Chapter 14: The Spoils of Victory
The train pulled into Ponyville's train station. It slowed itself to a stop and the door opened. The group of fourteen grabbed their belongings and left their compartment. They walked down the length of the train and made it to the exit. They walked out of the vehicle as worker ponies set down the instruments that had been brought by The Cutie Mark Crusaders. The young ponies wheeled their equipment out of the station as they followed their friends.
When they stepped out of the train station they were all greeted with thunderous cheers. The entire town of Ponyville had turned out to welcome them back. When the group of fourteen raised their trophies into the air the cheering grew to a deafening volume. The group of fourteen was getting a very warm reception by the townsponies. The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked around and then they saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The two bullies had wide eyes and gaping mouths as they stared at the foursome. Their eyes moved from the trophies in their hooves to the cutie marks on their flanks. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had not only won the contest but they had also earned their cutie marks. The foursome stood in front of the duo with grins on their faces.
"Like them?" Scootaloo asked. Neither Diamond Tiara nor Silver Spoon knew if the young pegasus was referring to the trophies or their cutie marks.
"Ah think we had a bet didn't we?" Apple Bloom asked.
"And I think we won that bet." Sweetie Belle said.
"Ah think it's time for the two of ya ta do what ya said ya would do." Babs Seed said with a grin.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other and gulped. They knew that they had lost and now they would have to face their fate. They would have to apologize to their enemies and in front of an audience no less. The group of six marched into the center of Ponyville. A crowd had gathered around them and they waited to see what was going to happen. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon glanced nervously at each other before they decided to speak.
"We're sorry we teased you." Diamond Tiara began.
"We're sorry we bullied you." Silver Spoon continued.
"We're sorry we called you blank flanks." Diamond Tiara said.
"And tried to make you look bad." Silver Spoon added.
"We're sorry for everything." the two said in unison.
The crowd let out a gasp. They didn't know that these two ponies had been bullying The Cutie Mark Crusaders all this time. Every single pony in the crowd looked at the foursome. The Cutie Mark Crusaders smiled at each other before they looked at the two ponies that constantly bullied them. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked down towards the ground in shame. They had finally realized just how badly they had behaved towards the foursome. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gave each other one more glance before they spoke.
"We forgive you." The Cutie Mark Crusaders said in unison.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked their former enemies in the eyes. Did they really mean that? Had the two of them been forgiven? After everything they had put these fillies through, the foursome didn't hold a grudge? Could it really be true? The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other as if they were having a silent conversation. Then Scootaloo spoke to the duo.
"Do you guys wanna join The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" she asked.
"What?" Diamond Tiara asked with wide-eyed disbelief.
"Do you mean that?" SIlver Spoon asked in an amazed tone.
"We sure do." Apple Bloom replied.
"We could always use more members." Sweetie Belle said.
"The Crusaders are about getting your cutie marks and living up to them." Babs Seed said.
"So you wanna join?" Scootaloo asked again.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at each other. Here were four ponies who they had mocked and ridiculed mercilessly and now they were offering not just forgiveness but friendship. The duo didn't know what to say. They had a quick whispered discussion with each other. Then they turned and faced the foursome.
"We'll join." the duo said in unison.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders grinned and told the duo to meet them at their clubhouse for initiation. The crowd cheered at this display of friendship and they then left the area. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Babs Seed led the way to the clubhouse with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon following behind them. They had an initiation ritual for the two ponies and then they were accepted into the club. The group of six had a small party to celebrate the event. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten two new members while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had now gotten four new friends. The duo used to only have each other. Diamond Tiara was from a wealthy family but that came at a cost. It was harder for her to make friends because of her wealth. The friends that she had only cared about her money. Silver Spoon was the only one to actually befriend her for who she was. Silver Spoon's family wasn't as wealthy as Diamond Tiara's father but her family had more wealth than most. The duo stuck together and they felt like any other pony was just a fake friend and deserved to be treated with ridicule. This was why they had been so horrible to The Cutie Mark Crusaders for so long. The foursome accepted this story and the group of four became a group of six.
Meanwhile in a different area of Ponyville, another pony was eager to redeem her prize for winning her own bet. Vinyl Scratch approached her manager with a grin on her face.
"So boss." she said. "How much of a raise were ya talking about?"
The manager sighed in defeat. His bet had backfired completely. Not only did he have to give away three instruments for free but now he had to give one of his employees a raise.
Note to self. he thought. Never make another bet ever again.
"All right Vinyl." he said. "Come to my office. We'll figure out all the details."
The duo walked over to the music store and into the manager's office. Vinyl Scratch grinned happily. She was going to get a pay raise. She was also really proud of how The Cutie Mark Crusaders had performed. She felt a bit guilty about making a bet on such young ponies but she was confident in their skills. Vinyl Scratch wanted to support the budding rock band however she could. So what better way to do so than by betting on them? The off-white pony knew that if the foursome knew about her bet they'd be understanding. The manager then gave Vinyl Scratch a raise that definitely made the two toned blue mare happy. Her pay had been increased by fifty percent. This was a very good day for Vinyl Scratch. She left the music store in high spirits.
Everypony in Ponyville went to a party at SugarCube Corner. An article had been released in the newspaper about how Ponyville had gotten a flawless victory at the contest. Every single competitor had been mentioned and they all got a lot of praise. Rainbow Dash, Gilda, Lightning Dust, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie Lulamoon, Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Babs Seed were being praised like heroes. They enjoyed every second of the attention.