There was one thing that was the same for every pony in the magical land of Equestria. All of them had discovered their cutie marks. Some found it when they discovered the special talent that would lead them through life. Others found it when they found where their heart truly belonged. Yet there was always a small group of ponies who didn't have their cutie marks. Usually, they were mere children or babies and they were too busy learning about the world around them to even think about their cutie marks.
Nearly every pony in Ponyville had their cutie marks, except for three little fillies. They were the only ponies that were without their cutie marks. The three of them banded together to create a cute mark hunting team known as the "Cutie Mark Crusaders." They traveled everywhere in Ponyville searching, but found no answers. They became soon became discouraged when they found that all of their efforts were meaningless. The Cuite Mark Crusaders never broke apart, but they did stop searching.
They stayed friends and continued to go through life without their cutie marks. That was, until two of them found their cutie marks.
"You got your cutie marks!?"
"Y-Yeah..sorry Scootaloo.."
Scootaloo grinded her teeth together in bith anger and envy. How come they found their cutie marks and she didn't? She was definately happy for them, but she was jealous. The orange pegasus fluttered her wings and sat down on the ground while the two showed off their marks. Applebloom turned and Scootaloo could see a picture of a piece of cloth and a sewing needle. Sweetie Bell's cutie mark had the image of a music note. She wasn't surprised really, she had always known that their talents would be what was currently sitting on their flanks.
The pegasus looked down at her empty flank. Would she ever see a cutie mark there? Was she cursed to never have a cutie mark? Was she just that useless? She sighed and let her wings fold up against her back. There was no need to ponder it right now. Her friends were happy and she needed to be happy for them. She forced a small smile and stood up.
"Well, I'm happy for you guys. You finally got your cutie marks.."
Sweetie Bell walked over to her side and hugged her. "This doesn't mean we're not friends anymore, Scootaloo. You know that, right?"
Scootaloo nodded and fluttered her wings again. She needed to do something to keep herself from crying. She should have been celebrating with them too. She should have been showing off her cutie mark along with them. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair!
"I know that, but...this means we'll have to disban the Cutie Mark Crusaders." Applebloom and Sweetie Bell gasped at her proposal.
"Why would we do that?" The earth pony asked surprised.
"Because we made the group to find our cutie marks. You have them." The two ponies looked at each other while Scootaloo looked at her hooves. The best moment of her friends' lives was taking everything she knew away from her. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell suddenly hugged her from both sides. Scootaloo shouted in surprise and unfurled her wings.
"Maybe we can't be crusaders, but the group can keep going!" Sweetie Bell said happily. Applebloom nodded and squeezed the pegasus tighter. "You can still be a crusader, Scootaloo! The sole hunter! The Cutie Mark Crusader!"
Scootaloo shook her friends off and walked a couple of inches away from them. She had no idea if being called that was a good thing or a bad thing. She would be all alone in her hunting. A single pony searching for something that would never come. It just wasn't fair.
"I..."
Rain drops suddenly started to fall from the sky. They fell onto the three ponies lightly but soon started to get faster. Scootaloo tucked her wings against her back so her delicate feathers wouldn't get wet. She wouldn't be able to fly if they were soaked.
"Aw man! It's raining! C'mon ponies, I think Twilight's house is close by!" Applebloom reared up on her hindlegs and let her front hooves flail in front of her. She dropped to the ground and took off running towards the tree house. Sweetie Bell shouted and ran after her. The pegasus chuckled and galloped after. Applebloom was starting to remind her so much of Applejack. Maybe that's what happens when you live in the Apple Family.
They spotted Twilight's tree ahead of them and Scootaloo could see Spike on the front porch calling for them. Did he know they were out there or had he simple seen them coming? The three of them slowed down and headed inside of the tree. Scootaloo shook herself and sent rain drop spraying everywhere. They were lucky that the Library was so close to where they were. The only other close by place was Suger Cube Corner, but by the time they ran over there the storm could have been deadly.
"Oh hello girls. Quite a nasty storm out there, huh?" Twilight Sparkle asked as she came down the steps.
"Yeah, sure is. Did the pegasi plan this?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"Hm..Rainbow Dash didn't say anything about a rain storm this afternoon. Maybe they got behind again?" Twilight reached the bottom of the stairs and used her magic to put away some of the stray books that were just lying around on the ground. Scootaloo saw that Spike was also putting books away. Man, Twilight sure didn't know to clean up, did she?
"I've been watching the weather team and they haven't gotten behind yet." Scootaloo said, adding to the conversation. The purple unicorn thought for a minute and then shrugged. "Oh well, it's no harm right now. We could use some rain. Feel free to stay here as long as you want."
Scootaloo looked around the room and found herself bored. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell had ways to intertain themselves, but without a cutie mark story Scootaloo had nothing. She spotted Spike picking up another stray book and the pegasus decided to talk to him. She trotted over and watched.
"Do you always clean up her messes?" Scootaloo asked curiously. The baby dragon dropped the book in surprise, then laughed and picked it back up. "Yeah, pretty much. It's not all that bad though. I pick up books, send letters, although I wish she was a little bit nicer about it."
The pegasus chuckled and followed him around. Spike wasn't that interesting, but she'd rather watch him than listen to Applebloom and Sweetie Bell telling Twilight their cutie mark stories. If only she could have a cutie mark story that she could share with other ponies. However, she needed a cutie mark first in order to do that.
Scootaloo left Spike and looked out the window. It had calmed down and wasn't as harsh of a storm. Now it was just a steady down pour. The pegasus opened her wings and headed to the door. Scootaloo turned around and looked at Twilight.
"Thanks for letting me stay here while it was bad. I'm heading home now."
Applebloom and Sweetie Bell protested but she didn't listen. Twilight however, just smiled and gave a flick of her tail. "It's no problem, Scootaloo. Come back whenever you feel like, alright?" The pegasus nodded then opened the door. She stepped out and remained sheltered under the tree branches. The wind had stopped so the rain wasn't being blown around. She closed the door with a kick of her back hoof and then ran off into the rain.
Scootaloo didn't feel like flying. Well, actually she couldn't. While she was now big enough to actually fly and stay in the air, she couldn't fly unless it was a clear day. She hadn't had the change tp train with Rainbow Dash yet so the orange pegasus couldn't fly in the rain or in strong winds. It was embarressing in her opinion. What pegasus couldn't fly during the rain? A pegasus's main job would always be to clear the weather. Scootaloo would never be able to clear the clouds on a rainy day.
She might as well just cut her wings off and call herself an earth pony. She meant no offense to Applebloom or any other earth ponies, but what did they do that was so special? Unicorns performed magic. Pegasi kept the weather in check. Alicorns ruled Equestria. What could she do that was so important or special? The one special thing that nature told her that she could do was the one thing that she couldn't. Now that her friends had their cutie marks, she felt completely alone.
Scootaloo wasn't alone however. She knew that Applebloom and Sweetie Bell would always support her and be her friends. The pegasus suddenly collided painfully with a tree. She fell to the ground with her face still against the hard bark. Scootaloo growled and got her hooves. Her nose was stinging from the impact which already told her that it was bleeding. She sighed and hung her head. Another problem that she would have to deal with.
The tips of her wings dragged against the ground and became covered in mud. Scootaloo didn't care that her wings were becoming soaked and useless. They couldn't help her. Sure they could take her anywhere in all of Equestria that she wanted to go, but the one place she wanted to be couldn't not be reached by wings. She wanted to be sitting with her friends telling her cutie mark story. A hopeless dream dreamt up by a hopeless filly.
"Hey Scoots! Is that you down there?"
The filly looked up to see a bright cluster of color. They stood out against the dark rain clouds that covered the sky. Scootaloo just continued to stare at the rainbow of colors above her. Soon they got closer and she saw that they belonged to Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus landed and folded her wings against her back so they didn't get anymore wet than they already were.
"Rainbow..Dash?" Scootaloo asked unsure. Was her mind just making the pegasus up to make her feel better, or was she really there? The rainbowed pony laughed and nodded.
"The one and only! What are doing out here in the rain, Scoots? Shouldn't you be inside?" Scootaloo couldn't answer that question. She should be inside and she wanted to, but the pegasus just couldn't get herself there. Why didn't she stay with Twilight Sparkle where it was dry and warm? Because her friends were there. Her friend's cutie marks were there.
"I was on my way home." She replied simply. Looking at Rainbow Dash now, Scootaloo realized just how much time had pasted. She was now about the same size as the rainbow pony. Perhaps she was a few inches smaller, but Rainbow Dash no longer looked like the huge and wonderful mare she once did. Now she looked just like every other pony. That was if you forgot her bright rainbow mane.
"What happened to your nose?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh, I uh, ran into a tree." She replied. The blue pegasus laughed.
"Looks like you're a bit out of it. Care if I come with you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I figure you won't be flying there and we don't want you running into another tree." She pointed to the orange pony's wings with her hoof. Scootaloo lifted her wings of the ground and tried to close them. It was difficult now since she had let so much mud cling to her feathers, but she wasn't going to show Rainbow Dash any weakness. The two ponies began to walk through the rain together towards Scootaloo's house. No a word was said between them during the trip and Scootaloo was glad for that.
Her house was just a bit outside of Ponyville. Once she was old enough to get a job, Scootaloo left her parents. She was an indepentant pony and wanted to prove that she could make it on her own. She had been doing great for awhile, but now she just didn't know anymore. There were times she missed the voices of her parents or the sound of hooves that weren't her own. Scootaloo even missed her parents' random intrusions into her room. She was alone now.
The two ponies arrived at Scootaloo's house. The orange pegasus thanked Rainbow Dash for the company and headed inside to her house. The loneliness that suddenly overwhelmed her was unbearable. She had always been able to do things on her own through her life. Why did she suddenly crave other ponies right now? What had changed between her life as a tiny filly and being a grown up mare? Maybe it was the fact that she realized that she could no longer keep a hold on her childhood. She was growing up and just had to face it head on.
Scootaloo sighed and locked her door for the night. Tomorrow was another day and by then the rain would be over. Perhaps she'd go for a fly in the night sunny weather and invite Rainbow Dash to come along. Who knew, maybe she'd even find her cutie mark tomorrow.