//------------------------------// // Homecoming // Story: The New Timeline // by Jongoji245 //------------------------------// Following the troublesome day known as the Apple Derby and Rainbow's pranks, the Crusaders use the rest of their Spring Break to use what their talent calls them: helping others earn their cutie marks. Inside their clubhouse, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle list off every inhabitant in Ponyville without cutie marks. Recent examples include Tender Taps, Petunia, and first Gryphon Cutie Mark Crusader Gabby. Other upcoming helpers include Button Mash, Dinky, Indigo Blue, Pipsqueak, and Shady Daze. They hope to one day go outside of Ponyville and help out… Without their relatives need of course. “The best clue we have for Pip,” - Sweetie Belle points to a last year school picture of the tiny pinto - “is that he likes to explore for treasure. Maybe he would be great at treasure hunting.” Apple Bloom rubs her chin. “Nah, probably too similar to Petunia’s cutie mark. He does like to play pirate.” “Girls!” Scootaloo rushes in, holding a roll of paper. She unfurls it, showing a neat graphic design of a large tent. “The circus is coming to town!” Her two associates seem unfazed by this at first, but it occurred to them. The circus is a good place to find wayward souls that need a mark. Three of those are close friends to a former circus pony as well who lack a cutie mark. “Too bad Cosgrove isn’t here.” Sweetie Belle droops her ears as Scootaloo approaches her. “But imagine the look on his face when he sees his friend's cutie marks!” On cue, the Crusaders look up at a thought cloud, imagining the three of them along with Chelsey, Zipper, and Diver having gray blotches on their flanks for the moment. “What do you say, girls?” “Cutie Mark Crusaders Circus Helpers!” They shout before clapping their hoofs together. Having made their stop last night, the infamous Barn and Bailey Circus got most of its tents established and outside attractions ready to go. Families with enough free time took the chance to explore the temporary establishment, playing a few games such as dunk tank or whack a mole. Among those ponies are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, looking around the place they’ve heard for years, but only now have officially visited. Compared to the stories, the place doesn’t look messy and the workers appear well fed. “I don’t see anypony else without a cutie mark.” Said Scootaloo, her hoof over her brow as she scans the horizon. “Maybe Chelsey, Zipper, and Diver already have their cutie marks?” Apple Bloom looks to her left, seeing the Horses and occasional Merponies casually strolling around. “If they can get a cutie mark.” As they have found the hard way with Gabby, only Ponies and Alicorns, of all equids, can have a cutie mark. It’s evident with Zecora as well; even in her adult age, the closest thing she has for a cutie mark is the spiral that served as her tribe’s rite of passage. What would a Horse do for a Cutie Mark? What would a Merpony or Sleipnir do for theirs? The answer is out there, they just need some help. Sweetie Belle turns to one of the circus folk, a yellow Horse colt with a bi-colored mane and tail of orange and blue. “Excuse me, but do you know where Chelsey, Zipper, and Diver are?” Sweetie Belle asks, leaning her head back as the colt approached her. While not as big as Trouble Shoes, this is the closest they have for a Horse their age. “I have no idea.” Tex looks around. “Last I saw of them is when we boarded the train for Ponyville. But you can try the train if they’re still helping the others unload.” As the Horse parted ways, the Crusaders took his advice and walked further down to the train, now looking polished; no longer does the engine look rusty or the cars appear rotting. They approach an open train car; with no ramp, they did what they can to lift themselves on the car. “Hey!” The crusaders turn to an employee, a gruff looking Earth Pony. “No guests are allowed on the train.” “Oh, but uh,” - Sweetie Belle gives her friends a puzzled look, her eye catching Scootaloo twirling her hoof - “we have a few friends in the circus.” The employee raises an eyebrow then sighs. “Probably won’t find them in there.” He huffs before turning around and walked away. The Crusaders went inside anyway. Illuminated by just one light bulb, the trio of fillies scoured the train car, sweeping dust off the crates. No matter what stone they turned, they could find no trace of the Horse, the Sleipnir, and the Merpony. At least not in this train car. They turned back, reaching for the light when they hear a loud thunk from a magic box. Seeing it move on its own, the Crusaders approach it cautiously. From the sounds of the muffled yelling, they could tell that whoever’s in this box really needs air. The three grab the lock, pulling it with all their might. As the Crusaders fall back, the lid bursts open and reveals the juvenile Horse known as Chelsey as she fills her starved lungs with a loud whinny. “Sweet Celestia!” Chelsey stretches her leg, popping a few joints before she places it on the floor. “I thought we’d never get out.” Diver sprung out of the chest, flopping to the wooden floor like a fallen snake. Popping her tail in several places, she groans as she pushes her body around the floor. Zipper appeared the most disjointed, with all of his arms disjointed in all directions and his neck stuck in one direction. “Why did I have to be on the bottom.” Zipper groaned, hopping out of the chest on his good leg like a pogo stick. The Crusaders looked at each other, Scootaloo’s left brow furrowed while she raised the other. “Was there any reason why you were in the chest?” Scootaloo asks, expecting to find a logical answer for an illogical action. “We were practicing for a surprise showing for Cosgrove.” Chelsey grabs Zippers arms, pulling them forward until they popped. “Butthensomeonelockedthe-” Zipper’s neck is snapped in place, getting him to breath shallowly. Chelsey moves over to Diver, holding the Merpony like an accordion and popped her in several places. Diver laid on the floor, turning her head at the Crusaders. “We’ve been stuck in there for a day.” Diver said in such a relaxed manner. She eyeballs the train car, wondering for the other company aside from the three fillies in front of her. “Where is Cosgrove anyhow?” “Oh, you haven’t heard?” Apple Bloom raised her hoof. “Cosgrove’s at Canterlot for a week long tour.” The three circus children took this news slowly as they drooptheir ears. “Oh, well that was pointless.” Chelsey slunks her shoulders. “We were really hoping to surprise him.” The Crusaders felt the shame as well, but the purpose of their mission brought them hope again. “You still can!” They shout, getting their circus friends to give them a puzzled look. “You can surprise him with your cutie marks!” “Cutie Marks!?” The three ponies lifted their heads, shocked at their proposal. “We can’t get cutie marks.” Diver rebukes, pointing to the insignias that dot the Crusaders flanks. “We’re not Ponies.” “Trouble Shoes got his cutie mark, and he’s a Horse,” Scootaloo adds, raising her hoof to get the point across. “never hurts to try.” With three foals that could possibly get a cutie mark, the Crusaders split the workload. Scootaloo took Zipper, Sweetie Belle took Diver, and Apple Bloom took Chelsey. After walking a distance around the circus carnival, the apple farmer sat on a barrel to become level with a pony her age, yet the height to her sister. “So, Chelsey. What do Horses like best?” A moment of silence before Chelsey rubs her neck. It’s not that she doesn’t know the potential of heritage, it’s that such a question caught her off guard. “Well… We do…” She eyeballs the barrel underneath Apple Bloom, and lifts it up. “We like to lift things up.” “Yeah…” Apple Bloom mutters in an uncertain tone before she is lifted even higher after Chelsey places the barrel on her snout while on her hind legs. “We also like to do tricks!” She says with a smile as she eyeballs a few other watching children. Apple Bloom struggled to keep her balance, slowly shifting her weight to face the young Horse. “Well, what do you like to do?” “What I like to do?” With a jerk of her head, Chelsey catches the tossed barrel with filly on top. “I just like to work like all other horses.” Apple Bloom isn’t that convinced as she crossed her arms. Not wanting the Crusader to waste her time, Chelsey admits defeat. “Okay, follow me.” Apple Bloom follows the horse filly to her family tent, taking an immediate notice of the charts displaying outlines of Ponies, Gryphons, Dragons, and all other known inhabitants. When she looked closer, she notices small needle like drawings inserted to each specific part and the notes giving the result. “You want to do acupuncture?” Apple Bloom turns, finding Chelsey lifting a pincushion with fifty needles. “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to do it for a while now...” Chelsey responds between her teeth. “So why haven’t you?” Apple Bloom’s question is answered for her: A Horse performing such a delicate operation would require a miracle. She paces around the tent as she comes up with a solution. “Have you tried out on anyone?” Chelsey motions the pin cushion at Apple Bloom. “Want to be the first?” Apple Bloom drew her head back; she would do anything to help foals earn their cutie marks, becoming a guinea pig might not be the best idea. They turn to a tent curtain unfurling, finding Big Hooves enter the tent. They notice the pained wobble the older Horse made as he sits on his bed. “I tell you, working these long hours have given me these aches.” Big Hooves moves his shoulder a little before rendering himself motionless. After feeling Apple Bloom nudge her shoulder, Chelsey grabs the chart of her species and approaches her father. “Chels, we’ve been over this, I don’t need needles.” “Can I at least try?” Chelsey pleads, preparing to grab the pincushion. What else has he got to lose? Nodding his head, his daughter hops behind him, studying the chart for the best place to put the pin. Sweetie Belle’s patience was going where the dead crabs go as she watched Diver float around in a tube large enough to fit a dolphin or two. With an irritated flick of her ear, she decided to speak up. “I don’t think floating would be your special talent.” Sweetie Belle’s remark got Diver to turn her floating body to her. “What is it you really like?” With a couple strokes from her powerful tail, the Merpony reaches the each of the pool and lifting herself with her forelegs. “Somedays, I have these… dreams.” “Dreams?” - Sweetie Belle cocks her head - “How so?” “Two years ago, I took a nap in this pool, and I had a vision involving Cosgrove being happy on Mother’s day. When I woke up, I suddenly felt happy too.” Sweetie Belle rubs her chin. There are some clues there. Diver’s happy after having dreams, and she sleeps in water. Water is a soothing element on a hot day, especially when setting up a circus. “I think your special talent involves meditation.” Sweetie Belle answers. Diver cocks her head, urging the Unicorn to elaborate. “If you see visions in your sleep and are happy after, then meditation must be your talent. Zecora does it a lot. Just try it again.” Diver flicks her ears rapidly, shrugs, then pushes herself towards the middle of the pool. She submerges, leaving her nostrils exposed. Sweetie Belle shivers at the sight of the submerged Merpony; unlike their land-based cousins, they along with Sirens and Sea Ponies have a thin membrane that protects the eye while they’re submerged. After moving her cloudy eyes, Diver closes them, taking slow, cleansing breaths. Taking a deep breath, the nostrils sealed themselves tight, joining the rest of the Merpony underwater. Time and again, the nostrils briefly open to expel the trapped air and give her some relief. As she appears relaxed, a strange glow starts to happen, one that brings a smile to Sweetie’s face. Scootaloo is baffled by Zipper’s proposed talent. Sleipnirs, with their multiple limbs, run a ground speed several times that of an Earth Pony of the same weight class. It shouldn’t be a surprise that some of them would just be almost as daring as Rainbow Dash. What Zipper presents her is just that: a figure eight daredevil death loop under construction via Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Horses. The principle is simple: just keep moving to maintain your momentum. Problem is, as a wild shape, this would require a fast running Pony capable to easily navigating the tunnels. Even if she could, Rainbow Dash would have to keep her wings clasped to avoid being caught by the mesh. “Wow.” Scootaloo gasped, imagining the scooter tricks she can pull off if she ever survives an obstacle course like that. “It’skindofariteofpassagereally.” Zipper lifts his left frontmost forehoof. “Myfamilyhasbeendoingthisforthepastfourgenerations.” Scootaloo walks around the obstacle, thinking of any second opinion she can come with. “Any chance of getting, say, a crochet cutie mark?” She peeks her head around to see the Sleipnir rub his lower jaw. “No.” The final latch bolted down, the daredevil course is complete. The workers wipe the sweat from their brow and shook the rest from their bodies and wings. “Still in tip top shape like before.” Said one of the Horses with a flick of her tail. She motions Zipper to the cage. “Try it out.” “Whoa, whoa!” Scootaloo bridges herself between the two circus ponies. “He has to go up there now?” “Well who else is going to do it, you?” The Horse sputters, lifting the young Sleipnir into the cage and closes the lid. The orange Pegasus peeks like a child would staring into a birdcage. “You have at least practiced, right?” Scootaloo questions with a worried tone. His silence gives her a sense of dread as he looks to his right. “Onewaytofindout.” Zipper moves up a little to his right, runs little faster to his left, repeating the pattern to move like he was a pool of rising water. In his steady trot, he moved in a circle on the first half of the figure before going at full speed. The momentum gained, Zipper twists his body before making a leap of faith to the upper half. His upper body slammed against the ring, the Sleipnir pulls himself as he could to the upper part of the cage. Before gravity could pick up, he begins to run again, moving faster and faster before he almost reaches the ceiling of the cage. He runs back in a downward spiral, jumping over the small ring to the lower half of the cage, rushing down the bottom then made an upward spiral back up the cage. Zipper moved so fast that all he could see is a blur. Outside, this is reflected in the generating turbulence that slowly draws in their hair. Scootaloo squints as she notices a small flash in the figure eight tornado. Big Hooves is completely motionless while his daughter pulls the last pin in the cushion with her teeth. Chelsey’s slow, yet steady progress has lined every sore area on her father’s back. One keen eye spies one last sore spot and slowly inches her armed lips towards it. Apple Bloom had her back turned through all of this, turning her head just in time to see Chelsey gently insert the needle right into her father’s withers. At the distance she sat, Apple Bloom hardly notices the Master of the Tent relax his shoulders. “This… Feels…” - The Horse takes a sputtered breath. - “Great. Thanks, Chelsey.” As she gave a smile back, her eyes spot a sudden shine. She turns her head around, expecting what she thinks she expects. What she finds only confused her. It’s a cutie mark, but not the one she would imagine if her talent is acupuncture. Instead, it resembled Cosgrove’s, albeit blue to complement her blotched peach skin. “C’mon, let’s get the others.” Apple Bloom motions Chelsey to the outside world, leaving her father there until she returns. Diver jumps out of the pool just a few seconds after Scootaloo arrives with an exhausted Zipper. The two also had baffling cutie marks; Zipper’s being white to complement his charcoal black fur and Diver’s a deeper gray to complement her sparse gray skin. When Apple Bloom and Chelsey arrive, the latter became puzzled. “What talent did you have?” Asked Chelsey, pointing at their odd cutie marks. “Meditation.” Answers Diver, rubbing her marked flank with her tail. “Daredevil sports.” Zipper lifts his back most left hind leg. “You?” “Acupuncture.” Chelsey turns her side to show off her cutie mark. “Why do we have Cosgrove’s?” The three fillies that supervised them went into a huddle. It takes them a long while to come with a good answer. The answer becomes obvious when they recall their cutie marks. “Perhaps your cutie marks and Cosgrove’s make closer than your think.” Apple Bloom and her companions show their marked flanks. Sure they have a miniature insignia in their emblems, but the general shape and colors are what unite the three together. Perhaps the three circus ponies cutie marks mean the same as well. Chelsey turns to find the determined looks on Zipper and Diver’s muzzles before looking back at the Crusaders. “Thank you, all of you.” Chelsey gives the Crusaders a big hug. As Zipper and Diver joined in the huddle, Tex watches from a distance. After rubbing his chin, the Horse looks at his flank. If they can get a cutie mark, maybe he can as well.