drama Earning Their Marks

[lomk 20,663]

So I was throwing around some ideas for the Cutie Mark Crusaders and how they might finally get their cutie marks. I pulled up Word and started writing. I really meant to keep it to a couple pages for a short topic, but this ended up turning into an 8 page mini-fanfic. In short, this is really a whole lot longer than I initially intended so that's why I posted it in Fan Fiction. 

 

I seriously wish I could write my research paper as quickly as I wrote this...I seriously wrote this in only 3 hours so if it's unrefined, that should explain it.

 

So anyway, these are my ideas for possible ideas on how the CMC could earn their cutie marks. 

 

Earning Their Marks

 

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo grow older, and they decide that it’s time to get serious about what they’re really good at. They give up on grandiose talents like skydiving, zip lining, and rock bands, and try something a little smaller. They decide to start with something a little closer to home for each one.

 

Apple Bloom

 

After trying for a while to sell apples, she decides that she’s not a good sales pony and gives up on that dream. However, having grown up on the farm, she knows quite a bit about apples. But she can’t figure out exactly what it is about apples that she can apply to her special talent. After some time, she gives up on apples entirely. She’s distraught and confused beyond her wits, and she breaks down.

 

Fluttershy happens to pass by, and she notices Apple Bloom’s distress and approaches her. Being so soft spoken and gentle, it’s easy for anyone to trust Flutters with virtually any and everything. So Apple Bloom spills her guts. She explains that after trying for so many years to get her cutie mark, she just doesn’t know who she is anymore. Flutters encourages her and gets her to dry the tears. So she offers a job to Apple Bloom: help her grow and maintain her gardens. Flutters believes that even though Apple Bloom’s most extensive knowledge is dealing with apples, she may be able to handle many kinds of plants. Flutters does have a kind of catch, though. I personally believe that Flutters doesn’t have a job or run a business so I can infer that Fluttershy doesn’t obtain resources often by paying for them (but that’s for a different topic). So even though Apple Bloom will be working for her, she can’t really pay Apple Bloom. Desperate to figure herself out, Apple Bloom accepts the offer anyway.

 

At first, Apple Bloom isn’t too good at anything. But Flutters encourages her to be gentler in the way she handles the gardens. After all, they aren’t as hard as the trunks of those apple trees she’s helped buck for so long. And after some time, Apple Bloom gains some confidence. She’s careful and meticulous. She borrows books from Twilight to learn about the plants she’s handling. She talks to Rarity about colors—which ones complement each other and which ones should never go together.

 

After a few months of working with Fluttershy, it hits her. The plants that have done best under her care are the flowers. She knows how to arrange the colors to form beautiful bouquets. She’s read enough to know how to distinguish each flower down to the species. She handles them with the utmost care. Apple Bloom wants to be a florist. Excited about this new direction in her life, she’s full of drive. She talks to Applejack and Big Macintosh about building a stand. She’d even pay them for the work, but being family, they said they’d do the work absolutely free if it meant finding her special talent. After a week of work, Apple Bloom has a small tent that she can use as a shop. While the other Apples were building, she’s put together 30 bouquets for display. Within five hours, she’s sold out. As soon as she closes, her flank dons a cutie mark: a bouquet of roses.

 

Apple Bloom’s shop becomes very successful. She designs corsages and boutonnieres that she sells to Rarity for the outfits she designs for Ponyville’s and Canterlot’s formal meetings and the Grand Galloping Gala. After Granny Smith passes away, Apple Bloom makes a design so beautiful for the headstone that it stuns Princess Celestia, who puts a preservation spell on it so the flowers never wither or fade as the years pass.

 

Sweetie Belle

 

Like the other CMC, Sweetie Belle decides it’s time to get a lot more serious about finding her special talent. She’s the same hyperactive Sweetie Belle we all know and love, but she’s tired of having her blank flank. She starts closer to home, like Apple Bloom.

 

She’s worked under the supervision of Rarity for a while now. She’s learned how to stitch and design dresses, but she just can’t get excited about it. She can do it, yes, but it’s not exactly her favorite activity. She grows tired of the drones of a life of stitching and sewing and working out her sister’s ideas. In fact, she believes that her life has become as repetitive as the sewing machines themselves.

 

She gets restless one night in bed. She can’t get as excited about life as she used to be. She wants to be entirely alone. She’s upset. And she makes a dumb decision.

 

She knows no one will go to the Everfree Forest. They say it’s dangerous. Unnatural. Whatever. She goes in anyway.

 

The Everfree Forest makes all sorts of noises at night so to drown out the noises that cause her fear, she begins singing a song. It’s squeaky as a rusty hinge. She is so tense as she walks along the path. Finally, she stumbles upon the old castle of Celestia and Luna. She lies down in front of it, bathed by the light of the full moon. It’s the only thing that provides her with any kind of comfort at this most uncomfortable time in her life. Right now, she doesn’t know what will happen to her. Although she’s more scared than she’s ever been, she stays. Actually, deep inside, her heart is callous and she doesn’t really care anymore. Lying there in solitude, she fixes her gaze upon the moon and wonders why Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon. Was she alone? Unappreciated?

 

That’s exactly what Sweetie Belle felt. In fact, she had never felt so alone and unappreciated in her life. By now, Apple Bloom had found her special talent and Scootaloo had Rainbow Dash to help her find her talent. She became envious and enraged. Oh, how her anger burned against them…Why was she left out?

 

Her heart pounding, she begins to wail. She wants to do something, but she’s frozen by total exhaustion, and she cries herself to sleep.

 

She dreams of her talent. It’s vague. Suddenly, Apple Bloom approaches her. “What’s your talen—oh I forget, you’re still a blank flank!” Apple Bloom walks toward Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and the trio torment her for a while and walk away. Then Scootaloo approaches her and says, “I know what it’s like. But at least I’ve got an awesome sister who’s helping me find my talent!” And then she flies away with Rainbow Dash. Later, she finds the two hanging out. Infuriated, she begins to fire spells at the two. She wants them to hurt. She wants them to BLEED. SHE WANTS THEM TO SCREAM!

 

“SWEETIE BELLE! STOP THIS AT ONCE!!” It’s the Royal Canterlot Voice. Shaken from her rage, Sweetie Belle looks up. “Princess Luna..?”

 

Luna changes the scene to a still meadow. “What is this? Why do you hurt those who love you? Those two are your friends!  They’ve only helped you, and you want to hurt them? This is unlike you, Sweetie Belle! “

“I hate them,” declared Sweetie Belle, her tiny voice breaking and her eyes flowing with tears.

“Do you really hate them?”

A silence passed. Sweetie Belle asked, “Princess, why did you become Nightmare Moon?”

“That is a time long since passed, young filly,” she began. As she told Sweetie Belle the story, she said, “By the time I turned, it was too late. You see, when fillies like you have nightmares, here I am to comfort you. But when I have nightmares, who is there to comfort me?”

“You must be tough, Princess…I wish I could be like that.”

“You can, Sweetie Belle. I made my decision. By the time I was sent to the moon, I couldn’t go back. My pain consumed me. Nightmare Moon was only the manifestation of the pain. But you have a choice. Think about it, Sweetie Belle...What is the one thing you like to do most? That is the key to happiness. Find something you like and that you’re good at. If you’re not good at it, practice makes perfect. When you find what you like, simply do it.”

Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. “I guess the thing I like to do most is-“

“No more, young filly,” interrupted the princess, “That is for you to know. And others will know in time. Now, I think it’s time to-”

 

And Sweetie Belle woke up. She found herself right where she was in the Everfree Forest, but the sun was high in the sky. It must have been well after noon. Then she heard a growl. Sweetie Belle spun around only to discover she was surrounded by a pack of timberwolves. Afraid for her life, she bolted, screaming as loud as her little lungs would allow her.

 

She was putting some distance between the timberwolves and herself when she fell over and rolled down a hill. She got up, breathing very hard. She coughed up some blood and collapsed. Still conscious, she heard Rarity scream, “Don’t you DARE touch MY SISTER!!” Blue and purple spells screamed by her as Rarity and Twilight cast spells to keep the timberwolves at bay. Fluttershy had a small coalition of bears fighting some of the others while Applejack and Apple Bloom launched apples at some of the others. Pinkie Pie had cakes and dirty diapers (she didn't question it). And as all of this was happening, she could hear another screaming up in the sky. Scootaloo was riding on Dashie’s back. “Scoots, this is how you do a Rainboom!” The blast blew away the rest of the timberwolves. Fading out of consciousness, the last words Sweetie Belle heard was Rarity’s voice breaking, “Stay with us, Sweetie!”

 

The next place she found herself was in a hospital bed. She could hear the doctor in the other room say, “She’ll be okay. However, she must have done a lot of screaming. Her vocal cords are extremely strained and irritated. In fact, I don’t know that her voice will ever sound the same again.” And she heard Rarity break down in tears.

 

The nurse stepped in and turned around. “She’s awake, Doctor.”

 

The doctor stepped into the room and told her, “Now Sweetie Belle, I don’t know why you would go into the forest, but you’ve really hurt your voice. I seriously advise you to not speak right now. You don’t want to do any more damage. It’s a miracle you didn’t have to go into surgery. In fact, it’s a miracle that you’re even alive right now. Had your sister and your friends not noticed that you were gone, you wouldn’t be. But if you do need to say something, you can use this marker board. Write it. But whatever you do, do not speak.”

 

After two weeks, the doctor could see a fair bit of healing in her vocal cords. He told her it might be okay to speak again. So she did. It was as he thought. Her voice was very different. He called Rarity, who came at once.

 

Indeed, her voice was very different. It sounded more mature and controlled. To Rarity, it was stunning. The doctor believed she had fully recovered so the hospital released her. On the way home, Sweetie Belle was so excited to speak again, she started to sing. No squeaks. In fact, her voice sounded good. Too good. Others heard it. Was this really Sweetie Belle singing?

 

Sweetie Belle thought, “Princess Luna? I guess the thing I like to do most is to sing!”

 

And how she sang her heart out.

 

She looked out in the distance and saw Luna at the edge of town. She turned around. There was her cutie mark. A musical staff and notes appeared on her once blank flank.

 

She began working with Octavia. Together, the two perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year. During the rest of the year, they create chart-topping music. A couple years after, at Granny Smith’s funeral, the Apple family asked her to sing.

 

It took a near death experience, but Squeaky Belle finally found her special talent.

 

Scootaloo

 

Scootaloo had been practicing with Rainbow Dash for a while. It’s been months and she still can’t fly. She’d grown impatient. How was it that she couldn’t learn to fly? She’d failed every flying course she’d taken. Miserably. What was keeping her grounded?

 

One day at practice, Scootaloo jumped from a platform. She spread her wings, but she fell to the ground. This time, it hurt. Actually, it hurt really badly. She didn’t want to look weak in front of Rainbow Dash, but the instant she stood up, the tears flowed. She was in real pain. Dashie put Scoots on her back and flew her to the hospital.

 

She’d broken a couple ribs, and the doctor said she’d make a full recovery soon. However, he wanted to point out an abnormality about Scootaloo. Pegasi don’t fly just because they have wings. It’s something they evolved into, much like birds. Pegasi have hollow bones that make them lighter than their size suggests. However, the doctor noticed that Scootaloo was awfully heavy for a pegasus of her size. And after her x-ray, his suspicion was confirmed. Scootaloo’s bones were extremely dense. She was simply too heavy for flight. It’s a rare disorder. The odds of having the disorder are 1 in 31 trillion, and there are only 2 other documented cases in history.

 

She was crushed. This meant that Rainbow Dash couldn’t really teach her tricks to Scoots. And it meant that Rainbow Dash couldn’t really be her teacher anymore since all of Dashie’s tricks involve being in the air.

 

And Dashie had to break the news to Scoots. It wasn’t easy, but she felt like it was right. She didn’t cry…at least, not on the outside.

 

1 in 31 trillion…It wasn’t even likely. But it was just possible enough that it happened to her. How could one be so unlucky?

 

But Scootaloo is tough. She wouldn’t give up easily. She continued to train. She worked her wings harder than she ever could. And after months of training, she had an extremely strong set of wings. But it still wasn’t enough to lift her. As her muscles grew, so did she. No matter how much strength she gained, it wasn’t enough to counteract her weight. She gave in and accepted that she’d be grounded for life.

 

She got on her scooter and went away to think. She jumped from platforms and tried to fly. She could only glide a short distance before gravity pulled her back down. Watching from a cloud in the distance, Rainbow Dash came down to talk to her.

 

“Look, kid, I don’t think it’s going to happen for you. I know you look up to me. I wish you could fly. But sometimes, you get the short end of the stick and you just have to work with what you have. Why not get on your scooter and go ride around some? Try to take your mind off this flying thing, okay?”

 

She did as Rainbow told her and went off on her scooter. She was frustrated. Finding a straight road, she started flapping her wings as hard as she could. She really took off, being so strong. She made it home very quickly. Some of the other ponies were complaining that she was going dangerously fast. That she could be killed if she had been in an accident.

 

Scootaloo had an idea. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to fly for a reason. Maybe her permanent grounding had something to do with her destiny. She worked on a sort of skate park. She got the supplies and the tools and worked around the clock. It was a nice piece of work, now. There were ramps and half-pipes everywhere. She was quite talented on that scooter. She figured out that she didn’t need Rainbow Dash to show her how to do tricks. While it would be cool to do them, it just was unoriginal.

 

As she kept going on that scooter, she became even more talented. But to her disappointment, she still had no cutie mark. How is it that after so much work that she didn’t have her cutie mark?

 

Again, she was frustrated with it. She rode her scooter home again as fast as she could. This time, Rainbow Dash saw it. She was fast. Dashie followed her home. She looked at Scoots and said, “You’re quick on that thing, kid. How about a race? I’ll fly and you just ride that scooter.”

 

“Yeah, I guess I’ll race you. I don’t think I’ll ever be as fast as you are, but I’ll give it a shot.”

 

They mapped out a course. Rainbow Dash would fly right over the road while Scootaloo rode her scooter along it. It would be a lap back to the start, taking place the next day.

 

Scoots rose bright and early to warm up. She rode her scooter around the track a few times for practice. Those corners sure would be hard. Rainbow Dash didn’t have to worry about hitting a tree if she lost control for a moment. Scootaloo could be seriously hurt if the scooter slid a little too much. But there was one part of that track that she was totally confident about: the 5½ mile long straightaway. But if Rainbow Dash kept her word to fly straight over the road instead of just going straight over the corners or swinging out to keep momentum, Scoots thought the race should be convincingly close.

 

There were some ponies who gathered to watch the racers take off. The other Crusaders were there to watch her go. It helped her morale a little bit. They lined up on the ground. Scootaloo put on her helmet. And just like that, the horn sounded. Rainbow immediately shot into the sky. Scoots darted forward as quickly as she could.

 

The first corner was light, and she could keep speed thorugh it. She looked up and saw Rainbow not far ahead. She was comforted that she kept her promise to follow the road. The road straightened out and she could pick up speed. But so could Rainbow. She came into the second corner a little slower. This one was trickier so she had to be careful. Then she came into the third and fourth corners. She had figured out she could use her wings to control her drifts. Coming sideways out of the fourth corner she stopped one of her wings as a brake on one side and straightened the scooter. It helped her keep her speed. And it looked pretty damn cool to boot!

 

What’s better is she passed Rainbow Dash!

 

In the lead, she went faster. Confident as ever, she raced along. But she got overconfident. The fifth and final corner was the trickiest. She slid into it too hard and lost control of her scooter. She fell to the ground and hit her head hard as Rainbow Dash soared by overhead. She was hurt. But she wasn’t giving up.

 

“If I go down, I’m not going down without a fight! I will win!”

 

She picked herself up, got back on that scooter and went, flapping her wings as hard as she could. Adrenaline pumping, she entered that straightaway. Dead ahead was Rainbow Dash. All of a sudden, what she had feared all along had happened right in front of her eyes.

 

A Sonic Rainboom.

 

Scootaloo was disheartened, but she wasn’t giving up. Harder and harder she flapped those wings. And the next thing she knew…

 

Another Sonic Rainboom? Was it possible that Dash did a Double Rainboom?

 

All of her questions were answered when that little scooter sped right under Rainbow Dash right as they both crossed the finish line.

 

Did she win? Nobody knows the answer to that. It was far too close and they were going far too fast to tell. Exhausted and aching from her fall, Scootaloo collapsed.

 

She woke up in the hospital. She was a little bruised up, but overall she was just fine. That helmet sure took a beating, and it probably saved her life. Right next to her was Rainbow Dash.

 

“Kid, I can’t say who won that race. But I have to give it to you. You gave that race your heart and soul. Even more, you’re the only pegasus pony to do a Sonic Rainboom on the ground in history. It’s hard to do it in  the air. We all thought it could never be done on a scooter, but you sure proved us wrong! Because of that, I’m going to give the race to you. I don’t like to lose, but that was AWESOME!” Scootaloo’s smile was about a mile wide. “There’s also something I want to show you.” Rainbow Dash pulled the blanked off of Scootaloo.

 

There it was. Her cutie mark. Her scooter with a rainbow behind it. She was the only living pegasus who couldn’t fly. She was also the only pegasus in the world who could do a Sonic Rainboom on the ground. That was her special talent.

 

A couple weeks later, she received a plaque in the mail. She had been recognized in the Book of Equestrian Records. Today, she hangs that plaque on her wall with pride.

 

 

Edited October 19, 2013 by ThatOneBrony

[RainbowDashiscool 306]

Cool but i always think apple bloom gets a apple flower cutie mark some stuff blooms out of flowers like cactus apples but i think her cutie mark will be that.

[Grigora_Keshet 1]

OMG this is the best thing my eyes have ever seen meep its sooo good i can't think meep a sonic rainbow on the ground that is just soooo cool