//------------------------------// // 61. The Cutie-Pox - Part 1 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// Another day in Ponyville, another fine experience to be had. Twinken, Rumble, and Button Mash were enjoying a slice at Pepper Pony’s after another dull as dirt day at school, having refused to go with the girls to the bowling alley. “I really wish those three would slow down with all the crusading,” Twinken said after swallowing a bite. “I mean, I get the desire for a cutie-mark but they are blowing it way out of proportion.” “It’s not such a big deal,” Rumble agreed, “I want my cutie-mark too but I want it to be something I know I’m good at, something I really love, y’know?” “Doesn’t matter to me,” Button muttered, engrossed in his Joy Boy, but then his pupils dilated and he requested, “Please don’t tell Sweetie Belle I said that.” “Don’t you mean don’t tell them you said that?” Twinken asked with a smirk. “Yeah, why are you only concerned about Sweetie Belle?” Rumble inquired with a raised brow. “Uh- No reason, I, uh…” Button tried to save face when he noticed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle headed their way. “Hey girls! Wait, where’s Apple Bloom?” Their attention shifted, the boys all looked to the approaching fillies, also curious as to why their earth pony member was not accompanying them. “Well, we can officially cross bowling off as something we’re good at,” Scootaloo quipped. “But Apple Bloom didn’t take it so well,” Sweetie Belle explained, “and if that weren’t enough somepony else got his cutie mark in bowling right then and there!” “Ooh,” the boys suddenly got it, Twinken asking, “So then, where is she?” “She wandered off into the forest,” Sweetie Belle replied. “I think we should just give her some alone-time." “Well, I hope she gets back soon,” Twinken complained. “I don’t wanna have to be the one to tell my brothers and sister that Apple Bloom wandered off…” “Uh, Sweetie Belle, would you girls like to join us for some pizza?” Button asked hopefully. “‘Uh Sweetie Belle, would you girls like to join us for some pizza’?” Rumble repeated in a teasing way, making everypony laugh, and Button grumble irritably. As Celestia began to lower the sun, Twinken was walking home, thinking, I hope Apple Bloom got home, otherwise I know Applejack is gonna give me the riot act for not sticking with her. But as he stepped onto the barnyard, he heard something and poked around to see Apple Bloom, with some kind of hoop around her waist. “Oh AB! Glad ya made it home alright.” “Oh howdy Twinken,” Apple Bloom greeted him as he approached. “What’re you doing?” “Eh, just thought Ah’d try an’ get mah mind offa things,” Apple Bloom replied in a cool manner. "So Ah’m playing with mah loop-de-hoop!” “Your what now?” Twinken asked. “Mah loop-de-hoop,” Apple Bloom repeated. “It’s sumthin’ Applejack and Ah made t’gether. She took this off an old rain barrel and Ah made it into a game!” “So what happened to you today?” Twinken asked. “The girls said you wandered off into the forest.” “Ah did, but Ah had a little tumble and got mah tooth chipped,” Apple Bloom informed him, “and don’ worry `bout me. Ah ran into Zecora and she used one `a her potions t’ fix me right up!” “Well, glad to hear you’re alright. I’m going inside,” Twinken decided. “I’m glad to see you’re not as blue as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said earlier.” “Oh don’t worry about me,” Apple Bloom assured him as he headed into the house. “Ah got everything Ah need…” If Twinken had stuck around for even a minute longer, he might have noticed something appear on Apple Bloom’s flank. That morning, all the colts and fillies were on the school playground waiting for the day to begin. Twinken and Rumble were playing with their Wonderbolt action figures, Button was sitting at the base of a tree, enjoying his Joy Boy, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were talking when they noticed Apple Bloom walk by, her muzzle proudly pointed in the air. She then twirled and made sure they got a good look at the cutie-mark on her flank, much to their surprise! “Apple Bloom!” they said together, “You’ve got your cutie-mark!” That one observation earned everypony’s attention as the whole class converged and looked to see Apple Bloom’s new cutie-mark and saw it looked like a silver ring. But they couldn’t figure out what it represented. “Um, Apple Bloom, what is it?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yeah, is it an ‘o’? Are you good at spelling?” Scootaloo asked. “Or is it a ring?” Twinken asked, Button butting in, asking, “Do you make enchanted jewelry?! That’d be so cool!” “No on all three counts,” Apple Bloom answered before showing off what she’d shown Twinken last night. “It’s a loop-de-hoop!” They watched her twirl it around her waist, Twinken asking, “You mean that toy you showed me last night? So you’re good at… loop-de-hooping?” “That’s it?” That snide comment cut through the attention like a hot knife through butter and they all turned to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looking snidely at Applebloom. “That’s your talent?” Diamond Tiara raised an incredulous brow. “Spinning a hoop around your waist? Puh-lease!” Silver Spoon scoffed, her best friend giggling at her remark. “Oh, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet,” Apple Bloom warned them, and she began to show off a whole plethora of hoop-related tricks. She loop-de-hooped around her neck, threw it over the flagpole and sent it straight back up, and as it came down she leapt up and through it made an aerial somersault and stuck a perfect landing with the hoop hanging from her neck. Everypony started cheering, much to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s surprise at such impeccable skills, Scootaloo declaring, “Apple Bloom, you’re a super-duper loop-de-hooper!” “Thanks everypony,” Apple Bloom said right before the bell rang. Cheerilee stepped out, calling, “Alright, my little ponies! Time for class!” But she noticed none of her students paid her any mind and went over to see what all the attention was about, and saw Apple Bloom continuing to show off. “Apple Bloom.” “Yes, Miss Cheerilee?” “I want you to take your loop-de-hoop into the yard,” she said sternly before gushing, “and give us all a lesson in your amazing loop-de-hooping!” Everypony cheered, much to the schoolyard bullies’ ire but soon everypony had moved to the yard and each had their own loop-de-hoop. Apple Bloom supervised them all as they each practiced, while she loop-de-hooped hers around her tail. She helped Snips out when he accidentally sent his for a roll but couldn’t resist making a snide comment to her daily tormentors when they struggled with their own and fell over. “Don’ worry, gals, keep at it and ya might get t’ be half as good as me!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon responded with growling stink-eyes but Apple Bloom paid them no mind as she moved on to her friends, who were having a little trouble as well. “Great job, everypony!” “You’re too kind, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle sulked, Scootaloo adding, “Yeah we stink.” “Look everypony!” Twinken yelled and they saw him loop-de-hooping his hoop around his horn. “I’m doing it, I’m doing it…!” Unfortunately, Twinken did it a little too hard and sent the hoop soaring like a saw-disc, Snips and Snails gasping as they ducked and everypony saw the hoop somehow embed itself into a nearby tree. They all gave him a look and he chuckled sheepishly. “No worries there, Twink!” Apple Bloom assured him. “Y’all just need a little more practice, you’ll be able to do all kinds a’ tricks!” Apple Bloom then started showing off a series of different loop-de-hoop tricks, such as hoop n’ bop, hoop n’ hop, hoop n’ skip, and hoop n’ flip, much to the cheering of everypony that Cheerilee asked, “Can you show us some more tricks, Apple Bloom?” “Well alright, just `a few more tricks,” Apple Bloom obliged. “But be warned: These are advanced moves, not for beginners.” Then she got in Diamond Tiara’s face, saying, “Got tha’, Diamond Tiara?” She paid no mind when Diamond Tiara gave her an annoyed growl, as she looped her hoop above her with her tail, saying, “Ah call this one… the Hoopla!” She started spinning the hoop increasingly faster, kicking up a powerful wind that it blew everypony’s manes and some even struggled to keep their balance and not be blown down. Then Apple Bloom’s incredibly fast looping caused her to rise off the ground, going higher and higher! As she rose above everypony, Apple Bloom smiled victoriously, at long last! She had a cutie-mark and it came with a very nifty talent, she’d relished the attention, the praise, how everypony gazed up at her in awe and amazement! But at that moment, she felt a tingling on her flank and lost concentration to see what it was, that she lost her loop-de-hoop’s synchronization and fell with a big “Oof!” Everypony couldn’t believe what they were seeing! On Apple Bloom’s flank, below the loop-de-hoop… “Another cutie-mark? Ha!” Diamond Tiara scoffed. “I guess that last trick was a lotta hoopla, those cutie-marks are fake!” That derisive declaration gave everypony reason to gasp, Apple Bloom protesting, “Wha- no they’re not!” “Miss Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara inquired while giving Apple Bloom a suspicious look, “Have you ever heard of a pony with two cutie-marks?” “I must say that I never have…” Cheerilee admitted before her mood brightened, “but maybe Apple Bloom has two special talents!” “Oh yeah, then let’s see you do that!” Silver Spoon challenged while pointing at the second cutie-mark on AB’s flank. It was a pair of spinning plates on sticks. “Spin plates!” Snips called, Snails agreeing, “Yeah!” as they threw a pair of sticks and plates at Apple Bloom without warning. Apple Bloom hadn’t even tried to. She’d just closed her eyes, waiting for the sticks and plates, and the sticks and stones that would follow. But she gasped to see the plates spinning while being balanced on the sticks she balanced on her nose! Effortlessly spinning the plates while still loop-de-hooping with her tail! Everypony gasped in amazement, Sweetie Belle saying, “Two cutie-marks?!” “Two talents!” Rumble added. “Aw yeah!” Apple Bloom cheered, Twinken saying, “My sister is the most special pony ever!” “Alright, everypony,” Apple Bloom called while still loop-de-hooping and spinning plates, “Ya ready for a real show?” She led her class and teacher into town, everypony taking notice of the talented little filly as she started to showboat both talents she’d developed with uncanny skill and precision. She span plates while rolling along on her loop-de-hoop, span plates off the ground while switching her hoop from one hoof to another, through the hoop skyward towards a napping Rainbow Dash, cutting her cloud into a perfect circle without disturbing her, and caught it without dropping the plates. Sweetie Belle got Twilight and Rarity to come see although Twilight got a face of rolling loop-de-hoop that spun her mane into a semi-replica of Rarity’s mane style, much to Rarity and Spike’s delight! As Apple Bloom bounced over Pinkie, she rolled past her older brothers and sister and grandma, Big Mac, Midnight, Applejack, and Granny Smith, loop-de-hooping around herself and the old mare without losing a beat, as everypony started cheering. Applejack whistled a signal and bucked a picnic table, sending an apple pie and some plates skyward. Reacting quickly, Applebloom easily caught the plates in stacks and used her loop-de-hoop to inexplicably slice the pie into perfect slices and have them land on the plates she set up in quick-succession, much to everypony’s delight as eight lucky ponies ran up to grab one of the slices. Apple Bloom smiled and continued to bask. But soon night came and the Apple Family went home, Applejack cheering as they got into the living room. “YEE-HAW! Congratulations, lil’ sis, on getting’ not one but two cutie-marks! We’re mighty proud a’ you, right Big Macintosh?” “Eeyup!” “Now, I know I’m not one to talk,” Midnight spoke as he gave Apple Bloom’s two cutie-marks a closer look. “But I’ve never heard of somepony having more than one cutie-mark, have you Big Mac?” “Nnnope.” “Why, the way you were a-hoopin’ and a-hoppin’ and kickin’ and spinnin’,” Granny Smith brought up. “Reminded me when Ah was a spry young filly!” She made a pose, only for everypony to hear a CRICK, Granny Smith flinching as she yelled, “Guh! Charley horse, charley horse!” Midnight levitated her off the ground while Big Mac aimed his hoof and socked the charley horse out of their grandmother, much to her relief as Midnight let her down. “Hoo, tha’s better…” “You were so amazing, Apple Bloom,” Twinken complimented. “Why Ah bet yer ready t’ hit th’ rodeo circuit right now!” added Applejack. “Actually, Ah’m ready t’ hit th’ hay right now,” Apple Bloom declined, looking understandably tired as she made her way upstairs. “Ah’m plum tuckered, see y’all in th’ morning! Night!” “Night!” Applejack replied as they all watched her head to bed. “Oh my, lil’ Apple Bloom has fin’lly blossomed, hasn’t she Big Mac?” “Eeyup!” “I wonder…” Midnight muttered to himself, feeling something wasn’t right. “Something wrong, Midnight?” asked Twinken, the others looking at him. “No, just… It’s nothing,” Midnight assured them. Before long, everypony else had gone to bed. In their room, Midnight was tossing and turning in the bottom bunk, unable to sleep. As consciousness returned, he was made aware of the source of his sleep trouble in the form of a tippy-tappy sound. “What the hay…?” He got up and poked his head out his bedroom window and saw Applejack apparently having the same trouble. They acknowledged each other but looked towards the direction of the sound, Apple Bloom’s room, the door edged a creak open. They went over, grumbling as Applejack pushed it open, saying, “Apple Bloom, what’re ya-” They were bewildered to see Apple Bloom tap-dancing but what got their attention was on Apple Bloom’s flank, a third cutie-mark! A pair of tap-dancing shoes, to be specific. “Help me…!” Apple Bloom pleaded, much to the disturbed minds of her brother and sister as they looked on at her in bafflement. “HELP ME!!” Hearing her more insistent, they shook off their confusion as Applejack said, “Come `ere you!” She approached Apple Bloom only to get whipped in the face by the loop-de-hoop around her tail, Midnight trying to stop her from dancing by grabbing her hooves, only to be shook off and thrown back onto his rump. “Ah’m sorry Midnight, Ah don’ know how t’ make it stop!” “Well Ah know somepony who might,” Applejack said as she helped Midnight up.