Apple Bloom pressed her face into her pillow, screaming in frustration. Apple Jack wouldn't let her and the other Crusaders try Manticore taming for their cutie marks. Fluttershy had tamed one, she remembered Apple Jack telling her the story. It couldn't be that hard. Even if Fluttershy did have The Stare.
She just didn't see why her big sister was trying to keep her from getting her cutie mark. She was eleven, not a baby. She heard a knock on her closed door. "Go away, AJ. I don't wanna talk."
The door opened anyway. "Now, ah know that ain't my little sister tellin' me to go away when I have apple juice for her." Apple Bloom sat up quickly.
"Ah'm sorry," she mumbled. "Ah just don't know why you got so mad. You didn't need ta yell at me."
Apple Jack gave her little sister a pointed look. "You coulda been killed. I don't know how I coulda handled that. You guys are getting to dangerous with these stunts."
"We just want our cutie marks, and the only way to do that is to try everything."
Apple Jack sighed. "I bet you're already really good at whatever you're cutie mark is gonna be, Bloom. Mine was, but I didn't know it."
Apple Bloom looked around her room, taking in what Apple Jack said. If she was already good at whatever it was, why hadn't her Cutie Mark arrived yet? The light pink walls and hard wood floor held no answers for her, though.
She curled up next to her older sister, laying her head on Apple Jacks shoulder. "Ah just wish it would come already. Ah'm tired of being a blank flank." Apple Bloom yawned.
"Ah think it's time for someone to get some sleep." She waited for Apple Bloom to climb under the covers before tucking her in. "Good night. I love you." Apple Jack kissed her on the forehead before leaving the room to let her little sister sleep.
The next morning found Apple Bloom with the other two Crusaders at the club house, even though the rain was pouring down.
The roof was leaking in the corner of the club house where they usually held their 'meetings' to discuss what to try next. There was a puddle that was slowly growing with each drip, threatening to ruin everything they had moved in.
Apple Bloom sighed. "Ah'll have to fix that. Can't have the clubhouse ruined." She sighed again. It wasn't that she didn't mind fixing up the old clubhouse when it needed a minor repair, but that she knew if that part of the roof was leaking, soon other parts would too. "Ah should probably just ask AJ if we can build a whole new one."
"A new clubhouse? Why? You can fix that leak, can't you?" Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom nodded. "Good. Well, what do we want to try next? We could try free falling?"
Sweetie Bell squeaked. "Let's not. My parents would kill me."
The three of them sat in silence for a while, before they starting talking about what their dream cutie marks would be. "Ah want it to be something with the farm, like my brother and sister. I've tried all of that stuff though."
Sweetie nodded. "I want mine to be like Rarity's, but I doubt that I'll have anything that spectacular. I just mess everything up when I try to make clothes."
The pair look over to Scootaloo, who looked lost in thought. She was staring at the wooden floor, but it was as if she wasn't seeing it.
"Umm, Scoot?" Apple Bloom prodded.
"Something with flying would be awesome. Rainbow Dash has one for making the Sonic Rainboom, doesn't she? Mine has to be with flying."
They sat in silence again. Apple Jack's words from last night came back into Apple Bloom's head. It was obvious from what they said that neither of them were aiming for the same mark. She looked at her two best friends. Sweetie was humming to herself, while Scoot had that far off look in her eye again.
Apple Bloom sighed and picked up a pencil and paper. She was all out of ideas, it was rainy outside, and she thought her two friends looked perfect like that. She started with a faint outline before adding in detail-the slight glisten in Sweetie Bell's eye and the concentrated look on Scootaloo's.
By the time she had finished, her friends were looking with amazement. "Why did you let me draw that map for? You're much better," Scoot said.
"Ah just was bored," Apple Bloom said modestly. In reality, the simple pencil drawing was nearly lifelike.
"No, you're really good," Sweetie Bell said. "You're good at a lot of artsy stuff like that."
The simple statement had Apple Blooms gears turning. She had always loved to draw and color and create things, maybe even fixing up stuff. It was almost like second nature to her. It was just a hobby though, something she liked to do when not Crusading.
A small gasp escaped Sweetie Bell's lips. "Apple Bloom, your flank."
Apple Bloom looked quickly, something she had done hundreds of times with her friends, but this time was different. Instead of looking away with disappointment, she couldn't tear her eyes away from her cutie mark.
It was half an apple, being painted with a paintbrush. Her mouth fell open. She could do nothing but stare at the cutie mark. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "Ah gotta tell AJ," she said. The three fillies ran to the farm house, despite the rain, calling for the three adults.
Apple Jack was the first to make it to the fillies. "Is somethin' wrong?" She was slightly out of breath and looked worried.
"No, AJ. Look!" Apple Bloom grinned as she swung her flank around to show off her new Cutie Mark.
Apple Jack grinned. "Ah can't believe it. I told ya it would come before too long." The two sisters shared a hug before Apple Jack looked at Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo. "Ah'll tell you two the same thing I told Apple Bloom here. You ain't gonna find you're mark doing all these silly things. You'll find it doing something you love."
--
Sweetie Bell was helping Rarity clean up her shop. It was about the only thing her older sister let her do to help out. She was singing the theme song she and her friends had came up with for the talent show a few months ago.
It had been two weeks since Apple Bloom had received her cutie mark. At first, it had been strange seeing that mark on her friend, but Sweetie Bell adjusted to it easily, especially when Apple Bloom still showed up to the club house and didn't abandon her and Scootaloo.
" We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, on a quest to find out who we are. And we will never stop the journey, not until we have our cutie marks," she sang as she swept up the small bits of fabric Rarity wouldn't be able to reuse.
Sweetie Bell sighed, thinking about her own cutie mark, which had yet to appear. What could she be so good at that she loved? She certainly hated the things Scootaloo came up with, except for the time they had danced the entire night in the club house. She wasn't sure that had been meant to find their cutie marks, though.
"Why did you stop singing, Sweetie?" Rarity asked.
The small unicorn shrugged. "I was thinking about my Cutie Mark. I want is so much," she said, looking up at her older sister. "Yours was easy, you just discovered that you loved making clothes. Everyone knew that. What am I good at? Nothing."
Sweetie sat down, pouting. Rarity sat next to her sister, putting a comforting hoof around her. "I know it's hard Sweetie. But you are wrong about mine. I told you that story, remember? I knew I liked making clothes, I knew I was good at it. I thought it was just a thing though, not my special talent. I had been doing it for ages. I didn't even give doing it a second though until that night at the play."
"So, you're saying I could have already done something to give me my cutie mark, but because I don't know it's my special talent, it hasn't shown up?" Sweetie was a little confused, but then she thought about Apple Bloom and her cutie mark.
After a small pause, Rarity asked, "Are the Cutie Mark Crusaders going to make a comeback for the this talent show?"
They had been talking about it. Apple Bloom had insisted on making the set this time, and it was already looking good, but Sweetie Bell didn't want to be the dancer. Scootaloo was set on singing again, so they weren't sure if they would be there at all.
"I don't know," Sweetie Bell said with a shrug.
She left Rarity's not long after, going to the clubhouse. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were already there, discussing what they would be doing for the talent show.
Sweetie Bell barely had time to walk through the door before she was dragged into the conversation. "Don't you think we should do the same thing as last time, Sweetie Bell? That's what we agreed on before."
Apple Bloom shook her head. "But we can do even better this time, and this time not get an award for comedy but for what we're really doing. Ah don't wanna do the same thing as before. People are gonna remember it."
Sweetie Bell looked at her friends, sitting on either side of the small table. This had been an on-going argument between the two of them, and it seemed that now it was her who had to settle it. No matter what, one of the fillies would be angry with her. Signing, sat down in her usual seat.
"How about we do the same thing?" she asked. Apple Bloom opened her mouth, ready to protest, but Sweetie Bell held her hand up. "I'm not done. We do the same act, but no one does the same thing they did. That means I'm not doing sets, Apple Bloom, you aren't dancing, and Scoots, you aren't singing?" Apple Bloom seemed more open to this, especially since the trio knew she would be doing the set anyway. Scootaloo, on the other hand, didn't look to happy.
"But…I wrote that song. It was so hard to do," Scootaloo looked down at the table. "I really wanted to sing it again."
"Please, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell gave her their best sad faces, and she relented.
"Fine. I guess I'll make up some dance moves." She crossed her hooves in front of her chest, but with the argument settled, they needed to get moving on the talent show.
Two weeks later, the girls were standing behind the talent show stage. Scootaloo's wings fluttered nervously from time to time as she and the other two made sure they knew their dance moves for what felt like the trillionth time.
Their costumes were different this time, too. Rarity had made them match Scootaloo's favorite band's. "Ready girls?" Ms. Cheerilee asked as they waited for the next act to leave the stage. They nodded, afraid to open their mouths.
As the music started, Sweetie Bell closed her eyes. The act was much more together this time, she felt. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo started dancing as Sweetie Bell stood in the middle of the stage, waiting for the time to start singing.
The crowd, recognizing them from a few months ago, was surprised in the change.
"Look here, are three little ponies," Sweetie Bell started.
She felt her nerves flow away as she sang the lyrics, her two best friends backing her up in all the right places. She poured her voice out, much like she would do in front of her family and friends, forgetting the crowd was even there.
"We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders,
On a quest to find out who we are,
And we will never stop the journey,
Not until we have our cutie marks!"
Sweetie Bell's voice rang out over the crowd, who sat silent. Oh no, they hated it, the little filly thought as the last musical note ended. Then the crowd was cheering. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she grinned out at the crowd.
"Sweetie Bell!" she heard a voice calling out. She saw Rarity in the crowd, desperately trying to get her attention. She couldn't make out what she was saying, but saw her pointing to something. She tilted her head to the side as Rarity pointed at her three diamond cutie mark, then to Sweetie Bell.
What Rarity was trying to say hit her all at once. She looked quickly at her flank to see a single music note surrounded by a rainbow colored stave. She smiled and looked over at her friends. "You did it Sweetie Bell!"
They had been the last act, so they stayed on stage while the others came out, ready for the awards to be presented.
"First place goes to the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Ms. Cheerilee said. "I don't know about you, but I think getting a cutie mark while singing about wanting one is a pretty awesome thing."
Sweetie Bell grinned as she and her friends lifted their trophy before the crowd. This had turned out to me much better than expected.
--
Scootaloo couldn't believe her friends had their cutie marks and she didn't. It just wasn't fair. Hadn't she been trying just as much as they had? Maybe she could try harder, but she didn't see how that would help. Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had received theirs without trying.
She sighed. She was never getting hers. That was it. She couldn't even fly. What Pegasus her age couldn't fly?
She was avoiding the clubhouse, even though she knew Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom were their waiting for her. It wasn't like they even needed her anymore. They had their marks. She was the only markless crusader.
In fact, the other two weren't even really crusaders anymore, were they? They had their marks. The orange filly kicked a pebble down the street, sulking, when a blue streak crashed in front of her. Her eyes widened as she ran over to Rainbow Dash.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Dash blinked a few times before nodding. "'Course I am. Where are the other two? I thought you guys would be getting into all kinds of trouble."
Scootaloo shrugged. "What's the point? It's not like we're even the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell both have their marks. They don't need me." Scootaloo blinked back a tear. "I can't do anything though."
"You're really good on that scooter of yours. And those dance moves you came up with for the talent show were awesome." Dash smiled hopefully. She really didn't know how to handle upset kids. She knew Scootaloo was her biggest fan, and that make the filly special to her, but she hadn't really spent much time with her to really know what her special talent might be.
"Yeah," she said lamely. "I know that. But a cutie mark for my scooter? I think I'd rather not have one. That would be so lame. Dancing is just…something I do, you know? It's fun to just lose yourself in the music and let loose."
"Dancing, huh? I didn't know you were a dancer," Dash eyed Scootaloo, thinking of just the person to raise the young filly's spirits. "I know just the person you need to talk to."
Two hours later, Scootaloo flopped onto her back, panting. "Fluttershy, that is awesome. I didn't know you could dance. Those moves you showed me were hard, though."
The yellow Pegasus blushed. "I don't like to draw attention to myself. Wings help, though. You should use them more when you dance." Fluttershy sat a cup of water on the coffee table, which had been moved against a far wall, and walked over to Scootaloo to hand her a matching drink.
"Thanks," the filly said, drinking the entire thing without stopping. "That's good." She was tired, but ready to dance some more. Fluttershy, however, started moving the furniture back to where it belonged.
Scootaloo helped her, then the pair sat on the couch. Scootaloo bit her bottom lip, wanting to ask Fluttershy something, but afraid of the answer.
"Scootaloo," Fluttershy started, but was cut off by the filly suddenly speaking up.
"Will you show me more? Can you be my teacher?" Scootaloo put her hooves together, as if she were pleading.
Fluttershy blushed again, but nodded. "I suppose so. You could come here every Saturday and I could show you stuff."
Scootaloo picked up the things Fluttershy showed her quickly, and six months later, the pair had many dance routines down pat. It was at the end of one of these at Scootaloo saw Fluttershy looking at her slightly strangely.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked, wiping at random places to ensure there was nothing.
Fluttershy shook her head. "No, Scootaloo. Your flank."
Scootaloo had nothing to say when she saw the cutie mark. It was better than anything she had imagined it could be. It was a simple silhouette of a pony, obviously twirling through a dance. Scootaloo loved it.
She ran to the clubhouse, where she was supposed to meet Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom. She had her cutie mark now. They all did.
She grinned as they admired it. Sweetie Bell starting singing the Crusaders theme song, and the other two joined in, simply happy to have the marks they had worked so hard for.
At the end of the song, Sootaloo sighed. "So, is this the end of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
The three fillies looked at each other. "Ah don't want it to be the end," Apple Bloom said. "Ah want to still be friends and hang out in the club house."
"I say we aren't the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore," Sweetie Bell said. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at her, shocked. "Instead, we'll just be best friends."
The trio grinned and came into a group hug. "You guys are the best, you know that?" Scootaloo told them.
They had a celebratory final Crusader sleep over in the clubhouse that night. They stayed up late, talking about cutie marks, school, and now what their futures could hold.
Their friendship had never been stronger.
Ponyville was buzzing with excitement. The small town had grown over the years to the size of a small city. The normal hustle and bustle was multiplied by a special, one night event that was happening. A world renown singer was going to be giving a free show. No one could believe it. Her tickets could have sold for hundreds of bits any night, though they were rarely that expensive.
Outside the newly built event center, a small filly was jumping with excitement, rambling on to her mother about the amazing unicorn. "Sweetie Bell is my favorite. I own all her albums, and I know all the words to all of her songs. She's so amazing. Did you know she got Rarity to make her outfit for tonight? Rarity? I mean, that is a Ponyville pony, she could have gotten anyone!"
The green mare looked down at the young pony. "Rarity has a fair amount of fame in her own right. Besides, it would have been awkward at holidays if she didn't make her sister an outfit, wouldn't it?"
The effect the mother had hoped for lasted only a second. The filly started rambling on about the new found knowledge.
Backstage, three mares were preparing for their show. It was suppose to be the finale for the simi-annual school talent show, just something for the little foals to enjoy, but word had somehow gotten out. Now, they were to perform in front of a huge crowd.
Sweetie Bell glanced at the closed curtain and smiled. The first three rows had been reserved, and the mosh pit had been closed off. The mares had long since stopped peeking out to see if their friends and family were there, they always were.
"Do you think they'll remember it?" Apple Bloom asked, letting the make-up mare add the finishing touches.
"I hope they remember the song. It might have been the only one I've ever written, but I worked hard on it." Scootaloo stretched her wings and sighed. "Though I don't know how your fans will react, Sweetie Bell. 'Bloom and I are still fairly unknown."
Sweetie Bell chuckled. "If 'fairly unknown' means top in your area, then okay." The three mares grinned at each other. They were fairly unnoticed now, everyone trotting around trying to get everything perfect before the show started in five minutes.
As if on cue, the three grouped together and yelled, "Cutie Mark Crusader Rockstars!" before giggling. More than a few of the crew backstage gave them strange looks, but they didn't care. Those ponies didn't understand.
Finally, it was time for them to go onstage. The crowd sounded thunderous, but they searched the front rows anyway, looking for the faces they needed to see. The band behind them started playing the music, and the three girls grinned.
This wouldn't be their best performance, but it was one they knew by heart. They looked at the crowd once more, focusing on their family and friends. Rainbow Dash was there, cheering next to Scootaloo's parents. Then was Fluttershy. The Pegasus had a small, reassuring smile on her face as she looked up at the mares.
Rarity was next to Fluttershy. The white Unicorn's eyes were tear-filled, which made Sweetie Bell blink back tears of her own. She knew her sister was proud of her, even though her parents could no longer be here to see her success.
Twilight Sparkle was next. She gave the three girls a wink when she noticed their gaze. She had really loosened up over the years, and was just as much fun as her friends to be around now that she didn't always have a book to reference everything with.
Pinkie Pie was next to Twilight, bouncing from excitement and talking to Twilight, though the purple unicorn was only half listening. The party pony threw her hands in the air in exclamation of something and Twilight shook her head and laughed.
At the end of the group of mix mares was Apple Jack. Her gaze solely on Apple Bloom. Apple Jack had a small smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks like Apple Bloom had never seen. "Make it good, Sweetie," Apple Bloom whispered to her friends. "They're all so proud of us."
"I know," Sweetie Bell said with a smile. "It'll be out best performance. For them."
The final introductory note sounded and Sweetie started singing. "Look here,