It was a beautiful spring day in Ponyville, and the townspeople were out and about, chatting with their friends and fellow townsfolk. A group of six ponies, along with an unrecognizable filly, were chatting amongst themselves.

“So, what brings you to Ponyville, Cotton Candy?” Twilight asked the newcomer with a polite smile on her face. “Are you enjoying the place so far?”

“Oh, I love it!” Cotton Candy replied. “It’s a very beautiful town, indeed!”

“Well, we’re so glad you love it here, darling!” Rarity said as she clapped her hooves together.

“And we’re so glad to have ya here!” Applejack said as she patted the young filly’s head.

“Girls, we should throw a party for Cotton Candy!” Pinkie Pie said as she hopped up and down with glee.

“I think that’s an AWESOME idea!” Rainbow Dash said as she gave the pink party pony an approving smile. “I’m in. Who else is with Pinkie here?”

“I’ll help,” Fluttershy said as she trotted over to Pinkie.

“Me too!” Applejack said as she stood next to Fluttershy.

“Me three,” Rarity said as she stood next to Rainbow Dash. “I’ll do the decorations.”

“What about you, Twi? You gonna help us plan Cotton Candy’s party?” Rainbow asked the purple alicorn.

“Sure, I’ll help,” Twilight replied as she trotted over to the cyan Pegasus. “So... let’s talk about where this party should be.”

Meanwhile, somewhere else in Ponyville, Scootaloo was hanging out with her two best friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. The orange Pegasus filly ruffled her feathers as she watched Sweetie Belle use her magic to drink her shake.

“Hey, Scoots,” Applebloom said as she watched Scootaloo ruffle her feathers. “You alright?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine, Applebloom!” Scootaloo lied as she stopped ruffling her feathers.

“Are you sure? You don’t look fine,” Sweetie Belle said as she put her glass down on the table in front of her with her magic. “I can tell that something is on your mind, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo sighed and shook her head. “It’s nothing, Sweetie Belle,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Um, ah think Sweetie Belle knows already, Scootaloo,” Applebloom said as she looked at her friend with a pitiful look. “And ah know what’s been on your mind, too. You thinking about your wings and why they won’t grow big enough to fly again?”

“Applebloom, please stop,” Scootaloo whimpered as she buried her face in her hooves. “Can we please not talk about it, girls? It’s... very personal, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“But, Scootaloo... if ya don’t tell us, we’ll never know about your problems,” Applebloom said.

“She’s right, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle said. “You’ll feel better if you just tell us what’s been on your mind.”

“Fine,” Scootaloo sighed. “But be patient... this may take a while.”

The three fillies were sitting inside of Sugarcube Corner just as the Main Six entered the building. “Uh, girls...” Scootaloo said. “We have to get out of here. Twilight and her friends are here!”

“Let’s go, then!” Sweetie Belle said as she used her magic to lift both Applebloom and Scootaloo into the air and throw them out the window before following their lead, throwing herself out the window as well.

The three fillies ran off before Twilight and her friends could see them. But what the Main Six did see was the three empty glasses of milkshakes on the table. “Well... it looks like the Cutie Mark Crusaders forgot to clean off the table again!” Twilight said as she used her magic to gather some cleaning supplies and clean off the table.

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Cotton Candy asked. “Who are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders is a club that helps fillies like you get their cutie marks,” Fluttershy explained to the confused filly as she pointed at Cotton Candy’s blank flank.

“Well, my cutie mark is gonna be a cotton candy for sure!” Cotton Candy said with a wide grin.

“Don’t get your hopes up just yet, CC,” Applejack said. “Sometimes a cutie mark can be anything besides a cotton candy.”

“Really? Like what?” the young filly asked, feeling curious all of a sudden.

“Take me for instance, darling. I’m Rarity, even though my cutie mark is a set of three diamonds,” Rarity explained as she pointed to her own flank. “See, Cotton Candy? Your cutie mark can be anything, and it still represents who you are in this world.”

“That’s cool,” Cotton Candy said as she looked at Rarity’s cutie mark. “I hope I can get my cutie mark one day or any day.”

“Well, if you want your cutie mark that bad, the Cutie Mark Crusaders might be able to help you!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Really?” Cotton Candy asked the cyan Pegasus.

“Oh, yeah. My little sister, Scootaloo, is one of the Crusaders. She’s a Pegasus filly, but she can’t fly. Even though she really wants to...”

“Oh, no,” Cotton Candy gasped, suddenly feeling sorry for Rainbow Dash’s little sister, even though she had never met Scootaloo. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, kid,” the cyan Pegasus said. “Anyway, why don’t you go find the CMC? They might be able to help you get your cutie mark.”

“But... what about my party?” Cotton Candy asked.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that while you get help from the CMC,” Twilight said as she finished cleaning off the table with her magic.

“Thank you, Princess!” Cotton Candy said as she gave Twilight a big hug.

“No problem, CC,” Twilight said as she returned the hug. “Now run along. Don’t keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders waiting!”

Cotton Candy nodded in understanding before heading out the door. The filly trotted down the streets of Ponyville until she saw a group of three fillies with the same cutie marks chatting amongst themselves.

“...and that’s what’s been on my mind,” Scootaloo said.

“Oh my goodness,” Sweetie Belle gasped. “That’s horrible, Scoots. I can’t believe you have that big of a problem with your wings.”

“And pretty frustrating, too, I’ll say,” Applebloom said. “We’re very sorry to hear that ya can’t fly but really want to. Wait... does Rainbow Dash know about this?”

“Huh? Oh, uh... of course she does!” Scootaloo replied. “She’s my big sister, Applebloom. Of course she knows about my inability to fly.”

“We’re just looking out for ya, that’s all,” Applebloom said.

“Yeah! That’s what friends do,” Sweetie Belle added. “They look out for each other.”

“Um, excuse me?” a soft voice asked from behind them. The three fillies turned around and smiled politely when they saw a filly with no cutie mark on her flanks. “Hi there,” Cotton Candy greeted the trio. “I’m Cotton Candy. I was just with Twilight and her friends not too long ago. They’re throwing me a party to welcome me to Ponyville. Anyway, Rainbow Dash said that the CMC might be able to help me get my cutie mark.”

“Well, you’re in luck, Cotton Candy!” Sweetie Belle said. “Applebloom? Scootaloo?”

On cue, the three fillies all grinned wide and waved enthusiastically to Cotton Candy. “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” they all cheered in unison.

“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” Cotton Candy said.

“We’re very happy to meet you, Cotton Candy!” Scootaloo said. “It looks like you could use some help getting that cutie mark.”

“Yeah! You’ve come to the right group of fillies,” Sweetie Belle said.

“We’ll help ya get your cutie mark!” Applebloom said. “Come on, we’ll start at Sweet Apple Acres and go from there!”

Cotton Candy happily trotted after the CMC, following them to Sweet Apple Acres.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first part of this story! Stay tuned for more chapters!

-Cookie