> Behind the Scenes
>  by LemonSpice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Behind The Scene


Note: This story takes place during season 1 episode 16 in Ponyville while the mane 6 are in Cloudsdale.

Renaissance woke up early that morning. Really early in the morning, he’d be baking at Sugarcube Corner while Pinkie Pie was off cheering on Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale. He slowly opened up his eyes and was greeted by a pale blue horn almost poking his eye out. Renaissance jerked away from the horn with a start. He still wasn’t used to sleeping with his new marefriend, Muse. Renaissance got out of bed quietly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She responded by turning over in her sleep and almost poking his eye out again. Renaissance chuckled to himself as he thanked Celestia that he got to have such a wonderful partner in Muse. Well time to get this day started, Renaissance thought to himself.
He took a quick cold shower. The cold water on his russet wings always woke him up instantly. After all bathroom needs were met Renaissance trotted into the kitchen and made himself some breakfast.  Nothing fancy just a salad and some oatmeal. He then grabbed his saddlebag and went outside to greet the morning.
It wasn’t really morning not to most ponies at least. The sun hadn’t even risen yet. Renaissance flapped his wings and made his way from their little house near the edge of the Everfree Forest toward Ponyville. They had built their house there because nature made Muse feel safe. Her inspirational magic worked best with the raw elements. 
As Renaissance flew closer to Sugarcube Corner he caught a glimpse of somepony stumbling around in the streets.  He was mildly concerned until he identified the pony as Berry Punch. Renaissance had been to a couple of parties in Ponyville and knew no matter how drunk she got she could take care of herself. So he let her be and landed outside Sugarcube Corner.
Letting himself in with the key Mrs. Cake had given him yesterday Renaissance got to work baking the cakes for the day. He made it through three batches of cakes by the time Mr. and Mrs. Cake came down. 
“Good Morning Renaissance dear, find everything alright?” Mrs. Cake asked.
“No problems here Mrs. Cake, just starting the final mix now. Hope I didn’t wake you two with all the noise.”
“Not at all,” said Mr. Cake “you’re actually quitter than Pinkie. She’s wonderful at baking but sometimes she can make quite the fractus.” 
“Ruckus, dear.” 
Mr. Cake Chuckled.  “Right ruckus.”
It was 9 O’ clock when there was a knock at the kitchen’s back door. Renaissance opened it to find two smiling fillys.
“Hey Pink….” The little yellow earth pony stopped in mid-sentence. “Oh hey Wren are ya’ll fillin’ in for Pinkie today?”
His eye twitched so slightly nopony could notice. Renaissance still wasn’t sure if he liked the nickname. “Yeah she went to Cloudsdale yesterday. They’re holding the yearly Best Young Fliers competition today. Rainbow Dash is competing and she wanted to show her support.”
The two fillys looked at each other and it could be seen that bells went off in their heads.
“Oh, that’s where Scootaloo went off to.” Sweetie Belle said. She turned her head to face Renaissance. “You should have seen her. The bell rang at school yesterday and she almost flew out of there. “
Renaissance Smiled at the girls. “Well it was nice talking to you but I have to get back to work.” 
He was about to close the door when Apple Bloom said. “Wait, we were hoping to help Pinkie Pie with some baking today so we could earn our cutie marks.”
Renaissance thought for a minute. He had heard of the trouble the fillies had caused looking for their talents but as he looked back at the kitchen he remember he had finished all the scaling for the day. They couldn’t really cause that much trouble, could they? He turned back to the two fillies as they put on their best big eye begging faces. With a sigh Renaissance answered them “Well, I’ve finished all the baking for today but if you like you can mix up a small batch of cupcakes in the small mixer the Cakes use for baking lessons.”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSAIDERS PASTRY CHEFS, YAY!” The two yelled as they bolted into the kitchen.
Renaissance immediately regretted his decision. “Well this day just got that much longer.” He muttered under his breath.
Renaissance set the two fillies up with aprons and told them to wash their hooves up as he scaled out a recipe for them.  Next he pulled out the small mixer and set up everything they would need while explaining the dangers in working by such a big oven.
“Ok girls, you’ve got everything you need, if you have any questions or need any help I’ll be at the other end of the table dishing out this batter. “ Renaissance motioned to the large cambro bowl filled with batter. “And remember when you’re ready I’m putting your batter into the oven. It’s very hot and we don’t need any accidents.”
“Sure thing Wren” Sweetie Belle replied.
A couple minutes passed as the two worked on milk crates mixing batter. Renaissance couldn’t help but admit to himself they looked cute. His attention was taken away from his work when Apple Bloom said “Hey Wren ah’ got a question.” 
Renaissance looked up at the little filly. “Sure thing, what do you need help with?”
“Well we’re doing just fine here but ah’m a wondering. Why does a baker pony have a painter’s board as a cutie mark?”
Renaissance blinked for a second, stunned by the question. “Heh, it’s called a painter’s palette and it’s not a baker’s cutie mark because my special talent isn’t baking.”
“Oh that makes sense… Wait, what? You’re not a baker? Then why in the hay are you baking?”
“Well it’s not to say baking isn’t a part of my talent.” Renaissance spoke as he continued to work. “I’ve always been good at whatever I try but I never was able to find my special talent. Not until about a year ago.”
“So you’ve been a blank flank for almost your whole life?!?” Sweetie Belle was dumbfounded by this new fact.
“Yep. I had searched my whole life looking for my special talent. I had the exact opposite problem from you. I was good at whatever I did but after every hard day of work I was left blank.”
“So what did ya’ll do?”
“Well I started traveling. The town I’m from is small and not many jobs there so as soon as I could I packed up and started looking for my special talent.”
“Mom, Dad and Rarity would never let me travel all over Equestria. How did you talk your parents in to letting you go?”
“I didn’t have to try really hard. They knew how important it was to me and being good at just about everything helped too. It helped them knowing I could take care of myself.”
“So you were just a tiny lil’ colt when you started traveling. That sounds kinda fun.”
“If you’re not a baker what did you get cutie mark for?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Renaissance remembered that day well. It was one of his best days for more than just one reason. “I had been in town for a couple of weeks.  On that particular day I had been working on a construction site and was feeling especially down after another day of not earning my cutie mark.”
*
Renaissance trotted back to the Steel Shoe Inn with a heavy heart after another day without getting his cutie mark. As he sighed he wondered if he’d ever get his cutie mark.
“Hey Renaissance, you did pretty good today.” A reddish pony in a hard hat trotted up to Renaissance’s side.
“Oh, hey Red Rivet.”  He sighed. “I always do pretty good, I just wish I could find my special talent after a good days work. I mean nopony my age doesn’t have a cutie mark besides me.”
“Wait, you’ve been in town for about a month and you haven’t heard about the mare without her cutie mark?”
“There’s a mare my age without a cutie mark?” Renaissance said in shock.
“Yeah. Come to think of it maybe you wouldn’t have met her. She lives towards the edge of town near the farmland and you’ve been busy working in the heart of this place.”
This was something he couldn’t pass up. Tomorrow he’d go to see this mysterious mare that shared something special with him. The thought of meeting somepony who knew how he felt lifted him out of the funk he’d been falling into lately. “Thanks. I have to get some sleep I’ll see you around.”
“No problem. Take care now.” Red Rivet trotted off down a side street.
Renaissance spent the night tossing and turning getting very little sleep. He was too excited in the prospect of meeting a pony like himself. When morning did come he was exhausted. Renaissance took a long cold shower and had a cup of black tea with breakfast. It was around 10 a.m. when he landed outside the farm and after a brief conversation with two earth ponies he learned where the mare without a mark lived.
Renaissance took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A robin’s egg blue unicorn with a blonde mane answered the door. “H-h-hi. I heard um…. I mean does a pony without a cutie mark reside here?”
Anger shot to the unicorns face as she slammed the door. “Go away! I don’t care what you’re trying to pull but I’ll have none of it!”
“I just want to talk. When I heard there was a pony my age without a cutie mark I just had to come. Please can we talk?” 
A voice replied from the other side of the door. “Why? So you make fun of me, an adult mare without a cutie mark!?! Or maybe you’re another reporter trying to get a good story about the strange unicorn witch at the edge of town!”
With sincerity in his voice just loud enough to hear through the door Renaissance said. “I just wanted to meet another pony without their cutie mark. I know how you feel not having one.”
The door cracked open slightly and a light blue-green eye peered from inside. Renaissance turned to the side and wagged his flank to show off the lack of cutie mark. “See? My flank’s as blank as the day I was born.”
Cautiously the unicorn trotted next to Renaissance and put a hoof on his flank. She then started to rub really hard almost giving him a hoof burn. “Ow!” Renaissance sidestepped. “What was that for?”
Apologetic but in a still uncaring sort of way she said “Sorry, I got tricked when I was younger with something similar…. They then dumped paint all over me. Laughed how I wasn’t a blank flank.”
“Oh.” Renaissance didn’t know what to say to this. As he ran all the scenarios of meeting her last night this wasn’t one of them.
She exhaled. “My names Muse and I suppose you want me to help you get your cutie mark.”
Renaissance again was caught off guard by this comment. “What?”
“I helped a good dozen of my friends when I was younger to get their cutie marks. I’d make new friends just to have them leave me when they got theirs. I take it you heard the stories and want me to help you get your cutie mark.”
“Actually I just heard of a pony my age without a cutie mark. It’s a pretty low feeling being that alone all the time. I was thinking we could just hang out and talk. If you wanted to that is.”
Now Muse was the one caught off guard. Plenty of ponies had offered friendship to her just to leave when they found their special talent but this stallion just wanted to spend the day with her. “Sure, but I’m picking what we’re doing. If this is a trick you’re not getting me that easily. It took me a week to wash the paint out last time.”
Renaissance smiled. “Ok, Muse what do you want to do?”
Muse raised a hoof to point at a tree on a nearby hill. “Let’s just sit under that tree. We can talk there.”
He nodded. “Ok. After you my dear.” 
They talked under the tree for hours. Renaissance told her of his travels and Muse told him of all the ponies she’d helped nudge into getting there cutie mark. “So it sounds like you’re pretty good at a lot of things. You’ve been a blacksmith’s apprentice, nurse, substitute teacher, weather pony, and a mason.”
“Yeah and I still haven’t found my talent.”
“Well maybe you have.”
Renaissance raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? If I had found my talent I’d have gotten my cutie mark.”
*
“Oh, good I didn’t miss my favorite part.”
The three had been so entranced by the storytelling that they didn’t notice Muse enter through the back door. She was smiling hearing him tell one of her favorite memories.
“It’s my favorite part too my little Calliope.” Renaissance said looking at green eyed mare.
“Oh come on!” Sweetie belle shouted.
“Yeah ya’ll can’t stop the story now things were just getting good.” Apple Bloom chimed in.
Renaissance and Muse chuckled into their hooves. “Alright, alright let’s see. I had just asked Muse what she meant by me already finding my special talent.”
*
“Well I’ll tell you but you got to promise me something.”
“Sure. What’s on your mind?”
“I want to come with you and find a new place to live. There’s nothing for me here. I don’t know which ponies hung around be because they liked me and the ones who just used me to get their cutie marks.”
It may have been the years of traveling alone but the thought of traveling with Muse was delightful. “Sounds good to me we can travel around looking for both our cutie marks.”
“Ok. I was thinking maybe you don’t have one big talent like most ponies. Maybe your talent is being good at a bunch of things and being the best at none of them. Like a jack of all ponies or a renaissance pony.”
At that moment something clicked in his head and he knew she was right. He wasn’t the best at anything but he was darn good at whatever he did. Renaissance felt a tingle on his flank and he turned to look. There it was a cutie mark in the shape of a painter’s palette. He was so overjoyed he couldn’t speak. Muse sighed in despair and this caught his attention. “What’s wrong? I know how down it feels to see somepony else get their cutie mark first but it can’t be that bad.”
“To be honest this never happened before. Usually I’ll tell them to go try making some furniture and they’ll find their talent in dress making. Similar field with the sewing and all but it takes a while. I was looking forward to traveling with somepony like me for a bit at least. You know a pair of blank flanks.”
Renaissance thought about this solemnly for a second until an epiphany as big as hers hit him. He smiled as he said. “Well maybe that’s part of your talent.”
She looked up at him tears just beginning to form in her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“What if you’ve been doing your talent for years without knowing it just like I’ve been doing mine without knowing it?” He lifted her face and looked her right in the eyes. “Have you heard of an instrument called a calliope?”
Choking back the tears about to form in her eyes, she in that voice you only hear when someone is about to cry simply said. “Nope.”
Renaissance smiled softly. “It’s like a wagon with pipes in it almost like an organ on wheels. The instrument itself isn’t important but its name is. Calliope was the name of a pony that helped other ponies find inspiration. It is said that we have her to thank for some of the greatest poems ever written. I think you’re like her. Meant to help other find their way or point them in the direction to the answer of their problem. Just like Calliope I think you’re supposed to be a muse.”
It was then that all those years made sense and when she felt her flank tingle like his had she began to cry. She was so happy she couldn’t even look at her new cutie mark. Renaissance embraced Muse as she cried into his forelegs. After a couple of minutes she turned to look at her cutie mark, a writing tablet in front of a scroll. Muse laughed while tears continued to flow from her eyes. “Well looks like neither of us are blank flanks anymore.” She said smiling, looking into his eyes.
*
“We left the next day and kept traveling until we came here to Ponyville.” Renaissance said ending the tale.
“That was such a sweet story. I hope the three of us get our cutie marks at the same time.” Sweetie Belle said.
“Yeah that would be the best thing ever. I do have one question. Why’d ya’ll settle down here in Ponyville?”
“Well I have elemental magic that inspires. It works best in nature and Ponyville is located right on the edge of the Everfree forest, one of the most natural places in Equestria.”
“And between your sisters and their friend’s adventures, need of extra hooves for big projects and ponies getting sick, I stay busy just about every day.”
“Oh that reminds me Jackie, I ran into Big Macintosh on the way here and he was wondering if you could help him with some apple bucking this afternoon.”
“Jackie?” Sweetie Belle said with a puzzled look on her face.
“It’s Muse’s nickname for me. Short for Jack of all ponies.” Renaissance explained. “Sure thing dear I’ll clean up here and I can walk Apple Bloom home while I’m at it. See you tonight.”
“Alright then, I’m off to Carousel Boutique. Rarity thought my talent might mesh well with fashion while she’s in Cloudsdale so I’m off to open her store.” Muse kissed Renaissance on the cheek and left through the kitchen door.
“Come on girls, time to clean up.” Renaissance hoped the cleanup would go without too many hiccups. After about thirty minutes and a minor soap mishap the kitchen was ready for another day of baking. Mrs. Cake paid Renaissance for the day of work and he escorted Apple Bloom back to Sweet Apple Acres where he’d be working that afternoon.


The End


Thanks everyone for reading this is my first shot and I have a follow up story in mind with a lot more adventure I just needed to establish the character first. I usually hate OCs because they add nothing to the story but I started wondering what happens to the shops when the six go on adventures. I thought a character made to wrap up the duties they need to do while chasing away dragons or creating sonic rainbooms made sense so it doesn’t bother me too much. This could also be the fact that I made up the character. Anywho enough explaining, I hope this didn’t seem like utter trash and some of you enjoyed it enough to read it through. Thanks again now if you’ll excuse me I need to get to sleep.