My Inspiration

by gwg


Cutie Mark Chronicles 2


In a tastefully decorated bakery in Ponyville sat three mares who used to be the bane of the small town’s existence; one an earth pony, one a unicorn, and the last a pegasus. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were having their weekly get together at Sugarcube Corner. They would talk about the usual things: how’s life, how’s the family (or, in Scootaloo’s case, how’s Rainbow Dash), how’s work treating you, etc.

They would talk about these things on a normal Wednesday, but today was not a normal Wednesday. On this particular Wednesday, a simple question from a young colt would have great importance for two members of the trio.

The former trouble-makers were in mid-conversation when a shy pegasus walked in with her six-year old colt. Fluttershy and Big Mac were the proud parents of young Jonagold Apple: a cream colored pegasus like his mother with his father’s mane color and emerald eyes. Unlike his parents, he wasn’t shy at all; his hyperactive behavior was seconded only by Pinkie Pie. The colt and his mother were at the bakery to pick up a quick treat when he spotted his favorite aunt and her friends.

“Auntie Bloom!!” shouted the youth from across the store, making most of customers within the establishment wince at sheer volume of the yell.

“Well howdy there Jonny! How’s mah favorite nephew doin’?” responded Apple Bloom in a more mature pitch than that of her days as little filly, though it was still higher than her sister Applejack. The architect still had her famous pink bow adorning the top of her head and now she carried around a saddlebag filled with sheets of paper and drawing supplies should inspiration strike at any moment for a new design of a building. Many of the new buildings in Ponyville were designed by her and she even had a few contracts to design new buildings in Canterlot, thanks in part to a certain lavender princess.

“Isn’t he your only nephew?” snickered Scootaloo with the same old raspy voice. The only difference from her filly self besides her height and the presence of a cutie mark was the flight goggles hanging around her neck; she was never without the prized gift from her idol and honorary sister. The stuntmare had taken Dash’s old job as weather team captain when the prismatic pegasus was welcomed into the Wonderbolts. Ponies around town believed that she was also a Wonderbolt hopeful, but her friends knew that wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life.

“Awwww, look he’s growing up so fast!!” squeaked Sweetie Belle while ignoring her friends. The singer had gotten a better handle on this adorable quality, though she still does it on rare occasions when she is excited or flustered. She wore less makeup than her sister Rarity, though only to appease said sister. Sweetie worked as a well-sought-after wedding singer; she sang for free at Applejack and Rarity’s wedding and there were rumors that Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle would be asking for her services in the near future.

From where the colt stood he could easily see the mares’ cutie marks, and at that singular moment, the infamous question popped into his young head:

“How’d y’all get yer cutie marks?”

The trio shared a look, a silent conference that resulted in Apple Bloom starting off.

“Well it all happened on a day like this five years ago…”

-GWG-

It had been five years since the three fillies started their grand crusade and still they had not found their special talent. On a day like this one the trio would be out trying to earn their cutie marks but today Sweetie Belle was foalsitting the one year old Jonagold (his parents weren’t keen on having Apple Bloom do it) and Scootaloo was busy having flight practice with Rainbow Dash and Twilight, leaving Apple Bloom to find something to do at the farm.

At the moment, she was sitting at a picnic table by the old barn house, pencil in her mouth scribbling on the sheet of paper in front of her. It may not have earned her cutie mark, but Apple Bloom thoroughly enjoyed three-dimensional art, having learned how to do it at school. She was no expert but she was showing some skill in the art form. She could not have been more prepared for this brush with destiny.

The quiet atmosphere was violently disturbed by an all too familiar explosion, the shockwave of which made the old barn collapse, thankfully with no one inside. The destruction stunned the youngest Apple sibling and summoned the elder sister, a worried look upon her face before it became irate.

“DARN IT (censored for the little colt hearing this tale) RAINBOW!! When Ah get mah hooves on that no-good rat with wings, Ah’ll buck her intah next month!” Applejack screamed, her face as red as her brother’s coat in rage. The barn may have been old but there was at least another decade of use left before it would have needed to be scrapped. They had the bits to build a new one, but it would cause ripples in the budget which could mean more problems later on. She was none too pleased that her best friend would cause this damage.

Apple Bloom looked on in sadness. Sure she felt awful about the barn, but she felt worse seeing her sister upset. She knew how stressed out Applejack could get over the farm’s finances, and with Big Mac in Canterlot with his wife for the day and Rarity in Manehatten for a fashion show; she had very little support at the moment. Bloom struggled to think of a way to help her sister; though it just so happened that destiny was not done with its date with the filly.

A second yet unfamiliar explosion ripped across the sky, causing Apple Bloom to simultaneously jump and find a solution to her family’s woes.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack asked the sky, observing the strange wave of color and ignoring her sister’s furious scribbling. Apple Bloom looked like a mare possessed as she drew and erased lines until a familiar shape began to emerge. Next to the structure she would write numbers and draw arrows. She drew lines connecting certain parts of the structure with quickly written yet legible notes. She didn’t know why but for some reason she signed her name in the bottom right hoof corner of the paper. She jumped from the table and dashed to Applejack, hoofing over the piece of paper that would define the mare Apple Bloom would become.

“Apple Bloom, Ah don’t have time fer yer lit-,” Applejack began before getting a good look at what was presented to her. In her hooves was not just a blueprint, it was the answer to all her problems. The design was of a barn but the dimensions were different: it could hold more supplies and was sturdier than its predecessor. The materials listed in the notes Applejack knew were cheaper to come by and stronger than the wood they used for the last barn. What really sold it was the fact that this structure would last twice as long as any barn before it before they would have to take it down. The happiness she felt, however, was outdone by the unbridled joy she felt when she looked at her little sister. “Apple Bloom, look, your flank!!” Applejack stuttered in barely contained elation.

Apple Bloom looked at the flank in question, her excitement putting Applejack’s to shame. On her flank was the image of a ruler, a pencil, and a hammer connected to form a triangle over the image of a red apple. She began bouncing up and down in glee, shouting in pure joy before she stopped, face scrunched in confusion. “What’s it mean?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at her sister with confused eyes.

“Ah think it means yer gonna be an architect.”

“An archiwhat?”

“An architect. It means you design buildin’s and stuff like that. Apple Bloom, Ah’m so proud of you.”

“Will that help?” Apple Bloom asked when she remembered the blueprint.

“Help!? Apple Bloom, this here design will save the farm a fortune!” Applejack shouted with pride. She picked her sister up in a bone crushing hug and then the two ran inside the house to inform Granny Smith of the news.

-GWG-

“So you designed the barn?” Jonagold asked at the end of his aunt’s tale.

“Eeyup,” responded Apple Bloom in a perfect imitation of her brother and the colt’s father, “though that wasn’t the only important thing that happened that day. Right, Sweetie Belle?”

“Right,” the unicorn responded, accepting that it was her turn to tell the story, “and you had a big part in it Jonny boy.”

“Ah did?” the colt asked, pointing at himself in confusion.

“Yes, you did. It began that morning when your mom and dad asked me to foalsit you…”

-GWG-

“Are you sure you can handle this Sweetie Belle?” Fluttershy asked for the millionth time that morning. She was nervous wreck just thinking of leaving her little foal with anypony, she wasn’t concerned with the fact that the foalsitter was a certain unicorn that could burn toast to such a degree it could be mistaken for apple sauce. No, not concerned whatsoever.

“’Shy, Ah’m sure she’ll do a fine job,” Big Mac tried comforting his wife.

“Mackey, she burnt juice,” the pegasus said in such a way that only her husband could hear. Nope, not concerned at all.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy; I’m great with foals and the animals like me, so everything will be fine. Trust me,” Sweetie gave an adorable smile to seal the deal. She almost won over Fluttershy.

“Are you sure? My little Jonny can be a hoofful sometimes and he can get real cranky if he wakes up from his nap before he’s napped fully, it takes hours just to get him calm again.”

“I got this, you two have fun on your date in Canterlot,” Sweetie gave another smile before she started looking around the room, “Just to be safe, where do you keep the fire extinguisher?” Fluttershy became the slightest bit concerned.

Before she could all out panic, Big Mac began rubbing his wife’s back in between the wing joints, a spot he knew would get her to calm down and relax.

“It’s in the kitchen next to the sink, ya can’t miss it,” the work horse responded to the unicorn’s earlier question, “We’ll be back this evening, try not to get in too much trouble.” He carried his happily muttering wife on his back as they exited their home, Sweetie waving them off from the threshold.

“I won’t, you just worry about having a good time. See you later.”

Two hours later

The unicorn had just gotten her charge down for a nap. She may not have gotten her cutie mark in foalsitting, but she was skilled enough that she could have a small job of it. It made her sad though that it kept her from crusading with her friends; and when she could crusade, the one she would miss the most would be busy with flight practice. She had no idea why she preferred Scoots over Bloom, she just did. She didn’t know what that meant yet.

It was quiet once everything was settled, peaceful. She felt she could relax a bit before doing other things around the house, being so quiet she could finally think in peace. While thinking about movie quotes, a particular one unnerved her greatly; so much so she felt like she had to say it out loud in order to make sense of it.

“It’s too quiet…”

As if on cue, destiny stepped in in the form of rainbow colored explosion. The sound wave caused the once quiet home to erupt in a cacophony, the one grabbing the unicorn’s attention were the shrieks of an infant foal. She began to panic as her charge continued to cry.

“What do I do, what do I do?” she paced around the room trying to find a way calm the foal; she wanted to do a good job and it’s hard to get repeat business if the client’s foal cries the whole time.

“Shh shh, it’s ok, aunty Sweetie is here.” More crying. She tried rocking him back and forth. More crying. She tried making funny faces at him. He quieted for a moment before crying harder. “WHY IS NOTHING WORKING!!” Sweetie Belle cried.

Destiny decided to throw her a bone with the second explosion of the day, sounding much different than the one before. She nearly shouted ‘aha!’ when an idea arrived a few seconds later. She began to sing:

Hush now, quiet now,
it’s time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now,
it’s time to go to bed
Drifting off to sleep
Leave the days excitement behind you
Drifting off to sleep
Let the joy of dreamland find you

Unlike the last time she sang this song here, she sang the actual lullaby in such a sweet tone. She sang so well that not only did she put the foal back to sleep; she put the animals in the house to sleep as well. She put little Jonagold back in his crib before she noticed the flash behind her. Turning around, she noticed what was now adorning her flank. Her cutie mark was that of a microphone surrounded by three music notes. She knew what this meant instantly: she was destined to become a singer. She had to stifle her shouts of glee lest she wake the sleeping foal. She continued working, hardly able to wait to tell Scootaloo.

…And Apple Bloom of course. We can’t forget Apple Bloom can we?

-GWG-

“So ya got yer cutie mark ‘cause of me?” the colt inquired.

“Yep…well not exactly. See you were part of it, the real reason is sitting right next to me.” Sweetie Belle nodded to Scootaloo—and perhaps stared at the pegasus for far longer than necessary—for her to begin her story.

The flyer blushed, thinking she might have been caught staring at the unicorn, but played it off as a reaction to the praise. “Yep, now it’s time we get to the radical part of the story…”

-GWG-

Scootaloo and Twilight were lying on the same cloud as they waited for their instructor/friend/idol/honorary sister/possible marefriend to arrive so they could continue with their flight training. While Twilight was reading the latest addition to the library, Astrological Phenomena: A Reference Guide, Scootaloo was thinking about her friends; or, if she was being honest with herself, a certain unicorn filly that has been plaguing her thoughts as of late. If she could resent one thing about the flight practice sessions, it would have to be how it limits the amount of time she could hang out with Sweetie Belle. If she wasn’t practicing, Sweetie was working; Scootaloo was wrong to think that time away would dim the way she felt, it just made the feelings stronger.

She was brought out of her reverie by a gust of wind brought on by the mare the filly and the princess had been waiting for had finally arrived in her usual showboat manner. She had to fly by them at top speed, slow down with a flip and come to a hover in front of them. Scootaloo applauded while Twilight rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash was wearing her coach’s hat on her head and her whistle around her neck, which she took into her mouth and let loose loudly. The trainees gave her their undivided attention (though the older of the two for reasons other than training purposes).

“ALLLRIGHT, MAGGOTS,” Dash doing her best impression of Spitfire when she’s at the Academy (it would probably earn her laps around the grounds), “You’ve both been working hard lately, and I think you’re both ready for a real test. SQUIRT!!”

“YES MA’AM!”

“Front an’ center.” Dash waited for Scootaloo to hover in front of her instructor. “I’m real proud, kid. You went from completely flightless to being the second greatest flyer in Equestria after me in only a coupla months. I think you might be ready to pull off the trick that only I have pulled off: the Sonic Rainboom!!”

Both Scootaloo’s and Twilight’s jaws went slack when they heard this. “Rainbow, that is far too dangerous. Scootaloo could easily get hurt,” Twilight tried to caution, but it fell on deaf ears.

“I’m ready coach!” Scootaloo yelled.

“That’s the spirit! Alright, first I’ll give you a few pointers then I’ll show you how it’s done.” Dash said all this in her usual tone of voice, but then shifted to deadly serious and got closer to the young pegasus so that only she heard what was said. “Alright, for this you’re working with gravity but against the sound barrier. Don’t let it throw you off course. Keep as straight and streamlined as possible, otherwise you’re gonna get hurt like Twi’ said. Lastly, you’re not doing this for the sake of doing the trick; you’re doing it for somepony. The first time I did it, I was protecting Fluttershy’s honor; the second time I was trying to save Rarity; and every time since then I did it for…” Dash glanced at Twilight, who was reading her book, before returning her gaze to Scoots, “…a certain princess’s heart. You can’t do it for fame or for yourself; it has to be somepony who means a great deal to you, who holds a special place in your heart. Do you have somepony in mind?”

Scootaloo thought for a few moments before nodding; she had somepony in mind.

“Good. You don’t have to tell me; I think I have an idea of who it is,” Rainbow said while giving a knowing grin. She flew over to Twilight, slipping the whistle around a lavender neck before placing the hat atop her head. Dash thought she looked adorable with the coach’s gear on; Twilight was enjoying the look she was getting from the prismatic mare. After a few moments of staring into each other’s eyes, they both looked away with blushes adorning their faces. Finally Dash broke the silence: “You, uh, might not want to miss this, Princess.”

“It’s Twilight, Dash, I’ve told you not to call me that,” she said weakly, still blushing.

Scootaloo let out a sigh; she knew the two of them had fallen for each other. Months of training with them had shown her this: from certain gestures to comments to scenes like this that would have Sweetie shouting ‘Oh, Come On!’, when the tension was so great and they wouldn’t kiss. It was starting to annoy the young pegasus; any more of it and she was going to take action.

Scootaloo took her spot next to Twilight as Dash bolted to reach an appropriate height for the trick. Twilight waited until Dash was way out of earshot before she said: “Isn’t she amazing?” a dreamy look to her eyes.

The young pegasus rolled her eyes before responding in deadpan: “Yeah she is.” Either Twilight didn’t hear or chose to ignore her tone as she continued to gush. Meanwhile Dash was beginning the maneuver, her descent building up speed. Her calculations were off however as she passed the point where she was supposed to have broken the sound barrier; the cone hadn’t even formed yet. She passed the cloud the two trainees were on as the cone began to form. Seconds before she was going to abandon the trick she pulled it off, the boom going off too close for the small town’s comfort, causing minor damage in parts of the town and the destruction of one barn.

Dash pulled up and rejoined the two in the clouds. Twilight looked rather worried though she was relieved to see the flyer was ok. Scootaloo was relieved as well and began planning out how to avoid going too low.

“What happened? That was dangerous and what about the damage you probably caused?” Twilight began her onslaught of questions to the brash mare.

“Don’t worry, I just didn’t go high enough for the descent is all, I’m fine. And there isn’t any damage to the town I bet.” (Dash would later curse herself because of this comment after being bucked in the chest by an irate apple farmer and sent to the hospital for a week.) “Alright, Squirt, it’s your turn. You ready?”

Scootaloo brought down the goggles Dash gave her over her eyes. “Ready.”

She took off while Rainbow took her place next to Twilight.

“Do you want me ready to catch her with my magic should she spin out?” Twilight asked, still wearing the coach gear.

“Nah, she is gonna pull it off. I know it.” She then glanced at Twilight before gently draping a wing over the alicorn’s body. Not meeting any resistance she took this as a good sign. All of Twilight’s thoughts of Scootaloo’s safety were jettisoned out the airlock when she felt the wing across her shoulder. There were no thoughts going through the usually-thoughtful princess’s head at this point in time. All she did was focus on the sensation of the wing.

High above the scene, Scootaloo was ready for her descent. She began. She was building speed while thinking of Sweetie Belle. She resorted to saying these thoughts out loud to give her a boost.

“I like Sweetie Belle,” the cone began to take shape.

“I have a crush on Sweetie Belle,” the cone began to narrow.

“I love Sweetie Belle,” her hooves were nearly touching the tip of the cone.

“I’M IN LOVE WITH SWEETIE BELLE!!” the barrier broke.

There was a nanosecond of silence that was only observed by Scootaloo before a loud boom that sounded nothing like a rainboom shattered all other noise in the area. Looking behind her she noticed the wave was not like the multicolored explosion she’s used to; the blast behind her was an expanding ring of fire: orange on the outside, purple within. She also noticed she had a trail behind her that looked like she was producing orange and purple flames. She let out a whoop before joining the two awestruck mares. It took them awhile before they regained their senses; Dash being the first to break the silence.

“That…was…AWESOME!! You did it! You pulled off a Sonic Rainboom! I knew you co-”

“That wasn’t a Sonic Rainboom,” Twilight said, cutting off the future Wonderbolt.

“What?! Of course she did. You saw it with your very eyes; she pulled off a Sonic Rai-”

It was Scootaloo’s turn to interrupt her idol: “She’s right, it wasn’t your trick; it was different, it looked and sounded different.”

“Alright then what was it?” Rainbow Dash asked, not really knowing what to think in this situation.

It was Twilight who spoke after looking at her book: “It’s called a Super Nova. Before you ask, it isn’t a trick from legend; I just came up with the name. It’s rather fitting, no?”

“Super Nova…I like it!” Scootaloo shouted before there was a bright flash from behind her.

Dash was the one to point it out, “Congratulations, Squirt, ya got your cutie mark.”

On her flank was a purple fireball under a pair of orange wings in the shape of a ‘V’. Scootaloo leapt for joy; she couldn’t wait to tell Sweetie Belle.

“What does it mean?” Twilight asked, unable to make heads or tails of it.

Dash snickered, “Duh, it means she’s destined to be a stunt flyer, she’s gonna be a Wonderbolt like me.”

“No, Dash,” Scootaloo stated, conviction in her eyes, “it means I’m destined to be a stuntmare, but I follow my own path. I want to be Scootaloo, not the second coming of Rainbow Dash. I thought my path lied in your shadow, but now I know I’m meant to have my own spotlight. I’m not living your dream, Dash, I’m living mine.”

Dash was the epitome of proud, for once not of herself but of this filly before her. “That is what I wanted hear kid. Can’t say I’m the best flyer anymore, cause now we’re tied for first,” she extended her hoof, “May the best mare win.” When she finished there were tears rolling down her face.

Scootaloo accepted the hoofshake. Smiling with pride, she lifted off from the cloud. “I gotta go tell my friends the good news. Thanks again Dash.” She headed towards Ponyville.

Twilight finally spoke after Scootaloo left.

“So what do I have to do for my test, coach?”

It wasn’t what was said, but rather how it was said and the look she gave Dash that made the pegasus’s legs feel like jelly and had her stuttering like an idiot.

“I…uh…would…I mean…wanna…go-”

“JUST KISS HER ALREADY!!!” Scootaloo shouted before taking off again, leaving two furiously blushing mares on the cloud.

Rainbow was too stunned to do anything, so it was Twilight who took the initiative. The pegasus was again too stunned to react right away to the Princess kissing her passionately, but once she regained the ability to move she kissed back with equal passion. Minutes later they separated to catch their breaths.

“Best. Day. Ever.” (Rainbow would redact this statement after being kicked in the chest by Applejack) “Come on let’s go tell Applejack the good news!" (She still claims that was the worst mistake she has ever made in her entire life).

-GWG-

“Wow that’s amazin’” stated the awestruck colt.

“Alright Jonagold Apple, it’s time to go home, say goodbye to your aunt and her friends,” called his gentle mother after having finished talking to Pinkie.

The hyperactive colt said his goodbyes before leaving with his shy mother. After they left, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were brought back to a memory of great importance to both of them.

-GWG-

“I still can’t believe we all got our cutie marks at the same time, and all because of you,” Sweetie squeaked and blushed slightly, turning towards the setting sun to hide it. It was at this point that she discovered what her feelings meant; she had a crush on her flying friend.

Apple Bloom had headed back to the home after hearing what sounded like a pained cry from the farm. It was just the two of them now; they would have used this time to confess their feelings had it not been for what Apple Bloom said before she left. She had mentioned that she already had drawn twenty or so blueprints for buildings, and that she was going to head to the library the next day to pick up some architecture books to get some inspiration. This had led them to simultaneously think the same thought.

We have our cutie marks…now what?

They both realized that in order to proceed with their dream, they needed to be creative. Scootaloo needed to build up a list of moves; she couldn’t rely on the Super Nova, it would become less special. Sweetie Belle needed to write new songs; she couldn’t just stick to singing already existing songs, she wouldn’t get far like that. They both decided without the other’s knowledge that they would be closer to achieving their dreams before taking a chance at a relationship. Never had they been more foolish.

Scootaloo finally decided to respond Sweetie’s earlier comment, “It’s no big deal. Well it’s getting late, I should head home. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

They hugged each other before departing company, though the hug lasted longer than one between two friends; it was more like one between two lovesick ponies looking for any reason to extend the contact. They vowed that they would be further along the path towards their goals before starting a relationship, believing that they would be there in a matter of weeks.

-GWG-

They painfully realized that was five years ago to this very day, and both were no closer to their goal. They weren’t even the same goals anymore. Now Scootaloo just wanted to create one new trick; it didn’t even have to beat the Super Nova, which she hasn’t done since that fateful day five years ago. Sweetie Belle just wanted to write one song, just one; it didn’t even have to be an amazing single, just as long as she wrote it. And five years have only made the building emotions worse; it was sheer agony holding back the emotions now. Back then they thought they only wanted a simple relationship, just seeing where it takes them. Now, each was sure that the other was her soul mate; they were meant for each other and EVERYPONY could see it. But the vow they made still stood in the way.

The CMC were about to continue their earlier conversation when Pinkie Pie interrupted them.

“Sorry ladies but I’m gonna have to ask you to leave; the author is very tired and he wants to go to bed,” Pinkie Pie said sadly; she liked where this story was going.

“What?” the three mares asked simultaneously.

“I need you ladies to leave; gwg is very tired and he wants to go to bed,” Pinkie Pie repeated to the trio, listening intently to make sure they heard the hyper baker right this time.

The three mares left without further hesitation; it’s best to just let Pinkie Pie be Pinkie Pie. Apple Bloom left the group first, heading back to her home on the farm.

“Who knows; Ah might find inspiration along the way.”

This was Destiny (or Discord, depending on who you ask) rearing his head into business again by dropping that key word in their friend’s sentence. As they did five years ago, they simultaneously had the same paradigm shifting thought; a thought that would bring them closer to their dreams and to true happiness:

I need to find my inspiration!