//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Choosing Fate // by Livi-Love //------------------------------// The dirt trail twisted and turned through one of the many acres belonging to the Apple family. Rocks, grooves and the occasional tree stump decorated it, leaving no part smooth. Either side of the trail were trees bearing apples that didn’t limit themselves to lining the path but dominated the surrounding grassland. Daisies waved at the two ponies travelling through, their stems dancing in the morning breeze. Talons cupped around branches, birds sang a melody against the background buzzing of insects. Below them rabbits nattered away in their secret language, pink button noses twitching. Everything was alive and the very essence of nature. Whilst most admired and enjoyed the scenery, this couldn’t be said for the strangers present. These strangers took in their surroundings with judgemental eyes and upturned noses. They picked their way through the dirt and didn’t care about treading on a few daisies here and there. They feinted, scaring the birds and sending rabbits scurrying to safety. Their whiny and high-pitched voices, spoiled by lenient parents, cracked the ever present peace. Sweet Apple Acres had been graced with the presence of the two snootiest fillies in all of Ponyville. “This is the place?” said Diamond Tiara as the clubhouse overhead loomed closer. For a bunch of talentless blank flanks, the Cutie Mark Crusaders did a pretty good job. Securely positioned on a wide apple tree, trunk like an arm and its branches loosely caging the building in like fingers, finding a better location would prove difficult. The clubhouse, painted neatly with a chestnut roof and desert sand walls, sat upon a platform bordered by straight wooden fencing. Engraved on the door and the exterior shutters of the window were hearts. Overall, it was cosy. Small, but cosy... something alien to Diamond Tiara. Of course, she would never admit this out loud. Instead, Diamond Tiara stuck up her nose and snorted. Her violet mane quivered and the white streak in it imitated a snake. She only needed to clap her hooves once and her father would commission the best architects in Equestria to design something grander. Not that she wanted one, but hers would be much larger with a hot tub and handsome waiters. And she was sure everypony would beg to visit it, even if it wasn’t due to her personality. Silver Spoon nodded, beaded necklace rattling. Her friend sped up without warning and Silver Spoon picked up the pace to remain by her side. “It is, Diamond Tiara! This is where those blank flanks go and like hang out and stuff. That time when you were off school because your cheeks went all puffy, I followed them here.” Diamond Tiara boggled her eyes at her. “You like followed them here? Are you serious? Why would you want to stalk them when there are like a jillion better things you could do?” “I.. I wanted to see the babyish things they do in their club,” Silver Spoon justified, face pinkening, “so we can make fun of them.” “Oh yeah?” Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow and her azure eyes flashed. They stood next to tree, not yet going up the ramp leading to the clubhouse. She gazed at Silver Spoon, smirking. “What do they do then?” Silver Spoon rolled her head back and her plait followed suit. “You know... like, try and think of things they haven't done yet so they can get their cutie mark and stuff.” “Tsk, tsk, tsk. When will Applebloom realise she isn't good at anything?” Diamond Tiara trotted up the ramp with her follower right behind her, laughing. Silver Spoon echoed her amusement. Upon reaching the top, Diamond Tiara jolted to the window and peered through. Applebloom lay on the floor, snoring. Her friends... who were they again? Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara knew the name of, because she was Rarity's sister and Diamond Tiara admired her work, and there was the loud orange filly that always sped past her on that scooter of hers and made her spin in a circle or become coated with dirt. They must have worn themselves out trying to find something they were good at, a waste of time in Diamond Tiara's opinion, and performed the walk of shame home. Giggling, she elbowed Silver Spoon who just then arrived by her side. Silver Spoon clasped her hooves to her mouth, snickering. Lying on a large map of Ponyville peppered with red circles, Applebloom’s front left leg twitched before she rolled over on her makeshift bed. This earned another harsh laugh from the fillies watching. “She must have stayed up all night trying to find her special talent,” remarked Silver Spoon, pressing her face against the window. Her glasses clinked against it. “What a blank flank.” Not hearing Diamond Tiara's approval, she pulled her face back and looked to her right. Then her left. Then her right again. “Uh... Diamond Tiara?” “Sh!” Silver Spoon followed the sound of her voice and saw Diamond Tiara's tail disappear through the clubhouse's door. She dashed after her. Slivers of tape held various pieces of paper to the walls- a photograph of the Cutie Mark Crusaders pulling silly faces, and another of Rainbow Dash lying on top of a cloud whilst Applejack, soaking wet, glared up at her. The rest consisted of drawings of their own creation: Scootaloo flying with Rainbow Dash, Applebloom racing against her brother and sister (winning, of course), and Rarity showing off a dress Sweetie Belle designed. By the window stood a small aqua table, and on top of it a stripy blue vase containing some flowers gifted to them by Fluttershy. An empty packet of marshmallows lay next to the vase, and a wobbly line of crumbs led from the table to where Applebloom rested. Silver Spoon glanced at all these features that made up the homely interior before losing interest. Diamond Tiara stood over Applebloom, red marker pen in her mouth. Her tail swished as Silver Spoon crept over, a bewildered expression on her face. “What are you doing?” hissed Silver Spoon, looking at Applebloom and expecting her to suddenly wake up. Rolling her eyes, Diamond Tiara shifted the marker pen to the side of her mouth. “What does it look like? I'm doing Applebloom a favour.” She knelt down, adjusting the position of her head as she viewed Applebloom’s flank from various angles. Silver Spoon tilted her head to one side. “A... favour?” “Did I stutter? Applebloom is so devoted to getting her cutie mark, right? Why don't we just like give it to her and save her all that trouble? Now, what should her cutie mark be? A blank piece of paper? A grey blob? Or maybe a mouldy apple core?” “I don’t think those markers are permanent.” “It doesn’t need to be permanent. It just needs to like stay on her blank flank until we’ve had our fun.” Diamond Tiara slashed Silver Spoon’s front left leg with the marker’s nib, leaving a bright, crisp squiggle. “Perfect. Inspire me.” Silver Spoon tapped her chin before saying, “I know. Why don't you draw a needle and thread?” Diamond Tiara scoffed, “A needle and thread? Really?” “Yeah, isn't that what Sweetie Belle wants? To be like her sister? Sweetie Belle would be so jealous.” “Not only that,” Diamond Tiara grinned devilishly, “but resentful. Both her friends would be. And Applebloom can't be part of their club if she doesn't like have a blank flank. Hm, I knew I kept you around for a reason.” Silver Spoon beamed. Diamond Tiara lowered her gaze, tracing over Applebloom’s flank with the pen without leaving a mark. She touched the nib down, hunching over and narrowing her eyes. A shadow fell upon her. Groaning, Diamond Tiara placed her attention on Silver Spoon, whose breath scratched at her neck. “I can't think with you hovering over my shoulder!” The marker fell out of her mouth. It landed on Applebloom. Their breath caught in their throats as she stretched her limbs and yawned. The marker rolled off her and clacked against the ground. Bringing her hind legs to her chest, she smiled blissfully. Neither pony dared move until Applebloom’s breathing steadied. Diamond Tiara’s face thawed. She grimaced. “You nearly made me wake her up. Go on, shoo. I need thinking space.” “Oh.” Silver Spoon backed away and sat down. She forced herself to smile. “Sorry.” Bending her head forward, Diamond Tiara picked up the marker. Silver Spoon lay her chin onto the floor and waited silently, eyelids drooping. What did it take to please her? Finding a way into her good books proved difficult enough... staying there required some kind of miracle. Not that she expected any less... Diamond Tiara deserved the best, after all. At one point, Diamond Tiara stood rigidly still, only continuing to draw once Applebloom rolled over. She moved an awful lot in her sleep. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she was dreaming about doing stupid things with her blank flank friends. It didn't make sense. They should have been miserable, being outcasts. They were different. So why did the two bullies always see them around Ponyville having fun? And everyone liked them. Rarity always stopped to say hello. The librarian who used to live in Canterlot did too. Diamond Tiara dreamed of going to Canterlot, the IT place to go to. The Gala was held there each year and Diamond Tiara longed to attend it some day. But no. Diamond Tiara never received a passing glance from any of those ponies. Diamond Tiara, the prettiest and best filly in her class- no, in all of Ponyville... being brushed aside for a farm girl and her sidekicks? Were they all blind? With a beautiful pink body and a tiara cutie mark, how could she not be destined for great things? She stood out even more next to Silver Spoon, a boring grey and had a spoon on her flank. Ponies should have been flocking to her, begging her to be their friend. Saying Diamond Tiara was synonymous with unpopular would be lying, but she still had a long way to go friendship-wise. Applebloom was a wallflower. She wore a large pink bow and she lived on a farm. A farm! Farms were dirty. Farms were smelly. Diamond Tiara would simply die if she had to live on one and ‘buck apples’, as the commoners called it. The blank flank didn’t deserve any of the attention she received . Who knew having no cutie mark would make somepony so special? “Voilà!” announced Diamond Tiara, spitting out the marker. Applebloom lay on her front, face directed away from them. “I have finished.” Silver Spoon trotted over and studied Diamond Tiara's creation. She held in a disappointed sigh. “Oh, I thought you were going to draw a needle and thread.” Diamond Tiara gawked at her. “What are you talking about? I did draw that.” If Silver Spoon was perfectly honest, it looked nothing like what Diamond Tiara claimed it to be. She tilted her head to one side and squinted, trying to find an angle that would allow her to see how Diamond Tiara viewed her work. Diamond Tiara did a good job on making the two cutie marks identical, but Silver Spoon didn’t think that drawing such a simple thing twice would be hard to accomplish. Flustered, Diamond Tiara huffed, “What do you know about art, anyway? Your cutie mark is a spoon.” Silver Spoon looked down at her cutie mark. “What's the matter with it being a spoon? My parents have spoons as their cutie marks, and so do their parents, and so do-” Applebloom shifted and the two stopped bickering, widening their eyes. Silence ensued for a few seconds before Applebloom stilled. “What do we do now?” asked Silver Spoon. “Wait for her to wake up?” Diamond Tiara bit her lip. On one hoof, she wanted to see whatever unfolded. On the other hoof, she didn't have the patience to sit around waiting for a baby like Applebloom to wake up. “We'll throw a stone at the window, she'll go outside and look, and we can like talk to her and stuff,” decided Diamond Tiara. The two departed from the treehouse together and stood a few dozen feet away from the window, back on the ground. Looking around, for they hadn't thought past Diamond Tiara's initial idea, Silver Spoon found a stone half embedded in the ground. She extracted it and held it out for Diamond Tiara to take. “Here,” Silver Spoon said after Diamond Tiara stared at her unresponsively. “I'm not going to throw it!” snapped Diamond Tiara. “You have hooves, don't you?” Silver Spoon bit in a groan and tossed the stone. It travelled a metre before hitting the ground. Diamond Tiara scoffed, “That's the best you can do? I've seen stones throw themselves further than that.” Silver Spoon clenched her teeth and picked it up again. She scrunched up her face, rising onto her hind legs. Then she threw it. It landed four metres away. Diamond Tiara burst out laughing. “This is priceless.” Silver Spoon glowered. “Why don't you throw it then and show me how it's done?” “Fine.” Diamond Tiara picked it up with her mouth and slung it. It hit the roof of the clubhouse before sliding down it. Diamond Tiara smiled at Silver Spoon, who ducked her head. “What in tarnation?” The window opened and Applebloom poked her head out. Running her hooves through her scraggly mane, she blinked at the bright light pushing against her eyes. Snickering, the two bullies pointed at her and Applebloom woke up completely. Her eyes became slits upon seeing who had disrupted her nap. “Oh, it's you two. What do you want?” “We came to visit,” explained Diamond Tiara, stifling a giggle. “Were we like interrupting something?” “I bet she was sleeping,” Silver Spoon jeered, “like a baby. We could hear you snoring all the way from the bath house.” The two fillies laughed loudly. Applebloom sulked, “Ah wasn't havin' a nap. Ah... Ah was just restin' ma eyes; that's all. An' ah don't snore!” “Whatever.” Diamond Tiara smirked. She batted her eyelids. “Nice clubhouse.” “Yeah, nice clubhouse,” echoed Silver Spoon. “It must be roomy compared to your shack on the farm. Is that why you slept here? Because your shack is too crowded? Do you have somepony over?” Diamond Tiara snorted. “Hey, ah don't live in no shack! Just 'cause ah don't live in some fancy smancy mansion like you two, don't mean ah live in a shack.” Applebloom groaned loudly when they just guffawed in response. “Why are you here, anyways? Haven't you got stuck-up thin's that need doin'?” “Stuck-up? We aren’t stuck-up,” replied Diamond Tiara. “You're the pony that acts like she's better than everypony else” Applebloom raised her eyebrows. “You're more self-centred than ah thought an’ that's sayin' somethin'.” “Oh, enlighten us,” said Silver Spoon. “Tell us why we're wrong.” “Ah don't act like ah'm better than any other pony 'cause ah ain't. You're the ones that go around like you're princesses just 'cause you're rich.” Diamond Tiara waggled a hoof at her. “That's where you're wrong. You go around with your childish club, acting like you're better than everypony just because you're late bloomers. Ooh, look at me!” She preened, putting on a bad Southern accent. “Ah ain't discovered ma special somethin’; that means ah'm better than everypony else and deserve all the attention at other ponies’ cute-ceañeras.” “Are you still sour about that?” asked Applebloom. “And what about Twist? Remember her?” Applebloom sniffed. “'Course ah do! She's in our class.” “She used to be your best friend,” Silver Spoon stated. “Well, until she like got her cutie mark and wasn't as special as you.” “Face it, Applebloom, you're elit.. el... elicit...” Diamond Tiara paused. “Elitist?” finished Applebloom. “You'd know!” Diamond Tiara shouted, pointing at her. “Not only that, but you're a bad friend too! I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a cutie mark of a knife for being a backstabber! What's going to happen when you get your cutie mark, huh? Are you going to leave your new friends behind like you did to Twist?” “Ah didn't leave her behind!” Applebloom asserted, face reddening. “We're still friends! Best friends!” “That's not what she said. Didn't you know?” Diamond Tiara couldn’t stop now. With an expression like that, Applebloom begged for it. She begged to be trodden further into the mud where she belonged. “Sunny Days is her new best friend. They go to each other’s houses all the time, doing each other’s hair and telling secret dumb stories... if you bothered to listen, you would have heard them.” “She probably didn't know,” said Silver Spoon. “She's not interested in Twist any more. I'm surprised she even remembered she went to the same school as us.” “You don't know nothin' about me!” Applebloom breathed in deeply before waving her hoof dismissively in their direction. “Ah don't have the time for this. Go find somepony else to annoy 'cause ah ain't listenin' no more.” “And we don't have the time to talk to blank flanks like you,” Diamond Tiara retorted, tossing her mane to her other shoulder. “Come on, Silver Spoon. Let's go before Applebloom starts to cry.” “Who said anythin' about cryin'? Ah ain't gonna cry!” Applebloom slammed her window shut. Fuming, she began pacing. “What do those air-headed ponies know about anythin'? Twist is still ma friend. In fact,” her eyes lit up, ”ah think ah'll go see her right now!” She galloped out of her clubhouse, hoofsteps banging against the stairs. Running forward and past Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, she heard them laughing but paid them no further thought. Proving those two were full of horse manure prioritised over some petty in joke. They were absolutely clueless when it came to friendship. Nopony else could stand their company unless it involved bribery, so why did they think they could educate her on maintaining relationships? Of course she was still friends with Twist. Just because they didn't spend as much time with each other as they used to, didn't mean that they weren't as good of friends as before. Ponies could have more than one best friend. Those two fillies didn't know that because only they could put up with each other for extended- no, even short periods of time. Applebloom arrived in the market place and tried to remember where Twist lived. She could see two ponies, one with a turquoise coat and another with a cream one. They were on a bench talking to each other, and the turquoise unicorn pony (Applebloom was sure her name began with an L) sat in a very peculiar position which involved her body making a right angle with the bench. Nearby, a white pegasus pony with cyan hair shook her head at a pleading Ditzy Doo: a fellow pegasus pony who delivered the mail to Sweet Apple Acres. The white pegasus pony was called Lightning Bolt- Applebloom knew her name because she was friends with Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo took it upon herself to know anyone who was anyone to her idol. Lightning Bolt dug her teeth into her muffin, causing Ditzy Doo to flop to the ground. Applebloom realised she was watching a pony eat a muffin. She shook her head. She couldn’t allow for any more distractions to postpone her mission. Ignoring all the other ponies going about their daily businesses, laden down with sacks full of groceries or just passing through, Applebloom tried to focus on the task on hand. Had it really been that long since she last visited Twist? No. She couldn’t let what those bullies said affect her. They knew nothing. If she cleared her mind, she would be able to remember where Twist lived. Applebloom closed her eyes. Twist lived above the Florists and they were... she pointed her head in the right direction, eyes opening. That way! She sprinted through the market place, nearly knocking somepony off her hooves. Voices honed in on her as she lost her balance. “Sorry!” Applebloom shouted, but she didn't stop to check whether she had injured her victim. She rammed into a cart of cabbages, zooming off before its owner could rant at her and demand for her to pick them up. Many ponies stopped to watch her, but her absence allowed them to continue browsing through the various grocery stalls either side of them. The pony Applebloom bumped into happened to be Twilight Sparkle. She narrowed her violet eyes and remarked, “Applebloom sure is in a hurry today.” Her dragon assistant Spike shuffled over, weighed down by a pile of scrolls. “When isn't she in a hurry?” he pointed out. “I wish I had that much energy... then it wouldn’t be so hard to carry all these!” “Good point.” Twilight chose to ignore his second remark. “I wonder where she's going.” Spike shrugged his shoulders and dropped a scroll in the process. He bent his knees and tried to pick it up while keeping his other arm around the rest. “Maybe she's trying to get a cutie mark for being a hit-and-run pony?” He fell on his face, spilling the rest of the scrolls. Twilight rolled her eyes. A fair distance away, Applebloom skidded to a stop. “Here... Here it is! Ah knew.... Ah knew ah remembered!” Flashes of afternoons with Twist entered her mind. All the times they watered the flowers on the windowsills, sometimes resorting to standing on each other to reach them. It often ended with them drenched in water, limbs tangled as their minds caught up with what happened. Then they laughed, shaking themselves dry before going inside to draw or play board games. Her chest pinged, remembering how she used to knock on this door everyday. Applebloom smacked her forehead. At one time in her life, she called this her second home. What did time matter? She took a few deep breaths before rapping on the front door, humming as she waited. “Oh,” greeted Twist as the top half of the door opened up. Applebloom sighed in relief. Twist was just like she remembered; she had a pale coat, a frizzy red mane and large glasses. Not that Applebloom forgot what Twist looked like- those two bullies acted like she wouldn’t recognise her at all. “Hello, Applebloom. What're you doing here?” Not what Applebloom anticipated, but she brushed it aside. “Oh.” Applebloom scuffed the floor. “Ah was in the neighbourhood an’, uh, thought ah'd pop by. So, uh, anythin' cool happen recently?” Twist fidgeted. “No, not really. Just... the usual stuff. You know: making candy, homework, school...” “School is so borin',” Applebloom piped up. “All we learn is stuff we don't gotta know when we could all be gettin' our cutie marks.” She paused. “But you already have yours.” “Yep,” agreed Twist. “But school is fun because I get to meet all my friends... like you!” Applebloom forced herself to smile. Why had Twist felt the need to include her specifically, as if it hadn't been obvious? “Seeing as, you know, you spend the rest of the day with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” Twist averted her gaze. Applebloom flinched. “That doesn't mean we're not best friends, right? We're still best pals, right? Right?” “Why are you really here?” Twist narrowed her eyes. Applebloom found it easier to look at the ground. “Well...” “Ponies sometimes just drift apart. They find new friends and move on, leaving their old ones behind. There's nothing wrong with it.” The pale yellow foal stomped the ground. “That ain't always true! We're still best friends.. aren't we?” “When a pony has to ask herself that question, you know there's something wrong. We're still friends, and we always will be, but it's just not like before. You have the Cutie Mark Crusaders and I have Sunny Days...” She winced. “Speaking of which, she'll be wondering where I am. We're making candy hearts!” “Ah didn't mean for this to happen!” insisted Applebloom, her throat hurting. “Ah'm sorry!” Twist waved a hoof. “These things happen, Applebloom. We went our separate ways when I got my cutie mark and you founded the Cutie Mark Crusaders...” She paused, blinking at Applebloom's flank. “Hey, what's that?” “What?” Applebloom followed her gaze. Her heart nearly stopped when her eyes fell upon what caught Twist’s eye. A multitude of emotions that made her want to shriek with joy and burst into tears exploded inside of her. “Is... Is that... what ah-ah think it... it is?” “It's a cutie mark!” exclaimed Twist. She squinted. “But what's it of? It looks kind of weird. No offence.” “None taken,” Applebloom replied, scrutinising it. She couldn’t remove the large smile that had crept onto her face, despite the fact that her conversation with Twist and her lingering confusion were notable reasons to do so. The mere sight of her cutie mark gave enough reason for her to hide away these negative emotions at least for the time-being. She had a cutie mark. A real one. She wanted to scream for all to hear. But still... Even if Applebloom hadn’t been vibrating on the spot, it wouldn’t have made things any clearer. What WAS her cutie mark supposed to be? She had never seen any other pony with one even remotely similar. Applebloom made a mental note to ask Big Macintosh for his opinion when she arrived home. Well, assuming home was her first destination. The mental images of Diamond Tiara’s and Silver Spoon’s faces tempted her... but showing Applejack her cutie mark offered a prospect far better. Proof. Proof she wasn’t a little filly anymore. “Twist!” shouted a voice from inside. “What's taking you so long?” “Whoops.” Twist turned away and called, “I'm just talking to somepony at the door! I'll be with you in a minute.” Somepony... Applebloom started to return to reality. “I'll have to see it next time we meet each other, all right? Congratulations, by the way! I knew it was a matter of time before you got one. Ain't it swell?” “Sure, yeah, okay,” said Applebloom, studying it. It looked like a grey line with a thicker red scribble coming out of the bottom. She expected it to have something to do with apples, just like the ones Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith had. Maybe she wasn't looking at it right. “Swell. Okay. Next time. Thanks, Twist.” “No problem, old pal.” Twist looked both ways, sweating, before closing the door. Applebloom closed her eyes and laughed, spinning in a circle. She had her cutie mark. Even if it looked nothing like her family's, she still had a cutie mark. Applebloom looked at it again, showing all her teeth. She had thought this day would never come, but there it was. On her flank. Her new cutie mark. No longer would Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon be able to mock her and call her a blank flank. “Ah got ma cutie mark!” she told herself. She skipped in random directions before nearly ramming into Twist's door. From above her came some giggles and Applebloom's smile dimmed. “Read my candy heart, Twist!” a voice rang out. “Aw, I don't need a candy heart to know you're my bestest friend, Sunny Days!” Applebloom, who had been gazing at their window, lowered her head. Maybe, for once, possibly, perhaps, potentially, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had made a valid point. It sounded weird, but Applebloom couldn't help but bitterly accept this. Only they could taint what should have been the happiest day of her life. It was true. She left Twist behind to make new friends. They grew apart as soon as Twist received her cutie mark... Applebloom widened her eyes. And she had just received hers... What was she going to tell Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?