//------------------------------//
// Chapter 23 - A Trip Down Memory Lane 
// Story: My Little Pony: Ren's Adventures In Equestria 
// by MaxTV1234 
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Ugh...Oh my god, I’m so bored. Not even my Manga isn’t helping, and I love reading my Mangas. I was laying on my couch, with a Manga on my hands, reading Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky, but I read the entire thing, and I still feel bored. Meanwhile, Kaede and Carrie were busy watching the TV. Apparently, Kaede found a bunch of videos in her closet, which consist of many movies and shows, which seems to belong to her.

“So what are you girls watching again?” Kodi asked, laying on my stomach.

“We’re watching a kids show called PJ Masks.” Kaede replied with a smile.

“Oh right.”

“Tee-hee! I love this show!” Carrie added happily.

“Yeah, I know right?” Kaede nodded as they finished up with the last episode. “Well, it seems like the show ended.”

“It was so much fun! I love Cat-boy, he’s so cute, fast, and amazing!” Carrie said cheerfully.

“Well, even for a teen, I still loving watching kids shows, it was sorta my thing back then, well, back in our world.” Kaede said, softly smiling.

“Yeah…” Carrie nodded, feeling a bit sad. I can understand why, it’s been a week since we last seen Princess Celestia from her visit/get-together and we’ve still have yet to have any info to find out about why we’re in Equestria, inside of this strange ship-like structure, and why can’t we remember anything?

“Lunch is done.” Huh? We turned to see Mason walking to the living room, wearing an apron.

“Oh really? That fast?” I asked in surprise.

“Of course, I’m very quick when it comes with cooking food.” Mason replied with a soft smile.

“Yep, that’s my big brother!” Carrie added with a happy smile.

“Yeah, you’re almost like...a super dad!” Kaede complimented, causing me to sweat-drop and Mason covering his mouth with his scarf, trying to hide his blush. Yeah, I don’t think that’s it, Kaede.

“Good! I’m starving!” Kodi exclaimed, jumping out of my lap and running towards the kitchen. I chuckled a bit for him getting all hungry.

“So...after lunch, what do you all wanna do?” Carrie asked as we headed to the kitchen. They were delicious sandwiches, salad, and rice balls.

“I don’t know, I kinda got no ideas at all.” I shrugged.

“I rather meditate and have peace for the entire day.” Mason suggested.

“Yeah, and maybe we can watch more PJ Mask on TV, I guess.” Kaede added. We all sat down and began eating down on the food. I took a few rice balls and some sandwiches and began eating, and I have to say, it’s really good.

“This is so good Mason!” I exclaimed in joy. “If you were a chef, I give it a 5 stars!”

“Thank you, I guess…” Mason glanced away before taking a bite of his salad. I noticed Kodi was already finished with his food as he lay on the floor with his stomach all stuffed up and such. That little doggy always get his stomach all filled up no matter what…

“Oh well, I guess I could play with the Crusaders.” Carrie suggested before finishing off her plate. “I mean, I haven’t play with them for a while, and I want to find out what I’m good at!”

“But Carrie, you do realize that you’re not a pony and you can’t get a Cutie-Mark, right?” Mason reminded her.

“Cutie-Mark?” Kaede asked.

“Basically, it’s those tattoos-like marks on the ponies butts, and they show them what kind of talent they specialize on.” I explained, which Kaede gave an incredulous look.

“You’re kidding right?” Kaede asked.

“No, he’s right….” Mason said, finishing off his plate and putting it in the sink.

“Okay…” It seems Kaede is still confuse with all of this stuff happening around her. But I’m sure she’ll get used to this world until we find a way back to our world….I hope.

“Whatever, I just want to relax and take a nap.” Kodi yawned and instantly went to sleep. Well, I guess maybe he should rest. Besides, we kinda got nothing to do at all. Suddenly, we heard a scream, and it was coming outside. Kodi immediately woke up and became shocked to hear what just happen.

“What in the world was that?!” Carrie exclaimed.

“It sounds like it was coming outside!” Kaede suggested. I instantly took out my Hacking Gun and immediately ran outside with Kaede, Kodi, Carrie, and Mason following after me as we immediately rushed out of the home-ship and looked around for anyone attacking Ponyville or someone in danger, but instead, we saw….

“Huh?” I asked as I saw three familiar fillies on the ground, all dizzy up.

“Huh? Isn’t that the Crusaders?” Kodi asked curiously, tilting his head.

“Anything yet?” Scootaloo asked, getting up from the ground.

“N-nope, no Cutie-Mark…” Sweetie Belle groaned.

“Yeah, besides the pine needles and such, we still don’t have a Cutie-Mark.” Apple Bloom added.

“What are you girls doing?” I asked, raising a brow. The three crusaders turned to me with happy smiles.

“Ren!” The three exclaimed in joy, jumping onto me and giving me a hug.

“How it’s going Ren? You staying cool still?” Scootaloo asked. I grinned and replied “Of course, still doing my best!”

“Hey girls!” Carrie waved to them.

“Hey Carrie, haven’t seen you since the Talent show.” Apple Bloom said walking towards her. “Sorry if we forgotten to bring you here to help  us in our Cutie-Mark search.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I was planning on meeting you all here.” Carrie replied happily.

“Yeah, it’s so good to see you...all….” Sweetie Belle then noticed Kaede and widened her eyes in shock. “Since when did we have four humans here?” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom widened their eyes as well upon seeing Kaede.

“Oh right, this is Kaede, she’s our new friend.” I introduced her to the crusaders. Kaede smiled sweetly and bent down to their height.

“Hi, I’m Kaede Ross. Nice to meet you three.” Kaede said softly.

“Nice to meet you Kaede, I’m Apple Bloom.”

“And I’m...um, Sweetie Belle.”

“Names Scootaloo.” The Crusaders introduced them to her.

“Ahh, you girls are so cute. I wish I could just hug you.” Kaede said, petting Scootaloo on the head, much to her annoyance.

“Hey, watch it!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “I love my mane being like this, thank you.”

“Oh, heh heh, sorry…” Kaede apologized.

“So what are you girls up to this time?” Mason asked, raising a brow in concern.

“Oh, we were just trying to see if we can get our cutie-marks by zip-lining, but it didn’t work out.” Sweetie Belle explained sheepishly.

“Zip-lining? That’s so cool! I never tried it, but I love too!” I exclaimed happily before noticing the glare Mason was giving me. Oops! “I-I-I mean...you girls can’t do that! That’s very dangerous!”

“Ren’s right, you might get hurt or worse!” Kaede added, agreeing with me.

“We know, we know.” Scootaloo waved her hoof off. “Besides, since we already tried and failed on getting a zip-lining Cutie-Mark, we’ll just have to find another way.”

“Well we keep trying on getting a Cutie-Mark, but no luck.” Apple Bloom sighed.

“Hey, don’t feel bad.” I assured. “It’ll take awhile for you girls to even get your Cutie-Marks, I mean, it took me a while to learn about art.”

“For once, he has a point. It took me a few years to master the arts of Kendo until I fully master it.” Mason added.

“Yeah, I mean, I worked real hard to learn how to make costumes with my sewing skills. So you girls have to wait till the time you all find your talents.” Kaede said, cheering them up a little.

“Y-you’re right, we can’t give up now!” Apple Bloom nodded.

“Yeah...Hey, I know!” Scootaloo exclaimed in joy before turning to the girls. “Tell me, who is the most awesomest pony in all of Ponyville?”

“Hmm…” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle thought for a while before smiling.

“We know who it is!” Sweetie Belle said, causing Scootaloo to smile in glee.

“Ren!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exclaimed, turning to me. I blushed at the compliment at them thinking I’m the most awesomest person in all of Ponyville.

“No! Not Ren! He’s not even a pony!” Scootaloo exclaimed angrily, much to my disappointment and confusing the fillies.

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle suggested, causing Scootaloo to shake her head.

“Applejack?” Apple Bloom added, which Scootaloo shook her head again.

“Hello?! The most awesomest pony in Ponyville! More awesome than Ren!” I feel like I just got stab on the back, a full on stab if you might add. “She can fly at the speed of sound! Make Sonic Rainbooms! And dreams on becoming a Wonderbolt!” Scootaloo kept giving us hints, which I finally understood who she’s implying.

“Rainbow Dash…” Mason muttered. Seems like he got it as well.

“Uhh….Fluttershy?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said in unison, causing me, Kodi, Carrie, and Kaede to sweat-drop and Mason to face-palm. Well, they were close, I’ll give them that.

“NO! It’s Rainbow Dash I’m talking about!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“What about Rainbow Dash?” Kodi asked curiously.

“Well, if we listen to her story on how she gained her Cutie-Mark in the first place, we might be able to find a way to what we're missing in order to get our own Cutie-Marks!” Scootaloo explained. Actually, come to think of it, I never learn how did Dash got her Cutie-Mark in the first place, I’m quite excited to learn more about it.

“That sounds really awesome!” Apple Bloom complimented.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.

“I know, it’s a well thought out plan.” Scootaloo boasted. “Anyway, let’s go!”

“Wow, they’re very determined to get their cutie-marks, do they?” Kaede asked, astonished by the Crusaders’ determination.

“Yeah, and thinking about it wants me to help them out and get their Cutie-Marks and maybe find out what I’m good at too!” Carrie exclaimed in joy.

“But Carrie, you are good at something. You know how to take care of animals like Nate and Maddy for example.” Mason said with a soft smile. Mason’s two pet squirrels came out, sat on top of his head and nodded in agreement with him.

“Yeah, but still, I would like trying out new things and have fun at the same time.” Carrie replied with a soft smile.

“Yeah, besides, we should watch over the three before they do anything too crazy…” I added, looking back at the Crusaders’ as they began talking about their plan to talk to Dash.

“Agreed.” Mason nodded.

“Well it beats staying home and sleeping.” Kodi added.

“Well, I do want to know more about Ponyville and maybe Equestria, so why not?” Kaede said.

“Okay everypony, let’s go!” Scootaloo shouted as they began heading towards Ponyville, but couldn’t move. Unfortunately, their hooves were all covered in tree sap, much to my confusion.

“Huh? Where did that tree sap come from?” I asked curiously.

“Probably from the tree we crashed in when we were zip-lining.” Sweetie Belle replied with a sheepish smile.

“I’ll go get a bucket of water…” Mason sighed as he headed inside and went to go get a bucket of water. Well, after he’s done. I guess we can past some time by talking.

“So how you girls been doing lately?” I asked curiously.

“Eh, you know...finding our Cutie-Marks and such.” Scootaloo waved her hoof off.

“Yeah, but no matter what, we still can’t find them.” Sweetie Belle added sadly.

“Don’t worry, like I said before, if Cutie-Marks are like talents, then it takes a while to find out what you’re good at.” Kaede said, smiling at them.

“Really? Well then, how are you so good at Sewing?” Apple Bloom asked, surprising her a little.

“Oh...well it’s sorta not a big deal…” Kaede said sadly.

“Kaede?” I asked worriedly as I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll understand if you don’t like talking about it.”

“Oh no, it’s okay! I can tell you, although, it’s sorta a sad story…” Kaede said, holding onto her stuffed cat.

“Really? Did something happened?” Carrie asked in concern.

“Well…” Kaede cleared her throat and began telling her story. “See, back when I was a kid, I used to live with my mom and dad, and they loved me no matter what. We were always having fun and such. That is until I turned nine, and my mother died from cancer…” Kaede said sadly, causing us all to feel heartbroken and confused.

“What’s cancer?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Let’s just say...it’s a disease that’s not good for your body.” I replied, not wanting to go to full detail about that. “So anyway, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“No, it’s okay.” Kaede said, smiling softly at me before she continued “Anyway, since then, I felt heartbroken and sad that my mom past away. That is until my dad gave me Coco.” Kaede showed us her white stuffed cat with plain black eyes. “Coco was always there for me and helps me calm down and cheers me up. My dad didn’t even buy it, he made it himself.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!” Scootaloo complimented.

“And so nice.” Sweetie Belle added, much to Kaede’s joy.

“Thanks, and since then, I never felt sad ever again. Then one day, Coco’s arm got ripped, and I had to fix him. That’s when I learn that I had sewing skills once I fixed Coco’s arm. I was so overjoyed and asked my dad to let me do some after school clubs to enhance my sewing skills. He agreed and before you know it, I joined a sewing club and learned to not only make me better at sewing, but how to make costumes, baskets, and others. It was a happy time for me…” Kaede then made a sad and heartbroken expression, much to my confusion and concern. “That is...before she came to my life.”

“She?” Kodi asked.

“Yeah, my dad started dating a woman name Relina and she became my step-mother, and apparently, she had two daughters as well, making them my step-sisters as well. At first, I thought she was kind-hearted and caring like my old mother. But when my father went to a business trip, it turns out she was cruel and rude and treated me like a slave to do her bidding, along with my step-sisters. they only act like that whenever my father isn’t around.”

“That’s...so terrible!” Carrie exclaimed in shock.

“I see, what happened next?” I asked, causing Kaede to turned back and closed her eyes, letting out a tear.

“My father came back home and saw me crying in my room. I couldn’t tell him about my step-mother’s cruelty nor my step-sister’s rudeness because I was afraid of them and they threatened to hurt me. My father did cheered me up a little, but I was forced to keep doing my step-mother and step-sister’s cruelty whenever my father wasn’t around.”

“Wait hold on…” I said, stopping her story. “Now that you mention it, you said your part time job is being a maid, so does that mean…”

“Yes, I learn to also be a maid thanks to my step-mother. I had to avoid my step-family whenever my dad went to work, so I took a job as a maid to help me stay away from her for a while, and also more time with my sewing club. Everything was going alright, but when I turned 12...my father died.”

“Huh?! But how?!” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, what happened to him?!” Kodi demanded.

“....Apparently, after finishing up both my part time job and sewing club for the day, I came home and found my father in his room, his head lying on the table, not moving. My step-mother nor my step-sisters weren’t there either. Apparently, the police came over and ruled it as a suicide, and I was left with my step-mother and step-sisters for three years, and I never tried to be rude to them and did what they told me to do.” Kaede finished her story, leaving us heartbroken and sad.

“I see...I’m sorry to hear…” I said sadly.

“No, it’s okay. Besides, since I’m trapped here in this world, I’m not sure if I should be glad or sad that I’m stuck here in Equestria.” Kaede admitted sheepishly, much to our confusion.

“Obviously glad because of your step-family’s cruelty to you!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Kodi and Carrie agreed in unison.

“Well even so, I wonder if they care about me...in their own way.” Kaede said, smiling sheepishly. “Besides, my friends from both my sewing class and the restaurant I was working in probably wondered whatever happened to me.”

“Well true, but still, being treated like a nobody by your own family is wrong!” I exclaimed. “But then again, your friends must be worried about you.”

“Yeah, I sorta think of them as family actually…” Kaede admitted, feeling both happy and sad at the same time. I can’t blame her, I know how that feels now that we’re separated from our families and such.

“Family…” Carrie muttered sadly. Huh, I am curious to learn more about her and Mason’s family, if they like talking about it.

“I see….but what about you Ren?” Sweetie Belle asked, much to my confusion.

“Huh? Well, I kinda don’t have much of a sad story. I just lived a normal life with my family, and I remembered that my brother taught me how to play video games, and I started loving them, even games people never liked. I even liked art ever since I made my first drawing, and after some practice, I started getting better than ever and always show my work to others. But, I stopped doing that after a girl from my class just made fun of my work, but other that. My life was just normal, well, a little boring, but it was quite fun once you get used to it.” I explained, getting blank look from them.

“Well that sounds totally boring.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “I was right before, you may be awesome with that Hacking Gun of yours, but you’re not as awesome as Rainbow Dash.” I sweat-dropped and slump my head down in disappointment. Well, at least I tried.

“Alright, I’m back.” Mason came back with a bucket of water. I looked at him with a grin of my face.

“Hey Mason, you sure took your sweet time.” I pointed out.

“S-shut up.” Mason replied as he splashed on the fillies hooves, freeing them from the tree sap.

“Wow, thanks Mason!” Apple Bloom thanked him with a hug, much to Mason’s surprise.

“U-um...thank you I guess?” Mason said, glancing away nervously.

“Well anyway, thanks for sharing your story Kaede.” Scootaloo said before turning to the other Crusaders. “Now come on Crusaders, let’s go find Rainbow Dash!” With that, Scootaloo hopped onto her scooter and she and the other Crusaders started walking back towards Ponyville, with us following after them.

“Hey, wait for us!” Kodi exclaimed as we went after them. Let’s just hope that they won’t do something too stupid like their zip-lining thing, but I would probably still do the zip-lining or whatever.




While we walked towards Ponyville, we saw Sweet Apple Acres off a distance. “Huh, you know, I wonder what Applejack is doing right now.” I said, putting both my hands behind my head.

“Hmm...maybe apple-bucking trees?” Kodi suggested, which I nodded.

“Wow, who knew Applejack owned a farm. Plus, it’s sorta strange that she owns an apple farm, I mean, with a name like Applejack, it sounds like she was destined to work on a farm.” Kaede said with a chuckle.

“Well of course, after all, the Apple family are always known for being the best apple-picking farmers in Equestria.” Apple Bloom explained. “I mean, I’m part of the apple family as well.”

“Really?” Kaede asked, which she nodded. “Wow, it’s like a family tradition thing.”

“Tell me about it.” Carrie said with a soft smile. Suddenly, we came to a stop when a bunch of bunnies came right in front of us.

“Ahh!” Carrie and Kaede exclaimed in unison as they looked at the adorable little critters. Because unlike Angel, these bunnies are so adorable!

“Get back here, you thieving varmints!”

“Thieving what now?” Kodi asked. Unexpectedly, I was suddenly knocked into the ground. I opened my eyes to see Applejack on me.

“Whoa! Ren!” Applejack quickly got off of me, feeling embarrassed. “S-sorry.”

“Oh no, it’s okay!” I said, rubbing my head bashfully.

“What were you doing Applejack?” Mason asked, raising a brow. “Did it have something to do with those bunnies we just saw?”

“Of course, they were eating some of the apples!” Applejack replied, much to Mason’s annoyance.

“Well, if you must know that they were hungry, so you should’ve tried to kill him.” Mason replied with an angry look on his face.

“Hey! I was just trying to get them off my fields! Not trying to hurt them!” Applejack exclaimed angrily, glaring at Mason, who just glanced away from her and crossed his arms, letting out a ‘hmph’ sound. Wow, it’s totally like the only ones he trust more is animals and his own sister.

“Hey sis.” Apple Bloom spoke up, looking at her sister’s Cutie-Mark. “We’ve been wondering, how did you get your Cutie-Mark?”

“Huh? I never told you all the story before?” Applejack asked, which we nodded.

“Yeah, I’m quite curious to know how do ponies earn their Cutie-Marks, so I would like to hear it too!” Kaede said happily.

“Yeah, so do I!” I agreed with Kaede.

“Well…” Applejack was still unsure of telling her backstory, but not until Scootaloo interfered.

“Hey! I thought we all were going to meet and ask Rainbow Dash that!”

“We need all the help we can get.” Apple Bloom replied.

“Yes, besides, I’m quite curious to know about the story on how she got her Cutie- Mark in the first place, and what does it mean…” Mason said, going into deep thought.

“Ugh! Fine!” Scootaloo groaned.

“Why shoot! I was just a little filly. Even littler than you all.” Applejack began her story.

“Really?” I asked, which she nodded.

“Mm-hmm. See, truth to told, I never wanted to become a farm pony, I wanted to become a big city pony with a sophisticated life, like my Aunt and Uncle Orange.” Carrie and Kodi giggled at the names of Applejack’s aunt and uncle. Orange? No offense, but that’s quite hilarious.” So, I set out to try my luck in a big city. Manehattan!”

“Manehattan?” Kaede asked in confusion.

“Yep, the most cosmopolitan city in all of Equestria. I knew I’d find out who I was meant to be in Manehattan.” Applejack nodded with a smile.

“You know, it kinda sounds like Manhattan, a city back in our world!” I exclaimed in amazement. “Wow, who knew our worlds would sound so much similar.”

“Yes, but still...Manehattan?” Mason asked with a raised brow. “Does every town and city around Equestria must include horse puns or something?”

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked, raising a brow.

“Let’s just ignore that for now.” I said, not wanting Mason to go on. “Continue with your story, please.”

Applejack nodded, still confuse on what Mason meant and continued “Well, when I arrived at my Aunt and Uncle’s, I knocked on their door. They let me in to the new life I was going to live! But…”

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Kodi asked, tilting his head in confusion. I saw the frown Applejack made and became worried.

“Applejack?” I called to her in concern until Applejack spoke up.

“See, the city life wasn’t what I expected. The city noise took some getting used to, and the food didn’t taste the same like back home. I began to grew sad and homesick for leaving Ponyville behind. I even thought how Granny Smith and Big Mac were doing.”

“I see, you were homesick and began having doubts on your dream of living the city life, correct?” Mason guessed, which Applejack nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, I never felt so homesick in all my days as I did right then. Then all of a sudden, there this loud explosion across the sky! It was amazing! A rainbow pointing right back to...home. In that moment, it all became clear. I knew right then just who I was supposed to be. That’s when this here happened.” Applejack pointed towards her Cutie-Mark with a soft grin on her face. “I’ve been happily working in the farm ever since.”

“Wow, that’s so cool! Awesome story AJ!” I exclaimed in joy.

“Ahh shucks Ren, you’re making me blush.” Applejack said, hiding away her blush until something caught her eye. “Them again!” Applejack pointed over to the same bunnies from before as they were holding some apples and blew raspberries at them and began running away. “Get back here, you thieving varmints!” Applejack began racing after them.

“Aww, that was such a sweet story.” Sweetie Belle complimented.

“Sweet? Try sappy.” Scootaloo said, making a gag before she got on her scooter and went off. I frowned a bit to hear what Scootaloo said.

“I thought it was a heartwarming story…” I muttered as we just continued following after them. But still, a rainbow exploding into the air and such, that sounds quite amazing. I wish I could see that.




Hmm...You know, I’m still thinking about that Rainbow explosion Applejack talked about. Thinking about it...wants me to paint it. It’ll be the best painting I could show to my friends.

“Whoa!” I then noticed Scootaloo stepping on the brakes of her scooter, causing me to look on what’s in front of us. Huh? Isn’t that…

“Alright, little ones. This way. This way…” It is! Fluttershy was directing a bunch of baby chicks across the road until she noticed us.

“Ren! Mason! Carrie! Kodi! And Kaede!” She immediately came over and hugged me, much to my surprise. I didn’t know she cared about me THAT much, I think.

“Hey Flutters.” I hugged her back and let go of her. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was just taking some of the baby chicks for a nice walk, that’s all.” Fluttershy replied with a soft smile before noticing the fillies. “So why are you all in such a hurry anyway?”

“We’re trying to find Rainbow Dash, so we can her how she earned her Cutie-Mark.” Kodi answered.

“Oh...” Fluttershy replied in surprise before smiling. “...That would be interesting. You know, I wouldn’t have gotten my Cutie-Mark if it weren’t for her.” We all became surprised to hear that.

“Really?” Kaede asked, which Fluttershy nodded.

“Oh yes. It all started at Summer Flight Camp.” Fluttershy began to tell her story until Carrie interrupted.

“Umm...what’s Flight Camp?”

“Oh well, it’s a place up in Cloudsdale where all the younger Pegasus learn how to fly and such.” Fluttershy answered, which Carrie understood before going back to the story. “Anyway, but you’d never guess but I was a little shy back when I was little.”

“Well your name is Fluttershy…” Kodi muttered, which me nodding silently in agreement.

“True, but I was a very weak flyer. When I was practicing my flying, and I accidentally messed up and got myself tangled in one of the flags. These two other boys saw me and began making fun of me. They even called me ‘Klutzershy’!” I patted Fluttershy on the back, cheering her up in a little.

“Bastards, always like picking on the weak…” Mason muttered, clenching his fist in anger.

“Who would do such a thing to you?” Kaede asked in worried.

“Well, they’re names were Dumbbell and Hoops.” Fluttershy answered, causing me to growl. Not those guys again, they just like messing around with ponies these days. First Dash, and now Flutters? I understand now they gained respect to Dash ever since the Best Fliers Young Competition, but still…”Anyway, right of out nowhere, Rainbow Dash had flown to my side and asked them to leave me alone. Eventually, Rainbow Dash got into a race against them. I was the pony who was starting the race. As soon as I waved the flag, they began flying at top speed, making me fall off the cloud I was standing on top of.”

“What?!” I exclaimed in shock.

“Yes, but don’t worry, as soon as I was about to hit the ground, the most wonderful thing happened. All these butterflies caught me!” Fluttershy replied with a soft smile. “I had never seen such beautiful creatures. Butterflies don’t fly as high as my cloud home. And I’ve never been near the ground before.”

“Phew, well I’m glad to hear…” I muttered in relief.

“Me too, and it was quite nice that those butterflies saved your life.” Carrie added with a smile.

“It just goes to show that mother nature has a kind heart.” Mason agreed.

“So what happened next?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well, I was enjoying myself around the place, along with all the cute critters. When all of a sudden, a huge burst of rainbow came out of the sky, causing a very loud boom which scared all the animals. However, I walked over to each one of them and told them it was okay. Somehow, I had the ability to communicate with the animals on a different level.” Fluttershy explained.

“A huge burst of rainbow?” Mason asked, raising a brow, which Fluttershy nodded. “Strange…” Actually, I have to agree. Didn’t Applejack say that she saw a huge burst of rainbow exploded in the sky when she was filly that got her Cutie-Mark? What could it mean?

“That doesn’t matter!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “What about Rainbow Dash? What about the race?!”

“Oh. Well, I wasn’t there, so I don’t really know what happened.” Fluttershy answered as she pointed to her butterfly-like Cutie-Mark.

“Well either way, I think that story was quite nice. It was like you were destined to become an awesome animal caretaker.” I commented, making Fluttershy blush a bit.

“Aww, thanks Ren.” Fluttershy replied with a soft smile.

“Ahhh…” Kodi, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Carrie sighed in unison. Scootaloo gagged while Mason and Kaede smiled at me. Seriously? What’s going on?
“Ugh, come on Crusaders. Let’s go and keep looking for Rainbow Dash. Besides, I can’t take anymore singing.” Scootaloo called over.

“Well maybe my sister knows where she is.” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Bye Fluttershy!” Sweetie Belle waved goodbye to her as they began to leave.

“Bye girls.” Fluttershy responded back to them.

“Anyway, we gotta go too! Don’t want them to be in trouble.” I replied with a soft smile. “We’ll see you later Flutters!”

“Yeah, bye!” Kaede added.

“Thanks for telling your story!” Kodi barked goodbye to her.

“See ya everyone!” Fluttershy waved goodbye to us as we continued our way to find Rainbow Dash. Still, that burst of rainbow...what could it mean?




“Hmm…” I overheard Mason muttering, going into deep thought. I wonder if it has to do the backstories AJ and Flutters were telling us about. Is it about that burst of Rainbow? I wonder...could’ve it been from Dash herself? We were finally back to Ponyville as we were walking through main street.

“Oh, good day my friends.” Huh? I looked over to my right to see Rarity walking over to us.

“Oh hi Rarity!” Carrie waved to her.

“Oh hey Rares, how it’s going?” I asked with a soft smile.

“I’m doing alright, thanks for asking.” Rarity replied. “Just heading back to the shop to prepare the dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala. So what brings you all here today?”

“We’re just heading over to Rainbow Dash and ask how she got her Cutie-Mark.” Sweetie Belle replied before gasping. “Wait, sis! Maybe you should tell us how did you got your Cutie-Mark!”

“Oh come one!” Scootaloo groaned.

“Actually, I want to know too!” Kodi agreed with a smile.

“Yeah, so do I!” Kaede said happily. “I mean, if we’re gonna be friends, we should get to know each other more!”

“Well, you are right about that Kaede!” Rarity nodded in agreement. “Alright, let me tell you all the story on how I received my Cutie-Mark.” Rarity said, much to our joy, Scootaloo’s anger and Mason’s curiosity.

“How did we get roped into this?” Scootaloo muttered in annoyance. “We’ll never hear Rainbow Dash’s story.”

After she cleared her throat, she began her story. “Well you see...I was making costumes for a play when I was your girl's’ age. It was for the same school you three are attending right now. The costumes consisted of a group of fruit, a dandelion, a cake, a stack of hay, and a flower. However, I felt as if they could have still been much more fabulous!”

“Oh, so you wanted to make the costumes more beautiful that’ll impress everyone, right?” Kaede guessed.

“Exactly, when the teacher praised me for my work, I still felt like there was something missing. So the next day, I tried every trick I could think of, but nothing seemed to work. The costumes just weren’t right. And the play opened that night. When I was at the point of doubting myself in being into fashion, my horn suddenly began glowing and moving me! I had no idea where my horn was taking me. But Unicorn magic doesn’t happen without a reason. I knew this had to do with my love of fashion and maybe even my Cutie-Mark! I knew that this was...My destiny!”

“Your destiny?” I asked.

“Yes, you see, at first, I couldn’t believe that my horn had led me to a mere humongous rock. It wasn’t until an explosion of rainbow flew throughout the sky. It had split the rock in half revealing many gems! There were so many gems! I could hardly stare away from their beauty!”

“Wow! That’s so amazing!” Carrie exclaimed in amazement, I could even see her eyes sparkled in amazement.

“If I had to guess, that experience there taught you that Gem-finding spell back then, correct?” Mason asked.

“Why of course!” Rarity nodded before continuing her story. “Anyway, that night, at the play, I had coated the costumes with gems. Everypony in the audience was amazed at what an amazing job I done! I looked at my flank and there it was! My cutie-mark!”

“So cool! No wonder why your a fashion designer or something!” Kodi said with a happy grin.

“I know how you feel Rarity! That feeling of making your costumes so beautiful to satisfy everyone, including your friends! As a costume maker, I appreciate your work, Rarity!” Kaede added with a smile.

“Aww thank you Kaede.” Rarity said, blushing in embarrassment. “B-but anyway, I hope you all enjoy it.”

“Anytime Rares!” I exclaimed in joy while I noticed Mason was in deep thought. Probably about that burst of rainbow again. First AJ, then Flutters, and now Mason? This can’t be a coincidence, right?

“Ugh! These namby-pamby stories aren’t getting us any closer to our Cutie-Marks!” I turned to Scootaloo, who was getting irritated. “They’re all about finding who you really are and boring stuff like that!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Scootaloo!” I yelled. “Don’t be mean! At least we’re learning more about our friends, besides, you do realize that our friends are friends with Dash, right?”

“Yeah, but I rather be with Rainbow Dash than them! Come on girls, let’s go! We need action! We need Rainbow Dash! ” Scootaloo hopped onto her scooter and left, with the crusaders following after her. Wow, that was plain rude, well, I can see what she and Rainbow have in common.

“We’re sorry if they acted like that, Rarity.” Mason apologized.

“No no, it’s quite alright. But I’m just glad to tell my story, that’s all.” Rarity replied. “So care to tell me any of your story.”

“Well…” Kaede said, feeling uncomfortable to tell her the story of her life back on our world.

“Sorry Rares, but we kinda don’t have the time for that! We kinda gotta follow the fillies before they do something too stupid!” I exclaimed, saving Kaede from telling the same story she told us. “Goodbye for now!” With that, we ran and headed after the Crusaders, leaving a bewildered Rarity.

“Um...bye for now?” I overheard Rarity wished us goodbye. Phew, that was a close call.

“Thanks for the save, Ren.” Kaede thanked me with a soft smile.

“Hey, that’s what friends do!” I replied back with a nod as we went to go find the girls.




“Where could they be?” I asked myself

“They couldn’t have gone that far, right?” Carrie asked.

“Wait…” Kodi started sniffing in the air before he pointed to the right. “There right over there!” We turned to the right like Kodi said, and to our surprise, we saw the Crusaders. Not only that, but Twilight was with them as well.

“Okay, how did we miss them?” I asked, raising a brow. Mason just shrugged while Kaede and Carrie were just confused as I was.

“Let’s just...go talk to them.” Mason responded, which I nodded in agreement. We walked over there, which Twilight noticed us.

“Oh hey guys, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked.

“We’re just looking after the Crusaders in case they don’t do anything too dangerous.” I replied, rubbing my head bashfully. “But seeing them with you, I’m guessing you’re gonna tell them how you got your Cutie-Mark, right?”

“You’re right about that, Ren.” Twilight nodded before muttering “For once, maybe.” I overheard what she said as I grew angry at her.

“Hey, I’ll have you know Twilight that I’m always right, right?” I asked angrily, which Twilight smiled sheepishly and the others just looked away from me. Come on, I’m not that stupid!...Right?

“Anyway...moving on.” Mason said, wanting to avoid the subject. “Care to us tell us your side of the story?”

“Why I’ll be glad.” Twilight nodded before clearing her throat and started her backstory. “As a young filly in Canterlot, I always wanted to go to the Summer Sun Celebration, where Princess Celestia raises the sun.” Oh yeah, I forgot about that time. It was the day I woke up from the chamber and in Equestria, and became good friends with Twilight, Fluttershy, and the others.

“Hold on?! Raises the sun?!” Kaede exclaimed. “She can raise the sun!?”

“Well of course, don’t somepony in your world do that?” Apple Bloom asked, raising a brow.

“No actually, it just moves on its own.” Kaede explained, much to the fillies shock.

“We’ll...talk about that later.” Twilight said. “But anyway, after I saw the most amazing, most wonderful thing from Princess Celestia’s appearance, I poured myself into learning everything I could about magic. Thus, I spent every day and night reading through my books, learning many things!”

“Oh, so that explains why you love reading books so much.” I said with a tooth-eating grin. “I can relate. The moment I read my first Manga, I was astonished and wanted to pour more info into my head with all the awesome stuff in it.” Everyone sweat-dropped upon hearing my explanation.

“Well...there’s a clear difference between Mangas and books, Loodan.” Mason said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Oh come on! You guys are haters! All of you! What is the difference between Mangas and books?! I mean, they’re both made for reading!

“So…” Twilight continued the story. “My parents decided to enroll me in Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. It was a dream come true! Well, except for one tiny thing…” Twilight said, smiling sheepishly.

“What was it?” Kodi asked curiously.

“I had to pass an entrance exam! I had to hatch a baby dragon from an egg!” Twilight exclaimed.

“What?!” I exclaimed in shock. “But hold on, that isn’t fair! I mean, you were a filly, so you didn’t even know what were you doing!”

“That’s exactly what I thought!” Twilight nodded in agreement before smiling softly. “While I tried doing it, I gave up and thought it was all over, until all of a sudden-”

“A explosive burst of rainbow came out of nowhere, correct?” Mason asked, much to our surprise.

“Y-yeah, but how did you know that?” Twilight asked.

“We heard from Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity. It seems like they experience the same thing from when they were fillies.” Kaede answered.

“Strange…” Twilight muttered before going back to her story. “But anyway, like Mason said, a huge explosive burst of rainbow came out of nowhere. It scared me so much that magic shot out from my horn and towards the egg! The egg broke, releasing a baby dragon.”

“A baby dragon?” Carrie asked. Wait a minute...could she be talking about?...

“You’re...talking about Spike, right?” I asked curiously.

“Why yes, of course.” Twilight nodded.

“Spike? Who’s that?” Kaede asked.

“He’s a dragon and Twilight’s assistant.” Mason replied with a serious expression. “Speaking of which, I haven’t seen him since we left for Appleloosa, and he wasn’t there for the get-together last week.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about him.” I added. “Where is he?”

“Oh, he has some important business back in Canterlot, so he won’t come back till tomorrow.” Twilight responded. Oh, I see now.

“Whatever! Just tell us the story!” Scootaloo exclaimed, causing me to frown and Mason to glare at her. This filly should really learn respect for others, including my friends.

“Oh right…” Twilight cleared her throat, going back to the story. “See...I sorta accidentally lost control of all my magic! I had no idea what was going on! I had never been more scared of anything in my life! It wasn’t until the Princess placed her hoof on me. When I saw her, I instantly calmed down. All the bad magic I had caused was undone.” Wow, I know Celestia was good, but not that good if she was able to get rid of all the magic Twilight caused.

“Soon after, I grew afraid and apologized to her, but she didn’t scold me.” Twilight said in joy. “She told me that I had a special gift and told me that she never came across a Unicorn with raw abilities. And the best part is that….she not only allowed me to be a student to her school, but also her personal protege at her school.”

“Oh, so that’s how you became her faithful student, huh?” I asked with a smile.

“Exactly!” Twilight exclaimed happily. “Before you know it, I was super excited to be accepted to the school, but not until Princess Celestia pointed to my flank, which showed me my own Cutie-Mark!” Twilight exclaimed as she began hopping happily around, much to our surprise.

“It was amazing! Before you know it, I grew excited and shouted "YES YES YES YES! Why? Because it was the most greatest thing of my entire life! YES YES YES YES!” Why is she keep shouting yes over and over again?

“Umm….” Carrie tried to say something, but her brother stopped her and shook his head, not wanting to go far to know why Twilight is acting like this, and so was I.

“Okay okay!” Apple Bloom responded, feeling uncomfortable at seeing Twilight like this.

“We’re happy for you, Twilight.” Sweetie Belle added.

“Yeah, thrilled. Let’s get the heck out of here while we still can.” Scootaloo announced as they walked away from the scene.

“Yeah, us too.” Kodi said, which we nodded in agreement.

“Um...bye Twilight.” I waved goodbye to her.

“Yeah, see ya Twilight.” Kaede added before we followed after the fillies and continued our way to find Dash. I smirked a little at seeing Twilight like that, it nice to see her expressing her emotions a lot.




“Ugh! Come on everypony, if we keep wasting time! We’ll never be able to find Rainbow Dash and hear her awesome tale on how she got her Cutie-Mark!” Scootaloo exclaimed, irritated by all these distractions.

“Come on Scootaloo, I’m sure Rainbow is just doing something…” I said, trying to calm her down.

“Oh really? What’s that?” She asked, raising a brow. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

“...I have no idea.”

“But still, these stories on how our friends got their Cutie-Marks are quite amazing!” Carrie exclaimed.

“I know right?” Kodi nodded in agreement.

“Yes true, but still...something bothers me.” Mason said, much to our confusion.

“Huh? What do you mean Mason?” Kaede asked in confusion.

“I’m sure you all remember the strange connection in each of their stories, right?” Mason asked. I began thinking on the question he asked us, and realized what he was talking about.

“You mean...that burst of rainbow that explodes into the sky, right?” I asked, which Mason nodded.

“Correct, it can’t be a coincidence, that rainbow has some significant role in this whole thing.”

“What do you mean?” Kodi asked.

“I mean how our friends gained their Cutie-Marks, it’s just so...weird.” Mason admitted, before going back into deep thought. Hmm, can’t really blame him for not thinking about it. What is up with this rainbow thing? Wait...a burst of rainbow? I feel like I’ve seen that before...Could it be...Ah, of course! The sonic Rainboom! I remember Rainbow told me that she used to perform it back when she was a filly. So...that Sonic Rainboom did that.

“Hi guys!” Huh? Suddenly, I was face-to-face with a certain pink party pony.

“GAH!” I exclaimed in shock. Boy, I wasn’t prepared for that.

“Pinkie? Where did you come from?!” Kaede asked, surprised for her appearing out of nowhere, per usual.

“Oh, that’s an easy question, Kaede!” Pinkie said, appearing right in front of her and touching her nose before she grabbed two dolls, one was a man and the other was a woman. “Well you see, when a mommy pony and a daddy pony meet for the first time, they-”

“Stop that!” Mason exclaimed, blushing a bit. “She didn’t mean that! She meant where the heck did you come from? How did you appeared right in front of us?”

“Oh, I was walking in front of you guys.” Pinkie replied, sticking her tongue out a little.

“But wait, we didn’t even see you.” Kaede responded, feeling quite creeped out from Pinkie.

“Kaede, it’s best if you don’t question her. It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.” I spoke up, getting back up.

“Huh? But what does that mean?” Kaede asked.

“Just...don’t.” I shook my head.

“Yeah, I mean, many of the fans has been asking for that, and yet, the mystery has still never been solved. I mean, we went past like eight seasons of the My Little Pony series. Well, for us and the author, we’re practically on Season one of this fanfic, so it might take a while to get there-.” We all just looked with confusion and surprise looks.

“What?” Kodi asked, while my brain tried to process what she just said. Eight seasons? Season one of this fanfic? Fans? I think my head need to relax with a nice drink of orange soda when we get back home.

“Yeah…” Sweetie Belle said, glancing away from Pinkie until Apple Bloom spoke up.

“But anyway, we’re kinda busy searching for Rainbow Dash and ask her how did she get her Cutie-Mark.” Apple Bloom added, which made Pinkie gasp happily.

“No way! Can I share my story? Can I?! Can I?!” Pinkie asked, hopping around us.

“She sure is energetic…” Kaede muttered in surprise.

“You don’t know the half of it.” I responded with a sigh.

“Ugh, fine!” Scootaloo groaned. “Just get it over with!”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie nodded, which made both Kodi and Carrie giggled and Kaede to chuckle a bit.

“Well, you gotta admit, she’s quite funny.” Kaede chuckled. I nodded with a smile, agreeing with her. Before then, Pinkie started her story.

“See, my sisters and I were raised on a rock farm outside of Ponyville.” Wait, rock farm? Is that a thing or something? “We spend our days working on the fields. There was no talking, and there was no smiling.”

“Wait, so you weren’t like this from before?” I asked, surprised to hear that.

“Yeah, all because of that rock farm, it was no fun, no offense to my family. But I mean, all you had to do was rotate rocks and such. How boring is that?!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“That...does make an amount of sense, I suppose.” Mason muttered in agreement.

“Wow, hearing about your life Pinkie…” I made a sad expression. “Makes me kinda sad…”

“Oh don’t be Rennie, because the good part is just starting!” Pinkie patted me on the head. Hmm, if I had to guess, does it involve?...

“So anyway, while I was in the south field, preparing to rotate the rocks to the east field when all of a sudden...BOOM!” Pinkie shouted. “This huge rainbow exploded in the sky! When I saw it, I was so happy! I never felt joy like that before. It felt so good. I just wanted to keep smiling forever.” Called it! I called that!

“And I can see how that worked out.” I said, rubbing my head bashfully with a big grun.

“That’s right Rennie!” Pinkie nodded in agreement. “And I wanted everypony to know how to smile too, but rainbows don’t come along that often. I wondered, how else could I create some smiles? I spent that whole night and morning making a huge party for my family! When the sun rose up, I looked out the shed where the party was going to be at. And as soon as I brought my mom, dad, and my sisters to the shed, she became shocked and trembled in fear.”

“So...they didn’t like it?” Kodi asked.

“Like it?” Pinkie asked sadly before grinning and shouted “They love it!”

“Really?” Kaede asked before sighing in relief. “For a second there, you had us worried.
“That’s what I thought too, but they finally smiled like they never smiled before! Since then, I received my Cutie-Mark on partying and since that day, I would always cherished the memories of that day!” Pinkie said happily. “And that’s how Equestria was made.”

We remained silent when Pinkie said that last sentence of her story. “...What?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Umm...you mean gaining your Cutie-Mark, correct?” Mason asked, raising a brow.

“Oooh that...Yep!” Pinkie nodded happily. Same old Pinkie Pie, but I never knew that she never smiled or even had that cheerful personality. I guess never judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a hyperactive pink pony by her personality and looks.

“Whatever, we have no time!” Scootaloo exclaimed angrily. “All I just want to hear Rainbow Dash’s story! Now we’ll never hear it!”

“Oh you mean Dashy, she’s act Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie responded with her usual grin.

“Sugarcube Corner?” Kaede asked.

“Remember, it was that baker’s place where we met Princess Celestia for the first time.” Mason replied.

“Oh that’s right.” Kaede smiled happily. “So Rainbow Dash is in Sugarcube Corner?”

“Yep yep!” Pinkie nodded. “Along with the others!”

“Glad to hear!” Scootaloo exclaimed happily. “Come on girls! Let’s go!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded and headed towards Sugarcube Corner.

“Well, guess we’re going too, huh?” I asked.

“Well, we have no choice, besides, it might solve the one connection to the stories we’ve been hearing from them.” Mason replied with a serious expression.

“Well either way, I am getting a little hungry.” Carrie said, her stomach groaning a bit.

“Yeah, me too…” Kodi agreed.

“But we had lunch like an hour ago.” Kaede replied with a surprised expression.

“My sister has always been known for having a big stomach.” Mason replied with a soft smile, causing Carrie to blush a bit.
“And Kodi’s stomach is like an endless abyss.” I added, much to Kodi’s embarrassment as well.

“Well anyway, come on everypony, let’s go!” Pinkie exclaimed, appearing right in front of me again, surprising me again.

“Whoa!” I fell on my butt and saw her hopping away towards Sugarcube Corner.

“That mare is gonna be the death of me…” I muttered, which the others nodded in agreement. Seriously, I gotta be prepared for whenever she appears right in front of me. I mean, after that whole Pinkie Sense incident, I’m still grasping on her randomness and such, but then again, I think it’s pretty funny for that kind of personality of hers. She’s like a clown...a super funny clown...I think.




“Look! We’re here!” Pinkie pointed out as we finally arrived to Sugarcube Corner. “Maybe someday I could tell you all the story of my life and possibly my Cutie-Mark, it’s a diamond!”

“First off, you already told us. Don’t pretend to be stupid, which you are anyway. Second, your Cutie-Mark is a bunch of balloons, not a diamond.” Mason replied with an annoyed look.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie nodded, causing Mason to face-palmed. Well I can hardly blame him, at least. As soon as we entered the place, we find the Crusaders talking our friends.

“Oh Ren, Kodi, Carrie, Mason, Kaede, Pinkie, you’re here.” Twilight said, noticing us walked in.

“Hey girls, what did we missed?” I asked.

“Oh, we were about to hear the awesome tale of Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Yep, but then again, listening to the others’ stories was quite amazing, especially my big sis.” Apple Bloom added.

“Yeah, mine too.” Sweetie Belle agreed, causing both AJ and Rares to smiled appreciatively.

“So if you don’t mind, can we hear it, please?” Carrie asked politely.

“Well Scoots told me you guys wanted to hear my Cutie-Mark story? Right?” Rainbow asked.

“You have no idea.” Kaede said, smiling sheepishly while rubbing her head bashfully.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it!” Rainbow nodded before she began telling her story. If me and Mason are right, then that means that it was the Sonic Rainboom that earned our friends’ Cutie-Marks.

“It all happened during the race at Flight Camp, where I stood alone against all odds to defend Fluttershy’s honor.”

“Oh yeah, Fluttershy told us about that.” Kodi said, remembering Fluttershy’s story.

“Yep, and as soon as the flag flashed, I began with an amazing burst of speed! I’ve never flown like that before. That freedom was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. The speed, the adrenaline, the wind in my mane...I liked it a lot! Turns out that the only thing I liked more than flying fast...was winning! Most ponies thought the Sonic rainboom was just an old mare’s tale, but that day...The day I discovered racing...I proved the legends were true. I made the impossible happen! And that, little ones, is how you earn a Cutie-Mark.” Rainbow finished her story as the Crusaders were amazed by the story.

“Sonic Rainboom?” Mason asked.

“Oh, it’s this incredible thing that Rainbow Dash can do when she goes really fast and makes the biggest rainbow that you’ve never seen!” I answered with a smile on my face.

“Ren’s right! I once performed it in the Best Young Fliers Competition, even Ren saw it closely when he competed in it.” Rainbow added, much to Mason, Carrie, and Kaede’s shock.

“Wait, but how could that be?!” Kaede asked in shock.

“Easy, I used my hoverboard to compete in the race, it wasn’t hard, if you count saving a bunch of ponies, including Rarity, from falling off from the sky.” I answered with a chuckle, creating even more for them.

“You have a hoverboard?!” Carrie asked. Well, this is gonna be a long story.

“Well, before we go into that...I think we need to go back to what Rainbow Dash just said a minute ago.” Fluttershy spoke up, looking at Dash with a surprised expression.

“About what?” Dash asked, not following what she meant.

“It’s about the Sonic Rainboom. I heard an explosion and saw that rainbow too. Rainbow Dash, if you hadn’t scared the animals, I never would have learned I could communicate with them and gotten my Cutie-Mark.”

“I heard that boom! And right afterwards there was this amazing rainbow that taught me to smile.” Pinkie added.

“When I got my Cutie-Mark, I saw a rainbow that pointed me home.” Applejack said, shocked to hear about this. “I bet it was your Sonic Rainboom!”

“There was an explosion I could never explain when I got my Cutie-Mark!” Rarity exclaimed.

“This is uncanny! If that explosion didn’t happen when it did, I would have blown my entrance exam. Rainbow Dash, I think you helped me earn my Cutie-Mark too!” Twilight added.

“We all owe our Cutie-Marks to you!” She added as everyone gave Dash a big hug and sighed happily.

“Wow, it was like you girls were already friends, even if you didn’t meet each other for the first time.” I spoke up, with a big grin on my face.

“I know, I think it was amazing.” Kaede said, smiling happily.

“Thanks, but...maybe you all should join in.” Twilight said, much to our surprise.

“R-really?” I asked, which they nodded as Applejack said “Well of course, you’re are friends too and should join in with us, Loodan.” I blushed a bit and nodded as we all gave them a group hug, even Mason unexpectedly got a hug from Pinkie Pie, but he didn’t mind.

“Awww…” Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle felt emotional to see us like this, but…

“Eww!” Scootaloo groaned. Oh come on, can’t she at least learn to accept emotional moments or something? “Gimme a break. Come on, Crusaders! Maybe we just need to try zip-lining again.” With that, they left in a hurry while we finished up our group hug.

“Should we stop them from their zip-lining or something?” Kodi asked.

“Nah, they’ll probably stop once they try it again.” I shrugged.

“You know, I’m quite curious.” Twilight spoke up after they finished their hug. “What about Ren and the others?” Huh? What about us?

“Yeah, what about you guys’ stories?” Rainbow asked. “But we can understand, I mean, he told us a lot about his life with his family.”

“Yeah, that is true.” I nodded in agreement.

“Well...I guess I don’t mind sharing with you all…” Kaede said, feeling uncomfortable to tell them it, but I turned to her with a soft smile.

“Hey, don’t worry Kaede. They’re very nice ponies and they’ll totally understand what you’re saying. Trust me…” I said, smiling softly at her, which made her relaxed more.
“You’re right, thanks Ren.” Kaede said, smiling and blushing at me. I smiled back at her, but not until I noticed Mason feeling uncomfortable. I could tell by seeing his fist clenching in anger and glancing away.

“Mason, you okay?” I asked in concern.

“...Leave me alone.” Mason responded. I became surprised for him to say something like that.

“Mason?” Everyone turned to him with worried, confusion, and concern.

“Mason, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“I...just want to be left alone for a while. Besides, why should I tell you anything?” Mason asked, glaring at us.

“Because...we’re friends.” I replied.

“....” Mason just went silent and didn’t respond before he took his leave, leaving us in bewilderment.

“What was that just now?” Rainbow asked.

“That was...surprising.” Rarity said, surprised by Mason’s behavior. “I mean, what caused Mason to act up like that?”

“...I’ll go talk to him. I’ll be right back.” I said, walking out of Sugarcube Corner and headed out to see Mason walking away, darkening his face. Why is he acting like this? Does it have something to do with what Twilight said suggesting that we should tell our stories?

“Mason!” I called for him, gaining his attention.

“What do you want?” Mason asked, glancing away coldly. Well...that was rude.

“Mason, what’s wrong?” Mason didn’t respond and began to feel uneasy. “Mason...If it got something to do about we each tell our childhoods and such...you don’t gotta tell us.”

“I...don’t have to tell you anything.” Mason said, much to my surprise.

“Huh?”

“I don’t like talking about it.” Mason replied with a sad expression. I don’t understand, what could be...wait, I remember something back when we first met. He said something about that he used to sing to his sister back at the orphanage. I think that the orphanage has something to do with that.

“Mason...I remember something you mentioned before, does your childhood involve about the orphanage?” I asked, causing Mason to flinch before going silent and glancing away from me. “Mason, you can tell us and you don’t have to be afraid on what you might tell us. But if you don’t want to….I understand.”

“But...why?” Mason asked.

“Because we’re friends, and I understand if you’re not comfortable to tell us. I promise I won’t ask again, and if your sister tries to tell us, I won’t listen. It’s a promise.” I said, smiling towards him. Mason looked at me for a minute before saying “You know, you’re quite naive, but...you’re a good friend.” I smiled happily to hear that. It seems that Mason finally calmed down.

“Hey Ren, can I tell you something?” Mason asked.

“Yeah sure, what is it?” I asked curiously.

“I...overheard Kaede’s story.” Mason admitted, much to my surprise.

“You...did?” No wonder why he took so long. I was wondering why he took so long to get a bucket of water.

“And I’ve been thinking my times back in the orphanage. You have to understand, the times there were...unpleasant. I was thinking if you all wouldn’t understand and telling it to you all would make me feel uncomfortable.” Mason explained.

“Hey, we’ll understand, but if you feel uncomfortable, we’ll just wait till you have feel relax and okay to tell us about your past.” I said, smiling at him. Mason covered his mouth with his scarf, but I could see the blush he was giving.

“Yeah...okay.” Mason replied before I heard him muttering "Even if I told him much about my life back then, would he believe me? Besides, I need to go home back to Mistress, she's probably worried and wondering where I am." Huh? Mistress? Who is he talking about? 

“Ren! Mason!” We turned around to see our friends running towards us. “Is everything alright?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, just talking, that’s all.” I said, grinning. “But anyway, Mason doesn’t want to talk about it. He said it was...unpleasant. So he doesn’t want to talk about it until he feels like it would be the right time.” I explained.

“So you don’t want me to tell them as well?” Carrie asked her brother, which he nodded.

“Yes, please don’t Carrie.” Mason replied sadly.

“O-okay.” Carrie nodded, understanding her brother’s problem.

“But if its uncomfortable as he says, then we understand if he doesn’t want to tell us yet.” Twilight nodded, understanding of Mason’s problems.

“Yeah…” Mason replied.

“So anyway, about Kaede, did she?...” I asked, which Kaede nodded.

“Yeah, I told them, but they cheered me up with a hug and I felt happy again.” Kaede smiled softly.

“That is true, but honestly, to think that she would have a rude stepmother who doesn’t show respect to a young girl like her. That is so plain rude and disgusting!” Rarity exclaimed.

“For sure…” Applejack nodded in agreement.

“Well, when you have the time to tell us Mason, we promise that we’ll understand and help you no matter what.” Fluttershy said, smiling sweetly at him. Mason looked away and blushed and said “T-thank you…”

“Come on everypony! Let’s forget about this whole sad thing and go over to Sugarcube Corner to eat some delicious sweets!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out some cupcakes out of her mane and started eating them.

“Um...how did-”

“Just...don’t question it, Kaede.” I said, sweat-dropping a little while seeing Pinkie handing a cupcake to Carrie, who ate it cheerfully.

“Alright, I guess a little snack will help me, at least.” Mason said, smiling softly.

“Yeah, I’m so hungry!” Kodi exclaimed, causing us to laugh. Same old Kodiak, I guess. Well, can’t blame him, I am getting hungry as well. Well, what turned out for us following and watching over the Crusaders turned into hearing our friends stories, and I gotta tell you, I did not see that twist coming. I mean, who knew Twilight and the others got their Cutie-Marks all thanks to Dash’s Sonic Rainboom, I guess you can call it fate or destiny. Oh well, doesn’t matter, all this thinking is making me hungry. While we headed over to Sugarcube Corner, I began to think about Mason’s sadness towards telling his and Carrie’s childhood and this 'Mistress' he was talking about. Maybe he’ll tell us someday. I just know it, all I gotta do...is believe in him.

To Be Continued