Chapters "I'm sorry, you want me to do what?" Starlight double checked to make sure she wasn't losing her hearing.
"You heard me crystal clear," Sour Grapes insisted, "I want you to cast the same spell that you used to remove other pony's cutie marks to remove mine. And don't try to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about."
"I'm just having a hard time grasping as to why anypony would willingly wish to have their own cutie mark removed." Starlight explained.
"Excuse me," Sweetie Belle cautiously joined in the conversation, "but could we have a look at your cutie mark?"
Without uttering a word, Sour Grapes obliged the filly's request as he turned his flank in order to display his cutie mark which had the appearance of a pair of rotten green grapes. "I see, I think I understand what your dad meant when he said you get angry over cutie marks." Scootaloo shared her hypothesis. "It's because you're embarrassed over how your cutie mark looks, and you don't want anypony to see it in public. Am I right?"
"I don't give a buck what the cutie mark looks like!" Sour hollered at the orange filly. "Cutie marks make me angry because they make other ponies want to hurt me!"
"Ya mean ta say that you were bullied fer bein' a blank flank?" Apple Bloom put the pieces together.
"Exactly! Ever since I was a foal I, and three ponies who used to be my friends, would get bullied by the same three ponies simply for not having a cutie mark. Although having to put up with them was a pain in the flank, my friends and I promised that we would always have each other's back. I actually even helped each of my friends earn their cutie marks. But as soon as they stopped being blank flanks, they suddenly decided they wanted nothing to do with me anymore; it's as if the cutie marks made them forget about our promise to always be together. So I had to endure being bullied without having any friends by my side all the way up to ninth grade, when something in me made me snap after those flankholes pushed me too far and I had the sudden urge to use my magic to hurt them for once!"
The four ponies could sense a rising intensity of hatred in the room the more Sour Grapes related the events leading to him developing his disdain towards cutie marks. "I ended up earning my cutie mark on that same day, and after witnessing how toxic these accursed marks make ponies behave towards others, I've been dedicating every day of my life trying to find the spell you used to remove them. Only I can't find it in any scroll that the public library has to offer."
"And there's a good reason why that spell is not in any scrolls." Starlight explained. "Because it was a spell that enslaved an entire village!"
"You might've used that spell for a nefarious purpose in the past," Sour Grapes acknowledged, "but now you can use it for good and take it off of a pony who doesn't want one."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you kid, but this is a request I cannot take part in. I've completely swore off my anti-cutie mark ways ever since seeing the bleak future my grudge towards Twilight was setting up all of Equestria for; I don't think I could be able to sleep at night knowing I used such an iniquitous spell on another pony."
"Fine, if you have cold hooves over casting the spell yourself, then teach me the spell so I can cast it on my own!"
"I can't do that either! What if you become tempted to use the spell to remove the cutie marks of other ponies? Your parents would probably die of broken hearts if they saw their son turn into an even worse villain than I ever was."
"Buck them! I stopped giving a buck what Sea Worthy and Sea Breeze thought of me a long time ago!"
"You call yer own parents by their names?!" Apple Bloom took great offense to this colt's blatant disrespect towards his own mom and dad. "What could they have possibly done ta deserve bein' treated this way?!"
"It's not a matter of what they've done, it's about what they haven't done! Every day when I return home with scrapes and bruises after encountering my bullies, you would think that the two ponies who are supposed to love me the most would try to comfort me and make me feel better right? But aside from bandaging my injuries, they'd just tell me that I'd have to get used to being treated this way until I get my cutie mark. It's always 'We were bullied when we were your age, and we never complained about it,' or 'Getting picked on just motivates you to earn your cutie mark faster'! As far as I'm concerned, any parent who would throw their child to the wolves without even so much as offering that kid a warm hug afterwards has no right to be called mom or dad!"
Hearing such rancor spewing out of his muzzle fanned the flames of the intense hatred that is looming in this very room. Attempting to calm things down before things can potentially get worse, Sweetie Belle offered her own interpretation of the colt's problem. "OK, it's clear that you suffered a lot of physical and emotional pain leading up to our meeting, but maybe part of your problem stems from not fully understanding the hidden talent that your cutie mark conveys. My friends and I are known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders where we come from, and our talents involve helping other ponies discover their hidden talents and help those who already have cutie marks figure out what their mark means. From what you mentioned about you helping your friends discover their cutie marks, it sounds like you have the great potential of being a Cutie Mark Crusader yourself. I mean, have you even considered that your cutie mark suggests that you have a hidden talent for helping others?"
"There is nothing to consider you little twat!" Sour Grapes roared at the white filly. "It was plain to me since the day I got this accursed mark that my hidden talent is to spread hatred and pain to anypony who comes into contact with me, which in turn draws out the hatred and pain inside of them; your yellow friend getting upset over me referring to the two ponies I call my parents by their names is living proof of that!"
"That's enough!" Starlight found herself succumbing to the same frustration that got a hold of Apple Bloom until the pale pink mare calmed herself. "You're right, we all do feel hatred seeping out of us the more we talk to you, but that won't deter us from helping you."
"So quit stalling and strip this accursed mark from my flank already! And if you're not going to grant my simple request, then you can all get the buck out of my room right now!"
Feeling themselves becoming suffocated by the rising hatred, Starlight and the girls opted to depart from Sour Grapes room and despondently return to his parents--who were residing in the kitchen--in defeat. Starlight, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom each had an expression of grievance after getting a taste of Sour Grapes hatred, but Sweetie Belle looked to be on the verge of tears. Unable to bear the sight of a crying filly, Sea Breeze got off her chair and wrapped Sweetie Belle into a loving hug that only a mother could give.
"I apologize if our son hurt you all in anyway." Sea Breeze attempted to atone for Sour's toxic behavior.
"Thanks, although it's also our own faults for underestimating the extent of your sons' friendship problem." Starlight said.
"I take it he explained his pre-cutie mark days to all of you?" Sea Worthy asked.
"He did, although some of us still have a hard time understanding any of it." Scootaloo confessed.
Wanting to provide the four ponies with an extra outlook, Sea Breeze took out a photo album and showed various pictures of their son when he was still a blank flank. "When he was brought into this world," Sea Breeze explained, "he had the biggest smile than any baby pony in Equestria. Which is how Sea Worthy and I came up with giving him the name Happy Grapes."
"I thought his name is Sour Grapes?" Apple Bloom voiced her confusion.
"No little one, Sour Grapes is a derogatory nickname everypony in Vanhoover dubbed him with when he lashed out at the entire school board when they tried making him apologize for hospitalizing the three bullies who made his life a living Tartarus since kindergarten." Sea Worthy answered on his wife's behalf. "And our son was more than glad to embrace his new monicker, seeing as how the pony we used to call Happy Grapes had died when he finally got his cutie mark."
Sea Breeze chose to pick up where she left off by showing more photos. "You see, there was a time when our son was the sweetest colt in Vanhoover; always eager to make ponies as happy as he was and always giving to others without ever expecting a reward in return. He also only had three friends growing up," she turned to a page containing a group photo of Happy Grapes and his former friends, "the pink earth pony filly is Lovely Smooch, the white pegasus filly is Violet Pride, and the blue earth pony colt is Blitz; they too suffered from the same harassment our son became subjugated to for being a blank flank. When each of them had earned their own cutie mark, they each abandoned him one by one until he was utterly alone."
"Since you brought it up, is it true that ponies in Vanhoover are actually encouraged to pick on blank flanks?" Starlight broached the touchy subject that only Sour was willing to divulge.
"As much as I would love to say that our city does not condone such archaic methods," Sea Breeze hesitantly answered the question, "but it has always been a tradition to haze and bully blank flanks as a means of motivating them to earn their cutie marks."
Having one of Sour Grapes' claims be proven true left the four ponies in shock, but Sweetie Belle wanted to dig deeper, "The two of you at least comforted him now and then whenever he got bullied?" The clear and present pauses that the two grown ponies elicited from the filly's question practically confirmed what the answer is. "Please tell me that your son was simply blinded by his own hatred when he said none of you provided him with emotional comfort."
"I know this seems harsh to such a gentle soul like you," Sea Worthy responded, "but it's our duty as parents to provide our son with tough love as a means of helping him grow thick skin. Shoot, I felt hurt too when I had to experience bullying when I was a colt, but I still got over it and even befriended the same ponies who gave me grief when I earned my cutie mark. How were we supposed to know that our son would have a different reaction to this city's tradition?"
"You mean you never considered that letting him be tormented on a daily basis without letting him know you cared about his wellbeing may have contributed to the hateful personality he acquired along with his cutie mark?" Starlight shot back with an armor piercing question.
"You're right, we should've been more considerate of our sons' feelings and wellbeing." Sea Breeze conceded to the pale pink unicorn. "There were many times I wanted to just hug my sweet little boy and give him the love and care that he needed, but Sea Worthy insisted that I refrain from softening him up in the hopes that he'll be able to endure his peers' cruel actions against him long enough to earn his cutie mark. And after seeing just what earning his cutie mark has done to him, I wish I could go back and give him the comfort that would have prevented him from turning into Sour Grapes.
"My husband and I heard everything our son said to you in his room, and we know he wants you to remove his cutie mark with a spell that only you know how to perform. And if stripping him of the very mark that turned him into the hateful pony can bring back my sweet little colt, I give you my full permission to cast the spell on him."
"That goes double for me." Sea Worthy second the notion. "We've had to homeschool him ever since he gotten himself expelled for what he did to his bullies, and he has no plans of apologizing for his actions so long as he has that toxic cutie mark on his flank. I thought him getting his cutie mark was the one thing I wanted most, but now I just want our son to go back to loving us and calling us mom and dad again; and it's clear the only way that'll happen is if you remove the cutie mark that's filling his heart with hate."
Starlight had hoped that his parents would attempt to dissuade her from obliging Sour Grapes' request, but seeing the pleading looks in their eyes told the mare that they want that accursed mark off of him as much as he does. "OK, I'll go cast the spell on him. But I'll need a jar."
With an empty jar in hoof, Starlight returned upstairs to find an irritated Sour reading a scroll while in bed. "I take it you've come back to convince me that I should just live out my life with a cutie mark?" Sour guessed while never removing his eyes off the scroll.
"I've actually come to relieve you of your cutie mark as you requested. Of course, if you're starting to have second thoughts..."
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this day a long time ago, so get to it!"
Tossing the scroll aside and bouncing back on his hooves, Sour Grapes provided Starlight with a clear view of his flank as he closed his eyes in eager anticipation of finally being rid of this accursed mark that adorned his flank. Removing the lid from the jar, Starlight gave out a nervous gulp as she closed her eyes and mentally asked Twilight Sparkle for forgiveness for what she is about to do. With a snap of her neck Starlight shot from her horn a blue aura that engulfed the teenage colt as his cutie mark was painfully ripped from his flank like a Band-Aid and was promptly locked away in the jar.
Opening her eyes, Starlight watched as Sour Grapes slowly risen back to his hooves after enduring such an excruciating spell. Trotting over to a nearby mirror, Sour discovered that the vibrant colors of his mane and coat were dilapidated into a grayish hue, but what really caught his eye was the fact that his flank is once again blank. Feeling a new sense of joy he hadn't felt in what might as well be ages for him, Sour Grapes' frown morphed into a psychotic grin as he let out a maniacal laugh that echoed throughout the entire house.
"Finally! I'd thought I'd be stuck with that accursed mark forever! This is the greatest day of my life!"
Leaving him to relish in his celebration, Starlight trotted downstairs where the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sour's parents were waiting for her near the door. The ponies cringed in terror upon seeing the cutie mark that used to be on Sour Grapes' flank emit red sparks of lighting similar to the clouds of anger Starlight once bottled up.
"It's done." Said Starlight. "We'll return tomorrow to check up on him. Thank you for allowing us to help in any way we could, but we won't be done until our cutie marks start glowing. Now if you'll excuse us, we have more ponies to talk to."
Conversations with the Usual Suspects
Getting to Vanhoover High School required no great amount of time or effort for the four ponies. Classes for the day had ended by the time Starlight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders departed from Sour Grapes' home, so they simply needed to follow in the opposite direction of passing students until they eventually arrived at the high school. Vanhoover High School reminded Starlight a little of Canterlot High School, only minus the friendly atmosphere and vibrant colors. One thing that caught the unicorn's eye was the sign which held the school motto in bold, capitalized letters which read "ALWAYS STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE, NO MATTER THE COST ".
As soon as the four ponies set hoof inside this school, the sight of the bleak and bare bones interior gave Starlight reason to suspect that this school must be run by a staff that don't practice what they preach; she even wonders if Chancellor Neighsay even bothered to perform an inspection to see if this school even satisfies the standards of the E.E.A. In spite of these lingering doubts, the pale pink unicorn was still willing to give the school staff the benefit of a doubt. Utilizing her instincts from wandering around the School of Friendship, Starlight managed to lead the way to the main office where a bespectacled secretary mare with a short red mane and a pale-yellow coat was nonchalantly reading a magazine when the unicorn and three fillies approached her desk.
"Excuse me, but could we speak to the principal?" Starlight requested.
"That depends on who's asking." The secretary responded with a dry tone.
"We've been sent by Princess Twilight to help a student at this school, and we were hoping that the principal may have some useful information."
Not in the mood to run the risk of dealing with four ponies who may refuse to leave until they got what they wanted, the secretary placed her magazine down and pressed a button on her intercom. "Principal Schulz?"
"What is it, Janine?"
"There are four ponies sent by Princess Twilight who wish to ask you for information about a student."
"A princess has an interest in our school? Then by all means, let the ponies she sent come in."
"Please step in his office." Getting that taken care of, Janine was about to pick up where she left off with her magazine, until a sudden ring from her phone made her elicit an exasperated sigh before picking up the phone and saying, "Vanhoover High School, what do ya want?!"
Upon entering the principal's office, the four ponies found themselves on the receiving end of a jovial greeting from the principal. "It is an absolute pleasure to welcome you four to Vanhoover." Getting off his desk, Starlight and the girls finally got a good look at this plump stallion with blue fur and short patches of white hair that was the closest thing to a mane that's on his head; in spite of the gleaming grin that was adorning his face, the wrinkles around his mouth suggested that he probably has a habit of frowning. Upon shaking Starlight's hoof, the principal properly introduced himself. "I am Principal Schulz, though many of my friends refer to me as The Capitan on account of my distinguish service in the Royal Guard. And what might your names be?"
"I am Starlight Glimmer, and these are Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle."
"I must confess, when I was told four ponies who were sent by Princess Twilight wanted to speak with me, I was not expecting a couple of fillies to be part of said group. Are you three in second grade?"
"Third grade, actually." Scootaloo corrected him.
"In any case, please have a seat." Situating themselves upon their respective chairs, Principal Schulz wasted no time in obliging the four ponies' request. "Now, I understand that you're wanting information about a student in this school. I'm always eager to help out in any way that I can, so just tell me the student's name and I'll divulge as much knowledge I possess concerning him or her."
Starlight in turn delivered the name of said student. "How much do you know about a unicorn colt named Sour Grapes?"
The very mention of that name caused Schulz's beaming smile to melt away into a bereaved frown. "Ah yes, I'm quite familiar with Sea Worthy's son. I unfortunately had no choice but to expel him after he had gotten into a fierce fight with three of his classmates."
"Was this a fight that he started?" Starlight inquired.
"Unfortunately, I was not present at the time the altercation took place," the principal nervously admitted, "I was in the office when one of the hall monitors burst through and alerted me of what was transpiring. By the time I finally arrived at the scene, Sour had already seriously injured the three classmates that he was clashing with; and the sight of the three ponies he injured is too graphic to describe in front of three fillies."
"The cutie map never would've sent us if it thought we couldn't handle hearin' the more gruesome details." Apple Bloom responded. "Just how serious were these injuries anyway?"
"Well for starters, Firecracker had all four of his legs broken, Cherry Bomb's entire body was embedded with shards of glass, and poor Peony was almost burned to death. I apologize if I was unable to explain this to you all in more gentler terms."
"It's not your manner of communicating these series of unfortunate events that worries us." Starlight replied. "What worries us is the idea that many teachers in this school were aware that Sour Grapes was being bullied for being a blank flank and did nothing to deescalate the conflict until it was too late."
Feeling himself pushed into a corner, Schulz's eyes bulged out, his face became drenched with perspiration, and his voice had a noticeable shaky tone as he attempted to explain everything. "It's always been a fundamental belief in Vanhoover that suffering builds character; it's honestly no different from how the Wonderbolts will label new recruits with disparaging nicknames as a means of encouragement."
"Except we're not discussing a grown pony who's being subjugated to military hazing rituals," Starlight countered, "we're talking about a young colt who has spent most of his life being harassed just for being a blank flank, and has become convinced that he can't rely on any of his teachers to help him when he needs it the most. And there isn't even a part of you that feels just a little remorse for not stepping in to hold his bullies accountable whenever it transpired in your school?"
"Look, literally everypony in Vanhoover was bullied for being blank flanks the same way Sour Grapes had experienced, and none of those same ponies reacted to it by seriously injuring their tormentors. Hay, I used to bully Sea Worthy until he got his cutie mark, and he never held a grudge against me; I myself was bullied when I was a blank flank, and I've become friends with bullies after I earned my cutie mark. I was even willing to lift Sour Grapes' expulsion if he simply apologized for what he did, but he instead chose to squander it by trying to direct the blame onto I and the other school staff. I mean, it's like not we did anything."
"You not doing anything while Sour Grapes was being bullied is kind of the point." Starlight pointed out. "We at the School of Friendship would never hesitate to step in to help somepony like Sour Grapes who gets bullied on school grounds, and we especially do not encourage students to harass one another."
"Well not every school can be like the School of Friendship, and I can assure you that other schools in other parts of Equestria carry the same fundamental traditions of Vanhoover."
"If that's true, then I'm truly sorry that you and other ponies never had a loving family or loyal friends to comfort you when you were bullied." Sweetie Belle extended her pity to the principal.
"Look, we can spend all day debating on whether or not picking on blank flanks is right, but none of that will change the fact that three ponies are in the hospital right now. I admit that this situation could've been averted had I stepped in before things got out of hoof; I'm a knucklehead at times who does not always do the right thing, but I do care about my students. I was at Yakyakistan with students for a field trip at the same time the dragons had their brief conflict with the yaks, and I guarded my students with my life by using all the fundamental training I learned while serving in the Royal Guard. So I understand just how fundamental it is to protect students from danger.
"And if my word alone is not enough, then I beseech the four of you to speak with Firecracker, Cherry Bomb, and Peony at the hospital and listen to their side of the story. Of course, hospital policy typically only permits family and close friends to visit patients, but fortunately for the four of you I'm a respected figure in Vanhoover; so simply present this note with my signature on it to any of the hospital staff when you request to see the three students, and you'll be permitted to speak with them."
True to his word, Principal Schulz proceeded to jot down a permission slip which he bestowed upon Starlight Glimmer. Keeping the permission slip safe in her saddlebag, Starlight ended the conversation with a final inquiry. "Incidentally, Sour Grapes' parents informed us that he used to be friends with three ponies called Lovely Smooch, Violet Pride, and Blitz. You wouldn't happen to know where we can find these three?"
"From what I know about those three, they typically hang out at Hoover Park after school. So you probably should check there for them, although I would advise you four to speak with the students at the hospital first before visiting hours are over. If you no longer have any further questions, then I bid the four of you good evening and wish you luck in helping out Sour Grapes any way that you can."
After giving the bumbling principal a courteous farewell, the four ponies made their way to the hospital; or at least they would be heading straight to the hospital if Sweetie Belle hadn't had the sudden urge to use the bathroom. Fortunately, they happened to be next to a bathroom for the white filly to use. The delay lasted for about five minutes until Sweetie Belle finally trotted out the door.
"Sorry that I took so long everypony, I got a little sidetracked by the soda machine that's in the bathroom."
Finding themselves compelled by curiosities sake, the other ponies took a quick peek inside and were immediately dumbfounded by the sight of a soda machine that truly did stand inside this bathroom. Starlight found herself mentally wondering on what kind of knucklehead would possibly think that a bathroom would serve as an appropriate location for a soda machine, only to quickly deduce that she had just finished conversing with said knucklehead.
...
Starlight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders eventually reached the hospital without any further delays. Upon trotting inside, the four ponies approached a nurse pony with gray fur and a grayish-green mane with a faded happy face for a cutie mark as Starlight asked, "Excuse me Nurse..." The pale pink pony checked the nurses' name tag, "...Mirage. Can we see Firecracker, Cherry Bomb, and Peony please?"
"Are you friends or family?" Asked the nurse with a plastic smile on her face.
"We're neither," Starlight admitted, "but we were given a permission slip from their principal."
Giving the sheet of paper to the nurse, her smile promptly dissolved into a frown upon reading the form over. "Ah, you got permission from Sodapop Schulz himself. Follow me."
As the four ponies followed Nurse Mirage throughout the vast hallways that made this hospital feel like a maze, Scootaloo was the first to ask, "That nickname you gave the principal, does it have anything to do with that soda machine we found in a school bathroom?"
"So you've gotten to see what our taxes helped pay for our kids' education? You shouldn't be too surprised to find such a frivolous expense in a school that's run by a self-confessed knucklehead; of course, when he says knucklehead, he really means liar."
"You mean everything he told us isn't true?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"Absolutely." Nurse Mirage affirmed. "Did he tell you about his illustrious career in the Royal Guard?" The nurse received a confirming nod from all four. "Well knowing Sodapop Schulz, he more than likely left out the fact that he never experienced real combat. He spent ten years of his military career on reserve until he and his unit will actually be deployed into combat. Then when Equestria experienced that brief conflict with the changelings, that coward chose to retire around the time his unit was meant to be deployed, and he got himself hired to be Vanhoover's High School principal by stealing credit for the valorous deeds my husband and the other members of his unit performed in the line of duty."
"Does this mean he also lied about protectin' his students during the dragons' and yaks' conflict in Yakyakistan?" Apple Bloom inquired.
"Not only did he never protect anypony at Yakyakistan," Mirage continued, "he also was never at Yakyakistan at that time; he was at the high school, attending a hoofball game. If I can offer the four of you any free advice, it's to take anything that Sodapop Schulz says with a grain of salt. But enough about that knucklehead, what exactly brings you all to Vanhoover? I know the four of you are not local residents around here."
"You're right, we're not." Starlight concurred. "We traveled all the way from Ponyville to help out a young stallion named Sour Grapes with his friendship problem."
Hearing that name made Nurse Mirage stop dead in her tracks to perform a doubletake before saying, "Ah, so you've come to help the pony formerly known as Happy Grapes, and you'd figured talking with his tormentors would help you four understand his dilemma better. If that is indeed your purpose, then bless your hearts. Truth be told, I'm quite possibly the only pony in Vanhoover who sympathizes with that poor kid; I was at the PTA meeting where he called out the entire schoolboard for never keeping ponies like him safe from bullies. Even though many ponies in the audience were cursing him as a malcontent who disrespects Vanhoover's traditions, all I could think about was how brave that kid was to say the things that I never had the courage to say myself when I was his age.
"That's right, I was bullied for being a blank flank too; and yes, Schulz was my bully. I had the same anger that kid let out throughout my fillyhood, only I was too afraid of everypony treating me like a problem filly for holding a grudge against my tormentors. So I hid my anxiety behind a smile, which is ironically how I earned my cutie mark, and I simply lived out my days keeping my true feelings bottled up. But enough about my sob story, the ponies you're looking for are in this room."
Stepping through the open door, Starlight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders found three ponies lying upon separate beds. On the left side lied a pink coated pegasus teenage filly with a frazzled red mane whose body is covered from head to hoof in stitches, and on the right side lied an earth pony teenage filly completely enveloped by a full body cast with only her eyes and mouth exposed, and right in the middle lied a fiery red coated unicorn teenage colt with a spiky black mane whose legs are encased by casts which are held up by a pulley system attached to his bed.
While the four ponies looked over the name cards at the foot of each bed to discern the three patients, the colt known as Firecracker was the first to notice their presence. "Do we know you?"
"No you don't," Starlight clarified, "but we know that your names are Firecracker, Cherry Bomb, and Peony; we also know that the three of you have been bullying young colt named Happy Grapes."
The very utterance of that name triggered a PTSD outburst out of the seemingly quiet filly known as Peony, who began to jerk her cast body all about from her bed while letting out a primal shriek of pure terror. The alarmed filly would've likely collapsed onto the tiled floor had Nurse Mirage not galloped in to administer a sedative to calm Peony's nerves. "Shh, there, there, hon. Everything's all right."
Once Nurse Mirage made her departure from the room, Sweetie Belle was the first to speak. "What gotten into her?"
"It was that name your grownup friend mentioned." Cherry Bomb explained. "Ever since that pony went berserk on us, Peony will experience panic attacks just from hearing his name. As for me, I can't even sleep without hearing Peony's agonizing screams as she was being set on fire while I lied covered in glass after You-Know-Who flung me through a window."
"And that little bucker also shattered my legs!" Firecracker cried out. "I may end up having to wear a wheelchair cart just to move around; and if that does end up being the case, then I can't wait to find that motherbucker and make him wish that he was never born!"
"Well maybe if y'all didn't bully You-Know-Who some many times he never would've inured any of y'all!" Apple Bloom shot back.
"So you're on that freaks' side?!" Firecracker felt appalled that anypony would side against him in favor of one of his victims. "Just who even are you ponies anyway?!"
"I'm Starlight Glimmer, and this is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. We were summoned to Vanhoover by Twilight Sparkle's Cutie Map to aid somepony with a friendship problem; and You-Know-Who happens to be that very pony who needs our help. You-Know-Who told us his side of the story of how the three of you have harassed him and his friends since kindergarten just for not having cutie marks. What I want to know is what did he possibly do to deserve such ignominious treatment from you three?"
"Nothing," Cherry Bomb answered, "we simply followed the same tradition of teasing and bugging blank flanks as a way of coaxing them to discover their cutie marks the same way that our parents and grandparents have been doing long before we were ever born. But after seeing what pushing You-Know-Who to find his cutie mark got us into, I just wish I could go back to that day and stop myself from partaking with my friends' hazing."
"So now you're on their side?!" Firecracker felt betrayed by Cherry Bomb's remorse.
"I didn't make you push You-Know-Who beyond his breaking point, I was specifically telling you to ease off when you were taking things too far! And thanks to you a sensitive, quiet pony got turned into a raging monster, and we're having to spend weeks--if not months--in a bucking hospital!"
"Hey, I may have stuffed his head in toilets, shoot spitballs at him, shoved him downstairs, plant lit matches in his mane, plant firecrackers in his saddlebag, dump him in the ocean and made him suffer a rash for a year, smacked a tree branch against his face, spit in his lunch, and carved my initials onto his body, but I never broke a bone in his body! And if that crybaby thought I was rough on him before, then he's in for a whole new world of pain if I ever see him again!"
"Do you even hear yourself talking?!" Sweetie Belle stamped her hoof to the tile floor. "A nice colt who used to help anypony in need has been turned into an angry resenter because of all the horrible things you've done to him, and you don't even feel an ounce of remorse for it?! Has it never once occurred to you that you and your friends could've easily avoided the situation you're all in by simply being friendly to ponies like You-Know-Who the way decent ponies would've done?!"
"Oh cry me a river you little bleeding heart!" Firecracker refused to concede his outlook on life. "A little pansy like you wouldn't know anything how satisfying it is to put a loser like You-Know-Who in his place; and I'll sooner die before ever apologizing to an oversensitive wimp who could never ponyup and take Vanhoover's traditions in stride like the rest of us!"
The room fell silent for a minute that somehow felt like an eternity. Starlight Glimmer calmly approached Firecracker while piercing him with a stern gaze that only a disappointed teacher could give before opening her muzzle. "When You-Know-Who told us how certain ponies had hurt him for being a blank flank, I was hoping it was all embellishment brought on by trauma; but your words have ended up proving him right. If you had been a student in the School of Friendship, you would be expelled in a heartbeat if you did just one of the cruel acts you listed to any of your classmates. Nopony as callous and toxic as you deserves any of these well wishes written on your casts any more than a pony as sweet and innocent as You-Know-Who deserves to be tortured for not having a cutie mark. I would say that I pity such a wretched pony as you for being misled into believing that treating anypony as less than you for being a blank flank by parents and teachers who clearly should've set a better example for ponies like you, but you don't even deserve to be pitied. Instead I'll leave you here in hopes that you'll eventually feel guilt for what you've done, and may Celestia have mercy on your soul."
Once Starlight Glimmer swiveled her body to depart the hospital along with the girls, it was at this moment that Firecracker noticed that Scootaloo was standing in place at the foot of his bed next to the lever which operated the pulley system that held his legs in the air. Maintaining the same stern expression that was plastered on Starlight's face, the orange filly swiftly pulled the lever down which caused his legs to collapse with enough force to elicit excruciating screams from the unrepentant bully. "Oops, my bad." The pegasus filly spoke a tone that suggested that her actions were not entirely accidental.
...
The sky turned to dusk by the time the four ponies arrived at Hoover Park. It was a typical public park with green grass, plenty of trees, a cement sidewalk for joggers to run on, a playground for foals, a basketball court, some water fountains, and a nearby bathroom station. The ponies assumed the search for Sour Grapes' old friends may end up taking all night, but luck was once again on their side when their eyes picked up the sight of three teenage ponies trotting their way.
One was a white pegasus filly with a violet mane tied in a ponytail, the other with his hoof wrapped around her shoulder was a blue earth pony colt with a golden buzzcut, and the one was a pink earth pony filly with a curly magenta mane that the Cutie Mark Crusaders noticed bared a strong resemblance to that of Sugar Belle (with the one minor difference being this filly wraps her mane in pigtails).
Feeling as if they were on a tight schedule, the four ponies galloped towards the three unsuspecting ponies with Starlight being the one to start things off. "Excuse me, but are you Violet Pride, Lovely Smooch, and Blitz?"
"Yes, but who are you?" The coy filly known as Lovely Smooch timidly asked.
"I'm Starlight Glimmer, and this is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. We were sent here by Princess Twilight to help out a pony you know as Happy Grapes."
"Help Happy?" Lovely said with fright in her voice. "Did he get hurt?"
"Not exactly." Starlight explained. "When we first met him, he had displayed an intense hatred towards cutie marks; his animosity for cutie marks was so severe that he specifically asked me to remove his own for him."
"Now that's a bunch of baloney," Blitz dismissed her claim, "nopony can remove a cutie mark." His confidence immediately dissipated the second Starlight showed off the very jar that held his former friends' cutie mark.
"Wait, I remember you now." Velvet Pride felt a jog in her memory. "You're the pony who stole the cutie marks of an entire village until Twilight Sparkle reformed you. How could you go back to your villainous ways after saving Equestria from the changeling invasion?"
"I haven't." Starlight affirmed. "I didn't want to go through with stripping him of his cutie mark, but his parents insisted that doing so could turn him back to the nice pony he was before he had earned it. So far, we've heard his side, his parents' side, his principals' side, and his bullies' side of this same story; the only side we have yet to hear from is yours. So tell us with one hundred percent honesty, did you three really forsake him after you earned your cutie marks?"
"Well of course we did," Blitz admitted, "it was either be one of the many ponies who have a cutie mark or be bullied for being friends with a blank flank."
The four ponies each shook their heads and let out groans of disappointment towards these teenagers. "Just who are you to judge us?" Violet asked with great offense in her tone. "I mean, do you even know what it's like to be bullied for being a blank flank?"
"Yes we do!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "My friends and I were teased relentlessly fer not havin' cutie marks, and we never once tried ta fersake each other just ta rub elbows with our own bullies! My own cousin did exactly what y'all did ta Happy ta us, and even she went on ta regret it!"
"It's not like we didn't try to welcome him into our circle of friendship again!" Blitz responded. "When he got his cutie mark, the three of us walked right up to him and treated him like a friend once again, but how does he repay our kind offer? By shoving me away when I tried to hug and telling us all to buck off! What else could we possibly have done?!"
"You could've just stayed loyal to him even when he didn't have a cutie mark like a true friend would've done in your situation." Scootaloo pointed out the simple solution.
"Maybe everypony is all nice and friendly from wherever you all came from," Violet retorted, "but everypony in school would've kept on making our lives miserable if we remained associated with blank flanks. So you'll have to excuse for wanting to save our skins over staying loyal to a friend with no benefits!"
"That's not true!" Lovely Smooch suddenly shouted. "Happy Grapes was the best friend we could've ever hoped for; it was thanks to him why we even earned our cutie marks. Blitz, don't you remember how it was Happy who gave you a hoofball for your birthday and encouraged you to practice kicking it at the playground which helped you discover your talent for playing hoofball? And Violet, have you forgotten that it was Happy who encouraged you to try out for the middle school cheerleading team which helped you discover your talent for cheerleading? And I especially haven't forgotten how Happy helped me find my hidden talent. One thing we did forget, however, was a promise we made after Firecracker, Cherry Bomb, and Peony first bullied us on the first day of kindergarten: we promised that we would stay together as friends, even when each of us gotten our cutie marks.
"But instead of keeping our promise, we each broke by abandoning Happy the moment each of us finally earned our cutie marks. And should you really be that surprised that Happy no longer saw us as his friends after all the abuse he had to endure alone, with nopony by his side? Maybe you two don't regret turning your backs on him, but now I wish I could've done the right thing instead of making the same mistakes you two made."
Her two friends remained silent while gazing upon her with how-dare-you expressions on their faces for ten seconds, until they each slowly approached her and Blitz said, "Lovely, we're gonna make this very simple. Are you prepared to end our friendship over one pony?"
"Let me ask you two," Lovely replied, "are you prepared to end our friendship over one pony?"
"It's been nice knowing you." Blitz ended the conversation while turning his back on his now former friend.
"I hope you enjoy not having anypony to sit with at lunch." Violet Pride told Lovely in a passive aggressive tone.
With the two teenagers out of sight, Lovely stood steadfast while desperately holding back tears that were welling up inside of her. With nothing better in mind, Sweetie Belle pulled a tissue out of her saddlebag and levitated it towards the pink filly. "You made a difficult decision," Sweetie told her, "but it was the right decision. You were brave to stick up for Happy; and since he no longer has the cutie mark that turned him into Sour Grapes, maybe he could be more open to an apology from you, if you're willing to pay him a visit tomorrow."
"Thank you for what you all doing for him," Lovely commended the four ponies on their noble mission. "And yes, I will visit him and give him the apology he deserves."
Once Lovely Smooch made her way back to her home, the four ponies were prepared to return to the hotel, until a pink earth pony filly--who was about the Cutie Mark Crusaders' age--with blonde curls that were somewhat similar to Cozy Glow's mane stood in their way. "Are you Happy's friends?" The filly asked.
"We just met him, but we are helping him." Starlight answered. "Who are you?"
"I'm Zuzu Petals, Happy would sometimes play with me or keep me safe from the mean ponies who hated me for being a blank flank. He once helped me find my special talent for making get well cards, and I made one for him to help cheer him up. Could you give this to him when you see him?"
Upon receiving said card, Starlight saw that the front contained a drawing of Happy Grapes with five different cutie marks encompassing him, and inside was a message written in green crayon which read "A BLANK FLANK SIMPLY MEANS THAT YOU HAVE LIMITLESS POTENTIAL FOR GREATNESS!"
Wiping a tear of joy that trickled down her cheek, Starlight carefully placed the card in her saddlebag and told Zuzu, "You're a very kind pony to have written this for Happy, and we'll make sure he receives it. Now you better go back home before your parents start to worry."
...
Back at the hotel, the four ponies treated themselves to a much-deserved room service supper before bed. While the Cutie Mark Crusaders left their plates entirely bereft of any crumbs, Starlight Glimmer had yet to even touch her food, as her eyes remained glued to the jar that contained Sour Grapes' accursed mark.
"Do you really think stripping him of his cutie mark will change him back to normal?" Sweetie Belle asked the pale pink unicorn.
"I'm not sure," Starlight confessed. "When I stripped cutie marks from the ponies in my village, all it did was tone down their talents while depleting the color from their bodies; for instance, Sugar Belle could still bake muffins without her cutie mark, but she could never bake other confectioneries or have them contain real flavor since she no longer had the very mark that amplified her special talent. So we need to open to the possibility that Sour may still hate cutie marks and be angry, but just not angry enough to want to physically harm anypony."
"Ya know, doesn't this kinda remind y'all when Rumble didn't want his cutie mark?" Apple Bloom brought up.
"I don't think so," Scootaloo respectfully disagreed. "He was against cutie marks because he felt they restrict ponies to one activity for the rest of their lives. Sour, on the other hoof, is completely convinced that cutie marks turn ponies' evil."
"Speakin' of which, why were you against cutie marks, Starlight?" Apple Bloom turned the subject on her.
"My dislike for cutie marks stemmed from the fact that my best friend, Sunburst, moved away from my life after he earned his. My hatred for cutie marks, however, pales in comparison to Sour Grapes' disdain for them. Which is why this cutie mark of his frightens me so much."
"When we first met Sour Grapes," Sweetie Belle chimed in, "I was feeling an overwhelming amount of hatred towards him the longer I stood near him. You all felt the same, right?" She received nods from the others. "As much as I felt hurt when he yelled at me, I can't help but just feel sorry that he couldn't have been born in Ponyville and become our fourth member. It honestly has me wondering if we could've easily have become as hateful as him if we never had one another as friends back when we were still blank flanks?"
"I know what ya mean." Apple Bloom responded. "Hearin' his ex-friends sayin' how they just up and ditched him reminded me of a series of nightmares I once had. There was one instant where I got my cutie mark before y'all, then y'all kicked me out of the Cutie Mark Crusaders since I wasn't a blank flank anymore. Then I saw an instant where you both got your cutie marks before me, and didn't want to be friends with me because I was a blank flank. I was so glad that Princess Luna had helped me get over it. I want you girls to know how glad I am that y'all never left me behind."
"We're all glad to have each other in our lives," Scootaloo concurred. "And you can bet that none of us will ever do what Blitz and Violet Pride did to Sour. We've all been through some tuff challenges, but I know we'll be able to help Sour as we've helped everypony and creature who needed us. Also, let's all look on the bright side: at least we won't have to worry about homework until we return to Ponyville."
No sooner had she said that did a puff of green smoke popped out of nowhere and dropped a stack of papers onto the table. Seeing a note attached to said stack, Scootaloo picked it up and read out loud:
Dear girls,
Cheerilee requested that I deliver your homework assignments so you don't fall behind. I hope you're all getting close to solving the friendship problem the Cutie Map sent you to fix.
Best of luck and wishes to you all, Spike.
Upon finishing said note, Scootaloo received annoyed glances at her two friends, while the orange filly could do nothing but sheepishly grin for committing the gravest mistake of speaking too soon, and while all three fillies also wondered whether they should be relived or peeved that Spike sent them homework on behalf of their teacher.
Checking In On Sour Grapes
In spite of the daunting amount of homework the Cutie Mark Crusaders had received to complete, they were fortunate to have Starlight among them--who was more than willing to assist them. With their assignments finished, all four ponies drifted off to sleep. As Starlight Glimmer found herself entering the dream realm, she found herself surrounded by darkness, until her eyes spotted a large light from a vast distance.
Galloping with all her speed towards the light, the pale pink unicorn soon found herself entering a rather peculiar location. Permitting her eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to these new surroundings, Starlight felt a sense of DeJa'Vu wash over her once she found herself standing in the halls of Vanhoover High School, which are now bustling with the entire student body. In spite of the cacophony which echoed in every direction, Starlight's ears were able to pick up the unmistakable cry for help. Steering her head towards the sound, Starlight's eyes pinpointed what appeared to be Happy Grapes being ganged up on by his three tormentors. Feeling her maternal instincts kicking in, Starlight galloped at full sprint to break up this school brawl, only to be pushed back by an invisible barrier which she could not penetrate no matter how hard she tried.
Utterly powerless to prevent this altercation, Starlight could only standby and witness a helpless teenage colt feebly beg for a swift end to the cruelty that he's being subjugated to.
"And who's gonna make me stop?" Firecracker briefly ceased his inflicted abuse to respond to a battered Happy Grapes. "You honestly think anypony around here would want to help a worthless blank flank like you? Not even your own friends want to be seen with you; because blank flanks are not worth sacrificing over!"
As the callous bully was about to deliver another blow with his hoof, Cherry Bomb intercepted it with her hoof. "He's had enough Firecracker. We're gonna be late for class if you keep wasting your time on him."
"You two can go to class if you're so worried about being absent!" Firecracker swiped his hoof out of hers'. "As for me, I'm going to enjoy every second I get to pound this blank flank to a pulp that I can."
Watching the assault on Happy Grapes resume, Starlight could do nothing but bang upon the invisible barrier while desperately letting out cries for help that nopony could hear. What followed next was a truly unimaginable phenomenon; first, there was a blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the school, then followed a shockwave of red electricity which sent the three bullies careening to the wall. Everypony halted to have a look at the three ponies who are currently writhing in agony, but were immediately drawn to a bright flash which directed their sight to a now standing Happy Grapes who finally possesses a cutie mark of his own.
In addition to his flank no longer being blank, Happy Grapes' forlorn expression of constant suffering has been replaced with a look of pure hatred matched with a death glare that could melt steel. It was at this moment that Starlight figured out that she was witnessing the death of Happy Grapes and the birth of Sour Grapes; a change that everypony was about to experience the hard way, starting with his former friends who approached this sullen teenager.
"All right, Happy! Ya finally got your cutie mark!" Blitz offered his congratulations. "It took ya longer than the rest of us, but you finally caught up! Congrats!"
The second Blitz placed his hoof upon Sour Grapes, the furious colt let out years of bottled-up hatred as he shouted, "Don't you dare touch me!"
Retracting his friendly hoof as if he had been bitten by a snake, Blitz looked with genuine astonishment over having his attempt at inviting his former friend to his circle of friendship be severely rebutted. Wrapping a comforting wing around her boyfriend, Violet Pride spoke on his behalf. "Ease up Happy, he was just welcoming you back as our friend."
"Oh buck off!" Sour shouted back. "You backstabbers turn your backs on me and avoided me like a plague for years and you now decide I'm worth talking to just because I have a mark on my flank? Well buck you all!"
"Happy, please." Lovely meekly attempted to calm things down. "None of us meant to hurt you, we just didn't want to be bullied anymore."
"Oh sure, try to make up excuses for breaking our promise to never forsake each other even when we got our cutie marks that we made to one another back at kindergarten!"
"That was ten years ago, and we were only foals when we made that promise!" Blitz attempted to justify his--and his friends'--actions. "We grew up and understood that getting flack for being a blank flank is simply how the world works; frankly, you're just being immature by holding a grudge against us for doing exactly what you would've done if you had gotten your cutie mark first!"
"Then you don't know me at all!" Sour roared back. "I went out of my way to help each of you find your hidden talents like any true friend would've done, but you all chose to take my friendship for granted when it no longer benefited you! None of you deserve to call yourselves my friends, and I can say from the absolute bottom of my heart that I hate you!"
Before Sour could lash out at his former friends any further, his attention had caught the shrill battle cry of a charging Firecracker, who was inches away from goring Sour Grapes with his horn until the enraged unicorn lifted him high to the ceiling with his magic. Having somepony new to vent his pent-up frustration upon, Sour gripped all four of Firecrackers legs with a red aura as he slowly pulled them with enough force to make his bully wince in pain.
"Please don't hurt me!" Firecracker begged for mercy from the same pony he had tormented since kindergarten. "I don't deserve this!"
"How many times have I pleaded for you and your friends to stop hurting me only to keep on doing so?!" Sour shot back. "Would you have even considered showing mercy to me if our roles were reversed? Of course not! Because you're nothing but a sick sociopath who gets pleasure out of hurting ponies the same way a normal gets pleasure from a hug! For years you've made me suffer, now you'll get what you bucking deserve!"
With the help of his unicorn magic, Sour Grapes snapped each of Firecrackers' legs one by one and soon twisted all four of the already shattered legs to elicit deafening screams of anguish out of the red colt. Lacking the commonsense to run away the second Cherry Bomb risen to her hooves, the pink pegasus rushed toward Sour Grapes in hopes of tackling him, a plan that will later prove to work better in theory rather than practice. Releasing his magical grip on Firecracker resulting in him plummeting to the concrete floor on his back, Sour snatched Cherry Bomb in a red aura and sent her flying into a nearby glass window, leaving her lying back on the ground but embedded with a plethora of shards.
With two of his bullies subdued, Sour Grapes turned his gaze upon the third pony, Peony (whose appearance was similar to that of Pinkie Pie's sister, Marble). Although Peony was more of a silent follower than an active participant in the harassment her two friends inflicted upon Sour every day, Sour still deemed her to be fair game for his vengeance. Keeping her pinned to the ground with his magic the second Peony attempted to escape, Sour Grapes utilized his magic to draw out an assortment of firecrackers and cherry bombs that were stashed in the pockets of Firecracker's jacket, and the vindictive unicorn wasted no time in planting every firework upon Peony's body.
Sensing what he was intending to do next, Lovely Smooch rushed up to Sour as she tried reasoning with him. "No Happy, don't allow yourself to become an even worse pony than those three!"
Sharply turning his head to look at her, Sour smacked his former friend away with a firm slap from his hoof before using his magic to ignite every firework which exploded upon Peony. Screaming in sheer agony, Peony frantically rolled her entire body all over the floor in attempt to damp out the blanket of fire that engulfed her body. Sour Grapes was so enraptured by this horrific sight that he never noticed that he was being caried off in a magic bubble concocted by the combined efforts of police unicorns who were called in to respond to this transgression. Sour Grapes' stoic expression of malice never faltered as the police lifted him out of the school, while his classmates did nothing but stare upon him with looks of terror and hatred.
...
Catapulting her upper body away from the bed, Starlight awoken herself back to the hotel suite along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders (who were just as equally aghast as she was). "Did you three dream about seeing Sour Grapes injuring his bullies at school too?"
Sweetie Belle nodded, whereas Apple Bloom said, "I actually dreamt about seein' Sour bein' taken out of jail by his parents and gettin' inta a fierce argument when they got home."
"That's what I dreamt about too!" Scootaloo shared in astonishment.
"Do you suppose this could be a bad sign for Sour?" Sweetie wondered.
"We won't know for sure until we see Sour Grapes for ourselves." Starlight declared while making preparations for their visit.
...
The return to Sour Grapes' abode is a reunion that's simultaneously anticipated and dreaded; anticipated in the sense that the four ponies were eager to check up on his progress, and dreaded in the sense that the four ponies carried a foreboding hunch on the prospect that he might be worse off than we had his toxic cutie mark on his flank. But nonetheless, the four ponies understood that until their cutie marks began to flash, they cannot bid Sour Grapes and Vanhoover farewell just yet.
Delivering four knocks to the door, the four ponies stood patiently until they were eventually greeted by Sea Worthy. "You've come back to check on Sour Grapes, I reckon?"
"We have sir," Starlight confirmed. "Has he shown a change in his overall personality?"
"Well, he doesn't have the temperament of a volcano anymore, but the anger that's preventin' him from lovin' us again is still present. See for yourselves."
Being permitted to step hoof inside once more, the four ponies were quick to notice the living room had been refurbished into a makeshift classroom, consisting of a single chalkboard and a school desk which Sour Grapes currently sat upon. Levitating his pencil upon his desk, Sour Grapes watched with indifference as his mother marked each of his responses before providing him with her final feedback.
"Another one hundred! You never fail to keep your grade point average high!"
"You can butter me up all that you'd like, Sea Breeze," Sour Grapes replied with a subdued let stinging response, "it'll never change the fact that you failed me as a mother."
While Sea Breeze lowered her head in shame, Sea Worthy brought his guests up to speed. "As you four can see, Sour still hasn't forgiven us despite no longer possessin' his toxic cutie mark."
"I was worried he might not change," Starlight admitted, "but we'll still like to chat with him, if that's all right?"
"Certainly." Sea Worthy permitted. "Sea Breeze and I needed to go gather groceries anyway."
Finally noticing the presence of the four ponies entrusted to help their son, Sea Breeze informed him, "Hon, those four ponies who visited us are back to check on you. Your father and I will be out in the market, and we should be back by noon, OK?" Receiving nothing but a vacant stare from her son, Sea Breeze accepted it as the closest thing to an answer before turning to her guests. "Help yourselves to any food and drinks in our fridge should any of you get hungry or thirsty, and please take all the time you need with our son."
Once Sea Breeze and Sea Worthy finally made their departure, the four ponies situated themselves upon a nearby couch while Sour Grapes remained on his seat as he looked upon the ponies without blinking. All four of them took notice of the absence of the suffocating hatred that coursed around the sullen colt from yesterday, even his eyes no longer carried a flame of anger from inside. Taking the initiative, Starlight said, "So Sour, you were awfully happy when I removed your cutie mark. Have you noticed some changes in you?"
"Honestly, stripping me of my cutie mark did not lead to what I was expecting." Sour voiced his disappointment. "I was happy at first to no longer feel the intense hatred that accursed mark brought out in me, but despite that, I still couldn't bring myself to forgive and forget all the bad things my parents, my so-called friends, and my bullies have done to me. I may not feel like shouting or physically harming anypony, but it's clear that I'll never get to be the pony I used to be."
"Since you brought it up," Scootaloo changed the topic, "Apple Bloom and I both dreamt about you having a fight with your parents the day you got expelled from school. Did you really hurt your own parents?"
"I didn't just hurt them, I tried to kill them. After they bailed me out of prison, we were all completely silent until we finally arrived home where we could privately argue with each other. They both got on my case on how I was throwing my future away and that I should've known better than to use violence against my bullies, but all I could think about is all of the times when they told me I had to put up with those flankholes' abuse over me until I got my cutie mark, and how much I hated them for it. So, like I did with my ex-friends, I let out my true feelings to the ponies I used to call mom and dad.
"Sea Breeze was brought to tears when I unleashed my anger upon her, but Sea Worthy acted as if I was disrespecting him for calling him out for the uncaring flankhole that he had always been to me; so he slapped me across my face and demanded that I apologize to both of them. If I had still been Happy Grapes, I would've meekly given into his demands. But I was no longer that feeble pony who seemed to exist to be this world's chew toy, and I would never allow anypony to hurt me again. So through the help of my magic and hatred, I encased a stranglehold around Sea Worthy and lifted him high in the air while Sea Breeze begged for his life, until I decided to strangle her as well.
"As much as part of me wanted to go through with killing them, I still understood that they're the reason I have a home to live in and food to eat. So I violently slammed them both to the ground and made it clear that the mercy I showed them does not mean that I'm forgiving them for never giving me the love and comfort that I required, and that I will never see them as my parents ever again. When I went to my room to go to sleep, I could hear the ponies I used to call my parents arguing with one another; I mostly heard Sea Breeze chewing out Sea Worthy for hurting me, but they both understood that they failed me as parents that day."
Hearing Sour Grapes relate his attempted murder on his own parents in such an unnervingly calm manner left the four ponies stunned in bewilderment. Suddenly remembering a certain request made by a certain filly, Sweetie Belle whispered a friendly reminder into Starlight's ear.
"Oh, I almost forgot," the pale pink unicorn levitated the get-well card out of her saddlebag, "we met a sweet filly named Zuzu Petals who asked us to deliver this card she made for you."
Floating the card over to Sour Grapes, Starlight and the girls watched as the sullen colt read the inspirational message from inside, which elicited a single tear to slide down his cheek. Closing the card, Sour responded with, "I've been so caught up with all the bed memories I had over most of the ponies in my life, that I had completely forgotten about those fleeting good memories I got to share with Zuzu and the other foals she hangs out with. But after reading this card, it only saddens me more to realize that I'll never get to see her again."
"What's to stop you from spending time with a pony you legitimately enjoy being with?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"I was still Happy Grapes the last time I got to see her, and I'd much rather she continues to remember me as Happy Grapes than forever live with the knowledge that I'm now Sour Grapes."
Finding herself feeling more and more depressed the further Sour spoke, Starlight took out the jar that contained his toxic cutie mark and shared an unexpected suggestion. "Look, it's clear that you're not improving after having your cutie mark removed. What if I open the jar and return it to you?"
Sour looked at the grown mare as if she suggested to ripe out half the population in Equestria to compensate for the scarcity of resources. "I just informed you how that cutie mark compelled me to almost kill my parents, and the first thing to pop into your head is to put that shame mark back on my flank?"
"We had a bully who gave us trouble fer bein' blank flanks until we helped her understand her own special talent." Apple Bloom elaborated her--and her friends'--greatest achievement. "Maybe that's the same case with you; why not give us a chance ta find out if there's more ta yer special talent than ya realize?"
"Do it and I'll kill myself." The four ponies felt as if their hearts briefly stopped beating upon hearing that sharp ultimatum. "That's right, if you put that blasted mark on my flank again, I will kill myself. My parents already live with the pain of failing their own son, do you honestly wish to hurt them further by driving their own son to end his life?"
"We just want to help you," Sweetie insisted.
"Help me? Where were you when Firecracker tossed me into the ocean resulting in me having a fungus infection for a year? Or when he shoved my head into a toilet in sixth grade? Or when he carved his initials on my belly in eighth grade? Why weren't any of you there to help me when it actually would've mattered?"
"We don't choose when the Cutie Map tells us to search for a friendship problem." Starlight explained. "We simply had to wait for the Cutie Map to summon us."
"Right, you had to wait. How much pain and suffering I had to endure simply because you had to wait for a magic map to tell you where to find me?" Feeling newfound shame wash over them, the four ponies silently contemplated over how to properly apologize to Sour for not coming to his aid under more convenient circumstances, but their train of thought was interrupted by abrupt knocking. Rising from his seat, Sour Grapes trotted to the door and twisted the knob with his magic, only to immediately have his mood be further soured by the appearance of his former friend, Lovely Smooch. "Just what the hay are you doing here?"
Taking a big gulp, Lovely timidly raised her lowered head to look her former friend in the eye as she said, "I heard that you had your cutie mark removed; I figured that you'd be more tolerant of my pressence without that mark of yours, so I can finally tell you how sorry I am for abandoning you back at eighth grade."
"You have no idea what sorry is."
"Maybe so, but I do know that I--and Blitz and Violet--caused you great pain simply because we were too afraid of continuing to get bullied for being friends with a blank flank to keep our promise to stay together. I can't undo what was already done, but I can still be the friend that you need and deserve if you will let me, Happy."
"Happy Grapes died a long time ago, and you helped kill him along with the other two false friends. I gave the three of you everything: my friendship, my loyalty, my kindness, everything that a true friend has to offer. And how did the three of you choose to repay me for helping each of you earn your cutie marks? By turning your backs on me when my friendship no longer benefitted you, and leaving me at the mercy of the very flankholes who made each of our lives a living Tartarus since kindergarten. You want sorry? This is what sorry looks like."
It made Lovely Smooch's heart ache just to look upon this empty shell of an embittered pony who used to be the nicest pony in Vanhoover, until he earned his cutie mark. "I will always regret breaking my promise to you, Happy. Blitz and Violet decided to cut ties with me after I made it clear that I want to seek your forgiveness. You have every right to hold a grudge against me, but can't you find it in your heart to give me the chance to earn your trust so we can be friends again?"
"We ? There is no we; there will never be a we that involves you and me again. I may no longer have the urge to belt out a storm of rage upon you, or even try to hurt you the same way I hurt our bullies, but I still feel nothing but hate towards you for what you did to me. So the only thing you can do now is get the buck out of my sight and spend the rest of your days exactly how you left me: utterly alone."
Upon making his disdain for the pink coated mare more than clear, Sour stomped his way to his room to brood in solitude, while Lovely was left standing upon his open doorway utterly dejected. Closing the door behind them as they took their leave, the four ponies looked upon Lovely with great sympathy over the placid--yet turbulent--scathing she just received.
"At least you made an attempt at patching things up." Sweetie tried to console the teenage filly. "Nopony can say you didn't try."
"There's something I'd like to show you ponies."
...
Lovely brought the four ponies back to Vanhoover park, but this time she led them to a tall hill that stood in the center of the park. The only thing lying atop of this hill was a single oak tree, which contained what Lovely wished to show the four ponies. Upon closer inspection, Starlight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders perceived a heart that was carved into the bark along with a H+L within the center.
Quickly forgetting Lovely's despondency, Sweetie gushed over this symbol of love as any romantic would do. "Oh my gosh, I didn't know you and Sour were special someponies!"
"He and I developed affection for one another when we only had each other for company; he and I even attended our eighth grade prom together. When we left the dance, he took me to this very spot just to show me the engraving he etched into the tree with his horn. I realized that I loved him as much as he loved me, and I made the choice of having my first kiss with him, which in turn resulted in me finally gaining my cutie mark for kissing." Her sad smile slowly dissolved into a frown the more she reminisced. "I assured Happy that I wouldn't do to him what Blitz and Violet had done to us, but I was not strong enough to resist peer pressure. This place used to be a safe spot for me to unwind from the stresses of each day, but when I look at that engraving, all I can think about is how I've lost both the best friend I could ever ask for and the only pony that I could ever love, and I have nopony to blame but myself for bringing this upon me."
Collapsing to all four of her legs Lovely could do nothing else but bury her face into the grass as she sobbed over losing Happy Grapes forever. As much as the four ponies desperately wanted to give her some words of assurance, they knew that sweet platitudes would not change the fact that this teenage filly no longer has a single friend in the world any more than her attempt at apologizing could have undo the damage that had been done to Sour Grapes. With nothing left to say or ask, the four ponies quietly retreated to the hotel and left Lovely Smooch to grieve by herself.
...
The ponies did not leave the suite for the rest of the day. While the Cutie Mark Crusaders were taking care of more homework assignments that were delivered by Spike, Starlight simply peered upon the accursed cutie mark that still resided in the glass jar while deeply contemplating on how such a cutie mark can even exist.
"What should we try doing tomorrow?" Scootaloo broached the subject of their friendship mission.
Letting out a defeated sigh, Starlight gave her answer to the filly's inquiry. "I honestly can't think of any possible ideas on how we could help Sour. I think we'll need to consider just returning to Ponyville and accept this mission as a lost cause."
All three of the fillies snapped the tip of their pencils when they heard the grown mare's self-defeating suggestion. "You can't really expect us ta just give up on Sour Grapes!" Apple Bloom refused to be so easily discouraged. "We were sent here ta help him, and gosh darn it, we can't just leave him at his current state!"
"The map sent us here too late!" Starlight retorted. "If it had sent us here before he got his cutie mark, we may have had a chance at actually patching things up between him and his friends and family, but we instead had to help him when he's clearly far beyond reasoning with!" Taking a second to let out a calm breath of air, Starlight resumed in a more collected tone. "I don't want to have to quit on Sour any more than you do, but the fact of the matter is that the damage this cutie mark has caused him has been more than done. The only thing we can do is take bring this cutie mark to Princess Celestia's attention and hopefully be able to learn from our failure if we ever have to help another pony like Sour Grapes. Let's all just sleep on it and we'll discuss the rest in the morning."
With that settled, the four ponies tucked themselves into their respective beds and lied down until their eyes could not remain open any longer.
Starlight Glimmer, once again, found herself in a dream that took place in Vanhoover High school, only she was now standing in the gymnasium which has been set up for a PTA meeting. At the end stood a long table where Principal Schulz and the rest of school staff sat, and rows of chairs littered the rest of gym where parents and their children sat upon where their collective gazes were all turned to Sour Gropes, who stood right in the center in front of a microphone stand with his mom and dad covering him from both sides.
"I'd like to thank everypony for appearing at tonight's PTA meeting." Principal Schulz announced through his microphone. "I'm certain that all of you are more than aware of how Firecracker, Cherry Bomb, and Peony became seriously injured by the young pony standing before us who responded to the same relatively harmless bullying that all of us had to endure at his age by inflicting disproportionate retribution on his bullies. To help ease your minds, I first want to announce that the three students shall live to walk the streets of Vanhoover once more--after they've made a full recovery, of course. Lastly, I shall grant Happy Grapes permission to speak in front of everypony, so he can tell us what he's been needing to say since that horrific day."
With the principal's speech finally over, all eyes turned towards a resentful Happy Grapes, who maintained a frown and furrowed brows as he spoke just two words into the microphone. "I'm sorry."
While his mom and dad were sighing in relief, the principal responded with, "That's a great start, Happy; you're taking the first steps in taking responsibility for your actions. Now would you kindly specify to everypony just what it is you're apologizing for?"
Without missing a beat, Happy elaborated. "I'm sorry that you're all a bunch of flankholes." Everyponies' moods were instantly changing as he continued. "I'm sorry that you're more concerned about the wellbeing of bullies than you are about their victims. And most of all, I am deeply sorry that you willingly allowed yourselves to believe that making a pony's life miserable for simply not having a cutie mark is somehow the right thing to do. Did I specify that clearly to all of you?"
Sensing that the parents in attendance were getting closer to turning into an outrage mob, Principal Schulz chuckled nervously before saying, "Happy, I must remind you that the reason you were permitted to step hoof on school grounds was you could apologize for what you did to your three classmates. If you refuse accept responsibility for your actions, then I'll have no choice but to expel you and not provide you with any more chances to repent."
"And I would remind you that those three flankholes who got what they deserved were the ones who brought it on themselves by constantly bullying me for being blank flank, while on school grounds and under teacher's supervision on a daily basis. I give them a taste of their own medicine after ten years of taking their abuse and you all act like I'm the one who started all of this. Why is it OK for them to hurt me and wrong for me to hurt them?"
"They were just following our town's tradition!" Firecracker's dad rose up. "They were just providing you with the proper motivation you needed to earn your cutie mark, just like I've done when I was Firecracker's age, and what my dad did when he was a colt! It's not their fault that you were born with paper-thin skin and take everything personally!"
"Oh blow it out your flank!" Happy shouted back. "You and every other adult have been throwing that same hokum at my face like it's this grand thing, hurting blank flanks so they can get cutie marks! Normal ponies don't even consider hurting others! Much less those same ponies having to put up with it because tradition dictates so! The only reason all of you buckers keep encouraging such a cancerous tradition is because of cutie marks!
"It's because of cutie marks why my so-called friends abandoned me when I needed them the most! And why bullies think it's OK to hurt ponies who don't have cutie marks! And why parents refuse to give their kids the love and care that they shouldn't have to earn from them! And it's thanks to this bucking mark on my flank why I feel nothing but absolute hate for everypony in this building! I would gladly rip this accursed mark off of my flank if it means I don't have to become like the rest of you flankholes!"
"Don't you dare compare us to the likes of you, you little brat!" Firecracker's dad shouted some more. "Your parents should've named you Sour Grapes, considering how determined you all to spoil our moods with your drama! I have half a mind to march over there and give you the whooping your parents should've given you a long time ago!"
"I just put three ponies in a hospital like it was foals play, what makes you think you could fare any better against me?! I'd like to see you try and give me an excuse to unleash the same rage that enabled me to break the legs and spine of that piece of trash you call Firecrackers!"
Hearing the name of his son come out of that colt's muzzle was the last straw for the infuriated father. If this colt wanted a fight with him then he'd be more than happy to oblige as he shoved anypony who blocked his path as he galloped towards this problem foal, until he was held back by the magic of other parents and could only shout curses at the wretched colt, while said colt cursed him back while being dragged away by his parents before he could injure anypony else.
"Happy Grapes," Principal Schulz announced with authority, "you are hereby expelled from Van Hoover High School, and forbidden from ever setting hoof on these grounds again!"
"Go ahead, anything's better than having to see any of your bucking faces again!" The newly christened Sour Grapes roared back. "You can all rot in Tartarus for all I care!"
"Not a pleasant dream you're having, I see."
The sound of that voice was enough to startle Starlight into taking her mind off the events that unfolded; she was soon pleasantly surprised when she witnessed the form of Princess Luna materialized before her. "Princess Luna, I could use your help."
"The girls said the same thing," the princess of the night replied, "follow me, they are waiting for us."
A single flash from Luna's horn was their ticket into the dream realm. Glimpses of other ponies' dreams sped by with the speed of light as Starlight Princess Luna walked forward before stopping at a door leading to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Stepping through the doorway, Starlight found herself back in the suite she's been sharing with the girls (who were currently partaking in a pillow fight while jumping on the bed). Upon spotting Princess Luna, the girls let of their pillows and got off the bed in order to give the princess of the night a hug.
"Are you gonna help us with Sour Grapes?" Apple Bloom asked.
"In a manner of speaking." Princess Luna answered. "I've been keeping a close watch over the four of you since last night; when I saw each of your nightmares, as well as Sour Grapes', I had an inkling you could be in need of my assistance. Are you experiencing any problems with helping this young colt?"
Each of the ponies looked upon each other with a forlorn gaze before Scootaloo worked up the courage to admit before the princess, "When we first met Sour Grapes, he requested Starlight to remove his cutie mark, which she did--reluctantly. When we came back to check on him this morning, he showed no violent urges but still held onto the hate he harbors at the ponies who wronged him."
"So I decided that it might be best to just cut our loses and return to Ponyville." Starlight explained further. "I mean, at least we don't have to worry about him wanting to harm himself or other ponies in his current state. What's the worst that could happen?"
As if answering her question, Luna enlightened her horn to magically transport the four ponies in front of Sour Grapes' home in the black of night. "Why did you bring us here Princess Luna?" Sweetie requested context.
"I'm showing the four of you events which will transpire should you quit your mission. In a few months from now the pony known as Firecracker will recover from his injuries. But bullies such as him cannot go about his life until he has landed the final punch against the one who bested him, which he shall succeed in carrying out, as you will all see."
Watching closely with keen eyes, the four ponies observed as Firecracker--who had a wheelchair cart tied around him just so he can walk--was sneaking up to Sour Grapes' home with gasoline canisters being levitated over his head. The four ponies then watched with horror as Firecracker proceeded to pour each canister all over the house until each one was empty and then ignited the puddles with a spark from his horn as he galloped away and maniacally laughed to himself, while the flames consumed the house of his victim.
Sparing the three fillies from having to witness this act of arson any further, Luna transport them to the cemetery in front of Sour Grapes'--and his parents'--grave. "As you can see, Firecracker's vengeance will end up claiming the lives of Sour Grapes and his family. And since most of the ponies in Vanhoover held the young colt in contempt, an investigation into his murder will never unfold and everypony will continue to hold onto their tradition of bullying blank flanks and assume nothing ever happened. Of course, there are even worse fates that could've occurred had you done things differently."
Luna brought the four ponies back to Sour Grapes' room, where he and Starlight were seen conversing. "This is what would've happened had Starlight chose to teach him her cutie mark removal spell rather than perform it on him. He learns quickly and manages to pull off the spell on the first try, but he is content with simply removing his own cutie mark. Feeling empowered by pulling off the spell so easily, he dedicates his time to perfecting it until he is able find a way to disintegrate cutie marks once they've been removed. First, he destroys his cutie mark, then the cutie marks of his parents, and then he'll go on to annihilate the cutie marks of his classmates and teachers, before turning his sights on irradicating the cutie marks of everypony in Equestria (which will make him a greater threat than Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow combined).
"There are millions of other alternate fates even worse than the two I showed you, but there is one glimmer of hope beneath such gloom." The ponies were now brought back to Vanhoover park, where they saw Sour Grapes hanging out with his friends, only his cutie mark was nowhere in sight. "What you're seeing is a timeline where Sour Grapes and his companions were never bullied for being blank flanks; because his friends never felt peer pressured into forsaking him, he never spent years of his life bottling up hatred for any of them and thus remained Happy Grapes. In addition to this, Happy and Lovely Smooch will eventually grow up to marry each other and raise a family of their own; but more importantly, Happy shall grow up to be advocate against the mistreatment of blanks flanks, which will inspire many more blank flanks like him to speak out rather than cower in silence. Which is why you four must travel to when he and his friends first attended kindergarten and bring about this timeline."
Starlight Glimmer did a doubletake before saying, "I'm sorry, but you actually want us to alter his future?"
"I understand why you'd be wary over the prospect of using time travel as a means to solving a friendship problem." Luna responded. "But the fact of the matter is that Sour Grapes is too consumed by hatred to forgive those who wronged him, and most of the ponies in Vanhoover are too blinded by pride to realize that mistreating blank flanks is wrong. You're not just trying to restore happiness in the life of a pony who has been treated unjustly since he was a foal, you're also trying to plant the seeds of reform to a city in desperate need of change. And the only way to bring about that change is to ensure that Happy Grapes never earns his cutie mark."
"Wait a minute!" Everypony flinched when Sweetie Belle shrieked. "We're Cutie Mark Crusaders; our whole purpose in life is to help others discover their hidden talents. And you're telling us the only way to solve Sour Grapes' friendship problem is to make him a blank flank forever? Couldn't we try to see if his talent could be used for something else, or maybe convince him and his parents to move to Ponyville and have him be enrolled in the School of Friendship?"
"There are no alternatives." Luna killed Sweetie's hopes in its crib. "In most of the timelines Sour Grapes' refuse to consider moving to Ponyville due to viewing Vanhoover as the permanent home of their forebearers and also seeing a move to a new location as too much to get used to; in other timelines my sister and I send the Royal Guard to essentially force Sour Grapes out of their custody, but having their own child taken from them would succumb the two ponies into a depression that would lead to suicide, and Sour Grapes would still be hampered by his cutie mark to be able to understand and utilize the values that the School of Friendship has to offer.
"You must understand that everypony has been destined with a specific skill the moment they are born; you possess a great singing voice, Scootaloo is talented with performing tricks on her scooter, and Apple Bloom is natural at brewing potions with Zecora, but there is a reason why your cutie marks are specifically tied to helping others discover their talents. And the hard truth is that some ponies hidden talents were always intended for evil; Cozy Glow and the Flim Flam Brothers are living proof of this, and Sour Grapes is no exception. His talent has always been the spreading of pain and hatred to anypony he comes across, and he lost his chance at a happy life the second he discovered that talent."
Noticing the dejected expression on the filly's face, Luna gently cupped her chin with a comforting hoof before saying, "I understand why you don't feel comfortable with having to resort to a tough decision. You are a kind, gentle pony who sees good in everypony, and you do not wish to see others suffer. But there are many ponies who were not blessed with the privileges of living in communities that value friendship, and Sour Grapes is one of those ponies. Hark closely, Sweetie Belle, going against your cutie mark is never wrong if it's being done for the right reasons. You care for him as much as your friends, Starlight Glimmer, and I do, and it's because you care about him so much that you must prevent him from ever earning his cutie mark. Do you understand?"
After receiving a tearful nod from the crestfallen filly, Princess Luna went about going other the necessary steps when they partake in their journey to Sour Grapes' past. As Starlight knew from her experience in tampering with the past, any change she made in preventing Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom resulted in different futures. Hence why Luna spent the entire night repeating every specific step the ponies must take to ensure the alternate future where Sour Grapes remained Happy Grapes will be triggered, and any slight deviation from just one of those steps could end up bringing about an even worse fate than the one he's currently destined for. When the four ponies had finally memorized every step without struggling to remember, Luna informer them that she'll have Spike deliver a scroll containing a time travel spell that she, Celestia, and Starswirl had worked on.
...
No sooner had each of the ponies awoken did the aforementioned scroll materialized and plopped onto the bed. Gathering their belongings and checking out of the hotel, the four ponies trotted to the center of town and stopped in front of the fountain. Taking a few seconds to breathe in order to calm herself, Starlight unfolded the scroll to follow the instructions as she lit up her horn to cast yet another spell she had hoped to never cast again: time travel.
The ponies felt a tingling sensation wash over their bodies as one typically experiences when transporting themselves through time. Upon opening their eyes, the four ponies looked around to find their surroundings appearing to be no different than before they casted the spell.
"Are you sure we're in the past Starlight?" Scootaloo asked.
"Things may not seem different, but we are in Vanhoover ten years ago." Starlight assured the filly. "OK, our first stop is to head over to the pharmacy and gather a bag of bonbons and a bottle of magical liquid laxative. Remember, we cannot afford any missteps, or else we could accidentally set Sour Grapes up for a worse timeline."
"We understand." Apple Bloom confirmed on her friends' behalf. "Now let's get ta it!"
Galloping as if it were the end of the world, the four ponies made a beeline to the pharmacy. When they got close to the entrance, Starlight spotted an employee carrying a large stack of boxes that obstructed his view. "Sweetie Belle, hold the door for him."
Following Starlight's orders, Sweetie promptly propped the door open with her entire body so the employee can walk through without bumping into anything. With that taken care of, the ponies resumed their mission of acquiring specific items needed to change Sour Grapes' future for the better, with Starlight and Sweetie heading to the aisle to retrieve the laxative, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom heading to the aisle where a bag of bonbons can be found (but not before the two fillies each try a free sample of peanut brittle as per Luna's instructions).
With the essentials finally gathered, the ponies made their way to the counter to pay for them (and also offer a twenty-bit donation to the Filly Guides). Upon departing the pharmacy, the ponies trotted to a nearby bench where Scootaloo and Apple Bloom held the bag of bonbons open for Starlight to magically levitate and dip each one into the laxative bottle. Before they could head off to the elementary school, Starlight had to restrain Sweetie Belle from swiping a ladybug off of her muzzle until the insect flew off by its own accord.
Following Princess Luna's instructions, the four ponies the longest route that led to the school so they could be able to stop an old pony from walking onto a train track at the same time a train was speeding through and preventing a book reading pony from accidently walking beneath a ladder. It wasn't too long before the four ponies finally reached the elementary school in time for recess. Fortunately for them the school staff assigned to keep watch over the students were too engrossed in their private conversations to notice Starlight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders sneaking into school grounds. The search for Happy Grapes and his companions would've been smoother had the Cutie Mark Crusaders not needed to play hopscotch with a group of fillies who would complement all three of their respective cutie marks, or if Starlight not needed to react in time to save a pegasus filly--who more than likely suffers the same flight disability as Scootaloo--from falling face first into the gravel ground after leaping off a swing; but when a princess strictly states that you must perform certain actions while time traveling you can't disregard said actions.
In spite of the turbulence of children relishing their playtime, Starlight managed to pinpoint the sound of a child crying for help. Alerting the Cutie Mark Crusaders to her location, the four ponies had caught a glimpse of Firecracker and his gang (who all appeared to be the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders) teasing Happy Grapes and his friends (who all looked to be about Pipsqueaks' age).
"Give us back our ball you bullies!" Happy demanded. "It's not like we ever did anything to you!"
"We never did anything to the second graders either," Firecracker responded, "but that didn't stop them from picking on us for being blank flanks. You should be thanking us really; we never would've gotten our cutie marks had the second graders not motivated us, and now it's our turn to do the same to you."
"Hold it!" Starlight shouted with a tone of authority that left the three bullies trembling in fear. "My, what impressive cutie marks you three have. I believe the three of you deserve a little treat." Levitating the bag of bonbons towards the foals, their muzzles salivated as the bullies greedily munched upon every last one without a second's hesitation. "OK, I'll now leave you to your business."
When Starlight and the girls trotted far enough, Firecracker turned back to Happy as he encased him with a red aura. "You see, not even grownups care if a worthless blank flank like you gets picked on. I never had a teacher come to my rescue, and it looks like none are going to save you either."
As the little brute raised his hoof in preparation of laying a merciless beating on Happy, Starlight discreetly lit up her horn which triggered the effects of the bonbons Firecracker had consumed. His face changed from an expression of smug superiority to excruciating anguish as he felt a loud, painful rumble in his stomach that was compelling him to find a toilet. Lacking a stronger bladder, Firecracker frantically ran on his hind legs with his forelegs covering his flank with enough speed to leave a trail of dust as he darted towards the nearest bush and immediately unleashed a cacophony of farts that drew the attention of the other students, who each showed various degrees of disgust and mirth over Firecracker's humiliation.
"What happened?!" Cherry Bomb asked in shock.
"Oh, I forgot to mention something important." Starlight gladly explained. "Those bonbons you ate were coated with a magical laxative that'll give you diarrhea every time you say or do mean things to another pony."
"You serious?!" Cherry exclaimed.
"Mm Hmm," Apple Bloom confirmed, "and the effects are permanent; so you better start bein' nicer ta other ponies if y'all don't wanna end up like yer friend."
Seeing the crowd of classmates and teachers surrounding Firecracker was the reason Cherry and Peony needed to clean up their acts. "Here's your ball back, sorry for being mean to you!"
After Peony silently gave Happy a friendly hug, she and Cherry galloped away to check on their now laughingstock of a friend. Walking up to their four saviors, Happy was the first to ask, "Why did you help us?"
"Because nopony deserves to be treated like garbage just for not having a cutie mark." Starlight answered.
"But those meanies said that blank flanks are worthless." Violet replied.
"Don't you believe anythin' those bullies said ta you." Apple Bloom said. "Havin' a blank flank just means you've got plenty of potential for great things."
"Trust us, we used to be blank flanks too," Sweetie Belle interjected, "and it was just as hard for us to endure bullying as it is for you."
"But the important thing is that you have friends who will always be there for you through it all." Scootaloo added. "Even if my friends were still blank flanks, I wouldn't trade them for anypony else."
"They're right, guys." Lovely spoke up. "We should all promise that we will always be friends even if any of us are still blank flanks."
Putting out her pink hoof for the others to place their own other, Happy was of course the first to place his hoof on hers, and Blitz and Violet followed no sooner. After making their vow of friendship official, Blitz had something he needed to ask Starlight. "Do you think we could get other ponies to treat each other the same way we treat ourselves?"
Placing a comforting hoof on the little colt, Starlight told him with great sincerity, "If you are willing to be the change that you want to see in your lives, then you can accomplish anything you put your mind to."
Sensing the spell about to wear off, the four ponies had to leave the foals with a hasty farewell as they all galloped out of school grounds just as they found themselves being returned to the new future they just forged.
The transition from past to present was as velocious as the blink of an eye. Taking in their surroundings once more, the ponies couldn't quite tell if anything had changed in Vanhoover. The only way to confirm if their actions had brought about any altercations to their present was to return to see the very teenage colt the map had sent them to help. Taking the short cut this time, the four ponies made it to Sour Grapes' home in no time. When Starlight knocked on the door for what would be the third--and possibly last--time, they were greeted by Sea Worthy, who was perplexed to see these four ponies on his doorstep.
"Can I help you ponies?"
Figuring that their tampering with the past may have resulted in Sour Grapes' parents forgetting about them, Starlight thought up of a plausible explanation for their presence. "I'm Starlight Glimmer, I work at the School of Friendship in Ponyville. I've been sent by Princess Twilight to have a one-on-one interview with your son, who has been selected for a scholarship."
"Princess Twilight wants our son to attend her school? Well that might just be the best news I've heard in a while. He's in the kitchen eating breakfast, come on in."
Accepting his permission to enter, the four ponies followed Sea Worthy into the kitchen, while the Cutie Mark Crusaders were the first to notice how Happy Grapes appeared to smile in every family portrait. "Happy, there's somepony who wishes to speak with you."
Getting off of the chair, the pony formerly known as Sour Grapes experienced a sense of DeJa'Vu when he got a clear look at the four ponies standing before him. "My word, it's you again!" Wrapping Starlight Glimmer with a surprise hug, Happy had the biggest smile on his face as if he became reunited with an old friend that he hadn't seen in a long time.
"You know this pony, Happy?" His mother inquired.
"Not just her, I also know the three fillies accompanying her." Happy toned down his excitement a tad. "These were the same ponies who stood up for my friends and I back at the first day of kindergarten."
His parents did a doubletake at one another before his mom nervously chuckled while saying to Starlight, "This is going to sound a little silly, but when our son was a foal, he went on about how a grown mare and three fillies saved him and his friends from a gang of bullies; the four of you couldn't possibly be those same ponies seeing as how it was ten years ago and you all would've aged by now."
"Has your son been experiencing bullying ever since that day?" Starlight asked.
"No, in fact, he tells us that the same ponies who tried giving him a hard time have been nothing but nice to him ever since." Sea Worthy replied. "As a matter of fact, many ponies in Vanhoover have been a lot more involved in helping others lately."
"He's right," said Sea Breeze, "like Buck once helped carry in and install a new dishwasher for me after some filly held a door open at the pharmacy for him, and I heard Skittles had taken time to provide food at the Soup Kitchen after two fillies complimented her peanut brittle, and I also heard that Miss Jenkins adopted enough fillies and colts to fill every room in her mansion after she was rescued from getting run over by a train by three fillies, and how Savant got to meet his wife by stopping her from trotting into a mud puddle when a unicorn mare saved him from walking under a ladder. But I'm just prattling on, what brings you to Vanhoover?"
Processing the information that was relayed to her, Starlight shook some sense into her head before saying, "I'm a teacher at the School of Friendship in Ponyville, and Princess Twilight sent me for an interview with Happy Grapes, whom she is considering offering a scholarship."
Sea Breeze almost fainted when she heard Starlight's statement. "Princess Twilight really wants our son to attend her school?"
"Absolutely, she's heard nothing but great things about Happy Grapes."
"Any parent would be proud to have a sone like Happy." Sea Worthy gave his son a prideful pat on the back. "Always helping other ponies without expecting anything in return, getting good grades at school; shoot, the boy hasn't earned his cutie mark yet and he's already getting the attention of a princess."
Discreetly eyeing his flank, the four ponies were astonished to find that Happy has indeed remain a blank flank due to never becoming a bully victim. Using his magic to levitate his saddlebags full of his schoolbooks and homework, Happy looked Starlight right in the eye as he said, "I'm honored that Princess Twilight wishes for me to attend her school, but I'm going to be late if I don't get out of here. Can you reschedule our interview?"
"Why don't I accompany you to your school as we talk to each other?" Starlight suggested. "If it's all right with your parents."
"Certainly, Sea Worthy and I don't mind one bit." After receiving warm hugs from their son, Sea Breeze and Sea Worthy watched him depart for school with nothing but pride for the pony that he has grown into.
...
As the four ponies travelled alongside Happy Grapes, each of them took the time to finally discern how the townsponies are performing more than the bare minimum of common courtesy with one another; before altering the future the townsponies would only greet one another when passing by, now they take the time to ask the other about his/her day and even offer to help with whatever problem is ailing them.
Upon reaching the fountain in the center of town, Happy Grapes seated himself upon the concrete before saying, "OK, my parents may not believe it, but I know that you're the same ponies who stood up for me and my friends back at kindergarten. The fact you're still the same age as you were ten years ago is truly astonishing, and I expect an explanation for it."
"We do have an explanation," Starlight confirmed the colt's suspicions, "but it would be better if your three friends are here to listen to this. You are still friends with Blitz, Violet Pride, and Lovely Smooch, right?"
"Of course they're still my friends, why else would I be waiting for them here?"
As if on cue, the aforementioned comrades of Happy Grapes appeared to greet him--with his girlfriend, Lovely, planting a tender smooch on his cheek. Blitz was the first to notice and recognize the four ponies who accompanied Happy. "Holy smokes, you guys are seeing what I'm seeing, right?!"
"You're not hallucinating us," Starlight cleared up, "and we are the same ponies who helped you in kindergarten. If you have time to spare, we'll gladly explain everything to you."
As promised, Starlight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders divulged to the four teenagers knowledge of a previous timeline where the three of them abandoned Happy at the mercy of their bullies, resulting in him succumbing to pent up hatred for the ponies in his community and thus becoming a dark reflection of the way everypony treated him, and how the four ponies changed their future for the better with the assistance of Princess Luna. As was expected, the four teenagers were dazed and shocked upon hearing this bleak alternate life.
"I just can't believe that Happy would've turned into a bitter pony had we not remained his friends." Violet said.
"And I can't believe that my hidden talent was spreading hate and pain to everypony." Happy added.
"Does this mean nopony has been bullying any of you since kindergarten?" Sweetie inquired.
"It's actually a funny story," Lovely started. "When Firecracker explained how he got diarrhea for being mean to us, everypony thought he was being ridiculous and just laughed it off, but they must've secretly believed it since everypony else went out of their way to be kind to each other just so none of them run the risk of ending up like Firecracker."
"And how did your teachers react?" Scootaloo asked.
"They were confused by it all," Blitz answered, "but none of them tried to discourage it and just accepted it as if things were always like this."
"Hey Happy!"
Following the direction of the voice, Happy Grapes smiled when he saw Zuzu Petals galloped towards him into a hug that he gladly reciprocated. "I'm always happy to see you Zuzu, but shouldn't you be at school?"
"I took your advice and made a get-well card for my teacher, and I got my cutie mark! Look!"
Proudly presenting her flank to Happy, he--and the others--got a clear view of her cutie mark which is in the form of a get-well card. "That's great Zuzu." Happy commended the filly. "I had a feeling that was your calling."
"YOU !" Everypony were disrupted by an enraged Firecracker who stomped up to Starlight as Cherry Bomb and Peony tried their best to hold him back. "You're the one who tricked me into eating those tainted bonbons ten years ago!"
"So nice to see you too, Bush Pooper." Happy remarked snidely as he and his friends chuckled.
"Did you just call him Bush Pooper?" Apple Bloom tried not to burst out laughing.
"Oh yeah, apparently he once pooped behind a bush when he was in second grade." Zuzu informed the yellow filly. "You can even still smell the stench from the same bush to this day."
Firecracker--or Bush Pooper as virtually everypony in Vanhoover has permanently dubbed him--forgot about his anger towards Starlight and directed it to Zuzu. "You better shut that little hole before I...!"
"Ahem," Starlight interjected, "need I remind you of what befallen you the last time you were a jerk to somepony?"
Regaining vivid images of him rushing behind a bush to unload a massive diarrhea dump, Firecracker begrudgingly patted Zuzu on the head and said, "Sorry for yelling at you."
"Have a good day." Cherry Bomb replied.
"What they said." Peony spoke for herself in a truly rare occurrence.
Once the former bullies made their departure, Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Well Happy, it seems like everything has turned out well for you. And you're not at all bummed out for being the only pony in Vanhoover without your cutie mark?"
"After everything you all told us, not getting my toxic cutie mark might very well be the best thing to ever happen to me. Besides, all that I really need to be happy is friends and family who will always be by my side."
Upon hearing those words, the four pony's cutie marks began to flash in recognition of their accomplished mission. "Woohoo, we solved another friendship problem!" Apple Bloom declared triumphantly. "I guess this means we'll have ta go back ta Ponyville; but before we go, Happy, we'd be honored if you could represent the Vanhoover branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, considerin' how much of a knack you have in helpin' ponies discover their hidden talents."
"I'd be glad to continue helping ponies earn their cutie marks, and I hope I'll get to see you all again someday." After receiving a group hug from the three fillies, Happy--along with his friends--waved off to their four ponies who are now making their way to the train station, while Happy wrapped his hoof around his special somepony as he went about his day.
...
The return journey to Ponyville was rather uneventful, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders had nothing better to do than watch the passing scenery speed by the locomotive that carried them, while Starlight was busy scribbling some notes.
"What are you writing down, Starlight?" Scootaloo curiously prodded.
"This whole ordeal got me thinking about other parts of Equestria who adhere to the same traditions as Vanhoover." Starlight enlightened the filly. "So I'm jotting down the names of every location I can think of to see if there are other ponies experiencing the same dilemma as Happy did and try to get them enrolled in the School of Friendship."
"Do you really believe that Happy will grow up to inspire other blank flanks like him to be treated better like Princess Luna showed us?" Sweetie wondered.
"Considering how much Vanhoover improved for the better because of what we did it's safe to say that Happy will indeed go down that path years from now. Of course, I'll talk Twilight into accepting him--and his friends--into the School of Friendship so they can bring what they've learned back to Vanhoover and pass it down to their children."
"That's a great idea!" Apple Bloom optimistically agreed. "What better way ta inspire them ta further change their lives than havin' them learn from friendship experts?"
"Well I'll be, I thought I heard familiar voices!"
Directing their gazes to the seats across from them, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were surprised to find the red coated colt, Biscuit, along with his brown coated cousin, Spur, right next to them.
"Biscuit! Spur! We didn't think we'd see you on this train." Scootaloo happily exclaimed.
"Likewise." Spur agreed. "And I see the three of you remembered ta bring a grown up with ya."
"Girls, do you know these two?" Starlight asked.
"This is Biscuit and Spur," Apple Bloom made the introduction, "we met them at the County Fair that time the girls and I made ourselves turn inta grown-ups. By the way, how's Bloofy doin', Spur?"
"See fer yourself." Picking up the wooden box, the pegasus teenager held up the box close enough for the three fillies to look upon her pet Whirling Mungtooth. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gently pet him without over exciting him, while Sweetie Belle was silently pondering to herself with a noticeable frown. "What's the matter?"
"We helped a pony in Vanhoover by preventing him from earning his cutie mark." Sweetie explained. "I know the map made it clear that we solved his friendship problem, but I still feel like I failed as a Cutie Mark Crusader for essentially ensuring that he'll remain a blank flank forever. Do you think a pony can be happy without a cutie mark?"
"Absolutely." Spur replied. "Biscuit and I have an uncle who's still a blank flank."
"He runs his own private animal shelter," Biscuit elaborated, "he's also the one who gave us Bloofy as a pet."
"And he doesn't have a cutie mark for taking care of animals?" Said Sweetie.
"That's right." Spur confirmed. "When we asked him about why that's the case fer him, he simply said that he doesn't need a mark on his flank ta dictate what he chooses ta do with his life."
"And what about this pony y'all helped?" The blue maned colt inquired. "Was he content with not havin' a cutie mark?"
"He did tell us that he only needs his friends and family to be happy." Sweetie acknowledged.
"Then it sounds like y'all did a good job of helpin' him out." Biscuit commended them.
"So where are you two headin' fer?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Ta Ponyville." Spur answered. "Biscuit and I were accepted ta the School of Friendship."
"Then it's a good thing we've met." Starlight declared. "I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have."
As Starlight spent the rest of time on the train answering Biscuits' and Spurs' questions, she found herself feeling more optimistic about succeeding Twilight Sparkle as Headmare. When the day she gets to teach Happy Grapes and other ponies like him the magic of friendship, she knows without a shadow of a doubt that they will be able to use the knowledge she passed on to them to help make kindness and decency the new normal in communities that have tolerated bullying and indifference to other ponies suffering for too long. Because just like a seed, reform grows over time and it's worth waiting for it to fully bloom, even if it takes a hundred years.
"Princess Twilight, the map has summoned us again!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders burst through the door leading into the room that holds the Cutie Map with their usual vigor as they enthusiastically show off their glowing cutie marks signifying that they have been selected for a friendship mission.
"That's great girls and look who's joining you." The Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, pointed at her pupil, Starlight Glimmer, whose cutie mark is also glowing.
"I don't believe we've ever got to work together before." Sweetie Belle pointed out.
"Nope, I think this marks the first time." Starlight concurred.
"So is the map sending us to Mount Aris again?" Scootaloo asked Twilight with a hint of anticipation in her voice. "I wouldn't mind getting to swim underwater in Seapony form again."
"Sorry Scootaloo, but the map is actually you four to Vanhoover." Twilight displayed the area of the Cutie Map where the four cutie marks hovered over a city called Vanhoover.
Everypony--aside from Scootaloo, who is mildly disappointed in not getting to reexperience the feeling of flight that swimming in Seapony form provides her with--looked upon the location with curiosity. "I've never been ta Vanhoover before." Apple Bloom confessed. "Do ya know anythin' about it, Twilight?"
"I only know that it's a city that lies on the northwest coast of Equestria." Twilight provided as much information she had to offer. "I'm afraid I've never visited there myself, so I can't tell you anything beyond that."
"That's OK," Starlight replied, "it's nothing that a tour guide can't help."
"Now before you all head off to your mission, you better pack up and settle with your responsibilities." Twilight turned to Starlight. "You need to find a substitute to fill in your responsibilities as school counselor." Then she turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "And you three need to let Cheerilee know that you'll won't be at school for a few days."
Understanding perfectly well that a friendship mission is not a vacation from their daily routines, the mare and three fillies each went about settling their personal responsibilities exactly as Twilight instructed them to.
...
"You want The Great and Powerful Trixie to do your job for you?" The aforementioned Trixie raised some doubts over Starlight's nomination as her substitute.
"Why not?" Starlight responded. "You're already going to be the new school counselor when I become the new Headmare, so this could be a perfect opportunity for you to get use to your soon to be new job."
"Hmm, you do make a fair point. Oh what the hay, I've been needing to take a break from performing magic shows anyway."
"Thanks again, Trixie. But before you get settled into my office, can you help me with my packing?"
...
"The three of you are being sent to Vanhoover?" Cheerilee asked her three students.
"I know this is out of the blue," Apple Bloom answered, "but when the map sends you on a friendship mission you can't really decline."
"This wouldn't be an inconvenience for you by any chance, Miss Cheerilee?" Scootaloo wondered.
"It's no problem at all girls." Cheerilee assured them. "Just try not to stay stuck in Vanhoover for a week or so."
"We'll finish the mission faster than you can say cherry pie!" Sweetie Belle declared. "Now if there's nothing else you need to tell us Miss Cheerilee, we all need to head home and get packing."
...
Packing up for the friendship mission ended up taking all day for everypony, but by Monday morning, everypony was able to reach the train station in time. Starlight arrived with her saddlebags carrying her favorite plant, Phyllis, on one side, and tour guide for Vanhoover and some bits in the other. She was surprised to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders had reached the station before her along with their respective guardians.
"Good mornin' Starlight!" Apple Bloom waved to the pale pink unicorn. "Betcha never thought we'd get here before you, huh?"
"I certainly was not anticipating this." Starlight admitted. "And I see a few ponies have come to bid you farewell."
"Naturally," said Rarity, "you can't expect us not to make sure the girls arrive on time."
"Oh Starlight," Scootaloo caught the unicorn's attention, "you haven't met my aunts before, but they'd like to speak with you."
Once the orange filly stepped aside, a pale light amber coated earth pony mare with a mane that's a mix of scarlet and tangelo wearing a baby blue scarf, and a pale yellow coated pegasus mare with a mane that's a mix of artic blue and light cyan wearing a purple sweater approached Starlight.
"Hello, I'm Holiday and this my wife, Lofty. Our Scootaloo has told us a lot about you last night, and it is so nice to get to meet you."
"Likewise." Starlight returned the favor.
"When our niece told us she and her friends were going to Vanhoover," Lofty explained, "I almost she and her friends were planning on running away. But then she tells us that it's for a friendship mission and that you'll be accompanying them; after finally getting a good look at you, I'm relieved to know our Scootaloo will be in good hooves."
The sound of the approaching train made everypony stop their conversations as they all patiently waited for the train to come to a complete halt as all the passengers got off and the next destination to Vanhoover was announced. Before anypony even got inside, the sudden appearance of Rainbow Dash landing in front of everypony gave them all a mild shock as the blue pegasus frantically said, "I got through my morning drills as quickly as possible, please tell me Scootaloo hasn't left before I got to tell her goodbye!"
"I'm right here, Rainbow," Scootaloo made her presence known, "and I'm glad that you came to me off."
After hugging her sister figure and her two aunts goodbye, Apple Bloom was receiving her own goodbye from her sister, Applejack. "What do ya do if a strange stallion tries anythin' funny?"
"Kick him in the family jewels and run like the wind."
Upon receiving her goodbye hug, Apple Bloom joined Scootaloo and Starlight while Sweetie Belle is still waiting for her sister to finish her goodbye. "Now Sweetie, it's important that you stay close to Starlight at all times and never under any circumstances wander off in Vanhoover by yourself. Now hug me one more time before you get on board the train." Fulfilling her sister's wish, Sweetie gladly hugged Rarity and was about to head inside the train until she felt herself being wrapped by Rarity's forelegs again as she said, "Last hug."
With that taken care of, the four ponies made it to their seats where they were able to wave goodbye to the ponies who bid them farewell as the train began to slowly but surely move away from the station as it carried all passengers to the city of Vanhoover. Upon presenting their tickets to the passing conductor, the four ponies now simply had to stay put on the train for three hours until they finally reached their destination. Fortunately for Starlight, this provided her with an opportunity to read over the tour guide in order to provide herself with an idea of what to expect from Vanhoover; the same could not be said for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were forced to curb their boredom by either looking out the window, sway their bodies back and forth, or in Scootaloo's case, stare at the potted fern plant that lied in Starlight's saddlebag.
"I hope you don't mind me asking," Scootaloo delicately broached the subject, "but why do you have a plant with you?"
"Oh, you mean Phyllis?" Starlight elaborated. "Well I normally like to keep her on my desk in my office when I'm at the school, but I couldn't trust Trixie to take care of her seeing as how she dumped her in a waste basket last time. And besides, Phyllis provides me with comfort."
"You mean like the same way that a plushie of Spike brings comfort to Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo thought of an example.
"Scootaloo, Starlight doesn't need to know about that!" Sweetie huffed while her cheeks blushed in a crimson red.
"Well you do have a plushie of him," Scootaloo retorted, "even though I can't figure out why you would have one in the first place."
"That's none of your business!" Sweetie reacted defensively. "I would appreciate it if we can change the subject."
Sensing the tension in the air, the only thing Starlight could think of was to share some trivia about Vanhoover. "According to this guidebook, Vanhoover was discovered by a famous fisherpony named Baron Von Hoover and the city's entire economy is built around fishing due to it being located near a coast where other fisherponies are able to amass quantities of fish for the market. There's also a recommended hotel called the Hoofton we'll have to check the second we get off the train; when Trixie and I traveled across Saddle Arabia, we spent so much time waiting in line to gather supplies that every hotel ran out of vacancy before we could check in. (So we definitely won't be making that mistake again.) Oh, and also..."
...
"...It's highly advised to all tourist that nopony must ever attempt swimming in the ocean water in Vanhoover as it will result in anypony getting a fungus infection that will last for a year. Ah, looks like we finally made it."
With a screeching halt, the train finally brought the four ponies to their destination. Upon stepping off the train, the ponies were able to catch a glimpse of Vanhoover; and they all found it to be a rather lackluster sight to say the least. Vanhoover possessed none of the splendor of Las Pegasus, or the rampant rancor of Manehattan. It was simply a quiet city where its citizens go about their mundane days without causing much of a ruckus.
Not wanting to linger for too long, Starlight asked a nearby pony for directions to the Hoofton, and the four ponies soon found themselves heading towards a roundabout where a large fountain holding a statue of Vanhoover's founder stood in the middle. There were various buildings that encompassed the roundabout, including the Hoofton. Stepping inside, the four ponies were just in time to check in with a hotel clerk.
"Hello ma'am," Starlight spoke, "do you have room for four?"
"Wait a second," the mare clerk responded, "your name isn't Starlight Glimmer by any chance?"
"Actually yes it is, but how would you know that?"
"This might sound crazy, but a letter from Princess Twilight appeared out of thin air explaining that a unicorn named Starlight Glimmer would arrive here with three fillies for some sort of mission. The Hoofton is always proud to provide service to any friends of any princess in Equestria, which is why we'll let the four of stay in the Princess Suite free of charge."
The last three words were music to everyponies ears, and it got even better when they were escorted to this Princess Suite. Upon opening the door to their suite, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in awe of the splendor this suite had to offer; to the pristine bathroom which held a bathtub large enough for four ponies, and the vast bedroom fitted with gold carpet flooring and gold wallpaper which holds two luxury double beds and round table for room service. As the girls were relishing in this free luxurious suite, Starlight took the moment to ask the clerk some questions.
"You wouldn't happen to know of any ponies in this city who are experiencing any friendship problems?"
"I can't really say for certain." The mare clerk admitted. "Most ponies here tend to mind their own business, so I wouldn't even know a pony with problems if I ever saw one."
Once the clerk took her leave, Starlight entered the suite in time to catch the girls fighting over the telephone to try and call room service, only for Starlight to encompass all three of them in her magic aura to catch their attention. "This is not the time for taking it easy girls. There is a pony in this city who is in need of our help, and we're going to find that pony even if it takes us all day."
Letting out groans of disappointment, the Cutie Mark Crusaders begrudgingly followed Starlight out of their luxurious suite and back to the hotel's entrance. The steps provided the four with a convenient vantage point of seeking out potential ponies in need of assistance; just like what the clerk told Starlight, many of the citizens mostly kept to themselves as they went about their business with an occasional greeting here and there. It was looking as if finding out the problem the map sent them to solve may take the whole day, until Apple Bloom spotted a pony that seemed promising.
"Hey, do y'all see that unicorn carryin' crates of fish with his magic?"
Following the direction where the yellow filly's hoof pointed, the others spotted a unicorn stallion with brownish-gold fur and a red mane lifting five crates of fish towards a grocery store. "I see him," Starlight confirmed, "but what's so special about him?"
"His flank is blank."
Taking the chance to peer at the stallion more closely before he entered the store, each of the ponies were able to catch a glimpse of his flank which was indeed sans a cutie mark as Apple Bloom claimed.
"Maybe he needs help finding his hidden talent." Sweetie Belle suggested.
Eager to fulfil their life's purpose, the Cutie Mark Crusaders galloped towards the grocery store with Starlight trying her best to keep up. Upon entering the store, the four ponies scanned around the environment in search of this grown blank flank; thanks to Scootaloo's perception, they were able to spot the stallion exchanging his fish for a fair amount of bits. Keeping his bits safe inside his fisherpony's hat, the stallion was surprised to find a grown mare and three fillies standing in his way.
"Can I help you four with something?"
"Well actually sir, we're the ones who can help you with something." Starlight explained.
"Help me?"
"We figured you must need help with earning your cutie mark." Scootaloo answered.
"Oh no youngin, I do have a cutie mark; I simply paint it over for my sons' sake. He's been developing a bad temper ever since he earned his cutie mark, and nothing angers him more than seeing a cutie mark. So my wife and I simply paint over ours, so he doesn't become livid."
"And does your son have problems with making friends?" Sweetie Belle inquired.
"Oh yeah, and something tells me he's always gonna have problems when it comes to friendship."
"Then it's a good thing we found you!" Starlight triumphantly declared. "I'm Starlight Glimmer, and this is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. We've been sent on a mission by Princess Twilight to help out a pony in Vanhoover who has a friendship problem, and it seems like your son is need of our aid Mr...?"
"Sea Worthy's my name, and if the four of you truly traveled all this way just to help my boy, then I'm in your debt. I'll take you all to my home."
...
The trip to Sea Worthy's home didn't take too long; the advantage of living in a quiet city like Vanhoover is not having to get around crowds of ponies in drawn carriages. Upon arriving to Sea Worthy's humble abode which rested on a hill which gave a breathtaking view of the ocean, the stallion led the four ponies inside as he called out, "Sea Breeze, I've brought some guests with me!"
While Sea Worthy trotted into the kitchen in search of his wife, the four ponies took notice of rows of family portraits that displayed the brownish-gold stallion along with his pink coated and aquamarine maned unicorn wife and his purple coated and green maned unicorn son. The photographs showed his sons' progression from foal to teenaged colt, and everypony was able to spot a discernable pattern of the sons' smile from when he was a baby slowly devolving into a frown as he grows older. Before they could ponder this any further, Sea Worthy finally reentered the living room to introduce his wife to the ponies who could help their son.
"This is my lovely wife, Sea Breeze; and hon, I'd like to introduce you to Starlight Glimmer, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They've apparently traveled all the way from Ponyville to help out our son."
"Really? Well that's mighty kind of the four of you to offer aid for ponies you never met." Sea Breeze voiced her gratitude.
Just as Starlight was about to say something, everypony flinched when their ears were ringing by the sudden cry of "BUCK !" that could be heard from upstairs. "I'm assuming that was your son?" Starlight guessed.
"You assume correctly." Sea Breeze said. "He's been more of a sailor mouth than even his father ever since he gotten his cutie mark."
"Not ta worry ma'am," Apple Bloom chimed in, "my friends and I are professionals when it comes ta cutie marks. I'm sure we'll get ta the bottom of his friendship problem once we chat with him."
"You all may go up and talk to Sour Grapes if you'd like." Sea Breeze granted them permission to see her son. "But I must warn you that he can be easily angered, you might even find yourselves hating him the second you get close to him."
"We'll be sure to tread carefully when speaking to your son." Starlight assured her. "Come on girls, lets meet the pony who needs our help."
Without wasting anymore time, the four ponies trotted up the stairs to meet with this temperamental colt known as Sour Grapes. Upon reaching the top, the four ponies turned to a corner where a door holding a keep out sign stood across from them. Seeing as how it must be Sour Grapes' room, the ponies cautiously opened the door and peered through to find a bedroom littered with scrolls and a frustrated colt about Sandbar's age who swiveled his gaze to meet these four unexpected guests.
"Who the hay are you?!" Sour Grapes rudely replied.
Sheesh! You kiss your mother with that muzzle? "I'm Starlight Glimmer, and this is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Your parents told us you have a friendship problem, and we came to see if we could help you."
"Wait, did you say Starlight Glimmer?" Sour asked with piqued interest. "As in Twilight Sparkle's pupil?"
"Yes, I am that same Starlight Glimmer. I had no idea you heard about me."
"Of course I've heard about you, you're the main focus of my research! And now that you're standing right before me, I can finally ask you a favor that I've only been dreaming of asking you."
"And what would you like me to do for you?"
"I want you to remove my cutie mark."