Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Divisionby FlitterCCmodChaptersStarting the ClubLiving the High LifeMarching to the Beat of Their Own DrumsStarting the ClubBabs walked into a lonely but well-maintained apartment on the 22nd floor or a skyscraper in Manehattan. Along the walls hung a crayon-made drawing of Manehattan, a picture of her face, and a banner that said "Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division". She pulled her cape off of a coat hanger, and wrapped it around herself. She then stepped up onto a wooden box at the back of the room, and cleared her throat. "Welcome to the fourth meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division," she said to the empty room. She tried carefully to hold back her accent in a formal tone. "Before we begin, we will conduct a roll call." She turned to the picture of herself. "Babs Seed. Present." She paused, and then turned around. "We will now- oh, who am I foolin'?" She groaned, and sat on her haunches. She'd started this club as soon as she left the Ponyville a month ago, and through she'd managed to get a small room as a base of operations (the apartment owner had apparently found her pleading expression cute enough), she hadn't found a single other blank-flank who wanted to join her. She blew her mane out of her face, nearly missing a quiet rap on the door. Her ears perked up. Maybe somepony was here to join! She almost got up, but then froze as another knock came at the door. What if it was a crook wanting to break in? Oh, but crooks didn't knock, did they? Did they? As a third knock came at the door, she cautiously stood up and walked over. She cracked the door open, and came face-to-face with a purple pegasus filly. The filly had a long, light blue mane, and appeared more nervous than Babs. "Uh... is this the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse?" the filly whispered. Babs immediately noticed that her accent wasn't as pronounced as Babs' own, and figured she had roots outside of the city. "Yeah, it is. Why ah ya' here?" Babs asked, tilting her head. "Oh, um, I was just wondering if... you know... if you were accepting new members?" the filly asked. She ducked away. "But it's fine if you're not. I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude." "Hah, am- I mean, ah we?" Babs asked, a grin quickly finding it's way onto her face. "Come on in, lady! What's yer name?" "Sea Pearl," she answered, as she walked into the sparcle-decorated room. Babs saw the lack of a Cutie Mark, which affirmed her interest. "So, where are the others?" "They're late," Babs lied reflexively. "Nice ta meet ya', Pearl - I can call ya' Pearl, right? Name's Babs Seed. I made this little group. In here, we promise you'll be safe from bullies and other scum. Earn yer Cutie Mark, too." "Oh, good. I've been having some trouble, actually. With the bullies, I mean. Oh, but don't tell anypony I said that. The bullies will-" "Where and who ah these bullies?" Babs interrupted. "Um, older fillies and colts at flight school, up in the clouds," Pearl answered nervously. "Ya' need to snitch. Not kiddin'. Tell somepony in charge about yer troubles, and they'll go 'way faster than you can say Cutie Mark Crusaders," Babs said simply. "But enough about dat. Let's get ya' sworn in. Then we can get yer face added to the list, and I'll see about getting ya' a cape. Oh, but first, the rules!" Babs opened up the wooden box she stood on to act as the leader, and pulled out a piece of paper with a few lines of writing on it. She smiled, and began to read off the rules. "Rule one: help yer fellow Crusaders whenever ya' can. Rule two: don't do anything dangerous or illegal. Rule two and a half: don't be afraid to do dangerous things when ya've got a fellow Crusader with ya'. Rule three: keep in contact with all other branches of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, especially the Ponyville branch. The standing leader of the Crusaders reserves the right ta make changes and additions ta the rules." Babs looked at Pearl who simply stared back. Babs smiled again. "So, do you, Sea Pearl, swear ta' uphold these rules?" Babs asked. "Yes," Pearl answered. Babs sighed, and shook her head. "No, no, no. Ya've gotta say 'I swear', or it don't work!" Babs insisted. "But I thought swearing was bad," Pearl said, blinking. "No, cussin' is bad. Swearin' is fine," Babs replied, rolling her eyes. "So, say it!" "Um... I swear," Pearl said, smiling sheepishly. "Well, then, by the authority vested in me by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I hereby instate ya' into our club," Babs said, with a voice of authority. She was internally screaming with delight at having finally inducted a new member into the Crusaders. "Oh, thank you, Babs!" Pearl shouted, suddenly wrapping her hooves around Babs' neck in a hug. "What do we do first?" Babs pulled away from the hug, and stepped over to the picture of her face. "Let's get ya' onto the roll call, Pearl," she answered. A group of five fillies and two colts were in the apartment. There were two pegasi fillies, two unicorn fillies, one Earth-pony filly, a unicorn colt, and an Earth-pony colt. Two of them were Babs and Pearl, who together stood on a much larger wooden box with a podium. "Welcome to the nineteenth meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division," Babs said to the audience. "We will first conduct our roll call. Babs Seed. Present. Sea Pearl." "Present," Pearl answered. "Sweet Cakes," Babs continued. "Present," the first unicorn filly answered. She had a smaller stature than the other ponies in the room. Her curly mane was a peachy shade that went well with her off-white coat. "Ruby Shiner." "Present," replied the Earth-pony colt. Despite the effiminate name, he was probably the biggest and meanest-looking member of the group, and certainly the oldest. He was at least a year older than Babs herself. He had a red coat and a cropped maroon mane, both of which undoubtedly had lead to his name. His accent was even rougher than Babs', and had hints of a country life. "Holly Day," Babs said. "I'm here," answered the second unicorn filly. She had a pine green braided mane, and her coat was an unfortunately clashing blue. "High Life," Babs said. "Present," replied the unicorn colt. He had a light grey coat and a carefully maintained dark blue mane. He spoke with an upper-class Manehattan accent, contrasting with Babs' crude city accent. He seemed altogether out of place amongst the rest of them, save for his lack of a Cutie Mark and his young age. "Rain Drummer," Babs said. "Hi," the second pegasus filly said simply. She had an unremarkable brown coat and a turquoise mane that she kept purposefully short. "Good, everypony's here," Babs said, smiling. "'Fore we go brainstormin' for our Cutie Marks, does anypony have any announcements for the club?" "I do," Pearl answered. Babs nodded, and stepped aside from the podium to let her up. "Despite our complaint to the principal, Rain Drummer has ben having increasing bully problems at her school down here on the ground. We have arranged for a meeting with the parents of those involved, but at the moment, I believe she may need a bodyguard until the issue is dealt with." "Dat would be me," Ruby said, standing up to his full height. In this position, he towered over everypony else in the room. "Ah'll make sure the poor filly doesn't have any problems on mah watch." "Um, thanks. It's not necessary, though," Rain said quietly. "Nonsense. Ah'll stick by yer side till this whole mess is cleaned up," Ruby promised. "Hah, and besides class, o' course." "I would rather enjoy seeing what would happen if somepony picked on her under your protection," High Life said, grinning. "Rain, you could not be in scarier hooves." "Unless yer countin' High Life's personal army," Ruby answered. "We can just ask da bloke outside da room, instead." "It's not actually a personal army. It's my parents' bodyguards," High Life answered. "And I didn't ask him to accompany me here. My mother is simply paranoid about my safety." "That's ridiculous. Nothin' dangerous happens to us," Babs said, rolling her eyes. "So, who's in favor of skydiving for our Cutie Marks?" "Cutie Mark Crusaders Skydivers, yay!" the whole room shouted out at once. Living the High LifeHigh Life lived in a mansion on the outskirts of Manehattan, along with his parents and his little sister, who was barely old enough to walk. His father's name was Gold Stacks, while his mother's name was Crown Jewels. They'd named his younger sister Petunia, a name High Life had always found unusually humble within the family. Both of his parents worked in creating jewelry, as high-ranking managers of a corporation that had stores in pretty much every major city in Equestria. Though such corporations were fairly new, having only been introduced at the beginning of the industrial boom that the nation was experiencing, the job had already made his entire family very wealthy. He waved off one of the many hired servants his parents kept around the house as he walked up to his bedroom on the second floor. He closed the wooden door behind him and locked it, before sighing and walking over to a large mirror on the wall. What he saw in the mirror was a mature-looking unicorn colt with a styled mane wearing a foalish-looking cape. He found that the cape suited him much better than any other aspect of his appearance. He turned around, and looked over his room. It was spotlessly clean. The bed (far larger than he needed) was made. His clothes were hung up in his closet. The few toys he owned were in an ornate wooden chest in the corner. A torn rope hung from the ceiling. It used to hold a bell which he could ring for service, but he despised it enough to cut it. Finally, his dozens of books lined two shelves on a wall. One shelf was for non-fiction, and the other was for fiction. He threw his cape onto a hanger before taking a seat on the bed and levitating a book of poems over to himself. If there was one trait of the upper class that he shared, it was a love of good literature. He read the thick poems inside with a smile. He did not get far, unfortunately, as just minutes later a knock came at his door. "Come in," he ordered. "Sir, it is locked," came a servant's voice through the door. It sounded like one of the mares. "Oh, yes. One moment, please," High Life said. He reluctantly levitated the book back onto the shelf, and walked over to open the door. He looked up at the servant, who despite being older than him still looked back at him with respect. "It is my parents, I suppose." "Yes, sir. They wish to speak with you in the dining room," the servant answered. "Oh, alright. I'm on my way," High Life said, sighing. He walked back through the house and down to the first floor again. He entered the large dining room, with a table that was obviously made with company in mind. His parents sat together at one end. Gold Stacks was dressed up in a suit and tie, and had in many ways a similar appearance to High Life. If one looked closely, though, they could see stress lines on his face. Crown Jewels was not dressed up at all, which relieved High Life. She had a pretty green coat and a light brown mane. They together motioned for him to take a seat. "Father, mother, it is good to see you. What is it that you need?" he asked, taking a seat opposite his mother. "It's nothing, dear. We are merely concerned. The bodyguard we had accompanying you to your... school thing told us that you and your friends skydived today. From actual clouds, hundreds of feet in the sky," Crown said, frowning. "Is this true?" High Life sighed. "The club is called the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It is not a school function. Yes, we skydived today, but we went through all appropriate safety measures before doing so. Unfortunately, neither the safety course nor the skydiving earned any of us our Cutie Marks," he answered. "High Life! You are not to do such a dangerous stunt without our express permission!" Gold said imperiously. High Life had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Father, the bodyguard insisted on skydiving with us for safety. We were in no real danger," he explained calmly. "Now, if that's all that you wanted, I'd much rather be reading my book." He stood up, but paused at Gold's shaking head. "We'll be having company in an hour, High Life. Executives from Trottingham Mining Corporation will be here to discuss the sale of their latest load of gold. We would like you to join us. Eating in your room did not look good on the family last time we had important visitors," Gold said. "... Yes, father. I would be happy to join you," High Life said, withholding a groan. "I'll go wash up and get dressed." "Good colt," Gold said, smiling at his son. High Life took yet another trek up the stairs, and entered his own bathroom. He stepped into the large bathtub, and turned on the water as the undoubtedly boring and meticulous proceedings of the evening played through his head. He would be expected to dress up in the same formal attire as his father. He would be expected to greet the guests, act with manners, stay at the table until the conversation was over - however many hours that may take - and then go straight to bed so that he's on time to his private school the next day. He really wished he could simply get away from it all. If there was something for High Life to look forward to every day, it was seeing his friends after they all got out of school. While formal Cutie Mark Crusaders meetings were only held once a week, it was almost second nature to head to the park to meet up every afternoon. They all kept their capes in their saddlebags for that purpose. He grinned when he found the other six already playing with each other around a statue of some ancient unicorn. He was almost certain he should pay more attention in history class. "Hello, everypony. How are you doing today?" he asked, as he pulled out his cape and slung it across his back. "Ah, and moneybags is here," Ruby joked, walking over and giving High Life a pat on the back. Though it was merely a friendly greeting, High Life had to resist the urge to buckle under the sheer strength of the colt. "We've all been doing great," Sweet Cakes replied, levitating a plastic container of brownies. She pulled one out, and offered it to him. He took it gratefully. "Yeah, and with this big ol' engine puller, nopony even came near me. You should've seen the looks on their faces when they saw him. I thought High Jumper was going to... well, you get the idea," Rain Drummer said, grinning. "Heh... Ah'm only in trainin'," Ruby said, grinning at the compliment. "To pull an 8-car train, with passengers and luggage, alongside only four other stallions," Babs added. "Hay, you're built like the train itself. Give yourself two more years, and you'll be running down those tracks. Maybe even leading!" "Hah, if we're not put out o' bus'ness by den," Ruby said. "Da new trains wit da magic engines are really takin' off." "Well, you can't hurt progress," High Life said, shrugging. "Besides, there are hundreds of jobs out there that require burly stallions. Your future is in no danger." "It'll sure be rougher than yours, though," Sea Pearl said, flying above them. "How many bits does your family have, again?" "Honestly? Enough to buy your family, from what I know of our finances," High Life admitted. He frowned. "I have no desire to inherit the family business, but it'll be necessary in the end. I'll be getting the proper education for it starting next year. Economics, etiquette, and sweet-talking will be the most important lessons." "Sweet-talkin' is easy," Holly said, grinning. "Just gotta know what they like to have 'em wrapped around your hoof." "Well, thank you, but I think that's enough about gloomy days ahead," High Life said. "Are we going to do anything today, Babs?" "I was thinkin' we could read over the latest letter from the Ponyville branch. It's in mah saddlebags," Babs answered. She reached into her saddlebags, and pulled out on envelope. By reflex, the other six sat in a circle around her to hear the letter. "Dear cousin Babs, it's good ta hear from ya' again. We think yer last letter got lost in the mail, probably thanks ta Derpy. Is it true that yer club has six members now? Dat's amazing!" The others chuckled at the letter, as Rain Drummer had joined since that point. "We were talking ta Applejack and Rarity about comin' over ta Manehattan to meet yer whole group. Maybe we could get our Cutie Marks together. Talk ta' yer parents about it, and send another letter ASAP. Yer friends in Ponyville, the Cutie Mark Crusaders (but mostly Applebloom)." "Wow! We can meet them?" Sea Pearl asked excitedly. "I'd love to meet Sweetie Belle! She sounds so nice whenever Babs talks about her!" "Ah think ah would like ta meet Babs' cousin, mahself," Ruby said. "Hard workers, da Apples." "Scootaloo and I could fly together..." Rain Drummer added. "Er, look, let's get this whole thing cleared with our parents, first," Babs said. "And, uh, Rain, Scootaloo doesn't exactly fly. Well, not very well, anyway. She's still learning." "How old did you say they are, again?" Rain aked, raising an eyebrow. "Rain, I think if anypony shouldn't be making assumptions based on age, it's us," High Life pointed out. Rain blushed, and nodded. "So, Babs, ah we gonna invite dem?" Ruby asked. "Are we? You bet. Let's just get it cleared with our parents, first. My parents don't have enough space... High Life, think your parents would-" "Mind ten foals running and playing in and around the house? Yes. Yes, they would," High Life interrupted. "Point taken. Think we could go ta the junction, Ruby? Yer dad likes us," Babs asked. "Yep. Mah pa won't mind, if we don't get in his way," Ruby said. "Ah'll just make sure 'bout it, and tell ya' how it goes." "Sweet. It's settled, then. So, who's up for hide and seek?" Babs declared. Marching to the Beat of Their Own DrumsRain Drummer lived almost on the opposite side of the wealth line from High Life. While she was loathe to bring it up in front of her friends, she and her parents were often disheartened by their lack of money. She walked into a small apartment in the downtown of Manehattan, where she immediately smelled soup cooking on the stove. She ran into the room to find her mother, a pegasus named Cloud Crackle. "Hi, mom," Rain greeted, as she threw her saddlebags to the floor by the kitchen door. "Hello, Rain. How was school? You aren't still getting picked on, I hope," Cloud replied. "It was fine today. Ruby helped me out," Rain said. "But, I mean, that meeting is still on, I hope. I don't want to keep him busy forever." "Ruby... Ruby Shiner? The big colt in the grade above you?" Cloud asked, frowning. "Rain, I hope he's not-" "No, mom, nothing like that. Well, I mean, if it did come to a fight, I expect he'd smash High Jumper and Kickball into the ground, but he's just watching my back. We're not looking for fights," Rain assured. "So, when's dad coming home?" "Oh... I'm afraid he'll be working overtime again," Cloud said. "Again?" Rain asked. "He's not working on the weekend this week, though, right?" "No, not this week," Cloud said. "We'll talk more at dinner, alright? You need to go wash up. You look like you ran through a puddle of mud." "Only a small one..." Rain muttered, as she turned around and walked to their bathroom. About 20 minutes later, Rain was taking her seat at the dinner table. It had a grand total of three seats, which was enough for the entire family. She looked into her bowl, seeing a thin potato soup. It wasn't her favorite meal by a long shot, but she'd long ago just given up whining about her meals. "So, what did you do with your friends today?" Cloud asked. "We played in the park, like every day. Well, except for the days when we're getting outrCutie Marks. Oh, yeah, and we got another letter from Babs' cousin. She and her friends want to meet us here in the city," Rain said. "Really? What are their names again?" Cloud asked. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Babs always says they're really cool and clever. They nearly managed to throw her into a river with a booby-trapped parade float." Rain grinned, but it fell when she saw her mother's worried face. "Um, but that was just because they were out for revenge." Her mother only kept her expression. "I don't really know how to explain this very well." "You're sure these ponies are the type to be friends with?" Cloud asked. "Yes, I'm sure. They apologized for the whole parade float thing after saving Babs from it, and they even started the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Rain explained. "I see..." Cloud sounded unconvinced. "Well, as long as nothing like that happens here. No funny business. Now eat your food. I bought some ice cream for dessert." Rain lived only about 10 minutes' walk from her school. It was a fairly large public school, and it took her a few minutes before she found the red coat and mane that identified Ruby Shiner. Since they went to the same school and were both blank flanks, they'd actually gotten along fairly well even before the Cutie Mark Crusaders came about. In fact, he was the one who invited her to join in the first place. The many kindnesses he had shown her left her feeling indebted quite often. "Hey dere, Rain," Ruby greeted, walking over to the filly. "How ah ya' doin'?" "I'm doing fine, thanks," Rain aswered, smiling at the larger colt. "So, where are they?" "Jumpy and his pal? Heck if ah know. Long 's they're not botherin' us, dey can't be causin' too much trouble. Only blank flanks in da school," Ruby said, shrugging. "C'mon, let's get ya' ta class." He escorted her through the hallways of the school, and stopped at the music room. It was her first class in the mornings, which at least started her day out with something she enjoyed. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay with her considering their age difference, so her gently patted her back before heading off. She walked into the classroom, and immediately took a seat in front of a grand piano. She'd never quite figured out how such things were played. They had such tiny little keys, but the Earth-ponies all seemed to manage them pretty well. After a few minutes, the teacher, Ms. Melody, walked in on the full class, and they began to go over notes and chords. The class, while it had a strict timetable, was more relaxed once they got to playing their music. Ms. Melody didn't mind the trading of instruments, which after a while of struggling with keys Rain eventually decided to do. She swapped with a classmate for a set of bongos. Fitting to her name, drums and similar instruments were her favorites. "Hm... maybe I could convince the others to try a band for our Cutie Marks..." she thought to herself, while unconsciously beating out the rythm from the sheet in front of her. "I think Cakes said she could sing once... Better suggest that next week." By the time class ended, she had been lost in her own thoughts for so long that she hadn't even noticed the others had stopped playing. Ms. Melody had to call out her name to shake her out of her reverie. She blushed, and stopped playing to gather up her things. She walked out, and found Ruby already waiting for her. "One class down. Five ta go," he said. The two made their trek together to the park, and found Babs and Sea Pearl waiting for them. it wasn't surprising, since the fearless leaders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were also the ones who lived closest to the park. Sea Pearl, in fact, went to school in the sky, so it was merely a quick downward trip for her. "Hey dere, Babs. Hey dere, Pearl," Ruby greeted. "Just so ya' know, Babs, mah pa is fine wit us playin' at da junction." "I figured he would be," Babs replied. "I've got paper and a quill with me, so we can go ahead and write the letter when the others get here." "Ah swear, ya've gotta be takin' lessons from High Life when we're not listenin'. Ya' get more and more proper every time I hear ya'," Ruby laughed. "Um, well, no, but ah've - I've - been tryin' ta sound more like a leader," Babs answered, smiling weakly. "It's actually Pearl I'm listenin' to." "I'm not teaching him, though. I get enough of school at school," Pearl added. "Babs, you know you don't have to change just to act like a leader," Rain said. "You were born one." Babs blushed at the compliment, visible even on her orange coat. Before she could reply, though, Sweet Cakes and Holly Day both showed up, with both of their horns glowing brightly and a large box suspended between their auras. The group stared at each other for a moment, before Ruby walked over to help by suspending the box on his back. When they reached the others, they set the box on the ground. "What's in there?" Pearl asked the unicorns. "If we wanted ya' to know without High Life here, ya' already would," Holly replied simply. "Oh, waitin' on da whole party, den," Ruby said, obviously disappointed. "So, how was magic school?" Babs asked. "Boring, as always," Holly answered. "I don't think they ever plan on actually showing how to do battle magic, just teaching when to use it. Lot of good that does us..." "It's just like any self-defense class. You'd think the teaching would be more thorough," Sweet Cakes added. "I probably wouldn't need it, though. I have absolutely no plans of going into the military or anything. I really want to learn teleportation, actually. I could go anywhere and do anything." "A unicorn's lockpicks," Pearl remarked, smirking. "Hey, there's High Life!" Pearl suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the approaching colt. High Life nodded to them as he levitated his cape onto his back. He then took in the sight of the large box, and looked askance of Babs. Babs simply shrugged. "So, what have you two got for us, now that High Life is here?" Rain asked. The two unicorn fillies grinned at each other, and simultaneously opened two locks on either side of the wooden frame. A side of the box fell down, revealing a large, shimmering crystal ball. The others all looked at it inquisitively. "We asked to borrow this from the school for the day!" Cakes announced. "We can try to get our Cutie Marks in fortune-telling today!" "Aren't crystal balls extremely fragile and expensive? They just let you borrow it?" High Life asked. "We never said they said yes," Holly answered. High Life's eyes went wide, and he turned to Babs in alarm. Babs took the initiative, shaking her head and pushing the box closed again. She then looked at the two fillies with an imperious gaze. "No, no, no. Ya've gotta return this, now," she ordered. "Have ya' forgotten the rules? Rule two: nothin' dangerous or illegal." The fillies frowned, and backed away from Babs cautiously. "Considerin' the average safety of our ideas, we kinda figured that was an optional rule," Holly said. "Rule two and a half says nothin' about being crooks," Babs said sternly. "Now take this back and apologize. Ah bet they've already caught on ta what ya've done, anyway. Usin' the ball would just incriminate the whole club when they find out." "... You're right, Babs. Sorry," Cakes said, hanging her head and locking the box again. "Ah'm not the one ta apologize to. That would be yer teachers. Now get a move on, both of you," Babs commanded. The two fillies sadly picked up the box, and carefully held it between their magic auras as they turned back to their school. The remaining four Crusaders all looked at Babs with awe and some trepidation. "Way ta stick ta yer rules, Babs," Ruby said, the first one to shake himself out of it. He grinned, and walked over to hit Babs' back proudly. The smaller filly suddenly crumpled to the ground from the unexpected pressure, and he backed away quickly. "Whoa, sorry 'bout dat. Ya' ok?" "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." Babs got back onto her hooves, and shook her cape. "So, um, who wants ta help me write a letter ta the Ponyville branch?" "Dear Cutie Mark Crusaders Ponyville Division," Applebloom read aloud, with her two friends sitting in front of her on the floor of their clubhouse. Scootaloo gagged at the reading. "Does your cousin have to make everything sound so boringly formal?" Scootaloo asked. "Aw, give her a break, Scoots. She lives in the city! Everything's boringly formal over there!" Sweetie Belle answered. "As I was saying..." Applebloom said, which shut them up. She continued reading. "Ruby Shiner's dad has agreed ta let us meet at the Manehattan north junction, where he works. All of our parents have complied - Scoots, stop gaggin'! - All of our parents have complied ta let ya come over and meet the group. Be sure to bring ideas and supplies for earnin' our Cutie Marks. With all of us together, one of us is bound ta find our talent! We can arrange fer a free weekend in two weeks. Hope ta see ya' then. Yer friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division. P.S., there's seven of us now." "Two weeks, eh? We can come up with LOADS of cool stuff to do that weekend!" Scootaloo said, pumping her hoof in the air. "I wonder what a Cutie Mark in founding a nation-wide club would look like..." Sweetie Belle said. "It's only two towns, Sweetie," Applebloom pointed out. "For now," Sweetie Belle replied, smiling."Come on, let's get a piece of paper. We've got to come up with ideas for big city Cutie Mark hunting." "Starting with bungee-jumping off a skyscraper!" Scootaloo suggested. "Sounds good ta me! Oh, Ah can't wait! This'll be the best weekend ever!" Applebloom declared, grinning widely.
Starting the ClubBabs walked into a lonely but well-maintained apartment on the 22nd floor or a skyscraper in Manehattan. Along the walls hung a crayon-made drawing of Manehattan, a picture of her face, and a banner that said "Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division". She pulled her cape off of a coat hanger, and wrapped it around herself. She then stepped up onto a wooden box at the back of the room, and cleared her throat. "Welcome to the fourth meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division," she said to the empty room. She tried carefully to hold back her accent in a formal tone. "Before we begin, we will conduct a roll call." She turned to the picture of herself. "Babs Seed. Present." She paused, and then turned around. "We will now- oh, who am I foolin'?" She groaned, and sat on her haunches. She'd started this club as soon as she left the Ponyville a month ago, and through she'd managed to get a small room as a base of operations (the apartment owner had apparently found her pleading expression cute enough), she hadn't found a single other blank-flank who wanted to join her. She blew her mane out of her face, nearly missing a quiet rap on the door. Her ears perked up. Maybe somepony was here to join! She almost got up, but then froze as another knock came at the door. What if it was a crook wanting to break in? Oh, but crooks didn't knock, did they? Did they? As a third knock came at the door, she cautiously stood up and walked over. She cracked the door open, and came face-to-face with a purple pegasus filly. The filly had a long, light blue mane, and appeared more nervous than Babs. "Uh... is this the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse?" the filly whispered. Babs immediately noticed that her accent wasn't as pronounced as Babs' own, and figured she had roots outside of the city. "Yeah, it is. Why ah ya' here?" Babs asked, tilting her head. "Oh, um, I was just wondering if... you know... if you were accepting new members?" the filly asked. She ducked away. "But it's fine if you're not. I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude." "Hah, am- I mean, ah we?" Babs asked, a grin quickly finding it's way onto her face. "Come on in, lady! What's yer name?" "Sea Pearl," she answered, as she walked into the sparcle-decorated room. Babs saw the lack of a Cutie Mark, which affirmed her interest. "So, where are the others?" "They're late," Babs lied reflexively. "Nice ta meet ya', Pearl - I can call ya' Pearl, right? Name's Babs Seed. I made this little group. In here, we promise you'll be safe from bullies and other scum. Earn yer Cutie Mark, too." "Oh, good. I've been having some trouble, actually. With the bullies, I mean. Oh, but don't tell anypony I said that. The bullies will-" "Where and who ah these bullies?" Babs interrupted. "Um, older fillies and colts at flight school, up in the clouds," Pearl answered nervously. "Ya' need to snitch. Not kiddin'. Tell somepony in charge about yer troubles, and they'll go 'way faster than you can say Cutie Mark Crusaders," Babs said simply. "But enough about dat. Let's get ya' sworn in. Then we can get yer face added to the list, and I'll see about getting ya' a cape. Oh, but first, the rules!" Babs opened up the wooden box she stood on to act as the leader, and pulled out a piece of paper with a few lines of writing on it. She smiled, and began to read off the rules. "Rule one: help yer fellow Crusaders whenever ya' can. Rule two: don't do anything dangerous or illegal. Rule two and a half: don't be afraid to do dangerous things when ya've got a fellow Crusader with ya'. Rule three: keep in contact with all other branches of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, especially the Ponyville branch. The standing leader of the Crusaders reserves the right ta make changes and additions ta the rules." Babs looked at Pearl who simply stared back. Babs smiled again. "So, do you, Sea Pearl, swear ta' uphold these rules?" Babs asked. "Yes," Pearl answered. Babs sighed, and shook her head. "No, no, no. Ya've gotta say 'I swear', or it don't work!" Babs insisted. "But I thought swearing was bad," Pearl said, blinking. "No, cussin' is bad. Swearin' is fine," Babs replied, rolling her eyes. "So, say it!" "Um... I swear," Pearl said, smiling sheepishly. "Well, then, by the authority vested in me by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I hereby instate ya' into our club," Babs said, with a voice of authority. She was internally screaming with delight at having finally inducted a new member into the Crusaders. "Oh, thank you, Babs!" Pearl shouted, suddenly wrapping her hooves around Babs' neck in a hug. "What do we do first?" Babs pulled away from the hug, and stepped over to the picture of her face. "Let's get ya' onto the roll call, Pearl," she answered. A group of five fillies and two colts were in the apartment. There were two pegasi fillies, two unicorn fillies, one Earth-pony filly, a unicorn colt, and an Earth-pony colt. Two of them were Babs and Pearl, who together stood on a much larger wooden box with a podium. "Welcome to the nineteenth meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division," Babs said to the audience. "We will first conduct our roll call. Babs Seed. Present. Sea Pearl." "Present," Pearl answered. "Sweet Cakes," Babs continued. "Present," the first unicorn filly answered. She had a smaller stature than the other ponies in the room. Her curly mane was a peachy shade that went well with her off-white coat. "Ruby Shiner." "Present," replied the Earth-pony colt. Despite the effiminate name, he was probably the biggest and meanest-looking member of the group, and certainly the oldest. He was at least a year older than Babs herself. He had a red coat and a cropped maroon mane, both of which undoubtedly had lead to his name. His accent was even rougher than Babs', and had hints of a country life. "Holly Day," Babs said. "I'm here," answered the second unicorn filly. She had a pine green braided mane, and her coat was an unfortunately clashing blue. "High Life," Babs said. "Present," replied the unicorn colt. He had a light grey coat and a carefully maintained dark blue mane. He spoke with an upper-class Manehattan accent, contrasting with Babs' crude city accent. He seemed altogether out of place amongst the rest of them, save for his lack of a Cutie Mark and his young age. "Rain Drummer," Babs said. "Hi," the second pegasus filly said simply. She had an unremarkable brown coat and a turquoise mane that she kept purposefully short. "Good, everypony's here," Babs said, smiling. "'Fore we go brainstormin' for our Cutie Marks, does anypony have any announcements for the club?" "I do," Pearl answered. Babs nodded, and stepped aside from the podium to let her up. "Despite our complaint to the principal, Rain Drummer has ben having increasing bully problems at her school down here on the ground. We have arranged for a meeting with the parents of those involved, but at the moment, I believe she may need a bodyguard until the issue is dealt with." "Dat would be me," Ruby said, standing up to his full height. In this position, he towered over everypony else in the room. "Ah'll make sure the poor filly doesn't have any problems on mah watch." "Um, thanks. It's not necessary, though," Rain said quietly. "Nonsense. Ah'll stick by yer side till this whole mess is cleaned up," Ruby promised. "Hah, and besides class, o' course." "I would rather enjoy seeing what would happen if somepony picked on her under your protection," High Life said, grinning. "Rain, you could not be in scarier hooves." "Unless yer countin' High Life's personal army," Ruby answered. "We can just ask da bloke outside da room, instead." "It's not actually a personal army. It's my parents' bodyguards," High Life answered. "And I didn't ask him to accompany me here. My mother is simply paranoid about my safety." "That's ridiculous. Nothin' dangerous happens to us," Babs said, rolling her eyes. "So, who's in favor of skydiving for our Cutie Marks?" "Cutie Mark Crusaders Skydivers, yay!" the whole room shouted out at once.
Living the High LifeHigh Life lived in a mansion on the outskirts of Manehattan, along with his parents and his little sister, who was barely old enough to walk. His father's name was Gold Stacks, while his mother's name was Crown Jewels. They'd named his younger sister Petunia, a name High Life had always found unusually humble within the family. Both of his parents worked in creating jewelry, as high-ranking managers of a corporation that had stores in pretty much every major city in Equestria. Though such corporations were fairly new, having only been introduced at the beginning of the industrial boom that the nation was experiencing, the job had already made his entire family very wealthy. He waved off one of the many hired servants his parents kept around the house as he walked up to his bedroom on the second floor. He closed the wooden door behind him and locked it, before sighing and walking over to a large mirror on the wall. What he saw in the mirror was a mature-looking unicorn colt with a styled mane wearing a foalish-looking cape. He found that the cape suited him much better than any other aspect of his appearance. He turned around, and looked over his room. It was spotlessly clean. The bed (far larger than he needed) was made. His clothes were hung up in his closet. The few toys he owned were in an ornate wooden chest in the corner. A torn rope hung from the ceiling. It used to hold a bell which he could ring for service, but he despised it enough to cut it. Finally, his dozens of books lined two shelves on a wall. One shelf was for non-fiction, and the other was for fiction. He threw his cape onto a hanger before taking a seat on the bed and levitating a book of poems over to himself. If there was one trait of the upper class that he shared, it was a love of good literature. He read the thick poems inside with a smile. He did not get far, unfortunately, as just minutes later a knock came at his door. "Come in," he ordered. "Sir, it is locked," came a servant's voice through the door. It sounded like one of the mares. "Oh, yes. One moment, please," High Life said. He reluctantly levitated the book back onto the shelf, and walked over to open the door. He looked up at the servant, who despite being older than him still looked back at him with respect. "It is my parents, I suppose." "Yes, sir. They wish to speak with you in the dining room," the servant answered. "Oh, alright. I'm on my way," High Life said, sighing. He walked back through the house and down to the first floor again. He entered the large dining room, with a table that was obviously made with company in mind. His parents sat together at one end. Gold Stacks was dressed up in a suit and tie, and had in many ways a similar appearance to High Life. If one looked closely, though, they could see stress lines on his face. Crown Jewels was not dressed up at all, which relieved High Life. She had a pretty green coat and a light brown mane. They together motioned for him to take a seat. "Father, mother, it is good to see you. What is it that you need?" he asked, taking a seat opposite his mother. "It's nothing, dear. We are merely concerned. The bodyguard we had accompanying you to your... school thing told us that you and your friends skydived today. From actual clouds, hundreds of feet in the sky," Crown said, frowning. "Is this true?" High Life sighed. "The club is called the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It is not a school function. Yes, we skydived today, but we went through all appropriate safety measures before doing so. Unfortunately, neither the safety course nor the skydiving earned any of us our Cutie Marks," he answered. "High Life! You are not to do such a dangerous stunt without our express permission!" Gold said imperiously. High Life had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Father, the bodyguard insisted on skydiving with us for safety. We were in no real danger," he explained calmly. "Now, if that's all that you wanted, I'd much rather be reading my book." He stood up, but paused at Gold's shaking head. "We'll be having company in an hour, High Life. Executives from Trottingham Mining Corporation will be here to discuss the sale of their latest load of gold. We would like you to join us. Eating in your room did not look good on the family last time we had important visitors," Gold said. "... Yes, father. I would be happy to join you," High Life said, withholding a groan. "I'll go wash up and get dressed." "Good colt," Gold said, smiling at his son. High Life took yet another trek up the stairs, and entered his own bathroom. He stepped into the large bathtub, and turned on the water as the undoubtedly boring and meticulous proceedings of the evening played through his head. He would be expected to dress up in the same formal attire as his father. He would be expected to greet the guests, act with manners, stay at the table until the conversation was over - however many hours that may take - and then go straight to bed so that he's on time to his private school the next day. He really wished he could simply get away from it all. If there was something for High Life to look forward to every day, it was seeing his friends after they all got out of school. While formal Cutie Mark Crusaders meetings were only held once a week, it was almost second nature to head to the park to meet up every afternoon. They all kept their capes in their saddlebags for that purpose. He grinned when he found the other six already playing with each other around a statue of some ancient unicorn. He was almost certain he should pay more attention in history class. "Hello, everypony. How are you doing today?" he asked, as he pulled out his cape and slung it across his back. "Ah, and moneybags is here," Ruby joked, walking over and giving High Life a pat on the back. Though it was merely a friendly greeting, High Life had to resist the urge to buckle under the sheer strength of the colt. "We've all been doing great," Sweet Cakes replied, levitating a plastic container of brownies. She pulled one out, and offered it to him. He took it gratefully. "Yeah, and with this big ol' engine puller, nopony even came near me. You should've seen the looks on their faces when they saw him. I thought High Jumper was going to... well, you get the idea," Rain Drummer said, grinning. "Heh... Ah'm only in trainin'," Ruby said, grinning at the compliment. "To pull an 8-car train, with passengers and luggage, alongside only four other stallions," Babs added. "Hay, you're built like the train itself. Give yourself two more years, and you'll be running down those tracks. Maybe even leading!" "Hah, if we're not put out o' bus'ness by den," Ruby said. "Da new trains wit da magic engines are really takin' off." "Well, you can't hurt progress," High Life said, shrugging. "Besides, there are hundreds of jobs out there that require burly stallions. Your future is in no danger." "It'll sure be rougher than yours, though," Sea Pearl said, flying above them. "How many bits does your family have, again?" "Honestly? Enough to buy your family, from what I know of our finances," High Life admitted. He frowned. "I have no desire to inherit the family business, but it'll be necessary in the end. I'll be getting the proper education for it starting next year. Economics, etiquette, and sweet-talking will be the most important lessons." "Sweet-talkin' is easy," Holly said, grinning. "Just gotta know what they like to have 'em wrapped around your hoof." "Well, thank you, but I think that's enough about gloomy days ahead," High Life said. "Are we going to do anything today, Babs?" "I was thinkin' we could read over the latest letter from the Ponyville branch. It's in mah saddlebags," Babs answered. She reached into her saddlebags, and pulled out on envelope. By reflex, the other six sat in a circle around her to hear the letter. "Dear cousin Babs, it's good ta hear from ya' again. We think yer last letter got lost in the mail, probably thanks ta Derpy. Is it true that yer club has six members now? Dat's amazing!" The others chuckled at the letter, as Rain Drummer had joined since that point. "We were talking ta Applejack and Rarity about comin' over ta Manehattan to meet yer whole group. Maybe we could get our Cutie Marks together. Talk ta' yer parents about it, and send another letter ASAP. Yer friends in Ponyville, the Cutie Mark Crusaders (but mostly Applebloom)." "Wow! We can meet them?" Sea Pearl asked excitedly. "I'd love to meet Sweetie Belle! She sounds so nice whenever Babs talks about her!" "Ah think ah would like ta meet Babs' cousin, mahself," Ruby said. "Hard workers, da Apples." "Scootaloo and I could fly together..." Rain Drummer added. "Er, look, let's get this whole thing cleared with our parents, first," Babs said. "And, uh, Rain, Scootaloo doesn't exactly fly. Well, not very well, anyway. She's still learning." "How old did you say they are, again?" Rain aked, raising an eyebrow. "Rain, I think if anypony shouldn't be making assumptions based on age, it's us," High Life pointed out. Rain blushed, and nodded. "So, Babs, ah we gonna invite dem?" Ruby asked. "Are we? You bet. Let's just get it cleared with our parents, first. My parents don't have enough space... High Life, think your parents would-" "Mind ten foals running and playing in and around the house? Yes. Yes, they would," High Life interrupted. "Point taken. Think we could go ta the junction, Ruby? Yer dad likes us," Babs asked. "Yep. Mah pa won't mind, if we don't get in his way," Ruby said. "Ah'll just make sure 'bout it, and tell ya' how it goes." "Sweet. It's settled, then. So, who's up for hide and seek?" Babs declared.
Marching to the Beat of Their Own DrumsRain Drummer lived almost on the opposite side of the wealth line from High Life. While she was loathe to bring it up in front of her friends, she and her parents were often disheartened by their lack of money. She walked into a small apartment in the downtown of Manehattan, where she immediately smelled soup cooking on the stove. She ran into the room to find her mother, a pegasus named Cloud Crackle. "Hi, mom," Rain greeted, as she threw her saddlebags to the floor by the kitchen door. "Hello, Rain. How was school? You aren't still getting picked on, I hope," Cloud replied. "It was fine today. Ruby helped me out," Rain said. "But, I mean, that meeting is still on, I hope. I don't want to keep him busy forever." "Ruby... Ruby Shiner? The big colt in the grade above you?" Cloud asked, frowning. "Rain, I hope he's not-" "No, mom, nothing like that. Well, I mean, if it did come to a fight, I expect he'd smash High Jumper and Kickball into the ground, but he's just watching my back. We're not looking for fights," Rain assured. "So, when's dad coming home?" "Oh... I'm afraid he'll be working overtime again," Cloud said. "Again?" Rain asked. "He's not working on the weekend this week, though, right?" "No, not this week," Cloud said. "We'll talk more at dinner, alright? You need to go wash up. You look like you ran through a puddle of mud." "Only a small one..." Rain muttered, as she turned around and walked to their bathroom. About 20 minutes later, Rain was taking her seat at the dinner table. It had a grand total of three seats, which was enough for the entire family. She looked into her bowl, seeing a thin potato soup. It wasn't her favorite meal by a long shot, but she'd long ago just given up whining about her meals. "So, what did you do with your friends today?" Cloud asked. "We played in the park, like every day. Well, except for the days when we're getting outrCutie Marks. Oh, yeah, and we got another letter from Babs' cousin. She and her friends want to meet us here in the city," Rain said. "Really? What are their names again?" Cloud asked. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Babs always says they're really cool and clever. They nearly managed to throw her into a river with a booby-trapped parade float." Rain grinned, but it fell when she saw her mother's worried face. "Um, but that was just because they were out for revenge." Her mother only kept her expression. "I don't really know how to explain this very well." "You're sure these ponies are the type to be friends with?" Cloud asked. "Yes, I'm sure. They apologized for the whole parade float thing after saving Babs from it, and they even started the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Rain explained. "I see..." Cloud sounded unconvinced. "Well, as long as nothing like that happens here. No funny business. Now eat your food. I bought some ice cream for dessert." Rain lived only about 10 minutes' walk from her school. It was a fairly large public school, and it took her a few minutes before she found the red coat and mane that identified Ruby Shiner. Since they went to the same school and were both blank flanks, they'd actually gotten along fairly well even before the Cutie Mark Crusaders came about. In fact, he was the one who invited her to join in the first place. The many kindnesses he had shown her left her feeling indebted quite often. "Hey dere, Rain," Ruby greeted, walking over to the filly. "How ah ya' doin'?" "I'm doing fine, thanks," Rain aswered, smiling at the larger colt. "So, where are they?" "Jumpy and his pal? Heck if ah know. Long 's they're not botherin' us, dey can't be causin' too much trouble. Only blank flanks in da school," Ruby said, shrugging. "C'mon, let's get ya' ta class." He escorted her through the hallways of the school, and stopped at the music room. It was her first class in the mornings, which at least started her day out with something she enjoyed. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay with her considering their age difference, so her gently patted her back before heading off. She walked into the classroom, and immediately took a seat in front of a grand piano. She'd never quite figured out how such things were played. They had such tiny little keys, but the Earth-ponies all seemed to manage them pretty well. After a few minutes, the teacher, Ms. Melody, walked in on the full class, and they began to go over notes and chords. The class, while it had a strict timetable, was more relaxed once they got to playing their music. Ms. Melody didn't mind the trading of instruments, which after a while of struggling with keys Rain eventually decided to do. She swapped with a classmate for a set of bongos. Fitting to her name, drums and similar instruments were her favorites. "Hm... maybe I could convince the others to try a band for our Cutie Marks..." she thought to herself, while unconsciously beating out the rythm from the sheet in front of her. "I think Cakes said she could sing once... Better suggest that next week." By the time class ended, she had been lost in her own thoughts for so long that she hadn't even noticed the others had stopped playing. Ms. Melody had to call out her name to shake her out of her reverie. She blushed, and stopped playing to gather up her things. She walked out, and found Ruby already waiting for her. "One class down. Five ta go," he said. The two made their trek together to the park, and found Babs and Sea Pearl waiting for them. it wasn't surprising, since the fearless leaders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were also the ones who lived closest to the park. Sea Pearl, in fact, went to school in the sky, so it was merely a quick downward trip for her. "Hey dere, Babs. Hey dere, Pearl," Ruby greeted. "Just so ya' know, Babs, mah pa is fine wit us playin' at da junction." "I figured he would be," Babs replied. "I've got paper and a quill with me, so we can go ahead and write the letter when the others get here." "Ah swear, ya've gotta be takin' lessons from High Life when we're not listenin'. Ya' get more and more proper every time I hear ya'," Ruby laughed. "Um, well, no, but ah've - I've - been tryin' ta sound more like a leader," Babs answered, smiling weakly. "It's actually Pearl I'm listenin' to." "I'm not teaching him, though. I get enough of school at school," Pearl added. "Babs, you know you don't have to change just to act like a leader," Rain said. "You were born one." Babs blushed at the compliment, visible even on her orange coat. Before she could reply, though, Sweet Cakes and Holly Day both showed up, with both of their horns glowing brightly and a large box suspended between their auras. The group stared at each other for a moment, before Ruby walked over to help by suspending the box on his back. When they reached the others, they set the box on the ground. "What's in there?" Pearl asked the unicorns. "If we wanted ya' to know without High Life here, ya' already would," Holly replied simply. "Oh, waitin' on da whole party, den," Ruby said, obviously disappointed. "So, how was magic school?" Babs asked. "Boring, as always," Holly answered. "I don't think they ever plan on actually showing how to do battle magic, just teaching when to use it. Lot of good that does us..." "It's just like any self-defense class. You'd think the teaching would be more thorough," Sweet Cakes added. "I probably wouldn't need it, though. I have absolutely no plans of going into the military or anything. I really want to learn teleportation, actually. I could go anywhere and do anything." "A unicorn's lockpicks," Pearl remarked, smirking. "Hey, there's High Life!" Pearl suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the approaching colt. High Life nodded to them as he levitated his cape onto his back. He then took in the sight of the large box, and looked askance of Babs. Babs simply shrugged. "So, what have you two got for us, now that High Life is here?" Rain asked. The two unicorn fillies grinned at each other, and simultaneously opened two locks on either side of the wooden frame. A side of the box fell down, revealing a large, shimmering crystal ball. The others all looked at it inquisitively. "We asked to borrow this from the school for the day!" Cakes announced. "We can try to get our Cutie Marks in fortune-telling today!" "Aren't crystal balls extremely fragile and expensive? They just let you borrow it?" High Life asked. "We never said they said yes," Holly answered. High Life's eyes went wide, and he turned to Babs in alarm. Babs took the initiative, shaking her head and pushing the box closed again. She then looked at the two fillies with an imperious gaze. "No, no, no. Ya've gotta return this, now," she ordered. "Have ya' forgotten the rules? Rule two: nothin' dangerous or illegal." The fillies frowned, and backed away from Babs cautiously. "Considerin' the average safety of our ideas, we kinda figured that was an optional rule," Holly said. "Rule two and a half says nothin' about being crooks," Babs said sternly. "Now take this back and apologize. Ah bet they've already caught on ta what ya've done, anyway. Usin' the ball would just incriminate the whole club when they find out." "... You're right, Babs. Sorry," Cakes said, hanging her head and locking the box again. "Ah'm not the one ta apologize to. That would be yer teachers. Now get a move on, both of you," Babs commanded. The two fillies sadly picked up the box, and carefully held it between their magic auras as they turned back to their school. The remaining four Crusaders all looked at Babs with awe and some trepidation. "Way ta stick ta yer rules, Babs," Ruby said, the first one to shake himself out of it. He grinned, and walked over to hit Babs' back proudly. The smaller filly suddenly crumpled to the ground from the unexpected pressure, and he backed away quickly. "Whoa, sorry 'bout dat. Ya' ok?" "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." Babs got back onto her hooves, and shook her cape. "So, um, who wants ta help me write a letter ta the Ponyville branch?" "Dear Cutie Mark Crusaders Ponyville Division," Applebloom read aloud, with her two friends sitting in front of her on the floor of their clubhouse. Scootaloo gagged at the reading. "Does your cousin have to make everything sound so boringly formal?" Scootaloo asked. "Aw, give her a break, Scoots. She lives in the city! Everything's boringly formal over there!" Sweetie Belle answered. "As I was saying..." Applebloom said, which shut them up. She continued reading. "Ruby Shiner's dad has agreed ta let us meet at the Manehattan north junction, where he works. All of our parents have complied - Scoots, stop gaggin'! - All of our parents have complied ta let ya come over and meet the group. Be sure to bring ideas and supplies for earnin' our Cutie Marks. With all of us together, one of us is bound ta find our talent! We can arrange fer a free weekend in two weeks. Hope ta see ya' then. Yer friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders Manehattan Division. P.S., there's seven of us now." "Two weeks, eh? We can come up with LOADS of cool stuff to do that weekend!" Scootaloo said, pumping her hoof in the air. "I wonder what a Cutie Mark in founding a nation-wide club would look like..." Sweetie Belle said. "It's only two towns, Sweetie," Applebloom pointed out. "For now," Sweetie Belle replied, smiling."Come on, let's get a piece of paper. We've got to come up with ideas for big city Cutie Mark hunting." "Starting with bungee-jumping off a skyscraper!" Scootaloo suggested. "Sounds good ta me! Oh, Ah can't wait! This'll be the best weekend ever!" Applebloom declared, grinning widely.
