The Thing That Makes Me Special

by KartalTheWriter

This is Who I Am

My name is Thorn, and I have heard every single thing they’ve said about me. When they thought I wasn’t watching, I was right there. Listening, because that’s all I can do.

Mother said we were moving to Ponyville a few days ago. We arrived today, and I already hate it. Everyone here is fake. Mother dragged me along to run errands because I’m small and draggable. Plus, I can use my unicorn magic to levitate objects off high shelves for her. Big sister refuses to be used in this way, but that might just be because she’s a little embarrassed that mother’s an earth pony and Honey and I are both unicorns. But anyways, we were getting groceries at the market and Mother was making me carry all her bags while she flirted with other earth ponies. No, Dad’s not dead. But he and Mother aren’t ‘together’ anymore. Whatever that means.

I already had a lot of bags to concentrate on for being as small and inexperienced as I am when Mother said she needed some apples. I groaned inwardly as we approached an apple stand. A sign on the counter said that all the apples were products of a place called Sweet Apple Acres. The pony running the stand was all smiley and happy.

She was a fake.

Mother was asking her about the apples, but she could have just been trying to make friends. The salespony didn’t seem against Mother’s quest, and the two eventually stopped talking about apples and started talking about other things. I lost interest and, suddenly wearing out, dropped all the bags. Mother stopped chatting immediately and gasped.

“Thorn! Just look at the mess you’ve made! Bad Thorn! Bad bad bad!” Then she smiled apologetically at the salespony before yelling at me again. “Can’t you do anything right?”

This is one of those times that I usually feel really mad and soon somepony gets hurt. I waited for it, even longed for it, when suddenly the mare behind the stand rushed over and started picking up the things I had dropped. Before I could even consider helping her clear up my mess, she was done; everything was returned to its proper bag in about ten seconds flat. I looked up at the pony in awe and wonder. I think Mother was impressed too.

“Thank you, Miss. I’m so sorry for my son’s clumsiness--” Mother would have gone on, but the salespony held up a hoof and said

“No need to apologize, M’am. ‘Ah just like helping the ponyfolk.”

At that moment, Mother nudged me roughly with her back leg and muttered “Say you’re sorry, Thorn.” under her breath.

“Thank you, Miss.” Was all I managed to say. If nopony else had been there, Mother would have kicked me again and made me apologize too.

“No problem! Hey, you look about school age. Your mother said y’all had just moved here. So that means you don’t know anypony yet, right? Mah sister Apple Bloom’ll be in your class. Let me introduce ‘ya.” Then the salespony turned around and called for somepony behind the counter. There was a sound of excited hoofbeats, then a little yellow filly about my age with a bow in her red mane appeared, looking as excited as she sounded.

“Apple Bloom, ‘Ah want you to meet Thorn. He’s new in town and doesn’t have any friends yet. Think you could help him out a bit?” The little filly nodded, then turned to me.

Here I meet the fakest of them all.

“Hi there! Mah name’s Apple Bloom! Nice to meet ‘ya!” Apple Bloom shook my hoof with such friendly ferocity I thought I would never be able to use it again when she let go.

Mother nudged me roughly again and muttered “Say hello!” through clenched teeth. My flank now twice bruised, I murmured ‘Hello’ as cheerfully as I could manage.

I don’t do cheerful.

“Aww, you must be lonely because you don’t know anypony yet. That’s so sad!” Apple Bloom, however genuine she thought she sounded, only sounded like a cruel joke to me. I sighed and looked down, hoping we would go home soon.

“Applejack, can ‘Ah take off and show Thorn around so he’ll get to know everypony? Please?” Apple Bloom pleaded. Applejack nodded.

“As long as it’s okay with his mother.” Applejack consented. Apple Bloom then proceeded to use an ultra cute face on Mother. Mental note: Mother is extremely susceptible to cuteness.

“Aww, aren’t you adorable? Of course you can show Thorn around!” Then Mother turned to me. Her tone completely changed. “You’re to be home by dinnertime, understand?”

“Yes Mother.” I said mechanically.

“Good. Now you two have a good time! Don’t forget to be home on time, Thorn!” Every time she was speaking to me her voice just crushed me. It was like she just couldn’t stand the sight of me…

---

Suddenly, Apple Bloom had a queer feeling in her head. It wasn’t pain; she wasn’t involved in anything that would hurt her. It wasn’t exactly sadness; nothing was wrong. But it was definitely a negative feeling…

---

“Alright Thorn, ’Ah’m going to show you all around Ponyville! Tell me what you’ve already seen!” Apple Bloom said. Once Mother is out of earshot, I don’t have to be so submissive.

I could do whatever I wanted…

“Take me to the most fun place in Ponyville!” I say urgently. Apple Bloom seems a little startled by my intensity, but she recovers fairly quickly, considering.

“Alright! Let’s see…the most funnest place in Ponyville…’Ah’ve got it! ‘Ah’ll take you to Sugarcube Corner! Maybe we’ll even meet up with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!” With that, Apple Bloom begins our fast-paced trek towards the ‘most funnest place in Ponyville’.

“Hey! ‘Ah just noticed you’ve got a blank flank just like me!” Apple Bloom says, looking at my flank.

“What? Oh, yeah. I guess neither of us have found our special talents.”

“No, but ‘Ah’m tryin’ real hard every day! My friends and I are the Cutie Mark Crusaders and we’re on a quest for our cutie marks. In fact, today ‘Ah was busy tryin’ to take inventory of the apples and apple products at our stand in the market. That reminds me! ‘Ah never checked to see if ‘Ah got a cutie mark!” Suddenly Apple Bloom skids to a halt and stares hard at her flank. Then she sighs.

“Aww, no cutie mark again.” Apple Bloom right then looked really sad. And I mean unignorable sad. It’s like watching a little baby drop a huge stack of ice cream on a hot surface. Adorable, but depressing.

“Oh, it’s okay Apple Bloom. I’m sure you’ll get your cutie mark someday.” I say in a soft voice. Then I put my hoof on her shoulder, because it seems like something ponies do.

Apple Bloom cheers up really quick. “You really think so? Thanks, Thorn.” And suddenly it’s like she’s squeezing the life out of me.

“’Ah just know we’re gonna be the best of friends!” She’s saying. But it’s like I’m hearing her through a badly tuned radio or something. My ears are buzzing, and so is my horn. I can feel little pulses of energy shooting from it. Apple Bloom lets go of me and stops to look at my horn.

“Whoa…’Ah’ve never seen any unicorn’s horn do that before. Is that normal?” She asks. My horn still emitting faint static pulses, I nod.

“It does this a lot, actually. I don’t know why.” I admit. It barely registers to me that I had never really talked about the strange things my horn did before to anypony.

“’Ah wonder what it means.” Apple Bloom is still staring transfixed at my horn.

“Mother says it’s because I’m bad.” I murmur.

“What’d you say?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all!” Suddenly, I remember my limited time away from home. “Let’s go to Sugarcube Corner now, Apple Bloom!” I say suddenly.

“Okay!” And with that, we two dash away to a neat little sweet shop armed with massive sugar intake extremely potent to the young and impressionable mind.

“This is Sugarcube Corner!” Apple Bloom says as we enter the shop. The ponies already in the shop all look over when the little shop bell rang. They all stop what they are doing to smile and wave at Apple Bloom.

“Hi there, Apple Bloom!”

“Hey, Apple Bloom!”

“Who’s your friend?”

“Is he new?”

All the ponies are suddenly staring at me. All those eyes…all that attention. I can’t help it; I start shaking uncontrollably. I want to shut my eyes but I can’t. It’s horrible.

Suddenly, Apple Bloom recognizes somepony.

“Oh look! It’s Pinkie Pie! Hi, Pinkie! Hi! I brought a new friend with me this time!” Then Apple Bloom tugs me away from all the ponies and to another different pony. She’s a ridiculously curly-haired pink mare. Somehow, I can’t feel scared around this mare.

“Hi there! My name’s Pinkie Pie! I don’t know you and I know everypony in town so what’s your name?”
Funnest place in Ponyville alright.

“My name’s Thorn.” I say in my still soft voice.

“Well nice to meet you, Thorn! I just love making new friends, don’t you?”

“I really wouldn’t know.” I mutter.

“What’d you say?” Pinkie asks.

"I said I hope it doesn’t snow.” I cover. Pinkie looks thoughtful for a second. A second.

“Why not? Snow is amazing! Once it snowed so much I made a snow pony of everypony in Ponyville and then we all had a snow party and then we all had so much fun and there were snow streamers and snow party hats and don’t even get me started on the snow food!...” Pinkie keeps talking as if she’d never run out of breath. I lose count and just focus on her voice. How is it possible to talk about so much for so long about something so seemingly small? Abruptly, Apple Bloom pokes me.

“We could be here all day if we don’t stop her, you know.” She says.

“How do we stop her?” I ask.

“Like this: Pinkie, Thorn’s looking for the funnest place in Ponyville. Do you have any suggestions?” Pinkie stops her snow story mid-sentence and answers Apple Bloom’s question without missing a beat.

“Funnest place in Ponyville? Well that’s a tuffie…let me think about that…” And with that, Pinkie Pie is silent. A few of the ponies in the shop look up in awe of a question that made Pinkie Pie silent for at least a few moments. Then she replies confidently in a learned-by-heart way

“‘The funnest place in Ponyville is the place where all your friends are.’ Does that help?” Pinkie asks. Apple Bloom considers that for a moment, then says

“Well, mah friends aren’t all here, so this must be the wrong place.” She turns back to me. “Thorn, let’s try the park. Maybe they’re there. Let’s go. Bye Pinkie, and thank you!” Apple Bloom says as we rush out of the shop.

“Bye Apple Bloom and Thorn!” Pinkie’s voice calls after us.

Comments

[Sir Ginger]

Well what do you know? I'm a bit invested. I want to see where this is going.

[LuminousRabbit]

XD This is going to be good. I just know it...