Shortly before the Cutie Mark Crusaders came into being, Apple Bloom was a very unhappy young filly. She dreaded the thought of attending that snobbish little Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera. Diamond Tiara had been a late starter herself, and Apple Bloom knew she might be the only pony left at the party who still hadn't earned her own cutie mark. The little filly trotted nervously to and fro in her family's kitchen, wondering what she could possibly do to get her mark.
"Sugarcube, you best do that pacin' outside before you catch your manebow on a cookin' utensil," said Applejack, ushering her little sibling out the door with a hoof. Apple Bloom dropped her head low as she stepped outside. Applejack knew what the trouble was from speaking with her sister earlier, so she straightened her cowpony hat with a hoof and trotted on after the filly.
The two sisters sat down together on the back porch. "You can't let this eat away at you, Apple Bloom. You’ll get your mark when the time is right," said Applejack. She leaned in gently against Apple Bloom, her braided blond mane falling across Apple Bloom's withers like a limp hug.
Apple Bloom sighed, then looked up to Applejack expectantly. "Sis, maybe I could just... y'know, hang around you from now on? Like, all the time," she asked. "I mean, you're so smart and accomplished and stuff, I'm sure to get my cutie mark just by bein' around you some."
Applejack blushed at her sister's flattery, but she knew the little one was only trying to hide in her shadow. "Lemme be frank with you, hon. If you're hungry, and I eat, does that fill you up? If you're tired, and I sleep, do you feel any more refreshed? How about if you gotta use the filly's room and I take a pee in your place?" she asked, an overly-serious look on her muzzle.
After failing to suppress a giggle, Apple Bloom paused for a moment to let the words sink in. "Okay, I getcha. A cutie mark's something I gotta do for myself," she said, then frowned. "I just don't wanna wait forever for it, sis!"
Applejack smiled brightly. "You won't, dear," she said. "Y'know, for some ponies, a cutie mark's just somethin' what happens to them without any thought. But the day you get your mark, Apple Bloom, I'm sure you'll have earned it more than anypony I've ever known."
The little filly closed her eyes and imagined that day, and thought about how meaningful it would be for her to earn her mark on her own. For the faintest glimmer of a moment, Apple Bloom knew what it would feel like when her cutie mark appeared. She smiled as a warm kiss of pride tickled her insides: a hint of what would one day come to pass.