My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Ponyville Confidential
A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to the next episode of MLP: Friendship is Magic. Now, I had a rattling experience back on Saturday, but I'll spare you the details, save that it happened in front of my client, and it left me feeling really uncomfortable. If you want the full story, send me a PM, and I'll share it with you. Anyway, time to see how the Cutie Mark Crusaders are doing with their quest to get their cutie marks. Onward!
Read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from My Little Pony: Magic is Friendship. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.
CHAPTER ONE: NEWSPAPER MANIA
It was a clear sunny day in Ponyville, and over at the school, the bell had just rang to let the fillies and foals know that it was time to go home. The students exited the school, many of them chatting excitedly since a foal named Featherweight had just gotten his cutie mark, and he was very happy about it.
"Can you believe Featherweight got his cutie mark?" Sweetie Belle asked as she and Scootaloo came out of the school watching the pale yellow pegasus foal show off his cutie mark, which was a white feather. "Featherweight! Before us!"
In the school yard, the foals were cheering their classmate on, and they were also admiring his cutie mark.
"Great cutie mark, Featherweight!" Snips exclaimed, impressed.
Snails chuckled. "Looking good!"
Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sighed, disappointed that they still didn't have their own cutie marks.
"I give up…" Sweetie Belle declared, dejected.
Just then, Apple Bloom came bounding out of the school and tossed a folded newspaper at her friends' hooves. "I've got it!" she exclaimed. "The answer to all our problems!"
"The Foal Free Press?" Sweetie Belle asked, staring at the school newspaper. "How's the school paper gonna get us our cutie marks?"
Apple Bloom took a deep breath to answer when-
"Move your caboose!" Granny Smith called out.
Apple Bloom flushed. "Uh-oh. That's Granny Smith. Gotta run!" And she ran off to catch up with her grandmother.
Scootaloo looked thoughtfully at the newspaper. "Maybe there's something to this newspaper idea," she remarked.
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Guess it's worth a shot…"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle spend hours trying everything that they can think of that could involve newspapers: they tried ripping up the newspapers in order to pack up items for Rarity to ship out, and yet there was no sign of a cutie mark on their flanks. So, they next helped birds fix up their nests with stripes of newspapers and still no cutie marks. They tried everything, and nothing produced a cutie mark, not even making a large paper boat to sail down the river, and they ended up sinking when it got soaked.
When they got to the treehouse, they found Apple Bloom seated at the table, reading a copy of the school newspaper, and when she looked up, she was surprised to see her friends covered in mud and bits of newspapers.
"Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said, annoyed. "Your newspaper idea was nothing but a big bust."
"We tried everything," Scootaloo agreed, scowling, "from papier-mâché to making birds' nests, and nothing worked."
They were confused when Apple Bloom started laughing, almost falling out of her seat. "What's so funny?"
Apple Bloom managed to calm down enough to share her actual idea. "What I meant was, we should write for the paper!" she informed them, tapping them on the head with the rolled up paper she'd been reading and pointed to a picture of a newspaper reporter. "We can get our cutie marks as journalists!"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared in shock at the obvious idea, and then they both groaned and face-planted. Why didn't they think of that sooner?!
The next day at school, the Cutie Mark Crusaders waited eagerly for the bell to ring and signal the end of school, and when it did, Miss Cheerilee made an announcement.
"Okay, class, see you tomorrow!" she called out to the students leaving through the door. "Oh, for those of you who want to join the newspaper staff, stay here, because we're meeting right now!" And she thumped her hoof on her desk.
"Cutie marks in journalism!" Apple Bloom squealed.
"Such a good idea," Scootaloo agreed, grinning and looking forward to writing her first news-worthy story.
Once the door was shut, Cheerilee smiled at the remaining students. "Welcome, everypony," she said. "Now, as you know, our editor-in-chief graduated last year-"
Sweetie Belle waved her hoof in the air. "Oh, oh, oh, ohohohoh!"
"Yes?" the school teacher asked.
"What's an editor-in-chief?" Sweetie Belle inquired.
"Good question, Sweetie Belle," Cheerilee complimented and explained. "I like those reporter's instincts. The Foal Free Press is a student-run paper. I'm only involved as an adviser, so the editor-in-chief is the pony in charge, from choosing the stories to making sure it gets to press on time. Now, as I said, we have a new editor this year!"
The door opened and the students gasped when Diamond Tiara entered the classroom. "Diamond Tiara?!"
Diamond Tiara smirked at them as she went to the desk. "Hm."
Cheerilee moved from the desk so that the filly could sit down, and she headed for the door. "I'll leave you alone now to discuss everypony's assignments. Have fun!" she called out before leaving and closing the door behind her.
The moment that the teacher was gone, Diamond Tiara bucked the wall so that the projector sheet dropped down with her photo on the sheet. "Alright, listen up," she said sternly. "The Foal Free Press is a joke."
The students exchanged confused and uneasy looks. "Huh?"
"Nopony at this school takes it seriously," Diamond Tiara informed her classmates. "Well I, the editor-in-chief in charge, am going to deliver us to newfound glory!"
An uneasy silence fell over the group and then Truffle called out, "Yay!"
"First things first," said Diamond Tiara and looked over the group. "Where's the staff photographer?" And when Featherweight waved, she snapped at him. "Get out there and document everything. I'll decide what's important." She waited until the pegasus foal left the classroom with his camera before she continued. "The rest of you, I want hard-hitting news and interesting think pieces," she ordered. "No more Namby-Pamby stories like last year's editor."
Ruby Pinch raised a hoof. "But Namby-Pamby was a great editor."
"Well, there's a new regime now, and I want juicy stories," Diamond Tiara snapped and she kicked the wall again, making her photo disappear. "The juicier, the better! Now get out there and report!" And she left the classroom.
"Let's get out of here, girls," Scootaloo suggested as their classmates hurried out of the room, and she didn't want to be a reporter anymore. "Maybe we can try packing boxes again."
"But this could be our last chance to earn our cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "If we really are supposed to be journalists, isn't it worth a little grief?" And Apple Bloom nodded in agreement.
Scootaloo sighed. "I guess you're right," she reluctantly agreed. "We can take a little bit of Diamond Tiara for a lifetime of cutie marks."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both cheered. "C'mon! Let's go get these marks!"
Eager to write her first story, Sweetie Belle went to interview Rarity, who was working on a new project, and it turned out that the only way Sweetie Belle could get the interview was to let her big sister use her as a model for the outfit that had large blue/green feathers on it. How embarrassing!
Scootaloo decided to write her first story about one of the nests she'd help make, which was filled with newborn baby birds. She climbed onto the branch for a closer look, and ended up falling off into a mud puddle. Gross!
Apple Bloom tried to interview Granny Smith about the history of Ponyville, but she first had to endure hours of her grandmother going through stacks of photo albums filled with baby pictures of, and there were a lot of books to go through. Super embarrassing!
A/N: I tried doing the whole newspaper thing in sixth grade, and while I came up with a great story, the newspaper itself was a disaster. Here's hoping Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have better luck, even with Diamond Tiara being in charge. I will see you all on Thursday. Bye for now! R&R everyone!
