Few ponies had set foot in Ponyville since its destruction ten years before. Most of them came scavenging for supplies in the burnt-out and broken buildings and only stayed as long as they had to. Few ponies cared, much less knew, where Sugar Cube Corner or Carousel Boutique once stood. The ruined library, a blackened orchard, and a half-demolished cottage by the forest were the only landmarks that still stood, but for Sweetie Belle, those were enough. She’d spent hours looking down at Ponyville’s remains from Canterlot castle when Nightmare Moon wasn’t tormenting her, and though it had been years since her escape, she could still piece the town together in her mind and locate the remains of every building she needed to find.

The evening after Nightmare Moon’s defeat, she only needed to find one.

Scootaloo found her standing in what looked like any other charred, snow-covered wreckage of a building. “Hey, Sweetie Belle. Gilda said I could find you and Apple Bloom here.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “I thought it’d be good to visit again. I saw the ruin every day from Canterlot, but I figured it would do me some good to come back one more time.”

Scootaloo stepped into the building and looked around. “What was this place?”

“Carousel Boutique,” Sweetie Belle replied. “Rarity’s workroom used to be right here, and the kitchen was over there.”

“How do you remember all that?”

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” Sweetie Belle said. “It helped me stay mad at Nightmare Moon.”

Scootaloo looked up at the darkening sky. Several pink clouds hung in the air overhead. “Dash used to sleep on those clouds,” she said. “When she wasn’t clearing them out, of course.”

“Are clouds comfortable?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“They’re a bit breezy,” Scootaloo answered. “Great for warm nights, but not so much for winter.”

The two left the remains of the boutique and walked through what remained of Ponyville. Sweetie Belle occasionally pointed out a place or building, like the park and town hall. “You know, I kind of forgot about a lot of this stuff,” Scootaloo said.

“I tried to remember as much as I could,” Sweetie Belle replied. “Sometimes, when I was having a bad day in Zebrica, I’d wonder if anyone else still remembered Ponyville.”

Scootaloo looked around. “Where’s Apple Bloom?”

“She said she was going to Sweet Apple Acres,” Sweetie Belle answered. “We should probably go find her. It’s getting late.”

The two left the town ruins and made their way toward what remained of the famous Apple family orchard. The crunch of snow under her hooves and the familiarity of the path reminded Sweetie Belle of the many times she and Scootaloo had made this trip in their childhood. “Things were a lot different back then, huh?” she said. Scootaloo nodded. “Back when crusading for cutie marks was the most important thing and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the biggest threats.”

Scootaloo chuckled. “I almost forgot about those two,” she said. “I wonder if they made it out of Ponyville okay?”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle replied. “I hope they did. I mean, they were jerks, but still.”

Scootaloo nodded. “After everything we’ve been through, they do seem kind of silly, don’t they.”

The two arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. Black tree trunks surrounded the demolished farm house as far as they could see. “Apple Bloom? You here?” Scootaloo called. There was no reply. “Come on, let’s go find her.” The two approached the farmhouse, keeping an eye out for their friend. “Looks like Nightmare Moon really did a number on this place.”

“Got that right,” said a soft voice from the shadows. Scootaloo turned to see Apple Bloom walking toward them. “Everything’s gone, ‘cept for a few trees on the edge of the farm.”

“What did you expect?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom shrugged. “I dunno.” She looked around the farm again in the dying light of day. “Guess we might as well go back to camp. We’re not goin’ to find anything here.”

“Maybe we will,” said Sweetie Belle. “You said there were still some trees around here.”

“Over there,” Apple Bloom replied, pointing with a hoof. “They must be dead by now.”

“Maybe, but that’s not the point,” Sweetie Belle said as she took a few steps in the direction Apple Bloom had indicated. “When we were little, we had a clubhouse, remember?” The other two nodded. “It was in those trees,” she continued. “Maybe it’s still there.”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom exchanged glances. “It’s worth a shot, I guess,” Apple Bloom said at last.

After a few minutes of searching, the trio found a sagging hut wedged in one of the trees. None of them spoke as they walked up the ramp and into their old clubhouse. A lantern still hung from the ceiling, and Sweetie Belle lit it with her magic. Everything was covered in dust. Scootaloo fixed that with a few flaps of her wings, revealing the clubhouse’s contents for the first time in over a decade.

“It’s just how we left it,” Apple Bloom said at last. “That map we made is still on the wall over there.”

“And look,” said Scootaloo as she moved some broken shingles to the side. “That bull’s eye we used to stand in to come up with ideas for getting our cutie marks.”

“This is where it all started,” said Sweetie Belle. “This is the last place we were all together before…”

The room seemed to grow a little darker, and not just because of the setting sun. “Hey,” Apple Bloom said at last. “The important thing is that we’re all together again.”

“Not all of us,” Sweetie Belle mumbled.

“We can’t think like that,” said Apple Bloom. “We’ve lost a lot, but we have to keep goin’. I know that’s what my big sister would want.”

“That’s what Rainbow Dash would want, too,” Scootaloo agreed.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “So, what do we do?”

“Well, we’ve done potion-makin’, spyin’, soldierin’, magic usin’, and tyrant destroyin’, not to mention cheatin’ death multiple times,” Apple Bloom said.

“Gee, who’d’ve thought that’s what it would take to get us our cutie marks?” Scootaloo asked. The three mares giggled softly. “There’s still a lot to do, though. We’re going to have to clear a lot of snow and build a lot of houses.”

“And set up a lot of farms,” Sweetie Belle added.

“And let’s not get started on the shelters,” said Apple Bloom. “I don’t know who’s goin’ to be able to lead ‘em all like Princess Celestia did.”

The three mares looked at each other as smiles crept onto their faces. “What do you say, crusaders?” asked Scootaloo. “Ready to take on the next challenge?”

“You can count me in,” said Apple Bloom.

“Me, too,” said Sweetie Belle.

The three mares raised their hooves in the air and slapped them together. Then they shouted, in near-perfect unison, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Nation Builders, go!”