---- Cutie Mark Clone Crusaders ----

---- Where’s Celestia when you need her? ----

“And that’s how Equestria was made!”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders watched with varying degrees of bemusement as the pink pony leapt off of their wagon and into a bale of hay that seemed to appear below her as if by magic.  Sweetie Belle, the unicorn of the trio, shook her head in confusion and glanced over to Applebloom, an earth pony of yellow complexion and a vibrant red mane tied back with a pretty bow.  “Uh… what just happened?”

“I’m not sure...  Pinkie being Pinkie I guess?”  Applebloom shrugged her shoulders and tapped the pony on the scooter before them with a hoof.  “What d’you think, Scootaloo?”

“Uh, I dunno.  I guess it could be Pinkie being herself.”  The orange pegasus shook her head and continued on with the same semi-confused tone.  “I don’t remember Ponyville being swarmed with Pinkie Pies recently.”

“Well, that’s because we were underground being the Cutie Mark Spelunking Crusaders, remember?”  Sweetie Belle shuddered slightly as the memory floated back up from the past.  “I’ll never forget how Rarity blew up when she saw us covered in all that coal dust.”

“How was I supposed to know that that bridge wouldn’t hold us?”  Applebloom’s voice grew defensive as a tiny amount of red burned in her face.

“Well, there was a sign that said ‘Bridge unsafe, do not use’.  Maybe that was a good clue?”

“Well, I thought that was meant for only normal ponies, not fillies!”  The red in Applebloom’s face deepened as a bit of anger leaked into her tone.  “I think it might have been yo—“

Scootaloo, sensing an impending argument, verbally jumped in between the other two Crusaders.  “Girls!  It doesn’t matter anyway!  I don’t think any of us have a special talent for spelunking anyway."  After a moment of awkward silence, the pegasus spoke up again.  “Did you guys hear what Pinkie Pie said during that story she told us?”

“Uh, a lot of things?”

“Yeah, but what about the Mirror Pool?  She said it can make copies of ponies that will do what the original tells them to do!”  Scootaloo slowed the scooter to a stop and jumped off as they reached their clubhouse.  “Just think about it,” she called over her shoulder, “there could be a hundred of each of us trying to find our special talent!  We’d find our Cutie Marks so much faster that way!”

A pair of gasps, coupled with the rapid plodding of hooves up the ramp that lead to the clubhouse, sounded out from behind the orange filly.  “Do you really think it’s real?”

“Yeah, what Sweetie said!”

Pulling out a map of Ponyville that she had drawn herself, Scootaloo smiled at her fellow Crusaders.  “I know so.”  She pointed out of the window to the dark wall of trees that signaled the start of the Everfree Forest.  “And we’re gonna find it.”

“We should talk to somepony first.”  The pegasus had to repress the urge to roll her eyes at Sweetie Belle’s suggestion and an even stronger urge when Applebloom nodded in agreement.

“Ugh, fine.  But who are we going to talk to?”

The purple-and-pink-maned pony leapt up eagerly, waving her hoof excitedly through the air.  “Oh!  Oh!  I know!  I know!”

“Absolutely not!”

“But Rarity—“

“I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, but I am not about to tell my little sister and her two friends how to clone themselves!  Just three of you is bad enou-, er what I mean to say is that each of you are unique, just like anypony else, and there simply can’t be more than one of a unique thing, otherwise it just isn’t unique anymore!”  The white unicorn tossed her mane delicately and shook her head despite the filly-eyes that her sister and the other two crusaders directed towards her.  "I'm sorry, but I cannot help you.  Now... if you will excuse me, I have some orders to fill by the end of the day and I simply cannot hope to fill them if you three loiter in the boutique all day."

"Okay sis..."  Sweetie turned slowly away from her sister, who had to supress the urge to tell the three fillies where to find the accursed pond that had brought about a plethora of Pinkie Pies.  "Let's go girls."  As they made their way out of the dress shop, the three fillies could still hear the fashionista ranting about her boutique being destroyed by at least five pink ponies.  Slamming the door angrily behind her, Sweetie Belle tossed herself down onto one of the steps and let out a frustrated groan.  "Now what are we going to do?!"