CHAPTER 12
"Mr. and Mrs. Cake must have something against me..." Even though Pinks and I were dating, I was still nervous to be alone with a single pony at any given time, and said pony being Pinks didn't help the matter. I had NO idea what she was going to do with, or to, me.
"So... Pinks... What do you want to do?" I looked at her, and she had one of her crazy "I have a plan" smiles on.
"Well... I was thinking I could help you find your Cutie Mark!" I stared at her for a second, and did a double take when I realized she wasn't kidding.
"Pinks, it's already been this long, are you sure I can even get it?"
"It's never too late to find your special talent!" She had a point. I thought of this idea for a second, then shrugged.
"I don't see what harm could be done. Why not?" Her smile widened.
"Great! I know some girls that could help you!" She grabbed my hoof, and we were off.
I still regret my decision...
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After about ten minutes, we arrived in the middle of Applejack's apple orchard.
"Pinks... Why the hay are we all the way out here? I thought you said there were some girls who could help me..." Then, a thought made it's way into my mind. "Cutie Mark. Girls. Help. OH GODDESSES NO... Wait, why would Pinks do that? Curse me and my dirty mind..."
"That's why we're out here! Now where was it...? Ah! Lookie lookie! I deserve a cookie!" I still can't believe that line. No, seriously, I was THERE and I don't believe she said it. I looked to where she was pointing, and saw a little treehouse. "Girls! Yoohoo! I have somepony here to see you!" A fraction of a second after hearing that, I saw Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom poke their heads out of the door, and then bolt down to us. You may be wondering how I know those three. Well, you see, a few days before this, these three decided to help serve tables, and ended up wrecking the restaurant. They said they were looking for their "Good Service Cutie Marks." I had to clean up their mess, but I got paid for my extra work, so I wasn't mad at them, but they apparently didn't know that. When they saw it was me, they all hid behind Pinks.
"We're sorry mister! We didn't mean ta' mess up th' restaurant! We're awful sorry!" Apple Bloom and the other two girls put on big puppy dog eyes. "D'awww..." I chuckled a bit.
"Don't worry about it. I got paid extra for cleaning up, so I should be thanking you three." They all smiled and were standing right in front of me in under a second. Scootaloo looked at my flank, and saw that nothing was there.
"Hey, you don't have your Cutie Mark! But you're all grown up..." They gasped, and then Sweetie Belle stepped forward.
"You could join us today if you want. We're going on a Crusade!"
"I assume a Crusade to get your Marks?" They all nodded, and I couldn't help but smile. It was so adorable... "Alright, why not." They all jumped for joy. Then, they all got together, and shouted all at once...
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS YAY!" WAIT, WHAT?
"Woah woah woah, isn't that a bit... Dangerous?" I'd falling flat on my plot at the shock of three little fillies doing something so crazy... And because of how loud they were.
"We have to take risks to find our talents!" Scootaloo made a heroic pose. I couldn't help but crack a smile. Suddenly, all three of them got behind me and climbed up onto my back. I started to freak out, but managed to keep myself relatively calm. "Now come on! Let's go!" Scootaloo pointed to a mountain in the distance. "This is gonna be a long day..."
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A few hours later, we were already at the mountain, and a quarter of the way up it. It actually didn't take as long to get there as I had originally thought. It wasn't as dangerous either. The girls had long since dismounted me, and were walking side by side in front of me. I was starting to get a little tired though.
"Hey girls? Do you think I could rest for a minute?"
"Sure! Just be sure t' catch up with us! We ain't stoppin'!" I waved my hoof in their general direction, signaling them to go ahead. "It's been safe so far... They'll be fine..." But, after a minute...
"AAAAH!" I jumped up onto my hooves and dashed up the path. Sure enough, the girls were standing there... And there was a Manticore right in front of them. "What the- I didn't think Manticores ever left the Everfree!" I looked over the edge... And we were right above the forest. "Oh... GREAT." I started to get closer to the girls. I felt a new strength in me, and ran up to the beast, and did a quick spin and threw my hind legs right into it's face. It fell back and roared in pain, and clutched it's nose for a second... Before coming straight for me.
"GIRLS! RUN BACK TO TOWN! I'LL HOLD IT OFF!" Then, I felt it's claws digging into my skin, tearing it like paper. I screamed, and the girls ran off. I looked at my side. I was cut really bad. I'd have to go to the hospital. But before I could think about it any further, I had to quickly jump to my side so I didn't have my face torn off. I threw another buck at the Manticore's legs, and succeeded in hitting it, and making it even angrier. "I can't run, it'll catch me... And I can't beat it... Well, I guess this is it. May as well go out fighting."
The battle raged on for another ten minutes. I had a huge cut down the side of my head, and one of my eyes had swollen shut. My mane was stained red in some spots with my own blood, and my entire side was coated in the very same substance. I could barely stand and comprehend what was going on, let alone fight. I heard a roar, and the next thing I knew, I was flying towards the side of the mountain. When I connected, I felt something snap, and I just made a miserable choking sound trying to scream again. I felt myself slipping out of conciousness, and saw the Manticore approaching me, eyeing it's dinner. I hoped I would black out before it happened. Then...
"GET AWAY FROM MY COLTFRIEND, YOU MEANIE!"
I blacked out.