//------------------------------// // Call of the Cutie // Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria // by Codex92 //------------------------------// It was a Friday afternoon in Ponyville, a sunny day out as not a single cloud could be seen in the sky. Sora walked down the path and headed for the schoolhouse to pick up Apple Bloom. He and Big Macintosh were trying to look past the embarrassing moment with the Poison Joke incident, though the red stallion might not be able to look at the teen the same way again. Applejack and Apple Bloom would constantly tease them about it, but all in good fun, even though it wanted Sora to crawl into a tiny hole and stay hidden for the rest of eternity. He heard the bell ring as school was just getting out, watching the schoolponies run out as they escaped from the confines of learning for the weekend. He saw Apple Bloom trudge out, walking next to a cream colored earth pony filly with a curly red mane, wearing a pair of purple glasses. Sora waved them over, though Apple Bloom looked a bit miserable. "Hey, Apple Bloom. Why so down?" he asked, only to hear the young Apple sigh in misery. "Sheth's being picked on in classth," the other filly said, speaking with a lisp. "She wasth caught pasthing a note, but Diamond Tiara didn't write anything and made fun of her not having a cutie mark." "Ah. Bully problems." He gently patted Apple Bloom's head. "Don't let a bully's words bring you down. They do that to get attention and make themselves feel better over some kind of insecurity." "Not Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon," Apple Bloom grumbled. "They're rich and can do anything, even cause trouble." "Oooh. Two bullies." Sora picked up the yellow earth pony filly and gave her a quick hug. "Just ignore them. They'll get bored of you at some point. How about I buy you and your friend some ice cream to cheer you up?" "Yay! Icthe cream!" Apple Bloom's friend cheered. "And the sthallion hero who sthaved the sthchool isth buying me sthome too! I'm Twistht!" "Well, Twisthththtsth," Sora said, making Twist and Apple Bloom giggle as he tried to speak like the glasses wearing filly, only to have his tongue tied. "Ugh. Can't pretend to have a lisp. Anyway, off to the ice cream parlor!" "Urgh. What a boring lecture about cutie marks today." Exiting the school, Sora spotted two fillies walking out with a smug and arrogant aire about them. Both of them were earth pony fillies, one with a pink coat and a purple and white mane, wearing a diamond tiara on her head, the other with a gray coat and a silverish-gray mane, wearing a pair of blue glasses. On the pink filly's flank was a diamond tiara, and on the gray filly was a silver spoon. These two must have been the bullies Apple Bloom talked about, and found it ironic that their names match their cutie marks. "I mean, why exactly should we learn about them when we already have ours?" "Knock it off, Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom said, already fed up with her teasing. "It's so sad how you and Twist are the only ponies without a cutie mark," Diamond Tiara teased. Before she could make fun of the two cutie markless fillies, both the bully and her friend, Silver Spoon, noticed Sora standing behind them with a serious look on his face. "Oh. You're with that weird stallion who just somehow showed up in Ponyville." "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met," Sora said. "You two must be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the bullies that were picking on Apple Bloom today?" "So? Why should you care?" Diamond questioned, oblivious to his stern gaze. "You're just some weird oddball like Pinkie Pie, with some stupid key that you somehow call out." "Yeah! And a cutie mark that's a giant key!?" Silver Spoon added, pointing out his Keyblade cutie mark. "That's got to be the lamest talent to have; opening locks!" The two rich bullies laughed, but Sora wasn't bothered by this. They have no clue what he could do, probably only hearing about him and his giant key sword and not witnessing him take out a horde of Heartless that could have killed their classmate. He summoned his Keyblade and leaned over it like a crutch, silencing the bullies as they watched it appear out of thin air. "Oh, really? Opening locks is a lame talent, huh?" he asked, relishing in their surprised states. "I'll have you know my giant key does more than unlock big locks on doors. I'm sure you two have seen what I did to save Apple Bloom from those black monsters, right?" He received no answer, their silence obvious as they didn't see him fight. "Hmmm...I guess not. You two missed out on an epic fight." "...S-So!?" Diamond exclaimed, ignoring the smug look on the teen's face. "Even if your cutie mark is lame, why are you hanging out with blank flanks!?" "...Blank flank?" He looked down at Apple Bloom and Twist, both fillies hiding behind him, trying to cover their bare flanks. Hearing how the young Apple filly was teased for not having a cutie mark, calling her a blank flank must have been some kind of insult. He kept his composure, not wanting to lash out at fillies who were younger than him. "...You're really making fun of someone who doesn't have a cutie mark?" "Yeah! They have no talents at all!" Sora's eye twitched, the bullies still making fun at them, in front of someone who's far older than them and has magic that could make their heads spin, and they had the gall to call them talentless because of their lack of a cutie mark. "Well, if they don't have a cutie mark, and my cutie mark means I have a lame talent, then what do YOUR cutie marks tell me what you do?" Sora asked, pointing his Keyblade at them. "A diamond tiara and a silver spoon...Ooh! I know what your talent is! Your names!...Oh wait, that's not a talent!" The teen raised his rump up, wiggling his flanks back and forth, lifting Apple Bloom's spirits up as he mocked the bullies. "At least having a 'lame' talent is actually a talent! Come on, Apple Bloom, Twist! Let's go and get some ice cream and see if we can find out a talent that's not just an object that tells everyone what your name is!" Sora picked up both fillies and placed them on his back, giving a scoff as he lifted his head up in disgust like one of the elites he saw when he was in Canterlot, holding his Keyblade in his mouth. Apple Bloom and Twist giggled at his silly antics as he kicked a little dirt in the bullies' direction, sauntering off down the road as he left the angered pink bully and her companion behind. He carried the fillies up to the ice cream parlor in Ponyville, buying them some ice cream. "Wow, Sthora," Twist said after taking a big spoonful of peppermint ice cream. "You sthure are funny! And you sthowed Diamond Tiara and Sthilver Sthpoon." "Just don't let their words get to you. You know the old saying, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.' So, let's find some sticks and stones to throw at them." Twist nearly choked on her ice cream as she and Apple Bloom were appalled at the idea. "Aww, come on. I'm kidding." "I hope stho." While Twist ate her ice cream, Apple Bloom sure didn't feel like eating any as some of it began melting in her bowl. "You ok, Apple Bloom?" Sora asked. "No..." The young Apple laid her head down on the table, still miserable. "It's not fair. Ah want to get mah cutie mark now." "Well, you just need to be patient, Apple Bloom." Sora took a drink out of the shake he ordered, coated with chocolate chips on top of the whipped cream and vanilla and chocolate swirl ice cream. "I may not know much about cutie marks, but your sister's told me that it'll come when you discover what you're really good at." "But Ah don't wanna wait! Ah want it now!" Apple Bloom slammed her forehooves on the table, frustrated at the lack of her cutie mark. "Ah want one before Diamond Tiara's dumb cute-ceañera comes up on Sunday! I hate her pickin' on me cause Ah don't have one!" "Do you want a cutie mark that's a ridiculous object that doesn't have any meaning to what your talent really is?" Sora asked, the filly slowly shaking her head no. The stallion pet Apple Bloom's head, ruffling her mane a little. "You'll find something. Just because you don't have your cutie mark yet, doesn't mean you're useless. You can do anything that little mind of yours can think of, and when you find your special talent, your cutie mark will be far better than Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoons." "...Maybe as special as yours?" Apple Bloom asked. "Even better." He gave the filly his silly grin, slowly reaching his hoof out to Apple Bloom's ice cream. "Or, are you gonna be mopey and not eat your ice cream? Because I think I'm gonna eat it before it goes to waste." "Hey! That's mah ice cream!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, slapping his hoof away and stuffing her face in the bowl. "Well, I bought it," Sora laughed, happy to keep the filly from feeling down in the dumps and hoping she'll ignore her bullies in the future. The next day, Sora had the day off today as he wandered around town. Since Apple Bloom was with Applejack today, selling apples in Ponyville, he hoped the filly would discover her talents while staying patient. The teen looked around to figure out what he should do and where to go, stopping as he heard the sound of buzzing up ahead of him. In the distance, he could see what looked like a filly riding on a scooter, zooming in pretty fast and dangerously. At least she was wearing a helmet in case she ends up falling. Unfortunately, the filly began to veer out of control from the speed she was going, steering into a sizable rock that tripped her up. She screamed and flailed her legs about as she was flung into the air. Thinking quickly, Sora ran toward her and caught her before she hit the ground. "That was a close one," he said, gently lowering the filly back on the ground. She was an orange pegasus, her mane a dark purple, hiding underneath her blue and white helmet. "You alright there?" "Yeah. That was awesome!" The filly took off her helmet and looked up at Sora, her hair styled almost the same way as Rainbow Dash's. "Awesome? You could have gotten hurt." Sora looked over at the scooter she was riding on, the front wheel thankfully still intact even after flying into that small rock at around thirty or forty miles per hour. "How fast were you going?" When he looked down at the filly again, her eyes were twinkling as she stared at him in fascination. "...Uhh, hello?" "Oh my gosh...A-Are you Sora?" she asked. "Yes...Do I know you?" She began bouncing around, squealing excitedly as if she was meeting with a popular celebrity. "I know everything about you! You saved the school from evil black creatures that showed up from the ground and the air, and with a giant key and awesome magic! I even saw you fight some of them near Sweet Apple Acres, and saved Rainbow Dash!" Sora's eyes widened as this filly had actually been around to see that day where he chased off the Heartless that attacked Rainbow Dash for the first time, and he didn't even notice her. "...Uhh...Really?" he asked, rubbing his head in a bit of confusion. "Where...were you watching that?" "I was hiding in the bushes while I was watching Rainbow Dash," she explained. "I followed after her when she sped off, and I wanted to talk to her, but she was up on a cloud, and I can't exactly fly yet." The pegasus filly flapped her wings, making quick movements and buzzed, which was where that buzzing sound came from when she came zooming in on her scooter. "I saw those black things appear around you, and you attacked them with a giant key in your mouth! Then Rainbow Dash was beaten up by those things, and you saved her, and used magic! It was so cool!" "...Heheheh. Well, seems like I've got some more fans." Sora was at least glad the Heartless didn't sniff this filly out back then. She was lucky they didn't go after her, otherwise she would have been an easy target. "So, what's your name?" "I'm Scootaloo!" The teen looked over at the scooter, finding it coincidental that Scootaloo would have shown up while riding on a scooter. "Can I see that giant key sword!?" "Sure." Sora held out his hoof and summoned his Keyblade, the filly's eyes widening in awe as it appeared in his hoof in a flash of light. "Coooooooool...How do you do that?" Scootaloo asked. "You're a pegasus, not a unicorn." "Well, I have my own magic," Sora simple said, twirling his weapon around. "I mean, you did see me freeze those monsters in time, right?" "I did! That was awesome!...But, you're not as awesome as Rainbow Dash." Sora groaned and fell on his back comically, wondering how his skills weren't more than impressive to Scootaloo's eyes. "How am I not as awesome as Rainbow Dash?" Sora asked as he sat back up. "You may be fast when fighting, but Rainbow is much faster when she flies!" The teen drooped his head, giving up before he makes himself look like an idiot trying to impress the filly. "I hope I get a cutie mark like hers, and someday be able to fly as fast as her and be a Wonderbolt!" "Good luck with that." Sora watched as Scootaloo ran back to her scooter and put her helmet back on, zooming off using her wings to ride off. "Hope she doesn't hurt herself...If she wants to be like Rainbow Dash, then we're gonna have a lot of problems." Later that evening, Sora sat in the living room in Rarity's home. She sought him out earlier today and asked him if he could watch her sister, Sweetie Belle, while she was out in town to gather some more fabric for her lines. She would be back in about an hour, but she wanted someone to watch the filly just in case. When he arrived, Sweetie Belle was the one who answered the door for him again, giving him the same shy treatment like the first time by slamming it in his face. They both sat on the couch, just sitting in silence for the past few minutes. He caught her looking at him, and when he turned to look at her, she turned away and blushed heavily. She must be really nervous around him, either too shy to talk to new ponies, or she likes Sora and is a bit timid around him. His guess was mostly the latter from her reddened cheeks. "...So, Sweetie Belle," he said, hoping to strike a conversation with the shy filly. "Got any board games we can play?" She didn't answer. "...Want me to make some food? I may not be a good cook, but I can learn." No response. Sora sighed, tapping on the sofa, trying to get some way to make Sweetie Belle talk. "You good with magic, or are you still learning?" "You're really cute," Sweetie whispered, though it was barely audible. "Hmm?" Sora thought he heard her talk, though it was just as quiet as Fluttershy's voice when he first met her. While looking around, trying to pretend he didn't hear her, the teen slowly scooched across the couch, moving a little closer to her. "You know, I think you like me. You're just a little nervous, huh?" Sweetie's blush grew more red, her white cheeks almost threatening to turn her entire coat red. She squeaked when she felt his hoof tickle her ear. "Is it my hair? Is it too spiky? "Or is it because I'm a stallion?" Sora stood up from the couch and sat in front of the shy unicorn filly. "You know, I'm not sure if your sister told you, but I was tricked by a flower and was turned into a girl. That was so embarrassing." He looked around, finding a few dresses hanging up next to a folding screen. Getting an idea to make the filly laugh, Sora ran behind the screen and took off his clothes. "I mean, it was so embarrassing, I actually woke up in a frilly outfit, almost like this!" As soon as he walked out from behind the screen, Sweetie Belle stifled her giggles as the teen now wore a blue dress, prancing around the room as he began acting like a mare. It actually fit him quite well with his skinny frame, swaying his hips in an enticing manner to impress some imaginary stallions. The unicorn filly couldn't hold it back anymore and laughed at the goofy teen's antics. "I think you look better with some makeup," Sweetie suggested. "Really? I'd rather go au natural." Sora stripped out of the dress, glad that no one else was around to see him wearing something so girly. It was bad enough he turned into a mare. It would have been a nightmare if anyone saw him wear a dress as a stallion. "Finally getting you to break out of your shell. Though we have to work on the door slamming in the face thing. Worst way to meet a new pony." "Sorry...I-I just...I..." Sweetie stammered, finally speaking to him, but only a little bit. "...I really...like your mane?" "Thanks. I like yours too," Sora complimented, making the filly blush more. "It's like a swirl of cotton candy...I wonder if it tastes like cotton candy. Time to test it out!" Sweetie squealed and leapt off the couch as Sora leapt up to her. "Hey, come back! Let me eat your hair!" "My hair's not cotton candy!" she giggled as she ran around the room, fleeing from the crazy teen wanting to take a bite out her curly pink and fuchsia mane. After being chased around, Sweetie Belle warmed up to Sora as he finally saw her real personality instead of the shy, quiet unicorn she was. For the rest of his babysitting, they did a few fun activities. They drew each other's picture, Sweetie's drawing a picture of Sora with his Keyblade, fighting off the Heartless from what she heard of from the other foals in her class, while Sora hilariously drew him chasing the unicorn around with cartoonish fangs, gnawing down on her tail. Her art was a lot better than his though. Ending their small hour together, they had a tea party, the teen wearing one of Rarity's sunhats to look fashionable at the "posh" gathering with Sweetie Belle and a few stuffed animals. "Miss, Belle of Sweets, this party is absolutely divine," Sora complimented, sounding almost like Rarity as he sipped the water that was supposed to be tea. "Though, I must say, our wait staff is absolutely horrid. I had asked for a salad ten minutes ago, and I see no meal in front of me!" Sweetie Belle giggled as he lightly banged the small table. "Waiter! My salad! You shall receive no tip from me!" The front door opened up, Rarity having returned with her new rolls of fabric. "Sweetie Belle, Sora, I'm back from-" The unicorn froze as she saw the two having their tea party, Sora blinking twice as he looked at the fashionista. "...Sora? Are you wearing one of my sunhats?" "...Uhhhh...Noooooo..." Sora slowly grabbed the hat off his head and put it on Sweetie Belle's, the filly looking at him after she was now wearing her sister's hat. "Sweetie Belle was." "You put it on my head!" the filly exclaimed. "Nuh uh," Sora argued. "Yeah huh!" Sweetie countered. "No I didn't!" he said, crossing his forelegs. "Yes you did!" she said back, the two continuing bickering as Rarity watched them go back and forth. "Ugh. Maybe it was a bad idea to ask Sora to foalsit for my sister," the unicorn mumbled to herself, rubbing a forehoof against her forehead. By the next day, everyone in Ponyville headed down to Sugarcube Corner for Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera. Sora figured there must be a party for almost everything in Equestria. Win against Nightmare Moon; party. Celebrating someone stopping a stampede of cattle; party. Stopping a rampaging ursa; party. Doing a headstand; party. Or maybe it was just Pinkie Pie who throws a party for just about everything. He didn't mind it if he's enjoying a good party. Though, celebrating a colt or filly earning a cutie mark was something, if only it weren't for the party being thrown for Apple Bloom's bully. And he spotted the spoiled brat, the star of the show, wearing a fancy looking dress, which ironically hid her cutie mark she had gotten. Aside from her and Silver Spoon, Sora managed to spot Sweetie Belle on one side of the bakery, hiding her flanks from her other peers, and Scootaloo on the other side doing the same thing. They were both looking at Diamond Tiara, who must have also picked on them too. He figured Apple Bloom could get along well with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. All three of them don't have their cutie marks, they all have lots of energy to burn, and they're each a different pony: earth, unicorn, and pegasus. Sora walked around, first heading to Sweetie Belle, carrying a cup of punch in his wing. "Hey, Sweetie Belle." The unicorn filly noticed him and waved at him. "What'cha doing being a wallflower?" "Oh...Well, I don't really want to be here," she said. "And Diamond Tiara invited me just to show off her cutie mark." "Well, sucks to be her, since she's wearing a dress," Sora pointed out. "Can't show a cutie mark when you got something covering your rear, right?" "...I guess that's true." She looked down at her flank, groaning in misery. "I wish I had my cutie mark." "Hey, how about I introduce you to someone who feels the same way? Follow me." Sora left his drink on the nearby table and crawled underneath it. Sweetie yelped as he dragged her under, both of them making their way to the other side of the party. As soon as they made it to where Scootaloo was trying to stay hidden, Sora reached a hoof out and gently tugged on her tail. "Huh?...Sora?" The teen grinned, waving to her. "What are you doing under the table?" "What are you doing NOT under the table?" he asked back. Confused at his question, Scootaloo didn't have the time to answer as Sora pulled her down under the table with him. "Got my own little party going on. The party where we ignore the real guest of honor at this party." "Diamond Tiara," Scootaloo grumbled. "I'd rather party somewhere else than here." "Perfect. And, I'd like you to meet a little friend of mine." Sora pulled Sweetie Belle forward. "Scootaloo, this is Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo." "...Uhh, hey," Scootaloo greeted, noticing the unicorn filly's bare flanks. "Wait, you don't have a cutie mark either?" "'Either'? You too?" Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo's flanks, no cutie mark. "I thought I was the only one." "Me too!" Scootaloo exclaimed, her wings fluttering in excitement. "And there's one more pony I want you two to meet." Sora peeked out from under the cloth, scoping out the last member of this new trio of friends. Luckily, he spotted Apple Bloom, wearing a table cloth as a makeshift dress while speaking with the bullies. As the filly tried to walk away, she tripped and caused the cloth to fall off her hips, revealing her cutie markless flank. "And cue the rich bullies acting like jerks." "Oh wow! What an amazing cutie mark!" Diamond Tiara said sarcastically. "Nice try, blank flank!" Sora heard Scootaloo growl, the pegasus filly unable to take the two bullies' heckling anymore. "Hey! You got a problem with blank flanks!?" Scootaloo crawled out from under the table, along with Sweetie Belle, both fillies sick of being pushed around. "Yes, cause they aren't special," Silver Spoon said. "Oh really?" Sora said as he crawled up from underneath the table, some of the other parties wondering what he was doing. "So you're saying someone with no cutie mark isn't special? Well, if Apple Bloom isn't special, then I guess these two fillies aren't either." Both fillies turned to their sides, showing off their blank flanks, the young Apple sibling gasping in surprise as she wasn't the only one without a cutie mark. "I beg to differ, Diamond Tiara. I believe these three fillies do have something special, and the best part is, they can be whatever they want." "Yeah! Like be a story writer!" Sweetie Belle said. "Or a daredevil!" Scootaloo added. "But not a stuck up pony who makes fun of others and call them 'blank flanks'. In fact, this is supposed to be a cute-ceañera. Aren't we supposed to see your cutie mark and not a veil that hides it?" Diamond Tiara growled, fed up with Sora and his words. "What's your special talent again? It's supposed to be a 'diamond tiara', right? Does that mean you're a spoiled little princess who whines to get what she wants?" The pink bully had enough and screamed, running at the teen and began punching his forelegs. "Ooh. Free massage. "Here, get my lower back." Sora turned around as Diamond Tiara kept trying to hurt him, doing absolutely nothing to the stallion while the rest of her peers laughed. "Little lower...No lower. Lower! Nope, too low. And hit a little harder." "You are ruining my cute-ceañera!" Diamond shouted. "No, not really," he said, picking up the flailing brat and sitting her down in a corner of the bakery. "Now, you stay right there until you learn it's not nice to pick on others because they don't have their cutie mark yet." "You're a big dumb idiot!" she yelled. "And that's five more minutes for calling me names." As soon as he turned around, the pink bully grabbed his tail and tried to pull him back, only to slid across the floor and slip as she lost her grip, smacking into the table and causing Sora's cup of punch to fall on her. "Ahh! My dress! You'll hear about this from my daddy!" The spoiled princess stormed out of her own party, her friend and counterparting chasing after her with some napkins to dry her dress. "Oops. That was actually unintentional." Sora shrugged his shoulders, finding Apple Bloom getting to know Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at a small table. The party had continued on without Diamond Tiara, apparently everyone disliking the spoiled filly as much as he did. He approached the three fillies and sat down at their table. "So, you girls getting along ok?" "Sure are!" Apple Bloom said. "Apparently, we got a lot in common." "Yeah. We don't have our cutie marks," Scootaloo said. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon drive us crazy," Sweetie Belle added. "And we can work together to find out our special talents are, but we don't know what to call our group." The trio of fillies began to think of what they would call their little friendship group. "The Cutie Mark Three?" Scootallo suggested. "The Cutastically Fantastics?" Sweetie Belle chimed in. "I think I have one." All three fillies looked at Sora. "I think it'll fit perfectly. You girls together, on a quest to find your cutie marks...How does the Cutie Mark Crusaders sound?" "It's perfect!" Apple Bloom said, the other two nodding their heads in agreement. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders! Friends 'til the end!" The three fillies hoof bumped as they cheered, Sora smiling happily as he helped bring these three ponies together. "Now, how about we celebrate your new friendships with some delicious cupcakes?" Sora pulled out a plate of cupcakes, Apple Bloom gasping in shock as the teen took one for himself. "Wait, Sora! Don't eat-!" He chomped down on cupcake, immediately regretting it as his eyes widened in surprise. He spat out the pastry, which had been badly burnt, was too crunchy, and tasted awful, even with the icing. He couldn't get the burnt taste off his tongue as he tried to scrape off any of the bits of burnt crumbs out of his mouth. "What the heck is wrong with this cupcake!?" Sora questioned, putting the offending pastry down. "Did Pinkie actually burn these and give these out for the party!?" "Actually...Ah made those cupcakes," Apple Bloom said, giggling sheepishly while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo giggled at Sora's misfortune. "Ah tried gettin' a cutie mark in bakin' cupcakes a while ago, and...those came out." "...Yeah, you're definitely not getting a cutie mark in baking." Sora stuck his tongue out, unable to get the burnt taste off his tongue. "Please tell me you didn't bake the cookies, at least." Thankfully, Apple Bloom shook her head. "Ok, good. Let's celebrate with some cookies instead." The fillies ran off to get themselves some non-burnt cookies and have fun at the party, Diamond Tiara still gone to their delight. Sora looked down at the burnt cupcakes, taking the plate and throwing them in the trash. No one will ever be subjected to tasting the disgusting treats burnt by an eager filly desperate to get her cutie mark...unless all three of them decide to try baking together. He couldn't help but feel like he would be the cause of many future disasters that involve those three fillies, but he ignored that strange feeling and just enjoyed the party.