//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Making Your Mark // Story: Two Worlds; One Family // by MrEnter //------------------------------// "We've got a very important lesson today," Cheerilee said, entering the classroom. "Today we are going to be learning about cutie marks." Harry sat in the back row of the class. He just took notes, trying to be blind to everypony but the teacher. The colt in front of him threw a crumpled paper ball. When Harry didn't respond, the colt sneered and turned back to the teacher. It was right on track. Ponies tried to upset Harry. Harry ignored them. Then it got boring. "You can all see my cutie mark, can't you? Like all ponies, I wasn't born with a cutie mark. My flank was blank. Then one day, when I was about your age, I woke up to find that a cutie mark had appeared. I had decided to become a teacher, and the flowers symbolized my hope that I could help my future students bloom if I nurture them with knowledge. The smiles represent the cheer I hope to bring to my little ponies while they were learning. Now, can anypony tell me when a pony gets his or her cutie mark?" Cheerilee told the lecture with pride. She seemed so perfect at it, almost as if she had told the same story year after year. A pony a few rows ahead of Harry raised his hoof. He himself has a cutie mark of a book, and went on explaining that a pony got their cutie mark when they discovered that something that made them special. Harry fantasized about what his cutie mark would be. He always wore clothes to protect his skin from the cool Ponyville air, so nopony knew that he was still a blank flank. It was a good thing too, Harry thought to himself as he saw a couple of fillies up ahead laughing at another blank flank. Harry definitely didn't need to give them any more reasons to bully him. "That's it for today," Cheerilee said sometime later, pulling Harry out of his daydreams. Harry pulled on his backpack and started walking home, a little brisker than usual. He looked to the general townsponies who seemed to be more intent on going by their day-to-day business than taking time to shoot him looks of scorn or contempt. The relief of their absence still filled Harry from time to time. Today was not one of those days. He was too filled with excitement to care. He ran up the pathway to Fluttershy's cottage and burst the door open. Fluttershy was busy feeding some animals. "Hi Harry, how was school today?" she hummed melodically. "It was good. We learned about cutie marks today," Harry said with enthusiasm. "I wonder what mine is going to be." Fluttershy spilled seeds all over the floor. How could she have forgotten something like this? She didn't know much about whatever Harry was for certain, but she knew that he wasn't a pony. And only ponies got cutie marks. She often considered telling him but she kept pushing it further back, wondering how to word it and wondering how he would take it. Fluttershy began to scoop up the seeds while she looked towards Harry with a goofy grin. He was still going on and on about what his cutie mark might be. That bright smile got to her. She didn't have the heart to tell him about this, at least not right now. Maybe her friends would know what to do. "I'm going to Twilight's, do you need anything? Fluttershy asked, heading out the door. "Can I come?" Harry asked. "No, not today. Why don't you go play with Applebloom and her friends?" "They never want anything to do with me. They say that I only slow them down," Harry said with a sigh. That killed his enthusiasm. "That's not very nice of them." "It's better than what anypony else in town does to me. At least they give me the time of day." "Harry, you have lots of friends. You know that." "Mom, they're your friends, not mine. Sure they like me and all that, but if it wasn't for you they wouldn't be seen with me." "You know that's not true." "Whatever." "Just try to talk to Applebloom. Why don't you ask her about how she got her cutie mark? She loves telling that story. If they ignore you, I'll talk to Applejack later on." Harry gave another sigh, defeated. He went off into town to find Applebloom. She was with her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They were chatting and laughing in the meadow just outside of town. Scootaloo spotted Harry. She groaned, alerting the rest of them to his approach. "What are you doing here? Don't you have any of your own friends to play with?" Scootaloo asked. "You know that I don't. I just wanted to ask you guys something." "We've been over this. We're not your foalsitters," Applebloom sneered. "Jeeze guys, I was just going to ask you how you got your cutie marks. You don't have to bite my head off." "Why do you care?" Scootaloo shot. "Well we learned about them in class today. Since I'm a blank flank I want to know how certain ponies got their cutie marks. I heard it took you girls forever." "Shut up," Scootaloo snapped. Sweetie Belle tapped Applebloom and Scootaloo on the shoulder. They ducked behind a tree out of Harry's earshot. Harry couldn't make out what they were talking about, though he tried to edge closer only to be turned away one of their stares. All Harry got was little snippets: bits and pieces. Why does he keep bothering us? Or Do you think that he'll ever leave us alone? Or Jeeze, he's so annoying. At that point Harry stopped listening and started walking away. Typical. "So you wanna get your cutie mark?" Applebloom said, stopping Harry in his tracks. "We'll do better than just tell you how we got ours, since knowing how other ponies got their cutie marks did diddly squat for us. We'll help you get it, but you gotta promise to do each and every single thing we say. You promise?" "How is that going to help me—" "Oh it looks like somepony doesn't want his cutie mark. You want to be a blank flank forever, don't you?" Sweetie Belle said, rolling her eyes. "Okay fine, I promise to do each and every little thing you say." "Pinkie promise" Applebloom added. Harry rolled his eyes. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. There. Will you help me now?" "I don't know," Sweetie Belle said, rubbing her chin with her hoof. "You don't look like you're up to it." "Maybe if he passes the test," Scootaloo said with a chuckle. "Hmm... maybe. I don't think he'll do it. He'll probably crack under the pressure." "Hey, I can do it. Whatever it is I gotta do, I'll do it. Anything." "Anything?" the three of them asked in unison. "Anything," gulped Harry. Sometime later the four of them had made their way to Sweet Apple Acres. Harry was shaking trees, trying to get apples to fall. He wasn't very good at it, only causing several apples to fall at a time where as Applebloom could empty a whole tree with one kick. Still, as long as Applebloom didn't have to do it she could smile, making the farce a little easier for Harry to go along with everything. She, along with Sweetie and Scootaloo watched Harry as if they were at the front row during a Wonderbolts Performance. Applebloom kept waving and smiling. Sweetie Belle kept "encouraging" him to do better. Scootaloo shouted to Harry. If he got this whole part of the orchard done in an hour, he just might get his cutie mark in this lifetime. Applejack walked by and became instantly annoyed at what she saw. "Applebloom, why is Harry doing yer chores?" "He wanted to, and who was I to say no?" Applebloom said, staing calm, cool, and collected. "Yeah, I don' think so. You all should feel ashamed for takin' advantage of Harry like that. Go take Harry and play someplace else." "Ugh, fine!" Applebloom groaned. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walked through the Everfree Forest with Harry in tow. Harry nervously looked up at the trees. His mother told him to never go into the Everfree Forest, and he had never disobeyed her before. For the most part, the others ignored him, but every time he begged them to turn around one of them broke into cackling about how cowardly he was. When they were far enough in, they nodded to each other. "Alright, we're here," Applebloom said with a wide-beaming face. "We can begin. The game is hide-and-seek. Harry, close your eyes and count to one-hundred. If you can find all three of us by sunset, then we'll help you get your cutie mark. If you can't then you gotta give Granny Smith a sponge bath." "That's gross!" Harry gagged. "I knew he was too much of a baby," Sweetie Belle mocked. "Alright, fine! I'll play your stupid little game," Harry said. He covered his eyes and started counting. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo ran a little bit of the way. Applebloom and Scootaloo giggled to themselves. They were going to have so much fun with their little prank, until they caught Scootaloo walking off. They demanded to know where she was going. "I'm going home. That was the plan, remember? Take him into the forest and ditch him," Scootaloo answered. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle's expression turned to sheer horror. How could anypony even think of something like that? "That was never the plan," Applebloom replied, stomping her hoof down. "The plan was to take him into the forest and give him a little scare. That's it." "Um guys," Sweetie Belle said, completely ignoring the conversation. "No, I remember you saying that we'd leave him there." "I wanted him to stop annoying us, not have him get hurt! If we leave him here, then something terrible could happen to him. You know that. Remember the cockatrice?" "Guys!" "Of course I remember the cockatrice! I just thought that you—" "GUYS!" Harry heard a scream coming from the brush. He stopped counting immediately as he realized what was going on. Those jerks, they must have brought him all this way just to try and scare him, or something. He wasn't stupid. He wasn't an idiot. He walked to the scream, clutching his fists, preparing to shout at them until his face turned blue. Then Harry saw what made them scream. A spider half as large as a house was chasing after Applebloom, nipping at her heels with its bulvous body trailing along. He couldn't see where Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had gotten to, and he drew some very nasty conclusions. Harry was paralyzed with fear as the spider lerched towards where Applebloom just was. She was calling out desperately for help. The spider chased her into the abyss of the forest. "Hey, squirt, up here!" called a voice, yanking Harry back to reality. Harry looked up to see Scootaloo, shaken but very much alive. She was wrapped up to her neck in a coat of webs. Next to her Sweetie Belle was in a similiar condition, but not taking it in such stride. Her eyes were close and she was shaking wildly with fear. Scootaloo was also shaking, but it was clear that she was trying to escape the webs. "What happened?" Harry asked. He wss still a little dazed by the whole situation. "What does it look like? We were trying to... um... hide, and all of a sudden this giant spider came up and attacked us. Look, you've got to get us down before it comes back." "You're like twenty hooves up. How in Equestria am I supposed to get up there?" "Use your... um... cast a... um buck the... can you climb it?" Harry put his arms around the truck of one of the trees holding up the the web. He began shimmying up. He placed his foot on a branch and started to ascend. It wasn't long before he stepped on a fragile twig and plummeted back to the bottom. To answer Scootaloo's question, no he couldn't climb the tree. "Shouldn't I run and get some help?" Harry asked. Before Scootaloo could answer another scream shot through the air. It was clearly Applebloom's. Harry turned to face the direction it came from and stood face-to-face with the spider clutching a glob of web in its mouth. Applebloom's screams were still eminating from it. Harry saw himself reflected in all eight of the spider's grotesque eyes. The spider got closer. Harry backed up, until he tripped over a rock. The spider got closer and poised for an attack. Harry scanned the ground for something, anything to help him. The only thing that came to his eye was the rock. He scooped it up with both of his fists and tossed it at the spider. It hit one of his eyes, causing the spider to shriek in pain. The Applebloom coccoon fell to the forest floor as it writhed in pain. Harry picked up the rock and tossed it at another eye. Now the spider was angry. It lunged at Harry. Harry began scanning the area once again, this time for some sort of escape. If he ran backwards the spider would surely get him, and trees blocked the escape to either side. A desperate idea ran through Harry's mind. Daring Do had been in this situation before, and she had gotten out of it by jumping forward. Harry launched forward and ducked. The spider flew clear over him and bashed its head on the ground. Harry got up as quickly as he could and gazed upon the creature, still struggling to get back to its legs. The spider was hurt, but it wasn't done yet. Harry couldn't keep this going on forever. He had to think of something quickly or else they'd all be finished. "There they are!" a familiar voice was heard from up above. Harry looked up. It was Rainbow Dash and she was charging downwards. Harry felt himself forced to smile. When she landed her face was in a scowl. Rainbow Dash wasn't happy. She demanded to know what they all were doing in the Everfree Forest. Then she was hit square in the back by the lunging spider. It knocked her back and she banged her head on a large stone. She collapsed. Harry ran over to her. He tried to shake her awake, but it was to no avail. She was alive and breathing though, the rock had just banged her out of consciousness. As Harry was trying to wake Rainbow Dash up, the spider hissed to make sure that it wouldn't be forgotten of. Harry looked up to see that it was practically hovering over him and preparing to take a large bite. Harry looked around for more rocks, but the only one nearby was the one that Rainbow hit her head against. Unfortunately it was much too large to pick up, let alone throw. Then Harry cast his eyes upon his hands. It was the spark of an idea. Harry took a deep breath and punched the spider in the eye. He felt as though he was digging through jelly. He cringed. It just felt so disgusting. The spider screaming in agony did not make this whole thing easier to stomach. The spider flailed its legs around. It howled in pain. Harry pushed his hand in deeper and began to claw around. It seemed like forever, but the spider eventually gave up and stopped squirming. Harry pulled his hand out and the spider fell to the ground. "D—did you kill it?" Scootaloo asked. "I think so," Harry said. He took some time to just breathe and look at his hand, which was now covered with a sticky clear goop. "Applebloom, you back here?" said a pony with a southern drawl. Applejack popped out from the abyss of the forest. "Just what in Equestria happened here? Where's Applebloom!?" Harry pointed to the glob of web that the spider had dropped. Applejack grabbed a stick and cut it open. Applebloom slid out. Her eyes looked onward, wide in terror, but she was still breathing. While Applejack was embracing Applebloom Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight burst onto the scene. Fluttershy held Harry close. Twilight used a spell to cut Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo down. Rarity comforted Sweetie Belle, getting her out of her shocked state while Twilight focused on reviving Rainbow Dash. "Wow," Scootaloo said. She placed her wing around Harry once Fluttershy had let him go. "Maybe your cutie mark is spider slaying because you were awesome at it!" "Wait, you four were out here to get Harry his cutie mark?" Fluttershy said. Her voice had twinges of fear, but her expression held anger. "That's what we told him," Scootaloo said, looking to the side with shame. "We were just having a little fun with him. We didn't expect to get attacked by a giant spider!" "Harry, I told you never to go in here," Fluttershy scolded. "I don't want to think about what would have happened if things had gone any worse." Then Fluttershy looked to him eye-to-eye. "Is getting your cutie mark really worth all of this?" "No, but they said—" "Harry, you need to have better judgementr. You should never put yourself in unneeded danger." "Fluttershy," Twilight said, walking up to her, "I think now is the best time to tell him. We don't want to have any more episodes like this." "Tell me what?" Fluttershy sighed. Then she hesitated for a moment. She put her head on his shoulder. "You're not a pony, Harry." "I know that Mom. You said that it didn't matter what I was." "And it doesn't. But, Harry... only ponies get cutie marks." Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle who had been listening in gasped at this. Their minds must have been going through some sort of turmoil as they remembered their time as blank flanks. They probably imagined what it would have been like staying that was forever. Harry didn't know what to feel. His mother had to be lying, she just had to! But why would she tell him a lie that made him feel so terrible, so worthless? "I'm sorry," Fluttershy said, close to tearing up herself. It was like she was trying to turn back time as she said "Just because you can't get a cutie mark doesn't mean you don't have a special talent!" Harry didn't respond.