"What's it to You?!"

by Sleepy_The_Zebra

Cutie Mark Crusaders, YAY!

It’s fully night by the time I got home, so the glow in the windows is even more noticeable. The curtains are drawn, so I can't see inside, and it's not unusual to have the lights on past dark, but the light coming through the curtains seems strange somehow, almost... pinkish, maybe? I don't know what it is, but I’m on alert as I open the door...

...And come face to face with a grinning Pinkie Pie. "WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!" she exclaims loudly, almost propelling me back a few centimeters.
"What took you so long?!? You almost missed the party!" she continues, vibrating in place. Looking past her, I saw that our empty little house had been transformed into party paradise while I was gone. The weird chandelier thing is completely festooned with streamers, and a disco ball is hung from it, even though that looks ridiculous. A small blue cannon is resting in the corner (no, I don't know why either), next to a plastic table covered with plates and party food -- pastel-frosted cupcakes, a bowl of assorted candy, corn chips with at least three different dips, miniature hayburgers, and no doubt more I can't see. Pop music plays from somewhere, and ponies are dancing in the middle of the floor. The furniture we brought with us was apparently shoved into a corner, where a sofa and two chairs sit forlornly. Mom is standing in front of the door to the rest of the house, scowling, while Dad is eating a cupcake.

Brushing past Pinkie, I walk over to where Dad is leaning against a wall. "My stuff is in my room?" I ask.
"Yup," Dad answers, sighing, "Most of our stuff's in boxes in the rest of the house. We barely had any time to unpack before this started." He waves a hoof at the party. Poor Dad; he probably just wanted to go to bed too.

I nod at him, then grab a lavender-topped cupcake and put it on a plate. After carefully placing it on top of Jobs for Ponies, I carefully set off towards my room. Navigating the dancing ponies is hard, and climbing the stairs is harder, but I've been doing this all my life and get to my room safely. My room looks pretty much the same as it had when I'd left, except for a pile of cardboard boxes in the middle of the room. I put the cupcake and book on the bedside table and look at the pile, which is almost twice as tall as me and looks to be precarious. Thankfully the box with bedding's on the top of the pile, so I can get to it easily, without having to worry about keeping the pile from falling apart. Getting it off the pile without dumping it on the floor's a bit of a trial, though; whoever brought my stuff up seems to have forgotten that, as an earth pony, I cannot use telekinesis to move things. I'm used to both of my parents forget this seemingly easy to remember fact, but it's still annoying.

Oh well, that doesn't matter. I can talk to my parents about this later; it might even be fun. For now, I have to make my bed. Hooray. I open the box, then take a bite of cupcake to get the taste of packing tape out of my mouth. Wow, this is a good cupcake. Whatever else I can say about Pinkie, she has good taste in baked goods. Not sure what the flavor is though; it tastes sort-of blueberryish, but there's something else there (besides an unhealthy dose of sugar). It doesn't matter; shaking my head, I turn back to the box and start unpacking. There's the mattress-cover thing, there's the sheets, there's the pillow, pillowcase, blanket, that's all I need right now, right?

After making my bed at least sleep-in-able (which was more trouble), I take a semi-celebratory bite of cupcake. Again, this thing is great. Wow. I probably shouldn't be having this much sugar right before going to sleep, but I definitely shouldn't leave it all night, so finishing it seems like the logical course of action. I can start Jobs for Ponies while I eat.

After climbing on to the bed with the paper plate the cupcake's on in my mouth, I set it down carefully on top of the blankets and reach for Jobs for Ponies. You know what doesn't taste good? That book. Jeez, with all the new inventions lately for making life easier for earth ponies (and others without telekinesis or dexterous wings), you'd think someone would make something to deal with bad tasting objects. I'm used to it, but that doesn't mean I like it. After propping the book up on a pillow I take another bite of cupcake for the taste. I swear I can almost recognize the extra taste, but can't put it into words -- beside 'really good'.

Enough fussing over a cupcake. I reach forward and nudge open Jobs for Ponies, then absently take another bite as I start reading.
Welcome, reader! Are you feeling lost? Struggling to find the right job, even though you've found your special talent? Many foals believe that their Mark will hold the answers to what they should do with their life, but the truth is that sometimes getting your Mark only opens up more questions. Sometimes there just isn't any clear choice for a career for your special talent, or you find yourself miserable in what you thought was your destined job. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with you...

.: • .:. • :.

"...Hello?"

I turn my head to glare towards the door, but soften my gaze when I see that the doorway is occupied by a trio of hesitant foals. The one in the middle, a pale-yellow earth pony filly with a reddish mane tied back with a giant pink bow, clears her throat and speaks again. "Miss? Pinky told us to ta ask ya ta come back down. The party's at your house, after all."

I huff and shake my head. "Anytime else I'd say fine, but she didn't ask and we just got here, so I for one don't want to party right now." I reply, frowning.

The orange pegasus filly standing to the right flutters her wings in surprise. "But it's a Pinkie Party!" she exclaims, as if not wanting to go to a Pinky Party was the most surprising thing in the world.
"And I'm not in the mood," I reply, "and if Pinkie had asked before setting this up and waited for a better time, I'd probably be fine with it. As it is, sorry girls, but could you tell Pinkie I'm staying up here?"

All three fillies immediately droop, putting on their best 'about to cry' faces. Great, now I feel bad. It's just a party, there's no need to act like I bucked their puppy! "Woah, hey, what's with the act?" I exclaim, "You three can't seriously be this heartbroken that I don't want to come down."
"...Pinkie said she'd give us a special treat if we got you to come down." the orange Pegasus replies sheepishly after a second. The white unicorn to left adds, "And Pinkie makes the best baked goods in Ponyville!"

The fillies widen their eyes pleadingly and chorus, "So please come down!"

So now they're begging. Geez, Pinkie's baking must be awesome. I pause for a second, then shake my head. "I'm tired, I just had to spent most of the day on a train, and right now all I want to do is read this book and then go to bed. So you'll have to go down and tell Pinkie I said no thanks."
"Aww, come on!" the fillies reply in unison. Can't they just give up already? I turn back to my book. If I ignore them, they'll probably go away, right?

My guess is immediately proven false as a whirr and a small thump herald the Pegasus jumping onto my bed and almost climbing on top of me in an attempt to look at what I'm reading. "Getting The Right Message: How to find the real meaning of your Cutie Mark? What're you reading a book on Cutie Marks for?" she asks, her tone implying that reading a book on Cutie Marks -- or anything, probably -- was a waste of time.
"Ah didn' even know there were books about Cutie Marks. Tha' could be helpful!" the earth pony exclaims, climbing onto my bed and sitting next to my shoulder.

At her words, I take a closer look at the fillies I could see (obviously I could not see the Pegasus' flank without craning my neck, since she's currently straddling my back). Yep, all three of them are blank-flanks. Maybe I should've noticed that before...

"I'm reading a book on Cutie Marks 'cause it's interesting. That's really the only reason I need, isn't it?" I tell the Pegasus, flipping the page with my muzzle. "And also 'cause it might help me get a job, but still. My point still stands."
"What's your Cutie Mark for, anyway?" the unicorn asks, her muzzle uncomfortably close to my flank, "Hoof care?"
"Gymnastics?" volunteers the Pegasus.
"Uh... makin' ponies mad?" guesses the earth pony.
"Arguing," I answer, holding back a laugh, "but you were close."

All three fillies gasp. "Arguing? Really?" asks the Pegasus.
"That ain't possible!" the earth pony exclaims.

The unicorn seems confused. "...Are you sure?" she asks hesitantly.

I really don't need this now. I need to get to sleep. And my cupcake'll go bad. I take another bite, then reply, "Yes, I am sure. Maybe I'll share the story later. And yes, I know, arguing isn't the most common special talent. That's why I'm reading a book for ponies with 'unusual talents'. Now, can you please go? It's getting late, and as I've said a few times before, I'm tired. I'll probably see you three around, so if you really want to keep talking, we can talk next time we see each other. Ok?"

The three (two that I can see) droop again, and they all get off my bed and walk out the door. A green glimmer around the knob pulls the door closed after them. ...Great, now I feel like a monster again. I'm certain they're doing this on purpose.

Well, at least now I can finish my cupcake and get to sleep without any more interrupting. Uh, hopefully, knock on wood, all that. The last thing I need is the Dramatic Effect Gods to punish me for saying everything's gonna be ok. With my luck, I'd get Pinkie herself up here after me.

I took another bite of cupcake -- mm, good -- and refocused on my book.
Sometimes, Cutie Marks aren't the clearest things in the universe. I've known many foals who probably wish they got a message saying 'you're good at this' and a filled-in job application instead of a mysterious picture. If you or a friend are confused what your Mark means or the talent you think you have feels wrong, don't worry.

Author's Note:

So, it's been a while (like always), but here's a new chapter! This one seems to be a little more thought-heavy; what do you think?
Speaking of your opinion, I have another story on here from a while ago. I'm thinking of rewriting it completely, but I'm not sure, so do you guys think you could take a few minutes to read it and tell me if I should delete it and try again?

Comments

[Magic Step]

*Wanders in late like nothing happened*

Glad to see you're still working on this! I like the excerpts from the cutie mark book. I hope the CMC can help Ray out.

[Sleepy_The_Zebra]

8061424 Hello! I'm glad you like the book, I put effort into that As for the Crusaders and Ray, I'm sure they'll help each other out a lot...