Intervention

by Heart of Indigo

Sweetie Belle sighed as she looked out the window.  The view of the dun colored hills and orange mesas were so full of promise on their trip to the rodeo, but now, on the way home, the landscape looked sad and empty.  The Cutie Mark Crusaders would not get off the train full of the excitement and pride that she knew would have come with their new cutie marks.  Instead, they would return with another failed attempt, and worse yet, another report to Rarity of the trouble she had gotten into.

“I knew it was a bad idea,” she mumbled.  Apple Jack had already punished them once for running off, and she knew Rarity would be just as mad.  And yet, Apple Jack had pointed out how good it felt to help Troubleshoes discover his talent for clowning.  She couldn't help but smile at the memory of him chasing after a hoop that was much too small for him to jump through.

“What’s so funny?” asked Scootaloo, sitting beside her.

“I was just thinking about Troubleshoes.”

Scootaloo matched her grin.

“That was so great when he crashed all those barrels.”

“And what about when his pants fell down?”  Apple Bloom giggled from the seat behind her.  When the four of them got on the train, Apple Jack sat herself and her sister in back, so she could keep an eye on everypony.

She smiled at her three young charges.  She was glad the mood was lightening up a bit.  She looked down at her little sister and gave her a quick squeeze.

“He sure was somethin’,” Apple Jack said.  “You fillies done a good thing, encouraging him that way.”

“Do you think we could get a cutie mark for that?”  Apple Bloom asked.

Apple Jack laughed.  

“For helpin’ a pony figure out his special talent?  I ain’t never heard of such a thing, but I guess it’s possible.”

“I wonder what it would look like,” Sweetie Belle mused.

“But wouldn’t we have gotten it already?”  Scootaloo pointed out.

Apple Bloom glanced down at her flank, blank as ever.  

“Yeah, I guess, you’re right,” she agreed.  Then she sighed. “If only we had gotten a chance to compete.  I just know we’d have our cutie marks by now.”

Scootaloo frowned.  Sweetie Belle looked back out the window at the sage and cactus rolling by, and hoped her friends didn’t sense her relief that they had ended up watching the rodeo instead of participating in it.  She hadn’t really gotten over the scare they got when Troubleshoes accidentally toppled the tower of hay bales, right over their heads.  They had narrowly escaped disaster.

“I’ve got it!” cried Apple Bloom.

“What now?” Apple Jack asked, resigned.

“We can still compete!  We can make our own rodeo!”

“Now hold yer—“  Apple Jack started, but Scootaloo cut her off.

“That’s it, Apple Bloom!  That’s it!  We can have barrel races, and lasso jumping contests, and pig wrestling—“

“Pig wrestling!” exclaimed Apple Jack.  “Where’d you—?“

“And we can have our own monster-bale-stack contest!”  Apple Bloom said, bouncing up and down on her seat.  She glanced at the large, shiny trophy across the aisle that Apple Jack was bringing home. “I bet that’s my special talent—it probably runs in the family."  

“Oh I know!” Scootaloo added.  “We can get Rainbow Dash to do a flyover."  She nudged Sweetie Belle.  "It’ll be awesome!”

Apple Jack crossed her forelegs.

“Do you have any idea how much work goes into putting on a rodeo?”  she asked.  

Apple Bloom ignored her.

“What do ya think, Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom said, catching the small frown on Sweetie Belle's face.  Sweetie Belle had turned around to watch the exchange, but before she could reply, Apple Jack asserted herself.

“I know you fillies want your cutie marks real bad,” she said, “but you're goin’ at it the wrong way.”  She looked pointedly at Apple Bloom. “You know how much work goes into puttin’ on the family reunion.  Now double that.”  Apple Bloom stopped bouncing.  “Sure, rodeos are a heap of fun, but there’s a whole lot of ponies doin’ a whole lot of work to make it that way.  It’s not something that springs from the ground overnight, like a Zap Apple tree.”

“But Apple Jack,” Apple Bloom complained, “what if rodeos are our special talent?”  

“Well, then, you can practice for it, and go next summer.”

“Next summer?  But that’s in forever!”

“What if we got someponies to help us?”  Scootaloo asked.  “I bet Rarity would help.”  She turned to Rarity’s little sister for confirmation.

“I guess we could ask her,” Sweetie Belle replied slowly.  “Maybe she could make our costumes.”  Sweetie Belle knew Rarity looked down on Western attire as a rule, but she rarely passed up a challenge, and had helped the Cutie Mark Crusaders more often than not.

Apple Jack looked doubtful.  

“I don’t know, sugar cube—“

“Please?”  Apple Bloom’s longing poured out her eyes. “Let me at least ask Granny Smith.  And I just know Big Mac will help.”

Apple Jack sighed.  “Alright, I’ll think about it.  But no promises!”

That was enough for Apple Bloom, and she grinned at her friends.  Scootaloo’s smile mirrored hers, and Sweetie Belles’ was a bit more tentative.  But that didn’t dampen Apple Bloom's excitement.  She knew not to press her luck with her sister by talking about it anymore, so she settled in for the ride and let the rhythm of the track lull her into daydreams about the cheering crowd.

When the train finally pulled into Ponyville, Rarity was waiting on the platform.  She was wearing her “meet-me-at-the-station” outfit, in sunglasses and a chic scarf.  Sweetie Belle dawdled as Apple Jack helped Scootaloo get down her hat, but Apple Jack shooed the white filly down the aisle first.  

“Sweetie Belle!” her sister called, as the travelers disembarked.  “How was your trip?  Is Appleoosa still uncivilized?  Did you see any Buffalo?  I want to hear everything, darling—WHAT is that?”

Rarity had caught sight of Scootaloo in the cactus sombrero she brought home as a souvenir.  Or at least Scootaloo’s hooves; the hat was so big it almost covered her completely.

Apple Jack put down her trophy, and popped the offending item off of Scootaloo’s head.

“Hiya, Rarity,” she said.  

Rarity blinked.  

“Tell me that isn’t what they’re wearing this season,” she said in a strangled voice.

Apple Jack laughed.  

“No, Rarity, it’s just for fun.”  Then she swallowed nervously.  “Uh... you had fun, didn’t you girls?”

Suddenly all three Crusaders were talking at once.

“We met a low-down varmint!“ Apple Bloom began.

“He didn’t mean to knock over the hay bales,” Sweetie Belle explained.

“You should have seen him, trying to jump through the hoop,“ Scootaloo added.

“The Sheriff thought he was a filly-napper!”  Apple Bloom went on.

“I never said it was a good idea,”  Sweetie Belle protested.

“But we helped him figure out his cutie mark!”  Scootaloo concluded.

Rarity’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at Apple Jack in bafflement.  Apple Jack gave Rarity a weak smile.

“Heh-heh,”  she stalled, tracing small circles on the platform with her hoof.  “Yeah, about that.  You girls go get the rest of my gear.  Rarity and I need to have a little talk.”

----------

Rarity said nothing the whole way home from the station.  Sweetie Belle trailed behind her.  She recognized the mood, and was scared to set off the storm that was coming.

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle ventured, finally, as they got to Rarity’s shop.  

Rarity paused at the door, and turned around to face her.

“What will I tell Mother?  Father will kill me!” She didn’t wait for an answer, flung the door open, trotted inside and threw herself onto her fainting couch.  Sweetie Belle followed her in.

“Just tell them we got a little carried away.”

“But you always get carried away, Sweetie Belle.”  Rarity sat up.  “Really, this has to stop.  It’s gone far enough.”  She levitated a heart-shaped box from a small table beside her. “You’ll get your cutie mark when you get your cutie mark, and not a minute sooner.” She opened the lid and riffled through the wrappers, but there was nothing left inside.  With a small sound of disgust, she tossed the box on the floor, and went into the kitchen.

“But Apple Bloom said—“  Sweetie Belle began.

“Apple Bloom, nothing!” Rarity came back with a carton of ice cream and a spoon floating behind her.  She sat back down on the couch.  “I really must put my hoof down,” she said, between mouthfulls of Vanilla Oat Swirl.  “Running off in the middle of the night!  What were you thinking?  What if this Troubleshoes didn’t turn out to be so harmless?”  The spoon picked up speed.  “And the size of him!  Apple Jack said he was huge, bigger than Big Mac!”

“He can’t help it, he’s a—“

“I shudder to think what could have happened.”  Then Rarity shuddered, and the spoon paused in mid air.  “Ow!  Brain freeze!”

Sweetie Belle looked down at the floor.  

“I guess that means you won’t help us.”

Rarity stopped rubbing her temples, and open her eyes.  

“Help you do what?”

Sweetie Belle’s reply was too soft to hear.

“What?”

“Put on a rodeo!”  Sweetie Belle cried, then galloped upstairs to the guest room, and slammed the door.

Astonished, Rarity watched her go, then fell back on the couch.  

“Sweet Celestia, Sweetie Belle,” she sighed.  “We’ll all be relieved when you finally get that cutie mark!”

----------

Meanwhile, back at Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom was in the kitchen with Granny Smith.  She had tied on an apron that was too big for her, and was trying to be useful, ignoring her chores in favor of making a good impression.

“…so will you help us, Granny Smith?”  

Granny Smith was peering in the oven, checking on a pie.  She reached out a hoof in Apple Bloom’s direction.

“Give me that there… uh… watcha-ma-jigger.”  

Apple Bloom glanced around, and picked up a potgrabber.

“If Apple Jack can win the prize for monster-hay-bale-stacking,” she explained, passing it to her, “then I’m sure to be good at it, too.”  

Granny Smith waved the potgrabber away.

“No, I meant the… err… pie-pokey-thing.”

“A knife?”  Granny agreed, and Apple Bloom pulled open a drawer and nosed through it.  “We got the perfect place for it.  All we need is some hay, some barrels, some rope, some signs, some mud, some pigs, some candy apples, some cider, some prizes, some hats, some ponies, some clowns…“

Granny Smith turned to look at her, and cocked an eye.

“You sure that’s all?”

Apple Bloom nodded enthusiastically, and passed her the knife.  

Granny Smith shook her head, then poked it back in the oven to test the dessert.  “This here is done, now give me that… uh... you know…” Apple Bloom gave her the potgrabber again and Granny Smith pulled out the pan.

Apple Bloom thought she was making progress.  But she had yet to close the deal.

“Those sure smell good, Granny Smith—I bet we could sell a lot of them at the rodeo.”

“Sure as cider, Apple Bloom... but don’t you think you’re bitin’ off more than you can chew?”  Granny Smith hobbled over to the pie keeper.  “Open that for me, would ya?”  Apple Bloom complied, and her grandma slid the pie inside to cool.  “Even if I had teeth, I wouldn’t want to fool with it.”

“But Rarity will help us.  Pinkie Pie can help us plan it, and we'll get Fluttershy to wrangle, and Scootaloo is gonna ask Rainbow Dash to put on a show.  Big Mac can help with—“

“Big Mac!  He’s gittin’ ready for apple bucking season.  He’s got no time for your crusadin’.”  

“But—“

“And your sister’s got none, either,” she said firmly.  Apple Bloom wilted.  Granny Smith put her hoof around her shoulder.  “Now don’t you fret, Apple Bloom.  I may be old enough to be your grandmother, but that don’t mean I don’t remember what it was like.  You jest have to be patient.  Get your mind off it.  It’s nothin’ that a little hard work won’t cure.  Don’t you have some chores you should be doin’?”

Apple Bloom hung her head.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well trot to it.  Go on,” she said, giving her a little push.

Dragging her hooves, Apple Bloom took off her apron, and went out the back door.

“That youngun’," Granny Smith mumbled. "She’s gonna make me old before my time… er… somethin’…”

----------

While all this was going on, Scootaloo had strapped on her purple helmet, and was whizzing through the streets of Ponyville on her scooter, looking for mentor.  She finally found her, napping on a low cloud on the edge of town.

“Rainbow Dash!” she shouted, too excited to think about whether it was a good idea to wake her up.  Rainbow Dash rolled over and opened one eye.

“Hi, kid.”  The other eye opened, and she stretched.  “This better be good,” she yawned. “I was training a new team all morning.”

“It is!”  Scootaloo took off her helmet and hung it on her scooter.  “I mean, I think it is.  The Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna have a rodeo, and we want you to do the air show.”

“The air show?”  Rainbow Dash sat up and rubbed her face.  “Aside from the fact that I’d be awesome, what’s with the rodeo?  Didn’t you just go to one?”

“That’s just it!  We went, but we couldn’t compete.  There was a… uh… accident, and Apple Jack got nervous, so we had to sneak out to find the notorious outlaw who did it--except he turned out to be a rodeo clown, so then we busted him out of jail—“

Rainbow Dash bounced out of the cloud and hovered in the air in front of Scootaloo, hooves up in protest.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there.  You busted a clown out of jail?”

“Well he wasn’t exactly a clown yet, but we convinced him to try it, and he figured out that was what his cutie mark meant.” Scootaloo could tell she wasn’t explaining it very well by Rainbow Dash’ expression.  “He didn’t mean to cause trouble, he was just clumsy.”

“Let me get this straight.”  Rainbow Dash flew back and forth, pacing the air.  “You convinced a notorious outlaw, who apparently didn’t know his own cutie mark, that he was really a rodeo clown?”

“Well, after the sheriff found out he hadn’t actually filly-napped us—“

Rainbow Dash gave up trying to follow what her young friend was saying.

“Just tell me what this has to do with me flying at a rodeo.”

“So we can get our cutie marks!” exclaimed Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“I shoulda seen that coming.”

“Apple Bloom wants to do the monster-hay-bale-stack, and Sweetie Belle wants to lasso.  I’m gonna do barrel racing.”  Scootaloo looked anxiously at Rainbow Dash, who flew down and landed next to her.

“Barrel racing, huh?  Barrel racing’s cool, but… that’s Earth Pony stuff.  You’re a Pegasus.”  Rainbow Dash spread her wings.  “Don’t you want to get your cutie mark in flying, like me?”

Scootaloo’s face fell.

“I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

Rainbow Dash picked up the helmet, and popped it on Scootaloo’s head with a grin.

“Forget the rodeo,” she said, leaping into the air.  “Just keep practicing, kid,” she called over her shoulder as she sped away.  “That’s how you’ll get your cutie mark!”  A streak of color traced her flight as she did a couple of fancy loops, and then she was gone.

“I guess you’re right,” Scootaloo said softly.  She buckled the strap under her chin, got on her scooter, then whirred away, a determined look on her face.

----------

        Back at their tree house, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders met to report on their progress.  By the time each had finished, they sat in dejected silence.

        “Ugh!” said Apple Bloom.  “We’re never going to get our cutie marks at this rate.”

        “Maybe a rodeo isn’t such a good idea,” Scootaloo replied.  Sweetie Belle nodded.

        “Of course it is,” Apple Bloom retorted.  “You said it yourself, Scootaloo, a rodeo’s a gold mine for cutie marks.”

        “Maybe for you it is, but I’m a Pegasus... who can’t fly.”

        “You just have to keep practicing,” Sweetie Belle offered.  “Like Rainbow Dash said.”

        Scootaloo couldn’t meet her eyes.  Apple Bloom stood up, and waved her forelegs at them.

“We can’t give up now!”  

        “But nopony will help us,” Sweetie Belle said.

        “We haven’t asked Fluttershy to wrestle her pig.  And maybe Twilight has a book about rodeos, or something.  And what about Pinkie Pie?”

“Pinkie Pie plans parties, not rodeos,” replied Scootaloo.  “She’ll just give us some balloons and a confetti can—“ suddenly she jumped up, her face alight.  “That’s it!”

“What?” her friends chorused.

“I have to go see Pinkie Pie!”  Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, confused, but hopeful.  “Apple Bloom, you go ask Fluttershy about the pig,” Scootaloo went on, taking charge, “and Sweetie Belle, you go see Twilight.  She’ll have some ideas.”

Apple Bloom grinned, and Sweetie Belle grinned back.  

“Then, we’ll meet back here, and get to plannin’,” Apple Bloom said.  She reared up on her hind legs.  “Woo hoo, the rodeo’s on!”

----------

The next afternoon, back in Ponyville, Rarity visited the Farmer’s Market.  

“We have to hurry, Spike, before Apple Jack goes home.”

Spike jogged beside her, carrying a large basket full of daffodils that Rarity didn’t really have the time to shop for, but could not pass up.  She had explained, when Spike protested, that a room was not fully dressed without the right accessories.

“She’s usually over there in the corner,” he said, gesturing with his head.

“I see her.  Apple Jack!” she called out.

Apple Jack was counting her bits.  She'd had a good day; her cart was almost empty, just some crumbs and hay where there had been pies and apples that morning.

“Oh, hiya, Rarity.  Did y’all get home okay?”

Rarity sniffed.

“You know perfectly well that we did not.”

Apple Jack put her bits in a pouch.

“What do you mean?” she asked, cautiously.

“Sweetie Belle is positively obsessed with this rodeo thing.  She’s convinced that this time she really will get her cutie mark.  It’s driving me mad!”

“Well don’t look at me.  I tried to talk them out of it.”

“See?” Spike interjected.  “I told you it wasn’t her idea.”

“Spike you have no idea what it’s like to live with an obsessive pony!” Spike and Apple Jack exchanged a look.  “It’s nothing but cutie marks, day in and day out.”

“I think he might have s-o-me idea, Rarity.”

“Well, that’s not the point.  The point is, what are you going to do about it?”

“Me?”

“Can’t you talk to Apple Bloom?  What about Granny Smith?"  Rarity leaned back against the cart, like she didn’t have the strength to hold herself up.  "Somepony’s got to do something!”

“She won’t listen to me.  I’m jest her sister.”

“Maybe Twilight could help,” Spike said.  The two ponies looked at him with puzzled expressions.  “You know, ‘Twilight Time,’ and all that.  She is the Princess of Friendship.”

Apple Jack nodded slowly.  

“Maybe she could.”

“Oh, Spikey-wikey,” gushed Rarity.  “What would I do without you?”  With the basket in his arms and a face full of flowers, she couldn’t get close enough to squeeze his cheeks, but he blushed just the same.  “Is she home?” she asked.

“She was when I left.”

“Then we must go at once!” Rarity announced.  “Come, Apple Jack.”

“What do you want me for?”

“Surely you’d like to put a stop to these endless quests that get them in nothing but trouble.”

“Well, when you put it like that, I guess I would.”

Apple Jack looked over her cart, and decided it was okay to come back for it after their conference.  The three made their way through town towards Twilight’s Castle, it’s glittering facets catching the last rays of the sun.  As they got closer, they saw two familiar silhouettes heading to the same destination.

“Fluttershy!”  Apple Jack exclaimed.  “What are you doin’ here?”

“Oh, is this a bad time?" Fluttershy asked.  "I wanted to talk to Twilight.”

“Well that makes three of us,” said Rarity.  “And what brings you here, Pinkie?”

“My Pinkie-Sense told me you were planning a party.  I couldn’t miss that!”

“An intervention, more like it,”  Apple Jack said, under her breath.

“Is it somepony’s birthday?  Oh!  I know!”  Pinkie Pie threw up her forelegs, and a small hail of confetti appeared.  “It’s a welcome-back-from-the-rodeo party!”

“Well, you got the part about the rodeo right,” Rarity said, “but it’s not exactly welcome.”

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash came flying out of the sunset, and popped up behind them.  Fluttershy jumped.

“Oh—Rainbow Dash!  I didn’t see you coming.”

“What are you here for, Rainbow Dash?” asked Apple Jack.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” she countered.

“We’re here to see Twilight,” Apple Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy replied in unison.  

“It’s like we were fated to be here,” Pinkie Pie added.

“I was just going home,” Rainbow Dash explained, “I saw you standing here, so I thought I’d check it out.”

“Um, can we go in already?”  Spike said.  “This is getting heavy.”

Just then the big oak door opened, and Twilight came out onto the steps.  

“Hi girls.  What's going on?” she asked.  The ponies took a collective breath to answer, but then Rarity stepped forward and silenced them by raising a hoof.

“It’s the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Twilight.  You simply must do something.”

Twilight’s expression went from curious, to a little disappointed.  

“Don't tell me--the rodeo?” she asked flatly.  There were nods all around.  “You’d better come in.  Spike, put on some tea.”

“Got any cupcakes?” asked Pinkie.

----------

Two pots of tea and too many cupcakes later, the seven friends were in the Map Room, sitting on their thrones, as Rarity insisted they call them.  The regal chairs circled the magical Cutie Map.  Each pony told her story about how one or the other of the Cutie Mark Crusaders had approached her for help.  It was Fluttershy’s turn.

“…and then we went to see if Petunia wanted to do it, and Apple Bloom asked me if I had ‘anything smaller.’”  Fluttershy took a deep breath.  “It really hurt her feelings.  She’s very sensitive about her weight.”

“I can’t believe they thought they could get a cutie mark in pig wrestling,” Apple Jack                                                                                                                                                                                                                 said.

Pinkie Pie gasped.

“You mean that’s why Scootaloo wanted me to shoot her out of a cannon?” she said.  "To get her cutie mark?"

“WHAT?” several ponies exclaimed.

“Scootaloo said that?  That’s so cool!” laughed Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded.  “You mustn’t encourage her!”

“I just told her to keep practicing.”

“But she looks up to you, and—“ the sudden buzzing that Rarity felt on her cutie mark startled her into silence.  She could tell by the surprised looks on the other ponies’ faces that they had felt the same thing.  “No!  Not now!” she wailed.  “We’re in the middle of a crisis.”  

They watched as the mirrors of their marks floated up to the center of their circle and flared brightly.  Then they held their breath, waiting to see where the apparition would land, giving them their marching orders.  The glowing cutie mark constellation descended slowly to the center of the Cutie Map—and stayed there.

“Looks like Ponyville is having a crisis, too,” Spike said.

Apple Jack leaned in and peered at the miniature landscape.  

“That’s not Ponyville--that’s Sweet Apple Acres!”

The room was filled with sounds of astonishment.

“I think I know what the Map is telling us,” Twilight said slowly.  “Girls!  Clear your schedules for tomorrow.  We have a date with a certain Rodeo Planning Committee.”

----------

“Are we in trouble?”  Sweetie Belle asked, plaintively.  She was standing between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in the middle of the Apple family parlor, not reassured, despite the pie and lemonade that Granny Smith and Apple Jack were serving to all the guests, that this was just a social call.  Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were seated around the perimeter, looking at them with suspiciously kind faces.

“No, sugar cube“ Apple Jack said, passing out the plates.  “It’s just that we were… uh…”  She trailed off and looked to Rarity for help.  Rarity cleared her throat and smiled brightly.

“We know how important getting your cutie marks is to you all—“

“A mite too important, if you ask me,” Granny Smith muttered, filing a glass.  Rarity shot her a look, then composed herself again.

“And it's fabulous that it brought you together.  But... there are other things in life besides cutie marks."

“And the most important thing,” Twilight said, picking up the thread, “is friendship.  My cutie mark would mean nothing without my friends.”  She glanced around the room.  “They taught me that. And that’s how I became the Princess of Friendship.  Now I want to share what I learned with you."  Twilight paused, and looked at each filly in turn. "I'm hoping you'll put your friendships first, too.”

“Is that’s what this is all about?  Friendship lessons?”  Apple Bloom asked.

Twilight nodded, and her friends murmured their agreement.

“When Princess Celestia sent Twilight to Ponyville to discover the magic of friendship, we all learned from it.  Now it's your turn," Apple Jack said.

The fillies in the middle looked relieved.

“Well why didn't you just say so?”  Apple Bloom complained.

The older ponies smiled.

“It’s super fun!” Pinkie Pie promised.

“And you can still have your adventures,” Rainbow Dash said.  “Even after you get your cutie marks.”

There was a pregnant pause, before Fluttershy realized that was her cue.

“Oh--I agree!”

Laughter broke the remaining tension, and after Pinkie asked for more pie, Twilight continued.

“So want to give being Friendship Crusaders a try?”

“Sure!”

“Yeah!”

“Uh-huh!”

“Then I have an idea…” Twilight said.

----------

Spike stood at the bottom of the ramp that led up to the former Cutie Mark Crusaders’ tree house.  

“Permission to come aboard!” he called.

Sweetie Belle stuck her head out the window.

“Come on up, Spike.  We just finished.”

When he came in, the three fillies were sitting in a circle in the cozy little room.  They got up to include him.

“Ready?”  Apple Bloom asked.

“Ready,” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo agreed.

“I’m ready, too,” said Spike.

Apple Bloom stood up a little taller.

“Take a letter, Spike.”  She cleared her throat.  “Dear Princess Twilight…"