//------------------------------// // The Cutie Mark Who? // Story: Cutie Mark Sentai Crusader! // by RaisingShad0ws //------------------------------// Chapter 3 -The Cutie Mark Who?- “Mommy, who were they?” Wonderwing asked after returning to their table. “Oh them?” Flower Petal began. “Those were the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” “Who?” The little pegasus asked. “They’re a bunch of the local foals who want nothing more than their cutie marks.” Flower Petal answered. “Like me?” Wonderwing asked. “Yes dear, like you.” Flower Petal answered. “They’re generally good kids, but I have to keep them away from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just so none of them can get hurt.” She said, finishing the pie on her plate. “Why?” Wonderwing asked. “Well lets just say that the Cutie Mark Crusaders act like the good guys and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon act like the bad guys.” Flower Petal explained. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders don’t like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and vice-versa.” “I still don’t get it.” Wonderwing said, rubbing his hooves against his head. “How can ponies not like each other?” “Well not everypony likes everything that everypony else does.” Flower Petal answered. “You can ask me all the questions you want after you eat your pie okay?” She said, watching the pegasus nod happily. “Okay!” Wonderwing said. As soon as Wonderwing was finished, and both he and his mother left Sugarcube Corner, the tiny pegasus bombarded his mother with any and almost every question under the sun. It started with standard, “What’s this for?” and, “Why does it do that?” but it quickly devolved into nothing but, “Why.” Wonderwing’s mother did her best to answer everyone of the foal’s questions, and helped guide him along the path to her small home on Cherry Street. Flower Petal’s home was small, even for Ponyville’s standards. It was on the corner of Cherry and Main, and seemed to have a small roof problem on the back side of the house. The windows were shut as the unicorn calmly trotted to the front door, and made her house key appear from within her magic before calmly unlocking it. The inside of the house was modestly furnished, A small living room set consisting of a sofa and a pair of chairs that sat in front of a fireplace were neatly arranged to face the fireplace. A small entranceway led into the dining room which Wonderwing assumed was the kitchen, and a set of steps that led upstairs and deeper into the house could be seen from the front door. “You’re room is upstairs sweetheart.” Flower Petal said gently. She smiled as the pegasus trotted into the house before stopping. She then used her magic to close the front door behind them before following Wonderwing. “Come on; the sooner you put your bag away, the sooner we can go to the park.” She said reassuringly. “But Mommy, I don’t know which room is mine.” Wonderwing replied. The unicorn paused for a moment before nodding. “Well then, let’s fix that problem.” She said, walking past the foal and heading upstairs. Wonderwing followed closely, climbing up the staircase with his mother until they got to the second floor. There wasn’t too much else that stood out on this floor like the last one, a pair of doors were on either side as another door sat across from the stairs all painted white. Wonderwing and his mother trotted calmly across the hardwood floor to the last door on the right before stopping. “Here’s your room Wonderwing.” Flower Petal said, her horn lightening up gently as the door handle turned before the door opened. Wonderwing looked inside, seeing what appeared to be a barren and empty space save for a small dresser and a bed that faced a window that had a beautiful view of the intersection of Cherry and Main street, and grinned at the sight. It wasn’t like his bedroom back in his father’s home back in Canterlot. There, the empty space of the room felt like it was more oppressive than anything else. Here, the empty space felt like a new beginning. Like the dawn of a new day was happening at that very moment. Wonderwing began to sniffle up and tear up at that very moment, only to feel a gentle hug from his mother. “What’s wrong?” Wonderwing’s mother asked. “I-I-I l-like it.” Wonderwing answered through a small sob. “Mommy, this is the best thing ever!” He said, looking up at his mother and smiling. “Well I’m glad you like it.” Flower Petal said, stroking Wonderwing’s mane a little. “I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to go, okay sweetie?” She asked, watching him nod. “Yes Mommy.” Wonderwing answered. Flower Petal smiled before leaving Wonderwing to get his things unpacked. As the pegasus put his things away he smiled. “Nopony’s ever been so nice to me... Not since Father and Mommy separated.” Wonderwing thought, putting his copy of, “The Magnificence of War,” in the bottom shelf in the dresser. He was glad that he was with his mother, and he was also glad that he didn’t have to deal with his father constantly pushing him all the time, which made things feel a lot better. Wonderwing got finished several minutes later, and galloped downstairs, happily jumping down from three stairs up. Flower Petal smiled at the pegasus before getting up from the couch that she was sitting on. “So are you ready to go Wonderwing?” Flower Petal asked. “Yes Mommy.” Wonderwing answered, smiling as his mother calmly trotted to the front door and opened it again. “Well then, let’s go sweetie.” Flower Petal said, watching the foal scamper outside. The park in Ponyville was like a whole new world than what Wonderwing was used to. Everything seemed so bright and colorful, there were flowers that he hadn’t seen before and the trees and little animals that lived near them surprised him as he approached. His mother couldn’t help but laugh a little as the pegasus foal actually tried catching a frog that had wandered a little too far from the small pond nearby. As they meandered through the park, Wonderwing’s mother stopped and took a seat on one of the park benches underneath a very shady oak tree. Wonderwing leapt onto the bench and snuggled up close to her, which caused the unicorn to smile. They both remained that way for a couple of minutes until the sounds of other foals laughing could be heard coming from somewhere. Wonderwing looked up, looking for the source of the sound until he spotted three other foals, a pale purple unicorn foal with a yellow mane and tail, a white with brown spotted earth pony foal with a brown mane and tail, and a creamy white earth pony foal with a very curly red mane and tail with a pair of round glasses, playing with a frisbee in a small patch of grass several yards behind them. The foals, two of which didn’t have a cutie mark while the other one did, seemed to be really enjoying their game until the unicorn foal threw the frisbee a little harder and higher than the other foals could catch. Flower Petal watched Wonderwing closely out of the corner of her eye as the frisbee landed near them both. The unicorn foal ran over to where they were sitting, which caused Wonderwing to hide behind the back rest of the bench before she could see him. “Hi there Miss Flower Petal!” The unicorn foal said happily, watching as Flower Petal turned around and smiled at her. “Well hello there Dinky, how are you?” Flower Petal asked. “I’m doing good.” Dinky replied. “Who’s that there with you?” She asked, seeing a dark purple something between the gaps of the bench’s back rest. “Oh, well this is my little one Dinky.” Flower Petal replied, gently nudging Wonderwing with a hoof. The little pegasus didn’t move at first, but after another gentle nudge, Wonderwing looked over the side of the bench to see the unicorn face to face. “Oh wow!” Dinky exclaimed, smiling as she did so. “What’s your name?” She asked. “...” Wonderwing replied, beyond what anypony was able to hear. “Umm... your gonna need to speak a little louder.” Dinky said. “Wonderwing...” The pegasus replied. “Oh, that’s a cool name!” Dinky said. “So, do you wanna play frisbee with us Wonderwing?” She asked, watching the other foal curiously. Wonderwing looked up at his mother, who smiled encouragingly at him, before nodding. “Sure... If it’s okay with my Mommy.” He said. “Go on ahead Wonderwing, I’ll be right here if you need me.” She said, watching the pegasus’ face brighten significantly. “You just stay where I can see you.” She said, watching the foal nod. “Okay Mommy.” Wonderwing replied before running around the other side of the bench and following Dinky. When both foals got to where the earth pony foals were, Wonderwing trembled as they stared at him nervously. “ ‘ey Dinky, who’s this ‘ere?” The white and brown spotted foal asked. “This is Wonderwing you guys.” Dinky replied, smiling as Wonderwing waved a nervous hoof at them both. “Well it’s nice to meet you Wonderwing. I’m Pipsqueak.” The white and brown foal said. “And I’m Twitht.” The creamy white foal said after Pipsqueak. “Uh... what?” Wonderwing asked. “That’s Twist.” Pipsqueak answered. “She talks with a... I don’t know what it’s called. Do you Dinky?” He asked. “It’th called a lithp.” Twist answered. “Yeah, that’s what it’s called.” Pipsqueak said, watching Wonderwing nod. “Oh, okay.” The pegasus foal answered. Dinky smiled as she held the frisbee with both of her hooves. “All right you guys, the name of the game is Catch.” She said with a smile. “The first one to catch the frisbee the most times is the winner. Okay?” “All right!” Pipsqueak said confidently. “Let’th do thith!” Twist cheered. “Oh... Um okay...” Wonderwing said, feeling extremely nervous. The game of frisbee was intense. Well, as intense as a bunch of foals could have made it. And about halfway through their game, Wonderwing seemed to fit in with everypony else involved. “Wow Wonderwing, you sure are good at this game.” Dinky said, smiling as Wonderwing caught another frisbee thrown at him. “But I’m not as good as you guys.” Wonderwing replied, tossing the frisbee towards Pipsqueak. “Nonsense mate, you’re a pro.” Pipsqueak replied before catching the frisbee with his teeth. He then tossed it to Dinky before speaking again. “You could be gettin’ a cutie mark for catchin’ a frisbee any time now.” “A frithbee Cutie Mark?” Twist asked. “Are you thure that a pony can get a cutie mark for playing frithbee all day long?” “Of course!” Dinky exclaimed, throwing the frisbee a little too hard again. The four foals watched nervously as the frisbee sailed far above where both Twist and Wonderwing could reach and went beyond the bushes where they were playing. They all heard a loud, “Ow!” Before running over to see where it landed. As the four foals crawled through the bush, they could see it in plain sight. It was however in the worst place imaginable, Diamond Tiara’s hooves. “All right, what’s the big idea?” The angry foal snapped, looking around before seeing the leaves on the bushes shake. Angrily, Diamond Tiara walked around the bush with the frisbee in her mouth before slamming it down on the ground. She glared at Dinky and her friends, completely ignoring Wonderwing for a moment, as the tension between them began to mount even more. “All right Blank Flanks, which one of you threw this at me?” Diamond Tiara snapped. “We didn’t throw the frisbee at you Diamond Tiara, we were just playing and-” “We were just playing and nothing!” Diamond Tiara snapped, cutting Dinky off. “You’re just jealous that I have a cutie mark and you don’t. Isn’t that it?” “No that’s not true, we really were just playing when I threw the frisbee too hard and,” Dinky stopped, watching as Diamond Tiara’s face began to get redder and redder. “Oy, you leave ‘er alone.” Pipsqueak snapped. “Just cause you ‘ave a cutie mark and we don’t doesn’t mean you get ta walk all over us.” “And whose gonna stop me Blank Flank?” Diamond Tiara snapped. “My mommy for one thing.” Wonderwing pointed out, raising a hoof as his mother was glaring at the foal. “Aww... Is the widdle Bwank Fwank gonna tell his Mommy on me?” Diamond Tiara snapped. “Besides, you’re the ones that hit me in the first place.” “Watch what you say about my mommy...” Wonderwing said coldly, feeling his own blood begin to boil. “And what are you going to do about it?” Diamond Tiara snapped. “Come on you guyth, let’th jutht go play thomewhere elthe.” Twist said, trotting towards the frisbee before Diamond Tiara planted a hoof on it. “Nopony’s going anywhere.” She snapped. “Not until I get an apology.” Before anypony could say anything, there was a loud, “INCOMING!” which caused Dinky and all of her friends to get their heads down. Wonderwing watched as several bright and colorful water balloons descended from somewhere else, all landing on or near Diamond Tiara with excellent efficiency. The foal stopped, sputtering and spinning around on her back hooves to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders stand next to a small tree mounted slingshot across from them on the other side of the park path. Next to them was the pink mare that Wonderwing had seen earlier, a very goofy grin on her face and a telescope covering one of her eyes. Diamond Tiara continued to fume, but as the Crusaders began to prepare another shot she decided to make a hasty retreat, mumbling about how the, “Adults like the Blank Flanks,” as she left. As soon as the angry little foal went away, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the pink mare that was with them crossed the other side of the park and smiled. “Hey there Twist, Dinky, Pipsqueak, awesomely fantabulous new foal to Ponyville that I have never met before that I met at Sugarcube Corner today.” The pink mare greeted, smiling at them all. “Diamond Tiara’s not giving you all any trouble is she?” She asked. “No, not at all Pinkie Pie.” Dinky answered. “Yeah, thankth to you and the other Cruthaderth, we’ll be fine.” Twist said happily. “Umm... One question though... Why was there a tree slingshot there?” Pipsqueak asked. “Well silly filly, that’s where I keep my tree slingshots in case of Water Balloon Fight or Bully emergencies. Though I wasn’t really wanting to use the Slingshot for that though.” Pinkie Pie answered. “Oh.” Pipsqueak said, watching as Wonderwing’s mother walked over to the group calmly. “Pinkie Pie, I appreciate what you did but I could have handled things if they had gotten out of control.” Flower Petal said. “Oh, but things weren’t getting out of control.” Pinkie Pie replied. “There in the best control that they could possibly be in. It’s the way that the author’s making them to be.” Pinkie Pie replied, seeing the confused expression on Wonderwing’s face. “So... what brings you and the other Crusaders here?” Flower Petal asked. “Well, I’m here to get this Party Train rolling.” Pinkie Pie answered. “There’s a big, “Welcome to Ponyville,” Pinkie Pie Party with your son’s name on it. I mean it is his first time to Ponyville and because I’ve never ever seen him before I just knew that I had to throw him a Welcome to Ponyville Party just like I did for you a couple of months ago and-” “Breathe Pinkie.” Flower Petal and six of the foals said at once. After taking a deep breath, Pinkie Pie smiled. “So, you wanna party like it’s two thousand and nine?” She asked Wonderwing with a big grin. The foal backed up a little, Pinkie Pie had gotten uncomfortably close to his face as she smiled at him. Dinky and her friends nodded encouragingly, which caused the foal to look up to his mother. “Mommy, can I go?” Wonderwing asked. All eyes were on Flower Petal now, as not only were the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Dinky and her friends were giving her puppy dog eyes, but so was Pinkie Pie. After a few seconds of staring into their eyes, and hearing a chorus of whimpering Flower Petal nodded. “Of course you can go Wonderwing.” She said, hearing a cheer from the foals and Pinkie Pie. “Okay you guys, I have to finish getting it set up.” Pinkie Pie said, looking down on the foals. “You can make sure that Wonderwing gets there in about thirty minutes right?” She asked, watching them all nod. “Of course we can.” Dinky reported. “This isn’t a problem.” Pipsqueak said. “You can count on uth!” Twist said. “I’ll make sure that they get there on time Pinkie.” Flower Petal said, watching as Pinkie Pie nodded. “Okie Dokie lokey, I’ll see you all later then!” Pinkie Pie said before trotting off. The Cutie Mark Crusaders smiled before turning to Dinky and her friends. “All right you guys, we’ll see you at Wonderwing’s party.” The orange pegasus said happily. “Right, we’ll see you then.” Dinky said, watching as the other foals scampered off. The foals then went and grabbed their frisbee and ran back over to where they were playing again, but not before Wonderwing hugged his mother. “Thank you Mommy. I love you.” Wonderwing said. “I love you too, my little Wonderwing.” Flower Petal replied. “Now go on, I’ll call you all over when it’s time to go. Okay?” She said, watching the foal nod. “Okay!” Wonderwing said happily before following Dinky and her friends.