Blank Flanks

The CMC ran into the barn, their smiles almost too big for their little faces. Applejack appeared in front of them, a smile on her face too. "Hope it isn't another case of the Cutie Pox!" She chuckled while Apple Bloom shook her head no. " Let me see it, little sis!" She looked at the mark on Apple Bloom's still sparkling flank, two wrenches crossed over an apple. "Buildin', huh? You'll be useful when the barn needs fixin' up!" Apple Bloom beamed with pride. "Ah can't believe it!" Suddenly, her face fell. Apple Bloom looked at her two best friends and said, "Y'all, Ah just realized somethin'. With a cutie mark, Ah won't be able to be a Crusader anymore!" Sweetie Belle and

Scootaloo gasped. They hadn't thought of that! Sweetie Belle pointed out that they'd still be bestest friends, as she put it. Apple Bloom brightened up a little bit.

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At school, filies and colts formed a circle around Apple Bloom. "Wow, Apple Bloom! Thith ith great!" Twist was enthusiastic. Diamond Tiara was smirking. "Now you can hang out with us and not those baby blank flanks." Silver Spoon nodded her  head in agreement. "Thanks for the thought, but Ah'll stick to mah friends." Apple Bloom bravely walked into the classroom as the bell rang. "Y'know, I'm a little jealous of Apple Bloom." admitted Scootaloo. "A little?" Sweetie Belle teased. "Okay, a lot. But I can tell you're jealous too." Yeah, I guess you're right." The girls sat down at their desks. Cheerilee, smiling as always, proceeded to talk to her pupils.  "Class, a new student will be joining us today. Please welcome him and introduce yourselves to him. Button Mash, say hi!" A small colt Sweetie Belle hadn't noticed before stood up. "Hello everypony, my name is Button Mash and I come from Fillydelphia. I love to play video games and...and..." Sweetie Belle's eyes met with his. Both ponies flushed. "And what?" asked Featherweight curiously. "Oh, yeah. And I live with my parents and brother." Button hurriedly sat down, his face still red.

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After school, the three Crusaders walked home together. Apple Bloom blabbed on about her cutie mark, while the others tried to tune her out. When they dropped her off at Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo was relieved. Sweetie Belle's mind was on something, or should I say somepony else.  Scoots was thinking about spending time with her idol, Rainbow Dash. "You know, Apple Bloom seems caught up in her cutie mark, nowadays it's all she talks about!" "I agree, Scoots. Maybe we can tell her how we feel about it. Maybe then she'll stop talking about it too much. " Scootaloo smiled. "I like that idea. We can tell her next morning when we pick her up." By this time they were at Rarity's boutique. Sweetie waved and galloped off. Scootaloo resumed her fantasies about learning to fly with Rainbow Dash.