tear up, shaking and shuddering. "I can't do this!" She said aloud.

"Can't do what?" The unicorn stallion with a curly mane and tail asked with concern.

The baker unicorn mare whimpered, turning her back to Party Favor as she then bolted and ran from the stage without a word! All she could do was sob and cry!

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, for their part, were left speechless! They could not believe what they had just seen. And they quickly decided they should go after Sugar Belle to make sure she was alright.

Sugar Belle ran as far away from the village as she could. She had no particular destination in mind, she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Only once her body started screaming at her to stop did she do so, sitting down on a hill overlooking Cutie Markless. The tears flowed from her eyes without end. It was all over, she'd blown her last chance.

"Sugar Belle?" The CMC called out as they all ran up to her.

"Just leave me alone!" The bitter baker unicorn complained in between sobs. "I'm hopeless! No wonder Party Favor likes Night Glider more, I can't even be around him for five minutes without making a fool of myself! I wish I had her confidence, her courage."

Apple Bloom blinked in confusion. "Whaddya mean? You had a ton of courage tellin' Princess Twilight and her friends about your desire to get your cutie mark back. And I hear you showed a lot of courage helpin' to get their cutie marks back from Starlight."

"But when it comes to telling somepony I love them, I can't do it. I just can't!" Sugar Belle whimpered as she put her hooves up to her face. "Just what's wrong with me? How hard is it to say a few simple words?!"

Sweetie Belle let out an unhappy sigh, holding up the book she'd been using for advice. "You know what, maybe the fairytales have it all wrong. Real life is a lot more complicated," She tossed the book aside. "I just thought that maybe if we followed the stories, we could give you that nudge you needed to win Party Favor's heart. But all we really did was make things more awkward."

Scootaloo saw fit to add. "I'm sorry we roped you into those elaborate performances and gestures, Sugar Belle. I guess when it comes to romance, there's still a lot we don't know. Maybe it's just something you get better at when you're older. Or maybe it's something you'll never really understand. It just seems to happen."

Apple Bloom slowly nodded. "I think maybe you're right, Scootaloo. And you too, Sweetie Belle. We were goin' about it all wrong. We were tryin' to make Sugar Belle into somethin' she's not: She's not some fairytale princess waitin' for her knight in shinin' armor to come and rescue her. She's a real live pony, and so's Party Favor. Real life doesn't always work out like the story books."

Sugar Belle sighed deeply, slowly drying her tears. "Cant believe it took me so long to realize that," She turned to the Crusaders. "You girls were just trying to help me out. From what I hear, helping other ponies is what you do best."

"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean we'll always have all the answers to everythin'," Apple Bloom admitted. "We certainly tried our best, Sugar Belle. But maybe it's just meant to be this way: For Party Favor and Night Glider to be together. Maybe sometimes, the princess doesn't always win the prince's heart."

As those words slowly sank in for the baker unicorn mare, something to spark deep inside of her. She rose to her hooves with newfound confidence. Suddenly, she seemed to know what she had to do. "You're right, Crusaders. Maybe there's nothing I can do to make Party Favor love me no matter what I try. But the least I can do is try to be happy for him, be glad that he found somepony else to be his special somepony," She trotted off, heading back towards the village. "I just hope there's still time to let him know that."

The sun was slowly but surely starting to set as Party Favor was making his way back to his cottage. All in all, today had certainly been rather interesting to say the least. He still wasn't sure just what was up with Sugar Belle or why she had run off so suddenly. Maybe she just wasn't feeling like herself today for whatever reason.

Well, the stallion wasn't going to let that bother him. He was confident his fellow unicorn would tell him eventually why she had done what she'd done. There was always a reason behind her actions. And if she just wanted to have some space to be herself, he was certainly not going to pry.

Yet suddenly, Party Favor felt something brush up against his tail. He turned around fast and found himself face to face with Sugar Belle, who seemed surprisingly more calm and content now compared to when he'd last seen her. "Oh, hello again, Sugar Belle," He commented while blinking slowly. "It's funny how we seem to keep bumping into each other like this today."

Sugar Belle didn't laugh, giggle, or do anything other than just clear her throat and speak clearly. "Listen, Party Favor, there's something I'm sure you wanted to tell me. You don't have to lie to me or keep it a secret. I can see what's going on."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Party Favor questioned.

Sugar Belle just pressed on, her expression not changing in the slightest. "I know about you and Night Glider. I've seen the way you two act when you're together. I know I can't compete with that, and I don't want to anymore. I don't want there to be a competition," She paused, sighing slightly. "You should know that, even if I'm sad that we didn't work out, I still want you to be happy with Night Glider. She's an excellent special somepony. And no matter what, I hope we can all still be friends."

Much to the surprise of the baker unicorn mare, however, Party Favor just replied by saying. "What are you talking about? Night Glider and I aren't together."

"But... but... I've seen you together!" Sugar Belle protested. "I know you've been dating!"

"Sure, maybe once or twice," Party Favor willingly admitted. "It doesn't mean we're a couple yet. I think there could potentially be a spark between us, but then again there might not be," He looked into Sugar Belle's eyes. "If I'm being honest, I always felt like we had more of a connection. We knew each other before anypony else in the village. But after a while, I guess I just figured that if you weren't going to ask me out then that meant you didn't love me as anything other than a friend."

Sugar Belle shook her head from side to side. "Oh Party Favor, that's ridiculous! I wanted so badly on so many occasions to tell you how I really felt! I just could never work up the courage until now."

The unicorn stallion with a bright grayish-blue coat just smiled, nuzzling Sugar Belle on the side a little bit. "Well, I'm glad you did now," Looking at her more clearly, he said with a smile. "There's still some time left. What would you say to a nice little walk into the sunset together? Just you and I?"

The baker unicorn mare dreamily sighed. "Thought you'd never ask." And she and Party Favor then walked off together, holding hooves.

From afar, the Cutie Mark Crusaders observed the whole thing. And they couldn't help but smile.

"Guess maybe we did help after all." Sweetie Belle concluded.

"Sure," Apple Bloom agreed. "Now we just gotta figure out a way to get back to Ponyville. Our families are probably startin' to worry about us."

Scootaloo let out a gasp of realization! "You're right! We've gotta find a wagon or something to hide in, and quick! If we're not back by sundown, we're gonna be in so much trouble!" And she and her fellow Crusaders raced off to try to find some means of getting back to Ponyville.

Author's Note

As I've mentioned in countless rewrite volumes already, a bonus chapter is when I rewrite an episode in a way where a character or characters not present or not in the focus of the original episode are made the focus of the rewrite. In this case, this particular rewrite is one that's been on the backburner for a very long time, because I kept putting off deciding wheter to stick with SugarMac like in the show canon, or go with CheeriMac.

As you can tell from this rewrite, I've finally settled the question in favor of CheeriMac and pairing up Sugar Belle with Party Favor. I've nothing against SugarMac, but given that we only got three episodes devoted to the ship, we really needed more time to see their relationship grow before jumping to them getting married. Plus, I've always felt that Sugar Belle and Party Favor had stronger chemistry.

Putting aside the shipping debate, this episode is pretty good as it is. The only thing that really needed to be fixed was the CMC thinking that love works like a fairytale. At this point in the show's canon, given all that they've dealt with, they should be above such thinking and should know better. So I wanted to change it to them trying to help Sugar Belle gain the confidence to tell Party Favor how she feels.

~~Stare Master~~
~~Pinkie Apple Pie~~
~~The Cutie Map, Parts 1 and 2~~
~~The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone~~
~~Hard to Say Anything (Bonus Chapter)~~
A Health of Information
Uprooted
The Royal Apologies (The Point of No Return)
The Big Mac Question (Bonus Chapter)