Transcripts/On Your Marks

:[banging]
:Apple Bloom: Hear ye, hear ye! The first post-cutie mark meetin' of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is now in session!
:[long pause]
:Apple Bloom: [clears throat]
:Sweetie Belle: Oh! I'm sorry, Apple Bloom. I was distracted by the radiance of my cutie mark... Did you say something?
:Scootaloo: I mean... it's pretty amazing how the colors just pop off your flank. It's kinda hard to look aw—
:[thump]
:Apple Bloom: Look, I know our cutie marks are amazing, but is that all we're gonna do now? Just spend our days starin' down at our own flanks?
:Sweetie Belle: [sighs] I guess not.
:Scootaloo: Yeah, I suppose that could get real boring...
:Apple Bloom: [wistfully] Yeah... [beat] This is ridiculous! We need to go out and do somethin'!
:Sweetie Belle: Wow, you're right!
:Scootaloo: Yeah, we need to go try new stuff like we used to!
:Apple Bloom: Exactly.
:Sweetie Belle: Like square dancing!
:[square dancing music]
:Scootaloo: Or mountain climbing! [stock yodel]
:Apple Bloom: Or square dancin' on the mountain we just climbed! [same yodel over square dancing music]
:Cutie Mark Crusaders: Yeah!
:Apple Bloom: And the more things we try, the more chances we'll have to finally get our cutie marks! Come on!
:Sweetie Belle: Um... Apple Bloom?
:
:Apple Bloom: Wow... Did we really only ever do things just to get our cutie marks?
:Sweetie Belle: I don't know. Maybe?
:Scootaloo: Aw, come on! We did lots of stuff that didn't have anything to do with getting a cutie mark.
:Sweetie Belle: Of course we did!
:Apple Bloom: Absolutely!
:[montage music]
:Sweetie Belle: Huh. So now that we don't have to do stuff to get our cutie marks, what is it that the Cutie Mark Crusaders actually do?
:Apple Bloom: We do exactly what we got our cutie marks in!
:Cutie Mark Crusaders: Helping other ponies!
:Scootaloo: Ponies without cutie marks!
:Sweetie Belle: Or ponies who've forgotten their special purpose!
:Apple Bloom: Exactly! We just have to find ponies who need our help! Come on!
:Sweetie Belle: But are you sure you feel content?
:Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
:Scootaloo: Not even a tinge of dissatisfaction?
:Big McIntosh: Nnnope.
:Apple Bloom: Not even the slightest naggin' sensation that you don't really know what your purpose is in life or why you have a big apple as a cutie mark?
:[thump]
:Big McIntosh: [grunts] [spits] [annoyed] Nnnope.
:Apple Bloom: The important thing to remember is that there is no rush.
:Scootaloo: The three of us tried for the longest time, but it just comes when it comes!
:Sweetie Belle: And it's totally normal to feel confused and maybe even a little lost. But being a blank flank is nothing to be ashamed of.
:Scootaloo: So if you're having even the slightest problem...
:Sweetie Belle: ...or concerns or questions...
:Apple Bloom: ...we want you to know that we are here to help.
:Mrs. Cake: I... don't think they're too worried about it yet.
:Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake: [babbling]
:[montage music]
:[scrolls unrolling]
:[door opens]
:[door shuts]
:[bits jingling]
:[bubblegum popping]
:Apple Bloom: This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought.
:Sweetie Belle: Who knew there were so few ponies worried about their cutie marks?
:Scootaloo: Kinda makes you wonder why we made such a big deal out of it for so long.
:[beat]
:Scootaloo: What?
:Apple Bloom: The point is, helpin' ponies with cutie mark problems is what makes us special.
:Sweetie Belle: But if we can't find anypony with a problem...
:Scootaloo: ...Maybe we're not special.
:Bulk Biceps: Yeah! I know exactly what you mean. You can't find a cutie mark problem. I have a cutie mark problem. It's so confusing, and I feel like the solution is staring me right in the muzzle.
:[beat]
:Bulk Biceps: What?
:Bulk Biceps: I see why you guys hang out here! It's cozy!
:Scootaloo: [straining] The Crusader Clubhouse is a safe place, Mr... um... Bulk.
:Sweetie Belle: A place where we faced all kinds of cutie mark problems!
:Apple Bloom: A place where we'll go on to solve even more! Startin' with yours!
:Scootaloo: No matter how long it takes!
:Sweetie Belle: Or how hard it is!
:Apple Bloom: We'll solve it because that's what we do!
:Cutie Mark Crusaders: Yeah! [straining]
:Bulk Biceps: Yeah!
:Sweetie Belle: So... what's your cutie mark problem?
:Bulk Biceps: Oh, right. Uh, well, my cutie mark is a dumbbell, but I've lifted every dumbbell in Ponyville!
:Scootaloo: [nervously] Have you tried lifting other things?
:Bulk Biceps: You mean, not dumbbells?
:Sweetie Belle: Yeah!
:Apple Bloom: Yeah!
:Bulk Biceps: Yeah!
:[crunch]
:Bulk Biceps: Oof! I mean... no. I hadn't thought of that. You guys are awesome!
:[crunch]
:Bulk Biceps: But... what happens when I run out of other stuff?
:Sweetie Belle: ...I guess you could teach other ponies to lift things?
:Apple Bloom: Yeah!
:Scootaloo: Yeah!
:Bulk Biceps: Yeah! Wow, you three really have a knack for this!
:Sweetie Belle: That was easy!
:Apple Bloom: Maybe too easy.
:Scootaloo: What do you mean?
:Apple Bloom: Well, it's lookin' like cutie mark problems are few and far between.
:Sweetie Belle: And...?
:Apple Bloom: And what if we never find another one?
:Scootaloo: Well...
:Apple Bloom: And even if we do, we could solve it so quick, it'll be like it never happened in the first place!
:Sweetie Belle: So...?
:Apple Bloom: So... then the Cutie Mark Crusaders don't have any reason to exist!
:Sweetie Belle: The problem boils down to this – we don't need to go out and do things anymore to get our cutie marks.
:Apple Bloom: Right! And—
:Scootaloo: Ponies with cutie mark problems are hard to find.
:Apple Bloom: Exactly. But even when we find problems, we're so good at solvin' them that most of the time there's nothin' for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to do. So...
:[map unfurling]
:Apple Bloom: I thought we should start figurin' out ways to search all of Equestria for cutie mark problems!
:Scootaloo: That kinda seems like a lot.
:Sweetie Belle: I don't think Rarity would let me travel to the far reaches of Equestria looking for cutie mark problems.
:Scootaloo: Yeah, I'm sure we'll come across them in Ponyville. And when we do, we'll totally solve them because we are so awesome at it!
:Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle: Hoof!
:Apple Bloom: But... what do we do until then?
:Sweetie Belle: Maybe whatever we want?
:Apple Bloom: What do you mean?
:Sweetie Belle: Well, we used to only do stuff to get our cutie marks or fulfill our destiny, but now we don't have to.
:Apple Bloom: So... we can do things just for fun? Are you girls thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?!
:Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle: Sure am!
:Apple Bloom:
:Makin' potions!	
:Scootaloo:
:Scootering!	
:Sweetie Belle:
:Singing!
:Scootaloo: Just remember – stomp, kick, and roll! After this, you two are gonna love scootering as much as me!
:Apple Bloom: If you say so.
:Scootaloo: Ready? Stomp, kick, and roll! Whooo!
:[tires screeching]
:Scootaloo: Ta-da!
:[thump]
:[thump]
:Apple Bloom: [nervous laugh] I don't think I did it right.
:Sweetie Belle: [blows pitch pipe] Do... Mi... So... It's just a simple harmony.
:Scootaloo: Harmony, huh?
:Sweetie Belle: [tapping with baton] And a-one, and a-two, and a-one two three!
:Sweetie Belle:
:[on-key]
:Do...	
:Apple Bloom:
:[off-key]
:So...!	
:Scootaloo:
:[very off-key]
:Mi!
:Scootaloo: Wow, that was simple!
:[snap]
:Apple Bloom: It's just a dash, and a drop, and a drip!
:[clink]
:Apple Bloom: Just a dash, and a drop, and a drip!
:[poof]
:[clink]
:Apple Bloom: ...and even though Scootaloo thinks bungee jumping is the bee's knees...
:[pen squeaking]
:Apple Bloom: ...Sweetie Belle would rather keep bees.
:[pen squeaking]
:Apple Bloom: [spits] Of course, I'm allergic. Who'd've thought it'd be so hard to find somethin' for us all to do together?
:Scootaloo: Well, I know this might sound crazy, but what if we didn't?
:Apple Bloom: Didn't what?
:Scootaloo: Do things together. Well, do everything together.
:Apple Bloom: But we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!
:Scootaloo: And we always will be! But I really wanna bungee jump! The speed, the height, the fall!
:Sweetie Belle: And I know you two aren't interested, but I wanna try crochet.
:Scootaloo: Isn't there something you've always wanted to do on your own?
:Apple Bloom: I don't know... I guess I figured we'd always do stuff together. But bungee jumping sounds just as scary as crochet sounds borin'.
:Scootaloo: That's okay. Sweetie Belle and I can do the things we like, and you can do whatever you like!
:Sweetie Belle: Just as soon as you figure out what it is.
:Apple Bloom: I guess...
:Scootaloo: Great! Then we can meet back here and talk all about what we've done!
:Apple Bloom: But I don't know what it'll be.
:Sweetie Belle: You'll find something!
:Scootaloo: Something awesome!
:Apple Bloom: [sighs] Well... I guess now I have to.
:Hoofer Steps: [muffled] And one, two, three, four, two, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, two, two, three, four—
:[door opens]
:Apple Bloom: Whatever kind of dancin' y'all are doin', you're doin' it together, and I want in! [beat] I-I mean, uh, [clears throat] Would it be okay if I enrolled in this dance class?
:Hoofer Steps: Well, let's see what you can do. We have a recital at town hall tonight, and a spot just opened up! [hushed] Tender Taps is a little too shy to perform. But if you're ready to step into a partnered routine...
:Apple Bloom: That sounds an awful lot like friendship! And I'm ready for anything I don't have to do by myself!
:Hoofer Steps: Well then! Dancing with partner will be perfect. [claps]
:[slow tango music]
:Apple Bloom: Whooooooa!
:[faster tango music]
:Apple Bloom: Whoa, whoaaa!
:[sound of skittles being knocked over]
:[thump]
:Apple Bloom: Whew! I feel like that went pretty good, but let's give it one more whirl, because it's important that I do a good job partnering with my new group of friends.
:Hoofer Steps: Eh... Now I'm think of it, you might be better as soloist.
:Hoofer Steps: Uh, partnering is a little advanced for you. But there's still lots you can do on your own.
:Apple Bloom: I'm sorry, but doin' stuff on my own is exactly what I don't want.
:[door opens]
:Tender Taps: Sorry it didn't work out.
:Apple Bloom: Tryin' different things with my friends is always fun, even when we were terrible. Now it's just terrible.
:Tender Taps: You weren't that bad. You just need to learn a few things on your own. Being a soloist can be fun! [tap dancing] Ha. Haha! You just have to do it with feeling!
:[beat]
:Apple Bloom: [sighs] Thanks, but... without my friends, I don't think I'll ever feel again. Good luck at the recital.
:Tender Taps: Oh, I'm not gonna do that. I mean, I want to. It's kind of all I think about. I bet some day my cutie mark will even be about performing! But I could never dance in front of an audience the way I do in class. That's t-t-t-t-terrifying!
:Apple Bloom: [deadpan] Yeah, okay. Nice meetin' you.
:Tender Taps: You, too. [tap dancing]
:Scootaloo: Sweetie Belle! You are not gonna believe this, but I think I like bungee jumping even more than scootering!
:Sweetie Belle: Seriously?! That's amazing! Look what I did!
:Scootaloo: Wow, uh, that's, um...
:Sweetie Belle: Horrible! But it was so much fun! Rarity showed me how, even though she says [imitating Rarity] "Crochet is knitting's poorer cousin", [normal] but I loved it!
:Scootaloo: Awesome!
:[door creaks open]
:Apple Bloom: Oh, hello, girls. Have fun pursuing your own interests?
:Scootaloo: Apple Bloom? What are you doing sitting in the dark?
:Sweetie Belle: Yeah, we thought you'd be out looking for things you like to do.
:Apple Bloom: [laughs] I did. I looked all over town. I looked... and I looked... and I looked... and you know what I found? Nothin'!
:[blind snaps up]
:Scootaloo: You tried every one of these?
:Apple Bloom: And each one just made me feel more alone than the next! I don't see how I'm supposed to be happy that we're not hanging out anymore!
:Scootaloo: Wait, I never said that. I just said we don't have to do everything together.
:Sweetie Belle: Like when there's something one of us wants to do that the others don't.
:Apple Bloom: Oh. [beat] Well, I guess that changes things.
:Scootaloo: I can't believe you thought we didn't want to hang out anymore.
:Sweetie Belle: I can't believe you tried all this stuff and didn't find one thing you liked!
:Apple Bloom: Well, I kind of liked dancin', mainly because it looked like somethin' you couldn't do alone, but... I wasn't very good at it.
:Sweetie Belle: Well, you don't have to be good at something to have fun!
:Scootaloo: And being good doesn't always mean you will.
:Apple Bloom: I know... I met the best dancer in the world, but he was so shy, he couldn't bring himself to perform, even though he really, really wanted to.
:Sweetie Belle: I don't suppose this dancing pony had a cutie mark, did he?
:[door opens]
:Apple Bloom: You're here!
:Shoeshine: Shhhh!
:[audience cheering]
:[door opens]
:Tender Taps: What are you doing here?
:Apple Bloom: You told me that you wanted to perform more than anythin', but I was too caught up in myself to listen. You're the best dancer I've ever seen, and I'm here to convince you to get out on that stage!
:[piano playing]
:Tender Taps: Um, didn't I also tell you that dancing in front of other ponies is t-t-terrifying?! I don't know if you noticed, but that auditorium is full of other ponies! I can't go out there! What if I'm bad?!
:Apple Bloom: We can go on together! No matter what, you'll look good dancin' next to me.
:[audience cheering]
:Tender Taps: [sighs] All right, I'll do it. But I don't have my costume, and the backdrop is all wrong, and we don't have time to change it!
:Apple Bloom: Leave everything to us.
:Tender Taps: [nervously] I don't know about this...
:Sweetie Belle: Don't worry, you'll be just fine!
:[piano stops playing]
:Apple Bloom: Here goes nothin'...
:[clunking]
:[audience member coughs]
:Tender Taps: [gulps]
:[jazz-type music starts]
:Apple Bloom: [clunky tap dancing]
:[thump]
:[audience laughing]
:Apple Bloom: Can't be any worse than I was!
:Tender Taps: [tentatively, then progressively more confident tap dancing] [heavy breathing]
:[pause, then audience cheering]
:[cutie mark zap]
:Tender Taps: I can't believe it! It's just what I always imagined it would be! And if it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't even have it.
:Scootaloo: No problem!
:Sweetie Belle: It's what we do.
:Apple Bloom: I only wish I'd realized what you needed right away instead of mopin' around for no reason...
:Tender Taps: Well, either way, I hope you keep dancing. [short tap-dancing burst]
:Apple Bloom: [taps] You know, I just might! It sure is a lot of fun, and I'm pretty confident I can only get better. [to the Crusaders] I'm sorry I was so silly about us all doin' our own things. If we hadn't, I might never even have tried dancin'!
:Tender Taps: Or find out I needed help!
:Sweetie Belle: With each of us going out and trying things on our own, we'll be three times as likely to find ponies to help!
:Scootaloo: And trying new stuff might even make us better at helping them, like how I used my bungee jumping to change the sets!
:Sweetie Belle: Or my crochet to make the costumes!
:Apple Bloom: Well, one thing is for sure. The Cutie Mark Crusaders will never be the same. We'll be better!
:Cutie Mark Crusaders: Yeah!
:[jazz-type music over credits]