"What's it to You?!"

by Sleepy_The_Zebra

Destiny and Cutie Marks

My name is Raised Ire. I really prefer to be called Ray, but Raised Ire was the name my parents gave me — and they're surprised I'm a little grumpy, with a name like that! Not only would any foal with a name that stupid act out a little, but there are a lot of studies that show that a pony's name influences their personality and even their Cutie Mark. I know that's true -- not only did I read an incredibly long book about every study on Cutie Marks since the Fall of Nightmare Moon, but I'm a living example of it.

I had a long time to think about Cutie Marks. I'm old enough to be at Trade School -- if I was most anypony else, I'd be well into my first year already -- and I only got my Cutie Mark today. I'm not the oldest pony to get a Cutie Mark -- technically, ponies can get Cutie Marks until 'physical maturity' -- but I was certainly a late bloomer, and I guess whatever it was that makes ponies have Cutie Marks was grasping at straws, because I wasn't even doing anything special, for me: just another spat with the old goat who sells potatoes at the market, and all of a sudden my flank started glowing and, Ta-dah, I had a Cutie Mark. I just bought the potatoes I'd been haggling for and went home. If I figured my folks would be happy I finally got my Mark, I was wrong -- Mom and Dad wanted me to have a nice little Mark for woodworking or something, not this. There weren't any Trade Schools for foals with Cutie Marks for arguing. There weren't any jobs for ponies with arguing for their special talents. My parents acted happy, sure -- they both grinned and congratulated me, then asked me to go upstairs to my room while they 'talked'. I had an idea of what they wanted to talk about, and it wasn't my Cuteciñara, but I didn't try to eavesdrop. Whenever my parents 'talked', they always announced their decisions at the dinner table, and apart from a week or so doing whatever they decided for me -- smithing lessons, sculpture class, even group therapy -- everything returned to normal. I didn't have to worry.

.: • .:. • :.

"We're moving!"

I paused, a forkful of Brussels Sprouts halfway to my mouth, to stare at my mother, who was grinning widely. It took me a couple seconds to notice my mouth was open and close it, I was so shocked by the randomness of that statement.
"What?" I asked. I sounded like I was choking. I tried again. "What are you talking about?"

Mom grinned like she wasn't turning all our lives upside down. "Well... your dad and I were talking, and we thought, well, maybe we could do with a change. A less... hostile environment. This place might be a bad influence on you."
"No need to fuss on my account." I snapped. It sounded sarcastic, but really, I'd much rather they didn't uproot our lives 'for me'.

Apparently, I did not do too well on getting that across, because Mom's smile only got wider. "I knew you'd understand!" she chirped, "We've already found a less... irritable town, and we're planning to leave in a week, so you should have time to wrap everything up before then."

I stared at her. When had I shown that I 'understood' this scheme? And why were we leaving in a week? How had they already found 'a less irritable town'? "How long have you been planning this?" I asked accusingly.

Apparently the 'accusing' part didn't translate, because Mom was still grinning. "We've been thinking about it for a while, but ... this afternoon showed us we'd waited to long."

This afternoon? The only thing that happened this afternoon was... "My Cutie Mark? What does it have to do with this?" I asked, confused.

Now Mom was frowning. "It's proof you're just not fitting in in this town. Sweetheart, you can't have such a... vulgar talent."

Mom has an amazing talent for saying the rudest things delicately and politely. I 'can't have' this Cutie Mark, like it's nothing but a toy I want! "Really? This is my special talent, mother! What happened to 'your Cutie Mark is part of you'? What happened to 'we each have a destined Cutie Mark'?"

Mom looked pissed, but her voice didn't waver. "You can't get a Cutie Mark for arguing, dear."

That was actually true. Based on current knowledge of Cutie Marks, it is impossible to get a Cutie Mark for something like arguing. It's even an example in one of my books as an 'absurd Cutie Mark'. But, well, my now adorned flank speaks for itself.

I could explain this, but arguing with my mom, unlike arguing with any other equine, stresses me out, and I was starting to get a headache. Besides, trying to convince Mom of anything was like shouting at a brick wall; it didn't do anything except take up time. I couldn't do anything, so I just yelled "Buck this!", shoving my plate away and stomping toward my room.

Mom poked her head out of the dining room. Her grin was back on, but it was kind of forced. "Start packing; we only have a week!" she reminded me.

My slammed door was the only answer she got.

.: • .:. • :.

It's now been a week since I got my Cutie Mark. It's almost time to leave. I made the most of this last week -- I even got a sort-of Cuteciñara from my friends, although it was more of going out on a Saturday afternoon for milkshakes and hayburgers. Oh, well -- it's the thought that counts, and it was actually really fun. I'm too old for all the fuss and pretty ribbons of a traditional Cuteciñara, anyway.

Now, standing in front of my old primary school, waiting for my friends to get here, I suddenly miss this town. I realize this is silly -- I haven't even left yet -- but I miss everything about our little town. I miss the old nanny goat who has 50 different kinds of potatoes for sale and knows everything about each one. I miss the creaky theatre that's somehow still standing, despite a petition to demolish it going around every few years. I miss that old jackass who is always warning ponies that 'The End' is coming. I even miss that cheap old mayor who always makes me want to buck him in the face. I miss the thousand little quirks of our little town that makes us unique, that no other town could hope to match. I can't believe my parents are willing to leave this place just because of me, and if they had asked me, I'd never want to go.

I’m pulled out of my uncharacteristically sappy reverie by the arrival of my friends. Sadly, I can understand why my parents wanted me away from them. We look like the kinds of foals most parents wanted their sweet little fillies and colts to stay away from (despite the fact that we are all in the top ten GPA, 2 of us are in top 5, and we are more open-minded and accepting than most of those 'sweet' foals). Take Crystal Goblet. I've seen some pictures of her as a little foal (she's not very good at hiding stuff, and I've been over to her house a lot) and, not to be weird, but she was the cutest filly ever. She had a cloudy grey coat, an electric blue mane and tail with white stripes, and a pair of glasses drawing attention to the deepest purple eyes I've ever seen on a foal (not that I look too much, but still). Note that I said had. She looks way different now. For starters, she dyed her mane and tail black (and somehow made it permanent magically) and got contacts. Her personality hasn't really changed since then as far as I can tell, though, as evidenced by her greeting me by practically knocking me over with a hug. Her makeup is smudged and she's sniffling as she practically crushes me, but she is grinning widely.

The final member of our little trio came up to the front gates more sedately, clinking and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about Chrissie. I couldn't stop her in time." he says, his voice sounding a little more amused than polite.

I smile back as I push Chrissie away and flick my tail. "It's ok, I needed one more heart attack before I left," I laugh sarcastically.

Dark Night is a great example of somepony scary-looking being a complete dork on the inside. He's muscular and scary looking, a look that is not helped by the fact that he has piercings practically everywhere. He has three studs on his left ear, five on his right, one on his left wing(!), a thin piece of steel through his right foreleg, and one on the edge of each eyebrow. Aside from the metal bits sticking out of him, he also has the misfortune of being a deep navy blue with a black mane and tail, which still draws fear for being close to the coloring of Nightmare Moon. However, if more foals got to know him, they'd learn that the worst he could hurt anypony is by scratching them with one of the pieces of metal sticking out of him or bumping into them accidentally.

His smile widens into a full grin at my reply; both of my friends could tell when I was actually mad, and I pretty obviously wasn't. He shrugged, extending his wings in the morning sunlight. "Eh, it's something to remember us by," he replies.

I trot over and bump his shoulder affectionately with mine. "I won't need something to remember you two by. You're pretty unforgettable, and besides, you'll both write often enough that I won't have a chance to, right?" I ask teasingly.

Chrissie nods vigorously, practically bouncing over. "Don't worry about that!" she exclaims. "We'll make sure to write all the time, right Nighty?" She punctuates the last few words by giving Nighty a significant look.

He nods complacently. "Of course. You'll write back?" he asks me.

I flick his flank with my tail. "Duh. You didn't have to ask, idiot." I reply affectionately.

Our casual goodbye is interrupted by my mother, who gallops up looking tired. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" she exclaims.

She looks like she'd been looking all over for me. I open my mouth to respond, but Mom just grabs me telekinetically and starts cantering away, lecturing me about how I shouldn't have run off without telling her where I was going, especially now. I actually had told her, but she doesn't give me time to say that.

.: • .:. • :.

It turns out that despite Mom panicking and searching for me, we still got to the train station in Bridleton early; the train pulls in about five minutes after Mom and I sit down on one of the uncomfortable benches next to Dad and our carry-on. After the obligatory mess of getting on the train and getting settled, I sit down on my bed and look out the window as the train slowly pulls away from our town. Watching the familiar houses pulling away, I narrow my eyes. Look out Ponyville, I think, here we come.

Author's Note:

Yeah, I read a story (can't remember which one, sorry) referencing an arguing Cutie Mark as impossible, then rewatched the Stare episode, and you can't expect me to not write something like this. Eh. I'd appreciate comments, if you have something to say. Do you like it or dislike it? Why? How could it improve? Seriously, I don't like to beg for comments, but criticism is how people get better, and I want to make my stories the best I can make them.

I did not draw the picture, I made it on this site. If you want to make it, here's the Pony Code: 2D3N000000DD8900FFC49D00201FE0000UN381640400000000E50E0EFF7FFF06107F
I did draw the Cutie mark.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

She'll interact with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, right?

[Sleepy_The_Zebra]

7364361 Ray? Probably. If she gets mixed up with the Crusaders, meeting their sisters is a bit of a given.

[jjrock7H]

Mom looked pissed, but her voice didn't waver. "You can't get a Cutie Mark for arguing, dear."

"Oh really? Well then I suggest you look at my ass! See if you can kiss it better. I mean your clearly talking out of your own ass so decency shouldn't be a problem for you." -Raised ire, ie Ray, ie X-ray, ie The red king, ie Brownman,
Nice story by the way. And thank you for the opportunity for terribly awful sub-par jokes.

[Magic Step]

Curse you for introducing two awesome sounding characters to us only to tell us we're leaving them behind.

I love your descriptions, and Raised Ire amuses me.

Ah... this is on my mind because my own fanfic is about lawyers, but there are actually several ways to get a job in arguing. Bit surprised nopony has suggested any yet...

Looking forward to more hijinks!

[Sleepy_The_Zebra]

7365086 Don't worry, we'll be seeing more of them.
Actually, that was brought up by people, but considering the fact that there seems to be no kind of law system in the show, I'm assuming that position either doesn't exist or is pretty unpopular.

7364970 You're welcome.