//------------------------------// // New in Ponyville // Story: Blank Flank // by EmFreakinLy //------------------------------// A small sigh and the sound of tapping was the only thing heard in the barren living room. Every little sound echoed off the floors and walls throughout the entire house. The only thing in the house was a pegasas laying on the floor with ear buds in his ears. He was skinnier than most ponies his age, but he was the fastest when it came to flying and running where he used to live. His coat was a beautiful tan, the white markings on his muzzle, the tips of his wings, and the socks on all four of his hooves faded gently into his main color, giving the effect of being touched with frost. His mane was a very deep red with fiery red-orange streaks that hung over his left eye and came to a point, being cut straight like paper. His tail was the same color and was cut straight and diagonal like his mane, the bottom longer than the top. All of the colors his body sported made his green eyes pop, making them glitter like emeralds. These features gave him his name, Emerald Snow. The only thing that made him completely different from all the other ponies his age is that he still had a blank flank. That's why his family moved to Ponyville. The skinny stallion was being bullied more than ever, all of his friends leaving him behind or stabbing him in the back, and the poor pony and his parents tried everything to find his special talent. Nothing ever worked. He was exceptionally good at anything he tried, and racing seemed to be his passion, so where was his cutie mark? Emerald was listening to the announcements of the famous races going on in Counterlot before being interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. "Emmi, please go help your father bring in some of the boxes," a mare with the same color coat as his own spoke as she entered. Her mane and tail were a beautiful white, draping gently on her body like a thin blanket of snow and her smile was friendly and gave the effect of blooming flowers. "Mom! My name is not Emmi," Emerald groaned, pushing himself up and pouting like a little foal. He didn't like how he was slightly feminine to begin with, and the nickname didn't help him at all. The mother giggled, hoof hiding her mouth in a shy way. "But it's such a cute name." Emerald Snow glared at the ground as he walked out, hooves hitting the ground a little harder than normal. "What boxes do you want me to bring in, Dad?" he asked with with a grumble, making sure not to look anypony in the eye. He did not want to bring anymore unwanted attention. The father was yellow with a mane and tail like Emerald's, but the stallion was much more masculine than him, wings larger with more and thicker feathers. The only resemblance between him and Emerald were the colors of their hair. Their body structures were the complete opposite. He looked more like his mother than his father. "Just those right-," a loud gasp interrupted the father's sentence and a big blur of pink grabbed Emerald. "You guys are new!!" the pink mare screamed, starting to shake emerald violently and then turned around and ran off as fast as she came. It left both of the pegasus in a daze. "I hope everypony isn't like that... I think I'll die," Emerald Snow said, getting a nod from his father for a reply. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was loud, colorful, and down-right exciting. Emerald Snow hadn't been to a party since he was a spoiled little foal. Apparently, the pink mare that practically attacked him earlier was named Pinkie Pie, and she threw parties all the time, especially for new comers. Emerald didn't like being around so many ponies that tried asking personal questions about him, but he liked the noise and the chatter. He hated the quiet and that's what it was like in his room upstairs before his parents brought him down to the crowd. "What's your name?" a younger yellow filly asked with big curious eyes and red hair. She had the biggest pink bow he'd ever seen. "My name's Apple Bloom!" "I'm Scootaloo!" said an orange pegasus with short purple hair. "I'm Sweetie Belle!" a white unicorn chimed in immediately afterwards as she jumped up and down. All three filly's jumped up and struck a pose. "And we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they all yelled in unison with big smiles on their faces. "And what exactly is that?" Emerald spoke without much interest. "It's where ponies without a cutie mark join and do awesomely fantastic stuff to get it!" said Scootaloo with a pride filled face. "Like, playing dolls and dress-up? That's not very awesomely fantastic, now is it?" Emerald did not show much emotion, but his eyes gave an amused glint. "No! That's boring!" said Sweetie Belle as she stuck out her tongue. Apple Bloom sat down and took a deep breath, prepairing to bombard Emerald's ears with something big. "We've tried chicken herdin' and savin', creature capturin', flower sniffin', bird watchin', bowlin', somethin' with a cannon, box packin', potion makin'..." The list kept going on, and on without a breath of air as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded and added little comments every now and then. "Whoa, hold on." Emerald raised a hoof and waved it slightly to get them to stop. "How do three little fillies like yourselves get your hooves on a cannon." They all looked at each other, trying to remember how exactly they got a hold of it. Scootaloo shrugged as Sweetie Belle giggled, "Dunno." "I feel like Pinkie Pie let us borrow it," said Apple Bloom, not actually sure. "So what's your special talent?" asked Sweetie Belle, changing the subject. "Maybe you could help us get ours!" "Yeah! Come on and help us!" yelled Apple Bloom, giving up on trying to remember. Scootaloo got up and tried circling the tan pony to see his cutie mark. "Since you're a lean pegasus, you must be a racer. Come on and show us!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom chimed in, "Yeah!" Emerald was worried now, trying to avoid his blank flank from being seen by the younger ones. Even though they didn't have one either, they were in school while he was old enough to live on his own. It was still a little embarrassing for him. "Uh, well, about that-" he was cut off by the yellow filly's gasp when she saw his sides. "You have a blank flank like us?!" said Sweetie Belle when she saw it immediately afterwards. She didn't yell, but it was loud enough for a few ponies around them to hear. They began to whisper and the news spread like a wild fire throughout the entire room. Some ponies were stunned by the news and just kept looking while others didn't seem to care, until they saw and realized how old Emerald really was. The pegasus sighed, only giving the ponies in the room a quick glance before turning around to leave the house. "Not everypony is the same," he said calmly, only catching the words of some other pony asking his parents if he was defective as he closed the door behind him. He just needed to fly away for awhile and headed to the forest that lined the edge of town.