It was a warm and beautifully sunny day in Ponyville, and everypony, mares, stallions, colts and fillies alike, were going about their day with smiles on their faces, content in what a pleasant afternoon it was. But, there seemed to be a great deal more excitement and enthusiasm about the place than normal, as many of the ponies in the streets were eagerly chatting away with one another. Although, that was not without cause, for this was the time of year when every city, town and tiny village in Equestria was getting ready for one thing and one thing only; the Equestria Games. This prestigious event, which brought in ponies from all walks of life to compete in a variety of sports, was one of the most anticipated occasions on the ponies' calendar. This time around, the event was to take place in the Crystal Empire, far to the north, and while many places were disappointed that they themselves would not be hosting the Games, that did little to douse the fire of their determination to compete and win within them. Even those not competing were excited for the thing, and here in Ponyville there was an especially large degree of discussion about it. But, perhaps more than anything else, it was the children of Ponyville who had the Games on their minds the most, for they had been charged with a very special task; putting together an impressive display to showcase Ponyville as a whole to the rest of Equestria when the Games finally took place.

It was, needless to say, a massive responsibility, and there was a sense of nervousness amongst all the young colts and fillies of the local school. All across Ponyville, from the local park, to the middle of town, to all manner of other spots, they were there, in groups or working alone, trying their best to practise their various routines and acts to try and win the favour of the judges, hoping that they, above all others, would be the ones to represent their beloved town. And it was in this situation that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle found themselves, standing together atop the stage that had been prepared on the outskirts of town, ready to show off their stuff to the rest of the ponies. But, they were not alone here today, for Sweetie Belle's special somepony, Spike, was in the as-yet non-existent crowd, sitting alone in that massive collection of chairs, waiting to see what his filly-friend and the other two would do for their act. He had confidence in them, as did they, for they already knew how well they worked together. In fact, this very act had been showcased before Rainbow Dash earlier today, who, along with the Equestria Games official, Miss Harshwhinny, would be overseeing the acts before they were officially judged later on in the Empire itself.

So, Spike sat there, quietly and waiting patiently as the three fillies on the stage took a few deep breaths to calm themselves, before looking to each other and giving a nod. And then, just like that, their act began. It was a flurry of many different things, from Scootaloo's increasingly refined dance and acrobatics, helped along by Apple Bloom, whom the former had helped along with a few moves here and there, and all through that, Sweetie walked about the stage, belting out her usual sweet singing voice. That especially drew Spike's attention, as he practically melted into a googly-eyed trance at seeing his fillyfriend sing so beautifully on stage like that. This display, which included a number of bright and colourful ribbons, courtesy of Apple Bloom's craftsmanship, went on for some time, and not once did they ever miss a beat, with the whole thing seeming to be far more impressive than what fillies their age were capable of doing. But, before long, their act drew to a close, and, much like their first performance together a year or so ago, on the night they’d earned their cutie marks, it was a resounding success, with Spike practically leaping out of his chair to clap and scream their names out in an enthusiastic display of just how much he approved of the act. Together, the three fillies gave a very professional-looking bow, before rushing off the stage to meet their "audience".

"Well? What did you think, Spike?" Sweetie asked.

The young dragon smiled at the young filly before, in a gentle-drake manner, held her hoof before planting a tender kiss upon it, causing a slight blush on her part.

"It...was...brilliant," he answered.

The young unicorn smiled widely at that, as did Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. The three fillies all looked to each other, clearly happy that their work had paid off so far. Rainbow Dash had seemed to like the act as well, even though they seemed somewhat restrained in her mannerisms for some reason. Spike, by contrast, was far more enthusiastic, which to them, was a step in the right direction. As the three looked to each other, and then to the stage, they exchanged glances that made it clear that, as long as they continued to practise hard on this act, then by the time they made it to the Empire, they were going to wow every single pony who watched it. Unfortunately for all four of them, this pleasant moment was rudely interrupted when they started to hear a pair of laughing voices to the side, the sound of mockery all throughout it. Turning, they saw, to their chagrin, that their instincts were right on the money, and the laughter was coming from none other than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. These two fillies, notorious rivals to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, had never let up in their treatment of them, even after they'd gained their cutie marks some time ago. It really did seem like they had it in for them just on principal. At the sight of them, Spike narrowed his eyes, and began to step forward, ready to defend his fillyfriend and the others from whatever harassment those two had in mind for them. But, he was stopped form doing so when Sweetie barred his path with a hoof, silently letting him know that she and the others could deal with it.

"What do you want?" she asked in an annoyed manner.

After finally reaching the three, Diamond and Silver looked to them with a somewhat disdainful look on their faces.

"Oh, we were just walking along, trying to scope out the competition, and we couldn't help but witness your little performance," Diamond answered.

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes somewhat.

"And...?"

Diamond smirked in her direction before speaking up again.

"Well...Silver and I were just saying how Brave the three of you must be to want to go in front of so many ponies and perform...given your...disadvantage."

Confusion crossed that faces of all three fillies, as well as Spike, prompting Apple Bloom to add her voice to the mix.

"What disadvantage?"

Smiling in a manner that caused great discomfort for all four of the youngsters, Diamond raised a hoof and pointed it straight at Scootaloo, causing yet another bout of confusion for the filly.

"Me?! What did I do?!"

A scoff escaped the pink filly after hearing that.

"Oh, you don't know? Well, we can't have that, now can we?"

Slowly, she and Silver began to circle Scootaloo, much like how a predator would stalk their prey. And through it all, Spike was barely keeping his anger at all this in check, with Sweetie doing her best to hold him back from acting rashly. In time, the two fillies spoke up again, never letting their eyes stray from Scootaloo.

"Well...don't you think it'll be a little embarrassing for you three to represent Ponyville, a place where all three types of ponies live together...when one of you isn't exactly a fine representation of their people?"

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes yet again after hearing that.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

A smirk crept onto Diamond’s face after hearing that question, and then, before Scootaloo could react, she raised a hoof, grabbing hold of one of the pegasi's small wings, lifting it up slightly.

"Well...this, obviously. I mean, how embarrassing must it be for Ponyville to try and represent all three kinds of ponies, when their pegasus is one who can't...even...fly!"

Immediately, Diamond and Silver began giggling amongst themselves, clearly in an attempt to mock Scootaloo and make her feel even worse about what they'd just said to her. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked utterly mortified that their friend had been spoken to in this way, and as for Spike, he was seething at this point, grinding his teeth in a clear display of aggression. It really did seem like he was ready to just outright attack the two cackling fillies over this over-the-line insult they'd just spouted. But, rather than Sweetie Belle being the one to stop him, this time, it was Scootaloo who barred his path, much to his confusion. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle turned to their pegasus friend, seeing a completely neutral look on her face, which, as one might expect, caused Diamond and Silver to slowly stop giggling. In this silence, they looked to Scootaloo, who seemed deep in thought over what had just been said to her, before she then took a step forward, looking right into Diamond's eyes.

"Yeah...I can't fly. So?"

Immediately, the two other fillies looked to each other, clearly surprised at the fact that their insult didn't seem to have offended Scootaloo in the slightest. Instead, they kept quiet as the young filly kept on speaking.

"I know I haven't got strong wings. I know it's weird for a pegasus my age to not be flying right now. But, you know what? It doesn't matter. You wanna know why? It's because of this."

To emphasise her point, she turned, showing off her flank to the other fillies. As always, there was her cutie mark, of a scooter tyre with a lightning bolt emerging from it. As she pointed to it, Scootaloo frowned at Diamond and Silver.

"I never needed to fly to get this. And my talents will probably mean that I don't need to fly to keep on doing it. Even if I never fly in my entire life, I'll still be able to do everything I know I’m good at and love doing, and that I know others think I'm good at. Do I wish I could fly like other pegasi? Sure. But if you’re thinking that not being able to fly is something that bothers me all that much...I'm afraid you're going to have to leave here disappointed, because these days...I know I don't need it to make my life a good one."

To say that Diamond and Silver were taken aback by those words would have been a complete understatement, for they now looked to the young pegasus before them with mouths agape. As one might expect, this caused Scootaloo to look more than a little pleased with herself, enjoying the sight of her regular bullies being this flabbergasted at the moment, as was Spike and the other Crusaders. In time, the two other fillies shook their heads, getting themselves out of their trance-like state, before looking to each other, hoping the other would have some idea on what to do after this. Unfortunately, they seemed to be just as equally at a loss on what to do here, and so, in their usual manner, turned to Scootaloo with looks of sheer frustration, resulting in them letting out a simultaneous "humph" before turning and making their way away from the group. Their attempt at unnerving or even just plain insulting Scootaloo had failed miserably, and the young pegasus couldn't be happier, nor could her friends, who now rushed around her.

"Wow, Scoots! That...that was awesome!" Spike remarked.

"Ah'll say! Y'all got those two stuck-up good-fer-nothins runnin with their tails between their legs!" Apple Bloom added.

"I've never seen them to beaten like that!" Sweetie Belle concluded.

Their friend gained a slight blush at all the praise she was receiving, before letting out a sigh and turning to face them properly.

"Thanks, guys. But, you know...I mean what I said. Sure, in the past I might have been upset at not flying, but, these days...things are different for me. If my special talents never needed flight to happen, then I guess I can be happy knowing it might not happen for me. I mean...just look at Fluttershy or some of the other pegasus ponies here! Some of them never need to fly to do what they're good at, so why should I get upset over it?"

The other three looked to each other, both surprised and impressed by what their friend had just said to them. Before long, they turned to her once more, all smiling widely, sharing in the happiness of this small victory she'd earned for herself. But, it wasn't long after that when Scootaloo looked over her shoulder, staring at the stage nearby. No words were shared between them, but a single gesture on her part made it clear that she felt that the time was right for them to get back to their practice. A round of nods followed that, and before long, all three Crusaders began to walk back towards the stage, with Spike close behind, ready to watch them perform again. But, unbeknownst to the group, there was, nearby, a hidden figure; Rainbow Dash. She had seen and heard everything that had occurred here, but had not intervened, even though she would have wanted nothing more than to do just that. But now, seeing the way her biggest fan had handled the situation, and heard what she'd said, how accepting she was of what she could do and what she might not do, a smile crept onto her face, and a look of great pride. Shortly afterwards, she began to silently make her way away, ready to simply let the children continue their work.

"Good job, Kid. Good job."