//------------------------------// // The Forming of the Cutie Mark Crusaders // Story: Wool of Magic // by Zeprto678 //------------------------------// A royal carriage had arrived from the air to land in front of the Golden Oak Library. From within it galopped  an excited Dusk and Dawn with saddlebags in tow. They trotted over to the door and knocked on it, and after a few seconds of impatient waiting, the door was opened by Spike. He smiled. “Hey, Dusk. Dawn,” greeted the young dragon. “How are you two doing?” She smiled. “We’re doing great, Spike. We’re excited to stay here in Ponyville again for a few months,” said the filly, excitedly. “We can’t wait to see everyone again. Is Solight here?” Spike shook his head. “Sorry. Solight has gone to visit Zecora and won’t be back soon,” the young dragon informed. “They did want me to inform you two to get ready now for school and to wait for Apple Bloom. She’ll be here to go with you two shortly.” He then saw something come into view. “In fact, here she is now.” The excited fused alicorn, hearing that, turned around to see that their friend, Apple Bloom, had just arrived.  “Howdy there, Dawn n’ Dusk. It's mighty nice to see ya again,” greeted the apple filly. “How y’all been?” The guardsponies who flew the chariot, seeing that Dusk and Dawn were safe and sound, flew off. Both the colt and filly smiled. “We’re doing great, Apple Bloom. It's great to see you again too,” responded the colt. “We just got here and are about to get ready for school.” “Well, ya’ better hurry up. Anymore chattin’ an’ by the time we get ta school, we’ll be there sometime after the bell rings,” joked Apple Bloom. Dawn gasped. “Then we better hurry. Come on, Dusk,” she said. The fused alicorn galloped past Spike and into the library. After less than thirty seconds, they galloped back out towards the apple filly, saddlebags now filled with both Dusk and the filly’s school supplies. “I’ll see you later, Spike. Tell Solight that we went to school and that we’ll see them again later as well,” Dawn informed. The young dragon nodded. “Okay. I will,” he confirmed. The three then headed off for school, hurrying so they wouldn’t be late. A Few Hours Later The fused alicorn and a depressed Apple Bloom were trotting down a path. The colt felt bad for her. “Don’t listen to what Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon say, Apple Bloom. You’ll get your Cutie Mark soon one day,” he reassured. During while the teacher, Ms. Cheerilee was teaching the class about Cutie Marks, Diamond Tiara had passed a note to the apple filly to pass to Silver Spoon, but there were two problems: One, the teacher mare had caught Apple Bloom passing the note, and two, the note was blank, which was the bratty fillies way of making fun of Apple Bloom for being a ‘blank flank’ since she had no Cutie Mark, causing the two fillies to laugh at the apple filly, and for the other students, except Dawn and Dusk, to talk, which had depressed her. Not only that, but everyone in class, including the three of them, had gotten invited to attend Diamond Tiara’s Cute-ceañera. The filly nodded, agreeing. “Yeah. Those two are just jealous that you still have the potential to obtain any Cutie Mark talent that you want,” reassured Dawn. He nodded, agreeing. “Dawn’s right, Apple Bloom. Once you obtain your own Cutie Mark, then those two can’t bully you anymore,” advised the colt. “You just need to figure out what you’re good at.” That only cheered Apple Bloom up a little. “Yeah, Ah guess yer right, but Ah don’t know what ta do,” said the apple filly. She had an idea. “Well, why not try and obtain one by helping your family sell apples? After all, a lot of your family’s special talent involves apples, doesn’t it?” suggested Dawn. As soon as she heard that, Apple Bloom perked up, realizing that the filly was right. “Yer right, Dawn. Maybe mah talent does involve sellin’ apples,” said the apple filly, smiling. “Ah should go an’ see if Applejack an’ Big McIntosh need any help right now. Thanks fer the advice ya two.” Apple Bloom galloped off, heading for home. Dawn smiled. “At least she’s not sad anymore,” she said. He nodded, smiling as well. “Yeah,” agreed the colt. Dusk looked at the filly. “Are you ready to head back to the library?”  She looked excited. “Yeah. Solight might’ve returned from Zecora’s home by now, so we ought to go and greet them,” said Dawn. “Maybe they have advice on how we can earn our own Cutie Marks too.” The colt looked excited too. “Yeah! Let’s go!” exclaimed Dusk. Some Time Later After trying to help her older sister sell apples in order to obtain a Cutie Mark and failing, the apple filly decided to try out something else. So, right now, Apple Bloom, wearing a small mailbag, was currently trotting with Cinna, helping the pegasus with their deliveries after asking Cinna if she could. The pegasus mare placed some mail from out of her mailbag into a mailbox, closed it, and brought the red flag up. Cinna was currently teaching the apple filly about the pegasus’ job. “And that’s how you do it for when you have to deliver mail into some ponies’ mailboxes, the same with small packages, but when it comes to large packages, then you leave them next to them,” they instructed. “If they don’t have a mailbox, but a mail slot, then place the mail through the slot, and as for packages, then just place it in front of their door but in view so they won’t trip over it. Understand?” The young filly nodded, understanding. “Don’t ya worry, Miss Cinna. Ah’ll deliver these letters ta the right ponies,” promised the Apple Bloom. “Ah promise.” The pegasus mare smiled. “I know you’ll do a great job, Apple Bloom,” said Cinna.  The apple filly smiled and started delivering mail to ponies while being supervised by the pegasus. She was delivering ponies letters without missing a beat. Everything was going great until Apple Bloom had then become impatient and started delivering the mail all willy-nilly, and as a result, ponies had ended up with other ponies’ mail whether it was with their mail or not, with the pegasus chasing after her. The apple filly looked to see if she had a Cutie Mark, but there was nothing, which made her feel disappointed. “No Cutie Mark. Ah guess mah talent isn’t in deliverin’ mail,” said the apple filly. Cinna was a little bit tired from the chase, but she also felt sad for Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom,” said the pegasus mare. She looked up at Cinna. “Yeah?” responded the apple filly.  They gave Apple Bloom a reassuring smile. “You shouldn’t force finding your special talent too early. Plenty of adults are still blank flanks. There isn’t a time limit, so just let it happen naturally in its own time,” advised the pegasus. The apple filly thought about it and realized that Cinna was right. “Ah guess yer right, Miss Cinna,” she said. The pegasus mare nodded, smiling. She then removed the light mailbag off of Apple Bloom. “Great. Now, why don’t you try something else for a change?” said Cinna. “I’ll stay here and take care of the mess you made.” She sheepishly nodded. “Sorry about that, Miss Cinna,” apologized the apple filly. Then, an idea came to mind. “That’s it. Ah can try an’ get mah Cutie Mark in inn service by helpin’ Melon at ‘er inn. Maybe that’ll work? See ya’ again later, Miss Cinna.”  Apple Bloom galloped away in the direction of Melon’s Inn under the eye of the mailpony.  The pegasus shook her head, chuckling a little. “Maybe it won’t be so bad, and maybe Apple Bloom will get her Cutie Mark,” said Cinna. The pegasus mare then flew off to go fix the mess that the apple filly made. Some Time Later Over at the Mel-Inn, everything was peaceful and calm. “Apple Bloom, be careful with those!” shouted a female voice, a tone full of worry. The voice belonged to the melon pony as, inside of her Inn, the melon pony was watching as Apple Bloom was carrying a small stack of towels on top of her head while slowly and carefully trotting up the stairs.  Despite trying her best to help out and earn her cutie mark, all the apple filly did was end up making a mess every time. Luckily, the melon pony taught Apple Bloom how to clean up after herself. Right now, the apple filly was given a simple task by Melon, which was to carry some towels up the stairs to ‘Room 202’. The towels on top of Apple Bloom’s head were wobbling slightly. “Don’t worry, Ah got it,” she said. But as soon as the apple filly went up the next step, a few of the towels fell off of her head and onto the stairs. Apple Bloom looked down at the towels before looking back up at the melon pony with an apologetic expression. “Oops. Sorry about that, Miss Melon,” she apologized. Melon trotted over with a reassuring smile on her face. “It’s okay, Apple Bloom. You tried your best,” said the melon pony. “Besides, sometimes what seems clear cut, like me staying and farming like my parents, might not be what is really meant to be.” Melon then had a proud look on her face. “I’m proud that you’re trying as many things as you can to earn your Cutie Mark, like working at my Inn.” That cheered the apple filly up, causing her to smile. “Thanks fer the advice, Miss Melon,” said Apple Bloom. The melon pony smiled normally. “No problem. How about you try and earn your Cutie Mark at the Golden Oak Library?” suggested Melon. “Solight is probably back, and you can ask them if you can help out.” She thought about it before nodding. “Yeah. Ah’ll probably earn mah Cutie Mark at somethin’ involvin’ books,” said the apple filly. Apple Bloom galloped away. “Thanks, Miss Melon!” She smiled. “No problem, Apple Bloom,” said Melon. The melon pony looked at the towels. “Well, time to replace these towels with some new ones before the customer complains.” Melon then started collecting all of the towels from the stairs before heading off to another room. Some Time Later At the library, Solight was back from Zecora’s hut and was currently reorganizing the library’s books with Spike’s help while the apple filly and the fused alicorn were chatting amongst themselves. “I’m impressed that you made things go wrong within the few minutes that you’ve been here, Apple Bloom,” said Dawn. Apple Bloom looked embarrassed. “It’s not like Ah did it on purpose,” she said. When the apple filly had arrived at the library, the alicorn was in fact there, and when Apple Bloom had asked them if she could help, Solight said yes. The tasks they gave the apple filly were to help take out the books of the lower shelves that she could reach, dust the shelves, and put the books back in the order they were in. Apple Bloom did the first two tasks correctly, but when it came to the third task, that’s when the apple filly had messed up. She had reorganized the books the wrong way by placing them in the wrong places. As a result, the alicorn and the young dragon had to take over and fix the mess the apple filly made. “By the time Ah was done, Ah just didn’t know what went where,” said Apple Bloom. She looked over at Solight. “Ah’m sorry about that, Solight. No matter what Ah do like deliverin’ mail or workin’ at an Inn, Ah mess up an’ don’t earn mah Cutie Mark. Ah’m gonna be a blank flank forever. Even Twist got ‘er Cutie Mark.” The apple filly looked down at the floor while the colt and filly comforted her.  The alicorn stopped what they were doing and looked at Apple Bloom, feeling bad for her. Solight floated the books down onto the floor and trotted over to the apple filly.  The alicorn had a reassuring smile on their face. “Apple Bloom, a Cutie Mark will come to you soon. You’re a talented filly,” said Solight. “You just need to know what your special talent is and work from there.” That confused Apple Bloom. “But what is mah special talent?” she asked, wondering. “You have to figure it out for yourself. For now, enjoy the life with the friends you have,” advised the alicorn. The apple filly sighed. “Ah guess yer right,” said Apple Bloom. She then got up and trotted for the door, sad. “Ah better an’ get mahself ready for Diamond Tiara’s Cute-ceañera. Ah’ll see y’all later, Dawn n’ Dusk.” Everyone looked on at the apple filly in concern. Some Time Later It was Diamond Tiara’s Cute-ceañera, and all of the fillies and colts from the class were there, including other fillies and colts from the town, some mares and stallions, and even Jasper, Pumpkin, Solight, and the fused alicorn. The sheep and foal were there because Jasper had to pick up an order he had made, and Solight was there to see how Apple Bloom was doing and attend the party as well.  “Zecora seems to have taken on a student. I found out while I was at her hut,” the alicorn informed. “I even met her student face-to-face.” The sheep looked interested. “Oh, really? What’s their name?” he asked. “Well, you know that mare that moved into Ponyville a month ago? Sherine?” said Solight. Jasper nodded, remembering. “Yeah. That nice mare who has a talent for healing,” answered the sheep. Then, he had made a realization. “Ohhhh. Good for both Sherine and Zecora too. I know that Zecora will have a lot of great things to teach Sherine, and I have the feeling that Sherine will do well in being her student.” They nodded, agreeing. “You’re right about that. Also–” said the alicorn. Solight would’ve said more, but then something caught the alicorn’s attention. “Huh?” Jasper, confused, followed their gaze and saw that the table where the punchbowl and cups were on was moving as small, familiar hooves were quietly galloping across the floor before stopping each time, heading in the direction of the door. The two even saw Berry Punch stop at the punch bowl before looking around and secretly drinking out of it without using a cup, which disgusted the two. “Why don’t you keep an eye on Apple Bloom while I’ll go and tell Pinkie Pie that the punch needs to be replaced?” suggested the sheep. He then walked away without waiting for Solight’s answer. As for the apple filly, it looked like she was nearing the door and was almost home free, but as soon as Apple Bloom made it to the door, her big sister Applejack, had walked in while at the same time pushing the apple filly away from the door more and more. Unfortunately, Apple Bloom’s luck got worse when the two bully fillies wanted to talk with her, so with a tablecloth, she made a skirt to hide the fact that she didn’t have a Cutie Mark. Then, it got even worse when, while Apple Bloom was trotting away, she tripped and bumped into the phonograph, while also causing the fake skirt to fall apart, revealing that the apple filly didn’t have a Cutie Mark. With their remarks towards Apple Bloom, it looked like the two bully fillies were about to win, but then… “Hey. That’s enough out of you two,” said a voice. Everyone looked to see that the voice belonged to an angry-looking Dusk. “Just because Apple Bloom doesn’t have a Cutie Mark doesn’t mean you two have to bully her,” said the colt. Dawn nodded, agreeing with her sibling. “Yeah. We don’t have a Cutie Mark, and neither do other adults,” said the filly. “Are you going to make fun of us too?” Dawn looked at the two with a look that dared the bully fillies to even try and do that. The tiara filly felt nervous. “Well, no, but–” she said, but was then interrupted. “They’re right. You shouldn’t make fun of blank flanks,” said a filly’s voice. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice to see that it belonged to one of two fillies who had been hiding underneath a table that had the other punchbowl and cups. They came out from underneath it, revealing that one of the fillies was Rarity’s little sister, Sweetie Belle, while the one next to her was a pegasus named Scootaloo. “Just because she doesn’t have a Cutie Mark, doesn’t mean she won’t get one in the future. She has all the time in the world,” said the unicorn filly. “Yeah. Everypony has the potential to discover their own special talent,” agreed the pegasus filly. Apparently, she was the one who had made the comment earlier. “So, you shouldn’t laugh at somepony being a blank flank.” The two fillies then showed everyone that they didn’t have Cutie Marks either, which surprised the apple filly as there were other fillies in her class who didn’t have Cutie Marks either, not just Apple Bloom and the fused alicorn. The alicorn decided to throw in their own opinion, smiling. “You five are absolutely right. Nothing’s better than taking the time, discovering your own special talent,” said Solight. “When I was younger, I was happy that I obtained my Cutie Mark, so I know that you’ll all be happy one day when that happens too.” Even though that day was one full of sadness, it was also the same day that the alicorn had earned their Cutie Mark, which felt kind of great. The apple pony trotted over. “Solight’s right. Also, take yer time, an’ don’t try an’ rush gettin’ yer Cutie Marks,” she advised. “They won’t happen instantly, ya know.” That advice was being more directed at the apple filly who realized it but agreed with her big sister. Then, all of the fillies and colts, impressed, started crowding around the colt and four fillies. As for Diamond Tiara, she was not happy that all of the attention was being directed at them instead, so the tiara filly trotted away angrily while the silver filly followed after her. Once the attention was eventually off of them, and everyone resumed partying, the five were now sitting at a table. An idea had come to Dusk’s mind. “Since the five of us are the only ones in class without our Cutie Marks, how about we create a club where we all work together to try and earn them instead?” suggested the colt. “We can help each other out while doing that. That way, one of us can earn our Cutie Mark even if the rest of us fail at something.” The others nodded their heads, liking the idea of a club. “But what should we call ourselves?” asked Scootaloo, wondering. Each of them then suggested a name until they all agreed on the one that Apple Bloom suggested, the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’. The five of them left the table to go celebrate their club’s founding by getting some snacks.  Meanwhile, Jasper approached Solight, his order being carried around by floating clawed hands made out of magic. It was one of the spells that the sheep created. “So, Solight. Aren’t you going to write a friendship letter to Celestia about this teachable moment?” asked Jasper. The alicorn was caught off-guard, seeing as how the sheep was asking them to write a friendship letter. Solight tried thinking up an excuse. “Uhh, sorry, but I don’t have my papers, quill, wax seal, and inkwell, or even Spike to send the letter. So, I can do it once I’m back at the library,” lied the alicorn.  Unfortunately for them, Jasper took out some paper, quills, some wax seals, and an inkwell from under his cloak and floated some over to the alicorn with some more magic hands. “I can write a letter to Draco asking him if he can deliver the letter to Celestia for you. He might even want to hear about what you’ve learned,” said the sheep. Jasper then started writing out his letter, while Pumpkin tried grabbing the quill’s feather, thinking it was some sort of toy to play with. That was even worse for the alicorn. “Uhh, well. I don’t want to bother him,” said Solight. “Nonsense. You’re family,” said the sheep. “One of the lessons we both know is that family’s important no matter what.” The alicorn couldn’t argue with that. So, against their will, Solight wrote a letter: “Dear Princess Celestia, There is no new information on Jasper. I’m pretending I'm writing a friendship lesson so as to not make him suspicious of me. Also, Draco will want to hear about what I learned.  So, I guess the lesson I learned today is that one shouldn’t try and rush getting their Cutie Mark as a pony has all the time in the world to get one, and not having one despite being an adult doesn’t make a pony miserable.  It just means that they still have the potential to try out different things until they find their special talent no matter how long it takes. Everypony has a special talent that best defines them and a Cutie Mark that represents the talent itself. I’m glad that there are ponies that won’t let being a blank flank stop them from living out their lives. From your faithful student/guard,  Solight.” Seeing as the letter sounded good, the alicorn rolled up the paper, stamped it with Princess Celestia’s seal, and gave it to Jasper who was also finished writing and stamping their letter too. The sheep went outside and blew out some dragon fire onto the letters, sending them both off. After putting everything back in his coat, the sheep turned to look at Solight. “Are we still on for board games tonight at the Inn, right?” asked Jasper. They nodded. “Yeah. Also, don’t forget to bring the chips and dip like you said you were,” responded the alicorn. “Everyone else are bringing their own snacks as well.” Tonight was the day that they and their friends, including Spike, and Dawn and Dusk, had planned to get together at the melon pony’s Inn and play board games. The sheep smiled. “Okay. I’ll see you later, Solight,” he said. “Bye.” Jasper flew off while the magic hands carrying his stuff followed after.