S1 E18 Everypony! A Dog And Pony Show is up next. Plus we're nearing the home run of season one! excited!

The once gargoyle clone Malibu was sitting under an apple tree in Sweet Apple Acers, pondering what his old clan was up to back in New York when he heard the voices of Applejack and the cmcs. He stood up and followed, wondering what was up.

"Where are you takin' us?" Applebloom asked. He saw Applejack grinning while leading them through the trees. "We're almost there young'uns."

Malibu managed to catch up. "What's going on?" He asked. The orange earth pony grinned. "Got a surprise for your friends, if you want to see." Applebloom groaned. "Are we there yet?" She asked.

"There? Where what? I don't even know what we're doing!" Sweetie Belle complained, Scootaloo nodding. Soon Applejack revealed the surprise.

"Here we are!" She exclaimed. Malibu tilted his head, staring at an old tree house. "What are we lookin' at?" Questioned Applebloom. Scootaloo shook her head. "I have no idea." "What is that thing?" Sweetie muttered.

Applejack stood proudly near the treehouse. "Cutie Mark Crusaders? Welcome to your new clubhouse!" Malibu wasn't so sure, it looked rather worn down. "Are you sure AJ?" He said in some doubt. She glanced at the four, frowning a little. "Well don't thank me all at once. This was my clubhouse when I was your age." She explained to the fillies. "Sure it hasn't been used in a while, but it's empty and on a secluded private part of the farm, and it is all yours. It just needs a little… uh…" She cleared her throat. "TLC."

Malibu turned to the others as Scootaloo spoke under her breath. "TLC as in tender loving care or totally lost cause?" He couldn't help the smile that came, shaking his head. Applebloom walked up to her sister. "Applejack! We're supposed to turn this into our new clubhouse?" Applejack gave a nervous smile. "Well, maybe y'all will get your cutie marks when you discover your talent for… waaah!"

She had leaned on the door which broke, causing her to fall in. Malibu cringed from the crash but she emerged slightly unscathed. "Uh, house cleaning?" Malibu climbed up the steps to help her to her feet. "I think I could probably help them rebuild your treehouse, and it'll look just like new," He offered, seeing his little friends faces beaming at his suggestion. This will make building lots faster.

….

And so they began the building of the tree house with Scootaloo bringing back some extra supplies on her scooter. She came to a halt by the tree house, Malibu smiling at her skills while he used his magic to paint the outside wall of the tree house. "Whoa! Hi Scootaloo! You're amazing on that scooter!" Applebloom greeted as Scootaloo removed her helmet.

"Thanks! Wow, Applebloom! You did all this?" Applebloom nodded. "Yup! Me and Mal fixed the broken shutters, sanded off the splinters, rebuilt the roof, painted…"

Malibu finished the last bits of his painting task and put the paint away. "Was a challenge but we did it," He proclaimed, the clubhouse shined on by the sun on it's coat of paint. Scootaloo smiled. "Whoa, that's so cool. What's Sweetie Belle up to?"

The three could hear a humming from afar, and went to find the white filly. She was dusting a table to place into the house with her tail. "We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders…" she hummed in that voice Malibu began liking more, even if she sang a bit too loud when they had that past sleepover.

"Never stop the journey…" Sweetie hummed some more until seeing her friends. "There you are, Sweetie Belle! See? I told you we could find her by following her totally awesome voice!"

Malibu smiled at her. "What are you singing?" He asked. Sweetie Belle flushed. "Oh, I was working on our new Cutie Mark Crusader's theme song."

"Cool!" Both Scootaloo and Applebloom exclaimed. Malibu himself thought that seemed pretty nice. "Teach us?" Scootaloo asked. "Sure!" Sweetie Belle agreed.

…

Applejack had come to see the final touches on the clubhouse, seeing Malibu inside there with them listening to their song. She also listened in.

"They all say that you will get your mark

When the time is really right." She heard Sweetie Belle.

"And you know just what you're supposed to do." Sang Applebloom, not as great as Sweetie but close.

Malibu cringed up when Scootaloo sang. "And your talent comes to light!"

He clapped his hooves. "Uh, good one Scoot," The teal alicorn said, also going to rub his ears. Applejack came in then. "Well, uh… I'll be, Cutie Mark Crusaders. You've done one fine job with this place. So, what's next?"

Malibu watched as they conversed. "Oh, they got plans," He said softly. "Well, now that we have a real life clubhouse," Applebloom started. "And a map of Ponyville!" Scootaloo said, revealing their map drawn with crayon. "And a Cutie Mark Crusader's theme song!" Sweetie grinned.

Applejack tilted her head. "Theme song?" She asked in confusion. "We're gonna go out into the world and discover our talents!" Scoots cheered.

"And earn our Cutie Marks!"

"We'll leave no stone unturned!"

"No mountain unclimbed!"

"No meal uncooked!"

"No sock unworn!"

Applejack and Malibu both laughed silently to themselves at their enthusiasm. "Well, ok then! Sounds like you have a plan. I gotta, uh… leave no apple unpicked!" Malibu nodded. "Maybe I can join you," He offered but felt his tail being pulled on. "Oh no, you're coming with us Mal! You're our supervisor!" Scootaloo said. Malibu cringed again, ears flat, but Applejack winked. "Go on, humor them," She whispered. Malibu rolled his eyes but nodded.

The group all went to various places but couldn't find their cutie marks, Malibu doing his best to ensure they didn't get into trouble which even involved escaping an octopus in the ocean. They returned to Ponyville after that, going into the library and trying to be librarians.

Malibu tried not to let Twilight's home get all messy with books everywhere but his friends were most consistent. Twilight and Cheerilee had arrived at that moment. Spike raised his hands. "I had nothing to do with this!" He insisted. Twilight raised her brow at the girls who groaned. "We'll never get our cutie marks as librarians!" Applebloom mumbled.

"I should think not!" Spike said under his breath, Malibu whacking him with his tail. "Ow!"

Twilight giggled. "Girls, I think you're going about this the wrong way. Instead of trying to do things in areas you're not familiar with, why not try doing things in areas that you are already familiar with?"

The clone nodded, that seemed more reasonable as Cheerilee stepped up. "And I have the perfect place to start." She placed down a poster.

"Showcase your talents…" Applebloom read.

"…for all to see…" Scootaloo continued.

"Perform in the Ponyville school talent show!" Sweetie Belle finished. Malibu's ears perked. A talent show huh? He pawed his hoof. "To be honest; I've never been a part of one," Malibu said shyly. The cmcs looked at him. "That's ok, you can help us out," Scootaloo said with a grin. Cheerilee smiled. "And there will be all sorts of awards. Best dramatic performance, best comedy act, best magic act, surely you can find your talent."

Applebloom was pretty excited looking. "This would be the perfect place to discover our talents. Jugglin'!"

Scootaloo jumped in. "Acting!"

Sweetie Belle smiled. "Magic tricks!"

"Tightrope walking!"

"Tiger taming!" That last part made Malibu flinch slightly. He didn't quite like the idea of a tiger on stage.

Twilight interrupted. "My little ponies! You're missing the point! Think about the things you already enjoy doing. Think about what you're already good at!"

Malibu nudged Sweetie Belle. "Like your singing, Sweetie Belle," He then suggested, making her flush, looking away. "Sure, we can do that," Scootaloo claimed. "Well, whatever we do, we'll do it as…" All three of them spoke together. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

The alicorn prince followed them out the door after. "Malibu, ensure they don't go too overboard, will you?" Twilight asked in worry. He nodded. "Will do Twi."

….

As the talent show approached the next few days showed the cmcs along with Malibu gathering supplies. They had just left the fabric shop with Rarity looking angry after them. "Sweetie Belle, I told you not to touch my things! Come back with my supplies!" She screamed. Malibu's ears flattened. "Sorry, Rar! Talent show business! But I'll return the stuff, I promise!"

Next was at Mr. Breezy's fan shop to get a fan, though Malibu wondered why they wanted one. Sweetie Belle assured them to trust her on it and the clone continued to go along with it to humor them. They did a checklist of what they got so far. "Ok, so that's six wooden planks, four by eight plywood, a box of nails, four cans of paint, and four brushes," Scootaloo checked off. That was a lot of supplies. "Anything else?"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yeah, instructions on how to use six wooden planks, four by eight plywood, a box of nails, four cans of paint and four brushes," She said in a sarcastic voice. Malibu spoke up. "I'm sure you'll think of something," He said.

The group stopped by the Golden Oaks to pick up a book they needed. And Twilight was startled with what they picked. "Ghosts, Goblins, and Ghoulish Figures? Good heavens girls, what do you need a book like this for?" Scootaloo grinned.

"You'll see. Thanks, Twilight. We'll bring it back as soon as we're done with it!" Malibu made a cringed smile at Twilight, shrugging as he trotted after the wagon.

…

After arriving back at the clubhouse the cmcs began to plan their part for the talent show. "I'm glad we're doin' this as a team!" Applebloom exclaimed. Malibu nodded. "And I'm happy to be a part of it, though not sure about actually performing it still."

Sweetie Belle looked at her. "Me too. Um… so what are we doing again?" Scootaloo's eyes looked excited. "A super awesome dramatic song for the talent show of course!" Malibu rolled his eyes. Of course she would think that up. "Of course."

"Right! With super cool scenery. And amazing costumes!" Sweetie grinned, pulling out a piece of fabric. Applebloom stood on her hind legs. "And mind blowin' dance moves!"

"Sounds like you have a plan," Malibu laughed at their enthusiasm which is why he had been developing a love for small kids like his doner Brooklyn had. "Sweetie Belle, I think you should be the singer!" Applebloom suggested but Sweetie looked nervous. "What? No way I'm singing in front of a crowd. Twilight says we should do something we like to do. And I'd like to be my big sister. And she's a designer!

The teal alicorn didn't know about that, since he hadn't seen her make anything like Rarity yet. "I hope you made the right choice," He said. Sweetie nudged him. "I watched my sis many times."

"Fine then. You can do the costumes and the scenery," Scootaloo stated.

"And Scootaloo, you're great in maneuvers on your scooter. So you should do the choreography. You know, all those dance moves!"

Malibu smiled. "Yeah, would love to see you dance." Scootaloo nodded then her eyes widened and shook her head. "Nah, I'd rather sing a wicked rock ballad!" She got into a singer pose. Now that concerned Malibu, for her singing wasn't quite top notch but didn't want to say this in case it crushed her. "Why don't you come up with the dance routine, Applebloom?

Applebloom seemed doubtful. "Hm, I'm not much of a dancer… but I do like kung fu! That's kinda like dancin'! Hi-ya! Ha! Yah!" She got into kung fu moves, almost nearly bucking Malibu in the face who dodged. Sweetie Belle looked pleased. "Then it's settled! Let's get started. Malibu, you can check on each of us to ensure we're doing this right! You can be uh… our talent coach!"

Malibu shrugged again. "Suppose, better than making a fool of myself on stage. Not good at any of the three things you're gonna do anyway." And he secretly knew that Brooklyn could be a better singer despite them having the same voice tone.

And so the three went off to do their own things with setting up the performance. He watched Applebloom trying to dance but nearly fell. Malibu ran over and steadied her with his tail. "Thanks." She said, as Scootaloo came up to watch. "Applebloom, what are you doing?" Applebloom looked shamed. "Oh, I feel like I have four left feet. I can't even spin right!" She kicked the dirt.

Scootaloo waved a hoof. "Don't be silly. You just gotta keep your head forward until the very last minute, like this." She did an impressive twirl. "See? Easy peasy. You just gotta practice a bunch that's all." Malibu raised his brow. "Are you sure you don't want to do this dancing, Scoot?" She shook her head quickly. "Uh, no. Nothin' can change my mind about singing!" With that she went to practice after Applebloom struggled some more with twirling.

Malibu wandered over with Scootaloo who sat at the piano again. "We fight the fight, walk the walk, talk the talk, eat the… uh… food like a celery stalk?" It made him cringe from the lyrics. She definitely wasn't a song writer. "Ugh! I'll never come up with anything!" Her head slammed on the keys. "Never, never, never!"

He saw Sweetie running after a roll of fabric. "Come back! Come back! Ugh. Dumb fabric!" She went to Scootaloo. "How's the song coming?" Scootaloo replied with a raspberry that made Malibu chuckle slightly. Sweetie Belle also did a raspberry. "Oh my, sounds serious."

Scoot moaned. "I'm just no good at lyrics. Coming up with words is really hard." Malibu sat down near them as Sweetie took over the piano. "Oh, it can't be that bad." She read the words. "With our cutie marks we'll rock Equestria. We use our stomachs to… digestia?"

Malibu face palmed his muzzle again as Scootaloo smiled nervously. Sweetie shrugged. "Well, these are um… good but how about… after we fight the fight, there is nothing that we fear… we'll have to figure out what we'll do next after our cutie marks are here!"

The alicorn's red eyes brightened at her voice and the nice choice of lyrics, wishing she was the lead singer. Scootaloo smiled. "Wow! That is so awesome! Did you come up with that now?" Sweetie blushed. "Yeah… kind of."

Scootaloo nodded. "Thanks! I'm totally using that!" But then Malibu heard the fabric rolling down further. He quickly ran over and grabbed the roll with his magic horn. Sweetie was looking mortified but smiled in relief when Malibu caught her fabric from falling into the pond below. He sat it down near her. "Thanks Mal. Knew having you around would be good. Rarity would've killed me for getting this wet."

But Malibu had a question. "Aren't you also a unicorn? When will you be able to lift things like that on your own?" She looked away. "Magic not strong enough yet," She replied in sadness. "Gotta go make more costumes." The filly ran off to do so. Feeling a small hint of sadness for Sweetie Belle he went over to see if she needed help.

Applebloom spun around, crashing into Sweetie Belle who made one of the outfits. She grinned at her. "How's the spin coming?" Applebloom rubbed her head. "I think I just got to stick to punches and kicks." Malibu had arrived to see her outfit had five legs, and not four.

"Uh, you know ponies only have four legs," Applebloom pointed out. Sweetie threw it to the ground. "I'll never be a designer like my sister Rarity," She groaned. Malibu then saw the prop. "Perhaps that can help?" He suggested. The white filly nodded, smiling again.

"And, maybe you should clean your paint brush between each color," Applebloom said, pointing to the background cardboard drawings. "Oh, I was wondering why all the colors looked like mud." Sweetie Belle commented, making Malibu chuckle slightly but in a fun way. "You're not using power tools, are ya?" Applebloom asked in suspicion that caused Sweetie to flush.

….

Malibu eventually had gone over to see Applejack while they finished up on their props and costumes for the talent show. Applejack had just bucked a tree when he came up. "Oh, hi Mal. How are the fillies doin'?" Malibu pawed the ground. "Uh, it's going. Maybe you should come and see it."

The orange earth pony agreed as she and Malibu went over to the tree house and looked through the window where the three were practicing. "Oh! Sorry, Scootaloo!" Applebloom said

"That's ok. Ugh!"

"Oops, sorry Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "Ouch!"

Scootaloo grinned awkwardly. "Oh, my bad Sweetie Belle. "Let's sing the chorus again!" Both Applejack and Malibu looked at each other with ears flat, leaving the window. "Well, gosh, wasn't expectin' that…" Applejack muttered, Malibu nodding, as the trio came out. "I think that sounded pretty good." Applebloom exclaimed.

Sweetie grinned. "Me too. You think we're ready?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Ready as we'll ever be. Hey!" She had eyed the other older ponies who were having awkward smiles now. "Did you see us practicing?"

Malibu and Applejack both nodded. "Uh… yeah…" Applejack said nervously. Applebloom jumped up and down. "Well? How'd we do? How'd we do?"

"Uh…" Applejack couldn't quite say the words and Malibu didn't blame her; for he too didn't want to tell them that they were bad, a flush of embarrassment on his face.

Scootaloo smiled triumphantly. "Speechless! See, girls? I told you that's what we'll do! We're gonna leave them speechless!" Malibu's heart dropped. They weren't wrong about that.

….

It was now the night of the talent show. Malibu was there backstage helping them before he went into the audience. The girls wore pretty wild looking outfits nearly black with some pink, green and purple on it with tarps over the costumes. Cheerilee had applauded the magic act of Snips and Snails and next called out Sunny Daze and Peachy Pie to do a poem on roller skates. He watched the two fillies who were smiling confidently when coming out there.

"Break a leg! Called Sweetie Belle which shocked Malibu a bit. "What?" He asked. "Sweetie Belle! What a thing to say!" Applebloom snapped. Sweetie shook her head. "No no no. You see in the theater it is considered bad luck to say good luck. So you say break a leg instead. Get it?"

The alicorn shook his head dumbly, not an expert on theater talk right as Twilight appeared to wish them luck. "My little ponies! How are you doing?" The cmcs cowered. "Nervous…" Malibu gave them an assuring grin though he felt nervous in reality. "It'll be fine," He said as Twilight nodded. "Yes, and stick to what you know best. I can't wait to hear you sing, Sweetie Belle," She commented to the white filly who rolled her eyes.

"Why does everypony think that I'm gonna sing?" Twilight looked startled a little. "Actually, Twilight Sparkle, I'm the main singer tonight!" The unicorn's ears fell. "Oh?"

"And I'm the main dancer!" Applebloom stated, doing her kung fu dancing. "Oh?"

Sweetie Belle raised her hoof. "And I'm in charge of…" Twilight gulped. "C-costumes?" She nodded. "And sets and props. How'd you know?"

Malibu spoke up. "Are you sure you can't change yet?" He asked nervously. But Cheerilee showed up. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, you're on next. Break a leg."

The trio walked out onto the stage. "Break a leg-." Sweetie had stumbled. "Uh, good luck!" Twilight said. She and Malibu went to sit in the audience right as the curtain opened. Malibu's ears were flat on his head, praying they won't be laughed at.

Scootaloo stood there in the front while the stage was dark, beginning to sing.

"Look here, are three little ponies.

Ready to sing for this crowd.

Listen up, 'cause here's our story

I'm gonna sing it very loud!"

Malibu really cringed at her raspy singing tone, while Applebloom and Sweetie were the back up singers. The stage lit up fully revealing the back set props.

"When you're a younger pony

And your flank is very bare

Feels like the sun will never come

When your cutie mark's not there!"

Sweetie Belle was having a challenging time timing the props in the performance while Applebloom did her kung fu dancing. This was really embarrassing for Malibu though he tried not to show it, Applejack looking like him.

"So the three of us will fight the fight!

There is nothing that we fear"

Some ghost props had fallen and Malibu now saw why they wanted that ghost book.

"We'll have to figure out what we'll do next

When our cutie marks are here!

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders

On a quest to find out who we are

And we will never stop the journey

Not until we have our cutie marks!"

Sweetie Belle set off a smoke machine but let out a little too much which obscured the trio in it, making them bump into each other.

"They all say that you'll get your mark

When the time is really right!"

Once again the little unicorn filly ran out with a clock prop, but tripped and made Malibu flinch.

"And you know just what you're supposed to do

And your talent comes to light

But it is not as easy as it sounds

And that waiting is hard to do

So we test our talents everywhere

Until our face is blue!"

Next Sweetie Belle shined a blue light onto Scootaloo but wasn't quite on her so she moved her face into it, still smiling.

"We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders

On a quest to find out who we are!

And we will never stop the journey

Not until we have our cutie marks"

The performance kept getting worse and worse as the fan they got was set off, blowing everything everywhere, and Sweetie Belle struggled to keep the house props up but was hard.

"We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders

On a quest to find out who we are

And we will never stop the journey

Not until we have our cutie marks!"

Now was when everything went bad further, which was everything crashing and breaking down. Malibu felt worried for his little friends but saw they were physically alright. But the crowd began to laugh at them, shocking him. The cmcs lowered their heads and left in shame.

Malibu got up from his seat and ran backstage to check on them to make sure they were ok mentally.

"Wow, that did not go as well as I expected," Scootaloo muttered in a saddened voice. They saw their alicorn prince friend come up. "Are you alright?" He asked in worry. The three nodded half heartedly. "I just can't believe they're laughin' at us!" Applebloom snapped.

"Was it that bad?" Scootaloo asked. Malibu knew then he had to tell the truth like Applejack would. "Uh… yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner that it wasn't working out," Malibu said in a guilty tone, causing Scootaloo to glare at him but Cheerlie appeared again.

"Back on stage, girls. It is time for the rewards!" Sweetie Belle glared. "Back on stage? No!"

"They'll just laugh some more!" Whined Applebloom. Malibu frowned a little. "You don't have to feel too ashamed, Applebloom. You at least made it onto the stage." He assured. Cheerilee nodded. "He is right. And let's be good sports. You made a great effort, you should be proud. Now come on!" Malibu pushed the three out onto the stage again gently but they wanted to hide at first, making him shake his head.

Cheerilee stood next to the other winners while Malibu watched from backstage, eyeing the cmcs as they kept trying to avoid being seen. "Let's hear it for our talented fillies and colts!" The crowd stomped their hooves in a way that was like clapping.

"Our first reward goes to… Snips and Snails for best Magic act!" The two colts gasped as Spike came up to give the reward. "Hey! Mine's at least shinier."

Snails glared. "Well, mine's bigger." He argued back, making Malibu roll his eyes. "Oh yeah? Well mine's… heavier?" Snips tried to say as they walked off. "The next reward goes to… Sunny Daze and Peachy Pie for best Dramatic Performance!" Malibu frowned a little at it, because he knew that the cmcs really wanted that award.

Cheerilee spoke once more. "And finally, the last award of the night goes to… the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" The former gargoyle's jaw dropped. "What?" He heard them ask in shock. "For best Comedy Act!"

Malibu was just stunned but happy that they won something, even if it wasn't a reward they expected. Spike gave them the shiny joker hat medals and the three went to backstage again, cheering. "Congrats, guys," Smiled Malibu, his red eyes shining. Applebloom looked happy. "I just can't believe we won!" She exclaimed.

"I knew our act was awesome!" Scootaloo said with a grin. "You know what would be the best? If we won and got our Cutie Marks!" That caused Malibu's smile to leave him as the cmcs threw off their costumes. And… nothing.

The three sighed in disappointment right as Twilight showed up. "Congratulations, ponies! Job well done!" She praised. "Thanks, Twilight," The three said at the same time. Her ears fell. "Hey, you don't sound too excited."

Scootaloo gave her a sad look. "We worked really hard and won a prize, but we still don't have our cutie marks."

"Which is the prize we really wanted," Sweetie Belle said. Malibu couldn't help but stroke her back gently in comfort. She smiled back at him. "But we think we know why!" Applebloom stated.

"Yes, we know why." Sweetie Belle said in a more cheerful voice. Twilight looked interested. "Oh? Tell me. I'd love to make a special report to the Princess."

Sweetie Belle smiled. "Well, maybe we were trying too hard."

Twilight nodded. "Yes? And?"

"And instead of forcing ourselves to do something that's not meant for us…" Scootaloo continued.

Malibu's ears perked forward. "And…?" He said.

"We each should be embracing our true talents!" Applebloom proclaimed. "And that is?" Twilight asked.

"Comedy!" The trio all said at once. Both Malibu and Twilight's face's fell. Worth a shot. Applejack joined them at that moment. "Applebloom, ya did it!"

The cmcs ran up to her excitedly. "Did you see our reward? Weren't we funny?" They all said at once, making Malibu shake his head again. "One day, Mal. One day," Twilight assured, putting a hoof around his shoulder. He agreed. One day they'll get it.

Excited to write Discord in season 2!