Cutie Mark Crusader Caste System!

by Brosparkles

Half-Mark

Light broke through the windows, morning had come in the Belle household. Sweetie yawned widely,flopping out of bed. She slowly plodded into the bathroom to brush her teeth, still half-awake. The smell of food wafted from downstairs, somepony was cooking breakfast. As she prepared herself for the day, she remembered last night. She had a really weird dream. In the dream, she was in a dark tunnel, covered in coal dust, mining. Maybe she ate something last night that gave her bad dreams? Whatever, it wasn’t important to her, she had a whole day full of crusading to do! Ready for the day, she rushed downstairs, to find a plate of pancakes being served up for her by Rarity. As always, they were elaborately plated and the syrup was used more as a decoration than a part of the dish. She was never sure what to think whenever Rarity cooked, it always looked great, but the taste was average at best.

“You’re going crusading again today, aren’t you?” Rarity said, as she magicked the plate to the table, where Sweetie sat.

“Yeah, we’re going to try to get our baking cutie marks! The Cakes said they would help us!” Sweetie said, while demolishing her pancakes as quickly as she could, to get to crusading!

“Well that sounds lovely! Much better than whatever it was you were doing before, Cutie Mark Crusader Piracy, was it?”

“Yarr! The scourge of the seven seas, we were! Until our mighty ship was destroyed in
an epic battle full of plunder and glory!”

“You floated around on a raft in the middle of the lake until it sprung a leak.”

“A leak caused by a gigantic cannonball! From our greatest nemesis, Blackmane the pirate! But ye shoulda seen what we did to ‘im!”

“Scootaloo stomped too hard on the raft and broke her hoof through the bottom. It’s what you get for making your raft so flimsy.”

“She were a mighty fine vessel, ye landlubber!”

“I’m sure she was, now hurry up and run along, your friends are here.”

Turning around in a flash, she looked out the window to see Scootaloo and Applebloom waving to her. She bolted out of her chair, ready to begin the day, when Rarity stopped her.

“I’ll clean everything up, but you need to at least fix your hair. It looks like you just got out of bed.”

“I did!”

Sweetie tried her hardest to squirm out of Rarity’s grip, but it was no use, she had been defeated. Always at the ready with a brush, Rarity began her work on Sweetie’s hair, adding all sorts of elaborate sculpting and waving to her mane.

“There. Now go.” Rarity said.

Sweetie bolted out the door once more, and immediately shook her mane up once more, reverting back to it’s usual state. Rarity, looking out the window, sighed, but smiled.

“So are you guys ready to become expert bakers?” Scootaloo asked.

“Heck yes!” Applebloom said.

“It’ll be so amazing! We’ll be master bakers, the world in awe of our delicious treats!” Sweetie said.

They ran as fast as they could to sugarcube corner, blowing through the streets, nearly knocking over passerby.

“Cutie marks, here we come!” they yelled in unison, reaching Sugarcube corner.

Sweetie knocked on the door, and Pinkie swung it open.

“You girls ready to be bakers?” Pinkie pie exclaimed

“You bet! Where are the Cakes?” Scootaloo asked.

“Right here, silly!” Pinkie said, pointing to the display counter.

“No, the Cakes, not the cakes.” Applebloom said.

“Ooohhhhhhh, you mean capital-c Cakes!” Pinkie said.

“Yes, now where are they?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Somewhere.” Pinkie said.

“Where?” they all said in unison.

“Not here, there!” Pinkie said.

“So not here?” Scootaloo asked.

“Nope, neither here nor there, but anywhere!” Pinkie said.

“What Pinkie is saying extraordinarily unhelpfully is that we won’t be here. We just got a very important order for a wedding cake that needs to be delivered immediately.” Mr. Cake said, coming in from upstairs.

“But we were supposed to earn our cutie marks today.” Applebloom said.

“Sorry girls, maybe some other time.” Mrs. Cake said, following behind Mr. Cake.

“But what about Pinkie? Can’t she deliver it?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Last time Pinkie delivered a cake all of the deserts on the train got eaten.” Mr. Cake said.

“But it all worked out in the end, in typical zany cartoon fashion!” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie’s just here to babysit while we’re gone.” Mrs. Cake said.

“Now we’ve really gotta get going, help me load up the cake.” Mr. Cake said.

Mrs. Cake strapped the cake box onto Mr. Cake’s back, and they set off for the train.

“Goodbye girls!” Mrs. Cake said, hurrying out the door.

“Goodbye.” the Cutie Mark Crusaders said disappointedly in unison.

“Well now what do we do?” Scootaloo said.

“I know! How about I help you get your baking cutie marks instead?” Pinkie said.

“But do you know anything about baking?” Applebloom asked.

“My name is Pinkie PIE, so how hard could it be?” Pinkie asked.

“True. But what about the babies? Aren’t you supposed to babysit?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“They’re asleep right now, so we have some time.” Pinkie said.

“The last time we made cupcakes they all ended up burnt.” Applebloom said.

“Like that would ever happen again.” Pinkie said.

“So where do we start?” asked Sweetie.

“Well, I see Granny and Applejack use flour all the time, so let’s pour some of that in the bowl.” said Applebloom said.

“And it’s gotta be sweet, so add some sugar!” Sweetie Belle said.

“And cakes have frosting, so let’s add some of that!” “Scootaloo said.

“Ooooooh, I love your recipe!” Pinkie said.

“Hmmm, let’s look through the pantry. Eggs?” Applebloom said, pulling things out of the pantry.

“Eww, who wants an egg cake?” Sweetie said.

“Oh! I know! Don’t they use some sort of baking soda?” Applebloom said.

“Yeah! Let’s add lots of that!” Scootaloo said, rushing into the pantry and grabbing a bottle of cherry soda.

“I’m not so sure that’s the right kind of soda.” Applebloom said.

“This flavor’s fine.” Sweetie said, pouring the entire bottle in.

“Pinkie,you sure this is how we make a cake?” Applebloom asked.

“It’s definitely how you make something. Go for it!” Pinkie said.

“Ok, let’s put it in the oven!” Applebloom said, turning the oven on as high as it would go.

Scootaloo slapped the cake in the oven, and the girls eagerly gathered around the oven. For a few minutes, everything seemed okay, but the “cake” was quickly blackening, and it started to boil.

“I think it’s done!” Sweetie said, turning the oven off.

The cake was a mix of burnt flour, frosting, and unstirred mess. Sweetie went to grab a fork, but she couldn’t stick it in the cake, it was too hard. Smoke began to rise from the “cake”, it smelled of cherries and sadness.

“Let’s let it cool down.” Pinkie said.

After a few minutes it had cooled. This time, Sweetie brought a knife. After a minute or so of sawing, she managed to cut through the cake.

“It’s gonna taste soooo good!” Scootaloo said, her tongue hanging from her mouth.

Scootaloo took a huge bite of the cake. Her grin slowly faded, replaced by disappointment.

“This isn’t good at all!” Scootaloo yelled.

“Pinkie, I don’t think this is how you make a cake.” Sweetie said.

“Of course it’s not! But you were having fun, I didn’t wanna stop you!” Pinkie said.

“But how are we supposed to get our baking cutie marks now?” Applebloom asked.

“Oh, it’ll come in time, they always do.” Pinkie said.

Cries could be heard from upstairs, the babies had woken up.

“Oh, they’re awake, I’ve gotta go handle this.” Pinkie said.

“We should probably get going anyway, this was a failure.” Sweetie said.

The girls left, disappointed again.If a special talent is supposed to come naturally, how
come they’ve tried everything and haven’t gotten one?

“Well now what? We’ve tried everything!” Scootaloo said.

“We can’t give up!” Applebloom said.

“But what else can we do? We’re all out of ideas.” Sweetie said.

“Let’s go back to treehouse, we can think of something else there.” Scootaloo said,

“Yeah, I guess.” Sweetie said.

The three of them walked off slowly, still upset that they didn’t get their cutie marks. They headed back to the treehouse, where they could think.

“Cutie Mark Crusader deep sea divers?” Scootaloo said, lying on her back, kicking her back hooves against the wall.

“Cutie Mark Crusader elephant ranchers?” Sweetie said, lying on her stomach.

“Cutie Mark Crusader coconut farmers?” Applebloom said, writing all their ideas down.

“Cutie Mark Crusader...coal miners?” Sweetie said.

“Coal miners? Who wants to be a coal miner?” Scootaloo said.

“I dunno. I was just having these weird dreams about coal mining, it gave me the idea.” Sweetie said.

“You’ve been having weird dreams too? I keep dreaming about working in some bank office.” Scootaloo said.

“Me too! But it was just me being on the farm with AJ and Mac.” Applebloom said.

“But who wants cutie marks in all of those things?” Scootaloo said.

“I guess farming might not be so bad. But it’s boring! I don’t know how my sis can handle it.” Applebloom said.

“Well, it’s her talent, isn’t it?” Sweetie said.

“But what if she didn’t want to do it? What if she had just stayed with Aunt Orange? Would she have never found her destiny?” Applebloom said.

“Everypony says it comes in time, but what if it won’t?” Scootaloo said.

“What if we’re blank flanks forever?” Sweetie said.

“It’s getting dark, AJ wanted me home for dinner.” Applebloom said.

“Yeah, Rarity wanted me home soon too.” Sweetie said.

“I’ll...just hang out here a while I guess.” Scootaloo said confusedly.

The three girls split up, and headed their own ways. Sweetie walked back on home, her parents were back. Mrs. Belle had brewed some tea, she could smell it when she walked in.

“Hey Sweetie, how’d the expeditioning go?” Mr. Belle asked, sitting at the table, drinking some tea.

“It’s crusading, dad, and not good. I’m not a baker either.” Sweetie said.

“I’m sure you’ll find it someday, honey.” Mrs.Belle said.

“But what if I don’t?” Sweetie said.

“Everypony does in time, Sweetie.” Mrs. Belle said.

“She is more than a little past the usual time, you know.” Mr. Belle said.

“She’s just a...a late bloomer!” Mrs. Belle said.

“I know I know.” Mr. Belle said.

“Dinner’s done!” Mrs. Belle said, loud enough that it could be heard upstairs.

“Just a second! I’m almost done with this latest dress design!” Rarity called downstairs.

Sweetie took a seat at the table, and dinner was served. Rarity came down the stairs, they ate uneventfully. Sweetie headed up to bed,

Another day, no cutie mark. Maybe she’d have those weird dreams again. As she drifted to sleep, she found herself once again in a tunnel, cold and dark. But this time, it all felt...different. She felt at home here somehow. Like, everything made sense here, where it didn’t outside. She eagerly grabbed her pick and went to work on the coal, digging it out with glee, relishing the dust covering her face.The tunnels felt cozy and warm to her now. She felt her flank tingle and shine, as a cutie mark appeared upon it, a pick breaking open a stone. She mined on and on, until she awoke once more.

“Again? Maybe these dreams mean that I’m meant to be a miner? But why would I? It’s so boring!” Sweetie said.

She went to ready herself for the next day again, following her morning routine.

“Well, there’s only one way to be sure. I guess I’ll go talk to Pinkie’s sister, Maud. She knows a lot about rocks, maybe she’ll know what to do.” Sweetie thought, brushing her teeth.

She headed downstairs again, Rarity cooking once more.

“Good morning, Sweetie!” Rarity said.

“Morning. Say, Rarity, can I go out crusading again today? On my own, this time.” Sweetie said.

“Well, I don’t see why not. Where are you going?” Rarity said.

“To the Pie Rock Farm.” Sweetie said.

“What do you hope to find there? Please don’t tell me you want to be something dirty, like a... coal miner or something.” Rarity said.

“Yep!” Sweetie said.

“Ehm, what? Please tell me you’re joking! I’d hoped you were more... high class!” Rarity said.

“But how will I know if I don’t try?” Sweetie said.

“Your beautiful fur will get all dirty, and your mane will be ruined!” Rarity said.

“When have I ever cared about my mane?” Sweetie said.

“True, true.... alright, alright, you can go. But only if you promise to not like it and go back to being clean again afterwards!” Rarity said.

“I promise?” Sweetie said.

“I guess I’ll have to take that. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast, I’ve got to get back to work.” Rarity said.

Sweetie ate quickly and headed off on her way. It would be a bit of a walk. She headed down the road, and soon enough was there. The wind was howling by, as usual. She walked to the house, and knocked on the door.

“Come in” somepony said within.

“Hello, I’m here to see Maud.” she said, opening the door.

“Hello. I’m Maud.” Maud said, waiting inside.

“So, I’ve heard you know lots about rocks, right?” Sweetie said.

Maud’s face shot up with excitement, almost enough to be detected by the naked eye. Almost.

“Yes. I know about rocks. Also boulders, and stones.” Maud said.

“So, what made you decide to become a whatever it is you do?” Sweetie said.

“I like rocks.” Maud said.

“Yeah, I get that. But how did you know you wanted to be involved with rocks? Because I’ve been having all sorts of weird dreams about mining rocks, and does that mean it’s my, y’know, destiny and all that?” Sweetie asked.

“Maybe.” Maud said.

“Maybe?” Sweetie asked.

“I’m not a dream expert. I’m a rock expert.” Maud said.

“But, did you have these sorts of dreams, too?” Sweetie asked.

“Oh, I always dream of rocks.” Maud said.

“But is it what made you want to be a rock-pony-thing?” Sweetie said.

“Geologist.” Maud said.

“Yeah, that.” Sweetie said.

“No, I’ve wanted to do that since I can remember.” Maud said.

“Well, that doesn’t really help me.” Sweetie said.

“Sorry.” Maud said.

“You said you’re not a dream expert, do you know one?” Sweetie asked.

“Besides Luna? No.” Maud said.

“Oh, ok then.” Sweetie said, disappointed.

“Boulder always says to follow your dreams, if that means anything to you.” Maud said.

“Thanks, Boulder.” Sweetie said.

Sweetie left almost as spontaneously as she came, but on the way back, she found herself staring at the rocks. She wanted to break them open, find what was inside.

“Maybe they won’t mind just one...” she thought.

She grabbed a pick hanging in a nearby shed, and swung it with all her magic-might, over and over. The stone shattered into fragments, and she felt a wave of catharsis flood over her. A powerful light washed over her, as her cutie mark began to materialize. But about halfway through, it stopped, leaving her with an odd half-mark. The head of the pick was clear, but the stone was nowhere to be seen, or the handle of the pick.

“Half? Only half!” Sweetie yelled confusedly.

Confused and angry about her half-mark, and even more angry that her cutie mark is in mining, she furiously stomped about, tossing the pick back to the shed, and running off back towards town. The sun was lowering once more, and she headed home, having spent most of her day earning this weird half-mark. Almost as if it were fate’s cruel trick to tease her with a full mark.

“Well, Sweetie, you’re home early.” Rarity said.

“Yeah, I wish I hadn’t ever left.” Sweetie said.

“So does this mean you don’t want to be a silly mi...” Rarity said, cut off by pure shock.

“Not exactly” Sweetie said.

“You got your mark! Or, did you?” Rarity said.

“I don’t know.” Sweetie said.

“Is...is that a pick? You’re a miner? I’m not sure whether to be proud or horrified!” Rarity said.

“Well, it’s not even all the way there, anyways.” Sweetie said.

“Maybe it takes a while? You were late getting it, maybe you’ll be late to have it finish, too.” Rarity said.

“Maybe.” Sweetie said.

The night was mostly uneventful, Sweetie ate and eventually went to bed. This time, however, her dreams were different. She felt much more real than usual, as if it were actually happening. She remembered this feeling, it was Luna’s dream magic. She was in a courtyard, in the middle of the night, under a full moon. The castle was similar to Canterlot’s, but not exact.

“Hello, my child.” Luna said, walking in from behind her.

“Luna? Where am I?” Sweetie said, lying on the grass.

“In Canterlot, within the dream world. It’s a separate, personal world from the real world, so things will be a bit different.” Luna said.

‘Why is it separate?” Sweetie said.

“If we let dream-walkers roam around the normal world, they would cause all sorts of chaos. It’s my job to contain them.” Luna said.

“Well, why am I here? Did you want to talk to me again?” Sweetie said.

“Yes, child. About your fate.” Luna said.

“My fate?” Sweetie asked.

“Surely you’ve noticed your half-mark, the result of your hesitation.” Luna said.

“Hesitation?” Sweetie said.

“You haven’t fully devoted yourself to the cause of mining. Therefore, your cutie mark is not fully devoted, either.” Luna said.

“But I don’t want to be a miner!” Sweetie said.

“But it is your destiny!” Luna said.

“Isn’t my destiny supposed to be something I choose?” Sweetie said.

“And you’ve tried, and tried, and tried! But you always fail! You’ve finally found something you can do! I’m just urging you to take this, for your own safety! I’ve seen a half-mark before, and it never ends well! Half-mark bearers always end up confused and unsure in life, I just want to see my children happy!” Luna said.

Sweetie felt the dream fading again, the castle melting into a strange pool of dream mess.

“Hopefully you’ll take my advice, I have to go talk to your friends as well.” Luna said.

The dream fully faded, Sweetie once more fell into a sleep.

Comments

[Sprocket Jockey]

MmmmmmmMMMMMOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA----- I give up.

[Brosparkles]

4688526 Um, thanks, maybe? Not entirely sure what you're tying to say, but thanks nonetheless.

[20 Percent More Brony]

I think he wants more

[Brosparkles]

4688571 Oh, well, hopefully there'll be more! I don't have any real schedule, and I might be decently busy coming up, but I'll try to keep it up whenever I can!

[Gyro Pony]

It's ok, I'm not sure how to interpret the first comment either.

Heh, isn't Scoots the one with the accounting dreams?
Maaaannn, she is gonna be SO PISSED!!!!!

Unless, of course, she manages to fly through statements and crunch numbers faster than any other mare in Equestria.
/cringe comment

[Mad Maudlin]

Well. This is incredibly depressing. I think I'd kill myself than go through Cutie Mark Mind Control. C'mon fillies, it's time to rage against the machine!

[GivingSpider]

Wow...
Very Yes

[Brosparkles]

4688698 fimfiction-static.net/images/story_images/197742_r.jpg?1405289822
Thanks for inspiring the new cover art!

[Sprocket Jockey]

4688542 I was trying to do the excited viewers slightly stereotypical long scream of "more", but, in lieu of the half-invested mark thing, gave up half way through.

[Brosparkles]

I've changed the tags from slice of life to adventure, because where I feel the fic is going is no longer slive-of-life-y like the first chapter was. (And even then the first chapter barely qualified.) Also, the new chapter (The second one, for anyone viewing this in the future) will be up later today, once I wake up most likely. I don't want to update this late at night and have it be missed, so I'll just do it tomorrow. In general expect chapters ranging from 2000-3000 words, but no promises, along with a release schedule, they get released whenever I write them.