Chapter 1: A Letter from Manehatten
It was a peaceful morning in Sweet Apple Acres when the rooster let out its morning call to greet the rising sun. The great yellow orb peaked over the mountain tops and began to spread its magnificent light across the land. Bathing the trees with refreshing rays and waking the animals from a calm night of sleep. Bright sunlight filtered through the curtains of Applebloom's bedroom window, filling the little green room with warmth and sunshine. It reached into the fourposter bed and spread over a sleeping red-maned, yellow filly who was still curled up under her plush blankets.
A knock on her bedroom door caused Applebloom to let out a snort and crack one eye open to glare at it, "What?" she called out groggily with a sleep-heavy voice.
"Rise n' shine, sleepyhead!" It was good ol' Granny Smith, always the vigilant wake-up-caller of the household. The old mare had more pep in her then most of the fillies in Applebloom's entire class put together, much to even her own amazement, particularly first thing in the morning.
"Come along now, up up up! Ya sleep in anymore, an' ya'll be late for school!" called out Granny in her crackling voice.
"Comin', Granny!" Applebloom managed to blurt out as she tumbled out of bed.
Applebloom went out into the hall dragging her hooves along. She let out a huge yawn just as her elder sister pranced passed her heading for the stairs.
"G'mornin', Sugarcube. sleep well?" asked Applejack cheerfully.
Applebloom simply mumbled back something incoherent and made her way to the bathroom to try and wash the sleepies out of her eyes. She jiggled the door handle to find it locked.
"Aw, come onnnnnnn!" Applebloom groaned. "Big Mac, are ya in there?"
"Eeee-yup!" came the voice of her big brother.
"Are ya gonna take long?" she asked hopefully.
"Eeee-yup!" came the reply again.
"URGH!" Applebloom promptly kicked the rug in agitation and turned towards the stairs to make her way down to the kitchen.
The enticing aroma of cooking pancake batter mixed with fresh-picked fruit filled her nostrils, and it was all she needed to feel less grumpy. If there was one thing she loved about mornings in Sweet Apple Acres, it was Granny's Special Fruity Flapjacks.
"Well, there she is, an' jus' in time, too." said Granny Smith standing by the stove and flipping pancakes onto a plate. Applejack was already at the breakfast table pouring some milk for everypony.
"Looks like somepony forgot t' brush their mane this mornin'." Applejack noted out loud as her little sister climbed into a chair. Applebloom checked her reflection in a spoon to find that her red mane had the worst case of bed-head, ever.
"S'not mah fault that Big Mac's hoggin' the bathroom," she pouted, "I'll jus' fix it after breakfast."
Applejack nodded and passed her a glass of milk just as Granny Smith brought over a huge pile of pancakes that threatened to teeter right off the plate she was holding in her mouth. The plate landed with a heavy thump on the center of the table, causing the tableware to jingle a bit.
"Oh, boy!" Applebloom exclaimed happily. She grabbed a short stack of them onto her plate and quickly helped herself to the syrup. Applejack did likewise, but with a little less speed since she had to wait for her sister to pass the syrup bottle after practically emptying half of it. Granny Smith climbed onto her stool and smiled serenely as she placed a single pancake onto her plate and just gave it a light dusting of sugar.
"Bees'r ferfect!" Applebloom exclaimed over a happy mouthful of the syrupy pastry.
"As always," agreed Applejack, "best flapjacks this side of anywhere."
"Awe, thank ya, m'dears. Ah jus' wish Big Mac gets t' enjoy 'em fresh off the pan fer once," said Granny before looking towards the stairs, "an' speakin' of which, HEY, MACINTOSH!" she shouted up for him, "GET YER TAIL DOWN TO BREAKFAST BEFORE YER SISTERS EAT IT ALL! ON THE DOUBLE!"
A rumbling sound that reminded the mares of a small landslide of logs came clamoring down the stairs as the heavily muscled, large, red stallion landed his great wide hooves on the wooden planks. Applebloom sometimes imagined that some day those poor stairs are going to finally give under her brother's great bulk of horsepower. She made a mental note to stack some hey or pillows in the seller underneath, just in case it ever does happen.
"Goooood Mornin'," said Big Mac cheerfully as he took a seat at the table.
"Coffee?" offered Applejack.
"Eeee-yup."
Halfway through pouring a cup, a huge crash rammed into the kitchen's door to the back yard, causing everypony to jump and create a bit of a mess as almost everything leaped off the table and plopped back down.
"Mail's here!" Applebloom reported as she popped off her chair and went to the door.
She opened the door to find Poinyville's grey coated post-mare shaking some leafs out of her yellow mane and looking a bit cross-eyed with dizziness from the crash. "Woops, over flew it again." she said while trying to find where her hat had gone.
"In the flowerbed," pointed Applebloom, spotting the lost item.
"Oh, thank you." Derpy shook the dust off her hat before placing it expertly back on her head, "Anyway, good morning everypony! Got some mail for you today!"
"Care for some flapjacks, Miss Hooves?" offered Applejack while Derpy rummaged through her saddlebags.
"No thanks, AJ. Had a big breakfast at home."
"Any mail for me?" piped up Applebloom as Derpy finally pulled out a small wad of letters and a rolled up newspaper.
"Actually, I think there is..." Derpy replied handing the lot to Applejack, "something from Man-a-hating..."
"You mean Manehatten?"
"Yeah, that's it! Welp, hate to dash, but duty calls!" Derpy tipped her hat and cantered towards the door. She extended her wings to get ready for immediate take off. "Bye everypony!"
No sooner did the post-mare fly out of the door then Applebloom was bouncing at Applejack's knee begging for her letter. "Where is it? come on! gimme gimme gimme!" she bounced impatiently.
"Hold yer apples, Sugarcube, I need t' find it first!" she finally found it somewhere in the middle and handed it to her bouncy sister, "Here."
"It's from cousin Babs!" exclaimed Applebloom as she tore open her letter and started reading it in the center of the floor.
"You don't say." smiled Applejack taking a sip of her milk and unrolling the newspaper.
There was a moment of silence while the Apple family continued there breakfast with Applebloom reading her letter. Then the little filly suddenly exploded in an earsplitting squeal.
"OH MAH GOSH! ohmahgosh-ohmahgosh-ohmahgosh!" Applebloom was practically running in circles from excitement and waving her letter about, "I gotta show this t' the girls A-sap!"
"Whoa, hold on there, little missy. ain't ya fergettin' somethin'?" asked Granny Smith before her granddaughter ran out the door.
The little filly skidded to a halt right in the door frame, "What?" she asked in confusion.
Applejack held out a spoon to her to remind Applebloom of her previous reflection, "your mane?"
"OH! oh, yeah, right... mane! teeth! school bag!" Applebloom recited as she dashed up the stairs and galloped for the bathroom.
"Now what in tarnation do ya think that was all about?" asked Granny Smith, "I haven't seen her this excited since the Apple Family Reunion."
Applejack shrugged and turned another page in the newspaper. A brightly colored add-in fell out from its wedge between the papers and landed on her lap. Applejack picked it up and gave it a look-over before smiling and placing it on the table for all to see.
"Bet ya two bits it'll have somethin' t' do with this."
"Eee-yup."
* * * * *
With her mane neatly brushed and tied up with a hair ribbon, and her school saddlebag bouncing securely on her flank, Applebloom made her way down the path that lead to Miss Cheerilee's schoolhouse at a brisk canter. She couldn't wait to see her best friends and share with them her cousin's letter. Just thinking about it gave her hooves an extra skip and a little more speed.
The sound of noisy young foals soon filled the air. Fillies and colts from all over Ponyville were collecting in the yard outside the schoolhouse. Chatter, laughter and general horsing about was taking over the area as more students collected. Miss Cheerilee, the dark-rose coated mare with the bouncy pink mane and ever patient smile, was standing in the door frame of the schoolhouse, watching over the foals. She greeted her students with a cheerful voice that made her seem more like a mother than a teacher. Which was probably why she was so well liked by all her students.
"Good morning, Applebloom," Miss Cheerilee said as the yellow filly reached the front steps.
"G'mornin', Miss Cheerilee. Say, Have ya seen Sweetie Bell or Scootaloo?"
"I believe they are already in the classroom."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Applebloom pranced right by and went to the classroom to find her best friends hanging out at the very back. Sweetie Bell, the gentle white coated unicorn with the tow-toned mane that resembled pink and purple cotton-candy, was hooking her school saddlebag on the back of her chair. She was also talking animatedly with Scootaloo, the outspoken orange coated pegasus with the hot-pink mane that was always ruffled and unkempt. The pegasus was leaning on her folded scooter, which would soon take its rightful place under her chair before class started.
Applebloom beamed with joy at finally seeing her friends.
"Girls!" she called out, skipping over to join them.
"Hey, Applebloom, what's up?" Scootaloo greeted.
"wait'll ya hear what ah just got in the mail!" Applebloom reported while hooking her own school saddlebag on her chair.
"Oh, oh, is it from Babs?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"How'd ya guess?" Applebloom paused in the middle of digging in her bag for the letter.
"Duh, who else is gonna send you anything?" Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes, "She's, like, the only pony not from Ponyville you know."
"Not true," Applebloom said, "why, ah know plenty of other ponies! Or did ya forget about mah family reunion not too long ago?"
"Anypony send you anything since then?" asked Scootaloo.
"Well... no," Applebloom had to admit, "But that don't mean they ain't gonna send somethin' in the future."
Scootaloo just shrugged, "If you say so."
"So what did Babs send?" Sweetie Bell chimed in to keep the peace. She was also extremely curious now.
"Oh, right!" Applebloom quickly pulled out the letter. But before she even had a chance to unfold it, the school bell rang.
"Alright everypony, take your seats, please." Miss Cheerilee called out to the foals.
"Awe, come onnnnn!" groaned Applebloom, "this is totally unfair!"
"Don't worry, AB. You can tell us at recess," Sweetie Bell said while getting into her seat.
"Yeah, no biggie," Scootaloo agreed. She slid her folded scooter under her own seat before climbing into it and pulling her notebook out. "Not like your letter is going anywhere, right?"
"Yeah, right." Applebloom said with a small pout as she climbed into her seat.
The other foals made a huge hussle and bussle as everypony went about the classroom getting to their proper places. Miss Cheerilee stood by her desk making sure all heads were accounted for. When they were all finally in place, and the noise was all but silenced, Miss Cheerilee gave a motherly smile to her students and began doing what she did best.
"Alright, everypony, today we'll be covering the basics of..." A small, light-periwinkle hoof was raised, demanding the teacher's attention, "Yes, Dinky?"
The little yellow maned unicorn stood up to be heard. "Miss Cheerilee, before we start the lesson, is it alright if I pass these out to everypony?" she held out a stack of brightly colored paper. "My mama asked me to hand them out."
"Of course you can, Dinky."
"Thank you, ma'am!"
Dinky's horn began to glow with a faint, yellow aura. The stack of paper caught the glow and floated up over the classroom, then began to deal a sheet of paper to each of the ponies just like a deck of cards. Everypony who received a sheet was quickly chattering with their neighboring classmate in rushed excitement. When a sheet finally floated down to each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applebloom's jaw dropped.
"No way! That's it!" she exclaimed with a voice that was both surprised and annoyed.
"What's it?" her best friends asked in unison.
"This!" Applebloom held out the printed paper to them. In colorful texts that overlapped a collection of brightly colored scenes of various acrobatics and animal stunts, stood the words Circque de la Luna. "This is what Babs wrote to me about!"
* * * * *
Dear cousin and friends:
I just came home from one of the best shows I've ever seen! There ain't no doubt in my mind that any act in all of Equestria can be anywhere near this level of cool!
It's called "Cirque de la Luna"... My sister says it's some fancy talk that means "Circus of the Moon" or something, but who cares why they named it something in a weird way instead of plain old Equestrian? I don't, to be perfectly honest.
But the real cool part is the acts! This circus has got it all! You just name it! Jugglers, acrobats, tamers, dancers, musicians. Heck, there's even an act with a real, live manticore. Can you Believe that? a manticore!
Now, I don't want to spoil nothing, cause I heard that the circus is planning to make a stop at Ponyville on its way to Canterlot. So that means you guys might get to see it!
You guys are in for a great show! Let me know when you get to see it, alright? I can't wait to hear what you all think of it!
Oh, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders of the Manehatten branch say hi! We should really think about having you guys come over for a visit so we can have a huge CMC party or something.
Best wishes,
Babs <3
Applebloom finished reading her letter out-loud to her friends. It was recess, and they were all hanging out by the swings behind the schoolhouse. All the students were scattered about, either in groups having their school lunches or otherwise running around playing games with one another.
Applebloom was sitting in the center one of the three swings, Sweetie Bell was swinging slowly in the one on her right, while Scootaloo was lounging in her swing with her belly on the rubber seat and her hooves crossed in front of her.
"Wow, she made it sound twenty percent more awesome than the poster does!" exclaimed Scootaloo.
"Ah know! An' they're comin' to Ponyville soon, so that means we'll get to see it, too." Applebloom said, "Can ya imagine seein' all those things?" She asked with a wistful sigh. "The lights, the music."
"The amazing performers." Sweetie Bell chimed.
"The dangerous stunts," Scootaloo added.
"The exotic animals." Applebloom continued.
"The glamorous costumes." Sweetie Bell Sighed.
With each thing they listed their eyes got bigger and rounder, seeing the very things they longed for floating before them in colorful apparitions. Their imagination got so carried away with them, that it didn't take long before they were all imagining themselves as part of the actual circus.
"That's it! Why didn't we think of this before?" Scootaloo asked, her little wings buzzing in excitement with the revelation.
"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Sweetie Bell asked knowingly.
"If it's anythin' like what ah'm thinkin'. Then ah think we just thunk up our next best idea ever!" Applebloom said with a cunning grin.
"Yeah!"
"Totally!"
With an excited hop from the swings, all three fillies raised their hooves and bumped them together while yelling in unison in their traditional Crusader's chant.
"Cutie Mark Crusader Circus Performers!"
Author's Note
now with images! enjoy!
***please do not re-post my drawings without permission, thank you.***
Chapter 2: Preparing for the Act
School could not have ended soon enough. By the time it was a little past noon and Miss Cheerilee was nearing the end of her lessons for the day, the cutie Mark Crusader were itching to gallop out of the schoolhouse and head for their tree fort. Applebloom was tapping her hoof impatiently on the desktop. She let out a sigh of frustration and turned to Sweetie Bell on her right. The white unicorn was chewing her pencil eraser to particles. There were even teeth marks on the pencil itself. Applebloom turned to her left to see that Scootaloo had her helmet in her lap and her scooter wedged between her hind hoofs under her. They were all on edge and waiting for the bell to signal the end of the school day.
"Applebloom?" Miss Cheerilee seemed to say almost suddenly.
The yellow filly jumped with a start and turned to her teacher at attention, "Yes'm?"
"What are the names of the founding kingdoms?" the teachers asked, returning Applebloom to their lessons in Equestrian History.
"Umm, well, that is... what ah mean t' say is..." Applebloom floundered for a bit, trying to come up with some form of answer, "The names of the kingdoms... arrrrreee..."
The ringing tune of the school bell had never sounded so welcome as it did just then. Miss Cheerilee looked at the clock on the wall to check the time. "Oh, well, I guess we can cover that tomorrow then."
Applebloom felt herself slump with a sigh at the save. Everypony got busy collecting their things to leave while Miss Cheerilee spoke out their homework assignments for the day. Scootaloo was packed, helmeted and on her scooter faster then most ponies could blink. Applebloom shoved everything off her desk and into her bag in a haphazard heap, then just slumped the whole thing over her shoulder and on her back. Only Sweetie Bell took her time to collect everything neatly and fasten her school saddlebags securely onto her flank.
They joined the flow of departing foals and gave their collective "Goodbye, Miss Cheerilee." as they passed their teacher at the door. Once they were out of the schoolhouse and into the yard, the three friends let out a united cry of joyful freedom and galloped (or in Scootaloo's case, scootered) their way to the fork in the path.
"Alrighty, so we all go home, drop our stuff n' meet up back at the club house after lunch, ok?" Applebloom dictated..
"Yeah, that sounds like a plan!" Sweetie Bell nodded.
"See ya then!" Scootaloo agreed and scootered off with her wings buzzing at full throttle.
Sweetie Bell waved goodbye and skipped away towards Rarity's boutique and her home. Applebloom took the path at full gallop, not wanting to waste a single second. Before long, she leaped over the front gate to the orchard and continued galloping all the way up to the house.
The front door swung open with a clatter as she burst in, "Ah'm home, everypony!" she called loudly into the house.
"Oh, hello Applebloom," Granny Smith was sitting in her rocking chair in the living room. Her lap draped over with a large patchwork quilt. A needle and thread were in her hooves and she was wearing a pair of glasses with lenses that were so wide and thick they made her eyes look like a lemur's after drinking too much coffee. "How was yer day?" Asked Granny as she tried to thread her needle, and missed.
"Great! Can't chat now, club meeting after lunch, wanna finish chores n' homework fast, what's for lunch? never mind, gotta go, bye!" Applebloom ran her mouth at full speed as she crossed the living room and disappeared up the stairs. Granny Smith could hear the little filly dumping her stuff and turning on the radio to her favorite channel for what she called Homework Music.
The old, apple-green mare just shook her head with a wise, knowing smile and attempted to thread her needle once again. And missed.
"Ah, fiddle-faddle!"
* * * * *
By lunch time, Applebloom had managed to finish most of her written homework. Except for the math which she needed help with. Her brother, Big Mac, would later make the time for her in the evening after he was done with his wagon deliveries. Most ponies wouldn't take him for such a good mathematician due to his easy going nature, but he explained numbers and equations better than even Miss Cheerilee did in Applebloom's humble opinion. She also had a book report to write, but that wasn't due for a couple days, so that could wait until later.
Applebloom got her school stuff sorted out and neatly shelved. She then went downstairs into the kitchen. Granny Smith had abandoned her quilt in the living room and was busy preparing lunch for her family. The smell of fresh baked bread and bubbling vegetable stew was enough to cause anypony to salivate on the spot. The old mare was standing on a stool with a flowered apron around her skinny waist. She was stirring the stew pot on the stove with a large wooden spoon while humming to herself. She paused for a moment to dip her hoof tip into the pot and take a taste. Smacking her lips with a thoughtful expression, she grabbed a spice jar from the rack and gave it a few shakes into the pot. A quick stir and another taste test later, Granny grinned with satisfaction and eased herself off her stool to check on her bread in the stove's oven.
"Can ah help with anithin'?" offered Applebloom.
Granny shook her head, "Thank ya, dearie, but I can manage jus' fine. It'll be 'bout thirty more minutes, so ya can help yer sister in the orchard."
"Alright," Applebloom skipped out into the living room to go out the front door. She spotted the thread and needle that proved to be the bane of Granny's old age, still lying un-joined on top of the quilt. Applebloom threaded the needle in one motion and pinned it into the pin cushion for Granny to use later. She then cantered out into the yard and headed for the apple orchard to help Applejack buck apples.
* * * * *
Sweetie Bell set up the dinning table with impeccable accuracy that months of living with her sister had drilled into her. Regardless if they would even use half the utensils, Sweetie Bell prepared a table that would make any formal dinner shine. Rarity was at the stove magically levitating the lid off her cooking pot and peering into it to check on her steamed alfalfa and dandelion dumplings. The older white unicorn nodded and checked on the second pot to make sure her noodles weren't over cooked.
"Sweetie Bell, be a darling and make some limeade, would you?" Rarity asked while flipping her perfectly curled, dark-purple mane over her shoulder, "And do try to remember the sugar this time, please."
"OK!" Sweetie Bell said happily. She dashed for the fridge and opened the door. Limes floated out in a pinkish aura of magic and landed in a neat little row on the counter top. Sweetie Bell then levitated a pitcher out of the cupboard and had it filled with tap-water.
"Ahem," Rarity cleared her throat and raised a brow in warning.
"Oh... oops!" Sweetie Bell quickly dumped the tap-water down the drain and levitated some chilled battled water out of the fridge.
Rarity nodded with a sisterly smile and went to double check her food again. A few moments later, both sisters were at the dining table with a beautiful meal that was fit for royalty, (or so Rarity would like to say).
"So, how was school today?" Rarity asked while she levitated a fork into her plate to twist the noodles.
"It was ok." Sweetie Bell replied.
"Anything particularly interesting happen today?"
"Well, Snips and Snails got their flanks stuck together with chewing gum again during recess. And Silver Spoon dropped her glasses when she was cleaning them and Diamond Tiara accidentally stomped on them."
"Oh my," Rarity said with wide eyes.
"OH!" Sweetie Bell added excitedly, "And Dinky passed out flyers for a circus that's coming to town soon!"
"A circus you say?" Rarity asked with polite interest.
"Yeah, it's going to be awesome! Me and the girls..."
"The girls and I, Sweetie. A proper lady must always speak in proper terms," Rarity recited out of habit, "but do go on, this all sounds very interesting. And please pass the limeade, would you?"
"Well, we're going to meet at the club house after lunch." Sweetie Bell continued, She levitated the pitcher of limeade and poured her older sister a glass full. "We were talking about it during recess and we all agree that maybe this would be a great chance to earn our cutie marks!"
"That's nice, Sweetie Bell, but do try and be careful while you're at it doing... whatever it is that circus folk do that you girls will no doubt attempt to mimic." Rarity said while magically dabbing a napkin daintily at her mouth.
"Hey, Rarity, is it alright if I take some stuff out of your scrap chest?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"As long as it's only from the Rejected scrap chest and not the Salvageable scrap chest, then yes, it is." Rarity said and took a sip from her limeade.
Instantly, the older unicorn's eyes bugged out in such a way that made it look like they were about to pop right out of their sockets. Her face turned an ill shade of green as she desperately looked around for a way of escape, but failed to find any alternative. In all unladylike fashion, Rarity spat the liquid out of her mouth in a disgusted spray.
"SWEETIE BELL!?" Rarity shrieked, "What have you done?"
"What? I remembered to add the sugar, like you asked!" Sweetie Bell protested.
"Darling, whatever you remembered to add, it certainly was not sugar." Rarity said while washing her mouth out with sparkling water.
"But I did!" Sweetie Bell whined. She hopped off her chair and went to the counter where several plastic jars with labels were set in a row, She levitated the second one on the right and floated it across the kitchen to her sister, "See?"
Rarity read the label on the jar and smacked her hoof to her forehead.
"That's the sea-salt jar, Sweetie."
* * * * *
After lunch, Scootaloo was zipping through Ponyville on her way to Sweet Apple Acres. Her tale whipping in the wind behind her as her wings propelled her scooter at awesome speeds. She zigzagged and twisted between the crowd as expertly as ever. An orange comet streaming between the ponies without a single bump.
"Whoohoo!" she called out, leaping her scooter onto the ledge of fountain and grinding across it from one side to the other.
Scootaloo leaped off and scootered her way out of the town and into the trees. She knew this short-cut perhaps even better than the back of her hoof. Before long, she skidded to a halt right in front of the ramp leading up to the tree fort. A cloud of dust and sand billowing up in her tracks.
"N' the crowd goes wild as the Amazin' Scootaloo makes her appearance into the ring!" Applebloom called out from the tree fort.
"Thank you, thank you," Scootaloo said taking her bows to an invisible audience. She then unlatched the chinstrap and took off her helmet. "But if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer something a bit more flashy. Maybe something like, Daredevil Scoot, or Orange Lightning. you know, something that literally screams AWESOME!"
"Well, whatever your name is, get up here. Sweetie Bell brought some stuff for us to use!" Applebloom reported and disappeared into the tree fort.
Scootaloo hung her helmet on the handlebars then parked the scooter against the tree trunk. She cantered up the walk ramp and entered the tree fort to pause at the door way and drop her jaw.
"Presentin' for the first time anywhere, the great and powerful, Madam Bell!"
Applebloom said in a grand flourish. She was dressed in a shiny red jacket and had a black top hat crowning her mane. Beside her, Sweetie Bell was dressed in several layers of sparkling blue silk and satin and her mane was done up with strings of gold costume jewelry and garnished with fancy blue feathers. Sweetie Bell hopped in front of Scootaloo and reared up on her hind legs to wave her hooves in a mystical manner.
"From the ancient times of forever, come the mysterious forces of the past, present and future," Sweetie Bell chanted in a creepy voice, that was a little too high pitched to really be creepy, "I, The Mystical Madam Bell, see all, and know all!"
"Do you know what my future will be?" asked Scootaloo, her eyes widening as the game enchanted her.
Sweetie Bell closed her eyes and hummed mysteriously while still waving her hooves around. "I see... I see... A mark!"
"A cutie mark?" asked Scootaloo.
"Yeeeessssss," Sweetie Bell hissed as if in a trance, "a cutie mark!"
"What will it be?" Schootaloo asked.
"Your cutie mark... will be... an awesome mark! Representing the talent you are best suited for!" Sweetie Bell offered.
"Awe, come onnnn! That's not a real prediction!" Scootaloo whined, completely shattering the whole game's illusion.
"Well, duh! I can't really predict that sort of stuff. I need to practice first!" Sweetie Bell shot back and clopped back down on all fours.
"We all need the practice," Applebloom agreed, "That's why we're here, right?"
"So where's my outfit?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.
"Check it out!" Sweetie bell offered and escorted her friend to the back of the club house.
There was a huge purple and gold colored trunk that had the word Rejected labeled on it in a fancy, curly font. The lid was wide open to reveal a haphazard array of fabrics, clothing, jewelry, feathers and odd nicknacks that really have no place in a clothing boutique.
"One mare's trash is another mare's treasure, as they say." Sweetie Bell said, "Rarity is always scrapping some pretty awesome stuff. So I brought this here to help us make costumes for our act."
"Good thinking, Sweetie Bell." Scootaloo went to work digging into the chest for something she liked.
"Ah think this is the best idea we had yet," Applebloom exclaimed. She was checking herself out in a mirror, posing as a ringleader to a grand audience that wasn't there.
"It'll certainly be one of the funner ones, that's for sure," Sweetie Bell said twirling in her silks. "I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and bright!" she sang out in her lovely singing voice.
"Pfft," Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "And I pity, anypony that isn't me tonight!" she continued the song and pulled out a bright blue vest that dazzled the eyes in bright, flashy sequences. She quickly tossed it on.
"Who's that pretty pony in that mirror there?" sang Applebloom.
"What, mirror, where?" asked Sweetie and Scoot together.
"Who could that amazin' mare be?"
"Which? What? Where? Whom?"
"Such a purdy coat, such a purdy hat, such a purdy smile, sucha purdy MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
When Applebloom ran out of breath, all three friends burst out laughing and falling to the floor in fits.
Author's Note
All chapters will be revised a few days after they are posted. This is cause it's easier for me to catch mistakes after taking a break from them when I write.
so please excuse them while they exist before editing.
enjoy the new chapter.
***please do not re-post my drawings without permission, thank you.***
