//------------------------------// // Cutie mark graduation // Story: Buck My Life // by JasontheDemon //------------------------------// Cutie Mark Graduation My day started out normal enough, but quickly turned into a battle of epic proportions. I was now face to face with a strategic genius and backed into a corner. We had been waged in a duel of minds for at least two hours now and I knew signs of my fatigue were showing. This was by far the most challenging obstacle I had come across and I feared the worst was about to happen. I peered into the eyes of my adversary, hoping to somehow read her mind and come out on top. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” She asked as I made my move known. I nodded in response. I had no other move available so I was forced to take drastic measures in the slim chance it would pay out. Twilight moved her queen into position and shouted, “Checkmate!” “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THAT’S THE THIRD GAME IN A ROW! How do you keep doing that?!”, I cried out in defeat. “You think too much about what you believe I know and don’t focus on what you do. You think I’m studying you and trying to counter you, so you in turn try to double counter me, but that just leaves you open.” She said, smiling and putting the chess set away. “But you are supposed to try and read your opponent in chess! That's how you win! By knowing their moves before they do!” I retorted, desperately trying to point out a flaw in her logic. “Yes, but you think that I’m reading your mind so you are thinking of what you would normally do and then do the opposite. You can’t think that far ahead.” She explained, shaking her head and laughing a bit. I didn’t think it was possible to think too much, but the way I was beaten on multiple occasions in a game of wits showed otherwise. I would always try to predict what my opponent was thinking, however if they were supposed to be thinking about what I was thinking and vice versa, then I would go back and forth wondering how far ahead they were thinking. It was a fatal flaw of mine, over-estimating my enemy. Twilight and I had been spending more time getting to know each other over the week following our visit to Canterlot. She didn’t fear me or hate me after I explained what I saw from human nature... in fact she seemed to like me even more. Her reasoning was that I was a good human and defied the natural order to be cruel. I found the thought of me being ‘good’ funny. I mean really, I was a sarcastic, dark, sadistic jerk whenever I could be. Yes, you heard me right... sadistic, I liked watching others get hurt. It made me laugh. If you would stub your toe or trip on your shoelace, I would respond by laughing my head off. However, serious injury like broken bones or anything involving blood caused me to feel quite different. I wouldn’t laugh and instead try to help. The thing that confused me was where did the line between pleasure and sympathy lie? At what point do I change from being amused to worried and how ‘good’ am I for enjoying mentioned injury? And furthermore, is it wrong to feel pleasure when others are feeling pain? I would contemplate how nice I really was by thinking of abstract scenarios and how I would react. For example, if I were in a position where the only way to save one life would be to kill another and I did, would that make me evil or a hero? Twilight saying I was good didn’t mean anything if we didn’t even know where the boundary of evil was. The purity of one's soul was relative to one's moral values and views of what was right and wrong. There was no true way of knowing how bad someone else was because of your own personal biases. There is no universal scale on who is good and who is not, and that was what had me chuckling to myself. While I was laying on the couch, I thought back to the day after we got back. Discord popped into a book I was reading while Twilight was in the other room and he told me one special thing he forgot to mention. He said that the only way I could get home was to make the portal while he pushed me back, and to make it I would need to be so powerful I could rip apart the fabric of reality like he did. In order to become that magically strong and keep from passing out from the strain, I would need to keep a spell up at all times. He quickly taught me a space distortion spell that I could keep hidden in plain sight but still have it be strong enough to give my brain a workout. It was basically a miniature black hole smaller than the size of a grain of sand. I had to keep my focus on making that point in space incredibly dense. The great thing about it was that it was only visible if you really focused on it while it was right in front of you. It would warp light around it and make a weird distortion effect like a cameras fisheye lense. The spell was difficult at first, but after a few hours I could keep it up without even trying. There was only one problem with it though... at the end of the day I was so wiped out that I couldn’t see straight. Twilight asked me what was causing me to be so tired and to keep my plan hidden I had to lie and say that it was a thing that happened to humans once a year for a month. I called it the ‘month of fatigue’. For some reason lying to her felt wrong... more so than usual. While I wondered what had changed to make me feel bad about lying to her, I heard three slams at the door. I got up and went to the source of the noise to discover what was behind it. Upon opening said door I found the culprit... or culprits as the case may be. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders. By the looks of things they were trying to be luge professionals. “Who is it?” Twilight asked as she came back from putting the game away. Without skipping a beat I responded, “The three amigos and their newest attempt at failing.” “Jas- er, I mean, DUSK! That’s not very nice!” Twilight scolded, still trying to get used to my new name. “Well I’m not a very nice guy... but I know how I can fix it. Do you mind if I spend the day with them?” I asked as I pointed to the pile of arguing fillies. “Why? What are you planning to do?” Twilight asked in return. “I was thinking of helping these three finally get their cutie marks so they will stop all this craziness and destruction. I don’t think Ponyville can take much more...” I explained as I showed the rest of the miscellaneous broken things scattered around town. The roads were littered with shattered pots that once held plants and crushed boxes that held anything from soap to food. I was surprised to see that there weren’t angry villagers with pitchforks chasing after the mischievous trio. Twilight laughed as if this was all cute and said, “Okay, but be back before dusk.” Thinking that this was too good to pass up I replied, “Be back before what? Please finish your sentence.” “But I thought I did... I said be back before du- oooh... I get it! Be back before ‘Dusk’! Ha ha ha! Good one, but I’m serious, I can’t have you out too late.” Twilight said waving me off. “Alright MOM! Geez, can you believe her?! Psh... parents am I right?” I said while walking away, making the three munchkins of mayhem giggle. * * * * * * As I led the way, the Crusaders all asked me if I was really going to help them earn their cutie marks. “That was the initial idea. Is there a problem with me doing so?” “Well no... it’s just everypony normally tells us we have ta find out what they are fer ourselves.”, Applebloom admitted, sadly looking at the ground. “Yeah and I can see why they would want you to. It’s giving you a great and adventure filled childhood, not to mention a strong friendship. However, I think it has gone on long enough. I’ve sort of been watching you for some time now and I see that your talents are right there in front of you, but you haven’t figured out that they are your talents yet.” I explained as we neared Sweet Apple Acres. “I think it would be cruel to keep your potential a secret from you when you should have come across it a long time ago... so I am going to give you all a choice right here and now. If you want I can lead you to your cutie marks and reveal the mystery. But keep this in mind, if you get your cutie marks, you will be permanently stuck like that. The question you have been seeking will no longer be unanswered and your days of random activities to find your gifts will forever be behind you. If you still want to go through with this, speak up now...” I waited for their decision. They silently looked to each other for reassurance, all three looking somewhat unsure. Unbeknownst to them, I had started counting the seconds. I figured if they couldn’t make up their minds after twenty seconds, I would let them be and leave them to their lives without my interference. Upon the nineteenth second I turned to leave, but was interrupted by Scootaloo. “Wait! We want to get our cutie marks!” I looked back at them and asked, “Do you all feel the same way? I will not help you unless your choice is unanimous.” Applebloom stepped forward and nodded, then Sweetie Belle hesitantly followed her example. “Okay, Applebloom, you will be the first to earn your mark.” I said as I led them into the Apple family barn. “Wait, why can’t we all get our cutie marks at once?” Sweetie asked in her squeaky, high pitched voice. “Because you all have different talents unique to you and Applebloom is going to pave the way. You didn’t seriously think you all had the same cutie mark did you?” The white filly opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it. Obviously her retort wasn’t a good one by the way she seized up. I stayed quiet as I pulled out some various pieces of leftover wood from the barn while they asked their little questions about what their true talents were. I told them that I wasn’t just going to blurt it out, but that didn’t stop them from guessing... and guessing incorrectly might I add. Once I was sure I had enough materials I placed a hammer into Appleblooms mouth, both to make her hold it and to shut her up. After I strapped a helmet and some safety goggles on her, I unfurled a piece of paper and showed it to her. They were a designs for a hardcore line of ramps, half pipes, and rails. I had made the blueprints only the day before and was eager to see them come to life. “You are going to make this.” I said, slapping my hoof on the page. “Okay, but where are our hammers and stuff?” Scootaloo asked. “You don’t get to help. This task is for Applebloom alone.” I answered. Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo couldn’t believe what I was saying. Their expressions were a mix of confusion, shock, and outrage. “Are you CRAZY?! There is no way Applebloom can do that by herself!”, Sweetie shouted, her voice cracking. “Oh no?” I said, turning and extending my arm out, pointing to Applebloom who had already finished the first ramp and was working on the halfpipe. In response to the sight before them, they rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren’t just seeing things. “Now she only needs to realize that this is her talent and her mark will appear.” I told them as I focused on her flank and waited to see the magical emblem show itself. * * * * * * About fifteen minutes had passed and Applebloom was almost done. She had made all the segments and was now in the process of moving them into position and nailing them together. I walked up to her as she hammered in another nail and asked, “So, I see its going well... did you notice anything special about what you’re doing?” She paused for a second, “Yeah, ah don’t know why, but this is really easy... the buildin’ ah mean. It’s like it’s...” “What you were meant to do?” I said, finishing her sentence. “Yeah! Exactly!” “Take a guess as to what the reason for that is...” I said, trying to be as cryptic as I could. The small yellow earth pony furrowed her brow and started to think. It didn’t take long for her to pop her head up and gasp, realizing the truth. Right then her cutie mark appeared and she gazed at her flank, mystified at it. When the shimmer faded, an image of a hammer and a screwdriver was left over. Her cutie mark was that of building and fixing. I first noticed that she had a knack for it when she fixed up the old treehouse and my theory only strengthened as she made the props for their talent show and worked on the float during the Babs Seed episode. The joy spread to her friends and they all got together in a group hug... then they set their sights on me. “Oh no... Don’t you dare! DON’T YOU DA-AH!” I shouted as they tackled me before I could flee. “Okay that’s quite enough, I know I’m awesome and all, but we still need two more cutie marks before it gets dark. Sweetie Belle, you’re up next.” “REALLY?! YAY! Oh my gosh this is going to be the best day EVER!” She shouted, prancing about merrily. * * * * * * “ARGH! I’m SO BORED!” Sweetie Belle grumbled after we got to Vinyl Scratch’s recording studio. It turned out that, while primitive, the ponies of Equestria had recently come to make basic technological sound based recording and broadcasting devices. I discovered that Vinyl was one of a select few who could work with the equipment involved. When I asked for her help she was more than happy to because she said a sandwich, tasty though it may be, was not a sufficient reward for what I had done for her... but not exactly in those words. “So like I was saying, Octy straight ripped you off dude! Psh, a sandwich for saving my saddle bags! There must have been enough dough in there for at least a hundred of those nasty things! … Don't tell Octy I said that.” Vinyl said, getting the equalizers in place by moving the sliders in front of her. Sweetie was sitting in the sound booth on the other side of a glass pane separating us. Applebloom and Scootaloo were much more patient about the whole ordeal, but then again they could actually talk to each other about Applebloom’s new cutie mark. Sweetie Belle on the other hand was in complete silence until we pressed a button to talk to her. When we first arrived, she thought she was going to be a DJ like Vinyl Scratch, but I told her that wasn’t the case. Once everything was set and ready to go I pressed the button to communicate with the bored unicorn. “Okay, it seems like we have a few technical problems in here”, I lied. “We need your help to find out where the problem is. Would you mind singing into the microphone there?” “This microphone? Okay... um, what do you want me to sing?”, Sweetie Belle asked, slightly tilting her head. “Oh anything will do. Just sing from the heart, get creative, have fun with it, I don’t care.” I said, shrugging my shoulders and acting like I really wasn’t interested. Vinyl put a little background music on and just like that Sweetie started singing. She started off a little timid but slowly warmed up and began to enjoy it. All the ponies in the room with me were blown away, however, I was grinning with a sense of achievement as my plan continued to work. When the song started to come to an end Sweetie Belle suddenly realized that this must have been her talent and she popped open her eyes just in time to see her cutie mark appear. The shine faded fast and a microphone with a musical note by it now adorned her flank. Seeing this only made her feel better and bring the song to an epic climax, ending it with a round of applause from her friends as well as a very excited Vinyl Scratch. “AW YEEEAAAH! That girls got a wicked set of pipes! WOO!”, the blue haired DJ shouted in a classic punk rocker tone. Suddenly the little filly we were just listening to bursted through the door and shouted, “I got my cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!” The next thing I know, I am at the bottom of a pile of little laughing ponies. “You guys really need to stop doing this to me... I can only handle so much affection in one day.” I grumbled under the dog pile of childish giggles. * * * * * * I led the group back to the object Applebloom had assembled earlier that day. I levitated it with Vinyl's help to a crowded area in Ponyville. We had brought along Vinyl's turntables, complete with microphone and speakers. I let Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in on my plan so they could help with the final phase. Scootaloo looked kind of down by this point in time so I rushed to get things ready for her. I positioned the musical technology so it would be heard by all the spectators that had gathered to find out what was going on. I then gave Sweetie a lyrics sheet and let Vinyl listen to the music on my MP3 that I wanted her to recreate. Lastly, I told Applebloom to rig some of Pinkie's confetti cannons and party poppers to the end of the course. Once I believed everything was in order I began speaking to the orange flightless pegasus. “Someone looks like she's spending too much time down in the dumps. Are you not excited?” I asked Scootaloo who was sitting by herself at the side of the road. “No I’m not excited... I always imagined that Rainbow Dash would be with me when I got my cutie mark.”, she said, running her hoof along the ground sadly. “Well I suppose I will have to do something to fix this... I can’t let your most important life moment be imperfect now can I?”. I turned my attention to the sky and focused on the principle of sound. In reality sound was the vibration of air molecules that reached our ears, so all I had to do was make sure the vibrations could reach the cyan speed demon. “RAINBOW DASH! GET YOUR BLUE BUTT DOWN HERE NOW!” I shouted, focusing the sound waves of my voice to remain strong as they shot straight into the clouds. I made sure my call wasn’t going to be heard by any of the ponies around me by muffling the surrounding air. Soon enough, I saw a small sky blue dot zooming down towards us. Rainbow Dash landed right in front of me, looking quite mad. “What is your problem?! Do you know how many pegasai heard you calling for me?! You had better have a reason for embarrassing me like that buddy!” Rainbow yelled, pushing her face against mine while hovering. “Is Scootaloo getting her cutie mark a good enough reason?” I asked. “She got her cutie mark?! Really?!” she shouted, gasping. “No not yet... but thats why I went through such desperate measures, because she is about to and she didn’t want you to miss it.”, I explained matter-of-factly. “Now that you are here, we can start the show...” “Show?” Dash and Scootaloo asked in unison. “Yes, and you are the star.” I said as I looked at Scootaloo. “Me?!” She squeaked nervously. “Yeah, do you have your scooter?” I asked. She nodded without saying a word, bringing her scooter into view. “Good, now see that ramp up there? The really big one? Get up there and use your scooter to run down that ramp and, well you’ll figure it out from there. Basically, just let your heart guide you and shred the heck out of that skate run!” “Yes sir!” She said, saluting me as Rainbow Dash placed her helmet on her head. The orange filly then started to climb the ladder to the top of the first ramp (which was a pretty odd sight considering she didn’t have fingers to grab the rungs). Once she got to the top I amplified my voice like before but focused the sound to emanate clearly throughout the crowd. I announced Scootaloo by reciting the first few lines of Salivas song, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’. “Mares and gentlecolts please, would you bring your attention to me? For a feast for your eyes to see, An explosion of catastrophe. Like nothing you've ever seen before! Watch closely as I open this door! Your jaws will be on the floor! After this you'll be begging for more!” I announced with more flair than I thought was possible for me. “I present to you... SCOOTALOOOOOO!” I pointed to Scootaloo, signaling her to drop in and blaze her way down the ramp. Her action in turn told Sweetie Belle and Vinyl to begin the song I had prepared. It was fast paced and got apparently worked well with the stunts Scootaloo was performing by the cheers of the onlookers. The little pony was pulling off moves like 720’s, backflips, grinds and things that most professionals would have been jealous of. The support she was getting from all the ponies watching was getting her hyped, it was apparent as she performed bigger and better stunts. She flew through each portion of the course and gained speed at each interval. Finally she came to the last ramp which led to the final rail. This was when things went from awesome to epic. She launched off the last ramp and did a no-handed (or should I say no-hoofed) double backflip which queued Applebloom to fire the cannons, shooting streamers and confetti everywhere. For a moment while she was in mid air everything seemed to stand still. Scootaloo was in her element and she knew it. After what seemed like an eternity, she landed on the rail and started to grind it, placing her hooves back around the handle bars. Her speed caused a wave of sparks to fly from the underside of her scooter. She was engulfed in the bright light and I was certain nobody could see her beyond it. At long last, she came to a stop, and after the dust cleared we all saw something that was not there before. Her new cutie mark must have appeared while she was shrouded by sparks. It was an image of her scooter on fire. It was dead silent. Every pony there was awestruck and rendered speechless. Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “THAT WAS SO AWESOME KID!”, she said, flying over and giving the filly a hug. The rest of the random ponies joined in cheer while Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Vinyl Scratch gathered around her to commend her show. I thought this would be an excellent time to make my getaway so I could avoid another tackle-hug. Slipping through the flock of mares and stallions, I left without a word. My work was done and I was ready to head back. * * * * * * After making it back to the library, I picked up a Daring Doo book and started to read it. I thought I might as well check them out since I had nothing better to do. Twilight asked if everything went okay and I told her what happened. She told me she was proud of me and I rolled my eyes before getting back to Daring Doo. It didn’t take long before I heard a knock at the door. “Can you get that? My hooves are full with washing dishes.”, Twilight hollered from the kitchen. “Can’t the Mailbox get it?” I hollered back. “I’m in here too... AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Spike yelled. “I’ll stop once it stops being true!” I said, heading to the front door. I opened it and saw something horrible. “No! Stay back! I’m warning you, I have magic! Don’t-!” *CRASH!* “Cutie Mark Crusader Hoofball Players! YAY!” “Ugh, it never ends...”